Weekly review of the gaming industry and everything related. No. 28

May often becomes the most challenging, longest, and stressful month for those involved in the Russian gaming industry. At the end of spring, KRI takes place. People have various opinions about the conference. Previously it was a show, later it became an excellent place to hear from those creating magnificent domestic games; now it’s in ruins after the crisis. Nevertheless, KRI is significant. We will return to it later, but for now, let's summarize the last week of spring.

Playing Today

The end of spring is not the saddest time for players. Quite a few projects have been released that are enjoyable to try. However, looking at what is supposed to hit the shelves in June makes one feel sad. Almost no notable projects. But a lot of ambiguous middleweights.

So, gather your impressions; summer awaits us with an ‘offline’ life. And it might be for the best.

On May 25, Blur hit the shelves in Europe, and on the 28th, it appeared in our stores. And since my steering wheel has been gathering dust for a while now, I was planning to buy this toy. But, unfortunately, after reading reviews and watching videos—I wasn’t impressed. Firstly, a keyboard is quite enough for control. But that’s not the main issue. Secondly, it doesn’t look particularly… wild. Racing games in which you can use all sorts of ‘magical’ abilities should be extremely dynamic and reckless. But these seem to be anything but.

However, since I haven’t played it yet, I suggest watching the video review by our Western colleagues.

Also, the long-awaited Alpha Protocol was released recently (the release, if you remember, was supposed to happen several months ago). And here, again, there are many ambiguities. The game has a score of 76 on Metacritic. Quite low. Plus, player reviews are not the most favorable. So it’s definitely not a unanimous hit that everyone loves right away. But, honestly, it’s also not a fact that it’s a bad game.

Personally, I’m still in doubt—whether to buy it or not. So once again, I'm providing a link to a video review by foreign colleagues. If someone shares their impressions in the comments, I would love to read them. I want to understand whether it’s worth playing…

That’s it for releases. But fans of StarCraft 2 are rejoicing. The beta test has been extended until June 7. An extra week of gameplay, an extra week without life. But right now, I’m not going to talk about how cool it is to burn hydralisks with colossi and launch an early attack with marines under stimpack. I have already written about that.

Now I want to talk about custom maps. Recently, Blizzard allowed their publication. Therefore, the main pastime of all my acquaintances in StarCraft 2 is completing Tower Defense. There are already a lot of them available. And out of them, about ten are quite good. A simple example: once, Yaroslav and I decided to play a 2X2 match and then start working, but we got curious and entered a custom map. After seven hours, at eleven in the evening, we finally finished.

There’s even a peculiar DotA, and Final Fantasy VII, and Diablo. And plenty of TDs of various kinds. Sometimes you have to collaborate with buddies, and other times, you hinder each other.

So if you have a key but have realized that hardcore RTS is not for you—it’s time to come back. The ‘casual’ part of StarCraft 2 is just as good as the one in WarCraft. I highly recommend it. And for the ladies as well.

New Installments of Old Hits

I think you’ve already noticed that there are few expensive, high-profile games coming out these days that don’t have a number after their title. Publishers increasingly allocate money exclusively for sequels. Whether this is good or bad is a separate conversation. But the fact that such projects are on everyone’s lips is undeniable. So let’s talk about them first.

If you remember, just over a year ago, another game based on Tom Clancy's scenario—HAWX—was released. Arcade flight on fast airplanes against picturesque landscapes. A brainless project and a complete opposite of “Il-2.”

Well then, Ubisoft has announced a second part. The publisher claims that the new project will feature robots, good graphics, and plenty of flying. In short, it’s the same HAWX, just with a ‘2’ added. On the official website, there’s nothing but images of airplanes. No videos have been shot yet, and PR texts have not been written. But it’s already clear that it’s unlikely we will see anything outstanding. It will just be a decent arcade game about shooting high above the ground.

Here you can hear some information about the game… Although, to be honest, here it’s just necessary to watch the visuals. You can even turn off the sound.

And now transitioning from airplanes to cars. The release date of Test Drive Unlimited 2 has been announced. The game will appear in America as early as September. Regarding Europe—it’s still uncertain. But as far as we know, projects don’t stay long across the ocean. They are shipped to the Old World on the very first ferry. three days later, as they hint to me on ICQ.

And like HAWX2, the game will not depart from the ideas of the original. We will once again be able to roam wherever we want and compete with whoever we need. A vibrant world filled with racers. All this will still remain an arcade game and is supposed to become prettier and bigger.

However, it’s unlikely anyone was eagerly waiting for the sequel of Test Drive Unlimited 2 and smiled joyfully when the developers announced the release date. But there are other racing games that many of us loved about seven years ago. This series tried to be reborn, but somehow it didn’t work out very well. And then an unexpected, yet perhaps pleasant announcement occurred — we will see Driver: The Recruit at E3.

