Ben's Week In Review: March 4
Call of Duty: Black OpsStill trying to get caught up with Vita stuff and Mass Effect 3 . I'll also be part of a conference call for Journey on Monday (already finished the game). ...so yeah, still pretty busy.
Do we sense any dissension in the Call of Duty ranks?
Throughout most of last year, I'd say the buzz among the CoD aficionados was pretty damn positive. Every last one of them was looking forward to Modern Warfare 3 - or so it seemed to me - and of course, the game shattered records, as anticipated. But now that evidence exists for Black Ops 2, I'm sensing a slight disturbance in the force...as if the unflappable and always happy franchise followers are getting a tad uncomfortable. I've heard many say it's about time for a new engine. I've heard others say they didn't really want another sequel; they had expected something new from Treyarch, as that studio has delivered standalone CoD experiences in the past.
Overall, I'm sort of getting this weird vibe that this year's Call of Duty entry might not be a 100% good in the eyes of the fanatics. And that's saying something, isn't it? I could definitely be wrong but I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Grand Theft Auto V was the ultimate sales winner in 2012.
I couldn't be more excited for Assassin's Creed III
After reading all those excellent details, I'm just itching to get my hands on this one. Colonial America in AC? Oh come on. Granted, I'm a super huge fan of Italy and Italian history (and history in general), which is why I've loved past entries, but to have our country portrayed in such a rich, accurate atmosphere? Can anyone remember a time when any video game has attempted any such thing? Those of you unfamiliar with the series in question should understand that Ubisoft always goes to extreme lengths to immerse the player in a realistic world. A living breathing 18th-century America is just begging to be explored, I think. Besides, it should prove to be a very interesting story, too...
Now, I have to admit, I've never really played the AC games for the story; I've played them mostly for the gameplay. It's not that the narrative was lacking, per se, it's just that I was always absorbed by the open-world, stealth-based mechanics that I adore. This time around, though, I'm hoping for a storyline that grabs me from the start.
Personal gaming update
As I mentioned above, I've completed Journey (sorry, not allowed to talk about it just yet) and I've got some questions for Thatgamecompany Monday afternoon. Mass Effect 3 is also keeping me busy...and again, sorry, I can't talk about it yet. What I can talk about: I had great fun with SSX; strongly recommended provided you can handle the somewhat frustrating difficulty in later levels. And what's the deal with no split-screen multiplayer? Way better than Asphalt: Injection at any rate. Oh, and I'm nearing the end of Final Fantasy XIII-2; I got Lightning from the Colisuem, too, and I turned her into a beast of a combat machine. I just love her. I'm also playing Hot Shots on the Vita when I get the chance.
This week, look for that ME3 review, along with a few more Vita reviews (ModNation Racers: Road Trip and Dungeon Hunter: Alliance, I think), and then things might level off just a tad. Ever since the Vita launch, I've been going a million miles an hour. The sun still exists, right? ...great, I just gave the idiots more ammunition. ;)
3/3/2012 Ben Dutka
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Comments (45 posts)
Temjin001
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 11:01:23 PM
0 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 11:17:10 PM
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Jawknee
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 12:00:46 AM
3 up, 0 down
dmiitrie
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 12:25:46 AM
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frylock25
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 1:19:32 AM
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aaronisbla
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 7:55:49 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:05:41 PM
Aaron, what is Mos Def calling himself these days again?
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aaronisbla
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 4:01:55 PM
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Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 7:06:18 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 10:35:16 PM
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CoD's to me might as well take on annual titles. CoD 2012, 2013 etc.
Despite my silly AC3 comments the other night, I'm really excited for this new one. I like what I'm reading, and the setting strikes me as fresh and interesting. I'm game.
I've been compelled by Journey since pics started surfacing. While early reviews by Gamespot and IGN have it pegged at only 3 hours in length, it still comes highly recommended with much praise. I want to play it.
