In Lim- I mean The Deep Cave, you play as a small boy in a bleak world consisting of platforming and...well... More platforming. Lured into this cave by a bright light, the main character Pi believes there is some sort of power at the bottom of the cave. This narrative is fed to the player through fourth wall breaking dialogue between Pi and the the supposed player (although I'm almost certain I don't talk like that). The caveat of The Deep Cave is punishing difficulty. In the first 6 levels I died around 55 times, and I know that because it tells you how many times you've died when you die. It's an aspect that makes it glaringly obvious that the whole point in The Deep Cave is hairpulling, shirt-rending difficulty and brings up memories of VVVVVV or Super Meat Boy. The music is good though, if not somewhat ill-fitting in places and the platforming is nice and precise. 80msp.
BlurBall
If you still enjoy the odd game of Pong you may be interested in Blur Ball. What Blur Ball essentially is, is Pong with more balls, neon visuals, varied maps or Arenas, and the ability to choose the shape of your paddle.
It's a really fun game, but unfortunately while it has AI, it doesn't have online multiplayer. 80msp.
Space Police on Superhighway 9
Space Police on SuperHighway 9 is like a mixture of Road Fighter and the racing section from Chrono Trigger. You speed up Highway 9 dodging civilian cars in pursuit of criminal cars, which you then ram until they die. These cars can also damage you depending on where you ram them. It's quite a fun little game, nice and simple. 80msp.
Monsters Elect
This is a top-down shooter much in the vein of Loaded/Reloaded. You aim with the right analogue stick and move with the left. The controls are unconventional to the point where I had to look at the control hint screen before I knew how to shoot (by pressing in the right stick).
The writing would probably be funny to a twelve year old bit it just grated on me. Not bad for the asking price, but you could do alot better. 80msp.
Table Soccer X
If you've ever played Table Football, or Foosball, you'll know what to do. This is an exact virtual recreation of a Football Table, with the struts you spin and push/pull to control your players assigned to the analogue sticks. It's enough fun and there is decent AI but without online multiplayer you'll need to have a willing friend to get the best out of this. 240msp.
Jetpack Man
Jetpack Man would be more aptly named Jet Pac-Man, or Pac-Fish. Essentially a Pacman clone (incase you didn't guess from that) where you play as a fish escaping from various dangers, which depend on what stage you're on.
In between stages there are Bible verses (don't ask me why) always to do with fish...If you can't afford Pacman Championship Edition DX then give this a shot. 80msp.
A Game You Can't BEAT
It's true that I can't beat this game but then again I wouldn't want to. You select one of three balls, you then roll through the environment toward the right of the screen and the only thing you need to do is jump over obstacles.
Of course it's a little bit more complicated than that, if you collide with anything you need to start over again. 80msp.
Valet Parking
An interesting little title. Valet Parking sets you out in the role of a a Valet, parking peoples cars for them. Cars will appear on the right side of the screen, you will then need to park them. After a while the owner will want their car back (they're handily wearing a top that's the same colour as the car), so you drive their car to the exit. Rinse, repeat. You have a stamina bar and Hunger bar, and you need to take rest breaks and lunch breaks to refill them. 80msp.
Super Janitoroid
Quite an ambitious game, Super Janitoroid tasks you with cleaning up monsters from the environment.
One of the most striking features, is that almost everything is rendered using photographs which gives the game an almost scrapbook charm. It's a shame the frame rate is heavily inconsistent. 80msp.
Be Advised: This article may contain spoilers. Specifically for recent release COD: Black Ops.
It seems like every other day some parent is shouting about violence in video games and how disgraceful it is that their child plays such things. I’ve always wondered what has tricked these parents into forgetting that they’re in charge of their own kids. If you don’t want your child to play it; take it away, or don’t buy it in the first place. Often in GAME or a Gamestation I’ve witnessed elderly grandparents and young hip parents alike agreeing to buy their kids games like Modern Warfare 2 and Gears of War. This used to enrage me and I’d just assume that these people were stupid, hated their children, or were just bad parents.
Recently I’ve come to realise that they just don’t know, and that it’s just too hard to say no without a good reason to back it up. For example I doubt very much that any non-gaming parents will know about ‘No Russian’ or the gruesome chainsaw action in Gears of War. Will they have witnessed Ice Cube being beaten brutally to death in Black Ops? If this really is the reason then we need to show them exactly what they’re allowing small (and big) children to see and do.
The roots of gaming are in the ridiculous. When I was a child all the games I played were about running to the right until you beat the level, occasionally jumping on enemies to get them out of your way. In those days the High Score was king and the story of a game was borderline non-existent, they didn’t have the cinematic qualities of modern titles. Back then games were about competition and wiling away the hours doing basically nothing except having fun. Games are different now; nowadays games are more of an art form than ever what with having the ability to convey a powerful story. I can say that I’ve never been moved by a film as much as I have by a game. Some would say you can’t really call them games any more as they’ve evolved past that, but I still prefer ‘game’ over ‘interactive Experience’. My point is that the older generation still think gaming is as simplistic and harmless as it was in the days of Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario World, and it really isn’t.
Last night while playing through Call of Duty: Black Ops, as I smashed a window and pushed broken glass into a man’s mouth to interrogate him, I had a thought. While, as an adult, I can rationalise this action (e.g. this man has information that will save millions of lives but he won’t give it to me) a child will have a much harder time in doing that. I know a few kids whose parents let them play this stuff and one of them asked me if I’d reached “That airport level in Modern Warfare 2”. So I said yes, and he proceeded to tell me how much fun he was having mowing down Russian civilians, how great it was that they weren’t shooting back.
This shocked me to some degree; when I played through ‘No Russian’ I felt like a horrendous and evil person the whole way through. I fired at most two bullets, to put two ailing civilians out of their misery, before the riot police showed up and even then I tried consciously to hit them in the legs. It was readily apparent to me that I had become the bad guy. With whatever good reasoning I had contributed to such an act (albeit virtually) of slaughter and boy did those genius’s at Infinity Ward get me good.
It’s been shown over and over that kids learn what ‘normal’ behaviour is by what they see in others. It’s a documented fact that children who grow up in abusive environments are more likely to be abusive when they grow up and so on. This will sound as if I’m saying that violent games teach children to be violent, but that’s not the case. I think they do desensitise children to a point, and that they effect what is perceived as normal behaviour but the negative behaviour patterns still need to be there for a child to turn bad. Like with the glass chomping scene a mentioned, an adult will understand fully what’s happening in this situation whereas a child will see a man having glass pushed into his mouth and just see it for what it is; a man having glass forced in to his mouth.
Whether we like it or not we are constantly being bombarded by messages, and lifestyles, and advertisement and all of it gets in at some level. When I was a child my Mum was very strict with me and I’m happy about that. I’m GLAD that she held me back from seeing/playing things that weren’t right for me. I wasn’t happy about it at the time, but I fully appreciate that she did the right thing.
Parents are in charge of their children, children are the responsibility of their parents'. How they grow and develop is almost entirely in their parents' hands. Remember that just because all the other kids are doing it doesn’t make it a good idea, the hard decision is usually the right one.
Next time your child is bothering you to buy them a game, or a DVD, or a comic, remember to take in what exactly it is they want you to buy for them. Decide for yourself whether you think it’s right for your child keeping in mind Age Ratings are there for a good reason. It’s in your child’s best interest for you to show an interest in their growth. Just for the love of God stop buying this stuff for them:
This is probably one of those undercover controversial subjects, anything to do with parenting often is. So I thought it would be a good move to express not only my own views but also the views of others, including parents, on this subject.
