OXCGN’s 3D Gaming Comparison, Part I: Nintendo 3DS

Posted on 27 May, 2012 by AXiDER

OXCGN’s 3D Gaming Comparison

Part I: Nintendo 3DS

by Alex Baldwin

©2012 Alex Baldwin

We will our lives in three spatial dimensions. We have two eyes. We see two images.

And yet, until recently, our games have only fed us one.

This made sense two decades ago when hardware restrictions confined game design to only up and down, left and right. And yet, the PlayStation and Nintendo 64 arrived with worlds that existed in three dimensions with depth. This shifted not just the way games are rendered as sprites gave way to polygons, but the way we control them as analogue thumbsticks became a necessity.

However, we were still stuck perceiving worlds with depth as flattened images on our screen. Nothing other than our knowledge of what is ‘correct’ and the ability to shift the camera indicated that the sun was not just a small yellow ball a few feet over the hero’s head.

Three dimensions of fun? Let’s find out…

Filed under: Oxcgn Special feature, Xbox 360 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Microsoft and Sony: 6 Things The NextBox and PlayStation 4 Need

Posted on 7 January, 2012 by AXiDER

Microsoft and Sony: 6 Things The NextBox and PlayStation 4 Need

We humbly suggest….

by: AxiDer

©2012 Alex Baldwin

With current estimates putting the next Xbox and PlayStation home console launch dates around 2013-2014, this article may seem a bit premature.

After all, there’s still plenty of time before we’re asked to open our wallets again for the latest and greatest lumps of silicon and plastic, right?

For console manufacturers, hardware designs are ‘finalised’ (other than minor tweaks) significantly before release. The Xbox 360 was officially announced on MTV in May of 2005, 6 months before the US release, while the PlayStation 3 was announced a whopping 18 months before Japanese and US release.

Taking the quickest announcement-to-launch period of 6 months for the Xbox 360, further time is needed before announcement for developers to have their hands on development kits to begin creating launch titles that must be ready to stand on show at the console announcement to begin building hype.

While development kits can change as console specification change, generally these are generally minor changes and avoid major architectural changes lest developers be unable to make launch, a critical time for the console.

What the future console needs here

Filed under: Blogbanter, Console gaming, Editorial, Game Industry News, GameBanter, Hardware News, Oxcgn Special feature, PS3 News, Wii News, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments »

OXCGN’s Need For Speed: The Run Review

Posted on 9 December, 2011 by AXiDER

OXCGN’s Need For Speed: The Run Review

Road trip worth taking?

by: AXider

©2011 Alex Balwin

It’s hard to pin down exactly what sort of racing game Need for Speed is anymore.

Donning many guises over the past decade, EA’s premier racing series has moved between subgenres on an almost yearly basis with titles in open-world street racing (Underground, Most Wanted, Carbon, Undercover), semi-simulation (Shift, ProStreet), cops and robbers linear chases (Hot Pursuit) and even massively multiplayer online (World).

This year’s The Run is a bit of a hybrid.

With a reported longer 3-year development, The Run has all the indicators of a game vying to bring the franchise back into mainstream popularity with a new format, new engine (DICE’s Frostbite 2) and an exclusive deal with Porsche.

But is it enough to compete in what has been arguably the most crowded holiday game lineup ever, or even best prior Burnout developer Criterion’s quite excellent Hot Pursuit last year?

Speed this way

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Game Information, New Xbox 360 Games, PS3 Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 Game Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

OXCGN’s Rayman Origins Review: Platforming Perfection?

Posted on 5 December, 2011 by AXiDER

OXCGN’s Rayman Origins Review

Platforming perfection?

by: AXider

©2011 Alex Baldwin

Back in the original PlayStation days when gamers were getting all gooey-eyed at those fancy new-fangled 3D platformers like Super Mario 64 and Crash Bandicoot, a new 2D platformer was released that reveled in its missing dimension.

The armless French Rayman appeared on the scene with some of the most beautiful sprites and animation ever seen in a game, which contrasted wildly with the hard-edged low-poly characters model prancing about in Sony and Nintendo’s more well-known franchises.

After two well-received 3D sequels, endless ports of the second game (Rayman 2: The Great Escape, aka Rayman DS, aka Rayman 3D) and the spin-off Rabbids series, he’s back and in curiously familiar circumstances.

With the platform genre having evolved into more hybrid games such as Assassin’s Creed, LittleBigPlanet and Uncharted, while the indie scene is reveling in 16-bit revivals, Rayman: Origins on Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii sticks out like a sore thumb.

A very, very stunningly beautiful sore thumb.

GOTY platformer? This way

Filed under: 3rd Party Games, Console gaming, Game Impressions, New Xbox 360 Games, PS3 Reviews, Xbox 360, Xbox 360 3rd Party Games, Xbox 360 Game Reviews | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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