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Close Combat: First To Fight Preview 06:22 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
(0 comments)
Game Informer today carries a huge preview of Destineer's U.S. Marine squad combat title, Close Combat: First To Fight: At the most basic core, First To Fight is built around the Marine system of "ready, team, fire, assist," or RTFAS. This term refers to the distinct roles and duties of a typical four man Marine fire team. The ready position, the team leader, is the man charged with issuing out orders for the rest of the team. He's the leader and the brains behind how the team works together as a single entity.
Brothers In Arms Theme Song 06:17 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
In June of 2004, Gearbox Software's music producer, David McGarry, traveled to Prague to record the famous Filmharmonic Orchestra performing the BiA sound track. Download here.
Worthplaying Goodies 06:16 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
FF vs The Third Reich Quickie 05:22 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: role-playing
One thing that can be reported is that the small sampling we saw gives every indication the title will retain and build on some of its predecessor's key strengths. One of these is the look. Freedom Force very effectively captured the visual essence of the comic book medium and transferred it to the computer screen. It appears the sequel will do the same. In some regards, it may be even better. For instance, although only an impression, it seems like there are more usable and destructible elements within the environments. This is great in terms of allowing your characters to feel like powerful superheroes, although you might not want to go around demolishing every lamppost, phone booth, mailbox and building since doing so will reduce your prestige rating. Then again... In a related vein, the results of behaviors such as smashing things or tossing a car will seem natural, at least within the game context; things will shatter and bounce, debris will hit and injure innocent bystanders, etc.
Top 20 Best Selling Games of December 04:56 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
1) Half-Life 2 - Vivendi Universal - $50The French are taking over!
Auto Assault Q&A; 04:49 pm
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: mmog
GS: Tell us a bit about the postapocalyptic world that Auto Assault is set in. How big is it, and how is it divided up (if it is divided at all)? Are there many towns and cities? Where will you go to repair your vehicle or rest up?
Ex-Lover Deletes Lineage Character; Arrested 12:20 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- mmog: role-playing
The jilted girlfriend, said to be in her thirties, logged onto her ex-lover's Lineage account with his username and password. Once there she deleted his game data including all the items, weapons and clothes he had collected. Just remember this when you break the heart of the next elf you meet in World of Warcraft.
Dark Sector Info 12:15 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
The game is set in space, in the mysterious realms at the edge of the solar system, where you play a high-tech stealth agent with a host of supernatural powers. The tagline for the game is "every generation a few are born with the power to control," which is not only a sly hint as to the developer's intentions, but a key to the gameplay itself. Using a combination of cyber-implants and psychic skills, you'll be able to manipulate time, the environment and computer systems in a variety of cool ways, giving you a huge amount of control over a highly reactive world. Third-person anime-esque stealth-action? Sign me up.
Incredible Hulk Graphics Engine Details 12:13 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
Chris Cudahy (Lead Programmer) did a lot of work to enhance the decal system which handles the bulk of the damage effects on the world. It handles radial-damage (like the circular shock wave when Hulk flies into the side of a building), cone-damage (sonic clap), and basic impacts, cracks, breaks, etc over all sorts of terrain. The decals are usually augmented with particle effects for debris, dust, smoke, and flame. Most damage effects are persistent in the world. Decals are eventually recycled, but a LOT of destruction can be layed down before this happens.
Kutaragi Disses Sony 12:07 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: general news
Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., said he and other Sony employees have been frustrated for years with management's reluctance to introduce products like Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod, mainly because the Tokyo company had music and movie units that were worried about content rights.
Activision Buys Doom 3 Xbox Developer 12:01 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
The acquisition underscores Activision's strategy to continue building its technical infrastructure in order to take full advantage of the high-growth potential of the next-generation hardware platforms by acquiring technical and design talent with a history of high-quality product creation, while over time enhancing the company's financial operating model. With recent successes such as Spider-Man 2 and the Tony Hawk games, who can blame them?
