The Gamer’s Quagmire #72: Sequels That Were Not Meant to Die
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less
by Jamison DeLorenzo
The last time I wrote about E3 I made some bold statements regarding the death of its relevance in the industry. A lot of this has to do with the confusion of what it’s image was, in that what the perception was of what it was trying to be. Originally it was a conference to open up the industry to the gamers. It became a showcase for everything that was coming. People turned it into a money-making event, and the VIP booths and viewings were born.
As in most cases, money became the downfall of the event’s popularity. Like the news became, once the focus transitioned to profits, the core of the event’s integrity dwindled away. Some of the best things in this world only work when the focus isn’t profit. This only works in a fantasy world with unicorns and magic frogs wearing funny hats. As the old saying goes, once magic frogs take over your event there is no turning back.
Hmmm, I may have pushed that metaphor too far. Regardless, this year’s E3 turned out to be a great platform for announcing what is coming in the next year to our beloved consoles. Even though we are not done with the event this year, the point is that it we are still paying attention to it, so the rumours of its death may have been greatly exaggerated (not that I have ever exaggerated anything since the dawn of time).
Speaking of rumours, we got to hear about some of the latest project being worked on. Based on most reactions we are hoping that none of this stuff will remain vaporware. We saw a lot of interesting things for all three major consoles. My goal is not to cover all the announcements or even the most popular ones. Rather, my focus is going to be on what game I think will have the most riding on it.
Before we talk about the main prize I should point out a couple of the other items worth keeping an eye on. The announcement with the most impact was two-fold. Both Sony and Microsoft announced work in the motion controls department. If anyone had doubts about the impact the Wii had on the gaming industry, although with how much the console is still selling that doubt should have been dead and buried over a year ago, they should definitely be gone now.
The evolution of game interaction continues to gain momentum for each party. The Wii finally put this in the forefront, and is now, in my opinion, cemented as the most important change in the industry this generation. I mentioned this before – the seeds were planted with the rhythm games, and Nintendo drove the point home beautifully. How we move forward will be very entertaining, pass or fail.
Finally, there are three games were discussed that I will be paying close attention to. One of these games I cannot speak to why, other than there is still a sense of mysteriousness about it – Alan Wake. The gameplay sounds like it will be GTA-like and have a cohesive story. In essence, this game has several good things in common with BioShock. Ever since Doom 3 I have been suspicious of games that focus on scaring the player and making the combat tense, but this game could deliver something special.
The second game is a sequel to something I have a well-documented addiction to. Commander Shepard is making a return in Mass Effect 2. More work has been done in the combat department, the story is darker, and works information from your original Mass Effect game into its story. Think of KOTOR, only BioWare is now keeping the sequel’s work in-house. In other words, expect another series of articles on my latest gaming addiction by mid-spring next year.
The last of the three games is what I wanted to talk about the most. Somehow I spaced on this sequel’s arrival, but Assassin’s Creed 2 is on its way this fall. The first game was a big project by Ubisoft. In many respects the work paid off, although nobody is going to call the game perfect. Two things that were complained about the most were the repetitiveness and the combat. Most of the missions ended in gigantic and unavoidable bloodbaths, which seemed odd for an assassination-based game.
The presentation and core game mechanics were still quite excellent, and not in a Bill and Ted sort of way. The vehicle for driving the story was interesting as well. This kept the sales high enough to warrant a sequel. I suspect many people who played the first game are not overly ecstatic about this announcement. The first game was repetitive and the combat was slightly clumsy. Sure, it wasn’t hard to fend off guards, but the system could have smoother and battles against half the city’s guards should be avoidable in a game about stealth and assassins.
There are so many good things about what Assassin’s Creed brings to the table. There are seeds of a GTA-type franchise here. Once missions began you have the freedom to do whatever you wanted. You could be as merciless to the townspeople as you wanted. There was a ton of terrain to explore. This is part of what makes GTA such a popular game, and Assassin’s Creed can play in that arena too.
