Mortal Kombat was recently added to the full game demo list on PSN+. If your new to PSN+ its just a special subscription where you can get games for free/discount or play the full game (in this case) Mortal Kombat for one hour. Back in the day Mortal Kombat was the poster-boy for videogame hate groups for its brutality or should i say its Fatalities. After a long hiatus Mortal Kombat is back and better than ever judging from the one hour demo. NetherRealm Studios are the developers and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment the publishers. Mortal Kombat originally released on April 19, 2011 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The VITA will get a release April 2, 2012.
The main menu broke down into Fight, Story Mode, Challenge Tower, Training, Online, Extras and Options. One thing this fighting doesn’t lack is content.Whether its Challenge Tower or Online mode Mortal Kombat has multiple gaming options to keep you playing for a long time. For instance the Extras section has unlockable content that you can purchase. Not only that but there are a Necropolis section, a place to Redeem Codes, Character Trailers and Announcement trailers. Navigating all of the menus was pretty easy do to Mortal Kombat’s menu ergonomics. For as much content that is present i expected some issues finding everything but that wasn’t the case at all.
The controls via Duel Shock 3: Square- Punch, Triangle-Back Punch, X-Front Kick, O-Back Kick, R1-Throw, L1-Tag, R2-Block and L2-Flip Stance. As far as controls go they created a really good gameplay experience. It feels like your playing old school Mortal Kombat all over again due to the controls and button layout. Performing moves wasn’t an issue with me thanks to the tight controls. After going through the menus and control layout it was time to play. I choose Story Mode first with the attention of getting it out of the way first.
Story mode in Mortal Kombat starts off with a fairly lengthly opening cutscene detailing the ending and beginning of the Mortal Kombat tournamaent. You start off playing Chapter 1: Johnny Cage. The story mode has snippets of storylines infused with each character you fight with. You do bounce from charcater to character during story mode. Story Mode was average. Its basically some cutscenes and voiced dialog mixed in with fighting. I had just one hour with this game so i moved on immediately to Ladder Match.
Ladder Match is the classic Mortal Kombat set-up where you just jump in and fight a ladder of opponents and hopefully reach the top. I picked Kratos for all my matches throughout the demo. I mean he is Kratos afterall. He can use the Bow, Hermes Boots and Helios’s Head from God of War 3. Kratos can probably use many other special abilities from God of War 3 but those are the ones i performed while playing. I played a few Ladder Matches which weren’t too difficult on normal difficulty. One level had me fighting in a city with cars racing in front of Kratos. Off in the distance you can see a huge monster destroying buildings. Next i played Challenge Tower which is a training tutorial/practice section. You can learn fatalities and complete tests to hone your fighter’s skills. Challenge Tower is where you should practice.
And last but not least i spent the rest of my hour playing Online mode. When you log into the online servers your greeted with a “Message of the Day” from the devs. Online sub-menus include: Ranked Match, Player Mtach, Private Match, Join Room, Create Room, User Statistics and Leaderboards. I spent my time in Ranked Match. There you can play one on one or tag-team matches. There were quite a few individual rooms with groups of players available also. I completed all of matches from quick matchmaking. As far as connections go i had only one freeze while connecting to a match.
As far as gameplay goes its fun. Its easy to perform Breakers. I couldn’t do any finishing Fatalities which blew. Many experienced players i played against online had no problem pulling them off on me however. The online competitive multiplayer was fun as you imagined and whould be the place i spent most of my time if i did buy Mortal Kombat. Although the in-game cutscenes wern’t impressive visually the actual in-game fighting looked and sound great.
The art design and texture work makes Mortal Kombat one goodlooking fighting game. And not to mention the x-ray bone crushing moves you can perform. Mortal Kombat looks great but is very gruesome to look at. The sound design brings back memories everytime i heard “FIGHT” before the match. The voice acting during cutscenes were mediocre which was expected. When everything is laid out in front of me its easy to say the presentation is good in Mortal Kombat.
From my one hour i spent with Mortal Kombat i will go on record and call it a very good fighting game. I do love my Street Fighter more but Mortal Kombat was really impressive. Thanks for reading.
Here is a trailer for Mass Effect 3′s multiplayer. Battle the Reapers online as a Human (Soldier), Quarian (Engineer), Drell (Vanguard), Turian (Sentinel), Asari (Vanguard), Salarian (Infiltrator) or Krogan (Soldier). There are plenty of enemies you will be fighting as evidenced in the trailer below. Matches where hacking computers to win looks like a interesting gamemode. I do like the fact that their are different races and classes. But most importantly each class has his or her’s own unique powers to balance out gameplay. The Vanguard looks pretty good.
