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Video Games Thread - New Layout!!
Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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Video Games Thread - New Layout!!
This thread should be dedicated to Video Games on all consoles.
The purpose of this thread is to promote games you have enjoyed playing or to discuss any other video game you like.
My latest purchases have been Lost Planet and Order of the Phoenix on Xbox360, and I have been really impressed.
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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Video Games Thread - Halo 3 Release soon!!!!
The epic saga continues with Halo 3, the hugely anticipated third chapter in the highly successful and critically acclaimed Halo franchise. Master Chief returns to finish the fight, bringing the epic conflict between the Covenant, the Flood, and the entire human race to a dramatic, pulse-pounding climax.
Taking full advantage of the power of Xbox 360, Halo 3 expands on everything that has made the Halo franchise great, adding a wealth of graphical, technical and gameplay advancements, as well as offering a whole new level of online gameplay.
I'm so excited for this!!!!
Halo 3 is released 26th September!!
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Member Since: 10/21/2005
Posts: 19,258
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Metroid Prime 3: Corruption kicks ass. Check it out on the Wii. Best game ever.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 1/15/2002
Posts: 1,940
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Quote:
Originally posted by RocketLove
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption kicks ass. Check it out on the Wii. Best game ever.
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Never thought I'd be openly agreeing with you...but yup. You're right lmao
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 11/6/2002
Posts: 10,641
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Only 12 more days until Halo 3!
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 3/1/2007
Posts: 19,847
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Halo Trilogy
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Member Since: 12/14/2006
Posts: 6,181
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i happen to want my social life so im not looking forward to this at all
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Member Since: 6/21/2005
Posts: 6,364
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44 days until what will be the best game of the year
Guitar Hero III
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Member Since: 6/15/2007
Posts: 1,175
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ATRL Moderator
Member Since: 11/16/2004
Posts: 28,450
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SUPER SMASH BROTHERS BRAWL IS WHERE IT'S AT
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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Video Games Thread - skate Paradise?
Today's pick is skate a skating game which is set to change the rules for skating games, making it completely different form the famous Tony Hawk series.
Here's the review from the undisputed Best video game site: ign.com
Quote:
skate Review
by Hilary Goldstein
September 7, 2007 - I've been hooked on skating games since first playing 720° at the local 7-11. I've played them all since that point. I remember very clearly when Tony Hawk's Pro Skater first arrived. To that point, just about everyone thought they knew what an action sports game was supposed to look and play like. Hawk woke us up, showed us that there were greater possibilities. The same thing happened with Fight Night. Until it arrived, we'd thought boxing games were button mashers and that's the only way it could be done. It's not often that games come along that can change our perception of how things should be done for a genre. EA's skate joins that pantheon of games that redefine a genre. No, it's not perfect -- but then neither was the first Tony Hawk or Fight Night. After spending more than 20 hours with skate, it's hard to imagine going back to the old way of playing an action sports game.
Forget what you've learned in the Tony Hawk series. I know, that's not an easy thing to do, but none of it applies to skate. While skate is not fully grounded in reality, the physics-based skate engine and Flickit controls nullify the old way of hitting a lot of buttons and pressing the D-Pad in various directions to rack up insane combo scores. skate asks gamers to think more like a real skater, to envision their own lines from everyday objects. In skate, doing a varial heelflip over a set of stairs and landing in a 5-0 grind on a hubba is a phenomenal feat. And while anyone with even moderate skills can pull this off, it no less feels like a great accomplishment. In videogames, we are often able to do extraordinary things. That's true as well in skate; it's just that you play as an ordinary person, so the definition of "extraordinary" has been redefined. It no longer requires a heelflip transfer to be done on the moon or atop a roller coaster to be considered an accomplishment.
The Flickit controls remove the need to touch the face buttons to perform skating moves. The Right Thumbstick is used to perform ollies and kickflips. Pull back on the stick and flick it in a direction. It's simple enough, but there are many subtleties to the system. skate's controls are all physics based. So if you are leaning to the left side on the nose, you're going to get a different result than planting your foot directly on the back of the board. The left and right triggers control your hands for grabs, which can be tweaked with the right stick. The system has a steep learning curve that may frustrate some. Those who stick with it will continue to find nifty new tricks hours later. You know that tired old videogame saying, "easy to learn, hard to master"? That certainly fits skate.
