#Psi ops the mindgate conspiracy mods

[angellascl]

Psi ops the mindgate conspiracy mods

It's like piloting a ship in Elite with a mate, one of you flying and the other on turrets, but you're some dude. I controlled most of his body, so I was moving and aiming, while my buddy could shoot and use psychic powers-which is some serious bullshit, since they're the best bits. Instead of letting us play as two psychic special agents, we were playing one. When I tried Psi-Ops in co-op for the first time, I was convinced that something had gone terribly wrong. Fraser Brown: Psi-Ops - The Mindgate Conspiracy I never stopped feeling a little annoyed at the "forced" multiplayer, but long after my Galactic Readiness was maxed out, I was still playing. (But also incredibly lucrative, so as Michael Ironside once said, everyone fights, no one quits.) The shooting was aces (say what you will about Mass Effect 3, but it had the combat side of the game nailed), the integrated missions, small levels, and collective rewards ensured that players actually worked together, and at the higher difficulty levels the extractions could be incredibly hairy. Mass Effect's different classes and races were supported, so players could take it on in whatever style struck their fancy. The different Firebase maps were big and varied enough to be interesting and tactical, but small and interconnected enough to be manageable, even for newcomers. After surviving ten waves, teams would have to move to an extraction zone and hold out until retrieval. Strictly co-op, it put four players up against increasingly difficult waves of enemies from various Mass Effect factions, with special objectives popping up here and there throughout. And I'm glad I did, because it was a blast. But I was also determined to crank my Galactic Readiness to the max, so in I went. I don't begrudge people playing online however they want, but I'm all about the singleplayer and had zero interest in sharing my intergalactic adventures with the great unwashed. I was really unhappy when I learned that Mass Effect 3 would have a semi-mandatory multiplayer mode. The whole thing was framed as a prequel for the first BioShock, grounded in an idea that had taken hold in Team Fortress 2 and many games that followed: yes, you can and should put story into a multiplayer FPS. The multiplayer lobby itself was a Rapture apartment, and your character would receive new, unique messages on their answering machine. BioShock 2 characters' appearance was tied to their progression-as they leveled up, they'd look more and more like a mutated Splicer, a reflection of their abuse of ADAM. Each had their own backstory, melee weapon, and loads of custom, situation-specific dialogue that you'd hear during matches (Mlle Blanche de Glace, a French actress, might say "So strange on this side of the camera," when using the Research Camera to earn a damage buff against an enemy). You played as one of 10 unique characters living in Rapture at the outset of the civil war. "The winning team is decided by who has the greater number of Little Sisters captured." Ah, the pastime of playing football with mutant drug children.īioShock 2 fully embraced the awkwardness of turning its intricate story and setting into a deathmatch. "The goal is to bring the Little Sister to the designated Little Sister Vent as many times as possible before the time limit runs out, and then to prevent the enemy team from doing the same," the BioShock wiki reminds us. Publishers wanted to protect against people selling their Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 copies back to GameStop after completing the campaign. Voila, BioShock 2: Capture the Sister. Coming out in 2010, BioShock 2 found itself in the middle of a strange era where every singleplayer game, no matter how literary, had to have a multiplayer mode.

[omniversalobservations]

VG Unity: Stand and Choose (2004)

MTV: Music Television today announced the release of "Stand and Choose," a non-partisan, animated music video created in cooperation with 12 major computer and video game publishers and featuring more than 50 video game characters encouraging young people to vote in the upcoming Presidential election. The music video will premiere on MTV's TRL and mtvU (MTV's college network), as part of MTV's larger "Choose or Lose: 20 Million LOUD" campaign, on Wednesday, October 6th. The video will also go into rotation on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, MTV.com, Spike TV, and The N, as well as MTV's video on demand on Comcast and wireless platforms. "Choose or Lose: 20 Million LOUD" aims to get 20 million young people aged 18-30 to vote this November.

