The Battlefield franchise has been around for a while and has a pretty big, loyal following. The games have continued to move forward with each release (I’m talking specifically about the PC games, not the console versions), although some may disagree that the last release, Battlefield: 2142. Well, whether or not you’re a fan of the previous Battlefield PC games, they are continuing the trend of change with their latest entry in the franchise.
Battlefield Heroes not only changes everything by introducing a completely new take, labeled “cartoon shooter”, but they’ve also changed the entire payment structure, offering a completely free-to-play model. If you prefer not to, you’ll never have to drop even a single penny to play this game. The game will instead make it’s money through advertisement. Not even in-game advertisement like you may think. They will be showing ads on the games loading screens, and while you download the game and run it off of your personal computer, you will be required to launch the actual game from their official website at battlefield-heroes.com. That way they ensure not only the loading screen ads, but also any ads on their site as well.
All in all the game has tremendous potential. The look, while many may compare it to the recent hit shooter, Team Fortress 2, is done for maximum accessibility and, according to the developers, just plain fun. The system requirements are also pretty minimal, especially considering most of the latest system hogs like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3. Look for the game to go live sometime this summer.
Gallery and Trailer after the break. Boom!
More…
Unless of course, you’re talking about the great Patches O’Houlihan from the movie Dodgeball.
Anyway, a new gaming site has just launched, Game Patch Central, dedicated to game patches, though not limited to. Among patches they also include some of the most popular new demos, some FAQs, and walk-throughs. While the service the site offers is a benefit to the gaming community, it’s a shame the gaming community needs this so much. This hasn’t always been the case. Game publishers and developers have gotten lazy, sloppy, or just plain greedy, shipping unfinished products and expecting us, the consumer, to wait for a fix once we’ve already paid for the product.
If this was any other media product, movies, music, books, whatever, these kind of practices wouldn’t be tolerated. When was the last time you bought a movie on DVD, took it home, and if it didn’t play or work like it’s supposed to you’re told they’re working on a patch so you’ll have to wait? Hmm. Let’s see, how about never! Ever read a book with a missing page, then later they announce the page has been completed and they’re sending it to anyone requesting it? No. It just doesn’t happen outside of the gaming world.
When a product is shipped it should be complete. If I have to pay $50 to $60 for a game, it better be finished. This problem has existed in PC gaming for quite some time. It’s only recently that these issues have trickled onto the consoles with the addition of online connectivity. The problem isn’t getting better. It’s expanding. What can we do to help? Not much really. Just don’t buy a broken product. If a game doesn’t work out of the box, then the game is broken. What about all those console gamers that aren’t connected to the internet? Yes, there are still some. What happens when their game doesn’t work without a patch? Think about it. They’re just stuck with a broken game, period.
Boom!
What do you think? Is anyone out there actually a fan of patches? Let us know. Comment below.
So I loved the first Rainbow Six Vegas. It was a great all around game. Single player, co-op, and online play all were great. So will the second Vegas be good? Well it looks like it will be. Hey don’t take my word for it check out this video. It talks about the player development in the game. I’m starting to drool already!
Thanks Gaming Today
The word epic is tossed around allot today. I for one have been reluctant in the past to use epic when describing video games. Well today I choose to use epic for a video game. That game is Mass Effect. The shear scale of this game is pretty amazing. I feel I must start this by saying that I am not the biggest RPG fan out there. Yea I loved KOTOR, but that was Star Wars and I like me some Star Wars. Besides KOTOR I’ve never played a RPG I loved until Mass Effect. I really wasn’t even all that stoked on this game in the first place, but in the spirit of equal opportunity I gave Mass Effect a chance. I sure am glad I did. More…
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I LOVE CO-OP!!! There is just nothing like beating a good game with one of your gaming buddies. Whether it’s online or local, it makes a good game that much better. I believe co-op to be a great way for gamers to interact with others and make sometimes anti-social people a bit more social.
It looks like the guys at computerandvideogames.com agree. Check out this really good article they had in PC Gamer magazine. It’s a good article with some interviews with developers who have made use of good co-op in their game.
I thought that Cliffy B’s comments where pretty good he said,
“It is difficult,” he admits, “but if you want to have a multi-million selling shooter you have to have a great singleplayer and a solid co-op mode. I think there’s a huge gulf between casual and hardcore players, and co-op is a way to bridge that.
