Who doesn’t like Ninjas? Really, I have a hard time imagining anyone who doesn’t. I can understand if you feel indifferent towards them, but dislike? Only Samurai, their natural enemy, can truly claim to dislike the humble Ninja. This, I imagine, is why they have been found as regular heroes of the video game genre. From the classic Shinobi, to modern day examples like the Ninja Gaiden series or Ninja Blade; Ninjas can be found everywhere in the video game world.
Unfortunately, the more recent examples seem a bit awful. Having recently played the demo of Ninja Blade on my 360, I have to say that while it looks visually pleasing (it can at times feel like a ride), the game play is rather typical. Lots of monsters, various swords to choose from, magic powers and a poorly designed story. So despite the always wise choice of involving Ninjas, the game seems to be otherwise lacking in quality.
There is a strain of gaming experiences that started in the era of the PS2, a strain that seems to basically be the same game with new imagery. This game experience seems to be the one that is tagged onto just about every film tie-in game. Third person view, plenty of hordes to hack through and little more innovation that a three-slot toaster. These games all feel the same. Just look at the now dated Return of the King on the PS2 and compare it to The Lord of the Rings: Conquest on the 360. They are painfully similar games with little difference in actual game play experience.
Returning to our Ninja theme of the day, I’d like to direct your attention to Ninja Gaiden 2 on the 360. Check this game out- fun but, as described above, samey. Now, moving away from Ninjutsu to the more mainstream Kung Fu, have a look at the film tie-in game Kung Fu Panda. These two feel as if they are re-skins of the same game. One involves adult content and the other is targeted at kids, but look at the game play principles. You have to run about killing opponents using a stock set of simple combat moves or spells and when those opponents are defeated they release orbs that recharge both your “mana” and health. Now you may have already read about my feelings on the simplification of health management in action games, but in any case- this is a fairly dull way to play. As for this repetitive system of game design, maybe once, fine; but when every other film tie-in or run of the mill action game uses precisely the same system, I’d say things are getting a bit desperate.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Running Rings Around Microsoft
When I bought my Xbox 360 I had to be realistic in accepting a few simple truths. First, I knew that a small chunk of my soul was forfeit, having become prey to the beast we call Microsoft. Second, I was made aware of the fairly heavy failure rate of the console and had to be ready for the inevitable onset of what we have grown to call the “red ring of death”.
The problem is that I wasn’t ready for it. Like many I chose to believe that my console would be different, my console would withstand the tests of time. A few weeks ago my 360 proved that this notion was wrong and sputtered its last breath before proudly flashing that circle of red light.
I was told early in the repair order process that I could not have it repaired for free as I was not the original owner. Thankfully, however, the online booking system disagreed and charged nothing. Hurrah. I can only imagine the man on the phone took too long to update the system with my status as a second hand owner.
Now if I were to review the repair service at Microsoft I would have to say that it did a pretty good job for me. You need only search “360 repair” to find forums swarming with irate console owners waiting weeks for their 360 to be returned. In my case the whole process was rather efficient.
There was no part of the process that I couldn’t track online- even the position of the shipment (I grant that this aspect wasn’t due to Microsoft). Once the ailing console arrived at its destination it was only about four days before it was heading back to me. I was able to track when the repair team had finished and when the machine was back in the post- all very slick. Overall it was about a week and a half after I sent it off that the well armoured box arrived at my door.
The icing on the cake is that the console that was sent to me was a replacement and therefore shiny and new. Bundled in with a surprisingly apologetic letter was a month of free Xbox live usage. Impressive.
So I have to say that there are times when the repair process isn’t a complete disaster. Saying that you may want to look at the other side of the coin and check out some of the horror stories out there; there is definitely a lot of inconsistency in the quality of the service.
The problem is that I wasn’t ready for it. Like many I chose to believe that my console would be different, my console would withstand the tests of time. A few weeks ago my 360 proved that this notion was wrong and sputtered its last breath before proudly flashing that circle of red light.
