All Entries Tagged With: "Editorials"

No Treasure To Be Found

Exploration in games can be a fun and rewarding experience…as long as the developers make it out to be. I explore for more than just something to benefit me through finding treasures or other secrets – I enjoy checking out the scenery at times and just generally prancing around the map to take everything in. But, you know, as much as I enjoy exploring just to explore, there is definitely a part of me that is a selfish bastard. This part of my brain forces my body to explore with the sole purpose of finding something to benefit me in-game – some treasure, some upgrade, some item. Or, perhaps there’s an NPC hiding just around the bend, off the beaten path, that might offer a side quest, or unique merchandise. There could even be a hidden area, a secret tunnel or an optional boss.

All too often, though, I find there are numerous areas in games that are there just to be there, it seems. There’s no treasure to be found, no bit of lore to learn, no hidden room, no NPC, no optional boss – nothing. While some games are worse than others, I noticed several times throughout my Mass Effect 2 play-through that there were rooms that were just there – empty and unwelcoming. There weren’t even enemies in them. See, that game’s missions are fairly linear, however there are numerous optional things to find along the way – including bits of lore, mission logs, reports, safes, data terminals to hack for credits and upgrades, you name it. Yet, sometimes you’ll go into a sizable room right off your main path, hoping to find one of these juicy bits of content, yet are left disappointed.

The problem is even more widespread in JRPGs. These games usually offer expansive interior and exterior locations to explore, yet sometimes expansive doesn’t cut it. Why make an area so big if you’re not going to fill it with things to find? Star Ocean: The Last Hope is a game guilty of this to a large degree. While I enjoyed the game overall, one of the things that continually nagged at the back of my mind was the fact that we had all these beautiful outdoor landscapes to explore, yet many of them held nothing but pretty visuals. Sure, there would be one little nook out of several in this large area that held a chest, but when you think to yourself, “Hey, if I go aalllll the way over to the other side of this area, even though it is horribly out of my way, there has to be something cool over there!”, then you get there and there’s nothing, it is rather disappointing.

While games in general should be more creative and liberal with content placement, I think RPGs especially should be held to a higher standard here. One of the aspects of those games over most others is to explore the environment. Sometimes just checking things out is enough, but sometimes it is not – it depends what kind of gamer you are and, frankly, what kind of mood you’re in at the time. I think there should always be something to found – not every two feet, but fairly liberally. If you have a huge area, and only put one treasure chest in it, what is the benefit to the player to explore that area? There is none. It doesn’t have to be just treasure, either. Mass Effect 2, although not being an RPG in the strictest sense of the term, was good about scattering bits and pieces of lore around, which I found interesting to read, because that game has such a vibrant and inviting universe to explore. I enjoy doing the same in World of Warcraft sometimes, especially in my heavier role-playing days. There are an almost unlimited number of books that enhance the richness of the lore scattered around the game world.

I would like to see developers take more of an interest in giving us reasons to explore, because not everyone wants to do it just for the sake of being there. This would be like driving to another state only to get out of the car, take a picture by the “welcome to” sign, then driving right back home. You can say you were there, but you never explore what the state has to offer. To entice you, various states or cities have commercials, web sites and brochures to get you interested in exploring their corner of the world. Game worlds should be much the same way, so to speak. There need to be things to entice the player, get us interested in the game world, give us something to find and a reason to explore. One thing I would think developers wouldn’t want is for the player to say, “Yeah, I was there, but there was nothing to see”.

Game Critics and Ulterior Motives

One site gives a game a 7.4/10.0. Another gives the same game 3/5 stars. And one more gives the game a 9.5/10.0. Which one of the three reviewers had their opinion tainted? You got it! It was the third one. But don’t worry, defend your site/magazine/show, because it’s all opinionated. One reviewer’s opinion is different from another right? Heard that one way too many times before. Let’s cut the crap. Some video game publications are being paid off by publishers to boost the appeal of certain games. These companies are being paid to cheat. To cheat the system and to cheat you all from a truly objective view of a game. And we gamers hate cheaters.

I want to start with a simple and basic real world example. Take a look at Spike TV’s Video Game Awards (VGA). The winners are voted on and you can agree or disagree with the fans, doesn’t matter. The issue here is not the winners, but the nominees. VGA 2004 had Fantastic Four nominated five times.

I don’t remember that game being that good. I’m sure there were plenty of other video games in 2004 that could have taken those nomination slots. On second thought… maybe not. If you take a look at the categories, they seem tailored made for Fantastic Four. Two of the categories were BEST CYBER VIXEN and BEST PERFORMANCE BY HUMAN FEMALE. It looks like someone really wanted Jessica Alba’s name to be mentioned twice that night.

The game ended up winning zero awards that night. So, if the fans didn’t like the game, who got this game nominated so many times? I don’t know, but his name could very well be “money.” Someone at the “Video Game Awards” must have been paid. This was just a blatantly obvious example of what may be happening at possibly some of your favorite video game review sources.

