Modern Warfare 2 set for release in November.

Fans of the Call of Duty series need not wait in suspense for the release of the anticipated Modern Warfare 2. The funny thing however is that Activision has decided to drop the title "Call of Duty" from the game altogether. A questionable move seeing how Call of Duty has been one of the more popular franchises within the last decade. Still, we can probably expect the same great gameplay we saw in the first Modern Warfare. The game has been confirmed for release on November 10th this year. Plot that down on your calendar folks!

Review: Lord of the Rings Conquest

Our review for today will be on Pandemic's latest title, Lord Of the Rings Conquest. 

Making a game based on one of the world's best selling fantasy novels is hard enough, making it good is another thing. Pandemic's earlier titles like Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 were amazingly entertaining especially in the multiplayer modes, both online and off. Adapting similar gameplay to Lord Of The Rings however, is a whole different ball game. 

The fan base for Tolkien's books is huge and to take up the challenge of developing a game to match the standards that the fans would be hoping for is a gargantuan task. Pandemic had success with Star Wars so I suppose Lord Of The Rings wouldn't sounds as daunting as it really was. It was quite surprising to learn that they were coming up with a Battlefront styled game based on LotR. Battles in the book were pretty much all melee with the exception of the bows and arrows. It would be interesting to see how an LotR game would fit into a template of what was essentially meant to be for a shooter.  

Campaigns in Middle Earth

The single player campaign starts off with a tutorial round set during the battle of the Last Alliance. Just like in the Two Towers game by EA, this level familiarizes the player with the controls and the abilities of each of the four classes. As the level progresses, players are prompted to switch between each class to get past a certain obstacle or type of enemy. Archers for example, are required to take out the enemies that are out of reach of the warrior, before the way is cleared. After scrolling through each class and getting somewhat competent with them, you get to choose if you'd like to play as a hero. For this level, it's Isildur who is basically a more powerful version of the warrior. After sending a surprisingly tough Sauron packing with the help of Narsil's blade, that's where the real campaign begins. The timeline of the game switches to "modern day" middle earth where Aragorn and friends are on their quest to save the world. The first map is none other than the siege of Helm's Deep and the journey takes us all the way to the battle at the Black Gate. There are some noted deviations from the original plotline however like the retaking of Minas Morgul which never really happened in the book but still proves to be a nice alternative to what we're familiar with. Speaking of alternatives, once middle earth is safe from Sauron's reign and everyone's all happy and fuzzy inside, it's time for you to show your evil streak. After completing the War of the Ring campaign as the good guys, the Rise of Sauron campaign will be available. It's basically what would've happened if Frodo and company faltered and a look into the tragic events that would ensue. You'll be able to pick off the main characters one by one. This is especially good for players who have untold hatred for a certain character (like Legolas for me) or a certain species of Tolkienfolk. Pandemic did a good job in that sense, allowing two separate paths depending on player preference. I know I had a good time doing away with the hobbits in the Shire (There's even a trophy for slaying 300 of them). Now I know what you're thinking, with all this killing it has to be gory and won't be good for my children and all that jazz but to be honest there is close to no gore whatsoever. The campaign modes are fairly entertaining and comes with a nice little cooperative mode where you can follow the tale of the fellowship together with a pal.

The Fellowship of the Ring

The classes available seem to fit into the backdrop of LotR quite well. That is if the staunch fans can overlook the fact that mages were almost unheard of in the books besides the great wizards. 

 Cutting through the fat, or in this case, the Orc.

The warrior is the epitome of hack and slash action. If you're the kind of guy/girl who likes to get down to the nitty gritty and slash your way through the enemies with a flaming sword, this is the class for you. The warrior class has the ability to execute seemingly endless strings of melee attacks that are deadly if you can get close enough to your enemies and also serve as excellent beast killers. For example, warriors and scouts have the ability to mount siege beasts like Trolls, Ents and Oliphaunts and take them out with a carefully aimed stab. 

Scouts are another melee class with the ability to cloak themselves from enemy view. A handy tool for getting past an approaching horde. In the cloaked mode the scout can kill an enemy in one stab using the sneak attack command prompt. They are also expert escapists that can use combos to escape the grasp of enemies that are too tough. 

Good guys shoot blue lightning and bad guys shoot red lightning. Classic.

Mages serve as support characters that can heal allies and shield them from ranged attacks as well. Don't let the weak facade fool you though, mages can throw fireballs, shoot bolts of lightning that link between enemies and also have combos that end in an explosive "You shall not pass!" maneuver, that levels the battlefield. Archer's aren't just a generic ranged attack class either. They have a wide range of enchanted arrows like the poison arrow that slows down enemies and smites them with a DOT effect. Fire arrows can also be extremely destructive, knocking down foes easily and last but not least, the multiple shot that is a lifesaver if you ever find yourself confronted in close combat with more than a few enemies. 

