Here is a good video via Gamerspawn showing the features when renting a server for Battlefield 3 on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. I actually went through and checked out the servers after the update a few days ago. You can check out pricing and info from the main title screen of Battlefield 3. Battlefield 3 now offers whats been available for the PC BF players for years. Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 gamers can know rent multiplayer servers and create their own Battlefield 3 experience. What this means is you can purchase a set package of days or months off XBL and PSN and have your own custom server to mess around on. This is perfect for guys who like making stunt or lulz type vids.
Its also for serious players who want to game with a certain clan, crowd or group. You can make special friend’s VIPs so they don’t have to wait in line for your server providing you added them. All in all this is, or was a PC type deal that console gamers can now enjoy. The video shows the player turning off the HUD and retweaking spawn times. If your a Battlefield 3 player who likes creating new and unique gameplay elements you should probably rent your own server and have fun. I have played on a few custom servers (PS3) and everyone one of them have been pretty good and diverse in gameplay. Thanks for reading.
Blades of Time is a third person hack ‘n slash action game that features time manipulation as its main draw. Developed by Gaijin Entertainment and published by Konami for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is out now if your wondering. The Blades of Time Demo did a good job at giving me a brief synopsis of what this game is similar to. I personally think it has some God of War combat with some wild over the top action of Bayonetta. The time manipulation gameplay sorta reminds me of Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. Its clear that Blades of Time borrows from some of the best franchises. But does it come together to create a good package regarding Blades of Time? Keep reading to find out.
For this Gamer Blog article I played through the Blades of Time demo on my Playstation 3. The default button layout is as follows: LS-move, RS-camera, D-pad-heal, last order, show compass, L1-time rewind, L2-time lock, Select-open book, Square-sword attack, X-jump, O-prepare magic/dash/shoot, Start-menu. Swinging the protagonist’s swords around during combat was no problem. Neither was the aiming and zooming of the rifle. Dashing and locking on to Corals to traverse the map was easy. The time manipulation takes some getting used to. Rewinding and stopping time is very important when solving puzzles and defeating tough enemies. The camera did get stuck and out of focus a few times while using time manipulation during combat in Blades of Time.
Have any of you ever played Heavenly Sword before? Remember Nariko? Well the protagonist in Blades of Time reminds me of her except with blonde hair. She is a gifted warrior blessed with mystical Dragon powers that she must learn to unlock the “Spirit of the Dragon”. She is fully equipt in the demo. You can use her two katanas, her rifle, time manipulation and powerful magic when you reach the altar mid-way into the demo. What I like about Blades of Time’s upgrades regarding magic is choice. You can choose between quite a few magics to use such as Freeze Mastery, Rage Saving, Fire Weapon, Critical Strike, Slide Ignition and many others. All of the magics are pretty wild when you activate them. After you choose the magic you want your transported to a tutorial section with big enemies to fight. The latter sorta reminds me of Bayonetta since its a tutorial.
Blades of Time combat is frantic and brutal. After slashing a few Locuts grunts you can perform a QTE finisher ala God of War style. Enemies are diverse and makes you use all of the protagonist’s weapons and magics. Some enemies use ranged attacks that you should use your rifle to take out from a distance. Some enemies actually hover in air over collapse bridges that you can dash to one by one and attack while in mid-air. You can also use them to get across broken bridges as well. Some enemies are big with armor and heavy shields. For these guys you have to use time manipulation to confuse and get their attention then strike. You create a few protagonist, one to fight in front of it then one in back for attacking final blow. You do have to think and plan to beat some of the enemies in Blades of Time. You cannot run around and swing a sword and expect to beat every enemy, it won’t work.
Early in the demo you have to stand on a contraption to lower a huge gate. This is the first section where you have to use the protagonist’s time manipulation ability. You stand on the marker and press time reverse. You then hit time lock and walk off the marker and through the open gate your other self activated. You only have so much time to use time manipulation. Presentation in Blades of Time is laid out in a lush fantasy world featuring bright colors and imaginative art design. Lush greenery and destroyed castles along with huge brightly colored organic corals and plants showcases the visuals in the demo. The protagonist art and texture work was done well. The animations are decent but could be a little better. The enemies look brutal and range from mutants, demonic skeletons and human bad guys. There were also animals that were attacking the protagonist.
