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Hey there, wanna read info on some games or 360 tech, or what we think on a specific subject? Well you came to the right place.
The articles will have all the info you need to read about on up-coming game, new games, and some classic games you just love playing.
Just make sure to check out on the articles for info on the hottest games coming to you.
Fallout 3 Forward thinking
BY: Adam D (Elit3ski11s) for www.gamertag360.ca
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It’s very rare for a game to be this unique and good. If you look back at Fallout 1, 2, and tactics you will see a major change. The biggest of course is the fact that the others were turn based and top vi.e.w. Not to knock turn based (it worked very well) for those game, but for a game to move forward and be an RPG, FPS, and TPS; now that’s epic.
After putting in roughly 120-150 hours with Fallout 3 with all of the DLC, all I want now is more Fallout. However there is always a but, I want some changes. I hate playing a sequel and it is the same but just a different setting. This franchise has the most potential for future games. I’m going to list some of my thoughts and then explain each of them.
The List:
Co-op
I don’t think I want to see the future of Fallout to be a MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online), at least not yet. I hate paying to play one game, when I already paid for Xbox Live (unless the game was so good that I couldn’t resist). What I want to see is multi-player in the game. I don’t know if I want standalone or joinable multiplayer, I prefer standalone (so you don’t get a**holes coming in a doing dumb stuff to your game). Split screen , xbox-live, s-link is a must. A save file for each because you don’t want to have a guy quit on you and then you are stuck not being able to continue.
Level Cap
The only problem with the way the level cap was implemented in Fallout 3 was how it was cut off at 20 (pre DLC). So before the DLC came out I was already at 20 and I missed out on a lot of EXP before the level cap was raised. I liked when you leveled up that you got a new level, stats, and a perk (maybe they can come up with even more features). They also need to make the level cap either harder to get to, or more of them (like 100).
Proper Money System / Barter System
The main problem with the money system in Fallout 3 was the fact that stuff was always worth the same (besides what perks/stats you had or the quality of the item). What I mean is; each place (or globally) should use the supply and demand system and also have different currency (like caps, forks, tin, etc…) then if you brought in 100 of the same item, the guy might give you $100 for the first, $95 for the second, and $5 for the 100th etc… (also apply quality and perks/stats). Then if it also works globally, it will stop you from dumping 5 at each travel location. Now, add different currencies to the mix, like a unique item costing 100 tin, and tin is hard to find. So you have to barter for tin, or exchange your caps for tin, etc. Not to confuse anyone, but now lets add a barter system (which is locally, so you never know what kind of a deal you could get, and something that is worth $1 cap at a shop is worth (in trade) $50 caps if sold at another shop). This works really well if you want to trade with a random character. It also opens up a huge opportunity for a benefit of exploring and learning about people and places (I.E.: You find out in a conversation that this particular person or town is in need of “plates). Normally we always pass by this junk but it will be in the back of your mind that this junk might be worth something to someone. So then you gather 20 plates and barter the plates for the unique item that you couldn’t have gotten otherwise. Remember in Fallout 3 when you felt the need to collect stuff (i.e. The the pool balls), you traded it to someone who really wanted it, and you might have gotten a unique item for the task that you completed.
Traps / Destruction
I think two really cool features Fallout 3 were missing was destruction and traps. I know there was traps set up for you, but it would be good if you were able to set traps as well. You could get creative and make a boulder fall off a cliff if a guy picks up a gun etc. The AI would have to improve slightly for this to work. Another cool thing would be if you could trap animals like a dog and either sell them or train them to guard your place. Another main feature that was missing was destruction. It really adds to the “survival” part of the game. You already need food/water/sleep, caps, meds, etc. Add the fact that hiding spots and areas can be destroyed, it adds a whole new dimension in the gameplay. It’s not as appealing as in a straight FPS, but I think they could work something into it to giving me a more “survival” feeling in the gameplay.
Housing System
There is a lot to talk about here; so I might be brief in parts, but you will get what I mean. You know in Fallout 3 you could only have a house in 1 or 2 places? Well imagine if you could make a place anywhere. You could buy a place, share a place, steal a place, make a place etc. There are endless opportunities here. I’ll touch on a few concepts I was thinking of. It would be cool if your place had more interaction, like the ability to hire people, set traps, have an alarm, sell it, etc, or even have more then one place. That way you don’t have to put all of your eggs in one basket (so to speak). If a guy tries to steel or destroy your house; the alarm might let you know or your hired guard might try to fend off the guys etc. If you happen to lose control, yes you might lose some or all of your stuff that was there, but you may have a hideout somewhere else with more stuff. Like I said, I could go into great detaIl about how the value works, the mechanics, but that’s almost another article all together. I just wanted to get my points across. Just imagine if you had a silent alarm that triggered your pip-boy; you could sneak home and catch the robbers in the act. You could then torture the guy, kill him, turn him into a slave, etc. Just use your imagination.
