Month by Month: January-March on Xbox 360

I have never made secret my disdain for Microsoft. I wear it on my sleeve and call out into the hills proclaiming the virtues of any product that can bring them down. I snicker at Steve Ballmer’s loudmouthed idiocy and, while I hold Gates in the highest respect as a businessman, deplore his business tactics as immoral or at least unfair. But, all that notwithstanding, there are some cool games coming out for the fragile little white box early next year. I would be remiss in my duty if I failed to notice them simply because they are unlucky enough to be on the 360. Here they go:

1. Alan Wake

Developer: Remedy Entertainment

Publisher: That company

Atmosphere and story are two of the biggest lures a game can put out for me. Alan Wake has both of those in spades. It’s the psychological thriller concerning a writer who goes out into a frontier town and experiences all kinds of supernatural disturbances. Light plays a huge part in the gameplay, in that it is your only defence against your various ghostly foes. Intriguing, beautiful (for a 360 game) and long-in-the-making, this one looks to be a winner for March.

"Why am I here? Why was the PC version cancelled?"

2. Mass Effect 2

Developer: BioWare

Publisher: EA

Negativity is not what I am all about, just most of what I’m about. I don’t like most Western RPGs, but I find the space opera presentation and interesting dialogue of Mass Effect strangely compelling. Although this game is also arriving on the PC (I may get it on the PC) it will likely sell more on the 360. There are supposedly numerous improvements in this iteration of the franchise. Reduced load times, more dialogue, better visuals, and perhaps fewer elevators and screen tearing/framerate drops and visual glitches. Yes, this game will likely be just as much of a technical mess, but those craving story and character customization will find it in spades here.

"Dad, why are we in this painting?" "Son, here we are safe from technical problems."

3. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction

Developer: Ubisoft Montréal

Publisher: Ubisoft

Stealth is a fantastic subgenre within the action game sphere. It requires real thought and perhaps even a bit of tactical reasoning to get through without dying. And it encourages more realistic health meters (imagine if Metal Gear Solid 4 had regenerating health). However, Splinter Cell has never been my thing. Still, Conviction is looking to change that with some innovative new features ranging from the stupid and superficial (3D markers that blend into the environment, still breaking the realism but being harder to see) to the ultra-cool. Add to that a much more…human design for Fisher, and you have a winning stealth combo.

Month by Month: January-March on Nintendo Wii

The Wii has perennially suffered from a paucity of great games. However, this is far from the case in early 2010. More and more interesting games are being confirmed for the console in this time period that it may have the best lineup of any console (well…) in that period. Here we go, what are they?

1. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Publisher: Ubisoft

Travis Touchdown, the man who used a lightsaber bought on eBay to become the world’s top assassin (I mean, what other logical course of action does one take in that event?) is back for revenge. Suda51 is one of my favourite game developers, and his manic style is bleeding–quite literally–all over this sequel. If this game can take the incredible greatness of the first game’s action and eliminate some of the tedium of the its odd jobs and awkward open world, then Desperate Struggle will be one that is worth taking on.

2. Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars

Developer and Publisher: Capcom

Always a fan of over-the-top Japanese fighting games, I somehow never got into Marvel vs. Capcom. However, this appears to be the same kind of game and, quite honestly, looks to work even a bit better than that venerable Dreamcast fighter. I have little knowledge of Tatsunoko, but I understand it to be popular in Japan and its characters pretty interesting. Smooth, pretty graphics don’t hurt this game’s appeal either.

3. Arc Rise Fantasia

Developer: Image Epoch

Publisher: XSEED

One disturbing facet of this generation is the lack of compelling Japanese RPGs, particularly on the Wii. The creators of Luminous Arc are looking to rectify that with Arc Rise Fantasia, which will hit in late February. Despite looking fairly standard for a Japanese RPG, that certainly is not a bad thing on Nintendo’s console. XSEED is doing all of us a great favour by bringing this exclusive role-playing experience. The battle system appears to be fairly unique, although the characters have so far failed to grab me in any meaningful way. Perhaps that will change when we can all play the game in English.

4. Sin and Punishment 2

Developer: Treasure

Publisher: Nintendo

One unfortunate consequence of the Wii’s uniqueness has been the difficulty of developers in adapting games meant for more traditional control schemes to a Wii Remote configuration. Many developers have accomplished this by shoehorning their concepts in on-rails arcade shooters (See House of the Dead: Overkill, Resident Evil Chronicles, Dead Space Extraction). However, the original Sin and Punishment was an arcade shooter, and quite a good one at that. So I have much less reservation about this title than I had and continue to have about the other games listed in parentheses. Besides, this is Treasure we’re talking about. When have they ever done anything that could be considered boring?

