Another E3 has come and gone and with it some awesome new stuff to look at and some things we would have rather not seen.
Here at the TGA we are going to show you the top 10 the best things that you should look at and the 5 worst things from E3 2012.
The XBLA House Party has kicked off and the first game on the table is none other than Warp. When I first heard about Warp I am not going to lie it looked like an isometric clone of Portal. While it shares some similar sentiments in regards to “warping” Warp stands on its own stubby little black legs.
Warp is a crossbreed between a platformer, action and puzzle game and puts you in the role of Zero an alien who unknowingly becomes the victim of a research experiment in a secret underwater facility. Seeing how I have only played the trial version of this game I do not have much more information about the narrative, but what I can tell you is that this game isn’t one you should pass up.
Zero is initially put through some silly tests which serve as an interactive tutorial for you learning the controls (which are painfully easy). Then Zero stumbles across what looks like to be a giant magenta booger with honeycombs in it and without the slightest hesitation shoves it down his hole. I say hole because doesn’t have any discernible mouth or receptacle for nutrition. Anyways; after Zero eats said giant magenta booger things get interesting real quick because shortly after his snack he becomes reacquainted with a donut shaped octagon that gives him the ability to warp (no way!!). This event puts the lab into frenzy with alarms and all other manners of security implementations to stop Zero from escaping. Lucky for you they fail miserably and this is where the trial really kicks off.
From here on out you have rudimentary access to Zero’s powers, but what they highlight in the demo will either turn you into one of two players. One that will be stealthy and avoid turrets, guards and scientists or the polar opposite and be a blood thirsty alien hell bent on killing everyone and everything (I choose the later). The way you kill people is what’s most interesting and you can probably deduce what I will say next. You “warp” into a suspecting or unsuspecting enemy’s body and gyrate the analog stick until the host explodes (done with objects too), spilling entrails and blood everywhere (remember how Neo jumped into Agent Smith and he jiggled around then exploded, nearly identical). Also that is why this game isn’t cute (just for clarification purposes). This binary approach also gives you the opportunity to mix it up a little bit if you so choose. Well you might be wondering about some other details so let me fill you in on those real quick.
Warp has a great visual style utilizing the Unreal Engine so you get a sleek looking game that didn’t glitch or hiccup at all during my time with the trial. The sound effects were not anything too incredible, but nothing about the audio diminished the experience either, so that’s good right? The controls like I said earlier were painfully easy to grasp and once you unlock more abilities I don’t see the controls becoming an issue, so another check for Warp in the awesome department. In addition to the main quest of the trial it gives you a small taste of the challenge rooms that are in the full version. These are time based objectives that I can only assume will vary from point to point rooms and fragging enemies in an allotted amount of time (the two ones in the trial, I’m sure there is more variety, so don’t fret). Overall Warp is a solid downloadable experience that for either 800 MSP or $10 will surely keep you entertained until you have gotten your money’s worth. Warp is available for both XBLA and PSN so give it a spin and let us know what you think about it in the comments section. As always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
I played the trial of Warp on XBLA for approximately 35 minutes. The game is available on XBLA for 800 MSP and the PSN for $10.
Did you pass up on checking out Fight Night Champion because you had no interest in anything other than its story mode? Or maybe you couldn’t justify spending $60 on another boxing game that would only hold your interest for a few hours. Well I think EA has a remedy for those problems with one unique solution. EA has recently dismantled Fight Night Champion into various pieces of downloadable content and they are all available on PSN for $5 a pop. So if you were only interested in FNC for its story or maybe another feature, but didn’t quite want to put up $60 for it you now have the option to choose your FNC experience a la carte.
I have always been a big fan of the Fight Night games, but unfortunately never got around to playing Champion for one reason or another. It was never about the price as I usually get my money’s worth from every Fight Night I have played, but now I have a chance to sample a full feature of the game for $5 and will probably satisfy my fix for the game without having to drop full retail on it.
I think this is a great idea from EA and maybe more of their titles will receive the same treatment down the road. Maybe other publishers will follow suit and try this too. I don’t know if this was done because with FNC because of poor sales or EA just needed a test dummy, but I think if implemented well this could become the standard for most games after they have been on the market for certain amount of time.
So what do you think of this latest maneuver from EA? Do you think it’s a good idea that will catch on or is it just another ploy to milk a dying game? Sound off in the comments section as we would love to hear what you think. Stay tuned for more news and as always you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
I have always seen video games as an amalgamation of every medium of entertainment. Borrowing branded elements from music, film, and even writing to forge a new form of entertainment that has blossomed gloriously over the years. This might seem like a common perspective because where else would video game creators draw inspiration? But something that has rarely been examined is something that was appropriated from hip-hop music believe it or not, the concept or more so the participation in “Beef”.
