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C2E2 2012: Box-o-Zombies – Miniatures

By
Jeremy Goodson
– April 18, 2012Posted in: C2E2 2012, Event Blogs, Jeremy's Blog

For the true, hardcore Tabletop gamer, it’s hard to imagine a gaming session without some sort of set pieces to signify monsters or player characters. While Warhammer and Warhammer 40k may be the most prominent topic when talk of miniatures is brought up, there are plenty of figures for games like Dungeons and Dragons, World of Darkness, and even Shadowrun to go around. Even so, the miniature market is still small and under-tapped, with only a few companies producing the products that people want.

Immersive Realms, Inc. is a company looking to get into that market. Started in 2010 by Shawn Recinto of Chicago, Immersive Realms develops a miniatures set called “Box-o-Zombies”. While it might not leave much to the imagination as to what may be inside said box, the figures themselves are highly detailed, and ripe for the picking for the miniature enthusiast. As of right now, the Zombies come in a choice of either “Sickly Slime Green” or “Puke Purple” and retail at $14.99 for a set of 6.

The solid color choice and build of high quality PVC make these Zombies the perfect choice for collectors and players looking to detail their own living dead. At C2E2, they had a Samurai Zombie on display that had been detailed by a local artist and looked fantastic. On top of that, they also have a Steampunk Zombie line in the works. Clockwork + Zombies? Yes please!

All in all, if you’re a tabletop gamer, collector of miniatures, or just like Zombie figures, definitely check these guys out at www.boxozombies.com. And if you’re looking for a game to play where they can be used, check out my article from yesterday on Dystopia Rising. They pair perfectly!

Box-O-Zombies

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C2E2 2012: Dystopia Rising – Tabletop RPG

By
Jeremy Goodson
– April 17, 2012Posted in: C2E2 2012, Event Blogs, Jeremy's Blog, Staff Blogs

For Tabletop Pen and Paper RPG fans, it’s always exciting to find a new world to delve into. When touching on the subject, fantasy games like Dungeons and Dragons are usually the first to come to mind. To anyone that’s played them, they can be an escape from the real world. Players are able to dive head first into a fantasy realm where Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and Trolls rule, and lush forests or vast cave systems are to be explored (and imagined) to the hearts content.

Enter Dystopia Rising. Kiss all of your happy spappy memories of your Tabletop Gaming of the past goodbye. This game is dark and foreboding. Zombies can be waiting around any corner to take a bite out of your jugular (or really whatever they can get their mouths on).

The game, set in a future somewhere between two and four generations AFTER the Zombie Apocalypse, is not the RPG of your childhood. From talking to some of the creators of the game at C2E2, they want to bring Pen and Paper RPGs to a whole new level. Their game includes faced paced combat, and encourages strong teamwork in order to survive. If someone decides to be the vigilante and make their own way in the world, they’re only digging their own grave.

While I’ve been reassured that there is plenty of humor to lighten the mood –like the fact that the citizens find it hard to believe that families before the zombies came had an alter in their house where God would tell them the weather and current events– the world is still very gritty and unforgiving. It seems to me like the folks over at Eschaton Media Productions have really done an excellent job of shaping the world and the back-story of Dystopia Rising into something that will continue to be built upon for years to come.

From their side alone, with two source books already available and plans for a whole lot more in the near future, this game has definitely got legs. On top of that, with future fan-made and official campaigns, and live LARPing events scheduled, it would seem that the infection that is Dystopia Rising is spreading at an incredible pace. I truly look forward to giving the game a try myself in the near future, and you can bet you’ll be hearing all about it here at Vagary.

Interested in giving Dystopia Rising a try? Click this link for a list of where to buy the source books or downloadable PDFs.

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C2E2 2012: Introduction

By
Jeremy Goodson
– April 15, 2012Posted in: C2E2 2012, Event Blogs, Jeremy's Blog

This past Saturday, I had the privilege to spend the entire day at McCormick Place in Chicago, attending C2E2: The Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo. It was an extremely productive day for me, and I had the honor to meet some great people within the “Geek Culture” world. While I did get to spend some time at the big boy tables, like Marvel and DC, I made it a point to get to know the “Up and Comers.” Some of the things I found were nothing short of awe-inspiring.

I plan on sharing my findings with the readers here in C2E2-centric posts over the next few days, as well as follow up articles, interviews, and podcast specials. Here are just a few of the nifty gems that I came across and will be writing more about:

1. A Tabletop RPG set in a Post Apocalyptic  future, in the aftermath of a Zombie invasion.

2.  A company focusing on making miniatures for games, including Zombies (aptly titled Box-o-Zombies) which pair perfectly with #1.

