Retro Review, Reminisce, Relevance: The Bourne Conspiracy

Once again, I've taken it upon myself to create another series of posts that I will likely never continue. If I recall my track record to this point, I have yet to follow up any categorization of a post with a second entry. Actually, to be more honest, many of my posts probably fall into the same vein, but due to the time between posts, I have failed to recall just what the original series was called.

Reflecting on The Bourne Conspiracy

It happens all too frequently; an above average game, not one set for surefire greatness or "top ten" lists at the end of the year, not one set to find itself bracketed in "Platinum Games" cover art, simply disappear. Oftentimes the publisher simply doesn't send a second shipment, wanting to run away with its minimal gain or pulling even. The game may have merit of some sort; a fantastic graphics engine, an innovation in gaming physics, an inspired design aesthetic, or an unparalleled story to tell. But because reviews were short of unbridled praise, and copies failed to fly off supplier's shelves, these titles were fated to live on in the obscurity of "bargain bins." The Bourne Conspiracy is a poster child of said movement.

US Embassy? Check. Red backpack? Check. Inability to acquire rights to Matt Damon's likeness? Check fo' sho.

For those who believe in history repeating itself, The Bourne Conspiracy could easily become "exhibit A." High Moon Studios, the developers put in charge of the abovementioned title, had only published an equally "above-average, but nonetheless forgotten" title several years before with Darkwatch. One would think that a marketable film franchise and a top-tier publisher could turn these circumstances around. Sadly, The Bourne Conspiracy appears to endorse the theory that, to paraphrase, "you'll be damned if you make the game of an endorsed intellectual property" and damned if "you choose to create your own franchise."

The first misstep was the inability to secure the likeness rights to Matt Damon. Damon felt that where the game was going was "too violent" (again, remember, this is from the man that acted out said violence in a film of a similar name) and was hoping that the game would instead go in the direction of Myst. And yes, he quite literally said Myst. That's like asking Street Fighter to aim for Tetris. Wait, they did make that Street Fighter puzzle game for the GBA. You get my point. Due to the fact that High Moon Studios felt that being a "30 Million Dollar Weapon" did not involve listening to ambient noise, and clicking through a glorified powerpoint presentation, they declined Damon's offer.

Secondly, High Moon Studios was easily culpable of going outside their knowledge base. There's a reason Free Radical (Timesplitters) has stuck to shooter games, and Naughty Dog has, with few exceptions, yet to make anything other than Action/Platformer titles (Uncharted, Crash Bandicoot, Jax and Daxter). Video games, like any other field, favors specialization. Like the age old adage says, "The Jack of all trades, fails to be the master of any." High Moon Studios could have made The Bourne Conspiracy all about the fighting, and simply skirted over the Mini chase in Paris by turning it into a cut scene. Problem solved. Instead they enacted one of the larger unspoken taboos of game development: unless you're making a driving/racing/open-ended game, AVOID driving segments!

Is this Grand Theft Auto? No. Is this Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit? No. Should there be a driving sequence in this game? Nope.

I'll be honest with you about this, reviewers are anxious, above all, to excessively praise a game. There is a reason few "perfect" scores are ever given out, and that magazines are writing in their fine print that just because a game got a "10" does not, in fact, make it perfect. We're all in this field for one reason or another, and I'd like to think that our love of video games is a primary one. Still, even when we play a game we love, we're still looking for that one imperfection, subtle or mile-high, so that we can give it its due, and move on to the adoration. Driving levels in a brawler/action game naturally attract this unwanted attention, and even if the experience is flawless: collision detection, handling, damage, physics, the sequence may still be admonished for taking the player away from the "bread and butter" of the game.

Another thing that reviewers target is the severing of the firearms/close combat dichotomy. Simply put, there's a reason that fighting games and shooters have developed into their separate camps. Those that attempt both usually appear as having "tacked on" the other element. As for the guilty party in Bourne, that would be the firearms element

Yes, there's no denying that the Bourne films and novels did include him being an expert marksman, but perhaps not as trigger-happy as this depiction of him

Small problems aside, The Bourne Conspiracy stands as one of the finer examples of a third party developer utilizing the Unreal 3 engine. Above everything else, the graphical engine is quite solid, and the art design, while not wholly inspired, didn't have much latitude to work with anyway. One can only go so far with an established franchise, a pre-determined storyline, and something so grounded in reality as Bourne is. The level design suffers from "linearitis," there's very little breathing room when it comes to methods of achieving objectives, but the set pieces do not disappoint. After all, throwing people into neon signs, or slamming their head on a table counter, or bringing the hurt with an oversized tome is all greatly satisfying. This all culminates in some of the best boss fights in a while, you'll go back just to see all the different objects in the environment that one can utilize.

Some will say that the combat engine is too basic: heavy and light attacks, blocks, and large kicks, accompanied by the takedowns, which will differ depending on the sort of takedown one selects. And...well...it is. But it's intuitive, and harkens back to the old side-scrolling beat-em ups, and looks amazingly fun. People will complain that by the end, it's nothing more than a glorified "block-fest" and while this is hard to deny, one must remember that Bourne isn't built like the disproportioned characters of Street Fighter II with biceps requiring their own town hall, he's tactical, opportunistic...you know? Well, you're not buying it, but that's okay.

Story-wise, Bourne satisfies, but all of the missions are of two varieties: playing through the events of the first film AND through missions in your past, a storyline that was specially written for the game. The new missions don't connect with the main story much, but are a legitimate excuse to introduce some of the more firepower-heavy and generally over-the-top levels, without tampering with the plot of the tried and true The Bourne Identity.

In closing, The Bourne Conspiracy is a good looking example of the Unreal Engine that can provide a cathartic form of stress relief in the form of generating massive beatdowns. The controls aren't complex, but you won't be left stumbling remembering the thirteen button sequence to Hadouken or perform some disturbingly odd fatality. However, as is the case with far too many games, the starting price point was far too high.

Dead Space: Proof Activision is the New EA

This is the plasma cutter, don't let the fact that it is your starting weapon fool you into placing it into a storage locker. You'll find it remarkably more useful than many of the other ones.

Preface: This article was originally published in Kalamazoo College's newspaper The Index. While this is not the actual edition that went to print, I don't have the actual text file that was used in said edition. However, not only is my draft probably about 90% the same as that which went to press, but I feel that this version is more suited for the blogging/more hardcore gamer crowd. So, all and all, it's a more fitting one for teh interwebs.

