Rainbow Sux

I am a long suffering fan of this franchise. I have played it from it's very first game and have believed that it was once a very rewarding shooter. Unfortunately, it seems, that the unique PC version of this game has been lost to the console market. Don't get me wrong I do believe there is a place in gaming for consoles. I own an Xbox and a Dreamcast and have owned the Nintendo (all of them) and sega consoles. If the console market didn't exist there wouldn't be as many people playing games. The PC isn't suited to everyone. Not everyone likes mouse and keyboard (dare I say it) and not everyone wants to maintain their game environment with regular maintenance. But, the PC is a different platform than the consoles. It is completely different. Even the type of gamers are different. Why then should Ubisoft change the format of a successful game such as Rainbow Six to a console type shooter?

Rainbow Six had something for everyone (if you are interested in one-hit-kill shooters). The strategy and team mangament was nearly second to none. It was hardly rivalled by any other shooter and often immitated. As far as I am concerned Raven Shield was the peak of this franchise and a game which I reinstall and still enjoy playing multiplayer. Lockdown was a complete diversion from the franchise. It basically turned the style of gameplay and quality of the previous titles and catered for the lowest common denominator. Ubisoft made changes to the Ghost Recon franchise and has managed to (sort of) bring it back to its roots with Advanced Warfighter. Will this ever happen to Rainbow Six?

Virtual Ingame Economies

"Ingame Economy," even when you say the words it doesn't sound like something you should take very seriously, but it is something that developers of MMOs take very seriously. Blizzard have announced that they banned 59,000 accounts in June. (It's lucky they've got over 5 million in the pool, however, this does represent approx 1 per cent of their subscription base). Among the reasons given were that some of these accounts were used for farming or utilizing third party software to farm. This shows just how serious the ingame economy is. Farming is defined by Wikipedia as, "A farmer is a general term for a MMORPG player who attempts to acquire ("farm") items of value within a game, usually in order to exploit the game's virtual economy. This is usually accomplished by carrying out in-game actions (such as killing an important creature) repeatedly to maximize income. More broadly, the term could refer to a player of any type of game who repeats mundane actions over and over in order to collect in-game items." Often this is achieved by using third party software to automate the process and allow users to run multiple accounts at the same time in order to farm gold or items. What this does is "deflate" the value of the ingame currency, just as flooding the real world economy with printed money deflate's its value.

It amazes me that gaming has come to this. A virtual economy that is worth money in the real world. The reason why it has come to this is because people sell their ingame items and gold for real world money. Which means that those players who spend their time playing the game legitimately feel that they should have the opportunity to be rewarded financially by selling the spoils of their adventuring. In principle, I don't have a problem with this. People should be able to sell things of value which they have acquired with their own time. However, I do believe that gaming becomes more than just a game and is, in some strange way, a commodity. Commodities can and are exploited in the real world. The world may be regulated, but people find a way around the regulations in order to gain personal profit from it (look at abalone farming). The thing is that games aren't the real world. They are just games. Aren't games meant to be a recreational pursuit? Something which you gain some enjoyment from. Something which takes you away from the real world. While professional gaming is on the rise only a very small percentage of gamers (probably less than the 1 per cent banned from farming) will ever make their living from it. So, why is the ingame economy so important?

What would happen if they let the farming go on? Wouldn't that completely deflate real world money paid for items and make the pursuit of farming, in the end, frivolous? If they allowed the farming then there would be no need to protect the economy. However, there are two aspects to the ingame economy. There is the economy which functions in game and the economy related to the game which functions in the real world. The ingame economy determines the pricing of goods and services in game. Where as the economy related to the game is what people would pay for game items in the real world.

Having said this I don't support ingame exploitation for personal gain, but I do think that the notion of the virtual game economy as being important a joke. They are just games after all. If we play them for personal profit are they games to us any more or work?

AMD Takeover ATI

In a massive buyout worth approx. $5.4 billion dollars, AMD have purchased ATI. The purchase has been approved by both boards and now has to be approved by ATI shareholders. AMD are reported to be looking to purchase companies with three letter acronymns starting with the letter A. Could AMP be next on the cards? Rumours were circulating around the internet late last week regarding the buyout with the move being confirmed yesterday.

On a more serious note, what is happening with the world market? We are meant to see a diversity in business. In theory open markets should provide greater opportunities for consumers to have more purchasing options. However, theory and reality are two different things. To paraphrase Homer Simpson, "Everybody knows that Communism works in theory." What we are seeing is fewer options with big businesses getting bigger, some of them have turnovers greater than small countries. We see a marketplace with it becoming harder for smaller businesses to compete. Rather than see diversity we see the exact opposite.

Cracks Appear In Nintendos Handheld Armour

It has been reported widly over the net that cracks are appearing in the hinge of the Nintendo DS Lite. Nintendo haven't denied that there is a problem. Saying that the crack is only cosmetic and can be fixed with some rouge and a good rubbing. "This cosmetic issue in no way impacts the gameplay or integrity of the DS Lite," Nintendo have stated. Nintendo initially stated that it would cost the customer $50 to fix the crack, and then later, allegedly, saying they would fix the crack for free. It seems no one really knows what is going on until Nintendo make a statement as to whether they will fix them or not. Obviously, Nintendo don't want to say that the problem is a manufacturing fault, as this would make them responsible. Another thing to note is the problems that the PSP had on release with some of its buttons. While Playstation have managed to fix the problem with later releases of their handheld, you still have to wonder whether they thoroughly test these systems prior to their release.

