Quake 4

The next-gen chapter of id's infamous shooter series (built on the DOOM 3 engine) for consoles and PC systems. In the game, you are Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad and Earth's valiant invasion force. Fight alone, with your squad, and in hover tanks and mechanized walkers as you engage in a heroic mission into the heart of the Strogg war machine. But, in this epic war between worlds, the only way to defeat the Strogg is to become one of them. Battle through early missions as a deadly marine, then after your capture as a marine-turned-Strogg with enhanced abilities and the power to turn the tide of the war.


Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games. In this case, id Software supervised the development of the game as well as providing the Doom 3 engine, now referred to as "id Tech 4" and released under the GNU General Public License on 22 November 2011, upon which it was built. Quake 4 went gold in early October 2005 and was released on 18 October 2005 for Microsoft Windows and later for Linux, Xbox 360 and Mac OS X. A special DVD Collectors Edition also exists, including promotional material and the game Quake II with its expansions, The Reckoning and Ground Zero. The Xbox 360 version of Quake 4 is based on the Special Collectors Edition, and therefore also includes Quake II. On 4 August 2011 the game was made available through Steam.


Plotwise, the game is a sequel to Quake II and takes place during the same war as Enemy Territory: Quake Wars. Quake II, Quake 4, or Enemy Territory: Quake Wars do not share story lines with Quake or Quake III Arena; their only relation is their names and logos. Compared to other titles in the Quake series, Quake 4 has an increased emphasis on the single-player portion of the game. A multiplayer mode is available, but it does not involve playable bots like Quake III Arena, without 3rd party modifications.


Multiplayer modes are Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Tourney, Capture the Flag, Arena CTF and DeadZone. Players at QuakeCon reported the multiplayer gameplay to include elements similar to those in previous Quake games such as Strafe-jumping or Rocket jumping. Notable new additions to play are the ability to send shots through the teleporters and the advancement of the game physics provided by the new technology including the ability to bounce grenades and napalm fire off of jump-pads.


Like the previous Quake games the multiplayer has a client-server architecture. The network code has been altered from Doom 3, allowing for larger numbers of players on each server (Doom 3 has a four player restriction, whereas Quake 4has a standard 16 player limit).


One of the changes to the network code is a move from the per-polygon hit detection system used in Doom 3 back to using a hitbox system like most other online first-person shooters such as other Quake games and Half-Life. In the 1.4.x point release, these "axis aligned bounding boxes" were replaced with axis aligned octagonal "cylinder", to make the hit-boxes more representative of the model shape.

Titanfall

Titanfall is an upcoming first-person shooter video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts as an exclusive for Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game was officially announced as Respawn's debut game at Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference, and is scheduled for release on March 11, 2014.

In Titanfall, players fight in online multiplayer-only matches set on a war-torn planet as mech-style Titans and their pilots. Its action is fast-paced, including abilities to run on walls and hijack mechs, and extended periods between player deaths. Respawn describes the game as bringing "scale, verticality, and story" to first-person shooter multiplayer gaming, incorporating elements traditionally used in single-player campaigns. The game uses Microsoft's cloud computing services to offload non-player activity to servers and optimize the home computer for graphical performance.

The game won over 60 awards at its E3 2013 reveal, including a record-breaking six E3 Critics Awards, and Best of Show from several media outlets. It also won official awards at Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show. Many reviewers predicted Titanfall to be the next step for the first-person shooter genre, and IGN's Ryan McCaffrey declared the game "Microsoft's killer app".

Players fight either on foot as free-running "pilots" or inside agile mech-style walkers called "Titans" to complete team-based objectives on a derelict and war-torn planet as either the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) or the Militia. The game is online multiplayer-only, but injects single-player elements such as plot, character chatter, and non-player characters into its matches. Respawn founder Vince Zampella described the game as bringing "scale, verticality, and story" to first-person shooter multiplayer gaming.

