Saturday, December 25, 2010

Gaming Today

Gaming Today

Merry Christmas, GameFront Readers!

Posted: 25 Dec 2010 04:00 AM PST

Well, it’s the holiday season, and we’re going to be celebrating it here just like you are at your place. But before we go pull dinner out of the oven and start opening gifts, we just wanted to thank all of you for the support and feedback you’ve given us through all the changes in 2010.

We’ve changed owners, changed names, and I’m pretty sure a few of these guys even changed clothes once or twice this year. We know we’ve still got a lot of work to do, but thanks to you, 2010 has been a great year.

So, from all of us here at GameFront and Break Media, have a safe, happy holiday season. Once you get your gifts open and your eggnog drunk, we’ll see you back here for the rest of our year-end roundups on Monday, December 27.

Once again, happy holidays from all of us here at GameFront to all of you out there!

Phil Owen note: And Roll Tide, y’all.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood Multiplayer Guide

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 10:24 PM PST

When introducing multiplayer for the new installment in the Assassin’s Creed series, the game’s designers at Ubisoft did something extremely clever. Recognizing that most online multiplayer modes involve people sprinting around the map like a chickens with their heads cut off, and that such an approach lies in direct opposition to the sneaking, stealthy style of the 3rd-person gameplay in Assassin’s Creed, they decided to refine their approach.

The game shipped with a revolutionary new kind of multiplayer, one that put a premium on being inconspicuous and patient, to the great consternation of sugar-addled, overcaffeinated Halo-playing 13-year-olds everywhere. That being said, there are still many challenges to confront and tactics to deploy, and the right philosophy can make all the difference, especially if you’re still acclimating yourself away from the hyperkinetic worlds of other online multiplayer modes.

Scoremonger

There is one overweening thing to remember when playing Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer. It’s not about the kills. Sure, assassinating people is fun, and you can accrue points by doing it early and often, but in the end, its the person with the highest score who wins the round, not the person with the most kills. First and foremost, you can get more points by focusing on the quality of your kills, not the quantity. Below are a list of the various score modifiers that will be your keys to success.

  • Discreet – 50 points – Kill while enjoying Discreet Status.
  • Silent – 200 points – Stay silent; don’t go into High Profile mode near your target.
  • Incognito – 300 points – Be silent the entire time — don’t ever lapse into High Profile or let your awareness increase at any point.
  • Acrobatic – 100 points – Kill your target from an “acrobatic position.” This encompasses roof kills, hanging kills, climbing kills, and a couple others.
  • Drop Kill – 150 points – Awarded when you grab an enemy from a ledge and kill them.
  • Focus – 150 points – When the white bar is full above the Assassinate icon (located above your target’s head), you have achieved “focus.” Wait for 3 seconds, then strike.
  • Hidden – 200 points – Kill your target while hiding in a haystack or a crowd.
  • Revenge- 50 points – Assassinate someone who just assassinated you.

Always Watching

Unlike other games, in which the information in your HUD is largely overshadowed by explosions, sniper fire, and people bearing down on you with high-powered assault rifles, multiplayer rounds of Brotherhood can seem preternaturally calm and quiet. That means you have no excuse for not paying very close attention to what’s happening around you. Put that right joystick (or mouse) to work by constantly panning the camera around, watching your back and looking for anything out of the ordinary. The 3rd-person viewpoint that defines the game makes this especially easy. Also, pay close attention to the number of people pursuing you, which is represented by the red pips in the upper-left part of the screen. It’s almost too obvious to point out, but the more there are, the more careful you’ll have to be.

There are a couple particular sights that should make you instantly suspicious. You’ll want to get used to how the AI characters walk — their distinctive gaits, patterns, and inclinations — and if there’s someone swimming upstream against the crowd, away or, more worryingly, towards you, that’s a surefire sign that they’re a player character. Similarly, if you see a character suddenly transform into another avatar by using the “Diguise” ability (discussed below) then you should be on your most careful guard. Other more obvious signs of Assassin status include sprinting, climbing, and gallivanting around on rooftops — all things that an AI character would simply never do.