What has been shady to me lately is IGN. Take a look at this image:

Metacritic gives Army of Two: The 40th Day a 73 out of 100. Heck, we here at DualShockers gave it a 3 stars out of 5. Its average score from all the critics is a 73, and IGN has given it a 8.5 out of 100 and an Editor’s Choice award. I guess it’s just a coincidence IGN’s layout for the day was… Army of Two: The 40th Day. I’ll leave this one up to you. Maybe the reviewer really did like it, and it just so happens Electronic Arts is paying the bills too. I shouldn’t connect invisible lines, but it seems fishy and strikingly similar to an incident that has happened before.

One of the greatest cases of a video game publication being paid off by publishers happened in 2007. GameSpot writer Jeff Gerstmann was terminated from said publication along with several editors quitting shortly after, because the integrity of their reviews were being compromised by greed. GameSpot’s reason for terminating Gerstmann were never officially confirmed, but it does not need to be.

His unbiased review of Kane & Lynch: Dead Men gave the average game an average score. But at the time, GameSpot was being paid very above average by publisher Eidos Interactive, possibly to have the favor returned. GameSpot has a rich history of being paid tremendously well by publishers of terrible games. Themes and backgrounds of mediocre to horrible games have plagued the GameSpot site numerous times, and that doesn’t come cheap. We may not know the exact reason why Gerstmann was terminated, but what we do know is that he did not give the game a royal score boost, and we know several other editors couldn’t do it neither.

So, do we dare ask publications such as GameSpot is take a possible price-cut from their income in favor of little ol’ us? The gamers? My answer is: “this is video game JOURNALISM.” Journalism, not public relations and not advertising. Speaking as a journalist, we are here to serve the people. The early history of journalism began as the flow of information from person to person through word of mouth, the passing of pieces of paper, and community boards and books. It was hidden and undetected by influences such as the government, who saw that people knowing certain information a threat as it would give them too much power. In the same way, video game journalism should not under any circumstance write for the service of any other reasons besides the investment of a gamer’s clicks or $19.95 subscription.

Who could we trust?  Who can’t we trust? Does anyone even care? And what can we even do about it? Maybe all these questions cannot be answered. Who knows, maybe even our reviews are somewhat tainted. We get free games, maybe subconsciously we already feel the need to “thank” the publishers or have an already positive mindset towards a free game, and not even realize it. Journalists can be as objective as they can be, because nothing is truly objective. But publications that push and pressure critics to boost a score are the true problem, and it’s up to time and people like Jeff Gerstmann to expose them.

Why Iron Man 2: The Video Game Will Be Good

Can Iron Man 2 possibly ever step out of the shadow of its much ill-fated predecessor? I recently had the pleasure to attend a Sega Event where they unveiled their lineup in NYC and I had the opportunity to see firsthand what Iron Man 2 had to offer. I spoke with Kyle Brink of Sega who is the creative director of Iron Man 2 and sort of the father of the entire project if you will.

For those of you who did not play the original Iron Man title, it was lack luster to say the least. It was not completely terrible, but it was a game full of potential that fell way short of the mark. The biggest issue with the first tile was that you quickly felt as if you were doing the same things over and over after the very first board.

Fast forward to Iron Man 2 now and let’s see what changes have been made via an in depth look with Kyle Brink. First off Iron Man and War Machine each have different fight styles which are load-outs available at the beginning of each mission. There are three styles per type of suit and you can load up to two during a mission, which Kyle showed off a Dragon and Hurricane style. The fighting styles mimic fighting styles of a typical MMA fashion such as Muy Thai which gives Iron Man a different feel in the brawling aspect.

The biggest thing that needs to be pointed out is the fact that this title has its own unique story which is completely separate from the film. Although it is scheduled to ship sometime in April (prior to the next Iron Man film) it will not be based on the same plot. This is a huge difference maker from the original title as it frees up the team at Sega to explore a variety of different areas and enemies while not being bound to an existing campaign or storyline like in the original.

One notable difference is as we flew and hovered with Iron Man was that you no longer have to regulate the power settings to thrusters, weapons, etc. this management is now automatic and we thank Sega for this. Also brawling a mob is handled much more fluid now in the style of Batman Arkham Asylum such that you can switch on the fly from enemy to enemy using the Right Stick. Flying has also been revamped especially since Kyle Brink has strong roots in the flight simulator genre and it shows as Iron Man takes corners and hovers along with grace and style.

Another huge difference and addition in this title are the destructible environments. This is huge for me as I love to take advantage of blowing up trees and especially buildings in games and Iron Man 2 achieves this feat in spades. I watched as Kyle destroyed rooftops of warehouses, took out sheds and shredded a silo. This was all made possible via a new dynamic lighting that was implemented for the game. The dynamic lighting makes the destruction that much more impressive because once you knock something down the shadow it cast has to disappear and that is exactly what happens in the game. It was impressive to watch him take out walls and watch as the shadows shifted.

