Assassin’s Creed:Brotherhood Walkthrough Confirms Flag CollectionPosted by Mitch on August 27th, 2010

The closer we get to November, the more I know in my heart that I will not be able to refuse the siren’s call of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. While I do have my doubts about the quick turn around time, everything I’ve read about the game, from the single-player to the multiplayer, seems to paint it in a good light. I’m especially willing to give it a go after I watched this video, which details some of the single-player mechanics along with how you will be managing your Assassin’s Guild.

Pretty neat, no? Originally, I thought that confining the game to just Rome would severely limit the scale, but it turns out that I might be wrong. Sending my Assassins all over Europe to start riots and kill targets sounds like a lot of fun, and bossing people around is always a good time. What do you guys think of the video? Are you anticipating Brotherhood? Also, as you may notice by the title of the article and the little snippet in the video, the much maligned flag collecting is back. You may commence your complaining (or celebrating, if that’s more your thing.)

Halo: Reach Live Action Trailer is a BlastPosted by Mitch on August 26th, 2010

Halo 3 set a precedent for using live footage to pimp a game, and now it seems like every new title has a live-action commercial to go with it. Halo is still the king with the excellent short called “Landfall” by Neill Blomkamp for Halo 3 and the “We Are ODST” video for the half-expansion cum sequel Halo 3: ODST. By rights, Reach should have an awesome trailer depicting Spartans kicking ass and taking names. However, all we’ve had are people on the planet Reach standing around talking, but that changes right now. Take a look at Halo: Reach’s live action trailer:

While I did enjoy the video of civilians before the fall of Reach, something about Spartans in combat just gets me even more excited for the game (if that was possible). It also helped that the video reminded me a little of District 9, which might have been intentionally done to link it back in with the Blomkamp shorts. What did you guys think of the trailer? Actually, what do you think of the current trend of using live-action commercials for games?

Why Can’t This Sonic and Knuckles 3D Level Be Real?Posted by Eddy on August 25th, 2010

Oh Sonic. Your franchise, along with Sega, have become quite the punching bags in the gaming industry of late. You used to be so spinny, so fast, so fresh (and bright + vivid), but now you’re just a retro-gen has been. As much as it pains me to say it, it’s true. It’s so true in fact, that every time we get a glimpse of how good you could be, we get a little weepy, and mourn for the Sonic that we knew and loved.

Take this video mock-up of Sonic and Knuckles 3D. It’s a re-creation of the Mushroom Hill Zone level from that game, done in widescreen and updated graphics. Sadly, it’s not playable, but gives a great sense of that old school Sonic flavor. Sega, I have to ask you an honest question: why have you been unable to pull this off? This game should have come out years ago.

Who else wishes they could play this?

Portal 2 Co-Op Trailer Shows Robot BuddiesPosted by Eddy on August 21st, 2010

Well, I hate to bombard everyone with so much Portal 2 news, but I doubt anyone really minds. The follow-up to Valve’s critically acclaimed title hits in February 2011, and in addition to having a more robust and lengthy campaign, it’s also going to add a new layer of replay value with co-op missions.

Honestly, I’ve been wondering how a co-op Portal game would work for several months now, as I’m sure many of you have. Well, wonder no longer, because Valve has provided a (very) brief trailer for Portal 2 co-op to give a glimpse of how it’s all going to work.

Also, I call the short fat robot buddy. I’ll fight you for him.

The Rock Band 3 Team Reveals the Set ListPosted by Mitch on August 20th, 2010

While we’re on the topic of leaks, it seems that a couple of days ago some unscrupulous visitor to GameCom 2010 decided to grab a cell phone video of Rock Band 3′s set list and share it with the world. Well, Harmonix has decided to strike back with a rebuttal video, and…wait, in the background, is that what I think it is?

Rock Band 3 Setlist OFFICIAL Comment from Harmonix on Vimeo.

Well played, Harmonix, well played. Full set list is after the jump: More »

Mitch’s Mods: Star Wars For Sins of a Solar EmpirePosted by Mitch on August 20th, 2010

I don’t know how many of you played Empire at War, the most recent of the Star Wars brands’ long line of mediocre Real Time Strategy titles, but I sank a fair few hours into that game. It wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it was nothing worth writing home about, either. While the ground combat was severely lacking (you couldn’t build base structures where you wanted them), the space battles were great fun. Taking control of either the Rebellion, the Empire or Tyber Zann’s Consortium, you could duke it out with anything from X-Wings to Super Star Destroyers. As fun as it was, it was fairly limited in scope, and the Galactic Conquest mode made the space battles more of a stepping stone than a main attraction. I’ve longed for the day that I can control the Empire on a mission to take over the galaxy, and it may have finally arrived with this fan made mod for Sins of a Solar Empire.

