First Person or Third Person?

Over the past few years there has been a large surge of shooter games in the video game industry,‭ ‬titles like Halo,‭ ‬Killzone,‭ ‬Gears of War,‭ ‬and many others are becoming the core of gaming that most‭ ‬13-30‭ ‬year old gamers‭ (‬the traditional game audience‭) ‬are playing.‭ ‬These shooters come in all shapes and sizes but there is always one feature that distinguishes games like Halo from games like Gears of War and that is the camera perspective.‭ ‬First person shooters were popularized by games like Wolfenstein and Doom in the early‭ ‬1990‭’‬s and the biggest first person shooter in recent memory seems to be the Halo trilogy.‭ (‬Sony fanboys,‭ ‬shut up Killzone isn’t as popular as Halo,‭ ‬get over it‭) ‬These games feature a view that focuses on what you would see if you were actually the person‭ (‬hence the‭ “‬first person‭”) ‬The other type of shooter is the third person shooter,‭ ‬like Gears of War.‭ ‬This style of game has an over the shoulder view that allows you to see the action from behind your character but up and to the side so you can see in front of the character‭ (‬this is a little hard to explain but just look at a screenshot of Gears and you’ll know what I’m talking about‭) ‬So which one is better‭? ‬Well I believe it is all a matter of preference but I’ll weigh the pros and cons of both for you.‭
A first person view tends to immerse the player more because they feel like they are actually the character they are playing as‭; ‬they aren’t disconnected from the character.‭ ‬A first person view gives a good view of the crosshairs of your weapon which allows for an easier targeting system.‭ ‬However the first person view limits your peripheral vision and makes you feel squeezed into a smaller space,‭ ‬you can’t see as much of what is around you making it easy for someone to sneak up on you.‭

A third person perspective pulls back the camera and lets you see a more complete picture of your surroundings.‭ ‬You no longer feel cramped and you also get to see your character which,‭ ‬at least for me,‭ ‬is a plus.‭ ‬Another thing that the third person view allows for is an effective cover system,‭ ‬like the one seen in Gears of War.‭ ‬In a first person view it is really hard to take cover whereas in Gears of War it is an essential gameplay mechanic.‭ ‬This ability allows for added strategy instead of the run and gun gameplay of first person shooters.‭ ‬However this view does tend to‭ “‬disconnect‭” ‬you from your in-game character‭ (‬though I never really feel‭ “‬connected‭” ‬in the first place.‭) ‬The third person view can also block some objects that are right in front of your character,‭ ‬you need to move a lot more.‭

It seems to be a decision of cutting off your view of your peripheral or what is right in front of you.‭ ‬For me,‭ ‬I prefer the third person because I get to see my character‭ (‬which I like‭) ‬and I can utilize cover with greater efficiency,‭ ‬plus I always feel cramped when I am in first person mode and split screen just makes it worse.‭ ‬But I still play both types of games because they can both be fun in their own terms.‭ ‬But it is clear that not all shooters are alike and based on what perspective it gives you the gameplay mechanic will change significantly.‭

Camera angles in games can be a real great tool or an incredibly annoying obstacle to gameplay so it is really important that the developers choose the correct angle for their game.‭ ‬Games that feature customization of characters‭ (‬ie Mass Effect‭) ‬or detailed characters and equipment‭ (‬ie Ghostbusters‭) ‬or games that feature a heavy use of cover‭ (‬ie Gears‭) ‬need that third person view but a game that is run and gun‭ (‬ie Halo‭) ‬or a game that wants you to become really immersed in the character‭ (‬ie Brother’s in Arms:‭ ‬Hell’s Highway‭) ‬need the first person view to maximize the game experience.‭ ‬So whatever your preference just remember that there usually is a good reason why it is one way or the other.‭