Following the commands in the trick menu won't guarantee you will witness the cooler moments in skate. This is a fairly open system, so to do whacky stunts really requires a good imagination, finding the right location, nailing your timing, and finding the will to try the same thing again and again. Want your board to roll under a rail while you leap over and then land back on cleanly? There's no button press for this, no unlockable command to create an animation chain. You just have to find a spot for the attempt, figure out a good flip trick that gives you some separation from the board, and enjoy the 25 bails you must endure before finally finding success.
skate ships to stores on Sept. 13 for Xbox 360 and Sept. 24 for PS3.
The controls work surprisingly well for a brand new franchise, but there are a few issues. While the game is focused on physics and a more realistic approach, you will see things that would make Einstein spit up his bong water. Several times I planted my board on a wall and was parallel to the ground with no momentum whatsoever, only to then magically land upright. For every hour of skating, you will likely see one of these oddities that break the rhythm of the game and snaps you back to the realization that you are, after all, still just playing a game. There are also, for reasons unknown, no true lip tricks (handplants and such) and no flatland tricks. These are things that will likely come in a sequel, but it's still a bit of a disappointment not to see them included.
You will perform your feats of daring in San Vanelona. The fictional city is expansive, large enough that it takes a good 10 minutes to skate from end to end. EA Black Box has created a beautiful city, rich with detail. It feels like a real place and is populated with a variety of pesky pedestrians, annoying security guards, and unsympathetic drivers. The animations are fantastic. You'll see your skater shifting his feet on his board, which actually translates into gameplay. The ragdolls are a great touch that makes spending a day bailing a fun little game in itself.
Helping to enrich the environment are some excellent ambient sounds. You'll hear a lot of background chatter as you skate. And music -- from a solid sound track that wisely includes the great surf-punk band Agent Orange -- acts as a call sign alerting you to a hot skate zone. It all comes together to create a unique experience. The mechanics of skate are a big deal, but it's the city of San Vanelona that makes the game great. Because if the city sucks, there's no way you're going to bother spending your time skating around for kicks.
The only downside to the big city is that it takes a toll on the console in some small ways. There are some real technical snags when it comes to loading in areas. While you'd expect to get a lengthy load time teleporting from the bottom of San Vanelona to the top, you will see load times in areas where they should not happen. Now, you won't get loads while skating at all -- you have full reign over the city as you skate. But if you set a marker before trying a tricky transfer and go more than say ten feet from the marker, you face a 30-second load time just to reset for another jump. Considering that much of skate is about trial and error, these loads begin to become a bit tedious. Still, this is a sacrifice I'll take if it means I can skate freely up and down the city without any pauses.
San Vanelona offers an immeasurable number of sweet spots to skate. It's really quite incredible that, even 20 hours in, I can still find areas I hadn't explored or find new lines I'd never previously considered. It should be noted that, aside from a handful of skate parks to unlock, San Vanelona is wide open from the moment the game loads. There are also no tricks to unlock, no special boards that give you higher ollies, no skill ratings whatsoever. The only limitations in skate are your skills and your imagination.
Break enough bones and you unlock a special skater.
skate is somewhat of a rare treat in gaming. It's like a lazy Sunday afternoon compared to most goal-oriented titles. You could conceivably play skate for 30 hours and never bother with the "career mode" and its 100 challenges. In fact, it feels like developer Black Box would prefer if that's what you did. The career mode, as it is, is fairly bare-bones (and easy) and may not be as constructive as some would like. For me, it served as a nice distraction and as a way to discover areas that I might have otherwise overlooked. And, yes, you will have to complete the career mode to unlock a few of the choice locations within San Vanelona.
The career mode has you attempting to become a famous skater by earning cover spots on Thrasher and Skateboard Mag. You can work your way through both career lines at the same time, choosing between events and leisurely cruises around San Vanelona as you please. Skateboard Mag's path is more career-oriented with lots of photo ops and cool jams. Thrasher is a bit more hardcore, with deathraces and even a challenge to break four bones off one gnarly transfer.