Also, Iron man now takes the fight inside of buildings. This is something that is a complete contrast to the first game where you only fought in open fields and spaces. The close combat feel is a nice change of pace and really promotes the brawler aspect and the differences in load outs where you may want splash or area damage instead of long range weapons.

So will Iron Man 2 shine? It is still early to tell but I was impressed with what I saw and I thought it was a great sign that Kyle Brink was very confident in his project and actually enjoyed playing his title to the point that we stayed a half an hour after the event had officially closed playing through Iron Man 2. In my opinion gamers will need to give Iron man 2 a chance and experience the flying, brawling, shooting, and hovering that is iron Man. Here’s to looking forward to an April date which gives the studio some more time to polish it up.

Hate Us or Love Us – Gaming Blogs Are Taking Over

Since the beginning of the decade there has been an online revolution, it’s called the blog. It’s given a voice to the voiceless. It has provided the opportunities that for most people would have been impossible before it’s inception. What started as something personal, became professional. Guys that liked talking about gadgets would eventually become Gizmodo, Engadget and LifeHacker. Guys the liked talking about games would become Kotaku, Joystiq, and Destructiod. Sites are popping up all the time now, and the bigger sites are scared. IGN is a perfect example of this. They went so far as to transform into blog style to reconnect with their readers who are slowly but surely looking at different avenues for their news, mostly sites like the one you’re currently reading. Times are changing, and you may hate it or love it but one thing is for sure, gaming blogs are taking over.

A couple of weeks ago, I appeared on an online talk show by the name of Counterpoint. It was basically an online debate that focused on and discussed recent gaming stories that were making headlines that week. I was on hand to represent my site (DualShockers), and after five rounds I ended up coming out with the win.

One topic that ruffled a few feathers was a segment devoted to N4G. For those of you unfamiliar with the site it is a social news aggregate similar to Digg.com in many respects, where it’s users dictate what’s deemed news worthy and/or interesting and vote it up by comments and views.

It wasn’t that our segment bashed N4G, but it raised a good question; and that was whether N4G is good or bad for gaming journalism? It seemed like a great topic (and title for the piece) at the time. Yet that one question opened up a whole new can of worms, as users of the news site took it upon themselves to not only defend N4G as if they owned it but also discredit gaming bloggers as not being journalists. After reading many of those comments, I figured it would be right to set the record straight for those that feel the same way and think that gaming “journalism” isn’t journalism at all.

jour⋅nal⋅ism

-noun

1. the occupation of reporting, writing, editing, photographing or broadcasting news or of conducting any news

2. Press

That is the way journalism is described according to dictionary.com, and if there are gaming blogs out there who do not fall under this category by the definition of the word, I’ve never seen one. Readers on sites like Digg, N4G, and to a lesser extent Gamekicker have this notion that bloggers are miserable overweight men living in their parent’s basements full of rants and sensationalist headlines and arguments. They think that many of these blogs require no skill or knowledge of the industry and are run by bias opinionated heathens, and to an extent they may be right, as there are both good ones and bad ones out there. However there are certain blogs (this one being one of them) that each and every day, provide readers with as much of the latest gaming news as they possibly can. We may be few and far between, but we do in fact exist.

Another argument, and it’s what probably separates most writers, journalists, bloggers, or whatever you want to call us, is our integrity pertaining to reviewing games. Recently, I had an in depth conversation about this with one of the Public Relations people I collaborate with for review products. He’ll remain anonymous for now but what I will say is that he works for one of the big 3. We were going back and forth about blog and site integrity and he brought up many great points, which should provide some insight. It isn’t just readers that are uncomfortable with certain sites reviewing games as game publishers have similar reservations as well, and it’s all with good reason.

Not to go back to my episode taping on Counterpoint, but one thing that was brought up during a behind the scenes segment was talk about IGN and the whole Gamespot firing Jeff Gerstmann (over the low review score on Kane and Lynch) debacle. It was the notion of once your getting paid, your essentially getting paid to keep your mouth shut. And while I agreed with that idea at the time, my Public Relations buddy clarified that a bit further. He said “larger sites have to maintain some decorum because their jobs depend on it, they’re less likely to fly off the handle about something related to a game…you can call it journalistic integrity” and now come to think of it he couldn’t be anymore right. He also goes on to say, “if they hate a game, they can hate it, but it’s their job (key word here) that they also try to find at least one good thing about the game they hate, a blogger on the other hand, has no obligations to anyone. He could theoretically have a bad day and go off on a game, trashing it like crazy and not have to fear about losing their job.” And while I do agree with him that there has to be a sense of accountability, with that said it isn’t hard to see that if you want a genuine review, you’re going to find it on the blogs before you find it on the bigger sites out there.

You may not always agree with the score your favorite game receives online, but that doesn’t mean the person is assigning it that score without reason. A recent one that comes to mind is Desctructoid’s Jim Sterling take on Assassin’s Creed 2. People (mostly miserable internet trolls) write him off as being sensationalist with his headlines, stories, and reviews, but if you take the time to actually read the writing before jumping down his throat in the comments section, he might just turn you into a believer. One of our writers gave AC2 five stars with plenty of reasons why, where Jim Sterling gave it less than 5 out of 10 but he explained in detail as to why he did so. Jim Sterling is not the only one as there are others like him who aren’t scared to say how it really is, yet as soon as they do, if the masses do not agree then they are no longer considered “journalists.”

