 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
World of Goo.
Developed by 2D Boy, loved by critics, coveted by gamers, and pirated by 90% of its owners.
It should come as no surprise that its publisher just filed for Bankruptcy on January 28.
RIP, Brighter Minds.
| Posted in News, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 | No Comments » |  |
|
|
Operation: Anchorage, set during the liberation of Alaska shortly before the nuclear fallout that shapes Fallout 3, has officially been available to the public for over 72 hours. Scouring message boards on a couple of different gaming sites, many gamers were finished with the simulation before I even woke up and “downloaded” (see: Why You Gotta Hate On Me) at 10 A.M EST. Aside from my hardware problems, I had Operation: Anchorage up and running with a character fresh out of the vault. I quickly entered Megaton and massacred the town for the measly amount of weapons, ammo and armor to hopefully be able to fend for myself against the Super Mutant Brutes attacking the Outcast’s base. Once successfully within the building, you learn of the Outcast’s motives, much like the Brotherhood of Steel preservation of technology, and they need your help in securing combat equipment sealed in an armory that may only be accessed by a PipBoy, and a PipBoy that has completed the Anchorage simulation. This is where your character comes in.
As you enter the simulation, you’ll find all of your equipment gone, and you’re left simply with a silenced 10mm pistol and ammo, winterized combat armor and accompanying helmet, a combat knife and a stealth boy. Because of this quest’s virtual nature, you may not loot corpses or interact with anything for that matter, unless if flashes red. Finding more equipment is fairly easy, as it lies around in set points, alongside both health and ammo dispensers. There are no stimpaks, no purified water, or foodstuffs. The first part offers a decent selection of weaponry, as well as allowing you to test out the Gauss rifle, which provides absolute devastation. Essentially an energy sniper rifle, the gauss rifle packs enough punch to knockdown your enemy on every successful hit, as well as nearly obliterating them in the process. Even at level 6, I was turning Brotherhood Outcasts into piles of ash with an energy weapon skill below 25.
| Posted in Commentary, PC gaming, Reviews, Xbox 360 | 3 Comments » | |
|
|
|
Activision has finalized the track listing for Guitar Hero: Metallica due March 29th exclusively for the Xbox 360 and PS3, with a release for the Wii and PS2 sometime soon after (I’ve heard May at the earliest). Originally thought to be another Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Neversoft/Activision’s lackluster and lukewarm first venture into a band themed GH, this new project seems much more ambitious. Aerosmith featured just a mere 41 songs, a long shot away from GH: World Tour’s impressive 86. GH: Metallica will feature nearly “60 songs,” a step above Aerosmith’s game.
The 60 songs includes their newest album, which fully integrates into the game once downloaded. However, if you don’t have the Death Magnetic DLC album, then the list drops down to around 50, yet a much more respectable 50, with only 11 tracks from the post-1991 era, barring their newest album.
Although the Metallica content is vast and impressive (it sure beats the hell out of Aerosmith), some tracks are repeats from previous GH and Rock Band releases, which I really don’t Read the rest of this entry »
| Posted in Commentary, News, Nintendo Wii, Playstation 3, Previews, Xbox 360 | 3 Comments » | |
|
|
|
Mythic Entertainment announced today via its monthly newsletter that is will be releasing its first ‘live expansion’: Call to Arms.
The expansion content will be released over a period of several months, beginning in March with the Bitter Rivals event, which confirms rumors of introducing a new RvR scenario and two new player classes, the Orc Choppa, an offensive melee greenskin, and the Dwarf Slayer, another offensive melee career. Call to Arms conclude in June with the unveiling of a new dungeon zone called the Land of the Dead, based on Tomb Kings lore from the Warhammer Fantasy Battle tabletop game.
Call to Arms Live Expansion Schedule:
(1) Call to Arms: Bitter Rivals Live Event (March): Successful completion of the live event allows head start access to the new Orc Choppa and Dwarf Slayer careers. The event will also introduce a new Chaos-themed RvR Scenario, Twisting Tower.
(2) The Orc Choppa and Dwarf Slayer answer the Call to Arms and join WAR! (March).
