Modern Rehash 3: This Time it's Impersonal!

The time is now. The war is in full swing and it’s time to choose your side. Battlefield or Call of Duty. Choose damn you! Oh. You might want to know a little something about Call of Duty first. Valid desire. Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 are very different games. It’s important to remember this. Someone might lean naturally towards one or the other because of their gameplay differences. Call of Duty has always been quick and fast (giggity) and Battlefield embodies a slower, more strategic theater of war. Of course, the style of game isn’t the only deciding factor. If the quality of one is leaps and bounds above the other, you might want to think about switching. Is Modern Warfare 3 good enough to make Battlefield players give it a shot? Find out now! OMG the suspense rager!

The single player campaign picks up right where the last Modern Warfare ended. If you haven’t played the last game, spoiler alert (and wtf man? Are you alive?).  Vladimir Makarov is still the bad guy and you’re forced to immediately deal with the knife wound Soap earned himself at the end of the last campaign. After tending to soaps wounds, you’re immediately thrown into the action. Russia is still at war with the U.S. (a popular choice for the modern war game) and New York is under attack. The beginning of the game reminds you of the climax of a lot of war games. A big city and lots of explosions. I can understand why they’d want to open this game in a big way, considering the success of MW2. Seeing this immediately got me thinking about what they might do to top this throughout the campaign.

Unfortunately, they don’t do much. The campaign has you hopping to every major city in the world to fight off Russian attacks without a whole lot of explanation. After a while, the game starts to feel like a collection of encounters rather than a game. Each city looks impressive, but your mission is always the same. Kill some Russians and enjoy some explosions. This is fun for the first hour or so, but it really starts to wear on you by the end of the game. There was no sense of pacing. There weren’t enough emotional peaks and valleys to keep it interesting. Whoever made this game seemed to think the more explosions, the better the game.

The first couple Modern Warfares took pride in having plenty of missions with a calmer tone. It really gave them that “it” factor that allowed them to transcend above “just a war game.” I expected I would be able to shoot a hundred guys in the middle of a major intersection, but I never expected I would get to control the cannons of an AC-130, or wear a ghillie suit and hunt for targets in a ghost town. These were all some of my favorite sequences from MW1 & 2, but moments like these are few and far between in this new installment. The game still has one or two memorable moments, but a hundred that fall flat. Most of them were complete copies of what you got in the previous games and didn’t create any emotions you haven’t felt before.

The developer of this game (Infinity Ward) went through a bit of drama a couple years ago with its publisher, Activision. A couple of the founding members of Infinity Ward (Jason West & Vince Zampella) were fired for mysterious reasons shortly after Modern Warfare 2 came out. Some of the details are still undisclosed, but the rumor is Jason and Vince held meetings with EA that breached their contract. The two developers were also suing Activision, claiming the publisher didn’t pay Infinity Ward the royalties they deserved for MW2. Since their firing, our unemployed entrepreneurs created a new company called Respawn Entertainment with the funding and support of EA. Since then, the majority of the people at Infinity Ward have left to join Jason & Vince at Respawn. It would be easy for me to blame the loss of campaign quality in MW3 on the lost talent, and That’s exactly what I’m going to do. In all seriousness, whoever made the campaigns so memorable in the last two Modern Warfares, clearly left.

Fortunately for Activision, a large population of shooter fans won’t even touch the campaign. The multiplayer is back with everything you expect, and nothing you don’t. The gameplay hasn’t been shaken up at all, and for some long-time fans, that’s a good thing. You can shoot the crap out of your friends across 10 modes (even more if you consider the alternates) on 16 maps. This may sound like a strong selling point when you consider Battlefield 3 only has 2 modes with around 10 maps. However, a lot of MW3’s maps are ripped right out of the campaign and aren’t nearly as big as battlefield’s.

PvP is still just an infantry affair with no vehicles, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Call of Duty has always taken pride in having really fast paced infantry combat. Shooting your friends in a hectic environment with no respawn times can be fun, but it’s the exact same fun you can still get with Modern Warfare 2. A few things have been added (kill streaks work a little differently and you can now attach two scopes on one weapon), but this does very little to create a new sense of enjoyment. It’ll feel like you’ve already been playing this multiplayer for the past two years. This conservative approach might please some who just want the same game with more unlocks, but frustrate others who waited this long for something different.

Spec Ops also returns with a new mode. You can play the mission mode which will allow you and a buddy to complete objectives together against the A.I. (identical to MW2). The new mode is called survival. This is essentially the Modern Warfare 3 version of a horde or zombie mode. You take on wave after wave of enemies earning cash to build turrets and other defenses. It’s pretty generic and seems to only exist because it’s the law if you are a shooter right now. Both modes are challenging and fun, but it suffers from the same déjà vu as the rest of the package. You’ll feel like you’ve already played it over and over again.

