E3: Gears Of War (PC)

Finally. The killer-game that cemented the 360's lead in the next-gen console war has finally been confirmed for the PC. Videos, screenshots and more info after the jump.

Gears of War is a tactical third-person shooter developed by Epic Games (creators of the Unreal Tournament series). The game utilizes the Unreal Engine 3.0 and is an Xbox 360 console exclusive. Released on November 7th, 2006, the game quickly went on to sell more than 3 million units in its first ten weeks, and was the highest selling title of 2006.



A film adaptation is currently being considered and MS has finally confirmed the rumors that Gears of War is indeed being ported over for the PC. The game will be playable on both XP and Vista, will feature additional content and maps, and will have DX10 support. Expect the game to be on shelves in time for Christmas this year.







More screenshots here

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E3: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Infinity Ward present an impressive demonstration of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the 360 at the E3 2007 conference.



In a departure from the WWII setting, Call of Duty 4 will focus strictly on modern warfare and will be set mainly in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

According to Grant Collier, one of Infinity Ward's co-leads, Call of Duty 4 is not set in an existing conflict zone;

We wanted an enemy that is going to give the player a stand up fight. When people hear modern warfare, is that driving in a Humvee until an IED blows your tire off, then people shoot at your Humvee and you shoot back at them and they run away? Strangely enough, that's not Infinity Ward-style combat. So we are creating a robust enemy that is going to give the Western powers a run for their money. They use high technology just like we do.

More screenshots:








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E3: Mass Effect (360)

One of the most hotly anticipated games coming for the 360 -Mass Effect promises a mix of RPG and FPS together in a futuristic setting. What more could you want?



Mass Effect is an RPG being developed exclusively for the 360 (but appearing on PC as well) as part of a planned trilogy. Scheduled for release sometime in November 2007, the game utilizes the Unreal Engine 3.0 and there are plans for episodic content to be made available on Xbox Live.



Project Manager Casey Hudson explained the term "Mass Effect" as follows:

Inside the game universe, mass effect is a newly discovered (for humans anyway) physics phenomenon that has properties along the lines of other physics forces such as gravity and electromagnetism. It's what physicists in real life are currently calling "dark energy," as an explanation for the accelerating expansion of the universe -- which has only recently been discovered and flies in the face of the previous notion that the universe's expansion should be slowing down because of gravity.

If you haven't bought a 360 yet, this, along with Bioshock and Halo 3 should be all the convincing you'll need.

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E3: Halo 3 (360)

This game really needs no introduction, and so I won't bother. Bound to make every male from the age of 10-18 squeal inwardly and gush perhaps just a little bit, expect Halo 3 to be a colossal seller for MS and the Xbox 360.



Developed by Bungie Studios as part of the Microsoft Game Studios development network, Halo 3 is the third game in the best-selling Halo franchise and is expected to "set a new high water mark" for next-gen games.

Although showing less-than-stellar screenshots, and with the beta proving the content, maps and visuals to not be much of a leap forward from Halo 2, Bungie are expected to make good on their promises come the September 25th release date.

1UP previewed Halo 3 and here is their summary:

What we like: The Marines feel like a more cohesive unit now and much less like cannon fodder. They don't just wander into battle and get immediately mowed down, plus they're constantly shouting feedback about the battle as it ensues. "Go back to planet jackass, jackass," was a particular favorite. Similarly, the Covenant are very vocal too, and as the firefights erupt you can hear them shouting abuse, while cursing the "invincible demon" (that would be you).

The lighting is really beautiful. The jungle is convincingly dark and oppressive, and the shadows cast by the foliage are remarkably realistic. It's particularly effective when the jungle cover breaks, and the whole feel of the environment changes as it's saturated in sunlight.

To be filed under "subtle, but effective" is the new effect you see when the Chief's shield is being eroded. A flash of the iconic hexagon pattern gives you just enough visible feedback to see that bad things are happening, and it helps affirm that fact that you are really inside that helmet.

What we dislike: The new Brute units look kinda silly. Shoe says he thinks it makes them look like Galactus.

