Call of Duty Black Ops: Bonus Round Part 4

Finally part 4 of the bonus round has been uploaded. With the game slightly over a week away, shooter fans have something to get excited about. In this episode the Treyarch team talks about futures they had to cut from the game, and the challenges they went through trying to make a well paced singleplayer campaign, a great co-op zombie experience, and a balanced and fun multiplayer experienced.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/410?ch=4&sd=1

F3AR trailer

A new trailer of the survival-horror shooter sequel is here, while the first F.E.A.R. was fairly successful, the sequel didn't do as well for critics criticized it for having poor story, plenty of cliche "jump scares", and a dull multiplayer. This trailer isn't short of its own jump scares, but here's to hoping that this third iteration will do the second F.E.A.R. justice.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/blood-ties-f-e-a-r-3/706895

Games of November 2010

With November coming tomorrow, also comes a laundry list of big game launches. The big ps3/360 launch titles are Call of Duty Black Ops and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood. As for the Wii, notable titles include Donkey Kong Country Returns, Disney's Epic Mickey, and Goldeneye 007. Along with these games, Xbox 360's new add-on peripheral Kinect will be arriving in a matter of a few days. Check back for more details and coverage.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/games-of-gt-release/706849

Killzone 3 Beta Info and Gameplay

Killzone 2 was a great game with great graphics and a very solid multiplayer. The sad thing was that the multiplayer felt sluggish and the game didn't control well. It is one of those games that rests on the shelf and collects dust, despite being a well produced game. With better controls, we continue to play games like Halo and Call of Duty, but Guerrilla Games studio is about to change all of that. For those that have been very lucky or Playstation Plus Subscribers, they get to play the Killzone 3 beta. Killzone 3 itself will land in shelves next year in February. Check out this video giving you the basic lowdown on Killzone 3 multiplayer. One of my favorites about Killzone was that it had a multiplayer mode in which the objectives changed. One second you will be trying to land as many kills as possible, and another second you will be capturing and defending certain points, and another second you have an assassination target that needs to be eliminated. Yes, Killzone 2 had varied multiplayer, but it unfortunately never controlled well. Hopefully this all changes.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/multiplayer-preview-killzone-3/706879

Gametrailers TV Mortal Kombat

Check out this episode of gametrailers TV for the latest scoop on the Mortal Kombat game. Mortal Kombat was one of the most popular fighting games a long side Street Fighter, the brand known as Mortal Kombat eventually stopped being developed and it's been many years since a new Mortal Kombat has been put into development. This video also involves a quick demonstration at the end that shows how motion capture technology is used to create the "fatalities" that have become so commonplace in Mortal Kombat.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gametrailers-tv/108?ep=108

Gamespot: Now Playing Kinect

Here is a video showing over an hour of footage of Microsoft's new add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360. Microsoft Kinect is a camera that scans you're body, and can play games and navigate the Xbox 360 via body gestures. Dance Central, a dancing rhythm game was the most interesting of the titles shown in this video, however you can see gameplay from games such as Kinect Adventures, Kinectimals, and a Fitness Center game developed by Ubisoft. Personally, I would save that $150 dollars at the moment because their is hardly anything in Kinect's launch lineup that would appeal to a core gamer. Kinect itself seems good at what is does, and the rseponse time is good, but there is no driving force that makes me really want to buy Kinect.

http://www.gamespot.com/shows/now-playing/?event=now_playing_microsoft_kinect20101026

Fallout New Vegas: fixing every bug and glitch

This is so random but this is so funny. I did not write this, this was posted by a gamefaqs/gamespot user named yatola. For reference, Fallout 3 New Vegas was a very buggy game, and concerns have been voiced to Obsideon asking them to fix certain bugs and glitches.

Michael Bay and I are not only the most intelligent minds in Hollywood, but also great programmers. Currently we are more then 80% done working on a new patch to revolutionize the mainstream into buying and playing this game, and to fix everything wrong with it. Check our idea's out

1 - Every single glitch, freeze up, scorpions in the floor, quest characters not being present, will simply turn into an explosion of game-over proportions. You were going to reload your last save anyway, right? Now we can do it for you. These explosions will be epic, constant, and in your face. even when shooting a pistol now, or throwing a knife, there's a 30% chance the enemy will explode. This may lead to you thinking "well I'll just use melee weapons cuz i don't want everything to explode"....however......

1.5 - all melee weapon/unarmed damage will be reduced 85%, all non pyro/explosive weapon damage is reduced by only 30%, but accuracy for all shooting weapons is down 90%. If any character except yourself is wearing a black leather jacket, has prison tattoos, or has his hair gelled back, THEY CANNOT BE SHOT. If they possess all 3 of these characteristics, they cannot be blown up either. You can target them, but the rounds never hit. Also, all pyro/explosive weapon damage is up 250%, and has increased radius of destruction.

