Updates and quick news

First thing in my quick news update is the announcement from Rockstar that not only will there be a Max Payne 3 but that it is to be released this year! The game has been announced with a short description of the story and although it follows the same lines as the other Max Payne games,regarding bloody violence and firefights, you’re no longer with the police. Max has left the force and even New York but still “searches for truth” in the third installment. My guess is when the action happens and the bullets start flying you’ll have to deal with cops trying to take you in as well as gun totting bad men. 

 

Next on the news list is the eagerly anticipated game Ghostbusters, a short while ago I mentioned how the game was set for release after some turbulent times. This update is just to say the game is definitely on it’s way! Atari recently released some game play footage and this game looks like a real hard hitter. The graphics are immersive and the action looks set to keep players on their toes throughout each level. As well as letting us see the amazing finished package of the game it also shows some extra things about the game some may not have known before. It explains the HUD and how your proton backpack works, just saying that gets me excited. The HUD is much like the dead space HUD combined with that of most shooters. The pack has a health gauge and a heat meter, if you’re pack over heats you need to wait for it to cool before you can reload and use it again. So keep an eye on your power and heat meters folks reloading and cooling in a jam is a sure way to make your ass the next ghost in the game. For those interested in seeing the trailer and finding out more about the game play and what the game looks like here’s the link.

 

That’s right kids Bioshock that amazing fps with a little twist of horror is coming back, because to be frank you just weren’t scared enough the first time. Now the success of many games is measured in a lot of different ways but no matter how you view it to make a movie out of a game is a sure sign it’s a winner and that’s what happened to Bioshock. The sequel Bioshock 2 set for release soon and is already picking up hype and excitement, which is no mystery really considering they have announced big sister.

Yeah I said it big sister, you had little sister in the original well in Bioshock 2 she’s all grown up and has very much decided to follow her big daddy’s footsteps.  Look at it, terrifying and as I’m sure many of you have noticed smaller than big daddy, my guess is sister’s going to be fast, and when something looks that nasty you really don’t want it to be able to chase you.

As exciting as all this is however the Bioshock franchise has hit one snag in it’s rise that snag being a halt for the movie. The reason for this being the budget, it’s going to cost way too much money to make the movie and so currently the director Gore Verbinski, pirates of the Caribbean director, has said they are trying to figure out a way to make the movie more budget friendly. Gore also promised the movie wouldn’t follow the fate of the halo adaptation but time will tell.

 

That’s right this is no joke oddly enough the two major games Rockband and Lego are for some odd reason joining up? I’m not sure how that happened though I expect it’s some kind of drunken mistake. Odder still is the fact it sounds pretty good, Lego haven’t said much but what they have announced sounds pretty good. Lego have said that much like the game Rockband players will be able to create their own rockers, although this time you’ll also be able to make rockers, managers, sound guys, etc and change them whenever you like. Keeping within the fun of other Lego games and their ability to not get serious about gaming, they have also announced that players will have to collect bricks from each gig to create vehicles before they can travel to the next. As if that’s not enough they also say “Play killer riffs to destroy a giant robot, summon a storm, and demolish a skyscraper using the power of rock!”Now I’m not entirely sure how this works or what it means but it’s the one line that makes me want to play this game.

 

Finally Bethesda have shown they are capable of listening to their fans! Now if you haven’t played fallout 3 but you plan too not only are you really late but you’re also reading something you don’t want to. Seriously look away now if you don’t want any spoilers, for those of us who have played let me fill you in. Fallout has released some good add ons for the game in their DLC like the pitt and operation anchorage. However when you get to the end of the game you’re actually at the end no more playing for you, so you better make sure you get your quests and bobble heads collected right? wrong. With fallouts new DLC broken steel your game doesn’t end, this is the spoiler kids, you can choose to send someone in to the room instead of you and keep playing. You’ll be a bastard but you’ll be alive, or you can go in yourself even if you do this you don’t die! You wake up in a hospital a few weeks later and you can do what you like. so you can continue to explore to your hearts content, look for bobble heads, kill ghouls, trade whatever and you don’t have to worry about radiated water any more so break out those swimming trunks.

Of course the add on also comes with it’s own quests and tasks as well as added achievements for all you who love to improve that gamer score. The quests involve things such as dealing with what’s left with the enclave and other troublesome fools, oh and your level cap has been moved up to 30 so there’s more reason to get out there. The last DLC was announced around the same time as the announcement for fallouts new game fallout New Vegas. Nothing much has been said about this game other than it still has rpg roots and is being looked after by the people of obsidian, the team who worked on the original fallout games. More news is expected to be released at E3 but we might get lucky and find out something before. All in all fallout fever is back to a high and people are desperate to get their hands on the newest DLC and with scenes like this it’s easy to see why.

 

Champions online

Every now and again a game comes along that shocks people and lives on far past the shelf life of some radioactive materials, champions online looks set to be one of those games. Now that I got that over excited statement out of my system I’ll continue, champions online does look set to be an immense game but you have to really like the genre to get swept into it. I’m not saying that Champions online is the best game out there and people will all rush to buy it like the madness of GTA IV. What I’m saying is if you like MMORPG, as well as comics, then you better start saving your pennies because your holy grail is set for release.

I’d heard rumours about champions a while ago now and figured it for a city of heroes clone but I was wrong, dead wrong. Although COH can still be seen in many aspects of the game Champions goes that little bit further to really make this a stand alone title. The game setting is a world gripped by fear and chaos, all because of the classic “bad guys”, seriously they’ve thrown everything in there.

