Max Payne 3 Demoed at NYCC'11, Valkyr Not Included

If you have never played Max Payne, buy and play it right this instant, then come back and read this post. Go on, I'll wait.

All settled?

Right then, Max Payne is one of the most revolutionary action games to date. A disturbing, multilayered story coupled with the first uses of 'bullet time' created a winning product, no doubt. When Rockstar announced Max Payne 3 - 8 years after the second entry - I raised an eyebrow. That was all. I didn't expect the newer, older Max to be of any interest to me, but after watching 15 minutes or so of gameplay.. Well, let's just say I've underrated Rockstar, again.

Max Payne 3 is set several years after the conclusion of Max the second. Max is now an older, fatter gentleman who continues to deal with the traumatic events of his past by turning to the bottle. The demo starts with a flashback to Max's time in New York, to help to illustrate how he came into his current situation as a bodyguard for one of Sao Paolo's most politically powerful families. James McCaffrey's return as the voice of Max, together with hints of Max Payne's iconic theme sets things off in the right direction. A ghost from the past has shown up at Max's doorstep with an army of mobsters, seeking consolation by way of bullets. As the mafia mobs Max's misshapen manor, the bullet ballet begins. Right now, the HUD almost exactly resembles its previous incarnation. A white silhouette represents health, with a number within to note the amount of painkillers carried. Next to these is the bullet time meter. Max can wield either one or two one-handed weapons, or one two-handed weapon, quickly accessible via weapon wheel.

Players familiar with the series will already know what Max is capable of, however Rockstar has done its best to add something fresh here and there. Bullet time, as I hope you know, slows the world around Max, while allowing him to aim at normal speed. You're also less likely to be hit by any incoming bullets when this mode is active, providing you don't just stand around like a lame duck. The best course of action in bullet time, is always to activate and dive, which not only gets results, but looks cool as hell. As you would expect from Rockstar, all sorts of attention to detail has been paid to animations, assuring that Max looks as realistic as possible when completing a dive, after which he has full 360-degree aiming control while on the ground. On the topic of animations, get this: the motion capture process was so thorough, Rockstar created full scale sets to mimic the environments found in game, so every fence-climb, every median-vault, and every dash for cover is preformed by Max & company with unparalleled realism.

After the flashback in New York, Max is now in current day Brazil, looking a bit on the haggard side. This scene begins with a new take on the graphic comic style of storytelling the first two entries in the series used. It's been described as a motion comic, but it seems more along the lines of an interlude scene from 24: full video clips occurring in multiple panels, with more cross processed color, and less Jack Bauer. I am not a fan, but should they keep this style in the final product, I'm sure I'll get used to it. Max is accompanied by a lovely young Brazilian woman, whom it seems he is tasked to protect. Of course, the duo is then assaulted by waves of men possessing body armor and assault rifles. Here is where the combat shines. Max is now able to take cover behind objects to help shield him from harm when bullet time is not an option. In past titles, having to rely solely on bullet time instead of cover encouraged an aggressive play style, whether or not the cover system will detract from that remains to be seen. Environments contain a high level of detail, especially when being shot and blown up. Just about everything comes crumbling down as it soaks up the hail of bullets and explosions, and I wouldn't have it any other way. When the last enemy of each wave is set down, bullet-cam makes its glorious return. As the enemy is shot, the camera takes a unique, dynamic angle to show the bullet exiting the barrel of Max's gun. As the bullet heads toward its final destination in slow motion, you have a great deal of control, including increasing or decreasing the speed, so you can savor that final kill any way you'd like. My words don't do this much justice, it looked pretty damn good.

I was slightly skeptical about this title before, but Rockstar has done well to ease many of my concerns. Many, but not all. With no sign of deviating from the classic Max Payne formula, will this title lack depth to the game mechanics? Lips were sealed tight regarding multiplayer, but rest assured it will be an integral part of the title, however in what form is completely unknown. Max's internal monolgue is in tact, and we were told Remedy Entertainment - developers of MP and MP2 - like what they've seen and have given their blessing. Max Payne 3 is still a ways off, but from what I've been shown, Rockstar appears to be on the right track. Will a vicious Valkyr addiction ruin Max's return to glory? Stay tuned.

