Sorry for the lack of posts this past week, Thanksgiving gets hectic! However, for those of you who showed patience & dexterity, this upcoming week we have nearly doubled our duties (ha, I said "duties") and have a ton of content on the way. For those of you who have developed a neural dependency on "The Warp," heres a quick run down of what we got in the upload process!
Pros: Beautiful Graphics, Extremely Visceral, SFX are perfect, level design is flawlessDead Space is a third-person survival horror-action game, developed by EA Redwood 
Shores for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows (as well as the PS3). In a nut shell, the player takes on the role of an engineer named Isaac Clarke, who battles a polymorphic, virus-like, alien infestation called the 'Corruption', which turns humans into grotesque alien monsters called 'Necromorphs.' The majority of the game takes place on a space mining ship or as they call it in the game a "Planet Cracker" named the Ishimura. The story unfolds throughout the game by progressing through out the ship, collecting audio logs and written journals which describe what's going on. You soon stumble upon a crazy scientist who has genetically linked mutations with the human body. However, a big old turd pile hits the fan and insanity/mutation ensues.
Through out the game you will traverse the ships innards which have 
been infested with the Necromorphs. Through this "traversing" you will want to shoot and kill these monstrosities...and rightfully so. This brings me to the most important component of the game: Strategic Dismemberment. In order for you to successfully "kill" these Necrcomorphs you will need to dismember their limbs from their bodies either by shooting them off. This has to be the funnest game component I have come across in a very long time. Basically, each weapon you acquire throughout the campaign has two distinct angels of projection; horizontal and vertical. It is up to you to decide which one is more effective for the varying baddies throughout the game. There is a good amount of weapons to choose from so go crazy!
[Wiki]Zero gravity and decompressed environments also appear in Dead Space, and Isaac can navigate through them using his pressurized suit and magnetic boots. Some levels even lead out onto the 
surface of the ship's hull. Floating debris presents a hazard, however, and Isaac can lose his footing and simply float off into space. Isaac's suit also has a limited amount of air while in airless environments, which can allow him to suffocate, forcing the player to move faster when in these situations. In keeping with Isaac's profession as an engineer rather than a soldier, weapons in the game are mostly improvised from mining tools, such as a plasma cutter, hydrazine torch used as a flamethrower, and a force cannon emitting powerful shock waves, although a triple-barreled automatic military rifle is also available. Stasis can be used in the game to slow down enemies and objects temporarily, and a kinesis module to pick up and throw items. Text, audio and video logs can be found throughout the game which detail the final moments of the crew, and sometimes provide a bit of information on the story.
Visually, Dead Space is extremely visceral. The Ishimura is dark and incandescent, however their are spot on sci-fi touches throughout the ship (i.e. neon glowing switches and gadgets) that make you remember that yes, this is science fiction. From a graphical stand point DS is stellar. Their are no texture pop ins, no blocking and almost no frame rate issues. It may just be the best looking game I have played since Bio Shock. The character models look extremely realistic and the Necromorphs are intricately detailed to the point where they give you the heebie jeebies. One point to 
mention is that this game is extremely violent...EXTREMELY VIOLENT. Blood is pletiful and spilled often and in addition to the "Strategic Dismemberment" their are also melee attacks. These attacks are possibly the most violent part of the game; in particular: The Stomp. When you have successfully shot an enemy's legs out from underneath him or her or 'it' you can simply shot him to death or perform what I like to call: "Stomping a mud-hole in 'ya." Simply walk over to the downed Necromorph, tap the Right Bumper and watch as you pummel the poor bastards head into little squishy giblets. The sound effect alone will give you goosebumps.
Dead Space has to be one of the most pleasing experiences I have had in recent years. The campaign is stacked with monsters, story glyphs, weapon upgrades, blood, more blood and a good helping of curb stomping. At a solid 10-12 hours of campaign you just cant go wrong with picking up this game; that's unless you can't handle the horror side of it! The scares are there, the sheer grossness of the monsters is there and the story leaves you wanting more...fast! If you're up for a good old horror story than pick this one up!
Dead Space Gets a 9.5 out of 10
-GAME HARD-
Pros: Looks Great, fluid control system, battles are satisfying
the series is better known as a real time action adventure game with some RPG (albeit light) elements. The fundamentals of battle are what set this series apart from other role playing games and subverts it into a whole other "sub-set" of RPG goodness. Is your mind tweaked yet? Battles are done in real time meaning they consist of a real time combat system similar to the ATB system of Final Fantasy Games, with context sensitive button presses reducing damage or being used to carry out special attacks. In a nut shell, each attack is timed out after performing it allowing your attack bar (or your items bar and super attack bar) to replenish. Once it has done so, BAM, attack again! There is no turn based system here so the battles flow really fast, meaning you have to be paying attention to which character is ready to attack and which one needs to "fill up." The same goes for the enemies as well so don't think they will just sit around and do nothing!
all while doing seek-and-find puzzles, reminiscent of adventure games, where the player must collect items and return them to a character to advance the plot. They can also collect spare robot parts to upgrade their weapons (I told you the RPG elements were light). It's a pretty linear experience seeing as though you are only giving five different locations to explore and are held by the hand when traversing the story line.
