This is just a quick rambling AudioBoo about the quality of downloadable games we’ve seen this summer, which only further justifies the medium as a contender in the video game market. I haven’t purchased a single hard copy of a game since Fight Night Round 4 in June, and in the meantime my attention has been kept by arcade games like Battlefield 1943 and Shadow Complex. I bet GameStop loves to hear that.
It’s generally accepted that Xbox Live’s core user experience is better than that found on the PlayStation Network. Having one set standard across all games makes communicating with your friends much less of a hassle (most noticeably when grouping up for particular games). However, I still think there’s plenty of room for improvement. The following is just a quick list of simple features that I wish Xbox Live had.
Sony has put their users’ trophies online at last (think Xbox 360 gamerscore/achievements), so you can see what you’ve unlocked. I’m hoping this leads to something similar to a gamercard down the road, but for now just having this nice interface to browse all of the trophies I’ve unlocked so far is pretty handy. All you have to do is login with your PSN credentials at PlayStation.com and click the trophies tab.
From there it gives you a quick overview of all of the trophies you have (see mine below), and lets you drill down on a game-by-game basis to get more detailed info. Pretty cool!
…a remake of a 7 year old game that will probably be nothing more than a budget arcade title to most. That’s right, Battlefield 1943 is a game I’ve been calling for since Battlefield 2142 came out. Its developer, DICE, has put out Battlefield games in pretty much every era possible. World War 2, Vietnam, the modern era with Battlefield 2 and even the future with 2142. So, what’s left? Time to start all over!
Battlefield 1942 was easily my favorite game of the series. It might have something to do with the newness of the game at the time, but being able to get a huge (relatively speaking) group of people on a map with separate character classes and vehicles was extremely fun. I liked all of the games that followed but I’m most partial to the WW2-era arsenal, and since the guns and vehicles are the most important part of the game that means quite a bit.
The new game is titled Battlefield 1943 and is under development in the Frostbite engine. It’ll launch for PC, Xbox Live Arcade and PSN. I’m almost certain I’ll stick with the PC version though. Here’s the trailer:
I love the Call of Duty games, especially the online multiplayer, but I can see why some people hate it. Anyone who has played for any length of time has had an experience identical to this (some strong language):
I saw this on Kotaku and I have to admit I nearly died laughing. =)
Original link: http://kotaku.com/5157965/the-whitest-cod-players-u-know
So this post is coming a little late, but it’s one I think I should touch on because my game varies from a lot of people’s. Some of the titles that got a lot of attention for GOTY were games like Grand Theft Auto 4, Left 4 Dead, Fallout 3…all amazing games. Still, there was one HUGE blockbuster that came out a little earlier in the year that I think was unfortunately overlooked. It’s a game that had been anticipated for years, it was created by arguably the best Japanese developer, and it was most definitely branded as an all-important “system seller.”
I am, of course, talking about Metal Gear Solid 4 for the Playstation 3. This is a bit of a departure for me because I hadn’t even owned a PS3 until this past year, and my 360 still gets the bulk of my gaming attention. Still, I can’t hate on a game just because it’s on this platform or that. MGS4 kept me enthralled all the way through, I loved the story, and it was the only game that came out last year where I took a step back and thought to myself “wow, I’ve never seen anything like this in a game before.” I play a stupid amount of games, so even at the time to hear myself utter such a phrase was pretty exciting.
It’s really hard to talk about MGS4, a game based on its intricate plot, without spoiling it. For that reason I’m just going to touch on some of the things that kept me coming back. First off, the variation between the different acts and the gameplay in each. In the first act (and even most of the second) you’re pretty much just playing a standard Metal Gear game. Sneak around the bad guys, take them out stealthily, and progress through the level without being caught. The ages-old formula is still extremely fun, and it’s nice to start the game with a bit of a callback in order to get your bearings, especially considering the length of time that elapsed between Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and this game.
Each act after that brings a significantly different view on things, while still emphasising the original stealth espionage gameplay. It’s really hard to discuss it any further but I have to say the payoff for fans in the later acts is very high. MGS4 let me play through a scenario that I was wishing for ever since I played the original Metal Gear Solid game, and there are even plenty of callbacks that go as far back as Shadow Moses Island from MGS1. There’s no question that the Metal Gear franchise has a uniquely intricate plot and therefore many gamers questioned Hideo Kojima’s ability to tie up all of the loose ends in what was branded Solid Snake’s last adventure – he succeeded.
