Recent Revelations

Gawd, it's been a while. For anyone reading this who isn't a close friend or acquaintance, I just recently started a new job. Between that, my wife's new job, a 2 year-old, and only one car between the 3 of us...life has been pretty hectic and fairly game/Facebook/blog-free. However, today I had some interesting thoughts that I just needed to share.

1) Nintendo 3DS

Goo. Just....goo. I came across an article on IGN the other day that compared screenshot from the upcoming 3DS remakes of some classic games to the originals and they BLEW ME AWAY. This little handheld gaming system not only does 3D, takes 3D PICTURES, and requires no glasses, but it has Wii level graphics -- or arguably even better in some cases.

The other day I was talking to someone who was looking at getting an iPod Touch (which is practically an iPhone 4 without the phone) instead of a DS for their son. I had to keep my mouth shut because they were badmouthing the DS in favor of the iPod Touch for games (don't get me wrong, the Touch is great for games...depending on what type of gaming you want to do). However, I had an overwhelming urge to just blurt out, "Just wait until your son finds out about the 3DS..." This thing is going to change the mobile gaming market in ways we can't even imagine. I myself want to get one simply for the 3D remake of Ocarina of Time, one of my favorite games of all time. Then, another chance to play MGS3: Snake Eater which I missed most of the first time around is also fantastic. Before the 3DS, the idea of 3D gaming at this point in time with the current technology and price point sounded prohibitively expensive and cumbersome -- although really cool. The 3DS is going to make 3D gaming not only easy and relatively inexpensive (official release date and price point in US has not been officially released), it would make it a cinch to take anywhere. Kudos, Nintendo. If nothing else, you sure as hell know how to innovate the game market.

2) Top hats, cogs, and steam, oh my!

This week's episode of Castle revolved around Steampunk enthusiasts. Now, I've been a big fan of Steampunk for quite sometime, even though I lack the ingenuity and engineering prowess to design/make my own Steampunk gear. Nevertheless, I love the idea of it all...but Steampunk is still a fairly underrepresented subculture in media. Being video game enthusiast hoping to get into design and development...I had an idea.

The idea of Steampunk could lend to a really rich and interesting video game world. The original idea I had was an action RPG in which players could not only customize their appearance and playstyle with weapons and clothing/armor...they could design their own Steampunk-style weapons and outfits. In said episode of Castle, Nathan Fillion's character dons an sleeve covered in gears, cogs and pistons. In terms of game play, such an item could not only add some armor to a character, but increase strength and/or agility. Weapons could be melee, with added derringer-style one-shot gun barrels for added damage. The ideas are only limited by imagination.

The more I thought about this, the more I thought that and RPG style game of some sort would really fit the Steampunk culture. Why? A large part of Steampunk, from what I've seen, is the RP (role-playing) aspect. Thus, I imagine and open world game...very possibly an MMO. So, players could not only customize their characters with gear, but build vehicles for travel, and socialize with others. Of course, there are a still a lot of details to build upon yet, but the concept is still fairly attractive, if you ask me. I'd sure as hell give it a shot if one were made.

3) Speaking of MMOs...

A buddy of mine from high school recently posted on his Facebook wall how Final Fantasy XIV is getting really poor scores. Honestly, I'm not surprised -- but that's a another rant for another time. I currently don't play any MMOs, since I quit WoW back in April. I didn't quit because I disliked the game itself, I quit because I just couldn't stand the attitude of post players anymore. Before I launch into another rant, I'll leave that subject where it is for now. As of now, for me at least, I'm waiting for The Old Republic because my wife and I are big Star Wars geeks. But, seeing as how that isn't coming out until the "Spring of 2011," I'm remaining celibate. However, if I were to break that vow of celibacy there are only two games currently on the market that are attractive enough tempt me in to a new subscription: EVE Online and City of Heroes/Villains. Again...this is another rant for another time.