When asked "Why do parents buy violent video games for their kids?"
Dan Bendon (Parent)
Because they don't understand or don't care. Both are inexcusable as a parent.
Laura Rich (Parent)
Maybe they do understand and don't think the games are bad for their kids.
Some would say that all the very best war films have Vietnam in them. Full Metal Jacket, Platoon, Forest Gump, Tigerland; they all have that one country/war in common. It’s perplexing that the gaming industry, an industry almost built on copying Hollywood, has rarely delved in to this conflict in any serious sense. It just so happens that Treyarch, the “underdog” when it comes to Call of Duty development, has chosen to include Vietnam in their latest edition to the long running and famed series. You won’t be spending the whole time in Vietnam though, Call of Duty: Black Ops features a whole host of new places for you to shoot people in. The game also features the most in-depth story of the franchise so far. Rest assured you won’t see the twists and turns of this story coming and while you will be surrounded by a new cast of characters there is one face you may recognise.
Story
The story of Call of Duty: Black Ops is played almost entirely through flashbacks. You are Alex Mason, a member of the Studies and Observation Group (SOG). Alex wakes up to find himself strapped to a chair in an interrogation room, with a distorted voice barking at him about a set of numbers. After asserting that he has no idea what they are talking about Alex looks back on past events and this is where the gameplay takes place. Without wishing to spoil anything I’ll say that an assassination attempt on the life of Fidel Castro goes awry and Mason is captured. This is only the tip of the iceberg and the story goes so much further than you could imagine, with twists aplenty.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Call of Duty: Black Ops is very much similar to your basic Call of Duty set up. The changes are small, your character feels more weighty than Modern Warfare 2 for example and by extension is slower in movement. This serves to make the game a much more deliberate affair; you can’t run and gun quite as easily with the movement speed. You have to plan and execute your movements with at least a little bit of precision, or your enemies will make swiss cheese out of you. To balance this the game is easier than the last two instalments in the series. So far I’ve only played through on recruit (default difficulty for the first playthrough, always) and I’d say I died less than 15 times. This is a stark contrast to the possible hundreds of times I died in Modern Warfare 2 or WaW and while it punishes your mistakes you’ll never feel unfairly treated. The game took me around 8 hours to complete but I’m sure it could be done quicker than this. I’ve heard of people finishing it in just over 5 hours on the day it was released!
Presentation
Call of Duty games always surprise me with their presentation. When you consider that since Call of Duty 2 the games have been running on upgrades of the same engine, it’s damned impressive the leap between each game. While the graphical difference between Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops is a small one it’s definitely noticeable. Denser particle effects, oodles of dynamic lighting and a huge increase in the amount of enemies on screen really do a lot to wow the player. Some textures are less crisp than MW2 players will be used to but it’s not noticeable due to the fast pace of the game. The game also boasts impressive fire and smoke effects, making the flamethrower rifle attachment an absolute JOY to use. As with World at War, Black Ops features grim and brutal dismemberment throughout to convey the realities of war. You won’t get a chance to examine the wounds of dead enemies due to the hazardous nature of the game, but if you’re squeamish I suggest you switch off the mature content when prompted.
The sound effects for the guns are spot on and the explosions sound better than ever. Sound mixing in multiplayer has come up against criticism by many fans of the series, complaining that they can’t hear nearby footsteps or silenced gunfire. These issues are being addressed by Treyarch we are assured. Voice acting is suitably top notch in Black Ops, with convincing lines and delivery all round. You won’t recognise many voices in the game but the talent won’t go un-noticed to you. The score is similarly brilliant in its pacing and subtlety at one moment and dramatic intensity at the next.
Conclusion
Call of Duty: Black Ops builds upon the foundations of both World at War and Modern Warfare 2 to craft an experience better than either of them. The sterling presentation mixed with tweaked gameplay and an engaging story elevate it above any of the previous entries in the series. For a great Call of Duty single player experience you must play this game, you wont find any better in the series. It’s unafraid to tread new ground and pull hard on your heartstrings. In short it is a great game.
When I was ten years old my friend David came into posession of a magical item. We treasured it, and spent as much time with it as we were allowed to. We stayed up full nights just looking at it, bedazzled by its wonder, it's beauty. I longed to be in posession of it, or one like it but alas I was unable to. Seven years later, with the usage of a bursary and another friends paypal account I came into my very own magical...beautiful...sparkling copy of Final Fantasy VII.
After coming home from college I opened the box and began to install the game to my PC. Upon restarting my machine and asking the game to boot up I was met with a horrible truth; the PC version of Final Fantasy VII hates windows xp. I searched and I searched for ways to run the game. Eventually I came across a couple of patches that would make the game run on my video card and force compatibility with windows xp. Sadly the video card patch had apparently been developed for something inferior to what I had, and made distorting lines come up over the pre-rendered backgrounds. I attempted to play through the game like this, but gave up about 15 hours in due to being robbed of immersion by these graphical errors.
Since I first played Final Fantasy VII on the PC it has given off a sense of being incomplete, of being lacking in some way due to it's dedication to WIndows 95. I know how many people there are like me, who just bloody want to play Final Fantasy VII, so I'm here to let you know one thing; IT CAN BE DONE.
In five steps you can have Final Fantasy VII running perfectly on your PC, along with graphical upgrades like Anti-Aliasing and higher resolutions. Trust me, it's worth it.
Step one: Get Windows 7
The most recent home use Windows platform (Windows 7, or VII) runs Final Fantasy VII far better than any before it. I don't have the technical knowledge to explain why but when I gave FFVII a shot after installing Windows VII I was stunned to find that it felt smooth, and almost complete. If you can't get Windows 7 then you can perform the rest of these steps on both windows XP and Vista. Getting Windows 7 is the first stage a perfectly running Final Fantasy VII experience on your PC. Faced with the possible framerate problems (of the "It's too damn fast" kind) though, you may want to keep on reading for the rest of the equasion.
Step two: The Renderer is outdated, get a new one.
What I found was a project by an internet person called Aali. This wonderful person has crafted an OpenGL patch for Final Fantasy VII and is continuously updating the fixing it even as I now type this out. Since using this patch I have been running FFVII in 1024x768 resolution without any texture distortion. It has other options like Windowed mode (works really well) and a HDR filter (doesn't work so well), these things show how much work has been put in to this fix. I applaud Aali and his/her services to geekdom!
Step Three: Thanks for the synthesiser, Squaresoft.
That may well fix the graphics, but the sound will still need tweaked. Midi processors are very different now to what they were in 1998, as in they interprate the tracks differently. It was a strange decision even then, the way that Square decided to package the music files for Final Fantasy VII on the PC. They chose to package the midi files but have the sythesiser on the given PC interpret those files independantly, so the music can sound rather off at times. Thankfully there is a way of fixing this to some extent, using a tool apparently made by Square themselves. Here.
There are other, more in depth ways of dealing with the sound in Final Fantasy VII but they demand registry editing and front ends, I want to keep this as simple as possible for the layman.
Step Four: Take it in your hand.
Once you've done all this you'll no doubt want to play and enjoy the game, but who seriously wants to play a game like Final Fantasy using a keyboard? Here's where the beauty of the 360 controller comes in. Assuming you have a wired 360 controller (I use a fightpad) you can simply plug and play, just remember to set the controls on the config menu in-game. If you decide to be a big copy-cat and use a fightpad, you need to switch the D-Pad to "LS" on the back of the pad to use it.
