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      The Rise of “Guilds,” and the Fall of “Heroes”

      September 1, 2012 /

      As one MMO flies to incredible new heights, another that once promised players that very feature is coming to an end.

      Recently the MMO world was hit with two big bits of news as “Guild Wars 2” developer ArenaNet posted on their Facebook page, that all first party digital downloads of the new mega hit MMO are suspended temporarily in order to insure server stability. While the game is still available through third party sites and retail stores, the developers themselves feel they have a responsibility to everyone in the game to hold off on new sales directly from them, so that play isn’t interrupted. Currently new methods to expand digital services are being looked at.

      Hot off the heels of that announcement comes another from the publisher of “Guild Wars 2,” NCsoft, that they will be folding Paragon Studios, and therefore effectively bringing an end to that developer’s MMO title “City of Heroes” by the end of the year.

      The reasons for these individual stories of success and untimely demise are both simple and complex, but ultimately revolve around each other.

      First, in case you didn’t follow the insane pre-release hype, or immediately snatch up the product that finally launched, “Guild Wars 2” is slowly taking the online world by storm in a way that no other MMO has done since “World of Warcraft” itself. It’s doing this through an incredible art style with a scope and integrity never before seen in a game like this, a PvP system that’s so brilliant and well executed it looks to make all other competitive systems irrelevant by the time it kicks into gear, and maybe best of all, a level of difficulty that rewards players for putting more time into it by actually making the game better as you go along, instead of creating more incentive for new players, and providing cold shoulders for veterans. Tying it all together, unlike “WoW,” “Guild Wars 2” is free to play, continuing one of the more welcome video game trends in some time.

      I’ve had the privilege of playing the game recently, and I don’t think I could give you an honest critical review of it. That’s because despite some of its flaws, I have such a deep and abiding respect for the game that questions of review scores and likes or hates are irrelevant. It’s one of those stand up and take notice games that only come along once in a while, even if all of the specifics aren’t perfect.

      Oddly though, it seems to achieve such lofts, a sacrifice of sorts had to be made. That seems to be the largest reason behind the cancellation of service for “City of Heroes,” as reports still have the game boasting a sizable player base, and even reporting some respectable sales figures as recently as last year for such an aging title.  However, earlier this year NCsoft reported its first companywide loss in a while, and at the time “City of Heroes” was at the bottom of the sales list. With other ongoing projects to support, and bigger titles on the horizon, it would seem “City of Heroes” fell to the archvillian known as fiscal reports, and nothing more.

      Unfortunately it’s not easy to look at this as a case of one door closing and another opening. As good as “Guild Wars 2” is, and as great as it promises to be, “City of Heroes” long stood as the somewhat appropriate icon of hope in the MMO world. It wasn’t a fantasy or sci-fi game, yet it produced a well built and, initially, successful MMO. Now that it has fallen to a, admittedly well worthy, challenger to the “WoW” crown of fantasy MMO dominance, I worry that the message will become more and more clear in developer’s minds that new entrants in the genre are unwelcome, especially if they are trying something different.

      In a year’s time I feel that the MMO market will be hotly divided by “Guild Wars 2” players, and by “WoW” addicts, and with good reason. At that time, the mention of a title like “City of Heroes” won’t lead to tears, but rather fond memories. Still, I wish that it were possible for the game to continue in some capacity for as long as it can. Because while the game’s sales figures may have been mild mannered like reporter Clark Kent, beneath the corporate visage of numbers lied an idea of originality, individuality, and innovation in the American way.

      Underneath it, lied a true MMO hero.

      News

      The Last Straw for “The Last Guardian?”

      August 27, 2012 /

      In what may one day register as the final nail in the coffin either creatively or totally for “The Last Guardian,” producer of both “ICO” and “Shadow of the Colossus” Kenji Kaido, has left Sony Computer Entertainment.

      He announced the news earlier on Twitter where he said:

      “I have some news. This August, I left Sony Computer Entertainment. My plans for the future are undecided as of now, but for the time being I’m going to continue my summer vacation.”

      There is no official word on what, if any, involvement Kaido had on “The Last Guardian,” but since he was one of the driving forces for Team ICO, it’s hard to imagine he didn’t have a hand in designing the troubled title at some point.

      Trouble is definitely the only word you can use for “The Last Guardian” when you also take into consideration executive producer Yoshifusa Hayama’s departure from the title to join Bossa Studios, a Facebook game company, and Sony’s admittance to the game’s developmental problems forcing them to send over developers from Sony Santa Monica to help finish the game. These kinds of actions, combined with extreme development time, don’t usually mark a future game of the year candidate in the making.

