Ranting Kenya

I haven’t read any reviews of Gears of War 2, but I have listened to a few podcasts that talked about it quickly. Hopefully my thoughts will be unique. I haven’t played it online yet, haven’t played co-op yet, and I haven’t finished it yet.

And I will start with a common theme among what I’ve heard. It is the same as the original, just better. More enemies, more executions, bigger levels, better visuals etc. It is the same game. If you liked the first, you’ll like the second.

To me the story is better, not great. I’m not really playing Gears for the story anyway, so the improvements are fine. There are sections in the game where I’m quite interested in what’s going on in the story arc. It doesn’t change how you play the game (if you could skip the cutscenes, it wouldn’t change anything about how you play, just take cover and shoot stuff). There was one particular section that was quite creepy and really interesting, but I haven’t seen or done anything along those lines since. I’m unsure if that part of the story will be completed in this game. I’m going to assume there’ll be a Gears 3 since it’s a successful franchise (I’d bet as a launch game on the NEXT xbox console).

The texture poping that was quite prevalent in the original is still there, but rather than sudden changes from no texture to full texture, there’s a subtle fade effect so it doesn’t catch your eye unless your looking right at it.

They have added some interesting things so far. One particular scene that I thought was interesting was a section where you and Dom must carry something together while fighting. I felt that section was something new and fun I hadn’t seen in other games before.

The boss battles have been quite fun. And there’s certainly no shortage of new bosses. Nor is there a shortage of new enemies. One thing I’ve noticed, and I could be completely wrong since I haven’t played the original at all in probably a year, is the difficulty of the enemies feels different to me. The normal guys (the drones and grenadiers, the ones that you’ll kill millions of) seem to be harder to kill than previous incarnation. This is good. The enemies from the last game were textbook bullet sponges. The fresh units still take a lot of bullets to kill, but they seem harder to hit. Plus, many times they’ll just go down, and one of their teammates will revive them. Conversely, the tougher enemies like the Boomers, seem quite easy to take out this time around. Maybe it’s because I’ve learned how to attack them properly, but even some of the new similar style enemies seem to be easy to take down as well (save the Bloodhounds, those things require your attention).

Another good example of expecting a bigger problem than you’ll actually have is the section where you fight 3 corpsers at the same time. I died a couple times quickly, but once I did what I was supposed to do, I killed all three in 5 seconds. Victory there was just too easy, especially with the setup that section receives.

Which reminds me of the one scene in the original where you face the Brumak (I didn’t play the pc version). I can’t tell you of how many Brumaks I’ve dispatched already. Four or five by now I think. That just seems weird.

Now I realize it really sounds like I’m complaining about the game, but I’m really not. I’m really enjoying it. And I’ll be playing it a lot the next couple days. Then I’ll start to dig into the multiplayer, which I hear is awesome. We’ll see if it can pull me away from Call of Duty 4’s online multiplayer.

Update
I’ve beaten the whole game now. For those of you that would complain about the final boss battle, I think you’re thinking about it wrong. It’s not a boss battle, it’s an interactive cut-scene. That being said, I felt a little underwhelmed myself.

Therefore, go play Horde mode with 4 friends. That is pure sweetness.

Again, I haven’t played the co-op over Xbox Live (patch forthcoming). But here are my thoughts of playing multiplayer, and single player.

It’s awesome and fun.

I have beaten the game once now with one character by myself, and also got played the whole game (minus completing the final battle) with two other players locally. The game is just fun. The art style is bright and engaging, the game play is just what it should be for a brawler like this, and it IS a good value for the money. I mean really, $15 for the number of hours of enjoyment I’ve already had has been totally worth it.

One thing I noticed that was really well done in the game are the levels. You get different environments frequently. You don’t usually play in any one locale for much more than 5 minutes. The result is a constant sense of accomplishment. It also allows you to play sections over again if you want to level up.

I don’t want to say too much, because I enjoyed discovering things in the game greatly, and I feel that everyone should at least check out the trial version.

I know I could use all the strategy I can get. This game plays different than the original.