3. A brand new fantasy setting that will span the course of many comics and graphic novels, as well as book series.

4. Fun mobile apps to make finding comics, and soon more types of media much, much easier.

Keep your eye on Vagary this coming week and beyond for write ups of some of the cool stuff I saw or experienced at the show, as well as interviews and guest spotlights on the website and future episodes of Vagrant Gamers.

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Editorial: The Mass Effect 3 Ending Controversy

By
Jeremy Goodson
– March 18, 2012Posted in: Columns, Editor's Desk, Jeremy's Blog, Staff Blogs

For the past week or so, I’ve had to almost ignore the internet. Since about the day after Mass Effect 3 was released, all I kept hearing was the controversy over how “Bad” the ending was. Not having beat the game myself, I didn’t want anything ruined for me. Mass Effect is a series that has grown close to my heart, and seeing the ending for myself –spoiler free– was something I couldn’t wait to accomplish.

Saturday, after 45 hours of gameplay (Single Player and Multiplayer). completing every single quest and side quest in the game and achieving 100% Galactic Readyness, I finished the story. For me (and to quote my twitter comment), the ending was a bittersweet ending to an epic storyline, which as far as gaming goes ranks in my top 5 easily. Bioware has successfully crafted one of the most spectacular stories in recent history, and should be praised for their accomplishment.

Instead, all that I’ve been reading online are whiners, naysayers, and trolls who didn’t get the ending that they wanted, and now think they have the right to DEMAND a new ending. One player even went so far as to file an FTC complaint. Hopefully, Bioware is smart enough to see past the “unsilent minority” and keep the integrity of Mass Effect intact. Afterall, it is BIOWARE’S story to tell. They wrote, and made possible, all three entries into the Mass Effect series. That gives the the right to make any creative choices that they choose. Let me reiterate that: Bioware is the CREATOR of Mass Effect; they can end it however they see fit. It is their right to do so as the creative artists behind the franchise. Don’t get me wrong, the ending was sad, and even unexpected in ways, but it was not “bad” or in need of a rewrite. Far from it.

Demanding that Bioware create a new ending (with all of the writing, coding, voice over work, and production that goes with it), is nothing short of childish.

If your favorite author decided on an ending to their newest book that you did not like, would you demand that the book be rewritten to suit your needs? NO.

If a movie you had been waiting to see for a long time ended in a way that you didn’t feel fit the film correctly, would you demand that the ending be refilmed? NO!

So what gives jilted gamers the idea that since they don’t like the fact that Mass Effect didn’t end the way they envisioned, they can demand a new ending to the trilogy?

It really speaks a lot of where our society is heading when people feel so entitled that they can just demand whatever they want and get it. I really hope that Bioware keeps their integrity on this issue and doesn’t change a thing.

And to those that still feel the need to huff and puff, read past the break:

*SPOILER ALERT*

Shepard dies to save everyone. That’s it. You need to stop raging and come to terms with how the writers over at Bioware decided to tell their story. As happens a multitude of times over the years in different works of art, the protagonist that we’ve grown to love sacrifices himself (or herself) for the livelihood of everyone that he (or she) has sworn to protect. The ending was extremely heart-wrenching. We’ve lost a character we’ve grown to love, and I still feel a bit of sadness over that.

To me, that just makes the story that much more grandiose. My Shepard did exactly what was necessary to save the galaxy, just as Shepard would have. There are no surprises there for me. I know that I would have loved to see Shepard and Liara’s babies running around after the final battle, with them living happily ever after on a beach somewhere.

But in real life that doesn’t happen. War is gruesome, and doesn’t always end on a high note for everyone. It’s that realism that I feel that Bioware was really able to portray in the ending sequences of ME3. And honestly, looking back at the trilogy as a whole, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m not saying it’s ok to dislike the way it ends, because everyone is entitled to their opinion, but to say that the ending is “bad and needs to be rewritten” is nothing short of poor taste and lack of maturity.

My hat’s off to Bioware and friends for putting together one of the best series of the past decade, and yes, ending it in an amazingly epic and graceful way.

This was brought to my attention after I wrote this and thought I would share: does anyone remember the ending to Final Fantasy VII?!?! Talk about gaping holes…


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PC Review: Star Wars: The Old Republic

By
Jeremy Goodson
– February 2, 2012Posted in: Jeremy's Blog, PC, Reviews

A long time ag….ah, screw it. The iconic Star Wars opening text is too overdone.

