Hands on with Wanted: Weapons of Fate

Let me first preface my impressions by saying yes, Wanted: Weapons of Fate is yet another movie tie-in game. But before you close the browser in disgust, take heed oh ye of little faith – if the demo is any indication (which was released on Xbox Live and the PSN today), W:WoF has some solid mechanics  that could make for an incredibly fun shooter in the crowded genre. Not only was this game not rushed to meet the opening release of the movie – Wanted has been on DVD and BluRay for some time now actually – as many other licensed games are want to do, it also serves as a direct sequel to the events of the movie. So far, so good.

Developed by GRIN and published by Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, Weapons of Fate  continues the journey of Wesley Gibson as he settles into his new role of super-powered assassin. Along the way, players will also have a chance to play Wesley’s father, a much revered assassin himself, in the form of flashbacks – in fact, the demo only allows you to play as his father on an assignment taking place on a turbulent airplane ride. If you’re familiar with the movie, you’ll notice that one of the main focuses of the game’s shooting mechanics is the ability to curve your bullets, which is especially useful around blind corners and obstacles that your target might be taking cover from. 

You can’t just curve your bullets whenever you want, however; you must build up Adrenaline first, represented by the bullet casings on the top right of your screen, by killing enemies the old fashioned way. This includes peeking out of cover and shooting normally, or to earn extra Adrenaline, sneak up and go for a brutal melee kill. Once these casings fill up, you have one of two options, curve bullets or execute a slow-mo quick move that has you sliding from one cover to another, but giving you ample time in between to take out any enemies nearby. While this Matrix style of slowing down time has been done before in shooters, it feels right at home in Weapons of Fate, and only encourages you to earn more of that plentiful Adrenaline. 

Another major factor is the game’s cover system: think more “sticky” cover of Gears of War/Uncharted fame than the more free-form mechanic seen in the likes of Army of Two. When near an object that could serve as cover, pressing A will automatically have the character slide, jump, or roll his way into it. Pushing out the left stick will indicate other sources of cover nearby as represented by a green arrow. As mentioned before, when you have enough Adrenaline built up, a new option for sliding from cover to cover pops in as a yellow arrow and executed with the Y button, giving you time to mow down enemies with ease.

Due to the cover mechanics and the way Weapons of Fate encourages you to move quickly, the game has a heavy emphasis on forward-movement and momentum: if you’re not moving your ass to cover, any other movements will seem awkward and slow to control. If you happen to accidentally come too close to an enemy, or if he ends up directly behind you, for instance, your only hope is to mash the melee button; turning around to face him would be too slow and costly otherwise. Thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be much need to backtrack aside from ammo clip droppings from your dead foes. 

Will Weapons of Fate avoid the curse of licensed tie-ins and actually prove to be a decent game? As always, it’s up in the air. All I know is that I had tons of fun playing around in the demo, experimenting with the curved bullets and slow-mo action moves to see how smooth I could chain successful attacks together. My biggest criticism so far? That, sadly, Angelina Jolie is nowhere to be found … which would make sense given the outcome of the movie, but still.The game is scheduled for a March 24 release on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Hands on with Watchmen: The End is Nigh

It’s a funny thing: when one thinks of the Watchmen graphic novel or the upcoming movie opening this week, few would immediately think the source material would lend itself to a beat-em-up video game title. Yet, that’s what the folks over at Deadline Games have chosen to do with their downloadable “long form” series, starting with Watchmen: The End is Nigh. 

Just released on the Xbox Live Marketplace and Steam (it will hit the PSN tomorrow), W:tEIN is the first chapter of Deadline Game’s series of episodic content that serve as a prequel to the comic and the film. Taking place in 1972, which if you’re familiar with the storyline is before the passing of the Keene Act, Rorschach and Nite Owl are the playable stars of this adventure, covering their younger days of busting criminals and going after the Underboss. At the outset of the game, players are able to choose which character to play, both of whom reflect slightly different styles of fighting: while Rorschach is more evasive and brutal in his tactics, Nite Owl is more about finesse and gadgetry.

The gameplay is simple enough at first: you have your fast and heavy attacks, along with a blocking or dodging move (depending on who you play as), and any combination of those buttons will string together basic combos. However, throughout the levels, new combos and tips can be found as floating icons or posters, expanding the move sets of your character such as throwing, counters, and stun combos. Additionally, Rorschach can build up a “Rage” meter with each successive hit in battle, allowing to use much more powerful physical moves, while Nite Owl’s “Charge” meter will allow him to use his electric attacks from his personal arsenal. 

Visually, the game is fantastic looking. Just as in the movie and the comics, Rorschach’s mask is constantly shifting to form new patterns, while Nite Owl is meticulously rendered to look exactly like his movie counterpart. The environments are gritty, but believable and the lighting only emphasizes the quality that the devs have put it in the downloadable title. Comic-panel cut scenes and authentic VO from the actors who portray the characters in the film string the story along, and it does an admirable job of reflecting the style from the original graphic novel (Watchmen’s original editor, Len Wein, penned the storyline). The only downside though is that – despite being just a demo – it’s easy to tell that enemy designs are few and far between; you’ll be seeing the same 4 or 5 thugs recycled over and over again, at least that’s the impression the prison level gave me (and also confirmed by various review outlets).

