Wednesday 31 December 2008

2009: A Good Year For Games?

So it’s the end of 2008 today, and as much as I would have loved to have done a “Best games of 2008: The Original Dungeon Keeper Awards”  I really don’t think it’s particularly necessary. If you look over my previous posts from the last three months you’ll know doubt get a clear picture of what I’ve liked and what I haven't.

What I’ve decided to do instead is to use my good friend Wikipedia to find out what games are being released next year and highlight what I think are going to be the best ones.

 

So the obvious one for me is Resident Evil 5. Sure it doesn't look great but it’s Resi! It never be crap, just decidedly average, and I can live with average. I own a Wii.

You know, looking at this list I’m finding a few surprises that I’m really excited about. For example, a new Mario and Luigi RPG is coming out, and I LOVED Mario and Luigi Partners In Time. It rocked. It was funny, fun to play. The first RPG I ever finished if I’m being honest with you. A new ones bound to be good, and lets face it, I never use my DS anymore.

 

The Sims 3 looks to be a laugh, as does Street Fighter 4. Grand Theft Auto: China Town Wars might be worth a look as well.  I loved GTA Advance.

 

Ah! Now, this is definatly going to be game of the year 2009. Battlefield Heroes. It might not have a release date but I bet my bottom dollar it’ll be out before the summer. Free, browser based and massively multiplayer battlefield? Oh yes please!

 

I hope everyone has a great new years, and you’ll be hearing from me again next year! (well… tomorrow)

Monday 29 December 2008

A LittleBig Slice of Heaven

It’s been a long time since I’ve been genuinely awe struck by the quality of a game. Bioshock was the last, mainly due to the story and the graphics, but since then games have admittedly gripped me but never left me in a state of genuine shock.

 

Within seconds, LittleBigPlanet managed to knock Bioshock off the top spot. I’ve never played a game that offers a completely different experience every time you play. It honestly baffles me. Some of the community maps are so beautifully detailed it puts the Media Molecule levels to shame.

 

If you own a PS3 and don’t have this yet, then I would seriously consider buying this, because if you don’t your missing out on one of the most refreshing concepts in the last few years.

Sunday 28 December 2008

Too Many Games!


I'm currently experiencing something that can only be described as a "Brain aneurysm" caused purely by the sheer amount of games I have to play. Honestly, I got three for Christmas, bought two on Boxing day and today decided (and trust me, this decision is so hypocritical that my friend actually scoffed) to go out and buy Call Of Duty: World At War even though I've been slagging it off since the day it was announced. But hey! I did the same with the PS3 and I couldn't live without mine now.

So, over the next few days I wont have anything specific to talk about unfortunately, so I'm just going to be giving you random bursts of pure 100% opinion on what I'm currently playing or have heard over the grape vine that is my many friends (and the Internet

To start off, LittleBigPlanet online is fantastic. Ten times better than what I expected. Community maps are win. Utter win, and playing online with friends is nothing short of perfection.

Mirrors Edge has been holding my interest, but unfortunately it looks like it wont for very much longer. I'm already half way through.

Finally,  Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is an amazing little game. I was just playing it for like an hour. Well good.

Saturday 27 December 2008

Christmas Goodies!!

So did everyone have a good Christmas? I know I did! Amongst other things (like a 26” full HD TV) I finally got my hands on LittleBigPlanet, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Mirrors Edge and Prince of Persia. Basically, these will probably be the games I’ll be blogging about most so if you don’t like then… sorry? So, first opinions:

 

Great game. I loved the demo and a friend constantly ranted and raved about it for weeks so I’m glad I can finally play it. It’s smooth, uncomplicated and the graphics are sweet. Overall a very good game, but even at the point I’m up to it feels like there’s something missing…

My expectations of this game were quite low in all honesty. The first Far Cry and Crysis certainly aren't on my top ten list I can tell you, so I wasn’t expecting anything great.. But surprise surprise, this turns out to be a fantastic shooter. I’m not far through it, but it WORKS. It’s brilliant. The fire is superb, the graphics are amazing and there’s a lot of depth even from the start. I’m especially impressed with the little things like pulling bullets out from your leg and fixing cars. Well good.

