Pointless Points: 360, Have You Lost Yo Mind?

Read myself something awfully stupid the other day.
It's these damn Xbox 360 Achievements. They're getting out of control.

For those out there unaware of what "achievements" are, it's basically points rewarded for doing something in a specific game. For example "Avenge Your Death" or "Kill 5 People With a Grenade". There are sites (like this one) that track every game and how many achievements are in them. These points rewarded do absolutely nothing in terms of practicality. There is no monetary value to be collected from them. You cannot unlock a new gun after 10,000 points. They are just there.

From what I've read, many 360 players out there collect the points just to say they have a higher "Gamer Score" than their buddies. I see no point in this but I'm not gonna knock it.

What I am going to knock is having stupid achievements. This is what I was referring to when I said I read something. In an upcoming game, Turok, the achievement is listed as "The Grab Bag Achievement: 10 points to a player if they Kill at least 1 creature, 1 enemy, 1 teammate, and yourself in the same round of a public match"

KILL A TEAMMATE?! KILL YOURSELF?! What kind of gaming do these developers stand for?
Where's the teamwork going to go if you're all trying to blow each other up. Out the window that's where. Let's be reasonable with these achievements people. The worst part is after sacrificing your rep as a master blaster, you only get 10 lousy points.

Actually, the worst part is that, comparatively, 10 points and 1000 points are the same because you can't do anything with them. We gamers are an odd bunch...

Ninja Gaiden 2: If You Want Blood, You Got It

Popular series Ninja Gaiden 2 is slashing its way to the 360 exclusively (for now) relatively soon. If you are unfamiliar with the series, the game follows badass ninja Ryu Hayabusa as he kills virtually everything with a pulse. The game can get ridiculously difficult but it is touted as one of the most deep and technical fighting systems around. It was heavily based on defensive strategies, but this time around, Ryu is all out of gum.

Ninja Gaiden 2's creators have taken the liberty of making this one of the most violent games I've seen in recent history. Example below:


This game has more blood and violence in it than you can shake a sword at. Actually, that's probably what caused the blood so stop shaking swords at things. In NG2 enemies can be cut in half, set fire to, and generally amputated in every way.

I can't speak for why they decided to put this much blood in the game, other than it's pretty and might give you some sense of accomplishment. But the cutting off of limbs actually has a purpose in this one. Example: If you remove an enemies legs, they become aware that they just might not survive the night so they will attempt to crawl after you and suicide bomb you. Depending on which limb you cut off actually changes the "finishing move" that you perform to end their suffering. Even the angle you are approaching the enemy at determines which move you do.

Is this some revolutionary game making strategy? I'm not so sure. I think it might just be an excuse to have the violence ramped up. But at least this is a game that provides a REASON to have so much violence in it.

E

What Sony Is Doing Right: Ad-ing it up

After drowning in "PS3 is never going to succeed" news/blogging/forums, you kind of feel like you made a bad choice if you bought a PS3. Honestly, I was starting (STARTING) to believe the anti-hype.

It took me weeks to decide if I wanted a 360 or a PS3 and I was quite proud of my decision to bring home Sony's little nuclear bomb of awesome. But for a long time, it was more like a bottle rocket. Games constantly delayed, the release date of a game you can find on 360 placed months down the line, reports of writing game code for the PS3 being extremely difficult, and not to mention there wasn't a damn thing worth playing on the thing for months.

But now... the sunrise

Sony has flooded my television and internet space with Ps3 commercials. The most common seen here.

I can't go a day without seeing it. I'm so happy to see it too because it means that Sony is finally putting some cash where it matters: marketing. I don't know what they were thinking before when they showed that weird baby commercial during the first year of its release. Who the *^!#$! would buy a PS3 after seeing that? They'd probably run out to spend money on therapy first. Most important, that commercial gives ZERO indication of what the product is or does! Luckily Sony must have listened to its fans and changed their ad campaign.

On a related note, a fantastic commercial is running in Europe right now (seen here). Though a little weird, this ad is exactly what is needed in the European market as it is notorious for low PS3 sales. Why is this commercial worth a watch? Because it actually tells you what's good about the system. It tells you that it has Blu-ray (something that many many people had no idea about), it is powerful etc etc. Sony is finally realizing that not all North Americans are adept at interpreting Freudian creepshows.

The point I'm making here is that Sony's leaping in the right direction. After about a year of being the gaming world's whipping boy, it has found some footing. With proper marketing, comes higher sales. Higher sales means a bigger audience to sell games to. Selling more games means developers will want to make games for the PS3. After this, maybe (just maybe) the PS3 will have earn some respect and start droppin' elbows on Microsoft.

Shut Your Lips! Talkin' Smack Online

Smack Talkin' (see: intimidation) is a large part of athletic competition... or so they tell me.

