Anyone remember an old Konami arcade game called Jackal? One or two players took control of armed jeeps to rescue prisoners of war. Well the folks at Avalanche Studios must, because they showed a 4 player HD-fied version of that core gameplay at E3. The game is called Renegade Ops, and is being published by Sega. The game will be a downloadable title hitting PC, PSN, and XBLA sometime this year. GameTrailers has gameplay footage of the sharp looking game.

Image from Gamertell.com

Publisher THQ unveiled a trailer for Relic developed Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Its a visceral 3rd person shooter/action game that looks pretty good. Release date is September 6th, 2011 for PC, PS3 and XB360. Click the GameTrailers link for all the troll giblet goodness.

Well everyone, Portal 2 was released early for everyone, after a lengthy and slightly unrewarding ARG campaign that all hardcore Valve fans would have had an ear on for a while. Portal 2 is of course the sequel to the Valve tech demo Portal, which ended up being massively successful, and rightly so, it was an ingenious blend of FPS (Except you never shoot a bullet or kill anyone) and puzzles topped off with an immersing story that keeps you on your toes until the very end.

I must say, if you are one of those ten or so people who didn’t like Portal then this isn’t the article for you because, ladies and gentlemen, Portal 2 is definitely worth the hype. I played on the PS3 and have completed the single player campaign that took me 8 or so hours, this article will not spoil any twists or important information that you will come across during the game.

I’ll start by telling you that if you are expecting a ‘jump in and understand’ approach like the first game that was mainly focused on puzzles and a reasonably simple to pick up but boldly portrayed storyline then you might be surprised by the different approach that the sequel takes. It’s very much a cinematic game, more so than I’ve ever played. Ask what I was looking forward to Portal 2 for was and I’d say to get to the bottom of Aperture Science and more tough puzzles – Valve has delivered both of those things, sacrificing very little in the process.

I worried for quite a while that Portal 2 might end up suffering from the same ‘syndrome’ as PixelJunk Shooter 2 or Little Big Planet 2, and just lose a lot of what made it fun to begin with. Let me explain, LBP was a great game for people of any ages, with simple and constant puzzle mechanics that was lots of fun and compelled you to play many times and work hard on getting trophies. LBP2 on the other hand was also fun but lacked the replayability, in my opinion, because it complicated puzzle mechanics beyond the what younger players could grasp. If you tried making games with the LBP2 creator mode, you’d understand what I mean. In LBP you could make levels no matter who you were, but in LPB2 you’d have to be a rocket scientist to work out what all the motherboards and microchips meant. Something that LBP2, PJS2 and Portal 2 shared was an increase in the number of puzzle mechanics which, in the first two games I mentioned, make gameplay very vague and don’t settle to recap what you had just learnt. Portal 2 does not make that mistake though, giving you the exact amount of time to learn about a new mechanic (like Gels that repel or propel or create portal surfaces). All new mechanics have a history that you may choose to learn if you so wish, and usually have three or four chambers or tests of increasing difficulty. Conversely, no mechanic lingers too long, everything is kept fresh and interesting. Also there’s a couple of real mind bending puzzles that you hardcore portalists will enjoy.

Aesthetically, Portal 2 looks brilliant. The opening sequence of the game is jaw-dropping, as the room around you falls apart (and none of the debris ‘fades out’ to compensate for MORE debris). The destruction all the way through the game that happens right before your eyes made me stop many times and have a ‘how did/could they do that?!’ moment. It was reminiscent of when I was younger and had triggered something to happen, I’d just sit back all slack-jawed and just watch hopelessly as the incredible events unfolded. The graphics draw you into the story, making it believable and cinematic. The use of shadows in some parts of the game is a fine drawcard for Portal 2 also. Later in the game the graphics began to look more and more like Portal, but I didn’t mind because the story picks you up and throws you a mile (in a good way).

