Monday Impressions: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is a new twist in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. Ever since It's official reveal even before Konami decided to pass the project over to Platinum Games, I was excited. An action game set in the Metal Gear Solid world with Raiden once again in the spotlight. I gave the public demo a try on my Xbox 360 and quickly noticed that this is will be one hell of a stress reliever.

The demo released is the same demo included in the Zone of Enders HD Collection. It's a good 20-30 minutes of your time. Once you run the demo, you see the menu screen with Raiden in great detail rotating every once in awhile showing a different angle of his pose. I don't really care much about game menus, but this one was impressive. Once I pressed start, I only had two options: Story or Options. I quickly started Story which only showed three modes: easy, normal, and hard, with hard the only option unavailable. I went with normal and I was then given the choice to try the tutorial.

With it being my first time, I tried it out. The tutorial stage has the VR mission look seen in past Metal Gear games that gave a bit of nostalgia. Object like floating cubes, barrels, and even watermelons are found in the stage to practice your cutting skills. We all know Revengeance's biggest feature is blade mode - Holding down the left trigger activates blade mode, which then allows you to slice the target in front of you in any angle you want by either using the right stick or the attack buttons. Just like the first gameplay demo showcasing the cutting feature, I went up to the watermelons all neatly placed on the tables, and started slicing them into small pieces like a pro. It was weirdly satisfying and I was actually now eager to test this blade on actual enemies.

After the tutorial ended, you are given a short cutscene. A small briefing was given as we see Raiden heading to his destination via a small bomber-like plane. The graphics look amazing and after Raiden lands on the beach, we were given control. I was still craving for more slicing, so every tree, barrel and rock I  saw on that beach was cut into pieces. Once I had nothing else to cut, I moved forward and encountered my first batch of enemies.  With the light attack and heavy attack buttons, I hacked away and just after the combo finishes, I enter Blade Mode and finish them off, seeing the human cyborgs getting sliced up in slow motion. Once you slice him enough, you are given the option to press X which let's Raiden consume the enemy cyborg's electrolytes. These cyborg juices replenishes Raiden's life.

After the first batch, you move forward and the game informs you that you can go behind an enemy and kill them from above or behind by simply pressing X when told to do so. That is pretty much the stealth portion of the game which I hope doesn't force players to sometimes play in the shadows to move forward. We had too much of the stealth approach in MGS, I wanted blood, or rather, those electrolytes. Once your done assassinating, you enter this open area filled with different avenues to approach each enemy. You can tell already that they are giving the players the choice on how to engage. There's an augment mode which can be used by pressing the up on the D-pad. It highlights enemies and other points of interest in the area, a way to scout what you're getting into. Sneaking isn't a big portion of the gameplay, it looks like it's just there when you want to use it. I was able to go behind a guy and assassinate, but after that, I just went on the main road and alerted everybody in the area.

The famous alert sound from MGS with the exclamation point above the enemy's head return in Revengeance and I quickly find myself going against a couple of cyborg soldiers and two of those Gekko's that first appeared in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot. During the fight, the game teaches me about parry, which is pretty much the only means of defense. I had no roll, and it felt like I had to just stand my ground and parry any attack coming my way. I kept going in their face, deflecting anything they throw at me, while activating Blade Mode to finish each one off.

After I had cleared the area, a report pops up showing how well I performed giving me my stats and rank for that fight. Hopefully that won't happen in every encounter, but I do enjoying seeing how well I did. Instead of moving forward, I decided to look around since I noticed how big this area was. With the right trigger, holding it down lets Raiden sprint and make him react to certain environments making him jump ledges, and climb boxes smoothly. While exploring, there were crates that have consumable items for Raiden to pick up like healing items and even grenades and rocket launchers that can be used if equipped, Metal Gear Solid style. Rockets do damage, and grenades seem to stun enemies like the Gekko's, but it's quite hard to use them effectively in a fight. It was unusual to see Raiden use these equipment, but hopefully they come out useful in the full game because I simply ignored using them.

I then enter the next room and a cutscene occurs. Raiden is welcomed with a chainsaw that barely touches his jaw. The chainsaw slices up the corridor forcing it to collapse. Now in the streets, Raiden gets acquainted with IF Prototype LQ84i, a beast-like AI machine with a chainsaw as it's tail tasked to kill him.  This is obviously a boss fight and it was fairly easy thanks to the parry system. After he takes a few hits, he jumps on a high ledge and calls for reinforcements. I slice them all up and the beast-like machine comes down for another go. Rinse and repeat.

