61 Frames Per Second

June 2008 - Posts

• Progress Quest: Playstation 3 Growing Up and The General Beauty of Firmware Updates

  Posted by John Constantine

  The much discussed 2.40 firmware update for the Playstation 3 was officially announced today. It will be available for download this coming Wednesday, July 2nd. If you’re reading this blog, chances are you know what a firmware update is, but for anyone out there not familiar with the language, it’s no different than updating your computer, iPod, or Blackberry’s operating system. It cleans up any bugs, improves digital security, and adds new features to whatever device you happen to be updating. The PS3’s firmware update brings a host of new stuff to the system that users have been clamoring for since the system’s launch in November 2006. The improved feature list includes access to the cross-media bar, or XMB, while playing a game. The XMB is the system’s handy row-and-column interface, organized into multimedia (stored video or audio), game saves, and community stuff like a friends list, etc. The update also ups the number of friends you can have on the Playstation Network to one-hundred. The other new feature is Trophies, Sony’s answer to Xbox 360’s Achievements. These are preset goals in games that signify play milestones for a user’s profile (Score a million points? Get a trophy.) The 2.40 update is a big moment for the PS3, yet another olive branch from the once haughty corporation to a slowly growing user base; Sony’s saying they’re listening and delivering. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 30 2008, 02:00 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, playstation 3, xbox 360, nes, sony, firmware

• Sonic Unleashed Wii: Should Dimps Be Trying Harder?

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  Sonic the Hedgehog has the pull of a train wreck: no matter how tired you think you are of his lacklustre 3D adventures, you can't help but take a good long stare whenever one is announced. Sonic Unleashed, for example, exists only as a handful of screenshots and a couple of trailers, but gamers who insist they're thoroughly tired of the hedgehog are still finding plenty to mouth off about. The August issue of Nintendo Power created a stir with some new screenshots for the Wii version of the game. When compared to the preview material for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions, Sonic Unleashed for the Wii looks very...well, last gen. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 30 2008, 01:00 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: wii, street fighter 4, playstation 2, sega, sonic the hedgehog, nintendo power, xbox360, sonic team, sonic rush adventure, dimps, super mario galaxy, sonic unleashed, playstation3, graphics, sonic and the secret rings

• Going Back in There: My Very First Hour With Pokemon, part 2

  Posted by John Constantine

  In the second part of my journey, I discover the joy of making small animals kick the crap out of birds for me and I meet my very best friend in the world. 2:05 – Interestingly enough, Pokémon let’s me name not only myself, but also my best friend. My best friend is TheHoff. Complete strangers in the game know me and TheHoff “are tight”. He just invited me to the lake. His theme song is rad. 2:09 – No balls. No monsters. No monsters in balls. I would like to do something. 2:10 – We’re going to Lake Verity: The Lake of Emotions. This is getting awful racy. 2:12 – This is definitely more of an RPG than I remember Blue being. Is there more of an emphasis on story here? 2:13 – BIRDS! 2:14 – I found an old man’s briefcase and it happened to be filled with balls containing beasts so now I’m fending off birds with a flaming monkey. One of my available commands is “Leer” which is really kind of creepy. The battle system doesn’t give any indication as to what an attack might do, though. Is that part of strategy, not knowing what the hell you’re doing? Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 30 2008, 12:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, nintendo ds, pokemon

• Going Back in There: My Very First Hour With Pokemon, part 1

  Posted by John Constantine

  My relationship with Pokémon has always been focused on the phenomenon, not the game. Watching the cartoon, cards, games, and films descend on Western culture between September of 1998 and December of 1999 was not unlike witnessing a natural disaster from a reinforced safe-house; I was scared but secure in other games, fascinated but not brave enough to go outside to try and document the event. I was sixteen when Pokémon Blue and Red came out, slightly too old to be caught in the flood. I got around to trying out Blue in July ’99, just to see what all the fuss was about. It was horrible. Too slow, too simple, too oblique. I put it down and never went back. Over the past decade, Pokémon has refused to die, maintaining a stranglehold on gamers of all ages, and I’ve started to wonder, yet again, if I’m missing out on something. There has to be a reason people return to these games. The brand is strong enough to survive without proper handheld entries from Nintendo, why do people keep going back for more. At twenty-six, now a bold videogame journalist, and it’s time for me to weather the storm. Join me, dear reader, as I plunge into the world of Pokémon Diamond searching for unholy knowledge of gaming’s darkest secrets. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 30 2008, 11:00 AM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, nintendo ds, pokemon

• And Now To Cease Being Rude. How Do You Do?

