So all of the next-gen consoles are upon us. Well, unless you live in Europe, that is, but regardless, I found the NexGen Wars site (NexGenWars.com) interesting. They claim that the sales data is up to date - I'm not at all sure about it. The "how many people prefer which console" data isn't at all interesting as the site is obviously targeted at the nerdcore. But if the sales data is anywhere close to the truth, it'll be interesting to follow how the market develops, instead of forming your opinion based on separate claims made by the console manufacturers over the next year.
Not surprisingly, the 360 is leading the pack with its year-long headstart (over 7M sold), but the Wii has really gotten off to a running start (over 1M sold), leading Nintendo to speculate that it may well surpass its financial projections for the year. Sony's 400K doesn't sound like much, but of course they did "launch" well before they had the stock to support it. I haven't been following the news that closely, but it seems that Sony is really getting beaten in the massmarket reviews, while Wii is welcomed everywhere.
I'm still fearing that Nintendo goes all Gamecube with Wii, though. Launching a fine console and supporting it with good releases are two different things.
Personally, I'm entrenched in the "wait and see" camp regarding the Playstation 3. It needs quality titles and a lower pricepoint to become desirable. Lacking a PS2, I'm willing to shell out a bit more for the third-gen Playstation, but so far I've heard nothing good. The Wii I'm ready to buy the minute there's a couple of quality titles for it.
Showing posts with label 360. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 360. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Happy birthday Xbox
The Xbox is five years as of today. It really doesn't seem like so many years. Allow me to recall some Xbox moments in my life.
The Xbox party. I went to this Microsoft-sponsored Xbox party, given out by the Pelit magazine. Our crew were all readers of said magazine. It was a hoot, and I think I decided that I needed an Xbox at the event.
Dead Or Alive 3. I could not believe how good DOA3 looked. It still ranks among the top cats, mind. Instalment 4 doesn't have nearly the same impact.
Completing Halo for the first time. I've done it quite a few times since. I lost count, but I imagine I've been through something like five times since. Also, playing Halo in co-op is a unique experience.
Hooking up on Live. I only did this with the 360 this year, but it was a revelation, nonetheless. How easy can you make online gaming?
Losing myself in Morrowind. The Xbox certainly saw many PC ports, which was nice since I couldn't afford a gaming PC. The PC crew may boast about their mod-support all they like, they can't take away my dozens of experiences with Morrowind on TV. Although the bugs did grate.
Listening to my music while carving up a mountain in Amped 2. Customizable playlists are a big thing to me and it's great they've only made them better with the 360. I was so into Amped 2 for some time that whenever I got a new record, I ripped it to the Xbox and listened to it on board.
Kung Fu Chaos. Kung Fu Chaos was the very first item on my Xbox "want" list and I finally got it a month or so ago. It's very good indeed and feels like a fitting goodbye to the console.
I will be playing on my Xbox for a good time to come, but I can't see myself buying very many new games. There are still some titles I want to check out, like Otogi 2, but my heart is very much in the next-gen playground already.
It's also fitting that the five-year old has finally learned how to talk.
GamesIndustry.biz has an article up on this, check it out.
Update: Eurogamer has put together a pretty cool list of quality Xbox titles you probably missed. Handy shopping list if you're picking one up now that they're as cheap as a Gamecube.
The Xbox party. I went to this Microsoft-sponsored Xbox party, given out by the Pelit magazine. Our crew were all readers of said magazine. It was a hoot, and I think I decided that I needed an Xbox at the event.
Dead Or Alive 3. I could not believe how good DOA3 looked. It still ranks among the top cats, mind. Instalment 4 doesn't have nearly the same impact.
Completing Halo for the first time. I've done it quite a few times since. I lost count, but I imagine I've been through something like five times since. Also, playing Halo in co-op is a unique experience.
Hooking up on Live. I only did this with the 360 this year, but it was a revelation, nonetheless. How easy can you make online gaming?
Losing myself in Morrowind. The Xbox certainly saw many PC ports, which was nice since I couldn't afford a gaming PC. The PC crew may boast about their mod-support all they like, they can't take away my dozens of experiences with Morrowind on TV. Although the bugs did grate.
Listening to my music while carving up a mountain in Amped 2. Customizable playlists are a big thing to me and it's great they've only made them better with the 360. I was so into Amped 2 for some time that whenever I got a new record, I ripped it to the Xbox and listened to it on board.
Kung Fu Chaos. Kung Fu Chaos was the very first item on my Xbox "want" list and I finally got it a month or so ago. It's very good indeed and feels like a fitting goodbye to the console.
I will be playing on my Xbox for a good time to come, but I can't see myself buying very many new games. There are still some titles I want to check out, like Otogi 2, but my heart is very much in the next-gen playground already.
It's also fitting that the five-year old has finally learned how to talk.
GamesIndustry.biz has an article up on this, check it out.
Update: Eurogamer has put together a pretty cool list of quality Xbox titles you probably missed. Handy shopping list if you're picking one up now that they're as cheap as a Gamecube.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
XSATA
With Microsoft's outright weird decision to bundle the 360 with a 20GB hard drive (with a mere 12GB free for use!), this Datel product may soon become a common item among the gamer hardcore. I know I'm tempted. It isn't strictly necessary yet, but with TV and movie downloads on the horizon, an easy solution to the storage problem is needed.
There are also relatively straightforward guides to exchanging the 360's HD to a bigger capacity one, but those would all void my warranty.
There are also relatively straightforward guides to exchanging the 360's HD to a bigger capacity one, but those would all void my warranty.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Taking down Las Vegas (Rainbow Six Vegas)
The same night I checked out the very promising Tony Hawk's Project 8, I got to get a taste of the Rainbow Six Vegas demo. I've been a fan of the Tom Clancy's series since Rogue Spear on the PC, and especially the original Ghost Recon I played far too much of.
Put simply and based on the demo, R6 Vegas is the game I always imagined when playing Rogue Spear back in 1999. It looks so good, the animation puts you right in the midst of things, the effects (especially being wounded) are great. The action feels believable and played on the "realistic" setting, there's quite enough of a challenge. After the disappointing but popular Rainbow Six 3 on the original Xbox, I was cautious about this, but I'm a convert. (In case you're wondering, I'm not going to touch Lockdownafter the reviews it got.)
I imagine that this will be a Live hit, too, but the single-player experience feels a very worthwhile effort on its own.
It's a little hard to put your finger on any single facet of the game to explain why it leaves you breathless. The excellent cover mechanic and animation are important, the instantly spot-on controls are certainly a part of it. Ragdolls are done well and you can even collect enemy weapons, always a pet gripe of the series' fans. Facial animation is a big thing, as are the excellent weapons.
Based on demo versions, this is probably the game Ubi was hoping Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter would've been, if it had more time to polish.
Put simply and based on the demo, R6 Vegas is the game I always imagined when playing Rogue Spear back in 1999. It looks so good, the animation puts you right in the midst of things, the effects (especially being wounded) are great. The action feels believable and played on the "realistic" setting, there's quite enough of a challenge. After the disappointing but popular Rainbow Six 3 on the original Xbox, I was cautious about this, but I'm a convert. (In case you're wondering, I'm not going to touch Lockdownafter the reviews it got.)
I imagine that this will be a Live hit, too, but the single-player experience feels a very worthwhile effort on its own.
