the cynical gamer

AVP

2009-06-11T21:28:00.002+10:00

I am looking forward to the new AvP but since when did a "marine" become it's own species. What the fuck is going on with so-called gaming journalists? They can't even use their own brains to determine that the marketing shite they are presented with is wrong. Humans are a species but a marine is not.

cya

2009-04-12T13:18:00.000+10:00

Due to a lack of interest from readers I am going to stop writing cyncial gamer. To be honest, it was a less than average blog anyway.

Enjoy your gaming.

The Games I Play - February 09 - Zombified

2009-03-10T11:26:00.002+11:00

Games Purchased This Month:
NHL 3 x 3 Arcade (Xbox 360)
Left 4 Dead (PC – Steam)
Dawn of War 2
Civilization 4 Complete
Race Pro (Xbox 360)
Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Steam)

Games Played This Month:
Company of Heroes Opposing Fronts
Golden Eye (Nintendo 64)
Unreal Tournament 3 (Steam)
Dead Space (Xbox 360)
Lost (Xbox 360)
NHL 3 x 3 Arcade (Xbox 360)
Far Cry (Xbox 360)
Left 4 Dead (PC – Steam)
Wii Bowling - Multiplayer
Wii Tetris
Dawn of War 2
Don't Shit Your Pants (Flash Game)
Mario Karts (Wii) Multiplayer
Team Fortress 2 (Steam)
Race Pro (Xbox 360)
Beyond Castle Wolfenstein
Streets of Rage (Megadrive)

Games Finished This Month:
Dead Space
Left 4 Dead (PC - Steam)

Mr Cynical wasn't happy with my post from last month. He actually had a rant about my need to compare games to other forms of media. As far as he is concerned games are the superior medium and, as such, there is no need for it to be compared to any other. I tried to make my point that if gaming doesn't acknowledge other media then developers are destined to make the same mistakes. He did not care. He got sick of communicating the fact that he did not care via short messages so he is thinking of setting up a forum that just the two of us can use. I think this way he can justify losing complete control of his rational thought process in order to make a point. Sometimes I think that playing games and communicating on the internet have broken the way he thinks, or, he is just like every other forum troll (I can read – Cynical).

Just to prove Cynical wrong there is an excellent fan made short film that was released in the last month called Escape from City 17. If you haven't gathered from the title it is set in the world of Half Life 2. This is one of the best pieces of fan fiction I have seen (sorry Red Vs Blue … you are now second). The production values are extremely high and the story is just as non-explanatory as Half Life 2. Sometimes the fiction that we involve ourselves in inspires us so much that we can find no other way to express ourselves other than to start exploring that fictional world with our own characters and under our own terms. This does not always result in the greatest works, but it provides further life to these places for hardcore fans. Star Wars, Warcraft and even X3 have created spin off worlds for their fans. Star Wars probably has one of the most diverse and far reaching bodies of work. It must be noted that Tolkien was probably one of the great writers who contributed the most to his own fictional universe. There are more books based in Middle Earth than I care to count. Then there are also further academic explorations as well. If you can't get in to Tolkien's fiction then you can always read Cassandra Claire's The Very Secret Diaries for a different take on the characters from the films.

Most people will never spend any time exploring fan based fiction but for those who need further stimulus then there are plenty of opportunities to do so.

Could it be that games such as Dead Space are just fan fiction with a massive budget and industry talent? The problem is that there is generally a negative perception associated with fan fiction. A feeling that these things are low budget and poorly produced. However, in their most literal form film adaptations of novels are really just works of fan fiction. Hollywood, in this regard, is also driven by the want to profit from something that has been successful in another medium. Because fan fiction doesn't make money that we call it fan fiction and not legitimate work in its own right. Dead Space has taken willingly from the genre in which it has placed itself. There are references to science fiction writing in the story and in the characters. There are many similarities between the game and the movie Solaris as well. The fact that the game attempts to drive it own narrative in its own universe means that we don't classify it as fan fiction but as an independent work in its own right. Surely, the line between these two must be pretty thin when the work is so similar.

I am a sucker for the modern day fascination with zombies. I love George Romero's movies. The original Dawn of the Dead is one of my favourites. I saw an interview with George Romero where he attributes the original Night of the Living Dead movie to have been inspired by the book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Funnily enough there were two other movies inspired directly from this book. One of them bearing its name and featuring Will Smith. The other was called Omega Man and was pushed along by the man himself, Charlton Heston. Neither of these movies managed to capture the anxiety of the book. And both of them, effectively spin offs, were nothing more than big budget fan fiction. (The book by Richard Matheson actually features zombies and vampires, although the reader never knows that they are such.) At their best zombies are indicative of the intelligentsia's attempts to distance themselves from the “unthinking” masses. At their worst they just make for a good splatter horror flick (Have you seen Zombie Strippers? I love that movie – Cynical). Splatter films featuring zombies are the best way to create guiltless rampages against a human form. No need for any emotional baggage when you bag a zombie as they are already dead. I also like the ironical ramifications of the elitism inherent with understanding the metaphor of the zombie plight. By assuming that the unthinking masses generally don't have the capacity for independent thought we believe that, as a thinker, we are separate from this life of the living dead. However, as participants in consumer based society (which is what zombies are really indicative of) we are just as brain dead as everyone else. The good thing is that gaming has managed to pick up on all of these themes. Dead Rising is a bit of a cult classic and Left 4 Dead is pretty much an instant best seller. Both of these games cover the spectrum as far as zombie metaphor goes. Dead Rising attempts to emulate the George Romero classic. Left 4 Dead is a splatter flick. Perfect cross media pollination.

When I say that I have completed Left 4 Dead I mean that I have played through the campaign mode on both Xbox 360 and PC. However, there is still plenty of gameplay left in this title. Left 4 Dead is one of the few shooters that you can pick up and play without having to worry about game saves or mission progression. I originally purchased this game on the Xbox 360, however, I wasn't happy with the controls. Left 4 Dead is a true twitch shooter. There haven't been many games made like it. As a gaming mechanic console gaming slows down gameplay due to the nature of the input device. Twitch shooters just don't feel right on a console. Steam recently had a sale where Left 4 Dead was half price. This meant that I could pick the game up on the PC at what I thought was a reasonable price. I don't think that the full retail price of these games is reasonable in Australia. This gave me the opportunity to play the game on both formats. My feelings about the game were right. The free flow of the game is much better suited to the PC.

Having played the original Golden Eye on Nintendo 64 in the last month I have to say that FPS on the consoles have come a long way. I may even say that the auto aim implemented in Golden Eye was compensating for something. The developers had to do this because Mr Bonds input technology was just not up to scratch. It's not that it wasn't big enough, but evolutionary a little way down the tree. This is due to the single joystick controller. All decent console controllers come with dual sticks now. This makes aim move and shoot much more organic than with a control pad. You can run Golden Eye with dual controllers, and I have tried this, but it still feels unnatural compared to the shooters of today. Essentially the controller input you choose can reduce the reaction time of the gamer. A good case in point is actually my dad. My dad has his own Xbox 360 console. Return to Castle Wolfenstein is his favourite game. I have let him know that they are working on another one and he is a little too excited. Having come to gaming late dad doesn't have the same manual dexterity in his opposable thumbs as most other gamers. As a result he adapts his gameplay style to his limitations. He prefers sniping. Slow movements and crouching. He has been known to get lost in games at times as well which doesn't help. Unfortunately, games such as Left 4 Dead don't allow gamers to adapt in this way. The game induces a pace on the player which requires relatively quick reflexes. There are definitely times when you can snipe, but most other times you are struggling to survive. This is the pace that makes this game different from other shooters. Should they change this pace or implement a more intrusive auto-aim function to cater for the differences in the console controller? To do these things would fundamentally change the game.

The other question this raises has to do with the review process. Gamers are seeing more and more reviews are written after the reviewer plays only one version of the game. Often, with multiplatform publications and websites, this review is universally applied to all formats of the game regardless. Sometimes, you might see an insert or a note which says that there are slight differences in gameplay, but the reviews remain the same. I find it interesting that we will see different reviews of games from country to country (as happens with IGN). I could understand this happening if the cultural differences between Australia, the UK and the US were so different that we required but this is not the case. Yet we see the same reviews applied across platforms. I can understand that editorial staff want to keep their overheads down and their writers working on new material, but it is not really doing gaming any justice. As a case in point go to metacritic.com. Open up two tabs and check out the IGN UK review for both PC and Xbox 360. They have not managed to make a comparison between the formats.

I had an interesting experience during the month. Not the type of interesting experience that you find yourself in after consuming a lot of alcohol and then inexplicably calling a taxi the next morning in an attempt to escape shamefully from some unknown stranger's house. Unfortunately, as a geek, these experiences don't happen often enough. It was more the type of interesting experience that comes from sensory recall. I was driving to work and had my mp3 player set to random when the Audioslave song “Your Time Has Come” played. Immediately, I had sensory recall of playing Flatout. I have played all of these games and, at the time, I couldn't place which one I was recalling. What I had was the overwhelming feeling that this song had placed me in that game at some point of time and that, for the moment while the song played, I could not think of anything else because the recall felt that strong.

This is not something that is uncommon for me. There are some specific things that give me this kind of memory recall. The Crowded House album, Temple of Low Men, instantly places me at cadet camp in Puckapunyal. The feelings of rain, mud, camping and orienteering are associated with the songs from this album. The smell of diesel fuel always reminds me of the desert. I have made a number of trips through the desert and the smell of diesel fuel always places me back in those memories. The smell of fire reminds me of camping. I have other, less romantic and happy memories too, but these are probably better left unsaid. It astounds me, that considering the amount of time during my life that I have spent gaming, that so few moments of sensory recall create definitive gaming related memories. I can certainly remember different gaming moments but these come from making a conscious effort to remember them. This doesn't create the unknown spontaneity of having one of your senses create instant recall. Sure, the tune from Mario reminds me of Mario but it doesn't necessarily remind me of playing Mario. The tune is more like an advertising jingle that is played ad infinitum and has forced itself in to my memory in order to influence the way I think rather than bringing on happy moments from times past. Why is it that gaming doesn't create these moments in people's lives? My first thought is that they are not a complete sensory experience as yet. There are no smells associated with gaming that aren't environmental. Many ingame soundtracks are either jingle based, as in Mario, or poorly conceived soundtracks that have no particular relevance to the games we play. While Doom 3 was openly criticised by many gamers Trent Reznor's soundtrack is one of the best created for any game. The soundtrack is good in the way that Nine Inch Nails music doesn't make me think of the game. They are completely independent of each other.

Ultimately, these moments are etched in to my memory because they hold special importance for different reasons in my life. I wouldn't go over the top and say that Flatout was a defining time of my existence. I admit that I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game. I feel a bit disappointed that more games don't feature more in this type of sensory recall. Mainly, because I love those places that have been created. Exploring Cyrodiil and Vvardenfall for the first time are, by far, some of the most enjoyable and awe-inspiring gaming experiences that I have had. Yet, I can't think of any moment during my game time in these two worlds that would have created any basis for sensory recall. Essentially gaming doesn't appeal to all of our senses. Certainly there are moments in games that we will never forget but the limitations of the way we interact with these places mean that they are etched in to our memory in a certain way. Sensory recall is, in many ways, a very sentimental occurrence and maybe gaming is more about passing the time rather than creating long lasting memories. It has to be said that there would be time while gaming that I am glad that I don't have the sense of smell. I don't think I would want to smell the decaying flesh of a zombie or the puss-filled beak of a head crab. Imagine the smell of Lara Croft after her adventures in the archeological underworlds. No one wants to know that a gaming sex symbol smells of body odour after an hour of intense “game play”.

I have had a reader request in the last month. That means that in the last month I have increased the readership by 100 per cent. (Zero to one isn't one hundred per cent. Zero is nothing so how can you get 100 per cent from nothing? How about if you increase the readership to two next month then we'll consider that a 100 per cent increase. Otherwise, “That's great kid, don't get cocky”- Cynical) However, I feel that the question that I was asked to discuss was a somewhat loaded question as the reader knows that I am not a fan of World Of Warcraft. The reader asked if I could discuss the social impacts of Wrath of the Lich King on relationships. Considering I think of World of Warcraft as Facebook for geeks then I think the social impacts are somewhat positive. Even though there have been reports of a teenage boy playing himself to hospital after a 24 hour World of Warcraft session I think this is bad parenting more than anything else. But like everything else we have learned from America people are not responsible for their own stupidity. We blame consumerism for that. This is the one thing I don't blame consumerism for. And he only lasted 24 hours. Surely his friends must think that he is a little on the weak side considering some sad gamers binge for days on end. I think, more than anything else, the social impacts of World of Warcraft are very positive as it is, in essence, a social game. It is just that Facebook is free and World of Warcraft you have to pay to play … every … single … month. While the social impacts may be positive for the player, if you find yourself around people in the real world who don't play World of Warcraft then their perception of your gameplay will be negative because they are not included in the activity. As with so many games released now multiplayer is an important part of how the game is made and marketed. World of Warcraft just turns this in to an effective business model where many others have failed. One aspect of gaming that is not socially acceptable, and not limited to World of Warcraft, are gamers who say “lol”, “rofl”, or “lmao” instead of actually laughing. What is wrong with these people?

You may recall that I mentioned my brother's friend the wannabe game developer last month. I have decided to test his theory, I mean, a wise man once said that theories are like arseholes, everyone has one. I don't plan on testing that theory, someone with a rubber glove and a notepad can do that, but the one where open world games are all about hitting old grandma's over the head with a baseball bat. I have been playing Far Cry 2 this month. I am pretty sure that this game is categorised as an open world game. So far I have not hit a single grandma over the head with a baseball bat. The thing that concerns me is that I have not even managed to find a single baseball bat in the game, or a grandma for that matter. It leads me to believe that I must be playing the game wrong. So, the tally is Theory 0. Games 1.

I figure you can see in my games played list that I have played and purchased Dawn of War 2. I did mention it last month as one of the games I was looking forward to. So, I should give it a mention. Mr Cynical has provided me with a caveat to my job description and said that I cannot openly criticise games as it might spoil his potential to get advertisers. I think, considering I have two regular readers, that this won't be an issue for him for a long time. What I will say about Dawn of War 2 is this, at least base building gives me something to do before the inevitable occurs. I can pad my game play with the ability to build a base, admire its beauty, and then watch it get destroyed. Dawn of War 2 takes this pleasure away from the notion of traditional RTS and leaves me no where to hide my poor strategy gaming skills. This is not a new concept. The original Command and Conquer games used this concept as a means for story progression. These were my least favourite levels in these games as well. For some reason I had managed to delude myself in to thinking that Dawn of War 2 would be different from these levels. That it would be new. Fresh. Something that managed to push the genre forward. Instead, I find it to be that Command and Conquer experience strung together into one, long and repetitive single player campaign. I was never one for constant repetitive tasks. That's why I fail at work so often. I don't have the supreme patience to work on a production line. I have not enjoyed my Dawn of War 2 experience. I expected something to be revolutionary. Something that felt new. Instead, we see the convergence of several genres to create a completely watered down gaming experience. I have no affinity with my character to push the scope of levelling up in to the realm of RPG. The weapons have no direct substance on the gameplay experience to make the game comparable to Diablo 2. Yet, these are meant to be features of this game. Instead, I find myself pushing through the same types of cover over and over again. Junglist did mention this in Good Game and Kotaku have mentioned this as well. Yet, the game still reviews extremely well. Why is that? Good Game, at least, had the decency (and fore thought) to break their score in to single and multi player totals. Where they rated the single player lower than the multi. Why don't we see this more often? So that those who don't want to play online can make a better buying decision. Sounds too much like hard work for the so-called industry of gaming “journalism”. (Edit from here … ENOUGH – Cynical)

Looks like Mr Cynical has cut this months post short. He said that rants were only meant to be posted in forums because that was a victimless crime. One thing that I forgot to talk about, it may come up again in a later post, but why is it that the guards in Golden Eye go to the toilet with their AK47s? Is this some kind of weird gun-man-love-thing? Or, are they just really committed to their job? Did John Howard and his banning of semi-automatic weapons manage to erase this from our national psyche? The need to take our weapons everywhere. I don't think that I can answer these questions. Ever. Maybe I should just resign myself to the fact that the limitations of creating in game virtual worlds means that short cuts have to be taken in order to simulate reality. Just because these characters take their guns to the toilet doesn't mean that people do in real life. Except, of course, if you live in America where it is perfectly acceptable to (and in some states illegal not to) do so.

The Games I Play – January 09 – Falling Out

2009-02-16T21:28:00.006+11:00

Games Purchased This Month:
Bioshock (Steam)
Race 07 (Steam)
Unreal Tournament 3 (Steam)
Team Fortress 2 (Steam)
Portal (Steam)
Supreme Commander PC

Games Played This Month:
X3 Terran Conflict
Dead Space (Xbox 360)
Portal (Steam)
STALKER: Clear Sky
Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)
Interpol Demo Xbox Live Arcade
Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360)
Wii Sports (Wii) Bowling Multiplayer
Mario Karts (Wii) Multiplayer
Team Fortress 2 (Steam)
FEAR 2 (Demo)
Unreal Tournament 3 (Steam)
Resident Evil 5 Demo (Xbox 360)
Diablo 2

Games Finished This Month:
Fallout 3

Mr Cynical has given me the job of bringing some life back to this blog. I wouldn't say that he has lost interest in gaming, he still loves playing games. In fact, he spends all of his time playing games. He has just lost his faith in the gaming industry. He won't communicate with anyone face-to-face any more. He prefers to send short text messages via Xbox Live. You can imagine the interview process took quite some time. He often gets confused with who he is talking to and breaks out in to random “Pwn u noob” for no apparent reason. I don't believe these random outbursts are aimed at me. It is possible that, in the end, he forgot why I was talking to him and just handed over the keys to the website, as you might say.

After reading Nick Hornby's The Complete Polysyllabic Spree, which I highly recommend and given that you are reading this blog I believe that you are capable of reading and not just playing games, I found some inspiration for the new format. I have been sick of gaming news for some time. Most game comment is confined to reviews, rants on forums, and poor editorial content. Gaming is an experience beyond those pieces of marketing spin which now define the industry. It is no longer just an activity that we do just to pass the time either. Rather, it is something that we do because it engages us on more than just the level of being entertainment. Sure, we can play games to pass the time. We can even play games because it is fun and is now an accepted social activity. But gaming can also engage us on a level that makes the journey of playing the game a deep and rewarding personal experience. An experience that can talk to us on multiple levels and contribute to other forms of media as well. While the paths we travel may differ the endings are always the same.

The Games I Play will outline my gaming experience from month to month. There are really no hard and fast rules to these posts. I don't have to play new release or current games. I don't have to finish games. I just have to take the journey and then relate it at the end of each month. That journey may take the form of websites I have visited related to gaming, or forums I have read, but ultimately it will be about the games that I play. I will also post what games I have purchased, played and finished during the month. Fortunately, as opposed to The Spree, my posts won't be governed by a band of 90 odd brothers and sisters wearing white robes who partake in regular sport and are vehemently opposed to criticism. Instead, my posts are read over by Mr Cynical. He is just a crusty old gamer who believes that those employed in the advertising industry are the anti-Christ. The last time I heard from Mr Cynical he was ranting on about how the Commodore Amiga was the greatest gaming machine ever made. He may have been drunk. It's hard to tell.

This will no longer be a blog about reviews, or news. It is just one person's journey through gaming one month at a time.

January is my biggest gaming month of the year. I have four weeks off work from late December to mid January where I can relax at home. It is an opportunity to catch up on reading, walk the dog, ride the motorbike, and play games. Sometimes in that order. I am not in to travel and had no plans this year. This meant plenty of time for gaming.

Although my list of games played is long the three main games that I played over the break have been Fallout 3, Portal and Dead Space. I should state that these are the games that I set out to finish and this, by that definition, makes them different from the others. It means that I was primarily more involved in the pursuit of playing these games with a particular objective. I will say that I don't binge game. I won't play for ten hour straight. I may play the same game twice in one day but I don't do abnormally long stretches as in binge gaming. It maybe because I am getting old, or I don't find the narrative in games as engaging. I don't know why, but generally an hour or two at a time is enough for me. Other games I do pick up and play to fill in the time, or, because I enjoy the fictitious place created by the developers. Where games differ intrinsically from most other forms of fiction is that games maintain the appearance that the consumer is in control of what they are doing in that place. The worlds created by developers mean that some games enable the consumer to go back to that place on demand and to enjoy the environment that has been created. I may go to Liberty City just to discover the location of every dirty rat in the game. This enables me to pick up and play. A novel doesn't really allow the same kind of interaction. The good thing is that you can go back to these places without any great commitment of time. X3 is a game along these lines for me. Egosoft have created a vast environment that you can easily pick up and play at any time.

Having said all of that each of these games I have wanted to play for different reasons. Fallout 2 is one of my all time favourite games. So, that explains the choice of Fallout 3. Portal I have had sitting on my shelf for ages on Xbox 360 but have not played. I thought the controls were better suited to PC. The Steam new years sale allowed me to pick the game up on PC for virtually nothing. Also, a wannabe game developer type friend of my brother said that Portal was “the best game ever made”. I found this to be a bold statement. Has he not played Fallout 2? I thought that was the greatest game ever made. I guess a bean counter would say that World of Warcraft is the greatest game ever made just because of how much money it has made. The opinions people hold about gaming are just as diverse as any other media. I should say that in the same conversation the wannabe developer said that open world games were only about killing old ladies with baseball bats. Needless to say, that I took his enthusiasm for Portal with a small serving of skepticism. It was with these words of wisdom from the future of the gaming industry that I set about and played Portal. Dead Space I had read about last year and thought would be interesting to play even though it was developed by EA.

I must say that my youth was shaped by post apocalyptic fiction of some sort. The movie which made the cold war a reality to me was The Day After. A film which featured Steve Guttenberg (...you'll remember him from films such as Police Academy 1 & 2 and the memorable Cocoon … he was a real up and coming talent at one time or another as you can tell from his list of quality movies). At the time of this movie's release on television it was a hyper real portrayal of a thermo nuclear engagement in the US. I must have been ten or eleven when I saw this film. Having miss-spent my youth reading too much, thinking too much and imagining too much, the horrors of nuclear war became all too real. This kind of life represented living hell to me. What I got from this movie was that radiation sickness was not a good thing. You lose your hair. Lose your teeth. Lose your will to live. To die in this way was not a good way to go. Of all the ways to go dying in my sleep is at the top of my list. Dying by radiation sickness is down the bottom. Along with shark attack, dying while climaxing, and choking to death (not simultaneously). You would think that dying while having sex would be at the top of the list, but it just seems like another thing that I would leave unfinished. There would be the gardening. That decking you never finished and, of course, the sex that you decided to leave mid-thrust. It would just be another thing that I could disappoint someone in. Think about if that was the last thing you did with your partner and that was the worst sex they ever had. You wouldn't be leaving her with a lasting positive memory of your life. Not only would she think that she was responsible for killing you but you were the worst root she had. What a way to be remembered. Anyway. One of the books which I read around the same time was Z for Zacharia. There is no other book that I have read which has scared me as much. A girl lives alone in a valley after a nuclear war. The valley where she lives is an oasis which has not been touched by the radiation. The valley forms its own weather systems. However, her life changes when a mysterious stranger comes along in a radiation suit. I am sure that another reading of the book would put things in to perspective, but these illogical fears of my childhood are what they are. I don't know whether I really want to change them.

These two works defined post nuclear living for me. It was not a pleasant place. Not the place where you wanted to wake up one morning and spend some time. It's funny that the things which scare us also attract us in some way. I love a good horror or survival story. The Day of the Triffids is another novel which I loved as a kid. It has its own type of apocalyptic scenario however the end of the world comes in the form of killer plants. John Wyndham was a master of this type of novel. 28 Days Later is a virtual clone of the events in The Day of the Triffids just sans plants (plus zombies). There are many other forms of post apocalyptic fiction that we are presented with. (V (80s TV Show). Resident Evil (Game & Movie). Mad Max & Mad Max 2 (not Beyond Thunderdome … Hollywood can't cope with the gritty reality required for post nuclear drama it must not make them hear the sounds of cha-ching … Waterworld is a good case in point … maybe Kevin Costner should go back to making porn … that is a gritty world that Hollywood does a little too well). Dawn of the Dead (… and all the “of the Dead” movies by George Romero). Jericho. The Stand (Steven King). Tomorrow When The War Began (John Marsden). These are just the ones I can list off the top of my head. Someone would be able to come up with a far more comprehensive list, but their list won't necessarily contain titles that I have experienced.) However, none of those listed have influenced my own perceptions of this type of world more than The Day After and Z for Zacharia. These two titles created the emotional media baggage that I take to a post apocalyptic game. They both created ultra realistic worlds that gave me childhood nightmares and was not a world that I wanted to experience.

Then along came Fallout 2.

If there was ever a creation that made the poisoned after effects of nuclear destruction the place to live then Fallout 2 was the one. It was a place that wasn't politically correct but unoffensive as well. I mean in what other game could you become a porn star known throughout the land for your on screen prowess. It was a world torn between factions where even the smallest mistakes could cause ongoing problems for your character. One time I played one of my party killed an NPC child in The Den during an intense fire fight. I didn't think much of it at the time. What I didn't know was that my character had been labeled as a child killer. It didn't take long before bounty hunters were hunting me down in a frenzy of randomly generated combat. Even though I hadn't performed the act the action of my party had managed to tar us. This was a unique environment with replay potential unlike any other game at the time and even to this day. The game was implemented with turn based combat. For all of you younger gamers turn based combat was the way real Role Playing Games were played. Unfortunately, game styles have been homogenized by developers. Where we once had many soon there will be only one. Turn based gameplay was not considered to be good for a quick gaming fix. A shooter is better for this.

