Reviews – Page 11 – NoobTubeTV

Playstation 4 Announcement Coming Today – What Does It Mean To You?

The Sony Playstation 4/PS4/Orbis is going to be officially announced today in New York. While many gamers are considering the exciting news about updated graphics engines and gaming innovation there are other things to consider and look for as the new console(s) are announced.

Remember the Duck Demo from the PS3?… Don’t let them fool you today.

Pricing – Will Sony make up for their pricing mistake with the PS3? Most analysts believe that the PS4 will have a price tag around $400. This is a fair price point in terms of how systems have been priced since 2000.
Online Functionality – PlayStation Network has been an embarrassment in terms of service and lag in gaming experience. Add the fact that Sony became a target for hackers and were subsequently hacked to the max should be a sign that they must improve there service and more importantly – security.
Motion Control – This is a niche function that shouldn’t be considered in terms of controller functionality. They tried to push the Six-Axis early on and then the ‘Move’ to no avail. They should try to make more use of the Eye-Toy camera (like the Kinect) if they want to do anything with motion. Even still – it is a novel concept with little to provide to gamers.
Design and Engineering – While Sony fanboys like to make fun of 360 users for the RROD (Red Ring of Death) they were victims of similar failings from Sony. The YLOD (Yellow Light of Death) and over-heating of PS3 Slim consoles was a common theme that should scare any day-one console purchaser at least a little bit.
What Else Can Be Done… Really? – Console gaming is hitting a ~~peak~~ plateau because graphical improvements are becoming more and more detailed in non-gameplay scenarios. We may see improvements to physics (which is doubtful in Madden – call me cynical, but you know it is true) but we are getting to a point where developers of games are moving towards microtransactions and forcing you to buy add-ons rather than any sort of true improvement in the game itself. Don’t let Sony (or Microsoft, when the time comes) to get you drunk with graphics and take advantage of your wallet with fancy videos.

Gears of Boredom – Why Gears of War Judgment Isn’t Worth Your Time (or Money)

Once again, we are entering the realm of yet another ~~sequel~~ prequel. The Gears of War saga has been one of the best selling franchises during this generation of consoles. If you never played the series it can be best summed up as a cross between the 1980s movie Tremors, Predator and The Descent – with more blood, gore and chainsaw bayonets.

Epic Games and Microsoft did an amazing job of supporting the game with patches and developing it into one of the most compelling storylines in recent shooter-game history. Much like the original Star Wars Trilogy was enough to keep fans satiated with what many consider to be the best cinematic story/opera of all time, it is being plagued with the corporate desire for profit rather than creativity and finality to a great story in the form of the godforsaken prequel.

Quite a bit has changed at Epic since the conclusion of the Gears trilogy as well. Primarily the departure of Cliff Bleszinski and other longtime members of the development team. While it isn’t surprising that people come and go in the world of gaming and game development it isn’t exactly boding well for a series that has really lost a lot of its luster now that the story is over. Not to mention the fact that the ‘improvements’ and tweaks being made to GoW Judgment seem to be cosmetic at best.

Looks more like a member of GWAR or the Legion of Doom than a Locust.

If you are a fanboy/girl of the series none of what has been mentioned will convince you to part with your favorite franchise. It is one of the things that makes you what you are to corporate gaming studios – the dedicated lemmings that also populate the Call of Duty and Halo sales charts are the same… numbers on a graph.

This is why it isn’t surprising at all to see Epic pushing out one final (or first?) chapter of a game that has had a conclusion for awhile now. They are coming up on the end of an entire generation of consoles; and there isn’t much time left before they start pursuing some sort of new blood-soaked trilogy that will impress us graphically, theatrically and monetarily. It is almost a certainty that Epic will design some sort of new GoW-esque title for the next generation but that isn’t going to stop them from milking their cash cow one more time before laughing their way to the bank with the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Is It Time To Move To PC Gaming?

Now that we are coming to the beginning of yet another console generation you are most likely asking – “Should I wait this out?”. That would be a good option if you could stick to it. Considering the growing rumors that the next console generation will not allow you to buy games second-hand (used) or even bring a game over to a friends house to play it on their console; It is starting to look more likely by the day that the PS4 (Oracle) and XBox 720 (Durango) are going to focus less on hard copy media (discs) and move further towards downloading and cloud based gaming.

