fitbabits
10-12-2008, 09:40 PM
Activision Community Event
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1029
September 25, 2008 → September 26, 2008
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – Single Player
Developers:
Shaba / Treyarch (Xbox 360, PS3)
Treyarch (Wii – NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Amaze (PS2, PSP, NDS
Aspyr (PC)
Quantum of Solace – Single Player
Developers:
Treyarch (Xbox 360 and PS3)
Beenox (Wii and PC - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Eurocom (PS2 - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Vicarious Visions (DS - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Call of Duty: World at War - Multiplayer
Developers:
Treyarch (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS)
----------
Written by: James A. Young
There comes a time in everyone's life when you're forced to take a step back and reevaluate opinions that have formed over time. I'm guessing most everyone here has experience with that, be it reevaluating your opinion of Pizza Hut's Pizza Mia (I really don't need three $5 pizzas, do I?), Arby's Beef Sandwich, etc. Most of the time you're unaware that you've even formed an opinion on something until you're forced reevaluate – it can be that subtle.
So what does that have to do with the Activision Community Event I was recently invited to? A lot, especially as it pertains to Treyarch, the Call of Duty franchise, and Infinity Ward. I'll get to that in time, but before then I would like to give you my impressions on both Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Quantum of Solace.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Popular opinion has it that the last great Spider-Man game was Spider-Man on PlayStation back in 2000, later ported to Dreamcast in 2001.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is different in that it doesn't have an accompanying movie to help sell it – it's on its own. So what's the story, then? A deadly symbiote invasion has brought the Big Apple almost to its knees with city-wide devastation. As everyone's favorite web slinger, it's your job to wrest control of the city back, but to do so you may well have to make some very tough and morally ambiguous choices. How far you're willing to go will determine the fate of the Big Apple.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/SMWoS_929_1.jpg
Yeah, so the story isn't going to win any awards, but that's secondary to how the game actually plays, right? Right! In this regard Spider-Man: Web of Shadows shows some degree of promise, but it's not without its problems. Controlling Spidey, at least on PS3, was a little cumbersome at first, but I did eventually get in the swing of things ('in the swing of things', get it?). As with previous Spider-Man games, the freedom to navigate your surroundings in three dimensions is paramount. You're afforded the freedom to go anywhere at any time in WoS. Seeing New York before you while perched atop any number of tall buildings is a sight to behold, make no mistake. It's just a shame that the buildings are closed to any interior shenanigans.
c89f73ac
If you've seen any of the videos for WoS you'll no doubt be interested in knowing how the combat stacks up. It's a mixed bag, sadly. To a casual observer, it probably looked cool as hell as I was battling foes in the air, on the ground, and on the side of buildings, but for the person playing it? Not so much. I felt at times that the AI was fighting for me, taking over from me in order to show off array of cool moves on offer. This may have had something to do with the unresponsiveness of the controls on the PS3 version I tried, but unfortunately I was unable to test the 360 version to compare. One other contributing factor to my confusion was the camera. It seemed unable to keep up with the speedy action on screen. People who are affected by motion sickness may well have issues with the erratic nature of the camera, especially when your character gets stuck in a corner.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/SMWoS_929_7.jpg
Having said all of that, I did have some fun with the game. Spider-Man fans will find a lot to like about Web of Shadows, but casual fans may want to rent before buying.
Quantum of Solace
And so on to Quantum of Solace, the game based on the upcoming Daniel Craig-starring James Bond movie. Tying in events from Casino Royale that were nixed from the movie, you can tell that there has been a huge investment of time and talent in bringing the player up to speed in time for the new movie.
There's a story out there somewhere about how we were transported to the Quantum of Solace event, but it's for another day and it's not really pertinent to the actual game. Which, I'm happy to report, is shaping up to be very good indeed.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/QuantumofSolace-Constructionleap.jpg
Built using the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine, the first thing you're likely to notice is the steep difficulty. I'm somewhat of an FPS veteran, having cut my teeth on the likes of Doom, Quake, Halo, etc., so I'm no patsy when it comes to taking out enemies in first person. How, then, I ended up on my fifth restart in as many minutes was perplexing. One quick look at the difficulty settings put my mind at ease – the game was set to “Normal”. Wait, what? NORMAL difficulty was handing me my proverbial ass? Let's try “easy”, then. Ah, much better...I can actually get from checkpoint to checkpoint without having to restart due to an untimely death.
