Although its actual development time was considerably shorter, in the minds of most fans, “Diablo III” has been no less than 12 years in the making. That’s how long it’s been since the release of “Diablo II,” and that’s how long it’s been since gamers have been craving a true follow up. 12 years.
And after just two days of release, some gamers are already more excited about “Diablo IV.”
This is mostly due to Blizzard’s controversial decision to have gamers log-in to its servers in order to play the game. What’s irksome is that it doesn’t matter if you’re playing single player or multiplayer; you have to be online. Ideally, this allows for a range of features that should allow the gamer to be in a constantly networked world where gamers can aid each other in their quest, and friends can drop in at any time to do battle by your side, as you smote your enemies with joyful ease.
In reality though, the servers have been having nothing but trouble since launch. The battle.net network has appeared so far to be insufficiently capable of handling the mass numbers of users “Diablo III” has added without doing that annoying crashing thing and rendering the game unplayable in any form. It’s almost as if Blizzard didn’t anticipate that the sequel to one of the greatest selling and most acclaimed games of all time might actually sell a few copies itself, and that a mandatory online account coupled with that could lead to serious server problems.
Of course, the conclusion that just about everyone who isn’t a Blizzard employee has come to is that the game shouldn’t require a mandatory online account. It’s so ludicrously unnecessary, in fact, that as I was booting up the single player for the first time and it asked me to create an account, I couldn’t help but think of the Kramer line from Seinfeld. “Why does Radioshack need your phone number when you buy batteries?”
To me, there’s nothing quite like the “Max Payne” series.
As a fan of action movies, there is no game that can fulfill that itch I have for some ultra violence after watching one of my favorites like “Max Payne” does. More than that, though, the series has its own style and charm that very few games across any genre can possibly hope to match. It’s made up of a million little things that all come together to make something greater than it even looked on paper.
So in honor of “Max Payne 3′s” impending release, I’d like to reflect on ten of my favorite moments, levels, aspects, and everything else from the first two “Max Payne” games.
Mod Max – The “Max Payne” series was designed to be heavily moddable, and from day one gamers have taken advantage of that. From mods that make the game even more cinematic, to giving you the option of employing “Equilibrium’s” gunkata style, and way, way, to many “Matrix” mods, there is a strong community out there devoted to maximizing the games experience.
The two that really stand out, though, are the brilliant Kung Fu mod that gives Max martial arts skills, along with some deadlier gunplay abilities, thus helping the game become even more of an homage to the kung-fu classics that inspired it, and a mod that turns the game into a brawler set in the “Street Fighter” universe. The latter is actually kind of dull and buggy, while the former is a necessity. Both though represent the incredible ability the game has to be modded, and the creative impulses this series inspires out of its fanbase.
Innocent Man’s Story – This is maybe my favorite little moment of the series. In “Max Payne 2,” you are in a police station, when you overhear a cop interrogating a suspect over a double murder. Stay and listen and you will hear the absolute worst criminal alibi of all time delivered by a man who looks and sounds suspiciously like Joe Pesci.
I really can’t do this one justice with words. You have to see it for yourself.
I don’t think I need to waste much space explaining the basic premise of “Minecraft.” After all, with the astounding (and I mean just shocking), download numbers the game has posted, my general impression is that most of you fine readers have played, or at least heard of, this game that follows a blocky protagonist, isolated in a blocky world, whose sole mission in life is to harvest the resource blocks around him in order to build sturdier blocks, weapons, items of all kinds and, most importantly, a shelter from the creatures that roam the night.
