Month: July 2010

Today’s WTF: Blizzard Divulges Your Secret Identity

forum rageAnonymity on the internet is an important tool, even if it allows every single user on YouTube to type out the stupidest crap known to man without fear of repercussion. While we all get upset from time to time at the vitriol spouted from the internet, it’s mostly harmless and said by those who don’t really know better. However, most of us are rational people who can shrug off a random troll’s abuse. As with all segments of the population, there are those who can’t be responsible with information and use the internet as a vessel to play out their sadistic tendencies.

This is why protecting your identity is vital, because we live in an age of information where everything from your favorite band to your bank account can be accessed by someone with the inclination and the right know-how. Since we’re all pretty guarded against identity theft and stalking, Blizzard’s latest move has caused quite a furor on their forums. Just to bring you up to speed, the renown MMO/RTS developer has stated that, come StarCraft 2, forum posts will require users to submit their real name via the “RealID” system. Naturally, Blizzard’s users crawled out of the woodwork to protest this change, and some of the points they make are valid. Several female users expressed their concern for cyber stalking, and a lot of people voiced their opinion on the stigma associated with playing World of Warcraft and what would happen if their employers found out.

To placate the masses, Blizzard employee Bashiok decided to tell people his real name and within minutes all his personal information spilled onto the internet like tauntaun guts. While this act is mostly out of ire, it shows just what people are capable of with such little information. What do you guys think of this move by Blizzard? I’m sure it was put forward with the best of intentions but it seems to have backfired. Should you force users to give up their real names if they’re already paying you for your services?

Update: Looks like this idea got scrapped. Chalk up a win for for the forum goers. I guess Blizz should get some kudos for actually listening to fan feedback. Now, if we could only get LAN support.

Source: Kotaku

Dastardly to the 19th Degree

I’m sure by now we’ve all heard of the Dastardly achievement in Red Dead Redemption, which awards you 5 shiny new gamerscore points for the act of tying a woman to railroad tracks and then watching her get run over by a train. While I’m quite the bastard in terms of video game morality, this scratches even the extents that I’m willing to go, so I have yet to pull this off, but I’ve always got my eye out for the opportunity.

However, it’s never occurred to me to tie 19 folks to the train tracks all at once. This fellow deserves a medal.

I just finished Red Dead Redemption the other night, and now I’m in the process of achievement plundering, myself. Has anyone else nabbed this one?

May Video Games Sales Tell a Sad Tale

alan wakeTo be honest with you guys, I totally dug Alan Wake. Like I mentioned in my review, that game was a breath of fresh air, something different in an industry inundated with first person shooters and movie tie-ins. Unfortunately, games don’t move copies on the adoration of one man alone, and Alan Wake has had a disappointing showing in its debut month, shifting only 145,000 copies to date. While there are many reasons that games don’t sell, I’m kind of puzzled by the fact that Wake got left behind. The game reviewed fairly well and was backed up by a decent marketing push, but it still barely managed to crack 100,000 copies.

Of course, one good reason could be Red Dead Redemption, which sold an outstanding 1,513,000 in May alone, more than ten fold what Alan Wake did. That sort of number boggles my mind, especially considering that it’s in the typical video game sales “dry season”. Big name games don’t usually sell that well until the end of the year, so kudos to Rockstar on once again proving that they know how to make damn fine games and sell them well. We can expect that number to go up again once the holiday season hits, so don’t be surprised if Red Dead ends up being one of the best selling titles of the year.

Despite Red Dead’s success over Alan Wake, Microsoft has still maintained that it is interested in ongoing downloadable content for the game, something that could help boost sales and even get us a sequel. One game that isn’t going to be coming back, however, is Alpha Protocol. While the game was by no means terrible (Anthony had a good review for it), it didn’t sell enough for SEGA to justify a second showing. I guess the story that May tells is that new IPs are still a very tough sell in the industry, despite the fact that core gamers clamor for new, original properties. Red Dead is more of a reboot than anything, but it’s still a successor to a previous game with a similar name.

What do you guys think of May’s somber news? Are you thrilled for Red Dead or sad for Alan Wake and Alpha Protocol?

Source(s): 1up and VG247.com

Head to Head: Co-Op or Versus

I think one of the most interesting discussions in gaming right now is the idea of what’s more essential in terms of a multiplayer experience.

For years, co-op was the name of the game, with game studios offering chances for us to play through things with two players on our old school consoles. However, that eventually gave way to the rise of the versus mode through PC gaming, which then bled almost a decade later to the consoles. Now, we’re seeing a renaissance of sorts, with co-operative play coming back to the forefront of many AAA games. In fact, if there’s a multiplayer component, co-operative play is almost expected these days, where it wasn’t before.