So, what does all of this have to do with Fallout 3? Not any game in recent memory has there been such a massive canon of work in which it instantly became a part of. Star Wars may come close and you would have to admit that the narrative drive of these games is extremely hit and miss. The Bible has several moments which you may have heard about which have a very post apocalyptic feel. Heard of Sodom and Gomorrah? Or even the book of Revelation. Then you have classic literature such as The War of the Worlds by HG Wells. This book has actually been turned in to several films. One of them quite recent. Here is a history of work which stems back thousands of years. Yet none of these things seem to be mentioned in connection to the games which contribute to the same canon of work. There is a deep seated cultural cringe within gaming. Even those within the gaming industry help to perpetuate this cringe. Maybe this is why we see so many clichéd storylines created in games. Because developers don't consider themselves to be contributing to a body of work that has existed before them.

Reviewers of Fallout 3 also have managed to politely ignore this fact. The worst review that I read of the game was in Atomic magazine and the reviewer virtually started the review by saying that he had not played the other Fallout games. This then gave him carte blanch to ignore that they even existed. I think most of the other reviewers did this. They just didn't make the mistake of stating that it was their intention to do so. Reviewers also ignored that Bethesda took the politically incorrect Fallout 1 & 2 and turned it in to the politically correct Fallout 3. Maybe their youth or ignorance of the previous versions of the game are their excuse for this. It seems that while the average age of a gamer may be somewhere between 28 and 33 they still write for a 12 year old audience that hasn't experienced life.

When I play a game I bring layers of media context with me. They are an active part of the creation of my suspension of disbelief. I carry these things with me when I watch a post apocalyptic television show or movie. This body of work gives me the ability to create a point of comparison. It creates layers of context that provide meaning beyond the story which is presented to me. When I played Fallout 3 I couldn't live in denial of the fact that I had played Fallout 2 and Fallout Tactics. Yet, the gaming industry lives in a place where there is no past, present or future. The only thing that exists is the game which sits in front of you. When you start the game you become an idiot. An imbecile who has forgotten everything they have learned up until that point in time when they start playing the game. This was the expectation behind Fallout 3. That we were meant to forget every single piece of work that had been created before it and to just consume that piece of media as it was. You were not meant to know that in previous releases of Fallout that vault dwellers were inbred morons. Vault dwellers were the butt of jokes and disrespect from the rest of the fallout universe. However, this was not to be because in Fallout 3 it was the exact opposite. The vault dwellers were well educated and everyone else in the world were considered to be, somewhat, stupid. This is a fundamental change in the environment that has been created. A complete change to the world which existed before. Yet, I made a mistake when I played the game because I wasn't meant to bring this baggage with me. It was a secret. I wasn't really meant to know about the fact that there had been changes made to the world as it existed before.

There is no denying that if Fallout 3 was the very first piece of post apocalyptic fiction ever created that people would consider it to possibly be the best because they had no other point of reference. Maybe those who review suffer from an unbelievably short memory.

Dead Space is a game that is the complete opposite. The game makes reference to those different genres and creators that have gone before it. The game even acknowledges and borrows from them as it sees fit. The story and the action may be familiar but the game is so polished that the time you spend there feels new. This, to me, is the fundamental difference between these two games. For all intents and purposes you could say that Dead Space is a cumulative work that borrows as it needs from other pieces in order to create something that feels new. Sometimes the references are a little too obvious. The character you play is named Isaac Clarke. (I wonder who this is a reference to? - Cynical) This is, of course, the post modern way of pumping out something that is perfectly consumable. It is, after all, just entertainment. I mean we shouldn't get too hung up on these things, should we? I wouldn't want to offend any of the fan base.

Should gaming be the medium where we check our baggage at the door? If this is so then the industry is destined to make the same mistakes over and over again. It will not be able to learn and grow and offer old things in a new light.

I made a fundamental mistake when playing Fallout 3. I played the game as though it was Fallout 2. At the start of the game I took a perk that was the essential perk to have in the original games. Increased XP. I took this perk having forgotten that there was a level cap only to discover later that this Role Playing Game really wasn't much of a role playing game. It was just another shooter. I capped my level prior to finishing the story. I don't think that gamers should be punished in this way when they play long games. Or, for a game to suddenly change from what it is supposed to be, which is a role playing game, to just an outright shooter.

Oh … I nearly forgot about Portal. The so-called greatest game ever made. How could I forget about that? Well, if jumping through hoops is your thing then Portal will be right up your alley. It is the game that teaches you how to jump through hoops. The puzzles are not overly complicated. In fact, valve will have you go through 15 levels or so before you actually have to think about the game. There is not really much else to it. I have to clarify that Portal is more enjoyable than the hula hoop mini-game in Wii Fit. Only slightly. Maybe this could be a new genre in gaming. Hoops. Could we include basketball in that genre?

I did enjoy Fallout 3 far more than Portal. The world which Bethesda has created is engaging. The game provides the player with real choice that has ramifications. Some of the choices that you make may, at the time, seem to be the right thing. When you discover Tenpenny Tower you also find out that there are local mutants who would like to join those humans who live at Tenpenny. It appears that they are not allowed to live their due to the xenophobia of the inhabitants. By allowing the mutants in to Tenpenny Tower you believe that you have created an enforced equality for them. When you back there later you find those very same mutants have killed the other human inhabitants due to a “misunderstanding”. This is excellent sublime scripting. And this is the way it is with Fallout 3. The side missions are what makes the game. The main story is a distraction and ultimately poorly told. Morrowind is still the ultimate modern day role playing game. It was massive on a scale that has not really been attempted since. The freedom that was provided to the character through the use of magic has not been repeated. Oblivion was a watered down Morrowind. Just as Fallout 3 was a watered down Oblivion. Look at the limited and annoying use of the radio station in Fallout 3. It was a horrible game mechanic. When you look at Rockstar have created in GTA IV. They have not held back on content when it comes to creating a believable in game world. Their radio stations are one of the most entertaining elements of the game. GTA IVs mission structure is repetitive and boring. Imagine if they could combine the talents of both teams and make the ultimate open world game if time and money were no limits. I must dream the dreams of gaming geeks. Unfortunately this will never happen and it may be fair to expect that given the large cost of game creation and the extended development times that games may in the next four to five years get shorter rather than longer.

I played through two game demos of up-coming releases which were on my list of games to buy. However, after playing the demos I have quickly removed them. FEAR 2 and Resident Evil 5. My wallet is thankful that they have been taken off the list as this year will definitely see a reduction in my game purchases. What happened to the gritty combat of FEAR? And Resident Evil 5 has some of the worst controls of any game that I have played. Rather than work with you they fight against you. I understand that this is a technique that is used to slow down the action within the game. Make it more challenging. Ultimately it feels forced and unnatural. I wish that I had played the demo of Alone in the Dark prior to actually making the mistake of paying for it. Another case of excellent marketing backed up with poor game execution.

There are still some new games on my radar for the following month. Dawn of War 2 on the PC and Race Pro for the Xbox 360 are probably on my highly anticipated list. I don't believe that I can argue that a car racing game will allow a gamer to bring their emotional baggage to the game prior to play. Unfortunately there are no real hidden contexts to a Mini Cooper S racing around a circuit against other cars of the same type. Just mindless enjoyment. Gaming is about that too sometimes.

I decided to do the right thing and give Mr Cynical a copy of this month's The Games I Play before posting it. He grunted a few times while reading. At least I think he was reading. His eyes scanned the lines and as they moved he mouthed words with his lips but I am not sure if he understood. In the end he said, “No one will understand what you are saying if you don't rate it out of ten. Gamers don't read. They just go straight for the score and then move on to the next one.” I was not going to add a star rating just to make an effort to please Mr Cynical. What would I be rating anyway? Surely, everyone now thinks that these things are redundant.

Carmack's Console Comments Doomed

2008-08-02T17:49:00.002+10:00

Anyone catch the latest comments by John Look-At-My-Ferrari Carmack? That's right, the man who was caught criticizing the PS3 last year has come out and criticized the Xbox 360 this year. This time he is out and about promoting his new game Rage and he just happens to slip in that the game will not look as good on the Xbox 360 because of the DVD format.

Last year the PS3 was too hard for him to program for. This year he seems to have gotten over that and he has just realised that the Xbox 360 only ships with a DVD drive. Nice one John.

John is, of course, famous for co-founding id Software the company behind Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Doom. Someone should print him out a spec sheet of the current generation consoles. Maybe next time he will come out and say that the Wii is the superior graphical console of the current generation.

Geometry Wars 2 Gives Epilepsy Warnings Purpose

2008-08-02T12:13:00.003+10:00

It is true, Geometry Wars 2 gives the Kanye West song 'Flashing Lights' meaning. It is as if this song was written just for this game. The most disappointing thing about this release is that they could not license the song for the game. It would have been the perfect sound track to the madness that is Geometry Wars 2. This is also the game that makes the epilepsy warnings associated with video games relevant. However, these things are by the by because there have been some fundamental changes made to the game.

Firstly, there is the return of some of the main characters from the original retro re-release. Flashing diamond, spinning star and circle vortex have all made a return in the sequel. This will keep the fans entertained. Yet, there is still no story associated with the game so I am completely unsure of the motivation behind my own destruction from these malevolent geometrical shapes.

There has also been the addition of multiplayer to the sequel. The developers have also turned the game in to a number of mini games. While you can play the "evolved" mode (there is no real concern that the evolution of this game will result in machines ruling the earth or bipedal man standing upright) you can also play: King, Deadline, Pacifism, Waves and Sequence. The evolution appears to be that the developers believe that the game should be played in nightclubs. There is definitely a nightclub feel to the game with the sound track sounding more like duf-duf than a solid game sound track. Having said that, why don't Microsoft send around a sugar-plum fairy to deal up some E with every game purchased. I can imagine that all of the bright colours in the game could provide for more than just gaming related entertainment for those more involved in getting their kicks from chemical stimulation rather than the more mainstream. Maybe the developers got up and had a good dance with their friends after they played Geometry Wars 2.

The game modes are well balanced and those of us who loved playing the first game but were not too good at it (such as myself) will find the achievements in this one a bit more achievable.

Besides all of that the gameplay is basically unchanged. So, if you preferred your epilipsy served with some dance music and multiplayer to boot then Geometry Wars 2 is for you.

PC Gaming - Where Are You?

2008-07-22T11:02:00.003+10:00

Where are the big PC Game releases for this year? It seems that big name PC only games have dried right up. Most of the big name PC game releases for this year have been ports of console releases or multi-platform games. The biggest PC Only game release for the year has been Conan: Age of Hyborian Adventures. You would hardly consider this to be a title which reaches across the spectrum of gamers to reach the widest possible audience.

Most games now are provided in a multi-platform format. It would be fair to say that these games are created with the lowest common denominator in mind. High end PC gamers are missing out to a degree. The money that this part of the gaming market spend on their overclocked high end gaming rigs is becoming a waste. The reality of homogonized console gaming is becoming more of reality every single day that passes. Look in to the future and try to think of the big name games which are going to be PC only ... Spore. Spore is hardly the type of game which appears to push the boundaries of PC hardware. There are even rumours circulating that Diablo 3 will be multi-platform. This does not surprise because Blizzard will want to reach the largest audience possible to make as much money as possible.

It is easy to jump on the "Death of PC Gaming" bandwagon but the future doesn't look to bright. Games releases are what we should be judging this future by. PC Gaming is the backbone of the gaming industry. It has outlasted any console on the market. It has done this through diversity. It has provided a greater number of gaming options than the limited input of consoles. Unfortunately, this may not be enough to save the format from homogonized releases.

I don't believe that PC gaming will die. But what we will see is less PC only releases and more cross format titles. At the point in time when there are no PC only game releases then, at this point in time, should we judge PC gaming to be dead. Currently, there is no other platform which allows people to enter the world of games development without a massive outlay. Hopefully, it will be the modding community which keeps PC only gaming alive.

My Xbox 360 Eulogy

2008-07-20T12:27:00.004+10:00

My Xbox 360 (as pictured) passed away quietly in its sleep last night. Unfortunately, even though my console was only 1 year and 11 months old (man. date 31/8/2006) it was still unnamed. I feel disappointed that while we spent a lot of quality time together that my console had to depart without having ever been named.

I was fortunate enough to have spent some quality time with the console during that short period of time we had. We have completed together Gears of War, Bioshock, Mass Effect, Rainbow Six Vegas, Vegas 2, Crackdown, and Saints Row just to name a couple of the games. I was looking forward to spending more time with the console in the future waiting for the release of Far Cry 2 and Gears of War 2.

I feel disappointed that Microsoft created this product in such a way that it was destined not to live a long life. To be able to live beyond 2 years and to experience all the riches that new release games have to offer. Surely, we all deserve the right to a long life (except of course if you live in the third world and then you are destined to serve the West as some form of slave labour ... and yet we still do not understand why it is that you hate us).

So, it is that my life as a consumer is defined by the things that I buy and not by the human relationships that I can manufacture. That those things which are mine say more about who I am than I can possibly say with words or independant thought. The fact of the matter is that, as a consumer, I am unable to create independent thought that is anything more than the rewording of a slogan or jingle.

What do I do now? How can I possibly structure activities to fill my spare time without my Xbox 360 console. I am unable to create the desire to walk outside, to change the channel, or structure thought for myself. I rely on the imposed structure of my time that the products which I own provide. Without them I am nothing.

RIP my Xbox 360 console. Much loved. Greatly missed.

E3 ... Do Gamers Really Care?

2008-07-17T11:54:00.003+10:00

E3 is on again. You probably know this because, all of a sudden, there is a mass of information being posted on gaming websites. So much information that I get to the point where I just can't be bothered reading it at all. Many gaming websites don't necessarily sort through the information, or think that gamers are interested in reading about press conferences.

I think the best thing for a gamer to do while E3 is on is to go on holiday. Any major news will live on after the conference. All of the small and insignificant news will just go away as though it never existed in the first place.

If you want to know what I think has been the biggest news story of the conference then my money is on Final Fantasy XIII being released on the Xbox 360. This is big news for a number of reasons. Square Enix has been in bed with Sony for a long time. I think that this news item is indicative of the way platform gaming is going. In the past it was possible for a developer to rely on exclusivity to push sales because there was predominantly one major platform (which was the Playstation). Now, it is very difficult for developers to ignore a multi-platform release because they risk losing revenue. This also highlights Sony's arrogance in the marketplace (yes, they appear to be more arrogant than Microsoft). Sony refuse to kick in money to those developers who have supported the Sony brand in the past in order to drive console sales through exclusive titles.

E3 is all about Information Overload. If that is your thing then suck it up. If not then find your favourite game and play as much as you can. Ignore the fact that E3 is on. After it is all over you really will not have missed out on anything.

Break Up Of The Century: Id Software and Activision

2008-07-15T12:01:00.004+10:00

Usually E3 is all about the game announcements. It used to all be about the booth babes ... oh, what booth babes, but unfortunately, the ESA stopped taking viagra several years ago and dropped the booth babes from the agenda. This led an exodus of developers. Not because of the rising cost of showing your wares at E3 but because the booth babes were gone. The same too has happened with game announcements they are just not as important any more.

To prove this id Software have led the charge to announce that it has broken up with long time partner Activision and is now in bed with Electronic Arts. Seems like the progress we are making towards creating the UberDeveloper just took a side step.

The unfortunate thing about this announcement is that everything EA touches turns to shit. John Carmack seems to think that EA's shit smells pretty nice and has jumped on board. This is a real shame.

Why Ratings Do Not Work

2008-07-15T09:22:00.002+10:00

Australian Gamer have published a letter from South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson which was sent to one of their readers as a response to an enquiry about implementing an R 18+ Rated Category in Australia. The Hon. Michael Atkinson is, of course, the man famously involved in denying Australian Gamers of an R rated category.

Interestingly enough his response says more about the way our ratings system doesn't work than the way that it does. In his response he quotes the National Classification Code:

"Classification decisions are to give effect, as far as possible, to the following principles:
(a) adults should be able to read, hear and see what they want;
(b) minors should be protected from material likely to harm or disturb them;
(c) everyone should be protected from exposure to unsolicited material that they find offensive;
(d) the need to take account of community concerns about:
(i) depictions that condone or incite violence, particularly sexual violence; and
(ii) the portrayal of persons in a demeaning manner."

In this instance gaming adults aren't able to play what they want. Direct evidence that the ratings system is not working. Secondly, the Attorney General of SA must not believe that the self governance of ratings system enforcement at a retail level must not be working because he believes that these items, if R18+ rated will find their way in the hands of minors.

The Hon. Michael Atkinson says in his letter:

"I cannot see how adding an R18+ classification for games will stop parents from making bad choices for their children or stop children getting hold of a game from their friend and sibling."

This is a further example that he does not believe that the ratings system which is currently in place works. For example, if a parent were to purchase an R18+ game for their child without doing any prior research in to the product they were purchasing then he does not consider this to be bad parenting but a bad choice. Surely, the R18+ rating should be enough evidence that the said game was not suitable for their children in the first place.

So, is this decision to hold out on an R18+ rated category about the government actually becoming the indirect parents of every child in Australia? or, about recognizing that the ratings system is actually not working as it should?

In his letter he confirms that the ratings system is broken:

"Given this data, [...79% of Australian households have a device for computer and video games. Further, 62% of Australians in these gaming households say the classification of a game has no influence on their buying decision...] I cannot fathom what State-enforced safeguards could exist to prevent R18+ games being bought by households with children and how children can be stopped from using these games, once the games are in the home."

I don't believe that it is up to the government to parent our children. As 'responsible' adults it is up to us to make the necessary mistakes that it takes to become a better parent. I find it absurd that these points are not made by these legislators to show that the ratings system does not work. We have a system of governance which would prefer to work with a broken system rather than find a better way of doing things.

To be fair, most of the Hon. Michael Atkinson's concerns rest with controlling the nature of content after purchase, therefore regulating the content bought in to the country is far easier than educating people.

"What the present law does is to keep the most extreme material off the shelves. It is true that this restricts adult liberty to a small degree. This is the price of keeping this material from children and vulnerable adults. In my view, it is worth it."

The problem here is that extreme material is not being kept off the shelves. The scenes in SAW and Hostel are far more graphically depicted than any video game I have ever played. As far as I am concerned this is where his logic fails. Extreme material is not being kept from being imported in to Australia. Only selected material.

While I don't believe that editing games for the Australian market in order to import them is a bad thing. That the changes that have been made to the games have necessarily changed the gameplay in order for the game to function at an acceptable ratings level and that these changes, in reality, open the games up to purchase by a much larger market in our small marketplace. I don't agree with the hypocracy which goes on at a legislative level with regards to this ratings debate.

Ausgamers Give Battlefield Bad Company 9 out of 10 ... What The?

2008-07-14T16:58:00.005+10:00

I like the Ausgamers site. Always have. With the addition of Steve Farrelly writing their reviews they had, I believe, become critical of the games they had been reviewing. So much so that I was actually reading their reviews rather than just going straight to the score and moving on. Let's face it. Games reviewing is nothing special. You hardly find prose you want to read and the content is usually pretty boring.

Today they published their review of Battlefield Bad Company and they gave the game 9 out of 10. If you hadn't guessed from some of the stuff that I have posted about the game Bad Company would have to be one of the worst games I have ever played. Without a doubt it is a relatively soulless shooter. Yes, the script is interesting and funny at times, however, the game is poorly implemented. How then does Ausgamers get to the point where they give this game 9 out of 10?

I honestly don't know. Anyone who has played the game and has a long history of gaming behind them would have to see the poorly constructed mechanics which run the game. This cannot be glossed over by a funny script ... or, maybe it can. As Dan at Ausgamers is quite taken with the game. He points out that the environment is destructible but does not point out that certain objects are not. These objects can get in the way of maneuvering vehicles to the point where it is frustrating.

What is the deal with these games? Frontlines Fuel of War I mistakenly purchased because it was given good reviews. I liked the first level of the game, but then found out that the rest of the game was sadly lacking. Definitely, alongside Bad Company, it was one of the worst shooters that I have played.

This is the greatest problem with the gaming industry. The reviewing process is fundamentally flawed. Games journalism has succumbed to the corporate interests which control them.

EA Create New Game Naming Convention

2008-07-14T14:02:00.004+10:00

Electronic Arts, the pioneer in gaming if you don't mind me saying, has created a brand new naming convention for their games. Bad Company is the first game to adopt this technique which EA will hopefully adopt for the future. Bad Company actually refers to badly implemented friendly and enemy AI ... hence Bad Company. This is not a reference as others may or may not have stated to a bad corporation.

The implementation of AI in the game is so poor that, at times, you may not think that there actually is any. While EA have been the pioneers at charging full price for their annual updates of their sports games it seems that their grip on the first person genre is failing (that is if they ever really had a grip).

Look out too for the indestructible witches hats. That's right, those pesky traffic cones which you cannot even drive over in a tank. It seems that while the environments in game are semi-destructible the traffic cones are indestructible. Nice touch. I am sure this is just to keep all gamers on their toes. Wouldn't want to let anyone steal the traffic cone after a wild night out.

Once again, well done EA. Excellent job.

Look out for future games releases which will implement this naming convention. "Company In Crysis" this is where the executives at EA are hunted down on a lonely pacific island by angry gamers. "We Charge You More For Sports" The all in one monthly sports update where EA start releasing monthly updates to their sports games where you have to pay full price to play.

Fallout 3 Banned ... Gaming Has No Meaning Any More

2008-07-10T10:13:00.003+10:00

Gamespot are reporting that Fallout 3 has been refused classification in Australia. Gaming websites prefer to use the descriptor banned when referring to this phenomena. The word banned has far more impact on the uneducated. It seems more severe. It evokes a greater emotional impact. Refused classification just doesn't have the same impact but is a more accurate descriptor.

This does not necessarily mean that the game will not be released in Australia. There are no recorded reasons as to why the game has been banned. Some are saying that it is due to the use of morphene in games but this is just speculation. As with GTA IV there was a lot of gossip over the interweb about what would be amended for the the Australian release of the game. As was revealed after GTA IV's release not a whole lot was changed in the game to get it through the Australian censors.

There was a time when I would have said that Fallout 3 not being released in Australia was then end of gaming as I knew it. However, with changes the changes that have been made by Bethesda I am not overly fussed any more about the game's release. Game's which have been passed on to developers other than the original creators generally don't have the same soul as the original games. Call of Duty 3. Command and Conquer.

Fallout 2 is one of my all time favourite games. I am not living with the expectation that Fallout 3 will be the same.

Dark Sector Unbanned In Oz

2008-07-09T15:20:00.003+10:00

Just to show that Australia is a progressive nation the OLFC banned Dark Sector after it was initially submitted for ratings classification. Games Politics and PALGN is now reporting that the game has been resubmitted with significant changes and is now rated MA 15+.

The game has been developed by a small developer and they have modified the game so that it conforms to the OFLC's guidelines.

However, you have to ask the question. Could this have potentially opened up the game to a larger potential market and increased the earning potential of the game? While it would have cost the developer money to remove the content they can now reach a larger target audience (as long as the shops actually enforce the ratings system in the first place). Could this have been better for the game in the long run?

The same goes for GTA IV. By removing the content which the censors do not like the game is released in a lower rated category and should, therefore, open the game up to a larger audience than a R18+ market. This is something which is not really talked about by gamers. They are all lamenting the fact that the game is edited for their gaming enjoyment (personally, I don't understand what all the fuss is about ... the changes do not change the gameplay ... I don't really care if I don't get to see some explicit content ... big deal). Parents are not necessarily going to purchase an R18+ rated game for their children to play, but they are more likely to purchase a MA 15+ game. Surely this has to be better for game sales in the long run.

One of the major changes to Dark Sector was the removal of decaptitation. Sounds important to the gameplay, but something which has been available in other games. Makes you wonder why they were asked to remove it.

UberDeveloper One Step Closer

2008-07-09T11:22:00.005+10:00

We have been closely tracking recent steps towards the UberDeveloper for gaming. This will be a time when there is one massive developer making all of the games in the world for the lowest common denominator. This is a momentous time in gaming for the corporation because it means they don't have to worry about any troublesome competition in order to create the best product. It means they will be able to make any product and just dump it in to the market.

Blizzard and Activision will be merging (actually Activision and Blizzard's parent company Vivendi are merging but no one thinks of WOW when you say Vivendi). Activision are one of the oldest developers in gaming responsible for such classics as Pitfall on the Atari and the little remembered River Raid (...don't worry River Raid, I won't forget you).

All that needs to happen now is for EA to purchase Take Two. Then EA to purchase Ubisoft and Activision and we will begin to see the reduction of competition across the board. The beginnings for the creation of the UberDeveloper are well and truly in place.

Soon, there will be only one ...

Bioware "We Make You Want To Buy Games"

2008-07-09T10:59:00.004+10:00

It's not very often that you hear logical, down-to-earth, statements from developers. Usually, they are promising too much, delivering too little and busy making shorter games for the casual gaming market. MTV Multiplayer have a brief statement from the CEO of Bioware on how they plan to beat piracy. Surely, you are thinking to yourself, excellent. "I am going to have to log on to the internet every five minutes to make sure that the game doesn't deactivate itself, otherwise they will program a self destruction circuit in to my computer so that they can ensure that I don't play a pirated game," but this is untrue.

Ray Muzyka, BioWare CEO, has stated that they want to create games that people want to play with downloadable content and multiplayer. If players feel there is value for money in what they are purchasing then they won't want to pirate the game. Finally, someone in the gaming industry who is not focussed on creating some form of nefarious copy protection options to protect their product. Rather, they want to make good product, that's a first for our neoCorporate ways.

Here is the full statement from the Ray Muzyka:

“We’re doing a lot of post-release downloadable content on all of our PC titles going forward ... We think it’s a good thing to encourage players to make them want to buy a PC title. That’s ultimately the best, most successful path to prevent piracy — to have players that want your games, want to believe in them and think they’re high-quality and realize they’re going to get a lot of value out of them as platforms for long time afterwards.”

