The Lair of the Monkey

I was reading some boards recently, and someone compared a game (I don’t recall what it was now but it was some sort of new survival horror thing) to older classics. It certainly made me wonder. What exactly makes a game more ‘new’ than some other games? What does it have to do to make it ‘feel’ old? Well here’s a few things:

• Obviously an easy answer would be that the game would ‘feel’ old if it looked like crap. However, that’s a pretty lame excuse really, and I don’t think that cuts to the heart of the matter.
• Some sort of repetitive gameplay element. That brings you closer to how a lot of old games play - i.e. with a hint of ‘hmmm I’ve done this before’ about them. Yes, you have your genres and there’s a lot of sequels coming out, but still games these days tend to have more dynamic, interactive gameplay elements to them.
• A high difficulty level. People like Treasure made and make games that resound with interesting sound effects, light up the screen but most importantly play like it’s the early nineties. Yes, I’m talking about scrolling shooters, but the point remains the same - these games are tough to complete. I was great at Ikaruga, but it didn’t take a long break before I couldn’t even do the first stage without losing a life.
• Bosses, minibosses, scripted events (that are obviously scripted), long cut sequences and other elements of gameplay that hark back to an earlier era. All of these things originated a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t bad - I like fighting a boss when the gameplay is fair - but still they aren’t exactly cutting edge. It’s the videogame cliches that are being dropped that show how things are developing.

Of course, some of the biggest events that are demonstrating how gaming is maturing is simply how consoles are so different now.  I was playing a few games on my Xbox and I was shocked to realise I wasn’t in awe of the visuals anymore - but they still looked damn impressive.  I guess I’d taken that for granted.  Now, things are going to be looking even better, with more interesting peripherals and controllers (yes Wii and PS3 I’m looking at you) but the biggest change is the console itself.  Take a look at the 360.  That thing is not a toy.  Gaming is maturing along with us gamers.  So raise your glass (statistically you’re about 8 years above the legal age so I can invite you to) and give a toast to developments, and of course the past.

Terra Nova has an excellent article about what names say about you, and of course what they mean in games.  It’s definitely worth a look, you can find it, along with a few other posts on games here.  For my part, I tend to go with names either inspired by books or something that has a familiar ring to it.  Of course it tends to be more roleplay type stuff that requires you to enter a name, not least to add to the level of immersion.  Sometimes though, it can be hard to come up with the ‘right fit’ for a character.  That’s when I look toward either a film or a name generator…

For those of you who love art and/or Okami, check out the rather tasty pics over at bits, bytes, pixels & sprites.  Great stuff guys, keep up the good work.  I for one have a few of em on rotation for my desktop now.

… Only it tends to be much cheaper, unless you’ve done something very wrong.  It’s also possible to arrive at the same pitfalls - being sold a dud, finding it’s not what you want after all, wishing you had something bigger, something faster, in a different colour - well okay the last one doesn’t apply so much but still the point remains.  There’s a good number of things that you look for in a game, and with the prices going up all the time (though you can find a bargain at the Amazon store and at CD Wow) you want to make sure that the game is right for you.

So how do you actually choose your new games?  Well, I think it’s a no-brainer that just looking at the stats of a game - I used to do that, but then I used to be a games snob.  Then I found out that games could be fun even if they didn’t crack the hallowed ranking of 90% plus.  Similarly, can you trust the words of the reviewer?  Maybe he likes RPG’s so he’s being very lenient.  On the other hand, you can see a lot, even if he’s biased, by working out the game mechanics.

Of course, the best method for working out whether you want to buy a game is to play it first - however this is less and less practical with fewer stores taking the effort to have a gaming pod.  To me this is crazy, especially from a marketing point of view.  Come on, think about it, lets have little Timmy playing the latest GTA (well not that, it’s rated above his age) but you get the idea.  Suddenly he’s pulling on mum’s arm to get her to buy the damn thing.  Missed opportunity land ahoy!

Demos are good.  Demos on CDs of magazines that cost £4.99 or more are not so good.  I know kids have more money these days, and given the ‘average’ gamer is reputedly into his (most likely his but possibly hers too I know) twenties he can afford it but it’s still a fiver that could be spent elsewhere.  Say on food, or books, or of course beer.  A demo followed by a quick glance on the net is great.  Of course, what I’m neglecting to mention here is the impulse buy.

It’s a great time to be an Xbox or PS2 owner.  Not so much for the Cube.  The reason is, game prices have generally dropped.  My last three games have cost no more than £15 each, and they were new.  That’s very good isn’t it?  Thankfully as this newer gen comes in, we’ll see more of that.  Suddenly games that I wanted but didn’t want to shell out for are more affordable.  This means, regardless of a bad review or a dodgy score (a bad demo is a little different) you can afford to maybe live a little and get that copy of Psychonauts for a tenner…

I have a nifty new post up at Gadzooki about the nature of online communities - and what benefits there are for people using them.  Go take a look.  Apologies for those of you who were awaiting those mega updates, I’ve been rather busy of late, however they are coming.  If you’ve tried to post a comment recently there was a deluge of spam so unfortunately it may not have got through.  Please do try again.  On a similar note, if you’re reading this and play Guild Wars - go find me.  Character name is Arturius Greenwood.

