Gamer_Head

“Competitive Multiplayer” Today

The state of competitive mutliplayer in this age is absent. The little number next to your name now means nothing to the community of gamers associated with that game. Now all a rank means is how much free time you have on your hands and because of it, your able to prestige faster than everyone else. Take Call of Duty for example. Call of Duty is a perfect example for this. As long as you have more free time than the person next to you, you will always be a higher rank than them. It doesn’t take much to rank up in any Call of Duty game. If you ask me, it’s one of the easiest FPS’s you could ever play. But that’s another story.  Now, don’t get me wrong, Call of Duty is not the only game that does this. Games I truly love do this as well, such as Gears of War 3, Halo 3 and upward from than series, etc. Pretty much any modern age game on the ‘Next Gen’ consoles with “competitive multiplayer” will have this meaningless ranking system.

I remember back in the day when if you had a high rank in any game, you EARNED that rank. Why? Because if you sucked that next game going minus ten for your kill/death ratio for that game, you could surely lose your current rank that you worked so hard for. But it a sense of pride. You took pride in that rank because it was something to be earned, nothing that was just given to you because you have free time that no one else has.

The first game I remember having a REAL competitive multiplayer was Halo 2. In Halo 2, if you were a level 45 in Team Slayer, that was something to be proud of and you had to work hard to rank up, let alone trying to keep yourself from de-ranking. I miss those days of gaming. I miss feeling proud that I got to level 46 in Team Slayer. I miss those gaming moments. But they are non existent now.

But on another note, a game that had this real competitive ranking system was on Metal Gear Online in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3. Having anything above a level 15 was considered really good and it was hard to keep that rank. This was a true competitive ranking system. A rank you were capable of losing.

The last example I can think of was at the very beginning of the launch of Gears of War 2 back in November of 2008. When the game was just released there was an overall rank to be earned between 1-5. Five was hard to get but it was possible to lose that rank. But then later on that system was taken out and it turned right back to your Call of Duty ranking system. The new numbers were 1-100. Now I don’t know the exact reason why they took the real competitive ranking out of Gears of War 2 but if I were a gambling man, I’d bet some upset Call of Duty playing Gears of War fans got on the forums and let Epic Games have it. Letting them know they didn’t like having to work for their rank. And Epic in turn, turned around and changed it to the Call of Duty ranking system.

But you can forget about those examples because the Halo 2 servers have been down for awhile, Kojima Productions is closing down the servers for Metal Gear Online this summer and same with Gears of War 2 servers (I heard, don’t quote me). So very soon we will not have ANY real competitive multiplayer games on the market.

But people seem to like the modern ranking systems now. The gaming industry has really babied a lot of today’s gamers so they can pull in more money for their wallet because now it’s not as hard to play these games like it used to be.

BUT, I digress. It’s just my thoughts on the matter. Will the real competitive multiplayer rankings come back to games? Probably not. I’m just reminiscing on the nostalgia I got from earning my ranks.

But anyways, let me know what you guys think about this matter. Do you like the ranking systems now? Do you miss the real competitive multiplayer ranks like I do? Let me know. Message me either on Tumblr or shoot me a tweet on Twitter @Gamer_Head. Follow me on Twitter for all the latest/coolest gaming news. Show this article to your friends, repost it and tell them to let me know how they feel. Much appreciated.

Thanks for reading.

Consoles Ain’t What They Used to Be

So let’s get right into this because I’ve had this on my mind for awhile.  So remember how much time you put into your old generation consoles (N64, Atari, SNES, Genesis etc)? Now, did any of them ever break on you TILL THIS DAY? I would bet money about 99.9% of you reading this said “Nope”.  That being said let me ask you this, has your new generation console (PS3 & Xbox) ever broke on you? I would bet money that 99.9% of you said “Yup”.  Now here’s the REAL question, how in the world can a “new” generation console break on you before an “old” generation console breaks on you?  That’s ridiculous!  This is my theory, I think console developers like Sony and Microsoft saw that the older consoles didn’t ever break and for them to make money, they had to stop this.  So what do they do?  They set the system up to fail.  After about a year or so, your Xbox is going to get the RRoD (Red Ring of Death) and/or your PS3 gets the YLoD (Yellow Light of Death).  So then, what’s the consumer going to do?  If he/she is anything like me, I love video games.  For the most part I play them daily.  I consider myself a “hardcore gamer”.  So I want another console so I can play.  I have two options now, send the console back to the company I bought it from so that they can fix it for me for about half the price I can get a brand new one at the store so I wouldn’t have to wait a month. Or if your lucky and it’s still under warranty, but odds are, its not.  Your second option is you sit there and say “screw it” and don’t go out and buy a new one for different reasons like, you don’t have the money or you don’t want a new one because it’ll just break on you anyways etc. 

