This is featured post 1 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.
This is featured post 2 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.
This is featured post 3 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.This theme is Bloggerized by Lasantha - Premiumbloggertemplates.com.
Sabtu, 11 Desember 2010
Tips and Tricks of FIFA 11 (PC)
Month of suffering, dying, and unveiling.
Hei there gamers, back again, I'm Agri.
What do you think about this blog's review about games? I'm sure you enjoyed it.
And also, how are you this month? Feeling good or bad? i'm sure you all feelin' good.
I'm sorry that i'm too late to made this post, I have a few big problems in this month. First, the Try Outs for the prep to UN. Second, the final exam in my school to fill my report. The third is the outer problem. Well you see, my mother is being angry with me. She thinks that I'm not obeying her rules. So my mother forbade me to do some things, like playing games, go out with friends, etc. Yesterday maybe the climacs was happened. I got home at 01.30. When i got home, my mother got angry again. But this type of angry is a little bit different than the usual. My mother was too aggressive to me. Yeah. i know. Because of my fault. 3-(
After the madness, few minutes ago I was accused for stealing my brother's money. I'm so scared and i dont know what was i thinking. He accused me. I can only resigned and say no.
You know, this December is not the usual december. Something is watching us. Something is crawling with us. Be Careful gamers. And always pray to God Almighty everywhere and everytime. With God on our side, nothing's impossible.
Back to topics everyone....
I've downloaded PES 2011 Konami patch 1.02. I'ts a good patch however, its a little bit difficult to apply on. You must have internet source to apply this patch. You need the DLC for this and it can be downloaded when you're playing the game. But i have a way to crack this patch.
The first, download the PES 2011 1.0 patch. The PES 2011 KONAMI patch 1.02 and the DLC are already included in this patch. By downloading this patch, you have great advantages. the PES 2011 is updated. so you can know the players transfers, players numbers, boots, etc. And also. this patch contains new features for you to play. Sounds Great eh?
Here's the link to the patch:
http://pesedit.com/forums/showthread.php?3876-PESEdit-com-2011-Patch-Version-1-0!-Released!-04-12-10&p=71881
The second, download each file. The first, download the DLC. This content must be downloaded in game. But i have the crack for this. Go to nearby internet cafe (those who dont have any internet connection), open my blog, open this archive, and go to this link:
www.pes-patch.com or pesedit.com . You 'll find the patches, and also another mods to your pes.
And download the 1.02 patch. Here's the link: http://www.pes-patch.com/2010/11/pro-evolution-soccer-2011-patch-1-02.html
Download the crack : http://www.pes-patch.com/2010/12/pes-2011-patch-0-6-by-razib_46.html
First. apply the DLC. Just follow the readme there. Second, apply the patch. Just click the .exe and install. Third, Overwrite the crack to your installation folder. etc C:/Program Files/KONAMI/Pro Evolution Soccer 2011. Open the Pro Evolution Socccer folder and overwrite the pes2011.exe file with the crack.
Voila! Now the patch is applied! You can play the 'new' PES 2011. FYI, the control is a little bit difference. Like if you want to do the rainbow flick move, the chance is 50:50. So its more realistic.
Well, which one will you take? If i may, i prefer the 1.0 patch. You get the DLC and 1.02 patch, and the updated patch. But is a big file. Divided into 5 parts. The choice is yours though.
Also, i found a commentary patch for pes 2011. Look at this vid, you'll like this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVEYjJJmXU8
That's it from me. See you next week!
-Agri
Senin, 06 Desember 2010
Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed II is definitely one of my favourite games of the last 12 months. It was a meaty gaming meal that took several steps towards fulfilling the promise of the original, with new mechanics, more variety in gameplay, and an alluring new setting: renaissance Italy. It was a big leap, in other words: a worthy sequel in all regards.
Brotherhood, on the other hand, will have a slightly harder time proving its worth. Rather than moving to a new time period, it continues directly on from the events of Assassin's Creed II, only with the action shifting almost entirely to Rome. Like previous titles, there's also a modern-day component. The game is once again framed by the on-going battle between the Templars and Assassins, and players are actually assuming the role of Desmond, who lives in the present day and is able to experience the memories of his ancestor Ezio using a device called the animus. The game cuts between the two time periods but the bulk of the gameplay occurs in renaissance Rome.