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  It's common courtesy to introduce oneself before barging in and quacking about current events, but in my excitement for Mega Man 9, I failed to say hello before I made my first post to 61 Frames Per Second. So I'll do it now. Hi! My name's Nadia Oxford. I live in Toronto, Canada. On my way to eternal retail slavery, I tripped and became a freelance writer. A great deal of my writing is games-focused. I write for 1UP, What They Play, Next Generation, Playstation: The Official Magazine and Gamepro. I also write about manga and anime for Mania and select funny videos for The Daily Tube. Once in a while I show up in pet magazines as both a contributor and Example #1 on the AKC's list of Bad Breeding. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 30 2008, 10:00 AM with 5 comment(s) Filed under: hello, favorite games, introduction

• Chiptune Friday: Return of the Blue Bomber

  Posted by Derrick Sanskrit

  Happy Chiptune Friday! The first week of summer has proven to be a very Mega Man-centric week here on 61FPS, and our weekly dance break is no exception: Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 27 2008, 02:00 PM with no comments Filed under: nintendo, derrick sanskrit, capcom, chiptune friday, mega man, mega man 3

• The Ten Greatest Classic Mega Man Levels, Part 3

  Posted by Peter Smith

  Shadow Man As Pete said, Mega Man III started to strain the series' robot-masters-as-industrial-tool conceit. Silly as Top Man is, I have even more trouble getting my head around Shadow Man and his lair sitting at the bottom of a waterfall of lava. What was the civic-planning meeting like for this one? "Finally, we have used the remaining funds in 200X's robot-master budget to build a crazy-sweet ninja robot who lives in a rad fortress at the bottom of a lava flow. He will be protected by robot frogs and parachuting heads." "Madness! Why would you do such a thing?" "Because, sir. It is awesome." Know what? He's right. — JC Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 27 2008, 01:32 PM with 5 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, street fighter, capcom, top ten, commando 3, bionic commando, list, mega man, keiji inafune, mega man 9, 1942 joint strike, top man, flame man, shadow man, toad man, elec man, metal man, mega man iii, mega man vi, gemini man, spark man, bubble man, crystal man, dr wily, street fighter iv, mega man iv, street fighter hd remix, mega man ii, tomahawk man, mega man v, the ten greatest classic mega man levels

• The Ten Greatest Classic Mega Man Levels, Part 2

  Posted by Peter Smith

  Metal Man More than your average Mega Man stage, Metal Man's feels collosal. Who knows why — maybe it's the giant screws and gears in the foreground, or the dense, heavily animated background (technically quite impressive) of pistons and cogs. Or maybe it's that Metal Man's stage actually has somewhat less variety than most of Mega Man II's stages, thereby suggesting a larger size. Whatever the reason, the scope seems massive. The stage itself is relatively short, but it feels like just a small part of a vast, rusted-out fortress of industry. — PS Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 27 2008, 01:31 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, street fighter, capcom, top ten, commando 3, bionic commando, list, mega man, keiji inafune, mega man 9, 1942 joint strike, top man, flame man, shadow man, toad man, elec man, metal man, mega man iii, mega man vi, gemini man, spark man, bubble man, crystal man, dr wily, street fighter iv, mega man iv, street fighter hd remix, mega man ii, tomahawk man, mega man v, the ten greatest classic mega man levels