Each path earns you two sponsorships. You'll be able to select sponsors for your board, wheels, trucks, and shoes. The chosen sponsor's gear then becomes free to you, though you'll rack up so much cash in skate, it won't really matter. Use your sponsors gear in challenges, and you'll earn some bonus cash which can be used to buy more licensed apparel. The licensing is pretty insane in skate and even includes some choice band shirts. Want to sport your love for N.W.A.? You can in skate.
The highlights of progressing through career mode are unlocking Danny Way's MegaCompound (a skater's heaven!) and the X-Games. While Way's park is the dreamiest thing in San Vanelona, it's the X-Games that really show Black Box's attention to detail. Throughout career, the announcer for your events is a laid back cat who sounds like he just wandered in off the street. But get to X-Games and you get Sal Masekela, the man who actually hosts the X-Games. Most titles would have slathered Masekela all over the career mode, made him your buddy, had him messaging your Sidekick as he brought you along to stardom. skate plays it cool and uses him only when appropriate. For not blowing their Masekela wad, I offer a tip of my cap to Black Box.
Skating isn't just about pulling off hot tricks and impressing the ladies. Sure, it's mostly about those things, but it's also very much about the community of your peers. With all the talk of the sweet controls and swank open city, it's easy to neglect the impressive community aspects of skate.
Playing solo in the career mode won't leave you feeling lonely. San Vanelona is somewhat of a haven for skaters; they flock there. Both real pros -- including Paul Rodriguez, Jr., Danny Way, Chris Cole, and Chris Haslam -- and fictional ones populate the streets of San Vanelona. You'll be doing a challenge and someone might cut in and skate your line. Or you'll be hunting for a new spot to skate and have P-Rod ride past you. These appearances are common, but not superficial. You can follow Rodriguez around town, which may lead you to a sweet spot that you didn't know about.
Of course, most gamers want to have a connection with real people, not just virtual ones. You can edit and upload 30-second clips as well as screenshots from the game to the official skate website. Though the beta for the site has been a bit unpredictable, it's expected that things will be running smoothly for the true launch on September 13th. You can watch videos either on the site or in the game. And the hub for this, a T-Mobile Sidekick, also serves as a way to easily find and set up multiplayer sessions with other gamers.
Multiplayer in skate enables six gamers to get together and show off their goods. There are more than a half-dozen game modes, each resembling the modes from single-player. That includes deathraces (skate slaloms through colored gates), best trick competitions, and jams. You can also just kick it in freeskate for fun, though you are restricted to small sections of the city while online. That is a bit of a letdown, as a fully open city would have made for a spectacular online event.
Where we're going, we don't need roads.
Though the majority of the online experience is good, there are a few issues. Your controls and your skater work fine -- no latency or lag issues were encountered -- but your friends tend to come in choppy. It gets difficult jamming with buddies when they keep teleporting around. This won't hinder your own ability to rack up points, but it's too bad skate's online mode couldn't have been a bit smoother.
When online, skate operates primarily as it does in single-player. That means you still have use of your replay tool. While it's a blast to cut up video of your own tricks, there's nothing quite like creating a choreographed group video and uploading it online. And for those worried, the choppiness seen in-game does not appear in replays.
Closing Comments
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was the game that really set the franchise apart from anything before it. It's likely that if there's a sequel to skate, it will be the iteration that defines the franchise. But as a brand new IP, based on an idea that could have completely blown up in EA's face, skate is an amazingly complete experience. Those who choose to relax and skate leisurely -- looking for cool lines and taking on the occasional challenge -- will likely find the most enjoyment. Though there are a few technical issues that can become frustrating (curse you load times!), the end product is a blast. When EA announced skate, everyone in the IGN office laughed. We're not laughing anymore. skate's pretty awesome.
IGN Ratings for skate (X360)
Rating Description See Our Glorious Home Theater Setup!
out of 10 click here for ratings guideGet Ratings Information
9.5 Presentation
The story is minimal, but we mean that in a good way. Everything is relaxed, funny, and full of spirit. This feels like a living, breathing skate community.