If your favorite game receiving an unfavorable review bothers you that much, than maybe you should hear that a recent study shows that game sales are actually more dependent on word of mouth more so than advertisements and review scores. So when you do find a game you really like, make sure to tell everyone you know about it, instead of cursing out a reviewer you don’t agree with.

Every real gamer has that one game store they frequent. Not because it’s the closest or because they save a few bucks by going there. It’s usually because everyone knows their name, and they can go in there and shoot the shit with the clerk, as well as get some insight from other patrons. Well, us blogs are just like that game store, except for the fact that we don’t sell anything. We’re jam packed with real gamers, with real news, real editorials, and most importantly real reviews. If you want online propaganda and advertisements that determine how games get reviewed head over to the big sites.

A Hero Among Us

Throughout the history of gaming, heroes and heroines have stepped to the front of the battles and taken gamers right along with them. From Batman to Lara Croft, characters take down hordes of zombies and battle armies of robots without even breaking a sweat. Male and female gamers are represented by an array of characters to choose from in today’s gaming world. Bayonetta is a highly anticipated game bringing a female lead character into the spotlight to kick whatever butt is thrown her way. But as we all know, it wasn’t always this way.

Way back in 1980, Namco came up with the first video game hero. The round, yellow, munching on power pellets and ghost icon: PACMAN. PACMAN was everywhere in the 80’s, on t-shirts, cereal boxes, and even his own cartoon. The world had it’s first taste of a hero in gaming and

they welcomed him with open arms. Later on, Nintendo shot back with Mario, Mega Man, Link, and many others. But unknown to the rest of the world one game that was very popular would introduce us to our first female heroine in the gaming genre. Metroid was a fantastic game in the 80’s that earned rave reviews from gaming analyst. However, the one thing no one knew until they beat the game was that the hero of that game, Samus Aran, was really a female. Yes the badass Bounty Hunter in Metroid was indeed a girl. Small victory for female gamers but not the last.

Samus Aran led to many modern day female heroines in gaming, such as Lara Croft, Jill Valentine, Bayonetta, Ivy, Cammy, and Sonya Blade. In a genre dominated in the early days by all male characters, female characters are making their own marks on gaming and they are doing so with a vengeance. The days are here where a female gamer can turn on her favorite game and choose her favorite playable character, be it male or female.

Now in the 21st Century, characters have taken on an whole new level of being bad. We have characters from the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty series to allow gamers to become some of the best trained warriors today’s and yesterday’s military can offer. We have Batman from Arkham Asylum, Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, and even Mickey Mouse himself is set to wage all out war in an upcoming game. Modern day female warriors have taken over as well, such as Sheva Alomar, Bayonetta, and Ivy from Soul Calibur. We have Apocalyptic warriors from Borderlands, male and female. Todays games are becoming more and more equal in the butt kicking be it male or female.

So gamers, prepare for even more heroes and heroines in 2010 and beyond that will take your breath away. We seem to meet new ones every month. DualShockers wants to know what character you would create. Would they be male or female? What special skills or powers would they possess? And what would their name be? Be creative and explain your reasons.

2010: The Year of Questions

As 2009 winds down and 2010 approaches, we at DualShockers are excited about the great gaming coming this year. Mass Effect 2, Bioshock 2, MAG, and countless others are preparing to launch. HALO REACH will certainly be on alot of peoples must want lists. Dead Space 2, Arkham Asylum 2, and Dead Rising 2 will make a run for game of the year. God of War 3 will indeed be epic. A year of sequels it will be.

What is a gamer to do you might ask with so many great titles to choose from? From January 2010 to December 2010, the video game industry will swamp the consumer with must have games. Question is, will everybody have the time to play them all? Can you sit one game down to play another? That multiplayer game you have been tearing up takes a back seat to the hottest title out?

We see the return of Medal of Honor, reinvented to take place in the world of today, to try and take back it’s crown from Modern Warfare as the best first person shooter series. Can it make up the ground it has lost since the original Modern Warfare took over? Can Bioshock 2 prove to be as great as it’s predecessor? These are the questions put in front of gamers for the coming year. We here at DualShockers asks you the gamer one question. What game are you most looking forward to in 2010? And do you think 2010 will outshine 2009 due to the sequels? Tell us what you think. Better get the wallet ready readers, it’s going to be a big one.

Does Sex Sell In Video Games?

There are certain subjects, genres, criteria, that make us think about which games to buy. It is a common process of elimination. If you are more of a slasher game fan rather than a sports nut, of course the slasher games would be more of a priority. Over the years there has been an underground genre, an idea thrown into some games that , if it was not there in the first place, no one would have ever dreamed to get that game. This genre or idea, is sex.

