RipTen Videogame Blog » sandbox

Rejoice Denizens of Steelport – Saints Row 4 is Already In Development

Justin Carter — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 22:52:20 +0000

Saints Row: The Third is just six days away, but don’t expect the series to end with it. During an interview with XPlay on G4, THQ VP Danny Bilson said:

“I already know what Saint’s Row 4 is about, and it is wilder than this one. It’s a good example of how you take what you have and you say, ‘What can happen in the next?’”

That’s a pretty big claim, Danny boy. You’ve already got naked skydiving, pornstars, a guy in a furry costume breakdancing, and a dildo you can use to smack people to death with. How can you possibly top all of that?!

Saints Row: The Third hits stores next Tuesday for the PS3, 360, and PC. Check back in the near future for our review to see how batshit insane the game really is.

[Via Game Informer]

New ArcheAge Video Displays Multiple Modes of Transportation

Jensen Walker — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:40:34 +0000

There are a lot of ways to get from point A to point B in ArcheAge. By land, sea and air you can travel the world of the sandbox MMO.

While the game remains in closed beta, this latest video shows off a myriad of mounts, including horses, automated carriages and more unconventional fare. Also available are gliders, airships and maritime vessels. The open water ships look particularly exciting, with the ability to climb to the crow’s next for a better view seemingly possible.

You can check out the video below.

Minecraft Will Get Server-Linking Portals

Dylan Duarte — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:30:47 +0000

Minecraft, the indie game sensation that is taking the world (my life) by storm, will eventually allow you to link your world to others through portals, according to game creator Markus Persson.

Persson maintains a Twitter account under the name Notch, with which he keeps his 30k plus followers updated on Minecraft news. Recently, he posted the following:

Yes, you will eventually be able to link servers with portals. NOT SOON, though.

If you play Minecraft, you know this is a pretty awesome development. Looking at screenshots and videos of the worlds other players have built is almost as fun as building your own, so being able to walk through a portal and check out someone’s work in-game will be a pretty great feature.

It’s no suprise that the update isn’t coming soon, as Minecraft is still in Alpha and there are a lot of bugs to be fixed, let alone features to be implemented.

Mafia II System Requirements Announced

Demi Adejuyigbe — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:40:00 +0000

If you’re looking forward to playing Mafia II as much as we are, maybe you’re gonna buy the PC version. Maybe you just can’t live without shooting up gangsters in a sandbox city in 3D, eh? Well, if that’s your goal, then you’re going to need a PC that fits the following requirements.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7
Processor: Pentium D 3Ghz or AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ (Dual core) or higher
RAM: 1.5 GB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8600 / ATI HD2600 Pro or better
Hard Disc Space: 8 GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or Windows compatible gamepad

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7
Processor: 2.4 GHz Quad Core processor
RAM: 2 GB
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 9800 GTX / ATI Radeon HD 3870 or better
Hard Disc: 10 GB
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0c compliant card
Peripherals: Keyboard and mouse or Windows compatible gamepad

PHSYX/APEX ENHANCEMENTS SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or later) / Windows Vista / Windows 7 Minimum Processor: 2.4 GHz Quad Core processor
Recommended Processor: 2.66 GHz Core i7-920 RAM: 2 GB

Video Cards and resolution: APEX medium settings
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 (or better) for Graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA 9800GTX (or better) for PhysX
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (or better)

Video Cards and resolution: APEX High settings
Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 (or better) and a dedicated NVIDIA 9800GTX (or better) for PhysX
Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 for Graphics and a dedicated NVIDIA GTX 285 (or better) for PhysX NVIDIA GPU driver: 197.13 or later.
NVIDIA PhysX driver: 10.04.02_9.10.0522. Included and automatically installed with the game.

The good news is that you might not need to upgrade your rig to shoot up your virtual block! The bad news is that if you have a 4+ year old computer like I do, you probably will have to. Ah well. Looks like I’m sticking to Mafia II on the PS3 or 360 when it comes out August 24th. [CinemaBlend]

Red Dead Redemption: Why Marston Betrayed Gamers In The End

Sam Naylor — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:29:57 +0000

By now many of you will have played and finished Rockstar’s Epic Western, Red Dead Redemption. As such I thought I’d take the opportunity to discuss the game’s plot and ending, since I refrained from doing so in my review to prevent spoilers.

I think Red Dead Redemption is the best open world game available today. The sense of exploration and depth to the world is unmatched, and I found it hard to stop myself playing the game as I was reviewing it. You can read my review if you want to know how I felt about that, because in this article I’d like to discuss my feelings on the plot, especially the ending. Obviously this means that there will be spoilers in this post, so don’t read on if you’ve not played the game yet, and mean to.

Red Dead Redemption begins by introducing the player to the character he or she will be playing as: John Marston. There is very little known about him from the beginning, since the player only learns about him as the non-player characters do. When John tells a character his motivation for something, it will be new information to the player. This creates a bond between the player and John Marston in the same way the bond is formed between characters in the story.

I particularly enjoyed this method of storytelling. I was constantly learning about John; his motivations, his background, his personality. I grew to like John Marston. He was a character I was playing, but I did not feel like I was playing as him- I felt like I was helping on his journey, like a friend would do. For this reason, I was compelled to help him finish his quest, and let him be a free man.

Marston used to be in a notorious gang, we find out, but he is a reformed man now. Marston has a wife and child being held by the government, and they are using him like a puppet to round up the old gang members. We’re told that once that is done, Marston will be set free, along with his wife and child. Martson is genuinely sorry about his grizzly past, and makes sure that we know it. He is an honourable man, and that compels the player to act as John Martson would.

In Grand Theft Auto, I killed random people without hesitation, just because I happened to drive onto the pavement for whatever reason. In Red Dead Redemption, I went out of my way to move slowly in towns to prevent injury, help everyone I could, and always capture rather than kill ne’er-do-wells. Why? Because John Marston was my friend, and he would never kill an innocent person.

