Another year, another Call of Duty game. With Infinity Ward raising the bar with CoD4: Modern Warfare, it was a hard sell to most people that the next iteration in the series would not only be set back in World War 2, but not helmed by Infinity Ward, but another Activision-owned developer, Treyarch; who were responsible for the two CoD console games prior to the release of the Xbox 360, as well as Call of Duty 3, which has often been cruelly and unfortunately shunted.
Let's see how their latest effort fairs:
*...The Treyarch and Activision logos are set to footage of WW2 destruction...soundtracked by Mozart's Dies Irae? Dear god, I'm getting Clockwork Orange flashbacks. And since when did Activision let Treyarch take top billing?
*Wow. This main menu looks oddly familiar. Like a certain game released around the same time last year and was a huge hit...wait a minute! Isn't this the game that uses the same engine that powered that really popular game that wasr released around the same time last year?
*(in options menu) There's an option to turn down the violence? Am I sure I picked up the right game?
*(when starting new game) And I'm being told that this game does have graphic violence? Well it's a WAR GAME, it's not like there's going to be plenty of scenes of the Americans and the Japanese playing cricket, now is there?
*(during opening cinematics). Is it acceptable to say that despite the violent footage being shown...that this actually looks really cool?
*(within first five minutes of the game actually starting) I don't know if I approve of this whole darker and edgier CoD game. I mean, a dude getting a cigarette in his eye, then his throat slit, then another dude getting stabbed...and F bombs dropped? Good lord - talk about appealing to your fans...
*(when told to save a soldier named Ryan, but failed) Bloody hell, I TRIED KEIFER SUTHERLAND, I REALLY TRIE..wait, I had to Save Private Ryan? Heh.
*(while checking Trophies) THERE WAS A TROPHY FOR SAVING PRIVATE RYAN? (immiedately retries level)
*(after completing first level) I got a Silver Trophy for just beating the first level? Wow.
*I never would've thought I'd say this, BUT STOP BLOODY SWEARING GAME. It doesn't suit you at all.
*(while explosions go off, limbs fly off and people scream). The horror....the horror....
*(after an hour of playing) I have how many levels left? Sweet jesus (NOTE: Playing on the easiest difficulty might have been the problem).
*Wow. If I wasn't going for a trophy, this level would have literally taken me ten minutes to beat. My god.
*(when a heavy metal-esque riff starts playing) ...What.
*Wait a tick...the last mission of the Eastern Front campaign is to capture the Reichstag? I can distinctly remember that being last mission you play at the END of the original Call of Duty! (plays through mission)...and I didn't even get to see the dude I played as! That was lame.
*(After dying) What, no War quotes Treyarch? Come on...
*(after getting killed by a Grenade) I see Grenade Spam 07 is back in fashion (sighs)
*(during a Banzai charge) JESUS CHRIST THAT DUDE IS RUNNING TOWARDS M...(gets stabbed). So these guys are supposed to represent the tricky to kill dogs from CoD4 huh? Lame.
*(dogs show up)...That point is moot then.
*The Russians were really never THAT psychotic and violent...where they?
*Wait...what's the story here? There's no real link between these campaigns..hell, the ORIGINAL Call of Duty had links between these campaigns.
So yeah...that's World at War in a nutshell. It's not the best CoD game, but it's certainly far from the worst. The way that the each nation is portrayed is somewhat questionable, with the Russians being treated as psychotic monsters whom want to murder every single German. The best thing about the game is the way the action is portrayed - it's brutal and what not, which does set it apart from other WW2 games, but at the same time, there are elements that seem unnecessary, such as the swearing. And it's short. REAL short. But I guess the MP makes up for that.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Game Over. No More 1UPs.
I don't normally like to comment on games journalism. Either because I can't really find a nice thing to say about it - different people have different tastes and what not. Personally, I've never been a fan of Jeff Gerstmann (before and after that whole saga), but most people like to think of him as some kind of reviewing messiah. Don't get me wrong, he's a funny dude, but I never saw the appeal in him. Actually, it's kinda funny I bring up Jeff - it serves a kind of link between what I'm really talking about here. But I'll get to that in a moment.