Life is More Like a Video Game Than You Think – Chapters 5 & 6

The following piece was written by Brian Wilmeth, a 25 year old aspiring author (and gamer) from Park Slope, Brooklyn. He is currently working on a book entitled “Life is More Like a Video Game Than You Think” (working title), and in it he describes many ideas how life is basically one big game and we’re all essentially just trying to “level up” in a sense. We here at DualShockers have been fortunate enough to have the author of the piece send us a condensed a version, one of which we can share with our readers. It isn’t the chapter you will see when the book is published, but more of a detailed summary of what your can expect when it is.  We will run this as a weekly series, giving all of the readers out there an exclusive chapter per week. Check back often, as this young and hungry author seems to have a real hit in his hands. Enjoy the reading.

Chapter 5: Video Games and Simplicity

There are some quirky video games out there. I once played this game called Orbox. The point of the game was to get your square to a red square without falling off the screen. It was a puzzle to solve and each level usually took a lot of tries. I wasn’t really happy playing it and I wasn’t really bored either. It was sort of the “I’m bored so I’m going to try this game” scenario.

Another game like this was simple internet ping pong. The mouse was used to control the paddle and your swing of the ball. Not as fun as real ping pong, but definitely good for a screen. I even played Ping-Pong without the Ping.

When there are so many wonderful video games out there, why would I play these? Well, these games are very simple, and sometimes simple can be a good thing. Final Fantasy III for the Super Nintendo was anything but simple. There were 1000s of items in the game and nearly 20 characters, yet I probably only used maybe 100 of those items and usually the same 4 characters. I made a complex game more simple.

Not everyone likes simplicity. It can be boring sometimes. People often distract themselves via TV, work, or video games, to avoid simplicity. So is simplicity a good thing or not? In my opinion, if you can enjoy simplicity, you can enjoy anything. As a kid I enjoyed simple video games and as I grew older it took more complex games to make me happy. But now I find myself going back to simplicity and enjoying it all over again.

Another game I liked as a kid was Sonic the Hedgehog. The game idea in itself is immensely simple. You have a character similar to Mario that jumps, rolls, and runs really really fast. What an exciting idea! Now build around it huge levels to make the most of those attributes and you have a great game. This game was like the next step up for me from games like Mario and Mega Man.

Chapter 6: Items, Upgrades, and Life

I loved video game items. Mushrooms were one of my favorites. Touch a mushroom and become supersized. What’s the point of being supersized? Well, in the original Mario there was no point except now it was easier to get hit as a big man. It gave you a second life yes and now you could break bricks and access the fire flower. But why become supersized at all? Why not turn a different color, and stay the same size? Why, because it was cool, that’s why!

There are also real life mushrooms, but they don’t make you supersized. Some are simply part of a healthy diet and some make you crazy. I recommend the former.

I always like video game items. Collect this and all the sudden you have a special ability. If only it were that simple in life. Well sometimes it is. If you collect a gun you can now shoot bullets. If you collect running shoes you can now run with less discomfort.

But what is the point of this chapter then? In games, items are used to become stronger and more powerful to make accomplishing a goal easier. In life too, there is no way to accomplish a goal without items. We have books, computers, phones, and other items that make our goals achievable more quickly. Ancient cave man didn’t have many items. Maybe a club for wacking things. Try getting to the moon when your only item is a club.

As technology becomes more advanced, reaching goals actually becomes easier. I remember a day when making a video game used to be accomplished only by the most experienced programmers. Now with the internet, software, cheap computers, and google, anyone with the proper motivation can learn how to program video games. I used these tools as a C++ beginner and learned how to program tetris in less then a years time, without using my college education!

Cell phones are another great example. Now meeting people is easy. Before cell phones people had to discuss an exact place and time to meet, and if any mistakes were made they wouldn’t meet and would have to go home. But with cell phones we don’t have to be so specific. “Lets meet at the mall”. “Where?”. “Who cares, I’ll call you when I get there”.

MapQuest is another great item but has its drawbacks. The good thing about mapquest is it does the thinking for you. People don’t even need to know where they are in space and time if they can follow directions accurately. But if a mistake is made by you or mapquest then you’re going to be very lost. Which is why the new use of GPS systems is an even greater item.

Items are used as a way of making our goals easier. So make good use of them in video games and in life!

How to Get Any Girl Into Gaming

Whether its your friend, girl friend, sister, mom or grandma (yea, even dear old Nana too), getting any and all of them to turn gamer is (relatively) easy. And, in the end, you might be pleasantly surprised that not only have they some prior experience but also that they may end up owning you in certain games. So check your ego and follow these steps, and in time you’ll have a gamer girl on your hands.

Ok, so after some research and interviews, I’ve broken down the process into numbered steps to make it simpler and applicable to all. Remember the steps are a guideline and not a rule book; also it applies to any age female who can play video games healthily.

STEP 1. RESEARCH
Now don’t be scared and have flashbacks of pop quizzes and papers due for class when the word research rears its ugly little head. All this entails is simple talking to the would-be-gamer gal.  Ask the “target” if they have EVER played a video game in their lives.

