Call of Duty: Black Ops - Treyarch

I must admit that Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nov 9, 2010) is probably the game I am waiting for the most. Not so much because I believe it is going to be the greatest game ever, but mainly because I have become “totally addicted” to Modern Warfare 2. I will most likely play Black Ops quite a lot too, and I am very curious about what Treyarch is able to bring to the table this time around. Dedicated servers are said to be back, and I hope they do something to counter all those cheaters the we see in Modern Warfare 2.

Then there are a few games that most likely will have a story (as opposed to the last few Call of Duty games). We have Mafia II (Aug 24, 2010), Fallout: New Vegas (Oct 19, 2010), and Fable III (Oct 26, 2010). All of these are sequels to great games. Mafia looks quite good, and the previews I have seen are quite positive. Fallout does unfortunately look a bit dated, but I still have high hopes (Note to self: still need to complete Fallout 3). Fable, don’t know yet. I am not sure if I want it to become even less RPG than the previous. However, Fable 2 was a good and cute game. I really love that they have British voice actors.

Civilization 5 - Firaxis Games

The final tittle that I have high hopes for is the return of the undisputed strategy champion, Sid Meier’s Civilization V (Sep 21, 2010). I have unfortunately not played the last game as much as I should, but I am very much looking forward to this new game. It will most likely be great! I just hope that I have the patience to play strategy games, after way too many hours of online multi player FPS.

Worth watching

There are also a few other games that I am a bit uncertain about. However, I will be tracking them closely as they are released. First up is Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days (Aug 17, 2010). The first game was not very good, and I don’t really expect the second to be an epic game either. Nevertheless, I am found of the two player, this and the likes of Army of Two, offer. Moreover, I really enjoyed the Hitman series from IO Interactive (the developer of Kane & Lynch). Who knows, maybe they’ll get it right this time around.

Medal of Honor - EA

Then we have Halo: Reach (Sep 14, 2010). Halo will without doubt be a big game, but I am not really a hard core Halo fan boy. I prefer more realistic shooters and the game engine looks a bit dated to me. Next up is Dead Rising 2 (Sep 28, 2010). Zombie killing is always fun, but I am not 100% convinced yet. Medal of Honor (Oct 12, 2010) falls into the same category. I love modern first person shooters, but I am not sure what MoH adds to the table. We have already seen Battlefield Bad Company 2 this year (from DICE – the developer of  the multi player component of MoH), and Call of Duty Black Ops is due just a few weeks later. I have already tried the Beta, and I was unfortunately not blown away. Well actually, I was blown away in a one hour spawn rape before returning to Modern Warfare.

In addition we have Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (Nov 16, 2010), and  Fifa 11 (Sep 28, 2010). I guess these will be just more of the same, which is a good thing as their predecessors were very good games. However, what about a bir more innovation? Finally, there is Stracraft 2 (already released). I am not really a big Starcraft fan either. I do not really have the patience to play real time strategy against people over the Internet (I would probably get pwned). However, for those who like it Starcraft is a dream come true (at least so I’ve understood).

Unrealistic dreams

Duek Nukem Forever - who knows??

Recently, rumours surfaced that Gearbox had picked up Duke Nukem Forever. I don’t believe it until the game ships, but as long as there is some hope I’ll be waiting for the duke to return. Moreover, I would also love to see a new game from Egosoft (the creators of the X3 series). Nothing has been announced yet, so I won’t hold my breath. However, X3 Terran Conflict was released about two years ago and in my eyes it is about time for something new. What are your wishes for Christmas?

In the latest episode of the Bonus Round over at Gametrailers.com they discussed the best games of 2010 so far. I did something similar last year, and I thought it was about time to do the same for 2010. The year of 2010 has already seen several very good games. My pick for the game of the year (so far) is as follows:

The game of the year so far

Read Dead Redeption - Rockstar Games

My choice for game of the year so far is not very controversial. Red Dead Redemption stands out from the crowd as an outstanding game in my eyes. I guess I have a weakness for games from Rockstar, but I must say I love the story telling, the characters, and the settings the guys at Rockstar are able to create. The game has a few weaknesses like aiming in close quarters, boring gatling gun sequences, and a bit too much aim assistance at longer ranges (making the game a bit too easy). However, it is very fun to gun down a lot of guys in quick succession. Moreover, the cell phone was not yet invented and one does not have annoying friends calling you all the time like in GTA 4.

