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Video Games Thread - New Layout!!
Member Since: 6/30/2007
Posts: 18,079
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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FIFA 09 Hands-on Preview (Xbox 360)
By: Dale Nardozzi - "Legba" www.teamxbox.com
Electronic Arts recently held a Studio Showcase event which allowed journalists from all over the globe try out its latest wares. Not surprisingly, the FIFA 09 demo was teeming with press peoples. Even less of a shocker was that most of said press was international.
Even though TeamXbox.com executive editor Tom Price prefers pigskin over “footie,” you can tell from his Studio Showcase hands-on time that he came away impressed with what EACA will be offering up when FIFA 09 releases mid-October.
After a bit of begging and pleading, Electronic Arts Canada sent us the Alpha code of the FIFA 09 that was available for play at its Studio Showcase. We’re the only outlet to have this code, and thus the only site that can give you a better understanding of what FIFA 09 will bring to the 360’s pitch. Keep in mind, however, that this version of FIFA 09 is only about 80% complete, so we still don’t have the full grasp of how FIFA 09 will play in its golden state. We were promised updated code in the near future, however, which means an updated impressions piece will likely come before FIFA 09’s scheduled October 14th ship date.
I want to ride my bicycle…
One of the main things that we’ve realized early on in our time with this FIFA 09 build is that Electronic Arts is striving for better homogenization across its sports lineup when it comes to core features. This is great news, since EA has finally started to put together an impressive blend of sports game features that increase appeal across gamer demographics. For instance, upon startup, FIFA 09 scans the user’s hard drive for completed FIFA Soccer 08 Achievements. Based on prior FIFA experience, FIFA 09 will help set the basic difficulty sliders for your user profile. If no Achievements are found, the CPU will ask for you to grade your experience level so that the proper difficulty can be set. FIFA 09 also gives players the option from the get-go to use classic FIFA controls, a hybrid setup (which works well with the new ball control systems) or the chance to create a completely custom setup.
Those familiar with Madden NFL 09 will quickly realize that FIFA 09 is following along its path when it comes to difficulty settings (although FIFA 09’s system is not adaptive in the same manner). We can also tell you that the comfort level created with both classic and custom control options in FIFA 09 is mirrored in NHL 09.
The comparisons don’t stop there, which is great news for the FIFA faithful. Borrowing from EA’s other storied franchises, FIFA 09 brings back Be A Pro, but with some notable tweaks. A mini-career mode allows Be A Pro to extend on for up to four full seasons, which means you’ll be able to grow your player (a points-based attribute system lets you build up the skills that you deem fit) and even play for various clubs. Be A Pro has also been given the full online treatment with up to ten-on-ten team play possible. Yes, you read that correctly: Twenty human positional players per online match. Amazing, considering that just a few years ago you could only play with a few other humans per online match. FIFA 09 is also getting in the act of more dynamic player attributes; something that NBA Live 09 will fully explore once it ships. In FIFA 09’s case, in-game data has the potential to mimic the data of real players across six of the world’s best football regions. The system is known as Adidas Live Season – a new endeavor for EA and the FIFA franchise which, at this time, is not going to be an entirely free affair. Only time will tell if this real-time data format of pay DLC as utilized in FIFA 09’s Live Season will fly, but at least it’s nice to see that EACA is working hard to keep its football franchise innovative.
Even though FIFA 09 has aligned itself with other EA Sports titles for many of its core features, it’s more the innovator when it comes to both brain and brawn on the field of play. For the cerebral football players, EACA has concentrated on giving the goalkeepers a clue, first and foremost. There’s less floundering from the keeper position, and what appears to be a better reaction time to shots taken at close range. It’s also easy to see that the goalkeepers simply choose better angles in order to cut down on the amount of open net. Decisions to play balls outside of the box are much more decisive as well. There’s still soma balancing to be done for the goalkeeper position (the keepers are a bit too reactive from thirty feet and up, for instance), but things are obviously moving in the right direction for this position in FIFA 09.