From October 6th through 11th, VG Unity can be seen online exclusively at the PRElection on the Choose or Lose section of mtv.com. The PRElection, a national online election for young people to learn about and choose between Senator Kerry and President Bush, helps participants register to vote in the real presidential election through a specially-developed dual registration system.

VG Unity represents a unique effort among some of the industry's major game publishers to encourage political engagement. "Stand and Choose" was written and produced by acclaimed producer Ross Robinson who has worked with such artists as Limp Bizkit, Korn, and most recently The Cure. The music video was produced and directed by Tony Shiff, who also produces "Video Mods" for MTV2. "Stand and Choose" features some of the most popular video game characters, including the stars of The Sims, BloodRayne, Mortal Kombat, SSX3, Leisure Suit Larry, Sonic Heroes, SpongeBob SquarePants, Outlaw Golf 2, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, Unreal(R) Tournament 2004, DRIV3R(TM), Splinter Cell, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy, and many more.

"The 'Stand and Choose' video is a unique piece of our ongoing 'Choose or Lose' campaign," said Ian Rowe, VP of Strategic Partnerships & Public Affairs at MTV. "Video games are a great way to connect with our audience, and we're happy to have the cooperation of major video game publishers in raising awareness of the importance of voting and getting involved."

"Video games and MTV are both enormously popular with young adults of both genders, so using video game characters to encourage voting among this age group is a natural fit," said Douglas Lowenstein, president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the trade association representing U.S. publishers of computer and video games. "'Stand and Choose' is a creative, non-partisan way to reach the generation that has grown up both wanting their MTV and playing computer and video games."

Bruno Bonnell, Chairman and CEO of Atari, Inc., who inspired the concept of this project by suggesting to MTV that the companies join forces for a public affairs initiative, commented, "We are excited to be a part of such an amazing music video. As an industry, we have a special relationship with young adults. VG Unity combines our reach with that of MTV, creating a unique opportunity to motivate the young adult audience to take action."

Source: Business Wire

(images via YouTube)

[brothermouzongaming]

Control review

I have been looking forward to Control for a while now, it was a very mysterious game before the non-existent marketing campaign. So going in blind was a great experience that is pretty rare these days in gaming. I’m gonna break Control down into its essential parts and talk about my view of them. Spoilers lie ahead.

The Good

The voice acting is pretty well done across the cast, the main character Jesse is especially well-acted (though not well written, more on that later). The setting of the Oldest House drips with atmosphere and a sense of eerie familiarity that comes with being in an office building. Only this office, though appearing to be a skyscraper in Manhattan, has layers and moving hallways as well as much more lurking in its depths. The Metroidvania style of learning abilities to access new areas really does a great job of shining in this context.

Some of these side-missions are some of the best I’ve played this year. I thought the fridge was just a “Weeping Angel” kind of thing where you died if you didn’t look at it (there’s a cool touch in that room that I like). Upon taking the side mission though it’s short and simple it did a great job of subverting my expectation and throwing an unexpected boss fight at you. The Mold Monster, The Anchor, all interesting side quests that do a great job of supplementing the experience. 

When things do smooth out, combat is hot shit like it’s Chronicle the game. The debris and destruction effects are everything you’ve heard and really give that feel of next-gen that some games really could use. Ever play Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (2004)? It’s that turned up to fucking twenty.

The lore is some of the best I’ve come across, I actually sat down and read as much as I possibly could. Yes, some people don’t like how it can break up gameplay but I saw it as a chance to dive deeper and actually understand what little I can before continuing. The redacted information is a great touch and I do get the sense that the reader is meant to fill in the blanks. That said, it can be a real middle finger at times when all you want is answers.

The mod system on the surface is a good idea, I have to give them points for at least trying. Some mods are so good you get them and it is instantly slotted. One that drops from a secret objective grants you 100% ammo reduction on hit. Excuse me while I boot up the game to go get that real quick yeahthanks. 