Apart from the regular four classes, you can also choose to ride on the back of a horse or warg or even take control of battle trolls, Ents and the massive Oliphaunts. Each with their own move sets of course. I must say however that controlling the large beasts and giants will get a bit frustrating due to their slow, clumsy movements. You might find yourself losing a life after inadvertently moving your Oliphaunt out of the battlefield for too long.

As big as it may be, that still only counts as one!

Now that you know the generic characters, it's time to take a look at the heroes. Much like the Jedis in Star Wars Battlefront, after racking up some points from capturing command posts or killing a certain number of enemies, you'd be greeted by a screen that asks very nicely if you would like to play as a hero. Who would say no to that? The heroes are much more powerful versions of a certain class. 

Aragorn for example is a warrior with the power to summon the dead army much to his enemy's dismay, Frodo is a scout that can sneak kill even without being cloaked and the Saruman is a mage that unloads much greater damage than his non hero brethren. A good change however from the Battlefront series is that heroes don't die after a certain time (i.e when the lightsaber meter runs out) but can be used until they are defeated naturally. As fun as it may be to control the mighty Balrog to destroy the shire, a dip in the Brandywine river could cost you your life. A little thing that Pandemic should have fixed was that EVERY character dies almost instantly upon falling into water, whether you're a hero or a hobbit. From the creeks in the shire to the shallows waters surrounding Osgiliath. One would think that Sauron or Gandalf would be able to withstand getting a little wet. As long as you take care to avoid the deathtrap that is the water, play should go smoothly though. 

How The Palantir Rolls

The gameplay of LotR Conquest is a carbon copy of Pandemic's earlier titles. There's the team deathmatch, capture the ring, conquest and hero team deathmatch. Campaigns however are usually completed by achieving certain goals or meeting a certain criteria like defending Minas Tirith for a set amount of time. Instant action allows you to play whichever map you wish and whatever style you want it to be in. Nothing too new for those who know how it works. There is also an online multiplayer mode available if you'd like to test your middle-earthen survival skills on the real battlefield. The cooperative and head to head modes also make it a potentially good party game for when you have friends over. 

As engaging as the game may be on its first play through, the single player game modes get quite dull after you've completed it. There are trophies to be acquired but they barely spur the player on to go through another campaign. There are only so many times you can siege Mordor while still feeling the thrill. That being said, LotR Conquest is going to be one of the games that you won't want to play alone after completing it once. The maps are not particularly outstanding either. They aren't bad but there's alot that could have been done to make them better. The Minas Tirith map at times feels as if it's just a big stairwell and the Pelennor Fields map looks like it's no bigger than a football field or two. This kills the setting a little and leaves the player wishing for something more. The online multiplayer mode also has its flaws. One of the main reasons for gripes is that online play is very unbalanced. The mage and archer can easily hold off the melee classes. Although warriors and scouts are equipped with ranged attacks, they barely work well enough to subdue the mages or archers from a distance. It is incredibly hard for them to get close enough to deal any real damage to the ranged classes. All archers need are poison arrows to slow the approaching melee classes down and even if mages get damaged, all they need to do is run away and heal up. The mage and archer are pretty much all you need. A few rounds online might turn you off especially if you're more used to playing the warrior or scout class. Graphically, LotR conquest isn't spectacular. In fact, it looks like it could have been a game for the PS2 instead. The character and map designs are comparable to the ones from the EA series so it isn't anything too new or revolutionary. There will definitely be some frustrations that this game will cause you be it in the single player or multiplayer mode. The soundtrack of the game however is still amazing. If you had appreciated the composition of Howard Shore from the movies, you'll definitely love the BGM in-game.  

The Road Goes Ever On...

So as a whole, LotR conquest is not an entirely bad game but its also not going be the game that comes to mind when you think of the series either. It will disappoint some but still make the grade if you're willing to overlook the flaws. There is still a lot of room for improvement. Perhaps Pandemic will try its luck again with LotR Conquest 2. I wouldn't mind as long as they tune it up a bit. I did have fun playing the game and would still play it with my pals if I ever want a bit of a Tolkien gamer's booster shot. New updates are coming out as well like the maps of Amon Hen and the last alliance and also new heroes including Boromir. Well, well, with the new Amon Hen map, one can now recreate the death of Gondor's captain just for the heck of it. 

  

My rating for Lord of the Rings Conquest: 6/10

9-10: GYEAHHH!

7-8: Pretty good

5-6: Should've been better

3-4: Good for a laugh

1-2: Waste of a Blu-Ray disc

0: What has gaming come to?

FIFA Online Tournament at E2Max

Okay, for all the FIFA fans, here's a chance for you to prove your mad skills. E2Max is holding a tournament on the 28th of March.