If YES, get them talking and explaining the game even if you know that game in and out. Seem interested and involved. The point in this step is to gain knowledge and make the “target” nostalgic.

If NO, ask if they are willing to try one if it appealed to them and it meant that you two could spend some time together. (Remember, gaming can be an addiction, and any good dealer knows that first you give them a little sample of something they’d like.) In this instance nostalgia is irrelevant to getting the “target” hooked.

STEP 2. INTERACTION
This step is all too often made way too early and damages the taste for gaming that is vital for taking the “target” from indulging to eager. So now that you have the info to gauge the history vs. the willingness to game (ie: Step 1) it’s now time to hook her. Remember, 90% of controlling a person and getting them to do what you want is controlling the environment. So take the increasingly closing window of time you have after they are captivated to have them commit to a game day. The odds drop for success here due to the unpredictability of timing and attention span of the “target”.  So what  to play on game day? Well, if you followed the steps so far you have a vague idea. I’ll use my grandmother as an example here. Growing up my mother introduced me to Mario Bros. for NES and my grandmother played with me once or twice then too, so I know she is alright with 2D adventure games that work with two buttons and a D-Pad. So on game day I’d bring Mario Bros. (the original that’s available for download on the Wii), Namco classics for PS3, and Jeopardy (she loves the farking show).  So for beginners I’d recommend a simple action game, a classic arcade title and a family game. Now that your armed, go forth to the next step.

STEP 3. SUPPORT
I’m sure that you gamers out there have been in a situation at one point or another where your enjoying a game and a friend or someone in the room fracas stuff up by “backseat gaming”. You can tell this is a pet peeve or mine, but I do see the appeal to sometimes shout “Nooo! Don’t jump into the hole after a mushroom.”  But self control is key to help someone get along in a video game when they are feeling a bit unsure. Make it fun, first and foremost, then add encouraging reinforcement like, “Aww you almost got it. You made it further than I thought” and “Don’t let that little monster kill you, its just pixels and your smarter”, or whatever the situation will suggest. You can permanently mess up a virgin gamer’s enjoyment by backseat gaming or getting mad at them for not passing a level you could do in your sleep while having a seizure.

STEP 4. FEED THE HABIT
This is less of a step and more like the icing on the cake. So now that Nana or mom or whomever has had a taste and taking a liking to something, Sonic the Hedgehog, for example, it’s time to feed the need. She will have a birthday or holidays or anniversary coming up soon and first on your shopping list should be…c’mon guess. Yes, a game and/or gaming system with a  game just for her.  But the trick , like any addictive things, is supplying the same product with a taste for something more and better. So in the gift include the same game you introduced her too and something slightly more advanced to create the ladder to ascend in the gaming world.

So, if you follow these guidelines I’m sure success for your attempt to create a new girl gamer is in your grasp. Play it safe and pay it forward.

Splinter Cell Conviction – Go Big or Go Home!

Ubisoft is preparing to launch Splinter Cell Conviction on the Xbox 360 this spring. As much as I love the series, I just can’t fathom them topping the instant classic that was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. Some would argue that there isn’t a competition between the two, but with so many similarities between the the two storied franchises I beg to differ. My argument is simple: Splinter Cell Conviction either you have to go big or go home.

My love affair with Sam Fischer has been a long time in the making. He’s a man’s man, who doesn’t take shit from anyone. Not the bad guys, not even his boss, Third Echelon. We all met Sam during his debut in the original Splinter Cell for the Xbox way back in 2002. At the time it was a breath of fresh air for fans of action/espionage titles as gamers still had a sour face from the complete 180 that occurred while playing Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as Raiden. The games pacing was quite different, and had an even stronger emphasis on stealth than it’s Japanese equivalent.

Following it’s debut, the Splinter Cell franchise seemed like a fine wine, as it only got better and better with age. Each title that followed surpassed the previous in story, features, graphics, gameplay, and replayabilty. The team at Ubisoft has been on fire for almost a decade now. Although, their nemesis at Konami had also been hard at work too. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, was a huge success both with critics and gamers alike. It’s story was so powerful (let’s not even talk about the ending as my eyes will begin to water) that it was the first time that I can recall truly connecting to the character on screen in a non-RPG game.

That title was the perfect motivation for Ubisoft to take Sam Fischer and turn him into the tortured soul you see in Splinter Cell: Double Agent. With his family taken for him, he is a man fueled by anger and revenge. Through an innovative moral decision system the game kept you enthralled throughout, as you were constantly trying to keep  somewhat of a balance between the NSA and the JBA without leaning too much in either direction. The game was well received and somewhat of a treat considering it came nice and early into the 360’s life cycle.

