The Gaming Zone

Today I saw a post on the gaming site, Kotaku, on how to get decent customer service from Xbox. Essentially it’s a two tiered system and if you work it right you can get someone helpful on the phone in a more timely fashion. You can read the article here. I had the same experience with Xbox customer service when I was having trouble getting my wireless connection to work. The first person I called barely knew what a 360 was and when I tried back with a reference number I talked to another person that told me exactly what to do. I think the first person you talk to reads something from a sheet and that fixes 90 percent of the calls they get but if you have a real problem that person can’t help you so get rid of him as soon as you can, get a reference number and try back on the second number.

I mentioned earlier that I was going to play and review Mass Effect and I just haven’t had the time to do it. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to after my most recent purchase…

GTA IV
Like several million other people I bought Grand Theft Auto IV. I didn’t purchase it the day it came out because I had to buy a lawnmower the weekend before. I had to wait until Friday to get my copy of the game. I’ve had two nice sessions in Liberty City so far and it’s been fun. It may even be possible that the storyline could be as deep as the humor on the radio. To me the radio stations with all the social commentary (sometimes directed at the person holding the controller) trumped the plot of the main storyline. This time, the Russian immigrant Nico, might be a character for which you feel empathy. Take that, Jack Thompson!

It does seem to me that the false hysteria surrounding this franchise has calmed down a lot. This is the fourth version of the game and Western civilization is still going strong so maybe this manufactured concern over Hollywood and video games destroying our youth is starting to receive the attention it deserves: none. I lived through the PMRC and their anti heavy metal crusade and that died out. Then came Marilyn Manson and then adult video games. Before all that it was women wanting to vote and wear pants in public. It all passes and this will also.

As far as children, do you know what I had to do before the casher at Gamestop would sell me the game? I had to show her my identification. If there are kids playing this game they are playing it because their parents are allowing them to play it. If you think this game causes problems in children then maybe you should be addressing their parents and not the makers of the game. Of course, addressing the parents will just make parents mad at you but if you condemn those that make the game then you get all kinds of attention and the gaming industry takes heat from the media. It’s the perfect crime.

Driving Around

You know what was really fun? Driving around after I was tired of main story. I don’t know of any other video game that has offered me so much enjoyment outside of the main story (other than multiplayer, course). Just tooling around town looking for big jumps is fun. Stopping and looking around at the environment is fun. Hitting other cars and hearing the driver curse at you is funny. Finding that big stunt jump and hitting it successfully is satisfying.

Multiplayer

OK, I had to try the multiplayer and it is completely off the hook. I recommend the game called GTA Race. It’s a road race inside a city…with guns a-blazing. It’s ridiculous but with 15 other players it’s the most fun you’ll ever have by yourself. What I found unique about the road races was when you wrecked your car you didn’t respawn in your car like most racing games. here you respawn next to a worthless scooter which you have to drive to a car parked along the road which you climb into and drive off. Of course you have to get to this car without getting run over or shot by one of your opponents. You can also attempt to hijack another player’s car. I don’t know if I have ever laughed that much playing online. Each time I have played this particular online game there has been at least one player that isn’t even trying to win. He just climbs out of his vehicle and stands on the sidewalk shooting at other competitors as they drive by. I hate those guys.

We all know that April 15th is tax day but, thanks to Bungie it’s not going to be a completely sad day at my house. Bungie is releasing 3 new Halo 3 maps on that day. A couple of days ago they released some really nice screen shots. I am especially excited about the map called Blackout. It’s just a revamped version of Halo 2’s map called Lockout. On Halo 2 my favorite map, by far, was Lockout. It was easy to learn and created fast paced games. It also had a nice balance between open areas and tight areas. You can snipe or run around taking dudes out with the sword or your melee attack.

The main reason I created this post was to link to a video on a site called Xbox 360 Fanboy. They were given early access to the new maps and one of the guys from the site created a video walk through. I think they did a pretty good job and you can view the video on their site here. Enjoy.

We had a great turnout for Game Night at Independence. Call of Duty 2 drew the biggest crowd. Our XBox and Wii machines were also getting a workout. Most everyone who came to play also participated in the survey and were eligible for the prize drawings. The next LAN Party will be at Steele Creek Library on Thursday, April 10, 2008, 5:30-8:30 P.M. See you then!

I am really starting to lose interest in multiplayer on Call of Duty 4. I’m frustrated by that fact because the reason I am getting tired of the game has a simple solution. It would be a perfect game if they had a skill based ranking system. I moved over to Halo for a little while this weekend and played in a ranked free for all room and was stunned by the parity of the competition. Playing in a room with 6 players of equal skill level is an experience unrivaled in any other type of online gaming I have experienced. Far too often in Call of Duty 4 you know the real battle in the game is to see which person in the room can get to fifty points before the one ringer gets to 125.