Speaking of checkpoints, one mild frustration during my hands-on time was the lack of a 'save anywhere' option. It wasn't a big deal, more an annoyance at getting to someplace and dying only to restart some ways away.
As I said, it's not a gamebreaker, thankfully, because the rest of what I played was highly polished and tons of fun. AND LOUD! VERY, VERY LOUD! Speaking to one of the developers at the event, he reckoned the fact that I was missing out on audio cues was contributing to my poor showing at the start.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/QuantumofSolace-Takedown.jpg
So why should you care about Quantum of Solace over, say, Far Cry 2 in the battle for your holiday dollars? Put simply, it's very well put together, tons of fun and exciting as hell – even in the more pedestrian moments. Oh, and it's James Bond!
Is Quantum of Solace good enough to eclipse the mighty GoldenEye 007? On the evidence of what I played, it's likely to be a very close call.
After playing QoS for a few hours, the room was transformed into a casino with poker, roulette, etc. all in attendance. I was fortunate enough to be seated at the poker table with some pretty cool people. Activision had loaded us up with play money and we spent the rest of the evening drinking, gambling, and generally having a great time.
Call of Duty: World at War
So, then, to Call of Duty: World at War, and to my earlier opinion-alerting stance on Treyarch. I'll say right off the bat that I was not as big a fan of Call of Duty 3 as I am of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or even Call of Duty 2. I entered the event expecting a routine return to World War II, if only a little more graphic. This was despite reassurances from all and sundry at Treyarch that things would be different this time.
Before I could get my hands on the multiplayer portion of the game, I was fortunate to sample the game on the Wii. The first thing that struck me about this game on the Wii was how good it looked. It's easily the best-looking game I've seen running on the Wii, and that may be something to do with the more realistic nature of the playing environment. It's pretty clear from the outset just why this game is rated M – it's pretty gritty stuff.
My only complaint (and it could be a gamebreaker, depending on how proficient you are with the Wiimote) is the controls on the Wii. Some of the motions you're asked to perform with the Wiimote succeed only in lessening the player's immersion in the game. I'll let you decide on whether or not it's a gamebreaker.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Okinawa-BarrelsofFun-Wii.jpg
Call of Duty: World at War - Wii
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Okinawa-ShermansCharge-Wii.jpg
Call of Duty: World at War - Wii
After some breakfast, it was time to take on multiplayer. This, above all else, is what forced me to reevaluate my opinion of Treyarch.
Anyone who knows me fairly well will know that I'm a big fan of Modern Warfare's multiplayer offerings. Hell, I still play it to this day – almost a year after it hit retail. The reason I mention this is because I don't want anyone to miss the importance of what I'm about to write...
World at War's multiplayer is better than Modern Warfare's. It's not just better, it's a whole helluva lot better. The maps are massive and varied, the player balancing is stellar, the new weapons (hello, flamethrower!) are awesome, the drivable vehicles are plentiful and fun to use, etc.
There's also a whole new set of Perks, plus Prestige mode has been expanded and now offers more rewards than just bragging rights. All told, it's Modern Warfare plus.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Roundhouse-Onedown.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Roundhouse-StickandMove.jpg
Back to the maps. Those who got a little tired of the claustrophobic nature of Chinatown, etc. (like myself) are in for a treat. I don't know exactly how much bigger the maps in WaW are compared to MW, but suffice it to say the difference in size is extremely noticeable. Even after playing some of the maps for hours on end, I was still finding nooks and crannies that I hadn't seen before. This should ensure a more intense and enjoyable experience for everyone.
The bottom line is this: Treyarch heard everyone's complaints about Call of Duty 3, and they listened. Not only did they listen, they've seemingly gone above and beyond to make World at War a game that's as faithful to the Call of Duty name as Modern Warfare.
NOTE – I also spent some time with the co-op portion of World at War. You can check out my impressions of that by hitting up our sister site, Co-Optimus (http://www.co-optimus.com/preview/86/Call_of_Duty__World_at_War_Co-Op_Impressions.html).
