A good story will often evoke an emotion in its reader, I think. Whether that emotion is happiness, joy, sadness, or anger, that's up to the story, but if played well, it makes a story memorable.
Some say that games aren't art, they don't belong on the same stage as TV or books. I think otherwise. Just as Law & Order could get me all angry that a murderer gets off scott free, so too can a game get me all emotional. I'm going to recount two such times that I felt emotion in a game. Feel free to add your own experiences if you wish. Also, the following will have spoilers for the games Homeworld and Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, so be warned.
...Not Even Beacons...
I wrote previously about the game Homeworld and the emotions it brought up. I'm going to expand upon it here.
In one of the first missions in the game, you return from an attempted hyperspace jump to your home planet of Kharak. As your ship returns and deploys the small fleet you've built, you see things are different. The scaffold that held the mothership is destroyed. And Kharak, that dustball of a planet, your "home," is...is burning.
As you view all of this and hear your Fleet Command talk, Samuel Barber's Agnus Dei plays in the background.
It makes for a powerful scene. Though at first it seems like Fleet Command is rather cold and unemotional, if you listen hard you can hear the emotion. The male voice cracks a few times.
Whenever I hear Agnus Dei now, I get goosebumps.
Farewell, Chopper
The other game, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, is a flight combat simulator for the Playstation 2. Unlike the previous game, AC5 has your wingmates be "actual" people. They have names, voices, and personality. But the 17th mission, you know them all well. One wingmate, Alvin "Chopper" Davenport, is the "big loudmouth" of your group. He's always got a comeback for anyone, horses around, but is a good guy nevertheless.
In the 17th mission, after a number of hard missions already, you're slated to fly in performance over the capital city in formation for a speech by the vice president. But as you're doing so, enemy fighters suddenly appear. As people are evacuated, you and your three wingmates, horribly outnumbered (and with someone sabotaging help, no less, from coming in), fight off the waves of the enemy.
As you play, it isn't too hard. There aren't a lot of environmental problems, if you stay above the city. But about halfway through, Chopper takes a hit. He's ok, but he needs to land. He tries...and fails. He dies.
At this point, absolute silence comes over. The music stops. No one speaks. There's a lull in the fighting, though it starts up quickly again. You're asked to finish off the remaining fighters. You can hear the chatter from the enemies about the change, and you can hear your wingmate Nagase grunt gasp as she tears the enemy planes apart.
This...there are few times where I have come close to breaking a controller. I was gripping the controller so hard I thought I was about to shatter it.
In the game, you're able to carry an absurd number of missiles (it is a game, after all). My plane at the time could hold up to 90, and I had about 50 left, I guess. I was so angry that I just let loose. By the end of the mission, I had completely emptied my missiles and had even blown apart 6 planes with just the gun my plane had.
But it was a hollow victory. Chopper was dead.
Though I cannot find a video of the crash itself, here is the aftermath.
Silly?
Is it silly to get worked up over a game like that? I say no. It helps immerse you in the game. And that is never, ever a bad thing.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Weekly Opinion - Censorship in Gaming
For the most part, I think that gaming has gotten by with minimal amounts of censorship. I'll expand on my theory as to why shortly, but I think I can count the number of games that have been censored in some way on one hand.
Still, the thought has come up from time to time. Various agencies like to take potshots at video games as they are an emerging medium, so I sometimes sit back and think that such-and-such a game will get people angry and call for censoring. But as I said, I can't actively recall any real occurrence. At least, not here.
Nihao
As I mentioned previously, World of Warcraft boasts a subscription base of around 11.5 million or so. A nice chunk of that base live in China. World of Warcraft has basically three "regions" for the game. There's the American version, which is available to, of course, the United States, Canada, Mexico and other areas south, as well as Australia and New Zealand. There's the European version, which, logically, serves England, France, Germany, Spain, and so on. Then there is the Chinese version. South Korea also plays, but I can't seem to figure out where they go. They may have their own server node as well.
Anyway, while WoW is just fine in most of these regions, it has hit some problems with China. You see, China has some laws or rules that prohibit certain things from appearing in games or movies.
For example, I mentioned in my previous post about WoW that there is a race of Undead (zombies, but sentient) in the game. You look reasonably human, but your skin is pallid and bones show at your joints and your spine is visible. Not so in the Chinese version. To get it passed, they actually redesigned the model to cover the bones. You can see a comparison to the right.
That's not the only change. There are numerous skeletal creatures that all grew flesh in the Chinese version. And another example, when your character dies and you resurrect, a skeleton of your character is left behind for a time. In China, this is replaced by a tombstone.
Reasonable Changes, Unreasonable Future
So far, I suppose you could say it is reasonable. A little anal, perhaps, but reasonable. What the harm could be in not showing the skeletal joints, I don't know, but each country runs itself differently.
However, The9, operator of WoW in China, has had some problems with attempts to bring the latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, over. They've tried twice so far and both attempts have been shot down.
See, Wrath of the Lich King involves players bringing the battle to Northrend, the northern lands in WoW's planet of Azeroth, to battle the Lich King. The Lich King commands legions of undead who are, naturally, in various states of undeath. This has caused quite a problem.