In all fairness as soon as I paid £25 for this yesterday I thought I’d made a mistake. As I was loading, I kept getting what can only be described as Nam flashbacks of the god awful two thrones and the emoness of Warrior Within. I just couldn’t see how this game could be good after those two installments… But what I didn’t remember was the fantastic Sands of Time which is what this game can easily be compared to. It’s fresh, it’s original. It’s fun to play which I didn’t expect. It’s a little bit clunky to start off with but once you get into the habit of it (about 15 minutes in) it becomes something great.

 

Perfection. I can’t say anything about it that you won’t have all heard before. It’s just a work of art. It all makes sense. To me, this is a no brainer of a game. If you don’t own it yet, beware. If I see you in the street I’ll simply look at you, shake my head and walk away.

 

Color, Stephen Fry, Creativity, Sack Boys, Kratos Sack boys, multiplayer, trophies. Heaven.

Wednesday 24 December 2008

A Merry Christmas To All

That’s me and Shrimpdude dancing while dressed up as elves, and in hindsight I could have picked a better picture for today’s blog post but… meh. It’ll have to do!

 

So it’s Christmas Eve, but the chances of me doing a blog tomorrow are slim so I’ll do one today that covers both days! It’s almost Christmas, and firstly I want to wish everyone a very happy Christmas! Especially those who read this blog on a regular basis!

 

In other news, I got LittleBigPlanet, Fallout 3 and FarCry 2 today. I’ve only played ten minutes of LBP, but it looks good! Full review after Christmas no doubt. Tomorrow should be a good day for games as well, as a lot of my mates are getting a PS3 for Christmas which I’m sure they’ll all enjoy! Especially one of my closest friends who is still under the impression that he’s getting Rockband for the Wii *sniggers*. Wish I could be there when he opens his 80GB PS3 and 8 games. Would be a cracking moment. Wait I’m annoyed at that kid, he bought me a thong for my Christmas box.

 

Wow, that’s a major tangent!

 

Anyway, Ciao

Tuesday 23 December 2008

Best Christmas Cards Ever

Ahhh Christmas! The food, the presents, the family, the horrific television and of course drunk relatives. Oh, and who could forget Christmas cards! Ahhh Christmas Cards. Since when has shitty bits of cardboard meant so much, eh?

 

Well,to CVG they probably mean a lot more than that card I got from that girl I used to go to school with, because CVG got cards from game companies. Yup, you heard me right readers. They got cards from companies such as Nintendo, Rockstar and Capcom. How. Awesome. Is. That?

 

I’ve chosen just a few of my favorites to show you. Enjoy!

 

Read the full article here!

Monday 22 December 2008

The Most Basic Human Instinct: Insult

I was on Home last night and I came across a few guys talking about Timesplitters 4 and how much they were looking forward to it. So, of course, I joined in the conversation and told them about how Free Radical have closed down (While body popping, of course). We were talking for a while about Timesplitters, Second sight and in the meantime a few other guys had joined in the conversation and soon enough we had a fully fledged argument over which was better. EA or Activision. You know as you do.

 

But of course, one guy came over and called us nerds. And being nerds, we all decided to then insult HIM. So there you go. After only 25 minutes of talking to complete strangers there was a “Yer Mar” joke thrown in. Isn’t meeting new friends wonderful?

Sunday 21 December 2008

Resident Evil 5

I’m getting a little worried about Resident Evil 5. It all seems… Wrong. The scenario, the enemies, the….. *takes a deep breath*… the….. Co-Op…. Christ. Co-op? In a Resident Evil game? Sorry Capcom, do you even remember the God awful Outbreak spin offs? (Their not Resi games, don’t you dare even say they are.)