Though if you still haven't gotten it yet, I'm referring to 1UP.com and EGM being sold by Ziff Davis and purchased by Hearst Publishing (yes, the inspiration for Citizen Kane), and has become a part of UGO. The basic story is that while both properties were sold off, Hearst/UGO made some broad, sweeping changes to the organization. Specifically, EGM, which had been running for nearly 20 years, was closed down. The GameVideos team, and a HUGE amount of the staff from 1UP and EGM were let go, with about ten or so keeping their jobs (mostly senior writers and the two latest hirings).
Let me explain just how big of a deal this is.
Aside from losing their video team and a good portion of their editorial staff, 1UP runs a podcasting network that is second to none. If I hadn't been exposed to 1UP Yours, I probably would have never gotten into podcasting. As well as that, the other podcasts were top notch - for a while, the GFW Radio (aka 97.5: The Brodeo) podcast was almost essentially weekly listening, and more so when their magazine closed down. For the longest time, 1UP had been the king of gaming podcasts, and as part of the cuts...the podcasts are dead.
You're probably still wondering why the hell I brought up Jeff earlier. Much like Giant Bomb, I've got my problems with 1UP that most people seem to let slide. Stuff like GameVideo's not even considering to put anything less than HD content on their site, or not even considering that most people outside of the US don't have less than 250GB download limits, as well as putting filters into their videos to make them look edgy...but did nothing except try to look like something that was meaningless. Then there's various editorial decisions and comments that I thought were...questionable. For instance, one writer on the site (which I absolutely detest...and is one of the people staying on instead of some of the more talented writers/podcasters) mentioned that although Gears 2 looked good...it looked too good. And this dude's a huge Gears fanboy also.
Granted, with the struggles that 1UP have had recently, it's not a surprise that something like this happened, but with Hearst taking reins and essentially killing off the company....yeah, no-one really saw that one coming. It's a tragedy, and here's hoping that all those who lost their jobs do find some steady employment.
Except that one writer who still has a job. He doesn't deserve it.
Though if you still haven't gotten it yet, I'm referring to 1UP.com and EGM being sold by Ziff Davis and purchased by Hearst Publishing (yes, the inspiration for Citizen Kane), and has become a part of UGO. The basic story is that while both properties were sold off, Hearst/UGO made some broad, sweeping changes to the organization. Specifically, EGM, which had been running for nearly 20 years, was closed down. The GameVideos team, and a HUGE amount of the staff from 1UP and EGM were let go, with about ten or so keeping their jobs (mostly senior writers and the two latest hirings).
Let me explain just how big of a deal this is.
Aside from losing their video team and a good portion of their editorial staff, 1UP runs a podcasting network that is second to none. If I hadn't been exposed to 1UP Yours, I probably would have never gotten into podcasting. As well as that, the other podcasts were top notch - for a while, the GFW Radio (aka 97.5: The Brodeo) podcast was almost essentially weekly listening, and more so when their magazine closed down. For the longest time, 1UP had been the king of gaming podcasts, and as part of the cuts...the podcasts are dead.
You're probably still wondering why the hell I brought up Jeff earlier. Much like Giant Bomb, I've got my problems with 1UP that most people seem to let slide. Stuff like GameVideo's not even considering to put anything less than HD content on their site, or not even considering that most people outside of the US don't have less than 250GB download limits, as well as putting filters into their videos to make them look edgy...but did nothing except try to look like something that was meaningless. Then there's various editorial decisions and comments that I thought were...questionable. For instance, one writer on the site (which I absolutely detest...and is one of the people staying on instead of some of the more talented writers/podcasters) mentioned that although Gears 2 looked good...it looked too good. And this dude's a huge Gears fanboy also.
Granted, with the struggles that 1UP have had recently, it's not a surprise that something like this happened, but with Hearst taking reins and essentially killing off the company....yeah, no-one really saw that one coming. It's a tragedy, and here's hoping that all those who lost their jobs do find some steady employment.
Except that one writer who still has a job. He doesn't deserve it.
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