How's it looking on the Homefront?

Hey Gamers, welcome back to my blog! 


It's time for my review on the hugely anticipated game, Homefront! I've clocked up a lot of hours on this game already, on-line and off-line, and I'm here to tell you the good and the bad points about this thrill of a shooter!


First of all, the hype surrounding this game was insane, so it was no wonder why everyone was expecting big things on all fronts from this game, no pun intended. Because of this, when the game was first released in the U.S and in other selected countries earlier this week, Homefront was getting bombed with negative comments as finishing below expectations, in the minds of both critics and gamers in general. Although.. this isn't exactly the developer, Kaos Studio's fault, as they didn't create so much of the hype and people forget and don't realise that this is only their second ever game; their first game being Frontlines: Fuel of War (FPS, released February 2008.)

I'm going to talk about the presentation of Homefront, to kick off my review, as it has been one of the main factors under scrutiny. The graphics aren't what I would call 'ground-breaking'. They don't even match the standards of the likes of Call of Duty, and they definitely don't come anywhere near being as good as Crysis/Crysis 2. With there being a lot of open spaces in this game, with a long view distance, the game suffers with it's lack of graphic power and it makes the game look rather tattered at times. However, up-close, the game isn't all that bad. The textures on the player models are just about above-average, but they're nothing close to spectacular; however the texture detail on the weaponry is pretty damn sharp, they've done a great job with that. 

In regards to the general terrain, lighting and surroundings, Kaos Studios have done OK; they manage to capture the mood with pathetic fallacy effectively and set the tone for the game to match the events within the story.
As well as the at-times tatty graphics, the facial detail on the characters leave a lot to be desired. Throughout various parts of the game, the characters show no emotion whatsoever, it's almost like you're playing along side a band of action men and women, it's very plastic! Because I am very picky regarding attention to detail, this was bugging me, as it was spoiling some of the heart-wrenching and general dramatic moments when the character expressions weren't there to match.

The sound in the game doesn't reinvent the wheel like EA Dice managed to do with Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2; Homefront just sounds like a common game in regards to the sound effects and the voice acting. However, the background music depending on what situation you're in, is pretty cool, and it goes well with the game and adds to the intense atmosphere.

The general game-play is fantastic. The controls are smooth and the movements are fluid, and there's also a satisfying amount of recoil on the weapons, which makes it much more realistic compared to, for example, Call of Duty: Black Ops. Whichever gun you choose from your load-out, or from off the floor, you will always feel like you have a good, powerful weapon. Using Black Ops as an example again, a lot of the weapons didn't feel powerful enough, and it didn't really feel good when you were using them, as it was like there was no significant damage being dealt, at all. Whilst every gun feels powerful, they're not powerful to the extent that it makes the game imbalanced; it just means that it feels like you're actually using something based on a real weapon, and not a spud gun.

Homefront is no way a run-and-gun type of campaign, oh no. You have to move from cover to cover, effectively, as the AI soldiers on the other team are a crack shot, and this adds realism to the situation. It doesn't take a lot of bullets to kill you, so if you're used to playing Call of Duty on a moderate difficulty, I would screw your head back on and pull your pants up for this one, as at times, it's quite difficult!

However, having said all of that, there are two big annoyances tied in with the game-play. The AI on your team take a hell of a long time to get into position, and what's worse is that you actually have to wait for them to get into position in order for the next sequence of the mission to start, this happens quite regularly. As for the second problem, it's pretty much a direct link from the first. After the AI has spent a good while getting into position, whilst you're stood there itching your head, you then have to wait for every single AI character to move through a door, climb down a ladder or hop over an obstacle, before you can do so yourself; this reminded me a lot of Medal of Honour's problem, regarding the same issue.

