On Glitches and Cheating

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Modern Warfare 2 is an incredibly fun experience online, whether you’re grouping up in one of the few rooms that allows party chat or going lone wolf like I tend to. The game is consistently rewarding, and I rarely feel frustrated to a degree where I consider quitting.

That used to be the case until a new exploit in the game became all the rage. You may have experienced a scenario where an enemy soldier sprints towards you with a Javelin launcher equipped, intent on suicide. You pop a few rounds into him, mutely thanking the newbie for an easy kill. Just as you begin gloating, the oncoming adversary explodes and takes you down with him. By using some sneaky controller manipulating, the griefer is essentially turned into a human bomb with a dead man’s switch. Killing him causes the Javelin to go off, triggering a massive explosion.

Fortunately, this new way to show your immaturity is being patched, and those who are caught using it face bans. This got me thinking, however. As much as this glitch peeves me, there are some legitimate things in Modern Warfare 2, and other games besides, that aren’t exploits per se but are incredibly underhanded.
Continue reading On Glitches and Cheating

Are Video Games Really Art?

braid01Are video games art? This is a question that sends some people into a tizzy, as gamers plot revenge against Roger Ebert for answering in the negative. I personally have always been of the opinion that games are art. They have writing, music and visuals, therefore, since all of those elements by themselves are art, when they are combined, that must be art, too. But lately I have been wavering in my conviction.

The problem I have is that art should mean something. It should express an idea or explore something about the world or our humanity. And some games do this, such as Braid or Bioshock. But for every one of those, you get 50 of Left 4 Dead or Borderlands, great games, but not really stretching the limits of the medium’s potential. These games do away with story in order to focus on gameplay, which can be an art itself. Not every game has to move the medium forward, but the gems are few and far between. Where is the video game equivalent of Casablanca or The Godfather? We have one of the most amazing media platforms in history and we waste it on zombies and ninjas?

The medium most copied by games is film. It seems ever since the dawn of games that there has been a concerted effort to make games more cinematic. This is not the ideal direction for games to take. Games are unique in that it is an interactive experience and even communal at times. Why should games try to be something it is not? A movie tells a story. You sit back and watch it unfold, passive in your viewing, knowing that nothing you do will change the events on the screen.

Games are radically different. A game still tells a story, but you are an active participant. You are still being driven along a pre-set path, though some have more freedom than others, but you decide if the plot moves forward. In some games, there are choices that take the story along a different path, although this aspect of games is still in it’s relative infancy and much more can be done with it. But games are not movies and I really believe that developers should stop trying to force a square peg in a round hold. Games have the luxury of defining themselves and what kind of methods they can use to being a story to gamers. Even games like Uncharted 2, while amazing, are trying to be like movies. There is a freedom in games that is being squandered and it would not be beneficial to the industry if games became stagnant so earlier in it’s still young life.

The main issue that I have been dwelling on is that most art starts with an emotion or an idea that the artist, writer, singer or director wants to express. Maybe someone had their heart broken and they write a book about a similar person that allows the writer to have a cathartic experience. A director reads the screenplay and is moved by it and makes a film out of it, adding their personal touch to the tale, but still maintaining the original vision. The same thing happens with music. Someone is compelled write a song from an experience they had. This is not to say that all movies and music originate from this point. Indeed, many movies and songs are written simply to make money, but the best movies and songs come from something personal.

With video games, this is not so. I have no figures, but I would estimate that 90% of all games originate from a business plan. Very few games start off with someone trying to capture an emotion or some essence of humanity. It seems that many games start off with an idea for a gameplay mechanic and then a story is woven around that concept. Now, this is not always the case, but I don’t see people writing original game scripts and shopping them around, hoping that some studio will take a chance and make a game based on it. Games are largely a team effort and so are movies, but the key difference seems to be that the original impetus for a movie usually comes from one person, or perhaps a small group of people writing together. Games seem to be formed in meetings and committees. This does not make them lesser stories or ideas, but it does seem to focus on the business side of things and not the artistic side. This seems just be the nature of the beast.

