Infamous 2

WARNING MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

I’ve just finished my first play through of Infamous 2 and I’ve got to say that it was an amazing ride. It may be even more so than the first game and to say that means something especially when I chose Infamous as one of my freebie game from sony even though I had played though it about 12 times and had the platinum trophy.

I feel this game accomplished what a sequel should strive for. It improved the story, gameplay, graphics and added features. The core fighting and climbing  mechanics of the game are still intact and work even better this time around. The fighting system now includes melee to easily take out multiple opponents in an easy combo system. The climbing is almost unchanged but with the addition of pipes with electric wiring cole can now shoot up the side of a building greatly cutting climbing time and in some cases skipping the climbing all together.

The story picks up exactly where Infamous left off. Cole is in the process of preparing to fight “The Beast” a towing creature of unknown origin that is wreaking havoc and destroying everything in its path. To become strong enough he’s gotta head to New Marias to meet Dr. Wolfe and form a plan to defeat the beast. However once cole gets to the city a new threat reveals itself in the form of  Joseph Betrand who controls the local militia and trying to take over the city. Cole now has to a two fronted battle, deal with Betrand and become powerful enough to fight the beast. Rather than a straight line leading to 1 final battle like with Kessler in Infamous.

The graphical progression is highly noticeable. The world offers more detail and variety and character animations are more fluid. The characters themselves also look pretty amazing and facial animations have been improved as well. Powers familiar and new all look great, lighting is vibrant and striking and powers like ice are really well done and don’t look as clunky as they could have.

While most of the game will be familiar for fans of the previous fans a new edition to the game is User Generated Content or UGC. UGC are missions created and or “remixed” by infamous 2 players and then uploaded for the world to enjoy. From either a blank canvas or a pre existing template players can go in and crate their own missions, whether it be a race, an assassination, a platforming/collecting time trial or a straight up “survive the enemy onslaught’ its up to the player to decide how and what.

While the game is a great play there are some bugs/quirks but nothing that breaks the game. Small things like having an emery get stuck or sometimes just not acknowledge you at all. As i said nothing game breaking, no falling through the streets or flying cars this time.

All in all Infamous 2 is a great game and is deserving of at least a look. If you  wanna try the game to get a feel the demo is up on the Playstation store right now. If you’re new to the world of Infamous go play the first game and then come check out Infamous 2, It’s worth it, trust me.

Final score - 9/10

CHECK IT OUT!

Playstation Plus and Amazon

IM EXCITE! Just got a 12 month Playstation Plus subscription from amazon (usually $50) for $20 + tax. A few days ago I saw an article that read Amazon.com had discounted the PS+ card down from its normal price of $50 down to $40. I was glad to hear this since I was planning to get a subscription since my ps3 died and I lost all my data, I wanted to recover the data I backed up onto the cloud during the free month of PS+ given to us PS3 users. I was fully prepared to spend the $40 on the service but when i went to complete my order I noticed that I was only being charged $20 + tax for the card/code. I was confused for a minute but after looking around for a bit I noticed I had a $20 coupon/gift card thing from when i pre-ordered a game (Killzone 3 i believe) and so my ending total instead of $40 was $20. This is a great deal because the 3 month subscription is around $18 so I ended up with a full year of service for a few dollars more than the 3 month service price. On top of this there was no shipping or waiting since all you need it the code, they show it right there on the screen and will email it to you as well. Good form Amazon. Good form!

IM NOT EXCITE

So my ps3, the one i just got back from Sony 3 months and 2 weeks ago failed and got the Yellow Light of Death (YLOD). I called Sony to ask if i was eligible for a free replacement since it was  so close to the 90 warranty given with a refurbished unit, of course i wasnt and i now have to give Sony ANOTHER $129 to replace this PS3. Check out the video to see the YLOD in action.
 

IM EXCITE

A Game Developer called DarkCryo is working on an MMO for the TV series Firefly. The game has apparently been in development for quite some time and is looking for backing from Fox and Mutant Enemy. This could be amazing and i hope there are plans to bring the game to the PS3, i can't afford to buy a pc just for one game.


Source Article: http://www.gamebreakers.co/2011/06/darkcryo-is-working-on-a-firefly-mmo/

L.A. Noire

So should be picking up L.A. Noire tomorrow before I go to work. I really think it's going to be a great game, however I'm not so sure that i should write anything about it. I mean does anyone really want to hear about it? Let me know and I'll see what's up.

Killzone 3 Fan Trailer "The End?"

My 3rd attempt at a decent KZ3 trailer. This one shows the ISA in a bit of a tight spot rather than them running wild and slaughtering the Helghast which is what I see in most of these fan trailers.

Killzone 3 Fan Trailer "Never Give In"

My attempt to create a KZ3 Trailer Master Piece lol, don't think it went so well but hey I still like it.

