Monday, November 30, 2009

Looking Back: Did they live up to the hype/ Do you think they will?

 Here's a list of anticipated games I made up a while back on my gamespot blog. So here's the question: do you think these games have lived up to their hype or if they haven't been released yet, do you think they will? Be sure to leave a response or comment!


Many upcoming games have caught my attention over the past couple months, all of which look absolutely astounding. With so much to keep track of I thought I'd round up what I thought were the most promising games for the relatively close future. Listed here are my top picks for the most promising upcoming games:
  • Fight Night Round 4
  • Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper
  • Thief 4
  • Modern Warfare 2
  • Assassin's Creed 2
  • Diablo 3


Fight Night Round 4

Ali Vs. Tyson


Boasting a brand new physics based engine and numerous improvements from the last, Fight Night Round 4 is sure to pack a punch. Whether you're a newcomer to the series or an old veteran, theres a treat for everyone. The game is based from its physics engine that allows for some of the most realistic fighting in a boxing game ever. It's hard to describe how awesome it is to see a punch connect with an opponent's face , how your back muscles flex as you extend for a punch, or how height and arm length result in the distance you can reach to throw the punch. Shorts ripple as boxers dance around the ring, sweat beads off their body, and bruises swell. Attributes are balanced to make for a leveled playing ground for an equal online experience. Cutman sessions between rounds have been replaced with little a "boost" session where you can replenish stamina and health with points that you earn based on your performance. The interesting part about that is that your opponent can see your point distribution during that time bringing a sort of tactical aspect to gameplay. If that isn't enough for you, Fight Night's main fighting event is Ali vs. Tyson... 'Nough said. If you want to check out more from this epic looking title check these videos here from gametrailers displaying a couple fights*:

http://www.gametrailers.com/player/49058.html - Ali Vs. Tyson
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/49022.html - Cotto Vs. Chavez


*- Both links branch off into other parts of the fights, be sure to check those out as well.


Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper
Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack the Ripper


With over 1.5 million copies of Sherlock games sold worldwide, people aren't messing around when they say these game are good. If you haven't been pursuing Sherlock's amazing journey through gaming, nows a great time to start. Following Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis, Sherlock Holmes Vs. Jack The Ripper looks to be one of those few superb adventure games . You'll be amazed by improved graphics and crowds of people as you wander through the dark and sometimes scary streets of Whitechapel, London. You'll obtain clues of the whereabouts of the horrifying serial killer Jack The Ripper by examination of crimescenes and suspect interrogation. The game can be played in first-person or third-person "or even combine them for greater immersion into this terrifying adventure" (I'm baffled about what that could imply). With dozens of twists and turns in the plot and a system to test your theories as the game progresses, it seems to be on the right track. It doesn't take a "Sherlock Holmes" to see that this game is going to be exquisite. Check out their site here:

http://www.sherlockholmes-thegame.com/en/index.php?rub=news-info&id=46


Thief 4


One of the most cherished games I own on my shelf is Thief: The Dark Project. It was and still is the pinnacle of my gaming "career". I still fondly remember that first level where you set off to retrieve Lord Bafford's scepter by breaking into his estate however you pleased. Wether you decide to all out swordfight your way in or stealthily assassinate the guards as you approach your objective was up to you. It was a game that challenged you to put your mind to use and plan ahead. On top of that it had one of the coolest protagonists ever, Garret. All of its unique features added up to make one of the greatest games of all time and if Eidos Montreal plans to be as successful, they must keep that same formula that we have grown to know and love. There's not much to be heard about the game yet, seeing as it was officially confirmed May 11th. What I do know is that it has a lot of potential. We can only hope that Thief 4 will be as good as its predecessors, but only time will tell. The Thief 4 forums can be found here:

http://forums.eidosgames.com/forumdisplay.php?f=268


Modern Warfare 2
Modern Warfare 2

Following great success with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, it was no surprise when I heard they were releasing Modern Warfare 2. COD4: Moder Warfare surpast my expectations being that it was Activision's first modern warfare game. One of the huge aspects of the game was its excellent multiplayer that is still widely enjoyed by many people. It had a great campaign as well. In this sequel, taking place a couple years after COD 4's storyline, you'll be fighting Russian terrorist forces threatening the world. There will be no co-op modes but it is promised that the campaign will be much longer than that of COD4's campaign. "Soap" MacTavish will also be returning. Other than that theres not much else you need to know if you liked the first Modern Warfare. It is scheduled to be released November 10, 2009. It's reveal trailer can be seen here:

