Ahh... the Fallout series, surely a haven for those who dream of a better, post-apocalyptic world. And this time around as commandant within the ranks of the Schwarzkopf-esque Brotherhood of Steel, tactical warfare is the soup of the day.
Fallout Tactics takes a strategic perspective on the world laid out in the previous fallout chapters which opted for the RPG format. Because of this we are given not an all to original environment in which to do battle, though it is instantly fresh with the high-res and all. A feeling instantly generated when first seeing the graphic design is how all together thorough it is. It seems to contain all the elements of a fallout world (unfortunately I couldn't verify this, my contact in Chernobyl has contracted some horrid cough), from the burnt-out everything to the measly civilians making up the lower end of Darwin's theory. Levels are varied from urban to wilderness settings, but with the similar lighting throughout and the unchanging camera it gets rather stale along the way. This however is easily forgotten due to the surplus of variety in all other areas.
There are a plethora of both foes and weapons for you to encounter providing a nice bit of option when deciding how to go about taking life (my favorite is assaulting an unwary Beastlord with the brass knuckles). Weapons range from Uzi's to rail guns and though they provide a rush when obtained their effectiveness tend to not equal their potential. For instance a shotgun may miss point blank, and a bazooka tends to send its projectiles at a slingshot pace.
In combat you are given the option to duke in out in a turn-based system or a continuous one. A true gem is that you can alternate between the two throughout the missions that can make some battles feasibly winnable as opposed to utterly hopeless. The missions are insanely long but provide many different tasks, which make them more than tolerable. Controlling your characters is less personal more AI, thankfully the AI is often more capable than one would suppose, a nice touch. Depending on the player this lack of control could be an issue. One inane shortcoming FT suffers from however is the mission layout. At points you are given an objective. As you go about achieving this objective civilian lives are unavoidably lost. When you return for your next briefing you realize that that once insignificant and now dead NPC is now the key to progression. Infuriating! Also, your actions are permanent, golf clap for realism, low blow for impatient compulsive gamer. Thus, save often.
The story department is nicely filled and more than adequate for a strategy title.
You take on the role of a merc, recruited by the sovereign Brotherhood of Steel, who's mission is to restore the earth to its former glory and harmony by irradiating all who oppose, and by re-harnessing long dormant technologies. Technologies, blah, mega-murderous weapons more like it. Nevertheless, characters contain many side stories that are revealed in increments and develop a nice feel to the whole process. The gradual growth of your characters in skill and ability also adds to the overall appeal of completion, which takes a long, long time. Much of this time will be spent moving around your campsite hiring team members acquiring useful info for missions and buying weapons. This is a nicely involved aspect of the game that utilizes the brilliant interface, at once understandable and useful.
Outside of the one player epic, FT boasts a nice online multiplayer hackfest, which allows you to play as the baddies you encounter along the way in one player mode. Also featured is a capture the flag mode. Its fun, but no diversion from the meat of the matter.
The sound and voice acting of Fallout Tactics are in the upper echelon of strategy games and as always produce a much more real environment in which to fight, kill and conquer (all for the Brotherhood of course).
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel contains all the elements of a classic but foolishly falls short in vital areas. The overall quality does remain however and can keep a gamer involved for weeks, though not without side effects. Expect an overly militant spirit to manifest itself in your daily life, just try not to yell out "All hail the Brotherhood", in your poli-sci class or while on an airplane.
But then, I guess Mac users are used to just throwing their computers away when it's upgrade time, and buying another one that "just works" (until new hardware comes out).
I don't use Macs, I prefer Linux and before that I preferred Windows/DOS. But of the computers that I support for my job, many are still-running Macintoshes from 10 years ago or more. There are no PC compatibles from that long ago around.