What’s more, I really believe that’s what draws people to Assassin’s Creed. They want it to be that game. It’s GTA crossed with Prince of Persia, and that is an incredibly compelling concept. If the sequel does not deliver on how much promise this experiment has it will be a failure, and it will be something to be bitter about.
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April 29, 2009
The Gamer’s Quagmire #71: Six Hours of Careful Editing Outside Fallujah
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less
by Jamison DeLorenzo
It is not as nearly a compelling title, but it’s not like there is any competition now. Konami was able to make headlines recently by walking away from their war game based on the Iraq War. Having known nothing about the game or much about the conflict, largely due to my indifference to war games, this event prompted me to educate myself a little about the development of this former project.
Before I dive in, let me say something about the development of games dealing with a war that is still in progress – good luck. Six Days in Fallujah, you never had a chance. I say this, however, not for the reasons you would think. It comes as no surprise that there was a ton of blowback once people found out about this game. It comes as no surprise Konami received a bunch of complaints. The cancelation of the game was, for all intents and purposes, inevitable.
One of the interesting facts about this former project was that journals and diaries from soldiers involved in the conflict were used as a reference for the game. Other soldiers encouraged Konami to go ahead with the game. Why their voices do not get to be heard is a story for another time. Perhaps.
I bring this up not to start a debate over the war, but instead to get people to see multiple sides of this story. The crux of the problem here is when is it safe to create a social commentary about a war? Until soldiers want stories about their experiences to be told, I firmly believe no for-profit stories should be produced. This includes movies, books, games, or any other media. War has a massive impact on everyone involved, and, like it or not, the discussion afterwards needs to begin with them. If soldiers were contributing to this project I thought this time would have arrived, but this is obviously not the case.
As one should expect, there are plenty of people that had a problem with this game being made. The war is still going on. People are still over there. Also, there appeared to be some contributions on the game from Iraqi citizens and insurgents. You are certainly welcome to react to this however you want. I’m going to let that point be for now and build on it later.
I think a good chunk of the anger goes back to what Roger Ebert said over a year ago about video games – that they are not proper art. A lot of video game pundits, if not every one, laughed off this comment as being misinformed and out of touch. It should not surprise anyone that other people besides this movie critic have this opinion (and, by extension, people will also view as out of touch). You are all welcome to ignore the numerous stories on TV about this war. Ignore all the books published about the war. Ignore all the stories news anchors used to draw people into watching their broadcasts (yes, I have every right to make this criticism in an age where stations view news as entertainment). These are all welcome and it’s not hypocritical to accept those and reject a video game.
The thing is, I have to ask myself if I am ready to openly criticize the aforementioned hypocrisy intertwined in this situation. As I am someone who knows nobody that has been or is overseas in the Iraq war it is a lot more difficult to remain objective when discussing this. Then again, why even bother writing about video games at all if I am afraid of what my opinions mean?
I have no idea why people still struggle with viewing different forms of art objectively. There is art out there with the sole purpose of inflaming the senses. It is probably safe to assume that was not Konami’s intent with this game. What boggles my mind is why many people still see all video games in a constant vein of evil and void of any intrinsic value.
Something I need to be clear on – I do not have any concrete information on how Konami was approaching the story in this game. We’ll get to that in a minute. Remember that art is subjective by its very nature. Disagreeing with a viewpoint should not necessitate its very existence. If you cannot handle something’s existence just because you don’t like it, well, that does not mean the problem lies with the object of your ire.
What I cannot do is claim to be an expert on sensitivity. I am willing to entertain the notion that it is too early to make a game closely representative of the conflict in Iraq. Some soldiers want their story out in the open, as evidenced by the development of this game, but many people still do not. So we shelve the project and wait. That is fine with me. But I have to wonder – what is the appropriate time needed before a game like Six Days in Fallujah can be made? What are the variables? Does the number of deaths, duration, number of nations involved, or overall brutality of the war make a difference? Is anyone qualified to answer this question?
