Weekly overview of the gaming industry and all things related. No. 25
Thank you to everyone who waited and believed that our regular column would return. It missed you and has been pestering me nonstop. It says let's go to the people, we love them and want to see them. And after a long struggle, after problems with studies and other things – we are back here again. And we solemnly promise not to go anywhere else.
That said, my difficulties are just my difficulties. It is much more interesting to talk about the problems of the gaming industry. Early April – the days are getting warmer, and sitting at a computer late at night is no longer necessary. You can walk, drink, have fun, hit, kill, and make love to geese. Therefore, the number of truly amazing and expensive games has significantly decreased. Although, of course, something interesting still appears. But all of that and much more – in our next unpredictable, but kind and responsive regular column.
*Please note – there are many videos in the spoilers. Don't ignore them, I’m not just putting the videos there; they complement the review and allow you to see many interesting things. I select each video carefully to make it more interesting for you to watch.*
Tired of working, I want to play
Only three more or less decent games were released last week. The first is Settlers 7. I have been waiting for this project for a long time, but sadly, I still can’t get my hands on it. First of all, the benevolent publisher hasn’t provided me with a key yet. Secondly, the game still hasn’t arrived in the province. So I'm stuck sucking my thumb and watching videos.
Apparently, the game will partly resemble Anno. At least in terms of needing to develop your settlement and then watch the cute little people fumbling with their little affairs.
I had a chance to play the beta, and I could already appreciate the beauty of this strategy. It does look very pleasant. Although the style seems somewhat doll-like, fairy-tale-ish. But the detail and craftsmanship of absolutely all the little things are very high. In general, a game for those who love to contemplate...
The second game is Prison Break: The Conspiracy. It’s based on a well-known and even quite nice series. However, the quality of the project most resembles the cliché “movie-based game”. Familiar scenes, characters, events. It seems that it should warm the soul of a fan, but there’s no “fire” in the game. Inside, it is empty and cold. So even a die-hard fan over the age of 15 would hardly want to play Prison Break even halfway through.
And if you've never watched the series, it will definitely not be for you. Why do we need such goods? Where’s the boring gameplay, weak dialogues... and everything else? It’s better to wait for the new Sam Fisher...
The last project on this list is Mount & Blade: Warband. I haven't touched it yet, but I should start playing in the near future. Because according to my friends – the project is irresistibly sweet. Moreover, its taste is much richer and more lasting than the original’s.
The game has become more thoughtful. You can even become the king of a new state, court ladies, or acquire vassals (that’s if you don’t do too well with the ladies, apparently).
And the crown jewel of this magnificence is the multiplayer mode. Although there will be no co-op, and you won’t be able to start a war for the country’s throne, it is all limited to duels. But the battles here are very interesting and challenging. Remember how it was to fight computer enemies in the original? Whether to step right or left, strike or wait for the opponent to make a mistake. It was very cool. And it’s similar here, only the opponent is a living, real player.
Moreover, an open beta test of Heroes of Newerth has started. A conceptual overhaul of the renowned real-time strategy DotA, but with prettier graphics, a user-friendly interface, and other things. Yaroslav has already written a review of the closed beta and also made a series of guides for this game. You can check them here and here. So if you’ve long wanted to try this project or find out what makes DotA so interesting – try HoN for free, even right now.
That’s all. Basically, two decent projects of completely different genres and one open beta test. There’s a choice. Well, if you don’t plan to rush to the store for one of these games right now, let’s see what happened in the industry over the past week.
Games of the future
While we have a slight lull and the promoted brands aren’t piling onto our hard drives, we will look far ahead and dreamily talk about games that will one day become as real as Settlers 7 and Warband.
And suddenly, I will begin to preach about Spider-Man. What can we expect from it? For years, developers have been trying to make something worthwhile out of this project, but they always end up with either something terribly vague or more or less decent (Web of Shadows), but sold in small quantities. Therefore, publishers are quite sad and a little indignant. Thus, Spider-Man is being reborn once again.