(posting as anoymous cowarad so as not to be a karma whore)
Press Release Source: DivXNetworks
KiSS Technology To Release First DivX(TM) Compatible DVD Player
Tuesday October 22, 8:30 am ET
KiSS DVD Player DP-450 Offers Playback Of Videos Encoded In DivX 4.xx And 5.xx
SAN DIEGO, CA and HOERSHOLM, DENMARK--(INTERNET WIRE)--Oct 22, 2002 -- DivXNetworks, Inc, the company that created the revolutionary patent-pending DivX (TM) video compression technology, and KiSS Technology, a leading Scandinavian manufacturer of DVD products throughout the world, today announced that the DP-450 from KiSS Technology is the first DVD player to offer compatibility with certain versions of DivX video technology.
ADVERTISEMENT
The KiSS DP-450, set for release in late October, will enable playback of videos encoded in DivX versions 4.xx and 5.xx. Additionally, the two companies are working closely together to develop future products that will be "DivX Certified" and offer full compatibility with all versions of DivX video. DivX video compression technology, often called the "MP3 of video," offers 7-10 times greater compression than MPEG-2 technology with no loss in visual quality. Hailed as a "revolutionary product" by Tom's Hardware Guide, DivX has been downloaded over 70 million times worldwide.
"Our new progressive Scan DP-450 DVD Player with DivX support is hitting the market exactly at the right time and the right price of 400 Euro. We believe that it is important to offer our users support for DivX video above and beyond other video technologies for a number of reasons," said Bo Lustrup, Marketing Manager at KiSS Technology (www.kiss-technology.com). "The incredible visual quality, significant brand equity, and vast global demand for DivX video makes the technology a must-have for next-generation video electronics devices, and the addition of DivX compatibility to the DP-450 will give our product a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace."
"As the first DVD player to support DivX playback, the DP-450 is a significant development for consumers, and we look forward to working with KiSS Technology to ensure full DivX compatibility in future products," said Jordan Greenhall, CEO and co-founder of DivXNetworks (www.divxnetworks.com). "The global DivX community has been anxiously awaiting next-generation devices that support DivX video, and the coming year will see the explosion of DivX technology in the consumer electronics space across a wide range of products."
The KiSS DP-450, manufactured and designed in Scandinavia, was designed to provide consumers with the highest-quality picture and sound. In addition to DivX compatibility, the DP-450 offers a groundbreaking progressive scan technology that enhances the visual experience, MPEG-4 support, a unique MP3 playback and user interface and a photo album feature for digital photo collections. The KiSS DP-450 also comes complete with the standard CD/MP3, CD-RW, SVCD, VCD and DVD-RW Playback offered by its predecessor, the award winning DP-330.
For more information, visit www.kiss-technology.com.
The latest release of DivX video technology is being incorporated in a number of next-generation chip-sets and video convergence devices.DivXNetworks recently launched a DivX Certified Partner Program to ensure the development of official DivX enabled consumer electronics products. For more information, visit www.divx.com/certified.
About DivXNetworks
DivXNetworks is a leading technology company that enables the rapid proliferation of video content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks by combining the lightweight, ubiquitous access of the Internet with DVD-quality video performance. The company's approach is built upon the success of the DivX(TM) codec, a leading standard for MPEG-4 compatible video distribution with over 70 million users worldwide, and the DivX Open Video System(TM), a next-generation content delivery system that provides unsurpassed aggregation, promotion, and distribution of video content for mass markets. DivXNetworks is headquartered in San Diego, California, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. For more information about DivXNetworks, visit www.divxnetworks.com.
About KiSS Technology
KiSS Technology A/S was founded in 1994 and has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers of DVD products and DVB-receivers throughout the world. KiSS Technology headquarters is in Hoersholm, Denmark. Most of the staff is located here, but with sales offices in Sweden, Germany and UK. KiSS Technology A/S has four principal activities: DVD solutions, Plasma and TFT Displays, DVB solutions, and distribution of multimedia products.
Please visit the company's web site at www.kiss-technology.com
Contact:
Contact: Tom Huntington
Company: For DivXNetworks
Title: Corporate Communications Manager
Voice: 858-909-5358
Email: thuntington@divxnetworks.com
Contact: Bo Lustrup
Company: KiSS Technology A/S
Voice: +45 45 17 00 80
Email: blu@kiss-technology.com
Source: DivXNetworks
Slashdot Mirror
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel
Score: 8/10
Ahh... the Fallout series, surely a haven for those who dream of a better, post-apocalyptic world. And this time around as commandant within the ranks of the Schwarzkopf-esque Brotherhood of Steel, tactical warfare is the soup of the day.
