It’s been a great six months! And while I found my love for blogging through WordPress and my work here at Video Gamer 300, I afraid it’s time to call the curtains on this young blog of mine. I started VG300 with grand ambitions, but truth be told, this being my first dedicated video gaming blog, it was a little rough around the edges. That said, I’ve been attempting to maintain several blogs of late and that hasn’t been working out very well. So this is it folks, VG300 will be, as of this post, no more.
Instead I will spend more time building content for my magazine’s blog which you can find at http://killerappmag.wordpress.com/. I will still maintain a personal gaming blog of sorts and for that head on over to http://stay-awhile-and-listen.blogspot.sg/, in which I most recently discuss strategies to beating the Hearthstone’s expansion, The Curse of Naxxramas, second wing’s bosses on Heroic difficulty.
So thank you! Whoever you are and wherever you’re from, for following and reading what I have to say on VG300. It has been an encouraging, pleasant learning experience, and I hope you’ll join us on the Killer App Mag blog and my personal one soon!
The console giants were at it again yesterday, trying to win the hearts and minds of indecisive gamers, reassure early adopters of their purchases, and the envy of the warring fraction. E3 is upon us and we’re here to evaluate Sony and Microsoft’s performance on day one. Who punched harder in their press conference? Well let’s find out.
Microsoft Xbox One
Xbox went first, eager to ride the positive momentum of late, Microsoft went through with the promise of talking about nothing but games. On stage the Xbox team strung an impressive lineup of third-party tie ups for first plays and exclusive content for arguably the trendiest games this gen; The Witcher 3, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Tomb Raider 2, The Division, and Call of Duty: Advance Warfare, just to name a few. However, despite the backing of these massive titles, none really did show anything outstanding or exceptional. Most of the cameo presentations were tame; perhaps owing to the fact that these developers were saving their killer apps for their respective stage/show floor presentations.
Needless to say, who and what did impress were the usual suspects. Exclusives such as Sunset Overdrive, Halo, and Forza Horizon pushed out passionate presentations that exuded verve and excitement. Sunset Overdrive in particular looked a breath of fresh air while the badly kept secret, that was the Master Chief Collection, got the confirmation it needed to make it official. Indies got more love from Xbox this time round and that paid dividends. Easily two of the most atmospheric and visually arresting indie titles of E3 this year made the stage on Xbox One’s watch; Ori and the Blind Forest (from Moon), and Inside, from Playdead, the developers of Limbo.
Capping off the conference was another badly kept secret, Crackdown 3, which went off with a fizzle rather than a bang. Crackdown 2 was more miss than hit and as enticing as the trailer for the third installment was; it lacked the oomph that was needed to leave spectators walking away from the conference on a high. In comparison last year Microsoft ended the show with Titanfall, and we can all remember the hype surrounding that one.
The Microsoft press conference, while all about games, suffered pacing issues. There seems to be a lack of urgency this time out and this wasn’t helped by the candid developer interview outtakes interspersed between games. The leprous farce that was DRM aside, Microsoft’s E3 presentation last year had good pace and had good games. This year, despite the focus off the unfancied Kinect, the push for more games was sadly a little underwhelming. With few surprises, zero jaw dropping moments, team Xbox managed a very safe show that was enjoyable but does little to improve their current position.
VG300 Score: 3/5
+ Good number of AAA tie-ins
+ Halo, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon were very impressive
– Show lacked urgency
– Presentations lacked punch
Sony Playstation 4
Sony went into this press conference knowing very well what they needed to do and that was not muck it up. It was the same story as it was last year with them but this time, having established such a colossal lead over the Xbox One, they’d be forgiven even if they took liberties and went on rambling about TV and all the other nonessential gaming items this time round—which they did. Yet despite the devotion to advertising some non-gaming ideas and concepts, Sony’s press briefing didn’t feel like a sellout. PS4 might not be packing the same number of AAA endorsements as the Xbox One but they managed more cheer than jazz in their quality presentations.
Expectations were high for a good show and Destiny couldn’t have been a better opening act. Followed soon after, to the surprise of many, was the unveiling of Little Big Planet 3, and their demonstration of the game on stage was charming and endearingly honest. Ubisoft lent Sony Far Cry 4’s chops and their presentation was far superior to the rather unexciting Unity co-op demonstration at Xbox which showed four players in the same game but little synergy in plays. Mortal Combat X made their debut, as with Dead Island 2, and there was even some love for Diablo 3 with a Last of Us crossover. Towards the end of the show spectators were treated to some tantalizing gameplay footage of the Arkham Knight in the Batmobile.
