NEW BORDERLANDS ART STYLE

Uhhh.. I think we finally found a ChupacabraI think I like the new art style GearBox Software is going for with their highly anticipated game, Borderlands. But I’m hesitant to praise the new art direction. Borderlands has been in my top 10 games list ever since I first heard about it in 2006. I really liked the gritty, Mad Max type of setting it was in and I was digging the realism painstakingly created pixel by pixel by the GearBox artists. But then they changed it. I honestly don’t know if I like it more now, or less. It looks like they created a new Toon Shader (cel-shaded like comic book style) but still kept some form of realism in their textures. Kind of a cross between Crackdown and Team Fortress 2? Those games jump in my head when I see these new screens. What games do these screenshots remind you of?
C’mon dude, take off the Jason mask. I can’t take you seriously.
For those of you who have not seen or heard about Borderlands before, you can check out my Most Anticipated Games of 2009 I wrote a few months back as Borderlands was mentioned and there is a trailer you can watch. Even though I still don’t think the game has been confirmed for 2009, I’m holding out hope. And you should too because this game has the potential to be big.
Enter “screaming like a little girl” caption here
So these are some of the new screenshots GearBox Software released to the public. Below you will find some older screenshots of an earlier build of the game. That way you can kind of get an idea on what changed. From the looks of it, it’s just a slight change in textures. The game should be a blast either way. I didn’t like that they changed the artistic style at first but after looking at them while writing this post, I’m becoming more impressed with the detail shown. Either way, I think I’ll be buying this one. As long as Mel Gibson makes a cameo of course. No? OK, maybe not.
Damnit! We have to fight vagina faced monsters too!?

BIONIC COMMANDO DEMO IMPRESSIONS

Bionic Commando eh? Hmmm.. sure why not? I’ll check it out. But I doubt I’m going to like it. I predict that the controls will be frustratingly difficult and I will want to drop out of the multiplayer match after just a few minutes. That’s what I said to myself as I was about to start the Bionic Commando multiplayer demo. Well, I was kind of right, but I was also wrong.

First match was obviously just an experiment on how to move my guy around and how to kill any other guy that crosses my path. At first, I found the controls difficult but not actually frustrating. I could overhear other people talking (especially the guy with an amazing 10 kill lead already) saying to just give the game a few tries. On about the 5th time you play it, you should have the controls down and you should be seeing how much fun you can have. For me, the first match was not a shining moment in my life. With 0 kills and 8 deaths, let’s just say I did not do as well as I planned. Ahh forget it, I got pwned! Big time. But again, it was kind of predictable. If I ended up getting the most kills on my first try in a game I’ve never played before, you’d have to call me the Wizard. But the Wizard I am not. Or am I?

Second match I played was quite different than the first. I don’t know what happened to me but the game, the controls, the grappling hook and arm just connected. I started getting into a flow with this new game which felt like a mix of Lost Planet and Spiderman. (Yes, that is a good thing) Being able to swing from beam to beam, building to building was fun especially when you’re chasing after someone and shooting their direction at the same time. It gets crazy when you’re doing that and you have a guy right behind you trying to kill you and the guy I’m trying to kill. I can see some of the matches being a huge conga line of deaths with the guy coming up from behind having the advantage of getting most of the kills. A majority of the time, that guy behind me did indeed kill us both. Wish I knew how.

I found some of my deaths to be unexplainable. There must be a weapon or some type of button you can press that magically sends you flying off the top of buildings because it happened to me many times. It was almost like a shockwave that blew me over the edge and I think I’ll play it again tonight to try and figure out what the hell it was. I had a lot of trouble killing my enemies at first. But I finally found some of the weapons, armor and health spawn points and from then on, I whored ’em like I used to whore the rockets in Halo 2. (yea, that was me that kept killing you over and over again as well as the complimentary teabag) But for me, I finally caught up with the leader in kills by not using the weapons themselves, but by using my big ass arm. Hit your enemy once with your arm and it’s instant death. I can see this being a major complaint in multiplayer.

That’s probably not the best thing for this game. One hit kills in any game can get frustrating for the guy on the other end of my arm. Here this guy is, running and swinging all over the place, trying to shoot me or somehow toss me over the edge to my imminent death, and all I had to do was walk up to the guy and bitch slap his ass. Sure enough, it worked! Instant death. I soon found myself in the lead as I bitch slapped nearly every person in the match. In the end, I tied for first place with 9 kills. First match, 0 kills. Second match, 9 kills. I did not expect to catch onto this game that quickly. But I did, and I found it rewarding. If you see other demo impressions with a negative outlook on this game, it’s most likely because they did not get a chance to feel what it was like to win. Or to at least get more than one kill. I can see myself giving this demo a bad impression if each of my matches were exactly like my first. But it wasn’t, it was better than I had predicted.

