My ps triple

Most of the time i'm too busy playing video games to be writing about them and i have neglected this blog for quite some time (on purpose i might add) since the time of this last post i've played countless excellent games: Resonance of Fate, Super Street Fighter 4, Flower, the list goes on and on. But it wouldnt have been possible without the lovely ps3 i bought 3 years ago which is still going strong.

I'd always wanted a ps3, but the price was too high and it didn't have any games I wanted, let alone any i recognized. But when Metal Gear Solid 4 came out in the special 80 gig bundle, I knew i had to have that slick piece of kit. I heard that the Vancouver Future Shop was having a limited sale on the item, so I went all the way from White Rock to Vancouver and got there at 7 o' clock in the morning! I was the second person there, and I waited patiently for my chance to buy my ps3. Just before opening an employee came out and handed us the special limited edition DVD that came with the game as a token of us being allowed to purchase one. After the initial hubbub that comes with people rushing into a store looking for a ps3 to buy, i made my way to the front counter and dropped well over 600 bucks on my new ps3. I also managed to snag the limited edition dvd which was a nice bonus.

Man oh man, I still baby my ps3 like I did 3 years ago. The vents and ports are always vacuumed, everything is shut down properly at all times. Games and software are treated with the utmost love and care. I bought my ps3 because I knew I wouldn't need any other gaming device, and it has served me faithfully for 3 years and hopefully more years to come. The metal gear solid backwards compatible 80 gig model is the kind of ps3's, and so it deserves treatment fit for a king. Thanks futureshop ;)

DLC Done Right - WipEout HD: Fury

As I’ve already pointed out, DLC is not the great evil some people make it out to be. It has definitely proven itself capable of unspeakable evil, but if paying for cheat codes in Skate 2 is the anti-christ, then the Fury expansion for Wipeout DLC is the return of Zeus throwing thunderbolts and transforming into ducks and raping women (trust me, that’s a good thing, unless you’re a woman =/ )

First off, let me remind everyone that WipeOut HD is on sale as of right now for a limited time only. At 15 American capitalist pig dollars, the original game by itself is more than worth the price of admission. Even at it’s original 20 dollars, Wipeout HD played and felt like a 60 dollar triple A title. The Fury expansion pack is only 10 dollars and brings just as much to the table as the original game did, if not more. Essentially, this 10 dollar DLC is worth 60 dollars. Now let that rumble around in your head a bit. If you’re ready for more, buckle up and see me after the jump.

Most notably, The Fury DLC brings 3 new game modes to the table. The Eliminator game mode pits 8 players against one another but with 2 big twists. This time around, all weapons pads have no cool-down, which means that weapons are much more easily attainable both for you and your opponents. More unexpectedly, a new 180 degree turn function has been incorporated which allows you to surprise your enemies with rockets in the face. Being able to hold onto a plasma ball and fire it headfirst into unsuspecting racers or getting a lead, turning around and unleashing a devastating earthquake that kills several opponents at once never ceases to get old.

The Zone Battle mode is a new spin on an old favorite, allowing 7 other racers to join you in the increasingly insane speed mode. In this mode however, boost pads give you access to a type of boost charge which both doubles as a means to increase your speed, but also leave zone barriers in your wake. Absorbing your Zone gauge gives you a protective shield that allows you to pass through these zone barriers but removes any chance for you to use the accumulated speed. Of course the other option is crashing into a zone barrier and dropping your speed significantly, damaging your ship horrendously and draining most of the boost charge you’ve saved up. Seeing as dying also kills your speed, it’s clear that this mode is as frustrating as it is exhilarating.
Lastly, the Detonator mode functions like a quirky arcade shooter. Your ship is given access to a machine gun as well as a track clearing EMP shock-wave which is charged by driving over boost pads. Accuracy is rewarded by increased score modifiers while crashing into the mines on the course has the genre staple effect of killing your combo and you. While not as thrilling as the other modes, the constant need to reload, charge up EMP power, avoid mines and adjust to the slowly increasing zone mode-esque acceleration makes the Detonator mode a welcome addition to the family.

As if this wasn’t enough, there are 8 new regular race tracks (4 forward/4 backwards) as well as 4 new speciality courses specifically designed with the new modes and the standard zone mode in mind. The specialty tracks are a lot less curvy and more predictable, functioning akin to Nascar tracks. No doubt a lot of people will finally get their Zone Zeus Trophies on any one of these tracks. AND ON TOP OF ALL THAT, every team gets a brand new race model added to their ranks. You can also unlock a Zone Battle Wireframe model along with the platinum racing skin for this new ship.

