So, i found the data i as looking for (good thing i had it on SkyDrive). Now i can do a post about Game Room one year later without any new content. A year without rain is supposed to be somehow metaphorical - but i forget how.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Dview: Arkadian Warriors (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Arkadian Warriors is a hack-n-slash game available on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade). For a downloadable title, this offers a decent amount of gameplay. There are numerous dungeon crawling "quests" (which you can replay). The game has recently been reduced in price to 400 points ($5 US)
Arkadian Warriors is a hack-n-slash game available on XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade). For a downloadable title, this offers a decent amount of gameplay. There are numerous dungeon crawling "quests" (which you can replay). The game has recently been reduced in price to 400 points ($5 US)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Dview: Oblivion GOTY Edition (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Oblivion is an open world action-RPG that can last hundreds of hours if you want to do everything (at least that is what i have heard). Oblivion was the follow up game to Morrowind and pre-dates Skyrim. Overall this game is decent, but playing it right after Skyrim sure made the game look worse (at least from a graphical standpoint).
Oblivion is an open world action-RPG that can last hundreds of hours if you want to do everything (at least that is what i have heard). Oblivion was the follow up game to Morrowind and pre-dates Skyrim. Overall this game is decent, but playing it right after Skyrim sure made the game look worse (at least from a graphical standpoint).
My Month in Video Games: November 2011 Recap
Did i play any video games last month? Yes (a lot of Skyrim, which i 1,000ed in early December). Well, the engage Xbox monthly recap email came again. Here is a testament to my lack of a life...
* Gamerscore: 32,737
* Time on Xbox Live (connected to): 110 hours, 46 minutes
* Most Frequent Activity: Skyrim - 69 hours, 51 minutes
* Other Activities (rest of top 3)
- Two Worlds 2 (i still have to beat it): 26 hours, 35 minutes
- A World of Kefflings (It Came from Outer Space DLC): 3 hours, 18 minutes
Other Games Briefly Played:
- Game Room (for stats)
- Gears of War (part of triple pack): i got stuck early on Berzerker stage
- Halo CE Anniversary
Odd factoid in email:
Non-US Countries with Highest Average Gamerscore:
- UK: 6,467
- New Zealand: 6,403
- Japan: 6,308
* Gamerscore: 32,737
* Time on Xbox Live (connected to): 110 hours, 46 minutes
* Most Frequent Activity: Skyrim - 69 hours, 51 minutes
* Other Activities (rest of top 3)
- Two Worlds 2 (i still have to beat it): 26 hours, 35 minutes
- A World of Kefflings (It Came from Outer Space DLC): 3 hours, 18 minutes
Other Games Briefly Played:
- Game Room (for stats)
- Gears of War (part of triple pack): i got stuck early on Berzerker stage
- Halo CE Anniversary
Odd factoid in email:
Non-US Countries with Highest Average Gamerscore:
- UK: 6,467
- New Zealand: 6,403
- Japan: 6,308
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Xbox 360 Metro UI Impressions - Better With Kinect
So, after a small delay, the new update for the Xbox 360 was released. There are differing opinions on the update. Some people seem to like it and others not so much.
Admittedly, i am a XBL Silver member, so i won't know how things like "cloud saves" work (or how Netflix works post update). i may have missed some smaller details too.
Anyway here i go in no order with random bullet (or is that asterisk) points.
* It seems to take more time to shut down (at least completely power down)
* i wish it wouldn't default on the sign in every time (couldn't we set it up to auto sign in)
* The "Metro UI" itself looks a little better to me (and yes there are adds)
* The NXE seemed to be more vertically oriented, the Metro seems to be more horizontally oriented (at least it seems that way to me).
* Your profile no longer shows your XBL points balance.
* You have to have a gold account to use cloud saves. i wonder if in the future they will charge for additional cloud storage space (i would bet on it).
* It is less "cartoony" than the NXE
* It now gives you a little more information on you achievement progress (or it seems to)
* i like the darker (grey) background better than the NXE background
Voice commands seem to work fairly well (but i don't have an accent). Bing would probably be the least effective as it would have to recognize more words. For controller free naviagtion, it seems to work well enough (i can't comment on how it works within Apps). Some basic commands to know
* "Xbox, x" where X = a word on screen, like play game
* "Xbox, Go Home" - to get back to the first "blade"
* "Next" and "Previous" scroll horizontally through selections
* "Xbox, Bing, X" - use Bing to search. This seems to work ok, but can be a little slow
Admittedly, i am a XBL Silver member, so i won't know how things like "cloud saves" work (or how Netflix works post update). i may have missed some smaller details too.
Anyway here i go in no order with random bullet (or is that asterisk) points.
* It seems to take more time to shut down (at least completely power down)
* i wish it wouldn't default on the sign in every time (couldn't we set it up to auto sign in)
* The "Metro UI" itself looks a little better to me (and yes there are adds)
* The NXE seemed to be more vertically oriented, the Metro seems to be more horizontally oriented (at least it seems that way to me).
* Your profile no longer shows your XBL points balance.
* You have to have a gold account to use cloud saves. i wonder if in the future they will charge for additional cloud storage space (i would bet on it).
* It is less "cartoony" than the NXE
* It now gives you a little more information on you achievement progress (or it seems to)
* i like the darker (grey) background better than the NXE background
Voice commands seem to work fairly well (but i don't have an accent). Bing would probably be the least effective as it would have to recognize more words. For controller free naviagtion, it seems to work well enough (i can't comment on how it works within Apps). Some basic commands to know
* "Xbox, x" where X = a word on screen, like play game
* "Xbox, Go Home" - to get back to the first "blade"
* "Next" and "Previous" scroll horizontally through selections
* "Xbox, Bing, X" - use Bing to search. This seems to work ok, but can be a little slow
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Game Room: Report for November 2011
Game Room leaderboards saw a few increases in the month of November. The last game pack was released on December 22, 2010 (i am not sure if i have enough data for that future post, we'll see)
i checked on November 21st and December 3rd.
Observed Leaderboard Increases (for November 4 - December 3)
* Beamrider (+100)
* Cosmic Commuter (+100)
* Crystal Castles (+10,000)
* Dodge 'Em (+100)
* Iron Horse (+1,000)
* Millipede (+1,000)
* Plaque Attack (+100)
* Vectron (+10)
Summary:
A long time coming... Crystal Castles finally reached the 20,000 plateau (after being at 10,000 since leaderboards were added). There were no new games which reached the 1,000 plateau. Will Vectron hit the magical 100 mark? Time will tell. Overall, i observed 8 leaderboard increases for a total of 12,410.
i checked on November 21st and December 3rd.
Observed Leaderboard Increases (for November 4 - December 3)
* Beamrider (+100)
* Cosmic Commuter (+100)
* Crystal Castles (+10,000)
* Dodge 'Em (+100)
* Iron Horse (+1,000)
* Millipede (+1,000)
* Plaque Attack (+100)
* Vectron (+10)
Summary:
A long time coming... Crystal Castles finally reached the 20,000 plateau (after being at 10,000 since leaderboards were added). There were no new games which reached the 1,000 plateau. Will Vectron hit the magical 100 mark? Time will tell. Overall, i observed 8 leaderboard increases for a total of 12,410.
Dview: Skyrim (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Skyrim is the most recent entry into the Elder Scrolls series (the third on consoles). It is basically a western style sandbox RPG where you level up by using skills. The game has been somewhat streamlined from the previous Elder Scrolls game (Oblivion). Some of it is decent changes like getting rid of the armorer skill (and armor wearing out over time). Some of it is a little simplified. This game still has its share of hiccups, but it is more stable than its predecessors.
Skyrim is more about exploring the world and doing varoius quests than a main cohesive story line (it does have a main story, but it isn't that great).
As far as western RPGs go, this is among my top choices on the Xbox 360 (after the Mass Effect games). Eventually, there will be add-ons (and probably a "Game of the Year Edition")
Skyrim is the most recent entry into the Elder Scrolls series (the third on consoles). It is basically a western style sandbox RPG where you level up by using skills. The game has been somewhat streamlined from the previous Elder Scrolls game (Oblivion). Some of it is decent changes like getting rid of the armorer skill (and armor wearing out over time). Some of it is a little simplified. This game still has its share of hiccups, but it is more stable than its predecessors.
Skyrim is more about exploring the world and doing varoius quests than a main cohesive story line (it does have a main story, but it isn't that great).
As far as western RPGs go, this is among my top choices on the Xbox 360 (after the Mass Effect games). Eventually, there will be add-ons (and probably a "Game of the Year Edition")
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Skyrim (Xbox 360) - Glitches and Stuff i Don't Like About It
If you've ever played any of the console versions of the Elder Scrolls series (at least on the Xbox 360), you would know that these games tend to be a little buggy at launch. At least in this game you don't start out in prison (custody - yes, prison - no)
Saturday, November 19, 2011
My Month in Video Games November 2011-ish
So what have i done this month in regards to the wild, wild world of video games? This covers much of my gaming since my last post.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Game Room: Report for October 2011
i decided to mix things up (semantically) and instead of calling this the November report call it the report for October (since the leaderboard checking period was from 10/3-11/3).
Anyway, Game Room leaderboard increases are still increasing monthly (a little). Admittedly, i cannot get a full picture due to how the leaderboards are structured. i checked two times this month (the first time was to get Game Room working on my computer - though the Xbox version still seems to be working, if your "arcade" is a ghost town). The two checks were on October 21st and November 3rd.
Observed Leaderboard Increases (for October 4 - November 3)
October 21:
* Breakout (2600) - (+100)
* Dolphin - (+100)
* Galactic Warriors (+100)
* Super Breakout (2600) - (+100)
* Warlords (+1,000)
* Black Widow (+1,000)
November 3:
* Missile Command (2600) - (+100)
Summary: If you are playing at home, i observed 7 leaderboard increases for 2,500. Breakout (2600) and Super Breakout finally crossed the 1,000 leaderboard threshhold.
Game Leaderboard Distribution:
* Over 30,000: 2 games (Asteroids Deluxe and Centipede)
* 20,000 - 30,000: 3 games
* 10,000 - 20,000: 11 games
* 5,000 - 10,000: 11 games
* 2,000 - 5,000: 27 games
* 1,000 - 2,000: 29 games
* 500 - 1,000: 13 games
* 200 - 500: 5 games
* 100-200: 6 games
* <100: 1 game (Vectron)
Anyway, Game Room leaderboard increases are still increasing monthly (a little). Admittedly, i cannot get a full picture due to how the leaderboards are structured. i checked two times this month (the first time was to get Game Room working on my computer - though the Xbox version still seems to be working, if your "arcade" is a ghost town). The two checks were on October 21st and November 3rd.
Observed Leaderboard Increases (for October 4 - November 3)
October 21:
* Breakout (2600) - (+100)
* Dolphin - (+100)
* Galactic Warriors (+100)
* Super Breakout (2600) - (+100)
* Warlords (+1,000)
* Black Widow (+1,000)
November 3:
* Missile Command (2600) - (+100)
Summary: If you are playing at home, i observed 7 leaderboard increases for 2,500. Breakout (2600) and Super Breakout finally crossed the 1,000 leaderboard threshhold.
Game Leaderboard Distribution:
* Over 30,000: 2 games (Asteroids Deluxe and Centipede)
* 20,000 - 30,000: 3 games
* 10,000 - 20,000: 11 games
* 5,000 - 10,000: 11 games
* 2,000 - 5,000: 27 games
* 1,000 - 2,000: 29 games
* 500 - 1,000: 13 games
* 200 - 500: 5 games
* 100-200: 6 games
* <100: 1 game (Vectron)
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Dview: Blade Kitten (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Blade Kitten is an action heavy ( lots of annoying enemies to fight) platformer from Krome Studios. You play as Kat Ballard, a cat girl with an attitude. She is stuck on an odd planet after her ship explodes. i kind of liked this game, though sometimes i felt there were too many enemies. There is much exploring to do (especially looking for treasure chests and collectibles) - some of the items are kind of hard to get to.
Blade Kitten is an action heavy ( lots of annoying enemies to fight) platformer from Krome Studios. You play as Kat Ballard, a cat girl with an attitude. She is stuck on an odd planet after her ship explodes. i kind of liked this game, though sometimes i felt there were too many enemies. There is much exploring to do (especially looking for treasure chests and collectibles) - some of the items are kind of hard to get to.
Dview: Dragon Age II (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Dragon Age II is the sequel to Dragon Age Origins. So, if you played the first game you know what the second game is like (though it has been somewhat dumbed down).
If you never played the first Dragon Age game... Dragon Age 2 is kind of an action RPG (lighter on the RPG than i wish). Sure, you can still level up and there is a degree of character progression - but it feels more like an action game. Yes, Dragon Age 2 reuses areas (so not are all unique). You can still set the other characters that travel with you up with tactics (i still hate tactics) that essentially tells them how to behave. Why heal yourself is not a default tactic, i still don't understand. In this game, however, the characters seems to chose their weapons and armor (though you can find some upgrades throughout the game). The game is segmented into years (not necessarily in one year segments) where certain key events happen.
Dragon Age II is the sequel to Dragon Age Origins. So, if you played the first game you know what the second game is like (though it has been somewhat dumbed down).
If you never played the first Dragon Age game... Dragon Age 2 is kind of an action RPG (lighter on the RPG than i wish). Sure, you can still level up and there is a degree of character progression - but it feels more like an action game. Yes, Dragon Age 2 reuses areas (so not are all unique). You can still set the other characters that travel with you up with tactics (i still hate tactics) that essentially tells them how to behave. Why heal yourself is not a default tactic, i still don't understand. In this game, however, the characters seems to chose their weapons and armor (though you can find some upgrades throughout the game). The game is segmented into years (not necessarily in one year segments) where certain key events happen.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
My Month or So in Video Games (September, October)
Here is another post that nobody cares about... So what have i been playing before i replaced my computer. Some of these i may still have to do some "dviews" on. i might be getting Kinect Sports Season 2 within the next several weeks. i'm thinking of getting Skyrim and Halo CE Anniversary in November.
i finally got over 30K gamerscore on my second account. Only 6,000 more to catch up to my former primary account.
Games i "beat": Blade Kitten, Dragon Age 2, Karaoke Revolution (all single player achievements except Hard Carbon - the best i have done was 99% on Expert)
Other Games i Played:
* a bunch of XBLA titles
* Risen (still have to beat)
* Rise of Nightmares - it actually seems like a decent game, however i got stuck at the start of chapter 2 (the balance section)
* Forza 3 (still have a lot to do in that game)
* Game Room
* Tales of Vesperia
i finally got over 30K gamerscore on my second account. Only 6,000 more to catch up to my former primary account.
Games i "beat": Blade Kitten, Dragon Age 2, Karaoke Revolution (all single player achievements except Hard Carbon - the best i have done was 99% on Expert)
Other Games i Played:
* a bunch of XBLA titles
* Risen (still have to beat)
* Rise of Nightmares - it actually seems like a decent game, however i got stuck at the start of chapter 2 (the balance section)
* Forza 3 (still have a lot to do in that game)
* Game Room
* Tales of Vesperia
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Forza: Randomly Reminscing About a Racing Series
i remember back when i had an Xbox. My original titles were: Halo: Combat Evolved, Munch's Odyssey, NFL Fever and Shrek (maybe there was another game or two). A week or so after launch i bought a racing game. What does this have to do with Forza Motorsports? Nothing really, i may have initially confused Project Gotham Racing with Forza.
My history with racing games is somewhat checkered. i had Gran Tourismo on the original PlayStation. For me it was basically pick an overpowered car and careen to victory. After that it was probably a few racing games on the Xbox: PGR, Forza, Rallisport Challenge (which usually involved me crashing over a cliff) and the more recent Forza games. i suck at racing games (struggling mightily with control).
Anyway, Forza motorsports was released in 2005 (less than 4 years later). i remember vaguely that they had "drivatars". Anyway, i remember driving through some courses badly and getting annoyed at how badly i was doing. i probably used a lot of drivatar action.
Next, Forza Motorsports 2 came out on the Xbox 360. i considered this a CaRPG. There were numerous races to do (or simulate like i did for almost all of them). There were a bunch of cars to acquire. Was it M. Rossi who was kind of a jerk driver?
After that, Forza 3 came out. This was probably my favorite racing game ever. Why did i like it? Well, they added a very helpful rewind button (and several levels of assists). So, it was a lot more accessible to me. Again, this is sort of like a CaRPG (a car RPG - you can gain levels and buy "weapons"). i actually completed most of the races myself (not well, just completed). i played on easy. There were a ton of races to do and cars to acquire. The very long season format did take a long time to complete (i haven't done it yet on my new primary account). Sometimes it even felt like overkill. Winning every race was do-able, but time consuming. The only races i really simulated were the NY tracks (i hate that course - and had a ton of flips/roll-overs on it) and the endurance races (does anyone actually do these?)
Today, Forza 4 was released. It sort of interests me to see exactly what Kinect integrations add to the periphery of the game. If it is like the third game (as accessible), but better i will be interested. Afterall, there is an achievement for getting a Delorean up to 88 MPH. Like the third game, i will probably wait for it to drop to $39.99 or less on a Black Friday sale (maybe longer).
My history with racing games is somewhat checkered. i had Gran Tourismo on the original PlayStation. For me it was basically pick an overpowered car and careen to victory. After that it was probably a few racing games on the Xbox: PGR, Forza, Rallisport Challenge (which usually involved me crashing over a cliff) and the more recent Forza games. i suck at racing games (struggling mightily with control).
