Archive for April 14th, 2011
Usul, we’ve got wormsign the likes of which even God has never seen.
This week’s community level is my favorite non-pinball pinball level I’ve played so far. You know what? Include actual LBP2 pinball levels in that, because I’ve yet to play one of those that works. This one is easy. It’s clever. And it’s worlds beyond any of those. The level is called Magnetic Fields. Isn’t my little magnetic spaceshippy thing up there nifty?
Now then, ready to have your mind blown with a full-on essay-length breakdown of this sweet little level?
After the jump, now for something completely different Continue reading →
I have a favorite character in every Final Fantasy game. I think everyone who plays a Final Fantasy game has a favorite character. They stay in the party all the time, they get the best weapons and armor, and they get all the top abilities. Your least favorite character is lucky to even get a seat on the airship before you take off, let alone get in the active party. If you look carefully at that picture, you might be able to figure out which of those characters I like and which I hate.
After the jump, maybe he’s a lion. Continue reading →
Finland’s involvement in World War II includes one of the great David vs. Goliath stories of all time. Invaded in November 1930 by Stalin’s Red Army, the woefully outnumbered and outgunned Finns humiliated the Russians, inflicting heavy casualties, and initially thwarting all their objectives. The lightly armed Finns conducted a clinic in mobile winter warfare, typified by the Battle of Suomussalmi where two entire Soviet divisions were annihilated while trapped on a forest road. Finnish casualties were fewer than 500. The war introduced the world to the untranslatable Finnish word sisu: a national strength of will that exemplified the performance of the country’s military. The Red Army eventually overcame this heroic resistance through a combination of improved leadership, coordination, and mostly just overwhelming numbers. But the Peace of Moscow signed in March 1940 fell far short of Stalin’s initial goal of the conquest of the entire country. The war captured the world’s imagination (although secured virtually no material assistance) and has been recounted in multiple books in many languages. Former PC Gamer columnist and wargaming guru William Trotter wrote an excellent account, Frozen Hell, almost twenty years ago, and a classic popular history, White Death by Allen Chew, was recently reprinted after initial publication way back in 1971.
After the jump, the darker side of the story Continue reading →
I am not a highly trained soldier. You can tell by watching me play a shooter, where I tend to shoot all around my target and hope it has the courtesy to step into the line of fire. But the first Modern Warfare made me feel like a highly trained soldier by lining up my gun for me. I squeeze the gamepad’s left trigger and my weapon points at a bad guy! Then it’s up to me to either finesse the aim for a headshot, or pull the right trigger to fire. From there I learn that awesome move where I pulse the left trigger to drop a cluster of bad guys one-by-one, with nary a wasted bullet. Years of virtual military training, sidestepped with an interface tweak.
After the jump, I’m not a professional race car diver either Continue reading →
I bought the game when a mod called Call of Pripyat Complete had just been released. It’s a huge mod with tons of new high-definition textures, expanded view distance, enchanced vegetation, and a ton of small changes to the AI, NPC behavior, UI, and soundscape. Apparently a similar mod has been released for the previous two games to great acclaim. Lots of people like this mod. And I want to, too!
After the jump, addicted to mods Continue reading →
These days, any shooter is two separate games: the single-player and the multiplayer. So when you read one of the recently written reviews of SOCOM 4, which doesn’t come out until next week, it’s more useless than normal. Particularly given how the SOCOM games have put so much emphasis on multiplayer.
To Gamepro’s credit, they’re letting me write two reviews. The review of the single player was just posted. Find out how awesome it is when your shooter includes stealth missions!
Remember when you thought you’d never again read the words “you have been detected” followed by the words “mission failed”? According to SOCOM 4, you’ve got another thing coming.
Thumbs down for SOCOM 4’s single player.
I can’t really get worked up for Resistance 3, partly because it looks like any other competent unremarkable shooter. But mostly because it’s going to be missing my favorite feature: the cool co-op mode from Resistance 2.
However, one of the most encouraging things Resistance 3 will do is bring back the weapon wheel, which lets you carry an unlimited number of the game’s crazy guns. This is a reversal from Resistance 2, which limited you to two guns at a time. In other words, the next game will be more like Ratchet & Clank, and less like Halo.
On 1up, I’ve written a list of completely new things you’ll be seeing in Resistance 3.
