Warhammer 40K: Space Marines + Jon’s Last Post
So for those of you who might care, this is in fact, my last post on Secondary Fire. I’ve been drafted into the ranks of the few, the proud, the mighty. I will be running off to make video games instead of writing and talking about them. Where I’m going, I cannot say. When I’ll be back, you cannot know. Okay, actually, I’m going to Koei Canada. When I’ll be back, well, that is hard to say. I’m going to see if I can come back to do other media reviews and opinions, but it is a slippery slope and a very sticky mess to boot. But I digress.
I’ll be leaving this blogsite in the capable hands of none other than Mr. Amrit Maharaj, whom I’m sure will continue to share his love of all things gamey (that sounds kinda gross, actually), and all those of nerd-dom.
When I first spied the Relic logo at the start of this video, I immediately assumed and prepared for another strategy game, something Relic does in spades. However, as I watched the video, I realized two very important things:
1. While there’s no real gameplay shown, this looks very little like a strategy game.
2. This is a console game – Relic has cut their teeth developing strategy for the PC.
So I’m not sure what to expect – but I can leave you with several of my buzzword expectations. Four Player Co-op. Weapons-based Combat. Epic Story. Enjoy the video.
I’m out. Game On. One Love … and so forth.
- Jon Chan
IGN REALLY loves Call of Duty World at War!!
Now, I haven’t really given Call of Duty World at War a fair chance just yet. I’ve briefly played the intro, but that’s about all I can say about the game at this point, so I’m definitely not in any position to dispute the score awarded to the latest CoD game by IGN.
Amrit was already questioning the 9.2 awarded to CoDWaW (pronounced … well, cod-waw.), so I went to IGN.com to check it out myself. This is what I was greeted with:
No biggie, didn’t phase me at all. Then I continued to the main page, and was punched in the face by this:
Where the fuck do I click!? I don’t know if that’s a god damn advertisement, feature piece, or if Activision just smashed a dump truck full of money through the wall of an IGN boardroom and yelled “Eat dick and love it mothafaggaaaaaaaz!!!!” and the Fox/IGN folks went down on their knees and said “MmMmm it tastes rape-a-licious!” But I digress.
At least the review page didn’t wasn’t plastered with CodWaW banners. THAT would have been tacky.
I’m not debating whether or not the game is any good, or worthy of the 9.2. I am making note however, that a game’s review becomes highly suspect when you realize the advertising dollars going to a particular source of unbiased information. Just something to think about.
Left 4 Dead Demo Screens
Some time last year, I made a statement that Zombie culture was making a comeback. Amidst the popularity of the Walking Dead comic series and movies like Quarantine and Diary of the Dead, Left 4 Dead was just one of the big clues.
I just finished playing the Left 4 Dead pre-order demo, solo, and then online with a full team of survivors. If you haven’t been following, Left 4 Dead is a first person shooter, and will be featuring four Movie Campaigns, a set of stories/scenarios from which you must escape, playing as part of a team of zombie infection survivors. Your object, I believe, will never change: dont die and be get rescued. But the journey to safety will be an arduous and life-threatening (did I mention morbidly scenic and memorable?) one.
Maybe these screenshots might paint a better picture…
This one’s already dead
Pop goes the weasel!
How many licks does it take to get to the 
This one had a run in with R. Kelly
Haters wanna hate, Lovers wanna love
That red ain’t part of the tattoo
New Orange Box Juice, made with 100% pure Vitamin V
I’m sure all the crackheads and car thieves learned Secondary Fire Oddcast – Friday, October 31 2008
Instead of trick or treating with the other 12 year olds, Amrit and Jon wax about the upcoming Xbox 360 Fall Dashboard update. Along with the batmen, jokers, and other super heroes out and about getting candy, we also discuss our love for Spiderman Web of Shadows in great depth. We also debate the Wii’s role in the mainstream video game market, and shovel ware. Hold onto your nads, it’s a very serious podcast this week.
The Fallout 3 Survival Guide
Jon’s Note: I’ve been perusing the net, and have noticed a lot of Fallout 3 Survival Guides being published. I get the feeling this will be a title of great interest to people, as everyone hunts for all the bobble heads and tries to complete every quest. As a result, I’ll be expanding this guide, tipping as a matter of opinion, and not so much fact. I’ll try to steer clear of “PLAY-THE-GAME-LIKE-THIS” recommendations that several of my peers have already employed, and just note the things I think some players will/might overlook. Cheers!
