Battlefield 3 BETA - BETA vs. RELEASE List

UPDATE!!! Game has been released!! So, time to update the list below.

So, I have been tracking items and creating a list (which includes some wishes) that I hope to see fixed or not touched when the game is released. Again, this is my list I created while I have been playing the Beta. (Xbox - Operation Metro). I will also put this on my blog so when the game is released, I can cross-reference it to see how it shapes up. NOTE: I know this is an old build. I know the good folks at DICE will fix things. I KNOW alot of this is reported but hey, They asked and here is my input. Albeit animated but that is just how I am. What can I say, Battlefield liked what I have written in the past.

So, here is the BETA Intro Video for #BF3 (Battlefield 3)


BF3Beta List of glitches I HOPE They fix or don't touch for final release: (XBox - Operation Metro)
- SERVER ISSUES!!!! - ONGOING
- IN GAME MUTE!!! PLEASE oh PLEASE let us mute stupid d-bag players or players with the TV's on, dogs barking, kids screaming, wives or moms yelling, etc. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- Better Squad management. - FIXED
- Game Menu seems blown out. Too big. - NOT CHANGED
- Exit game ANYWHERE at ANYTIME, not just while in game and weapons selected. - NOT CHANGED
- Proper Gun Balance - UMP feels too MW2ish (WAY Over Powered) - UNTESTED
- Blue Screen of darkness! - FIXED
- Flashing Screen when you look different ways. - STILL HAPPENS
- Fill in the QUICK SAND areas with concrete. (Under The Map glitch) - FIXED
- FIX THE UMP!!! - UNTESTED
- Animations of dropping equipment. (Mobile Spawn, T-UGS, EOD Bot, etc.) - FIXED
- Proper function of equipment. i.e. Mobile Spawn should re-spawn me the way I was looking when I dropped it. Not turned around. - UNTESTED
- Magnetized bushes that like frags. (If I am in a bush, they stick to the leaves right next to me and KABOOM I am dead.) Should have a message "KILLED BY BUSH" haha get it? ahh never mind. - FIXED
- In Game Reporting - Hackers, boosters, etc. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- Missing animations of reloading at times. - STILL OCCURS
- Weird Worm Crawling Soldiers . FREAKY!!! - FIXED
- Bug eyed Soldiers - AGAIN FREAKY!! - FIXED
- Better Spawn AI - Feels too much like MOH - Put a rock in the way or something. - SO FAR SO GOOD
- Better Balance with Noobs - Damage to More stuff. Decent damage when shot at players. Not too overpowerful. - UNTESTED
- DONT CHANGE THE MCOM Arming and disarming functions. (i.e. Even thought timer is expired, I can still defuse if I started defusing before it went off) - TESTING
- Mysterious Smokie (apparently residual from RPG or SMAW) - STILL OCCURS
- EOD Bot Drivability. I know, I said it. It is very hard to control when controller sensitivity is high. - UNTESTED
- Controller Sensitivity!! YAY!! You fixed it from BFBC2!! Don't change! - IN FINAL!! YAY!
- Knifing of glass is delayed and very chinsy. Meaning I felt like I just broke the thinnest piece of glass in the world. BORING - IS BETTER BUT COULD USE MORE TWEAKING
- All lights should be made to be damageable. Make sense? Is that a word? Anyway, TAC LIGHT BATTLES!!!!! - TESTING
- Grenade balance seems good. Don't change it. - IN FINAL!!
- Hit registers sway a lot at times. - TESTING
- Back up the Kill cam a bit so we don't see inside of the enemies or have to stare at their scrotums.. or make the guy who killed you look like Scarlett Johansson. - SO FAR SO GOOD
- No parachutes in Beta? - IN FINAL

- Suspense music so you know that you are almost done. Very cool. DON'T TAKE OUT.. Just fix to make consistent. - FIXED BUT NEEDS TO BE LOUDER A BIT
- Mysterious Black rods/walls come off of players. - FIXED
- Swapping weapons allows for rapid reloading. FIX! - TESTING
- Anti-Laser/Tac Light glasses? Maybe? "I wear my sunglasses in the tunnel..." sing it with me! - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- Audio Sync issues. Charges planted/defused is not synced with audio stating it. - FIXED
- Sprint. Fix. - TESTING
- Change Class in game. "Will change when spawn" - Would be nice. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- Uniforms - Need to be slighty more distinct. I can only imagine Hard core Blue Falcons! - UNTESTED
- Reviving!! - I shouldn't have to lie on the ground to defib. And multiple times. Fix. - FIXED
- When Vaulting over objects, sometimes the character looks immediately to the ground after. - FIXED
- Med paks and Ammos bags break tile walls and other things that should be damaged by them. - FIXED
- Double animation of med/ammo bags being thrown. - FIXED
- Bi-Pods view is weird. Fix. - FIXED
- Bi-Pods don't always work properly. Fix. - FIXED
- Knifing doesn't always work. Took me 8 times. Yes 8 times to finally to get it to register. That guy sucked he should have killed me. :-) - FIXED
- Ranking. It is good. Keeps you playing as it is not as long as #BFBC2 was to rank up. - IN FINAL - YES!!
- Prestiging gets you what? Is it actually called Prestiging? - ?????????
- Spot Arrows - Too high - SEEMS TWEAKED - STILL TESTING
- Team names - too high. - SEEMS TWEAKED - STILL TESTING
- 100 tickets for attackers. PERFECT! -YOU CHANGED TO 75??? NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

- No cooking of Grenades? FIX please. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- I know I said this.. MORE DESTRUCTION PLEASE!!! - IN FINAL
- Tac lights - PERFECT! - IN FINAL
- Laser sights - PERFECT! - IN FINAL
- Detached barrels, magazines and other objects float above player. - FIXED

- Random button pop ups on screen. "HOLD X TO RELOAD" , "HOOLD B ARM", etc. - FIXED
- Quicker change to side arm. - TESTING
- More Game Options - Search and Destroy, FFA, Something unique like COD's wager matches. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- Deploy isn't working AGAIN.. it was broke in #BFBC2, broke in MOH and now it appears to be broke in BF3. Takes 3 times to hit it to actually deploy. (AKA, START FIGHTING!) - FIXED
- Smoke - Should last another second or so. But MUCH MUCH better than MOH - UNTESTED
- Random silenced constant firing sound when near friendlies. Kinda funky. Makes me want to beat box. - FIXED
- Tac lights shine through walls and floors. - FIXED
- After sprinting and running into an object. I cannot resume sprint. I have to STOP then start sprinting again. - UNTESTED

- No wookies?!?!?! SAD FACE - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- I know it is COD, but can we have camos? Even basic ones? Just something that is cool. - CAMOS ARE IN FINAL!
- Optics: Red Dots are too bright. (Maybe something to adjust the brightness of them?) - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- No YouTube integration??? Come on really? Even racing games have it. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
- NO DINOSAURS!!!!?!?!?!?! - Bummer.

BATTLELOG: Clicking on weapons goes to 404 page. - FIXED
BATTLELOG: Real Time updating. Not after game. (Game crashing) - TESTING
BATTELOG: Easier Way to get to Stats. - NOT CHANGED - STILL SMALL LINK
BATTLELOG: Competitions? Prizes? Anything coming like that? Just a hope. - NOT IMPLEMENTED
BATTLELOG: Chose a female avatar? I want a hot one to look at. (You get my point though) - NOPE
BATTLELOG: Rolling over Weapon or Equipment images, have a pop up of larger image. I want to see the cool guns!!! - FIXED - KIND OF... HAVE TO CLICK ON IT TO GET TO WEAPON DETAIL
BATTLELOG: Videos of Weapons? Please? - NOT IMPLEMENTED
BATTLELOG: Tactics on how to get certain medals. like load outs, class to use, etc. (BASIC TRAINING) - NOT IMPLEMENTED
BATTLELOG: Option to purchase REAL dog tags based on what you have. HINT HINT, money making opportunity here! - WAITING
BATTLELOG: SEARCH BY XBOX GAMERTAG!!!!! - TESTING

Raptor Claw 141 Out

Home made Gamer Blondies - Chocalte Chip Blondies (cookies)

So, you want to taste a traditional treat that will make you want more? Then check this recipe out. It is simple but OH SO yummy!
Here is my recipe for Gamer Blondies! - Chocolate chip Blondies (Squares)

Ingredients:
2 and ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter – Softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
Bag of chocolate chips (Semi sweet or milk chocolate, you can even go mint to be wild!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit

In one bowl, combine flour, salt and baking soda. Set Aside.

On other bowl, combine butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy
Once creamy, combine eggs and continue until creamy. Fork will work too if you don't have a hand blender.