The Chase is Better Than the Catch

Rule #1: Never pass up an opportunity to quote Motorhead. Rule #2: When you’re being chased, use your environment to your advantage. The people who designed the multiplayer levels for the game were kind enough to fill them with all manner of devices to help you escape. Though the circumstances in which they appear vary, they all work on effectively the same principle, giving you an slight advantage in speed, then hindering your pursuer once they’ve been used. If you’re prompted to flee, look for these environmental allies, including but not limited to Closing Gates, Lifts, Falling Platforms, and “Corner Helpers” (those things that look like little hanging wagon wheels). It can be helpful to note the location of these when you’re not being chased, the better to plan your escape once you are.

The environment can also help you out when you are the pursuer, but be careful. If you’re spotted hiding in a haystack or using a lift by another player, it can spell certain death. Try to avoid using all the Parkour shenanigans you perfected in the single-player game until they become absolutely necessary.

Modes and Perks

As you continue to play Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood multiplayer, you’ll gain access to a number of unlockable game modes and abilities that all require distinctive strategies and tactics. First, take a look at this table.

Level
 Experience
 Reward
2
 1,150 Ability Slot #1 + Ability: Disguise
3 2,750 Ability: Sprint Boost
4 4,850 Loss Streak: Extra Sensitivity
5 7,500 New Game Mode: Alliance + Profile Set #2
6 10,750 Ability: Smoke Bomb
7 14,650 Kill Streak: 3 Kills Streak
8 19,250 Ability: Hidden Gun
9 24,600 Loss Streak: Reset Cooldowns
10 30,850 Ability Slot #2 + Profile Set #3
11 38,000 Ability: Templar Vision
12 46,050 Colors Pack #1
13 55,020 Kill Streak: 3 Silent Kills Streak
14 64,910 Ability: Morph
15 75,750 New Character: The Blacksmith + Profile Set #4
16 87,540 Ability: Firecrackers
17 100,280 Loss Streak: 5 Kills Streak
18 113,990 Kill Streak: 5 Kills Streak
19 128,670 Ability: Throwing Knives
20 144,400 Perk Slot #1 + Perk: Enhanced AutoBash + Profile Set #5
21 161,180 Ability: Charge
22 179,010 Perk: Wall Runner
23 197,910 Gear Pack #1
24 217,880 Ability: Decoy
25 238,950 New Character: The Thief
26 261,120 Ability: Mute
27 284,390 Perk: Resistance
28 308,780 Loss Streak: Boost Cooldowns
29 334,290 Ability: Poison
30 360,970 Perk Slot #2 + Perk Blender
31 388,820 Kill Streak: 5 Silent Kills Streak
32 417,840 Disguise: Evolution #1
33 448,060 Perk: Fast Getaway
34 479,480 Sprint Boost: Evolution #1
35 512,120 New Character: The Footpad + Colors Pack #2
36 545,980 Smoke Bomb: Evolution #1
37 581,060 Hidden Gun: Evolution #1
38 617,390 Perk: Chase Expert
39 654,970 Firecrackers: Evolution #1
40 693,850 Perk: Overall Cooldowns + Gear Pack #2
41 734,030 Morph: Evolution #1
42 755,510 Perk: Silent Hunt
43 818,310 Throwing Knives: Evolution #1
44 862,430 Templar Vision: Evolution #1
45 907,900 New Character: The Mercenary
46 954,720 Charge: Evolution #1
47 1,002,890 Decoy: Evolution #1
48 1,052,460 Mute: Evolution #1
49 1,103,430 Poison: Evolution #1
50 1,156,000 Colors Pack #3 + Gear Pack #3

Abilities

Disguise (level 2)
Disguise will instantly transform your avatar into another avatar. This can be useful both offensively and defensively. When on offense, you can use it to occlude your approach to the target, though you’ll have to be careful not to transform in too obvious a manner. On defense, it can be a great skill for evading your pursuer, either by turning a corner and immediately disguising yourself, or by entering a crowd full of characters identical to the result of your disguise and goading your assailant into accidentally killing one of them.