So you’ve received your Pip Boy 3000, punked off Butch and the Tunnel Snakes, and, possibly with a murder or two in tow, have made your way out of Vault 101 and into the Capital Wasteland. It’s a dangerous world out there. If the Raiders don’t rape and mug you, the Super Mutants will tear your limbs off. If the Super Mutants tear your limbs off, then the Yao Guai will probably eat your ass. If the Yao Guai doesn’t eat your ass, you’ll probably get radiation poisoning. You see where I’m going with this.
The world in Fallout 3 is so vast that it might be a bit overwhelming to traverse. Here are some tips that’ll help keep your shots deadly, yours limbs connected, and your pockets lined with bottle caps.
Trash now, treasure later
One of the first things you’ll notice in the Capital Wasteland is the overwhelming number of odds and ends you’re able to pick up and keep in your inventory. Some of it’s obvious, 9mm ammunition, Talon combat armor. But Abraxo cleaner? Turpentine? Steam gauge assembly? Pressure Cooker?! Who needs all this junk? Well you might later on. If you’re not going to take it with you, at least make a note of where it is, in case you’ll need to come back and find it.
Pair and Repair
Don’t be afraid to double up on similar types of weapons or armor in your inventory. You can combine them into one single item of the same type using your repair skill. This will increase the durability and damage of the weapons, and keep your armor from breaking in the middle of battle. This is also a good way to make some quick caps when the need arises. The shops love guns in good condition. Bling bling. Don’t forget that your intelligence attribute will also boost your repair skill, so Mentats come in VERY handy and bringing a Utility Jumpsuit wherever you go will give you that little boost when you need it.
Strong back shit liftin’ it up
Your strength is what determines the amount of weight you can carry. If you’re gonna be well stocked, you’d better have the muscles to lug around all your weapons, armor, and all those toy cars. If you don’t want to go that route, at least pick up all the ammo for the weapons you’re not using. These take up zero weight, and can add up to a pretty penny… whatever the fuck a penny is.
Take a look, it’s in a book …
It’s reading rainboooooow. If a book has a title, be sure to read it instead of pawning it off for some quick cash. Books like the DC Journal of Medicine, Guns and Bullets, and Dean’s Electronics all boost your skills, depending on the subject matter. And if you’ve got the Comprehension perk, you’ll gain an extra skill point each time you read.
You stop growing at 20!
It sounds like a fantasy for some, but in this game you cap at level 20. Be sure to plan out your skills or perks before you hit the big 2-0.
Action Jackson
You can target multiple body parts on multiple targets in a single VATS attack. If you’re confident in your skills, try taking out multiple targets in a single swoop.
Better than Ikea
It never hurts to have a place to rest your head. Especially if that place is stocked with all your spare guns, armor, and supplies. Getting a place is an incredibly advantage as it allows you a place to stash the valuables that are weighing you down. In addition, you can furnish your place with all sort of useful appliances. Might I recommend getting the Nuka Cola Machine first? It lets you turn all your Nuka Cola’s ice cold… go ahead, give it a whirl.
*note* I should warn you that there is one piece of furniture without any real use, and that’s the Jukebox. Only buy the jukebox if you want to achieve the next tip. See Below.
Pimpin’ ain’t Easy
Well, actually it is. Always be ready to pimp it out.
Shoot, Duck, and Cover!
Believe or not, you’re able to detonate grenades mid-flight by shooting them. If you don’t have the reaction time of the Flash, and the accuracy of … I don’t know … Harold my tax accountant … then you’ll want to go into VATS to do this. If you can pop the nade before it leaves your enemy’s hand… all the better.
Keeping the Goods
If you’ve got a place of your own, you’ll notice you have at least four storage locations (ie. a dresser, desk, fridge, or whathaveyou). You’ll also notice you have four categories of inventory – Weapons, Apparel, Aid, and Misc (Ammo doesn’t count because it weighs nothing). It might help to designate specific items to specific crates.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows Review
I spent my first 30 minutes of Spider-Man Web of Shadows cursing my expectations and frustrated at the PSOne-worthy tutorial Shaba Games had implemented into what was supposed to be the ultimate Spider-Man game (no pun intended). In strict and regimented try-and-try-again segments, an all-too-stereotypical Luke Cage instructed me to learn my basic combos, walk on walls, and eat my vegetables, and there wasn’t gon’ be no dessert if I didn’t eat mah veg’tibles, knaw’mean??.
So I conceded. Enslaved to the ebonical demands of a Luke-Cage-cum-Soccer-mom, I followed every order. I played along with every little mission. I jumped through every hoop, I scaled every tower, I swing-kicked every thug to which he ordered me. And then, like a child with a box of crayons and blank white-washed wall, I was set free. I got to roam the city in any direction I wished. I got to swing to my heart’s content. I got to be Spider-Man. The veggies Mama Cage fed me were terrible, bland, and flavourless. They reeked of old generation musk. But the dessert, the dessert was delicious and decadent, and so, so, so worthwhile.
