Awesome! Freddie W has a new web series called Video Game High School! Check out some of his other videos too, they’re pretty good.
It’s coming down to whether or not I should wait for this to be available on PS3 through Steam or just re-buy Portal 2 on my Steam account.
My date with Operation Raccoon City:
I was really excited for this game to come out despite that avid premature negativity toward this game. Call me a sucker but hey, I don’t sway my optimism for another person’s pessimism. That and I like killing zombies.
After two full rounds of the single player campaign and a few tries at online multi-player campaign and a few versus, I think it’s safe to say that Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City gets one thumb up and one really swollen and dry red eye (yes, this happens after long hours of gaming for me).
I see where the reviewers are coming from when they gripe about certain aspects of this game but I’ve got to tell you, this game is fun as hell. Let’s go over some of the complaints I’ve been hearing.
The Resident Evil title. Well, kiddos, if you’ve seen the trailers and/or watched any of the game play videos then went into this game thinking it was going to be a survival horror, you may now apologize to the copy in your hand or the copy you left behind in the store. It was clearly not going to be that kind of game. However, if you are indeed an RE fan, there is a lot of good reminiscing going on from the 2nd and 3rd RE games. And the nerd inside me can’t stop the out loud ‘OH COOOOOL!’
Let’s address the stubbornness of unloading an entire clip on an enemy. There is a slight solution to this and I say slight. You may now turn off the auto-aiming in the options menu. *cough*And maybe get some headshots*cough* I may not be the most skilled shooter out there but let me tell you how much these two little things will improve the gun fight significantly.
AI…Yes, the AI is ludicrous. I was fearing the game becoming more of a really long escort mission because they really just serve no purpose except to act as a distraction for enemies. Although, the AI does add a bit of hilarity to the game. My team and I were in an elevator, waiting to reach our destination. I’m standing in front of the door ready to jump out and get crazy on some zombies when all of a sudden I hear ‘tnk, tnk, tnk’. I look around only to find one of my awesome AI teammates had chucked a grenade inside the elevator. Oh Spectre, you silly goose, stop throwing frags around like they’re party favours, nobody is even here yet.
I do have a complaint of my own though. NO LOCAL CO-OP?! Why the hell not?
The single player campaign has its setbacks, like AI or that damn auto-aiming but it was what I expected out of it. You and your teammates are part of the Umbrella Security Service trying to rid any evidence of Umbrella’s involvement with the disaster. This means that you are well aware and fully prepared for the events that are about to take place. You will have to deal with the authorities and zombies at the same time, which is pretty fun for making authorities bleed out and have zombies attack them or the infinite amount of human and zombie shields at your disposal.
The story for any one of the characters is undetermined but as a team your only story is the one you are playing. Though this might be a problem for some, do you really need a back story on a security team dispatched for this one reason only? You will get little tidbits of personality for each character you choose to play by hearing them say some one-liners, mostly unimportant dialogue that won’t affect you at all.
The weapon selection is basic and you can purchase new weapons with experience points. You can also upgrade your character, each have their own expertise with a special ability available for unlocking.
As for online multi-player campaign, I tried a few times but it just wasn’t for me. If you do have a few friends who also have the game, I’m sure it would be a blast. Joining in on another groups campaign is suicide, well for me it was as every group I had joined slaughtered me at first spawn, then I would have to wait for them to either revive me (which never happened) or wait for them to make it to the next level to respawn.
The other multi –player modes I tried were Biohazard, which is kind of like capture the flag, and Team Attack, which is a team death match. Both were pretty good as you are forced collectively to work as a team. Pretty basic multi-player modes that can be fun but get old pretty fast.
Overall, the game was a lot of fun, challenging at times and surprisingly addictive.
Journey was beautifully artistic down to the last grain of sand. This game is visually compelling and has potential to evoke sympathy from the player. Though this game is accessible to just about anyone, it might not be for everybody.
The game starts off with you as a nameless, voiceless, lone traveler in a barren desert, with one beam of light that is your only guiding force. As you travel deeper into this dismal world, you will encounter other travelers and pieces of the story behind this melancholic land.
When you meet other travelers along the way you have the choice to pair up or separate. The amazing part about finding other travelers is that they also do not have a name or a voice and the only form of communication between each other is by pressing the speak button that will make your character sing a note. The only way to identify your partner is by a unique symbol that appears when a note is sung. This kind of anonymity allows for a player to connect in the game without effecting the ambiance of another.
Without going too much into the details of the story or game play, I suggest that you try Journey and experience this fantastically engaging story for yourself.
