Tag archive: first person shooter

For those that have spent more time that they would care to admit on Google Maps’ street view, this is for you. So say you are exploring your neighborhood on Google Maps, just wandering around being suitably impressed with the technology that lets you see a good chunk of the real world thanks to more actual photos than anyone sane could count. You turn a corner and smile with appreciation as you recognize a familiar block. Then you take out an… Read More

To answer the number one question: Yes, it is very pretty. Battlefield 3 has been wowing us for the last several months with screen shots that make us go all giddy, and gameplay that includes the possibility of using jets to bomb your online friends back to the Stone Age. The new Frostbite 2.0 engine has become something of a synonym for great graphics and destructible environments, and all before the game was even released. The wait is over,… Read More

Most PC gamers know Crysis well. It was either a point of infinite pride and bragging, or it was the source of frustration and feelings of inadequacy. The phrase “can it run Crysis” even became a meme for people talking high end computers. Running it at its highest resolution was nearly impossible for us mere mortals. It required the computational equivalent of the Starship Enterprise—or it might as well have, because almost no computer on Earth… Read More

Electronic Arts used its first annual Vegas Games Show to premiere a new take on a classic game franchise. Syndicate has been re-designed as a first-person shooter by acclaimed developer Starbreeze Studios, which has made a name for itself with games like The Darkness and Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay. Syndicate features a new story by New York Times bestselling author Richard Morgan, who worked closely with Starbreeze on this… Read More

It was sometime after midnight, after playing Rage for a few hours, that I realized I was hooked. I had intended to play for just a few moments to see how it looked, then really dig in through the next days. Six hours later, as my eyes began to blur, I grudgingly set the controller down to sleep, perchance to dream of a bunch of mutants charging me. Rage is an amazing game with flashes of brilliance. Not everything it does is original, and there… Read More

Here’s a surprising tidbit in gaming: People like war-based games. Crazy! But when it comes to war-themed games, the setting is typically a bit glorified. Even when the situation is desperate, the game revels in the action and usually makes the hero larger than life. Even in the previous Resistance games, where the setting was grim, protagonist Nathan Hale was still an uber-hero. He was the most effective soldier around, and you never doubted… Read More

Some of the best games at E3 were behind closed doors. Metro: Last Light was one of them. The guys at developer 4A Games took us through several sections of the game, which had mine cart shootouts, Hitler-esque rallies, and some great environmental manipulation & destruction. As it did with Metro 2033, THQ has signed on to publish the sequel and seems to be letting 4A do its thing, which is refreshing. 4A hopes to successfully blend… Read More

XCOM is one of those games that many people played as a kid and carried fond memories of it with them into their adulthood. But fond memories don’t explode well, so the upcoming XCOM not only reboots the series with a fresh new story to introduce it to a new audience, it also changes the gameplay from a turn-based strategy to a first-person shooter. With E3 looming, it is not surprising to see a trailer for XCOM even though it isn’t due out… Read More

Video game violence never fails to garner more attention than it deserves, but a new title called Glorious Mission has become something of a controversy. The game comes from PLA, which is not an acronym for a development firm but instead the People’s Liberation Army of China. The PLA collaborated with Wuxi Giant Interactive Group to create the game which pits Chinese soldiers against their main opposition, the US military. Glorious Mission (also… Read More

When it comes to first-person shooters, developers need to have a fairly solid hook these days to get make sure your game doesn’t become a victim of the overcrowded genre. Just look at the World War II games which once dominated the stores. With a few possible exceptions, there probably isn’t a single battle that hasn’t been in some way recreated in a video game — maybe the Nazi’s invasion of Belgium, but that would likely be a very short… Read More

If you own a Wii and are a fan of first person-shooters, your options have been somewhat limited of late. You have Goldeneye and a handful of others, but that is about it. The genre is the proverbial red-headed stepchild of the Wii, and to stand out in the field, developers know that they need to come up with something special to make a mark and convince gamers to give them a try. Sega and developer High Voltage think they have done just… Read More

Killzone 3 has its flaws, but like a supermodel with bed-head and a great personality, you can overlook these minor details in order to enjoy a fantastic overall package. I won’t try to convince anyone that the single player campaign is the best thing ever, but it is good. The story is somewhat non-existent in some parts, as the game relies on the setting to help push the game forward. The length of the missions is a touch on the short side as… Read More

Battlefield, the series that helped revolutionize multiplayer gaming on the PC is finally back. For the first time since 2005, developer DICE is ready to unleash more than an incremental update to its Battlefield series. Battlefield 3, the developer tells Game Informer, will bring a huge leap in immersion and environmental destruction (a feature many shooters still do not have) thanks to the developer's new Frostbite 2 game engine.… Read More

Those that played the original The Darkness will likely remember one thing about it—it was dark. No, that is not a pun, the game was one of the darkest themed games around, with loved ones dying horribly and the evil entity of the Darkness kinda kicking the crap out of everyone, including the protagonist. It was not exactly kid friendly, especially when people's heads exploded and the like. Hitman Jackie Estacado returns in The Darkness… Read More

A sequel to Ubisoft and developer Techland’s Western-themed first-person shooters is on the way, but the new installment will radically alter the makeup of the Call of Juarez franchise. Where the first two games featured storylines set in the early to mid-1800s, the new title, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, will take place in the modern day setting, and take players from Los Angeles to Juarez, Mexico. “Call of Juarez: The Cartel is an… Read More