Dividing Up the Problem - Activision Is Digging Their Own Grave

Well we all know that Activision completely boned themselves over, but how much exactly? After the formation of Respawn Entertainment Activision, and seemingly to quell the uprising against them of Infinity Ward’s remaining devs leaving in droves, the company announced through Dan Amrich and his Facebook:

“Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets. (Please see Activision’s countersuit for details about Vince and Jason’s surreptitious attempts to photocopy and scan sensitive documents.) Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it’s still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? :) I don’t want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do.”

Yes the facetious smiley was there as well as the blatant potshot at the devs who’ve already left IW. In my opinion there really was no sensitive document scanning and Activision is pocketing some of the money because they are the ones who determine the bonus size no? What’s to stop them from saying $100,000 is the bonus that was to be shared when it was more likely millions? Either way this entire pot of stew is definitely spoiled and I really hope Activision gets what’s coming to them. I don't think they realize that this entire fiasco started because of these bonuses. They're literally just dividing up their issues and tossing a few bucks to the people who remain at IW. I don't doubt either that the bonus can be revoked if they were to leave and seek employment elsewhere.

-Armand

MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3!!!!!!!

Yes ladies and gentlemen, the best arcade fighter to EVER be created officially has a SEQUEL!!!

Today at Captivate '10 Capcom has officially unveiled their teaser trailer for MARVEL VS. CAPCOM 3!!!

I have been playing Marvel Vs. Capcom: Clash of Superheroes and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes for the last 12+ years and finally, finally Capcom has listened and is taunting us with a trailer for the Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

Surprising to me though, this game will only, (it seems right now), be released on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, not in the typical two player arcade machine style. Why they're doing this is beyond me. I don't know how many thousands of quarters and arcade tokens I've used on those two games.

I used to live in Manhattan when I was younger, and everyday after school there was only one place you could find me. The arcades. There were several back then; two in Chinatown, quite a few on Broadway itself; most are closed down now though. But before my parents forced me to move to Florida, I made damn sure that I broke the high score on every MvC2 machine I could get my little hands on. Up until four years ago in fact I had the high scores on six different machines in Manhattan and two in Queens and even the one in Brooklyn that wasn't smashed in. When I last checked though most of those famous arcades had went out of business or were bought out and made into something else. At that time I still had four high scores, my machines in Queens and two in Manhattan. Now though, it seems like the era of the arcade is dead, there's only the one arcade still open in Queens; the others all closed, (one became a Chuck E' Cheese).

That's neither here nor there. What's relevant is the fact that this game has officially debuted but doesn't have a release date yet. There are hints at new characters though; in the teaser trailer you clearly see Resident Evil's Chris Redfield fighting the Hulk on a building. I really hope the rumors are true; supposedly the character list from MvC2 has been doubled. I honestly, am giddy with excitement. I love this game, like, severely love this game. I even have the special Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 Tournament Edition Fight Stick for the Xbox 360.

Thoroughly excited and definitely gonna follow this like a hawk.

-Armand

Final Fantasy Shouldn't Be Ported.....Ever Again

The Final Fantasy Series has been well known to be an exclusive title. Always on one console, always looked positively stunning in comparison to other games. Then, by some unknown un-godly force, Microsoft aquired it and released it on the Xbox 360 at the same time as the PlayStation 3 version.

My only question is why. Why would Square-Enix even think about porting such a title to the Xbox? No, I'm not a PS3 or 360 fanboy in the least but I do solidly believe in the ability to keep particular titles completely exclusive. I never want to see Halo or Gears of War on the PlayStation 3 nor do I want to even imagine Kratos or Kingdom Hearts on the Xbox 360. I sure as Hell didn't want to see Final Fantasy XIII, a title that I've been waiting for years to be a half-assed port onto a console that doesn't, in my opinion, have the ability to play it in all its glory.

Final Fantasy XIII is a visually stunning game that has a very unique ATB system that puts Final Fantasy XII to shame; graphically alone it is jaw-dropping, let alone its amazing take on gameplay. The 360 just doesn't do the game justice. Having waited in line for hours to get the game for my trusty ol' original PS3, it would be an understatement to say that I wasn't completely out of my mind with excitement to play it. I got home, turned the volume up to 11, plugged in the HDMI cable I was saving just for this moment and pressed New Game. I didn't stop smiling even after I'd hit my last save point the next day, (I called in), after 13 hours of play, (I match the first play binge to the title number); I didn't stop smiling even when I died my first time.

