• 28Dec 09

  Where have all the serious Space Battle Games gone to?

  Where has all the Space Battle games gone to? I have yet to see a competent one since Nexus: The Jupiter Incident - which unfortunately did not do well.

  

  It was unfortunate that Nexus has a daunting learning curve, and quite a cluttered HUD.

  Star Wars: Empire at War was a salve for my heart, but ultimately that game's space battles are rendered across tiers of 2-D planes instead of full, true 3-D. The game was also tainted by a rather uninspiring ground battle component, which looked clumsy compared to the exciting and graceful space battles.

  Yes, I admit, I am a sucker for games with space battles, ever since the first Homeworld game. That game was a true gem, and I say one that contributed greatly to the gaming industry for making full use of a 3-D engine. Sure, the Wing Commander and Privateer games are the pioneers, but those games were made simpler by having the player in full control of only one vessel - one of a highly maneuverable fighter/bomber that he/she needs to get to where it is most needed. Homeworld and its spiritual successors (made by Relic or otherwise) instead are concerned with positioning of vessels and multiple assault angles - a notion that I am actually quite inclined towards.

  

  Homeworld - the game that nauseated so many people unused to full 3-D games.

  Nexus has an even stronger emphasis on this, as the game lacks Homeworld's RTS elements (being able to replace ships by simply building new ones - despite, say, capital ships having crews numbering in the hundred thousands). That game was a God-send to me, especially after the disappointing commercial predicament that is Homeworld 2.

  I would have played EVE Online, but the launch version was marred by very uninspiring gameplay - and it's an MMORPG, and I have had a severe aversion to these since a certain Korean game that I am too embarrassed to mention. Also, the launch version does not provide players the opportunity to command armadas, something that I yearned for.

  I was hopeful of Genesis Rising, which however turned out to be a buggy disaster, despite its very intriguing theme and setting. I have always supposed that mechanical contraptions will never be as efficient as living bio-ships, which I believe would be more capable of supporting their crew and surviving in deep space (especially if they can eat space detritus and/or absord energy from solar radiation). I have always visualized space ships as great, space-borne (and heavily armed) whales engaging in a slow, deadly dance of death, supported by smaller more maneuverable creatures that move in space like dolphins and porpoises in the ocean (that is, strike craft). Genesis Rising's failure to capture this made it all the more disappointing.

  

  Genesis Rising - a game where ships could have eaten each other, but dumbed down by the developers into nothing more than ships blasting each other to bits and collecting the debris as salvage (even if this salvage is actually blood and gore).

  Now, it has to be Japanese developers who are trying to fill in this gap - with a game for the DS, no less. Platinum Games has a small portfolio, but all its games have been astounding and very diverse from each other.

  

  When you have Japanese developers thinking of Space Battle games for the DS, such as Infinite Space, you know that Western developers have fallen FAR behind in this genre.

  I would have some anticipation for the Star Trek MMO, but it is, alas, an MMO, a genre that I do not have the time and commitment for.

  • Posted Dec 28, 2009 8:02 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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• 13Dec 09

  Public Service Announcement: Don't Trifle with Hardcore Halo Fans

  (Yes, the above title for this blog post is a little inspired by Roosterteeth's own PSAs, if you are wondering.)

  How soon I forget some of the things that I have learned the painful way.

  I am referring to a mistake that I made after having watched the trailer for the new Halo game. I made comments about Bungie resorting to prequels and content in the Halo novels, rather than working on new IPs (or older ones, like the Myth games). Quite quickly, I accrued lots of disapprovals and before I would want to get messages from twits who love to teabag fallen opponents in Halo multiplayer, I deleted the comments.

  So I decided to place my musings about Halo: Reach here instead. No doubt this game will have an awesome cinematic, epic feel that one gets from just about every Halo game, but I fail to see how Bungie could possibly make a fresh game this time. Master Chief already had many adventures fighting either alone or alongside ordinary human soldiers, Bungie had already explored ODSTs, and now Bungie is making a game with a story completely filled with (now presently dead - oops, "MIA") Spartans.

  The campaign will likely resemble a multiplayer game in Halo 1, 2 and 3, only with pre-scripted events and voice-over which is terrifically awesome if compared to the filth that chokes Halo multiplayer these days.

