The Driver I.D. - Random gaming blog by random gaming guys

Retro/Grade is Bass Aackwards

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 21:11:00 +0000

This is why I dig PSN. This game looks equal parts fucking awesome and "God, I really don't want to play this because it's going to make me pull my hair." Still, love the thinking of 24 Caret Games. Something diffenet is always welcome in the face of seemingly every game this holiday season having a fucking number behind it.

Modern Warefare 2: Night Jiggle Edition

noreply@blogger.com (DoomStein) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:24:00 +0000

Holy hell man! Just what every friggin COD:MW2 needs, a pair of functioning night vision goggles! Seriously tho, what the fuck is going to happen when every jackass with a spare $100-150 goes and gets a pair of goggles with their new game? sure, it comes with some other shit like a metal colletors tin, the original COD, three quarters of a head, an art book, and somewhere in there a copy of Modern Warfare 2. What I foresee happening is a bunch of nighttime peeping tom arrests going on starting 11/10/09! Either that, or people start to commence ta night jiggling.

Last MAG Monday video: Command and control

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:03:00 +0000

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive Command & Control Dev Diary HD

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

MAG still is looking like a really fun time. Could it have long legs like COD4, that STILL have insane amounts of players? Very possible if you check out the video. Still can't get behind that name, though.....

J.

Will MAG have the last laugh?

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:02:00 +0000

What was the the biggest joke in Sony's E3 press conference last year? MAG. An FPS with 256 players and a terrible name. Game journalists scoffed at it as "another Sony fail." I'll admit that I thought that Zipper would have changed the name by now to SOCOM something. But at this point, if the game turns out the be a success, they can rub it in everyone's face. But I'm getting off track......

Jump ahead to this year's Sony press con and MAG isn't looking like a joke. It's looking and sounding really cool. It's like some of the best parts of COD4 and (of all games) Warhawk, competitive/Co-Op gameplay with a huge amount of players. Now, I'll admit that the player count does worry me. While in some cases, (like the smaller Headquarters maps on COD4) chaos can be really fun. But a whole game based around possibly hundreds of people shooting at each other could run very thin quickly. But, in an interview with IGN via Podcast Beyond, (interview starts at 28:00) lead designer Andy Bodwin talked about how the action would ramp up. Starting you out in a smaller group of 4 to 8 to let you get the feel of the tactical side of the game and working as a team, battles and objectives soon escalate to larger and larger scale until you end up in a 128 vs. 128, 300-style showdown. If pulled off correctly, the tension and feel of being in a full scale war should be as real as you could get on a console.

The real test is going to be that feeling that at anytime, a group from the other team could show up and the fight would be on. Maybe your support will be able to help you and maybe you'll have to go it alone and hope for the best. It's a difficult feeling to convey in a game. The most resent attempt would be the final battle in Killzone 2. (link contains spollers)

In an interview with Gamespot @ E3, Andy and CJ from Zipper talk about the "Dangling the Carrot" gameplay that is going to play into your progression in the game and how the world will continue whether or not you are playing. Sounds like the near perfect COD4 Perk system will be used here as well. Also sounds very MMO inspired. DLC and expanded locations and scenarios are very interesting if done correctly.

After watching the latest MAG Monday video via Gametrailers.com, I'm thinking that this is game is going to be a bigger deal than people might be giving it credit for. Granted that it's still early, but I trying to keep an open mind about things. It's a flaw. Check the all the MAG Monday vids below.

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive Shadow War Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive 256 Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | MAG | Exclusive PMCS Dev Diary

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

The Smackdown: The return of the Product

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:31:00 +0000

It's been a while since the last SD I posted. Figured that it's a little quiet on the home front, so here you go. Note that this why I'm not looking forward to cross game chat on PS3 any time soon. It could lead to a stroke or at the very least, blown out speakers.

E3 thoughts coming soon, I promise.

J.

Project Natal Puts the Pedal to the Metal on Jimmy Fallon Show

noreply@blogger.com (DoomStein) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:53:00 +0000

WOAH! This video kinda squelched some of my doubts about Projecy Natal being a rigged demo at E3. The shit where they hot swap with Burnout Paradise kinda "drove the point home" so to speak.