The story is worthy of Valve’s Half-Life universe, everything is just the way it should be, Chell remains mute and can only be seen through portals and all new characters only add more wonderful layers to the game. I feel that I should reiterate though, the story is unlike Portal, there are a few plots throughout the game that are played separately, so dropping in as an outsider in a later level would be confusing. But that said, when played start to finish the story is possibly even better than the original, with plot twists left right and centre. First game in a few years to make me properly laugh and also properly cry (Not ashamed to admit, it did make me cry..at the end…for a little bit). One notable segment of the game is like a live-in history book where you learn everything you’ll ever need to know about Aperture Science, GLaDOS and the other characters of Portal 2 who shall remain nameless. If you are expecting to learn lots about other things like Black Mesa or Gordon Freeman or the Combine, squash those expectations because this game has the same amount of crossover as the first Portal game. Probably the best way to describe it without spoiling anything would be a good movie sequel of the original, it’s very cinematic. If you play Portal 2 and you aren’t a crazy fan like me and you feel a little dissapointed, trust me, at the end everything is all worth it. All I’ll say about the end is that it finishes one story and begins another that will leave you thinking, ‘thank you Valve for not doing like other games do and leave the ending open for another pocket-pinching trilogy’.

I would suggest playing the single player campaign first before the co-op if you are one to keep the story arc in tact (The multiplayer happens chronologically after the single player has finished), I haven’t played any coop yet so I’m not sure how much from the single player campaign will be revealed, if valve is sensible (which they usually are) then probably not much.

So save up your pennies/dollars/rupees and grab yourself a copy of Portal 2, this game will not disappoint. If you have a PS3 I suggest you get Portal 2 for it instead of the Xbox 360 (the old news that you can play using Steam on the PS3 against PC and Mac players and with the PS3 copy you get a code for a free PC and Mac copy). And make sure you play Portal before this because there’s a lot you wont understand if you play Portal 2 first. Watch out all-other-games-being-released-this-year, Portal 2 might just be the one that bowls you all over.

That’s all I’ll say for now, please feel free to comment on this article, let me and everyone at GamerHusbands Radio know what YOU think as well because, lets be honest, everyone has an opinion.

More of my reviews/ideas/thoughts/bizarre at twitter.com/warmanator

Thought I might share my 2011 (or as I like to call it ‘year of the games I really want’) list I want to place in my permanent ‘care’ this year, share a bit of my fanboy love of serieses (or is it serii?) and brand new innovations that really caught my eye.

Quick note: Some of these are PS3 exclusive, but the majority will please everyone

Resistance 3
Resistance 3 Trailer

Welcome back to Insomniac Games’ alternative history WWII game that introduced me personally, with a handshake and a Hedgehog Grenade, to online multiplayer. Slightly disappointing that they would decide to make their teaser trailers in live action (like the Halo franchise did once I believe), but the idea of this game is fresh. At the end of Resistance 2, something major happens which I shouldn’t really disclose that basically ends this World War, and Resistance 3 is essentially the aftermath of the battle. Judging by what it looks like, you are following the story of Joseph Capelli from Resistance 2 (my description of him if you don’t know who I’m talking about is “the guy who you don’t really care about but comes up and does something pretty badass at the end of R2″) something happens to his wife and he’s sad. He’s joined by the strange little Russian scientist Dr Malikov, and they do something that involves somehow killing Chimera even though you’ve already rendered them harmless by killing their leader in R2. Anyway, even if the “Half-Life 2″ inspired campaign bites, I’m still looking forward to the multiplayer with it because Resistance games are pretty much the best you can get for PS3 exclusives at the moment

Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Deus Cinematic Trailer

I’ve not played any of the previous games but from what I’ve read/watched/heard, it looks to be a graphically stunning, non-buggy version of Fallout 3/New Vegas

Portal 2
Portal 2 Gameplay Trailer

The puzzler and tech demo turned amazingly successful game finally returns with new puzzles and ways of solving them. The best way I can describe what I think Portal 2 will be like is the way LBP2 took away the child-achievable level of puzzles of LBP by complicating them. Since it’s not a kids game it should add up to being the hardest and most rewarding puzzle game you’ll gain access to this year, that’s why it’s a must-get for me. Well, that and PS3s are getting SteamCloud support and PC/PS3 crossplatform multiplayer

Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
Oddworld Stranger’s Wrath Original 2005 Trailer

I didn’t have an original Xbox so I missed the follow up games of Abe’s Exoddus and Abe’s Oddysee set in the Oddworld universe. Those games would be Munch’s Oddysee and Stranger’s Wrath. The latter would have to be one of the games I really wished I had the original Xbox for, but luckily for me Just Add Water are rejiggering and rereleasing on the PSN and maybe XBLA if Microsoft raise their size limit above 2GB. Also, Abe’s Exoddus is also being rereleased as a HD side-scroller copy of the original