If you’ve finished the game, you’ll know that as the story progresses, Marston kills or captures all three other members of the gang he was once in. Once this is done, the government agents promise you and your wife and child freedom. Marston moves in to Beecher’s Hope, his ranch, to herd cattle, hunt wild animals, capture horses, and be with his family. The last portion of the game is spent here, on the ranch- and loses all the momentum it once had.

Up until this point, Marston and I had been buddies, dealing with danger and exploring together, having a great time. When I met Mrs. Marston and Jack (his son), I felt like I had been left behind.

Up until this point the game had introduced every character to me in a way that led me to know them, and be able to like or dislike them as I please. I liked Bonnie, for example, because she grew on me at the same rate as she grew on John Marston. I didn’t like the government agents for the same reasons. Now, however, I had been introduced to two characters that John already knew, and I was expected to straight away love them like they were my family members. They were not, however. They were his.

I felt like an outsider. I watched as John took his son Jack out hunting and went out to herd the cattle. I had been cut out of John’s life as quickly as I had been let in. I was now doing the chores while John got to be with his loving family. I quickly grew to hate them. They had stolen my friend away from me, and had the cheek to complain constantly. John’s son had no respect for him, and did not listen to his father’s wisdom.

Not only had these people taken the John Martson that I had spent so much time adventuring with away from me, but they didn’t seem to care about him at all. John’s stony-faced wife showed no evidence of being someone that John would like, let alone marry. I still had hope that John and I would be friends again, but it was dying fast. He was no longer an adventurous rogue. He was a farmer.

This is an example of the effect gameplay can have on the player’s feelings about a character. Up until the ranch, the player had been exploring with John, having fun. When the story shifted to Beecher’s Hope, the player was reduced to doing chores. Grinding for your character’s benefit is one thing in an MMO or RPG, where it has tangible benefits to the player (like XP or items), herding cattle with no reward to the player removes any of the compulsion. The fact that it’s a boring task means that the player does not attach to the characters like they would during an exciting moment. This is especially so when the characters actively make the task more irritating (in the case of Jack Marston).

By the time the credits hit the screen, I was long finished with the plot of Red Dead Redemption. Seeing John Marston die at the hands of the government men was almost like finding out that an admired public figure has died. You think a moment about their life and achievements, then that it’s a shame they’re gone, and move on. I remembered how I used to feel about John Martson, but the events on the ranch had separated me too much from John for me to feel upset about his death.

When I saw the credits start to roll, I was more disappointed than anything. I felt alienated by the story, betrayed even, and the ranch chores had even managed to take away the gameplay enjoyment from me. Even the last firefight had just felt like a token gesture to try and get me back. The thing that actually got my blood boiling happened after the credits had finished. I was now playing as John Marston’s son.

That little disrespectful shit, Jack Marston. Not only did he constantly ignore the wisdom of my old friend and his father, but he had the nerve to try and be like him? Needless to say, I did not let this happen. The first thing I did was to go and kill an innocent man. I cared about John Marston’s reputation, his wishes, his honour. I did not care one bit about Jack Marston. I turned off the game after about ten minutes of playing as Jack, and have not come back to it since.

Red Dead Redemption is a fantastic game, with a compelling and enjoyable story set in a very interesting period of history. I feel, however, that the end of the game was just not up to standard. Not only did John Marston leave me behind, but his family managed to make me hate them as well. The ending of the game betrays the player and then tries to involve them again by killing the protagonist- which is ultimately a flawed way to end what was a great story.

Ripten Review: Crackdown 2

Dylan Duarte — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 02:37:49 +0000

Crackdown was released in early 2007 to generally positive reviews. Players had a blast bounding over rooftops, throwing cars off of bridges, blowing up everything they saw in glorious mega-explosions. Now, over three years later, developer Ruffian Games has re-released the popular platformer fo- Wait, this is a sequel? Seriously? Oh. My bad, everyone.

Ruffian has taken the old idiom “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and turned it into a cautionary tale. As it turns out, even if it isn’t broken, sometimes you should still attempt to fix it. It’s true that when making a sequel, you want to carry over all of the successful elements of the preceding game. But if you don’t significantly add onto that formula, there’s no real point to making a sequel, which is something that Crackdown 2 suffers from.

Crackdown didn’t have much of a story so it’s no surprise that the sequel shares the same lack of plot. You again are an Agent of The Agency. Pacific City is once again overrun with crime. Also zombies. And your handler is still one untrustworthy creep. But it’s not the complete lack of plot that’s odd. Because there is a little bit of a plot, strewn about the city in the form of audio logs. You can find these and listen to them to hear little tidbits of Pacific City’s history. While the inclusion of audio logs isn’t new to videogames, they’re usually used to provide supplementary material. In BioShock, they exist alongside the narrative and serve to flesh out the city of Rapture. In Halo 3, terminals filled in some backstory. In Crackdown 2, the logs are the only instance of story in the entire game, save for the short opening and closing cutscenes. Basically, you have to scour the game world to find the plot. And what’s worse is that there seems to be four separate stories to keep track of – all dealing with different aspects of the city. By the time you’ve found an additional piece of one of the stories, you’ve completely forgotten where the last left off.

From what I remember, I think the head of the terrorist organization Cell is a zombie reporter who blew the whistle on The Agency. Or maybe I’m smashing all of them together, I don’t know.

It could be argued that story – not the story, but story in general – is supplemental to Crackdown 2. Do you really need to understand your character’s motivations for harpooning a criminal to a rusty pick-up truck and then throwing the truck into the ocean? Or what about when he climbed atop a car, stuck that car to a helicopter via magnetic mines, and then rode it into the sky? Why would he do such a crazy thing? Because it’s damn awesome, that’s why.

The biggest addition to the “story” is the addition of full-fledged freaks. I say full-fledged because they were introduced in the first game, as experiments of the Shai-Gen Corporation, but you didn’t see much of them. Now they flood the streets at night, attacking everyone in their path. They’re essentially zombies, which is a bad roll of the dice for Ruffian. Videogames have been completely oversaturated with the undead as of late and gamers are finally starting to get sick of them. But the freaks are a product of what little plot the series has, so Ruffian was just following through on what Realtime Worlds had started, not necessarily trying to cash in on the craze.

