It’s been a while, but the recent A:CM traffic from E3 has got my Alien saliva flowing.
First thing’s first – check out the new trailer:
Just a little tease, but so sexy!!
Archive for the ‘Xbox360’ Category
Aliens: Colonial Marines – new teaser trailer!
Posted by Lance on June 15, 2011
Posted in Aliens, ColonialMarines, FPS, GearboxSoftware, JamesCameron, movies, PC, Playstation3, scifi, videogames, Xbox360 | Leave a Comment »
First Glance: Rock Band 3 Wireless Fender Mustang Pro Guitar Controller
Posted by Lance on December 1, 2010
I finally got to spend some time with my new Rock Band 3 Pro Guitar controller last night. While it is certainly not a real guitar, it translates surprisingly well – even for someone who actually plays guitar.
There are a few little niggling differences. The strings are all the same width, which sometimes makes it hard to find the correct string with one’s strumming hand. The fret buttons are also all identically-shaped (the string-shaped buttons don’t get narrower as they decend), which causes similar left-hand confusion. Lastly, unlike a real guitar, your fret hand can’t feel which strings are vibrating, which also removes a point of orientation.
One other difference from for-reals guitar slinging is that the game uses its own unique notation to display your finger and chord position. For those more familiar with tablature though, this isn’t such a stretch. The notation is relatively clear, and admittedly easier to sight-read during a play session.
Still, most of my fumbling is likely due to the fact that I haven’t played much at all for, say, 1.5 decades. Regardless, I quickly plowed through many sets of lessons, and was already able to learn two songs on Pro Hard difficulty in one evening. (One step up – Pro Expert difficulty – would be playing the song note-for-note, and I think I could probably have managed Expert on the two tunes I learned as well.)
Pretend-guitar confusion aside, Mad Catz has done a fine job constructing this controller. Previous to slapping down my plastic, I had been worried about the build quality, but this is actually a fairly sturdy contraption. For those of you on the fence, I think the unit will be sufficiently durable if treated well.
It’s pretty obvious that there aren’t many folks using the Pro Guitar feature yet, as I’m already in the top 25% of the global leaderboard. Trust me – I’m not a top-25-percentile kinda guitar player.
In all, this is a very, very damn fun way to learn some new songs, and a way more fulfilling way to play Rock Band for my dollar. I’m extremely excited to get my hands on the real RB3 Fender Squier Strat, which ships in early March.
Note that Rock Band 3 also features similar trainers for bass guitar, keyboard, and drums. There are extensive how-to-play lesson sets for each instrument, plus three coaching sessions for every Pro-enabled song (a list which includes all 83 songs on the RB3 disc and most DLC going forward). Harmonix actually worked with the Berklee College of Music to develop all the teaching and training scenarios, and the quality shows.
While it may sound like there’s not much tutorial content per my earlier comments, keep in mind that I played guitar for 15 years (before taking a hiatus when Zack was born), and was able to breeze through a lot of it. You literally could learn to play an instrument using this game. I keep finding myself saying this, but we really do live in the future, kids!
Posted in guitar, hardware, Harmonix, music, reviews, RockBand, RockBand3, videogames, Xbox360 | 1 Comment »
Aliens vs. Predator: the Marine Campaign Review
Posted by Lance on March 2, 2010
A stand-up fight, or just another bug hunt?
After finishing Aliens vs. Predator’s Marine story last night, I wanted to post some thoughts. In a nutshell, die-hard fans of the franchise need not despair at the game’s mediocre critical reception – AvP is solid, playable, and fun.
Rebellion has done a fantastic job with pacing and tension-building, both feigned and (especially just as you finally let your guard down) mortally deserved. Sound design is the true star of this game, and sets the stage in every way – whether via the faithfully-delivered touchstone AvP sound effects, or through the fantastic usage of surround sound and contextual soundtrack. My heart literally kept pace with the pulse of my motion tracker, revving up predictably as the rising pitch of the gadget indicated an impending xenomorph rush.
That said, just as I won’t make excuses for the lukewarm A&P franchise sequels, likewise for this new AvP game. In many ways, the game is a throwback – a reincarnation of Rebellion’s original 1999 shooter, dressed up with (relatively) modern textures and high fidelity sound. Certainly, the game’s visuals have been the subject of some criticism, but I did not find them terribly lacking. In the end, the locales that the subject matter demands – cramped industrial compexes, pre-fab colonial structures, sterile research facilities, steaming jungles, and ancient temples – are all here and rendered sufficiently well. Sure, AvP is no Mass Effect 2, but a strong effort nonetheless and good enough for suspension of disbelief, and that’s what it’s all about, yes?