When all said and done, I really liked this demo. However, it is probably one of the more shorter demos you will play this year. I think there is a reason behind that as I found myself wanting more. Even though you play on the same, small level each and every time. I wanted to keep playing on different levels and for longer periods, so to that extent, I think the developers were successful. The weapons could be a bit better as some felt extremely weak being shot in third person. And you don’t really aim all that much either. At least, you don’t have time to aim. (There is almost always someone respawning behind you so standing there aiming a sniper is not bright) When I first heard about this game, I didn’t know what to expect. After playing the demo, I can honestly say I was impressed with the ‘fun’ factor and I hope to have even more fun with the single player campaign when the game is released. As for multiplayer? I can see my friends and I playing this a lot if they give it a chance, but then again I thought my friends would be playing Left 4 Dead with me as well. So who knows? This demo is probably going to get a lot of mixed reactions but for me, from The Gamer Report, I definitely recommend you try this out. If you do, feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you think.

To get another viewpoint (one that is opposite of mine)read another impression over at Ars Technica…

GAME INDUSTRY: HUMPDAY HAPPENINGS

Wow! Lots of news out today. I couldn’t even fit it all under the headlines so I’ll make this post about some of the more exciting news, happenings and rumors going around the the internet best known as, a series of tubes. Or something like that.

First up, 1UP.com has some new PSP details they believe are for the new PSP model, now known as “PSP Go!”. This of course, was leaked “on accident”. Oh yea, I’m sure. First it was PSP 4000, now we have an even catchier name to compete with the iPhone and DS. The name doesn’t really matter, what matters is the improvments to the overall design to the PSP and the new features added to help sway people like me who don’t own a PSP yet, to finally make that leap and get down and dirty on some PSP Resistance: Retribution. A game my buddy worked on, which I talk about in this interview.

Here is a screenshot of what the new PSP might look like. All we know right now really is the screen will, or at least should be, bigger and better. More clear and most likely, a slide out screen to give more room for controls and give you some better visuals with an enlarged screen. It may even arrive on our doorsteps this fall. If you’re like me, you’ll start saving money to buy it right now. Check it out!

The next bit of news I’d love to share is this new Lost Planet 2 trailer. If you look closely, the absolutely immense boss battles Capcom is so known for, is on full display. However, I can’t help but notice similarities to a certain boss battle in Gears of War 2. What came first? Chicken or the egg? Y’know what I mean? It’s probably just coincidence that it looks similar there coming out of the water but Capcom made sure to surpass any EPIC boss battle conceived in the world of Gears. For a while, it looks like Lost Planet 2 is just more of the same. Big dude comes out, you start shooting all the glowing parts on his body, he chases you and all you can do is continue to run around in a circle to get the best angle on the son of a bitch. It’s tough to do, and sometimes these huge boss battles wear me out! But in the end, I thought it was pretty cool how you have to grapple on top of this beast and finish him off. My only concern is, what the hell is inside these things to make them explode like that?

Finally, some sad news, or good news depending on your viewpoint on military and political issues in video games, Konami has announced it has dropped Six Days in Fallujah. Atomic Games is now looking for a new publisher to pick this up. They’re still working on it and as most devs I’m sure feel when they start creating a new game experience only to have the money men swipe the game from under their feet, that does not make them want to stop making the game. It encourages them to keep pushing forward, especially when the developers honestly believe in what they are creating. So good luck to them and I hope to see some type of version of Six Days in Fallujah somewhere down the road. It might be a sensitive topic right now because the war is still ongoing, but there are so many stories to tell. And I think that’s all they want to do is to share one of those stories with us. So I say let ’em do it. We still live in a free country right? Right!?

Here is what Atomic had to say:

“We were informed on Thursday night that Konami had decided to pull out of Six Days in Fallujah. This caught us by surprise. Development of the game had been progressing very well and on schedule. We would very much like the opportunity to complete the game.”

DEAD RISING 2 GAMEPLAY VIDEO

I didn’t want to post this video of new Dead Rising 2 Gameplay because I really didn’t like the first Dead Rising. It got old very quickly for me, even more so than killing random pedestrians in GTA. However, new and more ridiculous ways of killing zombies (example of a developer thinking outside the box) especially with what happens at the end of this video, absolutely warrants a quick post to share with all of you. That’s if you’re one of the few people left who have not seen this yet. Best news out of today so far is, in Dead Rising 2, there will be multiplayer. If I can go head to head with my buddies online with both of us in these kamikaze dirt bikes with makeshift chainsaw handlebars you see in this trailer, I do believe that would equal an EPIC win. Enjoy!

Dead Rising 2 is currently being developed by Blue Castle Games in Vancouver, BC.

GAME STUDENTS/DEVELOPERS: DON’T GIVE UP! THINK INDIE

Do you find yourself on the verge of giving up sometimes trying to get into the game industry? Are you in the game industry already but are currently out of a job? Don’t give up! Well, that’s a lot easier said than done, isn’t it? I’m finding it hard sometimes in my current position in life to stay inspired. To think of an idea and run with it until completion is hard to do, especially if you’re the only one doing all the work. If you’re like me and you think too big sometimes and start a huge project you can’t finish on your own, maybe we should be thinking on a smaller scale. To stay positive in an environment that has such a negative outlook takes a determined and dedicated soul. Fortunately for many in the game industry and for many students who want to be part of this industry, there are multiple different paths to take to finally “make it”.

