Battlefield 3 - Xbox 360 Beta Impressions

Today I will give you some early impressions detailing the Xbox 360 version of the Battlefield 3 beta. Lets get some formalities out of the way early, shall we? Battlefield 3 is a modern first-person shooter developed by EA DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It releases October 25, 2011. This particular article is specifically detailing my early experiences regarding the Xbox 360 version of the Battlefield 3 beta.

Gamemodes - One game mode and that is Rush.

Rush - I played Rush many times in both Bad Company games. Attacking forces must advance through enemies defenses and destroy M COM Stations throughout the map. The defending team must protect all M COM Stations from the attackers. It's a simple game of defense versus offense and it can be quite entertaining sometimes. Most times defenders win and it seems to be that way in Battlefield 3 on Operation Metro map.

Operation Metro Map - Operation Metro map is the only map on the Xbox 360 version of Battlefield 3 beta at the moment. This map starts out in a park in sunlight but quickly turns into a underground subway battle. The early part of the subway portion is very linear. Actually, many sections of Operation Metro are linear which makes for Attackers in Rush really difficult. There are open areas in the subway section featuring escalators and open lobbies. But most of the map is train cars and linear passageways. There are also quite a few backroom hallways in the Operation Metro map.

Classes - There are four different classes in the beta including Assault, Engineer, Recon and Support. What primary guns you start out with in default depends on if your Attacker or Defender. Every class give or take has a Primary, Secondary, Gadget 1, Gadget 2 and Specialization slot.

Assault - This class starts off with either M16A3 or AK-74m for primary weapons. Sidearms are MP443 and M9 with the Medic Kit. I played with this class early and often. It feels sorta like the medic class in other games the way you can just toss around health packs to squad members and other teammates. I would say it's a good class to start with in Battlefield 3.

Engineer - Not much use for this class in the beta due to no vehicles being available. However the Engineer class has always been a favorite of mine in Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2. Primary weapons are M4A1 and AKS-74u. Sidearms are the same as all of the other classes. Gadget 1 is SMAW and RPG-7U2.

Each weapon in the Battlefield 3 beta has a detailed stats page showcasing everything you need to know about each gadget and weapon.

Support - I played with the Support class and it seems like a good class to lay down suppressive fire with. Primary weapon is the M27 1AR and RPK- 74M. Secondary guns are the same as above. Ammo Boxes are the "Gadget". If you want to keep supplies from running out for you're squadmates and teammates, pick the Support class.

Recon - Sniper class, need I say more? Primary guns MK 11 MODO and SVD. Secondary guns are the same as above. The Gadget is Radio Beacon. If you played with the Recon class in Bad Company it's quite similar.

Controls - Feels similar to Bad Company 2. Only difference so far is the prone option. To prone press down the Right Thumb Stick all the way till you're prone. The controls as to be expected aren't that good due to it being a beta. Seems aiming is kinda off. It seems clunky and wunky and or jerky if I can say that. Sprinting and doing the automatic parkour moves are nice.

Custom Kits - The menu is there but I can't confirm yet if you can make custom loadouts. I haven't played it enough to unlock many options to be frank. I will let you all know later if there are Custom Loadouts in the beta.

Glitches - First game I played on my Xbox 360 it simply froze ten minutes into the match. I had to restart the console. Not a good first impression if I must say. That's not all, almost every match I played had stuttering issues and framrate drops. Connections issues in game are apparent. Finding matches were easy to find on the Xbox 360. Battlefield 3's beta does have quite a bit of issues on the Xbox 360 regarding freezing, glitching and stuttering. Good thing, it's a beta and DICE has time to fix the kinks before the game ships in a few weeks.

My Unlocks - Not much, but for leveling up to Private First Class I attained the 870 MCS shotgun.

So what do I think about Battlefield 3's beta running on the Xbox 360? It's a gorgeous game with great sound design. I do like the Operation Metro map, it's not a great map but it's a solid map. The game does have glaring issues relating to glitching, stuttering and freezing. Thanks for reading.

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Nuage Impressions

The title screen of Nuage featured menus of Play, Directions, Options, Credits and Exit. The button layout via the Xbox 360 gamepad: LS-to move and collect clouds, RT-to use rain (5 clouds needed), LT-to use lightning. Lightning gives you extra rain time. The controls are good in Nuage. The controls were good in that they caused no stress which is Nuage's presentation's angle. Judging from the buttons you can probably put together some of Nuage's gameplay. Your goal is to change the landscape by growing plants, flowers and bushes through the use of rain.