I liked the SSX demo quite a bit. While playing the demo a rush of 10 years ago happened. Like, whoooa game play that isn't FPS/TPS. In a way, it sort of made me want a real good Tony Hawk game again as well. I look forward to playing the full SSX game.
PGU: I turned on NGS2 a few times for a few minutes this week. I inched my way forward a bit on Master Ninja.
I look forward to getting some time off from projects and laying around scratching myself playing video games until late in the night. I miss that.
1 up, 0 down
iwillbetheone
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 10:39:33 PM
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Fane1024
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 6:04:54 AM
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FxTales
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 11:18:15 PM
Reply
0 up, 1 down
aaronisbla
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 7:57:36 AM
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Beamboom
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 8:49:31 AM
As for me, Mass Effect 3 and Bioshock Infinite are the two titles this year where I need not read any reviews whatsoever. With ME3 I'm not even curious what is written. I don't care, cause I just *know* I will love it, and don't want to read anything to spoil my experience.
1 up, 0 down
FxTales
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 3:24:54 PM
@ Beamboom, yeah I'm still getting it, would just like to read a potentially non-biased review.
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aaronisbla
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 8:24:54 PM
1 up, 0 down
Metal Head
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 11:44:35 PM
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Last edited by Metal Head on 3/3/2012 11:45:51 PM
3 up, 9 down
Jawknee
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 11:56:21 PM
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PGU: Some Twisted Metal multiplayer here and there. What's got me hooked is Metal Gear Solid 3D. The Peace Walker/MGS4 like controls really do make the game that much better. So glad Ryan Payton showed Kojima how to do TPS controls the right way. They even allow you to crawl and walk while crouched. You can't crawl in Peace Walker or shoot in FP view. But you can in MGS3DS. Odd they decided to stick with those crap controls from the PS2 versions for the HD collection. I hope Konami decides to update the controls for the Vita version or they make MGS2 3DS.
Last edited by Jawknee on 3/3/2012 11:57:59 PM
3 up, 4 down
frylock25
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 1:23:04 AM
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Fox hounder
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:35:00 AM
Well i'm certainly glad to hear the controls turned out well for MGS 3D. By the way are you playing with the second analog slider pad attachment thing? (i can't remember the name, lol)
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Killa Tequilla
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:55:44 AM
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Jawknee
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 3:26:16 AM
Killa, it's bad character designing and modeling. He's stupid looking. He looks like he's a dummy and his clothes are lazy.
1 up, 1 down
Fox hounder
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 4:12:00 AM
Thanks :)
Last edited by Fox hounder on 3/4/2012 4:17:06 AM
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Fane1024
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 6:20:53 AM
My initial feelings were that the Abstergo bits were an extraneous frame narrative used to "explain" the videogame elements (e.g., the HUD). The scenes themselves were almost totally useless in AC. After the beginning of AC2, however, I actually wanted a lot more interaction with the "real world" characters throughout the game than there was.
Plus, Nolan North and Kristen Bell.
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frylock25
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 1:29:04 AM
Reply
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Beamboom
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 8:52:23 AM
Last edited by Beamboom on 3/4/2012 8:52:43 AM
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frylock25
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 10:20:01 AM
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___________
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:14:07 AM
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treyarch are hardly the front line of the series, so allot of fans will be sitting on the sideline waiting for next year and IW to be back.
and what few people out there that prefer treyarch to IW do so because they always bring in a new IP.
they fear treyarch is turning into what IW is turning into, so of course theres going to be distension!
im absolutley loving the AC3 info, or whats left of it.
i just wish it was in a modern time, and with desmond.
as much as the american revolution sounds interesting, and a fresh new idea to explore, i really was expecting to finally be playing as desmond, exploring current times finding those temples!
i mean that IS the whole point of AC1,2,B, and revelations!
sigh.
ive been playing a fair bit of SSX since its release, such a awesome game!
its a crime weve been starved of awesome snowboarding games for so long!
