Neon Turtles

And... I' back.'Wem back.'re [Not] Dead.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:02:00 +0000

I have returned from my dual holiday to La Reunion/Japan, and will now get back to playing games and talking about them. This is more just a heads up than anything else, but I will just add that the reason the site has had.. limited content recently is also due to Michael, Mark and I's inherent laziness. As we are teenagers, we cannot be blamed for this.

I also said I would do a BF:BC2 Beta preview, but unfortunately I only played about 2 hours before having to leave to Reunion. As such all I can really say is that it's pretty similar to the first Bad Company; if you liked that you'll probably this.

BFBC2 Beta Release Imminent!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 15:36:00 +0000

If you're anything like me, you're more than interested in the new Bad Company game being released in March. After all the problems associated with the "hack proof" and "user friendly" IW.NET *cough* Bullshit *cough*, many players from MW2 are interested in the game which will offer a graphically awesome experience, intense online multiplayer and dedicated servers for PC users.

A beta for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on PC will be released on the 28th of January (US Time) which is the 29th for Australians. If you've pre-ordered BFBC2 then you'll be able to get access to the beta. If you're Australian, Steam is selling it for $55 Australian which is damned cheap for any game over here. PS3 users have already experienced a beta and with a PC beta coming up, we'll be providing you with a preview of the beta soon.

For more information see the BFBC2 blog here.

And... I' back.'re [Not] Dead.

noreply@blogger.com (Albie) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 11:23:00 +0000

Exactly what the title is implying. NeonTurtles hasn't been giving you guys a good dose of gaming news recently for a number of good reasons:

- Mike and Dennis (Possibly Mark as well) are all having a vacation in Japan, last time I talked to them they told me they were going snowboarding.

- I've just come back from visiting Hong Kong and Macau.

- I'm staying in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia where traffic stands still and internet is scarce.

On behalf of the team, I humbly ask you (The reader!) to pardon us for the lack of activity.

Now with that aside let's look what's coming up in what is possibly one of the greatest years of gaming we have ever known.

With ground breaking sequels such as MASS EFFECT 2 and BIOSHOCK 2 being released very, very soon; you guys can expect Michael, Dennis and Mark to do whole hearted reviews of them once they get back.

Titles such as Halo: Reach, Dead Space 2, Alan Wake and Dead Rising 2 and many more are going to make us all dive our hands into the depths of our pockets in order to keep up with the flurry of excitement that will eventually hit the shelves sometime this year.

On a side note; Valve has launched its Team Fortress 2 Contribution site. This is where all the ideas submitted by the community regarding new weapons and hats will be checked by Valve to see if they'll make the grade to be used in the game. So if you have a niche for modelling, concept art and game design; make yourself heard now!

TF2 Contribution Site: http://www.teamfortress.com/contribute/

2010 is going to be a significant year for gamers, so it'll best for you not to miss out.

Game of the Year, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:19:00 +0000

Hey guys,
I'm currently sitting at a laptop in a random house in Reunion, a small French-owned island near Mauritius, off the coast of Madagascar. The keyboard I'm using looks like this, so it's taking awhile to type this out. Anyway, as a result of my current geographical location, I won't be involved in anything possibly until February comes around, apart from this; my top 5 games of 2009. Enjoy (or don't).

5- Plants vs Zombies
Popcap was introduced to me through this game. I now own, in one form or another, every Popcap game, but only Peggle is as good as this. I spent countless hours on Plants vs Zombies, growing my Tree of Wisdom higher than I would like to say. I have no idea why this game is as fun as it is, or as addictive, but there you go.

4- Dragon Age: Origins
Mark and Michael love the shit out of this game. And despite what may seem, so do I. I've always enjoyed RPG's, and Dragon Age is a fine example of a traditional video game refined and turned into something extremely enjoyable. A nicely original story and a brillantly realised world combine with challenging and enjoyable combat, and the best party interaction I have ever seen, to create what may well be the most replayable RPG of all time.

3- Flower
Many of you may not know what Flower is. A downloadable title put out on PSN by thatgamecompany earlier this year, Flower was on release heralded as a brilliant example of how the Sixaxis could be used well as a control device. It is also, however, a brilliant game. I recommend you go and watch a video because it will explain it far better than I do. Flower really wins the award for best experience with a game I've had this year, and also the award for most beautiful.

2- Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Nathan Drake is fucking awesome. The first chapter of the Uncharted franchise was, in my humble opinion, an excellent game, but it really doesn't compare to Among Thieves. I enjoyed every minute of Uncharted 2; one could say it's a rollercoaster ride in digital form. Uncharted 2 also sets the bar for story telling in video games, and it raises it pretty high. Finally, it looks quite pretty.

1- Assassin's Creed 2
Somebody always calls each and every year the ''Year of the Sequel'', but I would bestow upon 2009 a different title; the ''Year of the Sequel that is really fucking good''. Assassin's Creed 2, in my mind, is the perfect example of just what I sequel should be. In every way improved over the first game, AC2 wins my game of the year because it not only does a lot, it also does everything right. I don't really feel like I need to say anymore; Assassin's Creed 3 will have to be really good to keep up.

Valve News, Medal of Honor and Halo Reach

noreply@blogger.com (Albie) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:50:00 +0000

Some exciting news that has emerged this week regarding Left 4 Dead 2, Team Fortress 2, Medal of Honor and Halo: Reach.

Valve’s marketing director Doug Lombardi has announced plans for the first batch of Left 4 Dead 2 DLC which will collide with the 360 and PC on (American) Spring 2010. Said to contain a new campaign dubbed ‘The Passing’ it features Left 4 Dead 1’s original survivors meeting up with the cast from Left 4 Dead 2 in one big zombie slaughter game set in a small rural town of Georgia. Full co-op, scavenge, survival and versus compatibility will be included along with a brand new melee weapon, firearm and uncommon common infected. The exact pricing details for the DLC is to be decided but it is assumed to be free for the PC as an update and available as a download from the Xbox Live Marketplace... For a price. Aside from the DLC, for all those modders out there who have been living under a rock; the Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring tools has been seen undergoing a private beta test by several users in the steam community so expect seeing the full release sometime near the abridged future.

The ‘War’ Update is finally here for Team Fortress 2 that gives the Demoman and Soldier more gear and you the ability to craft weapons and hats from blueprints with all those spare items that have been littering your inventory. The new gear includes new shoes for the Soldier, a more defensive sticky bomb launcher, new achievements and even a SWORD AND SHIELD for the Demoman. Pay the TF2 Blog a visit for full details and be sure to check out the comics they have posted. Now the only class that’s left without an update is the engineer.

TF2 Blog War Update: http://www.teamfortress.com/war/part1/index.htm

Medal of Honor has a new game and trailer! It is now following in the footsteps of its Call of Duty predecessor by shifting from the war torn country sides of Europe to the conflict in the middle east. Looking like a Hollywood blockbuster movie; it is worth checking out the trailer via YouTube and might be of interest to all those folks who unnaturally get bored with Modern Warfare 2. Let’s just hope you don’t have to play as an undercover CIA agent.

Watch the Medal of Honor trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOUMavabM4

In case you have missed it, Halo: Reach has a world premiere trailer that looks so ever sweet and showcases Spartan team Noble; the supposed main characters. It is a must-see for Halo fans and is one of the best trailers I’ve seen this year.

Watch the Halo: Reach Trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9ez7iNjoVg

Sorry for the late news.

Internet Censorship FTL?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 01:59:00 +0000

The Federal Minister for Communications, Stephen Conroy recently announced that the government would go ahead with its controversial introduction of a mandatory internet filter for Australia.

I for one, believe that the internet speed in this country is pathetic at best, and we don't need to have a political point scoring filter being introduced to slow it down any further.
This filter is said to block 1 in 10 legitimate websites. The only other countries that censor the internet in the world are: China, Iran, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Syria, Egypt, Vietnam, Tunisia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. That is not a list Australia should be added to. Furthermore I'm a little irritated that the government needs to tell us what we should and shouldn't be able to see, when we're all capable of putting a filter in place if we want one. On top of that, cyber crime devisions of the AFP would no doubt benefit much more from the money that would be spent on this filter.

If you're as pissed off/biased/internet loving as I am, head to this website; the GetUp Campaign is letting us e-mail Senator Conroy, so he can experience the power of people complaining over the internet (it's a beautiful thing, isn't it?).

