The Passing (trailer)

It doesn't actually show anything but it's humorous. Released to announce the arrival of The Passing, a Left 4 Dead 2 DLC.

Modern Warfare 2 References?

Bad Company 2 dialogue pokes fun at rival game Modern Warfare 2's mission 'Cliffhanger' . Only those who have played will understand.

#1 "No no no. They'll just send some special ops douche bags with pussy ass heartbeat monitors on their guns instead of us." Sweetwater referring to the attachment that Roach uses to infiltrate a Russian base with Soap. 

#2 "It's not a snowmobile. Snowmobiles are for sissies." Sarge referring to the mode of transport used by Roach and Soap to escape the Russian base.

First video shows the gameplay dialogue. Second video shows the 'Cliffhanger' mission.

Bad Company 2's final mission 'Airborne' is also similar to a COD 4 mission 'Mile High Club'. Both take place on an airliner and both teams escape by jumping out of a hole blown in the aircraft.

Bad Company 2 Review

My efforts to get Bad Company 2 were slightly delayed(by 2 weeks) but I have finally got my hands on the game and played it. It has been fairly satisfying although there were various small annoyances.

The gang returns

Generally gameplay is exactly identical to the first Bad Company. The controls have been tweaked a bit but everything feels the same. The biggest difference in gameplay is the health system. The game features a slow regeneration health system similar to Modern Warfare 2. Destructibility is greater and more realistic. Environments are less open and slightly more linear now. Some may be disappointed with that but I personally don't mind.

Arctic conditions

Tropical surroundings

The story line is darker than some gold-hunting expedition and involves a doomsday weapon. The characters swear a lot more but are still as jokey and funny as before. There are also more scripted action sequences now but they just feel over-the-top. The game constantly hits you with fast-paced action that it becomes a bit boring.

Destruction!

Now, for my grievances. The graphics are great but there are a lot of texture fade-ins. Sometimes objects and backgrounds just suddenly pop into place. The animations of the dead enemies also frequently glitch. Gunfire sounds still produce a lot of echo. I also miss Mike One Juliet or Miss July.

Vehicular combat

The multiplayer once again delivers standard battlefield combat. Minor elements have been tweaked but nothing of note.

Critic review below.

New Ironman Suit

A newly released trailer of Ironman 2 shows off a new suit that can be put on quickly and sports some silver colour. Trailer below.

Left 4 Dead 2 : The Passing

In terms of chronology, The Passing fits in right between the Dead Center and Dark Carnival. In other words, it's set in those moments after the survivors make off with a racecar from the shopping mall, and before it gets stuck in traffic on a crowded, slightly zombie-infested freeway. The big selling point in this DLC is that you'll run into the survivors from the original Left 4 Dead. You run into them at the beginning, then once again at the very end when they actually jump into combat with you and help out with the big last stand.

Two new weapons have been introduced to the game in The Passing. One is the M60 machine gun, which is far more powerful than even the M16 or desert rifle. How powerful is this thing? Well, fire up your old friend Google and most of the pictures you'll find are soldiers lying prone with the bipod legs out to minimize recoil. Yep, it packs quite a punch. Now imagine that sort of firepower directed at a wave of the infected, or directly at a Tank's face, and you've got yourself a good idea of this new special weapon. Also in the The Passing is a new golf club melee weapon, but unfortunately that one wasn't in the build we got to play.

The other new gameplay features is an uncommon common called the Fallen Survivor. As you'll recall, the uncommon common are those zombies who were slightly more powerful or annoying than ordinary zombies--ones like the guy wearing a heavily armored SWAT team suit, or an infected clown whose squeaky shoes would attract a horde if you didn't kill him off quickly. The Fallen Survivor is essentially what you or your teammates would turn into if they weren't magically immune to the infection. Basically, it's a zombie equipped with all the gear you're capable of carrying. Guns, med kits, bile venom--you name it, it's on the zombie. They're not a huge threat since they'll usually take off running (in typical survival fashion) but if you can track them down and put them out of their misery, you might find some very useful supplies.

One of the greatest features in both Left 4 Dead games was the survivor dialogue. Whether it was the biker Francis rattling off a list of the things he hates, Louis telling Bill that struggling up the stairs is a good workout, or Ellis recounting stories of his buddy Keith trying to deep fry a turkey, there's always been a wealth of hilarious dialogue in the game. Fortunately, we'll be hearing a lot of new material in The Passing, including Francis' new pet peeves, and maybe even a few things that he likes.

There's also going to be new DLC released for the original Left 4 Dead that has you playing as the original survivors during the lead-up to The Passing, so that should be pretty interesting as well. You can expect this DLC to arrive in late March. The price has yet to be officially announced.

The fallen survivor

Airshow and Bioshock 2

I went to the Singapore Airshow 2010 over the weekend and it was great. A bit disappointing compared to the last one but still worth it. The fewer number of planes is supposedly caused by the economic downturn. I'll add some pictures soon. On another note, I'm gonna get Bioshock 2 this week and may get a review out soon. For a critic review, watch the video below.



Video sourced from gamespot.com

Assassin's Creed II : Battle Of Forli (review)

We see more of Caterina Sforza.

Battle Of Forli is the DLC(downloadable content) for the highly acclaimed Assassin's Creed 2. It costs $4.00 or 320 microsoft points. It fills in sequence 12 of the game.

Overall, this sequence is ok but not outstanding like the main game was. It throws in large scale battles together with the regular missions like escort, rescue and assassinations. You will be given the chance to further immerse yourself in the world of Assassin's Creed with its dialogue and environment and that's always a good thing. An addition of note is a 'special memory' which allows you to fly Leonardo's flying machine around Forli. This turns out to be disappointing as it is completely pointless and lacks the rush of flying it in Venice. It feels very contrived.

However, this dlc really messes up the story of assassin's creed. It doesn't fit into the end of sequence 11 and would spoil the experience for those who had yet to complete the game.

It is not a must buy for assassin's creed fans and may disappoint you.