Let me explain, when you start champions you choose your hero and when I say choose I mean you really choose everything. You choose their sex, look, powers, costume the whole deal and champions offers a massive selection. You choose height, weight literally everything to create the hero of your dreams. You choose whether or not they have powers, magic, gadgets any other hero gifts.

 

As well as this you can create your hero’s arch nemesis so every now and again they’ll pop up causing you havoc. Another interesting thing to note about this feature is that your nemesis will randomly generate into other hero’s missions meaning they get to share your burden too. The plus about this is you will have the chance to face some truly original, and downright weird, villains. However as I’m sure people will remember from creation sharing on spore you could also face people made to look like a huge penis, it’s stupid but it happens.

Originally there were concerns that the game was to be released on just the PC but the creators have assured everyone that the game is being released on xbox, I promise. As well as full custom creation regarding appearance, powers and even your nemesis there is another feature that champions has in the bag. It’s the enemies you face and the areas you explore. Fighting of a couple of muggers, thieves, gangs, etc is all well and good but not worthy of champions. 

To help make your champion worthy of park statues you have to face, evil corporations, aliens, monsters from other dimensions and spell totting bad guys people that your run of the mill hero just can’t handle. This means as well as getting to explore your heroes world, you get to explore space and other dimensions. All this and the game is created using “live ink” giving that extra comic book feel so even if you’re character is getting their ass kicked you still can’t help to stop and think this looks just like a comic book scene. Best wait till after the fight though, so because of all these incredible features and rich detailed game world champions is definitely something to keep your eye on.

Even if you’re not that into superhero stuff but like rpg’s this is still the game for you, with so much to explore and so many adventures to be had it’s a game with hours of solid game play. I can’t say for definite when the release date for this little gem is, for xbox anyway, but the PC versions are being released on July 14 so I’d imagine the xbox versions will be close behind.

Ghost busted?

It’s that time again when the Ghostbusters announcements start flying but will this time be any different from the last? When the Ghostbusters game had first been announced last year it was seen as an instant success and quickly labeled as one of the most anticipated games. This was helped by finding out the games script was written by the original cast members of the hit movies, who would also voice their characters in game. If you back that with the game being made by vivendi games and backed by gaming giants Activision, it all looked set to be a game to remember rather than another movie license game with little gaming quality.

However that roar of premature success and congratulations was short lived as the games release date was postponed. Then once Activision and Blizzard combined they dropped the Ghostbusters game from their list of releases to make space for other games in their schedule. As did blizzard, however this left the once golden child of Activision homeless. It was believed that the game was now a finished article and only had to find a publisher, this is when the old time giants we all know as Atari decided to step in.

Atari took Ghostbusters under their wing after a long decision process, a game with this much hype was always set to be finished the only question was who would have the honors. It’s no secret that once the game was known to be without a publisher calls were coming from everywhere to seal the deal. Now the game is set to be released again and despite it’s previous set backs and long anxious wait it seems to have retained it’s anticipation. Teaser clips have shown the game to have astounding graphics and interesting game play as well as the original humour of the movies which helped us fall in love with the franchise to begin with.

To further enhance the gaming experience players will play as a new recruit to the ghost busting team. So rather than taking over the characters you will have your own character to interact with them all making you feel more like you just entered the Ghostbusters world rather than just playing it. The games new date has been set for June so all we can do now is sit with crossed fingers and hope that it makes it to the date without any more hiccups and that when it is released the game delivers something worth the excruciating wait.

Mass Effect the Second Coming!

Mass Effect was an Xbox original RPG that attracted millions of followers after its initial release, it’s no secret that the game was set out to be a trilogy and after the block busting success of the first millions are eagerly awaiting the second. The good news is that Bioware have announced that the next installment should be released early in 2010. The question on everyone’s mind however is will the next chapter of the trilogy be worth the wait or will it be something that will detract from the quality and originality of the first game? Bioware released a gripping story line and deeply detailed and intricate storyline. This was backed up by extensive side missions and secrets placed throughout the galaxy. It looks like Bioware are set to start the next with the same feeling. A recent teaser trailer released on the internet will be sure to get the fans excited as well as keeping them asking what has happened?

The first game was pioneering in many ways and will have to up its game in many aspects to keep the second interesting and unique like the first. This should be no problem for Bioware however who have been more than open in receiving feedback from it’s desperately awaiting fans. Fans have criticized many aspects of their much loved games including length of main story and unimaginative planet landscapes. Bioware have mentioned the comments have been taken on board but aren’t giving anything away as to what they plan to change. There are already many rumors circulating about the second and it’s new aspects and functions. The most anticipated is the idea you can take the character created, as well as the story you led, into the second game. This aspect alone would be a ground breaking new approach to gaming in itself.

The idea of creating a character and forging your own story is often what attracts most to playing an RPG, however Bioware’s idea of having this character, and story, transferable to the next chapter is astonishing. This means not only would someone be able to play the game their own way but they would be able to play the entire series with their own path and story. This means that instead of someone enjoying a game their own way they could enjoy an entire series their own way with their own personal character. Bioware have set the bar high with the first installment of Mass Effect and seem set to do the same with the second, but will the risks pay off or are Bioware setting up their trilogy to fail like the silicon knights nightmare of Too Human?