Boredom is Always Counter-Revolutionary: Believe in the Perpetual Revolution.

• 10Jun 13

  E3 Doesn't Stand a Chance

  It's June, it's E3 2013! Possibly the most important E3 of the last few years. Now that the PS4 and the XONE have been announced, we are awaiting more news on the details of these consoles and the bevvy of initial games we can expect on the systems. Naturally, a lot of these are expected to straddle the current generation and next-generation consoles, but word has it that there are an awful lot of new titles waiting to be unleashed. It's guaranteed to be an exciting week for video games. All of the DRM discussion regarding the XONE has been very unfortunate, especially considering the rise of always-on DRM on PC games. However, PC gamers like me have been living in a non-used game world for almost the last decade, so the entire problem blowing up now as a result of these new consoles is rather crazy. Still, it was bound to blow up eventually. Anyway, be sure to check out everything GameSpot is planning over the show including the usual stage show, interviews and the like, alongside our sister site Giant Bomb who will no-doubt be doing blow-out podcasts every evening and other nonsense. Also shout out to m'colleagues c_rake and edubuccaneer who are live in Los Angeles covering E3 for Entertainium.org (to which I've contributed a review or two including Fez and Poker Night 2), so be sure to check out all their content to.

  

  In other news a lot of things have been happening which I haven't been telling you about because I've been neglecting this blog again. First off I've started infrequently streaming games on Twitch.tv. Already I've streamed some Curse of Monkey Island, FTL, Start Trek Online (in 3 broken parts) and Half-Life 2. Hope to continue to stream whenever I find the time convenient and I have a game that doesn't crash everything. For example I was experimenting with trying to stream XCOM and immediately my computer when to BSoD so I'm not trying that again in a hurry. Tune in some time soon (will announce on Twitter) when I hope to play through all of Portal (original) whilst discussing E3 developments we may learn this evening. Also feel free to suggest any PC games you'd like to see highlighted. Apologies for the background hissing on all the videos but this is just my bad quality mic and until I invest in a better one it isnt going away. In other news I've naturally been playing an innumerable host of video games, the major one being Tomb Raider (2013). I was pleasantly surprised by how downright great Tomb Raider was. Truth be told it isn't a Tomb Raider game anymore really, since the gameplay more closely approximates Uncharted rather than what you got in the old-style Tomb Raiders. Nonetheless, the rebooted Tomb Raider is an all-round great game to play, being a proficient third-person shooter with an interesting plot and great gameplay. Its internal progression of gradually giving Lara more and more equipment reminded me heavily of Arkham Asylum, as is its linear, hub-and-spoke approach to level design. Lara is a great character and although she very suddenly transitions from naïve archaeologist to bloodthirsty sole survivor, I had no problem with accepting it given all the downright horrible things that happen to her throughout the game.

  I have more to say, but I haven't time since Microsoft Conference is about to begin! Hold onto your hats.

  • Posted Jun 10, 2013 8:57 am GMT
  • Category: News
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• 13Apr 13

  Hail, Columbia

  Always feels like its been a while since my last blog. That's usually because it has been. So, a gaming round-up then I suppose? Well, where else can we start but with BioShock Infinite. In plain terms, if you liked BioShock, you will like BioShock Infinite. It's an outstanding achievement in game narrative and finally breaks the curse and delivers an ending which is genuinely intriguing and unexpected. It doesn't have the same denouement twist in the second act, but that's because Infinite doesn't really follow a 3 act structure, which in itself is an achievement. The game is not without fault: The last third of the game is the least interesting with some rather bland environments and no down time to simply explore the world of Columbia, and there are various logical and character moments which will require you to suspend disbelief more than absolutely necessary, but overall Infinite is a triumph. I'd also call it the BioShock game with the best gameplay, which at first glance reminded me a lot of RAGE because there's a speed and fluidity to your movements and a hectic pace to the combat. The decision to limit you to 2 active guns and 2 active Vigours at a time is interesting, and whilst I think the Vigour switching works really well I did kind of slip into a rut with using the same guns I had got used to throughout most of the game. The most incredible bit of Infinite has to be its mesmerising first hour where you arrive in the floating city of Columbia and simply explore for a little while, soaking in the atmosphere and marvelling at how gorgeous everything looks. The song Will The Circle Be Unbroken will be going round in your head long after you've stopped playing. It's also good to know that the character of Elizabeth, who accompanies you throughout the game, never feels like a burden. She's an interesting and developed personality who is useful in combat by often throwing ammunition and other items in your direction. These interactions are quite "gamey" as is her chucking coins at your head every five minutes, but I must admit I really liked her scrounging for money and picking up everything that wasn't bolted down, because it was exactly what I was doing. Also, I enjoyed Booker DeWitt talking. Didn't think I'd like it before, but when I actually started playing it really helped to give Booker a proper backstory and personality.