Anyway, Forza motorsports was released in 2005 (less than 4 years later). i remember vaguely that they had "drivatars". Anyway, i remember driving through some courses badly and getting annoyed at how badly i was doing. i probably used a lot of drivatar action.
Next, Forza Motorsports 2 came out on the Xbox 360. i considered this a CaRPG. There were numerous races to do (or simulate like i did for almost all of them). There were a bunch of cars to acquire. Was it M. Rossi who was kind of a jerk driver?
After that, Forza 3 came out. This was probably my favorite racing game ever. Why did i like it? Well, they added a very helpful rewind button (and several levels of assists). So, it was a lot more accessible to me. Again, this is sort of like a CaRPG (a car RPG - you can gain levels and buy "weapons"). i actually completed most of the races myself (not well, just completed). i played on easy. There were a ton of races to do and cars to acquire. The very long season format did take a long time to complete (i haven't done it yet on my new primary account). Sometimes it even felt like overkill. Winning every race was do-able, but time consuming. The only races i really simulated were the NY tracks (i hate that course - and had a ton of flips/roll-overs on it) and the endurance races (does anyone actually do these?)
Today, Forza 4 was released. It sort of interests me to see exactly what Kinect integrations add to the periphery of the game. If it is like the third game (as accessible), but better i will be interested. Afterall, there is an achievement for getting a Delorean up to 88 MPH. Like the third game, i will probably wait for it to drop to $39.99 or less on a Black Friday sale (maybe longer).
Monday, October 10, 2011
Game Room: The October Report
Even though my computer (where i played Game Room) kind of died on me, i still managed to get a look at the ranked game leaderboards (on about October 4). By some near miracle, Game Room actually didn't freeze on my Xbox.
Anyway... Observed Increases for the period September 3rd (ish) to October 4th:
* Jackal (+1,000)
* Kabobber (+100)
* Super Breakout (+1,000)
* Thunder Castle (+100)
* River Raid (+1,000)
The decline in apparent sales is still going on (yes there are games that still kind of sell a little). A 3,200 increase in leaderboard stats is not that great (for a month). i guess these scary sales are apropos considering that it is nearing Halloween and there have been no new releases since late December. Maybe i'll do a year without new content post in the future (i either don't have access to some of my data or lost it with my old computer) - i'm not sure what data i still have.
Anyway... Observed Increases for the period September 3rd (ish) to October 4th:
* Jackal (+1,000)
* Kabobber (+100)
* Super Breakout (+1,000)
* Thunder Castle (+100)
* River Raid (+1,000)
The decline in apparent sales is still going on (yes there are games that still kind of sell a little). A 3,200 increase in leaderboard stats is not that great (for a month). i guess these scary sales are apropos considering that it is nearing Halloween and there have been no new releases since late December. Maybe i'll do a year without new content post in the future (i either don't have access to some of my data or lost it with my old computer) - i'm not sure what data i still have.
Apparently There Are Still Arcades
So, anyway, i guess this is video game releated - so i will put it here
A few weeks back i went near a place called the Garden of the Gods (for some reason - red rocks). Well anyway, there is atourist trap town called Manitou Springs outside of Colorado Springs (CO, US). They had some of the retro machines playable for $.25. They had some of the classics too.
i played Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Gorf. These were modified two player units (with only one player currently) with kind of loose joysticks. However if you compare Pac-Man on XBLA to the arcade game, the arcade game is much better (at least from a control standpoint). Unfortunately, when it clicked that they actually had Space Invaders- the machine kind of ate my money. i really, really wish i would have brought more quarters (for some reason, the concept of "arcade" didn't click that day for me).
A few weeks back i went near a place called the Garden of the Gods (for some reason - red rocks). Well anyway, there is a
i played Pac-Man, Donkey Kong and Gorf. These were modified two player units (with only one player currently) with kind of loose joysticks. However if you compare Pac-Man on XBLA to the arcade game, the arcade game is much better (at least from a control standpoint). Unfortunately, when it clicked that they actually had Space Invaders- the machine kind of ate my money. i really, really wish i would have brought more quarters (for some reason, the concept of "arcade" didn't click that day for me).
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Game Room: The September 2011 Report
Another month has gone by. Game Room still has no new content (not like i expected any). The numbers in this "report" may be a little off as i left the notebook (the paper kind) that i was taking notes behind when i went on my "vacation". i am basing this off of the assumption that i updated my SkyDrive file on about August 4th (after i did the August post).
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Dview: Final Fight Double Impact (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Final Fight Double Impact is two games in one download (Final Fight and Magic Sword). Final Fight is a classic side scrolling brawler. You chose one of three characters and battle through six or so stages until you reach the final cheap boss. i don't find this to be as good as Streets of Rage. Magic Sword is a lesser known (by me anyway) side scrolling dungeon crawler brawler. Basically enemies will attack you from in front and behind. You need to scale the tower (i think level 50) and fight the final boss. The collection is spiced up by adding a "vault" which will unlock things like concept art (at least one of them is a full TV episode of Street Fighter animated show, which included Final Fight characters). You unlock these by doing tasks - like beating a level without losing X lives, beating a level in a certain time, etc. Many of these might be easier 2 player.
Final Fight Double Impact is two games in one download (Final Fight and Magic Sword). Final Fight is a classic side scrolling brawler. You chose one of three characters and battle through six or so stages until you reach the final cheap boss. i don't find this to be as good as Streets of Rage. Magic Sword is a lesser known (by me anyway) side scrolling dungeon crawler brawler. Basically enemies will attack you from in front and behind. You need to scale the tower (i think level 50) and fight the final boss. The collection is spiced up by adding a "vault" which will unlock things like concept art (at least one of them is a full TV episode of Street Fighter animated show, which included Final Fight characters). You unlock these by doing tasks - like beating a level without losing X lives, beating a level in a certain time, etc. Many of these might be easier 2 player.
Dview: Call of Duty 2 (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Call of Duty 2 is an action shooter (mostly shooter, but with some action elements). This game was released in 2005 (but i just got around to playing it). Basically, you will play through 27 missions in one of three campaigns (Russian, British, American). This bascially has the feel of a generic shooter. It is first person, with a protruding weapon (which made aiming more difficult for me, the gun kind of get in the way). Sometimes the shooting reticule would seemingly vanish for no reason. i hand'nt played a shooter in a while (maybe that impacted my impression). No, i did not play multiplayer. This is my first experience with the Call of Duty series - and i didn't particularly like it
Call of Duty 2 is an action shooter (mostly shooter, but with some action elements). This game was released in 2005 (but i just got around to playing it). Basically, you will play through 27 missions in one of three campaigns (Russian, British, American). This bascially has the feel of a generic shooter. It is first person, with a protruding weapon (which made aiming more difficult for me, the gun kind of get in the way). Sometimes the shooting reticule would seemingly vanish for no reason. i hand'nt played a shooter in a while (maybe that impacted my impression). No, i did not play multiplayer. This is my first experience with the Call of Duty series - and i didn't particularly like it
Saturday, August 20, 2011
i May Not Be Posting for a While
If you are enthralled by my Game Room (XBLA) posts or my Dviews (they are kind of like reviews, but kind of not), you may be happy to hear that you may have longer to savor my existing posts without the threat of newer "content".
Basically, i have decided to temporarily change what Space Invaders base i am shooting through for 3 months or so (maybe longer). i am not exactly sure what the internet situation is there. i also won't have access to most of my games (or my system until near the end of next week - The horror! The horror!).
Maybe i can get things set up quickly, maybe i can't. The suspense will build while the level loads. Hopefully, i can think of something to write of in the next week or so (and i will have some games, maybe even so new ones) to have impressions of. Well, i guess that all become a moot point if the airplane flies the same way i do in Red Baron (becomes one with the ground/mountain).
Basically, i have decided to temporarily change what Space Invaders base i am shooting through for 3 months or so (maybe longer). i am not exactly sure what the internet situation is there. i also won't have access to most of my games (or my system until near the end of next week - The horror! The horror!).
Maybe i can get things set up quickly, maybe i can't. The suspense will build while the level loads. Hopefully, i can think of something to write of in the next week or so (and i will have some games, maybe even so new ones) to have impressions of. Well, i guess that all become a moot point if the airplane flies the same way i do in Red Baron (becomes one with the ground/mountain).
My Week in Video Games: X-August 19th
Welcome to My Week in Video Games. This post is not so much about a week as it is about an indeterminate period of time that could be a week (+/- infintiy days -1).
So what have i been playing this week? i got a point card which i spent mostly on downloadable games, which i breifly tried out. Here is a partial list of what i have been playing since last time]
* Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) - i wish i had Eternal Blue. Oh yeay: star, planet, sun, moon
* Blade Kitten (XBLA): i actually kind of like this game. The characters seem interesting to me and the game play is decent.
* Puzzle Quest 2 (XBLA): this one will probably fill a bunch of time on my "vacation"
* Fruit Ninja (XBLA): this game seems kind of fun, it may be a little light on content (i haven't spent much time on it). Like most Kinect games i have played, i can definitely feel i played it the next morning. i decided to wait for a price drop on The Gunstringer
* DeathSpank: The Thongs of Virtue (XBLA): i kind of like the first one, so i decided to give the second one a try (unfortunately at full prices. So expect it to go on sale soon).
* Game Room: today. just curious about leaderboards - because i am a sick and twisted monster.
i am looking forward to playing Rise of Nightmares - though i may not get to try it for a while as it is being sent here, yet my "vacation" is in another kingdom.
So what have i been playing this week? i got a point card which i spent mostly on downloadable games, which i breifly tried out. Here is a partial list of what i have been playing since last time]
* Lunar Silver Star Story Complete (PS1) - i wish i had Eternal Blue. Oh yeay: star, planet, sun, moon
* Blade Kitten (XBLA): i actually kind of like this game. The characters seem interesting to me and the game play is decent.
* Puzzle Quest 2 (XBLA): this one will probably fill a bunch of time on my "vacation"
* Fruit Ninja (XBLA): this game seems kind of fun, it may be a little light on content (i haven't spent much time on it). Like most Kinect games i have played, i can definitely feel i played it the next morning. i decided to wait for a price drop on The Gunstringer
* DeathSpank: The Thongs of Virtue (XBLA): i kind of like the first one, so i decided to give the second one a try (unfortunately at full prices. So expect it to go on sale soon).
* Game Room: today. just curious about leaderboards - because i am a sick and twisted monster.
i am looking forward to playing Rise of Nightmares - though i may not get to try it for a while as it is being sent here, yet my "vacation" is in another kingdom.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Dview: Bastion (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Bastion is an action RPG that was released as the first title of the Summer Of Arcade 2011 promotion. i don't see this as an RPG, but an action game (too many action games are called RPGs, but that is a discussion for another time). Actually, Bastion is basically a three button hack-n-slash game with weapon upgrades. The narrator seems an interesting concept in the first place, but kind of wears thin. You play as "The Kid", probably because the narrator didn't take the time to ask his real name. The "kid" is faced with rebuilding his world (or survival) due to some event called "the calamity". Basically, this game takes the old "Reader's Digest" approach to story telling - very condensed. The story is just there as a backdrop. Bastion does have a decent and colorful artistic design.
Bastion is an action RPG that was released as the first title of the Summer Of Arcade 2011 promotion. i don't see this as an RPG, but an action game (too many action games are called RPGs, but that is a discussion for another time). Actually, Bastion is basically a three button hack-n-slash game with weapon upgrades. The narrator seems an interesting concept in the first place, but kind of wears thin. You play as "The Kid", probably because the narrator didn't take the time to ask his real name. The "kid" is faced with rebuilding his world (or survival) due to some event called "the calamity". Basically, this game takes the old "Reader's Digest" approach to story telling - very condensed. The story is just there as a backdrop. Bastion does have a decent and colorful artistic design.
Dview: Assassin's Creed II (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Assassin's Creed II is the sequel to Assassin's Creed (i know that is strange). Basically, if you are familiar with the first one, you would know that is basically an action game that puts you in the role of an ancestor of Desmond Miles (who was an assassin). You basically go around the game killing people. The sequel makes some improvements over the first one (like finally having subtitles), but also does so things i dislike. They added glyphs that require you to solve annoying puzzles (does not really fit in the game) and have more of an emphasis on timed events. If you read my "frustration" post, you would know i hate time events. The story for this game is better than the first, but it is also more frustrating too. Many people like this game a lot more than i do (90 on Metacritic). Ultimately, i found it more frustrating than fun.
Assassin's Creed II is the sequel to Assassin's Creed (i know that is strange). Basically, if you are familiar with the first one, you would know that is basically an action game that puts you in the role of an ancestor of Desmond Miles (who was an assassin). You basically go around the game killing people. The sequel makes some improvements over the first one (like finally having subtitles), but also does so things i dislike. They added glyphs that require you to solve annoying puzzles (does not really fit in the game) and have more of an emphasis on timed events. If you read my "frustration" post, you would know i hate time events. The story for this game is better than the first, but it is also more frustrating too. Many people like this game a lot more than i do (90 on Metacritic). Ultimately, i found it more frustrating than fun.
Things That Annoy Me This Generation: Cameras
i have been thinking about this for a while... What is one of the things that annoys me most about this generation of video games?
It turns out that i have been really disappointed in the way the cameras react in the games - how the action is followed. For the record, i would rather not have to control the camera. Maybe there is a use for 3D - fixing camera/depth issues. Maybe Kinect headtracking can be a partial solution. There are so many games this generation that have me cursing the camera at times. My biggest concerns seem to be one of several complaints:
* The camera vs the wall: it turns out the wall usually wins. Basically, a lot of games i've played this generation have problems where if you are near a wall, the camera becomes crazy and you are left with circumstances where you can't see anything. Moving the camera and quick action don't seem to go together well.
* Cameras with mind of their own: in some games with set cameras, it seems like half the time you have to fight the camera to show you what you want.
* 2.5D: as someone with questionable depth perception, 2.5D tends to really mess me up in terms of distances and angles
It turns out that i have been really disappointed in the way the cameras react in the games - how the action is followed. For the record, i would rather not have to control the camera. Maybe there is a use for 3D - fixing camera/depth issues. Maybe Kinect headtracking can be a partial solution. There are so many games this generation that have me cursing the camera at times. My biggest concerns seem to be one of several complaints:
* The camera vs the wall: it turns out the wall usually wins. Basically, a lot of games i've played this generation have problems where if you are near a wall, the camera becomes crazy and you are left with circumstances where you can't see anything. Moving the camera and quick action don't seem to go together well.
* Cameras with mind of their own: in some games with set cameras, it seems like half the time you have to fight the camera to show you what you want.
* 2.5D: as someone with questionable depth perception, 2.5D tends to really mess me up in terms of distances and angles
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Game Room - The August 2011 Report
i decided to move my monthly checks to earlier in the month. i checked the leaderboards on August 3, 2011. There is a slight wrinkle here in that i also checked on July 15th. Apparently, although not being supported with new content for 6 months or so, games on the service continue to climb the leaderboard levels.
If MSFT is looking for a good birthday present for me this year, how about a bunch of new content on Game Room (at least 5 game packs worth).
If MSFT is looking for a good birthday present for me this year, how about a bunch of new content on Game Room (at least 5 game packs worth).
Friday, July 29, 2011
Dview: Enchanted Arms (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Enchanted Arms was one of the first RPGs on the Xbox 360. In some ways, this game is kind of a throwback RPG: it is turn based and the random encounter rate is annoyingly high. The turn based system is a little different in that it uses a grid where players can be positioned before their turn. You input the commands for your 4 characters then start the turn. Some golems fill up 4 spaces in the grid, human and smaller characters take up 1 space. The position within the grid (and the enemy's position) dictates what enemies you can attack. i wish more games used this system. There are also numerous golems you can use instead of the 4 humans. i heard the voice acting was kind of bad, especially early on (but i typically play without sound on).
Grade: C-
What to Expect:
* Random Encounters, lots of random encounters. There is an expensive skill you can buy that negates them.
* Grid based turn based combat system
* Average story
* Numerous skills and Golems to buy/find
* Some kind of annoying "tutorials" which all end up with pressing the A button (yes, Atsuma isn't very smart - they overdid that a little)
* Vitality points for characters which kind of prevent insane grinding. There is an item that can replenish them
* A fairly annoying/difficult boss (Ice Queen) unless you sufficiently level/parameter grind
* Some enemies are weak to certain elements (same for characters you control)
* Summons (EX attacks) that are usually learned through leveling or story progression.
* Fairly linear: there really aren't quests, though there is the optional bonus dungeon (Holy Beast Shrine) and collecting the "god weapons". The weapons from the Holy Beast Shrine are better, but you learn a skill from the "god weapons".
* Mini-games: golem battle (kind of an arena), slots, roulette, etc. Lots of golem cores, skills, etc to buy from the casino
* Length: 30-50+ (especially if you get all golems with full FP).
Obvious Tips:
* Use your skill points (you can use them to build up parameters or learn skills). You won't earn any more than 99,999.
* Right Trigger is auto battle for a round (when you don't want to do every fight)
* After your turn starts, hold the Y button to slightly speed up technique/summon animation
My Stats:
* Playtime: 53 hours 44 minutes (did bonus dungeon with random encounters enabled)
* Achievements: 25/25 (1,000 GS)
* Level: 79
* Golems: 79%
* Skills: 96%
* Support: 94%
* Battles 971 (though that might be low)
Achievements:
All of the achievements in this game are directly related to the story. i wish there would have been more variety to the achievements like collect all golems, skills, win all golem battles in casino, etc. This isn't the most difficult 1,000 GamerScore, but it will take a while (and one of the bosses is a pain - several other if you are under powered).
