Protocol Snow

Call of Duty 4 is something special. Sure, it still has the trademark scenarios of the series that have become tired clichés for me: move from house to house clearing rooms, or defend a building against waves of assailants attempting to overtake the position. In fact, the core gameplay analyzed clinically is somewhat antiquated. You can still blow up tanks by walking up to the glowing indicator and pushing the Use key. You can’t open doors by yourself and have to wait for your AI squad members to usher you in. Enemies respawn infinitely until you push forward and activate trigger points. And heaven forbid if you stray too far off the linear path because… well, they won’t have any of that.

But what a linear path it is, framed by a refreshing modern day setting and the most cinematic gaming experience I have ever played. Infinity Ward lovingly crafted a narrative that quickly hooked me into the game and gave context and meaning to all the action. The story is told through many scripted events as well as a few shocking 1st person, non combat sequences. This is the closest I’ve felt to actually playing a movie — the Metal Gear Solid series doesn’t count, it is a movie.

There are too many favorite moments to list. Storming nuclear silos while the missile doors are opening and steam is erupting and oh no we have to stop the launch!! Lt. Price coolly sliding you a handgun across the floor in your darkest hour (the fact that I even remember the guy’s name says a lot). And who can forget the two-part flashback mission to Chernobyl, one of the finest levels I can remember playing in any game. Intense.

Call of Duty 4 is fairly short, yes, but I’m liking the recent trend of games that know how to pace themselves and don’t dilute the experience by dragging for too long (Portal being another recent example). Call of Duty 4 pounces from the opening infiltration, then guides you along a phenomenal ride bountiful with adrenaline rushes and emotional highs, leaving a lasting impression that’s still strongly resonating.

I used to consider myself a hardcore gamer, but I’m not sure I am one anymore. Yeah, I still try to stay in touch with the industry by scanning RSS feeds and listening to podcasts while driving to and from school, but as for actual gaming… not as much as I would like.

These days, I appreciate squeezing in gaming time whenever I can, so I’m not above inputting a cheat code or two if I keep getting stuck (though I do so reluctantly). The purist in me gets sick just thinking about it, but time is more valuable now, and enjoying myself when I get a chance to play is more important than holding onto some arbitrary gaming code of honor.

I was playing through Half-Life 2: Episode 2 and was tired of conserving ammo so I typed in a code whenever I needed a boost. Not too egregious of an example. But the final level was irritating because you need to cover a lot of ground while defending a base and taking down some big enemies. Hope that wasn’t too spoilerish, but it was getting frustrating so I turned on god mode and noclip, zooming around the level like Neo and taking care of business. By that time I had gotten my fill of the game and just wanted to see the ending.

The me two years ago would be crying inside if he knew what I was up to now.

I love the weekend after a test because I have absolutely nothing to worry about and plenty of time to catch up on TV shows or play games. I spent a good four hours in Team Fortress 2 yesterday playing some absolutely thrilling matches on 2fort. Ask me what some of my all-time favorite maps are, and 2fort from the Team Fortress series and Facing Worlds from Unreal Tournament would definitely top the list.

I was playing the soldier class and was part of the attacking force on my team, which included three very proficient medics, a trio of soldiers, and a couple HWGuys and pyros. We rushed the opposing base the entire time and were so relentless that the other team was hopelessly pinned down. I don’t think they ever made a serious attempt to capture our intel because they couldn’t even leave their base. Later on, they resorted to becoming entirely defense-focused and had five engineers building sentry guns with the rest of the team acting as support.

Let me tell you, coordinating with my attack force and spontaneously figuring out ways to punch through their defenses made for some awesome “this is why I love gaming” moments. At one point, I had two medics backing me up and must have taken out at least 16 opposing structures and players in one exhilarating life before I finally succumbed. That made a serious dent in their armor, and I couldn’t help but grin when I saw a HWGuy and an accompanying medic rush past my dead body to take advantage of that run I just had and continue the assault.

It’s pretty amazing that complete strangers can work together as a functional team and be so in sync. I hope at some point, everybody gets to experience a moment when everything clicks together like that because it really is truly beautiful.

Ironically, Team Fortress Classic back in the late 90s was perhaps the game that turned me into a hardcore gamer. I was actually part of a clan and had skirmishes with other clans and all that, but more importantly, TFC was when I first started studying a game and learning nuances and strategy. The Dreamcast era was the height of my hardcore-ness since I had tons of time at my disposal to invest into gaming. Even when I worked in the industry as a gaming journalist, I don’t think I was as hardcore since covering quantity of games became the norm rather than quality time with them.