We stepped into the Cataclysm beta to bring you the digs from inside the latest expansion on the Blizzard franchise, with insights on the new races, places and game changers of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm.
Have you ever thought to yourself, "I wish more really bad things would happen in Azeroth”? Do the terrible events portrayed throughout the Warcraft lore leave you feeling like you have been short changed in misery and pain?
Then boy do Blizzard have a treat for you!
With Cataclysm, the latest WoW expansion, they really are serving up pain for the poor inhabitants of Azeroth. Towns destroyed, areas of the map competely gone, while other places have opened up (and this I assure you is not necessarily a good thing). The closed off kingdom of Gilneas has opened it's gates and it's people have ventured forth. The snag is that these people are almost all werewolves. It’s not all bad though, they are a mostly friendly bunch and have been taken in by the Night Elves. Known as Worgen, they are an interesting race because they can transform from a werewolf to human at the touch of a button (note: when you enter into combat you are automatically changed into your werewolf form.) Why someone would want to be a human when they can be an 8 foot tall wolfman in a top hat is beyond me, but each to their own.
The other of the 2 new races, the Goblins, have also come into the new and (arguably) improved Azeroth! So prepare to lose that nice Gadgetzan feeling of safety when you see a Goblin running over to you. The Goblin starting area is like a metropolis with highways and cars all over the place, very different from what you'll be used to in the World of Warcraft. It's an interesting change, most of the starter quests see you bumming around, driving your car, picking up mates to go places. Of course it all inevitably goes sour but it hints at a stronger emphasis on story telling than past iterations.
Environments
When I talk about towns being destroyed, don't think I mean little inconsequential towns like Starbreeze. I mean Auberdine for example, and a large chunk of Rut'Theran. It's wierdly troubling to see these places you've visited a hundred times in tatters. Even really serene seeming starting areas like Northshire are half burned to the ground and under invasion by the Orkish Horde.
Alongside carnage and destruction there are changes that are less drastic. The Gnomes no longer live with the dwarves, for example. They are now set on taking back Gnomeregan as their home so it will be interesting to see what comes of that!
With regards to the Horde, Ork and Troll lands are under attack by Northwatch (aren't they the people who don't want Nolan North to voice so many videogames?) a human group who have established a beachead near the trial grounds. This beachhead is about 100 metres away from the Trolls.
Getting Started
Another change that has been made to the starting areas is that they've been streamlined and shortened, probably with the goal of getting people into the game faster. For example, in the Night Elf starting area there is an Elf named Iverron who has been poisoned by spiders. Originally you were asked to find him by an elf who was on the opposite side of the map from him, now they are in the middle of the starting area together. This is a good example of the small but significant changes that Blizzard are making to the World of Warcraft formula.
Game Play – Character Customisation
Blizzard have seen fit to switch up the talent trees. You can no longer dabble in different trees, you must choose a tree and stick with it. Alongside this they've changed many of the existing talents and removed others. Of course you can't take some away and not replace them - that would be less than tidy! So Blizz have blinged us up with shiny new talents to spec with!
My personal experience with the game was that it was very enjoyable. I've been a World of Warcraft player for a little over 3 years now and can confidently say that I approve of almost all of the changes and additions to the formula. The new starter areas feel more like you're playing a game due to the heavier emphasis on narrative that's been adopted (think Death Knight) and the smoother levelling system is a good incentive. I'm not much of a fan of grinding, which is why WoW has occasionally turned me right off, so for me the faster levelling is a big upside.
Of the two new starting areas I prefered the Worgen, partly because I love the idea of playing as a wolf-man and partly because I kept getting lost in the Goblin starting area. It seems like a petty gripe but it's hard to enjoy something when the lack of viable landmarks means you often don't know where you are and can't work out how to get where you're supposed to be.
All in all I tried out many different races and classes over the course of about 13 characters and while it does seem like everything is easier, it's not at the expense of enjoyment. You still need to think too, I am used to playing a fury warrior so when I left my Mage battling in close combat to look at some menu's he was obliterated. Don't expect a smooth ride with this game difficulty wise, it can and will smack you down.
If you're a veteran World of Warcraft player then Cataclysm is a must. Injecting fresh ideas and ethos into the game while expanding it in new and daring ways. Not to mention the raised level cap, new high level dungeons and improved PvP. That's not to say they're swindling you in to buying it by removing content. The wealth of new dungeons, weapons, abilities and areas are more than enough of an incentive for this fresh spin on an old world.
What you thought:
Blarno - Ork - Hunter
I like the Worgen and Goblin starting areas they feel really fresh and intuitive. Bar a few hiccups they flow really well and feel like less of a grind than some of the original starting areas.
It really feels like they’ve tightened up the game but at the same time it feels easier, for example Hunters now have Pets at level 1. This is a small change, sure, but it does effect the whole dynamic of starting off with a hunter. Gaining a pet used to be like an aspiration when starting a new hunter, now there’s nothing like that. Hunters can now also call any of 5 pets from the stables from anywhere, which is neat but a little overly convenient. I don’t think veteran players will like how much easier the game is getting.
The changes to the environment are brilliant. Subtle changes that improve the whole experience, like how they’ve moved the front lines of battle around slightly but it seems like a new landscape battle-wise. Now we have more lands to travel around in too, and that is awesome!
VeRychard - Night Elf - Priest
I’m glad they’re making such a lot of changes with Cataclysm, I’ve been playing WoW for a long time and it’s nice to see something fresh. When you’ve been playing it for as long as I have you start to get bored with the same old talents , places and races.
They seem to be diluting the game in order to make it more accessible to newer, younger players. Some could say that this is a good thing, but I’m not so sure.
The game is getting too easy. When you learn a spell now you don’t have to upgrade it, it gets stronger as you level. The Guild skills also make things a lot easier. Again this is diluting the game, by making it easier it wont scare off trial players and will keep the subscriptions rolling in.
That’s not to say it’s not a challenge in places though.
Yaruha - Blood Elf - Warlock
I think Cataclysm is the best of the expansion packs so far. It offers so much new content!
I really like the new talents they’ve added, much better than the old ones. Some of the old ones didn’t seem very useful. It’s good that they’ve made the talent system more focussed, helps new players too, who would otherwise mix their talents and end up average at everything.
The Goblins are very funny and I love the Worgen starting area. It’s a good evolution of the game that the starting areas are becoming more and more story based.
Alilsneaky - Gametrailers.com user
The game runs a lot better despite the increased draw distance and lighting quality (the game now has some actual dynamic lighting, which adds a lot to the atmosphere.)
Damage right now is silly, they specifically said that they wanted health bars to go up and down a lot more gradually like in Burning Crusade when it comes to Player vs Player, yet they buff player damage for all classes almost every patch, right now damage is way more bursty as opposed to the steady feel I thought they wanted.
New low level quests are more interesting than the old ones (questing was always wow's biggest weak point, though much of it still boils down to kill x, collect x, but it feels less generic now)
Many new features feel like they could have/should have been added months or even years ago but were simply held back to save them for the expansion.
Things like the new glyph UI, proc alerts, or even basic matters of convenience like removing the need to level up weapon skill or train separate spell levels should have been changed a long time ago.
Those of us horrified to hear about the delay of Gears of War 3 were thrown a bone at a press event this week as Epic annouced that Gears of War 3 will have a public multiplayer beta in early 2011. The contents of the beta at this point aren't known other than that it will feature competative multiplayer.
