A New Website

This is my second website that I worked on in class.  It's a script of a game that involves a DEA agent named John stopping a big time drug lord named Juan.  In the game, there are five levels, the first four involving four different drugs and getting more difficult as they progress, and then a final boss battle against Juan himself.  Being played via a computer, in each level other than the last, the player will shoot bags of drugs until Juan runs out and has to get a different drug more effective than the last.  In the last level, Juan will hop into his truck and a battle against him will end the game.  This is just a short summary of what's written in the script.  In the script, there's flashbacks that the main character will have displaying why he wanted to become a DEA agent and they will ultimately lead up to the final climax (a final boss battle against Juan).  Also, the gameplay mechanics are explained and facts on the drug war currently going on between the United States and Mexico are seen in the game and can be read in the script.  If this sparks your interest, check out my full script at http://fs.finearts.utah.edu/~tbrimley/drug_war_site/.   For a direct link, click here.

My Website

I didn't realize that a post was required last week.  I thought that there was one due this week but not last, so I had them reversed.  Anyway, I figured I would post this week to make up for not posting last week.  This week, I wanted to post a link to my site and talk about it.  I have a description on my homepage, but I didn't think about the fact that nobody would be able to comment on it.  So, here's a link to my site: http://fs.finearts.utah.edu/~tbrimley/project1_site/.

My site is on the Bipolar disorder with a little bit of personal experience attached to it.  Give it a view and let me know what you think.

Modern Warfare 3's Success and Launch of Elite

Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3 has been officially announced as the biggest entertainment launch of all time, period.  It sold approximately 6.5 million copies within its first 24 hours of release, which involved $44 million in sells.  It's difficult to compare game sells to movie launches due to price of admission differences.  Games are normally released at $60 a piece, which is obviously a lot more than that of a movie ticket.  Still, Modern Warfare 3's success is difficult to match.  It's first week sell numbers will be insane and that doesn't even include the new Elite service, which costs an additional $50/year.  In short, Modern Warfare 3 has broken the record for fastest-selling game of all time for any system, and will probably break the record for best-selling of all time.

With that said, the launch of Elite was pretty much a total failure.  Their most optimistic impressions of how many people would join the service weren't enough to match that of how many signed up.  The servers became overloaded and Elite wasn't able to function.  It has since been fixed for me, but others are still facing issues.  It's almost been a week since Modern Warfare 3's launch, so it should be completely fixed relatively soon.  The good news of Elite not working properly is that now, everybody who signed up gets an additional month of Elite for free.  I talked about what Elite is in the last post, so there isn't that much to say.  I just wanted to touch on how bad the company messed up and how unprepared they were.  Still, this goes to show just how successful this Call of Duty launch has been.

To check out what Elite's all about, visit http://www.callofduty.com/elite.

Modern Warfare 3 - Buyer's Guide

As many of you know, Call of Duty:  Modern Warfare 3, probably this year's biggest launch, is being released this Tuesday (11/8/2011).  Now, I know a lot of dislike is aimed towards the Call of Duty series.  Most are saying that the series has finally reached a dead end and that there is no way that fresh ideas can come with a new release.  I can agree with part of this statement.  Sure, this Call of Duty will be very like the previous ones in the sense that it's more first-person shooting, ranking up in the same manner, and playing a single-player campaign that may come of as bland and unoriginal.  With that said, I have some information that may persuade you into seeing that it may be worth the money picking it up upon release.  Here's why MW3 may prove to be better than its predecessors:


New Modes:  A new mode that I'm looking forwards to is Kill Confirmed.  In this form of gameplay, the player will run around killing people all the same.  But instead of the experience being based off of actually only killing the enemy, now you will be forced to pick up a tag that they will drop after being killed to "confirm the kill".  If you don't do this, you won't gain experience points.  Also, if you kill a person and then somebody kills you, the kill you weren't able to confirm can be picked up by the teammate of the person you killed in which will result in not allowing you that kill.  I know this sounds confusing, but it's really understandable in video format while hard to explain in plain text.  With that said, here's a video showing how this new mode works:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=035qb_IHuZQ.

