see my journal,you must.

• 15Mar 07

  Betatesting The LotrO

  I'm A Beta Tester of the LOTRO: Shadows Of Angmar
  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  • Posted Mar 15, 2007 3:08 pm PT
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• 11Aug 05

  What is WoW?!?

  As a massively multiplayer online game, World of Warcraft enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure. At long last, the world of Azeroth, first glimpsed in Warcraft I and further enhanced in subsequent strategy games, is realized in glorious detail and ready for the arrival of millions of prospective players. So step upon the hallowed shores of this embattled world, and see what journeys await for those who would plumb this ancient realm's many secrets. A Familiar World

  World of Warcraft draws heavily upon the lore of the Warcraft universe. Long-time fans of the Warcraft games are finally able to step into the world from a player's perspective, and experience the universe firsthand. People, places, and units from the strategy games are finally brought to life in World of Warcraft.

  You can visit such places as the Burning Steppes, where Grom Hellscream fell in battle against the demon lord Mannoroth, and Ironforge, where the dwarves make their home below the mountain. Legendary heroes, such as Thrall, Cairne Bloodhoof, and King Magni Bronzebeard, are also in the game, presiding over their respective peoples as leaders in their race's capitals.

  Guards in the human city of Stormwind look just like footmen from Warcraft III, peasants in the human town of Hillsbrad look exactly like their counterparts in the strategy games, and orc peons shuffle about the farms of Go'Shek in the Arathi Highlands. Night elf players can even see gargantuan Ancient Protectors patrolling the elven lands of Teldrassil, while a towering Ancient of War waits to greet all visitors to Darnassus.

  

  • Posted Aug 11, 2005 11:47 am PT
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• 19Jul 05

  For The Light !! (WoW)

  Patch 1.6.0 Changes

  General

  • There is a new option upon the login screen. If you click the "Remember Name" checkbox on the left side of the screen, the game will automatically fill in your account name when it starts up.
  • Will of the Forsaken (Undead Racial) - duration of the lasting immunity effect decreased to 5 seconds.
  • Cannibalize (Undead Racial) - Regeneration increased to 35% of a character's total health over 10 seconds.
  • Stoneform (Dwarf Racial) can now be used to cancel self-inflicted poison effects.
  • Fist Weapons will now have the normal chance to parry that all weapons use.
  • It will no longer be possible to swap any equipment while stunned.
  • Pets will now enter passive/follow mode when their masters mount.
  • The Dazed effect caused by NPCs will now stack with all other movement slowing effects. Note that the movement slowing effects will not stack, but the debuff icons will remain to ensure the full duration of these effects persist.
  • Damage caused by environmental effects will now cancel stealth (e.g. swimming in lava).
  • Several creature spells that silenced players are now properly flagged as silence effects, which will allow talents such as Unbreakable Will to provide a higher chance to resist the effects.
  • Spells that drain mana will now properly report the amount of mana gained in the combat log.
  • Clarified the error message when no corpses are available for the Cannibalize ability.
  • Clarified the error message when trying to attack while mounted.
  • Resurrection spells should now check range properly when used on targets that have released their spirit.
  • Spell reflection effects have greatly improved visuals and functionality.
  • Knockback effects are now synchronized with any associated missile impacts.
  • Special abilities which are parried will correctly activate abilities which are usable after parrying.
  • Damage shield spells no longer damage you if you use spells that damage both you and your enemies.
  • Fixed graphical anomalies when using channeled abilities in a group with a grounding totem.
  • Fixed the duration of Frostbite on pets which are dismissed and then recalled.
  • Fixed a bug where broken off-hand fist weapons would prevent main-hand dagger abilities from being usable.
  • Health leech effects no longer give you health while you are a ghost.
  • You no longer spout profanity when talking about sitting while drunk.
  • Damage absorption now absorbs damage from mana burn effects like Lava Shield.
  • If you resurrect after being killed by goblin guards, they will no longer re-attack.
  • Fixed race condition allowing hunters to control a charmed unit and a pet at the same time.
  • You no longer stay in combat while guards are assisting you.
  • Self-resurrection spells show their name on the button in the release spirit dialog.
  • Self-resurrection spells now have a priority system when more than one can be used.
  • Blessing of Sacrifice is no longer cancelled when you enter an instance, but will not have any effect unless the caster is in the instance with you.
  • The PvP flag is no longer cleared when you take a flight, if you have /pvp toggled on.

  Druids

  • Shapeshifting will now counteract the slowing effects of frost-based spells (Frostbolt, Frost Shock, Cone of Cold, etc.).
  • Feral Charge - Targets that are immune to immobilizing effects will no longer be affected by Feral Charge's immobilizing effect. The interrupt will still affect the target.
  • Shadowmeld (Night Elf Racial) - Now reports the correct error message when attempted in shapeshift form.
  • Druid shapeshift form buttons are no longer dimmed while under the effects of Polymorph.
  • Fixed a bug in aquatic form which sometimes prevented the Druid from returning to caster form upon exiting lava.

  Hunters

  • Counterattack - Will now cause damage to targets immune to immobilizing effects.
  • Wing Clip - Will now cause damage to targets immune to immobilizing effects.
  • Explosive Trap - Fixed a bug where the trap's effects suffered inappropriate damage reduction against high level targets. In addition, damage caused by this trap should no longer kill opponents in duels.
  • Aspect of the Cheetah/Pack - Non-damaging spells and abilities will no longer cause the dazed effect. In addition, when switching between Pack and Cheetah, you should no longer receive the "A more powerful spell is already active" error message.
  • Beast Lore - Will no longer flag you for PvP or cause guard retaliation when used on an enemy faction target.

  Mages

  • Frostbolt - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by Frostbolt's movement slowing effect. Damage will still be caused.
  • Frost Nova - Will now cause damage to targets immune to immobilizing effects.
  • Blast Wave - Will now cause damage to targets immune to immobilizing effects.
  • Cone of Cold - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by Cone of Cold's movement slowing effect. Damage will still be caused.
  • Detect Magic - will no longer cause guard retaliation in Goblin towns.
  • Ignite - Can now be dispelled by any effect that dispels magic effects.
  • Frost Armor/Ice Armor - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by the Chill's movement slowing effect. Targets will still have their melee attack speed reduced.
  • Arcane Instability - Fixed a bug where rank 3 of this talent was not increasing the periodic damage of various spells by the correct amount (was increasing by 2% and should now properly increase by 3%).

  Paladins

  • Blessing of Freedom - Will now counter the movement impairing effects of Frostbolt, Cone of Cold, Frost Shock. It will no longer prevent the damage taken by Frost Nova, Hamstring, Wing Clip, Mind Flay, Counterattack, or Blast Wave or the melee and ranged attack speed slowing effects of Cripple.
  • Consecration - No longer resets weapon timer when cast.
  • Improved Seal of Justice - Tooltip updated to be more clear.
  • Seal of Command - Should now correctly report damage in the overhead display and the combat log.
  • Summon Charger - New icon.
  • Fixed a bug where the Paladin did not always die when using the Divine Intervention spell.
  • Fixed a bug where Seal of Command prevented other On Hit weapon effects from occurring.

  Priests

  • Mind Flay - Will now cause damage to targets immune to movement slowing effects.
  • Shadowform - Changed so all spells except Holy can be cast rather than only Shadow and Discipline spells. Tooltip updated. This fixes several bugs that prevented various actions (creating tradeskill items, mining, summoning a mount, using a hearthstone and many more).
  • Spirit of Redemption - Tooltip updated to be more clear.
  • Touch of Weakness - Stronger versions of this effect on enemy targets will no longer be replaced by weaker versions.

  Rogues

  • Riposte - Targets immune to disarm effects will now take damage from Riposte.
  • Disarming an enemy faction hunter's trap will now flag the rogue for PvP.
  • Ghostly Strike no longer deals damage to you when you use it.
  • Premeditation - Fixed a bug where the combo points gained using the ability were not properly removed after the duration expired. Also increased range and duration.
  • Fixed a bug where the energy gained by Relentless Strikes in some cases was increased beyond the value listed in the tooltip.
  • The UI now properly shows that Preparation does not clear a Cold Blood setup.

  Shaman

  • Frost Shock - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by Frost Shock's movement slowing effect. Damage will still be caused.
  • Reincarnation will no longer be an option on death when a Soulstone effect is active on the Shaman. The Soulstone will be used as the higher priority effect.
  • Frostbrand Weapon - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by Frostbrand Weapon's movement slowing effect. Damage will still be caused.
  • Call of Flame - Fixed a bug where the damage bonus did not always increase various totems.
  • Chain spells cast on PvP targets by an unflagged Shaman will now properly bounce to other PvP targets.
  • The tooltip for Fire Nova Totem now correctly reflects the damage the totems deal.

