Can't Stop the Curb Stomp
I’m still having a blast playing NWN2, and my dwarven cleric/warpriest is cruising right along. I’ve only played a little bit of FFXII, just to check it out, and while it looks amazing I seem to only have the attention span for one RPG at a time. Vaan and company are going to have to wait for me to finish saving The Realms before they get much more attention. With so much gaming goodness, I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t buy anything new until I get some of this backlog out of the way.
Unfortunately, I failed my Will save vs. Gears of War. This game is phenomenal. It’s the kind of game you just can pile enough adjectives on top of to express the sheer amount of bad-assery contained within. It is pretty rare these days to find a game that is truly firing on all cylinders: the graphics are the best yet on the next-gen, the gameplay is tight and polished, the characters have just enough depth to be interesting but not intrusive, and the setting and story are captivating.
The game takes place in a kind of post-apocalyptic earth, opening 14 years after the invasion of the alien-like Locust. Only, in this world the aliens did not come from outer space, but emerged from the bowels of the earth itself. You fight amongst the rubble of neo-gothic buildings and through interiors that evoke the same sense of crumbling elegance that was present in many of the interiors from The Matrix. The game uses a third-person tactical shooter mechanic, where you find yourself (and your team) moving from cover to cover and throwing down in hellacious fire-fights. Within the first few minutes of playing you get the sense that this is how G.R.A.W. was supposed to work. I haven’t played multiplayer yet, as I don’t have an Xbox Live Gold account – although this is the game that will make me get one.
In other news: I’ve been a fan of the Mechwarrior CMG for a long time, so I was sad to see the open letter to players that basically says the game is on the ropes. That’s too bad, as it’s a great little strategy game. I’ve been buying boosters since Age of Destruction, and it seems like WizKids has become a little over-dependant on reusing old sculpts and just giving them new paint jobs and assigning them to new factions. There are already too many factions in the game, and just getting the same old mech for a faction I don’t really care about won’t keep me buying.
They claim they are suffering from a loss of consumer interest… I think the interest is still there, but the product has just gotten increasingly boring and convoluted. Add to this the quality issues that have dogged them since Annihilation, and it’s not surprising that they are having issues. Want to save the game? Cut back on the factions and give us some nice new sculpts. Hopefully they can figure it out, because I still love the game.
One last thought: It was interesting to see people camping out in tents this week to get a shot a buying a PS3 or a Wii. That's no small feat in Idaho's climate. Just for the record, I wasn't one of them. That's waaaaay too much work for an over-priced system and a bunch of lackluster launch titles. Call me after the first round of "greatest hits" games hit and the price drops.
Unfortunately, I failed my Will save vs. Gears of War. This game is phenomenal. It’s the kind of game you just can pile enough adjectives on top of to express the sheer amount of bad-assery contained within. It is pretty rare these days to find a game that is truly firing on all cylinders: the graphics are the best yet on the next-gen, the gameplay is tight and polished, the characters have just enough depth to be interesting but not intrusive, and the setting and story are captivating.
The game takes place in a kind of post-apocalyptic earth, opening 14 years after the invasion of the alien-like Locust. Only, in this world the aliens did not come from outer space, but emerged from the bowels of the earth itself. You fight amongst the rubble of neo-gothic buildings and through interiors that evoke the same sense of crumbling elegance that was present in many of the interiors from The Matrix. The game uses a third-person tactical shooter mechanic, where you find yourself (and your team) moving from cover to cover and throwing down in hellacious fire-fights. Within the first few minutes of playing you get the sense that this is how G.R.A.W. was supposed to work. I haven’t played multiplayer yet, as I don’t have an Xbox Live Gold account – although this is the game that will make me get one.
In other news: I’ve been a fan of the Mechwarrior CMG for a long time, so I was sad to see the open letter to players that basically says the game is on the ropes. That’s too bad, as it’s a great little strategy game. I’ve been buying boosters since Age of Destruction, and it seems like WizKids has become a little over-dependant on reusing old sculpts and just giving them new paint jobs and assigning them to new factions. There are already too many factions in the game, and just getting the same old mech for a faction I don’t really care about won’t keep me buying.
They claim they are suffering from a loss of consumer interest… I think the interest is still there, but the product has just gotten increasingly boring and convoluted. Add to this the quality issues that have dogged them since Annihilation, and it’s not surprising that they are having issues. Want to save the game? Cut back on the factions and give us some nice new sculpts. Hopefully they can figure it out, because I still love the game.
One last thought: It was interesting to see people camping out in tents this week to get a shot a buying a PS3 or a Wii. That's no small feat in Idaho's climate. Just for the record, I wasn't one of them. That's waaaaay too much work for an over-priced system and a bunch of lackluster launch titles. Call me after the first round of "greatest hits" games hit and the price drops.
Labels: consoles, video games, XBOX