It's a little hard to put your finger on any single facet of the game to explain why it leaves you breathless. The excellent cover mechanic and animation are important, the instantly spot-on controls are certainly a part of it. Ragdolls are done well and you can even collect enemy weapons, always a pet gripe of the series' fans. Facial animation is a big thing, as are the excellent weapons.
Based on demo versions, this is probably the game Ubi was hoping Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter would've been, if it had more time to polish.
Goddamn! (Tony Hawk's Project 8)
If there was something I felt fairly certain about in the videogaming world, it was that I really was not going to buy another Tony Hawk's title. Underground, in my opinion, was just boring, and its predecessor Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 really had everything I wanted.
Until Tony Hawk's Project 8's demo rolled out in Xbox Live. Skating never felt this good. Sports never felt this good. Indeed, I daresay videogames have very rarely felt this good. I noticed I was breathless after I figured out how to Nail The Tricks.
The new instalment is "next-gen"; it looks a lot better than last-gen skating titles did, but that's not a lot said about a Tony Hawk's title, which never looked that good. The physics are a lot better, but nothing exceptional. Animation, if anything, is truly good. They say the gameworld (naturally, a city) is entirely seamless, which sounds promising. It feels a lot more realistic, with less over the top air.
The new thing is the Nail The Trick mode, which is initiated during any aerial, including your most basic ollie (tap A), by clicking both control sticks. This zooms the view into your feet and deck and engages a very slow motion effect. In Nail The Trick, the sticks no longer control your spin or speed - instead, they directly control your feet, one for each stick. Then you kick the deck to make it spin and time it correctly to land with your deck upright. Naturally, you can combine half-spins and using both feet, kicking the deck into another direction in mid-spin. Everything is directed and animated to perfection.
You use Nail The Trick all the time and it feels sublime. The most basic leap down a curb feels so right when you add a perfectly executed simple spin to it. I couldn't stop doing the basic tricks.
Something comparable can be found in Amped 2's style meters, which encourage balletic, slow arcs, timed to perfection with your landing. Those felt very good, too, but Project 8 finally tops the sensation. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Until Tony Hawk's Project 8's demo rolled out in Xbox Live. Skating never felt this good. Sports never felt this good. Indeed, I daresay videogames have very rarely felt this good. I noticed I was breathless after I figured out how to Nail The Tricks.
The new instalment is "next-gen"; it looks a lot better than last-gen skating titles did, but that's not a lot said about a Tony Hawk's title, which never looked that good. The physics are a lot better, but nothing exceptional. Animation, if anything, is truly good. They say the gameworld (naturally, a city) is entirely seamless, which sounds promising. It feels a lot more realistic, with less over the top air.
The new thing is the Nail The Trick mode, which is initiated during any aerial, including your most basic ollie (tap A), by clicking both control sticks. This zooms the view into your feet and deck and engages a very slow motion effect. In Nail The Trick, the sticks no longer control your spin or speed - instead, they directly control your feet, one for each stick. Then you kick the deck to make it spin and time it correctly to land with your deck upright. Naturally, you can combine half-spins and using both feet, kicking the deck into another direction in mid-spin. Everything is directed and animated to perfection.
You use Nail The Trick all the time and it feels sublime. The most basic leap down a curb feels so right when you add a perfectly executed simple spin to it. I couldn't stop doing the basic tricks.
Something comparable can be found in Amped 2's style meters, which encourage balletic, slow arcs, timed to perfection with your landing. Those felt very good, too, but Project 8 finally tops the sensation. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Phantasy Star Universe beta, Lumines Live outrage
Phantasy Star Universe
So I played one night in the PSU beta on Live. I loved the character creation. I made a chick robot. I like the setting a lot - it's so unpretentious: you have a dedicated shopping mall/lobby, you select a mission and get to it. The unplausible yet aesthetically pleasing mix of fantasy and science fiction appeals to me.
The graphics are lame. They do the job and the design is very good, but you really do expect more on a next-gen console. The visuals are basically Dreamcast era graphics moving smoothly and somewhat smoothed over with anti-aliasing. Textures are poor and the models have nothing going for them... but on the whole, it's a pleasing sight.
Based on that one evening's play, I'm not going to pay the separate online fee Sega is asking for the privilege. There isn't enough variety of stuff to do and for me, the social elements wouldn't be enough, since I definitely wouldn't be hanging online every day.
Lumines Live
Lumines finally came on Live. It caused an uproar. First there was the price of 1200 points (around 14€) and then it turned out that the so-called full game is anything but. There are mere samples of most game modes, with only the time attack and online versus modes completely unlocked for your 1200 points. I could stomach that, if the basic "challenge" mode featured more than seven skins (levels), which is really pushing it. They're going to release a lot more skins for a further 600 points, with individual game mode packs coming later, too.
I can see what they're trying to accomplish here (besides money), and I applaud it. However, the decision to ask for a record-breaking 1200 points for the demo version ("Base") is an unwelcome move. I'd buy the bits and pieces happily if the base pack was a lot cheaper or indeed free.
The game does seem worth of 14€, I really like the demo, but they should never have called it a "full game". Obviously Live Marketplace is a still evolving thing, but incidents like this don't really help people's willingness to indulge in micropayments. And, well, 14€ isn't exactly "micro" in any fashion.
So I played one night in the PSU beta on Live. I loved the character creation. I made a chick robot. I like the setting a lot - it's so unpretentious: you have a dedicated shopping mall/lobby, you select a mission and get to it. The unplausible yet aesthetically pleasing mix of fantasy and science fiction appeals to me.
The graphics are lame. They do the job and the design is very good, but you really do expect more on a next-gen console. The visuals are basically Dreamcast era graphics moving smoothly and somewhat smoothed over with anti-aliasing. Textures are poor and the models have nothing going for them... but on the whole, it's a pleasing sight.
Based on that one evening's play, I'm not going to pay the separate online fee Sega is asking for the privilege. There isn't enough variety of stuff to do and for me, the social elements wouldn't be enough, since I definitely wouldn't be hanging online every day.
Lumines Live
Lumines finally came on Live. It caused an uproar. First there was the price of 1200 points (around 14€) and then it turned out that the so-called full game is anything but. There are mere samples of most game modes, with only the time attack and online versus modes completely unlocked for your 1200 points. I could stomach that, if the basic "challenge" mode featured more than seven skins (levels), which is really pushing it. They're going to release a lot more skins for a further 600 points, with individual game mode packs coming later, too.
I can see what they're trying to accomplish here (besides money), and I applaud it. However, the decision to ask for a record-breaking 1200 points for the demo version ("Base") is an unwelcome move. I'd buy the bits and pieces happily if the base pack was a lot cheaper or indeed free.
The game does seem worth of 14€, I really like the demo, but they should never have called it a "full game". Obviously Live Marketplace is a still evolving thing, but incidents like this don't really help people's willingness to indulge in micropayments. And, well, 14€ isn't exactly "micro" in any fashion.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Profit, weird dream, Burnout Revenge
Profit
This article sheds light on the retailer side of things on the console war front. I was surprised to see how little the retailer makes on the sale of a single console. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but certainly more than $15 for an Xbox 360.
Dream
I had a weird videogame dream last night. There was an article on Eurogamer or Joystiq (both of which I follow daily) that an Insert Credit (which I read irregularly) forumite from Finland (where I live) had declared a competition to come up with four-letter words used as combat phrases in a JRPG. You know, like "ATTK", "PASS" and so on. Can't say what was significant about that. No, I haven't been thinking about JRPG combat phrases lately. Weird. I remember my dreams very rarely.