Web of Shadows is to Spider-Man games as Skate is to other skateboard titles, which is completely ironic in its own regard since developer Shaba Games has hand their fair share making Tony Hawk titles in the past. However, they’ve managed to produce a Spider-Man title that, aside from the tutorials and minor gameplay flaws, is fun and refreshing from typical Spider-Man titles. Web of Shadows does a lot right. The swinging mechanic of the game feels natural. That is to say, the swinging in this game actually feels like swinging. In the past, web-swinging was an automatic and nearly passive mode of movement, a simple button press. In Web of Shadows however, swinging requires timing, depth-perception, and rhythm. A conscious effort must be applied, since Spidey’s web must actually connect with a surface, so say goodbye to swinging from the sky. Players must be aware of and adjust their virtual speed and trajectory in order to zip through New York City precisely, a mechanic that has obviously been refined through many Tony Hawk iterations.
Another nod to the Tony Hawk games is the combat system. As Spidey levels up, you can purchase and unlock longer combos, combo-variants, and chains, allowing you to customize your combo strings, not so dissimilar to riding a unique skateboard line. With both classic and symbiote suits to switch between, the permutations multiply. I could feasibly jump into the air, web-strike an opponent, pulling myself to him, flip him off the ground, throw him into the air, switch to my powerful symbiote suit, leash a tendril to my now airborne victim, and slam him into the ground. That’s just one of the combos I’ve devised, and the damage and pain I’ve put this poor thug through matches my Spider-Man personality to a tee.
What’s my Spider-Man personality? Like most next-gen games, I’ve got the choice between being good or evil, or in this case, friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man or dark and vengeful Spider-Man (I refuse to equate Symbiote Spider-Man to a longhaired, tap-dancing, emo-fool-ass-hat). Throughout the game, I’m presented with forks in the road. The dark path, or the light path. Whichever I choose changes my mission objectives and pushes me closer to a respective side on the karmic spectrum. It sounds a bit black and white (or Black and Red/Blue) at this point, but it’s not so simple.
If you’ve ever read a Bible or have had the power of God threatened upon you, you’ll know, or at least have heard, that the path of evil is tempting one. I noticed myself falling into the dark path without even trying. I was ignoring helpless citizens, leaving them to the fates. I found myself using my black suit, and enjoying all of its power. I found myself using excuses to beat someone up if they so looked at me cockeyed. It all goes back to my childhood, as I’ve always had a thing for the Symbiote Suit. There was no Spider-Man more badass than that. But I digress.
To call Web of Shadows the best Spider-Man game ever would disservice past titles who have clearly paved a path for this very game to exist. Instead, I’d call this is an evolution of those Spider-Man games. Web of Shadows is definably “next-gen” in a lot of aspects. It’s very good looking, both Visually and physically. You can swing as far as the eye can see; buildings, cars, and newspaper stands are damaged with every hit; and the animations, textures, and poses are truly comic book-worthy. The game’s control scheme is a shining example that one needs not a gimmicky motion controller to attain that natural and organic feel. And while the game’s writing is a bit hokey, it’s easy to forgive, seeing that comic book writing is pretty cheesy in itself. But most of this stuff is icing on the cake. What we have here is a Spidey game that is as addictive to play as Skate, and imaginative as Amazing Spider-Man issue #300. But ultimately, what we have is the first chance to really feel like Spider-Man, and isn’t that what we all secretly want?
Secondary Fire Oddcast – October 16 2008
Again with the late podcast. We know, we suck. Truth be told, we did record a podcast last week with none other than self-acclaimed sex legend Matt Snowball. However, the show was not intarweb worthy, so we canned the episode altogether. In this episode: Amrit and Jon come up with a Tokyo Drift inspired theme-”song”; discuss Xbox 360 fall update woes; Blizzard’s bizarre behaviour; CnC Red Alert coolness, and a little game called Fallout 3. All this and more, but not much more, on this week’s Secondary Fire Oddcast!!!
New Resident Evil 5 Screen Lovin
October 7, 2008 by Amrit Maharaj
Filed under All
Just when you thought it was safe to go to Africa, little do you know, the place is overrun with friggin zombies and crazy shit like that. First lesson is to not crap your pants when you see them, that’ll just make them angrier and crazier, so dont crap your pants. If you have to soil yourself, piss your pants, theres slightly more dignity in that. Second, dont forget lotion. Africa is friggin hot, you dry out like a motherfucker in that place. Thirdly, dont fuckin go to Africa, and if you’re already in Africa, you deserve to get eaten by undead zombie people cause you should know better.
