Man Vs Machine: Review
Man vs Machine is a browser-based FPS, designed as a world-record attempt and tech demo by MuchDifferent.
The aim is for 1000 players to simultaneously battle it out as either Man or Machine: Man is equipped with an explosive projectile dealing splash damage, whilst Machine uses piercing, precision lasers to deal damage to single targets.
First up, the main site was unable to take the strain, and had a Google redirect slapped on it. I found a mirror; a page with unstyled CSS but most importantly, the option to get in and play. I managed to get in (as Man) long enough to see a mass of machines under shields on the horizon..
I fired a shot or two before the connection dropped.. I got one kill, anyway.
I reconnected, and was placed on the side of the Machines where I was killed as soon as spawn-protection was over. This happened over and over, and I don’t think I even killed a single enemy.
Man has splash damage, meaning they only needed to keep firing in the direction of the Machines to guarantee a kill, while Machines have to wait for the shield to disappear before firing, find a target and aim.. and then hope to hit something.
Machines are bunched up in groups, there is no cover, and nowhere to run out from to try and flank the humans. I feel the Machine’s model is too large as well, as your allies all-too-effectively block your view of the enemy. A larger map might allow players to get out and move around, and let this be a bit more fun.
Sure, this is a world-record attempt and tech demo – but this wasn’t even close to fun to play as a Machine.
Nintendo Network Announced
Nintendo have announced the Nintendo Network; an online service for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, which will allow customers to browse and purchase content as well as connect with other gamers.
For the Wii U, Nintendo plan to introduce personal accounts, which will also be fully compatible with the Nintendo Network.
The Wii U will launch between E3 and the end of the calendar year.
The Witcher 2 – Xbox 360 Info
CD Projekt have revealed that the Xbox 360 version of third-person RPG The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition will be released on 17th April.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-iebFxlowo]
The console version of the game will include new cinematics, four additional hours of gameplay, new characters and locations and more. A PC version of the Enhanced Edition will also be available for sale, whilst existing owners will receive the new content via a free download.
An exclusive Dark Edition, including some extras for hardcore fans and collectors, will also be made available on the same date.
The Witcher II has also been announced as one of the upcoming additions EA’s digital distribution service Origin, along with Trion Worlds’ RIFT.
Rayman Origins announced for PC
Ubisoft has announced a release date of 30th March for the PC version of Rayman Origins, the platform game previously released in November for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii. Releases for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita are yet to be announced.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvhwWXF-LfU]
The game can be pre-ordered now on the UbiShop, for £19.99.
Rayman Origins will have a one time activation for digital download versions, with no DRM for boxed copies (via RockPaperShotgun).
Steam for Mobile Devices
Valve have today announced the launch of a Steam mobile app for iOS and Android!
The free app will allow customers to access the gaming news feeds and check out games on the Steam store, as well as connecting with friends through Steam profiles, chat, and Steam groups.
The app is currently in beta, and you can express interest in joining by signing in to Steam through the app. New users will be rolled into the beta at a later time.
Terraria – Exclusive Collectors’ Edition
Terraria, the adventure action sandbox game by Re-Logic, is being released on the 16th March, on retail store Merge Games as an exclusive Collectors’ Edition, with an in-game pet, physical toy pick, trading cards and a poster.
The price? £19.95.
Terraria has been available for download since May 2011, and is currently available on Steam for £5.99.
Rumours about the Next Xbox
Sources at Kotaku have claimed that the next Xbox, dubbed the Xbox 720 by reporters, will play Blu-Ray, introduce Kinect 2.. and may not play used games.
It is not clear how the system would prevent gamers from playing used games.
The first chips for the new Xbox development kits have been reported as being in production now, which means the new Xbox may be ready by late 2013.
The Darkness II – Demo Release
The demo for The Darkness II has now been released on Steam and Xbox Live, with the PSN release following tomorrow.
