The good people at Volition have created a dev diary of sorts, discussing some of Red Faction's history, it's legacy as a science fiction series, the enemies, and of course, blowing shit up.
If you're not familiar with the Red Faction series, you can watch this to acquaint yourself a bit, but you really should play some of the past entries. If you're strapped for time, then maybe just give Red Faction: Armageddon a shot. It looks like Armageddon will continue the franchise's streak of quality gaming, and lovely destruction. Don't like the way that wall is looking at you? Blow it up! Guilty conscience, wall-killer? Rebuild it again with your Nano Forge. Destroy, build, destroy; Andrew W.K. would be proud.
In other news, have a look at Red Faction: Armageddon's pre-order bonuses, by way of these silly ads. Best Buy gets the Recon Pack, featuring a nice looking set of Recon Armor, XNG-5000 rocket launcher, and the chain-lightning spitting Arc Welder. Gamestop pre-orders fetch you the Commando Pack, whose odd looking Commando Armor looks like a hybrid of Mass Effect's N7 and Final Fantasy XII's Judge armor. Also, fucking SWEET Laser Pistol and flame-throwing Plasma Launcher. Amazon pre-order is less flashy, but worth it in its own right. $10 worth of video game credit, and a free download of the addicting vehicular slaughter action of Red Faction: Battlegrounds. Where will you pre-order?
Red 5 Studios have released a nicely done video detailing the classes and abilities of their upcoming shooter, Firefall. At PAX East, Firefall was limited to three classes - called Battle Frames - and unfortunately, the grand total still sits at three. Designer Scott Youngblood told us that there are more frames in the works, however it seems as if this isn't the time for their reveal. Fair enough.
Regardless, it's good to see more Firefall media, even without any newly announced frames. The game is easy on the eyes and a blast to play. In my experience, I had most success playing as the medic and recon classes, though I would have probably had more success in an assault frame had I learned to use the Crater ability better. Looks like it does a mean bit of damage on anyone foolish enough to be caught under it.
If free-to-play online shooters are your thing, Firefall is going to be the game for you. Even if you're not into that sort of thing, you may want to give Firefall a shot when it releases at the end of this year, you might be pleasantly surprised.
More RAGE is always a good thing, at least in regards to id Software's upcoming video game. Rage at the workplace or at school could lead to expulsion and anger management classes, so please try to avoid that if you can.
Here's your good RAGE news of the day: preorder pretty much anywhere that matters (Amazon, Steam, Direct-to-Drive, *mutters* Gamestop) and you'll have your order automatically upgraded to the 'Anarchy' Edition, free of charge. Not only does this special set have a kick-ass name, but it comes with a ménage à quatre of useful in-game items; a double barrel shotty, slick Crimson Elite armor, bladed knuckle dusters, and a 'Rat Rod' buggy. That's gear that could fetch $5 on the DLC tip, yours for donuts.
Speaking of gear, RAGE seems to be all about the weapon selection. In the latest trailer, a full 5 minutes of impressive gameplay across a rather lively place called Dead City, we see weapons aplenty. Shotguns, sniper rifles, some sort of useless crossbow, rocket launchers, pistols that fire a whole damn clip at once, and even a shuriken-chakram deal that takes off heads. That's my type of mutant-maiming device.
Aside from playing host to a cavalcade of uniquely designed mutant mashers, RAGE is easy on the eyes. Check out the facial expressions and body movements of the old Russian dude sending you on your quest. That's some top flight animation right there, L.A. Noire be damned.
RAGE is still a few months away, releasing September 13. That's plenty of time to stew in your own desires for this one, especially since there will be a few more trailers like this to amp you up. Don't let a few measly months turn you away, preorder NAO!
Have you always wanted to throw a football, but never quite had the muscle to do so? Have you always wished you were able to play Liszt's finest nocturne, but was just too damn impatient to take piano lessons? Let Sarif Industries change your life. One simple pain-free procedure can change you forever. See clearly, play with your children, entertain your extended family at awkward reunions, with Sarif Industries' human enhancements.
So it ain't real, but it is very well done and has me craving more of these live action viral spots. Though honestly, I'm craving anything having to do with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. Do I really have to wait until August? That's a total bummer. I need a Sarif Industries cybernetic watch, so time can move faster.
Have you ever wondered how Chell -- Aperture Science test subject and protagonist of the Portal series -- has survived all those nasty falls with nary a sprained ankle? It's gotta be the boots! For Valve and Aperture Laboratories fourth and final investment opportunity video, Cave Johnson explains it all.
So there you have it. Four good reasons to invest in Aperture Science. Though they appear to be between banks, so please make your checks out to cash. Portal 2 releases exactly one week from today, on April 19. We're done here!
Aperture Laboratories introduces the consumer version of their most popular military grade product; turrets. The friendly and existential sentries are the focus of Valve's latest Aperture investment video series for Portal 2.
Honestly, who wouldn't want a turret in their home, protecting the things they love? I know I sure as hell would. When the sound of gunfire isn't echoing in your child's bedroom, set off by some dust particles, I'm fully confident that my infant will have the best sleep of his life, thanks in part to the Aperture Labs turret's soothing hum. Of course, I believe anything Cave Johnson tells me.
Portal 2 ships in just about two weeks. Make Cave proud, preorder now.
If you've been with me for a while, you know how much I'm looking forward to Brink. It's almost here; just a little more than a month until I can start talking friends out of wasting their time with CoD: BlOps and start playing something a little more fun, to say the least. Maybe it's unfair to compare the two, but I'm stoked that Brink encourages and rewards the mobile player, whereas most other modern shooters encourage camping. Boring!