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/callofduty6/video/6209478


Assassin's Creed 2
Ezio


Yes, if you've seen the picture already, thats not Altiar. To be honest, I was sad to find he wouldn't be re-appearing in this title (You're still reliving Desmond's memories) until I read further into it. This game takes place during the Renaissance in Italy. You'll meet and befriend famous people such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Machiavelli and Caterina Sforza. Unlike Altiar, Ezio is a well-rounded nobleman of the Aditore family, who like every other family had their allies and enemies. Even though Ubisoft Montreal isn't revealing what happens to attract Ezio to the assassins, its easy to see that it might have something to do with the possible murder of his family, seeing as they did reveal that the main quest would revolve around revenge on one of "the most powerful famlies of the renaissance". One of the biggest problems being addressed in this installment is the first one's repetitiveness. It was always go here, go there, and kill here. Without altering too much of the feel of the game, Ubisoft has changed the mission structure greatly to accommodate for a lot more varied missions that branch off into other ones having you doing anything from protecting a target or evading the guards as you get chased through the city. There are even new weapons to wield and use against enemies such as the halberd, axe, mace, or hammer. Water is now accessible by Ezio, allowing him to use it to hide from guards on the chase and even push guards in. A night and day cycle will also be active. Perhaps one of the coolest features of the game that I've heard so far is the implementation of Da Vinci's flying machine in which the player can use to travel. If Ubisoft can implement all these new features without compromising the basics, it'll be great. Heres the main page:


http://assassinscreed.uk.ubi.com/assassins-creed-2/teaser/msn/


Diablo 3

Diablo 3


I've been stoked about this game since I first heard it was coming out. I haven't played any other Diablo titles but have been lured in by its wonderful looking gameplay. I'm not going to go too much into detail especially since everyone should know about this game by now. It is sort of disappointing that some estimates of the game's release span from sometime at the end of this year all the way to sometime in 2010. In case you haven't seen this super-awesome-fantastic footage check it out here:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/diablo3/videos.html?tag=tabs;videos

And also the main webpage here:

http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/?rhtml=y


That basically sums up my top 6 picks for most anticipated games of the future. Looks like I'll be waiting a while for some of these, oh well. So what do you guys think? What are your picks for the most promising looking titles of the future? Remember, don't be afraid to post a response of what you think! Thanks :).

Mass Effect for $5!

Hey guys, I thought I might as well let you in on a sweet deal I found on Direct 2 Drive. They have discounts for a couple games up there, especially Mass Effect for only 5 bucks! Here ya go: http://www.direct2drive.com/holiday/. You have to hurry up though, seeing as though there's only about 20 hours left.



New forums are up!

My debut post! The forums are finally getting finished so be sure to check them out. The link is on the right. It's not completely done, so you can expect to see some changes, but it should be up and running well enough for some conversation. Hope to see you there!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

MODERN WARFARE 2 MADNESS: An unorthodox review

There's almost nothing I can say about Modern Warfare 2 that you haven't already heard before. I mean, I guess I could say that it's campaign was "too epic" (in a bad way) and lacked an intriguing and well thought-out story, but that's it because the true place that MW2 shines is in it's multiplayer. Instead, I'll just give you the low-down.