Enchanted Arms was one of the first RPGs on the Xbox 360. In some ways, this game is kind of a throwback RPG: it is turn based and the random encounter rate is annoyingly high. The turn based system is a little different in that it uses a grid where players can be positioned before their turn. You input the commands for your 4 characters then start the turn. Some golems fill up 4 spaces in the grid, human and smaller characters take up 1 space. The position within the grid (and the enemy's position) dictates what enemies you can attack. i wish more games used this system. There are also numerous golems you can use instead of the 4 humans. i heard the voice acting was kind of bad, especially early on (but i typically play without sound on).
Grade: C-
What to Expect:
* Random Encounters, lots of random encounters. There is an expensive skill you can buy that negates them.
* Grid based turn based combat system
* Average story
* Numerous skills and Golems to buy/find
* Some kind of annoying "tutorials" which all end up with pressing the A button (yes, Atsuma isn't very smart - they overdid that a little)
* Vitality points for characters which kind of prevent insane grinding. There is an item that can replenish them
* A fairly annoying/difficult boss (Ice Queen) unless you sufficiently level/parameter grind
* Some enemies are weak to certain elements (same for characters you control)
* Summons (EX attacks) that are usually learned through leveling or story progression.
* Fairly linear: there really aren't quests, though there is the optional bonus dungeon (Holy Beast Shrine) and collecting the "god weapons". The weapons from the Holy Beast Shrine are better, but you learn a skill from the "god weapons".
* Mini-games: golem battle (kind of an arena), slots, roulette, etc. Lots of golem cores, skills, etc to buy from the casino
* Length: 30-50+ (especially if you get all golems with full FP).
Obvious Tips:
* Use your skill points (you can use them to build up parameters or learn skills). You won't earn any more than 99,999.
* Right Trigger is auto battle for a round (when you don't want to do every fight)
* After your turn starts, hold the Y button to slightly speed up technique/summon animation
My Stats:
* Playtime: 53 hours 44 minutes (did bonus dungeon with random encounters enabled)
* Achievements: 25/25 (1,000 GS)
* Level: 79
* Golems: 79%
* Skills: 96%
* Support: 94%
* Battles 971 (though that might be low)
Achievements:
All of the achievements in this game are directly related to the story. i wish there would have been more variety to the achievements like collect all golems, skills, win all golem battles in casino, etc. This isn't the most difficult 1,000 GamerScore, but it will take a while (and one of the bosses is a pain - several other if you are under powered).
Video Game Annoyances: Freezing
Wouldn't you know it, i just got to the final boss in Enchanted Arms (it is like a 5 fight sequence - after the 2 fight sequence) just to have my Xbox 360 hard freeze. That is so fricking annoying. i also had a freeze at the final boss of Star Ocean 4 (i should probably finish off that playthrough sometime).
Is it too much to ask that consoles (and games) be perfectly stable and never crash (even if i play for 13 hours straight)? i guess so. Freezes (especially hard freezes) are probable my second least favorite technical hassle (the first being the red ring, or light of death).
On that subject, i am on my 3rd Xbox 360. My launch window console (December 10th) lasted a little over 3 years before the video card failed (or i think that is what it was), the replacement lasted about 1 year before it started frequently freezing and locking up (so i traded it in to Game Stop, i know that is kind of bad). My current console is a 4 GB slim with an added 250 GB hard drive. i had to send it in for repair less than 6 months in - probably because a firmware update bricked it. i was really not happy and almost quit playing it, but ultimately i had too much already spent on it (invested is totally the wrong term).
What are your video game related annoyances?
Is it too much to ask that consoles (and games) be perfectly stable and never crash (even if i play for 13 hours straight)? i guess so. Freezes (especially hard freezes) are probable my second least favorite technical hassle (the first being the red ring, or light of death).
On that subject, i am on my 3rd Xbox 360. My launch window console (December 10th) lasted a little over 3 years before the video card failed (or i think that is what it was), the replacement lasted about 1 year before it started frequently freezing and locking up (so i traded it in to Game Stop, i know that is kind of bad). My current console is a 4 GB slim with an added 250 GB hard drive. i had to send it in for repair less than 6 months in - probably because a firmware update bricked it. i was really not happy and almost quit playing it, but ultimately i had too much already spent on it (invested is totally the wrong term).
What are your video game related annoyances?
Saturday, July 16, 2011
What i've Been Playing this Week
Video games are apparenlty game with video - go figure. So, what have i been doing for the last week or more.
i finally finished off Magna Carta 2 (1,240/1,240 GS) and started a game of thermo-nuclear war (no, that was War Games). i did start Enchanted Arms. Enchanted Arms is a throwback turn-based RPG (originally released around the Xbox 360s release), the encounter rate is kind of insane. i'm about 30 hours in. Then i guess i played a little Overlord 2. i actually dusted off my Nintendo DS too. That was to start a game of Chrono Trigger (i don't exactly like the battle system). Playing games on the DS is kind of hard for me, as the characters look like ants (way too small).
If anyone is annoyed that i don't really don't have much to say about other consoles than the Xbox 360, i could be grudgingly willing to accept donations of consoles and games.
Games Started:
* Enchanted Arms
* Lost Odyssey
* Overlord II
* Chrono Trigger (DS)
Current Gamerscore:
* 27,012 (new main acocunt, started June 2010)
* 36,790 (original account i don't use much anymore as it may be cursed)
i finally finished off Magna Carta 2 (1,240/1,240 GS) and started a game of thermo-nuclear war (no, that was War Games). i did start Enchanted Arms. Enchanted Arms is a throwback turn-based RPG (originally released around the Xbox 360s release), the encounter rate is kind of insane. i'm about 30 hours in. Then i guess i played a little Overlord 2. i actually dusted off my Nintendo DS too. That was to start a game of Chrono Trigger (i don't exactly like the battle system). Playing games on the DS is kind of hard for me, as the characters look like ants (way too small).
If anyone is annoyed that i don't really don't have much to say about other consoles than the Xbox 360, i could be grudgingly willing to accept donations of consoles and games.
Games Started:
* Enchanted Arms
* Lost Odyssey
* Overlord II
* Chrono Trigger (DS)
Current Gamerscore:
* 27,012 (new main acocunt, started June 2010)
* 36,790 (original account i don't use much anymore as it may be cursed)
Did MSFT Do a Stealth Price Cut on the Xbox 360?
The June NPD numbers (apparently) are in. MSFT (Microsoft, i use the stock abbreviation a lot) sold over 500,000 consoles in what is a traditionally slow month. Some of this is tied to the PC/Xbox promotion (likely less than 25%).
What i was wondering is if MSFT did a stealth price cut a few months ago. What i mean by stealth price cut is that the price cut was really on the retailer side (not the MSRP). i would guess that somewhere around $25 per console has been taken off the cost for retail.
It would explain somewhat why there seem to be so many stores offering gift cards with purchases of Xbox consoles (and especially bundles). Maybe i'm wrong and stores are just seeing an uptick from a brief economic recovery. However, it seems to me that stores are not really using gift to act as a loss leader. Gift cards really are an ideal method for the stores (as either they won't be used or future purchases are "locked in" at that store chain). i find these gift cards reappearing so frequently interesting (a one off promotion i could understand, but virtually every week looks like a tip-off to a price cut or an effective price cut for them).
i postulate that the official price cut will be revealed before the end of TGS (mid September), at least for the consumer. i expect a $25-50 cut on console price, $25 cut on Kinect stand alones and a $50-75 cut to Kinect/Xbox bundles. This is not really based off of anything other than a guess.
What i was wondering is if MSFT did a stealth price cut a few months ago. What i mean by stealth price cut is that the price cut was really on the retailer side (not the MSRP). i would guess that somewhere around $25 per console has been taken off the cost for retail.
It would explain somewhat why there seem to be so many stores offering gift cards with purchases of Xbox consoles (and especially bundles). Maybe i'm wrong and stores are just seeing an uptick from a brief economic recovery. However, it seems to me that stores are not really using gift to act as a loss leader. Gift cards really are an ideal method for the stores (as either they won't be used or future purchases are "locked in" at that store chain). i find these gift cards reappearing so frequently interesting (a one off promotion i could understand, but virtually every week looks like a tip-off to a price cut or an effective price cut for them).
i postulate that the official price cut will be revealed before the end of TGS (mid September), at least for the consumer. i expect a $25-50 cut on console price, $25 cut on Kinect stand alones and a $50-75 cut to Kinect/Xbox bundles. This is not really based off of anything other than a guess.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Game Room - The July 2011 Report
i was kind of bored, so i did the July leaderboard check a little earlier than i anticipated. i guess i also did it a little early due to the switchover to Xbox.com of Games for Windows Live. i have switched both gamertags to the PC version of Game Room - so i don't suffer hard console freezes.
Maybe some more games will have leaderboard increases between now and July 15 (when i was going to do the check).
Observed Increases:
* Dodge 'Em (+100)
* Dolphin (+100)
* Jail Break (+1,000)
* Scooter Shooter (+1,000
* Super Basketball (+100)
* Super Breakout (2600) (+100)
* Vectron (+10)
* Time Pilot (+1,000)
Summary:
This time, i only observed 8 increases for 3,410 in total leaderboard increases. This was not as long of a time horizon as my last check, so results compared month to month are likely skewed. The actual increase in leaderboards in probably greater.
Interesting Note:
Combined Atari (Arcade and 2600) has taken over the lead in ranked Game Room sales by publisher from Konami by 2,705 (that might have happend last time). 80 games are not ranked. My most basic current estimates by publisher have:
*Atari at 147,081
* Konami at 144,376
* Activision at 33,688
* Intellivision at 24,021
Total: 349,166 or approximately $1,047,498 in gross sales of ranked games
i just updated my SkyDrive file for Game Room estimated sales based off of leaderboards (87.5%). This is not my slightly more convoluted irr stuff.
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=c67fdccca0fc034e&sc=documents#!/view.aspx/Public/Game%20Room%20Sales%20Estimates.xlsx?cid=c67fdccca0fc034e&sc=documents
Maybe some more games will have leaderboard increases between now and July 15 (when i was going to do the check).
Observed Increases:
* Dodge 'Em (+100)
* Dolphin (+100)
* Jail Break (+1,000)
* Scooter Shooter (+1,000
* Super Basketball (+100)
* Super Breakout (2600) (+100)
* Vectron (+10)
* Time Pilot (+1,000)
Summary:
This time, i only observed 8 increases for 3,410 in total leaderboard increases. This was not as long of a time horizon as my last check, so results compared month to month are likely skewed. The actual increase in leaderboards in probably greater.
Interesting Note:
Combined Atari (Arcade and 2600) has taken over the lead in ranked Game Room sales by publisher from Konami by 2,705 (that might have happend last time). 80 games are not ranked. My most basic current estimates by publisher have:
*Atari at 147,081
* Konami at 144,376
* Activision at 33,688
* Intellivision at 24,021
Total: 349,166 or approximately $1,047,498 in gross sales of ranked games
i just updated my SkyDrive file for Game Room estimated sales based off of leaderboards (87.5%). This is not my slightly more convoluted irr stuff.
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=c67fdccca0fc034e&sc=documents#!/view.aspx/Public/Game%20Room%20Sales%20Estimates.xlsx?cid=c67fdccca0fc034e&sc=documents
HD Remakes i Want to See
So, i start another post off with the word "so". Recently some HD collections have been announced - the out of nowhere Halo CE Anniversary and some Konami stuff. This got me thinking... what games from my shadowy gaming past would i like to see remade for the modern HD console. i decided to limit the list to PS1 and later titles. Downloadable titles (that are more emulation) and portable versions aren't enough for me.
Here goes:
1 with a bullet) Lunar: Eternal Blue & Lunar: Silver Star Story
2) Grandia 2 and Grandia
3) Fable: The Lost Chapters
4) Skies of Arcadia (i don't think i ever beat that game)
5) Star Ocean (the first 3 games)
6) Tales of _____ games
7) Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
8) Evolution 1 & 2
9) Voodoo Vince (could be interesting as a Kinect title)
10) Sudeki
11) Chrono Trigger (the DS version doesn't really work for me, small screen and all)
12) Final Fantasy VII
13) Basically any RPG going for over $100 on AMZN
14) King's Quest Series (on console)
15) Gazillionaire Deluxe, Profitania, Zapitalism (on console)
16) Azurik: Rise of Perathia (i'm weird like that)
17) Jade Empire
18) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Here goes:
1 with a bullet) Lunar: Eternal Blue & Lunar: Silver Star Story
2) Grandia 2 and Grandia
3) Fable: The Lost Chapters
4) Skies of Arcadia (i don't think i ever beat that game)
5) Star Ocean (the first 3 games)
6) Tales of _____ games
7) Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind
8) Evolution 1 & 2
9) Voodoo Vince (could be interesting as a Kinect title)
10) Sudeki
11) Chrono Trigger (the DS version doesn't really work for me, small screen and all)
12) Final Fantasy VII
13) Basically any RPG going for over $100 on AMZN
14) King's Quest Series (on console)
15) Gazillionaire Deluxe, Profitania, Zapitalism (on console)
16) Azurik: Rise of Perathia (i'm weird like that)
17) Jade Empire
18) Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Dview: Magnacarta 2 (Xbox 360)
Bottom Line:
Magnacarta 2 is an console action RPG where you primarily play as a character who doesn't remember his past - until it comes back to haunt him. i know, groundbreaking for an RPG. Magnacarta 2 is actually a RPG that leans heavily on RPG conventions - but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You are thrown into one side of a civil war as certain events traspire. But is everything as it seems? You can switch between characters in battle using the direction pad (and it is necessary for some types of attacks - like battle chains) or the battle menu. As a character attacks they lose stamina, when that happens enough they can't attack until they "cool down" - unless battle chains are used.
There are a variety of skills to learn (kind of a skill tree scenario), unfortunately some skills are only available based off of what weapon type the character is using. Each character has two weapon styles (ex. Juto has 2 Handed sword or 1 Handed sword), which has different associated skills. Battle skills can be launched with the B button (provided they have saved up enough Kan to use them). Oh yeah, as a character attacks or is attacked they build up Kan which can then be used for special skills.
There is also DLC that costs 400 points that adds 240 gamerscore points and a weapon (in each style) for each of the 6 characters. The weapons are a little overpowered (especially early on).
Grade: C+
What to Expect:
* Numerous side quests (over 100)
* Fighting monsters and humans in a party of 3 (user selectable, though some might not be able to be used at certain times)
* Decent length for an RPG, i think this was designed for 2 playthroughs.
* Action combat with the semi-frequent need to switch characters
* Some relatively difficult enemies
* Relatively standard RPG faire
* Battle system that may take a little while to become proficient in
How i Played:
Difficulty: Default
Play Time: 40 hours (probably another 30+ on 2nd playthrough)
Achievements: 38/46 (with DLC), 1,000/1,240 gamerscore
Bad Tips: Rue (Katana) is a good leader to use when you get her as she has an instant kill ability that you can use sometimes - well it would be if you didn't need to use so many Battle Chains for the achievements.
Achievements:
i will get 1,240 eventually, but i only have 1,000 now. Basically the achievements are for stuff like: finishing all of the side quest (some are easily missable), doing X Chain Breaks, Story Related, Mastering Weapon Styles, etc. The DLC is for watching brief videos and collecting all weapons for the 6 characters.
Magnacarta 2 is an console action RPG where you primarily play as a character who doesn't remember his past - until it comes back to haunt him. i know, groundbreaking for an RPG. Magnacarta 2 is actually a RPG that leans heavily on RPG conventions - but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You are thrown into one side of a civil war as certain events traspire. But is everything as it seems? You can switch between characters in battle using the direction pad (and it is necessary for some types of attacks - like battle chains) or the battle menu. As a character attacks they lose stamina, when that happens enough they can't attack until they "cool down" - unless battle chains are used.
There are a variety of skills to learn (kind of a skill tree scenario), unfortunately some skills are only available based off of what weapon type the character is using. Each character has two weapon styles (ex. Juto has 2 Handed sword or 1 Handed sword), which has different associated skills. Battle skills can be launched with the B button (provided they have saved up enough Kan to use them). Oh yeah, as a character attacks or is attacked they build up Kan which can then be used for special skills.
There is also DLC that costs 400 points that adds 240 gamerscore points and a weapon (in each style) for each of the 6 characters. The weapons are a little overpowered (especially early on).
Grade: C+
What to Expect:
* Numerous side quests (over 100)
* Fighting monsters and humans in a party of 3 (user selectable, though some might not be able to be used at certain times)
* Decent length for an RPG, i think this was designed for 2 playthroughs.
* Action combat with the semi-frequent need to switch characters
* Some relatively difficult enemies
* Relatively standard RPG faire
* Battle system that may take a little while to become proficient in
How i Played:
Difficulty: Default
Play Time: 40 hours (probably another 30+ on 2nd playthrough)
Achievements: 38/46 (with DLC), 1,000/1,240 gamerscore
Bad Tips: Rue (Katana) is a good leader to use when you get her as she has an instant kill ability that you can use sometimes - well it would be if you didn't need to use so many Battle Chains for the achievements.
Achievements:
i will get 1,240 eventually, but i only have 1,000 now. Basically the achievements are for stuff like: finishing all of the side quest (some are easily missable), doing X Chain Breaks, Story Related, Mastering Weapon Styles, etc. The DLC is for watching brief videos and collecting all weapons for the 6 characters.
