Author Archive for Al Zamora

J!NX Giveaway

Well we have been waiting for the new site re-design to unleash our J!NX giveaway and now that time has come. We recently did a piece on the origins of J!NX and what they stand for but now is our chance to hook some of our readers up with some J!NX gift certificates so you can rock the gear. Hit the jump for contest details and how to win.

What is J!NX? DualShockers Interview Sean “Jinx” Gailey To Find out!

Did you ever wonder what or who is behind the clothing company that gamers know and love as J!NX?  I definitely wondered. I recently had the privilege to sit down with Sean “Jinx” Gailey, the Creative Overlord of J!NX, for a one on one interview. We discussed how J!NX came into existence, what their motivation is and what gamers can expect to see from upcoming lines (MLG and pro-gamer lines) and products. As Kyle  McCarthy (J!NX’s Deacon of Sales & Networking) refers to Sean “He’s kind of the face of the company.”

Starcraft 2 Planetary Fortress Rush

If you ever played Starcraft you know that there are very different play styles that can be implemented to whip your opponents. Some players choose to play long drawn out games with technical upgrades and large hordes of units, while others decide to “Rush”. A good Rush is when you build up a quick force of units and storm your opponents base before they have the opportuniity to build up units or defend themselves. One of the most classic Rush maneuvers has to be the “Zergling rush”, where you could fast build Zerglings (puppies) and take out your opponents harvesters rendering them resourceless and done.

Since the launch of the Starcrafft 2 beta videos have been popping up and this one caught my attention of a new rush that is pretty epic called the planetary Fortress Rush. In essence the Human characters have the ability to float their headquarters and buildings over to an enemy and now they can mount a turret on top of the Command Center making it a large weapon of death right next to an opponent’s base.

Hit the jump and watch this classic rush in action, diesel.

Jacare and EA Sports MMA

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza stopped by the EA Sports studio and decided to show the staff exactly why he belongs in their upcoming EA Sports MMA game. Jacare actually rolled with Victor Lugo, EA Sports MMA Producer, which is a pretty bold move by Victor. Watch as Jacare submits Victor repeatedly with arm-bars, triangles, kimoras, etc., it is impressive to see the games producer know about MMA and BJJ. Here is hoping this all transitions to the game.

Possible spoiler as well, if you look in the background when Jacare is speaking you can see a glimpse of the possible cover for the EA Sports MMA game.

MLB 10 The Show Reveal Video

Are you wondering how MLB 10 The Show is going to look? Wonder no more and check out the sexiness that will be hitting your PS3 shortly. This is hands down the best baseball franchise ever made. This footage just makes me want to dust off my copy of MLB 09 until this one releases. What do you think?

The Saboteur Review

The Saboteur is another World War II themed game but this time set in Paris. You are Sean Devlin an Irish man with one agenda to avenge your slain best friend while taking out as many Nazis as possible. Sean is not your typical main character and often has some good one liners right before puffing on a cigarette in his 1940’s environment. The opening scene with topless women was one that I was not expecting and something that many gamers were probably not expecting either, but was a very interesting experience to see how developers are willing to incorporate mature content.

Why Iron Man 2: The Video Game Will Be Good

Can Iron Man 2 possibly ever step out of the shadow of its much ill-fated predecessor? I recently had the pleasure to attend a Sega Event where they unveiled their lineup in NYC and I had the opportunity to see firsthand what Iron Man 2 had to offer. I spoke with Kyle Brink of Sega who is the creative director of Iron Man 2 and sort of the father of the entire project if you will.

For those of you who did not play the original Iron Man title, it was lack luster to say the least. It was not completely terrible, but it was a game full of potential that fell way short of the mark. The biggest issue with the first tile was that you quickly felt as if you were doing the same things over and over after the very first board.

Fast forward to Iron Man 2 now and let’s see what changes have been made via an in depth look with Kyle Brink. First off Iron Man and War Machine each have different fight styles which are load-outs available at the beginning of each mission. There are three styles per type of suit and you can load up to two during a mission, which Kyle showed off a Dragon and Hurricane style. The fighting styles mimic fighting styles of a typical MMA fashion such as Muy Thai which gives Iron Man a different feel in the brawling aspect.

