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      GAME REVIEW: Spec Ops: The Line

      July 11, 2012 /

      War games are a dime a dozen these days, and with the likes of “Gears of War” and “Call of Duty” dominating the genre, it really takes something special to stand out from the pack. Though 2K Games’ “Spec Ops: The Line” doesn’t necessarily have that certain X factor, it’s still one of the better third-person shooters to come out over the last few years. Set in Dubai six months after a massive sandstorm has buried the city under a pile of sand and destruction, the game follows a trio of Delta Force soldiers as they’re sent in to locate and evacuate survivors, only to discover that the city is under the tyrannical command of U.S. Colonel John Konrad.

      The name is clearly a reference to Joseph Conrad, the author of “Heart of Darkness,” whose famous novel was in turn adapted into Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now.” And it becomes increasingly obvious as you make your way through the first few chapters of the game that the Vietnam War film had a big influence on its development, from the striking parallels between the stories, to the heavy focus on the psychological dangers of warfare. In fact, the campaign mode gets so dark at times that I wouldn’t recommend it to real-life soldiers on the off-chance that it makes their PTSD even worse.

      Though I encountered a few annoying bugs throughout the game (the most prevalent of which was the habit of briefly losing control of my player while changing direction), the gameplay is enjoyable enough that most people shouldn’t have trouble overlooking them. “Spec Ops: The Line” doesn’t offer much innovation in the way of combat mechanics, but it takes the best parts of similar titles (namely the “Gears of War” and “Ghost Recon” series) to create a relatively solid experience. It’s a little disappointing that multiplayer isn’t as much fun (and quite frankly, it feels like a last-minute addition), but while “Spec Ops: The Line” isn’t going to wow anyone, it’s a more than serviceable military shooter with a unique narrative that asks some interesting questions of its audience.

      Reviews, Xbox 360

      Surprise Video Game Successes

      July 10, 2012 /

      We’re really starting to hit that horrible lull in the year when it comes to video game releases. I don’t know what the complete logic behind it is, but for some reason, game development companies do not see fit to release big titles during the summer months, and instead prefer to back up the holiday season with every title in their arsenals, Triple-A release or otherwise. It’s not fair for gamers who would like to stretch their funds and time instead of trying to invest everything they have into a two-month period at the end of the year.

      It’s this time of year that you have to hope for a good surprise to come along and really blow you away. While everyone enjoys riding the hype wave of a major release, and enjoying the fruits of your patience on a game’s release date, there is no feeling that is comparable to that experience when you go into a title with zero expectations only for it to send chills down your spine with just how good it is.

      To prove this theory, and maybe generate some positive vibes so a sleeper hit will come our way again, here’s a small sampling of some of the greatest surprise hits of all time.

      “Minecraft”

      It’s fitting that a game all about building also represents the typical building blocks of a surprise hit. It had no hype, no budget, a no-name developer, and no real precedent as far as its concept.

      I don’t remember when “Minecraft” took the world by storm, but it wasn’t quite after its 2009 beta release. Instead, it was sometime after that when people’s creations started appearing online, and when every game site in the world ran a 200 word feature piece about some novelty game called “Minecraft” that was gaining steam. Slowly, as the unlimited potential the game’s engine possessed became more and more clear, gamers everywhere divided themselves into two groups. Those who “got” “Minecraft,” and those who didn’t.

      Of course, going off sales figures, those who got it would seem to make up the majority. By 2011, “Minecraft” surpassed 10 million registered users on the PC, and its release on the Xbox 360 broke the XBLA sales record. Keep in mind that through all of that, the game has still never had any real commercial advertising. While many would say that should be impossible in this day and age, “Minecraft” appropriately continues to thrive in a world it’s built for itself.

      “Katamari Damacy”

      It’s usually fairly easy to tell when a game developed in Japan is going to make it to American store shelves. If it’s the new “Final Fantas,y” it’s probably a pretty good bet you’ll see it stateside. If it’s a mech-noir dating simulator, chances are slimmer.

      So it’s still something of a mystery, then, how a game that features a deformed space prince rolling up a perpetually growing ball of objects to replace the various cosmos his father, the King of the Cosmos, accidentally destroyed would end up a smash hit. There’s little doubt that the concept of “Katamari Damacy” is what got gamers to give it a try, but from there it was the game’s simple controls and creative and addicting gameplay that really started moving titles off the shelves in earnest.