To describe the campaign in a few words, it's very short! I managed to complete the campaign in around about three hours. It's not even like the campaign leaves you wanting more.. it just leaves you expecting more! It's so frustrating. But, you have to give credit where it is due, as the story line was truly fantastic. I didn't expect it to be anything less than fantastic, considering the writer was the same guy who did the story for Apocalypse Now, John Milius. As I've said already in this review, some of the scenes and dialogue in the game are simply heart-wrenching. The story-line is so powerful that it will make even the hardest man or woman choke up at some points. One of the main reasons that I completed the campaign so fast, is because it was just so intense, and it was just none-stop action in one way or another, with the right amount of 'rest' periods in-between, where you got to walk around briefly and talk to some of the AI, to fill you in on what's happened. But because the story-line was so great, it just added to the disappointment when you find out that the game has been completed, in what can only be described as a sudden halt. Don't get me wrong, the ending was great, but it will make you let out a big, automatic sigh if you play it.

With the campaign leaving a lot to be desired, in terms of it's life-time, can the multi-player do Homefront any justice? To answer swiftly, hell yes!
Kaos Studios have done an immaculate job with the multi-player, and even though it doesn't try anything new, it just tries to be fun. What is most evident for me when I play the multi-player, is that they have taken the best things about Call of Duty and the best things from Battlefield: Bad Company and melded it into one, to make a thrilling on-line experience. I have been playing Homefront multi-player for quite a lot of hours now, and it's made me nothing short of a happy panda.
Kaos Studios haven't gone overboard in regards to the weapon selections and general equipment and perks; they have managed to create a good balance so that it isn't over-kill, and it makes sure that you won't be sitting there for about fifteen minutes before your session, just trying to figure out what damn guns to pick! 

One of the things I like the most about the Homefront multi-player, is the game points system. In each game, you will start at 0 points, and with every kill, assist and general team objective that you manage to execute, you will be rewarded with points. With these points, you can unlock vehicles for use for when you next spawn (which won't carry over after you die, unless you get the right amount of points again), and those vehicles include Humvee's, Tanks and Attack Helicopters. Also with the points, you can unlock whatever special weapon/equipment you put into your load-out, and this could include anything varying from a flack jacket to a guided missile. You can also control robots to your advantage too, such as the radio controlled mini-tank equipped with a mini-gun to suit, and different types of helicopter-like vehicles. I really like this points system, as you actually have to earn the powerful vehicles and equipment by putting more effort into your game, instead of getting kill-streak rewards regularly in Call of Duty, which has become a massive annoyance to a lot of people who play that game on-line. 

The maps in the multi-player are really well made, and a lot of fun. There are plenty of places to hide with your sniper, flank as an assault solider or just have a full on shoot-out on a main road. Said maps are quite large, and can effectively host 16 to 32 players on-line in one game, which makes for some immense battles. Even though there can be 32 players on-line in one game, the stability of the multi-player is awesome. I've experienced no connections problems, nor have I come across any obvious bugs which spoil the game.

Now, I could have said a lot more about this game, but I have said quite a lot already! So I will stop there, and let you rest your eyes, because I'm nice like that.

I'm going to give this game a score of 7.5 out of 10, and here's my general conclusion, kept as brief as possible; the campaign is short and will leave you wanting more, but the story is incredible and must be played. The visuals and the sound are altogether quite average, but in terms of capturing the mood and the weapon detail, it excels. The AI on your team are slow and leave you waiting whilst they get into position for the next sequence of the mission, which can leave you frustrated as it breaks up the pace of the game significantly. In terms of game-play, on and off-line, Homefront boasts fluid movements and smooth controls, making it an effective shooter. The multi-player alone will have you thinking it's money well spent; if the campaign doesn't give you a kick, then the intense multi-player will. It has the potential for a long life and no bugs at all are present at this stage.
I would highly recommend fans of FPS games to at least rent Homefront and give it a chance, because you will be able to complete the campaign before you have to send it back, and you will be able to get a good amount of hours played on the multi-player, which is very likely going to nudge you towards buying the game!

Thanks for reading gamers, and if you're still with me after that epic wall of text, then you deserve a pat on the back! If you didn't stay with me until the very end, then you're impatient and you fail.

I hope that you're all awesome and that you will come back soon!


Take care,


Jayhmmz (''')(O.o)(''')

Another FPS attempting to topple the big guns...

Hey Gamers! Welcome back to my humble blog. 