Runner up

Mass Effect 2 - Bioware

Read Dead Redemption is not the only great game released so far this year. Even though I enjoyed the first game more than the second, Mass Effect 2 is still a very very solid game. Great voice acting, graphics, and storytelling. However, I did not fancy the dumbing down of the RPG elements, the horrible scanning of planets to find metals, and the *SPOILER* silly chose-the-right-squad-members-at-the-end-or-else-they-will-die.

The other games I played

Modern Warfare 2 - Infinity Ward

I have also played several other games. The one I have played the most (by far) is without doubt Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. Even though it has a lot of problems (cheaters, lack of dedicated servers, no user mods, IW.net, and so on), it is a highly addictive game (just ask my girlfriend). Getting all those challenges is very hard Battlefield: Bad Company 2 tried to dethrone Modern Warfare. Even though it was a decent game, I stopped playing it and returned to Modern Warfare. I guess I preferred being able to “win” the game by myself in Modern Warfare over having to rely on a squad as in Bad Company. Since I do not have a squad, I frequently got frustrated at all the n00bs playing to get high kill/death ratios instead of succeeding with the mission objectives.

Borderlands - Gearbox

In addition to Modern Warfare and Battlefield: Bad Company 2, I have also played a bit of Left 4 Dead 2, Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery), Borderlands, Fable 2, Assassins Creed 2, and Fallout 3. I think all of these games are very good, but they do not reach the same level as Red Dead Redemption and Mass Effect. Moreover, almost all of them were released in 2009. On one hand, Left 4 Dead and Assassins creed are better games than their predecessors, but they are basically more of the same. On the other hand, what I would like to see more of the same from is Borderlands. Even though the game world felt a bit empty and the quests were a bit repetitive, I very much enjoyed the game’s basic principles of having a lot of different guns, plenty of missions, and a quite open world.

Still in the back log

Splinter Cell Conviction - UBISOFT

The amount of  new games being released (and the amount of game time with Modern Warfare 2) has prevented me from playing all the games I would have wanted. I have still to (start and) finish the following games:  Fallout 3, Dragon Age Origins, Splinter Cell Double Agent, Splinter Cell Double Conviction, Army of Two 40th Day, Batman Arkham Asylum, and Bioshock 2. I am in particular looking forward to Splinter Cell Conviction and Batman Arkham Asylum. I would also like to get my hands on Just Cause 2, Alan Wake, and perhaps also Crackdown 2.

In addition to these games, there are a few games on the PS3 (which I do not have) that have received a lot of attention, in particular, God of War 3 and Heavy Rain. Honestly, I must admit that neither of those appeal to me at all. I do not fancy hack and slash/fighting that much, and Heavy Rain is not even a game.

Why not a game of the year 2009?

Borderlands (Gearbox)

First, there are a lot of the great games that were released in 2009 that I have not played yet. (1) I do not own a PS3 and I have therefore not been able to play for instance Uncharted 2, Killzone, Demon Souls, and so on. (2) I have not been able to buy all the great games from 2009. I still do not have Batman: Arkham Asylum, Forza Motorsport 3, Fifa 10, and Empire: Total War. (3) Of the great games I do own, there were several that I was unable to try in 2009, like for instance Assassin’s Creed 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Anno 1404 (Dawn of Discovery), Dragon Age: Origins, Men of War, and Borderlands.

Second, I can’t really decide between the games I did play. I guess the problem is that there are so many good games that it is a bit difficult to find a game that  really stands out from the crowd.

What I played

Lately, I have played a lot of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and it is quite fun. However, for the way Infinity Ward and Activision have ignored us PC-games, I cannot say Modern Warfare 2 is even a contender for GotY. The game is pretty much Call of Duty 4.5 as the single player is short and uninteresting. I agree with Michael Pachter who said that the four hour story of MW 2 was “as lame as any story I’ve seen in any game” (Bonus Round @ 17.00). The multi player is more of the same (still great fun though), but it lacks dedicated servers, has a lot of cheaters, allows only 12 or 16 players per game, and does not allow user mods.

