Amped Gaming » Darkwarhammer

New Brutal Legend Trailer

Darkwarhammer — Sat, 02 May 2009 22:00:31 +0000

Gotta say this game is the one I am most looking forward to this year. Tim Schafer is one of the best game designers in the industry and created one of the greatest games, Psychonauts. Thus when I saw this trailer I was very excited for the gifts it would bring me. What’s most interesting is the fact that it is narrated like a movie, not a video game; however it made it look all the better. I believe this trailer will get a lot more people pumped for this game, if they aren’t already that is. So headbangers unite! The revolution starts in Rocktober.

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Keepers and Seepers

Darkwarhammer — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:19:19 +0000

I was thinking the other day about the holiday season and how a ton of great games always come out. That also made me think about what games that I bought back then I am still playing today. It seems like a weird question to ask, but when you are shelling out $60 for each game it becomes a little more important. I have defined games into two categories: Keepers or Seepers. A keeper is a game that I bought and still have to this day and play it here and there, or sometimes a good amount. A seeper is a game that is a kin to money seeping out of your wallet. Therefore a seeper is a game that I either wasted money on from an impulse buy, or returned it to recoup some losses. So here are a few games that I picked up during the holiday season, let’s see if I still play them or have returned them.

Prince of Persia: This game was awesome. The graphics were stunning and the combat looked and felt very nice. The flow of the game felt almost perfect. This game was easily one of my favorite games during the holidays. However, I have to admit I did return it. I don’t regret buying the game; however I did end up returning it because I had no interest after I beat it.

Gears of War 2: Know a few people, or a lot, are going to disagree with me here but I never got into this testosterone filled shooter. I picked it up, with much trepidation I might add, and had a decent time. There is just something about bland characters that irks the hell out of me; maybe that is why I never got into the game much. This was definitely a seeper for me, as I returned it within two months.

Fallout 3: I will admit I am very biased when it comes to Bethesda. I have loved their games since I first discovered the Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. This post-apocalyptic wasteland was my paradise. I have never been drawn more into a game than this one, for some reason the immersion factor just worked very well. With countless add-ons, for the 360 version at least, and tons of ways to play the game this is definitely a keeper.

Fable 2: This is a heartwarming story about a boy and his dog…at least the way I played it that’s what it was. I had a great time in this game and loved everything from the dialogue to the combat. The game looked great and felt very nice, even months later. Needless to say this was a keeper for me.

Rise of the Argonauts: Loved the concept of the game, it was the main buying point for me. The way it went about having a deed system instead of a typical experience system made me very intrigued. Also the addition of many different characters and character interactions made this game all the more appealing. However, even my love of Greek mythology couldn’t make me keep this game. I admit I had a good time with the game; however I returned it a few weeks later.

Of course these are just a few of the countless titles I picked up or played during the holidays of ’08. I find it interesting that even when looking at just a few games I still returned the majority of them. Really makes you think about what it means to be a blockbuster game. Maybe it’s just me, but after I beat most games I either shelf them or sell them back to where I got them. This would be something that developers should take a look at as they design their games, as replay value is among some concern to gamers, especially in this economic climate.

I’d love to hear some of what you guys have to say about your keepers and seepers. Feel free to comment on any of mine as well.

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May Madness!

Darkwarhammer — Sat, 02 May 2009 08:05:48 +0000

Since summer is coming very soon I figured it would be a good time to take a look at the games that are coming up that will be perfect to distraction from getting work done.

Bionic Commando: Slated for 5/19 this game looks to have a great combination of combat as well as great swinging action. Capcom has been working on this game for a while now so hopefully this 10^th anniversary game can live up to its hype.

Punch-Out: Slated for 5/19 as well, not much needs to be said about this cartoonish boxing game that is coming back from a long hiatus.

UFC 2009 Undisputed: Another 5/19 release that looks to pack the punch that the actual competition has. This looks to be as beautiful and just as hard-hitting as the sport itself.

Damnation: This shooter type game is slated for 5/26. This is a steampunk game that envisions our lives without electricity where steam rules. Check out what might have happened if the American Civil War didn’t end.

inFAMOUS: To be released 5/26. This game sees you playing the protagonist that has power over electricity in a town that was destroyed by….well…you. Lots of parkour type action in this game reminiscent of Assassin’s Creed and many different ways to use electricity in whatever way you wish.

Looking at these few games May looks like it is really going to be a great month. Everyone should have at least one game to look forward to. The only thing I can say is, my wallet will be hurting.

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Peggle Invades Azeroth

Darkwarhammer — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:09:15 +0000

Many things have invaded Azeroth over the past few years. There was the invasion of the Scourage as well as the invasion from Ahn’Qiraj. More recently Bejeweled invaded Azeroth, which caused many to spend countless hours playing a game within a game. Now a new threat has arrived, and that is Peggle. PopCap games has brought Peggle to World of Warcraft. You can now go to their website and download a small addon which will allow you to play the game while you are exploring Azeroth. You can also play against other people, which might end up being a competitive sport worthy of gear in the game. So if you are a WoW fan and love your addons then you should definitely chech this one out.

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Final Fantasy XIII Demo Intro Video

Darkwarhammer — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:42:48 +0000

Just came across this bad boy and gotta say it looks beautiful. Looks very action packed, like every Final Fantasy should. There seems to be a plethora of Final Fantasy XIII related videos that have surfaced recently courtesy of GameTrailers. Definitely looking forward to this one.