Without further ado, I present to you, my review of Dead Space

Before anything else, let this be said: Say at some point in your life you happen to be a spacecraft engineer, and your girlfriend just happens to be a doctor on a mining ship that reduces planets and other space-related phenomena to a smorgasborg of useful minerals and metals. Let’s suppose that this ship happens to come across a luridly blood-red alien artifact during the aforementioned process of planetary pulverization, and due to man’s predilection for all things tall, shiny, and ominous, it finds its way into the cargo hold, and shortly following such, the ship loses all communication with the outside world. If this more than highly probable scenario happens (an intergalactic hunt for “black gold” isn’t that out of the question, is it?) and your girlfriend sends you a semi-coherent message begging for your assistance…you might want to find someone slightly less needy.

I say this only because, informed by EA’s new title Dead Space, I’m more than aware that all that awaits you is unmatched atmospheric terror, coupled with a gaggle of creatures called necromorphs which harbor a craving for aged decaying bodies matched only by Hugh Heffner’s girlfriends. So I’d suggest playing the game instead of going through the “real deal.” As I already touched upon, Dead Space surrounds an engineer named Isaac Clark (an intentional combining of the great sci-fi authors Arthur C Clark and Isaac Asimov) who volunteers on a team sent out on a seemingly mundane mission to repair the USG Ishimura’s communication’s array.

Unsurprisingly, only minutes after setting foot on the Ishimura, Isaac is separated from his crew, and is forced to fend for his own while attempting to uncover how the ship became an intergalactic sanatorium, while also locating Nicole. Since the Ishimura is a mining ship and not a NORAD bunker, lightsabers and stockpiled phasers are nowhere to be found. Instead Isaac must rely on constructing makeshift weapons from mining equipment: plasma cutters, buzz saws, explosive mines and the like. You’ll certainly need anything you can muster together, considering that the necromorphs are a crafty lot; they’ll feign death, use the ventilation shafts around the ship as a means of catching you with your spaceman pants down, and despite being reanimated flesh, know a thing or two about flanking.

One of Issac's pet peeves? People reading over his shoulder.

Oh, and did I neglect to mention that headshots don’t work? Dead Space utilizes a system called “strategic dismemberment” that emphasizes the fact that Isaac must turn his assailants into the Black Knight of Monty Python fame before rendering them totally harmless. In fact, with certain necromorphs, headshots only serve to send it into a more frenetic state of rage.

There are those who will say that, innovative combat and locale aside, Dead Space is nothing more than “Bioshock in space.” While it is certainly true that both share a steampunk approach to highly-upgradeable weaponry, retro-art aesthetic (though decidedly more of the streamlined 60s look, than Bioshock’s art deco look) and the act of being forced to piece together a back story through audio and video logs, the similarities are superficial. Dead Space distances itself from Bioshock with gory, visceral combat that is gratifying, and a control scheme that does little to impede “going Ripley”.

But what truly sets Dead Space apart from all other survival-horror titles is its immersive factor. There are no traditional HUD (heads-up display) elements to be found; health bars and ammo counts have gone on sabbatical in Dead Space. Instead, health is represented by a vertical blue bar that runs along the spinal column of your suit, and ammo is shown by a holographic display that projects from the base of your guns. All videocam interactions with team members, maps, objective screens, and the like are also blue holographic projections that spring from your suit’s helmet, and all are accessed in real-time. Simply put, there is no disconnect between you and Isaac, and you can stand to be attacked at any time…aside from pausing.

The hologram displays are stunning in their Tang-ish hue, to the extent that this compress screen does not do justice. Click on the screenshot for a better glance.

Graphically, Dead Space is the Sistine Chapel in macabre form; shadows dance from exhaust fans and loose cables, the lighting flickers to an inconsistent beat, enemy models are grotesquely detailed in ways you wish they wouldn’t be, and for a game so absent of humanity, the few character models are well-detailed, animated, and expressive, and convey their sense of horror and desperation convincingly. The real unsung hero is the art design, which has taken on the challenge of making an industrial environment have distinctive and memorable areas (the bridge, the science labs, the engine room) instead of providing the player with an infinite twisting of labyrinthine grey halls (think F.E.A.R). One only has to take the time to gaze at the corporate advertisements and scrawled graffiti coating the walls to understand the commitment of the aesthetic that permeates Dead Space. Assisting these excellent visuals is a soundtrack and voice acting that had yet to be matched in the horror genre…though the hammy voice acting of the Resident Evil series did little to set the bar high.

Allow me to demonstrate gaming law #457.9: If there is room within the realm of believability within the game's universe for a flamethrower, it must exist. If there is not, you are clearly not creating a great game.

Overall, Dead Space is living…or should I say, undead…proof that large publishers with a Rolodex of in-house developers are capable of producing a new and epic franchise that is unique, enjoyable, and most importantly, will be the motivating factor in the purchase of a night light. Whether or not EA will turn this “sacred cow” into one of the “cash” variety remains to be seen, but what one can say for certain is that Dead Space is a terror-filled romp in space whose plot and presentation rival films of the very genre and paves the way for new forms of storytelling, much in the way Half Life 2 did. Mission objectives are sometimes derivative, but a lack of load times, smart enemy AI, and the sight of alien guts floating in zero gravity somehow overcome these nitpicking issues. Four and a half out of five stars.

My Journalistic Foray

Sometimes non-violence is the best path to conflict resolution; other times incinerating mutated creatures into piles of ash with a laser pistol does the job.

Over the past couple months I've been busy with school, but have also been taking the time to write some video game reviews for my paper at school, The Index. The reviews are bit more formal, and brief than many of the ones on this blog, but I've considered it an exercise in moderation, if you will. Sometimes we all need to step outside of our normal comfort zone, expose ourselves to different styles of writing, and getting back to more mainline journalism has been...an experience.

I've gotten the chance to review both Fallout 3 and Dead Space, specifically, and I figure before I attempt to write some new material for this blog over break, I'd best upload both of those. I've also taken the liberty of releasing the "Director's Cut" edition of both. This is a fancy way of saying that, while I have my editor's final cut in print form, I don't have the actual text files. Ah...well...I can pride myself in saying that the version that went "to print" didn't have many changes required.