In my last post, I mentioned a new feature for the Xbox 360. Soon, Xbox 360s everywhere will have the ability to download a game from a game disc onto the hard drive. This is a fantastic feature that I will use a lot. I’m probably more excited about this than any game they could’ve announced. Obviously there are many advantages:

• When you pack your 360 and head for the cabin, or go camping, or a friends house, you can have all your games without all the extra baggage. Personally I have 13 games for 360 now, and taking that many discs around everywhere is quite a task.
• Moving your 360 around the house is now far more convenient.
• Taking your hard drive to your friends house and having all of your games would be awesome.
• Xbox Live Arcade probably first made me realize that I wanted this feature. Wireless controllers that turn on the console are great, but getting up to change the game disc breaks the whole “wireless” illusion/advantage. This fixes this now. Now I don’t have to get up from the couch.
• Hopefully cross game invites from friends will be much smoother now.
• Faster load times should benefit everything accross the board (since a hard drive is faster than an optical drive). I’m really hoping this will kill the texture popping issues that many games have (especially the Unreal Engine 3 based games).
• Quieter game operation. I don’t know what it is, but my 360 Elite has the loudest disc drive of any 360 I have encountered. Not having that thing spinning will help on those late night gaming sessions.

But I Still Have Some Questions

So, more details are now needed.

1. When will the dashboard update with this enhancement be available?
2. There must be some kind of DRM? What’s the deal with it?
3. What stops me from renting all the games from blockbuster and putting them on my console?
4. Will the game downloaded from the disc onto the hard drive share the already created game saves?
5. If I copy a game to my hard drive, then sell the disc to someone else, does my downloaded copy still work?
6. If I rent a game from Blockbuster, can I copy them to the hard drive aswell?
7. And what about purchasing used games from Electronics Boutique?

How Did We Not See This Coming?

Microsoft has done a lot of things in the last few years that is really pushing digital distribution, getting away from the office desk and into the living room and making the 360 the “do everything” box.

When the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray format war was raging on, maybe people speculated that MS wasn’t putting either drive in the actual Xbox because they were skipping that whole generation of content. Bill Gates even said it would be the last physical format. He didn’t say that Microsoft would be starting the next big thing so soon.

They have their Xbox Live Marketplace which allows people to download movies and game content from the internet to their consoles. Sure, games demos, live arcade games and movies are all find and good, but this is a much bigger deal to me as a gamer

Although these games will have to come in disc form first, having the games available on the hard drive will become an absolute necessity. Imagine now the next generation Xbox. I would bet, that every game will be available for download. It has been talked about before as the future, and this is a big step in that direction.

It now appears that the whole “Xbox Originals” program is really just a test bed for a far greater product. Xbox originals allows 360 owners to download select original xbox games to the console’s hard drive and play them from there

Throw in the digitally distributed XNA creators club games, the xbox live community, windows media center streaming and downloadable movies and you have a really compelling box in your living room. Then you add in their newly announced Netflix deal (please make it available to Canadians), and it’s a no brainer.

It also seems that this new 360 with the 60GB hard drive was basically announced so even the cheapest of the 360 gamers can enjoy this ability.

Updated

After writing this post, many sources are reporting that the game will have to be in the drive for the downloaded games to work. To that I say, FAIL. MS, I understand you don’t want crazy game copying. However, you’ve never been afraid to DRM the hell out of everything. In this case, you should’ve come up with some kind of DRM solution so I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE THE DISC IN THE DRIVE. You just about came up with the best feature ever. So close, but still so so far. Funny how that little tidbit wasn’t on Major Nelson’s post. Seriously, game performance better skyrocket, otherwise why would I bother doing this?

Last year was a great year in gaming. But, I have a feeling that this year could be equally as awesome. Here’s a list of some games that I am looking forward to.

Coming soon

NHL 09

NHL 08 was probably the best hockey game ever created since the original on ice. The controls were excellent, the game played like hockey, and I feel it was the perfect blend of simulation/arcade hockey. Most of the things that I didn’t like about NHL 08 sound like they’ll be fixed for 09 (aka “heat seeking ass missile hip checks”). Plus now Dion Phaneuf is on the cover. Other things I hope they fix is the online play (didn’t work that well on my 360 for some reason), add good online leagues, and please EA update the rosters every month (at least) rather than quarterly.