 

I have it pre-ordered for the PS3 and I am looking forward to it, just a little worried that's all…

Saturday 20 December 2008

Left 4 Dead Moviemaking Process

I hate to directly link this blog to other sites, because I enjoy writing posts myself so much that I normally don’t like to give you the option to wander off and forget about me. I get very lonely you see.

 

But I was randomly reading the Left 4 Dead blog when I came across a post about making the intro movie. It’s extremely interesting and I would recommended that you watch all the videos on the post as well as reading the text. Enjoy!

 

http://www.l4d.com/blog/post.php?id=2081

Friday 19 December 2008

Trackmania Sunrise

Brilliant game. Fantastic. Best racing game out there. Fast, frantic and so very fun. Insanely so.

 

Trackmania Nations forever (A full mode, basically) is free on Steam. Check it out if your interested.

Thursday 18 December 2008

PlayFire

image

 

As a PS3 player, I’ve never had the luxury of the Xbox360 gamer cards that allow gamers to flaunt their achievements around the internet. So imagine my glee when I’m introduced to a website named “PlayFire”

 

PlayFire is advertised as a social networking site for gamers and some ways I suppose it is. You can add friends and join groups and of course the ever present profile wall is there so you can make the always hilarious “Tit Box” comment on your best friends wall, which he will inevitably view as his mum walks in the room. However, what makes PlayFire very, very special is that it’s basically the biggest flaunting device since the Xbox360 gamer cards.

image

 

Take my profile for instance. Currently, it displays the games I’m currently playing, my PS3 trophies, all the consoles I own, a random Youtube video I chose, some gaming screenshots and an all important graph to show which gaming genres I love. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. The best part of course, is that you can view every single game I own at the time of writing. All one 155 of them. It’s marvelous.

 

Make sure to join up, and of course, add me because let’s face it. I’m a child of this generation, and therefore a social networking whore.

 

Check out my profile here.

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Uncharted Drakes Fortune 2: Among Thieves

Regular readers will no doubt be aware of my undying love for Naughty Dog’s PS3 debut “Uncharted Drakes Fortune”. It is, in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever made. It’s cinematic, punchy, exciting. It’s quite simply one of the masterpieces of this generation.

 

So imagine my surprise when I saw this beauty:

Coupled with the screenshot at the start of the post… Hell. This is a no brainer. It’s going to be good let’s face it. It’ll be the same controls as the first one, a similar storyline with a completely unexpected ending and it’s gonna be a whole lot prettier. I can’t wait!

Tuesday 16 December 2008

Categories Reveal Interesting (And Rather Scary) Results

I got up early this morning, and as I was getting ready I was having a look at my Game collection. As Christmas is getting near (9 Days! Sorry, had to mention it somewhere) I was thinking of the games I was getting and I came up with a rather odd conclusion. I only have 7 PS3 games at the moment, but all 7 of them involve Guns. In fact, LittleBigPlanet is the only game I’m getting this Christmas that doesn't have guns in it…

 

When I came in tonight, I was having a look at my other collections and realised the same thing was present. Being the sad boy I am, I categorized all my gaming collection by console. The results offer a vague insight into not only what Games I’m interested in, but basically an insight into what Games are primarily present on consoles (Or at least, what key themes run throughout)

PS3

Out of the 7 games I own, 2 are First Person Shooters, 5 are Third Person Shooters, 1 is a Free Roaming Game and all 7 involve guns. But it is the PS3, so it is aiming at a more adult audience.

 

Wii

Out of the 19 games on my shelf (My sister plays with them more than me, so God knows where most have them gone), only 4 contain realistic guns (I didn’t count Eledees or Metroid 3), 3 of which are First Person Shooters, 2 are “Sports” titles, 2 are Fighters (Smash Bros and Mortal Kombat), 7  are party games (Wii Play being the most obvious), 1 is a Rhythm Game and 2 are adventure games.

