'Nooooo...' (at the thought of another WW2 shooter)
'NOOOOOOAAAAHRHRCCCCKKKHHHHHHHGGHHH!' (at the thought of crappy-COD3-developer Treyarch taking over the reins from COD4 demi-gods Infinity Ward)
(Ed. This actually sounds like a rumor, but we should all still be praying for Treyarch's immediate demise from the dev scene regardless)
(Click on the image above for PennyArcade's comic)
By now you may or may not have heard of how Jeff Gerstmann, Editorial Director of huge-flashy-corporate-gaming-for-teens website Gamespot, was fired last week. What you may not know is why: apparently publisher Eidos Interactive threatened to pull the plug on a massive advertising campaign after Gerstmann dished out a low 6/10 review score to the rather mediocre Kane & Lynch: Dead Men -published by, yep, Eidos Interactive.
More after the jump below.
CNET (parent company of Gamespot), immediately issued an official statement declaring:
"For over a decade, Gamespot and the many members of its editorial team have produced thousands of unbiased reviews that have been a valuable resource for the gaming community. At CNET Networks, we stand behind the editorial content that our teams produce on a daily basis"
Eidos threatens to pull the plug
Eidos reportedly threatened to pull a massive advertising campaign for Kane & Lynch if the "tone" of Gerstmann's 6/10 review wasn't changed. Apparently Gerstmann did in fact alter his review but it obviously wasn't enough to appease the demi-gods over at Eidos or CNET.
When asked about the situation, Eidos declined comment, "Eidos is not able to comment on another company's policies and procedures," said a company representative.
Sarah Cain, a spokesperson for CNET, did say,“We do not terminate employees based on external pressure from advertisers,”
Aw, isn't that nice to hear?
Gamespot digs an even deeper hole?
Now there is news of how Eidos is deleting hundreds of user complaints from its forums, citing: “There will be no further discussion”, an Eidos forum administrator bluntly warned visitors, describing the complaints as “ugly spam”.
Alex Navarro, an Editor for Gamespot had this to say on the state of CNET:
"Remember SimCity? Remember what a joy it was to build up a fully functioning, living, breathing city, full of life and wonderment? Then, at some point down the road, after you've built up your city to the peak of its productiveness, you'd start mashing the disaster button and a wide variety of tornadoes, earthquakes, and fake Godzillas would come tromping through, laying fiery waste to every bit of what you'd worked so painstakingly to create? Yeah. It's a little bit like that. Except someone hit the disaster button for me."
What does this all mean?
Not much really. Unless you're seriously misguided or just an eternally annoying optimist, you were probably able to put two and two together just after you'd left university and realized that;
a) The world wasn't quite as rosy as you thought for the first 21 years of your life
and
b) Its all about advertising, marketing and PR, baby....its all about that.
What can you do?
If you happen to be a reader or subscriber to anything related to CNET at all, you can stop reading and cancel any subscriptions as a way to voice your displeasure at this whole debacle. Just know that there aren't that many other sites out there who don't practise something similar already. CNET / Gamespot just got sloppy on this one, but don't expect IGN, 1UP or any of the other big sites to play any fairer.
Highlights from Gerstmann's review of Kane & Lynch:
Story and characterization
“It's impossible to care about anything that's going on in the story, because every single character in the game is almost completely unlikeable. There's no one to root for here, not even in a cool anti-hero sort of way. You're just left with a bunch of really ugly characters that just become impossible to care about over time”
“The dialog's not particularly great, though the voice acting's not bad, but really the problem is that every third word out of every character's mouth is the F-word... it's great when properly used, but here it's just so done to death... it just becomes a real crutch and stands out as just kind of lazy.”
“But it's not the story and the premise that are going to drive you away from Kane & Lynch Dead Men, the gameplay itself also has more than its share of flaws”
Gameplay flaws
A system for taking cover from enemy fire behind objects is “a real pain that you just never use because it's kind of a hassle”
“The squad tactics... don't work very well because the AI on both sides of the game is really pretty flawed”
“The enemies get stuck on cars and run in circles and do all kinds of dumb stuff. So that's not much fun either”
The game's multiplayer mode is “a really neat idea, but unfortunately that idea plays out in the context of Kane & Lynch, so it has most of the same problems that the story mode has”
Conclusion
“Probably not worth purchasing”
Excruciating to listen to, this pretty much sums up everything negative I think of online gaming, use of headsets and the entire Halo franchise pretty much. All in 2:30 mins...