Mike Tyson’s Brunch-Out!

noreply@blogger.com (Maximilian) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Although school is running me ragged, I’ve still found time to play the new Wii Punch-Out!! in my spare time and actually made it to the end of the first round of career mode. I have lots of thoughts and impressions I’d like to share, but unfortunately I don’t have the time at this point to do so. Plus, I want to try out playing the game with the Wii Remote used as a NES style controller and the motion boxing while using the balance board before I post. I also need to play a bit more of Head-To-Head too (because from my limited experience from it, it plays differently than the main game somehow; either that or I suck!).

In the meantime, I thought I’d post a little video featuring “Iron” Mike Tyson. Yes, he’s not in the new game; moreover, he’s completely unaware of the latest Punch-Out!!even existing. Still, I couldn’t resist posting a little ditty called “Mike Tyson’s Brunch Out.” It’s episode 5 of the series “Meth Minute” by animator Dan Meth. Enjoy!

Max

That’s Right: Two Final Fantasies in 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Maximilian) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:31:00 +0000

It’s old news by now (it's even our new header), but I had to comment on it. Last week I caught about fifteen minutes of Sony’s press conference before a rainstorm knocked my satellite’s signal out of commission. Lucky for me, I tuned in just in time to see them show a preview of Final Fantasy XIII, and then follow that up by saying “but Square Enix isn’t done yet, they’ve got another thing to follow it up,” and proceeded to show a trailer for Final Fantasy XIV, which was followed up with the statement “that one didn’t leak out, huh?” and a promise that it would be out by 2010, exclusively for PS3. Pretty shocking, considering that FF games are usually spread out with huge gaps because of massive development time.

But doing some digging, it starts to make sense. FFXIV will be a Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG), setting it apart from FFXIII’s story based play. Square already has ventured into MMORPG territory with Final Fantasy XI, and probably want to get a new online game out to compete with WoW. It’s great news for console gamers, and especially PS3 owners. And maybe with all the other Final Fantasy stuff coming out now and in the near future (FF games on Wii’s Virtual Console including the recent release of FFIV The After Years, FFXIII, FFXIII Versus and the FF Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers) two FF games for one console in a year isn’t that surprising. But is Square Enix giving the fans what they want or flogging a dead horse?

Max

Max Gives Brief E3 Thoughs, Excuses Why He's Not Posting...

noreply@blogger.com (Maximilian) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:18:00 +0000

E3 nearly passed me by. Almost. I only found out it was E3 last week when I saw a news story about Nintendo’s press conference on Newsarama (which goes to show how I’m way more into comics than games these days). Since then, I’ve been playing catch up. I caught a little bit of Sony’s press conference, and thanks to the Nintendo Channel, have been able to get a dose of Nintendo’s videos. This week, they’ve even put the press conference up this week, so I’ll be digging into that soon. And I gotta say, I was pretty (pleasantly) surprised that Nintendo is actually utilizing the Nintendo Channel for this stuff. I'm just used to them not doing anything like this, while Sony & Microsoft have done it for awhile!

Unfortunately, this is final’s week at my University, and I have a ton of stuff to do to wrap up the quarter this week. No tests, but lots of papers to write and short stories to revise. Therefore, I can’t delve into blogging just yet. After Thursday though, expect a ton of reactions from me, which will (of course) be a Nintendo-centric response. I will say now (without trying to be a fanboy) that it seems pretty funny both Sony & Microsoft are trying to cash in on the motion control introduced by Wii. Granted, each do it their own way, but too bad Microsoft’s super-de-duper motion/voice controlled “controller” NATAL costs about $200. I don’t see legions of non-gamers signing on for that.

I’ll post a couple quick things though before delving study time!

Max

Holy Shit...........someone is going to be pissed.

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:34:00 +0000

God of War, as a series, has always been pretty brutally violent. But this is almost too far. Someone is going to be really, really pissed off. Pulling the eye out of the gorgan looking thing was the icing on the cake. Oh, and I'm totally preordering this business as so as I get the chance.

J.

Mario Protests Commence Amidst E3 Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (DoomStein) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 21:56:00 +0000

Angry Italians are pissed off at being purveyed as a bunch of plumbing, turtle stomping, mushroom eating buffoons that aren't responsible enough to drive around giant ? blocks in the middle of the road. Hear what these guys had to say about it.

