Pedro wrote a great post on the lack of innovation in games. I’ve heard this a lot lately. Here, I’d like to present the counter point to that general sentiment. Too Many Shooters, Too Many Sequels Are there too many songs on iTunes? Too many books on Amazon? I can name a dozen items at the grocery store that I don’t want to buy, but so what? Buy what you want, enjoy it, and don’t let the other options trigger any anger. Motion control sucks, pay-to-play sucks, stereoscopic 3D sucks, Blu-Ray sucks, DRM sucks, etc Same as the above. BTW, plenty of people like all of the above. Publishers are evil and destroy game developers Hey, if you want to fund game projects that publishers are finding unprofitable, go ahead. Game development doesn’t get government protection like education or health care, they are subject to the brutal whims of the consumer market, and realistically that will involve lots of good, talented, hard working people getting layed off and having miserable and frustrated careers. You can’t blame that on publishers, that’s how the system works. I’d give aspiring game developers the same advice I’d give aspiring musicians: no one wants to discourage your dream, but I’d consider a safer career track with a better likelihood of happy outcomes. For every success story, there are hundreds of miserable tales. Take a Break If you hadn’t been exposed to video games for the past five years and just got back into it, you’d be blown away by the progress. If you’ve been playing new releases constantly, and are just comparing this month’s new release to the dozens of other recent games you’ve experienced, you are more likely to be disappointed at the lack of progress. Real Innovation is Happening in Games and Entertainment If you take a step back, and look at the transformation of gaming throughout the past five years, it is phenomenal. Everyone who attempts to predict how the industry will evolve over the next five years also expects dramatic transformation going forward. Most other sectors of society are relatively stagnant compared to the constant innovation and transformation seen in game entertainment. The Fertile Field of Innovation For those who act champions of innovation, take a break from video game entertainment. Focus on Math, Science, and Engineering. When is the last time you took a science class at a local college? I’d argue that innovation in these areas is more important for humans as a species, and ultimately more exciting, than innovation in video game entertainment. Entertainment is still important and has an important role in life, but some people focus on it too much. I’d also argue that many talented game programmers would have happier and more satisfying careers in the traditional sciences.

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Lack of Innovation? A Counter Point…

