Today’s the day fellow Spartans – the beta for Halo:Reach is in full swing. Here’s what I had to say about first impressions of the beta:

A simple game of CTF in Halo: Reach is serious business with each player able to take on different roles within the team (Guard and Stalker being the two that I played). Stalkers able to morph in and out of ‘stealth’ mode for a period of time and sneak up on opponents. This particular game mode is exciting, fast-paced and serious amounts of fun.

You can read the original post in its entirety over at Game Culture dot com.

Thanks for reading!

As you can tell, I am all over Mass Effect 2 and I am happy to announce that if you’re an ME fan you will ABSOLUTELY love what is coming. ME2 doesn’t release in New Zealand until the 29th of January but it is easily one of the most anticipated sequels of the year. I will admit though that initially, I was not a serious ME fan when it released. Without sounding like I am dumping all over the Xbox 360 console here, I honestly believe that part of that feeling came from playing ME on the 360 rather than the PC. The experience I am having now playing Mass Effect 2 on the PC is a whole lot more fun and intense. I can’t pinpoint exactly what is different other than ME2 seems like a much more polished game – not to mention the fantastic storyline work the writers have done and some of the hippest dialogue I’ve seen/heard in a game for a while.

Mass Effect 2 also borrows a bit of star power from the incredible voice acting talent; Carrie Anne Moss, Martin Sheen, Seth Green, Tricia Helfer to name a few. But above all is the incredible world of Mass Effect 2 (I’ve only played two hours of the game and I’m already addicted!) Once you take command of your ship, spend some time exploring her – the graphics, animation and environments of Mass Effect 2 are nothing short of awe-inspiring. Every environment is the same – immersive, beautiful to look at and exciting to play in.

BioWare just can’t do a thing wrong. They are fast becoming one of my favourite game developers. I’m finding myself totally immersed in their games of late and it’s simply for no other reason other than their games kick ass. Which leads me to believe that the game I can’t stop raving about (Star Wars: The Old Republic) will probably be the end of all my freetime when it releases next year. I’d gladly give up reality for a few weeks for a light saber and the chance to run wild in a universe that BioWare and LucasArts have created, they’re just that good.

I’ve got my hands on Dark Void for Xbox 360 now and I feel special as the game doesn’t officially release until next week here in New Zealand. I love getting game review code early – there’s nothing better than knowing you’re part of a very small and privileged group of people who are able to see games earlier than the public. Of course, game retailers get stuff even before us media peeps do but meh… who needs game retailers (lol, yes I AM KIDDING)

So Dark Void is all about flying around in the sky with a rocket pack (kinda tricky at first but hella fun) and also adventuring on the ground Unchartered styles whilst taking out enemies with your trusty rifle. It’s set in a 1930s alternate universe so don’t be surprised to see robots running around all over the place. I’m only about an hour into the game and I am expecting something extremely sinister to happen. Afterall, I did crash land in the Bermuda Triangle somewhere… I think.

I’m a little perplexed about the graphics. They look kinda dated but kinda not, if that makes any sense. The animation reminds me alot of the type  you might find in a graphic novel, not a game. At first I was thinking Borderlands but the graphics in Borderlands seemed a whole lot sharper. When you’re running around on the ground, movement isn’t very fluid but it’s easy enough to get places. Basic control commands on the ground are used – left thumb stick for movement, right for camera angle, right trigger shoots and left aims. You can also duck for cover which is handy, especially since the droids are crack shots.

The flying is certainly something new to experience and I’d recommend getting this game just to do that! It’s pretty wicked fun flying around and gunning down targets with a rocket pack strapped to your back.

So first impressions are a mixed bag for me but if I decide to review it for the magazine, I’ll certainly post my full review here

Format: PS3

Release version: Review code (non-retail release)

Distributor: EA New Zealand

Developer: EA Montreal

I have a huge and I mean huge review guide which is literally 47 pages long with tips and guides for reviewing this code for the sequel to Army of 2. And I am trying (no, make that struggling) to remember whether or not I was allowed to even post about this… oops.

Anyway, I’m going to only because I have a crapload of things to catch up on since I redesigned this website and if I don’t start getting through this material now, I’m going to lose my opportunity to stay on top of it. Ugh.

Boy, do those masks look cool!

Ok so sue me for really liking the masks. When I played Ao2 I actually went out of my way to try and collect the masks lol. I just can’t help collecting things  in games – nevermind about the ammo or the weapons (OK, I actually did do my best to upgrade my weapons too – I’m not that much of a nub!)

Army of 2 40th Day features Rios and Salem from the previous game doing what they do best which is pretty much just kicking ass and taking numbers. The tactical game mechanics present in the original game are emphasised alot more in this so you’ll be doing a whole lot of rescuing your downed buddy, dodging a deluge of bullets and watching your aggro meters all over again.

What’s new in Army of 2 40th Day?

Ao2 40th Day really does feel a whole lot like the original. I can’t say that’s a bad thing because I did enjoy Ao2 but as far as being a different game is concerned, nope, it’s not. It really is a very similar gamestyle to the previous game except with more weapons, different enemies (as you’re fighting in China) with a few different strategems added to spice up gameplay.

