360 Rant Rave Forums

Introduction:
2258 – The year you are born; welcome to the world kid. After spending 19 years locked into a vault were you create your character and are run through a well done tutorial, you are unleashed upon the capitol wasteland to do good or evil as you so choose. Oh the choices! Fallout 3 is an open ended RPG made by the creators of the Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda Softworks. So grab your bat and BB gun and step out into the world of tomorrow. There are plenty of nuclear zombies and various other baddies to go around.

Gameplay:
Fallout 3 plays like a hybrid between a first person shooter (FPS) and a turn-based strategy game. It’s turn-based in that you seemingly get to take several ‘turns’ while the enemy moves in slow motion. It’s more of an enhanced and stat-driven bullet time without all of the cool/stupid flipping and sliding around. The FPS parts of it work fairly well as long as you are not expecting call of duty or something. It’s not really an FPS; it works very similarly to Oblivion’s combat system, except the ranged combat is made easier by allowing you to do more damage and to have a faster rate of fire than bows, for the most part at least.

Everything is managed from your PIPBOY 3000, a little computer that you have attached to you at your 10th birthday party. It keeps track of your health, skills, SPECIAL stats, perks and any items or quests you might obtain on your journey. The way the PIPBOY has been seamlessly merged with the world helps to create one of the most immersive feelings I’ve played through in a long time.

The VATS system, which is what drives the turned based combat, is quite useful for several reasons. It helps conserve ammo; if something surprises you, VATS is there to slow down the action and help you regain your thoughts. This may sound like ‘cheating’ to some, but you have to remember that it’s like having a computer programmed into your neural system.

The story of Fallout 3 revolves around your search for your dad and why he left the Vault when you were 19. So, in 2277, you set out looking for him. The main quest line is fairly standard with a few intriguing twist here and there. No one is a white knight in shining armor in this world. They all get hits placed on their heads by bad guys.

Unfortunately, the game suffers from several of the same flaws that plagued Oblivion. The characters sometimes seem to be animated like walking mannequins. Several of them will even stop whatever they are doing and talk to you if you walk up to them, even if you are already talking to someone else. Thus, it’s like trying to listen to two or three people talk at the same time. It can be very difficult. Their path finding is much better in this game, but when they run into each other they still look rather amusing.

Extras:
After the main quest line is done (well I should say before you finish it, as this game does have a definitive ending and no save+ mode), there are still plenty of side quest to keep you busy for hours and hours. The potential replay value in the game is huge, with the standard three major endings (good, evil and neutral), and 3 major permutations of those depending on some choices you made during the main quest. On top of the differences in the ending is the impact that the decisions you made in the side quest totally up to a reported roughly 50 distinct endings for Fallout 3. Even if you only count the major differences in endings, it’s still at least 9 different ones. That’s a lot of replay.

Not to mention, there are often several ways to approach every quest. It is possible to inadvertently skip the first 30 to 40% of the main quest by stumbling upon your dad somewhere out there, or any other NPC that is further down the quest line than where you currently are. Some skills and perks also allow you to just skip a quest by convincing someone that you don’t have to do go get that for them or that you will do it after you’ve found your father. This is something I found to be quite good about the game, choices and lots of them.

Fallout 3 is strictly a single-player game and does not feature multiplayer over Xbox Live.

Conclusion:
Calling it Oblivion with guns is unfair to Fallout 3 and to FPS fans. Fallout 3 is not the perfect game that everyone would hail it to be, but it is also not the horrible abomination that previous Fallout fans claim it is. You do not have to have played the first two Fallouts to enjoy Fallout 3. This game is quite enjoyable as a standalone, though the first two might give you more insight into the world. While being genuinely challenging, Fallout 3 is still definitely the best game to come to the 360 this year. It’s a great contender for the game of the year award and anyone over the age of 17 would be doing themselves an injustice to not at least look into renting this title.

Score: 8.75

Welcome to our next 360RR Gamer Spotlight.  Today we’ll be talking to 360 Rant Rave staff member, JollyBuccaneer.  Yar!

360RR: Tell us a bit about your gamertag? Do you have any stories behind it? What made you “Jolly Buccaneer″?