I beaten Mass Effect 2 on the hardest difficulty my first playthrough as a Vanguard so i might go with that class in multiplayer. I know gamers are a fickle a bunch and get scared of change. Stop worrying about the single player people it will be fine. The multiplayer looks like fun in my opinion. Mass Effect 3 is a sci-fi RPG developed by Bioware and published by Electronic Arts. You can pick up this finally to Mass Effect’s space opera for your PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 March 6, 2012. Thanks Machinima.
It looks like the Playstation 3 and VITA versions of Street Fighter X Tekken are getting Mega Man and Pac-Man as playable characters. Not only are Pac-Man and Mega Man going to make an appearance but also the electrifying Cole Mcgrath from Infamous fame. I’m a big fan of Infamous personally so i’m glad Cole made the cut. Toro and Kuro rounds out the all star cast for the Playstation 3 and VITA versions of Street Fighter X Tekken.
Some things of note: What happened to Mega Man? Boy did he let himself go. I wonder which characters (if it happens) the Xbox 360 version will be getting. Give me Marcus Fenix and Master Cheif and i’ll call it a day. Street Fighter X Tekken is developed and published by Capcom. Expect to play this crossover fighting game on your PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and VITA March 6, 2012. Thanks RajmanGamingHD.
Puddle is a physics based game where you tilt the screen using the Left or Right Triggers on the Xbox 360 gamepad. Your goal is to manipulate a puddle of liquid and help it reach the exit of each stages while avoiding dangers. Puddle is developed by Neko Entertainment and published by Konami. Its currently available as a Xbox Live Arcade Game (XBLAG). It will also release on PSN (January 31, 2012) and later on the VITA.
The main menu screen featured Play, Laboratory, Leaderboards, Achievements, Unlock, Buy Full Game, Help & Options and Exit Game. I immediately went into the Help & Options to see the controls: Left Trigger (tilt left), Right Trigger (tilt right), Back (restart level) and Pause (start). The controls are practically flawless. All your really doing is rotating the screen left or right to manipulate liquid where you want it to go. Its not hard to mess up the controls in Puddle since its juts a simple physics based puzzle game.
After looking at the controls i then checked out the Achievements section. The achievements looked pretty easy. “Goldrush” you just have to get 48 gold medals and “Total Reaction” you get that when you finish all levels. Although you can only play one level in the demo you can see all of the levels in Puddle on-screen. Watercourse, Nursery, Laboratory, Sewers and Rocket and a few others. The full game has 8 chapters with 6 levels each. So you have 48 total levels which seems like a decent amount.
One gameplay feature that caught my eye was the ability to unlock secret levels. When talking about Puddle’s gameplay its pure addicting. Its fun and it makes you want to keep trying everytime you lose all your liquid to dangers. Dangers include fire that comes in the forms of flames mostly. The level design in the demo was good. It was interesting and challenging enough to make getting to the end rewarding. To bad i could only play one level i wanted more.
The presentation is good. From the title screen’s music to the visuals of the liquid. The game has quality written all over it. The music and sound design gave me a science vibe (if that is possible). I usually don’t try out physics games but something told me to give Puddle a go. Glad i did i really enjoyed the gameplay and presentation of this liquid manipulating videogame.
Puddle is a pretty good puzzle physics game judging from the demo. I wasn’t expecting this game to be good or bad. In the end, it turned out really good. If your a fan of physics based games give the demo of Puddle a try. Its a short demo but a good demo. Thanks for reading.
As a kid growing up in the “80′s” i immediately caught the Miami Vice”esque” upon starting Ocean Drive Challenge. Oh wait there’s more. Ocean Drive Challenge is a driving game that catapulted me back into the arcades where i use to play a game called Outrun. Trust me, all compliments coming from me. Nostalgia runs rampant with this Xbox Live Indie Game (XBLIG). Ocean Drive Challenge was developed and published by need1D and released January 23, 2012 via Xbox live Live Indie Games Marketplace for 80 MSP.
The main menus screen had Start Game, High Scores, Create, How To Play, Buy Game and Exit. Basically you have all the info you need and its easily navigable. The controls (Xbox 360 gamepad): LS-steer, LB-brake, RB-accelerate, A-switch gears. Simple controls and they partially didn’t matter a whole lot since the game seemed to place you on invisible rails anyways. You can steer and avoid on-coming traffic etc. Its just how the game is built, it seems like you driving on invisible rails the entire time.
You can choose between three different drivers in the full game of Ocean Challenge Drive. The demo lets you choose one driver and that is J.J. Barrom and his RD100D. Cynthia drives a Barracuda and Mr Gatlin who is a dead ringer for Gordon Gekko drives a Classic GT. Each car has its own statistics for braking, acceleration and top speed. Each character must talk to themselves differently during races also. When you start the race you can choose automatic or manual. You can also “Hide Driver Comments”. I left the comments on since i’m nosey. You can also choose if and what music you want to play. You can shuffle the music if you so choose.