But it is this aspect of games that is making me doubt whether all games are art. I guess what I can say for sure is that some games art art, but all games have art inherent in them: the music, the design, the writing (Except for Resident Evil games) and everything that goes into making a game all come from people who are artists in their own way. But what a game means, what it is about, are the factors that determine if a game is art. It’s a difficult object to judge, but I don’t need all games to be Picassos. But it would be nice to see a drive to move video games forward. Games like Bioshock have shown that this can be done without sacrificing success. I only hope it happens before video games hit the wall that comic books did.

What do you guys think? Are all games art? Only some? None? Am I dwelling too much on the origins of a game’s idea or am I on the right track?

Is a Modern Zelda Possible?

zelda-futureReboots. Everybody’s doing them, because it’s the cool thing. I’ve thought for some time now that one of the franchises in the biggest need of a makeover would be Nintendo’s legendary Zelda series. In fact, we’ve had quite a few discussions about it here on this site. While I think the series has had some great entries in recent years, its formula might need some re-thinking.

So it was with keen eyes that I read over an article on Kotaku posing the question: How Modern Can Zelda Get. In it, Stephen Totilo notes that the franchise has seen more and more modern technology (a boat in Wind Waker and the train in Spirit Tracks) as the series progresses. He then asks Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma if Zelda can continue to have even more modern technology than what we’ve already seen.

While Aonuma’s response was somewhat vague, I couldn’t help but become excited about the possibilities. Considering the rumor that there will be flight in the next Zelda game, it’s hard not to wonder. What do you guys think? Could Zelda be given fresh life by having a modern upgrade of some kind? Should Hyrule stay the same forever? Does the series even need an upgrade?

Source- Kotaku

Blizzard Dispenses Advice for Failing MMOs

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If you’re setting out to make a successful MMO, I imagine that there’s one undercurrent of thought running throughout the entire design phase: be like World of Warcraft. It seems like a sound plan, seeing as how that game pumps out more golden Ferraris than a Twilight movie release, but it may backfire on you sooner than you think.

According to Blizzard Lead Producer Shane Dabiri, more WoW clones are not what MMORPG fans want right now. While he says that Blizzard finds it flattering that so many companies want to emulate their success with World of Warcraft (imitation is the most sincere form of adulation, after all), trying to pull the same maneuvers may not lead to the big hit that most developers hope for.

He goes on to say that people who have invested a lot of time in Warcraft don’t want to do the same things in a different game. As a Warcraft player myself, I couldn’t agree more. Before I moved over to Blizzard’s digital demolisher I used to play Star Wars Galaxies, which, while it had its problems, was a fairly unique and engaging game. All that changed when the development team took a look at Warcraft and said “we need to do that!”

Soon after that all the hybrid classes were gone, the economy got thrown out the window and Jedi ran all over the place like a herd of ill-disciplined children. Star Wars Galaxies tried so hard to be World of Warcraft but fell so far short it was almost embarrassing. Game after game has bowed to the mighty MMO, but there are few titles on the horizon that may challenge the market by being different. The upcoming Star Wars MMO by BioWare is my current favorite to at least show some decent competition, but I can’t pretend that DC Online isn’t making a strong bid either.

What do you guys think? Has World of Warcraft ruined the MMO scene, or will future MMOs learn a lesson and try something new?

Source: CVG

The Frustrated Gamer

dragon-ageOver the weekend, I did something I tend to do whenever I am slapped in the mouth with a good RPG: I played the junk out of it. The culprit this time around was Dragon Age: Origins, and I seriously jumped in to the thing completely, putting about 20 hours or more in within just a few days. This typically happens with Bioware games. Funny how that works out.

Anyway, last night I stay up particularly late because I sense that at 60 hours of play time, I’m nearing the game’s end. So, I make my preparations, I tackle the awesome final battle, and I get to the best part of any RPG- the last boss, which in this case, is a rather sweet demon/dragon. I battled long and hard, and ultimately, smote my foe. At this point, I kick back, and I get ready for the ending of the game (of which there are 4 possible).

