fortytwo points

Impressions Via Sketch: Far Cry 2, Hour 2

Impressions Via Sketch: Far Cry 2, Hour 1

Splatterhouse Brings Violence Back to Beat-'Em-Ups

I came across that video while I was trying to decide whether or not to write about Ready 2 Rumble: Revolution (conclusion: not yet). It feels like a long time since a really violent, disgusting murder simulator has graced our consoles and I'm glad I was reminded of Bottle Rocket's Splatterhouse remake before I wasted my time with a wacky boxing game. Sorry Nintendo but at least for now, I'd rather rip somethings head off and drink its brain fluids than fight my friends while I fight the inaccuracy of your gimmicky controller.

You may remember Splatterhouse as the gory side-scrolling brawler that Genesis owners rubbed in the faces of Nintendo fans while they were playing Disney tie-ins, or you may otherwise confuse it with the shitty Friday the 13th game. But when the original was released, it not only offered a blood-splattered good time but a fairly involved one at that.

Playing as college student Rick Taylor, who mistakenly chooses a haunted mansion to do his parapsychology research paper in, your girlfriend Jennifer is kidnapped by supernatural entities and you are knocked unconscious and left for dead. When an ancient Mayan hockey mask decides to use your dying body as its host, you are bestowed violent ass-kicking powers and head-off to save your love from the horrors of the mansion.

SPOILER ALERT:

MTV Multiplayer Can Finally Tell Us Nothing About Watchmen: The End is Nigh

Please watch this trailer of the upcoming Watchmen: The End is Nigh game. Feel free to skip it if you've already seen this:

Congratulations. Having seen that, you can save yourself the time of reading MTV Multiplayer's "impression" of the game. Stephen Totilo's latest article about the Watchmen movie tie-in game reads like a press release written by Bush's administration; it goes over the facts we already know and offers us none of the wisdom we were hoping for, despite promising it.

It's not my place to critique better writers than I, but this bullshit is exactly why I started this site. I literally can not find anything I would call an "impression" in this article, or an opinion of any sort. It reads like the fact sheet which, humorously enough, Totilo specifies he is quoting from; "Enemies were lumbering and persistent. Up to 20 of them can join the fight, according to the game’s official fact sheet". Thanks.

Game Fondling with Unfather

Today Monolith, developers of No One Lives Forever and Alien Vs Predator 2, allowed me to visit their offices to try one of their upcoming titles. A non-disclosure agreement keeps me from saying anything at all that might give away what it was, but I am allowed to say how I  liked it. The game actually exceeded my expectations, though the action is  sometimes stiff. I enjoyed my time but the combat could most definitely become repetitive after a few hours if what I saw was all there is to it, but I played such a small portion that I can not say if that will be the case. And that, my friends, is all I can offer until it is released.

I scored an awesome T-shirt and a copy of Run Fatboy Run for which I am most grateful. While I was there, the hallway was hot with action as party goods were assembled in preparation for FEAR 2's release party (you remembered that it comes out today, right?). What little I got to see of the office itself was impressive as well, with rich reds and browns adding a creepy ambiance to the obligatorily dimmed lights. For those curious about what the shirt looks like, it's a Project Origin promo with our little friend Alma on the right side, with some kind of strange abstract wings of some sort. Take a look for yourself with this low-quality image of the front and back placed side-by-side (back is on the left):

A nice score indeed. Whenever the game I played does get released, you should most definitely check it out. I think it may surprise you, whatever it may be...

-Unfather

Ars Technica's Kinda-Review of Flower Promising

Days before its February 12th release, Ars Technica hits us with one of the first "reviews" of Flower from thatgamecompany, makers of the similarly unique flOw. It seems as if the promise of its potential may have been fulfilled. Ben Kuchera says the gameplay is as if "painting the landscape with a heavenly brush" and that the transformations  are "oddly satisfying". These are promising endorsements for a game that aspires to bring a bit of high-art to video games.

Playing as the wind itself you help usher flower petals about the land and with all the life you bring also comes color to the world. For those afraid that what it had in style it would lack in depth, Kuchera hints that Flower shifts in both feel and play about half way through and that this change had him pondering its significance even as the credits rolled. Though it feels like a review in consideration of feelings you're supposed to have at times, it no less assures us a worthwhile investment of $9.99 on the Playstation Network. You can see the full article here:

Flower is Art, Extends Conversation on What Games Are

Can't wait to try it myself.

-Unfather

FEAR 2: Project Origin Releases Tomorrow

Monolith's long awaited FEAR 2: Project Origin will be hitting North American shelves tomorrow for Windows, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3. My opinion of the demo is that this is the FEAR we were originally promised with the original, and you can check it out for yourselves here.

Euro-Australian gamers won't get to join Alma's alternate reality until *cha cha cha cha* Friday the 13th, but that's a small gap considering how bad release dates have been in the past (Final Fantasy XIII next year?).

This officially begins the start of the next game season for me, which includes other sure-to-be hits like Resident Evil 5, Starcraft II, and Prototype. I'll be picking it up as soon as I can and you'll likely catch me online as Cap'n K'nuckles. I look forward to stomping some fools in that mech suit, friendly-like of course.

Sweet dreams until they cease tomorrow!    -Unfather

Escapist's Indie Developers Showcase Finale = Wacky Game Concepts

For the last ten days now The Escapist has been running a feature on independent developers called the Indie Developers Showcase. The creators of World of Goo and Samorost have both been interviewed and the insight they and others have provided into their games and the industry as a whole is enlightening and entertaining. You can catch up on what you've missed here:

 Indie Developer Showcase

To wrap the whole thing up the final question they asked of all their interviewees was to create a game concept based on a simple premise: "You are a passenger on an airplane." The answers range from the humorous to the mundane and even get into "I hope that was an attempt at humor" territory a bit (World of Goo creator suggests making a match-3 game out of it, to which I reacted by spitting). Here are a couple of my personal favorites:

Zero Punctuation: Little Big Planet

I've got a lot of new stuff coming up to really get this site in gear but in the mean time, how about some funny? Yahtzee's latest Zero Punctuation is up and he finally gets around to scoffing in Little Big Planet's direction. Acknowledging that what it does do it does well, he still has to bring down the room with the harsh reality that, like Spore, it's a significant game of disproportionate substance. Lube your cochlea and have a listen:

I share his sentiments about the user-generated content. While the tools were no doubt difficult to create the end result still feels like a cop-out, as if the developers assumed the players would finish the job for them. The biggest insult comes in the form of the moderation however, and I don't mean how they pull down every level that so much as smells like it has been near licensed material.

Moderation by the developers was the only way gamers could have avoided having to dig through mountains of shit to find those indigestible golden nuggets of level in LBP. But rather than use the moderators in this way, they instead spend all of their time yanking down every half decent homage to a classic game or product that they find. Way to expand the game, guys.

Anyway, Zero Punctuation continues to hit the nail on the head, evidencing again why Yahtzee is one of the few hammers worth bashing with.

-Unfather

MCVUK.com Tells Us Which Game is Really Best, At Least In Sales

The Market for Computer and Video Games site brings us interesting news today. The only unit figures I ever want to hear are the sales ones and they have just announced the 5 top selling games of 2008. The numbers are generated from the reports of the three leading providers of consumer information which include The NPD Group and Enterbrain Incorporated. Not surprisingly, the consumers have chosen the Wii as their market leader.