Those Who Cannot Remember the Past

With the reveal of the next Microsoft console just around the corner, there's probably a larger portion of people than Microsoft would want to acknowledge that still shudder at mere mention of the name Kudo Tsunoda. While I wouldn't call the Kinect an abeject failure, it certainly did not live up to the hype nor the potential of the accessory. Many concerned gamers fear the force feeding of Kinect 2 or more motion controls that aren't necessarily wanted. I think there are problems that any new hardware faces, but I earnestly hope that Microsoft has considered some lessons from its Kinect past.

Do not sell what you do not have

Perhaps one of the biggest barriers to full-on Kinect adoption was that gamers believed or at least hoped Microsoft was offering a controller-less Move/Wii control scheme. "You are the controller" we were told. Unfortunately, the delay between movement and on-screen action was a little too noticeable to be as fun or connected than what serious gaming requires. While anticipation could be negotiated in lighter fare like Kinect Adventures, lag between a person's actions and the resultant on-screen movement dooms any game needing immediate, precise movement.

In an ideal world, motion controls for Tiger Woods seem like it could or should be a golfer's dream. -- an off-season way to stay sharp, hone and improve real wold skills. But Kinect is not a fine enough sensor to capture the subtleties of a golf swing. Heck, even using Kinect to navigate menus, the goals of ease and simplicity are clearly further away than just picking up a controller and using the analog sticks and buttons. That the Xbox controller feels so comfortable in the hands of the player makes it that much tougher a sell for what appears an over promised gimmick at best, a complete pander to the Wii family crowd at worst.

It's the software dummy

Games, game, games. As great as the technology may be, if there is not the appropriate software to take advantage of the beast under the hood, then what do we have? Not a big step from the current generation. Certainly, systems have had weak launches and still succeeded but to have an "it" game can really get the ball rolling in the right direction. Halo. 'Nuff said, right? Looking at the WiiU launch, I don't know that I could tell you what came out Day One. I'm guessing a Super Mario Bros. of some type.

But really, what makes a person make the jump? I have pondered this past year the thought that I feel perfectly satisfied with the current console generation. Unless I'm offered something I don't know that I want/need right now, launch day becomes more about the experience of getting on board early and less about playing what I can't currently play.

For Kinect, Dance Central did just that. It was the game I could depend on to show my family and friends my new Xbox peripheral. It worked within the Kinect's limitations and provided a show piece, fun play where frustration was minimized with no fail conditions. Before I realized, "Poker Face" was irritatingly and irreversibly etched in my subconscious.

Of course, part and parcel to the "killer app" is the all important next wave of games. And for Kinect, I don't count Dance Central 2 or Dance Central 3 or Zumba Fitness or Zumba Fitness Rush or Zumba Fitness Core as worthy succesors. Gunstringer, Child of Eden and Fruit Ninja all showed promise, but most often software support didn't come in the form of innovation or originality. Instead, options were limited to fitness and dance titles and their sequels.

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

The last thing I think Microsoft can learn from its Kinect experience is that just because all these bells and whistles are aailable does not necessarily mean you need to use them. Microsoft desribed a number of games that were Kinect compatible but not required as "Better With Kinect" and yet, I don't know that (m)any of these titles were actually better. Did anyone use Kinect with Mass Effect 3, Ghost Recon Future Soldier, Forza Horizon, Tiger Woods? No, no, no, and no.

Of course, with any new toy, I can see why a company wants to tout all of its features. But there's a point where it's too much. Don't let features be crammed into a game just because your system can support motion and/or voice controls. If it's part of the game fine, but when it's an add-on, the forced gameplay detracts from the natural flow and progression.

I have no idea what to expect come Tuesday, but I do have high hopes. Let's hope Microsoft remembers the past and heads in the right direction.

Posted with Blogsy

It's So Hard To Say Goodbye

After 281 consecutive weeks of downloadable content, on April 2, 2013, Don McLean's "American Pie" marked the day Rock Band's weekly DLC ended. I visited the depths of my basement and saw the dusty remnants of my rock god past awaiting the next neighborhood garage sale. But though the age of popular plastic instrument accumulation has long since passed, the successes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band will leave an indelible mark on my memory of the current console generation, worthy to stand alongside of the likes of Super Mario Bros. and Tetris on the NES or Halo 2 on the Xbox.