So, it seems that not all developers are focussed on ridiculous copy protection type options that force you to connect to the internet or sign your soul away to the devil in order to play the game.

What Was Atari Thinking?

2008-07-08T15:01:00.003+10:00

I was tempted to really see what Alone in the Dark was all about after the recent controversy. Atari were on the warpath to "defend the game's honour" as such. I was never really a fan of the original game. I always thought that the imposed third person perspective was awkward and somewhat hackneyed in its delivery as a game mechanic.

I was ready to set aside what I thought of the original games and the controversy and just give the game a go. I didn't realize that this would be time that I would never get back as much as I wanted it to return.

The game implements a "blink" function. As the game starts in the first person perspective it fools you in to believing that the game will play in this manner. As you have just woken from a slumber (possibly drug induced) the game developer (Eden) make the right stick button a function to blink your eyes in the game. Never in my life have I had to tell my eyes to blink. They do so as a reflex or a need to moisten my eyes and maintin correct function. If I had to tell my eyes when they had to blink then I think the continual focus of my thoughts would be that this necessary but frustrating function of my body was not working as it should. This is much the way the "blink" function is implemented in game. This is a poor device. It is used to show off some HDR type visual effects in game which, I must say, are pretty much of a muchness now. HDR really has lost its "wow" factor and will hopefully one day pass as an implemented effect and become just a part of the game environment. Obviously Eden are pretty chuffed with their visual effects. But why didn't someone during the development of the early part of the game say that this is not working. I wouldn't have minded if the blinking was incorporated in to the character's first person perspective. But having to do this manually was a bad choice in game. While I can choose to blink my eyes when I chose to I prefer to let my body manage that function of my sight without my need to interfer with it and this is what should have been done in the game. If you choose not to blink then your view of the world becomes overwhelmed by light (which I have never experience in 'real life' myself).

Further to this Alone in the Dark pretends to be a first person game. The start of the game is in first person perspective but then it changes to the third person fixed camera. This, once again, is poorly implemented. As soon as something happens in the game world the game pulls you out of first person and back to the fixed camera view. This can happen many times during one scene which constantly made me switch back and forth between the two views.

This game is frustrating. Needless to say that I won't be completing it. The story may be interesting, but yet another game about an "evil power" that has over run an area ... well, haven't we all seen that before. Surely, this story concept must be considered cliched.

Sorry Atari, but what were you thinking?

Screenshots? I Think Not

2008-07-05T20:16:00.003+10:00

Computer and Video Games.com are promoting this image and several others as "screenshots" from the new Operation Flashpoint 2. Unfortunately, the idiots there cannot tell the difference between "concept art" and an actual "screenshot". The image pictured here and the others on their article to promte Operation Flashpoint 2 are either concept art or cut scene video but not screenshots. Check out the other screenshots at their website here.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of morons who are involved in "games journalism". These morons don't know the difference between concept art and a screenshot. These morons are the lap dogs of the marketing machines which push the gaming industry. This is something that goes on constantly within gaming media and unfortunately gamers don't say enough about it to stop it from happening. Concept Art is not a screenshot. Screenies taken from cut scenes (AKA so-called Duke Nukem Forever "screenshots") are not screenshots either. In fact, these things are misrepresentations of actual gameplay. This is a practice that those people who promote and market games do not want to stop happening in gaming because it creates a better image of a game in gamers minds.

I am looking forward to Operation Flashpoint 2 even though it has not been created by the original developer. Unfortunately, Armed Assault which was created by Bohemian Interactive (the original developer of Operation Flashpoint) was more like Operation Flashpoint 1.5. Such are the machinations of modern game publication. Armed Assault was not the greatest game and not worthy of being called the "spiritual successor" of Operation Flashpoint. If these early signs are anything to go by and they are promoting concept art as screenshots then maybe Op Flashpoint 2 isn't shaping up too well either.

Sony Recall Firmware ... Next Generation Buggered

2008-07-03T14:14:00.003+10:00

It seems that not everything is rosy for the next generation consoles (which are now current generation and will one day be past). It seems that if Microsoft hasn't made your ring red and Sony's BluRay drive isn't playing up then updating your system online could be the next on a long list of problems with the consoles.

Sony have pulled the 2.4 firmware update (which implements their trophy/achievement system ... lol) after it has created issues with users. The question that should be asked is "How much testing goes on prior to release?" There is definitely a growing trend in technology where products don't appear to fully tested prior to release.

For the PS3 users who have been affected by being early adopters of the firmware update then it appears that reformatting their hard drive does the trick. Shame about all of the savegames and other useful data that they will lose in the process.

Nice one Sony. You da man.

Do My Boobs Look Big In These?

2008-07-02T14:59:00.005+10:00

It's good to see that gaming doesn't promote any negative stereotypes in women. I mean, when all the women in gaming look so hot what are the negatives? As this character pictured from Soul Caliber 4 shows women in gaming are voluptuous and sexy (in a dangerous kind of way). In fact, all of the women portrayed in gaming are hot. Lara Croft's boobs have managed to get bigger with every Tomb Raider release. This shows women to be confident and beautiful in a surgically enhanced kind of way. Surely, this does not highlight the truly superficial nature of gamers. This just shows that geeks need the loving of a hot voluptuous woman too (even if it is in their imagination). There's no burning of any bras in gaming because, quite frankly, women portrayed in games don't wear them.

Obviously, the images which are used to promote games say a great deal about how they are marketed and who they are marketed to. These images appeal to the target audience who are going to play games such as Soul Caliber 4. I am guessing that it is not aimed at the female market. Considering the game has adopted Darth Vader and Yoda as characters this gives you a fairly clear idea as to who the game is aimed at.

Women in games tend to be stereotypically beautiful with massive tits and perfect bodies. Games such as Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball do this unashamedly. Funnily enough, such a game is not so much about the volleyball as it is about buying clothing for your character. What self respecting bloke would admit to buying that game to start with and talk to their mates about accessorizing clothing with their characters?

If gamers were presented with more realistic impressions of women in games would they sell any less? Or are we so taken by our superficialities that we need these things in the mass media to reassure ourselves that maybe we to can buy our way to happiness?

Oh ... I Can See Your Pop Up ... Is That Normal?

2008-07-02T12:05:00.004+10:00

There is a school of thought amongst gamers (yes ... gamers can think ... don't go there) that although in-game worlds are artificial that they should conform to a number of real world parameters. Hence, we see the incorporation of realistic solutions being incorporated in to game worlds by developers. Physics, High Dynamic Range Lighting these are real life features which are incorporated in to game environments. However, there are many things about gaming and the worlds they inhabit which are inherently unreal.

Enemy spawn is something which is unreal. People, in real life, don't just appear in your sight when we come within a certain distance of them (although the if a tree falls in a forest argument could be applied here). Realistically, it is not possible to expect that characters in games should just sit there waiting for us to approach them. This would consume necessary system resources which are used to make the world look pretty and make the AI think realistically. Some game developers make some effort to hide enemy spawn. They create closets or areas which are spawn locations and are sometimes restricted to the player.

When enemies spawn in front of you it is like the lights coming on in the middle of sex. It completely spoils the mood.

I was showing off the destructive environment of Battlefield Bad Company to my brother. This involved loading up a grenade in to the rifle mounted launcher and letting a few rip. I focussed on a two storey house in the distance and started to lay some systematic destruction to its walls and roof. After emptying my supplies of grenades I moved a couple of metres forward in the game and two enemies spawned on the first floor of that very house. They appeared out of nowhere. Immediately they knew where I was and laid down some fire in my direction. Firstly, the AI knew where I was even though they weren't looking at me. Secondly, they appeared out of nowhere.

Suddenly the game lost a lot of its appeal.

As humans our world conforms to a world view which is the culmination of the of the way we perceive the world during our "nature vs nurture" development. For many people, their world view is structured by a belief system, such as religion, or a philosophy, or by science. Generally, this world view structures our perceptions of the world. We apply these formulas provided by religion and science to the world around us. It helps to provide our world with meaning and a structure by which to relate what we experience. When things occur in life which do not conform to this view then we can have trouble relating to these events.

In many ways my own world view attempts to conform to logic. I like it when things are structured and in a logical manner. So, when I see enemies spawning in front of my very eyes it really does affect the mood and atmosphere of the game. Suddenly my suspension of disbelief is lost.

For some gamers this is not an issue. The ghosts in Pacman spawn in a small area which is on screen and is restricted to the gamer. This has been an ever present reality for gaming since its creation. It does highlight the limitations of the hardware, but also affects growing expectation with how in game worlds are developed and implemented.

What are your expectations for in game worlds?

Consoles Going Cheap ... but apparently not nasty

2008-07-02T11:08:00.005+10:00

Microsoft are attempting to take the console sales momentum away from its competitors in Australia by dropping the price of its Xbox 360 console across the board. The Arcade pack will come in as the cheapest next generation console at $349.00 (Aus).

Kotaku are reporting that Microsoft are repackaging refurbished Arcade consoles as new, however, this may be limited to EB Games stores. This was also reported by a reader of Screen Play blog recently as well. Apparently, the offending consoles are limited to the arcade packs and can be distinguished from new consoles because they don't support HDMI output.

Just a note on console pricing. Whenever a new console comes out the developers cry poor. They say that they lose money on each console. What they don't tell you is that the retailers who stock the product are lucky to make 5 per cent profit on the console sale (not including delivery cost of the item). 5 per cent is not a lot of money. This percentage generally doesn't change through out the course of the consoles life span. So, while the major manufacturers cry poor they price their own items so that it is difficult for the retailers to actually make a profit out of selling their products. Microsoft continue to make record profits. Sony also continue to make profits. Shame about the poor retailers who have to sell their products.

Pricing of the consoles are as follows:
* Elite Console 12o gig HD - $649.00 (with free games)
* Arcade Console - $349.00 (inc)
* Elite Console 20 gig - $499.00 (inc)

There hasn't been a lot of press about the 'red ring of death'. So it appears that Microsoft might have sorted out some of the issues with this problem. Don't forget that they have extended the warranty of the consoles to 3 years if you do happen to experience a red ring (... on your console).

Living Under a Rock Update

2008-07-01T16:28:00.002+10:00

The "Oh ... I was living under a rock" update from the weekend.

Blizzard have announced Diablo 3.

All the hack and slash geeks can rejoice. It looks like they will revive the isometric view and there doesn't seem to be any pay to play, which is even better news.

Did Someone Break the Savegame?

2008-07-01T16:00:00.002+10:00

I wouldn't confess to being a great gamer. I wouldn't even consider myself to be hardcore (at gaming, anyway ... another story), but when I play games on the console I always pump up the difficulty to the hardest. This is not from some deep seated masochistic desire to inflict pain on myself (the pain I like to inflict for other reasons), but generally if you are going the 'softer' difficulty options then you really aren't interested in playing the game, you are just interested in saying that you finished the game.

I picked up Battlefield Bad Company last week after not really reading anything about the game. I had seen an early trailer of the game and then put the game in the "it's EA, avoid if possible" pile. I put the game in, pumped up the difficulty and started playing. For once I was surprised by the game. It was quite obviously using the battlefield engine and the game feigned being of the open world variety, but the dialogue was excellent and the story a little different from your usual.

It wasn't until I had died a couple of times that I realised that there was something inherently wrong with the savegame function. So wrong that the game stopped being challenging. So wrong that I even thought at times that the game could be as bad as Frontline Fuel of War and that is pretty bad. It wasn't completely apparent at first and took a couple of reloads to work out what was going on with the savegame but the way this feature has been implemented the challange of playing the game on the hardest difficulty has been completely removed from the game.

Usually with a savegame or checkpoint after you die the game reverts you back to the point at which there was a save or checkpoint. That means that everything in the game is as it was when the save occurred. All of the enemies that you have killed are revived. All of the damage that you have done is repaired. Your health is restored to the level that it was at the save point. Which means that you have to replay through the section that you have just played again in the hope that you don't make the same mistake that made you perish in the first place.

I don't mind this. I like the challenge. It may make some games repetitive, but they are difficult to complete. Battlefield Bad Company does not implement its save feature in this way. As you play the game there is a message displayed that lets you know that a save has taken place. The game is then not saved at this point. The location where you are when this save takes place is saved. What then happens is that when you die you are taken to this location. Everything in the game world is as it was when you died. This means enemies that you killed just before you died but after the save point are still dead. You enter the game world with your team at the location where you died. Suddenly they are trying to work their way back to your save position. This in itself is strange. So, the game world does not revert back to the save point. It stays as it was.

This has created,in many ways, a completely meaningless difficulty system. While the enemies may be more difficult to kill the game itself is not more difficult to complete. The save function is obselete and, somewhat, is not really a "save game" function. It is a save location function as the game does not save. It may save if you reload, but not if you die.

Considering the game took years to develop and play test. At what point in time did someone think this function was a good idea? Is this just a major developer catering entirely for the casual game market? Why is it that we, as gamers, cannot choose the type of save game that is enforced on us in order to make the game play more the way we would like?

I was really looking forward to this being an enjoyable game, even though it was published by EA, and yet I come away from it with the same entirely empty feeling that I felt as I play Frontline Fuel of War.

If I Showed You This Picture Would You Be Teased?

2008-06-25T14:39:00.002+10:00

Game marketing must be a fun "science". There must be a bunch of people who buy torn jeans, Calvin klein T-Shirts, and snort cocaine from snuff jars who just spend their time thinking up interesting things. These people work in the advertising industry. They talk about people as market segments, they want to appeal to your buying impulses and enjoy doing blow.

Blizzard must pay their ad agency too much. Because some 12 year old there said that it would be a good idea to post a picture that means nothing to 99 per cent of the world and we'll call it a teaser to an announcement. The picture, to the untrained eye, and I guess that would mean yours and mine, really means nothing. What it does mean is that all will be revealed this weekend. That's right. They post a picture and say there's a big announcement this weekend. Exciting stuff isn't it. I am enthralled.

There are other 12 year olds in the world. These 12 year olds are of the geeky variety and generally don't have much spare time on their hands because they are on the internet all the time, playing WOW and posting on game forums. These other 12 year olds look at this graphic and then analyse it. That's right. They pore over every single pixel until they have found some hidden clue which will uncover the true location of the ark of the covenant and through some sleight of hand reveal what the hidden announcement would be. Some person has analysed the runes in one of the pictures and determined that they are from Diablo and the announcement will be that of "Diablo 3".

Well, to start with, I love Diablo, but I wasn't teased by the graphic. Either make an announcement or don't make an announcement. Don't make an announcement that there will be an announcement because this could end up in an infinite run of announcements about announcements and the gaming industry is already boring enough. By releasing these graphics with so-called hidden meanings all you are doing is entertaining a number of people on the internet who already don't have a life. I think this is a sad way to tease people who probably need to get out of the house in the first place and meet other people. I don't believe that Blizzard are doing anything here but adding to the stereo type that geeky people really have no lives except to spend time on the internet and make greater profit for Blizzard by playing World of Warcraft.

Why don't you help these people to get a life rather than add to their already obsessive compulsive filled world? This, to me, seems nothing more than endless teasing.

So, just to be sure that everyone is aware, Blizzard have made an announcement that there will be an announcement this weekend. This teaser has occupied the minds of geeks all week with its endless teasing.

Activision Pumps Out The Hits

2008-06-24T10:12:00.004+10:00

Activision will be pumping out another Call of Duty Game (World at War) by the end of their 2009 fiscal year. Gamers should be aware that this game will not be developed by the original creators of the Call of Duty franchise, Infinity Ward. This rendition of the game will be created by Treyarch who were responsible for Call of Duty 3 and numerous Spiderman games.

This is a growing trend in gaming. The publisher owns the game rights and farms out the game to whatever developer will create the game at the lowest cost. Providing the highest possible return on the fame of the game franchise. Call of Duty 3 was a soulless recreation of the franchise. It didn't add anything and besides a few "next generation" effects was a predominantly boring game. What I don't understand is that why does the modern corporate world trust their production values to the company that will do it at the lowest cost?

What are we going to see here? Another game pumped out using the Call of Duty 3 engine? A worn out story line with the only point of difference being that this game is set in the Pacific? Unfortunately, this won't be a release that I will be looking forward to. Brothers In Arms Hells Highway is the only other WW2 game which is on my list of things to buy. The Brothers In Arms franchise has been the best WW2 shooter to date and I don't believe this will disappoint. Call of Duty World at War on the other hand ... I think I'll give that one a miss.

Did Atari Call Shenanigans?

2008-06-21T10:46:00.002+10:00

It is being reported this week that Atari are taking two German gaming web sites to court for posting early reviews of their upcoming product, Alone in the Dark.

This, in itself, would be controversial considering some alleged shenanigans going on within the gaming press about reviews being tainted by advertising dollars (aka Gamespot editor sacking). While these two websites (Gamereactor and 4players) have given the game Alone in the Dark low review scores. Gamereactor giving Alone in the Dark 3 out of 10 and 4players giving the game 68%. The Atari lawsuits are levelled at these websites because Atari did not issue them with prerelease review code of the game. It is alleged that these websites may or may not have acquired their review code of the game through other means.

Coincidentally, this occurred within days of the pirated copy of the game being made available early through some torrent sites.

Is it fair to assume that maybe the "independant" journalism provided through gaming publications is somewhat tainted now? To me, the simplest solution to this issue is for game developers not to release crap games. If their game is crap then their game is crap. This is not the fault of the reviewer. They are only the messenger. This is squarely the fault of the game developer.

If I make myself dinner and it tastes like shit then do I go and blame the supermarket for my dinner? Do I blame the farmers for poor quality vegetables or the cows for the poor meat? No, I blame myself for being a shit cook.

The gaming industry is becoming an industry which promotes the notion that game developers' shit does not stink.

Da Man Backflip on Bioshock DRM

2008-06-20T14:35:00.004+10:00

Gamers against Da Man have scored a minor victory today with the announcement that the Digital Rights Management (DRM) will be removed from Bioshock. The news was delivered via a 2K Games forum. And it reads from Community Manager, 2K Elizabeth:

“Good news! As promised, all activation restrictions, including install limits, have been removed from Bioshock PC as of today. You don't have to patch or install anything for this to go into effect for your copy of Bioshock – it's already done!
Enjoy your time in Rapture, and thank you for supporting Bioshock and the 2K teams”

Interesting news considering how much as been said of late about PC Game piracy. The recent collapse of Iron Lore Entertainment (creator of Titan Quest) was partly blamed on game piracy. Gamepro recently reported that PC game piracy could be as high as 70 – 80 per cent. This back down on the DRM of Bioshock has come after fierce debate has raged over the limitations of the DRM imposed on gamers for this particular game release. The DRM restricted the number of installs of the game. It also restricted use of the game if the computer with the game installed wasn't connected to the internet within a period of time (under 2 weeks).

It is a strange set of circumstances. Maybe there hasn't been anything as controversial with regards to DRM since the introduction of StarForce copy protection. One one hand publishers and developers are saying that piracy is killing the industry and yet they are removing the protection on a high selling game. To go from full protection to no protection is a little bit unusual.

Needless to say that the developers do listen to gamers ... eventually.

A New Place for Strange to Hide

2008-06-20T12:27:00.004+10:00

The world really is a strange place ... is it not? As far as strange things go Trekkies are high on my list of 'strange' and so is wedgie proof underwear but of all things a Robotic Girlfriend. Surely, all things geek has not seen such a low light as this.

Of course, this is a Japanese creation. While there was once a saying, "Only in America," I think this could be changed to "Only in Japan". The Japanese would have to be the most delightfully eccentric place on earth.

The robot's name is EMA which is (of course) an acronym for Eternal Maiden Actualization. The machine will sense that there are people near it and offer them kisses. Just what every geek needs who lives out of home.

Minako Sakanoue, Sega Toys, said, "Strong, tough and battle-ready are some of the words often associated with robots, but we wanted to break that stereotype and provide a robot that's sweet and interactive."

Don't get too excited because if you buy this robot dinner you won't be inviting it up for coffee. First base is the limit with this miniature machine. Another down side is that the robot is only 38cm tall. Maybe this could become the replacement deviant machine for those who are fed up with using Jar Jar Binks as a dildo?

The Stork Fesses Up On Spore Creature Creator

2008-06-19T13:12:00.007+10:00

In a David Attinborough presents kind of voice I would like to point out that the secrets behind the Spore Creature Creator have been revealed. That's right. EA have gone for a more organic feel to the creature creation process (As pictured). In breaking news it is said that EA will be adding the song "Ain't Nothing But Mammels" by the Bloodhound Gang to the Spore Creature Creator as a poignant reminder of where baby creatures come from and also as a means to add some mood music to the creative process. Let's face it. Getting it on in this way is all about the ambiance.

In actual fact EA aren't overly happy with people using their Spore Creature Creator to create creatures which are oversized and overcompensating likenesses of their own genitalia. Actually, EA are saying that no one's is as big as theirs, but you aren't allowed to show it to other people. It is being reported that EA are already banning accounts because people are using their software in an inappropriate manner.

I think what it comes down to is would you show it to your mum? If you wouldn't show it to your mum then don't show it to complete strangers. The moral to the story being ... don't post it for other people to see. You are free to do what you would like in the privacy of your own home. EA will collect all of these naughty images and take them to a safe place where they can view them all (in a large room with only their closest friends) and determine if they are offensive. If they are deemed to be offensive then they will remove the offending graphic and add it to their own collection which they can use at their own leisure.

Thanks to Kotaku for the graphic.

Warren Spector says 100 Hour Single Player Games are bad ... mmmkay

2008-06-18T15:54:00.004+10:00

Warren Spector is one of the old school developers. He has been in the industry for many years and has experienced development over a number of platforms. Gamasutra has published an extensive interview with the man inwhich he makes the statement, "One-hundred hour games are on the way out… How many of you have finished GTA?"

Of course, this creates a discussion topic which will be limited by two defining facts: (1) the increase in the number of casual gamers; and (2) the increase in the cost of game production. Unfortunately, people in the industry confuse these two problems with the notion that gamers don't complete long games which is completely bogus.

Two years after its release Oblivion is still going strong. You would assume that with the amount of play time available to gamers that this game would not have been completed by most. How do you then account for the high volume of expansion sales which have been made since the games release? With two lengthy expansions for the game which have sold well. To make the assumption that gamers don't play or finish long games is untrue. Consider Diablo 2 which was released eight years ago has just received another patch. To complete Diablo 2 under each difficulty would have taken quite some time (not 100 hours maybe but it would be up there). Yet, there are still many gamers still playing this game.

The cost of creating games has gone through the roof, this is an unfortunate fact of our capitalistic society. As a result developers want to spend less time and money developing content in order to maximise the return on their investment. Once again this does not mean that gamers do not finish long games.

Here is the complete quote from Gamasutra:

"Game costs are going to be $35-40 million, even $100 million, and the expectations are huge. You have to differentiate yourselves. One-hundred hour games are on the way out… How many of you have finished GTA? Two percent, probably. If we're spending $100 million on a game, we want you to see the last level!"

This is a problem within the gaming industry which discriminates the hard core, long term player in favour of the "casual" gaming market. Warren Spector is not the first person to say it and he certainly won't be the last. Look at the above quote where he says "Two percent, probably". He has manufactured a statistic for the purpose of making a quotable quote. He hasn't stated that it is, in fact, two per cent.

If this is the way the gaming industry is going. Unable to understand that there is more than just the "casual" gamer who purchases games then more serious gamers are going to start seriously lacking in content which suits their tastes. Statements such as the above by Warren Spector are just like saying that all gamers love playing Tetris. It is just untrue and a gross overstatement of a complicated and diverse marketplace.

Wear Your Undies On The Outside Of Your Pants: PC Gaming Alliance

2008-06-18T14:23:00.003+10:00

Obviously there are a few industry types who think that PC Gaming might be in a bit of trouble. So much so that they have formed the PC Gaming Alliance. You would be mistaken in thinking that this might be the type of place that allows lycra body suits, capes and the wearing of undies on the outside of your pants. Although, maybe this is going to become the Halls of Justice for PC Gaming.

A press release from the group states:

"Global leaders of the PC gaming industry [Microsoft, Activision, Acer, AMD, Dell/Alienware, Epic Games, Intel, NVIDIA, Razer are all members] announced today the formation of the PC Gaming Alliance, a non-profit organization that unites hardware and software creators, game developers and publishers, and others committed to the PC gaming market with the common purpose of advancing the PC as a worldwide gaming platform."

It is interesting to note that not just software developers are pioneering the "Death of PC" cause. Hardware manufacturers with a vested interest in the industry are represented as well. Their press release states that PC Gaming is "one of the fastest-growing segments of the interactive entertainment market" which doesn't seem to agree with the declining figures of PC Game sales. One of their concerns is to make sure that there is accurate reporting from gaming industry journalists. Well, if PC Gaming is doing so well then why do they need to form this group to promote it?

With reports that PC Games only made up 14% of retail sales in the US (not including digital distribution statistics from the NPD group) then it would be fair to say that this market segment needs to grow or die. In reality, I don't think that PC Gaming will ever die. PC Gaming has out lasted every single console. The backwards compatibility with PC Gaming is far superior to any console on the market providing the PC with a massive gaming catalogue. With the similarities in platform between the PC and the Xbox 360 porting between the two is a commercial reality (if you know what you are doing ... so don't ask me).

If you would like to check out the PC Gaming Alliance Halls of Justice then just click on the link.

Endangered Species: The Cockosaurus

2008-06-18T13:06:00.004+10:00

It doesn't take much for us, as a species, to be reduced to the most puerile level. Which does a lot to explain why dick and fart jokes are so funny, and let's face it, they are. As witnessed by this screen shot the yet to be released Spore has already seen a number of monsters created who have extremely large cocks. The cockosaurus, penis monster, peenisaurus, penis man to name just a few.

