The first-person shooter genre is in desperate need of a shake-up. Make no mistake, the genre has certainly taken huge strides in the decades since Id Software pushed it to the forefront of the gaming industry over a decade ago, evidenced by the fact that players currently have a vast assortment of FPS sub-genres from which to choose from, including those with a realistic tactical focus, those with fully-fledged RPG elements, and those centered around large-scale warfare in historical settings.

 

Based on Paramount Pictures' live-action feature film, Transformers: The Game lets gamers control the outcome in the battle for Earth as they choose to protect it as Autobots or destroy it as Decepticons and experience the unstoppable power and massive scale of their favorite robots in disguise. As the Transformers’ war comes to Earth, gamers make the choice to join the Autobots in protecting our planet or to join the Decepticons in destroying it. With dual campaigns, the fate of the world is in players' hands.

 

The award-winning TV show about cops crossing the line ignites in videogame form in The Shield. As Vic Mackey, players will brawl in the streets with dealers, engage in gun battles with thugs, and play politics back in the office. Temptation to cross the line comes in the form of a Retirement Fund meter (for confiscated loot not turned in to the department) and a Heat meter (for unlawful activity against perps) that can put Vic either in the lap of luxury or in the hot seat of the DA.

Call of Juarez is a game we wanted to like, as it has most of the requisite elements (horse chase, train robbery, mine carts, hidden gold) that we look for in a Western. It's just that the really sloppy platforming and box-moving, which take up a good chunk of the game, puts a big damper on any joy that we might find in shooting up bandits and cowboys. It's sad that the game aspires to be an "Unforgiven" or a "Once Upon A Time In The West" and instead just barely hits "Bonanza."

 

The wonderful people over at Monolith really love games. They love them so much, they're willing to give them away for free! And so it is with the much anticipated multiplayer side to the award winning PC game F.E.A.R.

 

 

There have been so many games about World War II that it’s safe to say it has become its own genre. Thinking back through every single one is impossible, though picking out the few flawless titles is quite easy. The Medal of Honor series (save the most recent addition), Battlefield 1942, and now, Call of Duty (CoD) are among the best games within this popular genre. After toiling through the most realistic WWII game ever created, I can see why people find the genre so appealing.

 

Here's a great gameplay reminescent of the "Enemy at the Gates" movie!

 

 

The latest incarnation of the series, Colin McRae: DiRT (or just DiRT in the U.S.), seeks to expand the audience beyond fans of rally racing. With new damage and driving models, a brand new graphics engine and new racing modes, Codemasters is positioning the series to mainstream in a big way. Can DiRT reinvigorate the series and bring in a new audience without alienating dedicated fans who've supported the series since it's inception?  I believe so. Check out this vid of a stage:

 

 

 

 

 

Famed designer Sid Meier established and defined the submarine simulation 22 years ago with the classic Silent Service. Although the genre has seen better days, it continues to plug along thanks to Ubisoft's solid Silent Hunter series. 2005's Silent Hunter III was the last release in the series and let you captain a German U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II. Now with Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific, you play as an American submarine skipper battling against Japan. In many ways, Silent Hunter 4 doesn't veer too far from the formula found in Silent Service and is a faithful successor to that seminal game.

Soldiers is a squad-level real-time strategy game reminiscent of the Commandos series. You control a group of soldiers and work your way through several missions, accomplishing a wide variety of tasks along the way. There are four campaigns in the game (lasting a total of 30 missions in all) and at different points of the war, you can play as the Americans, British, Russians, or Germans.

 
Here's a quick albeit bland vid of this long running series:

After rebooting the franchise with Need for Speed Underground, EA has continued to produce some solid street racers under the Need for Speed banner. Last year's Need for Speed Most Wanted, which featured hilariously over-the-top live-action cutscenes and seriously tense police pursuits, proved to be a high watermark for the franchise. Now it's being followed up by Need for Speed Carbon, which downplays the role of the police chases, introduces some simple team-racing mechanics, and occasionally takes the action off the city streets and into the outlying canyons. The new gameplay doesn't always improve the experience, but the racing can still be quite intense and still has a pronounced sense of style.

