The free to play model is becoming increasingly popular with online gaming especially with MMORPGs. Perfect World Entertainment has another up and coming free to play online game with Blacklight: Retribution. Currently in it's closed beta, phase Blacklight: Retribution looks like a game that FPS fans should keep an eye out for.

In Blacklight: Retribution you are able to develop your own classes, and customize your weapons. If you want a heavily armored sniper, or a light and nimble machine gunner those are just two of the many options available. There is a dynamic feel to the gameplay and no match should play out the same.

With the addition of weapon depots as you capture territories and kill other players you are able to turn the tide of battle. At the weapon depot you are able to upgrade to powerful weapons such as a railgun, man a heavy suit, or call down an airstrike.  Blacklight: Retribution is shaping up pretty nicely and should be ready for release soon.  In the meantime be sure to head over to the official site for more information and to sign up for the closed beta.

 Deus Ex: Human Revolution has you playing as Adam Jensen a mechanically augmented human that didn't ask for this.  The game has a heavy focus on rewarding players for stealth and exploration.  Experimentation is also encouraged and made apparent by the different ways you can play the game and accomplish objectives.  Here are some tips that will help you to augment your gameplay.

Use the environment to your advantage

• You can use movable objects (boxes, vending machines, dumpsters, etc.) to block off  enemy AI.  e.g. Putting a vending machine in a doorway will prevent guards from entering.

• When picking up boxes or crates sometimes you will find hidden items under them.  Especially pick up moveable objects that are up against a wall to look for alternate paths through vents or a breakable wall.

•  You can use movable objects as weapons and throw them at enemies.  Throwing a crate or vending machine can knock out or at least knock down a guard.  Some barrels you find are explosive or filled with gas that you can use to knockout or kill guards. Throwing objects also can create a distraction for guards to investigate.

• You can stack objects on top of each other to help you advance higher or over a wall.  Also stacking objects together can help provide good cover to stay out of sight from guards or help provide cover from fire.

• If you don't yet have heavy lifting some movable objects can be destroyed.  Similarly most doors can be destroyed instead of hacking them.

• With heavy lifting you can pick up turrets and move them out of the way facing a wall so they aren't a threat or throw them.  Also if you hack the turret you can carry it around and use it to mow down the enemies.

Stealth

• You can shoot security a camera to destroy it, just be sure to use a silenced weapon and if guards are near they may be alerted.  

•  You can use the stun gun to temporarily disable a camera, turret, and robots.

• Cloaking is very useful when you're going for a stealth run.  Cloaking can help you get past difficult parts without being seen.  When cloaking you won't be detected by lasers.  Shooting while cloaking won't break invisibility.

• Closing the doors cuts down the noise level dramatically.  Just be aware that guards can hear you opening and closing doors if they are close.

• Dragging bodies can be very useful.  You can drag bodies out of sight even inside vents so the other guards won't be alerted.  

•  You can drag an unconscious body in the patrol path of another guard while he's not looking then find a good spot to hide.  When the guard on patrol sees the body he will go off the patrol path to the body.  When he crouches down to wake the other guard you can sneak behind him and take him out too or use the tranquilizer rifle from a distance.

• Throwing a box or shooting a silenced bullet against the ground or a wall near a guard will make him go off patrol to investigate it.  Making it easier to take him out or sneak by him.

• If you have a group of enemies close together as long as you are out of sight you can use the tranquilizer rifle on one and also do the same to the others while they try to wake up their friends.

• Guards turn off lasers just by walking by them, take advantage of that.  Even if you drag an unconscious body near the lasers it will cut them off.

Hacking

• The hacking augmentations are very useful and it's recommended you pick up a few early in the game. 

• Sometimes when hacking you can capture the red tracker node to complete the hack and get bonus experience points or money.  There is also a glitch you can use to exploit that for infinite experience points or money.  The computer in Jensen's office is the best one for xp.

• Hacking alarm terminals can be useful as a backup in case the guards have gone hostile.  Some guards will go for the alarm terminal and be confused there for a while why it isn't working and that time you can easily take them out.

• You are able to look around the area while you are hacking if you need to check if the coast is clear.

• If all else fails you can always use an automatic hacking device.

Boss tips and strategies **WARNING SPOILERS**

• Typoon is a great boss killer and it helps you clear rooms

• Mines and grenades work well on most of the bosses

• The stun gun and gas grenades/canisters work on most of the bosses and give you time to either retreat or offload on them.