2 - 2,200+ characters in the game? They all gotta talk too? We'll fix that, they'll be only 500 ACTUAL characters in the game, and those ones left will only say maybe 20% of their dialogue, which will turn mostly into "What.....I don't know how to show personality...I'm in a michael bay movie....don't make me act...." your goal is to try to get them to man up and FIGHT U, which will be explained later. Macho toughness comes in the form of the other 1,700 characters will turn into ninja zombies, equipped with swords, laser rifles, and eating grenade pins instead of brains. That means if you have grenades on you, they're going to eat the pin off them, so you better throw em quick. They also say witty, Austrian accent battle lines to compensate for the total lack of dialogue, like "YOU WANT SOME OF THIS?!??! COME GET IT....HOUSER!" "WHAT...YOU THINK YOU CAN TAKE ME....HOUSER?!?" "AUSTA LA VISTA...HOUSER!!!" and "...I can't believe it's not butter"

2.5 - Mr Burke returns, except this time he happens to be at every single city you go too, asking you if you want to BLOW IT UP. If you don't carry enough explosives on you to destroy the town, he'll think you're a wuss and BLOWS UP the town with you in it. If you turn him down more then 3 times, he blows YOU UP. if you intentionally avoid him, after your 5th random town/city visit, he will BLOW YOUR PHONE UP. If you avoid towns altogether, after 10 game hours, Mr Burke will BLOW HIMSELF UP, but this causes the game to glitch instantly and you have to restart, (couldn't fix all the bugs, sorry). If you ever tell Burke the dialogue option "...why do you always have to blow something up?" then the PS3/Xbox/PC BLOWS UP Mr Burke now wears a leather jacket, gels his hair back, and has a spider web tat on his neck.

3 - The Casino's gambling is okay....but there isn't enough going on. Now everytime you place a bet, there's a 30% chance you'll offend "the families", and they'll sound out cannibal samurai mutants out to slice you up n' eat you, and throw you in a hole in the desert. The only way to actually kill them, however, is by jumping on a bus and having it go over 50 miles per hour, which loses the mutants but then you'll hear a weird clicking sound, see Sandra Bullock driving the greyhound, Keanu Reeves trying to calm everyone down by saying "DUDES....JUST CHILL...WE'RE NARLY OKAY?!?! WE'RE JUST NARLY!" and hear Dennis Hoppers voice over the radio going "HEY ****FACE!!! WANNA PLAY A GAME?!?!?" Then that red cheeked weird puppet from SAW stands up out of his seat and says "Wow this is so unoriginal, I'm out" and you have to stop him before the bus explodes, or he makes another movie.

4 - the barter/speech skill has been modified greatly. Now instead of being used for intellectual negotiations and making smart decisions, it is now used to be able to provoke anyone into a fight. We put Mother Teresa as an in-game character. With a high enough speech level, you'll be able to ask her "Remember that time we were in Vegas, and I video-taped you drunk off that GHB vodka tonic I gave you, sucking the Devil's **** whiled I was snorting lines of coke off your bible and butt slammin' your sister in the confessional booth with the radio tuned to Marilyn Manson? I don't either, but the tape sold on Ebay pretty well, think after I buy a Lexus and a hooker I'll donate the rest of the profits to Ke$ha" You'll never see an aging pacifist nun pull out an uzi and shoot so fast in your life, we promise.

Fable 3 Review (Xbox 360)

Fable 3 is the latest title of series of games that made a first appearance on the original Xbox console. Despite that creative director of Lionhead studios makes radical and absurd promises about his games, the games turn out quite well-made despite those promises not being fulfilled. Whereas the the last games took place in the Medieval and Renaissance Era (Fable 1 and 2 respectively), this iteration takes place during the industrial revolution, a pleasant site to see for those having played the game before, as Albion has undergone some many changes. You play as a young prince who is descended from the great heroes of Fable 1 and 2. As your brother (who is currently King) starts to show signs of corruption and misguidedness, it's up to you to lead a revolution and overthrow the your brother and ascend to the throne.

This is the age of oppression, and the world "is crying out for a hero". As you try to ascend the throne, you need to make allies and this is made enjoyable by Fable 3's strong cast of characters. Famous actors such as Sean of the Dead's Simon Pegg and Monty Python's John Cleese are involved in the voice work of this game. Being inspired by Monty Python, Fable 3 is a very funny game. You're butler (Jasper) giving funny comments about you're chicken suit to playing a role playing game with a bunch of people robed people for a side quest. Or those blasted gnomes that harass you as you search to shoot them down. This game has great voice work and a great sense of humor (or homour as the English would spell it). Fable 3 has an interesting main storyline you want to see through the end, and some funny and interesting side quests as well. With many other great voice actors, Fable 3 has a world that is memorable for it's charming characters, my favorite which I don't want to spoil but all I will say is that Stefen Fry did a great job.

As Moleneux pointed out in one of the Lionhead development documenteries, the game is moving towards action adventure, but their are still RPG aspects hidden with the game. In addition to the "action adventure feel" the game has been simplified. There are two main parts of the game, one is when you play as a revolutionary overthrowing your brother and making friends and allies, and the other portion of the game is when you play as a king and you make some difficult decisions. All Fable games are about choice, but one of the things about Fable 3 is that their is a bit of a gray zone, and not one choice is clearly good or clearly evil, and this becomes apparent in you're kingly duties. As you'll find out, being the king of Albion is actually much harder than it sounds.

Fable 3 is a world with history behind it, as I have mentioned anyone who has played Fable 1 and 2 will be pleased to see how the land of Albion has underwent its transformation. The graphics in Fable 2 remain only slightly improved, however there was a noticeable improvement to shadow's and lighting, which looks beautiful as you're walking throw the ugly sewers and you see the light reveal you're shadow on the water. We can tell however, that the Xbox 360 is showing it's age and this is also obvious in games like Halo Reach and Gears of War. The graphics though unimproved, don't really detract from the game at all. Fable 3 still retains it's cartoonish like art style, but gone is the character's aging, halo, or devil horns. It used to be that in the older games that you're characters looks reflected his or her morality, but you only see that reflect in a hero's weapon as it drips with blood or glows with light. You do the math on determining what type of character has a glowing sword.

