It’s full of stars…

Nintendo Shows Final DS Design: “One of the major complaints about the Nintendo DS after its showing at E3 was that it ugly as all hell, and while I sort of thought people were overreacting just a little, I can’t say I was upset when Nintendo unveiled this final hardware design of a much more angular and adult-looking DS. Nintendo has confirmed that ‘DS’ will be the official name of the unit, as well, and it should ship in Japan around November 4th for around €140 (~$170) and follow in the US a week later for just a little more. The DS also has been confirmed to include actual stereo sound without headphones and an integrated storage place for the stylus.”

“Cool Modine” from the Ars Technia forums created a pair of control reference cards for NFL 2K5. Instead of fumbling through the manual, just print these bad boys out:

Offense Card
Defense Card

Enjoy!

Just as an independant and stylish developer comes out from under a rock, the gaming industry’s biggest corporation swoops down and snatches them up. Thankfully EA hasn’t purchased the German studios Crytek (developer of Farcry) , but who knows where this will lead.

I hope that EA doesn’t keep them from doing more risky/innovative projects. Who would have thought the Cry Engine was possible?? I bet those tie-wearers at EA wouldn’t have.

Chertsey, UK. – July 23rd, 2004 - Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS), the world’s leading interactive entertainment software company, today announced a worldwide strategic partnership to develop and publish a new game franchise with developer Crytek GmbH. The agreement builds on Crytek’s success with its first title, the chart-leading first-person shooter, Far Cry, and brings together the creative talent of Crytek with the publishing expertise and unrivalled reach of Electronic Arts. The highly regarded German developer will create an exciting new game franchise for the PC based on original intellectual property. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Bringing original intellectual property to the interactive entertainment market is a key focus for EA,” said Frank Sagnier, vice president, EA Partners Europe. “EAP’s partnership agreement with Crytek is a testament to our commitment to nurturing creative development and we are delighted to be working with one of the brightest talents in Europe to create what we believe will be an innovative gaming experience.”

Cevat Yerli, president of Crytek said, “We are looking forward to this partnership with EA. Our advanced technology and creativity, together with EA’s production support, marketing and sales, means that we have a great opportunity to bring an original gaming experience to our consumers, as well as grow our business. We are thrilled to see this development get underway”.

For those of you who doubt Half Life 2..a ray of hope.

“Right now we are looking at our bug numbers. Each day you fix some bugs and you find some new bugs. The net number tells you how quickly you will get to zero.

“At our current rate of find/fix bugs, we’ll be down to zero bugs in 16 days.”

Time for another tasty review from MINER!

Full Spectrum Warrior on the XBox. First off, let me say. FUCKIN A!
This game is very well done, and is LOTS of fun. Now, here’s the basics:

The setting is a random middle eastern nation and you are engaging in that most pleasant of combat types, urban warfare. You play 2 fire teams in a squad, Alpha and Bravo. Each fire team is made up of 4 people, but you generally control them as a group. The game play is generally as follows: Use your two teams to work their way through a dense terrain (buildings, cars, garbage, rubble) and to achieve objectives (take out a machine gun nest… liberate airport..etc).

Why is this game good?

Realism
The game is VERY real. The camera feels like you are seeing the point of view of some hand held camera always centered on the fire team leader. The visuals are top notch, and the sounds are immersive.

Even cooler, the PLAY is realistic. When you encounter an enemy, if your in the open, your dead. That simple. So you must slink your way forward cautiously, from cover to cover. And when you encounter an enemy, from your cover, you try to pin them down, and then have your second team find a way to outflank them. The game was originally made as a training simulator for team leaders in the field, and to be honest.. it still works. You learn how to get two teams to interact with each other to tackle difficuly objectives. Should I waste one of my precious rifle grenades on an entrenched target, or should I pin them down, and use a smoke grenade to have my other team risk getting closer and get an anlge on the enemy to take them out? Very cool.

Oh.. and the first time an RPG goes sailing past your position, you sure do stop to take notice.

XBOX Live
The game would have gotten a great review from me already even with its single player. But the game is a whole new level of awesome with XBox live.