So, without further ado, here is my Fallout 3 review:

It’s a classic gamer’ nightmare; a pedigree franchise finding its way into the hands of a new developer, having to make the transition to next-gen consoles. After all, for every mind-boggling success (Retro Studio’s Metroid Prime, Ubisoft Montreal’s Prince of Persia) there’s the butchering of a previously wonderful franchise (Atari’s Alone in the Dark). Thankfully, I can assure you that Bethesda’s recent release, Fallout 3 firmly falls into the latter category with flying colors…provided those colors are “irradiated glow green” and “tetanus inducing rust.”

Fallout 3, for one who has lost all sense of the obvious, is the third installment in the classic post-apocalyptic Fallout series. Unlike recent Mad Max-esque titles like Gears of War or Resistance: Fall of Man, Fallout doesn’t have things “going south” for America via a spaceship fleet of ‘roided up E.Ts. Instead, it goes the Dr. Strangelove route of mutually assured destruction in the year 2077. Those who have the forethought to not join the Marie Curie fan club end up in government contracted fallout shelters called “vaults.”

"Say hello to my little...err...drastically oversized steampunk firearm!"

You yourself begin the game 200 years after the nuclear war as an infant in Washington D.C.’s Vault 101, one that, unlike the remaining vaults, was never meant to be opened. From here the introduction of the game has you progressing through several key moments in your life leading up to your nineteenth birthday. In a clever fashion, the selecting of your characters looks, skills, and particular aptitudes are skillfully implemented into this introductory narrative, unlike Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, which merely overwhelmed you in deciding all of this from the get go, without providing any sense of narrative backstory for your character. That being said, at the age of nineteen, your father leaves the vault for unsaid reasons, and, being blamed for his disappearance, you follow in pursuit.

If it sounds open-ended, that’s because…it is. Your character’s look, abilities, morality, clothing, weapons, sidekick, living quarters and fate among other things are all left up to you. Want to be a mohawk-donning fellow who enjoys a nice three-piece suit and the right to bear laser-fueled arms? Have at it! Care to throw on some riot gear on top of a wonderful mullet, and go to town with brass knuckles? The choice is yours! Those who are accustomed to the customization system of the Elder Scrolls series will feel right at home.

That is, until they find themselves in combat. Unlike the clunky, very less-than-gratifying, hit-or-miss combat system of their previous titles, Bethesda’s Fallout 3 utilizes a new hybrid combat mechanic called V.A.T.S., which stands for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System. Think of it as a half shooter, half turn-based RPG. See, in the middle of a sortie, bringing up V.A.T.S. will freeze the action, and highlight your target, allowing you to specifically hone in on whichever limb and/or vital organ you think they could make just fine without, allowing the less than “twitch-happy” RPG crowd to fully utilize their carefully crafted characters skill. To those who thought they were getting to play Half Life and not Final Fantasy VIII, worry not; V.A.T.S. utilizes an “action points” system that prevents the feature from being over utilized.

Don't be overwhelmed by the diagram above; V.A.T.S. is really this simple: use it, or you will die...a lot. Even if you are good at FPS titles, I would still advise using it.

Graphically, Fallout 3 impresses. For a game with so much customization, you almost expect to see a dip in the graphical fidelity, but the textures are well-detailed, and character models are certainly a step up from the lifeless zombies one was forced to interact with in Oblivion. The art design is unparalleled, however. Think 1950’s suburbia and a “Keeping up with the Joneses” unbridled materialist style of advertising meets nuclear induced blight. Vibrant billboards for “Super Bomb Cereal” stand behind a single swing set, with nothing but cracked roads and char-broiled trees for miles. There’s something darkly comical, and yet frighteningly real about the future posed by Fallout 3. Populations rise and fall, empires come and go, but consumerism reigns supreme. The soundtrack, like in Bioshock, is composed of largely old 40’s and 50’s tunes, and the sound effects are extensive, no two weapons sound alike, the voice talents (including Liam Neeson, Ron Perlman, and Malcom McDowell) do not go unutilized.

Don't be fooled by the speed blur, Fallout 3 is a beautiful game, and an epic one at that, one could watch their slo-mo replays of violent acts...err...justice...over and over and OVER again.

All in all, it’s hard to go without comparing Fallout 3 to its older brother Oblivion, and thankfully, there’s no reason it should suffer an inferiority complex. While it builds on the tried and true action RPG staples of the Elder Scrolls series, it’s not afraid to make the combat enjoyable (something none of the Elder Scrolls game could ever attest to), improve the frame rate as well as the graphical quality, and simultaneously deliver a carefully crafted narrative within the framework of an immersive “do anything, go anywhere” world. The side quests are compelling, not tiresome, and you’ll be amazed at the variety of ways one can accomplish a goal. While it will be a while before I can fully judge Fallout 3 in the grand scale of gaming excellence, suffice it to say that unless the new Prince of Persia or Left 4 Dead truly sets my mouth agape, Fallout 3 is my choice for game of the year. Five out of five stars.

Just a Little More Upkeep

For those of you who didn't know, I'm an idiot. All this time that I've been uploading fairly small compressed photos, that's only what I THOUGHT was happening. Click on many of the images, and you can be linked to the actual full-res image. Blogger apparently just likes aesthetically compressing them to the same size for the blog entry page.

Again, well, just so you know.

Hope this makes a great "Earth-shattering" change in all of your lives,

Nick

Not Revolutionary, but Still Remarkable: A Review of Project Gotham Racing 4

This is just one of those situations where a compressed screenshot will not do the full size image justice...it's sad, but that's just the way it is. Just know this: when it rains in Gotham, it pours.

While the perpetual debate over whether motorsports deserve to be grouped into the more-or-less overarching category of sports, will rage on for eons...until rednecks have damaged the gene pool beyond irreparable repair that we're all itchin' for NASCAR, "sports" and "racing" games have always shared a disturbingly similar amount of similarities. Both tend to be released on an annual basis, (Madden, Tiger Woods, Need for Speed) with minor variations (new car models, updated team rosters, a new track or two) as well as "supposed" graphical improvements that require a 56' TV in high-def and a magnifying lens to recognize.

At this point, death, taxes, and a new Need For Speed installment come Christmas are the few constants in life.