8.0 Graphics
Great details in the environments and the character models are solid. The ragdoll physics make every bail look delightfully painful.
8.5 Sound
An awesome sound track, some great ambient sounds, and lots of lively commentary.
9.0 Gameplay
For a brand new concept, skate plays beautifully. All that's missing are flatland tricks, true lip tricks, and some challenge for holding manuals and grinds.
9.0 Lasting Appeal
Anyone with a decent amount of skill can blast through the career mode fairly quickly. But this isn't a game about objectives -- it’s about skating. And that will likely eat up 30 hours of your life.
9.0 Outstanding OVERALL
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skate is soon out on PS3 and Xbox360.
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Member Since: 6/19/2007
Posts: 7,084
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you are still a kid...you still love video games....but its good...
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Member Since: 2/14/2007
Posts: 15,229
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duh I want to see actual fractures and blood uhm and flesh it will make skate games for console interesting
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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Quote:
Originally posted by J@Rv$
you are still a kid...you still love video games....but its good...
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I'm not sure if I am just misunderstanding this post or not but, judging based solely on what I think you're saying, you seem to think that video games are just for kids.
If it's not, please, elaborate on what you were really saying. If it is...oh, you are so, so, SO wrong.
As for the actual topic, well, i'm getting a 360 soon, with all hope, and chances are, I'm going to get Madden 08(GLITCHES AND ALL!!) and Gears with it, and there's a ton of games I am considering down the line.
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Member Since: 6/21/2005
Posts: 6,364
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Quote:
Originally posted by Bender Rodriguez
I'm not sure if I am just misunderstanding this post or not but, judging based solely on what I think you're saying, you seem to think that video games are just for kids.
If it's not, please, elaborate on what you were really saying. If it is...oh, you are so, so, SO wrong.
As for the actual topic, well, i'm getting a 360 soon, with all hope, and chances are, I'm going to get Madden 08(GLITCHES AND ALL!!) and Gears with it, and there's a ton of games I am considering down the line.
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*coughGH2cough*
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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Video Games Thread - What does it take to be an Assassin?
One of this season's biggest release is without a doubt Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed. Here some more info.
Quote:
Assassin’s Creed is truly a next-generation game that will set a new standard in the action-adventure genre while taking full advantage of the technical capabilities of the Xbox 360.
The game is set in 1191 AD, when the Third Crusade was tearing the Holy Land apart. Shrouded in secrecy and feared for their ruthlessness, the Assassins intend to stop the hostilities by suppressing both sides of the conflict. Players, assuming the role of the main character Altair, will have the power to throw their immediate environment into chaos and to shape events during this pivotal moment in history.
Info from teamxbox.com
Before we headed off to E3 2007 in sunny Santa Monica, I made a brief mental list of the games that I most wanted to see. As you might expect, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed occupied a slot near the top of that list, as the only thing I really knew about the game was the fact that it features amazing visuals and a tantalizing mix of Prince of Persia-style platforming, stealth, and hand-to-hand (or, rather, blade-to-blade) combat. Naturally, I knew that I had to make Ubisoft’s suite one of my first appointments, especially after I found out that the game would be fully playable. I had a chance to play the same demo that was shown during Microsoft’s press conference on Tuesday night, and I was just as impressed as I’d hoped I’d be.
While we don’t know very much about the game’s actual storyline, we do know that you’ll play Altair, a hooded assassin in the 12th century who’s a member of a group that takes on dangerous assignments for unknown clients. In the level that we saw, Altair was tasked with murdering Talal, a slave trader in Jerusalem. As you play, the pieces of the story’s puzzle will start to come together when you enter a “white room” after assassinating your target. For instance, as Talal lay dying in our arms, he spoke of a brotherhood that was up to no good. We’re also still intrigued by the Matrix-like glitches that appear from time to time. As you probably know, the demo at last year’s E3 ended with a glimpse at a futuristic room of some sort that made everyone think that whole game was taking place in some sort of virtual reality.
Hangin' around...
