I spent some time scouring the Internet for the best deal on Aliens vs Predator this weekend.  One of my friends was doing much the same, only he was paying more attention to the details, rather than the final price which is my wont.  During his comparisons he realized that GameStop’s “exclusive” pre-order bonus, a set of three multiplayer skins, aren’t exclusive at all.  In fact, the exact same bundle of skins is offered with the purchase of the game through Steam, along with a free copy of Universe at War.

Steam more appropriately names the perks the company offers as “unique” instead of the misleading label of “exclusive” that GameStop presents.  From the product page of GameStop: “Reserve Aliens vs. Predator and receive 3 GameStop exclusive multi-player skins.”

There’s no asterisk, or other indication that the skins are exclusive to physical copies.  Or any difference in the description of the skins by either company.

So GameStop, exactly how is SGT. Kaneko, Number Six and the Alien Head Predator a “GameStop exclusive” if Steam offers the exact same set of skins?

I had the pleasure of interviewing a pair of the developers for Hi-Rez Studios’ just released Global Agenda.  Todd Harris and Chuck Vinson were a pleasure to talk to, answering all of my insane questions on the MMO RPG/shooter hybrid.  You can check out the first part of the interview above, but will have to venture to one of the sites I write for, MMOCrunch.com, for the second half (it gets juicer).

Or just subscribe to my YouTube page for any and all upcoming videos.

I assume you’ve all been following me on Twitter, yes?  Well, since you’ve been keeping up with my gaming life over on the birds-carrying-whale sanctuary, then you must know that I’ve been playing a lot of League of Legends.  I knew I’d be signing up, and purchasing the game eventually, based solely upon the excellent time I had in beta.  Never has a beta captured me like LoL did.  Not Warcraft III, not Tabula Rasa or Star Trek Online, not even WoW.  I don’t know if it scratched that DotA itch at a specific time, or if it’s just Riot Games crafty implementation of persistent RPG mechanics that draws me back over and over, and over again.

Even though Riot just nerfed the heck out of my new favorite character, Udyr, I plan on logging in tonight and scoring a few wins just to show people that he’s still viable (hopefully).  If you haven’t played LoL yet, now’s a damn fine time to try it.  Especially if you enjoyed Warcraft’s Defense of the Ancients custom map.  The boxed copy of LoL (yes, lawlz) is only $19.99, or grab the F2P version with a rotating Champions roster.

And just an FYI, there will be plenty more LoL coverage coming to this blog including a bloggish review and character guides.  Yes, I am that addicted to the game.

Patch highlights:

Client:

• Added a “Remember Username” option to the login screen.
• Added volume and mute controls for music in the PVP.net Options Menu
• Improved auto-balance in the matchmaking algorithm, improving the distribution of player skill in a match significantly in about 5% of matches.
• The Most Played Champions section of the Summoner Profile will now display the top 3 most played champions.

Champion changes to watch out for:

Cho’Gath

• Fixed a bug where using Feast when the target had too much health caused too much damage

Amumu

• Bandage Toss Mana Cost reduced to 90/100/110/120/130 from 130 at all ranks
• Curse of the Sad Mummy Cooldown reduced to 170/150/130 from 180/160/140
• Bandage Toss has a new animation

Nidalee

• Javelin Toss missile speed increased.

Poppy

• Devastating Blow Bonus Damage reduced to 20/40/60/80/100 from 20/60/100/140/180

Udyr

• Fixed a bug where Udyr’s Bear Stance was providing multiplicative move speed, rather than additive, causing it to give too much movement speed while slowed
• Turtle Stance Mana Restore reduced to 6/7/8/9/10% from 12/14/16/18/20%.
• Phoenix Activation AP reduced to 16/24/32/40/48 from 24/36/48/60/72.
• Phoenix Activation Damage reduced to 8/12/16/20/24 from 12/18/24/30/36.
• Monkey’s Agility Attack Speed reduced to 10% from 15%. Also adjusted the attack speed gain to be additive instead of multiplicative (reducing the damage when combined with attack speed items).
• Udyr’s Movement Speed reduced to 315 from 320.

Read the full patch notes here.

I’ve spent nearly ten hours inside the world of Mass Effect 2 for this first impression, and BioWare’s storytelling continues to captivate me.  Even though the dialog choice mechanic is tired at this point, it’s still an excellent way to capture one’s intelligence and make us think of our choices.  I do wish the company would abandon labeling everything (Paragon in blue, Renegade in red) and maintaining the same locations for those types of responses to spice things up.  But I understand that it is a bit of a necessary evil.  The other issues aren’t so necessary.