A Good Year For Xbox 11:56 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: xbox
Perimeter Addon Announced 11:47 am
- Andrew Burnes
- games: real-time strategy
The story of "Perimeter: Emperor's Testament" opens new pages in the Exodus history. Whereas the Spirits are on the way to their destination and the Harkbacks are seeking the mythical Earth, the Emperor builds up his Sponge Empire using automatic bases - his Vice Frames. He creates the Mechanical Spirit to help him discover new Worlds. One of the Vice frames starts the testing of this mechanism, this leads to appearance of the super mind - Mechanical Messiah and the discovery of the parallel Chain of the Psycho-sphere Worlds. We also meet the "lost" Exodus Frames and find traces of the mysterious alien race. The sides are in the middle of the deadly battle - who wins? The player will find out the answer during 25 missions of the Single Player campaign. Screenshots can be found on the official site.
Ubisoft Reports Sales 11:28 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: general news
Today, Ubisoft, one of the worlds largest videogame publishers, announced financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2004-2005. Third quarter sales totaled $231 million and Ubisoft projects record fourth quarter 2004-2005 sales of more than $273 million. Excellent holiday season in 2004: all major titles successful:
Nvidia Interview 11:23 am
- Jeff Tom
- hardware: nvidia
David Roman: This is the next generation GPU, so after the GeForce 6 series this is going to be the next generation. So, this will be everything we have in GeForce 6 + whatever else we bring out. Obviously it will support DirectX 9, shader models 3, it will be the most feature-rich, the most powerful GPU that we've ever created actually, when it comes out.
The Third Reich Preview 11:15 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / roleplaying
One thing that can be reported is that the small sampling we saw gives every indication the title will retain and build on some of its predecessor's key strengths. One of these is the look. Freedom Force very effectively captured the visual essence of the comic book medium and transferred it to the computer screen. It appears the sequel will do the same. In some regards, it may be even better. For instance, although only an impression, it seems like there are more usable and destructible elements within the environments. This is great in terms of allowing your characters to feel like powerful superheroes, although you might not want to go around demolishing every lamppost, phone booth, mailbox and building since doing so will reduce your prestige rating. Then again... In a related vein, the results of behaviors such as smashing things or tossing a car will seem natural, at least within the game context; things will shatter and bounce, debris will hit and injure innocent bystanders, etc.
Eve Online: Exodus Preview 11:13 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: mmog
Speaking of industry, you now have the ability to access the trade market while in flight, instead of having to dock at a station. This makes sense to me in a science fiction context. You still have to physically reach the location where the items are being housed, but it's nice to be able to multi-task trading with other duties, like pirate missions or resource collection. CCP has also introduced day trading indicators, which means you can research price histories on the thousands of different goods available for purchase. A little speculation can go a long way, and we're told that some Corporations dedicate almost all their time to just trading goods, so price history is a huge boon there.
Restricted Area Preview 11:11 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: role-playing
Restricted Area is an upcoming action role-playing game that may very well remind you of Blizzard's popular Diablo games. That's because this German-designed role-playing game uses a similar 2D, isometric graphics engine that renders the action very much in Diablo style. However, that doesn't mean that this is a traditional sword-and-sorcery style game. In fact, Restricted Area is set in the apocalyptic future, where you'll have to roam around the world, armed with firearms and other special gear, blasting away at hundreds of monsters, mutants, and more.
Advent Rising Preview 11:09 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
For those who haven't jumped on the Advent Rising train thus far, GlphyX's title is the first in a planned trilogy of action-adventure games starring central character Giddeon. Offering players both third-person and first-person camera perspectives, this science-fiction shooter is built upon the Unreal Warfare engine, generating massive landscapes with striking color and detail. And, working with award-winning science fiction author Orson Scott Card, GlyphX plans on telling an original branching storyline in which the players' actions affect the story's outcome.
Star Wars: Empire at War Preview 11:07 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: real-time strategy
The new game will take place in the Star Wars universe all right, but its actual events will take place between the not-yet-released film Episode III and the 1977 film Episode IV (better known simply as Star Wars, the first movie in the original trilogy). The action will take place in the same galaxy and will include tours of duty on such planets as Hoth, Endor, Tattooine, and Dagobah. You can also expect to see classic troops and ships in the game, like stormtroopers, Imperial snowspeeders, and the impressively huge four-legged walking AT-ATs (from The Empire Strikes Back), as well as speederbikes and AT-STs (the not-so-impressive two-legged walkers that appeared in the battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi). And in space, you can expect to encounter classic ships like TIE fighters and Y-Wings (and their bomber variants), in addition to humongous Imperial capital ships. (In fact, you can expect to see, and play as, both land and space units in the game...simultaneously.)