I return to you all with the latest trailer for the newest addition to the Operation Flashpoint franchise, Red River, which according to this video is due for release on 24th April this year.
I'm not too sure what to make of this game. I've never really been an avid fan of the OF franchise, however, I did go out and buy the Dragon Rising title when it was released back in October 2009. The campaign for Dragon Rising was decent, but nothing more than that. The co-op mode for the campaign did make it a little more fun, but it wasn't exactly mind-blowing. Whilst the campaign was under-achieving, the multi-player aspect to the game wasn't doing any better either; I would go as far as to say that the multi-player would have been somewhat of a success, if it didn't have network problems on almost every single server available. The game wasn't just an FPS, it was a tactical FPS, with realistic weapon characteristics and player movements, with the ability to control a squad out on the field... it definitely wasn't run and gun, which put this game in good stead to be a great success...


But it wasn't. 

So, Publisher and Developer, Codemasters, have come back to give it another shot with Red River, apparently addressing all of the problems that popped up in Dragon Rising, and fixing them... So why didn't they just release a patch for Dragon Rising, and fix all of the problems way back when? *sigh*
It has been reported by numerous and reliable sources that Red River is aiming to be more of a Call of Duty style shooter. Having played Dragon Rising to the point where my patience was going to pack it's bags and run away from me, I cannot help but wince at the idea of a mix.

It's not really a game that I am high in anticipation for... as judging by the trailer alone, it looks clunky and the graphics are below expectations of a modern day FPS game, but I thought I would throw it out there and let you all know that it exists! Because you never know, there may be a select few people that are massive Operation Flashpoint fans here, visiting my blog... but I think that there's more of a chance of waking up to realise that you're spooning a snow leopard, than that happening.

Anyway, enough of the harsh truths, check out the latest trailer for Red River below, to see what you think.

Operation Flashpoint: Red River - Gameplay Trailer Video - PC - IGN

That's all from me for today, I will be back very shortly with more news from the gaming world, so sit tight!
Thanks for stopping by, hope you're all awesome!


Oh, oh! One more thing...  I would like to say a big thanks to all of you who have been reading my posts and have helped me smash the 1,000 mark for page views! I was a very happy bear.


Take care,


Jayhmmz (''')(O.o)(''')

Extended Battlefield 3 Game-Play Footage!

Hey Gamers, I have returned from my short holiday, with a post that links up with my last one that I left you with, in regards to Battlefield 3...


I found out today that there has been a new video released on YouTube by IGN.com, containing extended game-play footage of the Battlefield 3 campaign, on the PC! Let me tell you, it looks amazing. You can definitely judge the game on it's looks more so than you could with the first trailer I shared with you all, and it is proving to be an already stunning game. 
There's no real need for me to go on, and on again in this post about Battlefield 3, as I will pretty much be reiterating points I have already made out to you in my initial blog post... so I will just say... Holy Sh*t. 


So before you go, be sure to check out the video below... It's a must see!

That's all for this blast, but I will be back again at least twice before the week is out! 
So stay awesome!


Hope you're all good,


Jayhmmz (''')(O.o)(''')

Oh Yes... It's Battlefield 3!

Hey Gamers! Welcome to my last blog post before I go away for the best part of a week! 
I thought I would leave you on a very special note, with a very special trailer!

As you may have guessed by the blog post title and the spectacular banner above what you're reading right now, this blast is about Battlefield 3... need I say more? Well yeah, I will say more, because I will enjoy saying more! So, eyes peeled!
A lot of you may be familiar with Battlefield: Bad Company and Bad Company 2/Vietnam DLC, with it being a popular hit on consoles, as well as the PC. Even though those games are part of the Battlefield franchise by EA DICE, they just haven't got the same magic as Battlefield 2 delivered for PC gamers back in June 2005, which makes me a sad panda. Sure, it still had the same sort of unique Battlefield feeling to the game, but it still wasn't what it used to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the Battlefield: Bad Company series is bad, because I love those games, better than Call of Duty if I am honest with you... But I will always be a bigger fan of Battlefield 2, and not just because you used to be able to fly planes, either! It's just because BF2 was bigger, louder and more epic in pretty much every way. However, the plane flying thing does take up a lot of space in my heart regarding BF2... 