After beating the AI, that was sadly the end of the demo. I wanted more! The fights were exhilarating. Blade mode was a lot of fun and the music played once a fight starts the mood right especially during the boss fight. I was worried they would change it up a bit to give the game its own identity, but no, It looks and feels like a Metal Gear Solid game (which I was hoping for) but with a good twist. The UI, the cutscenes, they even included the codec making Raiden call his teammates to do some small talk. Staying true to the Metal Gear Solid world, while providing a satisfying combat system, makes this a game I'll most likely get when it hits shelves this week.

You can check out Migoy's impressions in the video below.

[Updated]First look at Bungie's new game - Destiny

Bungie has finally lift the lid on their new project with Activision. The first look comes as a ViDoc which shows and explains the now independent developer's vision for Destiny. Check it out below. 

Bungie also released the official description of the game via Bungie's forums:

Everything changed with the arrival of the Traveler. It sparked a Golden Age when our civilization spanned our solar system, but it didn't last. Something hit us, knocked us down. The survivors built a city beneath the Traveler, and have begun to explore our old worlds, only to find them filled with deadly foes.

You are a Guardian of the last safe city on Earth, able to wield incredible power. Defend the City. Defeat our enemies. Reclaim all that we have lost.

Key features: -The next evolution of entertainment - an incredible story set within a newly-imagined, always-connected universe filled with action and adventure.

-Create your character, forge your legend by defeating powerful foes, and earn unique and customized weapons, gear and vehicles.

-Unprecedented variety of FPS gameplay that redefines the genre breaks traditional conventions of story, cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes, combined with public and social activities.

Destiny is an online game and requires internet connection at all times, even when you play solo. bungie quickly clarified that this game will not have any monthly subscriptions, but also won't be Free-To-Play, which confirms that this game is somewhat an MMO-ish kind of experience. The ex-halo developers is really focusing on the social aspect in the game, hoping that this game will be something you'd like to play with friends for hours. There won't be any main menus to pair up players, everything will be done in-game. The best way i can describe a concept like this is that it may be similar to the online features of PS3's exclusive PSN title Journey - You play and explore the game, then you will stumble upon another player that might be going the same way, so you decide to work together.

With gameplay, it's going to be very familiar since this is Bungie after all, and we know damn well that they do good with FPS. The game will definitely have a competitive side, but they haven't talked into detail on how it will work in this world.

It's hard to pinpoint Destiny's genre aside from it being a FPS, but Activision is calling this a “shared world shooter”. GameIndustry reports that Destiny will have persistent worlds with sandbox-like elements.

Players will be able to customize their guardians looks, weapons, abilities, and even their own ship which can be used to travel from planet to planet. There are three confirmed classes so far - The Hunter, the Warlock, and the Titan. Not much details on the classes at this point.

Destiny will be available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but no PC. This is a bit strange and I'm sure a lot of PC gamers are outraged by this decision. Bungie considers themselves a "console shooter", so don't expect any PC port anytime soon. No release date was give, but is expected to launch this year.

Released concept art of the game can be seen below.

UPDATE: Activision confirms that Destiny is not set for a 2013 release, when? To be announced...

Review: Halo 4

The last time we saw Master Chief and Cortana, they were drifting off into unknown space on the rear half of the UNSC frigate Forward Unto Dawn. Nearly 6 years later, Halo 4 was announced under the development of 343 Industries, and was planned to be the first instalment in a second trilogy. In this installment, Master Chief is called into service once again with Cortana to save everybody from a new threat. You know how it goes.

There’s nothing much to say about this game; it’s Halo. If you’ve played any Halo game (and I’m sure you’ve played at least one), you know what you’re getting into. This is actually a good thing since this is the first title in the series without Bungie, and 343 Industries took on the challenge and created a game that Halo fans will appreciate. Halo 4 gave me a bit of nostalgia. It’s been awhile since I’ve entered the Halo universe, so it was refreshing to play a game like this again.

There are some changes in Halo 4, but the core gameplay is still intact. One of those changes is in the game’s story, which is more emotional than previous games. Cortana has reached her life expectancy as an AI, which means that Master Chief is pinned in a position to find a way to save her partner from thinking herself to death while simultaneously stopping this new threat from the Prometheans. You’d think the relationship of the duo would be the highlight of the story, but instead, it’s actually benched for the most part and only called on when needed. The main focus is still the world-ending threat, and once in a while Master Chief witnesses his partner for years malfunctioning in front of him, even during a fight.

I applaud 343 Industries’ attempt to bring a more serious tone to Master Chief’s relationship with Cortana, but it’s hard to take the emotional cut-scenes between the two iconic characters seriously when one of them is pouring with emotion, and the other is as stoic as ever, with his helmet preventing the player from getting a sense of his reactions to a situation. Not that I want Master Chief to reveal his face, but it just didn’t make any sense with regards to what they were trying to do. Master Chief is a great character, but his deep voice (which never changes) and his “the mission comes first” approach in every situation makes emotional cut-scenes feel awkward. Keeping the camera on Chief’s head doesn’t make it an intense scene.

