Zombie Army Trilogy

Because magical Hitler must be stopped!

This spin-off from Sniper Elite has slowly fixed a number of things for our co-op sessions, given I've written about it twice before. This trilogy has all the missions from the last two Nazi zombie games and adds five more, bringing the total to 15. Well 14 since Chapter 1 of Book 2 still had connection problems for three of us (DL, Jim and myself) right at the end so we had to skip it which thankfully is a valid option.

Indeed, you can pick whatever mission you want to try - no unlocking required - but must rely on the mission checkpoints to save your progress through it. The last book sees the sniper heroes return to a much better looking apocalypse graphics wise, and for a change there are other friendlies in a few missions. Also introduced are new enemies, such as the terrifying chainsaw elite and heavily armored zombies and giant zombies.

That's one big Fuhrer!

There's definitely a difficulty increase towards the final mission (to kill Hitler) with some ludicrous amounts of zombies needing to be killed (looking at you book 3 chapter 3 finale) but its all good fun and definitely one a co-op team would enjoy. I give it four relics out of five, but won't play it again. Killing the millions of zombies once was enough, thanks. :P

Insight: In the final chapter(s) most goals switch from kill the zombies to get "x" done, because the zombies won't stop spawning anymore which is especially true fighting Hitler (unless he's having a migraine, then you can relax and prepare first before the next phase). Jumping from the balcony there can be a real life (and time) saver!

Remnant: from the Ashes - Weapon Upgrades

[Part of our Remnant from the Ashes story]

Thanks to someone called the Undying King, the world of Rhom somehow fought off the invasion of the Root so we set out to get to his uber awesome high tech tower situated in the middle or a sandy waste where a previous civilization was clearly decimated by fire. Our path through is very violent as the zone is now occupied by his worshipers: cannibal tribesmen with exploding spears and hungry dogs. We manage to tame one dog (each) though, and also get a really cool necklace from a vendor in the zone which lets our dragon heart usage also affect our in range teammates for full heals. The dogs are also particularly useful for a two minute summon, as they do decent damage and can tank a little bit.

"Who's a good boy?"

Exploring one of the concrete ruins we are surprised to find it inhabited by Goa'uld, dark maul cosplayers, radioactive exploding humanoids as well as spidery type people that emerge from holes in the wall and always in huge numbers. The building is some form of workshop with giant robot feet left incomplete and some sort of rocket ship on a launchpad. 

Opening the blast doors of that rocket ship triggers a defense task (boss fight with no boss, just swarms of baddies) and the best hold spot we found was up the stairs on the right then right again to get to the corner room. With healing pools and the dragon heart necklace upgrades we hold quite comfortably in there - even when tribals carrying rocket launchers arrive. Beyond the blast doors is an awesome beam rifle which both Jim and I quickly switch to and teleport back to Ward 13 to upgrade it - especially as we have the next tier of iron component now available.

While there I explore the reactor a bit more and accidentally find the master key behind a large fan (which I switched off by accident when trying to steal a fuse). The key lets us through the locked door on level two and into a room with a submachine gun. Again, Jim and I get this, though Jim still keeps his flame thrower pistol handy as well. As expected DL remains on the Sniper Rifle and standard pistol because he's a Sniper Elite. :P

Sniper Elite 4 - Five Easy Tips

Killing people in the huge and beautiful maps of Sniper Elite 4 is quite entertaining, but for those who are having a tough go at it - here are five easy tips to make your life in Italy better!

#1 - Displace

Unless you are standing straight up, most enemies seem to have very poor vision even on "Authentic" difficulty. This means what they rely most on to find you is the sound of your gunfire. Regardless if you are sniping from far or hosing people down with a machine gun, as soon as you are done - change position. Preferably to a spot where you can see where you just fired from. Some maps have loud sounds that can disguise your gunfire which lowers the need to displace but eventually people will come looking for you, and the AI here is quite good at flanking.

#2 - Crouch

Crouch walk should be your favored position when moving. Enemies are hopeless at seeing you, especially if unalerted. Crouch run is riskier and should be used when you don't really care about stealth anymore. Meanwhile prone crawl is a bit slow for mobility and terrible for aiming at heads that are very close, but it is handy for hiding behind low walls and especially bushes. Enemy soldiers can literally be within arms reach before they know you are there.

#3 - Welrod instead of Melee

If you get up to an enemy soldier (or vice versa), pressing your melee button will instantly kill him. From behind this is silent, from in front less so. If enemies aren't in active combat then you can actually bull rush loners if you so choose, but this should be your last resort. Your Welrod silenced firearm is a much better choice since it lets you better control your position. Just aim for the exposed head (not helmet). Also remember you can throw stones to lure people into better shots.

#4 - Traps

All those lovely toys you pick up aren't just for show. While they are a nice surprise for people pursuing you, they are better used when you find a nice vantage point that you want to hold. Stealthily set up traps on the flanking approaches. Stairs, ladders, doorways and other choke points are the best spots for these. Keep track if they get tripped as they serve as a good indication of when to displace. If they don't get tripped, you can always just pick them up again.