So you can pretty much guess that I am mega excited for the release of Battlefield 3, which will hopefully be later this year, to rival the release of Modern Warfare 3, if all goes to plan in both camps. The thing I am most excited about is that Battlefield 3 will most likely be a merge of everything that was fantastic and successful in both Battlefield 2 and Bad Company/2, which cannot be anything less than mind arousing. 
There isn't a lot I can say about this game just yet, as there have only been teaser trailers released, but the trailer I am going to show you does give you a good idea of what this game is going to look like. You will see plenty of footage, in-game footage may I add, of what looks like to be a single player campaign mission... it's pretty damn impressive, by the way. It looks as though DICE have taken everything that was visually stunning with the Frostbite engine in Bad Company, and just took it a step higher, incredible results!


Anyway, enough of me going on about it, and just watch it and see for yourself!

I have no problems whatsoever with saying that Battlefield 3 is going to wipe the floor with whatever Activision and their handful of developers come up with when they create Modern Warfare 3; if I were them, I would be scared of DICE and Battlefield 3, wouldn't you be?


So on that note, I'll end this blast here.
Hope you enjoyed the trailer for what looks likely to be a pretty epic next step in EA DICE and Battlefield's journey for total FPS domination!


Hope you're all doing great, and I'll be back posting again towards the back end of next week!


Stay awesome!


Jayhmmz (''')(O.o)(''')

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood Review

Welcome back guys for my first games review of the New Year! 

The Assassins Creed series kicked off back in November 2007, and gamers hadn’t seen many releases like it. Sure you had Prince of Persia which is a pretty awesome franchise, but this had an added twist, massive sandbox, action-adventure game play... where you climb walls like an old-style ninja and just generally look and be awesome. You play a guy by the name of Desmond Miles who is your friendly neighbourhood bar tender, plodding along in life as you do...  then HOLY SH*T you’re captured and taken ‘prisoner’ by an insane company called Abstergo Industries and made to do things you don’t want to! ...Nah, but seriously though, Abstergo Industries have a machine at their disposal called the Animus, which basically allows you to relive memories of your ancestors... and yes, you want one. Desmond’s ancestors turn out to be Assassins, which is always an added bonus if you’re lucky enough to own one of these bad boys. So Desmond is pretty much ordered to re-live his ancestor’s memories so that the crazy people at Abstergo can find and recover artefacts, all together known as the ‘Pieces of Eden’. Sounds cool, eh? In the first instance, you play as Desmond’s first known ancestor, who goes by the name of Altaïr. Assassins Creed II was then released in November 2009, where you played as Ezio, Desmond’s next key ancestor; Ezio Auditore’s story is now continued in Assassins Creed: Brotherhood, released a year later in November 2010.

 

Before this game was released, the air was filled with many questions relating to the length of the game, the story line and the multiplayer. The main issue was that a lot of the Assassins Creed faithful were worried in case Brotherhood was going feel like an add-on for Assassins Creed II, instead of a being a full blown release. With Assassins Creed II being released two years after the franchise’s debut, it was understandable that the fans were concerned that Ubisoft were churning out another release just a year later. Now we all know what happens when you start churning out game after game, year after year don’t we? The modern Call of Duty titles happen! Not necessarily a good thing either...

There were also questions being raised about the multiplayer and whether this was just an effortless feat for the game to give it a bit more of a longer life. Although, with these questions came excitement, as Brotherhood is the first game of the franchise to introduce multiplayer, so naturally, there was curiosity thrown into the mixed feelings.

Ezio's day to day activity.

Assassins Creed: Brotherhood still has the core game-play of the title’s predecessor.  You still have the same fluid feeling to the controls which enable you to free run around Rome in the year 1499, the new setting for Ezio. The fact that Ubisoft  have perfected the controls in this release make this feature alone entertaining enough to keep you playing for hours on end. In contrast to the game play in ACII, the combat controls have been improved; they feel smooth and free flowing, and less restricted and repetitive. There are a lot of cool new animations in the combat sense too and there is never a dull moment when duelling or fighting five guards at once, this helps a lot to make the game feel fresh throughout and to prevent it from going stale quickly; like the first Assassins Creed was guilty of doing.