Stolen Developer Diary 09:21 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / strategy
One of the main challenges from a design point of view is the knock on effect this has on balancing specific areas. It has been quite a juggling act to maximise player choice, without breaking other mechanics. This has made Stolen fascinating to work on from a pure design point of view. Because Anya, the character you play, is so incredibly capable it has produced quite a few conundrums. It is very exciting to use athleticism to get to areas that other people can't reach, hack your way past security systems, or, if in a clinch, fight your way out of trouble, but it is very challenging to design levels in such a way that this freedom can be enjoyed. It is very easy to make progress too simple or too hard when there are so many things to take into account.
Spoils of War Q&A; 09:14 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / strategy
Matt Andrews - The main point of difference with Spoils from any other game is an equal combination of the two genres; we stayed away from being one genre with some of another mixed in. We've accomplished this with our character structure in that the player has the ability to decide how they want to play the game - in FPS mode only, in RTS mode only, or by combining the two. We simply afford users the opportunity to play it their way and give them the options of how, without a lot of clutter and confusion. When a person plays Spoils of War they might find that the Battlefield Commander position is one they'd like to try because of the ability to control resources and manage AI's or they may be perfectly happy going off on their own and wreaking havoc as an overwhelming FPS. Others may enjoy RTS, but every once in a while wish they could drop down and help their fellow warrior(s) on the battlefield - we made sure that could happen and with equal capabilities as the other FPS characters. The transfer between RTS and FPS is done with the click of a button providing instant gratification that will allow for exceptional speed, strategic advantage and enjoyment.
Chaos Theory Music Q&A; 09:13 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / strategy
Amon Tobin: Creatively I had all the freedom in the world but technically it was very difficult. It's tough to design music that has to change at any moment from one level of stress to another, and still have any coherence. There is an element of accepting that it is a videogame and not a movie and that therefore not everything is going to work perfectly, but I'm pleased that my score is as complete as it could be given the complexity of the arrangements and the limitations of the consoles.
Resurrection of Evil Q&A; 09:08 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
Tim Willits: It's shorter, it's about half as long as Doom 3. I think it's a lot more intense. There's more of a focus on action and when you add in the powers you acquire from the Hunters and the extra possibilities of the Gravity Gun, we're definitely talking about a much more action-packed experience. That's not to say there won't be quieter, more moody moments too, but we really wanted to try and make it as much fun as we possibly could.
Sony Ups PSP Production 04:26 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: psp
Sony Corp. will raise monthly production of its PlayStation Portable game player to 1 million units because of rising popularity of the handheld console, said Chief Operating Officer Ken Kutaragi. A North American and European launch is still intended for March.
In-Game Advertiser Adds $10m To The Kitty 03:17 am
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
New York-based Massive will expand its ad sales staff in its new Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. A London office is planned for mid-2005, which will service advertisers in the U.K., France, and Germany. Massive expects to add as many as 20 employees to the current 30 on staff, according to CEO Mitch Davis. Companies already signed up include Atari, Ubisoft and VUG.
No More WoW For North America 03:10 am
- Andrew Burnes
- mmog: role-playing
"We haven't requested that any retailers pull the games they already have off their shelves," Gil Shif, public relations representative, said. "We're just being careful not to release additional copies to be sold until we feel the game servers can support additional players." In semi-related news, Okratas looks at the enforceability of EULAs, such as Blizzard's.
F.E.A.R. MP Impressions 01:35 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
Using a completely new gaming engine - built in-house - FEAR will catapult people into a single player experience that's nothing short of a Jon Woo action flick. Over-the-top action, horror and graphical prowess are what drive the development team into pushing the envelope with both single and multiplayer. Your role is as an operative with an elite team of counterterrorist's who are called into action to investigate a compound that's apparently been overtaken by terrorists - or so that's what they think. Translating this kind of action into a fun multiplayer experience takes an even-handedness and attention to detail and game balance.