Friends / Allies
I think the ability to hire/fire someone in Fallout 3 was amazing. The problem with it is sometimes you felt like you were babysitting, especially when you made them carry stuff and they died. I think there needs to be more to this feature. You really only had a few options with respect to interaction. It would also be cool if you could hire more than one, and if they had more of a mind of there own, maybe they end up double crossing you (because you didn’t take the time to learn about the person etc…). I guess they just felt disposable to me. Maybe they should have perks and unique abilities so they have reason to save or keep around. It would also be cool if you had to prove stuff to people to gain trust or respect. Could you imagine sacrificing a long term ally to prove your willingness to a larger piece of the puzzle, project, or mission! Just needs more dynamics.
More Perks / Custom Weapons
Just a light topic; I think they need way more custom weapons and more perks. Don’t get me wrong, there were a good amount of perks, but I just like more options. More of a concern for me was the low amount of custom weapons. To me this was a great feature in the game. Collecting the schematics of guns and making them on a work bench was a really cool addition to the game. I just think there should be more, like 100+ custom armor. There must be a minimum of that much (100+) custom guns in the next game, to really give a good sense of exploring and creating unique guns. This would offer more exploration for specific parts, discovering newer locations, and having an ever more rewarding experience when exploring to make any custom weapons or armor.
Vehicles
Ok now listen up; this could be a great addition to the game. Don’t get me wrong, exploring was great, but at times it got repetitive. I think it would be cool if there were vehicles you could find/steal/make/fix/borrow/rent,etc. It just opens up more reason to collect stuff, and also lets you get around differently. Also add fuel to the mix, and it will make you use them more carefully. As long as they don’t get rid of fast travel, I will be happy. The more things you need money for (like fuel, parts for the vehicle), the better. It was way to easy to hoard money, and then money became useless. Having money troubles makes the game way more fun because you have to make more financial choices and not just get everything at your disposal.
More Services
They had a fair amount of services in Fallout 3 (some were a doctor, reseller, repair, etc) but if they added more services, then the player would have a broader choice of whom to go to. They could add a metal worker, a salvager, mechanic, thief, professional hitman, and an alarm. I know the number of people are far and few between but its nice to have options.
Pip-boy 3000 map and custom notes
A major missed feature in Fallout 3 was the ability to make notes and draw on the map. It helps keep you organized and stops us from having to use a paper and pen. So much to remember, and sometimes you can’t get into places and wish to note the location for later references. I also loved finding notes that led you to finding stuff, learning key information, and leading to another mission or task. I think they should Keep it and improve on to for future Fallout games.
Treasure
There was way to little of this in Fallout 3. I think they need more of this. It was fun finding the “MERV” and the “Ali.e.n Gun” etc. Buried treasure would be cool, especially if it is unique and proves useful. Maybe even sunken ship treasure. This feature is just a favorite of mine. Another small touch would be collecting stuff for a purpose. Remember collecting the billiard balls and finding out that there wasn’t a complete set and it didn’t matter anyway because they weren’t worth much and it didn’t do anything special? Well what if there were collections, and certain people wanted them and it unlocked stuff like weapons, info, etc. Just a neat thing to do while playing.
Underground / Subway
One of my biggest pet peeves in Fallout 3 was the subway and the underground system. I hated having to go in them to get around, thank god for fast travel. They could get rid of this easily. Maybe just add a water component with islands (no outer space).
Uniques
They did this very well in Fallout 3, but they needed some that weren’t just better versions of another weapon already in the game. Examples: “Knee Capper” = Sawed off shot gun. I know it makes sense because you can repair it, but there should be some that can’t be fixed and are really unique. Maybe something like a lock picker that doesn’t break (like in Oblivion) and that can open any door. Just makes a neat addition and another angle to the way the game is played. Would be nice if you could sell and trade stuff to co-op friends.
Odd Jobs / Side Missions
If money was harder to come by, then the odd jobs would be more appealing. I remember when money was tight in the beginning of Fallout 3, I would collect everything and sell it. That was too easy to have a mound of cash. In addition to my currency fixes, they should make more side jobs (i.e. Collecting pre-war books, scrap metal, sugar bombs, etc). Maybe less collecting jobs and more of action stuff like hit man work (if you’re bad) and rescuing work (if you’re good). If you had to pay for stuff (spur of the moment and daily) then you would need money and sometimes at the loss of karma or stuff. Think about it, you hired a guy to watch your place while your out doing missions and you realize your low on cash and you owe your guy some cash. If you don’t pay there will be consequences, he might come kill you, punk your belongings, or just leave. I don’t want the game to get easier as it goes on, just harder. I think it would be also cool to have someone in town to tip you off and say he thinks your hired guy is stealing from you. I want the choice to find out and deal with him. Do I kill him, torture him, fire him, or feed him to dog meat. Anyway, before I go to far off topic, the point is, odd jobs make more sense and feel more rewarding if money was harder to get. Side missions should also get more then just EXP, you should get perks, items, etc.