Ubisoft Montreal has stressed that Brotherhood has a number of innovations and evolutions designed to keep the experience fresh, and we can certainly tell you that there's easily as much content here as in Assassin's Creed II, but will it be enough to really help this title distinguish itself from last year's stellar outing? Let's find out.
After confronting Rodrigo Borgia and having his mind blown far beneath the Vatican at the end of Assassin's Creed II (and no, that's not a euphemism), the story picks up with Ezio ready for some well-earned R&R. It's not to be. Cesare Borgia – Rodrigo Borgia's son – is ticked off, and mounts a full scale attack on the assassins. The villa in Monteriggioni is destroyed and Ezio loses everything. Yes, after 20+ hours working towards all that bad-ass armour and weaponry, it's lost in a moment and players must begin again. Such is the fickle nature of videogames.
In any case, Ezio travels to Rome determined to take his revenge against Cesare. The city is divided into 12 districts, each of which is overseen by a Borgia tower, representing the Borgia's control of the area. As long as the tower stands, soldiers are out in force, shops remain closed and the people oppressed. Assassinate the tower's Captain and burn it to the ground, however, and the area will open up for business. Ezio is then able to renovate blacksmiths, banks, stables and more, and these all add to his income, in much the same way renovating Monteriggioni did in the last game. The more shops that are open, the more items will be available and perks Ezio will get. For instance, the more tailors you have, the more pouches for carrying knives and other items will be available, whereas the more banks are open the more money Ezio can store before his account is full. Each defeated tower also opens up an assassin apprentice slot, but more on that later.
It's important to note that while the Borgia towers are a key element of the game's structure, they're not actually central to taking down Cesare. You can actually finish Brotherhood without destroying all the towers. Instead, they're about earning income, unlocking items, gaining apprentice assassins and reducing the presence of Borgia guards across the city. By destroying a tower, players can make missions in that region easier for themselves by ensuring there'll be less guards around. How to get to each Captain? Well, that's up to you. Each tower is surrounded by a compound where the guards are on high alert, so it's up to players to work out the best path to the Captain. Easier compounds allow astute players to clinically execute the Captain with little-to-no danger, while more difficult ones will inevitably result in a huge confrontation, or have a more difficult path to the end goal.
As fans of open-world games would expect, a lot of the player's time will be occupied with missions and activities that don't necessarily advance the plot. It's easy to get sidetracked for hours finding treasure chests, taking on assassination contracts, doing missions for the various guilds or trying to level up your relationship with them, exploring the world or climbing landmarks like the Coliseum. Subterranean environments return too, in the guise of Sons of Romulus missions. These make for a nice change of pace, as the focus is very much on movement puzzles over combat.
Leonardo da Vinci is back as an ally too, and once again provides weapons for Ezio. Turns out he's also been pressured into creating war machines for Cesare, so it's up to Ezio to destroy the plans and prototypes. These see you wielding a chain gun mounted to a horse and cart, piloting a boat with a naval cannon, gliding about in Leo's paraglider – modified to fire bombs, and manning a renaissance-era tank. They're not actually that exciting, but at least inject a little variety into the gameplay.
And honestly? That's something Brotherhood needs. The gameplay on offer here is solid, but by and large the bulk of the missions are pretty similar in nature to those we've already experienced in depth in Assassin's Creed II. It really feels like treading the same old ground, without great improvements. The missions where Ezio must tail a target are still frustrating, for instance, thanks to the small sweet spot at which the player must stay away in order to follow - but not alert – his target.
There are three major changes that try to switch things up: the assassins' guild, the tweaks to combat and the ability to ride your horse anywhere. Recruiting assassins who can be called upon with the press of a button is obviously the big one, and it works very much as advertised. With each Borgia tower destroyed a new slot opens up, allowing Ezio to rescue and recruit an ordinary citizen of Rome. Calling on an assassin is as simple as targeting an enemy and hitting L1/Left trigger on PS3/360 respectively. Depending on the location and the level of your assassin, he or she might run or ride up to the target, or drop down from above. It's cool to watch, and once you have six assassins you have three groups that can be called, with a cool-down time of a few minutes for each.
