Lots of games, lots of things to talk about. And everyone has already figured out our Killzone 2 secret, but it still had the desired effect. 😉
Will I buy my first NFS title since Hot Pursuit 2?
So I first saw the TV commercial this past week, and this was after I knew what to expect. I normally follow the series quite closely, even though I haven't actually purchased a Need for Speed game since Hot Pursuit 2 on the PS2. Now, that was a kick-ass game, but I've gravitated more towards the simulated racing of Gran Turismo since that time, and the only arcade-style titles I've bought say "Burnout" on the box. However, what intrigues me most about Undercover is EA's description of the game as the "first action/adventure racing game," which of course implies there's something similar to an actual single-player campaign…and that's something we don't see very often. Hell, have we ever seen it? Of course, the addition of a real cast of actors and actresses – I was aware of Maggie Q's exquisite hotness as soon as I saw "Mission Impossible III" – is another bonus, but it's this unique format that has me interested. Most of the time, I just bypass the racing genre without thinking too much about it, but…
Arnold has the game now, I believe, and I'm hoping he says it's good. Both of us are immediately biased towards the game just because it has the 370Z in it, but honestly, all I really want to know is if the style works. If it does, I may be very likely to toss down the cash this week, even though there are two or three other games that, by all rights, should be higher on my priority list. More on that situation below. 😉
Home is about what I expected
So Sony sent me a voucher code for Qore Episode 6, which featured an in-world tour of PlayStation Home. As I wasn't in the closed beta, this was my first look at the innovative community concept, and I have to say, I'm not really surprised. Of course, I've been reporting on Home for about a year now so I'm well aware of the info and details, but you really need the visual in order to form an opinion. From what I could see, Home is pretty, involving, and yes, potentially revolutionary. But I think there's something people need to realize: as Sony has said many times before, what you see when the Home open beta launches is hardly the finished product. They have a long way to go and I can absolutely guarantee that this application in two years time will be nothing like what it is now. Sony has dumped a lot of time and money into this, and they're not about to just roll out the open beta and sit on their laurels for a few months. Home is something that is going to continue to grow and expand throughout the PS3's lifespan, which is why I'm excited about it. Am I excited about what I saw in that tour? Meh, not really.
But that's not the point. I saw plenty of potential , which – say what you like – is all Sony is gunning for right now. They want a solid launching pad for a community application that will be ten times as robust in the coming years, and I think they've achieved their stable foundation. So before any of you say something like, "I'm not really impressed with Home right now," remember that you need to look at this as if it's in the infancy stages…'cuz it is .
Personal gaming update
So I've completed Resistance 2 and moved on to Mirror's Edge , which I'm almost done with. R2 was basically pure bliss from start to finish and if it weren't for MGS4 and GTAIV, it'd get my vote for Game of the Year (so far; haven't played LBP, GeoW2, or Dead Space yet). Mirror's Edge is kinda bizarre…I've never gotten this frustrated with such a good game. Sure, I get frustrated, but that's almost always when I'm playing a crappy piece of junk; frustration tends to come with the territory. But frustration almost always makes me want to stop; with ME, I have no desire whatsoever to stop. I may die eleven gajillion times on one section, but I still keep trying, over and over. It's a weird mix of feeling as if I want to throw the controller through the TV, and at the same time, feeling as if I can't stop playing. I love the game, and my only problem is the exorbitant trial-and-error gameplay and the vulnerability of Faith. Other than that, it's awesome. I'll probably have it done on Monday or Tuesday and then…
Well, it's probably one of four games I'm going to get this week. I'm passing on Call of Duty: World at War because I've never really played that series and I just got finished with R2. I want either Dead Space , LittleBigPlanet , Gears of War 2 , or the aforementioned Need for Speed: Undercover . Of course, I still have more than a few games to review, so I'm thinking it might have to be short, as both R2 and ME are/were. Anything I don't get goes on the Christmas list. Oh, and with everything that Arnold tells me about Killzone 2 , I'm sufficiently annoyed that I'm not in the beta (I was in the R2 beta and he wasn't, but even so), and with what he has in his possession now… Damnit, and I had to sit here with something like Legendary . Grr…
LoL, don't envy you for sitting down with Legendary.
