Every now and then something annoys me so much that I just have to say something about it. File this under that heading.
Let's say that one day, sometime in the future, a hostile alien race came to Earth and decided to destroy the entire planet. Except in the midst of all the explosions and such, they reconsidered, and now you are the only person - nay, the only thing - left from the original Earth. The alien race, not having taken the time to study Earth before destroying it, relies on you to tell them all about the earth so they can recreate it exactly as it was (or at least, exactly as you remember it). What would you tell them? What would you make better, or worse?
One thing that I wouldn't tell them about is "lolcats." I would take the opportunity to strike them from the history and from the collective consciousness of the world without a second's hesitation.
And now, I can practically hear the thoughts of people who would be greatly distressed by this... "OMG! I'm on ur blogs, rightin complaintz!" or "WTF! I can has hates for u!"
Hate all you want - I wouldn't tell the evil space aliens about lolcats. No sir. If I see another picture of a cat within close approximation of a computer (or game console), overlayed with unintelligible graffiti, it'll be too soon. Lolcats are stupid. The end.
2007 was a good year for games. Towards the end of the year especially, a lot of amazing titles came out, all which only supplemented an already strong year for the industry.
Of course, me being a normal guy in his 20's (read: of limited financial resources), I couldn't play every game out in 2007, nor every game for any particular console (since I don't own every system), but I think between my PC, Xbox 360, and Nintendo DS, I've covered a fairly large portion of 2007's games. So out of all the games I played this last year for these systems, here are a few that I felt stood out among the rest, in no particular order.
Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (PC)
Back in the glory days of strategic Command & Conquer gaming, it seemed Westwood could do no wrong. Every iteration of their flagship RTS franchise seemed to push the genre further and extend the limits of how much fun one can have whilst commanding tiny men around a battlefield. Each addition to the collection of C&C titles, like Red Alert, offered a larger array of units, missions, and strategies. These games were good fun, and if you have a PC with an older version of Windows on it, I highly recommend grabbing these games from your local game store's bargain bin (with the possible exception of the rather stanky Command & Conquer: Tiberium Sun)
As seems to be par the course these days, EA came along and bought out Westwood Studios. Their first project with the old team was Command & Conquer: Generals, a game that turned out to be more fun than was expected, but didn't really feel like C&C. Many were afraid that this would hail the end of the franchise, or at least, the end of the franchise being any good.
In 2007 however, EA stepped back up to the plate with a continuation of the original series - Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. This game, built on a modified version of the Generals engine, was a vast improvement over Generals, and in my opinion, really did a great job of earning back the Command & Conquer title. With three completely different races to play as, a great campaign, and solid online play, C&C3 earned a permanent spot on my hard drive for 2007, and probably well into 2008. If you're a fan of RTS games, you should definitely try C&C3.
Orange Box (PC)
The Orange Box was one of those things that you know is going to be good, but which you don't want to get too excited about because you don't want to be let down. I'll admit it - I was a bit skeptical about Half-Life 2 going episodic. The last thing I wanted was for a great game like Half-Life 2 to be broken down into bite-sized chunks that costed too much and offered too little. HL2: Episode 1 proved my fears wrong however, and Orange Box, which includes Episode 2, serves only to re-affirm how misplaced my skepticism was in the first place.
With Orange Box, you get three very awesome games for the price of one (four if you order via Steam). The set includes Half-Life 2, HL2: Episodes 1 & 2, HL2: Lost Coast (a neat tech demo HL2 level), Portal, and Team Fortress 2. This package also includes a special version of Peggle if you opt to buy via Steam. I could go on and on about how much fun my buddies and I have been having playing Team Fortress 2 online, or how immersive the Half-Life 2 experience is. About how Portal is one of the most unique puzzle experiences I've ever had. I could even rave a little about how great Peggle is as well. I won't gush any more, however - you should just go buy it and see how great it is for yourself. The Orange Box is the best value you could get for your gaming dollar in 2007, and FPS fan or not, you'll find something you like here. $50 is hard to beat for three games... even on DS!