      It’s odd that the very concept of “Katamari Damacy” both alienated it to start, and made it irresistible thereafter. It just goes to prove that the occasional chance against all odds, can result in a success story worth more than all the failures that led there.

      Continue reading »

      Editorial

      Wii U, Xbox 720, PS4…Ouya?

      July 7, 2012 /

      Originally, I wasn’t sure whether or not to report on the Ouya, mostly because I feel like I met my quota on farfetched console rumors with that Xbox 720 report leak. However, between the underwhelming Wii U unveiling at E3, and Microsoft and Sony remaining mum on their future plans, 720 leaks aside, it’s getting harder and harder to get properly hyped up for the next generation of consoles based on mere official information. So here I am, reporting on another console that may or may not exist.

      Cynicism aside, the truth is that there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the Ouya. Because Ouya isn’t just a vaguely dirty-sounding word, but is instead a rumored new entrant into the console wars that has the backing of veterans like Ed Fries (Xbox) and CEO Julie Uhram (IGN).

      Now, obviously, anybody trying to make a successful new console has to have an ace up their sleeve to separate themselves from the industry giants. The Ouya’s trump card, as first reported by The Verge, is its Android-powered core, which will supposedly help the console double as a development kit. Essentially, the Ouya is “hacker friendly” and allows for gamers that buy it to create their own titles. Even more appealing is the consoles alleged price tag, which is said to be set at $99, and will feature completely free games.

      While there is apparently more information about the Ouya set to break in the coming days, what we have now is tantalizing enough. The idea of a major release system encouraging a lassez faire attitude towards its consumers concerning security policies and publishing rights is an interesting one, and brings consoles closer toward their seemingly inevitable assimilation with some of the finer points of PC gaming. In fact, there is a lot about the Ouya that reflects the recent evolutionary trends in gaming. It combines a little bit of mobile app gaming, the explosion of the indie development market, and is supposedly set to offer the whole package to you for a foundation-shattering price point.

      It’s a console based around the concepts of freedom and independence, making the 4th of July the perfect day to consider its potential impact. Because honestly, whether or not the Ouya bucks the trend of previous cinderella entrants into the console market and actually makes it is, at this time, largely irrelevant. As the “Madden” franchise has shown, when there is a lack of real competition in a market, it’s hard for your product to not become stale. And if even half of the information about the Ouya turns out be accurate, it is at least an exciting idea that may hopefully force the major players to consider the benefits of its more appealing ideas.

      News

      Dreams Come True for Sega Fans

      July 7, 2012 /

      I don’t want to restart a video game war that went cold over a decade ago, but it’s hard to deny that the PlayStation was the better buy than the Sega Saturn.

      I know, I know, here comes the usual Saturn fan argument. “Panzer Dragoon,” “Guardian Heroes,” “Nights Into Dreams.” That last one, in particular, has been a longtime cult favorite, and fans have been clamoring for years for Sega to re-visit “Nights.” Sure, there was that Japanese exclusive PS2 remake, and a mediocre semi-sequel on the Wii,  but none of it has fully satisfied fans’ bloodlust following the original title.

      Well, not long after releasing a teaser image related to the game, Sega has gone all-in and announced a full-on HD remake of the original “Nights” to be released on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and Playstation Network. Besides including little pieces of the blown minds of hardcore fans everywhere, the remake will boast standard upgrades like HD graphics, widescreen compatibility, achievements, and a “Saturn Mode” that lets you play the game in its original format.

      If you never played “Nights,” the reasons you should be excited for this remake are a lot of the same reasons I outlined previously for why “Earthbound” is my favorite game of all time. It’s a title brimming with style, that’s all about exploring the world of dreams via flight. Appropriately then, the best way to describe the majority of the games features is dream-like. The flying controls that make up the majority of the game handle loose and free, while a brilliant soundtrack fills the landscapes you explore, giving you a sense of freedom that has nothing to do with a concept like sandbox gaming. Instead, “Nights” surrealism frees your mind and makes you believe that even though the game has well established parameters, that somehow anything is still possible.

