Preview: Battlefield Bad Company Demo Impressions

If you can't beat them, blow them up.

So, as you know a little while back I put up my impressions of the Bad Company Multiplayer Beta. My thoughts on the game were mostly positive and felt they only needed to fix a few things. Notably, the balance in the Goldrush mode and a few bugs they needed to clean up.

So, since I already wrote about the Multiplayer I will focus on the single player part of the demo. The mission in the demo is called "Welcome to Bad Company" and it is pretty obvious that it is the first mission in the game. The cutscenes in the game easily have some of the best character models and lighting I have seen in a game. Once you get into the action there isn't a whole lot of hand holding. There are control tips that pop up, but there is no real tutorial and the game realizes that you are probably a at least decently intelligent person.

Now, there is a story here, but in all honesty I just skipped most of the cutscenes to get to the action. The basic gist if the story is that your character would've been sent to prison, but instead was sent to work with the Army's "B-Company" who is a ragtag group of tough guys blah, blah, blah. All you need to know is that a lot of stuff explodes. The game plays very well, although I did have to turn down the sensitivity a bit because at the default I couldn't control my aim very much at all.

Now, the major problem I saw in the demo is that, at times, there is WAY too much going on at one time. The final sequence of the demo is especially chaotic, often leading to times where I had no idea where I was going or where I was being shot from. Thankfully, at no time did the framerate drop during times where I would be taking out buildings with an RPG while bullets flew by me. There is some screen tearing so if that bothers you, just know that it is there.

A quick aside about multiplayer. I only played two games of it but did notice a few new things. It definitely feels more polished than the beta which was expected. They tweaked some of the UI to make it a little easier to use, and it seems like they did go back and balance Goldrush so that the better team was always winning. Now, like I said, this is from only two 30 minute games so impressions may change in the future, but all in all it seems like Bad Company it going to be a solid FPS with really fun multiplayer and plenty of destruction.

by Nicolas Perez

New Look for the Blog

I felt I needed a change, that blue was getting boring. Hope you like the new look.

Review: Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, Episode 1

Otherwise known as PAA:OTR-SPoD

I promise I will never use that acronym again. Rain-slick is the first of four episodes in the Penny Arcade Adventures series. The game is developed and published by Hothead Games and was a joint effort with the folks over at Penny Arcade.

The writing and art style were obviously created by the Penny Arcade, and this results in one of the coolest looking, and funniest games I have played. The main story of the game revolves around your character's (who you create at the beginning of the game) house being stepped on by a giant robot. You soon meet up with Tycho and Gabe (who, if you read PA, you should know) and you party up to go figure out the mystery behind this robot.

The gameplay is almost like a mashup between a point-and-click adventure game and an RPG, although heavily leaning toward RPG gameplay. All movement is handled by the mouse, and most combat, except for blocking and special moves, is handled by the mouse as well. You also get "summons" including a seemingly useless cat. The combat is functional but not amazing, it is fast enough to keep from being a chore.

There are four environments to look around, but only one of them really has any extra things to do. There is a collection of NPCs in each area to give you small sub quests and once again the writing for these characters is very good.

The biggest problem with the game is that too many of the quests are just fetch missions. These start to get old quick, but since this is an episodic game it is fairly short (probably will take you about 5-6 hours.) The game wraps up how you expect for an episodic game, with a lot of questions unanswered.

Overall, if you are a fan of Penny Arcade, there is no reason for you not to at least try the game. There is a demo for every platform it is on (360, PC, Mac, Linux) so there is no excuse not to try it. If you aren't a fan of Penny Arcade, there is a lot of enjoyment here for you too but you may have to try the demo before you drop the slightly steep amount of $20 for the game.

Verdict: B

by Nicolas Perez

Also, an update.