X3 Terran Conflict (Egosoft)

Next up is X3: Terran Conflict. I played this quite a lot during the summer, but I have not played it in a long time. However, watching Star Trek made me want to fire it up again. Even though the game is very interesting and made me remember the depth of PC-games, it does have a few to many small problems to be a game of the year. It was furthermore released in 2008. In addition to being a great game, I must applaude the developers at Egosoft for constantly updating the game, and releasing new content for FREE (the money-hungry suckers at Activision should take note).

I also played quite a lot of Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty 5: World at War, and Fallout 3, and a bit of Far Cry 2, World of Goo, and Red Alert 3. All these were good games, but all of them were released in 2008. I guess I played more CoD 5 than anything, but Fallout 3 was probably the best game. On the Xbox I played Resident Evil 5, Guitar Hero: Metallica, and Red Faction: Guerrilla. Then of course, I also played through Saints Row 2, Dead Space, and Mirror’s Edge from 2008. All of these were quite good but perhaps not really game of the year material.

Mirrors Edge (Dice)

Finally, I would like to dedicate a thumbs up for all the new intellectual property we have seen in 2009. Batman, Borderlands, Mirrors Edge, Dead Space, and (to some extent) Dragon Age Origins were new intellectual properties released during the last year or so. Even though Mirrors Edge and Dead Space did not sell as much as EA anticipated, I really encourage them to make another. I really enjoyed them!

However, a few of the recent pre-E3 trailers have caught my attention and I wanted to share them. If you follow the gaming scene you have most likely seen them. If not, enjoy the folowing videos:

1. Deus Ex Human Revolution
2. Brink
3. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier

This does not work right out of the box with Ubuntu. Thanks to Anders S. Lund I found the solution, which was to install an alpha version of Moonlight:

1. Remove the Firefox-VLC plugin: “sudo apt-get remove mozilla-plugin-vlc”
2. Remove previous versions of Moonlght: In Firefox goto Tools -> Add-ons -> Extensions
3. Download the most recent version of Moonlight: http://www.go-mono.com/moonlight/prerelease.aspx
4. In case of sluggish performance, turn of all effects by closing the browser and using the following command: “MOONLIGHT_OVERRIDES=effects=no firefox“

See the following link for more information/troubleshooting.

MOONLIGHT_OVERRIDES=effects=no firefox

Steam - Technology for the future or infrastructure from the past?

Recently I complained about Canal Plus’ C Sports awfully high prices. Paying close to €20 for streaming a Premiere League game, is in my eyes way too expensive. While I am a very big fan of digital distribution I wonder why so many digitally distributed products have to be so expensive. Digitally distributed products are often sold at the same or even higher price as their retail counterparts. The most recent example is Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2. MW2 was recently made available through Steam for close to €60. Elkjøp, a Norwegian retail store, is currently selling the same game in a weekend deal for 350 NOK (about €40).

A €20 price difference is quite astonishing. Retail products come on a disk which is put into a case together with a manual. The cases are transported all over the world and sold in stores which need to pay rent and their employees. These are all costs which can be cut if the product is distributed digitally.

Setting up and maintaining a server park for digital stores is obviously not free either. However, it would surprise me if these costs are higher than the costs related to printing, distributing, and selling retail products. Moreover, digital distribution should give the developers and publishers added advantages. First, it is so far not possible to resell digitally distributed product. Hence, everyone who wants to get their hands on a product needs to buy it from the publisher rather than through second hand stores or on the private market. Second, by requiring activation of the games through the digital store, the stores may contribute to reducing piracy. Third, digital stores would make it far easier to sell add-ons, extensions, and other products using micro transactions. All in all, digital distribution seems to be a big advantage for the developers and publishers.

However, this is not the first time Steam charges the price of a kidney for their games. I guess we as consumers should look elsewhere to increase the competition in the market. I hope that stores like Impulse and Direct2Drive will increase their catalogs and contribute to forcing Steam into reducing their  prices.

Premiere League action

The Good: C Sports is the services I have been waiting for. I would like to enjoy Premier League football from time to time, but I don’t really have time to watch that many games. Hence, I don’t really bother to pay about 3000 NOK (€370) per year for the whole Canal+ package. Having Premier League games available through pay-per-view is perfect.