      Yet there’s a reason this game is considered a “cult classic” and not a runaway contender for best game of all time. It’s not entirely due to the fact “Nights” came out in the dying days of a mostly underwhelming system, either. Truthfully, once you get past the game’s thrill of flying, it’s hard to not see that the majority of “Nights” is standard platforming item-fetching that is handled in a style that’s not quite on the rails, but is still more linear than it initially appears to be. Even the flying aspect has lost some of its appeal over time as it was largely based around the appeal of exciting new “analog stick technology” that has of course become anything but novel since.

      I know that remakes and re-releases are big money in the video game market right now (and some, like the “Metal Gear Solid” and “Splinter Cell” collections are wholly justified), but Sega is putting their fans in an awkward position with a release like this. On one hand, not supporting this game by buying it may make Sega believe that there is not the interest in their classic library that there definitely is and should be when it comes to generally good gaming ideas. However, if fans jump on this title with the same rabid ferocity that they have shown in clamoring for its release all these years, then they will be effectively sending the message that a bare bones HD re-release is good enough for them.

      There’s a group of people out there that will be happy enough buying a title like “Nights” to enjoy for an afternoon of nostalgia and be perfectly happy with it. Maybe, with the right expectations, there is nothing wrong with that. I just hope that game developers are also taking time to consider the little aspects of titles like “Nights” that have made them remain so beloved over the years, and are looking to expand those ideas into future original properties. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, but if it’s not the case, then in the end, releases like these really are nothing more than cash grabs.

      News

      Quinn Pitcock’s Struggle to Tackle His Video Game Addiction

      June 29, 2012 /

      I’ve never really thought I had a problem with video games. Well, I still can’t beat Mike Tyson in “Punch-Out,” and the only reason I’ve ever gotten past that driving level in “Mafia” is by cheating, but what I mean is that I’ve never felt like I’ve ever had trouble balancing games with the rest of my life. While gaming is one of my great passions, I’ve been fortunate enough to find other passions in life that made it impossible to think about spending all of my waking time with just one of them.

      However, I do realize that video game addiction is a problem that exists. For former NFL defensive lineman Quinn Pitcock, it’s a very real problem that may keep him out of the league.

      Pitcock refers to himself as an introvert who can spend 18 hours a day playing “Call of Duty.” He says that, “The only way I could get my endorphins was by playing video games.” Realizing the depths of his addiction, he has gone to such dramatic lengths as physically breaking his games to try to make up for not being able to stop playing via his own will. Yet for all of his efforts, he has so far been unable to break his crippling addiction.

      More than just register as a gross personal flaw, though, this is a problem that may permanently affect Pitcock’s career. That’s because he retired from football in 2008, after a somewhat impressive rookie season with the Indianapolis Colts, and has made two different unsuccessful attempts at a comeback since. Pitcock says he immediately regretted his decision to retire originally, but instead of refocusing his efforts to get back into the game, he instead sank deeper into his drug of choice. While he does play for the Orlando Predators of the Arena Football League (and the Indianapolis Colts helped him find a psychologist to help with his addiction), he now has recently revealed that he has a legitimate worry that NFL teams will not trust him to be successful in his recovery efforts.

      “They’re more comfortable with a drug addiction,” Pitcock says. “It’s unfortunate. It definitely hinders my chances.”

      While that may sound like a ludicrous statement to some, the fact is that video game addiction is a mental addiction, which is considered much more problematic to break than a physical one. Let’s not forget the plight of one of the most talented football players of all time, Ricky Williams, whose addiction to marijuana was so severe that he once stated that his desire to smoke marijuana was greater than his desire to play football. Marijuana, like video games, is not a drug that is considered to be supremely addictive or inherently dangerous. Yet to the right mindset, both can be just as dangerous as any other substance.

      I almost wrote this piece as a humorous article. The NFL player who’d rather play “Madden”…something like that. But the truth is that it’s hard not to feel sympathetic to Quinn Pitcock. Like I said, I’ve been lucky enough to find other passions that have kept my life from revolving around video games entirely, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t brief flirtations with having it become a problem.

      To make it to the NFL, it takes an almost inhuman mix of skill and dedication. It’s obvious that on some level Quinn Pitcock still has both. However, as Voltaire said, “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” Hopefully, Pitcock will be able to able to find the right balance in his life for all of his passions, and live without those chains.

      News

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