The Venue:

E2Max L9 at Cineleisure, Orchard

The Prizes:

50 bucks for third place, 100 for second and 200 smackers for first. Okay, fine, so it's not that great but where else are you going to get money for playing your favourite game huh?

Online sign up closes at noon on the 27th but don't fret as there will be a walk in sign up on the 28th itself. For more information just click here. If you think you've got what it takes to walk away with the grand prize then head on down. If not, there's no harm trying anyway. Good luck to all who are signing up! Maybe I should give it a shot too.

Review: Fallout 3

The first review of your gaming bro's little blog and the featured game is none other than Fallout 3. The Third installment of the fallout series. Bethesda studios has picked up where Black Isle studios left off 10 years ago with this formidable addition to the series.

Fallout 3 caters to die hard fans and newcomers alike. Gamers who have played the previous games will be treated to a whole different but nevertheless intense and rewarding experience. The beauty of Fallout 3 is that you would not require any prior knowledge of the series to enjoy and understand what goes on in the game. New players can therefore go head on into this one just as easily as their Fallout purist peers.

The Capital Wasteland
(Spoiler Warning)

The game is set against the backdrop of a dystopian world after a cataclysmic war has turned the good ol' US of A into a desolate wasteland. However, that's about all you know of the world at the start because your character is born into the safety of one of the Vault-Tec Corporation's shelters, Vault 101. The game starts off small as you create your character at birth and follow him, or her of course, through their childhood. From baby's first steps to the G.O.A.T examination which determines your characters skills. Everything looks to be going well and everyone seems to be happy living in the little hole under the watchful eye of "The Overseer". Feeling a little like an Aldous Huxley novel? I thought so too. One of the more prominent figures during your In-Game childhood is well...your In-Game father of course. Serving as your guide and your conscience during your stay in the vault. Dear ol' dad never fails to remind us that "life in the vault isn't perfect but at least it's safe."

Almost had you believing him too till one day he decides to bust out with no notice. Like a good child, you go running after him, leaving your life in the vault (and a few dead guards if you decided to blast your way out)behind. Now a strapping 19 year old, you are thrust into the Capital Wasteland, formerly known as Washington D.C. Barely recognizable except by the ravaged Washington monument in the distance. The wasteland has a 50's feel to it. Everything from billboards to the music on the radio. A tribute, almost, to the dystopic world view that many writers of the age had. This is there where the real game begins. A journey that will take you right to the horizon and beyond. Literally.

The first taste of sunlight. One of the more majestic scenes in the game.

My Fellow Americans

The Capital Wasteland is home to a vast array of characters and creatures, both good and evil. You could be shaking hands with ghouls, exchanging shots with hulking supermutants or running like a scared child from vicious beasts called Yao Guai. The Enclave is back again too paying tribute to Fallout's origins only this time, their armor design looks a lot spiffier than those impish looking suits from Fallout 2. Perhaps it is better to discover the groups and castes of the wasteland first hand instead of reading about it here. A word of advice though, approach everything with at least a little caution. That feeble looking old man might look friendly until he puts a bullet in your chest. The characters each have their own set of dialogue that can range from disturbing to witty and humorous. Everything you say or do to them has consequences. This brings up a key feature of the game, Karma.

Hey, he deserved it. He said my outfit made me look pokey.

If you do good, good karma awaits and vice versa. For example, talking nicely to a woman instead of calling her a dirty whore would score you a few points in the good books whereas stealing someone's stash of Nuka-Cola might get you the stink-eye or perhaps even shot. Fallout 3's open ended gameplay is a wonderful thing in the sense that you don't have to take crap from any of the characters if you don't like them. Not too keen on that farmer that's been staring at you all day? Let him have it. I've had my fair share of ruthlessness. Although I do feel bad for killing the sheriff of Megaton and stealing his clothes. Certain characters can give you quests and there is a great abundance of them. Although not as many as compared to the previous games, they will still keep you busy for a long time. Quests are a great way to explore the wasteland too if you havent already done so on your own. Be sure to go for the quests before pushing the storyline to the end because once it's over, it's over. Fallout 3 may be a sandbox game but unlike most of them, there's no endgame gameplay which means you'll have to revert to a previously saved game to play again. That's one little drawback but still, all good things have to end at some point.

VATS the magnificent: Battles in the wasteland

The battle system in Fallout 3 handles just like any other first or third person shooter and is nothing too exciting. In fact it can get a bit sluggish especially when using melee weapons. Fortunately, that's where the largely talked about VATS system comes in to save the day.

Introducing the amazing PipBoy 3000!