Burnout Revenge
I got Burnout Revenge for Xbox yesterday. Based on a single sit-down with the game, it's cool enough. None of that darkness I witnessed in the 360 demo, which I dare to guess is an issue with 360 games being designed for HD displays, which are most of the time (back-lit) LCD, not CRT.
The game is entirely in Finnish, which is hilarious. The voice-over doesn't much impress, but otherwise it really brings another level of absurdity to it all. As to why I chose the Xbox version over the 360 version, well, you can't say no to 10€.
It's weird how fast I've become accustomed to the 360 being online all the time. I was so let down that I didn't get to see global leaderboards after a race in Burnout Revenge. And I got no Live achievements for my time investment, what's up with that?
This article sheds light on the retailer side of things on the console war front. I was surprised to see how little the retailer makes on the sale of a single console. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but certainly more than $15 for an Xbox 360.
Dream
I had a weird videogame dream last night. There was an article on Eurogamer or Joystiq (both of which I follow daily) that an Insert Credit (which I read irregularly) forumite from Finland (where I live) had declared a competition to come up with four-letter words used as combat phrases in a JRPG. You know, like "ATTK", "PASS" and so on. Can't say what was significant about that. No, I haven't been thinking about JRPG combat phrases lately. Weird. I remember my dreams very rarely.
Burnout Revenge
I got Burnout Revenge for Xbox yesterday. Based on a single sit-down with the game, it's cool enough. None of that darkness I witnessed in the 360 demo, which I dare to guess is an issue with 360 games being designed for HD displays, which are most of the time (back-lit) LCD, not CRT.
The game is entirely in Finnish, which is hilarious. The voice-over doesn't much impress, but otherwise it really brings another level of absurdity to it all. As to why I chose the Xbox version over the 360 version, well, you can't say no to 10€.
It's weird how fast I've become accustomed to the 360 being online all the time. I was so let down that I didn't get to see global leaderboards after a race in Burnout Revenge. And I got no Live achievements for my time investment, what's up with that?
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Online fees (Phantasy Star Online)
I'm completely happy with paying for Xbox Live Gold. Around 7€ per month is not much and I get a lot for that money.
However, paying for the service makes me extremely wary of paying more for individual games. I was super excited about Phantasy Star Universe, but I find it highly unlikely that I'd pay the further (around) 7€ they're asking. I do understand that online RPGs require money to operate, but publishers (Microsoft included) should understand that the consumer view of things is that they're already paying for the online experience.
In the case of PSU, I'm quite skeptical about the publisher's need for the money, in any case. It's a very simple game. I don't have a clue as to how the load is spread between Microsoft's infrastructure and Sega's (the publisher in this case) - for all I know, they could be just asking for more money for the sake of it. It's not like PSU requires ongoing development, new storylines or whatnot - it's a social dungeon bash.
I predict that the game doesn't sell very well and the community ends up being too small to really sustain itself. I do hope all the best for the game and I'm not saying I'd be immune to its lures despite the additional cost, but the threshold for taking part has suddenly gone way up. Let's just say that without the additional "GUARDIANS License" monthly fee, I'd likely pick this up without a second thought.
However, paying for the service makes me extremely wary of paying more for individual games. I was super excited about Phantasy Star Universe, but I find it highly unlikely that I'd pay the further (around) 7€ they're asking. I do understand that online RPGs require money to operate, but publishers (Microsoft included) should understand that the consumer view of things is that they're already paying for the online experience.
In the case of PSU, I'm quite skeptical about the publisher's need for the money, in any case. It's a very simple game. I don't have a clue as to how the load is spread between Microsoft's infrastructure and Sega's (the publisher in this case) - for all I know, they could be just asking for more money for the sake of it. It's not like PSU requires ongoing development, new storylines or whatnot - it's a social dungeon bash.
I predict that the game doesn't sell very well and the community ends up being too small to really sustain itself. I do hope all the best for the game and I'm not saying I'd be immune to its lures despite the additional cost, but the threshold for taking part has suddenly gone way up. Let's just say that without the additional "GUARDIANS License" monthly fee, I'd likely pick this up without a second thought.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Online leaderboards (feat. Doom), 3D platformers (feat. Sonic), Defcon
Doom
I purchased the 360 version of classic Doom at 800 MS points (roughly 9€). It's a no-frills conversion, exactly what I wanted - no tricks done to the original graphics or sounds, all four episodes, controls work very well. It's a great game. I have one thing to complain about: the map is utterly worthless on a non-HDTV. Really, you need to take the massmarket (like all of Europe) into account when designing your game views.
A couple of things came up during playing the first episode through in one sitting.
First and foremost are the online leaderboards, viewable per level. All games need this feature. It plays straight to my competitive spirit. It feels so good to be the best player among your friends and to, say, finally break the global top-1000.
Leaderboards are what keeps me playing Geometry Wars, too. It bugs me that I'm sitting right on the average level (according to MyGamerCard.net). I need to break that half a million to get above the crowd!
Then there are Doom's controls. As per the original version, there is no Y-axis; you don't aim up and down. The character automatically targets monsters above and below you, provided that they line up with your gun. I'd really like to see a modern shooter do the same. Sure it needs some clever level design (Doom's essentially flat), but it would keep things much more free-flowing and immediate.
I recall the makers of the original Unreal Tournament's Xbox version attempting something in this vain, via level design. I don't know how that worked out, though.
I didn't buy Doom merely because I loved it as a kid. I imagined that it would be a great game, period. And it is. If anything, provided you can look past the low-res graphics, it's even better today. It absolutely wipes the floor with so many modern shooters, despite being released in 1993. The lighting is very effective, the level design is engaging, the overall aesthetic design hasn't aged at all.
Oh, and like reviewer Kristan Reed on Eurogamer put it, this game features bodies which do not disappear. Thirteen years ago. Get with the times, shooter designers.
Sonic: The Hedgehog next-gen
I've said it before and this latest offering only enforces my position: platform games should never have made the jump to 3D presentation. It doesn't work! I tried and tried and tried and simply could not hit the lines of rings with any confidence. The automatically aimed spinning attack does work, but as usual, the camera is worthless (you wouldn't believe how slowly it spins).
There's been a single instance of 3D platforming working well - Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time - but even that one stellar example of the genre had some problems with the camera.
So in a nutshell: kill 3D platformers, kpls.
Allegedly the original Sega Megadrive/Genesis Sonic is coming to XBLA in the near future. That's an almost guaranteed sale right there and I imagine it will work much better than this entirely competent, but by its nature, awkward offering.
Defcon
I've liked Introversion ever since I found Uplink, the awesome hacker game they released in 2001. Their latest release Defcon has generated a lot of hype. The game was released a few days ago and the demo is now out, too, go get it.
I had trouble imagining how the game would play out in practice, but having played through the tutorial, it's all clear now. I've yet to try a full-fledged game, but it's pretty safe to say at this point that it's a sure sale for me (PC hardware permitting, my home machine's ancient). At 14€ for a brand new game, I really can't complain. Although I might go for the boxed copy, which is priced a little higher, but even that's a ridiculous 21€! And it feels good to know that you're paying straight to the developers themselves.