The biggest thing that needs to be pointed out is the fact that this title has its own unique story which is completely separate from the film. Although it is scheduled to ship sometime in April (prior to the next Iron Man film) it will not be based on the same plot. This is a huge difference maker from the original title as it frees up the team at Sega to explore a variety of different areas and enemies while not being bound to an existing campaign or storyline like in the original.

One notable difference is as we flew and hovered with Iron Man was that you no longer have to regulate the power settings to thrusters, weapons, etc. this management is now automatic and we thank Sega for this. Also brawling a mob is handled much more fluid now in the style of Batman Arkham Asylum such that you can switch on the fly from enemy to enemy using the Right Stick. Flying has also been revamped especially since Kyle Brink has strong roots in the flight simulator genre and it shows as Iron Man takes corners and hovers along with grace and style.

Another huge difference and addition in this title are the destructible environments. This is huge for me as I love to take advantage of blowing up trees and especially buildings in games and Iron Man 2 achieves this feat in spades. I watched as Kyle destroyed rooftops of warehouses, took out sheds and shredded a silo. This was all made possible via a new dynamic lighting that was implemented for the game. The dynamic lighting makes the destruction that much more impressive because once you knock something down the shadow it cast has to disappear and that is exactly what happens in the game. It was impressive to watch him take out walls and watch as the shadows shifted.

Also, Iron man now takes the fight inside of buildings. This is something that is a complete contrast to the first game where you only fought in open fields and spaces. The close combat feel is a nice change of pace and really promotes the brawler aspect and the differences in load outs where you may want splash or area damage instead of long range weapons.

So will Iron Man 2 shine? It is still early to tell but I was impressed with what I saw and I thought it was a great sign that Kyle Brink was very confident in his project and actually enjoyed playing his title to the point that we stayed a half an hour after the event had officially closed playing through Iron Man 2. In my opinion gamers will need to give Iron man 2 a chance and experience the flying, brawling, shooting, and hovering that is iron Man. Here’s to looking forward to an April date which gives the studio some more time to polish it up.

Sega NYC Media Day: Alien vs. Predator Impressions

Alien versus Predator was a fans dream that only existed in the minds of those that dared to mix the two films together and contemplate who would win in an interstellar war, until the films were made a reality. It was only a matter of time until those same fans decided to transition that love to a gaming console and let fans relive the action for themselves and so rises Alien vs. Predator the game.

I recently had the chance to get hands on with Aliens vs. Predators and take the game for a spin. The game starts off with a few options. You can choose between single, survival and multiple player games. Single player is the campaign, survival is a horde-style mode where waves of enemies attack you and your goal is to survive while multiplayer will let you go online and kill friends or strangers. Multiplayer will boast a ton of different zombie style games where one player will start as an alien and everyone else is a marine and then you convert them, as well as death matches.

The single player campaign is split into three different sections: Alien, Predator and Marine. So you can experience the game from the eyes of three different species, each with its own set of abilities and nuances. Aliens are faster, Predators are stronger and Marines have access to more weapons and each has its own unique HUD. As you start with one race you get a quick tutorial of their abilities and how to use them, like how to stealth kill with the Aliens or lock on with the Predator shoulder cannon.

As I played through a match of survival I was a marine in a small room with Aliens running about the ceiling and my motion sensor going nuts. I could not help but think of Aliens 2 with Hicks yelling “Their in the room man!” The sound of the marine rifle was spot on and even the sweeping of the motion sensor put me right back into the feel of the films. I quickly shot down some Aliens and found out that if you try to walk over the carcass you will take damage from their acid blood.

Although the game is a strict FPS style game there are differences in game play from the three different races and how they best can dispatch enemies. As well as the controls since each set of characters will need you to control and set up different strategies in order to survive and succeed. I think I was most impressed with the little thing like if you rotate your Alien fast enough you can actually see your own tail or chase it around if you would like to. As well as one moment where I used my Predator claw to kill an Alien and you could see the acid dripping off of the claw as well as a vapor trail. Sweet.

One pretty interesting thing is that once you finish one section of the game you can actually continue on as a different race if you want to switch things up, i.e. play as a marine for the first board and then switch to an Alien for the second. This is a unique feature that I have not seen in any other title. The controls In the game were pretty straight forward and again really only took a minute or so for you to get used to the differences between races.