This feels an awful lot like the console version of Steam/Origin. Both of these game hosting services allow you to play your games through an online based client that essentially acts as a proxy game library. Instead of actually having a collection of games on your shelf, they are in the Steam application under – you guessed it – Library.

With Microsoft’s online service already requiring users to pay $60 per year for online play and other features it will be interesting to see how they go about forcing people to do most of their gaming based on the ‘always online’ capabilities and the apparent desire to get rid of second-hand gaming. This isn’t really that surprising in terms of the direction that gaming and entertainment have been going in recent years. The sales of CDs and DVDs have plummeted because of services like iTunes and Netflix. The question remains as to whether or not this is a good thing when it comes to gaming.

Console gaming is nice for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is the fact that you don’t have to sit at a desk on your computer to play these games. You can sit on a comfortable couch, beanbag chair or even on the floor in front of a flat screen TV and game out. That is slowly becoming a less exclusive reason as PCs are becoming easier to incorporate to your TV rather than a monitor. The biggest downside to moving in the direction of PC gaming remains the initial investment and upkeep.

If you consider the amount of money people pour into their console gaming it isn’t really a good argument to say that it is cheaper than PC gaming. XBox users are paying $60 a year on top of their initial console purchase. Then there are DLC packages that often add another $20-50 to the price of the games they are playing. After all of these expenses there are batteries for controllers or new controllers if the console is used regularly. By the time you add up all of the costs a hardcore gamer might put into a console they could have easily bought a PC that could be used as a work station and gaming rig. Not to mention the fact that most PC games feature free online play and more consistent patches and user mods.

A PC gaming rig also costs as much as you are willing to put into it. You don’t have to have the same set up as someone else if you can’t afford it. The best place to spend your initial money is going to be on a sizable case and motherboard. The case is vital for multiple reasons (ventilation, size for expansion and video cards, USB ports, etc.) but the motherboard is the most important aspect when it comes to ‘future-proofing’ your PC. Make sure that you have plenty of room for video cards and a powerful CPU to power everything. You will need to also invest in a power supply to give your rig the needed juice to run. Other than that, you can typically piece together everything else.

GPUs (video cards), RAM, Optical Drives and Hard Drives are all replaceable and changeable once the main components are installed. If you are looking for a way to stick it to Microsoft’s XBox division and Sony’s Playstation division you should consider moving to PC gaming. The time has come to take gaming to the next level and that means putting your PC in the living room and using your HDMI/DVI cord to link it to your television.

Looking for a few ideas on how to build a budget rig or a monster gaming PC? Check out the wishlist section over at Newegg.com. You should also talk to your computer savvy friends for advice or ideas on what could be the best build for you. If you want even more input shoot us an email at officialnoobtubetv@gmail.com and include PC Building in the subject.

Happy Gaming!

Are Shooter Games Dead?

Now that the autumn rush for shooter games has come to a close and we are firmly in the doldrums of the gaming year there is a serious question that must be asked as we get closer to not only new consoles… but closer to the limit many gamers have for lacking creativity.

Whether you are playing Call of Duty, Halo, Battlefield or even Gears of War. You are most likely playing a game with a 2, 3 or 4 after the primary namesake. This is a problem on many levels and the obvious issue stems from the idea of pumping out sequels more regularly than Hollywood can push out another Saw movie. As for the other issues signifying the agonizingly slow death of shooter games – here are a few:

Fans Are Getting Bored – The entertainment industry has one primary component to making money and that is paying customers who are actually interested in what is being offered. Call of Duty was able to grab an entire generation of gamers with new styles of playing a shooter – primarily the online component. Halo snagged the XBox crowd with a great story and then some of the most successful multiplayer experiences ever put on a console. They still sell in the millions when release day comes, but gamers are slowly finding their way to other titles than the popular COD series especially. This isn’t to say that the sales are bad for COD or Halo, but the idea that a cash cow will last forever does not make a lot of business sense.
Desensitized – Killing people isn’t as fun or novel as it used to be. We have witnessed so many tragedies on TV it is becoming rather difficult to surprise anyone. Some thought that blood in Mortal Kombat was too much ‘violence’ but now, years later – MMA is being pumped up like the Roman gladiator battles. We have had shootings at numerous schools over the last 14 years. Why is it that within a few weeks… and sometimes days – we are already moving on to something else? The answer is simple – we just aren’t shocked anymore. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had a section where you shot up an airport full of civilians. Black Ops 2 lets you butcher enemies with a machete. We have fatalities in Mortal Kombat and execution moves in Gears of War. Violence is old hat… it is expected and desired like someone’s morning coffee fix.
Poor Parenting and Little Kids – When I reached adulthood and started paying bills I started to notice a few things had changed in terms of my view of the world. The first was that I had become crotchety and easily annoyed by nonsense (which I think had been in my persona long before adulthood, FYI). The second was that I couldn’t stand what I viewed to be a sudden change in parenting and discipline of children. I will save you the ‘back in my day’ comments and leave it at this – if a game is for ages 17 and up, otherwise known as being rated M for ‘Mature’… your CHILD should not be playing it. Not to mention, if they are on a microphone talking to other gamers around the world – you might want to listen to the language they are hearing and using outside of the game sounds and in their headset.

