Those of you who manage to stop by Contraptica in the past few months have no doubt wondered why we so abruptly stopped posting regularly. The answer is simple: World of Warcraft has completely sucked away just about all of my active interest in console gaming.

Ok maybe not all of it. I still will pop onto some Gears of War or Halo periodically, and I still keep my DS with me at all times, but the truth of the matter is, World of Warcraft is the most epic and consuming computer game I’ve ever encountered. The sheer scale of it is jaw dropping, the community aspect has allowed me to become closer to some friends and family who play the game (the teamwork, communication and planning that are required to succeed foster this sense of community), and the breathtaking lore form it into an experience that is second to none.

I had never really played an MMO for any real length of time, apart from a brief stint with Star Wars Galaxies, but knew the mechanics well enough from growing up on MUDs, Final Fantasy and DnD. But nothing prepared me for the experience gained from an epic raid on an opposing city, nor the thrill of taking down a tough boss with the help of your real life friends, even if you’re separated by a great distance.

It remains important to keep up your life outside of the game though. An incredible MMO can easily encompass your social life, and taking the time to just get out and do something different is very important. I now think I can understand how difficult these games can be to a person’s work and social life if they allow it to take over. Playing along with my girlfriend and other real life friends makes the experience even more special though, and it has almost become a communication tool along the lines of AIM, with just a slightly more engrossing interface.

Contraptica is here to stay though, and we’ll see if we can get it back in business as a nice comentary on gaming and technology, even while I turn into an MMO head.

If you’ve got Half-Life 2 for PC, you may not be aware that you could qualify for a free download of Half-Life 2: Lost Coast.  This is a “missing level” that was originally going to take place within the original Half-Life 2 game, but didn’t make the final cut.  The level, however, is available for free (via Steam) for owners of Orange Box, Half-Life 2, or people with new Radeon video cards.  It’s also available for purchase as part of several Half-Life 2 packages, for as low as $9.95 in the Episode One Package.  This is a good technology demo, and is worth playing especially if you can manage to pick it up for free.

Graphics: 100/100

This is a tech demo, and as such, it is extremely beautiful to look at.  The game features high dynamic range lighting (HDR) which gives a new level of realism to the environment.  The lighting is superb, with a warm glow peering through windows or reflecting off the surface of the gorgeous water.  The character models are the same as Half Life 2, with the same impressive weapons and explosions.

Lost Coast also features a video stress test, which does a flyby of the area to determine what your average frames-per-second is.  It’s a nice feature that more games should include.

Sound: 90/100

The impressive graphics are complimented by quality sound effects.  You can hear the Combine troops in the distance, and you know immediately to turn to that side and prepare for a fight.  Headphones or a good surround sound system are a must for this game.  The soundtrack doesn’t really stand out here, although it presented a strange ambiance when you enter the church level.

Gameplay: 90/100

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast is, at it’s core, just a single level that would fit right in the middle of Half-Life 2.  As such, it’s extremely short.  If you’ve played the original HL2, you will have an idea of what’s going on, but it’s not really essential to the enjoyment of this game.  However, Lost Coast presented me with the same feelings I get with the rest of the Half-Life games.  I always feel like I’m stuck.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, this is what makes the Half-Life series stand apart from most first person shooters.  Unlike a game where you must simply blast your way down a path, Half-Life constantly throws you into an area where you are stuck, and you must figure out how to move forward.  These puzzle elements make Half-Life games a much more intelligent game than the Quake or Halo series, but it can be frustrating to some gamers who just want to keep blowing stuff up.

Replay: 40/100

The level can be run through in probably 15 minutes, so if you’re looking for a lengthy experience you’re not going to find it here.  However, the game does feature a commentary track, which allows you to listen to the developers describing different facets of the level and why they made them as such.  It is a great feature that Valve is incorporating in all of their games (it was also included in the Orange Box titles), and more developers should really follow their lead.

Overall, Lost Coast is a good game to show off your gaming rig, and is pretty fun while it lasts.  If you can nab it for free, or missed out on Half-Life 2, it’s definitely worth a look.

The long awaited (there we go, I just wrote the understatement of the year) and much maligned Duke Nukem Forever, a game that has been delayed time and time again since it first began development in 1997, will have it’s first new teaser trailer since 2001 released today!  Over at the 3D Realms forums, producer George Broussard made the announcement last night.

Last Saturday we had our annual company Christmas party. It was a lot of fun as usual but it featured one special surprise. It turns out that several people had been secretly working late nights and into the wee hours of the morning preparing a special video for those at the party. They created a short teaser for Duke Nukem Forever.

After seeing the teaser we thought it was something we should share with all of you and while it’s just a teaser, rest assured more is coming.

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 19th, around noon CST, we will release the first teaser trailer from Duke Nukem Forever. To tide you over until then, here is a screen shot taken from the teaser.

Thank you for being fans of the game and for your continued patience.

I’d like to thank the people on the team that worked so hard to create this teaser and the friends of 3DR that helped create it (Jeremy Soule and Julian Soule, Frank Bry, Jason Evigan and of course, Jon St. John).

This has been a long time coming, and it should be interesting to see just what they’ve been doing all this time.

We recently mentioned the site FigurePrints which will enable World of Warcraft players to purchase figurines of their very own customized in-game characters.  Now WoW Insider has an interview with former Xbox team member Ed Fries, who describes the process of printing the figurines.  The project was year in the making, with little help from Blizzard apart from some special access to the Armory.  The $115 figures take about an hour per inch to print, and are available through a lottery system at first.   With over 4000 orders in the first 12 hours, and a process that takes a week for each figure, I think this company is going to have a very busy next couple of months.

World of Warcraft has a dedicated following, with many people investing countless hours building up their character. Starting on December 11th, FigurePrints, a website sanctioned by Blizzard (well, Activision Blizzard now, I guess) will allow you to purchase a figurine of your character with an outfit of gear you’ve acquired.

This sounds like a great idea; perhaps one that the folks at Bungie should think about with Halo.

It’s obvious that Blizzard’s marketing folks knows who and what will entertain their potential fanbase, as made obvious in this hilarious new commercial starring the one and only Mr. T.

There’s also an ad featuring William Shatner below the break.

Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, The long awaited true expansion pack for Oblivion (much like Tribunal and Bloodmoon for TES III: Morrowind) will be released March 27th for PC & 360 retailing at $29.99 or 2400 points. Rather pricey but the additions to the realm of Tamriel and the new Daedric Plane of Sheogarath are well worth the price of admission. I know I’m gonna be first in line to get my copy on the 27th!

Fans of Capcom horror games on Xbox, rejoice! Sony has lost another exclusive, as Capcom announced today that Devil May Cry, which was initially only announced as a PS3 title, is being developed for Xbox 360 and PC as well.

Also, Disney Interactive has announced the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean game will be coming to 360 as well.

For all you Oblivion fans out there, I’m sure you’ve heard of the newest chapter to unravel in Tamriel. Yes, I’m talking about The Shivering Isles which is slated to be released this spring for the Xbox 360, PC and the PS3. What exactly is this expansion gonna offer? Well Bethesda has said that we’ll be able to journey to the realm of Sheogarath, the Deadric Prince of Madness. This new realm will be nothing like anything previously seen in any of the Elder Scroll games since they’ve created this plane of Oblivion to specifically fit the personality of the Mad Prince himself. Also to be included in this expansion are enemies from the previous games inlcuding the Flesh Atronach from Daggerfall and other bizarre additions to the Elder Scroll universe. Expect to see this game in stores in March (unless they push it…).