The point here is that the MMO market is beyond huge, thanks to WoW. And along with my Steampunk MMO idea, I've had a couple other ideas for some potentially huge MMOs. One I've had for quite some time, and one actually spawned in my head this morning from an online ad.

• Pokemon -- This universe is just begging for an MMO. I understand that the way the Pokemon games are released as of now is great marketing...but come on! With each new generation, the developers are leaving out some critters from previous generations, letting you only experience a fraction of the entire catalog. I, as a casual dabbler of Pokemon, would love to shell out the dough for the most current Pokemon game, but this fact is my biggest stumbling point. I hate feeling as if I have purposefully bought into something and knowing that I was being deprived of the FULL experience. A Pokemon MMO doesn't even need to be graphically impressive. Keep the gameplay the way it is, give players access to each region with its full Pokedex catalog, and wham-bam -- instant phenomenon. Walk up to another trainer for a duel, or party up and do a group battle. Have ranked tournaments to see who's the true Master. Don't tell me this doesn't sound fantastic. You know you want it.
• Harry Potter -- Yet another huge franchise with an excessively large fanbase. This could be a bit more of a traditional, class-based MMORPG. However, as I am still in the process of reading these books, I can't really think too much about how characters could customize their character's abilities/class or how the classes would be categorized/defined. However, there is a rich world here with plenty to explore and ways for players to interact, explore and make it their own. Start as a first year at Hogwarts as a legacy pureblood, Muggle-born, or with a mixed heritage, get sorted by the Sorting Hat, progress and age through your 7 years at Hogwarts in your respective House, then graduate and find your place in the wizarding world. Even fight off threats such as Deathspeakers attempting to bring back Voldemort or even larger threats. Again, it's a huge universe that Rowling has created and I think it could work really, really well. Heck, the more I think about it...they more I'm starting to like it.

Anyway, I better call it quits for now. Gotta get to work soon. Until then, Gnome out.

Random Musings from a Trip to GameStop

So, I stopped by GameStop today for various reasons, mostly to add money to my pre-orders and to pre-order Fable 3. While there, I decided to peruse the racks for some hard to find gems.

First one I found was Heavenly Sword. This game was a damn launch title for the PS3 and it is still $30 USED. Why in the name of Tiny Baby Jesus is this game still so much?! I know the local Fry's had it for 20 a few weeks ago, but they sold out and will not be getting more. With Enslaved coming soon, I want to experience what else that development team has done first. I hear HS was a pretty good game, and clips I see to this day still impress me.

Speaking of Enslaved, I have to say that I am very curious about this one. It takes the classic Monkey myth and gives it a neat twist. Now, I've seen said myth used in all sorts of settings (Dragon Ball including all of its iterations and 2008's The Forbidden Kingdom), and I've always liked that myth. However, Enslaved seems to be bringing some muscle to this old story, and it looks nice. Thus, why I want to play Heavenly Sword before this hits shelves. I want to see what this team did before and get an idea of the kind of design they do and what we might be able to expect.

While at GameStop, I also tried to find some of my favorite Wii games: Smash Bros. Brawl, Metroid Prime Trilogy, either Mario Galaxy and New Super Mario Bros. Wii. They were nowhere to be found. I guess these games, being among the best the console has to offer, have gotten hoarded. I can relate to that. I'd sure as hell stash those away for my own greedy purposes.

Upon mentioning this to the guys working, we started into the The Motion Control Debate, as so often does when talking about gaming nowadays. The similarities between the Wii and Move are just too hard to dismiss. Sure, Move may look better and track movements better than the Wii, but I just foresee it falling prey to the Shovelware farce the Wii has become. I love Nintendo and the risks they take to try and innovate. And the Wii did just that for a while, and as we can see, the other two big companies are following suit, but the lasting power of motion control is what has me worried. Kinect, if anything, may make a breakthrough. However, I still have my doubts about its accuracy. We'll just see.

