The Hobbit: An Unexpected Adventure

Fans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy books and movies alike, are probably drooling all over with the upcoming hit, the Hobbit.  This movie will cover the time before the Lord of the Rings.  It follows Bilbo on his adventure with Gandalf and 13 other Dwarves.  This movie, like the LOTRO movies, will be an epic tale.  It will be 2 separate movies.  Directed by the great Peter Jackson, the Hobbit will take us on a tale of epicness that will span generates before Frodo and The great Ring of Power.  We will return to many locations such as Rivendell and go further into locations like the Misty Mountains that were only talked about in the Lord of the Rings.  Movie goers will discover how exactly the Ring came into the possession of Bilbo in the first place, from the horrid creature Golem.  Readers of the book series  will probably not be surprised by much that takes place in the movie but it will be wonderful to finally see the this epic tale on the big screen.  

Dragon's Dogma

Now here is a title that deserves a lot more attention then it received.  Dragon's Dogma is an action-rpg title with free roam world that feels like an MMO.  I think this game just so happen to slip under the radar of many gamer's.  Capcom's Dragon's Dogma is a fantasy rpg that has many elements of free roam rpg with the twists and perks of a hack-and-slash combat game where you will be fighting many mythological creatures.  I have only played the demo for this game,however, I feel this game is a must buy for any rpg fan (if you have finished Skyrim yet, that is).  
   The game starts with a simplistic character creator where you can modify the physical appearance of your character and class selection.  You also get to customize your fist Pawn and its class.  The class selection is modest at the beginning, being able to choose from 3 base classes which are Fighter, Stryder and Mage.  Later you will be able to progress your classes and get to the advanced classes which are Warrior, Sorceror, and Ranger.  Eventually you will get the hybrid classes which allow you to combine skills from different classes to make Mystic Knight, Magic Archer, and Assassin.  Instead of the classic ranger attacks, a Magic Archer can fire Ricocheting mystic bolts that will bounce of objects striking many enemies at once.  Also a powerful sorceror can launch powerful attacks such as a Maelstrom, which is basically a powerful tornado that picks up and bashes bad guys around like rag-dolls.  Like most RPG's once you have created your class your kind of stuck in that class until the end right?  Not here.  Dragon's Dogma will allow players to change classes to whatever while they are playing.  Tired of casting spells and magic, how about shooting mystic arrows, or smashing bad guys with a big hammer.  Yeah, you can do that.

   The story line is very easy to follow,  you meet a dragon and takes your characters heart,  now you hunt dragon and reclaim your heart, see simple.  If      
your a story driven gamer then this may not suit you, but the the additional side quests should have you plenty to do with over 70+hours with just side quests.  Jumping right into the game, I notice how smooth the movements are and the controls are very responsive, unlike some rpgs that I have played that left me smashing the button a dozen times to make one slashing move.  The controls are simple as well, allowing you to use many different skills easily and quickly.  A lot of rpg games combat may have you embarrassingly slashing a Giants legs for 20mins until his health drops and you win.  In Dragon's Dogma, combat is much more involved. Each baddie has a week spot and you can jump and climb to the top of that Giant and stab at its neck until you achieve victory.  At one point I jumped and grabbed onto a Griffin that was flying through the air while I performed attacks hanging from its back.  This is something that reminds me of another great game, Shadows of the Colossus.  The skills that you obtain later in the game are also very unique.  When you use a lightning spell it isn't merely a little lightning strike, its a massive bolt of lighting that projects from the sky with such power it feels intense.  Also a meteor storm attack that rains down 10 meteors that strike the enemy from the sky are awe inspiring.   Most of the creatures you fight in this game are mythological creatures such as Griffins, giants, harpys, chimera, and the multi-headed hydra.
   Dragon's Dogma may not be a MMOrpg or even have an online co-op, but with its Pawns feature you get the sense that you are playing with other real players.  The Pawns are characters that you pick up along the way (the first you get at character creation) that are very useful.  The Pawns can give you hints of nearby loot, quest locations, and tell you where an enemy is most vulnerable.  The online aspect of Dragon's Dogma allows you to send your Pawn to another Rift which allows your pawn to be used by other players online and vice versa.  When the Pawn is returned he/she will have more knowledge and experience.  Pawns are extremely useful in combat, they allow for healing and buffing, or they can deal great amounts of damage.  This is a good change from most rpg's where I usually get frustrated with my useless do-nothing AI companions.  
   After my time with Capcom's Dragon's Dogma,  I was very much impressed.  They took some old ideas from several different classes and genres of games mashed them together and voila!  Capcom was able to throw some new and interesting twists on a fading genre of game and make it exciting again.  My only fear is that this game will fly under the radar and be missed by most gamer's because of all the blockbuster games that are coming out.  I can't wait to get my own copy of the game.  If you have played the game I would love to hear some feedback and let me know what you think.  Leave comments and don't forget my sponsors. 