The Spore Creature Creator demo was leaked early and, as a result we are seeing well endowed creatures popping up all over the internet. Don't think that it is just our "modern" world which has this fascination with all things cock related. The ancient romans were also obsessed with the penis. Penises would feature on signs in public places, on trinkets, and other places in the ancient Roman world. We are not really innovators when it comes to fascination with genitalia.

The question that gamers should be asking is are these creatures compensating for something?

RIP XGN

2008-06-17T11:04:00.006+10:00

Just a quick note to say, "RIP XGN". Xtreme Gamers Network or xgn.com.au (there are a few imitators but none are the same ... ) web site was hacked last week and at the moment is temporarily unavailable until further notice. The website has been running for a number of years now and was home to the Xtreme Teams. A prominent Australian Delta Force/Black Hawk Down/Joint Operations team. The site was created and hosted by Diggazz in conjunction with Gaming SA and Adam Internet.

Xtreme (~X~ or -X-) was the first online team that myself and my brother played in. At the time we were heavily involved in playing the Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising. Joint Operations was the alternative to Battlefield type games which provided a much larger playing area and larger hosted servers. Joint Operations was more popular overseas with matches being established between nations in the international community. There was a strong Australian community for the game with organized tournies.

For many years xgn.com.au was home. Over the last couple of years it has become home to many in the Australian Online Racing community.

Just a personal hello to all the guys in XGN who were part of one of the best Joint Operations Squads in Australia: Diggazz, DJ, Hootz, Rigi, Nos, Rone, Ayerton, Ure, Brit, Dark Knight (woops ... my bad), Clay, Ironspear, Havoc, Jo Blow and to all of the names I have forgotten.

Xtreme Teams will be continuing the Xtreme heritage. You can check out their website here. Many of the guys are still there so pop in and say hello.

When Is A Union Not A Union? When It is the ESA

2008-06-11T09:42:00.009+10:00

You have to love Americans. With their idealistic capitalistic ways. There has been a lot of discussion about software developers leaving the ESA recently. Like most gamers you are probably looking at these news items and saying, "So what? Big deal." Which is a completely logical response. However, what are they actually talking about? For us non-yanks the ESA is the Entertainment Software Association. What gamers will probably know this organization for is that the ESA was responsible for the now non-gaming event called E3. Remember the E3 Girls? Well, that is another story.

E3 was responsible for raising a lot of revenue for the ESA. The ESA is the peak body (as we refer to them in Australia) responsible for providing industry representation to the government in representing issues related to the industry. Such as negotiating with regards to ratings. The ESA also maintains the American rating system for gaming (ESRB). Whereas in Australia it is run by a government department. Apparently, since the demise of the E3 function membership fees for the organization have increased in price. This amongst other things has prompted a number of prominent developers to leave the so-called "safety net" of the ESA. Most prominent being id software, Lucas Arts, and Activision.

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't say I was a socialist, but an organization whose sole function is to create membership of like minded individuals or organizations in order to represent them to the higher powers of society (either an employer or the government) sounds very much like a union to me. So what if you call it a collective, or a trade association, or a lobby group, or a peak body. This is just the notion of a trade union dressed up under different language. Of course, Trade Unions are not good for workers because it means they can collectively bargain for their greatest asset (labour), but what is good for the goose isn't necessarily good for the gander. Many collectives operate around the world for many different reasons but don't tell me that they aren't another form of unionism coming from the economic power which despises everything socialist. Just because businesses make money and contribute to the capitalistic system doesn't mean they don't gather and lobby in collectives. Of course, employers don't want workers to be able to mobilize themselves and to be able to collectively bargain in things called unions because this gives too much power to the worker. However, when they need to do it themselves then this is perfectly alright.

What does this mean for Software developers in the US? It is entirely possible that candidates for the US Senate and House of Representatives may not receive as much in political donations this year. That is for sure. Obviously, those developers who are pulling their support question the value for money of their union membership. The union leaders are providing enough manipulation for their members and the members are revolting. It won't really affect the incomes that developers make and certainly the ESA won't be labelled as a union on any other web site. You can be certain that there is going to be a moment when all of these businesses kiss and make up with the ESA when they have sorted out their grievances and, once again, the rest of the gaming world will say a collective "big deal".

If you are interested to learn about some of the ways that an organization such as the ESA influences politicians through political donation (this is the Western term for legitimized bribery) then check out this piece on Team Xbox which ran today. It outlines how the ESA had passed on nearly a quarter of a million dollars to politicians in the first quarter. What kind of clout does this really give the developers? How much money does it take to buy political influence?

UberDeveloper On Its Way

2008-06-10T12:10:00.003+10:00

The heat is on within the gaming industry to become the first UberDeveloper. To qualify as an UberDeveloper then you have to reach a number of very simple criteria.

(1) Have no competition. An UberDeveloper does not survive by being the best. It survives by buying out the competition so that it does not have to compete in the marketplace for the best product. Microsoft lead the way as direct proof that this really works and is a legitimate businesss philosophy. Consumers don't need more choice. They need less choice. Let's face it, corporations don't think that consumers are very smart. They certainly don't think that consumers make the best choices when it comes to purchasing a product. Without having any competition then corporations can take away the need for consumers to make any choice. This is the ideal capitalistic reality. A place without competition where consumers are forced to purchase their product.

(2) Creating product for the lowest common denominator. Being an UberDeveloper without any competition then you don't have to spend as much time and money developing a product. Because there is no competition they don't have to worry about other product clouding sales of their own product so they can develop with the lowest common denominator in mind.

(3) Do not listen to your customers. This concept integrates perfectly with our world view which is based around survival of the fittest. Because you are the UberDeveloper then you no longer have to listen to your customers. As the only surviver in the industry then you are living proof that your formula is the best. Listening to customers will only give way to an inferior product. UberDevelopers don't get to the top by listening to customers. They got their by ignoring them and pressing on nonetheless.

(4) Release annual updates of games which are sold at full price and labelled as a new game. Because there is no competition you can release whatever you want, whenever you want and charge how much you want. This is the real beauty of the UberDeveloper. It will mean more choise, more often (roughly translated "this means more profit for shareholders more often").

(5) Now that you own all of the franchises then release the one the costs the least amount to make supplied by the lowest bidder. Release the product that takes the least time to finish. Has the smallest amount of content to prevent large scale consumer revolt and requires the most amount of "Expansion" to maximise on total profit.

Bring on the UberDeveloper.

Scientific Study Of Gaming Business Model Supports Surprising Results

2008-06-10T11:17:00.006+10:00

A recent study performed by the RU Heinous Think Tank has made some surprising speculative theories in regards to the gaming business model. The study itself considered two important factors in relation to changes with gaming delivery. Firstly, the increasing cost of the cover price of games. Secondly, the reduction in average hours of single player content.

"We are tracking an exciting trend in gaming which will ultimately allow developers to release games with absolutely no content at maximum profit. Therefore maximizing their returns completely. We anticipate that with the growth of online delivery that gamers are going to be able to purchase games filled with nothing even faster than before," Stanley Finch said on behalf of the RU Heinous Think Tank.

The study has tracked changes in delivery and pricing of games since the creation of the industry only thirty years ago. They have then compiled this data and then extrapolated it with consideration given to one primary factor: the average play time until game completion.

"We faced a difficult set of circumstances. If you go back to the beginning of gaming then you will find that a lot of games were infinite. They would go on until you ran out of lives. Essentially, what you have here is gaming endorsing the Socialist view of the world. Where someone gets something for practically nothing. Over time gaming has broken free of its socialist beginnings and embraced the capitalist model. This is where we have to push the industry. People have to pay a lot of money and get the best quality nothing that money can buy. We believe that within no time at all gamers will be paying a premium price for a quality game that can be completed in a matter of seconds. From there it will be a short step to the perfect business model for gaming manufacturers," Stanley Finch said.

Based on the current study it is anticipated that gamers could be paying this top dollar premium for games within the next five to ten years. Within five years the average single player gaming time will drop down to less than five hours and cover prices will double. Following on from their data extrapolation it is entirely possible that with the release of episodic content that within ten years gaming time could drop down to below an hour per episode with up to ten years development time. The study anticipates that by this time gamers may pay up to $1000 for this kind of episodic content. From there we have just reached the tip of the iceberg with gaming times dropping dramatically from there. By the time we reach 2025 gaming times could be as low as a minute with prices up to $10,000 per game. The researchers at RU Heinous Think Tank say that "these are definitely exciting times for gaming".

"Some uninformed soothsayers say that this is a growing problem within the gaming industry. But we currently do not believe that developers are actually making enough money for their games. Extended development times mean that developers have to sacrifice too much in order to create their product. We believe that gamers should pay an absolute premium for such a product and our study supports this."

The RU Heinous Think Tank is responsible for a number of exciting studies in to the gaming industry, including: Gamers Diets and the long term side effects of DVD Consumption, and Stamping out Socialism from Gaming A Study in to NeoConservative Trends in Gaming.

And the Beer Goggles Award Goes To ...

2008-06-05T13:35:00.008+10:00

There has been a lot written about GTA IV. Maybe a little too much. There has been too much back patting. Too much love. Too much critical acclaim (I mean it only comes from gaming jounalists ... lap up the love Rockstar). There has been a scandal due to a website being given an exclusivity period with its review and an extremely "half hearted" cash for comments claim from their peers. There has been the specials once again IGN was the master of the GTA IV special. There have been the perfect review scores. 10 out of 10 being a common factor in the reviewing process (although kudos for IGN Australia who held off and provided a 9.8 out of 10 ... I mean what's in .2 of a review anyway).

However, I have to award GTA IV with the "Beer Goggles Award" for the year. For two specific reasons. Firstly, when I play the game I find things are slightly out of focus. Some have commented (but not criticized ... I mean how dare we criticize such gaming celebrity as Rockstar) on the use of filters in order to create the visual effects in game. Secondly, for brain washing the entire community of gaming journalists. Who failed to criticize the game en masse. It was as if the entire gaming world was wearing beer goggles for several weeks prior to and after the game being released.

There have been other games which would have nearly qualified for the Beer Goggles Award, but I don't think that a game has really captured the gaming world in the same way. As for visuals then The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess is definitely up there. How do you qualify a game for an award such as this? It is simple. If it requires beer goggles for the gamer to attain a fine focus on the graphical content then a game qualifies. There are times during GTA IV when the game world goes to dusk and you are driving under an elevated railway that the graphics take a bit of a dip. Of course, playing the game with beer goggles would have meant that all of the driving would have been drunk driving and provided the bleeding hearts with a reason to cry yet again. To me the game looks much better with beer goggles. The repetition is not so bad. The characters a little more Hollywood and the game a little more challenging. Because of all things, let's face it, GTA IV is not challenging.

On to the beer goggles of the gaming journalistic community. There was another game which nearly qualified for the beer goggles award for journalists. This game was a little release called Assassin's Creed. Great game. Great visuals (no beer goggles required there). But no one in the esteemed community of gaming journalists thought that this game was just a little bit repetitive. A little bit boring. Once you have done the first assassination then you will find that pretty much every other one is exactly the same. Yes, you can unlock bits of city and you can walk around in ultra realistic fashion but that was about it. It was as though the entire community of gaming journalists were wearing beer goggles when it came time to review the game and forgot to mention that the game itself is extremely boring. Beautiful but boring. It was like going to the pub. Picking up the hottest girl there and realizing that she was born without a brain. Great for one night but not good for ongoing conversation and relationship building. GTA IV too seems to have created a collective silence from gaming journalists. Great game. Shame about the coverage.

You know you need beer goggles to play a game when everything is slightly out of focus when you play sober. While in an intoxicated state the beer goggles provide a finer focus to the game. Taking those slightly out of focus visuals and placing them back in to focus.

For the full HD experience then gaming journalists around the world recommend playing GTA IV with beer goggles.

What's Your Gaming Gateway Drug?

2008-06-05T11:43:00.003+10:00

Gamer's don't tend to be overly sentimental types. In fact, I think that it is easiest to stereotype gamers as your more superficial type of individuals. If you think about it, and you probably haven't, gamers are always looking for games that are better looking than the previous generation. Often, as it is with todays gaming business model, there tends to be less time spent on making gaming a cerebral experience and more time spent making them look better. Surely, this qualifies the gaming industry as being focussed on those more superficial aspects of life, because ugly lefties are continually telling us that beauty is only skin deep.

Having been a superficial gamer for a while and keeping the recent Kotaku news item in mind about the PSP I played that game which I consider to be my gateway gaming drug ... Elevator Action.

Elevator Action wasn't the first game that I played. If my memory is correct we had an Atari 2600 for quite some time before I played Elevator Action. We had a lot of games on the Atari including Pitfall, the unfortunate ET game and the sadly addictive Miner 2049er. After the Atari we were told that the Commodore C16 was replacing the Commodore 64 by a dodgy salesperson in Myers. This meant that we were stuck with an inferior gaming system for some time before we could afford the legendary C64. Somewhere in between I played the arcade game Elevator Action.

Elevator Action is a very simple platform game. You start at the top of the building equipped with a pistol and devestating jump. You have to descend all the way to the bottom of the building and as you go you have to unlock specially marked doors to advance to the next building. As you opened more buildings the levels became more difficult. An extremely simple concept. There wasn't a complicated back story to the game. There was not a distressed princess being held captive by an oversized gorilla. The world wasn't going to end if you didn't achieve your goal. The only place where I knew the game existed was at roller skating joint in the town near us. I didn't particularly spend any time going on arcade crawls as we weren't allowed as kids to go to these "seedy" places which were arcades. Generally noted for being good places to score drugs at the time. This didn't really change where I lived until Timezone was opened locally and presented a "family focussed" arcade. The other more dingy places still ran for many years afterwards but never managed to clean up their images. Because I knew the game was located at the roller skating place and this was a family sanctioned establishment I was always asking if I could go roller skating.

This was really the start of a minor obsession with video games. During this entire time my love of Elevator Action has not faded. I would never say that I was an expert or master of the game. Far from it. I purchased Taito Legends on the PC just because it contained Elevator Action. A small bonus is that this collection also includes the original Space Invaders. I always install Taito Legends on a new notebook when I get it and Elevator Action is the game that I turn to when I just want to have some fun playing a game.

Gamers talk a lot about 'replayability' adding value to the purchase price of a game but I don't necessarily agree. Of all the many games that I have played and finished during my lifetime there are not many that I have gone back to and replayed. Fallout 2, Diablo 2, Titan Quest, Halo (the original), are just a few. How many gamers actually go back and replay games?

There is no denying that we often sugar coat our childhood. Those things which we loved as children seem to have been better than they actually were. As though childhood itself provided the necessary rose coloured glasses to make life seem that little bit better than it actually was. However, I still enjoy playing Elevator Action. There is no pretension to what the game actually is. For me this is the game which started the addiction many years ago. Like many junkies it is difficult to get the same sort of hit from gaming. The high is not as high and you feel as though you play the games just to bring some normality back to your life. The technology used to create your drug of choice has become better but somehow the effects don't last as long.

Tetris is Digital Crack

2007-12-14T15:45:00.000+11:00

This was reported on gamepolitics.com today. I am sure many of you will find it interesting because it answers some unexplained questions about gaming addiction. Some of these questions I had been wondering myself. Father Raymond J. de Souza is fortunate enough to write for the National Post. He has been granted some wonderful insight in to gaming addiction based on his own personal experiences with Tetris.

Fortunately he states clearly, "...video games are not intrinsically evil. But they are close." Well, that is comforting. He goes on to say with his wonderful, infinite wisdom. "If that sounds like the zealotry of a convert, it is. I learned the truth about video games the hard way, and so this is the lesson I offer for free: Don't play video games. Don't own them. And for the sake of all that is good and holy, don't buy them for your children.

I grew up in the days when video games meant Atari's Pong and, later, the sophistication of Pac-Man. We had a home computer when I was in elementary school, ahead of the trends, but my parents were smart enough not to buy us even those rudimentary games. My mother, whose principal goal in bringing up her children was not to affirm our self-esteem, was fond of telling us that only unintelligent children got bored. Our house had books and toys and siblings, and we had our imaginations -- my mother thought that more than sufficient for any child to amuse himself. Television, let alone video games, wasn't necessary.

But then I went off on my own to Queen's University, and in my second year I discovered Tetris--a video game that consists of fitting descending geometric shapes into a rectangular cavity without leaving gaps. That's it. But it was enough. It would not be fair to blame my second-year troubles -- my worst academic performance in 12 years of post-secondary education -- on Tetris alone, but it was a contributing factor. My capacity to waste time with Tetris was prodigious; how many hours were lost is unknown.

There was a turning point. One day -- several months too late -- I deleted the program from the hard drive. For younger readers, I should explain that this was before the Internet, so downloads were not available; if it wasn't in your machine, you didn't have access to it. So Tetris was gone. Life improved immediately.

Since that hard-disk-deleting day back in 1991, I have never played another video game. It's too dangerous. Video games take what is most precious -- time and thought. And they are making kids fat."

The Catholics used to say that masturbation would make you go blind, but what about verbal masturbation. It is much the same thing isn't it? You take hold of something ... give it a good shake, squeeze the life out of it and at the end of it you feel somewhat relieved. This is what Father Raymond has basically done. So, does this kind of verbal wanking make you go blind as well? Surely, he should get some clues and do some research before he starts gobbing off on something he really doesn't know anything about. It would have been far more insightful if he had managed to research his subject somewhat. At least, considered some of the darker sides of gaming. Oh well ... it must just be too hard ... or is that just another attempt to include another dick joke.

Gamers Against "da Man"

2007-12-13T10:56:00.001+11:00

More often I find evidence that gaming is, in fact, controlled by "da Man". It is the job of "da Man" to make gamers his bitch. I hear you saying, "Yeah, whatever, I would never be someone's bitch (unless maybe I went to prison and then I would have no choice, it would be an aesthetic survival choice in this instance)". You may think that this is far fetched, but more and more often I am finding evidence of this. So much so that I think that someone should document it and start up a group of dedicated gamers called "Gamers Against da Man" or "GAdaM".

I have outlined some of the evidence I have collected here:

(1) Releasing the same game on a different platform with extra content is definite evidence of "da Man". The only reason that a company would do this is to force gamers to purchase the game with the extra content. In order to do this they may have to even purchase additional hardware (such as a console, etc) just to play the extra content. As a gamer addicted to gaming (this is another story) presenting such additional content in this way is cruel and nothing more than profiteering.

(2) Creating a monopoly in a free market economy is definite evidence of the existence of "da Man". I believe that Adam Smith (with all of his good intentions and warm and fuzzy capitalistic mumbo jumbo) did not intend for the world to be dominated by "da Man". In fact, I think he was a very anti-da-man man if you get my drift. So, when he wrote some crap several hundred years ago about how the free market economies should work he was not thinking lustful thoughts about people such as Bill Gates and others as he was doing so. With the merger of Vivendi/Activision we see two big companies become one bigger company. We see another example of reduction in choice. Consumerism is meant to be about choice and having the freedom to spend your money on whatever product (no matter how bad it is) you want. Why is it that our choices are being reduced? Oddly enough quality is no guarantee of shelf life either. Look at some of the great game developers who are no longer with us. Troika Games, Cinemaware, etc. If quality is no guarantee of success then what type of careless world do we live in?

(3) Most of you are going to say that you probably don't understand the problem with the following statement, but I live in a world where not everyone has the internet. In fact, where I work the internet is not a common item and is quite expensive if you want to have the luxury of using it. So my next piece of evidence refers to releasing a game which requires specific updates from the internet to run when you don't have an internet connection. Or, releasing something that requires an internet connection to install even when the game is single player (cough ... cough ... Steam). Forcing people who have paid for something which should run in isolation of everything else (single player) to have an internet connection is specific and damning evidence that da Man is lurking out there. Not everyone has an internet connection. Not everyone wants to open their computer up to the world of viruses and internet porn. As a consumer it should be their choice to be able to enjoy gaming while not having to participate with the online world.

Further to this point, there are some games which require specific Vista updates in order to run. Microsoft have actually released specific gaming performance updates for the OS (KB940105 is just one such example), however, game publishers don't include these updates on the installation CD. You have to be able to access the internet in order to download them. Nice one guys. It is a required part of the game requirements and it is not listed on the box and not included on the install. Well done developers.

(4) Releasing games unfinished is definite evidence of da Man. I understand the need for developers to meet their contractual arrangements with publishers in order to ship games at prearranged times, however, when games are released unfinished it is the gamers who have to fund the games completion. The gamers have to patiently wait until the game is patched to the point of completion. Sometimes this can take months. Other times it never happens.

(5) Leaving the story of a game unfinished in order to cash in on a sequel. Trilogies are the "new black" in gaming. If a game isn't a Trilogy then what is the use of publishing it? A trilogy can generate three times the potential income as a single game release. And you never know the game could be good ...

Gamers should be vigilant to the workings of da Man in the gaming industry. We should educate ourselves as consumers as to the tricks which are meant to keep us under control ... of course, we are completely powerless to do so. We are all slaves to the products we buy. Without them we cannot define who we are. "I am not my Ikea Yin-Yang coffe table," but I might be Commander Shepherd for several hours while I flake out on the couch and experience some voyeurism gaming style.

Psychological Profile: Niko Bellic

2007-12-12T19:56:00.000+11:00

This profile has been forwarded to us by a concerned Liberty City Police Officer who has wished to remain anonymous. The Liberty City Police Department have released the Psychological Profile of a “person of interest”. The man in question goes by the name of Niko Bellic. Bellic is a Russian immigrant who has just posted his third video containing footage of his recent crime sprees which illustrates his life of crime on the internet. Immigration has issued a statement reporting that the officer responsible for allowing Niko's entry in to the US is currently under suspension pending an investigation. It has been reported by the media that Niko has continuing criminal links in Russia.

This is the police issued psychological profile in full:

If civilians come across Niko Bellic they are to consider him to be armed and extremely dangerous. He is not to be approached and if he is discovered then the authorities must be contacted immediately.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPREHEND NIKO BELLIC.

Niko displays classic psychotic symptoms which can be translated directly in to a need to control the people and environment around him. His criminal actions can be perceived as being manifested by more than just a selfish desire. He has created the notion of direction through a misguided and fictitious concept that he can change and control the world in which he lives. This can be seen as a driven, Machiavellian response to create the American dream for himself and his cousin Roman no matter what the criminal and civil cost. Niko is completely egocentric which ties in with his Machiavellian desires. He will determine in an instant how a given situation will play out and he will attempt to steer that situation towards his own twisted interests and goals.

Niko is remorseless in the way he goes about his criminal activities. He has no love or feelings for people. From this we determine that Niko has suffered some sort of extra-ordinary suffering in his childhood. He may have been physically restricted or restrained in some way for extended periods of time. He could have played out classic psychotic fantasies on small animals. He would have killed animals for pleasure and through the process of doing this been able to develop in to an adult who feels no remorse or guilt for his actions. This can be evidenced through his complete disregard for innocent civilians. They mean nothing to him. In fact, if they were to be caught in the cross fire he would feel no remorse.

Niko is also the character type who attempts to use his influence and associated power in sexual situations. However, with his unnatural childhood and adult psycho-sexual roleplaying it may be that Niko is somewhat of a deviant or to be found compensating for inadequacies. He can be seen as a predator of women because he cannot feel an emotional attachment to them. They are nothing more as objects there to fulfill his physical desires. Obviously Niko's desire to record and show his criminal exploits show narcistic desires of the basest kind. This probably also manifests itself in other physical ways such as through impulsive and continual masturbation. Niko is more than likely a sexual deviant. He probably has problems finding sexual partners and may even experience erection problems when in the company of women.

At times Niko can feel as though he is a puppet. Not in control of his own actions with someone else actually telling him what to do. This feeling can come across at various times and he can feel that different people have input in to his actions. He considers life to be a game which can either be won or lost. Situations can appear to be orchestrated for him. As though someone else has already planned out aspects of his life in order to facilitate the feeling of reality. However, he often feels that life is just a hackneyed narrative. That he is the hero of some sort of crime saga that goes on around him. These notions give him a “god complex” common to people who may be suffering from some type of mental disorder or breakdown. This can make him extremely unpredictable in any given situation.

Known associates of Niko are Roman (his cousin) and the Police Officer Francis McReary.

:End of Psychological Profile.

Obviously, for the above reasons, Niko would not make a very good babysitter. It would be best not to lend Niko a vehicle of any kind as there is no guarantee of the condition in which it will be returned. Videos of Nikos other crime sprees can be found here: Things Will Be Different and Looking for the Someone Special. Videos of Niko's crime sprees and life can also be found here (http://rockstargames.com/IV/).

Christmas Gaming

2007-12-12T10:37:00.000+11:00

Christmas time presents the perfect window for publishers to deliver the major game releases of the year. Christmas has changed from being a time of religious celebration to a celebration of consumerism. Lets show the world how much we love capitalism by spending. Lets support corporations by giving them our hard earned dollars. Of course, as a means to provide the perfect focus for our holiday spending games such as Mass Effect, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band have all managed to find a way on to our christmas wish list. Their glossy posters and internet advertising are just a means for us to focus our short attention spans and desires on the need to have something new.

In order to celebrate this time of year in typical cynical fashion I thought that it would be a good idea to dig in to some second hand games that I have picked up. In order to celebrate non-chistmas corporate cheer I thought I would attempt to buck the trend and find some games which weren't new that I could dig my teeth in to. To not give something back to the corporations for a change considering they get it pretty good anyway and my hard earned dollars are just that, hard earned.