Another nice intelligence tweak in FIFA 09 is the ability of a user to micro-manage a club’s overall tactical scheme. Clubs will have a general tactic based on the real strategies of the coaching personnel and the club’s history, but now the user can refine the core style with a host of sliders. For example, if Arsenal’s basic offensive tactic is short, build-up passes, the user can choose to change the length of said passes as carried out by the CPU. The scale is on a gradient of one-to-one hundred, which means the actual length of the build-up passes (and subsequent midfield/defensive support) can truly be fine-tuned. It’s worth mentioning that a club’s normal defensive tactics can also be tweaked to better match the user’s style or to better match-up against an in-game opponent. Better yet, the user can save multiple customized tactical schemes and assign them to the D-pad for on-the-fly adjustments.
A true leatherhead.
In terms of the physical side of professional sports, the FIFA franchise seems to be the only one of EA’s products to take full advantage of the R&D put forth in the Sports Lab initiative. FIFA 09 runs the third version of a physics engine that was pretty darn good in ’06, so as you can imagine, the athletic realism here is impressive. Basic player weight and the ability for a character to generate speed is further integrated into what the user sees and feels on the pitch. To say that each player now holds more weight would be both literally and figuratively true in FIFA 09’s case, as it’s instantly apparent that the individual attributes of a character’s physical make-up dictate what he can and can’t do out there. For example, F=ma means that a brawny player with decent foot speed can slide tackle further and kick the ball harder than a slow, slight player. The big boys will normally come out on the winning end of “jostles” (essentially fighting for a non-possessed ball in scrum-like situations) too, whereas the lightweights have quicker moves after first-touch and better control overall when dribbling.
The result of these physics tweaks is a much more organic playing experience in FIFA 09. And the really good news is that (even in this earlier Alpha build) FIFA 09 looks just as good in-motion as it plays. Better character/environment pinning, additional tie-in animations and a more consistent framerate join forces to create a shockingly-realistic rendition of an actual football match.
Consider the more responsive controls, add in FIFA 09’s unparalleled licensing and let us not forget facial models that are less waxy than in previous versions– the result is a phenomenal looking and playing soccer game, with a full complement of impressive online features and game modes to-boot.
Look for more on FIFA 09 as its mid-October release date approaches.
(Why are Rooney and Ronaldinho on the cover again? They are becoming really annoying...)
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Halo 4 [RUMOURED]
Source - http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/142/14276699.html
Quote:
The Halo saga reached a dramatic climax with Halo 3, but the franchise did not end there -- not by a long shot. Along with Halo Wars and the Peter Jackson Halo Project, a fourth entry in the legendary shooter franchise is rumored to be on the readyline. Rumors run heavy on what the future of Halo will be -- some point to series originator Bungie as the likely generals behind the next chapter, while others say that a new unit (likely suspects currently being Gearbox) has taken command of the future of Halo, and everything from a true "#4" sequel to a franchise reboot to a secret next-generation Xbox Halo have all been talked about as possible directions for the Halo franchise to take.
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{I finished Halo 3 yesterday ......About time. I've had since it came out }
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Note - Force Unleashed is getting very mediocere reviews so far.
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Member Since: 6/5/2008
Posts: 3,740
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Member Since: 9/15/2007
Posts: 6,484
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Fifa's graphics look OUT OF F*CKING SIGHT (had to take it back on that one!) but I don't do soccer games though.
Halo 4 is something I AM waiting for. They may as well officially announce the project as being in production. I recently finished mine as well and had it since it was out. LOL
PLEASE NO! 'Force Unleashed' had an incredible demo. I loved it, I'd hate to think the rest of the game is terrible. Though, I hope it's not just a futuristic hack'n'slash becuase those games get insanely boring. It'd be cool if they make it Fable inspired to some extent, ability to buy real estate, live on different planets, and other little side stuff, all the while carrying on your missions. Same statement towards 'Lord of the Rings Conquest'
I think MK vs. DC is dumb.
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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I always take EA screenshots with a grain of salt. They never look that good in the final release.
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Member Since: 9/15/2007
Posts: 6,484
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Quote:
Originally posted by Athens
I always take EA screenshots with a grain of salt. They never look that good in the final release.