Dview: DeathSpank (Xbox 360, XBLA)
Bottom Line:
DeathSpank is kind of a loot based hack-n-slash action RPG that relies heavily on quests. You play as a relatively dim-witted hero of the downtrodden named DeathSpank. This isn't a game that takes itself seriously - there are a bunch of off-the-wall quests and lines of dialog. Basically the combat consists of using the face buttons (A,B,X,Y). In the end, DeathSpank succeeds in vanquishing the forces of evil - well at least until the sequel (i wish i would have bought that when it was on sale). i actually spent longer on a playthrough of this than i did BioShock
Grade: B
What to Expect:
* Fighting a bunch of enemies with the face buttons
* Using potions and food to heal (and you will actually need these)
* A bunch of quests - many are of the fetch or kill monster x variety. Much of the time you will be on some quest or other.
* Numerous outhouses to discover - used for quick travel or resurrecting the character
* A decent length XBLA title
* Thankfully, not much of a penalty for dying
* Some action game elements (talking about Monkey Island type action games)
* Fortune Cookies - you can find these scattered around, they can be used to get hints about how to complete quests.
* Some sort of strange characters, quests and dialog
How i Played:Difficulty: Easy (Still died a lot, you probably would want to play at harder level to get more XP)
Time Spent: About 13-15 hours (it is annoying to get to level 20)
Achievements: 12/12 or 200/200
Achievements:
The achievements here are attainable at any difficulty level. One tip, termites eat the outer rim of a wooden wheel so it can be used as a gear. The achievements are for story events, killing enemies, side quests, reaching the maximum level, and even one for doing something specific in the menu.
DeathSpank is kind of a loot based hack-n-slash action RPG that relies heavily on quests. You play as a relatively dim-witted hero of the downtrodden named DeathSpank. This isn't a game that takes itself seriously - there are a bunch of off-the-wall quests and lines of dialog. Basically the combat consists of using the face buttons (A,B,X,Y). In the end, DeathSpank succeeds in vanquishing the forces of evil - well at least until the sequel (i wish i would have bought that when it was on sale). i actually spent longer on a playthrough of this than i did BioShock
Grade: B
What to Expect:
* Fighting a bunch of enemies with the face buttons
* Using potions and food to heal (and you will actually need these)
* A bunch of quests - many are of the fetch or kill monster x variety. Much of the time you will be on some quest or other.
* Numerous outhouses to discover - used for quick travel or resurrecting the character
* A decent length XBLA title
* Thankfully, not much of a penalty for dying
* Some action game elements (talking about Monkey Island type action games)
* Fortune Cookies - you can find these scattered around, they can be used to get hints about how to complete quests.
* Some sort of strange characters, quests and dialog
How i Played:Difficulty: Easy (Still died a lot, you probably would want to play at harder level to get more XP)
Time Spent: About 13-15 hours (it is annoying to get to level 20)
Achievements: 12/12 or 200/200
Achievements:
The achievements here are attainable at any difficulty level. One tip, termites eat the outer rim of a wooden wheel so it can be used as a gear. The achievements are for story events, killing enemies, side quests, reaching the maximum level, and even one for doing something specific in the menu.
Dview: BioShock (Xbox 360)
Bottom Line:
BioShock was one of the most immersive and impressive games i have played - on the first playthrough. The well placed period music and the unique environment of Rapture (a Capitalist utopia turned dystopia) make it an interesting game. However, the game seems somehow different in subsequent playthroughs. Basically it is a first person shooter with light RPG elements (like leveling up weapons, acquiring tonics to augment the character and also plasmids - which are like magic spells, sort of).
Somehow, the Dream of Andrew Ryan went wrong. Living in isolation and the discovery of Adam led to a different society. New advances were possible (especially in regards to genetic manipulation). Unfortunately, there were forces on Rapture that hastened its demise as the idealistic paradise. Unfortunately, he let people into his Utopia that he shouldn't have.
Grade:
B+
What to Expect:
* A first person shooters with limited enemy types, mostly Splicers (people who abused Adam). This seems to be focused slightly more on exploration than most "shooters".
* Big Daddies to kill - sort of an iconic creature in the game, Little Sisters to harvest or save
* A story line that finds you entering in a war torn rapture and maybe a little deception
* 100 diary tape entries that give you some of the back story
* Numerous tonics and plasmids to find/buy
* Limited penalty for death (for most of the game)
* A main character that seem like a throw-away
* A kind of annoying camera "weapon" used to research enemies that allows for bonus damage or reward tonics
* A kind of interesting under water place called Rapture - which is really the star of this game.
How i Played:
Difficulty: Casual
Time Spent: 10-12 hours (second playthrough getting all diaries 10-12 hours)
Achievements: 49/51 for 960/1,100 points (didn't get the Hardest difficulty ones)
Achievements:
There are two difficulty based achievements in this game - one is for just beating the game on Hard (the whole game not just the boss), the other one is for beating the game on Hard without dying and turning the Vita Chambers off. Other than that you have: story related, collectible, upgrade, dealing with Little Sisters, researching enemies, hacking and miscellaneous side tasks. Most of them can be done in under 20 hours. However, you may want to use a guide to find all of the weapon upgrade stations (one tricky) and audio diaries.
BioShock was one of the most immersive and impressive games i have played - on the first playthrough. The well placed period music and the unique environment of Rapture (a Capitalist utopia turned dystopia) make it an interesting game. However, the game seems somehow different in subsequent playthroughs. Basically it is a first person shooter with light RPG elements (like leveling up weapons, acquiring tonics to augment the character and also plasmids - which are like magic spells, sort of).
Somehow, the Dream of Andrew Ryan went wrong. Living in isolation and the discovery of Adam led to a different society. New advances were possible (especially in regards to genetic manipulation). Unfortunately, there were forces on Rapture that hastened its demise as the idealistic paradise. Unfortunately, he let people into his Utopia that he shouldn't have.
Grade:
B+
What to Expect:
* A first person shooters with limited enemy types, mostly Splicers (people who abused Adam). This seems to be focused slightly more on exploration than most "shooters".
* Big Daddies to kill - sort of an iconic creature in the game, Little Sisters to harvest or save
* A story line that finds you entering in a war torn rapture and maybe a little deception
* 100 diary tape entries that give you some of the back story
* Numerous tonics and plasmids to find/buy
* Limited penalty for death (for most of the game)
* A main character that seem like a throw-away
* A kind of annoying camera "weapon" used to research enemies that allows for bonus damage or reward tonics
* A kind of interesting under water place called Rapture - which is really the star of this game.
How i Played:
Difficulty: Casual
Time Spent: 10-12 hours (second playthrough getting all diaries 10-12 hours)
Achievements: 49/51 for 960/1,100 points (didn't get the Hardest difficulty ones)
Achievements:
There are two difficulty based achievements in this game - one is for just beating the game on Hard (the whole game not just the boss), the other one is for beating the game on Hard without dying and turning the Vita Chambers off. Other than that you have: story related, collectible, upgrade, dealing with Little Sisters, researching enemies, hacking and miscellaneous side tasks. Most of them can be done in under 20 hours. However, you may want to use a guide to find all of the weapon upgrade stations (one tricky) and audio diaries.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Duke Nukem Forever and Reviews
First, off let me say that i have not played Duke Nukem Forever (nor do i plan to). In fact the only exposure i have to the series is playing some of the early adventure (shareware) games and a little Duke Nukem 3D (my roommate used this for LAN parties a lot). So, to me, Duke Nukem seems to have played a big part in what was eventually to become online gaming (like XBL). In fact that was one of the reasons i was not interested in this title - i view it more as a multiplayer game (i have problems in general with shooters too). This is more of a reaction to what i have seen in the video game press.
The review scores i have seen in the press for Duke Nukem Forever are largely indefensible. What i am really getting at here is that the video game reviewers are showing a distinct lack of professionalism with their reviews for this game (unjustifiably harsh scoring). They are showing a distinct lack of any objectivity. Actually that is a major problems with reviews themselves - they are too subjective - they give some games 9.0s that don't deserve it and are way to harsh on other games. The way i see it, if a game works technically (not a lot of game crashing/killing bugs, playable) it deserves a 5.0 base score. Some points can be taken off for specific problems. Load screens are annoying, but not a real technical problem.
Sure, i never expected this game to be a work of art, but i'm sure it is better than some games which scored much higher. One of the problems is that Gearbox stayed remarkably close to the original intent of the game (which finally got off the vaporware list). The long/troubled development cycle is another strike against it. However, the complaint i find most egregious is the editorializing about the character and morality of the game. It is not a real game journalist's place to use a review as a bully pulpit. This game is getting slammed for offending some feminist sentimentalities (i'm not going to get into how intellectually dishonest feminism actually is here). Who cares is Duke comes off as sexist or misogynistic. That can actually be seen as some of the charm of a game (in this non-offensive vanilla climate).
Now, if Gearbox wanted to do something interesting... release all of the Duke Nukem games on XBL and PSN as downloadable content that launches from the full commercial game. i could go for some of the really early Duke Nukem games. So use the catalog as a value added proposition for the retail game.
The review scores i have seen in the press for Duke Nukem Forever are largely indefensible. What i am really getting at here is that the video game reviewers are showing a distinct lack of professionalism with their reviews for this game (unjustifiably harsh scoring). They are showing a distinct lack of any objectivity. Actually that is a major problems with reviews themselves - they are too subjective - they give some games 9.0s that don't deserve it and are way to harsh on other games. The way i see it, if a game works technically (not a lot of game crashing/killing bugs, playable) it deserves a 5.0 base score. Some points can be taken off for specific problems. Load screens are annoying, but not a real technical problem.
Sure, i never expected this game to be a work of art, but i'm sure it is better than some games which scored much higher. One of the problems is that Gearbox stayed remarkably close to the original intent of the game (which finally got off the vaporware list). The long/troubled development cycle is another strike against it. However, the complaint i find most egregious is the editorializing about the character and morality of the game. It is not a real game journalist's place to use a review as a bully pulpit. This game is getting slammed for offending some feminist sentimentalities (i'm not going to get into how intellectually dishonest feminism actually is here). Who cares is Duke comes off as sexist or misogynistic. That can actually be seen as some of the charm of a game (in this non-offensive vanilla climate).
Now, if Gearbox wanted to do something interesting... release all of the Duke Nukem games on XBL and PSN as downloadable content that launches from the full commercial game. i could go for some of the really early Duke Nukem games. So use the catalog as a value added proposition for the retail game.
i Do Not Like the New Xbox.com Forums
So, i was looking at the Official Xbox forums (xbox.com).
They really did a hatchet job on the site. Basically, every time they change it they seem to make things worse. Whehter it is game pages disappearing or something else. Basically, existing forums disappeared and they actually made it more difficult to find the forum you wanted. For some reason they like the mouse hover over method of loading a list interface. i would prefer launching it from its own page.
Maybe they will be rolling out more forums for individual games. However, it doesn't look good. It seems if you actually find a forum for a game you are interested in that they increased the font size and listed fewer threads per page. The next button will be clicked a lot with this format. i guess i don't like the green link text either.
i'm sure they have a reason for changing things around (that make sense to someone else). However, i'm not a fan.
Now for some bonus: Things i don't like about the Xbox 360 S
* Touch sensitive buttons - these are annoyingly easy to hit when you don't want to (especially if you are doing anything with the rear USB ports. i also hate the annoying chime they make when you hit them. i play a lot at late night (when i don't want to hear the sounds)
* The USB seem to be a little loose. i bought a 4GB slim (i have since added a hard drive). However, when i was using a 16GB USB flash drive, i had to kind of pin it in the front two slots or the console wouldn't read it. Why can't they put USB ports on the sides where they are easier to access?
They really did a hatchet job on the site. Basically, every time they change it they seem to make things worse. Whehter it is game pages disappearing or something else. Basically, existing forums disappeared and they actually made it more difficult to find the forum you wanted. For some reason they like the mouse hover over method of loading a list interface. i would prefer launching it from its own page.
Maybe they will be rolling out more forums for individual games. However, it doesn't look good. It seems if you actually find a forum for a game you are interested in that they increased the font size and listed fewer threads per page. The next button will be clicked a lot with this format. i guess i don't like the green link text either.
i'm sure they have a reason for changing things around (that make sense to someone else). However, i'm not a fan.
Now for some bonus: Things i don't like about the Xbox 360 S
* Touch sensitive buttons - these are annoyingly easy to hit when you don't want to (especially if you are doing anything with the rear USB ports. i also hate the annoying chime they make when you hit them. i play a lot at late night (when i don't want to hear the sounds)
* The USB seem to be a little loose. i bought a 4GB slim (i have since added a hard drive). However, when i was using a 16GB USB flash drive, i had to kind of pin it in the front two slots or the console wouldn't read it. Why can't they put USB ports on the sides where they are easier to access?
Dview: Karaoke Revolution (Xbox 360) US Version
The Bottom Line:
Karaoke Revolution is a singing game. i know that may be a real shocker. i really liked Lips, but i decided to try this when it got cheaper. The experience is a little different than something like Lips or SingStar (if they released it for the 360 i would get it) in that the main part of the game is the career mode - consisting of a series of "gigs". Yes, you can fail gigs (though Easy mode really, really is forgiving). Karaoke Revolution has the videos for the songs, but i have to ask myself why? Couldn't they have just added another 10 songs instead? i further question their decision to include Spanish language tracks in the US release (5 of them). Unfortunately, Konami decided to stop supporting this game fairly soon after launch (very limited DLC). This is a nice compliment / a little something different than other singing games. This is for the US version of the game.
Grade: C+
Karaoke Revolution is a singing game. i know that may be a real shocker. i really liked Lips, but i decided to try this when it got cheaper. The experience is a little different than something like Lips or SingStar (if they released it for the 360 i would get it) in that the main part of the game is the career mode - consisting of a series of "gigs". Yes, you can fail gigs (though Easy mode really, really is forgiving). Karaoke Revolution has the videos for the songs, but i have to ask myself why? Couldn't they have just added another 10 songs instead? i further question their decision to include Spanish language tracks in the US release (5 of them). Unfortunately, Konami decided to stop supporting this game fairly soon after launch (very limited DLC). This is a nice compliment / a little something different than other singing games. This is for the US version of the game.
Grade: C+
Dview: Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
Marvel Ultimate Alliance is sort of an action RPG. In the game you play as a team of 4 super heroes ranging from Spider-Man to Ms. Marvel. Yes, some are more obscure than others. There originally was a Heroes and Villians pack available as DLC, but has supposedly been pulled. If you want the complete experience go with the Gold Edition. The game really seems to be middling in every way.
Grade: C
What to Expect:
* Beating up a stream of enemies (mostly robots of some type)
* Leveling up - can set to auto
* Collectibles to find: Comic Discs (unlock missions for hero skins), Action Figures (unlock Daredevil or Black Panther) and Sketch Books (concept art)
* QTE (Quick Time Events) - basically button pressing at specific times. The most annoying of these are the comic book missions for Storm and Spider-Man.
* A bunch of heros to play as. Some seem eerily similar to others though (especially the DLC ones). i think it is 33 with the DLC.
* Defeating enemies can unlock additional skins for the characters
* Combat system - light attack, heavy attack, x is grab (for throws), the triggers can be used to launch a power (it and the corresponding face button) and select tactic.
* Some boss fights
My Play:
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20-30 hours (with almost everything)
Achievements: 46/58 (1030/1,)250
Achievments:
Achievements in this game are for things like unlocking all available character skins (especially DLC), Throwing X people off ledges, defeating X enemies, story events, unlocking playable characters, answering trivia questions, etc. Unfortunately, there are also some for playing co-op. Some are more of a chore than others.
Marvel Ultimate Alliance is sort of an action RPG. In the game you play as a team of 4 super heroes ranging from Spider-Man to Ms. Marvel. Yes, some are more obscure than others. There originally was a Heroes and Villians pack available as DLC, but has supposedly been pulled. If you want the complete experience go with the Gold Edition. The game really seems to be middling in every way.
Grade: C
What to Expect:
* Beating up a stream of enemies (mostly robots of some type)
* Leveling up - can set to auto
* Collectibles to find: Comic Discs (unlock missions for hero skins), Action Figures (unlock Daredevil or Black Panther) and Sketch Books (concept art)
* QTE (Quick Time Events) - basically button pressing at specific times. The most annoying of these are the comic book missions for Storm and Spider-Man.
* A bunch of heros to play as. Some seem eerily similar to others though (especially the DLC ones). i think it is 33 with the DLC.
* Defeating enemies can unlock additional skins for the characters
* Combat system - light attack, heavy attack, x is grab (for throws), the triggers can be used to launch a power (it and the corresponding face button) and select tactic.
* Some boss fights
My Play:
Difficulty: Easy
Time: 20-30 hours (with almost everything)
Achievements: 46/58 (1030/1,)250
Achievments:
Achievements in this game are for things like unlocking all available character skins (especially DLC), Throwing X people off ledges, defeating X enemies, story events, unlocking playable characters, answering trivia questions, etc. Unfortunately, there are also some for playing co-op. Some are more of a chore than others.
Game Room - Predictions Through July 15, 2011
Here i am back again with another prediction thread about Game Room's leaderboards. Hold your excitement, really hold it. i know it won't be easy. This will be my predictions through July 15th (give or take a few/several days). So here we go again with my odd predictions...
My estimated leaderboard total for today (when i used the irr method) are a cumulative total of estimated leaderboards at 505,752. That is quite possibly a little high (if i was +/- 10% i would be sort of ok with it). So, if you follow through and estimate sales of ranked games based off of a bad estimate of leaderboard numbers, you would get 442,533 game sales (obviously ranked only). Remember these are based off of the numbers i have "estimated" only.