5. Red Steel 2

Most Wii fans know the sad and not-so-twisted story of the original Red Steel. Unveiled to great interest and selling quite well upon arrival at the launch of the console, it ultimately disappointed due to some unfortunate problems with controls. That, and the game had no personality whatsoever (well, maybe a little bit) and didn’t look very unique. All of those grievances appear to be addressed in the new game. However, Ubisoft is cheating. Instead of following up on the last game and fixing its issues, they essentially started from scratch, created an entirely new game, and slapped the title of the first game on it. Still, the lack of resemblance may be a positive trait. Wii MotionPlus support built in, some interesting swordplay, and gorgeous graphics earn this one some optimism, if nothing else.

Month By Month: January through March on PlayStation 3

This Christmas game-buying season has dried up considerably compared to the past few years. There are still plenty of heavy hitters (Uncharted 2 and Modern Warfare 2) and unique originals (Brütal Legend, Borderlands), but the zest and variety has been sucked out. Luckily, these games are merely delayed and not evaporated into nothingness. The normally barren early months of the year are now as teeming with life as a small Brazilian rainforest. My console of choice at the moment is the PlayStation 3, and so it will get top billing in a feature I plan to continue (with plan being the operative word) with the other consoles (except for the PC). So, here are the most noteworthy games arriving at a large black Blu-ray playing home console near you.

1. MAG

Developer: Zipper Interactive

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America

This game’s style does not particularly suit me, but I am intrigued by it on a purely technical level. 256-player simultaneous multiplayer is an impressive feat that is not even close to being equaled by another console shooter, and the unique tactical edge added on the side gives the game a bit of relief from its generic appearance. Objective-based, 32-player teams, and some fairly deep stage parts make this a game to watch for early 2010.

If I didn't tell you that this was from MAG, you probably would have never guessed.

2.  God of War III

Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

The sequel to the last hurrah of the PS2 is coming in March, and its pro/antagonist Kratos is back for some mythological vengeance. Already displayed as a gorgeous technical showcase for the PS3, the intense, deep combat and jaw-dropping scale that are quintessentially God of War appear to be returning for a third act. Only this time, the scale and intensity have been further ratcheted up. Titans, giant stone rams, and all the other accompanying awesomeness are here. As a heads up: the God of War Collection will contain a demo for this game, so pick it up if interested. For those like me who are less tolerant of gore, just find a pretty screenshot and stare at it until March.

Here's one. You're welcome.

3. Gran Turismo 5

Developer: Polyphony Digital

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Quick confession: despite my rabid appetite for racing games in general, I have never played a Gran Turismo before. However, I require no convincing as to its merits. Realistic, difficult-to-master control and strategy? OK, I like that. Endless numbers of cars from nearly every conceivable manufacturer on the planet, including my favourite Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Audi models? I am so far down with that, I might be crushed by the pressure from Earth’s core (and that, class is what we call hyperbole). As a rabid European car fanatic (I like Corvettes, too) racing hundreds of cars…no, just being able to have pictures and stats of that many cars in one product, and in HD, is a dream for me. I have a few passions in life. There’s history, geography, religion, video games, literature, music, and cars. Therefore, Gran Turismo is extremely high on my list of Very Important Games (VIGs).

Prancing horses.

4. White Knight Chronicles

Developer: Level 5

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Although not really confirmed for March, I think that, in all likelihood, White Knight will be hitting before the end of the March month. I have been craving a real Japanese RPG for months now, not really content with all the RPGs I have for the DS. A console RPG is just what I need to pass away the miserable early Canadian spring. White Knight looks to be the perfect fit. Despite mediocre reviews from Famitsu in Japan (although they give mediocre scores to pretty much anything that doesn’t have the words “final,” “dragon,” or “quest” in the title) I believe I will get a lot out of this product. Online party systems are nice (if unused by me) and the battle system reminds me of all the good pieces of Final Fantasy XII.

So many words on the screen. Must have more words.

Games as Art

Video games as we know them today are, in large part, impossible to consider art in most senses. Yes, there can be artistic components to them, including visual flair, music, and deep narratives. However, in order for the games themselves to be art, there needs to be something more. Since art is something that is crafted carefully to create an emotional response in its audience, most games at their core cannot be considered that. Why? Ultimately, the interactive parts of a game, the thing that animates a game, that extends the illusion of immersion beyond simple images and sounds, are today mainly designed to be seamless and unnoticeable. They are saying nothing, since they are designed to be learned, mastered, and forgotten.