EDIT: Second attempt at a decent trailer. Slightly different from the first but largely the same. Added a couple effects and a few more shots of Helghast.

Thoughts on Killzone 3

I've just finished the campaign of Killzone 3 and I've got to say it was an amazing ride. From the look and feel of the weapons to the design of the incredible environments and from the epic battles to the wonderfully directed and intense cutscenes this game is a must have for all PS3 owning FPS fans.

The weapons of Killzone 3 are really well done. Each looks amazing and each has its own unique feel to it. The ISA assault rifle was one of my favorite during my first play through as it felt damn near perfect from the attention to detail and the feel and look of the recoil as the weapon was fired. It really felt like I could pick up the gun in the real world and have a fair understanding of what to expect in terms of recoil and handling. The shotgun pistol is perfect for finishing off enemies in close quarters, it really packs a punch and is easy to use and handle. I highly enjoyed using the Sta - 52 Helghast rifle as it is a very accurate weapon with plenty of power and allows you to maintain your mobility so you can get around and get to cover quickly.  One of my favorite weapons was the Bolt Gun, this thing is super powerful 1 hit kill and the bolt even explode a couple seconds after impact. Shooting Helghast and nailing them to various structures is always fun. These are just a few of the many weapons available in the campaign, there are multiple Submachine Guns, LMGs, Rocket Launchers, Rifles and Miniguns at your disposal to aid you in your goal to defeat the vast Helghan army.

The gun of KZ3 are essential to game play and so they have to look good but the environments of the planet Helghan look damn fine too. It's true a lot of the game is played in snow covered areas but the places that aren't look pretty amazing. My favorite would have to be the Jungle, full of creatures like spiders and various plants that will actively try to kill you as you make your way though the level was cool. This is planet helghan so it isn't a normal jungle with trees and big leafy plants. it feels, to me at least, like these plants have sprouted up from volcanic rock so its a mix between a jungle area in terms of plants and creatures being present and a series of caves and canyons but with plants. It sounds weird but its look great, especially with certain plants emitting glows and casting moving shadows and they help to bring color to an area that would normally have none.

The environments are sweet and look great and help to set up some massive battles, battles on an epic scale. One can't mention epic battles and while referring to KZ3 without talking about the MAWLR. With little choice Sev takes on the MAWLR, a missive multistory walking gun, alone. 

This beast of a machine has dozens of turrets, missile silos, and a supercharged Ion Cannon. Think "Super powered, Impenetrably armored, 30 story  AT-AT" from Star Wars and you might have the MAWLR in mind. This thing is covered like scales in guns and and some kind of armor plating that cant be penetrated with miniguns or even missiles. The fight spans 3 different levels and can take closer to an hour finish. The sheer scale is impressive I hope to see more thing like this in future KZ3 games as it really felt like a other worldly battle.

One of the most impressive things about KZ3 was the cut-scenes. While they give a break from the constant barrage of Helghast soldiers, tanks, drop ships, fortified bunkers and supremely well placed grenades (man those Helghast must be born with a grenade in the hand cause they can drop one from across a room within 2 feet of you repeatedly) they also gave you a look at what was happening off the battle field and away from the war zone and deepened the story at the same time. It was nice to get a look at who is behind the Helghast war effort.

While I had a blast playing through the story I did run into a few issues so of course KZ3 isn't perfect. I hit an invisible wall which stopped me from progressing during my first play through although it was fixed easily it still wasn't cool. I also had time when I was in cover and tried to fire but nothing would happen, fully loaded weapon but no bullets flying which lead to my death. Rico also pissed me off a couple times, he wouldn't advance because there was an enemy, a small spider, hadn't been killed. He would also run up to me after I'd been downed by the enemy look at me and tell me that he was surrounded and that he can't revive me. WTF do you mean surrounded there is one guy left and you are right next to me, that fool! But overall KZ3 is a solid game all around, of course I didn't get into the MP side of the game, maybe another time and post. I feel this is a great game and that anyone who was a fan of previous KZ titles and FPSs should check it out and see for themselves.

I give this game a 9/10, CHECK IT OUT! 