But let’s go back to the warranty issue.  Think about it, how long are the warranty policy’s? About one year, right?  When does your console usually hit the curb? Just a few months after a year when your warranty policy ends.  You think that’s a coincidence? I beg to differ, that’s planned.  These companies like Sony and Microsoft know what they are doing and fooling everyone into buying their electronics.  You, yes you, the consumer or as these companies secretly refer to us as, “suckers” are just going out to the store and giving them more money every time.  They manipulate the system to push you to the edge so that you only can see one rational choice, pay us $150 now and wait a month, or pay $300-250 now and not wait at all. 

You don’t believe me? Well to those non believers, let’s go to something a little more recent, the PS Vita by Sony. If you buy the 3G model ($300), in order to have 3G you need to go through AT&T (in the US), correct?  Well let’s look at those data plans shall we? 250 mbs, yes MEGABITS for $15 a month or you can pay $30 for 3 gbs.  So what looks like the better deal to you?  The one where you pay another $15 and you get more than triple the data use for the 3G Vita.  This isn’t a game folks, these companies are taking gamers for suckers and it isn’t right.  But what can we do? Nothing really.  Buy into their bullcrap and take it, or we can boycott it.  Will the company care that you boycott it? Absolutely not.  But hey, I’m just here to point the facts out to gamers.  Do what you please with this new information.  Just know its happening and do what you feel fit to these situations.

But not ALL game companies are like this.  Out of the only current game console companies out there now (Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo), Nintendo is the best.  All of their systems survive a lot longer than my Xbox and PS3.  Given I don’t use my Wii nearly as much as my Xbox or PS3, it still lasts longer.  When I had a GameCube, I played that a lot to the point if it would have been a Microsoft or Sony console, it would have broke.  But it didn’t because Nintendo makes a lot more durable consoles.  But does that mean I play my Wii the most? No way.  I’m a hardcore gamer so I’m on the Xbox and PS3 way more.  I just wish Microsoft and Sony would stop being so money hungry to the point where they are fooling their consumers and fans into buying systems ready to fail.

But I digress.  Thanks for reading and let me know what you think about what I’ve written today.  Did you like it?  Agree?  Disagree?  Hated it?  Let me know in a respectful way.  It will be appreciated.  Respect my opinion and I will openly respect yours.  Peace out until next time.

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-Christopher Mora

Follow me on Twitter @Gamer_Head

Comparison: Battlefield 3 v. Modern Warfare 3 (Campaign ONLY)

So I’ve now had a chance to play through and beat the campaigns of the two FPS titans of this year; Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3.  I’ve got to say, I was very impressed with both of these epic campaigns.  I liked them, but each for different reasons. Here are my reasons.

Battlefield 3:

          The Battlefield 3 (BF3) campaign was very real.  It gives off this since of realism and believable-ness.  I beat the campaign on hard my first playthrough (as I do with all my games) and consistently found myself saying “Sh*t! Sh*t! Sh*t!” as I ran to get into cover before getting shot up by the AI. Like I said before, BF3 great sense of realism and I loved that.  It was something different that I haven’t played in awhile.  More recent AAA titles that have come out are great games but don’t have that sense of realism in them and that’s fine.  There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s also nice to be able to feel like your actually being shot at.  To feel that sense of fear and urgency.

         The situations the game puts you in the campaign feel very believable.  I remember this one particular event in the campaign where I literally felt scared for my life was on the level “In Between a Rock and a Hard Place”.  There’s this jet that fly’s over you while your on the floor and you have to run for your life from cover to cover every time he passes by you.  Now that may not be scary to you because your in a video game but I was putting myself in my characters shoes at that point.  I felt like I was there and I’m sure that’s what DICE’s intentions were.  Well done.  You really captured the emotion of the situation.  What added to the fear was how your platoon in the game reacted to the jet.  That just made it a 100x scarier for me.  Once again, great job on that part DICE and to the voice actors for making that so believable.

