Summer Gaming

At this point, I think it's universally understood that the summer is the annual back catalog period for gamers. Big publishers like Activision and Microsoft are saving their best franchises for the ever-jam packed holiday release window of late September through mid November. Gears of War 3, Batman: Arkham City and Modern Warfare 3 are just three of the biggest titles that will be made available to the masses this fall, with many more in tow. But, for now, that's neither here nor there.

As I said in the open, summer is a time to catch up on games that may have passed you by the first time around as well as revisit old favorites that haven't seen the inside of a console in a while; that's what I'm here to discuss today.

So, as you may or may not have heard, there's this little trilogy called Mass Effect that's coming to a close next March. For those unfamiliar with the series, Mass Effect is an action/adventure game set in space. Humanity has recently become a space-faring species and, subsequently, have discovered that they're not the only kid on the space-block. This leads to inevitable racial and territorial tensions between the various other species and provides the backdrop for the first two games, in which Commander Shepard (you) goes from badass soldier to interstellar super spy, and attempts to stop an omnipotent sentient-robot race from destroying the galaxy; you know, that old song and dance. Anyway, one of Mass Effect's biggest selling points - other than giant angry space robots - has been the ability to carry your choices (and their consequences) from one game to another. So, for example, if you decide to let one of your squad members die in Mass Effect 1, they stay dead in Mass Effect 2 or 3.

In anticipation for Mass Effect 3, I decided to play through part deux again. Believe it or not, that game is still awesome, though some of it's problems, like stiff combat movement and some awkward animations, are a tad more evident after seeing some early ME3 footage. The characters are just as memorable, though I made a concerted effort to give some of the characters in the latter half of the game, particularly Legion and Samara, more time in the spotlight. One part of the game that I found considerably more pronounced since my first go around was the audio. I bought a nice 2.1 speaker set since then and now feel stupid for ever playing anything without them, but with Mass Effect, in particular, it was night and day. On your ship, The Normandy, there's this hollow atmospheric presence in the background, like you can hear the nothingness of space surrounding you. I definitely can't wait for the epic conclusion to this excellent trilogy, currently set for release on March 6, 2012.

I've also been playing a bit of the Sims 3. Now, I know there are people somewhere out there that play this game like a straight-up life simulator, but I can't go through that game without it devolving into, 'find new ways to make my sim's life a living hell.' By now, I'm sure everybody knows about the golden oldies of the franchise, like having a sim go into a swimming pool and then removing the ladder so they can never get out, or putting a sim in an empty room and deleting the door. But, as the saying goes, "variety is the spice of life." Or in this case, death. I'm not a sadist, or anything, but I think EA Games secretly wants you to inflict all manner of horrors upon those gibberish-speaking guinea pigs. Just look at them, with their doe eyes and unbridled lust for life; their ghosts turn different colors depending on how they die, for crying out loud. If that doesn't say, "Tinker with the television and see how long it takes to electrify your sim," I don't know what does. It is a sandbox game, after all.

As you PC gamers out there are more-than-likely aware of, the annual Steam Summer sale recently came to a conclusion (though, if you followed my website "www.vortigaming.blogspot.com" you would have known when it was going down). For those not privy, Steam is a marketplace for buying and playing computer games, and their annual summer sale is a period of about two weeks where a large portion of their games are available for anywhere from 15 to 80 percent off. I'm not a huge PC gamer, but I decided to pick up Battlefield: Bad Company 2 in anticipation of Battlefield 3 - which comes out October 25 - as well as Assassin's Creed 2, which was an enjoyable, albeit lengthy, adventure through renaissance-period Italy.

Bad Company 2 is decent enough, like a summer movie where you just want to see stuff blow up and don't really care why (I'm looking at you Michael Bay). The single player was completely forgettable, serving as more of a tutorial to the ways of the Frostbite engine's destructible environments and bullet gravity. The multiplayer is definitely where it's at, with a sizable community and a 'by the numbers' persistent career element. Though, to be honest, the most fun I had was running through a hail of bullets as a medic, and bringing teammates back to life with the magical cordless defibrillator paddles they give you.

So that's been my summer swoon so far. I haven't had a chance to pick up Catherine, a Japanese puzzle game by Atlus Games, but the demo seems interesting enough and that studio has a good track record. There's also Suda 51's, Shadows of the Damned, a third-person shooter that already has a cult following. Anyway, I hope your summer has been less hectic than mine - taking over a newspaper will do that.