So beside the Boom Blox review, I am going to try and write up MLB Power Pros, No More Heroes (A little late to the party on these two) and Final Fantasy Crytal Chronicles: My Life As A King. I was going to try and write up GTA4, but it is proving to be longer than expected so that may have to take a back seat for a while. Next month, expect reviews of Metal Gear Solid 4, and Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (maybe a few others too). I am also going to try and put something up on the blog every week at least, now that I have some more free time (yay Summer!) 

Review: Boom Blox

Welcome To The Party, Explosions Are Over There

Lately I have been on a bit of a Wii kick. Starting with my purchase of No More Heroes. So lately I have been focusing a little more on the little Nintendo console. So looking at recent reviews I decided to give EA's Boom Blox a try as it seemed like a nice break from constant shooters and action games.

Boom Blox is a game that was designed by Steven Spielberg, which is a shock to most people because there really isn't much of a story here or really anything that needs writing. But he took more of a design position and it makes the outlook for his other EA games much more positive.

Boom Blox is a puzzle game at its heart. You will either be throwing a ball at blocks, or grabing blocks from a stack Jenga style. The better part of the two is the throwing mechanic. You have to swing the Wiimote pretty hard if you are trying to nock over a lot of the blocks in game. This is a game where wearing your Wii wrist strap is a REALLY good idea. 

The throwing portion slowly introduces you to the different types of blocks in the game. There are Gem blocks (shown above) which don't do much except make sparkles when they hit the ground. There are also Bomb blocks which explode when you hit them, and Chemical blocks which explode when you knock them together. Point blocks are very prominent in the game and many of the goals are centered around them, such as trying to knock them into a multiplier zone to get points.

The throwing is great and is fun even when you are failing. This brings us to the other part of the game though, the grabbing portion. For the first couple of levels these all work OK, you aren't pressured too much and you can take your time. But quickly things such as timers are added and bring about some truly frustrating moments. I had to shut the game off at one point because of a particular puzzle that frustrated me so much.

There is a story mode, although the story is pretty rudimentary and involves the different block characters such as gorillas, sheep, dogs, etc. The characters actually add a bit of charm to game that would've been pretty sterile without them. The art style used in the game is very bright and cartoony, a huge shift away from what we have been seeing with games lately going darker. The sound is pretty good and the music is OK but it isn't anything to write home about.

The game really is great, and the visuals keep up for sure. Is is so unusual seeing a physics based game on the Wii and it seems like a huge technical achievement for the system. There is even an edit mode for making your own levels, which you can then share online. The games largest downfall are the grabbing levels, too many of them are simply too frustrating to be fun and could turn some people off from the game. Overall, this is a great effort for the Wii and shows that a "casual" game done right can be fun for everyone.

Verdict: A-

by Nicolas Perez

 

Preview: Battlefield Bad Company

Battlefield is becoming destructive.

I have been wanting to write this preview up for a while now, but I wasn't sure what exactly I should say. The game is in beta so there are still a few problems that need to be sorted out, and I was thinking about how I should handle them in the context of a preview. So I will first talk about the game itself then at the end I will go into what needs to be fixed.

The first thing I noticed about BF:BC was how clean the in-game interface was. It allows you to see much more of the screen than a game such as Halo 3 where your HUD components take up much of the screen. Your HUD shows health and ammo in the bottom right and your gold crate damage (I will get into this later) and number of reinforcements at the top. It is simple to see important info at a glance.


I mentioned the gold crates earlier, these come into play on the one game mode in the beta "Gold Rush". The point of Gold Rush is to get into the enemies base and destroy two gold crates, which you do by planting explosives on the crate and defending it till it explodes. The attackers have to repeat this a few times and each time the gold crates get blown up the defenders base moves back and the attackers base moves up. There are a few issues with the mode that I will go into later.

The beta has two maps, Oasis and Ascension. Oasis is a very large outdoor desert map which starts out in a wide open area and ends up in a small town. Ascension is a smaller map focused on infantry, and the map has a ton of cover. Ascension really shows off the big feature of BF:BC, destructible environments. See a few people inside a house but can't get to them? Blow out the side of the house. The destruction works well and adds another layer of intensity to the game because you can't really hide anywhere without being in danger.


