Edmonton Gamers at the Call of Duty Black Ops Midnight Release! Giveaway!

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2010 Canada Cup, Starcraft 2, Halo Reach.. and Gamer's Rage! *VIEW COUNT...

Blog #2. A week old at this point. But check it out, anyways. ;D

Edmonton Gamers..Finally! And WE'RE FEATURED!!!! *VIEW COUNT HAS FROZEN*

My first vlog. This is about two weeks old but I just realized I could share them via Blogger.

Go me. :P

REVIEW: Fallout: New Vegas

Released: October 19th, 2010
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Published Bye: Bethesda Softworks
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Rated: M for Mature

Let me start out by renaming this game to Fallout 3: New Vegas. The game’s actual title makes it sound like a whole new game which is something it’s far from. I swear I’m not complaining, though. New Vegas follows its predecessor’s formula very closely and I’m guessing that Bethesda felt no need to change something they found so highly successful (Fallout 3 won numerous awards and is considered one of the greatest “sandbox” RPG games of all time).

Fallout: New Vegas uses the same engine as Fallout 3 which explains why we seem to see a lot of the same bugs and issues. Fallout 3 was a well received game, but it was also infamous for it's shocking list of problems which included some major crashes of the game. I can't say I've personally run into any massive problems in New Vegas (although many have reported them), but I've seen my fair share off strange glitches. Once I was crouching and all of the sudden my leg went haywire and started to twist about as if it were doing a dance without me. Most of the time, the glitches are in the inhabitants around you. People are sometimes walking into walls and tables endlessly, and the Radscorpions are stuck in the ground with only their tails sticking up in the air. One thing that never failed to happen was when you have companions who tag along with you on your quests because even though you can jump over rocks and climb steep hills, they seem to want to take the longest way possible around to you. You might think you've lost your companion- don't worry, they'll find you. Eventually. Most glitches are so minor and hardly ruin gameplay, luckily. The annoying factors comes around when the framerate slows, or you get to a slow loading screens. Most loading screens take their time.

Set in the same post-nuclear war United States, you play as a courier in these turbulent times. Hired to deliver a mysterious platinum poker chip to New Vegas, you’re taken hostage by a man in a checker suit where you’re shot and left for dead. You awaken in the town of Goodsprings where you find out you were dug up by a robot named Viktor and fixed up by the town doctor. Once you set up your character and their traits, it’s time to begin your adventure in the perilous Mojave Wasteland. As you carry on through the game’s storyline, you find out that most of the hostility (not including the insane amount of mutated desert creatures) is over the platinum chip which is the key to who wields the power over New Vegas and the Hoover Dam. The Hoover Dam is basically the last resource for clean water and power and you’ll mostly find the New California Republic and the Legion clashing for control. In total there are three possible endings based on which faction you side with in the end. I highly recommend you save once you get to the New Vegas Strip because once the game ends, it’s done for good. I figured that Bethesda would have addressed that after the uproar it cased in Fallout 3..

Main storyline aside, there's a helluva lot of side quests to play through and they're what makes the game as awesome as it is. I found the main storyline good, but it was short and pretty predictable at times. There's almost an overwhelming amount of places to find and every time you turn around someone will want your help. Seriously, those people use you as a damn work horse. Pretty much every side quest would bring me somewhere new, and along the way I’d have already discovered a small handful of other locations. So trust me when I say there’s a lot to see.
If you've played Fallout 3, you’ll easily fall into the gameplay of New Vegas. Trekking through the Wasteland will have you coming across friendly folk and many other folk who want you dead on sight. If you wander off the beaten paths, you’ll run into all kinds of mean creatures New animal foes are present in the West, including but not limited to pesky Cazadores (giant such as the Nightstalker, which is a mix of rattlesnake and coyote- don’t worry, it doesn’t make sense to me, either. If you stay on the beaten path, you’re going to run into a lot of Raiders, Fiends and Legion men.