  Perhaps these T-Shirts best describe hardcore and blindly stubborn Halo fans, who are likely to wear these without any doubt (and fashion sense).

  

  Marc Ecko, the final word in making hideous clothes.

  • Posted Dec 13, 2009 7:10 pm PT
  • Category: Rant
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• 8Dec 09

  Update #3: On Dragon Age: Origins

  MINOR SPOILER(S) ALERT!

  I am close to finishing Dragon Age: Origins now. My review of this game has already been concluded.

  The game is full of surprises, even those that players of RPGs would not normally foresee. Players who play multiple characters, one of which includes a rogue, would encounter one particular surprise that promises quite a bunch of valuable loot that could be sold for quite a bit of moolah.

  Also, BioWare would have officially mentioned that the game does have rather limited moolah that players can expend, and this is obvious from the crafting system. Most crafted items will never be worth more than the sum of the costs of their components, no matter how wisely players shop around. However, in true BioWare fashion, they may have intentionally or otherwise left a loophole that can be exploited to generate limitless profits! Mind you, this is not some quest loophole (though there are glitchy quests that can be exploited to provide redundant rewards).

  I will be showing a screenshot that would give readers an idea of what is one of the few ways that players can generate limitless profits in this game. It's bound to cause some chuckles.

  

  This bug is delightful, if rather repetitive, in a typical BioWare's-brand-of-laxity way. Just about every BioWare game has some bug, but this one actually requires some actual work and this one feels more... natural, rather than some odd dialogue cycle that generates lot of crap in the Log section of the Journal.

  However, I have more than a few misgivings with the game, mostly with the paid content.

  You have already heard my rants on the Stone Prisoner, so here's another on Soldier's Peak.

  

  The Warden Commander Armor, one of the real reasons people actually buy the Soldier's Peak DLC.

  Players will cringe at having to pry this exclusive armor off a rather hideous looking person, who happens to have the worst voice-over in the game. It's disgusting to listen to.

  

  One of the other real reasons players buy the Soldier's Peak DLC.

  Players will also cringe at having to pry the garbs off this geezer, who happens to have a body that is too large for his head.

  Of course, there are other stuff in the Soldier's Peak DLC, including the game's best blade weapon.

  Also, I did not know the reason for the rather large amount of money that I had to fork out to my rental store to get them to obtain a copy of this game earlier, but upon receiving the game and stamping the rental slip, I realize part of the money has gone into obtaining promotional items.

  

  The infamously awesome Blood Dragon Armor

  

  The Guildmaster's Belt makes looting more sophisticated than ever.

  (Yes, I do know that stuff like the Guildmaster's Belt is only available as pre-order. Apparently, my rental store somehow got some weird pre-order edition of Dragon Age: Origins available only in the region of the world that I am in, even though I forked out the money some time after the game has been released.)

  What do all these stuff have in common then?

  MOST OF THEM ARE SUPERIOR TO ANY CRAP YOU FIND IN THE RELEASE VERSION OF THE GAME.

  As I have mentioned in my review, BioWare has made certain that the best stuff in the game are bought, either with Thedas sovereigns or real-world cold hard cash.

  Every item in the game that has to be either bought with dozens of sovereigns (the gold coins in the game) or cash equivalent to a half-dozen or so US Dollars make every other item in the game plain lousy in comparison. Granted, some items that are obtained through quests (several suits of armor, both heavy and light, and a few late-game weapons come to mind) are too fantastic to let go in favour of these, but generally, they are way better than everything else in the game. The Blood Dragon Armor in particular is infamously overpowered.

  (As a side note, the picture of the DA:O Blood Dragon Armor shown above also shows the best blade weapon in the game, Starfang.)

  While BioWare certainly makes sure that customers get what they pay for, the existence of these tacked-on items feels cheap and contrived. I would have been happy if BioWare sold some items that have interesting properties, e.g. the special shapechanging sentient teeth (really) that Morte can get in Planescape: Torment and the sentient vampiric sword in Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark. To BioWare's credit, Shale does somewhat qualify as such, but Shale is a party member character and one that obviously should have been in the retail version in the first place.

  I fear for BioWare's future, really. BioWare has already made some terrible DLCs, especially for the first Mass Effect, and all of them stank of greed that cares little for the IP that they are associated with.

  • Posted Dec 8, 2009 10:37 pm PT
  • Category: Games
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