And here is the rest of it
Coming from the notoriously finicky gaming magazine EDGE, a 7/10 score is actually quite decent. But when we are talking about one of Microsoft's biggest blockbusters for the Xbox 360, things start to look a little shaky. EDGE has only ever given out five 10/10 scores in just over nine years, but in the last three months Halo 3, The Orange Box, and now Super Mario Galaxy have all been made recipients. I'm a big fan of EDGE normally and have more respect for them than any other gaming publication. Still, I was very surprised to see the 10 given to Halo 3. Anyway, here are the rest of the scores:
Super Mario Galaxy - 10
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune - 8
Assassin’s Creed - 7
Crysis - 9
Mass Effect - 7
Call of Duty 4 - 9
Kane and Lynch - 6
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground - 6
The Simpson’s Game - 5
Zack and Wiki - 8
The Witcher - 5
Bladestorm - 8
Castlevania Dracular X - 7
Silent Hill Origins - 7
Hellgate: London - 6
Timeshift - 6
Mutant Storm Empire - 8
Guitar Hero III - 6
Beowulf - 5
Need for Speed: Pro Street - 6
And here is the rest of it
Been playing the PC version as thats all that got shipped to me - and I have to say, I'm underwhelmed. The storyline sounded cool; Iraq followed by Starship Troopers-meets-War-of-the-Worlds aliens in smalltown Hicksville. The squad tactics also sounded cool too - although a little too simplistic compared to what they were touting. Visuals are nice, but thats it - nice. Physics and character movement are a total letdown and just feel stale, and not very well thought out. It all plays out very much like an FPS I would have expected from 3-4 years ago (albeit with prettier graphics) than a 'next-gen' FPS. I've yet to get even halfway through, but to be honest - like Medal of Honor: Airborne, I've completely lost any desire to carry on. Its destined to be one of those games I'll go back to next June when there's a complete drought of games out. Simply put, up against the likes of Crysis and COD4, the bar has been raised....and Area 51 doesn't even come close to clearing it.
6/10
A lot of gamers who got their hands on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Ubisoft's latest game, Assassin's Creed, are reporting numerous graphical glitches, invisible walls and framerate slowdowns that exist throughout the game. Having viewed several videos, I am of the opinion; Yes, its a shabby piece of work. Ubisoft, why the rush for a mid-November launch when the run-up to Christmas is just weeks away? More after the jump.
DiggingTheWeb has a little mini-rant here about Assassin's Creed
The "Ladder Dance"
Double Assassin Glitch
The Horny Guard
The Wall Blunder
Glitches & Freezes
Potential fix for PS3 owners: disable the Information Board (press Triangle) and do not log in to PSN. Also, update to v2.01 as soon as its out.
Shameful isn't it? Makes you wonder just how much advertising space Ubisoft pays for on all those review sites that gave Assassin's Creed 9/10 - folks, you should be reviewing the game "as is" and "out of the box" - not according to whose paying you to have that second mortgage you just took out...
Think again.
Remember all those Microsoft and Sony adverts decreeing the death of standard-definition gaming? How the buzz words 720p and 1080p got hurled around like confetti at a fat, overpaid groom's wedding? How Samsung, LG, and Sharp, amongst others, made us think we needed Full HD LCD TV sets? Here's the truth for all you gaming-graphics-whores: Most games don't even render at 720p, let alone 1080p.
That LCD you splurged $3,000 for? Hardly being used. That $599 PS3 you shelled out for? Forget the whole HDMI-1080p hype. Click below to find out just how many games actually use the full HD spec...and then weep.
Here are two of the very latest games to be advertised as Full HD:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360) 1024×600p 2xAA
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) 1024×600p 2xAA
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3) 960×1080 in 1080p
Neither Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or Uncharted run in the actual resolutions that are stated on the back of the box.
The reason most developers do this is to allow for more visual effects to be rendered on-screen without slowing the game down. Trying to code and develop a game with "next-gen" visuals, full-screen anti-aliasing, post-processing, and anisotropic filtering in full 1080p resolution is an incredibly difficult and time-consuming process. Even Sony's much-fabled Killzone 2 slated for release in 2008 won't be running at 1080p, but rather 720p.
Most gamers won't really notice the difference (did you before I posted this? No, didn't think so) but its still an interesting, if not contentious point to note, and one to definitely take on board next time you see gimmicky buzz words being bandied about. More from the pixel counter at Beyond3D.