I can't see shit through this helmet. Did I hit em?

The core skills from Crackdown have been retained – strength, agility, firearms, explosives, and driving. There seem to be six skill levels on the meter, but I’m not sure if level six is truly more effective than level five from the first game or if it’s more of a “this one goes to 11″ type of deal. The weapon and vehicle unlocks top out at five and that’s also when you’ll gain the ability to glide. I didn’t get to spend much time gliding, but when I did I looked like a retarded Rocketeer. It definitely takes some time to get used to.

If you manage to pry yourself away from goofing around and focus on the actual objectives, you’ll be doing one of two things: assaulting Cell strongholds or activating Absorption Units so that you can assault underground freak lairs. Actually, I don’t think you have to take back the Cell strongholds to complete the game, but doing so gives you additional locations to call in weapons and vehicles. This is where the repetitiveness begins. Whichever task you’re performing, the objective is simply to kill everything in sight. To take back a stronghold, kill Cell until an Agency chopper can arrive. When clearing out a freak lair, kill freaks until the Agency beacon can detonate. Do these things over and over again until you beat the game.

There are also optional freak breaches, which sounds hilarious, I know. Freaks will occasionally breach the surface. When this happens, your job is to assault the freak breach until an Agency chopper can bomb it closed. See the pattern here? These are entirely optional, but also entirely unappealing. Why would you go out of your way to do more of the same?

Games can get away with monotony as long as the gameplay stays fun throughout, which sadly isn’t the case here. It’s definitely fun for a length of time – and I mean really fun – but that length of time is criminally short bursts. If you put the game down for a certain amount of time it will be fun again in the future, but eventually it will overstay its welcome completely.

Demi, what have you done?!

Another problem with the Cell stronghold/freak lair gameplay is a lack of any feeling of progression. The first Crackdown had its own problems with tedium, but the way you dismantled gangs before going after the gang leader was both fun and semi-strategic. Here, the only way you know you’re making any progress is pictures on the map and statistics on the pause menu. Pacific City is no different when you first start the game as it is when you’re on the cusp of beating it.

There are improvements made over the first game. Your arsenal, of both weapons and vehicles, has grown substantially. You now have access to plenty of shotguns, machine guns, SMGs, sniper rifles, rocket launchers, grenade launchers, and humongous weapons that belong on turrets, but you can go out into the field and just lug them around. There are plenty of explosives, including the aforementioned mag mines. Multiple mags will stick together, which does nothing when throwing them on solid fixtures, but when they’re stuck to cars and corpses there’s fun to be had. Our own Demi Adejuyigbe has a nasty habit of calling in Agency choppers and then sticking them to the ground, which gets us all yelled at by the Agency handler.

As for vehicles, not only is there plenty of Cell and civilian transportation, but the Agency alone gives you the standard cruiser, a buggy with a mounted machine gun, the speedy supercar returns, an SUV that can jump in the air, and a tank that you can unlock at level five. So yeah, when it comes to guns and cars, Ruffian delivered.

RAGE QUIT WARNING

I’d like to take a brief departure from the main review for a moment to share a couple things with you. I’m an angry person, and sometimes I get mad at videogames. I got mad at Crackdown 2 more than a few times, and here are the reasons why.

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!

I understand that your Agent is wearing half a ton of armor, but is it really that hard to get back up after you’ve fallen down? We’re talking about a super soldier who can punch a car in the face and send it flying backwards, but as soon as an explosion or a freak knocks him on his ass, he just lies there and contemplates giving up entirely. Seriously, it takes the better half of ten seconds to get back on your feet after you’ve been knocked down, which quickly adds up when it happens over, and over, and over again.

The dreaded building lip

Just like the first problem, this is another glorious holdover from the previous game. One of the coolest things to do in Crackdown 2 is take a running leap off of a high rooftop and sail to another, but far too often a concrete lip probably a half-inch tall will throw the whole thing off. They run around the edges of far too many surfaces in Pacific City and they’ll catch you and cause you to stop running at the last second before you leap, which results in you jumping straight up instead of forward. Since you’re already holding forward on the joystick, you’ll start to go over the side of the building, and if you aren’t quick enough to reverse direction and guide yourself back to the roof, you’ll plummet to the ground below.

Enough with the explosions

The rocket launchers in Crackdown have a pretty high rate of fire. That’s awesome, right? No it’s not. You don’t know what you’re talking about. You clearly haven’t been on the receiving end of a non-stop barrage of explosions that prevent you from doing pretty much everything except blindly shooting everywhere or jumping off of whatever roof you’re currently on to take your chances with the ground below. I’ll all for a challenge, but being trapped inside one continuous explosion is ridiculous.

You forgot to put the seat down, Agent!

Thanks a lot, Agent! Now my guests are going to think I’m a slob, Agent! I’m having close friends over, Agent, and I’d like them to remain friends. And why were you in my bathroom anyway, Agent? That’s my private bathroom, Agent, and it’s reserved for my personal use. You forgot to put the seat down, Agent! Thanks a lot, Agent! Now my guests are going to think I’m a slob, Agent!

STOP TALKING TO ME!!

Alright. I feel better. Now let’s get back to wrapping up this review.

The Nintendo Power Glove is unlocked at strength level five.

At first it was a little disappointing to be back in Pacific City, but it is undeniably cool to see the city in its current war-torn state. It doesn’t look as colorful and lively as before, but that’s the point. The city is within an inch of its life and its drab, dystopian look reflects the current state of affairs. Recognizing proud structures that are now piles of rubble is nostalgic in all the right ways.

One thing that is completely new about Crackdown 2 is the competitive multiplayer.