I was told early in the repair order process that I could not have it repaired for free as I was not the original owner. Thankfully, however, the online booking system disagreed and charged nothing. Hurrah. I can only imagine the man on the phone took too long to update the system with my status as a second hand owner.
Now if I were to review the repair service at Microsoft I would have to say that it did a pretty good job for me. You need only search “360 repair” to find forums swarming with irate console owners waiting weeks for their 360 to be returned. In my case the whole process was rather efficient.
There was no part of the process that I couldn’t track online- even the position of the shipment (I grant that this aspect wasn’t due to Microsoft). Once the ailing console arrived at its destination it was only about four days before it was heading back to me. I was able to track when the repair team had finished and when the machine was back in the post- all very slick. Overall it was about a week and a half after I sent it off that the well armoured box arrived at my door.
The icing on the cake is that the console that was sent to me was a replacement and therefore shiny and new. Bundled in with a surprisingly apologetic letter was a month of free Xbox live usage. Impressive.
So I have to say that there are times when the repair process isn’t a complete disaster. Saying that you may want to look at the other side of the coin and check out some of the horror stories out there; there is definitely a lot of inconsistency in the quality of the service.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
All Of This Has Happened Before...
I have just finished watching the last episode of the re-imagined series of Battlestar Galactica. It’s no secret that I enjoy this series, in fact I think it’s fantastic, but having now seen it end I feel it is a good time to reflect. In its conclusion the series has achieved that wonderful circular completeness that so few television series manage to reach. It is this completeness that, for me, makes a story move from being an enjoyable, maybe very well designed experience, to being an artefact to be treasured and admired. This makes the end of a good story bittersweet; you can never have that new experience again, but it becomes a pleasure to know it from start to end.
The iconic words of the series “all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again” are all too relevant; the concept is, of course, descended from the 1970s series. I think it’s time to let this connection go. The similarities between these two series are entirely superficial; the title, the basic concept, the character names, yes these are shared, but beyond that the shows are not even of the same genre.
The original was a space opera, something we have become all too comfortable with. You don’t have to go far to find one; lasers, cheesy villains, archetypal heroes and a plethora of science fiction clichés ranging from time travel to parallel universes. As you may know if you have read Ronald D. Moore’s essay on the subject, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica is a human drama set in the context of a science fiction environment. He calls it naturalistic science fiction, and it is a powerful new sub-genre. Read his essay for more detail here but for me it comes down to two facts: I can believe the re-imagining; it has a tactile and logical feel behind the science fiction elements that make them seem realistic (no phasers here), and the original series was about spectacle; the re-imagining is about people.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the original when I was younger, but I think the new series is in an entirely different league. If you haven’t seen this yet then I highly recommend you “jump” on the band wagon, Battlestar Galactica has been moving, cerebral and in its completion a landmark for the evolution of the science fiction genre.
The iconic words of the series “all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again” are all too relevant; the concept is, of course, descended from the 1970s series. I think it’s time to let this connection go. The similarities between these two series are entirely superficial; the title, the basic concept, the character names, yes these are shared, but beyond that the shows are not even of the same genre.
The original was a space opera, something we have become all too comfortable with. You don’t have to go far to find one; lasers, cheesy villains, archetypal heroes and a plethora of science fiction clichés ranging from time travel to parallel universes. As you may know if you have read Ronald D. Moore’s essay on the subject, the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica is a human drama set in the context of a science fiction environment. He calls it naturalistic science fiction, and it is a powerful new sub-genre. Read his essay for more detail here but for me it comes down to two facts: I can believe the re-imagining; it has a tactile and logical feel behind the science fiction elements that make them seem realistic (no phasers here), and the original series was about spectacle; the re-imagining is about people.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the original when I was younger, but I think the new series is in an entirely different league. If you haven’t seen this yet then I highly recommend you “jump” on the band wagon, Battlestar Galactica has been moving, cerebral and in its completion a landmark for the evolution of the science fiction genre.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
The Sinister Side to Pokemon
Half fueled with nostalgia and half with curiosity over whether or not it is still fun, I have started to play Pokemon again. Once again valuable hours of my life seem to be ebbing away into that apparently innocuous handheld device dutifully provided by our friends at Nintendo.
