This November is going to be a great month for gaming. There are a bunch of new games coming out on all the systems, but, armed only with my PS3, I only have several to look forward to. But still, that’s pretty good. So, here’s my list:

5. Mirror’s Edge (Nov. 1st): A pretty ground-breaking game by the looks of it. I think it’ll be a really fun game to try out if not only for the unique type of gameplay. My main beef with it, though, is that it feels a little too futuristic and “soft.” The lighting and the feel just seems kinda strange to me, but then again I haven’t played it yet, so I can’t back that up too much. Should be fun for a bit though. Buy or Rent? Definite rent. Even if developers were going for a more open style of gameplay in which Faith can use different moves, there is still only one end point. For such a linear game, I don’t see too great of a replay value.

4. Quantum of Solace (Nov. 4th): I’ve never been a huge fan of movie based games, I think that this one has true potential. Activision is publishing it, and after the success of Call of Duty 4, the company has proved it can provide an epic FPS. Thing I’m looking forward to most? Multiplayer. The storyline will follow the movie exactly, so that won’t be too exciting since I’m planning on seeing the movie on it’s release date. If the multiplayer is as good as COD4, count me in! Buy or Rent? Rent. If multiplayer is solid, then possibly buy.

3. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (Nov. 10th): I’m of a split opinion of this game. When I got Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance awhile back I was rather disappointed. I think that bringing the DC characters into the mix is really cool, but I would much more prefer a game with only DC characters. Despite all that, I think DC vs. MK will be pretty fun to try out. Buy or Rent? Probably only a rent. Maybe down the road a buy, if the DC characters are entertaining enough.

2. Tom Clancy’s EndWar (Nov. 4th): Really looking forward to this one. The last great RTS I played was Command & Conquer: Generals, so I’m in need of a new one for sure. As I wrote in a past blog, I’m also excited about the total voice command gameplay that’s available to you as a commander overseeing the battle. The units are a little bit too futuristic for my taste, but hell, it’s part of the story, so I shouldn’t complain. Buy or Rent? Absolutely, positively buying. No doubt about it. Picking up a bluetooth headset while I’m at it.

1. Call of Duty: World at War (Nov. 11th): Who isn’t dying to get their hands on this one? Part of me wishes that Infinity Ward developed it rather than Treyarch, since the former did so damn well and the latter is associated with the earlier WWII sub-standard COD titles. But oh well. I think it’s gonna be something really special nonetheless. And, to top it all off, your commander is voiced by Kiefer Sutherland. I mean, come on, it’s Jack Bauer! The Pacific and Eastern fronts will be cool; I’m curious to see how they’re gonna connect them, if at all. Buy or Rent? No question. Buy.

So, what is your top 5 list for November?

Posted by Daniel on 09/09 at 02:27 PM
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I love politics, though with all the talk about Obama and McCain these days, the dozens of Senators scrambling to keep their once comfortable seats in Congress, and the non-stop chatter from the liberal and conservative media, one thing has become clear. Politics is a game. My question is, and it’s probably a pretty silly one but worth considering nontheless, where is the political massive multiplayer online game? I’ve never been a huge fan of MMOGs, but I completely respect what they attempt to achieve in the robust gaming community. Imagine this: you start the game (let’s keep the title simple, Politics.) as a state senator or assembly person, U.S. Representative or Senator, a mayor, governor, or even members of the media and interest groups.

The format would be very similar to what I laid out in my previous Harry Potter MMOG blog and as such there would have to be several “arenas” so that there are real life equivalents for various branches of government (2 Senators/State, 1 President, etc). Let’s say that the game starts with a new session of Congress, with a generic (possibly developer controlled) president that is in place until the next presidential cycle, at which point any user to place a bid for the Executive spot. Unlike today’s politically backwards environment, if you want to be president or vice president you’ll have to have a certain amount of experience or legislation.

As is probably clear, Politics would be geared towards the political savvy. Congress people will have a generic bill/resolution format in which they write in their proposals and submit it to the collective assembly. The users that choose to be part of the media or interest groups will be there to keep the government from overreaching their bounds, and the judiciary will be there to judge legitimacy. Imagine it: you’re at work and receive an email alerting you that the President (the lucky user to surpassed the obstacles and became elected) has signed a bill into law. As a member of the Supreme Court, your job will now be to congregate with the other Justices and determine the constitutionality of the new law (possibly in a password protected chat room?). It would be a complete political experience, requiring wit, cunning, and a degree of responsibility on the part of each user.

Why do I think this would work? Well, last year I took a college course called SIMCONG ("Simulation Congress"). Each student was assigned a Representative from the House, and we were charged with submitting bills, debating, and voting. Some students were the Executive, some were the media, and others were interest groups representing everything from the Environment to Big Oil. I saw that, even if some students weren’t totally into the experience, they took stock in what they were doing and how they were affecting the rest of the House. This game, if it were ever to be created, would probably be a web based title, but I don’t think that would hinder it’s potential success.

Ya never know, a digital republic could become a grand republic. 

Posted by Daniel on 09/02 at 09:54 PM
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Of the many names people may label Corporate America with, one of them is not “stupid.” Over the years, major U.S. companies and institutions have put their label in video games, fashioning their product for the target video gaming base, the youth. Whether or not such efforts pay off for these companies, I’m sure they can’t even fully gauge. Regardless, they try, nowadays much more subtly than in the 1990s, to push their product. Without further ado, here is are the top 5 most blatant examples of corporate advertisements in a video game:

5) America’s Army: In the aftermath of September 11th came a surge in patriotism, the U.S. Army standing behind it’s “Army of One” slogan, and, a video game. In 2002 the U.S. Army released this free title to, as you can imagine, boost enlistment levels. Personally, I really liked this game and loved the idea of a free and solid first person shooter that provided a lot of training. I didn’t, however, rush to my nearest recruitment station. It was a clever move by the Army, so much so that my mother often told me to stop playing, as I’d want to lie about my age and join the Army, something a mother typically doesn’t want for her 16 year old son. America’s Army comes in fifth place because, while it was selling itself, it did so subtly, appealing to every young American gamer who loved first person shooters. 

