General gaming

General gaming

Will Ultima Finally Get the Update It Deserves?

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 08:21 PM PDT

"The problem with MMOs is there are no consequences," BioWare's Kate Flack told me in an impromptu San Diego Comic-Con show floor interview. She made a sweeping motion, taking in the press of bodies around us. "I don't care about these people. After this show ends, I'll never see them again. What we're aiming to do is make players stop and think about what they're doing."

As lead designer of the newly announced Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar, Flack has been tasked with the challenge of restoring video gaming's most influential role-playing franchise to its former luster. At the moment, Ultima looms over Electronic Arts as the spectre of one of the company's greatest missteps: Long ago, EA acquired Ultima developer Origin and allowed the groundbreaking RPG franchise to wither on the vine. Ultima IX shipped seemingly unfinished, Ultima Online 2 never happened, and Ultima X vanished midway through development. For nearly 15 years, the series that defined computer RPGs has been missing in action. Now, EA has put BioWare Mythic on the case.

Five Failed Alternative Comic Adaptations

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 07:42 PM PDT

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Five Failed Alternative Comic Adaptations

Cover Story: This collection of unfinished projects proves that not every comic needs its own game.

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n most cases, when a developer bases a video game on a comic book series, they usually select one from the "capes and powers" category. Sure, we can't discount that inexplicable Watchmen game or the series of Penny-Arcade RPGs -- and I'm pretty sure there has to be an interactive version of UserFriendly where you steer its hideous mascot through a field of dangerous clip art -- but the majority of comic-to-game adaptations have you taking the role of a protagonist with an alter ego, a tragic past, and many powerful toys.

If you've walked into a comic shop recently, though, you know that even though game developers have a much wider spectrum of subject material to choose from, alternative comics have been completely ignored. Since the most popular specimens of this genre feature deeply flawed characters dealing with a healthy assortment of troubling topics most media shies away from, these stories are fated to remain forever trapped on the printed page. Still, the subject matter hasn't made the alternative comics genre completely forbidden; in recent years, developers have made a few fleeting attempts to bring these very personal stories to an entirely new audience. As you'll learn from the following examples, though, execution is everything.


  • Ghost World: The Arcade Game

    Spot Art

PlayStation All-Stars Feels Familiar in All the Wrong Ways

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 03:51 PM PDT

It's safe to say that reception to Sony's mascot bonanza has been less than stellar. When Bob saw Sony All-Stars Battle Royale at its unveiling back in April, he couldn't help but notice that it bore more than a striking resemblance to what Nintendo has been doing with the Super Smash Bros. series over the past decade or so. Our comrades over at IGN are equally skeptical over whether or not the game will be able to capture that special kind of magic that Nintendo has perfected. After getting my hands on it, I have to agree -- while I appreciate Sony paying tribute to their deserving stable of heroes, it's more than a bit strange that they're doing so via a game that is so heavily influenced from their direct competition.

The main gripe I had regarding my time with the game was ironically with one of the main elements that was completely cut from its acquisition of Super Smash Bros. features. One of rare and refreshing aspects of Nintendo's brawler is that a skilled (and lucky) player can survive after taking an insane amount of damage, yet still deliver a few knockout blows to his or her competitors. The percent damage system that resides over all three installments of the series helps change each match dynamically depending on the state of the respective combatants. It's a system that's worked well since the inaugural Nintendo 64 title, and will hopefully continue to work well on the Namco-developed Wii U/3DS installment.

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All-Stars removes itself from this winning system by completely forgoing any form of damage in exchange for having each successful attack slowly raise your special meter. This three-tiered system can be used as soon as you pass the first threshold, or be saved up for a screen-shattering mega special at the third level (Kratos turns into a giant version of himself, while PaRappa delivers an world-destroying freestyle). The only way to score a knockout blow on your opponent is by connecting with a special attack, and while there is a bit of strategy regarding whether you save up your meter or opportunely use it at a lower level, I couldn't help but feel like my fighters were wrestling around using incredibly cushy boxing gloves up until the point someone would use a special attack. Without a rising health gauge, so much of the brawling in the game comes across as sterile and unimportant, which is not a good feeling to have during a fighting game. Nevertheless, it's not all overcast on All-Stars, particularly when it comes to the care that was delivered with the levels, and more specifically, their mashing of elements.

Weighing the Light and Dark of Calvin and Hobbes

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 02:35 PM PDT

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Weighing the Light and Dark of Calvin and Hobbes

Cover Story: What the greater thematic trends in Watterson's work mean for video games.

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n the history of the comic strip, few works have garnered such specific and profound acceptance as Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. The strip, which ran from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995, followed the day-to-day adventures of the wily and exuberant Calvin and his "imaginary" best friend and tiger, Hobbes. Content within the strip varied greatly, featuring any number of thematic and narrative elements that ranged from the hardships of trying to make it in elementary school and galaxy hopping intrigue with Calvin's wild imaginary alter-ego "Spaceman Spiff," to the quiet of a child finding his place in a world that seemed so big, so scary, and so thrillingly beautiful.

