Alex’s Blog

May 13, 2012

Spec Ops: The Line Impressions

When Spec Ops: The Line was announced a few E3s ago, something about it caught my eye. It seemed grander than your other basic military 3rd-person shooters. I was really looking forward to seeing a lot of coverage of this game, but the coverage never came. I forgot about it and was content to play the Call of Duty games that came out. Then, all of a sudden, I heard the announcement that a demo was out. I immediately started to download it and was very impressed with what I played.

The best way I can describe the game is Call of Duty meets Gears of War. It’s your modern-day/near-future military setting with a cover system. Cover works well enough, though it’s pretty hard to screw that type of mechanic up nowadays. The only problem with it is that moving from one piece of cover to another can feel sluggish. I expect the characters to move faster considering they’re, well, trying not to get shot when out in the open.

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May 1, 2012

The Ending of Mass Effect

There will be spoilers. Der.

To say that you didn’t like the way Mass Effect ended is to say you didn’t like Mass Effect 3 as a whole. Let me explain: Mass Effect 3 consisted entirely of an ending. From start to finish, the whole game closed out the trilogy that we have grown to love. I know that this subject has been talked about to death, and I’ll just be beating a horse that has already decomposed as it starts to fester in the hot summer sun. However, if you look at all three games together, what I’m about to say will make sense. At least it makes sense in my mind.

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Apr 24, 2012

Robert Bowling Opens New Next-Gen Studio

Robert Bowling, aka  fourzerotwo, was the Creative Strategist and Community Manager for Infinity Ward. After the mass exodus/exile from the company, he stuck around to see Infinity Ward release Modern Warfare 3. Well, now that that’s over and done with, Bowling has decided that it was about time he went off into his own direction, and quit the team. I’m sure many people thought he was going to join up with Respawn Entertainment, which consisted of the Infinity Ward exiles.

However, it appears as though he has decided to start a company of his own, which he is calling “Robotoki,” and it is going to be a “developer development studio that just happens to make games.” He decided to elaborate on the statement, presumably because the interviewer gave him a look which resembled that of a confused dog.

“We are focused on our team first and everything else second, because I believe as an industry, we have a lot to learn on how to treat talent. While we continue to out stride film and music entertainment in other areas, we are falling severely behind in how to properly inspire and support our creative talent.”

Robotoki is a self-funded project that only has backers who share Bowling’s vision of having complete creative control over the work. We won’t know exactly what it is that they are working on until after this year, but what we do know is that the game will be for the next generation of consoles, the PC, and mobile devices. If you would like to share Bowling’s creative vision, Robotoki is currently hiring.

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Apr 23, 2012

New Call of Duty being Revealed During NBA Playoffs

There are two things that “bros” like: sports and Call of Duty. So it probably comes as great news to them that the latest Call of Duty game is going to be revealed on May 1st during the NBA playoffs on TNT, which is apparently a big deal in the sports world. If you are surprised that we are getting another Call of Duty so soon, then shame on you. Shame shame shame.

Considering the last installment in the series was developed by Infinity Ward, it is almost certain that the one that will be revealed during the playoffs is going to be developed by Treyarch. Also, due to the internet and it’s inability to keep anything secret, we’re pretty sure that the game we are going to see is Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. There. I just saved all the game nerds from having to watch basketball just to see what the game will be. I believe that counts as an hour of my community service fulfilled. Only 49 more to go!

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Apr 10, 2012

GameStop Warning Consumers About Price of Buying Used

It seems a though now, more than ever, GameStop has been getting a lot of flak for their used game sales. Maybe it’s because the public is opening their eyes to how it hurts the industry, or maybe it’s because game developers are recently doing more about counteracting these sales with things such as online passes. To that end, GameStop has recently settled a suit in which they are now required to post signs in their stores located in California that warn consumers about additional fees that are required to access online content when they buy a used game. GameStop is also giving people who bought “qualifying used games”  a $10 check and $5 coupon if they are PowerUp Rewards members or a $5 check and $10 coupon if they aren’t as a form of reimbursement.

