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Like me on FB, Follow Me on twitter and join the 51army...See you starside
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Official writer on VGReaction.com
Recently i was contacted by the owner of an up and coming website, after a few conversations with him I will now be a writer for the new website VGReaction.com!!!! I will continue to post all my blogs on the carnage report first but now you can also catch me on VGReaction.com! the site is still very new but already has an active forum which I will be an active member of, please stop by the site, as usual i really appreciate any and all support...dont forget to click the links!!!!
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Like me on FB, Follow Me on twitter and join the 51army...See you starside
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Like me on FB, Follow Me on twitter and join the 51army...See you starside
Monday, June 20, 2011
Fail to the king (Duke nukem forever review)
There are lots of iconic and well loved video game characters out there, they all have different genres and we love them for different reasons. Normally the icons of the gaming world are backed by amazing videogames witch is why the characters are so popular, examples of this are everywhere from Master chief of the now legendary Halo series to the up and coming characters like nathan drake from the uncharted series. The developers behind these epic games work extremly hard to ensure a bad game doesint hurt the image of a growing gaming superstar and so creators like bungie and naughty dog keep the franchise under close watch..
Duke nukem was/is one of these iconic characters, for those who dont know much about the self proclaimed king he started out in 1991 and starred in a string of games by the now deceased 3D realms. The biggest hit of the series Duke Nukem 3D is considered by some to be a game that helped revolutionize first person shooters as a genre. Dukes tough guy swagger and edgey gameplay earned him the namesake that fans have faithfully kept till today.....12 years later. Unfortunately duke hit hard times after Nukem 3D, 3D Relms attempted to make a sequel but was unable to and shortly after closed its doors for good, this left the Duke nukem franchise in the lowest circle of development hell where it remained resting not so peacefully until 2k games and gearbox software decided to go grave diving.
This bring us to the recent release of Duke nukem forever, warning to all nukem fans this will not be easy to read. Right from the opening cutscene everything about this game screams the 90's from dukes announcemnet that "he's back baby" to the boring guitar ripps. The games story is extremly forgettable and boring, the basic premise is that duke has been in development hell, I mean on "vacation" and is called back into the line of duty when the aliens he defeated 12 years ago find there way back to earth for revenge (what took them so long?)and this time they start going after earth’s women. From there the game sends you on your way through an reletively short and extremly linear story where there is no such thing as exploration except for the random bathroom where u can take a piss or a vending machine, im serious its less of a story or adventure and more of move from point A to point B while annihilating anything that comes onscreen that is not human.
While you can make the argument that most fps give you that task it isint this blatant and normally the story is what keeps you moving forward with a sense of purpose, all of which are missing in this game. Crappy graphics also add to the frustration of this game, forever looks extremly dated ancient almost which really makes me wonder what gearbox and 2k changed about the game if anything. Duke nukem forever looks like a game that should have been released for the original xbox or ps2, with all the beautiful games that have been released (Halo reach, Uncharted 2, Mass effect series) and games starting to utilize 3D Tv it really makes forever look decrepit.
The creators at 2k and gearbox were also extremly unimaginative with charater design, for how much the game boast about big guns, expolsive action and hot babes there is a very short order of any of them in the game, especially the women duke games are infamously known for. All the women in the game are pretty much carbon copys of eachother, same build maybe even the same voice actor, even the two leading ladies duke regularly interacts with are twins to show the lack of effort on the developers part. But the biggest gripe has to be the fact that in the entire game there are less than a handful of enimies to fight, this make combat feel mind numbing, very repetitive and worst of all boring. The controls are very basic and if you have played a FPS in the past decade should be no problem for you and the puzzels in the game are so simple they almost go without mentioning.
Forever also falls flat when it comes to voice acting and sound, one of the things that has kept duke alive all this time in the hearts and minds of gamers are the chuck Norris like duke-isms that are all over the web and that SHOULD be in the game, that is not the case honestly that is the farthest from the truth. Duke's boring one liners are seemingly set on repeat the entire game, sure it sounds cool at first but by the 500th time you have heard duke say "Let God sort out the mess" on the second level your about ready to play the game on mute. Add to this shitstorm of a game an unimaginative multiplayer that consist of slayer, team slayer and a duke version of CTF called capture the babe and you have a full on epic fail of a game and more importantly a waste of 63.59. (The price of games since the new console generation) If your a fan rent but please save yourself the buyers remorse and don’t purchase this game.
Its a shame that this is the offering the faithful fans of duke nukem get after all these years, and its obvious that instead of being real developers and creating a game with there own imagination while staying true to the iconic character; 2k and gearbox decided to simply spit shine and ship out a game THAT WASINT GOOD ENOUGH TO CUT IT IN THE MID 90's!!!!
