New Sony Offensive

Sony launched a major offensive in the console war this week with a number of big announcements. During a presentation at the GamesCom 2009 event in Cologne, Germany they unveiled the new slim PlayStation 3 and talked about their plans for the platform. There have been suggestions that Sony are lagging behind Nintendo and Microsoft in the battle for gamers and this package of products and updates is clearly an attempt to redress the balance.

The Wii and the Xbox 360 have been outselling the much more expensive PlayStation 3 and Sony has resisted any price drop. Back in June they claimed to be happy with their price point, which even then represented a loss on every console sold. With pressure to stimulate the market amid falling sales they have finally made a move. The new version of their popular console heralds the long awaited price drop and the 120 GB machine will cost $299 in the US, ¢â€šÂ¬299 in Europe and £249 in the UK. By comparison the 120 GB Xbox 360 Elite remains priced at $399.

The new PlayStation 3 slim is 33% smaller and 36% lighter than the old PS3. The interior has undergone a complete redesign and the console will use less energy and operate more quietly than the old model. In fact power consumption has been cut to two-thirds the previous level and as a result the machine does not heat up so much so there is less need for noisy fan operation.

The console looks sleeker and more attractive than ever and the visual redesign has also seen the logo change to lower case and a matte, textured finish instead of a shiny one. It supports Wi-Fi out of the box, it has two USB ports and you can access the hard drive from the front and upgrade more easily than with the previous iteration. In fact you can now upgrade the hard drive without voiding the warranty. The old 80 GB and 160 GB models will now be phased out.

If you are looking for a downside then perhaps you could point to the lack of backwards compatibility for PlayStation 2 games, although it can run PlayStation 1 games. You also can’t store the PlayStation 3 slim vertically unless you buy a stand and they have ditched the option to install another operating system.

Sony didn’t rest there and the announcements continued with a big firmware update for the PlayStation 3 platform. PS3 Firmware 3.0 adds some useful menu updates which make navigation on the console a bit smoother with easier access to the store and a redesigned friends list. There are a few new cosmetic updates as well which allow animated themes and the option of new avatars for your profile. Most exciting for UK gamers is the support for BBC iPlayer. There is also a new video on demand movie rental service offering HD and SD movies due to launch in November.

These new developments look set to take advantage of the superior capabilities of the PS3 and technically speaking it is by far the best console of the current generation. The PS3 supports Blu-ray playback, it offers 1080p HDMI output, integrated wireless, free online support and a 120 GB upgradeable hard drive. The firmware update will combine with a big redesign of their online Home space where companies are now looking to establish an online presence.

The new offensive was not limited to the console space and Sony had news for the handheld market as well. The PSP Go was unveiled back in June. It is a smaller, slide open version of the PSP handheld. At GamesCom Sony announced that they will be launching a mini-game store for the machine and gamers will be able to download casual games which are under 100 MB in size. They also plan to launch a reader for the PSP which will allow people to read full length novels on it and the video on demand service due to launch in November will be extended to the PSP as well. To round things off it will be available in some funky colors.

There are obvious moves here to beat Microsoft on price and also to challenge Nintendo on accessibility and the casual gamer market. Sony is uniquely placed to capture hardcore and casual gamers and their PS3 console is truly an entertainment center. If consumers were to shop for a Blu-ray player with internet surfing capabilities and access to streaming video on demand they would be hard pressed to find a device cheaper than the PlayStation 3 and it offers gaming as well. Perhaps with this new design and all important price drop we’ll see the console really take off at last.

Will the Left 4 Dead 2 Boycott Survive?

With Valve’s announcement of Left 4 Dead 2 came the announcement from a group of fans that they would be boycotting the zombie survival game sequel. But are their demands reasonable, or are they the mindless groans of an army of soulless meat puppets?

Sorry, that came off a bit rude. I was just trying to segue.

Left 4 Dead was one of last year’s most popular multiplayer games, pitting four survivors against the zombie horde in a post-apocalyptic world. With its wide popularity one would think that the announcement of a new and improved sequel would have fans excited, and without a doubt many are. But many fans are also downright rabid at the proposal of a new L4D. Rabid like the lifeless zombie hordes that yearn for brain matter.

I’m sorry, I did it again. Very unbecoming of me. I didn’t mean for things to get out of hand like that.

So what’s the deal? Why are the fans upset by the release of more of one of their favourite games?

Well, the fans are only angry because they love. They love L4D, and they want more of it. For free. The situation is not simple, but the problem seems to have its roots in a promise Valve made around the release of the first L4D. Valve claimed that they would consistently release free downloadable content for L4D, expanding the world with new levels and so on, in much the same way they’ve been doing for Team Fortress 2. Valve have made one free content update so far, adding a survival mode and some versus campaigns, but other than that the only new content fans have received news of is the not-so-free sequel. Cue boycott. Also cue shrill tenor note as decomposed hands burst through wall.

So what are the terms of this gaming resistance-movement? Lucky for us, the ravenous horde of almost 30,000 boycotters currently have something of a manifesto on the Steam forums, which explains their position.

So what do the disgruntled fans have to say? First, they make two acknowledgments: they recognize that Valve must make money, and that Judgment cannot be passed on the quality of Left 4 Dead 2 until its release, which is to say that the fans don’t really know if L4D2 will be worth what it costs until they actually get a chance to play it. Fair enough, you army of hungry zombie-gamers.