Halo 4 did have a chance to create a great antagonist for Master Chief, a true nemesis that pushes him to his limits, but sadly falls short at the climax (you will understand when you hit the end). The story wasn’t what I hoped for, but looking back – what was I expecting? In the end I got the usual “must save the human race” plot, which is getting old.

But of course, Halo is all about the action, and you get plenty of that in Halo 4. You’d think after years of cryonic sleep, Master Chief would get some real R &R, but no. From when he wakes up until the credits start rolling, you encounter a battle at every turn you take, and that’s how it’s supposed to be. The campaign has a similar length to previous games with the same mix of FPS and vehicular warfare we’ve come to know in previous titles. The Covenant still shows up as the enemy, but the Prometheans, which are forerunner constructs that sport cool-looking skull faces once they open up, take up most of the spotlight, or rather, most of Master Chief’s bullets. The new enemies are quite challenging, especially the Promethean Knights (whom I hate fighting when there’s more than two at a time). They make a good alternative to the Covenant enemies we’ve gone against for years, but man, how I wish they added more enemy types for the Prometheans.

With new enemies come new weapons, but the Promethean arsenal is sadly not appealing. The UNSC and Covenant guns still pack a punch and completely outweigh the new weapons. But you’re mostly forced to use these new alien weapons anyway, since you will eventually run out of ammo for your trusty DMR.  Prometheans are your primary enemies in the campaign, so you’ll eventually get used to the new weapons, but as soon as I found a bunch of abandoned UNSC equipment with ammo, I instantly dropped everything I had and picked up a more familiar weapon set. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them.

It seems like 343 Industries did not seek to create anything groundbreaking, but instead wanted to bring the series back in the best way possible without alienating the Halo community. The game looks amazing and is one of the best-looking exclusive titles on the Xbox 360. It definitely pushes the console past its limits and I appreciate the level of detail they put into the game’s environments. Once I finished the campaign, I wasn’t too satisfied with the end result, but I’m definitely now eager to see how Halo 5 and 6 pan out with Master Chief out in the wild. Now that the campaign is out of the way, let’s get into the crazy famous multiplayer.

Multiplayer

Halo 4’s competitive multiplayer, now called War Games, is a way better experience than the previous offering in Halo: Reach. The game has better connections for players in Asia. The map designs are more strategic thanks to many entry points allowing access to more areas. DMR is still the most used weapon from what I can tell, but the other weapons can be as effective; it all depends on your play style. Game modes like Slayer and Team Slayer return with a good mix of other objective-based modes to provide variety for all types of players. On its initial release, the game shipped with 10 multiplayer maps, which created a good map rotation for players, preventing them from getting sick of certain arenas. Some maps are quite large in order to incorporate vehicles into play, while others are small enough for players that love to engage in close quarters. A good mix indeed.

Special weapons and grenades like the sniper rifle, plasma grenades, SAW, the Energy Sword, and many more spawn on the map and are up for grabs to the first comers. Each map has a different set of weapons spawning, so it creates some strategy and gives a bit of an edge to the team that uses it right. There are also Ordnance drops, which are another way to give a specific player an edge during a match. Once you acquire enough medals, you will earn an Ordnance drop, providing you with three choices that can range from a weapon boost to a rocket launcher drop. Sadly, Ordnance drops are only available in certain game modes, which I’m assuming was done to prevent balancing issues.

The multiplayer customization is about the same as any FPS. The Spartan program has started up again and you are among the new Spartan –IV batch stationed at the UNSC Infinity.  There’s a level-up system, of course. When you level up, you get Spartan Points (SP) to either unlock a specific ability or weapon that you can include in your custom load-outs. There aren’t many abilities and weapons to unlock, but there’s tons of Spartan armour so you can really stand out visually, as well as a vast variety of designs to make your unique emblem. The Forge is also included, which lets players customize maps and game modes that can be used in custom matches.

Their third main mode, Spartan Ops, replaces Firefight and is new to the series. It’s an episodic, story-driven game mode with its very own storyline and characters. It takes place six months after the campaign and you have objective-based missions with cinematics that tell a whole new story. A new episode is released every week and season 1 is expected to have 10 episodes, with each episode having 5 missions each. I loved the concept and the story, but the gameplay is pretty much a recycling of campaign levels and objectives (based on the first two episodes). Like a TV series, we’ll just have to wait and see how the story turns out in the end.