I did however stop smiling once I popped my 360 copy of the game in though. I turned the volume up to 11, plugged in the HDMI cord and pressed New Game. I didn't smile one bit. The sound just felt like someone was holding a blanket up over the speakers and the graphics....the graphics were just bad. I didn't even make it past the first mini-boss before I turned it off and traded it in. Not even kidding. When Lightning, the one of the main characters, attacks, she's supposed to have sparks flying off of her and her attacks; beautifully done in the PS3 version but in the 360's version, it looks like square confetti. Monsters were missing polygons and attacks were sometimes slow and once I had a creature that literally just stood there as I wailed on it.

Not only that but it came on three separate discs; installing should have helped the load times, it didn't at all. I couldn't stand the load times in the least and then of course it loaded into a crappy rendition of a game that really shouldn't have been done in the first place.

I actually returned my copy of the 360 Final Fantasy XIII the next day. I couldn't believe the disappointment I got from that port. I don't know what they were thinking but goddamn I'm glad FFXIII Versus is PS3 only....

-Armand

Small tidbit concerning the seemingly increasing hostilities between EA and Activision; started of course with the fiasco that is still unfolding between Activision and Infinity Ward ex-staff members Vince Zampella and Jason West. More on that HERE, HERE and  HERE.

Yesterday though Activision, through press release, boasted its "impressive sales" of the Modern Warfare 2 Stimulus Map Pack and how the company is lifting its quarterly fiscal outlook.

EA, being Activision's well known competitor, took a quick potshot at its excited rival; Jeff Brown, EA's director of corporate communications quipped this to Kotaku.com: "This is kind of like announcing: The race horse I shot last month has won the Triple Crown !"

EA of course is currently backing Zampella and West along with their new company Respawn Studios through the EA Partners program, which allows the two canned dev heads to own their IPs that they create...the reason this whole mess started in the first place (Infinity Ward vs. Activision).

Oh well....maybe they can make a sitcom out of this or something. This is entertaining, but add the guys from Harold & Kumar and SNL and then we'll have a good show. What do you think?

-Armand

More Infinity Ward Staff Check Out

Yep...more of them. I don't know what to say because I really believe its the right thing for them to get out from under Activision but the gamer in me is saying NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Today Mark Grigsby, the team's Lead Animator, and Paul Messerly, the Lead Character Animator, have both left Infinity Ward. Grigsby had been with the company since 2005 and Messerly had been there since the formation; he worked with Medal of Honor's dev group 2015 Inc. but moved in 2002.

If you don't know off the bat who Mark Grigsby is, think back to Modern Warfare number one. A certain Staff Sergeant Griggs come up? Yeah, Grigsby was the inspiration and voice actor for that character; he also was the one rapping at the end of that game. That's actually probably the only rap song that I own...

More and more devs dropping, Activision, couldn't you part with a few million? You'd have made it back ten-fold when Modern Warfare 3 dropped. Oh well....

-Armand

XboxLive Used to Fight Crime?

XboxLive is the major gaming network in which millions of people can get together, party up and game until the cows come home. A majority of the people on Xbox are, for lack of a better word, strange, but that doesn't mean we're not moral or just! After perusing Kotaku.com, I discovered a couple of articles about gamers who "save the day":

One was very serious involving a possible school shooting that was thwarted by several concerned party members in a game lobby. One of the people, disgruntled by his failing grades as a senior in school spoke very descriptively about fellow schoolmates that he would target when he shot up the school and disconnected suddenly when questioned about it by his fellow party members. Whether he was just messed up and joking or not one Canadian party member in British Columbia alerted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who then investigated and with the help of good ol' Microsoft Law Enforcement, tracked the individual to San Antonio, Texas where he was arrested. Later it was found that he was very serious; intending to get weapons from a friend in the Marines and considered details such as  how long S.W.A.T would take to arrive and had a list of names of people in particular.He also commented that he wanted to be remembered forever. XBL community 1, criminals 0.

Another was....particularly strange, but not uncommon I'm afraid. Apparently 24 year old Ryan E. Donker of Portsmouth, VA admitted to asking for nude pictures from a 13 year old Arkansas boy on multiple occassions. He was extradited to Arkansas under felony charges and $20,000 bond. Apparently Fayetteville Police had recorded several of these conversations where Donker tried to solicit the boy but thanks to the good ol' Xbox he was apprehended and put away for a bit. XBL community 2, crimials 0.

The last one I read was more recent; tampering with a witness. Yeah. People will do anything over XBL it seems. Apparently Anythony Hayward of Hamden, Conneticut was taken in under charges or "tampering with a witness, intimitdating a witness and two counts of second-degree harassment"; all commited through XboxLive messages. "I wouldn't laugh 2 much U a dead man walking" and "Rats die slow" were among the messages sent to a material witness in a case against Hayward  who was out on bail under gun and drug possession charges. He was taken in again and hasn't posted his new bail. XBL community 3, criminals 0.