• The Ten Greatest Classic Mega Man Levels, Part 1

  Posted by Peter Smith

  Capcom, I don't really know how to say this. It's a little awkward, but damn it, it's the truth. We've known each other a long time, and you've always been a good friend to me, but this year, things have gotten more serious. With Street Fighter IV, HD Remix, Commando 3, 1942: Joint Strike and two versions of Bionic Commando, it's like you've gone out of your way lately to show me what I mean to you, and now that you've announced Mega Man 9, it's time for me to return the favor. Capcom, I. . . I love you. Jesus, I don't know what came over me there. But with Mega Man 9 just unveiled in all its eight-bit glory, my old-school-gaming glands are all swollen and red, and I think it's squeezing out the blood flow to my brain. The early Mega Man games are masterpieces of their era, and they feature some of the most unforgettable stages on the NES — a series of giant constructions that, high-tech though they may be, maintain a playground-like innocence. World-building obsessives that we are, we couldn't let this glorious day go by without commemorating the ten greatest classic Mega Man levels of all time. — Peter Smith Elec Man Keiji Inafune's first attempt at Mega Man was promising but ultimately half-baked. The play was there but the world itself was still confused, its six core stages shuffling back and forth between "gamey" abstraction and eerie pastoral. Elec Man's tower was one of the series' first real successes, an ascent that felt like a true structure and not a background for a sprite to jump about, a dangerous place pulsing with energy that could obliterate our diminutive hero using the very power that fueled his mechanical innards. — John Constantine Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 27 2008, 01:30 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, peter smith, street fighter, capcom, top ten, commando 3, bionic commando, list, mega man, keiji inafune, mega man 9, 1942 joint strike, top man, flame man, shadow man, toad man, elec man, metal man, mega man iii, mega man vi, gemini man, spark man, bubble man, crystal man, dr wily, street fighter iv, mega man iv, street fighter hd remix, mega man ii, tomahawk man, mega man v, the ten greatest classic mega man levels

• Developer Journal part 3: Beat Me Up Too

  Posted by Amber Ahlborn

  For this week's edition of Developer Journal, I again interview Will for another look into the creation of his game and what he learned from making the original Beat Me Up. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 27 2008, 11:00 AM with no comments Filed under: amber ahlborn, developer journal, independent developer, beat me up too

• Trailer Review: Densetsu no Stafi 5

  Posted by John Constantine

  Alright, fine, these two videos are not trailers. They are Japanese commercials and are understandably, given their place of origin, weird as hell. But just being Japanese does not justify these levels of batshit crazy. A squeaking, smiling, boiling pile of celestial mass is under water, touches a thought bubble (thought bubbles are corporeal in Japan) and is then sticking its horrific grin out of the whale’s mouth. Then it’s in a dragon’s stomach, setting a giant, orange clam on fire while a mermaid, old-man-crab, and what I can only assume is a female pile of celestial mass giggle in delight. WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE GAMES! Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 04:00 PM with 2 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, trailer review

• Whatcha Playing: Fallout (Metaphorically Speaking)

  Posted by John Constantine

  Truth to tell, I’ve never played a Fallout game. The vast majority of my gaming career has been spent in front of a television, not a monitor, my hands clutching a controller instead of hovering over a keyboard. It’s not a point of pride, let me tell you. Not gaming on a PC throughout the ‘90s meant you were perpetually on the outside of the cutting edge, waiting for advancements to come to Nintendo, Sony, or whoever else’s systems sometimes years later. Deus Ex, Half-Life, Diablo, even Sierra’s King’s Quest V, all games I’ve gotten to try my hand at, eventually, when they were ported to a console, shadows of their former selves. It’s even kept me from really experiencing whole genres; I’ve never played a real-time strategy game for more than a few minutes and my aging laptop could barely run World of Warcraft when I tried it out in 2005. Since that year, though, consoles have started gaining on PCs as the place where developers make their greatest strides. It’s not too surprising. Consoles have turned into high-end computers themselves. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 03:00 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, the world ends with you, whatcha playing, wii fit, rock band, mega man, grand theft auto, final fantast vii, metal gear, diablo, deus ex

