OXCGN 2008 In Review: 25 Articles Revisited
dkpatriarch
© 2009 David Hilton
Well what a year 2008 was! Certainly a bountiful year full of quality gaming. Will 2009 be as good or better, despite the world-wide recession and the loss of game studios and gaming related jobs? What will be the big stories of 2009?
With that still to be determined, we have dug into our archives to dust off some of the stories we brought to you over the last year. You may have missed them with all that gaming, or you may want to see if the stories are still relevant now that the year has finished. At any rate, you can pick and choose what you want to read, so enjoy!
1. Is Gaming Becoming Too Easy?
My furious roar could be heard all the way to China. Well that’s what my wife sourly said, and as I looked at my slightly frightened children (who usually associate such anger with something they’ve done wrong …) I realised that this game was turning me into a monster.
I couldn’t remember being this frustrated since the old days of gaming when missing a jump meant certain death (even if the camera angle was at fault), or miss-timing pressing a button meant going back an hour of the game to do it over again and again…..
Yet I hear often from ‘real hardcore’ gamers how today’s games have been dumbed down and do not pose a challenge like they used to. I remember the early years of gaming where the challenge was in repetition and memorisation. Like the Beowulf example above, they turned mini-me into an overly explosive volcano.
The idea was that as a gamer you proved yourself worthy by passing bosses and difficult sections; look at games like the original Castlevania. My eyes would go red and watery trying to finish areas and interruption of any sort would end me.
2. Wii Wii Wii All The Way Home: The Next Gen Wars…Are Gamers Still Loyalists?
“This little piggy went to the market (okay, perhaps too early judging by the RROD problems), this little piggy stayed Home (Playstation Home has indeed stayed home, delayed despite being in the works since early 2005), this little piggy had roast beef (tones of quality titles to play), this little piggy had none (well not many anyway….), and his little piggy went Wii Wii Wii all the way home…..”
Ah the good ol’ console wars. I remember the ancient battles between the Sega fans and the Nintendo fans. Then the Sony fans versus the Nintendo fans (the Sega side had of course withdrawn from the war after the ill-fated Dreamcast). Then the Xbox, Sony, and Nintendo conflict, (with some PC loyalists thrown in for good measure) which still rages today, in the great Next-Gen War.
3. GI Joe Syndrome: Why So Many Gung-Ho Shooters?
I began Turok and was treated to the usual shooter opening sequence; I’m Turok, a member of an elite group of gung-ho patriotic GI Joes who personified bad-ass both in attitude and in overly developed biceps and necks. Already I was rolling my eyes.
The cliche of the Gung Ho American Super Soldier pervades shooter games and to a non-American this can seem over-the-top, reinforcing the view that games made for a predominantly American market must show Americans as militaristic super-confident heroes.
From Gears of War, to Call of Duty, Ghost Recon, or Halo (though Master Chief shows unnatural restraint compared with the soldiers around him), these ‘Team America’ types abound.
4. Console Gaming: Is It The Definitive Gamer’s Choice?
Many believe and love to spread the word that PC gaming is dead, when in a way it actually isn’t. It’s just with such huge investments needed to develop a game for the PC and huge risks involved, that the PC has hit a halt in terms of gaming and defining it’s difference to consoles to warrant its ‘generally’ higher costs.
Funnily enough, It used to be the front force for game developers for years, giving developers the ability to push their titles to new limits in terms of size, graphics, content, and overall quality, yet this norm has changed.
Consoles have entered the mainstream and developers now invest time and effort into making blockbuster and multiplatform games for both the Xbox 360/Playstation 3, seeing as that is where the money is at.
5. R18+ Rating In Australia: Up To Australians!
After todays long awaited meeting of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG), which was held in the Boorosa Vally in South Australia, it seems that the Deputy Premier and Attorney-General Rob Hulls has welcomed an agreement by SCAG to consult on whether an R18+ classification for computer games should be introduced into the National Classification Scheme.