I want a good and (relatively) lengthy game for the DS that will give me a reason to break that thing out more. I've always had a secret corner in my heart for Pokemon. Yes, I said it. But where to jump in? I'm thinking Platinum. I know HeartGold and SoulSilver just came out, but they're rehashes of previous titles. I want the most up to date roster possible, and I think that's what Platinum offers. Any thoughts, readers? Pokehaters need not respond. Seriously.

I also found a few gems in the $15 or under bin. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Too Human were stashed in there. Riddick got some great reviews and I'd love to see for myself. Not a huge Vin Diesel fan, but the gameplay and atmosphere seemed to be really neat from the demo I played oh so long ago. As far as Too Human goes...I liked it. Not a fantastic or supremely made game, but I enjoyed it. I liked the twist on Norse mythology, and I've always been a sucker for that sort of thing. That's one reason I love God of War and Percy Jackson (the books/movie, not any of the tie-in games). It's also why I played Age of Mythology and why I bought Nasus on League of Legends. So, say Too Human sucks or whatever. Go ahead and hate. What matters is that I like it, I have fun with it. And for $10, I'd be willing to buy it.

That's all for now. I've got another rant brewing...so watch out!

Gnome, out.

A few interesting points

It's been a bit since my last post, but I have found a few interesting things since then.

1) Irrational Games has revealed that their "Project Icarus" is in fact, a new Bioshock named Bioshock: Infinite. This carries with it a multitude of great things. First of all, there will be a new setting and what I can only imagine to be a great new variety in plasmids. I say that because Infinite will be set a new location: A CITY IN THE SKY. How hawt is that? My biggest question now is this: will this game's version of Bid Daddies have jetpacks? If so, have mercy on our souls.

Let's not also forget that Infinite will be developed by the original team from Bioshock. Bioshock 2 was outsourced to 2k Marin, and while they did decently with the source material, I think Irrational did better (says the guy who hasn't touched Bioshock 2 yet). Anyway, pumped to say the least.

2) New DLC news from Gearbox! Long story short: The Claptraps of Pandora are rising against Hyperion Corporation. Viva la Robolution!

3) Here's a recent article touching on an idea I've been meaning to post about. It might be best to keep my mouth shut for the moment and save it all for later, but read the post. It's quite interesting.

Glory to House Auditore!!! and Ubisoft

So, I finished Assassin's Creed 1 the other day. I had heard that the ending was really confusing, and thus, resisted the urge to read spoilers. It was every bit as confusing as I had heard. Instead of figuring it out myself, I read a thread on xbox360.org about it. He had some very interesting insights, many of which could lead to future AC games, but I doubt it. I think I'll take a trilogy and be done. I don't want one of my favorite current generation franchises beat until it is dry and bloodless. (Heh, pun unintended.)

But, this all leads my to my main point: Assassin's Creed 2, for me, is a special brand of awesomesauce. The first time Desmond got into the Animus and I heard the first line of Italian, my heart melted. For one of the first times in my life, my real life and the video games I play seemed to truly meld.

Oop. Time for a bit of background information. I spent the spring semester of 2008 studying in Macerata, Italy. During my time there, I was able to visit Venice, Rome and Florence, among much more. So, for me to now be playing a video game that takes place in some of my favorite places in the world, it has been an exceptionally exciting experience thus far. What makes it even better, is that Ubisoft has done very well in faithfully recreating Florence accurately. I am running along rooftops and climbing many landmarks I have been to personally.

I cannot completely, in words, describe the "GOO!!!" feeling of climbing the colossal Giotto Campanile then swan diving off the top, or climbing out of a river and up the side of Ponte Vecchio. Because of my real world experiences and the masterful craftsmanship of Ubisoft, this may just be one of my favorite games of ALL TIME.

Video Game Soundtracks Or The Lack Thereof

Years ago, my brother turned me on to a thread on what seemed like a random website's forum. The thread itself isn't really important, but just suffice it to say that it involved a meme revolving around a motivational poster with a Middle Eastern man smiling with the words "Great Work!" in large type at the bottom.

