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You heard that right. Command & Conquer Red Alert Three will be probably revealed in a PC Gamer Exclusive in there special April issue. While RA3’s existence isn’t completely new (there were several unofficial announcements way back in 2004 and 2005), a sneak peak in an English magazine (the other rumor floating about was in a Belgium magazine) to find out just what EA is doing is definitely worth a look. Now all I gotta find is an issue of PCGamer waaay out here in the middle of nowhere and I’ll be all set. Until then though, I’ll probably just have to satisfy myself by taking a look through the scant few screenshots available that can be found here.
Back in 2007, Penny Arcade released their “We’re Right” Awards, stating the best writing, soundtrack and new game mechanic awards. Predictably, the winner for all of them was Portal – something that we and many other gamers agreed on back then.
However despite this, it is in my opinion that at the very least, I have made a grave error. Portal’s story, despite being an amazing adventure with a compelling story and some of the best characters around (not to mention being responsible for spawning quite a few internet memes) was NOT the best story of 2007. It was NOT the best writing of the year, surprisingly.
So you may ask, what pray tell was the best story of 2007? What game could be better than GLaDOS or those incredibly cute turrets that let out the innocent “Whyyyyy?” whenever you toppled them over? Was it Bioshock? Andrew Ryan and Rapture were awesome after all. Was it maybe C&C 3? If those were your guesses, then I’m afraid your dead wrong. Hit the jump to find out just which game managed to trump GLaDOS and was an even bigger lie than the cake.
I’ve been playing the Burnout Paradise Demo on and off for the past week or so, and the first thing I have to say is that, while impressive, the entire impression of the game is largely lukewarm. Almost every good feature (and there are a lot of them) of the game has an annoying or downright frustrating feature attached to or resultant from it.
Hit the jump for more.
There is very little today that can beat the sheer fun of taking a 100 ton Battlemech and stomping all over your enemies with every kind of weapon from Gauss Rifles to missiles, machine guns and flamers. So little to match that experience of carefully customizing your Mech load out, of placing your weapons just right to match your style of play, yet finding something new and surprising each time you switched it up.
Sadly, much like the venerable and sublime Calvin and Hobbes (may it rest in peace), the Mechwarrior series is forever lost upon the winds of fate. Its coffin was sealed shut by Microsoft’s cancellation of the fifth installment in 2003. The recent closure of FASA studios only served to give its final rites and bury the game with the series it deserved. Today, it’s watered-down and ‘arcade’ descendant, MechAssault, forever plagues the dreams of many a Mech Pilot desperately seeking respite in something new and hopeful.
Indeed, much like the era of the Space Sims, the end of the Mech Pilot’s age is now almost at hand. Almost. While the glory days of piloting gigantic war machines may be over, the genre still has a fair bit of fight left in it. But the last Bastion of this near-extinct species is what we’re here to talk about. Ladies and Gents, I bring to you: Chromehounds.
There are few games that stay in my memory for more than a year these days. What with the sheer number of titles released growing year by year, the effort required to remember something memorable proportionately grows larger. The current release schedule seems to be like one giant, sadistic RTS game the various companies seem to be playing with each other, with each game coming out being a super-weapon deployed to take care of the competition’s hordes – only to be outgunned, outclassed or even outnumbered by another just a few scant months, weeks or in some cases days later.
New records for gaming excellence have been set, previous records have been shattered, but amidst the war zone that is this year-end, the most important fact comes out amongst them all, one so clear that it cannot be denied: the cake is not a lie! Naw, I’m just kidding you. It is a lie. Or not. Or maybe a not-not-lie. The only truth is that the companion cube lives on for evah!
However, this little gem is the reason for my little Portal reference. It isn’t because of groundbreaking physics or features, or even a new style of game play. Today’s game for Doing it Retro (as well as my first) - Traffic Department 2192, an old classic that had one thing similar to Portal but which is at the same time a distinct rarity these days: a well thought out and well-told story.
Weapons have always been a major part of most games to date, be they the run-of-the-mill set pieces we see in games nowadays, or truly unique pieces of art and craftsmanship that pop up once in a while. This list is made to commemorate those weapons that stand out amongst the rest; those that were just not incredibly effective at their roles, but incredibly memorable in their implementation, uniqueness or otherwise just being an absolute blast to play with. (more…)
If haven’t already had the chance to go play and/or try these two demos just yet, I highly recommend that you do so with all due haste. Till then though, here are my impressions on both:
First up: F.E.A.R.: Perseus Mandate