Battlefield 3 Limited Edition Pre Order: EA Makes Big (Little) Mistake?

You can decide for yourself by reading one customer's dilemma here. While I don't agree with the title and overall theme of his post, (that it's all at the fault of the customer service department) I definitely agree that EA is at fault for failing to specify a time zone for their Beta offer, which was to grant Open Beta access to anyone who pre-orders the game from origin by September 25th. As seen here.

It really isn't a big deal in the scheme of things (2 day early access to beta?) but nonetheless he has a very valid point. Oh and let's try to ignore the fact that he waited until the very last 2 hours before making his purchase. And as to why this post is on a diablo III forum, I assume he's trying to spread the word.

Warhammer 40k: Space Marine PC Review

I have seen the future... and it is glorious. That is, if you're captain Titus of the elite squad known as the Ultramarines, as for anyone else, well I can only be certain that they won't have nearly as much fun.

Game Overview

You begin your campaign on an 'ork' flying craft, from there you are immediately thrown into battle against their swarming defenses. You don't panic though, because you're the mighty lord, Captain Titus, who has seen and dealt with far worse. After following the on screen 'suggested' attacks (or not) and slaying 100 enemies you will have unlocked your first achievement in Space Marine. Wielding a firearm in one hand (with a total of 4 at any one time to switch from) and your melee weapon in the other, you are the ideal killing machine or in this case upholder of justice.

I couldn't get enough of the close combat and watching my chainsword slice through a wave of enemies as I put together combos and appropriately finished any lone survivors off with a slow-motion execution move. That includes the animations, which are so smooth and engaging as the orks are practically falling on my blade.

Just when I thought I might be getting a little bored with my chainsword I was upgraded to a lightning infused axe, appropriately termed the power axe. That meant new combos and new awesome combat animations. Truthfully it wouldn't have mattered though, I'm not too picky when I'm given a new sharp glowing weapon. 

Did I mention you're given a jet pack on a few special occasions throughout your quest to recapture the forge world, and that its use in smashing your enemies from above is very satisfying? In Space Marine, jet pack is called a 'jump pack' and jump pack = Fun! So much so that when my man Titus would say, "Out of fuel" and drop it into oblivion I found myself fighting off the onset of what was most likely a serious case of depression.

And finally, quite a bit later in the game, we are introduced to the almighty thunderhammer, which is so thunderously huge and epic, that you are only allowed the use of your 2 basic guns while wielding it. That's more than okay though, because let's be honest, it's a freaking thunderhammer...

I was going to show another one of my totally lam..err I mean totally awesome!.. videos but I came across this one that seemed slightly more informative.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not usually one to follow the story of a game, let alone actually be interested in it. That being said, I should congratulate Relic Entertainment because it kept my attention for a good part of Space Marine's story. A difficult feat for a game that also had such entertaining gameplay awaiting me after almost every cut scene.

PvP
After the campaign (besides repeating on a higher difficulty level) there is still the option to PvP in the online multiplayer which although is nothing particularly special, with the typical objectives (capture this, defend that), your typical leveling system, perks etc. Regardless, it provides a reason to continue playing and for some it may be enough to purchase the game if you're the online multiplayer type. One thing I did like about the PvP though, being the noob that I am, was the option to copy your killer's loadout after each death. It's a simple way to help balance the playing field and balanced PvP makes me happy.

Tips

I don't think that tin can on his head is laser proof

- Grenades are your friend, don't be afraid to use them generously
- When facing a Nob (elite ork) or other higher ranking enemies, be sure to furiously spam your left mouse button when trying to execute them, or they will counter your execute
- Your aiming sights will turn yellow when you have an enemy or an explosive in them (basically anything that your bullets will affect), knowing this can come in handy
- Tap the left shift key to sprint/charge at your enemies and right click when you're in range to knock them down

Pros

- Exciting array of powerful weapons at your disposal, including my favorites, the jump pack and thunderhammer

- Mission content is varied and creative
- The world, especially in jump pack usable areas, is huge and impressive
- Relic Entertainment tells an engrossing story of bloodshed, betrayal and brotherhood
- Awesome execute animations
- The game itself was just a heck of a lot of fun


Cons
- Slow executes don't slow the enemies around which leaves you vulnerable to attack. And being your only reliable source for health gain, you're likely already in some trouble.