I live by a certain set of rules. One of these rules is to always welcome new information into a discussion. Let people speak their minds. It is always up to the recipients of the information to determine whether they agree with it. After all, it is no fun to call people idiots without hearing their side of the story first. Again noting my detachment from this situation, this is why I have no problem with Iraqi citizens and soldiers contributing to it. I get why this annoys soldiers involved and others as well. Developers were trying to get as much information on the battles as they could. If you are reading more into it than that, fine, but you simply don’t understand the roles and functions of video games.
With all this in mind, it’s time to identify the primary idiots.
Konami, let me be one of many to say thank you for your completely spineless reaction. Thank you for shrinking into the sunset. You are doing the gaming industry absolutely no justice here. Saying “we just wanted to make an entertaining game” is the same lame response any publisher uses for any public backlash. Not wanting to use controversy as a selling point is fine if that’s not the type of attention or reputation you want. I find it hard to believe, however, that you did not see any potential issues when starting this project. Is there any chance we can stop your work on the next DDR abomination if we whine enough?
We saw this response from Capcom when Resident Evil 5’s details starting coming out. Even Bioware didn’t stand up for itself (not really) with the Mass Effect controversy that the media tried to stir up. In terms of corporate PR they probably did the right thing, but I still don’t think they sent the right message to service the industry as a whole. If our industry didn’t have Rockstar I would wonder if anyone in the industry had any backbone at all.
Here is the message publishers and developers need to say when people overreact – “we are not the first ones to make a statement about this topic, we are not even the first ones to make the statement we are making, thus we have no plans to change our direction in making what we think will be a great game.” Tailor this sentiment into any specific situation and we are all set.
If you plan on making a game that you know is going to be controversial on some level, then why would you back off once the… wait for it… controversy begins to take shape? React with however much knee-jerkiness you feel is appropriate (this includes the gamers out there who are sure to whine about this incoherently), but the fact that people were upset that this game was being made should only be a surprise to idiots.
War is a very serious issue. Any work, whether it be a book, film or game, can go about a right and wrong way. The problem is that by and large people hate video games (or anything else they do not understand). We need to get people to see things on a level playing field. Just as I do not see the inherent disrespect in a game about a war, others do not see the valuable reason for the game to exist. Both are valid opinions and I wish people would see that.
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April 24, 2009
The Gamer’s Quagmire #70: I’m Not Quite Dead
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less
by Jamison DeLorenzo
There’s nothing quite like a long hiatus for a small, largely unread, gaming column. After a year-long sabbatical for gaming and some relatively major life events now feels like a good a time as any to get back onto the horse. Well, not literally of course. Odds are the equines are probably sick and tired of having random people jump on their backs just because they’re too lazy to do away with a tired cliché.
The strange this is, this is a weird time of the year to pony up (it’s a theme, sorry) and write something interesting again about gaming. There has been a noticeable lack of great games so far in 2009. Sure, Killzone 2 has gotten some buzz. The big budget games this year so far, Guitar Hero: Metallica and Resident Evil 5, just haven’t created the splash that publishers and gamers alike were hoping for. It is not that I haven’t enjoyed either of these games, but neither offered anything different that made people say “Wow!”
A year ago I would tell you that the unprecedented success of the Wii was the cause for this. The predominantly casual nature of the Wii is bring gaming back to the family. Most of the mature and dedicated gamers that exist today probably have fond memories of gaming with the Atari 2600. I would argue both the 2600 and the Wii are very similar to each other, to the point that the Wii can be called the 2600 of the current decade. In terms of development time was there anything back in the 2600 days that could compare with GTA IV?
My point is not to compare consoles this time, but rather to look at what gaming means to people today. America’s first major down-cycle in the economy causes people to take a closer look at budget gaming. We can’t realistically expect an expanding or even steady market for $60 games and $300 consoles with so much less money to spend.
