Monday Night Combat Comes to PC

According to the latest news update on Steam. Uber Entertainment’s Monday Night Combat heads to the PC this January. This news comes more than a week after MNC was updated with new content and a flurry of bug fixes. MNC, for those not familiar, is a hybrid shooter running on the Unreal 3 engine. It’s a zesty mix of shooter and tower defense, topped off with a dash of game show for flavor. With a zany announcer and a lovable mascot that becomes your target during intermission, MNC packs in action by the ‘asston.’ Fight wave after wave of marching robots in Co-op blitz mode, or go hardcore with Crossfire mode where two teams compete to destroy the other’s “money ball.” Power your player with bacon and churros to get the edge on your opponent.

I’ve been playing this on the Xbox for a while now and its worth the 15 dollar price tag. In my experience with MNC, the Xbox version suffers from low frame rate in many situations (hopefully not a problem on the PC side) and a few minor balance issues.  Performance issues aside, the game is a solid class-based team shooter for the same price as many map packs for EA or Activision games.

There and Back Again: A Dedicated Tale

Well, its been a while since I’ve written. Alot has changed over the course of the past year. I’ve shoved my foot in my mouth buy purchasing an Xbox. I figured might as well jump on the bandwagon, play some neat games, and give Microsoft the chance to rape my wallet. Nothing really has piqued my interested lately other than the whole PC-Infinity Ward-MW2-Dedicated Server hoopla. After ingesting so many forum posts and troll topics that I’ve finally decided to comment on the whole situation. I find this debate especially close to my heart since the purchase of my Xbox 2 months ago.

Let’s debrief for a minute. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, one of the most anticipated titles of 2009 was released to a firestorm of controversy earlier this month. PC gamers felt like they were getting hosed by IW/Activision because of several factors.

1. Dedicated Servers
2. Matchmaking Service
3. Price

I feel that the PC gamers pissed off at IW/Activision have a right to be. Infinity Ward is starting a new service with the launch of the game. IWNet is supposed to be the end-all-cure-all for PC gaming. It’s supposedly going to streamline the gaming experience and make it easier on everyone. Everyone except the competitive gamers. PCG’ers are used to having complete control over the games that they play. Take counter-strike for instance. Just one game, but if you were to look at a server list there are about 100 different mods running on the servers allowing them to tweak game modes and damage to a level that seems fun for the server administrator and his/her friends. However, IW sees this as a way to cheat the system. That type of modding allows for unbalanced games, and an “unwanted” game experience. Here, I do have to agree with IW. Some of the COD4 modded servers with 32-64 players is just absolutely ridiculous. It’s not fun, you die as soon as you spawn. However, whoever is hosting/paying for the server has the right to do whatever. For this reason, the completive gamers went up in arms because this wouldn’t allow them to change game settings needed to play competitively.

So, continuing the story of “Activision Knows Best” we move on to Matchmaking with IWnet. With the dedicated server removed from the equation, IWnet implements a P2P matchmaking service that will automatically find the “best host” with the “best connection” to all players and then will start the game. That sounds great and all, but what happens if you’re playing a game with friends and a dipshit decides to crash your party. How do you get rid of him? What if he is cheating? Well you’re shit out of luck, should have started a private game. Apparently MW2 has no way to kick disruptive or cheating players from games. So when that haxor shows up the only way to get rid of him is to start a new game.

Finally, we move on to the price point of the SKU. The going rate for a “next gen” title is $60 bucks. Alright, we used to pay that kind of dough for an SNES game back in the day. But $60 for a PC Game? I don’t think so. The most common association to why console games are about $10 more expensive than the same game on the PC would be due to licensing fees. But that doesn’t make sense for a PC game, where there are no fees to make a game. That 10 bucks is going right into Activision’s coffers. So, not only do PC gamers have “less” than they are used to, but also have to pay more. I think that’s fucked up.

The DRM Conundrum

Well, it seems big GabeN over at Valve has made some waves in recent days talking about his stance on DRM. Gabe always offers some great talking points! Mr. Newell stands with most gamers' saying that DRM is "dumb." He says that the focus should be to add value to a product, not take it away.

All this comes to light as the hotly anticipated GTA 4 launches on the PC. GTA 4, as reported before, uses the controversial SecuROM copy protection software. However, Rockstar has allowed users to have unlimited machine activations so gamers don't have to worry how many times they can uninstall their game.

