Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is, briefly, the sweet spot for fans of George Romero . Zombies from all sides, three companions at his side, arms in the hands of all, only one chance to get redemption.
No corrupt organizations producing chemical weapons, no aliens trying to dominate the world, only four people trying to survive in an extraordinary situation in the best survival horror style.
Being developed by Turtle Rock Studios and distributed by Valve Corporation, the game features several technologies which together offer a unique experience. The first is being planned from the first time for cooperative play. Up to four people can control each of the survivors, or the computer may take some of these.
Another key technology is called the Director. An advanced artificial intelligence system, the Director adjusting the difficulty level dynamically according to the skill of the players.
This means that if players are dying easily, or have trouble dealing with many enemies simultaneously, the game automatically sends a smaller number of creatures against the group, offers more first-aid kits, and so on. The opposite also happens: a group that is very easy going by the challenges begin to find more and more creatures.
The game also offers the possibility of matches between two groups of four players, where one group controls some of the different types of creatures in the game.
Left 4 Dead will be available beginning on November 4 for PC and Xbox 360. After the link, here are some videos showing the gameplay from the next release.
Lara Croft
Time has been generous with Lara Croft. Twelve years have passed since its first incarnation digital, and it is getting better.
But it is not getting younger. In 1996 it "weighed" a few hundred polygons and three-dimensional "wearing" only a few kilobytes of bitmap textures, now the model created for the upcoming Tomb Raider: Underworld has more than 32 000 polygons, and textures in several Megabytes.
In the assembly below, you can see the evolution of visual character through the entire Tomb Raider series, which has few constants, like the horse-tail, the two holsters on his waist, and his enormous ... acrobatic skills.
Besides the character, the images are a good demonstration of how 3D graphics in games through the years. The series was always in a good position when it comes to accompany the graphic possibilities of computers and video games.
After the link, see the complete assembly.
Fighting
We have seen in previous articles about the Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning what are the mechanics that will affect the game as a whole. It's time to see how the game from the viewpoint of the player. In this third part of the preview, let's see what are the classes that WAR offers the player, and how these characters behave in combat.
The combat in WAR does not deviate much from the pattern established by previous MMO's, but it has some features designed to give a bit of sparkle to this part so fundamental.
Mirror
One of the most fascinating games released in recent months, Mirror's Edge puts us in the shoes of Faith, a messenger who lives in a town completely controlled and monitored, responsible for transporting messages from those on the margins of society.
Different not only by the visual, which shows a city clean and clear, almost monochrome, but the visual perspective. The highlight of the game are the many stunts performed by Faith to move around the city, using techniques of Parkour.
However, contrary to what would be the first option, the developers at EA Dice (known for games in the Battlefield series) opted to keep the game entirely in first person, which increases the immersion in that universe.
To help the player find their way, Mirror's Edge offers a feature called Runner Vision, a representation of the character of the instinct to choose the best path, which leaves red elements of the scenario that can be used by Faith to cross their barriers.
The game focuses on character interaction with the environment, and despite allowing the use of weapons, they flounder in acrobatics and let Faith slower, so the game encourages the player to not use weapons, and concentrate on fighting hand-to-body (there is even an Achievement for those who complete the game without firing a single shot).
Mirror's Edge still has no release date, and is available for PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
The details of this article, you can see some videos of disclosure, showing the elegant visual style of the game, and interesting combat system.
Wrath of the Lich King Cinematic
And Blizzard has not been back. One day after the cinematic release of his likely main competitor, is the cinematic released the second expansion of World of Warcraft, Wrath of the Lich King.
Impeccable. If there is one sector of the Blizzard that hit the pinnacle in quality, is the sector of cinematics. Do not miss seeing.
It can be viewed by streaming or download (Bittorrent, via the Blizzard Downloader) at the site of World of Warcraft .
Ps.: Screenshot also with sword was on purpose.:)
Warhammer Online: Cinematic
[Edit: the link to download the Tripple Point is temporarily down]
[Edit 2: See the video right here on the blog for streaming, or high definition, courtesy of GameTrailers.com]
[Edit 3: Tripple Point link back to air, and added another link to download the video in high definition]
Stop absolutely everything you're doing. Now! Hands off the keyboard!
Listen now to the cinematic (video input) of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. Finally I can say I saw an opening game even better than those produced by Blizzard (and I've know people who works at Blizz sector GC). The video was produced by Blur Studio , also responsible for several other vignettes of games such as Warhammer 40K, Hellgate: London and Tabula Rasa.
The video can be viewed streaming on the Mythic site , or by download at Tripple Point PR or BidDownload . Or directly below if you prefer.
Source: Digg and Vertical Wire .
Do not worry, I have not forgotten him. The next article is already well underway, and just awaiting some final touches to be published.
I'm digesting some new information released today with the fall of NDA (nondisclosure agreement, which is "signed" by all who participate in Closed Beta), and reviewing some of my notes taken based only on official posts. Descriptions of the 20 classes in the game are especially in need of a makeover.
I appreciate the patience, and feel free until then.
Impressive! Be the visual, the graphic quality, the pace and editing, or the soundtrack, the new trailer for Far Cry 2 is something you can not miss it.
Michael Bay would be proud.
And while you await the final parts of the preview of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, here's some fresh news: we have a date for the start of Open Beta, which will be released to all who made the pre-purchase of the box, and Closed Beta participants.
Some restrictions will be in operation during this beta:
The Open Beta will limit the level and content restricted. You can choose any of 20 careers available in the game and advance to the rank 20. You can also explore and battle across Tiers 1 and 2 of each nation. Please note that any characters created during Open Beta will NOT be passed on to the final game, they will be removed from servers.
This information is only valid for North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
For more details, see the official site in the page about the Open Beta .
All Points Bulletin
What is needed for a good action game?
- Open-world game? Checks.
- Cars tweaked? Checks.
- Weapons? Checks.
- Police? Checks.
- The most complete and complex character customization system ever created? Checks.
- Graphics on par with any game last generation? Checks.
- Massively Multiplayer Online Game? Confer ... Um, how is it?
Ever wondered how it would play GTA with thousands of people at once? No need to imagine. The Realtime Worlds is developing the All Points Bulletin , an MMO that has come to be touted as a massive version of GTA.
After the link, watch two videos showing some of the gameplay, and the comprehensive character customization system that is being created for the game.
Translator
By N2H