The demo kicked off with Altair standing on a perch high above Jerusalem. You can perform a “Leap of Faith” from towering heights (just look for the doves!) when there’s something around to land in, and there just so happened to be a cart full of hay below us. All of the leaping and jumping in Assassin’s Creed appears to be predictive, so the game will be able to interpret where you want to jump and allow you to pull it off successfully. This means there will be no stopping to line up jumps or anything like that, and you’ll be able to leap from one area to the next quickly and fluidly.
As you progress through the crowded streets of the cities in which you do your dirty work, you’ll be able to act in either a “high profile” or “low profile.” When just walking around the city and trying to blend in, you’ll be low profile, while running and fighting will (obviously) make you quite a bit more conspicuous. The face buttons actually correspond with your head, free hand, weapon hand, and feet, but it’s a bit deeper than that. When in low profile, pressing Y will kick in Eagle Vision, which is essentially a way of using your character’s intuition to figure out where to go. The B button will allow you to gently push your way through the crowd, while A will let you bow your head to blend in even more.
While you’ll definitely spend a bit of time keeping your profile low, you’ll probably want to get in and out as fast as possible, which is when you’ll hold down the right trigger to enter high profile mode. You’ll have a completely different set of controls when you’ve got the modifier held down, and the one you use most is probably the free run, which is performed by holding the right trigger and A. Of course, as you probably know, you’ll also be doing a ton of leaping around, which can be performed in high profile mode. Pressing the jump button repeatedly will allow you to leap from ledge to ledge or swing from pole to pole, and we were very impressed by how easy it was to make your way from one part of the city to another.
This was largely due to the fact that the environments in Assassin’s Creed are incredibly interactive, allowing the player to scale virtually any wall or leap from one building to the next. The game makes you feel like you can do anything or go anywhere, from scaling the tallest building to balancing on the top of a wall. Once you’ve started your climb, you can grab onto just about every nook and cranny, no matter how small. There were a number of moments when I questioned whether or not I could reach a particular point, and I was always amazed at how quickly I found the quickest route.
Bird's eye view...
Although I was completely enamored with the platforming action, I was a bit disappointed by the sword-based combat. You can swing your sword (or dagger) once you’ve got it unsheathed, but I actually found myself waiting for my opponent’s to attack so I could quickly take them out with a counter move. While that sort of combat is all well and good, I would have liked to have seen the AI attack me a bit more aggressively when surrounding me. That’s not to say that the enemies won’t pursue you to the ends of the of earth once they spot you, as I was surprised that they followed me up to the rooftops and attempted to corner me. Thankfully, you can get out of danger by hiding in certain areas or getting a friendly group of vigilantes to slow down your pursuers.
Assassin’s Creed is, without a doubt, one of the best-looking games currently in development for the Xbox 360. The visuals look excellent, especially if you take the time to really look around as you’re on your way to your target. There are tons of little details around the city, especially when you’re walking through the market districts, which are literally teeming with life. The number of people on screen at any given time is equally impressive, as is the fact that they’ll all react to your presence. I also really liked the color palette, which somehow comes to life despite the fact that it features a lot of gray tones.
While it’s not without its problems (the combat needs to be balanced and there are still some bugs and glitches), we have faith that Assassin’s Creed will end up being one of the most exciting titles of 2007. Leaping from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of a target is an absolute blast, and it’s impossible not to grin with delight once you ram your blade home. We can’t wait to see more of the environments and get a closer look at the other gameplay elements. Be sure to stay tuned for more previews in the coming months!
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Can this trily be the best game of the year?
Assassin's Creed is out in mid-November on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC. The game will be out Nintendo DS in early 2008.
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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Video Games Thread - Most Anticipated Game of the Year?
Could Assassin's Creed be worthy of this title?
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 9/26/2001
Posts: 22,475
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Uh, Halo 3? It may be the most anticipated game of all time.
MY most anticipated game is a little game named Mass Effect.
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ATRL Senior Member
Member Since: 11/6/2002
Posts: 10,641
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To most it's Halo 3.
For me, I have a few....Super Smash Bros: Brawl, Halo 3, and Mass Effect.
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Member Since: 9/4/2006
Posts: 8,136
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Halo 3 or at least that's what my brother has been saying for several months, he needs an Xbox 360 first, though.
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