Also, there's a mode called Spec Ops.  Yes, I realize that this mode was seen in Modern Warfare 2, but now playing the missions will help you rank up.  It also comes with a survival mode, which should be pretty cool.  In this mode, a currency system will be used in which will allow you to purchase different weapons, airstrikes, armor, and more.  These are two modes that I'm definitely looking forward to.

Another thing to look forward is the new addition of Call of Duty Elite, a computer-integrated system for MW3.  This will allow you to go online and update your multilayer classes along with starting clans.  This will mean you can now set up tournaments through the web.  Also, signing up for tournaments will sometimes result in rewards (if you win them off course).  Call of Duty Elite will take the social aspect of gaming to the next level.  The down side of it:  Call of Duty Elite will cost an annual fee of $50.  The positive side of it:  If you purchase the hardened edition of the game, it will come with a one-year subscription of Elite, for $10 cheaper.  The regular game is $60 while the hardened edition is $100.  I'll let you do the math.  Also, a reason to upgrade to Elite is DLC-based.  Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games has promised to release 12 DLC packs, once every month.  This will include new multiplayer maps, spec ops maps, weapons skins, titles, etc.  How does this make Elite worth the purchase?  All the DLC packs will be free if you have an Elite subscription.  If you like extra content like I do, this will make Elite well worth the purchase.

One last thing I wanted to bring up is that an upgraded engine is being used, which will help improve the graphics of the game.  The graphics have always been top notch in Call of Duty games; now they will look even better.

So, what I'm trying to say is, pick up the game.  Call of Duty games always come with addictive multiplayer elements and compelling campaigns that will make the game well worth the price of admission.

For more information on Modern Warfare 3, visit http://www.callofduty.com/mw3

A Look at What's to Come Before the Year's End

I haven't been able to get a whole lot of gaming in this week (I haven't even been able to touch Battlefield 3 yet), so I'm just going to list some games along with some downloadable content that will be coming out soon in which I'm looking forward to.  First, I just wanted to mention some games that are coming out before this year comes to an end in which I'm definitely looking forward to.  Also, I'll list some games that others may find interesting.  

Here's what we're looking at:

-Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - 11/8/2011 (I'm definitely not missing out on this game)

-The Elder Scrolls V:  Skyrim - 11/11/2011

-Assassin's Creed Revelations - 11/15/11

-Halo:  Combat Evolved Anniversary - 11/15/2011 (I'm not a fan of Halo, but I know a lot are)

-Saints Row The Third - 11/15/2011

Those are just some of the games that are going to help wrap up this year's game releases.  There are obviously a lot I didn't mention, but I listed some popular titles that are sure to spark some interest.




Moving onto some DLC release dates, here are some that I'm looking forward to:

-The Horde Command Pack (Gears of War 3) - 11/1/2011

-Nightwing (Batman:  Arkham City) - 11/1/2011

-Robin Bundle Pack (Batman:  Arkham City) - 11/12/2011

-Bloodbath Arena (Dead Island) - Mid-November

-RAAM's Shadow (Gears of War 3) - 12/13/2011

-Back to Karkand (Battlefield 3) - December (Comes with free code if bought new - Limited Edition)




A Battlefield 3 review will most likely be forth coming, once I get a chance to play it.  Until then, happy gaming.

Battlefield 3 Releases Tomorrow

Battlefield 3, one of this year's most anticipated game, comes out tomorrow.  I've had it preordered for quite some time now, so hopefully it lives up to the hype it has been bombarded with.  Dozens of trailers showing it off have been released, and people have been eagerly anticipating its release.  Battlefield:  Bad Company 2, a game released by DICE (the same company behind Battlefield 3) last year, was compared to and even said to be better by some then Modern Warfare 2 (pretty impressive).  I definitely enjoyed Bad Company 2 more than MW2 myself.  So far, the reviews have been fantastic, at least for the PC version, so only time stands in the way until I get my hands on it and get to try it out myself.  The open beta, released on the XBox Live Marketplace a few weeks back, was quite the buggy (glitch-filled) mess, so we'll have to see if those have been fixed when the final copy is released tomorrow. 