The new Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions should become the best game in the series for the past seven years or so. We were told this several months ago by the head of Activision, and now a huge number of journalists echo him. The “secret of success” is that the developers didn’t just target teenagers. The new game is for everyone. It should appeal to children (because it’s SPIDER-MAN!!!), teenagers (fights, webs, all cool), and everyone older.
The way developers plan to attract an adult audience is quite interesting. The game will take place in four different “Marvel” worlds. The first is the simplest, resembling our world, only with superheroes. We’ve seen it in comics/movies/cartoons about Spider-Man. The second is more unusual. It’s a gangster Chicago of the 30s where even Spider-Man looks somewhere between gothic and brutal. Unknown are the third and fourth worlds. This is intrigue and mystery.
The first trailer is impressive. The stylistics are very rich. An excellent comic style in the first world (we’ve seen, by the way, in Spider-Man Ultimate – in my opinion, the best game in the series). The second one looks even more attractive than in all those “Saboteurs”.
As for the gameplay – it’s still unclear what it will be like. The main thing is that it should change depending on the world. This way, developers can overcome the main drawback of all arcades. They tend to become stale. But here there can be as many as four different games in one, and inside each universe, there might be various elements to increase diversity.
In short, this is genuinely the first Spider-Man game I am looking forward to. All others appeared and disappeared, and I was indifferent. But here’s something fresh and intriguing.
Continuing the comic theme, it became known that Sega fired all the developers who were creating the latest Iron Man. The publisher stated that the guys are very talented, but the studio doesn’t currently need them. It’s changing its plans.
It seems parallel. But it’s quite funny. The game is soon to hit the shelves, and what should we think about its quality now? The developers were fired for a reason – hardly for big accomplishments. So we can argue about money – Iron Man will likely be a trashy person. And probably more than that...
Alright, let’s forget about comics. Good luck to Spider-Man, and to Iron Man – don’t get sick. Now we’ll move on to something more pressing and interesting.
Rumors about a new Call of Duty have started to circulate on the internet. It’s said that the game will be called Black Ops. It will tell us about secret operations and local wars. We’ll have to fight in Cuba, Vietnam, possible Afghanistan, South America, and other countries.
Unfortunately, all this causes concerns. I don’t believe that the publisher will allocate huge funds for anything other than Modern Warfare. After all, Activision knows how players feel about “odd-numbered” Call of Duty. And if earlier many bought the series because of pleasant battles in the settings of the Second World War, now...
In the 70s and 80s there weren’t truly massive battles. And if there’s no epicness, then there should be spectacle. And that costs a lot of money. And they, I repeat, the publisher may not provide. So it’s quite possible that we will see boring shootouts just with different backdrops.
And there are many competitors for the new Call of Duty. Recently we saw Bad Company 2 and, theoretically, additional content should appear. Medal of Honor is being created, which simply has to be engaging. And everyone remembers Modern Warfare 2. So it’s going to be tough for the new installment.
Also, it’s sad that there are no longer any big action games about the Second World War. Should we rely on Brothers in Arms? They haven’t yet changed WWII...
Let’s shift our focus to another action game - Crysis 2. New information arrives every week. This time, the developers complained that it was very challenging to work with consoles. Porting the game to PS3 and Xbox 360 turned out to be quite a task. That’s no surprise. When creating a shooter for PC, you don’t have to think that users have limited controllers, and helping every player is necessary.
But, unfortunately, Crytek managed to handle it. They conquered the system, and now Crysis 2 is obedient and friendly. But I wonder – is this a sad matter for us PC gamers? If developers make a game separately for consoles and separately for PC, that’s fine. We’ll get quality and challenging shootouts. But if Crytek remembers how we rudely downloaded their game from the internet, we will have to feel very sad.
The developers also stated that they plan to impress console gamers. They promise to demonstrate graphics like never before on the PS3 or Xbox 360. All other projects for consoles can suck their thumbs. Regardless of what their filling might be, they will still be outperformed by Crysis 2 – because the wrapper is way too shiny.
