Battlefield: Bad Company

Some of you may have heard about EA's upcoming entry in the Battlefield franchise, while others are wondering what I'm talking about, and when I'll get to the point. For the second group, here you go: 90% destructible environments with today's weaponry and technology, and you're AWOL American soldiers after "gold and revenge". If this were Hollywood, it'd be a less-than-promising action flick in the making. But as a video game for PS3 and Xbox 360 (possible PC and PSP releases later on) slated for release on August 1st of this year, it's gets a reaction that's a little (lot) different from us. This should be a change of pace from both the old-school Battlefield ('42, Vietnam, BF2), and the newer 2142-style of structure and gameplay, while still retaining that Battlefield element, with a strong touch of dark humor thrown in. Check out the teaser video that was released today on Xbox Live below, and view it at higher resolutions here.

- Glock

Sony won't cut the price of the PS3 anytime soon

Says Phil Harrison, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios President. He comments that he is in no hurry to cut the price of the PS3, a move which many analysts believe could give the sales department over at Sony a boost. He also gives a brief comparisson of the Playstation and Wii platforms,

"I think Nintendo, although I am very respectful of the innovation in Wii, and I think everybody should be respectful of it, I'm not sure that it has the technology base to propel that platform in the long-term. So I think their platform lifecycle is inherently going to be shorter, so they could have learned from us in terms of the high technology approach."

Ironically he says this about Microsofts Xbox 360,

"Microsoft's approach I thinkis far too built around a single game IP, one IP, and they could learn the benefits of a killer catalog rather than a killer application. And having the broad software support in multiple genres, in multiple categories, in multiple age groups is what really propels a platform for the long-term. So I think those are the differences that we see between the platforms."

this is coming from a company that had one of the worst launch line up's in a long time. Could this be a denial stage for Sony? I say that only when the PS3 catches up in sale numbers to the Xbox and the Wii will I listen to their criticism of other platforms.

Read the rest here.

European Gamers: Don't Get Rid of Your PS2

So there you sit, eagerly awaiting the PS3's release on March 23rd. Cash in hand (copious amounts), bated breath, the whole bit. Just be sure to bring along enough cash to buy a few games for your newly-acquired PS3, as well. Oh, you figured you'd get a single game, and just play your old PS2 titles alongside it until you could afford more next(new?)-gen-only games? Good luck, because Sony's cutting newly-mended corners. Sony's decided to replace some of the chips in the console with software "components", specifically those dealing with PS2 backwards-compatibility functions. This decision was caused by a desperate need to cut production costs, since Sony loses money on every new console it sells. Said a Sony spokesman,

"The backwards compatibility is not going to be as good as the U.S. and Japan models."

With buyers in the UK (for example) paying £425 (about $830USD vs. our $599USD price) for the console, that's going to hurt. Yes, we're all very excited about the pretty new games, but a lot of people are going to be unhappy that they have to use their old console to play the games they already own. Especially those gamers who are helping fund their venture into the new-gen gaming world by, say, selling their PS2 on eBay. I doubt that enough people are stuck in that scenario to seriously hurt PS3 sales, but it's not going to help them.

Analyst Alex Kwiatowski from British market research group Vertical Market Technologies says that those "nostalgic" gamers concerned with backwards-compatibility have "steely hearts", and just need to learn to enjoy the latest games, because they are exceedingly pretty. Well, not exactly, but that's the gist of it. It's not that any of us have cardiovascular organs comprised of iron-based alloys...it's that we are even more broke than Sony is. Bookmark this page and check it on March 23 or later to see which of your old games will be compatible with the new Playstation.

- Glock

Wii takes the lead, Mercenaries 2 to other platforms

Take a look at some of these sales figures that were released by the NPD Group.

"The Wii sold around 436K units, easily beating the 360's 294K units and the PS3's 244K units. And the PS2 also continues to outperform the PS3; Sony's six-year-old system sold 299K units."

More and more, the future of the PS3 looks even less hopeful.


In other news, Mercenaries 2 will be heading to the Xbox 360, PC, and the PS2 this year. The game started life as an exclusive for the PS3, however the CEO of Pandemic Studios, Andrew Goldman, commented that it was developed

"from the beginning [as] an experience that accentuates their [platforms'] different strengths."

Everything looks better on the big screen!