JollyBuccaneer: Buccaneer was taken and when it gave me a bunch of adjective I thought they were dumb, so I came up with Jolly as it is most piratical being associated with the Jolly Roger and all.

360RR: Makes sense to me.  Where do you live?

JollyBuccaneer: Mississippi, USA

360RR: The whole state, huh?  Kinda how Palin reads every newspaper & magazine?  ;)  What do you do for a living?

JollyBuccaneer: I’m a software Engineer for a company that does Public Services, that is we do mostly government contracts. The boring kind for prison, dmv and other management systems.

360RR: When did you become a member of Xbox Live?

JollyBuccaneer: 10/2/2007, the day I bought my 360.

360RR: A late bloomer, huh?  OK.  Who is your best friend on Xbox Live and least favorite person on Xbox Live? Anyone that you compete against on a regular basis?

JollyBuccaneer: Bender Bot 2000, he’s one of my buddies from home but he now lives in AL with his wife. We have a friendly competition with Gamer Score but tend to like to play with each other instead of against. I dislike people that have annoying voices.

360RR: What is your favorite video game of all time? Favorite Xbox 360 game?

JollyBuccaneer: I would have to say Star Craft:Brood War sucked up more of my time than any other single game, that or Diablo.

I loved Too Human but I have a feeling it will be replaced by Fallout 3 as my current favorite, but I played COD4 more than any other game for the longest. It lasted me from late Oct/early Nov to roughly April/May. Thats a long run as a 360 game.

360RR: Indeed.  What is your favorite Game Console and why?

JollyBuccaneer: N64, it was the first to offer EASY and FUN 4 player games. I do not count the PS1’s adapter and I believe a Sega console had it before but it was not nearly as fun as the games on the N64.

360RR: A good machine it was.  What is your funniest/ most memorable moment on Xbox Live?

JollyBuccaneer: Can’t think of anything overly humorous at the time, but COD4 had some fond memories of some random guy running around screaming. “I will not tolerate this racism” and TKing me and my buddy and the rest of the team over and over b/c we started it, it was all in good humor. There was another time that I was screwing around in a Hardcore search and destroy game and my whole team got killed and it was me vs the other 6 and I came out on top, only memorable if you were there to see it b/c really who’s gonna believe that

360RR: Nicely done.  What is your favorite movie of all time and why?

JollyBuccaneer: “The Count of Monte Cristo”. The story is wonderful, just like revenge.

360RR: A definite classic.  Who is your favorite game character and why?

JollyBuccaneer: I do not think that game characters are developed enough in the market today. Characters just are not built up like they were before. COD4’s main character was pretty awesome but I believe the Captain Price would win this award for me.

360RR: What is your favorite band of all time?

JollyBuccaneer: Have to represent the Metal here and go with Manowar. They have some of the coolest songs that just get you pumped for what ever you have to do. That’s Power Metal for you though

360RR: Nice.  I’m a fan of good metal myself.  iPod or Zune?

JollyBuccaneer: Neither! I’m not that fancy down here yet but I have been considering the iPod. Zune just doesn’t scream anything at me.

360RR: So them thar fancy MP3-amajigs are a might fancy for you folk down on the Mississippi, huh?  ;)  (J/K!)  What do you think will help to contribute to 360 RR’s growth?

JollyBuccaneer: We need to develop a better connection with more publishers and developing companies. Though its hard to get noticed by them if we don’t have a user base so its some what of a catch 22. Just getting the name out there and hopefully we’ll get a few more contacts from some big companies.

360RR: Yeah, getting those inside connections can sure be a challenge.  Thanks for the interview, Jolly! 

Introduction:
The moon is chained. Monsters terrorize the free and a tyrannical order of knights seeks to destroy everyone. The only thing that stands between this world and certain destruction is an unlikely group of hero’s and a look-a-like to a living legend.

Gameplay:
Real time combat - when I heard this I immediately thought of games such as Kingdom Hearts and dot Hack, and this game definitely has some fast paced combat. It’s so fast that you don’t even have time to go into your menu to heal yourself. If you are at that point where you need to use a potion; by the time you can navigate to it you are dead. The AI of your comrades is questionable, considering the monster has ~100 hit points remaining but they decide to all hit it with their most powerful attack instead of using a quick normal attack (thus consuming valuable mana points). Though, in the end, this can be forgiven because of some of the commentary that the cast provides.