Good game
I haven't played a NFS game since Most Wanted. I only cared for the first Underground and that is it. I follow the games closely just to see if they turn out to be good or not and the last two haven't. So hopefully this one is.
cod5 is amazing as is mirrors edge. two very different but awesome titles. dont agree on r2, to me it was terrible. deadspace is a waste of money and legendary was the biggest crap ive ever put inside a cd rom. dont own an xbox anymore so i cant say anything about gears2 and have no idea what LBP is all about. on the other hand i cant wait to buy killzone2 along with fightnight4 and ufc 2009 but thats far from today…
To each his own, I guess. But I don't understand why you would like COD's, but not R2. The Insomniac took everything that was solid from those but made things interesting with their trademark weapon ingenuity. The only thing left I imagine that you wouldn't like is the difference of theme: fiction vs. sci-fi…
You put Legendary inside a CD ROM?! No wonder it sucked 😉
NFS undeground 2 was the best IMO! imo get GeoW2 cuz its better than LBP.
thats like saying a walrus is better than a stereo system. they're so different, there's really no comparison.
lol
I absoultly love nfs. although i've been dissapointed with carbon and prostreet, most wanted was a gem. I'll certainly pick up undercover 4 sure on day 1.
I wish they would make a Hot Pursuit 3
This is a bit off topic but I hope Ben or Arnold sees it. I cannot get into the forums. Not sure if anyone else can or not. But it has been like this for a few days now. Keeps saying that the connection is timing out.
Not sure if you know it's a problem or not.
Sorry, they're still down.
Street Fighter Arcade place in PSHOME = GOLD
Need for Speed: Undercover seems promising but have you look a the PSN store. Their is already $58 worth of DLC. My fear is the game is has been gutted out so they can ream us for DLC. If you wanted the full Need for Speed: Undercover experience you would have to pay $120 dollars. I guess their making up for all the free DLC on Burnout Paradise.
Did you read any of them? They state that everything in the DLC packages can be unlocked in game. They are only there for the people who don't want to spend the time to unlock that ONE car they absolutely must have.
i didn't know that, advent.
i never actually bought the game, i just saw 50 or so downloadable cars on the PSN and i thought "HA! What a rip-off"
Yea, they did the same thing with "Pro-Street". Which was understandable because that game was STUPID long! Sometimes playing that game felt like work, not fun. I hope "Undercover" isn't like that.
You right Advent Child about the DLC. Now I feel like a horses a**. But seriously can you call yourself a true gamer if you purchased these unlockables. Does gamers not take pride in their accomplishments anymore. I feel like a cheap dirty wh**e just thinking about it. Thanks Advent Child you may have swayed my decision on purchasing this game in the future. I say that because I already have lots of games to play which I haven't even put in my PS3 yet. Damn all those pre-order bundles.
big t Soul Calibur 4 did that too, they sold their best weapons and joke weapons when you could unlock them in game.
it's really not even that hard to unlock them, either! Wierd…
lol I envy you having so many games to play, and I admire you to have the mental strenth to beat one game after one without stop. For me, when I finish something big, I always need a few days or weeks to calm down and recoup before I move onto the next big one, cuz usually the big ones are a heck of hype and madness to conquer the final boss.
No final boss problem on R2.
Dead space really is a lot of fun, and I just spent about 4 hours going through user created levels on LBP, It's easy to get lost there. I just played the Mirrors Edge demo and I already know what you mean about the frustration. I'm looking forward to NFS too.
HAHA Ben, did you do what I do and try to disarm every single red enemy in the game? I was 5/6 of the way through the game before I realized I didn't have to disarm anyone and I actually never shot a gun the entire time. I swear I played one combat section about 60 times.
Dear God, no. I just disarmed those who seemed in my path. And it can still get insanely frustrating. LOL
Ben, I'm kinda of at the same page. I've had LBP sitting around for a while (I got on release date just as I endorse all quality works). I guess between racers and fps's, I've become such an adrenaline junky that I can't bring myself to enjoy a very different kind of fun that is in Media Molecule's gem… But I will.
Kudos both to Insomniac and Epic for delivering insomnia-inducing epically-scaled games. I want to play dead space, but I've been procrastinating with Metal Gear. It's not that I don't want to play it. It's just that I told myself not to play it until I've finished the first 3.
Wow Aftab! U're gonna play the 1st three b4 u play MGS4? I've played all those previous 3 games and don't remember 1 or 2 well, but even I don't want to do that.
I think you should just play MGS4. The story can stand on its own.
I feel what you sawing about LBP, but Aftab that's the beauty of LBP. It's a change of pace away from all those shooters. Play a couple of lvls, you're mind is clear, and u're ready for some more mature gaming.