Making Stories in Video Games is No Fun

David Jaffe, the Game designer behind "God of War" has said, "I don’t want to tell stories with my games anymore." It seems after completing this particular game he has not enjoyed the game making experience as a whole and is reluctant to work on another story based game. "Since God Of War, I have lost interest in the genre of single player action/adventure games. In fact, I’ve really lost interest in making any kind of game that does not fully and only embrace interactivity in the most purest sense." He goes on to say, "As I player, while I am really loving the action-adventure genre, I also find myself spending more time playing pure games." As to what a pure game is I am struggling to get a definition. All games feature some form of interactivity. Whether there be a story behind the premise or not. Pure games, I think, by his definition would be games like Tetris. Something mindless which requires some form of interactivity (which still seems to cover most games that I can think of). However, how he defines these as being "pure games" specifically, I am not sure. Since gaming began the action of the game has been thinly veiled behind some sort of story. Space Invaders had a very loose story behind it. While he says that he has lost interest in single player action/adventure games he clarifies that is in making them and not playing them.

It is a shame to see Jaffe take this point of view. Unfortunately, making God of War must have been such a negative experience that it has left some sort of bad taste in his mouth.

Check out the full story in Jaffe's blog. All quotes are from David Jaffe's personal Blog: Game Design.

Microsoft Handheld Coming Zune

Microsoft is set to release a new handheld (I'd better be careful, this sounds like a euphemism for masturbation, not that any microsoft product has ever been wanky). In a press release it is alleged Microsoft have said that the new handheld, codenamed Zune, will not not be a gaming console. They are hoping that the use of the double negative will confuse their competition in to not not knowing whether it will be a gaming console or not not. This is what Microsoft had to say about the product, "While we do not [not] have specific details to provide, the primary focus of the Zune is to deliver great music and entertainment experiences." Gaming, obviously, not counting as entertainment in this instance.

On another note, what is the deal with Microsoft codenames? The Zune. Who has the job of working these names out cause this is just as bad as Longhorn (and now that I point it out there is another potential penis metaphor there). Surely they could have come up with a better code name for the project. How about: "F*CK I'm Good I'm A Microsoft Product" (FIGIAMP), or, "We Borrowed Someone Else Source Code To Make This" (WBSESCTMT). How about just calling it an MP3 Player? Surely some marketing genius didn't come up with the name Zune, cause if they did I would be sacking them. I'm sure we will all know what is happening with this new device which is not not a gaming console zooner or later.

Rockstar Dodges A Bullet

Take 2 (Rockstar) will not be fined over the "hot coffee" controversy. They have dodged a bullet somewhere. While it is recognised they were naughty and received a slap on the wrist nothing more will happen to them. In future, if they are to make "hot coffee" they are to disclose everything to the ratings board prior so their softeware can be properly rated. This is just what any ratings board needs - more porn to watch. I bet they do it while drinking hot coffee.

Video Games Blamed for Decline In National Park Popularity

It seems video games are being blamed for everything these days. Video games are blamed for violence. Video games blamed for promoting sex and the drinking of "hot coffee". Now, in a study performed by the University of Illinois Video Games are being blamed for a decline in numbers attending national parks in the US.

"This is no smoking gun," Oliver Pergams said. "We're showing statistically that the rise in use of these various types of media...is so highly correlated with the decline in national park visits that there is likely to be some association." Pergams is the man who performed the study. Basically, to rephrase what he said, "People are using the media more and attending national parks less. We have no conclusive evidence to link either. It must be video games."

Take 2 Move To Neutral Territory

The world war for video game market share must be heating up with Take 2 moving its UK offices to Geneva, Switzerland. Take 2 interactive owns Rockstar, 2K and 2K sports. International managing director of Take 2, James Ellingford said, "Geneva will also provide us with a more neutral point of view. I believe that international HQs should not be based in the larger markets as this can potentially impact the decision making process." Obviously concerned with UK legislature not completely supporting the gaming industry Take 2 has relocated after a mild temper tantrum. Take 2 was seen in Geneva apparently sucking its thumb and calling for its mummy.

They are reported to be working on a new title to celebrate the move. Grand Theft Auto: Switzerland. The game will be set during world war two and you will play the biggest mover and shaker of the time, a neutral bank. You will work on shady deals with both the allies and the axis. The object of the game will be to make as much money as you can while shaking down all the little guys.

Microsoft Test Launches Console

The video game market is reported to jump to a massive $2 billion dollars this year in South Korea. It is estimated that in 1996 PC Game sales were worth 1.2 billion dollars there which is a major portion of the game sales pie. It is reported that Microsoft is genuinely concerned about this trend. It is alleged that Microsoft, unhappy with the poor take up of consoles (and in particular its Xbox 360 console) in Asia, are looking to tackle the situation directly.

Apparently, in a move to rival the dictatorship of North Korea, Microsoft has said that it will begin launching its new console in the direction of Korea. Test firing is meant to begin this week. The problem with the test firing is that the delivery platform is relatively untested. Bill Gates will stand on the roof of Microsoft's headquarters and throw the Xbox 360 towards Korea.

Will update this more when news comes to hand.

Cynical Gamer reviews Oblivion

The way I would have reviewed Oblivion.

I guess many of you wouldn't have known but in March I got married. Well, not married in the traditional sense, I found a game that I was happy to settle down with for a while. Games are like that. Sometimes you spend more time with them than you do with real people. What I will do is write the review with the marriage vows I made and then report on how the relationship is doing.

I will cherish, honour and obey (as long as I am not working for the Dark Brotherhood inwhich case anything goes). I will ride my horse from town to town fulfilling od jobs and quests for NPCs when required. I will endevour to complete the main quest and save Cyrodil when I can while sucking the very marrow out of the game.

I promise I will upgrade my PC so that I can ride the hills of Cyrodill and explore the dungeons to see every detail in the splendour inwhich it was intended. This upgrade will not utilize Crossfire as Oblivion has had some issues with this setup and it would spoil my game experience. I will spend every last penny on this upgrade even though I may not eat for two weeks waiting for my next pay cheque.

After making the upgrade I found out that Oblivion was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Even though I have found some blemishes in the game (such as the trading system, some lag, and repetition with the quests) I have continued to play through. It is difficult to keep beauty like this pleased all of the time.