Rocket Tag is great if you’re hopped up on meth and don’t own Blur or Split/Second. In Rocket Tag, one person has gets the orb, becomes it, and everyone tries to tag that person. With rockets. Tag, you’re dead. It’s a mixed bad, because half the time you’ll either be raining hellfire down on whoever has the orb or running for your life from incoming rockets, both of which are extremely fun and exhilarating. The other half of the time you’ll be caught in an endless chain of explosions and it’ll be difficult to do so much as move. If you’re looking for quick, frantic fun, Rocket Tag provides. But like the main game, it works in very short bursts.

Team Deathmatch is where the fun is, though there isn’t that much. Deathmatch is also fun, but not so much as being on a team. For the most part, the Crackdown formula works well for multiplayer and Team Deathmatch is possibly more fun than the entire single player campaign, though that isn’t saying much. You can lock-on to enemies but you can’t sub-target, which is great, because that would make it far too easy. It actually works a lot like Grand Theft Auto in that you automatically target the center of mass and move your reticule around from there.

When I said the formula works well for the most part, it was because the action is still frantic and there were more than a few times where I died not knowing who or what killed me. This is not a game for strategy. This is where you stay on your toes and blow the shit out of every enemy you see, the second you see them. With no room for tactics, it can get old pretty fast. Also, if you see a helicopter, you lose the game. At least I think that’s how it works.

Multiplayer ultimately feels tacked on, but the core Crackdown formula is fun enough that it isn’t total garbage. You won’t be putting down any of your favorite multiplayer shooters, but if you have the game, it’s worth a spin. Just be prepared for a pretty shallow experience.

Crackdown 2 is an absolute blast when you’re just screwing around with friends. But as soon as you start to take it seriously, it falls apart. Any problem you had with the first game, unless it was a lack of weapons and vehicles, you’ll have again here. And taking on Cell strongholds and freak lairs just isn’t as fun as waging war on the gangs the first time around. Ruffian took everything that worked, everything that didn’t, and didn’t add nearly enough of their own.

The Rundown

+ Just like Crackdown
+ Unparalleled, mindless, open-world fun
- Just like Crackdown
- Zero depth
- Painfully repetitive, right down to the handler’s dialogue

Crackdown 2 was developed by Ruffian Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360, The game released in the United States on July 6th 2010 with a retail price of $60.00 USD (Xbox 360). The copies used in this review were for the Xbox 360 and provided to us as digital downloads by Microsoft. The main campaign was played to completion for the purpose of Dylan’s review. However, considering this title allows for four player co-op, here are the opinions of the three others who tagged along at various lengths.

Second Opinion

Stephanie Gutowski

I constantly crave story-driven, cinematic games. That’s probably why I never picked up the first Crackdown or any other sand box game. Crackdown 2, however, had just enough intrigue to keep me interested. No, I don’t think there’s much complexity in the plot (it’s about as basic as it gets: The Agency is good and Cell is bad), but that’s not what this is about. Open worlds are for blowing up your friends and playing tennis with their cars. This is going to be the game you play when you’ve got a few buddies online and you’re hankering to blow up a helicopter. Sure, it’ll get old after a while, but the first few times are completely worth it.

I’m also a huge fan of the aspect level system, where your abilities evolve based on how you fight. There’s a huge difference between agility level one and two and it makes all your effort seem worthwhile when your progression actually rewards you with greater running speed and better jump capabilities. It just seems like after you finally ding level two in all your skills, the leveling slows to a crawl. Sure, you can dive back into the main story missions, but that’s only so entertaining. Especially when a lot of your objectives involve infiltrating Cell strongholds, activating a beacon, and running away. Rinse, repeat, go to bed. The repetition really starts to wear on you during the solo experience, but a couple of friends can make this much more entertaining.

There’s just enough content in here to keep you going, if only to see what new abilities levels four and five have in store for you. I see this as a decent single-player experience, but the real fun is in the co-op.

Third Opinion?!

(Everyone’s a critic)

Demi Adejuyigbe

The game has you detonate nine beacons that destroy “freaks” around the city, and when you try to plow through these detonations, you start to feel like it’s more of a chore than anything fun you would do out of pure will. Around the time you detonate the fourth beacon, you’ll find yourself realizing that you’re doing the same thing over and over, though Ruffian tries to trick you into thinking things are different because the Cell soldiers and freaks are getting tougher – this isn’t the case. While they may seem like they’re getting more difficult, they’re actually just getting upgraded with a few weapons from your previous arsenal, and in fact are still pretty easy to get rid of.

Crackdown 2′s multiplayer experiences, while complimentary to the single player mode of the game, feel as if it’s the main course. Sure, the two are technically one and the same, as any single player game can become multiplayer if another player jumps in, but playing the game co-operatively actually opens up a variety of new things you can do together that would be near impossible to achieve alone. The game even encourages you to play co-operatively with Xbox Live orbs that can only be gained with another player, but Crackdown 2 doesn’t really make you feel like grabbing these orbs is at all necessary.

I’ve always said that graphics aren’t integral to how good or enjoyable a game is, but with Crackdown 2, they don’t seem to have changes at all. The faux-cell-shading style remains, but the explosions look much less grandiose and impressive than they did in the first game. An explosion is essentially now a puff of black smoke surrounding a cloud of orange. You see the same three styles of cars in different colors every few seconds. There’s not much variety amongst enemies, and buildings, while actually different, all start to blend together after a while.

Unfortunately for anyone who hopes to enjoy some four-player co-op in the game, the co-op experience of the game is possibly the buggiest multiplayer experience I’ve had on Xbox Live. As is to be expected, whenever you are in an area of incredibly heavy fire and explosions, you start to experience a frame rate slow down that makes it difficult to move or see where you are moving.

Believe it or not, that’s the least of Crackdown’s bugs. The first time I jumped into a game with four other editors, we ended up in a Cell stronghold where for some reason, sniper rifles began to generate instantly – forever. I’m not sure what triggered this bug, but when we ended up in an area where you have hundreds upon thousands of rifles generating every second, the game slowed down to a speed of 4 FPS. It was literally impossible to move without extracting and landing elsewhere, far from the stronghold. We also encountered bugs where cars would end up in different parts of the city while we drove them, and players would get stuck mere inches off of the ground, unable to move anywhere.

