Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Huh?


Wow, I haven't written in a long time. Needless to say I have died of course and will not be writing anymore. No just kidding, just been busy and not filling the Internets with non-relevant garbage. Do not worry, I will soon be writing stupid articles that you should not care about whatsoever. Five people in the world cares about this at all. I am one of them.

Oh and I would like to plug the web comic Dr. Mcninja. He is the single greatest hero/ninja ever. You may find him and his hilarious antics at drmcninja.com. So please support the artists and writers responsible and read it please. Plus how could you say no to a ninja whose also a doctor? Oh and he has a receptionist named Judy whose a gorilla. BASE!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Real Step Towards Human Emotion

It seems pretentious to say a game made five years ago can surpass a game made one year ago. Visually and aesthetically, the argument is unfounded. Fable 2 looks and sounds vastly superior then its predecessor. With a new age in HD graphics, the beautiful world is brought to life right before your eyes. With full support for Dolby Digital Surround Sound, the sound is marvelous. Delivering you the breath of life to the fantastical world of Albion. There is almost no deterrent to your overall experience on a technical level whatsoever. This is perhaps the only revolutionary step for the genre to be found in your ten hour experience in Fable 2.
To further add to the overall experience, the way your quest starts out and the general structure of the game are very similar. First and foremost, the two games are very similar to one another. You can find many of the same wonderfully orchestrated scores entwined in the same places. Whether you are shopping, visiting a temple or fighting bandits, the music is virtually identical in both games. Who cares? So I've just stated that a sequel is similar to the original game. Wheres the validity in stating that?

Well, despite having so many features in common, the "newer" Fable lacks emotional depth. Yes, Peter Moloneux has stated often before this game's release that he wanted real human emotion in his game. Like many developers before him, his intention was to include an outlet to further validate your choices as a good and evil character. By giving the player more attachments, the developer can weigh your morality choices in a more profound manner. As a result, you are given a dog and a family that morphs into your morality alignment. Be it good or evil, the "world" changes based on your actions and decisions. Its been done multiple times before and often times its done with shallow panache. This time it seemed that Peter Moloneux would succeed, thus driving forth a revolutionary new concept in the RPG genre.

It however did not accomplish or fill any of these lofty expectations. Instead, the player is forced to care for an annoying furry animal. Yes, it saves you in the very beginning of the game and it adds nostalgic value, but that is the extent of its usefulness. It exists as nothing more then a glorified item finder, and as such is a very detached character from the overall game play. Even your family exists as nothing more then a virtual high five. They applaud your good deeds and condemn your evil actions. How am I supposed to pour care and devotion to something that feels so cold and robotic?
The first game does away with these superfluous concepts. It offers an often times cliched childhood story of revenge but it does so with emotional weight. (to be continued)

Friday, April 10, 2009

Would You Kindly?


As the spiritual successor to the System Shock series, Bioshock has an enumerate amount of expectations to fill. However if you haven't even heard of the System Shock series, it doesn't really matter either. Bioshock exists as a glimmer of hope for the future of the industry as a whole. Although you will garnish mixed feelings concerning the overall conclusion; you will discover why morality games exist at all.
Your journey begins as your plane crash lands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. As damnation and doom envelop your lungs, you discover a building off in the distance. Desperate, you swim to it and find shelter. Within minutes you discover the city of Rapture and the man who created it. The city where only your potential can stop you. Lo and behold this motto has turned the city into objectivist hell. (to be continued)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Capcom DLC


While I do realize that many publications have made numerous arguments on the problems with DLC lately, I feel that the topic needs to be addressed again. Lately one of the easiest targets for the arrival of "cheap" DLC has been Capcom. Capcom has been taking flak lately for poor support of Street Fighter Four. Instead of thanking loyal paying fans for their devotion to a long standing series, they decide to slap in extra costumes for around fifteen dollars in total.
Now they have achieved another faux pas in their DLC approach.
That being the newly released VS modes for Resident Evil 5. If Capcom charged five dollars for a very solid multi player experience then there would be no point to gripe. However the former is simply not true. Capcom sees fit to charge five dollars for two modes that are seemingly broken. The overall control scheme of Resident Evil should never support competitive multi player. Four players compete and try to shoot each other or other zombies to beat each other through scores. On top of which Resident Evil 5 has a very awkward control scheme to begin with. So in the end you just have four players standing in a circle trying to shoot each other. After several years of the same corridor shooter, you find it fair to introduce competitive multi player? There is no overall rewards for the game play and after multi player experiences like Left4dead and the zombie mode in Call of Duty: World At War, this is inexcusable.

Its almost funny in a sense to consider how greedy companies like Capcom are. While I agree that paying ten dollars for three maps is a travesty, charging obscene amounts for your fan base is ridiculous. The limited editions for both Resident Evil 5 and Street Fighter IV both cost thirty dollars over the retail version and were filled with useless junk. No, not memorabilia that is nostalgic, just useless crap. If this is the future of community support, then I believe it is a future I do not want a part of. Unfortunetly as I write this, there are probably dozens of people downloading the new costumes and playing the Versus mode. So Capcom and other developers can continue charging ridiculous amounts of money for DLC.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Really?

Not that anyone should care, but the PS3 is going up in price. According to an article at cheapassgamer the PS3 will have a 499.99 model and a 599.99 model come May 5th. It will feature backwards compatibility and have a 250 GB and a 500 GB Hardrive respectively. According to the marketing VP Jack Devaney states " Increasing storage capacity helps us better communicate the value inherent in the PS3. Combined with built in Blu-ray, Wi-Fi, and full backwards compatibility, no other system can match our value proposition. One of the great things about the PS3 is that if you buy it today you can be confident it's going to be the centerpiece of your entertainment for the next 10 years. Economically, that's a great value. "
Really? I assume PS3s are already flying off the shelves nowadays. I hardly believe people are willing to buy a 499.99 system or even a 599.99 system if they weren't buying a 399.99 and 499.99 model. On top of which their exclusive games line-up does not warrant such an exuberant price. They also can no longer hide behind the fact that they are the cheapest Blue-ray player anymore. So what do they have that they can use as selling points?
What are you going to save on 250GBs or even 500GBs? I assume your going to use that space for the massive game library that Sony has wonderfully provided ever since the system's launch. Plus, Sony has been touting its ten year plan for far too long now. Hardly anyone in this current gaming generation thinks about their consoles as "investments". We don't buy our consoles because we know it will last for ten years, we buy it to be entertained now. I bet in ten years they will still be desperately trying to break even with their investment. Good job Sony, you learn a new way to kick yourself in the face just as your about to catch up.