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I think this is really cool. Obviously it’s something that’s dynamic because the game came out before the campaign did. It’s unobtrusive advertising and it’s pretty relative to my interests obviously.

I had been looking for something new to play for a little while. After being quickly disinterested in Fable II and finding Gears of War 2 to be the same as the previous, which I disliked, (much to the dismay of my friends I might add) Andy and I made our way into GameCrazy last night after picking up dinner last night.

Dawngrrl has some friends in town and while they were out doing Girls Night in Seattle, we took our swinging bachelor freedom to the game store to pick up some entertainment for the evening. After picking up Rock Band for Wii for Andy at a steal of $100, I decided on Fallout 3 and chose Xbox 360 purely for the comfort of the controller.

I started the game and while I have a few tweaks with it, over all the game seems to be loads of fun. The world is humongous and incredibly detailed. The character interaction is expansive and in my opinion a much more unobtrusive way to get the story than sitting through lengthy cut scenes.

The combat system takes some getting used to, you can tell it’s an RPG with first-person combat as an afterthought. The movement isn’t fluid and aiming projectile weapons is pretty flaky. Luckily the depth and scale of the game is big enough to make you forgive the cludgy combat system.

I picked up the strategy guide while I was in the store, if for nothing but the maps. The strategy guide is a bit intimidating. It really puts the size of this game on display. The maps are humongous and the system for talents and skills is incredibly complex.

I can’t comment much on the soundtrack, other than some during loading scenes, there doesn’t seem to be one. The sound effects are haunting and hearing the radio blasting from the roaming robots is a bit creepy. Atmospherically it really sets the post-apocalyptic mood. It’s dry, dusty, dirty, rusty and sparse. I am sure designing and texturing an environment this size had to have been an incredible undertaking.

I am only a day in, but this is about the point in most games where I decide not to bother messing with it again. I am definitely intrigued, and much more so than I was by Oblivion which is from the same company on the same engine.

I think the game itself is much more attractive than Oblivion and game seems much more satisfying. If you are not yet into Fallout 3 and are looking for something new to play, I recommend this one for sure.

Fallout 3 is available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

The more I see, hear, and read about LucasArts Star Wars: The Force Unleashed the more excited I get for the highly anticipated all major platform release on Sept 16th.  There are 2 big reasons I see gamers piddling by the front door for it: the tech & the tale!

• The Tech

 

Two major players, DMM and Euphoria, jump in and shake hands with Havoc physics to team up an play a balls to the wall contest of game realism. 

Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) from Pixelux Entertainment is taking us to new environment heights.  We reached the concept of destructible environments and moved into their realistic physics by which materials have natural behavioral properties; glass shatters, liquid spills, concrete crumbles, etc.   Really cool stuff!

Euphoria by NaturalMotion.  A behavioral simulation that adds unpredictability and the uniqueness of realistic chance! How your character moves is not scripted, there is no key frame animation!  It’s done on the fly in a simulation engine making it will be different every time.  Adapting to experience and changing the nature of your character’s interactions and responses gives a truly fresh gaming experience, every time you play. 

• The Tale

To be frank, I’ve had one major problem with the infamous and beloved sixtology.  Both Luke and Anakin were, quite simply, whiney bitches.  That aspect notwithstanding, it’s an epic adventure that every person, child and adult alike can easily get absorbed by, and this tween sounds equally as exciting! 

Somewhere between episode III and IV, the continuation of the prequel released after the 2 sequels to the original which turns out is a sequel itself *whew*, the dark Sith Lord trained a secret apprentice, and I do mean secret; he doesn’t even have a name! This mysterious guy travels from chewy’s Kashyyyk to Raxus Prime and Felucia, with his droid pal Proxy, a proto holodroid.  Throw in a beguiling Juno, the imperial pilot, and characters like Maris the token padawanian hotness, Jedi Mastress Shaak Ti, and General Rahm Kota and take them all through a great dark destiny and a hunt for a rogue Jedi! 

mmmm had me at hello, you did…mmmm!

The trailers look AWESOME!   Some of the force actions are so fly they match some of the all time best game moves.  Take me to the Dark side!

Kiss Kiss,

Dawngrrl Gametart

I had a rough time with its predecessor, but it had enough good in it for me to finish the game.  I had seen some cool trailers for Bloodshot (Condemned 2) so I was pretty excited to pick it up last week and check it out, and I am glad I did, they took a mediocre game and took up a few notches in several areas. 

