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Let's Battle Los Angeles!

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
UPDATE 1: THE BASICS

In the fast-growing tradition of "watch Sceptic play a shitty FPS so you don't have to", welcome to this awesome LP of the even more awesome Battle: Los Angeles. This game is based on the movie of the same name (disclaimer: I've not seen the movie) involving the US Marines saving the world Los Angeles from an alien invasion. As a result, expect lots of MARINES!, even more :yeah:, the occasional :rage:, and in general a healthy dose of stupid. In case you're wondering what possessed me to LP this, you'll understand as soon as you see the first animated cut-scene.

Besides it has death animations so it's a good CRPG.

On to the game!

BattleLA001.jpg


Three guesses which platform this was designed for, and the first two don't count.

Fact: the game crashes if you try to start it with Fraps running, and will then keep crashing even if you close Fraps until you restart Windows. I had to start Fraps after the game, hency why you don't get any screenshots of all the cool companies involved in making the game.

BattleLA002.jpg


Needless to say I click start campaign. But first, let's meet the cast.

BioSarge.jpg


Nantz is the typical tough-as-nails Sergeant who's tough but deep inside has a heart of gold and protects his men like his children while at the same time being a tactical genius who can outwit any general... at least when he's not making mistakes of stupendous proportions (see update 2). The "tough sergeant" aspect also never comes up, in fact I was surprised when instead of ordering a private to do something he just asks him to, and when the private says no to his face he doesn't seem fazed in the least...

BioHarris.jpg


Don't be too fooled by the description, his wit is duller than Liberal's, and in fact he's the resident whiner as far as the cutscenes are concerned.

BioImlay.jpg


Imlay's the guy we'll be controlling in the game. He doesn't utter a single word in-game (this is a respectable modern FPS after all), but he's the one narrating during the introduction and in most cutscenes, and he even speaks in these cutscenes. Other characters will be introduced as they appear.

BattleLA003.jpg


BattleLA004.jpg


BattleLA005.jpg


BattleLA006.jpg


DOM DOM DOM!

BattleLA007.jpg


BattleLA008.jpg


BattleLA009.jpg


Presenter.jpg
Are you sure about this?

Presenter.jpg
Ok...

BattleLA010.jpg


BattleLA011.jpg


BattleLA012.jpg


BattleLA013.jpg


BattleLA014.jpg


BattleLA015.jpg


BattleLA016.jpg


The narration switches to some random officer speaking.

BattleLA017.jpg


BattleLA018.jpg


BattleLA019.jpg


Narration switches back to Imlay.

BattleLA020.jpg


BattleLA021.jpg


Imlay.jpg
There were just a few of us and Staff Sgt. Nantz - an old-timer with a bad reputation and a personality to match.

BattleLA022.jpg


Not much to say so far, it's the standard alien invasion with every cliche played straight.

Now the reason I actually played all the way through this is the very, very silly animation of the cutscenes. This being a screenshot LP you'll only be getting a diluted version of it, but the "art style" (if we can call it that) still gives a pretty good idea. And, although you'll be seeing the speech bubbles in place, they actually pop up from the person speaking, and then sometimes pop back in when they're done. It's really quite hilarious.

BattleLA023.jpg


Sarge.jpg
So... you girls ready for a fight?

BattleLA024.jpg


MARINES, FUCK :yeah:

BattleLA025.jpg


Pilot.jpg
You'll have to rope down!

Pilot.jpg
There's no place for landing here!

Sarge.jpg
All right. Everyone out. Use the ropes. Move! Move! Move!

BattleLA026.jpg


The contrast between the cheap-as-fuck cutscenes and the 3D engine is striking.

If you're wondering what that big red thing in the middle of the compass is...

BattleLA027.jpg


Yep, quest compass. In a linear FPS. I'd rage, but we're kinda used to this by now.

The conspicuous lack of a health bar means, of course, that this game has health regen. It's also got the now-standard limit of 2 weapons that you can carry, but since there are only 3 weapons in the game anyway that's not such a big deal.

BattleLA028.jpg


BattleLA029.jpg


BattleLA030.jpg


This is a tutorial of sorts that teaches you the various controls. Since the game's pretty straightforward the tutorial's pretty quick-playing. Then again so's the entire game.

BattleLA031.jpg


And here's our second weapon! Which we actually won't be using that much... the standard assault rifle is much more useful in about every situation, including the ones where the game specifically tells you to use the sniper.

BattleLA032.jpg


BattleLA033.jpg


Just in case you were still getting lost with the quest compass, the game helpfully highlights what needs to be done. And no, this isn't just for the tutorial.

BattleLA034.jpg


BattleLA035.jpg


And, just to properly immerse you in the B-movie vibes, I'll turn this into a cliffhanger by stopping right as we meet our first alien!
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
omfg what a cliffhanger?! Will you shoot the alien?! WON'T YOU!?