You control a cloud on a nicely rendered 2D backdrop featuring trees, hills sunshine. You can see bears and foxes walking below the cloud. The cloud is the protagonist of Nuage without it you don't have a game. You move the cloud across the screen left to right, up or down to collect clouds. As you collect clouds they accumulate into a stronger cloud. Once you have five clouds you can create rain for a limited time. Rain helps plants below grow which changes the landscape of Nuage. It's a really simple game that gives you a simple pleasure just by watching the setting grow into something more beautiful.

I was unable to use lightning during my demo playthroughs so i can't comment on the effects of it relating to Nuage's landscape. I'm pretty sure lightning has a gameplay element just not sure what. The Directions menu stated lightning is used to help you create rain longer. If that is the case it doesn't seem like a big deal. As far as the gameplay is concerned its pretty simple but enjoyable. It's actually addicting but in a non-stressful way. The reason Nuage has a calming effect is from two elements, the visuals and music.

The visuals in this game exude quality. It's more art than textures i like to say. The landscape, trees and animals gave my mind peace. Nuage isn't a complicated looking game it's quite simple. However it does deliver an atmosphere of calmness. The second part of this calming effect equation has to do with the sound design. The music in particular done by Paul Collier is probably the reason this game has a legit calming effect on me. It was that good. I played so many XBLIGs and many lack quality to be blunt. Nuage isn't one of those games this one has quality embedded deep within its essence.

Well you might say how can Nuage be so fun. Its simple for me really. I love watching the environment come to life. Nuage may not be a genre-defining game however it's a game that breaks from the casual main stream video game ideas. It's a small indie game to boot which is why you gotta try it. Check out Nuage on Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace. Play the demo or buy it for 80 Microsoft Points. Thanks for reading.

View the original article here

Read More

Nuage Impressions

The title screen of Nuage featured menus of Play, Directions, Options, Credits and Exit. The button layout via the Xbox 360 gamepad: LS-to move and collect clouds, RT-to use rain (5 clouds needed), LT-to use lightning. Lightning gives you extra rain time. The controls are good in Nuage. The controls were good in that they caused no stress which is Nuage's presentation's angle. Judging from the buttons you can probably put together some of Nuage's gameplay. Your goal is to change the landscape by growing plants, flowers and bushes through the use of rain.

You control a cloud on a nicely rendered 2D backdrop featuring trees, hills sunshine. You can see bears and foxes walking below the cloud. The cloud is the protagonist of Nuage without it you don't have a game. You move the cloud across the screen left to right, up or down to collect clouds. As you collect clouds they accumulate into a stronger cloud. Once you have five clouds you can create rain for a limited time. Rain helps plants below grow which changes the landscape of Nuage. It's a really simple game that gives you a simple pleasure just by watching the setting grow into something more beautiful.

I was unable to use lightning during my demo playthroughs so i can't comment on the effects of it relating to Nuage's landscape. I'm pretty sure lightning has a gameplay element just not sure what. The Directions menu stated lightning is used to help you create rain longer. If that is the case it doesn't seem like a big deal. As far as the gameplay is concerned its pretty simple but enjoyable. It's actually addicting but in a non-stressful way. The reason Nuage has a calming effect is from two elements, the visuals and music.

The visuals in this game exude quality. It's more art than textures i like to say. The landscape, trees and animals gave my mind peace. Nuage isn't a complicated looking game it's quite simple. However it does deliver an atmosphere of calmness. The second part of this calming effect equation has to do with the sound design. The music in particular done by Paul Collier is probably the reason this game has a legit calming effect on me. It was that good. I played so many XBLIGs and many lack quality to be blunt. Nuage isn't one of those games this one has quality embedded deep within its essence.

Well you might say how can Nuage be so fun. Its simple for me really. I love watching the environment come to life. Nuage may not be a genre-defining game however it's a game that breaks from the casual main stream video game ideas. It's a small indie game to boot which is why you gotta try it. Check out Nuage on Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace. Play the demo or buy it for 80 Microsoft Points. Thanks for reading.

View the original article here

Read More