GDC 08 - Red Faction Guerrilla announced

More news coming out of the Game Developers Conference today is the announcement of the 3rd Red Faction game; Red Faction: Guerrilla. If you've played either of the previous games you'll know that Red Faction was interesting because you could destroy very nearly everything around you. Need to get out of a room in a hurry? Shoot a hole in the wall and hope there is an escape route beyond it. Need to take out a tank with only one rocket? Take out the supports on a bridge and watch it collapse with the tank in tow.

This might not sounds as exciting now as it once did, since this was years ago, but it made for great gameplay, and with all of the technical power in the next-gen systems at their disposal I'm sure they can wow us again.

One big change in this latest game is an over the shoulder 3rd person viewpoint on the action, instead of the original's first person perspective. Red Faction: Guerrilla will be available for the 360, PS3, and PC sometime in 2009.

Quake Live is real

Free browser-based Quake is coming to an Internet near you very soon. John Carmack talked about a 'Quake Zero' project back at Quakeworld last year and it looks like it's going to actually happen. I can't wait to play Quake in my web browser. That will be a special, special day.

Gears of War 2 in November 08!

At GDC yesterday Microsoft announced that Gears of War 2 would be available this November. That is great news, for gamers obviously, but also for Microsoft. After Halo 3 last Christmas they are going to need another blockbuster game to keep up their great progress. Gears of War 2 is definitely that game.

Check out this teaser trailer from the GDC keynote.

Preview - Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is one of the hottest games for the PS3. It's got everything that a PS3 game needs to win gamer's hearts; great graphics, fun gameplay, violence, a blonde girl, and even a funny hero. So is it worth your time and money? Let's take a look.

Presentation:

Uncharted is one of the best looking games you're going to find. The PS3 is an amazing piece of technology and you can definitely see that Naughty Dog put it through it's paces while developing Uncharted. The character models are detailed, the environments are lush and full of life, the sound is atmospheric, in nearly every way Uncharted is a treat for your senses. If there was any area that didn't meet the high standards of the rest of the game it would be that some of the animations don't quite work correctly. This isn't a large problem however, as it is only really noticeable because the rest of the game world is so vividly rendered.

Gameplay:

The gameplay in Uncharted is part Tomb Raider part Gears of War and in my playtime with it so far it works very well. The environmental puzzles aren't overly challenging but they hide themselves just enough that you need to look around to see where to go next. The gun fights are dramatic and very reminiscent of Gears, although now you're fighting pacific islanders instead of 8 foot tall monsters from the Hollow Earth. While most of the gunfights start with an enemy shooting you from some hiding place there are instances where you get to use your acrobatics to sneak up on the unsuspecting goons. These areas are actually very exciting and have a Splinter Cell quality to them, without the obligatory death that accompanies ANYONE seeing you in a Splinter Cell game. This type of sneak up and pick them off until you decide to just shoot them all is my kind of stealth game.

Re-playability:

As this is just a preview I can't say if the gameplay holds up throughout the entire game, but so far I've had nothing but fun. In my opinion it would be much better if you could play through the campaign with another play in coop mode. That is one of the things that made Gears such a re-playable game, without that feature I'm not sure that you would want to play through Uncharted more than once.

Overall:

Uncharted is a great game so far. If you're at all interested, or if you just have access to a PS3, I recommend giving it a try.

Getting Started

F5 Games is my new blog to follow all the happenings in the video game world. I'll cover industry news, game previews and reviews, as well as any industry gossip I can get my hands on.

If you've got any suggestions or games you would like me to review just send me an email and I'll see what I can do.

Let's play.