I will accept the level scaling warts-and-all as this is the way the developer intended the game to be. Even though I made the mistake of performing the main quest till level 14 and the groups at Kavatch were nearly impossible I understand that this is different from other RPGs and will offer me replayability beyond my wildest dreams (well, until you get to over level 20 and everything is a piece of piss).

I will promise not to add any mods to the game as this is like telling my new wife to go out for plastic surgery. If I cannot appreciate the game for what it is then how can I be happy. It may be after some time and that beauty is starting to wane that attempt to mod her in order to improve on her beautiful skin, but only as a very last measure.

I will spend every spare second that I have playing Oblivion despite what it might do for my life outside of the game. I will make a commitment to the game because there has been nothing released which compares until death do us part.

Rating System:
Did Oblivion Consumate on the Wedding Night 10/10
Is Oblivion the most beautiful thing you have seen (after upgrading) 10/10
Does Oblivion hold long term appeal? 2/10
Will Oblivion break the mould and succeed where 50% of relationships do not? 0/10
Cynical Gamer Rating: 5/10

Just a report on the relationship: I must say that I have been seeing other games. Unfortunately things aren't working out between me and Oblivion in the long term. Bethesda keeps asking for me for maintenance payments because of my relationship with the game. They have promised that there will be more. That the dungeons will be bigger. That I can have my own mage's paradise (and I am not even a mage). That my horse can wear armour. But I just can't bring myself to pay any more.

I felt that I had to do something to preserve the relationship. So, as any gamer does when they get a bit bored with what they've got, I modded it. As far as I was concerned anything could go. Adding the mods to the game was like going to a guidance counsellor and finding out that the best thing to save your relationship was maybe to role play a little. It started with saddle bags and progressed to extra content. However, I just couldn't reignite that initial spark. Something was missing that the modding community could not bring back.

I walked out on Oblivion over 4 weeks ago and haven't been back to check in on how it is doing. I don't know what it is but I am just not as compelled to go back and play it as I was with Morrowind. Morrowind (Oblivion's older sister) is more the type of game that you settle down with. It has warts and you accept them for what they are and keep coming back to it. Oblivion is the beautiful younger sister which just can't keep pleasing you cause she is constantly seeing other people.

You may say that I am a superficial person and I would understand, but Oblivion promised me so much. It was going to be the game of my dreams. However, I just can't maintain the relationship. While everything seemed perfect at the beginning there just wasn't enough substance for me to keep working at it.

Cynical Gamer reviews Titan Quest

The way I would have reviewed Titan Quest.

Sometimes, when a game is released which borrows heavily from another it is not done very well and comes off looking like a poor substitute. It is like going to a concert of your favourite band and getting karaoke. You know all of the tunes being played but they are performed badly. Sometimes to the point of being comical. Games are much like this. For those diehard Diablo fans Titan Quest may come across in this way. A poor karaoke substitute of their favourite song. So, this is the way I will review Titan Quest. As though it is a karaoke substitute of my favourite song.

Once in a while a band comes along who makes hit after hit without fail and without looking like they will ever make a flop. That band would be Blizzard. They have managed to pump out hit after hit without fail. Warcraft, Diablo and World of Warcraft have all, in some way, redefined the genre and been a massive commercial success. Their latest number one hit is World of Warcraft. A game which does not look like leaving the charts, let alone taking a dip in sales. Prior to World of Warcraft being released Blizzard helped to redefine the RPG genre with their hack and slash epics Diablo and Diablo 2. There have been many imitators of this great game, however, none have been able to match the original. Until Titan Quest. Let's face it. Titan Quest is Diablo just set in a different area and with some nice 3D effects. It is as simple as that.

As far as music goes games fall in to similar lines with the different genres representing different types of music. Shooters are Heavy Metal. Role Playing Games are Classical. Racing Games are Punk/Grunge. Fighting Games are hip hop and Nintendo games, well, they are something else altogether. Role Playing Games are classical because it is one of the long established genres which has a number of specific guidelines in order to be classified within this genre. Role Playing Games are the epics of gaming.

Titan Quest is a pitch perfect rendition of Diablo. The melody is carried competantly through varies side quests and the aim is the same. You are a lone hero set to save the world. It doesn't get much simpler than that. The hack and slash provides a steady, mind-numbing rhythm to the game which is enjoyable in a completely mindless way.

The reason why these games beat to the same tune is that for all intents and purposes they feel exactly like the same game. Even the sounds and effects in game you would think were from the same sound studio. The merchant system is virtually identical. The level system is a little more developed. There are no randomly generated areas in Titan Quest, but the levels are so long and involved you won't notice the difference. The hack and slash elements beat virtually to the same drum. You don't get much more involved than point and click, point and click, press 1 to replenish health, 2 to replenish mana, and whatever else you have allocated for spells and buffs. The NPCs even crap on about the same mindless and irrelevant quests which are there to keep you entertained while you progress to beat the bad guy (Diablo in Diablo and a Titan in Titan Quest). You get so involved with your pointing and clicking that it is far easier just to skip the NPC dialogue than listen to them drone on, much the same way that I approached NPC dialogue in Diablo, because it is completely irrelevant to the process of hack and slash.

It is hard to separate Titan Quest from Diablo. There are a few things which have been implemented in Titan Quest which are nice touches, but, ultimately, if they weren't there you wouldn't miss them. Being able to reallocate skill points being one of them. Not having to pay for portals is another.

It is fair to say that a good karaoke version of Diablo has been a long time coming. However, maybe, Titan Quest has missed the boat. MMOs are huge now. When Diablo was released there wasn't this sort of competition in the marketplace. Now everyone wants to pump out an MMO hit and walk away with a huge pile of cash.

Unfortunately, Titan Quests need to replicate Diablo may also be its greatest downfall. This will be the things which keep the fans away and make it just a poor karaoke substitute. For some Diablo represents the best of the genre. For others hack and slash shouldn't even be classified as being a RPG. I don't believe that Titan Quest will be able to last the distance and become a classic replayed on Golden Oldies radio stations until time immemorial. Unfortunately, it will pass quickly in to gaming oblivion. A karaoke tune which sounds alright on the night, but not something you would want to listen to on the radio all the time. You only need to look at the limited number of online servers worldwide and the lack of support for dedicated servers from the developer to know this.