“Minecraft” is a blank canvas that only the most patient artists will be able to make proper use of. Unlike other world building titles like, say, “SimCity,” the effort required to make that first brush stroke to build off of is much greater, but the works you can create after that are limited by almost nothing. I wish I could say the same for this 360 adaptation, which is unfortunately burdened by several limits. While the simple graphics and atmospheric music transition perfectly to the console, and the controller handles the very basic functions of the game admirably, as the game gets more and more complex (and it can in a hurry), the 360 finds itself ill equipped to smoothly handle the wealth of inventory you soon acquire in a manageable way. The various menus you have to navigate to perform even the most basic functions and creations are annoying enough without having to scroll via joystick and force yourself to try to organically manage everything with the face buttons as your main tool. This game could have greatly benefited from the use of more hotkey features (the D-pad, for instance, is completely unused).
The biggest problem? There’s just no real reason to own this game on the 360. While playing, I actually found myself with my PC nearby just to look up the finer points of the game and look for reasonable tips on how to proceed. I don’t think I’d be alone in this, and if it’s a case of having to have your computer by your side anyway, why not play it in its native format? The controls, community and everything else are greater there, and the system requirements are so absurdly low that they shouldn’t cause a problem for most anyone.
While I respect the effort that developer 4J Studios put forth on this adaptation, I just can’t recommend this port to anyone. I didn’t get to try the 360’s splitscreen multiplayer mode (due to confidentiality reasons, though the idea is a fantastic concept), but I imagine it would do little to alleviate the main problem with the game. Overall, “Minecraft” is still a great idea and a unique experience that the patient and creative will inevitably get the most out of. If that’s you, just make sure to start your adventure on the solid foundation that only the PC can give this game.
Electronic Arts has received a lot of flak over the years about the way they’ve handled the release of their World Cup and European Championship games, and rightfully so, because all they were doing before was redressing the current-gen FIFA titles and charging full price for what was essentially the same product. This year, however, they’ve smartly chosen to release their Euro 2012 content as DLC for “FIFA 12” instead of an individual disc, which will satisfy fans of the franchise despite the fact that it still doesn’t feel like you’re getting very much bang for your buck.
In addition to the basic tournament mode and a Challenge mode similar to the one found on recent installments of the soccer series, there’s also a new mode called Expedition that plays like a mix between FIFA Ultimate Team and “Risk.” To begin, you create a team, select your favorite European player to serve as captain, and receive a random assortment of reserve players to fill out your roster. As you travel across Europe competing against other teams, you’ll unlock roads to new countries, and for every team that you beat, you’re given one of their players, which you can choose to keep or reject. The first time that you beat a team, you’ll get a reserve player; the next time, you’ll get a better player; and the third time, you’ll get one of their stars.
It’s a little more difficult than it sounds, though, as losing a match will destroy the connecting road, resulting in having to play some countries more than three times. But while the risk/reward nature of Expedition adds a bit of unnecessary frustration to the proceedings, it’s still the strongest feature on “UEFA Euro 2012.” That might not be saying much considering just how little there is to choose from, but EA deserves credit for at least trying to do something different. Granted, the DLC is hardly an essential addition to the “FIFA 12” experience (especially at such a high price), but diehard soccer fans should download it anyway.
After sitting through far too many rounds of the NFL Draft over the weekend, I got to thinking: If sports reporters can analyze players that haven’t gone pro yet, why not try to make an assessment of games that haven’t gone live yet? So here is my scouting report on some big releases of May, including just how I think they will fare when they hit the big time.
Max Payne 3
Scouting Report
The wait for this game has had many fans feel what it’s like to be stuck in Max’s signature slowdown bullet time mode. Original developer Remedy did an amazing job with the first “Max Payne” when it came to capturing that particular brand of Hong Kong cinema gunplay, popularized by the likes of “Hard Boiled” and “The Killer“, while infusing it with some old fashioned American film noir style. It resulted in one of the most revolutionary and unique shooters ever made. For the sequel, “Max Payne 2“, they managed to blow nearly everyone’s expectations away by retaining the essentially the same gameplay of the first, but then smothering the entire experience with unbelievable amount of style, emphasized by some of the best level design ever in a game and some perfect ragdoll physics, to create what is one of my personal favorite games of all time.