Dead Island
Dead Island Trailer

The trailer was shown to me recently, and it was so emotive that if you think you wont want to buy this game after seeing it, then you are truly mad. Very pretty looking game originally set to be released in 2008, is now arriving this year. It apparently is a solely melee zombie game

L.A. Noire
L.A. Noire Facial Tech Demonstration

Seriously, when the facial recognition tech is put into operation in May with this game, I’d find it hard to believe many developers would be able to go without it. Gameplay-wise it sounds like Blue Toad Murder Files but not a piece of absolute scat

Final Fantasy Versus XIII
Final Fantasy Versus XIII Extended Trailer

Almost definitely not coming out this year, but it probably should if Square knows what’s good for them. It’s Final Fantasy, but not as you’ve ever known it

More of my reviews/ideas/thoughts/bizarre at twitter.com/warmanator

Some of you may be looking forward to playing Dead Space 2, some may be cuteing it up in Little Big Planet 2, some might be looking for some thrills in the Killzone 3 Beta, but me? I’m looking forward to next week’s release of the Double Fine downloadable game Stacking, a stealth/class based action adventure about a Russian Doll trying to rescue his family.
If you weren’t keeping tabs, this is the second of four planned downloadable games from Double Fine that was to be the alternative to a sequel to Brutal Legend, which I thought was a good game but didn’t definitely need a sequel. This series of new games has sated my need for Tim Schafer’s quirky comedy games while also putting a different designer at the helm of each of the four games to be released. I’ve been a fan of downloadable games since I got my PS3 and realised the online games were soo cheap. Right up my alley.

Now, this post is obviously not a review of Stacking, since it isn’t out yet, so what could you possibly read in this post? How about my opinion of the first of the four games (Costume Quest), and maybe chuck in a bit of a glimpse DeathSpank 1 & 2? Ok then, you’ve got yourself a deal!

Costume Quest was released Halloween last year which is an indication to the theme of the game. It’s a story about a cute brother and sister who aren’t too happy about being forced into each other’s company by their parents during the trick or treat festivities in the neighbourhood. The story unfolds as a cutesy but not too sweet tale of teenagers raiding stores and kidnapping whichever sibling you chose NOT to play as at the start of the game. They aren’t actually teenagers in the game, they are mystical trolls and crows, but it is assumed they are teenagers from the perspective of a child’s over-imagination and adventurisation (if that’s a real word) of the game.
The gameplay is in the form of a turn-based RPG with the mechanics pretty much like a Final Fantasy, you see the enemy on the screen and when approached a separate battle sequence is initiated. In Costume Quest when a battle is encountered, the child (and later when you find companions, children) transforms into an awesome version whatever costume they are wearing – which makes things more bearable for the men out there to keep their machismo in check. There are plenty of costumes to pick up and battles don’t get tedious. The combination of costumes and ‘battle stamps’ give your characters powers that would be best described as picking character classes in a more tweakable way. For example, if you dress up as the jack-o-lantern (high attack power) you’d be wise to pair it with a counter-attack battle stamp which would make battles much faster and more efficient. Strategy aside, when in battle you are required to press a corresponding button/buttons/stick rotation (depending on the costume) to deal the maximum damage or defend against the maximum damage dealt by the enemies. This is a fresh addition to the turn-based RPG genre and creates more of a challenge, less of a button mash, and more fun for the kids (That’s if you let them play, since you’ll be too busy playing it yourself)
I thought Costume Quest was a lot of fun for little money, would be good for kids or hardcore gamers wanting a little time playing a reasonably challenging game with a child-like quality and trick-or-treat nostalgia. It’s been bug free since day one like most DL games available which is a plus. Costume Quest has no voice acting, so if you were planning on spending a sleepy/inebriated night looking at pretty colours and following forgivable quicktime event battles you should be prepared to do a bit of reading, or a bit of skipping dialogue which is a viable alternative. The only concern I had was after I played it once there was no reason for me to ever boot it up again, which is something DL game developers still haven’t worked out a solution to yet.