It's also interesting how cool and distinctive Introversion's games look, despite the authors claiming that it's all "programmer art". Their soundscapes are thoughtful, too. I hear that Defcon sports "situation room ambient" consisting of cigarettes lighted, coughs and so on, which is really a magnificent idea. Can't be witness to that myself, yet, because I didn't have audio on the laptop I tried it on.
Update: Defcon runs just fine on my 900 MHZ/512 MB RAM home system. I've taken a beating from the computer twice, now. Well, at least it runs fine with only two players, that is.
I purchased the 360 version of classic Doom at 800 MS points (roughly 9€). It's a no-frills conversion, exactly what I wanted - no tricks done to the original graphics or sounds, all four episodes, controls work very well. It's a great game. I have one thing to complain about: the map is utterly worthless on a non-HDTV. Really, you need to take the massmarket (like all of Europe) into account when designing your game views.
A couple of things came up during playing the first episode through in one sitting.
First and foremost are the online leaderboards, viewable per level. All games need this feature. It plays straight to my competitive spirit. It feels so good to be the best player among your friends and to, say, finally break the global top-1000.
Leaderboards are what keeps me playing Geometry Wars, too. It bugs me that I'm sitting right on the average level (according to MyGamerCard.net). I need to break that half a million to get above the crowd!
Then there are Doom's controls. As per the original version, there is no Y-axis; you don't aim up and down. The character automatically targets monsters above and below you, provided that they line up with your gun. I'd really like to see a modern shooter do the same. Sure it needs some clever level design (Doom's essentially flat), but it would keep things much more free-flowing and immediate.
I recall the makers of the original Unreal Tournament's Xbox version attempting something in this vain, via level design. I don't know how that worked out, though.
I didn't buy Doom merely because I loved it as a kid. I imagined that it would be a great game, period. And it is. If anything, provided you can look past the low-res graphics, it's even better today. It absolutely wipes the floor with so many modern shooters, despite being released in 1993. The lighting is very effective, the level design is engaging, the overall aesthetic design hasn't aged at all.
Oh, and like reviewer Kristan Reed on Eurogamer put it, this game features bodies which do not disappear. Thirteen years ago. Get with the times, shooter designers.
Sonic: The Hedgehog next-gen
I've said it before and this latest offering only enforces my position: platform games should never have made the jump to 3D presentation. It doesn't work! I tried and tried and tried and simply could not hit the lines of rings with any confidence. The automatically aimed spinning attack does work, but as usual, the camera is worthless (you wouldn't believe how slowly it spins).
There's been a single instance of 3D platforming working well - Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time - but even that one stellar example of the genre had some problems with the camera.
So in a nutshell: kill 3D platformers, kpls.
Allegedly the original Sega Megadrive/Genesis Sonic is coming to XBLA in the near future. That's an almost guaranteed sale right there and I imagine it will work much better than this entirely competent, but by its nature, awkward offering.
Defcon
I've liked Introversion ever since I found Uplink, the awesome hacker game they released in 2001. Their latest release Defcon has generated a lot of hype. The game was released a few days ago and the demo is now out, too, go get it.
I had trouble imagining how the game would play out in practice, but having played through the tutorial, it's all clear now. I've yet to try a full-fledged game, but it's pretty safe to say at this point that it's a sure sale for me (PC hardware permitting, my home machine's ancient). At 14€ for a brand new game, I really can't complain. Although I might go for the boxed copy, which is priced a little higher, but even that's a ridiculous 21€! And it feels good to know that you're paying straight to the developers themselves.
It's also interesting how cool and distinctive Introversion's games look, despite the authors claiming that it's all "programmer art". Their soundscapes are thoughtful, too. I hear that Defcon sports "situation room ambient" consisting of cigarettes lighted, coughs and so on, which is really a magnificent idea. Can't be witness to that myself, yet, because I didn't have audio on the laptop I tried it on.
Update: Defcon runs just fine on my 900 MHZ/512 MB RAM home system. I've taken a beating from the computer twice, now. Well, at least it runs fine with only two players, that is.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Guitar Hero 360, the lack of a PS2 and Tenchu Senran, DS
All right, Guitar Hero II is coming to the 360. This is very cool, now there's no pressure to finally get that PS2 I still haven't bought. However, as you can see from the link, the proposed controller looks hideous. That cannot be the finalized product.
PS2
While I'm on the subject, let's see why I still have a craving for a PS2, despite not sating my hunger years ago. I'd like to say why I don't have one yet: because I'm cheap. I haven't been able to justify paying so much for one when the technology is so outdated and Sony are being so arrogant. I know I'll have to, eventually, but I've put it off for a long time, now.
I already have a PS2 game I really want to play: Atari's Transformers.
Then there's a bunch of games I think I need in my game library: Metal Gear Solid three, R-Type Final, Gradius V, Dragon Quest VIII, God Of War, the Devil May Cry series and the platform also has the best versions of the Dancing Stage series. There are a whole lot more, but these are among the titles I'm most looking forward to.
Tenchu
I went to the trouble of getting myself a Japanese Xbox Live account in order to download the demo of Tenchu Senran, published at Tokyo Game Show this week. I'm sorely disappointed. It looks like a mediocre Xbox game, albeit with a good draw distance and a solid framerate. The animation is shoddy, the controls are clunky and it's still constructed from the same blocks of scenery that made up the game way back in the original Tenchu on the Playstation.
I really liked the first and second installment of Tenchu on the PS, but I did expect the series to mature and evolve by now. If the only change is draw distance, I just can't get excited. I'll stay posted for reviews, though, because this is a game I really want to like. And the trailer (pop-up warning!) was so exciting!
However, the DS ("Dark Secret", heh) version is interesting, if only because it doesn't use the same age-old presentation of the series. Instead, it takes the old Metal Gear Solid top-down viewpoint, which might fit the series very well.
PS2
While I'm on the subject, let's see why I still have a craving for a PS2, despite not sating my hunger years ago. I'd like to say why I don't have one yet: because I'm cheap. I haven't been able to justify paying so much for one when the technology is so outdated and Sony are being so arrogant. I know I'll have to, eventually, but I've put it off for a long time, now.
I already have a PS2 game I really want to play: Atari's Transformers.
Then there's a bunch of games I think I need in my game library: Metal Gear Solid three, R-Type Final, Gradius V, Dragon Quest VIII, God Of War, the Devil May Cry series and the platform also has the best versions of the Dancing Stage series. There are a whole lot more, but these are among the titles I'm most looking forward to.
Tenchu
I went to the trouble of getting myself a Japanese Xbox Live account in order to download the demo of Tenchu Senran, published at Tokyo Game Show this week. I'm sorely disappointed. It looks like a mediocre Xbox game, albeit with a good draw distance and a solid framerate. The animation is shoddy, the controls are clunky and it's still constructed from the same blocks of scenery that made up the game way back in the original Tenchu on the Playstation.
I really liked the first and second installment of Tenchu on the PS, but I did expect the series to mature and evolve by now. If the only change is draw distance, I just can't get excited. I'll stay posted for reviews, though, because this is a game I really want to like. And the trailer (pop-up warning!) was so exciting!
However, the DS ("Dark Secret", heh) version is interesting, if only because it doesn't use the same age-old presentation of the series. Instead, it takes the old Metal Gear Solid top-down viewpoint, which might fit the series very well.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
I am weak [Edit: And increasingly popular!]