More pointedly, the game’s control offerings are a bit below the curve as well. Don’t misunderstand – I had no problems navigating, aiming, selecting weapons, etc. However, I did find myself groping for many of the conventions we’ve come to take for granted in modern shooters. Sure, a cover mechanic is not yet ubiquitous, and the lack of said option could certainly be forgiven – if not for my character’s inability to even crouch down behind a crate while taking fire. Perhaps his knees were damaged in the rough dropship landing during the opening sequence? I also found myself missing an “iron sights” ability to focus my aim down the length of my weapon, but the zoom function on the scoped rifle did serve as a partial replacement.
Lastly, the difficulty of the game was of a varying consistency. In places, I found myself almost stymied by a sudden, frenetic rush of xenomorphs in an otherwise nondescript map section, while several of the major setpiece chellenges were easily defeated and almost anticlimactic. One warning here regarding the game difficulty – Rebellion has not provided us with the option to adjust the game difficulty on the fly. If you find yourself overwhelmed, you’ll need to restart the entire campaign to bump the difficulty down a notch.
But let’s not point fingers at muddy textures and slightly-clunky game play per se – Dragon Age: Origins was no glamorous looker either, and its queued-up-action gameplay was positively frustrating at times. Still, DA:O received its laurels largely due to fantastic writing and an engrossing setting. In the same way, Rebellion’s fierce dedication to evoking the AvP franchise’s distilled essences has left me satisfied and temporarily sated. More soon as I progress in the Predator and Alien story modes…
Wait, Lance – what do you mean, temporarily sated? Why, faithful reader, I allude to nothing other than the forthcoming release of Aliens: Colonial Marines, currently in development by Gearbox Software. Yes, that Gearbox – the talented cats who developed a little shooter-looter called Borderlands. A:CM is a squad-based shooter with full 4-player story co-op, basted liberally in the juices of James Cameron’s classic film Aliens. Randy Pitchford and crew, I am drinking the Kool-Aid you’re brewing up!
Posted in Aliens, AvP, ColonialMarines, DragonAge, FPS, gaming, GearboxSoftware, JamesCameron, MassEffect2, PC, Playstation3, Predator, RebellionDevelopments, reviews, scifi, videogames, Xbox360 | 2 Comments »
Aliens vs Predator: Resist the Lure of the Hive Mind!
Posted by Lance on February 23, 2010
I came to an epiphany this morning. (Sure, it was a trivial and geeky epiphany, but don’t be judging on my epiphanies, man!) After reading the mixed critical reviews of Aliens vs Predator last week, I had decided not to purchase the game, or to at least hold off until the price dropped.
I realized that I was getting sucked in by the industry group think. Sure, an average/mixed review consensus of the typical title might prompt me to hold off, but this is the freaking Alien(s) and Predator franchises, for cripe’s sake! If there’s a bigger fan of those properties in the Lehigh Valley, I’d be highly surprised.
I had previously played Rebellion’s original 1999 AvP game on PC, as well as the 2001 follow-up by Monolith. A quick check of Wikipedia shows that the original AvP received 80% scores from the major houses, and AvP2 roughly 60%, and I had a complete blast with both games!
So what the hell was I thinking? This is a major release involving my favorite movie ever (James Cameron’s Aliens – duh!), and I was going to give it a pass?? I suppose this example serves to illustrate the prodigious mojo that game reviews (let alone the mighty and impersonal Metacritic score) exert over the modern, highly-wired fanbase.
Having recognized that chilling fact, tonight I throw off the chains of the IGN/Gamespot hive mind. I can already vividly hear the increasingly frenetic ping of the motion tracker, the chatter of my M41A pulse rifle, and the elephantine screams of my inhuman, horrific foe. So beware, xenomorph queen, and cower in your steamy, dark lair – I come for you tonight!
Posted in Aliens, AvP, FPS, GameSpot, gaming, IGN, JamesCameron, Metacritic, movies, PC, Predator, RebellionDevelopments, reviews, scifi, videogames, Xbox360 | 5 Comments »
Mass Effect 2: Class Consciousness
Posted by Lance on January 26, 2010
So, here I am, hot new copy of Mass Effect 2 in hand, work day complete, free time carved out, and ready to head home for some sweet, sweet sci fi gaming. Everything should be awesomesauce for Lance. Except one little thing – for the life of me, I can’t decide which class I want to play!
I played a Soldier the first time out, and I am leaning that direction again for several reasons. First, the gun nut and paintballer in me likes the idea of access to assault rifles and heavy weapons. Second, I’m thinking it would be cool to perpetuate the most “human” experience. In other words, playing a “normal” Soldier who’s been thrown into this crazy new world of biotic muties, aliens, and other post-contact nuttiness.
