Heroes & Generals is an upcoming first person shooter that is currently in alpha stages. What is different in the development process of this particular game is that the developers themselves want to involve the gamers and their potential customers in this particular process! They believe in your opinion and suggestions so as to shape the game into something that you, the gamers, will love. Read on for the debut teaser of the game and to learn more of it as well as the company behind it

From the creative minds that brought you the Hitman series comes Heroes & Generals, the first title from independent studio Reto-Moto. Heroes & Generals – now in Alpha testing – introduces an unprecedented mix of frontline shooter gameplay and strategic campaign management in a massive-scale multiplayer online war.

Heroes & Generals Debut Teaser

Imagine a game where your actions can help turn the tide of a persistent online war being fought by thousands of other real players, either in the role of a hardened soldier engaged in blistering first-person shooter combat, or as a strategic officer managing the grand scheme of the campaign on a tactical war map. Heroes & Generals will deliver this combined one-two punch in a thrilling multiplayer online battle across authentic WW II settings.

As H&G enters a vital playable testing phase, we encourage all gamers to enlist for an Alpha-key now at our www.heroesandgenerals.com community site.

 

One great war with thousands of players

Heroes & Generals delivers a full blown first-person shooter experience, complete with intense infantry and vehicle combat in a wide variety of modes and missions, fought on behalf of the Axis or Allies. As your customizable character advances in rank, you might join a small squad of elite soldiers operating behind enemy lines, or fall-in with a larger section fighting an epic battle for a strategic bridgehead.

The result of every clash alters the ongoing battle for European domination. Each conflict takes place across diverse battlegrounds including contested cities, factories, airfields and war torn country-sides, each one represented on the strategic map with hundreds of key locations.

As these battles are waged, resources and global strategies are managed on a tactical overview map linked to the game’s innovative War Server. Here, players who choose to be strategic officers will have the entire map at their disposal and can decide how to manage battlefield assets and where to push the attack.

 

 

Influence the fate of millions within your browser

Heroes & Generals is a PC game that’s fully playable in a browser, yet it offers state-of-the-art graphics and sound thanks to the proprietary Retox engine built by Reto-Moto. We call H&G a “Mass Participation Game”, a term that not only describes the ease of access and massive-scale warfare, but also our goal to create a game that embraces open feedback from the community at every step – including our current Alpha stage.

Heroes & Generals will offer incomparable early hands-on access and participation: A real opportunity for gamers to influence everything from map layout to weapon handling, truly evolving the game’s design alongside dedicated interaction with Reto-Moto team members.

 

Reto-Moto at a glance

Reto-Moto was founded in 1997 and quickly transformed into IO Interactive, which went on to release Hitman and Freedom Fighters. In 2004 IO Interactive was sold to Eidos, however the founding members of Reto-Moto left Eidos and reformed their old company, bringing in some of the core developers from IO Interactive. Heroes & Generals is the first game from Reto-Moto.

Here are some screenshots to get you all excited:

Looks like lots of fun ain’t it! Strategic elements do sound pretty interesting, whether or not it will work out as fun as it sounds to be we only can wait to find out! If the above screenshots, words and video interest you, do remember to head on to their website to sign up to be part of their alpha testing!

BeGone is an online First Person Shooter (FPS) that is playable from your browser. The only necessary requirement of the game is for a plug-in to be installed. It features your basic typical FPS multiplayer gameplay where there are two teams and the first team to eliminate the other wins. There is no registration required, just visit the site and you can get to play a match just like that. How exactly does this browser game fair? Read on for a more in-depth review of the game. Note that this review is based on the latest version played as of this article is written.

BeGone is simple. Think the classic Counter Strike just without the many different weapons, game modes and maps. You pretty much have that type of gameplay just that now it is easily accessible through your web browser. The shooting works like the modern day FPSes where you can shoot without looking through the sight. However, looking and aiming using the weapon sight will give you a higher accuracy in shooting as well as a slight zoomed in view to allow better targeting.

The way to win the round is to eliminate your entire opponent’s team. Every time you kill or assist in a kill you get money. Winning in rounds give a nice paycheck as well. This money can be used to buy weapons that will give you an edge in the battle. There aren’t many weapons to choose from as of now, but the developers did mention that they will be adding more content updates in the future. Now you get to choose from a better rifle, a sniper rifle and a shotgun. You do start with a free basic sub machine gun and yes it does kill. It is nice to see that the developers are smart to include the different weapons that will allow for a different play style. The rifle is for mid range combat, sniper for long range and lastly the shotgun for close quarter combat. Should you run out of ammo, do feel free to switch to your fists and knock your opponent out. Else, you can look for the ammo crate to replenish your ammo.