Project Snowblind Preview 01:12 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
The ravenous shooter fanatic has been left high and dry on occasion, but 2005 is looking promising indeed. The forthcoming Project Snowblind from Crystal Dynamics is a big, icy chunk of the looming shooter hailstorm. While inspiration from the Deus Ex series is readily apparent, the futuristic Snowblind is definitely its own distinct "thing," unique in both mechanics and setting. Snowblind aims to combine the dramatic, big battlefield drama of games like Call of Duty with the free-form combat and options of other shooters.
Unreal Championship 2 Diary 01:05 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- consoles: xbox
We've just hit content complete on the project, which is a huge milestone in development. (Good job, guys!) We structure our process around two targets: feature complete and content complete. Content complete means ALL the art is in there. It may not all be perfect, there may be some known bugs, etc., but all the animations, textures, maps, etc. are in the game and playable. Feature complete for us really means "feature locked", when all the features in the game are operational and playable. That's probably the most important milestone to me -- because it's when I can say, "Sorry, it'll have to wait for a sequel." without people thinking I just don't like their feature.
Game Reviews 12:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
In Other News... 12:03 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- in-house: in other news...
Why do you think so many people turned on id after they released Doom 3? Was the game really that bad, or is it just fun to kick the man when they're down?
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Worthplaying Goodies 10:12 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
(0 comments)
Source SDK Update; General Source News 06:13 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
Valve has also issued a general news update: Last week marked the end of the Half-Life 2: Deathmatch level design contest. We received over 200 submissions, and we're going through and playtesting each one. There are a number of great maps in here, and we're already having trouble picking the clear winners. The release of the winning maps will coincidice with a release of Half-Life 2: Deathmatch, which will include two new weapons: the Slam and Stunstick. Team Fortress 2?
Kuju Presents George A. Romero 03:12 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
"With George A. Romero's cult status and following among horror fans, a property of this pedigree deserves a first class developer. That is exactly what horror fans will get now that we've signed high profile developer Kuju Entertainment," said Arindra Singh, president and chief executive officer of Hip Interactive Corp.
Monolith's Frightening Console Game 03:07 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: general news
For more on F.E.A.R. click here.
N-Gage's Time Up? 03:00 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: n-gage
The INQ's Nordic mole claims Nokia is plotting to get rid of its entire Bochum, Germany facility by Q1 2006. That's not just N-Gage R&D; we're talking about, it's the production facility as well. Where's that salt?
Marvel vs City of Heroes - The Fight Continues 02:56 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- mmog: role-playing
City of Heroes is a tool that encourages originality, not slavish copying. It allows young and old to exercise their imaginations to create super-powered beings and send them off to interact with the creations of other individuals in a virtual world called Paragon City. If it should be banned, then so should the #2 pencil, the Lego block, modeling clay, and anything else that allows one to give form to ideas... Thanks /.
ATI Introduces X700 Mobility 02:54 pm
- Jeff Tom
- hardware: ati
ATI Technologies Inc. (TSX: ATY, NASDAQ:ATYT), the global leader for discrete PC graphics, today announced a powerful new PCI Express-based graphics processor for notebook PCs - the MOBILITY&153; RADEON� X700. Driving high definition DirectX� 9 performance into new territory, MOBILITY RADEON X700 delivers eye-popping visuals and longer battery life for the rapidly growing thin-and-light and performance-thin notebook segments. With eight pixel pipelines, six vertex engines and high speed GDDR3 memory support, MOBILITY RADEON X700 provides the horsepower to easily handle today's most visually intensive games, high definition content and workstation applications. With the introduction of MOBILITY RADEON X700, ATI now offers a top-to-bottom line of native PCI Express mobile graphics processors.
Neverwinter Nights II Q&A; 02:52 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: role-playing
3. I hear that NWN2 will bring NWN up to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 version rules. Is this true, and what unexpected obstacles has changing the core rules created?