Assassins gain experience through combat, but they can also be sent off to complete contracts around Europe. The greater the difficulty of a mission, the higher the XP and cash reward, and players prepared to gamble can quickly level up their assassins by assigning them difficult contracts with a lower chance of success. These missions only take five to ten minutes each and the interface is easy to use. With each level gained, you can boost either armour or weaponry, and as assassins rise through the ranks, they'll also unlock more advanced options, such as the ability to use smoke bombs. As a side note, your assassin recruitscan die, but you'll likely only lose a couple in the entirety of the game.
What do you think?
This is the vid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzNs4-kRLaE
And this is our rating
Formula 1 2010
Formula One racing might not be the same scintillating sensation in the United States that it is in Europe, but that's not going to stopCodemasters from bring F1 2010 to America this September. This title might not initially appeal to U.S. racing game fans, but F1 2010 might be the first F1 game that American gamers will want to pick up. The developers behind F1 2010 have had approachability in mind during the entire development cycle, though there's certainly plenty of room for the deeply technical racing that hardcore F1 fans will be frothing at the mouth for.
Last week, I had the pleasure of playing an early build of F1 2010 and seeing how a non-F1 fan like me can handle the game. Surprisingly, I was able to avoid totally destroying my car, which I consider a serious victory. But there's a lot more going on in F1 2010 besides this needed accessibility. With some incredible tech, a full career mode and online multiplayer, F1 2010 might be the game that opens up the Formula One world to nervous and intimidated gamers in the United States (see: Ryan Clements).
First, a brief history lesson: Codemasters acquired the Formula One license in May of 2008, which means that the team has been working on F1 2010 for about two and a half years. This long development time really shows, as F1 2010 looks and runs beautifully, even in its early stages. I quickly noticed the fluidity of the driver turning the highly detailed wheel, and the look of the tires as they scream across rain-spattered tracks. I was told that the development team went to great lengths to create an authentic F1 experience. This includes 19 official circuits, 12 teams, pit stops, real cars and drivers -- the team even motion captured actual pit crews to make the whole thing come alive.
The other thing that the developers want to stress is that F1 2010 is more than just racing -- it's about living the life of the driver. Although you can play as real F1 drivers in Grand Prix and other modes, it seems like the meat of the game will be in career mode, where players play as themselves in the world of Formula One. This means that you'll join a team, participate in interviews (your answers influence the game), race against your teammate and live the surprisingly glamorous life that is F1 racing.
This interface is already looking spectacular, as the main menu is set up next to your trailer where press might be waiting and models are posing for cameras. Your agent sits in your trailer and acts as a portal to various sections of the game, and from this headquarters menu players can jump into a ton of different races.
One of the first things that players will notice when booting up F1 2010 is an important question the game poses: what sort of experience do you want? There are five different levels that players can select which dictate just how much hand-holding will be implemented to give Formula One newcomers a chance to get oriented. This is a really fantastic idea, as it gives players like me an easy entryway into the experience without worrying about the extremely technical stuff in tweaking your vehicle of choice.
But of course, menus aren't nearly as exciting as actual races (Right?). As nervous as I was to race in front of the representatives from Codemasters, I was amazed at how quickly I was able to get into the actual gameplay mechanics. Sure, playing F1 2010 is difficult and requires a fair amount of skill, but it wasn't unintelligible. Everything felt natural. This is probably thanks to the advising that former F1 driver Anthony Davidson has provided. Apparently Davidson is in the developers' offices every other week commenting on game controls. F1 2010 is a precise, tight game where carefully handling, acceleration and speed is absolutely critical (lest you want to explode).
The AI in F1 2010 will also be realistic, as the developers are doing their best to make the opposing racers behave like actual F1 drivers. After all, each F1 driver drives differently, so having the AI vary from car to car makes total sense.
This realism and attention to detail even extends into the weather, with wet roads having a drastically different feeling than dry roads. The developers have even considered loose pebbles that might be strewn on the track in certain courses. The amount of real-world information contained in F1 2010 is mind-blowing, which leads me to believe that this will be very well-received among Formula One fans.