WoW Insider reported that the problems seem to stem from "Skeletal characters" and a "city raid." The city raid is a quest where you enter a phased version of one of the capital cities that has been attacked and basically remove the enemies from it. A fun, new quest that came with WotLK.
So far, The9 and Blizzard have jumped through a number of hoops to get WoW up and running in China. Though I think that what they have to change is daunting, they may very well do it, since there are so many fans in China.
Panda's Banned-a
There's one other issue I'd like to touch upon, since I'm talking about WoW and China and censoring problems. In WoW's lore, there's a race called the Pandarens. They are pretty much what they sound like, a race of humanoid Pandas. They started out as a bit of a joke (heard around 05:12) spawned by a piece of art created by WoW-artist Samwise Didier. They've since ballooned into a full blown race. But they've never been seen in the game itself.
Rumors have floated around. There was the rumor that the new race for the Alliance in the first expansion pack would be the Pandaren but China had a problem and so it was changed to the Draenei (I don't buy it). Some claimed that there is a law forbidding the virtual killing of a panda in a game, but that doesn't make sense either (I haven't found a law like that, and Pandarens
showed up, at least as one unit, in the game Warcraft 3 which sold in China just fine).
There is only one theory that I heard that I could buy. The Pandarens are a mix of Chinese and Japanese cultures. Many are samurai and the like. Some, myself included, think that the Chinese, who have a bit of history with the Japanese, don't like seeing a cultural icon like the Panda dressed in Japanese garb.
At the last Blizzcon, developers did mention that there was some sort of problem, but did not elaborate. I think it was what I mentioned. We may never know, though.
Theorycrafting
I think the reason why gaming has gone by mostly uncensored is because of the ESRB rating system used. Though some think that the system doesn't work (it does, its just that parents don't seem to care that the game they're buying their 9 year old is clearly rated M for Mature. You just can't idiot-proof everything, sadly), most businesses try and make use of it. I have actually been carded, CARDED(!), once when buying a mature game.
Anyway, I have seen every one of those ratings in a store. Every one but AO. Adults Only is, from what I have read in a few gaming magazines (I'd link but unfortunately they have since closed shop and I cannot find it), a death sentence for a game. No store will sell it. This forces a developer to pare things down so it will fit.
So in a way, the industry regulates itself with censoring. Anything that may hit an AO rating will edit itself down to M so it could be sold.
Until we see a mass-selling AO game, though, this is just a theory.
3/14/09 - 9:05 pm: Just a small edit. Came across an article on WoW Insider that sent me to this article. Apparently, if The9 can't get Wrath of the Lich King passed and up and running in China, they face bankruptcy. This may cause problems for WoW as a whole in China.
Still, the thought has come up from time to time. Various agencies like to take potshots at video games as they are an emerging medium, so I sometimes sit back and think that such-and-such a game will get people angry and call for censoring. But as I said, I can't actively recall any real occurrence. At least, not here.
Nihao
As I mentioned previously, World of Warcraft boasts a subscription base of around 11.5 million or so. A nice chunk of that base live in China. World of Warcraft has basically three "regions" for the game. There's the American version, which is available to, of course, the United States, Canada, Mexico and other areas south, as well as Australia and New Zealand. There's the European version, which, logically, serves England, France, Germany, Spain, and so on. Then there is the Chinese version. South Korea also plays, but I can't seem to figure out where they go. They may have their own server node as well.
Anyway, while WoW is just fine in most of these regions, it has hit some problems with China. You see, China has some laws or rules that prohibit certain things from appearing in games or movies.
For example, I mentioned in my previous post about WoW that there is a race of Undead (zombies, but sentient) in the game. You look reasonably human, but your skin is pallid and bones show at your joints and your spine is visible. Not so in the Chinese version. To get it passed, they actually redesigned the model to cover the bones. You can see a comparison to the right.
That's not the only change. There are numerous skeletal creatures that all grew flesh in the Chinese version. And another example, when your character dies and you resurrect, a skeleton of your character is left behind for a time. In China, this is replaced by a tombstone.
Reasonable Changes, Unreasonable Future
So far, I suppose you could say it is reasonable. A little anal, perhaps, but reasonable. What the harm could be in not showing the skeletal joints, I don't know, but each country runs itself differently.
However, The9, operator of WoW in China, has had some problems with attempts to bring the latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, over. They've tried twice so far and both attempts have been shot down.
See, Wrath of the Lich King involves players bringing the battle to Northrend, the northern lands in WoW's planet of Azeroth, to battle the Lich King. The Lich King commands legions of undead who are, naturally, in various states of undeath. This has caused quite a problem.WoW Insider reported that the problems seem to stem from "Skeletal characters" and a "city raid." The city raid is a quest where you enter a phased version of one of the capital cities that has been attacked and basically remove the enemies from it. A fun, new quest that came with WotLK.
So far, The9 and Blizzard have jumped through a number of hoops to get WoW up and running in China. Though I think that what they have to change is daunting, they may very well do it, since there are so many fans in China.