Review: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

The premiere launch game for the Wii and the last bookend to the gasping GameCube life cycle, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was one of the most heavily anticipated games ever. It was delayed numerous times,  and expectations were at a dizzying height. Twilight Princess is also the first Zelda game I ever played and the only one I have ever finished. So I come at the game from a very different perspective compared to the average guy. Whereas that person remembers Ocarina of Time as a huge trailblazer into refining 3D games and creating a gigantic adventure, I do not, and came into this with a fresh mind and no previous experience with the Zelda franchise. Just keep that in mind.

New Horizons: The Coming Dawn of the PS3 on my Life

Well, this is the final threshold. Over the past few years, I have been shedding every vestige of my former pro-Nintendo biases. I have bought third-party games for the Wii, allowed myself to play games on other systems, even if I never bought any, or paid for them in any way, shape, or form. Now, the final, infinitesimal trace of unabashed pro-Nintendo bias will disappear after the German Gamescom in Cologne. Or, to be more particular, the Sony Press Conference on August 18th. That event is where Sony will, almost surely, announce the new model of the PS3 and an accompanying price cut to $299. This will be the final factor that breaks my will, although if there is no announcement of a price cut or new model, I will buy one anyway. An era is passing, and it will be an end marked with celebration and lots and lots of game playing.

They Might Be Giants and Games

Some of the most popular games these days are based off of the idea of replaying songs whose notes are broken into arranged patterns of gems that fall and demand that you hit every one. This is an example of the crossover between the musical and gaming mediums of entertainment. More specifically, it is an example of a game built upon a foundation of music. However, I was thinking, and came up with a rather original concept (at least to me). What if all the original game ideas suddenly dried up and people were forced to based games on individual songs?

As a They Might Be Giants super-fan, they were the first to come to my mind when I thought of the idea a few minutes ago. So, I will take some of my favourite TMBG songs and turn them into game concepts. Just for the fun of it. Now, let’s-a-go!

Random idea before we start: secret agent game with these guys?

1. Birdhouse in Your Soul (Flood)

The lyrics of this song tell a tale from the perspective of a small night light shaped like a bird who “watches over you.” That line right there made me think of a survival-horror game in the vein of Resident Evil or Silent Hill. Except with the action taking place in a normal suburban household and featuring the minions of an omniscient bird-shaped night light as enemies. Believe me, it would be great.

As for the player, they would play as a little kid who goes through the day trying to find ways to destroy the bird, and then spends the nights trying to survive the ghoulish creatures summoned by the bird. His main advisor in this alternate house that emerges at night would be this guy. That guy would give you various tools and teach skills to survive the house at night. You could use the power of music to eliminate the hordes that surrounded you. And see the picture below to see your most common foes.

The zombies under the bird's control!

2. The Mesopotamians (The Else)

This song would translate well to a driving/band game, with GTA-like driving around an open city punctuated by stage events that play sort of like Guitar Hero, but with no plastic instruments. And the art style from the music video would be essential to retain the spirit of the game. You could assume the role of any of the four Mesopotamians, and go cruising around town in their beat up Econoline while trying to rise in the ranks of the world’s most popular rock bands.

Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh!

Another great idea along with the above is the integration of an RPG-lite system of character building, with each of the band’s members keeping their own personal stats and characteristics. Couple that with tons of equipment to buy and find, and you have the mixings for a pretty sweet RPG/GTA clone/band game. Oh, and there should be a part where you actually go to Mesopotamia and raid dungeons or tombs or something. Just because.

3. Hide Away Folk Family (They Might Be Giants debut)

Immediately striking me about the title was the word “hide” and that led me to start thinking about a stealth-action game, with you hiding from the strange forces of Lesley Down (the daily Home Astrology Report guy from the song) and his zodiac-obsessed secret agents with names like Taurus and Leo. They hunt you and you have to hide away (or someone’s gonna get ya).

The Folk Family cat has a difficult time grasping "stealth-action" games.

So, you start playing the mother of the family, who is all terrified and stuff, and you have to defuse explosives and constantly perform quick assassinations to keep your family safe. But then she sees her doom spelled out and she freaks out, leaving just the father, who is like a Solid Snake figure. You play as him, fighting the weird and wonderful enemies, eventually coming up against Lesley Down himself (herself?). So, basically Metal Gear, but with a turn for the truly odd.