Lock and load, come get some!!!! Aliens have stolen all the hot chicks, particularly Duke’s twin playthings….Oh and they drank his beer, now its time to kick some ass. Sadly this game with all its major hype released to some poor reviews, I think it got only one or two favorable reviews, but the rest were..well dismal. This caused 2K Games’ PR firm, The Redner Group, to lash out at the gaming press on their twitter account that caused 2K to drop the firm due to the comments made, which threatened to withhold future review titles to the press. Yikes! But on to the goods, the game! So as I mentioned, this game was released to some very abysmal review scores, and has been the butt of many jokes and subject to some major ridicule. The game picks up 12 years after the events of Duke Nukem 3D, which have made him world famous and the object of much desire! The game starts out in a kind of tutorial mode where you get oriented with the game controls and a few weapons….Now I’m going to drop a bit of a spoiler here, well it’s not really a spoiler, more of a heads up, you are in a locker room and you start the game by urinating (yes I’m serious) after exploring the room there are bathroom stalls, open one of these and you can grab a chocolate log out of the toilet for a trophy…yes you grab poop and get a trophy. For some people this will set the tone for the rest of the game. Duke Nukem Forever is your typical Duke style game, over the top action, crude one liners….and of course gratuitous nudity, and LOTS of it. There is a lot here that reminds me of how awesome Duke Nukem 3D was all those years ago, namely the fast paced action packed single player campaign, then there are some of the tried and true weapons like dukes pistol, shotgun, and missile launcher. Now don’t expect any form of reality in this game, the guns have next to no recoil, and are crazy powerful, effective tools for killing women stealing beer drinking a**hole aliens. There was one thing I found interesting, there was a decent amount of puzzles, yeah puzzles, not really duke’s style if you ask me. But it did give the game a refreshing breath of change, so it wasn’t all bad. I found the level design to be really crisp and vibrant, although the level progression is pretty much linear, there really is no room for exploration like we have in other shooters of the day. That’s not saying that there is no room to deviate from your objectives, you can look at things and go into other rooms but in today’s standards its pretty lacking in the extra goodies department. Controls in the game are so-so, not the greatest, but not the worst. I’ve read that people find the controls too jumpy, especially in the aiming department, for me I found aiming and shooting to be just fine, for me the movement seemed a bit off. Duke seems to glide rather than walk or run, and the jumping seems a little over responsive. There is some parts of the game where the bad and good controls mix, to form an entertaining mess of awesomeness is the driving. Your first driving experience is early on in the game when you drive a remote control buggy, woo fun times, then there is typical Duke fashion, the monster truck driving, whoa boy, talk about epic lol. At times its hard to control, but once you get it down, wow, lots of fun, and some HUGE jumps! Weapons and items in the game are pretty typical, with a few exceptions, some of the more over top weapons are the Ripper (or chaingun) and the devastator. The Ripper is a big gun that fires a million and one bullets and is great for groups of enemies. The Devastator, my favorite weapon in all of the game, this weapon is a twin launcher that fires small rockets at a dizzying rate of fire, they call it the devastator for a reason! Then you have your typical handguns, sniper rifles and shotguns, along with a mix explosives ranging from laser trip mines to pipe bombs. There are few items in the game, most noteably is the beer, drinking this increases Duke’s damage dealt but gives you the ‘drunk’ effect by blurring the screen, then you have the steroids. These increase your melee atack damage quite a bit, but lower your “Ego”, Ego is your health….fitting lol There is a multiplayer mode in the game but the few times I tried it I couldn’t get into a game for some reason. But there are 8 modes and an experience system, that I think is only good for purchasing things for your MP avatar. I’ve read mixed reviews about the multiplayer, but for me Duke is not a multiplayer game, its a long and awesome singleplayer experience. Amidst all the negative press, the poor reception and the constant complaints about how crude the game is, there is one glaring, outstanding thing that has been done right, and that’s Jon St. John is yet again the voice for Duke, who adds an immeasurable amount of personality to the king. He’s done the voice since Duke Nukem 3D and has been the one thing that people across the board have agreed that was done right. Overall for me this was a no brainer purchase, I have played duke since the days of DOS, for you young kids, DOS is an operating system us old farts used in the stone age. I’ve played nearly every version of Duke Nukem and I knew what to expect going into this game, for me I enjoyed this game. I think it got some bad press because the “Duke style” had been long forgotten. Forgotten was Dukes rude and crude behavior, long forgotten was the play style of Duke and what he stands for, in the past almost 9 years since our last serious duke game, and the almost 15 years since the best Duke game ever a lot has been forgotten about the worlds most famous hero. With the bleeding heart liberals of today trying to tear down the gaming industry and to try and take away the rights of developers to freely develop their art, things have changed. I think this was not only a good game but also a step forward in recognising video games as an art form and to be protected by the freedom laws we all enjoy. So in closing Duke Nukem Forever isn’t as good as it should be since it has been in development for 14 years. But, if you are rude and crude die hard Duke fan like myself, I say go pick this up, its definitely a game worthy of your game collection. If you are a gaming fan, who doesn’t mind some nudity and dirty language paired with over the top gameplay, wait till this game gets a price adjustment to $39.99. If you are easily offended….stay away….FAARR away, oh and also don’t let the kids see this *Whispers* Let them play it, but keep it from the wife, I won’t tell *Whispers* Review Pros Cons Jon St. John as the voice of Duke Over the top, edge of your seat action Fantastic graphics True to Duke gameplay Controls can be ‘sluggish’ Some people find the humor offensive Not the game it could have been, for all the development time it had Rating 55%

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Duke Nukem Forever Review, Got balls of steel?

Get a closer look at the “Close-Range Assault” mode and hover over some dizzying one-on-one encounters as Namco Bandai reveals a new gameplay footage from Ace Combat: Assault Horizon . The 10-minute flythrough shows off the exhilarating maneuvering, spot-on targeting, hovering attacks and other wicked-cool features that you’ll soon get to try when Assault Horizon hits your local store’s shelves, this fall. To be exact, Ace Combat: Assault Horizon will be released on October 11th in North America and October 14th in Europe. “Ace Combat is a beloved franchise and we’re excited to take the series into a whole new direction with more visceral and fast-paced action,” said Kazutoki Kono, Producer and Executive Director at Namco Bandia Games Inc., in the previous press release. “Players around the world will find an adventure that will keep them glued to the edge of their seat. They’ll feel their adrenaline pumping with every bullet, every explosion and every near-miss escape.”

