A Tale of Time

The other day I was reading a Kotaku article on the cinematic Full Motion Video (FMV) sequences from PC games in the 1990s. It really brought back a tidal wave of memories from the first games I played on the PC. Dark Forces, X-wing /Tie Fighter, MegaRace, The 7th Guest. Everyone loved prerenedered CGI with FMV.

This was golden age of gaming. When the PC had more power that could be possibly imagined on a console. My Packard Bell 486DX with 8MB of ram was eventurally upgraded to 32 megs of ram. Old games like this I wish I hadn't thrown them away. I haven't played them in eons, but games seemed to rely on story a bit more when graphics looked like shit. Everything had a back story. Even crapy-ass MegaRace. MegaRace for the uninitiated was a racing game that was set in the future. You're host Lance Boyle explained how you were part of a Virutal TV show in this mix of Mad Max and The Running Man. The concept was simple. You race trying to knock the other cars off the track or shoot them with your machine guns. Eventually you'd get to the pack leader to beat the level. The game probably would never fly these days, but to a 10 year old, it was "da shit."

Another game I miss surfaced around the 1995-1996 Era. I remember playing this on an IBM Aptiva with a Ati 3D Rage card. Mechwarrior 2! Yeah, that was our first taste of online multiplayer. At that time we didn't really get into LAN Parties yet, but we sure as hell played alot of direct connect modem games. Doom and Quake were other great games we played durring this time. However, I think Mech Warrior sticks out in my mind. The graphics were total shit. Pretty much bland polygons with a few sprites scattered here and there. However, the FMV movies were killer for the time. The game set in the Battletech universe (table top game) pitted the Jade Falcon clan against Clan Wolf. Many of our summers were spent blowing each other out of our mechs. Good times.

I'm guessing that alot of the FMV videos we saw durring the mid-1990's were a result of the graphics. Because the developers couldn't really tell a dramatic story with the game engine, they had to use cutscenes with FMV to fill in the gaps left by the game play. I'm not really sure if this post has a point, but I just like thinking back to a fonder time.

This Hang-Up Of Mine

For some reason I'm on an Anti-EA kick this week. I don't know if it's because of the whole 3 installs of spore or the fact that I'm still kind of pissed off about Battlefield 2. Lately, the chip on my shoulder has grown immensely. It seems to be less of a chip and more of a block. Scanning the game news this morning, I caught up on the past couple of days. Specifically the EA-Take 2 merger deal. I had commented on this situation a while ago on Nor-Cal Gamer. I always have a few reservations when small guys are gobbled up by a heart-less overlord.

Take 2, a company that has put out a plethora of great games, including sports games to take on the gargantuan EA Sports lineup. My problem of this acquisition roots from something far deeper than just evil corporations and all that mumbo-jumbo. My problem is with EA corporate culture. Obviously, everyone wants to make money, and yes, you are beholden to your stock holders who have a vested interest in your company. However, as a producer of games, you should also be considerate of the gamers who buy your products.

Being a businessman, I know that the bottom line is important. If I was to piss off my customers would talk, and I would end up with a bad reputation, ergo I would probably lose clients or end up not getting any new ones. I don't think this model applies to EA. Because there are enough people who buy EA products that don't read game news, read EGM mag, or any other gaming website, they can get away with pissing on a good chunk of their clients without going in the red. This disconnect between corporate power and consumer only give EA more power to impose their will upon you.

Look at Spore for example. Out of the box, you have 3 installs of the game. So you install once when you get it. Say, you upgrade your rig, format and install Spore for the second time. Then, let us assume that you're one of the most unlucky bastards around and your hard drive fails. You buy a new HD and install Spore for the 3rd time. Now, you're no pirate, but you're forced to buy another copy of the game because the DRM says so. 3 installations in the life time of the product. I remember when WinXP came out, people were throwing fits over the activation, this seems a bit excessive to me. I understand the concern to curb piracy, but It doesn't, and did not in this case. Spore was on torrents days before it was released to any retail outlets. The only people the DRM hurts is the people who actually buy the game. From the press releases and commentary floating around the web, it doesn't look like EA actually gives a shit.

EA is huge company. They make millions off of a Monopoly in the football sim market (Madden), the quality of their annual release of EA Sports titles gradually slides lower and lower. In business school we learn that competition is what drives innovation. The goal of continually improving or upgrading your product to stay ahead of the next guy. I think EA has gotten so big they have become complasent. They hold so much power, that if someone does try to innovate and move past the lumbering beast, they can just reach down and gobble them up. In a market of billions of dollars, the last thing you want is a slow moving business. The public is fickel, and there are only so many bullshit games you can throw at us before we revolt. If you want more people to buy your games, focus on your market. Don't just throw out a half-baked shooter and slap the "Battlefield" name on it. Let your developers work their magic, keep your business tactics out of the development process, and release a decent game. Maybe that would curb piracy. A new, innovative game that caputres the audience like never before, not just the same-old rehashed bullshit we've seen 10000 times.

