Gaming Monthly: November 09
Monday, November 2, 2009It’s finally November and if we learned something last year we now know that November is usually a great month for gaming!
Dragon Age : Origins [2009-11-05]
Dragon Age is a CPRG (computer role-playing game), the game is being developed by Bioware’s Edmonton studio. The game will come for Windows, PS3 and Xbox 360. The game also utilizes an new Engine called Eclipse, it is also said that the game will be the spiritual successor of the Baldur’s Gate-series, which is a bold statement indeed, and for those who have not played Baldur’s Gate, those games are great with an awesome depth and storyline.
Games like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights are based on the Dungeons and Dragons D20-system. However this game has a new and different rule set. Which forces players used to the D20-system (me) to learn and start from the beginning. I general I would call all of these games the peak of RPG-gaming, mostly because if you don’t take your time learning the rules of the game you often will have a difficult time with the game, they are not like the more casual RPG games out like Fable, Mass Effect, The Elder Scrolls, these games are often more complex and have a steeper learning curve.
There are many new things in this game on of the aspects that I find most appealing is the “origin”-stories for each race, a Dwarf Noble will begin the game as part of the royal family whilst a Dwarf commoner will start on the streets. The fact that you start in different places will surely have an impact on gameplay-style and experience, making it a great way to get some more hours out of the game. In the past many of these games used a zoomed out isometric perspective, this game uses a camera similar to Knights of the Old republic, though you still have the ability to zoom out to gain a better view of the battlefield.
There will be three different classes in the game, well three base classes: The Rogue, The Warrior and The Mage. These classes can later be upgraded and specialized into other higher classes of the same base. Not a lot of classes but I guess it’s reasonable since every class starts off at different places.
This game is for everyone crazy about roleplaying and want something with more depth and more complex rules, is not really the same kind of action you find in games like Fallout 3. This game will probably force you to be and think more tactical.
Call of Duty – Modern Warfare 2 [2009-11-10]
The game everyone is waiting for, we have all seen it, the brilliant trailers, the nice looking graphics. The game is as you know a first-person shooter set in modern time.
The campaign will be around 6-10 hours long and will include several different settings like Russia, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan Rio de Janerio etc. One of the most anticipated game-modes of this game is the Special Ops mode which is MW2 cooperative mode. The game mode consists of independent missions similar in design to the “Mile High Club” mission at the end of Modern Warfare 1. These missions takes place in different locations from the campaign mode and supports two players.
There will be a lot of new features to the multiplayer, such as accolades, customizable kill streaks, deathstreaks and several primary weapons that can be used as secondary weapons. Accolades is smaller awards you get for doing different kinds of stuff like “Vengeful” is awarded to the player with the most paybacks and “Lockdown” is an award for the most time spent in one place.
We all know how good the last game was, I bet Infinity Ward will raise the bar for this one as well.
Assassins Creed 2 [2009-11-19]
Assassins Creed 2 is a third-person action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Montreal, it’s the sequel to Assassin’s Creed. The game will be released on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.
The game itselfs takes place in four different cities: Venice, Rome, Florence and The Tuscan countryside. So what’s new in Assassins Creed 2? Well one of the bigger changes in the series is the ability to swim and use water as a weapon (drowning people). It’s a great change and necessary since it takes place in Venice. Several other changes has been made, the player can now use small boats to swiftly move across water, the health-system has been changed if the player is injured gravely the player needs to visit a doctor. There is also an economical system implanted meaning that you have to earn and spend money to get better weapons, and another welcomed addition is the day and night cycle, and you can now hide and/or use bodies as distractions like in the Hitman-series.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot on of the biggest complaints about the first game was that the game was incredibly repetitive. This time around it’s replaced by one that flows more naturally, and from the developers own mouths it’s been heard that the game will feature 15 different mission types (the first game had 5) and no two missions will be exactly alike in their presentation. There are also several changes to the regular combat, as the game progresses you will learn more and more combat moves and get more brutal. The sword and knives are a given, but Ezio (the main character) has two hidden blades, one on each wrist. Ezio can also disarm opponents and use their weapon against them, the game will feature around thirty different weapons ranging from sword and daggers to maces and polearms.
Left 4 Dead 2
What can I say, more zombie-madness? This time around with more weapons, more variety in missions and gameplay. This time around the plot is about the aftermath of an apocalyptic pandemic. There has been an outbreak of a rabies-like pathogen that causes infected humans to behave like zombies. The four survivors has to fight their way through the hordes. The game is set in southern united states.
The game features the game-modes seen in the first game: campaign, versus, survival but adds a new mode called scavenge. In this mode four vs four players are required to collect and use as many of the sixteen gas canisters scattered about in a level to continue to power the generators, thus extending the time in the round. Infected players will attempt to stop them, or detonate the canisters themselves.
A realism mode has also been revealed which is a difficulty modifier which removes the hals around teammates and items, making communication essential to players. Damage dealt to infected is also changed, headshots dealing more damage to enemies. Several other changes has been made as well, to make the experience more realistic.
Why we haven’t seen any katana-wielding samurai ninja asian survivors or zombies, I don’t know, Left 4 Dead 3 better take place in China.
Overall
Overall I think the month will be great, we got a lot of co-op and singleplayer action this month. There is also a lot of “smaller” games coming out like: Band Hero, Dragon Ball Raging Blast and Lego Indiana Jones 2 that might be worth looking into. Other than that saving up for the four main-games this month will probably be enough.
