The first reviews are coming in for “Metroid: Other M,” and so far they’re looking a bit more modest than the franchise is accustomed to. I have to admit, I saw this coming. I played the game at E3 for a good twenty minutes, and my experience left me with some very serious questions about the finished product. Here’s a few of the reasons I was worried from that initial playthrough, all of which you can find listed in the “Versus” piece I did on Tuesday: -First Person Perspective. Pointing at the screen to go to FPS mode was not…
Author: Andrew Allen
“Metroid: Other M” is coming, like it or not. There’s no avoiding it. The question is: is it going to be any good? As a franchise, Samus’ flagship has stood remarkably well over the years; even for Nintendo, it’s been quite a hot streak. Many swore the jig was up when then-unknown Retro Studios took command for “Metroid: Prime,” and the resulting victory was made all the sweeter as a result. Now, another great transitional moment is upon us, as the franchise passes to industry veteran Team Ninja. The question on everyone’s mind is a simple one: can they…
With the announcement of “Mass Effect 2’s” departure for the PS3, there can be no doubt that Microsoft is losing its hold on the market. Every single key developer who was making Xbox exclusive titles has now officially deserted. Every single one. Bungie is cutting loose after “Halo: Reach” to develop a new, cross platform intellectual property; same for Epic, whose latest testosterone-heavy action piece will release on both systems simultaneously. Valve has also jumped ship, although more in a symbolic way that anything else. Sony would like you to think “Portal 2” on the PS3 is some massive coup,…
Although it is not normally my practice to reveal which way I lean in a Versus piece, with “Starcraft II,” I think it becomes necessary to weigh in with some of my actual thoughts on the game. I’ve spent a great deal of time with it, and I must confess that my position is one of unbridled enthusiasm. I love the game. Or maybe the emotion I feel is much simpler: I love playing the game. When I boot it up, I have an irresistably satisfying experience, and long to remain trapped in its grasp forever. That is as far…
You should know the drill by now: I take both sides of the argument, you decide which one carries more weight. This week, we’ll be examining whether “Starcraft 2” lives up to its twelve-year gestation period. Let the games commence! Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty “Starcraft II” Wings of Liberty” is the same game as “Starcraft,” and it’s absolutely genius. Blizzard, the eternal auteur of the gaming world, saw past the temptation to muck up a formula for their own egos and stuck to the blueprints. Here we have a game so honed, so fine-tuned, so meticulously tailored down to…
I cannot afford “Starcraft 2.” I can’t really afford to eat, either, but the former is a more severe problem. It’s out there right now, and people are harvesting it for its precious resources, while I sit here like an idiot with my copy of “Red Dead Redemption,” a game which came out an entire month ago. What is this, the Middle Ages? A month old game? It might as well be “Duck Hunt” or “Galaga,” for crying out loud, because what it isn’t is a COPY OF STARCRAFT 2 DAMN IT! I’m starving over here, people. I’m also drowning,…
Some games, you play for a week, others for a few days. A really good one can suck you in for a month or two, especially if you can involve other people. And then there are the love affairs: the games you never stop playing. You know the type I mean: you’ve beaten it so many times, but you just keep coming back for another taste. What is the mysterious chemistry that makes us love one or two games so much more than others? Some might suggest it’s plain and simple quality, but I think it goes much deeper; I’ve…
Video games and movies are beginning to develop a bizarre relationship, one I fully admit I don’t really understand yet. Every time some nervous studio executive has a property they’re unsure of, they make a game out of it to dip their toes in the water. Remember the “Ghostbusters” game that was used as a cultural thermometer recently? And how about “The Chronicles of Riddick” being re-released to gauge the necessity for reviving the character on the big screen? And let’s not forget that “Wall Street” video game they made before bringing Michael Douglas back for another go. You remember…
I’m back with updated impressions from my continued use of OnLive. -Without question, the number of interruptions per game has gone up. I expressed concern that the widening user base might lead to this, and I’m worried that fear is coming true. I still don’t find it to be prohibitive, but I’ve noticed that where it used to be 1 or 2, it’s now more like 3-4 per session, and sometimes even higher. -Having played through the entirety of “F.E.A.R. 2” using the service, I then threw the game into my 360 to do a side-by-side. I stand behind my…
So a few days ago, I got my paws on a press copy of OnLive, and I thought I’d share my thoughts on the service with you. I’ve been testing it hard for quite some time now, as well as doing some research to really get a comprehensive view of the product. The first thing I’m sure you’re desperate to know is simple: does it work? The answer is “yes.” And not only does it work, it works pretty damned well. In case you don’t know the drill, OnLive is a cloud-rendering service that processes the game server-side, then streams…
