The PC Centric Extravaganza 4.15.08
Posted by Chris Evans on 04.15.2008
Pathological Tension ever rising with a hint of a GRID and much more besides!
Hello and welcome to this weeks edition of the PC Centric Extravaganza! I am typing this up in the knowledge that my PC is on the way out, probably with some dodgy RAM and that I don't know when I am going to get around to fixing it, a great shame that is!
This week I have a slightly extended piece of writing for you all to read and much more besides!
Pathologic and Tension
This piece was written in response to three articles from Rock, Paper, Shotgun dealing with the game Pathologic. (more links after this piece) Pathologic is a game from Russian developers, Ice-Pick Lodge and from that the articles say is quite interesting.
Do games have to be fun to be good? This is a question which following Quinns take on Pathologic over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun has been running around in my head like a hamster does on a wheel. Or is that a mouse…anyway one of the points that Quinns raised in his examination of Pathologic was that while it may not always be a fun game to play, it was a good game.
Of course this statement caused some debate among the RPS fanatics, another issue that was raised in response to this detailed examination of Pathologic was whether current reviewing methods are really all that good.
That issue was raised and was based on the fact that in the preamble to the first piece by Quinns, Mr Kieron Gillen actually came out and mentioned that fact that under current ‘traditional' games reviewing processes he had to give the game at lowly 52% in PC Gamer and this ‘traditional' way of reviews limited John Walker to giving the game a 6/10 on Eurogamer.
Of course this is a different issue entirely and is one that is probably best left to people like Kieron, John and the other two Rock, Paper, Shotgun fellas to discuss. After all, reviewing games is part of their job, for me it is just a hobby.
So, do games have to fun to be good? For me the answer is a simple one, and I could just put that one single word down and be done with this, however I feel a bit of waffling on is required. Well waffling on is a skill I have learnt well so far during my university course, and it is one I am going to have to make great use of in my dissertation.
Anyway, what is my take on the statement/topic/question or whatever you want to call it at hand?
Well I must say NO! I say this simply because fun is a perspective that varies wildly between different people. There are so many games out there and so many gamers out there that everyone is going to have different ideas on what makes a game fun.
Some may find Simulators fun, while others may find them boring and not much fun at all. The same can be said for First Person Shooters and Multiplayer Online Games. The whole notion of fun varies so wildly between people that the statement ‘games have to be fun to be good' is utter bullcrap. I for one can have fun with many games, they do not all have to be good though. The same applies in reverse for me, I can find a game to not be much fun, but I recognise that just because it is not fun to me doesn't make it a bad game.
Take for example the latest Sam and Max games. I had to review one of the Season 2 episodes and I didn't really find it that fun. This may just have been down to my mind being a bit strange, but I could see that the game wasn't bad. It may not have been brilliant but it wasn't a bad game. Yet I didn't find it that fun to play.
The same goes for Halo, while at times I had fun with it, for the most part I was pretty indifferent to it and just played on for the sake of it. Just because I didn't find the entire game fun though doesn't mean it was a bad game. On the most part it was pretty good.
So it is clear that a game doesn't have to be fun to be good. It is purely our own persona and the way our minds work the defines whether a game is fun, and if we look at game from a critical perspective we can see that while we may not have had loads of fun with a game it was actually pretty good.
Time is dragging on and I have to be up for work in the morning, an example of something that is neither fun nor good there!
So to sum up my brief ramblings, a game does not have to be fun to be good. The idea of fun varies wildly from person to person. Whether a game is good or not can be seen by taking a critical look at it and by taking off those rose tinted specs.
After readings Quinns take on Pathologic I am fully prepared to start playing (when it arrives) a broken game that is not much fun, but that beneath those perceived flaws is actually quite good.
A quick bit of other information follows.
Pathologic and Tension are two games from Russian developers Ice-Pick Lodge.
Pathologic was released a few years ago and Tension is still in development. Why do I want to talk about these games? Well because they seem pretty damn weird, interesting and, well throw in numerous other words like that.
