Battlefield: 2142 preview

The demo is out! This means that I can now write an effective hands on preview!

The first thing I notice about the game is its sleek look, the menu is even nice a functional, it may not have a pretty picture in the background, but it gets the job done. Another note, if you want to run this game on a higher graphic setting, make sure you have a monster machine, Im running an old FX 5200 and I had to turn all the settings to minimum (except view distance). Once you find a game it feels exactly like BF2, which is good and bad. Good, because you can easily jump into the gameplay, but bad because some naysayers may say that its the same game but set in the future. I would agree if not for one thing, Titan mode. Titan mode is one of the most exciting game modes ive ever played, you see at first it plays similar to a conquest map, you take control of missile silos, which damage the enemie's titan (a massive floating ship) shields, simple right? Well once the shields are down things change. Once your enemie's titan shields are down, you have to either A. Get inside and blow apart its vital systems, or B. Continue to hammer it with missiles. The fighting inside the titans is intense, it really allows you to get down and dirty with 2142's very entertaining weapons.But a new game mode isnt worth 50 bucks, luckily, the new maps are quite original (if the demo is any indication) and the addition of walkers is a fun add on. There are also tons of unlockables, 40 in all, dispersed over 43 ranks! So if you grow bored of BF2, the persitence is there in 2142. Finally, if the mod community gets involved in this game,there are some exciting things which could be done, as this game would more easily fit, im aleady thinking mods for things like Mech Warrior or Warhammer 40K. Final word, if you like Sci-FI and you want the large scale battles of the battlefield series then this is a title for you. If you are still playing BF2 without being bored, then let this one drop in price before you pick it up.

Video Game Violence

UGR is back after a hiatus with an article that touches on the hot button issue of video game violence.

This topic has been debated intently for years, one event that kicked off this issue was the columbine school shootings, in which anti-video game activists claimed that the popular shooter, Doom "made them do it." Over the years this battle has raged on, with games like GTA becoming extremely controvorsial. I myself think its the parent's responsibility to monitor their kid's behavior and purchases. People like Jack Thompson claim that since there are no laws in effect regulating the sale of M rated games to children, it makes it hard for parents to do so. What Thompson obviously hasnt done, is try to buy an M rated game as a young person, a Gamestop employee can be fired for selling an M rated game to someone under 16. Recently on one of my favorite shows, Attack of the Show, Jack Thompson, Mark Freidler and Adam Sessler discussed Rockstar's upcoming game, Bully. For those who dont know, Bully is an action game in which the player controls a 15 year old boy attending a prep school. The game allows you to live out the character's life, whether you choose to be a bully, nerd, prep, jock or anything in between. Many activists claim that the games schoolyard violence will encourage real schoolyard violence, as in the game you can get into fight and play pranks on other children. In the AOTS interview, Thompson immediatly comes out and gives a statistic saying that studies have shown that as video game sales have risen, so has violence levels. But lets consider this, video game sales arent the only thing rising in America, Unemployment, health care issues, a war in Iraq and poverty are all serious issues. Imagine for a moment that you are a 16 year old teen who just lost a family memeber in Iraq, now whats gonna make you want to start fights more, a tongue in cheek, almost cartoony game, or the extreme sense of loss? Interestingly enough, Jack Thompson's statistic was countered by Kevin's stat that said that its also shown that violent people like violent images, then the problem becomes a which came first issue. Adam Sessler proceeded to passionately defend his side, clearly defeated, Thompson attempted to throw in a report from last year that said that you would be able to beat your teachers with cricket bats, something that is most certainly NOT in the game (rockstar themselves has denied this). The comclusion that I have reached through all this is that it is the PARENTS responsibility to control what their children play, not Gamestops'.

Preview: TES VI Oblivion

The Elder Scrolls is a game series that is synonymous with roleplaying, its three games have brought open ended gaming to a new level. In 2003 TES III Morrowind, showed that the term Action/Rpg doesnt have to be 90% action and 10% rpg with a game that had some incredible FPS style combat as well as the Roleplaying that gamers want in a game. My only complaint with the game was that it was TO immense and To open ended. I had a huge world with hundreds of quests and novels worth of text in the form of conversations and books. Despite these problems i would still give the game a 9/10. Oblivion, however, looks like it might be the greatest RPG ever, and considering I still cling to Baldurs Gate, thats saying something. This title was supposed to be an Xbox 360 launch title but it was postponed till early 2006, it will be available on both the 360 and the PC, but be warned, its gonna need a monster comp. The graphics ive seen are amazing, I sometimes cant tell that its a screenshot. Some amazing new features are the forest system, which are randomly generated using a program which creates 100% realistic woods, the new A.I., which will actually have townsfolk get up, eat breakfast, go to work, go home, read/practice skills etc. and then go to sleep, and finally, a revamped physics and combat system. Another cool new thing is the ease with which you can find your way through the game, instead of having to spend hours leveling, then doing a mission. It looks as thought you can progress at a steady pace. This is not to say you are led through the game by a string, just that you arent left on the corner in a cardboard box.

