It’s not enough to simply win a match in Left 4 Dead.  No, you have to take it one step further, “secure your ultimate victory” some might say.  The true mark of a pro is one who can not only beat the other team, but cause them to ragequit as well.

Yes, ragequit.  If you can induce the other team to quit the match out of sheer rage, you are a true pro.  Some might say that intentionally attempting to cause such a hostile action is unsportsmanlike, but I would argue that polite, sportsmanlike conduct has no place outside of gaming leagues.  Indeed, this is the raw, unfiltered Internet, full of angsty preteens (playing an M rated game), social outcasts, and that guy who always quits after playing as Infected.  No, they deserve it, so troll away.

(continue reading…)

Who doesn’t remember Goldeneye on the N64? Well except for those who never played it. Answer: Almost no one. I’m sure that most of you that played Rare’s Goldeneye back in the day remember the good times in the campaign and in multiplayer, and with a good purpose too. Goldeneye was one of the most revolutionary console first person shooters ever released. Not only that though, the game was outrageously fun with friends.

Now that Microsoft owns Rare, and you have Banjo Kazooie on Xbox Live, with Banjo Tooie coming in April, you’d expect there would be some kind of project happening regarding Goldeneye, like there was a project involving Perfect Dark. If you did expect it, you were right, if you didn’t..  well there were plans. Sadly the project was started then aborted due to some shit regarding Nintendo having a sore ass wanting some funds out of it. Of course that has come and pass, and even though I really wish it had happened, there’s not much a person can do about it.

Let’s move on now to Goldeneye Source, a clever remake of Goldeneye made by some fine gentlemen using the Source engine. The beta has already been released, and frankly from what I can see, the remake is amazing. Only multiplayer at the moment, but hell, even that is awesome. There is some speculation that singleplayer may be worked upon in the future, and if this is made true, then my dreams will be fulfilled.

My only worry about this project is that Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation have exclusive rights to the James Bond franchise, and in the past there has been some legal issues with obtaining rights to the franchise. Not to mention that Rare owns intellectual rights to the game itself.  I can tell you this much though, if these gentlemen were to pay royalties to the folks over at the UAC, they’d be paying a pretty penny. Anyhow, here’s to hoping that Goldeneye Source continues grow and develop into more than it already is, and here’s hoping that I buy Half-Life 2 sometime to access it as well as other mods.

My apologies for not laying down any more beats just now:  I’ve been having some problems which make it difficult for me to write music.  I can still type though (Albeit slowly), so I may as well write something.

Inspired by Goldanas talking about naked ladies, I would like to talk about sex.  Video games are still a relatively new medium, especially when it comes to games with a narrative.  We’ve come a long way since ‘Save the princess’ was our only goal, our only reason for existing as a pixelated avatar.  Of course, along with narrative comes an increase in fanservice, which, considering that the market is aimed mainly toward teenage and young adult males, tends to come in the form of, well, naked ladies.

(continue reading…)

The streets are flowing with the blood of the innocents, two sides are fighting to what seems an everlasting war, a war that rages on for only a few years, yet they have the same goal – to entertain. Yeah, to entertain ungrateful people who think there is a war between the casual and hardcore gaming market. There’s a lot of gripe lately on how the casuals (the games and the people) are killing the gaming industry. To tell truth, the hardcore consumers are as much to blame as the casual ones. (continue reading…)

The rise of technology with the industrial revolution came about the assembly line, often used in factories to quickly make, build, and send off the factory’s product; be it cars, electronics, weapons, and even video games. The same and formulaic games often do seem like they just came hot off the assembly line that they get their very own genre beneath what they suppose to be – The WWII shooter, The Hack n Slash, Shovelware, etc. Of course with the Wii being the new fangled device that everyone must have and Nintendo being at the zenith of profits came about the truckload of shovelware. That is, the current trend, and trends come and go so the factories need to replace their rubber stamps to fit the new trend of games they must shovel out.
(continue reading…)

In my opinion Need for Speed games have always been about fun. The thrill of a cop chase or a final NOS boost across the finish line rarely fails to deliver a hardy amount of satisfaction and enjoyment. Perhaps it’s the rubber-band AI that keeps me on the edge of my seat, or the customization that can occupy me for hours. Although one thing is for sure, NFS seems to have aged a whole lot recently, and developed a nasty case of arthritis and schizophrenia.  

In 2002 I welcomed the shiny new NFS: Hot pursuit 2 into my life, although delivering a somewhat satisfactory experience I certainly wasn’t complaining. That same year saw the release of the hit street racing, car tuning popular movie The Fast and the Furious. EA having just released their sixth NFS game possibly made the greatest decision ever. They put 1 and 1 together by applying the popular elements of the movie and shoving them straight into their next game, NFS: The Fast and the Furious Underground. This wise move ascended the NFS franchise into what I like to refer to as the Golden Age of modern NFS gaming (2003 – 2005). 

(continue reading…)

Part 1 – What Have Wii Become?

I had been aiming to write something like this but found some of the key points I’d touch on already addressed in Alex’s “A Second Video Game Crash?” I suppose I’ve got enough to say that makes it worthy of its own article so without further ado; here is my take on what’s happening in the game industry…TODAY.

While I may not be some sort of untouchable, game industry guru, I, like many of you, carry within me a passion for video games that burns so strongly we believe it can guide us through the stagnant and uncertain time our hobby faces.

