• 17Apr 13

  Franchise reboots

  The following games are the stand out ones from my youth

  - Syndicate

  - Xcom

  - Freedom Fighters

  - Dungeon Keeper 1 & 2

  - C&C

  - Goldeneye

  - Dues Ex (yes, I even liked invisible war!)

  My most recent game purchase was the new Xcom: Enemy unknown. It got me thinking about game re-boots. There seems to be a lack of big companies churning out new IP. Dont get me wrong, Indie and Kickstart projects make some great new IP. But the imagination is gone from the bigger companies in my opinion.

  Out of the above games several have had recent reboots and the only ones I like are Dues Ex and Xcom. (I havent tried Syndicate to be fair but the move away from squad shooter to an FPS means I am avoiding it)

  I think the reason for this is that while they are re-boots, and have elements of their parents that you will recognize, they are new games in their own right. Sure Xcom you cant build a base anywhere you like, and the research, base building and missions are a bit more scripted. But I truely love the new Xcom and thats hard to admit because I loved the original. I played it for months non stop, and still never managed to win a game. But that didnt matter to me! But the new one has some nice new features that I really enjoy. Same with Dues Ex. I hope both of these get great follow up games.

  Whats you thoughts on game re-boots? Have you got any games you would like to see re-done?

  • Posted Apr 17, 2013 2:24 am GMT
  • Category: Editorial
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• 1Apr 13

  Army Of Two - What a waste

  So the new AoT game is out. I feel I need ot vent some anger on the issue, but first some back ground

  The first AoT got mixed reviews and wasnt that great a performer commercially. However I personally love it. It was one of the few games at the time that had a decent one console Coop (ie you didnt need to be online and you and a buddy could have a few beers together and play on the same console) OK it had its issues, but the Bromance portrayed in the game and some of the game features made it worth while. I played it and thought "yup, its good, some good ideas but needs polished"

  The second one came out and me and one of my buds who I had played the first AoT to death with eagerly bought a copy. The storyline wasnt as good as the first in my opinion, infact it was down right idiotic. But the game play had been polished a bit and the bromance was still strong. We never completed it though as it had some frustrating elements to it. Specifically an area in one level where it was a huge open area with no cover, that was surrounded by building that had the enemy mercs with rocket launcher in the windows. That combined with the "saving civilians" mechanic put us off.

  So when the 3rd one was announce we thought maybe they will have it right this time. Nope, they have gotten it even more wrong. In an industry where big publishers are really struggling to come up with new IP and fresh ideas, using this to make a cookie cutter 3rd person shooter is just a waste. It really angers me that they churn out this dump knowing that a certain % of people will buy it anyway based on the fact that they are fans.

  • Posted Apr 1, 2013 3:32 am GMT
  • Category: Games
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• 31Jan 12

  My time in Skyrim part 2..

  Warning - This contains some very minor spoilers

  So I have now spent around 100 hours in Skyrim. Only about 2 hours of that has been on the main quest (I have visited the Greybeards ad learned more about my shouts) and while I realise that alot of you will have way more playtime on the game, I just thought I would share a few thoughts.

  Just for the record I am currently level 43 (again I am sure some of you are way higher!)

  Weapons and armour - I am using light armour and single handed weapons, combined with magic. I also use the bow alot, soften targets up from a distance before moving in for the kill. To be honest I have very much stuck with the same weapons and armour for the last 15-20 levels as I have not found anything much better.

  Smithing, forging etc. I really have no interest in this. I cant be bothered improving this skill or improving my weapons. I will occasionally use a forge to refine ore but not often. Occasionally I will make a bit of jewelry to sell, but again not often. There is no real increase in value over the raw material so I dont see the point.

  Guilds - Still not all that impressed by them.

  Dragons - A bit common. I get attacked by these all the time. All my shouts are unlocked and I still have a couple of Dragon souls to spare.

  Combat - On the whole it seems easier than oblivion. There are no real enemies so far that I worry about taking on. Not even in groups. Occasionally I will run across a tough enemy but these tend to be Foresworn.

  Thoughts guys?

  • Posted Jan 31, 2012 1:17 am GMT
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