Year: 2007

Fight to the Death: Evolution Vs. Revolution

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A quaint little article over there on Next-Gen.biz caught my eye earlier today. It’s an interview with Rod Ferguson, the producer on Gears of War, at the GO3 conference where he stated that he felt a little upset that most critics thought Gears of War didn’t bring any originality to the shooter genre, and that it was a negative aspect for the game. He goes on to say that a developer should always focus on making a game fun first, and not just innovative for innovation’s sake.

Even though Gears of War was severely lacking in the innovation department, I do agree with his insightful commentary. We don’t always need to have something new in our games to have fun with them. Even though I’ve been known to poo-poo Twilight Princess for being a nicer-looking Ocarina of Time, I still had a lot of fun with that game, as well as Gears of War.

But, because Gears of War didn’t bring anything new to the table in terms of gameplay innovation, I found myself leaving the game a lot sooner than I would have had it shown me something fresh. →  I can has post?

Weekly News We Care About Wrap Up – 3.30.07

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PS3 sells well in Europe
Is this a sign that Sony is turning a corner? I recently noticed that the PS3 has a lot more well-reviewed titles and fewer games the critics hate than the Wii. Surely that’s a sign things will start picking up for Sony.

But then there’s the recent news that Devil May Cry 4 is going to be on both the PS3 and 360. A lot of smart people have said stupid things about this generation not being about console exclusives. Considering the Wii will have Nintendo first party titles and the 360 already has a number of good exclusives, I wonder if the sentiment that exclusives are dead is really just a nice way of saying, “Exclusives still matter but it’s depressing to think about how many Sony is losing.”

Imagine 3rd party exclusives were dead because the wisdom that it’s just too costly to not put a game on every system is accurate. What do we have to choose from now: A $600 Ratchet and Clank, Sly Cooper, and Fumito Ueda machine. →  We have nothing to lose but our games.

Quick GTA IV Impressions

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For those of you that were living under a rock this week, Rockstar and TakeTwo released the very first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, the next installment of their so-called prostitute-slapping, murder simulator (or so I’ve heard from those nutty politicians). I’m sure you’ve seen it by now, as the Intranets nearly exploded when the trailer was first released. You can check it out again at GameTrailers.com.

But there was one thing that got me thinking. A comment on one of the Digg articles brought up the issue of flying planes into buildings. You can see all throughout the trailer that Rockstar has faithfully recreated New York City, with glimpses of the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the Empire State building. It maybe called Liberty City, but it’s basically NYC with a new name.

So, if you add in the fact that the GTA series has let you fly planes and jets in previous installments, and that we’re going to be traveling around an extremely realistic-looking NYC locale, we might have a recipe for a media disaster on our hands. →  Snap! Crackle! Read!

What makes a game mature?

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In the March issue of PSM is a reader-written letter complaining that nearly all PS3 games are violent (meaning they had gun violence or graphic gore). He asked where the Psychonauts, Wario Wares and other games he could enjoy with his kids were. The editor’s reply was, “The truth is that the PS3 isn’t intended for kids this early in its life cycle. For now, it’s an expensive, hardcore machine targeted almost exclusively at the older gaming audience.” The game industry as a whole has a strange notion of what mature is and is not.

Kids understand violence just fine.

At the core of this issue lies a conflict on the definition of mature. In my world, mature doesn’t mean blood and nipples. Mature ideas, concepts and media are things children wouldn’t understand. Kids may not fully understand and may even be warped by sex and violence, but they aren’t clueless. Humans, like most animals, have a propensity for violence, even when very young, and children certainly have a sexuality, despite most people’s attempt to ignore it. →  Shadow of Read

Is E3 Dead?

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The gaming community received a harsh slap in the face last year when ESA, the organization that is behind the megaton-laden E3, decided to completely change the way the yearly venue is run. They drastically reduced the number of reporters that were allowed to attend to around 20,000 (from last year’s 60,000), and turned it into a more intimate affair for the actual publishers/developers to showcase their games without having to scream over loud, thumping techno music.