  Warlocks

  • Due to significant talent changes, Warlocks will have all talent points refunded and can be respent.
  • Cripple (Doomguard) - Targets that are immune to movement slowing effects will no longer be affected by Cripple's movement slowing effect. Melee and ranged attack speed slowing effects will still affect these targets.
  • Demon Skin/Demon Armor - Now increases health regeneration at all times, as was always intended. Previously, the health regeneration only occurred out of combat. Tooltips updated.
  • Demonic Sacrifice - The sacrifice effects for the Voidwalker and Felhunter have changed. The Voidwalker will now regenerate 3% of your total health every 4 seconds. The Felhunter will now regenerate 2% of your total mana every 4 seconds.
  • Demonic Sacrifice now works properly on banished summons.
  • Summon Dreadsteed - New icon.
  • Dark Pact - Fixed a bug where the combat log was reporting an incorrect value of mana gained by the caster when there wasn't enough mana to drain from the pet.
  • Phase Shift (Imp) - While phase shifted, the imp is now targetable but will remain an invalid target for all spells and attacks except self-cast spells.
  • Improved Healthstone - The increased effect from this talent should now properly apply to other players that use the Warlock's Healthstones.
  • Ritual of Summoning - Fixed a bug where players could be summoned from outside the same instance as the warlock in some cases.
  • Unholy Power - No longer requires the Fel Stamina talent. Is now a tier 4 talent and is a prerequisite for the new Master Demonologist talent.
  • Master Conjuror - Talent replaced with a new talent called Master Demonlogist.
  • New Talent (Demonology): Master Demonologist - Grants both the Warlock and the summoned demon an effect as long as that demon is active. The effect granted depends on the type of demon summoned.
  • Unholy Power - No longer requires the Fel Stamina talent. It now requires the Master Demonologist talent.
  • Ritual of Doom - Should now display the cooldown.

  Warriors

  • Due to significant talent changes, Warriors will have all talent points refunded and can be respent.
  • Hamstring - Will now cause damage to targets immune to movement slowing effects. Movement slowing effect improved.
  • Improved Hamstring - Design changed. No longer improves the movement slowing effect. It is now a 3 point talent that gives a 5/10/15% chance to immobilize the target for 5 seconds.
  • Booming Voice - In addition to increasing duration, this talent will now increase the area of effect of Battle Shout and Demoralizing Shout by 10/20/30/40/50%.
  • Battle Shout - Tooltip updated to display area of effect (in yards).
  • Demoralizing Shout - Tooltip updated to display area of effect (in yards).
  • Improved Berserker Rage - No longer increases the duration of the effect. The talent will now generate 5/10 rage when Berserker Rage is used.
  • Improved Demoralizing Shout - Effectiveness increase from talent increased to 8/16/24/32/40%.
  • Piercing Howl - No longer has a prerequisite (Improved Demoralizing Shout).
  • Deathwish - Is now usable while under a Fear effect, which will also remove the Fear effect.
  • Bloodthirst - Design changed. Bloodthirst is now an instant melee attack that causes damage equal to 30% of the warrior's attack power. In addition, the next 5 successful melee attacks will restore health.
  • Concussion Blow - No longer requires purchase of the Improved Revenge talent.
  • Shield Discipline - Removed and replaced by the new talent Shield Slam.
  • New Talent: Shield Slam - Slam the target with your shield, causing damage and has a 50% chance to dispel 1 magic effect on the target. Also causes a moderate amount of threat. Requires the purchase of the Concussion Blow talent.
  • Heroic Strike/Sunder Armor/Revenge/Mocking Blow - Tooltips updated to indicate the additional threat caused by these abilities. There have been no changes to the amount of threat caused.

  Professions

  • Thorium Brotherhood now offers several new recipes. Additionally, several of the old recipes now have different faction requirements.
  • Additional Smithing/Leatherworking/Tailoring/Enchanting Recipes added to Timbermaw at Honored Reputation
  • Additional Smithing/Leatherworking/Tailoring/Enchanting Recipes added to Argent Dawn at Honored and Revered Reputation. Also new First Aid recipe added to Argent Dawn at Honored.
  • Lokhtos Darkbargainer in Blackrock Depths now has many additional recipes that can be learned at Honored, Revered and Exalted reputation. Recipes are available for Enchanting, Tailoring, Leatherworking (all three specialty types), Blacksmithing (Armorsmithing, and Weaponsmithing (all three specialty types).

  World Environment

  • Flight Paths
    • Added a Wind Rider Master to Camp Taurajo in The Barrens.
    • New Horde Flight Paths --
      • Camp Taurajo in The Barrens <-> Crossroads in The Barrens
      • Camp Taurajo in The Barrens <-> Thunder Bluff in Mulgore
      • Camp Taurajo in The Barrens <-> Freewind Post in Thousand Needles
    • Fixed several problems with the flight path from Undercity to Hammerfall while passing through the Ruins of Andorhal.
    • Fixed some problems with the Ironforge to Stormwind flight path.
    • The Darkshire <-> Booty Bay flight paths no longer fly over the Gurubashi Arena in Stranglethorn Vale, and therefore no longer flag fliers as being in Free-for-All PvP. Also, they should no longer fly through the zeppelins coming in and out of the Grom'gol Base Camp.
  • Graveyards
    • Feralas, Durotar, Mulgore, Darnassus, Tirisfal Glades (excluding the Bulwark graveyard), Elwynn Forest & the Eastern Plaguelands have now all been converted over to the new graveyard system. The system will place your character's spirit at the closest allowed graveyard in the zone. For example, an Alliance character dying closer to the new Darnassus graveyard, detailed below, will use that graveyard rather than the one located at Dolanaar. Starting area graveyards are still reserved exclusively for characters of similar faction that die within their confines. For example, the spirit of a Horde character dying right outside of Deathknell will not use Deathknell graveyard, but will instead go to the next closest Tirisfal Glades graveyard.
    • A Horde-only graveyard has been added in the northern section of Durotar, just to the south of Orgrimmar. In addition to serving northern Durotar, Horde characters dying in Orgrimmar, The Hall of Legends and Ragefire Chasm will use this new graveyard. Alliance characters dying in Durotar will continue to only use the Razor Hill graveyard.
    • A Horde-only graveyard has been placed at the northern base of Thunder Bluff in Mulgore. Horde characters dying in Thunder Bluff will also use this new graveyard. Alliance characters dying in Mulgore will continue to only use the graveyard at Bloodhoof Village.
    • An Alliance-only graveyard has been added at the eastern end of Darnassus. Alliance characters dying in Darnassus will use this new graveyard. Horde characters dying on Teldrassil will still only be able to use the graveyard at Dolanaar.
    • An Alliance-only graveyard has been added just outside of Ironforge, around the side of the mountain. It is only for use by Alliance characters that die inside Ironforge and in the Gates of Ironforge sub-area of Dun Morogh. Horde characters dying therein will continue to only use the Kharanos graveyard.
    • The Ruins of Lordaeron above Undercity now has a Horde-only graveyard. Horde characters dying inside the Undercity will use this new graveyard. Alliance characters will continue to solely use the Faol's Rest graveyard.
    • A neutral graveyard has been added at the Eastvale Logging Camp in Elwynn Forest. The graveyard at Goldshire is now for use by the Alliance exclusively. Horde characters dying in Elwynn Forest and its sub-areas, as well as in Stormwind, The Stockade and the Deeprun Tram, will have their spirits travel to the new graveyard at the Eastvale Logging Camp.
    • A neutral graveyard has been added on the island of Caer Darrow in Western Plaguelands. It will serve characters who die on Caer Darrow and in Scholomance.
    • A neutral graveyard has been added in the Eastern Plaguelands near the northwestern shore of Blackwood Lake. Characters that die in The Fungal Vale will continue to use the Darrowshire graveyard due to the mountains between it and the new graveyard. Additionally, characters dying in Stratholme will now use the new Blackwood Lake graveyard.
    • A neutral graveyard has been added in Feralas, just to the southwest of Dire Maul. Characters dying in Dire Maul will use this new graveyard.
  • Darkmoon Cards have been seen dropping from high level Humanoids around the world. Collect a set of them and bring them to the Darkmoon Faire when it is in town!
  • The "Human, Theramore" faction is now the "Theramore" faction. This faction is allied with the Alliance and is at war with the Horde.
  • High Elves now have their own distinct faction -- "Silvermoon Remnant". This faction is allied with the Alliance and is at war with the Horde. Not all High Elves are a part of this faction.
  • Several NPCs around the world are now associated with the proper faction.
  • Dimetradons in Un'Goro Crater should be found more regularly now.
  • Fire Elementals in Searing Gorge should be easier to find.
  • The pair of gryphons guarding the entrance to the Hinterlands have finally decided to stop staring at one another and will now wander around the entrance to the pass.
  • Rashona Straglash was moved to be with other cloth-centric citizens in Orgrimmar.
  • Several NPCs that were not marked as Civilians are now correctly labeled.
  • Dark Strand Cultist and Enforcers are now correctly labeled Humanoid.
  • Morbent Fel's level was slightly reduced to better fit the level range of Duskwood.
  • Brinna Valanaar in Azshara now sells higher level arrows.
  • Hadoken Swiftstrider of Camp Mojache, Feralas and Dinita Stonemantle in Ironforge received promotions; they are now significantly tougher than before.
  • Certain floating herbs, minerals, and chests should now be more down to earth.
  • The Barrens should now feel more alive.
  • Sickly Gazelles now have a sickly look to them.
  • Jarven Thunderbrew in Kharanos warns players in Common now, and not in Dwarvish.
  • The Wastewander Scufflaw of Tanaris now spells his own name correctly.