Now on to the good stuff: the accusations! The L4D2 boycott also plans to hold Valve to its promise of free downloadable content. The question of whether or not Valve has a duty to release free DLC depends on what the game was explicitly advertised to include and what the reasonable buyer would expect to get from it, and it’s hard to say whether Valve’s announcement of free DLC, which came after the release of the game, is part of those considerations. But it is safe to say that, whether or not Valve is required to release free DLC, it would be admirable of them to follow up on their plans and would leave a good impression on the mobs of bloodthirsty, groaning fans, whose arms are outstretched, reaching for more gaaaaaaames.

Is this whole fans as zombies metaphor getting old? I don’t care.

So far so good. But the L4D boycott makes another claim: that the release of L4D2 will split the online communities of L4D, making the online experience less enjoyable, and as such, Valve should not release L4D2 as a new game.

This is where things start to get messy, like the aftermath of a zombie ah forget it. You get the point.

First of all, if this is in fact a genuine concern, then the release of any sequel will result in community splitting. Stating that Valve should not release a sequel to a game, because doing so will reduce the quality of the online experience of its predecessor, is unreasonable, because it implies that game developers should not ever release sequels to online games. If reducing the quality of online play is something developers should not do, and releasing a sequel does as much, then developers shouldn’t be allowed to release sequels. This contradicts the boycott’s first acknowledgment that Valve is a company with financial needs and cannot be expected to survive without the release of new games. It’s also just clearly a bizarre claim.

This also doesn’t take into account the fact that the release of games from other companies can very well reduce the quality of online play by splitting communities. World of Warcraft split the communities of countless MMORPGs that came before it, lowering the quality of play for people who paid for an online experience with other games, but no developers were expected to somehow uphold the integrity of a gaming community, outside of making a place where a community can develop.

The fact is that the existence of an online community is not the responsibility of the developer of a game. Valve had a responsibility to make a playable multiplayer game with an interface that enabled players to connect –that is, they had a responsibility to facilitate a place for a community to develop– but no responsibility to somehow hold together a group of people. This is simply out of the control of a game developer, since things like the release of competing games, player interest, and many other outside factors will affect a community. A community is made up of people with the ability to make their own choices of what they will play, so it would be unreasonable to claim that Valve has a responsibility to hold such a thing together.

The boycott also claims that The announced content of Left 4 Dead 2 does not warrant a stand-alone, full-priced sequel and should instead become updates (free or otherwise) for Left 4 Dead. This is in direct contradiction with their acknowledgment that judgment cannot be passed on L4D2 until it is released. The simple fact of the matter is that no one knows yet whether L4D2 is a warranted sequel. We have seen a few screenshots and a trailer, but until people play it and reviews are released, the boycott cannot reasonably claim that L4D2 does not warrant a stand-alone release, especially when they themselves say that the value of L4D2 is as of yet unknown. The demand that L4D2 should be released as DLC is undermined by the fact that they simply don’t know what L4D2 will be like.

Finally, the boycott claims that L4D2 will make its predecessor obsolete. Again, this claim contradicts the earlier claims that judgment should not be passed on L4D2 and that L4D2 does not warrant a stand-alone sequel.

Again, the supporters of the boycott simply don’t know the quality of L4D2, and so can’t make claims about whether it will make the precursor obsolete. Further, if L4D2 is not warranted as a sequel to the first game –that is to say, if it is so similar to the first game that it should be included in the first game– it cannot make it obsolete; the sequel would have to be better than the first game to make it obsolete. Essentially, the boycott claims that L4D2 will be of such close quality to the first game that it shouldn’t even be a sequel, but also that it will be such a good quality sequel that it will make the first game obsolete. The boycott can’t have it both ways, but that is what they demand.

Just like a brainless zombie horde would.

Dammit, I did it again. Really, this is embarrassing.

Anyway, the supporters of the boycott are angry, but they’re also being unreasonable. They demand free DLC from Valve, which is fair enough, but go too far in demanding that Valve essentially never release a sequel to L4D. The only promise Valve made was to release free DLC for the first game, and as long as they do that they are free to make sequels as well. There is room for both, and the claim that Valve has a duty to not release a sequel to their game because they claimed free DLC would be available for it is quite a leap. It simply doesn’t follow that because Valve promised free DLC that a sequel is unfair or unwarranted.

In the end, the boycotters are free to boycott, and Valve is free to make a sequel and release free DLC for L4D. The result will be either that L4D2 is great and is worth buying, or it will not be worth buying and all the L4D1 players who boycotted it will be able to continue playing their favourite game with free updates. Everybody wins!

Except for those who have been consumed by the throngs of ruthless zombies.

Highlights of E3 2009

E3, the biggest gaming convention in the world, has recently had its annual meeting at the Convention Center in L.A.. The gaming companies love to make their big announcements at this time, and here is a list of what they have been holding out on the gaming crowd.

Xbox 360 News

• The open-world action game Crackdown will have a sequel, appropriately named Crackdown 2. Like its predecessor, it is only available for the Xbox 360.
• Mass Effect 2 will be out in early 2010 for the PC and Xbox 360.
• Accept no substitutions, the one and only Jack Black will star in Brutal Legend. Jack is a roadie in this game, who must battle demons for some reason. It is available for the Xbox 360 and PS3, and will also star Lemmy Kilmeister and Ozzy Osbourne.
• Put out an APB on APB, a game available for the PC and Xbox 360 where the gamer plays a gang member.
• One of the bigger announcements was Project Natal, Microsoft’s answer to the Wiimote. This is a camera and microphone that mounts on the television that can sense motion, three-dimensional movement, and sound. This controller that requires nothing but the user was introduced by none other than Steven Spielberg.