F1 2010 will be landing on the PS3, 360 and PC this September. Players can look forward to a legitimate F1 experience with a robust career mode, time trails and even the ability to download fellow players' ghost runs. Be on the lookout for our continued coverage of F1 2010 in the future.
NBA 2K11
The amount of work put into the features of 2K11 is staggering -- perfect recreations of Jordan's historic games, streamlined controls, NBA teams that play and feel like their real-life counterparts, a franchise mode that includes sensible GM logic and intelligent team building. But little time was spent making sure the PC version ran smoothly. And no matter how cool your presentation and feature set, if the framerate isn't solid, it's tough to keep playing.
I tried out 2K11 on both a mid-range and a high-range PC set-up, used both the auto-adjusted settings and lower ones and never got a completely smooth experience. To be clear, the framerate stuttering isn't usually inhibitive to gameplay. It's very subtle, but enough to be continually distracting. It's too bad, because PC gamers could stand to have an awesome hoops title.
Unquestionably, the highlight of NBA 2K11 are the Jordan Challenges. MJ's greatest games are legendary and you get to relive them, tasked with equaling his stat lines. Can you average 11 assists in the '91 series against the Lakers? Or drop six treys and score at least 35 points in the first half against Drexler and the Trail Blazers to earn the famous Jordan shrug? Or light up the Knicks for 55 points in Jordan's return from retirement?
2K Sports created each of these 10 memorable moments with a surprising level of detail. The commentary for every game is custom-fitted with discussions on Jordan's potential in "The Arrival" game and talk of how much John Starks has frustrated Jordan in the "Double Nickel" game in Madison Square Garden. Each game is a window into NBA history and won't just give you an appreciation for No. 23's greatness but the quality of teams he went up against. Magic, Ewing, Dominque -- they play as they did in their prime. No opponent is a chump, even if Michael is destined to beat them all.
Complete all 10 Jordan Challenges and you can play a special version of the My Player career mode, bringing a rookie Michael Jordan into the current League to develop his talent and see how he stacks up against today's greats. Put him on the Heat if you want to be really unfair to the rest of the League.
The quality presentation continues outside of the Jordan-specific elements. There's a slick half-time show that accurately sums up the game and a really hot Player of the Game presentation when the final buzzer sounds. My favorite, though, is a fairly hidden (but awesome) feature you can find at the end of games called Pressbook. This is a slideshow gallery of photos (usually around 50) from the game. These snapshots often pick the best moments at compelling angles and can be uploaded for others to see. Posterize someone online? You've got a snapshot of it waiting for you at the end of the game.
More importantly, most of the NBA has been accurately captured. There are hundreds of unique animations for players tons of nice little touches. I was playing against the Lakers, and Kobe threw down a slam but landed off-balance. As he regained his balance, he extended his arms and did his little airplane move he throws out on very rare occasions. I watched Greg Oden shuffle down the court like an old man who'd lost his cane. I'm not trying to knock on Oden, but that's exactly how he checks out of plays when he's crashed the boards on the other end!
This isn't the first hoops game to throw in some flair on marquee players, but the unique traits extend to the bench. I know we toss around the phrase, "It looks like a real game" too often, but this time I mean it -- I watch probably a hundred NBA regular-season games a year (I'm hardcore, baby), and 2K Sports got this right.
Sure, there are a few mishaps along the way. Don Nelson looks like a melted marshmallow and Kobe looks like an alien, but the good far outpaces the bad. Add to the mix dynamic crowds that slowly fill in during the first quarter or don't even show for a Bobcat's game and you have the most accurate portrait of the NBA to date. And that 2K Sports got not only the current era but a decade's worth of MJ's history right is pretty impressive.
Of course, none of this means squat if NBA 2K11 plays like crap. Presentation and a cool Jordan mode didn't absorb all of 2K Sports' time. Plenty was done to refine and improve the gameplay. I have to imagine the goal was to fool you into thinking you were actually playing in the NBA. Mission accomplished.
If you've played past NBA 2K games, you're in for a shock when you first play NBA 2K11. This game is no joke. The AI has been upgraded even on the lower difficulties to keep you on your toes. These guys are ball hawks and will snatch errant outlet passes, clog the passing lanes, and make it tough to get the ball inside. And if your defense isn't solid? You're gonna get destroyed.
