Hey guys, how’s it going? It’s been a few weeks since my last post, so I figured I better get something up today.

Basically, things are going pretty well at work. I still don’t have my hands on Exile issue 2 thanks to various set backs. The good news is that I’ll have it by the end of the week for sure. I have had a chance to check it out and, I must say, it’s looking fantastic. Andy Bennet really has brought his best with issue 2. Those of you who are looking forward to Exile 2 are in store for some pretty huge twists. While I don’t want to spoil anything, let me just say that you’ll get an interesting glimpse into Ford’s background. If any of you still haven’t jump on board, Exile issue 1 can be picked up for $4 at our website. Once you guys pick it up, feel free to join the Facebook group (just search Exile: A New World) and start up some discussion.

Aside from Exile there really hasn’t been anything new on my plate. Last week’s D&D session got canceled because the DM had to go scope out his grad school and make some final preparations. We will be meeting up this Thursday for an extra long session to make up for lost time.

When I’m not at work and not working on Gamer Limit stuff, I’ve been passing my time teaching my girlfriend how to play TF2. I must say, for someone who had no experience with first-person shooters she is coming along wonderfully. On a side note, the newly released Engineer Update is fantastic. If you had played TF2 in the past, but put it down for more recent games, I highly suggest you go back and check out all the new content. It really is amazing how, by adding new weapons, Valve is able to completely revolutionize how certain classes should be played. For example, since the update, I’ve noticed a lot of engineers using the fast-deploying mini-sentry guns as an offensive tactic, which is particularly effective on King of the Hill maps.

Before I end this blog post, I wanted to leave you guys with this pretty gnarly video I saw on Reddit this morning. Basically, it’s a pro Quake 3 player going over one of his most famous matches. It really is amazing to hear him talk about all the various factors and strategies that come into play in the competitive Quake circuit.

As always, feel free to leave a comment. I’m always looking for suggestions for things to blog about.

Hey guys. Hows it going? I’m still trying to figure out how often I’m going to update this little blog. I’m shooting for once every week or two. I guess we’ll see how good I am at motivating myself.

Anyway, things are pretty much normal here at Brighter Minds Media (BMM for all future posts). At our Monday meeting we decided to push Exile Issue 2 back a week in favor of reallocating our artists so they can work on cranking out some iPad apps that have been sitting on the back burner.  In all reality, this is great news for me. This means that still have time to compile more comic book blogs to email about Exile. This delay also allows me time to contact the guy who writes game reviews for two of Columbus’s local papers.

Right now our artists have just finished up with the apps and are hard at work adding the animations and effects for issue 2. One of the coolest things I’ve gotten to do at this internship is sit down with two of my bosses and decide which images are going to trigger events, which objects are going to be animated, what sound effects are fitting for the story, etc. etc. Needless to say I’m excited to have our artists finish up so I can see how my ideas turned out.  If any of you guys are interested in Exile, feel free to join the facebook page. It’s the place to be for all the latest info on Exile.

I must say, watching a comic book being made is one of the coolest things in the world. I’ve seen Exile issue 2 go from just a simple text-only script to fully drawn book in just a matter of days. It’s amazing to see how these artists are able to create such a vivid and vibrant world from just a few words on a page.

When I’m not working on promoting Exile, I’ve been fleshing out an idea I’ve had for a children’s chapter book. Something geared towards kids ages 5-10. Basically it’s going to be a group of kids who solves little mysteries around town. Think Encyclopedia Brown meets Scooby Doo. The real crux of this idea is that after the first book is written out and approved, I’d like to have the artists and programmers here at BMM create a digital graphic novel, much like Exile, based on my book. I think it was be incredibly cool to have a mystery comic book where you actually get to interact with the images on the page. Imagine being a child and being given a game that allows you to hunt for clues in a digital space in order to solve a mystery. The way I see it working would be like: the first panel of the comic is revealed. In order to see the rest of the page, you need to find the right clue in the first panel.

