No tomfoolery today, I'm just plunging right in.

The focus of many of this years improvements is adding realism to the game.

The demo for EA's 2010 entry into the NHL gaming franchise battle starts off with a bunch of tutorials for some of the new features designed to add that realism to the game.

Anyone who knows hockey will tell you that games are won when 2 guys go into the corner or up against the boards, and your guy comes away with the puck. For the first time in an NHL game, players can truly experience this part of the game with the addition of board battles to the game. Whether you're the guy with the puck, or the guy trying to knock his ass down and walk away, it truly adds depth to the game.

Then there's the addition of more gameplay styles. The one likely to draw the most attention is the Hardcore style. The game play slows down, and it's noticable from the minute you start playing. I think it's because the game has to handle a lot more details and it's designed to feel as real as possible. THe differences between stars and scrubs is accentuated, in a way that feels slightly beyond real, but a lot closer to what you see in the other styles. You're not going to get as many game winning goals from your 4th line left wing, but you'll truly earn the goals you do get. And goal scoring is only the beginning. Just try hitting with your soft 2nd line euro winger. Or Marian Hossa.

Actually, I wouldn't try anything with Hossa. I think EA has picked up on his complete lack of karma. In all 3 versions of the Game 7 scenario I played, Hossa had a last second shot on his stick, and on 2 of the 3, the AI hit the post. On the other try, I played as the Wings, and I shot it over the top of the gaping net. Sure, it could have just been me, but I'm sticking with blaming Hossa. It's worked for Pens and Wings fans in back to back years.

Of course, there's the change that's bound to draw the most attention; first person fighting. Personally, I'm not one for fighting. Hell, I play soft for a big guy when I actually play hockey. ("Am I a big guy Tree?" "Yeah, Johnny, you're a big guy" "No, Tree, I'm not. You're the big guy.") But I recognize it's place in the game, and what it does for the teams and the fans. Those same fans are going to LOVE the fighting aspect of this game. There's no pre-programmed key sequence to win fights. Instead, it brings you right into the fight making all the decisions. Are you going to grab and grapple? Or are you a serious thrower, who wants to get the momentum back on his side? Blocking, shoulder movements, uppercuts and jabs are all a part of this mode. (A certain Editor in Chief who will remain nameless is a bit of a *ahem* thug on the ice. I think EA may have written this and the more realistic checking system just for him).

The feature I'm most excited about is the change to the Be a Pro process, where you start as a junior player, looking to get drafted. Through a rather abbreviated process, you can play in a prospects game, and by standing out, affect your draft status. In my first attempt, I wound up actually LOWERING my draft status, from 15th to 20th. The second time around, I scored a goal and put the shot on goal that set up the game winning goal. I actually wound up getting drafted first overall by the Dallas Stars. It's not everything you'd want in a Junior/Minors/NHL progression, but it's another step in the process.

So, that's a pretty good overview of what's in the demo, leaving a lot more to look forward to when the NHL 10 releases on September 15th.

So, maybe this isn't the #1 news story with a bullet on your run of the mill gaming site, but here at GN, we take our hockey SERIOUSLY. It's not underestimating to say that release day for the NHL titles is up there with my favorite days of the year.

The NHL 10 Demo was previewed today on the EA website, and rumor has it the demo will be released sometime this week, possibly even tonight.

The demo will contain the games "Be a Pro" player creation mode, which allows you to build a custom player, and participate in a Prospects game. Your performance in that game will determine your ranking for the upcoming draft. Play your nuts off and be the #1 pick.

The demo also allows you to play a shortened version of Game 7 of the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Finals, allowing you to either repeat history (Pittsburgh wins) or re-write it (Detroit wins). I'm guessing the game doesn't let the Wings win, because Hossa's bad karma even extends to the 360. There's even a custom scenario where you start in the 3rd period of the game to show how the game handles injured players and their lessened ability to produce.

The demo also provides the first opportunity to try out some of the new game modes, like hardcore. 

The link to the video is here.

 

With the incredible amount of free press Six Days in Fallujah is getting these days, you would figure some publishing house would have the balls to step up and put out a game that brings some much needed social commentary on what playing war based games means in the broader spectrum. I mean we hear plenty of complaining about how violent games breed violence. And yet there are TONS of games in the Civil War or WWII era that are played heavily. What this is really means, is that for soem people, this game is too soon. For those people, it may well always be too soon. For many of these people, the sacrificies of their sons, brothers, or fathers may be a wound that never closes. But that doesn't mean that others should not be allowed to be exposed to the situations in question.

 The statement about staff reductions at Atomic Games is posted below.

 "The further question this begs is how long until games, like movies, television, books, or other mediums are seen as an art form used to examine historical events, and raise questions or even just heighten awareness to the situations we as a nation send our fighting men and women into?

