Monday, February 25, 2008

Phil Harrison Resigning? Confusion will be my epitaph...

It's finally here: Sony's Swan Song for the Playstation 3, and no, I don't think it's going to be a great new exclusive series. Phil Harrison, shiny head behind so many videogame conference speeches not only belittling the competition, but also introducing all the Deus Ex Machina designed to catapult the PS3 to the front, is resigning. Rumor has it (according to Kotaku) that Mr. Harrison is joining third party software developer Atari. I think this is terrible for Sony, perhaps an action which is as good as a political concession speech about the inferiority of the PS3, and I'm about to tell you why. (Hint: it has to do with Sony's credibility)

The Console War Begins - First, we all know that Sony has struggled. Microsoft took a big risk releasing the Xbox 360 much earlier than the other two current generation (if you consider horizontal innovation to be a possible form of measure instead of standard "raw power" benchmark used by the industry, then the Wii would count) systems. However, Microsoft was able to all but kidnap the vast majority of third party support by displaying the system's power and potential. It boasted the same type of technology as the Playstation 3 - a cell processing unit capable of an exponential increase in processing power and system multitasking over the previous generation of systems as well as integrated internet technology, high definition graphics, and a legitimate branch out to other media outlets (TV shows, movies, music, etc.) They came in early, stole the game market from under Sony's feet, and have sat there laughing ever since, knowing that they have been victorious over the console which might eventually bring us Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 (the two "big" PS3 exclusive games prior to launch of the system, but if you think about it, their predecessors were not key exclusive games, nor did they look half as good as the prospects for the Xbox. Sony would have been smarter to get Square-Enix into motion earlier [prior to system launch] and get the ball rolling for Final Fantasy XIII trailers; a game which now may not be exclusively a PS3 title seeing as how Squeenix has openly criticized the PS3 for underperforming and has called it a failure of Sony's marketing team.) Also, it's laughable that Sony is not able to outperform a company who has released millions of defective units - several people (myself included: #3) are not on their first console!

The Third Party Vicious Circle - For Sony, this is one of the key reasons why the PS3 hasn't gone anywhere. Third party software developers, (think Epic, EA, 2k, Rockstar, Bioware, etc.) were convinced that the hardware of the 360 was the easiest to develop games for and given their presence in the market early, would develop for the 360. Also, the gamer base was seen to be diverse enough to provide these companies with enough means to develop exclusive game and exclusive series for the 360; some of these at the detriment of Sony's previous third party base due to the overwhelming triumph of the Playstation 2. Anyways, now the situation is that software companies will not develop exclusive titles or series for the PS3 because they don't see it as profitable enough. The irony is that the Ps3 is underperforming due to a general lack of exclusive titles and series, making the problem fatal for Sony. In a market where game companies are largely living "game-to-game," no developers (with the exception perhaps of EA, who is absurdly large) can afford to take a risk on a PS3 exclusive series. Proof of this, by the way, can be seen in all the gamers choice awards where the choice for best Playstation 3 game was none other than Call of Duty 4 - A Multiplatform game!! Xbox 360's game of the year was Bioshock, native to the Xbox and PC (not mutiplatform.)

So wait, what does Phil Harrison have to do with this? - Phil Harrison was the man who introduced many of the games designed to lift the weary heads of PS3 owners (that bought the system exclusively - many of the PS3 owners also own either a 360, a Wii, or both due to their financial capacities) is moving to a third party software developer? This is the man who introduced Little Big Planet, a game which was supposed to be the next big thing for the PS3 (which, quite frankly I have no idea why - it looks like some puppets running around, the game looks like N+ except far less minimalist and infinitely more hype) and he's jumping ship? With Kaz Hirai leaving earlier this year for another internal position and now Harrison, Sony's executives have all but said "Ok, so this one was our fault, we get it, we're slowly going the way of the HD DVD" and acknowledging their shot credibility. The people you see introducing games at confrences now won't be the same ones you've been seeing in the past. Why is that, you may ask? Because they've either left or been "redistributed" because they were failing miserably at their mission and although the Mythbusters can raise a sunken ship with ping pong balls, Sony's not going to be able to salvage the PS3 with anything short of a purely unadulterated (except for graphically, obviously) Final Fantasy VII remake. Isn't that sad, a remake is the only thing that could, while perhaps not "save" Sony, buy them time and perhaps credibility to gain some of their third party support back. Either that or they're going to have to give up on the PS3 and get ready for the next round.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Wii Review: Endless Oceanic

Against my better judgement (yeah, I'm a total game snob,) I decided to risk being bored and humiliated by purchasing "Endless Ocean" for the Wii. The following led me to purchase the game: Step 1. Read the Penny Arcade comic "Endless Oceanic." Step 2. Look the game up on Metacritic. Step 3. Think Step 4. Purchase... It is worth noting that Endless Ocean garnered a score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic - pretty good.