• The first boss can be dealt with easily by throwing the gas canister right in front of you at the start to stun him then unload on him with your most powerful weapons.  You can also use the explosive barrels in the area if you'd like and even his own grenades that he throws will kill him eventually.

• The second boss is easier if you have the armor augmentation that makes you immune to EMP.  You can also use the stun gun on her or shoot the terminals against the wall to stun her while you offload with Typoon or a powerful weapon.

• The third boss is a lot easier if you choose to NOT get the new chip implant from the limb clinic the second time you go to China.  You can even take him out in one punch after he jumps a wall just do your melee attack.

**END BOSS SPOILERS**

General Tips and Strategies

• Mines can be disabled by carefully walking up to them and picking them up.

• Search for walls you can break even if you don't have the augmentation where you can punch through them you can still blow them up.  You usually find some useful items or alternate paths.

• The AI fires at the last place that they saw you.  Keeping that in mind as long as you stay hidden you can move safely to another location and get the jump on them (cloaking helps).

• You are rewarded greatly by exploring in this game search for alternate paths and make sure to get the Icarus landing, higher jumping, heavy lifting, and the punch through wall augmentations to help you explore everywhere.

• Make sure to buy 2 praxis kits each time you visit the limb clinic of a new area.  When you go back to the areas a second time you are able to buy 2 more.

• The best tip I can give you is to save and save often.  The game lets you save anytime and anywhere you want, make sure to take advantage of that.

• Don't be afraid to try out something different, you might be surprised with the results.  The game is designed for multiple ways of doing things and multiple playthrough. Have fun with it!

I  hope you enjoyed reading these tips to help augment your gameplay in Deus Ex: Human Revolution.  Be sure to post your tips and tricks in the comments below, I'm sure there are lots that weren't mentioned.  Check back on GamersGameplay for more tips, tricks, strategies and reviews!

Earlier this year, Eat Sleep Play's new Twisted Metal game was announced for an October 4, 2011 release date, but alas, that is no longer the case. David Jaffe announced today that the game has been delayed until early 2012. The reason given was to use the extra development time to ensure the quality of the new Twisted Metal, and make sure it's as good as it can possibly be.

Though it may be disappointing to some, I for one am a little glad for the delay. Not only does it mean the game will be higher quality than a rushed product, but it also makes it a little easier to budget all the other huge titles coming out around October. Stay tuned for more info as it becomes available, and thank you, David Jaffe. I hope Twisted Metal turns out to be as good as you want it to be!

 Demon's Souls had some of the most innovative multiplayer concepts to come out in years.  Being able to join seamlessly into another player's game as friend or foe was brilliant.  It seems that Square Enix is taking that idea and building on it with their new game Mindjack.  I know what you might be thinking: "not another generic looking 3rd person shooter".



Mindjack at first glance does look very similar to other shooters.  You have your standard weapons like machine gun, sniper riffle, shotgun, and rocket launcher.  The gameplay mechanics look the same as other 3rd person shooters.  You're able to take cover, dash, hurdle, slide and melee.  That's where the similarities in gameplay end.

In Mindjack you're able to hack into a persons brain and take over their body.  Using the ability of mind hack you're able to take direct control over a NPC.  If you use the mind slave ability you recruit that person to help you fight.  It's not just people that you can hack, there are also various robots, and other creatures.  

E3 2010 when Mindjack was announced, Square Enix also showed off a playable demo of the game.  At the end of the demo you face off with a huge cyber-gorilla.  That makes me wonder what other types of creatures the game has in store for us.  It was confirmed that bosses are able to be hacked as well, and that's where the unique multiplayer comes into play.


 The multiplayer in Mindjack is seamlessly integrated into the single player much like Demon's Souls.  You're either on the blue team or the red team and you can join or leave whenever you want.  If you're on the blue team you're helping out the person playing the single player.  You're able to take control of main characters or civilian NPCs.  If you're on the red team you take control of enemy soilders, robots, and bosses.

One of the most exciting moments in Demon's Souls is being able to take control of the Old Monk and actually become the boss.  Enemy AI following scripted actions get boring after a while.  Being able to play with or against other players in the single player is what makes these games unique and exciting.  It also adds lots of replay value to the game being a different experience each time.

Playing the multiplayer you're rewarded with experience points that you can take with you to your own single player game.  You can use the experience points to unlock arts which give you new abilities and make hacking easier.  When you die you're turned into a floating light called the wanderer, until you find another body to inhabit.  There is a timer how often you can hack, and I'm sure a penalty for repeated deaths. 