Ah the PipBoy 3000. If I had to wear a watch I'd pick this one any day. It comes fully equipped with a GPS, item organizer, radio, stats monitor and of course, powers the Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System. VATS is a throwback to the previous Fallout games in which time could be brought to a standstill where AP or action points can be used to target specific parts of the enemy's body. So, you can choose to blast your opponent straight in the face or cripple its limbs one by one. This also slows up the fast paced FPS action to that of a turn based attack system. VATS definitely makes the battle system in Fallout 3 a lot more user friendly. It also allows for some of the most enthralling and wonderfully gory cinematic moments in the game. Nothing like seeing your bullet meet with an assailant's head and knocking it clean off in slow motion. That is unless of course you miss, which would happen a lot if your gun skill is low. The probability of hitting each target in VATS is clearly indicated along with the potential damage of the shot. A handy tool for anyone finding it hard to deal with a crowd of pesky raiders.

Facing an approaching Raider in VATS.

With the incredible range of weapons in the game, the possibilities with VATS are endless. Whether you wish to turn your enemy into a pile of ash with a laser rifle or have at them with a flaming sword powered by gasoline, all's fair in the wasteland.

S.P.E.C.I.A.L Perks

Like every RPG, Fallout 3 comes with a level up system. At the beginning of the game, you get to choose basic stats like Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Perception, etc. The kind of stuff every RPG has, each affecting future skills (Strength for example determines the effectiveness of melee attacks). Besides the basic stats there are skills that you can assign your character. There's a wide set of skills available like lock-picking, speech, science, small guns, big guns and energy weapons just to name a few. Each type of weapon has its own skill, so if your energy weapon skill is high, you'll be better at using plasma and laser rifles whereas the big guns skill allows for greater efficiency with missile launchers and other such weapons of larger girth. Other skills determine how your character progresses through the game. You could get information by wowing the characters with your amazing speech or hack into computer terminals using the science skill to extract what you need. The lock-picking skill also grants entry to areas otherwise inaccessible.

Perks are another set of traits you can assign to your character which grant bonuses to skills and basic stats. The iron fist perk grants bonus points to unarmed efficiency and the thief perk does the same for pick-pocketing and lock-picking. There are also perks that just make the game a whole lot more fun like the bloody mess perk that allows you to make your opponents explode into exactly what the title says.

Overview

Fallout 3 is an immense game that will definitely keep you entertained for a long time. Replay value is huge, the gameplay itself is far above average and the soundtrack is a breath of fresh air. It's an interesting experience, listening to "Let's go sunning" while in the heat of battle. Though the radio shows could get a bit repetitive after a while, you could always turn it off and enjoy the subtle background music and sounds of nature. Or whatever is left of it that is.

Graphically, Fallout 3 has some flaws. There is some noted graininess in certain textures for the PS3 version which makes parts of the game look like it came from the previous generation. There are also some glitches I noticed that resulted in characters losing their facial features for a few seconds and looking like empty rubber masks. Either that or their heads were replaced entirely by black squares. The PS3 loses out to both the 360 and PC in terms of graphics for Fallout 3 as proven by pictures like these. The graphical inferiority however can be overlooked because basically, the game still looks beautiful regardless of which system you are using. You can enjoy a pleasant wasteland sunrise in all its glory on a PS3 just as well as on the PC. That is unless you're extremely finicky. There are lots of moral concerns with the overt violence and use of drugs in this game that got it some bad press in places like Australia but its not like a post apocalyptic world can be filled with hugs and sunshine now can it? As long as you know the difference between the game and real life and don't start chasing your neighbours with uncle bob's shovel while shooting Jet, then you're good to go. Fallout 3 is a great game and is not just Oblivion with guns as some might think. To fully experience the quality of the game, the best way is just to play it for yourself and explore the diversity of this title. Though I won't go as far as to say that Fallout 3 is the greatest game of 2008-2009, it's definitely a candidate.

The return of the Fallout series indeed did set the gaming world on fire and has rekindled the flame in fan's hearts.

My rating for Fallout 3: 9/10

9-10: GYEAHHH!

7-8: Pretty good

5-6: Should've been better

3-4: Good for a laugh

1-2: Waste of a Blu-Ray disc

0: What has gaming come to?

The Beginning

Welcome to my blog! The very first post too. What a groundbreaking piece of history. So you happened to chance upon this little site huh? This blog marks the beginning of another one of my crazy ideas. I've always loved video games. One of my first few memories was playing an old school baseball game on a then-new NES. So I've decided to put my passion for gaming and my tiny little bit of talent in writing to good use. There we have it, another product of Kyle's brain straight to you: A blog dedicated to gaming! Gaming news, gaming reviews, gaming highs and gaming lows. You name it, I'll write about it. Now I know there are hundreds of thousands of other blogs with the same idea but hey, you can't blame a guy for trying to get out there in the gaming scene right? Obviously it won't land me in Gamespot or anything but there always has to be a starting point to whatever you do. For me, that's right here. So if you're a gamer then welcome to my little niche. The site should be up and running soon. Hopefully, I can see this through and not abandon it after one review. Take care for now!