Despite perceived repetitiveness, the other obstacle to the game is its asking price: $20. While producers of the game justify this because of the game’s “obvious AAA quality” in respect to other titles in the downloadable market, the price is still a bit hard to swallow. This is especially true when you consider that Rockstar Game’s own piece of $20 DLC, The Lost and the Damned, is brimming with hours of content, as well as the Playstation Network’s Wipeout HD, a full-on racing game for the same price. Meanwhile, many reviews are clocking in W:tEIN as hovering around 3-4 hours of gameplay throughout its six chapters (barring playing through again with another character) , thus making $20 seem much too expensive for a game that I would have bought no-questions-asked for $10 – the standard price of most downloadable games these days.

Game Informer Scans = New info on GOW3

Boasting a bevy of exclusive content, the March issue of Game Informer magazine divulges new info on Sony’s next entry in its epic blockbuster franchise, God of War III. And, as always, teh interwebs have provided this info before hand with some physical scans, which can be found over at PS3Chat.

To be honest, while the scans are nice, reading it for comprehension requires straining my eyes to the nth degree. . . which is why it’s nice to see that the people over at Shacknews were able to decipher it! A few selections on their post:

• Players begin the game with many abilities from previous God of War games unlocked.
• New weapons will provide more contrast to the standard Blades of Chaos. The Cestus gauntlets, seen in the first trailer (below), were given as an example.
• Up to 50 enemies on screen–an increase over God of War 2’s 12-15 limit.
• Enemies will now coordinate attacks, arrange themselves in formations, and jump on Kratos to weigh him down.
• Titans–the massive god-like creatures from previous games–are now dynamic, “living, breathing characters,” rather than background setpieces.

While leaked scans are fun, I think I’ll just wait ’till the next time I roll into my local bookstore to read the stuff for myself.

Killzone 2 Demo Impressions

By now, you’ve probably heard a lot about Killzone 2’s controversial past since its grand announcement back in E3 2005 – yes, I’m talking about that beautiful CG trailer – so I won’t repeat it here. Fast forward nearly four years later, and we finally have a frickin’ demo for the general public to try… It may have taken some fancy maneuvering to create a European PSN account to download it  (actually, creating a fake account is easy as pie), which in the US is exclusive to GameStop preorders until the 26th, but sweet zombie jesus was it worth it. 

Production values withstanding – which are top notch BTW, a style which personally I’m growing to love – the gameplay has a definite “heft” to it, in a way. For me, coming from a COD4 frame of reference, which is hard not to considering that game’s impact on the FPS world, the action movies a bit slower than what I’m used to, but it fits the style of the game. Unlike other first-person games, K2 mechanics are simply not suited for a run-and-gun methodology, so you will die if you try to pull a Rambo on all their asses. 

This where the new cover system comes in: it’s particularly fluid after getting used to it for the first few times, and is practically invaluable to your survival. The demo showcases this during a massive shootout in a sort of warehouse section; it’s fun to see the Helghans constantly trying to outflank you or bait you out with grenades and gunfire. Another thing that the game pulls off well is the simple satisfaction of your kills: as terrible as it sounds, you can’t help but smile when the Helghans scream bloody murder and flail all over the place after you pump bullet after bullet into their bodies; a different sort of visceral thrill from, say, the over-the-top limb chopping of Gears of War. 

If you look at the slew of reviews out there, Killzone 2 has had an overwhelming response from critics already, which is definitely a good sign for this PS3 exclusive shooter. I’m itching to get my hands on the with the game’s multiplayer, but we still have until the 27th to see that for ourselves.

GTTV’s Exclusive first look at Resistance 2

The most recent GameTrailers TV episode that aired quite early this morning (1am!) has the scoop on the first actual gameplay footage of Insomniac’s highly-anticipated sequel, Resistance 2. Some interesting tidbits of information to keep in mind:

• “Sentinel” soldiers seem to fight along your side, and like Nathan Hale, are completely immune to the deadly virus we learned about in the first game
• Giant boss battles will break up the pace, “up to 300 feet” in size according to Ted Price, President of Insomniac Games
• Continuing from the first game, Resistance 2 will take place in America in the early 1950’s, though one where WWII never actually happened – ie the fight with the Chimera in Europe instead
• Later in the game, Nathan must go from San Francisco to Chicago
• New enemy: “the Grimms”, half-converted chimera that attack in hordes with melee-based combat, able to run swiftly out of windows and walls to catch you
• First level takes place in Iceland; jumps a few years ahead finding Nathan in America – that two year absence, according to Price, was Nathan undergoing training with the Sentinels fighting off smaller skirmishes of Chimera
• Separate co-op narrative will have gamers playing as particular Sentinel soldiers, not Nathan Hale; co-op can be played with up to 8 people – diversified by classes
• In multiplayer: squad-based objectives meant to “spread out” the 60 player battlefield so as to avoid chaos and frustration from a simple head-to-head deathmatch
• Possibility of a beta?
• Gone is the multiple weapon inventory, replaced with a two-weapon system instead
• No vehicles in multiplayer