Eventually, like all RPGs, you will find yourself just using the same moves over and over. For a while, at least, this new combat system works and you can use almost all of the colorful cast. The characters can also get up to level 200!

Bosses: every RPG has epic boss fights, right? Well, this game just has a bunch of them and if by epic you mean ridiculously easy or stupidly hard, then that hits the nail on the head. With 200 levels of grinding you’d think that the game would take a long time to finish, but the main quest is only ~20 hours. However, there are tons of things to do on the side. After you finish the main dungeon there is a bonus dungeon, and thats where your characters and skill will eventually be tested by even more bosses, loot and powerful enemies.

Undiscovery tries really hard to be innovative, but it eventually falls flat on its face and its innovations seem to hinder more than help. The game tries to do too many things at once and as a result ends up doing several of them poorly. While it does manage to do a few things well, the game could have been so much better than it was.

Extras:
Story, Story, Story - isn’t that the reason most people play RPGs? Infinite Undiscovery’s story is not lacking; it is quite good and one of the better things about the game. Though it starts off slow, after the first few hours its moving along at a clip familiar to most RPGs if not faster than on average. The game does not feature play on Xbox Live.

Conclusion:
In the end, Infinite Undiscovery is a bit of a let down. The story is above average when compared to other 360 RPGs, but the combat and some of the sub systems are lacking. While the game is ok it could have been so much better, and this has to be the biggest complaint about it. We expect better things from companies that have already proven themselves the way Square Enix and Tri-Ace have in the past. The game is a rent if you’re into RPGs. If you are not, do not look this way unless you have money to burn.

Score: 6.0

Introduction:
Sci-fi shooters and survival-horror adventure games are both very popular. Here at 360 Rant Rave, we’re big fans of both genres. Well, EA Redwood Shores picked up on the popularity of these game types and has made an attempt to combine the best of both worlds. That attempt is Dead Space.

You are Isaac Clarke. You’re not a soldier or an adventurer. You’re just a run of the mill engineer who’s part of a mission to find out what happened to the USG Ishimura. The Ishimura is a planet cracker (think deep space mining on a global scale), but went out of contact just after coming across an alien artifact on a distant world. Shortly after boarding the Ishimura to begin repairs, you find there’s a lot more going on than a simple loss of communications. The crew seems to all be dead or missing, and you find yourself facing a menacing alien species known as the Necromorphs.

Gameplay:
Your objectives in Dead Space revolve around repairing the systems on the Ishimura, investigating what happened to the crew and how the ship became infested with the Necromorphs. Very quickly, what started out as a simple repair mission becomes a fear-inducing mission of self survival.

You have seven different weapons and two special abilities at your disposal to accomplish the various tasks set to you and to fight off the Necromorphs. The weapons are a plasma cutter, a line gun, a pulse rifle, a ripper, a contact beam, a force gun and a flamethrower. You start off with no weapons at all, but quickly find the plasma cutter. The other weapons must be purchased at ‘store’ locations throughout the game, and some weapons cannot be purchased until you locate the schematic for their construction. You can also melee with the right trigger and do a melee stomp with the right bumper. The store is where you can also sell items you’re carrying, or place items into a safe for later retrieval. Each weapon has a primary and secondary fire mode. The two special abilities you have at your disposal are stasis (for slowing objects, both organic and mechanical) and kinesis (for moving, grabbing or throwing objects).

The control scheme in Dead Space is a bit different than what you’re probably used to for an adventure game, but it’s pretty easy to get the hang of and works quite well. The only issue with the controls is that certain items you may need to access quickly (such as a stasis recharge unit or an air canister to recharge your air supply in the game’s vacuum environments) are buried in your inventory. You have to access the inventory screen and select the item you want to use. Thankfully health packs at least are mapped to the ‘X’ button.