The Darkness II, by Digital Extremes and 2K Games, takes place two years after the events of the first game, and lead character Jackie is struggling to keep The Darkness inside.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxW-Jq3UXdU]
The game releases in the UK on February 7th!
Resident Evil 5 – Completed!
A friend and I played co-op Resident Evil 5 this weekend, with him playing as Chris and me as Sheva. I haven’t played the game in single-player, but the campaign is the same in both, and co-op allows you a more intelligent partner! 😉
I liked the co-op controls and teamwork in this game.. rather than simply running along with two sets of eyes and guns, we had to work together to get through the missions.
Like with Resident Evil 4, the controls needed some getting used to, with turning in particular being rather slow, and I resorted to flailing at the keyboard when first being swarmed with enemies! The flailing added to the panic, especially after the execution cutscene, when we had to hole up in a small house, and met our first Executioner!
The other problem we had with the game was Games for Windows LIVE dropping our connection. This was annoying at the best of times, but infuriating when it happened after a hard fight which we then had to re-do.
However, that aside.. there were plenty of enemies and some really good boss fights! There were, however, a few sections relying on quick time events, which I can’t really say I’m a fan of, especially when the failure leads to instant death.. and playing with keyboard and mouse, I sometimes felt those keys weren’t the best: I found F+V hard to reach in time.
I loved the Road Rage section of the game: firing on motorbike-riding enemies was fun, and though there were more quick time events sprung on us, they didn’t lead to disaster if failed. The end of this chapter brought a huge enemy, with people clipped to his belt! Fortunately he wasn’t as tough as I expected.. though he destroyed our truck by landing on it 😉
We got another change of pace in the next section, with a boat ride on crocodile-infested waters. We first attempted to kill the crocodiles, going all in but then finding ourselves surrounded. Then we found some of them could be outrun, as could the enemies on the different islands too. We killed most of the enemies we came across, though, which is how I would normally play if I was playing alone.. I kill all the enemies, check all the rooms, and try to find all the collectible items and secret areas too!
An enemy I would have liked to avoid was the second Uroboros, despite the flamethrower being quite fun to use. We couldn’t get him down for a long time, with a lack of ammo adding to the problem.
And then there was the Wesker and Jill fight..
As my friend had played before, he suggested that we use the corridors rather than staying in the open. After a few attempts, we managed to put Wesker down, and went on to the section with Jill.. but then experienced one of our GFWL drop-outs. Annoyingly, this meant having to start the section again before the fight with Jill.
This turned out to be a rather long job, as we kept killing her!
There was another interesting weapon to use, the Laser Targeting Device, for aiming an orbital laser onto an enemy! The enemy in question was Excella, transformed into a hideous Uroboros with several glowing nodes to aim at.
Wesker was of course the last boss, with the first fight aiming to inject him with the Uroboros, and overdose him.
This was hard as he seemed almost immune to our weapons.. the proper way to kill him was in the dark using the rocket launcher, which stumbles him so you can grab and inject him. Following this was more quick time.. with a nasty neck-snapping for my friend when I missed one!
We then had a good few fails on the last section, with the trouble coming from the part where we were split up rather than from the final showdown.. both of us aiming for his weak spot 🙂
Awesome game.. and after completing it, we were able to access the extra mode: Mercenaries. This is a timed game mode, counting down from two minutes, in which you need to kill as many enemies as you can to get the best score possible! You can also play as Chris, Sheva, Jill or even Wesker, each with different weapons, which I think is a nice way of making it different each time.
Indie Royale – The Serious Sam Lightning Pack
Indie Royale‘s first Lightning Round brings us a bundle of Serious Sam themed indies, containing Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, Serious Sam Double D, Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, and Serious Sam: The First & Second Encounter. The bonus game is Serious Sam: The Greek Encounter, a top-down, 8 bit version of the game.
This bundle is on sale for just 100 hours, on the same pay what you want scheme all the previous sales have used.
The Serious Sam Indie Series was commissioned by Devolver Digital with the support of Croteam around the release of Serious Sam 3: BFE. More information on the pack is available here.