Thumb Bandits

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 – Review

admin — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:09:25 +0000

Please note this is a review of the single player campaign – Battlefield: Bad Company was one of my favorite first-person shooters of 2008, the game featured some great game mechanics, including the destructible environments and gameplay variety. This along with some great in-game humor and memorable characters made it a stand out title.

That was two years ago and developers DICE – EA Digital Illusions CE – are back with its sequel Battlefield: Bad Company 2, a game, that for this gamer has an awful lot to live up to.

You are Private Preston Marlowe, a young man who keeps company with some of the coolest dudes in the war genre, his own ‘bad company’. I’m going to skirt around the story a little here, because as you know if you’ve read one of my reviews before, I loathe giving away game stories, as these are much more fun to discover yourself. In this title, you and your US military squad are tasked with finding a super secret and deadly weapon, whilst also dealing with the fact those pesky Ruskies are once more causing havoc. Your squad consists of a group of smack talking hard asses and they haven’t lost their humor from the previous title, though much of the dialogue seemed to have been cut back and polished, leading to more realism.

The initial level of this title is a treat and fans of the original Call of Duty titles will probably squeal with delight, it’s a brilliant start to an astonishing title. It won’t take long for you to grasp the control scheme, though the act of running did at points feel rather clunky. You run, hide, gun and as this is Bad Company, walls and cover objects don’t always remain. This sort of destruction lends a whole new level of panic to the genre, as you at times scurry from building to building as yet another is left in tatters behind you. As well as the usual run and gun, there is also plenty of vehicle action, some of which feel clunky, some of which is insane fun.

Your squad are a cool bunch of guys, but that’s it, they’re all guys, This part of the game was recently discussed here at ThumbBandits, so we won’t go over it again, suffice to say this title would have been all the better had a new squad member arrived in the form of a kick ass military chick, who knows how to shoot and talk smack with her band of brothers. As far as female involvement in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 goes, forget it, this is a grunt fest. That being said the actual squad mechanics in this title aren’t too bad, with your macho crew rarely getting in the way or doing something that was completely frustrating.

What is a squad without its arsenal, well they’re just a bunch of men running around in camo together. In terms of weapons Battlefield: Bad Company 2 features a multitude of destruction hurling accoutrement, from your standard SMG’s, to RPG’s and of course mounted and vehicle based weaponry.

Graphically Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a gorgeous looking title with only a few texturing issues, most notable at times some pop up. Environments are for the most part fairly lush, but where the game truly excels is in its “Destruction 2.0″ system, that sees many parts of these environments obliterated as you play. As mentioned this level of destruction really ads to the frantic nature of some levels and also makes for some fun ways of taking out enemies, with you being able to essentially blast their cover away. In some ways this title reminded me a little of the frantic nature of “Black” a game released by EA and developed by Criterion, which released back in 2006.

Anything really wrong with it? A few little things yeah, the loading sequences between levels, where the screen goes black and you tap for fingers waiting for the next level tends to throw you out of the game, it’s a shame these couldn’t flow a little more seamlessly. Running by clicking in the thumbstick could probably have been handled better and the game crashed twice when I thought it was loading. Finally no female character yet again, you’d think we’d be used to this sort of treatment by now, but it still manages to grate a nerve and bring down a super game. Female non representation aside, these are minor annoyances in the grand scheme of things, but worth noting.

Overall Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a brilliant game, only really suffering in single player due to a fairly short campaign (around 6 or 7 hours). As far as environments, graphics and sound goes, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a wonderful title, with few issues. The snarky humor and clever characters are let down only by the lack of a female badass, recently talked away by producer Gordon Van Dyke because it’s too hard to put women into games and would take away from other areas of the game, like destructive walls. As lame as this was / is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is still a sweet little game and we can but hope that Bad Company 3 will feature a Vasquez styled badass, who doesn’t need to move any differently to the other characters (as also suggested by Van Dyke).

Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge looks lovely

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 06:18:59 +0000

We’ve added a couple of images below for your delectation, but needless to say we think fans of the rather awesome Monkey Island games, will be very impressed by these first screenshots coming out of GDC 2010. Monkey Island 2 Special Edition: LeChuck’s Revenge hits late this year with yet more insanilty from mind of one Mr Schaefer. Arghhhh meee heartiesss. The game coming to Mac, PC, PS3, Xbox 360, iPhone and iPod Touch features sweet high-definition graphics and a new snazzy musical score and voiceover. LucasArts President Darrell Rodriguez stated they’re “adding even more great new features in this sequel and can’t wait for classic Monkey Island fans and newcomers alike to experience perhaps the most beloved installment in the franchise ever.” Well Darrell, we can’t wait either. Oh one last thing for Monkey Island fans LucasArts also announced that Monkey Island costumes will soon be available on PlayStation Home.

Playstation Move and the Playstation Move Subcontroller and other Sony GDC news

admin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:56:51 +0000

We were all expecting Sony to come out swinging with its Playstation Arc at their GDC presser, then Sony President, SCE Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida trout slapped us with “Playstation Move”. This seems less catchy than Arc to me, it’s a handheld motion controller and move makes it kind of sound like you move while using it, as opposed to just using a limb, still, they’re Sony and they do things their own way. For a moment I thought Shu had said “Playstation Moo” and I was thinking Moo? Seriously? Ahh Wii, Moo, it’s not like silly names aren’t already in existence, Moo would have got a lot of jokes made about it, “it plays like a cow” probably being one. Apparently “from the tiniest twitch, to the strongest punch” is just how good Playstation Move will be. Shockingly Sony even applauded Nintendo’s efforts in the area of motion control, no Natal mentioned of course.

The Playstation move will be offered in different packs, the Playstation Move itself, packaged with the Playstation Eye and also larger packs featuring consoles. The started kit featuring Playstation Eye. Marketing on it will be massive when it releases later this year.

Almost at the end of the Sony GDC press conference and it’s onto SOCOM 4 which will use the Playstation move and the “sub controller”. This add on with analogue stick will allegedly be “a great example of how hardcore games can become more accessible to mainstream audiences”. Control camera and crosshairs in game are controlled with the motion controller, whilst controlling the character with the left stick (a controller in each hand). More press blurb states it was a simple transition to put the motion control into SOCOM 4, thus suggesting there’s little overheads and it’s simple technically. Just of note, he definitely said there would be additional “accessories” for the Playstation Move (plural), so whether that was a slip of the tongue or we can expect some other add-ons is anyone’s guess. Mentioned in passing also was 3D gaming, which will apparently be coming to PS3 this year.

Via [LesbianGamers].

Mombie and baby zombies attack in Tweet Defense for iPhone

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:52:09 +0000

Our gay sister site, those mad cap iPhone toting Lesbian Gamers have an interesting new piece up about a new iPhone game, so we thought we’d share it with you here. Tweet Defense is a new title from the guys and gals at Promethium Marketing and GrinLock Limited. Tweet Defense – on the iPhone – utlizes your Twitter account to aid you in game. At its core Tweet Defense is a tower defense game that features “several unique defense towers and waves of zombies with some big surprises up their tattered sleeves. Ten fantastic game maps on the iPhone deliver you limitless fun and endless opportunities to test your skill and try new tactics to win.” The game uses Twitter as part of your stats, with tweets helping you gain rankings on the leaderboard. We thought the addition of a pregnant zombie – mombie – and zombie baby – zuppies – was something different. The dev tells us “the characters were inspired by our team or our friends and family. The “Freakie” boss zombie – with the big mouth – is a viral marketer zombie” The mombie zombie is based on the wife of a dev who was 6 months pregnant while they made the game. He and his wife are “both fans of the film Dawn of the Dead, where the infected pregnant woman gives birth to a zombie baby”. I can’t think offhand of a huge amount of games that feature pregnant women, so this seems to be a bit of a taboo area. The Sims features it, Fable II, Harvest Moon…. Can you think of any other video games that feature pregnancy?