Modern Warfare 3 is a good game, not a great game. It’s missing the surprise and quality that made the previous titles must-haves. I’m giving it the same grade as I gave Battlefield 3, but for different reasons. Battlefield’s glitches held it back, MW3’s gameplay is its hang-up. Which one should you buy? It just depends on the type of fighter you are. Are you slow and strategic (Battlefield 3) or quick and ruthless (Modern Warfare 3)? I tend to be slow and strategic. Battlefield is my choice. I would have even given Battlefield a higher grade were it not for the technical problems (glitches and server outages). They both weren’t as good as I was hoping, but Battlefield won my purchase this year. If you’re still addicted and need your fix, go for MW3. If you don’t want to play the same game for 60 more dollars, give battlefield a try. If you haven’t played either… Good lord man.

Gotham City Impostors Release Date!

Get your skates and grapple hooks ready. Load up your shotgun and put on a cape. January 10th is going to be one hell of a day. Gotham City Impostors is almost upon us. With a closed PC Beta last month and an open Xbox/PS3 Beta next month, Monolith is working towards making an amazing game. So many things are customizable and it all affects gameplay, such as: Weapons, Clothing, Gadgets, Appearances, and even player movement. I can’t wait to jump into the shoes of Gotham City’s unsung heroes, The Bats, and blow away crazy people, The Jokerz.

Gotham City Imposters supports 12 player verses modes. Monolith Productions, the mad men and women behind F.E.A.R., Condemned, and Aliens vs. Predator 2 bring us out of Batman’s suit into the streets of Gotham and its more insane citizen’s lives. Sign up for the Beta at http://www.gothamcityimpostors.com/

6,000 copies of Modern Warfare 3 Stolen in France

A major heist was reported yesterday by a French site TFI News. Two masked crooks crashed into a delivery truck in south Paris carrying around 6,000 copies of Modern Warfare 3. The robbers then used tear gas on the driver allowing them enough time to steal the contents of the truck. The stolen items are estimated to be worth 400,000 Euros (about 550,000 U.S.D.).

It's curious that the theives decided to knock over this truck in particular. Anyone who follows the news knows that playing video games before their release dates can get you banned from playing online. The games were also only stolen a day before release, so it's not like each copy has an extra ordinary value attached to it.

Hopefully these questionable weirdos will be caught soon. I can't imagine them easily being able to sell all of that without suspicion. As long as you pick up your copy from an actual store, you should be safe.

Rainbow Six Patriots Announced

It's been three years since any peep of a Rainbow Six title. A few rumors have surfaced in the past year, but nothings been concrete. Over the weekend, Ubisoft announced they are working on a new Rainbow Six game called Rainbow Six Patriots. There aren't too many details, but it was confirmed that Ubisoft Montreal will be developing the game along side Ubisoft Toronto and Ubisoft Red Storm.

Ubisoft also released a target gameplay video to show the kind of game they're aiming to make. You can see the video on IGN. It isn't beta footage or actual gameplay in any way. It is simply an example of what they're going for. If the game turns out anything like the video, it looks like this new installment features a lot of the same mechanics as the last few titles. Rappelling, taking cover, and ordering your squad around were all shown. Not everything looked completely familiar. The beginning of the video requires you (the player) to leisurely press buttons to watch T.V. or kiss your lady.

It'll be interesting to see if the game actually turns out like the video, or if they make some drastic decisions during development. The games release date is set for 2013, so there's still a long way to go in production. Just a few more long years of waiting and we'll have our answer.

G-Cast's Eleven

The Cast of G for the 11^th time! This week, it’s Battlefield 3. We talk about the first game to be released in one of the biggest rivalries in the industry: Pop Tarts vs. Toaster Strudel. Kidding! That’s no rivalry. It’s Toaster Strudel hands down. On a more serious note (albeit less important) the Call of Duty vs. Battlefield brawl has begun! We talk in detail about the multiplayer, campaign, and co-op to aid our loyal/nonexistent fans into a buying decision. Also, look out for a little something new at the beginning. I think you guys might like it…. I hope. Click “Email us” to tell us what you think! Subscribe to us on iTunes here! Thanks for listening! Next week: Uncharted 3!

Battlefield 3: Best Online War Experience, If You Can Play it

Author Note: This review will be covering the console version of the game. The PC version differs too much in graphics and gameplay to judge them equally. Things like map size and player are all effected.

One of the biggest rivalries in the video game industry has begun. Battlefield and Call of Duty have been fighting for modern war supremacy for years. Call of duty is consistently the winner, but the battlefield games have gained quite a bit of ground. This year, Battlefield 3 will square off directly With Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Battlefield 3 has landed the first punch. The Swedish developer of the Battlefield series (DICE) hopes to win consumers over with grander battles and vehicle gameplay (absent in its Call of Duty counterpart). Call of Duty still has a lot of followers, but it will be the first game Infinity Ward has made since the massive firing/departures. DICE is hoping between that and their growing fan base, Battlefield will finally take the crown this holiday as the best-selling war game.