PROS: Gorgeous Visuals, back to 2D fighting scheme, being able to kick the snot out of DC
important fighting game ever created (and I whole heartily agree) but we here at Warp are MK Fan Boys until we die and when a new Mk comes out, we play it until our little giblet finger tips fall off...and MK vs DC is no exception!
adopt in the early 2000's and brought the fundamentals of the original MK's back into play. Simply put, back to 2D! Although you can perry, the game pretty much stays on a linear line giving the sense that, yes, you are in a fully rendered 3D world/ring, but combat is point A to point B all the way.
works great. The matches are fluid, fast and brutal. In fact, one cool perk to take notice of is the "real time" signs of damage the characters take. During fights, characters will show permanent signs of damage, such as bruises, blood marks, and broken or torn clothing pieces. For example, Scorpion's mask will fall off if he is hit in the face many times. Another huge point of interest shown over the development cycle of this game was the possibility of no fatalities. However, through the process fans were assured they would be incorporated...and they are! Each of the MK characters and DC villains will have fatalities, while DC heroes will have heroic brutalities which will function similarly to fatalities, except without killing the opponent (as far as the story is concerned).
grappling or tossing someone off a ledge, or as they call it "Free Fall Kombat." It's extremely frustrating to pull off sometimes and usually never comes out the correct way (at least in my experience). The fighting schematics also need tweaking. Sometimes the character's feel a little "floaty" and hard to control. Seeing as though the pacing is quite fast throughout the game's entirety, this awkward mechanic may sometimes hamper your experience. One last gripe (although very nit picky) is the games roster. Now, I know Ed Boon wanted to go back to basics and has stated in past interviews that the roster they chose to use was an "all-star list of characters." But come on! No Johnny Cage? No Kung Lao? We can only prey that Midway follows through on their promise for Character Downloads via Xbox Live's Download Service. The current list is as follows:
Since the release of Gears of War 2, Warp 9 has pretty much been preoccupied with multiplayer mayhem and the occasional Horde match. Night, day, dusk and dawn have been filled with chainsaw duels and the occasional head shot...but fear not Warp users! Uploading has begun for this weekends reviews and stories, check it out!
Once again the developers for one of the most prolific games ever made, in Gears of War 1, have done it again with the follow up Gears of War 2. Visually outstanding, a flushed out (finally) story line, sound mechanics that improve on the already tight controls and did and a morbidly pleasing sense of violence and mayhem. With Meta-Critic Scores topping 9.8, Gears of War 2 looks to set the industry standard for greatness up a level!
mouth fans, I finally got my meat hooks on Gears 2 at around 12:01. Speeding home I had to stop myself from opening the packaging and taking a look at the nice shinny disc which laid inside. It was if Christmas had arrived early and I was shot back in time when giddiness ensued at the very sight of gifts! It had been almost two years since Gears' first installment and to put it bluntly, I was itching at the very thought of once again curb-stomping Locusts. I arrived home and without haste ran upstairs to my office and inserted the disc. Alas, the time had come to take up arms and fight the good fight against the Locust army and their Queen.
installment would be doing Gears 2 an injustice. So, in order to get a better feel for just how much the game has improved I have conjured up a singular sentence that will hopefully set you straight: "Holy sh*t, this game is good!" How was that for you? If that doesn't indirectly tell you just how good this game is, then read on.
online multiplayer modes, called "Guardian," "Wingman," and "Submission." "Guardian" is essentially a modified version of "Assassination" from the original Gears of War, but allows players to continue fighting after the leader has been killed, but losing the ability to respawn. "Wingman" splits all ten players into five teams of two, where both members of a team play as the same character. "Submission," formerly known as "Meat Flag," is a version of capture the flag in which players attempt to "down" an enemy controlled by the game's AI and move its body to their team's base to earn points. A Halo-like matchmaking system will be utilized for the online multiplayer. In a GameTrailers TV E3 special, it was confirmed that bots will be available in multiplayer, but this feature was not elaborated upon.
amount of pleasure ripping Locusts in half, filling boomers and grinders with bullets as well as head shooting Bezerkers to our hearts desire. As you progress through each wave of baddies (there are fifty waves in all) the difficulty gets amped up a notch each time. Enemies' base stats are "juiced" up and provide an almost strategic element to how you go about killing the horde.Let's talk story. (WIKI) Gears of War 2 takes place six months after the detonation of the Lightmass Bomb at the end of the first game. Though most of the Locust Horde was destroyed, the explosion also caused much of the liquid Imulsion underground to vaporize, causing a fatal
disease called "Rust Lung" to spread among the diminished human population. After months of peace, the cities of Tollen and Montevado suddenly and mysteriously disappear underground, leading the COG to suspect the resurgence of the Locust. Soon after, the once impenetrable Jacinto Plateau, one of the last remaining safe havens for humans, begins to show signs that the same fate awaits it. In order to stop the fall of Jacinto, the COG responds with a large-scale counteroffensive against the Locust. Senior Producer Rod Fergusson says "In order to save Jacinto, [the COG] have no choice but to take the war to the Locust." Comic book writer Joshua Ortega says "The stakes are raised. This is humanity's last stand. Everything is at risk. Nothing is safe."