Full Press Release below:

Via [Lesbian Gamers].

Promethium Marketing Group, community strategy agency behind some of the gaming industry’s most legendary franchises, today released Tweet Defense, the world’s first iPhone game that tosses ridiculous killer zombies and your twitter stats into a tower defense blender for a delicious brainy, viral juice mix.

Tweet Defense is available now for the iPhone and iPod Touch platform at a limited sale price of $.99. The game was designed in partnership with UK development studio GrinLock and will feature:

10 incredible levels that build from easy walk in the park to devastating horror show
5 whacked out enemy types including the viral marketing zombie and zombie twins Gu and Ga
6 tower types including the unique BOOSTER tower that lets you use twitter celebs to boost your tower stats
Achievements including “Making Video Game History”

Tweet Defense’s executive producer, Nelson Rodriguez explained, “We wondered what it would be like to take your social network and your activities there and turn it into a game. We ended up with a full on tower defense game that uses your friend list and your tweeting activity to impact how powerful your towers are.”

The Tweet Defense story:
“A lethal marketing virus has turned half the world’s population into brain eating zombies. Now they are after you and your friends’ brains! All you have on hand are everyday items and an internet connection. Reach out to your twitter friends to help you build defense towers. Stop the zombies from penetrating your home base and eating your grey matter! With your friends helping you design the towers and your brilliant battle strategies the zombies don’t stand a chance … or do they?”

About Promethium Marketing Group:
Founded in March, 2009 Promethium Marketing Group has rapidly grown to become a leading social media and community marketing agency. Promethium continues to work on the launch of AAA gaming and technology brands including projects for Windows 7, Tekken 6, Madden NFL 10 and Shadow Complex.

Codemasters F1 2010 rips up the tarmac in style this September

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:45:54 +0000

Codemasters are stepping away from the mud and grime of DiRT and DiRT 2 and getting all sleek and low to the track with F1 2010. This will be the official game of the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and will include all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the coming season. Given Codemasters track record (pun!) with racing titles, we’re expecting this one to be something special. F1 2010 will also introduce several new teams, and the brand new Korean International Circuit that will host the 2010 Formula One Korean Grand Prix. F1 2010 will release on the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC this September. Full presser below:

A new generation of FORMULA ONE games will come to high definition consoles and PC later this year as Codemasters® today announced that F1 2010 will be released this September for Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft®, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and PC Games For Windows®.

As the official game of the 2010 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP™, F1 2010 will include all of the official teams, drivers and circuits from the coming season. F1 2010 will feature the return of seven times FORMULA 1 Drivers’ World Champion Michael Schumacher, the introduction of several new teams, and the brand new Korean International Circuit that will host the 2010 FORMULA 1 KOREAN GRAND PRIX.

The September launch will see F1 2010 become the first official FORMULA ONE game to appear for Xbox 360 and marks the return of FORMULA ONE to PC after an eight year absence. The arrival of the HD editions of FORMULA ONE follows Codemasters’ extremely successful launch of F1 2009 for Wii and PSP, which became a top five best seller throughout the past holiday period.

In F1 2010 gamers will take on the full, expanded grid in a variety of game modes including GRAND PRIX, Championship, Time Trial and an extensive, innovative Career mode. F1 2010 will also feature a highly advanced damage model, fully dynamic weather system and extensive competitive multiplayer options.

In production at Codemasters Studios Birmingham, F1 2010 is being developed using the EGO Game Technology Platform, Codemasters’ proprietary tech that powered the critically acclaimed, million-plus selling Colin McRae: DiRT 2 and Race Driver: GRID. The award-winning technology has been further developed to accurately recreate the unique aerodynamics and handling of 200MPH+ FORMULA ONE cars. The tech combined with Codemasters’ unprecedented access to FORMULA ONE teams and drivers will ensure that F1 2010 delivers the most authentic FORMULA ONE racing experience yet. F1 2010 will be released September 2010 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light a mere 15 bucks for 6 hours gameplay

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 23:41:00 +0000

Scheduled to launch on XBLA, PSN and PC this summer, the new Lara Croft title, Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light sounds like it will be money well spent for around 6 hours of two-player co-op gameplay. It’s an interesting step Crystal Dynamics are making with this title, it’s a huge enough leap away from the Tomb Raider titles that it can’t be compared to them and it’s fairly cheap price point puts it in reach of even the most frugal gamer. If this title is on par with something like Shadow Complex, this could be very good indeed.