Players choose their pilot types and are dropped on the map, beginning the game. A timer displays the time until a Titan can be deployed, which is reduced by killing other players. Once deployed, Titans are protected by a forcefield for about 30 seconds, which protects the player-pilot as well. Pilots are agile and accumulate momentum while running (similar to Tribes), which lets players run on walls and chain together double jumps. There are multiple types of Titans, each with unique abilities and animations. Pilot and Titan controls are identical except where the pilot's double jump becomes the Titan's dash, as Titans cannot jump, crouch, or cover. The mechs are not slow, but their movement is slower than the nimble pilots. Titan game-balancing abilities include the vortex blocker, which stops and returns enemy ammunition in midair, and electrified smoke, which hurts and repels pilots climbing the Titan's back. Player-pilots can eject from Titans that take too much damage, and the Titan replacement timer is reset upon the Titan's death. Games end with a race to the losing team's evacuation dropship.

Respawn has unveiled three Titan classes: the agile Atlas, the ponderous Ogre, and the nimble Stryder.

Turtle Beach Ear Force Z22

Starting from the outside before moving in, the Ear Force Z22 is dressed in a predominantly black design that’s edged with red in the stitching and on the product logo. The headband has a cloth interior and faux-leather exterior, while the rest of the headset is constructed from a plastic that feels a little cheaper than that of the Ear Force Z Seven, but sturdy nonetheless. The microphone is mounted on the left ear cup and the drinking straw style of the boom makes it nice and malleable for adjusting to the right distance from your mouth.

Gamers who insist upon having a surround-sound experience for the purposes of being able to determine exactly where that shotgun fire is coming from might be turned off by the fact that the Ear Force Z22 is stereo sound only, but for a stereo headset it’s at the top of its game with 50mm drivers lending a real kick to the bass and, by extension, to any explosions in the immediate area. We tuned into some music using the Ear Force Z22 as well and found that the experience wasn’t nearly as satisfying as that offered in the nuance and detail that the higher-end headset was capable of, but for casual listening it definitely beats the average set of earphones.

While the sound performance might not be quite as powerful as some of the more high-end headsets, the price compromise doesn’t affect the microphone, which delivers communications in clear quality even during hectic battle, and is perfectly serviceable for recording a basic Let’s Play or for chatting with friends over Skype. The Ear Force Z22 also boasts Turtle Beach’s Dynamic Chat Boost, which raises the volume of chat during intense gameplay (with explosions or gunfire) so that it can be heard more clearly, but we didn’t find this was powerful enough to make communication noticeably more effective.

One area where the Ear Force Z22 really does shine is comfort. The design is lightweight enough that it can be worn for long periods of time without any discomfort, and the fabric ear cups are nicely breathable without noticeably compromising the headset’s noise-cancelling capabilities. Unlike the Ear Force Z Seven the microphone can’t actually be removed from the headset, but it folds up easily and is unobtrusive enough that it won’t make you think twice about using it purely as a headphone set.


The customization options offered by the inline amplifier are limited to a bass and treble boost, volume controls for both chat and game sound and controls to switch the microphone either on or off and to optimize it for recording or for phone call. It’s easy to disconnect from the amp and simply plug the Ear Force Z22′s jack directly into a computer or mobile device, but whereas the Ear Force Z Seven’s ACU occasionally caused driver issues and had trouble connecting, the Ear Force Z22 amp never ran into any kind of technical speedbumps. The three cables involved with connecting the headset to the device via the amp still feel a bit unwieldy, but since by combining two of them into one for much of the length Turtle Beach has made it fairly easy to keep everything in order.

For those who don’t need the extensive customization available in headsets like the Ear Force Z Seven and are just looking for a solid, good quality headset with optimum comfort, we’d definitely recommend the Ear Force Z22. It’s versatile, comfortable, affordable, facilitates some truly immersive audio and feels like a build that will withstand both time and frequent usage.

The Turtle Beach Ear Force Z22 is available now for $80.99

League of Legends

Built using the same principles as the wildly popular Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft III, League of Legends gives each player control of a powerful champion unit in a team-based battle to destroy each other's bases. real-time strategy elements, like AI controlled foot soldiers and turrets, and roleplaying features, like leveling abilities and buying better equipment, provide lots of variety and flexibility. The popularity of this Defense of the Ancients gameplay style seems to be rising with the release of not just League of Legends, but also Demigod and Heroes of Newerth.


With so many options on the market, it can be hard to tell just which of the games is right for you. Whichever way your own personal tastes are leaning, there's a lot to like about League of Legends. The game design is relatively direct but still has a lot of nuance, and the core strategies are basic but still allow for multi-layered tactics. On the downside, the game's official launch status is still a mystery with no clear reason for the abundance or shortage of various features throughout the game.


