Big thanks to BlueHost
Posted by Jay | Filed under Blog
I upgraded my wordpress yesterday and missed a step. Thankfully I backed up my blog before clicking on any buttons.
Yesterday my blog went to the default wordpress blog. It was a nightmare. I have to thank the entire Bluehost support team. Whenever I have an issue they fix it right up for me. Which is a boon since I blog to write, not to maintain a website. This is the second time I’ve asked them to upgrade and restore this website to its useful state.
Thank you Bluehost. Forever I will be suggesting your services to my friends and relatives. Thank you again!
Modern Warfare 2: Single Player Campaign
Posted by Jay | Filed under Game Industry, Things I Like!
*There are slight spoilers below*
I got my copy of MW2 yesterday and the game continues to impress. I wasn’t under the impression that Infinity Ward was a continuing series based in their MW universe. Although I don’t think IW delivered MW2 to the same level of critical reception as MW, the game does impress.
The main players of the first installation, if you will, of MW make a come back appearance in MW2 in addition to some new characters. The russian level, that everyone made such a fuss about, does leave an impact and introduces the call to action. That pivotal part of every Hero’s Journey where the main character/characters are spurred into action to right the wrongs of the world.
The resolution leaves something to be desired in the same way that the Matrix Reloaded leaves the audience feeling. You can tell that the events of the presented story are complete but there is much yet to be resolved.
A couple points if you will:
- The characters still have a level of bad assery about them. By the third time I saw that ridiculous mohawk on Soap’s head I was over it *snicker*
- The environments are expansive, This is in stark contrast to MW. The levels are bigger and have more in them this time around.
- Grenade spam was lessened. The annoyance this time around was the use of flash bangs by the AI
- Increased variety of guns. ++ for multiplayer
The campaign is only 4-6 hours long. Which isn’t bad considering the effort put into the multiplayer aspects of the game. Perhaps for the first time, you can complete cooperative campaigns in the MW setting. I’m looking forward to investigating the Special Ops mode.
I was seriously hoping for a airplane special level after the campaign, instead I settled for a museum(huh?) setting showcasing the actors and the settings as the credits scrolled by. Which confused me since I believe there were credits at the beginning of the game too. Puzzling.
Other then the above, there isn’t much else to say. IW delivered a super high quality CoD experience and I look forward to the next installment. What I would like is that the next time around I am wow’d way more. There were only three moments that really stood out to me.
- The snowmobile section.
- The submarine entrance.
- The final russian army versus american army with Soap in the middle.
If you haven’t checked it out, go pick it up. It’s worth the while. If you don’t remember what happened in MW 1, go ahead and play through it to get back into the story. You’ll thank me later.
Things I like: L4D2! And I’ll be picking up DA:Origins next week.
Posted by Jay | Filed under Game Industry, Things I Like!
L4D2 delivers. Not in the same way that L4D delivers, they are totally divergent experiences of the same universe.
L4D on one hand is an introduction to the cooperative shooter experience known as L4D#. The balancing is great if limited in content. This rifle is my rifle, there are many like it but this is my rifle and I’ll have this one rifle until the finale and if I don’t die, I’ll have this rifle until the final finale. Etc Etc.
That last thought is in high contrast to the pacing and balance of L4D2. Hordes in L4D were overwhelming is scope. The AI director throwing 50-100 infected at the survivors at one time! Different then the various horde structures of L4D2. The AI director is still there. The AI director is still “throwing” hordes but they’ll trickle in gradually. The #s may be the same but I’ll be fighting them longer.
Because the hordes are more spread out, I use more ammunition. Because L4D2 provides other weapon choices more often then an ammo pile I end up switching weapons rather frequently. That is a nice touch.
The levels are arranged differently too. Specifically I find there are fewer long shooting lanes. There’s always a corner is sight or a bend to go around. The only further word I can use to describe this is a funnel. The level design funnels zombies my way. Oh! And by the way, “Turn around to hit zombies behind you!” No shit Sherlock…
Finally and the best aspect of L4D2 excellent delivery: The narrative. That’s right folks, the story! Each campaign is closely interwoven, as if it is apart of a larger movie. Or perhaps a string of hour long HBO mini series. Spectacular.
On another note, I’ll be picking up Dragon Age: Origins next week. Feels icky to call out certain aspects of its rating without experiencing the game first hand. I imagine if the game is half as enjoyable as the flash game, it will be well worth the investment.
Happy Turkey Day folks!