Quite aware that some of the PS4’s haters brand the console PS3.5 for its lack of innovation, Sony took the opportunity to briefly mention the PS4 camera and the application potential with their VR headset, Project Morpheus. But what really won the show for me was Sony’s control and composure in their presentation. More so than last year, the tone was relaxed, and the executives that took to the stage looked comfortable. Taking a couple of notable digs at the Xbox, Sony peppered their presentation with humor and banter, the result of which left me warm and agreeable to what they had to say despite the frustrating lack of any new exclusives (and anything on the Last Guardian).
Playstation has the knack of putting our gorgeous games and they’ve most undoubtedly won the beauty pageant once again with the Uncharted teaser. Despite showing nothing more than Nathan Drake waking from his beachside slumber the fact that they explicitly said this was all captured from a PS4 was enough to have the PS faithful wet their pants.
VG300 Score: 4/5
+ Almost every game had an impressive showing
+ Press conference had a good feel and tone
– Too much nonessential gaming talk in the middle
Conclusion
Xbox played a hand that everyone expected them to play but they didn’t throw any big punches. Sony on the other hand played leader and rode on their excellent PR to a resoundingly solid E3 presentation despite taking some unnecessary liberties with TV talk. Microsoft failed to capitalize on any of the forward momentum they had in the weeks building up to E3, leaving us with what was a decent to good E3 show albeit a somewhat forgettable one.
Diablo III is a funny game; people hate it and yet they play it, they whine and then they buy. Despite the controversial nature of the original game, its expansion, Reaper of Souls (RoS), was a commercial success, selling 2.7 million copies in its release week. Critics point out that RoS rights many of the confusingly poor design choices of the original game and builds on the forward momentum generated by some rather desperate patching since, but has it really?
Superaster, blog extension to VG300 here at WordPress, reckons that Reaper of Souls is a solid expansion but a deviation from the Diablo ideal. The expansion does incredibly well at lengthening the narrative whilst pushing out enough fresh content in the form of additional game modes, monsters, playable classes and skills to prevent it from being labeled a shameless cash grab. Its success here means that faith in the developer’s ability to create something new, fun, and exciting, has been restored, but this unfortunately comes at the expense of the distinctively “hardcore” Diablo ethos. This doesn’t mean that Diablo III has lost its way as a Diablo game; it just means Diablo III is a different beast to what Diablo and Diablo II were.
Microsoft has done it again. The fans rejoice, haters too (because the proud, mighty giant, has once again bitten into the humble pie), and I am guttered. Microsoft’s announcement of the unbundling of Kinect with the Xbox one bundle has massive implications—positive for the most part if you’re Microsoft, but rather mix ones for video gaming and the industry. The Xbox One has lost one of its defining features and that’s never good. I fear the Xbox One has fallen too far from its grand, original concept and it is at risk of devolving into a bland old generic gaming machine. Motion control has lost a champion and as a result, this generation of gamers will no longer be able to see the full potential of motion-facial-voice recognition capture realized.
The Kinect isn’t a bad device, not by a long shot. It has had its shortcomings but Kinect 2.0 was supposed to be the device its predecessor wasn’t. The promise of increased support and utilization by developers is at high risk of ringing hollow. With the unbundling Microsoft has gone down a slippery slope with the Kinect and early adopters will be aggrieved by this. As it is, the software for Kinect is weak; a sorry stable of games, and reported 50-75% accuracy on gestures and commands. What Kinect requires now is support because that’s the only way it’s going to improve. As it stands, there are already users using the Xbox One without the Kinect, who’s to stop the white elephant from sliding further into obscurity?
What is the Xbox’s defining feature now that it has ditched the Kinect? Integrated TV experience? Phil Spencer wants to rebrand the Xbox One as a hardcore gaming console but the PS4 has already built quite a fortress there. At least at US$499 with the Kinect, Microsoft could market the console as a premium device, one that’s boxed with a state-of-the art motion sensing/capturing camera. At US$399 it’s swimming with the PS4, and we all know the PS4 is a bigger fish in terms of hardware.
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Consumers want the freedom to choose, but not as much as attractive pricing.
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As a South East Asian gamer without a ‘next gen’ console to call his own yet, I was excited at what the Xbox one had to offer. I was genuinely interested in a Kinect that had serious applications apart from being the nifty party trick. Alas, perhaps it was naive of me to think that the same Kinect functions offered to Americans and Europeans will be afforded here. If there was little chance of that happening it sure as hell won’t happen now. Even if Microsoft does come true with TV integration in this region it seems the media remote (at US$26.50 on Amazon) will suffice.