Some guys hooked up their Wii up to a movie theater screen, and the results look very impressive; now if only we could get that to fit in our living rooms.

Stupidity Silenced in Halo 3

If you've ever played with someone like this (warning: very strong language), then you'll appreciate Bungie's decision to include what they are calling the "A-hole Button". They've mapped the back button on the controller with this colorful moniker, and when used in conjunction with the right stick, a player may bring up the scoreboard and select the offending mouth to silence. Players' responses to the news have been varied, with one constant. Some think that it should be a kick feature, not a mute feature. Some think that there should be a visual representation on the scoreboard denoting mutes given to an offensive player. Others think that a rating system for players being muted would be a no-brainer addition to the feature (think Slashdot's post moderation scheme, especially the "threshold" aspect). I think that's a brilliant idea, personally. Still others think that the feature is long overdue, as many multiplayer games with comm features have had this feature for years now. Regardless of any side input such as these, everyone agrees: 'tis a good thing. For those of you that are wondering, the A-hole Button won't conflict with any of your XBL account settings:

Any muted player you have selected in your Xbox Live account overrides Halo 3’s new system, but that should actually enhance the choice of maroons you’re editing out of your gameplay. Best of all, it means fewer wasted or frustrating gameplay sessions. We’re doing our best to come up with lots of smart solutions for stuff like this, but honestly, we can’t be parents to some of these poltroons. We’re much more concerned with giving you guys the tools you need to silence them.

Never met the guy, but you have to love someone who uses words like "maroon" (throwback to old Bugs Bunny cartoons), and "poltroons" (just a fun word).

- Glock

Xbox Zephyr on May 1st, and 1 in 45,000 chance of asteroid striking in 2036

The first news is of a new Xbox 360 codenamed "Zephyr" which is supposedly coming out on May 1st. Some of the rumored upgrades are a new cooler core, HDMI input, quieter DVD-rom and an extra 100GB of space. All sounds great, and it looks like its aimed to compete directly with the PS3 with a price of $479.00.


Also in other news, astronomers have presented the possibility of an asteroid-Earth collision to the UN, which claims that we have a 1 in 45,000 chance of getting hit in the year 2036. Although the odds are pretty low, the risk is very, very high. I think this is a good time to start and update or develop a global network for asteroid tracking.

Gears of War to PC, plus new HD S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video!

Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to be that soon, however when TeamXbox interviewed Epic's VP, Mark Rein, he had this to say:

"People ask me, “Are you going to do it on PC?” Yeah, eventually…I don’t think that’s any great secret that we would like to do it on PC, but for now it’s a 360 game. Eventually we’ll get around to a PC version. I just don’t know when."

Finally PC gamers will get a chance to experience what all the hype was about. It also goes on to mention a possible sequel, a pretty obvious decision considering its popularity. Read the rest here.


There is also a great HD-quality video of the much anticipated game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. here in 720p. It looks like the developers have kept their promises and the game is looking very polished.

New Microsoft OS, Vienna, to come by 2009

When someone is going to spend hundreds of dollars on a piece of software, they usually want it to last. Microsoft has its ups and downs with the software it puts out on the market; the good being XP and Windows 98 and the ugly being Windows 2000 and ME. Since the recent release of Vista, some have begun to question if it will actually last, and whether or not it is worth spending the $$$ to upgrade to it. Recently Microsoft has announced that the sucessor to Vista (codenamed Vienna, formerly known as Blackcomb) will come in 2009, with the beta to appear by mid-08. Assuming Microsoft adheres to this schedule, this is a suprisingly fast release, giving Vista a life time of only ~2 years. Compare that to Windows XP release in October 2001, and lasting all the way up to early 2007. But of course, Vista was initially intended to be released in '03, and just look how that turned out.

For Our European WoWers

I've noticed that we have a few readers from the UK and France, so this one's for you guys (and gals). If you're of age and happen to live in Europe, you could be in luck. In celebration of the two-year anniversary of World of Warcraft's European launch date, Blizzard and Alienware are giving away several Special Edition World of Warcraft-themed computers based on Alienware's Area-51 7500 model. Each PC is worth approximately £3000 (for us Yanks, that's a little over $5800). There are two contests related to WoW, although you don't have to have an account with Blizzard in order to enter. You have until the 27th of February to enter one of the contests, and must be a resident of age (different ages for different countries, see the contest rules for further explanation) in one of the European countries named as per the rules. Those of us on the western side of the big pond are out of luck with this one though, and all entries from contestants living in countries not listed as eligible "will be discarded". Good luck!