Mindjack was originally announced for an October 2010 release and was later pushed back to January 18, 2011 for the 360/PS3.  With it's unique multiplayer, Mindjack is turning out to be an interesting looking game.  I really like the concept of perpetual multiplayer within single player experiences.  I hope more games follow suit with this idea, I feel it is the future of multiplayer.
Tips N4G

Being a fan of the Armored Core series it's always good to hear that they are making another one.  There aren't enough games these days about giant robots with giant weapons destroying each other.  Armored Core: For Answer was a step in the right direction for the series and probably my favorite one so far.  It added a little more personality to the story, epic boss fights, and some nice gameplay tweaks and changes.  If you haven't already checked it out yet, watch this gameplay footage, and then go out and buy it.


Armored Core 5 from what I've seen is looking really good.  It's adding a lot of dramatic changes to the series, and I think for the better.  The mechs in AC5 are built smaller, they are now around 5 meters instead of 10.  They also look a bit more like machines of death and less like they are from an anime.  The AC games have always been somewhat based on reality.  I know giant robots aren't exactly realistic, but the AC games being extremely detailed in all of their specs it almost makes you believe they could be real.

Little mechs big explosions!

Since they aren't real I wouldn't mind the series going in a more action style direction.  I would also like the mechs to have more variety and personality to them.  Of course it should still keep it's depth in the customization of the mechs and have tons of different parts.  I just wouldn't mind if it played a bit faster like Zone of the Enders.  While I don't think AC5 will play as fast as ZOE I can tell that it will play faster than previous AC games.

Having the smaller mechs and bigger environments in AC5 is going to add more strategy to the fights.  You'll be able to hide behind cover and launch sneak attacks.  That will make the people that use blades really happy to hear.  It was always hard to get the jump on other mechs with melee without getting shot at a few times.

The producer for AC5 Toshifumi Nabeshima has said for the online mode there will be a variety of things besides combat.  I'm not exactly sure what he has in mind but it sounds interesting.  I just hope it has your standard deathmatch, team deathmatch, capture the flag, and capture territories variations.  Team deathmatch should be extremely fun  4 vs 4 with friends and your custom built mechs sounds like a blast.


Another thing that Nabeshima mentioned but didn't go into much detail was about an "over weapon system" that could potentially one shot another mech.  The possibilities for that has me excited giving the mechs super moves sounds awesome.  I wonder how many different ones there will be and if they are mech or weapon specific.  It just makes me think about what other surprises are in store for this game.

Not much else is know about AC5 at the moment, but more info should be revealed soon.  AC5 originally had a 2010 release and now it's slated for early 2011.  It's developed by From Software for release in Japan and no official announcement has been made for a Western release.  It has a really good chance of being released for the West, I'll be keeping my eye out for you.  Let me know what you guys think, are you excited for it too?

I never really was much a fan of racing games, mostly the serious ones anyway like Gran Turismo.  It probably has something to do with me not being into cars that much.  The way the cars handle is too realistic, which is great for simulation, but not so great for having fun.

Racing games like Burnout are my kind of racing game.  It's fast paced arcade style racing at it's best.  The game actually encourages you to crash into and take out other racers.  Sure you can race the clock and try to beat your best score, but you'd be missing out on the point.  It's way more fun and satisfying to take out other cars, enjoy the slow motion sweetness of it happening, and then finish in first.

Just like racing games I'm not really into realistic shooters either.  So if your like me and want your shooter to be over the top arcade style, then check out Bulletstorm.  It has been called by the developer People Can Fly "The Burnout of shooters".  It's also co-developed by Epic Games the creators of Unreal and Gears of War.

Bulletstorm plays a bit differently from your average shooter.  It's not just about the headshot, or going for the kill in this game.  Bulletstorm encourages you to kill creatively using your guns, tools, and the environment together to perform skill shots.  Skill shots are special kills that reward the player with points that they can use for upgrades to weapons and skills.     

You are able to kick enemies away, or grapple them to you.  That alone opens up lots of interesting combos that you can perform.  When you do a kick or grapple the game slows down for a moment to give you time to decide how you want to combo them.  And of course there are lots of environmental hazards placed conveniently around for you to activate or kick/grapple them into.  Skill shots are very satisfying when you pull off, each one has a unique name that pops up when you do it.