Sprint Boost (level 3)
As it says on the back of countless high school football team t-shirts, “strength punishes, speed kills.” Having a little bit of extra speed comes in handy in all sorts of ways that don’t really necessitate in-depth explanation.

Smoke Bomb (level 6)
The smoke bomb is best used defensively, when you think an assassin is closing in on you. Throw down a smoke bomb, stun him/her, and take off like a rabbit!

Hidden Gun (level 8)
Bringing a gun to what is essentially a knife fight is a powerful ability, and will enable you to blast annoying runners and potential escapees. If you’re able to shoot someone in mid-air, you’ll get more points.

Templar Vision (level 11)
Templar Vision removes Morphed or Disguised characters, making it supremely useful when you’re closing in on a target but are having trouble picking him or her out from the crowd.

Morph (level 14)
Morph transforms characters from the crowd into duplicates of you. If you think you’re in danger of being assassinated, sidle up to a crowd of people and deploy Morph, making it nearly impossible for your assailant to pick out the right person. Be careful that you don’t use it when you’re alone, or if you’re passing by a crowd that’s headed the other direction.

Firecrackers (level 16)
Dropping firecrackers is a great way to flush out your quarry when he or she is trying to blend into a group. Throwing them will cause AI-controlled NPC’s to run around in a panic, revealing the player-controlled player in their midst. Be careful, though — an experienced player might be able to get off a well-timed stun once he realizes what just happened.

Throwing Knives (level 19)
Throwing Knives are useful to slow escaping targets, particularly when they are climbing. A well-aimed shot will cause them to fall.

Charge (level 21)
If your target is trying to hide in a crowd, using this ability will enable you to stampede through and do your dirty work.

Decoy (level 24)
A strong defensive ability. Using Decoy will turn a targeted NPC into your avatar and cause them to run away, putting your would-be assassin off the scent.

Mute (level 26)
A spin on the common RPG spell “Silence.” Particularly useful against adversaries using Disguise.

Poison (level 29)
This ability enables you to kill without being detected. Its applications and benefits should be obvious.

Game Modes

Wanted/Advanced Wanted
The tips outlined above apply most directly to this game type. Stay stealthy and try to create situations in which you can garner high-point kills. Stay on the move, stay vigilant, and if you do get flushed into the open, remember to use as many Chase Breakers as possible.

Alliance
Because this is a team mode, co-operation is key. Always watch your partner’s back, or have him watch yours. Since teams share the same avatar, be on the lookout for pairs of people acting suspiciously.

Manhunt
Similar to “Domination” in many popular FPS titles, this game will alternate you between attack and defense, so there are differing strategies for each particular mode. On offense, use your Wanted tactics and stealthily approach your target. Because there’s not one after you, its tempting to just beeline for them. Don’t do that.

On defense, you’ll either want to find a high, inaccessible spot that will make it easy for you to identify incoming Assassins or, alternatively, blend in as much as possible with the crowd by using benches and trigger-able camouflage abilities. The more evasions and stuns you rack up, the more points you earn.

Awesome New Rock Band 3 DLC Drops December 28*

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 07:12 PM PST

XBLA members who also own Rock Band 3 are about to have a very happy New year indeed. After endlessly flogging the Beatles canon, it seems that Harmonix has finally decided to thow some love to Paul McCartney’s solo career. They’ve also blown a wee kiss to Souxsie and The Banshees too!

