G-pinions

I probably seem like a pretty jaded gamer at this point. I walk away from every game I play with a smirk on my face along with the rightful feeling of unabashed superiority. Aside from Crackdown, there hasn't really been much of anything released this year that has brought a smile to my face. But I must continue to write, lest Nick usurps my role as the giver of G-Pinions, even if I get a reputation for hating all that is gaming. While the following write up is once again soaked in negativity, I assure you that I am currently immersed in a game that has chased away these awful gaming blues. Come back later in the week to see that smile. For now, I present another flat war experience.

It probably isn't a good idea to visualize extreme boredom before I even put a game in my system. How could Rainbow 6 Vegas do anything but live up to the damning image I had already thrust upon it? I do not have the patience to play a stealth war game in a realistic environment, but I did try to play it with an objective mindset. Sadly, there was not one element in R6V that drew me in. Not one thing that forced me to keep playing so I could experience some indescribable gaming nirvana. For someone well versed in the war experience, I am sure this game is a hoot and a holler. It may even elicit a mild yelp. But as an average civilian, it felt both overwhelming and uninspired. The weapons all felt the same to me, the environment is excruciatingly bland and the story presented no urgency or emotion. I attempted to play through the game. I jumped into the critically acclaimed multiplayer mode and even tried in earnest to play through the single player campaign, but I could not do it.

From a technical standpoint, the game seems fairly adequate. The big new feature is the mandatory use of cover. I am not a First Person Shooter scholar, but Perfect Dark Zero was the first game I played that used this technique. In PDZ, you could tap a button to lean against a wall and systematically pick off enemies while staying out of harms way. This feature seemed to be largely ignored as the levels were not built around this technique, but the execution was serviceable. R6V uses the same maneuver, but Ubisoft did not bother to implement it any better. Like in Gears of War you are forced to move through the environment with a wall on your shoulder. Unlike Gears, your movement is far from fluid. Slamming against the wall feels fine, albeit far less visceral. Unfortunately, just like in PDZ, the act of unsticking yourself and gliding to your next position is cumbersome. In PDZ, I could ignore this problem because cover is merely one way to defeat an enemy. In R6V, the game is built around cover and it's less than perfect implementation makes this already difficult game border on frustrating.

Everything else about R6V (I do love that acronym) seemed solid though uninspired. The AI is actually intelligent. Troops will react to your violent penetration by finding cover themselves, tossing grenades and calling for backup. It feels like a real war experience where any mistake, such as peaking around the corner to see what your shotgun wielding friend is doing, will lead to a painful death. Sometimes the enemies are too smart, anticipating your position even when you are completely silent, but it's an understandable drawback for what is primarily an intense and lifelike experience.

The AI of your co-killers is even better. You can quickly issue commands with the tap of a button, even in the heat of battle. There aren't any lame menus to slow the experience down. Just point, click and watch your underlings kill all of your enemies while you cower in the corner. I enjoyed acting like a big shot around the lower ranked soldiers. I would take a position by one door and peak under to see what dangers lay beyond. Then I would tell them to go through the other door and clear out the place. After they brutally eliminated my foes, I would bust in, guns blazing, to take care of whatever "mess" remained. I imagined a shiny medal being pinned to my lapel for my unprecedented bravery while my charges were left peeling potatoes.

Anyway, Rainbow 6 Vegas seems like a perfectly adequate game if you envy those troops currently stationed in Iraq. The weapons are real, the setting is bleak and the violence is intense. Clearly, such brutality is not my thing, and the lack of innovation makes me wonder just what Ubisoft has been doing these last few years. Still, it's not a bad game to turn to when your gaming well was as dry as mine.

It sucks that tha G has fallen to the wayside in my day to day writing priorities, but such is employed life I suppose. And employed life that allows little time for games of my choosing, more specifically. But it's alright, Tommy boy has been holding up his end of the bargain fiercely, ripe with EA complaints and unbridled Rare love.

I finally perfected the single player game of Burnout Revenge (360), after picking it back up for the first time since September. Good stuff. You might remember how excited I am for Burnout 5. That wasn't an exaggeration. I've also been playing a spot of Halo 2 in preparation for the Halo 3 beta, which Tom and I will be checking out this Friday. Hopefully we can get a podcast up about it this weekend. Halo 2 is still grand, even if the foul-mouthed manchildren ruin the experience if you even think about putting on the headset. If there's one thing Halo 3 needs to improve on, it's being fun to play even when you're not partied up with pals. Sounds like they're truly putting effort into the anti-asshole movement though, so hopefully we'll see some results.

I also picked up Rhythm Tengoku and Soundvoyager, two amazing GBA rhythm games. I talked a little bit about RT on our last podcast, but Soundvoyager is spectacular too; you literally have to play it with headphones, but you also don't have to look at the screen when you're playing. So, yeah, there's that. And it's AWESOME.

Really I'm just biding my time for the Beta. With Mass Effect likely delayed and Culdcept Saga definitely delayed, there's a not a whole lot I'm dying for this summer. I'll probably run through The Darkness next month, but it's just kind of one of those guaranteed good experiences (from everything I've seen and played) that doesn't merit much further discussion than "it's hella sweet."

So yes, hopefully there will be much more to discuss this weekend. With love.