UR PLAYING IT WRONG

Deus Ex: Human Revolution and The Importance of Its Fiction

2011-08-31T23:21:00.009-04:00

I'm in the bottom floor of a warehouse. According to my radar there is only one tango on the top floor. I count five on the bottom floor. I have a bigger problem at hand. There are two heavy machine gunners and a robot. I prepare myself accordingly. I equip my crossbow and take aim at the first tango up top. He gets an arrow to the chest. Tango down. I see two targets away from the herd. I run up to them and impale them with my arm blades. I pull the blades out from their guts and swiftly send the blades into their spines for insurance. That's three down.

The computer I need to get access to is being guarded by one tango. I shoot two well placed rounds into the target with my silenced pistol. Four down. I access the computer. Shit, level 4 security. I spend a quick minute to hack the security hub. I breach the computer and activate the turret and robot to terminate enemy targets. Fireworks. I sit and watch as the carnage ensues. I have an evil grin on my face as the remaining tango's were neutralized. Pritchard? Mission accomplished. Where's my exit? My name is Jon Ortiz, but for tonight you can call me Adam Jensen. This is my story

And end scene. Deus Ex: Human Revolution is really a hell of an experience. I could gush about this damn game for hours. I love everything about it. Sure, the boss battles were a bit unbalanced and the AI is stupid, but I don't care about that. The good certainly outweighs the bad here. Deus Ex has this beautiful neo-noir setting straight out of a Jonathan Lethem novel. Then they wrap it in this sharply written story wrought with conspiracy and political intrigue. It's the video game equivalent of Blade Runner. Am I overselling it? Maybe, but that doesn't change that Eidos Montreal has restored my faith for in-game story telling. While the fiction in Deus Ex can be ham-fisted at times, it's executed brilliantly.

The Devil Is In The Details

I have played Deus Ex: HR twice. You have to play the game more than once to see all the things it has to offer. There are multiple ways to complete sidequests, diaries that flesh out the story behind trans-humanism, and computers that contain mini stories that give life to the Detroit of 2027. The game also has three very distinct endings, which is even more reason to come back for more. The first thing that grabbed me in this game was its story. From start to finish you will want to know everything about this world.

The game manages to throw a lot at you at once and the web of secrets becomes larger and larger as the game progresses, so naturally you want to know more. You become a detective without even realizing it. You feel compelled to scour every corner of every level to learn more. You essentially become Adam Jensen. Whether it was by design or not, the story is captivating enough to make you feel this way. The flow and pace of the story is really well-directed, much the way a good movie is. Good direction is usually accompanied by solid writing, which is something this game has in spades. Some of the stilted voice acting hampers the dialogue, but you will still appreciate it.

I really appreciate the amount of detail Eidos Montreal put into the game. I love when a game has a story behind a story. I discussed this on my Bioshock post to great length, but I will reiterate here for good measure: READ EVERYTHING. Deus Ex: HR does a great job of giving the player context to the madness that they see on their journey. You will get a history lesson on the developer of augmentations, the controversy behind human augmentation, and how augmentations has saved millions of lives. We also learn how augmentations spawned an entirely new industry and helped a city ascend to greatness again. The rabbit hole is endless, and that's a beautiful thing.

*POTENTIAL SPOILER ALERT AHEAD.*--This next section will mention no names at all, but I may refer to specific themes that the game touches upon. I may also give some vague details on certain arcs within the game. If you get concerned about any of that, please stop reading. I won't be the dick that ruined a great game for you, otherwise read on.

"More Human Than Human"

What if we could be more than what we are? What if we could cure blindness, deafness, or even neurological disorders? What if we could change the very course of humanity and become demigods? What if? These are the questions that present themselves in Deus Ex: HR. The game challenges players in a way that I have not seen before. It literally puts you in uncomfortable positions to get a response. It's almost as if to ask "How does this make you feel?" The story brings into question corporate tyranny, self-righteousness, one bad for the "greater good", god complexes, greed, selfishness, murder, deceit, love, hate, and regret.

The game has this uncanny ability to feel like a sandbox title, but not actually a sandbox game. What I mean by that is that the game will hold your hand to an extent, and then it will push you over the edge. It will leave you in a moral grey area. What is right and what is wrong? Unlike most dialogue trees in games where they tend to say "this garners one result and this another", Deus Ex: HR says "you have the freedom of choice, whether it's right or wrong is entirely up to you" This is how deep the story gets in this game. You will start to question your decisions. Should I just tow the company line and be a good foot soldier? Or should I dig deeper and find out what's really going on?

The fact that your decisions could affect millions in a seemingly real and tangible way is scary. You have to understand that the game takes place in the near future (2027). They focus on massive pharmaceutical and technology corporations whose only concern is to appease shareholders, which is true even today. We are also making advances in the medical field with prosthetics and stem cell research (although that's much more controversial). When you place the story of Deus Ex:HR into a plausible context like that, that's when you're like "what?"

These companies will go to any length to protect their assets, but when does Adam Jensen draw the line? Better yet, when do you draw the line for him? When you're floating in moral and ethical ambiguity the decision could become tougher, thus the need for information. The best part is realizing that you made the wrong decision. Well, something you feel in your own way was a wrong decision. Can you deal the consequences of your actions or will you just reload your save like a wuss? Live with the consequences my friend, the game demands it.

How Diablo II Taught Me The Way of The Warrior

2011-08-21T13:57:00.001-04:00

I love RPG's. From tabletop RPG's like Magic to the traditional JRPG like Final Fantasy. I just love them. Over time I've grown very fond of the western RPG. That's not to say that I don't like JRPG's. They just haven't evolved in such a way to keep me interested or engaged. My first real experience with a traditional western RPG was actually Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance (both 1 & 2) on the PlayStation 2. I played co-op with a friend and was in love from day one.

This is where Diablo II comes in. I have had friend upon friend say "DUDE! You gotta play Diablo II!" I would then ask them why, and they would spew a lot more hyperbole and I would just move on. I just didn't see the appeal of playing an 11 year old action RPG, especially on a PC. Then one day, a friend just got fed up with my cynicism and made me buy it. That was 2 weeks ago. My thoughts? Everything I've played and been told about games was a lie. Diablo II is a huge deal.

I'm playing way too many titles now (if you've followed this blog since day one...then you know I've always had this issue). I'm playing Borderlands (6th play through on two systems), Dungeon Siege 3, and Dragon Age 2. These are all action RPG's (yes even Borderlands), and I have discovered that these titles have done nothing with the core elements of what make up an action RPG. Is this bad? Not necessarily, it just means that the system is perfect, so why change it?

How these particular aforementioned titles set themselves apart is by usually taking the core elements and adding a couple of unique twists. For instance with Borderlands it's about the weapons, with Dragon Age 2 it's the furious pace of the action (as in not as sluggish as most action RPG titles), and Dungeon Siege 3 is essentially an amped up version of Diablo II across the board.

I'm only about six hours into Diablo II and I can't believe how ahead of its time it was. I mean the game looks hideous, but it is absolutely incredible. It's lo-fi gaming at its finest. I'm putting in DOS prompts for invites for crying out loud. That's almost as sexy as wearing a pair of Nike Cortez. Almost. I'm really impressed at just how much this game's influence has stretched to so many other titles over the last 11 years. Granted, there were titles that were doing this before Diablo II (Might and Magic, Neverwinter Nights, and even Blizzard's own Warcraft), it's just that this was a heavy metal version of all those older titles. It's like Iron Maiden, Testament, and Judas Priest had an orgy and out came Diablo II.

Right now I have a level 12 barbarian purging the whatever land of demons, orcs, witches, and all kinds of other crap. I'm not alone in my quest however. I'm playing with someone who has destroyed the game some 2 or 3 times with multiple character classes. He's "rushing" me through the game now. This means he's got all this cool shit that I don't and he helps me beat the game super fast. I level up really quick ,and then we do some stuff that I don't quite grasp because I had no idea how many people still play this game. This would explain Blizzard taking their sweet time releasing Diablo 3.

They know they could release a polished turd with a few changes and we'll just gobble it up like the adorably gullible morons we are. Of course they won't do that because guys like this will verbally crucify you. The video is fake, but he makes a fantastic point about how ridiculous the "core" fan base can be. I love the game. I haven't played a game on PC since Guild Wars and that was 7 years ago.

While playing Diablo II I begin to remember why I hated to play games on PC. There are always a million commands and shortcuts, it drives me insane. I'm used to it now though and I'm having a lot of fun. My friend uses all this terminology from the Diablo II vernacular that I don't get, but I'm glad I get to see why people enjoy the game so much. Everything that I thought was "innovative" or "groundbreaking" was neither of those things, they were simply enhancements of older mechanics and that's okay.

Diablo II is very influential in terms of the action RPG's that we see today, and I don't really see them deviating from such a successful formula any time soon. Diablo II has turned me from a non-believer in the PC platform to a full blown advocate for it. With so many titles coming to PC, I'm starting to realize that maybe it's time to build a killer machine. Diablo II has effectively shown me the way of the warrior in so many ways.

Returning To Rapture

2011-07-29T08:44:00.009-04:00

I watched that 15 minute gameplay trailer for Bioshock Infinite and immediately repurchased Bioshock. I had to do it. Was Irrational Games really this awesome? How did I forget? I must remedy this now. I feel Irrational Games first foray into into the series is one of the finest pieces of interactive entertainment ever made. It has been four years since I last played Bioshock so I have forgotten how great this game is.

I'm just going to assume that you've played the game because I don't feel I need to tell you what Bioshock is "about". It's something you really need to experience. I would like to focus on my specific experience while replaying the game. The things I missed, the side stories I ignored, and the attention to detail that I somehow overlooked when I played it four years ago (It's still really hard for me to believe that).

The first thing I noticed when I fired up Bioshock was just how visually impressive it was after four years. I was expecting the game to look dated after that amount of time, but I was glad to be proven wrong. This was one of those rare instances where a game has aged gracefully. In the opening sequence the protagonist survives a plane crash in the ocean. This is when we get to see just how stunning the water and lighting effects are.

The visual work was a testament to how determined Irrational Games was to bring out a gorgeous looking game. So dedicated in fact that they actually hired one person to be a water programmer and artist (see: Jesse Johnson). The game apparently runs on a heavily modified version of Unreal 2.5. They did employ some of the earlier advanced technologies from Unreal Engine 3 as well. You'll have to excuse me, but this sort of stuff gets my nerd loins all swollen. I also love the steampunk art style they took, I'm really a sucker for things like that.