But now it’s Rockstar’s turn to take the reins (and why not as that iconic R logo on the first two led many to believe it was one of their developments anyway), as they attempt to bring Max back into the limelight. So far, from the numerous preview trailers, it looks like the emphasis is on refinement of the system and not starting a revolution….as least in the single player. Yes for the first time ever, Max is going multiplayer in what Rockstar is hoping is going to be a unique attempt at that eternal question. How do you make bullet time work in multiplayer?
Prospects
I have zero doubt this game is going to be good. I have some questions though on whether or not it will be great.
It’s obvious from everything we’ve seen so far that Rockstar is not looking to stray from the established gameplay of the first two, and merely tweak it with some very welcome additions (mostly cosmetic). But at this point, many fans want the game to be more than “just fun”, and to pull that off, Rockstar is going to have to match the numerous little X-factors that Remedy populated the first two games with. As this installment is moving away from its previous Noir style roots, they’re going to have to find a way to make the new “Man on Fire”-style world and plot shine as bright and feel as unique. Failing that, it’s going to come down to the multiplayer to be what makes this game stand out in a busy market (even for a returning legend).
It’s pretty depressing to see a game as visually striking as “Bloodforge” turn out to be so terrible, especially when you consider all the hard work that was put into making it. But that’s exactly the case with this “God of War” wannabe, which is completely undone by some simple gameplay mechanics. You play as Crom, a Celtic warrior who’s given up his life of violence to live peacefully with his wife. When he returns home from hunting one day to find his village being attacked by savages, however, Crom is tricked by some cruel gods into murdering her during the ensuing battle, and now he’s exacting revenge.
For as weak as the story may be, though, it’s nothing compared to the myriad of other problems that plague the game. Though developer Climax tries to disguise these issues by wowing players with ultraviolent deaths and gratuitous amounts of blood (which serves a dual role in the game as a combat amplifier and form of currency), it doesn’t work. The hack-and-slash combat is repetitive; the variety of enemies is shockingly poor; and the jerky camera is so bad that you might want to pop a few Dramamine if you plan on playing for more than a few minutes. Those that can handle the throbbing headaches you’re bound to suffer along the way might find “Bloodforge” a little more bearable, but in an industry flooded with new games vying for your attention every week, I’d much rather spend my time on something that doesn’t actually hurt to look at.
If you haven’t heard already, Disney has a movie coming out this November called “Wreck-It Ralph.” It follows the journey of fictional video game villain (the aforementioned Ralph, voiced by John C. Reilly) who becomes jealous of the fame and love his hero nemesis Felix (Jack McBrayer) receives, and decides to try to turn over a new leaf and become good.
While not an entirely original idea, the video game setting definitely makes it somewhat novel. What makes the whole project genuinely exciting, though, is the news coming out of CinemaCon that the film will contain cameos from famous video game characters from various developers. Already the footage has shown Zangief and M. Bison, Clyde the “Pac-Man” ghost, Bowser, Kano from “Mortal Kombat”, Dr. Robotnik and others all pleading with Ralph, via a villian support group, that he should be proud to be a villain and not be ashamed of it. (Think the “fish are friends, not food” sharks from “Finding Nemo.”)
While that’s a pretty cool start, I hope they’ve only scratched the surface of what we can expect to see appearance wise. So in anticipation of the movie’s November opening, here are five video game characters that I hope make it to the big screen.
Dirk The Daring – The hero of the arcade hit “Dragon’s Lair” would fit right into this world. As “Dragon’s Lair” was essentially a movie that’s only interaction was some simple “choose your path” moments, I somehow always pictured Dirk to be a bit…dim. It’d be great if he were portrayed as a vacant movie star type, who’s all show and no daring. After all, this is the villain’s story.