What confuses me is I think I am the only person in the world bothered by this. Perhaps I expect too much? It could be my reliance on the free for all mode for ninety percent of my gaming. I’ve tried to move on to more team based games and I think team hardcore is the closest I’ve come to a really satisfying multiplayer option. It’s less hectic and, at times, I’ve had some nice evenly contested games.

Mass Effect

I just started playing Mass Effect this last weekend. Mass Effect is a role playing game put out by Bioware. Bioware is the company that brought the world Knights of the Old Republic so that should tell you how good Mass Effect is so far.

I haven’t put enough time in to really write a review yet but I have noticed one aspect of the game that I have found unique, the dialog feature. In other role playing games when you choose some dialog what is said to the nonplayer characters is what you see on the screen. If you chose “you’re lying” then that’s what your player said. In this game if you choose “you’re lying” then the character will say something like “Are you sure you are telling the truth.” I love how that imitates how we communicate. If I think you are lying I am not going to say that to your face I am going to be tactful and say something that allows you convince me you are telling the truth. Dare I call it revolutionary?

Location: Independence Regional
Date: Thursday, 3/13/2008, 5:30-8:30 PM
Age Range: Adults

Calling all gamers ages 18 and over! Come join us for a gaming night, featuring Alienware laptops set up for LAN gaming, Xboxes, and the Wii. The event will include the following games for LAN play: Madden 07, Age of Empires III, Call of Duty 2, and Need for Speed: MOST WANTED. There will be a drawing for a gift card to Best Buy and for a Ipod Nano at the event.

About two months ago I made my most recent Xbox 360 purchase, Call of Duty 4. A lot of reviews and comments I have seen claim that this game has the best graphics of any console game out there. Of the games I have seen on my console I have no arguments with that. The environments are crafted so that they have an almost real-world aspect to them.

Game Play
As far as the basic game play in Call of Duty 4, it’s a first person shooter and all FPS’s are essentially the same. The grenade toss or reload buttons may not be the same as Rainbow Six or Halo but if you’ve played any FPS for any period of time you can jump right in to a multiplayer map on COD 4 and have no problem holding your own. The only control problem I have had with COD 4 is where they have located the melee attack. It’s on the right thumbstick, and you have to depress the thumbstick to stick an opponent with your knife. Sometimes I depress it unintentionally while look around or moving. Not a big deal but you can waste a precious second flailing with your knife and seconds count in this game.

The audio on this game is also topnotch. If you have a good sound system and crank it up you are surrounded by sound. There’s the ambient sounds of the map with distant explosions, there’s the sound of rain and thunder on one map, there’s the footsteps of an enemy walking on the floor above you and there are the lifelike gunshots and explosions. Like the graphics, the audio offered by this game may be the best yet for any console game.

Single Player
Supposedly the single player game is relatively short. I can’t say for sure if it is or not since I haven’t finished playing the single player. I’ve put a couple of hours into it and it’s so intense that I can only play it for so long. The combat can be so realistic in its chaos that it can be draining. Expect to die a lot also. At least I did initially. Unlike Halo you just can go running and gunning in this game. You have to use the weapons available to you, utilize your cover and rely on the non-player controlled characters on your side.

One complaint I have read on a message board is that friendly fire is something you have to be aware of and ready for. You can’t just shoot at anything that moves, you have to sure that the target at which you are aiming is not a friendly. If you shoot one of your teammates the game resets back to the last saved point just as if you had died. Since this is supposed to be “modern warfare” you are given some assistance in determining whether or not a soldier is a friendly or a foe. Member of your outfit have their names floating over their heads if nearby and if you aim at a friendly the site on your weapon turns green and if he’s a bad guy it turns red. Even with these assists, when the battle is hot and heavy it can be a challenge to determine who you should shoot at. To me, that is one of the more realistic features of this game. War is chaotic and confusing and this game captures that nicely.

Multiplayer
The online multiplayer to me is the meat of this game. And, good news, I saw on a gaming news site, that new multiplayer maps are in the works. I’m sure they won’t be free but anytime you get new maps for a FPS it’s a good thing.