      Regardless of his capacity on the development of “The Last Guardian,” Kaido’s separation from Sony is a sad end to a career with the gaming giant that included two of the greatest cult hits of all time, “Ape Escape” and “Tomba!” (which is soon to be available for download on Vita), as well as “ICO” and “Shadow of the Colossus” which are not only two of the greatest video games of all time, but two of the most artistically important as well.

      Honestly at this point, I don’t want to see what “The Last Guardian” is looking like. This isn’t a title like the “Guitar Hero” games or the “James Bond” films that can be tossed around between different people and still produce enjoyable results, but rather a title in a series that almost solely represents the full artistic potential in video games, without losing a touch of entertainment value in the process. And unlike the similar situation involving “Bioshock Infinite” the troubles with “The Last Guardian” have been well documented long before a playable model was ever shown, and key developers started jumping ship.

      Oh well, if worse comes to worse I guess we will always be able to reminisce over that incredible trailer released for the game, and wonder what may have been.

      News

      Level 10: “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas”

      August 24, 2012 /

      I feel like the most consistently underrated element of video game design is level design. Whether you call them levels, segments, missions, or whatever, the parts of our favorite video games that make up our favorite video games deserve the proper recognition, and it’s the purpose of this column to make sure they get that.

      And since the recently released “GTA V” screens have got me reminiscing about the last time the “GTA” series paid a visit to the west coast, I’ve decided to start with my favorite entry in the “Grand Theft Auto” series for this column, by looking back at the best missions from “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.”

      10. Drive-By

      One of the great thrills of the GTA series is how it allows you to live out all of those great crime fantasies that film and possibly literature has instilled in you. In “GTA: III” is was planting a bomb on a car mob style. In “GTA: Vice City” it was intercepting a coke deal with a speed boat like Crocket and Tubbs on “Miami Vice.”

      Since “San Andreas” was inspired by the west coast gangta films, like “Boys in the Hood,” one of the great thrills is living out inner-ghetto turf wars, and any good inner-ghetto turf war needs a drive-by. Drive-by’s are so common in “GTA” that there is a feature on the control for it, but here is the only place where you get to roll up on enemy gangs with your friends and rain ammunition on them while listening to N.W.A. just like most of us modern suburbanites figured happened all the time in the early 90’s. It’s as simple as a mission in “GTA gets,” but it’s so satisfying.

      9. Fender Ketchup

      So you’re working for the Triads and the Italian mafia has been messing with their operations in the “San Andreas” equivalent of Las Vegas, Las Venturas. One of the thugs have been caught, and to make him talk your friends decide to strap him onto a car which you are to drive at top speed until he gets scared enough to figuratively spill his guts ( or not and literally do so).

      Driving around in a convertible at night on the Venturas strip is always a fun experience, but doing so in the most reckless way at your disposal so that a mob thug will rat his gang out makes it all the sweeter. Much like Drive-By this is one of those missions that takes a simple gangland pleasure and lets you run wild with it.

      8. Amphibious Assault

      When most non-stealth games try to have stealth sections, they tend to suck almost without exception. Of course, this being “GTA,” it’s not like other games and therefore enjoys the distinct advantage of defying normal conventions.

      Of course to be fair, this isn’t a strict stealth mission as you are tasked with infiltrating a boat, planting a bug, and making your way off, but are free to kill at will as long as you do it quietly. However, the atmosphere the mission sets is just perfect, and the approach to the boat itself is very dramatic. The “GTA” series has always had an incredible sense of scale, and the ship makes for this perfectly ominous opposing figure in the distance, that makes this mission feel like a true accomplishment for having finished.
      Continue reading »

      Reviews

      I Can’t Tell If This Gaming Furniture is Cool, Or If I’m Just a Complete Nerd

      August 16, 2012 /

      Don’t get me wrong, I’m very proud to be a gaming geek, but if you took a look around my apartment, you wouldn’t really notice it. I’m not saying I live in the center of style, but my furnishings and decorations are modest at best, and outside of an expansive movie and video game collection, you could almost be fooled into thinking a normal, socially well adjusted person lives here. I guess you could say that may place is the Clark Kent to my inner gaming Superman.

      Still, every now and then I see a piece that makes me want to take my home sweet home through the phone booth.

      The latest example has to be the works of Igor Chak. Particularly his Donkey Kong inspired shelves.

