The prelude to warfare

Not a lot to say here, we all knew it was coming, and we all knew it would be good, and we all know the actual game could be crap. see below for the reveal trailer for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3. (720p is good for your eyes)

For your time you get a meaty crescendo and a healthy splashing of modern destruction in an international city near you! I have to commend them for going a little nuts with the story here, it sounds like we’re talking WWIII and why not? I will keep my reservations in check for this one but you can’t say they haven’t put out a damn fine trailer.

Worthy of note is the considerably improved animations seen here, mainly from outside the familiar 1st person perspective, scripted or not that grenade toss midway through the trailer looks nice and fluid with a healthy degree of the idiosyncrasy that is usually lacking in motion capture.

-Expatriategamer

2 more reasons to want an NA Miata

phot credits to Justin Arruda

I posted earlier 5 examples of NA Miatas that I think should sway anyone’s tastes to the little Japanese roadster that could, I am seeing more and more coverage on damn fine examples of these cars, so here is two more that I thought deserved a little attention

The Rise begins.

The first official teaser shot for The Dark Knight Rises has hit the net after being “decrypted” through the hard work of many an internet detective sorting the clues from what has been the first stage in the upcoming films viral marketing campaign. it’s a rather moody shot of Tom Hardy as Bane seen above; it’s early days but I like where this is going, we aren’t seeing the classic Lucha Libre inspired mask which seems to fit well both with the visual tone of Nolans mythos and the casting choice for Bane himself, whether we will see a Hispanic back story for Hardy’s Bane is yet to be seen but what ever the choice I expect it to work with the overall feel of what will be the final of Christian Bales Batman films.

Before I sign off I do want to commend the design of the mask, it keeps the lines that we recognise from the comics, with an added functional feel. Appearing to be half re-breather and half gas mask the design speaks to a vaporised delivery of the performance enhancing venom rather than the bright green liquid that is so often associated with Bane. A fine choice Mr. Nolan and Crew.

Now bring on the Selina Kyle teaser am I right?

-Expatriategamer

L.A. Noire > first impressions

So I have just finished my first couple hours with L.A. Noire. Something I intend to be doing a whole lot more of in the coming weeks, so far? so brilliant.

Firstly, the atmosphere is exactly where you want it, firmly in the realm of film noir and classic detective tales, it feels like there’s something to bite into. I get the impression Phelps is a complex man and I look forward to playing through the rest of his tale. from what I can tell the story is divided out in episodes of game play, cases if you will, with a deliciously 40’s title displayed on screen at the beginning of each one, you go through the motions, listen to and watch the cutscene, start investigating, gather clues, question someone, drive somewhere, chase down a bad guy and interrogate him till he confesses. but this is a routine I could very much get used to, this game wants you to pay attention to detail, from my session the investigating and especially the interrogations are an engaging and nuanced system. In short it’s a stimulating mechanic made all the better by it’s presentation

Yeah, that's Brian Krause and yes it's in-game but it still doesn't do it justice.

Let’s get this straight: L.A. Noire has the best real time facial animation ever implemented. that is all there is to it, accept no substitutes. If you have this game and haven’t done so yet, in the very first case, pick up the newspaper in the alley and watch the first story. The nuance and variation in the animation of the professors face is spell binding, the subtle flexion and sinew of the neck, the creasing forehead, the analytical look in his eyes. I am more impressed by the implementation of the actors performance than the performance itself, the difference in quality here would have been like us going directly from Phonograph to MP3 back in the 1900’s. it’s the most innovative thing I have ever seen, it really needs to be seen in real time to be appreciated, something about the example videos online just don’t cut it.

Also, licensed arms and automobiles? the first patrol car you have access to is a ’47 Ford 4 door Police special, we’re talking American Graffiti here kids, it’s just the sort of authenticity that a game like this needs to succeed. all in all if you’re reading this and haven’t already, go out and buy it, it won’t win over the action lover in you, but if you have any interest in something different that will be a game changer from here on out (pun Intended) you ought to take a look at L.A. Noire

-Expatriategamer

If you happen to own it on PS3 as I do, I suggest you wait for the PSN to come back online before attempting to access the DLC store, as it will lock up your console good and proper. this has been a public service announcement.

Vintage is the newest black.

Today saw the release of Rockstar and Team Bondi’s LA Noire. Sort of an LA Confidential for the Grand Theft Auto generation, although from what I have heard it plays more like a modern day adventure game than Rockstars previous outings, I intend to dive in to it’s 1st act once I have finished here but in the meantime I thought I’d chime in on a trend that is becoming more prevalent across the full range of my interests.