Gameplay is ok. Like i said it feels like your on-rails driving the entire time. Its simplistic and feels old school. I did play through the trial a few times and finally got to the point where i had “30 seconds” until the demo stopped. As for the presentation its solid. The artstyle and visuals are good in my opinion. I liked the different settings and how they changed as you crossed checkpoints. Ocean Drive uses a vibrant color palette that makes the visuals pop out of the screen.
The game appears to have many settings like forest, downtown city, roads lined with ancient statues, canyons and a neon city. Its a really nice looking indie game on XBL. The music was good for what this indie game was about. There are a quite a few songs which adds to the overall quality of the game. Ocean Drive Challenge definitely has some nostalgia going on with it. Its presentation is solid for an indie game on XBL. And for just 80 msp it just might be a deal. Thanks for reading.
Rising Storm is the forthcoming expansion pack for Red Orchestra 2. The trailer below shows you some of Iwo Jima’s brutal settings it was famous for during WW II. The beginning starts off with a American soldier’s thoughts (voiced dialog) just before landing on the shores of Iwo Jima. I thought the snippet was pretty good.
Red Orchestra 2 was known as a simulation first-person shooter which always piqued my interest. I personally still have yet to buy Red Orchestra 2. I passed on it two times during Steam’s big sales and now feel guilty. Rising Storm Iwo Jima is brought to you by Tripwire Interactive and the Rising Storm team. It will release exclusively for the PC. There is no concrete release date as of yet TBA. Thanks MachinimaTrailer.
After watching the video below of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 it doesn’t seem like such a bad game. Sure the animations look wonky after the slow-mo death sequences. What i like is the pacing in the video. The game isn’t like normal first-person shooters where you run and gun. You just have a sniper rifle witch has multiple scope settings and a silencer. You do get a knife for melee stealth kills. It seems more stealth and sitting back style of gameplay.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 reminds me of that older movie called Sniper i saw years ago. The gameplay in the video shows somebody taking out a pilot in a chopper thats shooting at yo. It also shows the player taking out two ground soldiers at once. The visuals don’t look too bad but everything elese i seen before pretty much. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 was developed and published by City Interactive. It will be available on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 sometime Q2 of this year. Thanks ign.
This is my second article detailing my Starhawk beta experiences. As i continue to play this game i am starting to understand its mild strategy elements more. But before i get into any impressions i must inform you gamers of the new update this week. Update 1.2.2 which came online January 20 introduces some new elements to the Starhawk beta.
This includes faster, normal and advanced flight controls (double tap R2 for afterburners). Also added was homing missiles ability to home in sooner and swarming lasers begin to home in sooner as well. I noticed that the Gamelist screen has a Refresh button (triangle) added. Apparently there will be a sort and filter button as well. Then again maybe it was there before but i never noticed it till today.
Strategy
Using Supply Bunkers in Capture the Flag: When playing Capture the Flag i immediately whenever its possible create a Supply Bunker in front of the flag on my team’s base. Supply Bunkers are fairly strong structures that you can walk inside or climb on top. But what i like most about it is that it comes with a respawning Rocket Launcher and a Shotgun inside. The Rocket Launcher can home in on Hawks and people who are flying jeypacks in the air. Its basically like using the Rocket Launcher from Warhawk. Another thing about the Supply Bunker is that you can set up Turrets from inside of it. As my resources built up i constructed more and more Turrets around the bunker creating a solid defensive base for the flag at my base.
Supply Bunkers aren’t perfect however. I played a match where a guy kept landing on top of my Supply Bunker shooting it with rockets till it exploded. To combat that you will have to climb on top of the bunker or like i just typed lay out a bunch of Turrets around it. Players are crafty and will target Turrets first so be aware. Also many players are trying to construct Supply Bunkers close to your base of operations which can cause problems if your team is not aware. Location is important when constructing Supply Bunkers since your teammates will likely run inside them for better weapons and possible camping/playing defense. You do need a fair amount of resources to build one bunker.
To get resources fast what i did was at the very beginning of the match let all of my teammates build there Garages, Walls, Jetpack Stations or whatever (i don’t dismantle Supply Bunkers). After they headed out towards the enemy flag i deconstruct all of there stations and use the resources immediately to build a Supply Bunker in a good strategic defensive position near the flag. If your feeling like a hero you can head on out towards the other team’s flag and create a Supply Bunker near there flag. But keep in mind people over top of the bunker with rockets can destroy it as well Hawks and Jetpack guys. Everytime i played CTF i would come in top three of my team in XP/Points using the above tips. Its mostly pure defense though so keep that in mind.
