Games of the Decade ²

by Adam Blue • Editorial

A post went up recently on Colony of Gamers about games of the decade. Now, I don’t necessarily think these games are worthy of the title due to enjoyment, but I see them as important in the world of gaming. Here are my picks:

Halo: Combat Evolved – Goldeneye may have changed the way FPS’s are played on consoles in the 90′s, but Bungie revolutionized it with Halo on the XBox. Now every system needs an FPS (…or Halo killer as they like to claim). The Wii even has a few of its own. This is what really made the dual-analog set-up make sense. I was actually used to playing N64 FPS’s by using the analog stick to aim and the face-buttons on the right side of the pad to move. This carried over onto the Dreamcast, then when the XBox was released, FPS’s were made to play with aiming on the right stick and moving on the left. This confused me (and I’m sure it did for other gamers), and I played southpaw until the 360 came out. I’m sure this was due to a computer mouse being used by the right-hand of a player. Some games didn’t have the southpaw option, and so I became ambidextrous.

Grand Theft Auto 3 – I’ve always envisioned a game of this type, and it finally happened. I actually did not enjoy the game, or the later sequels (the earlier top-down games are very enjoyable), but it was influential nonetheless. It started a trend of open-worlds with sandbox gameplay, giving other developers ideas for making tools for players to use in their freedom. I personally enjoyed True Crime, Mercenaries, Just Cause, and Red Faction. For me, GTA III allowed too much freedom for the player. Limitations give more for the player to think about to complete an objective, which I believe is much more satisfying. For instance, True Crime would give the player a better ending, better powerups, and better abilities by not harming or killing criminals when apprehending. Right now, Wheelman has the best driving mechanic out of any action game and I hope future open-world games take from it.

World of Warcraft – I don’t like RPG’s. I don’t even like MMORPG’s. Even as a fan of the WarCraft RTS’s and anything Blizzard puts out, I still stay away. This game has a ton of players. Even non-gamers. It doesn’t allow other MMO’s to be successful. What does this mean? Any developer will mimic what they can from this game to get their MMO or RPG off the ground. Even the recently released Torchlight takes its art direction straight from WoW. Sometimes friends can almost talk me into it when telling me about raiding and the team work. Maybe someday. But for now, I have no interest.

Guitar Hero – I’ve never had as much plastic shit in my house as I do now. Like Wow, you don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy these music games. People like music, people want to play instruments…and by getting it right it makes you feel achieved. As a musician, I only slightly enjoy these games. Anytime I play, it makes me want to pull out the real thing. But for people with no music talent, this gives them the satisfaction. It works well in parties and anytime you’ve got people around looking for something to do. The most fun I’ve had with it is just jumping around like a monkey with friends, acting like you’re really a rock star. Yeah you don’t hit all the notes, but the point is to have fun. Now we have a skateboard peripheral and who knows what could be next.

Wii Sports – It took me a while to take Nintendo seriously, but even as a hardcore gamer there’s a place for this. While the original Wii Sports didn’t do much for me, Wii Sports Resort has been a revelation. Part of me hopes this motion-based gameplay doesn’t take over, but when done right, it is a lot of fun. I don’t think I have to go into how popular the Wii has become, but I’m sure it was Wii Sports specifically that really showed off what Nintendo had up their sleeves. Sony will be releasing their wand soon and MS has Natal.

Again, I may not necessarily enjoy these games, but they are definitely influential in the world of gaming for both developers and gamers. And I guess technically, if you look at the root of it all, the seeds were planted back in the 90′s and even 80′s. What did we have this decade that could sprout a whole new way to game? I say Augmented Reality.

Pay For Live Or PSN? ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial

I posted this question on a forum I visit more often than my own site. Sony may decide to start a subscription service for PSN as Microsoft does for Live. I guess it sort of turned into a “Well, they said they wouldn’t do that!!!!” argument, well by NOW, three Sony-generations in, we know Sony doesn’t keep promises. Gamers…keep your eyes open.

There’s a new trailer out showing co-op for the new Splinter Cell. I’m down for that. Actually, Pandora Tomorrow had some awesome multiplayer that I hope appears in this new title. It was four player, spies versus mercs. Each team had a very unique play-style, pretty much Splinter-cell controls vs. 1st person shooter. It was a ton of fun because of the strategy involved. As cool as co-op is, nothing beats Syphon Filter: Omega Strain, so hopefully they do it right.

And through the XBLM, there seems to be a hint that the Hoth level from the Force Unleashed Ultimate Edition will be DLC for regular edition owners. That’s kinda obvious for money-making reasons even though they said it wouldn’t happen, but now I don’t have to worry about buying the Ultimate Edition in the future, even though the box art is pretty awesome.

The New Modern Warfare 2 Glitch ⁰

by Adam Blue • Editorial

After playing a bit more of WET, I really got bored of it and decided to send it back to GF. I’ll probably grab it in the future when it’s real cheap. But for now, it’s just a tad bit repetitive. I played some Demon’s Souls and totally enjoy the combat system…but the game was a bit boring as well. It seemed to be totally awesome but just never came together. Actually, having a five month old daughter and no pause option hurts.

The VGA’s meant a whole lot of nothing again. It’s still entertaining to watch but I put no value in the awards. I like the format though. For us gamers that don’t take it seriously, they had a lot of cool premier videos, even if they were only CG. Halo Reach could have been in-game though. I’m excited about True Crime. I loved the original games and love some of the gameplay elements that have never been used in other sandbox games. I love firing my gun in the hair to get a perp to stop. In the chance that he/she doesn’t, I then need to chase them down. If I do it without being unlawful, I get bonus points. You can tackle and cuff too.

The patch-fix for Modern Warfare 2 came out, and what that did exactly is allow a new glitch to surface. Matchmaking games will now turn into Private Matches made for boosting. These matches typically last FOREVER. Yeah, I level-up quickly, but it also runs the game into the ground totally removing any fun.

@fourzerotwo:

Working with the @infinityward team for a solution to the Public “Private Match” hack going on in #MW2 at the moment. I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve also been playing a bit more Bad Company. The single-player is a lot of fun and does hold its own compared to Call of Duty. It’s less flashy, but a lot more gritty and strategic.