Archive for the “video games” Category

For your enjoyment.

With the release of Blizzard’s long-awaited StarCraft II just a few days away, they’ve released a jaw-dropping new trailer. Saying this game is going to be incredibly awesome would be the understatement of the year. Well, why are you still reading this? Push “Play!” now!

I’m still not sure what to think about the upcoming Star Wars game, The Old Republic, but the following trailer at least gives me the hope that it’s going to be a good thing.

You know what, LucasArts? Forget this game, ditch The Clone Wars show and The Force Unleashed… and make a movie like this trailer. I’d watch it.

I’m sorry. I really am. But holycrapthislooksawesomeandI’msoexcitedtofinallyhaveaTransformersgameworthplaying AND YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN TRANSFORMER!!!!!

The Call of Duty franchise of games has been around for quite some time.  While the buzz around Modern Warfare 2 might seem like it’s the first some people have heard of the game, it’s actually the sixth game in the series!  If we’re lucky, it might also be the last.

In case you haven’t been reading the gaming section of the news (OK, it doesn’t exist, but it totally should), Infinity Ward has just lost two of their head execs; Vince Zampella and Jason West.  Activision supposedly originally let them go for “HR Violations and insubordination”, however when it finally made a statement regarding the firings, the company made no mention of it.

Modern Warfare 2 was the biggest launch of any form a media EVER.  It’s one of the top FPS shooters of all time, and is critically lauded for (of all things in a shooter) its incredible writing.  So why should I feel that it should be allowed to die?  The answer is very simple: “Let’s end on a good note.”

What’s bad about a new Civilization game?  The answer is nothing.  I started playing Civ III a few years back and quickly became addicted which is odd since I’m usually not too big of an RTS fan.  I just learned that this fall, Sid Meier will grace us with Civilization V.  This news may not be welcome by some, but if you’re a fan of the series, I’m guessing that it’s the best news you’ve heard yet today.  (Since it’s still early, this is a fairly safe bet.)  Behold the trailer in all its glory!

I keep hoping to see Ronald Reagan, Hitler, and Mussolini make their way into the Civ universe.  Hopefully this is the time.

Furthering my belief that tomorrow’s Mass Effect 2 is actually an interactive movie . . . here’s an interview with the stars.  And there are a lot of them!

Mass Effect 2 launches tomorrow.  I’m excited in ways you can’t even understand.  The first Mass Effect was one of those games that came onto the scene and really changed the way you played the RPG genre.  BioWare took what work they had done on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and just blew everything out of the water with it.

Ideally, I’d show you the launch video for the original game, but since the only one I can find has it disabled, I’ll just link it instead.

Of course, the game also had it’s share of controversy; some whacko at Fox News made claims in the media that the game was actually “An Alien Rape Simulator”.  Despite the fact that every person who ever played the game could attest that it was not and numerous experts in the field all tried to correct Fox, they have yet to retract their statements.  It didn’t keep the game from being awesome, though.

A while back I wrote a review for Ghostbusters, the video game.  I was playing a PC copy on my system and was really disappointed by how badly coded everything was.  If you don’t remember my review of it, I invite you to read it again before moving on with this entry.

All done?  OK.

Since writing that entry, I’ve had the chance to play the game again, only this time on an Xbox 360.  I’m very impressed with the game overall now, and would like to revisit some of the points I made earlier.

When it comes to strategy games, the Total War series has never ceased to innovate and impress. Developed by the Creative Assembly, Total War is a franchise rife with great games: Shogun, Medieval, Rome, Medieval II, Empire. Each installment in the series has pushed the limits of the genre. Now the Creative Assembly has announced their latest project: Napoleon.

Watch the trailer below, and you’ll understand just exactly why all of Europe was terrified of a diminutive upstart Frenchman.

Napoleon: Total War is apparently being created in lieu of an expansion for its predecessor, Empire: Total War, and will be using a souped-up version of the latter’s engine. Empire was known for its awesome visual effects, stunning naval battles and the unheard of use of motion capture animation for every single soldier on the battlefield.