Here’s some of the other highs and lows from the “early” part of the game.  It should go without saying that being ten hours in, and still in the “early” section is a definite plus.

Pros:

• BioWare makes no conceit to those that may have not played the original Mass Effect.  Players are instantly thrown into the thick of things, and left to fill in/be reminded of the details of Mass Effect after this game’s plot is set.  The opening cinematic guaranteed that my ass would be firmly planted in my chair for at least an hour.  The ability to affect the rotation of ship parts in zero gravity was a nice touch.
• Speaking of cinematics, they look absolutely stunning.  You may not realize it, but the cutscenes are actually in-game, allowing us to have dialog choices and morality twitch gaming in the middle of conversations.  This also means that the game is a visual delight.
• BioWare dumped the original inventory, which was awful, and has replaced it with a combination of upgrades and a tidier inventory management system.  Items are categorized for easy filtering, and collectible research plans that unlock upgrades allow there to be less of items.
• Thermal clips.  Overheating in the original Mass Effect was an alternative to having players collect ammo caches on the ground.  It was novel in its cleanliness, but sometimes you just need to unload on enemies in a short window.  Now we can.
• Just assume that I am rolling sniper whenever a game gives bonus damage for a headshot or allows tactical choices like maiming a target to slow them down (sorry about your leg, but mind your head now).  BioWare seems to have taken the less gorey road by allowing only non-organic mobs to be disassembled with careful shots.
• Holy difficulty choices, Batman!  BioWare peppered the game with a ton of difficulty choices. Past the Normal default option they are actually difficult.  Kudos.

I imagine Mordecai shit-talking after each headshot.

Cons:

• I’m sure this isn’t as big a deal in the easier difficulties, but the cover mechanics suck when attempting the hardier settings.  I’ve died more than once due to my character placing her back against the wrong side of cover, or thinking something was cover when it wasn’t.  Worse still is the fact that Shepard cannot easily cross between cover.  Even opposite sides of a doorway require leaving then rejoining cover.
• BioWare prides itself by creating some of the best story driven games on the market, but I’ve always had to drop characters I liked in the company’s titles in favor of having a balanced party for the mission.  It’s an inevitability of the design, overlapping character classes with different personalities, that won’t go away.
• Like Borderlands before it, Mass Effect 2 suffers from a dearth of PC optimizations of the same category.  Menus lack double-click support, which makes them tedious to navigate, and themousewheel does nothing to a scrollbar.  Some very basic functions of the keyboard and mouse setup were overlooked.
• It appears, at least this “early” in the game, that the dungeons are smaller in Mass Effect 2 than they were in the original.  This could be a conscious decision to stop the long load times andpopup textures that plagued the 360 version.  And it may change as we move to other systems.
• Termal clips – they cut both ways.  I don’t so much mind ammo rationing, but having to constantly look around for the small vial-type objects that hold ammunition is annoying.

Mass Effect 2 is by no means a bad game, but it’s not perfect either.  BioWare just followed the trend of sequels; tweak what gamers liked, fixed what we didn’t, add minor features here and there and overlay a new story.

P.S. Here’s a hotfix to unlock anti-aliasing for Mass Effect 2 on certain ATi video cards.

I’ve noticed that a lot of people, on a lot of forums, have been trying to find where you need to go to redeem your Cerberus code.  BioWare didn’t put the URL on the card, probably because the company didn’t know it when the discs went to print, and told gamers to venture to EA.com to register.  Unfortunately there’s nothing there, but it is listed on Mass Effect 2’s official website.

Gain access to the Cerberus Network here, or alternatively, through the game itself.  You’ll need an EA.com account to redeem.  Fear not, they are free accounts and EA won’t pester your inbox if you tell it not to.

Installation is almost complete.

/me cracks knuckles and gets ready to kick some alien butt.

In early 2004 fans of Nintendo were happy to usher in the return of Final Fantasy to a Nintendo console.  Although the Gamecube was given a spin-off title, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, rather than a full blown Final Fantasy, it was a start.  We were satisfied to have the GBA-Gamecube connected title that delivered a hardcore co-op and/or single player experience, rather than nothing.  Square-Enix has attempted the same winning formula with the series’ third installment, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time for the Wii and DS.  The title comes complete with cross-platform co-mingling, a feature that was designed to replaced the connectivity of Nintendo’s last generation.  Unfortunately, the new title misses the mark on more then one occasion.