Def Jam: Icon (PS3) 1152×648
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS3) 1920×1080 FullHD
Transformers (PS3) 960×1080
Pirates of the Caribbean (PS3 720p): 960×720
Pirates of the Caribbean (PS3 1080p): 780×1080
Oblivion (360): 1024×600 (PS3 version is full 720p)
ICO (PS2): 512×224p (less than Tekken on PS1 at 512×240)
VF5 (PS3 720p): 1024×1024 (same as 360)
VF5 (PS3 1080p): 1024×768
Some older games from the same thread:
Full Auto 2: 1920×1080 AA 4x, bad framerate - PS3
NBA Street: 1920×1080 AA 4x (30-60fps) - 360
LocoRoco Cocoreccho 1920×1080 MSAA 2x -PS3
Tony Hawk Project 8: 1040×584 AA - 360
Tony Hawk Project 8: 1280×720 - PS3
Virtua Tennis 3: 1920×1080 AA 2x - PS3, 360
XMB: 1920×1080p - PS3
Dashboard: 1280×720p - 360
Perfect Dark Zero: 1138×640p - 360
Halo 3: 1152×640p - 360
Call of Duty 3: 1120×630p 360
Ninja Gaiden Sigma: 1280×720p PS3
Project Gotham Racing 3: 1024×600 360
Tomb Raider: 1024×600 360
Ridge Racer 7:
NBA 07: 1920×1080 - PS3
NBA 08: 1920×1080 - PS3
Tony Hawk Proving Ground: 600p - PS3
Tony Hawk Proving Ground: 720p - 360
GRAW2: 720p - PS3
GRAW2: 720p AA 2x - 360
Super Rub a Dub: 1600×1080 - PS3
GTHD: 1440×1080 - PS3
Super Stardust HD: 1280×1080 - PS3
Skate: 1536×864 - PS3
Skate: 1280×720 AA - 360
Bioshock: 1280×720 - 360
Harry Potter: 1280×720 MSAA 2x PS3 ?
Pixel Junk Racers: 1920×1080 PS3
Heavenly Sword: 1280×720 AA 4x PS3
Blast Factor Demo: 1920×1080 PS3
The Darkness Demo: 1024×576 PS3
There you have it. Sucks doesn't it?
Source
Looking good, but boy does it resemble Gears of War...
EA & MTV's massive band-game-for-the-wannabes, Rock Band, is set for release worldwide on PS3 and Xbox 360 on November 20th. In case you haven't been keeping up, this virtual band simulation game is coming from Harmonix, the developers of the original Guitar Hero series. For the princely (outrageous?) price of US$169.99, gamers get a plastic guitar, drumsticks, mics and about 58 playable songs (karaoke style) straight out of the box, with more to be added later through downloadable content. Full tracklisting after the jump...
1960s
* Rolling Stones "Gimme Shelter"
1970s
* Aerosmith "Train Kept a Rollin'"*
* The Who "Won't Get Fooled Again"
* Boston "Foreplay/Long Time"
* Mountain "Mississippi Queen" (cover)
* The Police "Next to You"
* David Bowie "Suffragette City"
* Black Sabbath "Paranoid" (cover)
* Blue Oyster Cult "Don't Fear the Reaper"
* The Ramones "Blitzkrieg Bop"
* Deep Purple "Highway Star"
* KISS "Detroit Rock City"
* Molly Hatchet "Flirtin' With Disaster"
* The Outlaws "Green Grass & High Tides" (cover)
* Sweet "Ballroom Blitz" (cover)
1980s
* Rush "Tom Sawyer"*
* Bon Jovi "Wanted Dead or Alive"
* The Clash "Should I Stay or Should I Go"
* Faith No More "Epic"
* R.E.M. "Orange Crush"
* Iron Maiden "Run to the Hills" (cover)
1990s
* Foo Fighters "Learn to Fly"
* Metallica "Enter Sandman"
* Nirvana "In Bloom"
* Stone Temple Pilots "Vasoline"
* Weezer "Say It Ain't So"
* Smashing Pumpkins "Cherub Rock"
* Radiohead "Creep"
* Beastie Boys "Sabotage"
* Hole "Celebrity Skin"
* Garbage "I Think I'm Paranoid"
* Soundgarden "Black Hole Sun"
2000s
* The Hives "Main Offender"
* Queens of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow"
* The Strokes "Reptilia"
* Jet "Are You Gonna Be My Girl"
* OK Go "Here It Goes Again"
* Nine Inch Nails "The Hand That Feeds"
* Pixies "Wave of Mutilation"
* Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Maps"
* Red Hot Chili Peppers "Dani California"
* Coheed & Cambria "Welcome Home"
* Fallout Boy "Dead on Arrival"
* The Killers "When You Were Young"
* New Pornographers "Electric Version"
Unlockable Tracks
* Bang Camaro "Pleasure (Pleasure)"
* Twelve more yet to be revealed
Source
After the customary summer lull, comes autumn in full force:
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC / 360 / PS3 - November 5th)
Crysis (PC) - November 15th
Haze (PS3) - November 19th
Unreal Tournament 3 (PC - November 2007 / PS3 - Early 2008 / 360 - Late 2008)
Timeshift (PC / 360 - October 30th. PS3 - December 2007)
Having tried my studious best to avoid the marketing behemoth that has become Halo 3 meant I totally missed out on this one nearly a week ago; apparently the Halo 3 version as released in Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan etc) came missing one crucial element: an English language audio track, meaning if you were one of the several hundred thousand foreigners living anywhere in Asia and wanting to play Halo 3, you'd have been expected to do by reading the English subtitles.