With the release of “Crackdown 2” to lackluster reviews, we have officially entered the Age of the Crap Sequel. I started feeling like this was coming a few years ago, but I admit I was mistaken about its nature. I assumed games would go the way of Hollywood blockbusters, and crank out flashy but meaningless upgrades that neglected fundamentals in favor of pizzazz. I was quite wrong. When a re-up goes sour in this neck of the woods, it suffers from an unbearable familiarity. “Bioshock 2,” “Modern Warfare 2,” many of the “Madden” sequels, they all struggle to justify their…
Have you read this thing? http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html I have a pet peeve. I think everyone’s entitled to one or two, and this is mine: I cannot stand it when someone apologizes, but they’re not sorry. You know the apology that I mean, we’ve all gotten it from girlfriends and drinking buddies, it’s normally something like, “I’m sorry that bothers you.” You see that? You see what they did there? They’re sorry…that you’re upset. They’re sorry…that you’ve overreacted. They’ve turned an apology into an indictment. It makes my blood boil. That’s pretty much exactly what Roger Ebert has just done. He “apologized”…
Scattershot one-liners on various news in the gaming world. OnLive Apparently Works—It’s okay relentless nay-sayers, you can just complain that the latency is unacceptable for another couple of months while the rest of the world dives on it, then sidle discretely over to a “Best Buy” when no one’s looking. The 3DS—Continues to be an embarrassment to the hundreds of Sony reps around the world that really honestly want you to drop $1,000 on unproven technology and wear knock-off Oakleys indoors. 360 Slim—It still melts its own motherboard (you know the old saying: “Don’t fix what is horribly, horribly broken”),…
How difficult should video games be? I’ve been playing “Split/Second” for about two weeks now. Although I’m enormously happy with the game, it has one critical vice which I feel drags it down significantly: it’s too hard. Every single race has to be repeated again and again before you finally snatch a victory. Now this is a precarious point to make, because until you approach some kind of event horizon and a game is not physically beatable (like that damned snowman in “Ski Free”), difficulty is relative. Extreme challenge has also become something of a war standard for the hardcore…
Move. What? We’re debating this? The Playstation Move is so far beyond the Natal it isn’t even funny. What’s that you say? They call it the “Kinect” now? Okay, whatever, I don’t have time to keep up with all the nonsense words Microsoft attaches to its ridiculous, overpriced products. These are the same idiots who couldn’t just call it the “Xbox 2,” they had to throw a bunch of extra numbers on there to piss you off. If they really want to impress me, they could make up a sassy new way to spell “Red Ring of Death.” Seeing as…
Hi, yes, it’s me again. No, I’m not done writing. Shut up, you know you like it. One of the things I was hoping to get from E3 was a game I didn’t come in expecting to care about, which would steal my heart through a concerted blend of rep friendliness and addictive gameplay. My wish came true right as I was heading for the door with “Conduit 2.” I’ve gone from dismissive and apathetic about this game to a full-on advocate, and it only took them twenty minutes of floor time. Now the original “Conduit” was successful enough,…
And so at last, E3 comes to an end. I have to admit, I’d always assumed it would be something of a disappointment in the flesh, and I was incredibly wrong. E3 is not only as good as it looks, it’s better. Yes, it’s an absolute circus, but what a circus it is! I guess some people like to complain about almost anything, but if you go in there with an open mind, I defy you not to enjoy yourself. It’s extremely difficult. I plan to attend every year I am physically capable from now until I die. So, it’s…
All right, damn it, let’s do this thing. I’m ready. It’s time for me to eat my words about the Wii edition of “Goldeneye.” I played it today and…I was…come on, Andrew, you can do this…IwaswrongokaythereIsaidit! Phew. I mean, it’s not like it was the greatest thing I’ve ever played, but it turns out that only some of the changes they made (cough Daniel Craig cough) were moronic; others were quite inspired. One in particular was just amazing, and let me tell you about it. I jumped into a multiplayer match with three other guys, all of whom were older…
I met with Valve today, and got a sneak peek at “Portal 2.” Before you even ask, no, they did not say anything about Episode 3. I don’t know what the deal is, either. I walked up to Erik Johnson after the video was over to press him on the subject, but he simply glanced heavenward and assured me that “ninjas” would “come out of the ceiling” if he gave the slightest indication one way or the next. I laughed. He did not. I then heard the faintest cough coming from above me, and backed slowly away. Lots of people…
Oh hello, Dear Reader, didn’t see you there for a second. What’s that you say? What have I been up to? Oh, not much, just hanging around. I was at some event today, but the name of it escapes me. What was it called? I want to say it was like “D3,” or “D2,” or maybe “R2D2.” Something with letters and numbers, that I do recall. Well, whatever, you’ve probably never heard of it. Say again? Did I see anything good? Well yes, I suppose I did. Would you like me to tell you about it? No? Okay, never…