However, despite both genres having a less-than-favorable reputation as of late, it doesn't mean that every once in a while a quality title will emerge from the abysmal void of "cash cow urban/underground/secret/racing league" games. Up until a couple years ago, one had to choose between the latest installment of Grand Tourismo or outright mediocrity. That is, until Microsoft threw its diamond-encrusted, gold-plated hat into the ring. In only a little under five years, the technology behemoth not only released an "arcade-style" IP in the form of Project Gotham Racing (2001) but also a "racing-sim" IP titled Forza Motorsport (2005). The latter series has a sequel on the Xbox 360, and, obviously, it goes without saying that Project Gotham is now on its fourth installment.

So, backstory aside, and without further ado, let us go down the checklist: improved graphics, new tracks, streamlined interface, and improved online play. Check, check, check, check. Ordinarily, this would be where a Gran Tourismo or Need For Speed review would end. After all, what else would there be to say, except to note whatever model EA hired to wear skimpy clothing...I mean..."act" in their godawful plot. However, Bizarre Creations, the developer of PGR brings a lot more to the table than the usual street racing fare, which is expected, considering that Microsoft gave them a two-year development cycle on the game, instead of EA's nine month "grind-it-out" motto.

In general, PGR4 brings two fairly significant new features to the series: weather and bikes. That's right, if you ever wanted to race with fog, rain, snow, ice, or any other manifestation matter that H20 has taken on, look no further. And if the thought of hydroplaning or helplessely sliding across a sheet of glare ice doesn't have you looking up looking up your local State Farm insurance agent, perhaps the thought of attempting such on a motorcycle will.

That's right, you can actually watch raindrops slide down the hood of your car. I'm not kidding...it's like a wet T-shirt contest, with cars.

From a gameplay standpoint, bikes and weather aside, the tried-and-true "arcadey, but with realistic driving physics" style that the PGR series is well known for, returns. And so does the Kudos system that has made the series stand out amongst its competitors. If you aren't familiar with the Kudos system, or the racing genre in general, the Kudos system not only emphasizes winning, but winning in style. Placing first in a race will surely net you a hefty sum of Kudos, but that might not be enough to edge out a competitor in a multi-race championship. Say you both place first in two races out of four, and take second in the other two. Points-wise, you're tied.

And this is where Kudos come in. They reward such things as powerslides, driving at high speeds, burnouts, jumps, clean sections (going certain amounts of the track without hitting the wall) as well as perfectly entering and exiting corners. These in-race Kudos are added to the ones you're given for whatever position you place in the event. Whether you win the event, or place dead-last, you'll still come away with some Kudos (and...if you don't...that's a sign that you are unbelievably awful at racing games) which can then be spent in the "PGR Shop" on such things as new cars, tracks, or greater customization for your driver's look, such as new helmet designs.

Driving by Big Ben on a (as par usual) rainy day in a Lamborghini is always a blast...provided you don't actually stop or stay in England. (kidding...kinda...)

As for these cars that you'll be purchasing, Bizarre Creation's franchise has opted to move away from the "supercar only" stance of the third entry, and once again offer everything from souped up Volkswagen Golfs to probably more Ferraris than you actually knew existed (or actually wanted to drive in the first place). Each car is ranked on several criteria: acceleration, top speed, braking, and grip amongst others, and suffice it to say, you can CERTAINLY feel the difference between one car in the next. (Which is still something, considering that in this day and age, some developers cannot pull this off)

Now some have said that the introduction of motorcycles to the series reduces the realism of the game. And, to some degree, I understand. I can certainly assure you that I would not want to be the sole motorcycle competing against a field of automobiles, running at close to 200 MPH. I'm not even sure if they'd have anything left to bring to the emergency room. Adding to the lack of realism is the fact that nudging a biker at about 50 MPH with a Viper is no guarantee that you will knock him from his perch. Hit him again in quick succession, or at a higher speed, and it will likely do the trick...but Bizarre Creations had to implement some measure to keep the car drivers from making quick "road pizza" of the bikers, while providing some incentive to actually try the bikes in the first place.

They took a bit getting used to, but on the more technical courses, the motorcycles can certainly hold their own. Get them on extended straightaways, and be prepared to take last. Frequently.

The single player experience is predominantly divided into two sections: arcade and career. While both are fairly "pick up and play" friendly experiences (as is the game itself) the arcade mode is even moreso. In "Arcade" there are a series of themed sets of races. Some surround weather, others around types of cars or bikes, amongst other things. In each set there are six races/events, and each must be completed in a car AND on a bike. Unlike "career" mode it's "place first or go home" with arcade.

Career is your "season mode" of racing games. You're a low-ranked rookie driver in the Gotham circuit, and want to make your way to the top. Your typical "rags to riches" story played out on the racing circuit. What keeps it from being a monotonous series of races, mixed up only by the location, is the variety of demands. In some races, you have to overtake the most cars, in others its a fastest lap competition. Some are a combination of in-race Kudos and lap time (with Kudos taking time off the clock) others are ones that require you to maneuver between pairs of cones, with deductions if you miss one. Occasionally, you'll have to qualify for a tournament if you're not ranked high enough, and every once in a while you'll be invited to a special challenge, which will reward you with a special car model if you succeed. The best part is that, early on, you likely won't have the money or the horsepower to compete in many of the events, but if you miss out on something, there's always the next season to attempt it.

The one bit of advice that should have been encouraged by the developers is that one should at least play a bit of arcade before dabbling with career mode. While one might be inclined to believe that because the first couple tournaments are limited to "Class F" cars (which is what all of your starting cars are, more or less) things should start out easy, but let me assure you, the difference in power that spans the cars in "Class F" almost makes you wonder why it isn't two classes in its own right. Old Cameros and Lambourghinis should not have any right to race one another. To put it simply, play arcade, work up some money, and then buy some car packages that involve models in the upper-range of "Class F." Otherwise...well, your ascention to #1 might be near impossible.

What will also make things impossible is the simple fact that difficulty settings in PGR 4 are somewhat skewed. In general, most gamers will find "normal" mode to be bearable...for a while. Once it becomes somewhat impossible, gamers will be forced to shift to "easy." The problem is that "easy" is simply too easy. Gamers looking for a slightly less hair-pulling venture will instead be treated to something reminiscent of Mario Kart on the 50cc setting. All of the sudden, you'll be looking for new ways to actually lose.

Rain drops keep fallin' on my...okay, I'll stop.