As far as action goes. The game still maintains its 3 button combat, where you use the "X" button for melee attacks and blocking, the "Y" button for shooting you're firearm and aiming, and the "B" button for using and charging up magical abilities. The combat is very simple, and it's fun melee, magic, and ranged attacks together. However the combat doesn't do much to stand out. It's extremely hard to die and you would have to be doing it on purpose or in one of the later segments. I actually got an achievement for not "getting knocked down" on my first playthrough. Fable 3, like Fable 2, should be tougher or at least have a difficulty selection.

Fable 3 underwent a make over in its menu and inventory system. Gone are the cumbersome menu's in exchange for the sanctuary. The sanctuary is basically your "pause button". Every time you hit start, you get transfered to the sanctuary (which is maintained by your butler). In the sanctuary is a map where you can navigate the world and fast travel to certain locations, a weapons room, a clothing room, and a room where you can join random Xbox live games. While many people will not like the ommission of the menu system, I actually prefer it, given the simplicity and the fact that I simply don't like sorting through useless junk. For others however, this new simplified "menu" that is the sanctuary may seem unnecessary.

Fable 3 does have numerous bugs, glitches, and other issues. Sometimes the d-pad won't let you use certain items from your inventory. There was one game breaking bug where I couldn't exit the sanctuary, and reloading my saves didn't solve that problem. In fact you can only have one save file and you're game automatically saves for you. This is extremely annoying especially at the end when you play as a King and the abrupt ending almost hits you in the face and you can't go back. However you only notice this in the city of Bowerstone, because for some reason all of the other territories that were featured in Fable 1 and 2 were oddly omitted. As a result, their are hardly many places to explore. Fable 3 hardly has many environments to explore, and also another issue with the game is that it's very short. Even with a good portion of side quests it should take you a very short time to blow through the main storyline. Sure you can get married or browse the stores, but personally I don't play video games to have virtual marriages. Just saying.

While Fable 3 has an interesting story, great actors, and a great universe, it simply felt unfinished. Numerous bugs and technical flaws hold the game back from greatness and the game suffers from being extremely short. The king portion of the game ended too abruptly and the game there wasn't much added to the overall experience of Fable. Playing Fable 2, I noticed that there were hardly improvements made to Fable 3 besides the flashy new menu system. There weren't any new enemies, so all that leaves is the improvement of co-op. However, Fable 3 still has an interesting world, and it still managed to pull me in, but I felt like the game needed an extra 6 months for fixing bugs and expanding the life of the game.

Fable 3 gets a 7/10, which means its a good game. I loved the universe, i loved the characters, but this game feels unfinished. The story also has a couple of major plot holes that nagged at me in the end, but I can't tell you anything without spoiling it. It's a good game, but the game is untapped in its potential. It is really unfortunate that this game didn't recieve a longer development time, it almost feels that Microsoft tried to rush this game out.

Starcraft 2 Balancing and Custom Maps Blizzcon Interview

Starcraft 2 is one of the best real time strategy games to date, and it has an amazing development team behind it. This game was played competitively in South Korea, and for good reason. It's a game that is balanced, has varied tactics, and it is well structured and organized. Check out this video to see how Blizzard will keep supporting this superb game.



http://www.gametrailers.com/video/blizzcon-10-starcraft-ii/706700

Dragon Age 2 Rise to Power Trailer

Check out the latest trailer on Dragon Age 2, a bioware RPG within a gritty fantasy universe. Dragon Age 2 puts you into the boots of the "Champion of Kirkwall" known as Hawke. The story begins with the fall of the small town Lothering as it decomes overrun with demon-like Darkspawn. This game takes place over a ten years of Hawke's life and his efforts to combat the darkspawn threat. Playing the first Dragon Age, I am very excited for this sequel and it looks like their are making improvements to the combat and fluidity of the action this time around.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITz7j8x8Xik&feature=sub

Fallout: New Vegas Review

I found myself at a crossroads, as I examined my potential allies and enemies. One road is Caesar's Legion, another road is Mr. House, and the last road leads to the NCR. Which path will I take, or will I forge my own path? That is what Fallout New Vegas is all about, as you interact, help, fight, and betray all of the multiple factions and groups within this wasteland. Unlike Fallout 3, the world is rising from the ashes. No longer are small cities and bands of raiders trying to scavenge what they can. New Vegas is post-post apocalyptic setting. And this is perhaps what I personally love about New Vegas. The player can create the future in his own way, and it's the desire to keep moving forward with the story that keeps the player going. Do you want to NCR to reestablish democracy, or do we need the Caesar's Legion to establish a more tyrannical form of government? Or should you help Mr. House, a man who wants spread is power across the Mojave desert? The choice is yours, and the Fallout series has always been a game about choice.

