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Halo Wars everywhere

Cheap update by Shoe

A couple more links for you guys…work I’ve done elsewhere (Crispy Gamer again to the rescue):

Halo Wars preview

Halo Wars interview

If you only have time to read one, read the latter. It was the saddest interview I’ve ever done, talking to smart, talented guys who know their studio’s gone after the game ships…. At least I made them laugh with my last question!

A letter to my former co-workers

By Shoe

It’s come to my attention — according to a couple of my friends and former co-workers — that some of my posts here have implied the integrity over at Ziff Davis Media should come into question now that I’m no longer there. I know I brought up one very specific incident that happened a while back that I wasn’t personally happy about, but I want to make this public apology to that crew if that (and anything else that I have written) turned into a broader paint-strokes sort of thing.

Integrity? Ziff Davis is where I learned it, man. If it weren’t for the company’s rules and policies…and if it weren’t for the guidance of my co-workers there, I wouldn’t be where I am at today. I’ve been vocal about a lot of gaming journalism stuff in the past, but it’s always been on behalf of the outlet I’ve been representing (mainly EGM, of course). Ziff is the one who laid down rules like “can’t accept flights/hotels/gifts/etc.” And Ziff would’ve canned my ass if they knew I accepted exclusives for positive scores or anything like that.

Sure, I’ve added additional rules while I was in charge there…stuff that hit certain gray areas that corporate policies didn’t cover, such as what we do with the free games that we were allowed to keep. But I know those rules are still in effect over there.

I meant it when I wrote here that 1UP.com is one of the sites that I read regularly, and that’s not because I’m friends with the staff…. Honestly, it’s because I trust them as reporters and reviewers. When I’m at Best Buy looking at a game that I forgot that I wanted, I’ll pull out the iPhone and check 1UP for the review. And EGM is literally the only game magazine that I read through now (when I can snag a copy from those guys…I actually haven’t subscribed because I can usually get a free issue from them before it has hit any mailboxes). Like I said on a recent Player One podcast…I really like the work they’ve done at the mag since I left.

I said it before: ZDM has been great to me. That experience I wouldn’t trade for anything (except maybe the chance to beat up the dude who hacked my Xbox Live account). So I feel shitty if my ramblings have somehow dragged their reputations down. I don’t have any other ulterior motive to write this other than to clear that up. It’s a great bunch of guys and girls there who work their asses off every day…people whom I really miss working with.

21 Things I Love About Saints Row 2

By Shoe

Gears of What? Barack O-Who?

Yeah, I know you’re probably thinking about other, bigger things than a game that came out a couple of weeks ago, but last year, Games Radar did this neat little piece called 100 Little Things We Love About GTA IV, and I felt Saints Row 2 deserved the same kinda love. Except maybe not “100 things”-love, because that’s too much for me to write and for you to read at the moment. You know…Gears of What and Barack O-Who….

Even though GTA IV is the technically superior game (better storytelling, better graphics, and very generally speaking, a more stable engine), I actually had more fun with my second visit to Stilwater (though please note that I played 99% of the game in two-player co-op, which probably magnified the experience for me). EGM’s Greg Ford made a good point that I totally agree with: Saints Row 2 feels a lot like GTA: San Andreas, and that’s a most excellent thing.

Now, Saints Row 2 isn’t without its problems. It crashes…a lot (for my girlfriend, too…though Ford didn’t have any problems). The A.I. does stupid things. Things disappear. GPS stops working. And forget rubber-band A.I. during car chases or races — enemy cars are tractor-beamed to your bumpers, driving impossibly (and frustratingly) perfect. The game is a bit of a technical mess…but fun trumps that.

And this series is still the rippiest rip-off of GTA that you’ll ever see, but we covered a lot of that with the first Saints Row. So moving past that, and hopefully with Games Radar’s blessing that I’m basically stealing and working off of their idea, here are 21 little things I love about Saints Row 2, in no particular order:

1. My Radio 85.5, a radio station dedicated to your personalized in-game soundtrack.
   
2. Boss fights designed as videogame-style boss fights (not limited to just dudes with extra health, though that’s there, too). Like a monster-truck demolition derby…or the voodoo witch doctor who can’t be shot until you take out his doll.
   
3. Fell into the drink by accident? Don’t worry about long, painfully slow swims back to land. Just “warp to shore.”
   
4. “Did you change your hair?” Many characters asked me this in the cinemas, and I’m guessing that’s a joke the developers put in because chances are, your main dude or dude-ette looks a lot different than he or she did in the first game with all the new customization options. Brilliant.
   
5. Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me.”
   
6. Seemingly infinitely big garages to store all your cars and aircraft in. I think I had like 30 cars in there toward game’s end.
   
   
7. Listening to your character sing along to A-Ha’s “Take on me”…off-key.
   
8. No need to lose the cops before entering the “Forgive” station to wipe away your wanted level. Less realistic, sure, but less frustrating, too.
   
9. Burnout-style stars and points for near misses, driving in the oncoming-traffic lanes, power slides, etc.
   
10. The Zombie Uprising mini-game.
    
11. Earning GPS shortcuts that you discover on your own.
    
12. Video poker guesses which cards you might want to hold. Sure, that’s cheating a little, but automatically holding that pair of Kings for me saves me a few button presses, handy for getting that “gamble $500,000” achievement.
    
13. Lots of mid-mission checkpoints. Thank you.
    
14. Loading screens show flashbacks of your last story line mission. Helps you remember what happened the last time you played.
    
    
15. Incredible amount of character customization options. My pal Kathleen Sanders ripped up Stilwater with Margaret Cho, while I busted caps with an Ali G lookalike.
    
16. Your customized character is integrated perfectly in the cutscenes. Leads to many hilarious situations if you have the right costumes on.
    
17. A metric shitload of clothing options, thanks to all the clothes stores around the city, including lingerie and costume shops in Stilwater’s giant mall. You can change patterns on shirts, add patches to hats, or dress up like a paintball player, a sexy cat, or a day-glo ninja. It’s up to you.
    
18. A metric shitload of car customization options, too, ranging from functional (nitrous boost) to purely aesthetical. I wish I could show you a screenshot of my tricked-out Michigan-themed, machine-gun-mounted Hummer, complete with yellow interior and windows. Hot stuff.
    
19. Co-op escort missions: One of you drives, one of you is the ho, servicing customers. How scandalous!
    
20. Cruise control. Handy for driving when one hand is busy eating ice cream bars.
    
21. Co-op that keeps track of both players’ progress together and separately. Mercenaries 3 developers, please take note.