So I assume this is a game spinoff from the film Battle: LA? Not that I've seen the film. Should I see the film?
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
Brother None said:
Will you shoot the alien?! WON'T YOU!?
C&C in the modern FPS age!

So I assume this is a game spinoff from the film Battle: LA?
Yep.

Not that I've seen the film. Should I see the film?
No idea. Haven't seen it either. If it's anything like the game I advise preliminary inebriation and low expectations, preferably with a group of equally-inebriated friends. Might turn out quite fun.

GarfunkeL said:
And the game looks to be really bad.
You ain't seen nothing yet :smug:
 

Wyrmlord

Arcane
Joined
Feb 3, 2008
Messages
28,886
Given the contrast between cutscene quality and the game's decent appearance, I wondered if this was a mod for some other game passed off a legitimate boxed product.

Or maybe they stole the resources of some other game.
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
root said:
oh look wyrmlord posting in his own thread
how quaint
Just to spite you I'm going to even reply to my own post.
(but since this isn't Wyrmlord posting under the Wyrmlord account anyway, the issue is moot)

Wyrmlord said:
Given the contrast between cutscene quality and the game's decent appearance, I wondered if this was a mod for some other game passed off a legitimate boxed product.
It's not a boxed product. As far as I can tell it's a direct-download-only game (it's not even listed on Mobygames) for something like $20. I checked the Wikipedia summary for the movie and the game's plot follows it fairly closely.
 

Crooked Bee

(no longer) a wide-wandering bee
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Joined
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15,048
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In quarantine
Codex 2013 Codex 2014 PC RPG Website of the Year, 2015 Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire MCA Serpent in the Staglands Dead State Divinity: Original Sin Project: Eternity Torment: Tides of Numenera Wasteland 2 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire
C'mon, Sceptic-sensei, LP something good for a change. For one, the Codex Playground is severely lacking in Might&Magic LPs.
 

Topher

Cipher
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
1,860
I just saw the movie today in fact and it's utterly forgettable. Aaron Eckhart was really enjoyable on screen but he couldn't save the film. The ending scene, not the combat finale, was pretty fantastic though and will probably be the only scene form the movie I really remember. There just wasn't much plot and outside of the Eckhart there wasn't much character development. The aliens weren't particularly cool and it really didn't have any sci-fi elements outside of them. It's not a terrible film but it's not something you should worry about missing.
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
Patron
Joined
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Messages
28,396
Location
Not Here
Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
That movie resurrected my ME2 LP thread. And that is all I can remember, aside from the Bioware character angst and battle finale. :lol:
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
Patron
Joined
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Messages
28,396
Location
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Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
Yeah this game (If it is REAL) is an amazing mixture of art and resources. I had positive impression when I saw the cinematics ala XIII, but once they got on the ground with counterstrike style...I had to pause and google it up to make sure it's real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se1N1gUcmuI
 

lightbane

Arcane
Joined
Dec 27, 2008
Messages
10,140
Oh my god, it's an invasion of lots of clichés!! And pretty much everything that's wrong with FPS nowadays!!

I can't wait for the next update...
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
Crooked Bee said:
C'mon, Sceptic-sensei, LP something good for a change. For one, the Codex Playground is severely lacking in Might&Magic LPs.
Incoming LP of a great adventure game after I finish this one. And if that one kicks off well I have two others on the backburner, I should be occupied for a while. I would love to LP the entire M&M series, but I have neither the time nor the patience ATM to carry it through, and we don't want it to end halfway through the first game do we. One day, one day... very soon too if I win the lotto :M

RK47 said:
I had to pause and google it up to make sure it's real.
That's precisely the reaction I was trying to elicit with this LP. Glad to hear it's working.

grotsnik said:
Incredible.
Best word that describes this game ;)

lightbane said:
I can't wait for the next update...
Being prepared as we speak.
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
UPDATE 2: NEW FACES

BattleLA036.jpg


Alienz!!!

BattleLA037.jpg


BattleLA038.jpg


What you don't get from a screenshot is the really silly noise that the aliens make, especially when shot.

Anyway we clear the interlopers and keep moving.

BattleLA039.jpg


BattleLA040.jpg


BattleLA041.jpg


FACT: Sprinting is completely and utterly useless. It lasts for about a tenth of a second before Imlay starts panting like a beaten dog.

In case you're wondering, the disposition of the cars make them ideal for use as cover. It's not quite as painfully obvious as ME2, and they don't pop into existence when you get close, but still.

BattleLA042.jpg


And there goes the first Marine of the squad. Of course, since I only introduced 3 at the beginning and you could clearly see the squad's got 5 in it, this shouldn't come as a surprise.

