Category: PC

The Generation’s Biggest Flops and Fails

Red Ring of Death

Every generation has its own ups and downs. Each console and PC era is like a little roller coaster ride full of great games and disappointing ones. Ideally, with each new generation we’d see the peaks get higher and higher, but it only makes sense, then, that the drops would be lower and perhaps more full of fail.

That’s why GamesRadar has put together a list of the Top 13 Failures of this Generation, and it is a sad but mostly true account of the more head-turning moments of the last few years. Obviously, it’s got to have the dreaded Red Ring of Death on it, as well as APB, the failed MMO. Of course, the list was also going to need to touch on the Wii’s horrid online play, and the lack of all the promised console MMOs, each one biting the dust in turn. I wouldn’t have included Alpha Protocol on the list, but then again, I didn’t realize it had been in development for 5 years.

What really surprised me actually is just how many of the fails on here come from the XBox 360 (faceplates, the hard drives with only half the space, Too Human, etc.), but really it shouldn’t have caught me off guard. Microsoft had a ridiculously rough start, and one only wonders if they’re repeating themselves with Kinect. One other addition I would make would be DRM attempts for PC games.

So what do you guys think? What would you consider to be the biggest failures of the last few years, on both console and PC? Do you agree/disagree with anything on the list in particular?

Source – GamesRadar

Pirate Witcher 2 and Pay a Fine

Witcher 2 anti-piracySo, Witcher 2 is coming out soon. If you’re thinking of pirating it to save a few pennies, think again, because CD Projekt, the developers of Witcher 2 and owners of GOG.com, have a nasty surprise for you. Apparently the European company is tired of people snatching their games off of torrents (an presumably through windows as well), so they’ve teamed up with some big law firms to bring the full might of the court against PC pirates.

The game, which is set to launch in March of 2011, will be DRM-free from the outset, allowing legitimate purchasers to install the game as many times as they want on any PC. For those out there who choose less-than-legal methods to obtain their game, they should expect a cease-and-desist letter from one of the firms that have teamed up with CD Projekt.

In case you are wondering, the way that a torrenter is tracked is by having the law firm send a request to the torrent sites to get a list of IP addresses that have used the site. From there it goes to the IP provider, who then needs to cough up the name of the end user. It’s a time consuming and imperfect process, as I’m sure we all remember the claims of fraud from the few who were persecuted by the music industry a while back for illegally downloading songs. Since there’s no actual way to prove that the IP owner was the one who downloaded the game, just that it was from their address, this has lead some to believe that this method of piracy protection is a violation of personal privacy.

While DRM methods are usually stringent and are a pain in the rear, this is the first time in my memory that a game company is standing ready to take legal action against pirates. What do you guys think of CD Projekt’s plan? Is it too heavy-handed, or is a trip to the district court just what the pirates deserve?

Source – Eurogamer

Rumor: Elder Scrolls V Is a Direct Sequel to Oblivion?

Elder Scrolls 4

Well, we’ve been waiting forever, and it seems that Bethesda’s addiction machine, I mean, Elder Scrolls, is gearing up for another entry into the long running franchise. That’s right, Eurogamer Denmark is reporting that Elder Scrolls V is well into production, and it’s so far along in fact that they’ll be doing voicework for the game over the next few weeks.

While the reporters that supposedly saw the game are sworn to secrecy through blood pacts (also called NDAs), there are a few things we know about the game. Namely, that it’s a direct sequel to Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, rather than a standalone tale set in the same universe. I know this should really excite fans of the last game, and I’m sure the idea of jumping right back into those events is going to encumber people with happiness like so many extra pieces of armor. Maybe I can try and actually finish this one instead of robbing houses for 35 hours.

I probably don’t even have to ask this, but is anyone else excited about this? What do you guys think a direct sequel to Oblivion could entail? Anything in particular you want to see in Elder Scrolls V?

Source – Eurogamer Denmark via Google Translate

Today’s WTF: Virtual MMO Real Estate SOLD for $335,000

Club Neverdie Entropia

Some people may have too much time on their hands. Some may have too much money. Some guys, like Jon Jacobs, have a little bit of both; or at least now he does. Jon Jacobs sold his in-game property for a whopping $335,000 dollars. The property was in the Swedish-made MMORPG Entropia Universe3, a game which looks like a clash of Second Life and Star Wars Galaxies where avatars can go around and do pretty much anything.

