Gaming Today |
- You Can Play The Little Big Planet 2 Demo Right Now!
- The games of 2011 that you may not play (but should keep on your radar)
- Watch This Epic Minecraft Rube Goldberg Machine
- Size Matters: On Game Length, Price and Value
- GameFront 2010: Most Underhyped Games of the Year
| You Can Play The Little Big Planet 2 Demo Right Now! Posted: 29 Dec 2010 10:13 PM PST Tired of waiting until January 18th for LBP2? Good news everyone! The demo is available on PSN. It’s a paltry 2 MB (which ought to take you all of 5 seconds to download), and there’s 3 full levels of fun to tide you over while you wait for the official release. There’s also 3 trailers that explain the game’s features but let’s be honest – you really just want to play, right? Either way, login to PSN immediately and enjoy. Now if you’ll excuse us…
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| The games of 2011 that you may not play (but should keep on your radar) Posted: 29 Dec 2010 03:58 PM PST Last week, I attempted to shed a little light on some of 2010′s lesser known games that deserve a bit of year-end attention. This week, I’ve amassed a collection of upcoming games that you won’t find on many “most anticipated” lists, in an effort to keep some of them on your radar. We all know to keep an eye on Dead Space 2 and Uncharted 3, but there are plenty of games coming in 2011 that you might not readily recall. With that in mind, please take a peek at this list and try to spare a thought for the games that won’t be guaranteed their 90+ Metacritic averages.
The Fancy Pants Adventures The Fancy Pants Adventures started life as a Flash game (which you can play on the game’s site). After gaining a cult following, Electronic Arts swooped down to give the game a console debut, and you’ll be able to check Fancy Pants out on Xbox Live Arcade and the PlayStation Network this coming Spring. It’s looking set to be one of 2011′s obligatory indie darlings, so you’d do well to remember this one when the time comes. Fancy Pants is a fairly traditional platforming game, with a focus on Sonic-like physics and acrobatics. With its rudimentary art style and terrific music, the game has a strong sense of character and is most likely going to look gorgeous on an HDTV through the sheer strength of its visual simplicity. I have a feeling that this will be one of the hottest downloads of the year, and will join the ranks of Braid, Castle Crashers, Limbo and Super Meat Boy as one of those small digital titles that everybody falls in love with. I certainly hope so, anyway.
Hunted: The Demon’s Forge It’s very rare that a game from the monolithic Bethesda would fly under the radar, but Hunted: The Demon’s Forge certainly fits the bill. Caught in the shadow of Fallout: New Vegas, Brink and RAGE, this fantasy action game has struggled to maintain a profile in the eyes of consumers. I feel this is a shame, as Hunted looks pretty damn promising. The selling point of this game is the synergy of roleplaying games and cover-based shooters. Popularly referred to as “WoW meets Gears”, the game’s concept uniquely blends two well-worn genres to create something relatively original. I played the game a little at PAX Prime and was quite impressed. The controls were a little sluggish and the shooting combat far outclassed the close-quarters battling, but there is a lot of promise there, and I feel that with the required polish, this is going to be a magnificent game. The hard fantasy visuals and the weighty feel of the combat gives this a flavor that’s missing from most modern RPGs, and with inXile (The Bard’s Tale) behind the steering wheel, I’ve got a lot of hope.
The Last Story For Wii fans, much has been made of The Last Story, but unfortunately even the most high profile third party Wii games often get forgotten by media and community alike. The Last Story has not yet been given a confirmed North American release date, but I would be very surprised if we don’t get news on such a thing soon. I am eagerly anticipating it, as Mistwalker is one of my favorite developers and this new game looks absolutely stellar. It boasts an action-heavy battle system that appears to be far more involving than your usual RPG combat, music by Nobou Uematsu, and a commitment to providing a large world full of exploration. In short, it seems to be the antithesis of everything that’s held the Japanese roleplaying genre back these past few years. Lost Odyssey was the last truly great console JRPG I played, and these chaps were responsible for it. Most developers now take the focus away from good writing and purely onto visuals, leading to a creatively stagnant genre. Final Fantasy XIII was a prime example of how obsession with graphics and graphics alone works to the detriment of a game. Sure, the Wii isn’t the most powerful console on the market, but with lower demands come higher opportunities, as studios can pour more effort into actual art and writing. With Mistwalker already proving itself as one of the last JRPG developers to craft a decent narrative, I have every faith that The Last Story will be a wonderful experience.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine I’ve always had a big love for the Warhammer 40,000 universe and have typically enjoyed the videogames that it’s spawned. Yes, even Fire Warrior. Screw the haters! With Relic Entertainment working on Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, we have a violent third-person shooter crafted by a studio that respects the source material and intends to bring back “the original Space Marine.” You’d have to be incredibly good at being bad in order to muck this one up. Relic isn’t known for its poor quality either, so I’d say that things are looking good for this game’s prospects. Taking on the role of an Ultramarine, your job is to clear a planet of brutal Orks using bolters, chainswords, and a whole host of alternative Warhammer 40k weaponry. The game eschews a cover system in favor of providing an experience that makes you feel like a fearless Marine, diving headfirst into battle and working to wipe out the enemy before they blow you to bits. Fundamentally, it might look like Gears of War, but faster and more in-your-face. Whether you’re a Games Workshop fan or not, you can’t really argue with that.