I think we have a winner!!! At any rate, this shows two things; there are some messed up people on XBL, but there are good people who report things that really really need to be reported. Always be observant and report psychos to the proper authorities; better safe than sorry folks!

-Armand

Yup, More of IW Ditched.....

Yeah that's right. Another four people have dropped from Infinity Ward's staff roster:

Lead Designers Steve Fukuda and Zied Reike have left after being with the company since its founding days working on the Medal of Honor series.

Programmer Rayme Vinson as well as Lead Artist Chris Cherubini have also been confirmed to have left the studio for good.

These are just the latest in the string of devs jumping ship after the canning of studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella who were fired under acusations from Activision of "delaying production of Modern Warfare 3." I don't know about them but I figure they've got more important issues on their hands.

-Armand

The End of an Era.....(my old Xbox gets put under the bed)....

Well today is the day. Today we begin mourning our beloved original Xboxs and their multiplayer titles; XboxLive will be cut off from them. Microsoft announced it a while ago but I don't know if we're ready to leave games like Halo 2 or Crimson Skies or even good ol' Battlefield 2.

The Xbox made its debut on November 15, 2001 with the game that dropped me onto a ringworld that took my normally casual gaming to a whole new and competitive level, Halo: Combat Evolved. Exactly one year later Microsft introduced the XboxLive subscription service; a way for you to connect and play with or against people from all over the world as well as download new content straight to the harddrive on the console. The first two months up only saw about 250,000 individual subscribers. In July, 2004, Microsoft announced that Xbox Live had reached one million subscribers; in July, 2005, (IMO due to the release of Halo 2) membership reached two million people. As of May 2009 that number has increased to 20,000,000 and is still growing daily. An astounding number of people across the planet are spending their time teaming up with and killing each other via this insanely popular virtual network; everyone in my house has a subscription as a matter of fact.

The bomb was dropped on February 5th, 2010 that on April 15th, 2010, there would be no more XboxLive through original Xboxs or for their games even if played on the Xbox360. 'Tis a sad day for all, a sad day indeed.

As I type this I am in fact gathering my old Xbox games and console for one last hurrah; my copies of Halo/Halo 2, Crimson Skies and Battlefield 2 are going to get played until dawn....or whenever they cut off Live. After that....Halo 2 might come out for campaign nostalgia, but I don't know if I could bear to face it without being able to rip someone to shreds from 50 feet away with a totally bullshit sword swing....ah, the good ol' days....

-Armand

The End of a Great Company?

The "Fall of Duty" as most people now refer to it is getting pretty deep now. It started way back when Activision canned Vince Zampella and Jason West and now has come to more talented devs just up and leaving Infinity Ward.

HERE is a past post I did about why this all started and HERE is the second in the timeline confirming the cause. Where we fall now is definitely turbulent waters for the company that Activision "[looks] forward to continuing work with Infinity Ward's deep bench of proven talent..."

About a month after the initial canning, Infinity Ward lost two more: Todd Alderman who is a Lead Designer for Modern Warfare and Francesco Gigliotti, a Lead Software Engineer.

After this bit, Zampella and West formed Respawn Studios, a company that will own the IPs they create and are working with EA Partners for publishing and distribution. A swift kick in the nads to Activision in my opinion.

After the forming of Respawn Entertainment, Activision made this comment: "This agreement comes as no surprise to Activision given the myriad of improper activities detailed in the cross-complaint filed on Friday against [Zampella and Vince]...." I don't think Vince and Zampella did anything out of bounds and that Activision is seriously off its rocker if they think they'll be able to put out a title like Modern Warfare 3 and have it surpass MW2.

Now we see three people leaving the company at the same time; Programmer Jon Shiring, Senior Animator Bruce Ferriz and Lead Designer Mackey McCandlish are all no longer employed under Infinity Ward/Activision. None of the three have said exactly why they left, nor have they commented on what their next steps are; except for Ferriz who has confirmed to have been picked up by Santa-Monica's Big Red Button Entertainment for an undisclosed project.

With the company's devs all leaving Infinity Ward, I really wonder what's going to happen to one of the best game series' I've ever played; not only the game but the company that consistently put out amazing titles for all to enjoy. I wonder what Activision has to say now.

-Armand

Cliff, you read my mind man....

Well the news has just broke and some of the features I was pining for in Gears of War 3 are a reality. 4 player online co-op campaign!!!! ANYA is a playable character!!! DOUBLE BARREL SHOTGUNS!!!! The Lambent are confirmed even though we knew it was coming for sure. Unconfirmed still are rumors about underwater levels, mech suits and underground traveling explosives. But what is confirmed is the:

RELEASE DATE IS APRIL 5, 2011!!!