Battlefield’s single player campaign lets you drive tanks, ride in jets, and do some good old fashion shooting. The story starts out on an exciting subway highjack. After about five or ten minutes of gameplay, you are shot back in to the past in order to explain the events leading up to it. Two suits are interrogating a soldier from the front lines. Our soldier in custody recounts stories to answer questions that turn into the missions you play. The interrogation is happening to find out where a group of terrorists are hiding a nuke that will go off in New York City. Yeah. It’s pretty much as generic as it sounds. The narrative is bland and offers nothing interesting. There isn’t one character you’ll care about or any sequence that will really get your heart pumping. There are a few cool set pieces and scripted moments, but not nearly as much as you would see in any modern single player campaign.

In other words, the single player is very underwhelming. However, the majority of consumers buying this game probably won’t mind. Most Shooter fans probably won’t even realize there’s a single player option. Unfortunately, it does degrade the overall value of the product. If you look at any other quality shooter from the past ten years, every single one has a memorable story mode worth playing over and over again in different difficulties and in co-op. The Story even rips plot points and dialogue directly from the last Modern Warfare game, proving DICE relies on its competitors to figure out how to do single player. It’s a shame. Considering some of the crazy moments that happen during multiplayer, a good Battlefield campaign has so much potential. You just won’t see it this time around. For now, the Single player is essentially one huge training mission for multiplayer.

The meat of the game is built in the battles you’ll fight online. 24 players can duke it out in a single match (64 on the PC version). Everything found in war can be found here. Tanks. Jets. Guns. Defibrillator packs. Health Packs. Backpacks! Yeah. Shit gets crazy online. You can fight in a few different modes across nine maps. Every mode is recycled from other games in the series. The two main modes you’ll be selecting the most are Conquest and Rush. Rush is a classic attack-and-defend mode where one team defends two pieces of electronic equipment, while the other team tries to blow them up. Conquest is a mode that’s been around since the first Battlefield. Each team attempts to capture and hold areas on the map for victory (much like Territories in other shooters).

If you’re worried about getting tired of playing the same modes over and over again, don’t be. Every match has so many close calls and crazy “holy shit!” moments, boredom is not issue. Part of this is because of how much is at your disposal. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a ton of vehicles to explore and items to unlock. This allows every player to fight the war in any way they want. You could play entire matches without firing a bullet if you’d like. There’s a place for people who want to just repair vehicles, revive teammates, or supply ammo for squads. Best of all, the game will still reward you handsomely for all these non-combative alternatives. Every action earns you points. Every point Earns you rewards. This makes for an extremely addictive multiplayer that can be played for ages without getting stale. Also, if you have a 5.1 system, crank it up. This is what you bought it for.

Unfortunately the multiplayer experience isn’t all peaches. Server issues and glitches have been plaguing the game since launch. In the first few days, the Xbox 360 servers were down completely, reducing our copies of Battlefield 3 to a paperweight. Connection issues are still ruining the experience a week and a half after launch with frequent disconnects and a temperamental Quick Match option. Any high selling game might have a few issues during the first week, but this beyond anything else I’ve seen. It is such a shame that I’ve been stuck having a few horrible experiences simply trying to play the game, and it has nothing to do with the gameplay. DICE crafted one of the best multiplayer experiences this year, and simultaneously ruined it for everyone.

This was a tough game to score. I would feel awkward telling people it’s a must-have when the servers aren’t active all the time. When they are, it isn’t exactly what I would call “fully operational.” This is a game that would get an A in my book were it not for the troubles I had trying to play it. A month or two from now, after they come out with a patch or two, I’m sure they’ll sand away the issues and leave behind the gooey filled center of an amazing game. Unfortunately, none of us knows when that will happen. If you’re already done with Gears and desperate for a new shooter, go for it. If you can wait until Modern Warfare 3 launches, find out if any of the Battlefield issues have been fixed by then. If not, you might want to look into our Modern Warfare 3 review.

Gears of War 3 DLC: One More Thing to Horde

There’s a shooter somewhere! Wait, wrong game. I know you are all waiting for our Battlefield 3 review, but you have to hang on just a little longer (that’s what she said). Chainsaws, glowing bits, explosions, and fortifications; what do all these things have in common? Gears of War 3 Horde mode! With the new DLC that came out yesterday, you get even more of those things (But less time with your woman or man). The Horde Command Pack gives you 3 maps, new fortifications, new characters, and new achievements.

One of these new maps will look familiar to Gears Veterans. Blood Drive returns in all its glory. This is a very symmetrical map with a lot of small nooks and crannies that make sniper rifles a powerful tool for friend or foe.  In Rustlung, an intense battle rages in the middle of a storm on the lower deck of Sovereign (the ship from the opening of the campaign). In the middle of the level, walls can be lowered or raised using buttons on both sides to help protect teammates or expose enemy forces. Azura is set in the final chapter of Gears of War 3, so if you still haven’t beaten it, get on that (Secondly, if you still haven’t beaten it, why are you looking at DLC to extend the gameplay?). It’s the biggest level in the pack and might just give Sandbar a run for its money. I played about an hour on that map and still felt like I haven’t seen all of it.