Dynasty Warriors 7 When I talk about games that won’t appear on other “most wanted” lists, I really mean it! Unless I’m writing them, you can guarantee that a Dynasty Warriors game won’t make any other shortlists, and so it falls to me to shamelessly wave the hack n’ slash flag. Yes, I know, only about 5% of the Western gaming public shares my love for this franchise. I know what the rest of you think about it. I don’t really care though, as this series has always been a great slice of mindless, cathartic, button-mashing fun and Dynasty Warriors 7 appears to be the very best entry yet. DW7 boasts a welcome return to the “charge” combo system seen in pre-DW6 games, and the characters are getting their old weapons back, not lazily cloned movesets like the previous title promoted. Throw in online co-op, Move and 3D support, and more playable generals than any other DW game to date, and this ought to be the pinnacle of the series. A pinnacle that only I and a handful of others will appreciate, but a pinnacle nonetheless!
Retro City Rampage Another downloadable title with the potential to become a smash hit, Retro City Rampage has already garnered some cult favor despite its humble position as a tiny indie title. It’s a top-down crime sim in the same vein as old-school Grand Theft Auto, but is filled to the brim with self-referential humor and nods to the videogame industry. Familiar faces pop up at every turn, essentially turning the experience into a retro gamer’s wet dream. This is another title I was fortunate enough to spend time with at PAX and I came away with the impression that it’s a very cute, enjoyable little game. Vehicle controls could use work, but with just under a year of polishing left to do, I’m hoping we’ll end up with something very smooth indeed. Make sure you remember this one.
El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron Ignition has always been a hit-and-miss publisher. They tend to pick up smaller, quirkier titles, and while that can lead to the release of some garbage, it can also result in a win. El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron is looking like it’ll be an entry in the “win” category. It looks incredibly stylish, the gameplay footage reveals a mixture of intense combat and intriguing platforming, and the general premise, based upon the obscure biblical Book of Enoch, is interesting to say the least. El Shaddai is one of those games that just don’t come along often enough, and I think it has potential to be a 2011 sleeper hit, provided people remember it exists. I worry that it will be released and forgotten, however, so I’m going to do all I can to keep this one fresh in people’s minds.
Earth Seeker Little has been said of this game, and I think that’s a shame. Although we’ve not had much to go on in the way of assets, Earth Seeker looks like one of those uniquely Japanese games that feel right at home on the Wii, despite the fact that nobody will pay it much heed. Set on an alien planet in the wake of Earth’s destruction, Earth Seeker tells the tale of a homeless human race who attempts to terraform a new world, whether or not the current occupants allow it. Of course, the vicious aliens inhabiting the planet aren’t too pleased, thus the conflict arises. Despite a seemingly bleak post-apocalyptic story, Earth Seeker boasts a bright, vibrant art style with a range of endearingly cute characters. I love the game’s visual design and everything I’ve seen so far leads me to believe this will be a lovely, humble little adventure title that nobody will buy. Whether or not it actually makes it to the West is up for debate, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Games like this are why I bought my Wii in the first place.
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| Watch This Epic Minecraft Rube Goldberg Machine Posted: 29 Dec 2010 03:41 PM PST |
| Size Matters: On Game Length, Price and Value Posted: 29 Dec 2010 11:50 AM PST
Back when we were putting together our staff picks for the year’s most ludicrously short games, there was a prevailing sentiment among the GameFront writers that length of game does not equate to value. That’s an interesting, if intellectual, view of the argument. Game length does matter, at least to me, but there’s no easy way of formulating just how it matters, or how much. Trends in the game industry have been going both ways lately. On the one hand, it seems a lot of games — those in the action and first-person shooter departments, chiefly — are getting shorter. Sub-10-hour campaigns are quickly becoming the norm, and while multiplayer modes are making their way into just about every title hitting shelves nowadays, they’re also becoming a go-to excuse to cut down single-player content.
We saw at least a few triple-A titles get dropped this year with what felt like shockingly small amounts of content. We’ve all heard about Kane & Lynch 2, a game a pair of competent players could best in about three or four hours. And there was Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II, which wasn’t quite as short as Kane & Lynch 2, but it was pretty close — and it managed to recycle the first half of the game to reuse as the second half. Those are just two examples, but even just those two games point to a scary trend of developers thinking it’s okay to whip up games that are this tiny, then charge all us players full price. Purchasing a game that’s over in the same afternoon you brought it home can’t be described as anything but a rip-off, and players routinely have that reaction. So it’s interesting that developers still try to sneak out these malnourished packages and pretend they’re going to fly with the target market. On the flip side, however, there’s no shortage of artificial inflation going on in games. Tons of big titles are filled with stupid, time-consuming mechanics that exist for no reason except to pump up the amount of time a player needs to spend in the game. The examples of this are abundant: Red Dead Redemption loves to make you watch the same slow-moving animations whenever you get on or off a horse or skin a kill; Mass Effect 2 requires players to mindlessly scan planets for minerals; Disney Epic Mickey forces you to work through the same few boring side-scrolling stages every time you want to travel between towns.