The property is one which Jacobs had been managing for over 5 years. Jacobs bought Club Neverdie in 2005, taking out a $100,000 mortgage on his home. The club sits on an asteroid around Entropia’s first planet, Planet Calypso. Club Neverdie hosts in-game shopping, clubbing with live DJs, hunting, real cash prizes and more. The thing about Entropia Universe is that it runs off a real cash economy, where players can buy in-game currency (PED – Project Entropia Dollars) with real money and then redeem it back into real world funds at a fixed exchange rate. Jacobs’ business brought him an annual income of around $200,000 a year, allowing him to live comfortably with his family. Pretty sweet set up – he even has his own theme song.

The sale of the property netted him just over half a million in cash, with the largest chunk being sold to an avatar named John Foma Kalun, who paid $335,000 for it. This tops the previous largest virtual transaction, which was the sale of the Crystal Palace Space Station for $330,000 back in 2009.

So who’s the guy who deals out $335,000 big ones for fake real estate? A man named Yan Panasjuk, who had this to say for himself… Continue reading Today’s WTF: Virtual MMO Real Estate SOLD for $335,000

The GamerSushi Show, Ep 11: Reducto

Harry Potter and the Deathly HallowsThe GamerSushi Show is back, and this time in a newer, more awesome format. You see, while we enjoyed all the podcasts of old, they were starting to become large and scary monsters. At 2 hours plus, it gets harder and harder to find the time to not only record, but also edit and get them ready for release. On top of that, we felt that every 2 weeks was not as fun for you guys. Ideally, weekly content is better.

So as a result, we decided to shorten the podcast down to 1 hour, and attempt to release it for you guys each and every week. This is much more manageable, and I think the product will be much better for it. It forces us to move from topic to topic, and doesn’t allow us to get too bogged down in one particular discussion.

In honor of this new format, and the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in theaters, I’ve titled this week’s edition “Reducto”. In it, you’ll find discussion about Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood, Fable III, a new game from Nick where we grade industry events (such as Diablo III heading to consoles) and a bit more. What stinks is there won’t actually be a follow-up next week because of the holidays, but you can expect one the week after.

Since I always ask, please go rate this cast on iTunes and subscribe with the handy links to the right. Enjoy! Continue reading The GamerSushi Show, Ep 11: Reducto

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Poll: What Would it Take For You to Play an MMO?

With The Old Republic on the horizon and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm just around the bend, it seems that the MMO train will keep rolling forward for years to come. Since WoW has established its dominance in that arena, there are many, many contenders trying to vie for your attention. At first, they tried to “out-WoW WoW” but that backfired.

Now publishers are realizing that you have to strike Warcraft where it’s weak, not by going toe-to-toe with it in its own domain. A lot of gimmicks have been thrown around to try and tap into this vast, lucrative market, although this site does seem to be a bastion against MMOs. I know that we do have a couple players here, and I’m a recovering WoW player myself, but what about the rest of you? What would it take for you to tuck into an MMO?

To save you the trouble of typing a bothersome reply, I’ve created a handy dandy poll which you can click on to answer. If I’ve neglected something, though, feel free to comment. Vote away!

What Would it Take to Get You to Play an MMO?

View Results

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EVE Incursion Character Creator Is Most Impressive

EVE, the ridiculous space MMO with high-flying pirate antics and corporate espionage, is getting a new expansion pack known as Incursion in Janaury 2011. One of the new things that’s going to be included in this big update happens to be the Incarna Character Creator, for designing your characters. And it is filled with much hotness.

Honestly, I’m not sure why this even matters, since the game takes place inside of spaceships, but it’s still damn cool.

The idea of character creation is an interesting one. I feel like we should have some better tools at our disposal for more robust character creation systems at this point, but maybe that’s pie-in-the-sky thinking. I feel like most character creators end up producing people that all look the same for the most part.

What do you guys think? Got a favorite character creator? Is this one impressive at all?