4) Metal Gear Solid 4: Codec? Check. Customized M4 Carbine? Check. Solid Eye? Check. Apple iPod? CHECK. It was well known before the release of MGS4 that Hideo Kojima cashed in on corporate product placement. The Apple iPod was probably the most blatant example of corporate presence, with Snake being able to take a break from killing baddies and listening to some Metal Gear franchise tunes (I never did). Don’t feel like listening to music? You can distract enemy soldiers or have quality time alone with a Playboy magazine. War has its perks, right? Also, you can see Naomi Hunter flashing her Sony Ericsson cell phone around (Sony makes the PS3, MGS4 was made exclusively for the PS3, get it?) So, we have here a case of pretty blatant in-game advertisements, but in the case of the iPod and Playboy, at least it was optional.

3) Sneak King: Burger King has currently released three titles for the Xbox at $4 each. Two of the titles, PocketBike Racer and Big Bumpin’, weren’t completely blatant “advergames,” but there’s really no point in defending Sneak King. The point of the game is to sneak around and give Burger King meals to hungry people around town. Why the King has to sneak around, though, is beyond me. Maybe people truly don’t want to eat Burger King, so he has to surprise them? I really don’t know. I think the Burger King mascot is pretty hilarious, I mean come on, look at that face. So, sneaking around and giving food to people as the King may not have been too horrible of a game, even if it is a shameless corporate stunt.

2) Cool Spot: In 1993 Virgin Games (later Virgin Interactive) made a gaming venture on behalf of 7up. You played as Spot, who was automatically “Cool” because he wore Ray Ban New Wayfarers, apparently. The point of the game was to jump around and throw soda bottles at enemies in an attempt to save other helpless Spots. The game did surprisingly well for an advergame, but then again, many games with the linear game model Cool Spot had in the early 90s did well too. Disney’s Aladdin and The Lion King (both also by Virgin Interactive) come to mind. I played all three of these games as a kid, and I can now see why Cool Spot was so popular with me and others, it fit the model. Having a fairly new, but strong, company like Virgin developing the game certainly helped, too. Cool Spot showed us that you can take a spot on a soda can, give it arms, legs, and sunglasses, and it’ll sell as a video game.

1) Pepsiman: The most blatant example of corporate product placement in a video game is actually found in a Japanese only game. In the 1990s a popular mascot was created for Pepsi. The Pepsiman would run around in television commercials and deliver cans of Pepsi to thirsty people. The game was on-rails, so it was very linear, and involved avoided obstacles, riding a skateboard at times, collecting pepsi bottles, and above all quenching thirst. If you ask me, though, Pepsiman is pretty intimidating. The game’s box art displays the featureless Pepsiman pointing at you, with the words “DRINK!” above him. It’s almost like Pepsi was forcing their product down the throats of the terrified Japanese and had a tough guy around to make sure they were drinking it regularly. A giant blue and silver vigilante running around town causing havoc, if you ask me. So, Pepsiman takes the cake for the most blatant, and overall strangest, example of corporate influence in video game culture over the years.

What do you think?

Posted by Daniel on 08/28 at 12:36 PM
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Video games are my second love, I must admit. Politics is my first. So, you can only imagine how happy I get when the two somehow cross paths. Congressional legislation has popped up in state and national forums for many years, even back in the early 1990’s when Sen. Joe Lieberman stood up against games like Mortal Kombat. Soon, after many independent/company owned rating systems agreed to give up their ratings power to a higher authority, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) was born. Today, the ESRB ratings on video games determine who are allowed to purchase the game and provides information to parents about the games their children play.

Dialogue concerning video games is often placed in the backdrop of the larger censorship issue. However, some high profile candidates for president this year have spoken on the issue. While Mitt Romney saw crude video games as part of a larger “Ocean of Filth” for our children, Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama has taken a much more moderate approach:

“I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would. And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there’s still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That’s why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children’s cognitive development.” (Thanks to: Kotaku)

Republicans and their nominee John McCain typically subscribe to a much stricter view of the gaming industry, much like Mitt Romney and his “Ocean.” In politics, it’s all about framing the issue. The Republicans have done a much better job at doing this, making the issue of video game violence part of a larger “Family Values” narrative. Democrats, unfortunately, haven’t been able to do something similar, making it a “let’s leave the moral future of America in the hands of industry” rather than attacking it head on. And, of course, while video game controversy isn’t likely to ever swing a major national election one way or the other, it’s helpful to see what each side is saying about the larger themes of censorship, digital rights, and net neutrality.

Now, to get away from the seriousness of politics, lets look at how silly it can be! Remember Space Invaders? Who doesn’t right? Well, if his website is any measure (and it is), then it’s clear John McCain still thinks those types of games are popular enough to make him look “cool.” If you check out his website, you can play this Space Invaders variation (perversion?), Pork Invaders. The game touts McCain’s supposed anti-pork barrel spending in the Senate, and if you suffer through the first level you get a nice little political punch at Obama and his spending problem when it comes to home state pet projects. Witness, my friends, the “art” of politics. What I find funniest about this game is that it’s not fun at all. I mean, come on John, the last thing you want potential voters doing is associating you with a slow paced, old school game like Space Invaders. Here’s an idea: get your team on making a GTAIV mod, make Nico Bellic look instead like Barack Obama, and then have him run around the city shooting the elderly and the police! Frame the issue McCain, and you own the issue. Joking aside, this is actually how things are done these days in politics, and it’s quite sad. 