Though, frankly, this doesn’t excite me much anymore. Nowadays, graphics have come very close to photorealism. Many projects really look quite natural. Once again, Modern Warfare, Battlefield. Of course, it’s pleasant to see something realistic, but it’s much more enjoyable lately to come across an interesting stylistic approach. Where designers and artists creatively approach the outer design. As in Borderlands, for example.
And the last news about the games of the future (before we drag on), - last week SimBin announced a new GTR. For those who don’t remember, this is arguably the most realistic racing simulator. You can feel how real cars behave on the road.
However, this usually comes at a price. For example, you need to buy a steering wheel. And not just any steering wheel, but an advanced one, with three pedals and a realistic gear shift.
There’s one drawback – the graphics. The series of games can’t boast the most realistic visuals. So let’s hope they improve this time. In 2011 (the estimated release date for the new GTR), it’s unlikely anyone will want to buy not-so-pretty racing games. We have already seen Dirt 2 and everything else...
And finally, an unexpected news piece on Duke Nukem Forever.
Lengthy discussions
When you read news feeds, you often come across just statements and thoughts from developers. For example, as Sid Meier stated, he never intended to make Civilization an educational game, but is very glad it helped many learn about the cultures of other countries. And such other things.
I recently caught my eye on the words of one developer from BioWare. Greg Zeschuk said that on Mass Effect and Dragon Age work simply amazing writers who create stunning characters, unforgettable images of heroes, unique scenes, and completely unique worlds.
And if for Dragon Age this is partly true, then the “unique characters” in Mass Effect 1-2 – that’s a joke. The game is about 80% patterns, clichés, and stereotypes. An angry soldier with the soul of a child; a fatal seductress; a genius scientist trying to make the world better. We’ve seen all these characters in books, movies, and other games. By the way, this is why I can’t play Mass Effect. It’s all too cliché...
I also recently came across an apology from the bosses of Ubisoft. They admitted that their protection system isn’t working. This protection was in Assassin's Creed and Silent Hunter and required players to maintain a constant internet connection, which could easily wipe all saves due to a brief lag.
It was clearly made to combat piracy. But both projects were hacked, and the publisher began to suffer tremendous losses. First of all, the games were downloaded by those who always download them. Secondly, those who didn’t want to deal with the protection system. Thirdly, those who don’t have good internet. All in all, quite clear.
And now for the attention question: why didn’t the publisher check the system on a smaller-caliber game? It has many AAA releases and losing an extra million isn’t that big of a deal? Ultimately, everyone suffered. So congratulations to Ubisoft.
Alright, that’s nothing. Another news. Renowned Epic Games employee Cliff Bleszinski plans to announce a new game from the company on an evening show on April 8. This is strange because the show is not a gaming one. And even if it were, all loud announcements await their hour at E3. Not on some program a-la “Let’s Talk”...
So everyone is guessing. I still don’t know what it will be. I want Unreal Tournament 4, but that’s impossible. Maybe you have ideas?..
The PR campaign for innovative gadgets for Xbox 360 and PS3 continues. We’re talking about Natal and PS Move.
Microsoft reported that they already have a tremendous amount of games ready for their innovation. For two years ahead. And all developers praise Natal, saying that with this clever device, they can create unprecedented projects.
Sony is talking less at the moment. Especially about unique projects. Right now, the company is only stating that older games will be remade to fit PS Move’s possibilities. And that, in fact, isn’t that great. For example, we are promised a remake of Resident Evil IV. But the question arises, why? Firstly, there’s already a good fifth part. Secondly, it would be much more correct to make a sixth one. Or, perhaps, V.V (five and a half, for those who didn’t decipher such a clever arrangement). Besides the fact that the graphics are already outdated, the project was initially created for a regular joystick. Hence, many features can no longer be implemented.
Therefore, by promises, Xbox 360 is ahead. But one thing is clear – we don’t know what games will be made for Natal. Will developers create something like simple and casual games as on the Wii? It might be all they promised. But it will look too weak. However, Heavy Rain with PS Move is bound to be magnificent. Because it is astounding even without this device...
Now we just have to watch and wait. Because it should also come to PC. After all, these are genuinely interesting devices. Just compare playing racing games with and without a wheel. And perhaps one day in reviews I will talk about how Modern Warfare 4 is magnificent, but only if you use PC Move. Otherwise – it’s boring and tedious...
