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Digital Crack Report for this week

by: Chuck -
More On: The Digital Crack Report
Since CD101's internet feed was down this morning I can't post a recording of the show.  So you won't hear Brian and I talking about Final Fantasy XII, F.E.A.R., Need for Speed Carbon, and NeverWinter Nights 2.  Instead I'll post the full script I wrote for the show after the jump so you can at least read what we were going to talk about.  To

F.E.A.R. (Xbox 360)

Just in time for Halloween we have this excellent horror/FPS for the Xbox 360.  In the game you play a member of the First Encounter Assault Recon team, a kind of paranormal SWAT team and you have to investigate an incident at a local corporation that has been taken over by a mysterious paramilitary outfit.  The game features some of the most intense combat sequences and one of the best melee combat systems since Halo 2.  The game was released on the PC last year so if you already have the PC version there isn’t much of a reason to get the console version.  However if you don’t own the PC version and if you are a shooter fan than this one is a pretty solid pickup as the game has a good single player side as well as some fun online play. My only real beef is the lack of varied locations as most of the game takes place in an office building or a warehouse.  This is a great game to play at night in the dark with the sound cranked up as there are some really creepy scenes between the battles

 

Need for Speed Carbon for the GC, PC, Xbox 360, and PS2 is the latest game in EA's underground racing series.  Once again get to do the entire underground racing thing as you compete on the streets against other street racers (you know, the folks with the pimped out Nissan Sentra’s).  This year’s version features a lot of canyon racing so if you miss a turn…you really miss a turn.  Another new feature for this year is that you can recruit people to your racing team.  Your team members can help you out during the race by blocking other people and helping to set you up to win.  The really cool thing for me is the new car part customizer which allows you to customize the look and feel for almost every part on your car, from the spoiler down to the spokes of your wheels. If you are a fan of the genre then you’ll want to check this one out.  There is a demo on Xbox Live Arcade if you want to try before you buy

 

Neverwinter Nights 2 for the PC is the sequel to one of the best Dungeons and Dragons game sof all time.  If you’re a fan of Dungeons and Dragons but hate the exercise of rolling the weird dice around this game is right up your alley. Features the new D&D Rule set along with a deep character creation system and single player storyline.  New features include better control of the people in your party as well as a major graphical overhaul. Multiplayer is pretty cool as not only can you have people playing with their own characters but you can actually have a dungeon master who operates behind the scenes.  The game will also ship with a new level editor so you can create your own levels and share them with your friends.

 

 

Final Fantasy XII for the PS2 is easily one of the more anticipated games of the year.  The latest installment in the series in development for years and has already available in Japan for quite a while.  My main with the game is that the fantasy is never really ever final and they are already talking about Final Fantasy 13 for the PS3.  In this installment you play Vaan a young adventurer who has to help save his country from an evil empire.  Why the plot sounds a bit generic the plot is a little more convoluted.  You’re looking at around forty plus hours of game play and according to our reviewer Cyril Lachel the game lives up to the hype as the new game play and the graphics are excellent.  I could spend the next 20 minutes talking about the game but instead I’ll invite you to hit our website and check out Cyril’s full review of the game