Posted by Daniel on 08/26 at 10:33 AM
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As you know, I’ve been really looking forward to LucasArts’ The Force Unleashed. Playing the much anticipated demo tonight, though, I’ve realized my high hopes for this game may have to be downsized, or I’ll be disappointed. Overall, the game still looks great, I think it’ll be a wonderful addition and a new flavor to the Star Wars franchise. My beef with the game, at least that which was seen in the demo, can be broken down into 3 areas: the weakness of the lightsaber, the protagonist, and the AI.

The Lightsaber and It’s Shortcomings: This is probably where I’m most disappointed with The Force Unleashed. The lightsaber is supposed to be the all powerful weapon of choice for self-defined, and battle approved, bad asses. This is not so in the Force Unleashed. The Apprentice’s lightsaber takes several slashings to an opponent before putting them out of commission, which is ridiculous. In one swing some extremedy is going to removed from its original place, it only makes sense. Part of playing as a secret Apprentice to Dark Jedi Numero Uno is to feel bad ass, but you just don’t in this game, or at least not like you should. Throw dozens more enemies at me, but let me slash through them.

The Protagonist: The Apprentice, a.k.a. Star Killer, is simply not very cool. You can tell the developers wanted to go for the Altair in Assassin’s Creed look. A lot of raggedy clothing, bundled up, some loose ends falling down and accentuating and jumps of flips you may do. I get it. What I don’t get, though, is why the Apprentice isn’t “dark” looking. Let’s look at some examples. The Emperor, by far the darkest and most manipulated by the power of the Dark Side, chose Darth Maul (supreme bad dude, albeit a little too devilish looking) and later Darth Vader. I think it’s okay that Vader picked a human, that’s cool, but that this dude is so plain looking is not. I just don’t get a sense that he has any evil in him, and while the game is about redemption and whatnot, I still want to have the perception of a Dark Side student.

Artificial Intelligence: One thing you’ll find in any Star Wars game is a massive amount of enemy soldiers. This is doubly true in the Force Unleashed, as Starkiller is ordered to kill any rebels or Imperials standing in the way of his mission. That being said, the hordes of enemies are not the brightest. Utilizing some pretty cool physics engines, enemies still act quite silly in the presence of someone who so easily hacks through their buddies. For example: if one of the AI soldiers should happen to see me Force Grab their buddy and throw them into space, one would imagine they’d be scared and would maybe run and start pounding on the locked door I’m about to Force Push open, screaming for help from the other side. If I had the chance to Jedi “Own” those guys, or maybe just politely push them out of my way, I think it’d add a great level of realism to an otherwise completely unrealistic game. Instead, silly Rebels will continuously shoot at you regardless of your apparent skills and their unavoidable and imminent deaths. Also, I found it kinda stupid how much enemies will hold on to objects when their being Force Grabbed by you. Hold them in the air next to one of their friends, and thanks to the games “Euphoria” physics, they’ll grab on and won’t let go. What I would like to see is some more dialogue in that respect, maybe a couple “Please! Put me down! I won’t shoot!”

What it comes down to is that I wish this game would 1) Make the player feel like he is really running the show, without so much emphasis on Force powers, and 2) Wise up the non-Jedi AI so that hacking through the masses of enemies doesn’t turn into a “Let’s see how many times I can flip this Imperial Stormtrooper before he dies!”

Despite the rant, I am still really looking forward to this title. I think that with a strong storyline and some hardcore online play (1-on-1 lightsaber duels are pretty much the tops in my book) we’ll really have a treat with Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Posted by Daniel on 08/22 at 08:06 PM
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It was a night like any other. My buddy and I had arranged to meet up on Xbox Live and duke it out on Halo 3. Then it happened. “There is a payment problem with your account, please adjust your settings.” Dammit. Okay, I’ll just need to add some cash to my account and then hop in. Wrong. What I got stuck in was essentially a loop of nonsensical errors that did nothing to help me fix “payment problem,” and in the end I was forced to create a completely new Xbox Live account. I called my friend up explaining why I hadn’t joined the game, and he told me of the same exact problem and the fact he had to create a new account as well. Which got me to thinking two things: 1) This is obviously not an isolated issue, and 2) Microsoft, because of this issue as well as others, cannot truly justify charging what it does for it’s Xbox Live service. For the 12 month Premium Gold Pack, I pay $60 and naturally expect to get fairly exceptional service for what I pay. When I ran into my “payment problem” the other night though, I really altered my view of Xbox Live and compiled this list of the Top 5 Reasons we should not be paying for Xbox Live service:

1) The Competition is Comparable and Free: PlayStation Network and Nintendo Wi-Fi are FREE! Microsoft charges for services that are only slightly, if at all, superior to what Sony and Nintendo provide for users. Is Microsoft using it’s stature in the technological world to pull a fast one on us and charge for services that are free on other comparable systems?

2) Aren’t Games Expensive Enough?: Newly released games for consoles like Xbox 360 and PS3 market for about $60. At that price, you’d expect the full package, any downloadable content updates for free (Burnout: Paradise is keen to this idea, as is clear with their upcoming massive content updates) and, what is almost most important these days, free online service. Say you buy Halo 3 for your 360, at around the cheapest you can find it for around $37. Okay, now take the fact that 1 million people played Halo 3 on Xbox Live in the first 24 hours of the game’s release. Most of the gamers were admittedly hardcore, given by the fact they bought the game the day it was released and immediately hopped online. And that was merely a fraction of Halo 3’s sales, no doubt. So, let’s take a look at the math: At release, the game was $60, multiply that by 1 million gamers, and then multiply that by $60 for the Xbox Live year long service (we can assume most of those 1 million users had the yearlong subscription since they probably planned on playing their eagerly awaited new game into the indefinite future). So, that’s 60x1,000,000x60 = ....well, you get the idea. Microsoft is doing just fine, I’m sure. 