BioWare Drops a Teaser for the 2010 VGAs

Mass Effect 3. I want it. You want it. BioWare hasn’t said much about it, aside from the fact that it’s coming. While the third chapter in the series I affectionately dubbed “nerd crack” exists somewhere, we haven’t seen much from it. With Spike’s Video Game Awards swiftly approaching on December 11, BioWare dropped a new video teasing…well, something. It doesn’t look quite like Mass Effect, and it certainly isn’t Dragon Age. Take a look:

Very cryptic, as a teaser has every right to be. Personally I’m leaning towards a Mass Effect-themed shooter, but what do you guys think? Is it something else entierly, or is it that rumored Mass Effect MMO I wrote about a while ago? Hit us with your thoughts and speculations!

Spike Video Game Awards 2010 Nominations Go Live

Spike Video Game Awards 2010Boom, sucker! Coming at you like a whole week’s worth of cliched masculine programming, it’s the list of nominees for the 2010 edition of the Spike Video Game Awards. All joking about Spike TV’s lineup aside, the VGAs are gaming’s only legitimate awards show and we need to lavish it with our praise, hoping that it will one day become less of a gong show. Hopefully this year they won’t troop out the troglodytes from the Jersey Shore again.

This year’s list of contenders is actually very solid, with some impressive choices filling out each category. While the big names fill in most of the lists, Spike gave due attention to all walks of gaming from the big Triple-A titles to the indie darlings that captured our cold, jaded hearts.

If you want to see the full list, hit the jump.

Continue reading Spike Video Game Awards 2010 Nominations Go Live

Rumor: Diablo 3 Coming to Consoles?

diablo 3 on consoles

The Sundering has begun, people! One of the surest signs of the apocalypse, as foretold in the forbidden tome the Necronomicon, is the debut of a Blizzard title on home consoles. Long has the realm of this developer been the PC world, but according to a recent uncovering by Gamasutra, the winds of change are blowing.

While it’s safe to say that this is firmly in the rumor category, job postings by Blizzard point pretty strongly towards a console version of the upcoming hack-and-slash RPG Diablo 3. Normally these sorts of things are kind of ambiguous, but the phrase “prior experience in console game development” with an “extensive knowledge of Diablo” is kind of specific. Blizzard has never confirmed nor denied the possibility of Diablo 3 showing up on the Xbox 360 or the PS3, so keep that in mind when you pick up the torches and pitch forks on your way to California.

To editorialize a bit here, I’m sure that the fervent PC-playing masses are going to blow this thing out of proportion and claim that Diablo 3 will be “dumbed down” for the console players, but the more people who get to play Diablo, the better. I played the junk out of Diablo 2, and in this day and age, it’s more economically viable for people to have a console than an up-to-date gaming rig. I’m sure that the PC version of Diablo will be handled with due care by Blizzard. They know which side their bread is buttered on.

What do you guys think? Of all of Blizzard’s franchises, isn’t Diablo 3 the best suited for a console transition? If it came out on the Xbox 360 or PS3, would you get it? Doesn’t Gamasutra sound like a dirty word?

Source – Gamasutra

Poll: Which Type of Shooter Do You Prefer?

Last night, I fired up Halo: Reach for the first time in several weeks. I think it was something of a coping mechanism, since I know I’m going to be holding out on Call of Duty: Black Ops until around Christmas. It was pretty nuts to see everyone on my friends list in the new CoD, and meanwhile I was playing the classic space marine scenario.

The funny thing is, I had a lot more fun than I expected to, even though I’m itching for Black Ops more than I can say. One of the things I’ve always loved about Halo is the ability to have these isolated little firefights, epic stand-offs between you and one other player that feels separated from the rest of the match. The only reason this is possible is because of the way the game’s health system works. I remember Goldeneye playing much the same way back in the old days.

It seems that as time goes on, more shooters go in a different direction. Like Counter-Strike, the health in CoD pretty much works on the “one shot, one kill” method, which is a big part of what makes it so addictive I think. The ability to respawn and immediately jump back into the fray and rack up more kills has a lot of appeal to it, for a totally different reason than a shooter like Gears of War or Halo.

Thinking about these two styles of play, I thought I’d make a poll to see what you guys think. Got a preference?