Still, playing a Soldier was an easier choice in the last game, since the ME1 biotic powers pretty ho-hum. Now that they’re super-cool, I’m all bi-(otic)-curious. I’m just trying to reconcile losing the coolest weapons vs. gaining a few neat space-psychic powers.
If I do take the biotic route, I’ll probably choose Sentinel for the best of all worlds. Although the Vanguard powers are very, very cool too, and offer access to shotguns. Ugh, indecision!
I have been able to narrow my choices slightly. I think the Adept class would be a bit much, and would almost feel like playing a “wizard”, making the game feel less purely sci fi. Conversely, the Engineer seems a bit too underwhelming, so there’s another elimination. The ME2 Infiltrator looks supremely cool, but I don’t think I want to go the stealth route. Perhaps Infiltrator would make cool second playthrough?
Back to the front (as it were), I usually prefer more realistic shooters where the action takes place at fairly long ranges, hence my Soldier leanings. That said, playing a hunter in WoW has taught me that long range classes sometimes miss out on close-ups of all the cool enemy eye candy. So, maybe being restricted to submachineguns and shotguns would actually be a boon in such a visually stunning game? So that leaves Sentinel. And Vanguard.
But, assault rifles and the bullet-time Adrenaline power are so cool! Someone help me decide!! I guess too many options is a good kind of problem to have…
Posted in Bioware, gaming, MassEffect, MassEffect2, RPG, videogames, Xbox360 | 5 Comments »
Sonic Breadcrumbs
Posted by Lance on October 28, 2009
I’ve become quite a soundtrack fanboy over the past year or so. My responsibilities at work have shifted such that I’m spending much more time in my office and less in the lab. That said, my brain is wired in a fashion where music with lyrics is very distracting when I’m writing or reading.
To me, lyrics are as integral to the experience as the music itself, so I’ve never been much of an instrumental music fan. As such, I’ve had to augment my library to accommodate my new position, as no music at all would probably cause me a similar productivity hit (and/or psychological break).
Enter the video game soundtrack. To some extent, this pursuit started with the excellent computer RPG The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Friends will recall that with the purchase of this title, I practically dropped out of society during my off hours in feverish and sleep-deprived exploration of this ashen and wind-blown virtual island.
Part and parcel to the consentual Morrowind hallucination, however, was composer Jeremy Soule’s incredible, atmospheric soundtrack, which happened to be included on audio CD with my collector’s edition box. I found myself listening to that disk frequently during my commute and off hours, and I found it to be very evocative of the game experience, and always filled me with the serene wonder I’d felt wandering the isle of Vvardenfell. This album still remains my go-to piece when I’ve had a stressful day at work and need to wind myself down.
Flashing forward to recent months, game soundtracks constitute a large slice of my on-the-clock music consumption. Much of the work is really quite amazing. Granted, as the gaming industry continues to grow, projects become more monumental, and production budgets inflate by orders of magnitude, it is no surprise that the quality of soundtrack composition has evolved as well.
The Halo series is a perfect example. Marty O’Donnell’s work on Halo 2, Halo 3, and now ODST is really some great music for the workplace. Both energetic and evocative, and the perfect compliment to spreadsheet slaying and inbox immolation.
Another fantastic album is the Mass Effect soundtrack. Jack Wall and Sam Hulick’s compositions are an amazing atmospheric tableau, and so reminiscent of 80’s sci fi movie soundtracks, including some crazy, frenetic John Carpenter-esque keyboard work.
Of course, I can’t discuss video game soundtracks without mentioning Blizzard Entertainment. These folks’ quest for quality is understood among game geeks, and their audio has always been a step ahead of the industry at large. The Burning Crusade and Lich King soundtracks were fantastic, as well as the Echoes of War compilation courtesy of Australia’s Eminence Symphony Orchestra.
Here’s to hoping that Gearbox deigns to release the OST for their recent bazillion-gun-laden title Borderlands – some of the driving tracks that cue during big combats are quite catchy. The title track in particular caught my – well, ear – and after a quick Google, I immediately snagged the Cage the Elephant album from Amazon’s MP3 store. Happily, these guys have become my favorite new rock act for the year.
I’ll leave you with an obscure one. The Frenchman Cristophe Heral’s soundtrack for the original Xbox sleeper Beyond Good & Evil is some amazing stuff. Quirky, whimsical, upbeat, and featuring some truly interesting vocal work, this one is worth the efforts you may have to expend to obtain a copy. I’ve been enjoying this album for some time, and to be honest have only finished the first couple chapters of the game itself.