Predicted Increases:
* Beamrider: to 700
* Circus Atari: to 900
* Cosmic Commuter: to 500
* Demons to Diamonds: to 900
* Jungler: to 10,000
* Millipede (2600): to 9,000
* Missile Command: to 6,000
* Rack 'Em Up: to 5,000
* River Raid: to 6,000
* Scramble: to 10,000
* Space Armada: to 9,000 (doubtful)
* Star Strike: to 100
* Submarine Commander: to 100
* Super Breakout: to 10,000
* Time Pilot: to 7,000
* Tower of Doom: to 900
* Tutankham: to 9,000 (doubtful)
* Vectron: to 70
Possible Other Increases:
* Battlezone: to 6,000 (not likely)
* Dodge 'Em; to 600
* Keystone Kapers: to 4,000
* Millipede: to 4,000
* Road Fighter: to 30,000
* Shao-lin's Road: to 30,000
My estimated leaderboard total for today (when i used the irr method) are a cumulative total of estimated leaderboards at 505,752. That is quite possibly a little high (if i was +/- 10% i would be sort of ok with it). So, if you follow through and estimate sales of ranked games based off of a bad estimate of leaderboard numbers, you would get 442,533 game sales (obviously ranked only). Remember these are based off of the numbers i have "estimated" only.
Predicted Increases:
* Beamrider: to 700
* Circus Atari: to 900
* Cosmic Commuter: to 500
* Demons to Diamonds: to 900
* Jungler: to 10,000
* Millipede (2600): to 9,000
* Missile Command: to 6,000
* Rack 'Em Up: to 5,000
* River Raid: to 6,000
* Scramble: to 10,000
* Space Armada: to 9,000 (doubtful)
* Star Strike: to 100
* Submarine Commander: to 100
* Super Breakout: to 10,000
* Time Pilot: to 7,000
* Tower of Doom: to 900
* Tutankham: to 9,000 (doubtful)
* Vectron: to 70
Possible Other Increases:
* Battlezone: to 6,000 (not likely)
* Dodge 'Em; to 600
* Keystone Kapers: to 4,000
* Millipede: to 4,000
* Road Fighter: to 30,000
* Shao-lin's Road: to 30,000
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Game Room - The June 2011 Report
i decided to do my first monthly installment of Game Room's leaderboard check. i tried unsuccessfully on my Xbox 360 four times (once leaderboards were down, 3 hard freezes). i would strongly recommend using the PC version if you can (as the Xbox version is highly unstable). The PC version will still crash on exit 100% of the time. Well i guess it is June, so here is my report
The data is from leaderboard checks on June 11th and 13th (i think). My last check before then was May 9th. i will try to do another check sometime in (early or mid) July. i'm not sure if i'll put up a prediction post for July.
Observed Increases:
* Asteroids: 6,000 (+1K)
* Asteroids Deluxe: 30,000 (+10K Windows Phone 7 impact?) P
* Battlezone: 5,000 (+1K) P
* Beamrider: 600 (+100) P
* Breakout (2600): 700 (+100)
* Foodfight: 2,000 (+1K)
* Galactic Warriors: 600 (+100)
* Missile Command (2600): 600 (+100)
* Off the Wall: 200 (+100)
* Plaque Attack: 600 (+100)
* Stampede: 2,000 (+1K)
* Submarine Commander: 90 (+10) P
* Thin Ice: 700 (+100)
* Tower of Doom; 800 (+100) P
* TwinBee: 2,000 (+1K)
* Yar's Revenge: 10,000 (+1K) P
* Gravitar: 3,000 (+1k) P
* Missile Command: 5,000 (+1K) P
* Space Armada: 8,000 (+1K) P
* Tutankham: 8,000 (+1K) P
The total observed increase (based off leaderboards displayed only) for the one month plus period was 20 games for 20,810. That doesn't strike me as overall very good, but it is if you consider the state Game Room is in. Maybe the Windows phone version is spurring sales on the Xbox/PC side (or maybe the games were close to increases anyway).
My predictions were at about the usual level. i missed half of the increases and 15 of my 25 predictions may have been premature (10 weren't, even though some of them were repeats). The bold "P" denotes a game that i said might increase in the period (see my prediction post).
The data is from leaderboard checks on June 11th and 13th (i think). My last check before then was May 9th. i will try to do another check sometime in (early or mid) July. i'm not sure if i'll put up a prediction post for July.
Observed Increases:
* Asteroids: 6,000 (+1K)
* Asteroids Deluxe: 30,000 (+10K Windows Phone 7 impact?) P
* Battlezone: 5,000 (+1K) P
* Beamrider: 600 (+100) P
* Breakout (2600): 700 (+100)
* Foodfight: 2,000 (+1K)
* Galactic Warriors: 600 (+100)
* Missile Command (2600): 600 (+100)
* Off the Wall: 200 (+100)
* Plaque Attack: 600 (+100)
* Stampede: 2,000 (+1K)
* Submarine Commander: 90 (+10) P
* Thin Ice: 700 (+100)
* Tower of Doom; 800 (+100) P
* TwinBee: 2,000 (+1K)
* Yar's Revenge: 10,000 (+1K) P
* Gravitar: 3,000 (+1k) P
* Missile Command: 5,000 (+1K) P
* Space Armada: 8,000 (+1K) P
* Tutankham: 8,000 (+1K) P
The total observed increase (based off leaderboards displayed only) for the one month plus period was 20 games for 20,810. That doesn't strike me as overall very good, but it is if you consider the state Game Room is in. Maybe the Windows phone version is spurring sales on the Xbox/PC side (or maybe the games were close to increases anyway).
My predictions were at about the usual level. i missed half of the increases and 15 of my 25 predictions may have been premature (10 weren't, even though some of them were repeats). The bold "P" denotes a game that i said might increase in the period (see my prediction post).
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Portable Gaming: My problems and $250, really?
i have been thinking about portable gaming recently. No, i have not decided to purchase a PSP, a Vita or a 3DS. i guess it is just that E3 put a spotlight on these devices.
i was kind of wondering about the prices (especially Vita and 3DS)... Basically a portable gaming system has pretty much always been the weaker sibling of the home console. The Game Boy was a weaker SNES, the Game Gear a weaker Genesis, etc. So now, how is it that portable systems are actually more expensive than their console counterparts (while offering less functionality)?
i know this is the age of the smart phone (another trend i don't get), but should portability cost extra - especially when you get less for your money? It is not like these portables are such super advanced multi-function devices. i get that these companies have R&D costs to recover. However, $250 seems kind of steep.
i was kind of wondering about the prices (especially Vita and 3DS)... Basically a portable gaming system has pretty much always been the weaker sibling of the home console. The Game Boy was a weaker SNES, the Game Gear a weaker Genesis, etc. So now, how is it that portable systems are actually more expensive than their console counterparts (while offering less functionality)?
i know this is the age of the smart phone (another trend i don't get), but should portability cost extra - especially when you get less for your money? It is not like these portables are such super advanced multi-function devices. i get that these companies have R&D costs to recover. However, $250 seems kind of steep.
My Week in Video Games - Through June 11, 2011
This week was a busy one for the video game sector. E3 happened with all of the various announcements and demos, etc. So what have i been thinking about this week?
E3
As i mentioned E3 was this week. E3 has changed a lot from the "golden age" in the 90s and early 2000s. Now it seems to be targeted more to the mainstream press than a bunch of narrow interest sites. E3 was also a little better when people didn't have 1,000+ outlets to leak information. Apparently people don't respect non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) anymore.
Nintendo announced the Wii U (which is a really stupid name). Basically, they will likely advertise it as the Wii for You (you being the more "hardcore" gamer). The release date is still a ways off. The one strange thing about this console is the ridiculously large controller. It kind of sounds a little like a much advanced version of the Dreamcast VMU. Personally, i am not a fan of touch interfaces - so i have already written off the conosle (plus its Nintendo).
E3
As i mentioned E3 was this week. E3 has changed a lot from the "golden age" in the 90s and early 2000s. Now it seems to be targeted more to the mainstream press than a bunch of narrow interest sites. E3 was also a little better when people didn't have 1,000+ outlets to leak information. Apparently people don't respect non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) anymore.
Nintendo announced the Wii U (which is a really stupid name). Basically, they will likely advertise it as the Wii for You (you being the more "hardcore" gamer). The release date is still a ways off. The one strange thing about this console is the ridiculously large controller. It kind of sounds a little like a much advanced version of the Dreamcast VMU. Personally, i am not a fan of touch interfaces - so i have already written off the conosle (plus its Nintendo).
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Kinect: In Defense of Kinect
Well, i have seen the ravenous ire of the self-professed "hard core gamer" coming out of E3. Yes, i get it, some of you would never accept Kinect if it had the best game ever released. Yes, the early going has been somewhat rough, but here is why i don't agree with the doubters.
i do have a Kinect that i haven't played in a while (outside the recent Kinect Fun Lab stuff). One of the reasons is the game selection. A bigger reason may be that it makes me sore in some way every time i use it. Now for some random points. i do believe that Kinect should see a $25-$50 price cut at TGS or PAX Prime (ahead of the holiday rush).
1) Lag: lag in some games is more noticeable than others. i really don't notice it that much in the 5 games i currently have. There is some kind of lag already in every video game ever released. A big part of the problem with apparent Kinect lag is that one of the biggest potential lags here is the player. A game like Kinect Adventures (or Kinect Sports) may appear to some to have a greater lag, because it has to prompt players a little earlier for certain events.
2) No Controller: this is a paradigm that some people can't get their heads around. Basically, the controller itself is an abstraction. You have various buttons perform in game actions. The Kinect is basically using a punch instead of the B-button. So, it really isn't that different (in theory) from a regular controller. Yes, there are numerous potential ways to actually move without a thumb stick.
My favorite potential method would be having a center base region with no movement - a step forward past a line of demarcation would be equivalent to moving the thumb stick forward. i don't see why you couldn't just stay moving forward as long as you are forward of the center mark (holding the stick if you will). In other words just standing forward of the line would be constant movement. The same could be done with backward motion. i guess the problem with this scenario is that people tend to shift around a lot while playing.
3) The Games are Too "Kiddie": the simplified game (like mini-game collections) are one of the best ways for companies to get acquainted with the new technology. Eventually, you will see companies expand and improve what they can do (it may take several waves of game to do so). We're not there yet motion controls are still a relatively young paradigm. The Kinect method is younger still and less abstract than the Move or Wii (basically, those two have less demands on them). There are a lot of cool things that can and will be done with Kinect in the future. i would love a Too Human Kinect or RPG game, or even a decent platformer. There are ways to play "hard core" games with this type of control mechanism. Ironically, i think i might be able to target enemies in shooters better if i didn't have to use the thumbstick to do it.
4) The Software Will Improve: there is a difference of opinion among some on how much the Kinect can actually be improved over time. This may deal with a greater emphasis on "guessing" movements (to reduce lag), increased functionalities (like finger tracking), even may reducing distance needed. i believe there will eventually be a better responding Kinect 2, but the current model can be improved (regardless of real specifications). There are real limitations (but there is for everything else too).
5) Video Games Are Getting Stale: for me this is one of the factors why i was interested in Kinect. Basically, the video game market seems to be devolving into Hollywood - where everything feels like a rehashed sequel (well in Hollywood, almost everything is). How many shooters can they release in a year? Kinect is a place where developers can experiment a little with new mechanics, newer ("non-blockbuster") story lines, etc. Couple Kinect with XBLA and Indie games and you could see some really interesting stuff - it won't sell millions, but it will be a value added proposition for the console as a whole.
6) Voice Recognition: this was one of the things i liked about Kinect. The ability (expanding) to navigate the console with voice commands. The Bing search is a big plus in that direction. i also like the idea of using voice commands to help play the game. If it can reduce button presses maybe the controllers will last longer.
7) Hybrid Games: using certain Kinect functionality with a controller is an ineteresting concept. However, this will likely be utilized mostly for moving the camera and voice commands. i, for one, hope that this potential camera implementation will be better than the disappointing camera schemes i have seen so many of this generation. Basically moving camera up to 120°. It would be kind of nice to limit the dual thumbstick movement.
8) Misc.: No Virginia, Kinect games do not have to be on-rails. However, i would like to see more games that are. Revisiting lost genres and mechanics is also one of the potential benefits to Kinect. i could really go for a Spyro-ish (the Insomniac version) platformer for Kinect. There needs to be at least one "lightgun" style game released for this. i know i am getting kind of tired of the sandbox for sandbox sake games. Sure Oblivion was "huge" and there was a lot to see, but most of it was pretty worthless (virtually identical caves with little real purpose). i would much rather have a game on-rails with a better story than a sandbox game (with a weak story). Come on MSFT give me a100 hour turn based RPG for Kinect.
i do have a Kinect that i haven't played in a while (outside the recent Kinect Fun Lab stuff). One of the reasons is the game selection. A bigger reason may be that it makes me sore in some way every time i use it. Now for some random points. i do believe that Kinect should see a $25-$50 price cut at TGS or PAX Prime (ahead of the holiday rush).
1) Lag: lag in some games is more noticeable than others. i really don't notice it that much in the 5 games i currently have. There is some kind of lag already in every video game ever released. A big part of the problem with apparent Kinect lag is that one of the biggest potential lags here is the player. A game like Kinect Adventures (or Kinect Sports) may appear to some to have a greater lag, because it has to prompt players a little earlier for certain events.
2) No Controller: this is a paradigm that some people can't get their heads around. Basically, the controller itself is an abstraction. You have various buttons perform in game actions. The Kinect is basically using a punch instead of the B-button. So, it really isn't that different (in theory) from a regular controller. Yes, there are numerous potential ways to actually move without a thumb stick.
My favorite potential method would be having a center base region with no movement - a step forward past a line of demarcation would be equivalent to moving the thumb stick forward. i don't see why you couldn't just stay moving forward as long as you are forward of the center mark (holding the stick if you will). In other words just standing forward of the line would be constant movement. The same could be done with backward motion. i guess the problem with this scenario is that people tend to shift around a lot while playing.
3) The Games are Too "Kiddie": the simplified game (like mini-game collections) are one of the best ways for companies to get acquainted with the new technology. Eventually, you will see companies expand and improve what they can do (it may take several waves of game to do so). We're not there yet motion controls are still a relatively young paradigm. The Kinect method is younger still and less abstract than the Move or Wii (basically, those two have less demands on them). There are a lot of cool things that can and will be done with Kinect in the future. i would love a Too Human Kinect or RPG game, or even a decent platformer. There are ways to play "hard core" games with this type of control mechanism. Ironically, i think i might be able to target enemies in shooters better if i didn't have to use the thumbstick to do it.
4) The Software Will Improve: there is a difference of opinion among some on how much the Kinect can actually be improved over time. This may deal with a greater emphasis on "guessing" movements (to reduce lag), increased functionalities (like finger tracking), even may reducing distance needed. i believe there will eventually be a better responding Kinect 2, but the current model can be improved (regardless of real specifications). There are real limitations (but there is for everything else too).
5) Video Games Are Getting Stale: for me this is one of the factors why i was interested in Kinect. Basically, the video game market seems to be devolving into Hollywood - where everything feels like a rehashed sequel (well in Hollywood, almost everything is). How many shooters can they release in a year? Kinect is a place where developers can experiment a little with new mechanics, newer ("non-blockbuster") story lines, etc. Couple Kinect with XBLA and Indie games and you could see some really interesting stuff - it won't sell millions, but it will be a value added proposition for the console as a whole.
6) Voice Recognition: this was one of the things i liked about Kinect. The ability (expanding) to navigate the console with voice commands. The Bing search is a big plus in that direction. i also like the idea of using voice commands to help play the game. If it can reduce button presses maybe the controllers will last longer.
7) Hybrid Games: using certain Kinect functionality with a controller is an ineteresting concept. However, this will likely be utilized mostly for moving the camera and voice commands. i, for one, hope that this potential camera implementation will be better than the disappointing camera schemes i have seen so many of this generation. Basically moving camera up to 120°. It would be kind of nice to limit the dual thumbstick movement.
8) Misc.: No Virginia, Kinect games do not have to be on-rails. However, i would like to see more games that are. Revisiting lost genres and mechanics is also one of the potential benefits to Kinect. i could really go for a Spyro-ish (the Insomniac version) platformer for Kinect. There needs to be at least one "lightgun" style game released for this. i know i am getting kind of tired of the sandbox for sandbox sake games. Sure Oblivion was "huge" and there was a lot to see, but most of it was pretty worthless (virtually identical caves with little real purpose). i would much rather have a game on-rails with a better story than a sandbox game (with a weak story). Come on MSFT give me a100 hour turn based RPG for Kinect.
Monday, June 6, 2011
E3 2011: Microsoft Briefing Impressions
Microsoft had its big E3 presser today (i watched on TV).
i know the self-professed "hard core" gamer will decry this as one of the worst E3 press conferences ever. However, despite their delusion, they are not the target audience for much of what is coming out. Basically, the era of the old E3 (massive announcements) is over. Now it is service the "hard core" - which MSFT did with Gears of War 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Tomb Raider,etc. Who cares if those titles have already been announced - E3 is now about more than the "fan" press. Gaming has achieved more mainstream status and the press conferences had to adapt (to more of a portfolio approach - show off a bit of everything). That said, the only real impact announcement i saw was Halo 4 (also 5 and 6 confirmed).
Much of the story for me with the MSFT presser was what wasn't there. There was no Gunstringer, no Rare (BigPark apparently is doing Kinect Sports Season 2) and how many of the rumors turned out to be not ready for prime time. Though that does not mean some of them aren't true. i have to think they have more going on that was announced. Voice commands were one of the things i wanted to see expand with Kinect - it looks like i'm getting my wish.