• Don’t Call It Retro: Mega Man 9 and Design Resurrection

  Posted by John Constantine

  As 61 Frames Per Second’s newest team member Nadia pointed out earlier today, Mega Man 9 is a reality. Revitalizations of long-dormant franchises have been a mainstay in the gaming business since the Playstation 1-era, trading on nostalgia and brand recognition to push new designs. But the past few years have seen a growing trend of proper numerical sequels releasing a decade or more after their predecessors. Games like WayForward and Konami’s Contra 4 and Taito’s Legend of Kage 2 are not only sequels in name; play in these games is built on the same archaic fundamentals as their ancestors. Both Kage 2 and Contra 4’s only real advancements are slight visual upgrades and mechanical tweaks (both games, being designed for the Nintendo DS, introduce skills that necessitate play on both the system’s screens.) Mega Man 9, however, is unique. It is being made using the exact same tools and in the same style as it was twenty years ago. The decision to build Mega Man 9 as an NES game is not mere retro pandering. Series creator Keiji Inafune has said numerous times that he’s kept making (and remaking) 2D Mega Man games (alongside teams like Inticreates, the team helming 9’s development) because it’s important to continue refining and rediscovering what made a simple design successful in the first place. With the freedom offered by digital distribution venues like WiiWare, creators like Inafune no longer need to ensure their games will be modern enough to succeed on store shelves. They can also utilize outmoded hardware, like the NES, to make their games. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 02:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, nintendo, wii, capcom, nes, mega man, contra, genesis, keiji inafune, mega man 9, turbo-grafx, legend of kage

• Mega Man 9 Goes Back To Your Roots. Way Back.

  Posted by Nadia Oxford

  If you grew up playing the Nintendo Entertainment System, then you also grew up with a persistent blue scamp named Mega Man. The adventures of the little boy robot and his red dog take us back to long hours spent in chilled suburban basements, stuffing our gobs with pizza while eluding Dr Wily's robots. The Mega Man series has given birth to no less than six spin-off series over the past twenty years, taking us far away from those days of greasy control pads and cherry Kool-Aid. The last entry in the original series (as in, numerical sequels without any extra letters attatched to "Mega Man") was Mega Man 8, released over a decade ago. It was no surprise when recent whispers about Mega Man 9 were dismissed as rumour. But lo, the August issue of Nintendo Power talks to series creator Keiji Inafune about the phantom game, which is a phantom no more. The original Mega Man is back. Literally. Mega Man 9 will feature NES-style graphics and will be available for download on Xbox Live, Playstation Network and as a Wii Ware title. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 01:00 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: capcom, mega man, wii ware, nintendo power, 8-bit, keiji inafune, playstation network, mega man 9, xbox live, retro

• Screen Test: Fallout 3

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  When the Ink Spots' "Maybe" was used as the opening theme to Fallout, players knew they in for something interesting (Pro Tip: They had originally wanted to use "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire", but couldn't due to copyright issues). There are lots of things to like about Fallout, but my personal go-to accolade is its sense of place. From the moment we load the game, Fallout's post-apocalyptic world greets us a totally unexpected soundtrack, insane characters, all leadened with a peculiar deadness. Sure, there were post-apocalypic touchstones before, but Fallout stood (and stands) above the rest due to its retro-futurist aesthetic and gallows humor. Those who think Bioshock did it first better recognize. More after the jump. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 12:00 PM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: screen test, fallout 3, cole stryker, bethesda, oblivion

• A Letter to the Industry: How to Destroy the Female Gender Barricade

  Posted by Amber Ahlborn

  Girl gamers, how to attract more women to games, making games for girls, various takes on these topics have been popping up a lot lately. This is a subject quite close to my own heart and I have compiled a few suggestions for game developers to consider when making their next title (assuming said game is aimed at an audience broader than “randy male youth”). These are not suggestions for how to make a game just for girls but rather, how not to drive us away... Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 26 2008, 11:00 AM with 7 comment(s) Filed under: metroid, beyond good and evil, metal gear solid, final fantasy, amber ahlborn, samus aran, feminist, girl gaming, klonoa

• I’ll Tell You When I’ve Had Enough!

