Mortal Kombat PS3 Region 3 online pass issues

Well Mortal Kombat was released on time for us, but everybody in asia that bought the Playstation 3 region 3 copy of the new the game was welcomed with no online pass. It was a complete fail on who supplies region 3 copies. Well i finally got my online pass from where i got the game and i suggest whoever is still waiting for their code to bother the hell out of where you bought the game. The new Mortal Kombat implemented an Online Pass which is needed to play the game online. One copy of the game has one online pass included. It is used to discourage selling the game to other gamers so if you buy Mortal Kombat from a friend you'll need to cough up some money to be able to play online.

I posted about this the day I noticed I wasn't the only one having no online pass. The supplier simply 'forgot' to add the online codes when they shipped the copies and stores in the Philippines are getting their online pass codes now. I don't know about other countries but over here stores like i-tech and Datablitz are fixing this issue by getting the online codes from the supplier and giving it to all who bought the R3 version of the game.

Just remember to have your receipt ready if they have any questions. I gave them a call when i heard from a friend that he received his code, they simply told my code via phone. They were about to email me but i beat them to it.

If your store's won't help you, i suggest you email Warner Bros directly. You can use the customer service or also email them here: [email protected]

I emailed them too and they answered asking me to give a clear photograph of the front of the game case, the back of the caser for the bar code below and the game disc itself. This i think is the first step if you decide to go this route, I didn't continue with this since the store i got the game from already informed me that they will provide the code when it's available.

We also heard that online codes for Region 3 will be activated next week, can't confirm if this is true since i have the game on Playstation 3 and PSN is down right now.

WoW Cataclysm: Rise of the Zandalari (Patch 4.1) trailer

Anybody still playing this game? yea I'm sure there's still millions, well a new patch is up if anybody wants to jump back in and a new trailer shows what 4.1 has in store for the people of Azeroth.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMaGgT8fGnU]

The 4.1 patch will include 2 old dungeons, Zul'aman and Zul'gurb which has been recycled into a level 85 5-man instance. MMO-Champion says this patch will be live this week so if anybody is interested go check the patch notes and load your wow accounts up again.

I went back to Cataclysm because of my friend's influence and enjoyed it for a good 2 months then stopped again. All geared up and set for 10-man and 25-man as an Enhance Shaman but i didn't have the time to find a guild and do those lengthy raids again. I got the best from WoW's raiding in Burning Crusade and killing Ilidan for the first time with my guild was epic. WoW is behind me and the next mmo i'd like to get is probably Guild Wars 2.

We do have a youtube account

Yes, we do have a youtube account. We don't have much content but we're working on that hopefully soon. For the mean time, I saved and published some replays of my Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy matches. Nothing really highlevel but still a bit entertaining in my opinion.

Subscribe to our channel if you have a youtube account and we promise to fill it up with our gaming shenanigans in the near future.

http://www.youtube.com/user/TMGblog

Compiled some highlights from matches in story mode and some quick battles.

Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy Highlights [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTWNthnswWE&w=640&h=390]

Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy Assist Highlights [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeKoDl6KXto&w=640&h=390]

Dissidia 012 Duodecim: Final Fantasy - Golbez vs Kuja - Time to Party [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPAG4MmplzA&w=640&h=390]

Impressions - WWE All-Stars (PSP)

WWE All-Stars, the latest wrestling game by THQ. The difference between All-Stars when compared to the WWE Smackdown vs. Raw series is that All-Stars takes a more arcade style approach with its exagerrated character models and over the top finishing moves.

Now in hindsight it may look all fancy and flashy but from what I've played on the PSP version this game is horrible. The graphics are not as horrible as I initially thought from seeing screenshots and videos of it so I have no issue with that. What I do have issues with is everything else.

The controls feel horrible, not to the point of being unplayable but are still very stiff and unresponsive. I can see the point of having some moves such as strong strike attacks take a while to wind up but trying to run in this game or even moving around is very unresponsive. Walking is very slow and you run by holding down the R button but it takes a second before the move and when they do move, its like watching a drunk hamster trying to escape your hand by running around in his cage hitting everything else in the process.

Combat isn't good either, the feed back when you hit your opponent doesn't feel like its even there. The Smackdown vs. Raw series may still have a lot of clipping issues but when you punch someone in the face, you know you punched him, It may not be the most solid feed back in terms of video game violence but at the very least the soundeffect nails it. The grappling isn't so bad cause when they slam an opponent in the ground its fast and hard though trying to pull off a grapple move is a different story.