Wii Bowling Ball + Punch-Out = Perfect Combination!

noreply@blogger.com (DoomStein) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:58:00 +0000

Don't believe me though, just watch the video!

The best E3 trailers: Uncharted 2

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

Holy shit again!!! I don't think anyone thinks this game is going to be anything but awesome. This demo had me ducking and dodging like a really good action movie. Which is what they were going for. The collapsing building was the capper for me. I'm going to get this one day one. And the online stuff could be cool as well. More about this later today. (maybe)

J.

The best E3 trailers: Metal Gear Solid: Rising

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:52:00 +0000

Well, 360 owners finally have MGS on their console. But it's not MGS4 like people thought. It's the next MGS game starring our favorite cyber-ninja, Raiden. It didn't show alot, but come on. It's MGS. It'll be great. And in case you were wondering, yes, it IS coming out on PS3 as well. Don't get your hopes up on stealing any Sony's exclusives this year.

J.

The best E3 trailers: The Old Republic

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:48:00 +0000

Holy shit! A Star Wars MMO that doesn't look like it sucks. This game makes me want to try and upgrade my computer. I might have to break my self imposed ban on MMOs on myself. Hope it turns out ok. Check it out.

J.

The best E3 trailers: Left 4 Dead 2

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Left 4 Dead is doing pretty good for 360/PC zombie killers. So Valve is dropping another one this Fall. It's odd that Valve would make a whole new L4D rather then make more DLC for the game they have out already. Guess we're going to have to wait longer Half-Life 2:Ep 3.......

J.

I'm in the Uncharted 2 beta.....

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:05:00 +0000

With me taking the State Medical board test, I missed Nintendo's press conference and almost missed Sony's, but I got done early and caught the whole thing. It was awesome! I'll follow up on the cons later. One of the highlights was Uncharted 2. The demo was really cool and made me hyped to get the game. One of the things that Jack Trentton mentioned was that the Uncharted 2 online beta was starting tonight at midnight. Sweet deal. And guess who's in?

More on the beta when I get home.

J.

PSP GO! seems to be....go.

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:30:00 +0000

The rumors of a new PSP has been out there for a while now, but now it seems like the new PSP is actually real. Gaming Console Network's Sean Foster somehow got next months Qore and it revels the new headheld and all it's features. The highlight are that it does have 16gig of flash drive space, you can use it to play your games from PSN and, something that caught my ear at the end of the video, seems that Gran Turismo actually does exist and will play some part on the system. Likely a launch game.

As someone that has the oldest PSP, the 1000, I'm thinking this fall it's time to trade up.

Source: Youtube via Gaming Console Network's Sean Foster

J.

Whats worse than the RROD?

noreply@blogger.com (DoomStein) — Wed, 27 May 2009 03:37:00 +0000

Why that would be not having a 360 at all. Imagine if you will, you are getting home from a shitty day at work and you just want to play a couple of games, or listen to some music through the entertainment center when you realize that your now exgirlfriend has stopped by to pick up a few things... including the 360! It sucks pretty bad to come home and find the most used console in your arsenal of systems is just an empty shelf. Just barren cables with little tummbleweeds mosying on by in the stale, humid air. Whatever...

The next GTA4 DLC is.......

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Wow. I'm not sure, but Mircosoft might be thinking "Maybe we paid to much for these." Knowing literally nothing about this, it sounds terrible.

Thanks Geoff Keighley via Twitter

PS3 finally gets Fallout 3 DLC (That rhymed)

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Tue, 19 May 2009 20:49:00 +0000

Way back in the day, PS3 owners were treated to the news that Mircosoft had paid Bethesda to release the DLC for Fallout 3 "Only of Xbox 360." We groaned alittle, or alot depending. The first two seemed to underwhelm but Broken Steel won people over with the level cap lift and tons of new weapons. Ps3 owners of the game were left with just the ending of the game. It's hard owning a PS3 sometimes....

Well today, in a move that really seems to growing for game developers, Bethesda dropped the news that, yes, all the DLC that was "Only for Xbox 360" is coming to Sony's console starting in June.

