Information on Battlefield 3

The long awaited next installment in the Battlefield franchise (and I mean proper installement, not that evil, bastardized Bad Company 2) is finally coming, and it looks set for an autumn release.

Information is steadily leaking out. For example, we now know that both 64 man servers and the ability to go prone are returning, which I'm really happy about as their demonstrating their commitment to the PC with this, after the clearly console targeted Bad Company 2.

We also know that fighter jets are returning, so rejoice as once more we will see insane clips on youtube of mind-bending, plane-swapping stunts, probably all whilst juggling a litter of kittens. Lastly the game is using the Frostbite engine, a high performance and demanding engine that will see XP users lose out due to it's need for DX11.

Heres a little teaser trailer, it's not much, but it should keep you going for now.

Sourced from PC Gamer and Game Informer.

Game Review - Dead Space 2

Good points:                                                            Bad points:

Builds on the same great formula.                              Fairly predictable.
Amazing use of audio.                                              Many familiar enemies.
Some good new enemies/features.                             Flawed multiplayer.


 You trudge down another blood spattered corridor. Another screeching monstrosity jumps out and yet again you send it's limbs flying across the metallic surfaces, stamping on it's face so many times you wouldn't even recognise it as a monster, let alone a human. This summises the general premise of Dead Space. When put in such frank terms it really doesn't sound like the great franchise that it has become, and therein Visceral Games' strength lies - with underlying layers of subtlety and some really good, driven story telling a completely linear game (yes they still exist nowadays, the horror!) becomes so much more. This sequel had a fair amount to live up to following the success of the first Dead Space, and what you get is not a disappointment.

In terms of gameplay, Dead Space 2 does not differ in any aspect from it's predecessor. Players of the first will be completely familiar with the need to severe the limbs off opposing necromorphs - the undead and generally rather unhappy looking bunch that comprise the sole enemies. You will still find money to buy equipment in shops and still need to use stasis for puzzle solving/freezing a necromorph's jaw an inch from your face. Isaac Clarke remains the protagonist, albeit this time around has suddenly found his voice (more on that later). What exactly has changed then?

Well, as well as a slightly expanded arsenal you can expect a few more types of necromorph. Some from the previous game, such as those frustrating superspeed marine necromorphs, did not make the cut, but there are some interesting new additions. My personal favourite is the Stalker, a creature that will literally stalk you through mazy levels before charging out to ram you over. Sections with zero gravity has been drastically altered, and this is one of the main changes. Whereas before you had to jump from point to point like some kind of hideously gory, interactive dot-to-dot you now have jets to fly yourself around. This lets the game branch out it's zero gravity sections to include proper segments outside in space, and just generally provides a much easier to use system. One entirely new feature is the hacking system, whereby you must complete a small task involving matching your cursor to the appropriate section, but this is hardly a major feature, even if it does recur a fair number of times.

One thing I'm particularly pleased about is how the game has turned out for the PC. The PC version of the first Dead Space might has well have marched in waving a giant banner saying 'look at me! I'm a port!'. You wouldn't know this was a multi-platform game without being told however, and these kinds of gestures from companies do mean something, I nearly wept a single tear at being able to use my mouse on the menu this time around.

The story has Isaac wake up on a Saturn medical facility only to find his nightmare on the Ishimura is repeating itself all over again - to say your thrown right into the fray from the word go is an understatement, you'll understand what I mean when you load it up for the first time. The focus is simple, you must escape Saturn's facility with as many limbs as possible, while removing as many as you can from anything in your way. It sounds simple and is definately more so than the hallucinagenic confusion of the original, but is brought to life by a few carefully placed, colourful characters. Isaac is foremost among them - he now can speak, and Gunner Wright provides an excellent job as his voice actor. Gone is the faceless, yelling man we knew before, replaced by an intensely likable and, more importantly, relatable character that I think is one of things this game has done best. Ellie and Stross provide the accompanying living comrades. Ellie is a point of mild sanity for Isaac to grip to, whereas Stross is a madman who is disconcerting yet vital, as he is the only who seems to know how to destroy the marker. This two both compliment the game as well, Ellie matching Isaac's new persona, and Stross' insanity tying in with the madness around you.