Little cute cosmetic things like outfits come from...wait for it...playing the game!! WAAAAT

The Bad

The mod system, though having its gems, is mostly dirty lumps of Black Rock. So many, and I mean so many mods are going to be deleted for scrap to help upgrade your gun or the mods you can get a chance to randomly drop. 

What the hell is The City, it’s capitalized in the subtitles and many lore entries and there was not so much as a reference or explanation or anything. In addition, a lot of the redacted documents still draw me in but it is frustrating when so much is left out in a world that already begs so many questions. Would it have killed the writers for a little clarity?

As satisfying as the side missions can be, there are a number of them that boil down to straight-up bitch missions. Kill x amount of enemies here, destroy x things there, all this in a game where I can fly and shoot a sentient gun and throw shit with my mind. Ya couldn’t come up with anything else?

The Metroidvania element is a great idea, but it isn’t implemented quite as well as I would’ve liked. It’s just a little grating when more often than not it’s not a lack of an ability but the number on your access card not being high enough. Lame.

The ending is a little insulting, the fake-out got me so mad I actually said out loud “Oh well at least the real ending won’t upset me like that.” Wrong, wow holy fuck was I wrong. The final fight is another gauntlet, shocker, and it’s not even really all that difficult because The Board supposedly...buffs your strength? That is never really explained either. Cool. You beat the same enemies you’ve been kicking around for hours now only to find Dylan suspended in air, you purify him or whatever. Roll credits. Go fuck yourself. Regardless of whether or not DLC is coming and there is, that ending is pathetic on so many levels after a game I spent around 15 hours being pretty impressed by. 

The Ugly

What’s ugly about Control nears unforgivable. I mean it, if you’re sensitive to performance issues to the point where things can chug to a near halt: then just wait and keep your ear to the ground for patch notes and updates for when things get fixed. For the record, I distinctly remember playing New Vegas on my 360 and the absolute shit show that was. So I do believe that experience gave me the strength to persevere through it. Beefy PCs will be fine as well as Xbox One X, but base systems and even in some cases with the PS4 Pro really need some attention when it comes to hotfixes**. Combat will kick off and get heated, only for frames to drop as low as the tens and single digits according to Digital Foundry. On top of it all, it would be one thing if it was momentary and fleeting but essentially from the first moment of gameplay; it’s guaranteed to get worse as your powers grow and destruction becomes more and more prevalent. 

No new game plus, and level selecting after completion overwrites your save file and did I mention there’s only one save file? Remedy... you know its 2019 right? I feel like that was a no brainer.

As fun as the combat loop is, how did we not get the full selection of gun forms or at least more than two? Too often am I pausing to switch out a form when I should be able to hold three forms to at least mitigate how many times I’m going into the menu. On top of that, combat scenarios are just gauntlets and there aren’t much varying in situations outside of taking advantage of the different architecture The Oldest House has. It’s just wave after wave with nothing really different between them. 

In summation...

Control is fun, intriguing and (most of the time) absolutely gorgeous. It’s very clear that Control is the culmination of both Alan Wake and Quantum Break. To me, it is the best parts of both with Alan Wake’s aesthetic and tone with the high octane Quantum Break action. If that sounds like your kind of thing, I say its worth it, maybe wait until a sale comes around or when they do whatever they need to ease the performance issues. This is a single-player game that offers an interesting experience that may not be backed up by story but is held up by lore and environments that really shine in modern gaming. Yes, it's SCP the game but in a lot of ways, it isn’t.

I give Control a 7.5/10 with performance issues on launch being one of the biggest detractors. I’d rate it a little higher now that a lot of the issues have been patched but I believe games need to be reviewed on the state they shipped in. 

**On September 4th it was reported that the team is focussed on performance issues for consoles in addition to the two expansions titles “Foundation” and “AWE” as well as non-narrative content.