3) Outages, Glitches & Refunds: Xbox Live is by no means a perfect product. This past holiday season several ticked-off Texan gamers sued Microsoft for $5 million, claiming that the influx of new holiday games put much stress on Xbox Live servers and caused prolonged issues for users. The gamers “claim[ed] Microsoft’s outages represent[ed] a breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation for which the software maker is liable.” (Hat tip: Gamespot) Aren’t we gamers due what we pay for? It’d be the same as if the HBO we sign up for on our television cut out every other time we watched it, simply because a lot of other people were viewing the same channel. We have cause to be angry about it, because we’re paying good money for a service that other, equally profitable, companies have deemed expendable in the name of good business. 

Glitches: My introductory story is a case in point. These things are bound to happen, yes, but we should pay significantly less, or nothing, for a service in which such glitches are present. If a user owns a year long membership on Xbox Live, comes back from a gaming hiatus to find his Xbox Live account in need of updating and money, that’s fine. However, when that same user faces glitches that get in the way of a smooth gaming experience that they paid well for, there’s a major problem that needs to be compensated for. Which brings me to my next point…

Refunds: According to Microsoft’s Xbox Live FAQ, “If you have an annual Xbox Live Gold Membership that was purchased with a credit card and you cancel it within 60 days of creating it (based on settlement date when funds were assessed to your credit card), you will receive a full refund. This refund policy applies to Xbox Live Gold Memberships only.” This sounds reasonable for the Gold 3-month membership, with 2/3 of the time available for cancellation with a full refund. However, when it comes to the much more common and cost-beneficial 12-month plan, users must cancel their service due to dissatisfaction 2 months into a year-long commitment! So, if you run across intolerable glitches or whatnot 5 months into your yearlong plan, you’re screwed!

4) PSN & Nintendo Provide Free Wireless Hardware, Xbox Live Doesn’t: While the Wii and PS3 have built-in wireless internet receivers, you must buy a specific adapter for your Xbox 360. Typically, these run for $100 and is but a continuing trend with Microsoft: provide a console with the bare essentials, then immediately provide “add-ons” that should have been in the initial setup for ridiculous prices. Take the Xbox 360 HD-DVD player add-on, priced for $50 nowadays; by anyone’s call, it was a component that should have been bundled with the system, just like the PS3’s built in Blu-ray player. I mean, come on, Microsoft.

5) Free Service = More, and Happier Users, Which Result in Higher Profits for Microsoft in the End: This is the crux of my point. Just because Microsoft is a technological and software Goliath does not mean that it can side-step the goodwill of it’s loyal base. Retail game prices aren’t gonna change for the next-gen console titles any time soon, but Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft should have the common sense to offset the unavoidable costs by providing free services where possible. As far as I can tell, Sony and Nintendo have been reasonable. The Xbox Live issue, though, exposes the cleavages of Microsoft’s greed and lack of old school business-client relationship building. Make Xbox Live FREE, the status quo is changing. Online gaming services, sponsored dedicated servers, and free downloadable and substantive content are the New Order. If Microsoft doesn’t shape up its sense of what good business is, then I feel Xbox users should mutiny and move on to a company that pays them mind.

Posted by Daniel on 08/17 at 09:52 PM
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Some movie-turned-game franchises should simply throw in the towel. Others, despite only warm response from reviews, have a chance to redeem themselves and, possibly, become a budding sector of the gaming industry. As I see it, the Harry Potter behemoth can really expand on their moderately successful gaming contributions. With the only few game releases it has, the Harry Potter franchise has strictly focused it’s attention on movie plot lines. Take the upcoming Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, for example. The film was just yesterday delayed until a July 17, 2009 release. The corresponding title will be released the same day, no surprises there. The plot of the Electronic Arts developed/published game, as I imagine, will be identical to the movie, making the gaming experience more or less déjà vu if you’ve seen the film. Electronic Arts, it’s time to get innovative or throw in the towel (not that they would, Harry Potter is a cash cow and it’s still full of milk).

Imagine this. In 2011 the last Harry Potter film, The Deathly Hollows: Part 2 will hit theaters. Soon after, EA or whoever is in control of the franchise at that time, should release a massive multiplayer online game (MMO) titled simply Hogwarts. Initially, EA should release a few hundred editions (to market, name each one as a different spell name), each one tuned to accommodate a few thousand “students” at Hogwarts in a specific online world. Essentially, this would mean that a person with one edition would be cut off from the goings on of the other version. So, if your friend wanted to join you at your Hogwarts, some sort of friend invite and EA user moderation system could be put in place. Also, since other magic schools do in fact exist in Potter world, they could be assimilated into the game somehow.

The point of the game would be to make it through your years at Hogwarts and become the greatest wizard of all. You will have classes, and however much time you spend online and at school will reflect in your studies and understanding of magic. EA could have permanent members be teachers at the school and would also have the ability to trigger events in their respective “world” such as an attack by Voldemort or something of that nature. They would probably have to be EA employees if it were to work efficiently and responsibly. You would read up, learn spells, interact with other players, and go through various events that occurred in the movies, though the game would have to steer clear from following the Harry Potter plot lines specifically. Since you would be your own unique character in this world, you’d be viewing the actions of Potter and friends from the outside, or, possibly, challenge him for dominance as the pre-eminent wizard of his time. You could visit Diagon Alley, or maybe even stray into muggle-ridden London (though, if you perform magic, you would be punished somehow by the Ministry of Magic).