It's laid out in a way that makes sense and evolves the characters exposition in a way that allows the player to take a deeper look at these big burly men totting chainsaw machine guns and COG Tags.
Check out this little biddy clip showcasing Seth, Street Fighter IV's big bad boss. I have actually had the pleasure of playing through the single player campaign of SFIV with Seth and to put it bluntly...he's pretty bad ass. Have at it!
Compared to the original list, this new set actually looks reasonable, meaning that you won't have to play the game 10 hours a day everyday to unlock them all. One of the major changes is the absence of weapon based achievements in multiplayer. I feel that this is a pretty good change because you won't have people out there that are weapon biased and just running around chainsawing everyone to get their achievement. With that said, there are some weapons achievements, but you can unlock them in the campaign this go around. Also, if you have certain achievements unlocked on the original, then you will have the option of using a few more characters in mulitplayer. Here it is:
DUNGEON SIEGE
If you didn't already know by now, perhaps the biggest game of the year is coming this Friday. Do I really need to say which game it is? Lets say it's been hyped for over a year, been totted as "Bigger, Badder and more Badass than the first" (lead developer Cliff Blezinksy), said to have the industries best graphics...and that includes PC games and, oh wait..did I mention It's made by industry vet EPiC Games? Come on people, I'm talking about non other than Gears of War 2, the only game that should be on your radar right now.
Well, we all know it deep down in our gamer hearts. Gears of War 2 is going to be big...REAL big. Advanced pre-orders have already topped Halo 3 and de-bug version reviews of the game have already started to trickle out on mainstream gaming websites. However, our good friends over at GiantBomb[dot com] have officially released the worlds first non-de-bug (unit) review of Gears of War 2. To sum it up in two words: Holy Sh*t!
didn't really feel like a dramatic leap above or beyond the original game. It lead to one of those satisfied feelings of "OK, good, they didn't screw anything up." Then I went back and popped in the original Gears of War for a quick comparison, and that's when I realized how much better Epic's new game was than the last one. Gears of War 2 offers refined game play, a better and more interesting campaign, expanded multiplayer, and significantly improved graphics. In short, it's just about everything you'd want out of a sequel.
game are filled in a bit, and you get to see a bit more of what's going on underground in Gears 2, but overall, I feel like the campaign asks more questions than it answers. For every glimpse of the Locust hierarchy you get, you seem to get two glimpses at things that are touched on, but not explicitly explained. While there's a lot to infer about things that occur during the campaign, some things feel too open. Either way, the game certainly leaves enough openings for a meaningful sequel, but not so many that you're left feeling unfulfilled at its conclusion. And it's probably a testament to the game's world that I'm left wanting to know more, instead of just slapping the "mindless shooter" tag on it and moving on.
thrower, which quickly burns up your enemies. There's also a new burst-fire pistol that lays out a few rounds each time you pull the trigger. That said, I found myself sticking with the sniper rifle and the lancer (that's the main assault rifle that comes with a chainsaw bayonet) almost exclusively.
are four difficulties in all, with the second-highest, hardcore, feeling most like the first game's default level of difficulty. Below that, the enemies get easier and easier to deal with. The new casual difficulty feels like it's designed for people who don't play many games, and it has the side-benefit of letting you get revived by your AI teammates when you get shot and go down. It's a wider range of difficulty than most games have, which should ensure that there's a setting for just about anyone that picks up a controller. When playing cooperatively, each player can choose a different difficulty setting, which adjusts the damage done and the damage taken by the player.
lot to do when you're playing multiplayer.
in its day. It's only upon direct comparison that I noticed how much more detail the world contained, from the ugly scar on Marcus' face to elaborate underground palaces. It's breathtaking, in spots. Also, it's quite colorful. This isn't "just another brown shooter." Even when you're underground, you'll see bright, colorful areas that really catch the eye, and lighting that really makes things stand out. You'll also see all that at a more stable frame rate than you did last time out. Things like cut scenes run more evenly, too.
Gears 2, and you'll hear friends and foes alike call out specific enemy locations, such as "behind the car!" It makes the battlefield feel a bit more alive.
Yup, this be a big week ya'll!