“Battlefield 4 is pretty average. It’s basically Battlefield 3.5”
This from someone who’d played at least as much of the game as I had.
”But… average doesn’t mean anything. I’d say it’s the best shooter in the business,” I replied. Not looking to mess about with placation here, you understand.
”You have played Counter-Strike, right?”
Ah. I’m beginning to see the problem here. And silly though it may sound, I don’t entirely disagree. Counter-Strike is still monstrously popular, despite its dated graphics and frankly rather limited gameplay. Even I‘ve been playing a fair bit of it lately; or I had been, until Battlefield 4 launched.
CS is about precision. About flawlessly executed set piece teamwork and accurate marksmanship. Compared to a competitive 5v5 CS match, Battlefield is messy. Sprawling, dynamic battles, munitions screaming overhead, shit exploding all around, the screams of the vanquished and the triumphant shouts of the victors. Battlefield is war.
Bafflingly, DICE have thrown in a new game mode called Defuse. In this mode, 5 man teams take one another on, with one team trying to plant a bomb to destroy one of a couple of objectives that the other team must defend. Either team can win by eliminating the other team, though the bomb must be defused or not planted in order for the defenders to win. If this sounds familiar, it’s because it is exactly how Counter-Strike works. It’s also the least compelling game mode in Battlefield 4’s arsenal. If you think it sounds like a bit of fun, CS:GO is like $20.
My CS playing friend did have one good point to make, though; one that seems to have become lost in my unjustifiable and irrelevant BF – CS comparison. Battlefield 4 does feel a little like Battlefield 3.5. Graphically, if you’re not in sight of the glorious new rolling ocean waves, you could be forgiven for not seeing much of a difference. 3 already had some of the nicest graphics out there, as well as a well-deserved reputation for bringing some decently specced PCs to their knees. Battlefield 4 lobs on DICE’s new Frostbite 3 engine, which is more advanced again than what was already a bit of a puterbreaker. The controls, the movement, the shooting, they all feel very much the same as last time round. And that’s no bad thing. BF3 was superb, if not particularly reliable. BF4 looks set to continue that, for both good and ill.
A month or so before the launch of Battlefield 4, I attempted to rope some mates into some BF3 online to get us psyched for the release of the new game. One person was actually unable to install Origin at all. Some googling revealed a lot of other people with the same problem (a bad version check in the installer) and no response from EA. We’d get kicked at random from games with Punkbuster issues; a problem that had been around more or less since launch and apparently never officially addressed. There were several workarounds, of varying complexity, which consumed an inordinate amount of time to implement and test.
”This is why people buy consoles!” I raged. “I might as well be making yet another boot disk for Wing Commander 2.”
My traumatic childhood isn’t the real problem, though; it’s the reputation of the Battlefield franchise for not really being the most reliable of games. Day one bore this out, but that was to be expected. A few game crashes, a few server crashes. But also a few awesome games. Of course there was all manner of rage in general chat. People seemingly utterly disgusted with this utterly unprecedented difficult first day. I thought back to the clusterfuck that was the Battlefield 3 launch and thought, yeah, this is just not too bad.
Things improved over the next few days, with crashes now almost a rarity, and server problems largely limited to 64 player games. My copy of Battlefield 3 is still not correctly listed as the Limited Edition in Origin, so yeah.
So, the game. Think Battlefield 3, but with more cool shit. Much has been said about Levelution. Levolution? Hmm. Anyway, a lot’s been said about it. Maps can be drastically changed by player actions: bringing down a skyscraper across Shanghai, flooding out an already fairly well flooded city, that sort of thing. Mostly it seems to be a mechanism to ensure I die in the most pointless way possible at least once every round. On the tropical island chain map of Paracel Storm, a naval vessel can be crashed into an island, nearly bisecting it and destroying the buildings in its path. But that map has a far cooler party trick, something hinted at by its none too subtle name. The weather starts off beautiful and sunny, but it soon clouds over. The wind picks up, rain starts to fall. Before long the islands are in the grip of a proper tropical storm. Flying a helicopter becomes… inadvisable. The swell increases dramatically, making boats perilous to embark upon, but also difficult to detect and destroy.
