The 2012 Gamer

2011-06-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

Set for release in January, 2012, this will be the 4th installment of the Ghost Recon series. Future Soldier is currently is development by Ubisoft Paris, Ubisoft Red Storm, Next Level Games(Wii) and Vituos(psp), and will be released for Microsoft Windows computers, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and will even have a Nintendo DS and PSP version! Videos and images were revealed at this year's E3, showing much of the gameplay elements and features of the game.

The gameplay will be similar to that of Gears of War, it being a third-person-shooter with the camera a bit off to the side, which has become popular over the last few years in action-shooter games. There will be times when a person will need to switch to first-person, such as aiming or inputting information. Other features of the game include the ability use "stealth camouflage" where the player will become invisible, and able to sneak around or right up to enemies. Cover will be destroyed, forcing the player to constantly seek new protection from the barrages of bullets heading their way. Another awesome aspect of the game is the weapon customization. The game is said to feature a weapon customization like no other game out there.

A huge part of Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, is that it is being integrated with Xbox Kinect, and likely Playstation Move. At E3 Ubisoft showed off their weapon customization options, using the Kinect to pull apart the guns, change out parts and put them back together, as well as test the weapons. There are supposed to be thousands of weapon customization combinations. The demonstration even showed testing the weapon by opening his hand to fire, and move your torso and arms to aim. Reminds me of being a kid and pretending to have guns and playing army man. Well this makes it a bit more real.The game will also support voice commands, as shown in the gameplay demonstrations from Ubisoft at E3.

The game's title was originally set to be Ghost Recon: Predator, but was changed to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in December 2009. The original release had been set for 2009-2010, but was announced that the release would be pushed back to 2010-2011, and is now set for January 2012. It looks to me like the game will be well worth the wait.

From the looks of the videos and pictures I have seen featuring gameplay on this game, from its gameplay to shading and lighting it looks excellent. It looks awesome, to say the least. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I've been looking forward to the next chapter in the Ghost Recon book, and I have a feeling this is going to fill my needs for a great action game, for quite some time.</P

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G47E5I5_ggg&w=560&h=349]

Links:

Ubi.com
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Wiki

Alice: the Madness Returns

2011-06-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

Alice is back and I for one have missed her. I actually had gotten a hold of a copy of the original American McGee's Alice about a year ago, and it just wasn't the same for me as it was back in 2001, when I played it all the time. I spent literally about 200 hours on that game when I was younger. It is still a classic game and will always have a place in my collection, but I just couldn't get in to it like I could before.

Well there is a solution! Alice: The Madness Returns was just released on the 11th of June, and I finally got my hands on a copy. The first thing I noticed when going headfirst into this game was the graphics (of course) and oh man are they awesome. When you look back at the first Alice game, American McGee's Alice, released in 2000, the gameplay and the overall look and feel of the game hasn't changed that much, but the textures and lighting are so much smoother.

The story line starts out somewhat like the movie Dreamchild. Alice lives in an orphanage in london, under the care of a psychiatrist by the name of Doctor Angus Bumby, where she is still traumatized with memories of her parents' deaths. Alice ends up heading up to the streets and a cat to an alley,and is confronted by monstrous Jabberwok creatures. She meets up with a nurse from the asylum, and While at the nurse's place, Alice has a vision of her appearing in Wonderland, and the Cheshire Cat appeared and tells Alice a new law reigns on Wonderland.

Overall this game is great. The gameplay is fun, the graphics are cool and the story is interesting. I would give this game 4 out of 5 stars. American McGee and Spicy Horse have done a wonderful job in designing and developing this game. I have been playing it now for about 3 days and can't get enough.

Alice: the Madness Returns has been released for Microsoft Windows computers, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, on June 14th, 2011 in North America. The Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 copies come with a one time download of the original American McGee's Alice, the prequel to Alice: the Madness Returns, released in 2000.

The Madness returns is absolutely a correct statement when describing this game, and if you've played it, you know what I mean. The game features new weapons, costumes and characters, as well as many of the same elements from the first game, including Alice's vorpal blade and the gatling gun like pepper grinder. If you haven't played these great games, I would suggest you run out and grab a copy, you won't be disappointed.

Modern Warfare 3 vs. Battlefield 3

2011-06-22T20:40:00.000-07:00

The two masters of the war games are going head-to-head

At the end of this year two of the top war games are to be released, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Battlefield 3. The buzz is all over the internet, and many people are asking the same question; Which will you choose?

Modern warfare 3 is the third installment of the modern warfare games, and the eighth Call of Duty installment. Developed by Infinity Ward with help from Sledgehammer Games and Raven software, this heart-pounding FPS (first-person-shooter) is sure to get the pulse racing for many people, with a brand new feature called "Survival Mode", where up to two players fight their way through waves of enemies in multiplayer maps, progressing in difficulty. But the question is, will it be better than Battlefield 3? I personally have spend countless hours tearing through other players in multiplayer, and beat the campaign 6 or 7 times on the highest difficulty on Modern Warfare 2, and that game will forever be one of my favorites.

Battlefield 3, in development by EA Digital Illusions CE, to be published by Electronics Arts, is Modern Warfare 3's greatest competitor. With the intense graphics and gameplay, its no wonder. Battlefield Bad Company 2 had me stuck on my PC for hours every day, and this game looks like it will be even more addicting. The single-player mode is set in 2014, which is awesome. That is my kind of game. I would rather play a modern war based game than a WWII or Vietnam game, but that's just me. The class-based system will return in the multiplayer mode, there is supposed to be a new game mode called "team deathmatch" which, in my opinion will basically be squad deathmatch. The question still remains, which side will you choose? The beta version of Battlefield 3 is set to be released in september this year, and those who purchased the Tier 1 version of Medal of Honor get an exclusive pass to it. Can't wait.

I personally can't choose between the two. I have loved Modern Warefare since the first installment was released, and plan to stick by it's side. Although, since discovering Battlefield Bad Company 2, I have been leaning more toward BF3. I do plan on buying both, and I have BF3 pre-ordered already. I don't believe in having only one favorite.

Both games are going to have their perks, but in my opinion BF3 looks like it will have MW3 beat in graphics, lighting, and possibly multiplayer gameplay. They say that Call of duty is a kid/gamer's view on war, while Battlefield is a soldier's. I have to agree with this. Battlefield is more of a war simulator than it is a game, it is more realistic, and you can break stuff. Call of Duty is more of a run and gun game. While they have their differences, they have one grand thing in common; they are both going to be great games, and I can't wait to get my hands on them.

Links:
The official Call of Duty website
The official Battlefield 3 website