Gno Schitt

So this is my first post. I will have to make it a good one.

Spent a good part of the weekend slaughtering hordes of fast moving zombies in Left4Dead and it's sequel, moreOfTheSame part 2.  I mock it a bit, but in actuality I really loved the intensity of the game play.  The sequel features more of the same good stuff from the first installment, plus a smidgen of little additions that just improve the experience.

I'm particularly a big fan of the new incendiary ammo.

I'm wondering what people think of the new paradigm of 'fast-zombies' in general.  This weekend I was also playing some Resident Evil 3 which is the exact opposite of L4D.  It was intriguing gameplay focused around problem solving rather than pinpoint shooting.  I'm going to take another crack at Resident Evil 5 on console as I had totally written it off after playing the demo on my PS3, but now I'm thinking I should return and give it a second look.

Do you have L4D 1/2?  Do you have an XBox360?  Do you want to play some online?  If you've answered yes to all three of these AND have received an "Add Friend" from a certain LincoLn ToasT which you've subsequently ignored, you're a son-of-a-bitch.

In other news: life without contractions would suck gigantic goat balls.  No, seriously.

There are a few games from way back that still hold a special place for me. Usually they end up being the first game of any particular genre that I liked. Red Alert for RTS, Jedi Knight for FPS or FF7 for RPG. Strangely though, I find that I can remember every point and click adventure game I've ever played. When I was playing games as a youngster, our family had dial up internet and because of that, I hadn't explored the possibilities of the internet. So, when I played a game and I got stuck, either my friend knew how to do it or I stayed stuck. That made it all the sweeter when the light bulb finally came on. And for me, that moment has always been way more rewarding in point and clicks.

My first P&C experience wasn't even technically a point and click adventure game. At least not 100% because you don't click with an NES controller. The game was Shadowgate and it took me and my entire family many a session to take it down. I think these games appeal to my personality because I enjoy a riddle and I don't mind thinking about it for a few hours before getting a hint. The accomplishment comes from persevering until success and even more so from bending your mind into patterns that transcend your normal ways of processing.



Anyways, that's my beginnings and the reasoning but I guess I'm kind of just randomly throwing down here. The point of all this is that, very recently, I've been amazed by the number of games coming out that either are true P&C adventures or that emulate the key concepts. Those being simplicity of technology and, to offset that, extreme depth of thought and difficulty requirements. Monkey Island comes to mind for an older version of this particular aspect of games that I enjoy. Whether you played the original or not, I recommend the remake even if you're only remotely interested. If you've never played it, you'll only miss out on a few inside jokes that don't matter much anyways, and now that I think about it, the remake has a setting where you can revert the game back to it's original version and play through that way too. If you're not into that, however, and you're looking for a completely new mind bender, I recommend Machinarium. I'm not going to take anything away from this one by describing it. Hit the site and play the demo.

Machinarium

The world is flooded with shooters and sandbox games where you have to be a complete idiot (or make a fairly serious misstep) to even come close to dying. One of the best parts of video games are that you can die without consequence. Sometimes, it's just great fun to do so in very imaginative ways. So why not promote that. Limbo for XBLA is a recent game that captures that aspect pretty solidly and though I've yet to play it, I know I will be shortly. Viscous. Go watch a trailer or if you've got Xbox Live go get the demo. (Escapist Magazine's review of Limbo)

Limbo

Oh, and did I mention how dark the gameplay is in Limbo. I love games that creep me out. And as a side note, the music in Machinarium is excellent.

Braid, of course, gets honorable mention for being difficult and mind altering but it didn't have enough of the aspects of the old school games that I really relish. Also, it had time reverse and bullet time which is starting to get on my nerves as a game gimmick. Great concepts and usage in Max Payne and Sands of Time but everything after that has been meh to me. We'll see if Singularity's new take on it can work...

In closing, if there are any games that fit this concept that you've seen or played recently, let me know. I'm always looking out for the next challenge.

100 Percenting as you read this.

This "not an FPS" uses FPS controls and is currently being distributed via STEAM for free. I think it's only a Windows game currently, which is kinda too bad, but it's totally worth a look. I've got it installed if anybody wants to try to set up a game session.

Total Time: 19:43:54

It's the newest installment of this ongoing, huge series. It was a very highly anticipated game. It made $550 million in the first 5 days. I figure someone should talk about it.


If you liked Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, or any other first person shooter, you will very likely enjoy this game. It is very nearly the exact same game. I played a pretty serious session on Remembrance day, and completed the main story line on normal difficulty, logged about 3 hours into multiplayer, and finished just over half the Special Op's coop missions. My buddy and I did the hardened difficult for most of the Spec Ops. So, if you ignore the time sink that is multiplayer, you can experience this whole game in about 6 or 8 hours. The main story isn't that exciting. Terrorists orchestrate this war between the US and Russia. You kill Russians, Terrorists, and almost anything else that moves. There is a bit of controversy as well, as there is a level where you play as an undercover agent trying to get close to a Terrorist, who is taking part in a bloody massacre at an airport. You do feel a little disturbed (I hope) when you spray bullets into a crowd of unarmed civilians. It's somewhat important from a storyline point of view.

Single Player wasn't bad, but not great. They did a good job of making the missions a wide variety of objectives, while killing terrorists. I really enjoyed the levels, as you fight in some very neat places. All the levels where the US is attacked, and you are trying to defend it are excellent. You have an outpost setup in a Taco Joint, and are asked to do a recon mission at the Burger Barn! Sweet! They did a very good job of capturing the suburban neighbourhood. You also fight at the Washington monument, and the whitehouse. I really enjoyed watching those structures burn. It's how I envision the War of 1812 looking, but more planes and choppers.

Multiplayer is where this game shines though. They level progression system seems much faster. You get experience for a lot more stuff now. They added tons of challenges for weapon unlocks. But they also added so many levels of customization that you can spend forever trying to unlock everything. I still haven't fully unlocked the first assault rifle, and I have since gotten 3 more. I haven't even started upgrading secondary weapons, like pistols, and such. I think I will hit the level cap long before I finish upgrading weapons. A lot of the levels are a ton of fun. They are well made to support many different play styles. One of my peeves though is it's a small multiplayer game. There is 1 mode that suports up to 18 players total. Most games hover around the 10-12 player mark. It's not that it's not fun, I just enjoy some of the larger multiplayer games, like Battlefield, or the upcoming MAG. Since numbers are often so low, it really makes it an individual based game. You never have to work with your teammates to accomplish anything. That said, I like following a teammate around, and use him as a human shield / enemy detector.

The Special Op's missions are a ton of fun. Unfortunately, they are just the coolest and most fun parts of Singleplayer, in shorter, more direct, format. After finishing Singleplayer, I had already done all of them, but I get to do them again... If you do them first, Singleplayer gets a little boring, and drags on. I highly recommend you do them with a friend, as most of them are way easier with a buddy. (Xbox live gamertag: Toad008 =) )

Final verdict? If you liked the first Modern Warfare, you should get this game, as it's an improved version of it. If you like first person shooters, I'd wait and pick it up in a couple months, after a price decrease / used copies are available, as the multiplayer servers will still be packed. (Estimated 7 million copies in 24 hours? Jesus). If you don't like first person shooters, why did you read this whole article? Moron.

Also worth noting: I've got some review plans queued for Left 4 Dead 2, and Assassin's Creed 2, once I play more of both of those. Also, since Board Games are getting less love, I'm thinking of writing a review of Last Night on Earth, and Dominion. I just want another couple sessions in both so I can take a bunch of pictures. Last Night on Earth review may moreso be a retelling of the story the game unveiled for us. Seems like it would be fun.