"Battlefield 3" Review

                                                                

“Battlefield 3” PC Review

“It’s all about doing your J.O.B.”

by Matt Davenport

It seems like forever (in game world time) since EA introduced the world to online multi-player shooters with “Battlefield 1942.” This award winning game released in 2002 took players to World War II locations and allowed them to recreate battle strategies like “parachute out of the jeep as you drive it off the cliff.” Since that time, EA has released many incarnations of the “Battlefield” franchise. The latest is “Battlefield 3.”

                                 Time to make a Thunder Run

Single Player: The game’s single player scenario is set in the near future as tensions are at an all-time high on the Iraq-Iran border. The mission starts you off as an unnamed, unarmed character wearing half a handcuff. Clearly running from someone, your character hops a train (in dramatic fashion from an overpass) and proceeds to take out armed terrorists who have commandeered the train for their nefarious purposes. Just as you make your way to the head terrorist, the game transports you into a series of flashbacks, letting you close the gap towards real time by completing various missions that explain the story. The main character in the story is Sgt. Henry Blackburn. The Marine starts of the game being “debriefed” by American agents who are trying to unravel the events. Blackburn is up to his “Semper Fi” in trouble as he is at the center of questionable events surrounding stolen nuclear devices. The player doesn’t spend all of their time as Sgt. Blackburn, there are some missions where the player spends time as a tank operator, a F/A-18 weapons op and one Parisian mission as a Russian agent.

The handful of single player missions are very linear. You move your player from A to B to C to complete your missions. Some levels like the airstrike mission are just rail shooters, but very beautiful rail shooters. In fact, much of the single player experience came across as a graphical treat for the eyes thanks to the Frostbyte 2 graphics engine. As if the programmers wanted to show off what the latest graphic cards can do. The four and a half hour tour of duty lets you do a little bit of everything, but doesn’t focus too long on any one aspect of wargaming. The player will get to run and gun, sneak around, fly, drive a tank, take down a plane, sniper and knife opponents. It’s a quick tour though a beautiful world. But even on Normal mode, the constraints put on the player don’t let you explore it.

Single Player Rating: 6 out of 10.

                     Soldiers check out the scene in “Operation Metro”

Multi-player: This is EA’s bread and butter. Multi-player is what made “Battlefield 1942” and “Battlefield 2” such great games. “Battlefield 3” on the PC opens up the landscape with 64 player maps, multiple maps and weapon progression unlocks. The player can choose from four soldier classes assault, engineer, support and recon. Each class has a specialty and particular weapons assigned to it. “Battlefield 3” multi-player works best when the player sticks to the job of the soldier class they have chosen. If you go into the battlefield as recon, then your job is to hang bank, spot enemy troops and amour and take sniper shots at the opposing troops. “Battlefield 3” rewards you the most when you help out your team and squad by performing the job for each soldier class. Sure you can run and gun with your .50 cal, but you will progress faster and unlock more items by helping out your team. “Battlefield 3” brings in multiple game modes including conquest, rush, squad deathmatch, squad rush and team deathmatch. Multi-player hosts have the ability to choose game mode, number of players, maps and quite a few other customizable options.

The maps can get a little laggy with 64 players on larger maps and with a game like “Battlefield 3,” having a low ping can make all the difference. Jeeps, tanks, APCs and jets are back for players to drive off a cliff (or fly) and parachute out. Ah, the good old days.

“Battlefield 3” multi-player uses your web browser for its Battlelog to sort through the servers and it acts as a communications center for your friends playing the game. But to get to that, it needs to have the Origin service up and running on your computer. An extra step that is a little frustrating. Another frustrating feature is that weapon load-outs can only be accessed in-game. It would be nice to accomplish that using a web browser. After a few PC and Xbox 360 server hiccups at launch, the multi-player experience has settled down and now millions of solders are out there getting the job done. The game also features six Co-Op scenarios where you can a friend can take on the bad guys.

Multi-player Rating: 8 out of 10

                           Surveying the battlefield at Mach 1.8

Final Word: EA keeps the franchise alive with “Battlefield 3.” Don’t think of it as a short single player campaign, think of it as a large scale multi-player experience with a single player and Co-Op modes for those times when you want to take a break.