Which type of multiplayer shooter do you prefer?

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Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty is something of a phenomenon, a strange black hole that gamers throw their money into year after year. No matter how tired we get of the previous entry, there’s something that keeps us coming back to the franchise even when we swear that we’re done. It used to be the tight, focused single player mode, but that’s given way to the addictive multiplayer component. Now that Modern Warfare 2 has bruised our fragile psyche in that respect, it’s fallen to the underdog, Treyarch Studios, to breath life back into the franchise.

Even though Treyarch is pegged as the B-team for Call of Duty, churning out sequels in the off years, they’ve never really had a chance to strike out on their own. Seemingly forced to make games based on World War 2 after their audience had moved on, every Call of Duty that didn’t have the Modern Warfare moniker was almost destined to fail. Something different happened this time, though, and this new Call of Duty is set on the sidelines, focusing on the deadly Black Ops special forces soldiers who went behind enemy lines and did the dirty deeds no one would know about. With a new era and a new focus, does Call of Duty: Black Ops deliver the goods?

Continue reading Review: Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Kanto Region of Pokemon Red & Blue Done in Minecraft

Happy Saturday to you, Gamersushi visitors. As we unwind from the week, I thought I would dip back into the endless font of insane Minecraft videos and bring you something completely different. While we’ve seen some intense stuff, never before have I witnessed dedication on this level. Some poor, lonely soul has taken it upon himself to recreate the Kanto region of Pokemon Red & Blue in Minecraft and he did a really excellent job. For those of us whose younger years were formed by a Pokemon addiction, this video may bring back misty-eyed memories of that once simple pastime. Take a look:

It’s amazing what this little indie runaway has inspired people to do. This is a perfect facsimile of the levels from Pokemon, complete with a Power Plant hiding a certain Legendary bird inside. Pretty nuts, if you ask me. Anyone else impressed by this recreation?

Rumor: Call of Duty Gets Space Marines?

Space Marines

It seems like everything’s been Call of Duty around these parts lately, no? Considering it’s probably going to end up as the year’s largest release, I guess you can’t really blame us too much. If you don’t believe me, check out the reports that Black Ops moved 5.6 million copies and defeated Modern Warfare 2 in day one sales. Yeah, it surprised me, too.

Anyway, the franchise seems to just build on itself every year, no matter who’s in charge. Eventually though, it stands to reason that at some point, people will get tired of the same formula. There are only so many time periods to exploit, after all. Which is why it’s interesting to hear rumors that Call of Duty’s next entry, developed by Sledgehammer Games, will take place in the future. From Gamasutra:

That unit hasn’t talked specifically about what it’s doing with the franchise. But industry sources say Sledgehammer’s Call of Duty will be set in the future and feature, for lack of a better term, space Marines, a very big step for a franchise that has historically based itself on realism.

Could this be the Call of Duty game that is due out next year in 2011? What about the title that the leftovers of Infinity Ward are still working on? Only time will tell, I guess.

What do you guys think about these rumors? Would Call of Duty: Halo be a good direction for the series to go?

Source – Gamasutra

Valve Chats Multiplayer, Crafting Sequels and Portal 2

Portal 2

Remember in the first Batman movie when Joker is watching Batman do his superhero thing, and Jack Nicholson famously quipped, “Where does he get all those wonderful toys?” I kind of feel like that every time I read interviews with Valve, who are just so good at what they do that it astounds me. Whether you like their games or not, you have to admit that they’re at the very least smart, and good at talking about games.

To me, the most respectable thing about Valve is the drive to always one up themselves, and to continue delivering experiences that will give the most value to their customer base and build up community around games. Take their recent interview with Game Developer Magazine, where project manager Erik Johnson talked primarily about Portal 2 and what it means to create a sequel for a much anticipated title.

Reading over the article, it seems like Valve really understands what made the first Portal click so well for such a huge audience. Check out some awesome quotes after the jump. Continue reading Valve Chats Multiplayer, Crafting Sequels and Portal 2

Call of Duty Remembered

Call of Duty

Only in this fast-paced, Internet-savvy world in which we live could a series that is only 7 years old warrant a retrospective, but in all honesty, it’s probably a good thing that GamePro has created one. Personally, I didn’t pay attention to Call of Duty until the first Modern Warfare, mainly because I had been a Medal of Honor fan and after I soured on that franchise, I wasn’t looking to get into another World War II FPS. But after borrowing Call of Duty 4 from a friend, it only took an hour of multiplayer and I was hooked. It also helped that I tried the game out on a Double Experience Point Weekend.