 Due to a mixture of fears about the edgy subject matter of Six Days in Fallujah, as well as low videogame sales this summer, we have been unable to secure full-scale funding from a major publisher for Six Days in Fallujah. This has caused us to reduce the size of our studio today.

In the words of Marine officer Chesty Puller, "We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem." Development at Atomic will continue with a smaller team that will be funded by our sister company, Destineer.

We wish to assure the dozens of Marine veterans who have collectively invested hundreds of hours in this project that, while we have been badly wounded, we will fight on. The stories of your brothers' courage and sacrifice in Fallujah must be shared with the world.

All of the 75 people in the Atomic studio have stayed with us until this week. This is a testament not just to their commitment to Six Days in Fallujah, but also to their character when faced with adversity and personal financial risk. We encourage videogame development studios wishing to speak with the many talented and loyal staff who are affected by this situation to contact the jobs page on the atomic.com web site."

I just got home from finally seeing the re-imagined Star Trek, and I wanted to get this post out while the images are still fresh in my head.

We all know that roughly 99.9% of movie based games are TERRIBLE. Across the history of Star Trek games, with rare exception this has been born out. But what's nice about this alternate reality story line is that it gives game designers new places to go with this storied IP. While the sleek lines of the original Enterprise are back, nearly everything else is new. The balance of power is more level, with Klingons, Romulans, and the Federation back to their Cold War era stalemate. The characters are familiar but with new aspects and histories to explore.

I guess in part I am re-energized to be immersed into the Star Trek universe via gaming.

At least until I see Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

It needs to be said: Duke Nukem was the Jean-Claude Van Damme of the gaming industry. At first he was ubiquitous; his face everywhere, and the starring vehicles were pretty darn good. Then, just like Mr. Van Damme, the Duke underwent some changes during his storied career, and eventually wound up homeless. While it looks like Mr. Van Damme has kicked the coke for good, gotten off the street, and found happiness with his third/fifth wife; whether the Duke will find redemption is anything but clear.

But why should we care that the Duke is no more? It all comes down to the thing that makes the world go ‘round (and I’m not talking about love); Money.

In an age where the cost of development is so high for AAA titles that only the biggest companies can afford to develop new top level titles, it’s sad to see the probable death of a top name in the industry. Not because Duke Nukem Forever would have a guaranteed success, or even a good game for that matter. But simply because of the sheer amounts of money that has been poured into the title over the last 13 years.

At some point along the way, it had to become clear to someone at 3DRealms that the Duke was never going to see the light of day again. When that occurred, some form of a “Plan B” should have become the immediate course of action.

The first option clearly should have been to pin down what worked in the development done so far then break down the plot into segments and go episodic. This is clearly a workable plan these days. Selling the first 1/3^rd of the game online would have brought in scads of money to continue the next segments. When this was decided against, it should have triggered a “sell off” of game assets to either the publisher (as 3DRealms tried to do before shutting down when it was far too late) or another development house, to get as much out of the completed work as possible.

It’s not at all that DNF will never see the light of day, it’s simply that there are a tremendous amount of very good titles coming from small shops that could be made even better, or marketed more actively with just a little additional funding. And while small shops struggle to get their great work noticed, 3DRealms was like a giant black hole for millions of dollars worth of cash. If more of that money had been put towards other titles, we’d see more “make a great game, and you’ll find a big name publisher”, like The Witcher.

Let’s hope the industry learns from this lesson, and that companies stop pouring money into vaporware titles, and focus on products that can achieve something more than being the butt to a ton of industry jokes.

A couple of months ago one of our readers emailed me and asked about high end gaming audio headsets. He mentioned that most gamers don’t have the opportunity to try most of the products used on the Pro Gaming tours, and most don’t even have a presence in mainstream retail. He asked about a specific product, the Tritton AX Pro, and if I could perhaps do a head to head review comparing it to the Astro A40. Well, here at GN, we aim to please.

Between wedding planning and now preparing for a mid-summer move to the east coast, I’ve been a little behind, but aside from my BlackBerry, the AX Pro is probably the thing I’ve used the most the past few days. For me, stress requires gaming, music, or both. And what could be better than a Dolby Digital Surround Sound headset to cover both of those needs?

 

This is just my first impressions, and I’m saving most of my head to head comparisons to the other headsets I’ve reviewed for the final review, but I do some high and low points I want to cover in basic.

 

First, the construction and form factor. The AX Pro is really light, but at the same time is built solidly. In fact, of the high end headsets I’ve reviewed (and I think I’ve covered them all now), this one is easily the sturdiest. It even looks more rugged than the others.

