Splinter Cell: Conviction Co-Op InterviewPosted by Eddy on March 11th, 2010

Man, the more I see for Splinter Cell: Conviction, the more pumped I get about it. I’ve been trying to avoid getting media overload from the whole thing, but it’s hard to stay away from great new videos that tease me with what I’ve been wanting since the co-op mode of Chaos Theory.

Ubisoft isn’t letting up apparently, and have given us a brand new video featuring a co-op mode interview. It sheds some new light on the mode, and gives tons of glimpses into the gameplay and the strategy that’s going to have to go into it from two players. I seriously can’t wait to play this, and it’s hard to believe it comes out next month.

Anybody else pumped?

What Were the Top 20 Most Played 360 Games of ‘09?Posted by Mitch on January 12th, 2010

We’ve got one more top something of 2009 list for you, but this time it’s a little different as it’s not some publication doling out their “best-of” awards, but rather a unique compilation decided entirely by you the player. Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb recently posted the chart-topping games of 2009 as tracked by X-Box LIVE, and it may surprise you to learn that Halo 3 has once again taken the top spot three years running with Call of Duty 4 riding its coat-tails and Modern Warfare 2 in third.

I know you’re going to say that MW2 was only released on November 11 of this year, and I’m sure that future metrics will show the widely acclaimed First-Person-Shooter rocketing into the lead and leaving Bungie’s mean green machine in its dust. I just think it’s amazing that Halo 3 continues to lead the charts even though it’s beginning to get a bit long in the tooth. If it’s any consolation, Call of Duty titles fill out the remainder of the top four.

The charts also list the most popular Arcade titles (Battlefield 1943) and the most-played original X-Box titles (Halo 2). How do you think 2010 is going to break down? My bet is MW2 will clinch the top spot then fight with Bad Company 2 until Reach comes out.

Source: Major Nelson

Splinter Cell Conviction Co-Op and Deniable Ops GameplayPosted by Eddy on January 10th, 2010

Wow. You all know of my mega-boners that I get for Splinter Cell. Specifically, co-operative play in the Splinter Cell franchise is something that I will go off on a rant about, because of how much I loved the mode in Chaos Theory. Well, they’re bringing the mode back in Splinter Cell: Conviction, and I couldn’t be happier.

Up until now, all we’d gotten to see was a slick trailer for the mode. Now, though, we’re getting to see honest-to-goodness footage of the co-operative mode, in addition to Deniable Ops, which is more of an adversarial multiplayer in some ways. The coolest mode from Deniable Ops seems to be the “Spy vs Spy” gametype, where two players showdown in the midst of hostile enemy AI guards. The thought of that makes me a tad crazy, in the best way possible. Anyway, check out the new video and leave your thoughts.

Splinter Cell: Conviction is out on February 23rd, 2010. Anybody else jumping on this?

GamerSushi Asks: Best Sequel?Posted by Eddy on January 5th, 2010

Last night, I stayed up ludicrously late to beat Assassin’s Creed 2. It was one of those things where I knew I was closing in on the end of the game, and was willing to do whatever I had to in order to see the end. Fortunately for me, the game is a blast, and has easily become one of my favorites for this past year, if not one of my favorites of the generation.

Part of what is so fascinating about the game is that as a sequel, it is such a ludicrous improvement over the original it’s hard to even compare the two. The gameplay that was only hinted at in the first one seems fully realized here, and the story is way better to boot. I’d even recommend it to people that hated the first one, it’s such a great open world game in comparison.

When I really think about it, next to maybe Metal Gear Solid 3, it’s one of the best video game sequels I’ve ever played. Seriously. Maybe one of the greatest sequels ever made. Lots of games improve with new iterations, but there are some that occasionally take gigantic leaps over the predecessors in a way that’s hard to imagine. Metal Gear Solid 3 was one such game for me, because it blew MGS 2 out of the water completely. Uncharted 2 is a great sequel and game, but the first game was already good, where as the original Assassin’s Creed was just mediocre.

Anywho, all of that to ask you guys- what’s the best sequel to a game you’ve ever played? As good as AC2 is, I think MGS3 is still the king of all sequels. One of the greatest games of all time, hands down. What about you? Go!

Assassin’s Creed: InitiationPosted by Eddy on December 28th, 2009

TheDuoGroup makes really sweet videos. In fact, they make some of my favorite video game videos that I can remember. Just recently, they posted this awesome Assassin’s Creed video with all original art work and motion graphics, telling the story of Altair losing his ring finger and getting his assassin’s blade before the events of the first game. They do a remarkable job with it, and once again I am impressed with their work.