BFBC2 Beta

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:31:00 +0000

I got in it. Preview to come.

Mass Effect 2: A Minor Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 01:39:00 +0000

I suppose I could be called a Bioware fanboy. I wouldn't have thought so before the release of Dragon Age: Origins. Another game being released by Bioware is Mass Effect 2, which is surprisingly the sequel to Mass Effect. ZOMG RLY?

Everyone here at Neon Turtles has played Mass Effect. I don't think Dennis has finished it but has still been enjoying it. Mark and I enjoyed it but agree there were flaws. Flaws we hope to see fixed in Mass Effect 2. Bioware has slowly been releasing snippets of what is to come in Mass Effect 2. They have revealed new characters such as Subject Zero and Thane- to name a few -and teased the possibility of returning characters such as Garrus and Tali. These videos (except Subject Zero's) probably have made most Mass Effect fans squeal like a little girl.

Additionally to the clips of characters, Bioware has done a few developer walk-through videos with big game sites showing off new game-play mechanics such as the new reloading system that replaces the overheating weapons system. Most recently they have done interviews and videos around the revamped classes such as Biotics and Engineers. Which brings me to a criticism of Bioware. While I understand by boosting abilities and powers they are too increasing the fun of the game. But as seen with the Subject Zero trailer I am starting to see a trend by Bioware of selling their games through boobs and violence to appeal to a wider audience than RPG fans (they did this with Dragon Age too). While I don't mind them doing this, or changing the game-play to further become like an action game, I just pray this doesn't have a negative effect on the RPG side of things.

Besides all the mumbo-jumbo in relation to the game itself, Mass Effect 2 on Xbox 360 will feature two discs.
“Even though there is a disc swap, it occurs at a carefully planned place in the game (that does not interfere with gameplay) and is done once,” Priestly wrote on the Mass Effect 2 forums. “You do not swap back and forth. 1 swap and then done.” - Bioware
So it doens't sound like a problem, and having two discs gives me the impression that it is going to be a long game which in my opinion is a good thing, and won't have an effect on the PC version which I plan to get. To rap this up Bioware have also changed the Boxart for the standard edition to this. I feel that this new cover is trying to appeal to action gamers opposed to the Mass Effect boxart which had a similar feel to a blockbuster movie cover.

Having just talked about everything Bioware has revealed, I feel there is so much more to be found out too. Such as are Liara and Ashely going to make returns? Will the explorable planets/systems have more depth? Will there be elevators? Australians will know the answer when Mass Effect 2 is released here January 28th next year.

Dragon Age: Origins Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:30:00 +0000

To be honest, I finished Dragon Age a few weeks ago, but I am one of those gamers who: A)Likes to sit and think about a game they have just finished for a little while, before touching it again. B) Doesn't typically play games a second time.

Now I think I am ready to tell the imaginary readers of our blog what they need to know about Dragon Age: Origins. For a start, Dragon Age is a game I will be playing again. It is an excellent video game that I would definitely recommend for christmas if you're a fan of RPGs. The lore and history of the world is in depth, the writing is mature and complex and the combat most tactical and enjoyable I've seen in an RPG to date.

Let's start with the combat. It is not a particularly new idea to have 4 party members working together to take down waves of enemies, but Dragon Age is certainly the most engaging tactical experience I can remember from an RPG point of view. It is not at all uncommon to fight 10 enemies at once, with this spiralling up to 20 now and then, not counting massive battles. For this reason you will need to use the four members of your party (who can be a warrior, rogue or mage) in tandem with one another to defeat a wide variety of reasonably intelligent enemies. Because you will be pausing a lot, I would recommend getting the game on PC, as the console versions don't really allow for the tactical top-down view that can be useful in massive fights. There are a wide range of spells and abilities as well as class customizations which means there's lots of room for replayability (I'd like to know if that's really a word).

Speaking of replayability, let's have a look at the replayability value of this game. You can choose from 6 different origin stories which define your character's position in the world. Each origin gets a 2 hour starting story before branching off into the main quest and does not only affect the opening hours of the game. I for one am aware of several quests I missed because of my origin choice, and one very cool ending to the game which requires you to have a specific origin story. Long story short, this is quite possibly the best game in terms of value for money I have seen for a long, long time (it's only $60 dollars or so on steam). I racked up 60 hours on this game before finishing it and I didn't even get the achievement for finishing 75% of the side quests.

