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Just In Bailey: The Sound of Silence

By
Joey Alesia
– November 28, 2011Posted in: Blogs, Columns, Joey's Blog, Just In Bailey, Staff Blogs

With technology advancing at blinding speed, video games are becoming more cinematic with each major release.  The visuals are more real.  The gameplay is deeper.  The sounds have gone from MIDI notes on a keyboard to full-blown orchestras.  With these advances, video game characters have been given more personality than ever before.  Their hair blows in the slightest breezes.  Their eyes twinkle in that special moment.  And their voices…  Well let’s just say sometimes silence can be golden.

I read a lot of articles on the death of the silent protagonist.  These articles talk about how players want their characters to talk.  Some reviewers even give a game a lower score if the main character doesn’t have a voice.  While I think that Nathan Drake is a phenomenal character (and Nolan North, while he voices almost every character in every game that comes out, is a pretty talented voice actor) he is his own person.  The Drakes, Kratoses, Ezios and Solid Snakes of the world are their own characters.  There is no room for the player to think for them.  No place for the player to actually BE the character.

Some of the most popular characters in video games are the strong, silent type.  One of the first, and best, examples that comes to mind is Link from The Legend of Zelda series.  When I play these games, especially the latest game Skyward Sword, it really draws me in and gives me that heroic feeling.  I make the decisions.  And believe me it’s probably better if they kept Link silent.  Their attempts at giving him a voice in the 80s cartoon and the CD-i games didn’t pan out all too well.  It probably makes Zelda happy too.  She gets no argument from him when she wants to go shopping.

Next to Link, there’s Mario.  He’s as popular as Mickey Mouse, and barely says a thing.  He just goes about his business, rescuing women from giant turtles and monkeys.  Mario does say a few things here or there, but for the majority of the time you’re playing you are an Italian plumber from Brooklyn.  The few things he says though are in a stereotypical Italian accent.  My entire family is Italian and NO ONE sounds like that.  But since Jersey Shore has already ruined the image of Italians everywhere, Mario has nothing to worry about.

Then there’s Crono from the RPG Chrono Trigger.  He doesn’t say a word for the 100+ hours you can put into that game, but his character stands out among the strongest in video game history.  And before someone can cry out that my examples might be a little aged, consider this:  the only talking your character in Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim does is a whole lot of shouting.  The player decides on the conversations.  The character doesn’t drive the story as much.

I believe that keeping the protagonist silent, depending on the storyline of course, can be an asset

to a game.  Again, it gives the player a level of immersion that they can’t achieve if their character does all of the talking and makes all of the decision for them.  When it comes to iconic characters, such as Link, who have gone 25+ years without a voice, why try and give them one?  The results can be a big disaster.  Look at Metroid: Other M.  The developers took one of the most bad ass characters in video games (and the one this column is based on) and made her talk.  What could have been a genius idea turned into a disaster.  Instead of making Samus cool, calculating and oozing with ass-kickery, they made her submissive and whiny (check out some videos on YouTube and you’ll see what I mean.  The videos are rather lengthy and loaded with inner monologues and nonsense).  It seemed to me she set women back a hundred years.  I hope that when they decide to make another Metroid game they keep Samus quiet as a mouse and just let her actions speak for her.

One game that does give the main character a voice and the player a feeling of control and immersion, and does it without cutting corners or coming off cheesy, is Mass Effect.  The player builds their Commander Shepherd from the ground up.  Even though Shepherd does the talking, the player is given the choice on how Shepherd acts in a conversation.  So both sides are happy.  Those who like to be in control get to and those who want a talking character get that as well.  It’s similar to a “choose-your-own-adventure” story.  The words are there, the majority of the story is pre-determined, but the reader [read: player] has a fair amount of control over the events and the outcome.

To be clear, I don’t have a problem with the main character having a voice.  For story purposes, sometimes it’s necessary.  But, it needs to be done right.  The voice needs to fit the character.  Heck, I bet Nolan North could have done a better job as Samus.  The creators need to be careful when it comes to letting their main character speak.  When it’s done right Mass Effect) the results can be beautiful.  When it is done wrong (Metroid: Other M) it can be a disaster.  Of course, there are the rare occasions when the voice acting is so bad it’s good such as the original Resident Evil.

