Modern Warfare 2

One of the best teasers I have seen in a while, probaby not since the teaser for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek(“Under Construction”). Yet this is one of the more fulfilling teasers-the ones with cryptic messages and vague images. Because if anybody is reading this and they happen to be a good fan of Call of Duty 4, they most likely watched it atleast three or so times. Me, I just got finished re-scrutinizing the 2:00 minute video for the eighth. The teaser manages to capture that Clancyian military-thriller feel while leaving viewers with more questions. Which is good.

From what I could make out and what is already clarified by many a site and poster it starts out with probably four dudes who sound like they are wearing business attire as you can hear the clapping of dress shoes as they walk into what argued to be either a subway or airport as they can be heard entering a rather bustling area which could be in the States. An airport is likely because Japanese, Korean, and I swore to be Spanish in the background. The dudes then enter an elevator. This is where the messages flash in. As the lift goes up two floors some of the dudes can be heard whispering in Russian. One of them is heard saying what could be “God be with us”. This is after they prepare for most likely a hostage situation as they can be heard zipping open dufflebags to cock their rather heavy firearms. So right when they enter the second floor the twist comes as a dude in the front can be heard saying: “Remember, no/the Russian”. They may be sleeper agents who are operating as American citizens. When the door opens they can be heard and faintly seen waltzing out into the waiting room where faint NV images of people in lines are flashed. Some initial screams come out of the crowd as the dudes draw their weapons and open fire. 

The wild gunfire queues a barrage of cluttered images of attack helicopters, submarines, divers, jet fighters, an oil tanker, a teddy bear and what reputed to be an image of Christ the Redeemer in…Brazil? What the f-. The possibilities are widened as maybe a conflict in South America which could be pretty sweet. Viewers are able to analyze for themselves on the website.

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Well it better be. Man, 2008 was a rush huh? Great and crap shooters alike came out in fury along the Spring and Fall periods like a flow of cresting waves. But that was 2008 with its Far Cry 2, Fallout 3(counts as a shooter to me), Left 4 Dead, and whatever else that blew our minds. This is officially 2009 and let us go with optimism and consider the next line of shooters -along with more posts. Later we can review the awesome line of 2008 games.

PC: Battlefield: Heroes, Borderlands, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Shellshock 2, Wolfenstein, RAGE.

PS3: Chronicles of Riddick, Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda, Killzone 2.

Wii: The Conduit, House of the Dead: Overkill.

XBOX360: Call of Duty 6, Section 8, Bioshock 2, Dogtag, Dead Island.

Good, not many shooters may be coming out this time around. Which is very disturbing. At least the market is not going to be “oversaturated” as the econs would usually about FPS releases. Well I could see some of these titles possibly not meeting the standards of gamers and some hopefully blowing some minds. Other than that it will be the year of Killzone 2 making the PS3 the formidable console it should have been earlier. A year where id Software will take the next leap as it did earlier with the Quake engine evolve the genre. A year where the Wii will see its first “core audience” targeted shooter.

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After a much uncalled for hiatus for the summer, We three breathe again into our layman take on the FPS genre. Now here are some rather promising titles heading up these school shackled weeks. A number are well acclaimed series and some may risk becoming the next Blacksite, or Conflict. This is kind of in chronological order but whatever:

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky (September 15): I think they were being ironic with “clear sky”. PC.

Crysis Warhead (September 16): A much more…”psychotic” episode 2. PC.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway (October 7): Hope this tactical shooter will refresh the genre. PC.

Far Cry 2 (October 21): Beef up the rig for this arm-dislocating, warlord-hunting, survival shooter. PC.

Legendary (November 4): Unfortunately this may go down the “Blacksite” path. X360

Mirror’s Edge (November 11): Not much shooting. But a lot of leaping. Plus hot East Asian woman.

Call of Duty 5 (November 11): World at War: The Pacific theatre andCO-OP campaign makes this a buy. X360.