When you play Bioshock you are taken away by this world. You become enamored with its rich and dark history. How did such a utopia become hell on Earth? Who was this mad man who had destroyed this once prosperous and flourishing society? I had to know.

After about 20 minutes of getting acclimated to the controls and taking in the world, I started to remember some things from when I first played the game. The great thing about playing it again was that it felt like I was experiencing it for the first time. One thing I do remember is that I never took the time to read any diaries or listen to all the recordings. I ignored most of them, which was such a huge mistake. These journals really play an integral role in the story and background of Rapture.

I only saw the surface of Rapture, but I wasn't seeing it. As pretentious as that may sound, what I'm trying to say is that I saw the sprawling expanses and grandeur of Rapture, but I wasn't paying attention to the real story behind Rapture. Ken Levine did such a phenomenal job with the story and creative direction of Bioshock. I felt like I was ruining the game for myself by skipping all of these seemingly pointless journals. I made a promise this time to scour Rapture for all journals and recordings.

I'm half way through the game so far and I have done just that. It has been a completely different experience for me this time around. I know what I'm actually fighting for. I know how families lives were ruined when their daughters were taken to be experimented on. I know how there is a huge beef between Fontaine and Andrew Ryan. I know the financial ramifications of plasmid experiments and their importance to Rapture. I know how workers were revolting due to unfair treatment. How could I have missed all this?

There are good and bad things that can occur when you revisit titles that you haven't played in a while. They can gravely disappoint you or they can bring on that air of nostalgia. What I mean is that our tastes and gaming habits change as we get older. What we played obsessively four years ago, may not be what we like now. At least that's what I have seen in my personal tastes and habits. I didn't feel that way with Bioshock. Bioshock was a refreshing experience.

When you play Bioshock you really are taken away by this world. You become enamored with its rich and dark history. How did such a Utopia become hell on Earth? Who was this mad man who had destroyed this once prosperous and flourishing society? I had to know. I haven't felt this engaged in a game since Mass Effect 2 and that's saying a lot. I'm not one of these snobs who feels a game can't be good without a solid story in place, however, I feel some developers are just better than others in that respect. Irrational Games has it down to an art form.

I'm really glad I decided to return to Rapture. It really is a wonderful place to visit. Sometimes it's good to be reminded of how great a game is. More often than not we (the gamer collective) are extremely negative and jaded. I'm no different, it's very easy to focus on the things you don't like rather than the things that made us love a game to begin with. If you ever feel that way I encourage you to go back to a game that is special to you, you would be surprised how your perspective may change.

Blast From the Past: "The Operative: No One Lives Forever"

2011-06-21T00:30:00.010-04:00

No One Lives Forever is a spy-genre game franchise that first began in 2000. In both the first game and the sequel, you play Cate Archer, master spy of UNITY – a secret British organization, an organization that feels ripped straight out of a typical 1960's spy movie. As Archer, you are sent on various missions around the world, starting in Morocco. Multiple UNITY agents have been killed as the game begins, so Cate gets a quick promotion and sent on assignment to Morocco. The Morocco mission is long, and exciting. Aside from some of the “gimmick” levels involving skydiving without a parachute and a zero-gravity space station, the Morocco mission is perhaps my favorite, in both the mix of humor and large and spacious level design. You soon realize that H.A.R.M. is involved and the game takes off!

I honestly do not know how innovative the game was at the time, but it's hard to find another game that mixed so many different locales, land, air and sea so perfectly. You get a taste of East and West Germany, the Alps, escape from a sinking boat, scuba dive a shipwreck, *free fall from an airplane*, explore tropical jungles, zero gravity space stations and underground lairs. This game pretty much has it all.

What makes the game so unique is that the game doesn't take itself that seriously although the story is played entirely straight. It is riddled with spy genre jokes and Easter eggs referencing other media both film and television of the 1960s. It is the Derek Flint of spy first-person shooters with a bit of James Bond, The Prisoner, Secret Agent, Avengers (Emma Peel in particular of course) and the camp spy action flick, Modesty Blaise. The music is fantastic, and I really really mean it, retro 1960s lounge and action, with it all adjusting to the situation that Cate is currently in. Quiet and at a slow tempo as Cate investigates and slowly scuttles around the level, quick and fast-paced when Cate is in a predicament like when she's trying to avoid a barrage of bullets.

While primitive compared to today's graphics, has exciting environments to look at. The developers really poured their hearts into the production as the level of attention provided to even the little details is superb.

The levels are designed in such a way that often you can slip right on by the enemy without even firing a shot, so if you want to act like a real spy, here's your chance. Toss a coin to distract a guard, knock them out with a dart or sleeping gas and then search and disarm them. However, if you really want to go in guns blazing, go for it but do expect a lot of resistance. My method in this game was to carefully plan quick short bursts where I take out the enemy (or a small group of enemy) with my silenced weapons, pick them up or “remove” their bodies using a gadget, and move on. It didn't always work, so my AK-47 would often be pulled out to dispose of those H.A.R.M. agents.

The game had a system of skill points which were often awarded for being careful, not callous. A quick way to rack up points is to carefully scour the levels looking for “intelligence items” which include envelopes, folders, and briefcases. Completing various tasks provided you with additional points, which could all be used to increase agility, strength, the time it takes to use gadgets, and so on.

The game was released for PC and was ported to PlayStation 2 in 2002.

I'll be posting an additional review of the sequel soon, but in the meantime, I would suggest reading the PC Gamer article from 2010 entitled, "Why you must replay No One Lives Forever."

I Want To Want The 3DS

2011-04-06T02:23:00.007-04:00

Sexy like a chocolate strawberry

At one point I bought into the Apple-caliber hype machine that Nintendo has built. I spouted off all kinds of things like "I am going to buy this day one." Of course I later realized that I was simply lying to myself. I haven't owned a handheld from Nintendo since the DS "Fat" launch (I later sold the device...six months later). The fact is, I don't really like any of the software offerings on the DS. I never have and I probably never will. Now before you write me off, it really comes down to a matter of preference. I prefer the PSP over the DS, but I now no longer own either.

Nintendo dominates the handheld market in a way Sony can only dream of. I respect everything they do, but as I've aged and matured (sort of), so have my tastes in what I play. When the 3DS launched I got wrapped in what I like to call "Word of Mouth Syndrome". This is when people verbally masturbate to said product at such an absurd level that you can't help but acknowledge it. This is usually on major social networking sites within the first week of the products launch. This can pretty much apply to anything, this isn't exclusive to Nintendo. So now that things have calmed down, let me ask you a valid question: Why should I buy a 3DS? What does it offer me that an iPhone 4 or PSP doesn't(obvious hardware differences aside).

I had the opportunity to play the 3DS and I wasn't impressed. I played Pilot Wings for about 45 minutes before the 3D made me so nauseous I just vomited all over the unit. I wept and was dry heaving for about 20 minutes before I felt comfortable enough to go back to it. That's a total lie, but you understand the point I'm trying to make. I hate 3D.

The 3D functionality means absolutely nothing to me when it comes to whether or not I would purchase the 3DS. I think it's a gimmick that will lose its luster after a while. Some developers will find creative ways to incorporate 3D into their titles, but ultimately who cares about 3D? A very small contingent of early adopters, techies, and fanboys is who. Thankfully you can turn the 3D function off, which essentially makes the selling point of the device.

I played Pilot Wings for about 45 minutes before the 3D made me so nauseous I just vomited all over the system. I wept uncontrollably and was dry heaving for about 20 minutes before I felt comfortable enough to go back to it. That's a total lie, but you understand the point I'm trying to make.

When the 3DS isn't busy ruining peoples lives being the overblown health hazard it is , it also manages to continue to have an antiquated online system in place. It still boggles my mind just how incapable Nintendo is when it comes to streamlining online play. It all seems so cumbersome and clunky, especially when everybody else seems to have a grasp on the concept. Yes, Nintendo will improve their online functionality in the future. They really don't have a choice if they want to remain competitive in that respect. The virtual console and plans for apps is very exciting stuff, it just would have been nice to see these things at launch.

If you hate me right now, that's fine, but the screwed up thing about all of this is that I want a 3DS. I just know how I am. I will buy it, love it for a brief period of time, and never play it again. The 3DS isn't groundbreaking in anyway to me, then again it doesn't really need to be. We know it will sell, that has never been the issue, I just wish Nintendo would assert themselves more as the top dog in the arena.

Simply improving graphics and adding a faddish 3D function doesn't automatically make it the shit. They should go out there with some gusto by improving their shortcomings and solidifying their strengths. It would be nice to see Nintendo rely less on regurgitated first party titles and focus on expanding third party support. Down the road this will inevitably happen, but I'm speaking on the sad batch of launch titles. Nintendo seems like they half-assed this launch because they know they can.

Skating by milking their first party franchises and ignoring the glaring flaws of their horrible Internet function will only take them so far.The handheld market has much more competition now and I feel Nintendo hasn't done enough to my earn my cash. Where is the value in that $250.00? I just can't see it, and maybe that's the problem. I can't understand why people are okay with this. Maybe I'm oblivious to what is so magical about the 3DS and that's why I may never be worthy of owning one.

AGP Episode 22: The X File

2011-03-14T01:29:00.002-04:00

Shows being lost is nothing new to us, so we dust ourselves off and bring you the second rendition of #22. We discuss Killzone 3, our top RPG experiences, not being at PAX East, going to PAX East next year, kick it old school with Resistance 2, why the word gamer is ridiculous, Dead Space 2 DLC, comics that prevent us from playing stuff, and ask why we are still discussing a certain game over a year later. Shit just got real. Right click to and save as to download.
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Changes at AGP

2011-03-12T10:16:00.002-05:00

First of all, thank you. Thank you all for listening to us, for caring enough to spread the love out there about us, and for sticking with us. About a week ago episode 22 was recorded. Then in awesome fashion our equipment had screwed up making half of the recording unusable. I became deeply frustrated with this nonsense. It's happened before and it's insanely frustrating. Trying to salvage a recording is hell on earth and it's highly discouraging.

Sometimes I (not Chad, he has much better patience than I do) lose it and in order to not get burned out I have to take a break. I usually unplug for about 7-10 days, gather myself and come back to it with a fresh head. Now chill out, AGP isn't going anywhere, however for our own sanity, the format is changing.

