Looks like... E3 Thoughts and Impressions time! (Part 1)

2011-06-08T04:13:00.004+08:00

Year 2011 is special. To me. Every dork and geek, which are fans of the more familiar titles which have been creeping up slowly from E3 is about to make us cum buckets. However, even though over hyping something is what generally most people do, I tend to look at the more finer points of such products - most importantly what to save and give you more bang for your buck. Lets look over the more anticipated titles for the year, and hopefully they do get released within the year.

FPS - Battlefield 3

The battlefield series for me, is the reminisce of my madden glory with guns blazing through a persistent online multiplayer mode with 64 people competing against each other in an objective based game. During the time when WW2 (World War 2) themes were simply poping up like mushrooms due to the recent success of the first MoH (Medal of Honor).

Fast forward now, to the present. A couple of years ago, Frostbyte under EA released what has been the most popular battlefield game to date. Bad Company 2 takes off where the first Bad Company left off. This time however, BFBC2 (Battlefield: Bad Company) is multiplaform unlike BFBC1 when it was exclusive to the console. Although it did not reach the staggering amount of sales pitch and volume like Modern Warefare 2, hardcore fans and new budding players alike have somehow fell in love with it.

Why so? In BFBC we were introduced to destructible elements of the game. See that bush with the wookie (Sniper in a Ghille suit) in it? Lob a grenade and his cover is gone. A wookie in the house? Plant C4's around the pillars or get a tank and blast it to kingdom come and Chewbacca does not have the terrain advantage to hide from your iron sights. You certainly can't do this in Modern Warfare 2. The maps are design for some good amount of teamwork and tactical play. Introducing armored warfare maps and transitioning to tight and fierce infantry battles while holding choke points and repelling the enemy from destroying the objective.

Realism. Okay, not totally real. However, the mechanics of the game is more interesting due to bullet drop. After a couple hundred meters, the bullet which exited the gun you fired will drop due to the center of gravity. This makes long range shots with sniper rifles, cannon shells and missiles more of a matter of skill rather than point, click, kaboom.

Then what is so special about BF3 (Battlefield 3)? BF3 takes off with the middle east conflict raging (similar to what is happening right now). All the elements of its predecessor are incorporated into the game play elements, so expect to blow buildings to kingdom come! But what is the new deal here? Frostbyte 2 is the new deal here ladies. Its the upgraded game engine which Frostbyte themselves have made for Battlefield 3. If you haven't watch some videos, youtube for more info. Fault Line and Thunder Run video actually sold me to this game. The graphics are a huge upgrade and it is comparable - no, not comparable - even Modern Warfare 3 paled in comparison.

Why do I say so? MW3 is using a dated graphics engine, I have recently watched the trailer and I was not too impressed. They have to step up to their game if they want to win the hearts and minds of those whom are already enticed by the new freshness which BF3 is offering. MW3 is made for the casual gamer - it is due to its arcade-ish nature, that any idiot which have never played a game in his life can hop in and enjoy the game after a few hours screaming his e-peen and nerd raging on how pro he is. BF series... is a whole different world. I still remembered it took me a good week to get use to playing Battlefield, because I was so busy wondering : Where the fuck is he shooting from? Death was quick, merciless and just plain shocking and my KDR (Kill/Death Ratio) plummeted faster than the Wall Street Stock Exchange.

TBA(To be Announced)? Its not official yet, but many are speculating that it may come out at the near end of Q3 (End of August) or somewhere in Q4. Not much information have been released yet. I can't say much as multiplayer alpha and trailers haven't been release yet, but I'm keeping tabs on this game like a hawk. Because after playing BFBC2 for about a year now, I'm hungry for more.

Dragon Age: Origins

2010-01-06T18:56:00.002+08:00

I just got to say : OMFG WOW I CAME!

The game is created by Bioware who are well known for their more popular titles like Baldur's Gate series, Neverwinter Nights series, KOTOR and even Mass Effect. One thing about this game is that its SP (Single Player) no multiplayer capability, but its moddable and DLC (downloadable content for a small price (ugh)) are available to enhance the gaming experience.

On a side note, you don't really need to purchase the DLC to fully enjoy the game. This is because the game itself is rich in Lore and of course in terms of voice acting, its one of the best I've seen. Most characters you interact with (ones with lore and contain dialogue) are fully voice acted and you tend to immerse yourself deeply into the game. In fact, most of the game time is taken up listening to the dialogues and reading up the history of the game universe.

In the game you get to set out in six different origins. Origins are the background story behind the PC (Player Character) who must venture into the world of Ferelden. There are three races to choose from, Humans, Elves and the Dwarfs. Each with their own unique origins and its quite interesting that each origin will determine how the characters will interact with the player. For example, if you have chosen an elf as a character you get to play either a Dalish or a City Elf. The Dailsh are the 'free' elves which roams the woods and refuse to be subjected to human rule where else the City Elf is forced to live in Alienages which is a contrast for a ghetto (think WW2, Nazi's making the Jews stay in those Jewish Ghettos) and they are constantly being abused and pushed around by the human lords.

Regarding classes, there is not much choice except for choosing between a Warrior, Mage and a Rogue. However, limited the initial choice it is, the customability of the class can go in many different directions - there are even sub-specializations for the class which you can pursue. For example, warriors can sub-spec'ed into Champions with abilities to tank and provide passive support which enhance the other party members, Mages can be sub-spec'ed into Blood Mages which uses their life force (HP, Hitpoints) instead of Mana.

The story itself is very enriching with many directions on how you want to play it, you can play a good character by selecting the appropriate dialogue choices or be evil, you choices will reflect how the NPCs will react to you and subsequently you choices will also affect how your other party members will react to your choices. But your choices will also affect the outcome of a quest you undertook. Also another fun thing about DA:O, is the romance. Depending on your character gender, you can engage into a romance with one of your party members which will affect the ending of the game.

The gameplay itself has a easy learning curve, traditionally in most Bioware games - the ability to pause and tactically choose your targets is very important in winning a battle. Playing without pausing differs on the difficulty you have selected. Whilst on normal mode, it can be challenging for people new to the game do play without pausing on harder difficulties, to prioritize your targets is very important. You would not want to wipe your entire party because you could not see a pesky NPC mage casting disabling spells and finally landing a hail of fireballs from afar.

Graphics wise, the game is beautiful and with the fully customizable character creation kit, you can generally modify the character to your own liking. The scenery are fully detailed and I assure you, you will not be disappointed. Another thing is the music and the sound effects, its just simply amazing. You will have to see and hear this yourselves. While in combat, the gore and finishing moves are simply amazing if you ask me. If you prefer close combat, you will be rewarded with many deathblows depending on your weapon. I had witness a good amount of deathblows delivered from stylish slash and bash to decapitations.

However, the game itself without multiplayer is quite saddening. But nevertheless, its still a formidable product by itself and its worthy of spending that RM120 on it.

I give it a 9/10. Simply fantastic.

Kreuze's Troll Cave

Looks like... E3 Thoughts and Impressions time! (Part 1)

Dragon Age: Origins