The music in Dragon Age also deserves a mention, it contains an excellent score by the world reknowned composer Inon Zur, who has done the soundtrack for many Triple A titles. The music is used well by the game to create some very cinematic moments that you'd struggle to find in most modern day films. The graphics also deserve a mention, they're not top notch, but you should be able to run them on high settings if you have a modern PC, and you will probably only see lag during some of the extremely large battles.

Let's move on to my favourite part of this game, the story and the writing. BioWare is well known for its writing and Dragon Age is no different. The story is engaging and interesting from the beginning of the tale and the choices you make in this game are so interesting you'll want to replay it just to see what happens when you do one thing instead of the other. On top of that, the characters in this game are very well done. The party members at the beginning of the story all give interesting impressions, but once you go beyond the surface you'll find that none of them are exactly as you thought they were. They all are complex people with very complex opinions and feelings. The plot feels the same way, in that not all of the choices are black and white, and there really aren't good or bad choices in the game, as opposed to what you think is the best option.

Summing up, there aren't enough games out there like Dragon Age: Origins. Great storyline with interesting party members and dialogue, coupled with an interesting new world and fun combat is not something you see everyday. There's only so much about it I can repeat before you need to see the game for yourself. If you like RPGs, especially BioWare RPGs, this game is a must. Christmas isn't that far away, so if you don't have a copy already and then go grab one or guilt trip a relative into it!

Sup Y'all

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:57:00 +0000

Sorry to all that I haven't been watering the blog much recently, and that no podcast went up this week; I've been working, Mark is staying at Michael's house, and life is generally getting in the way of our sorry excuse for a gaming blog. Anyways, the reason I actually started this post was to talk a little about Assassin's Creed 2, which I beat this afternoon.

To start with, a big comment on just how good this game has already been mentioned; I beat it quickly, in fact before I had beaten both Dragon Age and Borderlands (getting there guys). This second installment really does propel you through it, with much tighter pacing than the first, and a much more interesting story. I do have to say that playing the Assassin's Creed 1 will really help you understand "what.the.fuck." is going on (there's a reason I put that in quotes, you'll see).
All in all, AC2 always gives you something to do, and feels shorter than the 25 hours or so that it is(which is a good thing, to clarify).

I've already talked a bit about the mechanics that underpin the action in this here video game, and my thoughts earlier on were more or less correct; everything has been made just a little bit better, though the climbing is still occasionally unwieldy. Of the new armaments in the game, namely poison, a gun and TWO WRIST BLADES, only the one in caps is really important.

There are a stack of other improvements, but I don't need to list them; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is fantastic. On one final note, the game has one of the more cliffhanger endings you'll see in a video game, much like the first, but guess what? Assassin's Creed 2 has by far the best end game credits ever. Nothing even comes close.

This is Dennis, saying go buy that game.

Alien vs. Predator Banned in Australia...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:16:00 +0000

Some of you may or may not be aware that Sega was planning to release an Aliens vs. Predator game for 360, PS3 and PC in February of next year. It seems at this point Australia will not be receiving that game. It has just been refused classification by the OFLC and Sega decided not to attempt to tone down the violence factor for a similar case with German censors. Refusing classification means that the game will not be able to be sold on Australian shores.

The OFLC claims up close and gruesome decapatation and other violent acts are the reason for the ban. Some of the things in the game definitely sound worthy of an R 18+ rating, which of course Australia does not have. In our next podcast we will be discussing a few things to do with R 18+ ratings and the OFLC, and gamers' favourite Attorney General, Michael Atkinson.

If you're interested in the game or the ban, be sure to check out this report.

BFBC2 PC Specifications announced!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 09:23:00 +0000

If you're as excited about Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as we are, then you'll be interested to know that the minimum and recommended PC specs are out. There is already a PS3 Beta for the game and a PC beta will be starting early next year, according to the game's blog. The recommended specs include a quad-core processor and a 512MB Graphics card, so you might want to consider an upgrade or two before March next year, if you're a die hard fan.