Panda's Banned-a
There's one other issue I'd like to touch upon, since I'm talking about WoW and China and censoring problems. In WoW's lore, there's a race called the Pandarens. They are pretty much what they sound like, a race of humanoid Pandas. They started out as a bit of a joke (heard around 05:12) spawned by a piece of art created by WoW-artist Samwise Didier. They've since ballooned into a full blown race. But they've never been seen in the game itself.
Rumors have floated around. There was the rumor that the new race for the Alliance in the first expansion pack would be the Pandaren but China had a problem and so it was changed to the Draenei (I don't buy it). Some claimed that there is a law forbidding the virtual killing of a panda in a game, but that doesn't make sense either (I haven't found a law like that, and Pandarens
showed up, at least as one unit, in the game Warcraft 3 which sold in China just fine).There is only one theory that I heard that I could buy. The Pandarens are a mix of Chinese and Japanese cultures. Many are samurai and the like. Some, myself included, think that the Chinese, who have a bit of history with the Japanese, don't like seeing a cultural icon like the Panda dressed in Japanese garb.
At the last Blizzcon, developers did mention that there was some sort of problem, but did not elaborate. I think it was what I mentioned. We may never know, though.
Theorycrafting
I think the reason why gaming has gone by mostly uncensored is because of the ESRB rating system used. Though some think that the system doesn't work (it does, its just that parents don't seem to care that the game they're buying their 9 year old is clearly rated M for Mature. You just can't idiot-proof everything, sadly), most businesses try and make use of it. I have actually been carded, CARDED(!), once when buying a mature game.
Anyway, the ratings go:
Pretty simple, right? Pretty much like the ratings for a movie or TV (hell, I'd say that TV's ratings are more confusing. TV-MA-SLV. What? TV-Mature...slave?). Makes you wonder how people just don't notice it, but that's a rant for another time.Anyway, I have seen every one of those ratings in a store. Every one but AO. Adults Only is, from what I have read in a few gaming magazines (I'd link but unfortunately they have since closed shop and I cannot find it), a death sentence for a game. No store will sell it. This forces a developer to pare things down so it will fit.
So in a way, the industry regulates itself with censoring. Anything that may hit an AO rating will edit itself down to M so it could be sold.
Until we see a mass-selling AO game, though, this is just a theory.
3/14/09 - 9:05 pm: Just a small edit. Came across an article on WoW Insider that sent me to this article. Apparently, if The9 can't get Wrath of the Lich King passed and up and running in China, they face bankruptcy. This may cause problems for WoW as a whole in China.
Game Review - Pokemon Pearl/Diamond
By this point in time, if you've spent any time online or with games, you've likely at least heard of Pokemon. But just in case, I'll give you the quick-and-dirty rundown.The Pokemon games take place in a world similar to ours but different at the same time. It is populated with hundreds of creatures known as Pokemon (name, by the way, is a portmanteau of Pocket Monster, which is what its called in Japan). These critters range from tiny (mouse sized) to gigantic (as big as a blue whale). They each have a "type" or two. Types can be elemental (Fire, Water, Air), paranormal (Psychic, Ghost, "Dark"), or just...random (Steel). Certain types have weaknesses and strengths (Water is weak to Electricity, Fire is weak to Water, etc).
You play a Pokemon trainer, someone who travels the world challenging gyms (dojos, basically) and collecting all the Pokemon you can. Inevitably, you come across some grand scheme by evil-doers and take part in taking them down.
Truth be told, it is kind of kiddy, but I feel it is a rather solid RPG. You have a set party you can swap around, you can set up the abilities your Pokemon have, and you raise stats. Sounds like an RPG to me.
Diamond in the Rough
Now that we have the basics squared away, a tiny bit of history. Pokemon has been around for quite a while (1996), starting on the old GameBoy. It has evolved as time has passed, adding bits of color with the GameBoy Color, adding full color and animation with the Gameboy Advance, and even adding in some 3-D with the Nintendo DS. Each "Generation," of which there are 4 (I'm not even going to factor in the games that exist outside the core ones), have a theme with their names.
The first generation is made up of Red, Blue (Green in Japan), and Yellow (which was released
later from Red and Blue). The second generation is Gold and Silver, with Crystal being released later. Third gets expanded a bit, with Ruby and Sapphire. Emerald is, like Crystal and Yellow before it, is released later and is a slightly edited version of the ones of its generation. But the third generation also released FireRed and LeafGreen, Gameboy Advance versions of the originals.This review is about two of the three games of the fourth generation, Pearl and Diamond (Platinum has been announced as the third of the generation. There are also expectations of a Gold and Silver remake, but there's only rumors for now).
Diamond and Pearl represent the current apex of the games. There's full color, an engaging story, a whopping number of Pokemon to catch (493).
Tired but True
The game plays almost exactly like the previous ones. You battle wild Pokemon to capture them, you battle trainers and gyms to earn money, you play through the storyline. Anyone who has played the previous games will know what to do, generally.