The same applies to online gaming. With Xbox Live and PS3 online gaming, you can use the microphone/headset to communicate with your teammates, come up with a plan to flank the enemy, or maybe just chit chat away as you play. But it's also used to call people "fags" and "homos" and other unpleasantnesses.

One large example is this video I found where a Halo 3 player took it upon himself to show just how much homophobia and rough mouthed players are out there. He played under the name "xxxGayBoyxxx" and some of the comments said over the mic system can be quite shocking. If you watch it please do so with a low volume. See the video here.

Now I'm sure that there's other, less homophobic insults that cross the ears of players. But I'm really thinking about the kids here. And don't make the argument that Halo's rated M. I'm talking about all online games. The point is that a younger audience (heck even the older audience) is being exposed to language/terms/hate that they didn't sign up for nor should they be subjected to. Now xxxGayBoyxxx did this as a pseudo-social experiment and one could make the argument that he was baiting people. But honestly, think of how many people out there get insulted like this on a daily basis.

A little friendly competition and jeering never hurt anyone. But this is getting way passed sticks and stones.

What Not to X This X-Mas: Xbox 360 Edition

Sorry for the small lack of posting if you were waiting. I've been in mourning for the delay in the Canadian release of Rock Band.

But hey, with all this Christmas cheer going around, who can be sad?

That said being said it's time for the 360 picks...

Mass Effect

I have purposely not left you a screenshot like I have in my other posts for this reason: the graphics are too good. Blogger cannot support a resolution that really shows whwat I mean. Take a look here. I couldn't believe it was real. But that's not really why I think this game is cool. Options and control are why I think you 360 owners need this game. Combat works like this: You and two other party members bust into a room and there is 4 enemies scattered through the room. You may pull up a menu and assign each of your squad mates a command. It might be "Take cover behind this wall" or maybe "Blast enemy number 3 with a grenade" while you tell another squad mate to shoot enemy number three while he's in the air. It's super complex but they made it extremely simple to navigate. This will rock the galaxy and give 360 owners one more reason to thumb their nose at the PS3. To explain everything I just said. Click "Developer Walkthrough" on this video link.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

This is a game for Halo haters, or at least someone looking for a more realistic shooter. Also a plus, the single player isn't crap. The big thing that I like about COD4 is it's huge online component. 360 has great online play and this will do any body good to play at least a few rounds of this on Xbox Live. The method they use is a sort of climbing the ranks situation whereby players can "upgrade" their characters ability to use certain guns. Do you like playing as a sniper? Well you're gonna have to play a lot to be a GOOD sniper. The more you play the better skills you acquire to take out the enemy. Another awesome element is the ability to create your OWN class. You don't have to be a gunner or a grenadier if you don't want to. You can be a guy who loves pistols and Uzis and apply up to 3 "perks" such as the ability to detect where bombs have been placed in a level. Coole.

Indigo Prophecy (Xbox Originals)

Now this game is a feature of the 360's new line of "Xbox Originals" line which is a new ability to download the original Xbox games to your very own hard drive of the 360. The reason I ask 360 owners to get this oldy is because it didn't do so well in stores for some reason. I own it myself and its amazing if you consider its premise. Essentially it's a story telling game but the player acts out the experience with a series of choices. Example: in the picture above you start out the game with a dead body at your feet in a restaurant washroom. You aren't really sure what to do. You could A) hide the body/mop up the floor/wash your hands and walk out unnoticed B) hide the body/mop up the floor/not wash your hands and get a suspicious look from a cop eating there or C) dash out the restaurant like a madman and immediately get listed as a suspect in the murder. Whatever your decision if affects the way your story plays out for the rest of the game. Cause and effect isn't really something that is explored with the depth (i.e. not just "I shoot you and you die") that Indigo Prophecy does. It's really worth checking out once "Originals" gets its footing.

Thank you all for paying attention thus far. I sincerely hope you heed my advice and at least RENT one or two of any of the games I've listed in the last 3 posts. Enjoy!

E

What Not to X This X-Mas: PS3 Edition

Continuing with my good will toward man, I have taken the liberty of sharing my top picks of "must haves" for this holiday season on the PS3.

But first there is a glaring issue I would like to address. All but one of the games coming out from now until the end of December are also available for the Xbox 360. This could be troublesome to Sony's sales, but I feel the PS3 has many more things to offer besides gaming. This topic could be a whole other blog so I will move on.

Without much of a segue I will say that luckily that one title that us PS3 owners have to ourselves is...