Star Wars – The Force Unleashed

This is probably the first Star Wars game that I’m actually excited for since Knights of the Old Republic (previously TIE Fighter). I like the idea of just throwing guys around, and a compelling new storyline. Hopefully the controls and everything holds up.

Quantum of Solace

Similarly to the Star Wars games, there’s been a fantastic Bond game, and a lot of not fantastic Bond games. The movie Casino Royale ruled, I’m hoping this game will pick that up and carry it to the next movie. 1up’s Garnett Lee’s preview is making me feel better about a new Bond game. I played lots of the others. They were… forgettable.

Gears of War 2

I enjoyed the first Gears game, though not as much as some other people. Basically, if the online is actually fixed, I’ll probably play this a lot. Probably won’t unseat COD4 as my main online game however. I liked the single player though on the first, so I’m happy with a good campaign for the second.

Far Cry 2

I really liked Crysis for the PC. I liked it a whole lot until the aliens appeared. The alien sections were still good, but I really enjoyed fighting the Koreans. Hiding in the bushes, using my suit’s abilities, try different methods for my encounters was a lot of fun. Far Cry 2 feels like it could be the perfect shooter to itch that that non-COD4 shooter itch. There’s no suit abilities, but there is self-propagating brush fire! That Dunia engine looks crazy too. I think I’d like to play it on PC (especially if I can get some gamerscore for my Xbox Live account), rather than Xbox 360. May even get a second 8800GT so I can go SLI for this game.

Red Alert 3

I’ve played all the C&C’s and Red Alerts. I’ve always preferred Red Alert, and this one looks wicked. Again, probably play in on PC.

Spore

I know this is on everybody’s list. I’m not all that stoked about it, but it seems new and unique enough that I probably shouldn’t skip it.

Halo Wars

Here’s another title I’d like to play on PC, though I’m not sure it’s announced for PC yet (or if it will be at all). I do however believe it will hit PC eventually. It really looks like a fun game. I hope it’s story is as epic as the original Halo. I’d like to experience that awe that I did in the first game.

Tiberium

I’ll probably wait for the reviews on this one. Maybe I’ll just rent it. Need more info. It has my attention, for now at least.

Crysis Warhead

I liked Crysis, this is more Crysis. Hopefully lots of Korean encounters. Maybe I can turn the graphics up a bit more on this one.

Coming Whenever

I know these games aren’t coming anytime soon, but I’m waiting…

Bioshock 2

Seriously, how good was the first one? So good. Hopefully the story is as good. This game definitely gave me the original Halo awe that I was talking about.

Bungie’s Next Project

Whatever it is, it will be quality. Maybe it’ll finally be Pimps at Sea.

Assassin’s Creed 2

Lots of people didn’t care for the original, I however was not one of them. I really really liked it. Plus the cliffhanger at the end of the original really hooked me for the next story. I didn’t like the whole modern/middle ages take on the last game until the end of the game, now I’m way into it.

The next X-Com

If some developer could capture the essence of the original, and slap a new coat a paint on it, then add more modern game design concepts, then the world might implode. I played the first a lot, even though I never finished it. It was very hard, though one of my buddies beat it. Once the aliens went all nutty on the Psionics, I was finished. Still, I really want to play a good modern sequel to this game.

The Next Knights of the Old Republic

Because the first two games were so good. I really like the original best between the two. Also, if they could kill the silly loading screens and make the interface quicker, then it would sell like crazy.

Mass Effect 2

Basically the same for me as KOTOR. Kill the loading screens.

Already Released, Need to Play/Finish

I’ve played these already, or even own them, but need to finish them.

Rainbow Six Vegas

It’s sitting on my shelf, just waiting for me to play. I would’ve played this game when it came out, but my money and time went the Gears of War instead.

Lego Star Wars – The Complete Saga

I’m really just waiting for this game to be sold for like $30. Then I’m in.

Half life 2 – Episode One/Two

Loved the game, need to continue the story. I know I’m way behind on this one, but there was this Portal…

Civilization IV

I’ve played this game a certain amount, but is there ever enough time for Civ?

Company of Heroes

I’ve played against the PC a lot, but not so much that I’ve finished Opposing Fronts. I should probably play this game online some. It is the best strategy game to be released in my opinion.

Sins of a Solar Empire

Actually, this game might be a little too epic for me. But it is fun.

