Remotes 'N' Dice

I’ve been trying to get my head wrapped around my own story arc here and yeah, you can probably guess it hasn’t been going to so well. Won’t bore you with excuses, just know that I am doing what I can to get the creative juices flowing again and part of that is doing little side projects like my parody cover art for Duke Nukem. I’ve included a smaller size version here but if you want a larger version for your desktop or such, head over to my deviantart gallery and you’ll find the full size there for your viewing pleasure!

As you are no doubt aware by a recent comic, I’ve been involved in the Halo Reach Beta along with every XBL gamer who purchased Halo ODST or you know.. won a raffle online. Being a fan of the Halo series in general (I enjoy sci-fi shooters) it wasn’t at all a difficult choice to try the beta. Now I’ll admit that whe I first heard about Reach I was skeptical, I really liked the story to ODST but I was worried that it was just going to be Halo3 all over again with no changes to how multiplayer is conducted… I was wrong.

I am very happy to say to those of you who have not been able to try the beta, that Halo Reach, should it maintain the course it is currently on will (in my own opinion) be the greatest thing to ever come out of the Halo Franchise and perhaps even the best of sci-fi shooters and yes I’m going to back up my hype.

To kick it off, Bungie has finally made GOOD use of the level up/ranking system in the Halo multiplayer. Instead of just gaining experience for wins and gets a pretty label, you now gain credits which can be put towards armour upgrades which change both the appearane of your Spartan and as well your effectiveness with given class types. Being only the Beta there are only a few options currently available but assuming they add more for the final release, I seriously think the days of the Skull hunt are out numbered.

As for the weapons of the Halo Universe? Many are seeing a return with the addition of new and rather dangerous ones as well. You’ll find that the Grav-Hammer is no longer as brutal as being hit by the super hero Thor but at at the same time, you’ll discover that the pistol is making a serious return with scope function and nasty head shot potential! What was once the Plasma Rifle and Battle Rifle got a serious over haul in both apperance and effectiveness. I find that the PR is extactly what I wanted in it, a rapid firing assault weapon, perfect for a charge in while the BR makes better use of its scope function and while I think packs a better punch! I do not recall the names of the weapons but there is also a charge up, lock on multi-shot missile launcher which is possibly the most bad ass looking thing when it fires AND there is also a gun which may not be as bad ass for the firing to see BUT seeing its beam of intense energy fly across the map and anhilate an enemy in mid leap? The Spartan Laser has nothing on this thing.

Another wonderful little tweak that has been put into the game is the new finisher melee moves. Unlock in past installments where to mele was simple a butt of a gun to the opponent. Now if you are behind the enemy you can shank them AvP style! And it’s not just one type of take down, depending on what is going on and what Spartan class you play seems to change the finisher. Knife in the back, snapping the neck, crushing under your boots and throwing to the ground from mid flight are ones I’ve come across!

Speaking of classes, while hopefully you’re already aware of the options by now, I’ll take a moment to quickly illustrate how awesome each one can be.

Scout: You gain the ability to back into a charge and cover ground real fast. Honestly this is something Master Chief should have had from the get go but I’m glad its finally available. Especially for games like capture the flag, being able to barrel past a fire fight and take the flag by surprise is a beautiful thing. It’s also incredibly useful for closing the gap should you wish to assasinate an opponent with the beam sword, grav-hammer or you know.. just to shank them with your combat knife.

Guard: The gain the ability to go into armour lock and protect yourself with an impenetrable shield. As time progresses it intensifies until overload and sends out a burst of energy knocking back and damaging all foolish to stay too close. It’s not always the most practical since you can’t hold a flag while using it (items drop) but it sure is useful for saving your life when you’re shields are down and a beam sword weilding enemy is charging at you! I’ve actually used this ability to knock back a foe and kill him because the energy blast wipes out the enemy shields, handy if used well!

Stealth: The cloaking device is now yours from the get go. Like all the class powers, it has a time limit for how long it can be used but recharges rather quickly AND acts as a scrambler when active, making it incredibly hard for enemies to find you via movement trackign on radar. Definitely a neat change of pace for those abilites.

Arial: The jet pack has come to Halo and it’s been so well done. For those who played Star Wars Battlefront 2, think of that jet pack. Its quick to use, easy in controls and provides a stable enough platform to reign death from above! It’s also good for hunting down flag carrying enemies and quickly escaping death from a grav-hammer! and yes… brings a whole new depth to tea bagging.

Over all, Reach so far has me really impressed. The new class options, weapon changes and finishers really breath new life into the franchise and it couldn’t happen at a better time. For those like myself who tire of the ‘realistic’ military FPS’s that are something of a plague these days, it’s reassuring to know that Sci-Fi’s shooters still have a place in the world of gaming and with any luck.. with come back with a vengence thanks to Bungie!

For those who have been skeptical of the AvP franchise due to the movie franchise’s attempt to cash in on it… GOOD NEWS! Aliens Vs Predator (The Game) is not following that down ward spiral! In fact, quite the opposite as this game does what the late 90′s PC game series did for Alien and Predator fans and that is kick ass! Now I’m assuming that if you are giving this game any thought at all, you know something about its 30 year history since the original Alien movie by Ridley Scott. If you are looking at this game having no idea what it’s all about… well kudos for the interest but shame on you for not sampling some of Sci-Fi’s best. That being said, I’ll get this out of the way right now and admit I’m a long standing Alien & Predator fan (more so predator but that’s besides the point.) The point is, this review is going to be done knowing the AvP universe and so if something about the game bothers me, you’ll be finding out shortly…

For those who haven’t played the previous AvP games, as cliche as it may sound, welcome to the jungle. This game is not like your Call of Duty or Halo, while sharing the shooter game classification, it is much faster paced, darker and dare I say it? Exciting. In campaign and Multiplayer a like you have the option of 3 factions, the Colonial marine, the Alien and the Predator. Each have unique game play styles and if you ignore those styles, you’ll find yourself dead before you know it.