I recently acquired a PS2. I have managed to resist the temptation to purchase the Sony console for some time. I am not a big fan of their controllers to start with. However, there were a number of PS2 games which I wanted to play. I hadn't entered the world of Final Fantasy since number 7 was on the first Sony console. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it and I wanted to see where the franchise was headed. I picked up Final Fantasy X & X 2. There were also a couple of Grand Theft Auto games which I hadn't played. I own Vice City Stories on the PSP, but I didn't like the controls so I had never played it through. I also managed to get Liberty City Stories as well. Then there is the classic racing series Gran Turismo which I hadn't played since GT2. This seemed like an eternity ago. One other game which I had managed to pick up which had been on my most wanted games list for quite some time was the Atari Activision collection. The main reason I wanted this game was for the original River Raid. An absolute scrolling shooter classic and a game which I still rate.

As a gamer with a limited budget it can be difficult to buy all the games you want at the time of release. I already believe that my contribution financially to the game industry far exceeds the norm. With all the games that I own for the Xbox 360 now taking up more than a shelf on my bookcase. With the PC Games that I purchase as well I think that the gaming industry gets far too much of my income. Picking up games later can be a good way to save money.

Having some time off work I hope to make these old, second hand games my holiday focus. Rather than give someone a new release game this year for christmas give them several second hand games. You will, potentially, increase the amount of play time that they get and buck the system at the same time.

Kotaku On The Ball

2007-12-04T18:38:00.001+11:00

Not that Kotaku needs any more praise for being on the ball, but this was a good pick up. While I may feel that gamers don't really care about the machinations of the gaming industry it is still interesting to see where game developers are willing to push the boundaries. I mean, lets not think that corporations are ethical beings because they are not. Corporations are becoming more Machiavellian in their approach to business and this is an example of this.

Kotaku have picked up that the Kane & Lynch website has allegedly fabricated some of the media promoting the game. Saying that Gamespy gave the game 5 stars when, in fact, they only gave the game 3. And the quote about Michael Mann was actually from the preview of the game and not the review. However, it must be said, what makes people think that these quotes are meant to come from the review anyway? With the masses of trash written about games before their release developers obviously take the best of a bad bunch. I can imagine that the distributor would argue that the stars weren't actually in quotation marks and the quote was written about the game. Which is true.

The fact of the matter is that most gamers who purchase a game on the initial day or week of its release make up their minds prior reviews being printed that they will do so. Other gamers, who purchase later, may be more influenced by reviews and word-of-mouth from other gamers.

I haven't played Kane & Lynch and it was never high on my agenda to do so, but all I can say is, "Wow, another game about psychopaths who kill people." And gamers wonder why the non-gaming media stereotype them. Unfortunately, a media beat up about the game is only going to make it sell more.

If you want to read the complete Kotaku article then click here.

To Review Or Not To Review, That is the Question

2007-12-03T14:34:00.000+11:00

I think that, more often than not, most gamers are happily ignorant of the internal machinations of the gaming industry. More to the pont, most gamers really don't care about the reviewing policies of gaming magazines and websites. So, when an editor is fired and rumours crop up that the editor was cut because of pressure from the advertisers on the site then ... well, who really cares besides game industry insiders and hangers on? This is a problem that is occurring across the wider spectrum of the media too. Ultimately, most people don't care that their journalism may be tainted in some way.

Let's face it. Most gamers don't really jump on the internet and read gaming websites every day and, besides a few well known names within the industry, they aren't particularly conversant with the comings and goings of different organizations associated with the gaming press and developers. So, when allegations like this are made who really cares besides journalists within the industry who are out to make the point that the capitalistic developers control the so-called independent media and then you have the hangers on within the industry filled with people like myself. Gamers don't really care. Gamers don't particularly care about the integrity of the gaming media, just as they don't particularly care about the integrity of journalists in general.

Consumers are apathetic to this type of information on a large scale. The more that we see consumerism progress the more we see consumers become apathetic to the products they buy and the industry which promotes them. Just as you may think that the media is controlled by its advertisers there are also examples that they may not. As a case in point, Assassin's Creed was reviewed by ign.com and it received three completely different reviews from reviewers around the world. UK: 6.5/10 US: 7.7 & AUS: 8.7. Of those three scores the Australian market would be the most insignificant of all the worldwide markets and it was within this region that the game received the highest score. You would not consider 6.5 out of 10 to be a great score for a game that Ubisoft might consider to be a little bit awesome game and, considering they are a massive worldwide developer you would think that they would have some weight to throw around in order to influence such a score. But the game still received a low score. I wouldn't consider one example to provide a good cross study, but it is does make you wonder if all of the soothsaying and hype around the sacking of an editor is just that.

The reality is that games are made for gamers. Gamers, or the end user, don't particularly care about the machinations of the industry meant to report on games. Maybe if we could create a tabloid type publication which followed the lives of developers and hyped up their existance in the same way that women's magazines and other tattler type rags do then gamers might care. I don't really look forward to the day that this type of fluff publication becomes popularly accepted by gamers.

Assassin's Creed

2007-11-29T10:14:00.000+11:00

I was beginning to think that the Ubisoft juggernaut could not faulter. They have produced some high quality games and created massive worldwide franchises. Although, you may be mistaken for thinking that they have a tendency to slap Tom Clancy's name on just about any product and getting it to sell in high volumes. Assassin's Creed was shaping up to be another one of these massive releases set to blow the world away with its high quality graphics and immersive gameplay. However, upon the game's release there were a host of luke warm reviews for the game. The Creed was going to feature a product made by the "best of the best" at Ubisoft. They were taking their best developers from their worldwide studios and giving them Assassin's Creed as their pet project. A way of saying, "Look at what we can do."

How could it have possibly gone wrong? Maybe Ubisoft just couldn't influence the media with expensive press junkets in the same way as other developers. There has been a tendency from many games journalists to hype up game releases just as much as the marketing machines behind the games. So, why have they decided to suddenly develop a conscience with this game?

Assassin's Creed is one of the best looking games of the year. The graphics take on a "hyper real" quality. The washed out whites on-screen appear to be indicative of the harsh sun associated with the arid middle east. The three cities have relatively unique architecture and design for each. Even though one reviewer did criticise the "pop up" in game on the 360 most of the reviews have been universally happy with the visual design and graphical quality. It seems that it is in the gameplay area that the game has fallen down. The game is extremely repetitive. After you have completed the first assassination then pretty much the following eight are exactly the same. The submissions are the same. I can't believe that over the years of development time one of Ubisoft's top notch developers didn't find this to be somewhat boring. Another problem that they faced was that the big "twist" in the story which occurs in the first couple of minutes of the game. Unfortunately even some lonely punter on Wikipedia revealed this twist months before the game was even released. Sad to think that Wikipedia got something like that right.

However, as I have read through reader reviews and spoken to my own customers who have purchased the game I get the opinion that they don't agree with the reviews. They love playing Assassin's Creed. They aren't overly concerned about the repetitive nature of the gameplay but are immersed in Damascus, Jerusalem and Acre. Some of those people that I have spoken to have taken the time to walk around the streets and listen to the dialogue and watch the NPCs react and interact with each other. I have asked them whether they found the gameplay to be repetitive and while a couple have said yes they have not felt that this detracted from the general gameplay.

Assassin's Creed actually got me thinking about old argument about whether gaming was an art form. As far as I am concerned art is not about the aesthetic beauty of the product, but the way the work makes us look at ourselves, our life and the world that we live in. Sometimes art has the ability to change our view of the world and this is what makes it art. For once I thought that maybe a game had the ability to make us think about ourselves and our place. But I also think that we, as a society, become consumed with things of beauty to the point where we idolize them. Maybe Assassin's Creed was just another example of this. Something so beautiful that we tend to lose our objective opinion on its purpose and function. Look at models as an example. What do they do? Not much really. But they are so beautiful that we don't really care that they have no function. Maybe Assassin's Creed is the same as this ...

Halo 3 Microsoft Doublespeak?

2007-09-20T14:22:00.000+10:00

It has been reported that Microsoft would ban those Xbox Live Accounts who are found to be playing Halo 3 prior to the worldwide release date of September 25th. This has created a rebuff from Microsoft denying that this would happen and that this punishment would only be dealt out to Microsoft employees.

I would like to say that through our retail business we received notification from our supplier today that Microsoft would, in fact, be banning Xbox Live accounts if gamers and retailers broke the embargo date. This is the email that I received today in full. I have not amended or changed any of the content:

"Strict Release Date "The worldwide release date of Halo 3 is the 25th of September 2007. If any Retailer or Video Store is found to have sold or rented a copy of any of the three skus (Legendary Edition, Collectors Edition or Standard Edition) prior to the release date they will be penalised via Microsoft. "The worldwide release date of Halo 3 Console and Halo 3 Accessories is the 20th of September 2007. If any Retailer or Video Store is found to have sold these products (Headset, Controller or Live Points Card) prior to the release date they will be penalised via Microsoft. "Please Note: "If Halo 3 is played prior to the 25th of September 2007 with your Gamertag connected to Xbox Live, this will result in your account being banned. There is no way to reverse this ban. "Please make sure that no copies are sold or rented before the 25th of September 2007. "Thank you for your cooperation."

I do not intend to break the release date, however, what kind of messages are going out here? Microsoft, on the one hand, are saying that they will not punish people for playing the game prior. However, the message that we have received states quite the opposite.

As a retailer it is also good to be able to play the games a couple of days prior to release. Then when customers come in when the game has officially been released you can give them some honest feedback on how the game plays and what other games it is like. Seems like this will not be happening with Halo 3.

It will be an interesting couple of days to see what happens and whether anyone will risk their Xbox Live Account to find out if it is true.

So Close and Yet So Far

2007-09-04T10:56:00.000+10:00

I have been extremely busy with work. Since December last year I have had the responsibility of running much of our family business. The business has been growing over the last three to four years. To the point where we have been doubling the sales of one of our product lines over every 12 months. However, we have had some recent changes to the business and I have been a lot busier than before. Unfortunately, this has meant that gaming and writing has taken a back seat. Gaming is my R & R time. However, while some of my more hardcore gaming has had to be placed gently in to neutral my ongoing fascination with Wii Bowling has continued.

The other night I managed to snatch ten strikes in a row to attain a new high score. As with the pursuit of perfection in the beginning you take large steps towards your target. When learning a new skill you take your largest strides at the beginning then as your skill level improves you tend to plateau. Making progress a matter of persisting through a lot of repetition. Then, all of a sudden, you take a step in the direction that you want to head. Then you plateau again.

I am only one strike away from the ultimate score in bowling. The problem I am facing is that the family don't really bother worrying about my score any more. The challenge of the game has transcended competing against other people. They just bowl against themselves. Which means that I end up bowling against myself. Hopefully the perfect score is not far away.

And A Ruined Utopia Is?

2007-09-02T19:14:00.000+10:00

Often the gaming media gets caught up in marketing hysteria. So much so that the entire institution of gaming journalism appears to become a completely mindless rampaging beast. Unable to ask questions. Unable to actually do their jobs as a result of the hype of millions of gamers all squealing in unison as the "game of the year" hits the marketplace and falls onto our chosen consoles and PCs.

The hairy beast of hype has rolled in with Bioshock. For some gamers this release has been a bitter sweet experience, but for the media it has been the game which so many have been quick to label as "Game of the Year". This is typical of the journalism that gamers are presented with. A group of individuals, or "the journalists", are too quick to label games with the necessary dosage of hype rather than to question when questions have to be asked. Firstly, where have the journalists been who have been asking the questions which needed to be asked of the DRM system implemented in the PC release of Bioshock? Why aren't they barking down the doors of the publishers and asking questions about the reasons for this choice? Instead gamers have to do this themselves. Chasing these issues through the official Bioshock forums.

Another indicator of a generation of gaming journalists who really don't care and are happy to just report crap is their acceptance of marketing speak as a part of gaming reportage. There aren't many gaming writers around who really care or love the language they use. As such, we are continually seeing writers and journalists reporting inaccuracies in their language describing games. A fallen uptopia is not a utopia at all but a dystopia. As soon as a utopia stops being idyllic and represents the hellish vision which Rapture has become then the place can no longer be described as a utopia. It is a dystopia. This is the opposite of a utopia. However, we continually see Rapture described as a "ruined utopia" or "fallen utopia". These are the terms which Ken Levine used to describe the world of Rapture. If he chooses to describe the world in this way then that is his choice, but surely gaming journalists should pick up on the error and report the world as a dystopia which is what it is.

Unfortunately, I don't believe that gamers really care any more anyway. They don't particularly care about language. They certainly don't care much about the way games are reported. Gamers are becoming the mindless sheep which marketers require of consumers who are conditioned to purchase without thinking first. That is all we are. We are conditioned to believe the hype. We are conditioned to respond to advertising. In this way gaming journalism is nothing more than an extension of the advertising man's copy writer.

Needless to say that Bioshock is an excellent game, shame about the journalism which has had to report it as such.

Cynical's Bioshock Demo Thoughts

2007-08-15T09:57:00.000+10:00

It is no big secret that Bioshock is one of my most anticipated game releases of this year. As with all anticipated games it becomes difficult to maintain some form of objectivity about the game in order to critically analyze the game's release. Of course, a demo which is designed to promote the release of a game is not the best medium in which to critique a game. However, it does give us a feel for what we will experience when the complete package is released for retail.

Bioshock deals with the concept of dystopia. A dystopia is a civilization which is considered to be oppressive and is often represented as a form of authoritarian or totalitarian control over its citizens. Recently, Half Life 2 has taken gamer's to Gabe Newell's alien dystopia. Half Life 2 had basically torn a page out of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four and presented the player with a regime which they wanted to hate. An oppressive form of government which made players emotionally involved with through the nature of their repression. Bioshock, on the other hand, is a vision of a utilitarian utopia which has taken its citizens to a place where they can live in one man's vision of what a free society should be. However, as seems to be the way with utopia's there is not a silver lining to the cloud of Andrew Ryan's vision. There is a more sinister side to the reality of breaking away from conventional society. A world which is not meant to have any limits ultimately is destroyed by the very ideals which it stands to uphold. That is where the gamer is placed in Bioshock.

The gamer finds themselves treading water after surviving a plane crash. The scene is not like Lost where you are a part of a number of survivors who are desperately trying to pick up the pieces after an accident. It appears that you are the sole survivor. You tread water surrounded by burning wreckage. The flames are excellent and provide fantastic contrast against the blackness of the night sky and the water. As you move through the floating wreck and debris you see a light house standing out of the middle of nowhere which will offer you some salvation from the horror that you have just experienced.

Stylistically the game looks fantastic. The art deco style is also obviously influenced by some communist art as Andrew Ryan is portrayed in massive sculpture sporting his utilitarian slogans. The graphics are excellent, however, while Irrational may have had a dedicated coder to work on just the water in the game. The depiction of running water still highlights the limitations of the hardware and the skills of those people attempting to create them.

Unfortunately, there is not a lot of demo to be had. It is possible to get a feel for the game, but the area which is available to the gamer is limited, narrow and scripted. This is quite the opposite of what we are led to believe the game will be which is a "relatively" open world. It may be that some gamers play this demo and are somewhat misled as to what the game is actually about. Those parts of the game which are available are definitely moody and atmospheric. The lighting is effective and the use of shadow as a means to create atmosphere is (as should be expected) becoming a standard part of the gaming landscape.

After the release of the demo this game is still on my list of most anticipated games. Considering it is due out on the 24th of this month it seems the anticipation doesn't have long to wait. Hopefully, this game will provide us with a dystopia worth hating. A vision which, while being idealistic, has deteriorated and created the basest form of human settlement. These are the things which Half Life 2 attempted to create but failed miserably in their application.

The Moral Decision

2007-08-13T11:37:00.000+10:00

Game developers believe that they can create environments in game which force gamers to make moral choices which will affect the outcome of a game. However, I don't believe that these simulated environments successfully manage to create the same basis for moral choice as we face in life. The reason for this being that these so-called moral choices have no forcible impact on our lives. While they may affect the outcome of the game it is possible to replay the game while taking a different path and experiencing the story line applied by making different "moral" choices. Bioshock is one such game which will attempt to give gamers the opportunity to experience a world of moral choice. Ultimately, I don't believe that these games really provide much of an impact on a gamer's life beyond the time spent playing them in the first place.

A game which has been released of late which offers gamers the notion of consequence based on choice is Flat Out: Ultimate Carnage. You may be surprised to hear someone say that but this is very true. The choices which you make in Flat Out: Ultimate Carnage are not moral choices but they are choices which can directly affect you winning or losing a race.

I wouldn't have said that this was the case for previous versions of the Flat Out franchise. For the first time in the series impacts with objects and with other vehicles in the game actually can impede your progress more than helping it. The in game objects actually do appear to carry some weight to them. Hitting a large piece of metal scaffolding can slow your car down significantly. While impacting with objects and other vehicles can provide you with a nitro boost the actual impact can slow your vehicle down more than then nitro boost will speed you up. This creates a constant form of decision making process involved in the game. You are constantly deciding whether picking up a little bit of nitro boost now will provide you with a greater benefit for later in the race, or, whether the speed you will lose based on the impact with the objects will be more detrimental to your overall progress.

This is an immediate process of determining whether the pros and cons of your actions will have a positive or negative impact on your overall position in the race when you finally cross the finish line. If you don't win the race you may have trouble progressing through the game. I have found this to be a far better means of implementing a "cause and effect" based system within a game rather than the high moral ground associated with "moral choice" in game. The basis of your decisions can immediately affect the outcome of the race you are in.

Unfortunately, the physics system in Flat Out: Ultimate Carnage was not effectively implemented. As the heavy objects seem to have far greater impact on the cars you start with and less impact on more expensive cars that you can purchase later in the game. This is a shame as the difficulty later is easier based on the cars you purchase. It would have been nice to have a consistent process throughout the entire game.

I don't believe that making games which are devoid of moral choice are a good idea, but the way in which cause and effect affects in game moral choices are poorly implemented and of little impact on games overall. At least, with Flat Out, the decision making process has an immediate impact on the outcome of a race and gamers can find themselves making Pros Vs Cons decisions many times throughout the course of a racing event.

The Search For Perfection

2007-08-02T16:26:00.001+10:00

I have an unnatural fascination with Wii Bowling. It is the continual need to try to get a perfect score. Maybe it is more than a fascination and is an obsession, but one day I will crack the 300.

It is more than just playing a game now. It is a constant revision of style, tone and pace in order to try to nail the perfect bowl every single time. It even comes down to a feeling of paranoia at times that the game won't let anyone bowl a perfect score. But, I am sure, it is more that the controllers and their sensitivity merely reflect the imperfection of my action.

I tend to spin the ball from right to left. I haven't managed to master the left to right spin, which is a flaw in my delivery, but something which can be developed and eventually implemented.

Playing bowls reminds me of the good old days of gaming when the top score was everything. All you wanted to do was to get in the top ten highest scores list. You wanted to master the game and imprint your initials on the arcade machine so that everyone else could see. However, Wii Bowling is sadly lacking a top score list. It would have been a nice touch to be able to compare your score to everyone else's. See how you fared on that machine. These things don't appear much in gaming. The use of a score as a point of comparison has slowly been phased out of gaming. We are presented with winners and losers. You either win the multiplayer or you lose it. You can't rate yourself based on a score. There is no possibility for considering what may or may not have been your personal best. It is a shame that gaming has lost this ability to be able to define itself in more ways than just winning and losing.

The picture that I have posted here shows the longest run of strikes that I have had. 9 in a row is the best I can manage. But one day I will manage to master the lanes and bowl a perfect 300.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Taxi Cab Confessions

2007-07-11T21:37:00.000+10:00

Ever heard of that show Taxi Cab Confessions? It's the one where they have a secret camera set up in a taxi and some people come in to the cab and they talk about stuff. Notice how they only show the shady people. The prostitutes, the drug dealers. Those types of people. Well, how would this work given a GTA IV setting? How would it work if Dan Houser of Rockstar was one of the travellers?

My name is Luka. I have been driving a cab for a while. Well, ever since moving to Liberty City anyway. People who drive taxis aren't the type of people who have a great deal of choice in their lives. We are more survivors. We provide an essential service and aren't really paid very well for that service.

I recently moved from Vice City. My cousin, Tommy Vercetti, used to be someone there. A real mover-and-a-shaker in the eighties. Unfortunately, his lifestyle choice caught up with him. This can happen when you decide to push the boundaries. That's what he was doing. He wasn't prepared to sit down and wait while life happened to him. He was going to make life happen. He started with nothing after having done a little time. He ended up with everything. Women. Cars. Mansions. Yeah, he had more than one. And yet the government pull him aside and send him to jail for not paying his taxes.

In Vice City, I worked for one of Tommy's taxi cab companies. When the IRS came in and tore up Tommy's business ventures, I suddenly had no place to work. I had always wanted to travel and decided that now was as good a time as any to finally do that. Liberty City was on my list of places to see and that is why I headed out this way. That's when I found myself in the Burroughs.

To read the full feature then click here.

Bioshock - Government Issued Travel Warning

2007-06-26T07:59:00.000+10:00

Hot off the press is a Government Issued Travel Warning which has been published for Rapture. A civil war appears to be breaking out there currently and the Government is concerned about the welfare of travellers to the area. At the moment there is no information coming out of Rapture and the Government will maintain the travel warning until a clearer picture has emerged of the conflict there.

Rapture
This advice has been reviewed and reissued. It includes new information under Summary and Safety and Security. The overall level of the advice has been upgraded to Do Not Travel to Rapture.

Rapture Overall Travel Rating
Do Not Travel To Rapture

Summary
* We strongly advise that if you currently have plans to travel to Rapture that you revise those plans immediately. There is extremely high risk of terrorist attack in Rapture possibly targeted at tourists and there is the potential for civil war to break out any day. There is a strong possibility of high level serious crime being committed.
* If you are currently located in Rapture we recommend that you consider leaving. If you decide to remain in Rapture then you do so at your own risk.
* Currently there will be no further government assisted removal of citizens from Rapture due to the increased security risk.
* It is a possibility that while travelling to Rapture you could encounter genetically modified humans. They are to be avoided and to be considered extremely dangerous. It may be difficult to identify such people from external appearances. The creators of this city have attempted to make "super human" people through genetic modifications.
* If you are a citizen and you have undergone genetic modification while staying in Rapture then we recommend you remain where you are as your changed physical and mental condition has meant that your citizenship has been revoked permanently. You will have a great deal of trouble relocating anywhere else in the world and it is recommended that you remain in Rapture.
* Currently it is difficult for the government to get information from Rapture as the founder, Andrew Ryan, has restricted in-going and out-going information from the underwater city.

To read the entire feature then go to Internode Games Network via this link.

Nintendo - Where is Elevator Action??????

2007-06-21T20:31:00.000+10:00

Why is it, as Australians, we get the raw deal with downloading legitimate products? Firstly, iTunes and their feature TV content only for US citizens is wrong. Secondly, Xbox Live Marketplace ... all of the good content is for US citizens and the rest of the world can go jump. Thirdly, Nintendo ... why can't I download Elevator Action for my Wii, Dammit?

That is really the only game that I wanted on the Wii Shop. But, it is not available for Australian Citizens. I used to play the game at the arcades as a kid so the content really can't be all that bad. I am able to purchase the game on Taito Legends ... but I cannot download the game on the Wii.

What a joke the international marketplace is. It is all about creating and providing content for the US markets and the rest of the world can suffer. All I want is Elevator Action ... I don't think it is too much to ask for.

How Do You Tell If You Are A Gaming Addict?

2007-06-21T20:28:00.000+10:00

This is my feature for Internode this week.

Have you ever sat in the doctor's surgery and played a PSP or DS to pass the time? I know I do it. How would it be if your doctor became concerned with the amount of time you spent gaming and labeled you a gaming addict? Don't laugh. This could be just around the corner. The American Medical Association (AMA) is going to vote on whether gaming addiction is labeled as a disorder, leading to the basis of how to diagnose and treat gaming addiction through medical practitioners in the US. Yet, the precedent to classify gaming addiction in the US isn't so much based on medical science, it is more an exercise based around political points scoring by the AMA. This does not necessarily represent the actions of a concerned number of GPs attempting to improve public heath. Upon closer inspection what you find is that the AMA's report is its own worst enemy because within it you will find not a damning indictment on the addictive nature of video gaming but the attempts by a group of individuals to shape public opinion with a thesis that holds no merit.

So, how exactly do you classify video game addiction and what kind of treatment is such an unusual disorder going to require? The publicity behind the notion of video game addiction has grown over the last five years. Everquest would have to be the game which should largely be considered the catalyst behind creating the notion of video game addiction. While the MMO genre was established by the time Everquest hit the marketplace it was this game which popularized the genre. Ultima Online is one of the oldest serving MMOs, however, the game didn't receive the same amount of negative publicity as Everquest. So many people spent so much of their spare time playing this game that it was given the nicknames "Evercrack" and "Neverest." There were a couple of well documented suicides assocated with the game as well. This type of negative publicity created wider interest in the gaming industry with Psychologists and Doctor's weighing in on the argument of whether gaming can be a negative experience.

To read the rest of the feature go to internode ...

Forza 2 Media Circus Has Begun

2007-06-05T18:16:00.000+10:00

It looks like the Forza 2 media circus has begun in earnest. What I don't believe are these so-called game critics, or, if you must, journalists brown nosing their way through previews of this game. I have no denying that Forza 2 will be an excellent car racing game, and one which I will purchase on release. But the problem that I have with this game and these journalists is the fact that they promote this game as a hardcore racing-sim for hardcore racing fans, which is a load of rubbish.

Two previews of the game have gone up today. One of them from Gamearena and the other on the Screenplay Blog. Both of these previewers have stated pretty much the same. Gamearena states, "For the hardcore driving nuts out there, this is as good as it gets." Screenplay states, "and can confirm that it's a wonderfully realistic simulation guaranteed to get any petrol hedonist's motor running." The reality of this is that Forza 2 is a little bit harder than your standard arcade fare, but hardcore racing nuts are driving far better and far more realistic driving sims on PC such as: GTR, GTR 2, Live for Speed, NetKar, GT Legends and a few others of note.