To me, this all seems kind of rediculous. DRM is something that should be on the forefront of the PC Gaming Aliance's agenda. Something along the lines of what Stardock's Gamer's Bill of Rights looked like. Since the dawn of the platform, PC Gamers have enjoyed backwards compatability (when Windows will allow it) and could play games 10 or more years old. DRM schemes on SPORE and Mass Effect only stymie the consumers ability to use their product.

Why wouldn't a company allow for unlimited installs? If you have online activation it really doesnt matter. I mean, how successful was EA's attempt to control their digital rights? Well, SPORE was on a torrent days before its official North American release. It's not the average consumer EA needs to worry about. Just pulling numbers out of my ass, I'd say that 99.99% of consumers are not taking their copy of "insert game here", cracking the DRM and puting it up on a torrent for people to download. Whoever these people are, get their hands on it before hand. Using draconian DRM only isolates the gaming public, and shows that EA is on a trend to kill the PC as a platform.

I've never had any problems with DRM before. It's never killed my computer disabled a game. I think it's within a developers rights to try to protect their investments, but not when you infringe on a consumers right to use a product/service thats been paid for. There has to be some middle ground both developers and consumers can agree on. I think we will see this relationship grow with independant devs such as Valve, Id Software, Stardock because they only answer to themselves. Bigger firms such as Microsoft and EA have shareholders and bottomlines to worry about. If the consumer is unhappy with a PC game, so be it. You can't return open box PC games to most retail stores. Either way "insert large corporate developer here" gets your money and doesn't have to give it back. I feel that independant devs are more intouch with their player base and usually keep them in mind when creating games, and for the most part are sympathetic to the gripes and complaints of their community.

As for now, Rockstar's use of SecuROM is just fine with me. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

Long Time No Posts

I have been extremely busy with my day job. Other than trying to play Mario Kart Wii like a professional mushroom kingdom driver, I try to keep tabs on the goings on of the gaming industry. Here are a few briefs if you have been under a rock for several days (weeks).

-EA/Take-Two Deal : Deadline has come and gone, EA's hostile takeover bid was unsuccessful. GTA's 500million first week was probably proof to the investors that they did the right thing.

-Big names pull out of the ESA. Early last week several of the big names opted not to renew their support for the Entertainment Software Association The list includes Activision, Lucas Arts, and EA. E3 is scheduled to go on as planned.

-Doom 4 has been announced. Id Software on both Console and PC development to combat piracy.

-GTA 4 sells $500 million in the first week of sales beating out Halo 3's $300 million launch. However to note that GTA was a 360/PS3 exclusive. PC fans normally wait 7-9 months for a port. Maybe X-mas time?

-EA gets burned on Pay to Play upgrades in Battlefield: Bad Company. Unlocks now available through play, and if you buy the Limited Edition Collectors pack. BF: Heroes promises free core content, only charging for EXP boots for players with little time to dedicate.

Eat your words Clifford, PC Gaming Aliance Formed

Over at the ever polular Game Developers Conference, a not-so secret alliance was being announced to the public. My previous post with the toutings of Cliff Bleszinski, head hauncho at Epic Games, and how he said that Epic was not primailry focusing on PC games. Well, I think THIS might say otherwise. Here is a snippet.

"One of our main major objectives is to provide one voice on PC gaming market. There's no one source that says 'hey this is where the PC market is going'. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are always calling their market share - we're going to call our market through this group."

-Randy Stude
PCGA President

The artlice goes into some detail on what the PCGA is going focus on in the comming months and years. I think this goes to show you that there is alot of hardware manufacturers who do not want the PC gaming industry to die. But lets hope that this isnt just failed bargins like "Games for Windows." This somehow seems to address everything that CliffB was complaining about. Interesting turn of events.

CliffyB Defies his Master, PC Gaming "Secondary"

This seems like giant slap to my face. In a day when gamers should stick together, CliffB, the Unreal dude, says via MTVMultiplayer

"I think people would rather make a game that sells 4.5 million copies than a million and “Gears” is at 4.5 million right now on the 360. I think the PC is just in disarray… what’s driving the PC right now is ‘Sims’-type games and ‘WoW‘ and a lot of stuff that’s in a web-based interface. You just click on it and play it. That’s the direction PC is evolving into So for me, the PC is kind of the secondary part of what we’re doing. It’s important for us, but right now making AAA games on consoles is where we’re at."

