Going Retro

I have found three Facebook games that I actually enjoy. Granted, they’re not unique to Facebook; they’re tie-ins/spin-offs of console and PC games. Civ World, Dragon Age Legends, and Assassin’s Creed: Legacy. They’re fun and surprisingly deep, so give them a shot.

I know, these aren’t “retro.” But, I’m constantly seeing ads on the sidebar while playing these games telling me how to play older games like Mega Man X. I first ignored them because I am very familiar with emulators. One day, I got bored and clicked one. Sure enough, it led me to an emulation site. Woo.

Regardless, it just ended up fueling my current Mega Man kick. A couple months ago, a co-worker and I started talking about Mega Man in some depth. It all began when he shared a band called The Megas with me. The Megas have created an album entirely of Mega Man 2 BGM they covered in a rock-style. The catch or hook is that they included lyrics that turn the album into a sort of rock opera telling the story of Mega Man 2. It is fantastic and if you love video game music, Mega Man, or both you are doing yourself a great disservice if you do not listen to it. (Support The Megas and, who knows, they may make another album!)

Since my coworker shared this with me, I realized that I missed out of the whole Mega Man thing. So, I decided to go back and play some of them. I started at Mega Man 1 and had a blast. It was hard as hell, but I loved it. Then I moved to Mega Man 2, and same thing. It felt more polished and I can see why it has such a big fan following. I’m currently on Mega Man 3 and have been having one hell of a time with the Wily stages. Currently, my main trapping is Mega Man X. I have fond memories playing that with a buddy of mine when growing up, though I distinctly remember not knowing what the f*** was going on.

All of this makes me yearn for some of those older sidescrolling platformers. I’m thinking of checking out some I never even played before like Yoshi’s Island or Symphony of the Night. More than anything, though, it’s reinforcing the idea I’ve had in my mind for quite some time. The sidescrolling platformer is nearly dead, and there is no reason for that, and I think we’re on the cusp of a reemergence. When Nintendo brought back old franchises with new coats of paint (New Super Mario Bros., Kirby’s Epic Yarn and Donkey Kong Country Returns), they were reviewed very well. At the same time, Metroid: Other M tried to marry 2D and 3D and received some very mixed results. Then, enter such games as Cave Story, Shadow Complex, Outland, Limbo, Braid, etc. These are all fantastic sidescrolling platformers. Plainly, the genre is still alive and kicking. But, I think we need a full-fledged retail release on the Xbox and PS3 to really bring it back.

And, guess what. We have one coming that may kick off the revolution: Sonic Generations. I recently had the opportunity to try the demo, which consisted entirely of a single stage of the first act of the game. It was more or less a retread of the very first stage Sonic ever sped through, but it was still enjoyable. The controls felt very comfortable and the speed factor was fantastic. I love the colorful and saturated environments as well. My only complaint was that the background was so detailed, I wanted to stop and enjoy it but I was going so fast I couldn’t. Also, the highly detailed environments with all of their depth tended to hurt my eyes a bit when I really started moving as fast as Sonic should. But, the gameplay and ambiance was all there. It was an excellent, albeit short, experience on the whole.

Hopefully Sonic Generations strikes a chord with audiences. I’m still yearning for a new sidescrolling Metroid. I think the 3DS would be a great home, because it would afford a rich pallet upon which the famous Metroid environments could be painted. I always envisioned Brinstar to be a sort of massive underground cavern, and the 3DS could really show that off. I also see foreground environment obstacles that could be used to hide pitfalls or items. The opportunity to showcase perspective is too great to forget. However, I would be ecstatic to see a new Metroid on a regular home console, because all of these ideas would still work on a 2d viewing plane but with 3D models.

Just because we can create 3D worlds in which to navigate does not mean we must. Come on Capcom, do a new Mega Man series with 3D character models on a 2D plane (although perhaps create a hotswap with 8-bit graphics for the purists). Hell, I love Zelda in 3D, but I’d love another top-down Zelda with high-def character models. Perhaps a new Contra? Yes, please. I’m hoping this genre comes back into its own and some more of these iconic characters and franchises come back.

The allure of that which breaks the mold

My Xbox Live membership recently lapsed. And damn it all, I just then got the itch to hunt down some fools like a hooded predator. Needless to say, the Assassin's Creed multiplayer modes keep bringing me back for more and the recent updates on Revelations are not helping me fight he addiction.

There is just something about it that appeals to me much more than running around with a death cannon in my hands. It is less twitch and more observation (even though some people still rush through it a bit). I love trying to hide while hunting my prey.

