BLUR TO REVOLUTIONIZE RACING GENRE?

Burnout? What’s that? Mario Kart? Hmmm.. never heard of it. Destruction Derby? That was then, this is now. Blur is the new game from Bizarre Creations that may soon change the car racing genre forever. Yea, I said it. It has that level of potential. Will it change the genre forever? Well, it’s up to Bizarre and how well they execute this wonderful idea. They will have some heavy competition so, I’ll take the wait and see approach. So far though, the game looks very promising. What say you?

Credit: DigitalSomething.com

ALIENS vs PREDATOR: NOWHERE IS SAFE

I‘ve been waiting for a decent game to come out to take on some aliens again since I played Area 51 back on the original Xbox. Now, I know there have been other games that have come out with aliens in them since then, but to me, they just didn’t cut it. Don’t knock me for liking Area 51. Duel-wielding those assault rifles was one hell of a ride. It kept me entertained and it just worked for me. What else works for me? Another game not just involving aliens, but Arnold Schwarzenegger’s archenemy, the Predator. Yea.. that scary dreadlocked Jamaican alien… dude. I don’t know what it is about dreadlocks, but ever since that movie came out, they frighten me.

But the fun doesn’t stop there my friends. Not only do you have to take on The Governator’s archenemy, you also have the responsibility to take on Sigourney Weaver’s archenemy.. those damn slimey Aliens with multiple heads coming out of their mouths. Lots of them! Can a Marine catch a break in this game or what!? Chances are? Probably not.

Nowhere is safe. You are a hunter. You are a survivor. It’s your job to make sure you’re not their prey. Good luck, you’re going to need it.

Credit: That VideoGame Blog

NECESSARY FORCE DEBUT GAMEPLAY TRAILER

I hope, somehow, someway, this game is still alive even though the developers, Midway Newcastle, have been shut down since the last time I discussed their videogame trailer. Warner Bros. bought out most of game developer Midway, except for Midway San Diego and Midway Newcastle. But there are still trailers being released for the game they were working hard on right before they closed down, Necessary Force. So what’s going on? Wish I had the answer. Not sure I, or anyone else will get an answer to what will happen with this game.

Until then, all we can do is speculate and enjoy the gameplay video above. It’s not crazy impressive as some videos have been lately, but you can tell it is still in an early stage of development and needed some obvious tweaks. When an enemy you chase just stands there waiting for you to beat him to a pulp, you know the AI still needs a lot of tweaking. With that said, any game that is inspired or somehow resembles Max Payne, is a good thing. This game had hope. Maybe it still does, but again… all speculation.

Credit: CinemaBlend.com

THE GAMER REPORT REVIEW: GHOSTBUSTERS

Guest contributer, DIGGITY, is back with another review. This time it’s Ghostbusters on the 360.

Ghostbusters is a staple of any young boy or girl’s childhood who grew up in the 80’s, early 90’s. I can still remember dressing up in a jumpsuit and attaching a vacuum hose to the side of my backpack, Peter Venkman style. Hard to imagine that I was only 4 when the first Ghostbusters movie came out, but the mood and style of the movie is still current with movies today. A testament to the writing of Dan Akroyd. So when I heard the Ghostbusters game was coming out, I had pretty high hopes that it would satisfy the nostalgia of the old-school style that most of us grew up watching. Well, after playing through Ghostbusters, I can tell you that it definitely lives up to hype! Its got a ton of positives, but some small downfalls that can’t be overlooked. Hopefully this review will help you to decide whether or not you should delve in and find the Ghostbuster in yourself once again.

The style of this game is crafted masterfully. It has the same quirky style of the movies, and even the voice work of the original actors as well. It’s definitely the best retro-style game that I have ever played, that just took me back to good times and fond memories. The game just oozes with attention to detail, from the look of the proton streams and backpacks, to the traps and even Ecto-1. It will really take you back, and if it doesn’t? Just remember that denile ain’t just a river in Egypt! You play as a rookie Ghostbuster, spanning through some well crafted and eerie levels including my personal favorite of the bunch, a museum complete with Civil War ghosts. This journey starts you off as a cowardly noob, but eventually you become one of the crew as the veterans show you the ropes on how to kick some paranormal ass.