DeathSpank! From the name you can tell you’re in for a wild ride, and with the brain of Ron Gilbert of Monkey Island (I’ll promise to stop talking about that LucasArts piece-of-wonder after this post) your bound for a funny and completely customisable Diablo alternative. For a bit of money and a bit of gigabyte you get plenty of jokes, charm, action, character and undergarments.
DeathSpank and Deathspank: Thongs of Virtue (essentially episode one and two of the same game) are two action adventure slasher stories about a knight who loves to kill things in the name of Justice, and with the guidance of the mysterious Sandy, he goes about making the world a better place, one town at a time. It’s a mildly open world game at times and the quest system is good until you run out of quests. The weapon selection system is reasonable in getting you to use a variety of ranged, melee and thrown weapons in combat. The variety of weapons is also tremendous, you’ll spend most of your time picking out your best gear and thwarting enemies until you are strong enough to wear that even better and interestingly-titled armour you have been eyeing off since you picked it up an hour ago. Other things to look forward to is two player co-op with a Steve the Wizard obsessed with his own name or Tanko the man-spider, the presence of voice acting (!), top shelf – usually toilet – humour and fun, balanced combat that won’t make you cringe with difficulty or pout from easiness.
I’ll stop there to keep this review short and sweet, you can all shuffle off and read some more about DeathSpank elsewhere if this has tickled your fancy. Heck, maybe you’ll even buy it, stranger things have happened.

Stacking IGN Trailer

More of my reviews/ideas/thoughts/bizarre at twitter.com/warmanator

Firstly, hi! This is my first post on GHR, I’m still learning how to write gaming reviews, so I hope you find it a little interesting

During last year on the PSN (and other systems/see below), the classic point-and-click adventure game The Secret of Monkey Island was born again as a HD remake. I wasn’t born when it was first out, so this release was great for me. I played them as if it was a new game. Of course going online to work out solutions that stumped me isn’t the best idea of fun for most people (although try and tell me you didn’t when going for 100% on Arkham Asylum once or twice). The creators of Monkey Island, Ron Gilbert (DeathSpank & HotHead designer), Tim Schafer (Double Fine creator) and Dave Grossman (Telltale designer) made Monkey Island and other games like Manic Mansion which was the first computer game I had ever played. They were employed by LucasArts when they used to make good games that weren’t star wars related. Monkey Island indirectly gave birth to many games that I consider at the front of the ‘comedy’ video game genre

In this article I want to share my experience with the first HD remake I had played and the first of the emerging platform of ‘episodic’ downloadable games of companies Telltale and Relentless
Haven’t done my research but The Secret of MI might actually have been the first HD remake of any game, and if not it would have to be one of the first. The original trio were in on the remake, creating a genuine experience of the original. Hardcore fans might have been put off by the inclusion of voice acting, but at any time the option to switch to ‘classic mode’ (the original untouched game) was available at any time. I chose to play in the new mode, which included the original detailed concept artwork put into the game to replace the original 1990 blocky representation of that artwork. It’s a beautiful looking game, and for a PC conversion played on my PS3 the controls weren’t just ported, the control scheme was custom fitted to console. I could tell a lot of love went into this game as everything was completely remade graphically while remaining faithful to the original dialogue and storyline. When Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge was inevitably remade and released I got it day one. The game was even better looking (near 3D appearance of the upgraded 2D artwork) than The Secret of MI and the story and dialogue was the same as the original sequel. I happily completed the game three times, first for the first play, second for the developer commentary (with the original trio) and third for 100% trophies.

Some criticize HD remakes for being a money grabbing scheme, I criticize most games of this generation for being too short or too pricey or both. With remakes (20 years old or 5 year old, doesn’t matter) they are cheap as chips and are the original length of that game, which is longer than a brand new game, plus they usually come as the whole series. I’m looking forward to getting more HD remakes soon (sly collection, ISO collection, Stranger’s Wrath) because not only are they cheap from day one, the originals are highly rated and include all the original games, not just one.