Nintendo Wii News

• Red Steel 2 is due out for the Wii, and will make full use of the MotionPlus.
• For the first time, Super Mario Brothers will be available to play on the Wii. A sequel to Super Mario Galaxy is also coming.
• WiiFit Plus and Wii Sports Resort are two sequels that encourage Wii gamers to be more active.
• Dead Space Extraction is a prequel to the popular science-fiction M-rated game. This one appears to be available only for the Wii and is due out September 29^th.

Nintendo DS News

• Nintendo DS users will have a unique gaming experience with Women’s Murder Club: Game of Passion. This is based on James Patterson’s novels, and I believe this had a series, didn’t it?
• Other new DS titles include Kingdom Hearts, Mario and Luigi: Bower’s Inside Story (Fall 2009), and Golden Sun DS (2010).

Sony PS3 News

• God of War 3 is slated to hit the PS3 very soon.
• PS3 titles to be released will be Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Assassin’s Creed 2. Believe it or not, Final Fantasy XIV is under development, exclusively for the PS3.
• PS3 is also developing a motion-sensitive controller similar to the Project Natal from Microsoft.

Sony PSP News

• PSP Go has finally been made official. The Go is smaller, has a slide-up screen, and no UMD drive.
• PSP games to be released include racing game Gran Turismo and a few others. For example, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker should be available for PSP in 2010.

Multiple Platform News

• Tony Hawk made a personal appearance for Tony Hawk Ride, which Zmogo has already reported on in a previous article.
• In case you haven’t heard, Beatles Rock Band will be released on 09.09.09.
• Lost Planet 2 will soon be available for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.
• While we are on the subject of those three platforms and sequels, Dead Rising 2 will also be available soon.

The Future of “Hero” Games

With Activision’s announcement of the upcoming release of DJ Hero, featuring Jay-Z and Eminem, it looks like we are finally reaching the conceptual limits of the real-instrument-as-a-toy rhythm game, which is an exciting prospect for people who take joy in witnessing events of almost pure absurdity.

Even for those of us who love games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, there’s always been something just a little bit ridiculous about playing a fake guitar along to real songs. While the common internet troll’s cry of “get a real instrument” has always been an aggressive, narrow-minded view that ignores the fact that rhythm games are fun, there is perhaps a nugget of truth in their vitriol: learning to play songs on a real instrument is also fun, and everyone will think you’re cool if you can bust out a John Mayer song or some junk at a party. No one will think you’re cool if you bring your special edition Slash Guitar Hero controller to your friend’s get-together and start to fake-wail.

So with Guitar Hero we have replicas of instruments that can be used to simulate playing music. Kind of weird, but reasonable enough. DJ Hero on the other hand takes that dull point of weirdness off in the distance and makes it into a full-blown, retina-melting supernova. No longer will rhythm game players be using a replica of an instrument, but rather will be using a replica of a device used to play already-recorded music in the first place.

Let me elaborate. Want to play a song on guitar? You learn how to play a guitar. The mechanics of this are difficult, and so making a game that allows even the musically illiterate to simulate playing guitar is significant.

Want to play a song on a turntable? You put a record on the turntable and it plays the music.

I can’t stress this enough. In order to play a song with a turntable, all you have to learn to do is turn on the turntable. By playing DJ Hero, we are simulating the act of playing music on a record player. This is truly absurd, and also fantastic. As such, I predict that it is only a short matter of time before we start to see the most ridiculous of all instruments become the subject of rhythm games. What bizarre new depths will Activision bring us to with future instrument peripherals? The answers may surprise and disgust you!

So join me as we look at The Future of “Hero” Games!

Piano Hero

Appeal: The piano is a widely popular instrument used in everything from classical to jazz to pop, and as such the Piano Hero game is sure to be a success. But unlike guitars, which require strumming, and drums, which require hitting things, pianos only require that the player push a bunch of buttons. As far as I can tell, this is exactly how a normal videogame controller is used, which doesn’t exactly make a piano game controller sound too appealing. So, Piano Hero is going to need something to differentiate it from both normal videogame controllers and other rhythm game controllers.

How will Activision do this? That is a great question, fine reader, and I’ve got an answer coming straight at your question-hole right now: more buttons.

The standard guitar controller only has a wimpy five buttons, making it at best a dull abstraction of an actual guitar, and most drum controllers don’t even have cymbals or a high hat. The Piano Hero controller on the other hand will include a button for every key on the piano. Actually, scratch that. Piano Hero will just include an actual piano with the game.

That’s right, Piano Hero will be the first game with the balls, guts, and other anatomical stuff to push the rhythm game to its logical conclusion by going ahead and forcing the player to just learn how to play piano in order to play the game.

Too difficult? How about too awesome!? What could be a more immersive gaming experience than playing a game about playing piano with an actual piano? Nothing, that’s what. Well, except actually playing piano, I guess. Anyways, the goal of Rock Band is to make you feel like you’re a guitar player for once in your pathetic life, which is fun, so Piano Hero will maximize that fun by just making every Piano Hero player an actual piano player!