BattleLA043.jpg


BattleLA044.jpg


The scenes of destruction, while all scripted, are actually entertaining to watch. There's a few, but not so many that it gets old. Though whoever made them really doesn't like these huge billboard ads, there's like three or four of them that end up exploding by the end.

BattleLA045.jpg


BattleLA046.jpg


BattleLA047.jpg


I was too slow to catch a screenshot of that unfortunately, but it was pretty cool to watch.

BattleLA048.jpg


BattleLA049.jpg


And another one bites the dust.

BattleLA050.jpg


FACT: There is no time limit in this game.

BattleLA051.jpg


For the bloody useless sprint to recharge, that's what :x

BattleLA052.jpg


Ah, the plot thickens!

BattleLA053.jpg


Killing the aliens attacking the other squad starts a cutscene.

BattleLA054.jpg


BattleLA055.jpg


BattleLA056.jpg


Santos.jpg
Air Force 61st Wing Intel Unit.

Santos.jpg
The rest are National Guard.

Sarge.jpg
What happened to you, Tech Sergeant?

Santos.jpg
I was part of a five-man team working on signal intel tracking enemy transmissions.

BattleLA057.jpg


Santos.jpg
Then they nailed us.

Santos.jpg
I'm the only one who got away.

Sarge.jpg
I assume you're ready to use that weapon, Tech Sergeant.

:yeah:

BattleLA058.jpg


Santos.jpg
So yes, I'm ready to get some payback.

:yeah:

BattleLA059.jpg


random.jpg
Ten minutes ago we called headquarters... and you see what happened.

random.jpg
Aliens rushed to our location like hungry dogs.

BattleLA060.jpg


Sarge.jpg
Do you want to join our unit?

Sarge.jpg
We're heading to the police station to evacuate civilians.

BattleLA061.jpg


Pussies.

random.jpg
We'll stay here, take care of the wounded and wait for the chopper.

Sarge.jpg
Do you need help?

BattleLA062.jpg


random.jpg
Good luck.

BattleLA063.jpg


BattleLA064.jpg


We shoot through some more aliens and keep going.

BattleLA065.jpg


BattleLA066.jpg


FACT: As you may have noticed, all the squad comments with subtitles are scripted and will play no matter what. In this particular one half the squad is actually behind me, but the comment plays anyway. There are some more random (non-subtitled) action comments that the squad makes during fighting, to notify they're reloading, need/are providing covering fire, and so on, but they're weird because some are recorded by voice actors that never appear as part of your team. Voices of the ancestors or something.

BattleLA067.jpg


BattleLA068.jpg


BattleLA069.jpg


More aliens, more shooting. The game mechanics are pretty boring. Shoot alien, take cover when screen starts going greyscale (ie when wounded), wait for health to regenerate, rinse and repeat. The lack of any weapon variety doesn't help.

BattleLA070.jpg


BattleLA071.jpg


BattleLA072.jpg


BattleLA073.jpg


We've reached the police station, so cutscene time!

BattleLA074.jpg


BattleLA075.jpg


BattleLA076.jpg


Harris.jpg
... there's a helo!

Harris.jpg
We need it here to evac the civilians!

BattleLA077.jpg


Imlay.jpg
We gotta stop it!

Imlay.jpg
Radio them!

Wait didn't Santos say they can hone in on radio signals? This is not going to end well...

BattleLA078.jpg


Santos.jpg
No radio.

Santos.jpg
Those things will track our signal!

BattleLA079.jpg


Sarge.jpg
We've got to get those civilians to safety.

And how does bringing the evil aliens TO the civilians bring them to safety you bloody idiot? :rpgcodex:

BattleLA080.jpg


Sarge.jpg
I repeat, requesting immediate evac.

BattleLA081.jpg


The alien craft then fires a missile at the chopper and blows it up.

BattleLA082.jpg


Told ya :smug:

BattleLA083.jpg


Sarge.jpg
We need to reach the entrance before that thing comes back!

BattleLA084.jpg


Will the civilians be saved, or will Nantz make yet another stupid mistake? Stay tuned!
 

Esquilax

Arcane
Joined
Dec 7, 2010
Messages
4,833
These cutscenes are just so atrociously fucking bad. Say what you will about Modern Warfare, but at least it has super-slick production values. This... doesn't even have that.
 

Brother None

inXile Entertainment
Developer
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Messages
5,673
I kind of like that they would try a more unusual style with cutscenes, only guess they just did it to save cash and pump out really cheap shit.

Those alien models look horrendous too.
 
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Motherfuckerville
This looks a whole lot like XIII (the FPS)....except not nearly as interesting. Still loving the LP; nice to see Codexers still can take one for the team in the Playground. The Shit Games Liberation Front lives on.
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
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Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
BattleLA078.jpg


BattleLA082.jpg


:lol:
....Ok. aside from the dude being less brown...what the hell? I like the comic book feel of it, but combined with 3D FPS ...it's jarring as fuck. Why can't they just use in-game engines to just render the whole sequence?
 

