The Lair of the Monkey

Over at Kotaku.com they have a great video of the sorts of stuff that the Japanese have been doing with Forza Motorsport 2. Do take a look, it’s damn impressive.

One of the things that I’ve noticed recently is the apparent lack of cheats in games.  I’m talking about what used to be a classic part of the experience.  Press ‘A’ six times followed by right on the d-pad then up twelve times.  It gives you the best ending.  Or similar.

Where have they gone?  Well, popular myth suggests that games are now easier than ever.  Is that true though?  Well yeah, it is to an extent.  Games like Animal Crossing are easy to get into.  A game like Ninja Gaiden however is a modern classic but renowned for being hard.  I still completed it in a reasonable amount of time.

So, games are getting easier right?  Nope.  My friend CJ and I have been playing some games including Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter and Test Drive Unlimited.  Both are on the Xbox360 but beyond that I’m not seeing any similarities.  I bought the extra difficulty setting for Test Drive Unlimited on Xbox Live and I can’t even access it!

Both Ghost Recon and Test Drive Unlimited were quite easy to play at first.  Nothing really stopped my progress.  On the other hand, after about maybe 8 hours on the first game and say 50 in TDU, I’m now thoroughly stuck.  I’m beyond thoroughly stuck.  I have no idea how I’m ever going to get past the damn track!

I think this is what has been causing the misconception of games being easy.  Games tend to reward you when you do well, as they should.  However, they are also meant to present a challenge.  Your skill should rise gradually through the game, rather than hit an instant spike.  Hit Ikaruga on the GC or the Dreamcast though and you’ll see a game which is just hard all the way through.

Some games are hard in a different way.  Some are hard to keep playing because they’re so awful for instance.  Others have problems with puzzles that can just prove to be impossible.  Generally though I think gaming is becoming more mainstream.  Then you have the ‘other’ players though.  The hardcore.  They go the other way, meaning that some games are actually getting more difficult or less accessible for the new player.

This is a good thing.  Developments in gaming continue into the future and I hope games get both more and less difficult.  Less difficult for the newbies amongst us but with a hardcore option for the more long term gamers.  Rome wasn’t built in a day and Rome: Total War certainly wasn’t beaten on Hardest!

Most Wii trailers are appalingly bad.  However, this one for Biohazard 4 - I mean of course Resident Evil 4 - is actually rather good.  The controls look responsive and the actors aren’t as wince-inducing as we normally see…

Geometry Wars: Galaxies is heading toward the DS and the Wii.  Go take a look over here to find more info on it…

 TO

Now as you can see, I’ve added a picture of a Nintendo DS and a picture of an original Game Boy.  Now, why is that?  Well to show how things have changed of course!  The original Game Boy was a revelation.  It was a huge piece of news.  The DS?  The same.  In fact, it’s still selling more than every other piece of hardware (Xbox360, PSP, PS3 included) out there - the Wii excepted.

So how come it’s been such a success when the GC was a bit - well - lacklustre?  The Nintendo DS is original.  Whatever the Sony fanboys tell you, that’s one of the biggest reasons for the success of the Wii and the DS.  It does something different.  Not only that, but it does it in a way that is intuitive and responsive.

Of course, that’s not the only thing.  The Nintendo DS is made in such a way that it is desirable to a variety of consumers.  Everyone from the younger child wanting to play Pokemon to the 20-something executive playing Hotel Dusk on the train to a meeting.  This means that the DS will sell to the widest audience and unlike the Wii will actually appeal to the hardcore as well as the more casual amongst us.  It is also open to the market of the non-gamer.

No doubt you’re asking Mr B, have you got one?  The answer is at the moment no.  But I’m moving house soon and I think I need to get myself a house warming present beyond a new cooker…

As you can see from the picture, I’ve been playing more of Fight Night: Round 3.  However, it’s not really impressed me much.  It’s a lot of fun and I’ve probably wracked up a number of hours on it, but certainly nowhere near the amount I thought I would.  Is it the curse of EA?  Well, that’s probably a bit much.  Maybe.

So why don’t I like the game?  Apart from the bugs in it which results in the trainer sometimes giving silent advice and the damn weird profile system which doesn’t work properly, everything is reasonably well put together.  The graphics are good and when you get a knockout it’s a hoot.  It is just because there’s just not much going on in a boxing game (I mean how can there be)?

Nah, it is actually the curse of EA.  They’re renowned for making games.  A lot of console games.  Repeatedly.  Probably the world’s biggest publisher and no doubt they take a huge amount of sales every year to boot from their myriad of licenses.  However, I’m not bowled over.  From a business standpoint I like the strategy, but as a fan I do not.  So, here’s the call.  EA, please make sure your games feature a bit more depth.  There you go.  I’ve said it… 

Frankly, I don’t know if it is or not.  But I do know that Lionhead Studios (GO Molyneux, you are a legend!) has released a video diary.  That being the case, it’s well worth a look.  Interesting insight into the development process and a good reveal on how they are creating emotion within the virtual landscape.  Well worth a look.

I don’t get it, someone has managed to slip a rude bump-map onto the PC version of Halo 2.  Frankly I’m shocked(!).  Does anyone really care?  It’s just a laugh right?  Or is it more than that?

New Gears of War stuff is heading our way probably fairly soon given that none of it is a massive change.  It looks to be a change to the achievements and new maps.  CVG has more info.

I’ve seen the trailers now for Heavenly Sword and it looks reasonably impressive.  Quick question though.  Are chainblades the in new thing?  I mean Kratos has them, but does every other new character of a third person fighting game have to own a pair of these too?  I mean they were cool at first but I bet they get old real quick if they start to appear everywhere.