Expect big things from this game. The Halo franchise has been compared to that of Star Wars, a movie script was meant to written by Alex Garland, and Peter Jackson, while no longer rumored to be directing the film version, is now the executive producer. Production was halted due to financing problems in October 2006, and has been postponed by both Jackson and Microsoft.

This could be a blessing in disguise for the Halo franchise however, as most game-to-film conversions have been dire. Anyone remember Wing Commander? :D

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E3: Killzone 2 (PS3)

Is there hope for the PS3 yet?



Or was that just artwork? More after the jump.

With the annual E3 kicking off in Santa Monica today, game developers and publishers will be showing off their upcoming games and game-related hardware at the show. Look out for "Best of E3" awards affixed to the covers of video games in a few months time as publishers seek to pull in sales. So without further ado, lets get started!

First up is Sony's highly anticipated PS3-only Killzone 2. Reportedly costing more than US$40 million to make, and being developed by Guerrilla Games in the Netherlands, Killzone 2 has been making waves in the scene for many reasons. Not least of all, the trailer shown at E3 2005, while completely blowing everyone away with its visuals, was later exposed to be a pre-rendered video -and not of actual gameplay.

Here is the trailer in HD being shown at E3 2007.



Kotaku just got a sneak peek at Killzone 2. Here's (some of) what they had to say about the preview shown:

The game's look was the most stunning thing about it. Much like Resistance Fall of Man, it wasn't anyone thing that really stood out (though the lighting effects were just plain stunning) but rather the combination of everything you were seeing. There was so much detail, so much activity that it was hard for you to take it all in as it happened. Instead the game's intense action and detailed graphics helped to create what the developers called a violent theater of war.

I think Killzone 2 is probably the most impressive game I've seen so far at E3. Granted it's early in the show, but I think the game has a good chance to retaining that title. But don't trust me. Starting at 3 p.m. Pacific time Wednesday, Sony will have the new Killzone 2 trailer up on the Playstation Store. Go check it out and report what you think of the trailer back here.




While 1UP had this to say about it:

What we like: The presentation and attention to detail are key. The game doesn't look as good as the 2005 trailer, naturally, but it looks close to as good as any other console shooter. We'd say that currently Gears of War tops it, and a few other titles are on the same visual level, but the game looks extremely nice.


What we dislike: There doesn't seem to be much big picture stuff in here we haven't seen yet in other games. This likely has more to do with Sony being very secretive about the features at the moment than a lack of innovation in the game, given its importance to Sony and the company's hints at online features, but at this point it's hard to pick out one or two big things that will help separate the gameplay from what we've seen in other war shooters.

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PS3: Games for the Summer

IGN covers the upcoming PS3 games coming out for summer (again, a somewhat dubious claim). My pick is Heavenly Sword.






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And here is the rest of it

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Xbox 360: Games for the Summer

IGN continues the pre-summer listings for console games. Here is the lineup for the 360, along with my fav: Bioshock (if it makes it in time).




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And here is the rest of it

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Wii: Games for the Summer

IGN has posted a list of upcoming Wii games to look forward to for the summer (note: apparently Americans count September as summer. I guess it makes sense seeing as everything else is bigger over there too)



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And here is the rest of it

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The 5 Worst Ways to Die in an FPS

UPUP has an amusing read for all you hardcore FPS geeks out there; a collection of 5 ways all of us n00bs get fragged as soon as we have a new shooter to play. More after the jump. Enjoy.

5 - The “Other” Nade Kill


Counter-Strike Source is a fairly new game. A hybrid between the Source engine and Counter-Strike, this popular mod is the top shooter of the decade. Little remains changed from the original game, but a key element was noticeably re-done for Counter-Strike Source, the grenade.

Grenades in Counter-Strike Source throw differently than in the original Counter-Strike. Flashbangs produce greater and longer lasting effects, while smoke grenades produce a pure black smoke which is impossible to see through when inside. When grenades are thrown at enemies or teammates, they take away a measly 1 hit point in damage. It is sad to die by this. Even though you know you have 1 hit point left, you don’t want to die from a smoke grenade or flashbang. When it happens, it’ll definitely attract a good amount of “LOL” remarks.