Right now, I’m loving Assassin’s Creed 2 so this is pretty cool to see. What do you guys think?

Splinter Cell: Conviction’s Co-Op Trailer is SneakyPosted by Mitch on December 18th, 2009

The way I see it, one of the finest co-op campaigns in gaming is the one from Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory where you play as two Third Echelon ninjas assisting franchise protagonist Sam Fisher in an alternate look at the story line. Conviction, the newest game in Ubisoft’s stealth action series, is going to feature a different take on the co-op mode that was presented in Chaos Theory. Whereas the campaign in CT ran parallel to the main story, this time around it serves as a prequel to the plot, probably giving us an explanation as to what has been going on in the Splinter Cell universe before the beginning of Conviction. Take a look:

How do you guys feel about it? Are you down for some co-op stealth shenanigans when the game drops in February?

The Writing’s on the Wall: Splinter Cell in ActionPosted by Mitch on October 15th, 2009

Looks like Sam Fisher’s been taking a few lessons at the Batman School of Stealth, if this new video show-casing the upcoming Splinter Cell: Conviction is any indication. This new Splinter Cell seems a lot more focused on “blitzkrieg” style attacks, relying on brute force exercised with precision and speed rather than a considered approach.

It’s different from the Splinter Cell we know and love, certainly, but that’s not always a bad thing. I’m still looking forward to executing some punks Punisher-style when the game drops in February of next year, but I’m concerned that games like this may be sliding more towards an extended Quick Time Event than any semblance of actual freedom. Maybe I’m just paranoid.

But, as always, we want to know what you think! Does this new Splinter Cell seem like something that you’d want to pick up, or do the differences from past versions make you turn up your nose?

Today’s WTF: Splinter Cell Conviction Has No Night VisionPosted by Eddy on September 29th, 2009

Ok, I hate to sound the “WTF” alarm for just anything these days, given the rather easy-to-upset gaming community at large, but this article I read today kind of jumped out at me. As some of you know, one of my most anticipated games for next year is Splinter Cell: Conviction. Chaos Theory still ranks among my favorite games of all time, and I’ve been waiting for a true sequel since then.

Well I might have to wait a little longer. While I’m largely OK with some of the additional gameplay mechanics that Ubisoft has added (the one-button executions, etc), something I read in an interview with the game’s creative director Max Beland disturbed me…

I crept through some dark areas as I worked my way into the building. Even in darkness, I did not need night vision to see, notably. In dark areas the game’s graphics become grainy, but the expected night-vision overlay doesn’t come into play. Beland doesn’t like green night-vision sequences in games and told me that Fisher’s goggles aren’t used for anything like that; just for sonar scans, which show enemy positions through walls.

Seriously? No night vision in a Splinter Cell game? I mean, call me crazy, but that just about throws the game off my radar. Looks like I might not get the proper return of the franchise that I wanted.

So what do you guys think? Am I overreacting to this? How would some of you guys feel if your favorite franchise was stripped of a staple of its gameplay?

Source- Kotaku

Oops: Your Pixels are ShowingPosted by Eddy on September 11th, 2009

As nostalgic as it is to pick up an old game and go retro for a bit, often times it’s a bit risky. While we do love those old games and the kinds of flavors they bring to us, games have progressed so much in terms of gameplay, design and more obviously, graphics. That’s why you never know what you’re going to get when you pick up an old game. Will you find a title that has gotten better with age like a fine wine, or pick up a clunky mess that was only good because it was the first of its kind, and has since been passed by much better endeavors?

Just the other night I finally caved in and re-downloaded one of my favorite titles from last generation – Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. I’m not sure what made me do it, but it was probably the combo of playing a new sneaking game such as Batman: Arkham Asylum, as well as JJ buying it, so I knew I’d have a buddy to do some co-op with. Speaking of co-op, the two player missions in that game were mind-numbingly good for their time.

So how did they (and the rest of the game) stack up?
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PAX 2009 ReportPosted by JJ on September 10th, 2009

My brother, Evan, lives in the Seattle area, so of course he attended PAX. Nick, Eddy and I might have gone, except we were busily working on a Smooth Few Films mystery project. Maybe next year? Anyways, enjoy his extremely detailed report on the con! He only had to fight off a bit of the flu to bring it our way.

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I think I understand what a journalist must feel like at times: There was so much going on that I just want the chance to tell people about it all, because you could go through the entire show for all three days and still not run out of things to see.
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