I have to admit it- I enjoy it. The game is absorbing and provides high quality escapism in a harmless world where the worst thing that can happen to you is being ambushed by a wild “Pidgey”. Today, I’m writing to explore the potential danger of Pokemon, however; call it a hypothetical threat analysis.
It's important that I make this clear: I don’t believe that video games are addictive. But if we were to assume for a moment that they are and look at the biggest victim of the media hysteria- World of Warcraft, we actually see only a microcosm of Pokemon. WoW, as you may know, has the player control and develop a character as they get stronger and “level up”. More items are attained and the character’s stats grow better, giving the player a sense of satisfaction (which is generally the assumed source of the supposed “addiction”).
So taking the assumption that role-playing games have addictive qualities, we can see a more insidious creature in the Pokemon franchise. Pokemon is a game where you, a pokemon trainer, go about catching the animal like creatures to add to a growing collection and in turn train them to be better fighters against other pokemon trainers. These pokemon all “level up” and grow stronger as time goes by. So here we have a scenario where instead of increasing the abilities of one character, we are asked to train many- multiplying the supposedly addictive factor by many times. Couple this with the now abandoned slogan “gotta catch them all”, which encourages players to seek out all of the pokemon, and we have a potentially life consuming game. There are now 493 pokemon to catch; that’s 493 times the factor that is claimed to be addictive in World of Warcraft. Unlike WoW, this is a game that parents happily buy for their children for their birthdays.
Obviously I do not believe that Pokemon is inherently addictive, nor do I believe that World of Warcraft is addictive. But while we’re accusing WoW of enslaving the minds of our peers, it is interesting to see what the same equation says about the supposedly innocent Pokemon, a game that is mainly targeted at children.
I have to admit it- I enjoy it. The game is absorbing and provides high quality escapism in a harmless world where the worst thing that can happen to you is being ambushed by a wild “Pidgey”. Today, I’m writing to explore the potential danger of Pokemon, however; call it a hypothetical threat analysis.
It's important that I make this clear: I don’t believe that video games are addictive. But if we were to assume for a moment that they are and look at the biggest victim of the media hysteria- World of Warcraft, we actually see only a microcosm of Pokemon. WoW, as you may know, has the player control and develop a character as they get stronger and “level up”. More items are attained and the character’s stats grow better, giving the player a sense of satisfaction (which is generally the assumed source of the supposed “addiction”).
So taking the assumption that role-playing games have addictive qualities, we can see a more insidious creature in the Pokemon franchise. Pokemon is a game where you, a pokemon trainer, go about catching the animal like creatures to add to a growing collection and in turn train them to be better fighters against other pokemon trainers. These pokemon all “level up” and grow stronger as time goes by. So here we have a scenario where instead of increasing the abilities of one character, we are asked to train many- multiplying the supposedly addictive factor by many times. Couple this with the now abandoned slogan “gotta catch them all”, which encourages players to seek out all of the pokemon, and we have a potentially life consuming game. There are now 493 pokemon to catch; that’s 493 times the factor that is claimed to be addictive in World of Warcraft. Unlike WoW, this is a game that parents happily buy for their children for their birthdays.
Obviously I do not believe that Pokemon is inherently addictive, nor do I believe that World of Warcraft is addictive. But while we’re accusing WoW of enslaving the minds of our peers, it is interesting to see what the same equation says about the supposedly innocent Pokemon, a game that is mainly targeted at children.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Whatever Happened To Health Packs?
The mysterious disappearance of medicine in games
I have come to the conclusion that health packs have a massive effect on the experience provided by the FPS genre. I have been playing through Half Life again and I found it to be a totally different kind of game to newer manifestations of the genre like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. All three are first person shooters but one stands out from the others. You see Half Life has health packs and this changes everything. It gives the player a sense of danger, that when health is low they have to be extra careful. Unfortunately the disappearance of health packs is only the spearhead of a change occurring in games of various genres.
