Backhand of Justice

Don’t get me wrong: I’m a PS3 owner, and only a PS3 owner. I don’t want to start some console flame war about which is better overall. I just want to suggest that Xbox Live is winning the online war vs. PSN (as well it should considering it costs something vs. PSN which is free).

PSN likes to push that it offers greater value because there’s no subscription fee. Is $5/month really that crippling? Is the worse functionality offered by PSN worth the savings? Hardly. read more

There are changes afoot at Activision. As you may have heard, the two heads of Activision’s most successful studio, Infinity Ward, have been fired for ‘breach of contract and subordination.’ Dubious Quality has a nice little summary of events.

Activision has tasked Sledgehammer games (run by the former developers of Dead Space) with making the Call of Duty game for 2011 which will potentially be in the action-adventure genre. Activision believes they have created a self-sustaining franchise separate from the individual game quality, the same mistake Electronic Arts made with their sports franchises. Call of Duty, meet Madden, the ghost of Christmas future.  read more

Interactivity distinguishes games from other forms of entertainment. What constitutes interactivity, however? What if a TV show required you to raise or lower the volume every 5 minutes in order to continue? Would that make the TV show interactive (not just by definition, but in the spirit of the word)?

Heavy Rain is a unique product that pushes games in a direction that few have attempted in the past decade. Where does ‘experience’ end, however, and ‘game’ begin? read more

Self-described videogame connoisseurs have long claimed that graphics don’t matter. ‘It’s all about the gameplay, obsession with graphics is for immature plebeians who can’t recognize real quality!’

This is a ridiculous notion. Videogames aren’t merely about the story or the gameplay; they’re about the total experience. A big budget film like Avatar can offer a different and equally valuable experience as a small art house film, and a graphically stunning videogame can offer the same.  read more

Bioware has announced that only Mass Effect 2 saves in which Shepard survives the ending can be imported into Mass Effect 3. Considering the trilogy is Shepard’s story, this is understandable. 

Will restrictions like these eventually cripple the breadth of choice available in a game like Mass Effect 2? Choose your own adventure novels are frequently crap because it’s hard to develop a compelling multi-thread storyline, after all. read more

Dante’s Inferno is probably an OK game. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s trendy to criticize EA’s grand vision of The Divine Comedy as an exploitative debacle. If you focus on just the story, that’s probably fair. What I don’t understand is why everybody is so critical of its gameplay without even having played it.

The term ‘God of War ripoff’ has been thrown around liberally of late with the release of Darksiders, and if any game deserves it, it’s Dante’s Inferno. That being said, why does that make it a bad game? Why does everybody say ‘Just wait for God of War III, that game is going to be awesome!’ Does a game get a free pass on repetitiveness just because it’s part of the franchise which originated its style of gameplay? read more

It’s finally happened: my computer has fallen behind the curve. What was once a proud and powerful machine has been beaten into submission by new games. Dragon Age bloodied its lip; Mass Effect 2 delivered the deathblow.  read more

 Here it is folks, the epic conclusion to Part 1 that you’ve been waiting for since yesterday. Many questions will be answered such as ‘can anything unseat Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010?’ (No) and ‘What is the difference between baking powder and baking soda?’ (Nothing. Big Soda has tricked you). read more

As I look back on anno domini 2009, I must admit the God of Gaming (Steven, I believe) is a fickle god. He gives us years of lean gaming crops and then all at once inundates us with a deluge of stunning titles. 2009 was truly the greatest year for videogames since the golden age in the late 1990’s. read more

At some point gamers decided that anything developers accomplish between when they announce a game and when it ships is their property. ‘Oh, you built a break-front in your spare time, Bungie employee? Sorry, that’s ours now. What? Halo 3 hasn’t shipped yet!’

The community is constantly outraged by DLC that they believe is ‘on the disc’ at the time of release. They are even upset about DLC whose development begins before the game with which it’s associated is released.

My question is: why? Developers have no obligation to give you all their work for $60. They create a product at a certain price point and you either buy it or you don’t. read more