Category: Gaming Theory

Proof That the Dance Command Can Go With Anything

Blizzard sure loves to slip little jokes into their games, and StarCraft 2 is no exception. I’m making my way through the campaign at the moment and I’ve already spotted a few, such as the Night Elf dancing in the cantina and the Metroid cameo. One of Blizzard’s other successful games, World of Warcraft (you may have heard of it) features a fun little command called /dance where you can make your in-game avatar do a few slick moves depending on your species. Looks like the company’s sci-fi RTS isn’t immune either. The marines are jacked up and good to go, and some user captured them doing their routine:

Pretty hilarious, and very in keeping with Blizzard’s sense of humor. Like I mentioned, I’m making my way through the single-player game and I’m finding it solid so far, even if the mission designs are a little vanilla. How about you guys? What’s your StarCraft experience like so far?

Halo: Reach Campaign Trailer Debuts

Your resident Halo fanboy is back, this time with the campaign trailer for Bungie Studio’s upcoming Halo swan song, Halo: Reach. You can debate whether this game is actually the most anticipated title of 2010 (please don’t), but there’s no denying that the excitement for Reach is building to a fevered pitch. With Firefight 2.0, Forge World and a swath of player customization options, it looks like Bungie’s last Halo game will be very fine indeed. Check out the trailer below:

Very nice in my opinion, if a little reminiscent of Modern Warfare 2 in some parts. Like all of Bungie’s trailers, this stuff is all in engine, and damn if it doesn’t look sublime. What do you guys think? Any more excited, or are you like me, veritably bursting at the seams with apprehension?

Red Dead Redemption’s Soundtrack is as Authentic as it is Beautiful

One of the stand-out things in Red Dead Redemption is, for me, the incredible soundtrack. Invoking the classic feel of Western films and composers, Rockstar’s latest opus had an incredibly nuanced creation process involving the use of several antiquated instruments and a unique method of composition. While “Far Away” by Jose Gonzales is the stand-out track in the game, the rest of the score is no less moving or powerful. Rockstar put out a video detailing the process, and it’s an informative watch.

I found that really cool, especially how the composers layered the “strands” on top of one another depending on what the player was doing. I enjoyed the ambient music in Mexico myself. What about you guys?

Top Six: Achievement Types I Never Want to See Again

Love them or hate them, Achievements (and Trophies) have become prevalent in our gaming lives, starting with the Xbox 360 and creeping over to the PS3 and the PC. While it has been a few years since the introduction of Gamerscore and e-peens, very few developers seem to grasp the point of Achievements, and there are a few out there in the wild that have caused an undue amount of frustration for many a gamer. We all know the ones, the few that makes us tear our hair out or have us stay up until three in the morning trying to earn something that isn’t real…but is. Here’s a list of six examples that I think should be removed from gaming forever: Continue reading Top Six: Achievement Types I Never Want to See Again

A Wishlist for Elder Scrolls V

Elder Scrolls 4I have recounted my experience with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on many articles and comments on this site, as well as our renowned GamerSushi podcast. It was the first game I played on my XBox 360, and I was blown away with my first foray into the realm of HD gaming. Seeing the wide open world, the detail and the nice RPG mechanics was enough to make a nerd like me sweat, and I was in heaven. I did small bits of the main game, but I mostly spent the 30-40 hours of it I played robbing people’s houses. I’m a bit of a klepto at heart, it seems.

Anyway, Oblivion was much loved by many gamers, so naturally, Elder Scrolls V is high on the list for most anticipated sequels. While the last game was great, there are going to be a few things that people are hoping for in the next entry. That’s why GamesRadar has come up with a wishlist for Elder Scrolls V. I have to say, they make a few good points, including a bigger pool of NPC characters and voice actors, a better encumbrance system and a better scaling system for monsters.

That last one I definitely agree with. I’ve never been a huge fan of RPG’s where the monsters level up with you — it sort of defeats the whole purpose of leveling up, yes? Anyway, if you’re an Oblivion nut, I’d highly recommend checking out the article.

What’s on your wishlist for Elder Scrolls V? What do you think of this list? Go!

Source – GamesRadar

StarCraft 2 Finally Launches Today

Today is the day we’ve been waiting for since what feels like forever; the day that Blizzard deigns to grace us with the most hotly anticipated Real-Time-Strategy game in recent memory, StarCraft 2. Well, to be accurate, the first part of the StarCraft 2 trilogy, the Terran-centric Wings of Liberty campaign. I won’t split hairs though, because this is a monumental occasion for gamers of all types. More than any other game I know, StarCraft has a fervent legion of followers; even self-professed “non-gamer” friends of mine have been looking forward to this. Now that the game is finally out, how many of you are playing, and how many of you are waiting patiently for your copy to download? In celebration, check out the beautiful Ghosts of the Past trailer:

So, what’s your first stop: campaign or multiplayer?