Remembering that the r18+ already exists within Australia for movies and other media, yet, due to much misconception, has been deemed not necessary in the area of Computer (read video) games here in Australia. And in doing so, has actually allowed many an 18 rated game from overseas into the hands on minors here in Australia.
6. About Face: Faceplate Failure
Pimping out cars and even computers shows a flair of individuality, a symbol of cool taste, or an extravagance of wealth. So obviously being able to pimp out your 360 with changeable faceplates was a stroke of marketing genius, right? Wrong.
Modding your video game console to look different in the past has also seen a strong following, so why has the faceplate idea failed to inspire gamers? Here was a company prepared to prevent the usual ‘void your warranty’ risk by offering you the opportunity to buy and change your faceplate easily to give it some flair or originality.
7. Gamer Apathy: Sick Of Samey Shooters?
As the old saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Too much of a good thing and boredom can soon set in. I’m not talking about the larger genre of shooter video games, though supplementation with RPGs, Racers, Hack ‘N Slash, etc. is probably a good idea to ward off apathy.
No, I’m talking about when those shooters are all copying each other and feel too much like the same thing, varying only in quality and a few minor differences. Then you get déjà vu and it feels like going through the motions.
Shooters seem to come in waves much like movies. Someone comes up with a successful concept and then everyone wants in. At first it seems different and exciting, but after awhile you wish they would just space them out and vary the concept. The issue is not with the shooter’s setting or theme, it’s with the repetition all at once of the same setting or theme.
8. GTA IV: Extensive 7 Day Hands-On Playthrough
Waking up at 8am on Wednesday the 23rd to discover on my front porch a box containing my ordered GTA: IV Special Edition sitting there, was a sight to behold. I thought to myself is it April 29th already? No it can’t be. Just like any other gamer I ripped open the box and took the Special Edition and checked out the lockbox, key ring, duffle bag, soundtrack and the most anticipated game of the year Grand Theft Auto IV.\
The version I have is the Australian version which by now everyone knows it is the edited version, although no one exactly knows what has been edited from it. The Australian version is as much violent and rude than any game I have played in a long time. Whether it’d be over the top swearing, blood splatter on cars, strip clubs or just plain killing and making fun of the police, edited or un-edited there is a lot of fun to be had with this game.
9. James Bond Slaps 360/PS3 Split-Screen Fans In The Face
I was already really annoyed with the excellent ATV game Pure, which would have been ideal for party-atmosphere split-screen racing, for going online only, but now the new James Bond game Quantum of Solace by Treyarch is apparently giving split-screen to the Wii console only.
I said in my original article that the Wii was partly selling well because of games like Wii Sports which got people playing together and enjoying each other’s company, much like the old board games did. Much like Goldeneye did too.
10. Gears Of War 2 Sales Prediction: The Game Will Sell 10 Million Copies Worldwide
This is the second in a series of articles by our writer looking at the monthly “predictions” of sales of games based on his own methodology.
Many people argue that Gears of War 2 is a less mainstream game than Halo 3. The logic is that because of its more mature content its appeal is limited and Microsoft’s ability to market it in a Halo 3 fashion is markedly reduced. Personally I think Marcus Fenix would be more likely to curb stomp a Spartan-green can of Mountain Dew before he ever appeared on it!
Regardless, if we take the original Gears of War sales experience and apply the relevant attach rate of 40.1% we see approximately 10m copies of Gears of War 2 being sold within ten weeks, of which 3.8m will come in first week sales and 7.3m within the first month.
I’ll also predict Gears of War 2 will certainly be “bigger, better and more badass” than the original, but that come November I may well be sick of hearing that phrase even if it’s completely and utterly true.
11. Atari’s Single Player Games In Doubt
While at Sony, Phil Harrison pleaded with Sony many times to make their games more online social in context, but this was often put down as not “being a viable business model for Japan”. Even when Microsoft’s Xbox came onto the scene, he pushed to make the Playstation just as viable on line as the Xbox was/is.
Well things are definitely about to change. In his new position as President of Atari (Infrogrames) he is directing the company to leave the Single Player gaming field, and focus on Multiplayer Online Gaming Networked games.
