Modern Warfare 2: Sticky Grenades

There’s one thing about Halo that brings me back for more, and that’s the thrill of chucking a plasma grenade for a nice sticky kill. I spend hours playing Halo only for the sticks. Few people, it seems, realize the potential of these smoking blue balls, and far fewer have mastered their potential. But getting good enough to get sticks in any situation, and not just point blank suicides, can help any Halo player get even better. Now, following the Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer trailer, it appears that sticky grenades have made their way into Call of Duty. This brings a lot of possibilities for strategies in gameplay and it definitely adds a new twist to how this game might be played. This is sure to be something to look forward to, along with all the other great additions that MW2 is looking to have. Mark your calendars for November 10th and be the first to own Modern Warfare 2 on your block and practice up on your sweet sweet sticking skills.

Now check out this video showing off the awesome multiplayer action of Modern Warfare 2 and at the very end see a glimpse of MW stickys.

SciFi MMOs

“Space the Final Frontier,” was the beginning to many Star Trek episodes, it started a new adventure in the chapter of the Star Trek Universe. Many games have tried to recreate this but none have quite come close to capturing the magic of Star Trek. Now, though, an MMO that will “boldly go where no man has gone before” is coming soon; along with other SciFi MMOs.
No other SciFi MMO has quite been a huge success. Tabula Rasa recently and sadly had its plug pulled. It was not a bad game at all, it was quite creative and new in lots of areas but there just wasn’t enough room on the market for it. EVE online is probably the biggest SciFi MMO out there right now. It does nothing different than other MMOs out there other than its player driven universe where players can get involved with politics and make decisions that will affect every single player. Three new MMO hope to become the SciFi MMO that will take off and challenge the setbacks other MMOs of its kind have faced.

Champions Online

Champions Online is much like the game City of Heroes, in fact made by many of the same people, only better. Every single character you could ever hope to create or think of you can with its unique and very detailed character creator. It has a skill tree that gives you direction but does not prohibit you from taking any power you want. The beautiful art direction looks like a wonderful comic book. This game has great expectations and is expected to release Q3 2009.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

The Old Republic made a huge appearance at E3 as it was announced as being the first MMO ever to be fully voiced. Set in the Knights of the Old Republic Universe, 100 years before Darth Vader is born. This MMO has a lot of room to move with its lore. Sith, Jedi, Bounty Hunter, Republic Trooper, Sith Scout, and a lot more are just some of the classes available. The way that I like to describe this MMO is full BioWare RPG only and MMO. They have set the standard high with this one, lets hope they can keep it. It is set to release sometime in 2010.

Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online, a game that many fans like myself have been waiting for. Now what would make a Star Trek game good? Well Cryptic Studios has felt that big is what would. This game is promised to be huge with plenty of space to explore, hundreds of planets to colonize and tons of ships to battle. You can play as part of the Federation or the Klingon Empire. You can be any of the races and even create your own race if you choose. Ships are fully customizable and a wide selection is available. Away missions where you beam down to planets will be there also and friends can join in on those too. The Design for this game looks good, lets hope that the mechanics and game play will work well also. This game is set to release in 2010.

Lets hope that these three MMOs can give a jump start to the SciFi brand that is lacking. They all have great promise and look good, we’ll see if they hold up to their potential.

Tony Hawk Ride

Tony Hawk ruled skateboarding video games for a long time. Then Skate came and blew everything away. The developers had to change their game tactics to try to be able to compete with Skate. After taking an extra year, Tony Hawk Ride is their answer to Skate’s gameplay and control system. There is no doubt that video games are beginning to move into physical gameplay, like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, as well as motion controllers such as the Wii and Microsoft’s Project Natal. Tony Hawk Ride fits right in with this new movement. It will utilize a motion sensing skateboard controller, it looks just like the deck of a skateboard and the player will be able to move the board to control the character. This new gameplay could add a whole new level to skateboarding games, or it could be just a waste of plastic. It looks to be able to appeal well to the casual gamer, but it also seems to be able to provide enough for the hardcore gamer as well. I have always been a huge fan of skateboard game and have absolutely loves Skate, and there is no way doubt that the past few Tony Hawk games have seriously been horrible, so lets hope this next one will be much better than those.