In conclusion:
Overall, you can see the potential in the future of the Fallout Series. Fallout 3 was a huge step forward and I really hope for some of these ideas and some surprises that I didn’t think of.
Elit3Ski11s
Adam D
For
Gamertag360.ca
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Destruction with a Purpose
BY: Adam D (Elit3ski11s) for www.gamertag360.ca
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Why Battlefield Bad Company 2 could bring the FPS Genre to a whole new level (if done right)
I was recently reading an article on BC2’s multiplayer. Something caught my eye, which made me very happy. All I can hope for now is that they come through and the game works like they say it does.
Let me start by saying, have you ever played a FPS and got so into it that you really felt like you were there? BUT there were limitations that stopped you from doing what were thinking of doing? Well if I’m reading this article correctly then some of those limitations could be removed, and in my eyes that’s one step closer to making games more realistic.
Here is a link to the article http://www.xbox360achievements.org/news/news-3867-Bad-Company-2-Multiplayer-Hands-On---There-is-no-I-in-Squad.html
Here is a quote of a comment I posted on the comment section:
“Comment #20 by Elit3Ski11s
Tuesday, November 17, 2009 @ 08:06:16 AM
LOVE the new destruction; more games need to take advantage of this. It adds so much more to the game. Think about this: you are hiding behind a wall and there is a window above your head. You can slightly see a shadow walking by so you wait for the perfect moment to jump out and knife/shoot the guy. But it was all a trap? How about a new thermal sensor which lets the guy know you’re behind the wall and with it being more destructive, he goes to plant a c4 on the wall to either kill you or expose you. HOWEVER you thought this might happen so you "pre shot" the wall to expose a "peep" hole for you to spy with. You aim and POP. Now only you can decide if the guy killed the other guy about to plant the c4, or if another guy did the same thing you did and got you first...... that’s my kind of game.”
I was typing fast and didn’t bother to spell check or grammar check (so I made a few corrections on here), but the content is still good. Some of ideas posted (like the thermal sensor) probably won’t be in the game, but the idea is still plausible with the way they are taking the game. So who knows, maybe other games will have it. The point of me posting was the fact that games are letting us be more strategic. I just hope the game can deliver.
I’m thinking that by November 2010 the games made in general should use more of what’s available. I just want to be able to do more then just jump, shoot/knife, cover. I mean the cover system in general was a huge step forward too, but when Merc’s 2 and BC1 had destruction, I was really hoping for more. Merc’s 2 was a really bad game IMO, they did destruction OK, but the rest of the game was weak and buggy. BC1 had little destruction (or same spots break etc…) but the rest was great. If BC2 can take advantage of the best that’s out there, then there is a possibility for a really great game. Not sure if it will get game of the year, but still in the top 5 hopefully.
Now I know I talk a lot about destruction as a major part of the game, and I don’t mean it as just to smash stuff for fun. What I mean is breaking stuff for a purpose. Which brings me to the topic of this whole article; I really think there are major breakthroughs in gaming that get remembered for years to come, and other games follow because it worked well.
The cover system was well done in GOW2 and R6V2. The mix of FPS, 3PS, RPG was done extremely well in Fallout 3. The amazing storylines in recent memory were done well by GOW2 and MW2. Not to get too far off topic, my point is, these are great examples of what works well.
So now we get to destruction. It just hasn’t quite made its mark. Look at Merc’s 2, BC1, Red Faction Gorilla. They tried, but it just didn’t quite make a landmark advancement. The problem for Merc’s 2 was you just break everything and there really wasn’t much point, it was fun for about 1 hour and then you realized you could pretty much just not do that and still complete the game (except for when they ask you to). Red Faction Gorilla just added this feature to be a smash and go; when I played the demo I was really disappointed. I think I turned it off after about 20 minutes of playing that garbage. I had high hopes for that game, but it failed. Now BC1 came the closest to what I’m looking for. It added destruction as an element. You can blast a hole through a wall to get into a building for cover, to get someone, or for fun. The problem with it was the realism. It always looked the same, and again, there were limitations. If I wanted the corner gone on the wall, it would just make the hole in the middle etc… If I wanted to make a small hole to use as a spying tool, I couldn’t; it would just make a big hole and people could see me.