And oh yeah, did I forget? Oh yeah, I almost did. ONE MORE THING: A completely new campaign mode which is just as long and girthy as the original.

And all of this, for 10 bucks.

Let that seep in, one more time. The game was an outrageous blast to begin with, and now it should be practically mandatory that all PS3 owners buy this damn game. All of the new modes perfectly complement the original game and most importantly, are a treat to play. To be perfectly honest, I could go on and on about the game, but there is one more thing I would like to point out before I stop bothering you fine folk.

Everyone has different priorities when it comes to how they enjoy the vidya. Some people just like mindless fun, some people want a really gripping story or tight controls or a million other things. For me, Immersion is absolutely crucial for me to enjoy a game to its fullest. While the original Wipeout HD was excellent, the Fury expansion adds even more things that really make you feel like you are playing a futuristic racer. While the mines in Detonator mode pulse to the music just like the walls on Anulpha pass do or the ground in any zone race, the menus and backgrounds have received even more upgrades, making you truly believe the authenticity of the vision presented to you. Strange symbols and animations jump out at you while the interfaces odd style feels both accessible and foreign. As I originally pointed out, not everyone will get the same kick out of these accoutrement’s as I have, my wish however is that there are people who will experience it the way I have, because I really, REALLY, get a kick out of the whole package.

So let’s recap.

-An awesome game at half the price of the original awesome game

-3 new awesome game modesa brand new campaign mode

-A bunch of awesome new extras (Vehicles, Tracks, Great new songs, Various other accoutrements)

-The same Crisp 1080p, 60FPS display.

AND, The same heart racingly, pulse poundingly, groin-grabbingly good action you need to play to believe.

The only negative I can really find is that other platforms are denied this wonderful game and its tremendous DLC (not that I’m complaining.)

Hycran out.

Random Video Game Thoughts

Whether warranted or not, we all sometimes find ourselves pondering certain elements of our favorite video games. Here are some from the desk of Hycran

who is really going to be buying all those collector’s editions down the road?

What is all that xbox live subscription money going to?

What were points ever useful for?

Why was Chun Li the only character changed in SF4?

Why Would soldiers volunteer to fight in a place called a “Kill Zone”?

How many people bought Halo Wars thinking it was a First Person Shooter?

How many grandmothers own a Wii?

How many grandmothers who own Wii’s have actually played them rather than letting them sit
and collect dust.

Speaking of collecting dust, Why does the PS3 do it so well? Seriously, My ps3 is a dust magnet.

Blizzard just announced that they are going to allow players to create characters on both factions on PVP servers. Why didn’t they let people do that from the beginning? It’s not like people on the other side didn’t immediately find out about big raids waiting outside BWL or MC or trying to kill Azuregos and try to sabotage them.

What is the fat princesses dress made out of? It expands and contracts without ripping, we need to get the Hulk some of those dresses.

Why are there so few games from the Old West to the Depression Era? Everyone likes shootan, everyone likes gruff manly men, Wild West games should be all over the place. Depression era hats? Sign me up.

Why do I have to GET OUT OF HERE S.T.A.L.K.E.R? It’s a free country!

Why doesnt Mario just call in a tactical Yoshi airstrike?

How long will it be until we get a corporate sponsored Twilight Game?

The horror…

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 2 - Among Thieves Multiplayer Impressions

With the Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune 2 Multiplayer Beta coming to a close, I have composed a quick and dirty pro/con list for any of you who still visit this site and are interested in the game. For the record, I got the beta code from my purchase of infamous which I may or may not review for your viewing pleasure.

Good Stuff

Gameplay: The fundamental mechanics of the gameplay are very solid. The Guns all feel appropriately smooth with just the right amount of rattle and recoil (especially in the ak-47 which sounded like it was a suppressed mp5 in the original Uncharted). Like in real life, going full auto isn’t particularly conducive to being accurate. It is incredibly satisfying to squeeze off a couple rounds in quick succession, successfully putting an enemy to sleep, permanently. The cover mechanic functions admirably. Blindfire and quick pop-ups are necessary to be successful.

Special weapons: Fun and well balanced. Because the cover mechanic is all but necessary, Rambo antics with the portable Gatling gun, desert eagle and dragon sniper rarely pay off. Of course, this is the way it should be and this methodology is in keeping with the series. Nathan Drake and his compatriots aren’t super heroes that can grunt and bald their way to victory, they must be smart, agile and accurate. That being said, when the Rambo antics do work (such as with the grenade launcher or shotgun) the game is extremely satisfying. The only anomaly seems to be the M4A1 automatic rifle. With the increased long range stability perk the gun becomes almost unfairly accurate. Perhaps America just has really, really good weapons?