They have turned to the good side
And the last section before the jokes. What projects will soon come to us from consoles.
And the first news for fans of two-dimensional fighting games. Soon in Japan, in a week or two, BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger will hit the shelves. Nothing has been said about the English version yet, but there’s a chance that it will still be localized.
If not, then you can try the Japanese version. After all, it’s not a jRPG where you can stroll to the nearest forest without knowing the language...
Soon, a wildly entertaining game - Burn, Zombie, Burn! will also appear. It’s a frantic action game where we must simply smash zombies en masse, racking up points. The more brutal and concise you kill them, the higher the numbers pop up on the screen.
The real fun part is setting a zombie on fire. But when the arsonist is burning, he starts hitting us harder. Thus, battles become even more complex and dynamic.
This mayhem looks from above, somewhat reminiscent of Diablo, specifically hundreds of other games of that genre, where you run around and shoot intensely at everything aggressive moving towards you. From the trailers and reviews in the press, it looks like it should be extremely fun.
So if your body needs killings, fires, and zombies, expect Burn, Zombie, Burn! to arrive on PC in a few months.
Another action game – about the Horseman of the Apocalypse – DarkSiders should also soon wade into PC territory. However, this game hasn’t received as high ratings as Burn, Zombie, Burn!, but is interesting due to its setting and atmosphere. We will have to fight angels and demons amidst modern cities.
The gameplay is reminiscent of projects like Devil May Cry. We also slash everyone with a huge sword, jump, rack up combos, and earn points. Just like in Dante’s adventures, there are also very beautiful and spectacular cutscenes here.
The project’s feature is that, firstly, you can fight on your loyal steed (have you seen the horseman without a horse?), and secondly, it's still the theme.
So if your body lacks killings, blood, demons, and intensity – it’s worth waiting for DarkSiders.
Jokes
This time, the news is quite varied. A lot of good, some accusatory, but nothing nightmarish. So far, no one is accusing us that during mission loads we rest by eating babies.
Let’s start with a strange and funny news item. Headline: “Games Completely Erase Memory”. And here’s the funniest phrase that concerns any information about the scientific world: “As British scientists have proven...”. Then you just have to read and laugh.
This time, however, it's not that bad. But it’s curious. Quote:
“British researchers found that computer games reduce memory. Shooters and platformers make the brain focus on tasks, erasing memories of experiences,” writes Raut.ru.
“Specialists from Oxfordshire County in southern England recruited 40 volunteers who were invited to read several articles on different topics. Then 20 participants played a computer game for half an hour. After the experiment, a check showed that players remembered the learned material much worse.”
I am not a scientist in the field of psychology and only know that the brain externally amusingly resembles a walnut, but the news still seems a bit strange. If a person wasn’t sitting at a game, but, for example, engaged in something else – active and entertaining, the memory would still be affected. Distracted, confused, forgotten.
At first, the guy studied probability theory, then went on a date with a girl, wooed her, and then he also got lucky. And he forgot a lot. Headline: “Sex Before Marriage Kills Memory. Beware!”
Another news - positive. “Vesti” reports that games can serve as an excellent tool for the rehabilitation of people with mental disorders:
“Virtual reality and computer video games help overcome severe psychological trauma, stress, and depression, psychologists at the University of Oxford are convinced. In the course of studies, they found that engaging in computer games immediately after psychological shocks helps prevent the formation of persistent traumatic memories and acute stress experiences.”
I don’t know, maybe that’s why I’m always so happy... By the way, it’s interesting that alcohol only exacerbates all experiences while games eliminate them. A new way to forget – play Modern Warfare for three days straight...
And the last news – the most significant. RIA-Novosti reports:
“Thanks to high-resolution infrared imaging of Saturn’s moon Mimas, conducted from the Cassini spacecraft, scientists were able to see in the images the character from the cult video and computer game of the 1980s, Pac-Man.”
Play games, relieve stress, and smile more :) Good luck to everyone!