Then came 4. As is Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. The proverbial 500 pound gorilla in the room. To put things in perspective, if you recall (and many gamers in denial won’t as they all get amnesia when it’s something they do not want to hear) following the launch of MGS4, Ubisoft had scrapped, COMPLETELY SCRAPPED, Splinter Cell Conviction development, indefinitely. Obviously it wasn’t for too long, as the title is just around the corner in 2010. It’s just the fact that they went to such lengths in utter fear that has me worried about Conviction. It’s not about exlusivity, as I own both consoles and am unnafected by that, it’s simply the lack of confidence that Ubisoft has in their title. Many large titles in this current generation have a production cycle any where from 8  months to 2 years and that makes wonder whether Ubisoft simply held off because they felt they couldn’t top Konami, and are waiting until people have MGS4 out of sight and out of mind before hitting us all with Conviction, the same Conviction that was planned originally.

I know that many will argue about MGS4’s lack of actual gameplay, as at least half of the game is cut-scenes, but it’s still hands down the best stealth/espionage game I have ever played. Kojima took the genre to new heights that may be just out of reach in this current generation. I have been getting more and more excited about Splinter Cell Conviction, as I miss playing as old reliable Sam Fisher. The news about the co-cop 6 hour prologue sounds incredible, but as I stated earlier this game better go big or go home, as the competition is now fierce. Anything short of incredible will be a letdown, and have gamers (360 gamers especially) left waiting for Metal Gear Rising.

Life is More Like a Video Game Than You Think – Chapter 4

The following piece was written by Brian Wilmeth, a 25 year old aspiring author (and gamer) from Park Slope, Brooklyn. He is currently working on a book entitled “Life is More Like a Video Game Than You Think” (working title), and in it he describes many ideas how life is basically one big game and we’re all essentially just trying to “level up” in a sense. We here at DualShockers have been fortunate enough to have the author of the piece send us a condensed a version, one of which we can share with our readers. It isn’t the chapter you will see when the book is published, but more of a detailed summary of what your can expect when it is.  We will run this as a weekly series, giving all of the readers out there an exclusive chapter per week. Check back often, as this young and hungry author seems to have a real hit in his hands. Enjoy the reading.

Chapter 4: Leveling Up and Life

I’m starting to believe that the reason I liked RPGs so much was because it gave me a representation for the correct way to live life. For those who don’t know, RPG stands for Role Playing Game. You take on the role of a character or group of characters on an adventure. In this adventure, the characters usually start out really weak and puny, but by the end before you know it, they are extremely powerful.

When I first played these games (e.g. Secret of Mana), I didn’t even know the characters were getting more powerful. The change was so slow that, I failed to notice a rabite (an enemy from the game) started to die only after 2 hits instead of 3. I love the idea of becoming more powerful as a character for some reason. If only life were like that. Wait, it is!

Those who go work out at a gym (not me) knows that muscle mass is built slowly through consistency and effort. It is the same with improvement in sports, health, and even video game skill. Of course it is not as simplistic. It is often more difficult to level up yourself and often has more pain associated with it. But don’t you think that those video game characters feel the pain too? Is it fair that you get to sit and watch as the characters you control get eaten to death by a pack of hungry wolves for the sake of leveling up!? No it is not. If you want to grow in life sometimes pain is involved, but it is worth it if it means you can grow to new heights.

In video games when leveling up you may achieve an increase in stat points, hit points, magic points, and other things that increase your overall abilities. Back in the day when I was playing World of Warcraft I had a blast leveling up. Leveling up was quick and easy in the beginning. At one point things became slower; I found myself at level 22 struggling to get to level 23. Finally at level 47, I put the game down. It was too much! Many of my friends reached the highest level, level 60.

And now they have what, 80 levels!? No thank you.

Why do people commit to reaching level 80 in World of Warcraft? I’m not sure, but I know, one reason may be the certainty of reaching it. You always know where you are on that path; the experience bar tells you so. It also always lets you know the experience you need to get to reach the next level.

Life is similar. I know in reaching new levels of ability on guitar, each new level takes more and more practice. That is why there are many who can play a song 90% perfectly but only a few who can play it at 100%.

And there are many people who quit a long that road because they may become stuck at one point and not know how to bypass it.

But what if there was a little experience bar for everything you did? You are now a level 13 guitarist and you are this far away from reaching level 14 guitarist. Probably two things would happen. A lot more people would be good at the guitar and people would stop lying to themselves about how good they are at the guitar.

It’s amazing how many people I see that over-exaggerate their skill level. I used to do this constantly. I would tell myself I was the greatest Mario Kart player in the world, and then when I saw videos of people online who would crush me, and was promptly put in my place. This is level 5 pretending to be level 15 syndrome and I think we all go through it from time to time. For me right now, I’d rather just be a level 15 then have to pretend I’m one. I think that’s why it’s important to be honest about where you are at with everything. If I pretended I was level 15 when I’m really level 5, then I probably won’t take those steps to get to level 6.

I think a lot of people quit also because they see a level 60 guitarist (or anything) and they say to themselves, I’ll never be that good, might as well quit now. What they don’t realize is they can get that good; they just have to go through level 1, level 2, level 3, but people often want to go to level 60 overnight.