Fallout New Vegas opens when you're character gets shot because he was carrying a very valuable package. A few days later, you are dug up and you set out to find out who shot you and why. That's much of a weak incentive you will get, but as you dig deeper into this mystery that's when things start to get interesting. What was this package that was taken from this courier what does it mean for the rest of the Mojave Wasteland. One can simply look at Fallout New Vegas as a tale of revenge, but that is a very boring way of looking at it. This is not about the couriers personal story, but rather about the big picture. In a way, it's not the character's personal story that pulls you in, it's the worlds story. There are so many tribes that each have their own reason for their own actions, each faction has its own motives. This is not a story, this is an experience. You change the world you choose to change it, you don't follow down a set path. This is the beauty of all Fallout games. The world is you're playground and it has its own unique set of rules.

There are so many things that make you immersed into this world. I don't use the word of immersion lightly, but Fallout games always pull you in its universe. One is the factions, the fact that their is simply an ongoing conflict between multiple factions makes you have to choose how you interact with these factions. There is a reputation system that depicts your standing with all of the factions and groups. The second thing is the improved voice work. While some characters are not spot on, there is so much dialogue and a few interesting characters to boot. Its not that the characters themselves are particularly cool or likable, but every character has their own story and background. They are all at one place or another for a reason. I could go own, with additions like Hardcore mode and the fact that there is so much to do (like gambling!). Fallout New Vegas is one of the most immersive games you'll ever play. But make no mistake, Fallout New Vegas does has it share of problems.

What holds back Fallout New Vegas the most is something that can be avoided fairly easily, bugs and glitches. There are TONS of them, and within the 20 hours I played, I unfortunately had to reload some of my older saves and that is really disappointing. Their are phasing issues, but that is minuscule compared to the quest glitches, and the occasionalcrash that makes you have to start back from a point that's too far for you're liking. So if you're getting this game, SAVE ALOT. The other issue I may highlight is that the game's engine is beginning to show its age. While it allows the player to travel a huge expanse of the wasteland, there are long loading times when entering houses, hitches in frame rate during large battles, and the characters models walk in that same stiff (and awkward) fashion.

While New Vegas seems a little bit unfinished and a little bit dated, this game is still an amazing single player game that anyone who hasn't played any of the Fallout's should play. People who have played Fallout 3 may be a little disappointed to realize that New Vegas doesn't do much to add to the new formula, but if it ain't broke don't fix it. There is already so much to do in New Vegas that the package stands alone beautifully in its own right.

This game gets a 7.5/10, now before you have you're doubts hear me out. My review scores are not like letter grades where a 75% is a C or average. A 7.5 in my book is actually a pretty good game. When I say the game is good....I MEAN IT'S GOOD. Not forgettable. What prevented this game from being great was all of the bugs. But there are oh so many games that can achieve greatness. Games that I rate 9 or above is once or twice a year situation. I recommend that anyone who hasn't played Fallout or really enjoyed Fallout 3 to buy this game. This game has so much content that it cannot warrant a meager rent.

Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm Early Concept Video

As a teaser to what is perhaps going to be a new feature of Starcraft 2, here is a short little clip depicting a dangerous new situation for Starcraft 2 players.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/10/25/starcraft-ii-heart-of-the-swarm-concept-video

Fable 3 co-op video

A new video depicting to the improvements made to Fable 3's co-op. It's not really needed to watch the video but YES there is couch co-op as well as online co-op where you and you're co-op buddy aren't forced to play within direct proximity.

http://www.shackvideo.com/fable-3-live-co-op-trailer-22314

RDR and Reach DLC Trailers

New trailers for upcoming DLC for Red Dead Redemption and Halo Reach have just been uploaded. The first trailer features the new Noble Map Pack for Halo Reach, and the next trailer is over 3 minutes of Undead Nightmare goodness for Red Dead Redemption. Both trailers are extremely well done, interesting, and action packed. One thing to note about Halo Reach is that new ranks will eventually be available for all Halo multiplayer fans to obtain.

Halo Reach:
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/haloreach/video/6282931?tag=topslot;img;1

Undead Nightmare:
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/66165

Bonus Round: CoD Black Ops Part 3

The third part of the bonus round is out. Gametrailers interviews the director, community manager, and game design director of Call of Duty Black Ops. This episode goes behind the design choices of Treyarch as the team explains their key focuses in designing the latest Call of Duty.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/410?ch=3

Gamespot: Now Playing Fable 3

Gamespot presents the first hour of Fable 3. Obviously since this is the first hour, there will be spoilers. Fable 3 is a continuation of a series of action RPG games in which the hero goes on a typical quest to the land of Albion from a certain crisis. All Fable games take in place in different time lines. The first Fable took place in a medieval period, the second fable took place in a Renaissance period, and the last Fable takes place around the start of the industrial revolution.

http://www.gamespot.com/shows/now-playing/?event=now_playing_fable_iii20101022

BlizzCon: Diablo 3 Demon Hunter Class Reveiled

To kick off Blizzard's convention, they have recently unveiled the new Demon Hunter class for Diablo 3. The Demon Hunter is more technologically sophisticated class in comparison to your typical barbarian or monk. She uses grenades, traps, crossbows, and a variety of powerful crossbow bullets. This is the final class to be revealed.

trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/blizzcon-10-diablo-iii/706569

gameplay: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/demon-hunter-diablo-iii/706576

Call of Duty Black Ops Jungle Map

Just a map reveal for those who want to get excited about Black Ops

http://g4tv.com/videos/49177/Call-of-Duty-Black-Ops---Jungle-Multiplayer-Map-Exclusive/

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Overrun Trailer

In addition to around 6 hours of single player content, Undead Nightmare will also feature an online co-op mode called Undead Overrun, which is basically like Call of Duty's Nazi Zombies. In this mode, you have to survive against never ending waves of Undead until you ultimately perish. Fable 3 and this piece of DLC are coming out next week. If you bought Fallout New Vegas, all I am going to say is "good luck" but you are not going to finish that game by the time next week roles around. So much great stuff is coming out and many people won't have the time to finish it all this holiday season. Life is good!