And how to decide which house each player/student is sorted into? The only way I see this being done fairly and quickly, for lack of the Sorting Hat is through placing a card in each copy of the game specifying which house you are placed in. After all, its all up to fate in the book anyway, only makes sense.

If it comes in 2011 we’ll have graphics that are far superior to what we experience now, as well as better online systems to support such an ambitious idea. So, what do you all think of this idea?

Posted by Daniel on 08/15 at 02:10 PM
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I was just rummaging through my closet when I found my old PC copy of No One Lives Forever. Published by Fox Interactive and developed by Monolith Productions in 2000, NOLF quickly became one of my favorite games not only for it’s impressive (at the time) graphics, but the biting wit throughout the game. You play as the lovely cat burglar turned spy Cate Archer, an agent of the UNITY organization with a mandate to keep peace in the world. Just like any peace-loving organization, it has it’s counterpoint, the villainous H.A.R.M. organization, bent on anarchy.

What I loved most about NOLF was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. The gadgets were a hell of a lot of fun; you could spread a little powder on a corpse and watch it vanish before your eyes or use a hair clip that doubled as a lock pick. NOLF 2 featured even funnier gadgets such as a fake kitten that was stuffed with explosives (terrorist thugs have a soft spot for kittens) or a can of hairspray that was in fact a blowtorch. At heart, the game was a spy challenge, so it was ideal to go through the game without drawing attention to yourself, using silenced guns or a coin to distract guards and sneak by.

My question is, why haven’t we seen another game like No One Lives Forever, or it’s sequel No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.’s Way (2002)? Note: I realized there was another release in 2003 of a spin-off title, Contract J.A.C.K., but it wasn’t a good game. You would think the next-gen consoles would have been a breeding ground for a fun new spy title, and the success of NOLF was no secret back in the early 2000s. People loved this game. We have the graphics in the PS3 and Xbox 360, not to mention the PCs gamers can tweak and overclock into oblivion, to make an awesome game like this. We have very serious war games and first person shooters that are bleak. Maybe that’s just what’s in right now, but I miss the colorful settings and wit of the 1960s set NOLF.

What I think should happen is that another big name in gaming (I can’t remember the last game Fox Interactive published, honestly) should buy the rights to this game. Get some of the creative genius from Valve who worked on Portal (some of the funniest writing in gaming history) in order to pack the game with what it’s known for, dossiers lying full of hilarious information relevant in the game and guards standing around talking about nonsense. All in all, throw in everything that was fun in NOLF, pump up the graphics, make the title a funny spin on the new Bond movie title The Quantum of Solace, and you have a hit!

Your thoughts?

Posted by Daniel on 08/14 at 09:24 AM
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If you’ve had a chance to see, or play, Namco Bandai’s Soul Calibur IV, you’ll have noticed that something is awry. After scanning through the list of playable characters such as Siegfried or Yoshimitsu you’ll see the top list of characters is, wait, what, really? Star Wars characters?! That’s indeed right. If you purchase the Xbox 360 version of the game you get to play as Master Yoda, or Darth Vader if you choose the PS3 version. An empty box on the character selection screen, however, hints that through downloadable content players will soon be able to have the torch bearers of both the light and dark sides. Additionally, both platforms will have access to the playable character The Apprentice, the protagonist from LucasArts’ upcoming The Force Unleashed title (one I’m really looking forward to). I just don’t really understand this Star Wars presence in Soul Calibur, it really just seems like too blatant a bait for easily amused arcade fighter gamers.

Don’t get me wrong, I think Star Wars is amazing, and I’m honestly holding back my time honored indifference for the Soul Calibur series (just never been a good fit with me personally). What this seems like is the product of a messy one night stand, not a classy marriage between two franchises. And as we know, the day after a one night stand has the potential to very, very awkward, nearly as awkward as trying to throw the constantly jumpy Yoda to the ground as one of the Soul Calibur’s traditionally bulky characters. Instead of giving the go ahead for this obvious marketing stunt to sell more copies of a Namco Bandai title that, without these Star Wars characters, would have sold copies only to their typical fan base, LucasArts should have gone it alone. Do you remember Star Wars: Masters of Teräs Käsi? For all the game’s flaws, it had the right idea of what a Star Wars fighter should be. What Star Wars fans want to do is fight bad ass light saber duels, not jump around dodging sword attacks. If LucasArts doesn’t step up and make a fighting game for the next-gen systems, then at least embrace a full crossover game the likes of the upcoming Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (I’d love to hear some ideas of good crossover franchises to pit Star Wars against from you guys). Give us something good with multiple characters and some depth of story, not some marketing scheme to sell more units. We’re not idiots.

Posted by Daniel on 08/11 at 07:43 AM
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I’ve had only a handful of amazing online experiences, EA’s 2002 Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Battlefield 1942 on the PC, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the PS3. Both Medal of Honor and Battlefield were unique in their own way and pretty much defined the two tangents of First Person Shooters (FPS) titles we play today. MoH:AA provided an epic single player campaign (who can forget the opening Omaha Beach battle à la Saving Private Ryan?). Battlefield 1942, while very different, laid the groundwork for a franchise that today still runs on the same successful premise of aerial, vehicular, and ground combat. And, of course, everyone who owns Call of Duty 4 has at least one reason why they love that game. While Battlefield has a monopoly on its genre, the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty franchises have always butted heads. What’s become clear to me is that Electronic Arts has to step it up and become a strong competitor again, though if rumors are true about the next MoH title, chances for a comeback aren’t looking good.