In unison, developers around the world bowed down and gave thanks to the merciful Gamer Gods. Now they wouldn’t have to break their asses to create a (hopefully) bug-free demo that would probably get swept up in all the hustle and bustle anyway. The gamers themselves, on the other hand, found it hard to believe that the mecca of all things gaming was being changed into something that they would never have the opportunity to experience. Invite-only is the name of the game now, and even the big guys, like IGN, are having trouble getting everyone in. →  Ys: The Article of Napishtim

What is Nintendo waiting for?

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Nintendo has a chance to regain some market share this generation. The Wii is still hard to find five months after launch and there are reports that Nintendo’s stated mission of expanding the market is succeeding. But for every smart move they make, a dumb one — like keeping the friend code system intact — is soon to follow. I have compiled a short list of things Nintendo really should do sooner rather than later.

The most grievous sin Nintendo has committed is their neglect of online play. What were they doing while Xbox Live took off? It’s as if they only started thinking about the structure of Wii online after the system launched, instead of seven years ago when SegaNet showed us how cool online gaming could be. Personally, I think the lack of online capability (for gaming right now) is what makes the Wii feel a little old, not the weaker comparative processing power.

Neglecting the online component doesn’t only hurt the consumers, though. →  Just read it.

Is the Wii a Toy?

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I don’t really like the idea of commenting on other game-related blog posts, but I find this one worth discussion because I fear it may be a trend among game journalism in the next year or so. Game Revolution wrote this blog post, in which they claim the Wii should not be compared to the PS3 or the 360 because it is a toy.

There’s a lot to discuss about the post. If you want to believe GR (and their defenders in the comments), it is simply an innocent argument claiming that the Wii is not bad, just different, and that difference is enough to avoid comparison. But at least a few commenters there feel that the blog post is implying something a little nastier than that, and after reading it I tend to agree. Here’s what’s wrong with it:

1) It uses the term “Hardcore Gamer”, which I am growing to despise. Its an industry term that has no real definition, but everyone wants to wear it as their label. →  Postsona 3 FES

The Hardest of the Corest

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Welcome everyone, to the very first (and hopefully not last) installment of “The Hardest of the Corest.” In this oddly-named (and therefore cool) segment , we’re going to tell you a story from someone that shows just how hardcore they really are. We’re talking about stuff like not going to the bathroom for 72 hours to raid some dungeon in WoW. Yeah, stupid stuff that questions our intelligence. And who knows, it may be your embarrassing story that gets featured on videolamer. But more on that later.

So, to kick it off old-school style, I’ll give you my most hardcore story. First, a little background info. I try to use my game consoles for as many things as possible. Take this for example. The most hardcore thing that I’ve been doing lately has been using my DS as my alarm clock. Sure, I can use my normal alarm clock if I wanted to, but I just can’t say no to a video game console. →  Nobody puts article in a corner.

Why I play the games I play

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Pat’s article here about this particular subject interested me, and was obviously the inspiration for this article. Props to him for coming up with the idea of a “why” article of this type.

Since I haven’t had much better to do with my thinking time lately, I’ve been thinking about why I play games. I love strategy games, RPGs, and some adventure/platforming games, but there are some things that will make me enjoy any genre.

The first and most obvious idea, as in Pat’s case, is that I could never do activities I do in a game, whether it be fighting ninja who kidnapped the president or managing a farm. This may be true (and it almost certainly is to some degree in most games), but this aspect is entirely dependent on whether I can empathize with the character. If I can empathize with a character, then it may actually feel like I’m the one fighting evil. If not, it becomes entirely a game of skill or strategy and I’m an entire layer of separation apart. →  Who is that standing behind you?

The Best Offense is a Good Opening: SOTN

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Probably the biggest release for Xbox Live Arcade ever is this week’s Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. Geomety Wars can blow me, and UNO is for “teh kiddies.” Nothing can best that which is Alucard. I’ve been day-dreaming about SOTN all day, and I’ve come to realize something about Konami’s opus: it has possibly the greatest opening to a video game ever.

I won’t spoil anything for the players that have not gotten a chance to play the PS1 version, but just know Konami designed the first sequence amazingly well. It ties into the game before it, it’s extremely epic, and it sets the tone for what’s to come, in terms of scope and plotline. It even had some wonderfully cheesy dialogue to go with it. Take a look at this little tidbit of Machiavellian literature from my boy Richter:

“Your words are as empty as your soul. Mankind ill needs a savior such as you.”

I mean, you can’t get any cheesier than that. →  You reading at me?