I love playing Titan Quest. I'll rock on to its tune until I've finished it on every difficulty then I'll probably leave it on the shelf and not come back to it again. In those times when I have a pang to play Diablo 2 again I may even consider reinstalling Titan Quest instead.

My Rating System for Titan Quest:
As an outstanding karaoke version of Diablo 10/10
As a long term hit which will go the distance 2/10
Something which will be a favourite on Karaoke Machines 5/10
Total Score: 5.5/10

This is the way the Cynical Gamer would have reviewed Titan Quest.

Aussie Organisation Fighting for R Rating

Electronic Frontiers Australia (EFA) has been fighting for an 'R' rating category in Australia for some time. The EFA is a lobby group which is funded on a subscription basis. They are not just interested in the fight for an 'R' rating category, but are also involved in promoting "online civil liberties". Of course the term civil liberties is a broad definition and can be simply defined as "freedom of speech".

I don't know exactly how active they are as, with all my internet surfing around games, I have never heard of them before and we still don't have an 'R' rating category just yet. The rumours were that one was going to be introduced, but with the Reservoir Dogs game being banned in Australia it looks like we are going to miss out on another title.

Peer Pressure for Episodic Game Content

The Vice President of Epic Games (Homepage), Mark Rein has criticized episodic content as a "broken business model". Finally someone in the industry is talking about the negatives of episodic content instead of singing its praises. While he doesn't describe it as being a rip-off for gamers, this just wouldn't sound right coming from a man who makes his money out of gaming.

"It's a broken business model," he warned the audience, claiming that games already operated on a successful episodic formula thanks to regular franchise releases and sequels. He also said that the choice to release games piecemeal at lower prices over the web just will not work, and will turn consumers off: "It's not feasible to bring out a level every week - you'll see a lot of recycled content. Fatigue will set in, and franchise fatigue means dimishing returns." (excerpt from MCV)

Anyway, at least someone is talking about it.

Article referenced from MCV. For original article click on this link.

Gaming Nostalgia

Games come and go. More often than not most games released on the market aren't purchased by all gamers. Even so, for a gamer to purchase all games released they would have to have a pretty deep pocket. While budget may restrict our choice of games quality can often dictate which games we go back to play again.

There are a few games which I often reinstall long after the release date and play over again. Most games come and go with a single play through and then I move on to the next. I believe that games fall in to certain categories. There are those that you don't finish for whatever reason except for difficulty (they may be too buggy, too bad, or too boring). Some games you may not finish because they are too hard (although I find that not happening as much any more). Some games are the ones that immediately after you've played them you restart and play over again. But most of these previously mentioned games aren't necessarily the ones that you go back to over time.

There are some games which I like to replay after having a stint away from them. I mentioned Elevator Action in a previous post. This is my all time favourite platform game. I keep it installed on my computer and pick up and play it often. Several others which I replay are Tron 2, Diablo, X3, Pirates (Gold), Transport Tycoon, and the UFO series to name just a few. There are many others as well, but I don't have time to name them all. I would love to find the original River Raid, but it hasn't been released on an Xbox Atari disc that I can find. One game which I have been playing again this year is the Commodore 64 game Paradroid and Speedball. Two games which I still really enjoy playing and I believe have stood the test of time over nearly twenty years of game releases.

Tron 2 is one of my all time favourite games and what I believe to be one of the best movie tie in games. The game managed to capture the feeling of the movie nearly perfectly. The film was one of my favourite film releases when I was younger. The game was essentially a sequel to the film and was done very well. The thing about the game is that it is home to a place that I enjoy going back to. Sometimes replaying an old game is like going back to a favourite holiday spot. The place itself holds happy memories and is somewhere that I enjoy spending my time.

Some of these games are extremely old and they are not graphically appealing (like Space Invaders or Elevator Action) but they are still pleasant to play. This highlights the strength of Retro Gaming for gamers. Abandonware and emulators have been extremely popular as they have allowed gamers to replay nearly every gaming device since gaming began. Further to this is Nintendo's decision to allow consumers who purchase the Wii to download all of the previous console games up to the N64. Finally a company which is providing some support for gamers to be able to play their old favourite games. Hopefully this trend will continue with some of the other manufacturers actually supporting their retro titles and giving them a new lease on life.

Bone Piles and Treasure Chests

Hack and slash is not for everyone. Let's face it, hack and slash is the epitome of mindless gameplay, and I love it. Not every game has to break your intellegence balls every time you play. Just as not every game has to pull you in with a compelling story line. Entertainment takes on many different forms and fills different functions based on consumer need. I purchased the Taito Legends (1) game just for Elevator Action and Space Invaders. Elevator Action is one of my favourites and a game that I enjoy picking up and playing every now and then. Purely for entertainment. As has been my progression with Titan Quest I haven't really been reading the dribble which spawns from NPC's mouths in order to explain quests. I click past them and check the Quest page to get the details.

The thing that gets me is what makes such gameplay addictive while being somewhat mindless and definitely purile. A good hack and slash has the addictive qualities of a poker machine. The endless random drops are the things which keep me coming back for more. The game is littered with Bone Piles and Treasure chests. Nearly every group of enemies protects one of these caches of random pleasure. Titan Quest has taken random loot drops a step further than Diablo. They have incorporated a graded form of magical loot. Going from your standard "Yellow" magical item to Green (which have greater powers) to blue and then purple. Blue and Purple magical items can come in the form of sets. Sets can be grouped together and when you are wearing more than one item from the same set you get bonuses for the items. It is these things which keep me clicking away and coming back for more.