Onto the to the world of Ethan Thomas; an angry drunk and begrudging serial killer hunter! In take 2, the graphics are a bit better overall and they fixed one of my major complaints with the prior version: the constant darkness!  You could certainly adjust the brightness to suit your preference, but even when doing so in Condemned, it was a lot of work to make out objects on screen and required squinting and changing your focus from the task at hand.  Even though I still had to turn up the brightness, the darker areas seem to have a higher contrast with more detail, so playing those drab scenes in the sewers, basements, bathrooms, and alleys is way easier on the eyes.   Moreover, Bloodshot actually has some levels that are lighter and more visually aesthetic then the infested rot that shadows most scenes, like the FBI labs which is a nice change, even though it quickly fills with tar like sludge and delusional blur.    It’s still a very dirty game and I feel slightly sullied after playing.  The unsanitary bathrooms painted with blood and feces and rotten infested carcasses and garbage strewn everywhere, make me want to my wash hands when I let go of the controller.   Visual unsanitary, but I suppose it adds to the tone of the story.

My favorite Super creepy baddie!

The real upgrade in the game is the melee fighting techniques with combo and parry moves that add a great of texture to your combat.  Though some of these moves are prompted trigger pulls, it’s quite an improvement. 

The investigative techniques are still mostly the same, (camera, spectrometer, UV Detector, etc.), but now you get upgrades and new equipment as the game progresses, including armor.  There are more puzzle investigations that add texture to game play and to get a perfect score you have to answer all questions correct on the first try.  Which means you have to put a little more thought into your investigations this go round. 

The achievement scheme is a lot different and those investigations are a big part of getting your points.  You don’t just collect 6 birds per level and collect your cool 25 points.  There are transmitter collectable’s, player responses, and emitters all of which are required to be a top notch investigator.  There are 25 single player achievements and 13 multiplayer achievements, but you don’t get achievements for finishing anyone mission on any particular level.  For example, you have to get all perfects on all levels to get that achievement or your have to make gold investigator on each level to the gold achievement, etc. 

It’s a scary and entertaining game, better then the first, even though its caked with nastiness and the baddies are uber gross!  The boss in the doll factory (left) is toe-up!  You have to love a crazy clown chick with a psychedelic laugh that makes your skin crawl but somehow looks sexy in her dirty corset and striped stockings.   Even though she wants to kill you with the rotary saw blade lollipop she’s wielding you might feel sad to have to stick her head through the grinder…ewwww.  

Highlights

• A new melee combat system which includes offensive / defensive combo moves, grabs and holds, and death moves interacting with the environment, i.e., throwing a body through a TV.
• New environments like outside areas, labs and warehouses.
• New gear and forensics tools and a redesigned process for the investigation of the crime scenes that is all upgradable based on new scoring system.
• Many new items in the environment can be used as melee or throwing weapons like golf clubs, bricks, and exploding dolls.
• More gun play with weapons like the sub-gun and crossbow, but keeps the cool stun gun from V1.
• More accurate game play for difficulty levels, i.e., normal is actually medium and hard is difficult!
• All-new multiplayer modes like fight club “Circle of Death” add to the game after your story mode is complete and some texture to the new fighting system.
• Much more cohesive storyline keeping the same characters yet introducing new characters, new baddies, and new bosses.
• A killer creepy soundtrack enhancing the overall “fear factor”!

I wouldn’t recommend you play this game with the kiddos around, it almost gives me nightmares, certainly the heebie-jeebies. 

Kiss Kiss,

 
Dawngrrl Gametart

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare has been a blast to play!  In fact, the one major downside of the game is how short the single player campaign is.   So I started over on veteran with the intention of getting the mile high club achievement rumored to be almost impossible. 

I am about halfway through this difficulty mode and it could be one of the most frustrating in my FPS gaming career.  I’ve died a 100 times to make one checkpoint and its figuratively and literally a long slow crawl from level to level.  The game has enough variety and required concentration to keep it interesting but sometimes its like sticking hot pencils in your eyes to make any progress.

So my question is…has ANYBODY reached the unlockable mile high mission at the end of Veteran game completion?  Will I find myself entirely disappointed after working so hard to get there?  At some point, I have to return the game to its owner ( thanks Leif! ) and I would love to get some feedback from those of you that have tried to make it.

Kiss Kiss,

 
Dawngrrl Gametart