(3) Call to Arms: Beyond the Sands Live Event (April): The promise of great riches and powerful weapons comes from the south.
(4) Call to Arms: Rise of the Tomb Kings Live Event (May): The race between Order and Destruction begins to unlock the Land of the Dead for their Realm.
(5) Land of the Dead Opens (June): The deserts of Nehekhara open to players with the addition of a new RvR-gated dungeon zone. To gain access to the Land of the Dead, opposing Realms must battle for control of the zone to access dozens of new Public Quests, instanced lairs, and a massive new Tomb Kings dungeon to plunder in search of the Casket of Souls.
| Posted in News, Online gaming, PC gaming | No Comments » | |
|
|
|
I’ve been an advocate of the Xbox 360 since its launch back in November of 2005, falling quickly in love with titles like Fight Night Round 3, DOA 4, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. I’d defend its small hardware shortcomings with Sony devotees, and I’d laugh and shoot milk out my nose (which was weird, because I’m lactose intolerant) when Nintendo fanboys would attempt to argue the Wii has better games. I even supported the 360 after I not only received the “red ring of death,” but soon after that one was replaced, the new console began to scratch my games in circular patterns, which meant another replacement. Even then I did not falter in my praise for the console.
Yet, my confidence is failing in you my sweet, sweet Microsoft. With the onslaught of high profile demos and much desired downloadable content, I’ve been on Xbox Live Marketplace like a fiend. However, downloading content has been an aggravating experience. In order to understand this, we need to rewind about a month ago. The ripoff that was the Jedi temple DLC for Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was released and being an advocate of the game, I was very excited. I turned on my system, went to the marketplace, spent my $12.50 for 1000 MP, and promptly began downloading my DLC. Everything is going fine, then we get to 89%. It freezes up. I cancel, delete partial file from HDD, try again. Same thing, but earlier in the progress bar. Rinse and repeat many times, and long story short, Xbox Live support tells me I have to format my hard drive. Well shit. I know that deletes all my saves. At that time, after the holiday grind, I was swamped with titles, and clearing my HDD sounded more like “go fuck yourself” to me. In order to format and keep my files, I would need a memory card and mind you, a memory card that will hold over 400 MB of data. Now thats a $55 dollar price tag, one I was reluctant to pay, but found a store with a returns policy that allowed for opened accessories to be returned within a week. I move everything, format, and move everything back. I download the DLC from SW:FU (awfully short, by the way), and ta-da, it works.
Read the rest of this entry »
| Posted in Commentary, Humor, Xbox 360 | 2 Comments » | |
|
|
|
This week in gaming news, college just got a little bit more awesome. Or did it?
Most gaming sites are currently reporting that University of California at Berkeley is currently offering a course in which students will study competitive gaming within the context of the most popular real-time strategy game of all time: Blizzard’s Starcraft. It’s unclear how this story first broke, but all reports link to the following website for the supposed course, not even hosted on the college’s domain: http://michaelo.phswebs.com/BerkeleyStarcraft/.
The course website contains a convincing description indicating that topics will range from casual discussions about war strategy to computational approaches to fighting, and recommends knowledge of calculus and differential equations. Prerequisites for the course on Starcraft theory are limited to an open mind and Starcraft: Brood War. Beats the heck out of my $180 organic chemistry textbook.
Course Description:
UC Berkeley students with an interest in real-time strategy games and the competitive gaming landscape are encouraged to participate in this class.
This course will go in-depth in the theory of how war is conducted within the confines of the game Starcraft. There will be lecture on various aspects of the game, from the viewpoint of pure theory to the more computational aspects of how exactly battles are conducted. Calculus and Differential Equations are highly recommended for full understanding of the course. Furthermore, the class will take the theoretical into the practical world by analyzing games and replays to reinforce decision-making skills and advanced Starcraft theory.
Class will start with lecture and usually include a special discussion topic having to do with the day’s lecture to inspire new and original thought. At the end of lecture, there may be time to analyze student-submitted replays to illustrate a point or to improve analysis. Homework will be assigned at the end of each class and is due at the beginning of each lecture.
| Posted in News, Online gaming, PC gaming | 20 Comments » | |
|
|
|
Armies of the 41st Millennium
This part of the beta impressions series provides an overview of all of the different armies and units available in the multiplayer beta, freely available to all players via Steam as of today, January 28.