Rewind to Fall of last year. Activision, after having tapped Infinity Ward to come back on board and develop Call of Duty 4 (Treyarch developed CoD3 and is currently working on the 6th installment), released the much hyped title. Three months earlier EA Games released Medal of Honor: Airborne (both game screenshots are shown below). While both games were fairly comparable visually (I personally think CoD has an edge here), but reviewers went crazy over Call of Duty 4, Metacritic giving it a Metascore of 94, while MoH: Airborne only received a score of 75. What I think is going on is that gamers are just tired of WWII shooters. How many times have we blown up Nazi 88mm flak guns? Or stormed the beaches of Normandy, or parachuted in behind enemy lines? Too many times. Rumor has it, though, that Electronic Arts is taking its WWII franchise in another direction, Afghanistan. Not only will the speculated Medal of Honor title take place in the real, and very war torn country, the game will indeed be based on reality! This came as the biggest surprise to me, as we’re used to hearing either about Norman villages (MoH) or the CoD4 news report about an invasion of a intentionally unnamed Middle Eastern country. If EA’s “Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda” (based on the 2002 battle of the same name) comes to fruition, I don’t see it doing too well. But who knows.

I do think that Electronic Arts continuing to make FPS titles, and departing from their WWII comfort zone, is a good thing. It keeps companies like the Activision/Treyarch, Activion/Infinity Ward duos honest to their fans. If there’s is only one supplier, quality goes down. It’s best to remember that all the developing of these war themed shooters requires a lot of trial and error. We need only look at Battlefield 2142 and it’s much too disconnected feel from the rest of the series. Also, we have to remember the ones that did it right; when Activision brought back Infinity Ward for Call of Duty 4, the switch was seemless from WWII to Modern times. Infinity Ward seems bent on branching out (or even creating an original IP) and developing a sci-fi shooter; I have no doubt they’ll nail it.

It’s an exciting time for war themed shooters. Our current generation consoles have some impressive capabilities and will bring the war to us in a way like never before. I can’t even imagine what the next-gen systems, and innovative developers like Infinity Ward, will bring to the table.

Posted by Daniel on 08/06 at 03:17 PM
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In 2002, an unassuming game called Mafia: City of Lost Heaven was developed by Illusion Softworks and published by Gathering of Developers for the PC. On the heels of the 2001 release of the mega-hit Grant Theft Auto III, Mafia did not stand much of a chance challenging Rockstar, the newly crowned king of sandbox style gaming, at their own game. Regardless, Mafia turned out to be one of my all time favorites. It did what the GTA franchise didn’t accomplish until the recently released GTA IV, it made you feel like you were there. The missions ranged from car races to carrying out political assassinations; even simply traveling around the city wreaking havoc gave the game a massive amount of replay value.Once you beat the single player campaign, the fun doesn’t necessarily stop. Completing tasks will unlock various super tweaked out, or ridiculously bright colored, cars to go along with your already massive end-of-game car collection (which, by the way, historically evolves throughout the game from Model Ts to more advanced late 40s models). Other extra mini-missions involve hitting major ramps or tracking down a man that runs very, very fast around the city in his boxers with his feet on fire (I eventually cut him off and ran him down in my car). All in all, it was a great game that I played several times through.

As such, you can only imagine how juiced I was when I heard there would be a Mafia 2. The game takes place only a couple years after the original, in the late 1940s-1950s. By the little information available as of yet, it seems the sequel will follow the same basic idea of the original; regular guy (who, no doubt intentionally, looks like a young Marlon Brando and is named Vito, after The Godfather Don Vito Corleone) gets into trouble, gets in with the mob, moves up to the top ring of the mob ladder, probably ends up getting killed (crime doesn’t pay, kids). Visually, the new game looks stunning, totting much more realistic and sharper looking models, from the cityscape to individual pedestrians’ faces.

GTAIV was fairly successful in making online play appealing to most gamers, but I honestly think that Mafia 2 shows much more potential in the online arena. Where GTA consists pretty much of blowing each other to bits or racing towards an objective, I feel like Mafia 2 will have players creating characters they truly connect with and want to see succeed. Imagine, having the city be one giant game room, where all online players gather and battle for each street in the city. I don’t think I’d step away from my PS3. I think Mafia 2 may be our savior with online sandbox gaming, but then again, we’ll only know once it is released, which will be, hopefully, in 2009 for the PS3, 360, and PC. Check out the trailer here.

Posted by Daniel on 08/05 at 09:35 AM
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The recent popularity of Nintendo’s Wii Fit, in which players utilize the Wii Balance Board in order to do yoga and lose weight, has got us thinking of a few cool games that Nintendo should (but probably won’t) come out with:

1) Wii Fat Similar to Wii Fit, “Wii Fat” would use a larger Wii Balance Board, designed to hold heavier players.  Instead of Yoga and Aerobics, Wii Fat would require the player to do simpler tasks, such as repeatedly standing up and sitting back down on the couch, touching the nose while standing on one foot, and simultaneously rubbing one’s belly while patting one’s head.

2) Wii Gardening Players would use the Wii Shovel, Wii Rake, and Wii Gardening Hoe to dig holes, plant virtual flowers, and mow lawns all over town.  Lose points for accidentally scraping the neighbor’s car with your shovel. Gain bonus points for having sex with lonely housewives while on the job!

3) Wii Helicopter Players would wave the giant Wii Rotor round and round in a circle in order to overcome the laws of gravity and experience flying in a helicopter.  The constant twirling of arms leaves little room for other heli-movements, however, and the repetitive motion could make players extremely tired very quickly.