The Halo effect
Halo is the mastermind to this strange evolution in games; it drives towards a simpler style of FPS. Where in something like Half Life you must seek out everything from ammo to medicine (always keeping a keen eye on your health count), in Halo, the player is equipped with a shield. The shield will be depleted by enemy fire but will chirpily regenerate when a few seconds have gone by. Ammunition is also simplified- most weapons don't need replenishing, they need replacing. Seeing as the game is littered with enemies carrying replacement guns, this isn't much of a problem. Some like this new style, some don't. I am more concerned about its affect on other FPS games.
Enter a game like Call of Duty 4. This game is not a sci-fi and it is set in the present day- no shields. Developers have probably noticed that the "Halo-shield" went down pretty well with customers who prefer a simplified FPS. This leads, inevitably, to a system where damage isn't permanent. Strewn with bullets? Limb torn to shreds? Just jump for cover, wait five seconds and you'll be right as rain. This just makes no sense to me and I don't like the gameplay it produces.
The age of the simple game
I have come to the conclusion that health packs have a massive effect on the experience provided by the FPS genre. I have been playing through Half Life again and I found it to be a totally different kind of game to newer manifestations of the genre like Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. All three are first person shooters but one stands out from the others. You see Half Life has health packs and this changes everything. It gives the player a sense of danger, that when health is low they have to be extra careful. Unfortunately the disappearance of health packs is only the spearhead of a change occurring in games of various genres.
The Halo effect
Halo is the mastermind to this strange evolution in games; it drives towards a simpler style of FPS. Where in something like Half Life you must seek out everything from ammo to medicine (always keeping a keen eye on your health count), in Halo, the player is equipped with a shield. The shield will be depleted by enemy fire but will chirpily regenerate when a few seconds have gone by. Ammunition is also simplified- most weapons don't need replenishing, they need replacing. Seeing as the game is littered with enemies carrying replacement guns, this isn't much of a problem. Some like this new style, some don't. I am more concerned about its affect on other FPS games.
Enter a game like Call of Duty 4. This game is not a sci-fi and it is set in the present day- no shields. Developers have probably noticed that the "Halo-shield" went down pretty well with customers who prefer a simplified FPS. This leads, inevitably, to a system where damage isn't permanent. Strewn with bullets? Limb torn to shreds? Just jump for cover, wait five seconds and you'll be right as rain. This just makes no sense to me and I don't like the gameplay it produces.
The age of the simple game
This leads on to a wider problem in gaming. It would seem that certain genres are suffering from a sort of simplification. Real time strategies are caught up in this confusion; elements like resource management and city building are toned down in favour of clicking races to build the biggest army first. Just compare Dawn of War to Age of Empires. Most modern real time strategy games seem to fall under a sub-category of real time tactics. There are still options, thankfully. The Total War series offers a nice strategic option.
Time for a better health service for our video game characters
Thankfully there are still options for the thinking gamer; RPGs, at least, seem to have escaped this strange evolution in the medium. But as for decent medical supplies for the upcoming video game characters, there seems to be little hope.Time for a better health service for our video game characters
Thursday, January 22, 2009
The Bus- A Curious Critique
While daydreaming on the bus this morning I found myself considering the captive audience the service holds in Falmouth; hundreds of students with no other means of transport. It occurred to me that I had never heard of a bus revies and therefore it is my duty to provide one.
I must admit to a strange and irrational disdain for the service; a frustration that surfaces every time a bus isn't there precisely when needed or when I miss one I had planned to catch. It is clearly the fault of the company or driver. They have been plotting for weeks to make me late for a critical lecture and now their evil plans have come to fruition.
I think this illogical spite comes from a combination of three factors; the crucial nature of a public transport service, the near impossibility of providing a bus at every minute of the day, and the fact that when I miss a bus I simply must blame the bus.