Gradually beat in flour mix… make sure it is completely mixed before adding more. Very important.

Once combined, spread into greased (PAM’d) 13X9 pan.

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!! – Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the batter DO NOT MIX in… this is the secret.

Bake for approximately 20 to 25 minutes OR until you can stick a fork/knife into the mix and NO batter comes out.

Once baked, place onto cookie rack to cool. Once cool cut into bars and serve. Beware, these are very addicting.

Gamer Blondies Done!

Raptor Claw 141 out.

Call of Duty XP 2011 !! #XP2011 - Live Stream!

Watch live streaming video from callofdutyxp at livestream.com

Flawless Gameplay Contest! - COD Black Ops OR Modern Warfare 2

Ok folks, next contest:

I have seen a bunch of people posting videos of their "so-called" flawless matches using a SPAS 12, or a pistol only. But turns out they would get their kill streaks and that is how they got their "flawless" match with a specific weapon.

SO..

Contest: Show me a gameplay video (That has to be yours) of a flawless match.
Game Types for this contest are allowed: Domination, Demolition, Team Deathmatch, Free-For-All, Headquarters, or Capture the Flag.
RULES: NO KILL STREAKS ALLOWED, de-select them. Can only use ONE weapon throughout the entire match. NO Frags, Semtex, C4, Flash Bangs or Concussions. You can use SMOKE (Willy Pete) and if it happens to kill someone, ok. ABSOLUTELY NO HACKING/GLITCHING!! I know the spots and I know the studios to confirm them. :-) You have to have at least 10 kills and after 10, you cannot hide/camp till match is over.

This contest is to show your skill and talents at CoD.

I am thinking to up the ante a bit on the prize so stay tuned for that.

Prestige level contests!

So here is the deal. since I am completing prestige 14 and soon 15, I will be holding various contests throughout my prestiging. Since Tweeting seems to not be getting to everyone, please watch for the contests here. I will post a video and the seek and find or trivia on each contest here.

Current contests include seek and finds, trivia, etc.

Winner!! - @Sauce72 guessed the correct answers, in order for this one. Great job!
Prestige 14 Level 50 - Prize: Kontrol Freek FPS Freek, 1600 MS Points, MW2 Poster

CONTEST: You must use your wits and piece together this toughest mission yet. You need to follow the clues to find the answer. Answer the clues in order.


CLUE 1: 27, 53, 25, 30, 30, 20, 44, 22, 44, 220, 63, 1944, 558/22, 71962, 373 What do these numbers mean and where are they found? ANSWER: The Intel portion. Ages, dates, etc.
CLUE 2: Where can I find John Woo and Matrix inspired action sequences in Call of Duty Black Ops campaign? Level: "Numbers", slow mo action, rain.
Final Clue: What weapon in Call of Duty Black Ops has a real world muzzle velocity of 3150fps - ANSWER: Famas. Reference: Book Small Arms by Martin J. Dougherty and other weapon websites.

Rules and other info:
I will only use original maps from the CoD series. No DLC maps since it makes it open to all who have the game.
You must tweet me your answer. My twitter is twitter.com/RaptorClaw141
In case of tie, I will have a tie breaker.
Other rules/guidelines to follow for specific contests so keep this link a favorite.

Prizes like MS points only work in the U.S. so if someone from the UK wins, I will find an equivalent for you guys.

Follow me on Twitter for current updates on the various contests!
www.twitter.com/RaptorClaw141

Also, check out my YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/RaptorClaw141

Thanks!
Raptor Claw 141 is out.

Contest!! - Prestige 14 buildout.

JULY CONTEST!!!

UPDATE!! - I will be having various contests throughout my prestige level 14 so this is not the only one. Follow me on Twitter for more updates! twitte.com/RaptorClaw141
Ok folks. Since I failed at prestige 13 with only blades, I am going to let you decide my buildout for prestige 14. Now here are the rules. No purchase of anything. just free things like stalkin me. :-)

• Only tweet/blog reponse your buildout once. I will RANDOMLY select the buildout/winner. (Tweet or blog response)
• MUST be following me so I can DM you the codes.
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/RaptorClaw141

If your buildout requires weapons that I do not have unlocked, I will use default items till they are unlocked. For example, if you pick a primary weapon as the PM63, I will use a MP5 or M16 (Default class weapon) until I have it unlocked.

If your buildout is selected, I will use it and nothing else for my prestige 14.

So, here is what the buildout should look like as an example:
MAC11 w/Grip, RPG, Frag, Flashbang, Jammer, Lightweight, Scout, Marathon, Spy plane, Sam Turret, Napalm strike.

You can decide whether or not I should use a Pro perk or not.

Winner will get the following:
1600 MS Points
Very next Call of Duty DLC code. (Could be Black Ops or could be MW3. If Black Ops comes out with one, which they very well may do, you will get that one. Make sense?)

I will randomly pick the winning build out and will screen record it for all to see the winner.

Prestige 15 will be an awesome contest as well.

Thanks and I am looking forward to your entries!
Raptor Claw 141 out.

L.A. Noire Sound Review - Single Player

L.A. Noire is a new Detective game by Rockstar Games. I can say this game is very different from what I am used to playing so I am coming into this fresh. This game was a lot of fun to play albeit LONG but extremely immersive. I COULD NOT PUT the controller down. I just wanted to keep playing. Mainly because of the story line. VERY VERY Cool. Much better than L.A. Confidential. But that is not why I am here, I am going to review the sound of the game.

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible on certain genres. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound. If I miss anything that you would like me to review on, comment or tweet me and I will update the review accordingly.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game L.A. Noire



Music: Music in this game is based on the music in the 40’s. Very trumpety (is that a word?) and orchestra like. When I hear this thrilling music type, it makes me feel like it was in the past (40’s 50’s) time frame. The music also played a very key role in when you are close to clues, when you have reviewed clues etc. A very nice spin on music usage in a game. This is something other developers should take note on putting into their games in the future. The constant music throughout the game was also nice, made me feel like I was playing a “movie-game”. Dramatic and suspenseful but not overpowering.
Music gets a 10


Ambient: The ambient sounds in this game were done extremely well. Obviously Rockstar’s focus on sound for this game was a very high priority. Everything from the wind, walking, running (both on land, water and mud), steam, flashlight clicks and other ambient sounds like doors, doorbells, knocking, creaks, placing objects on other objects, finger tapping…well just way too many to list. Distance and depth was also very noticeable to keep the game immersive. Great job on this one as well Rockstar. One of my favorite sounds of the game was when the operator/dispatch was talking to the detective as you could hear the switcher and cord pulls in the period of that system back in the day. Awesome!
Ambient gets a 10


Dialog: Dialog in this game was done very well. All the voices were unique and fit their character perfectly. Again, it made it feel very movie like as the dialog flowed with the story line. The voices also did a good job evoking the mood of a particular scene. Dialog was done very well. Some of the dialog portions that really stuck out to me was the dialog sounds over the phone, radio and such as it fit with the time period being portrayed. It didn’t sound like “Today’s” sound. Make sense? The ONLY thing that bugged me was the dialog all sounded like it was in a tunnel. Meaning the echo associated with setting didn’t seem to work well. Outside in a wide open area, there shouldn’t be noticeable echo and indoors seemed the same. Other than that, dialog was done very well.
Dialog gets a 9.5


Vehicles: This should really be under ambient but since there were so many vehicle elements I will keep it here. First, AWESOME job keeping the sounds of the vehicles accurate with the time period. Everything from the sirens, horns, trains, trolleys, doors, engines… you name it. They were all done very well. Way to go on keeping it accurate guys!
Vehicles gets a 10


Overall Sound: Overall sound design, engineering (Surround sound), and accurate elements of the time period being portrayed was done extremely well. Like I said, I am not a big fan of game types like this but this was one I couldn’t put the controller down simply because of the great awesome sound that this game has. It was a pleasure to play this game. Overall Sound rating gets a 10!

L.A Noire overall review: 10

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Trenched (XBLA Game) - Sound Review

Trenched is a new game in the Xbox Live Arcade. I saw a lot of people tweeting about it and figured I would give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised by what I experienced when I started playing this game. It is a nice change from the norm. Trenched is a 3^rd person type shooter/strategy game that is developed by Double Fine games. This studio is also the one who brought the XBLA game “Stacked”.

