MGS4: Game Club PICK!

presents . . . .

It’s official – Rejected gamer.com’s Game club will launch covering the criticly-acclaimed MGS4, available on PS3.

Gameclub:  MGS4 Ep. 01 will cover the Acts 1 – 3,  with Ep.02 covering Act 4 – the end of  MGS4. No date has been scheduled for the GC episode release, so join in on the espionage action with us before its to late.

Keep your eyes open for the release of RJG>>GC: MGS4 Ep.01

X360 Review: Halo 3:ODST

After eight straight years of only Halo and the Master Chief, Bungie has now stretched beyond their normal scope of gaming and sprung back with yet another winner in Halo 3: ODST. To think of a game created by Bungie without their trusted Master Chief hero is hard to imagine, but not only did they pull off this project, they also did it really well in the end too.

Developer: Bungie
Publisher: Microsoft
Genre: Shooter
Price: $59.99

So what is Halo 3: ODST and how does it fit in with the rest of the Halo series of games? If your a longtime fan of Bungie’s games, one of the Halo Nation and a fan boy… then you’ve more and likely played all of their games and read their books too. ODST takes place between parts of Halo 2 action and that of Halo 3, opening up where the Master Chief has done an exit stage left and is hunting down the Covenant. What is left in the wake of this turning point of events, is an Earth that is still under siege by some of the Covenant forces and some unanswered questions from Halo fans of what happened after Master Chief left Earth.

If you’ve read some of the books, then you know that its the ODST (Orbital Drop Shock Troopers) who move in on the first wave of attacks when any battle begins. They drop right down into battle from above the surface of an orbiting planet, via their HEV pods in what is described as one hell of ride down to their landing zone. Its this part of their job where they actually get their Hell Jumper nicknames. ODST tells us the story of one squad as they are heading down to defend Earth from attacks and also under the command of an ONI officer, who has a particular side mission to accomplish.

On the way down to New Mombasa is when we see the Covenant Ship making its jump away (from Halo 2) using Slip Space from with in the Earths atmosphere and what is left after is the havoc this created from being so close to the surface. The ODST squad is caught in the wake effects from this  jump and it makes their drop all the more dangerous now. In a flash of light its all over and now daylight has turned into night for our new hero known as the Rookie. Six hours has passed when the Rookie finally awakes up inside of his crashed pod and he begins to asses his surroundings and drops on down to the streets of New Mombasa.

This is where we first get a taste of what this game really has in store for us after he drops out of his HEV pod. He’s been cut off from his squad and its a dark and deserted looking city, with no signs of life and only the aftermath of destruction that the Covenant ground forces has left behind. It doesn’t take long for you to get the feeling that you better start moving and it might be best to creep along and remain hidden. Traveling the streets alone, with no back up support and in a war zone with out a clue as to what you might run into next, the tone is set for ODST and is unlike anything Bungie has ever created for us.

With earlier games in the series, you would already have the aid of the UNSC Command or Cortana to give you the locations to move into next, but that’s not the case with ODST. You pretty much have a sandbox city to explore and learn your on your own as you search for them. You do gain access to the cities Super Intendant computer network and here is where you’ll find the maps of the city and gain access to certain buildings in New Mombasa. The rest of the game now unfolds through a series of flashbacks and is told in the eyes of the rest of your squad.

I think the story Bungie has created here is one of the best and their way of presenting it to us works really well. Instead of sticking with just the Rookie from start to finish and only seeing his point of view, you start to see parts of New Mombasa first at night and as you find certain items, you’ll see what unfolded earlier in the day before you arrived to that location in the eyes of squad members. The course of the game does jump back and forth between night and day because of this, but I think it gives you a better feel as to what each member went through while away from the rookie.

Visually this game is also better than any of the earlier games as well. Still built on the Halo 3 game engine, but its been tweaked and enhanced some what, giving us some better graphics to experience. The city at night is unlike the older games and the ODST VISR helmet helps light up a good portion of  this game and identify hostile targets. I did find some of the areas inside various buildings to still be very dark, inspite of the support from the VISR helmet. I think some of these darker areas also add to the tension and fear factor of not knowing what might pop out next from around a corner.

The music and sounds in ODST have set a differnt mood than previous works and gives you a feeling of being alone at times in a dark city, it also gives this game more of a movie feel and works well with all of the visuals and story. You creep along in the dark at times and suddenly hear various terminals near you go off as you get closer, its enough to make you jump a bit andlook around to see if anyone else has heard this or seen you in the area. From the soundeffects of various weapons, terminals, Covenant troops, and supporting background music, Bungie has certainly done one of the best jobs ever in the sound department.

Gameplay is very familar to those who’ve played any of the Halo game in the past, only you don’t have the super jumps and shields to help you now. The Battle rifle is no longer in this game and has been replaced with an improved SMG with a suppressor. It handles really well and sounds cool when you fire it, plus it has a nice little scope too. The ODST pistol is also nice and is equipped with a suppressor and scope, making it a blast to take out some targets from far away.

