Hello all. I just thought I would do a quick post saying hello, despite reaching level 8 and it seeming all rather late. I am a Brit as you will soon come to tell, probably by my spelling, words and (what I would like to believe is witty)ranting. Not to mention my more than average use of brackets. Despite the date I joined I have been a companion of Gamespots since quite a young age actually, and only as of recent decided to make an account, and can soon see me wishing I hadn't. I have posted quite a bit so you may have seen my name, not to mention on a previous account which I...kind of lost, I have done reviews as well. However, I would like to post somewhat regularly, though gaming and sixth form can be a hindrance. Nonetheless, I figure this is a brilliant opportunity. I love to write and I'm pursuing my dream of becoming a successful author. I love it, as I am usually very quiet so get the most out of expressing myself over the internet where you can't beat me up and teabag my beaten corpse (Oh I know you won't). Therefore, alongside practicing writing stories, what better way than to write about what has, sadly give or take, been the biggest part of my life, GAMES! And with over 200 with both my PS3 and PS2 combined I like to think of myself as a hardcore gamer. Not to mention my PSP and PC games and of course the fact I've played games since I was two years old on my dads lap. Aah, the fun I had on the Playstation 1. I love to keep up to date with the latest news on video games I'm tracking, and often wind up finding too many I love, so it's good that I don't buy much else. My preferred games are racing, action and fighting games but I will happily play first person shooters and platformers as well. Anywho, it's getting pretty late so I'll wrap it up with saying I look forward to a jolly good chat and a bit of banter on the latest and greatest of gaming news. If you want, spread my name about, if not that's okay as well. Feel free to laugh and joke all you like. Life can be a bit of a drag at times so we can all use one. And I look forward to, what will hopefully be a future of many posts but until then, goodnight.

• 23Nov 12

  How long until games run out of ideas?

  Nearly every day a new game, or multiple new games are released. This is refreshing after you become bored with whatever you purchased last. You 100% (I actually don't know you that well) that last game and realize there probably isn't that much to do. So you move on and buy the next anticipated purchase on your list of goodies, assuming it's released of course. And what do we do? We get it legally of course, and support Activision and EA all the way (Yeah, fat **** chance in that scenario). Anyway, what this all boils down to is, how long do we feel refreshed by a games new release before it becomes "stale"? You see, like everything, you can only take it so far. There is only so much that can be thought up by the human race, and let's face it, most of the idea's are being used up. Take an FPS for example. No matter how compelling your story, lovable your characters are, or brilliant the level designs have become, we all feel that point were we want a break from shooting things in the face with a gun.
  
  Now there are of course, plenty of original idea's out there. I get that, and it's one of the reasons I'm a hardcore gamer in the first place. What? You thought Dance Dance Revolution was the reason I'm gaming and not killing things? Well I have been said to look good in tight outfits. That was sarcasm by the way. Yes, yes I know text can be confusing, but you can look forward to nursery (or kindergarten) in the morning. Anyway back on track. The problem is, although we have a few new idea's and gimmicks in the game world, we have reached that point were they are all capable of being put into a class. You know, things like "adventure", "fighting" "RPG" and so on. Let's take the FPS genre as an example. It is, after all, pretty much the most popular of the lot these days. There is obviously room for different levels and stories, but you always get that first person perspective, and same objective of shooting everything in the testicles and blowing everything up. No matter what FPS it is that you play, you will at some point, do these things I guarantee it.
  
  What I like is when games try to take things in a different direction with the mechanics i.e. a complete overhaul on an already existing idea's. Obviously it's hard to come up with something original, but expanding on an idea can be a good alternative. Let's look at Naughty Dogs upcoming title The Last of Us. This takes the whole apocalyptic third person shooter scenario and adds an interesting twist: Emotion. The A.I. and characters are going to seem like real people and I really like the idea of a take on an already existing idea such as this. Most gamers (if you can call them that) are the mindless drones that are happy so long as they have a gun that appears in every war game, and a terrorist called Abdul Al Allahbomb to gun down in a second. So many games take this approach. Use a stereotypical gun in a stereotypical war scenario with stereotypical war soldiers and stereotypical blockbuster explosions that are far more glorified than what the military has to offer.
  
  Anyway, the truth is that with each game that is released, the more idea's we run out of. Reboots are solid proof of this. But there's borrowing, and then blatantly copying one another. Furthermore, we have sex. With fighting games it's usually less copying one another as there are very few successful franchise out there, a shame considering they're one of my favourite genre's, and more sex appeal. Sweet mother of Jesus have you seen some of those chicks in fighting games!? They're essentially what every gamer wants his girlfriend (some day you'll get one mate) to look like. To quote Ninja Ninja from the Afro Samurai game they got it all **** ass...****ss". Mai from KOF, Chun Li from Street Fighter, Nina from Tekken, Ivy from Soul Calibur, and everyone in Dead or Alive and Mortal Kombat. These selling points are appearing more and more as marketing schemes and they work.
  