#5 - Binoculars

For some reason you get more experience for scouting ahead with binoculars and tagging everything - people, vehicles, barrels, etc. before shooting at them. More importantly the binoculars actually tell you how far something is so that you can better gauge bullet drop on anything higher than Cadet level. It also pays to look before you engage as things like pill boxes, turrets and idling vehicles might escape your initial notice.

Blaugust Staying Motivated: Been awhile since I posted a guide. What better time to do it than Blaugust eh? :P

Game Design: PvP in "Story-Based" Games

[Part of my MMO Design Folder.]

I quite enjoyed playing through single player mode in the Assassin's Creed series as well as the Batman: Arkham series. As you probably know I am always behind in terms of keeping up to date with them because of my spending habits on games (ie. I don't). I keep finding though that some of these games have a small PvP section to them, like bonus content. Sometimes these sections also sound pretty cool.

The problem I'm seeing though, perhaps because I'm on the older games, is that almost no one is playing these modes. Not enough to even start up a match from my personal experience. I have to question then the wisdom in spending resources in developing a part of the game that is surely going to be unplayable over time. Surely it makes more sense to dispose of it and completely focus on the story campaign? I've found cooperative modes often follow the story line as well like in the Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army series so that's not really an issue. If you have allies cool. If you don't you can still go ahead.

It's just the logic of the PvP thing I don't understand. As a mainly co-op player it's quite likely I am mistaken, so I ask you dear reader: In games like the above, how many hours did you spend playing through the story and how many hours did you spend playing in the competitive PvP modes? Surely Call of Duty guys clock more PvP hours than story hours right?

Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2

Don't worry if you haven't played the first game, because the "escape" finale there is nullified as the heroes are sent back into the heart of darkness to try put an end to the undead horde - meaning there's a bit more story this time around. Much of what I liked from the first part is still here too: the jump scares, the head shot requirement to kill zombies, and the pretty scary atmosphere which is uberly amped up in some spots. Enemy wise, there are a few new types I've encountered that join the list of your old favorites from the previous outing.

Don't let them get close!

Many maps that I've played through are again re-purposed from the previous games (Zombie Army 1 and Sniper V2) but changed enough to be quite a new experience. What they do a lot this time though is to block off any escape routes you had just before a big fight. Game play wise this means a bit more running and gives higher importance to the shotgun and its excellence at close quarters, but programmatically it also frees up the memory from all the zones you've already cleared making it a much more stable experience, especially in coop mode which is fantastic. Sure, you cannot fall back to the very beginning of a map any more but it's a small price to pay in the scheme of things I think.

Currently around half way through and am enjoying it thoroughly, giving it 4 bullets out of 5.

Here's a clip of some zombie killing action for those interested. I'm the guy with the hat.

Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army

The only good Nazi is an... undead Nazi?

 

I've had this game for awhile now so I'm a little surprised I didn't do a review of it yet. Some of you may recall the annoyances I experienced while trying to play it cooperatively, which killed the game for me. However, I decided to go through it again solo after being uplifted by playing Sniper Elite v2 which obviously eliminated the severe flaw of frequent disconnects and then being unable to reconnect to your friends problem. That said it still crashed out on me twice.

While the story is shallow ("and then there were zombies!") the gameplay itself works well with the sniper vs undead theme. Most enemies require head shots (or heart shots) to be put down permanently and there is ample opportunity to snipe and survive waves of the walking dead during the story... and by walking I mean at a leisurely and casual pace.

Given that the majority of your foes need to melee you, this actually makes the game easier than the original (where grunts would shoot back, take cover and lob grenades) as you can even avoid them or kick them down with your own melee strike. The few enemies with firearms can be a bit of a problem, depending on where they catch you but generally distance is your friend and that very useful cover system is made quite redundant as long as you have Doom level shooting experience.

Most of the maps will also be familiar from v2, though they are heavily modified decor wise. Overall it is still a fun game which is easiest cleared if you keep your cool from the jump scares and shoot carefully because really, these zombies have no chance against a well armed marksman. I give it 3.5 bullets out of 5 (for solo play).

Sniper Elite V2

My only previous experience with Sniper Elite was with their Nazi Zombie game and I pretty much rage quit over the very poor mechanics of very often getting dropped from a coop session and not being able to rejoin. It quite killed my interest in the whole series until this game was made freely available for one day. I grabbed it and proceeded to play through the single player story on the hardest setting (why play anything less?) that features almost zero HUD and realistic bullet drop.

While it still crashed out on me twice and it has the one path with a few detours typical map setup for the missions the story is not bad, the areas are gorgeous, the mechanics of stealth vs speed are great (I am a Thief fan), and fighting enemy sniper teams and armor are fantastic! The slow motion, sometimes x-ray, kill cam also brought a smile to my face each time I saw my targets organs and bones shatter (sometimes explode) from my rounds, but boy did they get me a fair number of times too. Fortunately you don't take realistic damage or a health bar, instead it uses the troll methodology of "if you get hit too much consecutively you die, but hide for awhile and you regenerate" making it a rather fun 6-7 hours of gaming.