BONUS: Free T-shirt Giveaway
Leave a comment below for a chance to win a spiffy Max Payne 3 T-shirt courtesy of the loving folks at R*. Let me know what intrigues you most about Max Payne 3, or just say "I want free shit." Winner to be announced on Friday October 17, so get on it!

Dark Souls: What is Best in Death?

Dark Souls, what is best in death?

Crush the players, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of their women.

That is good. As the successor to 2009’s sleeper hit Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls keeps much of what worked the first time around, while adding one crucial element: greater difficulty. The sadists which comprise developer From Software have no reservations in telling players they will be defeated mightily, and often. When the slogan of your game is “prepare to die” I think you’re dropping hints as to what players should expect. So much death.

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Turtle Beach: Ears Need Love Too

By and far, one of the most underrated and underappreciated aspects of gaming is the sound. Whether it's developers thinking players won't notice second rate sound effects, or gamers thinking their TV speakers are adequate, these atrocities must end! Ears need love too.

I adopted a Turtle Beach Ear Force X41 surround headset early this year and haven't looked back since. So when asked if I wanted to check out the Turtle Beach wares at New York Comic Con, I didn't hesitate to say "hell yeah!" TB had a nice assortment of existing products on display at their large booth, allowing players to test a range of wired cans with directional sound sensitive games such as Black Ops. Call of Duty being the cash cow it is, TB had a few Modern Warfare 3 skinned versions of their current range of cans; the Z6A, PX21, PX3, and PX5, with the latter being the most impressive. The PX5 variant, called the Ear Force Delta, features such perks as an actual Army Ranger letting you know which preset you've switched to, for those of you who are truly enamored by the whole military combat thing. Infinity Ward has even lent a helping hand, designing a few MW3 specific presets that will be exclusive to the Ear Force Delta.

The preset profiles are stored in the headset and can be changed on the fly, meaning when it comes time for you to camp, you can switch to the built-in footstep focus profile to be better prepared for those sneaky sniper slayers. I was told creating your own presets could be a little complicated, but that's a caveat of having fine control over what you want to hear, and is well worth it. For the non-experimental, Turtle Beach has plenty of presets available online for you to grab and go with, as well as the high possibility of a forum area dedicated for user-created preset sharing.

As the proud father of an X41, I cared mostly for the next generation in gaming sound; wireless surround sets. We spoke a bit about the existing PX5 and yet to be released XP500. These two headsets are mostly identical, and feature a slew of slick shit: multiple preset profiles, the ability to create and fine tune your own profiles, and dual-band radios, which means bluetooth support. A Bluetooth dongle is packed in with the XP500 - it can be purchased separately and used with the PX5 - to negate the need for any wires when chatting on your X360. Bluetooth also means effortless PS3 chat connectivity - a far cry from the X41 - in addition to pairing to your mobile phone to field calls right in the midst action. That's what I'm taking about, Turtle Beach is keeping us in the game.

The XP500 releases in about two weeks at a price of $269. For owners of the PX5 ($249), get your X360 Bluetooth chat on with the wireless dongle for $29. The Delta, Bravo, Charlie, and Foxtrot will retail for $299, $149, $129, and $99 respectively. Unfortunately, the Turtle Beach boys had their lips sealed when I asked about future products. Looks like were just gonna have to keep our ears open for news, stay tuned.

GoldenEye Reloaded: It's Odd Job, Bitch!

When GoldenEye Reloaded was announced, I let out a long, drawn out sigh. Another remake we don't need that will probably fail at capturing the magic of the original and end up as a perpetual bargain bin title. GoldenEye was the first-person shooter back in the day, mostly because of the 4-player split screen deathmatches that are near impossible to find in current gen titles. At New York Comic Con yesterday, I got a chance to play the new GoldenEye, and the 4-player deathmatch no less. I came away feeling thoroughly nostalgic and extremely impressed. 

Aside from the bump up in graphics, many changes and additions have been made, all seemingly for the better. Before we started our match, game altering modifiers were set. In this case we got to play with Paintball mode, a GameStop preorder exclusive that replaces blood stains with multicolored paint. Shoot the rainbow! Once the game got underway, it was all good. Off the bat I noticed how good the control scheme felt in my hands. While many shooters these days take liberties at whipping up their own new control schemes, GoldenEye Reloaded feels along the lines of a Halo or Modern Warfare. As soon as I sat down, I felt right at home. 