I also think the super fast paced online like MW2 gets old (run shot, kill, die, rinse and repeat), don’t get me wrong I really like playing MW2 and I will continue to, I guess I’m just looking for something different. Like the first time I played Fallout 3. I like thinking out ways to surprise guys, be creative, and yet still have fun. I also really like the way BC1 did the online, it was great, and the way you get to choose the type of guy you’re going to be was brilliant (sniper, medic, etc…)
So to sum it up; let’s hope this quote from the article can come true:
“Initial appearances prove deceiving however, as Battlefield: Bad Company 2 has more new stuff going on beneath its surface than you might first imagine. For starters, BC2 utilizes a modified version of the Frostbite engine, which incorporates what DICE are calling ‘Destruction 2.0’. In layman’s terms, this essentially means that rather than merely ploughing through walls and toppling trees, you’ll now be able to pound entire structures into the ground or blast a wee hole in cover for you to fire a cheeky bullet through. While all of this might not sound like much, the wealth of new tactical possibilities it unlocks shouldn’t be underestimated.”
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is penciled in for a March 2nd and March 5th 2010 launch date in North America and Europe respectively.
Adam D, Elit3ski11s, www.gamertag360.ca
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Halo 3: ODST
By: Scott H (Master Sandwich) for www.gamertag360.ca
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Are you ready to drop? Have you packed all your belongings and said good bye to your team? Do you get motion sickness easily? Well luckily, you are playing as an ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Trooper) in Bungie’s latest Halo installment, Halo 3: ODST.
Halo 3: ODST takes place in between Halo 2 and Halo 3. These are the events that lead up to Halo 3 with Master Chief landing on Earth. As Master Chief is fighting the Leadership in space in Halo 2, the Covenant has launched a full scale attack on New Mombasa. The Covenant lands a ship on top of New Mombasa but they eventually retreat via Slipspace Jump due to the UNSC fighting off the Covenant. In Halo 3: ODST, you arrive in time for the light show. The slipspace jump causes a massive shock-wave and destroys the majority of the city, sending your squad mates way off course from where they were suppose to land.
In the beginning of Halo 3: ODST, you’ll be playing as the Rookie. Later in the game, you’ll play as anyone of these squad members; Buck, Dutch, Romeo, Mickey, and Dare. Halo 3: ODST begins with you dropping in your orb from your station to New Mombasa, Africa. You are part of an elite group known as ODST and heading to New Mombasa to eliminate the Covenant threat occupying New Mombasa. As you descend to New Mombasa, a Covenant attack-ship creates a slipspace jump causing a massive shock-wave. This shock-wave causes you to become separated from your squad before landing (while in mid-air). Your squad - Buck, Dutch, Romeo, Mickey, and Dare are all landing in wrong areas and you lose contact with them. What will happen to your squad? Will you ever find them? Only time will tell.
There are a lot of features that Halo 3: ODST brings to the table. A new hero, new campaign, and a little thing called “firefights” are added to the core game play. In firefights, you kill waves of oncoming Covenant forces with your squad of 4, all co-op, and on Xbox Live. Unfortunately, there will not be any offline bots to assist you, online co-op, or offline co-op. The campaign is approximately 4 hours (on an easy difficulty), to 8 or 9 hours (on the harder difficulties) . Halo 3: ODST will also come to 2 disc’s. One disc is for the campaign + firefight. No matchmaking for ODST sadly, but it’s meant for campaign-only purposes. The second disc is the Halo 3 map experience. This will include all the map DLC (downloadable content) including the last 3 maps to complete Halo 3’s achievement list, so you can unlock Recon armor.
Halo 3: ODST will drop on Tuesday September 22, 2009 (which isn’t far away), so stay tuned for out full review and what we though. Thanks for reading.
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360 Bundled With Forza 3 or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and 250GB HD!!!
By: Scott H (Master Sandwich) for www.gamertag360.ca
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Just when you needed more room for DLC, downloading demos, videos and anything else you can think of.. now you got it. Recently announced, the new size for the Xbox 360 console will be included in an exclusive bundle with Modern Warfare 2 or Forza 3.
For the Modern Warfare limited edition console, the contents include: Limited Edition Xbox 360 console, a 250GB hard drive (twice the size of the biggest Xbox 360 HD), two wireless controllers (Assuming the color black to match the console), a headset, and of course a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (standard edition).
As for the Forza 3, the same is included but information hasn’t been released if the console will be game-themed like the Modern Warfare 2 console will. To go over what is included with the Forza 3 Xbox 360 bundle, the follow is included: Limited Edition Xbox 360 Elite, 250GB hard drive, two wireless xbox 360 controllers, a wireless headset communicator, and Forza 3 (standard edition).
Some sites have included that the Forza 3 Xbox 360 Elite may be released on October 23 (didn’t specify what year), and no release date on the Modern Warfare 2 Elite bundle. If you have been living under a rock, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will be released on November 10, 2009 (11,10,09). Forza 3 (IMO, one of the best racers for the 360) will be released on October 22, 2009.
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