That said, once I got myself in the mindset of playing a bit less up-tempo and a bit more under control, the rest of the NBA 2K11 experience is something special. The level of challenge (which extends far beyond pass-snatching defenses) is necessary in order for NBA 2K11 to pull off its greatest feat -- making a game play exactly like the real thing. Players make proper defensive switches, key on mismatches on offense, and generally bring it all four quarters.
Switching (when two defensive players swap who they're guarding to gain better defensive positioning) has long been the Achilles heel of basketball sims. No one has done it right (most don't do it at all), but 2K11 does. And if you aren't active with this when you're controlling the defense, you can get burned. The AI takes advantage of defensive mismatches with regularity. When Steph Curry accidentally ends up face guarding Dwight Howard, it's a scary moment as a player. I actually said, "Oh s---" right before Howard plowed over me for the dunk, the foul and the Pressbook screenshot.
Playing against the Lakers feels different than playing against the Mavericks, not just because of the personnel, but because of the way these two teams play. Because of their coaches. Because of the way they sub and how they set up their offenses. Last year's NBA 2K10 did a solid job of getting the individual players right. This year, 2K11 got the teams right.
Also improved are the control mechanics. Be sure to play with a controller -- basketball is no fun with a keyboard and moust. There have been a ton of tweaks and a simplification of things like IsoMotion -- for breaking ankles -- but the basic gist is that you now have 1-to-1 control over every movement and you won't find yourself making moves you didn't intend to make. The days of easily shaking a defender out of his shoes and dunking on every play are gone, but the level of control is outstanding. And most of the time, when I screw up, it's because I made the wrong choice, not because the game boned me.
The one exception is the stick passing mechanic. Selecting a target and passing works well, but it's a bit loose. Sometimes I think I'm aimed at the player I want and then, because of the slight movement of my thumb against the stick, I veer off and throw the pass to someone else. When you mix in the ridiculous ball-hawking nature of the AI, well, I got hosed a few times. Fortunately, you can also use icon-passing for better accuracy, which helps a lot when using the easy (and great) play-calling system.
I'll also warn that there are still a few bugs out there and times when the AI will do weird things, but these are pretty rare. Dominique caught a pass at the arc, then took two steps back and shot one of the dumbest three's in history for no apparent reason. On a fast break, Tony Parker stopped at the foul line to shoot a jumper (that he missed) even though no one pursued him past mid-court. NBA 2K11 plays like a dream 99 percent of the time. But there's still that 1 percent when things go sideways.
But, again, the real issue is the performance. I had no issues pulling off the different moves with the games framerate stuttering, but it's just so distracting. It's hard to see anyone playing more than a few games before getting too annoyed to continue.
I've gone through a few different seasons with different teams and tested the smarts of a number of GMs. I have to say, I got swindled once on a draft-day deal by the AI. Usually in NBA 2K games, the League looks like a joke by year three, but not this time. No team had five starting point guards. The Nets didn't suddenly win the Championship and the Heat didn't trade LeBron to Minnesota for Wesley Johnson, Michael Beasley, and the rights to Paul Bunyan. This is as good a franchise mode as I've played, even though there's little recognition by the commentators to previous NBA champs or MVP winners as the years go by.
As for online play, well, the performance issues carry over there. And there's some lag on top of that, making things no fun.
I doubt many will bother to stick it out with the slow-paced My Player mode. It's too bad, because once you do make it, a lot of cool things happen. You get press conferences where reporters ask valid questions like "How do you feel about Kobe taking the last shot?" or asking you to comment on rumors that you demanded a trade. You choose the type of response you want to give and that affects how your teammates feel about you, how the fans around the League view you, and if your home crowd supports you. This can lead to teammates refusing to pass you the ball if you're a jerk and fans chanting "Trade him!" if you seem ungrateful.
As your star rises, you earn spots on posters and billboards. You can even be handed a shoe contract by Michael Jordan who allows you to create your own custom kicks. Continue to rise as a star and you'll see other players wearing your Jordans on the court. And to think, you'll probably miss it because the lead-in to the NBA is just so slow, dry, and boring.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011
Not that Konami's Tokyo team have been producing bad games – last year's Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 was a great effort that managed to stay faithful to the formula laid out some nine years ago, and in many ways it perfected it. The result was a game of football that, while not as exacting or authentic as FIFA, was exciting and, most importantly, a world of fun. But the formula itself is creaking all too loudly; so what better time for a reboot?