The game is different than the others and ODST allows you to choose which battles you want to engage in or perhaps it would be better to work at sneaking through a location and avoiding a fight instead. During the course of play, I also enjoyed that I wasn’t expected to travel in only one direction or stick to a certain path only. I felt like I had more options as to which routes I could take at times with this game. Just another way Bungie has changed the formula up a bit and trying to provide us something different.

The games story is around a total of six hours of gameplay, depending on the level of difficulty selected and if your going at this solo. Yes you can play this game in up to four person Co-Op if you like, but I strongly recommend that you play through this story on solo for the first time through. When and if you do select to play some of this in Co-op, it will simply add more Rookies to control is all. I think Co-Op can be fun later on as a second time through and after you’ve experienced all that ODST and what New Mombasa has to offer you alone.

In addition to the campaign for ODST, the game comes with an online or split screen Firefight mode that allows you and friends to face wave after wave of Covenant forces. It also comes with a 2nd disc that includes all of the original Halo 3 multiplayer, as well as forge, the theater mode, all of the DLC maps so far to date and now the final three Mythic Maps. As much as I wished that ODST had its own versus mode and allowed us to battle ODST against Covenant Brutes, this would not happen for what ever reason in the end. Just the same I think playing ODST either on Solo, Co-Op, or in Firefight mode will provide hours and hours of fun. 

For all that ODST offers in this package here, I think its well worth the $60 and it can stand up with what other solo games have to offer. I think ODST tells a great story and finally answers some of the questions that Halo 2 left us with and turns out to be the best campaign game I’ve played from Bungie so far to date. I loved the ending of this one and I didn’t feel let down like some of the others did for me in the end. I could even see where they perhaps left some room for an expansion or sequel to ODST if they wanted too. The game might come in a bit shorter than earlier Halo games, but its a lot longer than what would have been offered in just an expansion to Halo 3.

I think its really nice to see Bungie deliever something different and fresh for a change and I’m looking forward to seeing what they might have in store for Halo Reach next year. I sure hope they continue thinking differently now with what is expected to be their last Halogame and I look forward to seeing what else Bungie might be working on outside of Halo. If your a fan of any of the Halo games, then your going to love ODST and all that it offers and I think you’ll find it to be the best game Bungie has created so far to date. (A)

Robert Owens

X360 Review: Dirt 2

Off Road and Rally Racing at its finest, coming at you in the form of Colin McRae: Dirt 2 or simply Dirt 2. This is the first game released under the Colin McRae series of games since the passing away of Colin McRae back in September 2007 and I have to say this one looks simply great. From the menu system up to the actual game play here, this game is an immersive blast to play for all racing fans.

Developer: Codemasters
Publisher: Codemasters
Genre: Racing
Price: $59.99

The first thing you’ll notice when starting up Dirt 2 is the menu system or perhaps it might feel like your watching something more like a cut scene unfolding before your eyes. What you really have here is a great way to present the games menu system and a very immersive experience all around. You appear to wake up (first person view) in the resting quarters of your traveling RV and begin to make your way out into the main quarters of the RV. This will be your starting point for all racing sessions, as your travel the world to take part in races all over the world. It makes me wonder what it might cost to ship this traveling RV and Cars all around the globe for every race.

From the main quarters of the RV your able to look around inside by moving the left analog stick around. You first notice the world map located on a desk to your right and this shows the Racing Circuit your about to embark on. Later on in the game you’ll even unlock some of the X-Game races and these will become available via their posters hanging on the wall. Moving around the RV cabin to your left is your collectiom of Racing Items and this is used to check on game achievements and stats. As you continue moving to the left, you’ll notice the Bulletin Board with various flyers, giving you access to all the live action racing for Xbox Live or Local races. One of the last areas in the RV is the sitting area behind you and where you’ll find the Extras like video tips and any DLC stuff for Dirt 2.

When your ready to go on and race, simple exit your RV and step out to experience all the sights and sounds of the area track you’ve stopped at. Here in your Pit area is where you’ll find access to all of your cars & trucks and where you can make changes to your paint schemes for the most part. Before you start racing, you need to get registered and I recommend that you use your real name for this. The games AI will talk to you during each of the races and it always sounds good when they use your real name and tell you great race. In the racing pit is where you can also access some Dirt 2 Racing News and any additional stats pertaining to Live Races.

The great visuals from this menu system continue on into the actual game play and are spectacular to say the least. You get a great feel for this game from the various locations… wether running on dirt and sliding around those curves of a track or climbing up a hilly mountain tree side area. Dirt 2 gives you a lot of terrains and conditions to experience and all in a wide variety of race types. The game does offers a little more in the area of Off Road racing than it does in the timed point to point Rally Races, but the additional game race modes make this game fun and provide different experience all around.