GamerSushi Asks: Reviewing Free Games?

Alien SwarmAs you’re all probably aware, most of the GamerSushi staff are in the throes of Alien Swarm addiction. The game is really engaging, and it manages to wedge itself nicely into the niche left in my gaming life by Diablo 2. Valve was even kind enough to give it to us for free, and judging by how their servers got the crap beat out of them on its release day, they’re probably kicking themselves for not charging at least five dollars for the thing.

Even though we all love Alien Swarm, it’s not a perfect game. There are a few issues I’ve had with it, but my mind keeps glossing them over because of the price tag (or lack thereof). So I pose this question to you guys: can you even review free games? Price is definitely something that has affected the perception of past titles (ODST comes to mind), so will something that only costs us hard drive space be given an automatic pass in the grading department?

Something else I’d like you to consider is DLC. I’ve played all of the Mass Effect 2 content packs, and, when stacked against ME2 proper, they come up very poorly. Even Overlord, the most recent and best of the DLC, is kind of lack-luster compared to the main game and its selling price. Can DLC be rated on its own merits, or does it have to take the larger picture into account?

GamerSushi Asks: Engrossing Gaming?

ArnoldMy goal this weekend was to play lots of Alan Wake. And until today, I had not achieved it. As I am wont to do, I was distracted by any number of things over the weekend. You know how it goes: wives, martial arts, fantasy books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, bike rides, saving the world… That kind of stuff tends to get in the way of the most well intentioned gaming.

However, today I finally sat down with Alan Wake and managed to knock out 3 and a half chapters (out of six) in one 4 hour sitting. While I’m not going to rave about the game and say it was the greatest thing anyone has ever played ever, there’s certainly something to be said about how engrossed and entertained I was. The fact that I sat there for 4 hours straight is a pretty big deal.

The more I thought about it, I’ve actually done that a handful of times in the last year, thanks to other great single player stories like Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain and of course Red Dead Redemption. It made me curious to ask you guys what some of the most engrossing single player games you’ve played in recent memory? What really captured your attention and kept you glued to your seat? Go!

Bungie Introduces Forge World for Halo: Reach

If you listened to the totally sweet new podcast, then you’ll know that we geeked out for awhile about mods and how awesome the gaming community is at creating cool new content for our most beloved games. While this mostly happens on PC, one of the primary examples of this done well on a console is the variety of custom content produced by Halo 3’s avid Forge community. Even years later, they are still pumping out cool new game types that are totally worth playing.

Which is why Bungie has kicked it up a notch for Halo: Reach with the introduction of Forge World. There’s not really a whole lot I can say about this other than implore you to watch. Because seriously, wow… I am so excited about the possibilities that the team at Bungie is creating for this. The fact that they are even shipping some maps built in Forge World to show what all it can do is sure to inspire.

Who else just got even more excited for Halo: Reach because of this video?

GamerSushi Asks: What Are You Playing?

Alan WakeWell, you’ve listened to us yap about what we’re playing on the podcast, so it’s time for you all to jump in with it, too.

Fortunately for me, we seem to be in a very brief gaming drought, while we wait for the fall releases to start dropping on us. I suppose this begins in September with Halo: Reach, so that gives me a good couple of months to catch up with some of the games on my backlog. These include Alpha Protocol, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Starcraft II (when it comes out), Dragon Age: Awakening, and even more Red Dead Redemption.

However, in the immediate future I will be playing both Alien Swarm and Alan Wake, two games that are polar opposites in terms of budget, scale and style, but both equally as engaging, I’m sure. While I haven’t officially started Alan Wake just yet, I watched my brother play about a quarter of the game a couple of weekends ago and I was mesmerized. In addition, Alien Swarm has commanded the last couple of nights, and I still can’t get over just how fun this free game is.

So what about you guys? What are you playing? Go!

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 6: Fresh Coat of Free

Alien SwarmIt’s really hard to believe that we’re now on podcast number 6, but we’re back this week with a brand new edition The GamerSushi Show, ready for your ears and scrutiny. You’ll notice a couple of things that are different in this episode, namely the awesome new theme song that Jace Ford wrote for us, which to me is absolutely perfect. Anyone that speaks against it will face the back of my hand. Also, Anthony was sick so he couldn’t make this week, and his absence was definitely felt, but he’ll be back for the next one.