Negatives
I have only one real complaint about COD 4’s online play. I don’t like the ranking system. The ranking system is solely based on experience points. What that means is you can get in a room with player that is a level 2 and he can run the room, in a free for all match, even when everyone else is a higher rank. Your rank has nothing to do with your skill level. If you play long enough you are going increase your rank. I much prefer how Halo 3 balanced skill level and experience points. There is nothing like being in a room playing a free-for-all deathmatch with a group of equally skilled players. To me that is as exciting as gaming gets. Rarely does that happen on COD 4. There is often too much disparity between the winner and the loser in free-for-all games for my taste. When first and second get 25 and 20 kills respectively and the bottom three, in an eight player room, have between six to ten kills, then you have an unbalanced game and I can guarantee those at the bottom are not having a good time while far superior players run circles around them. I’ve been on both sides of that equation in COD 4 and, sure it’s fun to run a room now and then, but it is very frustrating to be nothing more than a moving target for two or three ringers. There have been times while playing Halo 3 in a ranked free-for-all match where first place finished with 25 kills and there is not a player in the room with less that 15 while second and third have over 20. That is good fun, believe me.

On to the positives, and there are a bunch.

Newbies
First, I really enjoyed how COD 4 eases you into the multiplayer game. You start out playing in a limited number of maps so you don’t have to learn all the maps at once. Also, you are playing with a fair number of inexperienced players because the more experienced are using a larger pool of maps. This works as you move on up in the ranks. Not until a pretty significant number of hours of gameplay do you have all the maps in your rotation. This allows you to learn a set of maps before you are thrown another couple to learn. Very smart.

Stayin’ Alive
I can’t help but to keep comparing this game to Halo since Halo is the FPS I have put the most time into over the last few years. Unlike Halo, COD 4 awards you for staying alive. If you get three kills in a row you get access to the UAV system (essentially a RADAR), after five kills you are allowed to call in an air strike and after 7 kills in a row you can call in a helicopter that will fly around the map and mow down your opponents. This reward system is clever in that it encourages players to move carefully, find cover and not rely on respawning to keep them in the game. Now if the only had a game where you had limited respawns…

Classes
You start off the multiplayer with a set of fixed classes to choose from. Each is assigned a particular set of weapons. Once you reach Lance Corporal you can create your own classes. You can pick your primary weapon, side arm and grenade combination. As you complete challenges you get access to perks which allow you to augment your weaponry and the health and strength of your character. There are limitless combinations to choose from. You are allowed five custom classes and you can set up each class how you want and you will find yourself choosing a different set up for different maps or maybe just on how you feel like playing at that moment.

Ranking and Challenges
When you begin the multiplayer you are a private first class with a basic set of weapons and classes from which to choose. As you move up in rank and meet specific challenges you then earn perks that you can add to classes you are allowed to create. Perks include “deep impact,” which gives your bullets more power thus enabling them to travel through some walls and other cover; there is “Double Tap,” which allows you to increase the rate of fire for automatic weapons; there’s “extreme conditioning,” this allows you to sprint for longer distances (very helpful when carrying an M-60 machine gun; and “Claymore,” this allows you to carry two claymore mines (The claymore is one of my favorite perks. It allows me to secure a room and then move from window to window, picking people off. There’s nothing more satisfying to me than hear a claymore you set click and go boom and then see on the screen the notification that you just received five points for a kill.)

Not only do you get more perks as your rank up, you also are allowed to gain access to new weapons and to add accessories to all your weapons as you complete different achievements. For example, when you reach the rank of sergeant you gain access to the M4 carbine assault rifle. As you use the weapon you gain accessories for it. Accessories like the laser sight and better camouflage. This reward system keeps the game interesting. There’s a perk called “Overkill” that I really want. Overkill allows you to carry two primary weapons instead of the usual single primary weapon and a pistol. I try to move slowly and stay alive for long periods of time so I tend to run out of ammo. When I am able to carry two rifles that will no lonber be a problem.

Maps
The maps are well designed. In some FPS’s you can encounter the problem of spawn camping. Like in Halo 3, I have not found this to be a big problem in this game. Now, there are spots a knowledgeable player can set up in and wait for guys that are sprinting back to their favorite camping spots but I have seen very little of actual spawn camping. Spawn camping does occur but most of the spawn points have good cover and you can fight your way out if you are careful.

The maps are mostly very big with areas that are tight and intricate. This makes them conducive to whatever style you like to play. There are exceptions, of course. There is a map set on a cargo ship called “Wet Work” that is pretty small and is a run and gun map. I just use a shotgun and run around plugging people and hoping for the best. Also there is a map called “Overgrown” that seems designed for those that like to snipe. The rest of the maps are balanced nicely enough to allow any strategy to work if you know what you are doing. That is one of the reasons this game is so addictive, there are several different ways you can win. As you increase your rank and get access to more weapons you will find that, depending on how you play a specific maps, you will not be choosing the same weapon all the time.