Mass Effect (Xbox 360)
Initially, I wasn't sure that I'd like Mass Effect. I own Knights of the Old Republic, but never got too far through it. I wanted to, because I liked the story and the Star Wars setting, but something about the game was just too slow for me. When Bioware announced they were working on Mass Effect, I was excited to give them another try, and things looked better with each press release they gave. With some amazing screenshots, and videos of the in-depth conversations that take place in the game, Mass Effect looked to be a much more lively game than the KOTOR series for me, and upon trying it out, I was extremely impressed.
I was recently talking with Lethalanvas, co-creator of Wanderlust, and we both came to an agreement about Mass Effect - the game is really a true RPG, unlike the weirdness that games like World of Warcraft spin into the genre. Mass Effect isn't all about crunching thousands of numbers or sorting through hundreds of different sets of armor. No, in Mass Effect, you make decisions that actually have consequences... you literally carve out a place in the game world for your character. You can be a noble good-doer (Paragon), a dastardly scoundrel (Renegade), or anything in between - and the game will react in a smart and appropriate way. It's hard to describe just how Mass Effect captures this essence of actual role playing so well, but I think it lies in the many moral decisions the game forces you to make as you play. Some carry more weight than others, but almost everything you do has a lasting effect on the rest of the game; the same permanence that your decisions in real life carry. In any case, if you're a fan of RPG's, and you have the time and patience to play a 40 hour game in its entirety, Mass Effect comes highly recommended from Marty.
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass (Nintendo DS)
Many fans of the Zelda series decried Nintendo's latest revision of the classic tale as blasphemous, usually citing the touchpad-only controls as too mainstream / casual. As with other Nintendo titles gone "all touch," I reserved my judgement for when I actually got to try the game. In the past, I haven't been let down by this new type of control, and with Phantom Hourglass, this is no different. Sure, it's a bit wonky when you first try it out, but rest assured, once you get used to the controls, therein lies one of the best gaming experiences to be had on the DS thus far.
Call me silly, but there's just something about Phantom Hourglass that puts a smile on my face while I play it. I always get a certain satisfaction from charting my own course with the stylus and then watching Link's boat follow it around the map. When I make link do too many rolls or sword spins and he gets dizzy, I can't help but smile at the goofy sound effect and animation. And who doesn't get a kick out of drawing a patch for your trusty boomerang, and then watching it fly around exactly as you wanted? Phantom Hourglass is packed with all the little extra touches that people expect from a Nintendo game, aside from the standard epic story and amazing graphics (for DS, of course).
Though I haven't yet had the time to finish this game, my only complaint so far is that the Dark World theme from the SNES game, featured in almost all of the trailers for Phantom Hourglass, doesn't seem to be in the game. I could be wrong though, since I haven't finished it, but if I were a gambling man, I'd put my money against it at this point. It's a shame really, because I thought the remix of the tune for the previews was a real treat, and Nintendo has a huge library of music for the Zelda series, so why not toss a bone to all of us long-time fans now and then?
Regardless of this single caveat, Phantom Hourglass is a must-have title for DS, so if you haven't played it yet, go pick it up.
Other 2007 games I enjoyed, but didn't want to write about, include:
Assassin's Creed (360)
Call of Duty 4 (360)
Crackdown (360)
Gears of War (PC)
Halo 3 (360)
Games I enjoyed in 2007, but which were not released in 2007:
Civilization 4 (PC)
Clubhouse Games (DS)
Counter-Strike: Source (PC)
Gears of War (360)
Gun (360) (aside from the torturous end boss fight)
Saint's Row (360)
Sim City 4 (PC)
Tetris DS (DS)
Yoshi's Island 2 (DS)
And finally, how about a short list of games that I wanted to try out, but never had time to (full versions, anyway):
Eternal Sonata (360)
Unreal Tournament 3 (PC) (despite my rage for its mediocrity)
Thanks for reading, and be sure to let me know what 2007 games you felt were great with a comment below!
I guess it's a bit late to announce this here, 5 days after I actually submitted the game to YoYoGames for judging, but what the heck - I feel much more energized after a nice relaxing holiday at my parent's house, and I figure it's time to push the game a little bit. So without further ado, my YYG Winter Competition is finally finished!
I present to you the winter-themed SHMUP, Sun Sun Der! Here's a quick link to play at YoYoGames.com, more information below!