It’s an ambitious game mode since each chapter includes a cinematic clip that looks amazing. And the fact that they call this season 1 makes me believe that they are planning to create more content in the coming months, making Spartan Ops and the multiplayer two good options for jumping back into Halo 4 once you’ve finished the campaign. So far, it falls short in gameplay due to reusing content. I’ll give it a chance when more episodes are out to see how the story progresses, but at this point I still prefer Firefight.

Halo 4 doesn’t break any boundaries, but it definitely did not disappoint. While the story was not what I expected, the campaigned entertained me for a good 10 hours, and the multiplayer remains as addicting as it’s ever been. Spartan Ops is a bit lacking in terms of gameplay but it has the potential to redeem itself in the coming weeks. When it comes to Halo, I don’t want that much change. The formula works. And if it works, why change it? 343 Industries kept most of it intact, and now that we know that this developer can take on a big franchise like this with the same quality Bungie would provide, I’m up for Halo 5 and 6.

Score: 8/10

Pros:

-        Multiplayer still addicting as ever

-        Best looking Xbox 360 game to date

-        Halo formula still feels great after all these years

Cons:

-        Weak story

-        Spartan Ops gameplay

-        Covenant and UNSC weapons far superior to the new weapons

New Nintendo Direct focuses mainly on the 3DS

Last Nintendo Direct covered tons of Wii U news, but this time the spotlight is on the 3DS. What are the big announcements? Donkey Kong Country Returns coming to the 3DS, a new Mario RPG is coming, and a release date for Animal Crossing: New Leaf.

President of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, once again hosts Nintendo Direct. During the start of the presentation, Iwata marked this year as the year of Luigi. Nintendo feels Luigi needs more love, so they have a good amount of Luigi games planned for 2013. The first one? The sequel to his first ever game as the lead.

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon - 3DS

Luigi's Manion Dark Moon launches March 24.

Iwata also announced a new entry in the Mario and Luigi RPG series.

Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - 3DS

No release date was given, but Dream Team will be launched sometime in summer in the US, which should be around July for us.

To further bombard us with Luigi news, Nintendo also announced during this Nintendo Direct that a new DLC called New Super Luigi U(image above) will be coming to New Super Mario U for the Wii U. The title pretty much explains everything really. The DLC, or rather the expansion, will include Luigi-themed levels. No date was given, but expect it this year.

Mario Golf: World Tour

The presentation debuted another new game for the 3DS - Mario Golf: World Tour. Camelot, the developers of past Mario Golf games return for the 3DS title.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf

This Nintendo Direct also covered the latest entry in the Animal Crossing series. Along with a new trailer, they also announced the release date - June 9.

Nintendo Direct is really a bag filled with new Nintendo announcements. Wii U wasn't the focus,, but was not forgotten. LEGO City Undercover was shown together with release dates for games coming to the Wii U like - Injustice: Gods Among us on March 16, Need for Speed: Most Wanted U on March 19, The Walking Dead: Survival Instincts on March 26, and last but not least, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is coming on March 19 for both Wii U and 3DS. If you're eager to try out the new Monster Hunter title, a demo will be available on February 21 on both platforms at the eshop.

Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D

And to close of this Nintendo Direct, Nintendo announces Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D for the 3DS. The Donkey Kong Wii title is getting a 3D makeover and is planned for a summer release. No footage was reveal but just think Donkey Kong Country Returns, but in 3D.

That's about it for this Nintendo Direct, there's a lot more mentioned like new DLC for Fire Emblem: Awakening, new DLC for Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor Edge, more Nintendo promotions and a lot more. To see the full Nintendo Direct presentation, check it out below.

Nintendo Direct 02.14.13

Warframe going open beta this weekend only

Warframe, the Free-To-Play third person shooter on the PC, will be hosting an open beta this weekend for everybody to try out the game. All you need to do is register and download the game.

Warframe is a 4 player co-op game that has randomly generated missions, with the usual weapon unlocks, mod unlocks, special abilities, and classes to define your character. Oh, and you get ninja sword if you want to get up close and personal. It is being work on by Digital Extremes, developers of known games like Darkness 2 and Dark Sector.

I don't know what to expect with Warframe just yet but I'm quite curious to see how it plays out. It's something new in a way that - It's Free-To-Play, looks amazing for a free product, and is mainly focused in 4-player cooperative play. It's currently on closed beta, but just for February 15-19, non-beta key holders get to have a taste of Warframe. I'll be downloading the client once I'm allowed to do so and we'll see how it goes.

If you want to join the open beta event, go ahead to the Warframe website and register. The client should be available for download on Friday at 12:00PM EST, which is 5PM GMT on a Saturday in the Philippines.

[source: Warframe official website]