Mongo Nation

Can MAG’s ass cash the checks that Sony’s been writing with their mouths?

By Jeremy Azevedo

Modern Warfare junkies are going to balk at this, but having played MAG (Massive Action Game) for myself at CES last week, I think I can safely say that it’s the closest thing to actually being in a war that anyone’s ever experienced in a video game.

The one problem with this, is that being in an actual war most likely isn’t half as fun as the stylized gameplay of Modern Warfare 2 and Killzone 2 would lead you to believe.

Obviously the big selling point for MAG is it’s 256 player games. I can’t really comment on how the servers will keep up or how difficult it will be to populate matches, but in my limited experience everything ran smoothly enough. There was one point in which I got stuck in the lobby fiddling around with my loadouts for a couple of minutes, but the matches themselves are pretty long so it’s not too big of a hindrance.

In order to keep 256 players from running around like a bunch or disorganized assholes, individual soldiers are broken up into teams of 8. There are, in turn, 8 such squads in each platoon, so that’s 4 platoons of 8 squads of 8 soldiers per side. Each army has designated squad and platoon leaders for each group, with an “Officer in Charge” calling the shots and setting objectives for the entire group. Just like in real life, if your OIC is some kind of yahoo then you’re all pretty much f**ked. I believe there’s probably some sort of hierarchy as to who can be a leader and why, so you better make sure your shit is together if you want to rise through the ranks.

In addition to all this organizational crap and objective based squad combat, you’ve also got multiple character classes and weapon load outs to choose from, all of which are pretty fluid. So far as I can tell, if you want to be a sniper/bomber/medic/janitor, then nobody’s stopping you. There’re plenty of skills, vehicles and airstrikes to call upon as well, so things keep pretty interesting, if nothing else. There’s almost too much stuff going on, to be honest. In one game, some dick called an airstrike on my ass every time I left my stupid base, which isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.

The control setup is where things really started slipping for me. Hopefully the controller is customizable, because mine was programmed to shoot and aim with the inner bumpers instead of the outer triggers like every other shooter in the known universe. The first few times I tried to shoot somebody point-blank with a shotgun, I instead found myself brandishing a goddamn medical syringe or some such bullshit at them. Very frustrating. Also, when you’re sniping, there is an assfull of kick every time you shoot, no lock on and no real visual reference when you score a hit. Worst of all, you have to click in the left stick to run, but half the time your guy just stops running all of the sudden for no reason. This is something I don’t understand about modern video games: I always want to run. Make that the default. In older games, you used to have to click the thumbstick to walk, not to run. Stop making me walk everywhere, assholes, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but people are f**king shooting at me.

Not to put to fine a point on it, because I think there’s enormous potential to MAG, but at the end of the day, it’s like playing the free online shooter Combat Arms, only you have to pay for this and some jackoff is yelling at you telling you to do stuff all the time when you just want to get out there in the shit and pwn some n00bs. As a tech demo, it’s great. If they make it work, maybe we can repurpose the technology for Left For Dead 3 and have 200 player-controlled zombies running around or something awesome like that. But MAG is just overly complicated and unpolished IMHO. I’ll take my shooters with wisecracking protagonists and alien laser beams and shit like that. F**k teamwork, I like to be the star of my own pre-adolescent power-fantasies, thank you very much.

We get some hands-on time with Dark Void, and talk to Senior Producer Morgan Gray.

By Jeremy Azevedo

Of all the games scheduled for release early next year, few are as eagerly anticipated as Dark Void. We’ve watched this title evolve over the last couple of years into what is shaping up to be a genuinely unique experience, so it was with great pleasure that we got some play time with the latest build of the game.

The first thing you will notice when you pick up Dark Void is that it is remarkably easy to control, despite the many different operations that you have to manage at any given time. It seems daunting at first, juggling your movement, jetpack, hover abilities, combat, etc. But minutes into it, you’ll wonder why it took someone so long to take the ceiling off the shoot-em-up.