Generally, a good percent of everything with a heartbeat wants you dead. People aren’t very friendly in the post-Apocalyptic world. Luckily you’ll gather a handy assortment of weapons so you can fight fire with fire. Sometimes literally. Another great thing about Fallout is that you can explore your killing methods just as much as the Wasteland itself. Twisted? I know. It’s great. A nifty tool of yours is V.A.T.S. (stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System) screen that allows you to pause the action and target an enemy and pin point exactly where you want to shoot them. Let’s say you’re low on health AND ammo. You could use V.A.T.S to boost your chances of a head shot, or you could shoot their weapon right out of their hand so they can inflict less damage.

Now, to kick-ass to the best of your ability, you’re going to have to level up. It’s not a chore since all the things you have to do to make it through the game give you experience points such as battle, lock picking and saying all the right things to other characters. New Vegas uses the same system as Fallout 3, so “S.P.E.C.I.A.L.” determines your basic character skills. The S.P.E.C.I.A.L. acronym stands for Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck. When you wake up in Goodspirngs you'll be able to tally points to whichever stat you prefer. Choose wisely, because although a super strong but dumb character can still lead you into trouble. The skills are the same as before, ranging from speech to lock picking to guns. All the stats you pick are what make up who your character is and how people interact with you.
Some less Fallout 3 aspects include new weapon and ammo mods where a lot of the junk you just gathered for spare money can now be used in creating new things. There’s gambling mini-games in New Vegas, where you can try your luck with Blackjack, Roulette and the Slots The biggest addition, and the coolest, is Hardcore Mode. This mode makes surviving so much more difficult that the game actually recommends against enabling it. You can activate it as you begin your journey for a special prize at the end, but you’ll be cursing yourself the whole way through. You’ll have to make sure you regularly feed and rest your character.

Closing Comments
In New Vegas, the fun Fallout 3 formula is intact, with more polished combat, high-quality side missions, and the exciting setting of the Vegas strip. Unfortunately, the bugs also tagged along for the ride. If Obsidian and Bethesda had polished up the game by fixing the AI, improving the animations or even gotten it to run smoothly, perhaps it would feel less like a giant expansion of Fallout 3 and more like its own game. Be that as it may, Fallout 3 was a great game, so as similar as it is, Fallout: New Vegas is still a fun ride that offers more for fans of the series to enjoy. If you can look past its shortcomings, this is definitely a wasteland worth exploring.

PRESENTATION: 7.5 / 10

Long loads, a lot of bugs (although some of them are kind of funny) and the framerate can be relatively choppy at times. Once again, Bethesda could have spent a little more time on their creation, but we’re used to that by now.

GAMEPLAY: 9 / 10

If you loved Fallout 3, I don’t think you can hate this. The gameplay is nearly identical. There’s a lot you can do, but it’s all quite simple.

GRAPHICS: 7.5 / 10

The Mojave is vast, but it’s not exactly beautiful. Well, it is, but I didn’t feel as wowed as I did when Fallout 3 first came out. It seems like the graphics haven’t really been updated from the previous game, but it still looks fantastic.

REPLAY VALUE: 9 / 10

In plain and simple terms: there is SO much to do. I’ve played the game through numerous times and I still know there’s a lot more to do out there in the Mojave and along the New Vegas Strip. I highly recommend you save when you feel the game is near its end, because once again, when the game is done.. it’s simply done and you can’t play in the Wasteland once the credits are through.

FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10

REVIEW: Dead Rising 2

Released: September 28th, 2010
Developer: Blue Castle, Capcom
Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC
Rated: M for Mature

Minor issues and time constraints make for a somewhat flawed game. But it’s still good. It’s damn good.


THE DOWN LOW:

Dead Rising 2 is the sequel to Capcom’s surprising success Dead Rising that was released in 2006. This time around you play as a motocross superstar, Chuck Greene, who makes ends meet as a contestant on the pay-per-view TV show, Terror is Reality. When not duking it out with the undead, he cares for his daughter Katey who was infected in an outbreak that killed his wife years ago in Las Vegas. Katey’s “condition” is kept in check with a daily dose of a medication called Zombrex. After an episode of Terror is Reality, another outbreak begins. Our manly hero escapes to a safe house with his daughter and a handful of other survivors, finds out he’s being framed for the start of the outbreak and needs to clear his name within the 3 day time limit before rescue arrives. Oh, and he also has to hunt down Zombrex to give to Katey every 24 hours. And save survivors. And slay psychopaths.

