So, I just finished Braid. I am not sure what just happened, but it was well worth the effort. Every puzzle designed in this game was brilliant. Many of them made my head hurt with and caused me to question my gaming abilities but the ones I solved on my own (I had to turn to the Internet for help on some of them) left me with an overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction.
Jonathan Blow, the designer, set out to create a beautiful game that pushed genre boundaries and encouraged people to really think about what was going on. Personally, I don't think the game offered the closure provided by completing the game, and the complementary Achievement, but the game play was absolutely solid. I look forward to getting lost in another Jonathan Blow game, whenever that may be.
This week saw a lot of great videos come through my reader. It was hard to choose, so I made all my favorite videos of the week available in my new shared links section. Posted below is probably my favorite of the lot; someone recreated the opening overworld and first dungeon from The Legend of Zelda using the level editor in N+. Not only is this an exercise in dedication, it's one of the most awesome things I;have ever seen.
Capcom will be providing an eight week, online beta for the highly anticipated Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix. Sounds awesome, what's the catch? You have to purchase Capcom's other upcoming XBLA title, Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 for $10.
You remember Commando on the NES, right? I still have my copy. It was a top down, vertical scrolling shooter (I vaguely remember it being fun, but it has been a while) that is also getting an upgrade in this new age of digital distribution gaming.
I can think of two other high profile instances of this tactic: Crackdown with the Halo 3 beta and Zone of the Enders with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo. This tactic of packaging demos of highly anticipated games with second tier games is an intriguing one. On one hand, the full game sells really well. On the other, despite the game's critical and fiscal reception, the series usually dies pretty quickly. Usually when games sell as well as these, sequels are usually in order. Crackdown doesn't seem to be getting one any time soon and, while Zone of the Enders 2 did arrive, it sales were much lower. Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 will probably suffer the same fate, as I don't think nostalgia is as strong as many other Capcom properties. Now, if they packaged this with the Bionic Commando remake, I'd be sold in a heartbeat.
I'm back from the Penny Arcade Expo! I had a lot of fun in Seattle (my first time visiting) despite my feet and calves throbbing after three days of being up on them, showing off our games. I have to say, I expected the place to be bigger. My only other major expo experience was E3 in 2006. Otherwise, the people were all really cool and the atmosphere was one of a kind. I met a lot of really interesting people, including the folks who were demoing N+ and Kim from Bioware, who was demoing Mass Effect. We got a chance to quickly talk about testing such a massive game
My highlights for the show were playing N+ and Castle Crashers. They are very unique and satisfying experiences that are a perfect fit for Live Arcade. I watched people play Metroid Prime 3: Corruption over their shoulders; it looked amazing on the massive plasma screens they were playing on. I'll definitely be picking this game up if I get a Wii. The Mass Effect demo was amazing. Despite some who were disappointed or not awed, I think it really showed off the little details that are going to make this one of the greatest games ever.
I spent the majority of my time demoing our upcoming Wii game, de Blob. Originally developed by students in Utrecht, it puts the player in control of the rebellious Blob who is acting out against the evil Inkt Corporation by literally painting the city red, or whatever color you want. It was on the inside of our booth, so I don't think as many people saw it who could have, but it still managed to draw a large crowd when they did see it. I even had a few people tell me that it was their favorite game of the show which made me very happy. It still has quite a while in development and test before it hits store shelves, so I hope that marketing can get the word out in the mean time.
Resident Evil 5 trailer is racist?: No. You only have yourself to blame for feeling that way. Not all black people live in Africa. My first impressions were that they could have been in on a Caribbean Island, like Haiti, as well. Additionally, they are Zombies, not people. Please stop there. Thank you.
GTAIV delayed! Nooooo!!!: Damn, now what am I going to get my wife on her birthday? Now, was it technological challenges or the PS3? I'm going with technological problems on the PS3.
Marathon on XBLA makes you sick: No shit, I nearly needed a bucket after only five minutes. Thank god for demos or I would have been a very pissed off camper.
Since Pac-Man CE came out a week ago, there has been a bit of back lash based on the price. At 800 Microsoft Points, it's a little steep, in my opinion, but Aaron Greenberg, group product manager for Xbox 360, doesn't believe so.
Namco came to us with what they thought the content price should be and I do not disagree with it costing 800 points. There's actually a lot of work from a lot of people to bring it all together.
Totally understandable. However, while the demo was a lot of fun, I just couldn't bring myself to fork over the points to purchase the full version. In fact, the only 800 point games I've purchased were Street Fighter II and Worms. Many games, such as Cloning Clyde, Eets, Castlevania, Catan and, possibly, Prince of Persia, have suffered a similar fate. I enjoy the demo but it's tough to justify the $10 price tag. On the other hand, the 400 point price point seem to be easier swallow as I have purchased the full version of several of those games.
Are there many people who are following the same logic? Maybe, but Microsoft has been stubborn to change their stance on pricing. This implies that the plan is working for them but maybe there needs to be a third tier. What if there was a 600 point price point in addition to the 400 and 800 for Live Arcade titles. This translates into $7.50 in real money. That doesn't seem that unreasonable for games that don't fit nicely within the current pricing model. It seems to work for Nintendo who has three tiers on the Virtual Console. Additionally, as some comments pointed out, where are the price cuts on the older titles? Where are the Platinum Hits? Microsoft has been mum but to the average consumer, it would make sense. It works for disc based games. Speculation would say that it might work even better for digitally distributed games. All we can do, in the mean time, is make our voices heard with our wallets. They'll get the message when we stop buying things on the Marketplace willy-nilly.
I absolutely love Live Arcade. The idea that not only fresh, new experiences can be brought directly to me over the series of tubes, but classic ones as well, just warms my heart. I have, however, noticed that there is something quite wrong when playing these classics games: I suck!
I have been stumped by games that twenty years ago, I was a master. At least that's how I remember the games. Games such as, most recently, Rush'n Attack, Double Dragon, Paper Boy, and Root Beer Tapper on Live have be so much more difficult than I remember. Even NES classics like Super Mario Bros., Metal Gear, Elevator Action, and Ice Climber challenge me to even get past the first level in some cases.
These games are so much more simple than the games I feel that I have mastered on the 360 or the Wii, or even the GameCube or PS2. There is usually on two directions to move, horizontally or vertically, and a jump button and an attack button. Why then do I struggle with these games?
I initially chalked it up to age. These games are the epitome of the platformer genre and twitch game play. They rely more on reflex and rote memorization than most of today's free roaming games. I definitely struggle with multiplayer FPS's so I believed that this was the reason I was sucking at games that I once played with ease. Or did I? It then occurred to me that I own many more games today than I did as a kid. Now, I usually only play through a game once, unless I'm going for some achievements, and then I'm done. Not so in the past. I must have played some games until I practically wore out the controllers and cartridge connections. Playing these games over and over drilled them in to my head. There is also the ability to save practically anywhere you want in games today. If not, there is most likely some sort of autosave system in place to keep your place for you. We have it so easy now. Remember when you had to write down a password to continue where you left off? Otherwise, you had to start from the beginning. Again.
As I wrote this though, one other thought came to my head. What if is the AI, or rather a lack thereof, that make these classic games so difficult? Instead of increasingly complex and human-like development from the AI we see today, the AI is almost zombie-like in its effort to get to your character. They usually come from all sides, unyielding to anything in their way, even their own doom. Programmers are always attempting to create more realistic enemy by making them more cautious and intelligent. That's great and all, but what if? What if a game with today's capabilities hurtled endless waves of intelligent but suicidal enemies at you? Scary.
