Haven't posted in forever, But it's VGAs night!
Pure speculation right now, but that last reveal, "The Phantom Pain" is for Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Really, I'm just kind of spit balling, considering the guy missing hand looks a lot like Snake. The rendering also seemed similar to the reveal a couple months back.
UPDATE: The Internet is going mad over this reveal. Apparently I'm not the only one who figured this was Metal Gear Solid. Kojima wasn't in the audience for nothing. Apparently, an announcement with more will be coming up soon from the studio.
-Frankie out.
Friday, December 7, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
#RageFace: USPS? Walmart?
Like the rest of the Xbox gamers out there, I should be playing Halo 4 right now. In fact, I purchased a limited edition copy of Halo 4 online via Walmart (Amazon was sold out) with a guarantee that my game would arrive by launch day. Spent my hard earned $110 dollars on it too.
Halo 4 launched Tuesday.
Where's my game?? I'd like to know that too, actually.
According to the Walmart website, my package arrived successfully at my local post office Tuesday. It claims that my guarantee was, in fact, guaranteed; my package should be waiting for me. However, after checking my mailbox for the past two days, there's no notice that a certain package was there waiting for me.
To investigate further, I went on the USPS package tracking site. I put in the tracking number and...nothing. I get an error message from the website saying that my package cannot be tracked from their website. I sent an email to Walmart customer service, but God know when I'll get a reply from that.
I'm not sure who's to blame for this one. I've never trusted the USPS, only really entrusting them with my monthly Gameinformer. I normally go through UPS for my online shopping needs: ThinkGeek, Amazon, Zappos, everything. I trust the bros in brown; and now that I've put my trust in another service, they let me down. USPS also has a history of losing people's things, my family included, and a certain corruption in the service where employees would steal packages.
Walmart also seems equally to blame. Their guarantee was not guarantee, although that is yet to be confirmed. I did receive an email confirming it had been shipped, which is better than nothing. However, the big corporations always seem to be the ones to blame with bad customer service and such, so it seems that this may very well be their fault too.
I'm angry, and I really just want my game. I won't settle for a normal copy, because I put down nearly double the money so I could get everything. If anyone, in my lack of audience, would be willing to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
-Frankie out.
Halo 4 launched Tuesday.
Where's my game?? I'd like to know that too, actually.
According to the Walmart website, my package arrived successfully at my local post office Tuesday. It claims that my guarantee was, in fact, guaranteed; my package should be waiting for me. However, after checking my mailbox for the past two days, there's no notice that a certain package was there waiting for me.
To investigate further, I went on the USPS package tracking site. I put in the tracking number and...nothing. I get an error message from the website saying that my package cannot be tracked from their website. I sent an email to Walmart customer service, but God know when I'll get a reply from that.
I'm not sure who's to blame for this one. I've never trusted the USPS, only really entrusting them with my monthly Gameinformer. I normally go through UPS for my online shopping needs: ThinkGeek, Amazon, Zappos, everything. I trust the bros in brown; and now that I've put my trust in another service, they let me down. USPS also has a history of losing people's things, my family included, and a certain corruption in the service where employees would steal packages.
Walmart also seems equally to blame. Their guarantee was not guarantee, although that is yet to be confirmed. I did receive an email confirming it had been shipped, which is better than nothing. However, the big corporations always seem to be the ones to blame with bad customer service and such, so it seems that this may very well be their fault too.
I'm angry, and I really just want my game. I won't settle for a normal copy, because I put down nearly double the money so I could get everything. If anyone, in my lack of audience, would be willing to help, it would be greatly appreciated.
-Frankie out.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Quickie: Assassin's Creed 3
Haven't posted in a while, but it's not like I have an audience anyway :P
Back to the point though: tomorrow is the launch of Assassin's Creed III, what may very well be the last game in the series (I doubt it, businesswise, but it's possible). If this series doesn't suffer the same fate that Ubisoft's last huge franchise, Prince of Persia, we will hopefully see more games in the next generation. The series Watch Dogs looks promising though, so Ubi may put there assets into that.