Fallout Tactics takes a strategic perspective on the world laid out in the previous fallout chapters which opted for the RPG format. Because of this we are given not an all to original environment in which to do battle, though it is instantly fresh with the high-res and all. A feeling instantly generated when first seeing the graphic design is how all together thorough it is. It seems to contain all the elements of a fallout world (unfortunately I couldn't verify this, my contact in Chernobyl has contracted some horrid cough), from the burnt-out everything to the measly civilians making up the lower end of Darwin's theory. Levels are varied from urban to wilderness settings, but with the similar lighting throughout and the unchanging camera it gets rather stale along the way. This however is easily forgotten due to the surplus of variety in all other areas.
There are a plethora of both foes and weapons for you to encounter providing a nice bit of option when deciding how to go about taking life (my favorite is assaulting an unwary Beastlord with the brass knuckles). Weapons range from Uzi's to rail guns and though they provide a rush when obtained their effectiveness tend to not equal their potential. For instance a shotgun may miss point blank, and a bazooka tends to send its projectiles at a slingshot pace.
In combat you are given the option to duke in out in a turn-based system or a continuous one. A true gem is that you can alternate between the two throughout the missions that can make some battles feasibly winnable as opposed to utterly hopeless. The missions are insanely long but provide many different tasks, which make them more than tolerable. Controlling your characters is less personal more AI, thankfully the AI is often more capable than one would suppose, a nice touch. Depending on the player this lack of control could be an issue. One inane shortcoming FT suffers from however is the mission layout. At points you are given an objective. As you go about achieving this objective civilian lives are unavoidably lost. When you return for your next briefing you realize that that once insignificant and now dead NPC is now the key to progression. Infuriating! Also, your actions are permanent, golf clap for realism, low blow for impatient compulsive gamer. Thus, save often.
The story department is nicely filled and more than adequate for a strategy title.
You take on the role of a merc, recruited by the sovereign Brotherhood of Steel, who's mission is to restore the earth to its former glory and harmony by irradiating all who oppose, and by re-harnessing long dormant technologies. Technologies, blah, mega-murderous weapons more like it. Nevertheless, characters contain many side stories that are revealed in increments and develop a nice feel to the whole process. The gradual growth of your characters in skill and ability also adds to the overall appeal of completion, which takes a long, long time. Much of this time will be spent moving around your campsite hiring team members acquiring useful info for missions and buying weapons. This is a nicely involved aspect of the game that utilizes the brilliant interface, at once understandable and useful.
Outside of the one player epic, FT boasts a nice online multiplayer hackfest, which allows you to play as the baddies you encounter along the way in one player mode. Also featured is a capture the flag mode. Its fun, but no diversion from the meat of the matter.
The sound and voice acting of Fallout Tactics are in the upper echelon of strategy games and as always produce a much more real environment in which to fight, kill and conquer (all for the Brotherhood of course).
Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel contains all the elements of a classic but foolishly falls short in vital areas. The overall quality does remain however and can keep a gamer involved for weeks, though not without side effects. Expect an overly militant spirit to manifest itself in your daily life, just try not to yell out "All hail the Brotherhood", in your poli-sci class or while on an airplane.
Reviewed by Tolkiemingway
(link)
But then, I guess Mac users are used to just throwing their computers away when it's upgrade time, and buying another one that "just works" (until new hardware comes out).
I don't use Macs, I prefer Linux and before that I preferred Windows/DOS. But of the computers that I support for my job, many are still-running Macintoshes from 10 years ago or more. There are no PC compatibles from that long ago around.