Brush off your Gears of War 1 & 2 folks; replay that story, practice your multiplayer and get ready, we've got less than one year until one of gaming's most insane trilogies is completed.

-Armand

Gears of War 3, you're so beautiful.....to me....

Not to sound like another drooling fanboy but....ZOMGOMGOMGOMG GEARS 3 TRAILER!!!!!

Alright, that's out of my system....let me wipe the drool off my mouth and get on with it. I've watched the amazing teaser roughly 23 times now, taking note of what appears to be new features as well as kicks into the story line:
 24*
First I noticed, and what everyone else probably noticed, was that everything was ashen. Literally, the bodies I assumed were oddly placed statues literally turned to dust when touched, or in the trailer's case slammed into. This is more than likely a new plot twist to the already amazing storyline that the Gears of War series has brought to the table. I also noticed that everything was ashen in place; as if it had happened without warning a la Pompeii. A cataclysm maybe? Something the Locust did? Something the humans did in an effort to save themselves?
 26*
Another thing I noticed was good ol' Delta Squad; they've had some upgrades that's for sure. Firstly a new squad-mate!!! Tell me that's not Anya! Marcus is totally getting some and she's killing Locust, sheer awesome. The armor seems a little less bulky in my opinion. Not only was Dom not rocking sleeves, Marcus and the rest of Delta weren't either. It seems that the full body suit is now just the leggings with a vest type upper body cover. Weapons seem to have changed as well. While "Anya" was sporting the typical lancer, you'll notice Dom was handed a rifle with a normal blade for a bayonet; the kind used during the Imulsion Wars where it was human vs. human. Marcus was rocking a "new" double-barreled shotgun (I say new because the barrels were horizontally lined up not vertically) and shot what looked like two separate blasts without cocking it.
29*
On the same note, Delta looks....older. Not literally, as if 10 years had passed but they look tired. Cole is bald and looks more muscular than before and Baird is rocking a cap n' goggles but I couldn't tell more than that. Marcus looks the same as he always has in my opinion; battered, bruised, scarred but never beaten. Dom though, looks more serious than he has in the prior two games. Where his face used to show a joking and optimistic individual now shows someone who seems apathetic and resigned. People who've played the first two games know **SPOILER ALERT** (for those who haven't but will) that Marcus and Dom found Dom's wife deep in the Locust Hollow and Dom did what he had to do and shot her. **END SPOILER ALERT** You even see him in the trailer gaze at a conveniently placed ashen figure of a mother and child as it gets run down by a Locust; he stares it for too long, stares at the Locust as it's about to kill him and just kind of accepts it. When Marcus blasts the creature away Dom winces as if he wished the Locust had killed him.
41*
Also very noticible in the trailer is the Lambent attacking both sides. It makes me wonder if the Locust are really as big a threat as they used to be and if some how the humans would be teaming up with them to exterminate the common threat.
42*
What I hope we'll see in this Gears is a much better multiplayer for one. I want a multiplayer where the Host isn't running around invincible. I want a multiplayer where stopping power on a gun actually works when it should (stopping some chainsaw-happy 8 year old) and when it shouldn't (making you flinch four times in a row after the person shooting you is already dead and you're just standing there unable to move). I also want bigger team choices, up to 8-10 per team would be AMAZING for larger scale fights but still retaining the choices of your typical 5v5 Warzone and such.

Something else I hope we'll see is 4-player (well 5 player now with the looks of the trailer) co-op for Delta Squad's missions. 2 player was great, but there's times when the scale could've been more enjoyable if there were three or four people helping. The Unreal Engine can put out thousands of enemies but can't handle 4 player co-op campaign? C'mon now.
53*

* = # of times I've watched the trailer

-Armand

Pokemon White Version

Pokemon Black Version

I'll Just Leave This Here

DRM, You Know You Hate It

Well we're here again with, in my opinion, how companies are trying to protect their pockets and distance their customers. Let me first say that DRM stands for "Digital Rights Management" which is how the publishers (EA & Ubisoft for example) maintain control of their product once it leaves the shelves and installs it self onto your computer. Its only real purpose is to prevent you from sharing the content that you pay for; can't give it to a friend to install on their computer or can't get the game from another source by illegal means. All it really does is limit how many times you can install the game or how many different computers you can install it on or force you to connect to the internet so you authenticate your session on the game.
We all know that most digital media and pretty much all games have DRM but there are some interesting new takes on the matter that are starting to show up. EA happens to use SecuROM with severely limits the amount of times a game can be installed. A problem with that is pretty much the normal issues one might face; computer crashes, harddrive malfunctions or just uninstalling for something else. The DRM the PC gaming world is beginning to hold a grudge against is Ubisoft's take on it; for their newer games you actually have to remain connected or risk losing your game progress!

