To Hell and Back with Dante's Inferno

                                     

Somewhere in the depths of Hell, a crusader travels in search of redemption for his lost love. It is only with the help of Death’s Scythe, his lover’s cross, and some magic that he finally finds the redemption he seeks.

Bitmob - "Fog of War" Homework

Bitmob contributor Michael Rousseau issued a challenge to the Bitmob Community for the month of May to improve the readability of our posts. Using a series of algorithms, we could either write a new article or improve an existing one. I chose to improve upon the first editorial I ever wrote on my blog, which you can find here. The readability results are below and the re-written post with my conclusion, is after the jump.

Readability Results for original post:

Flesch Reading Ease – 54.8

Flesch – Kincaid Grade Level – 11.4

Gunning Fog Index – 14.16

Video Recommendations are live!

Video has come to Two.Can Play thanks to YouTube and you should be able to start watching some of it now.

Sure it isn't production quality, but hey with the budget of about the cost of a Subway sandwich and my trusty Flip cam, it is as good as it can be for now. As for my "on camera" demeanor, it will improve with practice.

The YouTube username is TwoCanPlayBlog, but you can also go to the video page on http://www.twocanplayblog.com/ to find all the videos currently uploaded.

And since you are already here, click the jump for my VR of Battlefield: Bad Company 2

Play it NOW! - Battlefield: Bad Company 2

The boys of bad company are back, and they are ‘in it to win it’ in this high octane sequel from DICE. Battlefield: Bad Company 2 comes from a long line of first person shooters. Like its predecessor, it changes the Battlefield formula by creating a story with memorable characters. Having not played the first Battlefield (shame on me), I was not familiar with the returning cast members. Perhaps this was a good thing. Haggard, Sweetwater, Sergeant Redford, join you (Marlowe) on a crazy adventure around the world, trying to keep the impending Russian threat at bay. Many reviews promoted the impression that Bad Company’s latest incarnation lacked the same depth in the character development and story as its predecessor. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the story and down time between fights. The squad’s camaraderie led to conversations on topics ranging from the best scenes in the movie Predator, to names common in the continent of Africa. After a long stint of playing more serious FPS’ like Modern Warfare 2 and Bioshock 2, it was refreshing to see my squad having as much fun as I was.

Play it NOW!: Mass Effect 2

Mass Effect was Bioware's second attempt at a riveting space opera RPG, KOTOR being the first. It was a fantastic adventure, though not without it's own growing pains. On the second try, Bioware has outdone themselves by taking what the community said into consideration when refining the sequel. In doing so, Bioware has created in my opinion, the most accessible RPG of our generation. I say this with confidence, having played a large collection of both western and eastern RPGs.

The most immediate thing many veteran RPG players will notice is the lack of any formal inventory or loot mechanic. Instead, your characters inventory is managed in 3 ways: weapons - in which gaining a single weapon type makes that available to all characters who have the option of using the specified weapon type, armor - which only applies to your Avatar and is limited to only a few variations, piece mealed out to you, and upgrades - which increase all the different weapons, armor, and ship components using minerals. Everything else found in game when picked up is instantly converted into money. Some resource cashes can be found in various missions, but for the majority of upgrades, the user must engage in planet mining. This process can be very time consuming, but if it wasn't, I feel in many ways, that could break the economies of scale. Back to my previous reference to missions, which are another big change from conventional RPGs. Where XP and resources would normally be gained in any capacity in the open world, now they're found in "instance like" missions. So when you are not chatting up your crew or the citizens of various colonies, you may instead be completing a quest and must do so start to finish, before returning to the open world.

This lends itself very well to the combat element, because the missions are much more linear and less plagued with long walks to various destinations and mid mission diversions.