Dead Space also contains some minor RPG type elements. For example, each weapon, as well as your environmental/protective suit, can be upgraded at upgrade benches you’ll find around the Ishimura. Your suit can be upgraded for more health, more air, etc. Each weapon’s damage can be increased, its capacity increased, etc. To perform each upgrade, you’ll need to use power nodes, which you’ll find in various locations around the Ishimura. Power nodes can also be used to unlock some doors in the game, which would be inaccessible otherwise. You may consider using a power node a ‘waste’ to use for simply opening a door, but in most cases the payoff makes it well worth it. You can also purchase power nodes at the stores, using credits you’ll find scattered about and on many of the Necromorphs you take down.

While the majority of the game takes place in the standard rooms and corridors of the Ishimura, you will also encounter zero atmosphere environments (including times when you have to exit the ship to access another area), and zero gravity environments. The zero G environments are an original and unique experience. You are equipped with gravity boots for when you enter zero G, and you gain the ability to jump - which is the only way to change which way is down/which surface you’re walking on while in zero G.

The graphics in Dead Space are excellent, and those of you who enjoy gory, blood-splattering gameplay will not be disappointed. Not only can you completely dismember your enemies, you have to. That’s right. This is no head-shot fest. Even if you take off a Necromorph’s head, it can still come after you. As the game progresses, you’ll find different types of Necros, and you’ll have to figure out just how to take each one down. Occasionally, you’ll come across a Necromorph that you simply can’t kill. No matter how many times you take them down, they just keep regenerating and keep getting back up. When you run into these Necros, you’ll have to use your head to find a way to get around them or away from them.

The sound in Dead Space is equally impressive. The music, sound effects and changes in volume and tempo of the game’s sound really help intensify that ‘edge of your seat’ feeling you get when playing a good survival/horror game. You’ll hear flesh tear as bodies fly apart and hear a very satisfying thud when you melee or melee stomp one of the baddies. The sights and sounds in Dead Space will certainly get your heart pumping.

Extras:
Dead Space is a single-player game only and does not feature play on Xbox Live. It does, however, feature downloadable content, including two very special environment suits you can purchase via the Xbox Live Marketplace. One, the Elite suit, is free to download until October 28th, so even if you haven’t picked up the game yet, go download this suit now so you’ll have it available. You won’t be sorry.

Conclusion:
EA’s attempt at combining the mechanics of a sci-fi shooter with the adventure of a survival/horror theme is definitely a success.  Dead Space takes survival/horror to a new level.  The combination of the sci-fi, outter space environments and the jump out of your skin moments you’ll encounter make for a great combination. Dead Space is, without a doubt, one of the best single-player experiences of the year. 

Score: 9.7

Electronic Arts Inc. announced today that Dead Space(tm), the award-winning new survival horror game, has shipped to retail in North America for the Xbox 360(r) video game and entertainment system and PLAYSTATION(r)3 computer entertainment system.  The PC version will ship on October 20. Dead Space will be in stores in Europe on October 24 for the Xbox 360, PLAYSTATION 3 system and the PC.

First introduced last year, Dead Space is an original horror intellectual property that quickly won over critics worldwide with its stunning visuals, spine-tingling gameplay and horrifying creatures. The game has won over 11 awards and has earned a 5 out of 5 from GamePro magazine and 9.25 out of 10 from Game Informer magazine. GamePro even said that Dead Space is “…one of the best survival horror experiences ever created,” and Game Informer quotes, “No game has ever been this frightening.”

“Dead Space has been an exciting new direction for the team seeing how it is the first survival horror game to come out of EA,” says Glen Schofield, Executive Producer on Dead Space. “We created a very deep piece of fiction for the game and really pushed the boundaries on the violence, gore and psychological terror needed to produce a high quality
horror entertainment product. We think that people will love the universe that we created and have a lot of fun with strategic dismemberment. You can even dig deeper into the Dead Space universe with our 6-book comic series, the animated feature Dead Space Downfall, and the interactive web series No Known Survivors.”

Set five hundred years in the future, Dead Space follows the story of Isaac Clarke, a normal systems engineer, who is sent with a small repair team to restore communications aboard an immense mining ship, the USG Ishimura. Once onboard the vessel, Isaac discovers that the crew has unearthed an ancient and malevolent alien presence far beneath the
planet’s surface and brought it onboard. It’s a living nightmare onboard the Ishimura, which has turned into a floating bloodbath, as the crew has been unspeakably mutilated and infected by an ancient alien scourge. Clarke’s repair mission becomes one of survival as he fights not just to save himself, but to return the artifact to the planet at any cost.