12. Leaving America: Vin Diesel’s The Wheelman
America is known throughout the world for its love of the automobile, its massive cities, its entertainment industry, the right to bear arms, and, unfortunately, its violence; all of which make for a great sandbox-type gaming context.
The epitome of this is GTA IV where gamers from around the world are busily pursuing the criminal’s American Dream, working their way up from immigrant nobody to successful crim in a pseudo New York. But the ‘land of opportunity’ has become overused as a setting for open-world sandbox action and street car racing games.
Therefore, it is with much excitement that I have been following Midway’s collaborative game project with Vin Diesel called The Wheelman, which takes place in an open world city elsewhere. In fact, the running, gunning and driving mayhem will take place in Barcelona, Spain.
13. Mirror’s Edge: A Reflection Of Where Gameplay Might Be Headed
As more new IP’s hit the pages of mags across the globe, you would have to of been living under a rock if you have not yet noticed a certain change in the way developers are dealing with gameplay in their new IP ventures. A change that will hopefully be altering the way we interact will the games of the future.
Gamers have been calling out for ages for new innovations in games, but, innovation from a developers standpoint means huge risk factors, and usually will not get the financial support from the all important publishers who will basically be funding the developers of said new IP.
14. Six Ways to Ensure Your Games Blow Away The Competition
By making sure your game follows these Six Basic Development Steps, you will be sure to create an amazing title that will be enjoyed by the mindless masses for years to come. The more awesome you want your title to be the more of these steps you will want to follow.
Feign being exclusive. Simply mentioning the fact the game could have some ‘exclusivity’ will ensure a fast, rabid response from fans on both sides of the fence. It will create huge platform wars, get the tile right up there on the Google & Yahoo Search engines and ensure much heated debate on forums across the globe.
15. Truth: Australia Can’t Handle The Truth! Is Digital Distribution Right For OZ?
The truth is out there….in cyberland. In our increasingly cashless society we are using digital transfers of everything from money in banking and buying to songs, films, TV shows, and software. The future is heading toward a place where tangibles make way for cyber-versions of real things.
Games are no exception: we already have Xbox Live, Wii Shop and Playstation Store which offer mini-games, demos, classics, and new content. STEAM and Gametap already provide downloadable games for PC. But is the full digital distribution of games the way to go for consoles in Australia?
16. IGN Black Beta Event
The evening started off with a viewing of Metal Gear Solid 4 on the big cinema screen, let me tell you, it was something I have never experienced before. The quality of the opening cinema is breathtaking, you would be excused for thinking this was a blockbuster Hollywood production.
Strange futuristic television programs, initially throw you off the usual MGS openings but the typical Kojima innuendo is woven into the intro beautifully. Then the in-game ‘movie’ begins and you realize you are witnessing one of the most visually impressive games ever seen on a console.
From the recoil of the machine guns to the subtle specks of dust that attach to the camera, this is top notch stuff.
17. The True Australian Xbox Experience: Is It Worth It?
You get what you pay for. It’s a fairly straight forward concept, one that is utilized by sales people the world over and is a common explanation for “is this really worth the money” type questions. In Australia we pay $AUD79.95 per year (RRP) for access to Xbox LIVE. For reference, that is about $6.66 per month (spooky) and just under $1.54 per week.
This year, we’ll have paid just 0.22 per day to access Xbox LIVE. Why does this matter? For starters, let’s remember that Xbox LIVE is not considered an “item” or a real-world-goods we can hold in our hands, it is simply a service. Secondly, we do not have local access to Xbox LIVE, we run off of the US Marketplace servers.
18. Collector’s Edition Games
Finally publishers have cottoned onto what gamers want. Lots of nice shinny things, bells-n-whistles and neat little books and figurines to show off to all our mates and show off our “elite-ness”.
Yes, I’m being sarcastic, but it is a new move for game publishers. While the 360 has its removable faceplate and can come in a variety of colours, designs and the like, they never really pushed sales of game SKU’s across the counter in gaming stores.