Even better, the programmers won’t have to fuss around with scaling every song down to an abstract level, because there will only be one difficulty setting: actual song.

Audience: Kids whose parents forced them to take piano lessons. Church ladies.

Tracks: I know we said that classical music and jazz are popular, but let’s face it, nobody who listens to that stuff would lower themselves to being anywhere within a 100 foot radius of a videogame. So, it looks like it’s going to be all Elton John, all the time.

Theremin Hero

Appeal: The theremin is a bizarre instrument that is played by not touching anything. This truly unique form of playing is the sole reason for  this unusual instrument’s esoteric appeal, since it sounds about as beautiful as an air-raid siren.

Unfortunately, this is a game, so it has to have buttons to press. As such, players will press a series of buttons on a normal videogame controller to manipulate a set of virtual on-screen hands, which will then move around within an actual 3D representation of a theremin. This a truly incredible advance that gives all the fun of playing a theremin while still being able to touch something!

But we couldn’t just stop there, oh no. The truly groundbreaking feature of this game is that it will require you to hold the controller in a theremin while you press buttons to manipulate the virtual theremin, giving the game an unparalleled true-to-life feel!

Audience: People who read Boingboing and like stuff that is weird for the sake of being weird, even though it is actually kind of awful.

Tracks: The sign-off tone of your local cable TV station.

Oh wait, this just in: the theremin has already been used by some nerd to play Rock Band. Ignore everything I just said.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OybiXxxkQG8[/youtube]

Bongo Hero

Appeal: Bongo Hero will be the first Hero game to allow you to tap into the exciting and visceral world of being that one guy on stage that doesn’t have a microphoned instrument, because why did we let him in the band again?

In contrast with most instrument peripherals, the Bongo Hero controller will only include one button: a bongo. But this game will make revolutionary use of that one button. Rather than encourage players to go along with the song, Bongo Hero will reward players for a-rhythmically smacking the bongo controller while bobbing up and down and swaying around with their eyes closed, just like a real bongo player!

On second thought, this has no appeal at all.

Audience: Smelly hippies who always show up to the show incredibly stoned then bang on their authentic African bongos that they got in Capetown during their “humanitarian aid work-term,” where they were really just trying to pick up girls who wear hemp and have dreadlocks.

Tracks: Whatever music is being played where more than one person wearing a Che Guevera t-shirt can be found.

Katzenklavier Hero

Appeal: It’s a freaking organ made out of cats. The end.

Audience: Renaissance-era ADD patients, dog-lovers, the deaf.

Tracks: Jingle Cats.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPp0g0A_6x8[/youtube]

Hero-Game Hero

Appeal: Do you suck at rhythm games? Of course you do! Your hands have been permanently locked into wretched, clenched claws from carpal tunnel-inducing videogame playing and masturbation. As such you are never able to join in on the fun of a boisterous game of Rock Band, and are instead forced to sit back and make a feeble attempt at drinking a beer with your horribly disfigured appendages.

But have no fear, because Hero-Game Hero is here! (Oh.)  With Hero-Game Hero, players will get to experience all the exhilaration and thrill of playing a set, without the need for any of that physical proficiency stuff!

The gameplay mechanics are simple: just choose the difficulty you want to play the song at, then enter the skill level at which you want the song to be played. Want to experience the excitement of completing Through the Fire and the Flames on expert difficulty? Simply set your playing skill to little kid phenom and watch the points roll in! Want to suck really bad at Bark at the Moon? Just set the song’s difficulty to expert and your playing skill to toddler chewing on the controller and experience the agony and tears of defeat.

The game will even include a selection of playing strategies to highlight the tactical aspects of Hero-Game playing. Strategies will include: know the song before you played it in the game so you don’t screw up until you get to the bridge that no one cares about, try to get overdrive to go off by tilting the guitar as violently as possible multiple times only to have it not respond, making you scream at your TV when you fail, and hit the right notes at the right time instead of the wrong ones.

The ultimate goal is to become the best Hero-Game player ever, giving you the skills and talent to beat any individual rhythm game ever created!

Audience: People who like the idea of rhythm games but not rhythm, people with no hands, fans of meta-irony.

Tracks: Every song ever made! (Due to licensing fees, the game will cost 849 million dollars.)

The PC Gaming Industry’s Incredible Comeback?

Jon Peddie research has just capped off a five year study of the sales, profits and strength of the PC gaming hardware market. According to the research firm, which specializes in graphics and multimedia studies, the PC gaming industry is looking stronger than the console gaming industry, despite the current recession. Over at Macworld they’ve taken the study at face value, but some might find it a bit hard to take seriously.

It is widely advertised that the videogame industry seems to be recession-proof. While most people have cut back their spending on indulgences like vacations and eating out, the desire to satisfy the videogame indulgence is almost as strong as ever. Overall sales of videogames and videogame systems have only seen a relatively small drop compared to the significant hit that other industries have taken.

The strength of the videogame industry is not news to most people, but Jon Peddie research has thrown a bit of a curveball regarding this trend. According to their latest study, PC gaming hardware sales are holding up better than console sales.