Review: TMNT on Xbox 360

The 2007 CGI movie “TMNT” was a surprisingly good adaptation of the Ninja Turtle franchise that satisfied fans both old and new. Predictably a movie game was put in the works and I got my hands on the Xbox 360 version to see what it was all about. Now it is no surprise to anyone that movie license games usually aren’t too good, and most are downright awful, but this one is not bad at all, in fact it is a pretty decent game.
The story of the game practically follows the story of the movie and it is told in by the turtles after the fact, they are reminiscing about the story. The game uses a comic book to show the action as the turtles introduce each new level and situation. Then the turtles chatter can be heard sometimes in the level itself. At the beginning of the game you play as one turtle at a time, mirroring the separation that is seen in the movie. But then as the levels progress you get to switch between characters on the fly and utilize “family attacks” where you call on another turtle to help you do a special move.
Throughout the game you will encounter numerous purple dragons, foot ninja, and few other enemies, all from the movie. You have two attacks but you will usually only use one. The character’s main attack uses their specific ninja weapon and the more you press the button the more of a combo that develops. Each turtle also has another special move that isn’t an attack; Leo can pass through certain walls because of a medallion he obtained in the jungles in South America; Mikey can use his nunchuks as a helicopter blade for a short time; Don can pole vault with his staff, traveling a long distance while staying low; Raphael can use his sais to climb certain walls. These special moves help add variety and some minor strategy to the game.
The game leans heavily on its platformer element and some parts are genuinely hard (like Donatello’s romp through the sewers) but for the most part it is a simple formula; climb/jump over obstacles, fight, then repeat. You are given a grade for your performance in a level and it depends on how fast you did the level, how quickly you defeated your enemies, and how many tokens you picked up along the way. Then when the “family moves” are instituted they add an extra grade for that. You will gain a lot of achievement points for this game on Xbox, if you beat it you will get, in total, 1000 gamer points, so it’s an easy way to boost your gamer score.
TMNT is a solid movie game but could have been better; the other three turtles should have been on the screen as NPC’s throughout (why is this so uncommon in turtles games?) the platformer elements got a little annoying at points, the fighting got a little repetitive, and the auto camera really didn’t get the angles that were necessary at all times (ie you couldn’t see where you were going because of the location of the camera) But overall it is a decent game that will satisfy turtles fans and, in the end, it is a child’s game.
Gameplay: 6.5
Story: 8
Replay Value: 6
Graphics: 7
Overall: 6.9

Ghostbusters: The Video Game Update

As you all know I am anxiously awaiting the release of Ghostbusters: The Video Game on June 16th and since I wrote up my preview of the Ghostbusters game a lot has changed so I figured I would post a status update to keep you all up to speed. A few new pieces of media and some new interviews have surfaced that delve deeper into the multiplayer details and some new stuff about the story.
Just a few days ago Atari released a teaser trailer where they revealed that Alyssa Milano would be the female lead and the new love interest for Venkman. Milano plays Dr. Ilyssa Selwyn, the guest curator of the museum’s “World of Gozer” exhibit. The trailer can be found at gametrailers.com in HD, there are some behind the scenes shots and some new cinematics so check that out when you get the chance. Here’s the link
http://www.gametrailers.com/player/47004.html
Another new development are some “leaked” videos that have showed up on Game Cinema HD , the first is about a 2 ½ minute compilation of gameplay and cutscenes, most of which are new, set to Ray Parker Jr’s “Ghostbusters.” The second video is part of the training level of the game where the rookie is taught how to catch slimer by Peter Venkman himself. Both videos can be found at this link
http://www.gamecinemahd.com/game/ghostbusters_the_video_game/videos/18712/
If that’s not enough there are a few new interviews that have some great footage of the multiplayer and some more information about the development of the game.
This first video has a lot of footage of multiplayer (it starts out in Dutch but the interview is in English) including a look at some pink “mood slime” from the second movie.
http://www.psonly.nl/videos/2679/Ghostbusters:_The_Video_Game/
This second video has an interview with Brendan Goss and Drew Haworth talking about multiplayer, possible downloadable content, and it features a very brief shot of the interior of the firehouse.
http://www.incgamers.com/Videos/490/IncGamers-Ghostbusters-Developer-Interview
There is also a new interview with Brendan Goss and Drew Haworth done at the Game Developer’s Conference.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-oJwgPceKg
As the game draws closer to release I’m sure we will learn more but hopefully not too much, I don’t want the story to be spoiled before I play it. Check back for more video game news and a new review I will be posting soon.