A little lower and you would have got "nut-shot" cam.

The little touches of having the sunlight cause enemy sniper scopes to flash once in a while are awesome too, and it happens to you as well if you wait too long while aiming since unaware enemies suddenly spot you after awhile. I must admit the whole experience has rekindled my desire to retry the Nazi Zombie one, maybe just in single player this time - and definitely ups my interest in the other Sniper Elite titles. I may not buy them for me due to my own rule, but I still buy games for others. So while I sit here humming the main theme of the game as I type, I can't help but give it 4 bullets out of 5. I haven't tried coop on it (no one to try it with) so that may alter the score depending on how it goes.

Top 10 Reasons Why I Stop Playing Games

I'm sure everyone has their own version of this list but just for kicks I figured I'd put mine up here to hopefully give game developers some possible extra insight on such matters.

#10: My Friends Dislike the game

Especially true in MMO's, if our guildmates don't give your game the thumbs up it makes it a bit less likely that I will play it over something they do enjoy. Almost impossible to cater for everyone's likes but this is the first "flood gate" that usually stops games from even being installed on my PC.

#9: I Dislike the game

Even if my friends aren't playing, I still may go ahead and play your game regardless if I like it enough after testing or researching it (Age of Conan is a good example) - and if I don't like it but they do then I may still put up with it. Obviously if no one likes it, it becomes a no brainer. Reasons I dislike games not only stem from actual game play mechanics but can also be things that don't sit well with me. Payday is a good example there where you can only be the "bad guys" (not even a dark shade of gray). For that reason alone I will never play it.

#8: We Can't Play Together

Another MMO slayer. If we can't play together then odds are high that your game is just going to be looked over or skipped after the initial test run. Region/IP barriers are quite frustrating for a guild with members all across the world. Even non MMO's suffer from this. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombies is a good example. The gameplay is great but trying to get into a session that no one drops out of is like digging through a stone wall with a plastic fork. Worse still is that the person that drops out cannot rejoin a session like in L4D2. Good game, but if I am asked to recommend a co-op zombie shooter Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombies would NOT be on my list.

#7: It Isn't Free

This is probably a unique one for me. You see, I've sworn not to buy games for myself anymore. I still buy them for other people and receive them from my family and friends so that's all cool, however I don't think anyone would ever offer to pay for an ongoing subscription fee for me which is the main reason that World of Warcraft and other MMO's that require or really push for it simply get ignored like the leeches they are. Afterall, the best things in life are free - right?

#6: I've Won The Game

This is an odd one to be on this list because as you might expect that's when most people stop playing games. However a select few such as Diablo and Path of Exile simply just unlock harder modes to the same story that you've already played. Unlockable difficulties has always been a gripe of mine as it just shows for lazy development. Let people play the hardest mode at the get go and I'll have more respect for you. As it stands, after I win once that's it. The end. Unless you have new content (or are that frigging amazing) it's uninstall time for you.

#5: Slow to Patch

Updates to the game are good but there is a limit to what I will deem acceptable. Mabinogi is actually an example for me here because it is notorious for having massive updates which like to fail, and then require a reinstall to repair. Well, I -could- go through all that trouble or I could play a different game that won't give me any hassles to play. Guess which one always wins out? Also having BIG patches (looking at you Warframe) that interrupts my other online gaming really ticks me off, so if I can't finish downloading your patch in the time it takes for me to have a shower then I'll likely NEVER patch, and toss your game into the void.

#4: Frequent Patching

Almost a continuation of the above. Patches are good, but patching every day or even every week just tells me that your developers are shit, don't test, and require to keep pushing out "fixes" which only make more issues to compensate on your unfinished, unpolished, turd of a product.

#3: You Don't Let Me Play It

Guildwars 2 is a unique beast in this category. While I did like to voice my concerns about various parts of it, it was still a game that I would play regularly until I suddenly couldn't because they don't send me the validation email anymore. Checking on their forums the only staff reply to the issue I found was "The emails are going out, check with your email provider." Well, I -could- do that OR I could play a game that lets me play it with no hassles? Anything that causes me hassles just makes me give the middle finger to the screen and move on to something more productive and/or enjoyable. I'm here to play, not talk to tech support.

#2: Work vs Play

Playing games is meant to be enjoyable. The line between work (unfun, unrewarding, repetitive activities) and play exists for everyone and some people can simply take more "work" than others. As I get older I find that "work" line growing more and more over the "fun, rewarding" section because I have less time than I used to. Our last Ultima Online shard really killed it for my brother when it decided to increase the "work" side waaaay too much. The result? Not only did the game get uninstalled but the CD and box was thrown into the garbage.

#1: New Shinies

Christmas time and my birthday are the usual times this happens (given I don't buy myself anything), but wow do I get inundated with stuff when they do! As with all things I will go poke and play with the new shiny games for a bit until I either finish them, or find my older ones more appealing after the initial shine has faded off. Not really anything developers can do to combat this other than make their game the best it can be. :)