A Cross Platform Engine Does Not Guarantee Cross Platform Success
The DS and the Wii are obviously different beasts, so the presentation matches that. While the dual screen setup works well on Nintendo’s nimble handheld, the same can’t be said for its larger cousin.  The magnifying and zooming capabilities on the Wii side of things are nice, but the inability to have the actual game field take up the entire screen is a nuisance, especially when you are meet with a bad camera angle – of which there are many.  The predecessor on Gamecube used the GBA as an optional second screen, allowing for play with or without the connected handheld.  Why the developer threw out this ability for full screen gameplay is beyond me.  Unfortunately, all the dual screen display on the Wii offers is a cluttered playing field and reprehensible inventory management.  Not features to be proud of.

Clutter isn’t the only technological aspect that mares the Wii version of Echoes of Time. Of the pair, the DS is obviously the least common denominator, and it’s acceptable to have lesser visuals on a handheld.  Although it may be “two Gamecubes taped together” there is no reason why the graphics for the little white box should look as awful as they do.  Rather than inject the title with some higher grade textures for the console version, it appears that the DS’s art assets were made to fit on the Wii DVD as well.  If you haven’t gathered it already, this title is best played on the little handheld that could.  In fact, it’d be surprising if the DS wasn’t the lead platform, with the game being simply ported to the Wii upon completion.  It’s quite apparent that little effort was made to tailor the the game to the Wii.

16-bit Gameplay & Cliches On Board

If you are looking for a dungeon crawling experience, then Echoes of Time has you covered.  The title starts off in the classic cliche, a coming of age ceremony for the main character.  Upon completing the basic tutorial stage and being presented the inklings of the story, you are sent off to the big city for some medicine.  From here out, you will venture into stereotypical dungeons, such as the Ice and Fire Mountains and a sewer area.  Not exactly bleeding originality here.

Keeping with that sentiment, through the course of your journey you will be asked to repeat these unimaginative locations, often.  It gets better, nearly every puzzle you come across has to do with boxes and switches.  To make matters worse, the puzzles can be awfully tricky to complete if you are playing alone.  Not because you are too dumb to figure it out, but because the AI is to stupid to be useful in battle, let alone puzzle solving.  It’s as if the design team took all of the cliches from the 16-bit area and packed them into the latest Crystal Chronicles.

Not All Bad; Not At All

Although it has been harsh criticism up to this point, Echoes of Time does have one major ace up its sleeve, co-op.  Final Fantasy’s Wii debut is hamstrung by various technical issues, but none of them have anything to do with the wireless co-op.  The game was designed as a cross-platform title, allowing gamers on the DS and Wii to seamlessly participate in each other’s stories, enabling players to progress past difficult parts or seek help with their 30th box-based puzzle of the night.  Yet, even the best part of the title has its short comings.  There is no way to specify what kind of game you want to join, so your level 35 Clavat may end up grouping with a Yuke who is just starting out.  The lack of a skillful matchmaking service has lead to many of my co-op sessions being abandoned.  In the end, local wireless multiplayer – Square Enix removed local, single-system co-op for some stupid reason – is the best way to enjoy EoT.

My review for Spirit Tracks has gone live over at GamerGrenade News.

What initially struck me as an unimaginative clone with, what I expected to be, a short amount of gameplay and an annoying travel mechanic turned out to be a breath of fresh air.  The puzzles and dungeons hearken back to days gone by.  To a time when you had to use your brain and past experiences to complete an area.

Here’s the introduction:

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was written off by many early on.  Visually, it’s a clone of the DS’s earlier Zelda title, Phantom Hourglass, which took its art style for Gamecube’s Wind Waker.  Mechanically, all three titles contain a hefty amount of world traveling, the previous two by boat, whereas Spirit Tracks uses a train.  Cue the common audio remixes to the standard Zelda soundtrack, and implement the same slick stylus-driven control scheme and you have a recipe for a “me too” game.  I’ll admit, I was a neigh-sayer when I first heard about Spirit Tracks.  But it’s a fully-realized Zelda title, not some spin-off, so I had to give it a try.  Boy, I am eternally glad I did.

Now off to review Army of Two: 40th Day.  Or Army of Tutu, as I like to call it.

