Impressions of a Fallen Frontier

After hearing about Fallen Frontier just recently, I was stoked to spend some time with it on the PAX East show floor. While still an early build, I would be hard pressed to find many flaws with what I was able to play.

Right off the bat, what caught my eye about Fallen Frontier is the awesome way it handles split-screen co-op. Players exist on the same screen until one ventures off too far, at which point the screen is bisected in whichever direction the wanderer has moved off to. For example, if the first player is at the right of the screen, and the second moves off screen to the left, a split-screen line will divide the screen vertically. As the players move around independently, the split screen adjusts to track them. When the players come back together, the screen is once again whole, without a beat missed. It's hard to describe, you can see what I mean in the trailer attached below, but wow, why has no one ever thought of this before? It's really brilliantly simple.

Adding to the co-op experience is the fact that the second player is said to be more than just a throw in to accommodate a bored friend. Player one plays a human who sets out from Earth on a personal mission of revenge. Player two controls an augmented human, which looks kind of like a cyborg. The idea here is rather than terraforming planets to create suitable living conditions for humans, it was the people who are adjusted to inhabit to the conditions of their home world.

Your character can hold any two weapons as well as grenades, in addition to using a couple of secondary abilities to spice things up. This build featured a grappling hook -- with no cooldown -- which allowed our slow moving heroes to zip around the environment with relative ease and increased speed. It has uses in battle as well, such as the pleasing combination of pulling an unsuspecting enemy into a cloud of fresh buckshot. The grappling hook makes the shotgun a viable long range weapon of sorts. There was also a forcefield pushback, which knocked back everything in your immediate area, be it enemies or grenades. Helpful in a pinch if you become swarmed or need to clear a grenade with a short fuse. More abilities will be available in the final release of the game, but these two were the only ones we were able to see.

The developers stated much inspiration was drawn from Blade Runner, and it shows. Not only because of the mesh of organics and robotics, and no, your character doesn't look like Harrison Ford, but mostly due to the bright-yet-dreary beauty, in similar style to Blade Runner's futuristic world. The backdrops are startlingly lovely, akin to concept art used in production, and executed very well. The character models are crisp, animated well, and generally look great.

Unfortunately, we're going to have to wait until 2012 for Fallen Frontier, which is shocking considering how tight the build I played was. A true testament to its development process and the pedigree of those working on it.

Hands On with Nintendo 3DS, Advil Not Included

Have I been critical with the Nintendo 3DS? Of course, how could I not be? While Nintendo is usually on the forefront of innovation (see: motion control) throwing their hat into the 3D suck-o-sphere caused me to rub my chin and wonder why. Why is facial hair so rough? Why can't I grow a full beard? Why is Nintendo jumping on the 3D bandwagon?

Let me get this out of the way; 3D hurts my head. Though I am notorious for drawing headaches from simple things such as bright light (acute Vampirism doc tells me), this is different. Raise your hand if 3D screws with your head too.

Of the 3DS games I played at Nintendo's PAX East booth, I took the lowest expectations over to Steel Diver. Surprisingly, the game itself was better than I expected. Shiggy Miyamoto has that type of effect on games, I guess. The primary actions of the mode we played included diving, surfacing, and adjusting the periscope by scanning the console. The controls were simple and felt natural. Unfortunately, 3D and sea motion don't play nice together. How does one play this game for more than 30 minutes without feeling utterly nauseus?

3DS gameplay cannot be captured over photo or video, so here is a picture of a kitten doing kung fu in its place

The 3DS title that I most wanted to play was Kid Icarus: Uprising. A popular figure for Nintendo finally gets some much overdue love by way of a new title. After playing the game, I couldn't help but ponder if Nintendo secretly hates Kid Icarus, and has been plotting its failure since development on Uprising began. Why, you ask? Terrible controls. You have to work the joystick and trigger with your left hand, while maneuvering the stylus with your right. I hope your left-handed grip is immaculate, or you game over a mattress, because your new $250 investment could go plummeting to the floor if you're not careful.

I walked away from Nintendo's booth most impressed with Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D. Partially because I love score attack modes -- Mercenaries modes in previous Resident Evil titles have always brought me joy -- and partially because, well, they've taken the feel and look of Resident Evil 4 and 5, shrunk it down, and built upon it nicely nicely. Did you know you can enter first person mode when shooting, and also move while aiming? That's right, this is 2011! Maybe in 2020, we'll see something as crazy as shooting while you run. Also, Hunk. No story to be found here, just tons of score attacking, with two-player online co-op and a wide assortment of playable characters. Also, Jack Krauser.