So many of you have probably seen this short that Midway leaked onto the interwebs earlier this week. It would seem that Ed Boon and company have grown tired of the cartoon nature of their franchise, and are looking to reboot "Mortal Kombat" as if it was some weird hybrid of David Fincher’s early career and "Dexter." Jax, now played by Michael Jai White, is a hard-drinking cop in a "Blade Runner" type near future, and he’s looking to get an informant into an underground fighting tournament which the trailer never dares to describe as "Mortal" or "Kombat." This tournament…
Guys, I don’t know how to break this to you, but "Goldeneye" was a movie tie-in video game! It existed in a very specific time and place, and every time you try to re-capitalize on it, something horrible happens. Remember "Goldeneye: Rogue Agent?" Remember that one? It was a game where you played as a dude with an actual golden eye! That is how low capitalism is willing to stoop to suck the marrow from anything people have ever liked. At first, when you look at this announcement, it almost seems like their hearts are in the right place: updated…
Yeah, yeah, I know: we just did one of these “VS” pieces. Too damned bad, it needs to be done again; I don’t make the rain, I just provide the umbrellas. Don’t hate the player, man, just get out of the kitchen. Wait…I’m starting to confuse myself. The point is, we find ourselves as consumers of video games in one of the most delectable positions possible: honest competition. Two products want the same space on our shelves at around the same time. Game developers and publishers avoid this event as much as Antitrust legislation will possibly allow; they treat it…
A report popped up on Gamespy today suggesting that "Star Wars: The Old Republic" was being primed by Electronic Arts as a "WoW" killer. No one in this industry could undertake that task lightly, so EA is allegedly sinking more cash into Bioware’s new MMO than any other game in their history. They also claim they’re not forcing a release date, a move conspicuously symmetrical with Blizzard’s "you’ll get it when it’s done" attitude. This is a real play EA is making here, a legitimate attempt to assassinate a long-reigning king. They want to take "World of Warcraft" down, some…
It is quite possible that the only bad thing about “Red Dead Redemption” is the title. That and a few graphical hiccups. When a game goes off this well, you have to really harp on what little material they give you. It really is a monumentally stupid title, and it doesn’t lend itself that well to shortenings. What are we going to call this game? “Red Dead”? Meh. “Redemption?” You can’t call up your buddies and be like, “Do you have time for some Redemption tonight?” It sounds like you’re a Baptist minister. Everything about RDR smells of polish, professionalism…
Okay, Bungie, I’m liking what I’m seeing. The Reach beta hasn’t been live for very long, and I’ve only squeezed off 3-4 hours on it, but already I’m feeling good about where it’s going. Many of you are probably playing it as well, so let’s compare notes, Dear Reader. It’s brass tacks time. It’s not perfect, but there’s more than enough to warrant my significant interest and cautious optimism. Could it be that the awful, sour taste of ODST could finally be a thing of the past? The New Classes. So most of us probably think of "Reach" as "Halo"…
Dear Roger Ebert, Hey there. How’s it going? Listen, I have no Earthly reason to think you’ll ever read this, but I happen to be a fan of yours, and as long as I’ve known you, civilized written discourse is a thing you treat with respect. I’ve always liked that about you. Sounds good to me, let’s have some civilized written discourse. Here we go: you’re very wrong about video games not being art. I’m not angry, but you do need to stop talking. Actually, I am a little angry. When it comes to thoughtful debate on the arts, you…
There’s a difference between you and me, Dear Reader. An acute divide. One of us has played "Starcraft 2," and one of us has not. I don’t know if we can still hang out, honestly. It might come between us. I still like you and whatever, but I think we should just be friends. It’s not you, it’s me. It’s also you. So I’m sure that before we break off all contact and I forget your first name, you’d like me to explain to you what brought our friendship to this screeching halt. You’d like to hear what "Starcraft 2" has to offer to you, the unwashed…
Around the 1950s, an idea sometimes called the "auteur theory" emerged in moviemaking. It was a tidal shift that emphasized the vision of the director as the key component to a movie’s identity, as well as its success or failure; before this, directors were hired guns and producers ran the show. Some credit the French New Wave with driving this concept home, but whoever popularized it, it’s become mainstream. Video games have not experienced this; audiences do not look to a mythical man behind the curtain when they play a game they love. We do have a concept of important…
I was going to do a post on the best game developers in the world right now. That post is still coming, Dear Reader, but in the meantime, allow me to share in the collective "WHAT?!" at Nintendo’s bizarrely fascinating 3DS announcement. Where in the balls did this come from? And why now, with so little fanfare? Nintendo claims they want people to have a "heads up" of what’s going to be at E3. That sounds about as reasonable as Caesar giving the Romans an "fyi" that he’s going to march across the Rubicon. The whole point of announcements like this is to come out on…