 

The cords are thick but not obnoxiously so, and even with a lot of options (which I’ll leave the details of to the review), the headset and decoder are easy to assemble, configure and attach to PC, 360, and even my iPod (for grins).

 

One of the cool features I like that the integrated volume control on the headphone cord uses color LED backlighting  to display the relative volume level of each pair of drivers. This is particularly awesome in the dark and matches nicely with my Saitek Cyborg keyboard.

 

And those drivers…. The sound from this thing is REALLY FREAKING GOOD. It’s sometimes difficult when you’re playing a game, or listening to music to really tell the difference between one headset and the next. But for units like the A40 or the AX Pro, it’s obvious they are heads and shoulders above most headsets in the marketplace. Left 4 Dead in particular took advantage of the surround sound.

 

The two negatives I have so far are in regards to configuration. The first is that the unit requires 2 power adapters to use the headset and the decoder box. In the age of green technologies and high energy costs, this is not something I would have expected.  Second, it doesn’t have a battery option for the decoder. Other units may eat the batteries for breakfast, but I’ve found this feature to be very useful, as you can just unplug without untangling from the headset.

From time to time when you agree to review a game, the PR firm slips another game in the envelope with the one you're reviewing. They usually do this to get a game that hasn't gotten a lot of notice in front of a few more people. And they don't even ask you to review it. They're just hoping you'll give it a look and if you like it, you'll mention it on the site. I know this is part of the "inside baseball" some readers don't care about. But every once in a while the game they slip in the envelope is better than the one you actually agree to review. For some in the gaming public, NPPL: Championship Paintball 2009 would be one of those games. 

NPPL 2009 is a product of FUN Labs and Activision. It is to paintball what all the WWE games are to wrestling, giving the player the opportunity to take the place of his or her favorite professional paintballer, and compete in tournaments across the globe. While paintball doesn't have anywhere near the following that wrestling does, it's a decent first person shooter, at least in short bursts.

This game has a lot going for it. You can play in exhibition mode where you're just joining a team and going out to shoot the crap out of your opponent, against the AI. You can do the same against human opponents in online games over Xbox Live. When you are playing in career mode, you take over the management of a team, and aside from running around shooting up opponents, you're also responsible for picking your teammates, setting active lineups, and purchasing equipment upgrades for your team paid for by winning tournaments.

This isnt to say the game is all-together perfect. For one thing, it's a single player game locally. Games like this are a lot more fun in a multiplayer format, and while Xbox Live works for this, I've found short team matches are better for local multiplayer. That's the other major flaw I've found so far. Many of the individual matches are over in like a minute or two tops. The battles are occasionally intense, but they are incredibly short. While the matches are fun while they last, a full tournament takes only a few minutes to complete.

I'm still playing my way through, and I'm hoping the courses get more complex and the battles longer, but right now it seems like a fun game that might be good for paintball players looking for a way to play when there's two feet of snow outside, or FPS junkies looking for a fix when they don't have long to play.

I am an unabashed "fan" of the US Civil War. Fan is the wrong word, but I have never figured out what the right word is for being fond of a particular war. To be a fan of war in general is really just wrong, and that's not me. But I figure being interested in one war is ok. So what does that make me? A civil war afficianado? A civil war devotee? It's not so much the history of the war as much as the underlying mentality that would allow two halves of the same country to go after each other like pitbulls in Michael Vicks back yard. Anywho, back to the game I'm supposed to be talking about here. Civil War: Secret Missions is a History Channel game developed by Cauldron and released by Activision. Ok, that is WAY too much bold for one sentence. Now that I've gotten the part that studies have shown 97.24% of readers don't care about out of the way, I can get into my early impressions.

Civil War: Secret Missions is kinda like a trip to your local museum of science and industry; It's mostly about boring old stuff, but they manage to make it fun by turning it into games and experiments. In CW: SM, you play the role of a solider (for the north or south, depending on the mission), working with a small unit of AI soldiers causing mayhem behind enemy lines. The learning part of the game comes in the form of animations and text describing real Civil War battles, and the actions of the soldiers and commanders who carry out the exact raids you'll be mimicing in the game. Many of the missions revolve around technologies that were developed during the war, such as the Gattling gun, and the technologies are often required to finish the missions.

Unfortunately, that's where the wheels come off the cart a bit. Because these missions are designed to be somewhat historically based, the missions are fairly structured and have some tight limitations on where you can go. Especially in missions that occur on woodland trails it feels very much "on rails". That being said, the action in these scenes is fun. The combat feels probably somewhat like it did back then. Weapons have severe limitations and are inaccurate. The AI isn't particularly smart, and opposition actions are predictable. You can often time when the enemy will pop up next from behind an obstacle. But combat is rewarding and even fairly difficult at times, even on just a moderate difficulty.