DRM is double-edged in my opinion. Good reason to have it is to prevent piracy of the content. Bad reason to have it is because of the restrictiveness of the situation; if I purchase a sandwich, it is mine to do with as I please, whether it be to shove it in my face hole or share it with a friend for the short period of time I can. It should be the same way for video games that you buy. I don't know how many times I get on the net and find pirated copies of games that are DRM protected but are nonetheless there for all pirates to enjoy. This is a swift kick in the balls for people like me who legititmately purchase my video games either online or in a store; I have the entire Command and Conquer collection as well as Age of Empires III and others, all which have known to have been pirated but I purchased as a fan and supporter of those games. And then I can't play said games offline because some guy cracked it? All my years of good service to the company counts for nothing as soon as they implement DRM like this.

-Source: Kotaku.com

My take on it is like this: Radiohead actually released "In Rainbows" with a "pay what you want" form. You could literally give them a penny for the album or even nothing at all. They made $10 million in the first week of release. People will play games if they're free or not, by lessening the restrictions, you get more players therefore more money. The amount of piracy is not yet greater than the amount of purchasers and I believe that even the pirates would stop if the companies didn't hold the software back so much. But hey, that's just what I think.

-Armand

Infinity Ward, Where Are You Going?!?!

Well there is more news now about Infinity Ward and its not looking too bright. According to Kotaku.com, (Activision in their quest to rule the gaming world), has been "delaying paying Infinity Ward employees their royalties" in order to keep the developers from jumping ship after the fiasco with studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West. Yeah, seriously. Apparently IW personnel are paid regular or "low" salaries but receive ridiculous royalties to balance it out, which is completely understandable considering since its release, Modern Warfare 2 has raked in more than a billion dollars in overall sales.

After the studio heads were canned, Activision began imposing its iron will upon our favorite devs, but that's not stopping some of them from booking; a month later Mr. Todd Alderman who is a Lead Designer for Modern Warfare and deeply involved with the multiplayer and story that we've all come to enjoy, is gone, along with Mr. Francesco Gigliotti, IW's Lead Software Engineer. Both have been with IW for 8 years and 7 years respectfully. Right now it's up in the air as to why they both left but it seems as though they both resigned and weren't canned.

-Source info: Kotaku.com

I don't know what Activision is trying to pull here but I can only forsee suffering for their profits in the end; the very thing they're trying so hard to maintain through all this. I can't fathom as to why they won't pay out the royalties that IW so rightly deserves. Does this spell the end for Infinity Ward as we know it? With four of the main people who made the company and games we know what they were, I can only assume so. Adieu Infinity Ward, I knew thee well.

-Armand

Video Games, A Dental Cash Cow?

I'm not one who's prone to go out of my way to do anything. In fact, the less I do the better I feel at the end of the day. Most of my daily accomplishments come from my daily gaming; to which I owe my amazing hand-eye coordination and lack of money. Hell, while playing I may enjoy a Pop-Tart or if its that time, I'll have a full meal between boss battles or matches. One thing I always make time for in the morning and before I hit the hay is brushing my teeth. It may sound silly to bring up here but I assure you, this is totally serious business.

According to a study done by the University of Iowa poor oral hygiene can come from playing video games! Apparently kids and teens between the ages of 12-16 have dietary habits associated with gaming on consoles or computers and conducive to tooth decay. I'm sorry but what?! I don't know about the rest of the U.S. but I'm pretty sure that kids will eat anything if it: 1) Tastes good, 2) Is sweet, 3) They can get their hands on it or 4) Can nick it when their parents are looking. THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH VIDEO GAMES!!!

I am sick and tired of gamers being singled out as the cause for school shootings or people dropping out of school, getting fat or having to get a filling. This is absolutely ridiculous. Everything that someone does isn't because of what their pasttime is! I would just as quickly grab a glass of water as I would a Capri Sun pouch and a friggin' granola bar just the same as a Pop-Tart! It just depends on what I want at that particular moment and if I'd eaten anything else that day. Everything someone does is of their own free will. If the kid is too goddamn lazy to walk to the kitchen and grab some milk rather than a Coke its their own, and the PARENT FOR BUYING IT, fault. If the parents didn't leave the kids alone to do as they please and smack 'em if they step out of line, I guarantee you'd find healthy, fit, pleasant to be around children who smile with a mouth full of pearly whites.....

People need to get their heads out of their asses and really start re-evaulating their lives before they start blaming it on a simple form of entertainment. That's my rant for the day. Goddamn studies...always pissing me off....

