Backhand of Justice

Starcraft II is the finest RTS ever made. As someone who has played the highlights of the genre from the past 15 years I feel qualified to make this statement. Funnily enough, the only benchmark game I missed was the original Starcraft, a critical omission considering by all accounts it was a paragon of the genre.

It would be redundant to discuss the virtues of the game; my previous articles cover this thoroughly. Instead, I want to refute some of the criticisms of the game that have arisen online. There are two significant ones: that the game is merely a graphical update of the original Starcraft, and that the game ignores the evolution of the genre over the past decade. As I will discuss below, these arguments are without merit. read more

Has Blizzard caught lightning in a bottle a second time? Is Starcraft II any good? read more

Gamasutra’s Chris Beault claims that Starcraft II’s ladders are its biggest flaw. Is this unfair criticism, or does he have a valid point? read more

What do I think? It’s Starcraft. That’s all fans probably need to know. The uninitiated should be aware that the game is hugely different from the last decade of RTS offerings. How do Starcraft’s now-antiquated mechanics hold up? Have there been improvements? Read on to find out. read more

I have a lot of opinions on this site. Namely: videogames are the finest form of entertainment, and storytelling in games has become increasingly compelling.

Dragon Age had a story to rival the best books or movies, and it’s even more engrossing because you get to experience it first-hand and guide the action (it’s almost as cool as a choose your own adventure book … I mean … wait, was that out loud?).

Bioware has proven time and again that they understand drama and more importantly they have learned and improved with every game. I thought today we might just take a look at the final launch trailer for Mass Effect 2, a game that I believe will be one of the finest of the year. If Dragon Age or the original Mass Effect is anything to go by, we’re in for something special.

Besides, it has Martin Sheen. How bad can it be?

When I associate development studios with game features, a few pairs stand out to me. Valve is the master of the scripted sequence; Blizzard is unsurpassed at game balancing; Bioware tells the best stories. Not only was Dragon Age: Origins the finest RPG ever made, but Knights of the Old Republic and the original Mass Effect also had great albeit linear stories.

Mass Effect 2 looks to continue the tradition with an eclectic mix of characters, a strong protagonist and a story that will no doubt have multiple twists. Bioware’s voice acting chops are second to none, and the only wild card is how the game feels. By all accounts, the shooting has been tightened up and Mass Effect 2 will emerge later this month as ‘the total package’ (coincidentally also my street name). read more

Who likes Zelda? Ok, put your hands down. Who is tired of playing the same crappy Zelda game over and over? Enough with the water temple, am I right? Ok, you can put your hands down again.

Now, what if Nintendo re-made Zelda except instead of a prancing elf fairy, you play as War, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Instead of killing lizards, shrubs and some evil Hog King, you fight angels, demons and mythical beasts. Well, replace Zelda with Vigil Games, throw in the art style of Joe Madureira (long time comic book writer and cult icon) and you start to understand why I’m looking forward to Darksiders.

To summarize: Zelda + Joe Mad – Prancing Elf Fairy = Win. read more

Implementing massively multiplayer features in a game improves everything in theory. In practice, increasing the number of players frequently adds confusing and frustrating layers of complication, and the sacrifices required for optimization detract from better game elements. One of the genres that frequently defies developer intentions is First Person Shooter; MAG aims to change that.

In the past, developers have focused on simply adding players and geographic scale to the game without appropriately modifying mechanics. This has without fail resulted in confusion, oversimplification and flattening the skill curve.

MAG aims to use an incentive system to combine small scale warfare and grand battle tactics harmoniously. While there are still many question marks, a game this ambitious deserves our attention. read more

Zombies are tired, and cliché, and so 2008. Forget about the zombies, though. Left 4 Dead 2 is not about zombies, it’s about teamwork. Left 4 Dead was the first cooperative shooter that went beyond ‘you can revive a fallen teammate,’ and encouraged players to work together by aligning team and personal gain. Left 4 Dead 2 looks to build and improve upon this foundation.

Left 4 Dead 2 is essentially more of the same, with added content and gameplay refinement, and I can’t wait. New weapons, new special infected, new scenarios and new characters will all add depth to the experience. Most importantly, this is the first game that allows me fulfill my fantasy of killing zombies with a cricket bat. Wicked googly!

For those people complaining that the sequel is coming out too soon after the original, that’s like saying ‘even if you like ice cream, you can’t eat it every day!’ Yes you can. Ice cream is delicious. read more

Emergent gameplay is the white whale of open world videogames. Developers have long touted how even they don’t know how a given situation will play out. These claims are usually largely overstated; sure, you’re going to drive around in GTA and blow stuff up but at the end of the day you have to finish the missions.

Red Faction: Guerilla was the first game to truly crack the code. Instead of including the ability to go on a GTA-esque rampage in-between ‘completing’ the game, they made that the whole game. Every mission was ‘here is a rocket launcher and a sledge hammer. Go hog wild.’

Just Cause 2 is Red Faction: Guerilla squared. They have taken that template and mixed in Desert Strike, Far Cry and Michael Bay. Avalanche Studios may have created a game that attains Uncharted 2’s action movie feel without heavy scripting. If you like open world destruction, this game is for you. If you have a zipline fetish, this game is also for you. read more