My original lamentations about it seem to be getting addressed. Revelations will be bringing lobby support which makes me ever so happy. However, more modes would be one of the greatest joys. I love Wanted mode, but I find it too short sometimes. Instead of having enough time to properly track and find your contract while staying hidden becomes a bit of a trick when people who are trying to desperately max their score within the time allotted are dashing from place to place. You have to leave your safety zone to hunt them down, which opens you up and the slippery slope emerges. I wish there was a mode or mechanic that emphasized the more studied approach. Perhaps I sould just play SpyParty instead.

Regardless, since SpyParty will be on PC and still a year or two away, AC will be my bloody drug of choice. I love it so, and it me.

Something Old, Something New

Well, let me start by saying that I'm having fun typing this with basically one hand. I'm having some issues with one of the fingers on my left hand, so I taped two of them together. But then, G4 is running a marathon of Ninja Warrior, so I'm still happy.

Anyway, I just wanted to throw a few things out. I'm sure we're all aware of the PSN problems by now. Sony is at last trying to make good. Too little too late? We will see. At least the Department of Homeland Security is looking into the breach now. Phew! I feel a lot better now.

On to brass tacks...

The biggest reason I'm writing this is a little game called Mortal Kombat. Long story short, if you have any fond memories of Mortal Kombat from your childhood, you should play this game. This iteration of the series, or reboot as they've called it, is basically the model of how a game series gets back to it's roots while still updating to make itself modern.

MK was hugely successful when it was on a 2D plane. When the N64 debuted, nearly every 2D game franchise was trying to move to the 3D space. MK had some success there, but it never really appealed to me so I got out of it. Moving to 3D fighting took away from the core frenetic gameplay that I had come to enjoy at that point. However, the new reboot brings that back in all of its glory and it is beautiful.

Because of my typing handicap, I will keep this brief. As I stated, the new Mortal Kombat is what a franchise reboot should be. It returns to the core of what made Mortal Kombat a sensation in the 90's while cutting out a lot of the crap (or Krap, in this case). The graphics are gorgeous (until you get really close), and the new X-Ray attacks are so satisfying. The story mode is fun and epic, though some of the writing and voice acting is a bit questionable. I haven't played online just yet, but I'm sure it's a blast. Ultimately, Mortal Kombat returns to what made it popular but still kept a lot of modern conventions like online play, 3D models and tag teams.

If you love fighting games, Mortal Kombat in particular, or just like to see people beat the living Krap out of each other, then go out and at the VERY least rent this game. You won't be disappointed.

The official Atomic Gnome score: 8.75/10


And for the record, Johnny Cage may be a "weapons-grade retard" but for some reason I can play him pretty well. So, he may be my go-to guy. Just saying.

It's Been A While, But Here's Some Great Stuff

First of all, this video is pretty damn awesome. It answers the question that no one has asked, even though they should: "What if a Legend of Zelda movie was made in the vein of a teenage romantic comedy?" On top of the great gaming and 80's Teen movie references, they did a FANTASTIC job making this look like a home movie straight out of the 80's or early 90's. Great job!

Apparently a bunch of trolls started a flame war with psychiatrist Carole Lieberman on Amazon by rating her book with really low scores and leaving abusive messages. These responses blasted her for linking, without a doubt, that sexually-themed violence in video games is a major cause of sexual violence. Yet another entry into the "video games are a terrible influence" crusade. And guess what: Her comment was actually quoted by Fox News. Before reading more here, you might want to check out the official story. I found out about it here, but Wired did a real interview with her here. This is also her official press release.

First of all, these trolls need to find a better way of getting their point across. Seriously. These are the same people who yell, "FIRST!" and will state that they "don't care about this post." Get a life.

Second, Dr. Lieberman has stated that Fox News' quote was taken out of context. I'll give her that much. Well played. By the way, do you happen to be related to Joe?

Third, I would not be the least bit surprised that Fox News purposefully posted a quote from Dr. Lieberman out of context to claim another expert opinion against violent video games.

However, Dr. Lieberman has still made comments regarding gamers being violent. Yet, she still has not provided any hard evidence. I will also admit that there is yet to be any conclusive evidence that violent video games do or do not make people more or less violent.

Now, Jane McGonigal interests me, despite her wild mane. She fronts an organization named gameful.org which proposes that video games can actually be beneficial. To me, this is different than saying that video games do not affect people or affect them in specifically negative way. Gameful.org's focus is increasing gaming as a common activity and promoting it's possibly beneficial effects. The organization even goes as far as to challenge developers to design games with this in mind: Your games affect people, so make games while trying to increase the amount of positive influences your games have on people. You know what I say, Dr. McGonigal?

Challenge Accepted.

For more information about Gameful.org please visit their secret HQ at, er....gameful.org. Yeah.

Speaking of great gaming related organizations, check out Child's Play. They could always use more help!