So all-in-all MGS4 is an absolutely great game. There are tons of huge, epic set pieces that made my jaw drop, but the fundamental gameplay is still fun as well. The graphics are gorgeous, sound design is spot-on, and most importantly the story telling is enthralling. If you own a Playstation 3 chances are good that you own a copy of MGS4, but just in case you don’t, go out and pick it up. At the time it seemed as though MGS4 was the reason I owned my PS3, and I can still safely support that argument. It’s my favorite game on the platform so far, and might end up remaining so throughout the PS3’s life cycle.
Not too long ago I was reflecting back on this generation of consoles. Of course to an outsider it’s clearly evident that the “winner” in terms of console hardware sales would have to be the Nintendo Wii, and I don’t question that for a second. Still, there’s a lot to be said of the Wii’s lack of software – i.e. games worth playing. When it comes to strictly software I’d have to say that the Xbox 360 wins hands down. In fact it might just be the most complete lineup of any console I’ve ever owned.
So that brought a very important question to my mind…is the Xbox 360 this generation’s SNES? If you’ve been involved in the gaming community for any length of time and are roughly my age (or better yet, a bit older) you’ll know that most gamers consider the SNES to be the epitome of game consoles. It had a ton of great games, ranging from established first party franchise titles to lesser-known newcomers in the form of 3rd party titles. The SNES was on the cusp of the gaming revolution in the United States, coming just before developers and publishers started pandering to wider audiences in order to cash in and just after the technological advances necessary to take the gaming experience to another level.
The Xbox 360 is also in such a period. With the 360 we’ve seen the standardization of online gaming services. Xbox Live on the original Xbox was just a nice addition to the gaming experience, but the 360 (as well as the other consoles, though none have achieved to such a high degree as the 360) has made online services, including multiplayer and community features, a necessity. I cannot imagine playing games without being able to join up with my friends, play cooperatively online, or download arcade games and add-on content for the games I already own. This has become the rule rather than the exception.
Of course as I mentioned, it’s all about the games. On the 360, including first and third party titles, we’ve had a steady flow of quality games since the launch. Sure there have been dry periods but on the whole I can say I’ve always had a game to look forward to no matter what time of year it was. Right now for instance I’m looking forward to the GTA4 expansion, FEAR 2, and Resident Evil 5. That’s a total of three huge releases in the typically slow late winter period. In the busiest time of the year, the holiday rush, we’ve been buried consistently in great games and each year has been proclaimed the “best year in gaming.” There are almost too many games to play, and even if there’s nothing worth playing that came out recently you can always visit the back catalog of games you probably missed. That’s far more than I can say of the PS3 (which I own), a system that seems to get a couple quality exclusive titles a year. Those games are great but they’re too few and far between…hopefully that’ll change this year.
So what do you think? Ten years from now will gamers be looking back at 2005 – 20?? and proclaiming it as the best era in gaming because of the 360? It’s possible. It’s also possible that the whole “greatest console” or “greatest era” thing is just generational. Since I played SNES as a kid that’s my favorite era, but since kids growing up today are playing the Xbox 360 (or Wii, PS3) this will be their favorite era. With all that having been said, nostalagia be damned: this is one hell of a time to be a gamer.
Alrighty so this is part 2 of my 2-part beta preview extravaganza. As you may have guessed I’m talking about Resistance 2 for the PS3 this time. This is one of my most eagerly anticipated Playstation 3 exclusives based on the first game (Resistance: Fall of Man) which I just got around to playing not too long ago. Like the Call of Duty: World at War beta I wrote about on Tuesday, the Resistance 2 beta is multiplayer-only. There is an added bonus, however. The beta also includes some samples of the 8-player cooperative mode, an excellent added bonus.
Let’s start with the competitive multiplayer. First off let me say that this is the most beautiful multiplayer game I’ve ever played. I believe that the beta only includes one competitive map, but based on that map I have to say the graphics and environment are stunning. Generally in games like this you kind of expect the multiplayer portion of the game to be scaled back considerably to cut down on potential game lag. That’s not the case with the Resistance 2 muliplayer. Not only does it look like it’s been copy/pasted straight out of the game’s singleplayer campaign, but it runs smooth to boot. I never had a single issue with lag while I was playing. Granted, I never got into a 60-player match (obviously the more players there are the higher the possibility of slowdown) but in the 16 player matches I played everything ran very smoothly.