I hope for the sake of video games that the silent protagonist doesn’t die.  Not every character needs to have a voice.  We as gamers are their voice.  We are in control.  We call the shots.

Just In Bailey –an homage to the secret code from Metriod, which allowed you to play as Samus Aran without her suit– is an editorial column at Vagary.TV brought to you by Joey Alesia. Each week Joey will challenge you to look at a different perspective of the characters, gameplay, and/or plot in your favorite games. Chat up your thoughts below, or send Joey an e-mail at Joey.Alesia@vagary.tv

 

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Vagrant Gamers #2 – Rapalogical Ghetto Science

By
Jeremy Goodson
– November 22, 2011Posted in: Shows, Vagrant Gamers

This week I’m joined by Ryan Kenward, the Owner and Mastermind behind Vagary.TV and Magnus Risebro, our resident Norwegian/Swede. We go a little over-time, but we had a great conversation.

Today’s Topics Include:

-What we're playing
**Word from our Sponsors*** (Thanks Jay Jay and Zusker!)
-Main topics:
  - MW3 Launch and our Impressions
  - TOR NDA Drops
  - Skyward Sword releases tomorrow
-On the Site:
  - Joey's Just In Bailey - Achievments
  - 3D Reviews (Thanks NVidia!)
  - n00bketeers 83, Perfectly Sane Show 70, Movie Dudes 23
  - Reviews:
    - LotR: War of the North
    - Super Mario 3D Land
    - Goldeneye Reloaded
-Shout Outs
 - www.websiteinahour.com
Theme Music by our very own Magnus Risebro
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E-mail Us!: Podcast@vagary.tv
   –Let me know what you liked, what you didn’t like, and features you’d like to see on a future show, and of course any comments or questions for this or an upcoming show!
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Follow us on Twitter:
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Website (for all of your upto the minute article updates): @vagarytv
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Jeremy (me): @_JWGoodson
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Please feel free to comment below as well! We love feedback!
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You can now find us on iTunes! Just search Vagrant Gamers!
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Listen here for now:

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PC Review: Tropico 4

By
Tony Odett
– November 14, 2011Posted in: PC, Reviews

Had I been born in the Caribbean, I would have been destined for dictatorship. With my dashing good looks, brilliant mind, and iron will, I could have rivaled Fidel Castro with my own little island paradise to control. Sadly, I was born in America, and am forced to live out my parallel future in a gem of a game called Tropico 4.

Tropico 4 is a unique twist on the city building sim. Instead of building some continental urban metropolis within the confines of a larger nation, you’re given an island to rule as you see fit. Sure, you’re still building power plants, residential buildings and such, but your level of control extends to all walks of life. Does a peasant disagree with your rule? Throw them in jail. Is a professor plotting sedition? Have them executed. Is the military about to stage a coup? Buy them off.

Factories make beachfront even more pleasant.

The game’s greatest strength is the wide variety of possible play styles.  You could cater to the needs of your people, focusing on making them as happy as possible. You could construct of tourist paradise, or become a paragon of industry, or export your island’s natural resources. It’s even possible to build your island on weapon’s trading.  I tended to bounce around a bit with my economy, but I really favored military dictatorship to rule my people. The game includes a host of factions for your island, from the intellectual elite and the communists, to staunch loyalists and pesky environmentalists. Instead of bending over backwards to please them all, I elected to focus on building large military forces and convinced my simple island folk that my way was the best way of doing things. The fact that this is a viable strategy in any game is astounding, and here it works with dramatic effect. The oppressed people will occasionally rebel, and a bloody battle over some particular object in your domain will ensue. If you have enough soldiers, your victory will be assured.