The upgrades and new fortifications came just in time for me. I spent hours in Horde trying to level up all my fortifications so I would be ready for this map pack. Some people may not have everything upgraded yet, and that’s ok, but you wont see the pay off these new fortifications give you right away. The new fortification, the Command Center, is a nice addition. It makes you feel less like a trapped soldier trying to survive and more like a solider trying to complete a mission. The ability to call in snipers or mortars helps when you’re playing by yourself. The sad part is, you can only call in for support once and then you have to rebuy the Command Center at the end of the wave.

The new characters are nothing too great. It’s just different people to stare at while killing things. I wish it had more female characters (not like that, Dante). Due to the medal for playing as a female character, I find everyone is playing as one of the three females. They only added one, so when you get a full team of five, some people are naturally the same character. It’s hard to know who you’re fighting next to without pressing LB. New weapon skins also came out with the pack but again that’s just for looks.

The new achievements will be fun to get, but seem really easy if you have friends. If you don’t have friends, then I’m sorry. Send me a friend request and I will try to be your friend, but no promises. All the maps, characters, and gun skins can be used in Versus and Beast so it gives them all more screen time. The Horde Command Pack is fun but not enough. With the next DLC pack announced (and coming just a month) this will keep you busy, but it won’t last.

Decay: A Noose, A Killer, and A Doll

I start by loosening the noose around my neck and crawling off the toilet. What happened? Where am I? Who am I? Why is a doll following me and giving me clues? These are just a few questions you may have as Decay Part 1 starts. Many of you may not be aware of Xbox Live Indie Games. Indie games cost anywhere from one to five dollars, but most of them can be skipped. Rarely, an Indie game comes out that is good let alone great; Decay is one of the latter. The first part is only one dollar, making it very easy to jump in. The other parts are three dollars each, making the whole series only ten dollars.

Being a point-and-click adventure title, I was hesitant to play at first. Decay is on Xbox and not PC, so I was worried the controls wouldn’t feel right, like many point-and-click console games. My worries were quickly slaughtered! You escape a room only to find yourself in a hotel. With very little area to explore (just three rooms and a hallway) you may think it will be a quick adventure. However, just because you have been in a room doesn’t mean you are done with it. In the other parts of Decay you explore new areas and have more/harder puzzles; good luck with the piano puzzle in Part 2.

You do have an Inventory, where you store all the random stuff you find. In your Inventory you can combine, view, use, and even rotate your items. What good is a flashlight when you don’t have batteries? You found a picture of a family but did you see the code on the back? I found it helped if I had a notebook with me when I played and just wrote down the details of each room. In some rooms, there might be symbols and numbers but in another room you’ll find a note with just the symbols. Later, there is a wall safe and you must decode the note for the combination. Being able to write down the numeric translations from all the other rooms was a lifesaver.

The story unravels with so many twists; you won’t know what’s coming until it’s already there. In the fourth part of Decay, more things get added to the gameplay. They allow you to use the thumb stick to look around rather than having to switch from side to side. There are also more mini games to make sure you are paying attention and so many scares, I had to put down the controller a few times. With multiple endings, it’s hard not to go back and find out how else it could have happened.

This game gets a solid B+ from me. With its cleaver use of the controller in a point-and-click adventure and a story that makes you beg for more, I can’t imagine my collection without it. Every Indie game has a trial where you can play the game for five minutes before you buy it. Download the trial and see if you can find the answers to what’s going on before you Decay!

Costume Quest: The Perfect Halloween Game Any Year

Tim Schafer is a man any gamer should know. He helped create some of the classic Lucas Arts adventure games back in the day (Monkey Island, Grim Fandango, etc.). Ever since he started his own company in South San Francisco (Double Fine Productions) Tim Schafer has continued to release games with critical acclaim, but bad sales numbers. Schafer’s games are unique and hard to sell. After a few games, Double Fine wasn’t doing so hot financially and had to think of a new direction. Schafer gathered his team and split them up into a few different groups. He had found his answer. Smaller games. Frequent releases. In comes Costume Quest. A fun Halloween style RPG and the first of Schafer’s small game experiment. The game was welcomed with good reviews as always. Just one thing to do now: Buy. This. Game.

Costume Quest is about two little kids (a brother and a sister) who go out on Halloween to trick-or-treat. The mom leaves one of the kids in charge. The player makes this decision, essentially deciding if you want to be a boy or a girl. Things go awry when the sibling you didn’t pick gets kidnapped by Grubbins (green goblin looking creatures). The story pretty much kicks off from there but doesn’t have a whole lot of twists and turns. It is a smaller game and an elaborate story isn’t really necessary for a title like this. You do have the occasional conversation with trick-or-treaters and some other weird characters (like a helpful scarecrow who gives you hints as you progress). Each conversation is funny, clever, and at the exact level of quality expected from one of Schafer’s games.

