It begins! here we are November, and that glorious time of year when the big titles start hitting us all at once. This week starts with the game I am anticipating more that Halo 2, thats right I said it.
Ratchet and Clank 3: up your Arsenal will be in my hands on wednesday, Insomniac has just kept on improving on Ratchet and Clank since the series debut back in 2002.
This installment of the game speak to Insomnias’ continuing attempts to throw in as much game as the can onto a DVD.
Ratchet and Clank 3 will feature, The Main 3D platforming game, 8 player deathmatch with online support, a 2D minigame, 30 total wepons, Tons of gadgets, and as always an insane amount of unlockable goodies (good example from the last game was, an hidden world that was the physics “playground” the Devs used to test Ratchets jumping, climbing etc.)
Welp while I am sure the rest of you are playing Guild Wars right now, I have been moving to a new place. So my rig is packed up and I wish I could join you all, however I can still post. I have a review up sometime this week about R&C 3, take it easy Monkeys.

I just made it through my first “dungeon” with Fico. Since there’s just about zero documentaiton for this game I thought I’d share a few tips we’ve found. Hopefully it’ll ease early frustrations and help you get to playing the actual game faster:

1. Holding down the alt key will bring up Alt-text tags for your groupmates and unclaimed loot(just like Dungeon Siege). This is essential for finding hidden treasure chests, locating group members who’ve wandered off screen, etc. You can also double click the text to run toward friends and vendors.

2. Zones have “Districts”.. which are just instances/shards of the same zone. If you’re trying to locate a friend in-town but they’re invisble, then check your district! Holy crap this was annoying to figure out. You can switch your district by clicking on the pull down box in the upper left hand corner.

3. You can use the arrow keys, WASD, or the mouse to move.

4. AFAIK You can only invite people into your group by clicking on their character in person.

5. Don’t enter any of the missions without a full squad. Holy crap.

6. As a warrior I initially thought I had to micromanage my fights but it’s a helluva lot easier to just lock onto a target and take it down. If a bad guy gets through your line and out to your casters - don’t freak out! Your mates can usually help themselves get through small problems. Just keep on an eye out on their health.

7. Don’t go solo. Find friends.

8. Make sure your squad sticks together! Communicate! This game is harder than others when it comes to keeping track of everyone. Use the mini-map in the lower right hand screen to find friends and locate threats. Once your group gets into a groove things become easier.

9. Pull up the map by using the ‘m’ key, and then left click to zoom all the way out. Um.. can you say ginormos world map? You can instantly jump to any of the dots. Avoid the red ones for now, they are BAD..ASS.

10. You can shrink chat window and still see chat text.

I was concerned about the game’s taste the first stint I had with it. Once I realized what the heck was going on, the game became less “loose” and I no longer felt completely lost. I’m digging my time in beta right now, and considering the fact that the monthly fee is zilch.. I’m very impressed with it. Otherwise I’d be forced to compare this game to EQ2 or WoW, and it’s just not the same type of game.

Fileshack just posted a new minute-long TV spot for Halo 2. It contains new in-game footage, new bad guys, and a voice over that sheds some flavor to the game’s plot. If you’re salivating over this title, then this is a must watch.

Fileshack requires account registration but it’s free.

Something new for your nightmares:

Wideload Games Unearths Stubbs The Zombie

Cross-platform game publishers Aspyr Media, and Wideload Games, the new development team comprised of Alexander Seropian and former Bungie Studio employees, have revealed the developer’s first title: Stubbs the Zombie in “Rebel without a Pulse”.

The game, delivering “a stirring tale of one man’s hunger for love, justice…and brains”, is a third-person action title built on an updated version of the Halo game engine. Players will assume the roll of Stubbs, the wisecracking Zombie, as he attempts to overwhelm the ultra-modern city of Punchbowl, PA, in his personal quest for truth, justice, revenge, and, eventually, true love.