OK, before we go any further, first of all, shut up Paul Haters. Paul’s career does, in fact, have some amazing stuff. McCartney, though uneven, is on Par with anything released by the other Beatles in the wake of their split. Ram is one of the best albums of the 70s, period, and ditto Band on the Run. It’s conventional wisdom that Paul McCartney was the shallow, uninventive one, but we are talking about the guy who wrote Penny Lane around the piccolo trumpet, kickstarted the ‘important’ phase of the Beatles career with Elenore Rigby, and conceived of the concept behind Rock’s first concept album. Sure, he’s a major pothead and that breeds a kind of happy laziness, but haters need to step off. Musical Genius: He haz it.

It’s also worth noting that Siouxsie and The Banshees are also very, very wonderful, and Cities In Dust happens to be my favorite of their songs. Anyway, allow me to quote liberally from the Press Release:

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a four pack of songs from Paul McCartney, as well as singles from Inhabited and Siouxsie and The Banshees will be available Dec. 28 in the Rock Band 3 Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Rock Band provides the deepest and best selection of artists, songs and albums through the Rock Band music platform, which features more than 800 artists and more than 2,000* tracks via disc and download purchase (complete list of tracks at www.rockband.com/songs). Rock Band's gigantic music library dwarfs that of any other rhythm video game on the market. To date, more than 75 million songs have been sold through the Rock Band Music Store since its launch Nov. 20, 2007.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 system and Wii

Rock Band 3 and Paul McCartney fans should have a blast taking on the keyboard parts in next week's roster of downloadable content. "Celebrating Band on the Run Pack" will feature the legendary Paul McCartney ballad, "Maybe I'm Amazed," as well as "Band on the Run," "Helen Wheels" and "Let Me Roll It," which features a Pro Guitar/Pro Bass upgrade. Those three classic songs are from Paul’s epic No. 1 album from 1973, Band on the Run. Band on the Run was remastered early this year and is now available in multiple formats, including the original album remastered, rare bonus audio and video content, all in exclusive packaging. Paul personally supervised all aspects of the Band on the Run reissue. The remastering work was done at Abbey Road using the same team who recently remastered the complete Beatles' catalog. Click here to purchase your copy.

Available on Xbox 360 (Dec. 28) and Wii and PlayStation 3 system (Jan. 4):

* Paul McCartney – "Maybe I'm Amazed"
* Paul McCartney & Wings – "Band on the Run"
* Paul McCartney & Wings – "Helen Wheels"
* Paul McCartney & Wings – "Let Me Roll It"
* Inhabited – "Open My Eyes"
* Siouxsie and The Banshees – "Cities in Dust"

Sorry PSN and Wii users. You’ll have to enjoy this in 2011. XBLA members, on the other hand, are going to rock the hell out.

In the meantime, merry Christmas Gamefronters.


Three New LittleBigPlanet 2 Videos

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 08:14 AM PST

LittleBigPlanet 2 begins with a unique story mode that provides a beautifully reshaped world for Sackboy to explore and play. Each story level is influenced by cultural high points in history.

LittleBigPlanet 2 Storyline Trailer

LIttleBigPlanet 2 Sports Trailer

LittleBigPlanet 2 Action Trailer

Flip-up Fun with the Ottoconsole

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 07:04 AM PST

You know, you can always find some really creative folks over at Reddit.

Reddit user Annyeongbluth said that his wife was complaining about how much time he spent using the TV to play GT5 and Fallout: New Vegas. In an effort to keep the wife happy, he created something he calls “The Ottoconsole.” Upon seeing these pictures, we just call it awesome.

Personally, I’d be wary of the ventilation in that system, but maybe I’m just paranoid ever since my launch PS3 went all YLOD on me. You can see more picture of this awesome furniture mod right here.

How Realistic Are Game Inventory Systems?

Posted: 24 Dec 2010 06:48 AM PST

I know you’ve talked about this one with your friends before. When you’re playing that first person shooter, where the hell does all that stuff go when you’re not using it?

The folks over at RoosterTeeth (Pro Tip: they’re the guys behind Red vs. Blue) have a new video that shows them testing the real-world feasibility of FPS inventory systems. It’s good for a laugh, and as a bonus, there’s a full-size replica of a BFG 9000 in there.

Check it out!
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