Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on June 13th, 2009
The original Cellfactor was actually a technical demo published back in 2006 by Immersion Games. It was made for the Ageia Physx series of cards which later became a part of NVidia. This demo showed off things we in the first person shooter community took for granted, barrels and boxes. Barrels and boxes have long been staples in games for doing absolutely nothing but existing (occasionally a barrel might explode but that’s it). Thru this demo, your character could use his psychic powers to throw the items and watch as they interact with the environment. Then with help from Timeline Interactive, a PC game was produced in May 2007, available free to people who would visit their website. A couple of years later, they decided to make a Live Arcade game for the Xbox 360 using similar technology. Thus we have Cellfactor: Psychokinetic Wars. Eight hundred points later, it was worth the wait & the Live currency.
As mentioned in the above paragraph, the actual engine for this game has been around for a long time. This was a technical demo that was made to show off the graphics power for a series of PC cards. Then they went and got published with UBISoft (very well known for Unreal Tournament) and turned it into a heck of a graphical experience. Your character will fly around and the scenery compensates very well. There are minor graphical issues but nothing I felt that could be described as distracting. The seven maps included are fairly diverse and each show a wide array of color choices and palettes.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on March 26th, 2008
A cold day in Vegas no more. Hopefully over the short vacation, you have had time to hit the slots, schmooze the local women and even rubbing your barrel a little more than you should. Why you ask? Because Rainbow Six, Vegas style is back. That's right; more taking cover and sneaking around killing terrorists in the land that never sleeps. Apparently the rent on the automatic terrorist prevention machines was a little high and so they have asked for your MTar firing, Flashbang throwing behind to lead the charge once again. Rainbow Six Vegas 2 takes back your 360 and hopefully sends us more than new maps and some spit and polish.
Graphics
I would probably be called a liar if I claimed that the graphics in RSV2 have been upgraded significantly in any fashion. It's still really good and very little difference can be deciphered. There is some improvement in shading and terrorists look more distinct. Guns do look fancier and I did notice an upgrade in blast patterns from various explosive devices. Advertisements also appear of better quality, but as you can tell I'm grasping at straws. One detrimental thing I noticed was that you find yourself shooting at your AI teammates a lot (or nearly) especially if you are taking on the role as Knight, Bishop's teammate in story mode. Human players are usually distinct but the two AI's look like any other terrorist.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on January 28th, 2007
Opening
The Rainbow Six series of console and pc games has always been about realistic tactical warfare. These games are not for the faint of the heart as with any Tom Clancy shooter. In their latest offering: Rainbow Six Vegas; they take that realism and then put it in the anything but real land of glitz, glamor, and high rolling. Las Vegas, Nevada. A town where nobody sleeps and that's unfortunate because you are going to need all the skills and firepower you can muster at all hours ...f the night. The Ubisoft Montreal team have done a great job of providing new and old features for first person shooter fans to enjoy.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Michael Durr on November 7th, 2004
With all of the grand first person shooters out there like Halo, Doom, Quake, & Unreal, many titles of the same genre tend to fall into a void. Titles like Po’ed, the Medal of Honor series & Blake Stone (yes I said it, Blake “I am a Wolf 3d clone” Stone!) tend to fall by the waste side. Another of those titles is XIII. Brilliant in concept, and gorgeous graphics make this title a must have for anybody who loves FPS (or even third person aficionados).
Based on a French comic book, the concept of the sto...y is this. You wake up on a desolate strip of a New England beach. The near-fatal impact of a bullet has left your head pounding, and your memory erased. What is more, the number "XIII" has been mysteriously tattooed on your chest, while your pocket holds a key to a New York City bank box. Head swimming in amnesia, you struggle to your feet only to encounter more assailants, intent on finishing the job. To your shock, you handle the hitmen with the killing skills of a professional - before heading to the bank in search of any shred of information about your lost identity and your involvement in the President's murder.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 15th, 2003
Rayman is certainly a character that gets around. Not only has he seen a fruitful life on the Playstation 2 console for a number of years, but now he is available on the GameBoy Advance system from Ubi Soft with the title Rayman 3.
Incorporating many of the characters from the Nintendo GameCube version of Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, this GBA offering sees Rayman doing what he does best; fighting the evil minions of the Dark Lum and finding his pal Globox, whom has disappeared...after accidentally swallowing the Dark Lum Lord.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on June 1st, 2003
The year is 2008 and the Soviets are up to their old tricks again. It seems they liked the idea of having an Eastern Europe border nation, and they want to pull all of the entire break away provinces back under the sickle and hammer. Of course, America and her allies cannot let that happen, and just like we stood up for freedom at Kosovo, Serbia, and Kuwait, we will send troops and supplies to the region as a ‘peace keeping’ mission.
This is where players enter the game Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon for t...e Nintendo GameCube. Gamers assume the role of squad commander of an elite infantry division known as the 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Battalion, D Company whom are trained and culled from Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Posted in: Game Reviews by Archive Authors on May 21st, 2003
Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc is by all intents and purposes is a platform game, but video gamers should not just assume they have another plain-vanilla platformer on their hands. On the contrary, although Rayman 3 is another platform title, the slick graphics, neat music, and top notch voice acting make it a game worth checking out.
Most Playstation owners have undoubtedly come across Rayman at some point in their gaming lives whether it was the original Rayman on the PSOne or those e...isodes that followed onto the PS2. Rayman is, of course, the little fellow with no arms and legs that runs around the levels doing justice to the bad guys. He is joined by Murfy, a tough talking fly who is filled with info, and Globox, a chubby goof-off who has accidentally swallowed an evil thing--the Chief of Dark Lums.