Thoughts on the Mortal Kombat Demo

Finally got my new PS3 from Sony and she runs like a dream as if just off the line of a PS3 factory in heaven. I just found out yesterday that the new Mortal Kombat demo was free to download on PSN so as I set up my new system today the first thing I did was download the MK and Crysis 2 demos and had at it. The demo didn't  offer a huge amount in terms of content after all twas only a demo however what it did offer was a very good glimpse of what can be expected when the full game is launched on April 19th. I picked Scorpion as my character during my short play of the demo because, well, he's a badass. The first thing I noticed when I started my first match, which was against myself, was that the game looks AMAZING. It might just be me and the fact that i haven't actually played an MK game in years but I was taken by surprise by the beauty of the game, it reminded me of the first time I saw God Of War 3 in HD for myself. Once I got into the actual fighting of the game I was disappointed, disappointed that it hadnt been like this from the start! The controls are responsive and the animations are super silky smooth and the game feels quicker, getting closer to a street fighter with the ability to string together long combos for max damage. I was able to start a combo with a flying kick and before i hit the ground transition into a teleport twice ( this sequence reminds me of the time Matt Lease bounced in between the floor and roof of a car while trying to exit, ahhh classic Lease, good times, good times. ) and then land and follow up with a few punches a leg sweep and upercut to end it all. This little combo took just about half the life bar of my opponet it was sweet. I can only imagine the super combos people will come up with in the full version with the tag team mode. From what I've seen in the short demo available this game looks like a winner. From the nice responsive controls to the super smooth animations and from the sweet combos and suberb graphics this could be the best MK of them all.

POKEMON

Ok, so my PS3 died. I know, super sad face :'''''''( , anyway since the PS3 was my entire entertainment system. My PS2, my DVD player, my Blu-Ray player, and of course my PS3 gaming console I'm fucked. I have almost nothing to do. Sure I could watch TV but unfortunately I have super shitty cable so It's all shit. No Discovery Channel, no History Channel, no Disney, no Nick, no Cartoon network and especially no G4TV not that I would watch G4 that much anyway. The point being that I have nothing to do now that my Black Beast has gone to tech heaven except for one thing, Pokemon Fire Red for Gameboy Advanced Sp. I started on Monday and have been playing for a few hours a day. I play on my way to work, for about half my lunch break at work and then I get home and play until bedtime. Pokemon has been around for what seems since the beginning of time. I say that because I honestly can't remember a time before Pokemon. It's been around forever, I remember collecting the cards and trading with friends some 11-12 years ago now and yet here I am playing a Pokemon game almost 21 and loving it. Even though it's an aged series it's still relevant, and what i mean by that is that it has kept its most basic elements while changing a few details and adding features and in the end it turns out to be a solid RPG. You start off with your one Pokemon and as you travel the land you capture more and become stronger as you defeat enemy after enemy. As your Pokemon level up they gain abilities and in most cases evolve into bigger more powerful forms. The story is straightforward as well, you want to become the very best like no one ever was, to catch them is your real test to train them is your cause. In order to gain fame you need to defeat the leaders of 8 Gym Leaders, each using a certain Pokemon type and technique. Each time you defeat a leader you get a badge, some make Pokemon up to a certain level obey some allow you to teach your Pokemon special moves that allow you to travel through the world easily. Apart from defeating the Gym Leaders you also face off against the evil Team Rocket and have to essentially save the world while becoming the greatest trainer in existence. It's been the same since the games first came out and its still a good formula today. Hours of fun and hundreds of hours of training, collecting and trading Pokemon makes this a great series. I just wish someone would make a damn console game for PS3, it could be totally epic. The PS3's graphical power, the awesome formula of a Pokemon game, a 3D realm, throw in some online battling systems and maybe some Co-op and you've got yourself a fucking game I tell you hwhat! Hell maybe you could even choose if you wanted to be a member of Team Rocket or not and you could just go around battling other players just for the hell of it, now that would be sweet. Someone call Sony and tell em to buy the rights to a Pokemon game and get crackin' I wanna see this shit happen!

My PS3 Is Dying :'(

Oh great Gaming Gods, what atrocities have I committed to receive such a punishment? I have been a good gamer haven't I? I've played many games, spent good money on games I didn't need and  accessories I wasn't really gonna use I've even spent money money meant for food on games and game accessories. I game regularly, everyday in fact, so what could it be that i have done that has offended you so much? What have i done that has pushed you so far that you would inflict death like symptoms upon my poor ps3, my poor fat ps3 which has been the best investment of my life and my friend who is has been with me everyday for the past 3 years and 24 days?