Disappointments:
* Kinect Star Wars - much of the disappointment i have with the title is that it has so many references to the prequels. i prefer to think the prequels never happened. i know demos have issues (particularly on big stages with motion sensitive games), but this really didn't look that good. Sure, this had control issues and seemed kind of bland, but it should sell well (with a little more polish and decent marketing).
Indifferent (not my "cup of tea"):
* Gears of War 3
* Modern Warfare 3
* Tomb Raider - i don't like the button press prompts
* EA Sports Stuff
* Ghost Recon Future Solider - gunsmith mode looked interesting
* YouTube - i guess it is sort of cool
* UFC service - i like the interactivity component, UFC itself - not so much
* Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
* Minecraft Kinect
* Kinect Disneyland Adventures - looks somewhat like a Disneyfied version of Kinect Adventures (not a bad thing).
* Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster - this is unapologetically aimed at the younger demographic.
* Dance Central 2: The first game was decent except the song selection kind of sucks. This version adds two player dance battles, campaign mode, the ability to import all songs from the first game and some other stuff. Why do "dance" songs have to be so bad?
Could Be Interesting:
* Mass Effect 3 - i kind of like the way the implemented Kinect voice commands into this one. However, i didn't really like the combat in the second game (generic 3rd person shooter).
* Bing voice search - voice activated search for all thing XBL, sound cool if implemented across basically everything
* New Xbox interface - hopefully it will be a lot faster than the current glacial New Xbox Experience.
* Live television - it isn't exactly the XBL Platinum rumored, but it could be interesting
* Ryse (previously Codename Kingdoms) - this game actually looks interesting to me. It seems to be a Kinect Brawler. This is definitely on my list of games to watch for. However, who knows when it will release.
* Forza 4 - i have owned all of the Forza games so far. However, i am not sure if i will get this one. i liked that Forza 3 was forgiving, i'm not sure 4 will have the same level of accessibility.
* Fable: The Journey - this looks way different from previous Fable games. i am curious how this one will turn out. The demo they showed was not great, but they have a while to nail things down (2012 release) - this is the first openly 2012 title i will be keeping my eyes on.
* Kinect Fun Labs - Apps for Kinect, the big question here is how much support will this actually see. Also where are they ultimately going with this?
* Kinect Sports: The Second Season - This is the sequel to the multi-million selling Kinect Sports. Apparently this is being developed by BigPark (what exactly is Rare doing?). This is basically eerily similar to Wii Sports. Games are scheduled to include Baseball (awesome), Tennis, Golf, Skiing, Football (US version) and Darts (is that really a sport?).
Edit: Apparently, Kinect Sports: The Second Season is being developed by Rare and BigPark
i know the self-professed "hard core" gamer will decry this as one of the worst E3 press conferences ever. However, despite their delusion, they are not the target audience for much of what is coming out. Basically, the era of the old E3 (massive announcements) is over. Now it is service the "hard core" - which MSFT did with Gears of War 3, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Tomb Raider,etc. Who cares if those titles have already been announced - E3 is now about more than the "fan" press. Gaming has achieved more mainstream status and the press conferences had to adapt (to more of a portfolio approach - show off a bit of everything). That said, the only real impact announcement i saw was Halo 4 (also 5 and 6 confirmed).
Much of the story for me with the MSFT presser was what wasn't there. There was no Gunstringer, no Rare (BigPark apparently is doing Kinect Sports Season 2) and how many of the rumors turned out to be not ready for prime time. Though that does not mean some of them aren't true. i have to think they have more going on that was announced. Voice commands were one of the things i wanted to see expand with Kinect - it looks like i'm getting my wish.
Disappointments:
* Kinect Star Wars - much of the disappointment i have with the title is that it has so many references to the prequels. i prefer to think the prequels never happened. i know demos have issues (particularly on big stages with motion sensitive games), but this really didn't look that good. Sure, this had control issues and seemed kind of bland, but it should sell well (with a little more polish and decent marketing).
Indifferent (not my "cup of tea"):
* Gears of War 3
* Modern Warfare 3
* Tomb Raider - i don't like the button press prompts
* EA Sports Stuff
* Ghost Recon Future Solider - gunsmith mode looked interesting
* YouTube - i guess it is sort of cool
* UFC service - i like the interactivity component, UFC itself - not so much
* Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
* Minecraft Kinect
* Kinect Disneyland Adventures - looks somewhat like a Disneyfied version of Kinect Adventures (not a bad thing).
* Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster - this is unapologetically aimed at the younger demographic.
* Dance Central 2: The first game was decent except the song selection kind of sucks. This version adds two player dance battles, campaign mode, the ability to import all songs from the first game and some other stuff. Why do "dance" songs have to be so bad?
Could Be Interesting:
* Mass Effect 3 - i kind of like the way the implemented Kinect voice commands into this one. However, i didn't really like the combat in the second game (generic 3rd person shooter).
* Bing voice search - voice activated search for all thing XBL, sound cool if implemented across basically everything
* New Xbox interface - hopefully it will be a lot faster than the current glacial New Xbox Experience.
* Live television - it isn't exactly the XBL Platinum rumored, but it could be interesting
* Ryse (previously Codename Kingdoms) - this game actually looks interesting to me. It seems to be a Kinect Brawler. This is definitely on my list of games to watch for. However, who knows when it will release.
* Forza 4 - i have owned all of the Forza games so far. However, i am not sure if i will get this one. i liked that Forza 3 was forgiving, i'm not sure 4 will have the same level of accessibility.
* Fable: The Journey - this looks way different from previous Fable games. i am curious how this one will turn out. The demo they showed was not great, but they have a while to nail things down (2012 release) - this is the first openly 2012 title i will be keeping my eyes on.
* Kinect Fun Labs - Apps for Kinect, the big question here is how much support will this actually see. Also where are they ultimately going with this?
* Kinect Sports: The Second Season - This is the sequel to the multi-million selling Kinect Sports. Apparently this is being developed by BigPark (what exactly is Rare doing?). This is basically eerily similar to Wii Sports. Games are scheduled to include Baseball (awesome), Tennis, Golf, Skiing, Football (US version) and Darts (is that really a sport?).
Edit: Apparently, Kinect Sports: The Second Season is being developed by Rare and BigPark
E3 2011: Microsoft - Kinect Fun Labs
So, Microsoft had their big E3 briefing today (which i decided to watch on Spike). One of the things that came out today was Kinect Fun Labs.
Warining: launching Kinect Fun Labs without the Kinect sensor on is a bad idea. It kept giving me error messages that i couldn't bypass, even the guide button was not working to get out.
Kinect Fun Labs is basically a series of bite sized proof of concept "apps". They range from things like object scanning to person scanning. Really there are about 4 or so up currently (all free, all with 50 gamerscore each). This currently consists of Googly Eyes, Kinect Me, Build a Buddy and BobbleHead. Sparkler was shown at E3, but not up yet. Maybe i will try and post a few pictures if Kinectshare.com is still working. No, you cannot use the Kinect Me version as your avatar.
So, i've tried out all the available "games"... Basically this is a 770+ MB file (with other files to be downloaded at 200+ MB). The interface is kind of slow (can be launched from the Community section or Kinect Dashboard).
This mostly comes from the people at Good Science (Kinect Adventures, i wish they would have announced a sequel instead).
Edit: Here is a picture from one of them (too bad Blogger doesn't seem to be an easy way to embed WMV files - if there is it is really, really slow)
BobbleHead (not a very good scan result, they are both supposed to be me). It is kind of annoying in this and Kinect Me to line up for "scans" of your face. The glasses are a generic addition. i hope that isn't supposed to be the Space Needle in the background (if it is that is kind of pathetic).
Warining: launching Kinect Fun Labs without the Kinect sensor on is a bad idea. It kept giving me error messages that i couldn't bypass, even the guide button was not working to get out.
Kinect Fun Labs is basically a series of bite sized proof of concept "apps". They range from things like object scanning to person scanning. Really there are about 4 or so up currently (all free, all with 50 gamerscore each). This currently consists of Googly Eyes, Kinect Me, Build a Buddy and BobbleHead. Sparkler was shown at E3, but not up yet. Maybe i will try and post a few pictures if Kinectshare.com is still working. No, you cannot use the Kinect Me version as your avatar.
So, i've tried out all the available "games"... Basically this is a 770+ MB file (with other files to be downloaded at 200+ MB). The interface is kind of slow (can be launched from the Community section or Kinect Dashboard).
This mostly comes from the people at Good Science (Kinect Adventures, i wish they would have announced a sequel instead).
Edit: Here is a picture from one of them (too bad Blogger doesn't seem to be an easy way to embed WMV files - if there is it is really, really slow)
BobbleHead (not a very good scan result, they are both supposed to be me). It is kind of annoying in this and Kinect Me to line up for "scans" of your face. The glasses are a generic addition. i hope that isn't supposed to be the Space Needle in the background (if it is that is kind of pathetic).
Friday, June 3, 2011
Dview: BioShock 2 (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
BioShock 2 is a shooter that finds us going back to the magical undersea base called Rapture. This game takes place years after the first game. So, the question might be - is this game as good as the first one? i would say not even close. The BioShock game (which i have to re-beat... eventually) had a certain element where the environment/ambiance was far superior (especially the first play). Also, Andrew Ryan was a much, much better character than Dr. Lamb. They both wanted a kind of utopia, but on opposite ends of the spectrum. The sequel did add Big Sisters (which are mostly annoying) and changed the way hacking was done. BioShock 2 has a shorter story and added multi-player. If you played the first BioShock, you know what to expect (just a slightly shorter and worse version). If you haven't played the first game, it is basically a shooter with plasmids (kind of like magic) and a little bit of RPG elements. Ultimately, the star of the game was Rapture itself.
Apparently there are 3 add-ons that i do not have (at least ones with achievements). They are: Rapture Metro Pack, The Protector Trials and Minerva's Den.
Grade: C+
What to Expect:
* More Big Daddies to fight
* Little Sisters to rescue or not
* Splicers (enemies) to attack - they might respawn at certain points
* A bunch of plasmids and tonics to use (some of questionable usefulness) to find or buy
* 100 Audio Tapes scattered throughout Rapture to find (give a little bit backstory)
* Upgradable (three levels) weapons
* Kind of a short main story
How i Played:
* Difficulty: Casual
* Play Time: 10-11 hours (beat it in two days) - story only, no online
* Achievements: 25 (for 535 Gamerscore)
* Verdict: Rent or Buy Cheap
Achievements:
There are 50 achievements available in the game (18 more with all the DLC). They are for things like: upgrading weapons, hacking, researching, dealing with Little Sisters and story related events. There are also multi-player achievements (unfortunately). 12 of the 50 achievements for the base game fall into that category (about 210/1,000).
BioShock 2 is a shooter that finds us going back to the magical undersea base called Rapture. This game takes place years after the first game. So, the question might be - is this game as good as the first one? i would say not even close. The BioShock game (which i have to re-beat... eventually) had a certain element where the environment/ambiance was far superior (especially the first play). Also, Andrew Ryan was a much, much better character than Dr. Lamb. They both wanted a kind of utopia, but on opposite ends of the spectrum. The sequel did add Big Sisters (which are mostly annoying) and changed the way hacking was done. BioShock 2 has a shorter story and added multi-player. If you played the first BioShock, you know what to expect (just a slightly shorter and worse version). If you haven't played the first game, it is basically a shooter with plasmids (kind of like magic) and a little bit of RPG elements. Ultimately, the star of the game was Rapture itself.
Apparently there are 3 add-ons that i do not have (at least ones with achievements). They are: Rapture Metro Pack, The Protector Trials and Minerva's Den.
Grade: C+
What to Expect:
* More Big Daddies to fight
* Little Sisters to rescue or not
* Splicers (enemies) to attack - they might respawn at certain points
* A bunch of plasmids and tonics to use (some of questionable usefulness) to find or buy
* 100 Audio Tapes scattered throughout Rapture to find (give a little bit backstory)
* Upgradable (three levels) weapons
* Kind of a short main story
How i Played:
* Difficulty: Casual
* Play Time: 10-11 hours (beat it in two days) - story only, no online
* Achievements: 25 (for 535 Gamerscore)
* Verdict: Rent or Buy Cheap
Achievements:
There are 50 achievements available in the game (18 more with all the DLC). They are for things like: upgrading weapons, hacking, researching, dealing with Little Sisters and story related events. There are also multi-player achievements (unfortunately). 12 of the 50 achievements for the base game fall into that category (about 210/1,000).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Assassin's Creed 2: i May Actually Hate This Game
So, recently i have been trying to play Assassin's Creed 2... i know this game was somewhat critically acclaimed and tons of people out there supposedly love it. The actual game is ok - there are elements that i don't like (see partial list below). i think i'm on the 9th chapter or whatever they call it. i find it strange that games like this don't get slammed by people for being repetitive.
i find this game a hell of a lot more frustrating than fun. i have at least 8,000 words describing my current feelings for this game . There are a lot of repeats and very few would make it through language filters. If this game weren't so frustrating it would be better than the first one (frustrating but doable). i have seriously considered breaking the stupid disc. Difficulty levels are good. There are way too many timed sections as part of the main story.
Not only that, but this game takes some of my least favorite video game elements and adds them into one:
* Annoying puzzles - just to have annoying puzzles (referring to glyph puzzles)
* Poorly controlled vehicles (check) - i hate vehicles in games
* Escort Missions
* Stealth following missions
* Running down the enemy missions.
* Camera that seem to mess up occasionally (run and camera at same time is impossible)
* Jump puzzles (tons of them - forgivable without the next bullet point)
* Timed events - i hate timed events, especially jump puzzles (which are hard enough without a clock). Weird camera angles seem to crop up while doing these too. i am trying a assassin seal (in Venice) and am really annoyed. Why does the camera always face the wrong way at the start of these?
i find this game a hell of a lot more frustrating than fun. i have at least 8,000 words describing my current feelings for this game . There are a lot of repeats and very few would make it through language filters. If this game weren't so frustrating it would be better than the first one (frustrating but doable). i have seriously considered breaking the stupid disc. Difficulty levels are good. There are way too many timed sections as part of the main story.
Not only that, but this game takes some of my least favorite video game elements and adds them into one:
* Annoying puzzles - just to have annoying puzzles (referring to glyph puzzles)
* Poorly controlled vehicles (check) - i hate vehicles in games
* Escort Missions
* Stealth following missions
* Running down the enemy missions.
* Camera that seem to mess up occasionally (run and camera at same time is impossible)
* Jump puzzles (tons of them - forgivable without the next bullet point)
* Timed events - i hate timed events, especially jump puzzles (which are hard enough without a clock). Weird camera angles seem to crop up while doing these too. i am trying a assassin seal (in Venice) and am really annoyed. Why does the camera always face the wrong way at the start of these?
Friday, May 27, 2011
Dview: Dragon Age Origins UE (Xbox)
The Bottom Line:
Dragon Age Origins (DAO) is a "fantasy" RPG released by BioWare (the makers of Mass Effect, etc). Supposedly, the game is kind of a throwback to the Baldur's Gate style RPG. There is a lot of micro-managing of characters available. The romances in the game play out much like the first Mass Effect (with more clothing). There are 6 different "origin" stories to play at the beginning which may slightly impact the way the game world looks at you. The combat is a bit like that in their previous title (the far superior) Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. Basically you target an enemy and the character will keep attacking that enemy until they are defeated. This is a relatively long game (not JRPG long). One of the problems i had with the game is that the characters didn't really seem that interesting and there are some that feel like unnecessary duplicates - i guess they are there for their specializations. Like most WRPG, i got the feeling that your main created character was mostly a throwaway.
One of the reasons i got the Ultimate Edition is that BioWare kind of went crazy with DLC. There was an expansion and 8 DLC. This is going to be long. So, this "score" is for the entire package - and it gets bonus for a lot of content.
Grade: C+
Extraneous Commenting:
i mentioned the DLC on Ultimate Edition (which seems to be hard to find the XBLA version at brick-and-mortar retail). Here are the DLC packs included and the listed XBL prices
* Awakening (2,400 points, $30): This is the expansion to Dragon Age Origins. It picks up after the main story ends. Your character starts taking back a fort, then the game continues. You can import you character from the main game and gain access to new available skills. In my opinion, this is the best of the DLC stuff, but it is quite expensive for what it is. It is first accessed from New Game.
* The Golems of Amgarrak (400 points, $5.00): This is another add-on not accessible within the main game (start New Game). In this add-on, you will be going to a ruin to find out what happened to a group of adventurers. You will get a golem at some point and look for upgrades. This one is a bit more puzzle like at you may have to hit switches to travel to certain areas.
* Witch Hunt (560 points, $7.00): This is accessed from the New Game menu too. In this add-on (which may serve as a bridge of sort to the sequel, i'm not sure) you are trying to track down a former party member from the main Dragon Age game. Yes, the former member is a witch named Morrigan (one of my favorite characters from the main game). You can import a character into this DLC.
* Leliana's Song (560 points, $7.00): Accessed from New Game menu. This DLC is basically a back story of one of the characters you can get for your party in the first game (in the first city actually). Leliana is a bard (kind of a spy), who was tasked with creating havoc and placing stolen documents. The stolen documents lead to her problems. You start this relatively low level (level 10).
* The Darkspawn Chronicles (400 points, $5.00): Accessed from New Game. In this DLC, you face the final series of battles (most of them) from the perspective of the enemy darkspawn. This sounds cool in theory, but in practice it is kind of annoying. Basically you play as kind of a commander character. You go around an "enthrall" other darkspawn characters to form your party. Unfortunately, the "enthralled" character has a rather limited usefulness. You can't even use heal potions as them.
