Category: Gaming Theory

The Outstanding Gaming Mysteries of 2011

Half Life 2 Episode 3

Let’s face it. We already know a whole lot of what to expect about 2011. We already know that we’re getting two badass new handheld systems in the 3DS and NGP. We also know that we could potentially have a Game of the Year contender by April when Portal 2 comes out, and that Uncharted 3 and Mass Effect 3 will be easy contenders on their release dates as well.

But there are still a handful of things that we don’t know. Mysteries, as it were. GamesRadar was kind enough to put together a list of the 12 biggest gaming mysteries that they hope to see answers for in 2011. These mysteries include but aren’t limited to: Tali’s face, the release of HL2 Episode 3 and a window for the next generation consoles.

There’s a bit more to it than those few I named, so I’d recommend checking it out yourself. Personally, the biggest thing I want to know in 2011 is the console question. I love the stride that this generation has hit on all fronts, and hope to see it continue for quite some time. I don’t want the will-they-or-won’t-they question hanging over us for several more years. I just want someone to say the consoles won’t come until 2015 and then we can all move on and enjoy our games.

So what about you guys? What are your biggest gaming questions for 2011, both in terms of untold stories in games or the industry at large? Go!

Source – GamesRadar

Game Dev Story and Addictive Gaming

Game Dev Story

One of the things about portable gaming that always kept me at arms length was its long term accessibility. It’s cool to be able to play something on the DS or iPhone for a few minutes here and there, but I never imagined that I would sit down for a few hours straight in order to play something. Recently, that notion has been challenged by 999, which I’ve posted about a couple of times. However, another addictive game ruined my life this week in the form of Game Dev Story for the iPhone.

If you’re unaware, Game Dev Story is like playing Roller Coaster Tycoon, but with a video game development studio. You create games, hire staff, manage advertising and try pump up your sales and profits. You learn new genres, get bigger offices and can even make your own console eventually. The goal is to run the company for 20 years, and make great games in the process. It’s quirky, fun, easy to play and as I said before, crazy addictive. So far, my biggest hits have been a card game called Cardville as well as my RPG titled Loot World.

I downloaded the game on Monday and have been playing it several hours each day since. I never thought I would be that into an iPhone game, but it seriously has me itching to play more all the time, made worse by the fact that I physically can grab my phone and play whenever I want.

Have any of you heard of this game or played it? What’s the most addictive game you’ve played recently?

GamerSushi Poll: Sony’s NGP vs Nintendo’s 3DS

In a huge move last night, Sony announced the Next Generation Portable (nee NGP or PSP2) and hot damn, does it look impressive. It has two analog sticks, a touch-sensitive OLED screen, two touch pads on the back of the device, and it can render PlayStation 3 games in real time (like Metal Gear Solid 4’s cutscenes running at a steady 20 frames per second). It also ditches the clunky old UMD format and adopts a sexy new flash-based card which allows developers to pack more punch in their games.

Additionally, Sony confirmed that a long list of studios have already queued up to produce games for the NGP. They also revealed that some big name franchises will make an apperance on the portable such as Uncharted, Killzone and Metal Gear Solid, to name a few.

Sony came out in a big way last night, and it looks like they’re attempting to break the portable gaming market by shoving everything they can into their device. While price hasn’t been confirmed, speculation points to it being more than the 3DS. Since Sony is going all out with this device, how is Nintendo’s 3DS going to fare? As we’re so considerate, we made a poll for you guys to vote on. So, go ahead: which platform are you rooting for: Sony’s NGP or Nintendo’s 3DS?

Which Portable Gaming Device Will Come Out Ahead?

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As always, if you have any thoughts please write them in the comments section below. Fight!

Direct2Drive Introduces PC Gaming Rentals

Direct2DriveOne of the downsides to PC gaming (and one of the defenses that some PC gamers use for piracy) has always been the lack of ability to rent the games that we are the most interested in. Sure, there are demos available, but we all know that demos don’t necessarily showcase a game in the best way possible. But what if you could rent PC games, and do it legally?

That’s the very question that Direct2Drive, also known as D2D, addresses in a new announcement: beginning today, they are offering a PC gaming rental service. Basically, you pay $5.00 to download a game to your hard drive. You get 5 hours of playing time. If you decide you want to keep it, the $5.00 goes toward the full purchase.