Lost Planet

Again, really liked the demo, but my money went somewhere else.

Dead Rising

I played the demo too, loved it, but didn’t buy it. Maybe when it’s in the cheap bin.

Star Wars – Empire at War

My PC can handle it now, so I just have to get into it.

Movies

Just thrown in for good measure.

The Dark Knight

Batman Begins was the absolute best Batman movie ever. Christian Bale is an awesome actor, and Batman is awesome, so The Dark Knight is awesome. Plus this film was filmed on IMax film, not adapted like to many other IMax movies. Going to be so good.

Step Brothers

C’mon, it looks so funny. What a hilarious idea.

What is there that is left to say about this game. The review websites all love it. Here’s a link to the Metacritic score for the Xbox 360.

Well, I like it as well. I haven’t really played the other GTA games except for 2 for the PC (a top down view if you remember). The driving is really loose, which is hard to master. However, were it easier to drive it would make some things too easy quite honestly.

Crashing is really fun. I’ve flown out the windshield a number of times, and it’s always exciting to see your limp body fly through the air.

Jumping the vehicles is also totally rad.

The character are what surprise me the most. They are phenominal. They have such personalities it’s hard not to get sucked in. I can’t stress how great the people in the game are presented. I can’t even understand Little Jacob when he talks because his Jamaican accent is so thick.

There’s been a number of rumors re-surfacing in the last couple days about Blu-Ray drives coming to the Xbox 360. Microsoft said a few weeks ago after HD-DVD officially died that they weren’t talking with Sony about it. What that really means is “we’re thinking about it, and as of this moment we haven’t contacted anyone.” So are they going to do it? I think so.

I don’t think there’s any question that the future of the DVD/Blu-Ray is limited by digital downloads. We’re already seeing a number of services available that provide just this service. Microsoft’s Xbox Marketplace, iTunes Store/Apple TV, and the VooDoo box are a few. Plus you can watch so much online for free now straight from the internet browser. And of course, there’s still Video on Demand (VOD). VOD could be a real competitor if they’d just fix the quality issue.

Anyway, many have speculated that Microsoft won’t do a Blu-Ray (BR) drive because they want people to move to the download model. This is about half true in my mind. Yes, absolutely, they want people to do digital delivery. However, the Xbox division main goal is to sell Xbox 360 consoles and Xbox 360 games. Would adding a BR drive (either internal or as an add-on à la HD-DVD drive) be an added incentive to buy Xbox 360 consoles? I believe so. Many people bought a PS3 solely as a BR player. The PS3 continues to be one of the best and most flexible BR players available.

However, should Microsoft make such a drive available, it would surely sell at least as well as the HD-DVD drive did. All those early adopters are bound to jump on it since the format war is over. True, Sony would benefit from licensing fees, but at least Microsoft would get a cut on the players. It’s also another bullet point on the Xbox 360 box (BR capability), which would eliminate the major difference between PS3 and Xbox 360.

Plus, you can look at Microsoft’s track record with the Xbox 360. They’ve bowed to the community’s pressure on multiple occasions. The HD-DVD drive was in a way, bowing to consumer pressure. As was when Microsoft released Xbox 360 consoles with HDMI ports (their story before hand was that nobody needed HDMI). And perhaps less due to consumer pressure and more media pressure, the warranty extension to 3 years for all the red ringed consoles. Is there any reason to believe Microsoft won’t flinch and release an external BR drive? I don’t think so. The only reason in my mind that Microsoft hasn’t said there will be BR drives for the 360 is they may be waiting for the cost of the drives to get low enough to be able to offer an external drive at the $199 price point.

Now that the music industry is allowing it’s content go out DRM-free, the music battle is more or less over. I believe that soon, music will be avaiable from all the major labels on all the major services. Apple pioneered the industry, Amazon was the first to fully nail it (in my opinion), and now there’s a baseline from which to judge the rest.

But what about video?

Well, the newest player out there (as of yesteday) is Apple. They started the music revolution (or was that Napster?), and now they look to duplicate that success for movies.

There’s another gorilla out there too, Microsoft (have you heard of them). They’ve been doing this for a while now on Xbox.

Amazon has their unbox service, which has already gone through some major revisions.