This may come as a surprise to some people. While PC gaming will always be a strong industry, the release of next-gen consoles like the Xbox 360 has put a serious dent in PC gaming’s chunk of the market. Gone are the days when the PC had an exclusive claim to the best graphics, online play, and genres like the first-person shooter. Nowadays the console provides just as impressive HD graphics, online play, and much more affordable prices than the PC. If anything, many people would find reasonable the claim that the PC gaming industry has been losing steam compared to the booming sales of the console market.

So what exactly did this study find that has so defied our expectations? According to its own site, The Jon Peddie study is a:

unique analysis that does a bottom-up forecast of systems based on GPU and PC shipments, and a macro-economic top-down forecast based on the eco-demographics which covers 36 countries.

Oh. Okay.

There are at least a few hard numbers given by the study firm. According to the site, PC hardware sales only dropped from $20.07 billion to $18.65 billion in 2008, and the study’s forecast for 2009 predicts only a $1.4 billion drop, which is less than the forecast for the console market. According to Jon Peddie research, this shows the value customers place on the product.

Fair enough. But how did they come up with the numbers for this study? This is where things get a bit muddy. According to the study’s site, console sales include money spent on consoles, accessories, and a factor for HDTVs to play the consoles on. Likewise, PC sales include money spent on PCs, accessories, after-market add-ons, and a percentage for a monitor, since the same monitor might be kept through the life of more than one PC.

Right off the bat a couple of things about the study’s use of factors and percentages demand looking into. How much is the factor for an HDTV compared to a monitor? How many accessories are presumed to have been purchased for an avergae gaming PC compared to a console? How much after-market modification do they assume someone does to their PC? If the percentages for a PC monitor are higher than for and HDTV without good reason, for example, then the numbers could be heavily skewed; a small percentage multiplied over millions and millions of sales will add up to a very significant difference.

The study’s unexpected findings are made even more incredible with a forecast that predicts that PC gaming sales will reach $30 billion in 3 years. Despite the current recession. And despite the fact that PC gaming hardware has caught up to the demands of most games and most PC gamers don’t need or want enough super-cutting-edge hardware to warrant such a massive boost in sales. At least some people might think this, without having a look any real hard numbers related to the PC and console gaming industry.

Unfortunately, there are no readily-available hard numbers, and also no answers to our questions, because the specific details of the study are not open to the public. All we are given is a somewhat half-hearted attempt at an explanation for PC gaming’s supposed market strength. Jon Peddie Research states that:

The conclusion the researcher at JPR have come to is that people are staying home more, less movies, less dinners out, postponed vacations, and turning to other forms of entertainment. PC Gaming is a very economical form of entertainment, a $50 game can provide hundreds of hours of play, and it’s not uncommon for players to replay a game. Also, purchases of a PC for gaming can be shared since the machine can be used for watching (and creating) videos, as well as office work and web browsing, something consoles can’t offer.

But this is a bit of a non-answer. A $50 dollar console game can also give hundreds of hours of play and replay. Further, consoles can and are used for watching movies. My household has all but written off the DVD player, opting instead to watch movies through the Xbox 360. Finally, gaming PCs being used for office work and web browsing does not account for sales of things like gaming accessories and high-end graphics and memory sales; any PC can be used for such things, and PC gamers are not going to spend more on gaming-related hardware as a result of their computer being able to do word-processing.

Overall, this study seems to hit us with some counter-intuitive conclusions. The signs are out there for anyone to see: console games are more popular, affordable, and powerful than ever, whereas PC gaming has fallen from its former days of gaming supremacy. Yet JPR’s study apparently found otherwise.

Is JPR’s study skewed towards giving the PC gaming industry a favourable look? Were more accessories and costs figured in for PC gaming than console gaming, and was there justification for such a choice? It would be nice to see the details of the study and find out, but unfortunately a copy of it costs $5000.

If consumers are willing to pay a price like that for a JPR study, then apparently the PC gaming industry isn’t the only one doing unexpectedly well.

Tony Hawk: Ride and the Video Game Peripheral Revolution

In case you haven’t heard, Tony Hawk is releasing yet another video game based on his extreme skateboarding franchise. I’ve played a few of them, and found them very much the same. This new one, simply known as Ride, comes with a very unique accessory.

The board peripheral is motion-controlled, which would make it a more advanced version of the WiiFit Balance board. There may not be any wheels on this board, but the player can manipulate it as if it was a real skateboard. More advanced stunts, such jumping and grabbing the board, are accomplished by kneeling and touching the buttons on the side.

Tony Hawk: Ride is planned to be released later this year for the Xbox 360, Ninetndo Wii, and Playstation 3. There is supposed plans that the board peripheral will be used for other games like snowboarding and surfing.

This seems to be a trend among video game peripherals to be used for more than one game. For example, the WiiFit Balance Board can be used with other games where balance is important, and has recently been incorporated in the Wii version of Punch-Out. So not only can the player use the Wiimote and Nunchuk like boxing gloves like in WiiSports, but this new version of Punch-Out allows the gamer a chance to dodge blows by shifting weight on the WiiFit board.

Perhaps we are seeing a dawn of a new age of video games where the accessory is a heavy part of the action. After all, Guitar Hero and Rock Band were simply complex controllers that were in need of a game, and they have swept the nation. The soon-to-be released DJ Hero will have a turntable peripheral that could be just as popular.