About a minute into it, suddenly, my game freezes. Just like that. Right in the middle of the load screen. At this point, I’m annoyed and tired, but I decide that it’s not that big of a deal. So, I reload the final boss fight, which takes a few minutes, and prepare to do battle again. Now, this boss fight is no walk in the park. It takes about 10-15 minutes. Well, halfway through the second attempt, my game freezes again. I threw the controller down in frustration and went to bed.

So now, I’m tired and have not finished Dragon Age. The worst of both worlds. When’s the last time you guys felt this kind of frustration when gaming? Go!

Square Enix Looks to the Future

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Well, here’s a new one for you. When people talk about the death of gaming platforms the PC usually comes up, but Square Enix is turning that notion on its ear. In a recent interview with MCV, Square Enix grand poobah Yoichi Wada said that the company believes there’s going to be dramatic change in the industry that will shift attention away from physical media and onto download and sever based content.

Mr. Wada went on to elaborate that “In ten years’ time a lot of what we call ‘console games’ won’t exist,” and that Microsoft and Sony are already ramping up for the big change and third-parties should follow suit if they want to stay in the game.

The reasoning behind his statement is that the games market is changing from a hardware-based model to a network one, where “any kind of terminal becomes a potential platform on which games can be played”. Mr. Wada said that Square Enix is ready for the change, and they’re already stepping up production on their social and browser based games.

While we are seeing movement in this direction with things like OnLive and the success of browser-based MMOs, I don’t think that consoles in the traditional sense are going anywhere. Besides, I think that Square should finish up with their current disc-based project before they move on to figuring out how to exploit the digital market. Wouldn’t want them to get tuckered out. What do you guys think? Is there any truth to Square’s claims, or is this just going to be a dead end for the company?

Source: MCV

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

thanksgivingThe holidays are coming up. The games are coming out. And here we are, with all these new toys to play with. What’s more important, though, is that some of us are going to have lots of time on our hands to play them next week, due to the wonderful thing known as Thanksgiving break.

Right now, I’ve been pouring my whole life into Dragon Age: Origins. It’s a very deep RPG with some great writing, a fascinating world, cool characters and a fun story. I have to say, I’m starting to hit the near obsessive point with it, wanting to play it all hours of the night and during the day. I don’t know if it’s that it’s such a wonderful game so much as I’ve been needing an RPG fix for a long time, and this has just what I’ve desired. We’ll see how I feel when I’m done.

I’m also playing Modern Warfare 2, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, and I’m hoping to be knocking out some Assassin’s Creed II or Left 4 Dead 2 next week. What about you guys? What will you be playing during Thanksgiving week?

Nintendo Teases Zelda Reveal in 2010

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Not to be lewd, but I imagine the current relationship between enthusiast gamers and Nintendo to be comparable to a young man and some sort of harlot. She keeps giving you tantalizing glimpses of her ankle while all the while promising that more is coming.

To continue with this tortured analogy, the “ankle” here is the concept art that Miyamoto was parading around at E3 ’09 depicting Link and some sort of ethereal being that looked vaguely like the Master Sword. In a recent interview with UK’s Official Nintendo Magazine, Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma says he hopes to show something “surprising” at E3 ’10, thus completing the promise of “more”.

Nintendo proved recently with Super Mario Bros. Wii that it still knows how to make titles for its old-school fans, and with Metroid: Other M on the horizon I think we can take this as a sign that Ninty is finally starting to show appreciation for the “hardcore”. Though the company is often criticized for its constant rehash of the same tired franchises, there’s no doubt that gamers everywhere still clamor for these titles. The question is, how much longer will we get strung along before we see some actual gameplay? What’s your opinion, though? Are you pumped for a new Zelda, and what do you expect from it?

Source: Kotaku

Getting in Shape, Gamer Style!