  You guys can find me in Shadowsong server.

  • Posted Jul 19, 2005 10:35 am PT
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• 27Jun 05

  Which One Is The Best? (Online)

  Guild Wars

  

  Star Wars Galaxies

  

  World of Warcraft

  

  • Posted Jun 27, 2005 10:23 am PT
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• 17Jun 05

  Shocking Truth About Pope

  

  Nothing Wrong With Your Screen Or Your Eyes

  What Do You Think About This? Join The Dark Side!!

  • Posted Jun 17, 2005 4:11 pm PT
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• 15Jun 05

  Star Wars Battlefront II -Preview

  Star Wars Battlefront II takes one Imperial-walker step forward with all-new space combat, playable Jedi, and never-before-seen environments straight out of the Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith film. Enjoy an all-new single-player experience that takes players through an epic, story-based saga where every action the player takes impacts the battlefront and, ultimately, the fate of the Star Wars galaxy.

  

  Genre: FPS
  Publisher: LucasArts
  Developer: Pandemic Studios
  Release Date: Q4 2005

  One of the things that surprised me was Star Wars: Battlefront was the best-selling Star Wars game of all time. Given that it's almost a mod of Battlefield 1942, I guess that's not too surprising. Set for release in Q4 this year, Battlefront 2 looks to do all the things a sequel should do: keep what made the original game great and add the requisite new things.

  The big addition is space combat. Perhaps now, finally, we can relive what I feel is one of the high-water marks of the Star Wars franchise: X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter. The space maps are significantly larger than the ground and interior maps to allow for the extra room required to fly around; it was nice to see the capital ships almost dwarfed by the map and it's possible to land in a hanger and seamlessly transition to the land fighting. The space fighting is very arcade-y, so people who are scared of flight sims should be ok here.

  Also added is the iconic first battle in Star Wars: A New Hope where the Empire invades Princess Leia's ship the Tantive IV. It's also possible to play as Darth Vader on this map. The new Jedi system works in separate ways for single and multiplayer. For the single player game, you'll be rewarded for accomplishing goals by being able to play Jedi. On multiplayer games, the host of the maps will determine how a player can play a Jedi. There will be one per side, and it can be either turn-based (where players can just take turns playing them); who gets the first 10 kills; or even who was the worst player on the previous game — how's that for a stigma; you are so bad that you have to play a highly-powered Jedi to compete with the regular players.

  I was happy to see there's a much improved single-player campaign this go around. The campaign tells the story of the "Fighting 501st" — a squadron introduced in a Timothy Zahn novel and became popularized by a fan-based costume group (if you've ever gone to an event with costumed stormtroopers, the odds are pretty good they're from the 501st). The campaign tells the story of how they became Vader's Fist.

  Battlefront will be released on PS2, Xbox, PC and PSP (the PSP version will be very much tailored to the mobile platform, so don't expect the full functionality).

  

  

  Star Wars Battlefront II improves upon the blockbuster multiplayer original with new space combat, playable Jedi, and never-before-seen environments straight out of final Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith film. The game features an all-new single-player experience that takes players through an epic, story-based saga where every action the player takes impacts the battlefront and, ultimately, the fate of the Star Wars galaxy. The sequel features improved flight control, complex space combat that allows players to board enemy capital ships and battle to take over flying command posts or sabotage the ship to be used against the other faction, increased total online player numbers, and memorable multiplayer encounters in 12 new locations.

  AVAILABILITY: FALL 2005
  GENRE: ACTION/SHOOTER
  PLATFORM: PLAYSTATION 2, XBOX, WINDOWS
  ESRB: RATING PENDING

  
  • Revamped single-player experience includes smarter AI enemies and allies, plus a greater emphasis on story told through open-ended mission-based objectives.

  • New space battles allow you to dogfight in X-wings, TIE fighters, Jedi starfighters and several other starcraft, or fight it out on foot aboard an enemy capital ship.

  • Special opportunities throughout the game for players to wield a lightsaber and use their favorite Force powers as a Jedi.

  • More than 16 new battlefronts on land and in space, including many from Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith such as Utapau, Mustafar and the space battle above Coruscant.

  • All-new classic trilogy locations including the Death Star interior, classic space battles and the fight aboard the Tantive IV, Princess Leia’s blockade runner seen at the beginning of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

  • Online multiplayer action for up to 24 players on PS2, up to 32 on Xbox or up to 64 on Windows (plus AI units).

  • Created by critically acclaimed developer Pandemic Studios (Star Wars Battlefront, Mercenaries).

  • Releasing Fall 2005.

  

  • Posted Jun 15, 2005 2:19 pm PT
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• 12Jun 05

  Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (review)

  I was not writing new reviews for a long time then I make my desicion to write again.

  In the Star Wars: Episode III video game, players will control all the Jedi abilities of both Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, including devastating Force powers and advanced lightsaber techniques involving robust combo attacks and defensive maneuvers. As Anakin, players will unleash the power of the dark side in ruthless lightsaber and Force attacks. As Obi-Wan, players will struggle to save the galaxy from darkness by focusing the power of the light side into swift and precise lightsaber attacks and using the Force to control enemy actions. Expanding on the Revenge of the Sith movie, the game will take place in never-before-seen locations from the film.

  A special advance behind-the-scenes preview of the Star Wars: Episode III video game is available on the Star Wars Trilogy DVD.

  Availability: In Stores Now!
  Genre: Action
  Platform: Xbox, PlayStation 2
  ESRB: Teen - Violence
  
  Fans and gamers can experience the stunning Jedi action of the upcoming movie Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith on May 5, 2005 when LucasArts releases the companion video game in advance of the movie’s opening on May 19th. The Star Wars: Episode III video game features third-person character action gameplay built to deliver the ultimate Jedi action experience as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi join forces in fierce battles and heroic lightsaber duels, until one’s lust for power and the other’s devotion to duty lead to a final confrontation between good and evil.

  The Powers of a Jedi
  Play as Anakin Skywalker or Obi-Wan Kenobi. Experience epic duels from the film that test your lightsaber skills and Force powers. Enhance your Jedi with new combo moves and upgradeable attacks.
  
  Exclusive Movie Content
  Gripping sound effects from the film created by Skywalker Sound and an authentic Star Wars soundtrack intensifies the action.
  
  Go Beyond the Film
  Battle through 16 interactive levels including never-before-seen locations inspired by the film. Clash with Darth Vader and other enemies in multiplayer duels. Unlock other characters, locations and bonuses.

  So I guess the Dark Side wins then.

  "A practical guide to surviving Jedi, Clone Troopers, Sith Lords and other wickedly dangerous bastards while trekking across a galaxy far, far away." By someone who wishes he'd stayed in bed this morning.

  Chapter One
  If it's living you love, avoid your own destruction by listening to these simple bits of wisdom.

  1) When dealing with rampaging Jedi (especially after you've recently been stupidly coerced into slaughtering a few of their closest friends), stand behind tables! The longer the better.

  These ancient artifacts and their accompanying chairs of mystical power act as impassable barriers. Even savvy Jedi will be hard-pressed to navigate around their invisible and quite impenetrable force fields, so keep one between you and them at all times.

  If a table is unavailable for whatever reason, make for the nearest computer console or similarly boxy obstruction. It's all the same.

  2) The universe is filled with an inordinate amount of ray shields. Every building, starship and state park is littered with a variety of inexplicably placed ray shields. So put your "Boy, I sure do love me some ray shields" face on and make the best of it.

  Most of these annoyances can be overcome rather simply by severing a few giant power cords in adjacent rooms, but some require an arbitrary amount of people to be killed before they dissipate. It's a sort of universal law, apparently.

  3) Ray shields hate you, but love everyone else. Of particular frustration to most galactic adventurers is the way in which the average ray shield seems perfectly capable of preventing you from passing through it, but perfectly incapable of stopping a droid from standing half in its tingling wall and continually firing at you through its revolutionary one-way energy field.

  The best way of dealing with such situations is to stand around screaming and violently waving your arms in the air until someone nice takes care of the problem for you.

  

  4) Most the time your galactic trip will be depicted from the vantage point of a certifiable idiot. That is, you will clearly be the focus of attention and yet the actual action will always be just out of focus. It'll hover there on the periphery, poised to leap into the fray just as soon as it becomes impossible for you to defend against it.

  To better illustrate this point, imagine the universe you know as being a sphere roughly 10 meters in diameter. Beyond this sphere is the absolute black of nothingness, and yet laser beams and blasts still come flying through uninvited. Surprise!