That's it for now. I'll be back soon with some less political stuff soon.

Gnome Out.

Gaming By Numbers and The Boss' Annoying Kid Ruins Diablo 3

Over the past six months, I've had two co-workers looking into a getting a console for the first time this generation. One of them was new to gaming in general. For both of them, the decision came down to Xbox 360 and PS3. I did what I could to figure out which console would be a better fit for the each of them by asking what they wanted to get out of a console and comparing that to my opinion of what each console does better. I generally recommended the 360 for online gaming despite the Xbox Live subscription fees and the PS3 for someone who wants to do more than game with their console.

Everyone has their own opinion about each console, but that was my recommendation. As much as a gamer as I am, I tend to game almost exclusively on my Xbox; my PS3 is mostly a Blu-ray player. My wife and I still game on it, but mostly just PS3 exclusives like Uncharted and Little Big Planet. It seems that I'm not alone here, either.

Some Nielson ratings were recently released about usage on the Big 3. It's a pretty interesting chart to look at. The Wii gets the largest percentage of offline play because people are generally playing with people in the same room. (Most of those party games don't have an online option, and when these games are about 60% of the total gaming options on the Wii the math adds up.) I'm guessing that 20% that is streaming video are Netflix users. It's the only explanation that makes sense.

When we compare the 360 and PS3, the numbers are closer, but they reveal some interesting trends. Gaming in general, offline and online combined, makes up of a little bit more than 60% of activity on the 360 but less than 50% on the PS3. Besides gaming on the PS3, the most popular thing to do on a PS3 was watching DVDs and Blu-ray movies. Not too surprising though, considering that the 360 doesn't actually play any HD format discs without the now antiquated HDDVD peripheral (I know someone who has one and a decently sized collection of these elusive creatures). I must say, though, that all of these numbers are only recording the proportional percentage of usage and not numbers of hours compared to the other consoles. So, where there is a higher percentage gaming done on the 360, these numbers are not actually saying that there are more people using the console over the others. Just keep that in mind.

Some other interesting numbers came out this week regarding digital downloads. As a proponent of digital distribution and a harbinger of the digital revolution, I find these numbers fascinating. According to NPD, digital downloads are nearing 1/3 of total game sales. Of these digital purchases, services like Steam make up of almost half. App stores for smartphones almost match the numbers for Steam and Steam-like services. What amazes me most is that digital downloads on the Big 3 consoles make up less than 1/3 of these digital sales combined. Granted, since this all includes cell and smart phones, you have a lot of casual gamers downloading free game apps or $0.99 games like Cut The Rope and Angry Birds and purists may argue the "validity" of including such stats. However, these are real games and should be included. Curious to see what these numbers may look like in the next couple of years.

And, one more thing!

Diablo 3, the tease that she is, creeps ever closer. Now that the last of the first 5 classes has been revealed, it seems that Blizzard had to work pretty hard to keep the list short and sweet. With ideas like these, I wonder what the game could have been...

Gnome, out.

How I Suck At Predictions and The Worse Game Ever (of 2010)?!

So, yeah. My predictions for the Spike VGAs were waaaaay off. Whatever. I'll eat my crow, but I just want to go on record as saying that the awards show was awkward and pitiful at best. The on-stage projection effects were pretty awesome, but NPH was not himself; he was trying too hard to appeal to the gamer crowd. I also came to the conclusion, along with the rest of the gaming community, that Olivia Munn needs to stop talking. I love Attack of the Show, but she is really taking this diva persona a bit too far.

So, let's recap. Spike's Video Game Awards were:

1. Mostly boring

2. Hosted by a sub-par Neil Patrick Harris

3. Pretty much ruined by Olivia Munn

4. Showed off some cool presentation tech with on-stage projections

5. Revealed a lot of cool new games

Oh, yeah...I wasn't totally wrong about BioWare's new game. As I said a few posts ago, I figured it was Mass Effect 3, but I was hoping for something else. While, this reveal filled me elation about ME3 but a bit of apprehension that it may be too soon, the trailer was more epic than I imagined a teaser could be. Full trailer - plzkthksbai!

Now for some other fun things I found this past week.

I'm super pumped for L.A. Noire. Granted, I have no idea how this game will play, but the tech itself is blowing...my...mind. If the teaser that released about a month ago didn't show you enough of what this game and development team are capable of, perhaps this tidbit will give you more of an idea. *swoon*

Remember those Choose Your Own Adventure books? Here's a video game one from GameSpy. You're welcome.

