Friday, June 3, 2011

Prey 2

I loved the original Prey, played through it twice. Despite the popularly negative sentiment of the internet community, a lot of other people actually enjoyed it too. However, it ended nicely and Tommy's story along with it so there isn't a need for more. The direction that Human Head is taking with Prey 2 is a stroke of genius. They've plucked one of the more striking sights from the original and used it as a basis for a new story with a new character. I can only hope that the game will live up to this amazing trailer.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

L.A. Noire: Solving Crimes in the Uncanny Valley


Rockstar's upcoming game L.A. Noire looks impressive in terms of its narrative and its technical achievements. Rockstar has spent a lot of time hyping up its advanced facial animation system, and there is no questioning that it is beyond impressive. Trouble is that the character's eyes look dead. They do not react, (aim, focus), quite like a real person's eyes do and it leave me with the impression of a super lifelike doll. Honestly, from all the game footage I've seen it's kinda freaking me out like Mr. Universe's love robot from Serenity. I'm still looking forward to L.A. Noire, and it may be improved before release, but it's a good example of how the closer games get to realism, the more difficult details will be to perfect.

Vanquish: If adrenaline were a game

It's hard to describe the rush that I got playing Vanquish. It was roughly the sort of feeling I got from my first snowboarding trip, but it lasted from the beginning till the end credits. The variety and insanity of experiences in Vanquish is amazing. Somehow, Shinji Mikami and his team managed to take the best parts of God of War and the best shmups and jam them into a frenetic third person shooter. PLAY IT.
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