Just looking at the title, you know there’s going to be some sort of a rebellion or army starting up somewhere belonging to someone; that someone so happens to be you, Ezio! The Brotherhood is in fact a Brotherhood of Assassins, or a guild as the game likes to call it. At a certain stage in the game, you will unlock a mission path which will basically have you randomly coming across civilian rebels in trouble with the new Guards in Rome, the Borgia. These civilians believe that your cause is just, and are choosing to fight against the Borgia too, and you have to save them as they’re really stupid and pick a fight with like five guards at once...pfft. When you save the civilians from the guards, they are then willing to become your apprentice. You may have up to 12 apprentices at one time, and for each apprentice you can assign them with contracts which will have them flitting across Europe completing missions set by you, earning them experience points and levelling up through the 10 ranks, the 10^th rank being Assassin.  When your assassin apprentices complete the contracted missions, they will also earn you money and item rewards; as well as contracts, you can call them in to do your dirty work for you, killing guards so you don’t have to... like a more violent version of Flash cleaning spray. 

Ubisoft have used the same graphics engine as Assassins Creed II, so not much has changed on the face of Brotherhood. However, the textures are presented in a higher resolution, and the lighting looks sharper, making Rome a perfect setting to show off the colourful and stunning visuals.

Doing good business.

The story in this game is yet again awesome. Brotherhood picks up from where Assassins Creed II left off, with Ezio still confused by what he saw in the vault at the end of the game. After escaping the Templars, Desmond and the gang escape to Monteriggioni, a city in and commune of Tuscany, Italy. They set up their animus underneath the ruins of Villa Auditore after finding a source of electricity which enables Desmond to continue the quest as his ancestor, Ezio. As a Master Assassin, you will have to re-establish the Guild of Assassins and rebuild Rome by destroying the Borgia influence, whilst renovating famous landmarks, faction buildings, shops and banks to give you an economic boost. AC:BH has a fantastic and gripping story line filled with vengeance and ass kicking; the game manages to keep you on the edge of your seat with well thought out, dramatic and action packed missions which differ from each one you choose to do, whilst being helped by an amazing setting for the release and convincing voice acting.

He doesn't look notorious at all...

It took me a while to actually play and review the Brotherhood’s Multiplayer feature, because I couldn’t connect to a damn session easy enough, which explains the delay in bringing this review out to you! Although I did eventually get into games, as the servers seem to have sorted themselves out now. After playing the Multiplayer for a decent amount of time, I get the impression it had all been a bit rushed in the making, which is what I, and many others feared. Sure, when you first play it, it is awesome, fresh and it has the addictive ranking system and skill unlocks, but the style of game play get’s a bit boring for a multiplayer game, and isn’t really a long-term option. There are five game types in the multiplayer; Wanted (6-8 Players, a game of hide and pursue), Manhunt (Two teams, each composed of 3-4 players, taking turns in hiding and pursuing), Alliance (6 players, 2 players on each of the 3 teams, again, hiding and pursuit...) and Advanced Wanted and Advanced Alliance, which basically means a lot of the assists are turned off when it comes to trying to find your target. Again, it is awesome at first, with a great idea being shown through the multiplayer, but I think with a bit more time they could have really made this multiplayer feature special, giving it the ability to last longer.

To conclude, Brotherhood in no way feels like the add-on many people predicted it would be - it isn’t an add-on at all. The campaign is solid with a fantastic story line which doesn’t feel short or rushed what-so-ever, including significant and vital sequences that bridge the big gap between Assassins Creed II and III, with some very exciting and shocking twists added in. There are also a mass amount of side quests along the way to complete, for example, there is a quest path to get some pretty cool armour and gear by adventuring into six different lairs to recover keys from shrines, guarded by weird cultists with wolf helmets...  it’s interesting to say the least.

*Slight spoiler alert in this paragraph* The new ‘Brotherhood’ addition to the campaign starts out as a lot of fun, because you can rank them up to become mean machines for them to do your bidding; You’re then let down in the end because you really are expecting there to be some sort of a big fight between your guild and the Borgia, but there just isn’t, it made me very sad. So the Brotherhood ends up being a bit pointless in the grand scale of things. Let’s hope they make things more epic in ACIII, well, they have to with it supposedly being the final instalment in the franchise!

*jaw drops*

Rome in this game looks amazing, just the fact you get to free run around this big, scenic sandbox is enough to keep you entertained for a long while, it’s like being on a hectic, sword wielding summer holiday that you couldn’t get with Thomas Cook. There are next to no limits to your adventures and you can explore pretty much everything on the map. Just climb to the top of a view point and take it all in, it’s actually breath taking what Ubisoft have achieved, the improved textures and lighting are definitely evident here.

The multiplayer is the biggest let down in this title, however it is still a lot of fun in small doses. The only problem is, is that a lot of players don’t play it properly. The game is based on stealth, you know, with you being an Assassin and all – you don’t really want to become notorious. That being said, select gamers still run around like absolute idiots, sticking out like a sore thumb... it’s like Call of Duty or Counter Strike just went back in time, and the shotgun noobs have been replaced with hidden-dagger noobs, sprinting across the map.

This game is definitely worth the purchase in my opinion, and it is important that gamers, who want to buy Assassins Creed III when it is released, play Brotherhood first; as mentioned above, it is a vital bridge from Assassins Creed II!

That’s it for my review of Assassins Creed: Brotherhood! I could have made it miles long, but the story line is just far too complex to note down fully, as there’s been book releases and everything! I would simply put you to sleep. If you haven’t yet played any of the Assassins Creed titles and you have read through this, I would highly recommend getting them all, even the first one. The two titles prior to Brotherhood will be reasonably cheap now. I know Assassins Creed II is cheap, as I recently bought the Game of the Year edition for £9.99, bargain!

Hope you enjoyed the read and I hope you will come back for my next review; I have just bought DC Universe Online, an MMORPG based on the Comic Book heroes where you can basically create your own hero and roam about completing quests and looking effing epic, so that may be my next review when I get another good bucket load of hours in! If you’re interested in the game, it’s only been released on PC and PS3 so far, I myself have the PC version, so I’ll tell you what it’s like as soon as I can give a fair view on it.

Thanks for visiting gamers, hope you’re all awesome,

TTFN,

Jayhmmz    (,,,)(O.o)(,,,)

"You with your Switchblade posse..."

Happy New Year gamers and I hope you had a nice Christmas! 

I’m back with my first post of the New Year which is just a quick news update on something very exciting, especially for portable gaming fans!

It has been announced that Razer, makers of the awesome gaming gear such as mice, keyboards and other peripherals, are bringing out the Razer Switchblade, a 7inch portable gaming system, “a revolution in PC gaming.” It has a 7inch touch-screen display with 45 fully customisable LCD buttons! It isn’t as clunky as it sounds, check this video out:

When I first saw this announcement, my initial, optimistic thought was, “Wow, these graphics are going to suck.” - Considering the games it has been linked to. Which is why ladies and gentlemen I haven’t touched a PSP, Nintendo DS or anything else portable since I had my Gameboy with Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow and Silver... cue flashback of happy times. However, I was pleased to learn that the graphics have been reported to be “pretty rich.” Now, I hope they aren’t comparing the visuals to other handheld gaming devices, because when they say “pretty, rich graphics”, I damn well expect pretty, rich graphics! If not, I will be a sad face. 

I am quite excited to find out the price for the Switchblade; even though it is bound to be expensive, it can’t be more expensive than a PS3, can it? We shall see! If I do eventually get one of these, I will be sure to avoid purchasing any Call of Duty games for it, as that thing looks so easy to throw accross your room and into your wall when angered.

Anyway, make sure you check out the video above from the guys at IGN to get the full story on the prototype so far, before you go.

That’s it for now readers, as brief as you like indeed! Although I’m almost finished with my Assassins Creed: Brotherhood review! I ploughed through it over the Christmas period, and managed to fully complete the game just after New Year, so I could get my write up out to you as soon as I could! So keep a look out, I will be back soon!

Thanks for the visit and the read,

TTFN,

Jayhmmz    (,,,)(O.o)(,,,)