Given our respective schedules, life, and all that fun shit, we will be moving to a monthly schedule. It's much more manageable and far less stressful for both of us. That being said, this is a good thing. What this means is now we just have on solid stacked episode at the beginning of the month and one solid video at the latter part of the month. This means AGPTV stays intact and you still get your dose of Another Game Podcast. Now we will still be updating the site with posts and rants, so that will remain the same.

We are also making one more addition to the site in the near future. We are partnering up with another game website (which has to remain undisclosed until we fine tune the details, but it's awesome.) to bring you AGP Live. I can't share any details on it yet, but just know it will be quite awesome. Bear with us as we get the details sorted out.

Again, thank you so much for all of your support and understanding guys. We love doing this and you're the reason we keep doing it. While the format may have changed, it's still the same me and the insufferable Chad Tyler Wherry. Episode 22 records tomorrow night and will be released Monday Morning. Thanks again, we love you guys.

Battlefield 3,EA Show How To Properly Build a Hype Machine

2011-03-02T17:30:00.002-05:00

You done? What feelings did that video evoke? This isn't some hokey focus group nonsense, I'm trying to wrap my head around how brilliant the "Fault Line" marketing campaign is. I mean wow. Talk about taking a page from the Hollywood playbook. Let me give you my version of how this works. Viral marketing is nothing new, but how it's executed determines its effectiveness. I'm going to give an example of how this might play out in film.

You have a movie that is highly anticipated and very high budget. In order to build hype for it you initiate an aggressive marketing campaign. A year before release you decide to go with an enigmatic teaser that highlights the finer points of said movie. The audience is spellbound, but they are clueless as to what they are mesmerized by. They just know it was awesome. They want more.

Three months later you extend the same trailer, reveal some more exciting elements, and tie it in with an exclusive song track from a popular music artist. You release a single for free on iTunes and Zune. It's absurdly popular. The hype is now running rampant. They're frothing at the mouth. The rumor mill is spinning. Perfect.

What happens next? You release some photo's of the actors on the set. One of these actor's happens to be very A-List. Fans begin examining the minute details within the photo. People are talking. The hype is beginning reach its precipice.

Five months prior to release a full trailer is made revealing what the movie is and people are loving it. Cover stories at major media outlets and interviews with actors begin.

Three months prior to release the studio creates an episodic series. The web series involves a sub-plot that will see its conclusion in the film. The series is incredibly popular. Forums are teeming with story possibilities. The hype has climaxed in the form of an explosive opening weekend. Mission accomplished.

This is a seriously oversimplified example of how a successful viral campaign may work in film. But the same principles are in effect with EA's brilliant "Fault Line" series. EA knows they have stiff competition and they have also made it perfectly clear that they plan on dethroning Call of Duty. What better way to get the hype machine going than to release an episodic web series that highlights the things we care about?

They had a major cover story on a widely-distributed magazine (Game Informer). GI announced their March Battlefield 3 cover exactly 29 days before the first episode of "Fault Line". So the word of mouth syndrome started early and then EA drops the haymaker with the viral video. Simply brilliant. This now creates more speculation, talk, and rumors. Whatever it is, all that matters is that people are talking about it. Hell, I'm writing a post about it for crying out loud. This is an excellent example of how to do marketing and hype properly.

Let's take a look at how effective the video is. It reveals just enough to leave us craving more. First thing that we notice is just how gorgeous the game is. The things I noticed were things like the stunning HDR lighting effects, the intricate details on the gun, and the frightening sense of realism the game was able to create. All of that in a two minute video. Then they wrap it up with a cliff hanger, which leaves me wanting more. Am I analyzing more than I should? Absolutely. It's just the way my brain works. Stuff like this impresses me. Battlefield 3 has effectively become my most anticipated game of the year. Hey EA, mission accomplished.

Image via EA

[Video] Bulletstorm: Echoes Mode Madness

2011-02-26T11:17:00.000-05:00

We play Bulletstorm Echoes Mode for your amusement and pleasure. It's pretty dope. Enjoy.

AGP Episode 21: Zonestorm Killdick

2011-02-24T05:28:00.000-05:00

In this episode our video guy Drew joins us as we discuss the finer side of the FPS. Things such as shooting people in the crotch and ass. We discover the absurd Bulletstorm, which despite all of its ridiculous dick jokes, is quite unique. A creative ballet of death and bullets if you will. We also discuss the "dead horse" topic of games in cinema with the recent casting decisions made in the Uncharted movie. Then we get nostalgic with Tomb Raider, Ico, and Xenogears. Quite a show.

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[VIDEO] AGPTV--The Demo Reel #1

2011-02-22T12:38:00.005-05:00

After months upon months of nothing new on AGPTV, we finally got our crap together and put something solid together. Expect more videos seeing as we have an actual (awesome) video producer in Drew Brown. Without him none of this would have happened. We will formally introduce Drew at a later date, but right now welcome to our new program, "The Demo Reel". This is where Chad and I play some new demos and give our highly opinionated commentary. I'm really happy with how this turned out and can't wait to do it again. Enjoy.

Late To The Party: Oh Hai! The Room Tribute Game

2011-02-10T10:53:00.000-05:00

I know this is nothing new, but when Chris over at sister site Another Film Podcast told me about this gem I was nearly brought to tears. I don't usually play many flash games. I just had little to no interest in them until now. The geniuses over at flash game and animation site Newgrounds have given us what might just be the greatest flash game ever made: The Room Tribute Game. The game is based on the movie ":The Room". "The Room" has amassed an enormous cult following in the eight years since its release.

The game is a very faithful adaptation to the film in every way. For those who are familiar with the movie, this means we get all the naked Johnny and Lisa we can stand. The game essentially plays out like the movie does. You play as Johnny and go through all of the gut wrenching drama that ultimately is his undoing. I hate to admit it, but I would have gladly paid to play this, it's just that good. Tom Fulp (you know that awesomely tough game Alien Hominid? Yea that guy and the team at Behemoth) and company did an outstanding job. From the art to the music, The Room Tribute should only be described as utterly magical. Check the video to get an idea of just how amazing The Room movie is.

Play it here

AGP Episode 20: The Futility of Resistance?

2011-02-09T03:15:00.000-05:00

Wow. Where do we begin? How about final thoughts on Dead Space 2, Chad loves to hate Test Drive Unlimited 2, Jon loves the grindhouse violence in Dead to Rights: Retribution, an extensive conversation on Sony's NGP, and we answer your awesome questions. We searched for reasons not to listen to this episode and found it was scientifically impossible to do so. Listen now, your ears are beckoning.

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AGP Episode 19: Lost In Space

2011-01-26T02:30:00.002-05:00

Better late than never kids...this episode is all about Dead Space 2. Of course we also discuss the deluge of games coming out first quarter, our Madden NFL playoff simulation, why we won't buy Nintendo 3DS at launch, Dead Space for iPhone, and more. Download immediately, the world demands it.

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Just One More Game: A Magical Obsession

2011-01-17T10:30:00.006-05:00

I love Magic The Gathering. I played the game pretty obsessivley well over 10 years ago, but until I picked up the game on XBLA, I haven't played in a very long time. I understand that the game is a year and a half old, but this game has some serious staying power. With expansion number three coming out recently with three new decks and an expansion of the story mode, my love for this game has resurfaced all over again.

I can't nail exactly why I love Magic other than the fact that it is so damn fun. Well, at least for former seasoned Magic players who apparently refuse to let their childhood go. It's like a game of chess. There is a lot of strategy involved, such as choosing the right decks, knowing when to use the right cards, and realizing the right time to strike. I love how this is a thnking mans game.

Over the last three days I have been playing more of this game than I care to admit. The game just reels you in. I play endlessly so I can earn new cards and reorganize my decks. Bigger. Faster. Stronger. This is what goes through my head. I want to embarrass fools online, but it has been me that has been getting handled.

Although Chad has accepted the fact that he will never be at my skill level, ~~I'm not pleased with a measly true skill of 20~~ I don't like the level 20 cap they have. The game does such an outstanding job of keeping you coming back for more. I'm not sure if the nostalgia factor is what really does it for me or the obsession of collecting all of the cards. I'm sure I'll get over this in the next couple of days, you know, once I've reached my boiling point.

When you hear the next podcast and we have nothing to talk about, it's because of this time suck. So go ahead and mock me, I don't care. I have Planeswalkers to thank for getting me back into the actual card game. I have found that isn't nearly as entertaining as I remember it being. That probably has more to do with having to remember things that the game does for you. Now the card game has been ruined for me. For now, I love this game again. That will change by the end of the week I'm sure.

AGP Episode 18: Heavy Metal

2011-01-08T10:00:00.003-05:00

We're baaaack! After a nice long holiday break, we are back with an episode that is so METAL! We discuss Chad's God of War Trilogy conquest, 3DS melting kids eyeballs, CES 2011, Kinect hatred, more mass affection for Mass Effect 2 DLC Shadow Broker, our obligatory top 5 games of the year, and Jon defends Enslaved. METAL!

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Buzz Kill #2: The Arcade

2010-12-24T10:00:00.000-05:00

In this episode we visit an old stomping ground of ours...the arcade. We discuss how it has more or less become a thing of the past and how much we miss how it used to be. Enjoy.

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iHandy: Infinity Blade

2010-12-22T10:00:00.012-05:00

Welcome to iHandy, where we talk about games on the iOS platform. I figured I would attempt to be clever while being equally perverse in the process. Get it? Good. I'm almost becoming just as vehement a supporter of the app store as John Carmack. His quote from the telegraph speaks volumes.

You don’t have to cut deals with publishers,” he says. “It’s almost completely egalitarian on there. It’s great to see all the small teams that wind up making these breakout hit games for the Apple devices. The fact is; on this platform, we can go ahead deal with fifteen-a-day feedback on there and directly interact with the consumers, make changes and get things out.” John Carmack interview with Telegraph

The Apple app store is the standard for delivering affordable and digestible gaming experiences to the palms of our hands. As of right now, the app store provides an opportunity for developers to deliver their product with minimal cost and potential for maximizing profits. Over the past year we have seen larger publishers and development studios get involved such as Id Software with Rage HD, and now Epic Games with its action RPG title Infinity Blade. It's a unique and visually impressive title that offers quite a bit for a mere $5.99. Infinity Blade is damn near perfect, however, its repetitive nature hinders it in some ways.