That, though, may be the problem. Though there are innovations, including the ability to trade Pokemon over the internet via WiFi, its all the same otherwise. New Pokemon aside, there isn't a great deal of change.
At four generations, Pokemon may be starting to get a little tiresome. I enjoy it, don't get me
wrong, but I dearly hope the fifth generation, which I have heard some rumblings saying its not off for a long while, has some new component that changes things up. Even something like an "Active Time Battle" mode like one can see in Final Fantasy IV (basically, though turn-based, things continue to move, so if you aren't on your toes, you could get your team killed quickly).There is one other problem I have. The Nintendo DS has two screens, the bottom of which is a touch screen. Diamond and Pearl make use of this to some degree, but it barely makes a difference in my experience. You don't even have to use it, in truth. In the future I hope they have it play a bigger part.
World Wide Community
I mentioned previously that you can trade over the internet with a WiFi connection. This is a great change from previous games, as previously you could only trade either via a cord or, at
best, over a short-range signal.However, though it is great to be able to trade with people from all over the world (I currently own Pokemon that were owned by people in Brazil, France, Thailand, and Japan), the problem is some people expect some absurdly stupid trades.
Some ask for an extremely rare and powerful Pokemon, and in exchange offer up one of the most common Pokemon. Or they ask for a level 100 version (hard to do unless you cheat, really).
When I trade over it, I generally just ask for a Pokemon of similar value, don't ask for a level requirement, and maybe occasionally ask for a specific gender (you can breed Pokemon in game). That's all.
But there's no accounting for the stupidity of people, so I don't really hold that against the developers.
Last Thoughts
Pokemon Pearl and Diamon are good games. They use a tired-but-true method, and if you're a Pokemon fan, you'll enjoy it. If you're new to the game, it'll be good for you too as everything'll be new. It could be a little daunting at times though, especially if you factor in being able to trade Pokemon from other generations. For stuff like that, I suggest Bulbapedia, the Pokemon Wikipedia.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Game Review - Kirby Super Star Ultra
Kirby Super Star Ultra, released September 22nd, 2008 in the United States, for the Nintendo DS, is a remake of an old Super Nintendo game of the same name (minus "Ultra"). With its remake on the DS, KSSU gets some upgraded graphics, adds a few new mini-games, and the cutscenes are now actually movies.Living Vacuum
Kirby, for those that don't know, is one of Nintendo's iconic characters. Maybe not as iconic as Mario or Donkey Kong, but
he's up there. He's the little ball of pink you see to the left and right. Not that threatening, I'll admit, but he can inhale and eat just about anything. That's how he takes care of whatever's going on in his world. Certain enemies he inhales give him powers. Swords, bombs, magic, the ability to turn to stone, etc.Mini-games, Get Your Mini-Games
KSSU is essentially a collection of mini-games. Some are extremely short, like Samurai Kirby where you wait for a signal to hit a button and try to defeat Samurai Kirby's enemies in a sword drawing contest. Others are longer, such as The Great Cave Offensive. But most can be finished
quickly enough, with my own average for the longest (Meta-Knight's Revenge, which combines all the previous content) being an hour or so.As a whole, the collection of mini-games works. They are all varied, both in difficulty and in goals. The Great Cave Offensive has Kirby running through several areas collecting treasure. Milky Way Wishes has him hopping from themed planet to themed planet (Water Planet, Fire Planet, Machine Planet, etc) to collect power to make a wish.
Short but Mostly Sweet
As I mentioned above, the game is kind of short. That is probably its biggest problem. I was able to blow through it all in one sitting, though I've returned a few times to complete harder things (i.e. beating the Arena opens up the True Arena, trying to collect all 60 treasures, etc). So there is some replay value.
I suggest this game mostly to those who played the original (I'm one, and I bought it for sure nostalgia value alone), Kirby fans, and those who want a good varied set of mini-games. You won't be disappointed.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A Life All Its Own
MMORPGs. Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games. If you've spent any time playing video games, whether its been on the consoles or PC (Mac too), you've likely heard of this term. It now sits alongside other terms such as FPS (First Person Shooter) and RTS (Real Time Strategy).
A Second Life, A Second World
But just what are MMORPGs? You can infer much of what it is from the last three letters of its
acronym: Role Playing Game. Like the old Dungeons & Dragons games, you create a character and play out a role. Though that role can be limited by game mechanics, you are often allowed to do what you want. You can roleplay (pretend to be your character in-game), you can "raid" (taking on hard dungeons with allies to get good loot), you can PvP (Player versus Player, where you and other human controlled characters combat one another), or you can just futz around for fun.
But you can do that in any offline RPG. The MMO, the massively multiplayer online portion, is just that. A massive multiplayer section. You will often find yourself playing alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of players on your server.
I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar
You can create just about any character in MMORPGs, though they are limited by game
mechanics. For example, in Anarchy Online, you could create male and female avatars of three of the game's four races (the fourth race had one gender). In World of Warcraft, you can create male and female avatars of all 10 races, though specific races had certain unique things (Draenei had facial crests, horns, and tails; the Forsaken were undead humans sometimes literally falling apart, etc).