It’s been about three years since the rumors of Bioware developing an MMO based on the Knights of the Old Republic franchise first found their way onto the Internet. Those rumors made me ecstatic from day one. The original Knights of the Old Republic was one of my favorite games of all time, and Star Wars is definitely my favorite IP. To add nerd cred to my profile on that, I actually read the books, graphic novels, and comics. So, for anyone that knows me, it shouldn’t be a surprise that I was eating up any juicy tidbits that developer Bioware and publisher EA threw my way over the past three years about the game.

Lucky for me (and an estimated two million others who picked up the game on launch day), Dec. 20, 2011 marked the end of our wait. And worth it it was.

Now, you won’t be in for any big surprises with how the game controls. Bioware did a very good job mimicking the overall feel of most modern day MMOs. Everquest, World of Warcraft, Everquest 2, Vanguard, and countless others all use the standard “WASD” movement with “1 through =” for your hot keys. This makes it extremely easy for any MMO veteran to dive right into the game. The movements are very fluid and combat flows very well because of it. While the user interface may seem a bit clunky at first, it’s very easy to get used to. The main aspect that bothered me was the top-of-the-screen placement of the chat box, but it’s easily moved to the bottom where it feels more comfortable.

The lack of a full customization of the overall UI, though, really does hurt the game a bit. By the time you hit level 50 you have almost too many abilities, potions, and stims to fit on the maximum number of four hot bars. According to Bioware, there is a big UI customization update coming in the near future, so I do hold out hope that this will be fixed very soon.

Another guaranteed aspect of any MMORPG these days has to be the PvP, and SWTOR performs admirably. From level 10 on, players can compete in three different Warzones, similar to World of Warcraft’s Battlegrounds. These include Alderaan, which is a capture point system similar to Arathi Basin or League of Legends’ Dominion map; Voidstar, which is a Plant the Bomb and move to different objectives map; and a very unique mode called Huttball, which is basically an updated version of Mutant League Football.

The Warzones aside, there are also two areas in the game that are strictly for open world PvP: Ilum, a planet dedicated to the insanity of PvP, and Smuggler’s Den, a Free-for-All area on Tatooine where anything goes at any time of the day. Both of these areas help fuel a fairly health Open PvP environment that hardcore players are looking for.

A very neat addition to the MMORPG genre that is found in SWTOR is the implementation of Companion Characters. These NPCs are your brothers and sisters-in-arms that join your crew as you progress through your personal story arc. They can definitely hold their own on the battlefield and they bring a whole new perspective to solo leveling and even grouping without a full party.

Crafting is also dependent on your Companions. Instead of the normal MMO crafting system where you gather materials and spend time standing in front of a forge or loom to make your gear, SWTOR has you send your companions out to gather materials and making things for you. At the end-game, you can actually have five of your six companions all out working while you go out and quest or PvP. This takes a major stressor for some people and reduces it down to a couple of button clicks instead of a giant time sinck. As a person who absolutely loathes crafting in most other MMOs, I truly enjoy the system in SWTOR.

While all of the previous systems and gameplay mechanics makeup the basics of SWTOR, the real backbone that Bioware built the entire game around is its phenomenal story system. In most MMOs, you get a quest from an NPC and go out and kill things and return for your reward – never really reading what the quest giver had to say. In SWTOR, every single dialogue sequence is fully acted out for you in a cut scene (and yes, you can skip if you choose to). This really helps to make you feel like you have an impact on the world around you, and that your story matters.

Every class in the game has their own personal story. I have played completely through the Sith Warrior and Bounty Hunter stories, and am well on my way through the Sith Inquisitor story at this point and can say that each one has blown me away. They flow so well that I want to keep playing just to see what happens next. I cannot say that about any other MMORPG that I’ve experienced. On top of that, the actual voice acting is top notch. Bioware really spared no expense.

End-game is another spot that I feel the developers really nailed. Right out of the gates they had two Raid Zones (Operations as they’re called here) in place. The first is Eternity Vault, and the second is Karagga’s Palace. Both of these offer three modes of difficulty: normal, hard, and nightmare modes. As of right now, our guild is full clearing hard mode on both, and working our way through nightmare, so I have seen most of what these have to offer. We are having a total blast clearing these out, and the difficulty scales well, allowing for new raiders and veterans alike to experience the content at their own skill levels.