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible on certain genres. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound. If I miss anything that you would like me to review on, comment or tweet me and I will update the review accordingly.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game Trenched



Music: Menu music has a military snare drum sound to it and that is about it. It was subtle and not too annoying. There was a low tone rumble while in game play to keep the tension and stress up but other than that, that was it when it came to music. It would have been cool to have options to play various rock music as you fight the waves of enemies. Since I use a hybrid headset system, I can plug my rock in and play with the game sound as well. (But I only did that AFTER I did a sound review.)
Music gets a 7.5 just due to lack of music throughout the game.


Ambient: Ok, what lacks in music sure makes up for in ambient. Double Fine did an awesome job handling the ambient sounds in this game. There were very diverse sounds for each unique portion of the game. Everything from being on the ship to being on the ground fighting. While on the ship, you could hear the water, the seagulls, the mechanical noise, siren/warning sounds and even the running on the deck. Menu sounds were cool with the metallic switching sounds. What I did find interesting was the subtle surround sound processing based on where you were looking to hear the appropriate sounds coming from behind you or in front of you. Good job on this for something that really didn’t need it but helps with the depth of the overall game sound design and engineering. Now while on the ground fighting, the blurping engine sound from the trench was entertaining. The walking noise of the trench was decent along with the other misc sounds that occur when you fortify/lockdown the trench. Now the one thing that I didn’t understand was the “noise” that occurred when enemies start their approach. There was no surround sound processing so you had to look around to see where they were coming from with the visual cues and their sreetching sound was very loud and the same for each enemy. It would have been better is the volume was not so loud and the noise had surround sound processing that way you had to listen to hear where they were coming from and maybe something different for each enemy. Other than that, the ambient sound did very well for this game.
Ambient gets a 9.5 


Dialog: The voice overs were done very well. Kept it simple and for this type of game, it worked well. The digitized voice of “Dad” was done in a way to work with his character in the game s well as Vlad. The other voices were again simple, and kept to the overall story of the game. Good job on this one as the VO was designed and engineered well.
Dialog gets a 9


Vehicles: I won’t count the ship as it really sits in the ambient part of my review so I will focus on the Trench. The trench certainly had attention to detail to it to its fluttering engine sounds, it’s movements when you are moving about the battlefield and when it needs repair by you. J I noticed the enemies had no sounds when they moved. Is this by design? Didn’t make sense but would have been a nice detail. The weapons were all unique and reloading had some pretty cool sound but could have been a tad louder to hear the cycle of the reload. Other than that, overall a good job on the vehicles.
Vehicles get an 8.5


Overall Sound: Double Fine’s sound team headed by Brian Min did a great job with the overall sound design and engineering. There was some small issues that I wish could have had the same attention to detail as the ship got mainly the enemy sounds but all in all, no major issues with the sound. For a XBLA game, this game certainly didn’t lack in the department of producing a sound for a game that keeps me wanting to play more. There was nothing major to annoy me and I like to play this game as the sound is good and fun to listen to.
Overall sound gets an 8.5!


Trenched overall review: 8.5

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

DIRT 3 (Single Player) - Sound Review

Dirt 3 is the latest racing game from Codemasters. I was really excited to see how much better they could make an already awesome sounding game. There was a lot of things in Dirt 3 that Dirt 2 had from a sound review perspective but there was a ton of detail things I noticed right away. Let’s go.

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible on certain genres. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound. If I miss anything that you would like me to review on, comment or tweet me and I will update the review accordingly.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game Dirt 3



Music: Let’s start with an easy one; menu music. Menu music should not be boring and it should never be annoying. It needs to be very subtle and somewhat mellow as there are times you need a break and for me, I like having that “white noise” going on in the background. The music choices for the game were very diverse and none were on a “stupid” scale meaning what were they thinking putting that song in here?... Anyway, music was decent for menus and replays. Just wish there was a way to change songs on the fly as I wanted to cycle through the different music choices and I am one I want the option to race with music on. (So I played my iPod in the background)
Music gets an 8.5.



Ambient: AGAIN, Codies did a great job with the ambience in this game. No trailer this time but sound engineering was dead on. All of the new environments sounded great. The snowy tracks were very cool. Makes me want to go race in the snow now. The wind, dirt, water, bushes, and other ambient was done extremely well. Nice attention to detail guys!! My only gripe was the freekin whistle blowers!!! They drove me nuts! I understand putting the crowd into it but that just was like nails on a chalkboard for me. Other than that, Ambient gets a 9.5



Dialog: The voice overs were done very well. WHY DID YOU TAKE OUT THE RACER CHATTER??? I loved that!!! Oh well. The intros and team dialog was good. Albeit basic, the voice overs gets an 7.5 rating simply because you took out a cool part of the game which made it less technical and that was the drivers voices over the radio.



Vehicles: Since this game is a racing game, this is where most of my focus will be. I am using my Dirt 2 review a little as a lot of it is the same except for a few things… Like um.. THE DETAILS!! Codies got it even better in this game. I love hearing the nitrous and little details sounds from the engine and other race cars. You can really notice this in the replay function of the game. While racing, the creaking sounds, metal bangs, acceleration sounds, gear change and especially the dirt/gravel hitting the wheel wells all were DEAD ON!! Don’t believe me, go watch the movie “Dust to Glory” and hear for yourself. AWESOME Job on this one! Rating: Big time 10!!!



Overall Sound: Overall Dirt 3 did not disappoint. They took out some fun aspects of the game like the other racer chatter and I didn’t have the ability to change the music while it is playing but as far as the overall sound, phenomenal job guys. I just hope this same sound design and engineering flows over to your other games which I have in my GameFly Q. Overall Sound rating gets a 9!

DIRT 3 overall review: 9

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010 (Single Player) - Sound Review

Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2010) was a game that was introduced at the E3 conference in 2010. I know when I saw this; I got pumped as I was an avid player of all of the NFS games throughout history. Racing or chasing is all you do and it was a lot of fun playing. Now onto the sound review.

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible on certain genres. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound. If I miss anything that you would like me to review on, comment or tweet me and I will update the review accordingly.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game Need for Speed Hot Pursuit (2010)



Music: There were two areas for music for this game. In game play and menus. The menu music was subtle and not annoying. How I do this is I sit in the menu area for a good amount of time. If the music doesn’t get on my nerves, then I am happy. This music certainly didn’t annoy. Now, the in game music is broken up into two parts. Cinematic and Radio music. Cinematic is when you are a cop and chasing a racer or you a racer being chased by a cop. The music choice for that part of game play was awesome. When you are just a racer, you get a choice of a few songs and frankly, I only liked two. The choices of the music for the “Radio” soundtrack when you are racing was a bit weak. I am not one to load up music on my Xbox HD so I was hoping the music would have been more of the music like there was in NFS Most Wanted. Cinematic music was good, albeit singular and the choices for the racer soundtrack was lacking.
Music gets a 6

Ambient: When I was a photographer at race tracks, both dirt and tarmac, I am always listening to what is going on around me. Not much on this one, there wasn’t that much of ambient. No dirt in the fenders etc. Only sound I really noticed was the slamming of cars, tire screeches, the “swoosh’s” when you fly past something, the engine and sirens. The only thing that annoyed me was the overuse of the glass breakage, almost comical.
Ambient gets a 7


Dialog: There were limited voices in the game which only consisted of the car review VO and the Cop chatter. The thing that annoyed me was when the cops were saying they were chasing a car. Cops do not say, “I am chasing a red Alfa Romeo Spider” I mean REALLY??? Product placement on the vehicles was a bit overdone. The VO on the car review “Show Room” was done well and I learned a lot about the cars which was cool. But the cop dialog I just didn’t like all that much.
Dialog rating: 6.5

Vehicles: This was something that NFSHP got close-to-real as possible but not dead on. The various vehicles in the game had their distinct sounds but all pretty much sounded like the others in their class. Didn’t hear much on the superchargers or nitrous. It was a bit weak. Engine sounds specific to the vehicles was ok.
Vehicle rating: 6.5

Overall Sound: I know EA wanted to bring this franchise back to life and they did an ok job. For something you just want to pick up and have fun with ok. But from someone who wants more when it comes to sound, I was let down a little bit on this title. Hopefully the next one will be a bit better. I will do a review on the Shift titles to see the level of immersion on the sound for those racing games. My favorite sounds in the game were the turbo and the helicopter. Sorry guys, this one just wasn’t that strong in the sound category in my opinion.
Overall Sound rating gets a 6.5

Need For Speed Hot Pursuit 2010 overall review: 6.5

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Dead Space 2 (Single Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible on certain genres. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound. If I miss anything that you would like me to review on, comment or tweet me and I will update the review accordingly.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game Dead Space 2 by Visceral Games.