Epic Games left gamers everwhere horrified and heartbroken when they announced earlier this week that Gears of War 3 was delayed until Fall 2011. Originally the release was scheduled for 14th April 2011, but Rod Fergusson said that the delay is "not a quality issue" and that the delay was "a business decision between partners".
How Rod thinks this will make us feel better is beyond me, but it certainly means that Epic will have no excuse for any quality issues with the game. Hopefully Epic will take FULL advantage of the extra months they've given themselves and tweak the game beyond a mirror shine.
The long awaited and frankly traditional Fall update is on its way to your Xbox 360 soon,it strikes me that this would be the perfect time for a write up. If only someone would write something about this new update. Anyone know any writers who like games and technology related stuffs?
Hold on a tick, writers who like games and tech stuff? I'm a writer who likes games and tech stuff! I'll get on with it then...
Personally I'm quite looking forward to this update, Xbox Live really needs some freshening up and lovely clean looking white is just the ticket. There's a new "you've just pressed the on button" animation on the way too, it seems, and a new look for the avatars (unfortunately still standing in a rather effeminate way). I don't think many Xboxers were crying out for a full cosmetic update, but I doubt many of them will complain. This isn't just a cosmetic update however, Microsoft have thrown in a new and improved chat codec which will apparently highten fidelity in our beloved party chat and HOPEFULLY put an end to the random kicking of party members.
Sadly there doesn't look to be any further twitter or facebook integration. It seems like Microsoft have decided the only thing the Xbox needs is better chat and prettier, smoother visuals...and I have no problems with that. They've also tightened up the Games Marketplace, making it easier to find what you're looking for which is VERY welcome!
Neversoft (or Vicarious Visions if you're playing on the Wii) have returned once again to Activisions' long running Guitar Hero brand with a new look, as Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Rolling in with a blistering 93 songs for you and your mates to jam to including old favourites (Alice Cooper, Poison), lesser known masterpieces (Silversun Pickups) and the occasional mainstream crowd pleaser (Fall Out Boy, Atreyu). Whether new to the series or long time plastic instrument fancier, you're sure to find something here to take your fancy.
Early views of Warriors of Rock were seemed to channel the realms of Brutal Legend with its gameplay and aesthetic, but that's is not the case. While there is a heavy metal story to Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock (narrated by none other than Gene Simmons), it's more of a basis upon which to play lots of songs rather than an actual aspect of gameplay. Rather than 'Wanting to make it big' you are charged with 'Defeating the Beast' (Via rocking out). This is more or less Guitar Hero 5 with graphical enhancements, a different story and new characters but you'll find yourself wondering, "Was this all necessary?"
Guitar Hero is a series that doesn't NEED big changes, the gameplay holds the game up just fine and the different editions mainly add new gametypes and songs rather than changing the forumula. Neversoft have also seen fit to remove the Wahwah from the guitar controller in favour of putting a dock for the USB dongle and batteries in that part of the neck. Don't come to Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock thinking that you're in for a new gameplay experience. More of a facelift.
There is one addition to the experience however; rock out hard enough and your character will transform after you've gained the ability. These transformations are not only cosmetic, they also modify the effects star power. Some grant you a higher multiplier, some lengthen star power duration, while others give a faster score multiplier. You can unlock different transformation abilities, and mix and match any 2 at the same time, not unlike Call of Duty's perk system. This system allows for expanded replay value, allowing you to gain 40 stars per song, far overshadowing the 5 star barrier in past Guitar hero games, deepening the gameplay experience while not straying too far from the tried and trusted formula. Music Studio, a feature brought in with World Tour that lets you compose your own tracks and share them with the world, makes a return.
Quest Mode, which is the replacement for Career Mode, is playable with up to 3 friends on any combination of instruments. You could have 4 drummers if you really wanted, but the best way to play Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is with all the instruments and each person taking on a specific role. Thankfully the instruments from Guitar Hero 5 and World Tour are compatible with Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, and vice versa.
Alternatively if you're the competitive type you could take your full band online to face off against other bands, or you could just face off against other guitarists/drummers/bassists/vocalists one on one in a variety of multiplayer modes, lifted and polished from previous Guitar Hero games along with the Music Studio feature.
The revamped presentation of Guitar hero: Warriors of Rock really does a lot for the experience. Guitar Hero games have never been ugly, but this is a new high for the series graphically. While it's no musical Crysis, stage effects are beefed up, volumetric smoke sheets the visuals, in a realistic way mind, and the lip syncing borders on perfect. Of course it's not possible for it to be perfect really, Some of the transformations don't even have lips. How does a leather clad pig-man sing?
Actually, now that I've mentioned pig-men I'll talk about the transformations. All of them are unique to the character and are based on the characters'...well...character. Johnny Napalm turns into a madcap, wild sort of Troll creature that can teleport and crawl on walls. Lars Umlaut turns into the aformentioned big fat pig-man with glowing red eyes and a hunger for tasty riffs. The transformations are a nice little addition to the visual style as well as the gameplay, it's nice to see a greater level of variety in the series than human characters.
Venues in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock are mostly fictional, barring the C.B.G.B. which is the only real life stage present. The most interesting of which are the Rush 2112 inspired stages in which you must prove your ROCK-ness in order to gain the Demigod's guitar, based heavily around the iconic Starman image.
The story is mostly told via still images being panned in or out, it gets the job done but I really miss the animated cutscenes from Guitar hero 3. Sure they were cartoony and a bit silly, but that's what I love about Guitar Hero, it doesn't take itself too seriously. I'm not sure I like where they're taking it with the "HUH, WE ARE ROCK GODS" stuff but it doesn't grab me, doesn't even entertain me, and would have been made a lot more interesting by the inclusion of a fuller story animated cutscenes could have afforded.
A small band working their way up the echelons of fame is far more rock than a story about playing rock to steal a guitar. That sort of story can't be communicated via the gameplay that's on offer, Brutal Legend pulled it off because you could ACT rock in game. I don't think anyone was crying out for a story to cultivate a Guitar Hero game, so why bother? People just want to play songs to unlock other songs, then play those. It's just not necessary and feels half hearted, as if they were slightly embarrassed to be doing it.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock is at its core the same game as Guitar Hero 5, which in turn was essentially the same game as Guitar Hero: World tour - but who says that's a bad thing? I LOVE Guitar Hero, I think it's brilliant and I have spent entire days at a time playing it in it's different iterations. The slight additions to the gameplay certainly make it a deeper, and therefore potentially more enjoyable game than the rest but you still wont like it if you don't like Guitar Hero. The presentation also does it justice and will impress you.
Pro's:
Strong song list that will make you wanna stand up and rock.
Impressive visuals that really make the stage look like a stage and the rock look like rock.
Varied characters, old and new.
Added depth with the powers system.
DLC songs from World Tour and Guitar Hero 5 are compatible with Warriors of Rock.
Con's:
Once you've played one Guitar Hero you've played them all.
Throw-away shoehorned story that has nothing to do with the gameplay.
If you're of a certain age you may remember the TV series Monkey, based upon the 16th century Chinese novel Journey to the West. If you liked that you may be interested to know that Enslaved: Odyssey to the West is loosely based around said legend(ary tv show).
Made by Heavenly Sword developers Ninja Theory, Enslaved is looking to be a title to reinvigorate the same flagging genre as Prince of Persia has been for a while now. Will this be the beginning of a new phase in gaming where power returns to the platformers?
