It has come to everyone’s attention (well, for a while now), that mature Wii titles just don’t sell. I’m not sure what the real issue is though. It could be the market; the Wii market is generally children or non-gaming adults. It could be Nintendo’s lack of advertising for 3rd party games. Nintendo is happy enough to sit on bags of cash from their own – who needs to spend money on other developers? These two we just can’t help much. But it’s sad when it comes from within. I know I’ve ranted about this point before, but now Sega has made it clear that they are done with mature titles on the Wii. Sega of America studio director Constantine Hantzopoulos:

That begets the question, you know, are we gonna do more mature titles for the Wii and it’s like … probably not.

So what do I have to say now? It’s your fault. From a forum I frequent, exhibit A:

But “mature” titles of the “drenched in blood” variety (MadWorld) or the “look how over the top we can be” variety (HOTD: Overkill) or the “we love poop and sex jokes” variety (No More Heroes) just don’t appeal to me, and apparently don’t appeal to that many other people either.

You know, games are for playing. Some of them just have style to them. You may or may not like it. But they can be fun. I’ll admit, as soon as Borderlands changed to the cel-shaded look, I wrote it off. But, I tend to still give games a try though and glad I did. Borderlands is just a bunch of fun (I still prefer the original graphic style though). And if you just don’t like blood in games…its’ very odd to be a gamer on a forum like this in the first place. I know the internet is for anybody and everybody, but similar people seem to congregate to one place. I dunno, maybe it’s just me. Exhibit B:

Worse yet most of the fucking things are rail shooters and/or fucking broken with shit you buy off banner ads being more stable. Yes the console lends itself to them, make a few not twenty fucking thousand.

Hmmm. Blanket statement (and notice the use of adjectives?). Seems this young chap is missing out on quite a bit if he thinks these games are on the same level as flash ‘banner ad’ games. And what’s wrong with rail-shooters? Especially one as deep as Dead Space? Hell, I don’t like RPG’s but feel I have no place for a bashing-spree on the genre. Exhibit C:

They just seemed like they were trying to be “mature” for the sake of being mature instead of using mature content to truly add to the experience.

Ok, seriously. Do we even play games anymore, or are we jumping on this hate-train for fun? The above was in reference to, specifically, MadWorld, which even if you didn’t like the gameplay, it was unique, involved a lot of variety, and had great style, presentation and voice-work. But what I see here is someone that thinks the game has no gameplay to it, and is just a bloody mess to shock people into buying it.

See, the Wii has an interesting control-scheme that has not yet been mimicked on the other consoles. This does allow for gameplay experiences you won’t get anywhere else. Some of these games on the Wii require it. It’s just the world and story around the gameplay happens to be mature. So, by gamers writing these off, the market feels the impact and these games are simply no more. I want a Dead Space: Extraction sequel. It was brilliant and told a story beautifully. Maybe with MS’s Natal or Sony’s Wand, these gameplay elements can be put to use again, then all the hypocrites will come out of the woodwork! Yay!

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.

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.

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.

Over the past weekend I received two games from GameFly: Wet and Demon’s Souls. Wet is pretty fun. It reminds me a lot of Stranglehold which may mean it will get boring quickly. I’ve tried on multiple occasions to complete Stranglehold, but the game just got stale very quickly. Wet is a little different because it has many different game-play styles. You still ’shoot in style’ with tons of slow-mo. I actually decided against playing it most of the weekend, but hopefully that changes.

Demon’s Souls is pretty awesome. It is one I’ll probably hold on to for a while. Problem is, it’s hard with a real-life baby. The game is difficult, and there’s no pause. So, when little Hera cries or is trying to get my attention, I have to just hope I’m in a safe spot in-game.

I started playing Motorstorm: Pacific Rift. It’s fun but actually started off hard as hell. I was last and could never move on. After a few attempts I got first, and since I’ve been finishing in first. I hope there’s more to the game because this could also get boring fast.

SNK has announced some new releases. Or, releases of older games. I have Neo Geo Battle Coliseum which is awesome, but never got time to really get into it. Luckily, it’ll be on XBLA so with achievements available, I’ll be all over it. The odd thing here is with the new Metal Slug on PSP. I’ve got it on the DS because I found it cheap during a Gamestop sale, but I was waiting for the XBLA release that they hinted at before. It doesn’t look like that’s the case here. They will also be releasing the KoF Shmup, which sounds completely awesome. These are still Japan only releases for now – but I’m sure they’ll be here soon.

