Raven Squad: Hidden Dagger | Review

Synopsis: Raven Squad is a unique title that blends both real-time strategy (RTS) and first person shooting (FPS) into one game. The characters and scripting were inspired by such movies as Predator, Commando, and Delta Force; incorporating the over the top dialogue and one liners. The story takes place in the Amazon jungles and the player is able to take command of the characters and switch between them at any time from the two available squads, each soldier having a different weapon specialty. Multiplayer co-op is available and the ability to switch between RTS and FPS at any given time allows for multiple solutions to completing each mission.

Praise: Raven Squad definitely goes outside of the box in regards to bringing something new and innovative to the table with the option to switch from FPS to RTS on the fly. A short detailed walkthrough takes you through the basics and gets you in the middle of the action without a long overly drawn out tutorial. Lastly, the multiplayer does not take long to find a partner and playing through the title cooperatively is enjoyable, especially with a headset on.

Gripes: Where this game exceeds, it does have its downfalls. Though the ability to switch from RTS to FPS is a new feature to the shooter genre, but there is a lack of polish in the graphics and gameplay. The graphics appear to be equivalent to if not slightly prettier than the original Xbox, and the gameplay tends to slow down and get choppy in certain parts of playing through. The scripting and the voice acting is the other downfall with this title, as it tries to stick to the same type of dialogue found in the movies that inspired it, while sticking to the restrictions of a “T for Teen” rated game.

Overall, this title tries to be a big hitter right out of the gate when a little more time could have helped a lot on the final product. However, in a saturated genre, it works hard to differentiate itself from the rest and bring something new to the table that does work very well. Raven Squad is an entertaining game at some points playing through the title but did release at the right time before the big holiday releases to prevent being overlooked.

Mashbuttons.com gives Raven Squad: Hidden Dagger a 6 out of 10.
Raven Squad: Hidden Dagger is available now for the Xbox 360 and PC.

Register now for Star Trek Online closed beta

Atari has just announced that you, the uber Star Trek fanboy, can now
register for the closed beta of the upcoming Star Trek Online MMORPG. If
interested in signing up for the beta, visit, www.startrekonline.com, to
try and get in on this MMO that offers both space and ground gameplay.

New L4D2 art and info straight from PAX

Valve has released some of the art from the playable Dark Carnival
campaign being shown at PAX this weekend. Along with showing off the new
campaign, a new boss infected monster has been introduced as well, the
Jockey. The Jockey lets you attack lone Survivors and wrestle control of
their movement away from them-into fire, off ledges, or straight into the
middle of a zombie horde. The zombie clown infected found specifically in
Dark Carnival along with a handful of new weapons, such as the electric
guitar, machete, and the American baseball bat are also being shown on in
the Valve and Microsoft booths.

Fishing finds it's way to your couch via the Wii

Activision has announced the first fishing game developed specifically for the Wii, Rapala: We Fish. Since this is an Activision title for the Wii, you know there will be a game specific peripheral, which is a rod and reel to attach the remote and nunchuk that allows the player to set the hook, cast, and reel in. The title was also designed to be over the top and humorous so it does not have that Saturday afternoon lure infomercial feel.

We Fish has game play modes that include co-op tournaments, 4 player split-screen, and multiplayer modes where each player is able to chose from the five characters Activision provides or their custom Mii. With eight locations, twenty four tournaments, and fifty species of fish, I am looking forward to doing even less from my couch. Thanks Activision!

Rapala: We Fish is scheduled for release on September 29th.