Verticality: The games adaptive parkour system helps to bring a fresh element to the third person genre not because no game has ever had you shooting up or down, but because the line between up and down gets effectively blurred. Rather than use the bricks in the plaza to ascend quickly to the second floor, it can be more effective to actually hang off the side of the building and take potshots at enemies before going in for the kill. If you are holding on to the Desert Eagle you can even find yourself getting kills from this position. It took a little while to train myself out of the level by level orientation of thinking, but once I did, I found myself getting a lot of easy and satisfying kills.

Co-op: If I was going to kill for treasure, I would want company. Co-op in DU feels even better than single player action. Smart teams can easily utilise running suppression and flanking maneuvers to outwit the AI. That being said, the AI definitely aren’t pushovers. They use cover admirably for the most part, but they sometimes tend to think they are impervious to bullets and as such leave the safety of their cover; This of course leads to a frontal labotomy with lead. The games difficulty though, as is the case with just about everything, is very, very satisfying. My biggest concern is with the preponderance of set pieces. At one point you have a steady stream of enemies trying to come from behind and flank you, unfortunately they run carelessly over the back of a bus in a set-piece. As such, they don’t return fire and are easy kills.

Boring Stuff

Menu’s are clean. Gears style map voting, fuck yeah democracy. The controls are responsive and the graphics are sharp.

Bad stuff

Characters are a bit sluggish: Because no one is on steroids, there isn’t a super speed option, unfortunately, it feels like there should be an “abandon ship” button. If a grenade lands at your feet and you aren’t moving, it’s game over. The grenades in this game are actually very good, both in the fact that they are all or nothing killers and in the fact that you cant hurl them across the map, but their power gain is mostly due to the lack of speed of the players. While this may sound hypocritical when you take my “it should be more real” justification into account, it goes without saying that it is possible to sprint in real life, something that you can’t do in Drake’s Uncharted.

Perks: Combat bonuses such as extra bullets in the clip or increased blindfire accuracy are boring as hell. Obviously the little bits of customization are always nice, but it would have been nice to see something different. I’m sure the limited options we are provided in the beta are the beginner perks, but i sure hope there are better ones down the road.

MP lacks charm: The co-op is full of the staple Drake’s charm. MP could use a lot more of it. Obviously it can’t be constant, but a few more quips would be great.

Overall, the beta for the multiplayer is better than a lot of the full products we’ve seen this generation. Even though the original Drakes was a successful single player product, the second one looks to do the same as well as add on a kick ass multiplayer and co-op. And seeing as it will cost the same amount of money, everyone wins.

White Knight Chronicles - The New Legend of Dragoon?

The PS3 doesn’t have any RPG’s. The Wii and the Xbox don’t have many either, but the PS3 is truly lacking in traditional RPGS. Even though there are tons of RPG’s in the tube, none of them are here yet. The only RPG that we do have is White Knight Chronicles, and that is over in Japan. Although it’s always hard to get excited over one game, WKC could be the game many RPG fans have been waiting for, not because it is simply an RPG, but because it seems to bear a lot of things in common with one of the original darlings of the Playstation, The Legend of Dragoon. With traditional JRPG’s seemingly falling by the wayside, could WKC be the saviour of an entire genre?

I am quite adept at keeping the flaccid cock of nostalgia out of my mouth. I will go on the record as saying The Legend of Dragoon was not the best RPG i’ve ever played. It was however one of the most fun RPG’S I’ve ever played. The fact that WKC seems to have the same attributes as LoD gives me hope that it could be the LoD of this generation.

The Legend of Dragoon was a Sony developed property created in order to stimulate interest in RPGS. As such, it uses the very pedestrian plot scheme of the “Sentai” or as we know it in North America, the “Power Rangers” schema. Get a whole bunch, give them magical powers, fight evil. While WKC doesn’t follow this pattern (barring the transformation into the titular White Knight), it follows the equally underwhelming “save the princess, get a kiss” plot. Seeing as LoD was originally designed to get people interested, it makes perfect sense to not overwhelm them with plot (especially since we already have MGS4 to do that for us). While the main demographic of PS3 users is old enough to comprehend more diverse plots, a good old fashioned adventure game harkens back to the days of yore when men were men (as opposed to andorgynous boys) and dragons were to be slain (or riden, or transformed into). Essentially, it serves the dual purpose of re-introducing both knew and old.

Generic JRPG Waifu? Hell yes.