Final Score: 7 out of 10

“Battlefield 3” is available for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC.

This review was played on the PC with a download code provided by EA. The Tech 2.0 Game Room Review scoring system is based on the 1 through 10 model with 1 being the lowest score and 10 being the highest.

Review: “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” - Aren't You a Little Short for a Sequel?

When I was a kid, I was saving up my proof of purchases from buying Star Wars action figures to send away for the ultra-cool Boba Fett figure with rocket-firing backpack. Six to eight weeks after sending of the proof of purchases and money for shipping and handling, my little white box arrived in the mail. With Christmas-like enthusiasm, I opened the box right there at the mailbox. Opening the plastic, I removed the bounty hunter and attempted to fire the backpack missile, nothing happened. I grew up a little that day. Since that day, my relationship with the Star Wars franchise has seen it's share of highs and lows.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” is the follow up to the 2008 video game hit from LucasArts. The new story follows a person who is told that he is the clone of Starkiller from the original game. Players take control of “Clonekiller” as he escapes from Darth Vader and the cloning facilities on Kamino. Clonekiller then sets out on a quest to find former Imperial Pilot Juno Eclipse who he believes will help him figure out the truth about his clone status.

The first “Force Unleashed” game brought lots of things to the table, wild light saber fights, devastating force powers and the birth of the Rebellion. “The Force Unleashed 2” adds more powers, more Rebellion and more sabers. Now, your character wields two light sabers and has a new force power called Jedi Mind Trick. This force power confuses the minds of your enemies, turning them against one another or tricking them to fling themselves to their doom. But more sabers and more powers means your enemies have more ways to take you out.

The scenery is gorgeous and some of the cut-scenes have a life-like quality to them. It's too bad there isn't more to see. Levels include the cloning facilities at Kamino, the Neimoidian homeworld and the Rebellion starship “Salvation.” That's it. There is visit to the planet Degobah, but it is more like a rest stop than a destination.

General Kota and Darth Vader are back as is Juno Eclipse in a cameo role. Also making cameos are Boba Fett (who doesn't fire a single missile out of his jet pack) and Jedi Master Yoda. While it was good to see these old friends again, their stay was too short, which parallels the game, too short. It took five hours to finish the game on “hard” difficulty. The game offers little in replayability save playing the game over again on a different difficulty level. There is a “Light Side/Dark Side” choice you will have to make at the end of the game. But unlike the first “Force Unleashed,” once you make your choice, the game ends with one of two cinematics. You can play the entire final boss battle over again and make the other choice to see the ending you didn't make the first time.

The Xbox 360 version, which this review is based on, does not have a multiplayer component but does offer combat missions which fall into the “time trial” or “defeat enemy waves” categories. But I would take multiplayer over combat missions any day.

One of the things I look forward to in any Star Wars game is the music. In “The Force Unleashed 2,” it relies too much on established John Williams music cues. I enjoyed the music from the first game and was hoping to have an expansion the music themes. The voice work in the game was top shelf. Yoda, Boba Fett and Darth Vader all gave me chills. But those chills went away every time “Clonekiller” screamed his lines.

The graphics are beautiful but that doesn't make up for the very short gameplay. This is one game that will only appeal to the Star Wars faithful.

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” receives a 6 out of 10.

-Matt Davenport

Senior Tech Specialist, KPVI

http://www.entertechment.com

“Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2” is available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii and is rated “T” for violence.

"Castlevania: Lords of Shadow" Review for Xbox 360

Some things transition well into new dimensions. “Super Mario 64” flourished in 3D, a soul group from Los Angeles got funky as The 5^th Dimension and Buckaroo Banzai traveled across the 8^th Dimension. Other things like “Jaws 3D,” not so much.

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” from Konami makes a chasm-spanning leap from a 2D platformer to a 3D platformer, or is it a colossus-killer or could it be an RPG-epic, or perhaps a button-masher? The development team at Mercury Steam tossed in all the above in the latest saga of the Belmont Clan and their war against the forces of darkness.

The latest “Castlevania” game puts you in the buckle boots of Gabriel Belmont, a member of the Brotherhood of Light. He is on a quest to find out who murdered his wife and why. Along the way, her soul guides him from mission to mission.