I was a little disappointed that the game launched with so few maps, but most of them play very differently depending on game mode. Rush is a meat grinder, with attackers throwing themselves at a desperate defensive line. Conquest is dynamic, with flanking manoeuvres, diversionary tactics, and massed assaults all coming into play. The new Obliteration game mode starts as a mad scramble for a randomly placed bomb. The bomb is always visible on the mini map, even when being carried by an enemy player, so once it’s retrieved, a fast-paced game of cat and mouse ensues. This, if things go to plan for the bomb carrier, evolves into a massed attack against an enemy objective (each side has three objectives to defend). Team and Squad Deathmatch have their own flavour, and as I mentioned earlier, Defuse is basically Counter-Strike with good graphics. And proper sights on the guns. And maps other than de_dust2. What I’m saying is, there are plenty of maps. For now.
One thing that has really changed things up for me is the ability to mount two sights on a gun. You can mount a scope in the traditional position and a canted iron sight to one side, maximising accuracy and target acquisition for both long range and close quarters battle. Alternatively a red dot sight can be mounted, with a 2x magnifier that can be flipped in and out. Not having to pick the range at which I’ll be effective is rather nice, though as ever there are sacrifices to be made. Mounting a magnifier or canted iron sight means you can’t have a laser sight, for example.
The single player campaign exists, so I should probably comment on it. It’s a bit like the Battlefield 3 campaign, but this time lumped with an awkward silent protagonist treatment. It’s decent, plays well, is a bit too serious, and frankly somewhat ham-fisted compared to what Call of Duty busts out for every game. What boils my piss though, is the half arsed attempt they made at cooperative play. Six missions in Battlefield 3, which were still buggy and half baked as of a month ago. There were never any more missions added, despite the early hints, and the co-op option has been quietly dropped. This seems like a missed opportunity. Co-op gameplay in the campaign proper would be a real asset to the game, in this author’s not even slightly humble opinion.
I’ve yet to try out Commander mode. That will be a separate article once the Android Commander app is out. Speaking of apps though, the Battlelog app for Android is handy. You can follow your friends’ battlefeeds, edit your loadouts and even join multiplayer games, though personally when I want to do that I’m usually already at my PC. With BF4’s load times, on the other hand, I could probably join a game when I leave work and arrive home just in time to play…
Oh, speaking of load times, here’s a little tip for getting a head start in Rush battles. Install the game on an SSD, and you can be into the game in time to arm the first objective before most people have even spawned. It makes for some hilarity. Rage, too. Lots of rage.
So what am I saying here? Battlefield 4 is really good. Probably the definitive multiplayer shooter, in the realistic but not too realistic modern warfare genre. Next time I want a World War 2 game, damn it. Oh wait, next one is a Star Wars one, ain’t it? Well, that, then. But after that, WW2.
]]>However, Lego Minifigures are pretty great, my girlfriend’s taken to securing as many complete series as are available, and I encourage this (and with a shelf occupied by Skylanders I’m not in a position to argue against toy collections). They’re all pretty great, but someof them… are terrific.
“The Saxophone Player is a Minifigure of few words. While others chatter away, he prefers to let his music do the talking for him. In the park, out on the street, or on stage at a nightclub, he picks up his saxophone and plays whatever thoughts and moods happen to be on his mind. The Saxophone Player does not seek fame or fortune. He doesn’t record albums, and he doesn’t take requests. But if you stand quietly and listen to him play for a while, you might just start to understand what he’s saying…and you might learn a thing or two, too.”