First of all, Infinity blade is probably the best looking game on the iPhone. How Chair Entertainment and Epic were able to squeeze so much out of the iPhone is staggering. The thought of Unreal Engine 3 running on a phone seems absurd, but it has been accomplished. The iPhone has grown up. It is no longer reserved only for vegetable chopping samurai's or birds that are angry. This is an indication of great things to come.

In Infinity Blade you are a warrior who ascends a castle to avenge your father's death by the hands of the God King. Your goal is to get strong enough to defeat him. You do this by playing through multiple bloodlines, upgrading weapons, armor, etc. You play through the same castle over and over, hence the repetitive nature of the game. I'm not anal about "story" or "narrative" on a game that's $6.00. The games strength lies in the battles.

After spending 15 minutes with Infinity Blade, you will become acclimated with the controls. The smooth and intuitive touch controls complement the games well designed battle system. When fighting you have the option to block, parry, or dodge attacks. You will use all three throughout a battle as you see fit. To attack, you just slide your fingers up, down, left, or right. You will quickly learn that enemies may repeat certain patterns, so simply repeating a certain tactic won't always work.

Players also have to consider their equipment before battle. I found myself using certain weapons that had a poison effect when it struck, but it had poor power stats. When in between battles I would interchange weapons and armor to gain the tactical advantage. This means observing perks of armor, weapons, and accessories before impulsively purchasing them. I really enjoyed the tactical aspect of the game, something that seems so rare these days. The game isn't some button mashing hack and slash affair. It feels like a thinking man's game.

The only real bummer about the game is that the environment and enemies are the same every time. Chair does manage to compensate for the lack of variety with an engaging and fun battle system. I got over the fact that I was playing the same game over and over again. I wanted to collect as much money as possible to try new weapons and armor.Chair does add some incentive to those who are willing to max out their characters with announcements that new levels, enemies, and multiplayer would be added in the near future. Despite its painful repetition, Infinity Blade is an attractive game with a surprisingly deep battle system that is worth the very affordable price of admission.

Another Game Podcast: Buzz Kill Episode 1

2010-12-15T19:59:00.001-05:00

Welcome to a very special spur of the moment project that our good friend Sean inspired us to do. During our off weeks we will be posting a morsel of a podcast to whet your appetite while waiting for the full podcast. The difference here is we record live at some at a bar, or wherever we decide we want to record, for 15 minutes on one to two topics. We keep it short and very sweet. Plus you get the cool ambiance of the pub. Consider this an early holiday gift. Enjoy.

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Music Credits In Order:

1. Air- "Modular Mix"

2. Blackstar- "Definition"

3. Anamanaguchi- "Rainbow In The Dark"

4. James Zabiela- "Phaser"

AGP Episode 17: Liberi Fatali

2010-12-11T04:22:00.001-05:00

We get lost in the 3rd stage. This episode we have Sean McsPatrick joining us. It is your job to find us as we talk Dead Nation, Warren Spector's defense of Epic Mickey, Kirby Epic Yarn, and Enslaved. We also go deeper into Chad and Sean's odd lust for GT5 despite its flaws, discuss the future of Lara Croft, and answer your delightful questions. There are words for this sort of thing. I'm going with epic to keep the redundancy going.

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Dead Nation…Zombies Are The New Vampires

2010-12-05T21:11:00.002-05:00

Zombies are everywhere. They have invaded our pop culture like the viruses that spawn them. Much like vampires in the last couple of years, zombies are popular in nearly every conceivable medium. From books (Max Brooks World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide, Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, and 28 Days Later), to film (Diary of The Dead, Carrier, 28 Days Later), to television (The Walking Dead), and finally to video games (Left 4 Dead, Dead Nation, and Resident Evil).

Enter Dead Nation, the latest in the seemingly endless trend of zombies, zombies, and more zombies currently available on the PSN. While I may have expressed my disdain for the obligatory zombie DLC in most games on the podcast, I really enjoy Housemarque’s effort to be as unique as possible within the cluttered zombie sub-genre. If Diablo, Baldur’s Gate, and Night of The Living Dead made a baby, it would be called Dead Nation. Yes, it really is that awesome.

Remember Zombie Apocalypse? Unfortunately, Konami’s XBLA and PSN twin stick shooter is forgettable, but fun nonetheless. Think of Dead Nation as a much more fleshed out version of Zombie Apocalypse. Same top-down shooter view with tighter controls, expansive environments, local and online co-op, and cool gruff characters.

Dead Nation goes the traditional “infected zombies” route with their zombies. In this particular situation, story really means nothing. All we really want to do is kill zombies. We’ve read or seen every post-apocalyptic plot line in existence, but Housemarque has given us something else to talk about. Imagine a zombie shoot-em-up with RPG tendencies. You kill zombies, you earn gold, and you upgrade weapons and armor. I just heard a resounding hell yea. Well that’s just what we have here, a zombie version of Diablo. The game gives you all the looting, waves of enemies, and carnage you could desire.

What a concept, let’s take all the things that people loved about the traditional western RPG and put zombies in the mix. You just effortlessly earned $15.00 from me (well 11.99 because I’m a PlayStation Plus member…ZING!). Dead Nation is so much fun. After a three level binge with Chad, he came out of his room and exclaimed “this game is so fun”. The game does offer a solo campaign, but who the hell plays alone these days? It’s all about playing with friends, or more importantly your countrymen.

Allow me to elaborate. Housemarque incorporated a brilliant online system which pits country against country to see who is doing the best at purging the worldwide infection. I can proudly say the good ol’ US of A is holding the top position as we’ve wiped out over 50% of the infected. Canada was overtaken by Finland for the second position by a very small margin last time I checked. Both countries have made a hefty contribution with over 40% of the infected being purged. What a simple yet genius idea. Get the entire world involved as if we actually have been invaded by the undead. All of the stats are streamed live, and I’m a sucker for crap like that.

I could spend this entire paragraph spouting hyperbole, but why bother? You like zombies? Buy it. You like online co-op with friends or strangers? Buy it. You like the idea of zombies with Diablo-like elements? Buy it. The cynic would say this is unoriginal and blah, blah, blah, . The lack of voice chat is a stupid thing not to have at launch, but will be available with an update. That is hardly enough reason not to buy the game. Perhaps some have been spoiled by Microsoft’s sexy party chat, but it really doesn’t hinder the game. Time to save the world from doom. Will you join the fight?

AGP Episode 16: Pole Position

2010-11-28T15:22:00.000-05:00

Danjah ZONE! This episode is all about high-octane action all up in ya grill. We cover Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, Gran Turismo 5, and the delightfully inexpensive iPhone game RAGE HD. We also talk holiday game deals with Black Friday Vs. Cyber Monday and answer your Twitter questions.

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Thoughts On Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit

2010-11-24T14:16:00.004-05:00

Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit really did sneak up on me. I have so much crap on my plate right now that the last thing on my mind was an arcade racer. What I forgot was that this just wasn't another Split Second, Blur, or any other generic arcade racer (Split Second and Blur are both good titles, so chill). This was one of the most beloved franchises from EA that hasn't seen a release since 2002. This was Hot Pursuit.

There are 17 titles within the very prolific NFS franchise, but only one has truly stuck with me. 1998's Hot Pursuit holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first racing games I ever played and I immediately associate it with my childhood. I remember going over to a friends house during the holiday and seeing it for the first time. I was mesmerized. All of this time I've been playing San Francisco Rush on the N64 and there are games like this? Fast-forward 13 years. I pick up on NFS: Hot Pursuit on impulse and here is why I think it is one best games of the year.

I'm approximately 16 hours into Hot Pursuit and I'm only 38% complete. The size and scope of this game is tremendous. It's so difficult to stay on course with this game. I blame that on the Autolog, which is easily the best feature in the game. The Autolog serves as a live update of what you and your friends are doing in the game. Think of it as a Facebook news page, minus all the shit you don't care about.

Here is an example. Eric and I are extremely competitive in this game. Whenever Eric beats my time I'm alerted. So when I come home to find my "wall" plastered with notifications of how Eric kicked my ass on four courses, the last thing I want to do is progress further into the game. I want to crush his times. This is what Hot Pursuit is all about, keeping the player engaged in competition whether they want to or not. You beat a friends time? Awesome. Talk trash and post it on his wall.

Rather than take Blur's flawed Facebook connect approach to show the world how awesome you're doing, Criterion simply created their own symbiotic racing social network. This is the most impressive aspect of this game. You will no longer be plodding through the game going through the motions to simply beat the game and get on with it, no sir, this game wants to hold your attention. It wants to make you better, faster, stronger, and to prevent you from trading the game in after an afternoon play-through.

I could bore you with how the game plays, but I mean it's Criterion. If you've played the Burnout series, then you can pretty much expect the same level of amazing. It is more or less a refined version of Burnout, just as fast and furious. I love it. The online play is very simply laid out. You can do your standard race, pursuit, and interceptor. Interceptor is the most fun and intense play mode. It's one cop vs one racer, limited resources, and complete insanity. It's really all about outwitting your opponent and using your resources wisely. An incredibly fun play mode.

NFS: Hot Pursuit is one of my favorite games of the year. It's fun to play, encourages players to keep playing, an innovative internal "social network" system, streamlined online mode, and did I mention its fun? The game doesn't try too hard. It sticks to what it made it popular in the first place and introduces some new aspects that make Hot Pursuit one of the better racing games in recent memory. Kudos to Criterion for delivering a hell of an experience. Time to hit the open road.

AGP Episode 15: The Kotick Manifesto

2010-11-15T20:27:00.000-05:00

Welcome one and all to the greatest show on Earth. This episode we discuss the pointless used games argument, A2 Games Deadly Premonition, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Kinect, the XBL update, Fallout New Vegas, and the possibility of a pay to play Call of Duty. What if?

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Blast From the Past: Myst (realMyst)

2010-11-12T00:13:00.004-05:00

My next game is different from the other games that I've reviewed. After playing two adrenaline fueled games, it was time for something more low-key and the games on my Android just were not going to cut it. Myst is a game I revisit every few years, and the game itself has evolved since my first steps playing it on my childhood friend Kevin's old Macintosh machine in 1994.

Myst has had two major overhauls, Myst: Masterpiece Edition which was released in May 2000 and realMyst: Interactive 3D Edition which was released later in 2000. The latter is the version I've sat down to play over these past few days. I felt incredibly nostalgic. This game hit the spot.