I wouldn't classify hack and slash games in the pure RPG category because, ultimately, the stats don't really do much more than offer more power to the character. The story progression is completely linear and character variation does not differ too much on the gaming experience. Different character classes offer different abilities but that is about it. RPGs, for me, offer character development and an immersive story experience. For role play is about taking on the role of the character in order to advance in the story. Hack and slash is just that "hack and slash".

While I thoroughly enjoy Titan Quest, for all of its addictive qualities, I can sympathise with some of the reviews that I have read which criticise the game. It doesn't deviate much, if at all, from the formula established by Diablo. I could say that if it aint broke don't fix it. If the formula works and people enjoy it then use it and make it good. However, what more can hack and slash offer the genre? There needs to be a game developer which can take this formulaic device to the next level. There is no reason why a hack and slash game couldn't have large open environments without a linear pathway. Also, to have an open ended or multiple ending story to shape the conclusion. This would offer the game title a whole lot more than just reproducing more of the same. As far as I am concerned, someone is going to have to challenge the genre in order to keep it going because I just can't see hack and slash surviving the MMO nemesis without having a good makeover.

In the meantime I'll keep playing through Titan Quest. I want to do something with it that I never did with Diablo 2 and that is to defeat it on every difficulty.

Review Disparity

If you are looking to buy a game and there is no demo available for the game what do you do? Read some game reviews of the game and, hopefully, make an educated decision on your purchase based on the reviewer's "expert" opinion. If you are still uncertain you may chase up another review of the game and see how they compare. What do you do when one game magazine reviews a game with 10/10 and the other 6.5/10?

This is a huge difference in score. What I am talking about specifically is the score given to Half Life 2: Episode 1 in PC Powerplay (10/10) and Atomic (6.5/10).

Having played the game I know which review would get my interest and it is not the 10/10 score provided by PC Powerplay. Atomic magazine is critical of the game. Finally a magazine is willing to criticize one of the biggest game franchises. It deserves criticism and not mindless praise. The game is lacking in a number of areas. Namely AI and being completely linear. Just because a game has impressive graphics doesn't make it a good game. It makes it a good looking game. Another interesting thing to note is that the Half Life 2 review in PC Powerplay is written by the same so-called gaming journalist who wrote the review of Sin Episodes in the same episode (refer to my cynical gamer post "The Secret to a Successful Game Review" below). In this five paragraph review of Sin Episodes (which he has given an 8/10) he spends 2 paragraphs talking about the characters tits and another talking about price. He only devotes 2 paragraphs in his entire review to the game itself. How old is this guy? 12?

It's nice to have magazines that are filled with funny pieces, nice warm and fuzzy comment and some poor satire. But the bread and butter for these magazines should be reviews and previews. If they can't do this function with some objectivity and be able to criticise the medium which they promote then why bother? At least Atomic had the guts to criticise the half life franchise rather than publish crap about it.

How's Them For Apples

"It's safe to say that a wealthy kid from the suburbs can play 'Grand Theft Auto' without turning to a life of crime, but a poor kid who lives in a neighborhood where people really do shoot cops and steal cars and deal drugs might not be so fortunate. There's almost certainly a child somewhere in the America who is going to be hurt by this game. Maybe his dad is in jail or his big brother is already down on the corner dealing drugs." This is what a republican candidate said in a US sub-committee last month. The funny part about this is that his statement was reported verbatim in Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show".

The Rep. came back to say that "The Daily Show" had misrepresented his statement with these comments, "I regret that Comedy Central's 'Daily Show' portrayed my words the way they did. I believe that gratuitously violent video games are inappropriate for all children. However hard it may be to prove their effect in any given instance, tragedies like the killings at Columbine High School and more recent events closer to home clearly show that children from every neighborhood and income level can and do get into trouble - sometimes quite seriously."

Why don't we have these issues in Australia? We certainly don't have the anti video game media coverage, but we also don't have the saturation of guns in the population either. I always thought that guns didn't kill people, people killed people, but maybe that's just me.

(Report courtesy of http://gamepolitics.livejournal.com)

This Blog is Cynically bought to you by IGA

$3,000 for my new PC.
$89.95 for my new game.
Being Influenced by Advertising While I play my new game on my new PC - Priceless.

For many Australians IGA is the Independent Grocers Association, a cut price supermarket chain which competes with the big two (Coles and Woolworths/Safeway). However, for gamers the acronymn IGA will take on a new meaning in the near future. IGA is the acronymn for the new company looking to develop In Game Advertising. IGA is what the software developers are pushing for. It, ultimately, increases their profits by providing product placement or corporate advertising ingame.

Just to clarify where I stand on this so that no one is confused as to why I have advertising on the cynical gamer blog. There is a place for advertising on free to air television, print media, radio and web pages. These places make their money out of advertising dollars. They are free to use (more often than not) and are not subscription based. The companies who provide these services have to cover their expenses and make some sort of profit. However, when you buy a TV series on DVD you do not have to put up with watching advertising in the ad breaks. The advertising is, fortunately, removed from the TV Show. Just as you should not have to watch advertising ingame as you have purchased the product. There is something insidious about this type of advertising. The company is guaranteed a return (whether they make a profit or not is up to sales and management strategy) based on product purchase. They should not have to place ingame advertising in the software to increase their profits.

Intel have just made a $5 million investment in to IGA. Hoping that they can jump on the bandwagon. Keeping in mind that Intel, Nvidia and several other companies already purchase advertising on games anyway (seen the "Played best on Nvidia" logo when you load a game). The difference with the IGA advertising is that they are "pioneering" a way to deliver up-to-date advertising while you play. This will mean that somehow they will utilize your internet connection to deliver advertising content while you play. It means they will be able to tailor advertising delivery based on the country you are in and the time that you play. This is disgusting and, if it means, that you are going to have to have an internet connection to install or play these games then many gamers are going to be pissed off.

I don't want to have to put up with more advertising content in my spare time. I play PC games to get away from the television and the real world. I don't want to have some corporation poking around in my thoughts while I play games.