RK47

collides like two planets pulled by gravity
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Dead State Divinity: Original Sin
They can't render a helicopter? OK. Continue. :)
 

Sceptic

Arcane
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Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
RK47 said:
aside from the dude being less brown
I only noticed it after you pointed it out, but there's a kind of "light shading" running across his face in the 2nd shot. Not sure if this is a result of me downsizing the original 1650x1080 image to somethingx720 then uploading, or if it was there originally, and I didn't keep the raw BMP's generated by Fraps.

DramaticPopcorn said:
Look at the guy to the right. What the fuck is wrong with him?!
Nice find :lol:

Edward_R_Murrow said:
This looks a whole lot like XIII (the FPS)....except not nearly as interesting.
It only does so in the cutscenes. XIII was interesting because it used that style all the time, including the little cut-away panels for headshots, silent kills and so on. With this one it's just a jarring transition, though it's a good thing it's there, as without it the game would've been completely unremarkable.

Still loving the LP; nice to see Codexers still can take one for the team in the Playground. The Shit Games Liberation Front lives on.
Thanks ER :love: though I'm sorry to say this will be my last SGLF LP. There's a string of good games I have planned next and I've started working on the first.

Brother None said:
Those alien models look horrendous too.
They do, but thankfully you never see them up-close, aside from the one jumping out of the swimming pool in this update. Well, and the one on the main menu... wouldn't have been so bad if they weren't the only ground enemy you fight in the entire game (and there's only one other enemy model you fight anyway...)
 

Orgasm

Barely Literate
Joined
May 4, 2010
Messages
1,360
Looks better than New Vegas. Probably more challenging too.
 

Sceptic

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 2, 2010
Messages
10,871
Divinity: Original Sin
UPDATE 3: HIGHWAY CHILD

BattleLA085.jpg


BattleLA086.jpg


BattleLA087.jpg


BattleLA088.jpg


No offense to the citizens of LA, but these buses look ancient.

BattleLA089.jpg


BattleLA090.jpg


Harris.jpg
We won't make it outta here.

Why hello there Mr Cocky, Experienced, Hardened Quick Wit :roll:

BattleLA091.jpg


Imlay.jpg
We'll be in the clear soon.

Imlay.jpg
Just keep it together.

BattleLA092.jpg


Santos.jpg
There's a fight going on!

Harris.jpg
Hmm. I told you...

Harris.jpg
There was no way it would be that easy.

Yeah yeah :roll:

BattleLA093.jpg


BattleLA094.jpg


Thankfully Sergeant Kickass has it all in hand! Expect lots of :yeah:

BattleLA095.jpg


BattleLA096.jpg


While we get on the Humvee we get to listen to Nantz talking to a Lieutenant Martinez, who explains the situation.

BattleLA097.jpg


BattleLA098.jpg


BattleLA099.jpg


BattleLA100.jpg


The next sequence is easy: sit at the gun and shoot everything.

BattleLA101.jpg


Mmm, I wonder what'll happen if I shoot the big fuel tank...

BattleLA102.jpg


:yeah:

BattleLA103.jpg


From the flaming wreckage, The Terminator rises in his true form...

BattleLA104.jpg


BattleLA105.jpg


BattleLA106.jpg


This does not bode well...

BattleLA107.jpg


:rage:

BattleLA108.jpg


Thankfully, Imlay's bones are made of titanium in cutscenes. At least that's the only way I can explain his sudden death when unable to regenerate from bullet shots, but him being completely impervious to an explosion that blew up a fucking Humvee while he sat in it.

BattleLA109.jpg


BattleLA110.jpg


Just in case you hadn't realized what Nantz meant with "that truck"...

Or alternatively, the voice over is there in case you don't realize the significance of the big flashing red arrows.

BattleLA111.jpg


So I get on the truck and shoot one of the conveniently placed explosive barrels (what the hell are these things doing on the freeway anyway!) that the turret conveniently stands right next to.

BattleLA112.jpg


:yeah:

BattleLA113.jpg


This keeps getting worse and worse...

Wait how the hell do I get off this thing? Why won't the game let me get out of the way?

BattleLA114.jpg


BattleLA115.jpg


BattleLA116.jpg


:rage:

BattleLA117.jpg


Fortunately, Imlay manages to jump off by himself this time.

BattleLA118.jpg


BattleLA119.jpg


BattleLA120.jpg


BattleLA121.jpg


BattleLA122.jpg


So long Lieutenant, we hardly knew you :salute:

In case you're wondering - Martinez is supposed to be a guy.

BattleLA123.jpg


BattleLA124.jpg


BattleLA125.jpg
 

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