The game plays like any top down RPG. The battles are a little traditional with a turn based combat system. However, you can execute a few well timed button presses for extra damage every so often. The variety of attacks comes from the different costumes you find and build throughout the game. You and your crew can dawn a variety costumes for different powers. Each one serves a classic RPG role to support each other in battle (healers, tanks, etc.). This keeps the game fresh since you are constantly collecting new pieces to put together more costumes. This keeps the addiction level for collectables high since there’s a new way to play behind every costume found.

Costume Quest combines some of the best, and only, comedic writing in a video game with the solid mechanics of a turn based RPG. The battles themselves do get a little repetitive over time, but at around 12 hours, the game ends before it starts to feel too much like a chore. This is a game that should be bought and played immediately. It is the perfect fit if you want to stay inside on a cold Halloween night and play a cheap quality title. Buy this game, and hopefully Double Fine Productions will live on and continue to deliver other games like it in the future.

To crave Bayonetta is okay... in many ways

Bayonetta is saffron. A versatile ingredient spanning from cuisine to medicine, used to add pizzazz to a dish or enrich one’s health. Expensive and refined, it is not meant to be cast as another spice like cinnamon. Not to be ordained in a melancholy of stocks and broths, or B's and C's. Bayonetta is saffron where a pinch of it can spruce even the flattest of tastes.... Or maybe just a hot anime chick you can never touch.

Developed by Platinum Games and the dude who brought us Devil May Cry, Bayonetta is an over-the-top, kick-in-the-ass, never-see-it-coming extravaganza like none has seen. It dishes baddies out like free samples at (insert wholesale warehouse store. i.e. Costco), and flails quirky scenarios faster than (insert pop culture driven television station. i.e. MTV), but makes it work better than what MacGyver has at hand (insert everyone knows who MacGyver is!). Yes, it is that awesome.

The story sets out in a medievaly type of place where Hell and Heaven are duking out for domination? The protagonist is a super sexy amnesiac witch who is trying to discover herself, and the antagonist is a super sexy psycho witch who is preventing the other super sexy… blah, blah, blah? Blah, blah? Ah! Whatever! The premise is this: a super sexy witch with the power to utilize her hair to wreak havoc upon the heavenly creatures from up above sets out on a quest to fuck shit up (Period).

Action (and half naked sequences) is what brings Bayonetta to life, and keeps it pumping. All the set moves are unlocked right from the get go, so it does not waste any time dicking around with learning new combos or large tutorials (although the loading screen is a practice session in between chapters). The player feels like a badass as soon as the first cinematic ends and the game only progresses further in that sense.

Weapons, techniques, and items can be obtained through purchase. Things like shotguns and grenade launchers can replace a gun strapped to the heel for a devastating explosion of phantasm, or a cool katana that owns everything (and I mean everything!)! Techniques like turning into a cuddly fanged panther or more allotted time for witch time to pants those sons-a-bitches. But, they don’t come cheap, no, not at all. Although not cheap, there is a solution for all the cheapskates in the world!

Destroy a baddie, and it will drop a weapon. Pick up the weapon, and use it against another baddie! Few games will use the function of picking up an enemy’s dropped weapon (excluding all shooters), and the game makes it a good function even better by implementing various ways the weapon can be used. For example, using a spear, Bayonetta will proceed to make use as a stripper’s pole (knocking heads as sexy as can be)! Break a few vases and items will be dropped. Happy-go-lucky cheapskates (leave a tip once in a while… grumble grumble)!

Boss battles are unique, none play the same, and once defeated they will spawn in like normal baddies in other levels. They come in by the dozen, so expect to be using health often. The torture finishing moves are awesome to watch (especially the one with the big ass dragon)! The difficulty doesn’t scale too far (unlike Ninja Gaiden), but leaving upgrades untouched will weigh in heavily during later boss battles (especially techniques). Personally, I am a completionist when it comes to leveling up characters, but a few major upgrades could set the tone for the entire game.

The story might be quirky and the lines very cheddar, but the thought gone into the battle, and the level progression make this game more than solid. These guys got it. They are at the pinnacle of action games with Bayonetta. Let the story slide, a little bit of bug spray, and you get a solid A worthy game! An A+ worthy game you say? Fuck it. A+! Go play it on Xbox 360 (cause the PS3 version had issues with loading) and experience the super sexy sensation Bayonetta will give you (especially with those lollipops… you’ll see)! (And not in that way you sickos). (But totally in that way) <3.

The Ten G-Cast-Ments!

The podcast of the century is upon us!!! Way better than the one that’s gonna air in 2048 about how aliens should fix their own planet so they’ll stop invading ours! This week: Batman: Arkham City! David, Landon, and Ivan talk for a solid hour about the new story, city, gadgets, and upgrades in the sequel to one of the best comic book games of all time. Ivan also FINALLY comes through with a jingle! Will it suck? Probably, but tune in to find out for sure! Support our Podcast and not some shitty futuristic Podcast! You wouldn’t wanna piss off those aliens. Trust me. Did you see Battlefield LA? Course not. No one did. But imagine how bad it must be! Click “Email Us” to tell us what you think! Subscribe to us on iTunes here and tune in next week when we discuss Battlefield 3!