Gaming to me will always be about escaping from the normal world doing something that brings me happiness. Whether a game is the creation of a drug-induced hallucination or a satirical mocking of what I’m trying to get away from the job still gets done. Based on the reports you see of the video game market being somewhat recession-proof and sales numbers still going strong you probably wonder what the point I’m driving at is.
Let me tell you. Sooner or later gamers want something new, something interesting. We’re still in an interesting time for gaming because the initial generation of gamers are still indentured servants of the industry. We are still a long ways a way from being forced off the gaming reservation, but sooner or later you need fresh blood, and it’s difficult to do that with high console prices and an increasing development costs.
Yes, okay, there are plenty of great older games you can get, and some fresh games that are quite cheap. We are on the bleeding edge of an industry that provides opportunities for independent people to download development kits and create their own games. But, still, I have to wonder how much room is there still in the industry for a rash of games in the GTA ilk?
I realize that it is difficult to figure out what demographics will eat up certain games, and that if some game like KOTOR came out in 1986 then I may have never given games like Tecmo Bowl or Tetris a chance. I wonder if such a simple game like Tecmo Bowl could even be created today and have it be a game that so many people reminisce about 10 or more years from now.
Here’s what I do know. In an era where we’re relatively close to having a really high penetration point in HD TV’s that there is a place for the monster-budget game titles. But don’t we need to consider how we rope in the 6 and 7 year old potential gamers? Don’t we need to sell the idea of video games to them with simpler titles than to toss Gran Turismo or Call of Duty in front of them and expect them to enjoy it as much as possible?
I realize that’s pretty much zeroing in on a question that Nintendo has already answered for us, but there were 3 versions of Mario out for the NES, and at least two of them are etched into video game lore. No offense, but Super Mario Galaxy is not going to be enough to hook them for life. Quality titles take time to make and you don’t want to sully a great franchise (that list is gigantic, so let me utter one word, perhaps “Sonic”, and move on), but sooner or later you need to look at what Galaxy was and realize that you just don’t need a game half that big to tantalize a kids’ brain to have them swoon over the next Mario title.
As someone who’s currently neck-deep in an MMO I cannot really tell you about the enormous amount of options out there that could hook the next generation of gamers at a dirt cheap price. One big title from Nintendo a year isn’t going to cut it. Pokemon has more than run its course (three times over). Wii Sports, let’s face it, was never meant to do more than to get the console through the front door. $10 budget titles via DLC are not as widely known of to get mass appeal.
Maybe we’ll get something in the next 2-3 years and maybe we won’t. What I don’t want is to tell someone to download an old game from 5 years ago as a starting point for why people should pick up gaming now. What bothers me is, right now that seems like the best option.
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May 16, 2008
The Gamer’s Quagmire #69: Heeding the Wisdom of E.E. Cummings
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Finding required viewing in the world of video game writing is a rare event. Over the past five years the cornerstone of my gaming bookmarks has been Penny Arcade. I realize that this is a lot like saying people swear by ESPN for sports news, so that statement has far less impact that I would want. I have often found that my style of humor is right in line with their strips, and that is what drew me to make them required reading.
With the many web comics and regular columns devoted to gaming you are probably wondering why I haven’t mentioned any others. There are many interesting and unique reads that people absolutely love. XKCD and Ctrl-Alt-Delete immediately come to mind as solid reads, but for whatever reason they don’t have the pull on me that they probably should.
The only sites I ever bookmark are sites that I see that offer something unique and either informative or entertaining. Based on that criteria there should probably me more sites inside my gaming radar. Still, this article is not about me and my overwhelmingly bad reading practices. This is about something that’s been bothering me about my #2 reading destination.
