Dude's Gamer Zone | Source for HALO and the Video Game Industry! » PC Games

Two Giant Games for 2011

dude — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 15:12:59 +0000

This generation of gaming consoles will last for some time considering a few big game releases on the horizon in 2011. Two games, Id software’s Rage and Crytek’s Crysis 2 will be released in September and March of next year. The current consoles are still powerful enough to run the very high tech game engines for each. The id Tech 5 for Rage first demonstrated by Carmack himself in 2007 on an 8 core Macintosh with a 512MB Quadro video card is one bad-ass game engine. It is rumored the engine will also power the hotly anticipated Doom 4 which has been confirmed by id software to be “deep in development.” Also, the Cryengine 3 game engine designed by Crytek will power the long awaited Crysis 2. This engine is also very powerful and is said to support DirectX 9, 10, and 11.

Not much is known about id software’s next game Rage except that it is a new franchise about a post-apocalyptic world left behind from an asteroid impact. This game will allow the player to fight and drive in a combined first person shooter driving game. I personally think the game will be much more in-depth than that and will probably include many RPG elements, although car combat and shooting will be at the games core. Rage is a huge game and id did voice some concern early in development whether they could release the game on 2 discs for the Xbox 360. There are rumors that the 1 Terabyte game could be released on 3 dual layer DVD discs for the Xbox 360 and 1 Blu Ray disc for the PS3. Lately there has been talk that a version of Rage will be released on the iPhone!

Crysis 2 for release on all systems besides the Wii is the other huge release for 2011. Developed by Crytek in Europe the game will follow in the footsteps of the smash PC hit game Crysis. Crysis is a game that not many people got to experience considering the very powerful and expensive gaming rigs required to run the game. Very much a first person shooter at its core, Crysis 2 is set in New York city in the year 2023 during an alien invasion. Combat will be urban in style where you’ll be able to strategically plan your movements and attacks in an evacuated cityscape wearing the high powered Nanosuit 2. Debates about whether the console version of this game will live up to standards is under discussion among gamers. I was not impressed with the first teaser trailer released early this year for console versions. Let us hope Crytek won’t disappoint us. Crytek’s earlier console versions of FarCry and FarCry 2 where not bad so there is hope. On a final note, the PC version of Crysis 2 will definitely outshine the console for those who can afford the latest and greatest hardware. If you have an Alienware machine then your in for some awesome eye candy.

Battlefield Heroes has finally arrived

dude — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:01:33 +0000

Been waiting for EA’s online WWII shooter long? I have been. It’s here and it’s sweet! I love new mutliplayer games that work on my non gaming laptop. Battlefield heroes runs great on just about any modern home computer. The game runs smoothly and looks nice as well on my 2 year old Dell E1405 laptop. Don’t have a dedicated graphics card? No worries. Not great draw distance when flying around in the Spitfire, but its smooth and detailed gameplay that I’m absolutely pleased with. Did I mention the sound effects rock also? The music and effects are absolutely great!

The cartoonish WWII shooter has been in development by DICE for the last few years and was supposed to be released in 2008. Now a year later the game is available and is free to play. The “play 4 free” model uses front end advertising and micropayments for upgrades to generate profit. You don’t need to purchase anything to enjoy the game, but as you become more involved with the gameplay and the culture surrounding the game you’ll probably want to upgrade your character look and attributes to help you level up faster. The great thing is that the non paying player has full access to the game and doesn’t lack anything. All abilities, weapons, maps, and vehicles are completely free.

Battlefield Heroes is based on the DICE Battlefield combat model in 3rd person embracing a host of vehicles and classes. Of course what sets this game apart besides being free is the charming cartoonish appearance. It really reminds me of Team Fortress, another multiplayer game which I love. I have to say though that Battlefield Heroes has a look and style of gameplay all its own that sets it apart and I wouldn’t call it a clone. I can’t wait to be on a business trip sitting at an airport or on an airplane with Wi-Fi in the middle row taking out the Black and Red’s. Just hit the big red button!

Is this the future of console gaming?

dude — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:31:08 +0000

Forget the expensive hardware prices and trips to Gamestop to buy a disk. Just order your new device through the mail or pick it up at any retail store. Wait a minute, this thing has a low price and comes with no games. Where’s the disc drive? Hard drive? No worries! Plug it into the internet and let it rip. Choose your games old or new and pay your monthly fee as well as a few “micro-payments” here and there and your set for life. Right? Well, this seems to be the way gaming is headed with Microsoft pushing their highly successful Xbox Live online service and as the price of gaming console iterations like the PS3 climbing every cycle.

A new online gaming service called “OnLive” was announced this past Tuesday at this years GDC. Hmm, “OnLive”…sounds familiar. The new gaming service eliminates the need for an expensive PC, console, or discs. This new device will let subscribers play on-demand games old and new from mostly the Mac and PC titles right on their television. How does the OnLive service work without the need for a powerful home console or PC? A giant network of servers send compressed data back and forth from the player at high speed in cyberspace eliminating the need for a fast processor and lots of RAM at home. The first true “virtual game console”, as quoted from the USA Today Game Hunters article about the all digital device. Mike Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities is quoted in the USA Today as saying, “OnLive shows the potential for a gaming world without consoles.” “I think that they will appeal to a lot of gamers, and depending upon breadth of product offering, they will succeed.”

Right now you can checkout OnLive’s service and test it out online at onlive.com. They have a few hit games right now such as Mirror’s Edge and Lego Batman. The USA Today report on March 25 says that publishers are supporting the system such as Atari, Eidos, Epic, and Take-Two. Why the support for the system? Don’t people love bragging about their hard drives? Middlemen, I say! That’s right, cut out the middlemen! What? A game publisher can make a lot more money on their games if they only have to retail the product to one place and eliminate shippers, packagers, brick and mortar stores, etc. Stores like Gamestop won’t be able to resell the games either while the developer and publisher doesn’t see a lick of that extra money they say they’ve been losing from used games. So you see, everything is a digital product except for the micro-console you plug your controller into as well as the internet.

The potential as a game console and PC competitor is definitely there if the system will be reliable. Ask yourself. Would you be willing the buy a system that enables you to play a high end PC game like Crysis without the cost or need for a high end PC? Yes, I would do it! I’m sure many of you would be excited to also. Hmmm, Crysis blazing over your HDTV in full 1080P resolution being processed with all those great graphical effects in cyberspace and beamed into your living room. Yummy!

If the tech works and OnLive can pull it off correctly I for one will be in line at my local WalMart to pick one up. Yes, really.

-dude