Hard Reset Available for PC
Game Developer: Flying Wild Hog
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Official website: hardresetgame.com
Review summary: Hard Reset is gorgeous, fast paced, and fun to play. Controlling Major Fletcher through the 25th century city, Bezoar and destroying many robots along the way is thrilling. Upgrading your two weapons and your skills along the way keeps the game fresh through the 3-5 hour campaign. Flying Wild Hog definitely has a bright future ahead, but Hard Reset still leaves something to be desired. The thirty dollar price tag is steep, except for those who crave old school FPS action.
Game rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
If you have always wished for a more realistic military shooter, the Arma series is for you. For over ten years, Bohemia Interactive has been improving on the formula they started with the original Operation Flashpoint. Today they have announced that the third game in their Arma series is coming to PC next summer. With a tagline of “Survive, Adapt, Win,” Arma III will keep fans hooked throughout a new single-player campaign and tons of multiplayer modes that have given the series great fame within the PC community.
Developed using Bohemia Interactive’s new and improved Real Virtuality engine, Arma 3 will include even more customization and mod ability than any previous iteration. Dedicated servers for both Windows and Linux will also be included in the package, making it available to an even wider audience. Creative Director Ivan Buchta had this to say about the announcement, “Our ambition is not only to deliver the next generation of Arma with the improved engine, but also to fully exploit the potential of our new technology in the gameplay. You can look forward to the unique experience of blending sandbox-style combat with a rich story.”
The latest addition to Gameloft’s N.O.V.A. first-person shooter game series isn’t on the iPhone or iPad, where it originated, but on Facebook. N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance: Elite is a first for Gameloft, in delivering a 3D FPS on the Facebook platform. N.O.V.A. Elite was specifically developed for the social platform. The multiplayer FPS pits Facebook users against each other, as well as offers players to recruit their friends. N.O.V.A. Elite is free to play, but Facebook credits must be purchased to play some maps or get item upgrades such as weapons and armor.
“For over 10 years, Gameloft has established itself as the leading developer on all mass-market platforms for downloadable video games,” said Michel Guillemot, President of Gameloft. “With this in mind, we’ve expanded our reach to include games for social networks. This also illustrates our resolve to be closer to our fans on all platforms of their choosing.”
Make sure you have the Unity Web Player before attempting to play N. O. V. A. Elite (get it here). Once installed, head to apps.facebook.com/novafps to jump in and play. See more details on N.O.V.A. Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance: Elitehere on Gameloft.com for a Tutorial, FAQ and support.
Gameloft’s sci-fi first-person shooter returns with Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance 2 (N.O.V.A. 2). It is the iOS Halo-inspired FPS, now available for $6.99 on the iPhone and iPod touch (here on the App Store). N.O.V.A. 2 offers both single-player and multiplayer gameplay, along with new vehicles, weapons and perks.
Features of N.O.V.A. 2, as noted by Gameloft:
- Epic single-player campaign divided into 12 chapters taking you through hostile, yet amazing environments of various Orbitals.
- Varied intense, action-packed missions: run, shoot, fall, drive motorbikes, pilot a giant mech.
- Enter up to 10-player battles in 5 multiplayer modes over 10 maps.
- Build your career through the ranking & Perk systems.
- A dozen weapons including new and updated ones, plus special powers such as Freeze, Slow Time and Melee Disc
- If you have played the first episode, get rewarded with bonus XP and a special achievement
SEGA and High Voltage Software have been behind the Wii since launch. One big game that was released in 2009 for the Wii was The Conduit, a sci-fi first person shooter set in Washington DC. Although it was received with mixed reviews, it sold enough at retail for SEGA to green light a sequel. Now, coming early next year, we have Conduit 2. I was able to get my hands on the game on the show floor and talked with Eric Nofsinger, the COO of High Voltage Software, about what has changed – and there are tons of changes.
First off, one of the biggest complaints that Eric talked about was the setting and environments. They were not unique enough. In Conduit 2, you will be traveling all over the world, keeping everything fresh and interesting to look at while playing. Also, the levels are no longer linear. You will have objectives that bring you around to various parts of the more diverse levels and even backtracking to places you already have been. This was apparent in the demo as I was traversing through a oil rig, up, down, left and right to diffuse some bombs. I found this interesting because it is something that most shooters in the market currently just have you running down corridors. Even the nice-looking boss battle that I encountered had less linear objectives to beat. Eric also stressed that these levels will have more than a couple objectives to complete, allowing you to become acclimated to the design of each environment.
One of the best parts of The Conduit were the controls and the player’s ability to customize them. They are back with even more ways to customize, giving any FPS fan a way to play how they want. From my time with Conduit 2 (I did not play the first) I can confirm that the controls are intuitive. I was getting so into the game during my demo that it felt natural by the time I killed the boss. Learning a completely different control scheme in that short of a time is a testament to the amount of research and testing that is done at High Voltage Software.
Without playing the first game, I am not an expert on the series, but Conduit 2 looks like a solid sequel. While not having the graphical fidelity of the HD consoles, High Voltage Software is capitalizing on the Wii market with supreme amounts of customization. During my talk with Eric Nofsinger, they have listened to all the reviews and criticisms and tried to create a game that is everything people liked about the first game and more. The team behind the game at High Voltage Software knows the Wii system very well and Conduit 2 looks like an improvement at every level.
Gameloft’s sci-fi first-person shooter returns with Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance 2 (N.O.V.A. 2). It is the iOS Halo-inspired FPS, now available for $6.99 on the iPhone and iPod touch (
One of the best parts of The Conduit were the controls and the player’s ability to customize them. They are back with even more ways to customize, giving any FPS fan a way to play how they want. From my time with Conduit 2 (I did not play the first) I can confirm that the controls are intuitive. I was getting so into the game during my demo that it felt natural by the time I killed the boss. Learning a completely different control scheme in that short of a time is a testament to the amount of research and testing that is done at High Voltage Software.