Not only that, but the snafu extended itself by way of proclaiming on the Halo 3 box that the languages supported were either Chinese / English or Japanese / English, which usually means the spoken language in-game, but in this case - only referred to the English subtitles.
Word is that Microsoft is reportedly telling Halo 3 buyers they "should have read the small print" on the back of the box. Way to go, Bill.
UPDATE: Stores across Hong Kong are now selling the Singapore version - which comes with both the English & Mandarin language audio tracks. Just make sure the copy you get says English Version in the bottom left on the front cover, and Made in Singapore on the bottom right of the back cover...
Hollywoodreporter / Digg / Geoxpat / Gamespot
I was going to title this something innocuous like "Halo 3 Secret Boobies Unlock Code Unveiled" or something equally innocent to entice my three 360-owning-friends to click the Play button. But then I thought of the consequences of ruining the biggest game of the year for them...oh, the consequences...(i.e. how I'd never be allowed to borrow that little white toaster off them again)
Destructoid has more links in case MS pulls a hissy fit and pulls it from Youtube...
Thank god. Now I can delete that FIFA 08 demo.
Demonstration video of Valve's upcoming sequel to Half Life 2's Episode 1. Episode 2 is set for release on October 9th 2007.
A modular animation system lets Rubi shoot her guns from any acrobatic state, allowing her to dispense pain pills in the middle of a cartwheel or while hanging upside-down from a steel ladder. Newbies can pull off such moves easily using a standard auto-aim, but the more advanced hit men can go manual and lock-on to different targets at once. (source)
You may be forgiven for thinking I'd expanded into porn, but you'd be sadly mistaken. Wet is Sierra Online's answer to Lara Croft, and it is set to hit in 2008 sometime. More after the jump.
The game's script was penned by one of the lead writers from the seminal television action drama 24, though the stylized look borrows just as heavily from cool-cat Tarantino tale Kill Bill. Rather than running down terrorists or sticking it to her ex-gang mates, Rubi is a government-approved mercenary, a legal gun for hire. As such, her assignments can be considered "wet works," an old Cold War euphemism for covert, special-op assassinations.
And she's certainly good at her job. Wet's action-packed gameplay lies somewhere between Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia, due in part to the fact that the sexy star totes dual-pistols and a samurai sword. She can leap all over the place, twisting her body in the air to avoid enemy fire, running along walls and kicking off objects to somersault over the heads of her enemies like a young Jackie Chan.
Some new screens, along with that amazing E3 trailer in full HD - after the jump. (and fingers crossed for that April 2008 release date...)
At least for those with a 360 or a PC. PC demo should be out (soon) here, and the 360 demo should be out anytime on XBL...
And here is the rest of it
MyArcadePlanet has a list of things you might all wanna go back for in the excellent Stranglehold demo out now on Xbox Live for the 360. If you haven't played it, go get it. Then wait about 5 mins after initially playing it before telling me you "don't like it". Awesome.
And here is the rest of it
Seems like Mass Effect has again been pushed back from its oft-delayed release date to December 7th. Already 8 months late, what are the bets we won't be seeing this before 2008?
Mass Effect has been delayed for a total of over 8 months now, but the latest delay seems like a strategic move, opposed to the previous delays which required more time for the games development.
Mass Effect has not had a huge delay and will be released December 7th 2007. (source)
Click here to read more about Mass Effect, including trailers, screenshots and gameplay details.
