Oh the pretty things you’ll see
It’s not December 22nd and yet an EMB Winter Games style run of gaming has been achieved. It all began some Unreal Tournament 3. Hit the jump to hear about the rest.
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The gaming community is faced with a deluge of high-profile AAA titles, Winter Games 07-08 is right around the corner, and as usual my backlog of games runs dozens deep. So how do I cope? I play casual puzzles on the high seas in search of fame and fortune with a character straight out of Playskool. I fell into this trap once before and my triumphant return has resulted in this:

Money’s runnin’ tight on the high seas, yo

My old character was deleted and so I’ve started again. Check out my dope-ass crib, complete with blood-stained curtains, a phat wooden crate, and lice-infested bedroll. I’ve even got a pet Rat called Ratso to keep me company until I need him for food. Though it is a free-to-play MMO, Puzzle Pirates continues to exhibit game mechanics still only wished for on a larger scale. Imagine teaming up with your chums to man a monstrous frigate in EVE Online, each crewman with a specialty and a direct impact on the outcome of battles. Imagine a sensible guild structure where rank means something other than being able to add new people to the guild. Imagine a community where ‘OMFG, STFU n00b, LOL’ is replaced with ‘Taste cold steel, ya maggot!’

I challenge our editors and readers to give this game a fair chance. You’ll likely be surprised. And even if you don’t stay in it for the long haul, it will give a nice glimpse of what an MMO should be.

Rifles vs Tanks - Guess who wins?

Sometimes a game succeeds so completely, you have to wonder if you’ll ever be able to go back to another entry in the genre. Company of Heroes is one such game. Yes, I realize Tritone gave this one the ultimate blessing way back in 2006, but I’m catching up here so back off! Company of Heroes presents a perfect combination of features in real-time strategy with an unparalleled level of polish. Let’s discuss.

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Break yo’self fool!

I’m pretty sure I set a new time record on Half-Life 2: Episode 1 with my run time of 13 months. Yes, I am a professional gamer, do not try this at home. But let’s talk about the game.

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The Bioshock Limited Edition: Requested by fans, exclusive to Gamestop/EB Games, contents voted upon, and an extra 10 dollars. But what does that extra 10 dollars get you? The advertised perks of the Bioshock Limited Edition are: a Big Daddy figurine, a soundtrack CD, a behind-the-scenes DVD. Let’s cover these one at a time:

Big Daddy Figurine

Rather awesome, provided the tip of your figurine’s drill hand isn’t broken. I don’t have numbers on the failure rate here, but apparently it happened enough that 2K Games has offered to replace the figurine and throw in a printed edition of the Bioshock art book. The painting on the Big Daddy could use a bit more detail, but overall it’s a hefty collector’s item that will inspire awe in your friends and family.

Soundtrack CD

That’s kind of a stretch. If you’ve ever been burned by picking up a movie soundtrack CD only to discover you bought “Music inspired by the movie”, you know how I’m feeling right about now. The included CD packs a whopping 3 tracks…not tracks from the original game score, but techno remixes by Moby & Oscar the Punk of the classic songs found in game like “Beyond the Sea”. On a scale from 1 to Suck, these remixes ring in right around Piss Poor.

Behind-the-Scenes DVD

Perhaps the greatest disappointment of the Limited Edition. Where fans expected some looks…behind the scenes, they have instead been treated to a series of uncomfortable interviews with the game developers in front of a green screen. There aren’t the customary shots inside the development environment, over the artists’ shoulders, inside the sound booth with the audio team, etc., just people talking about making the game. There is honestly an entire DVD chapter on the Art of Bioshock without even so much as a screenshot. Behind-the-scenes game movies have been around since the introduction of the CD-ROM, the earliest I can think of being included with Myst in 1993. If you haven’t seen that in a while, give it a look and see what a behind-the-scenes movie should be. 2K Games totally tanked on this.

Not So Limited Content

Perhaps the most surprising yet encouraging moves following the release of Bioshock are the public release of both the art book and the original score on the internet. This is the stuff that could be in a limited edition, and yet it’s out there for anyone to download and enjoy. I’m not complaining that these assets are available outside of the limited edition, but how about including a hi-res version of the art book and full score CD with the paid limited edition? Either way, I’ve downloaded them, and they are excellent.

Conclusion

$10 for a Big Daddy figurine ain’t so bad, frankly, and the box for the limited edition looks nice on the shelf. And oh yeah, Bioshock is in the box, so that makes me happy.

Go Time

Well this little gem was waiting for me in the mailbox when I got home this evening. Now there’s a problem: I’m in the deep heat of crunch time at work, leaving scant time for gaming. Next week, the folks are in town so that’s family time. As I see it, my only option is to go South Korea on this thing. Sleep, food, hydration be damned, this is too important to put off for a week. Stay tuned for some incoherent updates.

I am definitely not Sauron. I’m…some other guy.

Overlord was first described to me as Dungeon Keeper meets Pikmin and frankly that didn’t work out in my mind. But considering my affection for both of those franchises, I had to give the game a shot. I haven’t said this about a game in a while: I was instantly hooked. And to this mix of Dungeon Keeper and Pikmin has also been added a splash of Fable. Hit the jump to hear more.

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