  Posted by John Constantine

  Excuse me for just a moment. I would like to speak directly to Nintendo of America, Sony Computer Entertainment America, and Microsoft’s Xbox division. Please direct your eyes to Apple’s iTunes service. Notice the nigh on unbridled access it provides to music written over the course of centuries, millions upon millions of songs recorded in the past seventy years, and its ever-expanding available library? There’s a lesson in here, guys. Stop with the damn trickle of classic software on your download services. Stop it right now. Nintendo, you have an excuse, getting classic games rated by the ESRB is costly and time consuming. Microsoft? Sony? Your libraries have already been rated! What is the freaking hold up already? You especially, Sony. I am disgusted by the selection of downloadable Playstation 1 software on PSN, especially when Japan is receiving untold riches like Square-Enix support. I hear they’re putting Rakugaki Showtime up there for six-hundred yen. Do you know how much a physical copy of that game costs! Give me one good reason I can’t download it right now. I hate you guys. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 25 2008, 02:00 PM with no comments

• Ain't No Party Like A Motion-Control Party

  Posted by Derrick Sanskrit

  There's a lot of buzz and all-but-confirmed rumors swirling about a motion control remote for the XBox 360 and a break-away motion controller for the PS3. While it is obvious that these are a shameless effort to gain favor with the casual audience that's made the Wii so wildly popular, I am excited for one reason: Steven Spielberg's Boom Blox. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 25 2008, 01:00 PM with no comments Filed under: boom blox, steven spielberg, playstation 3, nintendo, derrick sanskrit, microsoft, xbox 360, wii, rayman raving rabbids, sony, carnival games, rumor

• Missing the Point: New York Senate Passes Mandatory Game Ratings Bill

  Posted by John Constantine

  A bill proposed by Senator Andrew Lanza was passed yesterday by a vote of 61-1. The bill requires that all videogames sold in New York State be rated by the ESRB. If signed by Governor David Patterson, the bill will become law by 2010. Lanza’s bill is not dissimilar to others passed and then overturned in Michigan, Oklahoma, and California after being deemed unconstitutional, in violation of the first amendment. GamePolitics.com printed this excerpt of Lanza’s closing argument for the bill: If you look closely at this bill, [concerns expressed by Sen. Duane] are not valid. Let's start with speech. There's all kinds of speech. If we take an old-fashioned pinball machine and plunked it down here in the middle of the chamber, no one would call it speech. But when we put that up on a video screen, it does become speech and I acknowledge that. And it deserves protection under the Constitution... There is some confusion with respect to what this bill actually accomplishes... The word prohibition was talked about. I want to be clear. This bill does not prohibit the sale of any video to anyone... This simply says that every video game sold in the state of New York simply should have a rating consistent with what the ESRB does presently in a voluntary way... it does work. But the problem with "voluntary" is that tomorrow someone can change their mind. Someone could decide tomorrow to no longer place ratings on these games. So this is not about prohibiting the sale, this is simply about providing information to parents... Last year's version... that included a provision that would have made it an E-felony to sell these games, we all thought it was wrong. And we took that out. We worked with the [video game] industry. We worked with the Assembly and we do have an agreement here on a piece of legislation that I think will go a long way in allowing parents to make good decisions in regard to what is and what isn't appropriate for their chidlren... As Illinois District Court judge Mathew Kennelly said, after knocking out a similar bill in Illinois, "In this country, the state lacks the authority to ban protected speech on the ground that it affects the listener's or observer's thoughts and attitudes.” Whether Senator Lanza likes it or not, his bill is in clear violation of the constitution. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 25 2008, 12:00 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, new york, game legislation

• Feeling It: Social Versus Primitive Emotion in Videogames

  Posted by John Constantine

  In a recent talk at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in France, Quantic Dream’s David Cage discussed emotion’s role in videogames. Quantic Dream have claimed their new game, still known after two years by its codename Heavy Rain, has conquered the Uncanny Valley, creating human characters so lifelike that players can’t resist identifying with them. In his talk, Cage discussed mixing motion captured performances with hand-drawn animation in Heavy Rain to achieve such natural expression in an interactive setting. Performance is only the beginning of Rain’s ambition, though, as Cage turned the topic to utilizing finer, more social human emotions as love, jealousy, and shame to create a game’s foundation for immersion versus the more primal emotions traditional to games, such as anxiety and aggression. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 25 2008, 11:00 AM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, uncanny valley, fumito ueda, indigo prophecy, heavy rain, farenheit, quantic dream, omikron, david cage