DJ Hero

There is no doubt that rhythm games have taken full stage and brought a whole new level to video games and peripherals. Many consist of being able to play fake instruments such as guitar or drums, as well as singing. These games have become extremely popular with both the casual and hardcore gamer. Now, the makes of Guitar Hero want to bring a new type of game to the musical genre. DJ Hero. This game lets anyone become the DJ and allows them to scratch tons of songs just like a real DJ. The controller looks just like a turntable and has 3 main buttons along with a couple of switches that apply different effects.

After seeing video of gameplay and this interview with one of the developers, it seems to me that this game could be a real dud. Being able to pretend to play in a rock band feels like something and it feels like it has a reason. I don’t see why anyone would want to pretend to mix music when they can pretend to actually play it. DJ Hero also will have a few songs that will actually work with Guitar Hero controllers and game modes will include: DJ vs DJ, DJ + DJ, and DJ + Guitar. It doesn’t seem like this game can be much of a party game either, Rock Band brought a whole new level to party games and is an amazing game to be able to play with a ton of people; however, DJ Hero just doesn’t seem like it can bring that. There’s no way I would want to watch someone else scratch up a song, so this game really seems like it will be all for the player and not for the audience. DJ Hero just doesn’t look fun, but there is no way to know until it comes out. Stay tuned to find out more when pricing and release date are announced. What do you think about DJ Hero? Will it be hot or not? Let me know in the comments!

Modern Warfare 2 Gameplay Video

Footage of gameplay of Modern Warfare 2 has recently been released and shows about seven whole minutes showing off some of the epic gameplay that this game has in store for us. The footage shows part of a snow based level including noncombat, light combat and also heavy combat. It also shows footage of vehicle use, which in this case is a snowmobile. Awesome tactics with a variety of the melee weapons, like the ice pick, really show off what close range combat could be like. Also, being able to shoot while driving a snowmobile is an excellent addition and will really help make vehicles useful and fun to play with. Hopefully this is just a taste of the game and there is much more to be found out. Modern Warfare 2 looks to be a real step up from WAW and a great sequel to the first Modern Warfare. Mark your calendars for November 11, 2009, and stay tuned for more Modern Warfare action.

Metal Gear Solid: Rising

There are not very exclusive games that have kept the Playstation 3 in the game. Xbox 360 has always had many awesome games exclusive to the Xbox platform. Playstation also has some of these and they help to really define a system and can help motivate a buyer on their decision of which console to buy. One game in particular that Sony has held over Microsoft is the Metal Gear Solid series. However, it has just been announced that they are hard at work on the next game in the series called Metal Gear Solid: Rising. Along with coming to the Xbox, there is also a new main character, Raiden, which means no more Solid Snake. There has been no word if it is Xbox 360 exclusive, however, I’m sure that it will also be available for the Playstation 3 when it comes out.

Left 4 Dead 2

Left 4 Dead brought a whole new level to multiplayer FPS. There was no real story line and no real motive other than fight your way to extraction. However, this did not stop this from being an awesome game that was meant to be shared with 3 of your closest friends. Many hours could be spent fighting tirelessly through all those zombies and it would never get old. Now Left 4 Dead 2 has been announced and with it comes 4 new survivors and 5 all new campaigns to play through. This should help keep the game fresh, although I will miss playing as Zoey, and new levels means new action; plus Valve has said levels might play out differently and not just end in a final standoff like the first Left 4 Dead. After watching the teaser trailer it looks like there will be several new weapons, and now melee weapons as well, axes and chainsaws look like they will add a whole new level of gameplay and should add some variety on awesomeness over beating zombie after zombie with the butt of your gun. This game looks super exciting and although there doesn’t seem to be too much innovation it doesn’t need it. Stay tuned for more L4D2 information and it should be released by the end of this year.