“You can have a husband and wife, with one player leading another through the game. She might feel less intimidated with her husband’s help. It’s this kind of stuff that will bridge that gap.”
As I played through GOW single player, by myself, I couldn’t help but think about how great a co-op game this is. As I had to replay a few parts over and over because Dom kept doing stupid stuff and getting himself killed, I yearned for someone with a real brain to control him.
I’m playing Mass Effect now and I’ve thought, how great would it be to have 1 or 2 other friends controlling the other members of your squad? Each having different weapons and biotic’s they can use. Of course ME is already a huge game so I’d imagine co-op for a game like it would be tough. It would be pretty amazing though.
This year already looks strong for those of us that like co-op, Army of Two, Left 4 Dead, and Rainbow Six Vegas 2 are all coming soon. I know that AOT is getting pretty abused by everyone and it does look a little crappy. But just the fact that it is totally built around co-op makes it a game I’m interested in.
Please game makers, PUT MORE CO-OP IN YOUR GAMES IT IS GREAT!
If you were stuck without Xbox Live for the last couple of weeks you might be getting something in return. According to Kotaku, Microsoft may give you something back. An unnamed source told them “…we will definitely be doing something for our Gold members that weren’t able to get online over the last week.”
We’ll see what that something might be. My guess is Microsoft points.
It’s confirmed, as if anyone didn’t think it would happen, we’re getting a sequel to one of the most successful launch titles on Nintendo’s Wii. The announcement was spotted, scanned, and posted by Nintencast.com. The original article was in the Official Nintendo Magazine. No screenshots yet, however, the basics are all confirmed, ie. Red Steel 2 will include better controls, better AI, better graphics and the feature everyone wanted in the first game; Online! Sweet
Now all they have to do is look at what some great FPS games on the Wii have done since launch and copy/improve upon them. Let’s see, Metroid Prime: Corruption did a pretty great job. Then their’s also Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. Just add in some 1-to-1 ratio swordplay and boom, the game is ten times better.
Once they’ve improved the controls, all they need to work on are the graphics. Ah, graphics. As you may recall, the original Red Steel was done using a hybridized Wii version of the Unreal Engine 2.5. If you also remember, a story back a little while back about a developer purchasing the right to develop a Wii version of the newest Unreal Engine 3. Now we get the official announcement from Ubisoft about Red Steel 2. Coincidence? I’m not sure. How about you?
Boom!
Let’s see, what can’t Microsoft get to work right? Well, there’s the Xbox 360’s and their red ring on death. Window’s Vista is the biggest disappointment of the year [PC World]. Internet Explorer continues to suck, as does the Zune. We can officially add Xbox Live to that crap list. Seems they can’t keep it working.
Epic Fail indeed. I’m not the only one that, for a second week in a row has experience problems playing games on Xbox Live, let alone getting online at all with Live. I thought we’re paying for a service for a reason, right? I mean, it would be one thing if it was a free service and it went down a time or two, whatever. But anyone who plays games online with Xbox Live is paying for the service to work.
Here’s what Microsoft can do to fix the problem. First, they could start with fixing the problem, that is giving us the service we pay for. They could also, oh, I don’t know, give us free stuff. Maybe a few thousand MS points, an Arcade game or two, of our choosing. A free year of Xbox Live. Anything more than the official response of “We’re working night and day”, blah, blah, blah.
Here are some other reports on the issue: Engadget 1, Engadget 2, Engadget 3, Engadget 4, Engadget 5, Joystiq, Major Nelson
Let us know what you think. Have you had any problems this past weekend or the last with Xbox Live? Comment Below.
Boom!
Michael Scott said it best; Wikipedia has the best possible information. Do some beg to differ? Will there be a banning of Wikipedia at school? I can understand why. The information on the editable online encyclopedia is unverified and may times be inaccurate. Teachers are encouraging students to steer clear of Wikipedia. But it’s so easy to use. I just can’t help myself. It’s my Vice. Wikipedia turns nice girls naughty. But it has EVERYTHING!
Okay, so Denise Gonzalez-Walker, wrote on the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s education blog, “It’s a shame that the teachers and librarians quoted in the article didn’t take advantage of the situation—finding inaccurate information on Wikipedia—by having their students revise the Wikipedia site with their own research, or engage in broader discussions about how authority and truth will be staked out in new media.”
Personally, I’ve never edited anything on Wikipedia. What would I add? That’s where I get my facts. Moral of the story? Only Wikipedia knows.
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