only thing i dont like about it is the controls, they feel a bit dim witted.
its so easy to get into a tank slapper, you just tap the stick slightly to straighten up, and your board swings the other way.
i just tapped, god imagine what would of happened if i held it the whole way!
just gets annoying, makes you feel like you need to sit there with the tweezers out and a magnifying glass.
sense of depth could use some work too.
because the camera is so god dam far away its really hard to tell where you are.
so many times i have jumped thinking i was at the end of a ramp, when i was only half way.
and so many times ive thrown in a extra trick thinking yea ive got heaps of distance, then i instantly hit the ground when it looked like i had several meters left.
this is EXACTLY why you cant have the camera so god dam far away from the player!
god, i thought developers would of figured this out by now!
1 up, 1 down
Fox hounder
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:43:40 AM
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PGU: Got my head in Mass Effect 2 and Goldeneye Reloaded at the moment. Also trying to learn to play the Bass guitar, its tough, but will be worth in the end.
Side note: Its good to be back here again :)
4 up, 0 down
Fane1024
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 6:39:44 AM
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PGU : I finished Back To The Future and haven't started a new "story" game yet. I think I 'll clean up a few other PSN games first, but I still plan on starting ME2 before long. 48 new Rock Band songs will probably eat up my weekend, though.
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JackC8
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 7:52:04 AM
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JLB1
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 8:16:19 AM
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As long as the content in Assassins Creed feels fresh, I'll support it. It also helps that it was in development for 3 years AND the team that made arguably the best Assassins Creed(AC2) have been working on it! The setting seems perfect!
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bigrailer19
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 11:50:41 AM
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I'll be getting it though because I always get a good kick out of the SP experience in CoD.
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 3/4/2012 11:51:26 AM
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Clamedeus
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 2:02:25 PM
At least Treyarch knows what they are doing and are ACTUALLY listening to the fans and correcting things, they are going to be putting a lot of effort into Black Ops 2 when ever that releases I don't know if I'm going to even get the game though I'm straying away from CoD and have only been going on once in awhile, BF3 takes up most of my time and some other games I have.
The map design in MW3 is pretty terrible, and everyone I've talked to about it agrees. The old crew knew how to make a map, these maps in MW3 aren't very good or memorable like the old maps.
This is just my opinion though, if you don't agree that's fine.
Last edited by Clamedeus on 3/4/2012 2:03:07 PM
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JDC80
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 5:10:34 PM
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Still playing MLB 11 the show halfway to the playoffs what sucks I lost Justin Verlander for a month. And it seems 2K finally fixed the freezing issue in NBA 2k12.
Splitting time between InFamous 2 and Batman: Arkham City.
I'm not going to lie I'm looking forward to get Ninja Gaiden III and Resident Evil operation Raccoon City later this month.
Waiting to hear back from a employer on a job interview wish me luck.
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Godslim
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 6:07:22 PM
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gray_eagle
Sunday, March 04, 2012 @ 7:57:28 PM
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i have'nt yet but i still plan on buying twisted metal at sometime.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Reply
Saturday, March 03, 2012 @ 10:06:03 PM
I would consider playing ACIII for the setting alone (you guys know I'm no fan of that game). If they pull the gameplay up from it's stilted bootstraps I'm totally on board.
How come you can't talk about Journey? I've already seen reviews from pro sites out there.
I'm kind of stuck with a ton of games on my plate right now so I'm just playing what I feel like. It's amazing to me that FEAR3 is much more tactical than any CoD title. I'm trying to get back to XIII-2 but it's so lame it's hard to. The battles in Amalur are fun but it's too bad the world and NPCs aren't all that interesting. Still, if Dragon Age wants to go full on actiony with DA3 they should learn from Amalur.
I have a stupid question about ME3, does anybody think there will be any chance I might be able to load my ME2 save but make a new Shepard? If not I may be compelled to replay ME2 completely while ME3's price goes down.