 

This surprised me actually, as I realised just how tame the Wii is. Compared to my Gamecube, where titles such as Resident Evil 0, Killer 7 and Eternal Darkness were always present it’s quite a shock to see Nintendo reduced to this level. Well, I already knew that but what really surprised me was that I own a lot of titles I would never have bought normally. It’s quite worrying.

 

That’s all I looked at, I did look at PC but it’s all FPS’s and MMO’s  (and one I decided to class as a “Racing, Music, Puzzle Thing”)

 

A bit of a sad blog post I know, but I was interested in the stark differences between my collection. It’s rather odd.

 

Just me? Fair enough

Monday 15 December 2008

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

 

Ah Christmas! The time when family’s pretend not to hate each other and spend an excessive amount of money on the people they love. For many it is a spiritual time, for me it’s purely for games.

 

Last Christmas I got more games that I would ever need. I got Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Splinter Cell; Double Agent, Guitar Hero 3, Unreal Tournament 3, Crysis, Mysims and Sim City DS. Out of all them, Guitar Hero was played the most If I’m gong to be honest with you.

 

This Christmas however looks promising. Not only am I getting a new HD TV I’m also getting Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet and Bioshock. I already know three of them are amazing (I’m more intrigued by Far Cry 2) so I should have a laugh. After Christmas I’m pondering whether to get Prince of Persia or Mirrors Edge. Thoughts?

 

Woah wait a second, this post is purely a Christmas list!

Sunday 14 December 2008

Home Life

 

As it’s no doubt became apparent, I’m addicted to Home and everything about it. Last night I as traversing this marvelous world with a good friend of mine (Bucko), I realised just how complicated and detailed this world was.

 

The bowling alley is a brilliant example. Jut sit down on a lane, wait for three more people then play! That may sound stupid but it works so well. When one guy bowls, you can sit and chat to the other guys playing with you. I was having a very detailed chat with one guy about what new content would be added on Thursday (if anyone's interested, he speculated the trophy room, the red bull area and a LOT of new furniture and clothes.) It was fantastic, and when I was brutally beaten me and Bucko played a lengthy game of pool (which I once again lost). The pool was seamless, simple and ridiculously detailed. Just like it was promised. Then Bucko went to bed and I played the arcade game of “Echochrome” for a long, long time (Which to my surprise, was not only good but gave me loads of new clothes!)

 

If your a PS3 user and you haven't downloaded this, please do. Come visit me! I have a mansion!

Saturday 13 December 2008

Wii Ware

Oh Wii Ware. Such potential! Such Value! And what happened? Such shittyness!

 

I think I’m one of the few people to actually give a toss about Wii Ware. Well, I was one of the only people I know to buy Lost Winds.

Cracking game. I would go as far as to say one of the most under appreciated games of 2008. Yea, it’s short and yea it has a few flaws. But for a Wii game it’s beautiful and a genuinely good concept for the wiimote. Download it, now!

Friday 12 December 2008

Home Is Where My Wallet Is



At 9PM yesterday, Home went live. By the time I'd downloaded and installed Home, which in all honesty only took 8 minutes, I was literally jumping with excitement. I couldn't wait!

Of course, Sony must have installed an excitement sensor in the SixAxis, because it wouldn't let me log in until half past. So I took my first tentative steps into the world of Home irritated and frustrated. Not a good start.

In all honesty, my experience with Home yesterday wasn't a good one. I couldn't grasp the Avatar creator and my character had a head the size of the fecking moon and a nose like a coat hanger. There also seemed to be a lack of clothes. Again, not a good start.

To sum this all up, last night I was annoyed by the servers that kept timing out, my first apartment and the lack of furniture in it, the lack of decent clothes that are free and the lack of any content this early on. I went to bed annoyed.

