Gaming Together

Diablo III Just Got My Attention

Ok, I’m not going to lie, I never cared about Diablo 3, nor did I ever think I would. That changed when I awoke a few days ago to some news on Diablo 3. The most important one I saw was that you will be able to sell loot from in game for real money. It works like this: There are going to be two sections of the auction house, one for in game currency and one for real money. These two auction houses are then divided into different regions (I assume for each kind of currency but I’m not 100% sure.)

When you want to put an item up for auction in the section for real money you are charged a fee every time you post an item in the Auction House also you are charged every time an item is soled (its Blizzard’s way of making money and keeping the Auction House from getting spammed with crappy everyday loot.)

There’s one more catch.

You can use your sale (or sales) as store credit for any Blizzard stuff, if you decide to have it transferred for use everywhere else that will require another fee, also that transfer will be sent through a, yet unknown, third party. Blizzard is doing it that way to keep people from using Blizzard as their personal bank.

That’s basically it, you probably wont get much per auction but its still awesome and got my attention. I am now officially psyched for Diablo 3.

Vacation’s Over, Back to Work!

Well, I guess the vacation’s over – I myself have been absent for sometime, so I’m going to get back into the habit of actually doing work for the site.

There are a lot of updates that are in the works, including a new front end for the content management system, and the development of the wiki system. Be ready for that, and of course for a new Gaming Together Podcast episode very soon.

Gaming Together May Game Night

Gaming Together is having our monthly game night. This month the game will be Left 4 Dead 2. If you are feeling the need to kill hoards of the undead then come over to  Gaming Together and sign up in the Game Night forum or contact MerlinGLX or Big Boss with your gamertag. The gaming will begin Saturday May 28th at 8:00 PM CST via Xbox Live. So come sign up and get in on the excitement! Hope to see everyone there!

In Retrospect, Fable III, is STILL flawed

As per my previous reviews, I think it’s time to admit it, I have a high expectation for games that I am purchasing. As I have mentioned before, I expect to get a game with the $70+ that I put into a game, (Yes that often includes DLC, but thank the Gamer Gods I learned very quickly that DLC does not save a crappy game… EVER!) at least meets the hype placed in to the game. So, let’s do a little history.

The Fable franchise (no I won’t give you a release date) pioneered many ideas used today when using interaction, and even morality. It was of the generation of game that allowed you to take control of the world around you and REALLY have an effect on everything based on the choices you make. Yes, I am aware that these kinds of games existed before, and a lot of games do it a hell of a lot better, but lets be honest, this game was recieved by many more audiences. It was a game changer.

Now, we’re going to jump to 2010. After the release of two Fable games, each successful, or at least enough to convince me to buy my first one. I rented 1, and borrowed a friends copy of 2. Forgive me, I was a broke Sailor (still am). The hype over this game was immense. Every time I wanted to watch a video online, it was a guarantee that the Fable III video was going to play. I’m pretty sure that’s why I know the song used as well as I do now. So, I was sold. I knew that the first two I enjoyed. Sure they had their flaws, but overall were good games. So I pre-ordered it. I wanted the cool stuff that came with pre-order. I wanted a kilt for my character! I’m of VERY Scottish descent, (extremely recent descent) and will jump at the bit to flaunt it, including my Xbox 360 avatar, who is in complete Scottish garb (but I digress).

This review came about, because I had an opinion about this game when it came out. However, I felt I should give it another chance. And to do that, it meant I had to go back to the game, after having not touched it for months. So take a walk with me as we talk about the fundamentals of good game making.

