As a longtime FPS gamer, I am becoming a real fan of squad-based gameplay in this genre.

I feel it adds an almost cinematic experience and also helps with character involvement and storyline. And basically, it's more fun!

It appears that two separate styles of Squad-based FPSs are evolving -- controllable teammates used by games such as Brothers In Arms, Ghost Recon and Freedom Fighters, and then non-controllable squad members in games like Call Of Duty and Medal Of Honor.

While these latter games excel, I feel the future lies in having controllable team members and feel let down by the fact that two highly promising up-and-coming games -- F.E.A.R. and Starship Troopers (a game made for squad-based play if ever there was one!)-- are playing down the controllable squad aspect.

If the demos are anything to go by, that is.

Can you guys at IGN give me your thoughts on this?

--Terry S.


I think that having more people on your side has great fun factor, thanks to more complex play possibilities. But AI teammates have to be programmed well to avoid things like bad pathfinding, exposing themselves to fire, and not responding quickly to your orders. This is where fully scripted squad members come in handy. It provides (in theory, at least) a smoother experience, and one that can a lot more cinematic and entertaining. As an environment becomes more complex, thanks to the advances in technology that provide the last eye candy bells and whistles, programming AI becomes more difficult.

Furthermore, with the launch of a new console generation come the developers who want to have the first big hit in a given genre. Tie this in to the mandate to create something pretty, and huge popularity of the 360 and PS3, and what you will probably end up with are a large portion of games across all platforms that emphasize scripted events so that they can concentrate on making things look shiny. As cool as controllable teammates is, sometimes, like in the Call of Duty games, you can barely keep yourself in one piece, let alone direct team tactics from moment to moment. So, for me, it depends on the situation and game type.

--Tom

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For Age of Empires: 3, the both of the shadow quality thing on game options they dont go to high or very high I understand that maybe I need a better graphic card but I was wondering which one would be best for me to use. I love all the Age of Empires games and one thing I love about the games is the graphics but ive seen the graphics on Age of Empires 3 but I cant get them I was really mad but maybe someone can help please!

--Randy L.


Try an nVidia 6600GT or an ATI 9800 Pro. Make sure you have an AGP video card slot. It's offset from the other slots and will usually be a different color. Your current card might already be in it. Without having any information about your computer, that's the best I can do for ya.

--Tom

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NO INSANE SCORES ??? are you kidding me ??? i've set the game to difficult, 10 minutes periods and I finished the game loosing 8 to 7... and I dont know how much games I quit because it was 8-2 at the start of the 3rd period ... oh yeah i've frequently seen games with a total of 15 goals.... and when you sim a game it finishes like 4-3 with about 25-30 shots per team and when you play its like 50 shots after 2 periods and like 70 hits and more per game on my side and 20-25 on the ohter... no fucking balance in this gamethis game is so over-rated .... EAsports has a nack to to incredible things and fuck up the game at the same time .... They have like 150% chance of making a goal like it was baseball. Not one time have the computer missed a goal while the puck was in the air. You poke... you check, you hook and they still keep the fucking puck ... no dude this game is disapointing and waaaaayyyyyyy below 8.5 ... I really dont know if you playd the same game as me ...

--Daniel

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First I want to say how great IGN is, since the first time I visited your site I felt in love with it, and now every time I want to read a review pf anything, I first go to IGN. I would like to just ask one favor, if it's possible to written a review for the game Total Overdose, I haven't seen much of it, not a lot of people heard about it. Just recently played the demo and it was great. Since I haven't heard anybody talking about it I just hope that this game won't pass you by with out a review. thank you

--Jc


Don't worry, we'll have a review for it soon :)

--Tom

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Its been nearly five years now since Giants: Citizen Kabuto was released, The game got about 5+ game of the year awards along with several gameplay and graphics awards. It was a top-notch game.

So why was there never a sequel?

Or was there and I just never heard about it?

Or better yet, is there a sequel in the making?!

--Brandon


Well, we haven't heard much from developer Planet Moon since Armed and Dangerous came out a couple years ago. But Interplay had the rights to Giants, and they're kinda not around anymore. It will be up to someone else to buy the rights and make another game. And it doesn't look like that's happening any time soon, unfortunately.

--Tom

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Is a PC version of Metal Gear Solid 3 in production?

I don't wanna buy a PS2 just for that game.

--Berd


Well, fortunately, the PS2 has other games available, like God of War, Ratchet and Clank, Devil May Cry, Katamari Damacy, and the upcoming port of Resident Evil 4, to name a small handful. Either way, we haven't heard a peep from Konami about MGS3 for the PC. Apparently the last one didn't sell well on this platform.

--Tom

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Just When You Thought You Were Out...

So begins once again the fall avalanche of gaming goodness. Even after doing this for two years, the sheer amount of stuff is still a little intimidating. Before, when I was just a casual gamer, I could pick and choose what I wanted to play. Instead, I play everything that comes down the pike, and it can get a little exhausting. Life could be worse, though. Thanks to the deep pockets of News Corp, I'm typing this up on a workstation made of solid 24 carat gold and sitting on the back of a eunuch who hands me a steady stream of Pabst and Funyuns. After this, I will repair to the smoking room and enjoy a fine Cuban cigar, a glass of Glenlivet neat, and an hour or so of Home and Garden TV.

--Tom McNamara