All of this speculation is beyond the point, though: I'M SUPER EXCITED!!! The Assassin's Creed franchises has been one of my favorite new IP's this generation, and I'm glad to see the series come through and conclude(?)
Assassin's Creed 3 will be released in North America on October 30
Until then, Frankie out.
Back to the point though: tomorrow is the launch of Assassin's Creed III, what may very well be the last game in the series (I doubt it, businesswise, but it's possible). If this series doesn't suffer the same fate that Ubisoft's last huge franchise, Prince of Persia, we will hopefully see more games in the next generation. The series Watch Dogs looks promising though, so Ubi may put there assets into that.
All of this speculation is beyond the point, though: I'M SUPER EXCITED!!! The Assassin's Creed franchises has been one of my favorite new IP's this generation, and I'm glad to see the series come through and conclude(?)
Assassin's Creed 3 will be released in North America on October 30
Until then, Frankie out.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Quickie: Dishonored
By the looks of all the new reviews popping up everywhere, the Dishonored embargo has been broken, and scores are up!
This game has to be amazing!
Although I was not able to play this game at PAX, I will be be picking it up Tuesday as a little birthday present to myself :) I'll play through it and then write a review for you all.
Until then, I'll try to see if I can keep up the site a little better.
-Frankie out.
This game has to be amazing!
Although I was not able to play this game at PAX, I will be be picking it up Tuesday as a little birthday present to myself :) I'll play through it and then write a review for you all.
Until then, I'll try to see if I can keep up the site a little better.
-Frankie out.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Impressions: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance
Let me get this out of the way now: This game is by no means a game. Confused? You should be.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance isn't an action/hack 'n slash, it's a badass ninja simulator. In the few minutes I was able to play it at PAX, I have never felt quite as awesome in a video game before. It gave me that euphoric feeling of awesomeness that comes from getting an epicly long killstreak, getting through a stage on Mario without dying, beating a boss in Dark Souls, getting anywhere in Contra without the Konami code: It's just that awesome.
The demo starts as a scientist runs Raiden through an AR training ground. This is where the game introduces you to the slicing mechanic. With a press of a button, time slows down and the camera pans in to over Raiden's shoulder, allowing you to get a good, up-close view of your target. The slicing is all done through using the right stick. Every movement of the stick translates to a slice, allowing you to slice as much as possible. This much slicing lead to an awkward moment for me, though:
I crashed the game.
I looked back to the developer and asked for assistance. After he rebooted the game, I was back in the demo and cutting things up as fast as I could, or rather as fast I wanted to so I wouldn't crash the game again. Despite the crash, I was awfully surprised by how powerful the game was. In one area of the training grounds stood a picnic table with various watermelons on it just like the original reveal trailer. I sliced up the melons and looked at the area surrounding it. A Roman aqueduct looking-thing stood with twelve different pillars. Being curious, I ran around and cut each pillar and, unexpectedly, the whole thing came down. Even if the objects fade out quickly after hitting the ground, that's still a lot to render.
The demo continued into a scene showed off before at E3, the Gekko fight. I spent more of my time running around trying to find all the things I could slice. I was able to cut down a giant ferris wheel, and that made me happy :) There was one moment when I tried cutting a square into a wall and hoped the square would flop down and I could sneak up on him. To my dismay, it didn't work :(
The game then transitioned into a set-piece moment when I was running away from a helicopter across a crumbling bridge. I decided I was done with the helicopter, and then I fought it in a crazy boss battle. I was jumping along pillars, running up missiles, and slicing the hell out of this thing until it blew up :)
It wasn't until I re-read this that I was using "I" instead of Raiden. I guess it goes to show how immersive the game was. The controls were fantastic, replicating every quick movement of a robot ninja badass among all these intelligent enemies.
Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance cuts onto store shelves February 19, 2013. Pick it up and enjoy being a robot-ninja-badass :)
Frankie out.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance isn't an action/hack 'n slash, it's a badass ninja simulator. In the few minutes I was able to play it at PAX, I have never felt quite as awesome in a video game before. It gave me that euphoric feeling of awesomeness that comes from getting an epicly long killstreak, getting through a stage on Mario without dying, beating a boss in Dark Souls, getting anywhere in Contra without the Konami code: It's just that awesome.
The demo starts as a scientist runs Raiden through an AR training ground. This is where the game introduces you to the slicing mechanic. With a press of a button, time slows down and the camera pans in to over Raiden's shoulder, allowing you to get a good, up-close view of your target. The slicing is all done through using the right stick. Every movement of the stick translates to a slice, allowing you to slice as much as possible. This much slicing lead to an awkward moment for me, though:
I crashed the game.
I looked back to the developer and asked for assistance. After he rebooted the game, I was back in the demo and cutting things up as fast as I could, or rather as fast I wanted to so I wouldn't crash the game again. Despite the crash, I was awfully surprised by how powerful the game was. In one area of the training grounds stood a picnic table with various watermelons on it just like the original reveal trailer. I sliced up the melons and looked at the area surrounding it. A Roman aqueduct looking-thing stood with twelve different pillars. Being curious, I ran around and cut each pillar and, unexpectedly, the whole thing came down. Even if the objects fade out quickly after hitting the ground, that's still a lot to render.
The demo continued into a scene showed off before at E3, the Gekko fight. I spent more of my time running around trying to find all the things I could slice. I was able to cut down a giant ferris wheel, and that made me happy :) There was one moment when I tried cutting a square into a wall and hoped the square would flop down and I could sneak up on him. To my dismay, it didn't work :(
The game then transitioned into a set-piece moment when I was running away from a helicopter across a crumbling bridge. I decided I was done with the helicopter, and then I fought it in a crazy boss battle. I was jumping along pillars, running up missiles, and slicing the hell out of this thing until it blew up :)
It wasn't until I re-read this that I was using "I" instead of Raiden. I guess it goes to show how immersive the game was. The controls were fantastic, replicating every quick movement of a robot ninja badass among all these intelligent enemies.
Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance cuts onto store shelves February 19, 2013. Pick it up and enjoy being a robot-ninja-badass :)
Frankie out.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Impressions: Playstation All-Stars: Battle Royale
So many colons for one title!
This weekend was full of different gaming experiences, and I'll tell you all about them :)
To start out, the game I had the most experience with - Playstation All-Stars. Before PAX, I was under the impression that this game is just a blatant Smash Bros. clone. Nevertheless, the gameplay is similar, but the differences really make it shine on its own.
At the convention, the demo was limited to three-minute timed battles, leaving short lines for people to get in, play the game, and leave with a big smile on their faces. Players pressed start and picked their character based on the roster so far: Big Daddy, Good and Bad Cole, Kratos, Raiden, Dante, Parappa, Nathan Drake, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Fat Princess, Radec, Heihachi, Sackboy, Sweet Tooth, Sly, Spike, Toro, and the newly announced Nariko and Sir Daniel Fortesque. From what I experienced in the demo, the only way to change a character's color was to select the same character as someone else. Hopefully this changes in the final product.
The next screen, once everyone was ready, was the map selection. All the maps were in preview screens along the left side with a larger image of the map on the right. Only seven maps were playable, with the Time Station map excluded in the demo. There's was also the all-important random button, for when you and your buddies was to just jump into the game.
I can't really make up my mind on which map was my favorite. That would be a tie between Dreamscape (LBP/Buzz) and Sandover Village (Hot Shot/J&D). The first map builds upon itself as the game goes by, expanding to it's full size by the two minute mark. Then, randomly, Buzz pops up and asks a question. The answers are then labeled to five different spots on the map. This really adds to the gameplay, where all the characters are rushing to the correct answer not to get penalized. Sandover Village is nice because it may end up being the "Hyrule Castle" of Allstars, being the largest map available in the demo.