Weapons
Once you put some time into multiplayer game you eventually will have access to twenty-seven weapons in six categories. The categories are, assault rifles, submachine guns, light machine guns, handguns and shotguns. The assault rifle category gives you the most to choose from with seven rifles. My three favorites so far have been the AK-47, the M4 and the M-16. The AK-47 was helpful to me in the early rounds because it’s a good all purpose weapon. Once you get the laser sight (called red dot sight in the game) unlocked for either the M-16 or the M4 I can safely bet you will abandon the AK-47 pretty quickly. It has too much recoil when compared to the other more advanced weapons you may access as the game goes on.

The surprising variety of weapons is one of the aspects of this game that gives it excellent replay value. Submachine guns like the MP5 have a high rate of fire but have limited range. The M-16 is very accurate and has good stopping power but is not fully automatic. If you start spraying with the M16 before you have an enemy lined up he will probably take you out but the three round burst it shoots allows you to conserve ammunition. The M4 is fully automatic and allows you to lead your targets but if you stay alive for more than two minutes you will probably run out of ammunition. The M60 light machine gun can really mow down opponents and doesn’t require a lot of reloading but it’s heavy which cuts down on your mobility, it has a slow rate of fire and a lot of recoil.

You can choose between three types of secondary grenades (your primary grenade is always the “frag” grenade. You start out with one of those each time you respawn but there is a perk that allows you to carry three.) The three secondary grenades are stun, flash and smoke. Flash grenades blin and deafens, stun grenades disorient and the smoke grenades…makes smoke. I never use the smoke and I don’t know why anyone would. In fact, hardly anybody does. A well used stun or flash grenade can be the difference between life and death in multiplayer.

Fin
If I was to write a review and give this game a score I would have to give it a 9. The only thing that keeps this game from being perfect is the lack of a skill-based ranking system in multiplayer. If you enjoy running around and shooting at stuff then there isn’t more fun to be had out there.

Location: Beatties Ford Road
Date: Thursday, 2/14/2008, 5:30-8:30 PM
Age Range: Adults

Calling all gamers ages 18 and over! Come join us for a gaming night, featuring Alienware laptops set up for LAN gaming, Xboxes, and the Wii. The event will include the following games for LAN play: Madden 07, Age of Empires III, Call of Duty 2, and Need for Speed: MOST WANTED. There will be a drawing for a gift card to Best Buy and for a Ipod Nano at the event. Maybe you’ll win something for your Valentine!

I’ve been playing Project Gotham 4 on my Xbox 360 for a few months now. I first tried this particular franchise when PGR2 came out for the original Xbox. Of all the racing games I have tried that game was by far my favorite. It had a challenging career mode and the online mutliplayer game was spectacular.

This particular version of PGR is just as good, if not better, than PGR2. Graphically, it’s stunning at times. The AI of the other drivers in street race mode has been improved greatly. In PGR2 they would just run the ideal line, now they race you more than the track.

The tracks in PGR4 are just as challenging and creative as those found in PGR2. In fact they have stepped it up a notch. There are some very challenging and, more importantly, fun tracks to drive. The elevation changes in the city of Quebec are especially fun. The tracks are so well designed that it’s entertaining to drive them without any on-track competition for you to contend with. There are daily tournaments on Xbox Live and to be able to participate in the tournaments you have to qualify. In the qualifying round you are challenged by creative choices of vehicles, conditions and track reversals that bring a nice twist to the gaming experience.

The driving in the game is really what makes it work for me. This game smartly straddles the line between arcade and simulation. The driving is unrealistic, it says so right on the warning screen when you start the game, yet it feels like real driving. The game gives you a sensation of driving high performance cars at high speed. There is a great variety of cars to unlock. There are five different classes of cars. They range from normal street cars used for cat and mouse games to the top class of supercars that can go over 200 mph. Each car handles and drives differently. Depending on how you like to drive there is probably a car that fits your style. The fable is true, it’s not always the car that has the top speed that wins the race.

PGR2 had a mature and friendly online community and that has carried over to PGR4. If you enjoy shooters like I do and you play them online then you know those communities can be rude, crude, racist, loud and immature (Hello, Halo community). If that is something you wish to avoid but you crave online competition, you may want to give PGR4 a whirl. What I have find unique is the prevalence of players from Europe that play the PGR series. I have found English players to be, not only quite good, but very witty and chatty. My roommate, who plays PGR much more than I do, has made a few long distance friendships with some British players. They know him by his first name and they talk like old friends as they burn virtual rubber while trading paint in Tokyo.

I always have liked to have a driving game in my collection that allows me to take a nice break from the first person shooters that I tend to focus on and, because of it’s attention to detail, the PGR series has been my favorite for several years.