I’ve almost completed The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for DS, and I am absolutely loving the dungeons and puzzles in Link’s newest adventure.  But there’s one aspect of the title that is absolutely frustrating, the title’s musical element that is known as the Spirit Flute.

As has become the staple of the franchise, Link is bestowed a musical instrument early on in the adventure.  Rather than acting as a mode of travel, as the original flute did, the Spirit Flute is integrated into the gameplay at the deepest levels.  Following recent instruments from the franchise the Spirit Pipe can be used to unlock secrets, locate treasure chests, or move the story forward.  In fact, it’s required to move the story forward.  Unlike previous instruments, the Spirit Flute is the first piece of musical equipment that gamers have to actually play, in the loosest sense.

There’s no faking it.  You can’t just hit a button sequence and have Link whistle a perfect harmony.  Players must actively move the flute around with the stylus as they blow into the microphone in the correct tempo.  Theoretically it’s not that difficult, but due to having adult sized hands, and apparently a DS Lite, I was at wits end during a few duets.  First off, the most natural position for your hand to guide the flute happens to be directly in front of the microphone.  Obviously such an obstruction will ruin a piece, forcing me to keep my hand at an awkward angle.

The other major issue is that the microphone in a DS Lite is incredibly finicky.  You can blow too hard, you can blow too light.  You can create false-positives by taking breaths in between notes, or even ambient noise (tapping the stylus on the screen) can set off the microphone.  I talked to numerous people who’ve played the game and all DSi users had to say was that the songs became more difficult as the game went on.  That is certainly true.  However, all DS or DS Lite owners mirrored my frustrations, or at least admitted to failing the songs repeatedly before nailing them.

Had the “Practice” stage educated players on their fluting, it would have reduced our collective stress.  Instead Practice offers gamers nothing but an uninterrupted stream of the correct music being played.  No tips, tricks or pointers of any kind.  Why not have the Lokomo’s explain what was done wrong, or at least some produce some graphical or musical response when failing?

There’s three logical explanations to the frightful fluting.  The equipment could be of differing quality across the revisions, the age of the DS and DS Lite microphones has come in to play, or I suck at blowing.

Yes, I suck and blow.

Have you had any trouble?

MadWorld has seen a lot of press, even negative, for a pair of obvious reasons.  The title – along with Sega’s other recent offerings – is one of a few Mature-rated titles to grace the Wii console this year.  Following that, the frothing collection of hardcore Wii owners have long held out for a title to show them that they are still loved.  MadWorld’s graphical presentation, soundtrack, and early videos hyped the brawler’s release to a fever pitch up until the chainsaw wielding protagonist was placed on retail shelves.  But how does it hold up?

Get Into The Game
MadWorld is the definition of a front loaded game.  The majority of the title’s gore-filled gameplay is introduced in the tutorial.  The quick, yet descriptive introduction is explained via a playground area that Jack is placed in before the first level truly begins.  The session sets up what the protagonist and his chainsaw can do, what’s expected of them, and outlines the first inklings of the story.  Given the setup, my initial impression was that this game was going to be incredibly repetitive, with little in the way of originality past the tutorial.  That impression was accurate, to a point.  Had this review been written based on that early impression it would have been from a drastically different angle.

Yes, 90% of the gameplay is shown off in the tutorial, but those mechanics are an ends to a means.  The core component of the brutal title resides in the clever level design that enables all the mayhem to ensue, and the collection of boss fights.  On the flip side, the story – there is a story – is almost the reverse scenario.  The designers at Platinum Games tickle you early on with the chance that there may be a purpose to all the bloodshed.  So much bloodshed.  After the first outing, the developer continues to drop more and more information on Jack’s purpose.   As the Death Watch games and our avatar’s dismemberment count roll forward, we are tossed into a twisting story about humanity and its general state of chaos.  Believe it or not, the story is actually entertaining, even if it isn’t the most original.

More Than Gore
Repetitive gameplay and interesting boss battle aren’t the only features MadWorld has to offer starving hardcore gamers.  The beat ‘em up title’s single greatest asset has to be its audio component.  Platinum Games has crafted a rare breed of an audio pairing thanks to the humorous overtures of the Death Watch announcers and the game’s hip hop soundtrack.  The announcers quips are hilarious and topical.  The comments play off the parade of death animations Jack dishes out to anyone stupid enough to come within arms reach, drugs, and even the scary three letter word, sex.  In the background, gamers ears will be treated to the best original music of any Wii title to date.