Graphically, PG4 is not the best-looking racing game to grace the stage of the Xbox 360. Such a title, in my opinion, is shared by Dirt and Grid. And while PGR 4 isn't likely to dethrone Codemasters in the graphical dept anytime soon, it is certainly is a flashy title. The tracks look much better than Forza 2 and there is a marked improvement in the car models between the third and fourth entry in the PGR series. Certainly some of this can be contributed to the fact that the PGR series still does not have real-time damage inflicted on its models. The cockpit view is still one of the most aesthetically-pleasing aspects of the game, and the character models on the bikes animate well.

As one might expect, there's not a lot of dialogue in a racing game, but the engine sounds, as well as the bevy of other sounds that screeching rubber and trading paint encompass. Ferraris don't sound like go-karts. A Lotus doesn't come across as a Yugo, and Corvettes will not be mistook as a Camry. All you really have to listen to in racing games are car noises, and those are done well. Like the other entries in the series, you have the option of including your own music, or utilizing the incorporated soundtrack. Interestingly enough, this is not the corporate monstrosity that is EA Trax, there is a wide variety of musical genres; from world to classical, to alt rock, and each offers a few bearable tunes. I enjoyed the Bloc Party and My Chemical Romance, and the rest was forgivable, none being unbearably skippable except for the Lily Allen number.

The replayability factor is more than prevalent in Bizarre Creations title. Once you're done with all 108 races in arcade mode, on the three (or four, if you suck and race on Bronze) medal settings, as well as rising to the top in career mode, there's still a robust online community that awaits. Suffice it to say, that aside from Bulldog mode, the "it's not broke, so we're not fixing it" mantra reigns surpreme.

Bottom Line: PGR 4 adds a few additional settings and modes on the last entry in the series, cuts back on the super-cars, and aims for a more realistic progression of stock to racing vehicles, all while adding some wonderful new tracks and adding a strong layer of graphical polish. Ordinarily I'd not be a fan of "more of the same" but with PGR, I'm more than happy with the expanded material, as a quantum shift in racing is not needed, and such would probably move PGR out of PGR territory. Few games can bridge the gap between unforgiving realism and stylistic flourish, and PGR had treaded this line well. To demand more would be blasphemy. I give PGR 4 an 8.8 out of 10.

The Primer #1

It's the end of August, and you know what that means, a few decent games are haphazardly released amidst the otherwise ghost town of the game industry (Summer) in hopes to rack up some sales before the fall blockbusters (Fable 2, Fallout 3, The Force Unleashed, amidst others) destroy any chance of publicity or recognition. With that in mind, take a few moments to sit back, grab a beer (Oberon, if possible) and skim through my enumerated ramblings (1-10) of the latest goings on in the gaming industry.

#1 Too Human debuts

So I'm messing around with a new Microsoft Paint-esque alternative for Mac, bear with it, as I attempt to learn all of this.

That's right, Too Human, the latest offering from Silicon Knights, hit most store shelves a little over a week ago, in America. The consensus, at least from the first wave of reviews is that the game is bearable, scoring roughly a composite 6.9 on Metacritic and a 69% percent on Gamerankings, while the scores might seem redundant, 99% of the time the two sites do not cite the exact same list of sources, or weigh them equally. Apparently, if you enjoy dungeon-crawling, sitting around comparing the defense power of armors, poor camera controls, and a vague story, it might be your thing. Gamespot, however, decided that they were going to be a little less kind, and toss Dennis Dyack's Norse epic a 5.5 out of 10. Click here to read the details.

2. The game tie-in for Batman: The Dark Knight has apparently been given the big thumbs down by either the higher-ups at developer Pandemic Studios or publisher EA. Apparently, according to Australian Gamer, too many deadlines weren't met, and someone decided to, as Kotaku wrote "cut their losses." Check out the story link here at Kotaku, but keep in mind, this is still just a rumor. Some thought that the delay was so that it could be a tie-in for when the film hit DVD, but perhaps that was wrong as well.

Why...So...CANCELED?

3. Gears of War II exclusivity

Apparently Gears of War II is now going to be, in the immortal words of the scuzzbag lead designer of the Gears of War series, Cliffy B, that the next game will NOT be coming to PC. Of course, those of us that have seen the exclusivity rights of games trampled on quicker than a morbidly obese man in the "Running of the Bulls," and the fact that any popular game on 360 has inevitably ended up on PC, know that Cliffy B is a liar. And a douchebag. And, in my opinion, an emotionally retarded freak with ADHD that was somehow trusted with a large amount of money. But, mostly, a douchebag. And, if you don't believe me (about the exclusivity rights, not the douchebag part) check this out.

And...for those of you that were unconvinced about the "Cliffy B being a douchebag" statement...I offer "exhibit A."

4. Ghost...Busted?

According to Kotaku and those who happened to have pre-ordered Ghostbusters at Gamestops across the nation, apparently the pre-orders have been canceled. For those of you who remember the whole Sierra debacle from a few months ago (and for those of you who don't, just play along convincingly, nod your head and whatnot) a large amount of Sierra titles got nixed in the Activision/Blizzard merger. This included Brutal Legend, Bourne games, and, of course, Ghostbusters. Developer Terminal Reality claims that they were going to have the game published.

Please, of course note, that this is not the same thing as actually having a publisher. And while neither Sierra or Terminal Reality have commented on this yet, one can only assume that the pulling of the pre-orders is not a good thing. Seeing that they already put Brutal Legend, the brainchild of Tim Schafer (the genius behind Grim Fandango and Psychonauts) out on the street, forced to fend for its own in the proverbial dumpster bins of second-rate publishers, doing the same to Ghostbusters would likely make me put Blizzvision, Actizzard or whatever you want to call the Blizzard/Activision merger third on the "sheer evil" list behind Hitler and Satan.

It goes without mentioning that Ghostbusters is not a strong advocate of literacy

5. Chrono Trigger for the DS coming to America FIRST?

Other than the Final Fantasy games where the protagonist looks like he's about to audition for a cameo on The Hills and uses more makeup than a Cher revival tour, Chrono Trigger is one of the most beloved RPGs for the SNES, as well as overall. And...it's also debuting for the DS on September 25th...two days before Japan. Now...listen...if America has fond memories of this game, and possibly has it framed on their wall, had their senior pictures taken with it, the Japanese have set up a pagan shrine to honor Squaresoft's other series. This is not going to go over well, considering, unless I'm drastically wrong, it was a Japanese branch of Square Enix that made the port.