"Operation: Anchorage will be released for PS3 in late June, followed by the release of The Pitt and Broken Steel 4-6 weeks apart. Release dates will be forthcoming."

On top of that, they announced that there will be TWO new DLC packs this summer:

"There are also two new DLCs planned for all three platforms:

* Point Lookout – Explore a massive new swampland area filled with new quests and content.

* Mothership Zeta – The aliens have returned, and they're pissed. Experience an alien abduction first hand and find out if you're tough enough to survive."

Sounds cool to me. As someone that really liked Fallout 3, it's cool to see that developers are FINALLY opening their eyes to see that (gasp) people are actually are buying PS3s and people that are buying them are not just watching Blu-Ray on them. If you put content on the system, people will buy it. The new stuff sounds fun as well. Fighting aliens? Oh yeah. I'm in. E3 is going to be very interesting........

Source: Bethesda Softworks

J.

Bioshock 2 (still) looks fucking awesome!

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Thu, 14 May 2009 02:56:00 +0000

More Bioshock 2 Info

The info on Bioshock 2 is slowly seeping out. This time, IGN.com has a 9 minute preview of the new gameplay elements, like adopting Little Sisters and walking around in the sea. The exploring the sea part of the game better be more then just transitioning from one building to another and more of a "Hey, something cool is out here" type deal. Either way, I'm really looking forward to this one. And I won't have to wait a fucking year to play it this time around.

Thanks to IGN.com

J.

Punch-Out!! Commercials

noreply@blogger.com (Maximilian) — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:00:00 +0000

Hey-o! I’ve been crazy busy of late and recovering from a hard drive wipe, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things soon. It was my birthday yesterday, and one of the gifts my beloved Maureen got for me is a Punch-Out!! pre-order. I’m super stoked, and now thanks to Dustin pointing them out, here is two of the new commercials associated with the game, one more of a tutorial of sorts, showing that the game is not completely motion controlled (as in Wii Boxing in Wii Sports) where you can use the joystick on the nunchuck to block, dodge and punch upwards. Check out the commercials for a laugh, then head over to the official Punch-Out!! Nintendo site, where they’re continuing to reveal characters every week that will appear in the game. Lucky for us older players, it looks like quite a few familiar faces will be coming back for another round, including Bronze Tiger, Piston Honda (now Piston Hondo to avoid confusion with the car company), and Bear Hugger.

We can start punching it up next week!

I should have some other stuff for the blog soon, including a look at Wii Fit and some other good stuff. Like J, “soon” is a relative term for me too with school nearing the end of the quarter and getting crazier all the time.

Max

Break time is almost over.

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:46:00 +0000

Hello,

No doubt you've noticed that it's been more than alittle quiet here on the blog. We've got things going on behind the scenes. I just got back from my one year anniversary trip to Hawaii with my wife and starting to start my new business venture. (And trying to beat jetlag) Max is nursing a dead computer hard drive, I hear and Dustin is likely working an insane schedule, as per usual. It's tough all over. But the games don't stop coming out, and with E3 around the corner, I hope to have some new stuff coming and posted before the big day. I'm trying to hook up a crude (if need be) podcast, talking about what we expect from everyone at the big show. As well as maybe liveblogs of the big 3's presentations. I'm not sure. Talking has to commence. But look for these posts from me soon: ("Soon" is a relative term for me.)

- The resurgence of fighting games on the market

- Demo-litions on Age of Booty, Marvel vs Capcom 2, and Savage Moon

- In deck; live from Hawaii

- Snakes on a Plane: Great games for a long plane ride

I hope to get these on the site soon. The fighting game story is shaping up to be a fun read. I hope you dig it.

J.

Capcom has two more games coming at E3

noreply@blogger.com (telepathik) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:55:00 +0000

Capcom is becoming my heroes as of late. Street Fighter 4, Bionic Commando, Rearmed, Dead Rising 2 and (finally) Marvel vs Capcom 2. But Capcom isn't done.

On the Capcom Unity twitter page, this was posted:

"You think we have great titles now? Wait 'til we announce two more at E3!"

Oh shit! I'm calling Rival Schools. Wait. Power Stone. Yeah. And Strider.

Any guesses out there?

J.