Little did I know that this thread was on the forums for a FANTASTIC site called Overclocked Remix. This site is populated with talented musicians who have taken classic video game music, and either remastered, remixed, or remade their favorite tunes from said games. For the most part, if you remember a cool ditty from a past video game, someone will have a remix posted for it. They even put together collections into albums that you can legally torrent directly from their site.

But, here's the point: Most of the remixes I download are from games that predate my PS2. I just can't really think of many songs from games from that generation or later. I remember jamming to Toejam & Earl, any of the first 3.5 Sonic games, and a few things from the SNES like Super Metroid and Super Mario World. With the exception of Final Fantasy VII, World of Warcraft, Ocarina of Time and Halo, memorable video game music has almost all but disappeared. I still remember Morgan Webb reviewing some mediocre racing game and describing the BGM as "generic butt-rock."

When was the last time you heard a song and realized the source game immediately? Yeah, it's been awhile. Even some of the BEST games lately have had really generic soundtracks. Uncharted 2, God of War 3, and Red Dead Redemption all have fantastic gameplay but nothing worth remembering in terms of theme music. As close to an action/adventure movie Uncharted 2 was, it is somewhat surprising that it had no solid theme. A bit of a letdown, but not really anything that lessens the experience of the game.

I just pine for the days when you turned on your console to play a game and grinned or felt the adrenaline rush at just the first few bars of the theme song. I guess we just need some new, talented music composers and perhaps they're coming.

Oh well. I'm just a nutcase anyway. I'll keep playing either way.

Gnome, out.

Random Gaming News

Found some interesting news so far today.

1) There will be a downloadable game to coincide with the release of Scott Pilgrim. It seems that you essentially fight as Billy against the evil ex's. However, it is going to be kinda 8-bit. Woohoo! The screens look pretty cool.

2) There will also be a downloadable prologue to Dead Rising 2. You play as Chuck, but 3 years before the events of the main game. Somehow, the creator has said that this will serve as a demo for the retail game as well. Intrigued.

3) Kinect has officially been priced at $149.99. Way to go Microsoft. You have priced your motion control peripheral at $50 under the Wii. So, to have motion control gaming on the 360, consumers need to spend a minimum of $200-$300 for the console and the peripheral. Smooth move. Here's hoping that controller-free motion control is worth it.

4) EA is cooking up a new, open world RPG. The names attached to this alone are reason enough to keep it on your radar: NY Times bestselling author R. A. Salvatore, legendary artist Todd McFarlane, and Morrowind and Oblivion lead designer Ken Rolston. There really aren't many details about it available yet, but just the announcement got a "GOO!" out of me.

Gnome, out

There's Something About Motion Controls: Part 4 -- Kinect

Kinect. Possibly the most over-hyped, yet largest game changer.

I have no delusions that what Microsoft is trying to do could possibly change motion controls, if not a large portion of gaming altogether, but I am still unimpressed.

Motion controls without an actual controller is intriguing, definitely. However, the buy-in price is quite steep at $150. As X-Play's Adam Sessler put it recently, people who are interested in motion controls are generally quite happy with their Wii, an initial $200 investment plus accessories. But, it is the lack of a controller which will attract people over Move and Wii together.

Kinect could change everything, or it could be one of the biggest disappointments ever. I, for one, am not excited at all. One of the most ambitious "games" demoed for Kinect when it was still Project Natal was Peter Molyneux's "Milo." He's still showing this off, despite having said that it will not be commercially released. What a tease. At least Fable 3 will have Kinect capability, which goes *cough* hand-in-hand with it's emphasis on touch.

So, yeah. I don't mind gaming with a controller. I guess in a way, it is one more way for me to keep in mind that what I'm doing on screen is separate from reality; that my game is just that. However, I look forward to seeing people make bigger fools of themselves with Kinect than they do on the Wii.

Gnome, out.