If you’re like me and you didn’t play the Resistance: Fall of Man multiplayer, let me give you some insight. In team deathmatch (my competitive mode of choice) you play on the side of the American forces or the Chimeran army. Each has their arsenal of weaponry from the first game, and you can choose between different classes to get the load out you most prefer. Personally I stuck with the standard weapons (M5A2 Carbine for the Americans, Bullseye for the Chimera) and both controlled great. One issue they were able to avoid was potential lopsidedness due to weapon balance problems but each seemed to have its own strengths and weaknesses to a point that you never felt outgunned. The controls worked great, and the online functionality is one of the better implementations I’ve seen on the PS3.
One cool thing about the competitive multiplayer (and I think it carries over into co-op too) is that they’ve integrated a ranking system much like Halo or Call of Duty. Basically as you get kills you get points, get enough points and you rank up, unlocking skills and goodies in the process. That’s always a nice feature to see and it’s becoming more and more of a standard lately. I didn’t have enough time to rank up too many times, but I did notice a lot of the other dedicated players’ skills. If you rank high enough you can unlock weapon upgrades, better armor, and of course different abilities. That always adds a ton of replay value, much like Call of Duty 4 and 5.
On to co-op! This is a feature of the game that Insomniac has really been hyping. I remember hearing about Resistance 2’s co-op not long after Halo 3’s co-op component was revealed. Everyone was so excited to see 4 player co-op in Halo 3 and then bam, Insomniac unveils 8 player co-op for Resistance 2. Not only that but they promised that the co-op would be focused to a story external to the singleplayer campaign of the game, which is a bit of a revolution in cooperative play. Usually if you get co-op at all it’s just the same thing you’d see in the singleplayer campaign, but with more people. The prospect of having entirely new content to play through with your buddies was extremely exciting. Now that I’ve played it though, I have to say I’m a little less excited.
Don’t get me wrong, the co-op levels I played were fun (the first was fighting off an onslaught of Menials, the second was based around taking out Chimeran artillery) but they didn’t exactly feel like a campaign. There was no interaction between co-op players, no real setup or story for the levels aside from a screen of text while the level was loading, and altogether it felt more like a scenario than an actual level. If you’ve played either of the Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter games you’ll know what I’m talking about. Basically the co-op is veiled as objective based but when it comes down to it all of the objectives just have to do with eliminating all of the enemies on the map. That’s fun, but it’s not the cinematic experience I was hoping for.
Of course I only tasted a bit of the co-op, so I could be wrong on the overall experience. Hopefully they can tie the different levels together with a meaningful story. I think that would help a lot, and it’s entirely possible because hey – this is just a beta. Insomniac might have chose to leave out the story bits in the beta so they don’t let any of the story slip before the game has his store shelves. That makes sense to me. Either way Resistance 2 is still on my must-own list of games, and I can’t wait to get back to Nathan Hale’s story. If you’ve played the first Resistance game you’ll know it leaves off as a bit of a cliffhanger, so to see the resolution will be nice. Add to that the solid multiplayer offering and you have a lot of content to keep yourself entertained. Resistance 2 will be in stores on November 5th; if you own a PS3 I’d suggest picking it up if you can tear yourself away from LittleBigPlanet long enough to do so. =)
Now Playing:
The Real McKenzies – Will Ye Be Proud?
Fallout 3, LittleBigPlanet
This is a series (that’s right, I’ll also do the opposite in favor of Xbox Live) of posts for a while. After having used both online components for the individual consoles, obviously the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in this case, I’ve found good and bad things about both. So then, without wasting much time let’s dive in and start the countdown!
The new store is absolutely awesome. Not only is it pretty to look at (I find myself going in there even when I know there’s nothing I want, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything) but it is, at least in my opinion, much easier to use than the Xbox Live Marketplace. With the Playstation Store you won’t find lists of text denoting what you want to try out. You get image-based icons in various categories that you can drill down into to find what you want. You can also search through the content alphabetically so, unlike the Xbox Live Marketplace, you won’t have to scroll through a giant list past the A’s and B’s to finally get to the first letter of your download. Add to that the simple touches like placing a shopping bag icon next to any content you’ve already downloaded (saving you the time you may have lost redownloading something you didn’t know you already had) and the experience is just plain better. I’m happy to say that the same system was carried over to their Video Store as well.