• You Got Served: Zubo Puts Music in Your Combat

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  About a year ago I had a brilliant idea for a game. Take the play mechanics of Rock Band and cram them inside a traditional RPG. This would be awesome! My friends tell me it would only work in Japan, but think about it. Let's say your party approaches a mean ol' dragon. Your character plays lead guitar, your two buddies play drums and sing. In order to defeat the dragon, you have to engage in some 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' style dueling instrumentation. Instead of just hitting 'A' when you want to attack, you bust out a blazing guitar solo. Each of the instrumets have different powers. You could line up guitar with fire, vocals with ice, drums with earth. Different rhythms produce different effects. A hip hop beatboxer or opera singer could join your party.  Play sad songs to defuse angry enemies. The strength of your attack is determined by creative improvisation or meticulous beat matching. Every missed note weakens your attacks. Iggy Pop guest stars! A dwarf with a double-neck Flying V! People getting served! The possibilities are endless! Why hasn't anyone done this yet? I'm a lot more confident in this idea than those mockups of Megaman bosses I mailed to Capcom as a seven year old. Sure enough, some developer thinks its a good idea, too...sorta.   Meet Zubo, an action-rhythm hybrid coming out later this year for the DS. Developed by EA Bright Light, <i>Zubo</i>'s combat is driven by music, not too dissimilar to my above brainchild. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 25 2008, 03:00 AM with no comments Filed under: ea, capcom, rock band, cole stryker, harmonix, zubo

• Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Champion

  Posted by John Constantine

  Get into a conversation with a gamer about feminist icons in their medium of choice and they’ll probably give you one answer: Samus Aran. Miss Aran is the take-no-prisoners bounty hunter star of Nintendo’s twenty year-old Metroid series. She’s capable, powerful, athletic, a natural blonde, and she takes no-guff from space pirates, space jellyfish, or giant brains perched atop tyrannosaurus-rex bodies. There’s a huge problem though. In almost every Metroid, a better performance in the game is rewarded with images of a de-robed, tarted-up Samus. Hit the jump for a look at what I'm talking about. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 24 2008, 02:00 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, metroid, feminism, ms pac man

• Everyone Should Be Able to Rock

  Posted by John Constantine

  When Konami announced Rock Revolution back in May, their re-entry into the rock and roll videogame arena, you could practically hear the gaming world’s exasperation, eyes rolling, sighs exhaled in unison. No one wants stagnation, obviously. Guitar Hero’s fresh approach to music games revolutionized the industry three years ago, a feat Konami’s GuitarFreaks hadn’t managed in the better part of a decade. But no one wants clutter. Yet another band game hitting the public means yet another set of proprietary instrument controllers. Problematic, considering the precedent set by Activision last fall. They made it abundantly clear that they’re not interested in having their instruments completely compatible with another publisher’s software, a point they’ve reiterated by developing brand new drum, guitar, and microphone peripherals (with different functions than those made by MTV Games for Rock Band) for the upcoming Guitar Hero: World Tour. It seems that Konami’s chosen a more reasonable approach. Konami associate producer Keith Matejka told MTV News’ Patrick Klepek, "Compatibility is a big issue for music games. Peripherals are expensive for the user and they are expensive to produce. The existing peripherals all deliver only a slightly different gameplay experience. Different teams have varying perspectives on what should be compatible with each game. I think all guitar- and drum-based games need to be compatible with each other to some level." He’s absolutely right, and not just from a consumer friendliness perspective. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 24 2008, 01:00 PM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, konami, guitar hero, rock band, mtv games, activision, rock revolution