UPDATE: Via MTV Multiplayer EA says they will be loosening the DRM on Spore. These are the numbers they are quoting:

Mass Effect
• Total activations: 183313
• Users activating on only 1 machine: 77%
• Users activating on more than 1 machine: 23%
• User trying to activate on more than 3 machines: 0.9%

Spore Creature Creator
• Total activations: 453048
• Users activating on only 1 machine: 77%
• Users activating on more than 1 machine: 23%
• Users trying to activate on more than 3 machines: 1%

Spore (main game)
• Total activations: 437138
• Users activating on only 1 machine: 86%
• Users activating on more than 1 machine: 14%
• User trying to activate on more than 3 machines: 0.4%

Ok, yeah thats all fine and dandy, but what about over the life of the product. Mass Effect has been out for the PC since May 27, 2008. The creature creator has been out a month. So pretty much EA is figuring that after 1 year you are proably not going to play your game any more. Hmmm....thanks EA.

Battlefield Heroes Redux

Well folks, I seriously think that the ice is starting to thaw in my brain. That strong dislike for DICE for the BF2-shafting and 2142 debockle. This unrest permeated all that DICE and EA could brainstorm. So my first impressions of BF Heroes was that of a lackluster reception. That was before. Now, after seeing this gem on the official site, I see in a different light. Lets roll down to the basics here.

Battlefield Heroes is a free-to-play 3rd person action game from Swedish developer, Digital Illusions CE. This is the latest iteration of the Battlefield Series. Using a cartoon-like art style, similar to TF2, BFH looks to break ground with its free-to-play browser based game play. The game is slated to run on older machines, thus widening the market for gamers. As seen from the video above, character customization is going to be a big part of the game. Character customization and persistent character data are many of the MMO features DICE has incorporated into their shooters to make gaming addicting.

I think what DICE is trying to do here is bring a little levity to the gaming scene. If you have played an online Battlefield game in the last 4 years, you probably know that by the end of the map that the game has degraded into a redneck beer drinking 4x4 rally with jets and tanks. I think DICE wants to capture the best part of the "stunts" and goofing off element to make the game's cartoony graphics to really bring out the action.

What I liked about TF2 is the fact that the characters have life. Each class has a unique personality, and that quirkiness is used to bring a levity to the game while playing. No matter how awesome or shiteous you are playing, a character will always say something that catches you off guard and make you laugh. Online matches turn into cursing 12-year old homophobic racist shout-offs, it would be nice to see a change with a little less seriousness in games.

All in all, I'm most definately wanting to play this game. I mean after all, its free.

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.

Call of Duty 4 Impressions

Call of Duty 4, a game I said I didn't think I'd much care for. However, there are times when you must admit that you were wrong and embrace defeat. I mean literally grab it and hug the damn thing. Although since I purchased my defeat on Steam, I can do little more than smile. ENOUGH with the small talk, you wanna hear juicy details.

I must say that Infinity Ward has our classed themselves. This is a top notch shooter on the PC platform. Previously I had played Call of Duty on the Xbox, Call of Duty 2 on the PC, skiped 3 because it looked like a shitty launch title for the Wii. Previous incarnations were WW2 themed, however, with a title like "Modern Combat" I don't think there will be any mistaking this time.

Game play is robust. Unlike alot of shooters, there is so much chaos and gun fire that you must move cautiously. Using cover, return fire, crouch and prone techniques you can work your way to the next position. The gameplay is based on frenetic battles, lots of guns, lots of confusions, but many of the maps push you in a direction and use keen scripted ques to help immerse you.

I found "Hardcore" mode to be most challenging. This mode removes all HUD elements, radar, and crosshair. Now it is imparitive that you aim down the gun to be most accurate.

Single player is very cinemattic. I provides that "stress" in games that makes you almost panic. As I said earlier, it uses the scripted events to help immerse the player into the action.

Multiplayer is NUTS. It is what BF2 should have been without the vehicles. Lots of cover, lots of debris, lots of stuff going on. Ive seen servers as large as 50, but that is too big for the maps. 30 players seems to be the sweet spot. Persistant online ranking allows for RPG style addictiveness to infuse the game. As you capture points, kill enemies, you earn Exp points towards the next rank and weapon unlocks.

I got the game via Steam, and I paid a premium price for it. However, the game is always up to date, I can get it wherever I go, but no server browser via Steam. You can get COD4 in retail outlets as low as $39.95.

I would definitely recommend this game if you got some cash to spend or looking for a new shooter.