At your disposal is a Combat Cross. This steel cross on a chain will allow you to swing, dangle, grapple, rappel along with vanquish the forces of evil. Throughout the game, the player will unlock combos and upgrade methods of attacking enemies. You can also use silver daggers, fairies and holy water to slay your foes. The game really throws a lot of ways to dispatch your enemies, almost too many ways.

As mentioned earlier, “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” tries to take the 2D platforming action of previous “Castlevania” titles and convert it into a 3D world. You'll travel inside, outside and underground. Most of the combat action works as long as the enemy stays in the background or to the side of you. Because you can't control the camera position, if enemies get into the foreground, they can disappear at the bottom of the screen and are still within striking distance. This can also be a little frustrating since some of the exits or entrances are hidden by the current environment's flora.

One of the pleasures of the game's combat is being able to saddle up a warg, giant spider or troll to accomplish that creature's unique ability (and crush a few enemies while you're at it). The game will move from button-mashing combat to a climbing platformer to colossus fight to puzzle quest. It usually keeps the game modes separate. You will also utilize Light and Shadow magic and a Focus meter in your combat which can be a tad overwhelming in the heat of battle.

Since this is the first time that a “Castlevania” game has entered the third dimension, the designers want you to see all of their hard work. A few times during the game, gameplay would stop while the camera took a “beauty pan” around a new area of the world. The pan didn't really accomplish much other than to force you to stop and smell the roses. Certain areas like the Castle interiors or some of the forest areas show the graphic love. Some of the creature graphic like the wolves are a little plastic looking.

The game features the voice talents of Robert Carlyle as the protagonist, Patrick Stewart (looking like a pony-tailed Sean Connery) as fellow Brotherhood of Light warrior Zobek, Natasha McElhone and Jason Isaacs. You've heard people say, “I could listen to (actor/actress) read me the phone book.” Patrick Stewart is one of those people. And in “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow,” he does read to you. Before new missions, Stewart will move the story along with a few paragraphs of information. Carlyle, on the other hand, says little. A little underutilized, but such is the strong, silent type. The music by Oscar Araujo gives the game a “Lord of the Rings” feel. There was a twinge of geek joy at hearing the “Castlevania” theme.

The 2D incarnations of the “Castlevania” series are known for whipping and jumping. It's nice that the developers didn't let the game be just that, but in a 3D world. If you're not a button-masher by nature, don't worry, in a little bit you'll be solving a puzzle or fighting a titan. The game does have an epic vibe to it, and that may be due to some of the lengthy cut scenes.

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” is a single player game and doesn't have a multiplayer component. It does offer a little re-playability as you'll have to go back to completed levels that have areas you couldn't enter due to a lack of strength or ability. The single player game will keep you questing for more than six hours, though.

This game tries to offer various types of gameplay but doesn't dominate any one kind. “Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” rates a 7 out of 10. But because of the extensive amount of Patrick Stewart's voice work, the game gets a +1 for a final score of 8 out of 10.

-Matt Davenport

Senior Tech Specialist, KPVI

http://www.entertechment.com

“Castlevania: Lords of Shadow” is available for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and is rated “M” for Mature for blood and gore, nudity and violence.

Rebooting Star Wars

Episode #0002 of "Entertechment" is up. In this episode, Joe, Matt and Kerr talk about ways to reboot the Star Wars franchise.

Get the podcast here: http://entertechment.com/journal/2010/1/10/rebooting-star-wars.html

Review: "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2"

This review was played on the Xbox 360 with a copy of CoDMW2 provided by Activision.

Take away the controversy about lack of dedicated servers for the PC.

Take away the tasteless “Grenade Spam” PSA.

Take away the leaked Internet footage of disturbing content.

Take away the announcement about limiting multi player to up to nine versus nine.

Take away the early sales of the game in the Northeast.

Take away the $10.00 price increase for the PC version.

Take away all of the pre-release hype.

What do you have?

A game you have to play and experience for yourself.

The latest in the “Call of Duty” series keeps the action in modern day as the storyline of the game picks up five years after the last “Modern Warfare.” In those five years, the foe you vanquished in the last game has been turned into a hero in Federated Russia and one of the characters you played in the last game is now a Captain in the super special soldier club called Task Force 141. These are the people that go after the real bad guys.