There is only 1 available map to play on. You have 6 players in each team battling out. You get to sprint, jump and shoot. Not sure why there isn’t a crouch button but hey the game still works like how a FPS should. Yes that is all you need to know about the game as that is all it has to offer. Feel put off but how little it has? Please don’t and do yourself a favour by trying out the game. Though it is stripped down to the bare bits of a modern day FPS, it still is fun.

The graphics are surprisingly good for a browser game. Of course we don’t compare it to your modern day shooters. Instead, compare it with the browser games you can find off the net. You’ll realize that BeGone does have some nice eye candy. Gun sound effects are alright and generally the game sounds alright. Nothing special but then again, what more can you expect?

The simplicity of the game allows for all kinds of FPS players to pick up and enjoy. The accessibility of the game means that you can simply play it from anywhere and anytime as long as you have an internet connection. At its current state, the game feels unfinished. However, the potential is there and the current content should be sufficient to keep you interested. More importantly the developers are constantly upgrading the game, making it more stable and introducing new content along the way. I’ve enjoyed playing the game in short bursts, even more so when I’m extremely bored and have nothing to do. It is great fun to play it in school through the use of the school computers. Yes, since all you need is a browser and an installation of a plug-in, the game can be played as long as you have a computer and the internet! Grab a few friends in school and hog some school computer with internet access. There you go, a mini LAN party to take a break from that hectic school work.

The game is currently FREE and there is no registration involved. Just visit the website and off you go. Customize your keys and settings to your liking. If you like to have a temporary identity, you may want to change the nickname  that is assigned to you. I don’t see why you shouldn’t try the game out when it is this simple to play it. And even more so since it is FREE, just go try it! And don’t say that I’m recommending BeGone mainly because it is free; I’m recommending it because it is a fun pick up and play FPS game. It is definitely not an advanced shooter with much content or depth but it is still definitely fun. Yes it may get boring after a while since you’ll be playing in the same map repeatedly but in short bursts of playing, BeGone succeeds in delivering the entertainment. In addition, all this is done through a browser, what could possibly go wrong?

Off I go now to start getting fragged by my opponents. Hey come on I’m just not that good with FPS games okay? What matters most is that I’m having fun right?

Official Website: NPlay BeGone

I am back again with more Interstellar Marines news and information! If you’re not sure what “Interstellar Marines” is, this video should clear up most queries in your head and give you a brief overview of the game, the project and the company behind it. I’ve been covering news from them for quite some time already. Still waiting for their final product which should come eventually, but for now you have to settle with a few bits and pieces of games that showcases part of their final product. Pretty impressive already and it just gets steadily better. Before going on any further, read on to see the video and learn more about them.

Interstellar Marines Celebrates Latest Milestone with New Trailer
Ambitious indie project reaches over 67,000 registered and premium users.
The world’s first truly independent AAA first-person shooter, Interstellar Marines continues to make progress in 2011. Since the mass release of Running Man and our holiday special, thousands of new users have signed up to take part in a dream to publish a game free of the shackles of big corporate developers.

So far three games have been made available online, and are playable in a browser on their community website www.interstellarmarines.com: An interactive 3D tour called The Vault featuring several of Interstellar Marines’ characters; the advanced shooting range Bullseye where players test their skills against various targets aboard the military space shuttle AIV Kitty Hawk; and finally Running Man, a true first-person action experience where players face an onslaught of combat robots while training to become an elite marine.

To celebrate this new milestone, the team at Zero Point Software has lovingly assembled a new video that explains the concept of Interstellar Marines and AAA Indie development to all newcomers, along with a selection of screenshots to enjoy for fans anxiously awaiting the next big release.

Now you know who they are, what they do, and what directions the final production is heading towards, you can now decide whether to support them or not. You can go to their site and they have already been selling passes for people who want to support them, and people who purchase these passes get to receive the latest content, news and updates first hand. If you’re still unsure, or still not sure of what they do or what game it is, go to: Interstellar Marines official site, and try out either “Running Man” or “Bullseye”. This should give you an idea and feel to how the game is supposed to turn out and what they are developing towards to. I tried it out and I loved it, was surprised how good the game is slowly turning out to be from an indie developing studio. This might just be the next big indie title (Minecraft anybody?) that you’ve all been waiting for. Will you believe?