After that, I rented World At War and was pleasantly surprised and I own and still play Modern Warfare 2, although I know many of you are still upset with that one. Now I am looking forward to playing Black Ops when I get it for Christmas. So that’s my personal Call of Duty dossier. What about yours? After reading the retrospective, I realize I missed out on quite a bit. When did you enter the series? What was your favorite entry? Answer now, that’s an order!

Source: GamePro

GamerSushi Roll Call: Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops

Call of Duty: Black Ops is finally out my friends, and it’s getting good reviews across the board. From what I’ve seen, the praise is ranging from “best Call of Duty yet” to “It’s OK, but it’s Treyarch so it’s better than I expected”. Honestly, I think by this point that Treyarch have proven themselves to be a competent studio. Sure, Call of Duty 3 was a little rough, but for a franchise off-team, they’ve managed to turn things around pretty significantly (I mean, they’re no Obsidian).

In honor of this monumental release, I thought I’d get a little roll call going. Who has Black Ops, and what do you think of it? Have you tried the campaign, multiplayer or zombie mode? What do you think of all the new additions that Treyarch has made, and what about the omissions? I was a little disappointed to hear that Spec Ops mode isn’t making a return. Lastly, what platform are you gaming on? Personally, I’m going PC, but I’m tempted to pick up a 360 copy just for the achievements. I know, I know, I’m terrible. Alright, hit me!

Fanmade Half-Life 3 Test Footage Is a Little Neat

If you listen to me at all in the many avenues for my ranting and raving, you know that “fanmade” anything is one of the least favorite words in my dictionary. I’m a firm believer that it’s more valuable for people to spend their time making their own creations rather than piggybacking on the creations of others. However, I accept that in these modern Intertubes, there’s just a culture that doesn’t always appreciate that.

Anyway, I’m about to be a bit of a hypocrite, because I think this fanmade Half-Life 3 test footage is kind of neat. It features Gordon Freeman doing some animations we haven’t seen him do before, and seems to take a bit of inspiration from the big scripted events of some more recent FPS games like Call of Duty. Obviously, nothing quite compares to the day that we finally see something out of Valve regarding Half-Life 3 or (Episode 3 or whatever they end up calling it), but a boy can dream, yes?

What do you guys think? Not Half-Life enough?

ScrewAttack’s Top 10 Online Multiplayer Console Games

Alright fanboys, it’s time to polish off your sticks. I know that we all just love to argue until we’re blue in the face about the lists that other game sites come up with, so I thought I’d bring a new one to your screaming attention.

You see, ScrewAttack just recently released a video that goes through what it considers to be the top 10 online multiplayer console games. They cover everything from Call of Duty to Phantasy Star Online, and manage to have a few other surprises on there as well. One only imagines how much different this would have looked if they had included PC titles on here as well. In fact, I think only a couple of these titles would have made the cut if they opened up the criteria in such a fashion.

So what do you guys think of the list? What other games would you include on there if PC games were added? Go!

GameStop’s November Trade-In Deals: Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and Call of Duty: Black Ops

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood Multiplayer

Whenever we’re feeling magnanimous or simply not lazy, we like to try and keep you guys posted about gaming deals that can help you save a buck or two. Especially during the fall downpour, it’s nice to be able to get as many games for as little money as possible.

Right now, GameStop has a few special trade-in offers towards upcoming titles Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (November 16) and Call of Duty: Black Ops (November 9). They also have some ongoing deals that extend to Kinect as well as Donkey Kong Country Returns. Check them out, unless your name is Scrooge McDuck and have money spraying from your ears and have no need of these kinds of things. In which case, I hate you. Not really.

Here are the GameStop trade-in offers for November 2010. Continue reading GameStop’s November Trade-In Deals: Assassins Creed: Brotherhood and Call of Duty: Black Ops