Here we go.

Ok so I've been gone for a few days but I promise that I have some games to review, some new some old.  And my take on Battlefield 3.  yes that's right I finally broke down, traded in a bunch of games, and bought Battlefield 3.  My review of it later.

Resident Evil 6

I still remember the first time playing the resident evil games.  I was in my early teens and it was about midnight and me and my friend had all the lights off, and boom!  A zombie crashed through the window, in the game of course.  Resident Evil 6 is actually going to be the 26th game in the Resident Evil series.  This addition to the series promises to be a return to the magic that made the first Resident Evil's so famous.  Capcom is coming up with a way to bring all the good things from the original games and adding new twists.  This will be the first ever Resident Evil game where Leon Kennedy and Chris Redfield star in the same game.  Also thrown into the mix is Jake Muller, son of the late Alex Wesker.  Capcom is going to be showing off some new environments with RE6.  All 3 of the main characters will have their own storyline, but will converge in the main setting of China.  And finally, in RE6 zombies will be returning, but with a few twists.  These are not going to be the same zombies we saw in the RE4 or RE5, they will hold more true to the original zombies.  They will,however, be able to run and jump at you, and they will mutate which will change the fight all together.  
   As a fan of the survival-horror series, Resident Evil, I was looking forward to the day when I could run and shoot at the same time.  Well now according to Capcom, that is one of the updates to the new controller setup.  You will be able to run and shoot, as well as slide and shoot up at your enemy and duck behind cover.  Even with these changes to the controller scheme, Capcom says it will not be a run-and-gun type shooter.  It will still involve action sequences that keep you on edge.  Capcom also claims to have moved a little a way from the survival-horror aspect of the game to more of horror as and entertainment aspect, which is what the game is really about.
    The games release date has been pushed back till November of 2012, which is not really surprising.  The latter part of the year is always when the best games come out.   I'm really excited to see how this chapter of the Resident Evil saga pans out.  I'm also just really excited to hear that creepy voice at the start of the game to say "Resident Evil...6". LOL.  

I'm Back!!

   I don't know what else to say...If you didn't like the first Expendables then I'm pretty sure your brain dead.  The Expendables 2 takes what Stallone did in the first movie and then makes it so much more!  The Expendables 2 is going to be an action super star extravaganza!  I haven't been this excited to see a bang-bang shoot-em up movie since the newest Rambo.  This movie has every action star that has been around since the '80's.  Sylvester Stallone is one my all time favorite actors so I get very excited when he comes out with a new movie, but this movie has the best action stars, past and present.  Jason Statham (Transporter, Crank) is one of the hottest action stars around, followed closely by Jet Li (Lethal Weapon 4, Hero), and both of them will star in this epic movie of movies!  This is going to be a testosterone filled Man movie.  This time around it looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are going to have major roles.  And tell me you didn't get chills when Arnold said "I'm back" in the trailer?  And if the addition of the great Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van damme isn't enough then well I think should see a psychiatrist.