Now, I’ll take a turn tell you about the new episodic style games emerging recently due to the internet being able to deliver full games to your house instantly, no fuss. Telltale would be the most prominent developer of this genre, with Sam & Max, Monkey Island, the current Back to the Future and the future Jurassic Park under it’s belt of game/movie inspired episodic games. I have played Tales from Monkey Island by Telltale Games on the PS3. My main criticism of episodic games overall is they cost too much for what they’re worth. I purchased Blue Toad Murder Files for the PS3 at the same time (which is a dog’s breakfast of a game for any price) and was surprised they passed that little bit of average content for the same price as a disc-based game that’s been out for the same time. Tales of Monkey Island was worth the pricetag though. I wasn’t going all Monkey fanboy on it unless the price was right, and during the PSN christmas sale, it was.
I began playing it not too long ago but it was around 6 or 7 months after I had played the HD remakes of MI. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a game made by a different company and with only one of the original creators. ToMI is a 3D adventure game in the style of Monkey Island, retaining it’s dialogue choices and interaction with people and items. If you are looking for a flashy Unreal Engine game you won’t find it here, the graphics are cheerily cartoony and reminiscent of the Monkey Island HD remakes. In fact at some points when playing ToMI I forgot the first two I’d played were 2D. I made sure to play each episode over different days to give me a break as if I were playing it during the first release.
My impressions of the game were at first a little underwhelming. The first episode set the scene and had simpler puzzles compared to the original games. It was like watching part 1 of the new Harry Potter. Upon the second episode though, I was engrossed in the story and the game, it’s puzzles picked up the original ‘check the internet when you get stuck’ difficulty. The third episode flowed on all the way to the fifth and final episode, the game full of twists and turns that didn’t make you feel annoyed that maybe Telltale were trying to push out another episode by adding an unnecessary obstacle. ToMI isn’t a game made for kids but it is kid friendly, there are dark elements streaked through the story like death and a tad of dismemberment. Of course I don’t mean that MI had gone for a God of War hack and slash, it still retained the original game’s quality of no combat all puzzles. Like truly great puzzle game should be, it didn’t make you feel like you were playing a game that heaps of people had solved before and the game doesn’t play exactly the same each time (the dialogue changes by your choosing) it feels like you are blazing your own trail and that feeling is what got me hooked on Adventure games and Manic Mansion all those years ago.

This has been my journey through DL HD remakes and episodic games…how appropriate, you fight like a cow

Games in this article:

Tales of Monkey Island (PSN, XBL, PC) 14.45 (AUS Christmas Pricing) check your PSN, XBL or Telltale website for your country pricing, Australian pricing is usually around 5 dollars more than US

The Secret of Monkey Island Special Edition (PSN, XBL, PC, iOS), Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge (PSN, XBL, PC, iOS) 23.95 bundle (AUS) check your PSN, XBL, Steam or iTunes Store for your country pricing
Blue Toad Murder Mystery Files (PS3, PC) 19.95 (AUS Christmas Pricing) Check your PSN or bluetoadmurderfiles.co.uk for your country pricing – although I suggest you don’t buy this game without researching about it first

More of my reviews/ideas/thoughts/bizarre at twitter.com/warmanator

Just in case you were on the fence about pre-ordering Two Worlds II, this freshly released video might tip your scales. The stage shown on the video, is full of action, and gives another glance on what Two Worlds II has to offer. The Combat seems more responsive and fluid, and the game looks surprisingly good.

Gearbox announced that “The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned” downloadable content for Borderlands will be available November 24th.  It will set you back $10.  More varieties of skags to kill!

I’m definitely getting this, looking forward to seeing gearbox’s take on the zombie craze.

Its been nearly 400 years since the last blight and the Grey Wardens are few in numbers because no one believes that another blight is coming and they think it is just legend. You however soon find out that the Archdemon will be here in a very short time. You are recruited at a young age by one of the Grey Wardens who has been around for a long time and seen many battles.

The first hour or so of the game can take place in several locations and have several different stories. This portion of the game is your origin story. You can be a man, elf, or dwarf and then you have a background as a warrior, mage, or rogue. Warriors are damage dealers, rogues are the stealthy type and can pick locks, and mages are, well, mages. I could go on for hours describing this aspect of the game but you get the idea that you have a ton of choices in the very beginning and as the game moves on, the choices keep piling up.

It is not quite the “60-80 hour minimum” game that everyone promised but it is still very long by today’s standards. I got through it in about 40-50 hrs I think. I haven’t checked my hr counter in a while but it was somewhere around 38 the last time I looked.

Overall the game is very well done in my opinion. It offers everything an RPG fan could want. You’ve got loot gathering, magic, a small amount of weapon customization and a crapload of well written and acted dialogue. Speaking of dialogue, don’t buy this game if you don’t like reading or listening to people talk because you will be doing a LOT of that during your time with this game.