Many might argue that Star Wars: The Old Republic isn’t a breakthrough for the MMORPG genre. While I agree that the basic gameplay takes aspects from the other MMOs on the market, to say that it doesn’t change the way that gamers will look at MMOs from now on would be a lie. The superb story arcs, the changes to the generic crafting system, the updated PvP system,  companion characters, and voice acted questing all add new aspects to an aging subcategory in the gaming world.

SWTOR is one of my favorite games released in the past few years by far, and is definitely my favorite MMORPG since I first picked up Everquest back in 1999. There are some bugs in the game that need to be worked out (and actually lead me to lower the score of the game a bit), but the overall feel of SWTOR is that it is an MMO that is here to stay, and sets a new bar for what other companies need to aim for.

Pros

  • Story that is the best of any other MMORPG
  • Companion characters
  • Re-worked crafting system
  • Fun Ggameplay
  • Great replayability with different classes
  • PvP is well balanced

Cons

  • Lack of UI customization
  • Annoying post-launch bugs
  • No guild bank
  • Inexcusably clunky guild and auction house tools

Overall Score: 4/5

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Pax Prime 2011: Guild Wars 2 Preview

By
Jeremy Goodson
– September 1, 2011Posted in: Jeremy's Blog, News, PC/Mac, Previews

Guild Wars 2, ArenaNet’s sequel to Guild Wars has really stood out among the rest because of their innovative ideas: Creating a Dynamic event system that does away with the standard quest and progress playstyle; ditching the holy trinity and allowing all classes to tank, DPS, support, and heal in their own way. These new ideas as well as continuing their no-subscription model has made this game soar to the top of everyone’s lists.

For Gamescom and Pax, they showed off PvP for the first time. Conquest is the game and Khylo is the location. Players battle one another to take over key locations, with the assistance of a trebuchet; the task isn’t easy as players can always bomb the other team out of a control point. Movement and teamwork are key as points are gained by defeating the other team in combat and controlling the points; the first to 500 wins.

Aside from PvP, they have also introduced new areas in PvE for players to explore. Players had the opportunity to experience the Charr starter area and witness the ghosts of Ascalon first hand. Players could also play as the Sylvari, a race of honorable plant humanoids as well as the tiny Asura, a race of very intelligent people in the Sparkfly Den where the Undead are laying siege to the area.

Starting my demo, I choose to create a Sylvari Engineer, because nothing says honorable plant-like person than running around with a flamethrower, turrets, and grenades. Using the character creator was a blast, I love creating characters, so I took the opportunity to explore what it had to offer. I was able to change my hair type and color, as well as face type and ears. I created a sleek looking male Sylvari with silver hair and tannish-orange skin. A rare sight in character creator, I was able to dye my clothes right out the gate, though I reserved myself a bit and stuck with natural greens and browns.

After creating my Sylvari, I hopped right into Sparkfly Den and set out to explore the world. Not soon after battling a few drakes, I notice skulls on my map. These represent dead players so I rush off to revive them – trying to be a good citizen – honorable Sylvari and all. Then I run head first into a dynamic event, it seems the undead have claimed a variety of Hylek(Frog Beastmen) villages and I was task with ridden them and restore peace to the area.

Combat in Guild Wars 2 is more engaging then the combat you see in other MMOs. Position is key and movement plays an important role. Although not as action-oriented as Tera, Guild Wars 2 features dodging that allows you to move away from any attacks and makes you briefly invulnerable. The drawback however is that is used energy that slowly regenerated, so I was only able to dodge a few times before having to wait for my energy to fill back up.

While I was fighting drakes before I found the undead event, I would see it gather breathe, shortly after it would spew a giant green ball at me that poisoned the ground and damaged anyone in it. Doing a quick dodge as it spewed its foul concoction I was able to avoid damage and engage the beast while it was recuperating.

Even the skills played a role in how I engaged the enemy. Playing an Engineer I had a variety of skill to play with, each one influence how I went about doing my business. I had a skill that deployed a net trapping the enemy so I could fire away with my rifle without worrying about the enemy closing the gap to soon. I had an ability that did increased damage the closer I was to my target. Therefore, when my net shot wore off and the enemy closed in, I initiated that skill doing a nice burst of damage. On top of that, I had another skill that hurled the opponent as well as myself back, so following up the previous skill with this skill, instantly increased the distance allowing me to finish the fight with basic rifle shots.