This push by the big companies to influence every part of our lives is disgusting. We should be able to get away from that crap and not have to put up with their profiteering marketing while we relax and try to enjoy ourselves. This is nothing but blatant profiteering and an attempt by advertising agencies and corporations to influence every part of our lives. I personally am quite sick of it.

One Word Game Reviews

In keeping with my criticism of game reviews I thought, rather than just be a critic of the critics why not try to implement a system which would be able to get around the rhetoric. A system inwhich the usual garbage which is associated with a game review can be pushed aside in order to get to the meat of the review.Ultimately, there is nothing which can get around personal opinion, as every review, no matter how it is written, will be influenced by this. But what about something which simplified the process so that gamers could get an understanding of the game in an easy digest format. Cause, let's face it, that is what the cynical gamer is about.

This is why I have come up with a simple system called "One Word Game Reviews". While I will say now that some of those words may be hyphenated, they will pretty much consist of one word. To get around the numbered rating system which usually is 1 to 10, or 1 to 5 or 5 stars, I will implement a rating between 1 and 1,000,000. This way there can be no confusion as to exactly what is the difference between two stars and three stars (taken into consideration would you consider two stars to be 40% and three stars to be 60%? If this is the case then there is a huge disparity with a star or 1 to 5 based rating system).

I will base the reviews based only on games which I have played. This way there can be no speculation as to whether I am making the review up or not. The game title will be followed with the one word review and then the rating.

Cynical Gamers "One Word Reviews"
Titan Quest - Diablo 2 - 700,000/1,000,000

Oblivion - Morrowind-on-speed - 825,000/1,000,000

Dungeons and Dragons Online - Potential - 575,000/1,000,000

Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter - tom-clancy-returns - 750,000/1,000,000

Sin Episodes - forgettable - 400,000/1,000,000

Half Life 2 Episode 1 - should-have-been-part-of-the-half-life-2-release - 600,000/1,000,000

X3 Reunion - open-ended-madness - 700,000/1,000,000

Condemned - violent - 650,000/1,000,000

Grand Theft Auto San Andreas - all-time-favourite - 900,000/1,000,000

Boiling Point - persist-with-it - 750,000/1,000,000

World of Warcraft - money-making-machine - 600,000/1,000,000

Quake 4 - fun - 700,000/1,000,000

Medal of Honour: Pacific Assault - linear-more-so-than-half-life-2 - 300,000/1,000,000

FEAR - insane-AI - 800,000/1,000,000

Rag Doll Kung Fu - don't-even-think-about-it - 1/1,000,000

Rainbow Six: Lockdown - they-turned-an-excellent-sim-shooter-into-arcade-trash - 200,000/1,000,000

Alright, so my one word reviews don't quite work, but the 1 to 1,000,000 rating system is quite definitive. Wonder if someone will pick that concept up (not). Obviously it is not easy to keep to one word in order to review a game. Word limitation can be a positive and a negative it just depends on what you use the words for. It is definitely impossible to keep personal opinion out of a review. What are you left with? The possibility of reviewing games with robots so that emotion can be left out of them?

Cyncial Gamer's Favourite game of the last 12 months - Grand Theft Auto San Andreas

Creativity Driven By Commercialism

Why be critical of capitalism when it is quite obviously here to stay? The main reason criticism becomes difficult relates to the fact that there are no realistic working alternatives. Without an alternative you don't really have another option but to embrace the system that you have. As Gordon Gecko says, "Greed is good" but is it good when relating the need to profit over a creative venture?


Creativity driven by commercialism does not necessarily manufacture the best product. Just take a look at how the gaming industry has changed. The beginning of the industry spawned a number of relatively unique concepts within gaming which were then further defined in to specific genres. These concepts were created based on the limitations of the hardware which restriced the possibilities for content rather than enhancing the potential. This did not stop developers from establishing new ideas. Just to run through some of the genres which existed in early gaming: Platform, Shooter/Scrolling Shooter (Space Invaders), Text Adventure, Sports, Graphical Adventure (King's Quest/Space Quest), Role Playing Game, Simulation, Racing, Real Time Strategy, Strategy, Fighting, and others. Over time some of these genres have changed somewhat with Shooters being replaced by First Person Shooters and RPGs embracing the concept of the Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (What a mouthfull, Try MMO), many of these genres have faded from existance.

The platform games, shooters/scrolling shooters, text adventures, (to a degree Graphical Adventures are dying) have all died through the last fifteen to twenty years. Obviously some of this is related to technology improving and relieving the limitations which defined those categories, but what we are also seeing is a glut of releases in just a couple of categories. First Person Shooters, RPGs and RTS games nearly dominate release schedules. Simulation, Racing and Sports games (besides the ubiquitous EA Sports range) are becoming fewer and far between.

What happens when commercialism drives creativity is that those manufacturers who develop the software look for safe or guaranteed "no risk" options rather than push their creativity to develop something new. They find a formula which they believes works to generate a return on their investment. Because they have to report to their shareholders and the only language that shareholders understand is the notion of return on their investment the companies do not attempt to push the boundaries of the genre. Maybe this is one of the reason why video games has not seen a drive to unique and creative story telling. Preferring to maintain the cliched storylines of man defends world with his barehands or aliens have invaded type tripe. They have not wanted to invest their money in the resources which would see them push the gaming industry in to the area of being a narrative driven environment. This could possibly see the industry shift from being a purely "entertainment" based product to a well rounded and versatile medium.

Which gets me to my next point. Why would I put a Ken Done painting at the start of this blog? Well, to make a point. Art (or so-called art, cause I am not a Ken Done fan) does not have to necessarily push the boundaries in order to be successful. And while people may say they don't like it (as they do with Ken Done's paintings) doesn't mean it won't sell and be successful. Art sometimes has to fit a specific need and provide some form of tactile pleasure as well as being stimulating to the mind and the senses. Games too fulfill this need. Some are going to be purely entertainment while others will attempt to push the boundaries of the genre in order to challenge its audience.