There you have it. Cliff Bleszinski doggin' his home court, giving PC gamers the cold shoulder! What gives Cliffy? You're game not selling well? Get a hot spark in your eye? From an economic standpoint, I can see where he is coming from. As one of the few independant developers in the US, they must sell units to put food on their plates. However, "sims type games" aren't the reason PC gamers still use the platform. Its diversity of Genres that exists. The inharent multifunctional nature of the system makes it great. I have yet to see a decent RTS on the Xbox. What about MMO? I think what Cliffy is seeing is the fact that gamers (on the PC anyways) expect much more from an app than some console kiddie. The PC has plenty of shooters. Shooters with guns, bigger guns, cars, trucks, bigger trucks, tanks, rockets, chainsaws, etc, gamers are looking for something that pushes the boundaries, not just last years game packaged with new graphics and fancy Special Edition DVD bullshit. It is what divides the true "hardcore" gamers from the "I got this for Christmas" gamers.

CliffyB, I hereby challenge you to start bringing your innovation to the table. Keeping such a corporate mindset will disorient you and stifle the creative process. Personally, I think Unreal Tourney has been the same game since the 2002 iteration. What else have you changed besides the look and maybe a few game tweaks? What "new" or "bold" content have you added; and by bold, I don't mean "HOLY SHIT HEADSHOT" with the crazy announcer voice.

I think developers are starting to wallow in the financial advantages of the console war. A stable platform for witch all the games can use the same engine till the end of time. Collect royalties from other developers when they use your product. Well, untill Microsoft recoups their R&D costs and makes another Xbox and then all your games are...well...useless.

We will talk then CliffyB.

WASD

TF2 Getting New Game Modes and Unlockable Weapons

Team Fortress 2 has been, to many, a suprise hit (maybe not). However, Valve's commitment to consistant improvement should be the talk of the community (talking to you Digital Illusions C.E.). The announcement made in late January via the PC Gamer blog, sheds some light as to what will be included with the new update due some time around the end of February. Starting with the Medic, Valve will gradually release unlockable "load-outs" after the player has completed a signifigant amount of new achievements. According to the blog, these unlocks will signifigantly change the way that the class is played. Read the blog for more details. Lets just say that these improvements will allow for a variety new techniques to be used in game.

Along with the unlocks, a new game type and 2 new maps will be included. The new game mode that will be similar to a VIP escort map in the original Counter-Strike. In a series of map fragments (ex. dustbowl and hydro), a team must escort a train car to the opposing teams base.

I don't know about you, but I'm foaming at the mouth over this. The possibilites are endless, adding more playability to an already awesome game.

Fox News; You're on Notice...

I'm a conservative and an avid video gamer, and to me this is abhorrent. If you have ever taken a journalism class, you would be familiar with "yellow journalism." It basically boils down to selling news. Just like the tabloids, Fox News uses sensationalistic headlines and stories to get ratings. It just goes to show you what kind of journalistic integrity Fox News has. Anyone who has Jack Thompson as an "expert" on the VT shootings shows no credibility what so ever. It just makes me sick to think that other conservatives eat this crap like candy.

What I want to know is why are parents buying kids a Mature rated game? Is it OK for your child to watch SAW 3 or Boogie Nights at 12 years old? For most kids; probably not. Obviously there are some cases where children are well adjusted enough and mature enough to understand causality (cause and effect). However to blame video games as the sole corrupter of youth is ridiculous. Movies are more violent now than ever before, but video games are killing our children.

Furthermore, uninvolved parents should be flogged, publicly. Buying a mature rated game for junior is ridiculous. Do some research; look into what your kids do. Be A Parent, not a friend. What happened to personal responsibility? This isn't just a "right wing G.W. Bush thing." Both the left and right sides of the istle are just as guilty of perpetuating this stereotype. These blatant lies only become fodder for politicians trying to promote their nanny state.