  5) When fighting, don't ever alternate your swings or chain more than four hits together, ever. This rule is similar to the Triangle, Triangle, Triangle or Y, Y, Y rule. It basically states that if you come into possession of a lightsaber (which you instantly will), don't bother alternating attack patterns, just do the same mind-bleeding thing over and over until the sweet release of death sets in. Only, be sure not to accidentally extend the Triangle, Triangle, Triangle "combo" by even one Triangle, for that will leave you vulnerable to counterattack.

  6) Contrary to popular belief, Jedi Knights are not warriors, they're dancers in training who are quick to demonstrate their flamboyant talent by performing complex choreographed feats with one another.

  The great galactic book of examples and tips to better understand and survive the universe of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith unfortunately continues for some eight million illegible pages, but those quick points illustrate a few simple facts about the game. Namely, it sucks a whole lot.

  On the surface, Episode III is like any other half-hearted hack 'n slash title, be it Two Towers, Demon Stone, King Arthur or Return of the King. Beneath that overtly simplistic chopping idea and the thickly smeared Star Wars lore it attempts so desperately to build off, the game is fundamentally broken.

  While expending so much time on delivering the basic visual concepts behind lightsaber combat, I guess no one remembered to work out how "the ultimate Jedi action experience" should feel. The result is a series of carefully animated and motion captured maneuvers that look great individually, but play together with slightly more finesse than the average hobbit being violently kicked out of a jet fighter by a shrieking yeti.

  Even if the animation transitions, collision detection and buoyant physics were obliterated and built from scratch with a billion dollars funding, the basic idea behind fighting would still be worth exactly four cents. One for the sabers. Two for The Force. Three for Darth Vader. And four for the imminent downfall of young Anakin and his sadistically bad delivery.

  In a nutshell, if you want to block or dodge or do anything even remotely resembling important, the character you're in control of had better not already be doing something else. There is no way to quickly and easily cancel out of anything.

  Tell us, what happens when developers completely give up the ability to rapidly switch from an attack to a block in a game that focuses on drawn-out dance maneuvers? Anakin and Obi-Wan prettily fiddle with their sabers like no finely tuned teenage band twirler ever could. That's what happens. The problem is that they don't stop fiddling!

  Helplessly watching your hero segue into a four second routine because you inadvertently pressed a button one time too many is incredibly frustrating. Crying as the computer or another player instantly capitalizes off that insanity to launch you into a twelve hit juggle from which there is no escape is incredibly saddening.

  I want to scream. Little Ani, I want to scream at you. Stop with the lightsaber as art bull and make with the chopping and blocking when I bloody tell you to.

  

  True, there are plenty of attack combinations offered and the game even provides a handy and completely unnecessary upgrade system, but since Episode III penalizes players who do combos by literally hitting them in the face, what does it matter?

  Occasionally -- in one of the game's more intense duel scenes -- the odd flow of battle will work out nicely and suddenly the many random parries, dodges, force pushes and clashes will result in a slick series of action. But those few moments of stylized combat do not ever make up for the unresponsive mess that leads up to them. Nor do they justify the asinine series of death boxes that supposedly pass for levels.

  Each of the game's film inspired environments basically amount to a few linear corridors that connect one completely uninteresting room to another totally uninteresting room. Within each of these, enemies valiantly leap into inaction! They show up in waves. Some waves never end, but finite or not, they all come in a staggered succession. The play: Kill a couple guys, stand around like a tool, kill a couple more guys, proceed to patiently wait for the next wave of jerks to jump the rail and start dying.

  Of course, the game's artificial intelligence boasts as much smarts as a dead man with a cinderblock sticking out of his forehead. It's not that villains in beat 'em ups need to be as schooled as rocket scientists or guppies. It's that they should actually do stuff...any kind of stuff. Even though there are four to eight characters on-screen at any time, most of them just kind of sit around staring blankly at one another.

  In one scene aboard General Grievous' flagship, a super battle droid stands toe-to-toe with the supreme chancellor and just happily shoots him in the face. Get it? The droid is standing two feet away from the same Palpatine Obi-Wan and Ani have been sent to rescue and he's blasting him in the nose a hundred million times over. While players controlling Anakin are busy fighting other miscellaneous droids, there in the middle of it all is Obi-wan, just sitting there approving of his political leader's present situation. Obi didn't even move! Of course, if he had taken it upon himself to not be comatose, he'd probably just twitch and sing the theme song to Bananas in Pajamas, so what does it matter anyway?

  So yeah then!

  The only reason to play through the campaign is probably to spoil the movie. And yet it doesn't even do that particularly well. The game intentionally omits a great deal of the fiction's critical scenes -- as they were told by the official book I've read, at least -- and instead fills space with a bunch of flashy action sequences. Fine. Great. Terrific. But why must we also be subjected to the repetitious in-game whining of Anakin and the dry jabs of his stoic master? Balance that force, fellas.

  Go right ahead and not play the singleplayer campaign. Not participating in the occasional turret shooting scene between stumbling into invisible bounding boxes and area restrictions isn't really a big deal. You're not missing much. The only thing a player might actually regret not seeing is the alternate Anakin wins ending, which is amusing for roughly six seconds.

  Aside from it being Star Wars, the Episode III videogame features precisely one redeeming quality: it has a multiplayer component. The competitive multiplayer mode can be passably enjoyable in a mind numbing sort of "I huff keyboard cleaner to blow away millions of brain cells at a time" way provided the two combatants involved refrain from corner cheating each other to death. Unfortunately, swinging a lightsaber feels about as empowering as using a foam bat to beat a steel girder. Once you come to the conclusion that the latter activity would be more enjoyable, it won't be long before you realize haphazardly force-tossing exploding crates around isn't the best use of precious life, even considering we have about a 100 years of it to burn.

  Cheer up, at least there's a poorly developed cooperative mode that lets players explode waves of lame enemies in succession while trapped in a variety of completely uninteresting ray shielded rooms! That's got to count for something slightly more than nothing, right...? Right?

  Where'd all the tumbleweed come from?

  

  Closing Comments
  Revenge of the Sith is the path to the dark side. It leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

  Even crazy fans that play as Jedi can't possibly let the uncountable assortment of Episode III's shortcomings slide.

  Whether it comes on the Xbox or PlayStation, just avoid the game and try something that looks better, plays better and sounds better.

  And so we have been ultimately led to the good side of The Force, sayeth the world.But you Join The Dark Side.

  

  • Posted Jun 12, 2005 5:02 pm PT
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• 8Jun 05

  Wedding or gaming?!?

  

  A new PC,like in that pic.Or that girl in pic? If she asks you to marry with her,what you gonna do? Marry? Or wanna buy a new PC? I gotta choose...actually I have choosen both.I'll buy that PC after a monht and will marry with her (if notthing goes wrong) in winter.

  • Posted Jun 8, 2005 3:23 pm PT
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• 6Jun 05

  Still StarWars!!

  

  George Lucas says there will be no more StarWars movies but only TV shows..

  But FOX ent. has not give any comments yet.

  • Posted Jun 6, 2005 12:47 pm PT
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• 29May 05

  The Legend! Why?!?

  

  

  We Mortals Are Feel Lost Cause A Legend Has Over!! Why?!?

  • Posted May 29, 2005 5:00 pm PT
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• 24May 05

  Do You Believe In Jedi !?!

  

  -Just Give In And Feel The Dark Side

  -Noo!! Never!

  -Then Die!

  • Posted May 24, 2005 3:00 pm PT
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• 5May 05

  Just Give In And Feel The Dark Side!

  Darkness is much stronger.Join Us.And Hold The Line!

  

  • Posted May 5, 2005 12:27 am PT
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• 4May 05

  Guild Wars

  Guild Wars is a Competitive Online Role Playing Game with an emphasis on rewarding player skill. In large head-to-head guild battles, cooperative group combat, and single player missions, players will explore a fantasy world while pursuing professions and acquiring skills to develop their own personalized character. Unique items, special abilities, and a wide variety of skills add meaningful value for the player and for their comrades.
  

  Genre : MMORPG
  Developer : ArenaNet
  Publisher : NCSoft
  Release Date : November, 2004

  Guild Wars, developed by ArenaNet, is a radical departure from your current MMOG offerings. First and foremost, there’s no subscription fee, so Junior doesn’t have to keep bugging Mommy and Daddy for their credit card to play; instead, the company is planning on delivering an expansion every six months in the hopes that players will keep the development process going by purchasing the expansions.

  The other way it differentiates itself from current games is by having competitive PvP, similar to Dark Age of Camelot, but their focus is on making player skill, not player level, the deciding factor in resolving combat. In Camelot, a level 50 player can easily wipe a level 30, but in Guild Wars they want the level 30 to stand a chance.

  The way they’ve done this is by making the game system akin to Magic the Gathering. You’ll adventure through the lands collecting spells and spell gems; once you level, these can be used to get extra abilities. Before you enter a combat area, you decide what spells you want in your hot-bars and load them. That’s where the similarity to MtG lies, in creating a balanced deck that gives you the most options. A higher level character might have more options, but they can only go into combat with the same number of spells loaded as you can.