So, you could be anyone. Even someone of the opposite gender. Of course, this can cause some...problems...in game, but it also teaches players to try and keep an open mind.
Online Anarchy
From here on I will speak mostly in terms of the two MMORPGs with which I have experience. Anarchy Online, made by Funcom, was my "first" MMORPG. I had tried out both Ultima Online and Everquest before, but neither truly grabbed me.
Anarchy Online is one of the few science fiction MMOs (the genre is dominated mostly by Fantasy style games), though it did have some fantasical elements (a dragon lived in a castle in one town, I recall).
Anarchy Online, though extremely dated by today's standards, is still worth a look. One can even play for free, though doing so causes the game to have some ingame ads on billboards
You are Listening to Gridstream Productions
One of my favorite parts from Anarchy Online wasn't even officially a part of the game. At least for a time. Gridstream Productions was an ingame radio station of sorts. You had to use a radio client to listen in, but you could talk with the DJs in game and even request songs. They had a number of DJs, many of whom had specialties. Former CEO Lan "Tarryk" Kozar often played hard rock, another former CEO "Veldron" played even harder rock, former DJ Otori would play dance and house, and so on.
Tarryk stepped down some time after I stopped playing, handing the reins to Veldron. Veldron has since gone "missing," though clues from the bio for new CEO Ashval points to him just being Veldron under another name.
GSP became big. Very big. Part of that was likely due to Anarchy Online having only three servers: Rubi-ka 1 (now named Atlantean), Rubi-ka 2 (now named Rimor), and a German server whose name I can't seem to find. RK1/Atlantean was the most populated, but they had a speacial bot script on each server allowing them to take requests from them all.
They also held parties. Despite the game having three sides, two of which were at war (Omni-Tek and the Rebels), they had parties where all were invited, though sometimes it was difficult to get to the club they were at. Most parties were held at their unofficial HQ, Reet's Retreat. GSP also were hired by numerous Organizations (player run groups) to help with parties.
GSP is perhaps the one aspect I miss most. Though it seems to have changed, having the in-game radio was a great thing, and made leveling and playing all the more fun.
I just wish they had it in the MMO I play now.
Welcome to the World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft, also known as WoW, is "this" generation's Everquest. Everquest, for those that don't know, was the 700 lb. gorilla of the MMO market. WoW is the 2 ton gorilla.
WoW, at last report, had 11.5 million players worldwide, and it seems to continue to grow. They just recently released their latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and though most would agree that WoW is starting to decline, it still has a number of years left in it, and at least one more expansion.
WoW is a sequel of sorts to Blizzard's Warcraft storyline. It continues from the events in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, and offered players a chance to change from the traditional RTS to the MMORPG. Everyone, even Blizzard, was surprised with the results.
WoW is often thought of as being in the fantasy genre, but it tends to be more of a blend of fantasy and steampunk. Thanks to the Gnome and Goblin races, there exist robots and machines in WoW. There are even technological ways to teleport from place to place (though magical means still rules it all).
The Draw
So why do so many people play WoW? And after so long? (The game was released in November of 2004)
Your guess is as good as mine, really. I play because I love the world, and even if some of the story is silly at times, I enjoy it. Others came for that reason and stay for the community. And others still...again, your guess is as good as mine.
That's the same draw with most MMOs, I think. You come in for your varying reasons, but in the end most stay because of the community that they grow attached to.
MMOs have somewhat become the last domain of PC gaming. Though a few exist on consoles (Final Fantasy 11 and the Phantasy Star line of games, to my knowledge), most exist on the PC and Mac only. That may change as time passes and consoles become more like computers. We'll see.
A Second Life, A Second World
But just what are MMORPGs? You can infer much of what it is from the last three letters of its
acronym: Role Playing Game. Like the old Dungeons & Dragons games, you create a character and play out a role. Though that role can be limited by game mechanics, you are often allowed to do what you want. You can roleplay (pretend to be your character in-game), you can "raid" (taking on hard dungeons with allies to get good loot), you can PvP (Player versus Player, where you and other human controlled characters combat one another), or you can just futz around for fun.But you can do that in any offline RPG. The MMO, the massively multiplayer online portion, is just that. A massive multiplayer section. You will often find yourself playing alongside hundreds, if not thousands, of players on your server.
I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar
You can create just about any character in MMORPGs, though they are limited by game
mechanics. For example, in Anarchy Online, you could create male and female avatars of three of the game's four races (the fourth race had one gender). In World of Warcraft, you can create male and female avatars of all 10 races, though specific races had certain unique things (Draenei had facial crests, horns, and tails; the Forsaken were undead humans sometimes literally falling apart, etc).So, you could be anyone. Even someone of the opposite gender. Of course, this can cause some...problems...in game, but it also teaches players to try and keep an open mind.
Online AnarchyFrom here on I will speak mostly in terms of the two MMORPGs with which I have experience. Anarchy Online, made by Funcom, was my "first" MMORPG. I had tried out both Ultima Online and Everquest before, but neither truly grabbed me.