There is also a rank and unlock system in the game. It doesn't have the depth of something like COD 4 or Vegas 2 but it works. Every time you rank up you get an unlock point which you can use to get upgrades like a health recharger or tank mines. One issue that has been brought up since the beta is the fact that EA plans to charge for weapons in the game. They say they offer no competitive advantage, but I am doubting it till I see it.

Now is the part where I complain about all the problems I have had so far. The first one, and the one that bothers me the the most, is how hard it is for the Attackers to win a round of Gold Rush. The last gold crate is usually in such an easily defended area that it is impossible to blow it up. In about 20 rounds the attackers won once. Second, there is no party system implemented yet. I know that this is probably just an issue with the devs not wanting to put it in the beta, but if I don't see a party system in the full game then I don't think I will be buying it. Third, there are just a lot of weird bugs and glitches. They are all things that should be cleaned up by the time the game comes out, but I have had the game freeze on me about 3 times so far.

So, the game shows a lot of promise and looks like they really will be using this feedback in the real game. If the DICE can get the game polished up by release this could be one to look for.

by Nicolas Perez

Review: Rainbow Six Vegas 2

More than just an expansion pack?

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is the unimaginatively titled sequel to the 2006 hit, Rainbow Six Vegas. The first game received high praise for it cover system and refined gameplay. The second game further refines gameplay and makes for an even more enjoyable experience.

I personally never played the first Vegas much, not that it was a bad game but it just never pulled me in as much as it did for most people. Things have changed quite a bit here, over the last two days I have played around 27 hours of Vegas 2. The first thing I tackled was the campaign.



The story in Vegas 2 is a not just a sequel. It tells the story of another Rainbow operative named Bishop as opposed to Logan Keller from the first game. The events of Vegas 2 take place before, during, and after the events of the first game. In an attempt to show the grittier side of Vegas, the game loses some of the amazing set pieces from the first game, with one of the stand out locales in this one being a large convention center.

The gameplay it self has been tweaked just a little but it feels much more streamlined than the first game. Commanding your squad mates feels easier than in the first game. Unfortunately although it is easier to command your squad, it seems like they don’t want to listen as often. Commanding them to a door sometimes produces little effect and you have to make them take baby steps to the door. The biggest advancement in the core gameplay is the decision to bring the P.E.C. system from the first games multiplayer, over to all game modes in Vegas 2.



Bishop is a blank slate, you can make him (or her), into any likeness you would like. You can even make Bishop have your face if you own an Xbox Vision Camera. The P.E.C. system allows you to outfit your character with different armor and camouflage to make your own unique avatar. As you play you gain XP for every kill you get in the Campaign, Terrorist Hunt, and Multiplayer. Once you earn enough XP you gain a rank, which unlocks new items to equip you character with. Another new feature is the A.C.E.S. system. In the first game, when you advanced rank you would get new weapons. In this one you get points towards your weapons when you do certain things. Get a headshot? Marksman points. Kill some one up close? CQB points. Kill some on with explosives? Assault points. Each class unlocks different weapons and also gives XP rewards too.


The graphics aren’t a huge improvement over the first. The game feels cleaner and smoother than the first and is enough of an improvement to keep up with current releases.


So, while Vegas 2 isn’t the quantum leap from the first game that most people were hoping for, it still feels fresh and the pace and feel of gameplay hasn’t been replicated by any other game. The new additions in the A.C.E.S. and P.E.C. systems, are a welcome addition and add an addictive layer to the game. The multiplayer is still fantastic and in order to keep the length of the review down I won’t go into detail about it, but there are two new modes, which are OK but not great. Even if you weren’t a fan of the first game you will find plenty of enjoyment in this game to warrant the purchase. And no, it isn't just an expansion pack.

Verdict: A-

Review by Nicolas Perez