Aren’t we on the tail end of a format war right now?

So what’s the deal with all these services? From what I can tell, here is the list of similarities between them:

• They all use some form of DRM.
• They all work on different devices.
• They’re all rental services.
• They’re all unique, just like all the others.

So here are my quick thoughts on each service:

Apple

Pros

• Apple’s biggest advantage is that it’s Apple. Their computers continue to sell, iPods are huge, iPhones are even bigger. They have a highly desirable brand in the public consciousness.
• In a close second place, it’s next biggest advantage is that they have all major movie studios onboard. That’s better than the iTunes music store, and a great place to start.
• The quality of the HD video that Steve Jobs outlined sounded excellent. Finally the Apple TV will have some HD content, and also 5.1 digital audio.
• You can rent your movies through the simplicity of iTunes, or another excellent Apple interface via the Apple TV that you access from your couch.

Cons

• However, unlike the iTunes music store, Apple will have a much harder time since other companies are working on the digital delivery model too. iTunes was revolutionary, but others have seen the virtues of Apple’s product and business models.
• Media companies are getting more savvy, and more wary of Steve Jobs. Many feel that he unfairly compensated the recording industry with his low prices. He has been hailed for negotiating some of the most lucrative business deal for his own company (hello AT&T and the iPhone).
• Another problem, you have to purchase an Apple TV to enjoy these videos from your couch. Another couple hundred dollar investment.
• Figuring out what you can do with these videos is also a problem (but not unique to Apple). Here’s an example from Engadget.

Microsoft – Xbox Live

Pros

• Microsoft’s biggest advantage is probably that there is already 10 million Xbox 360 consoles in the wild. As far as getting content from the net to the TV with some propietary box, Xbox 360 is way out front.
• Similarily, they’ve already been selling videos (both HD and SD) on their service for well over a year now. In the Xbox 360 vs PS3 battle, a headstart is clearly a big advatage to have.
• An Xbox 360 console does far more than an Apple TV. It’s not a dedicated media extender/set-top box/service. It plays games, plays HD-DVD (with appropriate attachment), plays DVDs, and a whole lot of other stuff.
• As much as it doesn’t hurt to be Apple, it doesn’t hurt to be Microsoft. They’re huge, they got fingers everywhere, they have excellent technology, huge amounts of cash, and they’ll be in the for the long haul no matter what.
• Xbox 360s, when connected correctly, can upconvert it’s output to 1080p. This is a minor destinction to most, but not all.

Cons

• However, Microsoft lacks full studio support. Content is clearly king.
• You need to have an Xbox 360 console, and it’s more money than an Apple TV.
• You have to use these “Xbox points“. And it’s not a 1:1 ratio with real money. And you have to buy them in bulk. They’re annoying.

Amazon

Pros

• TiVo integration. What could be better than having your videos already waiting for you on your TiVo?
• Amazon got music right. Low prices, DRM-free, huge collection.
• They also have a working video service right now. As far as I know it’s PC only, but they’re in the game.
• I also think that Amazon has some unique possibilities regarding sales. They could sell you the DVD copy, while allowing you to rent or buy a digital copy that you can watch before the DVD arrives in the mail. This also eliminates that whole rental/purchase issue.

Cons

• How do you get it to the TV?
• Doesn’t have the brand recognition in this space of a Microsoft or Apple.
• There is no HD as far as I’m aware.

Final Thoughts

All in all, now that HD-DVD seems to be on its deathbed (at the hands of Blu-Ray), we’re really on the beginning of another “format war” of sorts. How are you supposed to pick between services? Some work with some ipods, some only with specific hardware, all have strict DRM schemes, none of them have anything to do with purchasing content, none inter-operate either.

However, I believe that this is a battle that we can’t afford to sit out. I’m sure if the movie studios see no sales in this digital space, it will delay the roll out of truly good download services by years. Money really is the only motivation that us as consumers can provide for large companies to develop technology and delivery methods that work for us.

This is also essentially the problem the music industry just went through. How do we trust our customers and allow them to enjoy the content they purchase the way they want?

*laughs* Actually, wouldn’t cable card solve a lot of these issues?