Decisions, decisions

The decision making process is also emphasised alot more in the sequel, putting you and your partner in really compromising positions mostly with the outcome of dying if you do the wrong thing. So whilst that’s pretty disheartening, in the long run, you can always shoot the crap outta everyone and be done with it, right?

Army of 2 40th Day releases in New Zealand on the 15th of January, 2010.

Format: PS3

Release version: Retail version

Distributor: Monaco/THQ New Zealand

Developer: Vigil

Christmas brought some nice goodies to my house including Darksiders which I have been totally hyped to play. Although I’ve only played it for a few hours, it really is pretty cool and alot of fun. If you’re a God of War fan, you will certainly see similarities between the two games. There is a whole lot of content in Darksiders that doesn’t have any similarity to GoW at all though, so if action games are your thing, it’s definitely worth checking it out or at least hiring it out for a day.

What’s it all about?

The storyline kinda goes something like this – you play the main character named ‘War’ who is one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The pretense for the game is based in part on the battle of Armageddon between the angels and demons. The twist however is that somehow you’ve been caught in the middle and betrayed so that you’re at war with everyone. In short,  it kinda sucks to be you especially when most of your power is gone and you’re left stranded and alone without anyone help. Your main mission is to seek out the other three horsemen and to find out how this battle between heaven and hell got started in the first place (and got you in the doo doo with the mean mofo’s below).

The juicy bits…

The action sequences are pretty manic and hella crazy when you’re fighting hordes of angels at once (very much like God of War). It’s an action based game so you’ll be fighting loads of demons/angels and such-like and you’ll be traversing all over the place including climbing up walls, jumping over obstacles and basically on the run the entire time whilst fighting for your life. Cool, huh?

Oh yeah, you also get a mount in the game called Ruin but that doesn’t come til a bit later on (I haven’t actually played that far in as yet). And did we mention a crapload of different weapons and things as well? I’m not sure how much of the other three horsemen we’ll get to see either. Their names have been refitted to the game as the following:

• Death is still death and wields his trusty Scythe – some things never change, thank god.
• Pestilence has been renamed to Strife
• Fury replaces Famine and is a chick that wields a nasty, dominatrix-style whip. I guess that’s one the boys will like

Gee, that tasted kinda rotten…

As fighting games go, you will pretty much know the drill. They can and do get repetitive. It’s a fact. And yes, the storyline may not be so indepth. If you’re looking for that, Darksiders won’t be for you. But for everyone else looking for some good killing and demon/angel ass-kicking, you’ll love Darksiders.

Darksiders releases in New Zealand on January the 7th, 2010.

Platform: Xbox 360/Xbox Live Publisher: Valve/EA Developer: Valve Rating: R18 Players: Singleplayer/Co-op campaign Genre: Action/FPS/Survival Horror Release Date: November, 2010

Website: www.l4d.com/home.html

The release for the latest instalment in the Left 4 Dead series is merely weeks away and we’ve been given a sneak peak at the demo for Xbox Live thanks to the cool crew over at EA. The result: it’s gorylicious zombie killing at it’s most brutal and you’re going to LOVE Left 4 Dead 2.

If you’ve played the first L4D you’ll be right at home with the game mechanics. Movement in the game seems a whole lot more fluid but as always, right on the money and changing out weapons is all pretty standard. The demo version of the game gives you the opportunity to play through single-player campaign or co-op.

As with the previous game, you’re given a choice of scenarios to play (obviously in the demo, a few of these were not accessible) with the starting area being ‘The Parish’ and the ‘Waterfront’. You can choose to play as any character or random. Barely three minutes into the action and I’m quickly reminded of just how intense the gameplay in L4D can be and it’s been seriously pumped up a notch or twenty in L4D2. You’ll have way more zombies to pwn which also means more bloodshed (blood splatter is everywhere) and you’ll get some pretty sweet weapons to mow down the zombie hordes. My personal favourite is the submachine gun which usually works well with my ‘spray and pray’ method of killing

The demo for L4D2 is a really good opportunity to look at the gameplay and to get a taste of both the single player and co-op gameplay modes. The other game modes listed (but inaccessible in the demo) are ‘Survival’, ‘Realism’, ‘Versus’ and ‘Scavenge’ with single player and co-op being the other two modes.

If you’ve been waiting for L4D2 to arrive, you’re in for a treat because it looks absolutely freaking insane!

Left 4 Dead 2 arrives in New Zealand in November with a tentative date of the 17th. Mark it down in your calendars boys and girls!

Platform: PS3 Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment Rating: TBA Players: Singleplayer Genre: Action/Adventure Release Date: March 26th, 2010

Website: www.godofwar.com

Last week we ventured along to Sony’s hands-on event to highlight their new selection of games releasing over the next season. With Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time releasing soon and Gran Turismo for PSP releasing last week, we were pretty keen to get a glimpse of God of War III. If you thought the previous GoW was great, you’re going to absolutely drool over GoW III as Kratos has evolved with even more deadly combinations and weapons, not to mention that overall bad-ass attitude he seems to have going on. Fact is, we all love Kratos and we just can’t get enough of him!

