Left 4 Dead 2 was released last Tuesday (11/17), a mere one year after the first one, and the level of improvement that Valve has added is pretty impressive. Everything that has been added to the game has been done so to increase the mayhem that your team has to go through. I’ve always been of the opinion that the best times in L4D1 were, ironically, when you were getting beaten to a pulp. You needed to REALLY work together as a team when your team was getting pounced by a hunter, pulled by a smoker, fighting a horde off while trying to stay away from a tank… ALL AT THE SAME TIME!
The feeling of never being completely safe made each experience a nail biter, a feat few games can match. However, the more you would play L4D1, the more you would get its tricks. When a horde came, everyone ran to a corner and spammed the melee trigger, a tank brought out the molotov cocktails everyone had, followed by a mad dash backwards to get out of his monkey arm-range. Boomers? Please, throw a pipe-bomb. It grew into a game that you almost HAD to play on Expert difficulty or Versus to get the charm out of it. L4D2 has fixed this and then some. Simply put, there are no tricks. This game is hard, and it constantly puts your teamwork skills to a test, and we’re not talking 1st grade spelling test here, this is more like senior year of college, theoretical physics final exam. Even if you’ve been through each campaign the amount each single one deserves, the next time you play you’ll have to adapt to the changing environments, the different weapon choices you’ll have, and, most importantly, the very versatile special infected. (more…)
It is finally here. Infinity Ward’s follow up to one of the most highly regarded shooters of the current gaming generation, Modern Warfare 2, is now loaded cozily in millions of consoles around the world. As of this writing many news sources are reporting that this title has broken release day sales records, selling an estimated 4.7 million copies. With all of the hype and controversy one question remains: Is MW2 worthy of the attention it has received? As a courtesy to others, this review is spoiler free. (more…)
Let’s take a look at this launch trailer to commemorate the occasion, which has been referred to as one of the most significant videogame releases of the decade.
While I could have done without the rap music, this clip shows off a variety of stirring moments that will have you on the edge of your seat and even more anxious to finally dive into this title (if you haven’t already).
Although the game has just been officially released today (some folks were able to snag their copies early), one can’t help being curious about what can be expected from successive CoD titles and if the level of attention that MW2 has deservedly garnered may represent the peak of the franchise. (more…)
DICE recently announced that a PS3 multiplayer beta for their upcoming destructive FPS, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 will commence on November 19.
“This is an outstanding opportunity for PlayStation gamers to get early access to one of the most action-packed and polished shooters in the marketplace with Battlefield: Bad Company 2,” says Rob Dyer, SVP, Publisher Relations, SCEA.
If you can manage to pry yourself away from MW2 to give this beta a go, you’ll be able to sample Rush Mode on the Arica Harbor map. Details on key distribution are available via the official Battlefield website.
Don’t have a PS3? (more…)
Borderlands is the recently released “Role Playing Shooter” from Gearbox Studios, creators of the Brothers in Arms series. They’ve set out to produce a game similar to the PC classic Diablo II, but with guns, guns, and more guns. The result, however, is a game that does not live up to its much touted genre as Gearbox would like you to believe. This game is largely just your basic RPG that happens to be in the first person perspective and puts an emphasis on the guns. Unfortunately, even with the guns in the equation, the most novice player of first person shooters will be able to shoot the brain-dead AI present in the enemies, which makes it feel more like a point-and-click mechanic than even a tactical-lite shooter. Combine that with the fact that not even the most devoted first person shooter junkie will have much luck against an enemy just a couple levels higher than he and it becomes clear that this game is MUCH more RPG than Shooter. (more…)
The 27th Annual Golden Joystick Awards were held recently and the Call of Duty series managed to walk away with another handful of honors.
Call of Duty: World at War was hailed as “Multiplayer Game of the Year” and “Nintendo Game of the Year.”
In what seems like stating the obvious, (more…)