I think people in America, especially the Baby Boomer Generation ,are failing to adapt to the new technology. To paraphrase Adam Sessler, this is today's modern day comic book, and it will corrupt the youth. Today's games aren't like Pong or Pac-Man. The medium has grown up with the audience, and older folks are failing to see that.

It just makes me so mad I want to burst.

Sony should stick to TVs and DVD players

Well first it was Gabe Newell dissing the PS3. Then Will Wright, creator of the SimCity franchise came down against it. Now an ex-developer for Harmonix is speaking out against the console. Jason Booth points out some pretty good stuff about the PS3. I think the PS3's problem is more along the lines of complexity. Let's face it, the Xbox and the 360 are basically PCs. They use ATI/AMD/Intel shit, running x86 architecture. Something developers have been using for the past decade. That makes PC - 360 ports easier and more cost effective. As far as the PS3 exclusives continuing to suck? I don't think so. I think we will see that the PS3 will get better support as time progresses. The Catch 22 is that by the time developers are good at coding for the PS3, the 360/PC/Wii will have outsold, surpassed and doubled their game library, while the PS3ers are still playing Metal Gear Solid that came out 2 years prior.

All I can say is that if I was to play a console FPS and was to get chop, I would be pissed. There is no way to turn your graphics down or squeeze more frames out of your rig. So I whole-heartedly agree that developers should do anything in their power to make sure that the games run at a perfect frame rate all the time, not just at the loading screen.

Even with all this said, the Orange Box will still be coming out for the PS3, maybe not till the end of 2007 (2 months after PC/360 release), but it will be out.

Morning Madness/Demo Round-up

Just some minor briefs. Wanted to keep everyone on top of some cool new releases in the next few months. Jack Black has a project on its way called "Brutal Legend." Taking place in an alternate universe where daemons have enslaved humanity, now the King of Norse Rock must bring his axe down on the deadites to save the Earth. If you saw Pick of Destiny, or anything at all of Tenacious D, you know that this is right up their alley. "Finally a game with Dio in it!" 360 and PS3 only I'm guessing from their official website.

Take it away Holy Diver!

Hellgate: London demo is now available for download. From the ex-Blizzard/Diablo dudes, comes this action-rpg-fps blend based on the Knights Templar and all that jazz. End of the world is coming, only the protectors of the Holy Grail can save the Earth!

The Unreal Tournament 3 beta demo is out. You can get it here.

If you haven't already, get your hands on a copy of the Orange Box. Its getting rave reviews from everywhere. Pretty much the best game out for more than platform. I haven't had a chance to test drive Halo3 yet, but I can imagine that the OB is going to kick its ass.

I've been in a funk ever since I traded my PC Gamer subscription for Maxim.

AEIOU

You know what that is. TF2 is freakin amazing. Its even better when you can play with friends. I must say that every time I use steam, I like it more. Its so cool. I almost don't need another IM. But that's beside the point.

I added a list of the games that I am currently playing. I will try to update that once a week. The top 2 games will probably be static for some time. I like to make sure that my investment has paid itself off. Amortize my video game as quick as possible to absorb the cost. Thank goodness I don't have to pay for Xbox live to play my games on the internet.

Master Chief's Wild Ride

The year is 2000. PC gamers everywhere rejoice in the fact that the minds behind the Myth franchise are now bringing a totally new I.P to the he PC. Halo, slated as the game above all games. Everyone was very excited, that is until Bill Gates and his fleet of gray-suits marched on the independent developer. What could have been the single most influential game on the PC was now gobbled up and spit back out as an Xbox title, possibly never to see light on the PC....EVER.

We all know what happened after that. Seven years later, we have seen numerous books, magazines, and other licensed products. Now, the final chapter in the Halo trilogy is out, selling over $170 million in the first 24 hours of release. Let's face it, Halo 3 is a BEAST! A beast that could have been on the PC. However, now it seems after these long years that Bungie Studio's is now free. They are no longer part of Microsoft Game Studios. Bungie now goes back to being an independent game developer but MS Game Studios are still going to publish their future games.
What started as rumor last week, has now become a reality. I'm glad to see that Bungie wants to spread their wings a bit after being locked in a kennel for the better part of a decade. What is evident to me after all of this is the fact that Microsoft cannot sustain 2 gaming platforms simultaneously.