First, Dave and I decided to play this in the multiplayer co-op mode. We both avoided the single player short of going through the training missions. This was a nice move, as everything we encounter is new to us still.

To begin with, Dave added my user to his friends list (stealthbaz). Then I went into the game, connected to live, and allowed him to add me to his friends (and added Dave in the process). Next I start a private game. Invite Dave to join. He gets the invite, and POW.. we are in the game together.

Live comes with headsets, and it immerses you even more. With bitta in one ear, and the game’s other sounds coming through the main speakers of my entertainment system, I feel like I’m in the action with communication gear on.

Dave controls one group (Bravo) and I control the other (Alpha). Its that simple. I can hear his group as they go around corners and call out targets, AND i can hear Dave tell me that he’s got a machine gunner behind a dumpster. We communicate with each other and work through the game. For example:

me - “Hey man.. i have a guy up here behind cover. If you can flank him over by that wrecked car, we cna get him”
dave- “Ok.. put supressing fire on him to keep him down.. then ill run over to the car”
me - “Ok… Go for it”
dave- “moving now… … There hes dead”
me - “so i see. and ouch.”

And so on the game progresses. It really is a very fun and challenging game that emphasizes strategy.

Why is this game not so good?

Long Save
My only complaint, is that when you save the game, it takes a good 2-3 minutes. There are plenty of save points, and they are well placed, but having to wait for each one is pretty annoying. If only they had a quicker save, it would be perfect.

Repetitive?
We’re only about 3-4 missions in. And so far its not too repetitive. I can smell hoever, that it may become so. I mean how many different types of encounters can there be. On the other hand, we’re stuck at a machine gun nest that is up high in a broken building, and its the first time we’ve faced that.. so who knows.

So… whats the final deal?

Conclusion
In the end, I think this game is GREAT if your into squad strategy. It is the best squad based strategy game I’ve seen, and its delivered with all the awesomeness of an action title. It also is the best XBox Live game I’ve seen to date (ESPN NFL2K5 hasnt arrived yet ;p). That alone makes this game the next level of sweet. It really showcases xbox live’s capabilities. It also just works. Dave and I were in a co-op game in like 5 min. Can’t beat that.

This game has very few drawbacks that I see, and it really is an amazing title. I highly reccommend it.

p.s. I sincerely hope, Halo 2 will have this kind of co-op over Live. That will make my millenium.

Gamespot
Gamespy

The History channel is starting a series on Friday that shows major battles in history. Here’s the cool part. In lieu of human re-enactments, they are using the Rome:Total War engine to re-create the major battles. This is a VERY cool idea, and it will show off R:TW’s awesome capabilities, as well as provide views that you would normally miss.

“What’s great about the engine is that you’re getting a gods-eye view of the battlefield that you can’t get wth traditional recreations. You get to see the troops in their formations and massive numbers. If we say there were 50,000 troops, you’re going to be able to visualize that on a much greater scale.”

Kirsten Dunst didnt like the *cough* liberties taken by some developers with her likeness in the new spider man game. Too funny.

“The release of the game could help spark a revival in the PC gaming industry, which hasn’t seen a true blockbuster title since 2000’s ‘The Sims’. Since then, personal computers have been shoved to the background of the gaming world while the PlayStation 2 and Xbox game consoles have hogged the spotlight.”

Looks like its still a snoozer overall. Too bad.

Now, Dave and I both got into the beta for Kohan 2. And I have to say I love it.
The only reason I dont play too much, is because I dont want to blow the single player game.

Kohan I was a truly groundbreaking title. Lines of Supply.. group makeup that matters, and role playing elements of heros all mixed to make a truly unique game.

I dont think Kohan II does too much to expand on the original, but it makes it much richer, a bit more streamlined, and it is going to be in MY collection for sure. One noteable addition: cities now get walls, which have to be broken down before you can invade an actual city. That makes for a nice dynamic and more of a siege mentality.

Well, do check it out. Kohan II promises to deliver more of the love of Kohan I and in a prettier new 3d world.

In the words of Steve Erwin: ” GORGROUS”!