Halo: Reach

Halo: Recon is set to release in September of 2009, but Bungie has just announced the next installment in the Halo Franchise; Halo: Reach. I was not expecting another Halo game to be announced just yet, and definitely was not expecting one like this. I have always dreamed of a Halo game to take place prior to the first ring. If you have not read any of the books in the Halo series, I would highly recommend it to any avid Halo fan as it will bring into play rich background information and storyline that really enhances gameplay. However, that is not why I mention these books; the first in the series, Halo: The Fall of Reach, seems to be exactly what this game will play out. I always wanted a game that lead through the Master Chief’s training and childhood, but I knew that just would not happen, but this game looks like it will play out the last portion of the book and it’s events.

So now that you’ve watched the teaser trailer, here are some of my predictions for what this game will be like.

Spartans. Plural.

As the video suggests there are going to be Spartans. Lots of them. This game is going to be all about the Spartans and it is going to be all about their teamwork and controlling them. So perhaps it will have more of the tactical side to it that ODST should have. Halo has always been about the one and only Master Chief, but this one should have a focus on all of them and using them in the last stand to defend Reach.

New Protagonist

The Master Chief might not be the protagonist. I feel the Master Chief is too played out for right now, and he will not be the main person in this next game. He will still be there and he will take a big part in it perhaps, but it won’t be all about him. If you read the first book you will understand, as he never fights groundside for Reach. Therefore there is no way that he can be the main character as all the action takes place away from him.

Space Battles

I want some space battles. Enough of the groundside all out warfare. There are epic battles that take place in outerpace, and I want to take part in it. Wouldn’t it be cool to take command of a UNSC spacecraft and destroy some Covenant ships. I think if played out right this could really bring new life and open many new doors for the Halo franchise. Space battles would be absolutely epic; plain and simple. So lets make it happen.

Pelican and Multiplayer

Obviously there will be new weapons and vehicles that will be added for all to enjoy. I can’t wait, but there is only one I’ve been waiting for. The Pelican dropship. Letting the player take control of a Pelican would bring different gameplay into the franchise and could be an excellent idea for a level in the game, but also in multiplayer it could change things as well. However, for it to really work and be worth while in multiplayer there needs to be a few changes. Multiplayer needs to have much bigger levels, and many more players. A level twice the size of Sidewinder and the ability to have 32 vs 32 would make Halo multiplayer the best multiplayer game ever. It really would, big team battles just aren’t big enough in my opinion. I know there are probably some complications as to their ability to carry this out effectively, but we can all dream right? Hopefully this will be an epic game so stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Well that’s it for my predictions what are your predictions?

Project Natal

“Project Natal” is Microsoft’s new Motion Sensing controller for the Xbox 360. It is like Wii 2.0, it can capture full body movements, along with facial and vocal recognition that should allow players of all kinds to be able to get into the game and really have an awesome time. However, this all seems a little too perfect for me. The motion control that Project Natal seems to bring will really change the way casual and even hardcore games are played. However, I’m not sure how really accurate it will all be just yet. This kind of thing takes time to build a foundation and I’m not so sure that it will be able to work as flawlessly as advertised. However, it definitely looks like a lot of fun and it should bring a lot more people into video games, which is OK in my book. I want this to work, this could breathe new life into video games and put a whole new spin on it, but it just seems too early to tell as Microsoft said it won’t be released in 2009 so there is still time for it, and we can always hope for the best, but I think we might want to prepare for the worst.

What do you think about Project Natal? Let me know in the comments.

Modern Warfare 2 New Video

Check out this awesome World Premiere video of Modern Warfare 2. This video was just released and is definitely a step up from the last teaser video they pushed out. There is no real gameplay footage, but it definitely shows just how epic this next game is going to be. So far it looks like it is going to be much more epic than the last and it should make up for the lack of awesomeness that COD: World at War provided. Mark your calendars for November 10th and make sure your the first on the block to have this awesome game.