* Feastday Combo Pack (240 points, $3.00): This content is actually accessible from the main Dragon Age game. However, i fail to see its usefulness. Basically, all i could tell was that it added gifts that either drastically improved (or hurt) how characters feel about you - useful for romances and affinity skills.
* Warden's Keep (560 points, $7.00): This was one of the launch period DLC. Yes, it is accessible from in the main game (at the campsite). In this DLC you are tasked with retaking a former Grey Warden base and finding out about the past of a throw-away NPC.
* Return to Ostagar (400 points, $5.00): Accessed in game. In this DLC you go back to the scene of the first major fight (ok, slight spoiler, but it is really early on) and look for the armor of a fallen king.
* The Stone Prisoner (1,200 points, $15.00): Accessed in game. This was one of the initial two DLC. Basically, this was what they added to try and get people to buy the game new. Shale is a golem character. This DLC is about recruiting Shale and later doing a quest to find a little background.
What to Expect:
* A relatively long game filled with numerous opportunities for combat
* Somewhat boring/bland/repetitive characters - who aren't too intelligent
* Tactics - some degree of micro-managing characters
* Characters running into walls or other characters during combat
* A camera that doesn't like walls
* "Choices" in how to complete several tasks
* 6 origin stories that may mention other characters you meet later in your quest.
* 3 races (human, dwarf, elf) and 3 roles (warrior, mage, rogue)
Achievements:
This version of the game gets 1,750 possible points. Basically they are for such things as beating stages of the game, romancing characters, killing enemies, etc. There are not difficulty ones in the main game, but there are a couple in the DLC. Apparently, Darkspawn Chronicles has an annoying one with keeping a certain creature alive that may be one shot only (even with multiple game attempts). i got 1,480 on my first play through of these - it took me about 44 hours. The main game + add-ons accessible therein took me about 30 hours, the expansion about 10 and the out of game DLC was about 1 hour and 15 minutes each. There are still about 145 points i can add from the main game (i just need to finish another play through doing certain things).
Dragon Age Origins (DAO) is a "fantasy" RPG released by BioWare (the makers of Mass Effect, etc). Supposedly, the game is kind of a throwback to the Baldur's Gate style RPG. There is a lot of micro-managing of characters available. The romances in the game play out much like the first Mass Effect (with more clothing). There are 6 different "origin" stories to play at the beginning which may slightly impact the way the game world looks at you. The combat is a bit like that in their previous title (the far superior) Star Wars: Knights of the old republic. Basically you target an enemy and the character will keep attacking that enemy until they are defeated. This is a relatively long game (not JRPG long). One of the problems i had with the game is that the characters didn't really seem that interesting and there are some that feel like unnecessary duplicates - i guess they are there for their specializations. Like most WRPG, i got the feeling that your main created character was mostly a throwaway.
One of the reasons i got the Ultimate Edition is that BioWare kind of went crazy with DLC. There was an expansion and 8 DLC. This is going to be long. So, this "score" is for the entire package - and it gets bonus for a lot of content.
Grade: C+
Extraneous Commenting:
i mentioned the DLC on Ultimate Edition (which seems to be hard to find the XBLA version at brick-and-mortar retail). Here are the DLC packs included and the listed XBL prices
* Awakening (2,400 points, $30): This is the expansion to Dragon Age Origins. It picks up after the main story ends. Your character starts taking back a fort, then the game continues. You can import you character from the main game and gain access to new available skills. In my opinion, this is the best of the DLC stuff, but it is quite expensive for what it is. It is first accessed from New Game.
* The Golems of Amgarrak (400 points, $5.00): This is another add-on not accessible within the main game (start New Game). In this add-on, you will be going to a ruin to find out what happened to a group of adventurers. You will get a golem at some point and look for upgrades. This one is a bit more puzzle like at you may have to hit switches to travel to certain areas.
* Witch Hunt (560 points, $7.00): This is accessed from the New Game menu too. In this add-on (which may serve as a bridge of sort to the sequel, i'm not sure) you are trying to track down a former party member from the main Dragon Age game. Yes, the former member is a witch named Morrigan (one of my favorite characters from the main game). You can import a character into this DLC.
* Leliana's Song (560 points, $7.00): Accessed from New Game menu. This DLC is basically a back story of one of the characters you can get for your party in the first game (in the first city actually). Leliana is a bard (kind of a spy), who was tasked with creating havoc and placing stolen documents. The stolen documents lead to her problems. You start this relatively low level (level 10).
* The Darkspawn Chronicles (400 points, $5.00): Accessed from New Game. In this DLC, you face the final series of battles (most of them) from the perspective of the enemy darkspawn. This sounds cool in theory, but in practice it is kind of annoying. Basically you play as kind of a commander character. You go around an "enthrall" other darkspawn characters to form your party. Unfortunately, the "enthralled" character has a rather limited usefulness. You can't even use heal potions as them.
* Feastday Combo Pack (240 points, $3.00): This content is actually accessible from the main Dragon Age game. However, i fail to see its usefulness. Basically, all i could tell was that it added gifts that either drastically improved (or hurt) how characters feel about you - useful for romances and affinity skills.
* Warden's Keep (560 points, $7.00): This was one of the launch period DLC. Yes, it is accessible from in the main game (at the campsite). In this DLC you are tasked with retaking a former Grey Warden base and finding out about the past of a throw-away NPC.
* Return to Ostagar (400 points, $5.00): Accessed in game. In this DLC you go back to the scene of the first major fight (ok, slight spoiler, but it is really early on) and look for the armor of a fallen king.
* The Stone Prisoner (1,200 points, $15.00): Accessed in game. This was one of the initial two DLC. Basically, this was what they added to try and get people to buy the game new. Shale is a golem character. This DLC is about recruiting Shale and later doing a quest to find a little background.
What to Expect:
* A relatively long game filled with numerous opportunities for combat
* Somewhat boring/bland/repetitive characters - who aren't too intelligent
* Tactics - some degree of micro-managing characters
* Characters running into walls or other characters during combat
* A camera that doesn't like walls
* "Choices" in how to complete several tasks
* 6 origin stories that may mention other characters you meet later in your quest.
* 3 races (human, dwarf, elf) and 3 roles (warrior, mage, rogue)
Achievements:
This version of the game gets 1,750 possible points. Basically they are for such things as beating stages of the game, romancing characters, killing enemies, etc. There are not difficulty ones in the main game, but there are a couple in the DLC. Apparently, Darkspawn Chronicles has an annoying one with keeping a certain creature alive that may be one shot only (even with multiple game attempts). i got 1,480 on my first play through of these - it took me about 44 hours. The main game + add-ons accessible therein took me about 30 hours, the expansion about 10 and the out of game DLC was about 1 hour and 15 minutes each. There are still about 145 points i can add from the main game (i just need to finish another play through doing certain things).
Sunday, May 22, 2011
My Weeks in Video Games
So what did i do in this week of the not quite rapture (and the previous)? Also what was i thinking about games related?
No, i didn't revisit Rapture (i have to remember to play the BioShock games eventually). i basically briefly played all of my XBLA games, finished off my playthrough of Last Remnant and played a bunch of Dragon Age: Origins.
* Does outside talk (like the rapture non-event) ever get you thinking that maybe your days really are numbered. Or maybe it is just the result of watching season 3 of Spin City and laughing more than i have in the previous 3 months combined. Afterall, i do fit too many of the old school "gamer stereotypes".
* My condolences (belated) to those PS3 users who had to do without the PSN. Online gaming is not my thing, but it sucks for those who like it. It is also kind of lame that they couldn't buy downloadable content.
* Shouldn't all hackers be subject to being drawn-and-quartered live streamed on the Internet? i think so. It is always these few people who can't play by the rules. These slime don't deserve to have access to any computerized technology - ever. i don't care what they say they stand for, it always boils down to greed and group manipulation.
* i made it through a week (somehow) of temptation to not do a weekly Game Room leaderboard check.
* E3 is coming up. Incorrect Premonition time - Lips Kinect connected to Harmonix (wouldn't that be odd)? Has Harmonix ever really attempted Karaoke (not just badly implemented "vocal" scoring in something like Rock Band)?
No, i didn't revisit Rapture (i have to remember to play the BioShock games eventually). i basically briefly played all of my XBLA games, finished off my playthrough of Last Remnant and played a bunch of Dragon Age: Origins.
* Does outside talk (like the rapture non-event) ever get you thinking that maybe your days really are numbered. Or maybe it is just the result of watching season 3 of Spin City and laughing more than i have in the previous 3 months combined. Afterall, i do fit too many of the old school "gamer stereotypes".
* My condolences (belated) to those PS3 users who had to do without the PSN. Online gaming is not my thing, but it sucks for those who like it. It is also kind of lame that they couldn't buy downloadable content.
* Shouldn't all hackers be subject to being drawn-and-quartered live streamed on the Internet? i think so. It is always these few people who can't play by the rules. These slime don't deserve to have access to any computerized technology - ever. i don't care what they say they stand for, it always boils down to greed and group manipulation.
* i made it through a week (somehow) of temptation to not do a weekly Game Room leaderboard check.
* E3 is coming up. Incorrect Premonition time - Lips Kinect connected to Harmonix (wouldn't that be odd)? Has Harmonix ever really attempted Karaoke (not just badly implemented "vocal" scoring in something like Rock Band)?
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Future of Video Games is Sort of Retro
Ok, now that you read the title, i bet you think i'm crazy. You may not be 100% wrong. Ready for some inane rambling.
Maybe this post is a little late (would have worked better before Kinect and Move hit). Maybe it is because i am from the generation that grew up with Atari 2600s and ColecoVision (and feel more nostalgic as the world seems more tragic).
Yes, i firmly believe that the future is somewhat retro. What do i mean? Well, you see... basically the modern game is an odd combination of trying to unnecessarily utilize every button on the controller (including clicking the thumbsticks). Complexity for complexity's sake does not necessarily impact immersion (or whatever term you want to use). Games are supposed to be a fun diversion (not a frustrating series of cheap enemies/bosses). Some of the older games had diabolical difficulties though. i don't find doing every stupid thing possible in a game to be fun (there are some things that should be done for me).
Game development costs are spiraling out of control. There is the disposable games threat from mobile platforms (like the Windows Phone or iPad). True, the console base has appeared to have grown, but can you successfully cater to different groups? Some users will not leave, but a significant portion of the user base is in play for "the next big thing". The future for the publishers looks to be attrition and consolidation. Even i have written off the "next" generation before it has even started(unless i win a large lottery jackpot).
Then you get into the whole "console within a console" scenario - which is XBLA and PSN (i would think). Many of these simpler games are actually what drives much of my purchases (or they were). The downloadable game at $10-15 is a lot more important than most people think. These spaces are underutilized and could be used for so much more. i personally like services like Game Room that allow me to revisit the youth i should have had (though hopefully they could get up to about the PS1 era).
If motion controls are to play a big part in the future (or as big as i think they will) - it's time to go back to the future. Or look to the past - because i think the paradigms used back then are more relevant today. You want the largest user base possible - and you can only count on generic shooter franchises for so long. i want my games to be more fun. Sure the "harcore" (whatever that means today) will decry this as a death of the industry - but i see a more "casual" route to a better policy (at least while the "casual" is still selling).
Older games had relatively simple control schemes (some of this was definitely due to a lack of technology available at the time). The buzz word now is "accessibility". It is not necessarily about "dumbing down" games (see Mass Effect 2), but more trying for a larger market. There are no real new ideas (see Hollywood movies) as everything has been done - it is about going back to what worked in the past and figuring out how to present things differently.
Maybe this post is a little late (would have worked better before Kinect and Move hit). Maybe it is because i am from the generation that grew up with Atari 2600s and ColecoVision (and feel more nostalgic as the world seems more tragic).
Yes, i firmly believe that the future is somewhat retro. What do i mean? Well, you see... basically the modern game is an odd combination of trying to unnecessarily utilize every button on the controller (including clicking the thumbsticks). Complexity for complexity's sake does not necessarily impact immersion (or whatever term you want to use). Games are supposed to be a fun diversion (not a frustrating series of cheap enemies/bosses). Some of the older games had diabolical difficulties though. i don't find doing every stupid thing possible in a game to be fun (there are some things that should be done for me).
Game development costs are spiraling out of control. There is the disposable games threat from mobile platforms (like the Windows Phone or iPad). True, the console base has appeared to have grown, but can you successfully cater to different groups? Some users will not leave, but a significant portion of the user base is in play for "the next big thing". The future for the publishers looks to be attrition and consolidation. Even i have written off the "next" generation before it has even started(unless i win a large lottery jackpot).
Then you get into the whole "console within a console" scenario - which is XBLA and PSN (i would think). Many of these simpler games are actually what drives much of my purchases (or they were). The downloadable game at $10-15 is a lot more important than most people think. These spaces are underutilized and could be used for so much more. i personally like services like Game Room that allow me to revisit the youth i should have had (though hopefully they could get up to about the PS1 era).
If motion controls are to play a big part in the future (or as big as i think they will) - it's time to go back to the future. Or look to the past - because i think the paradigms used back then are more relevant today. You want the largest user base possible - and you can only count on generic shooter franchises for so long. i want my games to be more fun. Sure the "harcore" (whatever that means today) will decry this as a death of the industry - but i see a more "casual" route to a better policy (at least while the "casual" is still selling).
Older games had relatively simple control schemes (some of this was definitely due to a lack of technology available at the time). The buzz word now is "accessibility". It is not necessarily about "dumbing down" games (see Mass Effect 2), but more trying for a larger market. There are no real new ideas (see Hollywood movies) as everything has been done - it is about going back to what worked in the past and figuring out how to present things differently.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Game Room - If i Were Rich 2.0, The Offers i'd Make
Just for "fun" i decided to revisit the compilation vs. Game Room argument. It is too bad that Game Room has been in stasis for a while - i kind of miss it. However, do you know what has been in a form of stasis even longer? The compilation disk of 80s and early 90s games. It seems that there really haven't been many released since 2007. i'm hoping that digital compilation (like Game Room) can pick up the slack.
Just for fun i am going to try and break down just how successfully some of the previous compilation discs have been, though i decided to omit anything before 2007. Some of my estimates may be in the ballpark, some may not be in the same solar system. i am using $30 for the price of these compilations. For development cost estimates, i will be using 15 salaried people (@ $50K each) working for 2 months. i will use this for every compilation. i will treat this as a constant ($125,000). For the gross estimate publisher take i am using 45% (which is the estimate for a $60 game). For the estimated net publisher take i am subtracting the above two numbers. The "Game Room" cash offer would be a one time licensing fee payable. When i am talking about guaranteed revenue from unit sales i mean 50% (or $1.50) per unit sale. The numbers i picked for Midway, Namco, Capcom and SEGA are mainly becuase the numbers of 2005 or so compilations they sold were at least 100K or because i didn't see a fitting compilation.
For a post potentially involving a lot of numbers this will have many words. i will also post what specific offer i would make to each of the publisher to try and get them on board with Game Room. If i would have had the right 6 numbers, i might have been trying this for real. But alas, it was not meant to be (at least yet...).
Let's start. i am using data from vgchartz.com - it may not be totally accurate, but it seems to be the best i can find (as real data isn't easy to obtain, especially without connections). Let the fun begin
Konami:
* Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits (DS)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 30,797
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $923,210
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $415,760
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $290,760
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (15): $19,384
* Game Room Cash Offer: $500,000 - $750,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $500K
- If Konami got 50% of revenues from their sales on Game Room, they would currently have a publisher take of about $210K (could be higher). Atari would be over $200K as well (probably higher as they did have unranked games too).
Taito:
* Taito Legends Power Up (PSP)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 26,546
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $796,380
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $358,371
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $233,371
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (20): $11,668
* Game Room Cash Offer: $350,000 - 583,000 for 30-50+ games (extra $75-100K if includes Space Invaders)
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $350K.
Midway (WB), Namco, Capcom, SEGA
* Game Room Cash Offer: $750,000 - 1,000,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $750K.
So, if i were rich and MSFT and the publishers were willing, my plan would be an outlay of $3.85 - $5.33 million. Now i guess you can see why MSFT could have been somewhat hesitant to spend that kind of money on a service that could potentially make about $2 million in revenue a year. The best way for MSFT would be to just split the revenue from sales with the respective publisher (50/50 or 40/60).
Just for fun i am going to try and break down just how successfully some of the previous compilation discs have been, though i decided to omit anything before 2007. Some of my estimates may be in the ballpark, some may not be in the same solar system. i am using $30 for the price of these compilations. For development cost estimates, i will be using 15 salaried people (@ $50K each) working for 2 months. i will use this for every compilation. i will treat this as a constant ($125,000). For the gross estimate publisher take i am using 45% (which is the estimate for a $60 game). For the estimated net publisher take i am subtracting the above two numbers. The "Game Room" cash offer would be a one time licensing fee payable. When i am talking about guaranteed revenue from unit sales i mean 50% (or $1.50) per unit sale. The numbers i picked for Midway, Namco, Capcom and SEGA are mainly becuase the numbers of 2005 or so compilations they sold were at least 100K or because i didn't see a fitting compilation.
For a post potentially involving a lot of numbers this will have many words. i will also post what specific offer i would make to each of the publisher to try and get them on board with Game Room. If i would have had the right 6 numbers, i might have been trying this for real. But alas, it was not meant to be (at least yet...).