At the same time as it is similar to older titles, it also incorporates some of the newer standards that have come about as a result of this generation. WKC features Co-op internet monster slaying gameplay akin to an MMO. The battle system itself is also akin to an MMO, following in the footsteps of Final Fantasy 12. While some may object to this, the free-roaming style is practically the same as traveling in an overworld, only you can see the monsters youre going to engage as opposed to running into blocks of nothing which somehow materialize into monsters. The Legend of Dragoon incorporated “Additions” or combat combos as a means to liven up the gameplay which was apart from the traditional “stand across from each other and slash until dead” model that most of the games incorporated. WKC’s combat pallete system also seems to mirror this, where the combo cannot be fully completed until all of its precursory parts are.

Interestingly enough, Level 5’s creation of the game also smacks of the first party mentality that surrounded The Legend of Dragoon. Level 5 creates games almost solely for Sony, and has even gone on the record in saying that excellent sales of WKC would prompt them to become a 1st party developper. What kind of sales would they need? Probably somewhere around the 500,000 plus mark, which is approximately where Legend of Dragoon ended up. JRPG sales have been stagnant this generation, both due to the lack of quality as well as due to the predominantly Xbox exclusive nature of the games. That being said, White Knight Chronicles has already sold approximately 350,000 copies in Japan, which is remarkable for a new IP, especially an RPG.

Even though there are some whispers floating around about a possible Legend of Dragoon Sequel, WKC looks to be a type of spiritual successor to the game. Instead of trying to be grandiose and failing like so many RPG’s of this generation have, WKC looks to bring us back to when games didn’t need to have trophies or online play to be fun. Will WKC be the best RPG ever? Of course not. It has already received both tepid and solid reviews (once again, the same as LoD did.) But will it be fun? Undoubtedly.

Addendum: In an unexpected announcement, Level 5 recently revealed that WKC would be delayed until early 2010. While we knew that Level 5 was trying it hardest to get voice chat into the game for the online component, there was no reason the game should be delayed for 5 extra months just for that right? Turns out, the game is getting the Georama mode from the extremely awesome Dark Cloud series. For those who aren’t in the know, the Georama mode gives you access to pieces of a town which can be moved around at leisure to create unique cities and villages. Not only are they taking elements from a key PS1 RPG, they are now incorporating a kick ass mode from a key PS2 RPG.

Imagine being able to build your own city on the back of this thing.

Game of the fucking FOREVER

What Agent's Exclusivity Could Mean For the Future

While Sony has made several blunders in the current gen console war one of the biggest was allowing Call of Duty 4 to go multi-platform. The game has become such a runaway success that it could have single-handedly changed the face of the war as we know it. Perhaps equally as big was allowing Grand Theft Auto 4 to go multi-platform. Although the game sold about 45/55% on the PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, there are rumblings that the next installment in the GTA series may become a Playstation exclusive by default.

Wait, what the hell are you talking about?

As has been documented, Rockstar was notably unhappy with the limitations of the DVD-9 format on the Xbox 360 and how it affected GTA 4. As we’ve all seen though, both versions of the game are practically the same. The rumblings this time around though are seem to be much more boisterous. Early rumours have Rockstar threatening to not release GTA5 on the Xbox, but that begs the question: Why? Why sacrifice all the money you would undoubtedly make by only creating the game for one console?

Although one can never account for backroom dealings and shattered business relationships, there is really only one answer.

They want their game to be good.

Was GTA4 lacking on the Xbox 360? Of course not. It was Game of the Year. It recieved rave reviews across the board. But could it have been better? WOULD it have been better if it had only been released for a single console? Of course. This applies to any game released on any console exclusively though. What makes this time around special is that the GTA developers may in fact be willing to part with the extra revenue in order to better perfect their craft which seems absolutely ludicrous in our current economic standings. It is not to say that Rockstar would be the first group to sacrifice sales for art. It is however to say that doing so now could prove to be an earth shaking event that has an indelible effect on how Video Games are made.

In a world driven by profit, and in an industry not well renowned for being bohemian, this kind of move would be as surprising as it would be dramatic. A triple-A developer openly supporting both their own art and A specific console could sway other third party developers to do the same. It would also give other developers a comfortable “out” to abandon a platform they wouldn’t want to develop on for fear of not returning enough profit. After all, in such hard economic times, it’s surprising that more companies aren’t already doing this and attributing it towards a need for the betterment of the game as opposed to monetary restrictions. Keep in mind as well, if Halo 3, Gears of War and Metal Gear Solid 4 have shown us anything, exclusive games can still sell ridiculously well regardless of being exclusive.

