by:
Chuck -
posted:
11/6/2009
1:12 PM
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Digital distribution is widely hailed as the future of gaming and while it's been relatively smooth sailing for a while the system hit a few major snags on the PC this week. We've seen bumps in the past with Steam's early days (the
Half Life 2 launch wasn't exactly painless for a lot of people) and Games For Windows has been one cluster after another but this is the first time we've seen problems that aren't specific to one service.
The first was
all of the hurdles users had to jump through to get
Dragon Age:Origins working correctly. Of course a lot of these issues were created because each entity along the way had their own pass mechanism which needed to be navigated to get the game working correctly. This is one of those nasty things that will eventually go away as companies figure out how to get their services working together better.
The second big bump was Impulse, Direct2Drive, and Gamersgate
refusing to sell Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 on
their services because it includes a mandatory install of Steam for things like DRM and saved game management. This grants Steam a de facto monopoly on selling
Modern Warfare 2 digitally on the PC. This will be a bit trickier to navigate as Valve has so tightly woven their Steamworks tools set with their online service and there's no way anyone is going to help their competitor sell more of their product. I don't see this really hurting sales of the game that much but it has to be a bit scary for those who don't want Steam to have a monopoly on the digital distribution market and will further the calls for Valve to start decoupling their various components.
It's not unexpected to see these kind of problems as a technology matures but it is a somewhat painful reminder that we are still in the early days of this new distribution mechanism. These won't be the last bumps we have but they do represent a small inflection point in the system.
What do you think? Are these big issues for you or should we just got ahead and welcome our new Steam overlords? Let us know in the comments.
by:
John -
posted:
11/6/2009
8:01 AM
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Sean loves Reggie Fils-Aime and his ramblings. OK, maybe not but he does say some interesting things every now and then.
He recently predicted that
New Super Mario Bros will outsell
Call of Duty : Modern Warfare 2 on one system. So we have the Infinity Ward title coming out on the 360, PS3, and PC. I can definitely see it outselling the PC and/or the PS3 version. I already talked to a few folks that have canceled their PC order because of all the hoopla that Infinity Ward is doing to that title on the computer.
The two games really cater to two different sets of gamers though so whether it does outsell MW2 on another platform is irrelevant in my opinion. I think we should all aim for both games to do really, really well so that the industry remains healthy.
Sean, Chuck, and I recently played
New Super Mario Bros and it wasn't bad in my experience. You can check out
Sean's recap of the event.
by:
Sean Colleli -
posted:
11/5/2009
9:33 PM
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After cooperatively battling the Koopa horde in New Super Mario Bros Wii, John and Chuck took turns with Wii Fit Plus, while Janie handed me a DSi loaded up with The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks. The demo they had on hand was the same one from PAX, but I had yet to play the game or even seriously research it. While little of the core gameplay has changed since Phantom Hourglass, there are a few significant additions that go a long way to making Spirit Tracks feel more like a real Zelda game.
I’ve never made it a secret that I was pretty disappointed in Phantom Hourglass, and a lot of it had to do with the control scheme. Scribbling on the touch screen to do everything, from using items to swordplay to just moving Link around, got tiring very quickly. It also trickled down into the dungeon design, taking the focus off of logical, sequential puzzle solving and putting it on pace-breaking and often arbitrary stylus use. Like most long-time Nintendo gamers I have a kind of instinct that guides me through Zelda dungeons and even Metroid games, but after spending hours with Phantom Hourglass, wandering in circles, particularly in the aggravatingly redundant phantom dungeon, my wrist cramped up and I went back to playing Link to the Past on my GBA.
It’s a real shame because I wanted to enjoy Phantom Hourglass but it clearly wasn’t designed for Zelda fans, it was designed for new Zelda fans, and I know a lot of those newcomers loved it. Well, if anything I’m persistent, so I wrung as much time out of the Spirit Tracks demo as I could.