Is "Causal Gaming" Ruining Gaming?

Sorry for the delay, Spring Break and laziness kicked in. In this opinion piece I am going to give my thoughts on so called “casual gaming” and what it is doing to the gaming industry as a whole. These are my opinions and should be taken as such; I would also love to hear what you have to say so feel free to leave a comment.
Okay let’s get started, in 2006 Nintendo released their Wii console and it quickly became a huge hit, dominating the console market and leaving Xbox and Playstation in the dust. The Wii is a completely interactive console that uses a “Wii Remote” and “Nun chuck” to allow for motion control. The console is marketed as more of a “family” gaming console with a lower price tag (at least at first, now the Xbox 360 Arcade is actually cheaper) and more games that target a younger audience and that parent’s can play with their children. This massive surge in sales meant that some people who weren’t buying game consoles before were buying the Wii and gaming was entering more households. With this new wave of gamers came the phenomena that many now call “casual gaming.” This is the term that long time gamers called the people who simply bought a Wii or only played music games like Guitar Hero. These “casual” gamers became a huge market and soon Playstation and Xbox began to make more games catered to these gamers. This has been generally negatively received by the “hardcore” gamers who play more adult games and have been playing for longer. Many say that this trend is ruining gaming but I couldn’t disagree more.
While it is true that this “casual” gaming has taken the industry by storm it has only helped to make gaming more universally accepted. Plus many of these players get into gaming and “graduate” to the more adult consoles. Plus games like Guitar Hero are actually really fun; it’s a nice change of pace from the flood of first and third person shooters on the market today. “Hardcore” gamers still have plenty to look forward to; Gears of War, Resident Evil, Halo, Call of Duty, and other franchises will continue to churn out games along with new games that may turn into franchises themselves (crossing my fingers for a Ghostbusters franchise)
It is my opinion that the Wii will eventually turn out to be simply a fad, it will be loved by those who have it but they probably won’t want to buy a “Wii 2” or whatever Nintendo release next. These “casual” games will simply help to make gaming more mainstream and hopefully that will lead to the growth of the industry, either way gamers can choose and the more adult titles will continue to come out so “hardcore” gamers will have nothing to worry about.
If you noticed I put parenthesis around casual and hardcore gamers because I really don’t believe this is a real distinction, there are simply different markets; the 13-30 year olds who play the T and M rated games and the 0-12 year olds and their parents who play the more family friendly games. I don’t think the amount of time you spend playing video games or the more you know about them should really be a basis for grouping people, we all play video games for our own reasons and on our own schedules.
So in conclusion, this “casual gaming” trend is nothing to worry about in fact give some of the games a try, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how fun and addicting they can be.