That being said, expect Pearl Harbor II to also debut by the end of the year.

Yes...I know it violates the laws of physics to have hair like that...and I'm aware that evolution has not yet gotten to a point where an anthropomorphic frog learns the ways of the sword, and I understand that people don't have flamethrowers concealed in their fingertips...but it's a game, roll with it.

6. Castle Crashers FINALLY shows up

Castle Crashers, the game from artsy indie studio The Behemoth, best known for their previous title Alien Hominid, which premered on Newgrounds and later on the Gamecube, finally decided to show up on Xbox Live. Imagine this, multiplayer mayhem meets a franetic Saturday morning cartoon visual style meets copious amounts of pixelated blood and destruction. And...for those of you that are "visual learners":

Here's a close-up at one of the knights you can control with some sort of ice-powers...I would presume, using my detective skills I gleaned from Encyclopedia Brown novels

Anytime cuteness and over-the-top violence are combined with such a wonderful artistic flair, well, I kinda tear up

7. Viva Pinata 3 is BUSTED!!!

(I can't think of many jokes about Pinatas, other than that they encourage children to commit acts of brutality against animal shaped organisms, thereby unconsciously conditioning them to the act of animal abuse, albeit, in a children's party scenario.)

According to the lead designer of Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, a third installment in the series, is not going to happen anytime soon. Check out the article on Destructoid right here. Personally, I think it's probably a good idea. It was game, meant for children, that in order to really progress, could not be played by a child. I mean, in order to get one species, you had to attract two of another species, get them to mate, then get one to be eaten by the primary species you want to attract, while still leaving enough of them to continue breeding them as well. Like I said, for an ADHD riddled four-year-old, it ain't going to fly.

Rare says they'll be working on something "new." "New" will hopefully not mean a Grabbed by the Ghoulies sequel, or another broken Perfect Dark follow-up.

*Sigh* The box art says it all...it really doesn't need anything else said.

8. Brett Ratner returns...sadly

Brett Ratner, the director that has already ruined the X-Men films (he directed the third one) and is on his way to ruining the Beverely Hills Cop series (as he is directing the third installment) has decided that he wants to make another film...based upon...ready...ready...GUITAR HERO.

*Collective sigh*

here's what he wrote

"I'm trying to convince them...It could be about a kid from a small town who dreams of being a rock star and he wins the Guitar Hero competition. One of these dreams-[come-true] kind of concepts."

While the rest of the article at Gamespot can be found here, does anyone think this could even be bearable? Like, I don't think it even has a sliver of a chance. Then again, I'm not super keen on Guitar Hero, so at least it won't hit too "close to home" like when he did X-men, provided that the film industry gives him the "green light" to film it.

Which...they're stupid...so they will.

If seeing this promotional poster doesn't make your blood boil...well...then good day to you, sir. Not even the fact that it's in some eastern European language can ameliorate the hatred I have for Brett RATner.

9. Ninja Millions 2

According to Microsoft, Ninja Gaiden II, the most recent installment in the Gaiden series, has now sold over a million copies.

In my opinion, this also makes it the most purchased game that was successfully completed by under a dozen of its purchasers.

And...with this picture, I have now reached the mandated limit of "no more than two screenshots of overmasculated protagonists sporting claw-like features" for a blog entry

10. Viral Marketing at its Finest

So, here's one of the more notable things that went down at Penny Arcade's Expo: Shave your head, have "HELL" spraypainted on the back of it, and the developers of Brother in Arms: Hell's Highway, will send you a real copy of the game. Like, a retail 60 dollar game that isn't out yet...so would you do it? Sadly, I would...at least for a while. I don't mind being a corporate pawn for what will likely be a good title.

60 Dollar Game for free vs. possibly thought to be a skinhead?

Well, those are your ten points for the weekend, hope this somewhat keeps you up to date with the goings-on in the gaming world.

--Nick

Just a little "heads up"

I haven't quite figured out if it's my browser settings, net speed, or the gravitational pull of the earth, but in some places, if viewing the general page for my blog, large gaps (where I'll usually say a video clip should be) are appearing. I'm not quite sure, but the clips seem to show up when you click on the heading of the post, and go to the exclusive page for the post itself. I'm going to e-mail blogger and ask just WTF is going on, but until then, just follow the advice above, and things should run smoothly


--Nick

Reflections on the Schizophrenic Personality of Blacksite: Area 51

Black guy? Check. Tough badass (and possibly skinhead?) with excessive tribal tattoos? Check. Another average white male like yourself? Check. Game about to go where quite a few games have gone before? Check.

Blacksite: Area 51 can succinctly be likened to that that less-than-intelligent friend of yours (and if you're hanging around with a group of people that are all smarter than you, consider this your belated suggestion to find new friends) who frequently misuses large "SAT equivalent" vocabulary terms in a futile attempt to appear smarter. See, Blacksite (and very effectively, I might add) marketed their title to two different demographics. "Hardcore" gamers and gaming blog frequenters like myself were told that we were going to get a narrative FPS, along the lines of Bioshock and The Darkness, with storyline that was multi-layered (but not in a HALO "nobody reads the stupid fanfic or paperback shit novels" or cares about the tech mumbo-jumbo sort of way). The other targeted market was the "HALO crowd needing another fix" demographic...and it's a disturbingly large and growing group...that only needed to be shown a thirty second TV spot with a gas tanker or two exploding, and after heaving down a handful of Ritalin, begged their parents to buy it for Christmas. I've put the trailer right below, for your viewing convenience:

And, much like Hirohito and Hitler, Midway Games prayed that these two groups would never meet; that the elitist hipsters and adrenaline junkies would keep to their respective "lanes" lest the world implode. They figured that us bloggers would never look up to watch cable tv or, worse, get our gaming news from X-PLAY, and that the Halo junkies would never view the Internet as anything more than a glorified portal to the world of pornography. And...to a greater extent...they were right. And while neither party involved was shocked to the extent of "Hey, you stuck your shitty Halo knock-off in my narrative fps" or vice versa, both were quite surprised with how shittily their respective element was integrated. Blacksite's story goes something like this: *SPOILERS* You're the leader of an elite squad of...blah...blah...blah...that is in Iraq clearing out a chemical testing facility that results in the stock enemy of the game switching from the ever-recently popular "terrorist" to the age-old favorite of "mutated supersoldier." Your superiors of course write it off as being complications of encephalitis, something that I didn't exactly buy, despite my extensive medical knowledge amounting to playing Operation! by Parker Bros. as a kid. Several years later your team is reassembled to find out why the US military has lost contact with the original squad that was send to dispose of a heavily-armed militia camped out in an abandoned military facility in Area 51. Here's a tip...nobody has ever "lost contact" in an action game/film because they forgot to charge their phone the night before. You're chosen, of course, because you were the last people to actually fight the aliens that the military accidentally neglects to mention.