To confirm the complete lack of understanding that these previewers have of exactly what a racing sim is and what racing sims are actually in the marketplace he states, "From a gameplay point-of-view, I'm one of the driving game types who prefers to play with everything on automatic and with as much in-game help switched on as possible, and with all that in place the game played really well, but for the sake of a proper hands-on experience, I also played the game in its most hardcore form, which lead me to last position and pure frustration, though only for the depth of the game's driving and handling physics alongside the great damage and wear and tear system." This is your problem. This guy may like racing games, he may even like some Formula One racing games, but he does not understand what a racing sim is. This is the problem. Forza 2 is not a racing simulator. This can be experienced from the demo. The force feedback is definitely not as well implemented as it is in GTR and GTR 2 (where, in fact, you can feel every bump in the road, and you cannot in Forza 2).

I have a problem with people marketing a game to a specific audience when it is not what they say it is. This is not a hardcore racing simulator. This is a racing game. The cars do not react like racing cars out of a racing sims. It reacts like an arcade racing game. The reason why these games are popular is due to the sheer amount of customization that you can do with the cars. The reason why these games "do not" capture the hardcore PC racing sim market is because these games do not cut the mustard as "racing sims".

I find this kind of reporting to be misleading. It attempts to represent the game in a specific way to a particular part of the market. It has no real respect for gamers as consumers and really is a blight on the gaming landscape. If a product is good enough it will succeed no matter what the criticism. The problem is that we live in a gaming landscape that does not promote honest criticism or thought of the product. At some point in time, and I think to a certain respect it is starting to happen now, gamers will not appreciate this type of reporting about products they are going to spend $100 on. Or, think about it this way. The average wage is not a whole lot of money. There aren't a whole lot of people who have more than $1,000 per week in disposable income. Just say, that their disposable income is only a couple of hundred dollars per week (which is probably a bit optimistic because of it being disposable income). Then to purchase a $100 game costs a lot to gamers. Considering the pick up rate of the Xbox 360 is 5 games per console then this means that gamers are spending approx. $500 on games per annum. This purchase may represent 1/5th of their total software purchased for the system in that 12 month period. For this reason more thought should be put in to how gaming journalists represent the products they are not meant to have any stake in promoting.

It would be far better if these so-called journalists had a greater appreciation for the diversity of software in the marketplace and didn't believe the spiel that some paid marketing consultant has told them about the game. This is the problem with gaming journalism. There are not enough unique perspectives on the gaming industry. No one is prepared to make up their minds for themselves. They regurgitate exactly what is told to them by the companies promoting the games. They are happy to go along and get paid to play a game for hours on end. It is a nice lifestyle. Why would they want to provide critical thought about what it is they are reviewing or previewing when they can just regurgitate what they are told without any thought in the first place. One of these journalists won the "Lizzie" award for best gaming journalist this year too. Intersting to note that nominees for this award are "self-nominated". Nice.

I Do Feel Sorry For Bethesda

2007-06-04T19:25:00.000+10:00

No matter what happens tonight and what is contained in the Fallout 3 teaser trailer I feel that Bethesda will bear the brunt of the "fan base". At what point in time the fans began to feel like they owned the intellectual property I am not sure. But no matter what Bethesda do there will be some sort of backlash. Even if they managed to perfectly replicate the feel and play of the originals someone will be offended.

There seems to be a lot of resentment within the gaming community towards Bethesda. I think their greatest crime is that they have not produced run of the mill games. They have had the guts to attempt to do things a little bit differently. Level scaling didn't work. I liked it to start with but not to finish with. That doesn't mean that I thought Oblivion was crap. I got over it. Let's face it, there aren't many games which have attempted to be developed on the same scale that Bethesda does. Further to this, as far as I am concerned, gaming is first and foremost a business. Based on this simple fact they are not going about the process of developing a game just for the love of it. It would be nice to live in an idealistic world where this happens, but it doesn't. People seem to depart living in the "real world" and enter some fantasy land (much like the games themselves) when they go off half cocked about a game developer.

Anyway, no matter what Bethesda does with Fallout they are going to cop some schtick from a part of the gaming community. It is going to happen. As far as I am concerned Fallout 3 will be whatever it is that Fallout 3 is. Bethesda will do their best (as, from what I understand, being fans of the franchise) to produce something that is indicative of the game world based on the experience that they have at their disposal. They are not Interplay and this is probably for the best if Bethesda are to survive as a long term business proposition.

Avatar and the Creation of Digital Self

2007-06-04T19:22:00.000+10:00

There are definitive boundaries between life and the digital world. Boundaries which cannot be physically crossed. The notion of avatar has been developed as a means to create some literal notion of digital identity and help to bridge the ethereal layer between the real and not so real. While we have lived with these notions for some time, I believe it was initially introduced in the Disney movie Tron and was further developed as a notion through the Ultima games where the hero was labelled an avatar. The origins of the concept stem back to the Hindus. There have been several news stories over the last couple of months which have involved several game developers immortalising disadvantaged and in-need children in to their games. The release of Rainbow Six: Vegas on Xbox 360 last year allowed gamers to scan their own faces in to the game with the Xbox camera. They could then battle out on multiplayer with a pretty accurate depiction of themselves online. Now, there are participants in Second Life who have created cemeteries for players who have passed on in the real world. An online funeral for a WOW player was gatecrashed last year creating some amusement and consternation for gamers and non-gamers alike. Is there an underlying spirituality developing behind these concepts as gamers strive to create some notion of immortality by summoning an online simulacrum of themselves to continue to live in cyberspace beyond their physical beings? Where will it possibly end?

People don't like to talk about religion or the notion of immortality any more. Where discussion around the dinner table was once either focussed on politics or the state of the church, people now tend to find these things somewhat passée. While 'religions' such as scientology continue to appeal to celebrities and find a place alongside their over inflated wallets, these varied notions of spirit don't necessarily correspond very realistically to the virtual world. The notion of avatar is originally attributed to the Hindus. It refers to the summoning of the deva, or higher being, to the physical manifestation on Earth. Or, to put it more simply, it refers to one of the Hindu gods taking human form. Christianity also develops this notion through Christ, where Jesus is the physical manifestation of God. I guess, considering mankind invented the internet then the similarities between the use of the term avatar and our manifestation of self on the internet are actually very close.

...if you would like to read the full feature then click on this link.

The Reasons Why 10 out of 10 Won't Do Fury Justice

2007-05-30T10:33:00.000+10:00

Many gamers are unaware that there are 40 odd game developers in Australia. The fact is that most of them are working on developing titles for other studios overseas. They are contracted to perform development work for other people and don't often get the opportunity to develop their own products. Our home-grown industry also feels as though it is beginning a fight for its very own survival with the growth of developers in China and Asia who have been able to provide cut price development directly in competition with the Australian studios. This is why Auran is excited about their new title Fury and, after having seen it first hand on Thursday last week, so they should be. However, the problem with this game is not based around the concept or implementation of the design it will be with the process of review that the game has to undergo upon release. Fury is, for all intents and purposes, a game which is more like a sport than a game which is clearly defined by genre. When looking at playing a sport do you read a review of the sport which rates different aspects of the sport in scores out of 10 in order to decide whether you want to play it or not? You might play the sport or see other people playing it first and then make your decision based on a number of factors. It certainly does seem that scoring Fury with categories ranking graphics, sound, playability, etc. will highlight the extreme limitations of the review process. It just goes to show how far we haven't come in the last twenty five odd years of gaming journalism.

The notion of creating games which are like massive online sporting events is not new. One of the best original sporting concepts in gaming was the original Speedball. While Speedball was an excellent sport title it lacked from being invented in a time where there was widespread domestic internet, which may be why we see it being remade now. Where Unreal Tournament was clearly a game built around the notion of being a futuristic competitive sport it easily fitted in to the FPS category. Bet On Soldier also attempted to fit in to this category without much sales success, however, this game also slotted in to the FPS category. There still haven't been enough game releases of this type to clearly define a new genre. Most of those games already released have been placed squarely in the FPS mould of gameplay. Fury will not do that. While there are elements of RPG, elements of a persistent online world, elements of the MMO, elements of third person action games, and Fury has an extremely fast and competitive pace with either single player competition or team based competition as its focus, this cross mix of types does not help to define exactly what the game is. How do you then fit the game in to a genre and say that it is an RPG game where there is no single player story driven narrative. The character development system pioneers a class base system in which all characters are human. So, there are no differences between race. What players can then do is basically create their characters with as many different variations using the incarnation system. You can try out different types of character combinations without ever locking in your character to one set type. Incarnation allows you to play around with one type and then, in essence, redial in another one, save it, and try again. This is an excellent solution which will give players virtually unlimited amount of design permutations on their characters. I am sure this will keep players coming back for more.

The players will be able to trade, gossip, organise groups and just hang out at sanctuaries. Although, when I asked whether Auran would crack down on guilds devoted to dancing naked they said that they hadn't given it much thought. This is also where you will be allocated specific tasks called trials. Players will then have to use perform these trials in PvP games in order to unlock abilities and help to progress in rank. There will be four multiplayer types in the first release of the game. The multiplayer matches are: Fortress, Vortex, Elimination and Bloodbath. Bloodbath is your standard all-in kill-one-kill-all free for all deathmatch type game. Vortex is a 32 player (16 x 16) capture the flag type game. Fortress is an interesting massive team based battle where players attempt to capture and hold specific supply points in order to win the map. An adaption of the advance and secure type of gameplay which is common in FPS multiplayer now. I got to see the Elimination mode being played. It was an extremely fast team based game where one team basically has to kill (or eliminate) the other. As with all team games the team which plays best as a team has the greatest chance of survival. This will be highlighted in Fury as not all characters can tank and deal massive amounts of damage. Healers and other types are required to cast buffs for the group to enhance their ability to fight and survive.

... for the full feature then click here to go to Internode.

The Sims Movie

2007-05-27T14:17:00.000+10:00

I can only say "Why?" so many times for this piece of news. Why dammit? Do we really need a sims movie? but more to the point do we want a Sims movie? I would say no. We don't want it. However, the sad thing is that I am sure the film makers will take themselves too seriously and actually film the movie in English, rather than the preferred Sim Language of the game.

Of course, I am sure that the movie won't build rooms with no doors or windows and allow the viewer to watch the pleasurable suffering of their digital house pet. There is nothing worse than watching some non-gamer attempt to capture a part of gaming culture.

There is some good news about this piece (if this is possible). That is Ewe Boll won't be directing the movie. This means that the film might actually be half decent ... not.

Fury Feature On Internode

2007-05-26T10:15:00.001+10:00

Just to let you all know that I will have a feature on Internode next week looking at the new game Fury by Auran.

Featured in the photograph are some of the marketing team from Auran. On the left is Ashwin Segkar. In the middle is Andrew Edelsten. On the right is Nathan Battle.

Check out Internode on Monday for the feature titled (The Reasons Why 10 out of 10 Won't Do Fury Justice).

Halo Developers Get What's Coming

2007-05-26T10:06:00.000+10:00

There are times when I think that game developers cop a lot of bad press. That some of the opponents of the gaming industry, unfairly are heard too often with grievances which are predominantly manufactured and hyped up to capture a five minute sound byte on the nightly news. In fact, there are not just times when this happens but I feel like this most of the time.

Then something happens and I think "how stupid are you people?" Reports that the Vista release of Halo 2 have been delayed because the developers left some partial nudity in the game is just ridiculous. How old are some of the developers? What do they gather around a monitor while they beta test their game and then giggle to themselves because they see a penis? Or, did they just want to see how well the Master Chief fitted in to his body armour?

Just when I think that the gaming industry deserves a good break and some positive press some moronic developers bring this on themselves. What are non gamers going to think about this? Especially those in the hard core right wing that are opponents of gaming in the US?

While the supposed content in question is regarding a bare bum you really have to ask "why?" It is just crap like this which will spur gamings opponents in to action. They don't need any excuse really to paint the gaming industry as one run by miscreants. Nice one Bungie.

Graphic courtesy of Kotaku.

EBGames Suck

2007-05-23T16:35:00.000+10:00

Australian games rejoice for there were trumpets blowing to herald a new age in gaming for this wonderful country. As EBGames announce that their website will now offer Australian content for Australian gamers. Well ... who really cares?

I don't go to EB to get gaming news because the staff know jack. The worst piece of information I have been told at an EB store (in Rosebud ... you know who you are) was that they had received an email and the backward compatibility chip was going to be placed back in to the PS3 for Australia. Yeah ... sure it is. What a load of crap. Another time I was in there about 3 years ago they had "Coming Soon" boxes on the shelf for Stalker: Shadow of Chernobyl. I'm glad I didn't preorder that but I am sure some suckers did.

I would not go to an EB store to get information about games (not even game releases). Why would I go to the EB website to get info? They are going to tow the EB corporate line and as far as I am concerned it will be filled with misinformation. Anyway. Big deal EB.

Fallout 3 Any Day Above Ground Is A Good Day

2007-05-23T07:58:00.001+10:00

Another new piece of artwork has graced the Fallout 3 website. We have just hit the 13 day mark until the teaser trailer is released. It is difficult not to be somewhat excited about the countdown if you are a fan of the game. Hopefully, Bethesda won't rush the game and release something like Pirates of the Caribbean. That game could have been a whole lot more than it was.

Even though it is just a teaser trailer and we probably won't get a look at any ingame footage it is still exciting. I can't wait till the trailer goes up.

Who Is The Cynical Gamer?

2007-05-20T11:02:00.000+10:00

The Cynical Gamer is a voice set amongst many in gaming. It was created out of sheer frustration at gaming industry journalism. Whereby, unbiased and uninfluenced journalism just wasn't and still isn't occurring. The cynical gamer was then created as a reaction to this. It is not meant to provide an unbiased and uninfluenced point of view on the gaming industry, but quite the opposite. It is intentionally providing an opinionated and biased point of view. There is no secret about this. But it is a reaction to gaming journalism and, as such, a creation from it.

The frustration in the gaming industry comes from a number of points. Firstly, with magazine journalism and secondly with online gaming news. Magazine journalism has, in many ways, hit an all time low. The battle lines are clearly drawn between the two forms of information presentation with many people claiming over the last twelve months or so that the print media form is, in fact, dying. This may well be true, and it is not dying because it was presenting gamers with a fresh and unique point of view on the gaming industry. It is dying because it is homogonized and controlled by the industry it is meant to report. Advertising is the scourge of news. Advertising has completely destroyed the notion of honest journalism. The fact of the matter remains that there are not any unbiased voices in news any more. Every time you see a news item it has been presented with a particular point of view. It is just that people are relatively oblivious to this fact because they believe that news reporting is unbiased. This change has taken place over a long period of time. Without any real friction or association that the change has taken place with the mainstream audience. This too occurs with gaming. Reviews are no different.

Gaming news are pieces of information which you can get anywhere on the internet and 99 per cent of the news items are exactly the same. There are very few unique voices amongst these writers who rehash press releases and regurgitate information. You could literally train a monkey to do this and, I am sure, there are many monkeys which already do.

The cynical gamer is not about being a monkey. It is about providing you with a point of view that you know you are getting. The reader knows what the point of view is. That the sarcasm and cynicism is directed at the industry because the industry has become complacent. I do this because gamers have become complacent and accept these predominantly empty voices which fill the gaming wilderness. More than anything I do this because it is fun. The cynical gamer is an interesting character and you will always know what you are going to get.

If you don't get it then that is fine. I don't particularly care. Go get your gaming information from some homogenized news source which gives you the same old same old as everyone else. Live in the world where you believe that you are getting unbiased reporting on your nightly news and from game reviews. I would like to live in this world of denial, but unfortunately can't make it to Egypt.

Crackdown (Halo 3 Beta Delivery Device) Fails

2007-05-17T08:13:00.000+10:00

I went to download the Halo 3 Beta via Crackdown this morning only to find that the link wasn't active. Interesting. I thought it should have been live at around 10 pm last night. I waited till this morning so that I could download it during off-peak download times.

I jump in on the interweb to check out what the problem might be and there is a special sticky at bungie.net devoted to the topic. Nice. Bungie had posted this message: "Crackdown Delay: We Know! Posted by lukems at 5/16/2007 5:22 AM PDT Frankie writes: With any luck this will be a short delay. People entering the Beta through other methods - Friends and Family, Rule of Three and so on, are unaffected."

I go to check out Major Nelson and see what he has to say about it and his blog has been replaced with this message: "We're aware that some users are having difficulty downloading the Halo 3 multiplayer beta via Crackdown. Bungie Studios is working with the Xbox Live team to resolve this as quickly as possible - stay tuned. Gamers entering the beta through other means, such as the Friends and Family remain unaffected. I am headed back to Seattle in a few hours, so I’ll be offline while I am in the air. For the most up to date information, keep an eye on Bungie.net for the latest from Frankie regarding this issue. This site is experiencing an excessive traffic amount of traffic at this time, so sorry for the temporary nature of this message. We’re working on getting back online as soon as we can." Interesting that his website has a specific message about the Halo 3 Beta Crackdown download.

Looks like Microsoft have done it again. Their theme song should be that Brittany Spears song. "Woops, we did it again." With such a short window on the beta period Microsoft are going to have some extremely unhappy customers. I wonder how many players decided to pick up Crackdown at the last minute just to find that they can't even download the Halo 3 beta.

I am not overly fussed about the delay. I will play the beta demo to have a look at the gameplay and graphics, but I wasn't too concerned about its release. I imagine there is going to be a whole lot of abuse and what not levelled at Microsoft today from gamers. Will be interesting.

Can Bad Taste Be An Excuse To Do What You Want?

2007-05-16T14:37:00.000+10:00

Bad taste can be an art form, not necessarily when Peter Jackson does it, but it can make a point. However, you would think that for something in bad taste to be art it would have to be well thought out and have a point to it. To a degree, I would say that Jackson Pollock art is in bad taste. It has a point to it and it is, highly profitable. Pollock though is a one in a million. There are not many people who can make bad taste in to art.

However, just because you decide to capitalize on a tragedy does not make you an artist, nor the statement you decide to make, whatever that may be, to be valid. There are a lot of gaming websites now discussing the promotion of the Vtech Rampage game by its promoter. The site hosting the game now has the statement: "ATTENTION ANGRY PEOPLE: I will take this game down from newgrounds if the donation amount reaches $1000 US, i'll take it down from here if it reaches $2000 US, and i will apologize if it reaches $3000 US." This has created a torrent of hate messages and listings on gaming websites. They are outraged at the statement, which they should be, but have failed to pick up on statements which have been made by the creator of the Super Columbine Massacre RPG, Danny Ledonne.

Danny Ledonne is no better. While he may have been trying to make a statement with his game about what may or may not have caused the tragedy he was also involved in blatant self promotion. It is to easy to trivialize the reasons why these things occur when the US has such a love affair with guns. After the Virginia Tech shooting a local gun dealer was interviewed on the box. He claimed that if everyone at the school had a gun that the shooting wouldn't have happened. But I don't believe that any shooting is that straight forward. You are not dealing with trained military personnel you are dealing with people who have limited experience with guns. As soon as the shooting started there would have been confusion. I reckon if everyone there had a gun there would have been a greater casualty rate because no one would have known who was perpetrating the crime. These statements that more guns would solve these problems are absurd to start with.

Danny Ledonne has responded to the Vtech Rampage comments with his own critique of the game. "I just finished playing ‘VTech Rampage’ and have some mixed thoughts ... 1) There are elements of factual synthesis to the game. Creator Ryan Lambourn has a sense of humor (morbid, certainly - but not beyond the recognition of the guy who made Super Columbine Massacre RPG)". He goes on to say, "It would appear to me that Ryan has no intention of doing much other than making money and gaining immediate recognition after the Virginia Tech shooting." Which, given the statement whether tongue in cheek or not of taking the download down if he is paid enough money some credence. "For myself I wish to point out that SCMRPG was never a for-profit endeavor and thus I never posted statements like that which is on the VTR game’s homepage". It is nice to see that one of them appears to have some sense of decency. However, isn't this a bit like a serial killer telling his younger, less experienced trainee how to do things a bit better. To learn from the wisdom of the more experienced mentor. Especially, someone who has dealt with the media before. However, the mentor attempts to draw the line and take the high and mighty road from his younger apprentice, quoting himself from an earlier justification of his game, "Societies throughout history have dealt with pain, tragedy, and suffering with art in a multitude of forms and ours is no exception. There will be poems about this shooting, there will be books about it, films about it, paintings about it, and indeed I do not believe the medium of interactive electronic media should be excluded from exploring the sorrows and challenges of the human experience." This makes you think that maybe Danny was reasonably intelligent enough to understand the predicament of the pain and suffering that he must have caused by those who were personally touched by the tragedy. Because this is why these people are selfish. Their pursuit is one which is selfish. It ignores those who are truly suffering. The families of the victims are the ones who really deal with the hurt, pain and sorrow from these horrible events. Not some outsider who capitalizes on the tragedy for their own personal gain. "Now I am forced to confront my own words by asking if the VTR game does ANY of what I outlined as the “exploration” of “sorrows and challenges of the human experience.” I would like to ask us to consider not whether a game about the Virginia Tech shooting SHOULD be made but how we might go about making a game that accomplishes more than VTR does with the subject matter."

And the response from the creator of the Vtech Rampage, "the donation thing is there as a joke against all the people commanding me to take my game down. I didnt think anyone would donate money to it and so far my paypal account has proven me right (BUT I COULD USE SOME FUCKING MONEY THANKS!)" Here is a man who is making a statement. But it is not a statement about the high and mighty exploration of sorrow and pain. It is the statement that he is just using this as a means to make money.

Surely the two developers are definitely coming at this from two different points of view. But, you have to ask yourself the question. If Danny didn't get so much notoriety from his Columbine RPG then would the Vtech Rampage have ever been made. That both of these people have done this for two different reasons, but the end result has been that they both gain some form of credit for their actions. I find it interesting to note that the creator of the Vtech was doing all of this under a tag/pseudonym "PiGPEN" up until Danny publicized his name to the world. Therefore giving him personal notoriety. Danny goes on to say in a later post, "I quickly found out Internet anonymity is a thin veil and ultimately useless to someone who wants to make a statement. You, Ryan Lambourn, created "VTech Rampage." I, Danny Ledonne, created "Super Columbine Massacre RPG!" We are not aliases or anonymous figures in cyberspace. We are real people with real responsibilities. The very best thing you can do, as I have done, is to OWN your work. Defend it. Fight for its right to exist and articulate the importance you believe it has. If you cannot do that, your work has no place online or elsewhere and you don't have the conviction to stand behind it. You will never be universally appreciated - nor am I - but unless you can command genuine authorship of your work, it will hold virtually no validity in the eyes of any portion of your audience."

It is unfortunate that these people have decided to use games as a means to create their form of expression whatever they think their message may be. The problem with messages is that their meanings tend to get distorted no matter how clear it is you think you have made them. These people have only been providing ammunition for those anti-gaming advocates to fire off a few shots about the predominantly responsible gaming industry. As per usual we find that it is the minority who spoils it for the majority.

The Big Lebowski Bowling - Seriously

2007-05-16T09:13:00.000+10:00

A new game is set to be released on a very small gaming platform - mobile phones. The game, Big Lebowski Bowling, will offer gamers the chance to bowl off against some of the characters in the movie. Granted that The Big Lebowski is an excellent movie worthy of a gaming title of its own surely it is not a second rate bowling game intent on using the popularity of the name to sell the title.

Surely, the movie deserves a better game than this. An adventure game would suit "The Dude's" lifestyle rather than this pseudo sporting title. This kind of title would have been suited to a LucasArts graphic adventure. Something which could capture the subtle comedy implied by the film. Unfortunately, in many ways the graphic adventure, has been dying a slow death. Kids are more into twitch shooters and level grinding than enjoy a game of comedy.

Considering how popular comedy is as a movie genre not a whole lot is done with it in gaming. I'm pretty sure it was Robin Williams who said, that you had to have suffered a lot to write good comedy. LucasArts made a living out of writing comedic games. Sam and Max has had an excellent revival from their fan base. Stubbs the Zombie and Destroy All Humans were only considered cult favourites without having much mainstream success.

Someone has paid good money for the rights to develop the game and the movie studio has gladly taken it. Maybe movie studios are not too picky with what happens with their products. As long as someone pays good money to them for the privilege then who really cares? Look at some of the movie tie ins which have been created. They can be second rate titles just created to capitalize on a market willing to pay for any type of merchandising related to a product.

Is it just too difficult for developers to create quality comedy gaming products? or, is the twich shooter and MMO market just not suited to having a good old laugh?

International Gamers Should Boycott Xbox Live Arcade

2007-05-15T10:45:00.000+10:00

Microsoft ... Microsoft and damned Microsoft. The news that Microsoft would actually give you something for free is completely bitter and has no sweet to it for international customers. Aegis Wing is the Xbox Live Arcade release for this Wednesday and it will be free for North American Xbox Live customers and not for the rest of the world. How's them for apples. A big suck eggs to all of Microsoft's loyal international Xbox Live Customers.

Microsoft screws their loyal customer base continuously. Australian's have to put up with the problems associated with using laggy overseas servers. Everyone else in the rest of the world has to put up with the unfairness associated with regionalization of media content so that they really have no great advantage to actually subscribing to Xbox Live in the first place.

Then there is the hypocrisy of Microsoft. They come out and publicly criticize Epic for wanting to release free content on Xbox live. They publicly air their dirty laundry with Epic over the inclusion of the extra 256mb of RAM on the Xbox 360 (which will be a blessing in disguise for Microsoft) and then they come out and release free content. With the release of the buggy Vista you really have to wonder what is going on at this company from the top down.

Microsoft are not even sure whether this game release will be available for the rest of the world at all. Xbox Live Arcade is all about more content for US citizens and less for the rest of the world.

