October, 2008

Gaming — No Comments
31
Oct 08

Fallout 3 DRM detailed

Fallout 3 uses SecuROM DRM technology, but Bethesda has claimed that it isn’t as draconian as some other games which use the system such as BioShock, Mass Effect PC and Far Cry 2.

While the game does use SecuROM DRM, Bethesda claims that it does so in a way that doesn’t infringe on the rights of the customers and doesn’t come bundled with bloat or malware.

“We do NOT limit the number of installs. We do NOT use online authentication or any other SecuROM functionality except for a disc check when you install the game and when you launch the game,” reads a Bethesda blog post about the DRM.

“We do not install any other programs and we don’t have anything that runs in the background while you’re playing the game.”

Bethesda claims that it is happy to leave the management of digital rights to the customers, though it will still try to prevent piracy and the platform-ruining implications many claim it has for PC games. Seems reasonable to us.

You can check out our extensive Fallout3 review for more information about the actual game.

Featured / Gaming — No Comments
31
Oct 08

Fallout 3 Review

Fallout 3
Publisher: Bethesda
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Here’s a quick and easy history lesson.

Once upon a time, there was a company called Interplay that made some of the best computer games ever. One of its most well known franchises was the Fallout series, which was an isometric RPG set in a post apocalypse wasteland inspired by 1950s culture.

The Fallout games were really good, especially the second one. Even the demo for the first game, which was a self-contained adventure that was custom made for the purposes of the demo, was excellent. Not every developer will go to the trouble of making a demo with about five different endings and multiples paths. Plus, there were miniguns and you could shoot people in the crotch.

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Gaming / Offbeat News — No Comments
29
Oct 08

Jack Thomspon disbarrment made official

Jack Thompson, the Miami attorney who was a constant thorn in the side of many games developers, has now been officially disbarred following a recommendation and investigation from Judge Dava Tunis this September.

Thompson had become notorious among the games community for his fight against violence in computer games and the numerous connections he put between computer gamers and murderers. Thompson was especially vocal on his contempt for Grand Theft Auto, which he often referred to as a murder simulator.

Thompson was recommended for permanent disbarment this year on charges of abusing the legal system and 27 different counts of misconduct. As well as getting permanently disbarred, Thompson was also forced to pay $43,675.35 in legal fees to the court.

Now it looks as if that disbarment has gone through and been made totally official, with the Florida Bar updating the official website to reflect the ruling according to GamePolitics.

Gaming — No Comments
27
Oct 08

Call of Duty 5 to have co-op zombie Nazi mode

Treyarch announced this weekend that the new Call of Duty game, World at War, would include a controversial new co-op mode that will be unlockable after the singleplayer campaign is complete.

The game mode will be a survival variant that features up to four players who must work together to survive continuing waves of Nazi zombies who have an awful craving for fresh, patriotic flesh.

This survival mode will apparently have some strategy elements woven into it too and, by wiping out swathes of these unliving national socialists players will be able to earn money that can be invested in various upgrades. Players will apparently be able to unlock and buy new weapons as they progress, as well as add new defences on to the base they are defending.

The new mode, which was announced on Gametrailers TV by Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia, has proven controversial with some fans who see the addition of it as a move away from the serious traditions of the game. Others see it as a half-assed attempt to try and copy Left4Dead.

Featured / Gaming — 3 Comments
25
Oct 08

Far Cry 2 Review

Far Cry 2
Platforms: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

Here’s the funny thing about Far Cry; it was never all that great a game in all honesty, but that somehow ended up getting forgotten and it was the console expansions that got all the flak.

Wow, I know – controversial, eh? It’s true though. Far Cry was a visually stunning game and the fact that you could roam the tropical islands where the game took place was very impressive, but in reality it was never as open as people claim. You could run through the trees ‘til your heart was content – but you’d never find anything out there and there were still a whole load of invisible walls and insta-kill helicopters to stop you straying too far.

By the time people realised that though it didn’t matter; they’d either reach the lacklustre indoor areas of the game or they’d met those invincible TriGen monsters and thrown the game away in frustration. It’s probably for the best that Crytek moved on to make Crysis and left the sequel rights with Ubisoft.

In fact, it’s definitely for the better. This is a Far Cry game which isn’t totally about graphical power and lurid Hawaiian shirts. It’s about freedom, player choice and a complex game-world. It also happens to be a very definite early contender for Game of the Year.
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Featured / Gaming — 2 Comments
24
Oct 08

Dead Space Review

Dead Space
Platform: PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3

There’s an on-going discussion in the more pretentious corners of the Internet, where floppy-fringed journalists like myself are to be found constantly waging over one argument; are computer games an art form?

I say yes, based on nought but the idea that they are a creative process designed by a group of individuals in an attempt to elicit an emotional response.

There are those who disagree with that argument, often on the basis that no computer game anywhere has ever made anyone feel anything except bored. It’s to those people I offer up Dead Space as proof of their foolishness, because Dead Space is a game that can definitely make you feel something. It can make you feel afraid.

Or at least, it can if you’re willing to give it a chance to do so.

Unfortunately, Dead Space isn’t the type of game that really encourages you to give it a chance based on first impressions. It has a rather pastiched plot that seems to be an equal mix of Event Horizon and System Shock 2, the presentation seems to focus too much on the gory side of horror to really scare a more experienced survival horror fan and the controls are noticeably wonky from the start.
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