Ghosts Were Never Meant To Be Friendly

Welcome All who were lied to as a child by your parents that ghosts were just really nice blankets. If you haven't already heard or seen any of the promotions. Then I congratulate you (*golf clap*).

Yes, it is true, the giant in the first-person shooter genre has revealed the next installment in their record-breaking franchise, Call of Duty: GHOSTS (slated to release 11/05/13).

There is such a tight grip on this game that nothing else has been released. Accept for the trailer; giving us a background on what cultures used their masks for. Some of the masks were very impressive. But so far their are no details on weapons, maps or specifics on characters. Except that it may be a game that can be likened to Halo: ODST. We can only wait for the reveal on May 21st, 2013 to see more details unfold.

The only real "hint" of information that has been released, is that Call of Duty: GHOSTS will be running on a next-generation system. I'm only guessing that more things will go "boom" and will have more interactive environments.

If you have seen on the Xbox 360 they are taking pre-orders (WAIT!). With the pre-order you are given a silenced sub-machine gun that has fancy camouflage and a poster! Now who doesn't want a poster to cover up the hole you and your friend made while jumping on a tred-mill going full speed?

To recap, nothing is being released. We all have to wait until May 21st. So before you pre-order, be smart this game could just be like Halo: ODST, where the campaign is a bit different but the multiplayer is the same as before. Finally, for those who like to live longer than five seconds after spawning (coming back to life) than try out Battlefield 3 and don't waste your time. You want to enjoy a game that you play and not get upset/angry over people that "spray and pray" until they hit something.

Email, Facebook and Twitter if you have any questions or comments and please send all hate mail to Pol; he loves that stuff and thanks again for reading.

-Dre 

Every Knight has it's Dawn...

So Dre and I were talking last night and he asked if there were any games I was looking forward to. With the announcement of Call of Duty's upcoming installment entitled Ghosts, Dre was pretty much off the wall excited about what's coming around the bend. (Side note: Keep and eye out for Dre's post about Call of Duty: Ghosts, coming at you soon).

Since I tend to be the resident "movie guy" on our team, people can often forget that I do also enjoy a good game. As many of you already know, I also enjoy pretty much anything Batman. So as you can imagine, when those two things come together, I must excuse myself from the room, breathe deeply into a paper bag, and change my pants.

Now that I have calmed down a bit, I figured I would share my glee with you, our loyal, and borderline obsessed with us fans. Much like the game itself, let us begin...from the beginning...

A New Dawn Rises: Origins

Here is the basic premise of Batman: Arkham Origins. This prequel to the brilliant Arkham series takes us back several years before the events of Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. We are introduced to a young, and inexperienced Batman, scanning the streets of Gotham on Christmas Eve. The Black Mask has put out a bounty on the Dark Knight's head, and all the low-lifes from the pages of the DC Universe are Gotham bound to collect. 

Batman must now fight to outsmart and defeat the endless stream of thugs and elite assassins who are out to collect on his head, as well as the corrupt cops in the GCPD who are eager to kill him and sell his body to the highest bidder. At the same time, the world's greatest detective must discover why the Black Mask is out for his head, and prove to those cops who remain on the side of good, that he fights for them, and for Gotham City. 

The reigns for this latest installment of the Arkham franchise have been turned over to Warner Bros. Games Montreal. The new WB team takes over the mantle from Rocksteady after 2 highly successful efforts. While Rocksteady was involved with helping WBGM learn the engine that powers the free flowing fighting, dark and gritty environments and overall bad-assery that defines the Arkham series, and that we all have grown to love. Rocksteady has said that they have full faith in WBGM and are glad to see the new team make this latest game their own.

Pros and Cons to a Prequel

Of course with any new installment to a franchise, you have inherent cons. The biggest of which has to be the question, "Will the game live up to it's predecessors?" This is especially true here, as we are dealing with a complete changing of the guard as well. However, as we all saw when 343 Industries picked up the flag that is Halo from Bungie, that's not always a bad thing.

