Played: Left 4 Dead 2 Cold Stream

I recently held a little 4 person Xbox game night at my house and the game of choice for 4 player co-op is obviously Left 4 Dead. In preparation for a night of slaying zombies my friends and I noticed Cold Stream DLC was released on Xbox Live and thought it would be perfect for all of us to try out. After a 1.4GB download we were treated not only to a new campaign (PC community created), but we also got ALL of the original L4D maps along with ALL of the mutations available to play at any time. w00t! Needless to say our night of Xbox playing ended around 4am the next morning and a big chunk of that time was playing the new Cold Stream campaign on Expert with the Gib Fest mutation. Sadly, after repeated attempts we couldn't make it to the chopper without getting smashed by the tank and his friends. With the amount of content added on in this DLC it is money well spent for any zombie fan with co-op in their blood.

Highly Recommend!

- beegzz

More Dead Rising 2 Stuff and Plants vs. Zombies comes to Live

This is what my blog does best. Talking about games and zombies at the same time. What's great about it is that there is no shortage of either games or zombies and having zombies in games or games about zombies. It just works that way. Developers know that zombies are extremely popular and hard working. OXM magazine had great coverage of our beloved walking dead in their latest issue. Even covered the types of zombies and what kind of work they were good for! Now that is what I call zombie appreciation.

So today I am posting about Plants vs. Zombies, an uber-popular tower defense type game from PopCap, and the recent announcement of it coming to Xbox Live for $15 on September 8th. I have played this game online and it was chock full of whimsy, fun, and zombies. It has a co-op mode that our friends at Co-Optimus have detailed, and Destructoid has posted a preview as well. 

Now Capcom used a Japanese developer for the first Dead Rising game, but this time around they went with Blue Castle here on American soil and Shin Ohara from Capcom sat down with Gamasutra to discuss some of the tech behind the game. Co-Optimus has the full feature here. Most interesting to me was the part about displaying more zombies on the screen. Here is the excerpt:

[Gamasutra] You've got lots of zombies in the game now. How many zombies can you fit on screen?

SO: Last year at Captivate we did a demo. We had a strip -- It was probably like 10 meters wide and 200 meters long. We filled it with about 7,000 zombies. After about 3,000, you can't really tell the difference because it fills up the screen anyway. Over 3,000, it ruins the experience. It's not a game anymore. We can show about 7,000 zombies if we wanted to, our technology is not limiting us. If the game only shows about 500 zombies or 1,000 zombies, that's not the game's limit. We have just enough so that people have fun with the zombies and the gameplay is rewarding.

Shin Ohara goes on to explain that the number of zombies in Dead Rising 2 is staggering, not overwhelming. They didn’t want players to feel like they were ever completely stuck, or the space too jam-packed that no one could move. You can deal with tight spaces by Zombie walking (over zombies' heads, as seen in the first game), attacking them, kicking them away, or there will be enough space to walk around them if you’re careful.

I will be interested to see how the game fares on the 360 with hundreds of zombies at once. I fully intend on taking on a horde of 100 at a time. Finally I have some webisode links to share with you. Remember the movie that was made based on this series? Well they released 3 episodes on Xbox Live that give us a sneak peak into the movie and its presentation. I will be watching them later tonight. I gotta see how this turned out!

Webisode 1

Webisode 2

Webisode 3

GZ

100 Posts!! Zombie News No. 23

Unnhhnn? 100 posts you say?

I can hardly believe it. 100 posts later and I am still here posting my heart away. Who knew I had that kind of staying power. I haven't given up on my dream of having an interactive community of gamers and zombie lovers visiting and commenting on my site/blog. Eventually, I will get off my tush and buy a domain name. For now, I am just trying to get more readers. Baby steps right? Or better yet un-dead shambling steps!

So as any dreary-eyed and caffeine induced PC gamer knows by now StarCraft II made its much anticpated release unto the masses on Tuesday. A fellow blogger who goes by JB has posted his intial impressions on the game, and Joystiq has posted a full review on it already. For you hold-outs, Kmart is running a $20 off sale that ends tomorrow.

Alan Wake has still not graced my 360 console, but for those that actually bought the game you got some free DLC content ready to take you back into Bright Falls. Go download the "The Signal" from the marketplace now!

Destructoid is giving us a reason to be excited about Madden NFL 11. In the way of a contest which includes  a NEW XBOX360 SLIM!! Simple contest (and fun) to enter. Just find a public place and strike a pose. Hell run a few plays with your buddies in the middle of the shopping mall. Best pic/video wins it all. Details here. Oh and for us skeptics (Aye!) on yearly reboots of said game the demo is out for your abusing.