      Their style can’t be doubted, but you might be surprised to find out that the steel rod and carbon fiber design, supports toughened glass tops that can hold up to 60 lbs. Frankly, I’ve found no better way to support a serious video game collection, and these shelves are just cool enough to justify nerding out your place with, without fear of making some sort of style sacrifice. Their only downside? They aren’t actually for sale yet. However, for a meager $5000 you can buy this Space Invader’s inspired couch.

      Ridiculously overpriced and gaudily designed? You bet. But it’s also apparently deceivingly comfortable and, as noted on the site is “An instant conversation starter, this unique retro gaming inspired couch will be the highlight of any room.”

      By which I’m sure the artist meant, all your living room now belong to it.

      News

      If You Need Me, I’ll Be in My Trailer

      August 14, 2012 /

      With Gamescom starting this week, the world of video games is starting to get hit with the usual tech show barrage of trailers. While I prefer good old fashioned gameplay demonstrations and hands-on previews, trailers offer a high level of entertainment value, if nothing else. However, if you pay close enough attention, you can sometimes cut past all of the stylized cuts and unnecessarily enhanced graphics to actually tell something about the game underneath.

      With that in mind, here are five of the biggest trailers from the week, and what, if anything, we can take away about the games they represent from them.

      Remember Me

      Analysis: While I’d like to have a beer with the designers of “Remember Me,” as they’ve clearly watched “Blade Runner” and played “Deus Ex” as many time as I have, I just don’t trust Capcom as much as I used to. This is a slick debut for “Remember Me,” and cyber punk noir games will always be welcome, but it does have the misfortune of going up against the similarly themed, and soon to be released, “Dishonored.” And right now, “Dishonored” is looking better. Unless Capcom has something more in mind than the “me too” looking third person action on display in pieces here, I’m just not that excited right now. It also doesn’t help it shares a name with a Robert Pattinson movie.

      Star Wars 1313

      Analysis: Ok, let’s assume that Lucas Arts is obliged to churn out a new “Star Wars” game every year until the end of time. Let’s also assume that “Battlefront 3” isn’t going to happen (and believe me, it’s not). If that is the case, then I’m at least happy they are considering options in the “Star Wars” universe outside of the usual suspects of the series. However, is this a game that really needs a teaser like this? Is anyone just so jacked up for the next “Star Wars” game that a one minute and thirty-four second trailer, with about 4 seconds of gameplay in it is going to make them rush to their computer and set the hype pyre ablaze? I doubt it. At this point, until Lucas Arts has something more substantial to show, the vague chance that this game might not suck, and actually be original is the best thing they have going for them. They don’t need to ruin that with more of these generic trailers.

      Crysis 3 – Multiplayer Hunter Mode

      Analysis: I had zero interest in “Crysis 3” before this trailer, and now I want nothing else. This looks highly reminiscent of “Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory’s” Spy vs Merc gameplay, in that it combines two different styles of play into a unified concept. The multiplayer in that game is highly underrated and virtually unduplicated to this day, and it’s about time someone re-explored it. Also, this looks like the “Predator” game we were never going to get, which makes me more excited than I feel I can freely admit. If it can even come close to combining those two things together into a cohesive, balanced multiplayer experience, I might have to allow myself to actually use the word ‘epic.’

      Tekken Tag Tournament 2

      Analysis: First of all, “Can’t you tell where I must unleash this awesome power” is now going to be exactly where I tell every cab driver I’d like to go. Second, how long was he sitting in the back eerily glowing before the driver asked him where he wanted to go? Was the driver hoping he’d just disappear the next time he looked? Finally, as far as debut trailers go, if you’re going to avoid showing gameplay, this is about the best way to go. “Tekken” was always at its best when it was just having fun, and this is a fun trailer. If Namco doesn’t try to screw with the formula too much, and sticks with that loose and easy motif, I’d say the time is right for the next King of the Iron Fist Tag Tournament.

      Assassin’s Creed III Naval Warfare Trailer

      Analysis: As I mentioned, it’s going to take a concentrated effort for the next installment in the “Assassin’s Creed” series to suck. Ubisoft has proven they’re not scared to explore new ways to expand and improve “Assassin’s Creed,” and while the results have been mixed in some cases, I see no harm this naval gameplay could cause the franchise. Plus naval combat in this time period is rarely explored, and so far this game looks to actually be doing the idea right instead of treating the concept as an afterthought. As for the trailer itself, it features that perfect mix of style and intrigue that you expect from the series at this point, and keeps the well-oiled hype train this game is running well on track.

      News, Video

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