It is the time of the year again, the time when gamers who love the beautiful sport of football get to enjoy both the sport itself in a virtual gaming context. Yes, the release of the next Fifa game by EA Sports is just round the corner. Year after year since 2007, EA Sports have effectively tweaked and refined the gameplay and graphics of the Fifa video game franchise, raising the bar each time it releases a new title. However, this wasn’t the case for PC gamers. PC gamers were simply treated to the same old disgusting gameplay and boring graphics repackaged into the new boxes time and again. Next-gen was the cries of the gamers, the PC couldn’t support the engine was the supposed reason by the developers. The PC is less powerful than the consoles? I highly doubt so. I believe it is just a mere excuse for laziness or simply them not wanting to invest in the PC market. This time round, things are about to change. Fifa 11 PC version is about to hop onto the next-gen engine console gamers have enjoyed for the past 2 to 3 years. This is it.

This article is solely based on the experience while playing through the Fifa 11 PC demo version. Fanboys might say that I am biased due to my previous reviews of the PC versions: Fifa 10 and Fifa 09 but what I wrote was all facts that fanboys don’t want to listen, comparisons within were made by playing both the console version and the nonsense pc version. Some people just don’t understand the difference between next-gen gameplay and nonsense gameplay. But I strongly believe this will change with Fifa 11.

PC Fifa 11 is going to be next-gen. That’s right, took me long enough to say it. I played the demo and yes indeed it is next-gen. The smoothness and sleekness of passes, the miraculous curlers that bend like bananas; the beautiful emulation of football has just taken a huge leap. Rejoice fellow PC gamers, you can finally experience what it is like to play Fifa on the console. Be prepared to embrace the finest of tweaks and tunings that made next-gen Fifa so enjoyable, fun and exciting. The whole engine is just that fluid and sleek. Compare that with the nonsense you get with all your previous versions. Fanboys, stop saying that Fifa 10 has better gameplay than Fifa 09 simply because they are the same game. However, you can say that Fifa 11 has better gameplay than Fifa 10/09/08.

You have to try it to experience for yourself the game engine. Why I wanted it so badly and why people who enjoyed the console version smirks and laughs at the PC version. The demo does just that, and it is here to curb and satisfy the 2-3 year wait for the next-gen engine.

It is however, good to note that the Fifa 11 PC game engine is very similar to that of Fifa 10 console game engine (that means you have no be a goalkeeper, personality plus etc). Yep, they’ve done it again, a step back from the console version. Why on earth can’t they just port over the latest one? That, I have no answer to. But at least they decided to start working on the porting/reconstruction of the engine rather than focusing on the box art and where to find the cheapest place to print their covers.

Try it, or watch the gameplay footage I uploaded below to understand.

P.S Select 720p for HD quality.

Console version is amazing yet again. Passing felt weird and hard to get used to and the auto locking of players to pass to seems broken. It might be just be but simply playing the same way I used to do with Fifa 10 or the World Cup 2010 seems to not work efficiently anymore. There are also some nice few features added such as the Be a Goalkeeper and stuff. I won’t be doing an article on the demo since you probably can find a thousand of them on google (not the case for PC. Search pc, you get console impressions, and those don’t apply to PC one single bit).

Anyways, did you enjoy your experience with the PC Fifa 11 demo? I sure did, it is great to see improvements or rather it is great to see them releasing a proper game after that many years. If you’ve hated the gameplay, I have no idea what to say but to ask you to play Pro Evolution Soccer. Since Fifa gameplay has evolved so far and to date it is one of the finest versions of the engine itself, if you can’t enjoy it you probably should look for a change in gameplay style, PES might just fit the b

Guild Wars 2 is looking real good so far. From the game trailers to the gameplay demonstration, developer diaries write-ups so on and so forth, the game sounds/looks/feels like it is going to be a blast. I’m really all hyped up over this game already. For those of you who do not know, Guild Wars 2 is the sequel (like duh) to Guild Wars, which is a MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) similar to that of World of Warcraft etc.