I listed these two as living comrades for a reason. There is one more accompanying member - Isaac's dead girlfriend Nicole, haunting his memory is what is described as a 'unique form of dementia.' She appears in a serious of hallucinations, but the scenes where she is present feel as if they are supposed to be a lot scarier than they actually are. Her constant terrorizing of Isaac's mind, for me, is done best when she is constantly whispering obscenities without being there, achieving a much greater effect. It feels more immersive, and this brings me on nicely to one of my favourite things about Dead Space 2.

The Brute does surprise buttsex better than anyone.

When your playing this game, it puts you in a certain mindset, and that is one of a survivalist. It takes you, the ordinary human being, and makes you into someone that scavenges ammo, reloads every gun during breathing space, anticipates every monster and checks every corner. I love this, but at the same time it is a flaw. Not only is the game actually fairly easy, it is a bit obvious. 'Oh look, theres another necromorph pretending to be dead, lets just poke you with a stick. Oh look, there a dark corridor, and I'm totally not expecting a monster to jump out at me.' You are powerful enough that theres nothing to fear unless your some kind of crazy person playing on hardcore (I played through on normal just for reference). The game's difficulty curve is somewhat U shaped. The beginning is just so easy, monsters falling like wheat before a plasma scythe. Mid game is the hardest, where ammo is becoming scarcer and monsters tougher, but by the end you have so much money you'll wonder how you ever coped with one magazine in every gun. Even though the game is linear you still have a mechanism whereby you press a button and are told exactly where to go. Generally there are two doors as a choice in a room. The objective marker will point to one, so I always go in the other first as it is inevitably where the goodies are, which ties into what I said previously about it being a bit obvious.

The new guns are something of a disappointment - the Javelin Gun can sometimes be useless, but sometimes instagib your opponent via electrocution. The Seeker Rifle, a sniper basically, has no place in a game where everything is close up. Fortunately all the old favourites like the Plasma Cutter and Line Gun still survive, and really the Plasma Cutter is all you need. The system where gun are upgraded via the workbench is still in place, using powernodes you find out and about, and has not really changed at all.

The start of the game seems to focus around big set pieces, the shiny and spectacular events to draw you in, which lead into what I actually believe is the better part of the game. Later in the game you really don't have these, but it feels better for it. Let me give you an example. Early on you'll find yourself dangling from a train by your foot, fighting off waves as you desperately try and untangle yourself, I really liked this bit. I didn't like it as much though, as the simple walk through the Ishimura upon your return. It's just corridors, corridors covered in plastic to hide the scars of what happened 3 years before. This segment does a phenominal job of building the tension, and you walk through so many familiar, yet subtley visually different areas, that it evoked powerful memories I did not even know I possessed. The game also offers some genuine, head scratching puzzles. Nothing that took me more than 5 minutes to overcome, but a couple surprised be by requiring slightly more than pre-school intelligence to solve. The build up towards the end is really good, but ultimately the climax left me a little disappointed, but I suppose you can't have everything. There is some replayability as some things you only unlock upon completion, such as new armour and hardcore mode.

Visually, the game is good, it's no Crysis but seems to have improved a bit on the first, particularly regarding humans and their facial expressions. If anything it's even more gory, requiring you now to often have to stamp on a corpse to get the items from it, and some of Isaac's death scenes are so violent it's as if you yourself have been personally violated in some way. Where the game really shines is in it's audio. I already mentioned the great voice acting, but the backing tracks of both 1 and 2 are absolutely first class. The game really takes on a different dimension with headphones so take my advice and wear some. It was only after putting them on I noticed tiny, pleasing things so as the blissful thrum that echoes through the air following a discharge of the Line Gun. It also makes things a bit scarier, which is fine, as the game is meant to be scarier than I believe it actually is.

Isaac getting carried away with his new jets. You can almost see his grin.

The big, big difference from the first Dead Space is, of course, multiplayer. Don't get too excited - if theres one thing thats transparently obvious it's that the franchise was never really intended for this format. Many people have compared it to Left 4 Dead and I suppose the premise is the same - one team control surviviors who must complete objectives, whilst the other as necromorphs try and stop them. It actually reminds me more of Aliens vs Predator multiplayer, with the small and claustrophobic arenas, as well as the general feel. It's fun to play for a while, and you should give it a try, but it really has some flaws.

