I know I can’t be the only person who has fallen prey to Call of Duty 4. Sometimes though, when you look past the huge amount of overhypeness (is that a word?!) that Halo 3 received, you still can find a solid shooter with a ton of still exclusive features, as well as it just being a very pretty game.
NeoGAF has started up a screenshot thread that has made me re-look at the beauty this game has. Using the capture mode that Bungie has provided (and still I wonder why it isn’t standard in all games now), gamers on GAF have shared both action packed and beautifully artistic screens, please take a gander at some of these pictures that borderline being called art, keep in mind as you take them all in, these are in game shots taken from players, not photoshoped/faked/etc. Start viewing after the break:
While cruising around the web avoiding work, I ran across these really cool Lego statues that I thought you’d enjoy here. Plus I haven’t had any time to write anything of substance so enjoy a few pics of your favorite Nintendo characters formed out of Legos.
No, there’s no plans on releasing a Rock Band keytar… sadly. BUT over on GameIndustry.biz there’s an interview with Harmonix that reveals that Harmonix is at least considering adding a keyboard to the mix of instruments in Rock Band for those who wish they could be a famous rock keyboard player like… that one guy.
Playstation Magaizine has in their latest issue, the scoop on what is going on with GTAIV and it’s multiplayer modes. There will be FIFTEEN different ways to play, with up to 16 players. Saints Row 2 better have a lot more than necklace snatching to compete with this pretty hefty list of game types:
Car Jack City Bomb da Base Bomb da Base II Mafia Work Team Mafia Work - Mafia and Team Mafia will be a mode in which one person will be the target, and everyone else racing to see who can kill him first. Missions/targets will be given through the cell phone. Deathmatch Team Deathmatch Turf War Cops N Crooks - Description for this game type is pretty obvious, two teams, one set cops, the other crooks. Cops get a radar that the crooks don’t get.
Race GTA Race - GTA Race will differ from Race with the ability for players to steal opponents cars. Deal Breaker Free Mode Hangman’s NOOSE - A co-op mode where you escort a mobster while the SWAT team is after you.
The host will be determining how many weapons, people on the street, traffic, and other options are available in each game. The multiplayer map will be as big as the singe player map (I will believe this when I see it). Players will be able to customize their character as far as race, hair, sex, clothing, etc.
The 15th multiplayer mode as of now has no name or description. I do wonder with all the other different modes offered, what could they be hiding for this last unnamed mode, as I think having too many options might actually hinder the game.
Over the course of last week, the big rumour to hit the gaming websites was that a Nintendo Wii with a Blu-ray drive was on the way. Apparently it had been spotted in Tokyo, and was getting readied for an official release.
Of course, the whole thing was absolute bullshit. There was no truth in it whatsoever, and some of the game sites who took it seriously, and reported it as fact should be ashamed of themselves.
Of course, there are rumours which can seem feasible, and get reported as possibly having an element of truth about them, hell I’m sure even we here at 1PStart have been guilty in the past. But for various reasons, this was obviously a faked news report, and should never have been passed on.
This week in releases brings us some pretty solid titles all around, especially for Sony (if you don’t count the PSP). Though released earlier on the 360, Condemned is here on the PS3 along with Hot Shots Golf. Even the PS2 is getting some love in the form of a “must have for any PS2 owner” set, being the Metal Gear Solid collection, if you don’t have ‘em yet, let me say again.. “must have!” Sega seems to have their hands in almost every system now with Superstars Tennis.
The “winner” of this week imo, has to go out to the highly anticipated Rainbow Six Vegas 2. Of course only time will tell if people are able to get their grubby hands off of Call of Duty 4, Halo 3, or Smash Bros Brawl to give Vegas 2 a chance, but something tells me the game will due just fine with the cult fan base Tom Clancy seems to have. Full list, after the break:
Gaming industry analysts are becoming more vocal, and consequentially, more listened to every month, with gamers hanging on every word some star names say. Michael Pachter, the analyst for Wedbush Morgan is one such name, and his latest prediction is about the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto game.
We all know Grand Theft Auto 4, or GTA IV if you’re down with the kids, is going to be huge, it’s almost guaranteed. It’s a game which is seeming to unite Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 owners across the divide that is the console format war.
Everyone is eagerly awaiting the release, which has now been confirmed for both systems on April 29th. Pachter believes that it will be by far the biggest game of 2008, selling an incredible 6 million copies in its first week.
“We think that GTA IV will generate around $450 million of the [Take-Two's] expected $1,073 million publishing revenue this year, and will generate an operating profit of around 30 percent, or $135 million. At the high end of company guidance, Take-Two will generate operating income of around $130 million, meaning that the game is responsible for 103 percent of overall company operating profit.”
That’s a pretty big claim, but it’s all part of Pachter’s continuing support for the Electronic Arts buy out of rival publisher Take-Two, which he seems to be all for.
Bad news, Star Wars fans. Star Wars Unleashed is delayed YET AGAIN. The game that was to be the centerpiece of a multi-media Star Wars blitz (kind of like Shadows of the Empire) has crapped the bed one more time. It was supposed to be released all the way back in last September, but was delayed until early this Summer. Now it doesn’t even look like it will come out until this September 9th.
