Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 is excellent. July 31, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in 360, Microsoft.Tags: 360, Geometry Wars 2, Xbla
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I’ve been playing Geometry Wars Retro Evolved 2 for a while now and it’s a excellent game.I wasn’t very happy with the first one due to the limited modes and it felt much more difficult than it had to be.I’m not terrible at shooters by the way
. I’m not sure what Bizzare did,but it’s just feels a lot better in the control aspect.I’ve managed to get all but 3 achievements so far and I’m really enjoying it.I suggest trying out the demo for a taste,but the full version has 6 modes in all.Pacifism is by far the hardest in my book.You have to avoid the geometric shapes while trying to fly though floating gates that will kill you if you hit the end of them. You can’t fire your weapon at all either.Just be prepared to get very aggrivated.
PS3 Firmware 2.42 is out. July 30, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in PS3, Sony.Tags: Firmware, PS3, Sony
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The latest firmware 2.42.The official tagline is that it improves the quality of some Playstation 3 titles.It’s a coincidence that Life with Playstation is supposed to be released tomorrow I guess. Go get it.
Vacation Time July 30, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in Uncategorized.Tags: Vacation
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We’re shutting down after Wednesday till the following Monday.It’s hot as hell here in North Carolina and some much needed pool and ocean time is on the horizon.I didn’t even get to play Soul Calibur(PS3)yet.
Resistance 2 vs. Gears of War 2:The Comparison July 29, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in 360, Microsoft, PS3, Sony.Tags: Epic, Gears of War 2, Insomniac, Microsoft, Resistance 2, Sony
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When you first look at these two titles you would think that there couldn’t be much of a comparison other than they are shooters. When you pull back the curtain on these two games you will see quite a bit in common. This is basically a comparison of what I’ve seen so far and it’s a personal opinion.I’ll be buying both games in November.
Storyline:
Resistance 2 is set immediately following the events of Resistance 1.Taking Nathan Hale to Iceland then to the United States where to Chimera are invading. Fighting off Alien invasions is a specialty in the States here.
(This is some speculation and some educated guessing since not much is known about Gears 2)
Gears of War 2 takes place not long after the events of the first one.Marcus and Delta Squad are trying to get to the last holdout of humanity in a town built over rock the Locust can’t get through.We’ll see what happened to Dom’s wife apparently also.
So basically,fighting off Alien Invasion.Check. It’ll be a tossup in the story dept it looks like.
Advantage:Tie
Trailers
Resistance 2 has had two trailers released. A teaser showing the battle in San Fransico and a brilliant trailer involving a radio announcer and desperation of the battle with the Chimera. One great spot in the trailer is the look on Nathan Hale’s face. It shows a soldier who is tired,angry and ready for war.Just that glimpse get’s you pumped for this game.
Gears 2 gets the nod in the trailer dept. The original Madworld trailer was brilliant and Epic continues with it’s new Rendezvous trailer. Youtube and take a look. It shows Marcus walking into a battle in the caverns with the Locust and he’s using a Locust as a shield to charge into battle.The action is good,but the overall tone of the trailer makes it great.
Advantage :Gears of War 2
Weapons
Insomniac is known for making great guns in games and Resistance 2 is another example.Most of the weapons from Resistance 1 are there(except for the Hailstorm apparently). Now,there’s a Magnum that fires exploding bullets that can be detonated? Amazing. I’m sure there are even more surprises in store and I can’t wait
A gun with a chainsaw.Yes,that should be enough right? Well,theres new weapons like a poison grenade and Gorgon burst pistol,a hand cranked mini-gun. Even with all that,I have to say I really like what Insominac has done with their weapons better. Gears 2 guns look fun though
Advantage:Resistance 2
Multiplayer
Resistance 2 has 60 player maps and 8 player co-op seperate missions.That fact alone will make it a hard act to follow.It also looks like Insomniac is adding some community features,but more will mentioned in the future.
Gears 2 is still sticking with 2 player co-op.I don’t know why when you have 4 people on the team.They are adding some community features like a photo mode and a 5 player mode called Horde.It envolves you having to fight waves of Locust.Good stuff! It’s apparently very hard even for the QA testers.They’ve been working on the Host advantage problem also.
Advantage:Resistance 2
I guess I could do this all day,but in the end both games are going to be good and have some similarities.They are both AAA titles from each respective company.Both are being released in November. They both have big Boss battles.Both are made by excellent companies that are located right up the road from me here in North Carolina:) Well,Insomniac is moving here.