Phew! Well while some of that information is stuff Insomniac have gone on record saying already, it’s nice to see it be backed up by some solid footage of the campaign and multiplayer modes. Needless to say, if you are in any way a Resistance or FPS fan on the PS3, Resistance 2 is definitely a title to look for in the fall. Now let’s hope for some kind of beta announcement in the near future…

GameTrailers TV Episode 19: Resistance 2

Lazy Saturday: Sporepedia

When I’m not currently occupied by marathon gaming sessions on MGS4, I find myself curiously sorting through the 10,000+ creatures on Sporepedia – a catalog of all creatures created through (a portion) of Will Wright and EA’s next money-printing game, Spore. Coming up on the 17th for PC and Mac will be Spore’s Creature Creator, a sample offering of the full game that includes full customization options for creating that googly-eyed penis four-armed monster you’ve always wanted; you can either choose the full featured flavor at 10 bucks, or download a demo that will have only 25% of the customizable options.

No official word on any console versions being developed for the 360 and PS3, but the full game will drop in a few short months on September 7th for the PC, Mac, Nintendo DS, and mobile phone platforms. If you’re brave enough to fend off the various phallic-inspired monsters – along with laughable attempts of breast creatures and anything else your naughty mind can think of, then venture forth into Spore’s Sporepedia.

HAZE Impressions (so far)

After the almost universal panning in reviews of developer Free Radical’s latest FPS – a fine pedigree it established with its solid Timesplitters series on the Playstation 2 – I was inherently compelled to seek out the game and try it for myself. It’s not that I didn’t believe what the writers had to say; it’s just that I couldn’t come to terms with a rational justification for the lower end of scores it consistently received across the web. I kept thinking, “It can’t be that bad, right?” And while I have not yet finished the game to answer that question, I can see where most of the reviews were coming from; and perhaps most importantly, where I think they begin to lose sight of the game as a whole.

Obviously one huge factor contributing to the game’s less-than-favorable scores were due to its initial hype last year – back when it was still on track for a Fall 2007 release – and then the delay that had many gamers questioning whether the game would come out at all. Here’s where Problem #1 occurs: Does the game play like a solid and refined piece of product that benefited from a nearly 6 month delay? The quick answer is simply no, and from that perspective, one that I think most writers adopted when they judged the game, it is certainly disappointing to find that a game that had constantly been mired in delays and hiccups still manages to play as an average shooter with little to offer in the genre.

From my time with the game (about 3 hours in or so), the gameplay is, for lack of a better word, alright. I dug the role as a Mantel solider and the dependence on the coveted Nectar drug that enhances one’s abilities. The first hour or two was mildly amusing, nothing special, but nothing terrible either. Once the plot twists however, you find yourself as fighting alonside the rebels you spent the first few missions killing – but without the technology of the Mantel group, it feels somewhat underwhelming. While both possess different and unique abilities, I can’t say that there is too much difference between the classes to fully appreciate the shift in gameplay – the lack of Nectar being the only significant one to mention. Thus, you go from one mediocre experience to another: again, nothing special to see here.

Now I’m not sure yet how long this string of mediocrity lasts, but it is certainly a concern that I’m keeping in mind as I go through the game. I’m really trying to keep my mind open on HAZE as much as I can, and aside from some inspired ideas that can be found within the game, it has turned out to be a sub-par experience.

Patapon Impressions

Another bite-sized update:

Now that the full game is in my possession – the main reason why I scrapped impressions on the demo that I originally planned – Patapon is shaping up to be quite the hypnotic title, packed to the brim with catchy song chants and dangerously addicting battles that rival and even surpass the depth of many other games. Certainly unlike any other PSP game you’ve played before, Patapon stands on a league of its own with rhythmic-based game play that encourages your on screen warriors to move, defend, or attack. Simple button combinations serve as the basis of the mighty drum that you, the Mighty Patapon god, possess, with each chant provoking a different response from your formidable army: If you follow the beat, the Patapons become a force to reckon with; falter, and your enemies will quickly overwhelm you.

Like any good old strategy game, there can be a lot of micromanaging going on as you can equip new shields, weapons (such as bows, swords and spears), and even riding mounts like horses and birds. Along the way, different types of Patapons will integrate with your army: among one of the more amusing species I’ve ran across lately is a troll-like “Dekapon” that, at first, swings a large club at its foes – its HP is top notch, but its weak defenses means its for offensive use only. There are others scattered across the game (with some I haven’t even found yet) but when organizing your pata-troops for battle, the player is limited to 3 squads, or types of soldiers at a time. Thus you must take into account the types of missions you’re about to face before deploying the Patapons into battle.

Think of it like the illegitimate child of Parappa the Rappa and Final Fantasy Tactics: however absurd that idea may seem, it is perhaps the closest approximation one could use in words to describe the game – you simply have to experience it for yourself. Stay tuned for the final review.