I don't know how on Earth I'd missed this before, but Armored Core 4 is coming to the 360, too. Previously a Playstation exclusive, AC is pretty much the one true mecha videogame. I loved the series debut, even with its weird and difficult controls (yes, I get the irony).
The TGS06 trailer takes while to get going, but there is mecha goodness to the point that I'm exhausted. The series' mecha design has always been top-notch, save for maybe the weird hover and tracked models.
Even better is that the 360 version (it's also out on the PS3, naturally) is supposed to be all about online warfare, which suits me fine indeed. From is fast becoming a defining 360 devhouse for me.
Edit: On popularity
My post on Gundam: Operation Troy is my single most popular page. This is no surprise, as it is a relatively hot and upcoming game and I am currently on the first page of Google hits on it.
While this is not particularly newsworthy in itself, studying the page popularity rankings I also noticed that my visitor count has doubled over the last two months. At this rate, we'll hit the 2K mark in a little over a month.
I really am trying to provide useful and/or interesting commentary for your consuming, even though the focus is on my personal gaming experience. Feedback is always welcome.
The TGS06 trailer takes while to get going, but there is mecha goodness to the point that I'm exhausted. The series' mecha design has always been top-notch, save for maybe the weird hover and tracked models.
Even better is that the 360 version (it's also out on the PS3, naturally) is supposed to be all about online warfare, which suits me fine indeed. From is fast becoming a defining 360 devhouse for me.
Edit: On popularity
My post on Gundam: Operation Troy is my single most popular page. This is no surprise, as it is a relatively hot and upcoming game and I am currently on the first page of Google hits on it.
While this is not particularly newsworthy in itself, studying the page popularity rankings I also noticed that my visitor count has doubled over the last two months. At this rate, we'll hit the 2K mark in a little over a month.
I really am trying to provide useful and/or interesting commentary for your consuming, even though the focus is on my personal gaming experience. Feedback is always welcome.
On fearsome controls
While I understand that development time is limited and you have to make sacrifices, your game's controls simply cannot be at stake.
I've waited for FEAR's 360 demo with baited breath. Granted, I've only yet played it for fifteen minutes, but they have some polishing to do with the controls. There are two big problems.
One: you need to hold the left stick in to crouch. Never do this. It has to be a toggle: crouch/stand up. Even if it's intentional because they don't want you to move while crouched (I doubt), it's a pain.
Two: unless tweaking the sensitivity of the sticks alleviates the problem, the movement and aiming feel horribly off. I tried upping the sensitivity a lot, which didn't help at all. It feels to me like they've copied the PC original's control scheme directly - movement doesn't feel analogue, which it really has to be on a twin-stick setup, and aiming feels like you're using a mouse. Which doesn't work at all. You need to factor in a little auto-aim, you need to make the smallest movement of the stick to register, you need to fine-tune the acceleration until it's natural. I spent many a frustrating second trying to move my aim a head's or a limb's width to get a shot at a stationary target. I didn't have a hope landing shots without the use of the - incredibly nifty - slow-motion power.
Halo did the twin-stick console FPS control scheme so well that each and every FPS designer needs to study it. If you can't make it any better, just copy it. There have been examples of working alternatives; for instance, I never cringed at Battlefield 2's controls. You can look past spotty graphics, but if you don't feel like you're in control, you just can't enjoy the game.
All that said, I remain enthusiastic about the game. Maybe I can learn to live with the controls, but that's really the wrong way around.
Regardless of controls, there were also quite a few graphical glitches, but I'm willing to look past that to bask in the glory of the supremely satisfying bullet-trails, particle effects and chunks blown off the environment. We'll see how it all hangs together after a couple of play-throughs of the demo.
Edit: All right, taking the sensitivity down a lot helped with the aiming. The movement still feels clunky, but I believe I can live with it, now.
Come to think of it, I shouldn't be surprised. Monolith's games have always felt weird to control, all the way back from Shogo and No One Lives Forever. Regardless, those two titles are among my all-time favorite games, which just proves that a game is more than the sum of its parts.
I've waited for FEAR's 360 demo with baited breath. Granted, I've only yet played it for fifteen minutes, but they have some polishing to do with the controls. There are two big problems.
One: you need to hold the left stick in to crouch. Never do this. It has to be a toggle: crouch/stand up. Even if it's intentional because they don't want you to move while crouched (I doubt), it's a pain.
Two: unless tweaking the sensitivity of the sticks alleviates the problem, the movement and aiming feel horribly off. I tried upping the sensitivity a lot, which didn't help at all. It feels to me like they've copied the PC original's control scheme directly - movement doesn't feel analogue, which it really has to be on a twin-stick setup, and aiming feels like you're using a mouse. Which doesn't work at all. You need to factor in a little auto-aim, you need to make the smallest movement of the stick to register, you need to fine-tune the acceleration until it's natural. I spent many a frustrating second trying to move my aim a head's or a limb's width to get a shot at a stationary target. I didn't have a hope landing shots without the use of the - incredibly nifty - slow-motion power.
Halo did the twin-stick console FPS control scheme so well that each and every FPS designer needs to study it. If you can't make it any better, just copy it. There have been examples of working alternatives; for instance, I never cringed at Battlefield 2's controls. You can look past spotty graphics, but if you don't feel like you're in control, you just can't enjoy the game.
All that said, I remain enthusiastic about the game. Maybe I can learn to live with the controls, but that's really the wrong way around.
Regardless of controls, there were also quite a few graphical glitches, but I'm willing to look past that to bask in the glory of the supremely satisfying bullet-trails, particle effects and chunks blown off the environment. We'll see how it all hangs together after a couple of play-throughs of the demo.
Edit: All right, taking the sensitivity down a lot helped with the aiming. The movement still feels clunky, but I believe I can live with it, now.
Come to think of it, I shouldn't be surprised. Monolith's games have always felt weird to control, all the way back from Shogo and No One Lives Forever. Regardless, those two titles are among my all-time favorite games, which just proves that a game is more than the sum of its parts.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Pilotwings
Helicopters attract attention in most Battlefield 2: Modern Combat games I've played.
On the one hand there is the chopper pilot with elite skills. He dominates the battlefield. There are counter-measures, but they require some patience to use. Last night our game on DeadlyPass was completely stalled by a pilot who knew his stuff. He flew low, never hovered, always struck with precise bursts, not giving you time to seek cover. I went against him in a chopper at one time. I don't think I scored a single hit before being blown out of the sky.
On the other hand there is the chopper pilot who manages to crash his aircraft during take-off. You see this a lot. Why don't these people play the single player campaign enough to learn the ropes? It walks you through this stuff. I had to try the first chopper mission in the single player campaign many times before getting it right, but I did learn how to handle a helo.
The point is, it's difficult. The helicopter doesn't handle like the videogame vehicles you're used to. It takes some learning to make a clean strafe, let alone close maneuvers under fire. The battle chopper is a fearsome tool, but it really does take dedication to pilot one. And once you finally can execute a good gun-run, you know you're the shit. I've yet to experience that in an online game, but merely tagging along as a gunner feels very good.
I think it's brave of Dice to keep the helicopter handling tricky. It's much more satisfying when you know that most of the grunts couldn't follow your example. And it allows them to maintain the helicopter's power, since there are so few players who can really put it to use.