The title, featuring enhanced versions of Halo’s graphics and artificial intelligence engines, will feature new pixel shaders and screen effects to round off the game’s cinematic look. The title, currently under development for the Mac, PC, and Xbox platforms, is expected to be unleashed to the public in the summer of 2005.

Just thought you’d like the know the beta is up and running already and it’s very very cool. The sounds and graphics are fantastic, and the game plays like Diablo meets Dungeon Siege right from the start.

Your character begins at level 15 and can attain level 20 before the weekend. Somehow I’ve already made a friend out of a wild pig. He’s following me around from a distance. Too freakin cool. Can’t wait to play this one more. Look me up in game, I’m “Grinn Smith”…. I didn’t feel like thinking too long on the last name there.

I don’t know what’s up with How Stuff Works, but they seem to be on a roll. Check out their story on Halo 2 and the art of storytelling.

“
“Probably the thing people don’t realize is what we didn’t do [when creating “Halo 2″] is come back and go, ‘OK, what are the new technical goodies we have and how many guns do we need?’ That is actually exactly what we don’t do.”

Pete Parsons, the studio manager of Bungie Studios, the creative force behind the enormously successful video game “Halo,” wants you to understand that very clearly. Parsons and the rest of the team at Bungie are dedicated, above all else, to creating a really compelling story and the universe in which that story unfolds.”

This weekend Guildwars is opening up a beta for “everyone.. EVERYONE!!!”, but three Days only. Head here to get the small client dowload.

Unlike the other MMORPGs coming out, Guildwars focuses on action and small squad tactics. The game is under develeopment by the developers of Blizzard’s BattleNet software (their online matchmaking and hosting service and their goal is to create a MMORPG flavored as a next generation 3D Diablo. They seem to be doing some very cool things with the genre.

A few of us played during their E3 open beta. At the time it was a _bit_ unstable, but overall it was fantastic for such an early beta. The graphics and world were amazing to look and romp through. They’re also adding new flavors to the genre. For instance, character classes abilities are very unique - the Necromancer can only cast spells if he’s standing in a shadow. Cool stuff.

The game also attempts to move against a decade-long MMORPG trend by having absolutely no monthly subscription fee. Thank you Lord.

Yesterday Gamespy launched a GuildWars preview site - it’s chalk full of all sorts of information. Check it out.

If you plan on joining the weekend beta then post your screen name when you sign up. I’ll be in there on Saturday.

Wow Maybe NOT coming Nov. 22?

Detroit Free Press (as we posted) says yes. Vivendi doesn’t answer and Blizzard is implying no. Who to belive?

Blizzard — “We appreciate everyone’s interest in determining when World of Warcraft will ship, but while we are rapidly approaching the open beta period and we are confident that we will meet our goal of shipping the game before the end of this year, nailing down an exact ship date is a little more complicated due to a number of factors. As soon as we have a specific date to announce, we will be excited to share the news with everyone. Please don’t consider any announced release dates official until such an announcement comes from Blizzard. This is true for all announcements related to Blizzard games. “

How Stuff Works strikes again with an expose on how the PSP works.
Its a nice little article.

“Sony practically invented the world of portable electronics when it released the Sony Walkman audio cassette player in 1979. When it came time to design a portable gaming system, Sony wasn’t content to replicate what had come before: Typical handheld game systems are a few generations behind the cutting edge of home console gaming — the Nintendo DS is about as powerful as a Nintendo 64, which came out in 1996. It is estimated that the PSP will have almost as much computing power as the full-size PlayStation 2.”

It’s only a month away folks - November 22nd. Unlike EQ2, I highly recommend this MMORPG to any fan of RPGs or even fans of the Warcraft RTS series itself. From the get-go the game is entertaining, immersive and intriguing, and in many ways that EQ 2, or a brick, isn’t.

There’s a good post on Ars Technica about EQ 2 and WoW beta experiences. Check out the post by Timothius.

I’ll be playing this one from the get go.. and probably on the Horde side of the fence.