It wasn’t all that long ago that this second destination was added. Within the past 3 months Zero Punctuation (think about the pun embedded in this week’s title – it’s subtle… and, now that I think about it, not all that funny) has become a Wednesday mainstay. Yahtzee has become the latest gaming culture phenomenon and with good cause. Again, that statement doesn’t have a whole lot of impact. That’s okay – that wasn’t the intent.
If you’ve been reading the Quagmire for with any regularity you have seen my relative apprehension of Nintendo’s success. I never thought about it when I was young, but now that I’ve managed to entire my cranky old man stage early in my gaming critic life (which appears to have happened prematurely) I have a hard time not thinking about the number of times Nintendo added another title to an existing franchise. This is my current favorite double-standard to harp on with respect to gaming, and when this was brought up in ZP the first time I couldn’t have been more delighted.
Please understand that schadenfreude is not a common problem for me. I don’t take delight in flame wars, but sometimes I feel like I need to step up and say something. Super Smash Brothers is going to be the target, so if you have trouble handling any comments that do not involve slobbering all over the franchise you should be prepared for some artillery fire.
Brawl is the first game in the franchise I have owned but not the first one I have played. This game has never had that much appeal to me, but playing this game with three friends has been a good amount of fun. After extended service time with the game I had many negative things to say about it. My biggest problem with this game, and most 1st party titles for the Wii, is that the games are not deep. Okay, the perceived depth of a game is highly subjective, but as a fighter the gameplay in Brawl does not feel any different than its predecessors. I certainly don’t buy the argument that it is a masher, but I don’t see it as the complex fighter so many fans try to make it out to be (if you want a complex fighter I strongly urge you to play a Tekken game).
Not long after I start jotting down all the complaints I have about SSBB, ZP came out and said everything that was in my notes. This made me happy, not because laziness was once again paying off, but because someone that I would consider paying attention to about games can’t stand mediocre gameplay, highlighted characters being complex unlockables, and off-chance random character movement. This still was not my favorite part of the review.
Two weeks later the SSBB review prompted a response to e-mail feedback which took great strides towards proving that people who hated the comments had no idea how to properly respond to the comments made. This response also highlighted, inadvertently perhaps, that the phrase “I am not a fanboi” is a tired cliché that now almost always serves as proof that the writer is, on top of everything else, a hypocrite.
I realize it took a heck of a long time to get there, but it is time for another Public Service Announcement from the Quagmire – please stop using that phrase to begin your arguments. Every single time this phrase is used to make a point, it proves the author is too scared to let their argument stand on its own merit. It is not as if I expect to see witty discussion every time I read through a message board or walk into EB. In fact, more often than not I expect a bunch of idiots making incoherent statements. Certain phrases become overused way too often, and “I am not a fanboi” is now on the list along with “Nintendo just makes fun games”, “I prefer gameplay over graphics”, or “I’m tired of boring old sequels.”
Please understand that fans of any console who feel the need to attempt to validate themselves by shooting down other consoles are all guilty of use of at least one of these comments. Somehow there is this great divide in the community with respect to each console, and I feel like people are searching for catch phrases to make their points. I won’t shoot down anyone for enjoying a Smash Brothers, Mario Kart, Halo, or any other gaming franchise just because I don’t happen to enjoy it. I will, however, rip you apart if you are unable to handle people pointing out flaws they see without babbling on incoherently. In other words, I’m only here to help.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go prepare for another SSBB party.
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May 9, 2008
The Gamer’s Quagmire #68: Lucky Number 4
Everything you wanted to know about gaming, and less
by Jamison DeLorenzo
Promises are promises, and, this amazing revelation aside, I figure if there is a week to talk about GTA this would be the week to do it. There are very few stories in gaming news this week that do not involve this game, and rightfully so. Considering the sales numbers this game is putting up (6 million copies sold in week one) it would be rather silly to ignore this landmark game.