On the one hand there is the chopper pilot with elite skills. He dominates the battlefield. There are counter-measures, but they require some patience to use. Last night our game on DeadlyPass was completely stalled by a pilot who knew his stuff. He flew low, never hovered, always struck with precise bursts, not giving you time to seek cover. I went against him in a chopper at one time. I don't think I scored a single hit before being blown out of the sky.
On the other hand there is the chopper pilot who manages to crash his aircraft during take-off. You see this a lot. Why don't these people play the single player campaign enough to learn the ropes? It walks you through this stuff. I had to try the first chopper mission in the single player campaign many times before getting it right, but I did learn how to handle a helo.
The point is, it's difficult. The helicopter doesn't handle like the videogame vehicles you're used to. It takes some learning to make a clean strafe, let alone close maneuvers under fire. The battle chopper is a fearsome tool, but it really does take dedication to pilot one. And once you finally can execute a good gun-run, you know you're the shit. I've yet to experience that in an online game, but merely tagging along as a gunner feels very good.
I think it's brave of Dice to keep the helicopter handling tricky. It's much more satisfying when you know that most of the grunts couldn't follow your example. And it allows them to maintain the helicopter's power, since there are so few players who can really put it to use.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Treasure + 360 = RS3
I am not one to scream in all caps, but I couldn't contain myself after reading this rumor: Treasure might be working on a sequel to Ikaruga, also known as Radiant Silvergun 2... for the 360. Man, I've had a craving to plug in the Gamecube and play some Ikaruga after a summer-long break. Maybe it was a premonition.
Tokyo Game Show and X06
TGS & X06
I really do love Xbox Live. I like the ease of playing online games. I like the community system. I like to download demos and videos. I like the way it allows publishers to patch the games I've bought from them bugged.
Now I'm all excited about Live bringing the Tokyo Game Show and X06 to my home. No more relying on blogs and news sites to cover the press releases. No more waiting one to two months to get magazine coverage on the events. These events generate excitement on Live mainly because of their exclusivity: much of the content is for Live users only, only available through the 360 dashboard and only available for about a week.
Many new demos are expected. Personally I can't wait for FEAR. (Edit: Oh! And Gundam: Operation Troy! As I've said before.) There will also be new videos, video coverage of press events, interviews and whatnot. A great way to get ready for the coming game season!
Microsoft is yet again demonstraring that it understands the internet. This is refreshing when compared to recent events with some other monoliths of gaming.
Battlefield 2
In game journal type of things, I've played Battlefield 2 lots more. Now that I've seen some of the other maps (a total of five, I think, of the game's 16!), I understand why BridgeTooFar and Backstab are so popular. Still, I'm left wondering whether there are some more gems among the rest of the maps. I'm not convinced I'll ever find out, though, because it feels like a good four fifths of all games are played on these two maps.
There is just so much to do in BF. I love driving a tank and flying a chopper. And who wouldn't love being a gunner? And the feel of taking a flag together with a good crew is just priceless, especially if there's heavy opposition.
The game's totally worthless manual disgusts me, though. I still don't know what the "PPH" in my game stats means. (Edit: well okay, I googled it. Points Per Hour. Logical, really.)
There's also been one annoying problem: sometimes the game just won't display a friend or foe marker on some guy and when in doubt, I tend to blast away. I've killed three mates because of this. It sucks to be voted to be kicked from the server!
I really do love Xbox Live. I like the ease of playing online games. I like the community system. I like to download demos and videos. I like the way it allows publishers to patch the games I've bought from them bugged.
Now I'm all excited about Live bringing the Tokyo Game Show and X06 to my home. No more relying on blogs and news sites to cover the press releases. No more waiting one to two months to get magazine coverage on the events. These events generate excitement on Live mainly because of their exclusivity: much of the content is for Live users only, only available through the 360 dashboard and only available for about a week.
Many new demos are expected. Personally I can't wait for FEAR. (Edit: Oh! And Gundam: Operation Troy! As I've said before.) There will also be new videos, video coverage of press events, interviews and whatnot. A great way to get ready for the coming game season!
Microsoft is yet again demonstraring that it understands the internet. This is refreshing when compared to recent events with some other monoliths of gaming.
Battlefield 2
In game journal type of things, I've played Battlefield 2 lots more. Now that I've seen some of the other maps (a total of five, I think, of the game's 16!), I understand why BridgeTooFar and Backstab are so popular. Still, I'm left wondering whether there are some more gems among the rest of the maps. I'm not convinced I'll ever find out, though, because it feels like a good four fifths of all games are played on these two maps.
There is just so much to do in BF. I love driving a tank and flying a chopper. And who wouldn't love being a gunner? And the feel of taking a flag together with a good crew is just priceless, especially if there's heavy opposition.
The game's totally worthless manual disgusts me, though. I still don't know what the "PPH" in my game stats means. (Edit: well okay, I googled it. Points Per Hour. Logical, really.)
There's also been one annoying problem: sometimes the game just won't display a friend or foe marker on some guy and when in doubt, I tend to blast away. I've killed three mates because of this. It sucks to be voted to be kicked from the server!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Battlefield Chaos
Kung Fu Chaos
I finally came across Kung Fu Chaos by Just Add Monsters (these days known as Ninja Theory). It was the first title on my Xbox want list back in 2003, actually, so it's about high time, too. Regardless of my high expectations, they were easily surpassed. The game is delicious.
You may not know KFC, since it came and went with little fanfare, despite generally positive reviews. It's a humorous beat 'em up where you face from one to a gang of opponents at a time, usually in scrolling environments. The game is set in the set of a cheap 70s kung fu flick. There is no plot; you act out fighting scenes, with the director yelling all the time. There is a bunch of minigames, too.
It's amazing how much top-notch presentation can add to the whole. From the moment the game boots up, you're feeling like you're watching a kung fu show. The interface is grainy and scratchy like cheap film, and you really can't help but smile when Kung Fu Fighting begins pouring out of the speakers.
Based on two sessions with the game, KFC is pure feel-good. Even when you're losing, it's funny, and there's an abundance of neat stuff, like the minigame where you have to throw a difficult princess at the other contestants to make them fall of the poles you're all standing on. So far the stages haven't repeated themselves at all. The basic gameplay is more varied than the old-school scrolling beat 'em ups this game is based on.
I don't even like the character design, but the game still holds a huge appeal. Catching falling stuntmen is great fun, there's no way around it!
Battlefield 2
Battlefield has always sounded like a lot of fun, and with the 360 and Live, I'm finally able to take a bite. I've now played around five hours of it on Live and a couple of hours of the singe player campaign.
It's a great game with a couple of really nagging things, more on which below. It's a shame there are only two online game modes - Conquest and Capture The Flag - but BF really seems to be built on Conquest, anyway.
The game looks good - I've been impressed by most of the maps. The physics don't feel right, which is a shame. Seeing a helicopter blown out of the sky is neat, but when the pieces tumble on the battlefield, making little sound and ricocheting all over the place with no weight to them really takes the edge off the experience. "Oh right, we're playing a game here." I also can't understand why tanks can't overrun small trees and fences. Surely it can't be that hard to implement?
For a Live-game, it' crucial that there are players on the servers. I haven't played in a game with fewer than 17 participants, with most up in the 20-24 category. There have been zero issues with lag. The game has been downscaled from the PC version, but the scale feels just right, at least with mostly full servers.
