11-18-04 Bonus Blog

I was never aware of the amount of money someone could earn by playing video games....I knew about the competitions and whatnot, but MAN. That is so much money.....Makes me wonder if it could even be worth it.

Now, I would never become a pro gamer.....even if I was good enough, playing games for a JOB? I'm sure I can contribute to society in a better way than that.... but I think about some of the games I enjoy, and that I'm pretty good at, and think "Hmmm....what if I instead did everything in my power to win?" What if I learned the killer strategies and watched the 'pros' play, and searched for new methods and unique ways of beating people?

Now, let's think about this for a moment. Without school or a job, I could play games let's say, 40 hours a week for 'practice time' (typical 9-5 work there). Now, as I enjoy playing games, and do so in my free time, who's to say I would stop playing them in my free time? so we're talking 40+ hours a week of playing games......That's a LOT of practice.....Seeing as I'm already ahead of 99% of my friends in games such as Halo 2, who's to say that that wouldn't set me over the edge for the pro market?

Of course, this is all wishful thinking, as I'm sure there would still be thousands of people that are able to beat me, but to be able to make money for an otherwise useless skill, and have FUN while doing it? that's a dream come true....

Halo 2, Part 2, for 11-11-04

So the game is finally here!!!!

And I must say....it's amazing. It's a large improvement over the original in every catagory....I've played through the single player campaign, and have played a bit on Xbox live. And, unfortunately, Live did not live up to my expectations...

The way it is setup right now (I say that in hopes that Bungie decides to change it) is that you must play online, ALONE in ranked games. They had advertised that you could have 4 people on Live on the same box. Sadly, that is only in Custom Games, in which you must invite other players to join you. This is, of course, useless, if you don't know anybody else that has Xbox Live. In addition, the ranked games (the only games that random people you don't know can join) give you NO options as to how you want to play. You pretty much just specify how many you want to play with, and the system sets up all the games for you. This is ridiculous, as a game with this magnitude of options should allow you more freedom to do what you want.

Which brings me to my point...Just how important are the players to Bungie? Important enough to initiate changes to this rather frustrating interface? My thoughts turn to Ultima Online, when Sir British would speak to players and get their input, and the game was better for it. Bungie would profit by listening to it's fans, especially since Halo 2 won't be the last in the series (Microsoft NEEDS Halo like a fat kid needs cake...). If they refuse to do anything, I'm positive many will boycott Halo 3 on pure frustration. I mean, they can always go back to the original Halo and be happy, or to other FPS's.

However, this also ties into the fact of expectations again. I was expecting this feature for Halo 2(Live) to be the greatest thing to ever happen to the Xbox. Don't get me wrong, I'm hooked, it's really fun....but by myself. and with games organized by someone else. If that's my biggest cripe, ok, I can live with it. Bungie did produce a great game. But who's to say that it couldn't have been better? And the hype machine then circles back on itself, and the game suffers because this was supposed to be the perfect, end all game of games.

Ah well.....I'll still be playing it for a very long time....

Halo 2, Part one

And here we are, five days away from one of the most anticipated games of all time dropping at Midnight. And it's going to be huge.

How many times have my friends and I played the original? How many times have we played CTF or deathmatch or co-op? How HUGE is the hype on this game?

As I've discussed before, online capability will make or break this game. And supposedly it's "high quality, all the kinks worked out, 4 person per box Xbox live" online capability. Now, the question is.....when I get this game at Midnight (which I most certainly will), do I jump on the Live bandwagon as soon as possible?

This may be a ridiculous statement to many non-Halo fans, but it actually is quite important. The French version has been floating around for a while now, and although I chose not to indulge for fear of ruining the game, it may still come back and bite me. If I go on Live before I beat the game, it's more than likely I"ll play at least one of those people that have had the french version....and they could very easily be spouting off info I don't want to hear, whether it be about the plot, levels, characters, guns, ANYTHING that I'd rather find out myself. (for those that don't know, Live is equipped with a decent headset and voice support) Suddenly the "Don't download it if you don't want to know" doesn't work anymore, and the pirating could very easily effect my enjoyment of the game, which I've waited so long for.

I'm dying to see what this multiplayer is capable of, but if I'm going to have to spend the time to complete it first, it's going to be a long time coming on Live.

One suggestion I did have was that more people bring Xboxs on game day, and we hook them up and try to get some 16 people or so......for those of you Halo haters, or those that haven't experienced that, you have to try it.

Next week, I'll be talking about Halo and how it has or hasn't lived up to expectations, and thoughts on the effects of the game on the current consoles, and next gen ones.

Movie Day Bonus Blog

In the long run, I believe that the synergy between game companies and the movie industry will be fruitful. I think it's going to take a while, however, for these profits to be reasonable. We have to get today's video game players/aspiring filmmakers to a professional age. Now that video games have become extremely popular, the time is right for some high quality video game movies.....