Where most comic strips are content simply to entertain with an empty chuckle, Bill Watterson took what most would describe as a lesser form in the "low" comic strip and constructed a complex and dense work, both in its aesthetic and its dissection and address of various philosophical and societal issues. Bill Watterson's work is undoubtedly art, but what is more important is what this means for dissonant media like that of video games. Calvin and Hobbes is proof that mass perception does not make a truth -- that a preconception of elitists or the uninitiated about what is and isn't art doesn't make it so.

Every Game is G.I. Joe

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 01:26 PM PDT

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Every Game is G.I. Joe

Cover Story: How comics' real American heroes impacted video games.

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f you think it strange to write about G.I. Joe -- most famous as a toy and cartoon property -- during a week dedicated to the impact of comic books on video games, perhaps a short refresher is in order. Yes, the G.I. Joe toyline has been around for roughly half a century, and most people likely think of Sunbow's schlocky afternoon cartoon and its mandatory PSA stingers ("Knowing is half the battle!") when they hear the name G.I. Joe, but the fact is that the cartoon, the enduring toyline, and even the modern movies owe their existence to comic books.

G.I. Joe's reinvention from kung-fu grip Barbie-sized warriors to tiny action figures was inspired by Kenner's success with its Star Wars line. Joe creators Hasbro wanted a similar success and rightly recognized the appeal of Star Wars lay at least as much in the movie property as in the toys themselves. So, they collaborated with Marvel Comics to create a multimedia sensation: A line of comics to flesh out the toy line mythos, animated ads to promote the latest issue of the comics, and ultimately a syndicated cartoon. But working on a toy property had the stigma of failure among Marvel's creators, so the task ultimately worked its way down the totem pole to indie comic auteur Larry Hama.

OP-ED: Ouya (and its Kickstarter) Fail to Inspire Confidence

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 12:05 PM PDT

Ouya controller

Ouya first garnered headlines earlier this month when a report began to circulate that a cheap, free-to-play-centric, Android-based console would be coming to market for $99. Backed by Ed Fries, who played a prominent role in the development of the Xbox, and designed by Fuseproject founder Yves Béhar, this seemed relatively notable and legitimate. A pitch for the project then showed up on Kickstarter earlier this week where it managed to attract nearly $1 million in less than a day. As of this writing, that figure is up to nearly $4.5 million with 26 days to go, an impressive feat considering it was seeking $950,000 -- a lot by Kickstarter standards, but not very much considering this is a console, not a game. There's clearly a lot of excitement surrounding the system, though I'm finding it difficult to see a promising future for it based on what we've seen and heard so far.

In fact, there are so many different concerns I have that it's difficult to even know where to begin. As the pitch video below explains, Ouya ("OOO-yah," since you were no doubt wondering) is all about providing gamers with a cheap, open console that allows them to play free-to-play games on their television. Examining the Kickstarter immediately highlights one misleading detail in that description, which is the notion that the games will all be free-to-play. Ouya's definition of this model is not one where the majority of the game is freely accessible and microtransactions support it, but one where something is playable for free. In other words, having a demo and then allowing players to purchase the full thing -- you know, like every game on Xbox Live Arcade -- would be enough to classify a game as free-to-play. Gamers who are still averse to the F2P model may be pleased to hear this (and to those people, I'd recommend you check out Dota 2, Team Fortress 2, and Tribes: Ascend to see free-to-play isn't so bad), but it's just one of several points I take issue with.

What the Hell is Fortnite?

Posted: 13 Jul 2012 08:27 AM PDT

Outside of last year's brief teaser, mum's been the word for Fortnite, Epic's latest title that's being developed alongside the Gears of War series. The teaser (unveiled at last year's VGA Awards) seemed to allude to a creative, sandbox experience that took a page from Richard Matheson's fantastic novella I Am Legend and presented a binary world where you prepare during the day for a supernatural onslaught at night. Lucky for attendees of Comic-Con, the project was fully revealed a few hours ago when Cliff Bleszinski and the folks at Epic released the floodgates and revealed just what the hell Fortnite really is.

Early on in the panel Cliff was quick to note that this game is special because, "In a world of sequels, this is a new IP, and that's exciting." The PC-exclusive aims to expand the sandbox market by delivering a multiplayer survival experience that appeals to all types of gamers. If you like your titles more strategic, you can make it through a bulk of the game avoiding combat. By nesting at the base and helping fortify your defenses, you'll help your team be able to repel the onslaught of nocturnal critters. That being said, if Gears of War gave you an insatiable sense of bloodlust, you can indulge in your most violent fantasies. Upgrade your combat abilities and engage the enemies head-on using a variety of wildly customizable weaponry.

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Once you built your completely customizable character, you're given roughly 12 minutes of relative safety to scavenge for items throughout the world -- anything from mailboxes, to bushes, to homes can be destroyed and gathered as precious resources. These items are the foundation of what Cliff referred to as, "real estate porn." The building aspect of Fortnite is an extension of our fascination with building, tinkering, perfecting, and then moving on to the next location. As you collect resources throughout the environment, the game allows you to quickly and easily build fortifications through a fairly simple interface; laying down a series of walls and topping it with a roof takes only a few seconds, and voila, you have a home. For those with a bit more time, you can add windows, arches, balconies, and other accoutrement to deck out your structure. Put some thought into where you place your resources, and you can quickly create a sniper's nest for you or a teammate to perch up in and defend your fortifications.

Posted by Shri Krishna

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