Bad Consoles

Video games have come a long way and the industry has seen some fantastic systems and some amazing technologies, but for every NES there is an Atari Jaguar waiting in the wings and in this essay I will go over some of the worst consoles in video game history. We will begin with a system that many people do not remember, and for good reason. The Atari 5200 was the follow up to Atari’s successful Atari 2600, the 5200 was meant to replace the 2600 just like the Xbox 360 is meant to replace the Xbox. The 5200 suffered from a number of difficulties but the most prominent was the controller malfunctions. The Atari’s controller was notorious for not working and it also suffered from the problem of using a numeric keypad which just doesn’t work well for video games. Another problem was the size, it was large enough that there was a compartment that was supposed to be used for holding the controllers. The 5200 didn’t have the games or the support that the 2600 had because of the untimely crash of 1983 that left Atari in shambles. While the 5200 did not do well it was not nearly as bad as some of the failures that followed it.
In the early 1990’s Sega and Nintendo were vying for the top spot in the video game industry and out of the rush to “one-up” the competition, Sega created a CD based attachment for their Sega Genesis/Megadrive console, this attachment plugged onto the side of the Genesis and used CDs to play games instead of cartridges. The CD allowed for the use of “full motion video” something that cartridges were not capable of. But the problem was in the fact that the video was small, pixilated, and took forever to load. Just like other early CD consoles (Playstation, for example) the load times were a big problem, another problem with the system was the lack of good games, for the most part they were second rate productions that used the “full motion video” as a crutch instead of a tool. But the Sega CD itself wasn’t the real failure; the real failure was the follow up attachment the Sega 32X. I actually have a 32X and it really is a waste, the games were supposed to be much better but the graphics weren’t too terribly special and the price tag was pretty high too ($150, a bit steep) not to mention that the 32X was released only about half a year before the Sega Saturn, so it was a real waste of money. Not only was Sega’s marketing shoddy but the system went back to cartridges, a huge mistake. Sega had told the world that CDs were the future but then reverted back to cartridges only to then use CDs for the Saturn, the company looked like they had no idea what they were doing and it cost them when they eventually released a good system, the Sega Dreamcast, but they couldn’t sell it because of their tarnished reputation. The Genesis attachments single-handedly led to Sega leaving the hardware race and only producing software.
If that’s not enough fail to last you a lifetime let’s talk about the Phillips CD-I. Another early CD based console this one suffered from the same problem that the Sega CD suffered from, the tech was not there yet, not to mention the fact that Nintendo allowed them to make three of the worst Zelda games ever to be released, if you want to know more about those you can check out the AVGN’s review, he can actually speak from personal experience, unlike me (although I think I was spared on that one)
While Nintendo was getting the N64 ready for launch they felt that they needed to release a console to tide over the fans, unfortunately they released the Virtual Boy. This thing was the biggest piece of garbage to ever come out of Nintendo, it was suppose to use multiple screens to create a 3D effect and to simulate reality. It was a view screen on a stand, not a very good design and it only had two colors; black and red. There were only about 20 games released and none of them really worked that well because the system itself was garbage. The only memory I have of this thing was when it was in a Blockbuster store and I wanted to play it, I was only 7 or 8 years old, and the dumb thing fell off the stand and gave me a bloody nose, if I never see one of these things again it’ll be too soon. Virtual reality seemed like a good idea, I still like the idea of feeling like I am in the game, but it was more shallow 3D than virtual reality. It’s short life span was indicative of the market reaction and to this day it stands as one of the worst consoles ever.
The Atari Jaguar was another attempt by Atari to reenter the frontrunners of Sega and Nintendo in the early 90’s but it failed for similar reasons to the 5200. The controller was a monstrosity, numeric keypad, fire buttons on the top left and right spaced out as far as possible and it was even bigger than the original Xbox controller. There wasn’t any real third party support and its claim to be 64 bit was too radical to gain enough support to get people away from their Genesis or their SNES.

The final failed console on my list is the 3DO, the failure of this console was the management by the creator, Trip Hawkins, he created a CD based gaming console that was highly advanced for 1993 but he licensed the rights to make it to a third party, so he could focus on producing software. The problem was that the console manufacturer couldn’t make much money on the system itself, the real money was in the games, so to break even they needed to sell the units for $700 each. This was a huge amount of money in 1993 (it still is today) and it didn’t sell, because it didn’t sell people didn’t make games for it and it failed due to a lack of sales and a lack of support from software manufacturers.
Video games have hit bumps on the road but eventually technology is worked out, many times great ideas are squandered by bad business or by lack of support however these consoles will live on as some of the worst to ever be seen. To be fair many of the ideas were pretty innovative and good but either the technology or the management wasn’t there to make the systems a success.

Credit to:

AVGN “Atari 5200” Episode

Play Value “Failed Consoles” Episode

Comic Con Wrap Up Part 2

Sorry for the delay, I got a little tied up but I’ll finish my report now. The second day that I went to the convention I attempted to pull myself away from the Ghostbusters booth and go to some other places to check out the other games. Atari also had the Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, playable so I went to check that out first. The best part of the game was the presentation, they had Riddick look-a-likes on the outside of the booth and headphone so you could really hear what was going on in the game. However the game itself wasn’t so great, it was a very mediocre first person shooter, not much originality and it was extremely hard. I couldn’t get past the first onslaught of bad guys. The only thing I really liked was at the beginning you don’t have a weapon and you have to steal one, the mechanic is based on good timing and it worked well, but overall this isn’t exactly the cream of the crop.
I passed by Sega’s booth and they had several games on display, Madworld for the Wii was the most visually appealing with a black and white display but the blood was red. It had the feeling of Sin City, visually, but I didn’t get a chance to actually play it. They also had Sonic and the Black Knight, that game looked very similar to Sonic Unleashed, which had pretty good gameplay mechanics but once again I didn’t get to play it, the lines were actually pretty long.
Activision had X-Men Origins: Wolverine on display and their set-up was quite impressive, with a room that had the playable demo and several of the developers were there to guide you through it. They also had cool giveaways but the line for this was unbelievable and I never felt inclined to wait that long.
I know, it sounds like I didn’t really play any of the games but there was a massive amount of game and non-game related stuff to do so I only got to actually play two games. The other game I played was Prototype and I was impressed. I went by the booth and began talking to one of the developers who was friendly and helpful with my questions, I hadn’t heard anything about the game other than the name so I got him to run through the plot. The basic idea is that you (the character’s name has slipped my mind) wake up and have all of these special abilities but no memory of who you are and what is going on. The military is chasing you and to top everything off there is a virus loose turning people to zombies. You need to piece together your life story by the memories of specific people, you “consume” them by killing them and sucking up their life essence to get their memory. You also gain the ability to use their physical appearance to deceive and to command certain unknowing people. The movement is basic, dual stick with a third person camera. You can glide, grow blades out of your hands (like Wolverine) run up buildings, pound the ground to cause damage, and if you charge up your fists and lock on to a target you can slam the ground and spikes will grow up from under the enemy and impale them. That was easily the best move, but there is also an elbow-slam where you jump high in the air and press “Y” you will go WWE on the ground or on objects in the environment and slam into them causing enough damage to level tanks. You can also jump in the air and press “X” to jump onto a person and surf on their body until they are completely crushed. The graphics are very good and the gameplay in smooth, the game is coming out in June, so after I beat Ghostbusters about a million times, I’ll probably check this game out.
Well that’s it for the NYCC 2009, I had a great time and I hope you guys enjoyed my wrap up. I’ll be posting a new review soon, probably TMNT for the Xbox 360 and I’ll be writing a new article about some of the worst consoles ever (Virtual Boy, Atari 5200 etc) So stay tuned.

Comic Con Wrap Up Part 1

So I got back from the New York Comic Con and it was a blast. There was a strong showing of video games and a playable demo of my most anticipated title; Ghostbusters: The Video Game. I’ll start with that demo because I am dying to talk about it. The first thing that I did on Saturday (after waiting in an hour long line to get in) was run to the Atari booth. When I got there I saw this.

The booth had a four sided “locker” type set up with the PS3 version on one side, the 360 version on the other, and the Wii version on the third side. The last side simply had the Ghostbusters logo. On top of each of the sides was a nametag for one of the 4 Ghostbusters: Zeddemore was above the 360 version, Venkman was above the PS3 version, Spengler was above the Wii version, and Stantz was above the side with the Ghostbusters logo. I waited behind some guy to play the demo and I watched the whole demo being played through. I was nervous when he finally handed the controller off to me and I pressed “Start Demo.” The demo began with Ray telling me to stay close and that there was “more fun up ahead” As I moved down the hallway a chair came crashing through a window to my left and I looked over to see a ghost flying away. So I pressed “Y” to pull down the Ecto Goggles and to get out my PKE. The interface on the Goggles was the first change that I noticed. There now was a more involved display. I followed the traces of ectoplasm through a door into a new room. I looked around and moved towards a spike in PK energy. I looked up at the ceiling and all of a sudden marshmallow monsters came crashing out of the ceiling and attacked. I began blasting them and they blew up into marshmallow goo. As I went on I noticed that the marshmallow actually built up on my face and on Ray’s face as we were fighting, a little detail that made the game feel so much more involved. As I shot the monsters they through fireballs at me that I had to dodge, I had to revive Ray a couple of times and the boson dart (the alt fire on the proton stream, a wad of energy goes down the stream and blows up like a grenade) was useful to instantly toast all of the monsters (pun intended) when they were swarming.