Your island is part of a global economy, and you are forced to deal with other powers on the world stage. Foremost are the United States and the Soviet Union. Anger either one too much, and troops will land to end your reign.  This was an issue in Tropico 3, but Tropico 4 also adds additional power. Lesser powers include China and the Middle East, who are important in trade but lack the strength to actually attack your island. Really, I failed to see the effect of this addition. Often, when choosing sides in a political dispute, you will be left with opting between one of the great powers that could oust you from power, and one that you only have to deal with in trade. This made a lot of the political events really trivial decisions.

Surf's up!

New to this iteration of Tropico are natural disasters. I have to admit having dreams about the tsunami event in the game, as it was rather impressively shown off. The effects can range from insignificant damage from a tornado or earthquake to the destruction of nearly every building on your island. As awful as the latter result sounds, in the grand scheme, it’s really not so bad, as the United Nations will pour money into your island so that you can fix everything that was broken. This makes disasters an interesting diversion, but one that will delay (and not destroy) your efforts to rule your island.

If I have to commend Tropico 4 on anything above all else, it is the stellar tutorial. It has become far too commonplace for strategy games to offer insufficient tutorials, leaving the player to scour forums and strategy guides for advice. Tropico 3 suffered from this mentally as well, which is what made it refreshing to see the focus on teaching in this new effort. The game walks you through not only how to navigate the map and build buildings, but also goes into depth explaining how the various items interrelate. You end the tutorial not merely knowing how to play the game, but the fundamentals of building an economy. My first few play sessions of Tropico 3 ended in dismal bankruptcy and failure, so it was nice to be able to play around and feel like I actually had some sense of what I was doing.

Tropico 4 offers a refreshing change of pace to the slate of fall gaming releases. If you have never had the pleasure of playing a Tropico game, I highly recommend you take this one out for a spin.  If you highly enjoyed 3, Tropico 4 will provide you with new content (though the two are very, very similar), and a campaign which allows interrelate missions, as you build Tropico into a veritable Caribbean empire. Detractors should probably stay away, as the fundamentals of Tropico 3 are still dominant in the gameplay. But then, suddenly there aren’t any detractors. Perhaps, perhaps, someone has made them “disappear.”

Now... let's PARTY!!!

Pros: Ruling an island with iron first, fall release that isn’t a shooter, amazing tutorial

Cons: Very similar to Tropico 3, sound track is way too short for a game with many hours of play

4* out of 5

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Review: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD

By
Magnus Risebro
– November 14, 2011Posted in: PS3, Reviews, Xbox 360

Chris here is in for frustration when he realizes those grenade rounds were meant for a boss two hours down the line.

The Resident Evil series is a funny old tale. Both a symbol of Japanese ingenuity and of Japanese gaming industry rut, the series has broken through one moment and broken down the next. The 1996 original made such an impression with its precisely crafted atmosphere, dual story campaigns, zombie dogs, Jill Sandwiches, hardcore item management, and doors being locked from the other side that Capcom seemed to have felt the way forward for the series was to turn everything up to 11 rather than to re-innovate. Indeed, it was not until Resident Evil 4 in 2005 that the series got some much-needed revitalization.

Even at its 2000 launch Code Veronica was hardly forward-thinking, and this HD re-polish does almost nothing to accommodate the decade of advancement that has since occurred in videogames. So despite a still-strong atmosphere, sense of place and flashes of ingenuity, Code Veronica feels clunky and plodding in too many of its elements.

Anything that constitutes “gameplay” is either dry, frustrating, or a combination of the two. Stripping away atmosphere, story and nicely designed environments leaves Code Veronica as a game of bringing key item A to keyhole B while making sure you fill your six/eight-slot inventory with the right combination of power weapons, normal weapons and health items. Figuring out which key to bring to which keyhole is either obvious or trial & error, seldom logic. The combat is never challenging, it’s only a matter of having a correctly managed inventory. If you do, it’s piss-easy, if you don’t, you either die or lose enough health/ammo to warrant reloading a save. Don’t even think of trucking on without those resources, as it’s very possible to save yourself into a no-ammo, no-healing items corner, forcing a full restart. The only real way to be skillful at Code Veronica is to have played it already, and if you haven’t, regularly reloading saves is a necessity. Great fun, repetition does not make.