The spirits that govern the balance of hot and cold on the earth are in turmoil - on the Winter Solstice 2007, the sun's summer spirits refuse to leave. The goddess spirit of the winter, Friga, is sent to battle the summer and bring about the cold of winter once again!
Play the game here, directly at YoYo Games. If you like the game, I would appreciate it if you'd rate it accordingly... seems the YYG bury brigade has already hit many of the competition entries particularly hard.
Controls are as follows
Z - Shoot
X - Attract power-ups
C - Special attack (when meter is charged)
P - Pause the game
F1 - Restart the game
F4 - Toggle windowed / full screen display modes
Esc - Exit the game
Anyway, enjoy the game, and thanks to everyone who plays and / or votes. I appreciate all the support I get from the community!
Well, I had planned on doing a pretty extensive write-up about my thoughts on the integrity of some of the game media websites as of late, but for now I'm going to put this off. I am working very exclusively on my entry for the YoYo Games Winter Competition, trying to get everything finished for the December 23 deadline. It's been quite hectic, and I'll be glad when I can finally use my spare time to relax again!
That said, the game is coming along well. It's not quite as big as I had hoped it might be in the beginning, but procrastination and other obligations have kept me from making it something huge for the sake of the competition. Depending on how well the game is received, I might just give it the Reflect treatment after all the dust has settled. And despite the frantic development schedule, it's definitely been fun so far - I will be glad to have participated in the first YYG contest, regardless of the outcome (providing I finish, of course). At the very least, it's been fun carving out a game in a genre I haven't yet explored very much.
I'm finally ready to spill the beans on what exactly the game is though, so here goes! The name of the game is Sun Sun Der, and though it's a pretty standard kind of "shmup," I've been using the game Imperishable Night (a "bullet hell" style game) and some friendly advice from Cactus to mold the idea into something (hopefully) more memorable.
Not to overdo anything, I've kept the story for the game relatively simple, to reflect the relatively simple gameplay. This is all subject to change, but basically, you play as Friga, the spirit / guardian of winter. Every winter solstice, the spirits of the sun / summer must leave the earth to make way for the winter spirits to take over. Predictably, this year those spirits have refused to leave, so Friga must fight them and force the winter season to begin. Sure, it sounds a little silly... but I think setting up a serious and involved story for a game where a flying woman with blue hair kills hordes of fireflies would be infinitely worse.
So there you have it. Maybe not a particularly ground-breaking experience, but hopefully a visually pleasant, fun, and somewhat challenging game will await! Enjoy the screenshots above, comment, and thanks for reading!
I've owned four cell phones in my life, and one iPod. 3 of the phones had games on them when they came into my possession, and I bought one game for my iPod. None of these games were fun. Let's face it: games on mobile devices are, by and large, pretty stanky. And despite large companies throwing larger amounts of money into the production of mobile games, I don't see the situation getting any better. Here's why!
The Price is Wrong
When I picked up my latest phone (an LG Chocolate 2), I was sad to find that it came with absolutely no games installed. The most entertaining thing you can do with it directly out of the box is listen to the pre-loaded ring tones or play with the animated dining tip calculator... in other words, there's a void of entertainment that needs filling. So I get on Verizon's website to see what kind of games they offer for download, and what do I find? A bunch of crappy games that I play for free on my PC, but which cost between $6 to $10 on my phone - and that's ignoring the fact that many of these games will not work unless your service is active, and (as I understand it) then they go ahead and use air time (minutes on your plan) while you play. Um... what? I'm sorry, but I'm not going to pay $10 to play yet another version of Tetris, all while using up my precious minutes.
I've Lost Control
Another problem I have with mobile games is that almost across the board, the controls for these games suck. From simple platform games like "Gem Collector" to that crappy version of Tetris I have on my iPod, poor controls seems to be a common thread. I can't place all the blame on the people who worked to make these games however - most of them have come up with very creative solutions to deal with the lack of practical game controls on mobile devices, and the range of devices their games can run on. The issue here is that even though we demand a lot from our mobile devices, there is an effort to keep the physical user interface as simple as possible. The easier my gadgets are to control, the better. The part I hate is that, despite the fact that most of the developers behind this hardware know that games will be played on their devices, they seemingly don't take this into consideration during product design. Sure, my cell phone's got a pretty nice little processor inside, but if all the buttons on the phone are too small for my fingers, or require too much force to press, how am I supposed to enjoy any kind of gaming with it?