Honestly, getting the money toward your purchase makes this an even better deal than traditional video game rentals. While they’re only offering a handful of games at the moment (Silent Hill: Homecoming, Grid and Divinity II), this is definitely something to keep an eye on. I’d love to see this service expanded into something even bigger and better. It should also be noted that OnLive offers PC rentals, but that is via streaming, as opposed to downloading and playing the game directly.

So, what do you guys think of this? Cool? Uncool?

Source – D2D

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 16: Sweet 16

For some reason, all of you crazies keep coming back to listen to our podcasts. And for some reason, we keep getting together on Skype to record them without killing one another. Basically, everybody wins.

We celebrate the sixteenth edition of the GamerSushi Show by waxing not-so-philosophically about a variety of topics. These include our manly Valve love, the Nintendo 3DS, Final Fantasy XIII-2, and then some. Nick also drops in with another one of his games, Percentages, and I think there are some hilarious results that come out of that conversation. I may have broken the podcast a couple of more times in this episode, for which you’ll have to forgive me. Lord knows I’m having a hard enough time forgiving myself (not really).

Anyway, check it out, and be sure to rate the podcast on iTunes. Many thanks to those of you who already have done so. You’re our favorites. Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 16: Sweet 16

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Tuesday Demo Overload With Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm

Crysis 2 demo

Today is a big day for EA Games as they not only drop Dead Space 2 on us, but also unleash the multiplayer demo for Crysis 2 on the Xbox 360 and Bulletstorm on both consoles (no PC, sorry fellas). Since there’s really not much else going on in the world of gaming (and I’ve got a lot of free time) I decided to check out both demos and report on them for you. Ain’t I thoughtful?

The first one that I tried was the multiplayer demo for Cyrsis 2. I played a lot of the original on the PC, including some very fun stints in the multiplayer mode. While the original version emphasized large-scale maps with vehicles a la Battlefield, the sequel drops you into small arenas like those found in Call of Duty. Both teams are equipped with the series’ iconic Nanosuit and there are several load-outs to choose from, unlocked via ranking up through the in-game progression system.

Gameplay wise, it’s exactly as I imagined Crysis would be if I played it with a gamepad as opposed to a mouse and keyboard system. As an old-school PC guy, the mouse and keyboard set up is far superior for fast-paced gameplay, so I ended up with more deaths than kills. Watching everyone else use their suit powers to leap around the map and absorb bullets was pretty wicked though, and the game definitely looks gorgeous. Crysis 2 on the 360 doesn’t look anything like the videos parading around on the Internet, but it is one of the better looking game I’ve played in recent memory. Suffice it to say that, while it was fun, I’d much prefer to get it on the PC come release day. One thing that did irk me about the graphics is that the level I was playing on, Skyline, features a lot of brown textures, and the opposing team was decked out in brown colored Nanosuits. Seeing as my team was wearing white, this struck me as a little unbalanced. Hit the jump for my thoughts on Bulletstorm! Continue reading Tuesday Demo Overload With Crysis 2 and Bulletstorm

LA Noire Gets a Gritty Trailer and an Equally Gritty Release Date

For a game that was stuck in development hell for years, Team Bondi’s upcoming 1940’s crime thriller LA Noire has certainly shot out of the gate in the past few months, stunning us with its detailed character animation and the technology that powers it. Despite the fact that it’s been flitting on and off the radar screen for a while, we now have a hard target set for the release date: May 17 (May 20 in Europe), to be exact. To celebrate, LA Noire publisher Rockstar has posted an all-new in-engine trailer for us to drool over:

Like Red Dead Redemption, I’m kind of going into this game blind, but that payed off for RDR as it was my favorite game of last year. I have no idea what the gameplay is like, who the characters are or what the plot is besides the fact that you’re tracking a serial killer, but since I’m an information sponge I might end up enjoying it more not knowing ever facet of the game. Anyone else got this on their must-buy list?

Portal 2 Has User Created Levels on All Platforms

Portal 2

The good news just keeps on rolling in from our good friends at Valve. As a console gamer, one of the things I envy PC gamers is the mods they get to play with. Well, Valve has a nice surprise in store for us because Portal 2 will, according to Chet Faliszek, have user levels available to play on all platforms. However, the actual tools to create the mods will be exclusive to the PC, which makes perfect sense.

Personally, this is pretty exciting news and hopefully the first step in a new gaming paradigm, where PC, 360 and PS3 gamers all can benefit from the creativity of their fellow gamers. I’m amazed by what I see people do on something like LittleBigPlanet and the chance to have some insane puzzles in Portal 2 from the addled minds of the masses makes me tingle in all the right spots.

