Call of Duty 4 (CoD 4) released new maps on Friday morning. I was actually out and about
buying an omelet for my son's birthday (hey, that is what he wanted, who am I to
complain) when I read the news that the maps should be out by 6:30 PST. When I
returned, delivered said omelet, I quickly fired up the 360 and downloaded the maps. Only
took about 15 minutes to get them and I quickly jumped into a Team Deathmatch game on
Broadcast. It was a great first experience with a good team. However, my experience
quickly declined from there.

I was a lowly 7 going into the weekend. I had played the beta alot but never jumped into
the full release multiplayer experience due to issues of time. Portal and other games took precedence. Since it was a double XP weekend with new maps I figured it was time to rank
up. However, the real reason was my students were constantly dogging me since I wasn't
playing and my ranking was low. Yes, it was peer pressure from teenagers.

Of the three maps I played this weekend, Chinatown frustrated me the most. Several of the
buildings can lead to a circular experience. I entered a building, ran up the stairs, went into
a room, ran down the stairs, and ended up where I started. Once I stopped running in
circles I started getting the layout of Chinatown. The map isn't very open and there are
definitely choke points you have to cross to get across the map. This map definitely favored
players who are skilled at hiding, quick shots, and anticipatory grenades. Of all the maps I
played, I had the least success on this map.

Broadcast is my favorite of the bunch. Indoor and outdoor settings with multiple levels
made for some great action. Lots of running and gunning. However, this is the one map
where I encountered the most votes to skip the map. All I can think is the snipers must
hate the map.

Crosscreek is a weird map. Lots of great places to hide but several that seem good, but
aren't. One of my students hid in the cave and continually killed everyone who dared
entere... time and time again. Even though we knew he was there, no one was able to
dislodge him. Luckily, he joined our party and team next game.

As the weekend progressed, my positive experience on Friday quickly degenerated into a
whine fest. My favorite quote Sunday night was one player asking "Is that a boy or a girl?".
The voices of the players got younger and younger, the singing increased, and my personal
peeve, the obviously grossly overweight, struggling for every breath of oxygen, player who
keeps their mic too close to their mouth as they huff and puff every life giving breath as the
weekend progressed. All I can figure is that the kids must have mowed their lawns and
other chores to coerce their parents to buy them the new maps. Parents! Don't give in so
easily!

At the end of the weekend, I leveled up to lvl 18 after a total of 6 hours 30 minutes of play.
Is that good or bad? I have no idea. All I know is that I can now play all the game types,
have enough guns, enough options, and I am sated.

A french website has still images from the new Batman - Dark Knight film. The pictures could
reveal some plot points for the movie but also some game plot points. If you can play as the
Joker there might be some stealth levels. I will leave it at that. If you want to see the pictures,
click the link.

How much news is it out regarding the obvious and inevitable game.

http://www.lyricis.fr/cinema-dvd-serie/batman-the-dark-knight-photos-exclusives-du-
joker/

(I'm such a newb, I can't get the link to work! Still cool and interesting so I am leaving it up)

p.s. It is in French

I am not a big fan on April fools day and practical jokes. Being a school teacher for 16
years.... they get old after awhile. However, thank goodness for the creative minds at Blizzard
coming up with some crazy ideas that would be great if carried out in some bizarre way.

The latest, the Loot Pinata in Diablo II
http://www.blizzard.com/us/diablo2exp/pinata.html You have to view the concept
art, it is priceless!

On a side note, does anyone still play Diablo II?

Avalon Hill... or Wizards of the Coast... or Hasbro... or whoever is the faceless corporation
currently controlling our non-electronic gaming has decided to reissue
Diplomacy!

The new edition has a great new map but from the pictures it looks like they are currently
going with cardboard pieces instead of the traditional wooden blocks, plastic anchors, or metal
ships of previous editions. Amazon currently has it listed at $22.99 which is
considerably less than the previous version which went for $50.