Gameplay is solid for the most part but there are things that frustrate me about it. The collision detection in this game is a little too touchy. I was always getting stuck on other characters or dead bodies while in combat and if they enemy you are attacking happens to move just a little bit, your character must also readjust. Once you take the swing though, it hits the enemy no matter how far away you are from them. This might sound like a good idea but it works the other way also. Say you are fighting a huge ogre and he goes to take a swing at you so you move out of his way so you don’t get hit, well you still get hit even if you are 20 feet from him. I’m starting to realize as I’m writing this that this review is going to sound very negative but I really loved the game.

Dialogue is one of the huge draws of RPGs but in this game it takes it to a whole new level. I guess I should be accustomed to it with games like Mass Effect and Fallout but it was getting tiring by the end of the game. Through the dialogue options though you can make the story your own and the choices you make do have real consequences or benefits at times. Other times, you think you are making a choice that will change the outcome but it doesn’t. In those instances it usually boils down to “do you want to fight this person now or wait through 20 minutes of dialogue and then fight them.” There are game altering choices though and unlike most RPGs, your party members are not set in stone and you don’t necessarily have to get all of them. One of the characters you actually wont get unless you are able to persuade someone to let them out of jail. Everything you do in the game also has an impact on how your party members feel about you and if they disapprove of you too much, they will leave(note: I did not have anyone leave because I was good for the most part but I know they can leave). It was funny in one part where you have a choice to fight your way out or negotiate and I chose negotiate. Well, one of my more aggressive part members took a huge disliking to that because I chose to negotiate. Also, you can ask your party members to leave if you want to but again, I never did. On the flipside, the more that a certain character likes you, the more it helps you out in that they get bonuses to things like attack, defense, magic power and so on.

Now to the obvious flaws and dislikes of the game. I ran into several glitches that in my opinion are not something that should be there. Numerous times the game glitched right after a battle and I would have to do it over again. It seems the game does not like you advancing too quickly. On a couple occasions I had to actually fight the same boss twice because I talked to a certain character before the game registered the battle as being over and they initiated it again. I was locked in a room once for the same reason and had to reload my last save. The one nice feature is that you can save anytime, anywhere except in battle and I highly recommend it because you never know what you are going to run into. Another is that if you advance the dialogue too quickly, the game wont recognize that the dialogue occurred and wont give you the item you were supposed to get. My dog went looking for treats one time and I read the dialogue and got the items. Soon after, I realized I missed something so I reloaded my last save. The next time, I just rushed through the dialogue but the items did not show up. That is the easiest example to explain but there were many other times that things like that happened. Sometimes, it affected the quest I was trying to complete and I couldn’t complete the quest.

I would recommend this game to RPG lovers but only to people who don’t mind a lot, and I mean a LOT, of dialogue(read: Teetocks, stay away). Like was previously stated, you cant always rush through it either so its almost like they are forcing the game to be longer than it needs to be. It was very rich and well done dialogue but by the end I found myself not wanting to listen to anymore. The story is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time and you do make choices that actually affect the endgame. Something I havent seen in a while. mass Effect was different in that the choices you made only affected the next ten minutes of gameplay but they didnt really present themselves later in the game. Dragon Age, however, takes the choices you make and integrates them into future dialogue sessions with other characters.

One last thing, as much as I hate to admit it, I actually had to change the difficulty to casual for the final battle.  After dying ten times in a row and not being able to do anything about it, I just gave up and changed it to casual.  I had been playing the rest of the game on normal but I had to change it for my sanity’s sake.  I was so close to the end of the game but I couldn’t get there because they made it so insanely hard.

Like Borderlands, The Saboteur is a game I’ve had on my radar for a long time.  Not the typical WWII shooter, The Saboteur has you play Sean Devlin, who has somehow been wronged by a Nazi general.  As Devlin, you set out sabotaging Nazi occupied Europe by joining the French Resistance in order to get back at those pesky Nazis.  The thing that interests me most about this game is the art style.  When you are in a Nazi occupied area, the art style is a black and white film noir (think Sin City) with the occasional yellow (and red ) accents.