I like the way the armies speak their pre-recorded reports in their own languages. It's no roleplaying, but it does add to the overall feel a lot to hear Chinese in your headphones. On the whole, though, the audio becomes tiring due to the constant bass-overloaded explosions and shots. The music fits the bill rather well and gives some structure to the cacophony.
There is one thing I'm really irritated about. Electronic Arts has completely neglected us poor people with old-school, standard-definition TVs. BF2 uses tiny type and interface elements. which are nigh-invisible on my 32" SDTV. Thankfully there's an option to switch the interface colors to colorblind-friendly choices, which makes the essential data a little better visible.
Related to this is the fact that you can't adjust the game's brightness, contrast or gamma. This is a shame because I need to crank my TV's options quite a bit to make the game playable - it's very dark.
Also, I can't use my whole 4:3 ratio TV screen. The game forces itself to a wide-screen format, which does bug me.
Iä! Iä!
Along with Kung Fu Chaos, I also bought another secondhand game - Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth. I'm a fan of Lovecraft and especially the pen and paper roleplaying game on which this videogame is based - at least I think so, based on the game's logo.
Also, Konami is bringing a Marvel trading card game to the DS. This is the kind of shit I've been waiting for on the DS. Which begs the question of where's Pokémon, though?
Oh and speaking of Cthulhu, the Mythos collectable card game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos, is good fun. I haven't checked out the newer Cthulhu CCG, though.
I finally came across Kung Fu Chaos by Just Add Monsters (these days known as Ninja Theory). It was the first title on my Xbox want list back in 2003, actually, so it's about high time, too. Regardless of my high expectations, they were easily surpassed. The game is delicious.
You may not know KFC, since it came and went with little fanfare, despite generally positive reviews. It's a humorous beat 'em up where you face from one to a gang of opponents at a time, usually in scrolling environments. The game is set in the set of a cheap 70s kung fu flick. There is no plot; you act out fighting scenes, with the director yelling all the time. There is a bunch of minigames, too.
It's amazing how much top-notch presentation can add to the whole. From the moment the game boots up, you're feeling like you're watching a kung fu show. The interface is grainy and scratchy like cheap film, and you really can't help but smile when Kung Fu Fighting begins pouring out of the speakers.
Based on two sessions with the game, KFC is pure feel-good. Even when you're losing, it's funny, and there's an abundance of neat stuff, like the minigame where you have to throw a difficult princess at the other contestants to make them fall of the poles you're all standing on. So far the stages haven't repeated themselves at all. The basic gameplay is more varied than the old-school scrolling beat 'em ups this game is based on.
I don't even like the character design, but the game still holds a huge appeal. Catching falling stuntmen is great fun, there's no way around it!
Battlefield 2
Battlefield has always sounded like a lot of fun, and with the 360 and Live, I'm finally able to take a bite. I've now played around five hours of it on Live and a couple of hours of the singe player campaign.
It's a great game with a couple of really nagging things, more on which below. It's a shame there are only two online game modes - Conquest and Capture The Flag - but BF really seems to be built on Conquest, anyway.
The game looks good - I've been impressed by most of the maps. The physics don't feel right, which is a shame. Seeing a helicopter blown out of the sky is neat, but when the pieces tumble on the battlefield, making little sound and ricocheting all over the place with no weight to them really takes the edge off the experience. "Oh right, we're playing a game here." I also can't understand why tanks can't overrun small trees and fences. Surely it can't be that hard to implement?
For a Live-game, it' crucial that there are players on the servers. I haven't played in a game with fewer than 17 participants, with most up in the 20-24 category. There have been zero issues with lag. The game has been downscaled from the PC version, but the scale feels just right, at least with mostly full servers.
I like the way the armies speak their pre-recorded reports in their own languages. It's no roleplaying, but it does add to the overall feel a lot to hear Chinese in your headphones. On the whole, though, the audio becomes tiring due to the constant bass-overloaded explosions and shots. The music fits the bill rather well and gives some structure to the cacophony.
There is one thing I'm really irritated about. Electronic Arts has completely neglected us poor people with old-school, standard-definition TVs. BF2 uses tiny type and interface elements. which are nigh-invisible on my 32" SDTV. Thankfully there's an option to switch the interface colors to colorblind-friendly choices, which makes the essential data a little better visible.
Related to this is the fact that you can't adjust the game's brightness, contrast or gamma. This is a shame because I need to crank my TV's options quite a bit to make the game playable - it's very dark.
Also, I can't use my whole 4:3 ratio TV screen. The game forces itself to a wide-screen format, which does bug me.
Iä! Iä!
Along with Kung Fu Chaos, I also bought another secondhand game - Call Of Cthulhu: Dark Corners Of The Earth. I'm a fan of Lovecraft and especially the pen and paper roleplaying game on which this videogame is based - at least I think so, based on the game's logo.
Also, Konami is bringing a Marvel trading card game to the DS. This is the kind of shit I've been waiting for on the DS. Which begs the question of where's Pokémon, though?
Oh and speaking of Cthulhu, the Mythos collectable card game, based on the Cthulhu Mythos, is good fun. I haven't checked out the newer Cthulhu CCG, though.
Friday, September 08, 2006
New languages to be humiliated in
I finally hooked up my original Xbox to Live. This wasn't as easy as I'd hoped, since I had to use the Gamertag recovery function to get set up and I found zero instructions on how to do things from 360 to Xbox and not the other way around. (In the end it was all logical, I just felt like groping in the dark.) We'll see if I have to move the Gamertag back to the 360 once I'm done. If so, well, that sucks. However, I discovered something so good on the Live-enabled Xbox that I just might be willing to suffer the pain of the gamertag recovery again.
(Edit: no additional hassles once the ethernet cable flew back to the 360. Go Microsoft.)
The reason being that playing Dead Or Alive Ultimate online was even sweeter than I'd imagined. Playing in the "winner stays on" mode and watching the others fight it out before my turn was really damn near the best online experience I've ever had. It felt just like the arcade! I didn't win a single match (rounds, though), but I've never had so much fun getting my ass handed to me (I'm at C- rank currently.)
I got to play several Japanese guys. It felt really weird to hear realtime Japanese in-game. I don't have the slightest idea of what they were saying, but you know, the language of buttkicking is universal. I was rather surprised to discover that the only time we had trouble with lag (I was hosting) was when playing with Americans. There was some lag, yes, but I didn't find it a problem.
Dead Or Alive 4 on the 360 is a no-brainer for me, now. Of course, it plays a lot differently than Ultimate, but I never was any good at Ultimate. I've played DOA3 lots, but it can be argued that it has a broken system due to far too easy countering. From my DOA3 experience, my favorite character by far is Hitomi.
There aren't too many things as pure as playing real humans one-on-one in a beat 'em up.
(Edit: no additional hassles once the ethernet cable flew back to the 360. Go Microsoft.)
The reason being that playing Dead Or Alive Ultimate online was even sweeter than I'd imagined. Playing in the "winner stays on" mode and watching the others fight it out before my turn was really damn near the best online experience I've ever had. It felt just like the arcade! I didn't win a single match (rounds, though), but I've never had so much fun getting my ass handed to me (I'm at C- rank currently.)
I got to play several Japanese guys. It felt really weird to hear realtime Japanese in-game. I don't have the slightest idea of what they were saying, but you know, the language of buttkicking is universal. I was rather surprised to discover that the only time we had trouble with lag (I was hosting) was when playing with Americans. There was some lag, yes, but I didn't find it a problem.