Power Hunger
Now here's the real deal-breaker for me: Let's say you've found a game you simply love to play, you've bought it, and you've mastered the controls. Now you're just settling down to get in some quality game time, and your phone / iPod just shuts down right in the middle of everything. "WTF!" you think to yourself. "I've only been playing for a few minutes!" Thus is the way of the mobile game - you're now stuck at the airport, outside the dressing room, or maybe just in the bathroom, with nary a speck of entertainment to be found. You can't call anyone. You can't listen to any music. And you could've sworn that the little worthless piece of junk you're holding in your hands was fully charged just 15 minutes ago. Yes folks, if it's not price or control issues that get you, the lack of sufficient battery hunger will. And while this certainly isn't the case with all mobile devices, as we ask more and more of our gadgets, it will continue to be a growing problem. Battery life is the bane of all things wireless, and she is a harsh mistress indeed.
There are more reasons why I hate mobile games... lack of quality, lack of depth - I could go on. But for now, I think this should suffice. If you really want games on the road, I suggest picking up a Nintendo DS.
There is much ado in the Game Maker community these days, thanks in large part to the recently announced YoYo Games Winter Competition. For those of you who haven't yet heard it, YoYo Games is putting on a game creation contest which runs from now until December 23. The rules are pretty simple, and the game must follow a "winter" theme, in pretty much any way the developer can implement it. Not surprisingly, more than a few people have admitted to making a game centered around Christmas for the competition, and though I have to admit, it was tempting, I've already made a Christmas game, and frankly, I think there is a lot more to winter than the major holidays. We'll see what people can come up with though; I have high hopes that we'll see an explosion of creativity for this comp, from more than just the usual gang.
The title of this article is based on the typical reactions of some of the people who have heard about all this, especially the $1,000 grand prize. GMC, YYG, OMG, WTF indeed.
One thing I am really liking about the Winter Competition however, is that it's given me a little bit more motivation to set aside all the games I've been playing, and re-focus on actually making something. That's not to say that I will definitely be able to carve out my idea entirely by the contest deadline, but I am certainly going to try to - if the result is any good, it will be another fun game to add to the pile at Reflect Games, no matter how it does in the contest.
I don't want to say too much about what I am working on yet, but since I have dropped a few hints here and there to various people, I figured I would talk a little about it.
Basically, I'm using the competition as a springboard of sorts, to propel myself into a game genre that I am not usually very engrossed in. I've been studying a few games of the same genre, and I think that with a little luck, I can put something together that is both visually impressive, and a more old school brand of fun. It seems appropriate anyway, because as much as I love all the new games these days, my gaming roots (as a player, anyway) are in the classic realm of 8-bit and 16-bit gameage. So the game's going to be 2D, and isn't going to be something mind-bendingly complex... just a little more reliant on player skill.
I'm also going to be using the theme of "winter," in a unique back story for my game... again, not something that will be horribly deep, but which will hopefully go beyond just throwing a snowy texture onto the floors in HT3D and calling it a new game. Winter as a theme should go beyond winter as a setting anyway.
Anyway, I'll be working a lot on my game this weekend, and if I feel it's progressed enough, maybe I'll post some teaser screens here when the game's farther along. I might put up some concept artwork I've made too, but for now you'll just have to take all my vagueness and come to your own conclusions.
So the demo for Crysis has been out for about 2 weeks now. If you've been dying to try it out (and see how poorly it runs on that computer you keep telling everyone is "practically new"), download it and have a go. I nabbed the demo via torrent a day or two after it came out, and am only now getting around to talking about it.
"But isn't Crysis a hotly anticipated game?" you ask. "Haven't people been waiting months - nay, years - to try this?" you also ask.
"Indeed," I answer, taking a long, blank look out the window. "But it sucks."
Yup, I said it. I went there. I can feel the shock you harbor. The outrage.