Yes, I remember the day I bought my black beast with the killer apps, it was a weekend, a Saturday I think, I had been to I visited 3 stores looking for said best with no luck they were all sold out but I wasn't going to give up until i had checked every store i knew of, finally the 4th store the Walmart at Arundel Mills Mall I succeeded and how lucky I was it was the last one in stock. I didn't wait to think about it, I grabbed the first employee in sight and forced them to open the display case and retrieve the PS3. Beaming as it was pulled from the shelf and watched it like a hawk, as it wasn't handed directly to me but taken to the checkout as the protocol on such items seems to be with the Walmart franchise, and made sure it was handled with care. I jumped into line eagerly, luckily I #2 in line however the person in front of me seemed to take FOREVER but I had to restrain myself and held in the words from escaping my mouth as my brain screamed at the top of its "lungs" for this person to "HURRY THE FUCK UP!" as I was certain some fool would walk by and snatch my future purchase and run like mad from the store, knowing my luck I wouldn't have been surprised and I like to think that i would be quick thinking enough to chase down and pummel the would be thief to protect that PS3.
After what seemed an eternity I moved up to the register and met a young lady who I want to say was named Mary or something of the sort, I greeted her with an excited but calm hello and relayed to her that I was the one who was buying the brand new Playstation 3, she turned grabbed the box punched a few numbers into a keypad on her side of the desk and proceeded to scan the item while i looked at the display facing me to determine my total. $528.36 if i recall correctly, i reached into my pocket and retrieved a wad of bills and counted out the amount and gave the cashier $550 and waited as she insisted on recounting and then had to make sure each bill was real for some reason, as if I, Ross, would try to make such a investment with fake or otherwise illegal tender all seemed well and she placed the money in the drawer and thus at about 4:30 on February 2nd I was a very proud owner of a PS3. As she handed me my change with one hand she reached down behind the counter and pulled out a large bag a bag large enough to fit such a beastly purchase, and was ready to hand to hand it over to me when my mom asked her to double bag it as to obscure the new toy inside since we had to take the bus home. I agreed since I hardly wished for some cracked out pimp to notice my new friend and decide to take it for himself. I took the bag(s) from the woman behind the register and thanked her and wished her a good day hopefully one as good as mine was turning out to be. I didn't at all in any way want to linger at this point, I had the treasure it was time to run like hell from the tomb before some stone monsters decided to come to life of before some fool stepped on the 1 square foot of floor that opened up an Indian death trap such as a pit full of sharpened sticks or somehow releasing a giant stone to crush me where I stood. I left the store and headed towards the bus stop, for some reason we went though best buy where I noticed my first PS3 game purchase, Skate, I counted my change and determined myself to be just shy of owning this amazing game, I asked to borrow a few dollars and quickly threw my money at the cashier and ran from the store ( not really, but that would be intense) to the bus stop for fear of missing said bus and being stuck at the mall, quite possibly the most dangerous place for any PS3. We made it to the bus stop ahead of schedule unfortunately the bus was running late and so I had to sit there with almost a dozen other people with this $500 box between my legs. I watched my back like a Meerkat watches for hyenas, looking up from my bag every few seconds to see if any one seemed to be watching me at all, thankfully everyone was more focused on avoiding the light rain shower that had begun just after I reached the relative safety of the bus stop. The bus soon arrived and I keep my Meerkat tactics up until I was back in familiar territory where i tripled my efforts for i knew the fools around the way wouldn't hesitate to thief my shit just because I had it and they didn't, not even knowing what was in the bag to begin with, just seeing me carrying something would be enough. I hoped off the bus and made for the house, I played it cool and walked quickly, but I didn't run as to not draw attention to myself always watching my back. I made it home alive with PS3 unharmed, mission accomplished.

Gaming gods, please revoke your punishment upon my PS3, its not the 3's fault. If punishment is to be had aim at me, take my 12th born child instead, but please please don't take the life of my beloved PS3. I've had way too many good times with it and I truly wish to have many many more.

Where Are My New Features Sony?

It has been quite some time since the last major update to the PS3. Back in June of 2010 3.40 was released but since then It's been small updates like security improvements and various TV players. Sony really needs to implement some new features for the Playstation 3 community. Features like cross game chat have been begged for for years now. I hope that with all this buzz about the NGP (PSP2) that sony doesn't forget about updating the PS3 and keeping it fresh. I don't mean another video service app or slight reworkings of features currently present like the photo gallery, I want new shit. Custom soundtracks for every game, in game internet browsing, a more intuitive messaging system, more detailed PSN IDs, better socail networking implementation, pc-ps3 video chat, email integration or live news ticker. While I'm at it, Sony, PLEASE PLEASE make a usb UMD player so that people who have invested in the PSP early on and have stacks and piles of UMD games dont feel as cheated by the fact that the PSPGO and the NGP don't have UMD slots. In addition to that people who dont have a PSP will be able to experience PSP titles and may want to invest in a PSPGO or NGP.

Recent PS3 Update 3.56 Causing Problems

Looks like an old bug has resurfaced in a new software update for the PS3. The update, a minor security patch, has been giving gamers who try to upgrade their HDDs trouble, after installing the patch. Full details after the jump.

http://www.examiner.com/video-game-news-in-national/3-56-firmware-update-preventing-hdd-upgrades-for-newer-playstation-3-models

Thanks to Shui Ta and Examiner.com

Jack Tretton Confirms Playstation Suite For PS3

Looks like SCEA President Jack Tretton has let slip that Playstation Suite may one day show up on the PS3. Full scoop after the break.


http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/engadget-interview-sceas-jack-tretton-talks-sony-ngp-announce/

Thanks to Ross Miller and Engadget.com