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/undead-overrun-red-dead/706503

Fable 3 - Call to Action trailer

An action packed trailer featuring commentary from the people who helped create Fable 3. This game hypes the game up to epic proportions, FYI Peter Molynuex who is the creative director for Fable 3 hypes his games massively, so if you take everything he says for word for word, you will be disappointed. Nonetheless if you do not succumb to radical expectations, you still should be excited for this game.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/10/20/fable-iii-a-call-to-action-video

More Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Singleplayer

Here is another interview going even into more detail about the Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood singleplayer and how much the game has changed and expanded. Key things to note is that the story mostly takes place in Rome (where as in Assassin's Creed 2 you spent time in Florence, Venice, and the countryside). This can be viewed as good or bad, but Rome is by far one of the most beautiful cities in the world and the Assassin's Creed games had really beautiful environments.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/the-game-assassins-creed/706319

Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary: The Characters

Now we a new developer diary on the characters and voice actors of Fallout: New Vegas. Remember, the game is coming out tomorrow so get excited!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwR94WaEvc&feature=sub

Mortal Kombat Scorpion Trailer

I was too young back then to be permitted to play Mortal Kombat, and I am sure I am not the only one. Now we have a chance to relive to glory days of one of the best fighters in recent memory. For those who don't know, Scorpion and Sub-Zero are the iconic characters of Mortal Kombat. Check out this trailer of Scorpion.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/scorpion-trailer-mortal-kombat/706293

Assassin's Creed 2 Singleplayer Trailer + Overview

This video on Gametrailers.com gives the latest summary on the story of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, which picks up right after Assassin's Creed 2. The reason that it's not called Assassin's Creed 3 is because each Assassin's Creed starts with a new protagonist, whereas this installment reintroduces Ezio Auditore of Florece. I personally like this because Ezio's timeline is very interesting as it's the Renaissance, as is the character of Ezio himself.

Notable and new features include ordering and working with multiple assassins, extra parkour elements, new weapons, and multiplayer.

Trailer: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/single-player-story-assassins-creed/706291
Overview: http://www.gametrailers.com/video/single-player-preview-assassins-creed/706282?type=flv

Kinect will launch w/ 17 titles November

As far as core gamers go, Kinect has a crappy list of launch titles. There is nothing on this list that I saw as appealing. Perhaps the most appealing feature of Kinect is how I can navigate the dashboard with it. That being said, it is $150 (which is 3 times the price a normal Xbox 360 controller is $50, and it comes bundled with a game called Kinect Adventures. I am not going to buy Kinect right off the bat, but I am going to wait for reviews and appealing games that are compatible with Kinect. Hopefully Kinect's control scheme will be used for strategy games, as that is one of the most interesting interesting things I can see happening with Kinect.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6282217.html?tag=latestheadlines%3Btitle%3B1

World of Warcraft Cataclysm Cinamatic Trailer

World of Warcraft is here with a new trailer, I personally don't plan on buying this expansion (even though I bought the previous three). The reason I am doing that is for obvious reasons, WoW demands too much time and if I devote too much time to WoW I develop even less time to other games I can be talking about. This game is a bloggers nightmare, and it can also be any other game journalist's nightmare if they get into it and don't remember about the other games that are coming out. That and I hate grinding for loot and I have been already saddened by the ways they have altered the story for the sake of the MMO.

Generally in MMO's you need an excuse to go to a dungeon and raid a cool boss. They pratically ruined my favorite character, Illidan Stormrage. They're reasoning was that when Illidan returned after getting defeated by Arthas in Northerend, he started to become insane. Insanity is not something that happens after you lose to someone, but apparently Blizzard was looking for a reason to have players kill Illidan. Anyway, WoW is now introducing a new antagonist in its expansion, and that is the badass looking Dragon called Deathwing. Apparently he also connects back to the beginnings of the Warcraft storyline. Here is the cinematic, enjoy!

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/66054

Bonus Round: CoD Black Ops Part 2

Part 2 is now up! This episode features commentaries on the trailers made for black ops by the Treyarch team.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/410?ch=2

Infamous 2: Mechanics Interview

An interview that goes into detail about new environments in Infamous 2, and how Cole has been reformed.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/nycc-10-infamous-2/706275

Fallout: New Vegas Gameplay and Commentary

50 Minutes of Fallout New Vegas gameplay...this video contains commentary and shows the exploration Vault 22 and one of the bases of one of the factions.

http://www.liveatbestbuy.com/fallout

Halo Reach; Making of the "Deliver Hope" Trailer and Gamespots final thoughts

An interesting video on the costumes and pieces they used to create one of the best trailers I have ever seen for a video game. Gamespot also spoke with Marcus Lehto, creative director at Bungie, to get some insight into how the development team brought the gameplay, world, and characters of Halo: Reach to life as well as how the team felt about working on Bungie's last Halo game.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/10/15/halo-reach-behind-the-scenes-of-deliver-hope-live-action
http://www.gamespot.com/special_feature/reach_finalthoughts/image-feature/index.html?image=1