Retro has been cool on and off for a long time, As a child of the 90’s I have seen several things that I loved come back in a big way, Transformers is the first that comes to mind and though I can’t say I entirely appreciate the way Michael Bay has handled his cash cow of late, I will be the first to admit I was in that cinema on day 1. However it’s more widely reaching than that,

1940 – 1985 if you are creating something right now, this is your target. Perhaps because we wish for a simpler time, maybe we are secretly afraid of progress or even in a wish to innovate we are being lazy and looking at what hasn’t been done for a while rather than what hasn’t been done before. One way or another here are some examples plucked from the stuff I enjoy with that vintage influence,

In Video Games:

L.A. Noire [1947] the aforementioned game that brought me to this post intends to give us the feel of the classic film noir genre with the backdrop of a stunningly recreated 40’s Los Angeles, waistcoats and fedoras? count me in.

Call of Duty: Black Ops [1961 – 1968] one of the biggest games of last year was based entirely in the 60’s gleefully and liberally using it’s cold war backdrop, we got everything from Creedence to Soviet sleeper agents and the assassination of JFK.

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker [1974] taking outlandish liberties with technology from the time period but then showing utter devotion to its setting with ample info on the Cuban Missile Crisis, El Che, the Cuban revolution, and the post Vietnam military industrial complex. It’s cold war science fiction at its finest.

Mafia II [1943 – 1951] an excellently presented rise and fall tale in the vein of The Godfather that portrays the transition from a wintery WWII era city into the rocking 50s with great attention to detail, clothes cars and crime.

Bad Company 2: Vietnam [1965 – 1975] released on the heels of Black Ops this Battlefield BC2 expansion was an exercise in what 2004’s Battlefield: Vietnam would be like in the new engine. Answer? awesome.

Interesting no? all of these released since 2010. . more from film, comics, fashion and automotive later. For now? L.A. Noire; here I come.

-Expatriategamer

Nemesis. The classic formula re-imagined.

As an aspiring artist and popular art devotee I will not hesitate to pick up an issue of something I have never read mid-arc just because it has a new artist, it’s this love of comic art that originally led me to Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Nemesis.

More modern, Modern Warfare

So taking the gaming world by storm, a surprisingly unexpected teaser trailer for the next installment in the Call of Duty franchise has landed!……………. sarcasm, don’t you just love it?

The new teaser below is our next tidbit of information from a hobbled multi-team development effort comprised of the remnants from Actiblizz/Bobby Koticks batshit insane legal fiasco, duct taped together with greed and capitalism.

Originally rumoured to be a prequel but recently confirmed at Kotaku to be the direct sequel to Modern Warfare 2 (in my opinion the worst entry in the franchise so far) we have a relatively untested dev team, picking up where Infinity Ward left off, and from the spoiler laden details in the above link, they’re aiming a little higher towards the fantastic than the slightly more grounded storyline of the previous two Modern Warfare titles, not a bad decision if you ask me.

The move to hand off the inevitable sequels to a new cast of main characters comes as a surprise, considering the main goals of the new development team (At CEO Koticks instructions I’m sure) are a bug Free release and a Metacritic rating of at least 95, I would have expected them to take the safest road to release. Well, it will still sell like water in the desert, singularly occupy millions of highschoolers for a few months and hopefully fund the upcoming sequel to last years Black Ops.

So what can be gleaned from that? the conflict obviously partly takes place in the US , but we already knew that. Otherwise?……. Steve Blum’s Russian is really coming along nicely.

-Expatriategamer

5 reasons you should want an NA Miata

Unbelievably in my area you can pick these up for less than a couple months wages, I see them all over Norcal and every time I can’t help but want one, from the oft-lauded “Go kart handling” to it’s simple styling and vast array of aftermarket support here are 5 reasons you should go out and buy one right now:

Good news, Death has a new name

And the name is Absolution.

I had intended to start this, my little slice of web with a self serving delicatessen of why’s and whofors explaining who I am and what I intend to do here. Then Hitman: Absolution was announced, so frankly I now have more important things to talk about.

After IO Interactives rather inexplicable focus on the Kane & Lynch games for the past few years I wasn’t expecting any solid details on a new Hitman title any time soon, fortunately with the release of the teaser trailer below, I was pleasantly surprised.

Rattle snake coiled ’round the signature Silverballer? yup, I like where this is headed. I want to envision this as a well thought out symbolic representation of the next chapter in 47’s story, but it is more likely that someone thought it looked damn cool.

They were right.

Tore Bylstad (The Director of Absolution) said in an announcement earlier in the week “For the first time we are taking Agent 47 on a personal journey which allows us to explore other parts of the Hitman fantasy, This is both a familiar and yet significantly different experience from other Hitman games; something our silent assassins will relish, as will all those new to the Hitman world.”

The guy gets extra points for referring to me as a “silent assassin” hopefully that was a reference to the 2002 game and its more philospohical tone. If so, I am onboard.
I haven’t heard anything definitive yet regarding whether or not this will be the final installment of the Hitman saga, absolution would seem to suggest that there isn’t much more to be done once the story in this game comes to an end but who knows, if it sells like hot cakes we may have a new beginning for the escapades of Agent 47, It’s early days but I am excited to see how this comes along.

-Expatriategamer