Anyway, that’s pretty much all that I’ve going going on at work. In my free time I’m currently playing Making History II for the PC. It’s a “Grand strategy game” along the lines of Hearts of Iron III (One of my first reviews for Gamer Limit). Those of you who know me know that I’m not the biggest fan of the genre, however I am slowly learning the game and figuring out the rules. Besides MHII, I’ve been rocking some BF:BC2 multiplayer almost every night (I recently got my older brother to pick it up when it was on sale on Steam). If anyone is playing on the PC and need a squad-mate, my BC2 ID is: Yuenanimous. Lastly, tonight marks the first time my group of friends will be getting together to play D&D. As usual I’m playing a rouge with a focus on pick-pocketing and conning people (Yay for high dexterity and charisma!)

As usual, feel free to leave comments. If any of these things interests you more than the others, let me know so I can change the focus of my blog (I’m still trying to figure out what I’m doing with this).

For the longest time I kept telling myself that I was going to start a legitimate blog here on Gamer Limit. So far, I’ve only used this space to review the occasional game that doesn’t seem to fit on the main GL site. Today that changes. Today I start blogging for real.

This of course begs the question ‘what to blog about?’ Never being ashamed of a little self promotion, (I hear it’s important in the real world) I’m going to write about my day job. As most of you know, currently I’m a student at The Ohio State University majoring in English. I’m planning on graduating at the end of August, once I complete my internship with the children’s game publisher Brighter Minds Media (I need the credit to graduate with a minor in Profession Writing.) When I’m not in class or writing for GL, I am in charge of marketing a digital graphic novel, made by Brighter Minds’ sister company Our New Game (due to adult themes we had to release it under a sister company), called Exile: A New World. Recently, some of you may have gotten a message from me on Facebook to check out the Exile page I made. Those who checked it out, thank you! Those you didn’t want to be bothered, allow me to apologies.

Basically, Exile is an “eye-spy” casual game. Players have to comb the pages and click on objects in order to trigger animation, sound, or just drive the story forward. The cool thing about Exile is that, because it is a digital graphic novel, we are able to include music, mini-games, wallpapers, concept art, etc. Obviously classic comic books are unable to include these extras, which is a shame. I can tell you that these little extras make a world of difference when it comes to immersion in the story.

Aside from all these nifty extras, Exile features a fantastic story written by my boss Jay Treuhaft. The basic premise is that, while working on the atomic bomb, the Manhattan Project accidentally stumbles upon portal technology. At first, these portals are just used to send garbage off the planet, however, over the years the technology becomes more mainstream. Eventually the U.S. government starts using these portals as a means of dealing with the overcrowded prisons. The world beyond the portal is now populated solely by convicted felons. Gangs reign supreme while everyone else just tries to survive. While everyone may be a felon, that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone in Exile is a bad person. Exile allows readers to discover the savage world beyond the portal, as well as the background stories of the main characters, showing what caused them to land them in Exile.

Exile is broken up into 4 issues. The first one is available now and can be purchased here for $4. Issue 2 is slated to arrive sometime next week. 3 will hit at the end of July and 4 in August. We are currently running a deal where you can pre-order all 4 issues for $8. Word on the street is that we might have a special deal planned for when issue 2 hits, however I am unable to comment on the specifics (stay tuned to the Facebook page for the announcement.)

While it may not be Halo: Reach, or even Plants vs. Zombies, Exile is a fun, little casual game with a unique and compelling story. I urge all of you to check it out. After you do, feel free to let me know what you think by emailing me at alex.yue@gmail.com.

Has anyone else noticed that almost every first-person shooter that comes out nowadays is set in the “modern” world. With huge successes like Modern Warfare 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 it’s easy to see why. However, there is a part of me that longs for a return to the innovative sci-fi shooter; something along the lines of Starsiege: Tribes.

Imagine my surprise when I got handed a review copy of the PS3 version of Section 8, a multiplayer focused sci-fi shooter featuring everything from jet-packs to drop-ships developed by TimeGate Studios. Now don’t get me wrong, Section 8 is not a Tribes replacement. I honestly don’t think anything will ever be similar enough to Tribes to warrant taking its place. That being said, however, Section 8 does a great job of filling the Tribes role on modern consoles.