Will Games Change Their Digital Approach Next Generation?

Now that we are firmly into the high speed internet age and online functionality has become almost synonymous with every game on the market (including the ubiquitous ‘patching’ of games). The issue many sports gamers are running into is that they are pouring $60+ into games that come out every year with minor improvements/changes and roster updates. This has caused sports gamers to generally ask on occasion why developers like EA and 2K won’t simply release a cheaper update to the game every other year or so instead of requiring the purchase of new software every single year.

The most obvious responses are ‘…because people are buying the games in droves” and “Why would you stop milking your cash cow when it is obviously still producing results?”

The issue at hand in the coming generation of consoles is that they will be largely focused on digital content more-so than even these current consoles seem to be. While the PlayStation Store and XBox Marketplace are doing well and provide services to subscribers/gamers it seems like only a matter of time before you will have to start buying certain content by sections rather than a full-fledged title.

Some games like Call of Duty, Battlefield and Halo could potentially be sold in three different ways.

Online Multiplayer
Offline Story Mode/Campaign
Full Game (Online and Offline Content)

This isn’t the first time that something like this has been suggested. You can go to virtually any rumor mill site for gaming and read about an industry analyst talking about the likelihood of a game like Call of Duty charging people to play online. The issue that gamers should be considering is whether or not they are happy with the current state of games. Whether or not you are paying extra for maps, add-ons or even avatar clothing you have to appreciate how smooth the transition has been between the PS2/XBox to the PS3 and 360 in terms of online interactivity and microtransactions like coins for Madden Ultimate Team.

We will soon be entering a new realm of digital content distribution. Considering the actions of developers in the last 18 months, you shouldn’t be surprised if you will have options to buy games by piecemeal or some sort of full-game combo.

If you disagree about the outlook or attitude towards some aspects of games (such as story mode/campaign) you should ask Battlefield or Call of Duty gamers if they have played more than 45 minutes of the campaign mode.

The fact that Battlefield has a disc for campaign mode on 360 says a lot (even if it is simply due to space)… my campaign disc has been in the system for less than two hours – total.

Get ready for some big changes next gen.

Madden – Preparing For The Super Bowl Hype Machine

The majority of traffic to NoobTubeTV over the past year has been for information on all things ‘Madden’. This year will be interesting if you consider the release of the XBox 720 (or whatever they will call it) to be on the top of your anticipation list. Regardless of what you are looking forward to in football gaming this year, Madden is most likely on the top of your list.

Madden 13 is a game that came out of the gates strong with some new direction to Franchise Mode with the new Connected Careers Mode. Some gamers hated this move and the direction of earning XP for players through on field production. Other gamers enjoyed this new move for realism in player growth during CCM. Either way you fall on this argument you will notice that it was always part of the hype machine after the Madden 12 cycle finished with the Super Bowl.

With the Super Bowl (and the new Madden Release Date announcement) only a few weeks away you should be fully prepared for the onslaught of Madden hype from EA Sports.

Some of the hopes for improvement in Madden 14 are –

More customization of playbooks and depth charts/players – CCM cut off a lot of user creativity as it all but removed player editing and roster editing from the mode.
Better OLine and DLine Interaction – This is something that is called for and demanded by the Madden community every year. EA supposedly made this better by using the strength ratings in Madden 13, but given the constant issues with defensive linemen not getting proper sack numbers and the strange ‘Pancake Block’ stat for OLinemen, it is questionable as to whether or not EA knows anything about linemen at all.
Smarter AI Decisions and Gameplanning – Why do CPU QBs get away with clear intentional grounding? Why does the CPU call a HB Draw while down 5 points and 55 yards from the endzone with 17 seconds left? Why does the CPU call a Timeout with 1:01 left in the 4th quarter?
More Realistic Injuries – We have been calling for this for years. The bottom line is that real time physics means nothing if injuries are random.