I've only gotten through the first couple of missions, and haven't even been able to work for the eventual winning side in the conflict yet. The missions are longish, even without a failure the first one took me about half an hour. There does seem to be a lot of gameplay for the money on this title.

I like to tell Chuck that the reason I don't post very often is that there isn't anything truly new and different out there that isn't getting coverage. When an amazing new game comes out, every site under the sun is slapping you upside the face with their coverage. (Of course, GamingNexus has the best, least biased coverage out there.) So, when something very different lands in my inbox, I can't ignore it or Chuck will discover the truth: I'm just lazy. (I think he's on to me, but don't tell him you read that. K?)

That truly interesting item is the Lippi Selk'Bag 1. The Selk'Bag is essentially a wearable sleeping bag. It sort of looks like a "onesie" snowmobile suit like you'd wear as a kid, but it has feet, and you can zip up to completely cover the hands. It uses a dual zipper system for a large flap in the front to make getting in and out of the Selk'Bag easy. Secondary zippers allow for openings to adjust for overheating. Zippers at the knees with a mesh inset allows your legs to breathe. The inside has the same feel as the outside, a sleeping bag like material that won't absorb any sweating you may do.

Lippi is marketing this to gamers in addition to the outdoors types. Whether you're on the couch at 2 AM playing Halo or waiting outside Best Buy all night for the next big game to drop, you won't need to worry about carrying a lot with you to stay warm and comfortable. There are two different thicknesses (one for indoor/outdoor, the other for more extreme temperatures), and my review of the Selk'Bag 1 should provide a pretty good idea of what you would get out of either model.

I'm going to be putting it through its paces indoors and outdoors over the next couple weeks.

 

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but they never said anything about games. Which is good because with Rick Nash on the cover of NHL 2k9, I’m buying some version of it no matter what. But I digress, as this is supposed to be about my impressions of the game, not my man crush of the player who could be the MVP of the 08-09 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The intro: The animation sequences and voiceover work are very nice, as are the video segments overlaid onto the ice during the pre-game.

Game play Graphics/Animations: The players almost have a bit of a cell-shaded quality to them, as if Visual Concepts (the games developer) said “let’s remind everyone this is a video game and not a hockey simulation”. I’m not sure if I like the way they’re drawn or not yet. The skating, shooting, stick-blocking, and goalie animations are particularly nice, but the contact animations (anytime a player hits the boards or another player) seem lacking. Maybe they weren’t done when they finished coding the demo, but right now it looks every time players make contact that they’re both going to apologize and say they didn’t see each other coming, because that’s how it looks. Also, you can’t really tell the difference between the relative sizes of players. Granter, neither Pittsburgh nor Detroit (the only two teams in the demo) are what you would call bigger teams, so maybe when Boston’s Zdeno Chara is on screen there will be a noticeable difference.

Controls: With the obvious success of EA’s skill stick addition to the NHL 200X franchise, it was only a matter of time before 2k got on board.  Unfortunately, 2k has chosen the name “Pro Stick Evolution” for the new control setup that uses the left analog to control player movement, and the right analog to control the stick. I know they had to avoid copyrights, but that’s not the world’s best name. The nice thing about it is that it works really well, so I can live with the name. Passing, shooting, blocking, dekeing, and the rest of the standard hockey game moves work as expected on either the new or original controls. The hybrid control set wasn’t to my liking, but some may find it helpful in transitioning from the old to the new control systems.

AI: I know this is just a demo, but I’m a bit concerned about the defensive AI in this game. I should not be able to skate right up the middle into the high slot and shoot on the goalie without one or both defenders moving in to take me out. Maybe they have the defense dumbed down so players can learn how to shoot more easily, but from what I’ve seen so far, the games idea of defense is to have every player on the ice cram themselves into the very front of the goal crease and try to get the puck. I’ll be hoping this is just a basic subset of the AI that was still being completed. It’s a short demo, so it’s hard to see how much effect things like players getting tired, injuries, and penalties will have on the gaming experience.

Fun factor: The demo has a pretty short pickup time, and with the basic control set, I was able to start winning regularly against the AI opponent after the 3^rd game.  Additionally there is a special move modifier button that advanced players will want to try out.

Conclusion: The game looks promising, but I’ll want to take the full version for a spin on my Xbox 360 before I can give a definitive answer to the age old question: EA or 2k? One thing’s for sure; I’m going to give the Wii version of NHL 2k9 a try before I make my final decision. Hockey sticks are maybe the second best usage for the Wii Remote (behind lightsabres, and tied with golf clubs), and everyone I know who plays the NHL franchises has been waiting anxiously for a Wii version. Hopefully, NHL 2k9 will live up to its early promise.