This machine gun mounted buggy has got plenty of Crackdown 2 bugs to keep it company.

That’s not to say that the co-op play in Crackdown 2 isn’t a metric ton of fun. The tools Ruffian Games gives you for enacting inadvertent mischief in Pacific City are incredible, and honestly, some of my favorite weapons in video games to date. From the very second you start the game, you are given access to a magnet grenade that has the ability to pull together any two items in the game, and this can be used to creatively kill enemies … or friends.

Leveling up a bit also gives you the UV shotgun, which is probably the best gun I’ve used in any video game since Half-Life 2′s gravity gun. It allows you to propel any item or human in the air i.e. Half-Life’s gravity gun, but when you have an open world, magnets, explosions, and large cars (and helicopters!) that you can throw at your enemies, the possibilities are endless. Hell, I recently detailed two of the ways that I had fun with the helicopters in the game , and I’ve already found more.

I wish Crackdown 2′s assisted targeting mechanic would allow you to target your friends, though. As weird as it sounds, some of the most fun we had in four-player co-op play was when we wailed on each other, blowing each other off of rooftops and playing UV Shotgun Tennis with Stephanie — which you can get an achievement for (even if you don’t have access to Stephanie). And speaking of achievements, many of them are easily attained, though some are near impossible to grab without a friend. I had already grabbed most on the demo, but the achievements in the full game are much more focused on plot advancement. (Despite the secondary plot that Crackdown 2 tries to shoehorn in).

It’s too bad the game doesn’t try to make you accomplish these achievements together. As it stands now, if you jump into a game where someone else is completing objectives while you’re idle, you will still get credit for them. While I’m not sure how difficult it would be to ensure that these missions are done together, leaving something like this out of the multiplayer kind of defeats the purpose of co-operation.

I'd love to hit you with a mid air punch, but I'm unfortunately incapable of performing melee attacks while jumping.

Aside from the co-op, Crackdown 2 also features 3 different multiplayer modes in which you can fight with up to 16 players, but these matches aren’t as enjoyable as you’d think. The first game I jumped into was Rocket Tag, which was fast and frenetic, and very reminiscent of Unreal Tournament. I hated it. The speed at which you run and shoot meant that explosions went off literally twice a second, which made it hard to keep up in the maps. That is, if you can play it at all. It’s just as buggy as the main game, and trying to connect and stay with a game is probably the hardest thing to accomplish.

The two Deathmatch modes, while better than Rocket Tag, lose their excitement early on. The Deathmatch formula isn’t messed with much, and the addition of speed makes it both hard to kill your enemies and easy to die. When you die every few seconds (and you most likely will), you’ll start to hate the game you’re playing. Plus, the mix of high buildings and low grounds makes Deathmatch absolutely terrible. You start to shoot somebody as they’re running and they can instantly move behind a building and disappear out of sight. After a few times, you’ll start to get annoyed with the not-so-multiplayer-friendly world design.

The one thing I’m sure you’ll hear about Crackdown 2 is how repetitive it is- and it is. It’s incredibly repetitive, to the point where you will think “Wait, haven’t I cleared this area yet?” over and over. If you’ve played the original game, going back to the same city will feel just like you’re playing the original game with an expansion pack. Sure, you’re getting flashier weapons and skills, and a new underlying “plot” (and I use the term in the loosest way possible) but unless you skipped the first game, Crackdown 2 will just feel like a shell upon its predecessor.

I feel like I have to reiterate this again, as I’ve mostly criticized the game, but the game is a lot of fun. While it has a bunch of glaring faults, it’s hard to cast dispersion on a game that honestly, I have and am enjoying quite a bit. That said, if you are hankering for some fun (but currently buggy) co-op multiplayer, you should probably pick up Crackdown 2- especially if you can get it less for the $60 retail price.

Oh, and fuck those agility orbs.

What? A Fourth Opinion??!!??

Chad Lakkis

Would you like to blow shit up with me? If you answered yes, then read on.

I must say, as the resident Crackdown 2 homer in this group, I love Crackdown for what the game truly is at it’s core — a great way to pass time with a long distance friend (or friends). Of course these friends don’t have to be “long distance,” but it’s my opinion that the game is at it’s best when you’re running around mindlessly in a giant virtual sandbox, collecting orbs, talking shit on your headset, and blowing up a bunch of friends you aren’t able to see every day.

The reason I stress the long distance aspect, is partly because I got into the first Crackdown right around the time my friend moved to the west coast, and it was a great way for us to stay in touch. It was very much like an interactive phone call, and the mindlessness of it all is what separated it from it’s competition. You might be thinking “how the hell is something being mindless a good thing?” Well, when all you want to do is enjoy the virtual company of some friends, the best way to do that is to be in an environment conducive to doing so. The fact that nothing in Crackdown or Crackdown 2 really poses a threat to you is a positive in my book. Sure it would be nice to occasionally have the “raid boss” of sorts, that if encountered, would demand the full attention of your co-op party, but outside that the game is little more than a means to level your character, taunt your friends, and run away before they get you back.

You want examples? No problem.

No actual Stephanies were harmed while playing this game.

One of the first things I did the moment I got into the four player co-op with Dylan, Demi, and Stephanie, was seek out the amusement park. I then challenged Dylan to climb to the top where I was already perched. And after he did, I kicked him in the face and knocked him down for shits and giggles. Conversely, one of the first things Dylan did in the game was drive the pickup truck I was standing in the back of into the ocean, ejecting himself at the last possible moment. Why? Because we could. It’s events like this in a game like Crackdown (1 and 2) that could never be scripted, and it’s why any attempt at a plot is darn near futile.

While fun in its own right, the multiplayer addition to the game attempts to build on the co-op aspect that made the original Crackdown so much fun. However adding a bunch of strangers to the mix waters down the close-knit feeling, and turns it into a much more generic experience. The fact that it uses the same world map you use for campaign mode doesn’t help either. A little multiplayer specific map variety would go a long way here.