TL; DR: 3D still sucks. I'm convinced the 3DS is a gimmick. While the sturdy and attractive design of the hardware has somethings going for it, the faith it places in a (foolish) technological trend, as well as the lack of a true software standout caused me to leave Nintendo's booth feeling slightly underwhelmed.

Though honestly, I said the same thing about the DS, and look how that turned out. If I end up eating crow, I'll be the first to admit it.

Is the Average Gamer Ready For L.A. Noire?

My opinion of L.A. Noire has been on an upswing lately. The more I see of it, the more I realize Team Bondi and Rockstar are genuinely trying something different. So for that, respect knuckles. Yet for some reason, there is a bit of worry in the back of my mind. Like Red Dead Redemption before, I thought L.A. Noire was going to slap on a coat of 1947 to Grand Theft Auto 4 and call it a day. After previewing a good chunk of gameplay, I am now assured that this is not the case, in fact it's almost the complete opposite. What appears to be a greatly detailed story is accompanied by investigation and interrogation gameplay, with action taking a back seat.

Fans of the CSI will love this stuff. You arrive at the crime scene, and survey the area, doing everything from questioning beat cops and coroners, shooing off pesky journalists, and inspecting evidence for clues to cracking the case. Relevant information such as case notes are stored in your journal, which acts as a menu screen, where you can assign active objectives and keep log of all records to track back to in the event that you have any questions about any case you've undertaken, past or present.

The journal is handy when interrogating suspects, whom you pepper with questions and must judge whether their responses are truth, lie, or if they're not giving it to you straight. Of course, the MotionScan technology allows characters to show truly honest emotion with incredibly detail, making it a joy to try to read your suspect's expressions and habits while trying to catch them in a lie. Of course, this is detective work. You can't just point your finger, call them a liar, and have them locked up and sent to Alcatraz. You need evidence! How do you know the man across from you hired someone to kill his wife? A quick look to you journal reminds you of the ominous sounding note written by the man, found in his apartment. Book 'em, Danno.

I was told the game's action -- fist fighting, and shooting -- is a reward of sorts for good investigative work. I was shown a scene where after successfully accusing a man of the crimes committed, he jumped up and started throwing punches at our newly promoted homicide detective, Cole Phelps. The brawling was in typical GTA fashion it seemed, nothing really special to note. Which is one of the reasons why I hope it's held to a minimum. The demo didn't show any gunplay, which is said to be a "last resort" but I can't imagine it being done differently at all, or playing a prominent role in the game. Fingers crossed for a Private Eye mode, where time slows and you can paint your targets before unleashing a hail of hot lead. That's some Red Dead sarcasm, folks.

With that said, will L.A. Noire appeal to the average gamer, or will it be a conflict of interest for generation kill? Heavy Rain tried to make a game feel more like a movie, and while it did well critically, it lacked commercial middle ground, with gamers either loving or hating it. While not nearly as dramatic a departure from typical gaming as Heavy Rain, L.A, Noire is putting the focus on something other than running, shooting, flying, slashing, jumping, or anything like that. Rockstar has faith that gamers are ready to explore the life of a homicide detective by questioning suspects, following leads, and inspecting evidence. While I was once skeptical of throwing $60 on another Grand Theft Auto clone, I'm actually convinced that it's different enough to warrant a buy. Now my eyebrow is arched toward you, gamers, and whether or not you're ready to accept a game like L.A. Noire.

PAX East 2011

While many folks may have already anchored in Boston for this weekends PAX East festivities, we at OBG haven't left our base of New York yet. Why? Because we take our sweet ass time (and because I can't call out sick at my day job!), but shit gets real tonight! 

Since we love our readers as much as we do, we'll be busting our butts covering as much as we can for y'all. Make sure you check back nightly for analysis of the awesomeness we happen upon. For the impatient ones, follow @itsOBG on Twitter, as we'll be talking shit about PAX East in 140 characters or less. Timely updates, artsy photos, wonderous splendor, you name it!  

Can't make it to Boston but got something in particular you're dying to see? Holla at us, we'll be your eyes and ears and get it back to you, no palm-greasing required. We got your backs!  

Investigate and Interrogate in L.A. Noire

I'm getting such a kick out of Heroes' Matt Parkman featured as a character in L.A. Noire. If you're unfamiliar with Heroes, Matt Parkman (who I hated, by the way) was a police detective with the power to read and later control minds. He also had a rocky relationship with his wife. So in L.A. Noire, the likeness of Mr. Parkman is just a normal dude with the tables turned on the situations I was most used to seeing him in when Heroes was on TV and not terrible. He's clearly uncomfortable being interrogated about possibly having an affair. Where yo' powers at now, sucka?!