I would like to direct you to a couple of articles on Rock, Paper, Shotgun that are all about Pathologic. The first one can be read here and the second one can be read here. There third part of that series of articles is here.
I will just say those articles have convinced me to buy this game, I may hate it, but I am determined to play it. It sounds very intriguing. The articles also convinced me to write the thing above.
In regards to Tension there is little I want you to do apart from watch this (not work safe) video to see what it is all about.
Why do Russian studios make the best but yet the strangest games eh?
Developer Diaries
The Soviets! They're Here!
No, this isn't anything regarding Red Alert, this is a trailer thingy-majig along with some Dev Diary stuff about the upcoming expansion pack to World in Conflict; Soviet Assault. This video mainly talks about the console versions of the game, but for the PCs it is an expansion pack.
While I really enjoyed World in Conflict I just haven't made the time to complete it, and with my PC being a bit FUBAR then it is unlikely I will any time soon.
GRID = Sexy!
Race Driver GRID is all about the race according to Chief Game Designer Ralph Fulton. In his latest Developer Diary he gives us some more background regarding what we can expect to see in the game apart from great racing and great crashes.
The main thing raised in this diary entry is the revealing of three different racing areas for the game. First off is Europe the home of the 'classic' racing disciplines such as touring cars and open wheel cars. Expect to see some of the finest track from around Europe here.
Secondly we have the US which, as Ralph tells us, features a lot of street racing around places such as Long Beach, San Francisco and Washington. Expect to see some big muscle cars here.
Finally GRID will take us to Japan where 'drift' racing is the focus of the game.
Each area has different cars and environments in which to race so expect to see some great looking cars and tracks be perfectly suited to each other.
I just wonder what is with the Queens of the Stoneage love as the soundtrack to these little diary things....
Demi-Dock
Demigod the RTS-FPS hybrid from Gas Powered Games has been pushed back to a February 2009 release and is due to be released via Stardock. As with many other games on Stardock Demigod will be released with no copy protection.
The delay until 2009 is down to Gas Powered Games wishing to take stock of results from the upcoming Summer Beta and the delay will give them time to implement these changes. It has also been revealed that the game has been budgeted to provide a whole host of post-release free updates.
"Not only do we have a proven retail publisher, but we get to partner with a pioneer in the digital distribution space...a company that totally understands what kind of experience our customer wants and the quality game they demand," said Gas Powered Games founder and CEO Chris Taylor. "The whole proposition is truly refreshing.?
An RPS walkthrough can be read here and there is a text-based version here. (Use this to play that one.)
You Have To Burn The Rope!
Dawn of War 2 Info
According to Jim Rossignol in the newest issue of PC Gamer UK 'Relic feel like the beating heart' of the PC and judging from his mega-preview of Dawn of War 2, Relic are just that. While Jim was unable to break down the mental defenses of the Relic staff and find out what races other than Space Marines and Orks are due to appear, he was able to gain a magnificent insight into the game itself.
Boy does it sound fantastic and wow it bloody well looks gorgeous! Dawn of War 2 surely is going to be the best looking RTS when it is released. If these screens are anything to go by then it really will be, the look fantastic! And that is just from minuscule magazine pics!
Lead Designer Johnny Ebbert describes the game as being "Kinda like '300', except space marines are so badass it's called '30'." which sums up how Dawn of War 2 is going to play. Relic are focusing on small scale battles, controlling a small group of units and doing away with the tedious base management the defines the RTS genre.
They are intent on creating character for the units and sees a big shift away from the "anonymous unit production-line feel of the previous Dawn of War titles." according to Jim. There is a pretty substantial overhaul of the wargear system from the previous Dawn of War games. Tied in with the small persistent group of characters you command and develop, you will be able to pick up various pieces of loot from the battlefield and equip them after the battle is done.