The only problem I ever had with the first titles was that I was so terrible at Gears Mp.It must have been the third person perspective. In the end,go pick up both.They will be worth it I’m sure.
Bionic Commando Rearmed: XBLA 8/13 PSN 8/14 July 29, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in 360, Microsoft, PSN, Sony.Tags: Bionic Commando Rearmed, Capcom
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Looks,like our favorite old school remake is actually going to come out.I’m picking this up on PSN,but it comes to North America soon.They are working on making trophies retroactive plus it has remote play so there’s no reason not to pick up this great looking title.
Star Trek Online beams to consoles July 28, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in MMO.Tags: Cryptic, MMO, Star Trek Online
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http://startrekonline.com/about_star_trek_online
I wasn’t interested until they changed it to consoles.I’m thinking PS3.Not really a big MMO fan or anything,but Star Trek is a favorite of mine.
Wii Games should use the Wii control scheme July 28, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in Nintendo, Wii.Tags: Gamecube, Nintendo, Super Smash Bros, Wii
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Yes,I’m looking at you Super Smash Brother Brawl.
I’m fairly new to the Wii world myself,so I decided to try it out.The game is fun,but it wasn’t designed with the Wii controller in mind. It looks like the ideal controller would be the Gamecube.
My question is why? No new games that are released on the Wii should be using a older controller as the main way to play.You can use the Wii controller,but it’s just awkward.People buy Wii games to use Wii controls and it’s just not prevalent in Super Smash Bros. Great Game with a poor control setup.
5 Things I need for the Wii July 26, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in Nintendo, Wii.Tags: Nintendo, Wii
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1. Harddrive space.I don’t want a big bulky add-on so heres a idea.Make a HD add on into the shape of the stand for the Wii.It won’t look at different and provide what the users want.Make it at least 20gb
2. Make the DS a useful option: Allow some interconnectivty. Could I use a DS game to interact within a Wii game.Could you take a character from the DS and use into the Wii? Nintendogs and Animal crossing could work. Maybe Super Mario Bros included in a level?
3. Mario World: Yes,it’s my title. Take the share,create,play from LittleBigPlanet and put it in the Mario setting. Imagine user uploaded Mario levels with Bowser fights? Get on it!
4. You have Wii-Motion: Get with Lucasarts and make the best damn 1:1 lightsaber game you can make.
5. Wii Bowling:World Tour Yes,another title from me. Take the gameplay of Wii bowling,add online multiplayer,leaderboard,a robust single player season and custom outfits for your Miis..Easy seller
Is it time for Xbox Live to be free? July 26, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in 360, Microsoft.Tags: Live, MS, XBL, Xbox
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Recently,Microsoft made all of the features free to PC gamers.Undoubtly to increase the appeal of PC gaming which has taken a PR hit in the last couple years.Is it time to do the same thing for Console players?
Sony currently offers it’s Playstation Network free of charge.It mostly likely makes up the costs in advertising and costs of companies to list items on the store.It’s also one of the key benefits that Sony offers over Xbox Live.Is this a sign of things to come and will Live become free?
My belief is that it won’t.Microsoft has done well by Live with a good amount of content and a great service along with little downtime.Add in the fact,that many users simply don’t mind paying the cost of Live to insure a good reliable service and I think the most Live users could hope for would be a price reduction.
Any change in the future might be related to how the 360 is performing in sales though..
Pixel Junk Eden Demo Review:A+ July 25, 2008
Posted by Eric Newton in Demo, PS3, PSN, Pixel Junk, Pixel Junk Eden, Reviews, Sony, Trophies.Tags: Demo, Pixel Junk Eden, PSN, Q-games, Reviews, Sony
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So I downloaded the demo from the PSN store yesterday and put about 4-5 hours off and on into it.Let me say that it’s very hard to put down. Although you can’t really die,it does have one thing most games do not have these days. It has a timer.
You can add time back to it by gathering pieces located throughout the garden.Also,the game isn’t that easy and does require some good platforming skills.It’s a genre that doesn’t really exist much anymore and I’m glad that Q-games shows us that we still need it in this age of FPS and RPG’s.The art style gives off a nice vibe and the music is just relaxing.So,just grab a drink and sit and chill with Eden.
The final retail copy will have youtube uploading,trophies and remote play enabled. But,the demo which seems to be a nice slice of the actual game is very enjoyable.Anything that can take me away from my constant Battlefield:Bad Company matches has got to be interesting right? The actual game goes on sale July 31st for $9.99 and I will be purchasing it as soon as possible.