  To paraphrase Henry Ford, you can play any race you want, as long as it is human. The story is that humans have been enslaved and are doing battle with the slavers and the monsters surrounding them. Since the game has a PvP component as well, it’s a safe bet that humankind hasn’t changed much and still likes to fight other humans.

  The graphics, from the player and monster models, to the vast terrain and particle effects, is impressive. They are so impressive that ArenaNet has been accused of Photoshoping their screenshots. I can confirm from what we saw at E3 that’s not the case – these are the real deal, and are as impressive as their competition’s.

  One of their goals is to reduce what they term to be the “boring stuff” in the current MMOG offerings: grinding to get levels, long transportation times and camping. They are attempting to reduce the treadmill by making the combat strategically challenging and interesting – easier said than done – and travel times are eliminated by giving you the ability to teleport yourself to the beginning of any quest you’ve unlocked. I’m a little leery of this myself – part of the immersion is the sense of scale traveling across the world brings.

  They are designing the game for both solo and team play, with mission areas for each type of player. I’m pleased to see solo content going into what could be taken as group only game. A lot of people just want to play for an hour or so before they need to run, and having content people can solo is great. You’ll be grouping during the bulk of the game though, which is fine as the point to these games is the social aspect.

  The underlying technology is interesting as well. Firstly, you don't have to worry about what server all your friends are on, as all of the servers work together to create a single, virtual world. The content is also streamed – the initial install is quite small and the additional content is then streamed down when you access it. While you might get a hit when you first download it, but it’s then cached for the next time you need it.

  While the E3 demo was short, what I saw impressed me. Guild Wars looks like it will do an excellent job at catering to the fans of BlizzardNet, where you could play Diablo 2 for free. The lack of a subscription fee is a huge bonus, as people who already play MMOGs may be more willing to try it. This is a game to watch, and I look forward trying it out when it gets released later this year.

  • Posted May 4, 2005 8:37 pm PT
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• 2May 05

  F. e. a. r.

  You thought Doom was supposed to be scary? You haven't seen anything yet, this game is scary!

  Publisher: Vivendi Universal
  Developer: Monolith Productions
  Genre: Shooter > First Person
  21 Screenshots

  Game Description:
  The story begins as an unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound. The government responds by sending in Special Forces, but loses contact as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been literally torn apart. As part of a classified strike team created to deal with threats no one else can handle, your mission is simple: Eliminate the intruders at any cost. Determine the origin of the signal. And contain this crisis before it spirals out of control.

  What's Hot:
  This June, Vivendi Universal and developer Monolith are going to scare the hell out of us with F.E.A.R., an action-packed and spooky first person shooter that's going to plunge us into a darkness the likes of which we've never before experienced. When an aerospace compound is taken hostage by a mysterious paramilitary unit, the government sends in a special forces squad to defuse the situation, but when the signal's lost you're sent in to investigate, and what you'll find will eclipse your worst nightmares. F.E.A.R. features a plethora of weapons, realistic damage modeling that allows you to rip through glass and tear chunks from walls, and a multiplayer feature that actually lets you slow down time to get a leg up on your enemies. Ready your trigger fingers and take a deep breath. Otherwise, F.E.A.R. will consume you.

  
  In-Depth Preview:

  I have to hand it to PC developers. The platform has been enjoying a sweet renaissance as of late. In fact, it's not that devs are just cranking out good games. They're really hitting them out of the park, with Doom 3, Half Life 2, and what looks like a mega hit, the upcoming first person shooter F.E.A.R. (First Encounter Assault Recon). Developed by Monolith Productions Inc. (makers of Aliens Vs Predator 2 and No One Lives Forever 2), F.E.A.R. looks like another high quality trek in the darkest depths of evil, and personally, I can't wait to make the trip.

  Details concerning the game's single-player component are scarce, but from what I've gathered it's a cross between Aliens, Event Horizon, The Matrix, and The Ring. After a strange paramilitary force invades a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound and holds its inhabitants hostage, the government sends in a special-forces team to defuse the situation. In typical sci-fi movie fashion (and this is where the Aliens/ Event Horizon influence comes in), they lose contact with them, their only clue being a chilling sound that emanates through the speakers. When the video comes back a chilling image has been painted across the screens. Everyone's been slaughtered and lying broken in pools of blood, and there's no clue as to who...or what's... done the damage. Undeterred, the government sends in another team to clean up the mess and take down whoever's running amok over there, and this is where you come in. Armed to the teeth with all sorts of weapons including a shotgun, assault rifle, dual pistols, submachine guns, a nail gun, a plasma rifle, a battle cannon that fires highly explosive shells, and a rocket launcher that blasts not one, not two, but three rockets that perform a beautiful pirouette through the air before detonation, you must stop and take down the ones responsible for the murders...that is...if they're human.

  That's about all we know, and believe me when I say I'm extremely frustrated because I desire info! All there is are various screen shots that are strewn about the web, some of which show our hero battling wave after wave of what appear to be humans in military gear, but then there are those "other" shots of the girl, the terrifying pasty-faced female that looks like a cross between the character in films The Ring (Ringu) and The Grudge (Ju-on). She's really the key that's going to unlock the game's secrets because it's her inclusion that makes it unlike anything we've really seen before. There's apparently some supernatural element to F.E.A.R. that hasn't been disclosed, and just the thought of what horrors lie within Monolith's ambitious FPS is enough to make the hairs on my arms stand up. I want to be scared so badly I can taste it.

  Since that's about it for the single-player campaign, it's best that we now look at what we do know about F.E.A.R. We know that enemies will feature advanced AI that'll allow them to use actual flanking maneuvers to pin you down, and supposedly there will be "creatures" that'll walk along walls, so there will be a definite threat from above. The game also features vehicles, but whether you'll be able to ride in them is unknown, though there is a spectacular sequence where you're riding in what appears to be an APC and the thing 360s, producing a neat effect, and supposedly you'll be involved in a real-time helicopter crash as well as death-defying car chases.

  Judging by the screens as well as the movies floating around the web, F.E.A.R.'s going to be #$%#^%# intense! Visually striking, the game features super realistic textures that are damn near photo realistic and the environments are a nice mix of sci-fi locales, so you'll traverse sterile-looking hallways, more normal-looking and homely offices, and get to go outside. Everything looks gorgeous, even when you tear it all to pieces. All of the glass can be shattered, you can actually tear chunks from the walls and floor as well as kick up dust, and sparks rain down from damaged electrical equipment.

  In addition to the game's luscious visuals, I'm also excited about its Havok 2 physics system. Everything reacts as it would in real life, and the guns do some cool effects, but rifles and machine guns aren't the only deadly tools you'll have at your disposal. F.E.A.R. allows you to perform melee attacks and not just whacks with your gun. Not only can you do hand to hand but also jump and kick moves as well.

  Like most great first person shooters F.E.A.R. has a robust multiplayer mode chock full of maps. Most of what's going to be offered is standard stuff we've come to know and love (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch), but there's a neat item that, when activated, will slow down the game. All of the players will be affected by this but the one or team that got to the item first will be able to move a bit faster than their opponents.

  The slow-mo item isn't available in standard Deathmatch. Rather, it's just included in other multiplayer modes. Whether it'll be adopted by the PC community is yet to be determined, but it's at the very least a different take on the stale online Deathmatch modes we've been mindlessly playing for over a decade.

  F.E.A.R. is definitely at the top of my must-buy list. Its awesome physics, gorgeous visuals, and cool weapons are enough to get me salivating, but it's the unknown pieces to its story that really have me interested, the paranormal element that'll be the deciding factor as to whether the game is just another FPS or a stand out title in a league all its own. Releasing this June, F.E.A.R. for the PC should take us all to a new dimension of survival horror.

  • Posted May 2, 2005 8:46 pm PT
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• 1May 05

  buy it! f.e.a.r.

  Game Description
  The story begins as an unidentified paramilitary force infiltrates a multi-billion dollar aerospace compound. The government responds by sending in Special Forces, but loses contact as an eerie signal interrupts radio communications. When the interference subsides moments later, the team has been literally torn apart. As part of a classified strike team created to deal with threats no one else can handle, your mission is simple: Eliminate the intruders at any cost. Determine the origin of the signal. And contain this crisis before it spirals out of control.

  Feel the need to scare yourself silly? Vivendi Universal's upcoming survival horror game is all about doing that, and we get some extensive hands-on impressions right here!

  About 60% of the new games at this year's GDC were brought by Vivendi Universal, and leading the charge, the sparkling diamond among the zirconias was Monolith's F.E.A.R., a spooky first person shooter that promises to plunge us into a bloody intense survival horror experience. After playing the single player campaign for thirty minutes and actually enjoying getting torn to shreds, I have a good feeling that this promise will be kept.