From me to you, happy gaming.

Steam Summer Camp Sale

In case you missed it, the annual Steam sale is going on right now. There are some ridiculous discounts (Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood and many others for up to 90% off). Don't like what you see today? No sweat, there are new deals every day beginning at 1:00 p.m. EST. The sale ends on July 10, so get in there and keep the summer gaming drought at bay!

Review: inFAMOUS 2

     In 2009, Sucker Punch ditched the cartoony, Ocean’s Eleven antics of its mainstay Sly Cooper series in favor of a grittier, ripped-from-the-comics style of Infamous. Cole MacGrath’s journey from anonymous delivery boy to hero (or villain) of Empire City received much praise for its fun electrical powers, addicting collectables and a comic book plot that didn’t feel paper-thin. Two years later, Infamous 2 is looking to draw on its predecessor’s success, keeping much of the original’s gameplay mechanics, while simultaneously expanding its color palette beyond the drab blues and greys of Empire City. Does Infamous 2 provide a spark to the summer swoon, or fizzle out?

     
     Infamous 2’s story picks up not too long after the conclusion of its predecessor, and, without spoiling one of the coolest tutorials in recent memory, Cole must make his way down south along with formerly annoying-as-hell sidekick, Zeke Dunbar and Lucy Kuo, a government agent looking to help Cole become more powerful as a mysterious new threat draws near. Infamous 2 employs a morality system similar to the original, though the decisions put before Cole aren’t nearly as hokey as the “be an angel or a dick, and nowhere in between” quandaries found in the first game. What’s more, Cole’s powers reflect his choices far more, reaching such a disparity between precision and chaos in the latter part of the story that they feel like two completely different games. The powers and parkour truly are the heart of Infamous 2’s experience, making up for a story that, while cooler in concept than the original’s, really begins to drag by the last third. In addition to the main story and side missions, Sucker Punch has also included a level creator and user-created content throughout the world. It’s a nice distraction from the story missions, but doesn’t serve as anything more than a novelty.

Monsters have been added to mix up the otherwise repetitive enemies.

 
     By today’s standards, Infamous 2 isn’t exactly the prettiest game on the block. Other than the main characters’ faces, the graphics can look anywhere from decent to embarrassing, particularly on close-ups of pedestrians, who reach almost Wii-levels of bad. However, if you’ve played Infamous, you’ll instantly feel some good ol’ southern comfort as the series swaps out its faux New York in favor of the colorful New Marais - though why they don’t just call them New York and New Orleans is mystery, considering that the game specifically mentions other real U.S. states. Regardless of its name, New Marais is a beauty to look at, with neon signs, old forts and a flooded suburban area that equates to a “the ground is lava” scenario, which makes traversal even more challenging and fun. 

Speeding through the city on electric rails and your static thrusters is still the highlight of inFAMOUS.

     Infamous 2’s music clearly reflects its new-found southern roots, with a heavy emphasis on drums during action and meandering strings during exploration. The problem is that the game is far too inconsistent about when it plays, with intense battles or long stretches of traversing the city in unexplained silence. This exposes another of Infamous’s shortcomings. Much like the original, the game lacks any kind of ambience. Cars silently glide along and the hussle and bussle of New Marais is equatable to a mime walking on tip-toes. The only exception being occasional pedestrian chatter as you pass by, and the sweet(?) saxophone or fast-paced beat of a makeshift drum played by street performers.

     There’s no doubt that Infamous 2 is better than its predecessor. Sucker Punch largely fixed the problems of the original while creating a sense of identity and originality that Infamous never had. However, the series’ audio problems really detract from the experience and the story is awfully anxious to move through the neon district and bayou that set it apart from other open-world games, in favor of a more generic industrial district. The user content feels bolted on, and there are so many side missions already that the user missions feel like an unnecessary attempt to extend the experience. Sucker Punch’s second crack at Infamous is a mixed bag, most of which is great. At the very least, Infamous 2 is worth a rental, but if you’re into action, comics, or just want to go crazy in an open city after L.A. Noir’s comparatively tame experience, Infamous should be an easy buy.