Look Back On 2004 02:47 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: general news
I like the focus on tactical AI; Halo 2 features amazing enemy tactics. But I also like the focus on character quality, as in Half-life 2's emotionally compelling characters. These are two areas where we all need to follow those leads, where gameplay and narrative can be dramatically improved if more designers think about the problems and take advantage of the potential features that are just waiting to be discovered (or, more accurately, waiting to be prototyped, implemented, and tuned). My hope is that we're about to move into an age of development where pretty graphics aren't enough--where developers have to provide something more powerful in terms of player experience.
404 Gaming Adds Hip-Hop Stars Past & Present To Urban MMOG 02:44 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- mmog: role-playing
Including many features that currently do not exist, our first title will allow subscribers to become integral parts of not just the storyline, but the actual game itself, taking the otherwise stale MMO community and hurtling it forward beyond all competitors. The recent addition of DJ Pooh (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) to 404 Gaming's already impressive staff will infuse our "Hip-Hop MMORPG" in development with an inspiring dose of classic urban storytelling. Permission from the estates of the deceased has been secured, as have their likenesses. In addition to the above news, 404 Gaming's site has been updated, with further information promised soon.
Empire Earth 2 Q&A; 02:43 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: real-time strategy
With Empire Earth 2, our goal is to create a truly engaging, rich gameplay experience which brings key challenges and a true sense of realism to the table for hardcore fans. It seems to us that in the real world, borders simply don't expand in proportion to buildings - it just doesn't happen. We wanted Empire Earth 2 to more closely mirror the real world. As such, it made sense to us to create and implement our own system, the Territories System (in which borders do not move) which we feel pushes the game toward the historical realism we're striving for, while adding loads of additional gameplay. (Read on below to find out why I absolutely LOVE the Territories System we've implemented --- I think fans will agree that it's a superior system).
Battle for Middle Earth Q&A; 02:42 pm
- Jeff Tom
- games: real-time strategy
Q: Mark Skaggs, EA vice president and executive producer of the game, has been quoted to say that "[EA is] going for the best Lord of the Rings game [that can be made], not the best RTS." Is this self-defeating, or is sticking to the Lord of the Rings franchise actually more important than making a great game?
Red Orchestra Q&A; 02:40 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: action
Your mod is realistic, but is it fun for the average player?
Best Selling U.S. PC Games 02:38 pm
- Andrew Burnes
- games: general news
1) The Sims 2 - Electronic Arts
Metalheart Interview 11:19 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: role-playing
Q: With so many other RPG titles out there, what did you do to try and avoid falling into too many clich�s?
Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 11:12 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: mmog
So, Beta. First off, we're going to be breaking it into several stages. For each stage, we're going to have different goals, and we're going to want to hear from different people about how to improve the game. The first stage of beta, Beta 0, will be small. Very small. You probably won't be in it. And let's be honest - you probably don't want to be. Oh, I know, you think you want to be in Beta 0. Face it, Beta 0 is going to be exasperating. Chaotic. Messy. Beta 0 is about getting things "un-broken," set up, configured, stable, and ready to expand to the larger beta stages - the ones you will be in. There will be lots of starts and stops and things breaking. This stage will be populated by people who have been in previous Turbine tests, and personal team referrals, who we feel we can abuse in a special way.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. AI Journal 11:03 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
Early in the development of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game mechanics we faced the necessity to invent new methods of game AI… The thing is, a free world as we see it in the game, should provide for a new approach to characters inhabiting it. As announced previously, our primary ambition was to create a living-and-breathing world. To accomplish that, on all the Zone levels we implemented the system of life simulation, allowing calculating all the processes within the realm of the game… Still though, we've been only half-way through as, apart from processes occurring beyond the player's sphere and thus impacting his events in indirect way only, there is an area of direct contacts of the player and the world's denizens. So, the second part of enlivening the world involves the events directly related to the protagonist.
EA ESPN Q&A; 10:49 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: sports
GS: How does the deal with ESPN impact negotiations with John Madden himself? Does the ESPN deal signal the end of the relationship with Sir John? FG: I'm not sure where those stories are coming from. I think the simple fact is, we've had a long-term great relationship with John Madden. And he's in our games next year. And we're talking about the future with him. And by the way, he works for ESPN. If you think about the deal, it's not an inevitability that he goes away. I'm not even sure where that's coming from.
Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich Preview 10:47 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action / strategy
Combat requires you to be far away in order to successfully engage with your enemies. Even then, it gets a bit clunky when trying to get your heroes to attack different targets. There are still quite a few obstacles to work out in terms of smooth playability, but there are a few nice quirks that definitely make it fun. The obstacle-based level play is pretty straight forward, and you do not have to spend your time wandering the map in order to find your way to the next enemy or obstacle you need to blow up. It's a pro if you do not like to waste your time meandering, but a con if you like to really get personal with your maps, or at least try and make roaming a challenge.
F.E.A.R. Multiplayer Previews 10:40 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
The multiplayer focuses on the military aspects of the game, with modes including the standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, and variants that include the "slow-mo" ability from the single-player game. Each level contains a special powerup that players or teams can fight for control over, and allows you to slow down time across the entire level. In team games, the controlling team is reduced to 40% speed, while the other team is reduced to 20%, giving the controlling team a huge advantage for ten seconds. There's also a icon on the screen that points out the location of the powerup, so if you're carrying it, assume that the other players will find you pretty soon.
Team 17 Interview 10:34 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: general news
So who is to blame? I can assure you that developers would like to make new games, with new ideas, but the costs involved these days to develop a prototype/pilot are so prohibitive. It's not an easy situation to "fix" (if it's indeed broken) since to me it seems that the games market has "matured" into a similar commercial industry much like music and movies and much of what is going on has to be accepted as normal commercial business practice.
Empire Earth 2 Preview 10:32 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: real-time strategy
The core group of new features are designed to allow easy management of the AI and the game in general. For example, the Citizen Manager allows you to make sure your civilians are working in the right place at the right time. It appears by setting up priorities geared towards gathering resources for war or for economic prosperity. By and large, you can then leave your civilian population to get on with the dirty work. Similarly the new War Planning feature will allow you to call up a regional map and create war plans for allied troops to follow. Plus you can follow everything - Mad Doc has instigated a picture-in-picture feature, where cameras are set up to watch events unfold from important vantage points and perhaps witness what Davis proudly proclaims as "non-cheating AI".
Republic Commando Preview 10:29 am
- Jeff Tom
- games: action
Fortunately Republic Commando should go even further in restoring reputations for the Star Wars faithful, casting you as the leader of a four-man clone commando squad in a series of daring missions deep behind enemy lines. Which enemy lines? Well timeline-wise it's set at the end of Episode II/beginning of Episode III in the white heat of the clone wars, as the Republic's clone army fight alongside the Jedi for the very freedom of the galaxy. Or something like that, we're a little hazy on the specifics and since Episode III's not quite out yet, we'll have to leave it at that.
Area 51 Preview 03:28 am
- Andrew Burnes
- consoles: xbox
It'd be sort of stupid not to acknowledge certain things about Area 51, such as the heavy thematic debts it owes to Half-Life. At the first cursory inspection, Area 51 looks like Half-Life would if someone had forgotten to pay the power bill; you're trapped in a dark top-secret military facility, uncovering conspiracies, with hostile aliens that're piloting dead humans around like puppets.
F.E.A.R. Hands-On Preview 01:27 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: action
While we have seen this "bullet time" effect done several times over since the originator, Max Payne, I do believe this is the first time we have seen it in a multiplayer environment - at least to this extent. The slowed firings of weapons create exaggerated trails of bullets that can be easily tracked to their target. Audio itself slows and drops in tone to fit the adrenalized moment. The first time I dispatched another player in slow time was beyond thrilling - I could see the entire course of the projectiles as they first hit the target, and next flung him over a railing.Bullet time in multiplayer should be interesting...
Hardware & Tech Nuggets 01:25 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- hardware: general news
Game Reviews 01:24 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- games: general news
In Other News... 01:15 am
- Robert 'Apache' Howarth
- in-house: in other news...
What was the weakest element in Half-Life 2? If you could go back in time and change something about the game, what would it be?
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