Sadly, this was not the fate for Steel Battalion. This was an X-box game which required an advanced peripheral with two control sticks and forty buttons. Granted, it completely immersed a gamer into playing a vertical tank, but sales of units were quite limited due to its complexity. The high price didn’t help it, either.

I would like to suggest other games that would come out, though it would require a huge peripheral.

Starbucks Barista: The game comes with a very complex controller that can make virtual coffee, espresso, lattes, in many forms. Players must compete as the morning rush comes in, and points are given as they meet all the orders exactly.

Folk Hero: Imagine that you are mythical American heroes Paul Bunyan, John Henry, or Johnny Appleseed. It is easy with the axe, hammer, and seedbag peripherals.

Crazy Climber 2000: I realize that we are long past the year 2000, but an update of the old-school Crazy Climber video game is long overdue. Of course, this version requires the user have their own climbing wall and a Virtual Boy. Now the question you have to ask yourself is: which is harder to obtain?

Rifle Squad: This game is made for all the cadets at the academy that have to do those rifle drills like at the beginning of A Few Good Men. Some of you might not remember that film, and I suppose it would not help to mention the film Stripes. Maybe you should catch the end of the Hillary Duff classic Cadet Kelly. Anyway, the motion-controlled rifle peripheral along with the game will make you feel like you are a part of the spinning and stepping rifle team.

I can’t really think of any more of peripheral-based games right now, but I am certain that the video game developers will. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if similar ideas are under development.

So does this age of peripherals do to the video game industry? It will encourage more gamers to get off the couch, and immerse themselves in the game. In short, it is preparing us for virtual reality gaming.

The Controversy of Six Days in Fallujah

Imagine if they had video games back in the early 1940s. Now imagine if they released Medal of Honor or similar World War II video game back then. Ask yourself how weird it would be to playing a game where soldiers are killing Nazis when the real thing is actually happening overseas, probably at that moment.

Not that little kids weren’t playing a World War II version of cowboys and Indians while their fathers were fighting the war in Europe and Asia. I suppose there is an instinct of game-making of writing what you know, and draws from current events for subject matter of games.

I’m not saying that is right or wrong, but this is the controversy of a soon-to-be released video game from Konami and Atomic Games known as Six Days in Fallujah. I’m sure that you can already tell from its title what kind of game that this is.

Yes, this takes place during the Iraqi war, the one that isn’t finished as yet. Specifically, it is about the second battle in Fallujah, Operation Phantom Fury. It is also based on Operation Al-Fajr, which took place between November 7 and December 23, 2004. Yes, that is more than six days, and I suppose those six days that this game takes place in are somewhere during that time.

Just a day after its announced release, there has been some serious controversy surrounding it. For example, Reg Keys, father of deceased soldier Red Cap Thomas Keys, stated that glorifying the Fallujah crisis of 2004 in a video game is poor judgment and bad taste.

Believe it or not, this isn’t the first game to based on the situation in Fallujah. There is an online PC game called Kuma War which draws from real events taken on the war on terror.

Is it odd we would use events from the war on terror as subject matter for a video game. It’s kind of like these movies like The Kingdom and Stop-Loss which don’t do very well in the theaters. It is complete understandable why, because box office results have shown that the general public doesn’t really want to see films based on something that too contemporary and too tragic.

Didn’t anyone think Fallujah wouldn’t be a controversial topic? I understand about using contemporary controversial material to sell your product, but this might be a little too much.

Well, unless the controversy is so thick that it stops production, gamers should expect to see Six Days in Fallujah sometime on the shelves next year for the Xbox 360, PS3, as well as the PC.

So, should we keep these games out of people’s hands because they are based on contemporary history that has not resolved as yet? I’m not certain about that one.

I think that it is a bad idea to make video games based on current events, simply because video games take so long to make. Six Days in Fallujah has taken several years already. If you’re going to make a video game based on current events, make certain it will not be passƒÂ© by the time of its release. Can you imagine making a Y2K video game? Yeah, that wouldn’t be such a hit if it was released in September of 2000.

If you want to create a video game set in the midst of a present day-crisis, just use the economy as your subject matter.

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Wallace & Gromit, Fright of the Bumblebees is Fun, Old-School Adventure for XBLA

UPS: Brings back classic adventure-style gameplay; puzzles are clever and at times surprising; great animation and voice acting; captures all the style, humour, levity, and charm of the cartoon perfectly; seems to use original voice actors.

DOWNS: Some puzzles might be a bit tough for XBLA players who are unfamiliar with adventure gaming; version we played had some bugs that are hopefully all worked out in the final version.

BOTTOM LINE: A must-buy if you’re a fan of old-school adventure games or Wallace & Gromit, or if you’re just looking for a game to test your brain rather than your reflexes.

Available on PC and XBox Live Arcade, the first episode of the new Wallace & Gromit game brings players some light-hearted fun in the same vein as old Lucasarts and Sierra games, and is sure to please fans of the almost-extinct adventure gaming genre.

Based on the innocent and entertaining animated claymation shorts from Aardman Animation, Fright of the Bumblebees is the first in series of episodic games released by Telltale Games. For those that aren’t familiar, W&G is an animated show about Wallace, a bumbling, air-headed inventor of ridiculous contraptions, and Gromit, the dog who begrudgingly puts up with Wallace’s hair-brained schemes and does his best to keep his owner out of trouble.