You can check out the Dead Space launch trailer - direct from EA: HERE. 

Watch for 360 Rant Rave’s review of Dead Space ASAP.

Game on!

OK - I enjoy playing Rock Band as much as the next guy, but is this really what we have come to? 

Introducing the ‘Home Stage Kit’ for Rock Band:

“Transform your jam session into a full-on rock show with smoke and light effects. Light and smoke automatically sychronize with music from the game. AVAILABLE NOVEMBER 2008“

Kill me now.  Do it fast, before I see some delusional gamer out there, thnking that this is in any way necessary.  Sure, video games themselves aren’t truly ‘necessary’, but there’s a fine line between enjoying a bit of rock fantasy and the lengths your delusion must go to if you desire this thing. 

Perhaps some of you feel I’m being too harsh & think this would be soooo cool.  Well, when you move out of Mom & Dad’s house and become interested in girls, let me know if you still feel that way.

Oh, and it’s only avaiable currently for the Xbox 360 version of the game.  Don’t you feel honored?  Me neither. 

Game on!  (Just not with this thing!)

Microsoft has confirmed that the ‘New Xbox Experience’ (the fancy new dashboard update we’ve been waiting for, with avatars, etc. etc.) will be arriving on November 19th. 

This new update will include a number of highly anticipated new features, including the avatars and the ability to stream Netflix content directly to your Xbox 360 console.  Some have criticized that Microsoft is merely ‘copying’ Nintendo’s ‘Mii’ characters with the avatars, but I think that’s over simplifying things.  Personally, I look forward to the new update and making my personal avatar. 

“Schappert said Microsoft’s service promises to be more varied as a gateway to various entertainment, such as watching movies, going to virtual parties and sharing your collection of photos.

“Our goal is to make the Xbox experience more visual, easier to use, more fun to use and more social,” he said in an interview at a nearby hotel. “We focused a lot on friends and other experiences outside just playing games.“”

 Game on!

Cooperative multiplayer destruction is the name of the game in today’s new video for Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, the Action-RPG from developer Ascaron Entertainment and publisher cdv Software Entertainment USA. The new trailer showcases six of the available character classes, including the nefarious Inquisitor, the sci-fi inspired Temple Guardian and the beautiful but lethal Seraphim – engaged in mortal combat with a variety of hazardous beasts from the world of Ancaria. Check out the new trailer to immerse yourself in the game’s lush environments and furious battles while coming face-to-face with powerful bosses and their deadly minions in furious multiplayer action.

Click HERE to view the new trailer.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is an Action-RPG with a rich story that takes place in a giant, open-ended and seamless world. This world contains hundreds of dungeons, treacherous opponents and a variety of challenging quests. Intelligent enemies, steadily adapting in number and difficulty based on player progress, challenge players in heroic single- and multiplayer battles.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel provides numerous unique items that can be gathered in this mystical world. A deep reward system further enables advancements in character, individual attributes and character-specific fighting styles, each designed to keep players returning to the world of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel to discover what is around the next bend. Drop-in styled cooperative multiplayer gameplay ensures players will enjoy the game alone or seamlessly with friends at any time. Five unique multiplayer modes round out the experience and offer a refreshing, first-class gaming experience in Sacred 2: Fallen Angel.

The Windows PC version of Sacred 2: Fallen Angel is currently slated for a November 2008 release in North America, with versions for both next-generation consoles following in early 2009.

Game on!

Dead Space is almost here.  It will ship to retail on October 14th.  Until then, be sure to sign up at noknownsurvivors.com to get $5 off of Dead Space (or other EA titles) at the EA store, and be entered to win other great prizes. 

The grand prize winner now not only wins the Ultra Limited Edition of the game, but also get a replica of Issac Clarke’s Helmet!  (See a photo of the replica helmet being held at PAX HERE.)

The Top 10 winners receive the ULE as well. Chapter 2 is now live so go check it out when you get a chance. 

Game on!