The game is about, yeah, scuba diving. You're a diver on the an Island who is asked to perform several tasks for the head of a local marine research organization for Alfred Thorman. These tasks range from "topographical surveys" (as near as I can tell, getting in the water) to acting as a diving guide for several people who demand to see one particular fish. There's also a plot element centering around a mysterious species of aquatic life that has to do with a member of your "crew."

The one thing of note is that this is really two different games on one disc - one occurs on the boat and the other occurs in the water. The game that occurs on the boat is awful, nothing more, nothing less. The graphics are terrible, the jet ski noises are not believable, nor do they alter in volume as they drive away, nor does it create any ripples in the water. Further, the character you play emotes in very mechanical awkward motions that are completely unrealistic.

Under the water, the game is completely different. The one thing this game really has going for it is that it's almost like an exercise in zen - it is one of the most relaxing game experiences ever. The graphics are far superior - not quite up to par with this generation of systems, but still pretty alright (I would liken it to a PS2 game.) The game itself is almost like the traveling element in an MMO, which I think is kinda relaxing and monotonous as well. This is a very niche game, but if you're down to try something different and relaxing - something that's barely even a "game"- this game is something you'd like. I have played about 10 hours of the game, which was enough to finish the "plot" element, but the game, as near as I can tell, will continue for as long as you'd like to play it - which is kinda nice. Oh, one thing to note, the soundtrack goes well with the game... at first... but it gets old really fast. You're going to want to make sure you have a SD card reader to load MP3s on, which the game includes support for.

Graphics - 6
Music - 7
Sound Effects - 9
Originality - 8
Replay Value - 5
Overall Composite - 6.2

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Frontline: Fuel of War MP Demo Review (Xbox Live)

So I recently downloaded and decided to play the new multiplayer demo for Frontline: Fuel of War. I heard that this is the second incarnation of the demo, the first being what I read to be an awful single player experience. However, not having played it, I had to venture out into the Frontline universe alone.

That being said, there's one thing I can can definitively say about this game: it makes you feel small. Not small like you're walking next to Yao Ming small, but small as in insignificant, like how one feels sometimes when gazing into the stars. I say this because, as near as I can tell, I made absolutely no difference to my team no matter what class/role I played. I played two maps (I think the only two on the demo: Oil Field and Streets) and this is true of both of them, but in different ways. Oil Field is a massive vehicle map. As such, tanks, APCs, Helicopters, and Humvees were scattered throughout the map. The driving system is clumsy at best; I spent most of the time either getting blown up by enemy airstrikes or running into inanimate objects... always time well spent. Running on foot is like playing Final Fantasy XI and traveling without a chocobo... oh yeah, and way before you reach your destination, you die and have no idea how. The map Street is designed for combat on foot, but it doesn't change the fact that there's something about the game interface or environment or engine that makes you individually feel like you're totally insignificant. Perhaps I'm terrible at the game... I'm totally open to that option. I guess in that respect the game reminds me of Tribes, except that Tribes had one element that this game is still critically lacking: fun.

Speaking of class/role - I think their idea is kinda neat. It's not too far off the beaten path with games like Team Fortress having been around for ages and games as such, but the differentiation between class and role - the ability to chose a role independent of a class - is something worth noting. The closest thing I would be able to relate to it is perhaps being able to choose your weapons and perks separately before each spawn in Call of Duty 4. However, the downside is that there is a loading period between the selection of said call/role and spawn which is pretty weak. No other game has a non-mandated respawn time (think Halo, there's a forced respawn time, or perhaps team hardcore on CoD 4.) Your classes are pretty standard - Assault rifle, LMG, SMG, Shotty, Sniper, Rockets. The roles are where the game gets interesting, there's a soldier role that allows you to deploy varying degrees of manned/unmanned sentry turrets after a certain amount of time, a drone tech role that allows you to use UAVs, an air support role that allows you to call in varying degrees of airstrikes on a certain location, and an EMP tech role that allows you to disable equipment and not appear on the map. Interesting, we'll have to see how it plays out in the actual finished version of the game.

My final words: if this game is going to compete with the juggernauts out there like Call of Duty, Halo, and Orange Box, it's gonna have to cut the loading time out prior to respawns (or at least disguise it by making it seem forced,) perhaps manipulate the engine so the game feels more responsive to the player, maybe decrease the map size and cut the player limit (which is currently capped at 50 - sure it feels epic, but it doesn't come expenses free.) On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give it a 4 - it doesn't do anything particularly well and doesn't really keep my interest long.