Overall, the ability to play co-op with four friends in Crackdown 2 (as opposed to two in the original), is probably the biggest non-multiplayer addition to the game. There is an added emphasis to plot and presentation, and the world itself does get a bit of a visual overhaul, but none of these aspects alone truly set the sequel apart from the original. The game is also a bit buggy at times, though I’m sure the developers will work hard to fix any and all bugs the game currently contains.

In short, if you’re looking for a great way to pass some time with two or three of your friends, and are open to the notion of blowing up a few multiplayer agents in the process, Crackdown 2 is at the very least worth a rental.

L.A. Noire Pushed Back to Spring 2011

Demi Adejuyigbe — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:42:51 +0000

Despite the fact that we first heard about it in 2007, we haven’t seen or heard much about L.A. Noire, Team Bondi and Rockstar’s 1940s sandbox murder mystery game. The trailer shown off years ago was interesting enough, but the closest thing we’ve come to news regarding the game since then is that was a tweet confirming that L.A. Noire would release this fall.

If you were looking forward to getting your hands on the game this fall, then you’re out of luck, because gaming magazine Xbox 360 World is saying that L.A. Noire is releasing in spring of next year, pushed back far from the projected fall 2010 date. While Rockstar has stated that they haven’t announced a formal date yet, and that they don’t comment on rumors, refusing to deny it outright says so much more than they would have liked to. Hopefully, we’ll at least get another trailer for the game before this fall, though. [Source: ScrawlFX]

Transformers Cybertron Devs Ask for Consumer Help to Secure Sequel

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 13:18:04 +0000

I haven’t had the chance to crack open my FedEx delivered copy of Transformers: War for Cybertron, just yet, but everything I’ve head about the game makes me want to finish this post that much faster. In fact, I think Gavin’s review summed it up best by saying:

“See Michael Bay, you can have your cake and blow it the fuck up too.”

That line right there says it all. According to Gavin, we’ve got a chance to get our hands on a Transforms game that combines both action and substance in a package good enough to make him gush like an eleven year old bearded boy on Christmas morning. And don’t do it because he loved it, do it because the developers at High Moon Studios are currently in negotiations with Activision and asking for consumer support to help them secure the rights to future sequels:

“This game presents opportunity, we are talking with Activision about future, please buy the game to support it,” said Hasbro’s Vice President of Intellectual Property Development, Aaron Archer.

Hey, he said please. And if you’re a fan of great sequels to great games, why not give Transformers: War for Cybertron, a shot? Let us know if you do.

[Source: CVG]

Three Minutes of In-Game InFAMOUS 2 Footage Set to Debut on GTTV

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:40:04 +0000

GameTrailers TV Host, Geoff Keighly, just shared an interesting inFAMOUS 2 scoop with his Twitter followers. Not only will the next episode of GTTV feature footage from the upcoming Sucker Punch sequel, but all three minutes of it will be purely in-game.

“Just saw the Infamous 2 gameplay clip for this weeks GTTV- 3 minutes of all in-game footage. Wow!! Don’t miss it.”

And if you don’t happen to catch the show for whatever reason, look for us to have the footage here on RipTen as soon as it becomes available.

Assassin’s Creed Brootherhood Ending, Prepare For Wall-Punching WTF Moment

Bryce Wilson — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:32:28 +0000

It’s no secret, Asssassin’s Creed: Brotherhood is out to impress, and has definitely shook off whatever initial enigma some may have had. This is not an “out to milk your pockets” franchise.” Instead Creed has blossomed into a more robust, stand alone experience, that’s set to build upon a great series while improving it as well. And as with Assassins Creed II, another ending leaving more questions than answers seems to be in store for us all.

Shortly before he left Ubisoft, Patrice Désilets, the Creative Director behind Assassins Creed: Brotherhood freely divulged information regarding the end of the upcoming title, stating:

“The other day I was recording the ending of ‘Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’ with Desmond, with Nolan North. He was reading it and then he was like, ‘Credits?! You mother f***ker! What do you mean credits?!’ And I was like, ‘Well, it ends there.’ [Patrice makes the sound of Nolan grunting in frustration]. He’s really into it, which is great.”

Great to be into it yes. Not so great to be left hanging by it. What are your thoughts on being faced with yet another Assassin’s Creed cliffhanger? Sound off in the comments section.

[Source: MultiplayerBlog]

Dead Rising 2 Release Pushed Back One Month, Put Down The Propaine Tank

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 08:28:35 +0000

The following letter from Capcom PR just hit our inbox updating (and pushing back) the August 31, 2010 release date of Dead Rising 2 to September 28th.

And if the photo above gives any insight into just how much Dave loves this game, just imagine how sad he’s going to be when he reads this. Good thing he got plenty of hands-on time with it at E3.

We are happy to confirm today that one of our most hotly anticipated titles of the Fall, Dead Rising 2, is set for release across North America on September 28, 2010. Sequel to the million plus seller, Dead Rising, and set in the gambling paradise of Fortune City, Dead Rising 2 introduces a new main character, Chuck Greene, and 1000’s of new zombies in this darkly comedic, no holds-barred action title.

Thanks,
The Capcom PR Team

Look on the bright side — you’ve now got more time to rig the stuff in your garage with blades, dynamite, and car batteries — though I’m in no way suggesting you do that.

E310 Preview: Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood

Rangebar Merani — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 04:08:41 +0000

Both Assassin’s Creed and its sequel have been two of my favorite games in the past few years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the third installment, Brotherhood, was on the top of my list of games to see at E310.

At the Ubisoft booth on the E310 show floor, we were shown a demo for the single-player campaign portion of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. The story of Ezio continues in Brotherhood, but this time around he’s no alone. Ezio has risen to become the leader of a guild of assassins in Rome.

Sure, you can still go free-running, rooftop leaping, and assassinate all you want, but you’ll also have to spend time recruiting other assassins to your guild, training them and sending them out on missions. Once successful, you can give out experience to your assassins to get them upgrades and bonuses.