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Ace Combat: Assault Horizon – Close-Range Assault Gameplay

Here is a reminder for those of you that not taken advantage of the offers made available by Sony during it’s Welcome Back Program. The Welcome Back program ends at midnight on Sunday July 3rd. Here’s a list of whats available with the Welcome Back Program. US PS3 Games Choice of any two. inFamous LittleBigPlanet Dead Nation Super Stardust HD Wipeout HD + Fury PSP Games Choice of any two. LittleBigPlanet (PSP) ModNation Racers Pursuit Force Killzone Liberation Other Items 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PS Plus subscribers* Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription. Existing Q Music Unlimited subscribers will be given 30 days free subscription. 100 Free items in PlayStation Home 2 Free Movie Rentals* Offer Expired Europe PS3 Games Choice of any two. * LittleBigPlanet * InFamous* * WipEout HD/Fury * Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty * Dead Nation* PSP Games Choice of any two. * LittleBigPlanet PSP * ModNation Racers PSP * Pursuit Force * Killzone Liberation Other Items 30 days free PlayStation Plus membership for non PS Plus subscribers* Existing PlayStation Plus subscribers will be given 60 days free subscription. Existing Q Music Unlimited subscribers will be given 30 days free subscription. 100 Free items in PlayStation Home

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Reminder: Sony Welcome Back Program Ending Soon

For Lord of the Rings fans the Blu-ray Extended Edition trilogy is finally out. Price isn’t to bad, you can get it for $70 off Amazon. The movie sucker punch didn’t look interesting enough to me to watch it, I’ve heard that it was ok to bad. But the Season of the Witch was a bad movie. Glad somebody treated me to that mess. The Cowboy Bebop movie is out this week too. Loved the series, the movie was good too. Lastly a movie from the 80′s has arrived on Blu-ray called “The Last Starfighter”. I remember liking this as a kid, but I haven’t seen it since I was 8 or so I bet. Wonder if it has aged well or not. Anything interest you this time? Highlights for this week : The Lord of the Rings: The Motion Picture Trilogy (Extended Edition + Digital Copy), Sucker Punch, The Last Starfighter, Season of the Witch, High School of the Dead Complete Collection, Warrior’s Way, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Dragon Ball Z Kai: Part Five, Rideback: The Complete Series, Jumanji, Van Helsing, Serenity,

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Blu-ray Releases for the Week of 6.27.11