RUSE (or R.U.S.E) open beta briefing trailer and public beta info

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:36:49 +0000

Check out the latest open beta briefing from Ubisoft above. As well as this new briefing, Ubisoft has announced that the Public Beta Test for R.U.S.E. and we’ve got the fuller presser for you R.U.S.E. fans below.

R.U.S.E. a one-of-a-kind real-time strategy (RTS) game developed by Eugen Systems, is now supported through and available for download and installation on Steam. Set to reinvigorate the strategy genre, R.U.S.E. allows players to use their brains as the ultimate weapon to fight a war of perception where the ability to deceive and mislead the enemy determines success.

In the public beta, players will have the opportunity to choose one of the 6 unique factions available in the game (US, UK, GER, USSR, FRANCE, IT) and train themselves against the artificial intelligence on the “Blitz” map before entering the multiplayer challenge.

With 7 multiplayer maps (from 1 vs. 1 to 4 vs. 4…or free for all) players will be able to test their strategist skills against enemies combining up to 10 different ruses to lure their opponents in one of the 3 multiplayer game modes (1939, 1942, 1945).

R.U.S.E. is scheduled to release on June 3rd 2010 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PLAYSTATION 3 computer entertainment system and Windows PC.

Infinity Ward wants to help you if you suffer from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Mapathy

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:23:43 +0000

Do you have the doldrums because you’re getting no DLC Maps for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2? Feeling listless and just can’t be bothered with life, well Infinity Ward is here to help. Mapathic individuals who have been playing the same maps for months can find solace at Mapathy.com a new self help website set up by the publisher. Why do we like it more than usual? Because the mapathic individual they’ve chosen to use on their site is a girl. Yes, girls / women do play Call of Duty, but we’re generally ignored, it’s nice to see this little shout out. Okay so probably their marketing people figured a hot girl was going to be more appealing, but we like to think there’s a change on the breeze and that change is, more marketing featuring us female gamers. Your cure for Mapathy hits March 30 on Xbox Live.

Need for Speed: Shift gets some exotic car love with the Exotic Racing Series Pack

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:16:30 +0000

If you like your cars fast and sleek and you own Need for Speed: Shift, you’re in for a treat. EA has announced the all-new Exotic Racing Series pack for Need for Speed SHIFT. On March 18th, gamers will have access to seven phenomenal new cars and an amazing new track in the game. Highlighting this exclusive pack of cars are the McLaren MP4-12C and the legendary BMW M1. Players won’t find more brilliance, innovation, or drama than in these magnificent machines, where each is a potent mix of race car and road car. The Exotic Racing Series pack will be available worldwide on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system for $10.00 or the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system for $10.00 or 800 Microsoft Points*. Vroooom!

Mac users finally get Steam Valve Source love

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:04:08 +0000

Valve has finally put its official seal of approval on those Mac support rumors. There will indeed be Mac support for its Steam digital distribution platform and Source. Mac users hurrah! This means you’ll be able to play Steam games on your Mac and word has it you’ll be able to play them with PC gamers. The official word from director of Steam development John Cook revealed games will be native versions on Mac and not via emulation. Valve will be releasing games simultaneously for PC and Mac, with Portal 2 apparently being Valve’s first simultaneous release across both platforms. In other news both Left 4 Dead 1 and 2 will be apparently also be ported to Mac OS, along with Half-Life, Portal, Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2. Should be arriving as soon as next month (April 2010).

Here’s the official press release.

Via [Lesbian Gamers].