Game over man!!! Colonial Marines

       When I first saw that they were coming out a with new game based off of one of my most favorite scifi series movies Aliens, I was a little stand-offish.  There have been many adaptations of the Aliens movies for videos games dating back to the SNES.  I have played every last one, and honestly, was disappointed by all.  When Alien vs Predator came out in 2010 I was very excited.  Finally they had released a game worthy to have the same title of the excellent Aliens saga.  Then with the recent announcement of Aliens: Colonial Marines, all I can say is, YES!  After days of research and watching video after video, I can say, this is going to be the best Aliens game yet. 
    The game was announced back in 2008 with a 2009 release, however, it sat on Sega's back burner for some time so they could release Borderlands and Duke Nukem.  Now the game is back on and is set to release in the Spring of 2012, so, soon hopefully, lol.  
     While watching the videos the thing that stands out most to me the most is the sounds.  The sounds of the Aliens screeching, the blast of the pulse rifles, the tell tale pinging of the motion sensor, I felt like I was watching the movie.  Having the Xenomorphes pop-out just about anywhere makes it as intense as the movie is.  Publisher Sega with developer Gearbox Software, is right on the mark with this.  They have been working directly with creative directors of Aliens and 21st century Fox studios to be as accurate as possible. 
    The game is taking place after the the 3rd Aliens movie.  You play as a Colonial Marine sent back to LV-426  as a search and rescue mission.  You  find the abandoned U.S.S. Sulaco in orbit around LV-426. Eventually you make your way down to the planet looking for survivors, mainly Lt. Ripley and Corp. Hicks.  The game takes you right in the middle of Hadley's Hope, yes its still there even after the power reactor exploded, where the movie Aliens took place.  Watching the video you can see very recognizable items and places from the movies such as the facehuggers in the specimen jars, and the map that they used in the movie to find the "civi's".   From the motion sensors to the remote sentry turrets, this game looks to stick very close to the Aliens model from the movie.  With out much more information about the game or even more leaked videos, I can't be sure of many details as of right now.  I do know there will be a multiplayer.  The game will have four player co-op online with drop-in/drop-out during the campaign.  No solid details have been released for online multiplayer,however, Gearbox has hinted at a "Aliens vs. Marines" style online multiplayer.  One thing I notice on the video of the game play, is that it had no HUD, which in my opinion would make the game a little more exciting and fun with just your gun, ammo counter and the pinging sound of the motion sensor.  I'm hoping to take on the alien Queen just so I can say  "Get away from her you bitch!"  (you would get that if you have seen the movie)  
   Well I can't wait to get my pulse rifle on, and maybe some acid blood action.  So Marine, get ready to blast some Xenomorphes.  Stay frosty!

   

The First Beta Weekend for Guild Wars 2 over.

Well, if you were a pre-purchaser for guild wars 2 then you were lucky enough to have gotten a beta code for the this past weekends beta event for the upcoming Guild Wars 2.  I have watched many videos of people playing the beta and some reviews of what people think so far.  I'm hoping they will eventually launch a public beta or at least have another raffle for beta codes like they did before.  I see myself buying this game before any game in the new future.  I'm still stuck on Lord of the Rings Online right now, so we'll see if Guild Wars can draw me away (maybe).  So if you have played the Beta and would like to share experience, please post some comments here.  I would love to hear directly from someone who participated.  thanks again.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 revealed!!!

So, here it is, as promised, in all its glory.  The first Official Black Ops 2 trailer!!!!

So  let me hear your opinions, rants, raves, what ever you want to say, let me hear it!  I'll post my official break down of the trailer later.  Please comment and don't forget to follow my blog.  

Official Release Date of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

Well according to several sources, one being the official call of duty UK website, Call of Duty Black Ops 2 has a release date of November 13th of this year.  http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723329/call-of-duty-black-ops-2-release-date-announced/   No official trailer has been released yet, but the world Premiere is said to be released tonight during the NBA Playoffs.  So, even though I won't be watching the game I will be watching for the trailer.  I will keep you up to date.  According a to a few leaked sources, the game will take place in a "21st century Cold War, where technology and weapons have converged to create a new generation of warfare."  The few screenshots I have seen so far look fairly impressive.  It appears to me that not only is it going to be taking place in the near future but will also take place on American soil, as seen in the picture of a helicopter flying towards a war-torn Los Angeles. So please follow my blog if you wish to be kept informed.   Look forward to me posting the trailer as soon as it airs.