Let's start. i am using data from vgchartz.com - it may not be totally accurate, but it seems to be the best i can find (as real data isn't easy to obtain, especially without connections). Let the fun begin
Konami:
* Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits (DS)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 30,797
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $923,210
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $415,760
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $290,760
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (15): $19,384
* Game Room Cash Offer: $500,000 - $750,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $500K
- If Konami got 50% of revenues from their sales on Game Room, they would currently have a publisher take of about $210K (could be higher). Atari would be over $200K as well (probably higher as they did have unranked games too).
Taito:
* Taito Legends Power Up (PSP)
* Estimated Unit Sales (vgchartz): 26,546
* Estimated Gross Revenue (all levels): $796,380
* Estimated Publisher Take (Gross): $358,371
* Estimated Publisher Take (Net): $233,371
* Estimated Revenue Per Game (20): $11,668
* Game Room Cash Offer: $350,000 - 583,000 for 30-50+ games (extra $75-100K if includes Space Invaders)
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $350K.
Midway (WB), Namco, Capcom, SEGA
* Game Room Cash Offer: $750,000 - 1,000,000 for 30-50+ games
* Game Room Offer: 30+ Games, guaranteed revenue of 2,000 unit sales each game (first 12 months on service), minimum total revenue guarantee of $750K.
So, if i were rich and MSFT and the publishers were willing, my plan would be an outlay of $3.85 - $5.33 million. Now i guess you can see why MSFT could have been somewhat hesitant to spend that kind of money on a service that could potentially make about $2 million in revenue a year. The best way for MSFT would be to just split the revenue from sales with the respective publisher (50/50 or 40/60).
Monday, May 16, 2011
Why i Suck at Shooters
i have been playing a lot of games that i had previously downloaded on my original gamertag. i decided that if i got a different console i would start up a new gamertag, because i had two consoles kind of fail on me (one sent in and replaced, that replacement was freezing frequently when i traded it in). Anyway, i was playing Shadow Complex - and i re-realized something - i suck at shooters)
So why am i so bad at shooters? Am i a lost cause?
My biggest problem is with the reticule (the little aiming device). i have a really hard time aiming with the reticule. For some reason it takes me longer than average to put the cursor exactly where i want it (and it is always a struggle to put it where i want it). It is worse in some games than others. i did manage to beat the first three Halo games single player at the normal or above difficulty settings. i guess that is one of the things that frustrates me with the current generation (and the abundance of shooters). Aiming in games like Alan Wake is kind of a nightmare for me.
i am kind of curious if it is the cursor move that is causing me problems or something else (like a brain processing delay). i am kind of curious if a different input method (like Kinect) would make it easier for me to target enemies.
i am not great at fixed shooters (stuff like Space Invaders, etc). However, most of the older ones i play are more of a matter of patterns or "bullet hell" dodging. Yes, i kind of like retro games (if my numerous posts on Game Room weren't evidence of that).
So why am i so bad at shooters? Am i a lost cause?
My biggest problem is with the reticule (the little aiming device). i have a really hard time aiming with the reticule. For some reason it takes me longer than average to put the cursor exactly where i want it (and it is always a struggle to put it where i want it). It is worse in some games than others. i did manage to beat the first three Halo games single player at the normal or above difficulty settings. i guess that is one of the things that frustrates me with the current generation (and the abundance of shooters). Aiming in games like Alan Wake is kind of a nightmare for me.
i am kind of curious if it is the cursor move that is causing me problems or something else (like a brain processing delay). i am kind of curious if a different input method (like Kinect) would make it easier for me to target enemies.
i am not great at fixed shooters (stuff like Space Invaders, etc). However, most of the older ones i play are more of a matter of patterns or "bullet hell" dodging. Yes, i kind of like retro games (if my numerous posts on Game Room weren't evidence of that).
Dview: Shadow Complex (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
Shadow Complex is an XBLA title released by Chair/Epic Games. It is basically an action game based somewhat around exploration and killing generic bad guys involved in a nefarious plot. The game starts off with a guy (Jason) who goes on a date to a cave with a woman who picked him up in a bar. Wouldn't you know it, the woman he goes on the date with is captured. The character soon finds out that this is no ordinary cave - it is a complex that is in the shadows (so to speak). The game has been compared to Metroid and Castlevania in style. If this were longer it would have been an interesting retail game. i wish there was a sequel.
Grade: B+
What to Expect:
* Some exploration - aided when the game progresses by contraptions (like a grappling hook and SCUBA gear). Mostly it is going from point to point to move the story on (though you can venture off the path).
* There are a bunch of bad guys who can be dispatched with melee (B button) or guns
* 5 hours + length (more if you find everything)
* A bunch of upgrade items to find and collect (some of them are not exactly easy to get, or get to)
Achievements:
The achievements in this game are mostly straightforward. They are for stuff like getting X headshots, punting bomb things, beating the game (50 pts), etc. Some of them are a little more difficult - collecting all of the items, only collecting 13.
i finished the game at 6 hours and 20 minutes with 6 of 12 achievements. i only collected 69% or so of the items.
Shadow Complex is an XBLA title released by Chair/Epic Games. It is basically an action game based somewhat around exploration and killing generic bad guys involved in a nefarious plot. The game starts off with a guy (Jason) who goes on a date to a cave with a woman who picked him up in a bar. Wouldn't you know it, the woman he goes on the date with is captured. The character soon finds out that this is no ordinary cave - it is a complex that is in the shadows (so to speak). The game has been compared to Metroid and Castlevania in style. If this were longer it would have been an interesting retail game. i wish there was a sequel.
Grade: B+
What to Expect:
* Some exploration - aided when the game progresses by contraptions (like a grappling hook and SCUBA gear). Mostly it is going from point to point to move the story on (though you can venture off the path).
* There are a bunch of bad guys who can be dispatched with melee (B button) or guns
* 5 hours + length (more if you find everything)
* A bunch of upgrade items to find and collect (some of them are not exactly easy to get, or get to)
Achievements:
The achievements in this game are mostly straightforward. They are for stuff like getting X headshots, punting bomb things, beating the game (50 pts), etc. Some of them are a little more difficult - collecting all of the items, only collecting 13.
i finished the game at 6 hours and 20 minutes with 6 of 12 achievements. i only collected 69% or so of the items.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Dview: The Maw (XBLA)
The Bottom Line:
The Maw is a somewhat charming platformer by the people at Twisted Pixel. It is kind of hard to believe that this is from the same people as 'Splosion Man and Comic Jumper (much harder and more frustrating games). It is about a multi-eyed alien and his gelatinous purple blob that likes to eat. The Maw can transform slightly to gain new abilities and eat bigger creatures. Essentially, you are leading the Maw around and making sure that he get a healthy amount of creatures to eat. This is more of a slow paced platformer that places a little emphasis on exploring. i guess it helps that this game is kind of easy.
There are three unfortunately labeled DLCs for the Maw - Brute Force, River Redirect and Speeder Lane. i think they are 100 MSFT points each ($1.25) which add another 50 possible gamerscore.
Grade A
What to Expect:
* A kind of slower paced forgiving platformer. This is not like Twisted Pixel's other two games. This one came out first and does not have the "comic edge" the other two has. But to me, this has better gameplay
* A colorful purple blob who eats enemies to grow (or change to solve puzzles) - but you, a multi-eyed alien have to lead him to his prey (much of the time)
* 8 Levels of platforming culinarity (just kidding, the Maw eats his prey mostly raw - though he can sometimes breathe fire)
* Light puzzle solving
* A last level unlike the others - the Maw gets bigger when he eats, in the last level you have to use vehicles (i hate vehicles in games)
* Bonus DLC: These 3 levels feel much like the first 7, though Speeder Lane has you in a vehicle the whole time (but it is almost like you are not)
Achievements:
There are 12 achievements for 200 points (or 15 for 250 with the "deleted scenes"). These range from things like eat all of the things on the levels, to using trasformation powers to defeat X enemies, to playing the game at the Maw's 6 meal times (the most annoying one).
The Maw is a somewhat charming platformer by the people at Twisted Pixel. It is kind of hard to believe that this is from the same people as 'Splosion Man and Comic Jumper (much harder and more frustrating games). It is about a multi-eyed alien and his gelatinous purple blob that likes to eat. The Maw can transform slightly to gain new abilities and eat bigger creatures. Essentially, you are leading the Maw around and making sure that he get a healthy amount of creatures to eat. This is more of a slow paced platformer that places a little emphasis on exploring. i guess it helps that this game is kind of easy.
There are three unfortunately labeled DLCs for the Maw - Brute Force, River Redirect and Speeder Lane. i think they are 100 MSFT points each ($1.25) which add another 50 possible gamerscore.
Grade A
What to Expect:
* A kind of slower paced forgiving platformer. This is not like Twisted Pixel's other two games. This one came out first and does not have the "comic edge" the other two has. But to me, this has better gameplay
* A colorful purple blob who eats enemies to grow (or change to solve puzzles) - but you, a multi-eyed alien have to lead him to his prey (much of the time)
* 8 Levels of platforming culinarity (just kidding, the Maw eats his prey mostly raw - though he can sometimes breathe fire)
* Light puzzle solving
* A last level unlike the others - the Maw gets bigger when he eats, in the last level you have to use vehicles (i hate vehicles in games)
* Bonus DLC: These 3 levels feel much like the first 7, though Speeder Lane has you in a vehicle the whole time (but it is almost like you are not)
Achievements:
There are 12 achievements for 200 points (or 15 for 250 with the "deleted scenes"). These range from things like eat all of the things on the levels, to using trasformation powers to defeat X enemies, to playing the game at the Maw's 6 meal times (the most annoying one).
Achievements: My Thoughts on Them
If it were not for the emeregence of digital downloads (stuff like XBLA/PSN/Wii Virtual Console), achievements would probably rank as one of the most important additions to me this generation. i know that they are somewhat maligned, but as someone who really hasn't accomplished anything in the real world it is nice to get these little rewards for doing something in games Trophies are somewhat similar, but i've never played a PS3 so i don't really know how that system works.
i guess i should disclose my relatively low 36,790 and 18,489 gamerscores. The second number is essentially starting over as my previous gamertag may be cursed - i first started using it June 13, 2010 to win Game Room "challenges". Oringinally i was going to try for 70%, but that has proven tough with about 120 games played. (XBLA ones seem especially tough).
i think my favorite list is for Fable 2. Sure it breaks some of my rules - i really could do without the trading one and any co-op ones. However, the list is kind of cool. It does reward experiencing the game (whether it be marriage, swinging, committing an act of public indecency, etc).
Anyone out there have their favorite list?
Yes, i like achievements (most of the time). However, i am not sure i like how some games use them. These views do not necessarily express the views of humanity, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom or even fungus. Here are some of my view on achievements:
1) No Multiplayer Achievements - should all be single player. Partly because of stuff like boosting
2) 50% or more of achievement should be story related.
3) More are preferable to less, so limit the big point acheivement (maybe 250/1,000 maximum)
4) Try for not so many interconnected achievements (you don't have to do random X to get random Y).
5) Buy to get - ok, so this doesn't apply to many games, but.... i love Game Room, but i am not a huge fan of the achievements requiring you to purchase so many games (20, minimum) to get the 1,000.
6) Completed Games: i would like the option to show a game as complete if i don't have the DLC.
7) Multiple playthrough - ok, i'm not really a fan of multiple playthrough achievements. i would like to see these limited.
i guess i should disclose my relatively low 36,790 and 18,489 gamerscores. The second number is essentially starting over as my previous gamertag may be cursed - i first started using it June 13, 2010 to win Game Room "challenges". Oringinally i was going to try for 70%, but that has proven tough with about 120 games played. (XBLA ones seem especially tough).
i think my favorite list is for Fable 2. Sure it breaks some of my rules - i really could do without the trading one and any co-op ones. However, the list is kind of cool. It does reward experiencing the game (whether it be marriage, swinging, committing an act of public indecency, etc).
Anyone out there have their favorite list?
Yes, i like achievements (most of the time). However, i am not sure i like how some games use them. These views do not necessarily express the views of humanity, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom or even fungus. Here are some of my view on achievements:
1) No Multiplayer Achievements - should all be single player. Partly because of stuff like boosting
2) 50% or more of achievement should be story related.
3) More are preferable to less, so limit the big point acheivement (maybe 250/1,000 maximum)
4) Try for not so many interconnected achievements (you don't have to do random X to get random Y).
5) Buy to get - ok, so this doesn't apply to many games, but.... i love Game Room, but i am not a huge fan of the achievements requiring you to purchase so many games (20, minimum) to get the 1,000.
6) Completed Games: i would like the option to show a game as complete if i don't have the DLC.
7) Multiple playthrough - ok, i'm not really a fan of multiple playthrough achievements. i would like to see these limited.
Dview: The Last Remnant (Xbox 360)
The Bottom Line:
This game is a mess. You have load screen overkill - so bad that the game only really seems playable if installed on the hard drive. This game took me a while to beat as i got stuck and quit (Ludope). However i restarted it and finally beat the boss (not the super boss). Without the technical problems (and frequent loading) this would probably be a little better than a middle of the road SRPG. Basically, this game is more along the lines of a turn-based strategy RPG. You set up parties (unions) and then fight groups of monsters. i like generally like the combat, but sometimes you will face waves of boss type monsters with no opportunity to save in between.
For some unknown reason the number of people total you can use is capped - and the leaders are capped at 6 active (a really strange number considering that there seem to be so many in the game). It is kind of strange that they have spots for 5 unions of 5, but you cannot use that many forces. There is a quasi leveling system - where you gain skills by using similar skills, but some people strongly suggest that you avoid almost every fight possible). i know the game may be cheap now, but i would really recommend the PC version (which i have never played). This is 2 discs on the Xbox 360.
Grade: D
What to Expect:
* Load screens, lots of load screens
* Guilds that have tasks (like collect items, beat really rare monster, etc)
* Side quests - there are a bunch. It seems to me that every unique leader should have had at least one of their own (after you get them). There is one on the second disk that is a nightmare (called "The Fallen"
* Turn Based battles against groups of enemies (there is a critical trigger, but you can set it to auto like i did). These are supposed to feel like larger scale battles (and some really are)
* Some really annoying fights if you are under leveled (whatever it means in this game)
* Skills - gain by using repeatedly, you gain: HP, Strength, etc at seemingly random times. Apparently better if you are fighting stronger monsters.
* Wondering if this title was really finished
* Occasionally questioning design decisions - like limited troops/leaders/etc. Why is there no New Game + (where you could use some of the later arriving leaders). Also, questioning impacts of Battle Chains and Battle Rank.
* Game Length: decent, i think i spent 100+ hours on it. However, the story kind of feels like a throw-away.
The Achievements:
Let's put it this way, i don't like it when i don't get an achievement for beating the game or any bosses. None of the 22 achievements for this game are actually story related. You will probably accomplish a few playing through the story, and a few more with side quests. i got 290/1,000 on this play through. In fact, 4 of the 22 somehow involve the Fallen side quest (which is only available for a limited time). 570/1,000 points are somehow associated with that:
(1) Complete all side quests
(2) Make certain item - i'm not including supposed DLC monster that supposedly drops the part
(3) Defeat Fallen (which is a side quest)
(4) Defeat Mega Boss (need all side quests achievement)
This game is a mess. You have load screen overkill - so bad that the game only really seems playable if installed on the hard drive. This game took me a while to beat as i got stuck and quit (Ludope). However i restarted it and finally beat the boss (not the super boss). Without the technical problems (and frequent loading) this would probably be a little better than a middle of the road SRPG. Basically, this game is more along the lines of a turn-based strategy RPG. You set up parties (unions) and then fight groups of monsters. i like generally like the combat, but sometimes you will face waves of boss type monsters with no opportunity to save in between.
For some unknown reason the number of people total you can use is capped - and the leaders are capped at 6 active (a really strange number considering that there seem to be so many in the game). It is kind of strange that they have spots for 5 unions of 5, but you cannot use that many forces. There is a quasi leveling system - where you gain skills by using similar skills, but some people strongly suggest that you avoid almost every fight possible). i know the game may be cheap now, but i would really recommend the PC version (which i have never played). This is 2 discs on the Xbox 360.
Grade: D
What to Expect:
* Load screens, lots of load screens
* Guilds that have tasks (like collect items, beat really rare monster, etc)
* Side quests - there are a bunch. It seems to me that every unique leader should have had at least one of their own (after you get them). There is one on the second disk that is a nightmare (called "The Fallen"
* Turn Based battles against groups of enemies (there is a critical trigger, but you can set it to auto like i did). These are supposed to feel like larger scale battles (and some really are)
* Some really annoying fights if you are under leveled (whatever it means in this game)
* Skills - gain by using repeatedly, you gain: HP, Strength, etc at seemingly random times. Apparently better if you are fighting stronger monsters.
* Wondering if this title was really finished
* Occasionally questioning design decisions - like limited troops/leaders/etc. Why is there no New Game + (where you could use some of the later arriving leaders). Also, questioning impacts of Battle Chains and Battle Rank.
* Game Length: decent, i think i spent 100+ hours on it. However, the story kind of feels like a throw-away.
The Achievements:
Let's put it this way, i don't like it when i don't get an achievement for beating the game or any bosses. None of the 22 achievements for this game are actually story related. You will probably accomplish a few playing through the story, and a few more with side quests. i got 290/1,000 on this play through. In fact, 4 of the 22 somehow involve the Fallen side quest (which is only available for a limited time). 570/1,000 points are somehow associated with that:
(1) Complete all side quests
(2) Make certain item - i'm not including supposed DLC monster that supposedly drops the part
(3) Defeat Fallen (which is a side quest)
(4) Defeat Mega Boss (need all side quests achievement)
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