May 17, 9:00 am
After watching the 2009 J.J. Abrams version of Star Trek, I couldn’t help but instantly go through my DVD collection and watch all of the previous movies in one sitting and with the help of the internet, get myself a full Spock costume to wear around my apartment or…to wear in public. Watching Quinto and Pine bring Spock and Kirk back to life made my heart skip and I felt an overwhelming sense of realization as to why I’m so obsessed with the series itself. Being a military child and moving frequently in my youth, the one consistent thing my parents kept alive was week nights filled with Tribbles, logic, and Commander Data. Not that I wasn’t into Star Wars, but the insane diversity I saw in the Star Trek series blew my mind and the fact that I could get emotionally involved in each episode did more for me than any Disney movie could ever do.
As I got older I moved my obsession from not only movies and television reruns, to reading books and comics related to the series. Soon after that, I related my infatuation to video games. I’d played a few of the games that were out on XBLA, Wii, and 360, but found myself completely disappointed. I wanted a good console game that would keep me from throwing my controller if I couldn’t save the Kobayashi Maru. I sat with fingers crossed that someday, someone would put together a well-made Star Trek game and that this one would keep me playing for hours.
Soon after the release of the movie, a rumor of a new Star Trek game emerged and a simple trailer was released to keep fans on the edge of their seat. I was one of them. Until now, not much has been said about the game and only until recently, the making of Star Trek II which is set to release in May of 2013. This morning however, my day was brightened with concept art from Paramount Pictures and Namco Bandai. Before I could stop squealing at the pictures I noticed that a new trailer had crawled its way into my media player.
May 16, 8:00 am
A new blog series for all you music lovers and gaming enthusiasts! In this series, I’ll showcase a number of cool bands and songs that I think are perfect for listening to while gaming. We’ll break down musical selections by game genre, type, and I’ll even throw in some of my favorite songs from video game soundtracks. I’ll also do some special features with YOUR gaming music suggestions - so don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you listen to while gaming!
With all the shooters the Frag Doll team has been playing lately, I’ve found that these songs totally get me in the shooting mood!
Song: Unstoppable
I’m a huge fan of the band E.S. Posthumus, and I find that their “epic/classical” sound is perfect for most types of gaming - especially shooters. With third (and first) person shooters, I tend to lean toward instrumental songs with heavy bass, guitars, and drums, and the song “Unstoppable” hits the spot! Give the song a try - it starts getting good at 0:43 and takes off at 2:02!
Song: Here Comes The Reign
The evolution of the band E.S. Posthumus is Les Friction, and “Here Comes The Reign” is a great piece to game to. Shooters instantly feel more intense and badass when I put this song on. Although I try to avoid playing songs with lyrics (since I can get easily distracted from the game by trying to decipher what the singer is saying), this song has just the right amount of voice and instrumental parts. The gradual build of the song fits great with most shooters, and I can’t help but put the song on repeat.
Don’t worry folks, I have plenty of music that I’ll be sharing with you in the near future! Check back for regular music updates, leave a comment with your favorite songs to game to, and I’ll give you a shout out!
Love and Peace,
Sabre FD
May 15, 9:00 am
Well the Super Hero movie of all Super Hero movies finally came out this past week. Yep, I’m totally talking about “The Avengers!” With all of the hype and the continuous teasing with the additional clips at the end of each movie such as Iron Man, Captain America, and The Hulk. This amazing movie that has got everyone talking finally came out and lived up to the buildup.
I was lucky enough to get a movie ticket after it had been sold out for the whole weekend at the Cinetopia Living Room Theatre. For all of you 21 and ups out there, I definitely recommend going to one of these theaters. It’s a dining experience and wine or beer Vinetopia all in one while you relax and wait for the movie to start. Anyways, getting a seat to see the movie was the hard part but luckily I was able to purchase my ticket a few days prior.
With the anticipation of getting to see this movie and hearing all the praise from this movie, I can definitely tell you that the juice was worth the squeeze. I mean Wow! If you like action and lots of great humor you will really enjoy this one. I’d have to say this is the best one yet of the Super Hero movies by far.
Of all the characters: Thor, Iron Man, Captain America and the Hulk, I was really worried of how the Hulk was going to be in this one. Because in my opinion the Hulk was lame in all the other recent Hulk movies that have been made. Eric Bana and Edward Norton just didn’t cut it for the character of the Hulk to me. But then came this guy…Mark Ruffalo, he totally stole the show. He was absolutely great! He had humor and the awesome thing was…when he was in his Bruce Banner human form, he was so calm and relaxed. Mark Ruffalo you are definitely my favorite Hulk character! Not only that, but it was awesome to show that everyone was terrified of the Hulk being unleashed, even the other super heroes. Just brilliant!