As with everything commercialism driving the video game industry has its good points and its bad points. The modding community, I hope, will be the driving force behind pushing this industry back from being a purely capitalistic venture to refinding its creative roots.

El Diablo has Captured Blizzard

From what I understand it, the love of money is the root of all evil. Maybe Blizzard should have a think about this when they consider their future gaming line up as rumours circulate that a stand alone version Diablo 3 will not be made and Blizzard will focus their efforts on making all franchises MMO type games.

If these rumours are true (and rumours more often than not are wrong) what would possibly be the reason to focus all of your resources in to this type of game? A persistant world is a great money earner for a game company. World of Warcraft is meant to have over a 50 per cent market share of the MMO community. While it might be said that Ultima Online and Lineage have been just as popular the truth of the matter is that they didn't have the same amount of competition.

Would it be possible for Blizzard to create another MMO which is just as successful as World of Warcraft? Sony couldn't do it with Everquest 2. Considering the nickname of Everquest was Evercrack then how could Sony have not recreated the same experience with the second game? It is not easy to follow up a massive hit with another massive hit in the gaming industry. World of Warcraft has definitely not defined the genre with its new gameplay. It has followed along a standard formula. While Blizzard are currently cashing in on this so-called "phenomenon" another game developer is taking the idea to the next level, with the next new thing. Something which will surpass World of Warcraft. What will happen then? The pressure will be on Blizzard to recapture their market.

I will not buy Diablo 3 if it is an MMO. I don't want to pay per month to play games. I don't think that any gamer should have to pay per month to play a game whether it is a persistant world or not. I enjoy not having to be online to play games. I don't want to have to socialize every time I want some mindless entertainment. Sometimes I want to be selfish about my gameplay and do what I want. This is just how it is. When gaming with other people often you have to conform to what the group (or dominant leader) wants. I don't want to have to do this. Gaming should be relaxation time and not work time.

How will gamers take the rumours that Diablo will not exist as it was and become an MMO? After playing Titan Quest for a couple of days I would say that would be a damned shame. I have enjoyed playing Titan Quest multiplayer, but I also enjoy playing it by myself. Why should I have to go online and be a part of a community every time I play? Why should anyone? and why should they have to pay to be a part of this community?

Popular Pirates

Pirates must be popular at the moment with game developers. All of this from the Disney movie Pirates of the Caribbean. Considering it apparently took the Australian script writer quite a few years to get this script published it makes you wonder what has turned the tide for the hollywood pirate popularity.

As with anything the gaming industry is keen to jump on the bandwagon and it seems there are a number of pirate related games to be released. Sid Meier was another one to jump on the bandwagon by releasing a remake of his classic pirate game not long after the movie was released. It seems that there is nothing stopping the industry now as we have a number of stand alone buckaneering games (Age of Pirates) to be released as well as an MMO based on the movie franchise.

I was a big fan of Sid Meier's original Pirates game, having played it on the Amiga and PC. The rerelease of this game was definitely an improvement in some ways, however, some of the additional mini games should have not made the final cut. It must be said that Pirate based games have not been overly popular with gamers. The original Pirates of the Caribbean game (released by Bethesda) was good in parts but very short. The ship combat was excellent, but other aspects of the game were lacking.

Hopefully, some of the new pirate games coming out are of a good quality and not just capitalising on the popularity of the movie series in order to make some money with inferior products.

Titan Quest

Have spent the weekend playing Titan Quest multiplayer. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then Blizzard should be flattered with this hack and slash game. Titan Quest is the game which best replicates the playing experience of Diablo.

Hack and slash is back. If you don't mind this type of game and weren't overly impressed with Dungeon Siege 2 then check out Titan Quest. It plays so much like Diablo that you would think you were playing Diablo. Maybe it shows that the time between drinks for Blizzard have been too long and there is definitely a place in the market for this type of game.

There are a heap of weapon options and combinations. The skill tree is reasonably well done with a lot of options available to the player. It is easy to play multiplayer and bring a lower character up to where you are. The character animations are very good and the fighter is excellent to watch in combat while dual wielding. They have done a good job to implement large flowing levels without any load. It is possible to play through for several hours without any real interruption to the gameplay.

A Good Year for Gaming (Part Two)

Just to continue with some of the games I will be looking out for this year. Hopefully, we can see the implementation of some new physics processing options in game which will help to add to the level of immersion on offer ingame. Of course, there is a new hardware/software development race on to capture this market. Hopefully consumers won't get burnt as they spend their money taking up the new technology.

Spore - Finally a game which looks to have a relatively original concept behind it while offering a range of different gameplay types. While being classified as a simulation type game spore follows the notion of following the characters evolution from a single celled object through to a master species. Apparently the game is going to offer gamers complete character customization with the possibilty of you uploading your character online so that others can implement your character type in to their own game. The game will have different types of gameplay ranging from a "pacman" style of game through to RTS and shooter elements. This game will depend on how well Maxis can bring it all together.

Company of Heroes - The RTS genre really hasn't excited me too much since the release of C&C Generals. Dune and C&C were the games which pioneered the genre and not much has really changed about the game itself since then. Hopefully, Company of Heroes can help to push the RTS in a slightly new direction. While every magazine which looks at a WW2 game says that WW2 is a bit overdone I personally don't care. If the game can bring something new to the gaming table it should be judged on its own merits whether it is set in WW2 or not. Company of Heroes is set to add completely destructable environments to the mix and smart AI.

...to be continued...

The Secret to a Successful Review

I think I have found the secret to getting a good game review in a magazine. Put a big pair of tits at the start of the game and you are guaranteed to get a good review no matter how crap the game actually is. This seems to have worked for Sin Episodes in PC Powerplay (p. 62, Issue 128, August 2006, Australia). The reviewer was so infatuated with the pixelated titties that he forgot there was a game under review. So much so that just under half of the review is focussed on this aspect of the game.