The flashy high air finishing moves aren't as impressive as they wanted it to be. Sure the colored motion trails are there and it does go into slow motion but it gets really old reall fast. One really annoying thing that bothers me in the game, aside from fighting the controls and the opponent at the same time, is the soundeffect of the canvas matt. It sounds like something off a PSX game or even a SNES game. They could've cheaped out and used the Smackdown vs. Raw matt soundeffects but no, they had to go with an old school artificial canvas soundeffect that rattles with ever damn step you take.

The PSP version does come with a create-a-wrestler mode which is decent but doesn't have nearly enough customization options as Smackdown vs. Raw. Aside from making a wrestler that look like who ever you what him to be, half of the fun was giving him a unique moveset. In All-Stars, you just pick who his base character will be and then select a finisher. Not fun at all.

I don't know if the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions suffer from the same problems as the PSP one but I think that the PSP version is a port of the PS2 and Wii version. Imagine playing this bad game... with bad motion controls! O_O

Bottom line is, stay away from this game. If you really want to try it, maybe theres a demo out there that you can play or maybe a friend of yours already has the game. Last option would be getting a 2nd hand copy but do not buy this game brand new.

Screenshots from http://www.ztgd.com

Review: Killzone 3

Killzone was never an interesting game for me. Even back in the PlayStation 2 I just thought the enemies looked cool. Then Killzone 2 came ,and it was one of those games that showed people the PS3 power. It was a good game for some but the shooting mechanics especially the cover system felt odd to me. Now Killzone 3 is here with a better gameplay, amazing graphics, addicting online, but with a single player that can disappoint any gamer.

Killzone 3 Developer: Guerrilla Games Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Platform: Playstation 3

Story

This has always been Killzone’s problem. It never had a good story, well for me at least. It’s pretty much a war between the ISA and the Helghast. ISA being the good guys from earth and the Helghast( their human, messed up from something but now with cool outfits) from another planet called Helgan and have been at war for the longest time. Among the three Killzone games, the first might have the most interesting. When I say most interesting, doesn’t mean it was great, just better than the rest. Comparing Killzone 2 and Killzone 3’s story, Killzone 3 was more exciting. But I think that was the problem since the story felt like it was lined up for these intense fire fights and chases.

Killzone 3 starts off minutes after the end of the Killzone 2. You control Tomas "Sev" Sevchenko, the Helghast leader Visari was killed by your partner Rico Velasquez and now the whole planet wants the ISA invasion force found and killed. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. Shit happens as they evacuate and a lot of battles break out.

Character’s in Killzone 3 is just as forgettable as the previous games. They have those lame lines that make you cringe to death. Stick to the game play and the action given to you in the single player and you should be fine when you play Killzone 3.

Gameplay

The shooting mechanics is much better now in Killzone 3. Aiming down your iron sights feels great. The cover system now is more fluid and it’s not in your way during a fight. For me, that was my biggest complaint in Killzone 2 , the cover system, but thankfully they tweaked it to be more useful and feeling more like an option compared to before.

Killzone 3 keeps changing the game play by dumping you into different scenarios. One part you’re manning a gatling gun in a transport ship the next you’re controlling a mech, walking around shooting rockets and machine guns then you’re placed on a tank shooting its mounted gun. They tried to keep the game from being repetitive but if you think about it, it’s all the same and for me I’d rather fight a handful of helghast on foot and take cover. The Shooting gameplay is satisfying enough that it felt like they didn’t need mechs and such to be added. Good attempt but I’d prefer it was lessened a bit.

The jetpacks, which was talked about a lot before the game’s release was a good addition. It’s easy to control and great tool to flank enemies. It was only used in one part of the game which was sad and disappointing with it's hype. I wish it was used more in the single player campaign but you will see more of it in multiplayer.

Everybody was requesting a co-op feature for Killzone 3 since it wasn’t added in Killzone 2. They added it but I don’t think Guerilla quite understood what the gamers want. Split screen co-op was added, but a lot (including myself) preferred online co-op, or at least the option. It felt like an afterthought, a feature placed to please some gamers.The two player split screen was nothing great and the second player seemed to be just added into the Single Player campaign with no purpose of being there. The second player isn’t even added into the cut scenes. When I was playing the single player, Rico follows you and helps you out, I thought during co-op the other player would be him but I was proved wrong when i finally tried it.