That became my steady routine but I had a lot more skills to use. In Guild Wars 2, like its predecessor you have a 10 skill hot bar. The first five are dedicated to the weapon you are using, while the sixth skill is solely for a healing spell, the next three are your utility skills, these skills provide unique flavor to the class. The last skill is your elite skill or what I liked to call the ‘ohs***’ button – a power skill, meant to turn the tide of battle in your favor.

Going back to my dynamic event with the undead, I experimented a little with the utility skills. I, of course had to try the flamethrower. It replaced my first five skills and I was able to toast opponents, shoot napalm at them, throw down a firewall as well as suck enemies into my kill zone. Effectively creating a powerful close-quarters character oppose to the distance ranged attacker I was playing before. I also experimented with the Rifle turret, that increased my damage output and I became more like a sentry sticking close to my turret mowing down the opposition.

Going back to my dynamic event with the undead, I experimented a little with the utility skills. I, of course had to try the flamethrower. It replaced my first five skills and I was able to toast opponents, shoot napalm at them, throw down a firewall as well as suck enemies into my kill zone. Effectively creating a powerful close-quarters character oppose to the distance ranged attacker I was playing before. I also experimented with the Rifle turret, that increased my damage output and I became more like a sentry sticking close to my turret mowing down the opposition.

As I progressed through the demo, I was able to catch my bearings, learn how to dodge, and utilize the various skills of the Engineer to be effective in any given situation. At the end of the demo, I was able to clear out the undead, raise the dead Hylek NPCs, and bring an area that was remotely unpopulated to an area that was teeming with life.

 

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3D Gaming Gets More Affordable

By
Jeremy Goodson
– March 15, 2011Posted in: Blogs, Jeremy's Blog, PC

It’s no secret that the next evolution in gaming is headed down the 3D route. With whole gaming systems like the 3DS headed our way, it’s inevitable that gamers will start jumping on board. Just like Ryan, up until a few days ago I was pushing off this “revolution” of sorts as just a small fad, knowing fully well that it would fade into oblivion after a few months. With how crappy 3D movies were, there was no way that 3D gaming could be any better.

Boy…was I wrong.

I had the opportunity to play a level of the game Bulletstorm in 3D this past weekend, and needless to say I was blown away. My entire view of 3D gaming changed right then and there. I’ve gone from “It’ll fade out in a few months” to “HOLY CRAP! If it’s this good now, what’s it going to be like in a year?!” I was surprised how naive I had been on the whole subject. After digging, though, I remembered one of the reasons that continually reminded me — in the past — why it would fail: the price.

Getting started in the realm of 3D gaming isn’t cheap. First, you need a video card that supports it. Luckily, anyone with even a semi-recent NVidia card is good to go. The technology is built into the Drivers, not the card. That was a smart move on their part. Most PC gamers already own one of the most imporant pieces of hardware. Secondly, you need a monitor with 120hz refresh rate. This is so that each eye can receive the standard 60hz. These aren’t exactly cheap, but they are slowly getting lower in price as the technology advances.

Finally, you need those big, bad, scary glasses. The glasses work on an electronic shutters system, blocking the vision in one eye or the other at the speed of 120 per second per eye, basically tricking your brain into seeing both images separately and seeing it in 3D, as you would everything around us in the real world. This aspect of having a 3D system has always been what I’ve seen as the crutch. In the past, these glasses (which fit amazingly comfortably over eye glasses) cost $200+. That’s not an option, especially for gamers who are playing on a budget.

This morning, for the first time in a long time, that price has dropped $50. You can now get a pair of the NVidia 3DVision goggles for $149, and any extra pairs for $119. While this still be a bit high for a lot of gamers that are watching their wallets. It is a very positive step for those that are on the fence, and it shows that NVidia is more than willing to help make this more affordable, as the price of the technology drops. This actually gets me excited, as now more gamers can afford to jump into the realm of 3D.

Something else that I did not know before the 3D demonstration, that with the most current release of the NVidia Video Card Drivers, there are over 500 PC games that are 3D ready. That number is staggering. I was expecting to hear maybe 50 at the most, but it turns out to be over 10 times that number. If anyone is worried about the cost of 3D not being worth it because of lack of support, you can throw that fear out the window. NVidia was adamant about the current number, as well as the sheer amount of games that are being added with each driver update. This isn’t just sloppily thrown together 3D. NVidia tests all of the games themselves internally to make sure they are up to their own standards, before putting their seal on anything. In other words, you can expect a game like RIFT to look just as good, if not better, than the visually stunning demo of Bulletstorm that I played.