It's been promised for some time, and given FIFA's dominance and how Pro Evolution Soccer has struggled to gain a foothold on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 it's arguably four years overdue. Regardless it's here at last, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011does what Pro Evolution 6 should have done; it tears up the style sheet, kick-starts a fresh brand of football and is unlike anything you've ever experienced from the series. This truly is a new dawn for Pro Evolution Soccer.
So new that it's initially a struggle to get to grips with, and after a twenty minute session we're still left learning the ropes. What proves so tough to get our heads around is the new freedom in passing, a feature that fundamentally changes the way that Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 is played.
Passes are now informed by power meters that appear under the player in possession, a graphic that's stylish, unobtrusive and absolutely central to pulling off decent balls to team-mates. It's now all manual, requiring something of a rewiring for a mind schooled in nearly ten years of Pro Evolution Soccer's old ping-pong system; players must calculate whether they pass to their teammate's left or right foot, or apply more power to send it forward into space. There's still a through-ball button, but everything it's capable of can now be achieved with a well thought-out pass, and when it sticks the game is much more satisfying for it.
There are similarities of course to what EA Sports is trying to achieve with FIFA 11's Pro Passing feature (and it's amusing to see after last year's introduction of 360 degree passing in both games that again their biggest feature is shared – either indicating an eerie mind-link between the two or suggesting that there's a spy in the midst), but Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 takes it two steps further and pins its entire game on it.
The results are difficult to come to terms with at first, and our hands-on has us floundering around the pitch, misplacing passes and struggling to get the team working as a whole (which puts to mind the performance of a certain national team struggling on the world stage right now). With the added mental processing power required to make moves stick it's undoubtedly a slower game than before, though that in itself can be remedied by a new option to alter the game's tempo.
Game speed can be altered mid-match, with four different settings to hand lending either breakneck pace or plodding precision - though thankfully it doesn't go to extremes and avoids turning players into either Keystone Cops or k-holed calamities.
There's more in the offensive arsenal that backs up this theory, with a new emphasis on tricks and feints. Their execution has been simplified, a simple press of a shoulder button combining with jinks on the right stick to unleash the kind of footwork that makes defenders and spectators weak at the knees. Get the likes of Messi or Ronaldo on the ball and what ensues is almost as mesmerising as the real deal as the new animation – 90% of which is all-new – kicks in.
When combined with the added layer of flair granted the attacking team it means that Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 has a focus on the one-on-one moments, and success in the game will be about successfully stringing such moments together just as much as it is about the team's overall performance. It might be galling at first, but this year's Pro Evolution Soccer bold new game on the pitch looks like it'll work.
There are some pleasant surprises off of it too, as for the first time in living memory the front-end won't make your eyes vomit; the start-up menu is slick and displays a little Japanese minimalism and slick design, finally bringing it in line with FIFA's smouldering polish. It extends to the rest of the game as well, the formation screen a neat and simple affair where, instead of having to plumb into lists upon lists to set up bespoke formations, players can simply be dragged around into your preferred position.
But while the presentation is now on par with FIFA, there are some areas where Pro Evolution Soccer will always be lagging. Official licences have always been the series' weakest link, and the announcement of a partnership with South America's Copa Santander Libertadores does little to stymie that. Other deals are pending, but whatever's revealed over the coming months this will still be a part of the game that Konami can never truly compete in.
What it does have over the competition is its single player engagement – the Master League has ruined many more lives than FIFA's Manager Mode, with its many blemishes, could ever hope to. This year it returns with online functionality that's yet to be detailed, and having lost countless hours to the mode in the past we live in fear of the announcement.
And even before Konami shows its full hand with Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 there's enough evidence to suggest that the series could be back to its boundary-pushing best, and that by redefining its game it can sing loud and sing proud once more. It may have taken its time, but the next generation of Pro Evolution Soccer is finally on its way.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
TFU2 places you once again in control of Starkiller, Darth Vader's secret apprentice who died at the end of the first game. According to Darth Vader you're a clone of the last game's hero, and after failing his tests you break out of captivity before he can kill you. Your mission? To seek out and find Juno Eclipse, your lost love interest and ship's pilot from the first Force Unleashed.