There are so goddamn many ways that you can tackle any given level that it’s almost retarded. You can strafe your enemies from above like a one-man airstrike. Or you can hover over the battlefield tossing grenades, or fly up to a high vantage point and snipe enemies from there. Or you can rip the pilot out of his/her/it’s UFO, hop in and crash that motherf**ker into a crowd of bad guys like some kind of intergalactic Bruce Willis. Or you can get down on the ground and use the excellent cover system to blow your enemies to hell like in Gears of War. You get the impression that there could be an enormous replayability value to Dark Void, if for no other reason than that you aren’t really locked into any one particular method of combat. On some of the vertical combat sequences, for instance, a really good jetpack pilot could conceivably speed run through them and rocket straight to the top. Most people would probably splatter on one of the platforms on the way up but the option is there if you care to risk it.

One way to totally disrespect your opponents is to pinch a loaf on them from above.

Best of all, the camera system is near perfect. I can’t stress the importance of this enough, as it could have really been a deal breaker for the title. I shit you not, the camera in Dark Void is so intuitive to where you are and what you’re doing that you don’t even have to control it with the right thumbstick like in most other games that feature a wide range of movement. This frees your analog sticks up for a myriad of aerial maneuvers, and keeps you focused on steering, which is great. I don’t really know how to explain it, but somehow they managed to find a sweet spot in the perspective of the character and the scaling of the environment that most other titles don’t even approach.

But perhaps it’s better to show you Dark Void than to tell you about it, or at least have someone with more experience do it. Check out the following gameplay walkthrough/interview with Dark Void’s Senior Producer, Morgan Gray. Morgan shows us some of the different approaches to combat, a few of the sweet weapons at your disposal and goes over the story and characters a bit as well. There’s even a little bit of conversation about the movie, so watch for that as well!

We interview Capcom’s Seth Killian before whupping him at his own game!

By Jeremy Azevedo

If you’re a Wii owner, you probably feel just a little bit left out after watching SFIV, Super SFII Turbo HD Remix and Marvel Vs Capcom 2 all pass you by without so much as a wayward glance in your direction.

But clearly, Capcom hasn’t forgotten about you, as Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars is not only one of the freshest 2D fighters in ages, but is also exclusive to the Wii.

We talked to Capcom’s Community Manager Seth Killian about the decision to develop for the Wii, the challenges of importing the Tatsunoko licenses to the States and circumventing the infamous “friend code” to streamline online play. Check it out!

After chatting with Seth for a bit we set down to a few matches of Capcom Vs Tatsunoko against the man himself. At first glance, it appears as if there are a few too many Gatchamaen/Yattermen/Tekkamen/whatever for the game’s own good, but as it turns out, they all actually play incredibly different. Fans of Marvel Vs Capcom 2 will feel most at home with the speed and flashiness of the gameplay. Combos do billions of points of damage, super moves fill the entire screen and there are enough flashing lights to give a Pokémon a seizure. And yet, I didn’t notice a hint of slowdown or jagginess. Now I’m aware that the Wii isn’t necessarily designed for hardcore graphics rendering, but when it comes to top shelf 2D animation like this, it kills.

All of the characters were a lot of fun in their own way. Frank West in particular was a blast to play as, summoning hordes of hungry zombies to sick on my opponent (who I’m pretty sure was half letting me win/half getting his ass whupped by me fair and square). His timing is a little weird but his super combos are pretty rad. My favorite involves slamming a Servbot mask over your opponent’s head and exploding them ass-over-teakettle. The Street Fighter characters play as expected, but I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Viewtiful Joe and Kaijin No Soki from Onimusha 4. They’re great new additions with really unique play styles.

On the Tatsunoko side, I’d have to go with Yatterman or Karas as my favorite. Yaterman is both agile and strong, with some really psychedelic super combos. One of them was like a giant robot dog that barfs up exploding lizards or something like that. It’s weird. Karas is just a straight badass, type character, sort of Tatsunoko’s “Akuma” if I had to compare him to someone. Maybe best of all, though, is the titanic Gold Lightan. He’s so big that you don’t get to have a partner when you use him, and it requires the entire stage to scale to his size. It almost seems unfair how big of a size and reach advantage he has, but somehow the balance remains pretty even, especially when you’ve got two other characters teaming up against him.