Left 4 Dead (November 20): The ridiculously lauded fast-zombie CO-OP fest.

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With no clever allusion to a classic heavy rock group or a joint effort between Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock, Bad Company has returned the Battlefield series back to the consoles(which is unfortunate for some). This time it is with a strong SP campaign centered around a rag-tag group of fellows deemed too renegade to even serve with the rest of the US Army. These are dudes who are sent ahead in small squads simply because they are bullet sponges who are cheaper than the usual Special Forces considering the legions of enemy combatants they take on in rather explosive fights.

The game is very refreshing in the different atmosphere it creates in comparison with some of the jagged-edged dead serious millitary shooters in that the four men squad from B-Company are really just men trying to survive the day. That and the rather relaxing Jazz music which seems to be the recurring theme as a possible tribute to the men-on-mission WWII films of yesteryear. These dudes are trying to survive and reach the objectives but I mean come on, the usual Army salary is not going to pay for their retirement-especially when they’re in B-Company. So what do these men do? They pursue the conquest of war, rich European gold. The resulting story is a personal mission for profit. Sergeant Reford leads Private Sweetwater, bespectickled collegeboy support gunner along with Private Haggard, the group blowshitupman, and Private Marlowe the player character with grenade launcher on an AWOL Eastern European wartrip.

Battlefield would not be much with out its genre defining multiplayer sandbox-like gameplay involving vehicles accompanying large groups of soldiers fighting for territory. This time BC improves it with more nuances to boot. In connection to the SP story a new gamemode it introduced: Gold Rush. One box of gold bullion is situated between two teams, be they RuFed, M.E.C, or USA one team are Attackers and one team Defenders. Attackers rush to destroy the gold bars while Defenders rush to put up a mean enough defense to hold them down. The much beraved classic Conquest mode is being held on a hiatus for the developers to view the communities reaction to the new GR gamemode but we believe they will complement each other. Classes including the Assault, Demolitions, Support, Recon, Specialist will arrive with a new aim at technological warfare. Meaning guided airstikes, unmanned drones, infra-beacons, and easier to use explosives. Preview’s a little late because of the June 25 launch but pretty sure the new Frostbite engine of environmental destruction will fail to dissappoint the masses.

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Aw boo f-ing hoo f*** Treyarch gah-gah! That is what came to mind when I thought of what thousands of severely dissappointed  CoD-fans would utter when I read the first impressions of the next installment in the stalwert war series. Now it is fully confirmed about Trey’s involvement behind the odd-number installment and much unlike all the jump-gunning fans who were enlightened by Modern Warfare, we’re excited as hell at the hell of war.

Earlier this month a number a publications present a much needed change of perspective to the WWII(yes the Second World War like I-III CoDs) genre of FPS. The Pacific theatre alas. Though what impressed us even more is the rather hopeful change of pace of the game into a few unexplored directions. See not only they reveal the true horrors of war, Trey’s theme is the use of survival-horror elements in the much darker,bleck battlefields of CoD. Treyarch’s aim is to produce an enemy that wasn’t the hard-skinned, irritating, life-preserving Nazi but is the near animal inhumaness of an Imperial who is savage in combat. As hinted in the publications Japanese soldier will be predatorial in tropical warfare. Meaning they may practice ambushes-alot, from the bush to the trees. What they have in mind is an enemy that can hop out and scream before they jab you in the chest with a katana. Guess that is where survival-horror element comes in. Also, just to branch it off is a Russian partnering campaign depicting Germany’s final desperate defensive, which may be grounds for some psychologically enraged Nazi adversaries in their last stand.

