It's nice when someone is on your wavelegnth

So glad that there are those within in the industry (more than one previously thought) who aren't interested in fleecing the average gamer with the lure of increased audio-visual potential but instead want to make excellent quality, relatively affordable experiences. 

In an industry that traditionally relies on new hardware to reinvigorate sales, major games publishers no longer appear in a rush to move on to new, more expensive consoles.

In an interview with IGN, THQ President and CEO Brian Farrellsaid the additions of PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect this holiday will expand the games audience and give the industry a much-needed console life extension.

"Frankly, the last thing I think the industry needs now is new hardware. You look at the games coming out on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 now and they look stunning," Farrell said. "If we were to have another $1000 box that the hardware guys have to subsidize and that software developers have to spend even more money developing, that model just doesn't work."

"So to have an extended cycle with a broader audience I think, strategically, is exactly the right way to go, and Move and Kinect are both designed to do that," he added. "The market will decide if one or both of those will work, but I love the concept of both hardware guys trying to broaden the audience beyond just the core."

When asked about when a good time-frame would be for new consoles, Farrell couldn't give a hard date, but said he doesn't see the value for gamers having to go out and buy new hardware in the future.

"When you talk about games or consoles, I always go back to what's in it for the gamer?" Farrell explained. "What's the proposition for the person shelling out the $300-$400 for the system and the $60 for a game, what is value proposition for that gamer?"

"And right now, I don't know what that is in the next console cycle."

Farrell believes the evolution of games will focus on better emotional experiences found in film and movies. He says today's games have good enough graphics and audio.

"Better graphics? They're pretty darn good now. Better sound? No. Gameplay? Probably not. So I think the ways games are evolving now is really a direction we're going. Where it's going to be is in the play experience; richer stories, better characters, production values that are much more like movies."

"I think that's the direction, rather than technology and graphics. I think those days are over."

Reviews of the Future

The kind of over-excitement that drives the industry onward and upward

I essentially have a large back-log of games I own, have owned or belong to my housemate/boyfriend (depends who you talk to.) Unfortunately I suffer from a severe case of tomorrowism, that is, my excitement for the gaming future far exceeds my nostalgic loyalty to those of the past. If the popularity and growth of the industry show us anything, it is that I'm not alone in this curious obsession with the future, it's a phenomena the whole industry thrives upon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjcYqcL0v0Q

(Assassin's Creed Brotherhood trailer. Folksy song included)

It's something unique to an entertainment format that relies so heavily upon technology. Each new expansion pack, sequel, or motion capture gimmick drives the community in to fits of anticipation. However this is not literature or even cinema, which despite the resuscitation of the vampire that is 3-D hasn't changed drastically since the introduction of technicolour. Games are defined by their possibilities and their limitations, and until they can't fit any more transistors onto a microchip the balance will continue to swing in the favour of limitless potential. This potential for aesthetic improvement coupled with the almost frighteningly attentive market researchers and creative directors out there results in a medium that will always be evolving. That is not to say that classic formats have died a death and our days will be forever overshadowed by the FPS colossi or Wii Sports Resorts. On the contrary, with technological improvement comes the democratisation of expensive equipment, and thus the diligent amateur game designers free from the influence of focus groups and deadlines are given the opportunity to be truly creative. Which is precisely how Grand Theft Auto's parents Dan and Sam Houser began their wicked ways.

A Microsoftian Spartan in London

However there are as always, the cynics. These men and women who view these "improvements" as mere cold-hearted exploitation of the gullibility of the legions of consumers driven wild by first-reveal trailers, campaign previews, cinematic trailers and launch night events. It seems every big-release is a record breaker these days, with the advertising campaigns getting more pervasive and in the case of Fable III the celebrity voice talent reaching the proportions of a Hollywood blockbuster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy93LtGHyxk

(Fable Cast Trailer)

 All this bluster is distracting me from all the great games I already own, the ones I should be playing (they cost me enough) and reviewing. I've yet to review Batman: Arkham Asylum, Red Dead Redemption, GTA IV or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 1 and 2. All of them were huge releases and excellent games in their own right, instead I'm sat here salivating over another Assassin's Creed that has been rushed out of the developing studio so fast they haven't even finished counting the money they made from AC-2. So it would seem the cynics have a point. However I must, for the sake of my wallet, resist my wandering eye that so readily devours beautifully rendered cinematic trailer, cease and desist from hovering my mouse over amazon "pre-order" buttons and actually spend some quality intellectual time with some neglected friends.