Combat has been much more streamlined, cover is much easier to use, powers are more accessible since they can be mapped to various buttons and where you shoot your opponent will affect the level of damage they receive. That's right, no more dice rolls, instead, heads and limbs will explode if shot correctly. Also, enemies seem much more differentiated from each other, so a vanguard is clearly different from an engineer and so on. When you get to the end of a mission, all your accomplishments are listed and all XP is tabulated based on the decisions you made. Like the previous installments, role playing conversations and making decisions is the central component, where the combat mechanic (though much improved) is secondary. There are numerous instances in conversation where some characters are down right hilarious and others where the cinematography of a conversation is borderline "movie quality". Your crew comprises the majority of these events, either during recruitment or loyalty missions, but some side conversations will also intrigue the user. Again, each character in your party has a recruitment & loyalty mission, combined with a couple story driven missions, this puts the main story component at about 20 - 30 missions, each of varying length. Other cities, anomaly's and e-mails will provide the rest of the secondary assignments, probably equal to another 100 side missions or so. Anomaly's in particular are a cool feature, relating to the mining resources mini game we discussed earlier. When mining, occasionally a probe will find more than resources and allow you to land on a planet. These missions are typically 10 minutes blurbs that daisy-chain into 3 or 4 more side missions and are a welcome departure from the monotony of mining. On to your alignment, where the choice of good or evil is not a black and white affair as it is in some games. Though, through your various missions and conversations, not only are you able to provide good/evil responses, but you can now interrupt with a good/evil action. I chose evil for my character and one of my favorite interruptions involved a Blue Suns Mercenary, a plate glass window and the top floor of an Asari skyscraper. You get the idea. Now the new side of this is how the choices effect appearance, in the spoilers section below, you will see what my character looked like as a level 3 renegade. Not the handsome Shepard we all remember. Now I have not imported my character from Mass Effect, so I cannot speak to that experience. But I will be doing so shortly and will play the game from the opposite alignment as before. Since every one's endings are so unique, click for the jump below, to see how my story ended and let me know how yours did in the comments.

*note: completed game as a level 22, Infiltrator, Full Renegade, 800/1015 achievement score

**note: all pictures are the result of google image searches

When is Online Co-op Disconnected?

When you develop a game, based around your ability to communicate with your partner and there is no voice chat for on-line co-op... EA, you are a smart dedicated publisher that makes quality games. Why was this overlooked? I understand Microsoft gives you a freebie with cross game chat and you obviously had enough money to put in some chat function, since you were able to make a PSP version of this game (is that even going to sell). Sorry, getting a little bitter, but I think this should have been in there. It is just what the consumer would expect going into the experience. Good game though otherwise and the mask customization within the EA accounts was genius, but next time, please put in the voice chat. Thanks!

Hitting it off: Left for Dead 2

Hey readers we have a guest blogger joining 8-Bit, her name is Lauren Doster and she will be part of a new line-up of posts called "Hitting it off". They are going to be a back and forth dialogue between her and I, on a co-op experience we had in a game. Also, she may be coming to you with some "PlayitNOW!" recommendations in the future. And she is my Girlfriend, so everyone play nice! Here is a short bio and our perspective on Left for Dead 2.

L: I grew up playing video games religiously, most of my experience lies within the Genesis, N64, and PS1&2. Favorite games of all time: Super Mario Bros 3, all of the Legend of Zelda series, Starfox, Unreal Tournament, Golden Eye 007, FFVII, FFIX, FFX. Lost some touch in college, mostly due to the indie music scene & awesome keggers. Met Sean in 2008, know I won over his heart talking FFXII over margaritas @ Gloria's. Since then, he has reintroduced me to the video game scene. Previous to meeting him, I stayed within my comfort zone of action adventure, platform, or role playing games. Now I'm branching off into the realm of FPS, Puzzle Games and beyond. We'll see if he ever gets me into sports games.

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Left for Dead 2

S: To me, Left for Dead 2 was a return to the same frantic survival experience as it predecessor. Four humans pitted against a limitless horde of zombies, all directed by Valve's artificial intelligence. It has all the elements for an engaging and visceral experience, which the sequel seems to have expanded upon ten fold. Lauren, since you're relatively new to first person shooters on consoles, what were your expectations going into this game? Did anything surprise you after your first play through of a level?

L: While I have enjoyed certain aspects of FPS in the past, oftentimes my favorite video game elements such as strategy and cooperation are lost in the fray of an arsenal of weapons, transport vehicles, and a subpar plot line. Left 4 Dead 2 seems to be much different. Don't get me wrong - I love having bad ass weapons. In this game; however, the weapon offering takes place at the outset of the level, with sporadic weapon/ammo drops throughout the level. Instead of managing a complicated inventory system, I simply choose between a shotgun or a sniper rifle. I'm more of a shotgun type of girl. :) I think the element that surprised me the most was the level of cooperation and intelligence of the AI on your team. Instead of just being dead weight and running in front of you while you're trying to mow down some zombies, these characters are quick to heal or provide you with covering fire. Perhaps I'm out of touch with modern FPS, but it seems like this game got it just right.

S: Good point on the AI direction of the team. We have been playing on easy mode, so some of the complaints online about Team AI tend to be related to the harder difficulties, but in my experience I whole heartily agree. The two AI companions have been more then capable; reviving downed teammates, healing you or I when are health is below the 25% mark and being a crack shot when one of us gets pinned by a special infected. The same cannot be said often times when playing with other people online, as there can be an enormous amount of griefers out there looking to ruin our evening. Now if we only had another couple to hunt zombies with....