Right off the bat, there are some really great things that we can think of that will come from having an Arkham prequel. First, it opens the gates to introducing new characters, and adding some meat to those we already know. Allow me to explain what I mean. When we begin with Arkham Asylum, we are thrown into a world in which Batman has existed for some time. Through his experiences as Batman he has forged friendships and enemies, and we come into the story several steps behind the curve, and spend the rest of the game playing catch up, learning how these ties were formed. We have also been limited with who we are introduced to. The casual fan may only be familiar with the starting line-up of the Rogues Gallery. Therefore, we are limited to enemies like Poison Ivy, Bane, Harley Quinn and of course, The Joker. This is no longer the case.

Lt. Branden

The Black Mask

Deathstroke

With the franchise now taking a look backwards, we can now be introduced to great new characters and villians that otherwise might be excluded from the game. We can see Batman face off against such greats as The Black Mask and Deathstroke, and we can watch as these rivalries are formed in "real time" as we see them through the eyes of the Dark Knight himself. 

On that same line of thought, we can also delve deeper into how other relationships are formed. How the corruption of Commissioner Loeb and his right hand man, Lt. Branden, will lead to their downfall, opening the way for the one-and-only Commissioner Gordon. How bonds were formed, and enemies made can be better explained, and frankly, I couldn't be more excited to see how they do this, and how casual fans will react to the new faces that I've loved for so long!

What's New? The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

As with any new game or film in development, rumors run rampant. Batman: Arkham Origins is no exception. Here are some facts and rumors that have peaked our interest.

1. Fact: Prequel Brings Youth to Batman

                                                                                    

Fans will be introduced to a new, young, and vastly inexperienced Batman. While game developers ensure us this is not a "true origin" story, we are seeing Batman in his early years. With that comes some new struggles we'll have to face. In the other Arkham games, we play as a Batman who is a well oiled machine. Fighting abilities, detective skills, and strong moral code are all finely honed. In this new game...not so much. Developers tell us of a Batman who, "...is going to make mistakes, but never makes the same mistake twice". A scene from the demo shows Batman questioning a thug, and not knowing the limitations of mere mortals, takes things a bit too far. These are the "growing pains" that we will experience as we work through the game as this young Batman.

2. Rumored: What's in a Name...and for That Matter, a Voice?

Batman The Animated Series

Kevin Conroy

It is rumored that the great Kevin Conroy will not voice the Caped Crusader in WBGM's latest Arkham effort. Kevin Conroy gave voice to Batman in the amazing animated series of the early '90's, as well as in several animated films, and in the first two Arkham games, and the latest DC release Injustice: Gods Among Us. Rumors are flying that WBGM may not enlist the voice of Batman for this prequel, in an effort to depict a young, just starting out, Bruce Wayne. It is rumored that they will go with a new, no name, actor to voice the Knight in Origins.

3. Rumored: Why Fight AI, When You Can Fight Friends!

Game developers have hinted that there may be a multiplayer element to Batman: Arkham Origins. Not much is known about, a) whether or not this is true, or b) what a multiplay facet to the game will entail. However, leaks mention playing as some of Jokers thugs attempting to thwart the Dark Knight. Rumors about playable and customizable multiplayer characters such as Bane, Deathstroke, and others have also been heard from little birds. 

We'll see if any of this actually comes to fruition. However, even in rumor form, it's a bit exciting, and what a great way for Warner Bros. Games Montreal to step out of the shadow of Rocksteady.

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this, and I hope it gets you as pumped as I am. Honestly, I can't wait to get on the Box and go to work in the actual streets of Gotham (this being the first game in the franchise that actually takes place in Gotham City) and own some new villians. Also, the idea of how incredible the game will look, with the grittiness and bleakness that is Batman/Gotham, set to a Christmas theme. Even in what we've seen in the screenshots, it looks amazing!

Definitely look out for this game, slated to hit shelves on October 25, 2013!

As always, send us your thoughts, let us know what you think, share your fears/concerns and or excitement with us! You can always comment here, or email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com, or message us on Facebook and Twitter. 

Thanks for reading!

- Franc

Is this the end, or the beginning? Xbox reveal date pushed back to May.

Check out the article from Metro here

Xbox announces that they are pushing back the big reveal of their next gen console to May 21, 2013. This is nearly a full month later than the original reveal date originally slated for later this month. They haven't given a reason for this delay, and frankly, I don't really care. What I do care about however, is some of the rumored changes coming down the pipe for the Microsoft answer to Sony's call.