Extremely exciting enough, Trey-Trey is FINALLY implementing a cooperative element into CoD what with the scream-like-schoolgirl suprise terror of trying to fall back from an ambush and spraying the thompson being shared with a friend. See? would’ve been great CO-OP in CoD4 Bliz-Acti. Alongside that is a vehicle element that was not fully elaborated on in the publication. Multiplayer-wise, Trey-Trey is bringing back the perks and ranking and unlocks system that made Modern Warfare such a mindblow. We’re predicting an American V. Japanese/Russian V. German mechanic like the Force Recon V. Mujahideen/S.A.S V. Separatist mechanic of MW.

So aside from the reveal of Trey-Trey reusing the CoD4 engine for each console excluding PSP along with improved support with the Wiimote Trey is still smoky until atleast E3 which is not to far off. Call of Duty 3 was a crappy CoD game we got that but it was an amazing and colorful single-player experience with an epic tone to it. So Treyarch shouldn’t get pelted with poop for taking that iteration and making it theirs. And oh yeah flamethrowers and slit-throats.

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Aside from the news surrounding the summer release of Battlefield: Bad Company, the very interesting Battlefield:Heroes was announced earlier this year. Alike Bad Company, Heroes is not a direct sequel to Battlefield 2 but DICE’s foray into the Free-2-Play/Play-4-Free industry much popularized by Korean and Indie developers. This is EAs experimentation on the much annoying practice of in-game advertisements and DICEs opportunity entertain the casual audiences. What will noticeably set Heroes from the other installments the cartoon-like art style akin to Warner Bros.

Free-2-Play/Battlefield-4-Free

Battlefield: Heroes has personally been one of our most anticipated titles-especially on the upcoming barren Summer season(thanks in part to a particular R* title and Kojima-sans’ upcoming magnum opus). Which gives us all the more reason to focus most of our attention upon this. From the previews related info we have skimmed this is shaping up to be rather popular shooter as BFH in a way reminds us of Wolfenstein Enemy Territory which in its time was one hell of a free game. BFH brings back the traditional mechanics of a class based 32 player match laid over well, a battlefield where strategic base points are set for the opposing teams- them being the Allies and Axis in the WWII setting. BFH evolves the mechanic into a much simplified three classes: the balanced Soldier, subtle Commando, and heavy Gunner classes each with their own specific preferences and support abilities as they fight for the fictional National(Axis) and Royal(Allies) Armies. This Battlefield is aiming for a less tactical but more on fast-paced wackiness along with looser system specs which in turn may lead to a broader amount of players.

A Expensive Free Game

A number of massive features behind the game could seal the deal. What got us all hot is the avatar system where the player will develop their own unique soldier in a leveled MMO like setting with unlockable articles of clothing that stretch from the hat to the shoes, its that deep. Maximum levels may reach the 40/50 ranges though the upgrades go only as far as the clothing due to the obvious balancing of gameplay. Another interesting aspect is the “Meta-Game”(tentative) system where players can track their progress on battles in territories captured in seamless stat-tracking where teams will be rewarded cash points going towards clothing. Balancing will be just as loose as a single soldier can possibly sunder a tank just by a sticky grenade or a plane by gunfire albeit in much more comedic ways considering the setting. Combat will be light-hearted this time around what with the ability to hurl a volley of grenades, flipping over tanks, the introduction of emotes, and finally: riding passenger on the wings of planes, which immediately got me sold. Hopefully Battlefield: Heroes will face release no later than July.

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Mid-March marks the arrival of two anticipated sequels to two very hard-hitting titles. The 18th marks the arrival of Rainbow Six: Vegas and on the 12th Condemned 2: Bloodshot drops in with already silvering reviews.

Condemned 2: Bloodshot

Condemned 2 continues the tale of a now psychologically damaged and overworked detective who experiences a new fear as the squaters, lowlives, and bums of the gritty backalleys once again become Influenced by a cult’s curse of igniting the hatred in men. So an embittered Detective Thomas must reopen the case files and sip a whiskey before haymaking new ruffians in their ugly jaws. The gameplay is much more brutal as before what with the introduction of hand-to-hand fisticuffs, more painful executions, and an improved investigation system that rewards the player. What is just large is the introduction of multiplayer in the form of four gametypes which includes the vanilla TDM and DM along with Bum Rush and Crime Scene. Though the MP may lose its value over time as Condemned’s true strength is placed in its singleplayer.