In this latest video they released, they talked a lot about the design choices of the game and what they want to express to gamers, what they want gamers to feel. It is amazing the way they go about talking about it, whether or not whatever words they say being realized can only be known once it is released. But for now some of the key phrases that totally caught my attention are stuff like how quests now become more realistic and immersive for example the standard MMO quest of killing certain number of this monster due to them attacking a town becomes real in GW2 where you actually see these monsters attacking a town etc. Decisions players make also now seem to have permanent global effect rather than just to users. You shape the world the way you want it. Sounds ambitious, but I really hope they achieve that effect.

I did try out Guild Wars 1 for a while (the trial period), never gotten myself to spend the money to actually purchase the game since I always thought that I should wait for the sequel to arrive (tried it only last year). Without the adequate time to invest, I told myself to refrain from buying since it would probably not be properly utilized. Still during the trial period, I found myself enjoying the game but not to a really great extend. The main reason was this; the game battle system did not engage me or “wow” me enough. There are so many games that work along the same basis of point click attack skill attack pot attack rest. Though Guild Wars itself differ from that, the whole idea of the system itself feels largely the same. I wanted something different, like an action battle system similar to that of the Monster Hunter series.

The action battle system has yet to be widely implemented within MMORPGs. In fact, I only do know of no more than five games to date that actually have such a battle system, one of which namely Risk Your Life was a game that I enjoyed a lot mainly because of its battle system. I like the freedom, the sense of control you have in such systems. When I heard about TERA Online, I was totally amazed, aroused and excited. Though Guild Wars 2 is not about to have such a system (from what I read and comprehend), it promises to have a more action oriented fast paced and with that I felt that my MMO experience will definitely go for the better. It is as if one of my countless dreams are about to be realized (not by Guild Wars 2 but at least maybe by TERA).
So what are your thoughts about Guild Wars 2? Will it be a success? I’ll be there for sure, to try out the game at least for quite some time. (With that said there is FFXIV is about to be released. I’ll try it out as well. FFXIV, GW and TERA are the only MMOs that I feel might engage me more than ever.)

An ambitious statement by them: “If you love MMOs you’ll want to check out Guild Wars 2 and if you hate MMOs you’ll really want to check out Guild Wars 2″. I certainly hope so.

AAA Indie game Interstellar Marines: Running Man by Zero Point Software was released on the 7^th of July. They are inviting you, the gamers, to try it out for free! The game is basically an AAA, Sci-fi FPS game with an original and unpredictable storyline featuring single and cooperative gameplay, with heavy focus on realism. The game currently under development for the PC is planned to be a Trilogy and targets the audience aged 17 and above.

The game runs in a browser and Running Man is basically a snippet of what’s to come in the full game. You can say that it somewhat like a demo or something to let you experience the environment and gameplay of the game before the actual release. It is kind of neat for the developers to release such episodic gameplay chapters to show the progress of the game as well as increase the hype among the gamers as well. It is as if you were part of the development process and indeed you are. They are willing to listen to suggestions and feedback and act accordingly, something which I feel that is extremely crucial for a great game to be made. I mean the game is made for the gamers no? So should it meet the needs of the gamers would it not be a game worthy to be played?

I’ve tried it out and I’m rather impressed by the game. I mean it is developed by an indie studio and the men behind it ain’t in the tenths let alone in the hundredths. It is looking good so far. It plays in the web browser using the unity engine. The graphics are surprisingly good and the sound effects are very believable. Gun firing, echoing, footsteps etc; all sounding real good. In Running Man you are basically put into a training situation where you fight robots. These robots can’t shoot or anything yet but it simply showcases how enemies might be walking/approaching you later on.

It is free to play so why not just give it a go? I’ll keep you updated with any major news of the game in near future. Do take a look at the developer video featuring some of the mechanics put into the game:

I’ve seen many mods created for Left 4 Dead. It ranges from nudity mods to mods that makes the game a little more freaky.

Today, I’ve stumbled on a video that made me laugh and cry at the same time. I present to you… Left 4 Dead Teletubbies.

It is really funny at first seeing the teletubbies running towards you trying to hug you or something. Then seeing you take your guns shooting the shit out of their faces and bodies makes it even more hilarious. However, after a while of watching it kind of gets scary in a very unique way. As in, kids television programme running towards you waves after waves? Blood dripping from their faces and bodies? Ouch, better not show this to the kids. They might get nightmares or hate you for life.

Flameknight7 made a mod that changes all the common infected to Teletubbies. The complete package comes with a sound mod and you hear the zombies saying “Eh oh” and at the end of a round, listen to the music.