          The campaign wasn’t particular very long but it wasn’t so short that I felt ripped off or short changed.  It was just right.  The plot was interesting.  The game is set in 2014 and you are Sgt. Blackburn who is captured by the CIA for shooting his CO and is being interrogated by them.  Being questioned about his past operations.  You play the campaign through the start of his flash backs when questioned by the CIA.  It’s not the best plot in the world but I personally liked it.  Great game, I hope everyone has at least tried it for themselves.  Good job DICE.

Modern Warfare 3:

         I’ll come right out with the honesty, I saw the trailers for Modern Warfare 3 (MW3) on tv and was not impressed with it at all.  I thought it looked like the same old games Infinity Ward and Treyarch have been putting out.  This kept me from even wanting to buy it let alone rent MW3.  I didn’t want to play the same old game, I wanted something new. Now some of this is still true about my opinion of MW3 but my mind changed a lot about what I thought of the campaign.  The campaign was fun.  I really did have a lot of fun playing it.  It’s very action packed, very Michael Bay-ish, very over the top.  I was pleasantly impressed when I got to play through it.

          I played through the campaign on veteran my first time and I got to say, a few parts had me stuck for awhile.  It wasn’t as hard as the Modern Warfare 2 campaign on veteran but was still hard at some points and I like that.  I love the challenge.  This game puts you in some ridiculous situations.  One of the first levels, you are strapped into a black hawk and you are stationed on the turret.  Out of no where, two helicopters start attacking you.  Now your objective is to fire back on these two choppers before they shoot you out the sky.  Once you take out the second chopper, it starts to spin out of control hitting building on the way down and eventually hitting your chopper.  Now your chopper is spinning out and your character is now hanging on for dear life.  You fortunately come out of the spin and level out and are able to get away safely.  Talk about intensity.  MW3 just gives you that “awe” effect when watching all of this go down.  Don’t get me wrong, BF3 had a lot of that but MW3 being the over the top game that it is, it naturally had more of it.

         The campaign was pretty long.  On veteran, it took me about a little more than eleven hours.  Pretty long campaign if you ask me, given I was playing it on veteran and I wasn’t passing every part on my first try.  I did like the idea of another world war game.  World War III is an interesting concept to take on in a game.  It’s actually surprising that no one had attempted this before but I think Infinity Ward nailed it as far as adding a fun factor and the over the top action into the game.  Very surprised and impressed with this game.  Even if your not interested in the multiplayer, it’s at least worth a rent just so you can play through the single player like I did.  Great job on the campaign Infinity Ward.  I was pleasantly impressed and you proved me wrong.  Hats off.

      - Written by: Christopher E. Mora

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.” -Plato

DLC REVIEW: Freddy Krueger - Mortal Kombat (PS3) - 8/9/11

This is…

Freddy Krueger!

REVIEW:

“The Nightmare” Freddy Krueger is here! Freddy’s Nightmare has been unleashed on the world today on both PS3 and Xbox 360 in Mortal Kombat. Since the announcement of Freddy at Comic-Con this year, I have been waiting for this day.

I got some time to try him out and so far I am really liking him. Very organic, not too stiff. He has quick moves which lead to faster/smoother combos so you should have no problem slicing your opponent up with Freddy’s claw(s), which leads me to my next point. For those of you that are long time Freddy Krueger movie fans and are sticklers, you might not like that Freddy in MK has TWO claws instead of one (as you can see in the picture above). But overall the producers at NetherRealm Studios kept Freddy as iconic as possible; all the way down to the classic torn up black and red striped sweater. Freddy Krueger was a brilliant addition to the Mortal Kombat series and hopefully we see more characters like this in the future. Why? Because there is nothing cooler than throwing the man that was BORN in the fires of hell (Scorpion) into a burning furnace headed straight to hell. Another addition I wouldn’t mind would be The Grim Reaper or Jason; just to add to the whole Freddy Krueger character.