Music: The point of this game was to scare the hell out of you so the use of creepy and scary music in portions of the game was key. Think of it during a movie when something scary happens and you also hear the loud screech of violins to evoke the fear you just experienced. Dead Space 2 frankly scared the hell out of me. Between the critical sounds and the music inserted at the right moments is what made this game’s impact so terrifying. The cinematic music choices for the game were great.
Music gets an 8.5

Ambient: - Reviewed Sections:
Player (Ammo noise, attire, weapon carrying, breathing, injury response) – The main character has different attire throughout the game but you don’t hear much from it which is probably a good thing based on how the developers wanted you immersed into the environment and enemy noise to scare you. When the character stomps on things like bad guys, it is done with a strong thud and you feel the power behind it. Cool detail note, when the character is not in a suit, his voice is normal, when in a suit it is digitized along with the grunts and screams. – Rating: 9

People – Throughout the levels, you hear a number of people CLEARLY scared and terrified so the constant sound keep the tension and stress as you play. The non-interacting characters while they were speaking (or screaming) when doors are closed vs. when they are opened was done very well. A great attention to detail I like to see, ehm ehm, I MEAN HEAR. The developers took the time to get this right. Was that someone locked in a clothes washer/dryer? – Rating: 9

Mechanical - TV’s popping on and loudly and steam from the shower certainly made me jump and like my friend, drop my controller. Scary stuff. Small things that really didn’t bother me, because it would take away from the game, was the little mechanical sounds like flickering fluorescent lights but it was all the time. Not a big deal but I feel it adds to the ambient and tension of something is wrong in the environment. But other mechanicals did have their appropriate sounds like horizontal walking paths, elevators and doors. Rating: 8

Environment – Glass breakage, wind and other sub-ambient sound was done well. Not overpowering but did add to the overall sound placement in the game. Rating: 8

Misc Sounds: Sounds when you save the game, open crates, open devices, navigation and other miscellaneous sounds were done very well. All sounded unique and you knew what you were handling. Rating: 9

Overall Ambient - Obviously ambient played a crucial role in getting this game to deliver what its main intent was and that is to keep you scared. All in all, Visceral developers did an awesome job in getting the ambient right. I feel it is a major contributor to the game. Dead Space 2 is extremely atmospheric and engaging in a very scary way. I am not a fan of the survival horror genre but this game was fun to play and listen to. I could go on and on but you can see which area of this game got my attention.


Dialog: Most dialog is done with cut scenes and was done in a very cinematic way. Visceral got it right and obviously have been watching their fair share of movies. Overall, the dialog was done very well. Like I said above, when non-playable characters are talking behind doors vs when they are in direct contact with you was evident and you knew where they were. Surround sound helped with this one!! Radio chatter was done well but not much dialog going on since you were pretty much alone and fighting evil during gameplay With any horror film/game the expected stong language was heard and expected. I found that the dialog flowed well with the plot of the story. Cut scenes were lengthy but did deliver properly.
Dialog gets a 9 rating.

Weapons: Since the weapons in this game were futuristic, I can only review what I thought on the choice of sounds for the weapons. Smaller weapons vs. the larger ones have a distinctive sound associated with them which means the developers were smart about the impact of each weapon. What was cool was the little sounds that occur when you changed the position of the weapon or reloaded it. It was full of different sounds in such a short period of time. The shot blasts were at a decent level and not taking away from the experience from the game. The guns in this game are not the star for sure but did their job.
Weapons gets an 8.5 rating.

Overall Sound: I know I don’t talk about gameplay but the funniest thing I had to deal with in this game is when I got scared, I didn’t know what to freekin do with the controller!!! This is where sound playing a very important part to adding stress and tension to the gameplay. Immersion was a MAJOR part of this game. If you weren’t scared playing this game, you need your head checked. The sheer number of sounds in the game and the placement of them all along with the music integration was awesome. Forget watching a horror flick. PLAY THIS GAME!!!! My favorite sound in this game was the character when he kicks something.

Dead Space 2 overall review: 9

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

E3 2011 is Live!!! Listen and Watch!!

E3 Live

Raptor Claw 141 Out.

DIRT 2 (Single Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay like graphics or mechanics. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the game Dirt 2 (I am rating it on the demo)



Music: Music choices for a game in this genre needs to be exciting and energetic, and the Codies didn’t fail there. The second this game starts up, you want to race! The only downside is that I couldn’t turn on music while I drive, but then again, I wouldn’t hear the awesome detail of the vehicle. The rock and techno mix choices were good. Music gets an 8.

Ambient: When I was a photographer at race tracks, both dirt and tarmac, I am always listening to what is going on around me. So, Codies did a great job with the ambients in this game all the way down to when you are in the Trailer. Looking around, the sounds STAY where they are supposed to. Great surround engineering guys! It flows extremely well when you “go outside”. Hey look! It is a wacky wavy inflatable tube man!!! Haha.. Once outside, you don’t hear too much going on except for the music in the background. And what is up with the dude in the foot locker? Onto the environment when racing. I am going to pick the West Coast Choppers Baja Champ Truck. Wind, dirt, water, bushes, fireworks and other ambient was done extremely well. Nice attention to detail guys!! Ambient gets a 9.


Dialog: The voice overs were done very well. I know the real racers provided their voice talent but the excitement wasn’t there but if you have met them, and I have, their voices are dead on. Track voices and intros were also done pretty well. Albeit basic, the voice overs gets an 8 rating.

Vehicles: Since this game is a racing game, this is where most of my focus will be. Now, if you have had the privilege to stand near a Champ Truck, you will know this is the same type of review I will give with weapons in FPS genres. Those trucks are freekin loud!!! BUT, with that said, they hit the nail on the head with these. The truck actualy sounds like a champ truck so the design and engineering that went into replicating the sound went a long way. Even down to the Chevy horn. Good job! While racing, the creaking sounds, metal bangs, superchargers/nitrous, truck on truck crashes, acceleration sounds, gear change and especially the dirt/gravel hitting the wheel wells all were DEAD ON!! Don’t believe me, go watch the movie “Dust to Glory” and hear for yourself. AWESOME Job on this one! Rating: Big time 10!!!

Overall Sound: The Codies put it all on the table designing and engineering the sound for this fun game. It made me want more, so time to go buy this game. I can’t wait to see what they think of next for Dirt 3.Overall Sound rating gets a 9!

DIRT 2 overall review: 9

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

My Ten favorite video game trailers... so far.

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

So, I figured I would do my ten favorite game trailers to date. I worked in Hollywood for 5 years on movie trailers as a freelancer so hopefully, you will all agree or KILL me based on these. Bottom line, I picked these for not just the gameplay aspect, but doing what trailers/previews are supposed to do.. SELL THE GAME!!! So I will give some input on why I picked these. Enjoy!

CALL OF JUAREZ: THE CARTEL:
To start it off, let’s talk about “Call of Juarez: The Cartel” – This latest version of CoJ looks to be a hit. Takes place today and is based on some rogue cops out to stop the Cartel. Check out the video and then my review on the technical aspects of the trailer.



So when “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo” by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club starts up in its instrumental form, I am instantly feeling a mellow type trailer. But the intro of voice-over sets the tone well and the trailer starts with what appears to be the lead character walking into frame. He has on a bullet proof vest on and I knew we moved to the new west and no longer in the old west. The trailer did its job in setting the scene character wise. Placement of key sound effects was great. Not overpowering and hit on the best moments for the best parts of the trailer. The trailer was fun to watch and got me interested in the game. Hope to see more videos on gameplay. This trailer certainly makes me want to play the game.


BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY:
On to a funny one. Battlefield Bad Company took a new spin on the FPS genre that I really enjoyed and I find I play to this day. The characters comedy kept me engaged throughout the entire game and made it very enjoyable to play. Shame though that didn’t follow over to the sequel. Here is the trailer:



Now, the use of gameplay footage for the entire trailer was perfect. The cinematic start with the voice-over got you peaked and even more so when the comedy came out. The action mixing in with a great music choice: “Runnin’ Wild” by Airbourne was a perfect fit for this trailer and game! Great way to sell a video game. I can tell you it was because of this trailer I bought the game hands down.


GHOST RECON FUTURE SOLDIER:
This trailer was done in full cinematic fashion as a live action. I have nothing with live action of course, but for video games, it is a tough sell sometimes. But, this trailer was done extremely well and it made me want more.



The mix of sound with visual effects was key in selling the aspect of the game. It obviously showed you what gameplay may have in terms of weaponry and special abilities via live action but not gameplay. This trailer reminded me a lot of the movie of “Behind Enemy Lines” which I loved. I certainly will be in line to get this game. Links to the behind the scenes and gameplay footage here:


CRYSIS 2:
I was a huge Crysis fan on the PC. When I heard that they were moving to the console, I was excited and couldn’t wait to see the trailer.



I love strong voice-overs for trailers. Especially with gameplay footage. It is one of my favorite ways to watch trailers about games. Crysis 2’s “Be the Weapon” trailer sure didn’t fail. The trailer starts off with mellow and dark tones, seeing New York in shambles certainly sets the tone. Then it starts to climax with louder music as the voice-over explains each part of the suit and ends up in an exciting and exhilarating ride to what the game is about. Good job Crytek!


CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 2:
I completely geeked out when this trailer hit the waves.



The build up style with the mix of music, gameplay, sound and Game reviews was awesome. Then to hit it off by dissolving between gameplay footage as Eminem’s song starts to play really kicked butt. Is it me or does Military comms in game trailers just give you goosebumps? Anyway, InfinityWard did an awesome job making a trailer that everyone will and did get excited about. Great piece of work!


DUKE NUKEM FOREVER:
The Duke is back and he is pissed off!! Check it out:



Duke Nukem is a welcome sight to the FPS world. Mix of comedy, sex, action and sound, you just want this game right now! Again, I love the cinematic opening with dramatic dissolves and voice-overs. Makes for a great build up…Then, when you hear good ole Duke say “Damnit, why do they always take the hot ones” I busted up laughing and couldn’t wait for more. The trailer transitions into a rock themed and comedic spin on this game and this will be another I will wait in line for. Hail to the King baby!!


CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS – “There’s a soldier in all of us”
Well, I got to hand it to the marketing geniuses that Treyarch employs because this video alone, sold me on the game. It shows absolutely no gameplay, it is all live action. But it sold it for me. Nuff said:



Good job Treyarch, you always do a good job on trailers! Go Jimmy Kimmel you freekin noober!!!


BATTLEFIELD 3 “MY LIFE”:
DICE always sticks to gameplay footage when creating their trailers and that is a good thing. I am a fan of live action but if you want to see what you are going to play, then make a trailer with the gameplay in it.



This trailer of many (good thing) starts off slow, showing you reviews and game play, then transitions into a gritty world of what the soldiers endure. This fast action paced ending is nothing but cool. This trailer evokes that emotion of being pissed off and you wanting to join the fight. In other words, Join it by getting this game!


MEDAL OF HONOR:
Medal of Honor came out with really great trailers for this game. They were very specific on how they wanted to seel this game. They wanted you to walk in the boots of the soliders fighting the fight on Terrorism. Watch:



Danger Close and DICE took a leap of faith on reviving the MOH franchise. This first go around did very well. I was a MOH fan and couldn’t wait to play the game after watching these trailers. Again, sticking to gameplay footage for their trailers was a smart move. Great job as always guys. Made me buy the game.

And last but certainly not least.. this is the one trailer that I have as an audio version and is part of my playlist… unfortunately, it is usually playing when I am driving. Wonder if that is when I am getting the speeding tickets??

Enjoy…

NEED FOR SPEED HOT PURSUIT (2010):
NFS raised the bar when they also revived the franchise. Criterion games did a phenomenal job making this trailer. I was extremely excited and couldn’t wait to play it. I still love playing this when I am not killing virtual bad guys. Music choice and cinematic impact using gameplay was freekin awesome!!!



And with that, I am done… If you want me to review a specific game trailer, let me know. I will give a full second by second review and give my rating on how the trailer was created. Thanks again for my followers on Twitter and for all who read my blogs.

Some music from the trailers above:

Call Of Juarez: The Cartel:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - “Beat the Devil’s Tattoo”

Battlefield Bad Company:
Airbourne - “Runnin’ Wild”

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2:
Eminem & Nate Dogg – “Till I Collapse”

Need For Speed hot Pursuit:
Marilyn Manson – “Tainted Love”
30 Seconds To Mars - "Edge Of The Earth"

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Single Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the Single Player of Call of Duty: Black Ops

This trailer does kick butt though..


Music: Treyarch stuck with what they knew for a lot of things in the making of this game. That was the same for the music as well. Sean Murray has produced great scores over the past number of years. His work can be heard in the “True Crime” video game series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (hmm small world with SMG) and of course, Call of Duty: World at War. He did a great job composing the pieces for the SP portion of this game. His music keeps you engaged and does a good job evoking the proper feeling during the missions. I am sure it was difficult based on the period this game spans across. Music for this game (SP) gets an 8.5!!!

Get the soundtrack from iTunes – Call of Duty: Black Ops on iTunes or from Amazon – Call of Duty: Black Ops Soundtrack on Amazon

Ambient: Treyarch did a decent job with the ambient in the SP part of the game. Sparks, snowy terrains, sirens, ambient gun fire, burning fire, glass breaking and jets flying over all sounded good and pretty close-to-real. I still have an issue with the walking/running/jumping though. See my MP review on that one so I don’ t repeat myself. They also did a good job with the interview room sounding like a hospital room. My favorite ambient sound had to be the Cuban bar music. Don’t know why, but it stuck with me. Ambient gets an 7.5 for SP.


Dialog: Why oh why Ice Cube did you have to go overboard with your dialog in this game?? It sounded almost comical. Anyway, dialog was a little rough in the SP portion of the game as the main character started off pretty normal in the beginning when he was getting interrogated then when he was about to bust in on Castro, there was a hint of an accent I couldn’t make out. It sounded goofy. Woods, well I can’t help but keep thinking “Tropic Thunder” when I see him and hear him. Don’t know why, I just do. His character was a little out there but for a Black Ops operator, but you kind of have to be. All in all, the dialog was a bit rough around the edges but it did sell a good story of the SP portion of the game. Since I am commenting on the sound design of the game and not the story line, I will leave it at that. My biggest complaint on the dialog is the characters voices seem to be right next to you speaking when they are clearly a good distance away? In other words, no distance to the voice, no noticeable echo no depth. Treyarch could have done better on this one. Don’t believe me? The best voice dialog in this game was certainly Ed Harris and Gary Oldman did a great job as well and Reznov. Good choice with them guys! Check my other reviews on other games. Giving dialog an 6 rating.

Vehicles: The vehicles in the SP had great sound levels and was close-to-real as possible. Planes, cars, trucks and other vehicles fit in perfect with other elements of the game. They weren’t too overpowering and by far, probably had the best sound in the game. Vehicles gets an 8 as well.

Weapons: I have shot many weapons in my life and I will tell you right now that real life weapons and video game weapons WILL ALWAYS SOUND DIFFERENT!!! Video game weapons need to "sound" realistic and keep the player engaged with that strong, cool CHUGGA CHUGGA sound that a game weapon will make when shooting. So I will give my sound review on a close-to-real sound that I can. Weapons falls in the same rating as with the MP review I did. Weapons gets a 7.

Overall Sound: I hope Treyarch starts making the sound design a higher level priority than what it seemed to be in this game. I was a little disappointed in that it could have been done better. Sound really helps sell a story no matter what. You never go into a Summer Blockbuster hit and expect to hear “okay” sound. You expect to feel and hear the sound to where you feel like you are part of the movie. I just didn’t feel that way with this game. I expect the virtual beating for this but as always this is my opinion and they could take some notes from some other studios on how they design and engineer their sound. Overall Sound rating gets a 7.5

CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS SP overall review: 7.5

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Single Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on game play. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Ok, let's review the sound for the Single Player of Modern Warfare 2



Great video on the mix of sound with the soundtrack.


Music: What can I say about Hans Zimmer… He is the ultimate composer when he creates a score. Whether it is for film or HIS FIRST VIDEO GAME score!!!, he kicks butt. As the SP starts up, the credits with the dramatic music and voice-overs from the first Modern Warfare gets you excited to want to play this game. It was a nice “review” of where you left off with and what you are about to endure. The vocals with the percussion and strings gets right to the bone and you feel the Honor and Duty that you are about to feel as you play the first mission. – The music during this intro is cool and gets you pumped up. I could go on and on about the music throughout the entire game but let’s just say. WAY TO GO!! Music for this game (SP) gets a big time 10!!!

Get the soundtrack from iTunes – Modern Warfare 2 on iTunes or from Amazon – Modern Warfare 2 Soundtrack on Amazon

Ambient: The ambient in this game works extremely well with the soundtrack. Blowing sand, wind, water and other small sounds worked very very well with the SP campaign. Nothing was overpowering but sometimes distracting in small parts. Ambient gets an 8.