Did you guys hear about what the ECA did? They pretty much made it impossible to cancel their membership, which the link provides all the details to. It’s pretty shady, considering they also called their members ‘finicky’ among other things. Most people signed up for the discount benefits, which is a valid reason, but I avoided them because I never liked them. I hadn’t really seen them do anything to warrant any position as a real pro-gaming entity. (Or maybe I simply missed something?) I wrote them off as a simple money-making business. And I was right. It’s good too, because gamers (especially on the internet) are vocal enough to call out what’s going on.

I would like to be proven otherwise if there’s factual evidence out there to support it. I’d like something like this to be real.

Colony of Gamers has started their 2009 game award polls. While you have to be a member to vote and discuss, I think it’s a good discussion to have on here that may sum up the heart of the gaming community. CoG consists of gamers. Whether they even have time to play any more, or have a specific bias, the passion is there.

My favorite poll so far is Most Disappointing Game, which I think goes a long way for games this year. I personally chose Scribblenauts, as while fun, it didn’t turn out at all like many thought it would.

Anyway, hit up the link to read what I consider the heart of the online gaming community think of this year’s games.

I spent most of the Holiday gaming. Borderlands DLC, MW2, NSMB Wii, Bad Company, Far Cry 2, and Midnight Club LA.

I completed NSMB Wii (except for some of the secret stuff) and I absolutely loved it. Like I said previously, not full of good secrets like previous games, but still a ton of fun and very challenging. If you value your relationship with anyone, don’t play multiplayer with them. Find someone off the street or an enemy.

Borderlands DLC…not really worth $10. At level 50, and content with that, it was a breeze. Plus, not really much new. Just a few missions and achievements. DLC needs cooler new shit to find, as well as leveling. I mean, with such a cool looking area and enemies, it really had no point to it. I did the whole thing co-op with Sean in two days. One day when we started, stopped when we were bored, and completed it the next day just to get it done.

Far Cry 2 is a pretty neat game. I originally played it on the 360 back near release, but found the controls to be terrible. On the PC, the controls are great. Problem is with widescreen. It apparently released broken – cropped like Bioshock – then they patched a fix. Too bad by then no one cared, because all they did was stretch the 4:3 on the sides. It looks bad. But playable. It’s also a game that requires a lot of time. I may need to just get through Crysis Warhead before getting to Far Cry 2. There’s a lot of traveling and atmosphere to immerse yourself in.

There has been some pretty wicked Black Friday deals out there. I apparently missed a $40 deal on Tekken 6 and the wireless fight stick. Damn. But at Walmart I grabbed Midnight Club LA with the DLC for $10. That was pretty much all of the shopping I did. Remember (actually, I’m not sure if I mentioned this), but I was recently laid off. I’m getting unemployment, which is actually good, but I’m not going to be buying games much. I got MW2 and NSMB Wii due to some selling and Amazon deals. GameFly is a lot of help for me, and with the continuing game dollars, I can still pick-up a game or two every once in a while. Actually, due to a Black Friday promotion, I got the new Motorstorm on the cheap.

And while I’m at it…

I would love to work in the gaming industry for a living. I’m not into developing (would like to someday), but love to just cover the industry. I’m currently looking for work in the IT field, but anyone out there that sees this babbling mess as worthy of a paycheck, hit me up.

After Super Mario World there really wasn’t a good side-scrolling Mario game. We had Yoshi’s Island, Paper Mario, and Yoshi’s Story, but these weren’t classic Marios games. Yeah, a few of the 3D games have been good, but nothing like the classics. Finally Nintendo released New Super Mario Bros. DS which did a great job of bringing all that back…but I wanted something on my TV. Now we’ve got NSMB Wii and it’s awesome.

As awesome as it is, let me go over a few things it could have: A real world-map. NSMB DS and Wii do the Mario 3 style of sub maps of an over-world. Super Mario World had the huge over-world that was fun to explore. On top of that, it had crazy hidden levels to find, and other super extra-secret stuff like Star Worlds. The DS game didn’t have these mysterious places, and so far I’m not seeing it in the Wii game. Hopefully there will be some crazy secret places hidden throughout.

Other than that, Assassin’s Creed 2 started getting awesome with all the different things that you can do. After trying a bit of all the different things, I kind of fell back into boredom with it. I still love the story though, and I’m sure I know in my mind I won’t complete it since I’m going to different forums and reading the spoilers.