Story:
The story behind Fable III was interesting, well at the beginning. You find yourself awaken by John Cleese. (yes I’m skipping the opening video, as EVERYONE has seen it, just from the preview alone.) John Cleese? Butler? Win! It is here you find yourself making your first in-game choice. (NO! I do not count choosing your sex as a real in game choice, it affects very little.) You get to choose what set of clothes you want to wear around the castle. I suppose it’s supposed to affect how people view you, but lets be honest, did ANYONE wear the high class clothing? It looked ridiculous, but again I digress. Through story, and interactions, you find out that your brother is king of the mythical Albion, set during what one could guess is the equivalent to the Industrial Revolution. It is here you find out that your brother, whom apparently as a child was not as he is now, a complete tyrant. Through exposition, “story-telling”, and forced dialog, you escape the castle after being forced to stop your brother. So, now you’re a disney character. Congrats! Now, I’m just giving you a basic beginning. The rest of the story involves you trying to usurp your brother by joining an underground movement, all the while buying properties to justify a necessity of income. All the while, the story is broken, in the way that if you didn’t give a crap about the ending you received, you could blow through the story in 4 or 5 hours.

*SPOILER, but it’s been a while so if you’re reading this BEFORE you play this game, this long after…. fail*

This big reveal to this game is; your brother has been “evil” because there’s a greater evil threatening to destroy everything you know and love. He’s acting this way because, out of necessity, he’s trying to raise the funds necessary to support a large enough army to stop the threat.  Now as a side note, you are given the opportunity to dump your personal wealth into the treasury when you take over, but did your brother have a similar treasury?  Why wasn’t this touched?  Is there supposed to be a sense of morality?  I feel as though that was very forced.

When you finally do usurp his power, you become king. I feel the Conan the Barbarian theme coming on any moment. It is here you find out the necessity of properties and income, more than just buying weapons and more properties. Let me just say this now. While you’re king, it’s the fastest YEAR EVER!!!!! Also, the game forces you to be evil if you didn’t know to plan ahead of hand to have about 10 million gold in your personal treasury. This allows you to have the money necessary to complete the game with the best ending and not make the citizens of Albion angry with you. So, when you finally acend to super douche hood, or super doormat hood, the game awards your efforts with a lame ending. I’m going to leave the play-by-play for the “several different endings” out mostly because they’re all goddamn lame. Short and skinny. The story sucks. You’re definitely going to feel like someone has told you this story before, and recently.

Graphics:

I am very impressed with the background graphics in this game.  The scenery is beautiful, and when the world adjusts around you, you kind of feel it.  The character design is decent, though I wish they would put a little more effort into making mouth movements more genuine.  It still has a bit of the feeling like you’re watching an old Kung-Fu movie.  It still has the cartoony feeling of the first few games, but to be honest and for the most part, the graphics haven’t changed much since the first game.  They have only been polished a bit. 

Alright, you know what, this game was the biggest disappointment of 2010, and I’m including New Vegas.  I thought I could continue on, but even in retrospective, it wasn’t misunderstood, it was just rushed, and it’s apparent.  If it wasn’t rushed, then you know, there is no redemption, and if you the gamer agree with me, don’t buy the next game.  Don’t buy into the hype.  “Oh maybe this one will redeem the last two.”  No! 

I’ll see ya’ll with my next review!

Super Monkey Ball 3D Review

Nintendo released Super Monkey Ball 3D on March 27, 2011. It is the newest release in the Monkey Ball series.

In the game players can choose to use the circle pad or the gyroscope to navigate their monkey of their choice through courses to collect as many bananas as possible before time runs out. Players will be able to do this in one of three exciting game modes.

These  3 game play modes are:  “Monkey Ball” mode, “Monkey Race” mode, and “Monkey Fight” mode.

In “Monkey Ball” challenge mode,  you first choose rather or not you want to use the circle pad or the on board gyroscope to move the monkey of your choice through the courses, if you choose to use the gyroscope it will ask if you want to calibrate the system, while this is a neat feature, it does make it harder to enjoy the 3D features as it messes with the visual effects as you are moving through the courses, where as the circle pad is a great way to play, it makes it so much easier to control your monkey. There are some new objects and surfaces to interact with, you now have “sticky” surfaces to slow you down and bumpers to knock you off course. These new features are a great touch to the game and add an extra challenge for you. There is a total of 80 courses for you to play (72 challenge courses, and 8 bonus courses).