Mark Pifko, attorney for firm Baron and Budd and counsel in the lawsuit, seemed pleased with the outcome. He stated, “The in-store and online warnings are an important benefit under the settlement as well, because if GameStop discloses the truth to consumers, it is unlikely that they will be able to continue selling used copies of certain games for only $5 less than the price of a new copy. In fact, we already know that not long after the lawsuit was filed, GameStop lowered prices for used copies of many of the game titles identified in the lawsuit.” Baron and Budd even set up a facebook page for consumers who have been affected by this. This is a small victory against used games sales, but we’ll take it.

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Mar 21, 2012

REVIEW: 21 Jump Street

21 Jump Street is a movie that sneaked up on me. I didn’t even know it existed until a month prior to it’s release. So, needless to say, I was intrigued when Ii found out they were making a comedy out of a police drama from the late 80′s that starred a G. I. Joe and the fat kid from Superbad.  Having not seen a trailer or TV spot for it, I was definitely skeptical despite all of the good reviews it was receiving. So I was pleasantly surprised when I was nearly falling out of my chair from laughing so hard.

This movie hits the comedy beats consistently and offers some very quotable lines, which is what I love in a comedy. The action beats are there, even though they probably  aren’t why you went to see the movie. They actually seem to be there to add to the humor by poking fun at clichés and adding violence that tends to catch you off guard.

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Mar 20, 2012

Michael Bay Wants to Ruin Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

When I first reported about the reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I was very excited about it. That franchise defined my childhood. I ‘d watch the cartoon while playing with my action figures, and then I’d go read some of the comics, play one of the games, or watch one of the movies. So, as you can tell, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is something I and many others hold very dear to our hearts. And Michael Bay couldn’t care less.

Everyone knows the origins of these amphibians trained it the ways of martial arts. They were turtles who got some ooze dumped on them that resulted in their mutation into full grown bipedal creatures that received martial arts training from Master Splinter, a rat who got doused with the same mutating ooze, and now they fight crime. Now, here’s Bay’s take on the our green heroes: “These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely lovable.” Read More

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Mar 15, 2012

Diablo III Coming May 15

Back in 2008, Blizzard announced that they were going to make a follow up to there successful Diablo series. Now, almost four years later, we have finally got a release date for Diablo III. Fans of the series can continue their dungeon crawling adventures starting May 15, 2012 for the PC and Mac. That’s just two months away! That barely gives you enough time to create a proper countdown. However, we still have no official word on the console version.

You can pre-order the game from Battle.net, so that you can begin playing Diablo III the instant the servers go live. You can also sign up for the World of Warcraft annual pass to get a free copy of the game. However, if you are a true fan or just like having a bunch of useless clutter around your house (i.e. me), you can opt for the $100 collector’s edition, that comes with a behind the scenes DVD, soundtrack, art book, a Diablo skull, a 4GB USB Soulstone, and various in-game items like Diablo III Aesthetic Artifacts, a WoW pet, and a Starcraft 2 battlenet portrait.

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Mar 12, 2012

Fables Delayed to Q3 of 2012

Once upon a time, there was a game studio known as  Telltale Games. They lived a happy life, creating games like Back to the Future, Sam & Max, and Poker Night at the Inventory. One day, they were proud to announce that they started to work on Fables. It’s at this point in the story that I feel I need to pause and clarify that this game should not be confused with Fable, the ambitious Lionhead Studios game series that never fails to disappoint the people of the kingdom upon its release. Rather, this is based off of the incredible and majestic comic book series of the same name. It’s a series that one should read.

Fables was suppose to be offered to the people during the first 3 moon cycles of this year. However, our story takes a dark turn when news of its delay spread across the kingdom. While the reasons for the delay are shrouded in darkness, there is a glimmer of hope that remains in the knowledge that the game will see life  during the third quarter of 2012 A.D. It also fills my heart with joy to learn that we will be getting glimpses of the game during this year’s prestigious E3 and San Diego Comic-Con galas in June and July, respectively. We may also find this game to take on a new name, just so further confusion with the Lionhead game ceases. Whatever the case may be, I hope our tale ends with “happily ever after.”

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