As for information on what comes with the game, there is a lot more to say.  If you preordered the game, you were automatically upgraded to receive the limited edition for free, which comes with the DLC (downloadable content) "Back to Karkand".  This comes with four maps from Battlefield:  Bad Company 2 remastered with the Frostbite 2 engine as well as weapons from Bad Company 2 and unique awards/achievements.  I enjoyed almost all of the maps from the previous game, so I'm actually really excited that they're bringing a few of them back.  Other bonuses were also given to those who preordered the game from certain retailer stores as well.  For example, if you preordered the game from Gamestop, it comes with the Physical Warfare Pack, which includes a few additional weapons that can be used in Battlefield's competitive multiplayer.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to the game for sure.  I'm sure it will eat up quite a bit of my time as I'm sure I'll be playing it quite a bit.

For more information on Battlefield 3, see http://www.battlefield.com/battlefield3.

Batman: Arkham City Releases Tomorrow

Batman:  Arkham City, sequel to Batman:  Arkham Asylum, is being released tomorrow (Tuesday, October 18).  After playing the incredible first experience, I'm very excited for this one.  After looking into the game and reading the reviews it has received, the game looks as if it has lived up to the hype.  For those of you who played the first game, you know that the combat was smooth, there were a ton of places to explore, upgrades to unlock, riddles to solve, and challenge maps to master.  Arkham City sticks to its roots while making an even better experience, based on what I've heard.  The story sounds great, the voice acting is superb (Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill return as the voices for Batman and Joker), and there are several side missions to keep you even busier.  There are tons of upgrades to unlock for Batman as you rank up as well, including unlocking new abilities and gadgets (many more upgrades than those seen in Akham Asylum).

If this doesn't sound like enough, Arkham City is supposedly five times larger than the asylum explored in the first game and there are 400 riddles to solve (around two times those found in the first game).  This makes for a longer and much more involved experience, which makes the game all that more fun.  That is, if you're into hunting for these "collectibles".  I know I enjoyed finding/solving the riddles scattered across Arkham Asylum.  If you're still not sold on the game, there are challenge maps where you can earn medals and master Batman's combat abilities.  I loved mastering the maps found in the first game.  Also, if you buy the game new, Catwoman comes with it as a bonus character, who has her own missions and riddles to solve/find as well as new upgrades to unlock.  Also, after you beat the game once, New Game Plus becomes unlocked.  This new feature allows you to carry over the upgrades you unlocked for Batman and play through the story again.  Of course, the enemies become harder because of this, but this allows you to play through the game again and unlock more of Batman's abilities.

Batman:  Arkham City is sure to take up a large chunk of you're time and should be well worth the purchase.  I'll be picking it up for sure.  For more information on the game, see http://community.batmanarkhamcity.com/.

For a professional review on the Arkham City, see http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/119/1199706p1.html.

Gears of War 3 Review

It's taken me a couple weeks, but I've finally been able to finish the Gears of War 3 campaign, play a lot of the multiplayer, and try out the new Horde and Beast modes.  I'm going to split up this review into categories and give scores based on each of those, then average the scores for a final one.  So, here it goes...

The Campaign:

Gears of War cannot be summed up without discussing the campaign.  While a lot will just discuss the multiplayer, the series' campaigns cannot be ignored.  Fighting for human salvation has to be one of the greatest things to fight for and the Gears 3 campaign was able to wrap everything up and give a very satisfying ending to the series.  It provides an emotional ride with incredible story elements, new locust monsters to fight, incredible graphics, and a journey to finally put everything to an end and save what's left of the dying human race.  Without spoiling anything, I'm just going to say that this was one of the greatest campaign's I have ever played.  Play the Gears of War 1 and 2 campaigns because without them, this campaign will still kind of make sense, but won't be nearly as satisfying.  Knowing what Marcus and his gang has been through makes this the most emotional campaign to date seen in any other shooter games, such as the Call of Duty series or Halo series.  Maybe the Halo campaigns brought a lot of emotional bends in them, but I felt more from the Gears series.  Whoever thought that video games can't be emotional are about to be proven wrong.  Anyway, to wrap things up, the Gears of War 3 campaign should be played by everyone and if you don't play it, then you're missing out.  It was of the greatest journey's experienced in video game history.