Now that I’ve talked a bit about Freddy’s looks and movement, lets get into some specifics. Freddy Kreuger can be yours for $4.99 on the PSN and 400 MS Points on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace. They also came out with “Mortal Kombat DLC Warrior Bundle” today that includes all four of the DLC characters (Scarlet, Kenshi, Rain, and Freddy Krueger) for $14.99. Now if you’ve been keeping up with the MK DLC, you would know that each character costs the same price as Freddy, $4.99. This is where the deal comes in. Your getting four characters for the price of three! Now this is a great buy for someone who has been wanting all of the characters but didn’t want to cough up $5 a pop. Now for me, this isn’t a great buy because I really only wanted Freddy, but for someone who is a long time MK fan, this is your deal right here. Make sure you definitely check out Freddy though. Very fun character to use.

FINISHING MOVES: (buttons depending on which console your on)

Fatality 1: “Tell ‘Em Freddy Sent Ya” - Back, Forward, Down, Down, Square/X (Any)

Fatality 2: “Welcome To My Nightmare” - Down, Up, Right, Left, Block (Sweep)

Babality: Back, Forward, Down, Square/X (Jump)

Stage: Forward, Down, Down, A/X (Touching)

Freddy’s Finishing Moves Gameplay - Brought to you by RoosterTeeth

RESULT: 10/10 - Freddy Krueger is a great buy and brings something new that goes great with this franchise. Good job NetherRealm.

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Trailers: (The “Vignette” trailers explain their background story)

Freddy Krueger:

• Freddy Krueger Gameplay Trailer
• Freddy Krueger Vignette Trailer

Scarlet:

• Scarlet Gameplay Trailer
• Scarlet Vignette Trailer

Kenshi:

• Kenshi Gameplay Trailer
• Kenshi Vignette Trailer

Rain:

• Rain Gameplay Trailer
• Rain Vignette Trailer

REVIEW: Limbo (PS3) - 7/25/11

Welcome to…Limbo!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

• Hard/Frustrating

- Clever puzzles

• Simple Controls

- Jump, Run, Action buttons

• Zero Dialog
• Silhouette of a 10 year old boy
• Obstacles

- Deadly Bear traps

- Overgrown Spiders

- Pools of water

OVERVIEW:

            Right when you press the start button, you immediately get into the game. No cut scenes, no dialog, nothing. You start the game as a silhouette of a 10 year old boy with bright white beady eyes lying in the grass. He wakes up from his slumber and you immediately start your journey through the black and white forest.

            This is a trial and error type of game. Everything you try isn’t going to work the first time. You have to think about what will and will not work. Now when you continue into this forest, be prepared to die suddenly…a lot. And I mean a lot, and in gruesome ways. There are tons of traps that you will not be expecting the first time around. For example, I was strolling through the forest checking out the scenery and then all of a sudden I died by an overgrown spider putting his spike-like legs through the top of my skull to the bottom of my leg. The spider then quickly shook me off like a rag doll and quietly went about the rest of its day. Now these types of obstacles might take you a few try’s to get past but you’ll eventually figure them out. If you’re a fan of the Portal puzzles, then this will be just as interesting to figure out.

            Some of these traps you have to be quick on your feet. For example, I was platforming through this series of tree stumps and then a wrecking ball type object came flying towards me and killed me instantly. Now the first time around you’re not expecting that so you will most likely die because it happens too fast for you to react to it. So just as a ProTip, for this game, don’t ever think your safe. Make sure your constantly checking your surrounding so you don’t end up a spider’s rag doll.

            When you get more into the game, you start to get a Lord of the Flies vibe. You see kids running around with spears using their traps to try an kill you. Now they don’t usually confront you, its more like they set traps then run away and leave you to figure out how to get around them. As I said before, these traps aren’t necessarily hard, they just take some time to figure out what to do to get around them. Throughout the game you are chasing these children but you are only able to view them from a distance.

            For the most part the background just looks like a dense forest but here and there you will notice some disturbing visuals in the background. I will leave it to you to find out what I mean by that when you try out the game.

REVIEW:       

           I am liking this game so far. I haven’t played a whole bunch of Indie Games but this is very much worth the money. It’s fun, different, and will always have you on your toes.

           If you buy the game today AND you are a PlayStation Plus Member (like myself), you could get this game at a discount up until (08/02/11) for $11.99. After that, the price will go back to it’s regular amount which is $14.99. Make sure you pick up this game. Don’t sleep on this one. ESPECIALLY if Indie Games are your thing, this is a keeper.

RESULT:

10/10: For it’s uniqueness, originality, game mechanics, and simplicity.