Like all Telltale fare, such as the Sam & Max series and the Strongbad games, W&G is an old-school adventure game in which you collect items and use them to solve puzzles. For some reason this style of gaming has fallen out of favour since its heyday almost two decades ago, but Telltale is looking to bring it back into the mainstream. And more power to them I say; it’s always bewildered me that adventure games went out of style so badly, and I believe the adventure game genre is one in great need of a revival.

And with W&G, Telltale Games have done a fine job at bringing back this classic style of gameplay. Like any good point-and-click-style adventure game, W&G gives you a problem to solve and a few seemingly useless items, and forces you to put on your thinking cap and come up with a creative solution to the unlikely problems you are faced with.

The game is easy to get into, for adventure gamers and newbies to the genre alike. The player is introduced to the mechanics through a quick tutorial, and the controls, though not standard point-and-click adventure controls, are simple and will fit the XBox controllers very well. The tutorial, controls, and inviting style of W&G make it very easy to jump in and start playing.

The world of W&G is a perfect fit for the adventure gaming genre, with its light hearted characters, silly jokes, and wealth of crazy inventions to centre puzzles aronud. Whether you’re trying to figure out how to make a special flower-growth formula from rag-tag ingredients, or trying to shoot giant bees out of the sky with a porridge gun, W&G surprises you with creative solutions to problems that make you say “Ah-ha!” while also making you smile as the whimsical events unfold.

I don’t want to spoil anything by giving away too much of the story, but the basic premise of the game is that in his quest to deliver a truckload of honey to one of his customers, Wallace unwittingly releases an army of giant bees on his quaint English town. To get rid of the bee menace, players will use both Wallace and Gromit to solve some smart and challenging puzzles.

The story is classic Wallace & Gromit fare, and any fan of the cartoon will be very familiar with its playful style and fantastical hijinks. Telltale has managed to capture the feel and style of the Wallace & Gromit cartoon completely, with the result that playing the game is basically just like playing an episode of the show. From the characters and voices and animation style, to the very good direction and cinematic style, W&G draws the player into the game’s world and its story. Particularly entertaining is Wallace’s walking animation, in which he constantly holds his hands in front of himself like an overly-polite British person who is in a hurry but doesn’t want to bother anyone else by showing his anxiousness.

W&G also presents some unorthodox and interesting puzzles to the player, keeping the game fresh and compelling. For example, when Wallace first unwittingly releases the giant bees, the player gets the chance to shoot them out of the air with a porridge gun. But what at first looks like a straightforward reflex mini-game actually turns out to be unique puzzle that strays from the usual adventure game formula. W&G does this a few times, making the player think outside the box in order to solve some puzzles that diverge from the usual use-item-on-object formula of old-school adventure games.

The early version we played had a few bugs, which will presumably be ironed out for the final version. Also, despite W&G’s very light and charming style, some of the puzzles can actually be a bit difficult, especially for someone who just downloaded the game off XBLA and isn’t familiar with the adventure game genre. The light and cute style of the game may give people the impression that this will be a simple game, but that would be a mistake; many of the puzzles require a sort of creative thinking that most games wouldn’t involve.

But overall, if you’re a fan of old-school adventure or Wallace & Gromit, or you are just looking for a game to test your brain rather than your reflexes, or you just want a hcange of pace with an innocent and fun stroy, then Wallace & Gromit, Fright of the Bumblesbees is well worth your time. Though the game is technically the first episode of four, it actually includes a surprising amount of content. As a fan of adventure gaming, and Wallace & Gromit, and good games in general, I’m looking forward to the next episodes.

Wallace & Gromit, Fright of the Bumblebees is available on XBox Live Arcade and PC, and costs $34.95 for the entire 4 episode bundle.

Marvel Universe Online Coming Soon

How would you like to play an Massively Multiplayer Online game where you are freely exploring the Marvel Universe? At one point in time, Microsoft Studios was developing a Marvel Universe MMO with Cryptic Studios for the Xbox 360 and Games for Windows.

Sadly, the project was scrapped, and Cryptic Studios decided to put all their programming work to good use and work on Champions Online, another MMO that takes place in an established universe full of superheroes. The only difference between Marvel Universe Online and Champions Online is that Marvel contains superheroes that the average public has probably heard of, while Champions Online is based on a superhero universe from an obscure role-playing game from the eighties.

Is it just me, or is Gazillion’s Marvel Universe MMO going to face some competition with DC Universe Online, the joint venture of Sony Online and DC comics. Surely this was one of the reasons why a Marvel Universe game was even inspired.

A start-up company named Gazillion Entertainment has won this MMO lottery. It has been reported that Gazillion has four development studios working on other MMO games.

The first is NetDevil, who is working on a LEGO Universe MMO. I cannot wait to see this particular one. I actually think that I would like to play in a world of interchangeable bricks, rather than one where I have super powers.

The second is Amazing Society, who is already working on another superhero related game known as Super Hero Squad, due out in 2010. I have never heard of that particular superhero universe, but it is based on some Cartoon Network show.

The third is Slipgate Ironworks, who are developing an unannounced original MMO. I’m guessing there are no superheroes or building blocks involved in this one. I mean, if it is going to be original.

And the fourth is Gargantuan, who has a gargantuan project of the Marvel Universe. You can’t help but wonder how they intend to go about this effort. After all, Gazillion is probably going to account for the fact that two people cannot play the same superhero. I’m sure that if fans had their choice, many of them would want to play Wolverine, arguably one of the most popular superheroes in the Marvel or any other superhero universe.