Unfortunately, nothing is known about the project so far. The first details will only come out at E3. Right now, they’re only talking about the release date, which is said to be set in 2011. But this is just a rumor. So we’ll just have to wait. But personally, I’m somewhat happy. Childhood, old races. I remember we even managed to compare this project with GTA….

And also, if you remember, there was a game about World War II on PlayStation—Medal of Honor. After the battle, you could look at your rewards and even wear that very medal for bravery around your neck. Much later, Call of Duty appeared on the PC — the main competitor of the legendary series at that time. Afterwards, ‘Call of Duty’ evolved, received the Modern Warfare tag, and competition arose within the franchise itself…

And the most recent game under the Call of Duty series is Black Ops. Last week, a lot of new information emerged. First, the developers revealed that their project would be divided into three parts, which differ entirely from one another. Campaign, co-op, and multiplayer. Just like in the recent Modern Warfare 2. Secondly, a journalist from www.vg247.com tried the demo version and drooled over it at this address. A rather lousy translation from Gamemag can be read on our site.

Personally, I find this material hilarious. The author reminds me of a schoolboy who sees a somewhat decent game for the first time. A million epithets, the general meaning of which is: “Ayyyyy, this is so cool, that it’s so cool, that my entire life is now so cool that I’ve never seen anything cooler than this coolness.” God, give him a bib already! There’s even a note at the end that this is definitely the best Call of Duty.

Interestingly, describing feelings from released games, journalists do not drool this much. But just let them try something exclusive, something ‘not for everyone’. It’s like a light bulb goes off in their heads and someone goes off the rails. I’m quite certain that Black Ops is perfectly ordinary. And the author is a fool. Aggressively, shamelessly, but that’s the impression his material left.

And the last news in this chapter. Electronic Arts announced that the release of Need for Speed World will happen on July 20. The game will be partially distributed as free2play. You can start playing for free and easily level up to the tenth level. But if you want to race further — you will have to pay twenty dollars.

Reminder that Need for Speed World is a sort of MMORPG about racing. With quite decent graphics, interesting upgrade capabilities, and a competitive spirit. Everyone who ever raced in Most Wanted and couldn’t stop until their parents forced them to bed with a stick… must have grown up to not sleep at all and to drift and perform all sorts of other controlled slides all night long.

By the way, pre-orders are already available. If you buy the game now, you will be able to start playing a week earlier than everyone else. For those who are sure that Need for Speed World is their destiny — it’s worth considering. The money is small.

High-profile Announcements

Let’s continue discussing unreleased projects, but this time under the sound of trumpets and flowing champagne.

So (drumroll, please), a new part of Total War has been announced. The game is going back to Japan. Yes, this is exactly what fans have been requesting for many years. After all, Shogun was once more popular than Rome. So all who witnessed the birth of the series should be extremely pleased.

However, the developers do not plan to make a remake. They are aiming to create a slightly different game and have packed a whole cartload of changes. For example, sieges will now occur in several stages, and the weather will have a greater impact on gameplay.

But it’s still too early to talk about all the revisions. A lot will be revealed at E3. And some things will surely be shown. Especially since everyone is expecting a graphical revolution. Since Rome: Total War, it has yet to occur. Empire, for instance, made the game merely prettier but has yet to deliver anything globally groundbreaking.

Another piece of good news. Fable III is set to appear on PC. So if you don’t plan on buying a console, you should be cheered up. Especially since Peter Molyneux has promised to create a game of an entirely different kind. A mixture of strategy, action, RPG, and The Sims aspects. However, we all know well what this developer's words are worth. So it’s best not to get too carried away. On the other hand, he doesn’t make complete disasters either. So…

Another piece of news will please those who have already bought a console, rather than postponing this event again and again. While PC players were drooling over Tekken 6, the guys from Namco Bandai began making the seventh part. And, judging by the rumors, the continuation should slightly modify the series, moving it forward. Because no one will buy the fifth part for the third time.

As for lovers of another series, literally the opposite, Street Fighter — there are currently no news. The recently released continuation Super Street Fighter IV sold quite well, received many high ratings, but is not planning to appear on PC. This is surprising indeed, but true...

The Industry Today

But enough about the games of the future; let’s look at what’s interesting in the industry today. And we’ll start with the adaptation of Mass Effect. This topic has been around for a while, but only recently did it become a little clearer what we can expect from the movie. Why? Because they revealed who is working on the project.

The screenwriter is Mark Protosevich, who worked on “I Am Legend.” The director has not yet been named, but the producers—yes. There are two of them. The first previously worked on “The Dark Knight” (and is currently also engaged in the adaptation of WarCraft) — Thomas Tull. The second produced “Iron Man,” “X-Men,” and “The Incredible Hulk” — Avi Arad. The producers of the film and heads of BioWare are Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.

In general, the cast so far is entirely star-studded. But who will be the director and the lead actors—remains unknown. Furthermore, according to the film studio, even they do not know. They are looking for ideal candidates. And we just wait and hope that the movie will turn out great.