I say platforming, that's really just one string to Enslaved's bow. This game has both close combat and ranged combat, but they're far from the emphasis. Plenty more has been showcased in stage demos and gameplay videos, and for this article I chose to play through the current demo (which is avaible on PSN and XBL) to offer you some impressions of what the final game will offer. I mentioned in my Vanquish Impressions that it has a really cool looking menu screen, and that I'd like to see more inventive menus. It seems Ninja Theory either read that article, or had a similar epiphany as the menu screen in Odyssey to the West is similarly cool.
The Enslaved demo starts off in the same place the full game will likely start off. The 2 main protagonists have been captured by slavers and are being transported in a flying fortress of sorts. Trip (the lady) breaks free using her technical expertise and sets the ship to a collision course with the nearest mountain. The commotion that follows leads to Monkey (the man) being sprung from his own cell and thus the gameplay extravaganza does begin.
Upon beginning the game the first thing I noticed were the animations. It's clear that a lot of work has been put in to this facet of the presentation and it really shows. Occasionally you'll see a little stiffness in a cutscene, but in-game the animations are amazing. They really succeed in conveying a weight and reality to the characters and environments. A collapsing cell won't affect you if it isn't animated well, these things need to look and feel like they weigh a ton and they really do, it really helps to immerse you in the games world.
The next thing I noticed was the style of the visuals. Since I played Heavenly Sword I wondered why you never saw that bright light type of lighting on the Xbox 360. Same thing with Uncharted, they both made 360 games look really monotone next to their vibrance and stunning usage of colour. Finally this style of visual has been brought to the 360 and let me tell you, it's wonderous. There's a brilliant contrast to everything, you could have sharp black and stunning white on the same screen and both executed brilliantly. That's not to say that Enslaved is the prettiest game to date, but it is aesthetically beautiful due to how it uses what it has. Some genuine artistic merit can be found in the style of this game.
But hey, perhaps all you want to do is beat robots with a big extendable stick? Enslaved caters for that too! The combat system featured is refreshingly simple, but not without depth and it's entirely possible (and even probable) that the full game will feature a far deeper combat system than the demo, catered for by upgrades and varied enemy types. In the demo the combat wont challenge you, but it will entertain you. That said it only seems to take up a small chunk of the gameplay, most of which is spent navigating the treacherous environment.
If you're anything like me you'll want to know how the journey turns out for our two heroes, how their relationship evolves and grows, and most of all; do they get to their respective homes?
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West hits store shelves on the 8th of October 2010.
In light of the announcement of Ginx TV, we at We Are Arcade thought it would be a good idea to look back at what has come before in the world of games broadcasting.
In the beginning there was Games Master, and it was good. Screened on Channel 4, it provided young and old gamers with reviews, entertained them with match ups and tournaments and helped them out with hints, tips and cheats requested for video games. Hosted by the almighty Dominik Diamond for 6 of its 7 series and Dexter Fletcher for series 3, it symbolises the first full acknowledgement of gaming as a hobby in mainstream entertainment, as early as 1992. Patrick Moore also showed face on this show, as the Games Master himself - a futuristic machine with a brain (hard drive?) full of games knowledge to share.
Games Master was broadcast for 6 years and was very popular, but sadly, like all great things, it had to end. Dominik Diamond had designs to turn the program in to a more adult oriented hardcore gaming show, airing later at night to reach the more mainstream gaming audience. Unfortunately the heads of Channel 4 failed to see the potential and draw of such a program as a gaming show for adults. In the end, what sealed the demise of Games Master was a change of leadership in Channel 4. There’s no certainty as to why the show was cancelled, the ratings were as high as they had ever been and there were no signs of interest dropping. Perhaps it was just another case of an old man seeing gaming as a child’s hobby and not worthy of television coverage. But the seeds were sown and soon other shows began cropping up to take advantage of this expensive new hobby gaining traction on the high street.
So the creation of the games television format was complete, but the work was not done. In 1998, the same year that Games Master was pronounced dead, a whole TV channel devoted to video gaming appeared on Sky television called G@ME Network. G@me Network was available all over Europe and the UK, sporting programmes such as Game Guru, Live Wire, Reloaded and Evolution (and NOTHING else) throughout its lifespan.
These programs were largely relatable to segments of Games Master. Game Guru was a tips, cheats and tricks programme in which stuck gamers would ask questions of the Game Guru’s. Live Wire was a news, reviews and previews show hosted by Gareth Williams, Chris Jeffery and Stuart Headlam often with special guests from the gaming industry. Reloaded was a live show in which the Game Gurus would challenge the public to online games on the Xbox, Playstation 2 and PC. Later on when LiveWire was discontinued, due to copyright problems with its name, Reloaded played host to some of its features. Finally, Evolution was a strange format of programme in which a naked man in a towel named “Duck Recon” and Game Guru’s “Guru Larry” presented news, previews, interviews and reviews. This show was pre-recorded, and was shot over a PC monitor.
Regardless of having such a small variety of programmes it was relatively popular. Later, when interest began to dwindle, it played host to Psychic Interactive and a late night “tease” show called Babestation, alongside various phone-in quiz shows. Eventually, in early 2006, G@me Network was sold and became Babestation, a channel dedicated to the program of the same name. It died a good example to show that even a hobby dedicated channel needs variety and innovation to hold its viewers attentions.
During the time of G@ME Network, the suits at Sky were experimenting with video games broadcasting with GamezVille on SkyOne. GamezVille was first aired in 2003 and was presented, at first, by Darren Malcolm and Jamie Atiko. The program was damaged by being an incredibly long 60 minute show, which lead to reviews and segments being stretched beyond natural lengths and saw games featured that didn’t need to be covered. The upside to this is that in trying to find games to squeeze in and fill their open schedule, little known innovative titles and talented studios.
The show had high hopes, and had about as many segments as G@ME Network had programmes. This includes one programme called “The Gamez Guru” which was naturally taken exception to by the owners of G@ME Network and had its name changed to “The Guru”. Other segments were Face Off, a part of the show where two members of the public would FACE OFF to settle a dispute via the medium of video game, and a Reviews segment where members of the studio audience would be interviewed on their thoughts about whatever video game was under scrutiny and asked to mark it out of five ”G’s”.
GamezVille was met with harsh criticism over its poor choice of target audience and its length alongside its frequency (five times a week!). It was accused of completely undershooting the average age of gamers at the time, as it targeted the teenage audience with a “hip” and cool sort of forced vibe. One Jolt TV review had this to say about the programme:
“Gamezville is appalling, and does no favours whatsoever to the games industry.”
Regardless of the programme’s lack of popularity Sky kept it running for 192 episodes before calling it a day. It could be that there was a mass of GamezVille fans whose views were never communicated to the public, but it’s more likely that it filled a spot that would take more trouble and money to fill over again than it did to keep a low-cost games TV show running.
One year before GamezVille was first aired a channel called G4TV showed its face on American TV over Satellite and Cable. G4TV was an attempt to reel the MTV demographic into games TV, by being based around gaming, while simultaneously having a hip and cool style and feel. Originally the channel launched with 10 shows, all centred around gaming. Examples of these shows include Cinematech; A showcase for high-end digital art, Arena; a viewer selected top-ten countdown and Judgement Day; a reviews shown now known as “Reviews on the Run”
In 2005 a change of leadership led to a dramatic change of format for G4TV from a devoted games channel to a general lifestyle channel which occasionally featured games. This was met with complaints from long time fans who wanted their games TV channel back, but these complaints went unheeded for a time. In 2008 G4 launched the G4 Rewind, a block which showed older episodes from the time when the channel had been all about the games, possibly as a bow to fan pressure.