  Going in I was expecting Monolith to be showcasing F.E.A.R.'s multiplayer component because the game's developers aren't talking about the single player adventure, so you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that Vivendi was seriously pimping the first level, and oh man...what a $#^#%^# awesome shooter. I'm a little disappointed that Monolith decided to scrap the sci-fi element (the game was originally to take place on another planet) and go with a more domestic setting, but the creepiness factor as well as the mind-blowing graphics and physics engine makes that small gripe a non-issue.

  In case you've never heard of this game, F.E.A.R. is a horror-themed first person shooter where you play as a member of an elite squad of soldiers, a clean-up crew of sorts that's called upon to defuse situations no one wants to deal with. In this extremely special case, a group of soldiers at this complex have gone crazy and all contact with them has been lost, so you're sent in to investigate, and what a ##$%@&# mess this job is. Almost as soon as you're dropped from a chopper your fellow squad mates are mysteriously vaporized, and once you get inside the site, you're attacked by these well-armed and trained commandos, and to make matters worse there's this creepy little girl walking about that appears to be deader than the Atari Jaguar, but you don't know any of this going in.
  

  Personally, based on what I played, there's nothing about F.E.A.R.'s gameplay structure that screams innovative. What I experienced is the typical press button to open door stuff, but this game has three extremely well-polished strengths: its gunplay, its artificial intelligence, and its visuals (particularly its character models). Combat wise, F.E.A.R. is one of the most intense shooters that I have ever played. Monolith really nailed the gunplay, and the audio is superb. Hearing nails (there's a nail gun and it rocks) puncture flesh and bullets pelt bodies instantly put me on this awesome adrenaline high, especially when I was interacting with the environment. Like many PC first person shooters, F.E.A.R. has this amazing physics system where you can shoot out windows and shred boxes, and there's this slick effect where bullets kick up dust that hangs in the air and obscures your vision.

  Because of time constraints I didn't finish the single player demo (though I still saw it all the way through), but not because I wasn't trying. Both myself and freelancer Rich Brown kept getting slaughtered by the AI, which is without a doubt among the most intelligent that I've ever experienced. The enemy soldiers behave in unpredictable ways, and aside from the first guy five minutes into the game that always has his back to you, the others evaluate each and every situation. Sometimes they'll rush you, other times they'll sneak up from behind. Then they'll perform evasive maneuvers, electing to vault over oil drums or dive through windows. The reason why I had trouble dealing with these possessed bozos was clear to me. I was doing the same thing I always do in first person shooters, hide behind something, pop out, and take a few shots, then retreat. Problem is, doing that in F.E.A.R. will get you killed real quick, because after a few seconds of playing hide and seek the NPCs get pissed and come after you.The last category in which F.E.A.R. excels is its visuals, though I must admit that the game's artistic style is a mixed bag. On one hand the character models are amazingly life-like, featuring textures that'll melt your computer monitor, and the blood in this game (believe me, there's no shortage of it) is the best I have ever seen in a game. When you take a good look at dead bodies you can actually see splatter effects, like someone's taken a paintbrush soaked in red and liberally swung it across bullet-riddled carcasses.
  
  Unfortunately, the intro movie didn't move me. All you see is this crazy dude sitting in a jail cell, his door opens, the freaky girl comes in, he snaps, and then he goes on a killing spree, ending with what appears to be a scene of him snacking on a deceased soldier. Now while that short description may sound exciting, in practice it's pretty uneventful. Seeing it didn't make me feel like I had to run out and tell others about it.

  Lastly, I'm also a little concerned about the story to this game. Now I haven't played it through so I can't really form a solid opinion on the narrative (the demo ended with me diving through a window just as the girl started walking down the hallway I was in), but based on other articles that I've read the first thing journalists mention is how the girl looks like the one found in the film, The Ring or The Grudge, and I'm not sure whether this is a good thing.

  I hope there's something unique about her that helps to separate the game from these movies. Otherwise, casual players, heck, even core ones will take one look at F.E.A.R. and assume before playing it that it's just like one of those Hollywood films. The issue is whether people who make stupid assumptions and hated The Grudge will give F.E.A.R. a chance.Don't take my criticisms of F.E.A.R. too seriously. Bottom line, if you love shooters, intelligent AI, and special effects this is probably among the top three first person PC games you need to buy this year. I'm seriously chomping at the bit to get my hands on it again. In fact, I'd actually consider upgrading my graphics card/computer just to experience it, so keep both eyes on F.E.A.R. and pick it up when it releases this June. If Monolith's survival horror themed shooter's a hit, it may usher in a new wave of creepy PC games. Stay tuned for a full review.

  • Posted May 1, 2005 1:53 pm PT
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• 1May 05

  Dungeon Lords

  The first question that popped into my mind when I loaded up the press beta of Dungeon Lords was, “This was the game that was originally scheduled for release last holiday season?” Unless the team at Heuristic Park, the developer responsible for Dungeon Lords and also 2000's Wizards & Warriors, has got some incredible trick up their sleeve, or I was given an old beta that doesn't reflect their current progress, I think it highly unlikely Dungeon Lords will even make it before this holiday season, as the game is nowhere near ready. Given Heuristic's track record of 'ship first, patch later' (Wizards & Warriors was almost unplayable at release, and was never fully patched up to kill many of the more serious bugs) I think it likely we'll see a premature release followed up with patches. This is a very irritating strategy for us PC gamers, but one used by many publishers (especially ones obsessed with profit margins) to recoup money spent on development when they feel they cannot wait any longer. Even some of the better games in recent memory (Vampire, KOTOR II, et al) were clearly rushed out the door at the last minute by a publisher demanding they have the game on shelves by a certain date. In the case of KOTOR II it was obvious: They had to make the Christmas ship date for sales. In Vampire's case, it was the publisher doing a 'cut and run' because they knew the title was going to be hard pressed to dent the market. Sure enough, Troika went belly up soon after, and another sad chapter in PC development history was closed, as Troika was a great publisher with a fantastic (albeit unfinished) product in Vampire.
  
  Here though, I think D.W. Bradley and team have got another winner. Not a big winner, but a solid product that is going to appeal to fans of the last game, as it is a quirky and flawed RPG with some solid characterization qualities and an emphasis on loot and stats. For those out there hoping for a Diablo or Dungeon Siege killer just stop reading right now and give up: This is not that game. This is much slower moving than either series and it has almost all the same goofy elements of the last game: Nonsensically implemented lock picking 'minigames', an overdose of enemies placed in bad locations that often overwhelms the player with sheer numbers when they least expect it, and a hideously flawed engine (just like Wizards & Warriors... wonder if it's the same one with technology improvements...) that looks quite dated and causes more clipping and movement bugs than trying to do gymnastics while drunk. I once spent almost 2 minutes just trying to climb up a ladder and then get off at the top! Also, I had huge problems with drawing, and how the engine would only draw the world maybe 5 feet in front of me at any given time. This was a nightmare at night and in dark areas especially, where you cannot see almost anything beyond that 5 foot radius – This cannot be a design decision, it has to be an engine limitation, because it's just crippling. You'll see it in the video at the bottom of the page, and you'll also notice severe problems with AI, like the skeleton on the bridge (and then another one later at the foot of the bridge) running in place like they were stuck on an invisible wall. I didn't try to get a video of it happening like that, it just happened – Twice in a row! Obviously, the engine needs some serious work. Any jumping puzzles in the game, and even basic tasks like moving about the world, are going to be a nightmare if they don't resolve some of these issues.
  
  I am, however, not a graphics whore. I can overlook many flaws to enjoy a well crafted RPG, and Dungeon Lords is looking to be one, provided, and I want to make this absolutely clear, it is given the necessary polish time it clearly needs. Just like Wizards & Warriors, there is a great character creation system (though it looks like you only get to make one character for this one instead of a full suite of six) with a bunch of races (only 4 or 5 were in the beta but the final may have more) to choose from and some typical RPG classes. I noticed, as is typical of a D.W. Bradley game, there was ninja/samurai gear included, so there are probably some classes in that vein coming up in the final version or hidden later on in the game. I didn't get much feel for the story in the press beta, and I couldn't get the multiplayer aspect to work at all (maybe it wasn't ready), so I can't comment on either, except to say that supposedly Dungeon Lords is going to have full coop mode, something nearly all RPG gamers crave in any game they touch. Kudos for that Heuristic, if you actually follow through on your promises and include it. Coop mode is something nearly every game should have, of any genre.
  
  Also a nice touch is how every item you put on your character shows up on the model, even belts and shoulderpads and such – This is something they did in Wizards & Warriors and I'm glad to see it carry over here, as visual representation of your advancement and growth is something many RPG games lack. “I know I've got a helmet of the undead king, but why can't I see it on my character!?!” is a complaint often heard from players of Baldur's Gate, but thankfully one unlikely to be heard from any players of Dungeon Lords.
  