Dialog: This was a great part of the SP campaign. Voice over’s were done extremely well. General Shepherd’s voice was full of bass and drama. You certainly knew were you stood with his voice. Soap, Price and the others sounded great and full of suspense. Having named cast on to do the voice overs was awesome. Names like Barry Pepper, Keith David, Kevin McKidd and of course Billy Murray as Price. The one character I wish we could have heard more was Makarov. Roman Varshavsky’s voice was full of evil and with no remorse to his role in this game. It was exciting to hear it in the latest trailer of Modern Warfare 3. But the one unforgettable voice that did it for me was General Shepherd. When Shepherd’s voice kicks in, I was like… WOW.. GOOD Pick for a General’s voice. I still this day use the line to my friends and colleagues “Sure it matters who's got the biggest stick, but it matters a helluva lot more who's swinging it.” Great line! I was very pleased when I heard Lance Henriksen speaking in this game as he kills it! InfinityWard did a phenomenal job with the dialog in this game. Giving dialog a 10 rating.

Vehicles: The vehicles in the SP had great sound levels and was close-to-real as possible. Planes, cars, trucks and other vehicles fit in perfect with other elements of the game. Vehicles gets an 8 as well.

Weapons: (Detailed sound on weapons in later posts) I have shot many weapons in my life and I will tell you right now that real life weapons and video game weapons WILL ALWAYS SOUND DIFFERENT!!! Video game weapons need to "sound" realistic and keep the player engaged with that strong, cool CHUGGA CHUGGA sound that a game weapon will make when shooting. So I will give my sound review on a close-to-real sound that I can. In Modern Warfare 2, the weapons in the SP sounded great. The snap, bang and punch of each weapon fit well with the ambient and overall sound. They didn’t overpower the music and the dialog as well. My favorite weapon in the SP campaign has to be the Dragunov. Yes, it is a sniper rifle but any chance I could use it, I did. It sounds so cool and was missed very much in MP. Weapons gets a 9.

Overall Sound: InfinityWard obviously took the time to make sound an important part of this game. The mix was great and everything flowed well together. The music with the settings was a perfect fit (Right on Hans!!!) and the dramatic music with the game play certainly evokes the overall sound of war. Or, at least War to come… The best part of this game HAS to be the Soundtrack. I still listen to it every day as it is part of my mix on my music player. Overall Sound rating gets a 9!

MODERN WARFARE 2 overall review: 9

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

ZOMBIES - Call of Duty: Black Ops - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

COD Black Ops, ZOMBIES sound review so you won’t see any “close-to-real” comments for obvious reasons.

Call of the Dead Trailer:


Opening statement:
When I started play COD:WaW I never really got into the Zombies portion of the game. When Black Ops came out, Zombies was again introduced. I didn’t start playing the Zombies portion of the game until the Ascension map came out and then I became a big fan. I play this more now that MP of #CODBlackOps simply because it is a lot of fun and mostly from a sound perspective as there is so much to interact with. I will touch on three maps specifically for this review. Five, Ascension and Call of the Dead.

Music: Now, the music portion is focused on the “Easter eggs” that players find during gameplay to play a soundtrack for the maps. All three were awesome picks for songs for each of the maps. So for those who don’t want to know, stop reading.
Map: “Five” – Song: “Won’t Back Down (Featuring Pink)

Map: “Ascension” – Song: “Abracadavre” by Elena Siegman and Kevin Sherwood
Map: “Call of the Dead” – Song: “Not Ready to Die” by Avenged Sevenfold

Music gets a 10

Ambient: Since the squishy and goofy walking/running/jumping sounds moved over from MP, it seems more acceptable for Zombies maps as the “close-to-real” is not being focused on for this. Now, the way these maps should be played using the sounds is actually useful in handling to hordes of zombies that come at you. I find playing this with a headset is MUCH better than normal speakers. You can certainly hear the zombies coming from the different directions. When you have a break in the play, you can explore the environments to find really cool things. When you get close to objects and they make noise, they may activate other actions. For instance, when you get near the Teddy bears in Ascension, when you activate them, you hear a distinctive sound. After activating them all, you are gifted with a song to play for the duration of the song. I am just bummed that you can’t reactivate them as the songs are great for killing zombies. The various, and large number of,  sounds associated with Zombies, it seems like Treyarch really put a lot of thought and energy into making the Zombies experience in a class of its own. Makes me wonder if it will be a spin off and become its own game cause HOURS goes by if you continue to play this part of the game and there is so much to do.

Ambient gets a 9

Dialog: I love the dialog in Zombies (aside of the zombies themselves but they do creep me out) as the characters have witty, funny and clever statements as you play them. I just wish I could pick which one I want to play when I start the game. But it is not hard to restart and get the character you want to play. With the addition of named actors for Call of the Dead was a nice and welcoming experience. Good job Treyarch, it certainly makes this game a lot of fun.

Check out this video on the actors and their contribution for Call of the Dead:
Sarah Michelle Gellar


Robert Englund:


Danny Trejo:


Michael Rooker:


Dialog gets a 10.

Weapons: Aside from the normal weapons, I love the sounds that the developers picked for the special weapons in Zombies like the Ray gun, thunder gun and VR-11. Very cool and entertaining to play Zombies with these really cool sounding weapons.

Special weapons gets a 9

Overall Sound: Treyarch did a great job on the sound design, music selection and overall weapon sounds. I truly enjoy playing Zombies because it is fun to listen to and the dialog and ambient keep if fun for what you have to do in this portion of the game (#CODBlackOps that is). I really look forward to what Treyarch will do for this part of the franchise. Maybe a spin off, maybe more story connections, who knows but what I do see is Treyarch making each map of Zombies better and better each time. Keep up the good work on this guys.

CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS ZOMBIES overall sound review: 9.5

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Multi Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Multiplayer for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 sound review…

Opening statement:
Modern Warfare 2 was one of the most anticipated FPS games to come out. #MW2 has broken records on sales and broke records on video gaming controversy. But with all of that, it is STILL the 2^nd highest game being played on Xbox live. I find myself playing this more than CODBlackOps just due to one simple reason.. SOUND. I am sure my gamer friends out there will either slam me or agree that MW2 has decent sound in some places and great sound in others. But I (in my opinion) think and feel that MW2 sounds so much better than CODBlackOps and here is why:

Music: I am not going to review music for MP. I only do that for SP (Single Player).

Ambient:
Environments: Wind, noise is at good levels. Other sounds like distant gun fire or metal creaking, snow, ice, glass breaking, water, fire hydrants, of course fire and most importantly BEER KEGS is also at good levels and doesn’t over power the game play.

Walking/Running/Jumping: Walking, running and jumping are also at decent levels when playing again not overpowering the gameplay. Walking on sand, dirt etc. is close-to-real as expected. Nothing weird sounding there. Walking on metal is solid and tinny sounding which is expected although when crouched there seems to be no sound at all. Not sure if that was by design but it would have been nice to just drop the levels a bit, not eliminate it all together because isn’t that what Ninja Pro is for? Anyway, good job on this one.

Physical surroundings (Buildings, Tanks, etc.): Not much in this area… as very little happens when you interact with buildings, etc. You get the swipe noise when you mellee an object and it makes a very basic sound (if movable) but that is it. When you run into objects, no noise is made at all. Not a biggie, just something I noticed. Breaking glass was cool, as it was a quick and not too overpowering sound.

Non-Playable Vehicles (Airplanes, etc.): None in this game.

Comms. (Radio chatter): Basic comm chatter as in most COD games letting you know when you are losing a flag etc.

Projectiles (Bullets, Rockets, etc.): Bullet hits, richochets, etc. seem very basic but when you are playing you don’t notice or care about them. Just I do. J

I give Ambient an 8.

Dialog: Dialog in MP is basic, but what I did like what the attention to detail when it comes to the British nomenclature for Z. It is pronounced “Zed” and when I would play with friends, they would always ask, “Why does he say that?”… Good job on that. The accents were very good and not overpowering like Ice Cube. Wait, did I just hear the Enemy took Bravo??? Good job on the dialog - 9

Vehicles (Playable): Playable vehicles (aircraft) sounded very close-to-real and very cool. The pave low and the chopper gunner had very distinct sounds. You knew which was in the air without looking. And if I heard the low rumble of the Stealth, I just ran for the toughest cover I could find. Very good job on the vehicle sounds guys. - 9

Equipment: Equipment had its own distinct and subtle sound. Basic but got the job done. Bouncing of the grenades (non-semtex) sounded metallic and you knew when a frag was bouncing past you and it was time to run. Semtex however had the same sound. Although the beeping ball of clay flying by distinguished itself rather well. Placing of claymores was cool cause as both a good guy or bad guy, you knew when one was being placed close to you. The pillow throwing sound of the C4 pack is funny but does have a good sound. Very clever on the throwing knife as if you were a bad guy and you heard that familiar noise of one landing next to you, you are certainly glad it didn’t hit you. Although it is very quiet, it has a good sound associated with it. - 8

Weapons: Weapons were done pretty well in #MW2. They all had their own distinctive sound and were very unique to the game. InfinityWard did a better job with the weapons in #MW2 than COD4: MW. Sniper rifles sounded great! Actually, all the weapons sounded great.