Click here for the full list.

DLC for Major Titles Inbound! (Also, we're not dead!)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:12:00 +0000

The good news for gamers this holiday season is that their favourite games do not have to end. Both Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed 2 and BioWare's Dragon Age: Origins will see DLC this summer, with 2 new DLC downloads becoming available for Assassin's Creed early next year and several DLC pieces planned for Dragon Age. Assassins Creed 2 will see "the Battle of Forli" and "the Bonfire of Vanities" which still lack more details, while Dragon Age will see "Return to Ostagar" in which the player returns to an early area of the game to learn more about the ruins of Ostagar and get some new epic loot!

Additionally, as a blog we are not dead, just playing a lot of MW2 and a few other games. We will start updating the blog regularly as of now....I hope. And fear not! A new podcast is coming up before the end of the week.

So stay tuned for more ranting and occasional gaming news!

PodTurtles Ep4 - Holidays Go

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:38:00 +0000

Yes we are lazy.
Not really, we all had exams (I still do) and thus our gaming playing abilities were severed. Alas Mark, Dennis and I have all been playing Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Dennis has also been playing Assassins Creed 2 and has tried the Left 4 Dead 2 Demo, Tropico 3 Demo and the Gyromancer demo. Due to lack of material we also talk about things that aren't games.

You can listen to the podcast here with the embedded player or alternatively download it here.
The podcast is 49 minutes and 30 seconds long, so ignore any lies to podcast puts upon you.

AC2 thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:18:00 +0000

Assassin's Creed was an ambitious game. A massive city, a free running assassin, blades hidden in wrists... The game had it all. What it lacked, however, was any real mission variety that could keep a player from getting bored after the first 3 hours. The game had a fair few other problems too, though I must say I ultimately enjoyed it quite a lot.

The problem of repetitive missions and very little to do are gone in the second Assassin's Creed outing. For those not following, the series follows one Desmond Miles, bartender extraordinaire, who in the first game is kidnapped by an evil corporation run by Templars who force him to relive the life of an assassin that exists in his genetic memory, in order to learn the location of a "piece of Eden", the items that have allowed them to rule over the world. If you didn't get all that don't be too fussed, as the second game opens with a cinematic explaining (far better than I did), the plot of the first game.

AC2 opens with Desmond leaving the Templar's offices with the help of Lucy, an assassin(who by the way are the sworn enemies of the Templars in this universe). You are then promptly put back in to the life of another ancestor who killed people, this time one Ezio Auditore, an Italian upper-middle class citizen, who (for very good reasons), begins murdering rather a few Templars.

The story I will not go into more than that, but it's suitably well written stuffed with conspiracies. The real reason you should be here is to learn about how un-boring the second Assassin's Creed is; in short, it is in every way superior to it's predecessor.

To begin with, the character of Ezio. This guy is actually a man before he is an Assassin, and unlike Altair, who while incredibly badass was ultimately just a cipher, Ezio really is a character. His job as second son in his family seems to involve a lot of womanizing and fighting, and the development of the young man as a rascal to a hardened killer is noticeable; the game's plot spans a number of years.

Moving on from character, we have all the shit you can do in AC2. The main story still involves assassinations, but no longer are there mandatory eavesdropping missions before hand. All of the side quests really are side quests now, and are completely optional. Not only are they optional, but there are a hell of a lot more of them, including actual assassination missions.

The second big addition comes in the form of an economy, and a village. You can now buy new weapons and armour for Ezio, and pickpocket civilians to earn the money you use. You also earn money from the completion of missions, of course, and as income from your wonderful villa. This is a big addition; about two hours into the game your Italian countryside castle is opened up. You will slowly nurture the aging mansion, and it's included village, back into a popular tourist destination. Essentially, you invest money into it, and you get money back. The system works nicely; you go back every once in a while to do some stuff and collect your rather large bags of money.

The actual gameplay remains much the same as Assassin's Creed the first, with the only real addition to combat being disarming. There are some new toys, such as smokebombs, and additions to the wristblade; you have two of them, they can poison fools, and shoot people in the face.

I'm kind of getting tired of writing, so I'll continue this later; suffice to say, Assassin's Creed 2 is pretty good.