  The action in Dungeon Lords promises to be faster paced and more action oriented than previous Heuristic Park games, due to the move to real time hack'n'slash versus turn based combat, and if they can resolve some of these engine bugs and polish the game a lot more, this could really be one of the big titles of whatever year it eventually comes out in. As none is warranted, especially given Heuristic's record and the general attitude of PC game developers these days, I have absolutely no faith that Dungeon Lords will be released “when it's done”, because based on this press beta I can safely say it won't be ready this year, and I'm sure the pressure is mounting to get this sucker out the door as it's already far, far late to market. If it is released soon, we're in for a nearly unplayable glitch marathon based on unrefined technology that was dated when the project began years ago. Here's hoping Heuristic gives it the necessary time it needs to polish, or has a few hidden tricks up their sleeve.

  • Posted May 1, 2005 1:36 pm PT
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• 26Apr 05

  Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

  Five years after the events from the award winning Knights of the Old Republic, the Sith Lords have hunted the Jedi to the edge of extinction and are on the verge of crushing the Old Republic. With the Jedi Order in ruin, the Republic’s only hope is a Jedi Knight struggling to reconnect with the Force and is faced with the galaxies most dire decision: To follow the light or succumb to the dark side…

  Genre: RPG
  Publisher: LucasArts
  Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
  Release Date: February 8, 2005

  Q: Why is Duct Tape like The Force?
  A: It has a light side and a dark side and it binds the universe together.

  A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

  (Cue standard Lucasarts theme music)

  Actually, this is the second in a (hopefully) long series of games that takes place thousands of years before the name Luke Skywalker was ever uttered. The first (Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic) was rightfully crowned 2003’s "Game of the Year," and frankly, I feel that this sequel is more than a worthy follower. Those of you who have read my reviews of sequels will often hear me say, "If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.: In this case, it wasn’t broke, but it was fixed in so many ways, it could almost be a separate game unto itself.

  Adjectives, adverbs and pronouns to the wind, we are talking about Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

  The original KOTOR was an amazing hybrid of puzzle solving, combat, role-playing, twitch game, and masterful storytelling. Should we expect anything less from the sequel? Hell, no! And did Lucasarts deliver? Hell, yes!

  In KOTOR2, you play the role of an exile. He was a marginal character in the epic war between Revan and Malak (see KOTOR), and is now the alleged "Last of the Jedi."

  As the "exile" (nameable, so obviously, he is called "Alanix" in my game), you are found critically wounded aboard the legendary Ebon Hawk.

  In an innovative "prelude," you are taught the basic gameplay mechanics while controlling a little droid whose task it is to restore power to the Ebon Hawk, and stabilize our exiled hero, so he will survive the trip to a distant mining colony. This is a nice change of pace from the standard tutorial so prevalent these days. You see, at the outset, the game lets you know that it isn't necessary to have played the first KOTOR to enjoy the sequel, and it also acclimates you to the interface right out of the gate. Suffice it to say, our fine friends at Lucasarts do not wish to alienate (excuse the phrase) anyone.

  I will not go much more into the intricacies of the plot because you don’t need spoilers here. The Jedi Council have been scattered throughout the galaxy, and you need to find them, and find out why you were exiled following the Madalorian Wars. Cut scenes will give you a lot of information, but boy howdy, do you have to earn them.

  Aiding you in your quest for realization are a number of characters you meet along the way. Each of these 10 brings to the table their own strengths, weaknesses and motivations. Be warned: they are not all what they initially seem to be, and their alliance to you, and indeed the Force, is directly affected by your actions. In KOTOR2, your entire party can become either the pinnacle of good, or the epitome of evil. This gives the game a higher replay value than a standard linear form of gameplay. If you’d rather be more like Darth Vader than Yoda, that choice is available to you, through your interaction with the various denizens you encounter. Helping a poor soul out with a few credits will gain you points toward the light side, and conversely, telling this same beggar to flame off may tilt you toward the dark side. You are constantly faced with such decisions in your attempt to gather the remaining Jedi, provided, of course, that you can find them.

  As before, the missions are many and varied, ranging from simple "find this, go there" affairs, to solving murders, to aiding (or preventing) a military coup of a Queen and her retainers. You’ll never know which of these missions is merely a "side quest" or a necessary plot point. It’s best to get involved with everyone whenever possible, and your choices will decide how things turn out. Of course, it never hurts to have a blaster or a lightsaber if the you-know-what hits the fan.

  Speaking of lightsabers, this time around, you will have your choice from a number of "forms" of lightsaber discipline, and they are situation-specific. For example, one style may be better suited to attacks from multiple opponents, while another is more appropriate for defense against blasters. Your choices, again, will define your success (or failure). After all, it's kind of embarrassing for a Jedi Knight to be shot with something as clumsy and random as a blaster.

  Eventually, at a pivotal point in the story, you will be asked to choose your prestige class, which can be thought of as "getting your Master's degree" in the Force. Depending on your alignment with the Force, you can choose to be a Sith Assassin, Lord or Marauder, or the goody-goody guys can choose to be a Jedi Master, Watchman, or Weapon Master. Your choice here will also affect how quickly your skills, feats and Force powers progress.

  The Swoop Bike races are back, but this time, they are strictly optional. Nowhere will you be forced to race to complete the game. The same goes for the old standby card game, pazaak. You can play with anyone who has a deck, and credits won are much sweeter than credits earned, but the card game isn't vital to the game's completion.

  Graphically, the game is beautiful! Even at a low detail setting, the areas and characters practically jump off the screen. Light sourcing is at a premium, and the textures are amazingly realistic. At the highest detail setting, you may note a dip in framerate, but it's worth it at times to see the minutiae the designers so painstakingly included.

  Sounds are right out of the "Star Wars" box of tricks. All the familiar blaster shots, lightsaber hums, warp drives and droid speech sound crisp, clean and wonderful. The music, borrowed from John Williams' score is perfect, and very mood-setting.

  The interface is streamlined, making the entire game playable with your mouse and "WASD" keying. The sub-menus are nicely laid out, giving you direct control over everything your character wears, uses, makes, loses, etc.

  As for the combat interface, KOTOR2 is played in what's referred to by Lucasarts as "real-time, turn-based" style. While this may at once sound like a massive oxymoron, it precisely fits the feel of the game. Movement is controlled from the usual FPS key set, and this is all done in smooth real time. When an adversary rears his (her/its) ugly face, the game seamlessly switches to a turn-based affair, which takes the game's core mechanic (everything based on bonuses and penalties of a d20 "to hit") and translates it into a workable, animated battle sequence. None of that "Final-Fantasy-Jump-In-Take-A- Swing-Then-Jump-Back" rigmarole here. When your character isn't actively swinging (or healing or using Force powers), he stands at the ready, muscles flexing, chest heaving, etc. If you need a second to think, just slap the space bar, and everything freezes. You can queue up commands, reassign targets and the like, but none of your commands will actually be carried out until you un-pause the action.

  The voice acting is, as usual, stellar. Only one little problem I had, and that was with the decision to cast Ed Asner as the voice of Master Vrook, one of the Jedi Masters you need to find in the course of the game. Nothing personal, but recognizing that gruff Lou Grant voice jarred me from the atmosphere and reminded me I was playing a game.

  We now come to my favorite aspect of KOTOR2: the writing. It's been a long time since a game's dialogue didn't sound stilted and heavy-handed. The epic struggles of the universe are told in a cinematic, moving style. The interpersonal conflicts are brought out through rich dialogue and well thought-out storytelling.

  In the final analysis, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords is the best RPG to come out since its illustrious prequel, a worthy follow-up to a grand title that has true replay value, gorgeous presentation, and depth that most other games wouldn’t dream of attempting. Buy it, play it, love it.

  • Posted Apr 26, 2005 4:02 pm PT
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• 25Apr 05

  SW:Republic Commando

  Genre: FPS
  Publisher: LucasArts
  Developer: LucasArts
  Release Date: March 1, 2005

  I decided to give in to my weakness for Star Wars games and give Republic Commando a go.

  For those who managed to escape the marketing blitz on this one, Republic Commando is a squad-based FPS which gives you the chance to play as one of the elite clone commandos and use your superior training and arsenal to turn the enemies of the Republic into a slightly lumpy smear. So basically think Halo but you get a whole team of Master Chiefs and you get to blast bad guys from the movies. The opening cut scene introduces you to the clone you'll be playing as, 38, and your compatriots who actually have numbers AND names (if only you could be so lucky). After the cut scene, you get your first briefing and are summarily launched into combat, splatting some very large bugs on the planet Geonosis with the rest of your elite Delta Squad. You get a few popup tips along the way to serve as a tutorial during your early adventures.

