The new gear introduced in GRAW 2 is still pretty freakin' sweet. The UAV Cypher, for example, gives you an eye in the sky to scout ahead for enemies. The MULE is a mobile, automated weapon shop; it can be used in a pinch to run down any bad guys foolish enough to stand around out in the open. And the Gun-cam lets you take a bead on enemies without stepping out from behind cover.
And all that spiffy recon gear is put to good use, because GRAW 2 liberally mixes strategy and action, balancing the two more adroitly than in any other tactical shooter I've played to date. In some levels, you'll go in guns blazing; in others, you'll creep from cover to cover and pray you're not seen. Sometimes you'll be alone, other times you'll make heavy use of your three-man squad, and sometimes you'll end up with additional support as the mission moves forward. The game constantly mixes things up, and in the process manages to neatly avoid the most common frustration of tactical shooters: f... More »
It's June 6th, 1944, and the war is in your hands. Step into the boots of OSS Operative John Berg and infiltrate Normandy from behind enemy lines to undermine the Nazi regime. Choose to tackle all-new missions in traditional single player campaign or engage in massive, 32-player online, continuous-joining multiplayer battles where you can jump into the battle at any time.
You just can't escape WWII games. PCs, consoles and now Sony's PSP have been added to the genre's beachheads; Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 brings Hollywood-flavored action adventure to the small screen. Getting used to an FPS on the PSP for the first time will probably be the least of your worries with this title, especially if you find yourself online.
EA's Medal of Honor series has had its ups and downs in the past few years, but it continues to plod on in an eternal rendition of WWII, providing fans with an increasingly imaginative take on history in an effort to keep them from feeling too mu... More »
Yeah, that's right: why don't they enter the competition? Is the bid for Yahoo too expensive and they're out of money now?
In the recent period Microsoft went from the acquisition-spree that characterized the burst of the "dot-com bubble" era to a more pragmatic approach to business. And by pragmatic I mean " building products in house".
Just think of this classical example. In 2000, Microsoft had two options in order to enter the increasingly profitable gaming market: one was to buy the ailing Nintendo, which at that time was valued at "only" $13 billion (compare that to the $70.89 billion today) and the other was to build its own console. Guess what: top representatives from Redmond thought that Nintendo was too expensive, so they went on with crafting the Xbox, which debuted in 2001.
Fast forward four years later and Microsoft unveils the second generation of Xbox, dubbed Xbox 360, after reporting a whooping $4 billion loss at the Xbox divisio... More »
The one version of the PlayStation 3 that currently supports PlayStation 2 software — via emulation of the "Emotion Engine" — looks like it's about to go the way of the dodo. Exactly how crushed should those of us be, should we want to experience PS2 classics on our future PS3s?
Oh, totally crushed for now, but the future may provide a glimmer of hope, backing us away from the ledge. PlayStation Network director Eric Lempell says there are "possibilities" the PS2 playing capabilities could come back to the gutted PS3 in the most recent issue of EGM.
When asked by the mag if the now BC-less console kills any chance of offering PS2 games via the PlayStation Store, as it does for original PlayStation games, Lempel said "We haven't talked about that yet, but there are possibilities through technology and software emulation to make that possibles."
Lempell chose not to talk about "specific plans at this point" but that doesn't mean we can't hope. ... More »
Although all three consoles of this generation offer online play, originally Microsoft stood alone in it’s decision to charge Xbox gamers for the ability to join their friends in online multi-player matches.
Recently this trend has continued with the announcement of Wii Pay & Playthat will similarly charge gamers an as-of-yet-undisclosed fee to take particular Wii titles online. The PlayStation 3 stands alone as the only console that gamers are not asked to pony up any dough whatsoever for online multi-player support.
At present, Microsoft feels confident that the market can sustain the $50 they ask of their Gold members annually. After all, Xbox LIVE offers 360 owners a few things console gamers can’t get elsewhere, like player screening, TrueSkill matchmaking, and a reputation system that encourages everybody to play nice.
Regardless of whether or not you feel the subscription fee is justified, Microsoft’s success with their LIVE service... More »
Movies based on video games may be God's punishment for an evil world, but there were plenty of excellent films that (surprisingly) gave us hours of gaming gold.
Today, we're bringing them all back in a list of The 25 Greatest Movie-Based Games EVER! Grab a bucket of popcorn, have a seat, and let's roll the film!
25. T2: The Arcade Game
"Come with me if you want to live."
There were plenty of games that spawned from the cinematic awesomeness of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, but the arcade version blew them all away. Once you put your quarter in the machine and took hold of the T2 gun, all Hell broke loose. Dropping you right in the middle of the post-Judgment Day war, hundreds of T-101s and Skynet machines stormed the screen, eager to terminate you. It was pure chaos. Without a pocketful of quarters, you'd survive for mere minutes, but it was still a fun ride.
24. Judge Dredd (SNES, Genesis)
"Throw down your weapons and pr... More »
Competition becomes even more vital in an industry that is technology driven. It's quite amazing that Moore's law, which states that computing power doubles every 18 months, still holds true.
This rapid evolution is primarily driven by competition. People are constantly trying to outdo each other. Consoles typically have a shelf life of about five to six years. What would happen without competition?
Where did the Genesis go? What happened with the PlayStation 2? Having nightmares yet?
In other words, we would potentially skip a whole generation of hardware. So what would make this such a likely scenario? Because when no competition exists, then you have a situation where a company's bottom line is less aligned with consumer needs.
As an example, Nintendo was once clearly dominating the market with the NES. While the Sega Master system was on the market, it had less than 5% marketshare. Nintendo was so comfortable in their positio... More »
How do you make what is possibly the greatest 3D fighting game engine ever seen, and then get the camera utterly, utterly wrong? Ask Team Ninja. In Ninja Gaiden II it has produced a masterpiece of flowing and vicious combat that is – though not ruined – severely hampered by the most basic of design flaws.
In their own ways, both of those aspects are incredible. Levels move from big fight to big fight, each one held in differently proportioned locations and with a subtly different blend of enemies. Every one its own challenge, every one a little design lesson of its own.
Enemies have more guard bypasses than the original (some of which are so brutal they’ll remove more than half of your health), move around you more intelligently and attack without mercy. If you get caught out and don’t respond quickly, Ryu will be dispatched within a few seconds in a swift combination of attacks from multiple foes.
