I am sad to state that this is my last 'official' blog. I might not update as regularly after today. Well anyways, enjoy more interesting gaming articles.
The Most Pirated Nintendo DS Games Are... (Kotaku, June 9th, 2010)
Oh Piracy, one of the most heated debates in Gaming. "Why should I pay for a game if it's there for the taking online as a free download?" In other words, Illegal downloading of games.
Nintendo is cracking down on this pirating, even starting with lawsuits. I could see why, they're losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
[Link]
I'll Take Achievement Trivia for $500, Thanks (Kotaku, June 9th, 2010)
A game for the iPhone, called Achievement Point Trivia, shows how desperate people are to get moolah in today's market.
This game gathers trivia about all of the achievements you can get in Xbox 360 games, and makes a multiple-choice styled trivia game.
"Sounds stupid, but then, picture the kind of person that cares about achievements and gamerscore. They're competitive. And if Xbox 360 games can't settle a test of manhood between friends, then splitting hairs via an iPhone app might have to do."
[Link]
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Death In Video Games.
Death is a strange thing in Video Games. With Phoenix Downs and Life Bottles and Respawn Points, death isn't usually thought out. It is mainly used as a device to move the plot foreward, set up a twist, or many other things.
One example would be the famous scene in Final Fantasy VII in which Sephiroth takes his sword and stabs Aeris, one of the main characters, killing her. Considering the fact that she probably died multiple times beforehand by the player's fault, she is easally revived by a Phoenix Down. However, the main characters completely ignore this item and just carry on like there's no way to revive her.
Death can also be a mechanic to make gameplay interesting. In the Fire Emblem series, if a character dies in combat, they cannot be revived. The story will continue on if the character died, having the character not appear in cutscenes. This is a great premise, and means you have to be careful in how you strategize.
One example would be the famous scene in Final Fantasy VII in which Sephiroth takes his sword and stabs Aeris, one of the main characters, killing her. Considering the fact that she probably died multiple times beforehand by the player's fault, she is easally revived by a Phoenix Down. However, the main characters completely ignore this item and just carry on like there's no way to revive her.
Death can also be a mechanic to make gameplay interesting. In the Fire Emblem series, if a character dies in combat, they cannot be revived. The story will continue on if the character died, having the character not appear in cutscenes. This is a great premise, and means you have to be careful in how you strategize.All in all, death in video games will always be confusing, especially in RPGs.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Pre-E3 Thoughts.
E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo), the gaming event of the year, is almost upon us, and things are starting to heat up.
The new Legend of Zelda game is going to be detailed there, but there have been a couple of possible leaks. According to posts from 2chan, a popular Japanese board, the game may possibly be out of the development phase. Here are some details.
Game is all but finished. Putting on final touches.
There will be a playable demo at E3.
Time travel does occur and it happens through the use of a new blade. (not the master sword)
Link’s hometown is much bigger than in previous titles.
There will be several “Majora’s Mask” esque sidequests.
Character interaction will be more involving than in any previous title.
The dungeon field dungeon method is changed, and one of the changes confirms a straight dungeon to dungeon portion of the game.
The current name of the girl in the picture is Adelle.
Combat is extremely fluent and innovative. No previous Wii title can give you a good example of it’s unique style.
The game relies heavily on sword combat versus other items.
There will be less items, but they will be used more frequently.
There will be another main weapon added for an alternative combat style.
The game will feature significant portions of flight.
Interesting details. This may serve to be one of the biggest mysteries and biggest games of E3.
(link)
Activision/Blizzard are gearing up for E3. They are prepared to show more content for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and StarCraft II. Although they may save the jucy details for BlizzCon (Blizzard's own convention).
Along with these two major events, hundreds of games will be announced and further detailed. Sonic Colors, for example, was just announced late May, and Sega will surely give more details.
E3 is shaping up to be an interesting and worthwhile event to watch.
The new Legend of Zelda game is going to be detailed there, but there have been a couple of possible leaks. According to posts from 2chan, a popular Japanese board, the game may possibly be out of the development phase. Here are some details.Game is all but finished. Putting on final touches.
There will be a playable demo at E3.
Time travel does occur and it happens through the use of a new blade. (not the master sword)
Link’s hometown is much bigger than in previous titles.
There will be several “Majora’s Mask” esque sidequests.
Character interaction will be more involving than in any previous title.
The dungeon field dungeon method is changed, and one of the changes confirms a straight dungeon to dungeon portion of the game.
The current name of the girl in the picture is Adelle.
Combat is extremely fluent and innovative. No previous Wii title can give you a good example of it’s unique style.
The game relies heavily on sword combat versus other items.
There will be less items, but they will be used more frequently.
There will be another main weapon added for an alternative combat style.
The game will feature significant portions of flight.
Interesting details. This may serve to be one of the biggest mysteries and biggest games of E3.
(link)
Activision/Blizzard are gearing up for E3. They are prepared to show more content for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, and StarCraft II. Although they may save the jucy details for BlizzCon (Blizzard's own convention).
Along with these two major events, hundreds of games will be announced and further detailed. Sonic Colors, for example, was just announced late May, and Sega will surely give more details.
E3 is shaping up to be an interesting and worthwhile event to watch.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Games in the Movies, Volume 2
IN THE WRONG: The Resident Evil series (2002-2010?)
It pains me so much to write about this movie series. I wanted to like it, I really did. The first movie, titled just Resident Evil (2002) was alright, taking a few liberties but following a Resident Evil-eske plot, but it lost a lot of what made it Resident Evil. The sequel, Resident Evil Apocalypse (2004), further expanded on the plot of the first movie, losing almost everything that was Resident Evil sans names. The third movie, Resident Evil Extinction (2007), lost everything that had to do with Resident Evil. Not even the names could take it apart from any other generic zombie movie nowadays.
The first thing I would like to adress is the character development. The games had a sense of creating characters that are both lucky and not afraid to show their flaws. For example, the heroine of the first movie, Jill Valentine, was a special forces officer, but was very nervous when it came to the attacks of the zombies. The movie version of this character was more of a gun-toting badass than anything else. In the movie, they introduced a new character named Alice, which served nothing but a superhuman that could do more action movie retardation. The characters themselves completely tore the movie apart.
Another thing I would like to mention are the settings. The first movie was going in the right for having it take place in a mansion, a la the games. After that, they tried to bring it into the city itself, a homage to the second and third games. This was still understandable, but Racoon City is suppossed to be a smaller town, not a bustling metropolis. The third movie turned it into a wasteland. You heard me right, a wasteland. This was a wild turn, and helped it break from the games and have barely anything to do with them. Great job writer and/or director.
Fun fact: The writer and director didn't play the games, and only followed plot summaries. Huh, maybe THAT'S why these were trainwrecks. And the funny thing is that these are actually doing well in the theatres, well enough to get a 4th movie, Resident Evil Afterlife (2010). I'm going to go see that movie JUST to see how bad it is.
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