The latest trailer details some of the customization you'll be able to play with on the abilities front. Things like turrets, hacks, extra life, sticky bombs and molotovs; you know, tools of the trade. Of course, your ability loadout all depends on the class you choose, allowing you to finetune your wall-running machine-gunning experience. Sure they're just perks, but when you combine them with all the other customization options, it seems like each individual player will be able to craft their own personal experience. That's going to go a hell of a long way.
I tend to take screenshots with a grain of salt. It's easier to make a game look amazing than it is to create an immersive world with a memorable cast and addicting action. Luckily, the Elder Scrolls series has a pedigree of quality releases.
The latest entry in the series, Skyrim, is looking pretty damn sweet. The screens we've seen so far display a huge leap in the eye candy department. This is good. If Skyrim can retain its ridiculous amount of immersion and depth of content, we're going to have a real winner on our hands. But let me not jump ahead of myself here, we still need to learn more and see more of this thing in motion. In the mean time, have some lovely screenshots!
When Valve Software announced J.K. Simmons as Cave Johnson, the CEO and voice of Aperture Science in Portal 2, I thought "Oh, cool." That's it, just cool. But the more I hear Cave speak, the more I'm absolutely enamored by the voice and the choice. Simmons' unique sound and excellent delivery not only lends some B-star credibility to Portal 2, but he also plays the the role perfectly.
In this, the second of Aperture Science's hilarious "investment opportunity" video series, Cave Johnson details the ways robots are more trusting than humans. Well, he's definitely convinced me. Now, not only am I going to layer my house in lovely panels, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to ditch all my friends and replace them with robots. Thank you Aperture Science!
I made a bit of a shameful admission to Scott Youngblood, lead designer of FireFall, and I'll make the same admission to you; I had never heard of FireFall before PAX East. Granted, the free-to-download, free-to-play, almost-MMO action shooter was only announced a few months ago at PAX Prime, though it has been in secret development for close to five years by Red 5 Studios.
Mr. Youngblood was good enough to chat with me about FireFall while I tried my hand at fragging some of the other folks in attendance at the Boston Convention Center. The game is played entirely online, across multiple game modes. There is a shared, open world that can be inhabited by hundreds of players at once, as well as instanced matches ranging from 5-on-5 to army against army. The armies are FireFall's equivalent of guilds, and unfortunately, Mr. Youngblood wouldn't let out how large army vs. army matches would be.
Team deathmatch was the only mode playable at PAX East, which is good enough for me, as it was a blast. After you successfully deplete an enemy's health, you have the ability to finish them off from close range with an execution. It takes two or three seconds to pull off, but executing the downed opposition is a surefire way to score a point for your team. Sure they can bleed out as well, but in this period there's always the chance that a teammate revives them, denying your team the points for your hard earned kill.
The map I played at PAX East was wide open; a large playground of powered suits making boost-jumps and frantically gunning each other down. We weren't told how many maps would be available in the final product, only that the developers plan on expanding on the world post-release, so we can expect updates with new maps well into release, free of charge. Maps will never cost the player any money. And the map, like the character artwork, just looked good. The thick outlines that go along with cel-shaded art made the entire game look like a smooth running comic book. My eyes were very pleased during our play session.
Aside from competitive matches, there are also cooperative scenarios to keep like-minded players working toward a greater cause. Resource gathering is a large part of the game, but while doing so, the world will not slow down as you reap rewards. Thus gathering is probably best done in teams, as you'll have some help fending off the worlds hostile mobs. We didn't get too in depth into resources, but crystite is one of the resources that is extremely important, used in just about everything in the world. From what I've seen, 'mining' consists of an orbital drop of equipment called a Thumper, which mines for you and attracts mobs, allowing you to play defense. That's all good, especially compared to resource gathering in other games. However my fingers are crossed that it gets no more tedious than Thumping.
Now let's talk classes, which FireFall calls battleframes. The build we played featured three; the offensive minded assault frame, supporting medic, and fast moving, light hitting recon. Just a note here, the developers have made absolutely sure that the medic, while a support class, is not limited to that, with the ability to be a viable offensive force on its own. I can vouch for that, as I was able to register quite a few kills as a medic on my own. Each battleframe has its own special abilities and weapons. The primary weapons have alternate fire functions, which can be changed as new weapon modules are found in loot or from enemy drops. The battleframes also have secondary weapons, as well as unique skills, which each had three in this build. As in most team-focused games (the well designed ones, anyway) working together is encouraged and rewarded. Aside from basic assists, there are several classes that can execute abilities in unison to increase efficiency on the battlefield, further proving that teamwork pays off. Each frames abilities are all on cooldown timers, which can be foregone if you know your maps and find the proper power-up, one of which completely resets your timers.
I'll say it again; FireFall is entirely free, so any type of customization we get is gravy. Fortunately. there is a modest amount of customizing you can do. You'll be able to buy or find better gear such as entire frames, modules, and different backpacks, which will only visually benefit you if you play in the very viable third-person perspective. By now you must be thinking, the true customization begins when you start shelling out the cash for this free game, right? Yes and no. Mr. Youngblood was very explicit in stating that you will NOT be able to purchase power. So the the broke guy playing in his school's computer lab can still be on even ground as the chick who spends her week's pay on Firefall. Buying will however, net you things like different colors for your frames, extra backpacks, and items to beneficially affect the resource gathering process.
FireFall has incredibly promise, not only because it's free to play, but because it's fun to play. I'd advise you to head over to the FireFall homepage, where you can sign up for the beta, which if it's anything like what was playable at PAX East, is considerably polished for a beta build. FireFall hits retail -- maybe I should say freetail -- at the end of 2011 as a PC exclusive. And in the words of Scott Youngblood himself, "Hope to see you online.. In my crosshairs."
Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 11:06AM 
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