For me, I think co-op is the more essential experience, but I know that others feel differently. Over this weekend, in fact, I’ve played several bouts of co-op in both Uncharted 2 and Bad Company 2, and had much more fun than I have in deathmatch modes for most games.

So I’ve put together a poll for you guys. Let the answers do battle!

What is the better multiplayer experience?

View Results

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GamerSushi Review: Alpha Protocol

Choices. Choices never change. Wait, wrong game.

Alpha Protocol is a game that was delayed and bashed, even by someone who worked on the game, who stated that it should have been canceled. All this led some to believe that the game was an unfinished, buggy mess, but I find this not to be the case at all. Well, mostly.

Alpha Protocol touts itself as an “espionage-RPG” set in the modern world and dealing with modern conflicts, such as terrorism. You play as Michael Thornton and can choose one of several backgrounds to begin with, ranging from former desk jockey at the Justice department to an assassin that doesn’t really exist. The decision results mainly in what areas your character is already leveled up in, such as Stealth or Assault Rifles, although a few NPCs may make a reference to your past, depending on which choice you made. A nice touch, I thought. I personally chose a blank slate so as to have better control over my character’s development.
Continue reading GamerSushi Review: Alpha Protocol

Games as Art: Looking Back at MGS 2

Metal Gear Solid 2Metal Gear Solid 2 is a game that gets quite a bit of flack from some of the gaming community. The MGS fan kingdom seems to be split down two camps of people that have opposing feelings for the sequel to the hit PS1 game. Personally, I fall into the group of people that generally dislikes MGS2. I remember being so excited for its release, especially after playing the demo that came packaged with Zone of the Enders. I loved the first game’s comic book Die Hard feel, but the sequel just got much too campy, and Raiden was nowhere near as good of a hero as the beloved Solid Snake, in my opinion.

Some years ago, the Delta Head Translation Group published a formal analysis of Metal Gear Solid 2, which is one of the most fascinating pieces of writing I’ve ever read on a video game. It breaks down some of the meta-narrative of MGS2, and what the game might have actually been designed for: to leave the player feeling frustrated. Agree with it or not, it actually gives a really enlightening look at the game, and might even give you pause about your assumptions.

I was reminded of this article because I got into a discussion with JJ about Roger Ebert recently backtracking on his “games can never be art” infamy; he now says that some day they might be. JJ and I got on a tangent about it being hard for something to be fun, artistic, emotional and medium-transcending all at once. I was arguing that fun might not necessarily be a requirement for video games to be art- after all, is watching Schlinder’s List “fun”? In the MGS2 article, the author argues that perhaps the game was designed to make you feel the way it did, and not designed with a fun-factor in mind. If this is truly the case, then perhaps MGS2, as flawed as it is, might be a video game that approaches that territory, where games are turned on their head and go beyond the medium? Portal is probably one of the best examples of a game that deconstructs gaming yet manages to be entertaining and well made.

Anyway, all that mumbo-jumbo aside, you should definitely check out the article, it’s long, but worth the thoughts it gives on what games are supposed to make you feel. And while you’re at it, feel free to weight in on the “games as art” discussion.

Source- Delta Head Translation Group and Roger Ebert

InFamous 2 Gameplay Trailer is a Whirlwind of Excitement

It’s no secret that I really enjoyed the first inFamous, it just had a nice feel to it that you don’t get with a lot of open-world games these days. Sure, it was a little rough around the edges, but it won me over enough to play it through two times to experience the game from both sides of the morality coin. Since Sucker Punch is hard at work on a sequel, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for anything that pertains to the game, so this new gameplay trailer fits the bill just right. There’s plenty of neat stuff in here, including some very cinematic close-quarters combat, so take a look and tell me what you think.

The game itself is looking pretty hot, but I’m still not sold on Cole’s redesign. I think the voice is the most jarring change, and I don’t know if replacing the old gravelly-voiced Cole with the new one will be favorably received. What do you guys think? Ready to ride the lightning once more?

Review: Transformers: War for Cybertron

transformers war for cybertron review

There are some licensed properties that cry out for a decent video game adaption, and one of those is Transformers. When the basic premise is “giant robots beating the crap out of each other” you really have to try hard to mess that up. So far this generation, we’ve had two less than stellar attempts to cash in on the giant-bot franchise, and both of those fell flat (though that may have something to do with them being movie tie-ins). Now, High Moon Studios, the company responsible for the moderately-successful Bourne game, has gotten behind the wheel and is trying to steer Transformers in a better direction. Does the game deliver the goods, or does it perish in a Michael Bay-style explosion?
Continue reading Review: Transformers: War for Cybertron