More recently G4TV has been reinvigorating its gaming roots with the re-envisioning of the website to give games the spotlight again. In addition to this the G4 blog “The Feed” was redesigned as well and had a new online video game discussion series called Nightcap debut in 2009. It was recently announced that G4 would be the exclusive broadcaster of Marvel Anime, scheduled to air in 2011.
While all this was going on over Sky and Cable, terrestrial TV was devoid of games television. This was soon to be remedied by Robert Florence and Ryan MacLeod with Video Gaiden. Originally known as the internet series Consolevania, when it transferred to BBC2 it was renamed Video Gaiden, possibly as a reference to its brief nature next to most television shows (Gaiden roughly translates to “Side Story”). Video Gaiden was shown in ten minute stints starting at 11:10pm in 2006, with the occasional half hour special.
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Centred around comedy almost as much as it was around videogames, Video Gaiden was an interesting addition to the genre of games TV programming. Episodes would include full reviews by either Rab or Ryan alongside shorter dual retrospectives on games recent and long past. Video Gaiden also featured sketches parodying the video game community and/or the reaction of the public to the video game community. It also features the “Video Gaiden Top 100” as a listing of the top 100 games of all time by the reckoning of Video Gaiden, naming Rez (a musical 3rd person shooter) as the greatest game of all time.
After 3 series, shown mostly after 12 at night, Video Gaiden was cancelled due to lack of interest.
Video Game shows have been prevalent on the internet, however, where it is far easier to gain the attention of an audience. Viewers can choose to watch whenever they choose rather than the shows being scheduled and anyone can produce a games show thanks to the medium of YouTube and other video hosting services. Alongside the torrents of amateur games reviews and features there have been more professional forays into the medium. Sites like Gamespot and GamesTrailers have features many video games shows, but more recently the medium has been taken on to the console format by way of Playstation Network and Xbox Live.
Made in response to the bulging e-mail and gamertag message boxes, Sent U A Message began in 2009 and was recently nominated for a Games Media Award. Sent U A Message (often shortened to SUAM) has been running now for 3 series and although there have been other shows on the Xbox Live dashboard there’s no reason to believe it’s going to stop. With a name inspired by what the dashboard tells them everytime a questioning gamers sends them a query, Sent U A Message is a show devoted to answering the most commonly asked questions gamers have about Xbox Live, or games coming soon to Xbox. The show is most commonly hosted by Xbox EMEA Editor Dan Maher and Xbox Live Producer Andy Farrant, with Community Manager Graeme Boyd or Gamespot Section Editor Jane Douglas sometimes stepping in to replace one of them. This has shown to be a popular show, with so many questions being thrown in that both a twitter and facebook account were made for the show in addition to the initial gamertag. Hopefully this will start a trend of console based broadcasting for video games shows.
Now we come to the future of games broadcasting, with the announcement of Ginx TV as a new dedicated video games channel. Will Ginx TV be the platform upon which games TV is returned to its rightful position; akin to the success of Games Master? I can only hope that the owners and producers of Ginx TV will keep in mind the pitfalls and troubles of other channels that have tried and failed. So far there have been 5 shows announced for Ginx TV which is already more than Game Network ever had.
I feel that Ginx TV will have to step up with varied and enjoyable content persistently and diligently in order to capture the hearts of the masses. Will they be up to the task?
It’s that time of the year again...no not my annual bath (I’d be less happy were that the case) The Tokyo Game Show has come around again, with plenty of surprises in store. Shocking some, horrifying others, this year TGS has definately set tongues wagging!
Ninja Theory, developers of Heavenly Sword and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West must be a busy lot because this is a complete overhaul of the series by the looks of it - This hasn’t gone unnoticed by any means. The studio poised to take over Capcoms long serving franchise have left their mark on Dante. Specifically, with a redesign that has set tongue, mailboxes, forums and probably some houses alight with rage from hardcore DMC fans. Gone is the white haired, androgynous and clean Dante. Enter a Dante that looks more like a man, but also a lot more like a drug addict. The drastic change has led to rumours all over the internet about who this new “Dante” is. Perhaps Dante from the past? Someone ELSE called Dante? Other than that the game looks like it’ll carry the same tone of stylish shooting and swordplay in an apocalyptic wasteland, this trailer gave us little to go on.
People had been crying out for Marvel vs Capcom 3: FTW for 10 years and finally at E3 they got it! Now from TGS comes a brand new trailer, with included gameplay footage showing the gloriously maniacal beat downs that Capcom's VS series is famous for.Looking to be bigger, badder and even madder than it’s predecessors, Marvel vs Capcom 3 is set to please fighting fans everywhere! The trailer also shows a few new characters for the roster. Super Skrull, Doctor Doom, Felicia, Trish and Dormamu (More like Dorma-who amirite? -Ed) with more to come, including Tron Bonne (Megaman Legends) and X-23 (NYX, X-Men).
From the creators of Persona and Shim Megami Tensei, this game deserves mention, if only for it's incredibly strange trailers and appearance. From what I can tell the story is about a young man named Vincent, who has an affair with a girl called Catherine. After said one night stand he begins having vivid nightmares in which monsters (and giant hands) pursue him. The trailer itself seems to include human shaped sheep, or humans with sheeps wool and horns. None of it really makes any sort of sense to me, and the trailer is almost all in Japanese but that makes me want it more. Those crafty bitches at Atlus have reeled me in with complete strangeness. One to watch methinks.
Need for Speed:Hot Pursuit. Finally Hot Pursuit seems to be making its way back to us in its purest since the original playstation version. Fresh with new modes like Arms Race in which you take control of a cop car and knock your law breaking mates off the road. The trailer itself seems to suggest that you simply jump in to their race and take control of a cop, which I can imagine to be pretty annoying. A bit like Fight Req in a racing game, where it ruins your single player progress instead of halting it temporarily. Thankfully this also sounds like it could be a lot of fun, especially if you can choose whether or not people are allowed to join in to your game.
The Last Guardian is the story of a little boy and his giant flying cat-bird thing.They'll laugh, they'll cry, they'll probably die and we'll all never emotionally recover... Or will they? Team Ico have an amazing way of having incredibly simple games feel incredibly complex and there's no reason why this wont be amazing. In fact there's every reason to believe that it will be amazing. Games like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus are few and far between and Last Guardian will likely shape up to be one of those types of games. You don't want to risk passing one of these gems up.
What game can't be improved upon by adding zombies? Plenty, I'd imagine. Still, Yakuza seems like a game that could definately do with some flesh eating maniacs. This is also a spin-off and isn't connected to the story...so let's see Kazumi Kiryu eaten, taken and shambling for flesh! Who seriously doesn't want to see Kazumi brains? Yakuza: Of The End looks to have all the things that a Japanese action game should have; gun arms, piercings, silly haircuts, cocky good guys, eyepatches and the military being pummelled. Will this game bring a style of it's own to the tired zombie formula, or will it turn out to be a Dead Rising 2 pallette swap?
Scientists are developing cybernetics and (awesome) robotic limbs as we speak, making this game seem almost prophetic in a kind of Ghost in the Shell way. As the war rages between those who see augmentations as the way forward and those who believe that it is toying with nature, which side will you be on? Adam Jensen, the main character mutters "I never asked for this." Was he an anti-cybernetics man? Was he for it but not for himself? There are alot of references to Icarus in the trailers for Deus Ex: Human Revolution and we all know how that tale ends up. Facing many a critical eye after Invisible War failed to live up to its predecessor, Human Revolution is definately shaping up to be one to watch. The long fabled Gran Turismo 5 is finally looking like it will be coming out soon, November 5th 2010 that is. The original Gran Turismo is still remembered by many as one of the greatest driving sims of all time, with its in depth handling and tuning system and it's large database of drivable cars. Gran Turismo 5 looks set to out-do all of its predecessors in every way. HD graphics, a massive collection of cars, enhanced tweaking and tuning, and even structural damage to cars will make this the most complete Gran Turismo game so far.