Kotaku has an article reporting on Famitsu offering up the pearl of wisdom that the Wii could well be the best selling (or rather most popular) console of all time. This is based on the logic that it is offering… well… something completely new. What we’re looking at now is a fairly non-segmented marketplace. We’re in a transition period as the current gen consoles are here - and the next gen is arriving. Looking at the PS3, exactly how many kids are going to be getting one? Given the price, I’m certain that it won’t be that many. The Xbox360 is not a console for kids. It doesn’t look like one and it isn’t priced like one either.

On the other hand, we’ve got the Wii coming very soon. It is priced much more reasonably and comes in to marketplace with a unique pricepoint. This is of course excluding a mention of the USP of the control mechanism. It isn’t a ‘childs console’ - but the Wii, being priced as it is, and with being so easy to pick up, should mean that it is a success. I’m not sure that this will make it the best selling or most popular, but it should stand it in good stead for a reasonable amount of market share.

The Nintendo DS has been a great success. However, it will never match the sales of the original GameBoy - the best selling handheld console ever.  The reason for this is that the GameBoy came out at the right time, and was the first.  Everyone had one pretty much.  Now of course there’s more competition - exactly what the Wii is facing.  Go into a store and you’ll see (if it’s fully served) Xbox, GC, 360, GBA, PSP, PC, PS2 - and soon Wii and PS3.

Of course, the other reason for the Wii to be a success, returning to the original point - should be a success because of the control scheme.  There’s a ton of articles all over the place about the Wii (such as here and here at Gadzooki) but the point is, there is so much potential and things if executed well will feel right.  We’re talking about the possibility for natural control schemes and a lot of interactivity - which of course will help pull you into the virtual world your playing in.  Become more absorbed and you’ll naturally have more fun.  So how popular do you think the Wii will be?

This week, I’ve been mostly playing a mixture of:

1. Guild Wars
2. Marvel vs Capcom 2
3. Fifa 2006

I have returned to Guild Wars after a long stint of no play at all - it was like falling back in time - I’d forgotten nothing and my character very quickly became upgraded. I like the simplistic gameplay and the drop in and drop out feel - I guess I’d gotten bored last time by playing it wrongly. It’s not too hardcore, and can be quite repetitive. However, I’ve become a wee bit obsessed with it after stopping playing Oblivion…

What? Yes, you read that right. I haven’t booted up the PC to play Oblivion in about 2 weeks now. Well, maybe a week and half and yet this looks to be becoming the rule rather than the exception. I don’t know why, perhaps it was out of dislike for my character, but I’ve just grown bored of Oblivion. I hope to get back into it, as I can and was having some weird adventures in Cyrodil (I’ll tell you about the slaying of the pirates and the dressing in their clothes at a next ‘Adventures’ update) but it just wasn’t holding my interest. Levelling was becoming less of a big deal and my blade skill just wasn’t great enough to kill some of the later level foes. That, and my abilities sucked - why can I only charm a level 5 animal?!?

Anyway, moving swiftly on… I can see in my pile of games there some are still waiting to be completed. This includes Far Cry Instincts, Psychonauts and Burnout Revenge. I never did get the level 4 katana in Ninja Gaiden too, and as that game goes well that’s possibly on the agenda this week. However, I’m up to the water level. Who the hell thinks ‘lets put a water level here, that’s both interesting and a good idea‘. Let me put it this way my designer friend, it’s neither big nor clever, just as ice, lava and forest(y) bits aren’t either! Hmmpppphh!

Well, rant over for this week. Less angry update to follow either tonight or tommorow.

I’ve got a rather early introspective article on Gadzooki regarding the PS3.  Go check it out and let me know what you think.

Well, I must say I’m surprised, but in a very very good way.  The Nintendo Wii is coming to the UK (and other territories) - as reported at Kotaku - on December 8th for 249 Euros, or about £180.  There’ll be a good number of games on release, something along the lines of 15.  Obviously nothing is still yet concrete, but register your interest from one of the main ‘net retailers to ensure that you get a Wii on time.

On a more personal note, I am genuinely surprised at this given that the DS didn’t come to the UK till March.  However, it has made my choice of Christmas present a little easier.  It’s just a case now of making sure I can get the hang of the new Wii controller.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really good idea - but it’s so alien to what I’m used to after all these years playing games.  If it really is a ‘revolution’ then I guess we’ll be seeing many new things on the Wii.  Lets wait and see.

Keeping up with the latest Wii news, Gamespot has an excellent article which features everything you could possibly want to know - from the technical specifications (remember how Nintendo tried to tell us all it was irrelevant!?!) to how the controller can be used.  It’s all good stuff.  I must say I did go off the Wii for a little bit but after reading I’m back on the trail.  I must have one for Christmas!