You’ll push (and re-push) through this gameplay by means of Resident Evil’s infamous “tank controls”, whose presence in this game is utterly nonsensical. See, the original Resident Evil had these controls because there was no other decent way to navigate shifting pre-rendered backgrounds. Those pre-rendered backgrounds were there because the original Playstation couldn’t handle a fully 3D environment of the detail the game required. Code Veronica, however, launched on the Dreamcast and subsequently has polygonal graphics. Yet, bizarrely, the uncontrollable camera angles stay the same. They might occasionally pan, turn and zoom, but the controls of old remain, ensuring no player movement ever goes smoothy.

The framing for the gameplay hardly excels either. Opening with some cheesy, grimy CG, the plot centers on Claire and Chris Redfield discovering an organ of the Umbrella corporation headed by a cartoonishly evil aristocratic family. True to tradition, the voiceacting and script are both horrendous. Though not featuring classic lines of the “Master of Unlocking” calibre, cringe-fans will find plenty to enjoy here nonetheless, specifically in the astoundingly awkward interactions between Claire and supporting character Steve. Even when separated from the dialogue, the plot is uninteresting, not that it’s a signifanct bother.

Though the central narrative is trite, the world in which it takes place is as great as it tends to be in Resident Evil. Every location is designed with masterful nuance, instilling a sense of discomfort through audio and visual design that inspires images far more disturbing than the game’s reality. The eerie ting of flies hitting against a glass lamp and the steam-filled concrete corridors dotted with shadowy corners will sculpt in your mind a monster that no amount of health-spray or flame grenade rounds can slay. But instead, the game presents a monster easily taken down with a shotgun and some corner-camping techniques. Oh well.

In Resident Evil: Code Veronica X HD (gotta love them Capcom titles), enjoyable moments are the exception, tedium is the rule. It might be a worthwhile pursuit and purchase for historic or nostalgic purposes, but otherwise, it’s difficult to enjoy with any consistency.

Pros: Thick atmosphere, brilliant level design

Cons: Consistently clunky and tedious gameplay

2 out of 5

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PC Review: A Game of Thrones: Genesis

By
Jeremy Goodson
– October 20, 2011Posted in: PC, Reviews

Much can be said about George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series; G-Rated is not one of those things. On the other hand, if you thought murder, treachery, deceit, gratuitous sex, bloody battles, and an epic storyline are what you expect, then you are on the right track; This is what makes the series so intriguing.

I have to admit, I was a bit scared when I heard they were making into a TV show. Luckily, my fears were quickly put to rest right as the first episode started playing. But if the idea of a TV show made me weary, the idea of a video game would have been horrifying.

Cyanide Studios took a huge risk in taking one of the most renowned series of our time and turning it into a video game. Had they screwed it up, it could have completely blown up in their faces. I’m glad that I get the privilege and opportunity to report that not only did Cyanide NOT screw up the game, they put together a top notch prequel completely worthy of the Game of Thrones title.

Let me just start by saying that this game is definitely not for someone who wants an easy ride. In fact, GoT:G is probably one of the hardest games I’ve ever played. Maybe it’s because I’m not incredibly adept to RTS type games, but I had a hard time making it through this game. I lost…a lot. At first it was a bit annoying but then, when I did manage to pull off a win, the level of satisfaction that I felt was astounding. I wanted to keep playing just to prove to myself that I could beat the next mission and move forward with the story.

The main concept, while it does involve many, many epic battles, is more of spying, trickery, and deceit. One of your main goals –which gains you map awareness– is to infiltrate neutral cities and get them to join your side. Or, if that doesn’t work, you can make a secret pact with said cities in order for them to help you, while tricking your enemies into thinking that they’re helping them. This was probably my favorite part of the game.