The Return of Dragon Age will be Bigger, Deeper and Powered by Frostbite 2
SYDNEY, Australia– September 18, 2012 – BioWare, a Label of Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: EA), today announced Dragon Age™ 3: Inquisition, the next chapter in the award-winning role-playing game (RPG) franchise, is in development at BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Montreal. Coming in late 2013, Dragon Age 3: Inquisition combines the storytelling legacy BioWare is known for, with deep RPG gameplay, all on a brand new RPG game engine underpinned by EA’s critically-acclaimed Frostbite™ 2 technology.
“The Dragon Age team has been working on Dragon Age 3: Inquisition for almost two years now,” said Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton and BioWare Montreal. “We’ve been poring over player feedback from past games and connecting directly with our fans. They haven’t held back, so we’re not either. With Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, we want to give fans what they’re asking for – a great story with choices that matter, a massive world to explore, deep customization and combat that is both tactical and visceral.”
Added Flynn, “At the same time, we know we need new technology to truly make this vision become fully realized. And we’ve been working with DICE to make Frostbite 2 the foundation for the engine that is going to power Dragon Age 3.”
The Dragon Age franchise has received over 80 awards from critics around the world, and has sold over 8 million copies to date*. Created by BioWare, the property has spawned many novels, an animated film, comic books, collectibles and more since Dragon Age: Origins launched in 2009.
For more information about Dragon Age 3: Inquisition, including updates from the development team and a letter to the fans from Executive Producer Mark Darrah, please visit the game’s official web site at http://dragonage.com. Dragon Age fans can also receive updates on Twitter® at http://twitter.com/dragonage, or on Facebook at http://facebook.com/dragonage.
]]>
Cavedog’s Total Annihilation is one of the best-loved real time strategy games of all time, and despite poorly thought-out unit balance, dodgy net code and a complete lack of official support for more than a decade, it’s still a popular multiplayer title fifteen years after its release.
Supreme Commander, the spiritual successor developed by Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games, captured some of the original game’s appeal, but its sequel, Supreme Commander 2, lacked the epic scale of TA and SupCom. Planetary Annihilation looks set to be a spiritualer successor; an unashamed homage to the epic scale of the original, but taken to an ambitious new level. Uber Entertainment (developers of Monday Night Combat) are set to develop, with TA and SupCom development vet Jon Mavor heading up the project.
Battles will take place across entire planetary systems, with moonbases, asteroids used as kinetic impactors capable of glassing entire planets, and also robots that blow each other up. The Kickstarter for the project looks to be doing well; already halfway to its $900,000 goal after only four days. Check out the trailer after the break or on the Kickstarter page. If you liked Total Annihilation, you will love what’s planned for Planetary Annihilation.
Click here to view the embedded video.
Check out PC Gamer’s interview with Jon Mavor for more in-depth information.
]]>
Time for a mid-winter B3 and to avoid me becoming too dis-organised I have started numbering them. So here is the 6th quick verdict on a sub-$25 game picked up as a bargain bin purchase. Crysis 2 was a solid release in 2011, but does it still offer value for money if picked up cheap in 2012?
Crysis 2 was the first console outing for the Crysis series and it did pretty well, with an average Metacritic score of 84/100. It was released in March 2011 with a standard retail price around the $90 mark. About six months after its release, the PC only Crysis 1 also found its way to consoles as a download only title.
Price- I picked up a Crysis 2: Xbox Games on Demand code, in 2012 for only $15 from Mighty Ape. It was a 5.5GB download and is usually $29.95 from the Xbox Marketplace. Pricespy currently lists boxed copies ranging from $39-$69.
Single-player- The 10ish hour single-player campaign is built on super solid first person shooter action, with open environments and great level design. The enemy A.I is painfully average at times, but overall its a fun jaunt that really ramps up to ‘11’ in the last few hours.
Story- New York City is full of nasty aliens, nasty soldiers and a nasty virus. There is some series canon for those who keep up, but unfortunately its not a particularly compelling narrative.