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That's true. I got excited though. LOL If and only if the game does look that good in actuality, then I may have to rent it.
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Member Since: 6/25/2008
Posts: 20,616
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I'm so over video games right now
It used to be fun and simple but now it's so pricey...And PS3 costs like a freakin' car, why can't they make a LQ PS3 games for PS2?I don't want to get PS3, I'm happy with my PS2!I want my Gran Turismo 5 now bitchs!
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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^Sounds like you need a Wii.
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Member Since: 9/15/2007
Posts: 6,484
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Quote:
Originally posted by NickLacheyFan
I'm so over video games right now
It used to be fun and simple but now it's so pricey...And PS3 costs like a freakin' car, why can't they make a LQ PS3 games for PS2?I don't want to get PS3, I'm happy with my PS2!I want my Gran Turismo 5 now bitchs!
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Xbox 360 dude. It's ALWAYS there when you need it. I have both, and 360 rocks my world everytime I play. And it's not expensive!
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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Member Since: 9/15/2007
Posts: 6,484
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^Not me. Idk about it yet.
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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^^My PC is becoming increasingly slow, so I think Spore is out of the question for me. But I've heard it has a 100 page manual.
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Member Since: 6/25/2008
Posts: 20,616
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Quote:
Originally posted by Athens
^Sounds like you need a Wii.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Afterglow
Xbox 360 dude. It's ALWAYS there when you need it. I have both, and 360 rocks my world everytime I play. And it's not expensive!
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No, I need to stop spend money on video games and that's what I'm doing.
It was fun but now it's time to stop it, after all I used to play mostly in car games and now I can drive a real one .
I got enough games to pass my time if I need to anyways.
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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10 Xbox 360 tricks Microsoft won't tell you
1. Connect your Xbox 360 to two screens at once
If you've got one of the component/composite dual video cables – the one that comes in the box with most 360s – you can have your console display its gamey goodness on two TVs simultaneously. The trick is to flick the cable's switch to Standard Definition but hook up the composite (yellow) cable to one screen and the component (the red, green, blue) cables to another. It won't be high-def, but it could be handy if you're staging a mini LAN party and want to set up a display for bored spectators to point their eyes at.
2. Play your own music in original Xbox games
That you can fire up your own MP3s during a 360 game is common knowledge (and re-soundtracking moody horror games with the Benny Hill theme tune never stops being funny), but it doesn't work if you're playing a title from the original Xbox. There's a way around it – start playing your album or playlist before you load the game, and it'll keep on playing once you do fire the title up. The game's own music won't be muted, however, so if you can't do that in its settings you'll go mad from the weird cacophony.
3. It can write its own blog
Ah, the internet – founded upon crazy men making crazy things for free. Such as a blog supposedly written by your 360, based on what you've been using it for. It monitors your Live account and automatically generates entries about what it's been up to that day (or what it hasn't been up to – expect many posts about neglect if you don't turn it on for a while). The tone is very much American geek, but it's a fun record of your own gaming habits, and of keeping an eye on what your chums are up to. Get set up at www.360voice.com.
4. Play Xbox 360 games online for free – without a Live account
That you have to pay a subscription for online gaming, something that's free on other consoles and on the PC, is perhaps the 360's greatest bugbear. Stage your own form of peaceful process by playing online without paying a penny. You'll need XLink Kai, a free app you run from a PC on the same network as the console that tricks the 360 into thinking the internet is a LAN.
So it'll treat remote opponents as though they're in the same room as you – and you don't have to pay for local multiplayer. Clever! One snag – Microsoft has set the 360 to boot out anyone with a ping higher than 30ms, so you'll have to be selective about who you play with. Local chums are best, not your Chinese penpal.
5. Interact with your Xbox 360 music
Hit X whilst playing a music CD or file (whether from the 360's hard drive, an MP3 player you've plugged in, or streamed from a PC) and you'll enter Psychedelic Wonderland. Well, some artful visualisations, anyway. Grab a controller or two (or up to four, as it happens) and start moving thumbpads and pressing buttons to interact with the crazed shifting colours. There are actually some fairly elaborate controls – read the full manual at http://www.llamasoft.co.uk/x360manual.php. Good at parties, this.