The highly inventive champions are clearly the best part of the game. The developers have created something like forty different champions you can choose from, from hulking brutes to nimble archers to stealthy assassins. The visual style is very charming, so you'll see mad scientists, giant robots, jesters, little girls with dolls, big-headed mummies all fighting it out with explosive and colorful visual effects. As you defeat enemy AI minions and champions you'll level up and gain access to even more powerful abilities that allow you turn invisible, fire missiles, set glue traps and a host of other options. Heading out into the field of battle with these effects at the ready is an awesom feeling and at higher levels you can really chew through enemy minions and even other champions.


Each champion has his or her own abilities but one of the downsides is that there can seem to be almost too many much to choose from at times. Fortunately, you can filter the champions based on the general characteristics you'd like and even investigate their abilities and read tips for fighting as and against them. Even so, it can be hard to settle on a favorite, much less determine what your opponents are likely to do. Sure, you'll soon learn that Ashe hits at long range and can slow you down, but you'll spend a lot of the early game being surprised by your enemies. Fortunately, there's a less competitive solo practice mode where you can fight against entire teams of bots.


Leveling up your abilities is only half the story. As you kill the AI minions, destroy turrets and slay other champions, you'll also be earning gold that you can use in the item shop. Unlike Defense of the Ancients, there's just one shop here and the items are all laid out in smart groups. So if you know you need mana regeneration, you can just flip to that page and see all the items that confer that ability. Better still, you can see all the combinations at a glance and can even buy finished projects for the full price of all the items it contains. It makes for a much faster way to customize your champion and get right back into the action.

FIFA Soccer 14

In recent years, FIFA has benefitted from big changes. Tactical Defending, Player Impact Engine, First Touch: they all advanced the series by rewriting the fundamentals. But FIFA 14 doesn’t really have a big marquee feature. It feels more like a consolidation than a reinvention – an opportunity to cement what has already been successfully laid down. This year’s changes are smaller, more subtle, but they bring out the very best in in FIFA, which is already a fantastic experience. This time around it's more attacking, more polished, and will keep you coming back throughout the season.

Initially, most of FIFA 14’s innovations appear superficial. The way players move and shoot have both been dramatically improved, and there’s a new level of realism to the animation on the pitch (cutscenes look a bit robotic in comparison). But the longer I played, the more I realised these additions subtly affected how matches played out, and the style in which I played.

Improvements have also been made to shooting. Pulling the trigger now produces a range of different shots – balls dip at the last minute, gradually rise into the top corner, or are thumped low and hard. Combined with the improved ball physics, I found myself scoring types of goals that I never saw in FIFA 13: there are more rebounds, more balls falling marginally over the line, more deflections, more venom. It adds pleasing visual variety, but it’s ultimately determined by factors largely out of your control.

Meanwhile, passing definitely feels like it’s in need of some attention. It’s just not as clean or as precise as it is PES. Playing a cross-field pass should feel more graceful than it currently does and close, one-touch passing should be faster. It’s never really been as central to the style FIFA has tried to recreate, and this year it definitely feels a touch behind its other fundamentals.

My favourite aspect of FIFA 14, though, is unquestionably the improved AI of teammates. When going forward, I always had plenty of options. Players intelligently run into space, demanding the ball played into their feet or down the line. I’ve always been a fan of the lobbed-through ball, and in FIFA 13 I obstinately use it to no great effect. But in FIFA 14 there’s someone there, making the run I always wanted. And I find putting them through just as satisfying as scoring a goal. This intelligence is also present when defending (players don’t get sucked towards the ball so easily), but I definitely found it more useful going forward. Perhaps it’s a consequence of having a more inquisitive forward line, but I experienced more dubious offside decisions than in previous seasons.

NBA 2K14

NBA 2K14 on PS4 and Xbox One practically sells itself. I mean, look at it. Look. At. It. Here is a game whose visuals are so beautifully realistic that you almost have to stop and try it, regardless of how much you like basketball. Not since Fight Night Round 3 in 2006 has a sports game lured me in with its stunning graphics and kept me hooked with rock-solid gameplay the way NBA 2K14 is capable of doing. Only the new set of modes unique to this version of the game, which differ but don’t quite deliver on their full potential, keep next-gen 2K14 from dethroning its cousin.