Crysis sucks. If I wanted to spend 5 minutes scoping out a digital enemy base, only to run in and get gunned down by the one dude I couldn't see, I'd re-install Far Cry. As much as EA / Crytek continues to try to persuade you that Crysis is not a sequel to Far Cry, it might as well be. The two are basically the same game, disregarding some incredible graphics and a few lame superpowers. Before I explain myself further (I think you're probably still somewhat aghast), feast your eyes on these screenshots. Even sans interesting gameplay, Crysis does sport some fantastic visuals, and for that, I give the team behind it their due credit.
So now that your eyes have had a brief glimpse of what the future of gaming may hold for them, let's return back to reality, where things aren't always as good as they seem.
To be honest, I was mostly interested in trying out Crysis not because I am genuinely interested in playing the game, but because like so many others, I wanted to see how my machine stacked up against the beastly graphics it contains. To that effect, I came away somewhat impressed. Though the game didn't always run as well as I wanted it to, the graphics are stupendous, even at lower detail settings and resolutions. The foliage is thick and lush, sways gently in the wind, bends away from you as you crawl through it, and generally acts just the way you'd expect it to. The textures were very detailed, down to tiny specks of dust in the road and on the various beaches.
The special effects are also particularly good. Your view is obscured by water droplets as you enter and exit the sea, your armor's cloaking effect looks a little bit more like what I would expect a real cloaking device to look like, and everything is casting shadows down, sometimes with light rays from the sun spilling through. In fact, aside from all the heavily armed mercenaries constantly trying to pepper you with bullets, Crysis is probably about as close as you could get to a virtual tropical getaway. So where does the holiday go sour?
For starters, the gameplay is not new. As you might be able to guess, this is my major gripe from the Crysis demo. I understand that there's only so much one can do to make a game stand out from the rest as far as gameplay goes, especially in such a saturated genre at the FPS genre, but let's get real here; the lack of innovation in commercial games is wearing thin. EA can spend the big bucks and build a team of talented, competent people who can make your computer render an almost photo-realistic exotic island, complete with real-time physics, a vast sound scape, and some of the best digital effects yet seen on computer games. They can take years to make all these things. And yet, despite all this, nobody could come in and deliver a new idea as far as the flow and mechanics of the game are concerned? Not one person?
Secondly (and despite my love and praise for the visuals), pushing the limits of current generation graphics cards is lame. I know that every now and then, the bar must be moved up a notch, and to some extent, I buy into this. But to move the bar up (and subsequently, the hardware requirements) way beyond everything but the most expensive computer is ludicrous. Basically, it boils down to this - Crysis is a game that asks you to update your rig to play it the way it was meant to be played.
12 years ago, I upgraded for Wolfenstein 3D. 2 years after that, I upgraded to play Quake II, and a year or so after that, Half-Life and Quake III. In the next few years I would upgrade my rig to play Morrowind, Grand Theft Auto III, Half-Life 2, and Oblivion. These games were epic, ground-breaking titles. They changed the way games were made, and played. They asked you to upgrade, but promised the satisfaction of an entirely new experience. Crysis offers you Far cry with better graphics. Big frickin' deal.
So to sum up my thoughts on Crysis (based on the demo) - great graphics, cool physics, neat effects, nice sound, mediocre gameplay, and awful system requirements. I hope that the small chunk of game I bit off in the Crysis demo wasn't indicative of what the entire game is like, and if that is the case, I'll happily give it another go when the full product comes out (and happens to fall into my lap somehow). Until then though, I remain impressed and not impressed at the same time. And I hate that.
I'm going to buy it. Well, providing it runs on WinXP (since it's one of those "Games for Windows" things), I'm going to buy it. It'll actually be out quite soon - November 6, last time I checked. Why is this post-worthy, you ask? Because I already own it for my Xbox 360, I answer.
Not really an earth-shattering revelation, I know. But it's noteworthy to me because, aside from a few dozen copies of Tetris, Worms, and various retro games, I don't normally buy games for multiple platforms. Call me frugal, but when a game comes out for two or more systems I happen to own, it's decision time - how much does the game cost on each platform? How does the game play on each system? How does it look and sound? Which version might my friends get?