Rainbow Six Vegas 2

Vegas is getting second wake up call with Rainbow installment that sure to include and emphasize  stronger Cooperative gameplay and a more rewarding role-playing system. The Persistant Elite Creation system is rebuilt with more depth with ACES, Advanced Combat Enhancement and Specialization. This seamless system evolves based on the player’s specialties between CQB, Assault, and Marksmanship. What is so seamless is that the real-time system goes for all the gametypes- including the campaign. Though one of the few reported cons is the exclusion of the four-man CO-OP for a more intense two man with two other NPCs.

Boths games are looking to sound promising for the survival-horror and modern tactical alike.

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The questionably fruity title are the first two words that I managed to rummage and yank out of my head to describe this first quarter of 2008, other than that Spring is going to be somewhat of a riot. With such post-winter titles like Turok and errr what was it? Conflict: Denied Ops we got a pretty decent stretch of titles. Not really sure about Conflict though but hey. Despite some of these arriving near the beginning of the second quarter these title presented enough credit to be close to initial spring release dates. No this is a rather colorful crew of titles and what is interesting- or more like cautionary about this gallery is that a few of them are straight-up original properties that probably are not on par with Bioshock but then again Condemned and Brothers In Arms were original titles in their fledgling days but they later grew into um, stardom. Alright, returning to the colorful part with eight titles, three of which we have played in demo form while the others are far off in the March and April realms but they seem promising.

-Frontlines: Fuel of War, February 25, 2008. This one will explode into retail…today I mean the day of this writing with a rather original premise or rather <shutter> prediction of a dystopian future caused by a shortage of Mama Earth’s lifeblood, oil. The world’s four remaining superpowers combine forces into their own confederations against each other. The Western Coalition, comprised of the U.S.orA and the European Onion VERSUS the Red Star Coalition, comprised of a restored Soviet Russia and the L.R.C-um P.R.C. The gameplay is based on a Battlefield-like mechanic of conquest where teams must capture key points on the battlefield in order to push back the frontlines against the others. And what are they fighting with? Modern technology of course! A mean we are talking about automated bots and orbital strikes and like, GPS.

-Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, February 26, 2008. Imagine this: late thirties, America continues to stay in isolation to repair herself from Depression while Great Britain and the rest of Europe begins to fight against Hitler’s war machine. Then on a routine conference trip to New York, Churchill gets pummeled by a taxi and eventually gets “accidentally” assassinated. As a result Europe gets enveloped by the dark mist of Nazism. Several years later the krauts decide to invade a slumbering U.S. Now most of this reminds me of that one EA classic Freedom Fighters in that the PC is a normal everyman blue-collar worker who rises from the ashes to fight with the American resistance.

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Call of Duty 3: Treyarchs bastardization?

The revealing of information pertaining to the fifth Call of Duty installment to be tasked to the much reviled Treyarch studios who are “infamous” for their production behind Call of Duty 3 maybe old news but what is included in the release- which is in the form of a job-op on Treys website for a level designer position is the recommendation of the interest in WWII shooters, which is interesting enough. Personally(and I mean just myself) CoD3 was favorite of the series as it was not the prior two installments which otherwise gained high renown and were riddled with as much rewards as possible. But hey, it was different, it was a done by a different set of minds and that was great. Back in those days CoD3 provided one of the best multiplayer experiences along with an even better SP storyline more human characters which I am still playing today. Not only did this release garner attention from players who are enlightened by CoD4 contemporary modern rebirth but still left disgusted by Treyarch and CoD3, it has triggered speculation from embittered gamers who are disinterested in the stagnating subgenre of World War II and would like to continue into the modern era.

Mujahideen and neo-Commies? Nazis? Or the Imperial Japanese?