The demo was really cool with great action scenes of Ezio, even one with him riding his horse inside of Rome (in the previous games the horse waited at the cities entrance) and a badass turret scene in which he was blasting foes with canon balls.

The single-player was dope and I’m really excited for it, however, the best part of the Brotherhood showing had to be the multiplayer, which is new to the series. I didn’t get a chance to play the single-player mode, but you’re damn right I got my hands on the mulitplayer.

The only multiplayer mode available to play was Wanted. Everyone who’s playing picks their character and their perk loadouts. Some examples of perks are using a disguise, having throwing knives, smoke bombs, a hidden gun and sprint boosting, just to name a few. Once the everyone is ready and the game starts, everyone is each assigned a target to assassinate. This means as a player, you are both the hunter and the hunted as an unknown player is out there after you as well.

This is basically the new Assassin’s Creed multiplayer, at least the one mode that was shown, but there will be more game types in the final game. The city is still full of people while you are playing and you’re given an image of your target and a meter/radar that gives you a sense of which direction your target is and how close you are. Points are awarded for killing your victim, and evading or killing the assassin hunting you. As your online rank advances, your assassin can gain new abilities, like disguise, to become either more deadly, or more elusive, depending on your play style.

I can’t wait for Brotherhood! The multiplayer is going to be hella’ dope and some serious fun. I’m curious as to see what other online modes there will be. Lookout for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood when it launches November 16 on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Short Film Made From Red Dead Redemption, Now Online

Chad Lakkis — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 09:15:19 +0000

In the event that you missed director John Hillcoat’s short film about Red Dead Redemption, you can check out the completely in-game created work below. Let us know what you think of it in the comments section.

Crackdown 2 Screens Big In Japan

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 05:43:02 +0000

The US isn’t the only place being inundated with rumors, screens, and press releases as E3 2010 approaches. A recent Japanese press event has produced a crap load of new Crackdown 2 screens (dubbed Riot Act 2 in Japan).

In them, you’ll see lots of multiplayer footage from modes like Rocket Tag, Team Deathmatch, and Deathmatch. The one thing almost all the screens have in common — none of them are in English. Enjoy.

July Game Informer Cover Confirms inFAMOUS 2

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 22:04:18 +0000

We pretty much had this confirmation confirmed a few days ago when we showed you Portugal’s PlayStation Mag (ROPS) back page tease, but Game Informer’s July cover reveal lets the inFAMOUS 2 cat completely out of the bag. In fact, I think the cat is eating my shoe right now.

Game Informer’s Joe Juba states that a “new look for hero Cole MacGrath is just the first step” in a Sucker Punch inFAMOUS 2 revamp that also includes a “new city, new powers, and a powerful new foe.”

The write up goes on to reveal that the July issue will also contain info on games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Force Unleashed 2, Killzone 3, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta. Interviews with Irrational Games’ Kevin Levine and Square Enix’s Tetsuya Nomura also manage to cram in there as well.

Sounds pretty interesting. Keep your eyes peeled for it on store shelves near you very soon.

[Source: Game Informer]

Red Dead Gets Free “Outlaws to the End” Co-Op Mission Pack June 22nd

Harry Slater — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 21:10:40 +0000

The first piece of DLC for Rockstar’s cowboy epic, Red Dead Redemption, has been given a firm release date.

Initially announced at the start of May, the “Outlaws to the End” pack will be moseying its way onto PlayStation Network and Xbox Live June 22nd, for the princely sum of nothing whatsoever (yes, that means its free).

The pack contains six brand new cooperative multiplayer missions for posses of 2-4 players, as well as additional XP and new achievements or trophies to unlock. Three of the six missions have already been announced on Rockstar’s website, and will see you storming a mine, braving a raging river and liberating a town from the Mexican Army.

We’ll provide you with more information on the remaining three missions as it becomes available in the weeks leading up to the release.

[Source: Rockstar]

Crackdown 2 Now Certifiably Complete

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 19:27:28 +0000

Crackdown 2 developer, Ruffian Games, gave us an update on the status of their open world sequel by issuing the following commendatory tweet a few short hours ago:

“#Crackdown2 has passed cert, thanks for the fantastic work by all. Load up those trucks, Agents. We’re heading out.”

The original two player co-op in the first Crackdown was fun as hell, so I’m personally looking forward to “blowing shit up” online with a few friends courtesy of Crackdown 2′s beefed-up four player co-op capability when the game hits stores on July 9th, 2010.

Crackdown 2 Achievement List Unlocks

Chad Lakkis — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 04:59:05 +0000

I don’t consider myself much of an “achievement whore”, so it takes a certain type of achievement to even remotely garner my attention. And the types that do entertain me are so far fetched, random, and down right destructive, that the sheer enjoyment gained from actually pulling them off far outweighs the “achievement unlocked” notification that pops up onto the screen.

So when I saw the list of achievements for Crackdown 2, a title that openly asks you to “blow shit up” with it, I knew there had to be at least a few off-the-wall instant classics. Luckily, Ruffian Games didn’t let me down.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Mosh Pit
Land 20 successful hand-to-hand attacks in a chain. Under 3 secs between attacks to chain them. 10
Yippee-Kai-Yay
Drive an Agency SUV into an airborne helicopter. 10
Scarface
Use the minigun to amass 20 enemy kills in a 10 second period. 10
Pebble Dash
From the top of full-height Agency Tower, leap into the chimney stack and live to tell the tale. 10
Bomberman
Create 30 explosions in 60 seconds. 10
Car Jump
Leap from one fast moving vehicle to another. 10
Chopper Stomper
Leap from an airborne Agency helicopter and using a Ground Strike, kill at least one enemy. 10
Open up a Can
Kill 5 enemies with a single gas cylinder. 10

Call me lazy, but if I can get it done quickly with a large amount of bang for my buck, I’m down. However, if I’ve got to run around town performing tedious collection tasks, there’s just no way in hell I’m going to bother. You can view the full list of Crackdown 2 achievements below. Let us know what you think of them in the comments section.

