General gaming

General gaming

How Jet Set Radio Brought Pop Culture to Video Games

Posted: 01 Mar 2012 05:52 AM PST

Coming after a massive wave of HD remakes, it might be easy to pass over the upcoming release of Jet set Radio on PC, PSN, and XBLA. Though there hasn't been a sequel in a nearly a decade, JSR stands as a fine example of the creative experiences designers can create when they turn to influences outside of the typical sci-fi/fantasy fare, which seems to dominate the medium.

Masayoshi Kikuchi and his team were bored, despite having just shipped the very successful Panzer Dragoon Saga. After years of working on "epic" stories filled with fantastic fights, magic and danger, the team wanted to try something new. They'd grown tired of creating new worlds for wizards and elves, and wanted to develop something that drew from music, fashion, art, and pop culture at large. "We wanted to work on something that was completely unlike Panzer Dragoon Saga. Something dealing with pop culture and something that was cool," said Kikuchi, in a 2010 interview.

Shepard Hangs Up His (or Her) Rifle (or Pistol)

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 06:13 PM PST

With the production values, scope, and engaging story present in Mass Effect, it's easy to equate the series to a blockbuster Hollywood movie franchise. So often plagued by forced sequels, few trilogies can pump out three quality films; there?s a reason that many choose to pretend the Matrix sequels never existed. And with video games, building on the past can often prove much more difficult.

OP-ED: Borderlands 2 Wisely Goes With Steamworks on PC

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 05:10 PM PST

Borderlands 2

The PC version of the original Borderlands was not exactly an ideal demonstration of how to bring a console game to computers. For the sequel, at least one of the most significant issues should be addressed as a result of Gearbox opting to make use of Steamworks in digital and retail copies of Borderlands 2.

Setting aside online multiplayer for a moment, Borderlands on PC was plagued with numerous issues. Disabling voice chat, enabling the use of the scroll wheel in text boxes, turning on vertical sync -- all three of these seemingly basic options and more were not located in the options, as they should be in any PC game (let alone one from a major developer and publisher). Instead players were forced to consult online guides providing instructions on how to edit the game's configuration files. This largely consists of backing up text files and copy/pasting in new text -- not exactly rocket science -- but it's still a process gamers should never have to go through.

Mass Effect 3: Why Earth is so Damn Important

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 02:55 PM PST

Science fiction, whether the hard sci-fi of Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars Trilogy or flights of fantasy like Star Trek, tends to make the same point about Earth: it's screwed. Once we start writing fiction that takes place sometime after the year 2100 or somesuch, Earth automatically gets attacked, or at the very least, gets filed inside a hostile alien race's "planets to attack during our effort to purge the universe of organic life" folder. Mass Effect 3 is no stranger to such a concept, as evidenced by the latest advertising that boldly states: "Take Back Earth." Yet even the very first imagery, way back in the Spike Video Game Awards 2010, presented Earth-centric imagery. Before ME3's release next week, Jeremy Parish and Thierry Nguyen chatted with lead writer Mac Walters about the importance of our water-heavy planet, the decisions behind who lives or dies in Mass Effect 2's ending/ME3's beginning, and hints about the trilogy's conclusion.

1UP: The thesis of this interview is "What's the Big Deal about Earth?" We have more questions within that, but that's where I want to start. Looking at the promos for Mass Effect 3, the big selling point is, "Oh crap. Here come the Reapers and they are going to destroy Earth." Is there more to the game's story than, "we have to save Earth?"

Why Mass Effect 2's Mordin was Awesome

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:32 PM PST

Feature

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Why Mass Effect 2's Mordin was Awesome

Developer BioWare takes the concept of a science officer to new extremes.

By: Jose Otero February 29, 2012

What makes a character awesome? It's such a hyperbolic yet interesting question, and the response varies depending on the person. And yet, as we explore the large worlds of our favorite role-playing games, it's hard not to notice the characters we become attached to the most as the adventure unfolds. Usually, they're the ones that offer something unique to your party. In some cases it could be awkward interactions or unique perspectives. In others, it could be powerful abilities and battle skills. Regardless of our personal reasons, we become invested in these accomplices and discover that when its time select party members, our most awesome characters get pushed to the front of the line.

Mordin Solus, the Salarian scientist introduced in Mass Effect 2, is an awesome ME character because he epitomizes the coolest nerd in the ME universe: a mysterious, strong-willed, and scarred little scientist who delivers dialogue in quick, direct doses. With his character, BioWare takes the well-known science-fiction trope -- the idea of a science officer in this case -- and transforms it into an affable, fast-talking, tortured soul that believes in consequentialism. As strange as that combination may seem, Mordin is awesome and his prowess as a geneticist makes him an essential member of Shepard's team.

But rather than keep to himself during his research on the Normandy, Mordin accepts many invitations for dialogue, often applying his unique brand of advice and unintentional humor to many situations, (even relationships). Mordin's also involved in one of the notable quests in ME2's story, a side-chapter that revisits the Salarian's involvement in the recalibration of a bio-engineered weapon the genophage.

The Sexism of Mass Effect 2

Posted: 29 Feb 2012 12:20 PM PST

Few developers produce games with appeal as universal as BioWare's games. The studio's RPGs attract male and female fans alike, and their sizable audience likely hosts more diversity than that of any other major Western developer. Both Dragon Age and Mass Effect do a fantastic job of introducing well-rounded characters of either gender. But Mass Effect -- and the second game in particular -- occasionally resorts to the use of the same sexist tropes that many other games suffer from. This series stands above those titles in almost all other ways, and BioWare's proven ability to create great games without needing to resort to lazy stereotypes means that the audience holds the company's games to a higher standard.

Mass Effect's problems are concentrated in specific areas of the game: The portrayal of the Asari race, the character Miranda Lawson, and the character arc of Jack.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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