- On rare occasions mobs would bug out and get stuck, usually around the boundaries of the world

Other Thoughts/Suggestions
- Not sure you're ready to buy the full game?? No problem, download the free demo here and give it a go yourself
- I played the entire game on normal difficulty and a fair amount of PvP and not once did I encounter any type of crash or other problem that kept me from enjoying my purchase

- There were some gaps between enemies that were just too long. I would run through room after room and get impatient waiting for my next ork filled room to slaughter
- Now, if I'm going to be completely honest here, there are way too many elevators in the future. No really, that's a legitimate complaint. It went something like this,
"Let's get out of here, quick get on that lift!"
"There's only one way we're getting out of this, and that's down the lift over there."

Oh thank the Warhammer gods

Is it a problem? Of course not, I just could have used a bit more variety was all. 

Bugs

- There weren't too many and none that I came across were anything to worry about

- Mostly just npc's getting stuck or in this case not being able to reach or detect me, which is always fun:

Score - 84
Space Marine had me from the beginning with its honourable hero and his awesome accent, from there I was engulfed in its superb combat animations, addictive gameplay and fresh level design. The only thing holding it back for me, was the lack of content for those not so fond of PvP.

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Demos

There's a reason I have the fifth installment of the Elder Scrolls series on my most anticipated games list. I'll let these demos speak for themselves. If you're short on time though I'd suggest skipping straight to the 3rd demo for some dragon slaying awesomeness.

Unfortunately when I posted the videos here it wasn't letting me watch them in full screen so here are the youtube links...

Demo Part 1

Demo Part 2

Demo Part 3

Rusty Hearts Open Beta

As most of you might have noticed, other than posting one article, I wasn't particularly interested in the second phase of RH closed beta. New content was nonexistent, there was no level cap increase and really nothing new for me to do. Fortunately though, open beta (obt) plans to change a lot more than phase two of the closed beta did. RH OBT promises a level cap increase up  from level 20  to 25, 200 new quests, 16 new dungeons, a new town, 500 new items and 15 new skills (4 for Tude, 4 for Angela and 7 for Frantz). Now that's more like it! You can view all the details here.

Besides having 2 other games to play and having to start over with a brand new character, I've no reason not to be excited about open beta, especially now that the stamina system has been 'entirely revamped'. Although that is a pretty big besides...

Rusty Hearts Open Beta is set to open tomorrow, September 13 (exact time has not been specified, but I'll be sure to update as soon as it's released). Also, for those players that are EU based, it was just announced that there will be dedicated servers for European players! Sounds like good news to me.

Grammar Man Saves the Day!

Grammar man simply had to help the situation

So help he did.. with a smile

Working too* quickly? Grammar Man understands

Just another successful day at the office

Hope you enjoyed that nonsense. On another note I should probably mention that today is the final day of RH beta, servers are scheduled to go down at 5pm EST. Open Beta is scheduled to launch on the 13th for those who are interested. After today all closed beta characters will be erased and everyone is going to have to start over when the OB begins in 5 days. Also be sure to log in today if you want a chance at winning a poster (5 unsigned?), a signed poster (2 total) or a Logitech F710 controller (2 total).

The full article can be found here.

Coming Up...

Hey everyone, I just wanted to give you all a preview as to what I've got planned as far as game reviews and other updates. So, I know I'm a year late but to broaden my gaming horizons I just picked up a copy of Fallout: New Vegas and yes I was required to show the cashier my ID, which I still think is funny (we definitely wouldn't want kids playing big boy games, at least here in the US). And yes although it has been out since October of last year, the plan is to provide my own review of the game, which will be posted here in the near future.

Also, Warhammer 40k: Space Marine was released yesterday and is definitely next up on my play list. It's safe to say I won't be in short supply of futuristic rpgs.

Lastly I wanted to share that I'm going to try to get some fraps type software installed and working asap so I can start posting some gameplay videos along with my reviews.

Thanks again for reading! Till next time.

Moar Pitchers!

While I'm looking for another game to to entertain myself, I figured I might as well share a few more screen shots I have sitting around. Like my favorite environment visual from darkspore: (you can't really tell from the picture but the black hole is actually pulling a ton of debris across the screen as you pass it, which I thought was really nifty)

What's more epic than a black hole?

 Hmmm 8 out of 7, I think there's something wrong with that math.

Too bad we didn't get any bonus points at the end

As far as looks are concerned, this guy is high on my list.

Shiny

SRS-42 also has one of my favorite hero-unique abilities, missile barrage.

I'd be in trouble if the EPA saw this

What you wanna kill?

Finally some decent boss loot