The Colonial Marine will be familar for most just picking up the game, he represents your standard human soldier and like the average human is limited by what he can do in a given situation. In dark corridors you can only see where your flares and flash light illuminate. In a maze of platforms, he can only ascend where a ladder or stair case enables and while he’s fit, can only sprint so long before slowing down. Making up for these however, he has the wonderful motion tracker at his side with an assortment of weapons to make him a nasty opponent to wreckon with. All in all, he’s pretty standard for a shooter but in multiplayer, don’t take him lightly or he’ll shoot you dead before you can flip him off.

The Alien is without question the fastest of the three and what it lacks in weapon options, it makes up for in fear. Being able to run full speed down a pathway only to leap up into the air, flip around and latch on to the ceiling and continue forward makes the serpent unpredictable in a fire fight. It can climb on any surface and lunge at its opponents to close the distance with great speed. The down side? It takes some getting used to as you’ll quickly find that being able to climb on any surface soon becomes disorienting and frustrating at times when you want to line up a surprise attack. Don’t take this criticism to heart though as I’ve faced Alien players online who clearly have over come that handicap and can make the creature just as deadly as it looks in the movies.

When it comes down to it though, the Predator I find is the official bad ass of the game (and rightfully so!) He can leap on to just about any ledge/platform to get a higher vantage point, has his vision modes to make tracker targets far easier and when cloaked is damn near impossible to see! The down side? Any time you attack, he drops his cloak for the ‘honorable kill’ and that leaves you a big target for those passing by. Your healing, shoulder canon and proximity mines need energy to use and they tap out your limited supply very quickly, meaning you have to track down power sources and risk turning your back to recharge while praying you don’t get shot or stabbed in the back while doing so! Keep in mind though, once you find your comfort zone with a pred, the online match is yours. I’ve both seen and been the Predator who rose above all others in a deathmatch with a crazy lead in kills and ending the match laughing at just how god like you feel.

This all being said, let me tear apart the game now for those who know the previous PC games from the late 90′s who will no doubt be making comparisons to this new installment:

Over all, Sega and Rebellion have done a great job at staying true to what should be expected in this franchise as a game. Like its predecessors, Aliens Vs Predator’s campaign mode focuses on one over all story with it being told through the eyes of the three different factions. Each faction does things that effect the other two and are effected by things the other two do as well. So keep that in mind because while each faction’s campaign individually feels rather short (approx 10 missions in length I think) when you add up all that goes into this story, it makes up for it in full I believe. The one trick about campaign mode that I really appreciate is the “Nightmare” mode in which the game is cranked up to hard difficulty setting with the added realism that if you die, its game over. So try playing through a campaign that is more than 10 missions long with no save points, limited ammo and more pain than motrin can handle… yeah didn’t think you’d like that. So be happy that the game is divided up the way it is and for those with time on your hands and something to prove, Nightmare should keep you going interested.

A major issue I find though with the game compared to the originals is the nerfing of the classes for online play. Originally each faction had 4 classes, each one with a unique weapon set and abilities which gave players more in terms of tactics over all re-playability. The also removed the life cycle for the Aliens which was to say start out as a facehugger, face hug someone, chest burst out of them, grow up and go on a rampage. If you killed enough you would at some point evolve into a Queen and be a true terror in the battlefield! For what ever reason, the game creators this time around decided to scrap those featurse and give each class one default frame work and for marine and predator, scatter upgrades around the maps. For alien… well, enjoy climbing on walls. The only thing close to this that they did was given character skins that you can unlock the more you play/level up in rank on multiplayer matches. Eventually your alien can look like a Praetorian (miniature queen) or like some nicknamed aliens from the comics which is cute but… it doesn’t change how you play at all. The Marines and Predators each gain new skins as well but again, no game play benefits. It would have been nice if they did a level up system like in Modern Warfare 2 where you gain the option for bigger and better weapons the more you play but then again in the AvP universe… that can be the dividing line people fans enjoying the game and rage quitting… so I’ll assume they left it out due to the concern of upsetting customers.

Coming back with a positive note to balance out what I just said, the game has included some new surprises which really reward players for closing in for the kill. As a predator or Alien, getting behind your opponent means having the chance to grab them by the throat and finish them off with an assortment of attacks that are triggers based on which button you push. There is another form of this trigger from a frontal assault should you manage to connect with a heavy attack and thus briefly stun your opponent, triggering yet more gruesome fatalities for you to try out. There is of course that issue of leaving yourself wide open to someone else sneaking up behidn you and doing the same to you as you are fully focused on the kill at hand but in all honesty.. there is nothing funnier than seeing a Predator try to rip a marines head off while an alien is behind him stabbing him through the back while a second alien is biting into the skull of the first alien and mean while.. your standing 20 feet away with a grenade launcher! If I didn’t stress it enough earlier, this game is face paced, a little frantic and most importantly, a riot to play.

While I could no doubt go on further about this game, I think I’ve said plenty now. So I’ll conclude here by saying if ever there was a chance to redeem what the Alien vs Predator movies did to fans every where… this game is that redemption hands down! In the very least, give the game a rental and a fair run through. I’ll be surprised if you don’t enjoy it at list a little bit.

Bottom line: Aliens Vs Predator is RnD approved!