See, the disturbing thing is there are usually much scarier things lurking around in trailer parks...things that also happen to be registered on the sex offenders list.

From here, the storyline can best be expressed by the phrase "I can't believe that my government would do that...but they did." For those of us who haven't watched the world engage in mutually assured destruction over the past several decades or (insert joke about watching copious amounts of Fox News here) you might actually utter this. The rest of you, being the intelligent and hip gaming community that you are, may find the game's agenda a little...overt. If Bioshock stealthily entered the doors of our conscious mind to warn us about the dangers of a laissez faire society, Midway's critique of the US government is employing a titanium-coated battering ram. If you're already showing, than why the hell are you telling? These are the basic principles of narrative construction that we learned in grade school, people. Either give us a basic, but succinct reason for why I am killing a large amount of digital beings, and then leave me to my massacre of polygons...or provide me with a carefully constructed narrative that doesn't insult the player's intelligence.

The graphics are proof that Epic's Unreal engine is capable of looking good, though not stunning, when in the hands of someone other than its own creators. Character models, like those of Dr. Noa Weis and Grayson, are detailed and well animated. Environments tend to suffer from a lack of variety (Iraq and New Mexico just happen to look the same to me, at least from a desert standpoint) but they are also of a good graphical fidelity, if just uninspired.

Note to developers: the Unreal engine will keep your game from looking like an unholy shitstorm of pixelated mess, but it will not make your game stand out. All of the pixel shaders and bump mapping in the world cannot compensate for a lack of talent in the artistic dept. Bad games have licensed it (Hour of Victory, Turok) as well as good ones (Bioshock, Mass Effect) so to say that the Unreal Engine can "make or break" a game is absolutely ridiculous. In the case of Blacksite, let it be said that all the impressive features of Unreal will not automatically root out all of the glitches in this game: enemies getting stuck on walls, weapons dropped by enemies that happen to float in the air, like cheesy power-ups in Contra, allies that apparently have developed teleportative abilites in their free time. These are simple, fixable things, weapons that fall where the corpse that previously held them did, isn't a newfound phenomenon, and it's certainly not something that should be accepted in a next-gen title.

Please, PLEASE note the Saddam poster in the upper left, I missed it when I was playing

The sound elements have much in common with the visual presentation; a mantra of 'solid, but not memorable" is the most fitting. There isn't an "Andrew Ryan" performance here, but neither is there the grating voice acting of the Resident Evil series. Equally "hit and miss' is the dialogue. For every time your boneheaded squadmate follows up shooting his gun by saying "Made in America, baby!" only to have your more astute member remind him that, in actuality, the weapon was made in Germany, you have your "dime a dozen" machismo-riddled zingers like "that one won't be getting up," "BOOM" and etc.

While Blacksite is thankfully a "pick up and play" title (again, if that's what you're looking for) that's no guarantee that you'll be putting this title into the disc tray once you've routed this human/alien hybrid threat. Sure, there are dossier files hidden around each level that give backstory on weapons, character bios, and newspaper clippings that attempt to tie over Blacksite and its predecessor, Area 51, but not only are they not that interesting, but with the levels being highly linear and limited in scope and scale, it's hard not to miss then on a first playthrough of the game. I myself finished the game with about 87% of them without necessarily trying. Also present is the obligatory "if there's a shooter, than there has to be" multiplayer. It suffices to say that its got your usual modes of carnage-laden combat, and brings nothing new to the table.

Overall synopsis: I've played games both better and worse than Blacksite. However, games in both categories were also much more memorable than Blacksite. It does just enough to stay above the standard set for a decent title, from a presentation standpoint, but lacks the polish (ie, technical glitches, underutilized squad morale system) to take steps towards the ever-elusive town of "Goodgamesville." If the price drops to twenty, and you need a "filler" for CoD or Halo, consider it. Otherwise, there are much better shooters, and much better games in general, to be found in the Xbox 360's software portfolio.

The Review (of reviews): The Darkness

The Darkness (videogame...not the 80s band)

Normally even the mention of another "comic book based" video game is enough to get behemoth-sized producers to sign on, and to have die-hard fans committing hari-kari, before a bastardized and digitalized version of the comic they once knew comes into fruition. After all, every Batman game comes with a certified "Seal of Mediocrity", and Superman games...well, they've at least wisened up to the point of promising any minimum level of quality. After the aneurism-inducing Superman 64 all bets were off.

Superman 64, a tell-tale sign that God is not pleased with mankind. Definitively the 11th plague that the Egyptians would have faced, after the whole first-born son killing thing.

I have to admit that my reaction to hearing that The Darkness was going to have a game adaption was along these lines as well. That is, until I caught wind that Starbreeze Studios, a fantastic studio located in Sweden was handling developmental duties. After all, their latest title The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay has the unique distinction of not only not meeting the international standards of "suckage" for a movie-adapted title, but was undeniably a better media product than its film counterpart, and was considered to be one of the best titles of 2004. Long story short, The Darkness was in good hands...after all, anyone that can get "Vin Diesel" and "critical acclaim" in the same sentence should start filling out an "application for sainthood" pronto.

One of the puzzle sequences in Escape From Butcher Bay has Vin Diesel, the academic wunderkind we all know him to be, stumped. Surprised?

All background aside, many of you might not be familiar with The Darkness, as a franchise. It started as a comic published by Top Cow back in the mid ninties and ran until about 2001. To certainly cut some corners, and gloss over much of it, the Darkness is one of several powerful entities (including Witchblade and The Angellus) that, while nobody knows how it showed up, has been around since the beginning of humanity. It requires a human host and is passed down paternally, the father dying in the process, and will manifest itself in the new host upon his 21st birthday. So yes, to borrow from Mean Girls, "If you have sex, you will die." Never before (aside from the movie Goldeneye) has this had such literal implications.