The opening credits to the game are very theatrical and that’s what the makers of “CoD:MW2,” Infinity Ward, are going for, a movie-like experience where you get to control the main characters. The scope of the game’s storyline is epic, think “Red Dawn” times 10.

The story revolves around an act of terror at a Russian airport. This is the controversial “leaked” footage that shows terrorists mowing down innocent civilians inside the terminal. You can play through this level as a C.I.A. agent who has infiltrated the terror group. The developers due allow you to skip over this section of the game. This act of terror triggers war between Russia and the U.S.A.

The game is split up into three sections; Campaign, Multiplayer and Special Ops. The average gamer will take about six to eight hours getting through the Campaign mode. The story was rushed and the developers could have tacked on a couple of more levels to flesh out the story. All levels, save one, are the linear “get from point A to point B” missions. But Infinity Ward does a great job by mixing up how you achieve that. The length of the Campaign mode is short. It is longer than a movie but shorter than a season of “24.” The Special Ops mode allows you (either solo or with a buddy) to tackle different missions and scenarios. The part of the game most people will be playing until “Modern Warfare 3” is the Multiplayer mode. Infinity Ward stacks this part of the game with all the ranks, unlocks and achievements that people expected. This is the main reason people were playing “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” up until the release of the latest incarnation.

The game’s graphics are top notch but most of the time you are running for your life and unable to stop and appreciate them. The music is very theatrical with composer Hanz Zimmer lending a hand there. The voice acting by Lance Hendrickson, Keith David, Kevin McKidd, Billy Murray and Glenn Morshower are exactly the voices you want to hear if you were in the military.

Final Words:

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” is at times bombastic, at times satisfying but it is no doubt the best game of the year for the Xbox 360. It will be a big challenge for the developers to top this one.

Pluses:

Compelling story

Great multiplayer

Four out-loud “No way!” moments during the campaign

Minuses:

Story length is short

Not being able to lean around corners

Final Score: 9 out of 10

“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” is rated “M” for Mature by the ESRB for blood, drug reference, intense violence and language.

Yard Sale Find of the Year

My wife is an avid yard sale shopper. Most times, she comes back with cake pans or other kitchen goodies. This week, she made the find of the year. She found "X-wing Vs. Tie Fighter" on CD-ROM for the PC. Sticker price, $2.00. W00t! This is the follow up to the fabulous Lucas Arts game "Tie Fighter" which followed "X-Wing."

I own the first two games (on floppy disk) but somewhere along our seven moves, this game disappeared. This 12-year-old game installed with just a few tweeks on my Vista machine. Now, my afternoons will be filled with flying missions for both the Alliance and the Empire. Oh wait, I DON'T HAVE A JOYSTICK! Yea, joystick required. It looks like I'm off to WalMart for a new hardware purchase.

Retail Stores are Pushing Me to Digital Downloads

On Thursday, February 19, THQ’s “Dawn of War II” was released to the masses. I was a big fan of the first installment of the game but I was on the fence as to if I would purchase the sequel. After reading a few positive reviews of the game, my mind was set, this was a game I needed to have on my computer.

I noticed that the game was available on Valve’s Steam store, but I have always been a “need to have it in my hands” person. I love having boxes of classic games displayed on my shelves like animal heads mounted on the wall. Those boxes display my past conquests, a history of my gaming life if you will.

It was off to G*m*st*p to pick up a copy of the new “Dawn of War II” game. After going through their PC shelf, I was unable to find a copy of the game. I asked the clerk if they had any copies and was told that unless I had reserved the game, I was out of luck. Now, this was at 1:00 PM on the day of the retail release of the game so it is plausible that they could be out of copies. No bother, it was off to W*l-M*rt, no copies available there. I then drove to Fr*d M*y*r, no luck there. Three national retail chains… no “Dawn of War II.” Had every copy of the game in my town been snatched up?

Driving home empty-handed, I began to think about the whole digital download option. I already get my music through iTunes, can’t even remember the last time I bought a CD. Why is gaming any different. Yes, I would miss amassing those boxes, but my wife would appreciate not having any more bulky boxes taking up space. I wouldn’t have the thrill of taking all that security tape of the box either.

After a few mouse clicks, the game began downloading into my computer. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy a PC game at a retail outlet again.