As we already know Dawn of War 2 is based on a heavily upgraded Essence Engine that we last saw in Company of Heroes. This time the use of buildings and your surroundings has been expanded with buildings now providing an even greater focus of battle when you get troops holed up in them. Throw in a few grenades and you will be seeing the building suffer massive structural damage.
Each bit of news that has slowly been emerging over the past couple of weeks has been getting me ever more excited, and this massive preview just makes me go 'wow!'
The mag should be out Thursday and is definitely worth a pick up to read the whole thing.
Advertisements for Kane & Lynch were accompanied by the claim that the game is "grittier and nastier . . . than anything you've seen before, the violence . . . visceral, brutal and very, very real". The ruling yesterday by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) comes after the report last month by Tanya Byron, the psychologist and television parenting guru, who proposed cigarette-style health warnings on video games to protect children from unsuitable material.
(my highlighting)
I really find this hilarious that The Times in continuing with their theory that the Byron Review was planning to impose cigarette-style health warnings even though anyone who reads the Byron Review knows this is an absolute lie.
Goodness, well fair enough that the ads got banned, they were for Kane and Lynch so I have no issues with it. Though the fact that it took...well quite a few months for this to take place is just a sign that the UK really is going down the shitter.
One last thing from The Times article. Julian Brazier the Conservative MP for Canterbury had this to say;
"This is one more example of the ASA showing leadership and cracking down on the glamorising of violence when the BBFC is dragging its feet and the Video Appeals Committee has failed completely."
News to me that the BBFC and VAC are involved in managing and controlling what kind of adverts are allowed to be shown on TV and in magazines. I always thought that was the job that the ASA was meant to be doing anyway...
Interplay want Fallout MMO and More!
In their yearly earnings press release Interplay have revealed their plans to get back to work on a Fallout Massively Multiplayer Online Game.
Interplay sold the rights to the Fallout name last year to Bethesda (working on Fallout 3) but retained control of a license to create and develop a Fallout MOG.
The company is also looking into bringing back franchises such as Earthworm Jim and Descent. Their statement also confirms they have restarted in-house game development and are currently recruiting development teams. A new company website is also set to be launched soon.
Full press release after the jump.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interplay Entertainment Corp. (OTC Bulletin Board: IPLY - News) recently announced its earnings for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007, and its plan for the company going forward.
Net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2007 were $6,001,000, an increase of 520 percent compared to the same period in 2006.
The Company reported net income of $5.86 million, or $.059 per basic share and $.057 per diluted share, compared to net income of $3.08 million, or $.032 per basic and diluted share, in the same period last year. The net income reported in the twelve-month period of this year was primarily the result of the recording of $5,750,000 in income from recognition of the sale of the "Fallout" intellectual property.
In addition to reporting the annual results, the company also pointed to its two-pronged growth strategy. First, management is working to secure funding for the development of a Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG) based on the popular "Fallout" franchise. Interplay sold "Fallout" in 2007 while obtaining a license back, under certain conditions, to create and develop a "Fallout" MMOG.
At the same time, the company will leverage its portfolio of gaming properties by creating sequels to some of its most successful games, including Earthworm Jim, Dark Alliance, Descent, and MDK.
The company has recently reinitiated its in-house game development studio, and is hiring game developers.
Interplay Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Herve Caen said, "2007 set the foundation for our growth strategy. Going forward, we have the vision, unique intellectual property, and low debt and operational costs to help us pursue financing for our various projects. Our new Website will streamline our ability to communicate development progress with the public, share brand information with the fans and support our customers."
No this is not some new computer virus of BSOD code, but a new game from TellTale! SBCG4AP is Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People and is an adventure game from the same people who made the Sam and Max games. Again this is going to be fully episodic, and while being released for the Wii first it there is destined to be more news on the PC version soon!
You can find much more information in the FAQ and see a teaser trailer on the Strong Bad homepage.
Wrapping Up!
That is all for now, I now have to get cracking on some more university work…fun! Anyway make sure you check out all the other stuff here on 411, I know there is a whole load of great stuff about!
Be sure to check out my blog and I will be back next week!