In “Race” mode players race each other in car battles, this mode is much like Mario Kart in that you get random goofy power ups to distract other players from the course so you have the chance to pass them and get into 1st Place.

In “Fight” mode players fight frantically against each other in manic brawls to collect the most Bananas. This is a very fun game to just sit and button mash and hope you get the most bananas.

Race and Fight mode can both be played via local wifi or against the computer players, but “Monkey Ball” mode you can only play alone.

Overall, Super Monkey Ball 3D is a great challenging, but fun puzzle game. You will find yourself coming back to play this game numerous times to try and beat your Best scores, or just for another fun round of Super Monkey Ball.

Mortal Kombat

Yes that’s right boys and girls, one of gaming history’s most gruesome and classic fighting games has made a come-back. NetherRealm Studios has brought back all of the brutal combos, gory fatalities, and a full roster of fighters to satisfy your needs for mindless violence.

Mortal Kombat is a reboot of the classic game. It features a story mode where players play through the events of the original games. In this mode players will have to play as the fighter whose part of the story is being revealed. Although this is the case, players will learn a considerable amount of knowledge about the history of the tournament along the way. Some examples are the reasons for the Scorpion & Sub-Zero feud and even how Jackson “Jax” Briggs got his famous cybernetic arms. If players can stick it out to the end, they will experience many interesting battles and witness one of the most epic endings in Mortal Kombat history.

As I mentioned before, this game does feature a full roster of classic and new fighters to choose from. It features 26 playable fighters, with Kratos being a PS3 exclusive, and more DLC characters on the way. Some of the big name fighters making a return are: Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Johnny Cage, Kano, and Raiden. There are even some hidden characters, which players will have to play the game to find out.

Along with the return of certain characters, their respective fatalities have returned with them. Not only do characters feature unique fatalities, but they also have their own stage fatality and yes, the return of the babality. These fatalities are still performed after the traditional “Finish Him/Her” and with a few correctly pressed button sequences. One interesting note about the fatalities is they can not be performed in story mode. So this leads us into the other modes featured in the game.

One of these modes is the original arcade ladder. Players can choose the fighter of their choice and battle their way to Shao Kahn, the ruler of Outworld. This journey can be made on any difficulty from beginner to expert. The difference in these difficulties are the fighting experience needed to progress and the amount of battles one will have to beat to reach Shao Kahn.

If players find themselves getting tired of fighting their way up the ladder by themselves, they can play tag mode. In tag mode they can play by themselves or with their buddies local or across Xbox Live. By themselves they can choose two fighters and tag back and forth to win the battle. If they choose to play with their friends they can have up to four players to participate in tag battles and fight against each other.

When players want to take a break from the bloodshed, they still have a wealth of activities they can do. The Krypt has made its return from previous games. In the Krypt players can spend Kredits that they have earned from playing, on goodies such as: level and character art, costumes, music, and secret fatalities. While in the Krypt players can also visit the Nekropolis. Once there they can view character models, bios, items associated with these characters and all their personal statistics from playing with them.

There are also the tutorial and fatality trainer modes available. In the tutorial mode players can learn the basics and hone their skills. The fatality trainer is exactly what it sounds like. Players can choose any character and practice their fatality. This mode is nice for memorizing awesome finishing moves and it also allows players to view all available fatalities.

The last of the modes are the Challenge Tower and the “Test” modes. In the challenge tower players will have to complete certain tasks as a particular player to progress. If they can make it through all 300 challenges then they will unlock a secret outfit for a particular character.

The “Test” modes have been brought back from previous games as well. These modes are Test Your Luck, Test Your Might, Test Your Sight and Test Your Strike. In Test Your Luck, players will choose a fighter and then spin a wheel. This wheel chooses their opponent and certain modifiers for the match. Some of these modifiers can be anything from headless kombat to vampiric touch. Test Your Might involves the player trying to break through stacks of material with increasing hardness. Test Your Sight has the player choose the correct cup to reveal a hidden object. Lastly, in Test Your Strike, players must break a specific block without breaking any blocks around it. If players can succeed at these trials, they will earn Kredits to spend in the Krypt.