First, the good. The dungeon I played around with flowed a lot smoother than the start-and-stop ones in Phantom Hourglass. I wasn’t lugging a giant key everywhere I went, or hiding Solid Snake-style from roving phantoms; in fact, I was controlling one. That’s right, possibly the most annoying enemy in Zelda history (currently tied with that bottle-stealing buzzard in Majora’s Mask) is actually an ally in this game, almost a pet for Link. You guide your phantom with, what else, paths drawn with the stylus, and he can go at least anywhere Link can get to. As in the previous game he’s nigh-indestructible, but that’s useful this time because he can block fire jets and wade through lava, with Link riding on his back.
All of the puzzles I encountered used this strange form of teamwork, and it was quite satisfying once I started thinking out of the traditional Zelda box. Swapping between Link and his phantom at will, moving them to different locations to flip switches or avoid hazards…this persistent coordination sucked my into the dungeon more than any Zelda game in quite some time. It’s this kind of innovating that I wish they’d done in Phantom Hourglass, stuff that sets me out of my comfort zone but puts a smile on my face once I puzzle it out.
Unfortunately the stylus still controls everything. I know Nintendo wanted to keep the controls bonehead simple for people who’ve never picked up a Zelda game, but why can’t I use the D-pad to move Link? We’ve had D-pads since at least the NES, I’m sure the majority of Nintendo’s new baby boomer audience played with an old NES controller back in the day and knows how to work a D-pad. They could at least include it as an option for more experienced players; the current control scheme has D-pad direction up open the map, with all the other directions and face buttons left unused, so it’s not like they couldn’t accommodate such a layout.
My main issue with the controls is congestion—with everything controlled by the stylus it’s easy to get confused. I always have a hard time moving Link in a direction and scribbling his little sword moves at the same time. Thankfully your pet phantom follows you around and will quite effectively wipe out any nearby enemies on his own, but I’d still like Link to be a more capable fighter.
Once the dungeon segment abruptly ended—Nintendo demos tend to time out right when things are getting interesting—I selected the boss battle from the main menu. This part was pure Zelda. The series is known for its creative and often humorous boss fights, and this time I was squaring off against a giant, well-rendered and cel shaded beetle. Its butt was pouring out noxious purple smoke and also happened to be its weak spot, and the only way for Link to deal damage was to remove the smoke first. In the dungeon, I’d acquired a pot that let me shoot air, similar to the Gust Jar in Minish Cap, except to use I had to blow into the DS mic.
After I cleared the smoke and landed a few good strikes the beetle took to the air, occasionally spitting out spiky, explosive worms. The worms curled up when slashed, and if I timed it right I could use the air pot to direct them into the beetle’s face via small whirlwinds. One it took a few blasts to the mandible the beetle fell, rewarding me with a staple Zelda treasure chest. The fight was fun, sufficiently challenging and original—the best kind of Zelda boss battle.
The final segment available was a train sequence, the gameplay the game derives its title from. Link’s adorable little train can be set to chug down the tracks at varying speeds, with a bomb-firing cannon for defense against raiding bokoblins riding their trademark pigs. Like Phantom Hourglass’s boat segments, you tap the touch screen to fire bombs while the top screen displays a map of the track. At key moments you’ll have to choose between branching paths to avoid colliding with other trains running at the same time, so it’s a good idea to glance at the map ahead of time.
I managed to direct Link’s choo-choo (seriously, I can’t talk about it in non-cute terms) for a few minutes and then entered a dark cave, where a large spider with an eyeball in its mouth started chasing me—I’m guessing it was a Ghoma. I landed a number of square hits with my cannon but once again the demo timed out and dumped me back on the title screen.
I’m having a hard time getting excited about the whole train thing. I’m sure it’s significant to the story but without any context, it’s just a different, slightly clunkier mode of transport than the boat. It still takes way too long to get where you’re going, there isn’t much to do along the way other than shoot at enemies, and you can’t alter your course as much as you could in the boat. I applaud Nintendo for doing something different but on-rails travel between dungeons isn’t very interesting. A big part of Zelda’s appeal is the aimless exploration of wandering through whatever land you find yourself in, stumbling across hidden items, caves full of treasure or quests off the beaten path.