The original Myst was static pre-rendered stills. The screens were often beautiful, like a painting, or at least what you'd expect a painting to look like on a early 1990s computer screen. The Masterpeice Edition advanced the game's visual look by using 24-bit truecolor instead of the 8-bit color as it was originally rendered, which was quite a change. However, the real deal is with the changes made to realMyst. This game is certainly a huge step up from the previous versions. realMyst uses free-look, real-time 3D graphics instead of photographic stills. There is actual weather now and there is a noticeable change from night to day. The changes are certainly not in any sort of "real time" but it's exciting to just stand around and see how the environment is affected). This was a huge step up and many of the weather effects are still amazing to me, even 10 years and numerous advances in technology later.

So the game is made up of essentially 5 key areas, or Ages as they are called in the game (with one more appearing once the game is compete in the realMyst version). The first is the Myst Island, the island that the player (The Stranger) comes across a book called “Myst.” The island is inhabited by no one. A dock with submerged boat, a mechincal gear, a rocket ship, a small power plant, a wood shed, a clock tower offshore, an observatory and the library. There is a note that will help start the player off by allowing them a look into the previous occupants of the island, and within the library there are two books – red and blue – which feature prominently in the rest of the game. As the player explore the island, they may have no idea what they're supposed to do. Investigate closely. Remember, it's a puzzle game. And beware, if you play the game correctly, you'll be reading a lot.

The rest of the Ages are the Mechanical Age, the Stoneship Age, the Selenitic Age and the Channelwood Age. Perhaps my fondest memories are the playing through the Channelwood Age, which in retrospect is incredibly simple set of switches to get things moving. The most challenging age is perhaps the Stoneship Age, which has a complex and somewhat vague sound puzzle at the beginning, then a complex maze at the end. RealMyst adds an interesting new Age that ties into the sequel, Riven.

Myst was the best selling PC-Game of all time 8-years running. That's certainly a track record to take note of. Some may be surprised to know this. How could this be? How could such a quiet, slow paced game be a best seller? How could a game so frustrating be a best seller? How could this boring game be a best seller? Myst is a puzzle game. It makes you think. It may be boring to some, a point I won't contest. I know the game isn't for everyone. I do like to chuckle a bit and wonder how many of those copies that were sold never even got off the dock, chucking their copy across the room to either smash the floppy disk or throwing the CD like someone playing Ultimate. There is actual movement on a Myst movie. This could prove to be very interesting. Can they do a Journeyman Project film next?

News: Quake 3 Arena for iPad

2010-11-08T23:57:00.001-05:00

As reported on Gizmodo, one can now play Quake III Arena on their iPad. Of course there is a catch as the iPad will have be be Jailbroken first, which is apparently legal now. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to play any game that has "free look" as an integral part without a mouse or some kind of controller.

I'd check it out if I had an iPad, but I absolutely do not. However, in my searching I stumbled across a nice little gem for myself: Quake III can be played on an Android phone. I may just have to investigate further and report on what I find.

Read Chris' Quake III Blast From the Past post.

Weekly Wrap Up: Episode 14, Quake 3, More Horror, AGP Gran Prix, and New Program

2010-10-31T12:31:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween folks, I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable day. Once again, here we are to bring you some of the stuff you may have missed on Another Game Podcast as well as some announcements of upcoming features.

Weekly Wrap up
Episode 14 of Another Game Podcast covers Fallout: New Vegas to a large extent. There is a very distinct post-apocalytptic theme this episode as 4A Games Metro 2033 is covered as well. Check it

Chris takes a look at Quake 3 and its oddly popular maps with massive fan followings on Facebook. Read it here

Chad writes about his obsession with Capcom's beloved franchise, Resident Evil. I, however, don't share the same sentiment.

Upcoming Features

For our loyal listeners looking forward to the AGP Gran Prix this week, we will be putting up a post with the titles we will be playing. For those unfamiliar with the AGP Gran Prix, Eric proposed a challenge to Chad saying he could beat Chad in any racing game.

Chad, who considers himself the God of all racing games, laughed in a mocking manner and said "Let's fucking do this" So every week in November we will have a faceoff between Eric and Chad, while I do the color commentary. We will also have some of our listeners invovled in the fray. The post will be up this week and we need some suggestions for some racing titles. We are looking for two arcade racers and two simulators.

In other site news, we have finally developed our first orginal weekly video series. It will be out every Sunday and we will formally announce all of the details this Wednesday as well as the title. Some really good things on the horizon. Keep your eyes peeled for the final Games of Horror video later this evening.

Blast From the Past: Quake III (1999)

2010-10-28T21:50:00.006-04:00

Quake III Arena is the follow up to the wildly successful Quake and Quake II games.

The game makes a departure from the single-player game play of its predecessors, instead shifting gears and focusing heavily on multi-player gaming so much so that playing the single-player game is simply playing a multi-player campaign against computer controlled bots.

The technology behind the game play was a step up in PC gaming. The id Tech 3 engine was fast, and detailed. Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Star Trek: Voyager Elite Force and Star Trek: Elite Force II are just a few games that used the engine.

While the single-player campaign is fun, killing a bunch of bots over and over again gives me an empty feeling inside after a while. In its heyday, the multi-player mode was a blast, full of thousands of people fragging each other over and over again. Trying your hand at multi-player is just a tinsy bit harder today, since we're 11 years out from its original release date and as you'd expect the number of people playing this in multi-player mode is considerably fewer. Not surprisingly, the default servers did not appear to work. I'm sure I could have configured the game to connect to some server that still hosts the game, but I'll just consider this one dead and let it rest in peace.

My favorite maps of the game come towards the end, with Q3DM16 being my single favorite map of the game. It even has a Facebook fanpage.

If you want to spend a few fun hours in front of the computer, this is a game you should certainly revisit.

AGP Episode 14: The Wasteland

2010-10-23T23:05:00.006-04:00

Hey ladies and gents guess what? Greatness has arrived in the form of this incredible podcast. Chad and Jon discuss 4A's Metro 2033, Sonic The Hedgehog 4, Sonic Adventure, Hating Sonic, Loving Sonic, Wild Arms, and some lame game called Fallout New Vegas. They focus on the beautiful wasteland that is New Vegas...which ain't so new. What are you waiting for? Don't act like you're not impressed.

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Games of Horror: Resident Evil Series

2010-10-23T01:10:00.008-04:00

So It Begins...with Resident Evil 2? Check out Jon's thoughts

Post Written by Chad W.

To see the entire game you have to play through both of their scenarios. This,to my knowledge, is the first game to have two characters with branching paths where one directly affects the other. For example if you leave a gun in a particular part of Leon’s game A, that gun will be there when you boot up Claire’s game B using Leon’s end game save.

When you arrive the entire city has been taken by the undead and it is up to you to survive the horrors. I still remember the first time in the police station when you first encounter a licker creature. The terror that engulfs you when you hit the hall and a cut scene plays and you are introduced to a creature that is walking on the ceiling and has a 5 foot deadly tongue.

It is at that moment when you realize you have very little ammo to put up a fight. The game was much more about picking your battles than shooting up the place. You never had enough ammo for that. The game was also about item management, you could only carry a limited amount of items. What was left you had to dump into magical item boxes peppered throughout the game.

As you progress through the game you start to unravel the story involving the pharmaceutical company Umbrella. Their goal was to create super soldiers, but they inadvertantly end up creating Zombies. They should have read and learned from Captain America.

The main story revolves around William Birkin, a researcher at the underground Umbrella lab.   In Resident Evil 2 a recently mutated William Birkin shows up as a boss creature that gets bigger and more epic at each encounter as the antagonist in the game.   Resident Evil 2 can be played on virtually every platform since the PlayStation, now you can pick it up for 6 bucks off the PSN.

Resident Evil

The first Resident Evil was originally released on the Sega Saturn early in 1996, later that year it was released on the new Playstation system, and that’s when the game took off. The first game puts you into the shoes of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine again both members of STARS investigating deaths in the Arklay Mountains outside of Raccoon City.

This brings you to the Mansion of the Ashford’s where zombies run amok. The games opening sequence is all real time video with live actors following in the wake of Wing Commander, it’s hokie but oh so awesome.

Resident Evil 3

In 1998 Capcom released Resident Evil 3, which for the first time in the series follows a single character, Jill Valentine. It follows her events in the first game, and deals with her escape from Raccoon city after the main zombie outbreak. Like the two previous games RE is using the same tank controls and static camera angles as you play.

Resident Evil 3 featured one consistent boss that follows you throughout the game, the huge overpowering Nemesis creature. In each encounter you have the option to fight or run. Fighting gives you key items, but you could easily die in the process.. The game ends with the destruction of Raccoon city by nuclear explosion. This was also the end of the Umbrella storyline within the city.

Reinventing The Franchise: Code Veronica, Online, 1st Person, and Handhelds

The fourth game flowed to a new system entirely; it found its way to the Dreamcast in the form of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. The game was a true sequel to Resident Evil 2 and probably my second favorite game in the series. The game was the first to feature true 3D backgrounds as opposed to the previous three which had pre-rendered ones. The camera was still fixed, it still used tank controls, but there were two weapons that used a first person layout. I recommend the game to anyone if you can find a copy. It’s available on the Dreamcast, the PS2,or the GameCube.

The Resident Evil series has also featured varying side stories that experiment with various gameplay mechanics. There were 1st person shooters in Resident Evil Dead Aim and the Gun Survivor series. There have been two tries at online specific Resident Evil series in the Outbreak games. Resident Evil has also reared its head on handhelds in Resident Evil Gaiden and Deadly Silence, which had varying degrees of success.

Resident Evil 4: The New Story

In 2005, Capcom reinvented the series yet again with Resident Evil 4. The game follows Leon Kennedy, and in a break from previous games, has no direct story elements dealing with Umbrella. The game features over the shoulder 3rd person shooter style gameplay. Many fans did not like the separation from the main story of Zombies and Umbrella, myself included.

The game was fun but it did not have the same feel of a Resident Evil game. The game play style continued into Resident Evil 5. In this game you play as Chris Redfield who is now an agent with the BSAA. The game features co-op and has story underpinnings that hearken back to the first 3 games in the series.

With all this talk of Resident Evil greatness I’m going to go play some. So I leave you with this quote “you have entered the world of survival horror” so have fun and aim for the head.