I went back and read the July OXM report on Call of Duty: Black Ops this morning. I am so stoked to get my zombie paws on it! The highlights from the report detail the single-player campaign which sounds amazing with everything from flying an SR-71 blackbird, sneaking up on VietCong in man-made tunnels, and using a crossbow (with optional explosive tip arrows) to silently take out enemies. It's a must read and will get your heart pumping with just the thought of it! Oh and by the way, the graphics in this game look to surpass any other CoD game before it. With screens like the one below we could all be in for some visceral and stunning imagery. 

Time for some fun and interesting facts! GameStop has acquired the online game site Kongregate. For those that don't know, Kongregate is chock full of HIGH-quality flash games for you to enjoy. Case in point the game Mastermind. Not sure what the retailer has in mind for this acquisition but I am sure greedy executives are behind it. 

The beloved Major Nelson from Xbox Live gave a link on a recent tweet that is actually a pretty interesting read for the techie in all of us. Ever wanted to know how it is Rockstar can tell you how many pedestrians you ran over in GTA IV? It's a bit of a high-level read so if you don't have an IT background, you might skip it. Still, its fun to know how developers get all of these cool game stats!

Finally, Joystiq came across some plushies that are just downright adorable and cool. Portal 2 themed plushies no less! Here you can buy a GLaDos emotional spheres that repeat funny quips and phrases from the Portal game. I checked and it seems every nerd on the internet purchased one so you will have to wait for more to become available. For $45 I think I can wait, barely.

Until next time! 

PC Gamers vs. Console Gamers in FPS games- Is there a clear winner?

How do you think you would do against a PC player vs. an Xbox player?

So yesterday I posted a link to a story that brought to light a Microsoft project that would have brought PC and Xbox 360 players together for some cross-platform gaming. The project was canned by MS because PC gamers absolutely crushed the console gamers every time they went head-to-head. According to the story, the test put mediocre PC gamers up against top-notch console gamers with the aforementioned results. I have some ideas on why this was a terrible attempt and how it could have been a great thing.

I have played many a FPS game on both PC and consoles. For years, consoles couldn't come close to reproducing the FPS experience that PCs delivered regularly. I have used a trackball for years and when ever I played Rainbow Six, Unreal Tournament, or Quake I had an extreme amount of precision at my fingertips. Couple that with some nimble fingers on the AWSD keys and on a good day I was near the top of the leader board at the end of matches. I use to go up against some friends of mine online and via LAN that would just pwn me repeatedly and vice versa.

I gradually started playing my Playstation 2 more often than my PC when Grand Theft Auto started becoming more popular and to me games like that just seemed better suited to a PS2 controller than a keyboard and mouse. The same goes for racing games. It wasn't until I saw Halo and then Gears of War that I started thinking of FPS gaming on a console as a real competitor to traditional FPS gaming on a PC. First and foremost the gameplay just felt slower, but after 10 or 15 matches I adjusted. Secondly, the controls obviously were not as precise and as responsive as my PC setup particularly compared to my mouse. I really had to adjust to using an analog stick for both movement and aiming. It didn't take long for me to start adjusting my reflexes and coordination to this different scheme of control. That leads me to my first point.

 The BIGGEST hurdle to overcome for cross-platform gaming? Making the platform type not matter. Microsoft was dumb for thinking it could just link the two platforms via Live and all live in harmony. Yeah it could work for racing or adventure games, but not for the money making FPS genre. No way. Let's face it, shooter games are the bread and butter for multi-player gaming which makes it the cash cow that it is. So how   could MS level the playing field and put console and PC gamers on par with each other? Good question.

I honestly don't know what the best answer would be. Obviously it would revolve around the control input. My initial thought would be to hook an Xbox 360 controller into those PCs and voila! Problem solved. I just know that PC fanboys would bitch about being handicapped and if we flip it around and give console players a mouse and keyboard to plug in, well that just defeats the purpose of having a console in the first place and while the hardcore would jump in, the serious recreational and casual gamers would not. So where does that leave us? Simple. Leave the options up to the gamer. Come out with an Xbox controller with a trackball built in to it (that would be sweet)! Make matches customizable so that only certain control methods are allowed. This could have been the best of both worlds had MS given it more thought. If they pressed on, opened up the control methods on both platforms and left it up to the gamer it would have caught fire! I would gladly buy a controller specifically designed for FPS with highly precise analog and/or trackball controls built in. That's the only sticking point people! Controls!

Bottom line....PC gamers are equipped to battle against foes with near-identical equipment as are console gamers. Would you go into a gunfight with a bb gun? Probably not. It doesn't mean console gamers are inferior in skill compared to PC gamers. It just means that while your replica Glock 17 air-soft gun might shoot my eye out, my .45 Colt 1911 with hollow-points will make your head into a canoe. Right after a I cry in agony and then aim with my one good eye.

Zombie News No. 19

So I was thinking the other day, what games are coming out in the next year or so that are going to be absolute must play titles? (A game zombie's brain is constantly thinking about his next game.) The first one that comes to mind is Portal 2. That will be a shoe in for me and my gaming appetite. Alas, Portal 2 is slated for a 2011 release so what will hold me over? Well I would love to finish RDR, Alan Wake, and then get my hands on NCAA Football, Transformers, Dead Rising 2, Crackdown 2 and Naughty Bear. All in time for Ghost Recon: Future Solider in early 2011. What do you think? What games are on your zombie mind?