In response to the combat system, I definitely see you as more of a shotgun girl, but I myself am more of a rifle guy. The M16 is great, as is the AK-47, but the SCAR is my new favorite gun. Throw a laser sight on there with some incendiary rounds and I am ready to take on the Horde. The addition of melee combat is also very indicative of zombie culture. Many times in film a protagonist will be put in a situation where all they have is a random household appliance or piece of sports equipment in which to bash in the skulls of a few zombies. Valve took note of this and now has a plethora of melee weapons to use against the zombies. My personal favorite is the Samurai Sword, but I cannot deny the joy of running through a crowd of zombies with the chainsaw running hot. Too bad it runs out of gas... What about you? Any new melee weapons strike your fancy or did you prefer the pistols?

L: I think the melee weapons were a great enhancement to the game. My previous mantra was, "why would I use a melee when I have a gun?!". It's a valid question, especially when taking on hoards of zombies. The difference with this game is that the melee weapons are actually decent, and cause more damage to the infected when struck , over a shot from the pistols . It's a great crowd control method, melee weapons allow you to hit multiple zombies with a single attack. I would say this was a great addition to L4D2. You mentioned the incendiary rounds earlier, which I think is great way to mimic the effects of a flamethrower without forcing the player to choose between their M16 and a flamethrower. Each team member can access the rounds when dropped, which allows for additional carnage. I also think the Boomer bile was a great addition. You throw this vile at a zombie and it attracts the hoard to them much like the pipe bomb. I haven't quite grasped how to use this the most effectively. Often times I miss the Tank and end up wasting it on a normal zombie.

S: Hey, you still got the "Septic Tank" achievement, so I know you can hit the tank with a grenade. But, I am a little miffed by the fact that there isn't a flamethrower. The different ammo types are excellent place holders for the fact that the game does not contain many heavy weapons, besides turrets. Although, that new grenade launcher is pretty damn sweet. Every time I lob one into a crowd, I get a warm fuzzy hearing the "Thunk!" as the grenade soars out of the barrel. I guess it sort of fits the atmosphere of being stranded with no military assistance, but I would love to breakout something more "high tech" on the zombies. 

Speaking of effectiveness against the Tank, I am really into the cool factor behind all the new special infected. The Charger with his oversized arm, Spitter with her charming smile and of course the Jockey who looks like Mickey Rooney after a 2 week bender. But I really dig the special infected "light" that are unique to each map. Most especially the clown zombie, whose squeaky shoes attract other zombies in the area. It preys on my childhood fear of clowns and is instantly satisfying to pop one's head of from across the carnival lot. The levels also reflect a unique atmosphere, where Heavy Rain has some interesting weather effects and the Dark Carnival has all the little games you can play as you run through the lot. Do you think there is any infected that stands out as being more dangerous than another? And if so, does the design of a level affect that?

L: You've seen me cringe and geek out whenever I hear the witch crying. I've heard they've been toned down from L4D1, but I'm still scared to death. She also seems to wander in this game, and sometimes seems to follow you. Of course, the areas where witches are located are always dark with several sub-rooms around for her to hide in. I think the most dangerous part of the witch relates to your AI - while I gave them kudos earlier they were responsible for almost every single witch attack while we were playing.

S: Yeah, the witch can be a real pain, especially if our AI controlled buddies want to run up and poke in her the eye. All in all, this is a great game for couples wanting to bond over some co-op. It makes you depend on each other for survival and stick together throughout the short campaigns. Keep it on easy mode to start and the better you get at working together, the more you can ramp up the difficulty. See you readers next time and look for more posts from Lauren in the future.

Note: Played through 3 of 5 campaigns together, on easy, offline, before this post.

Note: All images are the result of a Google image search

State of the Industry: The Landscape of 2010 part 2

And the beat goes on as we look at the second half of 2010 and what the future holds. I would of course take any release dates you may have heard with a grain of salt. Many of these triple-A titles will hit a snag before going gold, so these are the top ten titles I would like to tentatively see drop in the later half of the year. 

1. The Last Gaurdian - Fumito Ueda and Team Ico make art as games and their narrative is prolific. Should be a must own PS3 title.

2. Dead Rising 2 - Capcom is bringing back the horde and the ability to create weapons, means all new ways to kill zombies.
3. Fable 3 - Peter Monyluex and Lionhead have a vision for the Fable universe that involves a level of immersion unseen in most games. I felt the last one fell short, but was getting very close.

4. Brink - Interesting theories on traversing the enviroment and combat, with a fresh art style. All good things.

5. Metal Gear Solid Rising - Just watch Raiden fight the Geckos in MGS4 and tell me you don't want to play that scene.

6. Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Kojima does Castlevania???!!!

7. Halo Reach - Bungie's swan song?

8. Final Fantasy Versus 13 - I have no idea what to expect...please don't be Dirge of Cerberus, please don't be Dirge of Cerberus...