At the end of the day, a price drop was what Microsoft needed to boost prospective sales. Losing the Kinect however was a decision borne out of panic. Consumers want the freedom to choose, but not as much as attractive pricing. In my opinion, keeping the Kinect and dropping the price by $50 would have been more attractive. Price parity will ensure greater competitiveness in the long run, but at what cost to the Xbox vision? There were some very exciting, innovative plans outlined for this machine, and I’m afraid that all this backpedalling is going to make it count for nought.
The Kinectless Xbox One is slated to hit store shelves this June the 9th.
So here we are, a day before the big launch. Assemble your squadron and ready your snacks and soda—if anything you’re going to be occupied for a while. Whether you’ll be playing or just snooping around forums and trolling on reviews, one thing’s for certain, tomorrow being Titanfall day, everything to almost anything will be reading Titanfall on their foreheads. So before the day comes to be, here are some of my hopes and expectations for the massively anticipated game and its launch.
I’ve played the closed (subsequently opened) beta and the gameplay was surprisingly impressive. It’s fast, its fluid, and the pilot-to-Titan transition felt very organic. The ability to double-jump and parkour lends an added dimension of verticality to the game and it was most welcomed. A run-and-gun that plays out nothing like your common shooter—I suspect this will be a recurring idea in days to come when the game is put through lets-plays and reviews.
You might dismiss me for expecting too much but I’m hoping for a solid, if not revolutionary campaign experience. Doing away with the single-player element of the game was a contentious creative decision that left many traditionalists fuming. However having campaign and multiplayer intertwined has its benefits. With gamers on both sides, the IMC and Militia, playing for victory, we might have on the cards a reactive storyline that is both branching and dynamic. Hogwash? Well Respawn’s Community Manager, Abbie Heppe, did say “you’re going to have your own story” in an exchange on Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s website.
Okay maybe you need to twist the context a little on that last quote but that shouldn’t at all dampen the expectation of a good campaign. Early Call of Duty games came packaged with strong campaign narratives and it’s quite likely that as the developers of the CoD franchise will be able to build on what they have done in their salad days. Even if it’s not going to revolutionise the landscape of FPS storytelling, it should nevertheless score well in this department. My prediction for the story arch? At its worst—surprisingly compelling and coherent, nothing less.
If there’s one thing that will be enjoyed by the millions over the course of the next few months (at least), it will be the multiplayer segment. With an easy pick-up rate and a forgivable learning curve, multiplayer will appeal to many, noobs and pros alike. However, in being so casual friendly, the game relies heavily on its AI component, and I fear it will be hard to make balanced competitive plays from that. Unless Respawn has in place serious competitive maps and modes, the game might struggle for numbers in as little as two months. I’m staying grounded on this one though I am hopeful Respawn will do good here too.
Titanfall, if you’re not aware, launches the same day as another big hitter—Dark Souls II. Both in my opinion will sell well. Dark Souls II has the added momentum of being a sequel to a cult classic. But whatever juice the Dark Souls hype train is riding on, Titanfall is rocking something three times more potent. This wouldn’t come as much of a surprise but Titanfall will sell millions and even the astute analysts at Forbes seem to think so too.
I get my copy of Titanfall in a matter of hours now. If time permits I’ll put in a review myself. Seeing how well received the beta was with gamers and critics alike, I wouldn’t be surprised if the game earned generally positive reviews (something I’d define as an 8.5 and above). However, given the press infatuation with the game, brace yourself for possible flurry of inflated reviews (discounting the odd hipsters who think it cool to score a good game badly). Expect (some) game critics revisit scores and make retrospective revisions. I’d be very surprised if this game won flawless scores, but because I’ll be buying the game too, I hope I’m wrong.
Well then, the clock ticks and your Titan will be ready soon. Prepare for Titanfall.
Spawn of Respawn Entertainment, the successful bunch responsible for the Call of Duty franchise, Titanfall, has been winning popularity contests far and wide since its E3 debut last year. Yet, despite its rhapsodically outstanding reception, the game has of late come under fire for a couple of absent features. If you were in the dark this last month, here’s a list of four things you might have missed.
Multiplayer is capped at 6v6. This announcement caused somewhat of a furore last month though the violent upheaval has since calmed. Personally this was marginally disappointing as I was hoping for at least 16 on 16 but I trust Respawn enough to believe them when they say 6v6 works best “from a (creative and) game design” perspective.
There are at least three different Titans the gamer can call upon. Unveiled some weeks apart, Respawn published introductory videos of the three playable Titans; the Atlas, the balanced variant, the Stryder, the mobility variant, and the Orge, the tank variant.