Reach for the skyyyyy Halo: Reach and Bungie’s last hurrah

Halo: Reach was one of the most anticipated games of this year, in a year full of eagerly anticipated games. Every year the marketing budgets are increased, the hype spins out of control and expectations for each new sequel all the higher. Predictably Halo: Reach doesn’t quite maintain the exhilarating excitement of the first few hours of play but is however filled with enough features and gimmicks to keep people playing long after Bungie has moved on to pastures new.

Reach is infamous in the Halo lore, which is both a blessing and a curse. For the rabid Halo fanboy it means bearing witness to humanity’s worst defeat at the hands of the alien Covenant and the almost total eradication of the Spartan Spec-ops Cadre, bar one, guessed who that might be? For the fans Reach needs neither introduction nor explanation, for everyone else it’s all a bit whuh, huh, who? The story telling which has never been Bungie’s forte though bereft of the utterly bewildering and pretensions sci-fi storylines of past iterations is linear but empty. Little time is spent characterising the squad of Spartan super-soldiers that you follow beyond tedious cliché, while the connection to the playable character is made only through customisable armour. Though it is nice to see your own colour coding, be it hot-pink or sombre black in the cut-scenes I would’ve preferred to have some characterisation beyond heavy implications that you are a badass motherfucker.

The campaign though mercifully bereft of The Flood, and confusingly samey corridors nevertheless fails to awe. Not without it’s moments, including a dog-fight in space and close quarter combat in the silent void of zero-gravity, these highlights are few and far between. Though Reach harks back to the franchises’ greatest moments it nevertheless fails to capture the thrill and excitement of previous iterations. I personally put this down to the lack of electric guitar solos of the Halo Theme and the dearth in Gregorian chanting which made the soundtracks of previous games so involving. Atmospherically Bungie fails to truly convey the sense of tragedy, fear and cataclysm that the previous games all managed just by the hushed tones in which NPCs talked about Reach. Unlike Halo, 1 2 and 3, without the spunky A.I Cortana jabbering away in your ear the objectives all seem so detached with none of the sense of urgency her enthusiastic encouragement provided.

Another disappointment is the somewhat over-hyped armour abilities which looked as though like rechargeable shields and regenerating health would be another Bungie inspired revolution. Instead apart from the ability to sprint, which is a staple of many other First Person Shooters, including Call of Duty, any difficulty below the hardest setting the various armour abilities become somewhat superfluous. A seasoned FPS warrior can lay waste to the Covenant given the ability to run, if only for a short distance, however use of invisibility cloak or impenetrable armour never really display their usefulness. However this new feature shines in the multiplayer and becomes an invaluable boon when playing on “Legendary.” A difficulty I still lack the patience to commit the necessary days to complete.

Suffice to say the story of the fall of Reach and the stoic endurance of the ever so stoic stoical Spartans left me feeling somewhat under whelmed. However the addictive Halo multiplayer remains as frenetic and competitive as ever. Starting at the lowest rank and working your way up through the completion of slayer, co-operative matches or zany control zone games it’s hard to tear yourself away from hours in front the screen.  Armour pieces are once again unlocked and awarded for the most diligent and skilled players providing a means to instantly rate you’re opponents in terms of skill and their taste for combat aesthetics, the latter is normally none whatsoever. The lure of advancement is hard for anyone obsessed with ratings, progression and rewards, and if the official channels are to be believed even those at the highest rating now have only scratched the surface.

I was aiming for this review to be closer to 1500 words, but I really have reached the end of what needs to be said about this game. I liked the return of the deep-throated alien garglings of the agile Covenant Elites, but at the same time missed the ridiculous English dialogue of the Grunts and Brtues, “How the hell did he get hold of that Hammer!?” I liked the Spartan Evan Jorge, the only one who was even partially fleshed out as a character, but in truth he didn’t come close to the affection I hold for Sergeant Johnson the John Shaft of the Space Marines. The truth is, is that there isn’t anything particularly detestable about Reach at all, some have even gone as far to say it’s a flawless game. Unfortunately the same can be said of bread, or rice or pasta, there’s nothing wrong with them, but without accompanying seasonings, sauces and foods they’re just so much inoffensive carbohydrates. Halo: Reach is merely an example of professional competence, not flawed enough to be bad, but not exciting enough to push any boundaries. It seems to me that Bungie missed an opportunity to make something truly great, as opposed to comprehensively good and though not the worst offence in the law-book of crimes against game franchises it has nevertheless, left me somewhat miffed.