July 2006

Prey

July 23, 2006

Prey has been a long time coming. The title goes back as far as 1997, plagued with troubles from the start due to company changes and technical problems. Eventually, the game was put on hold, thought to be locked in a vault deep underground alongside the Ark of the Covenant and Hitler’s brain. Fast forward to 2006, almost ten years later, and Prey has finally been released thanks to the renewed efforts of Human Head Studios and 3D Realms. Games in development hell for long periods usually end up being a pretty huge disappointment. Prey is the exception to this rule.

Prey begins with Tommy, a Cherokee mechanic and former army soldier staring into a bathroom mirror in his girlfriend’s bar. He hates the fact that he is stuck on his Native American reservation, and from the opening lines you feel this character has some great angst concerning his current situation in life. His grandfather and girlfriend’s outspoken desire for him to stay and embrace his heritage only further fuels his need to escape. However, this wanderlust did not include trips aboard an alien spaceship, but when aliens teleport into the bar and abduct those inside, Tommy quickly finds himself on a mission not only to save himself and his girlfriend, but Earth itself.

Prey is made up of more or less every established first-person shooter clichA

The 2006 edition of Madden for the Xbox 360 left a very sour taste in the collective mouths of the gaming community. It was just bad, and Electronic Arts made no attempt at hiding the fact that the company rushed out a poor product in order to take advantage of the young, supple next-gen early adopters who were eager for some pigskin action. NCAA Football 07 represents EA’s first real football offering since Madden NFL 2006 for the next-gen platform, and fortunately, while Madden was a steaming pile, NCAA is a solid offering to the gridiron gods.

Sadly, like Madden before it, NCAA 07 for the 360 has inexplicably been stripped of a number of features, though their absence is likely only to bother those who have followed the franchise for a few years. The most notable loss is the ability to make your own school, which EA has completely removed this year. Granted, the list of schools to choose from is ridiculously long, but a lot of people found joy in creating something zany like the Lakeside Barking Beavers and bringing them to national stardom. The other notable mode missing from the game is the Race for the Heisman. This is not a big loss to the game as the mode wasn’t anything spectacular to begin with, but it still represents yet another thing stripped from the game by EA.

Missing modes aside, it’s really all about the gameplay on the field. Paragraphs could be wasted discussing the dynasty mode and going through 60 seasons with a single team, but that is neither here nor there. If the whole game were put into a pot of boiling water and cooked down to its basic elements, you would end up with a cauldron brimming with delicious gameplay. It just keeps getting better and better each year. The hits are harder, the passes are crisper, and the animations are better. Hell, even the fans seem more rabid. In a road game where the other team has the momentum, there are a hundred thousand fans screaming for their team to get back into game. And it’s not simple for the added ambiance; players are more likely to make big plays when the crowd is worked up. EA has done a magnificent job taking all of the blood and guts of the college game of football and pressing it onto a round wafer that can be read by your Xbox 360.

The graphics are, of course, head and shoulders above the other versions of the game, as well as past iterations, and generally look deserving of the A

The Paladin and Shaman classes will soon be availble to the alternate factions in World of Warcraft as part of the Burning Crusade expansion. The Paladin class will now be available to Blood Elves, and the Shaman class to the Draenei.

[url=http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/burningcrusade/townhall/classcombo.html]From the World of Warcraft site[/url]

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin looks to be shaping up into an awesome game. I loved all the GBA and DS games so far, so if anything will make me replaced my busted DS, it may be this. Behold it in all its glory at Kotaku.

[url=http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/castlevania/castlevania-portrait-of-ruin-gameplay-vid-188917.php]Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin Gameplay Vid[/url] (Kotaku)

Wow, this is a pretty full week for decent releases!

[b]Tekken Dark Resurrection – PSP[/b]
For those of you who need the latest Tekken fix, you will have to look to the PSP. I burned out on the series a while ago, but I know there are still hardcore fans.

[b]Painkiller: Hell Wars – Xbox[/b]
I know I got the date wrong on this two weeks ago (it was pushed back), but it’s coming now. Seems to be a straight port of the PC version, but there’s no problem with that. Nice budget price here, too.

[b]Warpath – Xbox/PC[/b] ([url=http://www.snackbar-games.com/f111.html]preview here[/url])
This once-sequel to Pariah should offer some solid and pretty online combat fun. The graphics look pretty solid. I know it’s hardly the only option, but iff you need a nice multiplayer FPS fix on your original Xbox or PC, you’ll likely find it here. It also carries a nice budget price.

[b]CivCity: Rome – PC[/b]
Mixing elements of Civilization with the classic city builder game, this should be a new take on the genre. I understand special emphasis has been placed on the fact that there is an Empire at large for you to trade with and form other relationships. Civ and Simcity fans may want to check this out.

[b]Civilization IV: Warlords – PC[/b]
The first expansion for Civ IV. If you are still die hard on this one, or hoping to give it a touch of new life, it adds six scenarios and a bit more of everything else: leaders, units, wonders, and even new civilizations.

[b]Galaga – Xbox 360 (Live Arcade)[/b]
I am excited about this. I know it’s a billion years old. I still love it.

I also forgot to mention Cloning Clyde last week, and I really began to regret it after killing a few hours on single and co-op gameplay with it last night. I recommend it to anyone who has a 360, and if you don’t believe me, grab the demo.