For the past couple of years, as this whole mass of 3D gaming and movies has headed our way, I have shrugged it off. I would have sworn we would be seeing the end of it very soon. The concept sounded ok, but I figured that the execution, the lack of quality, and the price would help push 3D to a slow, painful death. I have been proven wrong on all fronts, and now I’m a believer that this is the direction that gaming is headed, and for the better.

As of posting NVidia is running a special on the 3D vision goggles. Not only did the price drop to MSRP of $150 today, they are offering the glasses plus a Starcraft 2 Promo for $124 right now: Check out the tech specs and the promo here!

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My 2 CP: Kinect – The Movii

By
Jeremy Goodson
– November 13, 2010Posted in: Jeremy's Blog, Staff Blogs

BttF Logo

Corny titles aside, it’s fairly common knowledge that technology is evolving at an alarming rate. Just fifteen years ago, cellular phones were mounted in cars. There was no way to fit one in your pocket or purse, cell towers allowed 17-20 callers max at a time, and having access to the internet on a handset was just a pipe dream. Heck, even the internet was run on 28.8kbps modems in most of the homes that even had access. There was no such thing as DSL or Cable Modem service. A laptop weighed between 10 and 15 lbs, and again, internet on the go wasn’t even close to being an option.

Fast forward to today. Our TVs are a couple inches thick, our internet speeds are measured “mbps” and not “kbps”, every cell phone is internet capable, “laptops” are becoming a thing of the past (especially with devices like the iPad becoming more popular), and our video games are slowing becoming controller-less. Now, the reason I chose to jump back fifteen years, is because it was around 1995 that I first remember hearing about something called “virtual reality.” I can easily remember, as a kid, being oh so excited to finally get to play a “virtual reality” game on vacation one year. It was fantastic! I put on a helmet and a couple of gloves, and some boots, and stood in this orb of sorts. I walked around and even swung a sword at some extremely blocky skeletons. I was ecstatic and never wanted the experience to end.

VR Suit

Virtual Reality was going to be the gaming of the future, I just knew it. Then a couple of years passed and the entire concept quickly evaporated. No one was talking about virtual reality anymore. It was too expensive to develop, and instead the big corporations decided to put money into home consoles, as that’s where they were sure the future was. And they were right. By that time the SNES was booming, the Playstation 1 didn’t actually have a number after it yet, and CDs and DVDs were the media that was becoming more popular in home use. Everything was getting smaller. No one would want a giant VR unit in their homes, so it was time to move on. And I’ll be honest, it has been nearly ten years since the thought of Virtual Reality has even crossed my mind.

Then came today,  when I received a Kinect for my XBox 360. All of these old memories and clips of the talk of Virtual Reality came flooding back to my mind. It all really got me thinking. I purchased a Wii back when it first launched and was immediately enthralled with it. A system that allowed you to use the controller to handle your sword, or fish, or shoot a slingshot. Not by button mashing, mind you, but by motion control. This was something entirely new and innovative to the video game industry as a whole — or at least I thought so at the time — and I could not wait to see how it evolved. I had forgotten (or repressed?) then the years before when I had a chance to try Virtual Reality hands on. Still, this Wii brought me plenty of fun. The only complaint I had was that it wasn’t 1 to 1 movement, but instead just a flick of the wrist could accomplish what needed to be done. After a while, I realized I could just sit down and do everything. The Wii lost some of its luster.

PS Move

Then about two years later came the “Wii Motion Plus.” Ah, Nintendo were the saviors again! What an awesome innovation. Now we had true 1 to 1 movement on screen, another great step forward. Then came E3 2009. This was the year that Sony and Microsoft threw down their gauntlets and went for each others throats! Sony went first, announcing it’s Playstation Move. They had a tech demo and, I will admit, it made me kind of giddy. It was like the Wii, but even better. With the Move, you could have “real” sword battles, you could swing a baseball bat, and you could even draw on the screen with precision movement. This was it! Nothing could beat this! Me and my Sony fanboy-ism were on a pedestal. “Eat that Microsoft!” (Yes, I actually said that to my friend who was watching the press conference with me. He’s an XBox fanboy).

That’s when I got knocked down a couple of notches. Soon after, the Microsoft press conference aired and “Project Natal” was revealed. It was at that point, when the utility we now know as the Kinect was shown to the public for the first time, that I knew for sure that gaming had changed forever. While the wait for all of these peripherals has taken well over a year to actually hit shelves, it was well worth the patience.