4 - Crushing People


This isn’t a well-known technique, at least in First-Person Shooters. Crushing sounds like it was taken straight of Mario, but it’s there in some shooters. One in particular is the fast-paced Unreal Tournament 2003/04 series. Jumping on an enemy’s head does 1 damage for each successful bounce. This is often discovered by people on accident, but on rare occasions will sadly frag a player with low HP.

3 - Cratering



Cratering is included in nearly every First-Person Shooter. Player A decides to go next to a cliff. Player B can either blast him off the cliff, or just watch him accidently jump off and plummet to a quick death. This is one of my favorites to see happen in live action. It’ll often cause me to outburst in laughter, how can anyone be so stupid to fall off the cliff? Surely enough the next time I play the same game and map, I find myself to be the one falling off the exact same cliff -_-. Definitely a worthy embarrassing death.

2 - The Shank

The shank, a classic in all shooters. There is always that one melee weapon that nobody ever uses other than for the sole purpose to embarrass someone with. The shank is by far the weapon to embarrass any gamer with.

The most popular shank to date is obviously the knife in Counter-Strike. Sneaking up to an unsuspecting enemy and sticking that cold steel in his back is as rewarding to you as it is degrading to the opponent. We’ve definitely all been there and done that in Counter-Strike.

One of the more hardcore shanks definitely has to be the Gauntlet in Quake III Arena. This fast paced game rarely sees action from this weapon, but it is absolutely the greatest embarrassment shank to date in any game. Not only are you killing a person with a melee weapon in a world of Railguns and Lightning Guns, but the announcer indulges in the action by calling out the kill with the famous quote, “HUMILIATION!”

1 - The Telefrag

Telefragging has become an art in First-Person Shooters. Suprisingly, telefragging has been around since Doom. The embarrassment still remains impassable in most cases. Gamer A has 12hp, and desperately needs a frag to kill his stacked opponent, Gamer B. With health and armor in the triple digits, Gamer B has no idea where he is standing. Gamer A suddenly enters the entrance to the portal which warps him inside of Gamer B, instantly gibbing him. The player of Gamer B goes on to mash his keyboard in, while Gamer A spams “LOL” a million times through text.


Source

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Xbox 360: A Guy With 8 Dead Consoles Speaks His Mind

In response to a recent Mercury News interview, a user who is on his 9th Xbox 360 speaks his mind about what he believes is the real problem with Microsoft's gaming console.



More after the jump.


These revelations come after Microsoft recently denied having any "systematic issues" with the 360. Reports coming from Australia have also indicated that the failure rate of the 360 is much, much higher than what Microsoft is letting on. Retailers are claiming the figure is closer to 30% than the 5-6% that has been officially claimed. The unlucky user's explanations can be found in a recent interview with Microsoft's Todd Holmdahl.

"... the problem isn’t just with launch units. Of the 8 I’ve had so far, only 2 were manufactured in the first three months of launch. The last one I had red-ring on me was manufactured in November of ‘06 - a full year after launch.

The problem is that the cooling design of the 360 doesn’t hold up. The cooling of the CPU was well done, with a heat pipe to draw the heat away from the chip (and accordingly, away from the mainboard). The problem is that the GPU and its low-profile heatsink sit under the DVD drive, and are given a very narrow channel for air to be pulled acrosss the heatsink by the fans. When the GPU heats up enough, not only does it reflow the solder in the ball grid array slightly, it can cause the entire mainboard to flex - a phenomenon largely caused by the X-shaped brackets that hold the heatsinks on under the mainboard. They hold the heatsinks down to the chips with a tension fit that presses up directly underneath those chips.

So when the system gets too hot, the combination of loosened solder with a mainboard that flexes from heat causes the GPU or CPU to actually break its connection from the board - resulting in the 3 red lights and secondary error code 0102 (the “unknown hardware error” code).

This is true of ALL systems manufactured thus far, not just the launch systems. Hopefully, Microsoft’s new measure of adding a heatpipe to the GPU heatsink will reduce the heat on the mainboard itself enough to keep this from happening. We shall see."

Reports are coming in of Microsoft receiving up to 2,500 broken 360s per day in the UK alone. Another user has just admitted to having 11 broken 360s and yet Peter Moore, head of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business division, which controls the 360, has merely stated:

"I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now."

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