I'm going to go ahead and go multi-platform with Gears though, because there's going to be a bit of new content coming to the PC version, the editor (providing there is one) will be fun to play around with, and I'm confident that my PC will be able to do the game even better justice than my 360 did, as far as visuals and control go. Slight spoilers ahead as I explain myself here.
If you've played Gears of War, you probably remember the part where, as you and your squad run to get into the fixed "junker," a huge creature (a "Brumak") comes around the corner and chases your ride. Exciting the first time through, but disappointing that it's the only appearance of this creature, and in a non-playable portion of the game at that. Apparently, due to time constraints, Epic just wasn't able to include the chapter continuing this brute... but with the luxury of an extra year to work and of course, the huge pile of cash that Gears for 360 amassed, they've gotten this segment of the game up to snuff, and will be including it in the PC version. Finally - an extended portion of a game coming to the PC!
Another perk to PC gaming is the tinkering. I've spent hours and hours playing around with game editors, like Quake Army Knife, Valve Hammer, and UnrealEd; I'm hoping I can do the same with Gears. I've not read anything about an editor for the upcoming PC release, but considering Epic's past games, I practically expect it. If no Gears editor arrives, it won't necessarily be a deal-breaker for me, but it will be disappointing.
Finally, I've been much more excited about Gears for PC since I got a chance to try out the Unreal 3 demo on my PC (you can read about that here). Granted, my PC ain't no slouch - but when new games that you've seen lots of wild and crazy screenshots of start coming out, and your PC is a few months old, you start to get nervous. After seeing Unreal 3 run at a perfectly silky smooth framerate with all the goodies maxed out, I'm not worried about Gear at all - in fact, I'm quite looking forward to seeing it run on my rig (and on my 22" monitor!).
I'm also anxious to try the game with a mouse and keyboard. Don't get me wrong, I didn't much mind the double thumbstick control on the 360... it actually wasn't too bad, since the pace of the game is slower than your standard action game. Still, I'm a die-hard PC gamer, and as such I will never deny the absolute control a mouse and keyboard combo can provide. I think that this addition to Gears will revive the gameplay a bit for me as well.
And with that, I'm off. I've got a torrent of the Crysis demo downloading (hopefully it's the right one, since there seems to be two floating around...), and a night of gameage to play. Thanks for reading!
Last weekend, I logged onto one of my favorite gaming industry news blogs, Joystiq, and was surprised to see that the demo for the upcoming Unreal Tournament 3 was out for PC. After a few minutes of finding no other place to download than FilePlanet (complete with a 45 minute wait in the queue), I decided I might as well just Torrent it. Since this was already quite late on Saturday night, I slept through the download, and then got up on Sunday morning, ready to play.
Installation was quick, starting the game slightly less quick, but once in, things were nice and fast. For some reason (probably thanks to a poorly running demo of the Unreal Engine 3 powered Roboblitz on my old GeForce 6800 GTS), I was not expecting Unreal Tournament 3 to run very well, even on my newer computer (which packs a GeForce 8800 GTS). Instead, I was treated to a silky smooth frame rate, even with all the details maxed out, running at 1680x1050. I imagine that the game scales back for lower-end systems fairly well, as the Unreal Engine 3 seems as solid an entry as the first two iterations.
Graphically, Unreal Tournament 3 is just what you would expect from a sequel to Unreal Tournament 2004. The few environments included with the demo were packed with detail, and everything looks gritty right down the smallest bit of grass. The weapons have gotten a complete visual overhaul, and each one has an almost absurd amount of detail. When you get a a chance to actually see one of them (I'll get to that in a minute), the characters also look excellent, as did the various environmental effects, like waterfalls, fountains, etc. The engine coats everything with a soft HDR lighting effect, and like Gears of War, the game has a very brownish-rusty look to it. In fact, if you've played Gears of War, you'll almost expect to see Marcus Fenix himself running around with you on the various maps - the artistic influence of Gears of War is very prevalent in the UT3 demo. That's not a bad thing though, since Gears of War is easily one of the most visually stylish games I've ever seen.