Yep.

It’s not what one would consider to be a direct sequel to Dead Rising, but it is very reminiscent of it in many aspects so far. You go in and out of your safe haven using an air duct, find yourself lead into a mall, and your missions are relayed to you via radio. Ring a bell?

Considering that the game is quite similar to its predecessor, you’re probably wondering what this game has to bring to the table. The new, shiny feature added to the game is the ability to make “combo weapons”. What really drew people to the original Dead Rising is the concept of being able to pick up pretty well any object to use as a weapon against the undead. Dead Rising 2 is very much the same, but this time you can combine two different items to make something else. One of my favourites is combining the bowie knife with the boxing gloves to create Freddy Krueger like weapons. Killing the undead and saving survivors gains you experience points which help you to level up. As you level up, you’re rewarded with “combo cards” that give those combo weapons more experience point value. This way you can level up quicker.


Leveling up is a great feature. Being a fan of RPG’s, I think having a leveling system is a nice touch. As you progress through the game and level up, you’ll find that your character moves more fluidly and you can also do fancy pants things like jump-kicks and different moves to escape the clutches of the zombies gnawing at your neck. Leveling up will also extend your life bar and give you more spaces to hold your weapons and snacks to keep your health up.

Another add-on that I really enjoy is the options for multiplayer. You can either play co-op or play rounds of competitive mini games. Co-op is played through the regular storyline. You’re just playing the game with an additional player (a twin Chuck). It isn’t necessary, at all, to have an additional body along while you play the storyline but it can be fun. I enjoyed playing the game with a good friend of mine and nothing says bonding like mayhem and carnage. Unless you’re both incredibly driven I can guarantee you’re going to fail a lot of missions together. The game has so many fun things to do and it makes it that much easier to be distracted when you’ve got a friend along for the ride.

Competitive multiplayer is played as if you were all contestants on Terror is Reality. You and three others duke it out in a very American Gladiator-esque setting. The gameplay does come and go very quick, but it’s forgivable because the little games are pretty fun. My favourite was wearing giant antlers to stab and hoist the undead onto a scale for points. Rather disturbing, I know! The best part of the competitive multiplayer is probably the fact that you can take your cash earnings and use them in your single player games. This can come in handy because finding Zombrex for Katey isn’t too easy. Luckily, the pawn shops riddled around the map do sell them (not for cheap. It starts at 25,000 and goes up from there).

On the topic of gameplay.. I’ll have to get to Dead Rising 2’s biggest pitfall for me. That God forsaken game clock. I find that the game has so much to offer and yet I’m constantly running from place to place only to appease the clock. If you run out of time for getting Zombrex to Katey- game over. If you run out of time for completing a case file- game over. And although you do have the option to continue on and save survivors and goof off for the remaining time till rescue arrives.. it sort of makes the game pointless. I had to restart a few times more than I’d like because I was running low on time for both a case file mission AND for getting Katey her Zombrex to the point where it was just impossible. It does give the game a heck of a lot more replay value, but it did sometimes feel tedious to constantly be on the run to beat the clock.

The game also feels a little rough around the edged at times. There’s nothing major to complain about, but sometimes the framerate can be somewhat slow and sometimes the loading screens were a bit too long. Another thing I found myself not liking was the control. As I said in my first impressions, they do leave a bit to be desired. The best word I can use to describe them is “clunky”. Not so irritating that I wanted to tear out my hair, but irritating enough for me to curse words you can’t say in front of children now and again. It can be argued that sometimes the movements of the character are meant to seem more realistic due to the size and mechanics of some of the weapons, but it often times left me sneering at the screen amongst a hoard of the undead.

IN SHORT:

I can’t lie and say that Dead Rising 2 is perfect. It does have its issues that can have you frustrated, but there are plenty of positives to make up for the few short comings. Once you can sit back and appreciate just how fun this game is it puts all the issues right to the back of your mind. A few lagging spots and moments of Tourettes when the clock runs out are all made worthwhile when you combine a car battery to electrify a wheelchair and find yourself mowing through crowds of zombies with it. The game combines a rather serious storyline with very comedic gameplay and at the end of the day.. it just all works.

PRESENTATION: 7 / 10

Rather long loading times and there’s not much different than the first game. From the life bar to the watch, it pretty well looks the same.

GAMEPLAY: 8 / 10

Bashing zombies, completing case files and saving survivors is the name of the game. Also very similar to the first game, but it all runs a wee bit smoother this time around.

GRAPHICS: 7.5 / 10

It all looks pretty good, but it’s nothing spectacular. Occasional slow framerates and “blocky” stiff characters lower the score.

REPLAY VALUE: 9 / 10

The number of weapons in this game is mind boggling. You could spend hours on end simply finding different weapons to use, as well as discovering new combo weapons. As stated above, because of how strict the clock is, you’re gonna miss out on a lot of cool and fun things you could be doing so an additional run through is something I’d consider vital.

FINAL SCORE: 8 / 10

Starcraft 2 Double Elimination Tournament

(excuse the low quality flyer. Blogger is being a hater)

What: Star Craft 2 Tournament!

When: Saturday October 23 2010
Sign up begins at noon, hammer drops at about 2:00pm.

Where: Absolute Power Gaming Center
13839 - 42 Street, Edmonton, Alberta

Game Type: 1 vs 1, Double Elimination

$10 Venue
$10 Pot

Pot Split 60-30-10

You are allowed to bring any of your own equipment you want (keyboards, mice, but not your computer).

NOTE: Theres no sign up. Just show up on the day with 20 bucks and your in

Hosted by EdmontonGamers.com

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Dead Rising 2

Released: September 28th, 2010

Developer: Blue Castle, Capcom

Platforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC

Rated: M for Mature

Dead Rising 2 is the sequel to Capcom’s surprising success Dead Rising that was released in 2006. This time around you play as a motocross superstar, Chuck Greene, who makes ends meet as a contestant on the pay-per-view TV show, Terror is Reality. When not duking it out with the undead, he cares for his daughter Katey who was infected in an outbreak that killed his wife years ago in Las Vegas. Katey’s “condition” is kept in check with a daily dose of a medication called Zombrex. After an episode of Terror is Reality, another outbreak begins.Our manly hero escapes to a safe house with his daughter and a handful of other survivors, finds out he’s being framed for the start of the outbreak and needsto clear his name within the 3 day time limit before rescue arrives. Oh, and he also has to hunt down Zombrex to give to Katey every 24 hours. And save survivors. And slay psychopaths.

Yep.

It’s not what one would consider to be a direct sequel to Dead Rising, but it is very reminiscent of it in many aspects so far. You go in and out of your safe haven using an air duct, find yourself lead into a mall, and your missions are relayed to you via radio. Ring a bell? It’s lack of change is forgivable in most ways.. except for the controls. The controls still leave a bit to be desired. The best word I can use to describe them is “clunky”. Not so irritating that I wanted to tear out my hair, but irritating enough for me to curse words you can’t say in front of children now and again. Dealing with clunky controls while being forced to face hundreds of the undead just doesn’t fly so well.

Luckily, the sometimes annoying controls don’t take away from the copious amounts of fun I’m having with this game. I’ve only sunk a couple hours into it and it’s got me hooked. There’s a certain void in my heart that only hitting zombie with an electric guitar can fill. I can't say too much considering I haven't played it through, but I will say that it's looking good.

Stay tuned, guys (and gals) because you’ll be sure to see my full review of Dead Rising 2 within the week.

Happy hunting!

-Decode (Shayla H.)