What say you? Are you glad that Valve is pushing the industry in this direction? Would you want to see the mod tools brought over to the consoles in the future? Comments, plz!

Source: NowGamer

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors and 1 Flash Demo

999

This is just another quick post where I will recount the wonderful time I’ve had playing the Nintendo DS mystery/thriller game: 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, or 999 for short. There’s not much else to say about the visual horror novel other than what I’ve already said, except for the fact that if I had the chance to play this last year when it came out, it probably would have been in my top 5 easily.

Anyway, I know that not everyone has a Nintendo DS, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience at least a little of this little-known game for yourselves. You see, publisher Aksys Games is currently sporting a playable flash demo of 999 on their official website. It takes you through a little bit of the beginning of the game. Do yourself a favor and check it out if you love mysteries and awesome DS games.

Thoughts? Go!

Source – Aksys Games

What The Old Republic Needs to Do to Survive

As GamerSushi’s resident MMO player (that is to say, the person with the most experience), I believe it is my duty to try out BioWare’s upcoming Star Wars flavored offering, The Old Republic. While I don’t currently play any MMOs, I’ve made my history with that genre well known on this site, starting with Sony’s Star Wars Galaxies, then moving to World of Warcraft and trying City of Heroes and Champions Online in between.

Since I have such a breadth of knowledge about MMOs and what makes them tick, that means I’m well positioned to know that there are certain check-boxes that The Old Republic needs to cross off to be considered a “success” in this most competitive of arenas. While it isn’t going to unseat World of Warcraft, there are some very important features it needs to launch with in order to ensure that it lives past its first year. What are those things, you might be asking? Read on, and you’ll find out just what The Old Republic needs to do to stay afloat.
Continue reading What The Old Republic Needs to Do to Survive

Should Games Have More Irreversible Consequences?

Half Life 2

I am a notorious reset-er when it comes to facing the repercussions of my actions in games. This is most prevalent in sports titles, where I reload a save if I think I’m going to lose an important game in my season. This trait of mine also rears its nasty head in RPGs that require big, game-altering choices. While I don’t always reset the game, I’m prone to create several save files, all of which happen at big points in the story, so I can revisit them if I don’t like the outcome. I think I reloaded the Landsmeet in Dragon Age 3 or 4 times, just to choose the one I liked best.

One game where I tried to avoid this sickly habit was Heavy Rain. As the story featured several main characters, you could actually die right in the middle of the game and have the narrative continue, just from someone else’s eyes. Knowing that you could lose somebody you cared about at any moment made some of the mind-bending quick time events that much more intense. As a result, the experience of Heavy Rain was a long-lasting and fondly remembered one for me.

A recent article over at PopMatters about Irreversible Consequences in gaming really got me wondering if this is something that developers should try to achieve more often. Continue reading Should Games Have More Irreversible Consequences?

Nintendo 3DS Price and Launch Date Roundup

Nintendo 3DS launch date and priceThe handheld console that captured the hearts and minds of hardcore gamers last E3 is finally coming to North America and Europe. The Nintendo 3DS, the next iteration of the device that won’t stop selling, is hitting stores on March 27 and will run a whopping $249.99. For the starting price, you get quite a few extra goodies which are: a 2GB SD card, a charging cradle and six Augmented Reality cards. If you’re unclear on what an Augmented Reality (shortened to AR) card is, it’s a little expansion that plugs into your 3DS and overlays images on pictures captured through your 3DS’s camera, sort of like that Star Wars iPhone game we posted about a while back.

Besides a bunch of additional dongles, the 3DS also comes packaged with quite a bit of software out of the box. The aforementioned camera is used quite a bit with these features, like the AR games and Face Raiders, which consists of taking pictures of your friend’s faces and then shooting at them. Also included is the Mii Maker which uses the 3DS’s camera to construct your Mii, and the StreetPass Mii Plaza where you can meet other Miis (I’m going to be calling this the Miit Market). Also included is the ability to transfer purchased DSiWare games from 3DS to 3DS or from a DSi to a 3DS. This being Nintendo, there is a certain limit to what can be transfered, but that hasn’t been announced yet. There are additional services that will be implemented in the 3DS in the coming months like the Internet browser and the ability to watch 3D movies.