CoD: Black Ops on GTTV

The episode is finally up! Get 21 minutes of the latest and greatest of Call of Duty Black Ops.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/gametrailers-tv/106?ep=106

Fable 3 G4 Interview: The continent of Aurora

I was actually late in realizing this, but apparently Fable 3 also has its story expand into the new continent of Aurora. It will be interesting too see how Aurora will play a role in the story, especially when the hero becomes the new king.

http://g4tv.com/videos/49181/Fable-III-Albion-and-Beyond-Exclusive/?quality=hd#video-49255

An interview about a new shooter coming out next year that will let you kill with style. Learn more about Bulletstorm in this interview!

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/nycc-10-bulletstorm/706181

Call of Duty Black Ops on GTTV

This Thursday night on Spike, GTTV is to be delivering extended coverage on the new Call of Duty game. Anyone who has a remote interest in Black Ops should watch this on Spike or wait until the episode is uploaded on www.gametrailers.com

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-326-gametrailers-tv/705982

Halo Reach: Noble Map Pack announced

Ok now two months is a tad too soon for a map pack...it's almost as if they cut that content from the game. Well whether they did or didn't, it doesn't matter because Halo Reach kicks ass anyway. There is nothing stopping from many people like yourself from buying the new map pack coming this November 30th.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/112/1128027p1.html

Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare

Check out IGN's latest article on the Undead Nightmare DLC for Red Dead Redemption. Unlike the previous DLC installments, Undead Nightmare is a single player add on a few extra multiplayer features. The first two packs, Outlaw's to the End and Liars and Cheats did add some additional content to multiplayer, but it didn't radically change the entire experience. I never bought those two DLC packs, but if anyone is looking for a reason to get back into Red Dead, this is it. I strongly urge everyone to consider this DLC when it comes out October 26.

http://xboxlive.ign.com/articles/112/1127395p1.html

Fallout New Vegas Developer Diary: The Strip

Here is another developer diary talking about one of the most important and interesting areas of Fallout New Vegas. I am actually pretty excited about the Strip because it's where all of the action happens. Like the Imperial City in Oblivion, and actually one of the things I disliked about Fallout 3 didn't have a notable or major area. Megaton was a pretty lame city in Fallout 3, I wouldn't be surprised that some people would choose to blow it up (though I didn't because Megaton was the most useful resource I had).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0u8zCFGZ0o&feature=sub

Medal of Honor Reviews

Two days after Medal of Honor's launch, Medal of Honor has received mixed reviews. I have personally decided I am not going to purchase this game because I don't have enough money. The problem with Medal of Honor is that even though it proves to be a decent game, it won't outsell big budget titles like Call of Duty or Reach if it doesn't immediately surpass them. Battlefield Bad Company had something new to offer in comparison to Modern Warfare. Destructable environments, giant battlefields, and vehicles were what distinguished games like Battlefield to Call of Duty, and that's why I bought that game and I enjoyed its multiplayer much more than I did Modern Warfare 2's. I had hopes for Medal of Honor, but it seems to be the case that it didn't bring much new to the table. Now I know I have hardly any right to speak about this, but I did in fact play the beta, and while I enjoyed it I noticed the same problems that are repeated throughout these reviews. Medal of Honor does not distinguish itself from the competition, it simply gets overshadowed.

http://www.metacritic.com/search/all/Medal+of+Honor/results

IGN Rewind Theatre (COD: Black Ops Singleplayer trailer)

Any Call of Duty fan that wants to know every little detail about the single player may want to go out their way to check this trailer.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2010/10/13/call-of-duty-black-ops-rewind-theater

Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2 Demo Impressions

Force Unleashed 2 is the follow up to a game that has received mixed reviews. Personally I have never played the first Force Unleashed, but I have watched all of the cutscenes on youtube, and I thought that the game had a great story that provided a bridge between Star Wars episode 3 and Star Wars episode 4. Playing the demo, I was already interested in the story about the protagonist Starkiller, and how he *spoiler alert* helped find the rebel alliance in the first game.

The gameplay itself however, is nothing to really write home about. The action is fun, and you feel like a true badass when you combine ridiculous force powers. The games targeting can be a little difficult at times, but there are also little improvements made to the overall gameplay. The only new ability you see in the demo is mind control, but that doesn't really give you as much as a thrill as using the force to throw someone off a ledge. A nice little addition, but that's the only one of few. What I loved about the demo was the awesome but brief free-fall segment and the graphics looked really pretty. The demo takes place on the rainy cloning facility planet of Kamino, and the water reflections and thunderstorms were epic to behold. I couldn't help to draw a connection to the God of War series, after all it's an action adventure game that takes place on a linear path. Unlike RPGs or multiplayer shooters, I can see this game falling under the curse of a "great rental". Meaning that once you play through the 8-10 hour story you pretty much see all the game has to offer. I am not saying that Force Unleashed 2 will be a bad game, but with so many games coming out in the holiday season and a limited budget, there are a lot of people that will likely pass on the Force Unleashed 2. The game doesn't do anything particularly new or amazing, it's just a really solid action adventure game.