I was sitting, live, in Sony’s E3 press conference, when Valve’s Gabe Newell made a surprise appearance (and an even more surprising announcement). Valve’s Portal 2 would soon be coming to the PS3. For those of you that don’t know, Portal 2 is a first-person action/puzzle video game that has both single and two-player co-operative game modes. Portal 2, was one of the most anticipated games of the year, and is the sequel to the title that earned over 30 Game of the Year Awards in 2007. So, is this sequel worthy of the same awards? At this point I need point out that there will be a few story spoilers ahead for people who have not played the first portal. In the single player game, you play as Chell, a human female test subject who has awoken after centuries of being in a hibernation. Chell is trapped in the Aperture Science research facility, and is being made to test a teleportation gun by a sarcastic AI named GLaDOS. GLaDOS plans on tormenting Chell by having her test the portal gun through an endless number of test chambers. On the bright side, Chell has another AI, by the name of Wheatley, trying to help her escape from these endless deathtraps. The main focus of the game is trying to figure out how to get from the entrance of the test chamber to the exit. Your only real tool in doing so is your “Portal gun”, which is able to create two portals, one orange and one blue, against portal-receptive walls, allowing you to instantly move you from one portal through the next. It’s as easy as walking through a door. The key to using the portals efficiently is putting them in the right place, at, sometimes, the right time. To make things interesting, there are boxes you need to set on buttons to open doors, boxes that reflect lasers used to destroy turrets or activate things, and other fun items added as you progress through the game. Portal 2′s testing chambers start with the basic concepts of the portal gun and progressively add new items, or inventions along the way. I mentioned the boxes and lasers, however the game also adds hard light bridges, used to walk on, or block turrets from shooting you; convection funnels, waves that move you toward or away from their emitter; and faith plates, catapults to launch you or items through the air. There are also three different colors of gel like paint, each with unique properties, added in later levels. These gels allow the walls they are painted on to become bouncy, speedy, or portal-receptive. Although some are pretty straight forward, some of the puzzling test chambers can be quite a challenge and require all of the inventions to proceed. For example, you might need to use a box, to deflect a laser, to activate a convection funnel, to push you through your portals, to land on a light bridge. You might then need to reposition your portals to allow the light bridge to appear somewhere else, allowing you to set a box on a button that opens the exit door. Next you’d need to figure out how to get yourself to that exit. Along the way, from test chamber to test chamber, you will also travel through the old Aperture Science research facility that can actually become quite a treat for the eyes. Visually the game is much better than I was expecting it to be. You will need to use your tools in these areas to progress through the game as well. Shooting one portal on a slanted wall, while shooting the other at the bottom of an elevator shaft you jump into, might be necessary to pick up enough speed and momentum to be launched to that platform way over there. The game was extremely fun and addicting. Solving the puzzles was also very gratifying, especially the ones that seemed to not have a possible solution, until that light bulb went off in my head. YES!! I am a genius. The problem with fiishing the single player story, was that I wanted more. Lots more. Good thing the co-op was just as much fun. In co-op, you and a friend play as one of two test robots, Atlas and P-body, either via on-line or local split-screen. GLaDOS is again, your sarcastic protagonist, leading you through the more than 40 test chambers. Each robot, or player, can shoot two portals, opening up a whole new level of puzzle solving. The two players need to work together to solve every test chamber. Voice chat comes in very handy, and so does an integrated gesture system, that allows you to identify a certain area, or to even start a countdown, helping you communicate with your partner, on how to solve the puzzle. “Put the portal right here on my pointer,” vs. “No, the other wall. Now down 2 inches. No up a bit..,” etc. Other gestures make for a funnier game, including multiple dances, high-fives, and even one that allows you to dismantle your partner. If your robot dies, it will immediately reassemble at the beginning of the current test chamber. This also allowed for many fun antics, such as moving a portal at the last second, causing your partner to launch to their death, or fall into acid. My son and I even made it a game, as we tried to outsmart one another. Compared to the single player game, the puzzles in co-op can be even more complex. In one test chamber, after about 45 minutes, my son and I got so annoyed with not being able to solve the room, that we decided to turn the game off and come back to it later. When we started back up, we literally solved the puzzle in under 3 minutes. We had forgotten one of the most basic principles of the game, because there was so much else going on. One of the complaints I’ve read about from some, is that the game is short. That is not true. I didn’t keep track, however I’m pretty sure I had at least 9 hours in the SP, and about 6 in the co-op the first time through. Re-playability really depends on if you want to try and beat previous times, or collect those trophies you might not have gotten the first time through the game. A few of the trophies require you to solve different puzzles, such as how to smash TV screens. I have played through most of the levels again, and since it has been some time, found that I did have to “solve them” again. I have read that some of the game producers have tried to speed through the game, and even knowing all the solutions, have still taken about 4 hours to beat SP. Even though the game isn’t necessarily short, it did definitely leave me wanting more. The good news is that “more” is on the way. The first Portal 2 DLC has been announced, and “will offer new test chambers for players, leader boards, challenge mode for single and multiplayer modes, and more.” The DLC is set for a summer release, and will be available FREE of charge. Leader boards, keeping track of times for completing a level will be nice, and also increase the games re-playability, as you try to beat the best times. The only negative thing I can really say about Portal 2, is that the loading times between test chambers seemed brutally long at times. The one thing besides more levels and leader boards, that I’d love to see for Portal 2, would be a level creator. That would definitely open the game up to endless hours of puzzle solving. Overall, the game was a great mix of humorous storytelling, puzzle/problem solving, and a great time spent with a friend, or in my case, my son. I rarely recommend any game to everyone, but with Portal 2 I will. I feel Portal 2 has something everyone would enjoy. If you haven’t picked it up yet, I suggest you do. It is definitely a contender for game of the year in my opinion. I’m eagerly awaiting the DLC. Review Pros Cons Very Fun and Addicting Makes You Think Great Co-op Experience Great Graphics Great Soundtrack Funny Long Load Times Re-playabilty may be lacking for some Rating 98%

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Portal 2 Review

If you’ve watched some of the gameplay demonstrations of the Vita during the conference, besides the obvious hit that will be Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a couple other titles were shown based on PS3 franchises, namely LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers, the two games that really spearheaded the Play, Create, Share movement we’re starting to see from other developers. And I gotta say, these titles seem to be right at home on this handheld. Much more so than PSP. I would even go so far as to say that these versions of the games may very well be the best versions. ModNation Racers was shown first, showing off much improved load times over the PS3 version. But that wasn’t the coolest bit. What really stood out was the use of the touchpad on the back and the touchscreen. You can literally draw out your track on the screen, and when you’re editing the track after drawing it out, you can easily use your fingers to create jumps, or raise or lower the background scenery. Although it looked a little jumpy, being able to do that is still a very intuitive way of editing tracks. You even have access to all of the creations from the PS3 version as well. And then you have LittleBigPlanet. After seeing the trailer for this one, I was awestruck. It looks great (could pass as PS3 quality), and the new types of play mechanics available (that, from a gameplay standpoint, aren’t even possible on the PS3 titles) instantly makes this a must-have. From using the system’s tilt functionality to being able to play little board games with friends on the same screen, there’s a lot of possibilities as far as creativity goes, and I will definitely have to pick that title up upon release. Be sure to watch the videos below!