Now for the news!

- Red Dead Redemption Co-op pack "Outlaws to the End" Released. It's free! I will be playing this weekend. I gotta finish this beast!
- Portal 2 Preview. This is a good read. CAUTION - Drool puddles known to form under reader.
- As a bonus Joystiq got a Portal 2 Co-op Preview. More drool here.
- Ghost Recon: Future Solider Preview. Once again Ubisoft is set to amaze us with its attention to detail.
- Capcom to release Dead Rising 2: Case Zero XBLA prior to August 31. This is strange to me. More zombie content is good, but why the filler? No one cares about the story!
- Review: Dtoid gives Transformers War for Cybertron an 8/10. I had feeling this game would be solid. It's on my list. Autobots, roll-out!
- Naughty Bear Launch Trailer - Zombie teddy bears!!


- Bobby Kotick (Activision CEO) wants Call of Duty subscription service. They try to dress it up, but I can read between the lines. If this goes the wrong way, massive protests will ensue.
- Microsoft FINALLY announces a family Xbox Live plan. $99 for 4 accounts! This is perfect!
- Speaking of Live, how about a 12 month membership for only $35? Buy.com has the hook-up.
- Joystiq gives us visual comparison of new 360 vs. old and start pondering a name for the new 360's overheating prevention mechanism. Oh and Xbox prices get slashed.

That's the news....no go forth and devour said games.

The 50th post! Here is some Zombie goodness

Maybe 50 posts isn't that big of a milestone to you, but for me its a nice accomplishment. It's funny how much Zombie content is out there though. For instance in this post, you will find out that Left 4 Dead 2 DLC is on the way this month. The Passing is a new campaign that will feature the original survivors from the first game. Prior to the release of The Passing a Left 4 Dead comic will be releasing on Xbox Live that tells how they all met. Nice. No word yet on whether or not the new DLC or the comic will come with a cost, but my senses tell me Microsoft will be charging. It would be nice if the didn't charge gamers for the content and stay true to Valve's pledge. Time will tell.

Another Zombie morsel of info is that Modern Warfare 2 has surpassed the 25 million unique players mark crushing COD4 numbers, and that the boys at IW will be releasing some info on the upcoming map pack for MW2. Stay tuned here for the latest on that.

Also, for giggles, and because it has to do with Zombies, you can now buy the Xbox Live indie game Zombie Armageddon on Live under the games channel. Queue it up for download here.

By the way, anyone infect the whole world in the Infectonator game yet? It's tough!

Ubisoft Announces Ghost Recon: Future Soldier today on Xbox Live

Ok ZoMbiEs listen up! Ubisoft made it official (sooner than I thought) with their big announcement coming at 5am EST this morning on Xbox Live: Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is coming at the end of 2010! The world premiere teaser trailer is up on Xbox Live now for all to see. Details on the game are not readily available but according to IGN the same studio who did GRAW and GRAW2 will be taking the helm. Also, a multiplayer beta will be released this summer to owners of Splinter Cell: Conviction (4/13). Now that is a great marketing idea! GRAW has a fanatical following. The beta access alone will sell thousands of copies of SCC. I already planned on buying it so as Wayne and Garth would say "Party on!"

** Updated** New Ghost Recon Skull logo! Sweet!

Large Party Support in Modern Warfare 2 is shabby

A few of my fellow gAmE ZoMbiEs and myself enjoy playing MODW2 together using the party system in-game. However, last night we experienced some frustration trying to get everyone into the same lobby. This is pretty typical with 3 or 4 friends, but last night we had the whole SiR (Shot in the Rear) clan in a party 6 to 7 strong and trying to get everyone together was a nightmare outside of the pre-game lobby. So we started up a private match and toiled around a bit. That particular mode worked without any flaws. Eventually our frustrations led to us splitting up into two groups and attempting to join an existing lobby. After a game or two we eventually met with success and had a grand time. But the whole experience led me to post this complaint (which I will be posting on Infinity Ward's forums) here so all of you can comment with any similar issues. I think a patch or update needs to address this issue so that playing with your friends isn't a chore. Too often the party leader joins a game only to see someone in his party is missing. I understand connection issues can be to blame, but maybe some dedicated servers might help? The move away from dedicated servers was a big deal, especially for PC gamers, but with more people playing parties on Xbox and Playstation it has become a thorn in the side of console users as well. Another peeve I have is if your party is too large (5+) Ground War is all that is available for play. I would like to see the option for team deathmatch but with spliting the players up. We don't always have to play on the same team. At least give us the option. Anyways, its just one gAmE ZoMbIe's take on it. Still had a good time playing...just need to find out how to quit dying. :)