9. Deadspace 2 - Isaac is back and he has a zero gravity suit that doesn't suck

10. Crackdown 2 - Blow shit up with me!

Check back in for the final post on how "motion control" may try to become a standard of practice in 2010 and on.

*Note: all images are the result of a google image search and amazon.com

Weekend Warriors

And I am glad to be done with Assassin's Creed 2. Not because I felt it was tedious, but it was the first Platinum I have achieved. Yay me... Now I need to plug back into Dragon Age and I am pretty sure its time for some Forza Motorsport 3. What are you playing this weekend?

Marketing 101: Sin to Win

9 Circles of Hell and the Campaigns behind them

It's November 9th and another Circle of Hell has opened over at Electronic Arts. Since the anouncement of new IP Dante's Inferno, EA has been all over the industry building hype through some ridiculous marketing stunts. I will not debate the responsibilities of using a profound piece of literature, to build the narrative for an action game. Let's just look at how these marketing stunts are being executed and whether or not it has had an affect on the audience. I believe their original campaign is developed around the 7 deadly sins, but the 9 circles are the levels in the game. Either way, most of the circles are the same are similiar to the sins committed, so we will just apply the camapaign stunts across the circles. The game also has a "normal" marketing campaign as well, and if after this you are interested, you can go to EA's site for more information here.

Limbo - During this year's E3, Electronic Arts staged a fake Christian protest against the game, complete with signs that read "EA = Electronic Anti-Christ." The idea of religious protest against a video game is sure to make headlines, even if this isn't the first time. Lest we for the Hindus community's outrage over “Hanuman: Boy Warrior” a PS2 game. The protest eventually spurred actual Christian activists to denounce the silly stunt. The funny thing is, becuase the initial impression was the demonstration was real, EA was able to get twice as much converage for one activity, since every post was followed up with a clarification. Well played EA.


Lust – At Comic Con this year, Electronic Arts was running a contest that promises " dinner and a sinful night with two hot girls, a limo service, paparazzi and a chest full of booty " as a reward for snagging multiple pictures with any booth babes, committing "acts of lust." First off, booth babes probably have a hard enough time just being an entire convention filled with nerds, objects of affection. Now, you are basically antagonizing these gamers to go out and get a booth babe, from any company, not exclusively EA, to take a demeaning picture. Obviously this could not end well. Not only did some "winners" refuse their prize to make a point, but essentially EA is alienating their fan base. For it being one of the easiest sin's to campaign over, it seemed like EA had really messed this one up for all intents an purpose.


Gluttony – What better way to say your sorry than with cake. Of course, EA didn't want to waste another opportunity to market Dante's, so instead of a normal cake, EA went with an arm cake.
Gamespot was the lucky media outlet to receive it and from an epic cake point of view, this one is spot on. Though it didn't get as much coverage across the various media outlets, in the basic application to the game it seems pretty accurate. Sadly, execution was lacking.

Greed – EA then sent out checks for $200 to various journalists and media outlets which read; “By cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality.” Some chose to destroy the check (Brian Crecente @Kotaku) or donate it to charity (Chris Grant @Joystiq), but either way it got Dante’s Inferno back into headlines. Cheapy D of CAG.com actually calculated the value of doing something like this. Here, he looked at the cost of advertising on Kotaku, as compared to pulling a stunt like this:
“Kotaku charges an $8 CPM (cost per 1,000 banner impressions) for their standard advertising banners. Their news post about this PR stunt will likely surpass 40,000 views.  Look Into To err on the safe side, let's say the total cost of the check and fancy box is $300. Since Crecente burned the check, EA basically spent the equivalent of a $2.50 CPM for a front page news post on Kotaku.” Now, that’s a pretty good deal when you’re trying to utilize the advertising budget effectively.

Anger (Wrath) - A 17 pound package crate appeared on the doorstep of numerous journalists. Once the twine was removed from the outside, a series of moody overtones began playing, which were quickly silenced by the horrific noise of Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up blaring from inside the box. The catch, the box was basically sealed shut, with no way to turn it off! It would not stop until you cracked open the crate and disconnected that power source. Nothing like the sweet melodies of Rick Astley to bring out the anger in someone.

With Heresy opening to the public, I wonder what EA has planned next? Will we get a video montage of the "Buddy" Jesus holding a Popes Gone Wild video, or is the Catholic Church planning on releasing a new line of Dante's Inferno propylatics? Let us not forget that there are still the cirlces of Violence,
Fraud, and Treachery; left to inspire the audience to pay attention to EA's new franchise. It will stay on my radar until its release, if only for the LOLs. 

*Note: All photos were found using Google Image Search