I have a friend who was like this. He was once complaining to me about how bad he was with women, and I mentioned all the improvements he made over the last year. “But you actually went on several dates, before you weren’t doing that at all!”. “Yeah but I’m not having sex, I’m not in a relationship, bla bla”. So I explained it to him in video game terms, “so you wanted to go from level 5 to a level 10 but you only went from level 5 to a level 6”. I think he got what I was trying to say.

Why the FPS Genre is Ruining Gaming

Deep Roots

My love affair with the FPS genre is deep and strong. Now I’m not sure if that’s because I’m a western hemisphere gamer or because I’m American and we simply love to shoot things, but either way I’ve been hooked since day one. My first FPS was the granddaddy of FPS’s, Wolfenstein 3D. I used to play on my PC (floppy drive, 66mhz processer, Windows 2.0, and 100% gangsta) back in 1992. After that came Doom, followed by Quake, and as they say the rest was history. Fast-forward to the present and it seems that with every passing day, yet another FPS is being announced. I’m sure that there are plenty of gamers that eat these titles up, and at times I am guilty of it as well, but when will it end? When will developers stop thinking that the only way for true immersion is in the 1^st person? I say the FPS is ruining gaming because it “borrows” from other genres but more often than not misses the mark. While it has developers and publishers of other genres feel as though they have to conform to the trend in order to sell games and this is where the problem truly lies.

The RPG Factor

Developers have this mistaken notion that if they include aspects from other genre’s into their games, it will draw in players that would normally not even take a second glance at their titles. The most recent are RPG elements popping up in titles that they shouldn’t be in to begin with. This concept of leveling up in order to rank up is good in theory but when you think about it, it makes no sense to have it in titles like Modern Warfare 2. FPS gamers are all about stats, not points. Not once have I gone into a lobby after a match to hear some one say “wow I got 2000 xp points last game.” No, most lobby conversations go something like this: “I just went 30 and 2…you are all my bitches”. I constantly hear people discussing stats like challenges and kill to death ratio but never XP-points. And when the game has a worthless ranking system (because you can’t level down and It is not a true measure of someone’s skill) like MW2, real FPS fans can care even less about said points. The system becomes more of any annoyance than anything else as I have all these numbers popping up on screen as if I’m playing whack-a-mole at a carnival. Hey FPS developers, want to immerse players with RPG elements? How about trying a story that is engaging, instead of the usual Hollywood action B-movie crap.

Multiplayer Not So Immersive

With the creation of the FPS genre came the natural evolution of the platform. People no longer wanted to go up against the computer, as there was no more challenge. Gamers wanted to face off against one another and with that in mind, multiplayer as we know it today was created. First with LANs (local area network) and then with the Internet coming into its own, it transformed into online multiplayer. To this day, and since its inception, it’s been online multiplayer components that keep FPS gamers coming back for more. Just like games continue to evolve, so have these online components. This current generation online cooperative modes have been all the rage, as they allow for you to take on the game’s A.I with the help of a friend or friends. Games like Left 4 Dead and Modern Warfare 2 (Special Ops) have pulled this off with great success. There’s nothing like taking on swarms of enemies with your buddy on the other end, but at the same time it starts to get a bit boring (especially if your partner is any good). And as far as getting lost in a game or being truly immersed, nothing says immersion like hearing your friend relieve himself in the bathroom while you fight off a swarm of zombies.

Mistaken Identity

It isn’t just the FPS’s that are at fault here. No, no, no, there are also those titles that think they have to conform to certain trends in order to sell games. A lot like when FPSs try to be RPGs, it goes both ways. In the past 3 years we have seen more and more of these games, and I’m sure there will be more to come. Some standouts are (but not limited to) Bioshock, Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Borderlands. Ok so two out of the four, have the option of 1^st person; but did any of the titles need them in order to be immersive experiences? Nope. Developers who make these types of games can take all of the extra resources and energy that they put into these 1^st person viewpoints and use it to make their titles even stronger. RPG’s and action adventure titles are all about engaging experiences, and when you can actually see the protagonist you’re playing as, it allows you to connect to the player and the world he/she is in even more so than seeing a hand with a gun.

Welcome Relief

This past year was a welcome breath of fresh air. With the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum, Uncharted 2, the gaming industry reinforced the idea that it is not a one trick FPS creating pony. The 3^rd person action/adventure genre is still alive and kicking. If done the right way it can be as intense (and definitely more deep) if not more so than any FPS title, its all about game creators taking their time to make sure it is. I can only hope that most game developers can see it that way as well.

Final Thought (yeah just like The Jerry Springer Show)

It’s not that I suck or am no good at online FPS gaming (Level 70 with a 2.21 ratio in MW2 if that means anything), it’s that after playing through the two action/adventure games listed above among others this year, I remembered why I fell in love with gaming to begin with. There’s nothing like sitting in your favorite seat, in front of your TV and getting completely enthralled into a story and truly connecting with a character. It something that doesn’t require the first person view (or a lobby full of screaming homophobic racist teenagers) to accomplish that.