- Glock

Fascinating designs

So far the cell phone design has remained fairly stagnant; there have been few attempts at innovation and redesign. And quite frankly most phones look the same, but with the introduction of the sleek iPhone this perhaps might push other companies into creating something that is truly revolutionary. Here is a company with some impressive ideas to note and that perhaps can hint at the future of the next gen. phone design.




Could we possibly see this in a few years or will our technology limit the possibilities?

Nintendo and Sony Breathe a Sigh of Relief: No Dell Handheld for Now

Well the PSP and DS are safe, at least for the moment. Dell stated earlier today that the media buzz created last week by their head of gaming, Abizar Vakharia, was just wishful thinking on our part:

"Dell is constantly evaluating new technologies. However, we have no plans to launch a gaming handheld at this time."

Sony and Nintendo breathed a sigh of relief, I'm sure, but my sigh was one of disappointment. Monopolies are obviously never beneficial for the consumer, but I've always liked it whenever there were at least three contenders for the crown in whichever field is in question. Makes the market more competitive, and less of a back-and-forth or leapfrogging exercise. Some may argue that the Nokia N-Gage should be considered the third contender in the handheld market, but is barely recognized as a gaming platform, and really doesn't hold a candle to the PSP or DS platforms in terms of market share. Perhaps a heavily used matchstick, but not a candle.

While some have been quick to point out that Dell didn't say that they weren't going to produce a gaming handheld, I can't show the same amount of optimism that seems to be permeating the blogosphere regarding the subject. Yes, it's possible that Dell may enter the foray at some point. And no, Vakharia's statement about a handheld being "on the radar" doesn't directly conflict with Dell's denial of such a device being on the drawing board. But I think that Dell's radar is what some might call "vast" or perhaps just "big". Regardless, in this analogy, a gaming handheld whose possible existence at some undetermined point in the future was vaguely hinted at by a man whose job is to be in charge of everything related to gaming at one of the largest computer vendors in the world is doubtless one blip amongst thousands on that big green screen that he glances at throughout his day.

I'm not saying it will never happen. I was actually a bit excited whenever Mr. Vakharia said that it was a possibility. But Dell's statement today has curbed my enthusiasm for the moment. Honestly at this point I think that someone at Dell has a good idea of how they'd like to design a gaming device, but it's just a fantasy that they hope to someday be able to get the go-ahead to work on. I can think of a lot of reasons that Dell should make a PSP-killer, most of which I outlined in my original article and in above in this one. And it wouldn't be as difficult for them as one might imagine. Dell already makes their own displays, many of which have received glowing reviews from PC magazines (for example, they hold Maximum PC's title for "Best of the Best" Widescreen LCD monitor). They're currently ranked #25 in revenue in the US, and have the ability to manufacture products well, and in large numbers. For this reason I think that (if and when they decide to move forward with a handheld gaming platform) while their device wouldn't be a PSP- or DS-killer in the strictest sense of the word, they would very likely break into the market with a competitively priced, quality product that would steal (and keep) a decent amount of market share.

I think that consumers are ready for another option, and Dell has the brand-name power to sway initial buyers. But for now, everything's speculation and birthday wishes. Anyone holding their breath on this one is sparing oxygen for the rest of us that probably wouldn't be put to intelligent use anyway.

- Glock

Crysis Posing Less of a Crisis for Expectant Gamers

For all of you wishing that you had a beastly computer in order to run those fancy schmancy games coming out this year, I have good news. Assuming that one of those titles in your gaming fantasies is Crysis, that is. We here at Gamer Bait have it on good authority that those of you with less-than-wicked systems are still likely candidates for fragging baddies in Crytek's upcoming release of the game. And by good authority, I mean the CEO of Crytek, Cevat Yerli. Determined to make the game playable (likely to be bought) by a larger audience of gamers (consumers) than might be expected, given its much-hyped, DX10-rendered (a.k.a. fascinatingly gorgeous) graphics, Yerli states:

"We developed almost all effects to be very scalable for different hardware specs. Fortunately this is much easier now that we can rely on the existence of hardware shaders. We believe clearly that Crysis will be enjoyed by a large audience that dates back to gamers with two- to three-year-old gaming rigs."