But in the midst of my Team Fortress 2 play session yesterday, I couldn’t help thinking, you know, maybe I still have it in me after all.

Ok, if I had thought Smash Bros. Brawl was the ultimate in fan service, I hadn’t seen anything yet. Monty Oum, creator of the short film Haloid, is back with another cross-game brawl called Dead Fantasy I. No explanation needed, go check it out. The talent of people like this is just mind blowing, and it’s amazing to see how far he has improved since his first film.

(Bonus if you hated Final Fantasy X-2 and would love to see those girls get slapped around a bit).

Nintendo announced today that Sonic the Hedgehog will be joining the likes of Mario, Link, and Solid Snake in Smash Bros. Brawl. The novelty of seeing a Sonic game on a Nintendo console has long worn off, but this is the stuff of fantasy and fanboy dreams. It’ll be utterly surreal to pummel down Mario as Sonic.

There’s always bad news of course. The release might be delayed until 2008…

Wow, Nintendo announced that Sin and Punishment has been released today on the Virtual Console for Wii. S&P is of course the acclaimed Japan-only N64 shooter by one of my favorite developers, Treasure. It’s a game I’ve always wanted to play, but I never got an import N64 so I missed out. I don’t have a Wii, nor do I have any plans to buy one soon, but with this out, Samba de Amigo Wii confirmed, and Smash Bros. Brawl due in December, the Wii is starting to sound mighty appealing…

This was announced a while ago at Tokyo Game Show, but while I’m on the subject of Treasure, the Dreamcast classic Ikaruga will have a Xbox Live Arcade port, and there will be a new Bangai-O game for the Nintendo DS! Good stuff all around from Treasure!

The way my med school curriculum is set up, we have a test every several weeks. It sounds bad, but the silver lining is that the weekend after a test is completely stress free. I took full advantage and was able to finish the Halo 3 single player campaign!

Unfortunately, my time with the game was through a 22″ SD TV and built-in TV speakers, a far cry from the masterful audio/visual combo at home. I’ll have to wait until Christmas break for the true experience, but honestly, all I wanted to do for now was complete the campaign so that I can read messageboards and listen to gaming podcasts without fear.

On a SD TV, the graphics are pleasant but not particularly anything to brag about, so I was able to focus on the gameplay and level design without being distracted by pretty lighting. For the most part, the flow and pacing is Bungie at their finest. There are some seriously awesome set pieces where the music, the environment, and the action sparkle in beautiful harmony. In fact, most of the campaign was great, though I felt the opening was too slow and the penultimate level too annoying and frustrating. Levels 3-7… hoo boy, excellence. I also loved the way Halo 3 ended, with a fantastic homage to the first Halo and a very fitting conclusion to the trilogy.

Now I’m off to check out the rest of the modes in Halo 3. With online multiplayer, online co-op, custom games, Forge, Theater Mode, and total integration with Bungie.net, I’m blown away by how polished and complete this game is. It’s not hard to imagine why there’s all those 10/10 reviews out there when you consider the whole package.

One of the modes I’m most impressed by is how replays of everything I play is saved, from single player levels to online skirmishes. I can share those replays with people or just view them myself from any angle I choose and upload screenshots to Bungie.net.

Here’s one of mine:

A more artsy shot from a member at NeoGAF:

Now I’m off to play some multiplayer! I am a perfect 2/2 so far, winning both Slayer matches I played!

I’m starting to sound like a crazed Halo fanatic with all these posts, but the Halo 3 release next week is the talk of the nation so what can you expect, really? A few ordinary people (i.e. not gaming journalists) already have the game because apparently some stores messed up and started selling it early. Internet users are seeking shelter while killjoys rain spoiler bombs about the plot. Some people have sworn to stay off the Internet until the 25th, fearing that they can’t last a week without being spoiled.

I wish I had that luxury. With my Xbox 360 on the other side of the country, it’ll be Christmas before I can play! I don’t think I can hold out for three months. I… can’t…

Now I know how those Harry Potter fans feel before the release of a new book. Someone might as well spoil me right now to get the misery out of the way.

I’m joking, don’t do that please.

UPDATE: If all goes well, I’ll be playing Halo 3 this weekend! It’ll be without the pleasures of a HDTV or a nice stereo system since all that good stuff is back at home, but I’ll take what I can get.