Rage: Beautiful Decay

Rage is fucking gorgeous. I haven't seen many games look this good on console (I played on 360). Though the first half of the game takes place in a literal wasteland, the world is deliciously depicted through the id Tech 5 engine. Towns - even the drab desert city of Wellspring - are teeming with personality, in everything from their denizens to the bills posted on the job board. Once you move on to the city of Subway Town later in the game, prepare for an amicable assault in the most visual sense. Fucking gorgeous. The main drawback here is the frustration inducing texture pop-in that afflicts most every area of the game. Look, I don't know much about the development process, hardware limitations, or 3D modeling. But a game as pretty as Rage shouldn't be affected by such a dumb design drawback as pop-in. It's annoying to be completely entranced by this artificial world only to be taken back to reality when you notice the textures around you take a split second or slightly longer to load in. Sure, it may not sound like much, but it's noticeable, and it sucks. Though pop-in aside, Rage is best looking game I've played all year.

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Blake is in Rage!

One of the strangest promotional ads I've seen for any video game was the one where rising NBA star Blake Griffin attempts to woo the folks at id Software to put him into Rage. It was a strange coupling that made me scratch my head as I attempted to discern why Blake cares for this title so. It was an entertaining ad though, probably because I love basketball so much. 

Anyway, after getting a chuckle from the promo the first time I saw it, I completely forgot about the Former Rookie of the Year's campaign, until I bumped into him in-game.. In bobblehead form. Hey, it's a start. Keep hope alive, Blake. Rage may warrant a sequel, and if that occurs, maybe you'll be an actual NPC. And hopefully id will mo-cap you on a Knicks game night so you don't set all your career highs against my team. Ahem, sorry.

Look for my Rage review in the next couple of days. Until then, bobble Blake will keep you company.

Batman Zips and Glides around Arkham City, Punches Dudes

I am a Gotham City criminal, on Batman's long list of perpetrators to be brought to justice. The reason? Batman: Arkham City has gone criminally misrepresented here on OBG, with a grand total of one article written throughout the title's development cycle. It's not that I don't care, I do. I was about a year late to the Batman: Arkham Asylum wagon, but when I finally got on I was absolutely captivated. Perhaps I've limited my reporting of Arkham City because subconsciously, I want to tackle it the same way. 

Anyway, here's a short video of how Batman will eventually track me down and punch me in the face. I love what Rocksteady has done with the open world elements and Bats quickly covering ground (or air) without the Batwing. And of course, the free flow combat looks as good as ever. Batman: Arkham City will descend from the Gotham night sky on October 18. Though this probably won't be a week one purchase for me due to time and money constraints, it looks like a worthy get. If you're a fan of the world's most gangsta detective and are not enamored by the other games of Fall, look no further for your fix.

via Destructoid

Renegade Ops: Micro Machine Guns

Avalanche Studios have a certain inclination for over-the-top action and destruction. The very first time I played Just Cause, though unrefined, I knew the Swedish developers were very capable. Their idea of ludicrous action, massive explosions, and stunt driving came to fruition in the Godlike comedic action of Just Cause 2. So here is Renegade Ops, a vehicular combat title that tries to capture the beautiful destruction of the Just Cause games while scaling down to the size of Micro Machines. John Moschitta Jr. not included.

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No Kidding, Stranger! Bastion is Almost Flawless

I was raised in an age where games didn't need hyper-realistic graphics, bathtubs full of blood, or the London Philharmonic Orchestra to make an impact. Gameplay trumps all. Bastion is a neat little digitally distributed title that is rooted deep in this old-school-of-thought, providing classic 32-bit action, with a helping of beautiful hand drawn art and a quite literal take on the narrative.

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Terribly Voiced Trailer or Not, I'm All in on Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I've been looking forward to Deus Ex: Human Revolution for quite some time. I'm hoping very much that it ends up being better than a steaming pile of excrement, because my sixty bucks says this baby is going to be a big time winner!  

Eidos Montreal and Square Enix haven't been shy when it comes to marketing DXHR, and I can't blame them because everything about this game looks incredible. Stylized violence, stealth, character interaction, ability upgrades, item management, what else do you want? If you've been hiding under a rock and haven't seen the dozens of other videos, just watch this one. A mundane-voiced gentleman summarizes all you need to know, for the most part. Rest assured, the voice acting in-game is much better than this trailer's voice-over. 

If DXHR has one strike against it at this point, it may be that there is too much going on. It looks to have the scope of an Oblivion or Fallout 3 in that it will easily warrant at least 2 plays, just so you can see a percentage of what the game has to offer. When these flimsy plastic discs are sold for three Jacksons, you take a game with replay value like this and make sweet love to it. Yeah, that's my plan, as long as the bounty of options don't muddle things up. Let us pray.

August 23, mark it down. Catch a mysterious affliction that can only be cured by the augmentations found in Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Take the entire week off, because from the looks of things, you may need it. You have a sickness, and the only cure is more arm-blade!

REVIEW: From Dust

I must admit, titles where the player is given the powers of a God and asked to shape the world how he or she sees fit were never compelling to me, regardless of how incredible the premise sounds. In what feels like the first game in which I play the part of the Almighty since I've become a mature gamer, I decided to give From Dust a Godly go of it. Does its foundation hold up to the heavy expectations heaped upon it, or is this one wiped away by a tsunami?

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Prey 2 Ditches the Native American in favor of Boba Fett

Shortly after the release of the surprisingly well received Prey, it was announced a sequel was already in development by Human Head Studios. After the announcement, Prey seemed to have gone dark, until earlier this year when a live action viral was released to stir up some interest in the series. With E3 in full effect, you better believe we have a trailer and gameplay. 

Prey 2 does away with some of the staples from the original; portals, the Native American influence, and protagonist Tommy. You play as former Air Marshall Killian Samuels, a bounty hunter with access to an impressive amount of alien tech and weaponry, to be employed while tracking bounties, both dead and alive. The world is a beautiful neon-soaked piece of the future, with terrain that's as tricky as it is modern. Navigating via parkour is your second best friend, right behind your armaments.

As of now, Prey 2 looks like just another first person shooter. The aspects that made the original so unique have seemingly been stripped from the sequel, so I'm unsure about what will make it stand out from the crowd. Regardless, the art and weapon design look to be getting things right, which is a step in the right direction.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution Continues to Impress

Every time I watch a Deus Ex: Human Revolution trailer, I'm left with chills. The latest spot from this year's E3 is no different. This title looks like it has everything going for it; lovely visuals, atmosphere inspired by Blade Runner, hauntingly beautiful music, a story of deceit and betrayal, and different pillars of gameplay. How will you play Adam Jensen? Will you move in silence, using subterfuge to avoid physical conflict by handling tasks quickly and quietly? Or will you overcome enemies guns ablaze, grenades aloft with arm-blades flailing like a (not so) typical third person shooter? 

Rooted in the sensibilities of the original Deus Ex, a game that many consider amongst the best ever made, I would be surprised if Deus Ex: Human Revolution is anything less than an overwhelmingly incredible experience.

REVIEW: Brink

Brink is a game that I've been waiting to spend some extended time with. I'm talking about having the itch; sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, mumbling incoherently, and scratching my neck. Something about a fast-paced arcade shooter that puts heavy emphasis on parkour does it for me. The game impressed in short preview sessions, and was heavily marketed to give itself a nice pre-release buzz, though it seems as if some quality assurance blues put a damper on Brink's attempt at revolutionizing the genre.

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