Explosions were good. Not too big and loud and not to chinsy. Barrels and vehicles blowing up were obviously better than a semtex ball blowing up all by its lonesome self.

As far as silence weapons, MW2 actually gets it done right with a good mix or not too quiet and having some sound with them.

Pistols were done pretty well as they had noticeable echo when shot and sounded very close-to-real especially the Desert Eagle. Well, maybe not so close-to-real but it did sound cool and I wanted to shoot it just to hear it.

Good job on this and I am looking forward to see if you step it up once more with #MW3

Hmm, my favorite weapon in this game has to be the AK-47. Good mix of gunshot sound and metal hitting metal. SOOO many games have Kalashnikovs but MW2 did a good job on it.

WEAPONS gets a: 9


Overall Sound: InfinityWard did a great job with this game. The music was a bit much during MP play, leave it at the beginning of the round and at the end. (Maybe that was a contract item they had with Hans but who knows.) I just hope he does the music for #MW3 as that was a big reason I loved the SP so much in this game. More on that later though. But when you play this game with headsets, MY OH MY, was it done right. I can hear guys coming around the corner and the correct one at that! Big time props on the surround sound properties. Maybe another studio can learn from this. Thanks guys!

MODERN WARFARE 2 MP overall sound review: 9 (rounded up hahaha)

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Battlefield 3 12 Minute Gameplay Trailer - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Sound review for the 12 minute gameplay trailer for #BF3 SP (Single Player)
Video HERE:


Opening statement:
When the announcement came out for Battlefield 3, I was excited. The main reason was because based on what I experienced in #BFBC2, I knew that DICE would again raise the bar for game sound for this next version of the Battlefield series. Unfortunately, I do not have the game, as the rest of you, but I do have the privilege of having 12 minutes of what obviously is part of the single player campaign of the game. I will do my quick review on this and save my detailed review on the full version when the game comes out as well as reserving my rating for the full game and MP portions of the game.

Initial thoughts on what I heard in the trailer: (I am writing this as I watch it so please excuse the brevity)

Opening credits absolutely evoke the feeling of tension and turmoil and is solidified when you read what is going on. Sets the perfect scene for a war movie. I MEAN GAME… Onto the gameplay... Maybe it is me, or my headphones are turned way up, but it seems like the environment sounds are a little loud. AGAIN, being that this is a trailer and YouTube does not do Dolby processing (as far as I am aware) I am giving DICE the benefit of the doubt on this one. The soldiers’ voices felt believable and close-to-real as I have heard soldiers before. The opening scene is certainly cinematic stylized and dramatic. To the details… When the troops go taking off to find the patrol of lost Marines (Where are the SEALS?? Sorry, had to), they run through an alley. I can’t tell if there is noticeable echo since the walls were high and the surfaces were hard and flat but the running sounded good. I like the detail when they reached the door and the dog was barking and jumping and you could hear the fence rattle when it jumped. Nice touch. Comms. sounded decent and the echo when the troops were talking inside the building was very good.

<MOVING INSIDE>
Ah the infamous “Check Your Corners” comment… GAMERS, TAKE NOTE!!!!... Moving on…I did notice the hum of the fluorescent lights (probably rated A ballasts) or it was the hidden A/C unit but good ambient sound for the environment. Nice dramatic touch on the quake tremor. Again, a bit strong but I will see when I have the full game and I play it with my headset on. Vehicle drive by sound was very good and again, echo was in sync with the sound and image. Like the dramatic hum when it is about to get bad. Is this just in the trailer?? Guess we will find out.

<MOVING OUTSIDE - SNIPER ENCOUNTER>
Sniper rifle when fired seemed to be right next to you when it was fired. Would have been more close-to-real if the shot was fired then split second later, the soldier was hit. Even the Nano-second delay would help. I know, sniper is right across the courtyard, but there is still travel. MG fire sounded awesome and close-to-real. Very cool with the depth of sound with the weapon fire as the primary character walks away (dragging the downed soldier) and then back in action and firing his own weapon. DID I just hear the PLR?? Sure sounded like the ones from #MOH J… When the action is over, the soldiers give a sitrep. Now, I know from being around the military that it is frowned upon to swear over comms. but I understand it for cinematic purpose and dramatic effect. So I will let this slip on this one. I finally get to hear the magazine being changed and it sounded close-to-real. AWESOME whizzing sound from the RPG and impact of it. Very cool. Glass breakage and metal bending sounded good. FINALLY the sound of metal moving when the soldiers climbed over the rail with sheet metal on it. Good job on the detail. Who is screaming? Main character or another soldier?

<ROOFTOP>
Slamming through the door (assuming it is metal) sounded very good. Not too distracting. SEE this is what I mean, sniper fire is quieter, and then the shot hits next to the soldiers. Now I know the sniper is much further away than the other scene but I guess I need to be shot at more to make a better call on this one (No offense to my soldier brothers and sisters who ARE really getting shot at over there – BE SAFE). I loved the subtle sounds of the ammo and other gear movement when the soldier is crawling across the rooftop. Good attention to detail again on that. Great distance sound when the AT rocket is hit on the building.

<INTERIOR FOLLOWING WIRE>
Good job on the metal bending as the soldier crawls across it but why no mouse claw noise as it runs by??? Just kidding. Tremor noise and metal creaks were good too. Very dramatic. Somebody send me a pair of G.I. boots so I can go outside and run around and make that noise when the soldiers run and drop down… very strong and solid sounding. Gives a good feeling of strength on the soldier’s part. I do like that DICE didn’t over do the fighting sequence when it came to punches. I am SOOOO tired of the Hollywood SMACK, THWACK and THUD sounds they do.. punches in this trailer sound solid and good. Well, not for who is getting hit. When the soldier starts to leave the building, it was cool to hear the MG fire (muffled) and got clearer in sound as he reached his squad mates. Oh be still my heart boys… I am a sucker for the LMG and the sound was awesome on this one but what happened to that clever distinctive noise when you get close to empty??? Was that something that was only done in #MOH?? That was cool... bummed it wasn’t in this… maybe it will be put in the final release? (hint hint). Reload sounds were good and not to over powering. Again, good job on defeaning the player when something near them explodes or rings the ears. Little bird firing sounded like the MG’s on the Blackhawk in #BFBC2 which is not a big deal, just pointing it out and the casings falling from it sounded cool. Subtle sounds when soldier climbs into back of truck, small details but always important. Great cinematic effect with the building falling and the earthquake but what finally got my friends (the goose bumps and hairs) to jump up was the ending sound when the Battlefield 3 came across the screen.

Closing note:
Way to be smart about getting your gamers to WANT this game. I know I will be in line and will write my detailed sound reviews once I have completed the campaign and played a few hours of the MP on each map.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog and I always appreciate the comments!

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Battlefield 3 12 Minute Gameplay Trailer - Guess what is coming next??

Enjoy:

Very cool video on the sound recording of weapons for FPS Games.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 (Multi Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Multiplayer for Battlefield Bad Company 2 sound review…

Opening statement:
When Battlefield Bad Company came out, I was excited to see a studio decide to make a Funny spin on FPS games. The SP (Single Player) mode was full of fun twists and turns with the characters being hilarious at best and keeping players engaged in a fully immersive experience with a video game. The downside is that it didn’t gain the popularity that I hoped it would as BFBC2 came out, the same characters became dark and serious. But ok, it was still a blast to play. Once the SP was complete, I had a handle on the weapons and character controls to jump into MP (Multi Player). After playing it since it came out, I can now speak to the sound engineering and design of this great game. Here is my personal take on the sound design and engineering for Battlefield Bad Company 2.

Music: I am not going to review music for MP. I only do that for SP (Single Player).

Ambient:
Environments: Wind noise, water noise and wildlife sound are top notch. Levels are great and tones are right on. Fire noise, brush and tree noise was awesome.

Walking/Running/Jumping: Walking is at a good level and quiet. Running has great sound and at a not so distracting level. Jumping is in the same boat as running. Traversing over the different terrain types kept with the “close-to-real” aspect I like but DICE likes to keep it as close to real as possible. Love the fact that the ammo noise wasn’t constant like some other FPS games out there. Not all gamers will like this but the ones who do will love this game.