Blades of Time is one of those type of games where the review scores might not be indicative of how good it really is. I thought the demo was a good mash-up of a few action game franchises I loved. Blades of Time isn’t perfect but the combat and time manipulation gameplay really brings a breath of fresh air to the hack ‘n slash genre. I f you have PSN or Xbox Live and enjoy hack ‘n slash games you should give the Blades of Time demo a shot. Thanks for reading.
2 comments - What do you think? Posted by
jflex -
March 30, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Published By: SNK, Developer: SNK Playmore, Genre: Shooter, Release Date: Jan 24, 2012, Rating: E, Systems: Playstation Portable, Playstation 3 (minis).
Presentation: Bermuda Triangle is an old school SNK vertcal shooter for the Playstation Portable and Playstation 3 as a minis game. Growing up during the 1980′s you couldn’t visit a arcade without seeing a vertical shooter. I played so many different scrolling vertical shooters so I kinda felt at home with Bermuda Triangle. So what makes this game special? Nothing really, its just an old school vertical scrolling shooter at its core. The overall presentation is decent featuring challenging gameplay that becomes repetitive, decent visuals and sound design.
Remember this game was released back in 1987 so don’t expect any new tech. The controls via the Dual Shock 3: X-fire, O-missile, LS-rotate left, RS-rotate right, Triangle-coin. The conrols are simple and for the most part accurate. I had initially thought using the Dual Shock 3 for Bermuda Triangle would complicate gameplay but that wasn’t the case. Moving and using the 360 degree cannon was pretty seamless. You can choose different difficulties to play on. I choose normal. Bermuda Triangle performed nicely, no glitches or lag issues of any kind. Navigating the menus was pretty easy. Its difficult to get lost while navigating the menus in Bermuda Triangle.
Story: No real story to speak of. Your just a pilot in a cool flying ship and your taking out waves of enemy forces.
Visuals: Textures are decent in Bermuda Triangle. The atmosphere had some imagination along with enemy design. The game has a good look to it. The protagonist’s ship looked really nice. The bosses looked really menacing. The clouds and green land flowing with rivers under you looked the part aesthetically.
Sound: Lots of pew pew pew what did you expect? What I thought was neat was the voice commands from headquarters as you play. The guy says things like “Land on Deck” or Emergency” when I taken too much damage. For an 80′s game I thought that was pretty sweet. The rest of the sound design was mundane. The music along with practically everything else fits the 80′s.
Gameplay: Bermuda Triangle is a vertical scroller. You know that. What you didn’t know is that gameplay scrolls backwards too. When you move forward shooting baddies the screen stops, then shuffles backwards changing gameplay. You can’t turn your ship around which totally diversifies gameplay. You have to dodge mines, traps and enemies going backwards. Its more challenging for sure. Power-ups come in the form of small green objects that latch onto your ship and giving you weapons or shield boost.
Bermuda Triangle is challenging make no mistake. You can’t take many hits. Boss battles are pretty challenging. The enemies are diverse in speed and attack power making the gameplay challenging. The screen HUD shows Standard Safety-top left and bottom left shows Green Orbs and Shield Levels. The initial novelty of Bermuda Triangle’s gameplay wears off pretty quickly. You can only go forwards and backwards so many times before it gets repetitive.
Replayability: There aren’t any elaborate unlocks in this game. You just play it and that is it. There is two player co-op for Bermuda Triangle which should add some replay value.
Final Verdict: Bermuda Triangle gives you an initial feeling of captivating gameplay but runs its course into repetitiveness and the mundane soon after.
Published By: THQ, Developed By: Kaos Studios, Genre: First-Person Shooter, Release Date: March 15, 2011, Rating: M, Systems: PC, Playtstation 3, Xbox 360.
Presentation: Homefront paints a dark a dreary painting of a crippled America under the occupation of the Greater Korean Republic. Homefront as a game and presentation is a classic rough around the edges first-person shooter. By no means is it a bad shooter as I will point out many of the game’s strengths during the review. Its just that it has that “lets copy and paste some great aspects from Call of Duty and Battlefield on our game” presentation which works for and against Homefront. Homefront’s best attribute should of been its single player story campaign. It should have been longer than 5 hours and had a richer narrative and characters. I mean this is Red Dawn basically. If you grew up during the “80′s” you know about Red Dawn. Homefront’s story was written by the same author John Millius so in hindsight I was expecting a much more captivating single player campaign then what I received.