Sony Conference Rundown

Well it didn't take long for Sony to address the recent Playstation Network outage. Minutes after the opening sizzle reel, Jack Tretton took the straightforward approach, rather than trying to play it off, though he did manage to sneak in a few half-hearted attempts at humor.

The uncontested big announcement of Sony's conference was the unveiling of their new handheld, the Playstation Vita, formerly known as the NGP. The Vita will feature two SKUs, a Wi Fi-only model for $250 and a Wi-Fi/3G model for $300. Games shown on the Vita were Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Ruin (which looks strikingly similar to Torchlight), Modnation Racers, Little Big Planet and Street Fighter x Tekken.

On the software side, Sony wasted no time jumping into the meat of their catalog, kicking the show off with a new demo of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (11/1/11). While impressive in its own right, the decayed ship environment didn't exactly show off the game's gorgeous visuals. In addition, Naughty Dog will be holding a multiplayer beta in late June.

Following Uncharted was a brief, unflattering demo of Resistance 3 (9/6/11), whose best feature so far appears to be its Olly Moss cover art. However, the game will feature a SOCOM-style sharpshooter bundle for $150.

Not to be discounted was an HD collection of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus (Sept. 2011), which appeared so briefly you'd have thought that Sony was ashamed of the cult classics. Both will be remastered and 3D enabled.

Speaking of 3D, Sony is attempting to make three dimensional gaming more accessible to those without an arm and a leg burning a hole in their pockets, with a $500 bundle including 24'' Playstation brand 3D TV, along with a pair of 3D glasses, an HDMI cable and Resistance 3.

From there, Sony focused on Move, with a Kobe Bryant-filled NBA 2K12 demo, a forgettable Medieval Moves: Dead Man's Quest demo (seriously, even the developer describing the game sounded like he didn't care), increased Move functionality in Little Big Planet 2, Infamous 2 and the space western-themed Starhawk.

My personal announcement of the show came when Sony unveiled Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (2012), which was teased in the recent (and very good, if you haven't picked it up yet) Sly HD Collection.

Sly was followed by Ken Levine, who came out and declared that Bioshock Infinite would feature Move functionality, and hinted at something Bioshock related on the PS Vita. In addition, PS3 Infinite will feature the original Bioshock, adding incentive to go PS3 for those with multiple consoles.

Electronic Arts Conference Rundown

EA hit the ground running this year with a new gameplay unveil of Mass Effect 3 (3/6/12), which is pushing more and more towards blockbuster action game and further away from hardcore RPG. That's not to say Commander Shepard's big finale is dumbed down for the masses, just streamlined in the same vein as ME2. However, the on-rails boss battle at the end did feel a little too similar to playing as Master Chief.

ME3 was followed by a head-scratching car-to-on-foot-quicktime-sequence-to-car-again gameplay segment of Need for Speed: The Run, which already makes us wish Criterion was handling NFS from now on.

Speaking of games that are already dragging a little, EA followed NFS with a trailer of Star Wars: The Old Republic, which doesn't have very big shoes to fill after the last Star Wars-themed MMO, Galaxies. However, in the trustworthy hands of Bioware, SW:TOR definitely deserves the benefit of the doubt for now.

EA Sports brought the thunder with an action-packed trailer for the new reboot of SSX (Jan. 2012). The game will feature the crazily arcady gameplay the series is known for. FIFA is aiming for a "global community" with the addition of EA Sports Football Club along with a revamped physics system in FIFA 12. Lockout be damned, Madden 12 (8/30/11) is really pushing emotion this year with a pumped up speech by Vince Lombardi, however EA was suspiciously light on actual features.

Curt Schilling came out to show off his pet project, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. While it may seem like a Fable/God of War knock-off with Elder Scrolls elements, Reckoning has above average looks and interesting melee-magic combat.

Insomniac premiered a trailer for their all-new franchise, Overstrike, which has about as much charm in its characters as explosions in its combat. While it is a disappointment to not get any actual gameplay, the anticipation of a fresh new franchise is enough to keep us wanting more.

Electronic Arts certainly saved the best for last with a brand new trailer and demo of Battlefield 3 (10/25/11). The game's engine, Frostbite 2, looks like the major push forward in technology that everyone has been waiting for. The on-foot and vehicle controls are classic Battlefield and a brief look at multiplayer should have Activision looking over their shoulder.