It was very fitting that I was handed a controller which was attached to Odd Job, my favorite twerp from the N64 days. A chat with one of the developers revealed that Odd Job would no longer have his 'unfair' height advantage, where players would say he's too short to be hit. That's right around when I would say "you just suck, step yo' game up!" But alas, this is a moot point now. Aside from having a primary and secondary weapon, Odd Job came equipped with two flash grenades and 3 hats - yup, 3 blade-brimmed domes of spinning death - awesome. My one complaint would be the grenade and hat attack, activated by pressing LB and RB respectively on the 360 control, were a little too slow to leave the hand after pressing the button. The game as a whole is pretty fast paced, so having to wait for your secondary attacks to launch is a bit of a pain.

I played a Golden Gun match, where the object is to get the Golden Gun! There is only one on the map - clearly marked in your minimap - which you must track down and get kills with. The good thing about the Golden Gun, one shot kills. Conversely the clip can only hold one bullet, so that's a lot of reloading. Unfortunately I didn't get into any slap fights, or give the killer RCP90 a spin, or burn watch lasers, or frustrate dummies with proximity mines. I guess that stuff will have to wait for release.

GoldenEye Reloaded is due out on November 1. As a retail title, I'm not sure if the game will command $60, as all I had a chance to try was the multiplayer. But rest assured it was a blast, and might be worth the investment a couple weeks after release if you can find it at $45 or so. 

Mass Effect 3, Multiplayer, Galactic Readiness, and You

The saga of Mass Effect 3’s multiplayer has been a sweet harmony of he said she said discord, where some media outlets kept saying “yup!” others maintained a solid stance of “nope.” As of last night, the fans have finally received a solid word from the Twitter of Mass Effect overlord Casey Hudson himself.

Fans, rejoice! Or don’t. Multiplayer in Mass Effect 3 brings the series’ downward spiral to a to a fitting anti-climax. Mass Effect embraced RPG elements and a more deliberate pace of gameplay. Mass Effect 2 stripped away much of that RPG feeling and replaced it with tighter shooting mechanics, bringing the game more in line with titles such as Gears of War and its ilk. The additions to Mass Effect 3 include continued idiot-proofing, an increased focus on melee combat, and now, multiplayer. This post on the BioWare forums from a team staffer has all the details, but let’s touch on some of the points.

So what exactly will the multiplayer of Mass Effect 3 entail? What’s been detailed at this point is four player online co-op (no mention of local), where players will “fight to liberate key territories from enemy control.” Sounds a bit like the increasingly popular horde mode, done ME style. Dashing the hopes of the uninspired, it’s been confirmed that you will NOT be playing your Commander Shepard in multiplayer, nor will you use the likes of Garrus, Thane, Liara, or any other occupants of the Normandy who play a large role in campaign. Instead, you will create a character through different combinations of class and race, combining skills and racial traits with your allies to wreck shop. Customization details are limited at this point, however players will level up, characters will progress, and weapons will be upgraded.

Expanding on the omnipresence of decisions and consequences throughout the series, Mass Effect 3 features something called “Galactic Readiness” which comes into play in the campaign, specifically when engaging the Galaxy at War mode. While not tied specifically to multiplayer, Galaxy at War will pool much of Shepard’s actions and decisions to calculate Galactic Readiness, which will no doubt culminate at the end-game, where the free galaxy will most likely do war with the Reapers. There are several ways to impact your Galactic Readiness, with multiplayer being one of many. BioWare has stated multiplayer is NOT a necessity, so in the event you do not play nice with others (or you just plain suck), your Shepard's story will not be altered.

In complete honesty, I’m worried. I always assume the worst when multiplayer is shoehorned into a single player game, and though BioWare is adamant that co-op will not detract from the single player experience, nor will it have any impact unless the player deems it so, it’s easy to be jaded. We know Shepard’s story will end with the trilogy, but perhaps BioWare is testing the water for a continued Mass Effect experience with a greater focus on multiplayer in the future. Or maybe not. Maybe EA brought the hammer down and forced multiplayer into third installment of the series in an attempt to appeal to a wider audience, bolster sales, and justify the god damned online pass, which renders used sales near pointless. This announcement is still green, and Mass Effect 3 is still months away, but my fingers are crossed that BioWare and EA haven’t fucked up one of my current favorites.

What say you faithful reader, yay or nay on ME3 multiplay?

via Destructoid, Joystiq

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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