All these features come together nicely to make for a wonderful gaming experience. Whether you are a veteran player to the series or a newcomer, you will definitely be able to appreciate this game. It brings back everything people loved from the original games and also throws in some new features. I have to say this is my favorite Mortal Kombat game to date.

Bulletstorm

Bulletstorm is a 2011 release from People Can Fly and Epic Games. The game takes place in the 26th century where the Confederation of Planets are protected by a secret black-ops army called Dead Echo. It follows notorious space pirate, Grayson Hunt and his cyborg first mate, Ishi Sato in their treacherous journey to get off the planet Stygia. Grayson has found himself on this planet, that was once a thriving resort, after a crash  landing. This crash landing was caused by his own alcohol induced rage while trying to attack General Sarrano’s ship.

After crash landing, Sarrano’s ship crashes shortly after. Grayson then makes it his primary objective to find Sarrano and then get off the planet. Along their way to the crash site they discover that the planet is not abandoned and the current inhabitants want to kill them. Along with the massive arsenal that is available to the player in this game, they will be able to kill with skill. This new feature allows players to earn points for all kills and earn even more points for performing skill shots. An example of a skill shot would be executing an enemy after shooting him in the testicles.

The points earned from killing with skill can be spent at drop kits. There are several of these drop kits scattered through out the environment. Once accessed a player can purchase ammunition and charges for their weapons and view a list of skill shots. This can make it easier for a player to keep track of what skill shots they have learned and which ones they need to keep an eye out for.

The game plays as your typical first person shooter. Your squad mate is fairly intelligent and can stand their own in a firefight, which can be very useful in parts of the game where there are large amounts of enemies attacking. The game does employ a cover feature, which is nice when taking heavy damage, this gives players a way to replenish their health.

Other than the campaign mode there are two types of online play available. These modes are Echoes and Anarchy. The Echoes are individual levels that allow players to earn the largest score possible to compete with their friends. Anarchy is a cooperative wave-based challenge mode. This mode pits four players against a horde of enemies and allows them to kill with skill to get the largest score possible.

The exciting storyline and intense game play comes together with an intriguing environment to make Bulletstorm into a game that is definitely worth playing. After playing through the campaign players will be able to continue getting many hours of play out of the very competitive online modes. I would say if you haven’t given this game a chance then definitely do so. This game is one you don’t want to miss out on.

Nintendo 3DS Review

 

Nintendo has recently released the new and improved Nintendo DS… 3DS!!! That’s right folks I said 3D!!!  Now you can experience incredible handheld gaming in AMAZING 3D!!!

The new and improved 3DS opens up  a new world of gaming experience and possibilities. The 3D display of the upper screen gives the characters and objects of the games/gamers a bigger feeling of space and depth. Making many game experiences even more intuitive for all types of gamers rather it be kids or adults, cute fun games to shooting/action adventure games.

Although this system is 3D you do not have to utilize the 3D effect, Nintendo has put a 3D depth slider on the side of the system which allows you to adjust the intensity of 3D to your liking. It can also be turned completely off if you wish to play in 2D. Nintendo did make this system backward compatible, as are all the other DS systems they have released, so you can play regular 2D games on your 3D system.

Nintendo is utilizing motion/gyro sensors in the new system which puts the system at yet another new level and unique game play experience. These two new features react to the motions and tilts of the system so while playing 3D capable games they respond instantly to the movements and tilts the system is making at that time.

Nintendo added a circle pad to the Nintendo DS, which is located just above the + pad. This adds a wonderful new feature, which enables you to move around the gaming enviroment much easier.

Street Pass allows you to communicate with fellow gamers, exchange game data, mii characters, high scores, custom characters using this application. Some 3DS games that have street pass mini games, so you can battle it out with other mii characters.