Just the facts

Guitar Hero/rock Band titles (15) in my Xbox history (in no particular order):

Guitar Hero 2; Beatles: Rock Band; Rock Band Blitz; Rock Band 3; Guitar Hero: Metallica; Rock Band 2; Rock Band; Guitar Hero 5; Guitar Hero 3; Rock Band: Country Pack; Guitar Hero: Van Halen; Guitar Hero: Smash Hits; Guitar Hero: World Tour; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith; Rock Band: AC/DC

Rock Band Unplugged (PSP)

4 guitars, 2 sets of drums, 2 microphones, 1 keytar

447 songs in RB3 library, 8.9 GB on Hard Drive

461/671 achievements (68.7%)

8,600/13,250 G (64.9%)

17.5% of my total Gamerscore (49,092) is from the above titles

Just the feelings

I am not even sure where to begin exactly. I would be remiss if I didn't mention two great pieces from Penny Arcade Report: the first describing Rock Band as the best argument for video games' potential to be art, the latter a reflection on the end of weekly DLC. As for this post, it's more personal to me though I suspect the story is similar to many.

Maybe the seeds of Guitar Hero addiction were planted deep within my gaming soul when I was a wee child in 1981. Activision released a game called Kaboom! in which a mad bomber dropped bombs from the top of the screen in increasingly greater numbers and quickening pace. The player was responsible for dousing the bombs' fuses in buckets of water maneuvered on the screen using the Atari paddle controller.

Fast forward to 2006 when I first played Guitar Hero 2 on a PS2. Falling jewels, odd controller, rhythm mechanics and a great rock soundtrack later and I was firmly hooked. I marathoned through (foreshadowing) my inital medium run through knowing that "Freebird" was the final encore. How perfect. The humor was pitch perfect as well, verifying that I really, truly, really wanted to attempt to play the legendary tune. I couldn't wait for the game to come out on the 360.

I dove in head first. I made the slow progression through the game's perfect learning curve. I added the orange fret to my repertoire, shifted my starting position to rest my middle finger on the yellow fret, figured out the benefits to the strumless HO/PO, and lastly shifted from the down-press strum to the controlled up/down strum. I was so obsessed that I modded my X-plorer guitar, inserting small fret-sized, cardboard cutouts to increase button sensivity/activation/de-activation.

The thing was, Guitar Hero and Rock Band became a cultural phenomenon. Non-gaming folks knew and played the game publicly. Of course the local game shop had a Van Halen-inspired GH booth for play, but the local sports bar had a Guitar Hero night and I came away with free swag for winning. In the course of the Rock Band evolution, I would play with my young nephews and nieces, brothers and sisters-in-law, and even parents.

There have been no shortage of GH/RB memories: working through Expert playlists, playing with the GameJabber band to compete with other Geezer Gamer bands, NYE 2008, putting together a full Beatles band (3 mics, Ion drums) at Game Junkie's, seeing friends play and 5-star "Jordan" and "TTFAF" on Expert, drawing a small crowd at the GH arcade machine at the "World's Largest Entertainment McDonald's & PlayPlace" in Orlando with a little "Paint It Black" on expert (easily impressed I suppose), and seeing the well-worn spot on the carpet where I would plant my rear for hours at a time. But probably the most notorious memory for terribly right and wrong reasons, was the run Pez and I made on the Rock Band 2's Endless Setlist 2.

Heading in, we knew this achievement run was probably a one-off, 100 G for Platinum, Gold and Vinyl Artist and more importantly, 25 G for the Bladder of Steel. In the perfect storm of external factors, my then-girlfriend was not only out of town, but out of the country, and an October Sunday afternoon set up as our small window of opportunity. For the curious, the Bladder of Steel achievement required not only a serious, continuous time commitment (6.5 hours or so of Rock Band 2 goodness (and crappiness)), but also serious skill to not fail while playing on Expert. Bad batteries, inadvertent pauses, a tough run on a solo section and the opportunity was lost.