As we’ve said many times, the thing that moves consoles are games and the 3DS has no shortage of those, with an expected 30 titles to be available between its launch date and the next E3. Sadly, Ocarina of Time, Kid Icarus and Metal Gear Solid are not specified in that list, but hit the jump to find out what the games are set to coincide with the release date: Continue reading Nintendo 3DS Price and Launch Date Roundup

GamerSushi Asks: When Are You Finished with a Game?

Little Big Planet

December and January have been spectacular for me in terms of clearing out my gaming backlog. I’ve commented on it in posts before, but there’s something really satisfying about playing games and knocking more of them off the list, finally getting to experience games I’ve been dying to play.

Whenever I tackle gaming backlogs, I tend to shoot for low-hanging fruit first, unless there is some stellar title that I am just dying to play. This means I normally go for games that I hear are shorter (or easier) and won’t delay me as I try to move through the rest of the list. Playing through these is rather simple, since there’s a clear beginning and end to the experience. I tend to run into problems, though, when I get to games like the three I’m dealing with right now: NBA 2K11, Gran Turismo 5 and Little Big Planet 2.

As two of them are expanding sports titles with deep pools of gameplay and one is a charming (and really awesome) sandbox extravaganza, it’s going to be hard to determine when I’ve hit the “end” of those titles for me. I’m fairly certain I’ve had my fill of NBA 2K11, even though there are plenty of things in the game I’ve yet to sample, but I’m not sure.

So what do you guys think? How do you normally tackle these large games that never end? When do you finally set them aside for another game? Do you do it when you’ve sampled everything? When you’re tired of the game? Go!

Valve Confirms Cross Platform Support for Playstation 3 and PC Versions of Portal 2

Portal 2 PS3

This is the kind of news I’ve been waiting for. Since the announcement of Steam Cloud for the PS3 version of Portal 2, we’ve been speculating at length about what that could mean for PS3 users who purchase Valve’s next game in April. Would it mean a version of the game that covered PC and PS3? Would it mean cross platform support?

In a way, it means both. Valve has confirmed today that gamers that purchase the PS3 version of Portal 2 will not only get access to it on Sony’s everything machine – they will also receive a free copy to download through Steam on PC/Mac. This also means that both versions will support cross platform play between the two, as well as cross platform chat.

Here’s what Valve head cheese Gabe Newell has to say about it:

We made a promise to gamers at E3 that Portal 2 for the PlayStation 3 would be the best console version of the product… Working together with Sony we have identified a set of features we believe are very compelling to gamers. We hope to expand upon the foundation being laid in Portal 2 with more Steam features and functionality in DLC and future content releases.

I’ve been hoping for something like this from Valve for a long time, and I certainly would have enjoyed having this for Left 4 Dead back in the day. To me, it makes no sense to have to buy multiple versions of a game, especially when movie studios are packaging Blu-ray, DVD and digital copies of products together. As this doesn’t seem to include the 360 edition, this pretty much cements which version of the game I’m buying – PS3.

Source – VG247

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 15: Slunk!

It’s the first podcast of the new year! The year isn’t all that new anymore, but we finally got off our butts and chatted about video games. In this edition, we were careful to avoid recapping 2010 (again) and looking forward too far into 2011 (again), and instead just talked about what we’re playing and some stuff that’s been rattling around our mostly empty brains.

In order to achieve that ultimate state of full disclosure, I must say that we actually recorded this the week before last with the intention of releasing it last week, but stuff happens and we didn’t get to it. So, it’s new to you, and should get us back on our regularly scheduled podcast programming. I know you’ve just been dying to hear our nasally voices.

For some reason, I was either hyper or bored, and by the end of the podcast I was in a bit of a rare form. It’s the form that Daniel and Nick know best from when I goofed around on the set of WZ or in the making of Leet World. Since I haven’t listened to it just yet, I’m not sure if it’s been immortalized in podcast form. If it is, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Anywho, hope you guys enjoy, and be sure to rate the podcast on iTunes! Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 15: Slunk!

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Says Xbox Isn’t Just for Games

xbox 360 isn't a gaming machineWe’ve been grumbling and moaning around here since E3 of last year about the Xbox 360 and Microsoft’s seemingly all-in strategy with Kinect, but I think that we took solace in the fact that the 360 would remain a bastion for the hardcore in some respects even after Kinect sold 8 million copies this past holiday season. Our hopes may be in vain, however, as Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer recently spelled out the company’s long term plan in an interview with USA Today, citing how the Xbox 360 isn’t only made for playing the video games.