It’s a well known fact that gamers are a slovenly folk; so much so that we’d rather watch fit, athletic people run around on a screen than do these things ourselves. Well, I’ve got a brand new program that will whip you into shape post-haste simply by copying these classic gaming moves and turning them into exercises:
Continue reading Getting in Shape, Gamer Style!

Pandemic Studios Shutting Down

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Even though two (hopefully) awesome games are getting released today, not all things are smiles and sunshine in the game industry. Pandemic Studios, notable for the Mercenaries, Star Wars: Battlefront and Full Spectrum Warrior series, has shut their doors today, folding core staff into EA’s Los Angeles Studio and letting go over 200 people.

It’s a real shame that this developer is being disbanded even though its original IPs are going to live on under a full EA brand. Because Pandemic released several average, some would say disappointing, games over the past few years, this isn’t really that big of a surprise. Perhaps the biggest blow to the studio was the cancellation of the Dark Knight game, which was apparently such a mess that it wouldn’t even be released close to the DVD premier of the movie.

The last title to come from the developer will be The Saboteur, a 1940s underground resistance game. With the closure of the studio, I thought it would be appropriate to have a remembrance of sorts. Share your thoughts on your favorite Pandemic games, or postulate on what this means for other smaller studios that are under the umbrella of an EA or an Activision.

Personally, my favorite game from Pandemic is the original Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction. That game was really ahead of its time when it came out, and I played the hell out of it. What about you guys?

Source: Kotaku

Who’s Getting Left 4 Dead 2 or Assassin’s Creed 2?

l4d2Though they might have been slightly overshadowed by the walking titan we know as Modern Warfare 2, two rather large games are making their presence known this week. One of them is a title that has had some silly controversy around it, and another is a sequel to a less than stellar but promising original IP that might turn into something more. I’m speaking of Left 4 Dead 2 and Assassin’s Creed 2, of course.

While I’m not one of the boycotters for L4D2, I still don’t have much desire to pick it up at all. I kind of burned myself out on the zombie slaying with the first game, so I’m having trouble mustering up enough gumption to go out and buy the thing. And while I was one of the few who enjoyed Assassin’s Creed, the sequel doesn’t intrigue me all that much, though I’ll probably give it a rental.

So what about you guys? Who out there is getting either of these games?

GamerSushi Asks: On Reviews?

grade-sheetOne of the things we strive for here at GamerSushi is to include you guys and keep this as democratic as possible (within reason of course) in order to make this an awesome community. As you all know, one of the things we do here is review games, most often the bigger titles that are hitting the market.

So, in regards to our reviews, I have a few questions. The first one: what do you guys think of our rubric? While it used to please us, lately we’ve been having some issues with it. For instance, a few months back, I gave Resident Evil 5 an A instead of an A+ simply because by our rubric, it wasn’t “one of the greatest games of all time”. However, looking back, I still desperately want to give it an A+, rubric be damned.

That’s just one small example out of the many, but I think something about our rubric is what’s making most of our game scores fall in the B+ to A range. I’d like to fix this however possible, and we’re open to suggestions from you guys. I’m convinced that letter grades are the best thing to do, but I’m ready to hear out other thoughts.

Second question: what do you guys think of us going back and permanently adjusting review scores? I know that in some communities, the site gets vilified for changing scores, but personally, I think that more sites ought to go back and re-evaluate games months after the fact. Off the top of my head, I think that I scored Gears of War 2, Left 4 Dead and Metal Gear Solid 4 all far too high, and would like to change them.

So, tell us your thoughts on those. We’re gearing up for some changes around here (hence the less frequent posts over the last few weeks), so there will be more of these kinds of questions coming. Go!

Review: Modern Warfare 2

mw2Ok, I won’t write a cheesy intro paragraph about Modern Warfare 2. You know what this game is. I won’t even make a statement about how you have to have been hiding under a rock to not know. I think it’s safe to say that we’re all familiar with this game, its controversies, and some of its more publicized info leading up to the epic launch this week. This is without a doubt the biggest title to drop this year. So, with all of the hype, how did it stack up?

