By Hardflip , 21st September 8:30 am
If you asked me who made Call of Duty: United Offensive, I’d probably say it was Infinity Ward. Is there any truth behind this? No. Gray Matter, also known as the people who made the god-awful Return to Castle Wolfenstein single player developed it. Perhaps it was just the idea of zombies, ghosts and demons that sidetracked their ambition to make a ‘good game’. If so, it’s very evident in this highly-anticipated expansion pack to the Call of Duty; a PC Game of the Year award winner.
To begin with, if you loved the original Call of Duty, you’ll love this one. As far as I can tell, Gray Matter have found what people liked the most about the original, improved on it with some of the best campaigns they could choose from World War 2, and improved a hell of a lot on the negative aspects Call of Duty had. One of these could be considered the difficulty. I’m not a brilliant first person shooter player, I’ll give you that. However, Call of Duty was one of the easiest games I’ve ever played; even on ‘Veteran’ mode it seemed as if it was on a normal setting.
In United Offensive, you start off with an extremely hard and cinematic mission in Bastogne against an incoming wave of German infantry and tanks. I’d have to say this mission was harder than any in Call of Duty, and it really showed with the constant artillery bombardment and one-hundred bullets flying at you a second effect. Straight away you can also pick up the graphical improvements they’ve made to the game. The particle effects have been vastly improved with dirt, fire and smoke. These vastly up the cinema effect you get from playing this well above-average World War 2 game, being better than any Medal of Honor game or expansion out there.
I’m not certain if the artificial intelligence has changed since Call of Duty, but in the expansion your team mates seem to be far more effective in covering for you. They follow you around more effectively and do the thing you’re more likely to do. Can’t say I’m terribly impressed at the Kraut’s method of hiding behind a pillar and peeking their head out to get shot, but I guess you do need cannon fodder to make these games more fun.
The game itself has climaxes, always at the beginning and end of a campaign. I’d have to say the beginnings of both three campaigns are the most explosive, and the endings are very reminiscent of the Pegasus Bridge mission from Call of Duty. Essentially, they’ve made a brilliant World War 2 expansion which is worth getting for the single player alone. I haven’t touched the multi player yet, since I wasn’t that interested in Call of Duty’s in the first place. But if you want an insanely fun single player experience to act as a filler between Doom 3 and the on-coming (I hope) Half-Life 2, get Call of Duty: United Offensive.
Graphics: 8.5/10
Dated, obviously, but with the new particle effects and all that’s going on, it’s still beautiful to look at.
Sound: 9/10
Everything seems so authentic, and it has awesome EAX effects for those with a 5.1 setup. You’ll feel you’re at the battle.
Gameplay: 9/10
It remains strong in this expansion, with rarely any slowdowns. You’ll be kept on your feet at all times.
Overall: 9/10
You may want to replay the single player on a harder difficulty, but I can’t imagine myself going through it again. However, it has multiplayer, with a decent mod community, so there’ll always be something new for you.
By Hardflip , 9th September 9:16 pm
Having recently gone through Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for the Nintendo GameCube, and then Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty on the PlayStation 2, I can say i’m completely hyped up for the next adventure with Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. If you have not played either of the first two, I suggest you do. You’re missing out on some of the best known games in gaming history. Reinforcing that, if you have a GameCube, opt for the MGS1 re-make (MGS:TTS) over the PS1 version. It’s superior in every way, if just by a graphical standpoint.
» Read all of “Wonders of Kojima“…
By Hardflip , 1st September 9:40 am
Okay, before we start, I was never a huge fan of Tribes 1 or 2. In fact, I never played 1, and I joined the sequel a year or so late. But from a newcomer’s point of view, this game is fantastic. I find it way more interesting than UT2004, seeing as you get to choose more equipment and it’s not all about fire-and-forget.
The graphics themselves are pretty amazing for how fast it runs, even at a high resolution with AA/AF on. The physics are just as good as UT2004’s, if not better. When someone dies you’ll see them lose control of their jetpacks, and if they’re still burning away the physics will come into play with them spiralling around. The skiing is pretty awesome in this too, and it takes some skill to time landing right.
The game play itself is fun, and it’s very much a team game. People tend to defend those who capture a flag, and use tactics in order to get a flag back. This means either swarming them or launching a volley of Discs/Grenades at them. Pretty hilarious seeing a Phoenix go into a Blood Eagle’s nest, stirring up a bit of trouble. Only then do you see the true power of a Heavy Defence’s artillery.
Whilst there are some flaws with the game, such as Heavy not being useful on small maps due to the lack of range on their weapons, and the ‘get stuck in the ground or mid-air’ bug, i’m sure they can be fixed before the beta ends. If you have a FilePlanet subscription, download it now. Its 500mb, free, and a lot of fun.
By Hardflip , 22nd August 11:12 am
Rockstar has again, put up another kick ass site. They’re giving us a glimpse of places within Los Santos, one of the three cities with the San Andreas state. The stuff in it looks rather cool; it seems as if they’re making it more interactive with inside environments. I’m pleased that they’re putting in RPG elements into it, which can shape your own character. This includes diet, and visual appearence (so not all Carl Johnson’s will look the same).
If you check out the movies page, they’ve also got a trailer. In this we get to see fence jumping, bumping low riders and more character interaction, by what seems to be gangs. I’m not sure if they’re just cutscenes, but it looks as if you can even play basketball and graffiti in the game. Character models look more detailed than GTA3/VC too.
Looks like a larger leap for the GTA series than GTA3 to GTA:VC ever was.
By Hardflip , 20th August 11:21 pm
It’s sad to see the demise of the real action heroes we loved throughout the 80s, and perhaps early 90s. This includes Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis and even Van Damme. When was the last time you saw a good movie with a burly man going around blowing stuff up? Arnie did make a brilliant return for T3, but I fear that will be the last of it. Hell, the last Die Hard was 10 years ago (although another is in production).
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the new action heroes who are casual looking people, but end up kicking ass; such as Neo from the Matrix or Preston from Equilibrium. It’s just that what I was brought up on is coming to an end with the need for ‘intelligent’ plots. From what i’ve seen of “The Rock” in “The Rundown” he seems as if he could do the job, but he doesn’t have what all the others did. He’s too clean.
Arnie had the Austrian voice, Stallone had the speech impediment and Willis had less muscle but more wit - all of which added to their character. The only character I can really see in “The Rock” is him wearing spandex and beating up other men in a ring.
Let’s just hope Bruce Willis does well with Die Hard 4.0, since I can’t see Stallone or Arnie returning any more.
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