Posts Tagged ‘ea’
Jade Empire Review
The original Xbox was a system with some incredibly gems on it that really didn’t receive much appreciation until near the end of the consoles life cycle. The game developer Bioware were all about the Xbox with their main hit on the system being Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic then later down the road in 2005 they brought out one of the most overlooked titles from the company Jade Empire. Jade Empire really never found its audience, even to this day. Just mentioning this title to people today brings question marks in peoples minds. I remember seeing the game in an Official Xbox Magazine and being incredibly excited by the screen shots. Then the game came out and people just sort of forgot it was there. Today the game is passed off as one of the weakest titles in Biowares back catalogue.
Jade Empire is a Western developed action role-playing game (RPG) you play as a martial arts hero that you choose at the start of the game. You can choose between 5 set character models (6 if you have the limited edition or special edition), you can choose to go with pre-selected stats or you can customize the heroes stats yourself. You unfortunately can’t customize your characters appearance which is a shame considering Bioware’s previous Star Wars title allowed you to alter your characters appearance.
Podcast: Jade Empire Game Club
Due to scheduling conflicts, Fred and Jam had to do the Jade Empire game club as a live show and not an extra credit. BioWare’s first console exclusive (temporarily) and intermediary between Knights of the Old Republic and Mass Effect is an interesting combination of gameplay mechanics for the developer. Fred and Jam delve into the development, mechanics, and campaign of Jade Empire, which is probably the most polarizing of BioWare titles.
Extra Credit: Battlefront
There were two main franchises we couldn’t get to in our Star Wars episodes: Battlefront and Knights of the Old Republic. Both have significance not only to the fan base but to the world ofStar Wars gaming because they are excellent examples of how to take the license, think outside of the box, and run with it. First up is Pandemic’s Battlefront series hosted by Jamalais and documenting one of the more addicting early online console franchises.
Lost Treasures of Gaming: American McGee’s Alice
WARNING: Due to the nature of these titles, there is some graphic violence and harsh language in this video. All mature content is in-game only.
This week’s show was a treat because Sean and Syd had on American McGee, the lead behind the fantastic titles Alice and Alice: Madness Returns. Separated by eleven years, this “twisted” take on the already dark world of Alice in Wonderland, I loved both titles. It was just the right blend of action platformer and fantastic art design.
Check out the Lost Treasures of Gaming podcast at http://www.omgnexus.com.
Mirror’s Edge Review
Mirrors Edge was released back in 2008 and believe it or not this year was quite the year for EA releasing new IPs to the new consoles. We got Army of Two, Dead Space, and Mirror’s Edge all in the same year. Now whether you like these titles or not is a matter of opinion but this was a good time to be a gamer. Despite my love for survival horror and heartily awaiting the arrival of Dead Space, it was hard to ignore just how unique and different Mirror’s Edge looked. It’s time to revisit this title and see how it holds up today.
NHL 2002 Quick Look
Of Fred’s 3 random games he has to cover this month, one was a sports game that apparently was the best hockey game on the PS2. NHL 2002, developed and published by EA, touts funny announcers, crazy gameplay mechanics, and some of the smoothest action for the generation. Fred gives it an initial go and if nothing else, exploits the unbalanced nature of the AI on both sides of the difficulty spectrum. More coverage and a review to follow, but here’s the initial 30 minutes and it ends with a Sum41 song, woo hoo game license cross-promotion!
SimCity Review
Platform: PC (but was ported to almost everything)
Released: 1989
Developer: Maxis
Publisher: Maxis (later part of EA before closing this year)
Digital Release? Yes, far too many to count
With the regretful closing of Maxis this year and the recent discussions of the value of city simulation games, I thought it was appropriate to return to Will Wright’s massively successful city simulation game that started it all. Although this game was not the first of Wright’s, that was a so-so top down shooter called Raid on Bungeling Bay for the Commodore 64 in 1984, this seemingly tame and rote concept came from that initial title when Wright was developing map builders for its levels. From there a few engineering books and some other research led to the genesis of Micropolis, the game about miniature versions of cities and managing the development and monthly activities. The title was supposed to release years earlier on the Commodore 64 by publisher Broderbund, who had handled Bungeling Bay, but they could not see the value in trying to market and sell a game like this – I wouldn’t have either – so it remained unreleased. It wasn’t until the late 80s that Wright had a meeting with Maxis founder Jeff Braun and secured the license for a Macintosh port that eventually released in 1989.
Battlefield Hardline – First 45 Minutes of Campaign Quick Look
Update 03/20/2015: Fred decided to play the whole game so now it’s part of a playlist that will autoplay if you start with the original video. Basically, it’s all automatic if you watch this.
Original Post: So Battlefield Hardline is hitting store shelves in the US on Tuesday and I cannot believe that they have yet to show off more than a handful of minutes of the game’s campaign. With Dead Space‘s Visceral games creating the campaign, you would think EA would put more push behind it whether or not it’s any good. Oh well, thanks to EA Early Access we got the opportunity to experience, and get some colorful commentary on, the first 45 minutes in this Quick Look. Check it out. (Please Note: This video is unplayable in some countries due to licensing issues, sorry, out of our hands).
Retro Review: Dead Space
When you first read or hear about Dead Space, it may not seem to peak your interest as much as it should. In truth, Dead Space is an experience from start to finish. This game is going to suck you into a world that will literally take over your living room if you let it. Aside from that, the universe is big as well. You can currently pick up the graphic novel, telling the early story, and as of yesterday the animated movie also released, which tells of the events leading directly into the game. Couple that with the announcement that Dead Space 2 is officially in development and there’s no reason to skip this game.
In order to appreciate Dead Space, you want to play it at night, with surround sound (as sound seems like a bigger factor than visuals), and pair these factors with being alone. A high-def screen helps, but is in no way as necessary as surround sound for this game. From the very beginning to the tense ending, you will treat this game much like being the leader in a haunted house: at the edge of your seat.
Gaming History 101 