That's been the major problem in video games turned into movies: They are all low quality (whether it be the special effects, acting, plot, or concept) or come off as cheesy. Look at the Super Mario Brothers movie....it's just awful. it's not true to the game, the acting is HORRENDOUS, and has the most ridiculous plot. Final Fantasy? Looks beautful, but as Ethan has said, makes no fricken sense.

Recently, games have become more and more cinematic....that's even the aim of many companies, to create that cinematic experience. Just look at Enter The Matrix. With camera angles and plot lines that rival many major motion pictures, these games are ripe for a conversion to the big screen. actually putting enough money and effort into the films is what will finally make this synergy fruitful, and I don't believe that will happen until those of us that have grown up with all of these games MAKE it happen; through a professional standpoint or the demand for movies such as these.

#8 online

The largest disadvantage that console games have always had is the absence of a good online gaming service. Many, many consoles have attempted this, and finally, I believe one company has pulled it off. Of course, a broadband connection is still a must, but that is becoming more and more common.

Microsoft, of course, is the only company to create a good online service. Xbox live has downloadable content, multiplayer support, and a ranking system for many games. This is a huge leap forward. Games a decent multiplayer service for the most popular games (read: Halo 2) will give Xbox and Microsoft a huge victory over the other consoles. I must admit, the fact that Halo 2 is only on Xbox, and that it has Live support, made me buy an Xbox. And since Halo 2 is (most likely...I've yet to see it, I'm waiting for Nov 9th, rather than a french version...) a game that is best played with many other people, having a massive amount of different opponents will extend the game a hundred-fold.

Then, with other games such as Conker, Live and Reloaded coming out, Xbox live becomes almost a nessecity (if you played the N64 version, you'd know what I'm talking about....who's with me on that one?). Gamecube doesn't even HAVE an online service to speak of, and from what I've heard, PS2 is so ridiculously slow it's not worth the large price tag.

In addition, the downloadable extras also extend games. For instance, the PC version of KOTOR had a patch that added a whole new area. Xbox owners were out of luck....unless they had Xbox Live. They then got the same upgrades.

The next generation of consoles will be required to have a good online service, or be forced into obscurity. With the world of technology converging, and the internet becoming more and more widespread, consumers will expect it.

Blog #7

There is an absolutely HUGE amount of big name games coming out within the next couple months....Sure, it's getting to be that time of season, Christmas always spawns great games, but instead of releasing crappy games for what truly are aging systems (come on, these came out when I was in High School), each of the three Big Guns are pulling out all the stops. This is incredible to me....just look at the titles: Metriod Prime 2, GTA San Andreas, Halo 2, RE 4, Grand Turismo (3? 4? who knows?), Knights of the Old Republic 2.......Each of these being huge series games. And EACH system has them out this year. It's as if the companies finally realized "Oh, this are our sweet games...instead of putting tons of low quality games, let's concentrate on some great ones". And these games do look great.

It's created a sort of imbalance, however. With so many sure-sellers, the companies are forced to spread the release dates thin just to pad some of the numbers. It pushes games like KOTOR 2, and RE4 back until FEBRUARY, which is ridiculous, being two months after the christmas season. The sad thing is, I kind of agree with it. I have a gamecube, and an Xbox. Halo 2 drops on November 9th (as I'm sure everybody knows) and then Metriod 2 falls the next week.....those two games ALONE will keep me busy enough till far after the christmas season.

But, each IS a series game. There is not an original one in that list. How about a NEW kind of game that you spent some time on, eh? Where do you think Halo came from? Microsoft wasn't even involved with the console market, they spend some time on one game and put more money and effort into than 90% of developers, and got a huge, huge hit. Don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard fan of most of those big series, but COME ON, get some innovation.

I'm just glad that we finally get a good stock this year.....

Blog #5 Sierra

Talking about Sierra and the Kings Quest/Space Quest/Hero Quest games really brought me back. I used to play all those series with my father and sister many, many years ago. My dad still talks about the time when I was about 6 and I came up with a solution to a problem that neither him nor my sister (who was 10 at the time) could solve.

And honestly, I still believe them to be some of the best family games out there. Now a days, you mostly find shooters, or sports games, or fantasy ones, with very few oriented towards group puzzle solving. Sure, there are still puzzle games, but they aren't half as good as the Sierra ones used to be. They were aimed at all ages, and sometimes required a different perspective of the older, or younger generation. There are still games such as Myst, and Riven, but they don't have the humor or fun factor (for me at least) that I've come to expect in a puzzle game. Figuring out a rather difficult puzzle was so rewarding when your score changed from "97 out of 500" to "102 out of 500". Five little points have since not been half as exciting.

The newer games of those series just didn't appeal to the wider, family puzzle market like the old ones (King's Quest came out with a hack and slash, and Space Quest 6 was COMPLETELY different, with more sexual and bodily humor aimed at an older audience).

If Sierra would resurrect these old series, and put effort into making them the same sort of game play as their earlier predecessors, they would make an absolute KILLING; especially since retro gaming is at a fever pitch.....