Gameplay- Each level is a chain of combat arenas that can be approached in varying ways. Planning how to use the environment, the different suit powers (Stealth vs Armour etc..) and the various weapons to clear the levels is at the core of this shooter. The gameplay is bolstered by some basic levelling mechanics for the suit powers and basic weapon customisation, so guns can match the chosen play style.
Graphics- Beautiful…One of the best looking console shooters about.
Co-operative- None.
Multi-player- Team deathmatch, objective modes etc…but with suit powers. Problem is that in 2012 (in NZ at least) the lobbies are empty . I couldn’t find or join a single M/P game.
![10680582-the-word-verdict-on-a-wood-[1]](http://buttonmasher.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/10680582-the-word-verdict-on-a-wood-1.jpg "10680582-the-word-verdict-on-a-wood-[1]")
I blogged my thoughts on Crysis 2 in 2011 and it stacked up pretty well back then at $90. So at $15 it’s a freakin bargain! A year later it’s still one of the best playing and looking shooters about. If you can live with the A.I issues and zero multi-player, then it shouldn’t be overlooked!
.
]]>No new textures. No new character models. No HD.
Instead Square Enix boasts 36 Achievements, a Character Booster (basically like a game shark), and Cloud Saves.
I don’t know how confident Square feels with this and I don’t know who they are trying to please. With its quite frankly dated graphics it’s tough to recommend this even to newcomers. As much as I love FFVII…
]]>
When I was a boy I played games on my Amiga, one of them was Carrier Command combining strategy, action, simulation and above all imagination. Many games of that era stay in our minds, but Carrier Command is something that held a special place and to see it getting this kind of revision really is exciting.Roll on September 27th!
Website info and Press Release after the break, and do pay a visit to the official Youtube channel for some great tasters.
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission will ship to Windows PC and Xbox 360
SYDNEY, Australia – May 18, 2012 – Console Command – Bohemia Interactive and publisher Mastertronic have revealed the release date and launch platforms for the upcoming Carrier Command: Gaea Mission which is to be distributed in Australia and New Zealand via All Interactive Entertainment (AIE). The game will see a galaxy-wide release for Windows PC and the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft on 27 September 2012.
Set in a massive archipelago, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission floats a refreshing gameplay combination of 1st/3rd person action with a hint of real-time strategy. The studio has been developing for Windows PC and Xbox 360 simultaneously, to ensure an optimal gameplay experience across the two platforms. The content in both versions will be the same.
Bohemia Interactive’s founder and CEO, Marek Špan?l, adds:
“I and my brother Ondrej were addicted to playing Carrier Command on our Atari ST. In fact, it was what inspired us to develop games ourselves. Now, almost 25 years after the original was released, it’s exciting to see our re-imagination, Carrier Command: Gaea Mission, finding its way to the massively expanded PC and immense console gaming audience.”
Bohemia Interactive is also proud to announce their partnership with Mastertronic, who will oversee the European distribution of both the Windows PC and Xbox 360 physical retail copies.
Andy Payne, Managing Director of Mastertronic, concludes:
“We are really honoured to be working with such a talented and successful games developer as Bohemia Interactive. They have a fantastic track record of producing great games. Indeed it is a real co-incidence that one of the first games I worked on way back in the 80’s was the original Carrier Command and my company, The Producers, now part of Mastertronic, helped Rainbird get that game in the hands of real fans. With that heritage in mind, Mastertronic will shout loud and proud about Carrier Command and we will ensure we help bring legions of new fans enjoy this great game.”
Carrier Command: Gaea Mission – Play & Contribute Beta for PC
Enthusiasts can already get a taste of the unique command-and-battle gameplay by participating in the Carrier Command: Gaea Mission Play & Contribute Beta. For more information, please go to www.carriercommand.com, check out the Play & Contribute video invitation, or visit store.bistudio.com to sign up directly.
]]>