Score:  10/10

The Competitive Multiplayer:

Read the post before this one and that pretty much wraps up how I feel about the Gears of War 3 competitive multiplayer.  With great maps, new dedicated servers (slight lag is still seen every now and then), and some enjoyable new weapons, Gears of War 3 is by far the best multiplayer experience in the series.  I've played it for hours and I'm still not tired of it.  With ribbons, medals, characters, weapon skins, and more to unlock, this Gears has implemented more things that make the multiplayer all that much more enjoyable.  In Gears of War 2, a ranking system existed (the fight from level 1 through 100), but ranking up came with nothing (only a minor sense of satisfaction).  In Gears of War 3, the same ranking system exists (earning levels 1 through 100), but now unlockables come with that.  Need I say more?  The Gears of War 3 multiplayer has been made far more fun and enjoyable than its two predecessors.

Score:  9.5/10

The Horde and Beast Modes:

Sure, Horde has been seen in Gears of War 2, but now it has new elements that make it more fun than the one seen in its predecessor.  Gears 3 has Horde 2.0, a mode that includes a currency system that allows you to buy barriers, decoys, turrets, and more, and upgrade them too.  What's even better is that you have to unlock these things by playing more Horde and earning more money.  For instance, at first you'll only be able to buy barriers and place them where you want, but as you play more, you'll unlock upgrades for them and unlock more things to buy such as decoys.  It has pretty much a raking system of its own.  What else is cool?  There are medals and ribbons to earn for Horde modes as well, so there it plenty to do and stride for.  Also, boss rounds are now included, which makes Horde harder and more fun as well.  There are 50 waves, same as that in Gears 2, but getting through these waves has become harder.  Don't fear though because you'll now have the tools to get through these waves just fine.

Beast mode is new in the Gears of War series.  This mode puts you on the opposite side, where you will now be locust monsters instead of humans.  This mode works similarly to that of Horde; there are only 12 rounds though, instead of 50.  Still, it makes for great fun.  There is a currency system in this mode as well and more powerful locust monsters unlock as you gain kills with the ones given to you.  You spend money on the monsters and earn money by getting kills with them.  So make sure you spend the money wisely and gain kills with the monsters you choose to purchase.  There are four "ranks" of locusts, and if you're lucky enough to unlock the last set, it's by far the best.  The Berserker, while very expensive, is the best of the bunch.  There is nothing more satisfying then causing the humans mayhem with this monster.  It's attacks are very strong and is very hard to take down.  This may all sound confusing, but trust me when you start playing it, it's very easy to get the hang of.

Score:  9/10

Gears of War 3 is by far the best in the series.  They have made improvements in pretty much every aspect from the other games and have included more.  So, pick up the game; it's definitely worth the money.  This will definitely be a top contendor for best XBox 360 game of the year.

Overall Score:  9.5/10

Gears of War 3 - The Pros and Cons of Multiplayer

Over the past week, I've been playing quite a bit of the third and final game of the Gears of War trilogy.  It's a great game and the pros totally outdo the cons, but I just wanted to talk about what I love about the multiplayer and what I wouldn't of minded having left out.  Keep in mind that this isn't a review, it's just a few things that I took notice of during my playtime.  A review will be coming later.



Pros:

-The new look - The graphics looks better than ever, and that's really all there is to say.

-Team Deathmatch - I'm very glad that they brought in a game mode like this.  It isn't execution, where you have to wait to respond until the round is over.  If you're interested in just killing the opposite team and hate the wait of each round duration in Execution, then play this mode.  It's very fun and oh so addicting.

-The multiplayer maps - There is no dud.  Each map has it's fun elements and don't make you dread having to play some of them.  Gears of War and Gears of War 2 had there bad maps.  In Gears of War 3, their are no environmental hazards to worry about such as in Gears 2's Hail.  The only map that I don't entirely enjoy is Overpass.  Still, I don't entirely hate any of the maps like I did some in the other Gears of War games.

