Meet AVA

The name of the game is Alliance of Valiant Arms. It's a feature-rich modern warfare shooter that runs on the Unreal 3 Engine, and it costs $60 less than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (yes, that means it's free).

The gameplay has a Counterstrike quality to it, but AVA is deeper (and prettier) in all respects. It has three basic classes, 50 levels of advancement, nine game modes, a full achievement system, and a solid array of weapons that you can tweak out with attachments.* You start with one primary weapon, a pistol, and a frag grenade for each class. As you progress through the ranks, you earn money to buy better boom sticks. Unlike Counterstrike, the weapons you buy are persistent, meaning you'll always have them as long as you keep them repaired (most of the optional gear is temporary, however). And, there's a whole pile of new stuff coming on November 11.

* Note that the website does not list all the gear that's available in this build.

AVA isn't as polished as Call of Duty, but the amount of content is pretty remarkable for something that's completely free. I've had a hell of a lot of fun with it so far, and it more than satisfies the urge to play the more traditional type of multiplayer shooter. In an age where most games are going the co-op route, it's nice to get back to my roots for a couple of rounds.

You get a decent wad of cash after you complete the tutorial mission. I highly recommend buying the M16 straight away: you'll do a lot better with that than you will with any of the default weapons.

If you're interested, start here. If you're not sure if you're interested, watch the video:

Score One for DICE

The folks over at DICE want PC players to know that they still like us so they posted this letter that they were sent.
Edit: Hopefully the image shows up properly. I uploaded this from work, but access to any blogspot sites is restricted so I can't verify it. I'll check later from home.

One More Update on MW2

Just in case IW hasn't convinced any PC gamers yet that it doesn't care about them, Best Buy recently hosted an online chat with Mackey McCandlish and Ryan Lastimosa from IW. Aside from further confirming that there are no dedicated servers and that 9vs9 will be the maximum game size, they also dropped a few more bombs. Here's some of what they had to say.

Q: Is there a console in the PC version of the game, so we can change our field of view from the xbox's default 65 FOV to 80 also can we tweaks the weapon damage for each gun, removes perks, graphical debris, breathing sway, also thru console like we where able to before or is this all gone?

IW: We would like you to play the game the way we designed and balanced it.

So not only is there not going to be any mods, there most likely will be no customization at all. If its not in the menu system, it can't be changed. And just how far does their balancing go? There will also be no ability to lean around corners because the game "isn't balanced for lean."

It was then brought up that if there is no console, what about hackers? Will there be a way to kick them? Let's see what IW has to say.

Q: Since we cannot kick people in ranked matches, how will we stop hackers who get past VAC?

IW: Our goal is to ban hackers from the game.

Good luck with that one. In other news, I've also heard rumors that IW has found a cure for cancer and is currently in negotiations with all the world's leaders to end war forever. Is there anything they can't do? Unfortunately, yes, there is.

Q: Is there a /record feature? Answer yes... please. We're trying to give you a 'chance'.

IW: No.

(As an aside, the way I hear this specific Q&A in my head makes me crack up every time I read it.) Ok, so not necessarily a dealbreaker that it doesn't support a record feature, but why would they not. It's not like it's a difficult thing to implement or that the game wasn't "balanced" for it. My opinion: perhaps they didn't want a lot of videos on youtube with 5 second pauses in the game every time someone leaves the game.

Q: Please give me a direct answer. On the PC version. Are all games hosted by players, and is there a five-second delay when host migration is in effect?

IW: yes.

So every game is hosted by a player and if that player leaves, then there will be a five second delay while the game selects a different host. Oh, and there is no way to select who will host. That's determined by the game. If you thought a high ping or low frame rates would make a game annoying, just imagine what it's going to be like every time the host rage-quits. Oh, and what about the host having an advantage because of a really good ping. No need to worry, because that will be offset by the game "having a great tolerance for latency".

But luckily, it's not all bad news. There was at least some good news for PC players.

Q: Ignoring IW.net, is the PC version a direct port of the console version?

IW: No, PC has custom stuff like mouse control, text chat in game, and graphics settings.

See? Doesn't that make you feel better? You're going to be able to use your mouse and keyboard and use text chat in game. And what's that you say? You want to use a resolution higher than 800x600? Well, the folks over at IW have heard your cries. They're going to let you adjust you graphical settings. See, they spent so much time on the PC version that they're going to let you use features that have been in every PC game since Doom. Apparently, it was balanced for that.

But there is some good news. All those reports about how it's the best selling game at Gamespot ever. Well, those are only retail sales and a lot of Gamespot stores don't even sell PC games. So how well is it doing in the digital distribution world? Direct2Drive, Impulse, and GamersGate are all refusing to sell it because it relies on Steamworks. As for Steam, it has yet to go higher than 4th and is consistently being beaten by L4D2, Borderlands, Torchlight, Dragon Age, and even Football Manager 2010.

Test drive the infection

One plug-in, many console commands.

Yep.

GT's top 10 "Guiltiest Pleaures"

Video Games | GT Countdown | Top 10 Guiltiest Pleasures

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Spoilers ahead

Shack News nabbed an interview with Gearbox's Mikey Neumann, one of the troubled minds behind Borderlands. Playing deep into the game (especially if you play deep into the night) you start to get the feeling that there's something sinister at work with the weapon system: a hidden process that's thinking ... about you. It's intentional, and weird, and ultimately incomprehensible, but it's what kept me interested in the game all the way to the end.

And there's more of it, according to Mr. Neumann.

Painkiller: Resurrection sucks

I was about 15 minutes in when I realized that I wasn't enjoying it. At all. After another 20 minutes or so, I said "f**k this" - out loud - and loaded up the original. So much better.

Gamespot has a rather scathing review, but this post (entitled "This is not a Painkiller Game") on the JoWood forums really hits home. It reminded me why I loved the first game, and let me off the hook for only suffering through the first half-hour of a larger ordeal.

Bummer.

L4D2 demo impressions

From Ars, not me (although I think they're spot-on):

First, the graphics have been improved, and the more you play the more you'll appreciate the extra layer of love the visuals have received. The character models have added detail, and the new infected models are likewise impressive; you can shoot off an arm and they'll keep coming. You can take off a zombie's legs. With the machete as your melee weapon you can open up the guts of a zombie or take off its head with one swing.

The demo levels take place in the daylight, meaning you get to see much more of the world than you could in the first Left 4 Dead. This may make things a little less scary; the game actually feels more like an action movie than a horror film. The physics on the bodies has also been improved, as newly re-deadened zombies will flop and fly as you shoot or blow them up. Wait until you see what happens when you throw a pipe bomb in the demo—bodies go flying every which way with the mighty blast.

Full article here.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 beta hoax(es)

From the BFBC2 blog:

As of today there is no official Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta and I wanted to warn people out there of fake/hoax sites perpetrating to have a sign-up for one. We do not have any form of beta sign-ups, nor would we ever endorse such a practice or shady url to do so. Please do not let these e-tards take advantage of your enthusiasm for BFBC2 in their scam and only give them the middle-finger if anything. So, unless you read it here or from our official Twitter page it isn't real.