Sins is a game that focuses on managing a huge empire, so the large scale of its maps (which can range from one solar system to several) is a perfect fit for the Star Wars aesthetics. The mod is fairly easy to install, too, since all of Gas Powered Games’ titles are DRM free and open to modding. As soon as you boot the program up, you’re instantly treated to Duel of the Fates, the song that plays when Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Gin are dueling Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. The whole mod is fantastic, and all of the Star Wars ships look exactly like you would imagine them to. Even ships that are only present in the expanded universe, such as Lancer assault frigates, are represented in game. The models for the ships are really well detailed, and the sound effects are very true to the movies; they even replaced the phase jump sound effect with the noise of a ship jumping to hyperspace. The mod does rip quite a few sound files from Empire at War, so they loose a few points for that. Over all, this is a really high quality mod, and it got me excited enough to install Sins on my machine again. If you’ve got the game and are inclined towards Star Wars, pick up this mod. Heck, even if you’re just interested in high quality homebrew expansions, grab it as well. Hit the jump for a video of a space battle in progress: More »

Does this Harry Potter Demo Show the Perils of Kinect?Posted by Eddy on August 20th, 2010

Motion control. I know, we’re all tired of debating the subject to death, but it’s here to stay and we’ll just have to live with the bonuses and negatives it brings. This will be especially true when both Move and Kinect launch this Fall, bringing a whole slew of new talking points to the conversation.

And while I hate to sound like a broken record here: the motion control trend concerns me, but most notably with Kinect. I think the technology that they’ve put together is fantastic and innovative, but the software we’ve seen so far, not so much. Take for example the new Kinect Harry Potter demo shown off this week at Gamescom. What might seem like a perfect fit for motion controls (who wouldn’t want to blast Death Eaters with wands), looks to be a downright mess. I’ll let you check it out.

I think the easiest thing to take note of is something I’ve wondered about Kinect for awhile now. With no buttons or controller at all (like Move or the Wii), how does one, you know… move through a game environment? The Forza demo shown at E3 had no way of accelerating or braking. Likewise, the Harry Potter demo displays no discernible way of moving the wizards through the, erm, wizarding world. Watch as the Weasley twins stop moving—that’s when the characters on screen run.

Basically, when you want to progress—stop moving. The gameplay then stops, Death Eaters appear, and then you engage in completely imprecise looking attacks. The Move equivalent of this game is Sorcery, and it seems to be light years ahead in comparison.

Honestly, I’m shocked at the way all of this is unfolding. Every new demonstration I’ve seen of Kinect leaves me more and more underwhelmed. What do you guys think? Too soon to judge, even though this thing debuts in just a few short months?

Costume Quest by Double Fine is Adorable, DownloadablePosted by Mitch on August 19th, 2010

Tim Schafer is one of those certified “video game celebrities” in my mind, so much so that if I walked past him on the street, I’d ask for a picture (I may do this at PAX, should he be there.) Unfortunately, his studio’s last big title, Brutal Legend, didn’t do that well commercially, so Double Fine is having to switch plans somewhat. The first step of their new business model is to release several small downloadable games, the first of which is Costume Quest, a Halloween themed RPG due out on October 31 (clever, huh?). Take a look at the trailer:

Just the sort of thing we wished our costumes could do when we were kids, no? Admittedly, I didn’t play Brutal Legend mostly due to the less-than-overwhelming reception, but Costume Quest looks like it is due to be a hit. What do you guys think? Pumped for the next Tim Schafer game?

Say Hello to Portal 2 GamesCom 2010 FootagePosted by Eddy on August 19th, 2010

For some reason, GamesCom this week seems to be coming out with all kinds of information that E3 2010 didn’t have, like the fact that Portal 2 releases as soon as February 2011 to much joyous applause and excitement. It’s nice that it’ll be arriving early in the year, and I honestly can’t wait to get my hands on it, especially if some of the new stuff I’m seeing is any indication to the game’s quality.

We’ve seen a few pieces of Portal 2 so far through a variety of videos, but a new Portal 2 GamesCom video shows alot of the new elements working together, with a few new bits as well. If I’m being honest, I felt like the addition of things like a propulsion and repulsion gel, along with tractor beams, could potentially over-complicate what I feel to be a near perfect experience. However, seeing them all work in tandem shows off a crazy amount of possibilities for gameplay.

So, give it a watch. Like I said, some old stuff is in this video, but it does showcase a few new things as well. Who else can’t wait for February 2011?

Crysis 2 Multiplayer Up on the RooftopPosted by Mitch on August 17th, 2010

Crysis had a pretty decent multplayer offering in its original inception, the gameplay laying somewhere between the open battlegrounds of the Battlefield series and the weapon purchasing mechanic of Counter-Strike. Add in the game-altering use of the nanosuits and you had an interesting versus mode that was open only to those with a hefty PC gaming rig. Now that Crysis 2 is hitting the X-Box 360 and the PS3 in addition to the PC, the game’s unique style of combat is going to be availible to a lot more people. Take a look at Crysis 2 in action:

The on-stage demo is featuring the 360 version, but I’ll admit that I thought the feed was running on the PC for a few moments. The game looks really good, and I’m excited to check it out when it drops in March 2011. What about you guys? Are you ready for Maximum Gameplay?