6. Connect your Xbox 360 to a wireless network without an official adaptor
The good news is you don't have to drop £50 on Microsoft's offensively overpriced Wi-Fi adaptor. The bad news is you'll need a laptop with W-Fi to do it. Head to Control Panel – Network Connections (In Windows XP) or Network & Sharing Center – Manage Network Connections (in Vista). Select the Local Area Connection and the Wireless Network Connection at once, then right-click and hit 'bridge connections'.
Disconnect then reconnect to your wireless network, run a network cable from the laptop's Ethernet port to the 360's, and you should be good to go. Unfortunately, you may have to remove the bridge (repeat the above process and you'll see the option) whenever you want to browse the net with the laptop.
7. Play music from your iPod
Not a secret as such, but Microsoft doesn't exactly shout about the fact it plays nice with a device made by uber-rival Apple. Hidden in the depths of the Marketplace, you'll find a teeny download called 'optional iPod support'. Once you've grabbed that, plug in your iPod (iPhones aren't supported yet, sadly) and head to the Media Blade. You'll see your pod appear there, and can now browse its music by album, artist, genre or whatever. It'll also charge via the USB port, usefully.
8. Reset your Xbox 360 video settings
Remember this one if you're in the habit of carrying your console to chum's houses and hooking it up to different displays. It can end up trying to output the wrong signal, so you can't see anything or get a flickering screen. Fortunately, there's a fairly simple fix if this happens. Remove any discs from the tray and turn the thing off. Then turn it on using a gamepad. As it boots, hold down the Y button, then hit and hold the right trigger. The video settings will reset to default, and you'll stop your sobbing.
9. Play any media file, plus online videos on your Xbox 360
Free app Tversity neatly sidesteps the pointless video/audio restrictions Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo alike slap on their consoles, making them able to play any format. Again, you'll need a PC on the same network, but it's a simple matter of installing the program and having it scan the folders you keep your media in. It'll replace the standard network file-sharing system Windows uses, but behaves pretty much the same way at the 360's end. As well as that, it'll convert unsupported files on the fly – though you'll need a pretty beefy PC to do this with large video files, otherwise you'll be waiting ages. You can also add online video URLs on the PC's end – including Youtube – and then access those from the console.
10. Use any HDMI cable and still get digital surround sound
Though the newer 360s have an HDMI output for optimal video quality, they've built the ports in such a way that you can't have the standard component/composite video cable, with its crucial optical audio output, plugged in at the same time as HDMI. Instead, you're supposed to drop a frightening amount of money on the official HDMI cable with audio adapter. Balls to that. See the big plastic box at the end of the standard video cable that connects to the console? Wedge a knife or screwdriver into the join and twist to pop it off. The result looks messy, but is small enough to plug in alongside a standard, cheapo HDMI cable.
Source: http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming...-can-do-464200
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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I ALWAYS use my music when playing racing or football games.
But its nearly impossible to insert certain USBs in the USB drive, especially if it is integrated in the player itself.
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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GC 2008: Call of Duty: World at War Hands-on Preview (Xbox 360)
By: Tom Price - "Tomelet" www.teamxbox.com
One of the things jaded video game journalists like myself are fond of crying about, is the over-proliferation of World War II games. When will it end, we cry through gnashed teeth. The answer: never. But as long as the games are coming from people and franchises we like (Treyarch and Call of Duty, respectively) we’ll get back in the trenches and grenade some Wehrmacht soldiers gladly.
But a-ha! Call of Duty: World at War throws in a twist. You’re fighting in the Pacific theater now, a side to WWII that has remained less explored than the European campaigns, at least in the first-person shooter genre. And the ground war in the Pacific was very different than it was in the fields of Western Europe. Japan was on its heels and fighting tooth and nail for each island that led back to Japan.