Other Impressions: Connection freezes are still apparent from time to time when matchmaking. However when choosing games from the game lobby i have yet to have a connection freeze all day. To select different weapons use the Dpad (Duel Shock 3). Just like in Warkawk enemies and teammates drop there weapons and grenades (they look gold). For some reason the sound design isn’t crisp or loud like other games i play on my Playstation 3. I refuse to to compare this Starhawk beta to the full game of Warhawk. The matches in the Starhawk beta are small in nature only 16 maximum.
The full game will have 32 players maximum. So i suggest you gamers that are turned off by Starhawk to keep that in mind. I also noticed how teams (mine and opponets) are starting to implement light strategy techniques to what and where they construct structures. I say light becuase thats what it is. Its also fast strategy considering people can dismantle your structures if they have the means. If you are having problems getting resources fast dismantle your previous structure or a teammates. You can also respawn Hawks, Razerbacks and Jetpacks (press square near yellow screen). Just make sure you are at the correct station. The epic win of the day was when my drop pod landed on a enemy for a badge.
This concludes my second article detailing some of my time with Starhawk this week. Most importantly i have to tell you again this game is fun. Old Warhawk vets need not worry. Thanks for reading.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
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The protagonist of Darksiders II has a lore that goes back to the very beginning of time. Death is his name and his influence on Earth’s mortals is undeniable. The Death Eternal Trailer below does a good job despite not showing any gameplay as who the new protagonist is in Vigil’s sequel to Darksiders. I personaly thought Darksiders was a good game but rough around the edges.
Darksiders had a good mix of Zelda/God of War style gameplay. With that said I already like Death as a protagonist more than War. I seen the videos of how Death moves in combat like a ninja. He traverses terrain much differently then War. Darksiders II looks to improve upon its predecessor in content as well. Darksiders II is a action adventure game developed by Vigil Games and published by THQ. It releases 2012 on the PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii U. Thanks ign.
Wanted Corp puts you in the shoes of two intergalactic bounty hunters Neal H Maddog and Irina Zimoy. This third person shooter arcade game was developed and published by Zoo Entertainment. You can find the released retail versions of Wanted Corp on PSN and PC.
The main menu screen shows Trial Game and Buy Game. After choosing Trial Game it breaks down into Play, Buy the Game, Store, Training, Leaderboard, Archives and Options. I first choose Training which is a tutorial that shows you the basic gameplay mechanics of Wanted Corp. The tutorial teaches you how to catch fugitives, use your guns, throw grenades and basic movement. Wanted Corp can be used with the Move motion controler. Since i don’t have Move i used the DS3: L2-roll, LS-move, Square-melee, RS-aim, R1-fire, R3-reload, L1-change weapon, R2-cryogenic fire.
I like the controls in this game. Its sorta a top down shooter so the roll evade was a nice addition. Switching guns from regular to the Cryogenic Freezer (to catch criminals) didn’t feel seamless. Everything else was pretty good even the grenade aiming mechanic. You get the most points by transferring fugitives which i had no problem with. There is a shop on your ship and also on the maps that takes you to the ship. You can play Wanted Corps Offline 1 or 2 players or Online 2 players.
The demo gives you a nice taste of what the full game is probably like. The atmosphere is light hearted as evidenced by how many one-liners Maddog says in-game. The presentation is that of a sci-fi universe featuring spaceships and distant exatic planets. Fugitives range from all types of beings like half robotic primates and Monks with telekinetic powers. You get a nice dossier of each fugitive you will hunt inside the Wanted Corp spaceship before teleporting onto the planet. To my knowledge there are 8 missions in Wanted Corp (full game). The demo mission lasts about thirty minutes (give or take). The first mission titled Jungle Episode: 1.
Irina and Maddog uses two completely different styles of gameplay. Maddog just shoots and blows stuff up Irina uses lightning magic. The level’s setting starts off in a jungle then takes place inside a cave and back outside. You can capture practically anything that attacks you. I played alone as Maddog with Irina as a bot. The gameplay is actually fun. You can melee boxes and get ammo and health items if you run low. The gameplay is frantic at times but not difficult. Then again what twin-stick shooter isn’t frantic?
Collectibles such as Pharmatech Reports are scattered about and scored on at the end of each mission. The one obvious weakness in this game was its visuals. They were muddied washed out and had vasilene smeared textures. The music was pretty good however. I liked the jungle beats that were in the first mission. The rest of the music did give me a sci-fi vibe. There is alote of voiced dialog in Wanted Corp. The writing and voice acting is pretty much all cheesy but not necessarily bad either.
Wanted Corps demo was ok. It does have a nice tutorial and decent size mission to play. I did like the gameplay for its action and the ability to capture fugitives. The atmosphere was also decent. Thanks for reading.