Set in 2019 after a colossal asteroid crashes to Earth, Crysis begins amidst a tense military standoff between the North Korean and United States governments for control of the impact zone. Amid rising tensions, the asteroid suddenly bursts open revealing a massive alien ship, which begins freezing vast portions of the island and altering the global weather system. The invasion of Earth has begun. Crysis features an epic three-act story of alien invasion where players are able to customize their armor and weapons in real time to confront an ever-changing enemy and a harsh, dynamic environment.

The chaos of modern warfare has AI Marines screaming ooh-rah as gunfire echoes through the ruins of a Middle Eastern city. There are explosions left and right, enemies around every corner, helicopters spinning out of control and crashing in a fiery wreck. And all of it happens at 60 frames per second. It's fair to say that what we saw of Call of Duty 4 was a greater graphical feat than Epic's Gears of War. The trailer released in April was in-game footage and not some CG magic. The video posted is, in fact, exactly what the game looks like; Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare really looks that good.

The stakes are high when the world's most elite counter-terrorism unit enters Las Vegas, where over 36.7 million men, women and children visit each year. "Sin City," the home of the famous Las Vegas Strip, flashy hotels, high-rolling casinos and world-famous celebrities, becomes the setting for a terrorist threat of global proportions. What happens when one of the world's most famous cities is held hostage by terrorists?

Here's a great vid of not only

Battlefield Vietnam

game play, but of the rest of the series as well.

Enjoy!

 

 

NOT NASCAR

 

 

 

 

 

The most prestigious, high dollar racing, in the world may not be well know to those of us who dwell in North America - having the over exposed, shameless commercialization of NASCAR thrown down our throats and apparently happily swallowed by the masses who enjoy Billy Bob, Ricky Rudd, Jimmy Johnson, and Cletus Cornball, Jr go round and round in a circled and banked bore-o-drome.

For those of us the in the know, we appreciate the highly tuned talent of man and machine in the rich history and exciting world of Formula 1.  I've been watching F1 since I remember racing., itself.  Sure I grew up on Richard Petty and my favorite Cale Yarbourgh in NASCAR - when i was a kid - but when I first saw a formula race, I immidiately saw the real talent, skill, training, and THOUGHT behind such racing competition. Ask a NASCAR driver what a chicaine is and they'll probably respond with, "...aint that one o them American Idol singers..?"   I wonder what a NASCAR driver would do if they had to take a right turn during a race!

Dont get me wrong.  NASCAR has it place in racing - obviously there's a desire for it.  It is the "ALL STAR WRESTLING" of motorsport.  So stay tuned for another high budget commercial montage for the next Pepsi Cola 500 brought to you by Tropicana, Penzoil, Nextel, and almost every branch of the military.  YEEEEEE HAWWWWW....   Think Im kidding or exaggerating? Take a look for yourself.

As far as this game goes - this Formula 1, Gran Prix game Im supposed to be reviewing here. I've played it. And dont like it.. Yeah, I dont.  I think the best way to really get to know and understand cars and racing is to go out there and actually DO IT.  Be around them, research them, understand them, and leave your emotions at the gate so you wont start tearing up when in ten years a overweight, diabetic, Britney Spears comes out on stage in a wheel chair to sing the national anthem before a NASCAR event on her 3rd comeback tour.

So that's why Im shopping for a Porsche Ruf to race at Limerock and Watkins Glen.   Love to all! See you later. Bah BYE!

A super expansion to an already well established shooter.  The German sides sniper and engineer have slight advantages over the allied counterparts.  Highly recommended. Try the demo and see for yourself!

death by tank

Another hit from Electronic Arts. This is already a classic in my mind and the fact that there are so many additions, variations, and modifications for this FPS, speaks volumes to its popularity.