The game plays like your typical over-the-shoulder third person shooter. The arsenal of weapons and their versatility is part of what makes this adventure so damn fun! You start out with just the Proton Stream, and slowly gather 3 more weapons as the game progresses, with each being mapped to a direction on the D-Pad. Not only is each weapon upgradeable, but they also gain secondary fire. Each weapon is unique for different situations, for taking out differentghouls and ghosts. Often times you will need to use a combination of 2 or 3 weapons for some of the battles and puzzle elements of the game. See a bridge that needs to be lowered in order to cross? Use the secondary fire mode on the Slime gun called the Slime tether to lower it. Fire one shot which sends a slime-string onto the bottom of the bridge, and fire again to attach it in the direction you want it lowered. You will also get a machine gun type of gun, as well as a shotgun style blast. Even more cool is how the Proton pack changes to identify the weapon you have equipped. Another big mechanic that was well executed and original was the PKE meter. This will bring you to a night-vision style first person view, with the famous PKE meter raised in front of you. This meter will lead you to find hidden or invisible ghosts, artifacts for achievements, money and even let you take picture-like examinations of ghosts and creatures that tells you the best way to take them down. It’s done well, and really adds some variety to the style of the gameplay.

One thing that I found incredibly surprising was that this game was a little bit scary at times! It had that Dead Space, or Resident Evil style unpredictability. Whats even more cool, is how the veterans seem to stay so calm during the mayhem, another testament to the attention to detail.If you have played Dead Space, you will find a ton of similarities in the gameplay of Ghostbusters. Most noticeable is the absence of a HUD. Just as in Dead Space, everything from your life to ammo is displayed or identified on your back. All of your weapons can overheat, in which case reloading is actually manually overheating the weapon by a press of the right bumper. Most of the ghosts that have to be captured, must first be weakened. Once they are weak enough, the proton stream will then wrangle them in a lasso-like fashion. This was the coolest most unique part of the gameplay for me. Once you have them wrangled, it becomes almost like fishing. Throw out your trap which provides a beacon showing you where it is, and start wresting them toward the light. Hold them there long enough and it will eventually suck them down into the trap. There is also an upgrade that will let you slam them to the ground, or into the trap once you have wrangled them enough. They won’t go down easy though. But it never gets old trying to pull and wrestle them bastards down to their doom.

The graphics are pretty darn good, although dragged down by pretty bad framerate issues most of the time. Sometimes the proton stream is so pretty, it’s hard to see where you are even aiming. The shooting aspect of the game definitely takes a little getting used to, as the beam is jagged and awkward from the usual straight shooting ammunition. The game is paced quite well, levels are long and keep the action fresh and exciting. Enviornments and levels are pretty nicely done. One particular level had a hotel that had been overtaken by ocean-like paranormal activity. Coral would open and then quickly close as my character got closer, another clean example of attention to detail.

Cutscenes are funny and entertaining and the story is pretty captivating with some awesome cameo’s from Slimer and Stay Puft. I did have a few small gripes. The AI of your compadres in this game is downright terrible. You are given the option of reviving downed teammates, and the same can be done when you die as well. The issue is, when your teammates try to make their way over to revive you, (if they try and attept to at all) they often end up dying. Other times they will stand like a lost child in some of the over-sized levels. I also had quite a few loading glitches throughout the course of the game. Sometimes a door that should have been able to be opened, would not give me the option to open it. It only happened a few times, but it was slightly annoying given the length of the missions and difficult battles. Another thing that can’t go over looked is the animations of getting knocked down. It is a cheesy animation, and really takes away from the attention to detail mentioned above.

There is a multiplayer component to Ghostbusters as well. Gametypes range from taking down increasingly difficult waves of ghosts, to protecting a number of artifacts from incoming, “thiefs.” It’s pretty fun, and spans out over campaigns of 3 different gametypes with 4 players. While it’s not incredibly deep, it’s a nice touch to keep the fun flowing like slime. I can see the downloadable content keeping this one going for sure! All in all I found Ghostbusters to be one of the most enjoyable games of the year if not ever. The small mishaps and gripes can’t stop this one as being a really unique, and extremely fun experience. So when you’re looking for a enjoyable game that’s sure to appeal to a vast audience of gamers, who you gonna call?

What? You thought I wasn’t going to throw in the most famous Ghostbusters line ever? Had to be done.

–DIGGITY OUT

THE DARKNESS SEQUEL AND MOVIE IN THE WORKS?

This is probably the biggest news I have seen in a while. Mainly because I was a big fan of The Darkness videogame that ended up being surprisingly good, but didn’t get the recognition it truly deserved. If you haven’t played the original The Darkness game, stop reading, go to GameStop, go to Hollywood video or Blockbuster.. whatever, steal it if you have to. Just go play this game. You’ll definitely want to play it considering there’s news a sequel is in the works and talks about a possible Live Action movie as well. Crazy!