-Armand

Day One Bribery, Even on XBL?

Day one incentives are something that's been around as long as I can remember, whether it be some sort of cool unlockable weapon, maps or even just some silly gamerpictures. Lately you'll get more....interesting incentives. After pre-ordering Tekken 6 I was handed a calendar for instance; and after pre-ordering God of War III I was given armor that helps me beat the game quicker (which I have yet to even download). This goes the same for most of EA's titles; Mass Effect 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 both give you access to tons of free DLC through built in networks only attainable by getting the game on Day one, lest you shell out roughly $15 extra for the networks later on.

Well, it seems that getting DLC on the first day yields some rewards as well; or so Microsoft is showing us:

Yep, that's right. For spending $15 on the Stimulus map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and not being able to play it until later that evening due to updating hiccups, we get a week of free Xbox Live service. I dunno about you but that's kinda weak IMO. Seriously, the price point should've been set at $10 at most and the testing for this update fiasco should've been worked out when the DLC was being considered.

I can't say much for IW on this one but to Microsoft - My PS3 is, for the first time ever, beating out my 360 in usage.

-Armand

Buy or Gamefly #1 - God of War Collection

Hey there, this is Buy or Gamefly, a piece that I'll occasionally have follow a "To Play or Not to Play." Today's is on the God of War Collection for the PS3.

Rather than restate everything I said that was awesome about this game in the previous post, I'll link it and rant a bit more about why you should definitely pick this up.

To Play or Not to Play #1 - God of War Collection

Well here's what my take on this game is:

For $39.99 you get two of the games that defined the PlayStation 2 as a system with updated visuals and sound that serves as an excellent segway into the now released God of War III. The its a must have for collectors and a definite by for fans of the series; I have two copies of God of War and God of War II as well as the Collection (the Collection and III are the only ones that can fit in my Pandora's Box though). Short, simple and to the point, this game is a BUY.

To Play or Not to Play #1 - The God of War Collection

Welcome to "To Play or Not to Play" where I'll give you the rundown on games that need your undivided attention or should be put under your table leg to keep it steady. Today I want to talk about The God of War Collection. Let's first take a look at where they came from.

Most of the people who have owned a PlayStation 2 or PS3 have played the original God of War and its sequel at least once if not more. Considering both of them made it to PlayStation's Greatest Hit's I'm pretty sure they did good in sales as well. But gameplay wise, what's there to back up the hype?

God of War one was a game that definitely pushed boundaries, both graphically and content-wise. It was positively gory, had a seamless story and graphics that were pretty damn good for a PS2 game. It followed the story of Kratos, a Spartan warrior general who is now in the service of the great Greek gods of Olympus. Slowly but surely as you work your way through the perilous levels and puzzles you begin to uncover more and more about the Spartan's past and why he's so tormented. The gameplay was just great. You could seamlessly go from just a small slice with the Blades of Chaos to a combo that could fell the biggest bosses with ease. It was a game that made you think outside of the box to find solutions for twisted puzzles occasionally involving something being reamed inside out. I won't say what happens but at the end of the game you help Kratos become the God of War which provides the link directly to the next game.

In the epic sequel, God of War II, Kratos is back with an even bigger bloodlust after being betrayed by the very gods he sat beside. Battered and bruised and pretty much dead Kratos now finds allies with the great Titans of old, the very same that hate the Gods of Olympus. Improved graphics and gameplay with more items, bigger boss battles and even more destructive weapons accompany your journey to the fight you have ahead of you. A key thing to remember about the God of War series is that they use the Greek's mythology to build around Kratos' life and quest, not the other way around. You encounter people you know to have a different part in Greek lore but they are relatively the same as they should be. An example would be the mighty Perseus, vanquisher of Medusa. You encounter Medusa very much alive in the first game, but find Perseus here in the second? You'll just have to play to find out how it all ties in.

Now back the God of War Collection. This compilation contains both God of War and God of War II Deluxe edition (just some bonus features separate from the game) which is made specially for the PS3. The graphics have definitely been upscaled and there is the added bonus of Trophies for the completionist in you as well as a code for the demo for the third in the series, God Of War III (already released but for those of you who are for some reason skeptical, definitely go for it). Other than that, its the same game you've come to know and love over the years and in my opinion, definitely a PLAY.

To Play or Not to Play?

I want to start doing a series of mini-reviews for different games that are out right now and some for those that soon will be. Normally if I do one of these you'll almost always see a Buy or Gamefly soon after for that game.

I'm going through a list of games right now to decide what my first should be...

-Armand

Microsoft has done it again. No not in a bad way this time; they've actually done something I can appreciate as a gamer: Microsoft's Game Room.