Screw Attack: Top 10 Local Multiplayer Games (Console)

A pretty decent list giving out the top 10 games for local multiplayer. While we are now dominated majorly by online gaming and talking/typing to people via the internet, there was a huge appeal with sitting with a bunch of your buddies playing Super Smash Brothers. Check out this video countdown.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/top-10-screwattack/706037

Fable 3 and Borderlands GOTY Edition Trailers

An awesome new trailer that's bound to intrigue people. Fable 3 is an action RPG that lets you (the hero) lead a revolution against your brother, who is the corrupted king of the country of Albion. The next trailer is Borderlands Game of the Year edition which includes all of the four DLC packs previously released for the game. I have played Borderlands, and while I found the story lacking, it was still a really fun game that you could play co-op online with 3 other people. I recommend that anyone who hasn't played Borderlands before to consider picking this one up (especially if they have friends who plan have their eye on this as well).

Fable 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFimcPwvbC4&feature=sub
Borderlands GOTY Edition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44J83itG780&feature=channel

IGN: Duke Nukem Forever is now

While Duke Nukem will never live up the the ridiculous hype, there is still something to be said. I never actually played the first Duke Nukem forever game, and Duke Nukem is arguably one of the greatest video game heroes of all time. Duke Nukem is the Arnold Schwartznegger of video games, no even more than that. If you ever watch gameplay footage of Duke Nukem forever, you will see why this guy is such a big deal. For us "unenlightened" gamers, we will finally be able to experience Duke Nukem.

http://pc.ign.com/articles/112/1127070p1.html

The new perks of New Vegas

Fallout: New Vegas is a post apocalyptic roleplaying game with first person shooter attributes thrown into the list. In addition to leveling up your character, you can get an access to a variety of perks that add a little bit of spice to your character. Gamespot has published an article about the latest perks on Fallout New Vegas.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/falloutnewvegas/news.html?sid=6281442&mode=previews&tag=topslot;img;1

Invisible Walls Podcast Episode 128

Check out the latest invisible walls podcast. Discussions include the Assassin's Creed 2 and Dead Space 2 beta, as well as a discussion what the is the future of multiplayer gaming.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/episode-128-invisible-walls/705875

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer Preview

Now get the latest update on the type of new multiplayer that awaits Assassin's Creed. After seeing this I worry that the multiplayer will be sluggishly executed, but if it's successful than I would be overjoyed to have a great multiplayer game in my game library that is a non-shooter.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/multiplayer-preview-assassins-creed/705876

GTTV Bonus Round: Call of Duty Black Ops

GTTV is having a special Bonus Round episode where they go straight to the developers of Call of Duty Blackops and talk about the design philosophy and the challenges the Treyarch team had to face. A few weeks later, you will see more revealed information and developer commentaries on the trailers. Something to keep you Call of Duty fans busy.

http://www.gametrailers.com/episode/bonusround/410?ch=1

Final Fantasy 13 Versus and Agito Trailer

This trailer showcases some of the gameplay from the 2010 Tokyo gameshow. I absolutely loved the trailer for Final Fantasy 13 Versus. Final Fantasy 13 Versus has been one of the games that went under darkness even though it was announced alongside Final Fantasy 13. Unlike previous Final Fantasy games, Versus is supposed to be more darker and moody than the other Final Fantasy iterations.

Check it out!

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/tgs-10-final-fantasy/705843

Gears of War 2 Multiplayer Interview

As you may have seen in my previous post, Gears of War 3 has been delayed for the sake being the representing force of the Xbox 360 at Holiday 2011. This is actually more like developer diary than a multiplayer interview, but nonetheless it's on gamespot and I recommend you to check it out. Did I mention that yo ucan beat someone to death with their own arm in this game? Yeah, their own arm...awesome!

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/gearsofwar3/video/6281064/?hd=1&tag=topslot;watchlink;1

Killzone 3 Public Beta October 25

Killzone 2 had solid multiplayer, but there wasn't much about it that distinguished it from shooters like Call of Duty. That and Killzone 2 had a control scheme that I could never get used to, and there are those like me that will agree. PS3 owners, get ready to gear up and test out the brand Killzone 3 multiplayer this October!

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1126395p1.html

Force Unleashed 2: Soul of the Force trailer

A solid looking action game. I have never played the first Force Unleashed, but I have watched all of the cutscenes on youtube. This game does have a great storyline. I bet that this will be a very good rental when it comes out the 26th of this October.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/soul-of-the-force/705778

Gears of War 3 Multiplayer Coverage

with Gears of War 3 delayed (ONCE AGAIN!) to Holiday 2011, Epic will be devoting this time to putting up a multiplayer beta. I think this is absolutely what Gears of War 3 needs because both Gears of War 1 and 2 had extremely buggy and unbalanced multiplayer. That, and Gears of War 1 & 2 are complete shotgun fests. This may be fun for some people, but personally I had a gripe with all of the shotguns that were involved. Yes I did suck at Gears of War online, very much. That does not change the fact however, that I am extremely exited about the fact that Gears 3 is having a multiplayer beta. Make sure to check out all of these very interesting articles from Shacknews to get more details. Any Gears fan should check these articles out.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65911
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65912
http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/65913

Fallout: New Vegas and a rant

Check out the latest developer diary on the new factions you will be interacting with in Fallout: New Vegas. Personally I am very excited about this because neither faction is particularly good or evil (as the developer diary highlights).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf-GUhc6Wco&feature=sub

And while I am on this topic I would like to talk about my problem with video games having a moral meter (and why I am excited about the way Fallout: New Vegas is dealing with this pet-peeve I have with most roleplaying games.