You may notice that Dawn of War 2 doesn’t exactly boast an overabundance of units, even compared to pre-expansion Dawn of War 1. With Relic Entertainment’s recent comments about combating piracy by providing ample DLC, making un-updated versions of the game far less desirable, it has been suggested that there are more units on the way. I certainly hope so, because the lack of variety in the current beta build is very disheartening to fans of the original.
The Space Marines represent mankind’s masterpiece in the art of making war. Genetically engineered behemoths that can shrug off artillery shells and punch through brick walls, these guys take ass-kicking to a whole new dimension. They may be few in number, but they make up the most durable basic infantry in the game. The Space Marines are a mostly firepower-oriented army in Dawn of War 2, though they do have access to capable melee units, such as the Venerable Dreadnought and Assault Terminators. Read the rest of this entry »
| Posted in PC gaming, Walkthroughs and Guides | 4 Comments » | |
|
|
|
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced today that the sequel to the popular first-person shooter action/horror hybrid, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, has gone gold and is on track for its previously announced February 10 release date. The game is set to ship simultaneously on the PC, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3.
The F.E.A.R. 2 demo was recently made publicly available across platforms on January 22. The initial reception has been mixed, especially within the PC gaming community, which feels slighted by the heavy focus that the game’s controls and interface place on gamepad compatibility. If the rumors are true (I grabbed the demo last night off Steam, but haven’t found the time to give it a shot), this would be an unfortunate case of Monolith Studios biting the hand that feeds it. If not for the success of the PC release the franchise never would have been born.
As much as I hope this game rocks my socks, it’s starting to sound like F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin is going to be yet another lackluster console port. Feel free to chime in with comments if you have first-hand experience and disagree–I’d love to hear your opinions.
| Posted in News, PC gaming, Playstation 3, Xbox 360 | No Comments » | |
|
|
|
In an interview with MTV Multiplayer on 1/26/09, Fallout 3 executive producer Todd Howard directly addressed 3 selected criticisms of the title. The criticisms and responses are reposted below:
Criticism: #1: “Fallout 3″ is just mediocre when judged as a first person shooter
Howard: Agreed.
Criticism #2: The ending isn’t very satisfying and much shorter than other “Fallout” endings
Howard: Based on the feedback I’ve seen, most people are pissed off that it ends, not the ‘ending’ itself. Maybe that’s one and the same, I don’t know. That’s another thing we’re changing in DLC3 [downloadable content #3, "Broken Steel"]. We really underestimated how many people would want to keep playing, so that’s probably the last time we’ll do something like that.
Criticism #3: V.A.T.S. is boring once you’re accurate enough to head shot everyone
Howard: Depends on what you find entertaining. I like to blow people’s heads off, so, well, it never got old for me. I agree that the ‘to hit chance’ for head shots is probably too high.
It looks as though Mr. Howard isn’t entirely in touch with the community with respect to Criticism #2. While the decision to end the game after the main story line finished was poor, almost everyone I know who completed their journey in the Capital Wasteland agrees that the ending was far too abrupt.
Sure, the giant robot obliterating helicopters and legions of Enclave soldiers was fun to watch, but it was completely non-interactive. When I finally confronted the Enclave colonel, a generically evil enemy introduced far too late in the game for me to take much interest in, I reduced him to a steaming pile of radioactive waste before he even drew his gun. It took me exactly 3 seconds to dispatch him followed by 10 minutes of blindly searching the area thinking that I must have missed something. Not being able to keep playing after the endgame montage was just icing on the cake.
| Posted in News, PC gaming, Xbox 360 | No Comments » | |
|
|
|
Are you seriously reading this shit? GO PLAY OPERATION: ANCHORAGE
| Posted in Humor, News | No Comments » | |
You are currently browsing the Counterfeitculture.com weblog archives for January, 2009.
| FEATURED POLL |
 Loading ... |
2462 feed subscribers
| ||
| TWITTER FEED |
|