Podcast?

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:04:00 +0000

For the 18 imaginary people who listen to our podcast, PodTurtles, and the one real person who does (me), there is no PodTurtles this week. We're all in the middle of exams, and also there are a lot of games that we're playing, rather than talking about. You can expect another PodTurtles next week, with Modern Warfare 2, among other things.

Sorry guys.

Torchlight thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:50:00 +0000

Torchlight is a Diablo clone. You should know this upfront. It's developed by the same guys that made Diablo, the music is written by the same man who wrote the music for Diablo, and the game kind of just is Diablo. That's not a bad thing, however; Diablo is still a great game, aged as it is, and loot-whoring never seems to get old.

The journey starts with a choice of one of three classes(mage, warrior, rogue), and either a cat or dog as a pet. The game opens in the only town you'll see, Torchlight(don't know what the name has to do with the title, but whatever). From there you progress through the paper-thin story and into the game's one and only dungeon. 1 dungeon may sound like you'll not be seeing much change in scenery, but the weirdly changing mine actually has a fair bit of variety; lava, jungle(complete with rain), and more.

The game's mechanics involve a lot of left clicking, but there's been a fair bit of streamlining from the Diablo of old. You can bind any skill to your right mouse, remove gems from gear to reuse the gear or gem (but not both), receive set bonuses from armour and weapons, and more. A big part of this streamlining is your pet, which is the only real innovation in the game; your little guy has an inventory, and will run back to the town to sell all the stuff you put in it, if you want him too.

He's also a fighter, though, and can be equipped with loot of his own. Spells are where it's at when it comes to your pet, for example giving him a buff, or a summon, which he will cast completely autonomously. When your pet is giving you rock armour and summoning skeletons, you're set.

Apart from that, there's not much more to say about Torchlight. It's a cheap ($20), purchase off Steam that I highly recommend if you're into loot, and don't find Borderlands appealing enough.

MW2- Another perspective

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:44:00 +0000

Considering Dennis openly admitted that he hasn't really even played the first COD4, I thought it would be prudent to tell you what I thought of the game, seeing as I recently racked up 1000 hours of COD4 MP on Xfire, and have played the first game singleplayer so much that it hurts.

The singleplayer experience is similar in length to the first game and essentially continues where the last singleplayer left off. Unfortunately, if you've played COD4, you're going to be finding a lot of stuff in here repetitive. Things that were fun to do or watch the first time round don't bring that much enthusiasm and you only really start to get interested in the second half of the campaign. This could be put down to a lack of innovation on IW's part. Sure, you get to fire some predator missiles now and then, but for the rest of the time you will be seeing things that have already been tried and tested in COD4. By far the most interesting new part of the singleplayer are the all too brief vehicle scenes where you can control a snow mobile for example.

Dennis said the game is well written and I suppose this is true, however it is not very well explained in parts. Relationships between members of your squad are not fully understandable if you haven't played COD4 and there are some major plot points where there is a lack of explanation to the player as to what has just happened. This is still a fun singleplayer game, but it doesn't feel like a proper sequel as much as episode two of the same game.

I'm going to skip to graphics in general now, and simply say that the graphics have been tweaked. They haven't developed a new engine or anything, but that doesn't bother me because they still look good. Just don't expect to be blown away by new graphics or anything.

Multiplayer is an interesting mixture of good things and bad things. The maps and gameplay are new, plus new weapons and killstreak unlocks mean you will never want to stop playing. The problem is, it's likely you'll be forced to stop playing all the time. If you and a bunch of friends want to play together you'll have to make a party and try and join up with another bunch of people wanting to play. Private matches are also at the moment completely obsolete, because you can only get points through matchmaking.

Also, if one of your friends is disconnected from the server you're playing on, the matchmaker will sometimes find a replacement and you'll all have to leave to get back into a game together. On top of this, these "lobbies" have only ever lasted 6 maps at MOST for me. It is very irritating having to spend so much time on menus instead of transitioning smoothly between each map and staying with the same player group. The only problems in terms of gameplay is that fact that there is no lean button on PC anymore, which doesn't seem that irritating until you try it.

If you can get into a game, you'll enjoy it immensely and I would still recommend buying the game, I simply couldn't resist adding a dolop of negativity to Dennis' cake of awesome.