With that out of the way, we can talk about the actual game, which is looking more interesting. The interrogation scenes appear to be a neat -- and integral -- part of gameplay. This is good, it's something to set it aside from being just another Grand Theft Auto clone. With more situations of investigation and interrogation, and less GTA-styled running, gunning, driving, and relationship jobs shoe-horned in, L.A. Noire stands a better chance. At least in my eyes. 

The only problem I see with the path Team Bondi and Rockstar is taking, is that players will be alienated. As overdone as the GTA style is, I suppose it's what people want. After all, look how incredibly successful Red Dead Redemption was, being pretty much a reskinned Grand Theft Auto IV. L.A. Noire is trying to blur the line between movies and games, in Heavy Rain fashion, although perhaps less obviously. Today's gamer is immature and uncultured. There was no middle ground for Heavy Rain, the public either loved it or hated it. People don't want a movie experience in their game, they want blood, headshots, and nuclear explosions. Amirite? 

Is the average gamer ready for investigation and interrogation? We'll find out when L.A. Noire ships in North America on May 17th. 

Watch Chimeras Bubble Up in this Resistance 3 Multiplayer Footage

It may not be the most compelling competitive multiplayer we've seen but it's still early. I'm sure Insomniac will figure out some unique game modes to throw in to make the multiplayer in Resistance 3 feel like something special. Unfortunately they've already gotten off on the wrong hoof, announcing at last week's GDC that 60-player will be scrapped in favor for the more traditional 16-player matches. Weak!

Though the game mode in this footage is vanilla, some of the weapons -- and their resulting effects -- look pretty damn sweet, I must say. Resistance 3 is due out for PS3 on September 6 in North America, with a multiplayer demo sometime before then.

Eye Up Shuma Gorath and Jill Valentine in Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Waste of flesh, is what you all are. Shuma Gorath's words, not mine. Hard not to love the one-eyed cockiness of a hideous octopoid demon. And if that's not your cup of tea, you can roll with the sleek humanoid curves of Jill Valentine. Marvel vs. Capcom 3's first batch of DLC characters has something for everyone! 

March 15 is the due date for these two, if that digital currency is burning a hole in your console, you'll only have to wait a bit longer.

Out of This World, on to this iOS Device

Another World -- or as I, as well as other North American gamers have come to know it, Out of This World -- is a game I remember fondly for kicking the shit out of me on my MS-DOS computer in the early 90s, when I wasn't playing Commander Keen or Dr. SBAITSO.

Good news everyone! Out of This World will make a grand return to confound a new generation of gamer, who probably never heard of this classic, and do nothing these days but play Black Ops. Fucking newbs.

Slated for iOS (iPhone, iPod, and iPad), developer DotEmu is handling the remake, and has been given the blessing of creator Eric Chahi to move forward and get this thing out the door.  It's not clear whether or not this is a re-make from the ground up or just a re-release with HD graphics, but I'll be overjoyed to get my hands on Out of This World either way. I remember having problems beating it as a kid, so I have a score to settle, and I'm sure many of you original gangstas do as well. 

via Game Informer

More of Ace Combat: Assault Horizon's Instruments of Destruction

The latest trailer for Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is supposedly about the 108th Task Force, who are probably the crew of people you work with while you pilot dozens of flying machines built with the specific intent of blowing the shit out of other flying machines. Not saying that the video doesn't accomplish its mission, but after watching it, I really don't care any more for my partners in cinematic modern-air-warfare. 

I do however, care increasingly for getting my sweaty paws on Ace Combat: Assault Horizon so I can ignore all my orders from commanding officers and wingmen and just go blowing shit up while doing barrel rolls, huge loops, and flying 3 yards from the side of a building. That is the proper way to play Ace Combat games, is it not? Choppers, fighters, and bombers, oh my!

Test Your Patience! Mortal Kombat's 300 Challenge Tower Mode

Mortal Kombat, aside from being the grandfather of game gore, will always find a way to add something funny and funky into its games. Friendships, Babalities, kart racing, battle chess, or Reptile and Scorpion talking the parts of Liu Kang and Kung Lao, always something funky I tells ya.

The Tower Mode in the upcoming Mortal Kombat, aside from offering an incredible challenge by way of having to pass 300 freaking challenges, is going to infuse NetherRealm's gorefest with its quota of wackiness. Fight armless, fight headless, fight upside down, throw grenades into a bucket, play the slots or Three Card Monte with severed heads. What haven't Mr. Boon and company thought of? 

If you're a member of the illustrious handful of PSN Plus members, you'll be able to try a demo of Mortal Kombat on March 8. That's tomorrow, bitches! Don't fret, for those of you who aren't plus-rollers, you'll get the demo next week, March 15. 

Sorry Xbox 360 owners, no set date for your demo yet. Suckers!