In Case You Missed It: NYCC, New Podcast, and Horror Games, Oh My

2010-10-17T13:11:00.001-04:00

Welcome to AGP's weekly wrap up of all the things you may have missed in the last week. It's a nice lazy Sunday, a good time to catch up on some the things we've done in the last week.

Our latest podcast covers New York Comic Con, Dead Space 2, The Lunch, and an accidental feature presented by none other than Eric The Remarkable Douchebag. AGP Episode 13: The Con

It's October and we have our obligatory Halloween feature, Games of Horror: Four Games In Four Weeks. The first two weeks are done and it would be tragic if you missed out. Check out our take on Dead Space and Silent Hill

We finally got around to recording some video for AGPTV. Watch us make jackasses of ourselves here. Good stuff.

Chris, one of our awesome contributors, wrote a killer piece on finally getting around to playing Quake. A must read.

If you missed out on any of our New York Comic Con coverage, you can find it all here

That pretty much covers it. Tons of stuff to listen to, read, and watch. Enjoy

Games of Horror: Silent Hill

2010-10-15T22:55:00.009-04:00

Some would argue that Resident Evil is the Godfather of the survival horror sub-genre. You could definitely make a strong case for that, however, Resident Evil never really terrified me. But it would be foolish of me to ignore it. After all, it is because of Shinji Mikami that we now have so many other great survival horror games to play. There is one game that could be considered the best video game horror franchise period. That honor would go to Silent Hill.

Fresh off the success of 1998’s blockbuster Metal Gear Solid, Konami decided to release a psychological horror title named Silent Hill in 1999. There was nothing like it at the time. “Silent Hill's creators remarked that one of their main goals with the game was to frighten people on an instinctive level, and that's something that, in my mind, they've clearly succeeded at doing.”(Gamespot review Feb. 1999). I love that. The creators wanted to terrify you like no game before it.

Silent Hill is frightening on a very different level. Akira Yamaoka’s haunting soundtrack plays an enormous factor in this. Using ambient industrial music and guttural sounds, the music is a character within itself. When you aren’t being attacked by skinned dogs, demonic midgets or flying aberrations, the music is always there to remind you that you’re never safe. While games like Resident Evil relied heavily on cheap scares, Silent Hill toyed with your head.

The game preys on our fear of the unknown. For instance, Harry Mason is drawn to this town called Silent Hill to find his adopted daughter. Why this town? Why does the town seem abandoned? Why is there a cop in an abandoned town? Why are things getting so weird? What are these creatures? Why does the town turn into Hell at night? These are all the questions to the player and to Harry, and while you may be completely taken aback by what’s occurring, the only way to find out is to go forth.

That’s what makes Silent Hill so…Silent Hill. While playing the game I noticed myself remembering the first time I played it, and how I found myself in positions where I didn’t want to go any further because I was afraid of what was behind the door. What other unknown and shocking surprises could there possibly be? I was afraid, but I had to know. I wanted to be scared because that’s what makes the experience so damn fun.

The game does an excellent job of making you feel conflicted all the time. You’re scared to go any further, yet you have the inexplicable desire to keep going. Silent Hill may have lived in the shadow of the more popular Resident Evil, but manages to create its own legacy in the process. Silent Hill is a hell of a game. You can scoop it up on PSN for a mere $5.99.

AGP Episode 13: The Con

2010-10-13T02:39:00.003-04:00

We were fortunate enough to experience the greatness that was New York Comic Con. This episode is full of amazing. We have Chad's triumphant return, a hefty Dead Space and Dead Space 2 discussion, hands on with Undead Nightmare, Goldeneye, stories from the show floor, Chad's boring yet good racing game, Chad and Eric's AGP Gran Prix, and so much more. One hell of an episode that requires your absolute undivided attention.

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Blast From the Past: Quake (1996)

2010-10-12T09:46:00.002-04:00

I'm new here. Thanks for having me aboard.

It only took me 14 years, but I finally played Quake. It comes to some surprise to me that I had never played the original Quake before, which makes it all the more interesting that Quake II was and still is one of my favorite games. I wasted hundreds of hours of my life playing this game. Did I say wasted? No. Enhanced. Bettered. Some out there may not like the painfully simple first-person shooter video games – the kind where you hit some buttons, switches or levers spread around a map and kill a bunch of bad guys, but hey - they're my action film in video game form.

Taking Wikipedia's word for granted, Quake first reared its head with the first Commander Keen game in 1990. Originally titled The Fight for Justice, it would follow a character named Quake, "the strongest, most dangerous person on the continent." Quake in its final form is an odd mix of fantasy addled middle-ages to futuristic space-age building. It is literally Heretic meets Doom. The clash apparently comes from John Romero wanting to make a fantasy hand-to-hand combat game, while level designers Tim Willits and American McGee wanted a Doom-like game. Or so the story supposedly goes. That would make a lot of sense since the designs seem to really clash that way.

Quake's story, if you can even call it that, is as straightforward as you can get it. You, the player, has gone though some sort of teleportation device, and now must battle your way through 4 “worlds,” capturing a rune at the end of each. That's about it, but hey we're not playing this one for the story. I was slightly shocked at how short the game actually was. Each episode ranged between 6 and 7 maps, not including the secret levels. After each episode has been completed, and the player has all the runes, the final level, "Shub-Niggurath's Pit" opens.

Levels are diverse, but not particularly hard. The longest I spent on a map was roughly 10 and a half minutes, and part of that was because I was disoriented because I didn't bother noticing that the one door I continued to pass was the one that got me out of the level. My favorite maps in the entire game are E3M5 “Wind Tunnels,” a level where the player has to travel through a series of tubes, being being lifted by air or dropped into pools of water and E2M4 “The Ebon Fortress,” which I thought had the best composition of push-button puzzles and a fantastic spread of enemies in the entire game. I'm kind of miffed that I didn't play the secret map for Episode 1, Ziggurat Vertigo, which has low gravity and looked pretty awesome based on the walkthroughs I found. What can I say, I'm a sucker for crazy game physics like that.

After getting the basic hang of the gaming, I played the game on medium. I don't particularly like playing any game on the hardest difficulty possible, mostly because of bad memories of trying to play Doom and Wolfenstein 3D on “I Am Death Incarnate” and generally dying in under a minute into the first level. Not only that, but the simple fact that they even had to hide the most difficult setting from the user is enough for me to avoid it like a Shambler on my last remaining hitpoints.

If you've got an nostalgic itch you need to scratch and have four hours to kill you can probably get through the entire game between lunch and dinner on a given weekend. Does anyone else have memories of playing this game?

NYCC: The Pics

2010-10-12T00:33:00.007-04:00

Now that New York Comic Con has come and gone, we will now be feeding all of our pics on to this player. We still have more to add seeing as the show is absolutely enormous.

Games of Horror: Dead Space.

2010-10-10T19:09:00.015-04:00

Dead Space put you into the shoes of Isaac Clarke, a name that references great science fiction of the past. Mainly the writers Isaac Asimov and Author C. Clarke. Everything in this game has a deeper meaning, for instance, Ishimura means Stone Village.

In 2007 EA studios was a company that iterated non-stop on its key franchises to make money. It was not what you would call an innovative company by any means. EA printed money off Madden and The Sims. In September 2007 EA Redwood Shores announced Dead Space a Sci-Fi Horror 3^rd person shooter for the 360 and the PS3.

Isaac Clarke, an engineer from the USG Kellion, is dispatched to investigate the sudden distress signal of the planet cracker ship the USG Ishimura. The Game starts with the fly in and eventually crashes aboard the Ishimura, which leaves our hero and two others to find a way off and home.

The game is claustrophobic as you investigate the ship. Eventually you encounter the games main protagonist, the necromorphs. This is an enemy that jumps out at you at every turn and always when you do not expect them too, and can't be killed by conventional means. You must tear them apart, limbs, heads, legs, tear them in half. To do this you us your arsenal, which consists of basic mining tools.

The game breaths atmosphere, you are fully engaged in the game at all times. Dead Space includes no HUD at all; all necessary information is included on Isaac himself or on his weapons. The games non-playable characters communicate with you through holographic projections that play in front of Isaac and do not interrupt the game. As is you can be killed watching a cut scene, or checking your health. It makes for an environment where you are always on guard. I have not been this on edge since the first Resident Evil game.

This game is a survival horror game in its truest sense. The ammo is scarce; you are surprised and terrified around every corner. Dead Space has become the measuring stick against which all other survival horror games should be measured going forward.

NYCC: Hands-On With Dead Space 2

2010-10-08T22:13:00.014-04:00

I don’t even know where to begin with this. It took me about 45 minutes of solid wait time to get hands-on with the title. They came in droves out of nowhere thirsting for some play time. Of course, I’m not complaining (I totally am) no other booth with the exception of maybe the Starcraft tourney was seeing nearly as much action. I bitched, I moaned, I sighed, and then I smiled.

A booth employee directed me to a claustrophobic space in front of a shwank Samsung LCD, fitted me with equally sexy headphones ,and simply said “enjoy”. You bet your ass I’m going to enjoy. I start the game (PS3 version because its apparently sexier?) and it all comes back to me. The controls feel familiar, secondary fire, stasis, d pad for weapon switch, etc. As I’m becoming acclimated to the controls, it hits me. The game is bigger, better, and stronger.

The environments are noticeably diverse, there is more detail on Isaac’s suit, and the world is much more expansive. Well, at least it could be perceived that way. The game looks like it got a significant face lift. I also noticed that the new enemies prove more challenging this time around. These new creatures aren't as simple as one limb, two limb, and doneskie. No, they are much more agile, shoot projectile vomit once they have had their limbs shot off, and will not die easily. The little demonic cherubs were especially terrifying and even more difficult to dispose of. There seems to be a pack mentality with the enemies, which is very eery.

Thankfully, the demo offers unlimited ammo and health so that you can complete it without any headache. I still died a few times, but i eventually got the hang of it. The weapons were more or less the same, you have your pistol, line gun, etc. However, the javelin is a fascinating weapon. You essentially impale enemies from across a room and pin them to the wall. This is very awesome and very satisfying to watch.

There was also a pseudo-boss battle. Similar to the first game, a gigantic beast follows you while you shoot certain key points to get it off your back. The demo was generous in length, it toook me about 40 minutes to complete. More the enough time whet my appetite with this teasing demo. Is it January yet?

