There’s no denying it. Sony’s PlayStation 2 was the most successful console of all time. On March 3rd, 2000 the PS2 was released in Japan, and in just 48 hours nearly 1 million PS2s were sold to giddy consumers, making it 10 times more successful than its predecessor. As of June 2005 more than 90 million PS2s had shipped worldwide and by November the PS2 was the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch (the PS1 taking over 9 years to reach the same benchmark). Last year the PS2 had ranked up 120 million units in sales, which is no mean feat. And it’s still selling strong. Last year the slim line model sold more than 100,000 units every month, and according to vgchartz.com the PS2 has sold an approximate average of 996,730 units a month since August. So what is Sony doing to exploit this steady demand? Not much, it would seem, when you consider the almost complete absence of the PlayStation 2 at GDC, E3, the German Games Convention and TGS.
We, as gamers, have just been terribly spoiled. Everything we’ve wanted has been supplied over the last few months. Innovation? Just pop in Super Mario Galaxy. A good story? Try a bit of Mass Effect. Is action your thing? Have a go on Call of Duty 4. What about immersion? The watery world of Rapture is just a loading screen away in Bioshock. Not for a very long time now has the gaming scene been so varied and so full of promise. Developers are experimenting with game design in Portal, presenting never-before-seen graphics in the like of Crysis, and encouraging group play in ways we’d only half-imagined with Rock Band. For every Lair and Spiderman 3 there’s been a flood of great games to make up for it; Halo 3, skate, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Metroid Prime 3, Zack and Wiki, PGR4. Everyone has been accounted for, and everyone has been sated.
Is it all about to come to end? We’ve entered a new year, and with it comes uncertainty. Whispers of a gaming drought are abound, rumours of us being left with nothing but 2007’s dregs, those titles that didn’t quite make it into the holiday period. Are we really going to have to break out the old consoles, or return to the games we didn’t have either the time or money to play? Perhaps’but there is hope, and a little investigation proves that there are, in fact, plenty of titles to keep the hardcore gamer happy in the coming months; some of which you may be aware, others hidden gems. Join us, as we delve deep into the offerings of Q1 2008.
This is another feature I wrote a few months back, so the chronological inconsistencies are not errors! I thought it was a nice enough piece so here it is.
Halo 3 and Bioshock are here. They’re essentially the two biggest titles on the Xbox 360 this year – if not two of the biggest titles to ever be released – and they’ve been phenomenally well received. Currently on Metacritic.com Halo 3 is averaging 95/100 from 50 reviews, and Bioshock 96/100 from 76 reviews. Being that these games are principally FPSes – the most predominant genre on the market – how are they distinguishing themselves in a significant way? Are they really that different from the other games out there? How do they compare, and what contrasts can be drawn?
It wouldn’t be entirely unfair to argue that both games are, in substance, nothing new – just magnificent examples of the genre. However, the FPS label is but a skin-deep one for these powerhouse titles. It is in their concept and execution that they show their true, vibrant colours.
I found a couple of pieces I wrote quite a few months back hiding away in the dark corners of my PC a few moments ago, and I thought it would be cool to share them here. My writing has improved much since, but I’m proud of this nonetheless. So here it is!
It all begins so peacefully. Leon Redfield stares idly out of a car window as the scenery rushes past, engaging in idle chit-chatter with his two drivers. Not long after we see the typical horror film cliché, Leon leaving to investigate all by his lonesome, leaving the two men behind as he heads towards the unknown.
Then comes a moment so scary it’ll have you emptying your entire clip in a rush of adrenaline. In a cut scene that so greatly resembles the controversial ‘head-turning’ sequence of the very first Resident Evil Leon is attacked without provocation by what at first appears a docile inhabitant of this remote village. However, this is no zombie…
Moving on, Leon views the township through the safety of his binoculars. Cows chew lazily in their stalls, clucking chickens scamper to and fro, men tend to the crops, and women stoke a huge fire on which burns the corpses of previous trespassers. Clearly this is a place that rests on a knife edge between rural tranquility and horrific butchery, and surely with Leon’s arrival this delicate balance will only last so long.
And so begins your momentous, horrifying, and unquestionably gripping journey. Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 – the sixth entry into the Resident Evil franchise – kicks off with one of gaming’s most memorable and scary openings to date. It’s danger from the get-go, and it doesn’t let up. Well, maybe just long enough for you to start thinking you’re safe again…
Some games introduce new methods of play, many raise the bar for what it possible with current technology, and others change the way you perceive games and just exactly what they’re capable of. Half-Life thrives in all three categories. We’re not just talking in terms of graphics and play here, but rather a full experience in all aspects of gaming – one that grips you from the very moment you immerse yourself in it until the credits roll. Half-Life was a game that – in its time – embodied everything this writer had ever wanted from his favorite hobby.
