• 26Sep 09

  online "special" co-op modes are the latest greatest trend in FPS

  We've all talked about it for years, wishing we could team up with other human players againist wave after wave of AI enemies. Well over the past few yearsour wishes have been answered. Im sure its been around longer than that but its finally mainstream because these co-op modes are in popular high rated games.Below is a list of the most recent popular games which incorporated such modes, some of which ive played, some i havent.

  1) COD:WAW with its NAZI ZOMBIE mode, which granted at first was just a slapped on bonus feature that quickly (due to popular demand) got expanded upon over 3 map packs;andwith eachnew NZ mapadding something new and fun and "addictive". Its such a blast to play that people want a full fleged game dedicated to NZ, and it has even put up some decent competition againist L4D; a full fleged game already.

  pros: has matchmaking sys as well as friend invites, game never ends till you lose, plenty of weapons and tools to kill your zombies, gets harder the longer you play, can be played solo.

  cons: only 4 maps so far, 3 of which must be bought for 800 points each($10 US), for those who just want the NZ maps and not the muli player maps, tough luck, theres no option yet to seperate NZ from the map packs and price them at 200 points each.

  2)While I myself have yet to play Gears of war 2 or the Horde Mode, its the same idea. You and a groups of 3 others fight waves of increasingly tougher foes. Since i havent played it i wont give a pro/con but its relevance in this blog is still valid.People like it, it has matchmaking, leaderboards etc.

  3)halo3:ODST and its firefight mode, brand spanking new game that joins the club. Firefight is addictive and everything you want from a halo game: constant action and omg holy **** moments. with all the chaos around you its easy to love this mode. However there are some cons which i believe cripple this mode and hopefully its patched soon(listed below).The mode puts you and 3 otherplayers(noticing the trend here?) againist a ton of enemies divided up into waves, rounds, and sets. 5 waves per round, 3 rounds per set, 3+ sets. With each round a skull is turned on further increasing the difficulty(and yes these skulls stack).

  pros: in your face action that never stops(remembers 3 brutes with hammers chasing me), alot of maps to choose from, can inivte your friends, can be played solo.

  cons: No matchmaking!! which means if your firends are not online your SOL....

  3)COD: MW2 (coming soon) and its co-op mode dubbed special ops. This game will break the trend by only letting you player with up to 2 players max(and its designed to let you win, as opposed to just fight till you die), but the scenarios are designed for this so im sure its not a big deal. Expect plenty of Oh Crap! moments in crazy situations that didnt make the final cut for the campaign. # of maps is unkown but 3+confirmed. There wont be any custom kits here, your stuck with the gear they give you. Earn stars by completing each map on a certain difficulty, veteran get you 3 stars, hardened 2, normal 1. You start with 3-4 maps and you'll need to earn 14 stars to unlock additional scenarios to play (and thats just the first set of maps, probably more sets to unlock). Hopefully it will have a matchmaking sys because this look very promising.

  Key componentsfor a successfulonline co-op mode:

  1)addictive, challenging, replayable gameplay

  2)Matchmaking sys so your never alone, friend invites and the ability to play solo

  3)3-4 maps minimum, the more the better

  4)leaderboards to show off your score/stats

  5)(optional) replay sys to watch your game from different angles, etc

  6)I dont want just 3 ways to kill my enemies, give me 20 ways to slaughter them, I want mas weapons baby!

  I can see this becoming a staple in FPS games as well as other genres, and about time too.

  • Posted Sep 26, 2009 2:22 pm PT
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• 7Mar 07

  my sigs(personal notes to myself), no comments/reading please

  1. "Two men walk into a bar. The first man orders a scotch and soda. The second man remembers something he'd forgotten, and it doubles him over with pain. He falls to the floor shaking and then through the floor and into the Earth. He looks back up at the first man, but he doesn't call out to him. They're not that close." Wesely from Angel

  2. "come home with this shield or upon it." -a spartan mother equips her son

  3. "spartans do not ask how many, but where they are." -?

  4. Spartans MIA: Sam, spartan 001- last seen onboard on covenant ship before it blew. Holly, spartanG003- defending spartan kelly from a hunter on planet onyx. Will, spartan 043-fighting 2 hunters in hand to hand combat. Kurt, spartan 051/lieutenant commander kurtAmbrose-destroyed a covenant army on onyx with 2 nukes. Spartans dont die.

  5. "you want peace, prepare for war."

  6. true story: german soldierLt. Eberhard von Loebbecke stood ona secured bridge on the don river when a russian T-34 appear on the road ahead of him.the Lt. who had lost hisarm by a frence machingunner in france stood upright before the T-34. The russian tank fires a round at him, and and itticked his empty sleeve and explodeds a few yards behind him. he's knocked to the ground but imeadialty bounces back up on his feet to direct return fire. In their open turret, the Soviet crew stared in amazment at the man who had apparently lost his arm to the shell and yet bounced up off the ground without any discomfort. While they hesitated, a German AT gun put a found into the T-34, and it blew in front of Loebbeckes eyes. -page 193-194 in the book enemy at the gates the battle for stalingrad.

  • Posted Mar 7, 2007 9:34 pm PT
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• 7Jul 06

  battlefield 2 weapon unlock info

  this is just a note to myself to find this web page again in the future, it contains BF 2 and BF 2 SF weapon unlocks:

  http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=10994

  • Posted Jul 7, 2006 12:08 pm PT
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