I played Homefront through STEAM on my PC (obviously). For the most part minus the last sequence on the Golden Gate Bridge the game ran smooth for the most part. Explosions did slow down my frame rate. My PC is based around DX9, 4870 graphics card, quad core and 6 gigs of RAM. Specs: 1280 x 960 resolutions, overall quality was custom. Anti Aliasing 2x. Everything was set to High such as texture detail and shadow quality. The game did stutter during the campaign and slowed down some during big action sequences. During multiplayer when trying to connect to matches the game froze quite a bit. For the most part Homefront’s presentation is good thanks to the unique and unorthodox setting it takes place in.
Story: Although the story might appear to be out there it does paint a decent picture for Homefront. In the not so distant future due to America’s crippling economy and the emergence of The Greater Korean Republic. America’s defenses were wiped out by a satalite that the Greater Korean Republic used. Immediately America was overtaken and now under KPA occupation. The game picks up in Montros Colorado. The year is 2027 and you’re Jacobs an ex-pilot who the resistance breaks out of KPA clutches in the nick of time. The Resistance is comprised of a few members who serve as AI partners throughout Homefront’s campaign. You first hook up with Rianna and Connor Morgan. You soon meet Boone (the CO) and Hopper who is a Korean American and just might be the most interesting character in the game (he’s from Oakland).
Boone would be killed by KPA forces early into the campaign which leads the rest of the team on a mission to hijack a couple of fuel tankers through Utah, Nevada and finally San Francisco where the final battle plays out. The Resistance’s goal is to meet up with U.S. Military Forces and give they’re vehicles the fuel. The story of Homefront had potential written all over it and the beginning to mid-game was captivating. The setting of America really appeared as much. You fight in White Castles and a Tiger Direct.com Discount Computer store. You see a Hooters in one chapter. There are many Full throttle Energy Drink dispensers knocked over that you can take cover behind. The mass graves scene in a baseball field really let you know the brutality of the enemy and the importance of the Resistance. Like I aluded to before, I saw a lot of potential within Homefront’s world but didn’t see it consistently throughout the campaign.
Visuals: Not that good by PC standards. However Homefront does look ok even with its washed out look. One aspect I found weird regarding Homefront’s graphics were the silver glowy glazed faces of NPCs most notably Connor and Hopper. They looked like ghosts. The gun models and settings are probably the most impressive consistant visuals this game offers. One section has Jacobs piloting a small attack chopper to provide air support for a caravan. The explosions in that section were nice. The Golden Gate Bridge section featured Jets flying over and tank battles. Near the end a enemy Goliath boss fight takes place on the bridge. Static and washed out with decent art imagination can describe Homefront’s look.
Sound: The orchestra score was good. It gave you that total fight for freedom vibe which is what this game is all about. The writing and voice acting should have been better especially considering the game’s setting and circumstances. Connor would say the same line in-game over and over. It got annoying. The guns had a unique sound design. Some guns had a semi-sci-fi sound emanating from them.
Gameplay: Homefront has that move up to stop spawning enemies linear gameplay much like in Call of Duty’s single player. To my surprise was how good the actual shooting and gameplay is. Homefront doesn’t try to do anything unique. If anything it seems to copy other elite first-person shooters which is fine. The Goliath is a rolling mobile vehicle of destruction. During certain sections in Homefront’s campaign you can use a targeter to take out tanks, attack choppers and enemies which Goliath will do accordingly. This might sound weird but Goliath almost appeared as a character to me. They had to sacrifice it midway through the game to knock down a wall that led to Utah.
Replayability: The single player campaign barely lasts 5 hours which is ridiculous. Luckily for me, or should I say Homefront this game has a full-blown multiplayer to explore. Homefront features typical menus for multiplayer like Quick Match, Armory, Challenges and Practice Map. There are more but those are the important menus in my opinion. Classes are all fully realized with gadgets, perks and unique weapons. They include: Assault, SMG, Heavy, Sniper, Tactical and Explosive. Depending on which lobby you will have to unlock Tactical and Explosive. Battle Points or (BP) are Homefront’s in-game credit system that lets you unlock items and vehicles in matches. You can unlock stuff like spawn in vehicles etc. You can use Battle Points to unlock your gadgets in-game. Its a very simple system to use and understand.
The matches on PC were 32 players total. Maps I played on which were all ripped from the single-player campaighn: Farm, Cul De Sac, Angel Island, Crossroads, Green Zone and Bridge. Matchtypes included: Team Deathmatches, Battle Commander, Ground Control and Battle Commander (TDM). Battle Commander is similar to Conquest on Battlefield. The multiplayer is fun and will keep you entertained for a while. The gadgets, vehicles and unlocks do sorta remind me of Battlefield games. The quick twitch gunplay reminds me of Call of Duty which is a good thing. The problem is that everything doesn’t mesh well like Battlefield or Call of Duty. But hey, that is the price you pay when your trying to be something your not.
Final Verdict: Homefront is your classic mixed-bag good at some things bad at others shooter. it does borrow some great ideas from other successful games within the genre. I just can’t get over the single player campaign. It was chalked full of potential unrealized.
Published By: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Developer: Day 1 Studios, Genre: Shooter, Release Date: June 21, 2011, Rating M, Systems: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360.
Presentation: Back in 2006 the original FEAR released and with it a horrifically graphical shooter emerged. The original FEAR was more about fear (no pun intended) than FEAR 3 is. FEAR back in 2006 also set the bar high with its graphics and slo-mo effects. Times have changed since then and FEAR 3 is more shooter with a few slight scares along the way. When I analyze Fear 3′s presentation I see good and bad. The good has to do with the atmosphere and world that is being teared apart by Alma’s contractions. There is also plenty of content in this game. You can play the entire campaign in a competition style co-op. There is a multiplayer that features some good ideas as well.
The bad has to do with the glitches, AI and static visuals. Like I alluded to earlier, FEAR was known as one of the greatest looking video games. While FEAR 3 doesn’t look bad it definitely doesn’t set any benchmarks in the visual department. The AI seemed mindless throughout the campaign. I can’t tell you how many times I saw Armacham forces just standing around while I was in front of them about to shoot. FEAR 3 is a linear corridor shooter. The level design throughout was pretty boring however each unique setting kept the game fresh enough. FEAR 3 is clearly a game that is good. Its just rough around the edges in a few spots. As far as navigating the game goes its not complicated but could be better regarding menus and definitions.
Story: FEAR 3 reunites Pointman (from the first game) and Paxton Fettel (the main badguy from the first game). Did I mention Pointman and Paxton are brothers who were experimented on in a secret lab by a crazed Doctor? The two boys were being engineered to become super soldiers. The poster child of FEAR is Alma and although she is back she isn’t as big of a story aspect unless you want to count the fact that she is having a baby. The story gets weird during FEAR 3. Alma’s contractions are literally ripping the world apart and turning the sky blood red. The two brothers work together reluctantly to seek out Alma and kill the baby.
During your search to reunite with Alma you rescue Jin (original member of FEAR unit). After helping Jin you search for Delta squad member Michael Bennett who is captured by Armacham forces. If you don’t know about Armacham, they are the bad-guys in FEAR games. The focus near the end of the game is clearly Harlan Wade. Harlan is the boy’s old Doc who turned them into killers. He is also known as The Creep and the final boss fight in FEAR 3. the final boss fight wasn’t very good. Just throwing that out there. As far as the story goes it isn’t Shakespeare folks. Its sporadic and all over the place regarding plots and focus. The in-game atmosphere was the saving grace regarding the story. Without that the story would have been even worse since the cutscenes and voice acting weren’t very good.
Visuals: Like I said in the presentation snippit. FEAR was once known as a graphical powerhouse. The slo-mo effects, textures and art design was something to behold back in 2006. FEAR 3 is a good-looking game. What I enjoyed was the diverity in the settings. You had creepy houses and basement settings. You had a daylight suburban setting that changed things up. You had a shantytown area. You had a big metropolis setting. Texture work was decent on buildings and character models. The lighting during certain areas of the game was impressive. The kill animations were impressive. Overall FEAR 3 isn’t as jaw dropping as its previous games but it gets the job done.
Sound: The creepy sound effects have always been good in FEAR games and this one is no different. Atmosphere in FEAR 3 is mostly created by sound effects to create cheap fear tactics. For the most part the game keeps you on your toes while navigating dark passageways. Each type of enemy and gun makes a unique sound effect that stays in your head. Paxston’s voice actor did a good job in-game with his lines. As far as music goes all that I remember is the Danzig song that played during the credits.
Gameplay: FEAR 3 is a first-person shooter through and through. There is a true cover shooting element as well. You can lock-on to objects and peek side to side. Many objects in the environment can provide adequate cover. Playing on the hardest difficulty you will have to use cover the entire campaign. New to Fear 3 is the slide kick move that has been done in other games. You can still use slow motion while your gauge is filled up. The guns and shooting in this game was satisfying. Gibbing headshots with a sniper rifle felt good. Every gun felt powerful and unique but not overpowered.
Power Armor are mechs and there are two kinds you can use during certain sequences in the campaign. My favorite sequence was the bridge scene as you make your way to Port Authority Airport. Power Armor are fun. Taking down choppers other Power Armor units and Armacham soldiers was fun. The gameplay was actually fun it was just that the AI of the enemies was fail. I also didn’t like the level design. Although linear I found myself backtracking and getting lost due to the game’s lack of direction and map design.
Replayability: The story campaign can last over 6 hours. Furthermore it can also be played in full co-op (network). I unfortunately didn’t get anybody to play the campaign online with. PSN didn’t have any players online when I played. I tried to set up a few rooms for co-op but no one showed up. FEAR 3 has four player co-op multiplayer that is actually fun and novel in some ways. Contractions is a gamemode where you and four players have to build and fortify a building and fight waves of enemies. There is also Soul Survivor, Fucking Run (that is the name) and Soul King. All gamemodes provide a different style of gameplay for the user. I pretty much enjoyed all gamemodes but some did get older faster than others.
Final Verdict: FEAR 3 is more shooter than horror game that much is certain. The inclusion of unique multiplayer gamemodes and the co-op campaign makes FEAR 3 a good game.
Mass Effect 3 has finally landed and it is now time to save earth. Strap your space boots up soldiers cause this is gonna be one hell of a intergalactic ending to the Mass Effect trilogy. So how are the first couple of hours of Mass Effect 3′s story campaign? Good. Its good so far but let me give you the run down of my experiences via this early impressions article. First off yes i am playing Mass Effect 3 on my Playstation 3 which right about now has me feeling pretty fail honestly. The reason being I played and beat the first two on my Xbox 360 and had all of my import save files on there. I simplay wasn’t thinking when I ordered it at the time. Its ok I still have my M-55 Argus Rifle from my pre-order at Amazon. Mass Effect 3 is a RPG developed by Bioware and published by Electronic Arts for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The game is out now.
Setting Up Your Character
Just like with every Mass Effect game before it you initially have to set your character up if you have no import data. You start out having to Choose Your Experience which tailers Mass Effect 3′s gameplay accordingly to your liking. Here you can pick between Action, Role Playing and Story. I choose Role Playing since that is how the older two games played which helps me feel more comfortable playing Insanity. Classes: Soldier, Infiltrator, Vanguard, Sentinal, Adept and Engineer. For my class i choose Sentinal since that class is strong with biotics and engineer powers and it doesn’t help that Sentinals can use all weapons and have special biotic shields. I am playing my first playthrough on Insanity difficulty.
Next you have to go through your psychological make-up and soldier history options. You have to either pick Space Cadet, Colonist or Earthborn. Since Mass Effect 3 is about saving Earth i went with Earthborn (felt appropriate). You then have to choose between Sole Survivor, War Hero and Ruthless. I choose War Hero since I plan on being good Shepard this playthrough. Next you have to pick who died in your previous playthroughs (Mass Effect) serving Commander Shepard. Here you can choose that both Ashley Williams and Kaiden Alenko died serving. Or you could choose Ashley Williams separately or Kaiden separately. I went with Kaiden because he was the first to die when I played Mass Effect my first time while tracking down Saren Arterius.
The Game
The Button layout for the Dual Shock 3: LS-move, RS-camera, Dpad-Up: squad attack, Right: squadmate 2/attack, Down: ralley, Left: squadmate 1/move, attack, L1-tight aim, L2-mapped power/ weapon wheel, Select-quick save, Start-mission computer, R1-shoot, R2-mapped power, Triangle-mapped power, O-melee, X-use/take cover, quick vault/storm, Square-reload/switch weapon. This is the first time i ever played Mass Effect with the Dual Shock 3 and guess what? It works! It has more to do with Mass Effect 3′s default button set-up and mainly its mapped powers. Performing combos are seamless (so far). It also seems like when you manual biotic command like Throw or Warp from quick select it connects to your target more effectively than previous games The melee looks and feels totally different. You can melee from behind cover (I did it to a few Cerberus guards already).
Combining powers is a effective strategy while playing on Insanity. Early in Mass Effect you meet back up with Liara T’soni on Mars investigating a old Prothean archive. Liara comes equip with a biotic called Singularity (creates a small blackhole around enemies and sucks them into it). They don’t literally get sucked in though. My strategy has been to use Singularity on a small group of enemies then quick command either Throw or Warp. From a combat perspective its effective and quite easy to perform. The controls aren’t perfect however. I still experience getting stuck on cover and walls. The new roll strafe takes some getting used to as well. I must say the controls do seem more action based when controlling Shepard. I wonder how the sprint and roll works in multiplayer.
The beginning of Mass Effect 3 starts out on Earth in the midst of a huge Reaper attack filled with giant Dreadnoughts and small ships dropping down Husks and Cannibals. Earth is basically being demolished at a fast rate. Captain David Andersen reenlists Shepard and tells him to travel to the Citadel Council to enlist there help but first I had to make a trip to Mars. The Mars sequence is filled with Cerberus agents in search of information that can stop the Reapers. I notice Weapon Benches during the Mars mission. At Weapon Benches you can pick your team’s gun loadout and mod weapons (but only at the benches). You pick up quite a few armor pieces early in the game gauntlets, chest plates etc. There are a few weapon mods laying about as well.
To unlock new abilities such as the Grenade Lift you have to reach level 6 first. I’m level 5 (so close). As far as leveling up your class powers there is a new design that branches out into a tree-like branch pattern. Say you want to upgrade Warp. You gain XP by collecting, killing and story progression to acquire upgrade points. Warp’s upgrade interface goes from rank 1 to 6 with 8 slots to fill that takes different upgrade points. Some slots increase damage and recharge speed for Warp. At the bottom of the screen you can see Warp’s stats as you choose an upgrade. I like the new upgrade system. It more in-depth and adds some RPG back into this RPG if you catch my drift.
Early in Mass Effect 3 you meet James who is a ex Cerburus agent now Alliance member (interesting). You meet up with Ashley Williams who servs with Shepard in the game’s first mission. You hook back up with Liara T’soni on Mars (like i alluded to above). You communicate with Joker on the Normandy but don’t see him. EDI the Normandy’s AI is back. As far as where I am in Mass Effect 3 I escaped an attack on Earth to get help. I flew to Mars to get information on how the Protheans were about to defeat the Reapers. I’m still currently at the Mars station fighting Cerburus Guardians and other grunts. i died a few times but purely out of carelessness.
As far as everything else goes Mass Effect 3 is solid. The cinematic opening game’s tutorial was fantastic. The gameplay so far is really good with the classic Mass Effect dialog trees. Combat is more fast pace and visceral. The guns feel really unique. The voice acting and writing are good so far. I’m involved in the game’s atmosphere and its holding me in which is the the sign of a great game. There are some performance issues regarding cutscenes (choppiness and stuttering frame rates). During gameplay there are performance issues but not nearly as noticeable like it was in cutscenes.
Its early but Mass Effect 3 is showing me some good things. Its a different Mass Effect but its also a very good Mass Effect so far. If you want to check out my multiplayer impressions and final review make sure to visit Videogames Sourcein the next few days. Thanks.
Forza Horizon is a spin-off of Turn 10′s Forza Motorsport series that is exclusive on the Xbox 360. As far as the trailer goes your not getting much in terms of in-game material. However what I did get from the trailer was a obvious party atmosphere featuring high exotic cars. I’m hoping the gameplay is open world maybe like Test Drive Unlimited or something. Its obvious this game will not be a driving sim which is what Forza has built its reputation on.
Speaking of Forza 4 check out my review of Forza 4 Review. Back on topic. Personally i am pretty hyped regarding Forza Horizon. Why? Simply because its going to be a different take on a great franchise. More gaming options the better i always say. There is no release date set yet however the trailer says Fall 2012 so its coming this year. I’m sure this coming E3 will show us some gameplay. Thanks GamerSpawn.
SSX is a snowboarding racing game. It can also be considered a sports game albeit an extremely fun over the top one. Back when i bought my launch Playstation 2 the first game i bought was SSX. No its not the SSX i’m writing about today but yes they do have the same name and alote of the same qualities that made them great games. SSX was developed by EA Canada and published by EA Sports for thePlaystation 3 and Xbox 360. It released a few days ago February 28, 2012. SSX’s demo makes you play through a tutorial before accessing the main title screen.