So anyway I woke up this morning and booted it up to see if I would have a change of opinion. I did. In fact, my opinion changed so much I even bought the Summer House and a few clothes.

At the moment, Home is nothing more than Habbo Hotel in HD, or a less complicated and more console friendly version of Second Life. A lot of people may be complaining about the fact that Sony "Haven't lived up to their promises" but all I have to say to them is wait. Homes being advertised as an open beta version for a reason. Were looking at a very simple version of what has the potential to become one of the greatest experiment in gaming since the rumble pack.. Ok that was a bit of a shitty comparison but surely you get the idea.

You could say that Mii's were merely a test of what Avatars can do, the Xbox experimented with them in HD with limited community aspects and Home.. Well. Home has taken avatars and made them into something worthwhile. Now if you excuse me, I'm going Home.

Thursday 11 December 2008

I Want To Go HOME

 

Just like every other Playstation owner today, I’ve been waiting for Home, Playstations answer to the New Xbox Experience (ok, so not quite. But Home has avatars as well, so I'm going to stick with what I’ve just said)

 

Personally I’m just pleased that it’s available either today or tomorrow. We were promised a release before Christmas and to a lot of us that meant a Christmas Eve release so this is brilliant news for everyone.

 

If you too are desperate to play, keep an eye out here for constant updates from one of the developers!

 

Full review tomorrow (I hope!)

Wednesday 10 December 2008

A Helpful Tip

 

 

Just remember, only the RED barrels blowup, k?

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Wipeout HD: Trophies!

 

Must….. Finish… All…. Races…

 

Must…. Get… All…. Trophies….

Sunday 7 December 2008

Dungeon Keeper MMO?

The good news? EA today announced Dungeon Keeper Online, an MMO-based continuation of Bullfrog's classic strategy games. Bad news? It's not for you.

Dungeon Keeper Online, as the game will be known as, is to be developed by Chinese studio NetDragon Websoft. As part of the deal,. NetDragon will get access to all of Dungeon Keeper's "themes, characters and other game content", while EA will get access to (provided the game succeeds) large amounts of cash money.

Apart from the fact it's a "3D massively multi-player online role playing game", nothing else about the game was announced. Sadly for Western lovers of the franchise, the game is slated to appear only in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.”

Good news! You know, apart from the not being able to play it bit….

Saturday 6 December 2008

A General Thought: Games Are Too Expensive

 

Taking into account production cost, the amount of labor and devotion that are included in the development process and of course the current global economic situation, Games are still too expensive…

Friday 5 December 2008

You Know What?

 

I don’t actually know what game to blog about today. I have no clue whatsoever. So I’ll just randomly blab about anything to do with games.

 

Firstly, that picture above is of Mirrors Edge. But it looks real. Pretty cool huh? I thought so.

 

Sixthly, The Sims hasn’t controlled my life! I managed to escape it’s vile and evil snare.

 

Thirdly, the Mirrors Edge soundtrack is fantastic. I really should pick a copy of that up, but a friend of mine finished it in a day. A Day people! That’s ridiculous. Games should at LEAST last a few days. I mean , God. Oh and Left 4 Dead is exempt from that rule. And Portal. Actually, to hell with that point in general.

 

Tenthly (?), I really want to play LittleBigPlanet but because I have no money I can’t. I have to wait until my parents buy it for me for Christmas. I’m 16! Surely I  should have a job or something in a game shop. Actually if a Game or Gamestation or Grainger Games employee is reading this and it’s still before Christmas then I have a message for you. Hey! I’m the kid from Sunderland who came into all of your branches in that city, and tried to trade in that American copy of Smash Brothers Brawl the day it came out in the UK! Give me a job? Or a copy of Mirrors Edge? No?

 

Secondly, does anyone know if Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 is any good? I haven't read any reviews for it yet… Actually why don’t I own it yet? Hell I don’t even deserve to write this blog.

 

Lastly, Playing Wipeout HD while listening to a playlist consisting entirely of the Smiths actually works…

 

….Well they can’t all be winners!