Anarchy Online is one of the few science fiction MMOs (the genre is dominated mostly by Fantasy style games), though it did have some fantasical elements (a dragon lived in a castle in one town, I recall).
Anarchy Online, though extremely dated by today's standards, is still worth a look. One can even play for free, though doing so causes the game to have some ingame ads on billboards
You are Listening to Gridstream Productions
One of my favorite parts from Anarchy Online wasn't even officially a part of the game. At least for a time. Gridstream Productions was an ingame radio station of sorts. You had to use a radio client to listen in, but you could talk with the DJs in game and even request songs. They had a number of DJs, many of whom had specialties. Former CEO Lan "Tarryk" Kozar often played hard rock, another former CEO "Veldron" played even harder rock, former DJ Otori would play dance and house, and so on.
Tarryk stepped down some time after I stopped playing, handing the reins to Veldron. Veldron has since gone "missing," though clues from the bio for new CEO Ashval points to him just being Veldron under another name.
GSP became big. Very big. Part of that was likely due to Anarchy Online having only three servers: Rubi-ka 1 (now named Atlantean), Rubi-ka 2 (now named Rimor), and a German server whose name I can't seem to find. RK1/Atlantean was the most populated, but they had a speacial bot script on each server allowing them to take requests from them all.
They also held parties. Despite the game having three sides, two of which were at war (Omni-Tek and the Rebels), they had parties where all were invited, though sometimes it was difficult to get to the club they were at. Most parties were held at their unofficial HQ, Reet's Retreat. GSP also were hired by numerous Organizations (player run groups) to help with parties.
GSP is perhaps the one aspect I miss most. Though it seems to have changed, having the in-game radio was a great thing, and made leveling and playing all the more fun.
I just wish they had it in the MMO I play now.
Welcome to the World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft, also known as WoW, is "this" generation's Everquest. Everquest, for those that don't know, was the 700 lb. gorilla of the MMO market. WoW is the 2 ton gorilla.WoW, at last report, had 11.5 million players worldwide, and it seems to continue to grow. They just recently released their latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, and though most would agree that WoW is starting to decline, it still has a number of years left in it, and at least one more expansion.
WoW is a sequel of sorts to Blizzard's Warcraft storyline. It continues from the events in Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne, and offered players a chance to change from the traditional RTS to the MMORPG. Everyone, even Blizzard, was surprised with the results.
WoW is often thought of as being in the fantasy genre, but it tends to be more of a blend of fantasy and steampunk. Thanks to the Gnome and Goblin races, there exist robots and machines in WoW. There are even technological ways to teleport from place to place (though magical means still rules it all).
The Draw
So why do so many people play WoW? And after so long? (The game was released in November of 2004)
Your guess is as good as mine, really. I play because I love the world, and even if some of the story is silly at times, I enjoy it. Others came for that reason and stay for the community. And others still...again, your guess is as good as mine.
That's the same draw with most MMOs, I think. You come in for your varying reasons, but in the end most stay because of the community that they grow attached to.
MMOs have somewhat become the last domain of PC gaming. Though a few exist on consoles (Final Fantasy 11 and the Phantasy Star line of games, to my knowledge), most exist on the PC and Mac only. That may change as time passes and consoles become more like computers. We'll see.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Weekly Opinion - Rabid Fanning
Rabid fanning is just a term I came up with, right this instant. Was thinking maybe Fanboyism or Rabid Fanboys, but fanning seems to be a better term, I believe.
Though I feel that this has diminished over the last few years, it still exists in some way. There are fans of the various gaming systems that feel as though their's is the superior one, that their's is the king while the others are not fit to lick the scum off the boot of their company of choice's president.
Diminishing Returns
I mentioned that I feel it has diminished. While there is no way to keep track, to my knowledge, as one who often associates with other gamers, it is a feeling I've had. The "Console War" was probably at its hottest in the last Generation, with Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's Gamecube (some include Sega's Dreamcast, though I feel that was out too early and died before the others came into being).
Part of this change may be due to the games in this latest generation (belonging to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii) are reaching across platforms. Big hits like Grand Theft Auto 4 can be played on both the 360 and PS3, where once the GTA series played on only the PS2.
Though there are still exclusives (360 with the Halo franchise, PS3 with...actually I can't really think of any off the top of my head at this moment), the 360 and PS3 have become somewhat homogenized. But what about the Wii, you ask? Nintendo's targeting an almost entirely different crowd with their gaming system now, so they're almost out of the console race at this point.
All the same, though, you still have people who decry one system over the other, and refuse to back down. These people often refuse to listen to reason and back their system like a dedicated football fan backs his losing team.
The Why of Things
Just how did rabid fanning come about, though? The reason I think fits best is that this arose from kids from my generation only being able to get one console. Yahtzee of The Escapist said it best in one of his videos, but I can't find it (his videos are good to watch though. Be mindful, however, that he curses quite a bit, so his videos aren't exactly safe for work). Essentially, though, a kid could only get one console platform, and since he was stuck with it until perhaps the next generation, they either convinced themselves that the console was the best or just never tried the others and so never knew what the other consoles could offer.