…though, as for me, why do we even need a movie? Mass Effect is practically a movie in itself. Only better—it’s interactive. So regular cinema might fall short compared to the game…

And continuing the topic of Mass Effect, let’s say that the developers in the third part do not plan to alter the resource gathering system. They claim it pleased players and there’s no need to change it. Personally, I also quite enjoyed scanning the planets. However, there have been negative reviews. But mostly from those who spent five hours on such “fun.” In that case, any mini-game would sit badly. It’s not like the developers are going to introduce ‘Zuma’...

But let’s leave BioWare with their Mass Effect and turn to other well-known industry players—Square Enix. Recently, the Japanese announced that they are planning to carry out a small revolution, showcase something outstanding, and generally make a huge splash. Some began speculating that it would be about remaking the early parts of Final Fantasy, while others recalled that Square Enix loves to release with great noise and very specific projects, like arcades.

But nobody guessed that the Japanese decided to pompously introduce a browser game. Yes, together with Yahoo!—Square Enix is making an ordinary free2play browser game. It was even stated that it would change Japanese history… But how?!

Analysts think that this game will gradually lead the Japanese to indulge in casual entertainment, like our ‘VKontakte’ games, while Sengoku IXA will become something like “Farm Frenzy.” In essence, Square Enix has taken the path of evil.

Finally, about BioShock. Successful game developers often like to come out to the press and say: “Did you know that our game could have been entirely different!”. Those gentlemen from 2k Games and Irrational Games claimed that initially, they made a game not about an underwater city, but about religious cults located on islands. And they planned to create a more complex role-playing system and many more enhancements for the weapons.

They do not plan to revisit that project. But they are willing to chat about it.

Guffaws

This week, most of the writing about computer games revolved around the recently released film about the Persian Prince. It’s the main topic. Well, there each reviewer echoed all the previous and following ones: “The film is based on the legendary game” and so on.

Interestingly, it was funny to see a TV program’s recording on the internet, where, when announcing the film, they showed footage from the original game. That is, from the very first “Prince.”

It’s funny. No film was made based on this game. Thoughts of adaptation, of course, were inspired by recent projects. Colorful, dynamic. And the audience looks at this old game, and they are told—suddenly the director saw this product and wanted to make a movie. And the viewer rolls their eyes.

Additionally, this week, there was a piece about the creator of “Farm Frenzy” and how he made a hundred million dollars off it. And there’s a secret to his success:

“- We just try to see a bit further than others,” says Alexey. “We anticipate situations eight months in advance, while others tend to be lazy about it. We look not only at China, but all of Asia, America. Whatever happens on ‘Facebook’ will eventually happen elsewhere. That’s normal flow. If the farming theme became popular in one place, it should have come to Russia somehow. Thus, it ought to be brought by someone who sees further. That turned out to be us.

In essence, we’re doing what we study; we observe what happens in one market and when it’s going to happen in another market. Back in 2007, the social network ‘Facebook’ was the first to release an internal application as such. Such a phenomenon as ‘games with friends’ emerged. In 2007, we went to the States, settled down there, and began to study this phenomenon. We needed to understand how processes work. After everything that happened in America in 2007, it would eventually happen in Russia. We became the instrument that enabled this to materialize.”

You just need to look better. To the West, to the East. Spot it earlier than others, take over, and earn money. The secret to “profit” is simple. In this equation, there’s not even a ??????

Interestingly, Nival acts similarly. The concept of Allods was inspired by the East. And it was back when subscription was considered the ideal payment option for a game. Now Prime World is in development, and again it’s the trends from the East, where MMORPGs started to bore people, but session games gained greater popularity.

But what’s funny is this. Let me quote the news in full:

“In the Ulyanovsk region, they plan to instill love for classical literature in citizens through a computer game, reports ‘Novye Izvestiya.’ On the eve of the 200th anniversary of writer Ivan Goncharov’s birth, Governor Sergey Morozov proposed creating a game based on ‘Oblomov.’ In his opinion, a quest based on the book is a worthy way ‘to promote Goncharov's creative legacy within the youth.’

According to Sergei Petrov, an associate professor at Ulyanovsk State University and a local historian, it is extremely important to avoid primitivism when creating games. ‘For this, it’s necessary to involve connoisseurs of Goncharov’s work; otherwise they could turn Oblomov into a laughingstock,’ explained Sergey Petrov. ‘Under no circumstances should the image of this literary hero be demeaned.’”

The main thing is to call someone who understands ‘Oblomov’—that’s essential. But we don’t need anyone who makes good games. It’s astonishing how strangely officials sometimes think. The most important thing is just to create. But who will play a lousy quest? Schoolchildren don’t sit down to play just anything that exists in the world. They choose something engaging.

In general, as long as we have this attitude, educational ideologically correct games will only be a source of laughter.

That’s all for today. May has ended. For many, the exam season has begun. And indeed, there are no really good games coming out anytime soon. So now is an excellent time to go outside more frequently and take a break from absolutely everything. Wishing you a happy summer and see you soon :)