For some reason, I never thought about this game turning into a movie, but the more I think about it, the more I can visualize it coming to life. Sorry to say, but more so than the Halo movie. Because let’s face it, the Halo movie might not ever be made. If it is, I’ll be grey-haired, old and grumpy with wrinkly skin hanging from my neck. Maybe even yelling at punk little kids to “get off my lawn!” I’ve given up on the Halo to film adaptation, especially after hearing Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp playing it down so hard. But The Darkness? The Darkness I have hope for. Let’s hope it’s not a rumor or just some executive or producer talking out of his ass. You be the judge.

From Newsarama:

“First a sequel to the video game was announced as in development, to be penned by Paul Jenkins. A trailer was shown, from the previous installment by 2K Games. Hawkins also boasted that The Darkness game has gone platinum on both X-Box 360 and PS3, and will therefore soon be available for $29.99.

Also announced was a live action feature film of The Darkness to come. There were no specifics involved, beyond that Scott Stuber Productions was attached, but Hawkins promised further announcements to come in 6-8 weeks, with talent to be named.”

One final note that may or may not be a big deal with concern to the videogame sequel, the original developers, StarBreeze, will not be the one’s to make it. I’m not sure who it is yet but, they better make StarBreeze and fans of the game proud. That’s all I’ve got to say.

SDCC 09: A Prime Cut of Top Cow: Comics & Movies Galore
Top Cow: The Darkness sequel in development

BOOYAKASHA!: FIRST MODERN WARFARE 2 MULTIPLAYER VIDEO

Now I’m getting pumped! I don’t want to ruin the surprise ending at the end of this video but it was definitely something I was not expecting. Make sure to watch this all the way until the end. All I will say is, Infinity Ward took a feature straight out of Bungie’s Halo. Maybe not as ‘fantastically’ implemented as well, but it gets the exact same job done. If I liked it, you’ll like it too. I don’t want to continue blabbing on and on. I don’t need to with this one. Just watch, because that’s why you’re here anyway.

Edit: Just as a side note, at time of posting, this video had about 310 views on YouTube. It’s the next day and it’s over 560,000 views. Think this game is highly anticipated? That’s an understatement.

BEYOND GOOD & EVIL 2: ARE YOU A GAME OR WHAT?

Most of the time in this industry, it’s a love-hate relationship when it comes to the oh-so-powerful, Hype Machine. Sometimes there may be a mole inside the studio leaking concept artwork of a new game, maybe a sneak peak at a trailer that’s not even finished, or maybe just a slip of the tongue from someone not directly involved in the game… all leading to credible, and not so credible speculation. Other times, a studio or publisher might do this on purpose, as part of an overall marketing strategy to build that hype as much as possible. But guess what? We all love it! Is it true? Is it not true? Who knows!? And that’s what’s exciting.

That’s why I am posting this trailer from Beyond Good & Evil 2. A game that is not even being made! Or.. wait, is it? Here, you decipher this snippet from Ubisoft’s CEO of North American operations:

“When asked why they decided to pursue a sequel, Laurent Detoc said, “Well, I didn’t say there’s definitely going to be another game. I said something had leaked, which means we’ve been working on some Beyond Good and Evil stuff, but whether there’s going to be another game or not, that’s something for the future. But getting to your question as to why there’s work on the IP again, it’s a creative people business; the creative talent is interested in it and possibly exploring how to do it from a new angle.”

After watching the trailer above, I say bring it! I love video games that can add humor so effortlessly.

Thanks to That VideoGame Blog for posting the video.. you guys have some of the best quality vids to embed on the net!

DREAMS DO COME TRUE: BUBBLE BOBBLE COMING TO XBLA AUGUST 5

I‘m still trying to figure out if I’m the only one in the world stunned by this official announcement. I had just talked about how much I wanted this game to come to Xbox Live Arcade, back in March. And wouldn’t you know it? There is a video game God out there answering prayers. Who knew!?

I readily admit that I am extremely excited about this news, especially if the 4 player Co-Op is indeed true. But I am also hesitant to get too excited. Why, you ask? I’ll give you some examples.

First off, I originally played the NES version of Bubble Bobble back in the early 90’s. This is not the same game coming out on XBLA. This is Bubble Bobble Neo. Whatever that means. It’s obviously an updated version. But have you ever played a game when you were younger, only to play it again when you were older and it just wasn’t as fun as you remember? (Worms anyone?) Or what about a movie that you had memories of, maybe you thought it was funny back in the day, maybe even scary? (Killer Klowns from Outer Space anyone? Hey! Don’t judge me.) Or what about going back to visit your old childhood home you grew up in, only to find out the new homeowners have let the front yard go, the grass is dead, the basketball court you put up at Christmas is gone, and there is a decaying RV sitting in the driveway just waiting to be turned into a meth lab. Y’know what I mean? It turns out, it’s just not the same anymore. The fond memories of the past, sometimes, should just stay in the past. You don’t want to see them ruined.