Batman: Awesome City! (Lame Title. I Know. Suck It.)

Welcome to a very small world of quality licensed video games. Batman: Arkham Asylum surprised everyone a couple years ago by not only surpassing expectations for a Batman game, but also earning itself a handful of Game of the Year awards alongside the cream of the crop franchises of this generation. No one expected the developer (Rocksteady) to produce such a gem when they only had one game under their belt (and not a very good one). A couple years later, here we are in glee for the sequel to one of the best comic book games of all time. New villains. New Gadgets. New city. Peggy, hold my calls for the rest of my life. What do you mean no one ever calls me?! You’re fired! No, wait! Resign. I don’t want you to get unemployment money. That’s how good Arkham City is!

Sit back and pop in your Arkham City disc, because you’re gonna be playing as… Dun nan a na na na na na Catwomaaaan…? Yes. The very first thing you do in AC is play as Catwoman. Odd. You would think players would want a chance to get used to walking in Batman’s shoes again before learning a new character. The disappointment quickly disappears after you find out how awesome she is to play. She can’t glide like Batman, but she can use that dominating whip of hers to latch on to rooftops and billboards in the environment. It’s surprisingly effective and almost doesn’t make you miss the cape. Catwoman also has thief vision (her version of Batman’s detective mode) that allows her to see the heat signatures of enemies. Unfortunately, it isn’t as robust as detective mode. It doesn’t give you a detailed analysis of the fight like its Dark Knight counterpart (total enemies, which thugs are armed, etc.), but still helps a little.

Combat works slightly differently with Catwoman as well. She’s faster than Batman and can use her whip (instead of a cape) to stun enemies. Beyond that, it’s pretty similar. You’re still pressing the same buttons to punch and counter as you would in Batty’s shoes. Starting the game on such a different note than its predecessor is pretty ballsy, but it was still a really fun sequence and doesn’t last too long. There are about 3 Catwoman sections in the game, but you won’t be playing any of them unless you scored an activation code from buying the game new, used from GameStop, or renting a copy with an unused code in it (I Win). If you want to hop strait into our masked hero’s suit, it’s almost better you don’t have the code, but the Catwoman sections are short and a lot of fun if you give it a chance.

Now you get to play as dun na na na na na Robiiiin! No, kidding. Fuck that. BATMAN! Well, Bruce Wayne. Close enough. The story starts with the explanation of the game’s title. Every prisoner in Arkham Asylum has been moved to a new district of Gotham called Arkham City. Led by Hugo Strange, Arkham City is a Gated mad house of Batman villainy. Strange arrests Bruce Wayne at the game’s opening and throws him in Arkham. The tutorial teaches you the basics as you bust out of captivity and call Alfred to send you an aerial drop of your goods. Time to suit up.

Toiling around in the city, Batman discovers that Joker is alive but not well. He was exposed to quite a bit of Bane’s Titan formula in the last game and is now feeling the effects. It’s killing him. In 24 hours, the Joker will be dead. Lucky for him, he captured and infected you with the same poison, knowing you’d be forced to find a cure now. At the same time, Strange is constantly making announcements over the city’s loud speakers saying “protocol ten will commence in 9 hours.” What is protocol ten? Will Batman find a cure to save his life in time? Who else will get in the way? Tune in next paragraph!

Every piece of the story is logically and expertly crafted. Mr. Freeze gets involved because he is an extremely talented scientist and the perfect candidate to cure Batman and Joker. Freeze tells Batman he needs a sample of blood that has been exposed to the toxin for longer than Batman and Joker has had it. Batman then rushes to find Ra’s al Ghul. Ra’s has been exposed to it for centuries and never dies because of his Lazarus Pit. He’s perfect. I’ll stop there because I don’t want to give too much away, but every villain has a motivation that fits in the games story perfectly. Rocksteady allows you to enjoy fighting a handful of major Batman villains, without compromising the narrative. Tough to do, and amazing to experience.

All your favorite gadgets return. Batarang. Grapple Hook. Line launcher thingy (technical term). The game is mostly full of familiar tools, but there are a few new toys to play with. You now have a device that can disable enemy weapons in a room from a distance (limit two baddies per fight). This makes for a new level of strategy when tackling rooms full of armed guards. There’s also a new device grabbed from Mr. Freeze that allows you to create a floating platform of ice in any body of water. From there, you simply hop on and use the grapple hook to pull yourself to your destination. Leveling up also returns, allowing you to upgrade most of your gadgets and even your suit. Again, some of the upgrades are repeats from the last game, but there’s plenty there to keep you hooked on beating the crap outta henchmen to gain XP.