The Wii is plagued with shovelware so abundant that some would try and use it to define the system. Microsoft and Sony have been practically offering the same thing they have been for the past few years and while this may not sound like a bad thing to some people, those that have developed the insight to think ahead will see the problem with this sort of planning.

I’m going to focus on matter of the Wii before I address the potential folly of Microsoft and Sony. The Wii has been a ridiculous success. With the least amount of graphical prowess it has become the best selling console, like the PS2 was last generation, and sold so well that Nintendo can even boast that Wii Sports has sold even more than the original Super Mario Bros. On this silver cloud of new exciting things is a dark lining of reluctant publishers and confused developers that are not only unsure how to approach the Wii but don’t seem to understand the audience that have carried it to victory.

(continue reading…)

Have you ever fired a gun in real life? I have. I’ll make this perfectly clear to you.

You cannot, under any circumstance imaginable, run and fire at the same time and hope to be accurate.
It does not work. Period. You arms move, your legs move, your head moves, your body moves. It does not work.

HOWEVER, Resident Evil’s tank controls also do not work. Slowly turning 180 degrees around is not how one operates in real life. If you so desired, you could slightly turn your body, turn your head and reverse your arm. POOF, you can now fire behind you while standing still. The problem with RE’s tank controls is that they create tension due not to the game, but to the crappy controls. The fear comes from knowing the limitations of the controls and knowing that you are at a severe risk of getting cut in half with a chainsaw if you don’t turn fast enough. Hell, even if you do discover the 180 turn function, it’s still not good enough. This is not good gameplay design.

Solution? It’s simple really: Meet me half way.
If a guy is coming at me with a chainsaw, i’m not going to turn around, run, then turn back again, hoping he isn’t right behind me. What RE 5 needs is a limited mobility system. What is that? The ability to WALK and fire. You should be able to strafe (left to right) as well as backpeddle while firing. This gives you the ability to put a bit of distance between you and your enemies while still having a decent ability to fire. Keep in mind, I never said you can’t walk and fire, just run. Of course, this must come with a slight penalty in aiming, something I am sure most people would take the risk with, especially when being chased by a chainsaw zombie.

Unfortunately, the official word is that there is no movement whatsoever. There is strafing, but no firing while strafing. For me, this was a deal breaker. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid 4 spoiled me, or perhaps RE 5 just has terrible controls. I understand that Capcom has a need to appeal to the people who bought Resident Evil 4. Using the same bosses and enemy animations is a good start, but the clunky controls are simply unacceptable, even to someone receptive to new things such as myself. Either way, if you plan on getting it, I sure hope you enjoy it. Don’t expect to do any co-op with me anytime soon though.

I really don’t know how to put this. I’m sorry if I led you on, that wasn’t my intent. I-I just… I just don’t think we’re right for each other anymore. We had some good times I know but- hey don’t do that, it’s not your fault. Don’t cry Nintendo. I mean, we still have the memories right? There were some fantastic things we did together, do you remember that night back in 1990? It was pure magic.

Things started out great. Do you remember how we met? My mom brought you home from the store that day in 1986. I couldn’t have been happier. I know, I know. I was young and naïve. You were new and exciting, a whole new world of possibilities right in front of me. I didn’t know this, but you were already strangling the life out of the people that wanted to make games for you. You just squeezed and squeezed. Your sweetly cruel grip locked down third party developers. They were powerless to make games for other systems. You even made poor Konami open Ultra Games, just so they could deliver you Ninja Turtles and Metal Gear. It was wrong of them to trick you like that, but when you don’t allow game makers but 5 games a year, sometimes drastic steps have to be taken. Even with your veritable monopoly on my gaming experience, my love for you only grew. Late nights sharing you with friends, blowing into your spacious cavities, even your portable model I could take where I pleased only made my fervor for you stronger. I bought you accessories, despite your lack of software support for them. I loved every minute on my Power Pad, though I only had one of your five games for it. Asshole Dog didn’t giggle half as much as I did when shooting cans in Hogan’s Alley. Then, that raven shelled hussy called Genesis threatened to take me away forever.
(continue reading…)

Z-targeting was what helped the first 3D Zelda be a success

Innovation is a hard thing to come by. Are we really running out of ideas? Sure there are some original games out there, but how many Nazis do I have to kill, how many touchdowns do I have to score, and how many times do I have to rescue the princess? I’m not trying to say some of it isn’t not fun, I’ve just noticed it has become the same game each time. Whatever happened to good old innovation?

The transition from 2D to 3D on the Nintendo 64 in most cases was pure genius. You cannot deny how awesome it was to roam Princess Peach’s castle for the first time in all three dimensions, or Z-targetting your first enemy then striking him down with your sword. It was not just Nintendo who achieved this, Sony did it with their blockbuster Metal Gear Solid by breaking the fourth wall and laying the foundation for stealth games for years to come.

Newer attempts at innovation have been scarce (Portal), and some even failed (Lair, Wii Music). What happened? Are we really so money focused that developers have become lazy? This could possibly be to blame on the “casual” market, with games containing simple gameplay and user friendliness. A unique story can add to innovation, just look at Chrono Trigger. Unlike the million Final Fantasy spinoffs, the single Chrono Trigger game has been constantly praised for never aging, and that the story is what sets it apart.

I feel its time for developers to stop and think about what made gaming truly great: fun.