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RILEY MASON

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FEATURED POST

Does the 360 have an edge over the PS3 in the final stretch?

The Xbox 360 seems to have an ace up its sleeve for this unusually long console life cycle... and it hasn't even been used yet.

Saturday, September 25, 2010 | Comments (3)

POST BY THIS AUTHOR (4)

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Reach for the Stars

My take on the future of Bungie and Reach.

Sunday, August 15, 2010 | Comments (1)

Things Infinity Ward MUST do for Modern Warfare 3.

What needs to happen to make Call of Duty relevant to serious gamers?

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | Comments (4)

Why I'm excited for Kinect.

Here's why I'm excited for Kinect, and maybe why you should be too.

Monday, June 28, 2010 | Comments (3)

COMMENTS BY THIS AUTHOR (47)

On Jeremy Yowell's Why Black Ops is not Modern Warfare 2.5

"Hopefully after this comes out Treyarch will use that giant dev team they have to use a new engine for their next COD game. These games are still running on the engine that powered Quake 3. Seriously the games look fine, but I can't help wondering how they could benefit from not having to deal with all that old tech. I'm really not interested in COD anymore until they show me something new. I'll probably rent it to play the campaign to see how much all the Hollywood outsourcing they got enhances the story, but I'm perfectly happy with Reach until I see what's next from Bungie or Respawn or what have you."

Sunday, October 17, 2010

On Dan "Shoe" Hsu's 15 Games in 15 Minutes

"Order Irrelevant:

1. Super Mario World

2. Mario 64

3. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

4. Bioshock

5. Halo: CE

6. Halo 2

7. Mass Effect

8. Mass Effect 2

9. KOTOR

10. Half Life

11. Half Life 2

12. Civilization III

13. Jet Set Radio Future

14. Rez

15. Gears of War"

Sunday, October 17, 2010

On Thilina Bandara's Halo: Reach: Campaign Review

"I think the campaign is much more enjoyable to people who have read the books. Simply getting to see Dr. Halsey is one of my favorite things about Reach because she is easily the most interesting character in the Halo Universe."

Monday, October 11, 2010

On Thilina Bandara's Halo: Reach: Campaign Review

"I loved Reach and am still loving multiplayer. My only problem regarding the campaign was the whole ending before the credits was paced horribly. They gave you your mission and said "get X here at all costs" and then made you fight through a ton of encounters. I was all geared up for super-tense escape mission like Halo CE and Halo 3 ( which I wouldn't have minded by the way), but instead I had to grind through several firefights and a pretty weak MAC cannon sequence. I must admit that if the after-credits ending hadn't been as amazing as it was I would probably have been severely let down.

All of that said, I think Bungie did well by their fans and pushed the franchise in interesting directions. I actually had an idea for an ending Bungie could have done that actually would have fit the cannon as well as Halo Reach's story better. Perhaps I'll write something about it."

Monday, October 11, 2010

On Riley Mason's Does the 360 have an edge over the PS3 in the final stretch?

"It simply wasn't supported in previous versions of DirectX, and they only came up with the method in the last year or so. From what I've read nobody has used it yet although it's likely someone like id or crytek would be using this in either Rage or Crysis 2. When I look at how rounded all of the robot designs are in Portal 2 it makes me think that they're using tesselation, but I can't be sure."

Sunday, September 26, 2010

On Errol Burke-Horner's Why Mass Effect Should Remain a Microsoft Exclusive

"I certainly don't mind Bioware getting more money for their masterpiece of a game. They deserve it. I'm a 360 owner by the way. I've decided over the last year or so that I'd much rather be a developer fanboy than a corporation fanboy. It seems to be working pretty well for me so far..."