It was a fine line to balance between consumption of BAWLS energy drink and 84 songs and I tried to assure myself that the 32 oz. Gatorade bottle would suffice in case of an emergency. Thankfully, I did not need to resort to that, but it was perhaps more from fear of well... let's just say fear more than anything else. The mistake I made though was having my laptop on beside me. Not a problem by itself but made so when I decided to answer the Skype call from Kuala Lumpur from the then-girlfriend. Needless to say, it did not take very long to discover simultaneous internet calling and Endless Setlist 2 playing were not very compatible. A close call with "Visions" and a long-past due restroom break later, achievements were unlocked and my now-wife would always have a story to hold over me about how she lost the Skype/Xbox battle to Rock Band 2. And what can I do but shrug my shoulders and sheepishly mention that I love her.

So with some nostalgia, I dusted off my modded plastic guitar, queued up "American Pie," and "remember how that music used to make me smile." And I do not exaggerate when I say I literally got goosebumps playing. It just seemed right... perfect.. especially when my wife, who had casually reading on the couch, asked if she could play with me.

 

Posted with Blogsy

I want a hamburger. No, a cheeseburger. I want a hot dog...

As we stand on or over the cusp of the next generation of consoles, I wonder where my gaming lifestyle will intersect with the future of gaming. Gone are the repeated days of marathon gaming sessions. I don't have the ability nor the inclination to come home from work, fire up the Xbox, and play until 2:00 or 3:00 a.m. with only the Taco Bell dinner interruption.

With the dual constraints of time and budget, gaming now often consists of manageable, bite-sized sessions consisting of rounds in Hot Shots Golf or Tiger Woods, the Halo Tuesday appearance, an occasional Jeopardy! practice. They do not require large investments of time or attention. It's not that I'm not willing nor is there a lack of titles to play. But there are going to be limits, what will crack the rotation needs to be something special and therein lies the challenge to and for the next generation of consoles.

During the years since the 360's release, I've logged more hours than I care to know. While I have loved my time alternating between enlistment with the UNSC and COG, it has been the non-staples, the not AAAs, the unexpected titles that have most captured my heart as favorites of the system. Certainly, I have been impressed with Red Dead Redemption and Modern Warfare, but it's the likes of Kameo, Rockstar Presents Table Tennis, Halo Wars, Rayman Origins, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown that are stand outs. In some ways, I believe the same to be true for the Vita as well. Gravity Rush has been my most memorable game experience on the handheld even if it hasn't received all the play time of say Hot Shots Golf.

There have been shorter experiences (and cheaper) but still classic and memorable. Geometry Wars, Rez, Shank 1 and 2, Trenched/Iron Brigade, The Walking Dead, Catan, Castle Crashers, Mark of the Ninja from XBLA. Sound Shapes, Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Motorstorm RC on Vita. I haven't played much of Guacamelee! and Retro City Rampage but have heard good things about these titles as well.

I understand we're in the age of the .99 iOS download and I appreciate the addicitive qualities of Angry Birds and Temple Run as much as the next guy. I don't expect free-to-play though rumors exist that maybe it could work (Phantasy Star Online 2). I think there's something to be said about what a developer can bring when not faced with the pressures of creating a AAA title. With such high stakes involved, it's much easier to churn out Madden X than it is to release Child of Eden.

I want something that will foster my online community, in-game and out. I want portability and the opportunity to immerse myself in game discussion, info, stats, on-going developments. I want choices that have meaning and effect. I want others to play and influence what I see, how I play. I want cross-platform. I want noob friendly but interesting and challenging enough that games are difficult to master. I want shiny graphics but also compelling story and characters. I want to play with friends cooperatively and competitively. I want games that can be taken in small bits but are engaging and varied enough to sustain marathon sessions. I want precise controls that aren't overwrought or complicated. I want flexibilty to adjust difficulty, turn off and on voice or motion controls, save or sleep when and where I might need unexpectedly.

Most of all, I want something I don't even know I want yet. I want something new. Is that too much to ask?

 

Posted with Blogsy

You're the Best Around (almost)

I love the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. There is a terrific and rare understated child performance by Max Pomeranc, a wonderful supporting cast with Ben Kingsley, Joan Allen, Joe Mantegna and Laurence Fishburne. There's a scene where Laura Linney, the chess prodigy's school teacher, speaks to the father regarding the travel to chess tournaments that the boy has taken, how the class hears about hotels in Washington, D.C. or Philadelphia but not about the monuments or sites. The dad, upset with what he perceives to be the slight, tries to describe his son's talent and how the boy is better at chess than he is at anything in his life, better than the teacher will be at anything, ever in her life. Oh to be the best.