The game looks like it could be one of the best ever.... We'll have to wait and see.

Art in games: Is it possible?

The other night I saw Dajid Jaffe (God of War, Twisted Metal series) on tv, he was asked why God of War wasnt art Jaffe responded by saying that he didnt think any games were art, and that video games have not reached that level yet. I beg to differ, I believe that there are several games that could easily qualify as art, here they are and why:

Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War
quite possibly the best flight game ever, this game blends magnificent story, striking music and amazing graphics into a game that will have your heart beating from start to finish. Why is it art? Because between the cutscenes and the beutiful dogfights (thats right, beutiful) you are left speechless.

Shadow of the Collosuss
An incredibly rich adventure in a beutifully rendered world, Shadow of the Collosuss represents a huge leap forward in artistic gaming.

Baldur's Gate
2D roleplaying was so fun, and this game is a perfect example of why. With its gorgeous spell effects and wonderful story/characters, Baldur's Gate is a must have for any RPG fan

Final Fantasy 7&8
both of these titles offer rich, compelling stories as well as incredible characters, monsters and enviroments.

so there you have it, some of the most artistic games to be released ever. Do you agree?

Game review: Echo Night, Beyond

yes I know, this game is a year old, but I just bought it recently so I thought I would drop a review. I have stared at this game in Game stop for months, but I was always afraid to buy it as it is only $14.99 brand new... yikes, but I finally succumed to the allure of the beutiful packaging. The game is set in the year 2044, you and your fiancee are on a space trip when disaster strikes, and you crash into a sprawling moon base. After the haunting intro movie your character regains consciousness, only to find the shuttle empty and mangled and the residents of the moon base are all dead with only ghostly imprints of their former selves, you of course, must save the souls to find your lost love one. The best part of the game is the graphics, I mean the game is gorgious, with creepy hallways and great looking ghosts. But what is graphics without gameplay? Honestly, although not as frightening as games like RE4 and Silent Hill, the game is creepy, as you walk along you will hear a light break behind you, or a ghost hountingly calling out for a lost friend, yea, it geats unnerving. Unfortunately with all this atmosphere there is very little meat and potatoes, the game revolves around bringing items to ghosts in distress and clearing fog in rooms where evil ghosts reside to calm them. One very cool thing is the save rooms, in them there are monitors which allow you to prepare yourself for enemy encounters by looking at all the rooms in your area through cameras, the coolest part is that by finding little green areas in the rooms with the cameras you will unlock cutscenes that help you to unravel the cause of the deaths at the moonbase. In the end, this game is a bit repetitive but the fun of uncovering the secrets of the story makes you not care and the price point is incredible for this game, it gets an above average score but it is definently a buy for its price.
Final score: 7/10
The good: hearing the creaking of a monitor that was knocked loose
the bad: realizing that you have just done the same thing as you did in the last room
The ugly: running out of battery just when you are frantically running away from an enemyt ghost.

coming soon: The Matrix: Path Of Neo review

Online game: City of heroes

all the games ive brought u so far have been free to play, but today im gonna tell you about a great Pay 2 Play game called city of heroes.

City of Heroes is an online world where you can play as any hero you can dream up, then hit the streets of paragon city. The first thing youll notice about the game is its great graphics, wiht their smooth lines and great, very 3D textures. Another awsome aspect is the character creator, which allows you to create any hero you can possibly think of. the combat in this game is fun and engaging, and very rarely will it play out the same, the travel powers are cool, allowing you to fly , jump to magnificent hights, teleport yourself and others or run at super speeds. The only real complaint I have with this game is the lack of variation in the landscape as most of the fairly large world is identical city sections whose only real difference is their color and atmosphere. Also, NCsoft just released City of Villians, which allows you to play as a villian and defeat that hero who dumped you deep in a high level area last night. CoV ties into CoH nicely, allwing players to battle in special pvp zones. One final note, one of the best features of city of heroes is the sidekick system, which allows a lvl 1 newbie to team up with a friend who may be lvl 30 or 40 and still survive and gain exp. Although there are some dissapointments, tis game really does make you feel like a hero, from saving a pedestrian getting robbed, to saving the city from alien attacks.

Rating: 8.5/10
the good: blowing apart an enemy with a whole team of concentrated attacks
the bad: getting triple teamed in FFA arena
the Ugly: Falling 80 stories out of the air then getting pulverized by machine gun fire (ouch)

Online game: Anarchy Online

You have probably heard the name Anarchy Online before as it is synonymous
with online games, and guess what? Its now free! Thats right, for the next year or so (I think) the base game is available for free download and play, you dont even need a credit card for "verification" purposes! Now this game is no WoW but is certainly entertaining, especially if your on a pc which cant run games like WoW and Everquest II. The game is pretty much the same as any other MMo out today, one cool thing is the huge selection of classes and the neat vehicles available are nice. All In all this game is worth the download if you arent already playing a pay to play game like WoW.