It's an old gamer's paradise with titles from companies that rocked the late 70's and 80's such as Atari and Intellivision. It's design is similar to PlayStation's Home apartments where you can place furniture in an apartment or "space" and have friends visit. Its much better in the sense that you have multiple levels with possibly hundreds of ways to make your Arcade different from the next guy's. Even better than just visiting your Arcade your friends on XBL can actually play your games that you have displayed in your different rooms and try to beat your high scores.

Now we all know that Microsoft never gives us anything for free....or do they? They actual Game Room application is free to download to all and upon doing so you are taken to the "Showcase Arcade" which is pretty much like a new car show room; it displays the props and decor you can attain and they even let you demo the full version of all the games once. Upon entering you're given 20 Tokens which you can use for extra plays and such for the showcase and for your friend's Arcades as well. You get more Tokens by having your friends visit your Arcade so the more you have and the more enjoyable it is, the more likely you'll have a lot of tokens coming to you.

Like I said you can only demo the games once. What if you want to keep that game so you and your friends can play it? You have to cough up some good old MS Points. In all actuality, its a very decent price for these games; 240 MSP for owning the game on your 360's Game Room or 400 for owning it across all platforms. All Platforms? Yep, if you have a Window's Live enabled phone or even your Windows computer you will be able to play your games where ever and whenever you have your devices. Not too shabby MS....not too shabby....

But what kind of games are we talking about here? Most of us don't want to sit around playing Football in there all day long. Microsoft has answered that too. These are the games that I grew up playing in Manhattan arcades and my buddies' Atari way back when; day one released two game packs that had a total of 30 games ranging from some of my personal favorites like Lunar Lander, Centipede and Yar's Revenge to some such as Adventure, Night Driver and Sub Assault. Not only that but starting sometime late April, we're going to be getting about 7 new games every week!

Another great thing about the Game Room is that these are copies of the original games; there's no boost in graphics or sounds and no crazy modifications to them either. Keeping to the roots of the games was something I was honestly worried about but after playing all 30 of the games, I can say that I approve. The only thing I can see wrong with the Game Room though is that there is no "head-to-head" mode where you directly go against a friend. Also there are several two-player games but unfortunately, multiplayer is restricted to local only.

Customization is an interesting system in the Game Room. You start off with the same knick knacks that everyone has, the same themes for your rooms and the same layout. In order to get more items and themes you have to buy and play the different games to achieve different medals for each of them. The medals are all worth different point values and all contribute to your level. Bronze is 2, Silver is 3 and Gold is 5. Once you get enough to add up to 20, you *insert FFVII sound here* level up! all the way to 50 if you're tough enough. This allows you to receive a lot more items and let's you make your Arcade your own. You can place up to 8 game cabinets in each room and you have three floors with four rooms on them in a circular fashion (see picture above). Instead of just filling it up with cabinets you can add things such as jukeboxes or giant 80's sneakers and from the ceiling you can hang a disco ball if you want. That's only the 80's theme though, there's a "Lost Temple" theme, "Haunted Mansion" theme and more with props that fit.

From someone who grew up beating high scores on some of these games, I honestly thank Microsoft for bringing a simpler time back to us. Its good not to forget our roots or how difficult games were back then. I can beat Halo 3 on Legendary with every skull on in a day but landing a lunar module on the side of a cliff with 53 fuel left? Yeah, its hard. My verdict for Microsoft's Game Room is a 4.5/5, a definite must have for anyone who's a fan of the glory days.

-Armand

8 bits of pure awesome!

So while perusing Kotaku today, I came across something that caught my attention: "Linkin Park's Video Game Doesn't Look Nearly As Bad As It Should". I did the proper thing and Googled it, getting to the website made by LP themselves:

http://linkinpark.com/profile/LinkinPark8BitRebellion

WTF? Linkin Park game? Check out the trailer yourself!



Wow, I'm actually impressed, it even has a funny little story behind it and seems well thought out. Even though its only coming to "iDevices" I think it'll sell pretty quickly, even to people who aren't big fans of LP.

One of the main features I like about the game is that there are going to be both 8-bit and full versions of LP's songs playing while you play the game. Another is the unlock reward system, in which you can get things to customize your space and character with.

On the downside, the release date for the game is "soon" which isn't very telling now is it? Hopefully they'll be able to port it out so people could play on their computers or even the XBL Arcade or PSN, I wouldn't mind playing like that at all.

-Armand

Wow for WoW

Well I've been playing the "insanely addicting" MMORPG World of Warcraft for about a month now and its really....well kind of addicting. I say this not in the obvious "ZOMG I NEEDZ LVLZ NAO" way but I say it in the "Hmmm, this game is pretty fun when you play with other people from all over the world; I enjoy playing this on a semi-regular basis."