Also there are more videos up as well, some are actual battle videos, which look interesting. Looks like they are toying with a new battle system; however I am not yet sure what to think of it. Looks to be quick load from non-battle to battle screen, which will definitely be a step up from past FF games.

Stay tuned for more information as we get it.

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Assassin’s Creed 2 Due Home for the Holidays

Darkwarhammer — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:07:24 +0000

Ubisoft has just announced through their press release that Assassin’s Creed 2 will be released just in time for the holidays.

Today Ubisoft announced that Ubisoft Montréal is developing Assassin’s Creed II on all current-generation platforms for a scheduled Holiday 2009 launch.

Assassin’s Creed II is the product of over two years of intensive development by the original creative team behind the Assassin’s Creed brand. In a vast open world environment, the game invites players to incarnate Ezio, a privileged young noble in Renaissance Italy who’s been betrayed by the rival ruling families of Italy. Ezio’s subsequent quest for vengeance plunges players into a captivating and epic story that offers more variety in missions, surprising and engaging new gameplay elements, diverse weapons and a profound character progression that will appeal to fans of the original Assassin’s Creed as well as entice players new to the brand.

“Our creative team is working hard to top the experience of Assassin’s Creed,” said Patrice Desilets, creative director at Ubisoft. “We’ve made improvements to every aspect of the game. And we’ve plunged ourselves into the stunning history of the Italian Renaissance so that we can offer fans a unique, varied and innovative Assassin’s Creed experience.”

More details on Assassin’s Creed II are revealed the latest issue of Game Informer.

There has been a lot of information on the new Assassin and the time period he inhabits. All of which was garnered from the latest issue of Game Infomer. The game focus’ on Ezio, a noble in Venice during the time of the Renaisance. Stay tuned for more information as it comes by.

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Will Wright To Leave Maxis

Darkwarhammer — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 23:48:04 +0000

Will Wright is probably one of the most influential persons in the video game industry today. He has been a major part of the simulation part of video games, most notably Sim City, the Sims, and Spore. Wright has always been reaching towards the stars in an attempt to push the industry further and further ahead. Today it was announced that he would be stepping down from Maxis to go to work full time with his Stupid Fun Club. There he plans to work with other like minded individuals to form a think tank. Their plans are to come up with new IPs and ideas that will push the industry forward.

Up until now the Stupid Fun Club was a side project that Wright had on the side. However EA has offered to fund the project, and thus have first pick at any ideas that they come up with. If EA doesn’t want it, then it goes out to the public. With Will Wright at the helm, and many enthusiastic individuals working with him I have no doubt that they will be able to do many wonderous things. The future of the video game industry does look bright indeed.

Source: Gamasutra

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Assassin’s Creed 2 Teaser

Darkwarhammer — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:46:33 +0000

It appears to be that time of the year again for cryptic messages to be played out in the form of videos. We all lust for new information about the latest game we crave, and developers seem all to eager to oblige. However, developers love to give us information in a much more sinister manner, the teaser. The teaser was made to torture fans by giving them more questions than answers. Anyway, the Assassin’s Creed 2 teaser trailer is out! In it you are able to see images appear on an old piece of parchment. The images seem to be giving a hint at what the setting or era might be for the sequel. From the different pictures and art style of those drawings it appears to be around the time of Leonardo DiVinci. So it looks like our favorite assassin might be making a come back in the time of the Renaissance. Unfortunately it looks as though we will have to wait a bit for a release date on this installment.

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Batman: Arkham Asylum Gameplay

Darkwarhammer — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 03:42:18 +0000

The guys over at Joystiq managed to capture some nice footage of a challenge room in the upcoming Batman game. Looks to be coming along very nicely, and definitely appears to be a different kind of Batman/Superhero game. Here’s to hoping it can be one of the few decent superhero video games out there.

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World of Warcraft’s Quest to Design Better Quests

Darkwarhammer — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:38:12 +0000

One conference that was of great interest at this years GDC was one done by Blizzard’s own Jefferey Kaplan in regards to the way quests were designed in Wrath of the Lich King. The conference was mostly focused on what Blizzard had learned from their early attempts at making quests, and if they worked to which degree they worked. Some of the main points that Kaplan made was in regards to the quest dialogue itself. He stated that he understands most people don’t read the quests, therefore they know that there isn’t as much of a need to make a Pulitzer prize winning entry. Furthermore he touched on the reward system that players relied on the fact that if they completed the quest the reward would be substantial enough to justify doing it. For if there was no real net gain, then the players would feel cheated. He also briefly mentioned the ‘mystery’ aspect of quests involving finding out who is poisoning the watering hole as not necessary and should focus more on who the person needs to kill or what they need to collect. There was also mention of pacing and easily identifiable quests that would be most enjoyable to all players. Another of the major points of the conference was also dealing with achievements and how they were able to take what Xbox live had and turn it into something people cared more about. Anyone who plays WoW currently will be able to understand to what extent those achievements and rewards actually play in the game, which is getting people to do things they might not normally do.

Overall there was a lot of good information for any and all developers to take a look at if they are venturing, or currently a part of, the MMO market. Kaplan touched on many issues with quests and how they were able to deal with those problems in a constructive way. The main goal of the quest design was to give players the most enjoyment they could out of the game, and motivate those same players to take part in what the quest asked of them. This is no easy task by any means. Trying to control or predict a persons behavior as very difficult, but it does seem as though Blizzard has found a way to ‘guide’ players down the path that they want them to take.

Source: Gamasutra (some adult language is used in the link so be aware)

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