In this episode, we cover a variety of topics as always, which may or may not include the death of 1 vs 100, remakes of old games and Alien Swarm. Apparently when we recorded this, the phrases “fresh coat of paint” and “free” became our favorite words ever, because we say them no less than a million times each during the course of it. Seriously, if you are of drinking age, you should play a drinking game that revolves around each time we say either of those things. You will get plastered.

Anyway, as we requested last time, you should definitely go rate the podcast on iTunes if you haven’t done so already. Enjoy!
Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 6: Fresh Coat of Free

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What Issues Should Gamers Drop?

Halo: ReachWe gamers can tend to be a finicky bunch. We are armed with intelligence, a bit of free time, and a huge passion over a hobby/lifestyle that we feel terribly protective of. Naturally this is going to lead to a few scraps here and there, things that gamers don’t always see eye to eye on, whether that is with other gamers or the industry at large.

But how many of the battles we fight are really worth arguing about because they are legitimate issues, and which ones do we actually need to drop? Last week, Koku Gamer posted a slightly tongue-in-cheek yet interesting article bemoaning 5 things gamers need to get over. In my mind, it’s actually spot on, and I’m saying that as somebody who has griped about one or two of the things present.

Hit the jump to see the list! Continue reading What Issues Should Gamers Drop?

Rumor: Mysterious Video Points to Modern Warfare 2 Subscription Plan?

On the internet, everything must be taken with a grain of salt, which is why Wikipedia is no longer a valid source for information when writing a paper for school. Simply put, there are too many untrustworthy people who are much, much smarter than the vast majority of us, and they use their talents to disguise erroneous facts as the truth. This video, though, seems to be pretty legitimate to me. Apparently an X-Box LIVE user attempted to connect to a friend’s game, only to be bounced to a Marketplace page that announced that a Membership plan was necessary, but not available yet. Take a look at the video and decide for yourself.

The top of the screen clearly has the beginning of “membership” before it is cut off by the size limitation. What do you guys think? Will Modern Warfare 2 follow a WoW-based route, or is this for something different? Treat this as a rumor for now until we have official word from Activision. It wouldn’t surprise me, though.

Chrono Cross Game Blog Part 0: Chrono Trigger Recap

Before I get fully invested in Chrono Cross and start this gameblog off properly, I thought it would be helpful if I gave a little background in what Chrono Cross and it’s predecessor, Chrono Trigger. You see, Chrono Cross was made pretty much to tie up the ONLY loose end from Chrono Trigger. CT managed to weave a fairly tight story, leaving only thing incomplete. What is that thing? Read on to find out.

Chrono Trigger was the story of a boy named Crono, who lived in the kingdom of Guardia in the year 1000 A.D. His friend Lucca, an inventor (of course) and a spunky princess (is there any other kind these days) also hail from that time period. Through a malfunction of Lucca’s latest invention, the trio find themselves moving back and forth through time.

They venture to the Middle Ages, which is in 600 A.D. and meet Frog, a swordsman transformed into a human-sized frog by a dark wizard named Magus. Then, they go forward in the future to 2300 A.D., where the world is a bleak wasteland. There, they discover that in 1999, Lavos, a parasitic monster, emerged from beneath the ground and rendered the planet a lifeless husk. Depressing, right?
Continue reading Chrono Cross Game Blog Part 0: Chrono Trigger Recap

Poll: What is Your Current Game of the Year?

We’re on the precipice of the holiday gaming rush with Halo: Reach leading the charge in about two months, so I thought I would whip up a quick poll and find out what your current favorite for 2010 is. We’ve had a really excellent first half of the year, and just making this poll made my brain light afire with all the great experiences I’ve had so far. Whether I was pressing X to “Jaaason” or rising my horse across the dusty wasteland, 2010 has given me some of the most outstanding gaming moments of recent memory, and if the fall is any indication, the hits are going to keep on coming. Take a look at the options below, and let your opinion be known!

What Is Your Current Game of the Year?

View Results

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Peter Molyneux Bemoans Fable 2’s Development

Fable 3Fable 2 was OK, for the most part, but it wasn’t perfect. Like all games helmed  by Peter Molyneux, it over-promised and under-delivered. That’s not a shot against the long-time developer, but it’s a sad fact that most ambitious projects get crushed down by the harsh realities of development. The difference with Fable 2, though, was the astounding number of bugs that had to be squashed before the game game out. According to a recent interview, some 67,000 bugs were present in Fable 2’s code at one time, necessitating a rating of “super-black” by the Microsoft quality assurance team. Judging from the interview, games are rated on a sort of “threat assessment” scale, with “super-black” being a very scary area.