-The weapons - There are some great new weapons that they included into this game, such as the oneshot, the digger, and the retro lancer.  Also, they added new incendiary grenades, which are very cool to kill the other team with.  All these new weapons are fun to use and add some new strategy when approaching the opponents who have them.

-The dedicated servers - Host power has finally ceased to exist.  The new dedicated servers are up and going and give everybody a fair chance at killing their opponents.  This was definitely what go me the most excited for the game's multiplayer.



Cons:

-The sawed-off shotgun - This pretty much ruined the short-range gameplay of Gears of War 3.  For people who played Gears of War 2 like me will hate this new shotgun.  They should've just stuck with the gnasher, which is the shotgun used in the previous games.  I am finding myself using the sawed-off just because I don't stand a chance against somebody who has the sawed-off while I'm using the gnasher.  Epic Games needed to stick to their roots and should not of included this new shotgun.

-Execution - The game mode of Execution is now only three rounds.  What happened to five?  Why did they change it?  Those are the questions that I'm still asking today.  Execution was the best in Gears of War 2, but I now find myself not playing it because it doesn't last long enough.  It's very frustrating and you can only hope that they'll change it later on.  If they were to change it back to five, I would definitely start playing it.  But for now, I'm sticking with Team Deathmatch.



My favorite multiplayer maps out of the ten:

-Sandbar
-Gridlock (from Gears of War and Gears of War 2, but updated and altered to nighttime)
-Hotel
-Mercy
-Old Town (my favorite from the Gears of War 3 beta)



Gears of War 3 is probably still my favorite out of the three, but the two cons I noted definitely damper the time I spend playing it.  I love the game, and it will definitely be one of the best that come out this year.  It is the best game that has come out so far this year, but we'll see if it ends up being the best by the year's end, after Modern Warfare 3, Battlefield 3, and other shooters are released this fall.  For now, it's back to shooting some locust monsters.

The Wait for Gears of War 3 is Almost Over

The wait is finally over.  Gears of War 3, the last in the Gears trilogy and one of this year's most anticipated game, is being released this coming Tuesday (9/20).  After being postponed twice, once from last Fall to this past Spring, and a second time to this Fall, will the game live up to the hype?  It had a playable beta released back in June and people seemed to enjoy it.  Were the bugs fixed, additions made, and will the campaign give the people who have been following the Gears series a satisfying ending to the trilogy?  Only time will tell.  So far, the reviews for the game have been very positive.  Let's hope the population who buy the game feel the same way when they get their hands on it this Tuesday.  I'm looking forward to it as I have been ever since it was announced.

With a new campaign featuring four player co-op, new multiplayer maps/game modes, an upgraded Horde mode, and Beast Mode, new to the Gears of War series, this game has no reason to not be the best Gears of War in the series.  I can't wait to try it out and I'm sure many others can't as well.  A review of the game will most likely be forthcoming from me within the next week or two.  Until then, enjoy the game when it's released on Tuesday.

For more information on Gears of War 3, go to http://gearsofwar.xbox.com/en-US/.

For a professional review, go to http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/119/1194638p1.html.

Dead Island - Game Review/Information

Dead Island, the new video game by Techland, developers of the Call of Juarez series, was released this past Tuesday for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows.  I picked it up over the weekend for Xbox 360 and have put several hours into it.  I haven't even scratched the surface when looking at overall game completion.  Zombie Island is at core, a zombie's game such as Left 4 dead, but also includes RPG elements found in games such as Borderlands.  It has a skill tree that includes upgrades for your character as you rank up and includes weapon customizations.  There's an inventory menu, that has a select amount of weapons you can carry.  As you play, you can unlock more inventory slots.  It's an open world game, which means you're free to explore the area you're currently at while going on several quests; some are side quests while the others are main quests, meant for the story.  I've only played through the first act, but after the first one, I was sent into a different area, that had a new map to explore just as large as the first one.  So, I'm assuming that after each act, your character will be thrown into another map that needs to be fully explored, each one as massive as the previous.  There are four acts total.  Lastly, there are four characters for you to try out, each one with different specialties and skills.