The King of Iron Fist Tournament is back.Since 1994 this series has battled Street Fighter and built upon the 3D fighting that Virtua Fighter had pioneered. Originally the Tekken: Tag Tournament name appeared on the Playstation 2 and re-invigorated the series with it's 2 on 2 fighting style. Now it has returned to try and take the fighter crown, ten years after it's predecessor. Here's hoping they add 4 player on-line tag matches! The wing nut cometh!
Like your hackers and your slashers? Do you spend your games time as a sharpened whirlwind, liquidating everything in your path? Sounds like Knights Contract might be right up your alley, your bloodstained, spiked alley. Sure you love the spatterings of blood and cries of agony but surely it will get old eventually with that same tired old formula? Guess again, in Knights Contract there are subtle yet interesting changes to this formula. You are in charge of 2 characters. However the character you will play as, heinrich, is damn near immortal. It's the witch Gretchen who has the health bar between you, and when her health falls too low you'll need to pick her up and carry her to safety. It's an interesting mix up and it could do wonders for the pacing of the game and will surely force button mashers to consider their strategy more carefully. Kind of like Bayonetta meets Ico. But without Yorda being completely worthless in battle.
Yesterday something big happened. The much anticipated Halo: Reach appeared on shop shelves everywhere. It's been selling like hot cakes on special offer in a pound shop in Afghanistan and just about every gamer in Western Society will have at least one copy*. *excluding Deep Slovenia. And you.
That is to say ALMOST everyone. I myself am devoid of Reach. A sad story I know but life goes on. Far from this being the first time I've been without a game that all my friends have and play together, I'm getting used to it. Those of us who make regular stupid decisions will know what I mean... One number off winning the lottery? Siding with the vampires over the werewolves? THAT skirt with THOSE shoes? I feel your pain.
However, I say POO to Reach! (for now) and I implore all ye who are in my situation REJOICE for you aren't gripped and starved of every spare moment by a single video game. Let's all go to the pub, or we could take evening classes. Learn Swahili!
Hell, if you absolutely NEED to play something that feels fresh, break out your oldest console and stick on your OLDEST game. There are no more distractions now. No one inviting you to play Modern Warfare 2, nobody badgering you to join parties. Just you and your dusty old console. Maybe finish one of those RPG's you never quite got round to doing.
Alternatively you could wallow in self pity, sell an organ or whore yourself out for Firefight matches. I personally choose to LAUGH MOCKINGLY at you Reach players. You see, you've no idea what you're missing. Perfect Dark on the N64 has remote control missiles and lasers you fire from your wrist. Your. Wrist.
Vanquish: Velocity is a third person shooter brought to us by Platinum Games, creators of Bayonetta and Mad World. Quite a departure from the aforementioned titles, Vanquish is incredibly fast, shooty, explodey and all the other things squidgy shooter fans like me demand from a game.
First off, I want to mention the Start Game menu. The Start Game menu in this game is so cool I spent a minute or so just flicking back and forth between “New Game”, “System”, and “Exit”. It shows a futuristic, cylindrical city and when you change menu item the perspective moves and shows you different parts. It’s glorious and more games should have fancy Start Game screens, like Bionic Commando for example.
So I eventually get round to pressing “New Game” and within seconds of starting up the demo I was rock ‘n’ roll knee sliding from cover to cover, while shooting enemies in their stupid robot faces and taking the occasional break to have a smoke (press LB in cover). The controls are as natural as can be, probably because they don’t differ much from most other third person shooters, but it’s still nice not to need to do a tutorial to work out which button aims. If you’ve ever played a third person shooter on a console before this should come quite naturally, although you can change the button configuration (but you can't customise it).
In the midst of the gunfire, grenades, explosions and bodies I found myself wowed by the graphics, smooth textures on every surface and being, the air constantly full of particles moving independently and dynamic lighting on what seemed to be EVERYTHING. At first I thought they must be tricking us by having tiny enclosed environments to pull all this stuff off, but as I looked up to the ceiling I saw nothing but the other side of the cylinder that is the city. I looked off into the distance and was amazed by the sheer amount of detail afforded even long ways away, no flat texture background, all fully rendered. This really is a game you need to see to believe. The animations are great too, whenever you change gun it simply morphs in your hand into the gun you want. It’s a shame you don’t get much of a chance to appreciate it, what with all the knee sliding and shooting you need to do on a millisecond by millisecond basis.
So I defeated the enemy platoon facing down me and my buddies, smacked down a big robot, smacked down an even BIGGER robot and then boom. Demo over. Probably the shortest demo I’ve ever played, no joke. It gave me an end mission screen, but I really hope that was just the last fraction of a full mission as it barely lasted 5 minutes, and that’s with me dying a couple of times.
All in all from what I’ve seen in the Vanquish demo I think I will be getting it at some point. Probably not on release, probably not shortly after it but I wouldn’t hesitate to add it to my collection if I found myself with money to spare. I recommend that you download the demo, it’s up on PSN and XBLA. Enjoy!
Not too long ago I began writing for www.WeAreArcade.com. It's not blogging, so I think I'll try and keep this up, but if you want to see stuff I write you can also find me there.
On the advice of a friend I'm putting all of my We Are Arcade articles to date up on this blog, for easier access. Enjoy!
I've been thinking a lot recently about where I came from, in a gaming sense. Talking to my nephews (I inherited about seven of them thanks to marriage) about what I played when I was a kid is fascinating for all involved. It's amazing to think that the new generation just going in to secondary school mostly have no idea what a SNES is. My eldest nephew's first console was a Playstation 2! It's mind boggling, the difference in the landscape of the gaming world between me and them. They didn't know that games haven't always been 3D. It's that much of a given to them. Never heard of Virtua Fighter, never even seen a Mega Drive to this day.
I intend to educate them in the ways of the gaming world. My plan has been to collect games consoles for a long time, and it is still my plan, but now I know what I can then DO with them. I can teach the younger generation of future gamers the VALUE of what came before, and they will further appreciate what they have now!
When I was three or four years old I made a friend called Robert Vogan, who's big brother had a Master System with Alex the Kidd loaded onto it. We played that game for hours upon hours when his bro was out. I only really have vague memories of the game now, but I remember a castle with spiked chandeliers that come down to squish/stab you and the rage that came after. I don't think we ever played any other Master System games, but a year or so later my dearest Mother bought me a Mega Drive with Sonic the Hedgehog and Aladdin. It was incredible! I played for as long as I was allowed (and probably a little longer), this was the hobby for me most definitely! During those years I had all sorts of games that I played through. Streets of Rage (all 3), the whole Sonic series, and lots more that I can't remember right now. Intermittently I would borrow my mate's SNES and play Street Fighter on it (and ONLY Street Fighter). I missed out on a lot of great games, though, mostly due to being so young.
For my 10th birthday my darling Mother bought me a Nintendo 64, only 3 months after release and I was incredibly happy. I had tried out the demos in Comet of the Playstation, the Saturn and the Nintendo 64 and the Nintendo was my favourite of them. I got it with Shadows of the Empire - a Star Wars third person shooter that I still own and occasionally play (that's value for money kids). The next day I went out with my birthday money and bought Super Mario 64, and thus was born a new era in my gaming life. The 3D years!