First, it has been said that the new console will not be backwards compatible with the Xbox 360. Wait...what?! This is a huge let down if it turns out to be the case. Being able to trade in the older model, and still be able to play your favorite titles on the next gen has always been a huge selling point for Microsoft in the war against PlayStation. I can only imagine they will give the same reasoning as Sony did, that the tech will be far more advanced in the new gen, so it cannot play the old tech games.

This is absurd to me. I am a graphic designer by trade. You're telling me that Adobe Systems can figure out a way to release new, and more advanced design software every few years, that I can still use to open and manipulate files created in older versions, but I can't play 360 games on the next Box? You're saying that I can buy a Bluray player, and still watch DVD's on it in upscaled quality, but I can't play Halo 4 on the next Box?

This reasoning didn't sell me when Sony pitched it a few weeks ago, and it certainly won't fly with you Microsoft! Their answer to this problem is that they are releasing a $99 version of the 360 so you can use it to continue to play your favorite games. Hahahahaha. I have seen some insane ideas when it comes to milking people out of every drop of cash, I mean, I do live in the age of Apple. But really? Can you imagine if Apple said that "the iPhone 5 isn't going to be compatible with iTunes, but don't worry, we'll be releasing a $99 iPod that you can use to listen to all your music." Even they aren't this ridiculous. You better get it together Microsoft, and fast!

If all this wasn't enough, this whole rumored "Always On, Always Connected" design for the new console has also raised the price tag up to a nice round $500. But again, don't worry, they'll still be releasing a $300 model, as long as you fork over the cash for a subscription. Honestly, I don't know what's going on over there in Xbox land, but I don't like it. I understand that this is simply falling in line with the mark that the PlayStation 4 has already set. But since when does that make it ok? Xbox, you always stood apart, why stop now. I'd love for you to get rid of the whole Xbox Live subscription, but why does that have to raise the cost? It didn't for Sony. And yes, by all means, up the tech and make the new games look incredible, but why does that mean I can't play old games?

We are the nation that put a man on the moon, that defeated evil in not one, but two World Wars, we told England to taste it and owned the then greatest military power with squirrel guns and sticks, and you are telling me, that we can do all this, but I have to play games on 2 different consoles? And to do that I have to shell out $500 bones for the new and another $100 for the old? What war did we loose America?

I have been a loyal Xbox man since the first gen console met Halo, please, show me what my loyalty has bought me, don't screw us now.

Send us your thoughts to our email, message us on Facebook, or comment here. We'd love to know what you, our fans, think of all this.


-Franc

Dead Space 3 Demo Continued!

Pol in red Dre in blue.  Like a boss!

Hey guys.  So, Dre and I decided to try out the demo on Co-Op.

First, my thoughts on playing through it solo.  The game looks and feels amazing.  The camera doesn't jerk around and place you in awkward positions. (I don't need to know if Issac is wearing Hanes).

The Demo is short, but gives you a feel for many of the new features of the game, as Dre pointed out earlier...Customization!! But not just for your weapon, your armor as well.  With the items you pick up early on you get to see what it's like to build your very own weapon, and it does not disappoint. I feel like I will be spending A LOT of time figuring out what combination of things will be OP.  Dre has already talked about the single player, so we move on to Co-Op.

The co-op story (in the demo at least) seems to stay mostly the same. The cut scenes are different (depending on which character you're playing), as John Carver and Issac Clarke are helping each other to get out of whatever bind they may be finding themselves in.  But as expected, having two guns is better than one.  Dre and I blew through the demo in what seemed to be only a few minutes.  We probably spent more time playing with our guns (teehee) than going through the game play.

All in all, the demo shows you just enough to make you want to play straight through the game two or three times.  I'm as excited about this game as I am for Heart of the Swarm. Get ready to build some nasty alien decapitating laser shotguns. Oh and be ready to jump, those mo-fo's come from everywhere!!

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Thanks everyone, let me know if you have specific games you want my opinion on!  Email us at pausedreviews@gmail.com.  Updates on Halo 4 Spartan Ops and my play through of XCOM coming soon!

-Pol

EA created an amazing world.