“Beef” for those who are unfamiliar with the term is more or less a feud between rival parties (minimum of two, beef with yourself is usually referred to as dinner). The most contemporary documentation or display of “Beef” in video games has been between rival military shooters Battlefield 3 and the unreleased Modern Warfare 3. Since both of their conceptions a feud has existed and neither has shied away or tried squashing the beef and why should they right? Beef is good. Beef promotes healthy competition. Beef also creates arguments amongst friends, but that is another story altogether.
Get it?
The beef between BF3 and MW3 has been particularly interesting to me because it has at times reached levels so elementary it has become comical; with fans of each series trading blows in the comment sections of popular gaming websites and forums being erected dedicated to this perpetual feud. The petty Twitter squabbles between EA CEO John Riccitiello and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick have been nothing short of amusing. Lastly, the recent sales predictions from research analyst Michael Pachter have only poured more gasoline on a proverbial out of control California wildfire (he has MW3 outselling BF3 2 to 1). Is there a place for “Beef” in the video game industry? Absolutely, and I’m going to tell you why.
The beauty about “Beef” is that there are no losers. Regardless of how many copies both BF3 and MW3 sell they will more than likely exceed sales expectations for both EA and Activision. This artificial hatred between brands has ignited a sales race that will stimulate and produce excellent numbers in all quantified categories. If you can remember the rap feud between Kanye West and 50 Cent, they had a similar shoot out (not literally) in terms of a sales race. Whoever had more sales in the first week would be the victor and 50 Cent sweetened the deal by saying he would retire from creating music if he had lost. Now I don’t expect such stipulations to be made between video game companies because too many jobs would lie in limbo, but this kind of marketing (because that what “Beef” is if you haven’t noticed) produces exceptional results. Both Kanye and 50 Cent later came out saying that they didn’t hate each other but the battle was simply implemented to stimulate sales of their respective albums. “Beef” with video games adds an additional layer of immersion for the gamer and creates a ubiquitous form of free press for video game publishers. The combination of the two produce amazing results and like I said earlier everyone wins. The companies will be happy, the gamers will be happy, and each brand will continue to have fortuitous futures.
Other feuds do exist in gaming. What are some of your favorites? Share them in the comments section to strike up some debate. Let us know what you think about the feud between BF3 and MW3 and whether or not you fed into it (I sure as hell did). As always stay tuned for more and you can follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
Battlefield 3 is just around the corner (next Tuesday to be exact) and is no stranger to being the object of attention in the gaming news world. Today’s latest tidbit about BF3 came as a bit of a surprise to me though so I thought I would share my thoughts on it. Most major video game websites (I saw it on Team Xbox) have reported about the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 being in “Standard Def” unless you install an HD texture pack on your hard drive (texture pack comes on a second disc). Now the “Standard Def” tag being associated with BF3 is purely graphical in nature, which bothers me. In today’s day and age of technical achievement and progress how could such problem exist for such a mega title? I could see if the texture pack install put the graphics on par with the PC version (which isn’t possible, but you get my point), but installing it just to get current-gen graphics is asinine. It is an “optional” install according to DICE, but how is playing a FPS in 2011 with “Standard Def” graphics an appealing or sought after option. Will it be an issue for me to install Battlefield 3 on my hard drive? Absolutely not, but that isn’t the problem or an issue for me. I am thinking about the people who have limited hard drive capacity or those who have a 4GB Xbox 360s (they are really screwed). They are the ones who will have an issue more so than I and might not purchase the game because of such a feature.
Battlefield 3 is still going to be an awesome title regardless of this issue, but I expect these kinds of issues from smaller companies not giant publishers like EA. I will have to trust that DICE did this for a particular reason and maybe a patch later down the road will address the texture install issue (here’s to hoping). If you are hearing about this for the first time; what do you think about this “optional” install? Does it bother you or are you impartial? Do you think Xbox 360 owners are getting an inferior version of the game? Respond in the comments section and as always follow us on Twitter @GamersAbstract and like us on Facebook for more content.
Many companies have gone down this altruistic “green” path in an effort to save our planet, but in reality the only thing they are preserving are their own wallets. EA is no different. They have announced that they are cutting all physical manuals from their games to be more “environmentally friendly” (*cough, bullshit, cough*). I agree that maybe physical manuals can be replaced by digital ones, but don’t make it seem like you are doing gamers a favor EA. They had originally announced that this was only going to pertain to their EA Sports lineup in favor of video based tutorials, but have since changed it to anything that is being published by the company. This is just fantastic. What will the industry take from us next? Box Art? Factory Shrink Wrap? Call me old fashion, but the manual is a sacred part of the videogame package. EA will no doubt start a trend with this blasphemous move, but money is green and that is what they aim to be. The days of old are a changing and those of us who enjoy a simple manual will soon have to go without. If you are as outraged as I am, scream at the top of your lungs, or comment above.
The Gamer's Abstract 