The story has an acceptable premise (cloning and what have you isn't out of line with Star Wars canon), but it's underdeveloped. In general just doesn't go anywhere, bumbling along to allow the reintroduction of hit characters from the first game for fan service and concluding just when it starts to become interesting. I don't want to spoil anything here, but suffice it to say the story is comparatively boring to other pieces of Star Wars fiction, and feels contrived for the sake of making another game, rather than filling in an important piece of Star Wars canon like the last title.
The Force Unleashed's combat is fun at the start, but begins to feel very uninspired as the hours go by. I mean, look, the inclusion of dismemberment is awesome, and the first few times you blast some Stormtroopers off a ledge with Force push, or send a trooper to his doom by convincing him to kill himself with Jedi Mind Trick are exactly what I'm looking for in this sort of game. It's just that there isn't enough outside of the combat to break up the pacing. Starkiller is always just mashing into wave after wave of soldiers, and it gets surprisingly mundane kicking so much ass all the time.
Variety is something LucasArts attempted to address in combat, and the developers accomplish this to an extent, but it doesn't go deep enough. The first Force Unleashed had a ton of enemies who were varied in appearance, but not in how they fought, and LucasArts sought to address this by having fewer, more differentiated enemy types.
Unfortunately, though, this too is underdeveloped, with combat mostly boiling down to realizing "enemy X can be killed only with lightsabers, while enemy Y can only be killed with the Force." They combine these enemies in ways that occasionally present a challenge, but eventually they repeat this formula over and over again that it becomes more tedious than new and exciting.
Not that any moment in The Force Unleashed 2 lasts all that long, as it's surprisingly short. I'm not one to complain about length normally, as I think games can be short if the experience is tight and consistently inventive, but despite taking less than six hours to complete on Normal, TFU2 manages to be demonstrably repetitive. The world's that Starkiller visits in the game are beautiful, and make me want to know more about the cultures they represent, so it's a shame I don't get anything more than a cursory look at them.
Starkiller can take on anything and everything with ease on the Normal difficultly, with most enemies serving little purpose other than to go sprawling from endless waves of Force push. I understand the need to empower the player, and yes, I certainly felt empowered, but the lack of skill made me less like a Jedi Master and more like wandering, overpowered monster.
FIFA Soccer 11
When you first hop into FIFA 11 on PC the differences are immediately evident when comparing it to last year's version. The 360-degree dribbling that was introduced in FIFA 10 on consoles makes its way into this year's game, so moves feel much more under your control than they have in the past. You can make finite moves with players like Lionel Messi and every other athlete on the pitch feels a bit freer for impressive runs when not confined to the eight directions of old. This also helps the general realism of the action which only ups the excitement level in the various stadiums.
The bigger downfall of the PC version is the slightly limited feature set. While everything works just fine and the online performs very well, its list of modes is pulled from last year's FIFA on consoles. You get Manager Mode, Tournament Mode, Virtual Pro where you can create your player and stick him on your favorite team and then develop his skills, and Be A Pro to go along with standard online gameplay (for background info on all of these modes, read our full Xbox 360 review. Pro Club Championship is here and accounted for and allows for the same five-on-five (consoles allows for full 11-on-11) that you'll find in Online Team Play. LAN support is also included, which will likely make FIFA PC tournament players happy.
James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Aside from the use of explosive barrels to take out your opposition – which comes direct from chapter one, page one of the FPS textbook – the main hook to Blood Stone's otherwise generic cover-based combat is the Focus Aim feature, which is basically a carbon copy of Splinter Cell: Conviction's Mark and Execute system, only in this case it doesn't really present any genuinely strategic benefits to the gameplay. For every context-sensitive melee takedown you perform on an enemy (Bond smashes their face into a table top and/or cuddles them into a deep sleep) you're awarded a Focus kill – and you're able to store up to three of them at any one time. When activated the Focus Aim mechanic allows you to swiftly dispatch enemies with a few quick button taps.