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[E3 2011] LittleBigPlanet and ModNation Racers on Vita: Perfect Match

As you’d imagine, the latest from Naughty Dog looks unbelievable! They debuted a fresh trailer for Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception during Sony’s E3 press conference this evening, confirming the appearance of both Chloe and Elena in the hotly-anticipated adventure sequel. The Trailer The footage showcased a heap of new areas and set-pieces, including Drake dangling precariously from the back of a cargo plane. In addition, Naughty Dog interestingly announced that they have teamed up with everyone’s favourite purveyour of sandwiches Subway in order to provide US Subway customers with early access to a fully complete version of the competitive multiplayer in October, one month before the finished game is released in November. The Boat Gameplay The latest version of gameplay included a large boat area with dazzling rain and outdoor wave water effects. The interior of the vessel held dark, moody lighting and trademark stealth play. Drake subsequently sets off an explosive in the carrier causing an influx of water to knock the entire level off balance. I’ve heard the graphics engine held at 39 frames-per-second. Looks like another good year for Sony, if you ask me.

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E3 2011: Uncharted 3, Oh My!

EA/DICE believes that they can certainly take home the FPS crown this year, even calling out its competitor for becoming more lazy. Activision meanwhile seems shrug off EA’s comments, and even thanked its bitter rival for mentioning Call of Duty “more than we do.” “It sounds trite but it’s true: we focus on what we need to do to make the best games we can,” says Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg in an interview with MCV .”We don’t pay much mind looking at what the competitors are doing. I know they are focused on us… well that’s all I’ll say.” “Well, I think EA might talk about our games in the press more than we do,” joked Hirshberg. “So, the first thing I say to them is, ‘Thanks for the assistance in building awareness.’” In a more serious note, Hirshberg continued: “But when you think about it, we’ve had tough competition every year for Call of Duty. It’s never been easy. This is one of the most competitive genres in one of the most competitive industries. Last year we had Halo: Reach and Medal of Honor, and it’s not like they weren’t amazing developers gunning for the top of this mountain either.” “And it’s the same this year – Gears of War is back along with lots of other games.” “So, of course, we take all the competition really seriously. But at the end of the day I really mean it when I say we are focusing on the finish line, not the competition,” he said. “We are making the best game we can, and are throwing every resource, innovation and all the creativity we can at it. And hopefully that will maintain our position.” Looks like things are really heating up. Activision has received a negative backlash from gamers lately over their Call of Duty Elite service. Both Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 will launch during the hectic November month.

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Activision Thanks EA

Rockstar Games Social Club is holding a Red Dead Redemption & Undead Nightmare triple XP and Multplayer Event for their PS3 community, today, Thursday, May 26th from 4-7PM Eastern. For more information, and to see how to win a Red Dead Redemption soundtrack signed by José González, hit the jump. Here are the Participating PlayStation Network Rockstar Games IDs for this day: RedDeadDev3 RedDeadDev4 RedDeadDev5 RedDeadDev6 Only add one PSN ID to your friends list to play. SWEEPSTAKES Enter on the multiplayer events page for a chance to win a Red Dead Redemption soundtrack signed by none other than José González (CD or vinyl). FINDING US IN-GAME Start multiplayer from the main menu. This will place you into a Free Roam lobby. Invite at least one friend and form a posse. Then enter the game mode being discussed by “SocialClub” in the chat. We’ll be playing multiple game modes during the event. HOW DOES FREE ROAM WORK? Free Roam is the hub of your online experience. Supporting up to 16 players, Free Roam allows you to explore with your friends and enemies, take out the gangs of outlaws or launch into more structured gameplay using the markers placed around the world. We’ll be forming posses and then heading into several game modes during the evening. FORMING A POSSE To start the game, invite your friends, form a posse and find Rockstar, follow these steps: 1. From the main menu, press ‘Start’ and then enter ‘Online Multiplayer’ by pressing the ‘Square’ button. 2. Once in a Free Roam lobby, press the ‘Select’ button to open the in-game multiplayer menu. 3. Press the ‘R1′ button and then the ‘Triangle’ button to ‘Show Friends’. Invite at least one friend into your posse using the ‘X’ button. 4. Once your friends are in the game, press the ‘Triangle’ button again to return to the ‘Players’ menu and select them with the ‘X’ button to ‘Propose New Posse’ or ‘Send Posse Invite’. 5. Once you and your friends are ready to go, start up the game mode we’re currently playing. We’ll announce modes in the chat. Remember you must have one friend in your posse to play some of the modes with Rockstar. And as stated, pay close attention to the chat to know what game mode we’re currently playing. Source: Facebook

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Red Dead Redemption Triple XP Thursday, May 26th from 4-7PM Est