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune:

The storyline is unimportant right now (but if you must). This is a game of kickass action adventure. It is a real treat for the eyes as it takes you away from all those cookie cutter post-apocalyptic shooters out there and brings you in the the jungle with ancient temples (think Mayan culture). Why is this game so cool? With all the added graphics processing, the game's creators have included something never seen before in a game: an "average Joe" hero. That's right. When bullets go flying at the protagonist, fear will show on his face. He will (sometimes) stumble. He will slip on ledges. He might even have to take a punch. He is an everyman. I can say first hand after playing the demo that I cannot wait for the real thing.

The Orange Box:

Goofy sounding name? Yeah. It has even goofier box art. But this mammoth might be the deal of the century. It features not one, not two, but FIVE games on one disc. It has Half Life 2 (one of the best first person shooters ever), HL2: Episode 1 (a mini continuance of Half Life 2), Episode 2 (continues even further), Team Fortress 2 (an awesome online-only shooter [pictured above]), and Portal (a puzzle solving game where the player must create and jump through portals to beat each level). It might be a lot to take in so here's a video. It should be noted that all of these games come for the price of one (approx. $59.99). I don't think anything like this has been attempted and that's why I've got it up here. Please pick this up if you're into FPS's or being cool.

Assassin's Creed:

Why is this game worthy of your attention? For starters, it's one of the only games that takes place during the time of the Crusades. That's intriguing in and of itself. But the real reason is it's somewhat groundbreaking conception escape. As you can guess, you play as an assassin assign to take out major players in the enemy cause. After the take down (as pictured above) is completed you will have to run away from the dozens of guards who saw you commit murder. Never fear. This game is designed so that if any part of a building sticks out more than 2 inches (to scale of course) then it is climbable. That means any window sill, and doorway, and deep set bricks are game. Again, the best way to show you is through a video. Pretty cool, huh?

So fear not PS3-only owners. There is still hope for you this Christmas. This should tide you all over until even more huge titles hit the market in the coming months.

What Not to X This X-Mas: Wii

I know it might be early to start talking about Christmas but, if that damn radio station can play holiday tunes starting November 1st, I should be granted the same tolerance with video games.

In short, there is a LOT of games coming out this month. It's great because all of us with a PS3 or a Wii that have been waiting for a game worthy of owning finally have something to play (save Ratchet and Zelda respectively).

In long, that means you'll (or should I say "yule"?...No...I shouldn't) have to sift through the dozens of new titles this holiday season. I'm no millionaire, so I'll be spending my money quite sparingly. Here's what I think I'd be treating myself to this holiday season (for the Wii/based on reviews and my general impressions on the game) if I had to choose:

(Note: For organization sake, I WILL be doing separate blogs for each console)

(Different note: The Wii has lots of kids games, and lots of garbage as well [Agatha Christie game anyone?]. I'm sure those kids games will get a 6 or a 7.5 max on the review scale so I'll just skip over those.)

Super Mario Galaxy:

This one is a no-brainer for anyone who owns a Wii. This game is doing something almost entirely new with the platforming genre (i.e. jumping from platform to platform like the first ever Mario game). The game takes place in space (hence "Galaxy") where the player can now run around small planets acting as levels. It is very difficult describe because it seems like such a new concept so check out at least the first 10 seconds of this video

Zack & Wiki:

While maybe not a no-brainer, this game sure is cool. It functions almost completely on a point and click system. There is no joystick to move left or right to make your protagonist (a teen-aged pirate and his flying monkey pal who hunt for treasure) run. You simply click where you want to be on the screen and the game will do the walking for you. It really doesn't seem to take anything away from the game either. It kind of reminds me of an old school adventure game. But of course, as this is a Wii title, there is a twist. Thing you find can be utilized using the Wii's motion controls. Watch this video to see what I mean. Pretty cool huh? The Wii is all about diversity and this title definitely brings that to the table here.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 2:

What could be one of the most bat-shit crazy games on the market, Rayman Raving Rabbids has a sequel coming very soon. There's no real story line. The point is basically playing through a series of mini-games involving these cute but crazy "Rabbids". The first game had everything cow throwing contests, to pulling teeth, to mine sweeping through a field to save a pig's life. I told you it was crazy.

To further this point it should be noted that the screenshot pictured above is an example of a mini-game where the player must shoot attacking Rabbids [the featured Rabbid is attacking with a hot dog] with a gun that fires plungers. Awesome.

This game is a little more fun with a couple of friends around as most of the mini-games can be played with 2 or more players. Be sure to at least rent this one. You know, for the kids. And what the hell, here's a video of this game too.

Honourable Mention: Medal of Honor Heroes 2
Guitar Hero: Legends of Rock (YOU HAVEN'T PICKED IT UP YET?)

Hope this gets someone out there pumped up a bit for the fast approaching days of gift shaking and untangling of strings of lights. Here's to a merry X-mas and a happy new Wii-r... I really have to stop that.