You can also send a spy into your enemy’s main city and have them pay off someone to work for you. I loved being able to have my enemy build a unit that was actually on my side. How awesome is having your own personal double agent? I could actually trick my opponent into hiring an envoy to go out and make deals with cities which would give me an advantage. I have never seen this concept before in any game that I’ve played. It is truly unique.

The main reason that I wanted to be able to do this review in the first place was kind of selfish of me. I’m a huge fan of the world of Westeros that George R. R. Martin created. The details and complexity of the story arc are phenomenal. He is not afraid to write characters that you hate and he is not afraid to kill off anyone, and I mean ANYONE. Since I’m so intrigued by the main lore that is already out there in the books and TV series, I could not pass up the chance to learn more about the backstory, and that’s what this game does best.

A Game of Thrones: Genesis is not about anything you may have read in the A Song of Ice and Fire series. Instead, it gives you a chance to play through, and see first hand, how the land of Westeros was shaped over the few hundred years before the fiction in the books took place. In this aspect, Cyanide Studios —with some help from Martin himself– has delivered beautifully. Anyone who is a fan of the series needs to play this game and experience it for themselves.

Even though I’m a fan, I have to be honest; A Game of Thrones: Genesis is not for everyone. I wish I could say it was, but the biggest setback is that the game is hard..really hard. There were a few campaigns that took me more than a couple of tries to get through. To me, the struggle was worth it. I love hard games, especially ones that make me feel like I’ve accomplished something when I finish it. The battles can definitely be described as epic, especially as you get into the late game. For those that want more of the “easy street” approach to games, this one is not for you.

With that said, though, I do highly recommend this game. If you’re a fan of either the Game of Thrones television show that was on HBO or the groundbreaking A Song of Ice and Fire series, you will love the storytelling of this game. It’s a great supplement while waiting on the next book…and who knows how long that will take to get out? Also, if you’re a fan of RTS games and don’t mind a challenge, the game delivers astonishingly well in this area as well.

A Game of Thrones: Genesis does an excellent job of taking all of the aspects that the series embodies and playing them out on your computer monitor. If that sounds like something you can get into, them by all means go out and buy this game. There is so much more I want to say about everyting, but they all seem like spoilers. It is really something that you have to experience for yourself to really get the full feel of it all. There is also definitely some good replay value, as you can play the game with or against other players as well adding a whole new element of the game into the mix that I didn’t even get a chance to hit on. And I mean, seriously, who doesn’t want to betray their best friend and pillage his land or team up and take over the Seven Kingdoms for themselves? The opportunities are endless.

Pros:

–Great Story

–Epic Battles

–Fun Gameplay with some new twists

–Great Replayability

–Did I mention the story?

Cons:

–Very Challenging

–Slow Start and may take a bit to get into if you’re not there for the Story at first

Overall Score: 4/5

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EA announces Starbreeze-developed Syndicate title

By
Magnus Risebro
– September 12, 2011Posted in: News, PC/Mac, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

After years of rumors, it has finally been confirmed that Swedish developer Starbreeze, responsible for the highly-regarded The Chronicles of Riddick games, is working on an adaptation of the classic strategy title Syndicate, to be published by EA.

Syndicate was a 1993 isometric real time strategy game set in a cyberpunk future where one would command a company’s agents in covert operations against rival companies. The game got an expansion pack and a 1996 sequel but since then no new titles bearing the Syndicate name have been released.

According to a recent press-release, the new Syndicate is, predictably, not an RTS, but a “unique and brutal sci-fi first-person shooter experience”. It does seem to borrow the setting from its father though, as the press-release states it is “set in a not too distant future, where business is a war”. As is the case with many FPS games players will have access to a few tricks to use against their enemies besides guns:

Through DART 6 bio-chip technology implanted in their head, players can slow down time and breach the digital world around them to take down their foes using a variety of upgradable hacking mechanics

Reminds me of a certain other cyberpunk game set in a corporation-run world...

Fans of the original Syndicate may shake their head at the series becoming an FPS, but EA Partners Executive Producer Jeff Gamon stresses that “Our goal with Syndicate is to provide a challenging action shooter for today’s gamers, as well as fans of the original. I’m sure they will enjoy and recognize the legacy that made it such a classic”.  Whether this is empty PR appeasement or representative of the final product remains to be seen.