As I was playing I was treated to bits of dialogue from Dan Aykroyd that sounded great, you can really tell that he was extremely energetic and excited about this project. After defeating all of the monsters some more popped out of a door and as I went through it I saw windows to the outside of the building. I then saw Stay Puft walking by the windows and the glass shattered and the building shook as he went by. Some more monsters attacked as Ray called Peter saying that we needed assistance, Bill Murray’s voice came out loud and he delivered a great line about the marshmallow monsters that have blocked his path (they’re disgusting and they’re unhealthy) Ray then persuades him by telling him there is a lady in distress and Peter says “I’ll be right there.” Ray kicked open the door and I heard a woman screaming and I saw a bit of the wall torn out. Stay Puft was looking into the room and Ray said “no sudden movements” but Stay Puft grabbed at the lady and we let him have it, I fired a boson dart at his face and he backed off shooting some of his minions at us before leaving. After dispatching with them Ray and I left the room to follow after the lady and she was there with Venkman. At this point a cut scene would have taken place but to keep the demo moving it was removed and we went straight to the rooftop where we finally got to trap some ghosts. The ghosts of construction workers bursted out of the roof and attacked, these ghosts were animators and they could possess objects and hurl them at me. They went into air conditioning units and flew straight at me. I had to use “B” to get out of the way and then I fired with the right trigger to start to wear them down. There was a green circle that formed around the crosshairs when I was shooting at the ghost and the bars making up the circle disappeared the longer I shot, eventually they turned red and I captured the ghost in my stream. It was now a matter of pressing “X” to toss out a trap and then holding the left trigger to slam the ghost into objects to weaken them. Once I felt I had softened them up enough I guided them over the trap and the funnel opened up to suck in the ghost. But the battle wasn’t over, the ghost began to try to get out of the funnel so I had to compensate to keep him in the funnel long enough for the trap to close on him. The mechanic is so fluid, it has a great feel to it, it isn’t too easy or too hard. Trapping the ghosts was so satisfying that I never wanted it to stop. But after about 5 ghosts were in the can Egon came on the radio saying that he had “lost sight of Stay Puft.” I moved towards the ledge with Peter and Ray and the building began to shake. Finally Stay Puft popped up and roared in our faces which, to a person who didn’t know it was coming, was pretty frightening and funny at the same time. Then the demo ended on that cliffhanger.
This level appeared on PlayrTV a few months back and you can still see it on youtube. However the level has improved a lot since the earlier build, with the graphics being much more clean, the gameplay mechanic being tweaked, and the Ecto Goggle interface being updated. The VO work was fantastic, there was a bit of concern after the trailer that Bill Murray sounded lackluster in his performance but that wasn’t true at all, he was so dynamic that I couldn’t help but laugh every time I heard the same line because he delivers it perfectly. The booth had a large backdrop that featured art of Stay Puft, the librarian ghost, and slimer among other new ghosts. There was also an ice sculpture of slimer that was real "cool."

There was also a TV playing the game trailers in a continuous loop. The booth was buzzing all day both days but I was lucky enough to play the demo a total of 7 times. I met Glenn Gamble, the lead artist on the game, and he said that he had researched and designed the game pack which looks fantastic. He was buzzing around all day both days to answer questions (or at least the few that he could) He did say that there was a lot of secret content in the game that they want to keep away from the public until release. Atari hired some guys to appear in Ghostbusters costumes and their stuff was quite impressive. They handed out game stickers and I grabbed a few. I also got to talk to another Atari rep (whose name I did not catch) and he asked me for feedback on the game, it was fun to talk to someone from the game and to let him know what I thought. After watching many people play the demo and talking to several passersby I can safely say that the game was well received, I asked about a demo and was told that most likely it would come to Xbox live and PSN 1-2 weeks before release, so early June. The game was so incredible that I couldn’t believe it, I loved it so much that I spent more time at that booth than at any other place in the convention. This report is going to be long so I’ll break it up and post part 2 tomorrow, I’ll talk about my experiences with Prototype and The Chronicles of Riddick.