Motion Controller Wars

In the beginning, there was the Wii. The Wii had this crazy idea, and was laughed at for it. The idea was that motion controls could be the basis for an entire console, at the expense of a second analog stick and additional buttons. Nintendo’s idea was that a controller alone could sell a console, a console that had no media capabilities to speak of, no capability for high definition or seven channel surround sound. It was a console that, for the first time in almost all of gaming history, refused to move the graphical bar forward. Looking at sales, it goes without saying whether that was a good idea or not.

The best motion controller ever, doomed to obscurity.

So, if a controller could totally redefine a company and restore its long-lost dominance in the console market, could it do the same for other companies, entrenched into their own predefined ideas about how to approach the console market? Well, the answer to that question has now been raised, and we all await the answer next year. Will it allow the 360 to remake its image and truly cross the boundaries of gaming into universal appeal? Will it make the artistic, gaming-oriented aims of Sony and its skilled developers more financially feasible by driving more PS3 sales? Will Nintendo continue to hold the reins of people’s minds and thus dominate both of its new competitors?

Awkward, unintuitive, and revolutionary, but destined to be underutilized.

If one searches for my opinions of the motion control wars, I would say that the Wii Remote will remain the most universally adopted and popular, that Natal will never achieve its true potential but will be sold as a novelty for quite some time, and that Sony will have the best motion controller on the market but it will be ignored by pretty much everyone. One thing is for sure: next fall is going to be one heck of an interesting one.

The once and future king of motion control. Everyone made fun of it until they were too busy copying it.

Lost and Alone: My Story as a Gamer

When you survey the massive, sprawling entity that is the modern games industry, you must think that no one could ever be lonely in it. Even Wii fans are allowed some rudimentary communications between consoles, and other platforms provide myriad solutions to talk to each other. The types of games people buy  have shifted over the years from games that provide huge campaigns and/or local multiplayer to multiplayer-focused shooters (even Bioshock, the ultimate solitude game, is getting multiplayer!), social games like Guitar Hero, and MMOs. Although there are still markets for Japanese RPGs, its twisted, more open counterpart, the Western RPG, has taken over the majority of the sales and mind share with recent hits like Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Oblivion. Most gamers are happy to skip along and go with the trends enjoying the amazing new experiences that are released near-monthly by the industry.

The face of modern gaming. And one I would punch if he wasn't wearing a helmet.

However, I have a bit of a problem with the current game industry. It is evolving in way that I find quite disturbing.

Now, I do not mean the waves and hordes of casual gaming experiences. These games have a market, and I do enjoy a bit of Wii Sports occasionally. Nor do I mean the new model of DRM and digital distribution, which, in my mind, reduce the costs of game distribution and allow for niche titles to survive because they don’t get crowded off shelves by Petz and Call of Duty games. It also is a way to stick it to both Walmart and Gamestop, which is always a good thing.

What I am talking about is a trend that pushes people to make more games in genres that I find myself unable to enjoy. For example, let’s take the Western RPG, more specifically, Fallout 3. This is a game that was given accolades as a fantastic, engrossing experience that drove people to play it for dozens of hours completing sidequests in its twisted world. However, to call this game amazing is a serious stretch that breaks my own personal standards. The game is riddled with both technical and gameplay issues, but also has one, overarching, huge problem that I find with all Western RPGs. The minor issues specific to the game include bad character animation, unforgivable amounts of bugs that trap people in the geometry, cause games to crash, erase save files, and instant-kill players when the take advantage of quick-travelling, and a near-broken third-person mode.

A glitched ant in Fallout 3. Beautful and engaging? I'll pass.

Now, someone who deeply enjoys the atmosphere and graphics (I thought the game was ugly as sin, not mainly for technical reasons but because the art is not my style at all) and the Western RPG style of game, these issues were obviously overridden by the quality of the experience. However, I find no enjoyment in Western RPGs. There are a few reasons for this, but the most notable one is that most of them have soulless, meandering stories that are more premise than actual story.

By most accounts, Fallout 3’s ending was anticlimactic and disappointing. This to me indicates that very little thought was put into the actual narrative of the game. More time was spent creating a huge, thinly populated world where the players could be what they wanted. There is no problem in theory with this structure. However, I always find that open-world games are relatively disappointing because their size belies just how uninvolved the vast majority of what there is to do is.