One of the main problems with most role-playing games is that there is generally an element of good OR evil, and actually that's a huge pet-peeve I have developed with RPGs recently. In Mass Effect 2 there was a moral system called Paragon/Renegade, but it pretty much parallel's with good and evil. You can either be a nice person, or you can be a dick. Yes there were actions you could do that were neutral on the moral scale, but you needed to raise your paragon score so you could raise you're "charm" level to talk your way out of certain situations. It would eventually serve in the player's best interest to play a Paragon character because you needed that high charm score to avoid otherwise bad situations within the game.

Likewise with Fable 3, I didn't play an evil character because it didn’t serve in my best interest to be evil. Sure you could get a little extra cash from murdering someone, but why don’t I just buy houses and rent them out, and use that rent money to buy even more houses and rent them out? Sure I could have raised the rent and gotten evil points, but the concept of raising rent and getting more money seemed completely defiant of the concept of supply and demand. People don’t raise their rent prices in real life because they’re evil! They do it because it serves in their best interest! People always want something, I liked it when after I escaped the Spire in Fable 2 (after spending 10 in-game years there), that the Temple of Light that I protected earlier expanded its influence and was accompanied by surrounding structures. The Temple of Light that I protected long ago became prosperous, and I get good points, and apparently the temple of shadows was decimated. I went against the Temple of Shadows because they were a bunch of idiots that killed people for no reason; I didn’t do it because I am a good person! Let’s be honest here, why would you fight against the crazy Temple of Shadows? Would you say “because it’s the right thing to do”? I would say I went against the Temple of Shadows because that organization didn’t serve in the best interest of Albion (the country in which Fable takes place). If my decisions in Fable 2 did have an impact in Fable 3, how can I diplomatically engage with other countries if the Temple of Shadows is my central religion? If my religion specifically specializes in sacrificing people for treasure, then other countries would want nothing to do with me. That’s my outlook on the situation anyway, and you may have a different outlook. This is great because that’s what a role-playing game should be meant to accommodate.

This is why games like Fallout and Dragon Age truly represent what a role-playing game is. A game where you get to make the decisions that you would truly make, and not every decision is black and white. Think about it! In games like Grand Theft Auto we still people’s cars because it serves in our best interest. There is seldom punishment for stealing a car in GTA because the likely hood of getting caught and getting 1 star wanted level (which deteriorates fairly easily). In Dragon Age Origins I aim am nice to my companions. Why? Because it serves in my best interest to have my companions on my side. It’s not because I am good or evil, I am choosing the choices that I believe are best suited for each situation.

Some of you may be shocked or mortified by my amoral outlook on how a role-playing game should be, but can people truly judge what is good and what is evil? The Fable games and Mass Effect games do that to some extent. They tell you what is right and what is wrong. In games like Dragon Age only you’re companions tell you what is right and what is wrong. And that’s the truth right there, your companions and the people you react with judge your morality. And if your companions likes you’re morality then you have done a good job having people trust you.

In the end, what I am saying is that the game shouldn’t judge you’re morality, it should just let you make the decisions you want to make. Games shouldn’t give you a black or white choice; they should just simply give you choices. It’s the people in the game world itself that should truly judge your choices and decide whatever you do is good or evil, justice or injustice, right or wrong.

Onlive has no monthly fees

In other (potentially) great bits of news. Onlive now has no subscription fee. For those don't know OnLive is a cloud computing gaming platform: the games are synchronized via the internet through a console. The games themselva rendered, and stored on remote servers.

In layman's terms, you can stream and play video games through the internet. This type of technology can fail miserably if not correctly executed, so here is to hopping that OnLive kicks ass.

http://www.gametrailers.com/news/onlive-loses-monthly-fees/2518

Call of Duty: Black Ops going 3D

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/3d-feature-call-of/705647

This is a huge deal and it helps promote the fact that 3D games will become more common. If big budget games like Call of Duty are pushing this type of technology forward, then it will eventually be sooner or later that we will all be buying 3D televisions. Ok it will be later that we buy 3D televisions. Right now 3D televisions are way too new and expensive, that we just have to wait for all of the rich idiots to buy them first so that producers can sell at a more reasonable price. Love it or hate it, 3D will likely be the next evolution in gaming.

Bungie is going to make an MMO?

That is the first thing I thought when I read this Gamespot interview. Writer-director Joseph Staten of Bungie Studios talks about what he wants to accomplish on the upcoming Bungie-Activision project.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6280864.html?tag=latestheadlines%3Btitle%3B1

Games of October 2010

Here are the games I am presently keeping my eye on. I am also preordering Fallout: New Vegas and Fable 3 for my Xbox 360, but I recommend that anyone visits metacritic to get a basic overview on which of the games are worth buying. While I don't normally play sports games, I have heard a lot of praise for NBA 2k11 and this perhaps might be the sports game of the year.

October Games:

NBA 2K11 - October 5

Medal of Honor - October 12

Fallout: New Vegas - October 19

Vanquish - October 19

Fable – October 26

SIMS 3 (Xbox 360/PS3) – October 26