In conclusion, I feel if you don’t go see the Avengers then you are definitely missing out on a movie that has it all: Comedy, suspense, action, drama and a whole lot of butt whooping.
May 14, 9:00 am
I’m a sucker for HD remakes. While it’s nice to see a game revamped and redone completely, sometimes they’re best staying just the way they were originally – with a fresh coat of paint. Some prime examples of incredible HD remakes are Perfect Dark, the Jak and Daxter Trilogy, and Beyond Good and Evil HD. Same great gameplay, but more visually appealing.
Furthermore, there are many titles out there I dream of seeing remade in HD, while still having the general gameplay untouched. These solid titles need not be changed, and I miss them so very dearly.
Kingdom Hearts
The first two Kingdom Hearts games hold a special place in my… heart (cheesy, I know). These action-rpg titles had some of the most memorable cast of characters I’ve ever seen in any game, and this includes some of the new original characters as well. Of course having some of the Final Fantasy and Disney cast make appearance really helped feed into that, but even the three main original characters: Sora, Riku, and Kairi, were so unforgettable. Let’s not forget the gameplay, though. Kingdom Hearts 2 had some of the most difficult battles I will not forget (Sephiroth, anyone?). They really nailed it with the characters, story, environments, and good ol’ challenging gameplay.
Tales of Symphonia/ Abyss
I have some very fond memories of Tales of Symphonia and Tales of the Abyss. Like I mentioned about Kingdom Hearts, these games had some memorable characters I don’t think I could ever forget, and the gameplay was very thrilling, especially when played with a friend. Good RPGs are hard to come by, and I would love to get my fix by playing these games again in HD goodness.
Timesplitters
I was a huge fan of the Timesplitters series back in the day, and I cannot even imagine the excitement that would run through me if these titles ever received HD remakes. Particularly, Timesplitters 3 was fulfilling in the fact that you could shoot heads off, but at the same time, this game had some of the best humor I have ever seen in a game. The multiplayer was also fantastic, especially for its time (even though monkeys had the advantage for the most part, apart from ducks on the snow level). I would love to see this title come back in HD, with the multiplayer included. Timeplitters will always be one of my favorite shooters.
Maybe one day we will see some, or all (wishful thinking), of these titles come back to our television screens in HD glory. What are some games you would like to see remade in HD?
May 11, 9:00 am
Join us this Saturday, May 12th at 4PM Pacific at the Frag Dolls' Twitch TV channel for Dolls n' Devs featuring Ghost Recon Future Soldier.
We'll be showcasing never before seen multiplayer maps and co-op campaign gameplay you won't want to miss. During the show, Spectra and Sabre will be chatting with Tommy Jacob, the Creative Director on Future Soldier's multiplayer, and together they will cover Ghost Technology, the various classes, Gunsmith, the campaign, and more.
Facing off against the Dolls in multiplayer will be Dan, Jack Carr, David Self, Michael, and Evan with Geoff Brock, and Shawn Ishihara to fill in due to ego injuries. ;]
Tommy Jacob
Creative Director
Tommy Jacob is the Creative Director on Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Future Soldier’s multiplayer at Red Storm Entertainment. He started his career in games in 2001 as an artist building and texturing an array of 3D content. After 3.5 years he moved into an Art Lead position working on Loose Cannon and Rainbow Six: Lockdown before becoming the Art Manager in early 2005. After a little over 1.5 years as Art Manager he went to EA where he worked as a Development Director for 3 years in Concept and Discovery on a wide range of projects. In 2009 he came back to Red Storm to work on New IP with Ubisoft before becoming the Creative Director on GRFS’s multiplayer where he has spent the last 2 years.
Dan
Environment Artist
Jack Carr
Level Designer
David Self
Senior Art Director
Michael
QC Tester
Evan
Lead Level Designer
Geoff Brock
Multiplayer Community Developer
Shawn Ishihara
Oh, and, don't worry - as usual, we're ready to hook our viewers up with some awesome swag!
Up for grabs are bundles of Gunnar glasses complete with Ghost Recon Future Soldier sockets and cases. Gunnar will also be in your closet with their "I <3 My Eyes" shirts we'll be giving away, too!
Also, what more appropriate Future Soldier swag to give away than FUTURE DLC? That's right. Three lucky winners from the stream will be chosen to receive the first GRFS downloadable content upon release!