Dirt 2 tends to be more of an arcade style racer and skips out on a lot of the very detailed customizations you might get in games like Forza 2. Just the same, you do have some basic setups for each car, allowing you to play with the suspension, gearing, downforce, brakes, and differentials on your car before each race. At least your not forced to earn a bunch of money and buy all sorts of upgrades for your cars. For the most part I really enjoyed just selecting a car or truck and running stock with the default setups and I can see going back and playing with some of these custom settings later and see what I can get out of them.

As for the game play, I really got a nice feel of what Off Road or Rally Racing was after playing this game and find myself addicted to playing Dirt 2 now. This is a game where you have to really work at times to get around some of these tracks and use just the right amounts of braking and gas or you’ll find yourself off the course really quick and then at the back of the pack. After a few laps though, you’ll find your self drifting around these corners and bumping with the best of the racers in the pack in no time. The game does have various levels of difficulty and you can choose different levels before each race if you like. So if your having a harder time on a particular track, simply kick it down a notch and work on those skills. You can always go back and race the same tracks and races over if you like and move up in the higher difficulty levels.

I love the interaction you get with the AI during these races, it doesn’t count against you for bumping the other racers and knocking them off the track. They’ll tell you to take it easy perhaps after bumping them, but in the end its all about who crosses the finish line and you’ll find that the other racers will still like you after each race is over no matter how much bumping you do. Its also a feature with in the game, allowing you to gain the respect and become friends with the various AI racers like Ken Block or Dave Mirra. You’ll soon find them even throwing down some challenges at you, I think it would have been a cool feature if you could have actually throwndown some of your very own challenges and initiate some of the in game friendships this way, perhaps something for Codemaster to add in a Dirt 3.

The game includes a flashback system similar to other racing games these days and depending on the difficulty of the race you’ve selected, you might be able to perform a few of these with in a single race. Flashback allows you to rewind parts of a race in the event of a crash for example and start back at a previous spot before an impact occurs. This comes in real handy and hopefully lets you make a correction to your racing line, saving yourself from perhaps a crash in the first place. After each race and depending on how you finish, you’ll gain XP points then and can level up as well. You also gain cash to buy more Cars & Trucks as well as added performance packages for your vehicles and access to the higher level races.

In addition to all of the solo racing, you can take part in some Xbox Live racing in either the Pro Area for Ranked races or the Jam Sessions for more of a custom rules race that you can set up. You can even form some online teams and then setup some team racing events if you like for online communities. So if you’ve had your feel of the story mode and racing tours, fire on up that RV and look for some live races to take part in and hopefully you’ll find the real racers to be just as cool as the AI have been when you bump an trade paint with them.

Dirt 2 is a sure fire winner and successor to its older brother in the series and I can only hope this is the beginning of many more for the Colin McRae racing series as well. I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the game at first and after only a short time… I can’t seem to get enough of Dirt 2. (A)

Robert Owens

Week in Review: Sept. 20-27, 2009

The un-official Halo 3: ODST episode is here! In regular Reject fashion, this WiR comes jam-packed with audio and connection issues. Qualitybeats goes from host to ghost due to an annoying computer virus, leaving the rest of the crew doing their best impressions. Mikey, Mike, Matt, and Rob close the show off gloriously with a little help from special guest community member, TouchedGolf. Please excuse the audio issues…we’re running on no budget.

Topics:

- Dirt 2
- Oscar in Toyland
- TMNT:Smash UP!
- Halo 3:ODST

Musical selections performed by “Atreyu” off their album “Lead Sails Paper Anchors”.
Direct Download [ right click, save as ]

Please send us feedback by any and every means – we’d love to hear from ya!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

NC Update 9/28

Here are the latest videos and DS Demos available for the Nintendo Channel. (more…)

DSiWare Update 9/28

Here is your weekly update of games coming out for DSiWare. (more…)

Wiiware/VC Update 9/28

Here is your weekly update of game releases for Wiiware and the Virtual Console. (more…)

Wii Price Drops to $199

It had to happen sometime. (more…)

DSiWare Review: Oscar in Toyland

An introduction to platforming, nothing more. (more…)

Wii Review: TMNT Smash Up

Not exactly a brawl killer, but still alot of fun nonetheless. (more…)

Preview: Crime Scene

The name says it all! (more…)

Preview: Modern Warfare 2 Multiplayer Details!

Can you say “Death Streaks!?” (more…)

Nintendo DS Review: Scribblenauts

The “Sleeper Hit” of E3 can finally take over the world……right!? (more…)

Let’s Kick Shell!

Go Green Machine! (more…)

Week in Review: Sept. 13-20, 2009

Another week of reviews means another Week in Review w/ the staff here @ RejectedGamer.com. Much like last weeks re-formatted episode, this week brings much more of the same antics with Jeff, Matt, Mike, Rob and Mikey.

Topics:
- Beatles: RockBand
- Cursed Mountain
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- TMNT: Smash UP
- Darkest of Days
- WET
- Prey
- Halo 3:ODST Launch

Direct Download (right click, save as)
Musical selections performed by “In Flames” off their album “A Sense of Purpose”.

Please send us feedback by any and every means – we’d love to hear from ya!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download