4) Wii Competitive Eating Take on Kobiyashi, Joey Chestnut, and all your competitive-eating favorites in this Wii version of the famous Coney Island competition.  Players would use the Wii Mouthpiece to chew as fast as they can while using their arms to shovel virtual hot dogs into their mouths.  Downloadable content includes the Asian Expansion pack, which use Wii Chopsticks to eat fried rice, noodles, and egg rolls.

and finally,

5) Wii Stoner Using the patented Wii Bong (which can be filled with real water), players pack a virtual bowl, light it, and inhale as hard as they can.  A device measures how hard you “pull”, and how stoned your Mii becomes.  The higher you get, the harder it becomes to focus on the game.  Will you be able to out-smoke Snoop Dogg in the final round?

What do you think, any other Wii games that should be made?

Posted by stefan on 08/03 at 08:29 PM
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From 1995 to 2006 the E3 Media and Business Summit (formerly the Electronic Entertainment Expo, hence “E3") was held open to both the media and the public. In 2007, however, the Summit was restricted only to the gaming media. In one year attendance fell from 60,000 to a mere 3-5,000. In a curt response from the IDG World Expo, the “E for All” expo was held in 2007 to accommodate the public’s interest in upcoming titles. By many measures it was a success, showing off playable demos of hot titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4. Yet, the question stands, why did E3 cut out the public from this traditionally public event? Are videos and coverage of E3 sufficient for avid gamers? And most importantly, will E3 ever be open up to the public again? Word from the ESA, the presenter of E3, after E3 2008 went as follows: “The ESA is currently in the process of receiving feedback and will make an announcement about the 2009 E3 Media & Business Summit at an appropriate time.” So, keep your spirits up gamers, we may once again have access to the goodies at E3.

What are your thoughts? Should E3 be closed to the public? Or should freedom reign? Okay, maybe it’s not that serious.

Posted by Daniel on 07/30 at 05:58 PM
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Let me start off by saying that I do not own a Wii, nor have I owned a Nintendo system since NES. What I am a fan of, though, is ingenuity in game technology development. Head Tracking for the Wii, or any other system for that matter, is cutting edge stuff. An insightful demonstration can be seen here. To be able to actually look around a corner in your living room and have that translate into your character looking around their respective in-game corner represents a major step forward in gaming technology. Or does it?

I’ve always respected Nintendo and I thought the Wii was an interesting system with a lot of potential. And while I am a fan of ingenuity in game development, head tracking is a little ahead of its time (in a bad way). The future of gaming, 10 or 20 years from now, will include head tracking, I’m sure of it. If not anything else, Nintendo will have fully embraced it by then. For me though, head tracking is a little too much right now. Gaming is already a typically full immersion experience. Think about playing Call of Duty 4 online and shouting through your headset, launching your control across the room in anger (a fully interactive experience, no doubt!). In all seriousness though, do we need more than what we have right now? It may simply be Nintendo wanting to see how far they can take this gaming experience, which I’m fine with, but I hope they have the sense to realize this is probably not the right time for such technology.

Despite my opinion, gaming technology is moving forward rapidly, and I do applaud Nintendo for being on the brink of the tech race. Hell, when Duck Hunt and the NES Zapper there must have been folks like myself blogging (err...how did they communicate back then? Carrier Pigeons?) about how that technology would flop. And as we all know, the Zapper gun was awesome, so I may very well be wrong about Nintendo, Electronic Arts, or any other developers’ pursuit of head tracking technology.

Your thoughts?

Posted by Daniel on 07/30 at 06:01 AM
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EA Sports’ decision to use former (and possibly current?) Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre for the cover of their 20th installment of the Madden NFL Football may not have been a wise one.

The decision was made by EA around early April of this year, before the whole “should he/shouldn’t he” situation regarding Favre’s apparent un-retirement from the league had started.  As of this writing, Favre has not yet decided whether or not to show up for day one of training camp, there are even talks in Packers management of a possible Favre trade in the works.  The whole situation is awkward, and especially stressful for Packers fans and one of the NFL’s all-time greatest players.

This year’s Favre cover isn’t the first story surrounding the player who graces the cover of Madden each year.  Lots has been said about the so-called “Madden Curse” in which the athlete that appears on the cover always seems to do poorly in the upcoming season - through either general unimpressive performances, (think Vince Young, Shaun Alexander and Donovan McNabb are examples) or by suffering a season-ending injury.

Regardless of the eventual outcome, the whole fiasco makes Favre an odd choice for the flagship football game of the video game industry, Even if it was unintended, unless he comes back from retirement, plays for the Pack, and wins the superbowl in ‘09, having Favre on the cover makes EA seem out of touch with football, and cheapens the experience a bit.  Kind of like, “Hey kids!  Come buy our brand new Madden game!  I know it might seem strange for us to put Favre on the cover, but believe it or not at one point Favre had his mind made up!  Nothing else has really changed from last year’s version, but it’s NEW and just $60.00 so buy it TODAY!”

Why couldn’t they just have put Tom Brady on the cover? (Insert Patriots/Cheating comments here).

Madden 2009 ships 8/12/08 and will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, Nintendo DS, PSP, and PS2

Posted by stefan on 07/26 at 09:35 PM
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Huntington Beach, CA.
June 23, 2008

VP Games is proud to announce an affiliate partnership with Search & Win parent company Prodege.com. PRODÉGÉ is the web’s leading provider of branded and incentivized search engines. PRODÉGÉ’s network of sites serve search results from Google and Ask but with one major twist: every web search is a chance to win exclusive prizes from top musicians, sports teams and brands. Through its unique “Search & Win” program and proprietary rewards algorithm, PRODÉGÉ’s search engines offer brands an exciting new way to connect with fans, while offering fans an exciting new way to search the web. PRODÉGÉ’s ‘search and win’ partners include Kanye West, The Indianapolis Colts, Maroon 5, KISS, Beyonce, Hilary Duff and many more.  For a full list click here.