The city isn’t quite as fleshed out as a Grand Theft Auto or a hand full of other open world games. There aren’t a whole lot of landmarks and recognizable buildings to help you remember where you’ve been. Thankfully, an effective map and waypoint system help you forget this flaw quickly. You can glide around the city to get everywhere. Clinging on to Helicopters also works as a mode of quick travel, but you won’t use them often. There aren’t too many in the sky and it’s hard to tell if they’re ever taking you in the right direction. Gliding is surprisingly fast and you can zoom around pretty quick using the grapple hook too. The city is small enough that you won’t really miss a more robust quick travel system.

Arkham City is an amazing video game. Comic book fans will get an enormous nerd-rection from the clever story and characters. Gamers will enjoy an awesome open world experience with satisfying combat and varied missions. If you’re a comic book fan and a gamer, get ready to change your pants every 5 minutes. It isn’t a perfect game. Some of the repeated gadgets have lost their luster from the last installment, and the map could have marked building entrances to avoid pointless door hunting. It got slightly annoying to search around huge structures for a tiny vent or passageway. However, these are complaints are small and are quickly forgettable. The only thing bad about this game being so good, is not being able to use the article title “Batman: Arkham Shitty.” After a very satisfying experience, I must say, worth it!

Promise Broken: Turns out 1943 Doesn't Come with Battlefield 3

1up.com reported this morning that Battlefield 3 is missing a piece of content EA promised us back in June. At E3, the company told us they would include a copy of Battlefield 1943 with the PS3 version of Battlefield 3. Turns out this isnt entirely accurate... at all. 

Not too long ago, EA also announced the DLC maps would come to PS3 a week before 360. What was seen as simply another perk of the the ps3 version, was actually a replacement. When the game came out, a short explanation was posted on the game's twitter feed, saying the week early maps are there to compensate for the missing 1943. It's bad enough to promise a piece of content and not deliver, it's even worse to not let your fans know till after launch.

The release on both platforms have been everything but smooth. I was attempting to play online with friends (yes, i have them) on the 360 version last night, and the EA servers were down. After deciding to just play single player, the opening cutscene repeated multiple times before i had to quit out manually. Apparently this is a known issue. A lot of titles have a rough day one, but this is among some of the worst.

Anyone else having the same issues? Post in our comments about it! Don't worry. People will be nice. It's the internet!

The Whole Ninth Cast

Oh Em Gee guuurl. It is the 9^th and BEST G-Cast! Don’t believe us? Go ahead and listen! If it sucks, we win anyway! In this episode, Landon, Ivan, and David discuss Forza Motorsport 4. Not really a car person you say? Neither am I! That’s why we saved plenty of time for Ivan and Landon to geek out about Zelda: Four Swords, Pokemon, and stripping! Click “Email Us” to tell us what you think! Subscribe to us on iTunes here! Tune in next week when we discuss Batman: Arkham City!

Rumor: Next Xbox to be Unveiled at E3 2013

A website called Develop seems to have important information about the launch of Microsoft's next console. Their sources indicate, "from chip manufactures to middleware firms," the next Xbox will be revealed at E3 2013 and have an intended release date for the same year (even though it's likely to slip into 2014).

There has been no official word from Microsoft on the matter. It's tough to believe rumors like this when the past couple years have been flooded with stories about the next Xbox. Earlier this year, a snitch from EA claimed they already had the dev kits for the new console. Other developers also had leaks that game development was already starting on the new console as well. Although, most of these rumors claim the unveiling will be sooner at E3 2012. Reports of job listings about the development of the next Xbox have also surfaced.

There's obviously no way to tell if the developer's leaks are correct until next year, or if Develop's information is accurate until the year after. Keep in mind, half the rumors about the next Xbox have already been debunked. I remember a story a few years ago claiming Elder Scrolls 5 was going to be an MMO for the next Xbox. Patience young Jedi, and our console will reveal itself.

RAGE: No Bordered Lands in this Fall Out

It’s always nice to see older developers come out with something new. id Software, the company credited with creating the first-person shooter genre, has come out with their version of a post-apostolic future. RAGE takes place after the real life asteroid, Apophis, hits earth and wipes out almost everything. Yes, Apophis is a real asteroid but its not going to hit Earth, just past really close in the year 2029. RAGE takes place in 2135; you awake in your Ark and are quickly saved from a group of bandits by Dan Hagar (voiced by John Goodman). RAGE’s bread and butter though, is shooting and killing.

I haven’t played a shooter this polished in years. It may take a few minutes to get used to the controls but after that, it’s smooth sailing. You start off with only the pistol if you didn’t get the Anarchy Edition, so make sure to loot every body so you don’t run out of ammo. There are many different bandit tribes; some are more acrobatic while some build RC Bombs. Mutants are the more generic enemy. These guys can be killed easily, but give no loot. The Authority is the new government and has the best weapons and armor. There are so many different enemies, weapons, and ammo types, the combat will stay fresh for a while. Sadly, there are a lot of weapons but you can only equip four at a time. I found that I stuck with my Crossbow, Double-Barrel Shotgun, Machine Gun, and Sniper Rifle.