Kinect

I’ll be honest. I have not had any hands on time with the PS Move, but after only an hour with the Kinect tonight, I know that the Virtual Reality of the past has almost caught up with us again. It’s not the same as it was fifteen years ago, but that is for the better if you ask me. The Kinect and company are all in their baby stages. Microsoft has even said that there are quite a bit of programming updates to come, and that the Kinect is only at about 15-20% of its full capabilities. What the future holds is uncertain at this point, but I do believe that Motion Gaming is going to be a huge part of it.

Now, the biggest thing missing from Motion Gaming that I talked about with Virtual Reality is the fact that you’re not actually put into the game world. This was a bit of a disappointment at first, and I started wondering how companies like Microsoft could overcome the obstacle of full immersion in their games. Then it hit me. I’ve been pretty much ignoring a newer invention up to this point. In fact, I’m still not fully sold on the technology. With some fine tweaking, though, it could put the icing on the Motion Gaming cake. That invention is the 3D Television. This is full speculation and high hoping on my part, but with the rising popularity in 3D technology and Motion Gaming alike, I truly believe that in about five years or so, we could finally see the first truly “Virtual Reality World.” We have the technology in our homes now that could allow developers to create a fully rendered world that players could go to while playing a game. As an avid MMORPG player, the thought of this has me extra excited.

Imagine that when you go to log into the next “Everquest” or “World of Warcraft” type game all you’d have to do is tell your system to log you in, then the world is brought up around you. No helmets, gloves, or boots. Your TV and console are advanced enough to put you right into the game. And while this might all sound like some wishful thinking, I truly believe that it’s something that’s not too far off. Maybe five years is cutting it a bit short, but we’ve got the technology now that is capable of setting us on the right path. Motion Gaming is here to stay, and while I didn’t want to really admit it at first, I believe it is the way of the future. Gaming as we know it is slowly on its way out the door, and I look forward to what the next few years bring us.

What are your thoughts on Motion Gaming? I’m curious to hear what everyone has to say!

2

Review: Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light (PC Version)

By
Jeremy Goodson
– October 4, 2010Posted in: Jeremy's Blog, PC, Reviews, Xbox 360


Let me preface this article by saying this: I have not liked or enjoyed a Tomb Raider/Lara Croft game since Tomb Raider 2 for the PS1. For the most part, all of the Tomb Raider games after the second were sub par, and seemed to be rushed out just because Eidos knew that they would sell, mostly on Sex Appeal and just the Tomb Raider name. Hell, pop a big busty Lara Croft on the front of anything (Angelina Jolie or not), and you’re guaranteed to get at least a few hundred thousand sales without issue. This carried over to the movies as well, which largely left much to be desired, with a few action scenes really being the only thing that carried the silver screen interpretations anywhere. With that being said though, Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light leaves a slightly different, and fresh, taste in my mouth.

It’s safe to say that I didn’t have high expectations for this game. In fact, I was more excited for being able to write my first review than I was for actually firing up this game in Steam. As stated earlier, I really have not had a good experience with any Lara Croft games in 10+ years, and I’ve played almost all of them except the newest two or three incarnations. But part of me really wanted to give this new game, which comes backed by a new development studio (Crystal Dynamics), and new publisher (one of my favorites, Square Enix). Boy, am I glad I did. Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light has renewed my faith in this again franchise.

If you’ve ever played a Tomb Raider game at all, you know that the major draw — beyond the mascot — is the fact that you need to solve puzzles in order to progress through the storyline. Crystal Dynamics did an amazing job of keeping this aspect of the game intact. And it’s really the only gameplay mechanic that they kept. The control scheme has been completely reworked, and for the better. You use the W, A, S, and D keys to move, so any current PC gamers will feel right at home. Mouse controls are also what you would expect, with the game being a shooter as well. The most welcome change, though, is the progression as a whole. Instead of taking on Lara Croft in a third person behind-the-back view, the camera is now in more of an isometric down-from-the-top angle. The game is better off for it.

Now, while the voice acting may be related to b-movie acting at best, the storyline in Guardian is also a major selling point. Here is how Crystal Dynamics describes the story, which I feel is dead on:

The game begins with Lara discovering the lost Temple of Light, a resting place for an ancient artifact called the Mirror of Smoke. When she finally reaches the mirror, she is ambushed by an army led by a devious mercenary named Vasco. Vasco steals the mirror and releases Xolotl, an evil entity imprisoned in the mirror. Xolotl proceeds to kill Vasco and escapes with the Mirror of Smoke. Totec, The Guardian of Light, is awakened by the incident and confronts Lara, explaining the evil that has just been unleashed. With this, Totec and Lara must join forces to track down Xolotl, defeat him and retrieve the mirror before the world is plunged into a never-ending age of darkness.

