The Full Circle: 360 News Report 03.21.08
Posted by Joe Roche on 03.21.2008
Ubisoft brings Tom Clancy back to Vegas, as fans finally get their opportunity to bring Gabe and company back to the City of Sin, but was the wait worth it? Neversoft reveals what we can expect to see, and hear from their next Guitar Hero offering and the rock legends behind the project. Plus all you Master Chief fans rejoice because Halo 3 is about to get some DLC, and Sierra Entertainment is in big trouble. You do not want to skip over The Full Circle.
If we were all in a church basement sitting in a circle I'd stand up right now and tell you all that my name is Joe, and I am an addict. Luckily there isn't an Xbox 360 Anonymous group in my neighborhood so instead I'm here, talking about what I find interesting as the newest and probably not the last voice of The Full Circle. If you thought that joke was lame, you might want to click the back button right now and read something else because I fear that it won't get much better from here on out. Nice to meet you all, hope you'll give me a chance to get acclimated, and let's get to it shall we?
Vegas Baby...Vegas
The big release on Wednesday (or Tuesday depending on your game store) was Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2. The reviews have been a mixed bag ranging from "good" to "great" but almost everyone agrees that it has some flaws, the most glaring of which is that the game feels eerily similar to our first trip down the Strip. This criticism was probably anticipated by the people Ubisoft when they left us on the Dam at the end of the first Vegas mission but they soldiered on trying to capitalize on the success that they had with R6V1.
I was a fan of the first Vegas game and I understand why Ubisoft thought to make this title another trip to the City of Sin but I'm wondering if in the end they'll look back on this as a missed opportunity. I hear that the story (and its lame cliffhanger ending) is fleshed out a bit in the second installment which makes me warm in places that would shame my family, but I've yet to decide if this is worth investing the time and money into a game which I already played and beat eighteen months ago.
On the flip side the reviews are seemingly in agreement that the Multiplayer is great, while the Co-Op stinks. The online multiplayer for this game was going to have to be outstanding in order to convert some of those Call of Duty 4 fans who are looking for something new and exciting, but from what I've heard I'm not sure that is accomplished. Even with all of that in mind I'll probably still wind up getting this game at some point because poor cliffhanger or not I hate leaving loose ends.
Rock This Way
Some details for the upcoming Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game has been announced and I'll admit I'm interested. So far the list of tracks that will be included in the game looks pretty good:
"Movin' Out"
"Make It"
"Sweet Emotion"
"Draw the Line"
"Uncle Salty"
"No Surprise", and
"Kings and Queens"
In addition the game play will supposedly involve performing as the opening act for Aerosmith playing songs that were popular at the historical point that you're GH: A band exists. The tracks announced for this portion of the game so far are:
"All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hopple
"All Day and All of the Night" by The Kinks
"I Hate Myself for Loving You" by Joan Jett, and
"Dream Police" by Cheap Trick
While an exclusive Guitar Hero game might seem more like an expansion pack to some it appears that Neversoft is putting in the work to make this a unique game experience and I'm looking forward to it.
New DLC for Halo 3 Fans
If you're convinced that the fight isn't yet over fear not Master Chief fans because April 15th isn't just the day your taxes are due, it's also the day that the Legendary Map Pack DLC will be released for 800 Microsoft Points ($10). The second map in the series of three (the first being "Ghost Town") was announced this past week called "Avalanche", an apparent homage to the Sidewinder map from Halo 1 (or as I like to call it – the Halo which looks like crap now). There have been some updates from the classic Sidewinder map – the most notable is the fact that Master Chief doesn't climb ladders anymore so those had to be removed and replaced with a gentler slope type of climbing mechanism.
Bungie still has one more map to reveal before the April 15th release date of this DLC and I have a feeling that there will be some H3 fans refreshing their browser on Bungie until that announcement is made. I'm not sure three new maps are worth $10 but Bungie doesn't make that call so it's tough for me to hold a grudge for too long.
Sims 3 on the Horizon
This past week EA announced details for The Sims 3 which looks to launch in 2009. This newest edition of The Sims will supposedly feature 700 possible combinations for individual Sims which seems like a lot. This customization will also include the ability to determine your Sims personality which will come into play because this installment will allow you to leave your home lot and interact with your neighborhood.
Are people still excited about this? I remember the first Sims game being interesting, and I think I wound up playing it for about ten minutes, and then never looking at it again. It might just not be my style but is the ability to interact with computer generated people going to entice more people into this franchise?
Sierra in Hot Water
When Activision purchased Vivendi I don't think anyone expected it to be a seamless transition and it appears that Sierra might be on the chopping block. Apparently all the studios who were working under the Vivendi banner are being asked to pitch their projects to the Activision people so that they can determine which projects will remain, and which will be axed. All releases scheduled for 2008 from Sierra will come out as planned so if you've been waiting on Ghostbusters, Bourne Conspiracy or Prototype (which I have) then you're in luck. However, if you've been waiting on Timeshift 2: Electric Bugaloo you might have disappointment in your future.
I guess it isn't that surprising that whenever two companies merge (or when a larger company buys a smaller company) not every project is going to make it through the transition. Sierra has created some decent games and everything I've seen from Prototype has peaked my interest but we'll see how much they're allowed to do after their slate of 2008 releases has been completed.
The Week Ahead
Dark Sector (3.24.08)
This game is being presented as a modern day superhero saga. I'm not sure if that isn't a bit over the top for a game that is in essence a third person shooter that allows you the opportunity to morph into various combat styles. The story takes place in a Soviet-bloc country in the near future which might be interesting and help add to the nightmare existence that you're going to fight through. The multiplayer seems to be limited and that might be a drawback but I'll be interested to see whether or not people are intrigued by this game when it drops in the coming days.
Viking: Battle for Asgard (3.25.08)
I'll admit that this game has peaked my interest – I'm not sure if it's the fact that it seems a bit like God of War (only on a much larger scale, with massive battles), or maybe the fact that I'm a simple creature who likes Vikings. Either way though of all the games coming out between now and GTAIV this is the one that I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the most. Whenever I read a preview of a game that includes that words "use Skarin's emerging skills to help turn the tide of conflict with a timely murder or through the brutality of a visceral wave of slaughter" then you can bet that I'll at least try the game out.
Universe at War: Earth Assault (3.25.08)
I know nothing about this game – other then it is also a SEGA game (like Viking) so if nothing else SEGA should corner the market on large scale battle games. This game is going to allow for sci-fi weapon battles (up to 8 players) and in battle modifications, that's about all I know about this game. If you're looking to pick this up let me know how it is because I'm going to have to pass on defending the Earth.
That's about the extent of this week. Hopefully I'll work all the bugs and bumps out now and next week things will be a little more smooth, so hang in there with me and I'll try not to disappoint anyone further.