Now, the gameplay on all of these maps is really fun. All the characters have their own little intro when they arrive on the field, and then the battle begins :) The controls were a tad bit difficult to pick up, as they are more to that of Street Fighter than Smash Bros. The X button is the dedicated jump/drop button, but the other face buttons are all for combat. Each button can be pressed independently or modified with the left stick, leaving each character with at least 15 different moves. The one difficult thing was understanding what each button was going to do when you pressed it. When I press Square, will it be a longer range attack? A heavy attack? Having this kind of notification would be nice. The right thumb stick is for grabbing and throwing character, R1 is for picking up items, L1 is block, L2 is taunt, and R2 unleashes your Super Attack so you can start scoring.
Scoring in Allstars is a little different than Smash Bros. There's no "ring-outs" or percentages. Each hit on an opposing character builds your AP gauge. This gauge lets, once it reaches a level, allows you to perform Super Moves, which then allow you to kill the other characters to score. Each level stacks on each other: the more you save up, the more powerful you will be. Every kill counts for two points, and every death is -1.
Each different character has a different play style to them. My personal preference of characters in fighting games are ones that have good speed and range, and being able to get in, out, and leave your mark. I first played as Nathan Drake, because I love Uncharted. He wasn't too terribly fast, had pretty good range, but his move set was too reliant on guns and staying at a distance. I then tried Raiden, hoping he would be better. He has a fairly limited range, but is incredibly fast and does a bunch of damage. Dante is fairly similar, but preforms better in the air with long combo juggles between his guns and blades. But then, after going through the demo several times, I found my ideal character.
Kratos.
This game fully encompasses the badassery of being the f*cking God of War. Kratos is moderately fast, and his move set uses several of the different weapons featured in his games. Nariko is marginally faster moving, but doesn't quite pack the same punch as Kratos. He seems to be the only character with a distance grapple, when he throws his swords forward into another character, and pulls himself in to deal some damage. I stuck with Kratos for the rest of my playthroughs.
The same faults with this game arise as they did with Smash Bros. Sometimes, the action can get a little hectic and hard to follow on screen, especially when people use the same characters. With the additional power of the Playstation 3, though, there's never any chugging whatsoever. I'd also like to point out the map Dojo, the Parappa and Resistance crossover. Although some purists may like it for one-on-one duels, it's tiny and just a flat platform. I think I'll avoid it when I pick up this game this fall. The map count is also kind-of lacking. I hope more maps are unlockable in the final game. The character count is moderately sized, but it could be added on to with in-game unlockables or DLC, or kept just the way it is to ensure balance. The character models also looked a tad lacking, but this wasn't the final build of the game.
I really like this game :) It's fun, satisfying, and it'll be great to play with some buddies on the couch. I recommend you pick it up this fall, because I'm sure I will.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal fights its way out on November 20th in the US, November 21st PAL, November 22nd Australia, and November 23rd UK and Ireland.
-Frankie Out.
This weekend was full of different gaming experiences, and I'll tell you all about them :)
To start out, the game I had the most experience with - Playstation All-Stars. Before PAX, I was under the impression that this game is just a blatant Smash Bros. clone. Nevertheless, the gameplay is similar, but the differences really make it shine on its own.
At the convention, the demo was limited to three-minute timed battles, leaving short lines for people to get in, play the game, and leave with a big smile on their faces. Players pressed start and picked their character based on the roster so far: Big Daddy, Good and Bad Cole, Kratos, Raiden, Dante, Parappa, Nathan Drake, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Fat Princess, Radec, Heihachi, Sackboy, Sweet Tooth, Sly, Spike, Toro, and the newly announced Nariko and Sir Daniel Fortesque. From what I experienced in the demo, the only way to change a character's color was to select the same character as someone else. Hopefully this changes in the final product.
The next screen, once everyone was ready, was the map selection. All the maps were in preview screens along the left side with a larger image of the map on the right. Only seven maps were playable, with the Time Station map excluded in the demo. There's was also the all-important random button, for when you and your buddies was to just jump into the game.
I can't really make up my mind on which map was my favorite. That would be a tie between Dreamscape (LBP/Buzz) and Sandover Village (Hot Shot/J&D). The first map builds upon itself as the game goes by, expanding to it's full size by the two minute mark. Then, randomly, Buzz pops up and asks a question. The answers are then labeled to five different spots on the map. This really adds to the gameplay, where all the characters are rushing to the correct answer not to get penalized. Sandover Village is nice because it may end up being the "Hyrule Castle" of Allstars, being the largest map available in the demo.
Now, the gameplay on all of these maps is really fun. All the characters have their own little intro when they arrive on the field, and then the battle begins :) The controls were a tad bit difficult to pick up, as they are more to that of Street Fighter than Smash Bros. The X button is the dedicated jump/drop button, but the other face buttons are all for combat. Each button can be pressed independently or modified with the left stick, leaving each character with at least 15 different moves. The one difficult thing was understanding what each button was going to do when you pressed it. When I press Square, will it be a longer range attack? A heavy attack? Having this kind of notification would be nice. The right thumb stick is for grabbing and throwing character, R1 is for picking up items, L1 is block, L2 is taunt, and R2 unleashes your Super Attack so you can start scoring.
Scoring in Allstars is a little different than Smash Bros. There's no "ring-outs" or percentages. Each hit on an opposing character builds your AP gauge. This gauge lets, once it reaches a level, allows you to perform Super Moves, which then allow you to kill the other characters to score. Each level stacks on each other: the more you save up, the more powerful you will be. Every kill counts for two points, and every death is -1.
Each different character has a different play style to them. My personal preference of characters in fighting games are ones that have good speed and range, and being able to get in, out, and leave your mark. I first played as Nathan Drake, because I love Uncharted. He wasn't too terribly fast, had pretty good range, but his move set was too reliant on guns and staying at a distance. I then tried Raiden, hoping he would be better. He has a fairly limited range, but is incredibly fast and does a bunch of damage. Dante is fairly similar, but preforms better in the air with long combo juggles between his guns and blades. But then, after going through the demo several times, I found my ideal character.
Kratos.
This game fully encompasses the badassery of being the f*cking God of War. Kratos is moderately fast, and his move set uses several of the different weapons featured in his games. Nariko is marginally faster moving, but doesn't quite pack the same punch as Kratos. He seems to be the only character with a distance grapple, when he throws his swords forward into another character, and pulls himself in to deal some damage. I stuck with Kratos for the rest of my playthroughs.
The same faults with this game arise as they did with Smash Bros. Sometimes, the action can get a little hectic and hard to follow on screen, especially when people use the same characters. With the additional power of the Playstation 3, though, there's never any chugging whatsoever. I'd also like to point out the map Dojo, the Parappa and Resistance crossover. Although some purists may like it for one-on-one duels, it's tiny and just a flat platform. I think I'll avoid it when I pick up this game this fall. The map count is also kind-of lacking. I hope more maps are unlockable in the final game. The character count is moderately sized, but it could be added on to with in-game unlockables or DLC, or kept just the way it is to ensure balance. The character models also looked a tad lacking, but this wasn't the final build of the game.
I really like this game :) It's fun, satisfying, and it'll be great to play with some buddies on the couch. I recommend you pick it up this fall, because I'm sure I will.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal fights its way out on November 20th in the US, November 21st PAL, November 22nd Australia, and November 23rd UK and Ireland.
-Frankie Out.
Friday, August 31, 2012
On to PAX
Now that I'm done with school for the week, I'm driving to Seattle for PAX :) I'll be posting impressions on the demos and trailers premiering at PAX, such as Halo 4, Gears of War: Judgement, and Dishonored. If any other games are announced, I'll be sure to write about them.
-Frankie out.
-Frankie out.
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