The Outcast
There is one thing that most console players seem to be able to agree upon, though, and that is their dislike for PC gamers. Some just can't see the PC being a good gaming system, that the consoles are better. While the consoles have some advantages, and the PC have some disadvantages (check out my Piracy opinion post to see one such problem), the PC deserves to be counted among the 360, PS3, and Wii.
One can easily upgrade their own PC, thereby allowing them to continue to play new games as they are released, while console players may have to abandon their old platform in order to play new ones. This can be cost saving, if the PC gamer is careful.
But even PC gamers sometimes look down on their console gaming brethren.
Can't we all just...get along?
Why can't more gamers just see beyond the lines of their consoles and enjoy the fact that others are happy with their systems? Why do some have to be unhappy that former exclusives to their console can now be played on others?
I wish I had the answer, but I don't. While I would happily categorize myself as a PC gamer first and foremost, I absolutely love my Nintendo DS, and the Playstation 2 was one of the best gaming consoles, in my opinion. The Xbox line...I don't like too much, but eh, its there and people like it, that's good enough for me.
I hope that rabid fanning continues to diminish. We're all gamers. We all love the same thing. Why must we fight?
Though I feel that this has diminished over the last few years, it still exists in some way. There are fans of the various gaming systems that feel as though their's is the superior one, that their's is the king while the others are not fit to lick the scum off the boot of their company of choice's president.
Diminishing Returns
I mentioned that I feel it has diminished. While there is no way to keep track, to my knowledge, as one who often associates with other gamers, it is a feeling I've had. The "Console War" was probably at its hottest in the last Generation, with Sony's Playstation 2, Microsoft's Xbox, and Nintendo's Gamecube (some include Sega's Dreamcast, though I feel that was out too early and died before the others came into being).
Part of this change may be due to the games in this latest generation (belonging to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii) are reaching across platforms. Big hits like Grand Theft Auto 4 can be played on both the 360 and PS3, where once the GTA series played on only the PS2.
Though there are still exclusives (360 with the Halo franchise, PS3 with...actually I can't really think of any off the top of my head at this moment), the 360 and PS3 have become somewhat homogenized. But what about the Wii, you ask? Nintendo's targeting an almost entirely different crowd with their gaming system now, so they're almost out of the console race at this point.
All the same, though, you still have people who decry one system over the other, and refuse to back down. These people often refuse to listen to reason and back their system like a dedicated football fan backs his losing team.
The Why of Things
Just how did rabid fanning come about, though? The reason I think fits best is that this arose from kids from my generation only being able to get one console. Yahtzee of The Escapist said it best in one of his videos, but I can't find it (his videos are good to watch though. Be mindful, however, that he curses quite a bit, so his videos aren't exactly safe for work). Essentially, though, a kid could only get one console platform, and since he was stuck with it until perhaps the next generation, they either convinced themselves that the console was the best or just never tried the others and so never knew what the other consoles could offer.
The Outcast
There is one thing that most console players seem to be able to agree upon, though, and that is their dislike for PC gamers. Some just can't see the PC being a good gaming system, that the consoles are better. While the consoles have some advantages, and the PC have some disadvantages (check out my Piracy opinion post to see one such problem), the PC deserves to be counted among the 360, PS3, and Wii.
One can easily upgrade their own PC, thereby allowing them to continue to play new games as they are released, while console players may have to abandon their old platform in order to play new ones. This can be cost saving, if the PC gamer is careful.
But even PC gamers sometimes look down on their console gaming brethren.
Can't we all just...get along?
Why can't more gamers just see beyond the lines of their consoles and enjoy the fact that others are happy with their systems? Why do some have to be unhappy that former exclusives to their console can now be played on others?
I wish I had the answer, but I don't. While I would happily categorize myself as a PC gamer first and foremost, I absolutely love my Nintendo DS, and the Playstation 2 was one of the best gaming consoles, in my opinion. The Xbox line...I don't like too much, but eh, its there and people like it, that's good enough for me.
I hope that rabid fanning continues to diminish. We're all gamers. We all love the same thing. Why must we fight?
Game Review - Left 4 Dead
Left 4 Dead is one of the latest games put out by game developer
Valve Software, though developed by Turtle Rock Studios. Available for purchase of Valve's own Steam service as well as in stores, it has become highly popular. As of February 17th, it held the 7th top spot for sales from February 1st through 7th, and was the most popular game bought on Steam, beating out such favorites as Grand Theft Auto 4 and Counter-Strike.
I received it for Christmas, and have played off and on throughout.
Sole Survivors
In the game, you play as one of four set characters, survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Each character is different (essentially you have the grizzled war veteran, the bearded biker, the college girl, and the African American office worker), and reports say that each has a slight advantage with certain weapons (the girl, Zoey, is said to be slightly better with the dual wielded pistols, for example).
At this time, there are four "acts", each with four stages and a finale:
Bloody Finale
Each act, campaign, whatever you wish to call it, ends with a finale. They all typically act the same, though they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Typically, you get a chance to fully heal and prepare, taking defensive positions. You usually have access to a single stationary chaingun. Though this gun has limited range, it will help with much. You call for help, and then waves of zombies come, more and more.