The game is also set to include a 4-player co-op experience which will feature “missions from the original cult classic, which adds another layer of depth to the overall experience”.

Syndicate is slated for release in early 2012 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.

Sources: Official EA press-release, screenshots from Computerandvideogames.com.

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Gamescom 2011: Binary Domain Preview

By
Magnus Risebro
– August 20, 2011Posted in: Event Blogs, PlayStation 3, Previews, Xbox 360

Upon first glimpse of Binary Domain, you’d be forgiven for a shrug and a disinterested facial expression. Dudes in armor carrying assault rifles, attaching their backs to flat surfaces and leaning around them to blast robots in ruined cityscapes. Whoop-de-doo.

Beyond the unexciting surface however, Binary Domain presents some very good arguments for why you ought to care about it: First of all, the pedigree behind the game is highly respectable:

Much of the creativity responsible for the ever-loved Yakuza series are developing it, promising for the quality of the narrative. Second, Binary Domain has some legitimately cool tricks up it’s sleeve (more on those later). Finally, the aforementioned wall-hugging, robo-blastin’ action looks to be reassuringly solid, surpassing most of its cover-based shooter peers.

Binary Domain is set in a 2080‘s Tokyo where robots make up a large part of society, both as servants and as regular citizens. Trouble starts when so-called “hollow children” – ‘bots that look and act indistinguishable from humans, and think themselves to be one – start appearing around the world. Robots like these are strictly illegal, so a black-ops team consisting of the player and his squad-mates is sent into Tokyo to infiltrate a corporation suspected of producing hollow children. The metropolis is divided into halves, the post-apocalyptic slums of the undercity, and the clean, utopian overcity. As one might expect, the game will take you through both.

The demonstration I was shown featured a three-man team composed of average Joe-Soldier, Sniper-Girl, and a preposterous French gentleman robot  fighting their way into the upper city, gunning down security bots in an attempt to get through a train-station. This black ops team is apparently so deeply “black” that even Tokyo’s security forces are unwarned of their arrival, meaning they must be blown to bits in the name of greater good. And get blown to bits they did, courtesy of cool hit location-specific damage.

Shoot a bot in the legs, and he’ll crawl towards you, blow one arm off, and he’ll be unable to reload, score a headshot, and their electronic brains will fail to tell ally from foe, targeting every animate object in sight.

Speaking of electronic brains, the enemy AI seemed unusually clever, using squad-tactics such as covering allies taking point, as well as being wary to stay in cover. Enemies also reacted convincingly to rough and sudden amputation of limbs by means of machine gun, drastically changing tactics depending on whether legs and arms were in place.

However, Binary Domain’s most interesting quirk was neither the robo-destruction nor the AI, but the trust system, a cool take on the morality/conversation systems found in other games. Instead of only influencing the direction of the story when making concrete choices and selecting dialogue options, moment-to-moment combat will push the narrative in different directions, specifically with regards to how your team-members view and treat you. Revive them when they get downed, lead the way upon request, and play cooperatively, and they will return the favors. Disregard their pleas for help and cooperation, and you will score less assists and more kills, boosting your XP for character-building purposes, but sinking your allies’ trust levels.

In addition to being affected by your performance in combat, trust will also be influenced by navigation traditional dialogue trees, exemplified when Sniper-Girl complained about Joe Soldier’s dickish behavior during a firefight. Shrugging her complaint off with an arrogant remark, her trust level fell even further. A cool touch is that the different characters you will have in your squad as the game progresses will react differently to various kinds of behavior. Some might trust you more for constant aggression and lack of helpfulness.