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Games of Horror: Dead Space

NYCC: Hands On With Red Dead DLC Undead Nightmare

2010-10-08T21:43:00.003-04:00

It only took me 5 minutes on the exhibition floor to make a b line to the first hands on experience of the weekend. I got to take the new Red Dead Redemption DLC, Undead Nightmare for a spin. In this run through you step back into the shoes of John Marston and you stand on the edge of a cemetery on a quintessential dark and stormy night.

Cemetery's are the new gang hideouts and zombies are the new bandits that you need to clear out. I started out with two pistols, double barrel shotgun, and the new blunderbuss, which ends up being my saving grace in this level. Also a torch, which is exactly what it sounds like.

Your mission is to burn the several coffins that are spread out amongst the graves. As you do that, a bunch of the undead begin to harass the crap out of you. Head shots are the only way to take these guys down. I was automatically on the defensive the entire time. Constantly running through the graveyard, zig zagging through graves, and taking pot shots at zombies that were relentlessly pursuing me.

This DLC is great and one that I WILL buy once it becomes available. There is just something about zombies and DLC's....

Games of Horror: Four Games In Four Weeks

2010-10-07T03:32:00.012-04:00

October is one of my favorite times of the year. I love the fall weather, great seasonal brews, good food, and of course there is Halloween. Every Friday for the rest of October we will be putting up a post and video describing some of the games that effected us the most. We had a huge list of potential games (13 to be exact), but we managed to cut it down to four games that genuinely terrified us. In Week 1 we will cover Visceral Games Dead Space. A master of atmosphere and mood, Dead Space would make John Carpenter quite proud. Post will be up this Friday with Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and Siren Blood Curse to follow. Trick or treat yo.

Week 1

Dead Space

Week 2
Silent Hill

AGP @ New York Comic Con 2010

2010-10-07T01:27:00.001-04:00

The time has finally come for New York Comic Con. There is now a dedicated page to all things New York Comic Con on the sidebar. AGP will be podcasting live from New York City in a seedy Manhattan hotel room. We will also be bringing you some hands-on impressions of several games on the floor, liveblogs of specific panels, and of course an AGPTV video wrap up on Sunday. Be sure to keep tabs on our twitter and Facebook page for all updates and shenanigans.

AGP @ NYCC 2010 Page

AGP Episode 12: The M.Night Interlude

2010-09-26T20:45:00.006-04:00

This episode we welcome guest host Eric Colon to the show. We discuss Halo Reach and Halo lore, the exciting plans in store for AGP @ NYCC 2010, Eric's infatuation for the M. Night Shyamalan panel, Sony Move V. Kinect, and more. Thanks for listening.

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AGP Episode 11: We Gotta Go Back

2010-09-12T17:23:00.000-04:00

This episode we discuss Dead Rising Case Zero, the finer points of JRPG's in the classic Wild Arms, going on impulse game buying binges, revisiting Halo with ODST, PlayStation Plus and more. Thanks for listening.

Ending Music Credit: Flying Lotus

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Help Jon find a classic PSOne RPG to play off the PSN

2010-09-11T21:42:00.000-04:00

Pick a PSone RPG that is available off the Playstation Network and post your suggestion here. Jon will buy, and play it. Jon thanks you for your suggestions. Suggest away

It's always OK to massacre the Undead

2010-09-06T20:54:00.002-04:00

Let me begin by saying I love that XBLA is being used like this. Dead Rising Case Zero is a demo and a prologue all at the same time. To my knowledge only one game has used the XBLA like this in the past, that game would be Fable 2 and its pub games XBLA game that you got for free for pre-ordering the game; I hope this trend continues in the future. For me the price at 5 dollars or 400 MS points is perfect, everybody who has even a remote interest in Dead Rising should buy this game.

Dead Rising Case Zero is a prequel to Dead Rising 2 due out September 28^th. Case Zero follows Chuck Greene and his daughter as they arrive in the town of Still Creek, which is outside Las Vegas. The game plays out over 12 hours where Chuck has to find a medicine called Zombrex for his daughter as well as find a way out of Still Water before the military arrives. Along the way Chuck can save survivors, collect money to buy from the local pawn shop, create a myriad of weapons from ordinary items, and of course fight off a legion of the undead.

As in the first game the time limit becomes a burden on the player, the in game time of 12 hours plays out in a real time of about a little over 2 hours, and you definitely feel the pressure to complete everything within the limit. Part of the fun of this game is creating deadly implements of destruction through a system of item combination at workbenches, then turning those weapons against the horde of zombies. The time limit kills this fun; if you veer off the path getting lost in the destruction of the undead you will not complete the game, simple as that.

The most fun I had was when I veered off to just create a ton of mayhem. The game does this well. What the game does not do well is create an atmosphere of the “Zombie apocalypse”. This really comes down to sound design. There is no background music to speak of; every once in a while you hear zombie moans, but it just doesn’t get my blood pumping. My level of anticipation for Dead Rising 2 did not increase with this game, I’m still indifferent on whether I should get it or not.

In Case Zero everything you do will carry over into Dead Rising 2 proper. Chuck is capped at a max level of 5, so it will give you a 5 level head start on DR2. So my final determination is that if you are already going to buy Dead Rising 2 this purchase is a no brainer, however, if you’re on the fence don’t expect this to sway you one way or the other. The price is right for a impulse buy and for what you get, you won’t be disappointed.

Thoughts on PlayStation Plus and Hulu+

2010-09-06T17:50:00.013-04:00

I don't have cable. I hate cable companies with a fiery passion. I have this thought that they are all out to get you, which may not always be the case, but I have had some unfortunate experiences with several large companies. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives to cable. From Netflix to Apple TV, cutting the cord with cable is easier now than ever. I save over $100 a month with my use of both Netflix instant watch and Hulu+. Hulu (plus) was introduced last month on the PlayStation 3, iPhone, iPad, select TV models, and select blu-ray players. I just recently decided to try out both PlayStation Plus and Hulu+. Allow me to give you the good, the bad, and the hideous.

Hulu+

Let me start out by saying that Hulu+ is a great deal at $9.99/month. Totally worth it, that is if you have no cable whatsoever. I get all of my television viewing needs for less than $30 a month between Netflix and Hulu. If you do have cable and you're happy with your service, there is really no point to Hulu+. The major issue that is hindering Hulu+ from being a truly outstanding service is that there are still ads. I'm sorry, I can see the logic in having ads for a free service, but there should be no ads when it comes to paying a monthly premium. I understand the service is still in its beta stages, but if Hulu plans on wooing people into their service I would address this issue immediately.

I'm using Hulu+ on the PS3 and the interface is sexy, easy to navigate, and is relatively fool proof. Most new television shows are in HD (720P) and everything else is streaming in SD (480P). I was watching Lie To Me in HD and it looked fantastic. There is a ton of available content from movies (all old,but decent stuff) to all recent TV shows.   The only real problem I have goes back to the ads. I just think it's absurd to include ads for a service you are paying for, however, I can deal with the ads for the amount of savings I'm getting.

Bottom Line: Hulu+ is an awesome service if you're looking to get rid of cable. If you feel you're getting shafted by your cable company or only watch a select a few shows, Hulu+ is for you. Otherwise, just stick to streaming on your shitty netbook.

PlayStation Plus

<rant>I did it. I subscribed to PlayStation Plus for a year (Technically a year and three months. This makes me feel better about the purchase.) Go ahead and laugh. Are you done? It's okay, I actually mocked this feature a bit on the podcast and now I have it. There really isn't much to say about it other than I downloaded a few sub-par PSN games, some equally mediocre PlayStation One games, and some really cool wallpapers...for $50.

I really could care less about the very sparse PlayStation Plus. I'm really hoping they flesh it out with really off the wall stuff. How they plan on doing this, I have no clue, but the only incentive to purchase PlayStation Plus is Hulu+</rant>

AGP Episode 10---08/28/10 "Guiding Light?"

2010-08-28T01:46:00.003-04:00

Ten episodes of awesome. Chad talks about his odd obsession with the Star Wars Darth Bane book trilogy and Wookiepedia. We share our thoughts on the ballsy action romp Kane and Lynch 2, Lara Croft Guardian of Light and wrap up our thoughts on the games of Summer of Arcade, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Singularity, Fallout 3 relapse, and much more. What are you waiting for? Listen now.

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AGP Episode 9---08/15/10

2010-08-15T23:19:00.000-04:00

In this monstrously huge episode we have a special guest joining the fray...Captain Sean Mcspatrick. We talk Monday Night Combat, more Limbo, Castlevania HD, bargain bin gems Saboteur and Dark Void, and our whole new episode segment called Topic of Discussion. We discuss "How much is too much?" for downloadable games. This episode is stacked so enjoy. Oh and watch out for the money balls. Thanks for listening.

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Another Game Podcast Episode 8

2010-07-31T16:14:00.002-04:00

Episode 8 has arrived fashionably late, but by God is it worth the wait. This episode we discuss Obsidian's spy thriller RPG Alpha Protocol, the great disappointment that is Crackdown 2, Summer of Arcade titles Limbo and Hydro Thunder, go all retro with Metal Gear Solid and Dino Crisis, and discuss some of the happenings at San Diego Comicon 2010. This episode is chock full of amazing.

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AGP Episode 7---07/09/2010

2010-07-09T01:50:00.005-04:00

Welcome to episode 7 of Another Game Podcast. This episode we discuss Transformers War for Cybertron, Puzzle Quest 2, Red Dead Redemption Co-Op DLC "Outlaws Til' The End", Blur V. Split Second, news, and more. Thanks for Listening

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Games I Beat: Split Second

2010-06-28T18:40:00.002-04:00

"Where speed isn't enough" is the games tagline, and while that may sound like a terrible summer movie blockbuster pitch, it actually is pretty accurate. First of all, Split Second is insane. I once described the game to someone as "a game that will give you some notion what its like to go on a drinking binge with Nick Nolte and Gary Busey ,and then going for a joyride with them."

I loved this game. I admit that the concept is really well executed, however, the game quickly becomes a painful jog to the end. It's not your average arcade racer mind you, but blowing the same shit up ten times over gets a bit stagnant after a while. The game does an excellent job reeling the player in with its Bruckheimer/Bay charm, and like I said, the concept is awesome. It's essentially Death Race, but you're using the environment as your weapon.

That's what I really enjoyed about this. Things like blowing up a nuclear reactor and leveling everyone on the track, or using a jumbo jet to clear the field. All of this is great, but the game tends to lose its luster after a while. The actual races are what made the game frustrating.