Aside from spitting out their utter disgust at Treyarch, we’ve scouted out a degree of exciting speculation on whether the series will take a stroll back into the wayback machine towards the Greatest Generation, forward into a fictionalized modern war against extremism, or ignore both altogether and adapt a wackier idea(I.E. Ancient Warfare, War of the Roses, Battle of the Bands B.S.). What is solidified -for the time being, is that the title of Call of Duty 5 is confirmed with the studio Treyarch along with the supposed posting for a level designer who is also interested in WWII shooters. If it is to be another WWII installment will the players be inserted into another operation in the European theatre or will the Pacific theatre be finally be visited? But it only seems like common sense to continue the Modern Warfare sequel to reveal other different points of view though we here at FPSR are hopeful for a CoD where we could shoot the flappy hats off of Imperial Japanese soldier’s heads rather than the tub helmutts off of a Nazi’s. Either way, both sound good considering I’m still playing Showdown on Ground War for the eighth time this week.

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Nothing explosive or distinctive has happened much in the much innovative area of the first-person shooter genre but that it is the annual Holiday slump. That and the two man onslaught of Bioshock and Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 which have already ruptured up a surge in the industry. A surge with enough space for some more creative properties to emerge out hopefully. ‘Cause, we’re not playing CoD4 forever. Okay we are. Here’s the spotlighted console titles set to premier during the 2008 year. Starting with our favorite console for good measure in no particular chronological order.

PLAYSTATION 3

Ahhh yea, our lady of hope the PS3 had-had a difficult time catching up with that white hardcore-communal behemoth and the wee-little infrared family gadget. Yet a number of publications have discussed the chance of 2008 as the Year of the PS3. And its just a headache trying to estimate a way the PS3 can fail.

~Resistance 2 as discussed earlier will be a powerhouse of the alternate history kind. Europe is ravashed by an unknown alien enemy, and of course the ol’ US of A is facing an invasion of the Chimaeran kind. A CO-OP campaign that branches with a single-player campaign that branches with a following massive multiplayer campaign is all enough reason for me complete the first Resistance, which I have not yet for some reason.

~Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is back with ANOTHER WAKE UP CALL for VEGAS! In a hard-on inducing arsenal of gameplay features. Including a seamless form of gameplay similar to Gears of War where an additional player can slip in to join a another in an in-progress single-player campaign which also uses the RPG-like PEC(Persistance Elite Creation) system where the player constructs their own counterterrorist. Implementing with more initials in the form of the ACES(Advanced Combat Enhancement Specialization system). Its a sort of stat-tracking where the game provides weapons and equipment to the player pertaining to their play style. I’m not old enough to gamble but my ATM’s bets are in.

XBOX 360

The pinnacle first-person shooter console, or the “jock-console what with its Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 and Bioshock may also have another good though less bright year ahead in the distance. Though it is an iffer because of the trio just mentioned earlier. Their stardom and dominance will lead to a only a trickle of FPS titles that dare mess with them. Despite that the green circle is still going well and strong.

~Condemned 2: Bloodshot continues the dark, gritty tale of an afflicted special FBI detective beating shites out of possessed druggies, hoodlums, and thugs in cramped and oft-dilapidated urban environments in this melee-based horror title. Still need to try out the first Condemned though.

~Operation Flashpoint 2 is deploying in the second quarter as the sequel to the once wildly popular FPS of the early millenium. Hardly any info in the air about it aside from several press-release photos and the subtitle of “Dragon Rising” as it covers a fictional war between NATO and the P.R.C instead of modernized Soviet Union. Players looking for the more hard-edged military simulation should look forward to this. Though it might be better on PC.

Wii

The little brother of the seventh gen is looking forward to a larger a year in gaming. Unfortunately not on the grounds of main title FPS’er. The Wii has a built up a formidable library of excellent titles but most of which aren’t FPS. Maybe another time my infrared friend.

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