The code we had to play with was obviously unfinished and incomplete but we had a close-up and personal taste of some of Kratos’s shiny new weapons. The Cestus is Kratos’ new pair of gauntlets with the head of a lion on the front. Kratros uses this weapon to bash and smash things as opposed to using his trademark blades to slice and dice. Returning to the game are the Wings of Icarus which you can use to great advantage. Some of the aerial shots taken of Kratos like this one are very slick:

Don't try this at home, kids

Helios also plays a part in the new game, with Kratos fighting the usual array of gods and Titans etc to finish what he started. The path ahead is more bloody and gruesome than ever before. You’ll get lots of close-up shots of Kratos doing what he does best by ripping things apart and proving once again, that blood-letting is indeed what Kratos was made for. One particularly gruesome battle involves a Minotaur and some disembowelment action going on! Sony have spared no expense on the blood and gore – there’s blood curdling violence in copious amounts. Hurrah!

Kratos also gets around by using other means of transportation which includes hooking his blades into the necks of Harpies and flying across from one place to another which is more of the awesome stuff that makes God of War such an exciting game to play. And there’s no shortage of new combination moves to master as well as new puzzles which fans will find familiar from the previous game.

Hi, I'm Kratos, mind if I rip off your head?

New Zealand gamers are going to have to wait a wee while for God of War III as it doesn’t release here until March 26th, 2010 but rest assured, judging by the early glimpse of the gameplay we had, it will be well worth the wait.

Platform: PS3 Publisher: EA Developer: Double Fine Productions Rating: R 18 Players: Singleplayer/Multiplayer Genre: Action/Adventure Release Date: 13th October, 2009

Website: www.brutallegend.com

Editor’s Note: This is a preview of the unfinished code for Brutal Legend. A full review of the retail version will be conducted at a later date.

Brutal Legend is mother f*ckin INSANE!! Well, that’s on first impressions, anyway. It’s a game that combines the pure wickedness of heavy metal music with in-your-face profanity, blood, gore and lots of violence. So, in a word, perfect! If you’ve ever seen Metalocalypse (which you should if you haven’t), then you’ll know exactly what type of ‘insanity’ we’re talking about here.

The main character in the game is Eddie who is voiced by the equally insane and ridiculously talented Jack Black – who, by the way, is fantastic. There just couldn’t be a better voice for Eddie. Eddie is a roadie who has outgrown the band he is now employed to look after. He doesn’t seem to fit in with the ‘modern’ age of ‘heavy metal’ and longs for the days of old where ‘real’ music didn’t involve rap in a metal song. During a freak accident on stage, Eddie is suddenly transported to a world (much like a fantasy-type heavy metal version of hell) where he’s suddenly back in the saddle again, doing things he always dreamed of including saving luscious looking metal-loving chicks from beasts of all descriptions. And of course, the adventure wouldn’t be complete without an axe – well, both kinds of axe, a guitar and a real axe that has magical powers.

The game is third-person view so you’re basically running around like a madman, lobbing heads and limbs off evil looking nun-chicks and formidable beasts to get to your next destination. You’ll spend the majority of  your time fighting things as you go and working in conjunction with ‘allies’ (who you meet up with throughout the game). Ophelia is the first of these that you meet.

Your allies will also come in handy during fights when you’re able to use special ‘co-op’ moves much like a fighting combination. By triggering the triangle key on the PS3 at special intervals during the fight, you can execute ‘special moves’ with your allies to combat opponents. Fighting combinations are also acquired as you continue through the game where you’re able to combine your weapons in multiple, high-powered attack moves. You’ll often be in situations where there are several opponents attacking you.

Brutal Legend also incorporates puzzles you’ll need to solve to advance and you’ll be required to figure these out to obtain special weapons. You’ll also have use of a vehicle (once you complete the first puzzle) which is nicknamed the “Druid Plow”. It’s insane in every way, but that’s what makes this game so much fun!

Brutal Legend will more than likely get an R18 rating in New Zealand due to the excessive use of violence and profanity. In the version we played, the option to turn either of these filters on or off was offered but we’re not sure if this will be included in the final retail version. If you want the full experience of Brutal Legend, it’s far more fun having both turned right the way up but if you’re playing around sensitive ears and young’uns, the filter is a good idea. It’s called Brutal Legend for a reason.

We’re really hyped for this game and if first impressions are anything to go by, action/adventure fans will absolutely love it. Check your stores for this title on the 13th of October. Game Culture will be reviewing the full game later on this month.

The Sith Warrior reveal for Star Wars: The Old Republic was one of the biggest highlights of Pax 2009 this year. There’s no doubt that this MMORPG is gathering serious amounts of momentum during its development and being huge SW fans, we’re looking forward to seeing what LucasArts and Bioware have in store.

In the meantime, here’s the latest game trailer showing the Sith Warrior on the Ice planet of Hoth in action! Thanks to GT for the clip.

Check it…