Seriously this is the same game that 3D realms tried with all there might to ship out but could not and now we see why...12 years later. The same flaws that plagued it then are glaringly obvious now with new technology and games evolving in every aspect. I don’t know if duke will ever get another shot at gaming redemption or if the iconic character will have to burn for the sins of his developers, I guess we will have to wait and see if dukes fans can pull him out of the 50ft ditch 2k and gearbox dug for him. For its boring story, dated graphics and sheer lack of effort in development duke nukem gets a 2 out of 5
Duke nukem was/is one of these iconic characters, for those who dont know much about the self proclaimed king he started out in 1991 and starred in a string of games by the now deceased 3D realms. The biggest hit of the series Duke Nukem 3D is considered by some to be a game that helped revolutionize first person shooters as a genre. Dukes tough guy swagger and edgey gameplay earned him the namesake that fans have faithfully kept till today.....12 years later. Unfortunately duke hit hard times after Nukem 3D, 3D Relms attempted to make a sequel but was unable to and shortly after closed its doors for good, this left the Duke nukem franchise in the lowest circle of development hell where it remained resting not so peacefully until 2k games and gearbox software decided to go grave diving.
This bring us to the recent release of Duke nukem forever, warning to all nukem fans this will not be easy to read. Right from the opening cutscene everything about this game screams the 90's from dukes announcemnet that "he's back baby" to the boring guitar ripps. The games story is extremly forgettable and boring, the basic premise is that duke has been in development hell, I mean on "vacation" and is called back into the line of duty when the aliens he defeated 12 years ago find there way back to earth for revenge (what took them so long?)and this time they start going after earth’s women. From there the game sends you on your way through an reletively short and extremly linear story where there is no such thing as exploration except for the random bathroom where u can take a piss or a vending machine, im serious its less of a story or adventure and more of move from point A to point B while annihilating anything that comes onscreen that is not human.
While you can make the argument that most fps give you that task it isint this blatant and normally the story is what keeps you moving forward with a sense of purpose, all of which are missing in this game. Crappy graphics also add to the frustration of this game, forever looks extremly dated ancient almost which really makes me wonder what gearbox and 2k changed about the game if anything. Duke nukem forever looks like a game that should have been released for the original xbox or ps2, with all the beautiful games that have been released (Halo reach, Uncharted 2, Mass effect series) and games starting to utilize 3D Tv it really makes forever look decrepit.
The creators at 2k and gearbox were also extremly unimaginative with charater design, for how much the game boast about big guns, expolsive action and hot babes there is a very short order of any of them in the game, especially the women duke games are infamously known for. All the women in the game are pretty much carbon copys of eachother, same build maybe even the same voice actor, even the two leading ladies duke regularly interacts with are twins to show the lack of effort on the developers part. But the biggest gripe has to be the fact that in the entire game there are less than a handful of enimies to fight, this make combat feel mind numbing, very repetitive and worst of all boring. The controls are very basic and if you have played a FPS in the past decade should be no problem for you and the puzzels in the game are so simple they almost go without mentioning.
Forever also falls flat when it comes to voice acting and sound, one of the things that has kept duke alive all this time in the hearts and minds of gamers are the chuck Norris like duke-isms that are all over the web and that SHOULD be in the game, that is not the case honestly that is the farthest from the truth. Duke's boring one liners are seemingly set on repeat the entire game, sure it sounds cool at first but by the 500th time you have heard duke say "Let God sort out the mess" on the second level your about ready to play the game on mute. Add to this shitstorm of a game an unimaginative multiplayer that consist of slayer, team slayer and a duke version of CTF called capture the babe and you have a full on epic fail of a game and more importantly a waste of 63.59. (The price of games since the new console generation) If your a fan rent but please save yourself the buyers remorse and don’t purchase this game.
Its a shame that this is the offering the faithful fans of duke nukem get after all these years, and its obvious that instead of being real developers and creating a game with there own imagination while staying true to the iconic character; 2k and gearbox decided to simply spit shine and ship out a game THAT WASINT GOOD ENOUGH TO CUT IT IN THE MID 90's!!!!
Seriously this is the same game that 3D realms tried with all there might to ship out but could not and now we see why...12 years later. The same flaws that plagued it then are glaringly obvious now with new technology and games evolving in every aspect. I don’t know if duke will ever get another shot at gaming redemption or if the iconic character will have to burn for the sins of his developers, I guess we will have to wait and see if dukes fans can pull him out of the 50ft ditch 2k and gearbox dug for him. For its boring story, dated graphics and sheer lack of effort in development duke nukem gets a 2 out of 5
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The dark knight returns (batman arkham city preview)
One thing I truly love about the videogame industry is the ability and oppertunity developers have to take a license we all know and love (like comic book hero's) and take them beyond our wildest imagination. Its one thing to read a truly epic comic or watch an amazing movie featuring one of your favorite superheros, but to put you in control, behind the mask and under the cowl of many of our favorite hero's is absolutly awe inspireing when done correctly. A standing testiment to this idea is the recent hit Batman arkham asylum. Arkham asylum makes you feel like you are the caped crusder like no game, movie or even comic book could hope to duplicate.