Playing online in Modern Warfare 2 is intense and if you've played the first one you know what I'm talking about. In fact, it's almost surprising how Infinity Ward managed to keep the formula the same but keep the gameplay fresh. Minus the annoying five-year-olds that shouldn't even have the game, online is near perfect on the 360. I couldn't say much on the PC end, for as an avid PC gamer, I was very disappointed that my beloved server list was replaced by the IWnet from the consoles.
Perhaps the most exciting improvement to multiplayer is the new killstreak reward feature. See, now instead of the 7 kills in a row for the helicopter, you can replace that helicopter for a harrier airstrike that shoots down some missiles over the targeted area and has a harrier jet clean up some more remaining enemies in the area. My favorite has to be either the AC-130 gunship or the Chopper Gunner because they allow you rain down fire upon the enemy from above. Yes, it's as awesome as it sounds.

AC-130 Gunship View
Modern Warfare 2 also features a new Co-op mode called Spec-Ops. There's not much to say about it other than it allows 2 players to play through mostly modified missions from the campaign. As fun as it was, I wasn't very interested in it and would rather play matches. There's also a lot of new guns this time around. For the most part, a lot of the guns from MW have been removed in multiplayer, unfortunately that includes my awesome G3. They did, however, try and stay true to the gun types of the first so people wouldn't feel left out if they found that their weapon had been removed.

In conclusion, if you have an Xbox 360 this is a definite purchase. It's single player campaign has a solid experience and it's a great time online with some friends or even if you wanna play lonewolf.

Curb your Diablo hunger with Torchlight!

 If you've been dying to play Diablo 3 like me, you know how hard the wait can be. Fortunately for people like us, there's a little snack to put off the hunger for a while.




Torchlight is an action RPG that seems to be full of looting fun. I haven't gotten it yet, myself, but the trial has certainly caught my attention. If you wanna try it out, you should download from bigdownload ( it only took me like 4 minutes): here.

Tales of Monkey Island

It was almost a ten year wait period for the avid monkey island fans to finally get their hands on another monkey island game after 4th installment of the series. Well, it's here and it's pretty flippin' fantastic.

For those of you who don't know, that's Guybrush Threepwood: mighty pirate (or so he tells everyone). Guybrush Threepwood is no ordinary pirate in the way that he uses funny dialogue and objects in a clever way to solve problems. However, Guybrush is... a bit of a wimp, which only adds to his comical aspect. His wife, Elaine, is a tough pirate adventurer who usually ends up helping poor Guybrush out of those tough situations through her swordfighting and strength. That's basically all you need to know before you play Tales, but it would be even better if you played through the first four games of the series because there's a lot of good references to past games and it's really cool to see reoccurring characters.




Tales of Monkey Island is a great start for any newcomers of adventure gaming. Tales is a point-and-click adventure game meaning that you tell the character where you want it to go and click to pick-up/ interact with things. So to move around you can either drag the mouse to where you want to go (which is pretty lame) or use the keyboard (which is a lot smoother) and then click on things you would like to interact with. It's also inventory based which means you'll be solving puzzles with objects that you've picked up throughout the course of the game and sometimes combining them to make something more useful. This simple design allows it to be very easy to play and allows it to retain a moderate difficulty that challenges the player. For the most part, I found the puzzles to be of a reasonable difficulty and very fun, but if you have any trouble you can turn on hints in the menu.

If you're looking to purchase Tales of Monkey Island you can go here. As you'll see, the game is released in an episodic format, like a season of a TV show. The game comes with 5 episodes (at this point in time the 5th one has not been released) that'll take you about 4 to 5 hours each, so it's a pretty good deal. Don't be afraid to check out their forums, either. Their community is almost as awesome as me (no really).

Warning: *Spoiler Alert* This be the beginning of the first episode. Ye be warned!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Da Bosconator: Open For Business

Hello reader, and welcome to the Da Bosconator! Da Bosconator is going to be a blog for all of your gaming needs, and more! That's right excited reader, for only $19.95 you can catch up on some of today's most anticipated games and gaming technology ( Note: The blog is actually free, my evil twin wants to charge you money). Anyhow, be sure to stay tuned in for some great stuff. I expect to review games on the the PC and Xbox 360 and perhaps throw in some potpourri topics every now and then. A great man once said: "Blogs always look nicer with pictures".... or something to that extent, I'm sure. 



That's a picture of Ezio from Assassin's Creed 2 incase you've been living under a rock :).