I am guessing that the player will create a character who will more than likely interact with major characters from the Marvel Universe as NPCs. In other words, you won’t be able to fight side-by-side with Spider-man, but he’ll probably give you a mission. That was Cryptic Studios model for City of Heroes and City of Villains. You couldn’t play one of the members of the main group, but they would talk to you.

So I’m going to guess that this new Marvel Universe MMO is not going to allow you to play Marvel characters. After all, the Marvel Universe is filled with characters who have their own books and groups that each of them are a part of. You do not want to disrupt that continuity!

Actually, if I had the chance, I probably would. Marvel has been using its popular characters for years, and they don’t really change much. Then again, such is the way of the comic-book hero, to stay alive so readers will be entertained. I suppose the Marvel Universe MMO gives you the chance to feel like you’re making a difference.

What the Internet Thinks CoD Modern Warfare 2 Should be Like

Recently Infinity Ward, designers of the massively popular game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, set up a twitter account where any random dude on the Internet can suggest a new feature for Modern Warfare 2.

Of course, like anything on the Internet the Infinity Ward suggestion feed is pretty much entirely composed of horrible garbage. (Actually, like everything on the Internet, even this article is mostly made of horrible garbage. I apologize.)

The result is true unintentional hilarity, in the form of nearly unreadable posts asking for more flaming attack dogs and laser-tipped bullets.

So join me as we take a look at what the Internet thinks CoD Modern Warfare 2 should be like!

When u get a sniper headshot the killcam should follow the bullet in slow motion and u see ur gamertag on the back of it sick idea rite – realfun7188

u shud be abel too get spining rims for ur bullts to if u get enuf kils in a row am i rite? sik.

How about a layered missile defense perk where you can’t get hit by airstrikes? – xbenxspire

Yeah, well your layered missile defense didn’t work, because I used the laser shield! The only thing that can beat a laser shield is a laser, loser! Nya nya!

Another cool thing is when you get 10 kills in a row, u could call in a laser from in space on a certain point in the map. – xbenxspire

Oh, well I’ll be damned. Touche.

when one gets a ten or 15 kill streak, a gas bomb should be release to wipe out the other team. – ctwotimes

I also want to be able to bind a button to the genocide command so that I don’t always have to go into the menu to find it.

i would to see some online achievements so that there will be something to play for something getting so many kills ?? plz reply – dellacapo

Don’t worry, dellacap. I will plz reply.

What you wrote makes absolutely no sense.

Is it possible for you guys to do these two things? Indestructible environments & open-world maps, while maintaining the linear? – ZakiZakaria

Woah there, Zaki! Indestructible environments!? I don’t know if you even understand what you’re asking of us. Scientists predict that indestructible environment technology is still decades away from being feasible, and even then it would be so unstable that only science experts could harness its incredible power without blowing up whole cities.

And don’t even get me started on the linear.

there should be different knife options…like a battle axe. – antmansbigxmas

Could we get a +3 Plate Mail perk while we’re at it, too? That black dragon in the level where you have to save the hostages in the American embassy always kills me with its magical poison breath.

perks to set up fake dummies to distract the opposition(possibly in perk1 catogory) – DeAnO987

also a perk were u swing a paint can down the stairs and hit burglars in the head(possibly in macaulky kulkin catogory)

Official paintball mod -DarthCvrnda

What? This game is already basically just a game of paintball that requires a $300 console instead of a bunch of sweaty friends. All you do in it is simulate shooting guns at each other without hurting anyone. (Unless you get hit in the head, of course.)

But if you want to you can squint really hard and pretend the M16 that you’re spamming has a hopper, and that the blood splatters shooting out of xXxMuRdErCyDexXx are just vegetable oil and red food colouring.

design ur own camo colours for ur own guns, like a pink sniper! – Sacred_Flea

A pink gun? I don’t even have to make a joke about that. Thanks Sacred_Flea.

like the zombie mode, i would like to see a terrorist mode. hordes of crazy terrorist come at you along with RPG’s and suicide bombers – macfoshizzle

That is incredibly tasteless in ways I cannot begin to describe. You should be proud that you are truly unique, in that you are the only person in the world who thinks this is a good idea.

Al Qaeda zombies would be cool. They could have bombs strapped on at level 30 – xbenxspire

Okay… That was unexpected. And depressing. Let’s move on, shall we?

i would like 2 kill plenty of towlhead terrorists – vidprodoug

I SAID LET’S MOVE ON YOU SOULLESS WEIRDOS.

INFINITY WARD THE BEST. TREYARCH SUCK!! – Mick1888

Sorry, that’s a statement. In order for your submission to be acknowledged it must be written in the form of an incredibly insulting, badly written suggestion. Thank you for your interest in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

people who use jugger should get a message in the mail in red and white giftwrap and wen dey opin it says fuckin jugger noob.fuk you.. – realfun7188

Much better. Thank you for your excellent suggestion, realfun7188. We will immediately reallocate all of our resources towards implementing this idea.

And Micki1888? You could learn a thing or two from this guy about how suggesting works, jerk.

Well, that was horrible. And the best part is that these terrible, unfathomably crappy nuggets of depravity are literally constantly rolling in, so for all we know the worst is yet to come.

Have a good day!

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