Which is where this GameCareerGuide.com article can come in as a good source of inspiration. It’s called, What I learned as an Indie, by German game developer Tobias Heussner. It’s not going to give you all the answers you’ve been looking for but it will provide a personal experience on what it’s like to start small and make your way to the top.

Makes sense to me. Start small, network with as many people in the game industry as you can, stay in contact with fellow students (you never know when your classmate may get hired and end up helping you get hired as well) and try to gain real world experience without getting hired at a major studio. But it’s so hard! Right? Of course it is. This industry is extremely competitive and even when you do get hired, you still have to battle to keep your job as there is always someone trying to take it from you. There will always be someone who thinks they can do your job, but better. Stay strong my friends. I’m in the same position you guys are in and all I can offer is my optimism. Oh, and a link this this article on GameCareerGuide and other similar articles. Take what you can from the information I present in here and take the right steps to making your dream career a reality. Think outside the box, think innovation, think indie.

WOLFENSTEIN OPENING CINEMATIC: NEIN! NEIN!

One of the few popular games of the past I haven’t had the chance to play just yet is Wolfenstein. I don’t know much about this game so I am looking forward to seeing what the next gen version is all about. My first real look into this game is this new opening cinematic. Only problem with this trailer is, it doesn’t represent actual gameplay and that’s what matters most to me. The character in this trailer looks like a mix of Max Payne and Nathan Drake from Uncharted. Except with a WWII/Nazi-ish twist I guess. Either way, even with my absolute disgust for another WWII themed game, I’m keeping my eye on this one. The developers claim it’s not really a WWII game anyway, it just happens to take place during that time.

Wolfenstein is currently under development by Raven Software in Wisconsin.

RELAX: FLOWER GAMEPLAY VIDEO

I hate to say it, I really do. But I have a feeling the time will come when I will finally buy a PS3. With games like Flower and even God of War III coming out soon, it would be a good time to buy one. As long as I can somehow get my 360 controller to work on the PS3, I think I’ll be a happy camper. Until then, all I can do is relax and watch this nice quality clip of the game Flower.

Source: Everydaygamers.com

SECTION 8 TO BE ALL THE FPS IT CAN BE?

There is a pretty interesting article over at Ripten about Section 8, detailing how TimeGate is preparing it’s new FPS to be your next video game addiction. They’re even taking out all the annoying parts you hate about your current favorite FPS. Tired of getting spawn killed? Eliminated. Tired of hopping in a vehicle and just being a useless passenger? Eliminated. Tired of walking all the way across the map only to watch yourself take a shot to the dome and have to start the spawn countdown all over again? Eliminated. (see: Halo with Jetpacks?)And the way they are getting past some of these obstacles are pretty creative. So far, from what I have seen about this game, it’s looks pretty promising. It’s supposed to come out Fall 2009 but I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a delay somewhere down the road. There has already been some legal drama with this game so they’re not off to the best start. Let’s see where this goes, I’ll hold my excitement until I see some actual gameplay. Check out the Ripten article though, it’s a good read.

1 vs 100 IS SO CLOSE TO REALITY

I know we’ve heard about 1 vs 100 for a while now but the time for us all to take part in an online game show is almost upon us. This may be coming out with a whole new Spring update so I wonder what else will be in this new content? I really don’t know much about the game show 1 vs 100 itself other than knowing Bob Saget was the host of the TV version. From doing a quick Google search, it looks like the show was originally started in the Netherlands. The game pits one person, hopefully that’s you, against 100 and you’re asked a multiple choice question. The object of the game is to eliminate all 100 of your opponents by answering the questions correctly and you win real prizes. I think that’s how it goes, I have to admit I’ve never watched the show just for the fact that Bob Saget was the host. America’s Funniest Videos is still funny ’til this day, but once you’re part of something so classic as that show and Full House, you can’t get any better than that. It’s got to be hard to top two shows that were so memorable for so many people. But we’ll see what happens. For now, enjoy the new trailer of the Xbox 360 version of 1 vs 100. Oh, and this game is free for Xbox Live Gold members. Woo Hoo!

DAMNATION: GET STEAMPUNKED

Credit: CinemaBlend.com
Blue Omega Entertainment may very well put themselves on the video game map with the highly anticipated (aren’t all games highly anticipated? Why do we even write that?) vertical shooter, Damnation. As you can see in these two videos I have posted, the AI they show off looks to be outstanding. I can’t wait to get my hands on this game to take it for a real spin, but the spin the developers are putting on this new Steampunk inspired game is enough to warrant your undivided attention. It does for me at least. Check out the videos and the commentary by some of the developers who worked on Damnation and tell me what you think in the comments.

Credit: Destructoid.com