  Now obviously I could go on and on and on and on about what every genre has in common, which I guess makes sense if it is, after all, a genre. So I have another little question in here for you rather than dedicating it to a whole new topic. Do you think developers should become more involved with their audience in taking advice on what to implement into games? After all, you play them. Surely you have some good criticisms and advice. Then they could take whatever idea's prove popular or interesting and then ask the fans if they would be intrigued were that idea implemented into the game. I'm talking even one person posting a remotely interesting idea. If they like it then ask if it should be used. And if the fans like the idea then hey, another reason to buy their game!
  • Posted Nov 23, 2012 4:43 pm GMT
  • Category: Writing
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• 18Nov 12

  STOP focussing on the scores!

  The title pretty much sums this whole thing up. Seriously, I've begun to question why scores in game reviews are seen as so important. The honest truth is it's better for you to look through the review and then come to a judgement yourself. Recently I read through Gamespot's review of Hitman Absolution; A game I have pre-ordered and been looking forward to for quite some time now. Anyway, I noticed Kevin VanOrd received a lot of grief for rating the game a 7.5. Now do not think for a second I am trying to fight some sort of battle for him, he's a grown man and can do that himself. Rather I 'm ranting about how that little number is more important to people than the review itself. In the words of Peter Griffin "Oh my god. Who...The hell...Caaares?". If you're unaware of what the game received, it got a 7.5 which is, by Gamespot's standards, GOOD! Yes, that means it is a good game. Not bad, but good i.e. fun to play but not without its problems. I cannot help but feel like number rating systems should be demolished completely and we should just focus on the criticisms and appraisals given. Everyone ends up being all up in arms if a game doesn't receive a 9 or higher. I want this to be a shorter article because there isn't too much to say but PLEASE, concentrate on the critique rather than the number. That's what's important!
  • Posted Nov 18, 2012 9:26 am GMT
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• 13Nov 12

  Is it all going balls up for the games industry?

  I recently thought of another interesting question today. One that frightens me no less. I would like to discuss how badly it's all been going for the games industry, and how much longer it can all last. Browsing through the internet recently, I have discovered how many games companies are suffering massive losses.Not a great start considering how much time, money and work games take to make then. These losses are far from small, too. We are talking millions and millions of dollars and pounds disappearing. This made me rather concerned, as I, along with many of you, am a gamer be it hardcore or casual. I have been entertained to no end by video games, so you start to get worried when you hear about $20,000,000 losses, not from one company, but several.
  
  I'm not all too surprised either. It takes one stingy bugger with a good argument looking for a chance to make a quick buck to sue a company for a lot of dosh. They are usually the oversensitive or overly selfish individuals who frankly have nothing better to do than make themselves happy. Honestly, they really ************************...me right the hell off. Not only are they dragging a company further down, and limiting the available budget for future productions, they are deriving gamers of a fun experience in the process. Now I won't continue to derive these lowlifes of what negative image they have already received because it will just be me waffling on and cursing a lot, which I don't really like doing. So let's move on shall we?
  
  Next up is the marketing tactics, and my favourite one...DLC! Not downloadable content, which while it isn't without its problems, can be good if done correctly. No, I'm talking about disc locked content. The sickening marketing strategy that is the penultimate way of pulling a fast one. Not much else will put people off your product quite as much as giving them half, and then charging you again for the other half. I'm looking at you Capcom! Now I should tell you, I used to respect Capcom, as did many others. But soon enough, the concept of DLC arose and they took their marketing strategies to an all new low. No I don't want 15 more characters that should be on the disc. Or 100 costumes that you couldn't be arsed to add. Well I do, but at least have the common decency to add them in the original bloody disc. When I buy a £35, £40, especially £50 game, I want the whole product there. Not charged to gain access to another half. Capcom are pulling this again with Devil May Cry DMC with their weapon packs and Vergil chapter. It's not out yet and you have it made so put it on for everyone to have! Borderlands can do it right. Bethesda can do it right (despite being immensely buggy). They give you a huge chunk of content that keep you occupied for hours on end at a reasonable price. Not a few costumes for £3.19. And what's more, it isn't locked on the disc. It's completely separate. Obviously this is a major issue that needs to end and now (even though it probably won't)! I could go on, but for the fear of being lectured on using paragraphs I'll start a new point.
  