Physical surroundings (Buildings, Tanks, etc.): Again, when interacting with buildings and other objects, the sounds are as close-to-real as possible based on the object you are interacting with. The developers went as far as destruction in the game and they didn’t overlook the sound that goes with it either. Right on!

Non-Playable Vehicles (Airplanes, etc.): When the fighters fly over you, they certainly grab your attention. This is important to note if you have lived right next to an Air Force base like I did for years. My morning wakeup call was the A-10’s flying over my house at 6:30 in the morning.

Comms. (Radio chatter): Aside from the close-to-real swearing, the Comm. side was great in that if you listened, it helped your gameplay. Seems like DICE gets this!!!!

Projectiles (Bullets, Rockets, etc.): I love holding a sniper rifle, hearing a rocket go whizzing past me and turn to see it actually did and kept its depth and distance sound with it.

Put your headsets on folks because I give Ambient a 10.

Dialog: Dialog played a very important part of MP. For new gamers, they may find this to be distracting but to seasoned players, they find this just another tool in their tactical toolbox. Listen carefully as the dialog helps you with your gameplay in #BFBC2. The whole “How does that feel bitch” comment a sniper made me laugh out loud.

Vehicles (Playable): One thing that excited me the most in #BFBC2 was the vehicle sounds. I have been around tanks, troop vehicles and the sort and let me tell you, DICE nailed it in this one down to the creaking metal while driving. The Blackhawks mini-guns are awesome sounding and certainly make you run for cover when you hear them. Jet skis and PBR’s made me feel like I was back at my uncles house driving around all day on the river. Perfect sound for the vehicles. Tanks make you feel like you are driving the simulators at OSUT. - Rating: 10

Equipment: Equipment doesn’t play a big part in #BFBC2 but the part it does play, as subtle as it is, is great. Equipment gets an 9.

Weapons: Weapons in #BFBC2 have strong and powerful sound. When you shoot a weapon in this game, you almost feel it… (Unless of course you have vibration turned off J) The sounds are as close-to-real as I have heard video game weapons. I am very happy to see a studio like DICE place the bar high when it comes to Video game weapon sound.

Explosions are right in line with weapons except for one thing… when an explosion occurs and you are close to it, you hear it too. Well kind of…. You get that ear blown out feeling and deafening sound which all adds up to the overall experience to this game.

As far as silence weapons, I am not a fan of them in this game either. Seems like everyone is grasping at straws to get the perfect sound for a silenced weapon. Make it sound cool, but not too quiet.

Pistols were done pretty well as they had noticeable echo when shot and sounded very close-to-real. Reloading and metal sounds were done very well.

They knock it out of the park with this one…the weapons sound different based on what area you are located while on a map. (i.e.: Indoor vs. Outdoor). If you are dumb enough to fire a weapon in a closed building (like I have) you will note the only thing missing is that deafening sound that comes after along with ringing ear drums. But, DICE did it well with indoor vs. outdoor firing situations in this game.

My favorite sounding weapon in this game by far is the 870MCS Shotgun. Damn it kicks!!
My least favorite sounding weapon is the M1 Garand. Seemed weak. (Except for the DISTINCTIVE reloading clip)

WEAPONS get a: 10


Overall Sound: DICE did a fabulous job with Battlefield Bad Company 2 MP. There is not much bad I can write about it from a sound perspective. I certainly cannot wait to see how #BF3 shapes up. Guess I will need to write a blog on the 12 minute trailer.

BATTLEFIELD BAD COMPANY 2 MP overall sound review: 10

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Multi Player) - Sound Review

Little disclaimer…These reviews are my opinion on sound as a player and what engages me into a game and doesn't annoy me while playing a game. I will not be one who says "Come on, that doesn't sound like a real M16!!" I will be rating my sound review on close-to-real as possible. I will not rate anything on gameplay. I am just rating sound.

Rating is as follows: 1 through 10
1 Being BAD, what were you thinking, horrible sound.
10 Being the Best sound element ever!

Multiplayer for Call of Duty Black Ops sound review…

Opening statement:
My initial thoughts as I play all Call of Duty games is that they are very fast paced and fun to play but since I am sound guy, I like to hear great sound when I play these games. I will be writing my review on MP (Multiplayer) sound in general here shortly but here is one I just did on #CODBlackOps. I enjoy playing Black Ops with my friends as well as checking out the different sounds while by myself in a private match or system link. It always intrigued me on how the developers and sound engineers came up with the various sounds when creating this game. Here is my personal take on the sound design and engineering for #CODBlackOps.

Music: I am not going to review music for MP. I only do that for SP (Single Player).

Ambient: Let’s first talk about the walking/running/jumping in MP. It sounds so squishy and goofy. I feel like I am in a cartoon sometimes. I wonder how the foley artists and the developers sat down to design the sound for this. It is the one thing that annoys me the most when playing Black Ops MP. Also walking/Running/Jumping is just a bit too loud for my taste as well. Switching of weapons is not too bad. Not too loud and distracting. Ambient sound of ammo/gear while running is another item that is kind of annoying. Sounds like plastic sticks in my front pocket. I am just not fond of those sounds. Walking/Running on objects… it is ok just not great. The grunting noises that the characters make while climbing through windows or up walls were close-to-real and sounded pretty good. I give props to the developers to put this into the game but if you use Ninja Pro, you can still hear them. (My take on that is if you are going to make a perk absolutely silent, cut out the climbing noises as well). Ambient noises like wind, birds, snow, etc. was done very well. I did like the sounds of doors opening, sparks, buzzers, trains, etc. That seems like it had the most work put into it. Walking into “tanks” noise was cool, but why nothing else like walls or forklifts??? Makes no sense to me… feels like a trial run to see what people thought I guess. I know, you are thinking I am slamming #CODBlackOps but I am not. I was pleased with gameplay but the sound just lacked in some parts of MP. Compared to MW2, it doesn’t stack up. I guess I will need to play WaW first to see if it is a developer specific issue when it comes to sound. Aside from the character sounds (walking/running/etc) I give Ambient an 8.

Dialog: TOO much of it in MP. I like Ice Cube and all, but if I hear him yell “ENEMY HAS BRAVO” again, I am going to drink myself into hell. I think the dialog in MP was a little loud and overpowering. Keep it simple I say. Turn it down a bit and less talking and more action. Rating: 6

Vehicles (Playable): Since the only vehicles that are in #CODBlackOps are aircraft and a R.C. Car, I liked what they did with them when it comes to sound. They weren’t too loud and you could distinguish the sound of what vehicle was active no matter which team you were on and hoped that when you did hear the RC car roll up that it was your team mate’s car and not the other team’s. Good job on that one!! Rating: 7

Equipment: Equipment sound was done pretty good. Not too loud and has distinctive sounds when in the proximity of the equipment like Tac inserts, motion sensors and jammers. Again, good job on that one. Rating: 7

Weapons: By far my favorite sounding weapon in #CODBlackOps has to be the M60. It is a fun sound when you shoot this thing especially when you have 4 of your friends who all have them and you come walking around the corner to face the enemy. Not only does it drown out the silly sounding walking, but it intimidates the hell out of the opposing side when they hear you coming.

Explosions are done well. Not too loud and not to BOOMISH… just right for this type of FPS.

Not liking the silenced weapons. Again, sounds cheesy and “too silenced”.

Pistols were done pretty well as they had noticeable echo when shot.

It is nice to hear the weapons sound different based on what area you are located while on a map. (i.e.: Indoor vs. Outdoor) so good job on that!

So, let me break the primary weapons down generally for now:

Sub Machine Guns:
Overall good sound to them. Not too cheesy and have appealing sound that I like playing them all.
Assault Rifles:
Again, overall good sound to them all. I really like the FAL, that one sounds awesome as well as the AK-47
Shotguns:
The shotguns sounds were done nicely. Very distinctive sound between them all.
Light Machine Guns:
Is it me or does firing the Kiparis seem louder than firing the Stoner? Anyway, the LMG’s were good sounding but by far the one that stands out the most is the M60. It is just a beast!
Sniper Rifles:
Sniper rifles sound like crap. No other way to put it. I don’t like the sound of them at all.

Weapons gets a 7

Overall Sound: #CODBlackOps did a good job with the sound engineering except for Ninja as it appears to just lower the volume of game play and not raise the sound of enemies that much at all. Maybe it is the whole balance thing… Whatever… So… when it comes to sound design, I just feel like some parts were rushed into the game than others. Maybe that is the business side of it (to get it to market) but it just was a little weak. I think the sound is “cartoony” when it comes to the characters interactions with the elements and it is the only thing that drives me away from playing this game as much as I would love to... Ambient gets the top mark for this one though.

CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS overall sound review: 7

That is all for now, Raptor Claw 141 out.