Unfortunately, MadWorld does not diversify itself from its genre’s shortcomings.  Like most brawlers, the repetitive nature of the fisticuffs hampers the title.  And that isn’t even the biggest offender.  MadWorld’s main shortcoming is the incredibly short campaign for a $49.99 MSRP title.  Without trying too hard, gamers can probably dispatch the story in under five hours.  And that is if you die a lot.  The campaign is certainly short, but brawlers are often designed with replayability in mind.  Platinum has added reason to return to the story such as unlockable weapons, difficulties and a high score system.  However, the limited dialogue choices of the broadcasters make their humor a fleeting experience when run through the second time.  Playing on hard mode will extend the title – especially with the new toys – but players won’t have the humor that makes the first play through so enjoyable.  Oh, and be sure to stick around for the credits, freaking hilarious.

MadWorld is a game that presents itself as art, mature-rated, blood-filled, swear-dropping, kill-rewarding, murderous art.  Okay, fine.  Perhaps the art is just in the Sin City-inspired, cel-shaded, black-and-white visuals.  The game is far better labeled as a hardcore beat ‘em up starring a chainsaw wielding mad man than art.  But Platinum Games wasn’t trying to create a title to shove in Ebert’s face.  The developer set out to create an entertaining guilty pleasure, and that is exactly what we got.  Sadly, the title’s most defining feature does take some time to get used to, and even when one’s eyes settle in to the peculiar presentation, it can still be jarring at times.

MadWorld isn’t the deepest title of the current generation.  Rather, it is the video game equivalent of a popcorn action flick like True Lies or a B-grade horror movie such as Evil Dead.

Too bad Sega is ditching the hardcore Wii audience.

Think you’re interested in MadWorld, but don’t have a Wii or can’t find the game?  Then you may be interested in Bayonetta, Platinum Games’ upcoming (tomorrow!) brawler featuring a sexy librarian!

Review originally posted on The Gamer’s Voice (now defunct) shortly after the title’s release.

Gamers have been salivating over the prospects of Punch-Out!! on the Wii since the control scheme was first announced at E3 so many years ago.  With the ability to throw punches, rather than hitting A or B, the franchise received a new lease on life with the latest title from Nintendo’s go to third-party developer for sports games, Next Level Games.  The Canadian company grabbed their dusty copy of the NES classic and began its “research” with reckless abandon.

Being a pseudo-remake of the NES classic, players know what to expect from the title, humor, stereotyping, bad one-liners, ridiculous opponent abilities, and an often useless coach.  In all those respects, Next Level Games hits the nail on the head.  In addition to the spot on remake with updated graphics and sound, the Canadian team’s handful of new pugilists fit right in to the line-up, especially the cocky, head bopping Disco Kid.  The cel-shaded art style really makes his self-loving wink and dance moves sparkle.

Punch-Out!! is not a game that will keep you busy for long, but there is stuff to do beyond the basic, short for those who excelled at gaming in the 80s, Career Mode.  NLG packed in alternative challenges such as extensions to your career by the unlockable Title Defense and Last Stand challenges, an Exhibition Mode, that acts as a proving grounds for tough-to-beat boxers, or a challenging area where each fighter holds three special goals.  Paired up with those is the series’ first Head-to-Head Mode.  Head-to-Head allows gamers to duke it out Wii Boxing style with a Punch-Out!! twist.  Land enough punches and go all Hulk on your opponent via the Giga Mac buff.  Like the rest of the game, the versus gameplay isn’t very deep, but it’s fun nonetheless.

I’d be remiss if I did not mention that gamers can control Little Mac via the Wiimote and Nunchuck, the Wiimote, Nunchuck and Balance Board, or the Wiimote on its side (classic control scheme).  In an age when customizable controls are going the way of adventure games, it is nice to see Next Level Games offer so many distinct flavors.

The current price is still steep for the content, but any gamer looking to take a trip down memory lane would be insane to pass up a discounted Punch-Out!!.  It isn’t as deep of a hardcore experience as Super Smash Bros. Brawl or Mario Kart Wii, but the title delivers an excellent boxing experience with charm and humor.

Let me stress that a bit more, Punch-Out!!, even though it is ridiculous, offers the best boxing experience on the Wii. And if you don’t fake the motions, it can be quite a workout!

Review originally posted on The Gamer’s Voice (now defunct) shortly after the title’s release.