_PC_
With some extra time on my hands lately, I installed Midway Games new release, "John Woo Presents Stranglehold". A full review with which I mostly agree can be found over on Gamespot. Being a major "Max Payne" fan (I played both 1 and 2), I immediately noticed the similarities as did the Gamespot reviewer. Think a Chinese Max on steroids with updated graphics/audio and you've got a good idea what to expect. Similar 3rd person perspective, similar vigilante-cop attitude. Performance-wise, I've had no major issues...the game runs mostly smooth on Vista at 1024x768 with no crashes thus far on my beefy Hornet game PC. I get an occasional lag in play when disk access is heavy, no doubt due to my only having 1.5GB vs the recommended 2GB of RAM. I need to get another 512MB before CoD4 releases anyway. The min specs are ridiculous for this game, as noted in the review. You need some serious hardware but what new game these days does not? The game is fun if hardcore repetitious, and if you liked Max Payne I recommend it. Do note that it's a HUGE mutha to install, what with all the in-game movies and such; two dual layer DVDs which eat a whop'n 13GB of hard disk real estate.
_PC_
Can't keep a bad girl down ---
The sequel to 2005's megahit game "F.E.A.R." has now been officially named. Trailers for "Project Origin" can be found here. Yes it looks a lot like the old game but it's too early to tell how many new features will be incorporated other than the obvious new guns and baddies. I assume Alma will be haunting the blood-soaked halls in usual fashion. No release date announced yet.
Is that a crow in the rubble? ---
"Warmonger" is supposed to release FREE in mid-October this year although the details on their official site are still pretty thin. The video looks damn good altho' I do hope there is a sniper rifle or two to go along with those spray & pray weapons shown blasting the destructible environment to smithereens.
Edit 09.24.07 - Found this enlightening article; seems you must have a seperate Aegis PhysX card ($150) to play this game so that explains the "free" part. Those guys must be smoke'n their socks to think there's a real market for dedicated physics cards...sheesh. Soooo...nevermind!
Return to Roswell ---
Another very interesting release, coming up in November this year is "BlackSite Area 51". This is a spooky squad-based game with driveable vehicles, co-op play and more; reminds me of "Half-Life 2" crossed with "Rainbow Six". Demo is out already for the Xbox 360, but don't know if there will be a demo for the PC...kinda doubt it.
And don't forget (like I would let ya ;) that November is also "CoD4:MW" month! I added a news widget link to the upper right panel of this site, so be sure to check it often for updates!
_FFC_
I uploaded another small-sized maps rotation today. The ones that are DeathMatch will have limited weapons (shotgun, pistol, one grenade); just FYI that's pretty much the norm now for DM maps otherwise it gets too damn chaotic. One of the TDM maps has some very kewl weather effects and the ability to call mortars via radio and binocs, reminiscent of the UO artillery style.
There's a couple new videos of the "perks" out for CoD4 now. Here is a link to the longer one. I downloaded the HD version (110MB) and watched it on my bigscreen TV (MPC player worked best)...very kickass!! The other video showed some stealth moves indoors and the graphics reminded me of "F.E.A.R." so maybe it won't be too demanding on the hardware after all. Still no word yet on the requirements.
_FFC_
Pre-orders for what is sounding like THE best CoD release ever (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare) are now being taken at the usual places, like Amazon, Newegg, EBGames and GameStop (I already ordered mine via Newegg!).
Activision is pulling out all the marketing stops this time around, even using Valve's Steam distribution network for the initial release. Personally I prefer having the DVD media in my hand vs a humongous download of this size but some folk really like Steam I guess. I've used it for Half-Life 2 and a couple other games....just not my first choice.
Average prices for the PC version of CoD4 are $50 and $70 (Collectors Edition). Not sure what is in the CE version but last time it was just a fancy case and some extra video so I'll pass on that this time around. Also unknown are the PC system requirements....which is kinda stupid since the game releases on 11.06.07 and it would be nice to know what upgrades might be required ahead of time. But as a true CoD diehard, I'll upgrade if I have to regardless. I'll be sure to post here again when the specs release. From what I've read on the IW forum, the PC version will, as expected, require some hefty ponies especially in the graphics card department. It is still DX9 (not DX10) and this time is NOT a port from the Xbox like CoD2, so should be optimized for the PC platform. Sounds like there has been a lot of thought put into options for the multiplayer side of things, which should make it a popular replacement on the server networks. If so, maybe sometime next year we can drop UO and switchover to 4 and 2 or maybe just 4.
_FFC_
I actived the "funmod" section of our new AWE3.3 mod today. This adds a basketfull of random "fun" powerups you can pickup, some good, some bad. Or you can ignore them. Figured we'd see how it goes. Some are useful and some are really funny...you'll just have to see for yourself. ;-)
Also played around with the new "Meatbot" AI mod from Russia. This adds bots to CoD2 which could be a nice addition when few players are in the house. Trouble is that it doesn't play well with any other customizations, including custom maps and AWE. So there's no easy way to make it work with our existing setup. But I'll keep an eye on the development.....might be something useful down the road.
I'll be around at the usual time...finally done with family visits and so forth. Now just concentrating on finding a job....again. Sigh....