As western as all this squad-based cover-shooting and tactical robot dismemberment sounds, Binary Domain is distinctively Japanese outside moment-to-moment combat. For example, the story, like other high-concept Japanese videogame stories, is rendered with ridiculous melodrama, quirk and heavy-handedness (check out the story trailer to see what I mean). This was apparent in the aforementioned complaint from Sniper-Girl, who’s tone and wording sounded nothing like how you’d imagine a professional special-ops soldier to act. Not to mention, one of your teammates is a robot with a cartoony French accent and gentlemanly mannerisms dropping lines like “A worthy opponent, a most formidable enemy!” and ridiculously over-congratulating you on being great when his trust level is high.

But if you, like me, can stomach and even appreciate this kind of quirkiness mixed with heavy melodrama about the human soul and whatnot in your third-person shooters (in other words; if you enjoy Metal Gear Solid), then the story should be right up your alley.

It’s true that the core gameplay in Binary Domain is not revolutionary in the least but compelling storytelling and some neat tricks combined with good execution of tried and true gameplay has in the past produced some fantastic games. And so far, Binary Domain seems to be fulfilling all the above criteria.

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Gamescom 2011: Super Mario 3D Land Preview

By
Magnus Risebro
– August 19, 2011Posted in: Magnus' Blog, Nintendo 3DS/DSi/DS, Previews

3D Mario titles have not resembled their 2D brethren much in the past. The immediate, twitchy feel of the iconic plumber’s side-scrolling outings is not very present in Super Mario 64, Sunshine, or the Galaxy games. Those games have a far slower, more careful feel, which is natural given the imprecision of 3D games compared to 2D ones. With Super Mario 3D Land, it seems Nintendo are trying to fuse gameplay styles old and new, which ideally would mean a game which is both easy to pick up and play and deep enough to warrant spending precious sofa-time on. Judging from the four-level demo I played here at Gamescom, the game leans heavily on the pick-up-and play angle, with short levels and uncomplicated gameplay.

Though it plays in 3D, it is very dissimilar to the aforementioned 3D Mario’s. For starters, big, open worlds like Bob-Omb Battlefield are replaced by linear paths consisting largely of floating platforms, the closest relation to which would be the more platform-y sections in Sunshine and Galaxy. But where those parts were challenging and fast-paced, what I played was a touch plodding. I never got that edge-of-your seat sense of platforming-peril present in the SNES and NES Mario games. That’s not necessarily an issue, Mario 64 and Galaxy don’t really have that feel either, but they compensate with intricate, explorable worlds chock-full of interesting stuff, and 3D Land, as far as I can see, lacks this.

The four levels I played had no brain-bending platforming concepts, interesting enemies, or other significant thrills. The closest it got was a take on the Airship Fortresses from Bros. 3, and even that required far less platforming and projectile-dodging skill than the originals. Super Mario 3D Land is not fast-paced, satisfyingly challenging or precise like older Mario’s, and neither is it grandiose and clever like the 3D ones. It’s stuck in a rather dry middle ground. Simply put, the demo of the game was not particularly fun or interesting, a severe disappointment for a new “true” Mario game, something we don’t get too often. Sure, it felt nicely polished the way most Nintendo games do, with smooth framerate, colorful environments, and nice animation.

It works, and it works well, but what it does fails to engage much.

It could well be that these levels were intentionally simplistic and plain for demo purposes, and that more interesting stages appear in other parts of the game, but if this demo is anything to judge by, Nintendo fans are in for  an unexpected disappointment.

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Halo Anniversary Single-Player Preview

By
Magnus Risebro
– August 19, 2011Posted in: Previews, Xbox 360

It’s no secret that Halo: Combat Evolved shaped the 21st Century shooter. Just one year before Halo’s launch, Perfect Dark was the finest example of a console FPS. It says something that a decade later, Halo remains as playable as it was in 2001; while Perfect Dark feels like it should be locked away in the 90’s Nostalgia-closet right alongside Spice Girls and Rugrats. Halo still feels fresh because most contemporary shooters still have it to thank for elements we take for granted nowadays. Recharging health, the grenade-button, and being limited to two weapons are just a few highlights in Halo’s legacy.

The announcement of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary at E3 this year surprised no-one, it was an apt time for a remake, and it would ensure Xboxers aren’t left with a Spartan-free year before the launch of Halo 4 in 2012.