Since I’m a huge toy geek I find this situation quite interesting. The Force Unleashed was supposed to be a sort of multimedia event that tied the game into toys, role playing games, and at least one book. The numerous delays have ruined the release of the toys, because instead of a blitz with sales supported by the game there’s been a trickling of Legos and action figures here and there. Look I’d rather have a game that was well polished than a pile of crap, but this a bit FUBAR.
It’s another week of Rock Band DLC and boy am I relieved. After a few weeks of getting some songs I only mildly cared about (if not extremely lukewarm toward) there’s at least one song I totally dig. But before you get to hear my ranting which you care nothing about, here’s the songs:
* “Crushcrushcrush” by Paramore
* “Shockwave” by Black Tide
* “Beethoven’s C***” by Serj Tankian
What’s nice is that while this weeks trio isn’t available as a bundle, the are only being offered for 80 MS points on the Xbox 360 or $.99 for those with consoles that use real people money.
Videos and more of my useless opinions after the break!
Well a couple of Tetris related happenings have come crossed my path recently, the first being something I hope to see you all in (then CRUSH YOU!).. a Tetris Splash Tournament being held on Xbox 360. This is the second one to be created and held just by other Tetris lovers on the official Xbox.com forums. User ‘cyno‘ has posted the information in a post here.
The long and short of it is, send him a PM that you would like to be in the tournament by March 12 (tomorrow) at 5:00pm. On the 14th, check the Tetris Splash forums and see the brackets.. easy enough? Well sign up and get to practicing! Want to see the best of the best from the last tournament, check this video below so you know what you are getting yourself into:
So what are you doing reading this? Is there no Toys R Us, Best Buy, Circuit City, Blockbuster, Wal Mart… ANY store open !? Because you better be just taking a 5 minute break from playing Smash Bros if you are browsing the net.
If you don’t have a Wii still (understandably), I will excuse you from not playing Super Smash Bros Brawl, however you can still own the game! In a smart move by everyone else, not much is on the other systems this week. Condemned 2 is out, that is a very solid title for those in the “next gen.” PES for your football (soccer) fanatics.
Ever since HD DVD as a format died a bitter death back in early February, there has been speculation over what Microsoft would do now that their decision to support the format has gone horribly wrong. Now it seems that they are at least talking to Sony about the possibility of a Blu-ray drive for the Xbox 360, to replace the now virtually worthless HD DVD one.
Microsoft has already cut the price of the HD DVD drive to bargain basement levels, and now it seems they are keen to move on from the dead format altogether.
There are reports that not only could an Xbox Blu-ray drive be on its way, it might actually be fully integrated in to the console, rather than merely available as an expensive add-on.
According to the Financial Times, Sony Electronics US president, Stan Glasgow, claims his company is in talks with Microsoft about the possibility.
if this does happen, what’s interesting is that it would mean Sony making money on every Xbox 360 sold, as well as every Playstation 3, which regardless of sales figures would make it the big winner in this format war.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of walking through geeks, dorks, and nerds that surprisingly, didn’t smell as bad as I thought they would. MegaCon 2008 is taking place in Orlando Florida for 3 days, it is a generally comic focused event, however throughout the years I have been going (over 10 years), it has expanded further and further into other geeky related realms, Sci-Fi movies/television, Toys, and of course… Gaming.
Video games is definitely one of those subjects that hits very close to home for many basement dwelling comic book fans (like myself), so to help support this love, people like to dress up as their favorite characters and have their pictures taken by strangers. Luckily, I love to take pictures, so please join me as I stroll through some of the gaming related people that were about, along with comparison shots in case you don’t recognize the characters:
For the full month of February, Call of Duty 4 has been owning the Top 10 games on Major Nelson’s “Live Activity” lists. Where everyone and their mother had predicted Halo 3 would be the “Gears of War Killer” on the list, which it was, no one could have seen the mammoth amount of fun that Call of Duty 4 has brought us in the first person shooter department. Just connecting some dots here, Bungie’s month of March will be bringing some changes that may be related to their placement in the number 2 spot.
The biggest thing I have noticed that would easily entice a lot of players to throw back in their copy of Halo 3, is the DoubleXP playlists. Today at Noon is that popular Red vs Blue playlist variant, Grifball. I wish I could go into more detail on how this is played, but, I can’t lie, I am one of the followers of Call of Duty 4 now, so I haven’t played much of Halo 3 enough to even know what this is. I do know however, that double experience points cannot draw me back into a game that I have little care for now. Sad times. Check below for the full details on the update.
Reports are all over the Internet today that the Xbox 360 version of Bully: Scholarship Edition is basically broken, with gamers complaining that the game is prone to continually freezing up and suffering all kinds of glitches.
Rockstar may have released their first game which isn’t pleasing gamers everywhere, and the reason? Because due to a lazy development port from the Playstation 2 to the Xbox 360, and a massive failure in the Quality Assurance testing process, the game has been released on to the general public with faults which can kill the game, and certainly make it unplayable.
There were rumblings across various gaming forums about problems with the game, but until a poster on Neo-Gaf pulled all of those together, they were too spread to indicate a serious problem.
Then, gaming news site Kotaku got wind of the story, and used their power to bring the issue to the attention of Rockstar Games, who have issued a statement explaining the nature of the problem, and promising to work towards a solution.
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I know I can’t be the only person who has fallen prey to Call of Duty 4. Sometimes though, when you look past the huge amount of overhypeness (is that a word?!) that Halo 3 received, you still can find a solid shooter with a ton of still exclusive features, as well as it just being a very pretty game.