The guns seem really interesting as well.  There is your standard automatic riffle like in every shooter, but have you ever seen a 4-barrel shot gun before?  There is also the Flail gun that fires two grenades that are linked by a chain that can wrap around things.

You can have them wrapped around objects in the environment like a trash can that you can kick into a group of enemies that will explode.  Another funny thing you can do is wrap them around two enemies together and that skill shot is called a "Gang Bang".The last weapon that I saw was called the Bouncer which fires cannonballs that bounce around.  After it's fired you can kick the ball around into enemies, it looks really fun to use.


From the gameplay that I've seen and the trailers this game is looking to be really good.  It promises epic large scale boss fights for the singleplayer.  I'm not sure if it'll have co-op or not for the main campaign.  Bulletstorm will have multplayer, it's a bit different from what you might expect from a typical shooter.  There is no deathmatch or capture the flag.  Instead it's a cooperative mode where you fight hordes of enemies together. What makes it interesting is trying to get the best score possible doing combos together.  Bulletstorm has an offical release date of 2-22-11 for the PC, 360, and PS3.

Call of Duty: Black Ops is overrated.

In October, a little title by the name of Vanquish was released. Created by Shinji Mikami and Platinum Games (also known for Bayonetta on PS3 and 360, and Madworld on the Wii). Vanquish may not have been on everyone's radar this fall, especially with Call of Duty: Black Ops right around the corner, but it damn well should be.

Mixing anime inspired story and gameplay mechanics with the typical third person shooter formula has turned into a fast-paced, over the top action game that any gamer can enjoy. From start to finish, the action is intense, frantic, and full of insane firefights. You're equipped with an armored battle suit, which lets you propel yourself quickly from one place to another, along with giving you a slowdown ability ala "The Matrix". This gives you a chance to safely take down enemies, and get out of the way of any dangerous fire coming your way. You'll also find many unique weapons along the way, like the standard Assault Rifle, Lock-on Laser and the Disk Launcher to name a few. All of them have their uses in given situations, and greatly add to the sci-fi feel of the game.



The controls in Vanquish are also VERY responsive. You never feel like you don't have total control of what's going on on the battlefield. That being said, this game also offers a considerable challenge. Playing on the harder difficulties is, well... pretty hard. There are also challenge maps to unlock as you progress through the story, which will keep you busy for a while, especially if you're a completionist. One of the trophies/achievements requires you clear them all. All of this on top of the sheer fun factor of the game greatly add to the replay value.

Now some of you may be wondering "Why should I care?" and to those of you that are: You should probably go back to playing the same shooter you've been playing every day for the past year and forget everything you've read here. This game probably isn't for everyone. With all the demand for multiplayer in every game to come down the line, you'll be disappointed with this game. There is none. Zero multiplayer here. Cry more. But what this game does offer is an amazing gameplay experience that you'll want to play over and over again. There are leaderboards and rankings for each individual mission, you'll find yourself trying to beat your best time quite often. It's also pretty satisfying to beat out your friends scores.


A lot of critics have griped about the length of this game in reviews. It is a short game, there's no arguing it. My first play through was about 6 hours. Speeding through the game, I'm sure it's beatable in 3 hours or so. But how is that a bad thing? Many action titles lose their steam after the first couple hours and just drag things out too long. *Cough* God of War 3 *Cough* But that's not a problem with Vanquish. It never, ever drops its pace. There's not a single moment in the game that I look back on and think "Jesus Christ I never wanna do that again." How many recent games can you say that about? Yeah, not many.

So with all said and done, a large portion of the gaming community are desperately awaiting their chance to get the new Call of Duty, (which looks a lot like last years model. Just sayin') without ever thinking about branching out and trying something new. A sad thing, indeed. But some of you, who want something a little different, will be playing Vanquish. You guys are pro.

Friend: You should get Black Ops!

Me: I'm just not that hardcore into first person shooters man. And I'd rather not contribute to the Call of Duty madness.

Friend: You're missing out!

Me: Ignorance is bliss :)

Friend: Alright, here's a comparison for it with something we can relate. A good story and gameplay is like a really hot girl (Black Ops). Now you see this girl, and she's beautiful (the graphics), and you keep hearing about how good she is in bed (the gameplay). Now you're telling me that you wouldn't want to get with that (play the game)?!

Me: I don't know man.. I hear that girl gets around A LOT (Call of Duty). I bet that slut has some STD's. I think I'll wait for a nice girl, so I won't have to worry if she's dirty or not, like Killzone 3 lolol.

Friend: Damn you!