Enter the Collectors and Limited Edition Game SKU’s.
19. Addicted To Too Human
I’ve played the demo upwards of 10 hours. Not the full game. The demo! What makes that even more outrageous is the fact I hated or at least was indifferent to my first hour with it. But then on my second playthrough things started to click, and by my third somehow Silicon Knights had put a needle in my arm and I’ve been addicted ever since.
Too Human is like a bottle of fine wine! You could drink the glass and complain about some sediment, or you could drink the bottle and marvel at its unique full bodied flavour. We firmly recommend the “bottle approach” (3-4 playthroughs) before you make your mind up and, in my case, become thoroughly addicted (or drunk?).
20. Sony: Exclusivity A Thing Of The Past
I’ve been saying this for at least the last 18 months or more. That 3rd Party Exclusivity with major companies such as Sony, MS and Nintendo will be and is a thing of the past. So it was great to finally get some validation around that when seeing a recent interview with Sony’s president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, David Reeves.
Developers and also 3rd party publishers can no longer afford to adopt the now out dated method of exclusive content for one platform. The cost of game development has risen substantially over the last few years to a point that being exclusive no longer serves the purpose it once did.
21. Game Pirates Under Attack: Developers Shoot Off A Broadside
Each year developers lose hundred of millions of $US’s on piracy. Money that could well be spent on R&D and future development on new IP’s. The stupid thing is, gamers shoot themselves in the foot with every game they ’steal’ as they basically are stealing money from their own future.
The accused will be given a chance to opt for an out-of-court settlement fee of $US563 or alternatively, be taken to the courts and face much higher chargers if found guilty, and they will be found guilty, there is no way around that. The firm does plan on following through with at least 500 of those 2500 cases.
22. Do All Games Need To Be Grade A Blockbusters?
Halo 3, MGS4 and Bad Company are all Grade-A games, however, crap games are in ever increasing abundance, yet these are by far out numbered by the monstrous quantity of mediocre games.
With the exception of a few months such as October and November the “Grade-A” titles are always outnumbered by an alarming amount. The question here is whether developers should be aiming for perfection or content with less than that ?
All the titles that I would dub either mediocre or crap are always absolutely adored by at least a few people. For example Dark Armada and his unnatural affection for the horrid game that is Two Worlds. (Of course he does hate Gears of War so we tend to ignore much of what he says anyway.)
23. Microsoft Live Abuse To End?
Do you, like me, hate pre-pubescent kids screaming profanity into their mics when playing online on Live? Tired of the drunken swear-songs, racist or sexist commentary from the late night crowd? Sick of having to press mute or hate having to say to your kids: “No you can’t play online because there are a bunch of idiots on there?”
Well it looks like Microsoft is doing something about it. Cheers all round! Or are there deeper sinister implications that I had not considered when begging for this to occur?
24. Consoles Have Batman Fever: He’s Breaking Out Everywhere!
With The Dark Knight gliding past the $400+ million mark breaking nearly every single record in cinema history.
It seems that there is a lot more Batman for fans to come in the near future, with up to 3 Batman games set to hit console in the next few months leading up to next year.
25. Top 10 Exclusives We’d Steal For The 360
E3 this year represents why all gamers on all platforms should be thankful for what many call the “console-war” or what we prefer to call here at OXCGN as a little “healthy-competition”. The result has meant gamers of all shapes and sizes are more spoilt for choice, than at any time in recent history.
So given that, whilst we’ve spent a lot of time talking about a lot of the fantastic confirmed and unconfirmed titles for the 360 @ E3, being gamers first we can’t help but notice when other platforms have titles just as enticing. So in the spirit of a bit fun and a lot of wishful thinking, here are our picks for the exclusives on the Wii, PS3 and PC that we’d most like to see magically announced for the 360 at this year’s E3.
© 2009 David Hilton
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Filed under: 1st Party Titles, 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Editorial, Microsoft Games, Parental Gaming, Wii News, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Reviews, Xbox 360 News, Xbox Community Network, XboxLive Marketplace