Ultimately, the first-person shooter is a genre that I simply a) do not want to play on consoles, because of the controls and b) do not want to play online due to my relative lack of skills controlling them. The punishingly brief single player story lines of recent first-person shooters is also a deterrent for me. Only incredibly engaging experiences like Half-Life and Metroid Prime attract me to a first-person view. The immersion is too often wasted on poorly-realized sci-fi worlds like that of Halo or strange reproductions of “reality” like the environments of the Call of Duty games. What is the point of giving gamers a window into the eyes of a character if what they are seeing is totally uninteresting?

Ultimately, though, this is merely an observation of popular games. Beyond this thin crust of wildly popular shooters, Bioware RPGs, and multiplayer-focused casual and social games lie the games  I enjoy. Platformers, adventure games, Japanese RPGs, racing games, and third-person action games still exist and will continue to exist. The point is that they have been overshadowed in terms of importance. The pendulum may swing the other way someday, but I am not holding my breath.

If games like this keep coming out, I'll keep my complaints to a minimum.

Japanese PSN Additions Herald Sony Virtual Console?

Will the PSN soon be offering retro games from multiple consoles in America?

Digitally-distributed retro games are nothing new, not in the slightest. Microsoft has been releasing (fairly sketchy) conversions of old arcade games and others from the beginning of this generation, alongside awesome remakes such as Bionic Commando Rearmed and Pacman Championship Edition. Sony (particularly in Japan) has been releasing classic PSOne games onto the PlayStation Network and has recently begun adding PC Engine (AKA Turbografx-16) games as well. The main conduit through which old games have come through emulators to new consoles has been the Virtual Console, available only on the Nintendo Wii. Hundreds of games have trickled out at an agonizing rate, usually collections of unimpressive or scarce-remembered games that are peppered infrequently with forgotten gems or beloved classics.

However, the move by SCE Japan to release PC Engine games on the PSN may herald a new age of increasing competitiveness in the realm of retro game services. The reason is that the games are not only playable on the PS3 on the big screen, but also on the go with the PSP. This is only natural, of course, as both consoles can access the store and therefore should be able to download the same content, excluding PSN games that are made for the PS3 only. This concept is so radically simple, that it is completely astounding that Nintendo has failed to grasp it. The Nintendo DS has a control set-up that could successfully emulate any Nintendo controls up until the Super Nintendo, and is powerful enough (particularly the more-powerful DSi) to drive the games. However, Nintendo has chosen not to release VC support for the DSi, which is one of their more idiotic oversights of this generation.

Sony, however, has two extremely capable systems, and a more sound strategy for online content delivery, including movies, TV shows, and even full games. A full-bore old-game service from Sony would be a killer app, and one that would seriously challenge the dominance of the Virtual Console in this respect. That is, if there were many, many games released each week, and not the two or sometimes one that comes from Nintendo. Nintendo has been stingy, and so has SCEA, when it comes to retro game releases. The American PSOne lineup is pathetic compared to the Japanese store. However, a quick turnabout, and a whole new ball game would begin.

Obviously, adding as many consoles as the Nintendo VC, or more, would be key to success. The Genesis, Neo Geo, Turbografx-16, Master System, N64, Super Nintendo, NES, and arcades could be well-represented on Sony’s service. Obviously, first-party Nintendo games would be out of the question, but third-party support was very strong on the older two Nintendo consoles, and would pick up the slack tremendously. In addition, the expansive storage of the upcoming PSP go (or a PSP with a larger Memory Stick) and the PS3 would allow games to run that would be impossible on the Virtual Console, given Nintendo’s lack of storage. The Sega CD, the Saturn, the Dreamcast, even the PlayStation 2 could be emulated on at least the PS3. It is unknown whether PS2 games could run on the PSP, although the two systems are roughly equal in terms of power. One thing that does make the whole situation more intriguing is that Sony has filed patents that appear to suggest a universal PS2 emulation scheme for PS3. That would open the doors for PS2 games to be sold (perhaps upscaled with better frame-rates) on the PSN.

I am quite excited for the possibilities going forward. I for one think that a game that looked good on PS2, like Okami, Final Fantasy XII, or Shadow of the Colossus, could look absolutely fantastic if it was upscaled and boosted to either a steady frame-rate or maybe to 60 fps. Imagine leading Yorda through the castle in ICO in 1080p. It makes me shiver.

Now imagine that much bigger. Yes, I said bigger.

The ability to play classic games on the go is the most potent advantage of the two systems from Sony, in addition to the greater storage, better online store, and ability to play more advanced games. Competition from Sony, if SCEA chooses to bring more console support to the system, could spur Nintendo to extend support for  the VC to the DS, although Nintendo, its head puffed up by monetary success, appears to be oblivious to fact that other companies even make games these days.