This is good for anyone interested in the game, for a few reasons. Obviously, the first one is that you have a better chance of being able to play the game on your rig, as long as it's not too terribly old. Yes, four years is fairly recent in the grand scheme of things, but a four-year-old computer is a senior citizen when it comes to playing the latest titles. Secondly, more people able to play the game on their systems without upgrading means that more people will actually buy the game. How does that concern you? In the short-term, it means that there will be more people online in multiplayer servers to play against, and more of a variety of servers in general. To some this may not be a major selling point. But I enjoy the multiplayer aspect of a game more than anything else, so the better that experience is, the more I feel I've gotten for my money. In the long-term, strong sales obviously generate more revenue for Crytek. As much as it costs developers to produce a game for us to buy and play, it's definitely a good thing whenever a quality title can make them a great deal of money. EA Games, Crysis' publisher, would really be OK if they didn't sell four million copies (a la HL2), but an innovative dev team like Crytek could always use the scratch.

Yerli offers but one caveat: If your system is DX9-only, try not to look at your friend's DX10-rendered display at the next LAN.

"We work hard to give everyone a great experience. You should not miss anything when [only] playing it on DX9, but if you get a chance to play it on DX10 you might [miss the fidelity when going back to DX9]."

Yerli also says that Crytek's "strong connections" with Nvidia, Intel, and Microsoft have played a large part in lessening the stress involved with adapting the game to the latest technological advancements in the computer industry. Crysis is going to be branded as part of the Games for Windows marketing push, and he goes on to say that Crytek will very likely make a move towards becoming a Vista-only development team in the future..."but that’s not 100 percent decided yet". That's fine, whatever. Just come out with Crysis already!

- Glock

Top games from the Windows XP generation

When we have a game that we put a lot of time in and enjoy with a passion we sometimes want that game to be considered at the top of its class. Thus we have numerous articles over the net that try to rank titles of all genres and complete a list of the Top games for a certain time period. With the approach of Vista and DX10 games, Voodoo Extreme has published its own article here that tries to rank the Top 20 games of the Windows XP era.

Its hard to judge whether these comparisons mean anything as someone who enjoys FPS games might not care at all for a game like WoW. However its an interesting read nonetheless, yet in my personal opinion I don't think the ranking of these games against each other is an effective way of comparison. There are some titles out there that truly revolutionized the way we go about thinking about games, and they attract such a wide range of gamers that they enter a Hall of Fame for Games.

Since I have been into gaming for some time now and have tried hundreds of titles, I am fairly confident that I can make a list of the 5 most influential games in the Windows XP period that I believe helped to get us where we are now. They are not ranked in any particular order, but are in my opinion the games that really shook the industry.

1. World of Warcraft: It would be hard to dismiss a game that attracted millions of gamers and created such a powerful community with a wide range of gamers. Its touted as being one of the most addicting games out there now, and it would be hard to disagree with this fact.

2. Battlefield 1942: A game that brought a truly multiplayer environment to thousands of people. It was the first game that really got the concept of "all out war" right, and bravo to that. It also sparked an impressive mod community due to the flexible Refractor 2 engine, bringing us such titles as Desert Combat and Forgotten Hope.

3. Half Life 2: Arguably one of the most anticipated titles of this decade; this is a game that had an amazing story with an impressive action-packed gameplay. The original HL gave birth to the infamous Counter-Strike and this sequel didn't disappoint. CS:S is a truly addicting and mind-blowing online shooter with a basic premise that truly had gamers hooked.

4. Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory: Although this didn't reach the success that the above games had, it did expand on gameplay that was truly unique in its co-op mode. This game had an excellent story which never seemed to repeat; it required the player to think outside the box. This is a game that deserves more credit than it received, and is still a great title to enjoy.

5. Call of Duty: How can anyone not include this game? Despite such an abundance of WWII FPS titles that are out there, this is truly one of the most rewarding games on the shelf. The developers just seemed to get everything right, a great story, intelligent AI, and combat sequences that kept the player on his feet.

Honorable Mention:
MS Flight Simulator '04
Battlefield 2
F.E.A.R.
Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings