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Gears of War 2 title update coming later this month
From Mark Rein at Epic Games
First of all I hope all of you had a safe and happy holiday season.
As I mentioned before the break we’ve been working on a major title update for Gears of War 2. This update will address bugs and exploits as well as add some new achievements related to downloadable content. We don’t have an exact date for it but all indicators are it will go live within January. If that changes we’ll let you know.
We’re fixing a whole bunch of online exploits. For example we’ve fixed the ability to wield an invisible shield, melee through some walls, gain infinite Lancer ammo and equip a shield and a two-handed weapon simultaneously plus many more.
We’re also making several small changes to improve the overall online gameplay experience. A few of the ones that might interest you are; increased penalties for quitting matches early, adding additional spawn protection against planted grenades and chainsaw attacks, and adding the ability to see the Submission flag carrier destination by using Tac/Com.
We know you folks love achievements so on the achievement side we’re adding achievement progress numbers to the War Journal, increasing the frequency of in-game Achievement progression notifications and adding some new Achievements for DLC.
This is just a very small list of some of the things that will be in the next title update but one more item which has been talked about a lot in our forums deserves a special call out…
About that shotgun…
We fixed the client side hit detection on the shotgun so that in a high-latency (i.e. “laggy”) match, the shotgun will be more reliable. We’ve also fixed another bug whereby shotgun and boomshot rounds could strike the ground when firing from the hip.
So there’s a brief status report on the next title update. At some point I expect we’ll post a more detailed list but I assure you we’re working hard to get this out the door and once it’s done we’ll start working on the next update. We’ll try to do a better job keeping you informed of our progress on future updates and we’ll try to be a little more active in the forums once this update is released.
Source Epic Games – More information can be found here.
read moreHappy New Year and Our Game Of The Year !!!!!
Ah yes, the obligatory BEST OF 2008 list. It must be New Year’s Eve.
Flakes and I looked back on all the games we’d played this year to see if we could pick a favourite. Last fall we saw one of the busiest release seasons ever. With so many great games it was hard to pick one winner. Flakes and I ultimately couldn’t come to a unanimous verdict.
Here then are our Top 2 Games of the Year. We’ve put up a poll so that you can weigh in and cast your vote. Who got it right: Flakes or Darth
Tehflakes’ GOTY:
Metal Gear Solid 4 – Playstation 3
Released earlier this year, it may not be the “savior” Sony Executives were hoping it would be, but it did help sell some PS3 consoles and did rank well in the sales charts. MGS4 was by far the best game both in the franchise and for the PS3 this year. The controls were “westernized” which added to the overall experience. The game play was very intense and challenging as Snake showed signs of old age. There was a lot of talk regarding the cut scenes, both good and bad. Overall, there were a lot of cut scenes that told the story and wrapped up the story brilliantly. Metal Gear Solid 4 can be summed up by saying you were treated to great game play and a fantastic cinematic experience.
DarthAlbert III’s GOTY:
Fallout 3 – PS3
With its expansive terrain, detailed stats building, in depth leveling system, and unique characters, Fallout 3 plays more like an excellent D&D quest than anything else. You can go (almost) anywhere and do (almost) anything. Want to kill the Sheriff of Megaton? Do it! Want to help survivors? Go for it. Want to extort them and kill them anyway? Up to you. But Fallout 3 is more than making decisions; it’s an epic moral battleground.
I’ve played morality based RPGs before (Knights of the Old Republic is one of my favourite games) but Fallout 3 is the first game that has forced me to question my own morals and stray from the light. In games like KotOR, there are clear distinctions between black and white, good and evil. Also, there’s the knowledge that no matter what path you choose, you’ll still have plenty of money and allies to buy and fight your way out of trouble. Not so in Fallout. When wandering a post apocalyptic world can one afford to lose the credits he or she is offered for performing good deeds? I walk the path of ultimate good (despite my name) in all morality based games. At least, I did before Fallout. Now, stealing a clip of ammo or hacking into a restricted computer could be the difference between life and death for my character. Morals be damned, I’m surviving over here.
Yes, Fallout has great graphics and sound. Yes, Fallout has engrossing environments and unique item systems. Yes, Fallout has an amazingly laid out story with strong characters. Fallout has all these things, but so do other games. Fallout wins for me because it does what every videogame strives to do. It firmly places the player in the shoes of the main character and creates an immersive, unbelievably realistic world where anything can, and will, happen. I just can’t get enough.
read moreMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Thank You!
Scott and I just wanted to say thanks to all our readers and supporters during the first few months of our existence. I look forward to the New Year where we will continue to provide you with gaming reviews that are honest and to the point. We will resume postings in the New Year.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.
Tehflakes aka Ryan and DarthAlbert III aka Scott
3 Games Guaranteed to Entertain/Embarrass Your Family
3. Scene It? Box Office Smash – Break the ice with this fast-paced trivia extravaganza. Hold on to your buzzers because this one is going to get competitive. Scene It? BOS is fast-paced fun that anyone can get into. You don’t have to be a movie buff to play, but it certainly helps. If you have more than four players, form teams of two. Bonus points if you get your bratty cousin to cry because “YOU’RE CHUH-EATING!”
2. Lips – Once everybody is warmed up (and had a glass or two of wine), break out the karaoke. There aren’t many songs included in the game, but it will play your MP3s too. Load up the holiday carols and start a sing-a-long… or, you know… don’t. Whatever. Bonus points if you get through the carols without singing “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells”. Seriously. I hate that frakking song.