Download the mod here: http://tinyurl.com/left4teletubbies

The gamer within me is getting orgasmic. I’ve always wanted to play guildwars but just didn’t had the time to do so. It dragged on and on till Guildwars 2 was annouced. That made me feel that I should spend the money on guildwars 2 instead, so now I’ve just got to wait a little longer. Hope when it comes out I wouldn’t be too busy to spend time playing it.

The trailer after the jump.

True HD Resolution: The game play was played and recorded in real-time at true 1080p HD resolution, not scaled up artificially. The animated lore part of the video is produced at 1080p resolution from the ground up. All assets are created at true 1080p resolution.

Animated Portion: The animated, pre-rendered lore intro portion of the video was done completely in-house. This was not contracted out to a specialty studio that produces high-end pre-rendered videos. All of the illustrations, animation, editing, and rendering was done at ArenaNet.

In-Game Portion: The in-game part of the video is actual in-game footage. It was rendered in real-time in the game engine and recoded live using video capture hardware. Nothing was pre-rendered. All models, textures, and other assets are actual game play versions. They haven’t been prettied up for marketing purposes.

Maps are works in progress, and may change to better fit game play.

The team is working hard to make the game even more beautiful for the full release!

See the official website for all your Guild Wars 2 news! http://www.guildwars2.com/

Foreign Legion Buckets of Blood (FL:BoB for short), is an indie third person shooter. The game is developed by  Sakari Indie (http://sakari-indie.com/) and is now available through digital download and steam. The game is extremely simple, defend the building from the oncoming attackers until help arrive. In this building, there are several villagers. You are the last man standing and being the hero you are, you defend the villagers from the enemies. Simple as that.

The game currently plays for around half an hour or so. Having said that, 30 mins include a second round play through or even a third. The level completes within 10 mins, the estimated time when help arrives. There is only one level. Do the math, and you’ll realise this is one hell of a short game. Reading up on their site, the developers did say something about providing free extra maps later on, but as of now, yes the game finishes within an hour or less. You get to choose from several difficulty levels. Each increases the complexity of the way you go about defending the building. However, even with the difficulty changed, the game still remains the same. The same old enemies, weapons and so on. No rewards except a cool little highscore that you can use to challenge your friends if they actually play the game.

The game allows players to choose from 4 different weapons. They are, the pistol (default and infinite ammo), rifle, rocket launcher and an airborne strike remote controller. Whichever guns you use, you practically have unlimited ammo supply for them. You get to call for a support plane to drop some crates which acts as repair power-up as well as ammo refills. I’ve used all of the guns and felt the best to use was the rifle for it simply meant more people killed in the fastest amount of time. I couldn’t use the rocket launcher nor the airborne strike to the fullest of their abilities for unknown reasons. I just can’t seem to hit anyone even with the explosive power of the rocket launcher. I shoot, boom, I missed. Playing around with the weapons are fun, but the fun last for only a short period of time. After that, you’ll probably just stick to one or simply quit the game.

There are 3 enemy types in the game. One the normal infantry who holds a gun, second the suicide bomber who does nothing but rushes to the building to blow himself up, and lastly a heavy infantry who uses rockets to shoot at you. All are killed in the same way, however with an exception to the suicide bomber who explodes if you shoot his body. You are allowed to kill your opponent by shooting either the body, the head or exploding them. You gain points by chaining up combo kills. The higher the combo, the higher the score. There are chickens present in the game as well, kill them for points and achievement (steam users). That is practically all the game does provide.

With just one map and the cartoony graphics, one cannot help but say this game is way way too short for the price tag it carries. The graphics are fine, but nothing eye catching. Explosions are done the cute way so are the killings and blood. However, the animation of the character movement was rather poor but with the graphics being that way, I guessed I can’t comment too much. With all that said, all I can do is to wait for the new levels should there be any, otherwise, the game is currently being sold for around $6.95 (around $11 SGD?). With that price tag, I believe many gamers will be put off. $11 SGD can get you many iphone games you know, and they last even longer than FL:BoB.

Check out a gameplay footage I made:

Portal was a fantastic game. It was mentally challenging as players go through the different puzzles and levels.

The story of the whole game was rather simple, too simple actually. But it doesn’t actually matters.

The developers were smart and creative to provide a song at the end of the game, summing up almost everything you’ve been through.

Just stumbled upon this video (which was created months back I believe) that plays the game’s ending song.

The song itself is catchy and I can never forget about it. Now that someone’s made a typography styled video about it, I have to spread the joy of it.