A quick little proviso before I go on. I’ve never played any of the Every Extend games before; this was my first experience with one. Therefore I’m talking about this game as a stand alone experience, rather than in the context of the games that came before. So, erm, yeah…read on!
Q Entertainment’s Every Extend Extra Extreme is a difficult game to classify. It’s a puzzle game with no puzzles, a rhythm action game where you spend most of the time watching rather than hitting buttons. The first time I picked up the pad I had no idea what a ‘Quicken’ did, why my avatar disappeared for minutes at a time, or generally what on earth was going on. But I was loving every second, and therein lays part of what makes E4 such an engaging experience. The careful combination of sound, visuals and vibration is dazzling enough that even when you have only the vaguest of ideas surrounding the mechanics of play it can still dazzle and excite.
Perfect. It’s a word that gets thrown around with far too much disregard for its true meaning in these somewhat throwaway days of games journalism. Personally, I would hesitate to use it any games review, no matter how mind-blowingly orgasmic it might be. However, with Portal, it almost feels appropriate.
You see, Portal tries to be nothing but that which it is; basically an add-on packaged in with four amazing other games. Yet it applies itself to this role in an impressive way. Portal is one hell of a puzzler with a stylistic sheen covering every inch of its composition. The elements it brings to the player – innovation, ideas, substance and puzzles – are all there in abundance, and are pulled off with a deft touch. Everything feels right, the gameplay, presentation, sound design and ambience combining to make a single experience that is so much more than the sum of its parts. Portal exists almost in its own little bubble, and it is one that would be very difficult to burst.
At the time of writing my Gamerscore is at a rather respectable 9963. I’m one achievement away from reaching 10,000. Just one more level on Call of Duty 4’s veteran difficulty and I’ll be right up there, those five digits available for everyone to see in all their glory. I’ll have entered the upper echelons of the gaming hierarchy, one of the elite, a king amongst men.
Or not. I’ll still be the same gamer I was before, I won’t move up in any ranking system, I’m not going to get paid, I won’t get a better quality of life. Hell, I’m not even going to be able to trade them in for dashboard themes or gamer pics. The only real end result is the dawning realization that I’ve played what probably amounts to far too many games.
So why do I, and many gamers like me, look forward to that next blip? The one accompanied with a short message letting me know what I’ve managed to do and assigning it a numerical value. What is it about this small implementation that arouses not only a sense of pleasure when we attain it, but also ire and fondness in equal parts within the gaming community at large? Most gamers fall into one of two camps; those who see achievements as one of the generation’s greatest innovations, a design choice that opens up a whole new way of playing games, and those who see achievements as a cheap way to entice greedy gamers to pay for titles simply to obtain what, really, amounts to an entirely arbitrary score.
The original DMC was a strange crossbreed. Elements of both Resident Evil and Onimusha could be felt in abundance and western and eastern traits were juxtaposed, especially in the lead character’s traits. It was a title that swaggered into the thirdperson action genre with a remarkable style that’s stayed ingrained in many a gamer’s mind. Almost seven years after the original’s release and DMC is ready to make its return.
It hit Sony hard losing Devil May Cry 4’s exclusivity. Having their grip lessened on a franchise that up to now had only appeared on Sony consoles, mere days before the PS3’s launch across PAL territories, meant Sony’s uphill struggle had just got harder. But for us gamers the chance for the title to reach as wide an audience as possible is nothing but good news. Still, even by Capcom’s legendary standards DMC4 has taken its sweet time to get out the door, and is finally arriving early next month. Hopefully the lengthy development cycle will be worth the wait.
It was way back in 2006 when Quantic Dream first introduced Heavy Rain at E3. The above video was the visually astounding tech demo they presented, called ‘The Casting’. As you can see it shows the various technical features of the game engine, the most notable of which being full body and facial motion capture, real-time tears, advanced skin shades, and some advanced rendering features such as depth of field, spherical harmonics, auto exposure and high dynamic range rendering. The technology used in the demo enables animations of pupil dilation, tongue, eyes, fingers, and dynamic hair. Although games like Heavenly Sword have got cut scenes with absolutely fantastic motion capture, this is all done in game. When I first saw it back in 2006 I was blown away and couldn’t wait to see more, but when nothing came my attention drifted elsewhere.
Chris McMahon is a gaming enthusiast, and a fresh-faced recruit into the world of games journalism. He's currently writing for gamesTM, and is learning his way around the people and workings of the industry. He's also pretty awesome at Guitar Hero ;-) Read, enjoy, and if you want to get in touch, do so at camcmahon@hotmail.co.uk.