Why RG3’s Injury Points A Finger At Madden For More Realism

Robert Griffin III essentially ripped his knee in half during the Redskins’ loss to the Seahawks. He is now out for at least 6-8 months and outside of the discussion about whether he should have been playing in real life we are asking if it is ‘In The Game’.

Madden Football has continuously disappointed in the realm of realistic injuries ever since Roger Goodell became the Commissioner. While they may have some limitations because of their exclusive ~~monopoly~~ license with the league it is still a major issue that is rearing it’s head as one of the most popular players is possibly facing a career ending/altering injury.

In Madden, James Harrison would have been the one getting hurt on this play.

Hit detection in Madden has always been spotty at best. Almost everything in the game is pre-determined by animations that are being triggered. There is a specific animation for face mask penalties, fumbles and interceptions. All the while they are marketing Madden’s ‘new’ physics engine as groundbreaking and amazing. EA pushed for consumers to see that “No tackle will ever be the same”… play the game for a couple days and you will see this is false. Physics have improved immensely between Madden 12 and Madden 13, but the biggest part of football has been missing or random at best.

Injuries occur in Madden 13 if you turn up the injury slider. However, the biggest problem with this is that every injury in Madden is random and is certainly not determined by physics or tackles on players. Take a look at some of the sacks that occur in Madden 13 and witness your own defender getting hurt during a sack and the QB never getting hurt. Is this a sign that under the hood EA has added injury prevention to QBs?

After seeing RG3 get hurt and then tear his LCL and ACL on a play where he didn’t get touched, it makes Madden fans wonder where the injury realism is in the game… and if it will ever be ‘In The Game’.

Q1 of 2013 Is Going To Make It Feel Like Christmas Again

One of the best parts about the holiday season is the release of new games. From Halo to Call of Duty and through the gauntlet of other adventure games like Assassin’s Creed and Hitman we are usually spoiled with a treasure trove of games to sink our free time into. Typically, you will see a dramatic slowdown in the summertime because most people are on vacation or outside getting in shape for the beach (PS – You should be starting that now).

The second best time of the year for gamers is March. March is the typical month where you will find that games have been pushed to in order to avoid competing with big-money/big-name titles like the Call of Duties of the world. This year we have quite a few games coming out that should prove to excite almost every genre of gamer from late January through March.

The first game we have to look forward to is Company of Heroes 2. CoH2 is continuing the franchise that puts real-time strategy into World War 2. Real-time strategy is a simple concept that can (and does) get rather involved as you get further into the
game. The general way of looking at this is from the base understanding that you are a commander telling troops where to go and what to do rather than just pointing and shooting. Company of Heroes is a great game for anyone that is a fan of WW2 history or simply a fan of RTS games. This game is for the PC, so be sure that you take a look into the system requirements before jumping into this title. If you need a game that will give you the ability to play online against others or simply go against the CPU and try to work on your decision-making and strategic abilities you will get that and more with Company of Heroes 2.

The best part about strategic games is that they aren’t always some sort of battlefield commander genre. One of the best franchises ever has a new direction coming this February in Metal Gear Solid Rising: Revengeance. Revengeance is taking the Metal Gear franchise in a new direction with an old face for fans of the series. Raiden made his presence known in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. The downfall to this was that many fans (especially American fans) of the series were let down that Solid Snake was only present for the first part of the game before making a cameo in Raiden’s portion of MGS2.

Why was Raiden disliked by American gamers? He was designed as a long-haired blonde twenty-something (already sounds a bit feminine, right?). Not to mention the fact that he didn’t have much of a personality. Even Solid Snake (the ultimate non-emotional ‘Mr. Mission’) had something more to him than Raiden’s almost whiny persona.

That all changed in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns 0f the Patriots where Raiden came back as a cyborg ninja that resembled Grey Fox from the first MGS game. Raiden suddenly became a character that people wanted to utilize and get to know. He developed some sword play in MGS 2 but MGS 4 took it to new heights and now that he is the featured protagonist in MGS Rising: Revengeance – you know more people will want to check this game out.

Now that we are getting closer to March at this point – why not focus on the most anticipated title of 2013 – Grand Theft Auto 5.