It was no secret. The reason why I wanted the Vita was for Hot Shots Golf. It was a series that I had spent endless hours with on PS2 and PSP through various iterations. In fact, since Golf was released for the NES, I have trained in the art of the three-button-push golf sim. And while there may be more bells and whistles of super spin, more colorful and detailed graphics, even more colorful and often grossly caricatured "ethnic" characters, the object and execution has largely remained the same.

But what Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational offered, at least what I had hoped, was the chance to measure up against the best. Sure, there is a certain level of dedication to unlock the courses, characters, costumes, clubs, crowns, but live competition -- sign me up! Into the fray I ventured. Live lobbies and tournaments complete with text chat, daily online tournaments, and of course, leaderboards. Friend filters, percentile rankings. All of a sudden, there was an accessible, competitive online community. And most important, I found that it was one I could even have an occasional amount of success.

Odd that despite the bit of FPS fatigue I have, I turn daily to the same routine of firing up my daily HSG tourney. And while I have some 800 official rounds in, the competitive stakes remain high. Certainly the community is smaller than it was in the past. In fact, the DLC may have actually had the reverse effect of expanding the player pool by excluding those who have not downloaded the three new courses. Typically, a weekly tournament will contain a thousand or so entrants. The people still playing are the really hardcore; average scores for 9-hole rounds often sit at -5 for better. It takes something special to crack the Top 100 for a day, let alone an entire six-day tournament.

But there have been the occasions where I've found that something special. A miracle pin seeker, making all the putts I should and maybe some that I shouldn't, maintaining the birdie or better pace with a chip-in after missing the green in regulation. And that's why I still play.

I understand that 132/48790 is more a testament to volume than quality and I know that my PS name is not recognizable like a MrPinhigh69 or miamiheatowns, but when I play HSG, I feel more like the SR133 than the SR57 guy, and it's pretty cool.

Posted with Blogsy

Too Afraid to Play?

While I loved the high stakes involved in Iron Man mode of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, an unfortunate consequence manifested itself after repeated unsuccessful campaigns -- I became so afraid to fail that I haven't revisited nor completed what I selected as my 2012 GotY.

Having read enough to know not to name characters from my Xbox friends list, I made my way through famous soccer players (matched with country of origin), Cincinnati Bengals, characters from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and most recently, and with some success, favorites (later dipping into the obscure) from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.. <<cue trumpet fanfare>>.

My forces were leveled up, covered all classes, tech was researched and developed. My base fully operational. But there were just enough losses that hurt. Bonba Fett with 70+ kills in twenty missions. I turned to SHIV thinking less attachment meant more expendable. Unfortunately, SHIV replacements were ultimately not as effective as a real soldier and really was a sub-standard heavy.

I made it to the point where I cleared a campaign hurdle. For the most part, I rarely felt overmatched against the alien enemies. The fear is there are hours of gameplay and repeated gameplay to get where I am. The last thing I want is to run into a terror mission and face a batch of chryssalids. Or worse, see a 90% hit rate miss and find myself on the wrong end of a tactical situation that seems like was played correctly.

Ultimately, in the back of my mind, I know this attempt is the last go I'll give this game. Sure, I suppose a lot of this trepidation can be taken care of by not playing Iron Man mode. But in a game where such high stakes was a big attraction and basis for the game's tension, it seems like playing it any other way is playing a different game.

And that's the thing, the game's identity is tied most significantly to its difficulty. It is the love/hate that inspires the enthusiasm for XCOM, the punishing tasks that reward with waves of relief and satisfaction. Tactical at its core, the game's pace often favors prudence and strategic positioning, cover and wait.

If there is a flaw in the game, it is with the perceived fairness or lack thereof concerning expected outcomes. When so much time is spent on making the right move(s), resentment grows beyond mere acceptance of "that's just XCOM" explanations. Even more so considering that losses can be not only great but permanent.

And so there I was.. in fact, here I am. I haven't touched the game since January and I'm still not sure if I will venture back. It is a game that I want to put the notch in my belt, a true badge of honor. But do I risk the frustration, will it sour my opinion of the game to jump back in and lose? Does the uncompleted pile of shame weigh more heavily than the pile of games that can't be beaten? It's hard to say. Maybe I'll just tee up another round of Tiger Woods while I try to decide.

 

Posted with Blogsy