  The single-player campaign will take you from the invasion of Geonosis to a Republic ghost ship filled with Trandoshan mercs and slavers and concludes with some ammo-spraying charity work on the Wookiee planet Kashyyyk (apparently in honor of the soon-to-be-released Episode III and is being mirrored by the release of the Rage of the Wookiees expansion for the MMORPG, Star Wars: Galaxies). Unlike the genre top dog, Halo, the single player campaign for Republic Commando leads you through very diverse environments does not have you double back through half the game filled with new enemies (that always rubbed me the wrong way). The inhabitants, whether friendly or very vigorously hostile, vary from locale to locale and are very creatively interpreted from the Star Wars universe of movies, games and other licensed works; the Trandoshan slavers are thick, loping lizards that charge more like animals than humanoids and the Wookiees make Chewbacca look scrawny and heroin-chic. Common throughout the game are the battle droids of the Separatists including the nasty, rolling Droidekas from Episode I (and they're a bit tougher when you don't have the Force on your side).

  Republic Commando offers you a diverse selection of weapons. You start with your trusty and highly modifiable DC-17m Blaster Rifle which can be augmented to serve as a high power sniper rifle or an anti-armor high explosive launcher, or as I prefer to think of it… the crowd pleaser. In the event that you run out of ammo for your rifle (and, boy, does that suck), you also have the trusty blaster pistol with an automatic recharging energy supply. You can also pick up dropped weapons, ranging from shoddy Trandoshan-made sub-machineguns to bowcasters and the Wookiee Rocket Launcher (God bless those big, furry lugs and their craftsmanship). Unfortunately, you can only carry one non-standard issue weapon with you so you have to choose carefully between those heavy repeaters, concussion rifles, and bowcasters. In my book, though, they all take a distant back seat to my favorite option… the melee attack. Your armor suit is equipped with an extendable blade in your left arm that makes mince meat (or metal) of most enemies in a single swipe. As a nice twist, your melee attack varies with the selected weapon and you can pistol whip a Trando with your blaster or spear the jagged heavy particle repeater into the abdomen of that guy between you and the nearest exit. Enemies dispatched up close leave a rather gratifying spray of vital fluids on the glass of your helmet which, while obscuring your view until it gets wiped away, makes you feel like quite the killer. Oh, and you also have a pleasing array of explosives for hurling including highly effective flashbangs, thermal detonators for every occasion and electrostatic charges to help with the droid armies of the Separatists. These explosives are particularly nice way to enjoy the ragdoll physics on your opponents. My only complaint in weapons department is that the variety of artillery is pretty limited in the early parts of the game and I was quickly losing interest in using just the default blaster rifle.

  The gameplay itself is a blend of three parts Halo and one part Brothers in Arms. As I said, you're the Republic's version of the Master Chief and you've been thrust into battle with three similar lethal friends. That's where the squad combat part comes in. Unlike many FPS games where you have AI-driven friendlies following you around, mostly devoid of any of the I part of AI, your team is an essential part of your success. Depending on how you lead them into battle, whether you have them set to search & destroy, form up on your six, or secure the immediate area, they smoothly move to find the appropriate positions, take cover, and fire on anything that moves. You can give them direct orders with a single key press, ordering them to man turrets, snipe from fixed positions, heal from a bacta unit, etc. This game mechanic ranges from handy (having someone slice a terminal to achieve a mission objective while you blast hostile droids) to essential (blasting doors open). As you progress through the game it becomes second nature to put one of your team members in a good position to provide covering fire and the whole process becomes a seamless dance of optimized destructive firepower. Although, I will say my favorite aspect of the team gameplay is that you can be revived by a squadmate if you fall in combat – so long as one person is operation, there's still a chance of getting a jumpstart and returning to combat. I really liked the fact that LucasArts gives you this option because I prefer to play games like this very fast and loose and don't like having to worry about my teammates dying or having to revert to an earlier save so I can try the firefight again without casualties.

  Now I compared the squad-based component of this game to Brothers in Arms and I need to admit that is a stretch. Brothers in Arms plays very differently with the "find, fix, flank and finish" tactic featuring prominently in that game. Republic Commando, on the other hand, has basically zero flanking; it's just constant run and gun. In this sense, it really is just like playing Halo with a team of four Master Chiefs and you get to boss the other three around with simple commands. Fortunately, your squadmates have pretty good AI and move, take cover, fire and support very nicely without you having to micromanage them or inducing a fit of foul language after one of them dies in a blinding flash of stupidity.

  On the other hand, the enemy didn't get any of the brains that were poured into the helmeted heads of your Delta Squad. The enemy movements are simple and straight forward. Rather than relying on better AI to make the opponents more challening, Republic Commando just throws fairly substantial hordes of them at you. For variety, they might be placed in tricky areas but none of the enemies will actually do something tricky on their own accord. The closest to this that you'll see are a few rare scripted events such as a Trandoshan running to get backup. But by and large, the way the first Trando slaver or Separatist droid acts is the way the rest of the Trando slavers and Separatist droids act. In this department, Republic Commando comes up a little short compared to some of the top titles in the genre.

  Where Republic Commando really shines is presentation. I normally have very high expectations for a Star Wars game, especially in the area of sound and music. I really want an immersive cinematic experience the sucks me into the Star Wars universe. And in this regard, Republic Commando delivers.

  The graphics are very, very good and make use of all the gadgets and gizmos on a modern DirectX 9-compliant graphics card. The lighting really brings the environments to life and the textures are rich and varied. LucasArts must have flogged the poor artists something fierce, but the end product is a beautiful and near-perfectly detailed game, right down to the security cameras in the detention center ripped straight out of Leia's rescue from the Death Star in Episode IV. Each area of the game is distinctive and carefully rendered. So many games these days feel repetitive with rehashed textures or object models making appearances throughout the game and Republic Commando does a very good job at avoiding this pitfall.

  The audio is truly brilliant, from the voice acting to the special effects and music. The voice acting in Republic Commando is perhaps my favorite for any game in the last few years. Each squadmate has their own personality, ranging from dark and brooding to class clown, and their personalities come out in their commentaries throughout the game. Your squadmates will compliment you on your successes, poke at your for your screw ups ("I think Three-eight is a copy of a copy of a copy, if you know what I mean"… nice Multiplicity reference), and generally chide one another as they rack up their body counts. There have been more than a few occasions where Scorch, the group joker, put a big grin on my face. Although, I will say that sometimes they can be a little repetitive with their lines on certain common tasks, such as placing explosives (Scorch: "Is it red-red-green… or red green red…" Sev: "And he's the explosives expert?"). In addition to the voice acting, the special effects are thoroughly on point. LucasArts brought in a Foley studio to create the auditory richness outperforms even exceptional graphics in producing an immersive experience. The Foley artists utilize a staggering collection of esoteric items to produce "just the right noise", which even includes slapping pineapple halves on hardwood to create the moist footsteps of the slimy Trandoshan. And on top of the voice acting and the special effects is, of course, a top notch musical score. The music ranges from the franchise requisite John Williams marches to choral compositions (which are more than a little similar to Halo at times). All of these elements combines to create a very enjoyable and immersive experience. In case you can't tell, I like it.

  Now a quick, perfunctory paragraph on the multiplayer. Don't buy Republic Commando if you are looking for a multiplayer game. Yes, it does have multiplayer, but it appears to have been an afterthought. LucasArts really could have knocked it out of the park if they included a Halo-esque cooperative multiplayer option, which really was my favorite part of Halo. But that's not there. There are the basics like Capture the Flag and Deathmatch but I don't believe the game modes included are going to hold anyone's interest for long. As proof of that, when I last looked to see how many servers were up I didn't even need to use to the scroll bar on the side of the server browser to reach the bottom of the list – there were only about a dozen internet games listed.

  So on gameplay, Republic Commando borrows a bit from squad-based games like Brothers in Arms, but doesn't do squad gameplay quite as well…. And it borrows heftily from one-versus-many games like Halo but doesn't get the "many" quite as well. If Republic Commando could have ratcheted up both of these aspects of the game just a couple more notches, this game would be an essential title to own. Sadly, it just isn't there. But what is there is an exquisitely produced and incredibly fun first-person romp through the Star Wars universe with a blaster rifle in hand. I went into playing this game really wanting to pick it apart… and it did give me plenty of reasons to pick. The squad gameplay isn't as good as Brothers in Arms, which kept me hooked from the moment I ripped open the box. The one-versus-many is handicapped by a lackluster enemy AI. And I am disappointed that a very good Halo-like game lacks any of the hallmark multiplayer goodness. But despite my wanting to dislike this game and rack it up as another bad console port… I ended up playing this game feverishly and staying up way past what would have been a sensible time to go to sleep. There aren't many games that have the distinction of being able to hold my interest so well that I actually finish them. In recent history, only Half Life 2, KotOR 2, and Brothers in Arms managed to pull that off. Yet, as of writing this review, Republic Commando is perilously close to joining highly exalted company and I fully intend to finish the game. So, I must conclude that Republic Commando is a highly entertaining and engrossing game. For fans of Star Wars or the FPS genre, it's a good choice to pick up the next time you're at your local retailer or sopping online. But if you are a value-conscious shopper that only likes to plunk down hard earned cash for a select few essential games, I would probably pass on Republic Commando or maybe opt for picking it up second hand; it simply doesn't have much to offer past a fairly short but very enjoyable single-player experience.

  • Posted Apr 25, 2005 6:11 pm PT
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