There’s not really much in gaming coming out for the rest of the year that I’m crazy about, so for the holidays I’ll probably focus on Modern Warfare 2 and NSMB Wii. Due to being a longtime GameFly member, I got a good deal on Bad Company, so I’d like to complete it before the sequel next year. If time permits, I’d also like to play through the GoW Collection on PS3 to snag the trophies. The games are good enough for multiple play-throughs.

The funniest thing last week was between Penny-Arcade and Kotaku. Giant Bomb did a review of the new Tony Hawk, Kotaku posts it and advises they haven’t got their copy yet. Penny-Arcade slams them for waiting for their review copies instead of buying it like everyone else. Kotaku then defends themselves by saying they are waiting for the copy they ordered.

I just finished the MW2 campaign, and while mediocre, some of the surroundings were enthralling to a point. I think FPS’s need more of this, but not when you’re pretty much on-rails. I also received Assassin’s Creed 2 yesterday, but the game feels too much like the first. It’s slow, monotonous, and the controls are too much than they need to be. I mean….you have to hold down the r-trigger and A when parkour-ing around like a monkey. After playing both inFamous and Prototype, I can’t really go back to the AC controls. It’s just too much when it doesn’t need to be. The story here is great though. I might just chug along just for that. But at times slow, boring gameplay moments occur just to move the story along which, for me, breaks the pace of the game. New Super Mario Bros. hasn’t arrived yet, so I might just stick with AC2. I’m salivating for some plumber though.*

I’ve also been digging a little into Crysis Warhead, and a thought came over me. I would prefer playing on a gamepad. I’m kind of disappointed it has come to this, but maybe I’m just digging gamepads more. I will still stand by the Mouse and Keyboard for RTS’s, but for FPS’s, the analog dead-zone plus the use of look and strafe can still achieve accurate results. It’s just done in a different manner.

Speaking of PC, I have the Red Alert 3 Premier Edition that includes a beta code for C&C4. Unfortunately, there;s some bug or error that won’t allow me to download the beta. So I sit here in wait, crying while clutching my Chrono Legionnaire (got that from the Red Alert 2 Special Edition).

For the weekend, if I still don’t have Mario, I might go back to Frontlines. MW2 is making me want to go play the superior online FPS. The single-player on that is pretty wicked too. From Chad’s previous post, I’d like to play through Frontlines again to earn the rest of the achievements.

*I could have deleted that sentence but it is funny. I have no fetishes for plumbers. Although…

I initially liked the idea of no party-chat in most matchmaking games. This way, the whole team can talk and strategize.

LOL

Who the fuck am I kidding? This is Modern Warfare 2!

Now I have to listen to these people. Half the time I’m being called a n****r, the other half a f*g. Usually since I’m playing with my bro in a party, it’s just us as a squad strategizing. Now, we have to try to communicate over 50 Cent blasting in the background, or hearing a delay of the game through someone who sits two feet from his sound system. This ruins the experience and pretty much confines Sean and I to Ground War. Games turn out to be spousal arguments which are over nothing; only continuing to one-up the other – to have the last word.

Again, I see IW’s intention with this – and I originally agreed; but it fails miserably. At least give us the option to make squads and have squad chat. Frontlines and Battllefield allowed for this. I would think they’d figure out the crap people have to go through. Do they not care? Trying to spark another controversy? How much does it suck to not have your party get into the game, and not hear from them because it switched over to game chat, only to figure it out in-game, where a quit is a loss? Big suck.

Aside from The Party Chat debacle, how about Spec Ops? I feel I’m alone. But what the fuck is so fun about that game type? You just…shoot people. Nazi Zombies, from Treyarch’s World at War, was a zombie survival game type that allowed for weapon upgrades and monetary strategy. And I’m not sure if this is a problem with the people I play with, or for everyone, but sometimes the network blows. We’ve played a few games where the opposing team’s latency gave them the upper-hand. Only to switch hosts a little too late for a win. Not sure why Infinity Ward is developing ass-backwards, but allowing me to have a title representing my name that goes by ‘Joint-Ops’ with marijuana leaves around that only feeds the jump-on-the-bandwagon-that-never-was crowd, is not the kind of game development I like to see.

The core game is still fun, but poor game design as a sequel. Can’t wait to see what Treyarch has in store! Future Combat?