For instance, say you clear the track and you end up in 1st place. Great, but now you realize you have a lap left with no means to defend yourself. Lame. This challenge of having to avoid one relentless assault after another is fun for two minutes. It gets very annoying very quickly.

Thankfully, they manage to keep things fresh with different modes. There is a survival type mode where an Apache chopper barrages you with missiles. Your job is to survive X amount of time in order to earn a trophy. The longer you survive, the better trophy you get. There are also time trial runs that have you run the gauntlet of enviromental traps, which is loads of fun, but brutally difficult.

So yes, I enjoyed Split Second, but I feel that the lack of being able to defend yourself is a design flaw. There is nothing more annoying than being in first most of the race, only to be taken out last second. Incredibly maddening I tell you. Try to read between my bitching and moaning. Split Second is a solid arcade racer that will have you smiling like an idiot at points, and swearing at your TV in others. Next on the menu...Magic The Gathering Plainswalkers.

AGP Episode 6 06/23/10

2010-06-23T03:13:00.004-04:00

Join us as we discuss, Crackdown 2 demo impressions, E3 afterthoughts, games we missed, XBLA Summer of Arcade games we lust for, and Magic The Gathering relapse

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AGP Super Duper Banzai E3 Extravaganza 2

2010-06-16T02:03:00.003-04:00

Welcome to our second E3 special where we discuss Nintendo's surprising presentation, Sony's Kevin Butler show, and all the games that swooned us. Download. Listen. Enjoy.

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Another Game Podcast Super Duper Banzai E3 Extravaganza

2010-06-15T00:36:00.000-04:00

Welcome to one of three special episodes this week in which we shoot the proverbial shit about E3. Day one had some amazing stuff on hand. Microsoft's presser, EA showed us they like to shoot people, and Ubisoft says light guns are the future. Great stuff indeed. Subscribe to our iTunes and rate us yo. Download. Listen. Enjoy.

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Thoughts on E3: Microsoft Press Conference

2010-06-14T21:05:00.001-04:00

After the Microsoft press conference finished, there were some mixed emotions. The Twittervese was full of both joy and disappointment with the direction MS is headed. The conference came out strong with some awesome triple A titles, Gear of Wa 3, Fable 3, and Metal Gear Solid: Rising. I think where a lot people ran into a problem was the Kinect presentation. Casual sucks I guess...photo via joystiq

I personally found the Kinect presentation to be strong, albeit hokey and gimmicky, but strong nonetheless. There was an obvious emphasis on Kinect, its Microsoft's baby, its new technology, and they want to also appeal to the dreaded casual audience. For some reason, this is a bad thing. Some people expressed disdain for the whole casual direction Microsoft took this year, something that seems completely out of character for the Seattle behemoth.

Their concern is somewhat warranted, the last thing I want to see is the same crap we've seen on the Wii the last three years , except with sexier technology, and a very sexy UI. For some reason there is this notion that MS is abandoning the 'core' user (I hate that buzz word by the way), which is ridiculous. There is no reason to think this, seeing as that accounts for a large amount of their customer base. I feel that they are doing this simply to cash in on the casual cash cow. I mean, why not? This could also be a huge opportunity for Sony to drop some huge bombs, such as some new IP's, but we shall see tomorrow morning.

I still think MS had a solid presser, Sony does a chance to really nail it this year. Hopefully it won't be anything like this. I think a lot of why people were disappointed with the MS presser, was that there were no real surprises. The did showcase there major titles, but we already knew how awesome Gears 3 and Halo Reach were going to be. Seemed to be less focus on games, and more on Kinect. Overall, I enjoyed the press conference. How about that 360 slim design? Sexy like a chocolate strawberry.

Need For Speed Shift Vs. Forza 3: A Retrospective

2010-06-10T23:51:00.007-04:00

Back in the fall I bought Need for Speed Shift the day it was released. I’ll be honest, I loved the game, butsaw it as something to hold me over until Forza 3 came out about a month after. Shift is the 13th game in what has been a long running EA series. I remember having great fun with the first NFS Hot Pursuit on my Playstation One back in the day. The game has gone through many reboots that I felt after the last iteration of the series, it was time to kill the series all together

NFS: Shift is really the first game in the series to use a simulation style gameplay. The game used real world tracks and cars, along with physics to match. When I first played the game I thought it was awesome, but when Forza came out, I quickly moved on to what I thought was a better game. I recently got the ability to play Shift again, and man was I wrong. Shift is a better game that is far more fun for me to play, and more worthy of my time.

There comes a time in Forza, as in every sim racer, where the game just gets ultra easy. A point where you can afford the best cars or mods that stomp the competition, and you’re gone. Within the first lap of any race you’re out front and never to be caught again. At this point the “race” becomes a time trial to the finish line, where you win by half a lap or more. This tipping point happens very early in Forza where the game just becomes a stalk for better lap times. In NFS Shift the transition never happens. The 60+ cars are tiered in such a way that this tipping point does not take place. There is always healthy competition on every difficulty setting. You can get out front, but the 2nd place car is almost always there. Its stalking you, waiting for you to make a mistake, or even goading you into one. This brings me to my next point: the physics.

In Forza you always feel in control of the car, that’s great, but that’s not white knuckle racing, far from it. (I autocross, so I have some notion of what that feels like). In NFS shift you always feel like you’re on the edge of losing control, and sometimes you do. The acceleration, braking, and steering all feel right though. They feel as they should, with each car feeling discernibly different than the other. For example, a rear engine, rear drive Porsche will feel distinctly different than a GTR does, and that's how it should be. It's sort hard to explain, but spot on physics lend to the games realistic feel. You don't want any of the cars to feel like they're riding on rails.

The tracks in both Forza and Shift are accurately modeled. Forza may have Shift beat in shear volume of tracks, but they all feel stagnant and sanitized. The track surface feels flat and smooth with slight grip. Tracks are not like that, tracks have bumps, divots, and drastic elevation changes. NFS Shift models all of this very well, to great d If there is a bump in the braking zone at a particular track, this will unbalance the car in real life,Shift simulates this perfectly. Amazing. Even the AI avoids the bumps.

Do me a favor, if you have Forza, put it in, start a race, and ride around at the back of the pack. What do you see? You see a car ahead of you following the racing lines while doing parade laps waiting to get passed by you. Very rarely does the A.I.deviate from this assigned path. Okay, do the same thing with Shift now, and you will see cars actually racing. What a concept. The AI cars in Shift will jockey for position, blocking you, blocking each other, and passing you. The AI in Shift will make it hard for you to get by, if it’s the last lap of the race and you’re in 2nd, the car ahead will guard the inside line. They will force you out just like an actual driver would. Shift is just plain better; better sound, graphics, and in car camera. All of this makes for a visceral experience. There I said it, NFS Shift is a better game than Forza 3.

Games I Beat 1: Alan Wake

2010-06-03T17:03:00.001-04:00

As promised, I will be documenting all the games that I beat for the rest of the year. I wish I could say I came up with this awesome idea all by myself, but my good friend Pat Butler is the inspiration for all of this. Now let's talk Alan Wake.

It took me a little over a week to beat Alan Wake and for the most part, I loved it. Remedy did an outstanding job creating an absorbing world, great characters, and a surprisingly intelligent script. The game isn't perfect, there were times where some of the fighting became frustrating due to a sloppy camera. This wasn't a constant occurrence thankfully, but it would usually happen at the worst possible time.

Nitpicky nonsense aside, Alan Wake is a hell of an experience (Chad and I go into great detail on this on the latest episode). The game is paced perfectly, and it has a very distinct Stephen King mini series feel to it, for obvious reasons. I really enjoyed the episodic structure of the game, as I've stated before, and feel that if any game can finally nail the episodic dlc its this one.

Alan Wake is all about the player experience. I personally love games like this (I'm rather obsessed with David Cage's Heavy Rain), but I'm finding that once I've beaten them, I never play them again. This is why I think Alan Wake, being as short and digestable as it is, was only a rental for me. Is that a bad thing? No. Some people may feel differently, I'm simply giving my opinion.

First game down, next on the menu, Split Second. FYI, I typed this entire blog on my phone, how awesome is that?

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Another Game Podcast Ep. 5

2010-05-25T03:06:00.000-04:00

Welcome to AGP episode 5, the best show ever. This episode we talk Alan Wake, Red Dead Redemption, Borderlands DLC, co-op game of the show (pretty awesome choice), discuss some news, and the awesomeness that is cheddar chex mix. Let us blow your mind with brilliant stupidity. Thanks for listening.

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Another Game Podcast Episode 4

2010-04-27T21:23:00.000-04:00

Awww snap. The highly anticipated fourth episode of Another Game Podcast has finally been released. Yay. We talk Spllinter Cell Conviction, Yakuza 3, Blur, compulsive gambling, and more. Awesome starts with us.

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Another Game Podcast Episode 3

2010-04-27T21:13:00.000-04:00

In this episode of Another Game Podcast we discuss Battlefield 1943, more Fallout 3 with the Point Lookout DLC, licensed titles we missed, the upcoming XBL update, and more.

Music Intro: Nujabes-Kumoni Outro-Sevish-Consciousness

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Another Game Podcast Episode 2

2010-04-16T17:02:00.001-04:00

It's the first episode of the Another Game Podcast Round Table. Once a month on the round table we discuss some off-topic stuff. While we do dive into some game-related conversation, we find other random stuff to talk about. This week we talk about Michael Mann flicks, Public Enemies, the evolution of the shooter, RPG elements and The Open World shooter, and have an awesome final section where we discuss zombie movies and the "plausible" zombie apocalypse. Random enough for you? Good. Download. Listen. Enoy.

Music: Intro: Dj Krush-No Competiton Outro: Sevish-Consciousness Feedback: anothergamepodcast@gmail.com

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Another Game Podcast Episode 1

2010-04-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the the first official episode of Another Game Podcast. You will notice the quality difference this episode. We were using the good equipment this time around. This week we discuss Ghostbusters, Red Faction Guerrilla, Shin Megami Tensai games, Puzzle Quest Galactrix, Chad's hialrious take on Matt Hazzard:Eat Lead. and go "old school" with Yakuza 2 Download. Listen. Enjoy. Music: Intro: Dj Krush-No Competiton Outro: Sevish-Consciousness Feedback: anothergamepodcast@gmail.com

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