Microsoft has two business models, one for the Xbox, and one for everything else. By dissecting the target markets of both models we can see who MS is trying to sell games to and how they do it. Earlier this year, we heard lots of mumblings about the Games for Windows initiative, and Games for Windows Live!, the PC version of Xbox live. Six months later where is the "continued support" where is the cross compatibility, the cohesive branding? Its doesn't exist! Thats the point. All of it was a ploy to push Vista to the hard-core early adopters of the tech world. Mostly hardcore gamers like myself. Unfortunately for Microsoft, the push backfired in their faces. Vista's harsh requirements allow for only the heaviest of duty rigs to run it correctly. For most people including gamers, we don't need an OS that has tons of pretty frilly bullshit floating around the desktop. We want something that does what it should without requiring a $10,000 hardware upgrade to play a game at decent frame rate. This is where my conspiracy theorist comes out. All this is leading me to one conclusion. Microsoft doesn't want you to play games on the computer anymore. They want you locked into their Xbox 360 or whatever next gen shit that comes out. Here is a list of why MS might try this.

1. Hardware - Locking you into playing games on the 360 will only move more units, padding their pocket book. They own the platform, they make the hardware, so you can't build your own or buy it more cheaply from other suppliers. You buy it at their price, or you don't play. Period. Pretty much a text book vertical monopoly.
   
2. Software - As most companies learned from the demise of the Atari 2600, that product licensing means big bucks. Not just anyone can make an Xbox game. You have to go to Microsoft and ask their permission, usually meaning pay a sum of money to get their blessing and a set of development tools. This being in contrast to the PC, a truly open platform, where anyone can design a game. This limits the ability mod makers, indie developers, and other small time game designers to get their games out to the public.
3. Piracy and Profitability - The single factor that pushes PC developers to port games to every console is the fact that piracy is rampant on the PC. Illegal copies are floating around the net just waiting for you to leech the torrent. So if a developer plans to make a game for the PC, they are expecting a certain percent of their profits to be destroyed by game pirates. The fact that Xbox requires heavy copy protection on their software gives game developers a false sense of security. Developers are lured away from the PC because of their fears of pirates stealing their money. As big business devours the gaming industry, the bottom line will become more of a tipping point. "If you can't make money selling it, why sell it at all?"

Lets face it. It all boils down to money, and lets face it, Microsoft is good at making it. They have the majority of the market share for operating systems, what makes you think they can't do the same thing with gaming. I see the warning signs everywhere, but is there really anything we can do?

Team Awesome

Team Fortress 2 is here! Hurrah! A game that I have been waiting for since QuakeWorld went out of style. The game delivers a frenetic power punch of intense action mixed with morbid humor, creating a game atmosphere unlike any before it. The art direction is what most people notice first. The cell-shaded, cartoon feel doesn't let the player become too serious, allowing the game to stay fun, even if you end up on a team who can't navigate their way out of a paper bag.

What makes the game interesting to me is the fact that the game seems so "fresh" even though it is based on a game play model that existed long before the niceties of modern online gaming. It feels very much like the original, where it almost seems they want you to rocket jump and bunny-hop. They have taken away some of the previous features like grenades, but added some like persistent character stats. It seems that Valve has painstakingly crafted a game that is fun to play over and over again. Its very refreshing to see a developer this dedicated to the PC platform, something you don't see a lot of now-a-days. My deal with BF2 and others is that it seems to take an act of God to win a game. You don't have to fight your own team of noobs to win a game. I just feel that in BF2 and 2142 you have to rely on 31 others to actually do something to win a game. I'm not saying that TF2 doesn't require teamwork, but you don't have to fight an uphill battle to be victorious.

Why is this game worth buying? Well let me put it to you simply: It freakin' rocks! Its got a little bit of something for everyone. With 9 varied and unique classes, the player can choose one that fits his/her style of play. If its the fast pace of a the scout class or the slow moving tank called the Heavy Weapons Guy, TF2 allows for a diverse game play style that is sure to suit any gamer.

Here is why I can't stop talking about this game.
1. Replay ability - doesn't get boring or repetitive
2. Fun Factor - Art Direction and silly giblets never lets the game get to serious
3. Graphics - The Source Engine renders nice pictures even on slower machines
4. Game Time - 1 person can make a difference, don't have to wait for your team of
douche-bag snipers to get TKed.