• The 61FPS Review: Metal Gear Solid 4 Part 2

  Posted by John Constantine

  As I mentioned in the first part of this review, Guns of the Patriots is the Metal Gear that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that, for the series and game type, passive viewing is every bit as much a part of the play experience as actual player control. It’s misleading, though, to think that Metal Gear Solid 4’s greatest achievement is its presentation. Since its debut on the MSX in 1986, the actual game under Metal Gear’s graphics and story has been about using a limited, often suffocating interface to explore multiple solutions to a problem. A classic scenario: Solid Snake enters a room filled with obstacles (packing crates, trees, stationary vehicles) and a handful of hostile artificial intelligences (soldiers, security cameras, dogs) moving along set paths. Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater The goal is to guide Snake passed hostile elements without alerting them to his presence. The environment and tools acquired in its boundaries (anything from firearms to camouflage) create options; you could crawl under cars to avoid detection or tranquilize a soldier to distract the others as you move on. Snake is difficult to manage though; move too fast and you risk accidentally walking into an enemy’s line of sight, fire a gun and you risk being heard. You could make the argument that the finicky and imprecise control of Snake is immersive, simulating the stress and precision of actual stealth, but the truth is that it superficially increases difficulty, masking the rudimentary artificial intelligence’s faults. In Guns of the Patriots, not only has the environment and multiple-solution approach been expanded upon in both scope and realism, but the control has been streamlined to a point where agency is truly in the player’s hands, no longer at the mercy of a stilted interface. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 24 2008, 12:00 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, metal gear solid, hideo kojima, 61fps review, metal gear, mgs4

• Alternate Soundtrack: Mega Man X vs. The Knife

  Posted by Derrick Sanskrit

  It may be hard to believe at this point in the Blue Bomber's long and increasingly complex history, but 1994's Mega Man X was the first spin-off from the original Mega Man series. Set in an even more distant – and this time, dystopian – future, the X series saw a whole new Mega Man face off against waves of "Mavericks", intelligent robots that have gone human-killing crazy. The game played more or less identically to the previous Mega Man games, but X could upgrade parts of his robot anatomy in addition to gaining enemy abilities. New boots allowed X to dash, a new chestplate increased X's defense, et cetera. The music in Mega Man X, while in keeping with Capcom's fantastic production values, always struck me as being out of place. The technopunk soundtrack seemed a little too upbeat for the setting and story. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 24 2008, 11:00 AM with 6 comment(s) Filed under: alternate soundtrack, derrick sanskrit, capcom, mega man, mega man x, the knife

• People Who Get It: Alex Kierkegaard

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  A few months ago, I reviewed a scond-tier collection of mini-games for the Wii (that I would have otherwise never played) for a different site. The game was less complex and fun than games released decades ealier. Despite its being so apocalyptically awful, it still managed to obtain a 70+ metacritic score. Was I just getting too old? Maybe I'm just not into video games anymore. Then I came across this article at Insomnia. It wasn't just me. I have no illusions that Alex Kierkegaard would approve of even my opinions on games. If he ever deigned to browse my writing on games, I'm sure he would just shake his head and sigh. "Today, "serious" game writing is all about little kids desperate to have their little hobbies validated by their moms and dads in order to feel good about wasting so much time on them, instead of going out in the world and doing, you know, something useful." And yet, here's a guy who runs one of the most insightful, enjoyable video game commentary sites. He's a cocky jerk most of the time, but you should forgive him because he's almost always devastatingly right. If Yahtzee Croshaw is gleefully chucking molotov cocktails at the industry's bloated egos, Kierkegaard is scrubbing mainstream journalism's grimy streets clean with napalm. Comprehensive, caustic and uncompromising. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 24 2008, 10:00 AM with 1 comment(s) Filed under: cole stryker, people who get it, alex kierkegaard, insomnia