There’s no added value to a game when you’re made to watch the same video over and over again, or repeat boring and mindless tasks. So the question becomes one of better: a game sliced to its essence and lasts only a few hours, or an adventure that pushes into the 30- or 40-hour mark, but with lots of filler in between? It’s not a decision we shouldn’t have to make, as players, and that’s the problem: both of these are examples of developers trying to pull a fast one on us. Whether it’s cranking out a super-small game at full price, or finding cheap and easy ways to boost the hour count, developers are still looking for ways to shortchange the people buying their products. Of course, that’s not saying that short games can’t be great, or that long games are inherently worth more money. But you’re paying for an experience, just like when you pay to go to the movies or ride a rollercoaster or drive go-karts. You expect to get an satisfying experience worth what you paid for it, and if a game three hours long, the cost-benefit ratio tips too far to the former. So what do we do about it? How do we convince developers that gamers expect a certain level of quality, and quantity, from their products? It’s simple, but it requires a change in mentality from the hardcore gaming population: vote with your wallet. Move away from the first-adopter, wait-in-line-on-release-day mentality. Do more renting. Read more reviews or get more word-of-mouth impressions. The only way to get developers to realize that they can’t trick us into buying game that are clearly not worth the asking price is to not fall into the trap — which means vetting games ahead of time by first-hand sampling and second-hand information. Only by not letting low-value, super-short or falsely inflated games garner your gaming dollar will developers get the picture that we expect something more for full-priced games. A change in the market’s spending habits will cause a change in the way games are made and priced: meaning better prices for us and more sales on appropriately priced games for the industry. It’s win-win, but it’ll only happen if the public proves it’s paying attention, and that game length isn’t just a number to slap on the back of a box, but a standard of value gamers expect to receive for the money we spend.
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| GameFront 2010: Most Underhyped Games of the Year Posted: 29 Dec 2010 10:01 AM PST
There was a lot of noise in video games this year in terms of big releases: we got a new Splinter Cell, a new Halo, a new Call of Duty, a new Dead Rising, a new Force Unleashed, and plenty of more big-name titles like Red Dead Redemption that have dominated the discussion. But all that yammering about monster sequels that have adjusted minor gameplay elements also routinely covers up smaller, more innovative releases — and a lot of them slip under the radar. Luckily, the GameFront staff got together to do a little recon and find some the titles that we loved, but didn’t receive a lot of attention. Phil Owen’s Picks
Metro 2033This game was treated by the media the way most Russian game are: Nobody was really talking about it. That's unfortunate, because while it may handle a little clunkily, it delivered a pretty unique gameplay experience despite looking like just another post-apocolyptic shooter. 4A Games deserves to be recognized for this spectacular title. VanquishVanquish is probably to best shooter to ever come out of Japan, and yet the only 2010 Platinum Games title anybody wanted to talk about was the truly awful Bayonetta. Vanquish is an extremely Japanese game that is also fun to play, which is a very rare combination these days. The crickets generally liked it, too, which makes it feel pretty strange that it was mostly ignored this year. Phil Hornshaw’s Picks
Lara Croft and the Guardian of LightI’m not much of a Tomb Raider fan (or an Angelina Jolee fan), but Guardian of Light, which was first available tis summer as a downloadable Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network title, was a spectacular game that got only marginal attention. We’ve seen titles like Limbo receive out of control hype, so it wasn’t the fact that Guardian of Light was a small-scale title — I think it was more that the game is a little weird and out of the ordinary. It’s not a Lara Croft game so much as a great top-down co-op experience, and once you sign on with a friend, you’ll have a hard time finding a better two-player experience. And Square Enix developed a great port of the entire game to the iPhone and iPad, as well.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The GameIf you haven’t seen director Edgar Wright’s movie adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, go directly to your Netflix account (or better yet, your Best Buy) and grab it. If you haven’t tried the downloadable XBLA or PSN beat-em-up and you had any kind of 16-bit childhood, get thee to your console and download this one. It’s a hard side-scroller you can get into with four friends, and is basically a love-letter to the kinds of games we used to race home from school to play back in the early 1990s. Shawn Sines’ Pick
Sins of a Solar Empire: DiplomacyI'm not sure how much damage I'll take from my friends and peers for suggesting this but I think 2010 delivered a few really good but under-hyped titles. One of the least talked about add on titles this year, but one that delivered hours and hours of good content and needed optimization was Sins of the Solar Empire: Diplomacy. Diplomacy was needed to fix some game bugs, but the additional diplomatic options ( as you'd expect in a game called Diplomacy) really spiced up the RTS gameplay and made a non-war solution finally very viable as an end goal and style of play.
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