I was recently given a behind-closed doors demonstration of the game that, while hands-off only, gave me some insight into the finer details of the remake. Like previously announced by 343, Anniversary’s campaign does not run on the Reach engine, but on a modified version of the original Combat Evolved engine. This is either a disappointment or a relief depending on your level of nostalgia for the original. 343 Executive Producer Dan Ayoub was quick to justify this decision to me, arguing that it ensures the game feels the way it did back then, but I’m personally skeptical.

Halo’s AI, enemy numbers, and general combat model has improved greatly with later iterations.  It was almost a shame that Reach’s impeccable combat was wasted on a campaign that, while entertaining, did not match earlier Halo games in terms of pacing, narrative and atmosphere. Playing through Combat Evolved’s campaign, which for my money is the best in the series, with Reach’s near-perfect combat would have been a dream come true. As it is, animation, enemy-behaviour, as well as the number of enemies will be identical to that of Halo:CE. It seems, ironically, combat has not evolved.

Having said that, using the old engine does allow for a rather cool, and much-touted, feature: The ability to switch between the old and new at any point. In classic mode, the game looks exactly like it did ten years ago, albeit running in lovely widescreen. But at the touch of a button, foliage, sharper textures, shaders, and other snazzy effects are painted into the world.

This was beautifully shown off in the demonstration, where I was presented a personal favorite level: 343 Guilty Spark. Starting off in classic mode, the demo took us through the opening stages of the murky swamp, which looked good… or so I thought until it switched to the new graphics. Suddenly glowing, “Avatar-esque” foliage was everywhere. The rather unconvincing, jarring fogginess of the original level was replaced by a smooth haze, and the once-flat textures popped with new detail and strengthened color.

Halo:CE:A looks good. Not just in comparison to the original, but by the standards of the competition. Sure, the polygon-count and texture-resolution of the environments might not quite match the most technically advanced of games, but Halo’s ever-brilliant art direction makes up for that tenfold.

The final, and perhaps most interesting point of the presentation was the terminals. When playing in the new mode, one will be able to access terminals that function much like those of Halo 3, relaying exposition to the player. However, the terminals in Anniversary have a crucial difference: Instead of scrolling blocks of cryptic text (that would frustratingly disappear before one finished reading it), the terminals now present slickly-edited videos. I was shown the first one of these terminals, which depicted The Monitor warning The Pillar of Autumn crew to not approach Halo, then, as he assumably discovers humans are the descendants of the Forerunners, welcoming them. According to Dan Ayoub, these terminals will also hint towards events of Halo 4, something I’m sure fans of Halo’s fiction will appreciate.

There are too many remakes nowadays. From HD re-releases to “ultimate” editions of already-released games (I’m looking at you, Capcom), I’m sure we can all agree there’s too little fresh blood in the mainstream tier of videogames. Despite this, it’s hard to complain when you’re getting an oldie (a decade is old, right?) as good as Halo, refurbished as well as this. I wait eagerly for November 15th.

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Dragon Age Legends Expands to Google+

By
Don Parsons
– August 12, 2011Posted in: Blogs, Don's Blog, News


In a press release today, it was announced that the “first real game on Facebook” would be one of the first real games on Googles new social network, Google+.

“We’re very excited to be among the first games launching on Google’s new social project. It’s an honor to join Google in celebrating the birth of their gaming platform on Google+ by expanding Dragon Age Legends to an even wider audience,” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, Co-founder of BioWare, and General Manager of the BioWare Label at EA.

Questing, looting, and growing your kingdom alongside your Google+ friends is just the start. You’ll also be involved in customizing and upgrading your character in order to fend off demons and Dark Spawn on your quest to becoming a legend in the Dragon Age realm. If that’s not enough, the social network game also features player-versus-player combat.

Being one of the first Google+ games, are you excited to try out games on the new social gathering from Google? How do you feel about Google+ entering the realm of gaming in general? Leave us a comment and let us know.

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