The Level Design was very unique. At first glance, it seems very linear. With most doors being locked, you might feel trapped on a single path. id Software did this on purpose, closing off some path ways then opening them on later levels makes it feel like a new area to explore. The Wasteland is where they bring in the vehicles. For the most part, vehicles are only used to get from quest to quest but they are fun to drive. At first you start with an ATV. It doesn’t have guns on it but you do need it for an achievement. Later you get a buggy that you can upgrade with machine guns, rockets, and pulse weapons. In towns, there are races you can do for extra cash, but you will find that most of that cash will go towards your vehicles to do more races and make more cash. It’s a vicious cycle. Towns also have plenty of places to gamble your money away.

With so many good aspects in RAGE, it’s easy to over look the bad, but it’s there. The only competitive multiplayer is demolition derby. You have to race from marker to marker collecting points while shooting others. It’s a nice change of pace from all those games that just throw multiplayer in to get sales. The co-op is a fun but short experience for you and one friend. The missions are different than single player but you play through the same areas. The co-op also keeps track of points so you can be competitive if you like. With everything id Software did right in this game, I find that the small problems fade after you realize you’ve been playing for five hours already. A great game that I will be playing over and over, but it’s not perfect.

8 Balls

Ladies and genitals, our eighth podcast has arrived! This week we talk about RAGE. The cast has retained a shorter length (for now) and is full of intelligent dimwitted conversations about RAGE’s single player, versus, and co-op modes. Join us and learn about id software’s take on a post-apocalyptic future. Spoilers lie ahead, but we give fair warning. Plus, who’s not manly enough for spoilers? Am I right, genitals?! Click “email us” to tell us what you think or just post your annoying opinions in the comments for this episode. Subscribe to us on iTunes here! Tune in next week when we talk about Forza Motorsport 4. Thanks for listening!

Sign up to be a Guinea Pig for the New Xbox 360 Dashboard Update!

Love suffering through glitches and freezes so the rest of us don't have to? Sign up for the Xbox 360 dashboard update preview program! You'll get to download the new dashboard and try out all the new features before release (which still has no confirmed date).

You can sign up for the preview program on Major Nelsons's blog here. The blog entry also contains details of the new update. You'll be able to play around with the new Kinect controls, better Facebook integration, and the new "beacon" function (Allowing you to send mass invites to all your friends. That totally doesn't sound annoying at all!). The feature i can't wait for is cloud saves. You can back up your Xbox Live profile and game saves to the cloud, and easily access them from any console. The perfect weapon against forgetting your damn memory card or flash drive.

The new update should be completely compatible with the older versions of the dashboard. So, engaging in party chat with friends who don't have the new dashboard yet should still work seamlessly (should).

The date for the preview program hasn't been announced yet, but you should be notified via email when it does (if you signed up).

Mass Effect Multiplayer Announced

That's right. From the mouth of the man himself, Casey Hudson, a multiplayer experience for all who will play Mass Effect 3! It is a four player co-op experience that if played, will boost the chances of Commander Shepard kicking Reaper butt cheeks! If ignored, and a player opts not to play the multiplayer, it will not negatively affect the single player campaign. So it's a win-win on all fronts!

The co-op missions are mostly about capturing and defending key positions around the galaxy in aid of the galactic war. Players will have the choice of selecting a variety of Alien races, and corresponding classes, and teaming up with buds to kick ass. Characters chosen on the multiplayer will have their own leveling aside from the single player, and moral choices from ME1 and 2 will not impact any element in the Multiplayer. The multiplayer is being handled by Bioware's newer crew in Montreal, and will not take away from the single player.

Along with the news of the multiplayer, Bioware announced that a system which determines battle-readiness for facing the Reapers will be available dubbed Galaxy at War. It is a quirky way of managing player stats that will include multiplayer progression, and hints at other possible Mass Effect apps and games. Meaning the multiplayer will not be the only manner in which to raise the survival rate of the war. Again, using the Galaxy at War system is optional, and will not negatively affect the single player. It really is a WIN-WIN!

All in all, Casey Hudson assured that the best possible outcome can be achieved by just playing the Single Player campaign without further association with the multiplayer or future apps. So for all you worrywarts (DefHalan!), skipping the multiplayer will not take away from the experience.

Keep an eye, ear, sixth sense open for more details as the release date approaches! Visit Bioware.com for more news!

(Great.... Now should I be Turian Infiltrator, or Quarian Engineer? Or maybe Krogan Vangard? Decisions decisions.)

Casty Number Slevin

This week, Dante reviews Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. We even save a little time to talk about the new Battlefield 3 open beta that just released for the PS3, 360, and PC. Finally, the G-Cast is shorter! Now, we know there are many people out there that wish the G-Cast was 14 hours long every episode. These people have what we at DR. G-Man refer to as “sexy voice addiction.” To reduce the number of cases, we have decided shorten the length of G-Cast and make sure everyone gets smaller doses of our sensual sounding utterances. Subscribe to us on iTunes here! Email us and tell us what you think! Enjoy!