I like Entertainment Weekly. They seem to be fairly on par with my thoughts about TV shows and movies. They also seem to be on top of the most recent scuttlebutt and reveals. They broke the story on the design of Captain America from the upcoming movie, as well as Green Lantern. EW makes me happy...mostly. I say "mostly" because when they do have video game reviews, they generally have no idea what they are talking about. Their reviewer(s) listed Kirby's Epic Yarn as the Worst Game of 2010.

Seriously?

Kirby?

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little. Are they serious when they say that Kirby's Epic Yarn was a bigger train wreck than something like Clash of the Titans or Kung Fu Rider? Granted, I haven't played any of those three. However, Kriby got great reviews from almost everyone but EW. Come on, Entertainment Weekly. Kirby may not have been the greatest game of 2010, but I can't imagine that it was that bad. Get some perspective.

Well, that's all for now. I'll be back later this week with a discussion about consoles and digital game sales and distribution. Same Gnome-Time, same Gnome-Channel; so stay tuned!

Gnome, out.

Old People Talking About Video Games and Upcoming Events

The Governator is at it again. California state legislature is trying its hand at regulating video games. The state recently passed a law prohibiting sale of "violent video games" to anyone under the age 18. Furthermore, such games are required to sport a 2" square "18" sticker. There a lot of things about this issue that just burn me, but then I do see a little sense here.

First of all, as this law goes under the Supreme Court for a decision, the attorney for EMA is quoting the First Amendment to show the unconstitutionality of Ahnold's law. Really, that is what this boils down to on a legal scale. Our nation was founded on the idea that people are free to express themselves and make a buck. Granted, this has been modified to ensure that making a buck doesn't involve enslaving entire cultures, but you get the idea. Prohibiting the sale of violent video games spits on the spirit of the First Amendment. For one person to say, "You can't sell this to certain people," when no hard evidence of detrimental effects exists is totally against the Constitution however you look at it.

Now you might say, "What about the age limits on alcohol and driver's licenses?" Alcohol is scientifically proven to alter and damage brain cells. And putting 12-year olds behind the wheel of 1.5 tons of metal and rubber which zoom along at 55 mph is just a disaster waiting to happen. A recent study was released (unfortunately I don't have a link to it at this time) in Australia that states that there is simply no conclusive evidence that people (adults and kids alike) are any more likely to be violent than other forms of media. Keep in mind, this is coming from Australia, a country infamous for banning violent games like Left 4 Dead 2. Also notice that this study doesn't dismiss media as a whole as a non-factor in violent influences; it states that video games are no more or less likely to foster violent tendencies.

At this point, I want to say that I do see some value in restricting the sale of graphic media. We already have that to some degree: pr0n. Really, this is just video and print media deemed too graphic for the public. So, we have age limits on it. Fine. I'm all for keeping kids away from some of the crazy things people consider to be "fun" behind closed doors. I don't think anyone will argue with that. Why not apply this to other forms of media just in new ways? I don't really see anything wrong with having to ID people for R-rated movies, explicit music, and Mature-rated video games. I used to scoff at the local EB Games manager at the mall when I was 16, but I understood the reason at least. All in all, I see no problem in trying to protect the youngin's. However, I think California's going about it the wrong way.

I remember my parents sitting down with me when I was about 12 or 13 when I was going over to a friend's house to watch some movies. Some of these movies were rated "R" and they knew it. They were not going with me and they knew there would not be any adults around. They sat me down and said, "You realize that whatever you see in these movies is all fake and you should never do them, right? Do you also know better than to use the bad language in those movies, too?" I did. And honestly, coming from a family that never really hammered these sorts of things home, this one moment really stuck with me.

Ultimately, while I see the pros of limiting sale of and attendance to questionable media, I uphold the First Amendment more. This means that such limitations, while noble, are unconstitutional. It really comes down to parents. Parents need to understand what their kids are in to and what that means. That goes for video games, music, movies, fashions, etc. I, as a parent, do not plan to let my daughter play M-rated games when she's 14 unless I know she realizes the difference between them and reality. Nor will I let her go to R-rated movies for the same reason. And, really, the bigger idea here is that media is largely rated already so people know what they are getting into. If parents have a problem with what their kids are playing or watching, take some accountability as the child's guardian and don't just blame the people who are making such things. Laws should not have to be made about this.

Speaking of violent video games, watch the episode of Penn & Teller: Bulls**t about video games. Here's Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 on youtube. It's cynical, but I think you'll find it eye-opening.

And Now For Something Relatively Different:

Spike's VMA awards are Saturday night. Let's watch as God of War 3 and Mass Effect 2 steal all of the awards. There also seem to be a good handful of game/trailer reveals coming as well. Uncharted 3 was announced today with a trailer debuting during the awards. We'll also get to find out what that damn picture BioWare released was all about. So, stay tuned. We'll discuss afterward.

Gnome, out.