On the game's lower difficulty levels, Focus Aim is entirely unnecessary thanks to the Call of Duty-style targeting that automatically snaps to an enemy each time you zoom in, making it easy to pull off headshots without the need for any further assistance. But even on the higher difficulty levels there's no tangible gameplay rewards for being stealthy, so whilst Focus Aim might be a slightly quicker and more stylish way to dispatch enemy goons it's far from essential, and at times we forgot it was even there.
Call of Duty : Black Ops
Call of Duty is the Goliath of the video game world. The series has sold millions of copies and catapulted itself from a solid, World War II shooter to the sprawling multiplayer playground and Hollywood-style campaign that we know today. Call of Duty: Black Ops takes much of what made Modern Warfare 2 great and slightly expands and modifies it. That's not to say that there aren't mistakes to be found within Black Ops, but I think Call of Duty fans are going to be happy with Treyarch's latest effort.
You begin the game as Alex Mason, a soldier being interrogated for information that he can't remember. You play through Mason's memories in search for information. Sam Worthington, Ed Harris, and Gary Oldman deliver expert performances and really nail their respective characters. There are twists, some of which work better than others, and the plot seems to get bogged down and slightly disjointed towards the middle. But unlike Modern Warfare 2, Black Ops does a wonderful job of cleaning everything up for the finale.
Black Ops is not just a linear game, but sometimes feels like it's on autopilot. Just one example is when you "guide" the takeoff of an SR-71 Blackbird. I tried to not pull back on the flight stick when the game told me to, just to see if there was any other alternative to taking off, but the Blackbird lifted off on its own.
The artificial intelligence of both your friendly soldiers and the enemies you face is pretty poor. Both friendly and enemy soldiers behave like fools for most of the campaign. I once watched a friendly shoot the back of an armored car that he was using for cover for a solid 20 seconds.
There are also a few design flaws and annoyances, not least of all was a game-ending bug in the first level that made me restart the entire mission. No one else in the office ran into that one, but everyone who'd played Black Ops has run into a major design issue at the Battle of Khe Sanh. The mission never tells you what to actually do and even misdirects you.
Despite these issues, I really enjoyed the story that the campaign presents and I think it's the best of the series. The characters are well-crafted and the plot rarely disappoints.
Of course, most gamers are more interested in the multiplayer. Call of Duty: Black Ops largely succeeds, presenting a similar (but not identical) set of modes as Modern Warfare 2. Black Ops is a more focused effort, and there will inevitably be those who miss a few of the omitted modes. But you will get some of the playlists later added to Modern Warfare 2, including the Killstreak-free Barebones list.
Black Ops makes its most significant departure from Modern Warfare 2 by adding CoD Points. Earning experience points and leveling up now handles macro stuff like unlocking more custom class slots, Create-A-Class, new modes to play, and the availability of certain weapons and bonuses for "purchase." Everything else (weapons, perks, killstreak bonuses, emblems, different colors for your targeting reticule) is bought with CoD Points.
The system itself is overwhelming at first, especially if you're totally new to Call of Duty, but once you get your head around the CoD Points mechanic it's actually pretty cool. When you level up you're handed 1,000 CoD Points that you can spend on whatever you please. It basically allows you to sculpt your style of play however you'd like. The only catch is that once you buy a weapon, perk, or killstreak, there's no going back. In other words, you'd better be damn sure you want that sniper rifle before taking the plunge. This de-emphasizes what made Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer so much fun; the leveling itself.
The new Wager Match modes are designed to highlight the importance of CoD Points and they're fun in their own right, but nothing ever reaches the level of enjoyment I had with the traditional leveling mechanic. We've talked at length about the specifics of each Wager Match mode. Just know that One in the Chamber and Gun Game are highlights. The first is a lesson in patience and accuracy and the second gives you a guided tour of 20 of Black Ops' armaments with each kill earning you a new gun.
Standard modes including Team Deathmatch, Domination and Headquarters are still there and are great for leveling up and if you do hit Level 50, Prestige Mode is there with some extra challenges to make it worthwhile. I would have preferred if the new features added to the pre-existing level of fun, rather than pushing what everyone loves to the back burner, but Wager Match is definitely the focus.
Enough about the chit chat. Look at these screenshots: