Apparently, for some people, content just isn’t showing up.

To add to the frustration, if you’ve played through Bring Down the Sky then that custom content is hanging out on your hardware and in your game and the only way to to get Pinnacle Station to work is to kill Bring Down the Sky and then reinstall it.

With six pages of complaints about the DLC, it almost makes me happy that I don’t have the game…and I say almost because I’m still a bit bitter that Mass Effect wasn’t released to the PS3.

Of course, I couldn’t help but include some Pinnacle Stations screenshots and you can read a bite sized review by Stephen Titilo over at Kotaku.

Images|EA

Post from: EveryJoe

A Fly in the Ointment for Pinnacle Station

If you’re like majority of mankind, anything with a prefix of “free” attached to it becomes absolutely irresistible, especially in this day and age when nothing is given away without charge. This is the reason why Combat Arms, a free online FPS, has a lot going for it.

Forget the fact that free games are usually looked down upon since they’re not very good. Anyways, Joystiq said Combat Arms is “good,” so it must be, right? Because of this commendation, I knew I had to try the game.

The download and account creation was easy enough. What followed next was an exercise frustration. Whenever I tried logging in Combat Arms, I get the following message over and over again:

After a bit of digging, I learned that Combat Arms was launched officially last July 11 in North America, and that the online FPS would have a closed beta test in Europe next month. Apparently, a lot of complaints have been made by European players lately because they have been receiving the same error message.

Many have presumed that Nexon, the game’s developer, is restricting access to Combat Arms to U.S.-based players only. Apparently, it’s not so simple. Some Nexon forum users claim that they’ve been able to play the game even if they’re not based in the U.S., while some U.S.-based users have been having the same login problems.

So what is it really? We don’t know for sure. Even Nexon didn’t say anything about geographical limitations. As far as I’m concerned, I still can’t join the game’s North American servers. I don’t know if this is because I live in a different continent, or if my ISP isn’t fast enough for U.S. standards. One thing’s for sure: I’ll never know if Combat Arms is really as good as Joystiq says it is.

Image for Combat Arms is courtesy of Nexon.

Post from: EveryJoe

Login woes plague Combat Arms

I just can’t help but wonder though—is Far Cry 2’s protagonist capable of carrying all those guns? I sincerely hope there’s a maximum number one can carry because those one-man-army shooters aren’t exactly my idea of a good time, unless it involved carjacking and beating hookers to death with a baseball bat, or sneaking in a camo suit.

Post from: EveryJoe

Far Cry 2 videos show off oodles of gameplay

As you may have noticed, I’ve been playing Grand Theft Auto IV for weeks, so I decided to get some sun, go out of the house, and actually read some news. Of all that I‘ve read, the most surprising was the announcement made by id Software that they’ve began production of Doom 4 as of today. Unfortunately, no other details were provided.

This probably means that id Software has just decided to make the next installment, but there’s still no code to speak of. Sure, they may already have a game engine for Doom 4, but where are the screenshots? There wasn’t even any word on what they plan to do with multiplayer, which was what catapulted Doom into immortality in the first place.

And don’t get me started on Doom 3’s multiplayer.

Ross Miller at Joystiq thinks Doom 4 would use the id Tech 5 game engine, which looks absolutely fantastic by the way. I’m inclined to agree, especially since über-designer John Carmack said id has quietly been working on the engine for the past couple of years. There’s no sense in developing software for two years, announcing it to the world, then not using it, right?

Unless id has something even better in mind.

Image of Doom 3 is courtesy of id Software and Activision.

Post from: EveryJoe

Doom 4 begins production, says id Software

You have to deal with not-so-responsive controls and not-so-satisfying action. I should have taken the choppy sounds in the menu as a warning. Indeed, Metroid Prime Hunters is a tough act to follow.

Imagine my surprise when Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was announced for the diminutive Nintendo handheld. My kneejerk reaction was “this game is going to suck eggs.”

When I read Joystiq’s hands-on preview, my preconceived notions are in danger of being challenged. According to Zack Stern (the lucky journo who played the game):

“The DS version feels full of care and craft, from thought put into controls, to the segmented sessions that play well on a handheld.”

Well, Zack thinks the controls are good. Is this good enough for me? Perhaps not. Nothing personal Zack, I just want to try it myself before I do put my stamp of approval. However, I take this as a sign of hope that the game would not be as bad as Brothers in Arms DS. The question now is: would the difference between these two games be significant enough to change my mind?

Here are a couple of videos to show us how it looks, but not how it really plays.

Post from: EveryJoe

Call of Duty 4 for the DS might not suck like other handheld shooters

Now for the real video analysis made by Joystiq on Halo 3’s E3 trailer:

I must say that the fellow’s voice was a little distracting (fine, his orientation sounds a bit ambiguous), but he raises interesting points to ponder on the new Halo 3 trailer. Joystiq claims the analysis may be “hardcore,” but I can’t help but think it’s more “geeky” than anything. Many ideas raised are speculative but the trailer is informative overall.

What are your thoughts on the new Halo 3 trailer?

Post from: EveryJoe

Joystiq’s analysis of the Halo 3 E3 trailer

Then why is FPS Rantings covering it?

While the game is an RPG, Fallout 3 offers us the option of shooting stuff in real time. There’s also a system in place for those who can’t handle the twitch, but you can bet your bullets which system we’ll use.

Joystiq gave us more details about the highly-anticipated sequel, and suffice to say, we’re happy with what we’ve heard. The entry was quick to add that Fallout 3 isn’t “Oblivion with guns.” The game’s engine comes with a spiffy “parallax occlusion mapping” that lets you riddle almost every surface with bullet holes.

Sounds like an FPS to me.

There’s not much detail with the story, other than an underlying need to exit Vault 101, your home, to look for your missing father, who will be voiced by Liam Neeson.

Fallout 3 will use the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, which lets you pause the game as you plan out your next moves. There will be number crunching under the hood as an RPG should, and shots can be targeted at specific parts of an enemy’s body. Some really good hits will result in gruesome, slow-motion replay. Bethesda thinks the system is similar to Burnout’s crash mode, but with body parts.

Like all news of upcoming games, concerns crop up. My chief anxiety is the hardware requirements. I’m expecting a mandatory PC upgrade when the game comes out in fall of ‘08. Sure, you can always go for the consoles, but an upgrade is actually cheaper even if you’re looking at an Xbox 360 as your next toy.

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Post from: EveryJoe

Fallout 3 details emerge