Eventually I completed Shadows of the Empire, even on Hard. I finished GoldenEye and Lylat Wars, I completed Jet Force Gemini and I defeated Perfect Dark, but Super Mario 64 eluded me. For all those years I was stuck at around 90 stars. I had all but given up and moved on. I dedicated about a year maybe to finally smacking down the beast (I didn't have many friends) and eventually I emerged victorious with my beautiful set of 120 stars.
I still have my Nintendo 64, actually, alongside almost all the games I ever had on it. I lost track of Super Mario 64 and Ocarina of Time along the way but I recently bought them again.
I have weird shaped hands. You see, I was born with 2 extra thumbs, one on each hand. They were removed when I was about 6 months old, but they still have affected the growth of my hands. My thumbs face a different direction than most people’s thumbs do and sometimes I think it has a negative effect on my dexterity. I’m not about to say that the only reason I ever lose at games is because my hands are a weird shape, but sometimes I just feel I don’t have the spot-on execution that I could have.
My hand is on the left. My thumb is more of a finger.
It’s a bother when playing guitar, too. If you watch a guitarist with normal thumbs you can see the difference next to mine. It gets sore and that’s a damn shame because I could play guitar for hours.
My point though is that Street Fighter is hard when you’re using a controller that is designed for a certain type of thumb that you don’t have. Perhaps I should buy an arcade stick and it would sort out my troubles.
I haven’t given up and I still am a dangerous opponent in Street Fighter. I’ll kick your arse (probably) but I just can’t help feeling that I could be better. Maybe there are many with this type of problem. Ever feel your hands mashing the controller when the signals you have sent were very clear? Ever tell Ryu to Shoryuken and find him firing off his ultra, or super combo? This sounds similar to the troubles I sometimes have, do not dispair brothers and sisters, for we shall become the change we wish to see in this world.
There's a plague on my beloved online gaming. The fetid stench of exploitation is in my nostrils and I feel a bile-permeated vomit-spray coming on.
When did we forget about fun? When did online gaming become about stat padding? When did winning become more important than putting up a good sporting fight? Perhaps it's a little British of me but I can't understand why someone would forego taking part in a fair and balanced game, in order to win through cheap tactics.
Tank? Cheap? Rush? You win the game.
My new found love, Bad Company 2 has become overrun with cheap, slimy scumbags. I can't play through a single round without at least one person hogging a tank in Rush and shooting the objectives from their/our spawn. I saw a man literally firing through a wall that covered his whole person (geometry fail). I played hardcore conquest the other day and 5 out of 7 of the enemy team played recon and sat in their base sniping at us. We took the win, but it's miserable spending so much of your time dead.
Brings me back to my thoughts of fair play. All the exploits in the world just take away from the game. If you want to use broken or ill-executed parts of a game to win then you do realise that you're partially ruining it for your opponents? The same goes for modders. Sure you get a ton of kills with your wallhack or your aimbot, but you lose the respect of everyone who encounters you. In fact you gather distaste.
There should be an elaborate way to name and shame these people. I have a replay saved to my Super Street Fighter IV of a textbook Ken, just in case anyone looks at my videos and watches it. They can think alongside me "What a disgraceful display." Perhaps a system where you can mark people on cheap play? In games with replay systems only, of course. You need proof of some sort or there'd be no stopping anyone from marking everyone they met as cheap.
I was really excited about the Wii before its release. Its potential for shooters and applications as a media device were boggling my mind; I was so excited. Then I found out it had about the same power as a PS2 stuck to an Xbox with no DVD playback capabilities and my dreams were crushed. It was to be my console of choice for this generation but I caved. My friend got one and I tried Red Steel on it, that killed the ideal for me and I lost faith in motion control.
I realised that motion controls are not immersive, not without the visual stimuli of the more powerful consoles, anyway. Far from feeling like I was sword fighting in Red Steel, I felt like exactly what I was - a young man waving a white remote control around in his mates house, to little effect in-game.
Nintendo have released the motion plus now, of course, but from what I hear that's not revolutionary either.
When Microsoft announced 'Project Natal' I was ashen faced. All my faith in them was questioned in the face of this attempt to attract the casual gamers. Now I've no problem with casual gamers, it's great that more people are getting in to this wonderful hobby. I just see how Nintendo abandoned the core market in its entirety and I feared M$ would do the same. In truth it's probably my least favourite of the now announced motion sensing devices. The abandonment of buttons is the abandonment of me. Vocal cues in games using the mic could be interesting, but I'm not interested in acting out one of my war games. I like my war games to suck me in, not make it apparent to me that I'm fannying around in my front room as opposed to holding off an enemy army.
It was after thinking this that I realised that the most immersive that games have been is with the combination of high quality visuals and high quality sound. When I play Battlefield and there's mortars landing all around me, enemy tanks driving up a path towards my position and troops following closely behind it is when I feel truly IN the game. The pounding explosions, the distant echo of gunfire in my deafened ears and the screams and shouts of my allies and enemies alike. These draw me in. The dust kicked up around a tank when it fires, the shattered particles of brick and mortar and the chunks of scrap metal kicked up from a crashing helicopter. These draw me in!
I recently took a sharp dip in the sea, and it was bone freezingly cold. My muscles seized up from the sudden chill and my breathing grew sharp. Bioshock 1 and 2 do a great job of simulating this, the sudden attack of cold water on your person. The sharp sounds and detailed visual bring similar experiences back and set us on edge.
If the idea of modern gaming is to provide an experience that is akin to what the game is conveying then why are we trying to make people run around a living room while doing it? Considering the irritating, imprecise and unimmersive experiences I've had with the Wii, in contrast to the bone crushing, shocking, breathtaking and immersive experiences I've had with my XBOX. I don't think motion control is going anywhere.
Playing through Mass Effect 2 again recently, reminded me how much I love that game. The choices really bring it to life. I originally played the game through on the PC, but I hadn't completed the original on the PC, I had completed it on the Xbox, so I had to go with all the assumed decisions with a brand new character. This time, however, I have it on the Xbox and was astounded at how vastly different the universe is in my Xbox playthrough. The council is alive, Wrex is alive, the woman cloned by the Thorian came and thanked me for saving her and sparing everyone in the colony. Vastly different.
However those aren't the choices I'm thinking about right now. This recent playthrough has brought my attention to those interruption moments during conversation in the game. I'm wondering "Why is there only ever one choice in interruption?" Perhaps I want to shoot that cheeky Batarian instead of healing him. Not saying I want to kill sick beings but the choice would be expedient. Or when stopping Garrus from killing Harkin, the choice is let him kill Harkin, or let Harkin live. What about a renegade interrupt where Shephard shoots Harkin with a clear head, free of thoughts of vengeance so that Garrus wont be trapped by his own?
A different choice of shades, for example.
Further than that, Fallout 3 gave you the choice to pretty much kill anything or anyone and the game would still continue. They made allowances for this by foreseeing anything that the player MIGHT do.
For example, the sheriff of Megaton wants you to disarm the bomb, but if he dies his son takes his place as sheriff and will reward you himself when you disarm it. There have been many characters in Mass Effect 2 that I've wanted to blow away after the first line of conversation. That Krogan voiced by Worf, for example, could've done with a good shooting.
Maybe I'm being picky or entitled but I just wish we'd have more choices.