Thursday 4 December 2008

Goddamn It, Worst News Ever

“The sixth CoD game was already confirmed to be under Infinity Ward's wing (and not World at War dev Treyarch), but this news thankfully confirms that number six isn't the rumoured sci-fi spin-off we were dreading.” – CVG

Well I personally thought that a Sci-Fi spin off might have worked…

Wednesday 3 December 2008

Right Now

 

As I sit here, I am installing The Sims 2 Open For Business.

 

Help me. I’ve become addicted. Again.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

My Tiny Little Family

I played The Sims 2 again today. I got it around 4 years ago. It was brilliant fun. I felt like the puppet master, controlling their lives… Oh how I laughed when he was promoted! How I sneered, as he fell in love and all because of me! I felt like Iago, deceiving and plotting.. Like God, controlling without anyone realizing and like Will Wright, because at the end of the day it’s a game and I’m just a nerd with long hair… *sighs*

 

Still, good game!

Monday 1 December 2008

Black Mesa: Source

 

I started following this project when it started a few years back. It always looked amazing, and this trailer (released today no less) emphasises the simple fact that this is the most beautifully crafted mod ever created.

 

Who cares if the original Half Life became repetitive and so fiddly at the very end you wanted to pull your own teeth out, it’s still one of the best PC games ever made. I personally can’t wait to play this. It’s going to be awesome.

 

Also, I’ve decided that I’m going to try and complete Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped 100% by Christmas. Why? Because I can.

Sunday 30 November 2008

Warped

 

I downloaded Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped on my PS3 this morning. It’s brilliant, just like I remembered and it looks slightly upscaled on the PS3. To be honest the only noticeable difference is that the sound quality is 100X better than playing it on a Playstation 1.

So I know what I’m playing up until Christmas! Which is like three weeks away. Which is worrying. I’ve almost been doing this blog for four months now.

Saturday 29 November 2008

Reality Sucks

“I never would have thought that “realism” meant that your ears ring when a grenade goes off but there you go!”

Friday 28 November 2008

Animal Crossing!

 

I wonder how many people close their web browser when they see this…

 

I’ve been reading reviews for the new Animal Crossing, City Folk and it looks to be quite good (from what I’ve read on CVG anyway). I loved Wild World and this looks to be more of the same which is good. I might pick it up after Christmas.. I might not.

Thursday 27 November 2008

Starfox Adventures

 

To this day, I consider Starfox Adventures to be one of my most sought after games ever. Bearing in mind I was ten at the time, and I considered the GameCube to be the greatest thing EVER invented, I was desperate to play this game.

 

So that Christmas (Christmas 2002, and I can tell you know that scares the shit out of me because I remember it like yesterday) I ran downstairs and there it was. I got a new TV that year as well, so imagine my GLEE when I sat down to play it. I loved it, and this day I still have fond memories of it. The opening level as crystal, fighting the giant airship with the moving head. Fantastic. This game was beautiful (and still is, from the looks of the screenshots I’ve found) and I remember it being deeply atmospheric. In fact it probably still is! I really should dig it out and play….

 

 

So, Imagine my surprise (Yes this blog has a point, not just a reason to be nostalgic) when I found out that this whole game was an N64 game that was cancelled and re-released (after an update) as a Starfox Game on the GameCube! I know! Shocking! Here’s the video. I’m off to see the Mighty Boosh Live :P

 

Wednesday 26 November 2008

Spore Expansion?

Stumbled across this comment on nFortress today from Phillie93. He bumped the Spore thread, which already made me rather weary.

 

“They've just brought out a new expansion for it; creepy & cute parts. Anyone got it? It's meant to add 60+ new parts to the game, more paint textures, animations etc. I might get it but I don't know whether its any good. Apparently the next expansion is gonna let you beam your creature down onto a planet from your ship in Space phase and the ablity to make planets!!!! Which could be pretty mint in my opinion. :D

Spore…  Expansion?