That was far more than just a play on words relating to the number of NYC landmarks in the GTA IV version of Liberty City. This is one of the few games I have ever seen released where every major gaming publication and review site is giving this game near perfect marks. I am not saying this should drive you to your nearest store and pick the game up, but so few games are ever given a high score, let alone from everyone. After taking a week off from work to plow through this game, something which I had planned since the beginning of the year, I find it very difficult to disagree with the notion that this game isn’t as close to perfect as a game can get.
There are many things this game does that its predecessors have done. All the basic gameplay elements that you love (or hate) about the game are back, the satire is still present, the detail in the city environment is amazing, the story is engrossing, and the characters and dialogue are movie-level quality. These are all things I expect from GTA. Games that step up to this level are almost always highly praised, including last year’s icon in this department – BioShock.
Where GTA has stopped before, IV has kept going. Let us start with what is in the forefront – the graphics. The work Rockstar has put into Liberty City has definitely raised the bar in the realm of the free-roaming environment. Combine the graphical power of Crysis with the city detail that went into Assassin’s Creed and what you get is Liberty City. Downtown is littered with gigantic signs that make you feel like you’re on the strip in Vegas. Seeing the city skyline light up at night is just like looking out of a hotel window. Those are the big visuals. The details – like movie posters and other ads inside buildings, the geysers of water that shoot up when you knock out fire hydrants, the debris that gets caught in a cyclone when a helicopter is flying nearby, being able to hear your car radio while outside the car – all of these experiences make you feel like you are inside a real city.
Next to the basic gameplay elements that make GTA what it is, the satire embedded in this game is easily the most enjoyable aspect of this. This is not anything new, but being able to see this in the form of television and the web are brand new experiences. One day I spent hours just watching TV in one of my safehouses. Is there any point in doing this? You don’t get missions or any real information on backstory in the game, but it sure is entertaining.
The only complaint I have is that the character movement is still a ways away from smooth. Running around, moving through crowds of people, breaking into cars or just hopping in them all have very natural movements. Jumping, however, is still atrocious. Trying to get Niko to jump between ledges, onto or off of a boat, or in between rooftops is still an ordeal. Jumping in wide open spaces is not nearly as frustrating as cramped spaces (I got stuck once under a staircase which forced me to reload because crouching and walking wasn’t working right), but jumping in a straight line can be a major ordeal at times. One mission I failed because I tried getting onto a dirtbike from behind it, only to walk in circles for over 10 seconds before my target escaped.
If those problems were not present in the game I would easily be able to state with conviction that this game is perfect. When I say a game is perfect, that means that while the game can still be improved to do things in different ways, there is nothing that I feel the game is lacking. For example, the cover combat system could be a little easier to use for getting in and out of cover or sprinting between cover spots, but it didn’t really cause any problems. The combat system was still much better than anything that has been in GTA games to date, so I cannot state with a straight face that the combat was difficult or frustrating.
There is one thing I should make a special note on. There is a mission that involves a bank job in this game. I thought this was going to be as annoying as the Vice City mission was, but it turned out to be the best mission in any GTA game I have played to date. The tedious parts of the robbery – securing the bank, subduing employees and customers, busting open the vault, were all scripted. The entire mission revolved around the escape from the bank. The adrenaline rush in running through the streets taking out cop after cop, running through the subway, avoiding helicopters, and the final escape back to the house provided more adrenaline and energy than I could ask for. I would need 3 Red Bulls back-to-back to recreate that sensation. This mission was the defining moment for the game.
Coming up with something different to say about this game is tough. You know it all and you’ve probably seen it all. The highlights of this game were the graphics, fighting system, environment detail, voice acting, character animations, story, dialogue, satire, and length. The driving, movement, and missions were good but could all have been improved. The multiplayer was new and fun, but still could be so much more. Every one of the highlights were near perfect if not perfect, which means that GTA IV probably didn’t exceed many people’s expectations, but it matched what most people were expecting from Rockstar. If that doesn’t say something about what the value of the GTA franchise is, then nothing really does.
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