For those who haven't had the pleasure of Diplomacy, it is an incredible game simulating pre-
WWI Europe where turns are conducted simultaneously with written orders. The other aspect
that makes Diplomacy different is the game does not rely on chance. There are no dice in
Diplomacy. Some very simple rules handle very complicated situations where support and
numerical superiority can dislodge units and give a player the upper hand. Most turns are
spent negotiating with the other players ensuring that your goals are achieved. Backstabbing
and alliances of convenience are a huge part of this game.

I hope the new pieces are not as cheap as they look in the picture.

So, you ask (or maybe you don't), why do I think LittleBigPlanet will suck? It will suck
because there is no gameplay component to this game. None. Zilch. Nada.

So can I back it up? Sure can. If you watch the GDC video of the game
here



and the two most interesting things shown (that got the biggest reaction from the audience)
were the orange assisted leap and one character slapping another. That is not compelling
game play. The game looks beautiful but where was the gameplay? We've seen jumping
from platform to platform (Mario) and side scrolling puzzle solvers (Lemmings) so watching
it again was really nothing special. N
(http://www.addictinggames.com/ngame.html) and N+, with very limited
graphics, great gameplay, and customizable levels is a better gaming option than
LittleBigPlanet.

If you visit the developers website http://www.mediamolecule.com/games.html
you will read these stunning quotes from a variety of sources how the game is "the epitome
of imagination" or "Super Mario Bros. meets an orgasm" but I'm just not seeing it. A side
scroller with cute characters is not that imaginative nor is any game where the object is to
collect sponges for building blocks. How can this be described as orgasmic?

Being able to share your creations online to share with other players will lead to only one
thing, porn. According to reports,
once you create a level and complete it (no
unbeatable levels can be created supposedly) it will then be shareable online with other LBP
players. I can only imagine the combinations of phallic platforms and levels that will be
shared with the unsuspecting gaming public. What is intended to be a cute family game will
definitely prove the ESRB rule "Online Interactions not rated by the ESRB".

This game will win awards and have a huge advertising campaign but it will not be a
reason to buy a PS3.

Battlefield Bad Company's Beta is a two map, one game type romp that is surprisingly fun.
The game type for the beta is called "Gold Rush" which is an objective style game where
the attackers are trying to blow up two crates of Gold while the defenders are trying to
keep them intact. The interesting take on this is that every time you blow up the two crates,
the attackers base moves forward and the defenders base moves back with two new crates
of gold to defend. So, as the game progresses, the map and objectives move. Sniper
positions, attack strategies, and vehicles change as the map moves deeper and deeper in
the defenders home base. The terrain of the map also starts to change dramatically. The
"Oasis" map starts in an desert environment and eventually devolves into a swamp/urban
battleground.

The gameplay is quick and deadly. Only a couple hits are needed to get a kill ala COD 4.
However, the tedious walk to the battlefield is removed with a new feature that can have
you spawn with your squad instead of at the base. If your squad mate is in a vehicle, you
can actually spawn in the vehicle! This proves really useful when you notice your squad
mate is in some heavy action and you spawn right behind them all of a sudden turning the
tide of a battle.

One disappointment is the poor game balancing in the game type. Very rarely have I been
on a team that has been able to win as Attackers. It also appears that Ascension, the
mountain top map, has much shorter games with Attackers having an easy time winning
than the Oasis map. This game type seems to have some serious balance issues related to
map structure, game type, and player/vehicle abilities. It is still fun but as an attacker, you
will only win if the other team is clueless.

Weapon types and classes are sufficient and numerous. Additional weapons are
purchasable with experience points. However, some guns have to be purchased through the
marketplace or are part of the limited collectors edition which totally blows monkey chunks!

Is this the COD4/Halo 3 killer. No. I played the betas for both of those and they were more
compelling, fun, and balanced. Battlefield Bad Company is a good game, but not the best
one out there. As far as betas go, this is also the weakest of the three. It really feels like an
improved Frontlines: Fuel of War demo at this point.