I finally finished the single player campaign of COD 4 last night (I’ve been playing multiplayer mostly). Be aware, this post will have…

—Spoilers—

So I’m going to start by saying that the game was awesome. Loved it. Can’t wait to play it again and try the arcade mode.

I also want to say that perhaps (at least for me) this year’s biggest game innovation is game length. Or should I say game shortness. I thought Portal was awesome and I beat it in one sitting. COD 4 took more than one sitting, but it wasn’t that long. However, the brevity works for it.

Rather than spending 40 hours playing through the same types of situations over and over, COD 4 was fresh every single level. Disabling a nuke on a sinking ship (reminiscent of Goldeneye), being the gunner on a helicopter, firing at terrorists from a A130 gunship, rescuing a pilot from a downed helicopter, crawling through a field as a sniper, stealth assassinating guards as a sniper, sniping from a building taking into account the wind, carrying a downed squad mate to the extraction zone (putting him down frequently so the both of you can get through your enemies), rappelling down a missile silo, taking out tanks, firing at pursuing trucks of enemies while driving like a maniac to escape on civilian highway, using C4 to take out some power lines to temporarily cut power to a secure facility, shooting and even rescuing a VIP on an airplane then jumping out of the plane.

The game was an adrenaline rush from start to finish. I consistently found myself saying out loud “Holy $h!t, that’s awesome!”

Yes, some people will get through the game quickly. I would recommend playing it on a harder than normal difficulty level for yourself. That makes the game far more intense, and it’ll last a little longer.

Also, I would not shy away from buying the game just because the single player is shorter than most. The multiplayer on Xbox Live is the only experience that rivals Halo, only there’s far fewer vulgar screaming 10 year olds.

What COD 4 does that’s better than Halo online is the whole leveling up system. In halo, you get armour. That gives you no competitive advantage at all. COD allows you to upgrade your weapons, and choose unique “perks” to customize your character. You can select extra life, ability to run further, more powerful bullets, better weapon sights, dropping a live grenade when you die. There are many many many different combinations that allow you to really create a character with the abilities that suit you.

Also, COD 4 has the party system, and lots of people are playing online, so you won’t have any problem finding a game. It’s not unusualy for me to see well over 100 000 people online at any given time.

In short, yes. Buy it and play it.

Has anybody played it on PC? Is there a good community playing it online on PC?

This is certainly not a new complaint/request, but I really feel like I should voice it as well.

NHL 08 is probably the best hockey video game of all time. It plays like hockey, it looks like hockey, and it’s so much fun. The stick control actually does put the user in control of what happens.

However, taking this game online is barely satisfactory because once you are playing it is excellent to play. However, trying to get into a game is a major frustration, especially the first time.

The very first time you go online with it, it wants you to read what feels like 300 documents. And it wants you to create an EA account. Why? I have an Xbox live account, that should be enough. Strangely, once you do that, you never see any of that stuff again. So at least that’s a one-off.

Next, if you select “Quick ranked play”, or one of the other “quick” games, it checks for rosters (and asks you if that’s ok). If there are new rosters then it downloads them (but again, asks you if that’s ok first). But it seems like you’ve already joined game while it’s doing this. So about 90% of the time, your opponent leaves the game because there’s seemingly nobody there. So then you must re-start your search.

No big deal right? Wrong. It seems like if does that whole “checking for rosters” for every single game you play (or at least until sombody doesn’t quit on you). So annoying. EA, fix it.

The other thing that should be included in NHL 09 (and indeed every multiplayer Xbox game) is the party system. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s the system that Halo 2 pioneered on Xbox live. It’s currently used in Halo 2, Halo 3, and Call of Duty 4. I don’t think there are any others.

The party system allows you to essentially create a custom lobby for you and your friends, and that party goes and plays game together all the time.

This would be ideal in NHL 09 (and indeed all games) since I frequently want to just play with one friend. Why do I have to do that whole stupid lobby system. The lobby system works on PC, but I think it’s usefulness on consoles is pretty lame.

Also, with a party system, then you and your friend could more easily take on another opponent together. Then you can eliminate all those other options for finding a match. There could be ranked, unranked, and maybe a “large-group” option. No more lobbies, no more confusion.

EA’s got the money to make their online games flawless. There’s really no excuse for not having a party system.

P.S. Can we have monthly roster updates? I mean seriously.