Give it a shot. LBP in small doses.
Last edited by King James on 11/16/2008 11:53:56 AM
Good advice KJ, I'll take it. Small doses is key. Rome wasn't built in a day.
You know I've been doin the same thing with LBP too. Got it on release day and haven't really touched it since. R2 is what kept me away for so long from LBP along with Fallout. But even so, now that I have beaten R2 almost 3 times, I'm beginning to play Fallout again. Strange… I've been so amped up over LBP yet I'm not playing it. What is wrong with me lol!…
@Aftab
Right, and neither were those great LBP lvls.
Aya Aftab, I have LBP sitting in my cupboard, too engrossed in WaW and Killzone 2 Beta 🙂
Q!
"I aM hOMe"
Haha, maybe, next time, MM should make an fps level designer, complete with cover and exploding headshots…Sack is Back, and he wants blood! JK, KJ made a good point of small doses. The game is very beautiful though.
I came on this site and i'm still logged in. Anyways i know that you have a review copy of killzone 2. I think there doing what they done with mgs4 and getting feedback so they can try and sort those niggles out. yeahhhhhhh motha fu*kers. THIS IS HELGAN!!!!!!! here my roar.
BTW why do ppl reply to me with 'do that again or your gone' how i meant to know if i don't go back to see if someone replied
please delete above por favor
muchas gracias
The frustrating trial-and-error is why the scores are so across the board for Mirror's Edge. The opinion seems to be that for everything new it does really well it also has some decidedly old fashioned mechanics. At times those mechanics actively hinder the core concepts of the game, which for some reviewers seems to be a deal-breaker.
I'm still very much looking forward to it, though I don't expect to play it until early next year.
Sorry about the Killzone 2 beta Ben. Guess it's Arnold's time to shine.
But, back on the NFS series, it got my attention back after the underground games. Prior to that, I was all about the GT series. Most Wanted was a very very impressive game to me. My friend bought a 360 at launch and there wasn't much to play on it when it 1st came out. He rented that game and we played that for hours on end. That was my 1st next-gen racing experience (…good times). IDK what EA's talking about but "Most Wanted" seemed like an action/adventure title to me. I guess that means that they improved on "Most Wanted"?
Oh man, I gotta get to a lvl 6 spec ops b4 the Cowboy game tonight. I think I got time but I just copped Valkyria Chronciles. Decisions, decisions…DAMN U, SONY!!!
Last edited by King James on 11/16/2008 11:38:39 AM
Well, to put minds at ease…no, the "action-adventure" tag line isn't true. The game plays much like Most Wanted, for the most part. Nothing revolutionary here. And the framerate is…not great.
Also, all of the DLC for Undercover is not required. You can unlock all of that stuff just by playing the game. Essentially, you're paying for a cheat code, which will inevitably be made available too.
Last edited by ArnoldK PSXE on 11/16/2008 12:31:34 PM
THIS GAME BETTER NOT BE LIKE PRO-STREET!
Like I said, it most closely resembles Most Wanted. Review will go up as soon as the embargo ends. I need to put together this Mortal Kombat review now.
Sorry, Arnold.
Mirrors Edge is definitely frustrating, but like Ben said also hard to put down. Great game. I can't wait to check out NFS Undercover.
i know you are pretty busy right now but i was looking forward to your resistance review arnold !
so how many copys has resistance 2 sold ben or anybody that knows
Not as many as Gears2 (a 3rd person shooter), I bet, but I found R2 to be much more fun. If you're into fps's, than get this one before all else, as it is the best one out there.
Last edited by Aftab on 11/16/2008 6:28:15 PM
I fell kinda guilty having not bought LBP, but there are just so many frikken games out at the moment. I'm still playing Oblivion: GotYE for crying out loud…
Lol. Great game! I've been wanting to go back and play Oblivion some more but I can't. =(
I think I'm going for Dead Space, guys. It seems like the most logical answer; I've been wanting to play a great survival/horror game since RE4, and although Silent Hill: Homecoming wasn't bad, I hear DS is amazing.
After that will be Gears and LBP. Waiting on Arnold's review for Undercover for now…
You can just call me and ask, douche. Hahaha.
I like to stay in suspense until I see the final overall review score. It's fun for me. 😉
God I just hope none of this gaming greatness hurts my schoolwork/grades…
Anyway can't wait for PSHOME, that place should be awesome.