Brutal melee is great. Goodbye to those instant melee kills that don’t make any sense in other FPS games. This is how melee should be. Breaking people’s neck, puncturing Helghast eye’s with your thumbs or knifing someone’s throat when they’re not looking.  No more, swing the knife at an enemy a couple of times…..dead. Adding this makes the feel of the game a bit more real. Killzone’s style of camera movement feeling real with every jump, every slide, how you reload, giving you a more realistic feeling was one of it's unique features. Adding these brutal melee kills makes it even better.

AI in this game is actually pretty impressive. This is one of the main reasons why the FPS gameplay works well. The Helghast respond properly to any situation. Killing them with grenades is a huge challenge, they run when they see a grenade close by which is a good trick since their always covered well from gunfire. They also have the tendancy to flank the player if they get the chance and they engage you in melee if you are too close for comfort.

Graphics and sound

Graphics is no doubt amazing in this game. Not only do they change the pace of the gameplay, you’re constantly moving to different environments as you progress. At the start of the game you’re placed on a ruined city nuked by the Helghast government, the next you’re in the snowy part of Helgan. There’s also  a jungle setting during the single player and even a junkyard. You move from place to place really quick giving you something new to look at each time.

Everything is well detailed and the game looks great in 1080p. Sadly my current setup cannot test the 3D feature but I hear it can be painful since this is a FPS after all. Even in multiplayer, the graphics seem similar. Maps aren’t as well detailed in single player but is still one of the best looking games online. This is great eye candy and you can’t go wrong with Killzone’s graphics.

The sound was decent and it really feels like you’re in a middle of a war. Gunfire is also good and gets really loud if you’re not careful, neighbors complained about me watching a war movie too loud. No movie, just loud gaming.

Multiplayer

This is what makes Killzone 3 a great buy. I was not expecting this at all. I bought the game for the Campaign and not for the multiplayer. When I finished campaign and felt disappointed with what I went through overall, I went to multiplayer and got addicted in just a few games. Aside from the shooting mechanics being great and fluid even in multiplayer, the 3 game modes make it very interesting.

You have Guerrilla Warfare which  is pretty much Team Deathmatch, Operations which is a series of objectives with cool cutscenes seeing you and your teammates defend or infiltrate the area and Warzone which is the best out of the three. Its many game modes jammed into one match.  It cycles from mode to mode changing gameplay very quickly. It also lessens camping since when one game mode is finished, another one starts which forces the battles somewhere else. It addictiong and can last for like 30 mins or more.

Level is pretty straightforward. When you level you get unlock points which you can use to unlock certain skills and weapons for a certain class. Best thing about Killzone 3’s unlock is that you can choose what to unlock and what class to work on first. In the end, if you reach the max level you unlock all in the end but in the early levels you get to focus on one class if you want which is better compared to other games that require you to be level 36 to use a certain weapon or skill. You have full control over your growth. Each class has a unique skill and purpose that separate them from the rest of the group. It pretty neat since each class is needed to win a match.

For example, Tacticians are needed to capture spawn points while infiltrators are useful since they can disguise themselves as the enemy infiltrating their lines to take out snipers etc., Engineers rebuild ammo crates and make turrets to make a defensive position, Marksmen are snipers and medics of course give you the ability to heal and revive players. They all play out well and are well-balanced.

They have 8 multiplayer maps in total and only one can be played in Guerrilla Warfare mode. They all seem pretty balanced and well made. Each map has something that makes it unique compared to the rest. like, There’s one map were jetpacks can be used and it brings a whole different feel altogether with people flying around like idiots. There’s also a map were you may use the mechs seen in the campaign. The mechs are great in multiplayer and is actually underpowered since it can get taken down easily. It’s a good thing since it keeps things balanced.

Overall

Killzone 3 surprised me in a bad way. I was all excited for the campaign and came out disappointed when the end credits started rolling. The only saving grace for me was the multiplayer. I can honestly say it’s one of the best multiplayers I’ve played in a long time. If you want a great campaign, look elsewhere, but if you’re looking for a good multiplayer, this will do. Without the multiplayer, the game would have been easily shelved in just a few days of playing.

Score: 78/100

Pros:

- Amazing Multiplayer

- Great Graphics

- Brutal Melee!

Cons:

- Horrible story and characters

- Forgettable campaign

- Gameplay such as mech control, chase scenes and mounted gun sequences were too many

- No online co-op, only split screen