Titanfall will not feature split-screen multiplayer. Interestingly I felt that this was more of a bummer than the 12-player limit on multiplayer. Titanfall with your friends over is more fun if two can play at the same time since lugging another XB1 to a friend’s place seems impractical. In addition, some of my best gaming experiences on console happened over split-screen, thus it’s a bit of a let-down that this will not be for Titanfall.
If you’re torn as to which platform should you Titanfall on do know that the Xbox One version will be the best (followed closely by PC), with the 360’s version being a port that will be handled by a firm independent of Respawn, Bluepoint Games. If you, like me, are without the Xbox One I’d strongly recommend the PC version. Even if you are one of those vehement console-controller proponents, take heart because Titanfall on PC will support the 360 controller.
If you’re not sure if your PC can run Titanfall get it checked out here.
All things considered, Titanfall is shaping up to be one mean shooter. We’ll work to have you our own little VG300 review when the game hits shelves next month.
So it was recently revealed that Halo will not be taking to the silver screens after all. Long considered a shoo-in for the Hollywood treatment, the highly acclaimed FPS teetered incredibly closed on several occasions—the closest was the 2006 attempt which was later stripped down and remade into District 9. Is it really that shocking that Microsoft’s shelved yet another Halo attempt at the movies?
Yes; if you were following the rumour mill of late. Following a week stuffed with convincingly legitimate Halo movie soundbites—Ridley Scott’s and Paul Scheuring’s involvement etc., expectations for a full out confirmation were high. The January 14th backtrack was, in retrospect, a massive excitement killer.
However, long answer short—not really. For a firm fervidly pushing living room content, funding a movie (for now at least) would fall somewhat outside that field of interest. Sure, a firm the size of Microsoft can definitely pursue more than two massive projects at once but with the company still working hard to consolidate its TV side of things; it might be prudent to perhaps take one thing at a time. In addition, with a TV series/collaborative effort with Steven Spielberg on Halo already in the works, the Halo movie might have been strike off the to-do list to avert a potential conflict of interest.
Does this mean we won’t see a Halo film in the foreseeable future? Unlikely. A Halo movie has always been on the cards, and the TV series with subsequent video game iterations might just build to that. A Halo movie at some point in time would probably do the franchise a lot of good but with everything going on right now—chasing the TV dream and a new Halo game this year, indefinite postponement seems to be the best course of action.
So CES came and went, and we were once again treated to an impressive line-up of new tech, concepts, and services. Aside from the usual flair of smartphones and televisions, there was a distinctly strong push to appeal to the gaming public this time. But what’s there to be exited about? Here’s your tl;df* CES 2014 VG300 edition.
1. Steam Machines
Valve’s maiden foray into the console business comes to consumers this year in 13 different flavours. Announcing a partnership with 13 different PC vendors, this is the company’s attempt at asserting themselves in the living room. Coming in at different price points, specs, and packaging, Valve is canvasing a huge market.
It might not be jostling for the same spot as your Xbox or PS just yet, but seeing the open approach that Valve and their manufacturing partners have with this the Steam Machines, with enough time and support, could become a beast on its own.
2. Oculus Rift: Crystal Cove
On the back of a mighty strong cash injection of $75 million, Oculus came to CES 2014 flaunting the Crystal Cove. Packing better resolution, head-tracking, and consequently a more organic viewing experience, things are looking great for the future of VR.
Combined with another prototype at CES 2014, the VirtuiX Omni VR, we’re looking at one mean gaming set up.
3. Razer’s Project Christine
Valve wasn’t the only PC gaming advocate on the show floor. Razer has upped the ante in terms of accessibility with Project Christine—a component-swapping tower that affords the same level of customisability as your DIY rig minus the frills and fuss of assemblage. Do be warned however, Razer goods don’t come cheap.
4. Short throw projectors from Sony
This is perhaps the only non-gaming item on this list but it’s here for good reason. Until the Oculus etc. become available/viable, TVs are a mainstay. What’s better than a TV however is a projector— more versatile and less taxing on the eye. 4K short-throw projectors at $30,000 are more bang for buck than you think (when compared to 100” 4K TV) despite it being outside the price range for 95% of us here. Prices will fall so do keep an eye out for this one.
5. Nvidia’s Tegra K1
Not big on mobile gaming? Well Nvidia’s latest offering of processors might just change your opinion. Pushing the envelope at 192 cores, the K1 super-chip will pack a mean punch, potentially enabling PC standard graphical processing on a mobile device. Early benchmarks look promising.
6. Playstation Now
Sony has finally decided to walk the talk with game streaming. Building on Gaikai, Playstation Now will stream (eventually) to all Sony devices including smartphones, tablets, and TVs. Granted you will need a 5mbps connection to keep the stream running as intended, and a proprietary controller in addition to an unspecified fee to make the magic happen, but the implications of a functioning service like this will change the gaming landscape forever.