That desperation was conveyed into a ‘never surrender’ attitude that made taking those islands so difficult and so costly for both sides. The casualties were of a terrible amount for both sides. In addition to not surrendering, the Japanese changed their tactics to make it even more difficult for the Americans and their allies to gain control. Tree snipers, deeply dug bunkers, suicide runners, booby traps – all of these things and more were employed by the Japanese in the real battles, and are recreated here in World at War.
The enemy can be hiding anywhere, it’s your job to roust them from their holes.
We’ve watched enough History Channel to get the basic idea, but it wasn’t until we actually got our hands on a controller that we got a feel for how the game would actually play out. And from what we’ve seen so far, developer Treyarch has captured a new and unique feel. This may be true guerilla warfare in a video game for the first time.
When we played Call of Duty: World at War by special appointment with some of the game’s developers, it was in campaign co-op mode. So we got a good feel for what the game is going to play like, with the help of another player in our game who could point us to the flamethrower and lay down some suppressive fire as we lit up a Japanese bunker like a barbecue. Yep, that flamethrower sure is a good time. Co-operative play is new to the Call of Duty series and we’d like to just say, it’s about time you got here, little buddy.
The mission was set on the island of Peleliu, a virtual speck in the ocean that the U.S. wanted as a forward airbase. They predicted it would only take them four days to capture it. It took two months instead, and at the end lie dead 1500 G.I.’s and over 10,000 soldiers of the Japanese Imperial Forces. We call that a bloodbath. Playing through it as a game conveyed the many horrific ways to die in the jungle.
The action felt good, and powerful, with plenty of authentic weapons laying around for you to pick up and have fun with, and enemies who are definitely a little brighter than just poking heads above boxes. I guess that’s somewhat thanks to the Call of Duty 4 engine, upon which this game is built. Along with the solid graphics engine and excellent multiplayer code it brings, there are also game elements that make the transition. Namely the experience system and the ability to unlock new perks. The cool thing is, now you can earn xp in co-op mode as well as in multiplayer.
Vehicles are crucial in CoD:World at War, whether you’re driving them or providing infantry support.
In addition to new perks there will be new challenges to earn them and new weapons as well. Some challenges will be specific to co-op and some to multiplayer. A couple of cool new challenges include one called “Bartender” where you have to kill 50 enemies with Molotov Cocktails, or kill a certain number with a flamethrower, AKA “Frequent Fryer”. There should be a lot more fun challenges announced later.
Later on in the game are some levels set in the war on the Eastern front between the Russians and the Germans. We played a level in Stalingrad, and it was much more like your traditional Call of Duty experience. Bombed out buildings, snowy streets, tanks rolling through the alleys – all familiar milieus. But it somehow seems better than before, again thanks to, I think, the Call of Duty 4 engine. Is there anything it can’t do?
Even though this is not a full sequel to Call of Duty 4, I’ve always liked the sort of in-between CoD games done by other developers. Especially ones done by Treyarch. Big Red One was criminally underappreciated in my book. So here’s to giving them another chance with World at War, a Call of Duty game that will hopefully do the franchise proud.
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Off topic - Who thinks Mass Effect should have had an Earth mission?
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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I don't know why, but it was such an awesome experience looking at earth while being on the moon. When I started playing M.E, the least of places I wanted to go would be Earth, but coming down to the end I was really hoping I could. The illustration they used to show what it looked like was awesome as well.
Maybe next time.
As for COD; I'm really tired of war games now. I realize it's as cemented in videogames as the NBA and NFL titles are, but I'm just sick of it.
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Member Since: 5/13/2007
Posts: 3,866
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What bothers me about war games and shooters like COD and Rainbow SIx games is the life system....
I hate it when there is no life bar or something which gradually goes down.
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ATRL Administrator
Member Since: 8/27/2006
Posts: 5,277
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Yeah that's their new way of immersing you in the game supposedly. I also have a hard time with it because you're much less aware and the possibility of random/unexpected deaths because of it are greater.
Speaking of R6, I just rented Vegas 2 yesterday. Haven't played it yet though and it would be my first R6 game. I'm just hoping I don't have to control everyone and their positions and all that. You can just focus on one guy right?
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ATRL Contributor
Member Since: 8/11/2007
Posts: 63,796
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man i cant wait for sims 3
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