The difference in L4D's zombies is that they don't shamble. Oh no, they're more similar to the zombies from 28 Days Later. They run, they jump, they tackle. And mixed in are "special" zombies. There's the Smoker, the Hunter, the Boomer, the Tank, and the Witch. The last one is one to look out for.
The first four zombie types can show up during finales and throughout the levels. The witch will show up during the first four maps of an act, but not the finale. The Witch is probably the greatest danger, as startling her can get an ally killed quickly, if not instantly. She can be avoided, however, and you'll hear her sobbing long before encountering her. You can hear her sobs in the video below.
Playtime
I've played L4D in both single and multiplayer. Its a great amount of fun, though when playing with others it is important to have some amount of teamwork. While it is possible to handle things for a time on your own, you want, and need, someone at your back to cover you.
Final Notes
First, the game is fun, but you will grow tired of the maps after a time. Valve will be release a new mode soon, however, as well as some new maps. If nothing else, Valve is extremely good about releasing updates for their games. So while things may be boring after a time, give it a break maybe and return in a while, you should have new content.
And when you are in game, a suggestion about weapons. Though what you choose will be up to you, I myself tend to prefer the good old shotgun for handling the zombies. Though the assault rifles are good at dispatching them faster, nothing much is better than blowing zombies away the old fashioned way. I hate the sniper rifle, if only because I prefer to be in the thick of it. Also, if you get the chance, try out the dual pistols. While one pistol is ok, dual wielding them is great, and can handle quite a number of zombies if you're adept at aiming.
Valve Software, though developed by Turtle Rock Studios. Available for purchase of Valve's own Steam service as well as in stores, it has become highly popular. As of February 17th, it held the 7th top spot for sales from February 1st through 7th, and was the most popular game bought on Steam, beating out such favorites as Grand Theft Auto 4 and Counter-Strike.
I received it for Christmas, and have played off and on throughout.
Sole Survivors
In the game, you play as one of four set characters, survivors of the zombie apocalypse. Each character is different (essentially you have the grizzled war veteran, the bearded biker, the college girl, and the African American office worker), and reports say that each has a slight advantage with certain weapons (the girl, Zoey, is said to be slightly better with the dual wielded pistols, for example).
At this time, there are four "acts", each with four stages and a finale:
- No Mercy: No Mercy is the first, in which you start in a city, making your way to a hospital rooftop for rescue. You start going through an apartment, make your way through the streets into the subway, from the subway into a sewer, which leads to the hospital. The finale takes place upon the rooftop. More on the finales in a bit.
- Death Toll: You start out following roads in a wooded area, making your way into another series of sewers. These lead to a church, which leads into a town, and then to a large house for the finale while you wait for a boat.
- Dead Air: You begin in a sort of greenhouse, making your way to an airport for rescue. You go over rooftops, through a crane, through a construction site, the airport terminal itself, with the finale taking place around the airplane as it refuels.
- Blood Harvest: You're making your way to a supposed safezone at a farmhouse. You start in the woods, leading to a series of tunnels. These tunnels take you to a bridge, which take you to a train station, and you finally reach the finale at the farmhouse.
Bloody Finale
Each act, campaign, whatever you wish to call it, ends with a finale. They all typically act the same, though they have their own advantages and disadvantages. Typically, you get a chance to fully heal and prepare, taking defensive positions. You usually have access to a single stationary chaingun. Though this gun has limited range, it will help with much. You call for help, and then waves of zombies come, more and more.
The difference in L4D's zombies is that they don't shamble. Oh no, they're more similar to the zombies from 28 Days Later. They run, they jump, they tackle. And mixed in are "special" zombies. There's the Smoker, the Hunter, the Boomer, the Tank, and the Witch. The last one is one to look out for.
The first four zombie types can show up during finales and throughout the levels. The witch will show up during the first four maps of an act, but not the finale. The Witch is probably the greatest danger, as startling her can get an ally killed quickly, if not instantly. She can be avoided, however, and you'll hear her sobbing long before encountering her. You can hear her sobs in the video below.
Playtime
I've played L4D in both single and multiplayer. Its a great amount of fun, though when playing with others it is important to have some amount of teamwork. While it is possible to handle things for a time on your own, you want, and need, someone at your back to cover you.
Final Notes
First, the game is fun, but you will grow tired of the maps after a time. Valve will be release a new mode soon, however, as well as some new maps. If nothing else, Valve is extremely good about releasing updates for their games. So while things may be boring after a time, give it a break maybe and return in a while, you should have new content.
And when you are in game, a suggestion about weapons. Though what you choose will be up to you, I myself tend to prefer the good old shotgun for handling the zombies. Though the assault rifles are good at dispatching them faster, nothing much is better than blowing zombies away the old fashioned way. I hate the sniper rifle, if only because I prefer to be in the thick of it. Also, if you get the chance, try out the dual pistols. While one pistol is ok, dual wielding them is great, and can handle quite a number of zombies if you're adept at aiming.
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