It may sound kind of cheesy, but I felt immediately pulled into the world around me, and before I knew it almost four hours had passed since I had started playing. The game is very immersive, and there are plenty of moments that will have you almost jumping out of your seat. The music and ambient sounds are timed very well, and really help add to the immersion factor.

Games that are available only through DLC are becoming more and more of the norm, as digital distribution spreads throughout the industry. Because of this there are quite a few crappy games out there that are only put out to make a quick buck. Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light is not one of those games. It is a well put together, high quality, and action packed game that is just down right fun. I definitely put it on my list of must have DLC games, right along with Castle Crashers, Trine, and Braid. Crystal Dynamics deserves a huge pat on the back for breathing new life into an otherwise dead franchise. Guardian of the Light is a must buy if you’re looking for a new casual game to play, especially one that makes you think instead of mindlessly shooting your way through levels.

While the game is not without its minor faults — see earlier note on voice acting — they are easily overlooked when you get into the gameplay and overall story arc. Anyone with an XBox, PS3, or PC should give Lara another chance to right the wrongs of the past, you won’t be disappointed.

Overall, I give Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light 4.5 out of 5.

1

TORQue: A Smuggler’s Life

By
Jeremy Goodson
– September 26, 2010Posted in: Blogs, Jeremy's Blog

It seems that lately, there has been less and less news leaking out about our little gem known as “The Old Republic.” So much so, that it seems that Bioware has been rehashing or just reconfirming old news. The past two weeks, though, Fan Friday has been littered with some new tidbits. The update on Jedi’s from last Friday did not come as much of a shocker. If you play a Jedi you will be able to be “bad.” Not evil, just bad.

The Jedi news did not come as a shock to me, and fits in very well with the way Bioware does their games, while not trouncing on Star Wars canon. The video they released with the news depicts a Jedi Knight standing outside an airlock, with a few enemies on the other side of the door. He then hits a button and releases his opponents into the bowels of space. Not exactly what I’d call a merciful act, and definitely does not fit the normal architecture of a Jedi. But still, it would seem this is about as “Evil” as a Jedi can get. Again, no surprise here as you can’t have your storyline Jedi Knights slip into the Dark Side of the Force (although I think that is a choice you should be able to make, there are plenty of Jedi in the books *cough* Anakin Skywalker *cough* who embrace the Dark Side and leave the Jedi way behind).

Beyond that comes this weeks major update, and that is about the Smugglers. This update was very intriguing, to say the least. There was quite a bit of re-released info about the way a smuggler plays, but Bioware also threw in some extra features as well, outlining the Smuggler’s companion, and their ship. Bioware is definitely showing their creativity in this part, but letting the Smuggler choose whichever companion they want, as long as it’s the Wookie. Oh, and of course, any ship they want as long as it’s the one that looks like the Millenium Falcon. Did you sense the sarcasm there? Good. While TOR his me super excited, this is the one aspect of the game that I feel it’s ok to complain about. There is NO (zero, zilch, nadda) customization with ship type, and in this case, companion character as well. I know that we currently do not have all of the info, so I’m holding out hope that this is something that changes in the future.

The Smuggler does have a unique play style to counteract this. One of the main things this class can do is “Stealth” and “Cover.” The stealth mechanic is nothing like you would see in World of Warcraft. In fact, it’s not even close. It would seem more like a hybrid of the “Sneak” ability in Everquest, which allowed you to be undetected by mobs by sneaking around them slowly, and not totally disappearing. In my eyes, this is an awesome addition to the game. It’s much more realistic than just completely disappearing from the screen. As for the cover system, this is great as well. A Smuggler can do more damage by hiding behind an obstacle and using it as not only a shield, but a vantage point from which to shoot and take out his enemies. This is a mechanic that is fairly fresh to the MMO genre, and a welcome addition.

As of right now, the Smuggler class has me the most intrigued. While I do plan on playing either a Jedi Knight or a Sith Warrior, as of right now a Smuggler will be my first alt. They bring a very unique play style to the game, and while their companion and ship are very Han Solo-esque, that is something that can be overlooked, especially if the story is done correctly. If you’d like to read more about this original class and it’s play mechanics, it can be checked out here, over at the TOR Official Site.

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