For years, I dreamt and even spoke to fellow shooters how great it would be to design a game where you are no longer a lone gunman with a limited arsenal, fighting bad guys with basically the same weaponry.  While this is classic FPS setup, I wanted more. I wanted to jump into the machines attacking me, the airpower over me, man the machine gun mowing me doen and coordinate a team to collaborate with.  Well EA... thanks!  I could not have wished for a better game in this reguard.

You can literally pick the type of fighter you would like to be from sniper to assault to engineer and then choose the place on your map in which to start. Then you scramble to pick a vehicle (if you choose to do so) - a plane, a bomber, a tank, a scout car/jeep, a motorcycle and so on - and race to a "capture the flag" theme.

You can pick up dead soldiers weapons - either side's; and vehicles as well. I've literally taken off in a plane, raced to a check point, bailed out, popped the chut at the last minute over a tank which I immediately enter and then the fun really begins.

Highly recommend! If you havent been in the Battlefield genre of games - get there!

 

Here's a trip down memory lane.  DOOM  - the original! Remember how you needed to zip it up across 4 1.44" floppies to transfer it from PC to PC?  Remember how when you were the cool kid with the 486 and not the crappy 386 to play it?  This demo/trailer brings you right back to its pioneering spirit and the birth of the First Person Shooters we know today.

Thanks iD!

PS - rumour has it this is or will be available for your mobile or smartphone!

DOOM

 

 

 

 

 

Serious Sam - if lots of alien creatures and an arsenal of weapons to kill them with is ALL you’re looking for - Serious Sam is your drug. The Second encounter takes up where the first one left off with added weapons and new levels.

As far as a story line goes, the first person shooter lacks anything engaging make sure. But hey, we're here to kill, kill, and kill until ammo runs low and the guns are all overheated, leaving nothing but bloody corpses lying around.

 

 

Action gets intense as you make your way through ancient worlds of , Babylon , and other mystical creations. Conservation of ammo is something you don’t want to nor have to do (depending on weapon) and when it does get low pulling out the old side by side 12 gauge shotgun does close up miracles.

 

 

A great game for taking your mind off the day's events and loosing yourself in mindless 3D slaughter.  Admittedly fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Panzer General II by SSi has been the longest stategy turn based game I've been playing for years - bar none. It is one of those, "...if I were stranded...and could chose only one videogame..." gems.  Any chess lover who has an appreciation for 20th century World War history will be hooked as I am.

Since its turned based, you can play for minutes or hours; come back to a move after a day at work. It really is something you cant put down.  If it does sink its claws into you and you play it front to back over and over, you'll strike out and hunt down unofficail add-ons in the forms of equipment, maps, scenarios, and campaigns to mix things up.  And after much time with those you'll  welcome back the originals, too.  It does not get boring.

Game play is simple and the rewards for a well played turn is satisfying.  You are in command of an battlefied; and depending on where in the world you are and which country you are playing, you call the shots on tanks, recon vehicles, soldiers, paratroops, anti-aircraft guns, artilliery, fighter planes and bombers, bunkers, anti-tank units and even ships. 

I played Panzer General II for the first time on a 486.  That's pre-Pentium machines people. And it worked and played just as well on those as it does today on my P4 rockets.

The downloadable demo from SSi is small and gives you a good idea of what the full game is like.

For the record this is the best game I have played to date - in any genre. I highly recommend it to those you love and have a knack for stategy and turn based platforms like chess. I could write at leng th about this one but will leave you here for now. Panzer General II - a classic that has and will continue to stand the test of time. And rightly so.

Another hit (or I should say improvement) of an old FPS by UBI soft. Tom Clacy's Ghost Recon 3: Advanced Warfighter shows you the future of military science, today. In 2013, the U.S. Army will implement the Integrated Warfighter System -- combining advanced weapon systems, satellite Communication devices and enhanced survivability into one fully integrated combat system. The first to test this new system on the battlefield are the Ghosts, as they face an insurgence in the heart of Mexico City.

While this is a departure in the feel of the game, the improvements are striking. Graphics, sounds, multi-player gameplay are the best ever.  For those of us in the know, it makes Tom Clancy's classic  pioneer Rainbox Six look like DOOM.  Enjoy!