Laudably, the new 2K14 and its smart AI and NBA-accurate pacing plays almost exactly like the excellent 360 and PS3 version -- complete with this year’s new Assist Pass and improved dribbling controls. That’s a disappointment to anyone hoping for a whole new experience from the new generation of consoles, but it’s hard to complain that it plays like one of the best basketball games ever. I only have a couple of issues. First, the ball behaves like its own physics object now, and seemingly because of that it ends up loose or bouncing off a guy’s back more often than it should in a game about pro ball players. Also, though the players look and feel noticeably more planted to the court and less floaty than we’re used to, I still occasionally caught someone magnetizing over to his nearby assignment.




Though it bears the same name, NBA 2K14 on next-gen is, in fact, a totally different package than the one that released in October for PS3 and Xbox 360. Instead of the LeBron Path to Greatness and Crews, the next-gen version introduces several new modes (and a refreshingly simplified redesign of the menus). Notably, MyCareer has you create a player and take him through a everything from a pre-draft showcase to Draft Night to working your way up from benchwarmer to starter. It’s loaded with fully acted cutscenes and played-up drama, and much of it is laughably cheesy. Neither the dialogue nor the voice acting can ever be taken seriously, and when you get accosted by an angry DeMarcus Cousins (since I was drafted by the Kings) after a game for not getting him the ball, it’s especially jarring when he’s a mute who speaks only in subtitles.

MyGM is a fresh, considered take on the age-old franchise mode. You control everything from roster moves to coaching staff to budget to hot dog and merchandise prices, and you have to keep your owner, coaches, players, fans, and the media happy along the way. It’s deep and gets rather engrossing, though you won’t earn many GM-related unlocks (such as influence in contract negotiations) unless you go in and play the games yourself, which adds a ton of time to a mode that should allow me to focus on the off-court parts of the NBA if I want to.

And Park is an evolution of the Blacktop mode from NBA 2K on 360 and PS3; in this incarnation, up to 100 players on each server can either play or be waiting for the next game in either 2-on-2 halfcourt, three-quarters-court 3-on-3, or full-court 5-on-5, all with custom-created MyCareer hoopsters. The three-on-three is the sweet spot for me, as everyone gets involved enough (including on-mic trash talk) without the streakiness that a 2-on-2 halfcourt match is prone to or the chaos of a 5-on-5 showdown. But it needs more structure; you can’t form crews or leagues, or otherwise conveniently meet up and play together unless you coordinate externally through your console’s Friends list.

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (ライトニング リターンズ ファイナルファンタジーXIII Raitoningu Ritānzu: Fainaru Fantajī Sātīn) is a console action role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Released on November 2013 in Japan and set for release on February 2014 in Europe and North America, the game is a direct sequel to Final Fantasy XIII-2, concludes the storyline of Final Fantasy XIII, and forms part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis subseries. Lightning Returns employs a highly revamped version of the gameplay system from the previous two games, with an action-oriented battle system, the ability to customize the player character's outfits, and a time limit the player must extend by completing story missions and sidequests. The story takes place five hundred years after the previous game's ending; Lightning, the main protagonist of the first game and a key character in the second, awakes from a self-imposed hibernation thirteen days before the world's end, and is given the task of saving the people of the dying world, including former friends and allies.

Development of the game started in early 2012, shortly after the release of XIII-2, and was unveiled at a special 25th Anniversary Event for the Final Fantasy series in September that year. Most of the previous games' key creative minds and developers returned, and it was developed by Square Enix's First Production Department. The development team wanted the game to bring a conclusive end to the story of both Lightning and the XIII universe, and also wanted to address criticisms leveled against the last two games. Lightning Returns built upon the gameplay basics of the previous games, while adding new content such as a more action-based combat system, an open world that players could freely navigate, and a mechanic wherein the game's events took place within a certain period of time.


As Lightning, it is your mission to save souls so they may be brought to a new world. However, with only thirteen days remaining, not everyone can be saved. Armed with all-new weapons, player customization and battle abilities, you are in a race against time to fully understand your destiny. It all ends here.