I am an idiot.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:44:00 +0000

I got Modern Warfare 2 today, at 10.00am. It cost me 100 dollars. I then came back home, and sat down to play "just a little" of the singleplayer. Problem is, I didn't stop.

The game is amazing. I have played the entirety of the singeplayer campaign, which just goes from one crazy set-piece to another. It doesn't stop, it doesn't slow down, and it's a hell of a lot of fun. The story is over the top too, but very well written, and there were plot twists I actually didn't expect. Despite what the title of this post reads, I am not an idiot(in this respect), and almost always guess what's going to happen. As should you.

The shooting itself feels very similar to the first Modern Warfare, from what I've played(I never actually owned the game), and there's a large variety in guns that means everyone should find something they like killing dudes with. The graphics are better, but certainly not on par with some games of this generation(and before you ask, everything was on highest). On the whole the singleplayer is one of the best experiences I've had all year, while remaining similar to the first game in the series.

The multiplayer is similar to the CoD4 as well, with some tweaks and improvements that, well, improve it. Deathstreaks are fun, especially for me, and according to GiantBomb, shooting down UAV's is awesome. I wouldn't know, but Mark and Michael certainly will. I have yet to try out the spec ops mode, though judging from the rest of the game so far, it will be awesome. Despite my deep hatred of Activision, I've got to admit that they've published a damn fine game.

So why am I an idiot?
I have two exams tommorow.

Modern Warfare 2 Inbound!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:05:00 +0000

This time tomorrow those of us in Australia will have our hands on Modern Warfare 2, one of the most anticipated and controversial games of the decade. Our dedicated team will disregard their real lives and impending exams to bring you updates to the minute on how the game is, if it's enjoyable and if it is worth your hard earned cash (let's be honest, you didn't do any hard work for it all, did you?). Stay tuned to ze blog for updates!

PodTurtles Ep3 - Dragon Age, and nothing else.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 12:38:00 +0000

PodTurtles Episode 3 arrives! Filled with family fun, for the whole family, and a chance to win a trip to Hawaii!

Nah I'm just fucking with y'all. We talk Dragon Age: Origins, a little bit of Borderlands, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Australia's lack of an 18+ rating.

Or Download it all here.

FYI podcast is actually 52 minutes and 48 seconds long, the embedded player lies.

Additional pwning by Michael. (Editor's note: Michael added the embedded player)

High General Exalted Chancelleor Editor Mark's Note: Nobody cares about the editor's note.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2: The Beta Annoucement Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 09:34:00 +0000

As mentioned in the forthcoming Podcast, here is a trailer about the Bad Company 2 Beta!

Looks epic, just like the good old BF2 days.

The Dragon Age toolset arrives.

noreply@blogger.com (Dennis) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:23:00 +0000

And so it was that a fantastic RPG released it's mod creation software. And so the writers of Neon Turtles did raise their hands to the skies, and cry out in joy. For theses people had plans, plans to use the hallowed software to create reasonably shitty mods.

Yeah... We're planning a mod. Like that'll turn out well. Anyway, it's out, you should get it if you have Dragon Age: Origins for the PC, and make actually good content. If Neverwinter Nights is anything to go by, there should soon be some seriously good user-created stories available for all. You can find the toolset here.

MW2 Launch Trailer

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:26:00 +0000

Makes the singleplayer look like an epic movie! At 1.00 you see a space scene from a first person view...I wonder if you can play that or if it is just a cinematic?

Dragon Age Combat

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:11:00 +0000

Ok, I'm about 4 hours into Dragon Age and let me tell you: it isn't a cake walk. Sure, slaying people and decapitating them is easy enough, but eventually you're going to run into tactically placed enemies, such as archers behind warriors. This means you're going to need to use tactics and your whole party in order to take them down. Dragon Age has thrown up to 10 enemies at me at a time, in the first few hours and it really makes you appreciate your life when you defeat a giant and rather disgruntled ogre. This is some of the most thoughtful and addictive combat I've ever seen, you'll need to pause frequently to stay on top of the hard fights, but if you pull it off, you feel incredibly satisfied with yourself. More on Dragon Age later, assuming one of the other two don't shut me up in time.