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/cogforums/showthread.php?t=1029
September 25, 2008 → September 26, 2008
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows – Single Player
Developers:
Shaba / Treyarch (Xbox 360, PS3)
Treyarch (Wii – NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Amaze (PS2, PSP, NDS
Aspyr (PC)
Quantum of Solace – Single Player
Developers:
Treyarch (Xbox 360 and PS3)
Beenox (Wii and PC - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Eurocom (PS2 - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Vicarious Visions (DS - NOTE: gameplay/content may vary)
Call of Duty: World at War - Multiplayer
Developers:
Treyarch (Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii, DS)
----------
Written by: James A. Young
There comes a time in everyone's life when you're forced to take a step back and reevaluate opinions that have formed over time. I'm guessing most everyone here has experience with that, be it reevaluating your opinion of Pizza Hut's Pizza Mia (I really don't need three $5 pizzas, do I?), Arby's Beef Sandwich, etc. Most of the time you're unaware that you've even formed an opinion on something until you're forced reevaluate – it can be that subtle.
So what does that have to do with the Activision Community Event I was recently invited to? A lot, especially as it pertains to Treyarch, the Call of Duty franchise, and Infinity Ward. I'll get to that in time, but before then I would like to give you my impressions on both Spider-Man: Web of Shadows and Quantum of Solace.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Popular opinion has it that the last great Spider-Man game was Spider-Man on PlayStation back in 2000, later ported to Dreamcast in 2001.
Spider-Man: Web of Shadows is different in that it doesn't have an accompanying movie to help sell it – it's on its own. So what's the story, then? A deadly symbiote invasion has brought the Big Apple almost to its knees with city-wide devastation. As everyone's favorite web slinger, it's your job to wrest control of the city back, but to do so you may well have to make some very tough and morally ambiguous choices. How far you're willing to go will determine the fate of the Big Apple.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/SMWoS_929_1.jpg
Yeah, so the story isn't going to win any awards, but that's secondary to how the game actually plays, right? Right! In this regard Spider-Man: Web of Shadows shows some degree of promise, but it's not without its problems. Controlling Spidey, at least on PS3, was a little cumbersome at first, but I did eventually get in the swing of things ('in the swing of things', get it?). As with previous Spider-Man games, the freedom to navigate your surroundings in three dimensions is paramount. You're afforded the freedom to go anywhere at any time in WoS. Seeing New York before you while perched atop any number of tall buildings is a sight to behold, make no mistake. It's just a shame that the buildings are closed to any interior shenanigans.
c89f73ac
If you've seen any of the videos for WoS you'll no doubt be interested in knowing how the combat stacks up. It's a mixed bag, sadly. To a casual observer, it probably looked cool as hell as I was battling foes in the air, on the ground, and on the side of buildings, but for the person playing it? Not so much. I felt at times that the AI was fighting for me, taking over from me in order to show off array of cool moves on offer. This may have had something to do with the unresponsiveness of the controls on the PS3 version I tried, but unfortunately I was unable to test the 360 version to compare. One other contributing factor to my confusion was the camera. It seemed unable to keep up with the speedy action on screen. People who are affected by motion sickness may well have issues with the erratic nature of the camera, especially when your character gets stuck in a corner.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/SMWoS_929_7.jpg
Having said all of that, I did have some fun with the game. Spider-Man fans will find a lot to like about Web of Shadows, but casual fans may want to rent before buying.
Quantum of Solace
And so on to Quantum of Solace, the game based on the upcoming Daniel Craig-starring James Bond movie. Tying in events from Casino Royale that were nixed from the movie, you can tell that there has been a huge investment of time and talent in bringing the player up to speed in time for the new movie.
There's a story out there somewhere about how we were transported to the Quantum of Solace event, but it's for another day and it's not really pertinent to the actual game. Which, I'm happy to report, is shaping up to be very good indeed.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/QuantumofSolace-Constructionleap.jpg
Built using the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare engine, the first thing you're likely to notice is the steep difficulty. I'm somewhat of an FPS veteran, having cut my teeth on the likes of Doom, Quake, Halo, etc., so I'm no patsy when it comes to taking out enemies in first person. How, then, I ended up on my fifth restart in as many minutes was perplexing. One quick look at the difficulty settings put my mind at ease – the game was set to “Normal”. Wait, what? NORMAL difficulty was handing me my proverbial ass? Let's try “easy”, then. Ah, much better...I can actually get from checkpoint to checkpoint without having to restart due to an untimely death.