The Bad: Like most other paid or rental services, C Sports does not support other browsers than Internet Explorer and Safari on Windows and Mac. Linux is not supported.

The Ugly: The really ugly thing about the C Sports service is not the fact that I have to run it on Windows using IE. It is rather the awful price you have to pay per game. 159 NOK (close to €20) per game is way, way too expensive. Personally, I think maybe about 50 NOK (€6) would be a good price. However, I understand that the Premier League rights are expensive and I could have paid 100 NOK. 159 is just too expensive. I might try the serivce but I am not becoming a regular viewer.

Fixing it was rather easy. Have a look at the solution provided by M.Srinivasaverman (thanks man!).

Even though the majority of big titles has been given 2010 release dates there are still a few games worth looking out for this fall. Norwegian diaries like VG and Dagbladet, and web sites like Big Download and Box of M.E.S.S. have laid out there expectations. Now, it is my turn to review my five most anticipated games.

Most anticipated fall games

1. First up, no big surprise: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PC). I let the video speak for itself. I have lost count over the hours I have spent with CoD 4 and 5 the last two years (and I do not dare to check either). The next installment looks stunning and I can’t wait till November 10th.

2. Modern Warfare 2 should really be both first, second, and third but that would be a bit silly. However, another online shooter is mass murdering its way into second place. Left 4 Dead 2 (PC), the sequel of last years co-operative zombie slaughter, is due November 17th. Having in mind that I have my birthday around that time I guess I am gifting myself both CoD and Left 4 Dead as soon as they are released (can’t wait for either until the 18th (my birthday)).

3. Next up is a spy-game. I have not seen that much footage of Alpha Protocol (Xbox), but it is enough to get me intrigued.  The game is to be released on October 27th.

4. We find yet another shooter on forth place. I have not tried Arma2 yet and I have not seen that much from Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising (PC), but I hope it will be a good game. I will at least keep my eyes open on October 6th when it is supposedly released.

5. The fifth spot is taken by, guess what, a shooter again. I am not totally impressed by what I have seen of Borderlands (PC), but I like the concept enough to be waiting in anticipation for its October 6th release.

I am certain that Modern Warfare 2 and Left for Dead 2 will be great game. I am however not sure that the others will cut it. I hope they do because they seem to innovative and bring a few new things into the gaming scene. Let’s cross our fingers they are able to pull it off.

The more obvious choices?

There are a few other big titles which are being released this fall but none of them have really caught my eye. Batman: Arkham Asylum was just released and got great critics. Despite these excellent critics I have not fallen for the game just yet. We do also have Brütal Legend and Halo 3: ODST. However, I am not that big of a Halo fan and I hate Jack Black.

Moreover, we have Forza Motorsport 3. While I enjoyed Forza 2 quite a lot I am not sure if I bother to buy another racing game. I have probably not driven more than a fraction of the cars in Forza 2, what would I do with 100 new cars in Forza 3? My problem with these series including the likes of Fifa, NHL, Madden and so is that it is somewhat difficult to see what a new installments bring to the table. They seem too similar. I am sure that there are improvements but they don’t manage to get me all worked up.

Finally we will also see Assassins Creed II on November 20th and GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony on October 29th. These are two I will be paying attention to even though I have not yet finished Assassins Creed nor bought Lost and Damned for GTA IV. I will probably try to get my hands on the GTA extension but I am not sure about Assassins Creed. It is probably a great game but I have never really been able to get into the first one yet. I am still trying though but I have not found time.

A few other games worth looking out for

There are of course a lot of other titles being release this fall but nothing which rises my anticipation like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. However, we will see Section 8, Majesty 2: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, Dragon Age: Origins, The Saboteur, Risen, Order of War, and Cities XL. Several of these could turn out to be really great games.

Even though there has been a lack of new titles I have been able to put in some time with a few old games. Before I look forward to the games to arriving this fall, I’ll go through some of the things I think are worth mentioning from the previous months.

Some of the anticipated ones

I was not really psyched about that many games the first half of the year. I previously mentioned that I was waiting for the likes of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and Company of Heroes Tales of Valor but none of these got that great critics. Then we had Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned and we will soon see another add-on to GTA IV, The Ballad of Tony Gay. I guess I at some stage will get my hands of both of these DLC as I really liked GTA IV.

Resident Evil 5 - Screenshot

Finally, we had Resident Evil 5 which got a pretty good reception. I recently got my hands on it and it was a fair game. However, I am not sure if I liked its boss fights. It was fun and sometimes a bit chaotic to blast away zombies. A thing which I liked was that the game had coop, even though this could have been implemented a lot better. Why not use the whole screen?

Social gaming is fun

Army of Two - Wall paper (Gamespot)

I have also been enjoying several co-op and social games lately. I have gone through first of all, Kane and Lynch. This game was rather shitty and I cannot believe that Jeff Gerstmann got fired for giving this game a low score. Army of Two on the other hand was a rather positive surprise.  I have in fact played through it three times now. It is not Gears of War 2, but it is rather enjoyable, particularly with a friend (or a girlfriend).

Probably the biggest gaming success is that I have managed to get my girlfriend somewhat interested in gaming. Games like Guitar Hero: Metallica and Lego Indiana Jones have appealed quite a lot to her. Guitar Hero was really a blast. Getting both a game and Metallica in one package is quite incredible.

We have also tried Worms (downloadable), Scene it Lights, camera, ready (she kicked my ass), and Facebreaker. Facebreaker looks kind a fun, but it was one of the most boring games I have ever tried. I am no fan of fighting games partly because I really hate loosing, but this one was really bad.

On-line multi-player mayhem

Team Fortress 2 - Wallpaper

I have really never played any games on-line until Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare. Lately, I have however gotten my share of both Left 4 Dead and Call of Duty 5 World at War. I recently picked up CoD 5 WaW for the third time and it is still great fun. I have in fact played a bit of Team Fortress 2 as well during the last months. All four games are really good and something you should own if you consider yourself a gamer.

All quiet on the strategy front

I have had Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 and Sins of a Solar Empire a quite long time but I have really never found any time to play them. Earlier this year, Men of War came out as well and when it was on sale on Steam for €7 I had to get it. However, now I have three really good strategy games which I have not played yet and there are a couple of other ones out there which I would like to get my hands on.

First up is Anno 1404 or Dawn of Discovery as it is called in the US. Then we have Empire Total War which is another title I really would have liked to have time to play. I have not bought any of these yet but I assume I will when I find some time to play them.

Buggy games

Empire Total War leads me to think about some of the buggy experiences we have had lately. Empire Total War was according to the ones who have played it not exactly a bug free experience and the Total War series is not really known to be bug free. This is really a shame because the game has plenty of potential.

It seems as Arma 2 has gone in the same trap. The game has plenty of potential and ambitions but a sloppy implementations. This has put me off for some time. I decided to rather wait a bit until the game is patched, more playable, and hopefully not full-priced. This is really a shame for the developer because they will not make as much money as if they had made a more polished product.

X3 Terran Conflict - Screenshot (Softpedia)

I waited for almost a half a year to play X3 Terran Conflict.  X3TC was a very buggy game when it came out. However, I waited until the 2.0 patch was released and I have enjoyed it a lot (I guess some will say too much). If you want a deeper than run-and-gun-experience, X3 could be the thing for you. It is a space exploration, trading, and shooting sim with a offer-demand economics. It is a bit hard to describe but you should try it. Don’t give up when you see its steep learning curve, it is really worth the struggle.

While not being a buggy game, Fallout 3 offers a lot of the same depth but in a bit different way. I guess it is this depth which one finds in games like X3 and Fallout 3 which makes many games a lot better on the PC than on any console.

A couple of other releases and a big back-log

There has been a few other releases lately which I might pick up if I have the time. Prototype, Call of Juarez Bound in Blood, and Red Faction Guerrilla are all titles which have received good critics and I am sure I would enjoy them. However, I have borrowed Fable 2, Assassins Creed, Darkness, Halo 3, and Hitman Blood Money, all of which I would like to go through on the Xbox.

In addition, I have bought Red Alert 3, Sins of a Solar Empire, and Men of War and I have not yet tried them. Hence, I really don’t see any time for that many new games, and I am supposed to finish a PhD as well… Priorities, priorities