Through the partnership, vpgames.com will provide over half of the prizes in PRODÉGÉ’s Swag Store. Through the Swag Store, users can redeem their Swag Bucks for unique artist-related merchandise such as Music, Movies, T-Shirts, Gift Cards, iPods & iPhones, Televisions, Musical Instruments, and of course Video Games!

To join PRODÉGÉ and start earning Swag Bucks, click the link below.

Posted by admin on 07/24 at 02:58 PM
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The Ant Commandos (TAC), a leading provider of innovative wireless video game music peripherals and accessories, announced today that it has signed world renowned Guitar Hero Champion, Chris Chike, as its spokesperson in an exclusive, long-term deal.

At the launch of the inaugural “Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2008” in March of this year, the 16-year old from Minnesota walked away with a new Guinness World Record for the “Highest Score for a Single Song on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” - an astounding 840,647 points (a 97% completion on Expert Level) for the song “Through the Fire and Flames” by DragonForce. Since setting that record, Chike has already set a new world record by beating that score with a new Guinness World Record with 880,920 points, 97% accuracy and a 1,107 note streak on the same song. Chike’s latest score as recorded on ScoreHero.com is 975,412 points with 99% accuracy, and a 2,485 note streak. Chike was also recently named Play N Trade National Guitar Hero III Champion and City Pages Magazine stated that “Chris Chike is the Jimi Hendrix of video games.” Video of Chris Chike playing the Ant Commandos’ V Shaped Double Range guitar which just launched last week can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/theantcommandos

“As a competitor, it’s important to me to have the best possible guitar to compete with, so I am psyched to work with TAC on creating custom guitars that serious players can play with,” said Chris Chike.

Through the partnership, Chike will promote TAC’s upcoming lineup of products hitting retail this spring and summer. Chike plans to work with TAC to design its next guitar controller, designed to cater to hardcore and advanced players. The new guitar controller will be inspired by Chike and his winning abilities with the design geared towards maximizing points during game play.

Posted by stefan on 06/26 at 09:07 PM
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Nintendo has recently sued Nyko Technologies for copyright infringement over Nyko’s new Kama Wireless Nunchuk.  While copyright infringement is nothing new (think Sony), Nintendo is not known for being so aggressive...and especially not towards products which they don’t even sell themselves.  Apparently, Nintendo sees it as an infringement on their patent designs and trademarks, and as such, are suing Nyko, claiming the company’s Kama Nunchuk “wholly appropriates the novel shape, design, overall appearance and even the color and materials used in the Nintendo Nunchuk controller”

If Nintendo is so concerned with copyright infringement, why don’t they go after the guys on Canal Street in NYC hawking cheap knockoffs. Why go after a company like Nyko?  And why sue over ridiculous things like “appearance” and “color?!” Nyko is a good company that makes
quality third party accessories. Products like this enhance the “Wii Experience,” boosting further interest in the Wii, and help drive sales for Wii games, systems, and merchandise.  Suing the companies that make these products is not going to help any of that, may stifle
further innovation, and will leave a bad taste in the mouths of many who hold Nintendo in high regard.

I guess the guys on Canal Street don’t exactly have deep pockets.

Posted by stefan on 06/26 at 10:47 AM
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For everything great that Grand Theft Auto IV has to offer, there seems to be one important thing missing.  GTA IV has been praised for its incredibly detailed graphics, realistic physics, primo gameplay, and cinematic storyline.  But there is one thing missing from the game, and in this author’s opinion, this flaw is so important that it prevents the game from becoming a true classic:

There are no children anywhere in the game.

Now don’t get me wrong, GTA 4 is second to none when I need to get my fix for carjacking, beating up prostitutes, or emptying my AK-47 into group of cops before leaving the scene and taking to the skies in a stolen helicopter.  But where are all the little kids for me to run over?  How come there are no children playing in the streets, babies with strollers being pushed by their mothers on the sidewalks, or pre-teens getting out of school each day at 2:00?  For that matter, how come there are no schools!?

When I want to run people over, I want to run ALL people over; and young children are no exception..  But in Liberty City, you won’t find anyone who looks under 30 walking the streets.  This is total bull, and I want answers.  Could it be that nobody under the age of 30 can afford to live in Liberty City?  The rents are pretty high, after all.  ...No, that can’t be it.  Even Beverly Hills has its share of youngsters.  I want to hear the screams of middle-schoolers as I careen my “Patriot” (Hummer) through the schoolyard.  I want to see the looks on the faces of Liberty City soccer moms as their baby’s stroller goes flying through the air.  Hell, I want to hear the high-pitched deathly whine of the baby!

Could it be that Rockstar Games had to draw the line somewhere?  Could it be that they couldn’t bear to populate the city with people of all ages, and animate their death sequences as I crush their not-yet-fully-formed bones with my stolen garbage truck?  Perhaps they felt that would be going too far.  After all, there has to be SOME sanity in the world, even in Liberty City.  I guess there is no place in the world for killing innocent children.  Perhaps in the future Rockstar will grow a pair and we will see a truly “realistic” Grand Theft Auto.  Until that day comes, babies and toddlers are off limits.  (But beating up hookers is still okay).

...Also, where are all the old people?

Posted by stefan on 06/23 at 05:19 PM
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We found this awesome image of Niko Bellic. Hope you like it.

I really enjoyed this one almost as much as the real-life Mario rendering!

Posted by admin on 06/20 at 03:33 PM
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