Saturday, September 25, 2010

On Mitch Dyer's Why Halo: Reach Is the Most Disappointing Game of the Year

"@john doe Sorry but everything in your comment just makes you sound like you don't know what you're talking about. I don't mean to be rude; but firstly, Bungie never promised The Fall of Reach in video game form. If you really wanted them to do that then we wouldn't have gotten a multiplayer/ forge world or firefight component at all. Second of all there is a reason this is Bungie's last Halo game. They don't want to make the same game again that's why they're with Activision now. I'm happy to eat the same thing over and over when it's as delicious as Bungie's epic multiplayer suite and engaging malevolent AI-fueled encounters. Especially since there is literally nothing better on the market. Reach takes the series to new heights, and manages to mix things up a little bit (armor abilities, space combat) while still paying homage to the games that have defined console shooters for the last ten years. That's why I love it and it's why I have no need to buy another game at least until next year. "

Friday, September 24, 2010

On Rus McLaughlin's Loving/Hating Halo: Reach's New Controls

"Most people never even used the default controls in Halo 3. That said Reach's controls are a marked improvement over anything in the series. Also, you may be missing because you don't get as much of a lunge with melees in Reach. I mean either way it takes like two hours tops to acclimate yourself to new controls. I don't see how this is that big of a deal."

Friday, September 24, 2010

On Mitch Dyer's Why Halo: Reach Is the Most Disappointing Game of the Year

"I've read all the books a couple times and I didn't have any problem with the story. The only thing I could think of is why the PoA is on the planet as I recall it being in orbit for the duration of the battle (not sure about that). I think the style of story they chose kind of ham-stringed them into having pretty shallow characters. After all it wouldn't really make sense for this "best of the best" strike team to talk about their feelings in the middle of a desperate attempt to defend the human race's stronghold. I think that would have broken cannon more than anything they did with weapons or whatever problems you had with it. You'd have to do some non-wartime gameplay in order to develop the type of characters you're talking about. I think the story was engaging and fun and getting to see Halsey and other old friends was a treat. I thought Jorge's final act was really cool as well as Carter's. I think there are a lot of memorable moments in the campaign, and I wouldn't change a thing about it."

Friday, September 24, 2010

On Dennis Scimeca's If Nobody Can Agree on Review Scores, Why Have Them at All?

"I stopped reading reviews about a year ago. I now listen to about 10 podcasts a week while i'm doing busywork or going to sleep, so that's how I get my opinions about games and such. I highly recommend this because you don't have to deal with numbers BS, it's just the reviewer telling you what they think about the game. I've definitely become more open about the games I play since doing so. If I hear Dan, or Garnett Lee, or Jeff Gerstmann raving about something I'm much more likely to check it out than if I see their name next to a review score no matter how good it is. That said, I am constantly following the news in the industry, so I'm able to form my own opinions about most every game out there; but hearing these guys' opinions has definitely opened my eyes a little bit."

Friday, September 24, 2010

On Michael Bradley's I Guess I Just Don't "Get" Halo

"I seem to feel the opposite of most of the people on here. Halo made me the gamer I am today and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I love the fiction, the characters, the art design, and even the books. The Fall of Reach is probably my favorite origin story for a popular character, and I'm in heaven reading through Dr. Halsey's journal that came with my Limited Edition of Reach.

I love the open level design coupled with the unmatched enemy AI and the friendly AI for teh lulz. I even love the strange Forerunner architecture regardless of how impractical it may be for an advanced civilization to have lived there. We have no idea what the Forerunner's day-to-day lives were like so I don't see how one could use that argument.

Sound design is some of the best in the business, and I think they outdid Battlefield with Reach. The music is always top-notch, and I have yet to miss out on buying the soundtrack (and returning to listen to it often). I don't know why people think the guns sound weak. They're not using ten different versions of the M4 like COD or Battlefield. The weapons have their own distinct sounds, so they are instantly recognizable in multiplayer.

Those are what get me into the world of Halo, but the multiplayer keeps me coming back for years after. I'm already addicted/influenced by the daily and weekly challenges, and Forge World will keep things fresh indefinitely.

My advice to you is keep grinding it out in multiplayer until you get better. I guess I understand if you can't get immersed in the fiction, but the multiplayer is something you can't get anywhere else. Pick an armor ability you can learn to use effectively with the skills you have and excel at it. I promise you'll have fun."

Sunday, September 19, 2010

On Chris Winters' Many Games Could be Episodic

"Episodic done right could be great for games. I think the potential for better story-telling is there if more developers would commit to an episodic format. Releasing episodes alongside a retail release would be a safe way to test the market (Fable 2 did this I believe). Seriously though, imagine an episodic version of Heavy Rain with a good story and voice acting!!!"

Monday, September 13, 2010