Our Secondary Fire Ninja Journalist skillz acquired for us some swank new screens of the upcoming survival horror sequel. There are quite a few of them so dont look too long or you’ll go blind from too much awesome.
Anyway, enjoy these screens of Resident Evil 5:
FaceBreaker Review
An hour “boxing” session with FaceBreaker left a familiarly bitter aftertaste in my mouth. I was instantly reminded of Puzzle Quest. FaceBreaker is very much like Puzzle Quest. They both feature very pretty colours, they’re both relatively simple games, making them very easy to get into; a player will find himself wanting one more match after a failed round, but will only find himself frustrated, because both games require little to no skill at all. And while we gamers do enjoy a good challenge, a game should require some level of skill; otherwise it’s just gambling.
The game’s control system is fairly simple. Punches, Throws, and Blocks are mapped to buttons, holding a punch button before releasing a punch changes it from a quick jab to a heavy swing, where holding the block puts the player in a ready state to dodge. The aim of the game is to know when to dodge or when to hit hard or quick. It’s a basic rock-paper-scissors system of play. But something is very frustrating about the pacing and control mechanic of FaceBreaker.
While most fighter novices have a tendency to button mash on their first few attempts at more complex fighters like Street Fighter, Tekken, or Soul Calibur, they hardly stand a chance against veteran fighters. I believe it’s here that FaceBreaker just might find its niche in the fighter market. Most matches dissolve into a guessing game of high, low, slow, fast, or throw; which is really in all fighting games, but this tends to be a foundation with more built upon it, rather than the entirety of the game itself.
If you listen to the podcast, you’ll know expectations for me were high. I‘m a huge fan of the Fight Night series, and was certainly looking forward to a caricaturized iteration of the EA Sports’ acclaimed boxing title. I was even half expecting an homage to Super Punch Out, from which FaceBreaker’s inspiration is obviously drawn. But it’s clear now that the inspiration stops at the game’s visuals, and even then, the visuals are terribly bland.
Sure, the graphics are vibrant and colourful, and so very cartoony, but even in that regard, there’s a blandness about them. I can only look at the same round girl so many times. Great, her boobs are falling out of her robe. Great, we check out her ass as she walks by the camera. Great, it’s cute that she’s incredibly stupid because she manages to hold her sign upside every other round. But I want to see a DIFFERENT round girl! I don’t want to create a unique character, only to have to choose from body types whose only options are muscle, more muscle, and most muscle; and, even worse, have my character adopt the voice of the body type’s character in the game. Don’t get me wrong, the game is definitely a complete game. But there are so many cut corners here that paying full price for this FaceBreaker just wouldn’t feel right.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed First Impressions
With Amrit off on his Caribbean escapades these next weeks, I realized we won’t be getting the chance to podcast for some time. I wanted to save my reactions of the demo for Amrit and the podcast so I could really rant and rave and have my ideas challenged… but it doesn’t seem that I’ll have that opportunity.
I played through the demo several times, the first couple of times just to get a feel for the controls. Then when I was comfortable, I tried to get fancy. I discovered a few combos on my own, and made more than a few attempts to string together my force throws and grips and electrocutions. On the 360, the target-lock button is assigned to the Right Bumper, which is right above Force Throw, the Right Trigger, making locking onto an item and then throwing it with the Force is incredibly awkward.
I was impressed, however, by the aesthetic design of the TIE Fighter Facility, the demo’s only level. Combat areas were large, open rooms with plenty of stuff to throw around and manipulate, even parts of the actual structure, like support beams. I did find though, that because the areas were so vast, they were somewhat boring. I’m hoping that the other levels will be variant from what the demo’s shown so far.
Another small gripe I had was the demo’s mini-boss, which was an AT-ST Walker which could be force pushed to stumble, electrocuted to stun … and … that’s about it. To defeat the Walker, I had to bring it health down to under a quarter, then initiate a quick-time button sequence to destroy the walker, which rewarded me with a canned animation. While I feel the quick-time button sequence is an archaic form of input, I might be able to forgive it if I’ll be able to choose some of those buttons in the final game. What I mean is: I hope that it’s a matter of timing, and I’ll have the option of which attack to use to finish off the mini-bosses. I can already foresee the Rancor and other larger enemies using this input method; and I don’t like it.
What I did like about the demo was what everyone expected to like: You’re a badass Sith Apprentice with destruction powers, and nothing is sacred. Force pushing Stormtroopers, gripping TIE fighters and throwing them into a group of rebels, I felt so powerful, and the game really does give you a sense of omnipotence, brief as it may be.