Speaking of checkpoints, one mild frustration during my hands-on time was the lack of a 'save anywhere' option. It wasn't a big deal, more an annoyance at getting to someplace and dying only to restart some ways away.
As I said, it's not a gamebreaker, thankfully, because the rest of what I played was highly polished and tons of fun. AND LOUD! VERY, VERY LOUD! Speaking to one of the developers at the event, he reckoned the fact that I was missing out on audio cues was contributing to my poor showing at the start.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/QuantumofSolace-Takedown.jpg
So why should you care about Quantum of Solace over, say, Far Cry 2 in the battle for your holiday dollars? Put simply, it's very well put together, tons of fun and exciting as hell – even in the more pedestrian moments. Oh, and it's James Bond!
Is Quantum of Solace good enough to eclipse the mighty GoldenEye 007? On the evidence of what I played, it's likely to be a very close call.
After playing QoS for a few hours, the room was transformed into a casino with poker, roulette, etc. all in attendance. I was fortunate enough to be seated at the poker table with some pretty cool people. Activision had loaded us up with play money and we spent the rest of the evening drinking, gambling, and generally having a great time.
Call of Duty: World at War
So, then, to Call of Duty: World at War, and to my earlier opinion-alerting stance on Treyarch. I'll say right off the bat that I was not as big a fan of Call of Duty 3 as I am of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or even Call of Duty 2. I entered the event expecting a routine return to World War II, if only a little more graphic. This was despite reassurances from all and sundry at Treyarch that things would be different this time.
Before I could get my hands on the multiplayer portion of the game, I was fortunate to sample the game on the Wii. The first thing that struck me about this game on the Wii was how good it looked. It's easily the best-looking game I've seen running on the Wii, and that may be something to do with the more realistic nature of the playing environment. It's pretty clear from the outset just why this game is rated M – it's pretty gritty stuff.
My only complaint (and it could be a gamebreaker, depending on how proficient you are with the Wiimote) is the controls on the Wii. Some of the motions you're asked to perform with the Wiimote succeed only in lessening the player's immersion in the game. I'll let you decide on whether or not it's a gamebreaker.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Okinawa-BarrelsofFun-Wii.jpg
Call of Duty: World at War - Wii
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Okinawa-ShermansCharge-Wii.jpg
Call of Duty: World at War - Wii
After some breakfast, it was time to take on multiplayer. This, above all else, is what forced me to reevaluate my opinion of Treyarch.
Anyone who knows me fairly well will know that I'm a big fan of Modern Warfare's multiplayer offerings. Hell, I still play it to this day – almost a year after it hit retail. The reason I mention this is because I don't want anyone to miss the importance of what I'm about to write...
World at War's multiplayer is better than Modern Warfare's. It's not just better, it's a whole helluva lot better. The maps are massive and varied, the player balancing is stellar, the new weapons (hello, flamethrower!) are awesome, the drivable vehicles are plentiful and fun to use, etc.
There's also a whole new set of Perks, plus Prestige mode has been expanded and now offers more rewards than just bragging rights. All told, it's Modern Warfare plus.
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Roundhouse-Onedown.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a390/fitbabits/Roundhouse-StickandMove.jpg
Back to the maps. Those who got a little tired of the claustrophobic nature of Chinatown, etc. (like myself) are in for a treat. I don't know exactly how much bigger the maps in WaW are compared to MW, but suffice it to say the difference in size is extremely noticeable. Even after playing some of the maps for hours on end, I was still finding nooks and crannies that I hadn't seen before. This should ensure a more intense and enjoyable experience for everyone.
The bottom line is this: Treyarch heard everyone's complaints about Call of Duty 3, and they listened. Not only did they listen, they've seemingly gone above and beyond to make World at War a game that's as faithful to the Call of Duty name as Modern Warfare.
NOTE – I also spent some time with the co-op portion of World at War. You can check out my impressions of that by hitting up our sister site, Co-Optimus (http://www.co-optimus.com/preview/86/Call_of_Duty__World_at_War_Co-Op_Impressions.html).