In the tutorial you learn how to do tricks (in air). Using the RS and LS (Dual Shock 3). Pressing up, left or right makes Zoe perform different tricks that fills up her Boost Meter that can activate Tricky Mode. When Tricky Mode is activated you can hit L2+R2 to do your rider’s Specialty Move.The tutorial was fairly easy and takes place while doing a drop. The button layout (while on land): LS-carving, RS-up-jump, X-jump, Square and Circle-nose press/ tail press, R1-(hold)-use oxygen, R2-(hold)-boost, Select-change camera,L1-rewind(hold) and L2-grind. The controls and animations were all accurate. I was grinding on trees and rails like it wasn’t my business. Jumping off ramps nets you even bigger air. I really liked the controls for SSX.
The main menu screen is now available after the tutorial is completed. You have World Tour, Explore, Global Events, Refer a Friend, Online Features and Rider Net. Rider Net is like SSX version of Need for Speed’s Autolog. The menus break down in Rider Net as SSX Rivals, Music, Credits, Badges, Settings and Manual. With Rider Net your always connected to the SSX community. You can easily follow friends, find friends and challenge them if you so choose. Its really a slick interface and easily navigable. Although its just a demo i saw all of my friend’s times on various mountains, gamemodes and which medals they won. Rider Net makes you compete with your friends in SSX which is a good thing.
Zoe is the only playable character in the demo however there are a few others you can check out. Locked riders included: Mac, Elise, Alex, Tane, Kaori, Psyman, Moby, Ty and Griff. Riders have different perks which can include stuff like Speed, Boost, Tricks, Armor, Wingsuit and Headlamp. Perks are all different and have different ratings of each for each rider accordingly. For each Rider you can also unlock items like Suits, Boards, Gear, Mods and GeoTag. So it appears from the demo SSX does have layers of content and unlocks and isn’t just a one trick pony.
There is another race you can do with Zoe which is a simple race down a mountain that takes place in Colorado. You can grind rails do big tricks against two other riders. Before every race your dropped in from a helicopter cutscene. The pilot does voice narrating pretty much all of the time. From what i understand there are different gameplay modes in the full game like Survival, Explore Mode, Racing, Geo Tags etc. The most important thing i can say about SSX regarding its gameplay is that its really fun. Performing tricks wasn’t that hard although did crash a few times.
SSX demo presentation is solid. The game runs smooth like butter and visually looks really good. The texture work and art style are pleasant. The framrate was really fluid. The music is pretty good while your playing. The pilot guy’s voice gets annoying overtime though. The game seems to have a bunch of unlocks with character perks. The different gamemodes looked interesting. In the demo you can’t play any multiplayer however you can watch different videos about the multiplayer. Rider Net looks like a easy seamless way of staying connected with the community.
Although the SSX demo doesn’t have many mountains to actually play on one thing is clear. The game reeks of quality through and through. The little gameplay i experienced was realy fun. When you throw in Rider Net, multiplayer and all of the riders and unlocks you can see the appeal of 2012′s SSX. Thanks for reading.
1 comment - What do you think? Posted by
jflex -
March 2, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Here is the new trailer for Max Payne 3 featuring the Mini-30 rifle. The video below shows Max Payne taking out groups of thugs using the Mini 30 rifle’s scope with lethal accuracy. The Mini 30 has a 20 round capacity and 100 meters range. The rifle also appears to have melee benefits. I’ll tell you what, the Mini 30 looks like a solid rifle that i’ll make good use of when i buy Max Payne 3. On a side note i’m pretty hyped for Max Payne 3. If you played the older two games you would know why.
I played both Max Payne and Max Payne 2 on my Xbox years back. Max Payne has a great noir presentation. The gameplay, story, sound and visuals were also really solid in those games. If Max Payne 3 is anything like the old bulletime games we as gamers are in for a real treat. Max Payne 3 is a action game published by Rockstar Games and developed by Rockstar Studios. The game releases May 15, 2012 for the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Thanks GamerSpawn.
Gotham City Impostors gets some free new DLC as shown in the trailer below. The 25th Hour is a new map that towers over Gotham City. New themed costume sets for the Batmans and Jokers titled Office, Ninja, Luchador and more. New weapons will also be added such as the King Maker pistol, The Falcon Blade ninja sword.
There are also new support items like Toxic Gas and a new Fun Fact “Nimble Fingers”. Gotham City Impostors is a lighthearted first person multiplayer game that puts players in the role of everyday people who act out there comicbook fantasies. Gotham City Impostors was developed by Monolith Productions and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Thanks Gamespot.