It gives me no satisfaction to say this, but I think that International gamers should boycott Xbox Live Arcade game releases for the next month to teach Microsoft a lesson. While I don't believe the developers should suffer as a result of Microsoft's stupidity but what else can you do to make a point? It would be nice if our US gaming brothers and sisters supported us in this cause. This is the only way that we, as consumers, can have any impact on the decision making process. We have to hurt them in the hip pocket. Make sure that they suffer financially from the xenophobic regionalizing decisions which are made. I am sick of paying for a "premium" service which doesn't exist.

Post your support in the comments on this news item.

Gamearena, What is going on?

2007-05-11T10:27:00.000+10:00

Gamearena, what are you guys doing? I was all fired up for a hard core year from you guys, but not much is happening. You provided us with the "holier than now speech" by Richie Young. Where he was critical of the gaming media and, in particular, gaming journalists. He accused the industry of being involved in a "cash for comments" type affair in general with gaming publishers. He was prepared to take the criticism from his peers as a result of this piece (and there was a lot of it). Gamearena has paid some artistic people a lot of money to revamp their website. Yet, they are just not providing the content. Why spend all of this money and then let the most important part (the content) let you down.

There is so much going on in gaming at the moment. There is so much to talk about. This year is a bumper year for releases. It is a massive year. I think it is one of the biggest years we've ever had in gaming. We have three excellent consoles which are fighting with each other for marketplace supremacy. Gaming is now viewed at political level and is a bigger industry than Hollywood with more gamers now than ever before.

But what are they giving us? No offence Justin, but your list of games was just another list of excellent games. Even though you prefaced it with, "It made me realise just how much in this egalitarian world of the web, how these kind of 'best of' lists tend to annoy more than anything."

Come on guys, you all consider yourselves to be journalists why don't you contribute something to the great body of work which is becoming gaming journalism? The Australian gaming industry is bigger than ever yet is embattled on a number of fronts. The gaming magazine industry is embattled. Internet readerships are up. There is more to write about than ever before and what are you actually contributing?

I couldn't think of a better time to be a writer in this industry.

Forza 2 Demo First Impressions

2007-05-11T10:10:00.000+10:00

I have been really excited about the prospect of Forza 2. This game was going to be the justification for spending money on the Microsoft Wireless Steering Wheel. It was the game which had been developed from the ground up for Force Feedback on the Xbox 360. It was, of all things, meant to be a racing simulator.

After playing the demo I have to say that consoles are not platforms for racing simulators. If you play games and think that V8 Supercars or Gran Turismo or Forza are racing simulators then you are sadly mistaken. If you want to play a racing simulator then the PC is where you should be. High quality racing simulators are being created on the PC by racing nuts. Their passion for racing is reflected in the quality of the games they make. Live For Speed, GTR and rFactor are where it is at. If you haven't played them then don't even start to comment. If you find them too hard then welcome to the die hard world of racing because racing isn't easy.

Let me just say that if you are a racing fan and want to find a racing simulator on a console then you won't find one. So-called "racing sims" on consoles are watered down for the mainstream market. They are nothing more than arcade racing games with a bit more tail end action.

I am disappointed with the Microsoft Wireless Steering Wheel too now that everything is said and done. The Logitech MOMO is the best wheel on the market for force feedback (shame about the pedals). It is a wonder that Microsoft didn't have a chat to Logitech to ask them how it was done because there may be a lot of racing fans who purchase the Microsoft wheel and think that it will be comparable to the Logitech MOMO. It doesn't.

After I've said all of that. Forza 2 does play better than the original. The racing model is better, however, I have driven the game without any of the driving aids on and the powerful cars are hardly powerful enough. The track modelling is very nice. The car detail is excellent. A real shame that there was no in-car view as there was in the latest Gotham.

I seriously doubt that much of this will change when the final release of the game comes out. A real shame for consoles.

Nice One Atomic

2007-05-10T21:35:00.000+10:00

I started reading Atomic for the hardware, now I stay for the games.

Congratulations to Atomic and all the crew there for picking up a Lizzie (or two). I believe it is well deserved. Atomic is the only magazine I subscribe to (but not the only magazine I read every month). The change of focus for the magazine has been occurring over the last couple of years. Making baby steps in to the gaming market. Even though I don't consider them to be a "games" magazines I do rate their reviews as some of the most honest that I've read.

The current issue has an excellent article on the history of RPGs, "Confessions of an RPG Developer". This is one of the best features I have ever read in a gaming mag.

Nice one guys. I genuinely hope that you can continue to keep the bastards honest.

Microsoft Won't Discuss Failure Rates - As though they don't exist

2007-05-09T16:10:00.000+10:00

The failure rate of the Xbox 360 is a very touchy subject for Microsoft. They won't talk about it at all. With quotes like this from Peter Moore it is no wonder that more and more people are asking questions about the long term quality of the Xbox 360 as a console.

"I can't comment on failure rates, because it's just not something - it's a moving target. What this consumer should worry about is the way that we've treated him. Y'know, things break, and if we've treated him well and fixed his problem, that's something that we're focused on right now. I'm not going to comment on individual failure rates because I'm shipping in 36 countries and it's a complex business."

I have been involved in retail for a long time and I understand that there is a specific reason that Microsoft take such a point of view with this and that is that they don't deal with customers on a day-to-day basis. How about he go to EB and ask some of the sales staff (who are selling their product) whether they have the same opinion? Peter's point of view is a legitimate one, and I think one that many wholesalers (especially with Notebook computers) do not take. But, if they have a product which is repeatedly failing then no matter how friendly your customer service representatives are on the phone customers, ultimately, are not particularly going to care whether it is a good experience. Having a product fail potentially multiple times is not fixed by friendly customer service. It is fixed by making a product that works the way it was intended.

Fallout 3 - News News News

2007-05-09T14:10:00.000+10:00

Of all the game news that is around at the moment there is nothing that I get more excited about and yet, at the same time, also feel shudders of apprehension than Fallout 3. The news today that Liam Neeson is voicing one of the characters is all a bit, "Who really cares" to me. It just mean that Bethesda have spent a lot of money paying a name to be a voice. Quality voice acting doesn't necessarily come with highly paid Hollywood actors. Although it seems to be more of the norm nowadays for developers to spend too much money paying a Hollywood ego. Possibly money which could be better spent elsewhere. Also, they have a new graphic up which features Washington (which ultimately means that the game will, at least, involve the East Coast of the US this time).

It doesn't particularly worry me that Bethesda are involved in the games creation. Without Bethesda there may not have been a Fallout 3 (although I am sure that Interplay would have been pushing the license on everyone for as much money as they could get for it). Bethesda are a well established company that do make a quality product. Whether you like that product or not is another matter. It is also good to see what someone else can do with an idea. Even if they do change the game from top down RPG to a First Person experience I will be interested to see how they do it. I don't believe that Turn Based will get a showing (even though I will find this disappointing because I love turn based games - they appeal to the pen-and-paper notions which started RPGs). I just don't believe that a lot of software developers believe that it is "sellable" to the gaming public. I don't believe that this is a problem with the gaming public but more a problem with developers. They don't make turn based combat appealing. One of the unique features which really made Fallout different from the rest of the games was the descriptions of different hits and misses provided by Black Isles. Every single piece of combat was provided with interesting narrative to give the player an idea as to what was going on. This is where turn based gameplay has lost a lot of its appeal. It is about narrative as much as anything else. If a developer created a narrative of the action as interesting as Fallout was then it wouldn't matter that people were involved in turn based combat because they would be interested in what was being said.

While developers spend a lot of time creating games which have a large amount of graphical detail they often overlook the narrative detail. It is a real shame that more writer's don't get a gig in the gaming industry. This would be a better place for game developers to spend their money rather than on overpaid Hollywood actor's. Sorry Mr Neeson, but you are not selling a game to me. It would be good to see a shift in this direction for developers.

Business End Of the Gaming Year

2007-05-05T18:17:00.000+10:00

The start of the year is never a good time for game releases. Usually, the big releases are made before Christmas so that they can capture everyone's festive giving spirit, which means you pick up a couple of big releases at the start of the year who couldn't quite hit the christmas deadline.

The next time of the year when you start to see a flood of releases occurs in the Northern Hemisphere's summer. Generally the second half of the year winds up for the big releases and this year, I think, will be one of the biggest years in gaming. We have some massive releases lined up for the second half of this year across all formats. I think, one of the big cross platform (well PC & Xbox 360 anyway) is going to be Bioshock. This game is shaping up to shake up the first person shooter genre. Then you have Enemy Territory Quake Wars and Hellgate London coming in the same genre. Quake Wars looks like it will be bigger than Battlefield 2. This game has built itself from the popularity of the free online shooter Enemy Territory: RTCW. While there is no firm spot for Unreal Tournament 3 in this years release schedule (Epic have said it will be released when it is finished and hence have changed the name of the game from 2007 to 3.) has not changed the rosey prospects of massive game releases. Of course, there is that big Direct X 10 release called Crysis which is going to shake up the industry a bit and send gamers off to the computer store to purchase upgraded equipment so they can play this game at an acceptable frame rate. Some of the videos for this game have been a bit sketchy, to say the least. Framerate is going to be the biggest issue.

I think the two biggest game releases of the year will be Spore (on the PC) and Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360 & PS3). Spore looks like it will be a highly original gaming concept which mixes a number of different styles of gameplay. PC user anticipation of the release of Spore is very high. It just goes to show that the PC gaming format can embrace new concepts in gaming style. There is plenty of room for development of unique concepts. Just look at the high quality games released by Introversion Software. Defcon, Darwinia and Uplink are not only three unique gaming concepts but also three of the best games released in the last ten years. If I hadn't have seen the teaser trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV last month I would have been feeling a little bit "meh" about this game release. San Andreas was an excellent title, but, as far as I was concerned, Rockstar really need to push the genre in a new direction and push the genre rather than just punch out rehash of the previous title releases. After seeing the trailer and reading about the game it seems that maybe Rockstar are prepared to do this. It seems that they are completely focussed on creating an environment which is a living, breathing place where a character in the game can interact and play in any way they feel like playing. Rather than being led by the nose which is what occured with San Andreas.

There are a few unique horror games due for release as well. The horror genre is always a bit of a hit and miss affair. But we look set to see an interesting concept in Allan Wake and a comic book tie in with The Darkness.

With C&C Tiberium Wars and Supreme Commander already released there is sill a little game called World in Conflict which will keep the RTS genre on its toes.

While I have mentioned these major releases there is still a heap of big name games coming out. There's a little game on the Xbox 360 called Halo 3 which is going to, hopefully, push the 360 to its limits. PS3 is yet to have a "killer app" that has managed to challenge some of the excellent games which have already been released on the 360. There are still many more big release due out. I actually think this will be one of the biggest years in gaming for a long time. Bigger than the year that we saw Far Cry, Half Life 2 and Doom 3. There are more big games across the board and some new next generation consoles as well which are, hopefully, going to mean that gamers have a massive choice of where to spend their spare time.

Gamearena Forums Go Unchecked

2007-05-01T12:31:00.000+10:00

What is going on at Gamearena? First of all they decide to change the look of the site. This is all quite nice. They are trying to chase that X-Games type feel, which is their prerogative. I don't mind the look of the new site at all. Of course, a lot of the front page is taken up with purchasing games through their online distribution system.

Then you have the forums. The Gamearena forums used to be an interesting place to visit and spend some time at a while ago. However, for some reason the rabble appear to have moved in and are dominating the discussion landscape.

One problem with this occurred a week or so ago when one of their new content journalists, Rianna, submitted an editorial piece on the new Ricky Ponting Cricket. Given, that Rianna, is not a gamer to start with then anyone with a brain cell should understand that it will take her some time to fit in to the gaming community and be able to produce content which is relevant. However, the comments left on the discussion area of Rianna's piece were disgusting and out of control. Too many of Gamearena's forum members were allowed to post responses which were of a sexual nature. It took 30 posts before the forum topic was locked and eventually they edited one post which was of a nature considered too graphic for some of the rabble there. 30 posts was too many. It should have been stopped immediately. Unfortunately, the inner boys club at Gamearena were too slow to react. Now, you can't find that discussion on the site at all whereas it shouldn't have happened in the first place. Ultimately, Gamearena is her workplace. This type of discussion wouldn't happen at any modern day workplace without some self respecting person saying that enough is enough.

What kind of introduction to the gaming community is this for Rianna? Unfortunately, those at Gamearena have managed to maintain one of the worst social stereotypes associated with gaming, which is that gaming is for males and not females. Whereas over 40 per cent of the gaming market is female. Why then do they let their forums go unchecked? Why are those few forum users with a high post count able to dominate the forums? The people involved in making these degrading and sexually explicit comments should be permanently banned whether they be Bigpond customers or not. Unfortunately, the repercussions for behaving in this way are hardly what you would call serious and most abusive and obnoxious is dealt with a slap on the wrist. Unfortunately, anti-social behavior is encouraged in the worst form of pack mentality.

It seems that forums are just an excuse for people to remain faceless and bring everything down to the lowest possible moral denominator. Gamearena must have a pretty casual forum rules as they have had 2 forum topics in the general forum over the past week which vilifies Jews.

How about a public apology for Rianna and a statement that it will not happen again? It is the least you could do (or, would this make a legal opportunity for Gamearena to be liable for a legal challenge?) You need to come down on these forum trolls a lot harder than you have been and tidy up your forums because they are promoting the worst image of Australian gaming and not the best.

Maybe the Xtreme image is what Gamearena is encouraging. Xtreme social views might be what they consider to be the norm.

You Can Also Find Me At

2007-04-28T16:46:00.000+10:00

I know things have been a bit slow on the blog of late. However, don't forget that you can also find me at INTERNODE. I am posting news items there most days. Feel free to pop over there and get your fix of cynical gaming news as well.

GTA IV Map

2007-04-28T16:39:00.000+10:00

GTA IV would have to be one of the most anticipated games coming out this year. It seems like just yesterday that GTA: San Andreas was released. One of the things which has caused a lot of conern about the new game is how big the map will be. San Andreas pushed the boundaries in the sheer size of the playable map. Now that it has been revealed that GTA IV is set in a single part of Liberty City that it will not be very large. Well, some one with too much spare time on their hands has put together this. They have outlayed the landmarks of the GTA IV trailer along with the descriptions from Rockstar about the different burroughs and come up with this. A working map of GTA IV based on the city of New York. CLICK HERE FOR MAP.

It is huge.

If this is the playable area then I am pretty amazed. While I don't think it is quite as big as San Andreas this is virtually a completely populated city we are talking about. San Andreas was three small cities divided by a lot of open areas. This is one large city. Amazing.

All of this just makes October seem a lot further away. I can't wait for this game to be released. It is soon going to eclipse Bioshock as my most anticipated game this year.

It's Official You Can Purchase A Commodore Computer Again, but ...

2007-04-24T10:14:00.000+10:00

The Commodore logo is back on a computer, however, is Commodore back? Times have changed so much since a Commodore computer was the mainstay of home PC gaming. To start with Microsoft weren't dominating the home PC market and telling us what to do with our systems. Things were a lot simpler then. The internet was around but was made up mainly of bulletin boards for computer geeks and scientists. Gaming was then in its infancy and people could create games from their living room without the need for multi million dollar budgets. People didn't build their own PCs then either. Atari consoles were booming in the home market and Commodore had created the greatest selling home computer of all time in the Commodore 64.

Residents of the UK and Ireland are going to be the first people in the world to pick up the new Commodore Gaming PCs. A larger rollout of the product is to be expected in mid-May. However, these are just beige boxes with pretty pictures on them. They are not Commodores. Just because you put a logo on something doesn't make it the same product. Commodore computers were indicative of the time in which they were released. They were pioneering the home computer market and home gaming in many ways. They were one of the cheapest home PC options in the marketplace. The products which are being released now and are badged with Commodore Gaming are just high priced PCs. Commodore hasn't pioneered the technology and the operating system in the boxes. They are just assembling a number of components, putting them in a PC case and slapping a logo on the side. While I love the romantic notion I have of Commodore computers from my childhood this is not enough to make me commit to a purchase of an expensive gaming PC just because of the logo. Certainly not when I can make one myself at a much cheaper price.

Unfortunately, I believe that consumers and the marketplace has changed in the 20 years when Commodore first broke in to the market. Computers aren't a gimmick anymore, they are a part of our day to day reality. As a result consumers are far better educated as computers as a product than they were when Commodore were first in the marketplace.

I actually regret that they have pulled the Commodore logo out of the closet and put it back on sale. Times have changed. Market loyalties have changed and Commodore are going to have to take on two of the biggest custom computer suppliers in the world, namely Alienware and Dell.

C&C 3 Demo On Xbox 360

2007-04-23T10:33:00.000+10:00

The C&C 3: Tiberium Wars demo is out on the Xbox 360 and I think they have done a pretty good job at mapping the controls to the console controller. The game is completely playable, however, why don't Microsoft just release an official mouse and keyboard converter for the console? This is what the game is made for. While they want the console players to compete with Windows players online they don't want it to happen on a level playing field. The current aftermarket mouse and keyboard converter for the console is not too good. The games haven't been programed from the ground up to incorporate the use of the mouse and, as a result, suffer from controller lag in game.

Some may consider the Xbox 360 to be the poor man's computer, so, why don't Microsoft come to the party and just release a mouse and keyboard for it? At least, to give gamers the choice of which peripheral they would prefer to use for the console. Also, this would broaden the appeal for game developers to release a larger number of games for the console. Some games just don't feature very well with a controller.

I personally don't mind using the controller. It is more comfortable to use than a mouse and keyboard, however, doesn't have the twitchy responsiveness of the mouse and keyboard.

What is Wrong With This Picture?

2007-04-15T18:46:00.001+10:00

I was playing Gun yesterday and I was presented with this deformed character. It was freaky. The character had just been executed as a part of the main story line and for some reason turned up on screen looking like a mutant. The funny thing was that it stayed like that after a couple of reloads and then returned to normal. Very strange.

I purchased Gun second hand at EB. As you can see I still have a penchant for picking up old, cheap second hand games and giving them a good thrashing.

Fallout Licence Fully Owned By Bethesda

2007-04-15T09:58:00.000+10:00

This was big news on Friday. Bethesda (the creators of Elder Scrolls) have purchased the Fallout franchise from Interplay. Previously, Bethesda had purchased the licence to develop the next three fallout games from Interplay. Interplay, of course, are practically going out of business.

While there was a mixed reception at the news of Bethesda developing the next three fallout games several years ago, I think that this is fantastic news for the franchise. The main concerns of the community, at the time, was that Bethesda would turn fallout in to a first person RPG. This created the luke warm reception as the rumour mill went crazy about reports of this misinformation.

It is 10 years, next year, since the release of Fallout 2. This is a long time between gaming drinks. It is good that Fallout still has such a strong following within the gaming community after such a long period of time.

Bethesda Shivering Patch

2007-04-15T09:43:00.000+10:00

How could Bethesda release the official expansion for Oblivion without picking up on a major bug which made the game unplayable for some PC gamers? Surely, they spent the time and due diligence to test the Shivering Isles expansion on a number of different rigs prior to the expansions release? Of course, with the millions, if not billions, of potential configuration type with custom PCs with different brands of graphics cards, motherboards, RAM, and all the different types of software configurations, it is not possible to stress test the software for all PC users. However, how did such a major glitch slip through the tight nets at Bethesda?

Of course, considering C&C 3: Tiberium Wars has issued four patches in the first two weeks of the game's release we shouldn't be surprised that something major can slip through the pre-release testing nets of a major software developer. However, isn't this an endemic in the gaming community which is about to turn in to a fully fledged pandemic? Shouldn't gamers, at this point in time, be saying that enough is enough. Considering the amount of money we pay to purchase a video game and the required equipment to play them shouldn't the games be in a better state than barely playable on release?

So, what has happened is that Shivering Isles has been patched within two weeks of release. This seems to be the norm now.

On a side note, I like the cover art for Shivering Isles. Reminds me of Chronicles of Riddick movie. Nice little reference.

US Army Spending More Money To Recruit Gamers

2007-04-15T09:05:00.000+10:00

Everyone is familiar with America's Army. It is the game which has just snowballed in momentum now gaining massive audiences of gamers worldwide, both young and old. The US Army has lined up $2 million dollars in advertising and sponsorship which is to take place in the Global Gaming League Website. Apparently the core audience (80 percent) of this website consists primarily of 17-24 year old males.

However, one of the anti-gaming advocates California Senator, Leland Yee, has already issued a statement criticizing the advertising campaign.

"It is disconcerting that the Army has decided to invade these websites with millions of dollars in advertising. While many of these young people are being desensitized to real-life violence through these online violent video games, the Army has decided to sweep in and exploit the situation. I urge them to reconsider this advertising strategy ... My father like so many others served honorably in the Army and our soldiers today are fighting because they want to give back to this country. Many of today’s violent video games do not portray this service as admirable, but instead glorify violence and promote racist and sexist behaviour. These are not the lessons we should be teaching our young people. When ads for the armed forces are placed on websites promoting these types of games, it blurs the line between fantasy and real-life violence."

His claims that games promote racist and sexist behaviour are an exaggeration. Several games have been accused of these things, however, these claims are not indicative of the entire gaming catalogue. In fact, many games promote service in the army as being admirable. Most World War II games and I think, specifically, Brothers in Arms, Call of Duty, and to a lesser degree Medal of Honour definitely promote positives about military service. I think Brothers In Arms positively promotes the sacrifices made by those men who served in World War II. As per usual, an anti-gaming advocate speaks about negatives without understanding any of the positives of gaming.

The Australian military spends a great deal of money targeting gamers in their advertising. You only need to open PC Powerplay or check out other gaming related websites to see Australian military advertising on them. The Australian military have been doing this for quite some time. However, we haven't had the soothsayers portraying doom and gloom about this. The Australian military needs quality recruits, this is no great secret. Fortunately, we don't have the anti-gaming mindset in the media and with politicians which occurs in the US.

With the reality of television and movies now gamers would have an understanding as to the violent and unforgiving nature of war. Games are not realistic portrayals of war based events. They are fictions used as a means of entertainment. To say that all gamers are desensitized to real life violence through video games is a gross overstatement. It is without foundation. If someone joins the army based on their experiences playing Americas Army then they are going to be given a rude wakeup call and they are not joining the army for the right reasons in the first place. The army will sort these people out pretty quickly. However, to have someone stand up and take just another cheap shot at gaming is of no real surprise. These people categorize all gamers with the same, violent brush without actually understanding who gamers are. Anyway, would I be someone who makes a gross generalisation, such as, we all know that all politicians are liars anyway.

The Gaming Universe Just Became A Little Bit Smaller

2007-04-12T20:20:00.000+10:00

You probably glanced over this news item today and didn't even think anything of it. Ubisoft acquired the German developer Sunflowers. However, the gaming universe just becomes a smaller place one developer at a time.

Yves Guillemont, CEO of Ubisoft, said, "With the acquisition of Anno, Ubisoft reinforces its position in the real-time strategy market. Anno, along with Ubisoft’s The Settlers, is one of the most well known franchises in Germany, reaching a wide audience that includes not only traditional gamers, but also women and families. We are proud to add another top-quality brand to our rich portfolio and we are looking forward to bringing the brand to an even wider audience."

Unfortunately we are slowly starting to see developers run in to financial trouble and go out of business or get devoured by larger, hungrier developers. Rare has run the gamut, existing on its own, then to be a preferred developer for Nintendo and then to be later claimed by Microsoft. Atari, one of the oldest developers has had financial trouble for several years. Old companies like CinemaWare who made classic games of their time could not survive.

What we have now is a number of massive software companies, like Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Take Two and its subsidiaries who are just getting bigger. What this means is a lowering in the amount of diversity which we have in the industry. Diversity is what makes gaming great. However, the need for companies to create franchises and long term income with major titles means that, as they get bigger, they have to devour smaller developers. It reduces the amount of competition they have for their own titles and adds existing revenue from their competition in to the kitty.

What we are seeing in gaming is similar to what goes on in Hollywood. Major studios are few but have access to the funds required to make "mainstream" releases and a categorized "independant" cinema which suffers from a lack of budget. Unfortunately, I hate to say that I watch Hollywood movies and say, "Is that the best that the most creative people in the world can come up with?" Is this what we are going to face in gaming?

Rest In Peace:
Troika Games, CinemaWare, Black Isle, Interplay, Bitmap Brothers, Accolade, Acclaim, Bullfrog, and the many others ...

Kurt Vonnegut Has Died

2007-04-12T14:30:00.000+10:00

Such a shame that Kurt Vonnegut has died. He was one of my favourite sci-fi writers. He wrote, Slaughterhouse Five, Player Piano, Breakfast of Champions, God Bless You Mr Rosewater (my favourite).

The world has lost a man who had a truly unique perspective.

STALKER In the News For All The Wrong Reasons

2007-04-09T10:38:00.000+10:00

STALKER seems to have spent most of its gaming and development life in the news for all the wrong reasons. News being reported at other gaming sites seems to confirm this once again.

This all began in forums being reported by modders and then made mainstream gaming news. Users were reporting that STALKER used graphical assets (textures and what not) from other major release gaming titles, such as, Doom 3 and Half Life 2.

Todd Hollshead the CEO of id Software has said, "I've seen a post on a web forum that claims DOOM3 assets are used in another game, but we've been working hard on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars as well as our own internal project and have not had the time to fully investigate or otherwise verify that the claim is true. Only from what I've seen on the Web, it's concerning. However, it may turn out to be nothing. Nevertheless, it would be improper to make any decision about a course of action until we find out whether the claim is true, and what assets from DOOM3, if any, have potentially been used."

It is even being reported that the files used in STALKER have the same filenames as Doom 3. It will be interesting to see what comes of this. Whether it is, in fact, true or just wild speculation coming from the gaming community.

Fallout 3

2007-04-09T10:10:00.000+10:00

Fallout is an iconic game and almost rates as a perfect game to me, however, times have changed a lot since fallout was released. Gaming has changed a lot since fallout was released and the games that gamers play have also changed a lot since Fallout.