If you find yourself enjoying the soundtrack for the latest A-list Xbox release, or your favorite sci fi TV show, get out there and look for the soundtrack. I’m certain you’ll find them a great addition to your commute or workday audio. The Jason Hayes’, Derek Dukes, and Bear McCreary’s of the world are out there working their tails off to spice up our games and shows – buy a few CDs and support their exemplary efforts!
Posted in Blizzard, Borderlands, geeklife, Halo3, MassEffect, music, ODST, Soundtracks, videogames, WorldofWarcraft, WoW, Xbox360 | Leave a Comment »
Borderlands: Early Impressions
Posted by Lance on October 22, 2009
I finally got to play a little Borderlands last night. I’m very pleased with the game, and Gearbox has delivered on the hype. The game is not perfect, but has attained that nebulous plateau of polish, charm, and great gameplay that earns it the title of Good Game (TM).
Gameplay-wise, Borderlands is a fairly straightforward shooter – even a little retro, a la Quake and its ilk. However, the engaging setting and art design, coupled with copious gun porn and fantastic co-op play, seal the deal.
Visually, the oft-mentioned “concept art” presentation absolutely must be seen in person. Screenshots and preview videos simply don’t do it justice. Gearbox has crafted a living, breathing, interactive comic book – and my Samsung big screen is all the happier for it.
I’m only 10 levels in (currently playing the Soldier class, although I’m Siren-curious), so I’m not yet going to expound and rate. Suffice it to say the game is as fun as promised.
However, I can’t sign off without mentioning the one factor that is getting under my skin. Out of context, there is some really goofy, illogical stuff going on regarding the class powers:
- Soldiers can heal teammates by shooting them. With bullets. Wait, what??
- The Siren can do corrosive damage with her melee attacks. Well, um, how? Is there acid continuously dripping from her palms, or what? Wouldn’t that rust her guns? Not to mention put a damper on dating…
- Soldiers have a power where, after dispatching an enemy, their rate of fire increases for a period of time. Sooo, their guns get all cheered up and enthusiastic for a while? I don’t get it.
Yes, yes, I know. Just shut up and enjoy the game, Lance. Of course, you’re right – it’s all in fun, and lots of it. It’s still friggin’ goofy though…
Posted in gaming, GearboxSoftware, reviews, videogames, Xbox360 | 3 Comments »
Mirror's Edge Demo: My Brain is Officially Blown
Posted by Lance on November 1, 2008
Oh. My God. I just finished playing through the Mirror’s Edge demo (released today on both XBL and the Playstation Store). Wow.
You’ve never played anything like this before – trust me – and that’s perhaps what excites me the most about this game. We’re not just talking new IP – this is an entirely new genre. Maybe one could argue that ME is simply a first person implementation of the original Prince of Persia, but even at this early stage I’d have to argue that it’s something more.
Now, I’ve been playing first person games for what – let’s say 15 years now? I’m confident though, that I have never experienced this level of perspective and immersion. Dice has absolutely nailed their design concept.
I can only assume that the camera position and field of view were tuned, tweaked, and tortuously tested. The player is provided with a sense of position, motion, and inertia that, properly blended with an intuitive control set, make precarious, vertigo-inducing rooftop free running feel somehow natural and fluid. As you flow across the rooftops, you are in a body – not just floating along in a disembodied camera, all FPS-style.
Then there’s the art design, and its implementation via the in-game engine. The city is beautiful, crisp and bright, yet stark, and the framerate blazes along smoothly. Your Kung Fu is indeed impressive, Dice.
Play this demo.
Posted in Dice, FPS, GameDemos, MirrorsEdge, Playstation3, PrinceofPersia, videogames, Xbox360, XboxLive | Leave a Comment »
Fallout 3's "Blood Ties" Quest – 'Tis the Season! (spoiler free)
Posted by Lance on October 31, 2008
So it turns out that all my fumbling and bumbling to find The Family was rewarded in the end with a pretty cool quest. Those that know my taste in monsters will realize that this one was right up my alley (and seasonally appropriate as well).
When you finish the quest, be sure to talk to Vance if possible and ask him about, erm, joining the gang – if you dare. You’ll be rewarded with a cool bonus Perk.
Posted in Fallout3, Halloween, videogames, Xbox360 | Leave a Comment »
Fallout 3: Stuck on the Blood Ties quest? Here's a solution.
Posted by Lance on October 30, 2008
If, like me, you are working on the Fallout 3 quest Blood Ties and have spend hours searching for The Family without success, check out this blog post from Kelly at Outer Heaven.
Posted in gaming, Xbox360 | Leave a Comment »