  

  In other games, XCOM. My god, XCOM! Prior to playing Enemy Unknown, I'd never particularly seen the appeal of turn-based strategies. I'd lived with it in Total War because if Total War wasn't turn based it would be incredibly complicated and difficult to understand (yes, I'm looking at you Crusader Kings II). The tension and drama that arises as a result of the turn-based aspect of XCOM is incredibly thrilling and difficult to replicate. More than many other games I've played, it truly feels strategic, that I am making decisions which will either make or break my team of soldiers. Occasionally XCOM does feel unfair; for example I dislike the free movement turn the aliens get after you discover them, plus some enemies seem to have uncannily accurate shots. However, the stakes always feel very high, especially when panic is rampaging out of control. For example in my game, panic in Russia is at its highest level and I'm scared that Russia might abandon the XCOM Project. I can launch a satellite over them, but the satellite takes 20 days to build which might not be enough time. There is always a shortage of resources and a scarcity of funds which makes every decision feel critical. I kind of wish you could sell off unneeded equipment on the Grey Market as you can do with alien parts, because some of the older armour I never use anymore. The story is pretty thin but really the joy of the game is inventing the stories of the soldiers in your team. I like my international band of soldiers and feel devastated every time we lose someone.

  Anyway, thats video games. Work continues to be busy, the weather continues to be dreadful, and I continue to continue.

  • Posted Apr 13, 2013 1:00 pm GMT
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• 17Feb 13

  Accept the Payne

  Max Payne 3 is a contradictory game which doesnt immediately ingratiate itself with the player. It's about an alcoholic ex-cop who moves to Sao Paulo and proceeds to massacre half the criminal underworld because of his deluded sense of justice. Yet playing Max Payne 3 is actually pretty satisfying, once you get used to how incredibly fragile Max has become in his old age. He can't take more than one or three shots before keeling over, so staying in cover is actually pretty important. On the one hand, a large part of me is disappointed that Rockstar Games turned my beloved Max Payne into a game which plays just like every other proficient 3rd-person shooter out there, but on the other the bullet time still looks and feels really cool, and even with the weight of 2 previous games heavy on his shoulders Max is still able to look svelte and agile. On the PC the game is downright gorgeous but I'm still flummoxed why it needed a blistering 30GB of hard disk space, because none of the textures look that good or that high rez. I can only assume it was due to poor optimization, but from a gameplay perspective there is no stuttering or lagging. Rather just some pretty obtrusive screen-tearing in several spots. The kind that when you notice it makes you go Argh! Still, I enjoyed Max Payne 3 while it lasted. Don't really want to play it again, and don't really want to play the multiplayer either, so there you are.

  

  In other news my daily job has become such a frenzy since December I often find myself mentally exhausted by the end of the day, and thus my tolerance for frustrating or sub-standard games is wearing thin. My example of this is Test Drive Unlimited 2, which I picked up for a song in a recent Steam sale. Test Drive suffers from what I have dubbed the FUEL Dilemma: Its got a massive, sprawling endless world and very little interesting content with which to populate it. I still fail to see why the game should be semi-multiplayer all the time, since you hardly interact with other players unless you specifically seek them out. The game has 2 islands, Ibiza and Hawaii, which are gigantic and have a variety of roads which try to mimic real-life, but since the AI traffic is so light and the islands are devoid of pedestrians, everywhere feels like a ghost town. All of the social interactive nonsense just feels like window dressing, but the main reason I disliked my time with Test Drive was simply how badly the cars handled. I never felt like I got to grips with a vehicle, and often I'd find myself spinning out on a corner, stopping, and then not being able to get going again in a straight line. The punishing level of difficulty in the Driving Schools is counter-balanced by the laughable AI in the races. Like FUEL, Test Drive has a lot of potential but its missing an awful lot of basic functionality.

  

  Quick roundup of other things Ive been playing, including Skyrim (downloaded Dawnguard, pretty good), L.A. Noire (went back because damn, I love L.A. Noire) and yesterday started up some XCOM: Enemy Unknown. When youre winning XCOM feels awesome but when youre losing good soldiers left, right and centre XCOM feels like its kicking you in the teeth and spitting on your grave. Oh yes, and it was my birthday last week. 24 feels damn similar to 23.

  Oh and final, final thing: SYSTEM SHOCK 2 IS OUT ON gog.com. So you know, buy it.

  • Posted Feb 17, 2013 2:11 pm GMT
  • Category: Games
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