Continue reading Review: Modern Warfare 2

GameStop to Launch Redundant DLC Service Next Year

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Let it never be said that GameStop isn’t willing to try something new every now and then to stay fresh and “with it”. Because DLC is becoming hugely popular (Battlefield 1943 is an excellent example), GameStop is planning to launch an in-store DLC service where consumers will buy the content at their local shop and download it once they get home.

Getting DLC with your games from GameStop is not an altogether unfamiliar practice for those who have pre-ordered games and gotten bonuses, but this strikes me as a little strange. You can already buy Microsoft Space Dollars and PSN and Wii point cards in store, so those of us without credit cards can get our DLC at home anyways. So, unless GameStop discontinues the sale of those cards, I don’t see any real way that this will succeed.

Of course, this is all speculation right now, and it will probably end up as yet another selling point that the person behind the counter has to bombard you with before you purchase your game. What do you guys think? Is this destined for failure, or will it hook those gamers afraid of the natural progression of the industry?

Source: 1up

May Require Instructions

instructionsIs there anything better than opening a new video game? OK, well maybe a few things, but seriously, purchasing and unwrapping a new game is for real a cool feeling. Something about the anticipation, the smell, and most of all… the instructions.

I know that sounds weird, but hear me out. One of my favorite things about buying a new video game is to take out the instruction booklet and give them a good read-through before I even put the game in. Call me a dork, but it’s part of my ritual before I play. However, lately, I’m noticing a downward trend in the effort that people seem to put into instruction manuals.

Whereas old games used to have fun art, bios and worlds of information regarding the game, nowadays it seems that all we get are black and white cheapo prints that any five year old could make. Heck, the Modern Warfare 2 instruction manual ranks among the worst I’ve ever seen. Granted, the game is fun, so in the long run it’s all good, but I seriously love me some good instructering.

So am I the only crazy guy who cares about this kind of thing?

Cross-Contaminated Media: Star Wars

Star WarsWelcome back to Cross-Contaminated Media, a series in which I explore successful franchises that have made the transition to video games from other media, and vice versa. I know that in my previous article I promised that I would look at Blizzard’s franchises, but I felt that it would be appropriate, given the recent release of the Ultimate Sith Edition of The Force Unleashed, to take a look at George Lucas’ eminent sci-fi empire.

When the original Star Wars movie was released back in 1977, few predicted that it would become the massive entertainment juggernaut that it is today. For good or ill, George Lucas had the foresight to retain international merchandising rights, and once video games were beginning to enter prominence as an accepted form of entertainment media, LucasArts was founded to capitalize upon this new venture.

LucasArts didn’t find its early success with Star Wars titles, though; in its beginning days it was well known for its clever and inventive adventure games ranging from Maniac Mansion to Monkey Island. The first Star Wars title produced in house was X-Wing in 1993, a fairly deep space-combat simulator made for the DOS operating systems. Though the graphics and game-play appear dated now, the game is still highly regarded in fan circles with the TIE Fighter game being declared the favorite of the series.
Continue reading Cross-Contaminated Media: Star Wars

GamerSushi Asks: Drinking the Kool-Aid

kool-aidOh yeah!

With all the new games coming out every year, it becomes tricky to negotiate which games you should/shouldn’t buy. Already this Fall, I’ve bought a game I didn’t expect to (Halo: ODST) and I’ve been tempted by two other titles I didn’t have any plans on buying (Forza 3 and Borderlands). However, there is inevitably the game that everyone else seems to love, but you don’t necessarily drink the kool-aid for the way others do.

For me, that might be Left 4 Dead 2 this year. In previous years, games like Bioshock and any of the Devil May Cry games have failed to catch my fancy. Same thing with Mario Galaxies. Also, and this one might get me yelled at- Ocarina of Time. Though others loved them, I just never caught the fever. What about you guys? What recent great games do you not drink the Kool-Aid for like everyone else does? Flame on!