Guybrush Threepwood – In a fair world, the awesome protagonist of the “Monkey Island “series would have had his own movie or TV series by now. In lieu of that, a cameo in “Wreck-It Ralph” would be incredible. Maybe he could appear as a trainer to Ralph as he learns the ways of good. It doesn’t really matter as long as we get some of that great Monty Python-style dialog like, “You fight like a dairy farmer!” (Followed by the classic retort, “How appropriate. You fight like a cow.”)
Will the Madden cover jinx hit again? Last year, Peyton Hillis was the surprise winner of the fan voting for the Madden NFL cover, and he suffered through injuries and a miserable season.
This year Megatron, Calvin Johnson, gets the nod, and Detroit Lions fans are holding their breath.
Here’s an interesting tidbit you might want to keep in mind the next time your parents or girlfriend gives you grief about playing video games. A new study finds that playing video games can be helpful with treating depression.
“Video games are more often regarded as causes of mental illness than as cures, but in a new study, a specially designed fantasy game helped teens conquer depression just as well as — if not better than — usual counseling.
Depression can be devastating among youths, yet fewer than 1 in 5 depressed teens are treated, in part because they are reluctant to seek a therapist’s help. So researchers in New Zealand created the SPARX videogame as a way to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy, packaged in a fun and appealing way. The acronym stands for “smart, positive, active, realistic and x-factor thoughts,” strategies designed to fight depression.”
This is great news for teens, but it’s also great ammunition for die-hard gamers. Now, it won’t help you justify playing games online for 18 hours per day. Don’t get greedy, and if you do that you won’t have a girlfriend anyways. But if you enjoy a healthy dose of video games, or you like to search around to see sites that have the best online casino games, or you just love fantasy football, this new study can help you deal with all those people who love to criticize your game obsession. It’s healthy!
Also, for parents, you should read about this study to help you craft a responsible approach towards your kids and games. If done in moderation, gaming can be the best option sometimes, assuming of course you also get them outside to run around a bit!
It seems like every year there’s at least one standout XBLA title released that is simply too good to ignore (“Braid” and “Limbo” come to mind), and this year, that game is “Fez.” But while the long-in-development indie platformer has been showered in just as much critical praise as those other titles, there’s something about “Fez” that makes it a lot more memorable, more addictive and more deserving of the recognition. Perhaps it’s because the game never stops surprising you, continuously growing both in scope and in the mind-bending difficulty of its puzzles, which in turn will make you equally frustrated and intrigued – a dangerous recipe for any gamer who refuses to call it quits.
You play as Gomez, a little white creature that lives in a 2D world; or so he thinks. After receiving a letter from a fellow villager asking to meet him one morning, Gomez comes into contact with a powerful artifact that grants him the ability to navigate the universe in three dimensions using the titular fez hat. But when a rift in space threatens to destroy Gomez’s world, the pint-sized hero must embark on a mission to collect all 32 of the golden cubes that make up the powerful hexahedron (most of which have been shattered into eight smaller cube bits) before time runs out.
The catch, however, is that although Gomez’s world is in 3D (comprised of four flat sides that can be rotated on an axis), he can still only move two-dimensionally. That means that players must constantly switch perspective using the left and right trigger buttons in order to maneuver around each level and solve puzzles. And because there are no enemies to fight or penalties for dying (if Gomez falls from a ledge, he’s promptly brought back to life), the emphasis is instead placed on exploration and discovery, of which there is enough to keep you busy for several days.
“Fez” is both incredibly simplistic and maddeningly complex, but how much time you choose to invest in the game is completely up to you, as there are many secrets to unlock, some of which can’t even be solved on your first playthrough. The game’s success doesn’t just hinge on the clever design and gameplay mechanics, though, but also on a more basic level as a giant love letter to 8-bit gaming, with visual and musical references to “Tetris” and “The Legend of Zelda,” and a fantastically nostalgic soundtrack by Disasterpiece that’s simply the icing on the cake. Though the game is plagued by a surprising number of bugs for a title that’s been in development as long as it has, “Fez” is so damn unique and charming in just about every way that they’re pretty easy to ignore.