If the humans are organised, it is impossible for the necromorphs to do a thing. All of them are so fragile it really doesn't take a lot. If a couple of humans aren't quite up to basic intelligence then the whole team will be promptly massacred. I have found that even though it is clearly objective focused many humans won't even bother, and just fight the necromorphs. There is almost no incentive to actually get the objectives - there is little reward for doing them at the time, and you usually end up dead if thats all you focus on. Equally, in some sections the necromorphs can attack a human objective, yet I don't think I've seen a single necromorph player attempt this other than myself.

Accompanying the necromorphs players are some bots controlling the standard enemies - 'flailey things' as I like to call them. I think think they need making more powerful, as currently they disintegrate like wet paper. The necromorph spawning system also has some problems. The idea is a good one - you control a camera while dead and manually select your spawn point. However, this camera is neither in no clip mode, nor fast, so it can be really difficult to find somewhere half decent. Ultimately, like I said, fun for a while but I doubt it will keep you playing beyond the initial experimentation (although there is incentive to, via various unlockables.)

In the end, I feel Dead Space 1 is a shade better. Just a tiny, almost immeasurable shade. It had the advantage of appearing a lot more original and the story was marginally better. Dead Space 2 has added to what was clearly a successful formula, with a voice for Isaac, along with new guns and enemies. There were also a few more memorable moments in Dead Space 1, some unique boss fights that here are replaced by two boss monsters that make up most of the battles. If you liked Dead Space 1, then undoubtedly you will like this. If Visceral Games can take on board what they've learnt from both games and combine the best parts Dead Space 3 could be an amazing game. What you get here is the follow up to a very good game that has seemingly settled for being very good as well, rather than going for something potentially great. The big changes like multiplayer have only been introduced half heartedly, and it may be that only next time will everything reach it's full potential.

Score: 8/10

Kids just seem to get worse with every generation.

 Watch the trailer here:

League of Legends: Karma Abilities Revealed

Abilities:

Inner Flame (Passive): Karma gains increased Ability Power corresponding to her missing Health.

Heavenly Wave: Karma sends forth a wave of hidden blades from her fans, dealing magic damage to units in a cone in front of her.

• Mantra Bonus: In addition to dealing damage to enemies, Heavenly Wave will also heal allies in the cone. The amount healed is amplified depending upon the amount of life Karma, or her allies are missing

Spirit Bond: Karma bonds an ally or enemy creating a beam between them. Bonded allies have increased movement speed and bonded enemies have reduced movement speed. Enemy units that come in contact with the beam take magic damage, and champions who pass through the beam receive the same movement speed modifier as bonded champions.

• Mantra Bonus: Karma imbues the beam to grant bonus movement speed to any ally that passes through the beam. Any enemy that passes through the beam suffers reduced movement speedKarma strengthens the bond to double the effect of the movement speed modifier.

Soul Shield: Karma summons a protective shield that absorbs incoming damage.

• Mantra Bonus: In addition to the shield, energy radiates out from the shield, dealing damage to enemy units around the recipient.

Mantra (Ultimate): Karma empowers her next ability to do an additional effect. Mantra is available at level 1 and does not require a skill point.

Music Review: myGRAIN - myGRAIN (2011)

www.mygrain1.com
www.myspace.com/mygrain

Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Track List:
1. Into the Parallel Universe (5:33)
2. Shadow People (4:29)
3. Dust Devils and Cosmic Storms (4:51)
4. Of Immortal Aeons (5:40)
5. A Clockwork Apocalypse (6:18)
6. Eye of the Void (5:20)
7. Trapped in an Hourglass (5:51)
8. Xenomorphic (6:07)
9. Cataclysm Child (6:36)

Overview

MyGRAIN are a little known Finnish band that, with the coming of their new self-titled album, have really attempted to break into the scene this time around. I have been a fan of them already for many years, their first album 'Orbit Dance' is my favourite debut album ever, and one of my favourite overall albums. Despite their high quality work, recognition has not really been forthcoming, which is unusual considering they are signed under the metal-giants Spinefarm. This time Spinefarm have pushed the boat out, with myGRAIN's first ever video single 'Of Immortal Aeons' released and another for 'A Clockwork Apocalypse' in the pipeline. They have shot for the big time, and so this album could really prove make or break for the band, so what kind of sound can you expect?

MyGRAIN's usage of keyboards, played by the very talented Eve, is one thing that really differentiates them from the masses of other bands. Rather than the blitzing solos of Janne Wirman from Children of Bodom, Eve's style is more rhythmic and melodious. The progression of Eve's keyboard style is the main thing changing with each successive album. In 'Orbit Dance' it was very much in the background providing a subtle layer of atmosphere, but has steadily taken more of a front seat each time round. Tommy's vocals remain at his consistent high level, switching effortlessly from fearsome roars to soft melodies. Despite gaining a new lead guitar in the form of Mr Downhill, the fast paced and powerful riffing has changed little, bar the addition of a few solos which were previously lacking.

Review

Lets start with 'Of Immortal Aeons', the first ever video single from the band. The more prevailant keyboard is immediately obvious but after a great build up involving some pounding rhythm guitar it is let down slightly when the vocals kick in, with a fairly poor drum sequence providing minor background irritance. This 'fast drumming' can be viewed at just after 0:40 on the video below and appears a few times throughout the song. I think it sounds really quite unprofessional when I hear it in songs, but on this album this is the only song it appears noticably in. Brushing this critisism aside the cleanly sung chorus is both catchy and haunting, and overall the song's quality is such that it remains good despite doing something that I personally dislike a lot. I really found with this song in particular that it took multiple playthroughs to start appreciating it.

I believe the standout song is the introductory track 'Into the Parallel Universe'. Appropriately it is the beginning of this track that really shines - the quiet, acoustic beginning leading into a blazing combo of guitar and keyboard that really is breathtaking. The structure of the song is based around it's strong chorus, with the one flaw being it's length. The band mentioned prior to this album's release that they were looking to universally increase the length of their songs, however I don't feel it has worked. Almost every song on the album feels worse from being dragged out slightly too long, especially tracks like 'A Clockwork Apocalypse' and 'Cataclym Child'. These two are some of the better songs on the album, the former having strong rhythm guitar throughout and the latter leaning heavily upon it's fairly good chorus, a trait it shares with 'Dust Devils and Cosmic Storms'.

The two worst tracks on the album are easily 'Eye of the Void' and 'Xenomorphic'. 'Xenomorphic' goes through phases, some segments of the song feel very poorly constructed but some are actually really quite good, such as the section just after the introduction (which includes, unfortunately, more fast drumming). It rapidly interweaves very soft and heavy sections, which some of the best songs I can think of do, but 'Xenomorphic' does it poorly indeed, leading to something that just feels totally unstructured. 'Eye of the Void' is merely a completely forgettable song, with almost nothing to make it stand out aside from a chorus where Tommy's voice seems to take a bizarre turn towards becoming uncomfortably high pitched.

Conclusion

I really, really wanted this album to be amazing. For me, myGRAIN utterly deserves it's break, but this is just not the best example of their work. To be fair I feel they had a massive amount of work to do in order to top 'Orbit Dance' but this doesn't stop me being ultimately disappointed. The music feels like it is reaching for an over-arching tone of the dramatic yet never quite makes it. Some consistent critisisms are the length of the tracks and the fact that most of the songs are fairly forgettable, with 'Eye of the Void' best embodying this.

I mentioned earlier how the involvement of the keyboard had changed, and I feel this is an issue that needs to be addressed. For me, a huge reason why 'Orbit Dance' was so great, was Eve's keyboard. It featured less in 'Orbit Dance' than either of the other two albums, yet achieved the most prominent effect, providing some really powerful moments. In this latest album, I actually still feel it is fantastically played, and is integral in almost all the album's best moments, but I preferred the style of it's predecessor. The album is by no means bad, I feel it is slightly better than 'Signs of Existence', but when trying to make that leap towards becoming a major band they really needed to be at their very best. When I think about it, every member bar maybe the drums performs very well, so I think it is more a case of structure. This can be changed and improved, so I have hope yet. I implore you to have a listen, and have faith in them so that they can achieve the status I feel they deserve.

Score: 7/10

First Game Review!

It's going to be Dead Space 2, and hopefully will be within a few days. Theres also going to be some music stuff on here shortly as well to make up for the rather distinct bias towards gaming so far, stay tuned.