Like I said before I've only been playing for rougly a month and in that time I've completed roughly 250 quests and attained level 45. People who I talk to in game (normally when I'm running random dungeons) say that's very good and that their first characters or "toons" took them longer. There are some of people however, who say well good for you, this is my 21st character and spend half the dungeon telling you about their awesome armor and quests they've done and ignore the fact that I'm literally new and rag on me for being a "n00b". You run across the same kind of people in Battlegrounds which is the Player vs. Player part of WoW. Those kind of people make WoW a kind of hostile environment; some people aren't accostomed to having their body tea-bagged or danced on after defeat and may react harshly, (myself being an avid Halo player am very used to this).

With two expansions and a third on the way and literally thousands of quests and hundreds of dungeons and millions of players, WoW is definitely an interesting game that fans of the MMO style of play should enjoy. I particularly like the dungeons as they're my style of gaming: storm the castle, kill the boss and his flunkies and then get all the treasure. The questing portion of WoW which you really only have to put up with until level 15ish I believe isn't my schtick. I still do them every now and again but I've found they can be very, very tedious and sometimes annoying, (like when the creature you try to kill doesn't drop the items you need to progress). I do enjoy new area quests though; they let you explore terrain and creatures you haven't seen before and add a bit to the magic that is WoW's interesting story.

If you get a chance, read the story of WoW; it'll give you some insight into what the Hell is going on when you see a Night Elf and Blood Elf facing off or Trolls and Human's duking it out. Its separated by chapters and can be found here:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/story/index.html

Its quite engaging although I doubt I'll ever be engaged enough to buy the books or the TCG (trading card game), its not that great.

But I digress, I bashed WoW and its players for almost three years, and upon playing it and paying attention to what was going on, I found it a thoroughly enjoyable game that I could spend a few hours a day running around in when my 360 needs a rest. It has an interesting storyline and great community of people who will help you so you can help others in the future. Try the demo yourself, its not that bad, I promise! http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/

-Armand

Well Infinity Ward.....

Today is a big day for Infinity Ward. Their debut map pack for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has been released and well....lets just say it hasn't been pretty so far. 1200MSP price point for three new maps and two that are remakes of two Modern Warfare maps is pretty ridiculous. I heard from some friends that downloading it this morning was a chore and now from what I gather, the maps won't even render for you to play on. High price for something that doesn't work....I don't know if this is a hiccup on Microsoft's end or if IW is getting sloppy. It makes me wonder what's really going on over there at IW. I can only assume it has something to do with the Activision fiasco.

I'm going to assume that you all haven't been keeping up with Infinity Ward's news so here's the information before the opinion:

Sometime March 1st, 2010 according to sources close to IW, a "bunch of bouncer-types" just showed up outside IW offices without reason and when confronted by IW staff, they virtually said nothing. It turns out that earlier that day Vince Zampella and Jason West; two bigwigs down at IW had met with their good friends Activision and hadn't been seen since. Things were supposedly tense between the two companies for a while.

According to an SEC filing earlier that morning, Activision claimed "breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at IW." In fact, later that day a shot surfaced of Jason West's Facebook page to say "Jason West is drinking. Also no longer employed."

- Source for information: G4TV.com's The Feed Blog.

Alright, now that you know the facts, here comes the good stuff. What the Hell is going on? Why would Activision all of a sudden practically punch IW in the balls when they had just released the highest selling piece of entertainment in the U.S. ever? The only reason I can even comprehend what could make them do that other than money. Infinity Ward is entitled to some pretty substantial royalties from the sales of the game. Knocking out the top two of IW studios would sure as Hell save Activision some money....not like they need to. But they still did put two of their own as top dogs to replace West and Zampella so something tells me this was a long time coming.

At any rate, the two shafted Studio heads still have stake in the MW2 magic and thusly are probably the reason that the Map Pack is having some issues...... not really. Infinity Ward wouldn't be the people trying to sabotage a perfectly good game's progress *cough* ACTIVISION *cough cough* for selfish gain. At any rate there's something deeper running here that we don't know about yet but I hope this gets resolved and quickly; in situations like this the gamers are the ones who end up with the short end of the stick. And anyone will tell you when gamers get pissy, the companies don't do so well and it'll cycle like that for a while until someone working there get's their head out of their ass.

Infinity Ward is an amazing company with some very talented people working there producing some of the best games my generation has seen. I've bought every COD they put out day one and DLC (downloadable content) to boot; but in this current state where Activision is pulling the strings, I don't know if I could continue doing that.

-Armand