If you were all Xbox 360 before this gen, PS Now may be what you need for you to get your PS3 fix.
*tl;df= Too Long Didn’t Follow, just in case (you know) you didn’t follow.
(certain scenes from The Walking Dead: All That Remains will be discussed, expect minor spoilers)
Revisiting my playthrough of Limbo back in 2011 I recall pondering two things; (1) for a simple side scroller operating on a monochromatic palette, this game was exceedingly atmospheric; (2) for all its sullen and grim symbolism, would the game be robbed of its disconcerting vibe had the controllable character not resemble that of a child?—Likely. The decision to use a child protagonist was clearly a literary one and not one of chance—a different character archetype would not have yielded the same effect. So what are the implications and significance of playing as a minor?
Well there are two angle to meet this question by; one from the player’s perspective, and the other from the developer’s point of view.
Cavorting as Clementine in Telltale-Kirkman’s dystopic zombie infested universe, it’s become apparent that the emotional dynamics of using a minor as a protagonists are vastly different from that of using an adult. Watching her flounder through bodies of zombies, take tumbles along stray logs, and at one point, sink her teeth into a man’s hand in self-defence (something I’m sure Lee even in desperation wouldn’t have done), I found myself agonising over her trials and sufferings more than I would have with a grownup protagonist.
Children are functionally more vulnerable than their adult selves. As society has us always protecting the “defenceless” children and protecting their “innocence”, we subconsciously carry that sentiment into our games, and thus the pain in watching us fail them in that regard is amplified. A consequence of which was that I found myself exercising slightly more caution in my playthrough.
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It is usually in the interest of supporting/building the game’s thematic concerns that a minor for a protagonist is chosen.
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In the case of Limbo, child representations embody traits of youth – innocence being one of them. It is usually in the interest of supporting/building the game’s thematic concerns that a minor for a protagonist is chosen. In addition, developers can impose a sense of naivety on the player without insulting the player’s intelligence. Once bitten twice shy in the case of TWD: All That Remains when Clem is attacked by a dog she befriended moments ago, checks her (and the player’s) readiness to trust in subsequent segments. Sets like this feel more organic when played as a child as opposed to a grownup.
Added poignancy and literary justifications aside, there are of course more reasons/justifications for using child protagonists in video games. Depending on the setting and direction the presentation may vary but the effects will be similar. As developers become more comfortable at putting the gamer through the paces of a minor I foresee a richer, more diverse gaming experience for us all.
I caved—in a rather underwhelming, superbly unspectacular fashion. As I struck at the keys to register my Apple ID and credit card number, I was consumed by a nagging sense of trepidation. For years I’ve managed to starve off the temptation to open my wallet for these kinds of things yet here I was—feeding the microtransaction monster.
The game was Clash of Clans; a freemium strategy game, and the transaction in question was for a sack of gems. For all my years in gaming, I never did once cave to that flaming rifle skin, or that summer car pack, or that expanded inventory line, so it was hilarious that I was undone by an IOS game that only commanded my attention for five minutes every 12 hours. It was a paltry fee but that’s hardly the point. It was the principle, and betraying one’s ethics is a sin no?
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You can’t spell microtransaction without sin
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Yes it is. But what is it about microtransactions that warrant such an adverse reaction anyway? Well maybe because supporting it means supporting the unscrupulous trade of deliberately making content unavailable so as to profit more from it; or encouraging false advertising for games labelled free-to-play when a certain amount of monetary custom is clearly needed to take you through core content.
Microtransactions are fast becoming a bane for the modern gamer. However, there needs to be a distinction. There are acceptable instances of microtransactions – such as aesthetic additions in a free-to-play model. Here your patronage can be taken as validation of the developer’s good work. The unacceptable forms are in pay-to-win.
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Games are built to be fun. PvP and leaderboards aside, there is no fun in waiting nine days for my archer tower to level up.
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Even less forgivable is when there’s a competitive element involved. Be it leaderboards or PvP, buying to win is tantamount to cheating, and Clash of Clans is heavy on both. Games are built to be fun. PvP and leaderboards aside, there is no fun in waiting nine days for my archer tower to level up. To antagonize your patience then offer a remedy which is only obtainable with money is not exactly tasteful.
Ok so maybe I rant. But my beef here is not solely with the game but the trend in general. Given the recent success of the game this business model is bound to be replicated and strengthen with thicker, more comprehensive cash grabbing schemes. Regrettably, I’ve contributed to this eventuality, even if it’s only $5.99.
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