 

Yea it’s true. It’s coming. In fact it’s out next week. So… 60+ parts… More paint textures…. animations….. Christ I’ve overwhelmed.

 

To be honest Maxis, why would I want to pay to make a mediocre game that was a major disappointment in the first place SLIGHTLY better. It’s too flawed as it is. You should all be ashamed. In my opinion, you should make a new Sim City and focus on making the Sims 3 what you’ve promised it to be because let’s face it, last time you did that we got this monstrosity.

 

Eugh.

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Ban This Sick Filth!

The “National Institute on Media and the Family” (No I haven't heard of them either), has just released their yearly “Top Ten Games To Avoid Buying Your Kids”. Obviously I was interested in seeing what had been panned, and was quite surprised by what they didn’t deem suitable for children… *coughs*

 

Left 4 Dead, Gears Of War 2, Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, Resistance Fall Of Man and a few others made the list (basically everything I’m getting for Christmas). These are the games you crazy kids SHOULDN’T be getting for Christmas, because you’ll al kill your grandma on Christmas day. Instead, the site recommends you get such classic hits like All Star Cheer Squad, Hasbro Family Game Night, High School Musical 3: Senior Year DANCE! and Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy. Wow! I bet you all can’t wait to play all those top quality titles! I promise you kids, there a lot better than those terrible devil games like Left 4 Dead and Peggle.

 

*face/palms*

Monday 24 November 2008

Blood Harvest

I finished the final Left 4 Dead scenario last night (I haven't been playing it that much. I played Two scenarios on Saturday night, one yesterday morning and the final one last night).

 

It was certainly the best of the lot. Running through the corn fields. Brilliant. Cinematic game play at it’s best!

 

One thing I didn't mention yesterday was the gags in the game. There’s a lot of humor in it, which is surprising in a way because it’s a game about Zombies. Then again it’s Valve, and their sense of humor is legendary. I mean look at Portal!

 

Thanks to Friz for the images! Well the second one.

Sunday 23 November 2008

Left Me For Dead

So, first opinions. Well. What can I say? It’s Valve, It’s zombies and it’s Co-Op multiplayer. If your not walking with a limp right now, then your not human. (That was a cheap erection joke, I am sorry.)

 

I only played the demo for around 2 hours overall. I think it wasn’t long enough for you to get the overall feel of the game. It wasn’t even a taster. Left 4 Dead is a game that, like so many others, needs to be played enough so that the reality sinks in. So that your mouth begins to water with excitement. It is nothing short of genius.

 

 

I’ve only played 2 scenarios and a few verses matches so far (the scenarios take around 40 minutes to finish on normal, and considering they change every time you play that’s a hell of a lot of game play hours"). I haven't had as much fun playing a game with friends since Team Fortress 2 and I bet I wont for a very long time.

 

Everything about this game is polished to perfection, and it just works the way it should. It’s a cinematic experience from the moment you start a game (to the point where the loading screen is a movie poster showing which players are playing which characters. A very nice little touch), when you encounter your first witch and all of your characters speak in hushed panicked whispers. You can’t help becoming  involved, whispering to your mates “It’s a witch, I told you I could hear her. Shit man, flashlights off. FLASHLIGHTS OFF!”.

 

Valve have mastered the co-op side of this game. You need to work together, and not in a half arsed way like in other games, where one of you can still finish the game with one of your mates doing nothing (probably tea bagging an enemy I expect). If you don’t all stay close one of you will get picked off by the infamous Director (who is every bit as good as we were promised), who will no doubt send a swarm of zombies for you, a hunter, a smoker a boomer or if your really unlucky, a tank.

 

I’m not even touching the surface here. This game needs to be played. It’s a masterpiece. Cheapest I can find it is £22 of www.play.com

 

So what are you waiting for? Go buy it!