Valve Says Unkind Things About PS3, Internet Explodes

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Guess Valve didn’t get around to checking out the report that states the PS3 is experiencing a surge in popularity because Left 4 Dead 2 Lead Writer Chet Faliszek, in a recent interview with CVG has come out publicly to state that Valve views the 360’s online capabilities as “head-and-shoulders” over the PS3’s. In the same sentence, he also puts Microsoft’s console on equal footing with the PC, thus pissing off the Valve’ most fervent supporters at the same time.

Valve doesn’t really strike me as the muck-raking kind, but this statement has set off all kinds negative backlash from not only the Sony Defence Force, but also from Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford. Mr. Pitchford has in the past stated that he views the Steam platform as a less-than-ideal way for small developers to get their games onto the market, and now he’s got something to say about Valve’s posturing towards the PS3.

In a recent interview with Official Playstation Magazine, Randy equated Valve’s attitude to be comparable with that of fanboys, implying that they’ve become “X-bots”. Randy also thinks that the PS3 version of the Orange Box being handled by another company, and Valve viewing it as the “step-child” just speaks of “underlying sleaziness.”

The catapults have been loaded and fired by Gearbox, so it just remains to be seen if someone from inside Valve has anything to say about this. Frankly, I think that Valve’s comments are a bit out of line, but the venerable company clearly has some issues with Sony’s black monolith. This little game of back-and-forth could go on for a while, and it’s pretty ironic considering that Borderlands topped the Steam sales charts for a while.

What do you guys think, though? Is Valve just trolling, and is Gearbox just trying to catch them riding dirty? Can’t the developers just play along nicely?

Source: Kotaku

Abandoning Ship: Choosing a Different Console for Sequels?

assassinscreed2If I were in charge of the PlayStation division of Sony, I’d be feeling pretty good about myself right now. According to Gamasutra, more and more consumers seem to be buying up the hotly anticipated sequels to Assassin’s Creed and Modern Warfare on the PS3 as opposed to the X-Box 360.

Gamasutra’s article focuses on something called “franchise lineage”, which for us laymen is “gamer intent to purchase sequels to successful games”. The direction of the lineage seems to be changing for Assassin’s Creed 2, which shows the biggest shift. According to GamePlan Insights, the company that ran the research, fifteen percent of those who own the X-Box version plan to buy it on PS3 while only seven percent of PS3 Assassin’s Creed owners are purchasing Assassin’s Creed II on the X-Box.

While Assassin’s Creed II seems to be in the forefront of this movement, the report also indicated that Modern Warfare 2 shows a varying trend as well. The big question is this, though: why is the X-Box 360 losing sequel sales to its competitor?
Continue reading Abandoning Ship: Choosing a Different Console for Sequels?

Signs of the Apocalypse : Sega Making More Marvel Games

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I never played the Iron Man game that corresponded with the movie from a year ago, but apparently it was so awful that every game journalist that had to review it quit the industry to become a hermit because their faith in mankind had been sundered.

Just to prove that the video game gods have a twisted sense of humor, Sega has again purchased the rights to two more Marvel properties: Captain America and Thor, the Norse god of Thunder. These games are set to tie in with the two movies starring these characters which will hit in 2011.

I really hate to speak ill of games right after they’ve been announced, but these two do seem destined for failure. Obviously, adopting a wait-and-see attitude is the best course of action, but the only thing Sega proved with Iron Man is that they really know how to bungle a movie tie-in.

Of course, not all Marvel movie games have been terrible (Spider-Man 2 and Wolverine come to mind) but I don’t know what kind of game you could do with the star-spangled Avenger or Thor. My guess would be a pair of pallet-swapped brawlers, but maybe I’m just being pessimistic.

My vote is that Rocksteady, developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum, should handle all super hero games forever. Alas, it’s no fun just reading my own thoughts on games that haven’t even come out yet; I want to know what you guys think! Should we condemn these games immediately to the nine hells of gaming, or do we give them a chance?

Source: 1up