For those of you who have never heard of Section 8 let me fill you in. It’s a team-based sci-fi shooter that plays out like a combination of Halo and Battlefield. Much like the conquest mode in the Battlefield series, there are two teams, each with a set amount of “tickets.” Each time you die, your team’s ticket count drops by one. There are also control points on the map. If you control less than half of the points, your team’s ticket count will continue to drop until you take more control points. Once your team’s tickets hit zero, you lose.

What is so unique about Section 8 is it’s “burn-in” feature. Rather than spawning on the map at designated respawn points, like in most games, players spawn thousands of feet above the battlefield on orbiting spaceships. These spaceships shoot you down into the fray. What’s so innovative about this is that you actually get to control where you land on the battlefield. This allows for unique strategies as well as unique ways to score some kills (crashing into enemies). You do have to watch out though, anti-aircraft fire will cut you to pieces before you even touch the ground.

Another cool feature of Section 8 is that you have the ability to call down support structures. As you play the game you earn money though scoring points, killing bad guys, etc. You can spend this money on support structures (anti-tank turrets, supply crates, etc) and vehicles that will be dropped out of the sky to where you choose. Again, this innovative method of transportation allows gamers to explore new strategies that cannot be employed in other games.

One thing I really liked about Section 8 is that every player comes equipped with a jet pack. Maybe it’s the kid in me, but every time I’m flying above the a firefight only to drop down next to the bad guys, shotgun a blazing, I can’t help but smile.

What also makes this shooter a lot of fun is that there are different equipment packages for you to choose from, each with its own use. Much like the Battlefield series, players can choose an anti-vehicle package, a sniper package, mid-range rifle package, etc.. If none of these are to your liking, you are able to make custom packages that fit your needs on the battlefield.

While Section 8 is primarily a multiplayer focused title, there is a single-player campaign. Clocking in around 5 hours, the single-player portion tells the story of Alex Corde, a soldier whose unit is completely wiped out. On a quest for revenge, Corde joins the seemingly suicidal 8th Armored Infantry. The soldiers of the 8th Infantry are an elite unit whose missions involve being drop into heavily fortified enemy bases.

The single-player campaign is essentially eight levels of objective based gameplay with AI bots. Obviously meant to serve as a primer for the multiplayer, each level introduces the gamer to different types of game modes and equipment. The thing about the single-player is that it’s very easy. There really is no way to lose. Every time you die, you are able to burn-in with no penalty. I thought I was pretty good at this game until I hopped into a few multiplayer games and got my ass handed to me. I wish TimeGate had made the single-player portion a bit more difficult so that it would serve as a better training ground for the multiplayer.

Another issue I had with the single-player campaign is that it felt like an afterthought. The narrative is pretty week, featuring characters that I could care less about, motives and actions that seem to come out of no where, and little to no background information on the Section 8 universe. Had TimeGate fleshed out the single-player into a full eight to ten hour experience, a lot of these issues would have been resolved.

One thing worth mentioning is that the PS3 version of Section 8, which was released seven months after the PC and Xbox 360 versions, has some new and improved features. First off, the PS3 version features three maps that were previously release for the PC and Xbox 360 as DLC. The PS3 version also boasts a significant number of behind the scenes changes (graphics improvements, smoother game mechanics, etc.). Lastly the PS3 version allows gamers to download a program that lets them host servers from their PC.

While Section 8 is an ambitious title, there are some short comings. The biggest issue I had with the game is that there are not a lot of people playing it online. I understand that this is a catch-22 for TimeGate, seeing how there is a lack of people online which, in turn, drives people away from purchasing the game, only to fuel the lack of people online. I think a large part of this problem is the price of the game. Seeing how Section 8 is only available as a download from the PlayStation Network, $30 seems a bit steep for gamers to take a gamble on.

Ultimately Section 8 is a fun multiplayer experience, that is if you can find the people to play with. I would recommend this game to hardcore console shooter fans who are looking for a break from the “modern” setting. Seeing how the single-player portion of the game is a bit short, I would also only recommend this game to gamers who focus on multiplayer. Section 8 is a great first step towards establishing a sci-fi console franchise. Hopefully TimeGate Studios has it in them to make another title set in this world, this time fleshing out the single-player experience a bit more.