Dead Or Alive 4 on the 360 is a no-brainer for me, now. Of course, it plays a lot differently than Ultimate, but I never was any good at Ultimate. I've played DOA3 lots, but it can be argued that it has a broken system due to far too easy countering. From my DOA3 experience, my favorite character by far is Hitomi.
There aren't too many things as pure as playing real humans one-on-one in a beat 'em up.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
The F games (FEAR, FlatOut 2)
Upcoming game I'm excited about
The F.E.A.R demo is on the coverdisc of OXM magazine right now. It's expected on Live in a couple of weeks. This is one of the very few games I've envied from the PC world, so it's great to finally get a chance to play it. Interesting article on the game's AI here.
Current game I'm excited about
I got Flatout 2 (Eurogamer review) for the Xbox some time ago. I have now played it about halfway through and I have to say that it rocks. There is much more content than in the original game (which I also liked) and everything is just better.
One thing they could work more on is difficulty. I play a lot of games, if not exclusively driving games, and I found the road rather rocky at around the halfway point. It isn't nearly as demanding as the original Flatout, though. The key differences are improved (more interesting and life-like) AI and a more forgiving handling model.
(Edit: I've now completed the game to above 90%, having finished all the race classes. My problems were due to sticking with rear-wheel drives, which can be very hard to control at high speeds. Changing to front-wheel-drives and four-wheel-drives solved my problems.)
The graphics are really good for a last-gen title, the previously overdone ragdoll effects have been toned down (increasing their punch), the minigames are plentiful and improved considerably, and there are lots more cars and tracks.
One huge change is the effect of physics. They're downplayed a lot. It's quite unlikely you'll lose a race due to a stray tire or a two-by-four, like in the predecessor. In exhange, there's thousands and thousands ( I recall 5'000 mentioned somewhere) of separate objects to be scattered across the track. I would like some weight added to them, though, just to get that danger aspect back.
Flatout 2 features the best tracks I've seen in a driving game. I have so many favorites it's hard to pick one, but for instance the military airplane graveyard in the desert is a blast. I haven't yet come across a dull track. I really like the way there are multiple routes to take and that the AI drivers know how to use them. Or the way that someone needs to clear a given shortcut of debris before it's beneficial to use.
The career model is rather good, really, even though it's been lamented in reviews. I liked the freedom to go to an upper class when I felt like it, simply by purchasing a car of that class. The upgrade system is also more involving than before - you need to make decisions on what attributes of the car to increase, possibly decreasing some others.
As it happens, just yesterday I got a chance to replay my old driving game favorite, Burnout 3, due to it becoming backwards compatible (BC) on the 360. Flatout 2 doesn't dull in comparison and indeed, the much more accurate driving model gives it a feel of depth and precision that's missing from Burnout. I'd venture that Burnout needs tons of content because it's so shallow. Insanely fast shallow, but still.
Now, if only Microsoft could get around to making Outrun 2 play on the 360, too. There's shallow gameplay married with perfect content. Outrun doesn't leave you feeling bloated like an obsessed session of Burnout does.
The F.E.A.R demo is on the coverdisc of OXM magazine right now. It's expected on Live in a couple of weeks. This is one of the very few games I've envied from the PC world, so it's great to finally get a chance to play it. Interesting article on the game's AI here.
Current game I'm excited about
I got Flatout 2 (Eurogamer review) for the Xbox some time ago. I have now played it about halfway through and I have to say that it rocks. There is much more content than in the original game (which I also liked) and everything is just better.
One thing they could work more on is difficulty. I play a lot of games, if not exclusively driving games, and I found the road rather rocky at around the halfway point. It isn't nearly as demanding as the original Flatout, though. The key differences are improved (more interesting and life-like) AI and a more forgiving handling model.
(Edit: I've now completed the game to above 90%, having finished all the race classes. My problems were due to sticking with rear-wheel drives, which can be very hard to control at high speeds. Changing to front-wheel-drives and four-wheel-drives solved my problems.)
The graphics are really good for a last-gen title, the previously overdone ragdoll effects have been toned down (increasing their punch), the minigames are plentiful and improved considerably, and there are lots more cars and tracks.
One huge change is the effect of physics. They're downplayed a lot. It's quite unlikely you'll lose a race due to a stray tire or a two-by-four, like in the predecessor. In exhange, there's thousands and thousands ( I recall 5'000 mentioned somewhere) of separate objects to be scattered across the track. I would like some weight added to them, though, just to get that danger aspect back.
Flatout 2 features the best tracks I've seen in a driving game. I have so many favorites it's hard to pick one, but for instance the military airplane graveyard in the desert is a blast. I haven't yet come across a dull track. I really like the way there are multiple routes to take and that the AI drivers know how to use them. Or the way that someone needs to clear a given shortcut of debris before it's beneficial to use.
The career model is rather good, really, even though it's been lamented in reviews. I liked the freedom to go to an upper class when I felt like it, simply by purchasing a car of that class. The upgrade system is also more involving than before - you need to make decisions on what attributes of the car to increase, possibly decreasing some others.
As it happens, just yesterday I got a chance to replay my old driving game favorite, Burnout 3, due to it becoming backwards compatible (BC) on the 360. Flatout 2 doesn't dull in comparison and indeed, the much more accurate driving model gives it a feel of depth and precision that's missing from Burnout. I'd venture that Burnout needs tons of content because it's so shallow. Insanely fast shallow, but still.
Now, if only Microsoft could get around to making Outrun 2 play on the 360, too. There's shallow gameplay married with perfect content. Outrun doesn't leave you feeling bloated like an obsessed session of Burnout does.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Holiday bliss
As the increase in my Gamerscore may indicate, yesterday I played Oblivion some nine to ten hours straight. It was good. I cleared the entire Arena quest in one sitting and got some mileage in the Fighters' guild. My 360 is happy.
I was pretty surprised to find the energy to install and begin playing the original Fallout in the evening on top of the day's unheard-of-in-many-years gaming stint. I've only played the sequel and Fallout Tactics previously, so it was rather exciting to embark on the original Vault-Dweller's journey. The interface was a little clumsy and the resolution is low (looks kinda muddy on my laptop), but otherwise it rocks a lot. The soundscape is excellent.
Today we're off to Tallinn for three days; gaming is probably limited to Dweller on the phone.
I was pretty surprised to find the energy to install and begin playing the original Fallout in the evening on top of the day's unheard-of-in-many-years gaming stint. I've only played the sequel and Fallout Tactics previously, so it was rather exciting to embark on the original Vault-Dweller's journey. The interface was a little clumsy and the resolution is low (looks kinda muddy on my laptop), but otherwise it rocks a lot. The soundscape is excellent.
Today we're off to Tallinn for three days; gaming is probably limited to Dweller on the phone.
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Get a friend
My 360 friendlist is very short. Naturally I'm expecting all of my real-life friends to get 360s one day and then we can be one happy gaming family, but until then, it would be nice to have some more familiar faces to play with.
Along comes 360 FriendSpot. It helps you to hook up with people with similar 360 gaming habits as you. I found it via my 360's blog, so maybe it wasn't such a useless service after all.
Along comes 360 FriendSpot. It helps you to hook up with people with similar 360 gaming habits as you. I found it via my 360's blog, so maybe it wasn't such a useless service after all.
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