The sound, while less notable than the graphics, is typical UT fair. I cannot presently remember if the game had music in it or not; if it did (and I will load up the game again soon to make sure), it was likely the standard techno stuff that you expect to hear behind all the sounds of gunfire and mayhem. And even though I really didn't expect much more than this, some part of me is disappointed... Maybe because of Gears of War's epic orchestral soundtrack, or the lack of more memorable tunes like those heard in the Unreal Tournament 2003 demo, I just get the feeling that more could be done with the series' musical accompaniment. Sound effects are of course, spot-on. Footsteps, explosions, bullets, vehicles, and everything in between sound just as I thought they should, and they often echoed the visual grittiness of the game very well. My only other concern with the sound was the slight repetitiveness of the auto-taunts, but this will be a non-issue in the final game when there is more than one character to play.
The gameplay in Unreal Tournament 3 looks to be a mix of old and new. While playing the demo, every weapon I encountered was from the previous game (UT2004). Every vehicle was as well, except for the huge spidery Matrix thing, and with only a few slight changes to the way most of the old familiars worked. A hover-board was one of the larger "vehicular" additions to the game, which allows players to move around the sometimes enormous battlefields quickly.
Speaking of 'quickly' though, there is something I really need to say about this game: it's too fast. I'm not sure if the speed of the game was intentionally increased or not, but generally when playing online I felt like I had entered one of those twitchy midway games you see at the fair, where you have to shoot targets as quickly and precisely as possible (and mostly you just sit there shooting wildly into empty air). Due to thoughtful weapon placement, nearly every time I spawned I found myself with a flak gun, rocket launcher, or rail gun, but more often than not, it seemed almost impossible to shoot other players with any of these guns. As far as I can tell, in the current build of UT3, the player speeds have been significantly increased over the last version, while the weapons speeds have not. This makes it impossible to score a kill with just about any weapon in the game at medium range and upwards. After a few desperate attempts to rocket people, it was back to the minigun and scoring some lucky kills with ricocheting flak shells. Slightly frustrating.
All in all, I really liked the demo, even if it didn't stray too far from the normal Unreal Tournament formula. I hope that something is done about the weapon speed / player speed issues in a later build (they have time, after all - the game is set to be released on November 19). I'm not sure if I'll be buying yet, but I'll have my eye on it. In any case, thanks for reading, and please post your thoughts on UT3, I'd like to hear them!
So it's been a couple of weeks since the sharp increase in my games to work ratio (Halo 3), and now with the release of Orange Box, there are three new impending threats to further separate me from my productivity. For those of you not "in the know," Orange Box is Valve's continuation of the Half-Life 2 series, which includes Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (with HL2 and Episode 1 if I remember correctly), Portal, and Team Fortress 2. I've already written some kind words about TF2, which is one of my new favorite online games, and from watching all the videos of Portal, I think Orange Box is going to be an awesome purchase. But I'll save all the gushing comments for Valve's latest for another blog - I have a few things I want to talk about related to Game Maker and Reflect Games!
First, I wanted to announce that the second Reflect Games Game-In-A-Month contest is officially underway! I am sorry for announcing this here a week late, but there's still plenty of time for anyone interested to throw their hat into the ring. Game makers are challenged with creating a game in a month which follows a specific theme and control scheme. The games do not have to be finished to be entered, so there isn't a whole heck of a lot of pressure to actually finish... more so, you are encouraged to come up with a good idea, implement it in a fun way, and polish it. The competition is over on October 31, 2007, and there's $20 worth of goods at stake, so get to work!
Secondly, I've finally found the time to work on a little pet project of mine, which if it turns out alright, could be a nice, smallish game to add to the collection. I don't have a whole lot to say about it right now, since the project is still in it's very early stages, but it is a 3D game, and involves driving, and probably traffic. More on all this later though, and maybe a screen soon (if I can pull myself away from my gaming addiction for a few minutes). Of course, I've also got Falcon Squad getting cold on the back burner, as well as an unannounced, unnamed platform game, and a Tycoon-style game all bouncing around in various states... if only we had 36 hour days.
Anyway, that's all for now. I'll try to update a bit more frequently in the future, and if you have anything you'd like to see me write about, leave a comment or drop me PM at GMC or Reflect Games. Thanks for reading!