All of the dark knights powers and abilitys are right at your fingertips, from standard batarang's and batmans signature cape that allows him to glide through the skys of gotham to the creative and extremly helpful detective mode in the game that proved why batman owns the mantle "worlds greatest detective". Arkham aslymum was a great game and arkham city not only looks to follow in its footsteps but move even further in what has become the best superhero gaming franchise to date. The current specs are that the game will boast over 40 hours of gameplay as well as an extra 15 hours of extra content to keep you busy in the streets of arkham and as im sure everyone knows by now catwoman is a playable character for aproximatly 10 percent of the game.
For those who have had bad experiences with so called "extra characters" that in truth are just reskins rest assured that ms.selina kyle is her very own character and is not batman with a {much} sexier strut, catwoman comes with her own moveset, storyline, goals & opponents and approaches fighting, interacting and moving in and around arkham city completly different and independent from the caped crusaider. Injecting catwoman into the arkham franchise was a smart and very interesting move by rocksteady games. Catwomans sultry personality and quick witt should add a very sharp and sexy feel to the game (two things i never thought i would put in the same sentence as ANYTHING refering to a batman game…or batman in general) and make an amazing change of pace. Those with even a mild interest in baman should be looking forward to oct. 18th (arkham city release date) and if your a fan of the world greatest detective it shouldnt take a cole phelp's interrogation to get you into your local gamestop to reserve a copy and pick it up on release day.
Until then stay tuned into the carnage report! Like me on facebook, follow me on twitter and continue to support the growing 51 army by reading my blog and telling your fellow gamers, also plz comment on my blog I would love to hear some feedback, both positive and…..otherwise lol till then…..See you starside
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Changing the game by thinking with portals: Portal 2 Review
In the gaming world parody on certain levels is inevitable, someone somewhere did something awesome and that is normally where we draw our beginning ideas from, after all we all remember our first great experience with something new and those experiences tend to affect our own. In a gaming world filled with FPS (first person shooters) Portal seems poised to do something that doesn’t happen very often, change the way we play video games. In an industry that is supposedly full of innovators portal 2 is truly innovative taking the first person view and instead of filling the screen with targets that you will eventually fill with hot lead it places you in the middle of huge test rooms filled with puzzles and forces you to think your way out, the only true enemies are turrets that shoot at you on certain levels and the puzzles themselves both of witch can be dealt with by thinking outside of the box and some clever wits; thinking in a first person game....I know crazy right?
Add the fact that for the life of me I cant think of another game that has done anything similar and ladies and gents we just may have on our hands something that is truly innovative and different. Portal started out as a side attraction in the orange box and continued to gain popularity culminating in an Internet wide meme (did anyone end up getting a slice of that freaking cake???) Portal 2 follows up and immediately drops you into this big and odd world filled with amazing oddities like goop than can make you run faster and jump higher and great characters that keep you interested and immersed in the game, wheatly and glados both are very intriguing, wheatly is hilarious with his extremely low iq for a robot and glado's disrespectful undertones and blatant remarks are funny even if you didn’t play the first game. The puzzles are very interesting with varying amounts of difficulty, most require attention to detail and being able to look at the puzzles from different points of view. Portal 2 also has a stand alone co-op mode that has its own set of intriguing puzzles that focus on teamwork between two players that adds to the games replay value. Simply put the portal series is a breath of not only fresh but new and different air into the gaming universe, the first person view along with amazing dialog deeply immerses you in the game while the puzzles truly give you the feeling that you have never played anything like this before and you really feel like you have accomplished something as the puzzles difficulty increases and you complete them. Hopefully portal 2 will be the start of a good group of games that use the first person view for more than simply fragging, and if gaming history shows us anything then I am sure that soon you will be seeing other games following in portals footsteps…
Till next time follow me on twitter, like me on facebook and join the 51Army by follwing my blogs….see you starside
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The game of the decade returns
Revisiting those amazing sites from halo CE again with 360 graphics makes it worth whatever price tag 343 want to slap on it. Halo Combat Evolved drops Nov.15th 2011 if the covenant, (or delays) don’t get in its way but as of today it is up for reserve at gamestop and your local gaming spots, make sure u pre-order and also add me on XBL and we will fragg some noobs. My Gtag is AKA Carnage51
Cant wait for halo CE!!!! The game that changed a decade is back!!!
-See you star side
-See you starside
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