You play as Jackie Estacado, a hitman for his adopted father (and New York mob boss) Paulie Franchetti, and just on the eve of his 21st birthday. And as if being able to drink and harboring an ethereal demonic being with symbiotic tendencies wasn't enough, "Uncle Paulie" has put a "hit" out on you...one of the things that the mob tends to do particularly well. Should I also mention that you're trying to balance a relationship on top of all of this? In short, it's Sixteen Candles meets Army of Darkness, with a bit of Goodfellas mixed in for good measure. Needless to say, you're tasked with taking down Paulie and his operation (there's a...say...stronger motivating factor for doing such, but revealing that would be a big spoiler) while attempting to prevent The Darkness from gaining total control of its host (aka, you). Here's a look at the introduction to the game, which is immersive and interesting, but doesn't exactly reveal much:



"Blinded By The Light"...Isn't A Great Idea

By the end of the game, the mob will fear you, and New York will fear you, but lightbulb manufacturers worldwide will praise your name.

How does a single mobster assassin stand up to an entire crime syndicate without Rudi Guilani and his suave prosecuting ways? Well, for starters, not everyone is a fan of Paulie's new "methods." Look for allies to provide advice, as well as firepower along the way. Being an "ace shot" won't be enough, however, and despite the eight or nine firearms you can acquire, you're going to need help. This, understandably, comes in the form of The Darkness. As your engaged minds might glean from its self-evident name, this demonic side-kick of yours won't function well with a spotlight pinned on it, or on...well practically any day in Death Valley.

"If you can see light, you're in for a tough fight," my mother used to say. Okay, she never really said it. I didn't really ever say it either. I just thought a cheesy rhyming device would assist in teaching this esoteric mechanic of the game. So, yes, The Darkness (which, when summoned, causes your guns to do more damage, while providing an increased amount of shielding against enemy fire) would do best to stick to stick to sleezy back-alleys lit up only by the flash of gun muzzles and neon signs pointing to the local gentleman's club. Thankfully, this is where mobsters spend most of their time anyway. Choose to camp under a streetlight, and you'll see these powers slowly diminish until you can "recharge" them in a dark place again. It's an interesting mechanic, but it really just forces you to commit mass genocide against the light fixture community, and early on in the game when you don't have many firearms or much ammo, this can be slightly problematic.

While the gunplay meets the average standards of a conventional "shooter" in terms of variety (pistol, shotgun,assault rifle...rinse repeat) it's the Darkness powers that, while not ushering in a "quantum shift" in gameplay mechanics, are not just regulated to puzzle solving sections (as many shooters tend to do these days) and, if anything else, look terrifyingly cool. The first of these is called the creeping dark, which summons a small snake-like demon that slinks across all surfaces, capable of sneaking into "hard-to-fit" spaces, and scouting out areas before following with Jackie. Another, demon arm, functions as a bullet-less method to destroying light fixtures, while doubling as an effective melee attack, and also has limited usage in throwing cars as well as several other prop items in levels; and the "black hole" ability allows you to suck up enemies, and all surrounding items not bolted down into a vortex. This would obviously win originality points if Armed and Dangerous had not come up with the "black hole gun" several years before.

However, the "weapon that you will eventually find and senselessly exploit to the extent of not using any others" (it feels like every single game these days has one of these) are the aptly (and equally subtly) titled "darkness guns." That's right (and hold on to your seat belts, those that need things spelled out) they're guns...formed *SPOILERS* from The Darkness. Granted, bullet for bullet, they aren't as strong as many of your "higher end" firearms, but if you happen to find yourself bathed in pitch black darkness (Pitch Black, get it, the movie before Riddick) you don't ever have to worry about running out of bullets, or being hurt much.

Presentation is first-rate, but considering that it's a 2K produced title, such is almost a guarantee these days. Consider them as my favorite "large-scale" videogame producer; and if you aren't that familiar with them...they produced Bioshock. The environments on par with many of the better titles on the Xbox 360, offering varied locales, and the variety of phone numbers to call, faux advertisements covering the subway stations, as well as the graffiti art rendered from real graffiti sessions, was impressive. The gritty and dark atmosphere is fitting, and the use of shadows and lighting is impressive. The characters are a little "uncanny valley-esque" however. While you will rarely ever run into duplicates of the same character model, you will be asking yourself if Jackie looks more like he's in his mid-thirties than 21.

Yes, he looks much more like Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code than a 21 year old

And this looks at least a bit younger...or at the very least, looks way cooler.

The voice acting, as an ensemble, is strong. Kirk Acedevo as Jackie seems to suffer from the "world-weary apathy" school of voice acting that many leading male voice actors borrow from these days, but his performance isn't detrimental to the title...just average. Lauren Ambrose of Six Feet Under fame is excellent as Jenny, but *SPOILERS* there are reasons why you won't be able to enjoy her voice talents as much as you might want to. The clear surprise is Mike Patton as The Darkness. At first, you might find the voice abhorrent and annoying to put up with, but that's exactly the point. The script and strength in the dialogue writing only accentuates these strengths in the voice department.

Once the story's done, there's not a LOT to do, but there's enough to keep things interesting. Chances are you likely missed a couple of the optional sidequests...and unlike many games these days, all (or at least most) are still accessible. Perhaps the only thing that's gone for good would be the letters you acquire in *SPOILERS* Hell. The unlockables in this game are actually quite first-rate. Everything from readable comic issues of The Darkness and Witchblade, concept art, early 3-D renders of characters, even videos of how the graffiti was collected for the game, and then rendered into it. Other games could learn from this, as a lot of us want to know what went into creating a game, just as much as playing the end product.

The Recap: The Darkness securely fits the definition of the "sleeper hit" title; the critics will rave and the plebeians will pass over the title in favor of more familar fare. The production values are high, the storyline is compelling, especially many of the in-game first person sequences that convincingly advocate for an end to the "Sit back and watch" prerendered sequences, and while the gameplay isn't highly original, it provides enough nuances on a well-trod genre that it isn't bothersome. If you're ready to be challenged with the concept of a narrative FPS...The Darkness is an excellent example. If you'd rather stick to your DOOMs and Medal of Honors, that's fine. Just let me know when you'd like to move beyond "princess rescuing" and "killing nazis" as plot points. At that point, I'll happily escort you to the "Big Boy Table" of video games.

I have this odd addiction to The Darkness concept art, can't help it.