Overall, the game is a lot of fun to play.  The fighting is enjoyable and fast-paced, and each the graphics are pretty strong.  There are different types of enemies, each one with their strengths and weaknesses, which makes you change up your approaches/strategies for each of them.  Also, the game's length is very solid.  You'll be getting your money's worth with the purchase.  I've played for a total of about six hours, and I'm only approximately 30 percent done with the main story progress.  Of course you can only focus on the main quests and get it done at a much quicker pace, but you'll be missing out.  The game's all about exploring the various areas, trying out each quest, including the side ones, and raking your character up.  This will take you a while.  On another note, there are 140 collectibles to find, so if you're one who like fully completing their games, finding each of these will keep you going as well.  Also, you might want to go back and try the other characters out.  So, overall, you're looking at a game that could take you 20 plus hours to get full satisfaction with, which is great.  The main and really only complaint I have is repetitiveness.  Each quest asks you to go pick up something for somebody because of a certain reason.  There are multiple side quests that you don't feel like doing because they get boring.  Still, the story quests are fun and at least you aren't stuck in the same area for the entire game.  Like I said earlier, I'm quite sure that there are four full maps to check out, one per act, each very large.  The thing that keeps you motivated to complete quests, both side and story ones, is ranking up.  You want to rank up your character and become stronger in various aspects.  The skill tree is split up into three categories (Fury, Combat, and Survival).  Fury includes upgrades for your special ability, which allows you to kill enemies in a cool way.  Combat includes upgrades for weapons, which allows them to become more effective and stronger in combat.  Lastly, Survival includes upgrades for you health.  It also includes upgrades that allow you to do things such as pick locks.  These make you want to upgrade your character and try out each skill, which is awesome.  The only bad thing is you won't be able to level up to a level where all upgrades can be achieved.  Your level is maxed out at 50, which will leave you short of about half of the total available upgrades.  Level 99 would have to be able to be changed to the max level in order for all upgrades to be achieved/maxed out.  Hopefully an update will be released that will allow you to rank up further and max out all of the skills or at least reset your skills.  That's another issue; once you buy a skill, it's permanent.  We'll have to wait and see if these minor issues are ever fixed in the future.

Dead Island's first DLC (downloadable content) pack will be released later this month.  The pack will be called Bloodbath Arena.  It will include four new maps and a new weapon called "The Ripper".  More information on this will most likely be coming in the near-future.

For a professional review of Dead Island or for more information on the game itself, see http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/955/955540.html.

For the emotional, heart-shattering, announcement trailer, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZqrG1bdGtg.

Modern Warfare 3 Finds New Competitive Multiplayer Elements

Recently it was announced that Modern Warfare 3, the new Call of Duty experience coming from Infinity Ward/Sledgehammer Games, is including some cool new features to the game.  If you're familiar with the series' multiplayer, you know about how the system works.  You rank up as you play and unlocks come with that, including new guns, perks, etc.  There are also killstreaks that you can unlock as well.

With that said, it has recently been stated from Infinity Ward that Modern Warfare 3 will include gun proficiency levels. This will allow your favorite gun in the game to become more effective as you use it.  It infers that the recoil of each gun you use will become less of an issue as the accuracy for the weapons will increase.  This will also mean that the power of the bullets will increase.  Overall, the weapons will become more efficient as you them.

The killstreak rewards will also come with different elements.  Instead of killstreaks, they will be more like pointstreaks, which means assists will help you reach each killstreak reward as well as the kills that you get.  This is pretty cool considering assists will now actually help you reach these rewards.  Also, the killstreaks will be separted into distinct classes (Assault, Support, and Specialist), which will allow you to customize these rewards according to your playing style.

The game is being released on November 8 of this year.  These are some new features that have been announced and more will probably be revealed when the game comes out.  New perks are sure to be in the mix as well.  So, overall, it looks like this new Call of Duty may have some new elements in the mix that may make your decision easier to pick it up when it's released this fall.

For more information, see http://geek.pikimal.com/2011/09/03/call-of-duty-xp-hands-on-with-modern-warfare-3/.