Overall, I am very pleased with the Nintendo 3DS! It is well worth trying it out if you get the oppurtunity! It comes in two different colors Aqua Blue and Cosmic Black.

Portal 2 Review

In 2007 Valve released a small game that was more of a prototype than anything else. This game quickly exploded into a giant supernova of awesome. That game was Portal. Now in 2011 Valve released a sequel to said smash hit, Portal 2. But is it worthy of the reputation Portal left behind four years ago?

Lets find out.

In Portal 2 you play as Chell, the female protagonist from the first game. You have been in hyper sleep for a very long time (you never really find out how long exactly, but it’s a very long time.) When you wake you meet a robot eyeball thing named Wheatly, and off you go on your adventure.

The voice acting in this game is astounding, Stephen Merchant does a great job as Wheatley. GLaD0S, voiced by Ellen McLain is great with her optimistically pessimistic, sarcastic attitude towards you and how you solve each puzzle. There’s one more great voice actor in this game, but I don’t want to spoil it.

In the original Portal there were, unfortunately, very few objects and tools that made each test different. They were still fun, just not different. You don’t have to worry about that in Portal 2. Aside from the weighted cube, buttons, turrets, and switches you have several new toys to play with.

There’s the Redirection Cube which can bend lasers,

three gels (I’m not going to explain what these do, because I think that spoils a little bit of the fun of finding out.)

There’s also light bridges, which are exactly what you think they are, bridges made of light. Don’t worry, you can walk on them.

Last are the excursion funnels, tunnels of light that float you from one side to the other in zero gravity.

The single player itself is much deeper than Portal’s story, it shows a lot of the history of Aperature Science, and what not. Everything has been upgraded, even in Aperature Science itself. The puzzles are hard, but not impossible. Sometimes you will smack yourself saying, “Why didn’t I think of that?” Valve has found that perfect balance between fun and difficult.

In Co-op you play as two robots (Atlas and P-Body) built for testing, testing and more testing.

Each robot gets his own portal gun. Two portal guns equals four portals, and you take advantage of each one of them. The co-op is so much fun, not only just combining your head with your friend to solve the puzzles, but also betraying them in numerous ways.

Throughout your puzzles GLaD0S will mock and sarcastically praise you, but you will be smiling the whole time.

Overall you will be doing one of two things throughout Portal 2; twisting your brain trying to figure out the puzzles, or laughing at the sheer hilarity of the dialog and situations.

Heavy Rain Review

Heavy Rain is a noir thriller game from Quantic Dream developed exclusively for the Playstation 3 game console. It employs a dramatic and thrilling story featuring four protagonists involved in trying to solve the mystery of the Origami Killer. The Origami Killer is a serial killer who murders his victims during periods of excessive rainfall. Ethan Mars is a father who is trying to prevent his son from being the next victim, while investigative journalist Madison Paige, FBI profiler Norman Jayden and private detective Scott Shelby are each trying to track down clues to the identity of the killer.

The game play allows players to move around and examine the environment and interact with other characters via quick time events. Along with normal interactions there are faster paced action scenes that require players to have a quicker response and proper timing with the quick time events. Players can either succeed or fail any time during the game, but they will not be met with a traditional game over scenario. The game has many different endings and will compensate for any errors made by the player.

Along with intriguing characters and thrilling story line, the game is visually nice. The environments, objects and people are all well rendered. This comes together nicely with the audio track and story to make for a wonderful playing experience that is guaranteed to keep players hooked for the entirety of the game.

Heavy Rain is definitely a one of a kind game that kept me playing until I completed it and finally found out who the killer was. With its thrilling plot and immersive environments I fell that anyone who plays it will find themselves unable to lay there controller down. If you haven’t played this game I suggest that you rent it, buy it or do whatever you have to do to play it. You will not be disappointed and will be just as shocked as I was to finally solve the mystery.