• Up All Night: Dark Sector

  Posted by John Constantine

  Dark Sector was one of the very first games for “next-gen” consoles ever seen by the public. When it was revealed in 2004, everyone was saying, “Oh, man. Look at those hot, hot graphics.” They were also saying, “What’s up with all the idiotic Guyver rejects hanging out in space?” Yes, despite its bleeding edge technology, Dark Sector was looking generic from the start. It’s cool though. Digital Extremes spent the next few years playing a ton of Resident Evil 4 and made some important changes to Dark Sector’s look and play before it came out this past March. First on the list of changes, dark-and-tortured protagonist Hayden only looks like the Guyver for half the game. Instead, he looks, controls, and moves exactly like Leon from Resident Evil 4 (he’s got darker hair and no leather jacket. Big differences!) Second, Dark Sector would no longer take place in space but in an evil future Russia overrun with some techno-plague that makes regular dudes into zombies (making it Easter Europe instead of Western Europe is hugely innovative. Hugely.) Finally, they added a smear of kill.switch’s duck and cover mechanics that are all the rage these days to compliment the Resident Evil controls. The final result of all these changes? Dark Sector came out as what it looked like: a silly generic mess of a game. But what a silly generic mess it is! Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 23 2008, 06:30 PM with no comments Filed under: john constantine, up all night, resident evil, dark sector, kill.switch, krull

• Watcha Playing: Ninja Gaiden - Dragon Sword

  Posted by Amber Ahlborn

  This is my first play of a Ninja Gaiden game. Back in the NES days I was aware of the series but at the time I pretty much only played hop-and-bop platformers. I did buy the original title on the Virtual Console, but VC games are at the bottom of my backlog pile. So, Dragon Sword is my series introduction and it's a pretty darn good one. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 23 2008, 03:00 PM with no comments Filed under: wii, amber ahlborn, ds, ninja gaiden, watcha playing

• The Magical Mystery Tour is Coming to Take You Away

  Posted by John Constantine

  Finally. The Beatles’ slow arrival to digital media has been pretty torturous for us fans. I mean, my CD of Revolver will barely play thanks to all the scratches earned through years of travel and love, and it’s not like I can listen to vinyl on the go. Why go out and buy another disc? It’s 2008, I should be able to legally download the damn thing by now. My newfound love of Rock Band has made things even worse. It seems downright perverse that I can sit down with friends and play Paramore’s “CrushCrushCrush” but I can’t belt out my scintillating rendition of “Happiness is a Warm Gun”. While I doubt that the “talks” EMI and Apple Corps are having with Activision and MTV Games are going to end in time for Abbey Road to hit Guitar Hero 4 and Rock Band 2 this fall, it’s still reassuring to know they’re happening. Even beyond The Beatles, I’m anxious for Activison and MTV’s games to have iTunes-like access to music. Is it possible to build the software so it procedurally generates the game interface instead of having to hand craft it for each song? Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 23 2008, 11:00 AM with 3 comment(s) Filed under: john constantine, guitar hero, rock band, mtv games, activision, the beatles

• For Love of the Game: Outcast 2 (Sorta)

  Posted by Cole Stryker

  Back in '99, Inogrames released Outcast, an excellent adventure game that presaged the sandbox gameplay of GTA III by two years. As a Navy Seal, your mission is to escort three scientists to a parallel dimension in order to close a black hole threatening earth. Sounds like typical action fare, but things get interesting when you begin interacting with the dimension's people. The Talans, as they are called, hail you as their messiah. Theirs is a world of servitude and social strife. As you interact with the townsfolk, the story unfolds in non-linear series of quests and chance meetings. Common today, revoutionary for the time. Perhaps a little too revolutionary, as the game received universal accolades but flopped commercially. It was the first game with an open-ended 3D world that the player was free to explore at his leisure. Additionally, it achieved a perfect, seamless balance between intense firefights and casual exploration, perhaps even better than that found in GTA III. The game seemed to live and breathe on its own, regardless of player action. The world of Adelpha would keep on turning, whether you wanted to further the overarching plot or not. The excellent artificial intelligence rivals even today's games. All this was soundtracked by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. This too was progressive. Read More... + DIGG + DEL.ICIO.US + REDDIT Posted Jun 23 2008, 10:00 AM with no comments Filed under: for love of the game, cole stryker, outcast