League of Legends Champion Sneak Peek

Karma, the Enlightened One is the latest champion due to be released in League of Legends. She'll probably be released in the next patch tuesday (for America) or wednesday (for Europe). Information that we have on her suggests she'll be 3150 IP.

To me she looks like a support champion, and to be honest I think she looks a little lame. She won't necessarily be a bad character in game, obviously looks have no impact on that, but shes just a bit plain and boring. Mind you, there are some insane people out there who looked at the entire list of LoL champions, saw Teemo, and thought 'yes, yes that is the little bastard for me.'

Courtesy of the League of Legends site.

News on the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

More information has emerged on Skyrim’s enhanced combat system. Whether you want to be a warrior, a mage, or a distant assassin, enhancements have been made to make combat feel more brutal and decisive. Read on for more information on dual wielding, magic inspired by Bioshock’s plasmids and deadly ranged weapons.

Weapons and spells can be equipped to each hand in any combination. This means you can roll with a pair of blades, a sword and shield, or even two spells at the same time. A quick select menu lets you organise shortcut keys to different weapon loadouts. Here’s a summary of the improvements to each combat style.

Melee

• The animation system now uses Havok physics behaviour. It will be possible to throw your enemies off balance and strike for extra damage.
• Finishing moves dispatch enemies in different ways depending on the enemy and the weapon equipped.
• It’s possible to specialise in different weapons, including swords, shields, maces, axes and two-handed weapons. Specialising in weapons unlocks perks that add damage bonuses. These vary from weapon to weapon. Swords have an increased chance of landing a critical hit, axes cause ongoing bleeding damage and maces can smash right through enemy armour bonuses.
• Blocking now relies on a timing-based system, meaning it won’t be possible to continuously hide behind a shield. Shields can be used offensively as well. The new shield bash manoeuvre can throw an enemy off balance, opening them up for a counter strike.
• Shields have their own series of unlockable perks which can grant additional elemental protection.
• Movement backwards is much slower than Oblivion to make escaping combat more difficult.

 
Magic

• The developers took inspiration from the impact of Bioshock’s plasmid abilities.
• There are five schools of magic – destruction, restoration, illusion, alteration, and conjuration. There are 85 spells in total to choose from.
• Mysticism is gone. Game Director Todd Howard tells Game Informer why. “It always felt like the magical school of mysticism – isn’t that redundant?” The spells that were formerly part of the Mysticism have been merged with the other magic schools.
• While you can only equip one spell to each hand, each spell can be used in a number of ways. A fireball spell can be turned into a flamethrower with an extended button press, or planted on the ground as a proximity bomb. It’s possible to dual wield the same spell for massive damage.
• It’s possible to dual wield weapons in different hands. Bethesda are considering adding an ability to combine different spells to make new ones.
• Attacking spells inflict secondary effects on their victims. Fire does the most damage, while lightning spells deplete enemy magicka. Ice spells slow enemies down.

Ranged combat and stealth

• It now takes longer to string and fire arrows, but shots will do a lot more damage than they did in Oblivion. The developers decided to allow ranged weapons to become powerful enough to kill outright after playing an Oblivion mod that made a similar change.
• Arrows will be a more precious commodity, thanks to their increased usefulness.
• If enemies get too close, a bash move can be used to get distance.
• As in Oblivion, you can zoom in on your target with a bow. The longer you stay zoomed in, the more damage the shot will do.
• Stealth will work in a similar way to Oblivion, but enemies will go into a new alerted state when you are detected. During this time characters with a high level of stealth ability will be able to duck out of sight and avoid being attacked.
• The knife has been hugely improved. Backstabbing from an undetected position currently does 10 times the damage of a normal attack. Howard says ““I don’t know if we’re going to keep that, but you feel like you should be killing the guy if you’ve gotten that close and you have a dagger.”

As well as the traditional modes of combat, a new Shout ability has been added. As a Dragonborn, your character will have access to a selection of war cries. Your competence with these abilities won’t rely on your spellcasting ability, they’re separate attacks. The two shouts mentioned so far include the ability to slow time and a skill that lets you call on a dragon to aid you in battle.

Story taken from PC Gamer and originated from Game Informer.