Breaking the Mold

Today I will be breaking the mold of my blog. Now, from time to time you will see this happen, but that is because although this blog is about First Person Shooters -- I will still be throwing in some hybrid games and even some 3rd Person shooters that PLAY like your average run-of-the-mill first person shooter.

First of all, I want to get this out of the way. I am a 'Red Faction virgin.' Never played it, seen it or possibly heard of it. I had no idea what kind of game it was. But today that all changed as I was able to observe some friends playing the demo on the xbox 360 marketplace.

First Impressions:

• EVERYTHING IS DESTRUCTIBLE. This game simply takes BF: Bad Company's frostbite engine and destroys it. There moments in the demo action that I was simply staring with my mouth open -- observing some Hollywood-like cinema tics and action. Being able to get into some of the 34 vehicles that the game has and just wreak havoc on the establishments and soldiers is nothing short of FUN.
  
• The cover system is not revolutionary but improved upon games like Rainbow Six Vegas 2, were you feel glued to the wall. I'm not sure if it's going to be used online, what with the influx of CoD style gamers who run and gun. "SCREW COVER!" Not to mention your cover could turn into rubble at any given moment.
  
• The storyline is less than breathtaking. Really? A mars colony? But nonetheless, the game needs a back story and I guess this is were the developers settled.
• How is multiplayer going to translate with this game? It is being labeled as an open-world 3rd person shooter, but what kind of game modes and matchmaking are we going to see.

Well, that's really all I can think of now, but feel free to comment if you have opinions, questions or answers to any of my rhetorically written questions.

Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising

This game will be very much anticipated among the hardcore military simulation gamers. The marketing has been hush-hush and no release date has been leaked but a summertime release has been hinted at by many game retailers, including GameStop.

Operation Flashpoint 2 will be taking the idea of "live each moment as if it were your last" to the extreme. Bullet wounds are almost always fatal if they hit the important areas of your body (i.e. head, heart etc.) and gamers will be taking cover rather than running and gunning for the majority of the game. Enemy AI is rumored to be very conniving and smart -- even out-flanking you to gain the upper hand and the element of surprise. One of the best features for OFP2 will be the inclusion of a Mission Editor for the PC edition, allowing user generated content to spur the life of the game into a greater dimension. but Codemasters, the publisher of Operation Flashpoint 2 has decided to leave this feature out of the Xbox 360 version of the game -- angering a large majority of die-hard console gamers and Operation Flashpoint fans who happen to own an Xbox 360 (including myself).

Still, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising will be a breath of fresh air when it does finally decide to hit the shelves sometime this year and I consider it a buy on day one.

2009: A Year for the FPS?

This year looks to be a good one for the first person shooter community on the Xbox 360. Games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Operation Flashpoint 2: Dragon Rising, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, and even some relative unknows will appear on the horizon in the very near future. Stay tuned to the Xbox 360 First Person Shooters Blog for some in-depth looks at these upcoming games!