No Alt-Controls for Star Wars: Force Unleashed

Well I thought I’d better put up a post seeing I was going to for Duke Nukem, but got beaten by Saky. Sadly the new Star Wars game does not support any alternative thumbstick control options, not even Southpaw.

However you can invert the x and y axis so if you’re a default control player, but like it inverted you are in luck.

Pretty fun game though I might add (with a modded controller that is), and I am very impressed with the graphics. The gameplay does lack a bit I must admit, but still fun none the less.

BIA Hell’s Highway Controls

Well, I aimed to have a post up about this game on launch day, but unfortunately was not able to try it out until yesterday evening. I think my second Xbox 360 is also on its way to an untimely death (or Red Ring of Death) but I was still able to check out the controls and tool around with the game for a while.

I can confirm that Southpaw is available, but Legacy is missing. There are a number of button configurations including Standard, Ring World, Tour of Duty, Tactical Six and… Legacy. A word of warning to our Legacy players, this option is only another button layout and it does not alter the sticks. When it comes to stick configuration, your only options will be Default and Lefty. Now, for Legacy players with a modded controller, I would say that you’ll find this one to be fairly accessible and comfortable.

After playing the game for about an hour until my Xbox began to make some odd grunting noises, I can say that the game seems pretty decent. Visually, it reminds me a lot of Battlefield: Bad Company and it plays very similarly to the RSV series. The graphics are polished, however I found that there were too many cinematics to sit through, at least in the beginning. I would have liked to play this a bit more before posting but a number of you have been asking on this one and anxiously waiting for the control info. You’re welcome

From what I’ve seen, I’d recommend checking it out for sure if you’re into war games. It’s a good distraction for the time being until Gears of War 2 and other highly anticipated titles come out.

DUKE NUKEM 3D (XBLA)

Alternate Controls Supported:
-Southpaw

Firing up the Xbox 360 this morning and immediately downloaded Duke Nukem for XBLA. I was somewhat surprised to find that the title supported Southpaw via the console’s dashboard preset and that the game allowed you to map button functions, even to the the D-pad. Sadly, there is no Legacy option to be had. But that shouldn’t deter you folks with those Legacy mods as this game would be another example of money well spent on such a controller.

As much as I enjoyed Doom I really expected the Demo of this title to entice me to buy it but I found a few annoyances so I’m going to pass this one up. I just could find a controller sensitivity that I could enjoy. Also, I never did figure out how to fly up and down with the jet-pack. If anyone figures that out be sure to comment on it.

The developer took the time to add a few features to the game. Motion blur, rumble, and “smoothing” which kinds washes out the pixels giving them a less pixelated look. Eight player Dukematch (deathmatch) and Co-op also make the feature list for game that will keep everyone entertained until the community dwindles down to nothing in the same way Doom has. I’m also glad to see that the more adult content in the game wasn’t removed. Shake it baby.

Happy gaming folks!

FRACTURE

Alternate Controls supported:
-Southpaw

I took some time to play the 360 and PS3 Fracture demo this weekend and I have taken some screen shots of the controller layouts and options screens. The available control options are probably final considering the developer has included a few schemes in this demo. This game was developed by Day 1 Studios and published under Lucas Arts. The game shares a lot of similarities with Halo such as a single, recharging shield/energy bar, a radar which allows you to view both friend and foe, a maximum weapons payload of two guns and a variety of grenades, and lastly a futuristic sci-fi setting. From playing the demo I would say this is where the similarities end.

The overall game play element is an FPS where the weapons are used to transform the terrain in a variety of ways. You character is always equipped with a tool capable of raising and lowering the small sections of earth which will be used to traverse a normally impassable areas or used to take cover from enemy forces. Many other weapons will have these non-traditional and fantastic abilities to change the playing field of the game at any moment. At the very least it should make for some unique game play amongst the droves 3rd/FPS titles that will litter store shelves this holiday season.

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High-Voltage holds controller layout contest

The developer behind the highly publicized and core Wii title ‘Conduit’ is looking for suggestions on controller mapping for it’s upcoming game.

I thought this would be a great opportunity for you readers to give some input to a developer that is interested in our topic. Granted it’s a Wii title, but it doesn’t hurt to plant the seeds whenever you can, if you know what I mean. I have already entered customizable controls, if you like that idea or have one of your own then send ‘em in.

This is a contest so hurry and get your entries in. Winner’s entries will be made available for selection in the game ‘The Conduit’, and the winners names will appear in the final credits. For complete rules check the following link from Kotaku.

Via Kotaku

Poll Results: Most Anticipated Game

The results from our poll on the most anticipated upcoming games are in: Gears of War 2 takes the cake with 32.79% of the vote.

Left 4 Dead also put up a good fight, earning itself 19.67%. I thought this may have been a little higher, but perhaps a number of you are just approaching this one cautiously due to the fact that we’re all unsure if alternate controls will be offered at the moment. I know SAKY is frothing at the mouth to get his hands on this one though.

Fallout 3 and Resistance 2 also faired well. It’s quite clear that most of you could care less about the next COD game, though I tend to think if this one was being developed by Infinity Ward, this result would be drastically different. And no one seems to care about BIA: Hell’s Highway, at least in comparison to the other titles it went up against.

Of course, there are tons of games on the way soon that were not included in the poll (hence the “something else” option) such as FarCry 2, Project Origin, Quantum of Solace, etc. It’s a good thing it will be getting cold soon, because I’ll be staying indoors to try out as many of these upcoming games that I can get my hands on.

BIA Hell’s Highway Set for Sept. 26th Release

After numerous delays, we’ll finally be able to get our hands on this Gearbox Software title by month end, as the post title indicates.

Although judging by the results from the poll we’re currently running we ran recently, it doesn’t seem as though many of you are overly excited about this one. That or it’s not on your list of priorities compared to some of the other games that are around the corner. Or maybe you’ve all had your fill of World War II based games? I’m looking forward to giving it a shot, though. The graphics look pretty sharp in my opinion, and there hasn’t been a new FPS game out for a while now.

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Mercenaries 2

No support for alternate controls in this one, folks. There are no options for southpaw, legacy or any form of customization.

And for once, that’s about all you’re getting from me.

This style of game is not really my cup of tea and I was pretty sure that it was not going to offer any support for alt-controls, so I was not overly interested in it.

I think it does what it does well enough, but it’s difficult for me to judge not being into this type of shooter. The graphics are functional but not overly impressive, though the massive explosions are nice. Blowing stuff up is always fun.

Control wise, as a legacy player, movement was ok I suppose when the camera cooperated but aiming was awkward, at least for me. Hard to say how the southpaw guys will fair… I think this one is a matter of playing for yourself to see how it feels.

Basically, I just picked this one up to confirm the control options (or lack thereof) for our readers, and now it’s going back to the rental outlet.

Halo Drama Continues

Earlier this summer, the gaming industry was stunned by a rumor that the next Halo game was not going to feature Master Chief, and the underlying tone was going to be much darker.

Next, Bungie was set to make a major announcement at E3, but was prevented from doing so by their publisher, much to the disappointment of many gamers. It’s not clear if this announcement was going to relate to Halo or not, but the possibility was strong.

And now to add more fuel to the fire, there has been some talk that Gearbox Software of Brothers in Arms fame is in the early stages of discussion with Microsoft regarding the development of Halo 4 as a launch title for their next console.

The rumor mill is definitely working overtime this year as far as the Halo series is concerned, but nothing has been confirmed of course. And just as quickly as the speculation started, most sources are now dismissing this as a rumor only, though the idea has not been completely ruled out.

However, what’s clear is the fact that there are definitely some changes ahead for the series.

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