From the videos I’ve seen, the gameplay seems to be a cross between Splinter Cell, Assasins Creed, and Call of Duty (or pick any WWII shooter).  There is some stealth to the game, but all of your standard era guns are in there as well, so you’ll have more than piano wire to help you out.  Also of note is Devlin’s ability to climb structures, although I doubt he does the Triple Lindy from the top of buildings like Altair to get down.  Due out December 8th.

This is pretty ambitious and over the years I’ve seen many similar projects get announced and delayed and delayed and delayed. This one is apparently different. The designer was at last weekend’s GameX showing it off and passing out his portfolio to the various game executives. The mod itself is getting released this Saturday (Halloween 2009).

Good luck to him. Hopefully it’s as good as it looks. If I had a PC capable of running it, I’d be picking it up first thing. If anyone does get a chance to play it please post your impressions!

Chainsaw. Rawr.

Valve, developers of such awesomeness as Half Life 2, Portal, Counter Strike and Left 4 Dead – recently announced the newest gameplay mode for the upcoming Left 4 Dead 2.  Scavenge mode pits survivors vs. infected in a race to collect (hence the name, ‘Scavenge’) gas cans and dump them into a generator located in each map.  The more gas the survivors dump, the more points you get.  The infecteds job is – you guessed it – to stop the collection of said gas cans.  Switch sides, rinse and repeat.  Most points wins the round.

The new mode should be shorter than the typical versus mode in the current L4D.  This, and the addition of female boomers, makes L4D2 a must buy for me.  That and the fact that I’ve played every Valve game ever produced.  Check out Giant Bomb for more info.

]]> http://www.gamerhusbands.com/valve-announces-new-mode-in-left-4-dead-2/feed/ 1 http://www.gamerhusbands.com/fallout-3-dlc-coming-to-ps3-two-new-dlc-chapters-announced/ http://www.gamerhusbands.com/fallout-3-dlc-coming-to-ps3-two-new-dlc-chapters-announced/#comments Tue, 19 May 2009 14:12:00 +0000 JDsBlackBox

Bethesda announced in a press release today that all previous DLC – Operation Anchorage, The Pitt, and Broken Steel will be available for download on PS3 starting late June.

In addition, two new DLC packs were announced for all systems (PC, 360, PS3). Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta will be available starting in June as well.

Bethesda has announced new DLC for PC and Xbox360 for it’s smash hit Fallout 3. PC gamers get a game editor/ mod tool.

Both PC and Xbox gamers will have access to three DLC packs starting in January. The first one is called Operation: Anchorage.

I think Fallout 3 will be an Xmas present for me this year…

This is the day of the beta. The beta is more important than a demo, because of the importance of the multiplayer aspect of the game. Call of Duty: World at War will have a multiplayer beta, similar to what Call of Duty 4 had. But, it will not be on the PS3, it will only be on the 360 and PC. An Activision representative stated that this selection is due to XBox 360′s ” increased server and connectivity data.”(N4G)

Spore has been the new game on game pirates most wanted list. According to bigdownload.com Spore has been downloaded 171,402. Are these illegal downloads due to customers hunger for this game, or a direct backlash to the DRM installed on the disc? Many people would consider Will Wright a genius, and are eager to play his games. Spore is another game that hinges on the creativity side of gaming, and it’s a treat to have these games come to Market. Many PC spore players were outraged by the game having DRM installed on the disc. There can only be three accounts per copy of Spore. The game is supposed to allow for 3 separate user accounts per disc, but many have only been allowed to setup one account per disc. This being a downside of DRM. Legitimate purchasers are extremely limited due to the DRM restrictions. While pirates are able to download the game early, create multiple accounts, and enjoy the game to it’s full extent. Who is the system really hurting?

The PC turned console game, Left 4 dead, will be scaring up a demo for your Xbox 360. There hasn’t been a time frame placed on the arrival of the demo, but Gabe Newell, Co-founder of Valve, stated that a demo was on it’s way. The game is supposed to include a short single player mode and some of the online Co-Op that has so many gamers excited. Zombies claim to be misrepresented in spooky games, so they have assured us that they will change the stereotypes.

Anything involving games and Camaros will always have my attention and this new video for GRID is no different. I hadn’t really given much thought to getting this game because I am not extremely interested in racing games anymore. However, after I saw this video, I am really tempted to pick this up. I don’t like to consider myself a fanboy of any flavor but I am a Camaro fanboy. I’m not sure why but I just love Camaros.