That’s what I am worried about when it comes to one of my most favorite games off all time growing up, Bubble Bobble. I probably don’t have to worry about it this much, but since this will be a day one purchase for me, I really don’t want to be disappointed. I’ve scaled back my gaming time too much as it is because of the lack of decent games out now. I’m hoping my old pals Bub and Bob will be there to rescue me from Triple-A and new Arcade game mediocrity.

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON UPDATES

Boy oh boy oh boy! I don’t know about you guys but I love days like this. When so much is happening in the video game world, I just got to stuff most of the updates into one post. Most of you are probably keeping track of the latest Comic-Con news so you may have already seen what I’m about to publish. While I don’t think any of you were excited about the ‘New Moon’ panel yesterday, there were other, more important things happening that I’d like to share with you. Way more important. (Sorry to any ‘Twilight’ fangirls out there) Some of the more impressive things in my humble opinion are shown below. Check it out!

First off, we finally got to see some Borderlands gameplay, and not only that, we got an official release date: October 20. The trailer looks pretty good and I’m diggin‘ the Crackdown-esqe art style. RPG and Shooter mix of genres? Well it’s been done before. Mass Effect was an good example of that but Borderlands looks to go way beyond what Mass Effect did. Adding 4 Player Co-Op is probably the smartest feature any game developer can add these days. With online powerhouse Xbox Live and now the PlayStation Network is more than capable of competing with the online giant, it just doesn’t make sense to not have some type of well thought out multiplayer mode like this. It is a must have for me if you want me, as a consumer, to purchase your game. Otherwise, it will be a rental. And I will probably trash your game on my blog for not including it.

Another possible must have game may be, surprisingly, the new Splinter Cell: Conviction. I enjoyed the first couple of Splinter Cell games but it got really dull after a while. For me, I’m a fan of the runnin‘ ‘n gunnin‘, Halo style if you know what I mean. Call of Duty 4 anyone? So for me to be patient to take out enemies in a game like this? Nuh uh. Not going to happen. I understood how the game was supposed to be played but I still couldn’t help myself from killing enemies when I wasn’t supposed to and ending up alerting other enemies who ended up killing me very quickly. That’s just not the kind of game I can get into. This is why I am hoping the game takes a slight turn and doesn’t depend so much on the stealthy gameplay. Who knows? Maybe it’s still the same gameplay style, and maybe I do have more patience for it now that I’m older? We shall soon see. Actually, one of my instructors at VanArts, Marco, is working at Ubisoft and is working on Splinter Cell: Conviction. I wonder if I could interview him in the future? I think I’ll send him an email, that would be an awesome article. He is one funny French Canadian.

Finally, one of the bigger news stories yesterday was the news about the Halo anime miniseries, by 343 Industries and many other companies. For me, I’m not an anime fan. Not at all really. But I know a lot of people are, including my buddy DIGGITY. The style of cartoon is something you need to grow up with. While I can say I did grow up with it, because I was raised in the 80’s and it was quite hard to miss on TV, I just didn’t get into it all hardcore like other people. Which is why I am kind of excited about the Halo anime, Halo Legends. Maybe it will be my gateway into becoming a fan? So far, I like what I see.

What do you guys think? Comic-Con is already turning out to be quite epic. Wish I didn’t procrastinate and fail to buy tickets in time. I’m such a fool!

IRON MAN 2: BETTER THAN THE FIRST?

Based off of game trailers of both Iron Man games alone, the Iron Man 2 game looks like the devs paid more attention to detail than the first one. More attention to the actual combat instead of just flying around. If you’ve played some of these flying games before, like Superman, the awesome ability to fly around all over the place is not as fun as you would think. The fun level of flying wears off pretty quickly; it gets as old as the Michael Jackson memorial controversy. (yea I said it, move on already!)

With regards to the first Iron Man game, I admit, I didn’t play it because it just didn’t look that fun to me. I enjoyed the movie tremendously but the game seemed incomplete and the environments scarcely populated with objects and things to do. So if I am going to base my opinion of the new SEGA developed Iron Man 2 game, I’d say they learned a lot from their previous go at this potentially huge franchise. Only time will tell if this time around, they’re doing it right. Let’s hope so. For now, enjoy the trailer thanks to JoyStiq. Go see what they have to say.