It looked like a standard shooter with not a terrible amount of depth to it especially since the game has about 12 hours of game play to it, 4 hours with each race to finish the game. I think this title can shine in its online play as well as its unique ability to capture the nostalgia of the films. This is not based off of any of the films but you can expect to see our old friend Bishop make his cameo and lend his voice to the game for authenticity.

I think Alien versus Predator is a must have for the hardcore fan and is a possible good pick up for someone looking for a bit of a varied experience within the same game. Also expect DLC in the form of new maps for multiplayer to be available in Collector’s Editions or online for multiplayer matches.

Red Dead Redemption Video 2-Weapons & Death

Here is part two of the special Red Dead Redemption Gameplay Video Series: “Weapons & Death.”  You have to respect the title alone. Here we get to take an up close and grisly look at the West’s weapons of destruction and the havoc they can wreak. This is a must watch video as it really gives you a great feeling of what this title has to offer. I have to admit that my interest level was low until I watched the ability to set up a multi shot action which could take down three enemies in one movement along with the ability to shoot enemies in the leg and watch them crawl away. Very impressive.

Turf Wars Strategies and Mob Codes

Are you having trouble becoming the Capo of your neighborhood in Turf Wars on your iPhone? Maybe you need a bit of advice in how to manage your funds and turf? Here is a quick strategy guide for you with ten quick tips so that you will be whacking rivals in no time.

1. Never buy more guns than you have Mob members. Extra guns just cost you money and in later levels will cost you money to maintain and are not used to attack or defend.
2. Constantly invite mobsters via the “Invite Mobsters” tab. This is pretty easy as it will pull up all local players for you to invite.
3. Once you level up put your Skill Points into Energy. This will allow you to run more missions and level up quicky without having to fight per-se.
4. Try to grab Turfs that are not as populated so you can become the Capo of the area. Get the most influence in the area to grab Capo status.
5. Capo status means you do not have to pay police bribes in that Turf which will net you more money per Turf.
6. Use all of you Energy on Missions when you have it, never leave any unused.
7. Get the maximum Influence in each of your Turfs by buying Turf Upgrades.
8. Buy Tools once they become available to open up more difficult missions which will net more Money and Experience.
9. Make sure to buy Kevlar vests for each of your Mob members since they an use these during fights.
10. Use up your Stamina and fight anyone that has less Mob members, yes it is cheesy but it will get you Experience and Money easily.

If you follow these ten quick tips when playing Turf Was you will be the most influential mobster in your city with all the privileges that are owed to you.

Also if you are having trouble finding Mob Codes feel free to post them in the comments section below. My personal Mob Code is ELHI0792 or you can search for YoshiShocker. Happy hunting or whacking!

Turf Wars Review

The iPhone has seen its share of tower defense and massively multiplayer online games. If you have not crossed one yet just do a quick search and you will find a plethora of them. Turf Wars is a member of the latter but it is one that stands aside from the pack and has the ability to shout names at the others because it is that addictive.

Trip to Azeroth Delayed

As I started to play World of Warcraft again something recently delayed my latest return this past evening and it went a little something like this:

Arthas is Full

Position in queue: 365

Estimated time: 15 min

To my regret my trip to Azeroth was indeed delayed by 364 players who were already in line to play WoW ahead of myself. Arthas is a High population PVP (player vs. player) server and at time of this log in attempt (10 P.M. EST) the server was apparently full. This is something I had forgotten about when taking my break from WoW. If I wanted to play a game on my Xbox 360 or PS3 my biggest delay typically was locating the game or waiting for an occasional patch, but never a fifteen minute line just to step into the game. This would be the equivalent of a line forming outside of my house and 300 people lining up to call next on my 360. Yes, I know it is a bit different than a console as WoW is a huge MMORPG and Blizzard is both trying to keep the lag to a minimum and keep the world and servers balanced, but it still did not get me into Azeroth any faster.

So on this night when my urge to play WoW was in full bloom it was dissipated by a queue from Hades. Has this happened to you before? Are you willing to accept the tedium just to play Blizzard;s masterpiece? Let me know your thoughts.