Eventually, Lionhead Studios got the bugs under control and the game shipped to above average reviews and sales. Molyneux still wasn’t happy with the finished product, conceding that there were “huge design flaws” in Fable 2 (what those were, he did not specify. How about farting until someone married you?).  Fable 3 is apparently facing a tough time as well, breaking its predecessor’s record for most bugs present in a Microsoft first-party title. While the exact number wasn’t mentioned, it is a known fact that Fable 3 has more coding errors than Fable 2, and the team at Lionhead are working very long hours to get it under control for a fall release.  Molyneux maintains that this is endemic to the industry as a whole, and reading post-development breakdowns of games like Uncharted 2 would reveal similar problems.

What do you guys think of Molyneux’s statement? As gamers, I think we’ve all come to accept the reality of bugs and glitches, but 67,000 is quite the staggering number. Does this change your perception of Fable 3?

Source: 1up via VG247.com and GamesIndustry.biz

Microsoft Declares 1 vs. 100 To Be The Weakest Link

1 vs 1001 vs. 100 was a beast of a different kind, something that we don’t get to experience all that often. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this bold product, 1 vs. 100 was an X-Box LIVE game show based on a TV program of the same name where “The One” would compete against “The Mob” for prizes. As far as LIVE offerings went, it was very original and quite outside of the normal offerings on consoles.

As well received as 1 vs. 100 was, Microsoft has unfortunately decided to pull the plug on that particular endeavor, meaning that the quiz game will not be returning for a third season. When asked about the cancellation, Microsoft Game Studio’s General Manager Dave McCartney stated the he was very proud of the team backing up the game, and was excited to see what could come in the future due to what they’ve learned from the process.

This is kind of a shame, consider that I never got to try it, and I continuously hear from some other GamerSushi staff members how much they enjoyed playing it. What do you guys think of this turn of events? Is 1 vs. 100 gone forever, or can we expect a Kinect re-launch under a different name?

Update: Kotaku posted a farewell letter from the 1 vs. 100 team, as well as a link to some insight as to why the game went under.

Source: VG247.com

Poll: What Kind of Gamer Are You?

In a recent and totally sweet podcast, Nick made the comment that most of our users were probably PC gamers. I’ve always thought this as well, mainly considering that our news posts that get the most comments are often about PC games, and the fact that many of you came over due to an affinity for The Leet World, created in Source. But we’ve never really asked, we’ve only assumed. And you know what they say about assumptions.

Anyway, I wanted to do a poll to figure out if you guys actually are PC gamers, console gamers, or if you consider yourselves a mixture of both. This isn’t a question about what’s better, so no flame wars, folks, but feel free to state your preferences in the comments as well. I used to consider myself a mixture of the two, but have recently been leaning more towards consoles. However, the release of Starcraft II and a future upgrade to my PC are probably going to push me back to being a mixture.

So how about you guys? Vote away!

What kind of gamer are you?

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Would You Rather: RPG Edition!

It’s been some time since we’ve done the Would You Rather game here at GamerSushi, so I thought it would be best to unveil one, this time with a theme: Role Playing Games! We’ll probably do one of these for different genres in the next few weeks, and I’m particularly excited about some of the answers you guys will no doubt unleash upon us.

In Would You Rather, I simply ask a series of questions, and you follow up with your answers. Give as much or as little explanation as you want for your choices, but we all know that we like to see the reasoning behind the madness.

Don’t let your answers suck, though. Your punishment will be to sit and watch Anthony play through each Final Fantasy game. He’ll do it, too, just to be a stickler.

Continue reading Would You Rather: RPG Edition!

GameStop Laments the Second-Hand Sales Business

gamestopIt’s no secret that GameStop does some serious business with its used-game sales racket; even in an industry that is seeing a steady decline in this rough economy, the sales giant is actually seeing a profit spike. Normally people don’t like to choke the golden goose, but recently a GameStop “spokesperson” named Niall Lawlor spoke very candidly about the company’s stance on its lucrative practice.

“We discovered the used business was a way of preserving our margins,” Lawlor said. “We don’t like being in the used business, it’s very difficult to manage. If we hadn’t got the used business, we wouldn’t be there.”

That’s sort of an odd position for a GameStop spokesperson to take, isn’t it? For a company that single-handedly started the trade-in scheme, bemoaning the method by which you pull in ridiculous amounts of cash is a little strange. GameStop quickly tried to stem the comments by maintaining that Lawlor was an impostor, but that would be kind of hard to pull off at an industry event. What do you guys think? Any opinion on this strange bit of news?

Source: 1up via GamesIndustry.biz and Kotaku