GTAV is going to blow the minds of gamers everywhere when it releases (or rather – if it still releases) in March should break almost every sales record. This is going to continue the trend for free-roaming violence with a decent storyline for people itching to get out and enjoy the chaos brought on by warmer weather. If this game is delayed yet again, you should expect it to release in May. This would simply continue the same trend that other Rockstar games have created over the last few years – namely Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire.

XBox 720, Playstation 4 and Madden 14 – Why They Could All Disappoint

The latest rumors of Microsoft having intentions of announcing the XBox 720 during E3 are almost as surprising as the fact that Madden 14 will be announce during the Super Bowl. A lot of gamers like to sit on the edge of their seats waiting for the next big thing to happen in gaming. The issues that comes with this latest set of next-gen console rumors are many, but we will start with just a few. After that we will pour some sugar on top for the hopes that many people have for what could prove to amaze gamers.

Happy New Year – Here Comes The Rumor Boom!

What Could Disappoint?

1. Poor Hardware Design – The Red Ring of Death and the Yellow Light of Death are now synonymous with bad console design and ventilation for GPUs (video processors) that get more powerful and hotter as they run. While both consoles (the XBox 360 and the Playstation 3) were able to eventually fix some of the design issues the numerous consumer issues will not be easily forgotten.

2. Release Day Games Will Be Bare Bones – For those of you unfortunate souls that got Madden 06 on the XBox 360 it will be fairly fresh in your head how terrible bare the game was as it came out for the 360. The worst part about the excitement of a new console is that once you start paying more attention to what is lacking in sports games the more you will resort to playing the game on your older console.

3. More Lazy Gaming Development – If the 360/PS3 generation will be remembered for anything it will be for the complete dependency on patches for almost every game. Some games were rendered unplayable by some bugs. Other games were had glitches that simply made gamers laugh. The moral of this sad story is that now that many gamers have the ability to download patches console developers are using this as a crutch to release half-cocked efforts for millions of consumers.

Madden 14 – You Already Know It’s Coming

We will start with the acknowledgement that Madden 13 has been the best Madden game released this generation. While there have been numerous issues with broken CPU AI and some of the animations – it has been a decent game after all is said and done.

The Madden series has proven to be one of the more hit or miss titles during this generation of consoles. What should worry Madden gamers the most is how much the game has started to fall into the depth of corporate decision-making and microtransactions. Madden 13 had some new physics added but it was so overexagerated at times that it could almost make you wonder if you were playing some sort of war game with small nuclear explosions.

Madden 14 will be announced during the Super Bowl as it always is and that is really the downfall of sports gaming (and now even FPS games). Developers know that many gamers will be okay with some annual polish to the same game they have played for years. EA Sports is starting to become the first of what will be many studios to move to a complete assembly line structure of putting a new stamp on an old product.

What Could Be Great?

The one thing many people are hoping for is a movement towards smarter AI and better physics in games as they come out. While no one should expect release date games to be among the best that the console will ever have, there should be hopes for new consoles to come out with games that will make us put our old consoles in the closet (or on eBay).

We will talk more on some of the hopes and dreams for the next console once they start leaking more than just pretty pictures.

Quick Tips For A Happy Christmas of Gaming

You just got it! The game you have been waiting for for months (or years). Now the time has come to go into your gaming realm and avoid the family on this joyous day! There are a few things to consider quickly before we let you go bury yourself in gaming bliss.

It is Christmas Day and you are a noob. It doesn’t have to suck… but you have some things you have to do first.

MAKE SURE IT IS THE RIGHT GAME! – Did you get the game for the correct system? Is it the right version (Battlefield 3 or Battlefield 3 Premium)? Is it brand new?… If it is, don’t be too immediate taking off that plastic wrap and use the 10 seconds you have to read the game and make sure it is the right one!
Is there an installation necessary? – If there is some sort of time involved to install the game before you even get a chance to play it (Metal Gear Solid 4… or any game you want to put on your 360 HDD to prevent unnecessary spinning of the disc) you should go get it started and then find something else to do/open.
Give yourself a moment to learn the feel of the game if it is an FPS. This is primarily for online shooters like Call of Duty or Halo. (Don’t let yourself be the ‘Christmas Noob’)
If you are getting Madden or any other sports game make sure you give yourself a challenge and get some sliders before you jump into a career mode. This can often be key in having strong longevity in your games.
If there is DLC you want/need make sure you buy the points first and give yourself the time needed to download and install.

Happy Holidays and Happy Gaming