Putting aside these less than objective observations of the service, there are some things which really could be improved. They have a large, captive audience here in Falmouth and therefore they must have a high income. So why can't the buses get a decent paint job sometime? Why are the seats smelly and uncomfortable? Why does that damned ticket machine break once every few weeks? I want to see some of their profits reflected in the quality of service.
Next up: change. When I go to a shop or a bar I don't expect to have to provide the exact change for my product or service. Why then, if I produce a £5 note to a bus driver, am I greeted with a glare followed by "I don't have change for that"? Buses are not small affairs, I am sure there is plenty of space for a bit of change.
With all of this in mind, it is worth mentioning that the bus service in Falmouth is actually a pretty regular one; if you miss a bus there will usually be another within a short time frame. They are also, generally, fairly prompt; it is just the rare late bus that gives the others a bad name. There are just a few little changes that could be made, and I don't think they're unreasonable.
A very long chat about a rather everyday thing but I felt that it had to be done.
I must admit to a strange and irrational disdain for the service; a frustration that surfaces every time a bus isn't there precisely when needed or when I miss one I had planned to catch. It is clearly the fault of the company or driver. They have been plotting for weeks to make me late for a critical lecture and now their evil plans have come to fruition.
I think this illogical spite comes from a combination of three factors; the crucial nature of a public transport service, the near impossibility of providing a bus at every minute of the day, and the fact that when I miss a bus I simply must blame the bus.
Putting aside these less than objective observations of the service, there are some things which really could be improved. They have a large, captive audience here in Falmouth and therefore they must have a high income. So why can't the buses get a decent paint job sometime? Why are the seats smelly and uncomfortable? Why does that damned ticket machine break once every few weeks? I want to see some of their profits reflected in the quality of service.
Next up: change. When I go to a shop or a bar I don't expect to have to provide the exact change for my product or service. Why then, if I produce a £5 note to a bus driver, am I greeted with a glare followed by "I don't have change for that"? Buses are not small affairs, I am sure there is plenty of space for a bit of change.
With all of this in mind, it is worth mentioning that the bus service in Falmouth is actually a pretty regular one; if you miss a bus there will usually be another within a short time frame. They are also, generally, fairly prompt; it is just the rare late bus that gives the others a bad name. There are just a few little changes that could be made, and I don't think they're unreasonable.
A very long chat about a rather everyday thing but I felt that it had to be done.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Unforeseen Consequences
I have just finished Half Life 2: Episode 2 and felt the need to convey my impressions of the series. In particular, I am fascinated by the method used to tell the story of Half Life. I think the underlying style is that of demanding hard work from the reader, and this is no bad thing. It relies primarily on mise en scene and is a wonderful change from being spoon fed by storytellers.
The other half of the genius is that the player is not obliged to follow the carefully planted hints throughout the game; you can get the gist without them- the bad guys need shooting and the puzzles need solving. But you get what you give and if you pay attention this story has a lot to offer the careful reader.
This technique is by no means unique to the Half Life games but they are definitely exemplary texts. The story of alien dominion on Earth is told through posters and old newspapers talking of the "seven hour war", through perfectly chosen chapter titles that reflect some subtle event in the upcoming scenes, through background chatter between people on the streets and through the eerie playgrounds, absent of children. It all adds up to a wonderfully constructed dystopian future that you just can't get enough of.
With one more episode to come, I can't wait to see how the story ends.
Prepare for unforeseen consequences...
The other half of the genius is that the player is not obliged to follow the carefully planted hints throughout the game; you can get the gist without them- the bad guys need shooting and the puzzles need solving. But you get what you give and if you pay attention this story has a lot to offer the careful reader.
This technique is by no means unique to the Half Life games but they are definitely exemplary texts. The story of alien dominion on Earth is told through posters and old newspapers talking of the "seven hour war", through perfectly chosen chapter titles that reflect some subtle event in the upcoming scenes, through background chatter between people on the streets and through the eerie playgrounds, absent of children. It all adds up to a wonderfully constructed dystopian future that you just can't get enough of.
With one more episode to come, I can't wait to see how the story ends.
Prepare for unforeseen consequences...
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