1. Rock Band 2 – Time to make the room jump! Okay, so it’s not the newest game. Still, when it comes to group gaming with the family, how can one go wrong with Rock Band? I know it’s not classic rock, but I will be downloading No Doubt’s “The Singles” song pack. For 1600 MS Points, you get 13 of No Doubt’s hits. This one is fun for the whole family, especially after some eggnog. Bonus points if you get Grandpa to sing “One Way or Another” or “You Oughta Know”.
read moreTop 5 Titles That Should Be Played This Holiday Season
Gears of War 2 – With almost 3 million copies sold worldwide. GoW2 has already dropped DLC in the form of the Combustible Map Pack. It costs 800MS points and contains 3 maps: Flood, Gold Rush, and Fuel Station. Need I say more? If I have to summarize in 2 words, they are: Horde Mode.
Fallout 3 – This was one of the most anticipated games of the year and I barely made into Megatron before I stopped playing. I owe it to myself to go back and finish it.
Little Big Planet – This game has been out for awhile and the hardcore level creators are starting to shine. The single player campaign is just fun. LBP is the perfect game to pick up and play in small intervals between holiday events.
Resistance 2 – The first game was a launch title for PS3, so in theory this game should be leaps and bounds better. 60 player multiplayer just sounds cool.
Shaun White Snowboarding – Well the last snowboarding game I played and enjoyed was back in the original PlayStation days. It was the CoolBoarders franchise. I know this game has received mixed reviews and scores on metacritic but I still want to play it!
read moreQuick & Dirty #6 – Tomb Raider Underworld (Xbox 360)
Teh Good
- Puzzles
- Environments
- Lady Laura Croft’s breasts and buttocks look fantastic… and so does the rest of the game
Teh Bad
- Camera Issues
- The “Ask Laura” Tips are not very helpful
- Shooting mechanics aren’t as refined as I would like
Conclusion
As someone who is very new to the Laura Croft franchise I am having a great time so far. The puzzles are very well designed and have never left me stuck for too long. This is a definite “must play” this holiday season for the action/adventure lover in your household.
Call of Duty®: World at War Review
Call of Duty: World at War (aka CoD: WaW) is the follow up to the smash hit Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare developed by Infinity Ward. CoD: WaW is developed by Treyarch Studios who brought you such awful titles like Call of Duty 3. CoD3 was one of the first games I played on my Xbox 360 and, well, let’s just say I didn’t keep the game for very long. With the huge success of Modern Warfare, Treyarch has learned the valuable lessons that made Call of Duty 4 so popular and what provided it with such a long shelf life.
One of the advantages Activision has with its Call of Duty franchise is that it rotates developers each year. Treyarch took full advantage of the Call of Duty 4 engine; the environments are stunning however there wasn’t an improvement over the CoD4 graphics. As soon as I received the flamethrower in the story mode, I caught myself on several different occasions setting grass and trees on fire just because it looked cool. The audio was exceptionally well done and the voiceovers were good. The soundtrack was something I really liked about the game. There’s nothing like playing as American solider and hearing some classic rock in the background to get you pumped up to shoot enemies or blow things up. It didn’t quite work the same for me when I was playing as a Russian Solider.
One of the first things you will notice when you start the single-player campaign is the level of realistic violence. Body parts get dismembered and there is a lot of blood. These visuals should make you realize how violent and bloody WWII actually was. You could be walking through a jungle environment with your flamethrower setting grass and trees on fire and then suddenly have a Japanese Solider come out of a trench and start attacking you. Overall I found the single player campaign very fun. The action was well paced but the campaign wasn’t very long. One of my major concerns lay in the fact I found my character seemed to have a big target on his head and his AI buddies were just along for the ride. I was constantly under siege with grenades. No matter where I was the on the map they found me. My saving grace? There are a ton of checkpoints in each level.
There was a level in Call of Duty 4 called “Death from Above” that put you in control of the guns on an AC-130 Spectre gunship. You played the level from the perspective of a person watching a thermal television. That level was one of the best levels of CoD4 as it put real war into perspective. World at War tried to copy this feat by having you man one of three weapons aboard a plane and rotate from weapon to weapon. When you’re not blowing up U-boats, you are rescuing survivors. I’m not quite sure what Treyarch was going for in terms of mood, but it felt sloppy. Overall, it felt out of place.
The co-op campaign takes a page of out Halo 3 by offering campaign scoring, which is a nice addition, and a new feature called death cards. What are death cards you ask? They are similar to the skulls found in Halo 3. Different death cards can be used to add extra challenges to the game.
The weakest part in the Call of Duty: World at War package is the multiplayer. It feels like they did an export of CoD4 and added World War 2 guns and character models. CoD: WaW didn’t innovate or improve on anything from CoD4’s high ranked multiplayer mode, giving CoD4 players little reason to leave familiar territory for something new.
Conclusion
Call of Duty World at War is a very fun game that tells a very good story about the Pacific Rim. Treyarch vastly improved their performance on this edition of Call of Duty but didn’t do enough to set it apart and make me want to leave Call of Duty 4. The “if it’s not broke don’t fix it” attitude seems to have been applied to this game. I’m not sure it justifies spending $59.99 on this game during a holiday season filled with so many Triple A titles.