Don't get me wrong I am all for a bit of flesh, but have to draw the line at the pixelated equivalents. They don't match the real thing. It will be a while before they begin to match the real thing. It is the same reason I don't understand the fascination with animated porn. Why watch the animated when you can watch the real thing? It's not the same and never will be.

Just to cap the so-called review off. The reviewer spends another paragraph discussing the differences in price between purchasing the game online (via Steam) or in the box at a store. While he manages to compare the pricing of the two and drawing the line at wasting two hundred odd dollars on the box he fails to mention that you will have to pay $200 for forty odd hours of episodic gameplay in the first place. Obviously, reviewers are a little out of touch with the real world. Firstly, they don't have to pay for the games they review in the first place and therefore don't have to purchase the game. Secondly, it seems you really don't have to say much about the game to review it. Of the five paragraphs of game review, two of them are devoted to the pixelated ingame flesh and another is devoted to the cost comparison. This leaves only two paragraphs of a short game review devoted to the game play itself.

What he fails to mention in the review is how bad the gameplay actually is and that it is relatively dated in relation to the current crop of shooters on the market. When the game is compared to the quality of FEAR or Brothers In Arms it just does not stand up. If Sin Episodes had been released 2 years ago you would have thought it was a quality game. However, game development has surpassed Sin before it has been released.

As for this review here is how I rate it:
As a mindless Blab Fest - 9/10
As useful as Tits on a Bull - 9/10
Fanboy Trite - 10/10
VERDICT 9/10

For such an excellent score Sin Episodes: Emergence review in PC Powerplay gets The Cynical Gamers useless review of the month.

(I subscribe to PC Powerplay and consider this review to be a complete waste of my money.)

When is a Sequel not a Sequel?

So, when is a sequel not a sequel? When it is the "spiritual successor" to a game. Confused? Spiritual successor is a term which is being thrown around by the marketing gurus for some games being released this year. I am sure it has been used before, but not with so much gusto. Two game releases of note which are picking up on this term are Bioshock (the spiritual successor to System Shock) and Crysis (the spiritual successor to Far Cry). It is so common that wikipedia even has a reference to it.

Wikipedia states that spiritual successor or spiritual sequel means, "A spiritual sequel or spiritual successor is a sequel or successor to a computer or video game, movie, comic or even a stage play. It consists of the same genre, themes, or high-concept, and is often created by the same producer, director, or writer. Since creative teams often change employers but do not retain the rights to their intellectual property, they will often create a new product that is a sequel to their previous works in all ways except for being set in the exact same universe." It seems the reference in Wikipedia to this term has only been added within the last couple of months.

However, isn't this just a means for marketing companies to capitalize on the popularity on the original release without actually saying the game is a direct sequel? Isn't it an easy way to create some interest in the game without actually having to do some of the hard work of explaining what the game is about. It cuts down on the hard yards they have to do in promoting the game and allows people to create a picture of the game in their mind's eye without actually having to explain everything from scratch. Shouldn't gamers be wary of easy marketing terms? Shouldn't each game be promoted and marketed on its own merits rather than relying on previous games in order to create interest? Sequels are no guarantee of the quality of a game. Nor should the use of the term "spiritual successor". Just because the marketing people tell us that the game is similar doesn't mean that the game is of similar standards. Gamers should be wary of the use of marketing terms in game promotion and they should use their inbuilt bullshit detector to cut through the garbage which is marketing speak.

With the number of products being released in to the marketplace it seems that with new technology comes new ways of promoting and talking about games in order to create interest. Spiritual successor is just a way for marketing people to create a mental link in the gamers mind with a new game being released on the market with a previous title in which it is completely different.

Does Atari Hold The Key to the Soul of Video Games?

Atari is in some financial trouble. In fact, Atari is in a lot of financial trouble. With limited success over the last several years Atari's back may be against the wall. Driver 3 was a massive flop for the company. Obviously there were some poor management decisions going on behind this game because they spent all of their money paying Ridley Scott to direct the commercials for the game rather than putting money into the game's development. But what does Atari mean to modern game development and to the gaming consciousness in general?

I grew up with Atari being a major gaming pioneer. Atari were one of the primary gaming pioneers. They introduced one of the most successful gaming consoles in to the marketplace and had a massive number of arcade machines which were massively successful. Atari made video games a world wide gaming phenomenon. However, as seems to be the way in gaming no one company can hold the crown for gaming development indefinitely and through the nineties Atari's gaming reputation and success was on the decline. During this time a new generation of gamers were coming in to the marketplace and Atari no longer held the mantle as being one of the power houses behind gaming. A sure sign that Atari was on the decline was the sale of the company to Infogrames. Finally, the ride was over for the company which had helped to pioneer the video games industry. With a limited number of titles under development Atari has seen some success with a rebirth in retro as gamers go searching for their own roots and turn some of their gaming focus to the games which helped to create the industry.

It would be dissappointing to me to see Atari go out of business. Atari is a name which I have associated with video games for most of my life. Without Atari it would feel as though something was missing from the gaming industry. As though a part of the gaming psyche would be lost never to be returned. Obviously, the businesses within the gaming industry can't survive if they release sub standard games and Atari, in this respect, is no different than any other company. However, I would feel a sense of loss if Atari went out of business more than any other company. If EA went out of business I wouldn't be overly concerned, in fact, in some ways I may even be happy, but if Atari went out of business I would feel as though a little something had gone and would never come back.

There are a few Atari games which I still rate as some of my all time favourites. River Raid and the original Pitfall. However, it was the Atari 2600 console which formed an important part of my childhood. It is a very happy part of my childhood with hours spent playing it with my brother and my old man. Always trying to get a little bit further. One game which we spent hours playing together was Miner 2049er. We would all sit together trying to beat this simple, platform game for hours. It is these things which remind me of the Atari more than anything else. Happy memories from my childhood.

Special Thanks to Ausgamers

Just a quick thanks to Ausgamers for the graphic link to their site. Hopefully, Ausgamers can get back on track and provide more gaming news as they are one of my preferred Australian gaming sites.