That being said, the whole “pursuing art” argument could simply be an excuse from Rockstar after the fact. Rockstar has a contractual obligation to produce 3 exclusive games for the PS3 as reported by the Hiphopgamer (through an interview with an industry insider) and other sources. We know one of these games is Agent, another one of these games may supposedly be the somewhat forgotten L.A. Noire, a sandbox game set in the 1930’s. GTA 5 would probably be not all that different than 4 regardless of development time and console exclusivity, and if L.A. Noire is factored in, that would mean all of the three promised exclusives would be off the table.

If one wanted to be even more pessimistic, this could be seen as also be seen as a moving away from Microsoft has the prime conduit for producing games. Take-Two openly denied Microsoft’s exclusivity bid for Bioshock 2 while EA is now releasing Dead Rising 2 on the PS3. Capcom has also recently confirmed a concurrent release of Lost Planet 2. Along with a slew of exclusives for the PS3, this could seem very dramatic, but there are still a lot of positives for the Xbox.

Don't worry cousin, beeg American teetee's will probably come to all platforms (minus Wii)

Even though EA has clearly made Dead Rising 2 multi-platform, the status of Mass Effect is still up in the air. Microsoft also has Epic, Bethesda and VALVe onboard as companies who are much more enamored with Microsoft than they are with Sony. And of course, staying with the pessimism, Microsoft has one very, very big asset. A seemingly inexhaustible amount of money. Everyone has their price, and a company as rich as Microsoft can probably name yours.

Microsoft made Rockstar rich. Rockstar took at least 30% of every sale from the GTA4 expansion pack, along with the millions of dollars they recieved from the exclusivity deal itself. Ultimately, beyond all of this industry wheeling and dealing as well as speculation, it just doesn’t seem like anyone can resist the siren song of the greenback. Perhaps that’s why I find it so interesting that the such a bohemian notion can be expressed by Rockstar. Even with evidence showing that it could be legitimate and genuine (undoubtedly in the exclusivity of Agent), I’m still not convinced that such dedication to art can even exist in our modern day industry. If it does come to pass though. it might just spur on the innovation and advancement in the industry that some believe is lacking. And if this kind of innovation can occur when times are tough, imagine how sweet it could be in times of plenty.

Why I Hate Games "Journalism"

I hate video game jounalism. I used to think that it was because I was an elitist and that my University education had rendered me unable to appreciate the opinions of the proletariat. And then I realised that I am not that stuck up, video game journalism is just really, REALLY bad.

First off, there simply isn’t enough elitism. Every clown with a connection can post their opinion and have a bunch of equally retarded people follow along. Check N4G at anytime and there is guaranteed to be an article about the ps3 failing, xbox 360 hardware problems or the wii being full of shovelware. This is not news, this is a waste of space. At least the TV has different people dying every day, on the internet it’s the same shit day in and day out.

Secondly, the reason they waste this space is because there simply isnt much news to be had on a regular day. If there is a big story (which is rare) it will be “revealed” simultaneously by 80 different websites. This yields speculative articles. Unlike the interesting one’s people on this website try to write, they usually end up going back to my first point where a bunch of uneducated hicks make ridiculous claims about things they can’t possibly understand. Do you need a university education to connect the dots or make an interesting article? Of course not. Would it help if most of these people had one though so that they could actually make an article worth reading? I’ve got to think so.

Thirdly, any article that will offend someones console is pre-empted by “this isn’t a console war article” or “this isnt a fanboy rant.” Does Wolf Blitzer have to say “I’m not a democratic fanboy” every time a story is posted about Republican back room dealings? Of course not. That would be fucking ludicrous, but in this news industry, its perfectly acceptable. If you post a rational, focused and insightful article, it doesn’t matter what the topic is about. I’ve read good articles saying saying the exact opposite things about the same game. Is either one of them right? No, of course not. Is either one of them wrong? No, of course not. Well written opinions are always worth reading, especially if you don’t agree with them.

Lastly, there are very few people that can actually be trusted. Even big websites like Edge and Ign will post reviews of games that absolutely reek of payoff or bias. A famous example would be the original review of gears of war 2 on 1up which extensively talked about what a bad game it was but gave it an A+. This was later replaced with Gregory Fords much more soundly argued A score. or IGN’s infamous Godhand review where a score of 3.0 was later revealed to be based on the fact that the reviewer was terrible at the game and couldn’t finish the second level. I feel like I can trust Adam Sessler, thats it. N’gai Croal has made the wise move to get out of games journalism and for that i commend him.

Do i consider myself a games journalist? God no. I just consider myself someone who loves the vidya and wants to share an opinion or insight or two; Whether or not they are worth reading is up to those who read them.