It also bears mentioning that we were playing on an official-looking arcade style joystick, which worked wonderfully. I’m quite a bit more used to standard controllers by now (as are most people), but there’s something to be said for a joystick setup when it comes to fighting games. When you pick up a copy of Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars next year (as you very well should), you should probably also consider getting a joystick to go along with it. You’ll be glad you did. Fewer blisters.

Capcom Vs Tatsunoko: Ultimate All-Stars will be available for the Wii on January 26^th, 2010.

The Rebirth of Slick?

By Jeremy Azevedo

How does a game roll up the open world concept of Grand Theft Auto in a WWII backdrop without coming off as derivative?

Or perhaps a better question would be: How does a game with more titties than an adult video convention have more class than nearly any other game on the market? Before getting my hands on The Saboteur last week, my answer to either would have been: “It doesn’t”. But as it turns out, The Saboteur does all this and more.

I have a feeling that this train isn’t gonna make it wherever it was going…

Having interviewed Lead developer Tom French back at E3, I was already relatively familiar with The Saboteur, though I had yet to play it. There was no doubt that the game looked good; Its visuals were clearly inspired by vintage crime noir iconography, and the lead character was a remarkably unique protagonist (based on real life race car driver/saboteur William Grover-Williams). But how would it play?

I began my demo in a small Parisian village, where I visited a church, received my mission and purchased a gun and a handful of dynamite from a local arms dealer. This was a location with a “Will to Fight”, and so it was colorful and quaint, it’s citizens rather friendly (even when I accidentally beat the shit out of a local woman whilst practicing my boxing skills). I picked up a truck, a Nazi uniform and my forged identification papers and I was on my way to the local Nazi headquarters to take down the officer that murdered my best friend.

You know you’re badass when you walk right up to an armed soldier and knock his ass out cold with a single right hook.

The driving is surprisingly smooth, kind of an arcade-y racer feel to it. I didn’t really have any trouble navigating the roads, although I damn near barreled right through the checkpoint, blowing my cover. Luckily I hit the breaks just in time and was let through the gate. Once inside, I started running around, which alerted the guards, who promptly blew me to pieces. Apparently Nazis don’t run around the base like retards, climbing up walls and practicing karate right in front of people for no reason. Duly noted. Read the rest of this entry →

We play the game and talk to the developers of DJ Hero!

By Jeremy Azevedo

Last week, I went to San Francisco to check out the final version of Activision and Freestyle games news music title, DJ Hero. As a longtime Guitar Hero enthusiast, I must say that I was eager to get my hands on the DJ controller that I had seen and heard so much about, but never actually had the chance to operate.

Upon arriving at the club, an unmarked venue with absolutely no signage or advertising out front, I half expected to find myself running for my life by the evening’s finish.

Allow me to explain: In LA, unmarked bars with no signage or advertising are “exclusive” and “hip”. You have to be cool to know where they are. In SF, unmarked bars with no signage or advertising are places where ”large men with mustaches, dressed in leather, try to touch you in the bathing suit area”. You have to be a sex criminal to know where they are. Luckily, 1015 Folsom turned out to be a pretty classy joint. Crisis averted!

What you usually get when you walk in someplace unannounced in SF

Much to my delight, Activision and Freestyle games had the entire, finished game ready to play on numerous consoles. There were (I believe) over 100 songs, though technically many of them were mash-ups of the same songs, so the number of licensed songs is actually a little smaller than that. However, you almost don’t even notice this repetition because the end result of any two songs being mashed together usually results in an entirely different final product.

Not rock stars, I don’t care what you say.

And the songs themselves… I am not a fan in any way, shape or form of the Daft Punks and DJ AMs of the world. I do not particularly care for house music, nor do I subscribe to the notion of the DJ as a rock star. That having been said, I do love hip hop almost as much as I love rock, and I appreciate the art of mixing good two good songs together to make another, wholly different, good song. And when you hear how seamlessly one can blend 50 Cent with the Zombies, or Gangstarr with David Bowie, I think you will agree that the developers behind this game knew very well what they were doing when they put this tracklist together. There are virtually no songs that aren’t fun to play, thanks in part to the assistance of respected underground DJ/producers like DJ Shadow, Z-Trip and DJ Jazzy Jeff (yes, that Jazzy Jeff).

Read the rest of this entry →