  Next up, multiple releases of the same game is never really a smart move. Again, let's use Capcom as an example of this shall we? There must have been about 10 or more different versions of Street Fighter 2. What you're saying by doing that is "Yeah uh, we can't be bothered to make a new game so we'll slap some more characters and stages into the old one" i.e. LAZY! The problem is the franchise is fun, but taken to stupid levels with small releases that should just all be placed in the next game. We shouldn't be charged full price for another release with a few minor changes. That's just taking the Mick. It's charging too much for incomplete content, and no-one can agree with that can they?
  
  Next up is the noticeable amount of change that a game demonstrates. Clearly if something 100% strides away from what made it successful in the first place, that is for the most part, a huge mistake. But rather than talk about that, how about we talk COD? Like it or not, there is no escaping the painstakingly obvious truth that this game has hardly changed since COD 4. Earlier today, my younger brother got Black Ops 2 and, maybe I've been playing too much PC, but the graphics looked even more horrendous than I remembered. Now I don't have anything against COD, it's just so clear that you are blinding yourself from the truth if you cannot see this franchise is being milked so hard the cattle are going to die. Call of Duty has attracted a bunch of hate for this alone, never mind the insanely overpriced map packs which little kids crave like drugs. In fact, speaking of little kids...
  
  The fan base can tarnish a games reputation as well. I'm sorry but 20 screaming kids all using words that I don't understand and rubbing their metaphorical testicles on my dead body isn't nice. No body likes a fan boy. They over defend the product that they so dearly love to the point were it's like they spent all those years making the game they like single handed, and anyone who disagrees can suck it. They don't seem to realize that the game devs are adults capable of fighting their own battles, and choose not to, to maintain their dignity, while they on the other hand are losing all of theirs. I lose so much replayability from games purely because the fan base annoys me like hell. I want a decent match or a decent fight, not a verbal debate about why you want to sexually assault my family while I watch.They are indeed a problem. Mainly because they are sore losers who take it personally if I don't stand there and let them win. Tough chance mates. If you run at me with a grenade yelling "Allah hu Ackbar" joke or not, I'm shooting you. And if we have a race I will choose a car faster than yours. And if we are in a fight I will choose the character I have mained. It's a competition, and I am entitled to as much fun as you feel you are. And hey, even if new multiplayer rules and guidelines leading to bans from taboo language may decrease their sales, at least I'll get some peace and quiet.
  
  The next point is the polish of a game. If a game is not polished i.e. bug ridden and crawling with hackers and exploits that can be immensely off putting. Sure patches can fix the majority of this stuff up, but they can still pester you. In fact, I refuse to continue my Dishonored playthrough. Why? It's not a bad game no, but a pretty much game breaking bug has happened whereby everyone, upon my loaded game, is instantly alerted to my presence and a whole army comes crashing down on me. Things like this shouldn't be there in the first place. I know that not all of them can be patched or fixed immediately but I expect at least some form of polished work. Games like COD are always swarming with them. The game is rushed and thrown out half made, then subject to exploits and glitches like you wouldn't believe. No I'm not hating on it, I'm being realistic. So many games suffer from glitches these days that it seems there is no escaping them. While this may not be an immensely decisive factor when considering a purchase, it's something we can definitely do without.
  
  Another big problem is originality. With each new idea that is invented, it's an idea that cannot be used again otherwise it will be considered a rip off in the future. So many idea's are being used up, that we are deteriorating further and further into the MMS age, as said very well by a good bloke I'm subscribed to named TotalBiscuit, who you have probably heard of. He said it very well. The MMS is essentially Modern Military Shooter. What this is is the same recycled idea of you are an American soldier out on a mission to stop the terrorists...Now there's an idea that we haven't heard a billion times before. Then there's problems like the heavily scripted levels whereby the game pretty much holds your hand the whole way through, and you can only continue so long as the game does what it's meant to. What I mean by this is you can't simply kick down the door blocking your path. Oh no. Your squad mate has to do it for you, because that's all the game allows. Your freedom is too limited and that doesn't make anything fun. It's just boring, scripted crap with the same pretty explosions to desperately try and keep your attention.
  
  Anyway, those are just a few of what I am sure is a near never ending list of problems. Unless they are dealt with the games industry will just continue to go downhill. So, over to you. Can you think of any other issues, or do you have anything to say regarding what I have said? Please feel free to post your thoughts and comments, and i will try and reply to as many of you as possible.
  • Posted Nov 13, 2012 1:23 pm GMT
  • Category: Rant
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