(posting as anoymous cowarad so as not to be a karma whore) Press Release Source: DivXNetworks KiSS Technology To Release First DivX(TM) Compatible DVD Player Tuesday October 22, 8:30 am ET KiSS DVD Player DP-450 Offers Playback Of Videos Encoded In DivX 4.xx And 5.xx SAN DIEGO, CA and HOERSHOLM, DENMARK--(INTERNET WIRE)--Oct 22, 2002 -- DivXNetworks, Inc, the company that created the revolutionary patent-pending DivX (TM) video compression technology, and KiSS Technology, a leading Scandinavian manufacturer of DVD products throughout the world, today announced that the DP-450 from KiSS Technology is the first DVD player to offer compatibility with certain versions of DivX video technology. ADVERTISEMENT The KiSS DP-450, set for release in late October, will enable playback of videos encoded in DivX versions 4.xx and 5.xx. Additionally, the two companies are working closely together to develop future products that will be "DivX Certified" and offer full compatibility with all versions of DivX video. DivX video compression technology, often called the "MP3 of video," offers 7-10 times greater compression than MPEG-2 technology with no loss in visual quality. Hailed as a "revolutionary product" by Tom's Hardware Guide, DivX has been downloaded over 70 million times worldwide. "Our new progressive Scan DP-450 DVD Player with DivX support is hitting the market exactly at the right time and the right price of 400 Euro. We believe that it is important to offer our users support for DivX video above and beyond other video technologies for a number of reasons," said Bo Lustrup, Marketing Manager at KiSS Technology (www.kiss-technology.com). "The incredible visual quality, significant brand equity, and vast global demand for DivX video makes the technology a must-have for next-generation video electronics devices, and the addition of DivX compatibility to the DP-450 will give our product a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace." "As the first DVD player to support DivX playback, the DP-450 is a significant development for consumers, and we look forward to working with KiSS Technology to ensure full DivX compatibility in future products," said Jordan Greenhall, CEO and co-founder of DivXNetworks (www.divxnetworks.com). "The global DivX community has been anxiously awaiting next-generation devices that support DivX video, and the coming year will see the explosion of DivX technology in the consumer electronics space across a wide range of products." The KiSS DP-450, manufactured and designed in Scandinavia, was designed to provide consumers with the highest-quality picture and sound. In addition to DivX compatibility, the DP-450 offers a groundbreaking progressive scan technology that enhances the visual experience, MPEG-4 support, a unique MP3 playback and user interface and a photo album feature for digital photo collections. The KiSS DP-450 also comes complete with the standard CD/MP3, CD-RW, SVCD, VCD and DVD-RW Playback offered by its predecessor, the award winning DP-330. For more information, visit www.kiss-technology.com. The latest release of DivX video technology is being incorporated in a number of next-generation chip-sets and video convergence devices.DivXNetworks recently launched a DivX Certified Partner Program to ensure the development of official DivX enabled consumer electronics products. For more information, visit www.divx.com/certified. About DivXNetworks DivXNetworks is a leading technology company that enables the rapid proliferation of video content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks by combining the lightweight, ubiquitous access of the Internet with DVD-quality video performance. The company's approach is built upon the success of the DivX(TM) codec, a leading standard for MPEG-4 compatible video distribution with over 70 million users worldwide, and the DivX Open Video System(TM), a next-generation content delivery system that provides unsurpassed aggregation, promotion, and distribution of video content for mass markets. DivXNetworks is headquartered in San Diego, California, with a satellite office in Los Angeles. For more information about DivXNetworks, visit www.divxnetworks.com. About KiSS Technology KiSS Technology A/S was founded in 1994 and has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers of DVD products and DVB-receivers throughout the world. KiSS Technology headquarters is in Hoersholm, Denmark. Most of the staff is located here, but with sales offices in Sweden, Germany and UK. KiSS Technology A/S has four principal activities: DVD solutions, Plasma and TFT Displays, DVB solutions, and distribution of multimedia products. Please visit the company's web site at www.kiss-technology.com Contact: Contact: Tom Huntington Company: For DivXNetworks Title: Corporate Communications Manager Voice: 858-909-5358 Email: thuntington@divxnetworks.com Contact: Bo Lustrup Company: KiSS Technology A/S Voice: +45 45 17 00 80 Email: blu@kiss-technology.com Source: DivXNetworks
and take over my account.
Whore.