Throughout a game with trophies in it you’ll be presented with opportunities to win Bronze, Silver and Gold trophies plus a Platinum trophy for earning all other trophies available for that game. Your trophy count for each of these separate levels (Bronze being the easiest to obtain, Platinum being the most difficult) is displayed on your PSN card which is easily accessible from the XMB’s friends list so, if someone has been padding their trophy count with easy-to-get bronze trophies you’ll be able to tell right off the bat. Another cool feature of the trophy system is that, in order to progress your gamer level you need a certain number of trophies, including certain types of trophies. So, for instance, say I have a thousand bronze trophies but I need at least 3 gold trophies to progress to the next gamer level rank – I’ll be stuck at my current level until I go out and grab those golds. Pretty cool stuff.
As another example of how cool remote play is, imagine you’re totally addicted to PixelJunk Eden on the PS3. As with before, you’re away from your PS3 but you want to get your fix and even earn some trophies, so you use remote play to play PixelJunk Eden on your PSP (despite it being a PS3 game) and, since trophies are available even over remote play, you get to add to your trophy count! Pretty cool stuff. Just the idea of the established functionality plus potential further integration in the future has been enough for me to add the PSP to my must-own gadgets list.
Runners Up:
These are just a couple features I like about PSN over Xbox Live, but didn’t get their own specific bullet points. First off, content. Sony has made an effort to bring original and unique content to PSN over the same old arcade game rehashes that we see all-to-often on Xbox Live. Games like Fl0w, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Super Stardust HD as well as future titles such as Fat Princess and Flower prove that Sony is committed to bringing the goods.
This may be a topic I’ve already discussed, but since I can’t think of anything else to do a post about barring some sort of iMac/iPod Touch discussion (I’m trying to limit that to 1 post a week) I figured I’d comment on some of the latest developments. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, and this article pushed me over the edge. Personally I think digital delivery of video games (Steam, Xbox Live, Playstation Network) and media (iTunes, Miro, Amazon MP3) is awesome. I’m not the kind of person who is too concerned about having a physical copy of my media because, in general, I interact with the bulk of it through digital devices anyway. As a result what it really boils down to is the convenience factor of being able to get games and media over the internet instead of from a store.
About a week ago on the 24th of July a brand new full-length game was released on PSN that I’ve been eagerly anticipating. A follow-up to a cult classic for the PS2 that never really hit it big in the US, is the survival horror game Siren: Blood Curse. Because it didn’t sell very well in the US, Sony has opted to offer it online only instead of putting out a physical copy. I know at least one person who was also looking forward to Siren but was turned off because of that. He’s a bigger collector than I am, so for him to get a game but not be able to add it to his physical collection was a letdown. It bugged him so much that he nearly imported the game from Japan but after calculating the cost found out it would be too expensive.
That’s one way to view it, but on the other hand what if Sony just decided to not release the game to the United States at all? Before digital distribution came along that might have been the outcome. That’s one great advantage, it allows games that might not have the popularity or funding to get a full physical release to make it to fans everywhere. Not only that but the digital versions are generally cheaper – in Siren: Blood Curse’s case the full 12-episode game is available on PSN for $40 (you can also purchase 3-episode chunks of the game for cheaper). The blu-ray version, as is the standard, costs $60. Not bad if you’re like me and never look at game manuals and usually just put a game into storage only to resurface every few months when you get the urge to play.
Sony had kind of a lackluster conference at E3 this year but one thing that impressed most of their fans was they showed that they’re making a serious push to bring original content to PSN. Not only full-length games like Siren, but smaller arcade games like PixelJunk Eden, Fat Princess, and Flower. All are original IPs that haven’t seen the light of day on consoles until now, and all are hotly anticipated after being demoed at E3. So as gamers we get new, unique content while the publishers have an additional income stream which is becoming pretty successful based on the article I linked in the first paragraph. If you don’t have time to read it I’ll give you the cliffsnotes: EA was able to make $90 million in the first quarter through digital distribution of their games. Not bad, eh?
Steam has been working under the same model for years now, so the medium is proven. Now with Netflix offering a streaming service for their movies, Apple rolling out the App Store to delivers games and applications directly to their mobile devices, and all of the major consoles offering some sort of digital distribution for games, it seems this is the wave of the future. I approve, how about you? Leave a comment and let me know!
Now Playing:
A Perfect Circle – The Nurse Who Loved Me
Halo 2, Trism
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