Fallout was a part of the Black Isle Role Playing gaming lineup. Unfortunately, Black Isle ran in to some financial difficulty and ended up selling the rights to develop a single player game to Bethesda. However, Interplay retained the rights to develop a Fallout MMO. This is what Pete Hines (Bethesda) had to say about the Fallout franchise in a Shacknews interview this year, "Internally, we're a bunch of Fallout geeks. There is nobody [here] who hasn't played that game and enjoyed it. I have that game on my laptop, I take it with me and play it. But it's definitely different, because it's not really considered ours, the franchise. We didn't start it. There is a little bit of that sentiment out there that we have to prove that we're worthy to be the guys to make Fallout 3." When this was first announced fans of Fallout were unhappy because they believed that Bethesda would turn fallout in to a First Person based Role Playing game similar to Morrowind and Oblivion. This was speculation and Bethesda responded by saying that they were all big fans of the game and would look at keeping the game as close to the original as possible. Unfortunately, development of Fallout 3 did not start in earnest until Oblivion was completed. Fallout 3 now has a full development team working on the game. While Bethesda has said that they will try to keep the game as close to the original as possible the reality is that isometric turn based games don't sell very well any more.

Pete Hines said, "We are the right guys to be doing this franchise, we do take it seriously, and we do want to make it a powerful force in roleplaying in terms of what these games can do and be. We hope that when we show people what we're up to, they'll agree. Some folks will, and some folks will say it's not what they wanted. At the end of the day, we respect that, but we have to do what we think is right. Again, you can't make the game that everybody wants because you'll get ten different answers about what that game is."

Turn based game play is a big turn off for gamers. The majority of gamers don't tend to spend their money on them. While Fallout is an iconic franchise gamers tend not to buy this type of game and developers are reluctant to release them. Jagged Alliance is one of the few ongoing series which promotes turn based gameplay. UFO also uses it, however, you don't have to play the game turn based. The greatest speculation about this game leading up to the initial details being released about it's gameplay will be what style will the game take. Pete Hines has said that details about the game should be released this year. Until that point in time all the gaming community can do is to speculate.

Hopefully, Bethesda will create a high quality addition to one of the great gaming franchises. It doesn't matter to me if Fallout 3 is first person or third person, as long as it is set in the fallout universe I will be playing it.

UFO Developer To Release NecroVision

2007-04-07T11:21:00.000+10:00

Independent developer Cenega have announced that they will release a First Person Shooter set in World War One called NecroVision. Cenega are well known for developing the UFO series. This series has continued the concepts behind the Xcom series of games.

NecroVision is said to be set not just in World War One, but also will have you fighting hell spawn such as demons and other unnatural creatures. Well, that makes the game sound a whole lot different than a lot of other shooters. Just because it was set in World War One with its bolt action .303s and lot tech warfare is not necessarily going to differentiate it from other shooters already associated with WW2. There are so many games which deal with you fighting things which come from hell, the underworld or whatnot. Anyone heard of Doom? Then you have the various offshoots which attempt to capitalize on the same theme. Couldn't they have taken a little bit more time and come up with a more original concept?

Hang on, there is, there are also vampires in the game. Well, that makes all the difference doesn't it. Vampires. The press release says, "Now the only defense standing between the powerful forces of darkness and humans, who are unaware of the existence of the underground worlds, are vampires. But they are losing ground in this war and desperately need help before they fall and all hell will get loose. Can a young American save these worlds, and survive as a human?" Just sounds like another cliched game concept.

GRUMPYOLDGAMER says:
Vampires. Vampires are real you know. I always carry around a clove of garlic. You never know when one of those little blood suckers are going to pop up. I saw this documentary about this young girl ... now what was her name? ... she had a real problem with vampires ... I think her name was Bandy ... Bundy ... Bindy ... Buffy, that's right it was Buffy. She could slay vampires in this place in America.

I remember when the great war started. I was only a relative youngster at twenty five. It was a time of great adventure I tell you ... as long as someone else went on the adventure for you.

Basha's Screenshot Moments

2007-04-06T12:38:00.000+10:00

New Franchise Set to Take the Gaming World By Storm

2007-04-06T09:28:00.000+10:00

There is a new gaming franchise which is set to take the gaming community by storm. It has been announced that Blast software has signed Mr Bean to their Playstation 2 release line up ... hang on ... Mr Bean what kind of crap game are they going to make out of Mr Bean? Who in their right mind would buy a Mr Bean game thinking that it was going to be a quality gaming experience?

Unfortunately, I have to say that this game is not being made to become a quality game. It is being made to capitalize on a guaranteed number of sales based on the use of Mr Bean's name. They are basically saying, come in spinner we are more than happy to take your money. The press release says, "Bean – The Ultimate Disaster Movie became one of the largest grossing UK movies with box office receipts in excess of US$255 million worldwide and worldwide DVD and Video sales now number more than 16 million units." The problem is that the movies are made by Rowan Atkinson the creative comedic force behind the character. He is the man who makes Mr Bean funny. However, I can imagine that his input to the game will be limited. The game won't be able to capture the spontaneity of the performance which is really what makes it funny.

Besides the Simpson's Hit and Run what other television comedy show/game tie-in has been worth playing. None of them turn out to be any good. Surely the gaming public has learned that these games are just an exercise in making you waste your money. They have said the game will consist of: "Mr.Bean on PlayStation 2 will be made up of 3D levels avoiding tricky traps and problem solving along the way to find his missing Teddy with the help of Bean's girlfriend Irma Gobb."

If you want to waste your money then go out and buy it, otherwise, keep your money and wait for a decent game release.

GRUMPYOLDGAMER says:
I don't understand how they can make this game which clearly shows a man who suffers from mental retardation. Back when I was a lad you didn't promote this kind of thing. You didn't talk about it. You put them in a back room and made sure the person never saw the light of day. You kept it a secret. That's the way it should be today.

I won't be playing this game. Firstly, I don't know what a PS2 is and secondly nothing is more funny than Buster Keaton. Every single comedian since then has just been a poor copy.

Introducing GrumpyOldGamer

2007-04-05T09:35:00.000+10:00

I would like to introduce someone new to www.thecynicalgamer.com today. As there are more demands on myself to provide differing views on gaming and the gaming industry, I have had to expand my staff here. Based on the budget which I have to work with (being nothing) I have found someone who has a great deal of experience and came at the right price (for free) to assist me with providing up-to-date cynical games coverage this is grumpyoldgamer.

What I will do is provide an interview with him today so that you can get to know him a bit better. He is a little hard of hearing and I only have him on loan from the nursing home for a solid ten minutes. Rather than put him in to the thick of it, I will get grumpyoldgamer to provide his own unique point-of-view on the games articles I post. This is to ease him in to it and to get everyone used to him.

cynicalgamer (CG) - Welcome to the team.
grumpyoldgamer(GOG) - What ...
CG - I SAID WELCOME TO THE TEAM.
GOG - There's no need to yell ...
CG - I didn't know if you had your hearing aid turned on.
GOG - I don't have a hearing aid.
CG - What's that in your ear then?
GOG - There's something in my ear? I didn't notice.
CG - Anyway, we've started the interview.
GOG - You said that I could have a sherry.
CG - I said you could have a sherry after you'd finished.
GOG - So, we're not finished?
CG - No, we've just started.
GOG - Well, hurry up then.
CG - Welcome to the team.
GOG - What team? There's only two of us.
CG - That constitutes a team.
GOG - Doesn't that make us partners?
CG - In this case it's a team. I don't know you well enough to make you a partner and you are not my type.
GOG - What are you inferring?
CG - I would like to get back to the interview.
GOG - Well, you are the one taking it off track. Asking all of these ridiculous questions.
CG - I thought you would like to tell everyone why you'd be an important member of cynicalgamer.com.
GOG - What's it to you? Are you a cop or something?
CG - I already know what you are going to bring, but I thought you could tell everyone else.
GOG - What do you mean everyone else? There's only the two of us here.
CG - Remember we are doing an interview? Look, how about I tell everyone why you are onboard.
GOG - You just do that, but a little sherry might help me to get talking a bit. You know they call alcohol the truth serum.
CG - You have had more experience in gaming than anyone I know. I thought that you would be able to provide invaluable critical comment based on your life experience and your long time commitment as a gamer.
GOG - What would you know? You are only a relative infant ...
CG - Hang on, I am 33.
GOG - Like I said, when you get to my age you understand that you are only just getting out of your nappies by the time you hit 40.
CG - Well, let's tell them your age.
GOG - I think that is a bit rude, don't you.
CG - I've told everyone mine. Why not let them know yours.
GOG - In my day you didn't do that. You had a decent amount of respect for your elders. When you get to my age there aren't a whole lot of people who are older than you so that means I don't have to respect anyone.
CG - Anyway, let's just say that you have passed beyond the century mark.
GOG - Well, you are rude aren't you.
CG - You should be proud of how old you are.
GOG - Tell everyone that I am 21.
CG - I think that the gaming public will respect the fact that you are a hard core gamer because of how old you are.
GOG - They should respect me because of how old I am.
CG - But they don't know how old you are.
GOG - To tell them would be rude. You didn't do that in my day.
CG - How about we tell them that you have seen the turn of two centuries.
GOG - You've just told them how old I am.
CG - I want to get things on track. Remember, you are meant to be bringing your wisdom and gaming knowledge to thecynicalgamer.com
GOG - Yes, well that's to be expected. And what do you bring? What kind of humour is cynicism anyway? What you take something and twist it in to what you would call humour. I just think that you turn things in to the lowest common denominator for everyone.
CG - That is why we now have you. You will offer a completely different perspective. So, what's your favourite game?
GOG - Tennis.
CG - What is your favourite video game?
GOG - Miner 2049er.
CG - What's that one? I haven't heard of it. Is it a shooter?
GOG - A shooter? What you mean like space invaders? No, it is not like space invaders. There is a console out at the moment, but I am having some difficulty getting games for it. It's called the Atari 2600.
CG - The Atari 2600 was out 20 years ago.
GOG - Well, 20 years is probably a long time to you, but it is not for someone at my age. 20 years passes in the blink of an eye. Nothing happens quickly anyway. Do you know how long it took them to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge?
CG - No.
GOG - It took them nearly ten years. See, nothing decent can happen quicker than that. The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a beautiful icon of what makes our country Australian.
CG - But that has nothing to do with gaming.
GOG - It has everything to do with gaming. If it took them ten years to build that how could anyone make anything better in less time?
CG - Electronic Arts release a new sports game every 12 months.
GOG - How could they possibly make anything which is going to last a thousand years in 12 months? Do you know how long it took them to build the pyramids and they have lasted for longer than you and me ever will?
CG - But we are not talking about building something that will last an eternity, we are talking about video games. They come out all the time. A new one comes out, people buy it then they uninstall it and buy a new game.
GOG - See, that is your problem. You have no appreciation for the things you buy. You have subscribed to this "throw away" society. Buy a car and throw it away. I had the same wife for 60 years, just like I've had the same fridge for 30. I still wear clothes that I bought 30 years ago, because I know what a tailor is. You see I understand the value of the things that I buy. The youth of today don't understand the value of money.
CG - Alright.
GOG - If I play a game I want to get at least 20 years value out of it. I bought a deck of cards in the 60s and I am still playing bridge with them. I think that deck of cards cost me two and six.
CG - I understand what you are saying, but new games come out all the time now. People play them for six or even ten hours and then are finished with them.
GOG - And how much do they pay for these games?
CG - Between $70 to $120 depending on the format and the game.
GOG - What? You are kidding me right? That is how much I used to earn in a month when I was in my prime. That is highway robbery. Entertainment that lasts six to ten hours and costs you that much money? I knew prostitutes, not that I would do the wrong thing by my Marjory, who would charge you $10 and give you an hours entertainment. You young people must be loaded. You should be paying me for my time here.
CG - I guess times have changed.
GOG - Maybe they have. I think your ten minutes is up. I want my sherry now.
CG - Thanks grumpy.

Cynical Gamer Reviews S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl

2007-04-03T18:00:00.000+10:00

Sometimes life is very much like a box of chocolates, you never know what you'll get. So, in keeping with my review process this is the way I will review STALKER, like it is a box of chocolates.

If ever there was a game released which could have been anything when you opened the box, and I mean anything, it was STALKER. The build up to this game was unlike anything else that has ever been imagined. It was a bit like Willy Wonka coming to life and promising to make the greatest chocolate ever only to be assassinated never having produced said wonder chocolate. This was what happened prior to the release of the game. It was built up to be the wonder game. A massive open world in which they had mapped approx. 30 square kilometres of Chernobyl and that it was about 80 per cent accurate (check it out, that is what they said). However, obviously things weren't shaping up to fulfill their promises because when they finally got a publisher involved everything went off the rails and the said, legendary chocolate, appeared as though it would never be produced.

STALKER is a lot like Cadbury favourites, it has a little bit of everything in it which should please everyone. Of course, if you are a choc-a-holic you will devour the entire box and be even more satisfied. This is probably an apt analogy as STALKER will have something for everyone, but does not quite live up to some of the more memorable franchises. What is under the wrapper anyway? At the time of development GSC were touting the most revolutionary engine to use lighting in a game. The reality is that if the game had been released two years ago it may have been, but having only been released two weeks ago it was really run of the mill. The areas in STALKER are large and tempting, you really do want to eat them up and explore them all, however, you run across these annoying fences everywhere and before long you realise that you are herded in to several large corridors which guide you through what appear to be large open areas. In this way the game is a lot like Far Cry, however, it doesn't have the polish of Far Cry and this is not a bad thing considering the area the game inhabits. The game is set in an area called the "zone" or, the exclusion zone real life. It is the area inwhich people can't openly travel which surrounds Chernobyl. However, the game is set in the future after another incident in the area. Because of this there are a number of mutated creatures and people who inhabit the area. GSC have done an excellent job at creating atmosphere in the game. There may be blue sky, but there are always enough clouds to create an ominous feeling there. Then the blue sky disappears, dark clouds roll in and a lightening storm starts. Further to this you always have the feeling that there is something going on which you can't see. A gun battle going on or some mutants hunting for food. I work on a navy base and you often hear people firing at the range which is some distance away. The sounds of gunfire going off in the distance in STALKER is extremely well done.

The best chocolate I have ever eaten, and I wouldn't consider myself to be a connoisseur of chocolate, but the best would be Lindt. It has extremely smooth texture and that melt in your mouth appeal which is exquisite. You don't get the same result with a block of Cadbury dairy milk chocolate. While cadbury dairy milk gets the job done it doesn't have the same rich aftertaste, or the same post chocolate satisfaction as Lindt. This is where STALKER differs from your common, garden variety first person shooters. While it may lack polish and be buggy, it leaves you wanting more. With the number variations in the ending and the possibilities for doing things differently in this game the replayability is promising. Also, there is a massive number of weapons and weapon combinations that you can use. Weapons can be modified with scopes and grenade launchers allowing you to customize your rig. It is like putting Turkish Delight and White chocolate in your mouth at the same time and seeing what flavour evolves.

To me, all chocolate looks the same. Fortunately, not all games look the same. Obviously not the entire 6 years of development time for Stalker have gone in to the graphics. The graphics are of a quality which is to be expected now from games. They are completely serviceable but not reaching the limits of Gears of War for the Xbox 360.

However, the bugginess of the game can be frustrating. There are those people who are going to say that a game shouldn't be released until it is finished. Unfortunately, there are too many games being released in an "unfinished" state and being patched afterwards that there really is not turning back for the industry. How would it be if you purchased your box of chocolates and were only provided with the filling for the chocolate and not the outside? You would take the box back to where you bought it and either get your money back or have the item replaced with one which is finished. You can't do this with software. There really is no recourse for the consumer. Any other product on the market, if released unfinished, would nearly signal the end for the company who made it. Software, however, is different. Where would Microsoft be if they had to release every one of their operating systems finished? They would have only recently released XP. Ultimately, you have to take the games warts and all.

The mission structure in STALKER is well implemented. It is very much like being able to choose which chocolate you want to eat first. Most of the missions (which aren't associated with the main quest) are dynamically generated based on what is going on around you. This means that you can pick and choose which ones to do. Even with the main quests it is up to you as to how you go about them. There are sub quests in the main quest which you can actually skip altogether. They may just make performing the main quest easier (as in infiltrating the X-16 lab). So, if you prefer to make the game experience as hard as possible then you have the option to do that.

STALKER was always going to be like a box of chocolates, you would never know what you are going to get. The anticipation mixed with the extended build up for the game meant that the game could have been a terrific flop. However, fortunately, GSC has come through with an admirable game. As far as chocolates go STALKER is definitely the Cadbury Favourites. A mix of different chocolates which are all enjoyable to eat. They are not the high quality of Lindt chocolate or some other Swiss chocolate, but after consuming it you are extremely glad that you did.

The Cynical Gamer Rating System
If STALKER was chocolate is it nice enough to regurgitate and eat again? 100%
Does All Chocolate Look the Same? 80%
Would you eat STALKER like Chocolate? 30%
TOTAL Score for STALKER: 70%

Australian Poker League

2007-04-03T16:34:00.000+10:00

Just a quick update on a personal note. My brother (Basha) and myself are off to the Regional Finals with Australian Poker League tomorrow night.

Should be good fun. If we make the top 8 then we are off to the state finals.

If you are interested in playing Texas Holdem then try the Australian Poker League.

Vice City Stories

2007-04-03T16:08:00.000+10:00

I do enjoy playing GTA. I like all of the sandbox/open world type games. I was quite amazed at how well they managed to get Vice City Stories playing on the PSP. That was an excellent achievement. However, there were things about Vice City Stories that I didn't like. I actually thought that some of the content cross the barrier and entered the realm of bad taste.

I haven't finished playing Vice City Stories. There were aspects of the radio programming or DJ content which I thought crossed the barrier from being social related satire and was just poorly conceived. I don't want to jump on the bandwagon and bash Take Two and Rockstar (which seems to be the fashion of the time).

When you decide to create social satire, in the way that Grand Theft Auto is created, then you definitely walk a fine line. This is the reason why so many people are getting stuck in to Rockstar and Take Two at the moment. It is because a lot of people don't completely understand the nature of the their satire. There are, of course, those people who play the game who won't understand the satire as well, but they get some enjoyment out of the content. There were some references in GTA Vice City Stories which I thought were completely in bad taste. In fact, I don't think they should have been in the game at all.

New York Responds to GTA IV Likeness

2007-04-02T14:23:00.000+10:00

The city of New York has issued a press release in response to the GTA: IV trailer. The GTA: IV trailer has created quite a stir recently. Previously no city had been offended by a Grand Theft Auto release. While Vice City was a satirical take on Miami during the "Miami Vice" years and San Andreas a take on parts of LA, San Francisco and Las Vegas. These places were not offended by the notion of being a part of a massive video game franchise. It must also be said that the other time that New York had been parodied by Take Two it was alright. But it seems that there has been some sort of bandwagon and when someone gets a bandwagon start everyone has to jump on.

The press release reads, "While I am flattered that Rockstar would like to represent me in a game the representation is just a likeness and not a true portrait of myself, New York. Previously, the other cities involved in Rockstar's games were flattered, but unable to make a direct link between their ingame representation and themselves. So nothing was said. They accepted the likeness as a link but not a direct representation. Now, things are getting a little close to home and I would like to distance myself from the fiction.

"I would like to say that I, New York, am not violent. I am, in fact, very peaceful. It is the people who inhabit me who are violent. They are the ones to commit the violent acts on my streets. They are the ones who kill people. They are the pornographers and the pimps and the prostitutes. The city is not. Unfortunately, I am only home to those things. I do not endorse their presence, in fact, there is nothing that I can do to rid them from me. It is up to the people to rid them from my streets, however, they seem powerless to do anything to prevent their own vices. So, it is, that they blame other things, such as video games and movies for making these things happen.

"All I can say is that the likeness is getting a little too close to home for me and I would appreciate you considering another location for your violent video game. How about considering Melbourne, in Australia, with its lovely bay setting and horrible drug problems? Or, Tokyo and the Yakuza? Or, Baghdad, with its sectarian violence and its own struggle to claim its own identity. Surely, these other cities are not as important as I am, I mean, New York is the greatest city in the world, why don't you go piss on someone else's doorstep rather than tarnish my impeccable image. Nothing bad has ever happened here. New York is the image of what's right in America. Surely, you can see that and treat me with respect."

Unfortunately, that is all the press release had to say. When seen leaving a nightclub last night with several men as her escort New York quickly said, "What a lady can't have some party time? Next thing you know you'll accuse me of taking drugs too." However, New York was unable to comment today as she was busy checking in to a celebrity drug rehab clinic.

Games As An Art Form

2007-04-02T09:25:00.000+10:00

There is a discussion, although brief, at Game Politics about games as an art form. There are some people in the industry who believe that games are and some within and without who believe that games aren't. I think it is fair to say that being a creative form of expression means that games can be an art form, but like all other mediums, it doesn't make every piece of expression in that form art. Just because you can write a song, or paint a picture, or write a book doesn't mean you are an artist. This is the key, because people confuse the notion of creative expression and the creation of art as being the same thing, while they are not. Ultimately, game developers have the tools inwhich to create art, whether they use those tools or not to create art or entertainment is up to them.

So what is art? This is where you will hear a lot of people yelling and cursing about how art is defined. It is a subject which has been debated for a long time. I have a very specific opinion on what art is and I will use that to categorize art in general. The easiest way to classify art, as far as I am concerned is in this way: Art is any form of creation which makes you question your existence in some way. Whether it be an aspect of your existence or your existence in its entirety is up to the artist. Therefore entertainment for entertainment's sake is not art.

It is interesting to note that a lot of art forms started as a means of telling a story. The first painters used painting as a means to tell a story. They would paint pictures on the walls of caves. This was also a means of documenting their history as well. They weren't necessarily making a statement of some sort. This is much the way gaming started.

As time has passed in the last thirty years the technology behind gaming has developed. Games have gone from being archaic wall paintings on caves to fine works of craftsmanship and skill. The other aspect which make people wary to slap the "art" tag on it as an industry is the way that games are created in general. Games are created by a team of different people providing a number of different skills to each production. They are more a collaborative effort like the creation of a film or television show. While the director of a film takes most of the credit for the production and its creative control, games are not quite like this. People such as Roger Ebert (the film critic) are critics of games as art for this reason. The author/director/painter is not in complete control of the process. He says, "simply can’t compare to great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers ... There’s a structural reason for that ... Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control." This scares those people who want to restrict art to those who can only decode its symbols.

Tim Schafter, the creator of Double Fine Productions, says this about games as art, "Art is about creatively expressing thoughts or emotions that are hard or impossible to communicate through literal, verbal means ... Can you use games to do that? Of course you can." Denis Dyack, president of Silicon Knights, says, "I feel video games are probably the most advanced form of art thus far in human history ... Not only do video games encompass many of the traditional forms of art (text, sound, video, imagery), but they also uniquely tie these art forms together with interactivity ... This allows the art form of video games to create something unique, beyond all other forms of media. Simply expressed, you can put a movie in a video game but you cannot put a video game in a movie. Video games are the ultimate form of art as we know it."

Interactivity is also the factor which brings gaming its greatest art critics. Those people who deny that gaming is art due to user participation. There are a lot of people who don't want art to be a part of the masses. They want art to remain what they consider to be "high art". So that art is restrictive, it's symbols and meanings are confined only to those who know how to interpret them. Therefore making the process of decoding and understanding art exclusive to just a selected few. These people will always argue that only restrictive forms of communication are considered to be art. They are worried that a common person can storm the temple and understand their pseudo-language, be able to interpret their symbols and understand the hidden meanings contained within.

Art should not be the means by which snobbery or an elite is created. It is about sharing a common means of communication through symbolism in which we can all interpret the world in which we live. This is why games as a generality are not art, just as not every painting is art, some paintings are just pictures. However, those which manage to make us question our very existence are art. Those people who help create this means of communication and symbolism are the artists. Whether they be coders or painters.

GTA: IV Trailer

2007-03-30T17:14:00.000+10:00

You couldn't consider yourself a gamer and not be aware that the first trailer for GTA: IV was going to be released today. Grand Theft Auto is one of the largest and most successful franchises in gaming. I have to say that the trailer, while short, is impressive. If all of the images are generated in game as is being claimed then Rockstar have literally taken the next step with large, open scale, sandbox games.

The lighting and detail of the city are unbelievable. With all of the turmoil surrounding Take Two and Rockstar currently I reckon this trailer is going to create a buzz in the gaming community. What would interest me is to see how they will do things differently this time. The Grand Theft Auto franchise is well established. Rockstar have developed the series and created new and interesting environments each time, however, what will be new in this one. I can't believe the images in the trailer are coming from a console. I think it is the first time that I have actually been in disbelief at the quality of the images. Gears of War is awesome and the Unreal 3 engine of the highest quality, but if Grand Theft Auto: IV is a world larger than San Andreas with the quality of visuals seen in the trailer then I think that gaming may have just reached the next level.

I wonder how the hardware differences on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 will affect the game? The 360 with twice as much RAM may benefit over the PS3. While it has a seven cell processor it is still a relatively unknown device for developers. It seems that Rockstar don't have the same problems with the PS3 as do Valve and id. Considering all of the talk surrounding the development of Stalker and its subsequent release last week it looks like GTA: IV may steal its thunder.

The irony of it is that Grand Theft Auto has never been known for its graphics. Liberty City as it is shown in the trailer is one of amazing realism. It is almost a shame that the game will be taken up with crime related activities. It looks like a place where you could settle down and live for a while. It looks almost idyllic, as though you don't want to disrupt the easy rhythm of day to day life.

Let's see whether Rockstar can fill the new Liberty City with something new. Something which will revive the franchise and create an awesome game in the process.