I knew I’d have mixed feelings about Spirit Tracks and so far, I still do, though I’m a lot more optimistic. The dungeons and boss fights look promising but the train section falls flat. I’ve wanted a portable Zelda I could sink my teeth into ever since Minish Cap, but for now it looks like the real deal will remain on the Wii while the DS gets the casual stuff. At least Spirit Tracks isn’t what I initially predicted—a Zelda rail shooter. And it has more of what I love about the Zelda series and less of the unfocused, random and forced elements from Phantom Hourglass.
Most important though, is that Spirit Tracks has one gimmick this time that works—I’m intrigued by the pet phantom and the small taste I got makes me want a lot more. It looks like they got the DS experimenting out of the way last time, and now they can focus on a new idea for the series and really make it sparkle.
by:
Tina -
posted:
11/5/2009
7:06 PM
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Megaten fans: be jealous of Japan a little less next year with the announcement of
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey release on March 10th. After all the excitement in Japan and the loneliness in the US, Atlus finally made the commitment and set the date.
The game is a successor to
SMT: Nocturne but with a few developments in storyline. The game is sci-fi based and centers on a mysterious black hole that you find is inhabited by equally mysterious demons. Fortunately, you have the power to decide whether you want them to be on your good side or not, as you can use the powers of negotiation and coercion, or bribery if all else fails, to have them join your party.
That sounds like all fun and games, but to my disadvantage the game is a DS based one. Looks like I’m going to have to be making some purchases in the near future. Check the site for the details on the infamous Demonica suit and how the game handles the dual screen gameplay.
by:
Chad -
posted:
11/3/2009
5:21 PM
-
As the fourth news item we've posted in the past week for
Band Hero, this one is just a friendly reminder from Activision that the game is now available. You'll be able to find it on the Wii, 360, PS3, and DS. It seems to be the "Top 40" version of Guitar Hero 5. Given that and the fact that the Wii will sport exclusive game modes, I would not at all be surprised if it sells the most units on that system.
Head to your favorite game retailer to pick up
Band Hero as it's out today. Also, you can
click here to enter for a chance to meet Taylor Swift and see her in concert. There are other prizes, but only Kanye West would care about those.
[READ MORE]
by:
Chuck -
posted:
11/2/2009
11:23 AM
-
I'm not sure what's gotten into the water over at Infinity Ward but my enthusiasm for
Call of Duty:Modern Warfare 2 has been dying a slow death over the last few weeks. First we had Infinity Ward killing off dedicated servers for the PC side of the house which I could label as IW trying to own the process a bit more and to make a little extra advertising coin off of PC gamers. That's certainly their right despite stripping PC gamers of their ability to host and configure their own servers (which is a fairly big deal for that demographic). I was probably going to buy the Xbox 360 version of the game so this doesn't impact me too much. The downside is that the door is now open for more PC developers to do the same which would have severe repercussions in the PC gaming community over the next few years
Then came word that the game would allow you to play as a terrorist as part of one of the levels. You can skip the level if you want
to but the fact that Infinity Ward has the hubris to allow gamers to play the role of terrorists opens the game and the industry up to an enormous amount of criticism. While I didn't lose anyone close to me during 9/11 (although I know people who did) I did have to live with terrorism on a daily basis while I lived in Germany in the early 1980's. The windows in my father's office were damaged by a bomb so I'm probably a little more sensitive than others about the topic. I do see how Infinity Ward is pushing the narrative envelope but this feels like one of those psychology experiments of the 1970's gone wrong. When this hits the mainstream press no one will hear how you can skip the level and no one will hear how you are playing a secret agent trying to protect their cover. All people are going to hear is "You play as a terrorist and you get to kill civilians without repercussion in
Modern Warfare 2".
Infinity Ward then tops this off by
killing team voice chat and releasing a
mildly inappropriate video which makes me wonder what exactly is going on at IW HQ. I don't doubt that the game will sell well and will receive a ton of accolades but I do wonder if
Modern Warfare 2 is going to end up harming the industry through the controversial content and if the game's approach to PC gamers will end up harming them in the long run. Time will tell but I'm a bit worried.