First Hurdle
Survive Agent Diagnostics and earn deployment into Pacific City. 20
Get Connected
Locate and activate an Absorption Unit, alone or with another Agent. 20
Plugged In
Locate and activate every Absorption Unit in Pacific City, alone or with another Agent. 50
Big Bang
Oversee the deployment and successful detonation of a Beacon, alone or with another Agent. 20
Hope Springs Savior
Detonate every Beacon in Hope Springs, alone or with another Agent. 50
Green Bay Savior
Detonate every Beacon in Green Bay, alone or with another Agent. 50
Unity Heights Savior
Detonate every Beacon in Unity Heights, alone or with another Agent. 50
Light Bringer
Detonate every Beacon in Pacific City, alone or with another Agent. 20
All Under Control
Secure all Tactical Locations within one Cell stronghold, alone or with another Agent. 20
Location, Location, Location
Secure every Tactical Location in Pacific City for the Agency, alone or with another Agent. 50
Pest Control
Clear out and close down a Freak Breach, alone or with another Agent. 10
The Closer
Close down every Freak Breach in Pacific City, alone or with another Agent. 20
Tower Power
Complete the final phase of Project Sunburst at Agency Tower, alone or with another Agent. 20
Tellin’ Stories
Collect and listen to an Audio Log. 10
Closed Book
Collect and listen to every Audio Log in Pacific City. 20
In Plain Sight
Find and collect a Hidden Orb. 10
Sixth Sense
Find and collect every Hidden Orb in Pacific City. 30
First Rung of the Ladder
Find and collect an Agility Orb 10
King of the World
Find and collect every Agility Orb in Pacific City. 50
In the Net
Catch an Agility Renegade Orb or Driving Renegade Orb. 10
Renegade Runner
Find and collect every Renegade Agility Orb in Pacific City. 20
Renegade Racer
Find and collect every Renegade Driving Orb in Pacific City. 20
Speed Demon
Complete a Road or Rooftop Race 10
Street Racer
Complete every Road Race in Pacific City. 20
Rooftop Racer
Complete every Rooftop Race in Pacific City. 20
Wingsuit Racer
Glide through every Wingsuit Stunt Ring in Pacific City. 20
Stuntman
Jump a vehicle through every Vehicle Stunt Ring in Pacific City. 20
LIVE and let LIVE
Collect every Online Orb in Pacific City. 10
Who’s the Daddy?
Develop each of your skills to their maximum levels. 50
Solid Block of Orbsome
Find and collect every Agility, Hidden, Renegade and Online Orb in Pacific City. 50
Jack of all Trades
Complete one of every objective type in Pacific City. 20
Pebble Dash
From the top of full-height Agency Tower, leap into the chimney stack and live to tell the tale. 10
City Glider
Wingsuit glide through the airspace of all islands in Pacific City without touching down. 10
Squad City Glider
4 Agents, Wingsuit-glide through the airspace of all islands in city within 30 secs of leader. 20
Open up a Can
Kill 5 enemies with a single gas cylinder. 10
Co-op Keepy-Up
Pass a vehicle back and forth between Agents 3x using UV shotguns. Vehicle must not hit the ground. 10
Yippee-Kai-Yay
Drive an Agency SUV into an airborne helicopter. 10
Strike!
Kill 25 Freaks with thrown objects or vehicles. 10
Victory Roll
Alone or with another Agent, kill an enemy with a mounted turret while airborne and upside-down! 10
Mosh Pit
Land 20 successful hand-to-hand attacks in a chain. Under 3 secs between attacks to chain them. 10
Scarface
Use the minigun to amass 20 enemy kills in a 10 second period. 10
Zero Factor
Use a UV weapon to amass 20 Freak kills in a 10 second period. 10
Street Sweeper
While driving a vehicle kill 5 enemies in a single power slide. 10
Pin Cushion
Use Harpoon Gun to pin 5 enemies to a single vehicle. 10
Bomberman
Create 30 explosions in 60 seconds. 10
25 Ways to Die
Find 25 unique ways to destroy your cloned body. 10
Car Jump
Leap from one fast moving vehicle to another. 10
Chopper Stomper
Leap from an airborne Agency helicopter and using a Ground Strike, kill at least one enemy. 10
Party Bus
Four Agents; one driver and three gunners, on a Battle Bus. Must jump through a Vehicle Stunt Ring. 10
Pile Driver
Kill 5 enemies with a single Ground Strike. 10

[Source: MGC via CVG]

Crackdown 2 Web Comic Prequel Explains Mutant Menace Origin

Chad Lakkis — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 01:03:41 +0000

If you’re anything like me, you played and enjoyed the original Crackdown game. However, you’re probably also wondering where the hell the mutant alien invasion terrorizing the Pacific City streets in the sequel came from. This is an obvious (and valid) question. It’s also one that the creators planned for.

So without further ado, here’s the second installment of the Crackdown 2 prequel series, “The Pacific Archives”, titled “Evil.” May all your mutant creation questions be answered.

Prove Your Red Dead Obsession, Shop Rockstar’s RDR Swag Store

Chad Lakkis — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:26:35 +0000

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption is all the rage right now, and if you haven’t played it there is likely something wrong with you. Maybe you’ve got bad breath or a severe case of foot fungus. Worst yet, maybe you’re one of the millions of Americans suffering from Flahtbrowkitus (flat-broke-itus).

There’s nothing to be ashamed of if you are, but it likely means you won’t be able to toss fistfuls of of cash in the direction of Rockstar Games in exchange for some lovely Red Dead Redemption flavored swag. Yes, that means you’ll miss out on Red Dead dice and playing cards, shirts, soap, and even a Red Dead Redemption candle fashioned to look like a few sticks of dynamite.

Now, I’m not sure about the rest of you, but whenever I see a stick of dynamite it reminds me of the old Warner Bros. Roadrunner versus Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Meep Meep!