Well this years E3 was pretty good actually, I'm going to do a 5 part blog on my adventures and how every game (Including Gears 2, Resistance 2, Killzone 2) plays I'm going to do this as professional as I can. Starting of is Resident Evil 5. Note I'm going to sound like I'm doing an Editorial since I plan on doing that part-time so bare with me.
Resident Evil 5:There are several different factions of Resident Evil fans. The most prolific are the purists -- the folks still in love with the original trilogy of PlayStation games and their GameCube remakes. Next are the newer, Resident Evil 4 diehards that swear allegiance to Capcom's excellent 2005 reboot. Then we have the nostalgic Dreamcast faithful that still hold a candle for Resident Evil: Code Veronica and its unbelievable opening cinematic and equally badass follow-up scenes. It appears that nobody's a fan of Resident Evil Outbreak, so there's no reason to mention that one (too late), and Resident Evil Zero is almost as forgotten. But all things considered, in which group does Capcom's latest thriller, Resident Evil 5 fit best?
Obviously it's meant for the Resident Evil 4 crowd. Only this time, the gameplay that has carried over from RE4 has been mixed in a bit with the Outbreak series. Unlike the short-lived PS2 franchise, though, RE5 doesn't match up four different character classes for story-shallow adventures. No, this time the design centers on two-player co-op and puzzles meant specifically to fit that dynamic. The easy item-swap feature between characters and the interface from Outbreak has been retained, however.
Until E3 kicked off this year, Capcom had completely denied RE5 hands-on time for anyone outside the company. But now that the show has started, we finally had the chance to test drive what is easily one of the most anticipated games of 2009.
What we expected to see going in was that Resident Evil 5 would play exactly like RE4 -- and that's exactly what we got. The controller configuration, character speed, firing mechanic, and camera angles are all lifted directly from the previous game with only slight alterations. The two new twists of course, are that 1.) You can now aim with the right stick instead of being forced to stick to the left like last time (though sadly, that feature hadn't been enabled in the build we sampled), and 2.) Players can control their AI-controlled partner, Sheva with the B button (not necessary when playing with another human). Context-sensitive cohort actions can include anything from using Chris's cupped hands as a boost for jumping gaps so that Sheva can help Chris access a previously inaccessible area, to something as simple as resupplying ammo or health when Mr. Redfield is low. As mentioned earlier, players can swap inventory items when in close proximity to each other as well -- with up to nine slots available per character.
There's plenty that will get in your way too, and that's the big appeal for Resident Evil 5. It's bloody and intense, but it's also a lot like Resident Evil 4 in the early going -- even with the AI-controlled co-op feature. Still, there's a lot of potential here and a proven pedigree, so you can bet we'll be watching to see where it all ends up as we approach the game's March 2009 release
Killzone 2:A few months ago, when you said first-person shooter and PlayStation 3 in the same sentence, people started talking about Killzone 2. Then, Resistance 2 popped up on the radar and started flexing its multiplayer muscle as well as a sooner release date, and the buzz about Killzone 2 seemed to taper off.
Guerrilla Games is trying to change that this E3. I just got out of an hour-long presentation from the company's Senior Online Game Designer Eric Boltjes, and the stuff Killzone 2 has planned is pretty sick.
The presentation started with a trailer comprised of material that was captured in the game. The trailer's been floating around the web since the wee hours of the morning and is even embedded right on youtube, but if you want a quick rundown, the movie displays a mess of arenas that look like dingy, abandoned warehouses and rundown cityscapes with a troop of ISA soldiers moving through. Then, a battle between the Helghast -- one of whom is rocking a wicked cloaking device -- and our boys breaks out on the ground.
This is Killzone 2, so of course the gameplay and graphics look great, but the real meat of the presentation followed the clip. Boltjes says the designers set out to create an online multiplayer mode (sorry, no split-screen) that everyone could enjoy, that you could play as you wanted, that would inspire team play, and that would create a community.
Something For Everyone
To begin with, let's verify that Killzone 2's going to support online matches for two to 32 players and, according to Boltjes, look as good as the single-player campaign. This means that at the most basic level, you're going to be able to find an affair that fits you size and visual needs.
When you start a match, you'll either select Quick Join or Regular Join. The Quick option tosses you into whatever match it can with players of your caliber, while the regular option lets you choose games based on one of the game's eight maps, five mission types, and so on. When you create a match, you can specify what maps to play on, how many players, what kind of weapons, and what missions will be used.
Have it Your Way
Player progression is going to be a huge deal in Killzone 2. There are 12 military ranks to ascend through, 46 ribbons and medals to unlock, more than 100 player stats to dig through, as well as an extensive badge system to flesh out and master.
Let's start with that badge system. There are six player types including engineer, medic, scout, assault, and saboteur in Killzone 2's multiplayer. When you start, you'll need to play to unlock every Cl*sss of character, but when you do, you'll be given that badge's primary special ability -- a medic can revive fallen comrades, engineers can toss out sentry turrets, etc. If you keep playing with that C*ass you'll unlock a secondary ability as well -- medics can toss out med packs, engineers can repair stuff, etc.
That's cool and all, but what's neater is that you'll be able to merge Cla*s if you like. Let's say you love reviving people but could really use the ability to repair machinery. You can combine the medic badge with the engineer badge to make -- you guessed it -- the medic engineer. You can make any combo you want, but whatever badge you put first will give the final product its primary ability, and whatever badge you put second will add its secondary ability.
As you increase your military rank -- basically your XP that is displayed after every match so you know how far you've got to go -- you'll unlock more of these badges. Use the badges and you'll unlock medals. Use the medals and you'll unlock secondary abilities.
Oh, and then there's the completely separate events that will unlock your PlayStation Network Trophies.
Another neat function debuted by Boltjes was Killzone's spawn mechanics. If you're like me, every now and again some nerdburglar gets a lucky shot off and drops you in a multiplayer game. When this happens in Killzone, you'll have a map pop up on the left side of your screen where you can cycle through the different respawn locales and the right side of the screen will display video in real time of what's happening at whatever spawn point you're scoping out.
Now if you spawn into a firefight, you have no one to blame but yourself.
Killzone's also trucking out what Boltjes called dynamic missions. There are five types of battle for you to take out your aggression in -- which include Assassination, Body Count, Search & Destroy, as well as Search & Retrieve -- but when you start a round, you don't have to settle for one mission. In a demo video I saw, the ISA finished up a Search & Retrieve mission and as soon as they were announced as the victors, one of them was targeted for a Helghast Assassination mission. The orange-eyed team surrounded the squad, blasted the target, and won the mission. Then, another mission popped up challenging the ISA to plant a bomb. They did, the device went boom, and the boys won the round 2 to 1.
Well that's all for now. :D
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