“Xbox isn’t a gaming console. Xbox is a family entertainment center. It’s a place to socialize. It’s a place to watch TV. We have Hulu coming. It’s the only system where you are the controller. Your voice, your gestures, your body.”

Mr. Ballmer goes on to say that while the Xbox has the 15 year old boy demographic nailed down, they’re searching for ways to expand beyond that, into the 15 year old girl and the middle aged market. Things like Kinect will go a long way towards that end, especially after the aforementioned sales bonanza which outstripped Microsoft’s own internal estimations. Sounds like the Xbox only does everything, right?
Continue reading Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Says Xbox Isn’t Just for Games

Today’s WTF: Your Mom Hates Dead Space 2

Oh, marketing departments, the bane of sophisticated gamers everywhere. It’s easier to make your product appeal to the lowest common denominator these days, but sometimes I have to wonder how these ad campaigns get pushed through. Take this recent bout of advertising for Dead Space 2 which features 200 mothers watching, and being horrified by, EA’s upcoming sci-fi thriller. Now, as a child of the 90s, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this type of advertising stunt before, probably for Soldier of Fortune or something. I’m sure that my mom would hate Dead Space 2, but would I make her watch it and upload my own reaction video to win a custom PS3? Probably. Here’s the shameful behind the scenes video.

So, any opinions on EA’s attempt to bring Dead Space 2 down to the level of common grade schlock? Any thoughts on months and months of hard work invalidated in order to appeal to 12 year olds?

Epic Mickey Sells 1.3 Million Copies

Epic Mickey

The Wii is considered Casual Central by most hardcore gamers and industry insiders. With the exception of whatever games that Nintendo publishes, most hardcore games languish and die on the Wii, while plenty of sub-par shovelware flourishes, much to our chagrin. Before its release, I had pegged Epic Mickey as a game that would be the metaphorical canary in a coal mine regarding the ability of the Wii to have success with non-Nintendo hardcore games.

The result, to my great surprise, is that the canary lived. According to the L.A. Times, who unlike us, has access to NPD data still, Warren Spector’s camera-challenged adventure/platformer sold 1.3 million units. Frankly, I’m stunned and a little bit annoyed. Epic Mickey got mixed reviews, though with a 72 Metacritic score, they are mostly positive. Having reviewed it for GamerSushi and finding it to be severely lacking, I am frustrated that a game that, in my opinion, doesn’t deserve this kind of success finds it on the Wii, while other, more deserving games fail.

What do you think about this? Are you surprised at all? Does this validate the Wii’s hardcore credentials for you or is the jury still out?
Verdict?

Source: L.A. Times

NBC’s Life Trolls Video Gamers

There’s a video making its rounds on the Internet right now from a TV show called “Life”, a police procedural about a detective who was sent to jail for a crime he didn’t commit, that centers around an incredibly off-base interpretation of Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones and video games in general. While the video shows many falsehoods based around the game itself, perhaps the most egregious offense it makes is the depiction of gamers as 30-somethings who live with their moms and have Captain Kirk outfits. Seriously, watch this and try not to have an aneurysm.

Have you ever owned a game so hard it spits out spreadsheets of your drug deals? I know I haven’t. I know this is a TV show, but come on people, there’s no way you could get away with being this off base with anything else besides video games. If you want to see a blow-by-blow of what Life did wrong, check out the post on Geekosystem, where the author clearly had a bit of nerd-rage. Any opinion on this most egregious interpretation of our hobby? It’s almost as insulting as the Video Game Awards. Fire away!

GamerSushi Asks: Ideal Collector’s Editions?

Super Mario 25th Anniversary

Nintendo won over the fanboys with their 25th Anniversary Edition of Super Mario All-Stars for the Wii. Well, not all of them. As seen in this 1UP article, Nintendo screwed up royally by porting the games over with a bare minimum of extra content. Don’t get me wrong: the CD and booklet were pretty cool, but one track from each Mario game, usually the track of the first level? Not exactly what I thought I was getting.

Which leads me to wonder, as the article does, of what publishers could throw in to special editions of games to make them more worthwhile. The fabled Developer’s Commentary is always a favorite that people clamor for, but is oddly rare. Lost levels, playable ones even, would be kind of cool.

What would you like to see in collector’s editions? Do you think Nintendo missed a great opportunity here or are you happy with what they provided? Speak now!

Source: 1UP