Mod DB's Mod of the Year Awards 2007

With gaming being such an expensive hobby, it's nice to see some high quality mods to enhance our existing games and innovative indie games for our enjoyment. Website Mod DB has announced the winners of it's Mod and Indie game awards for 2007, all chosen through a popular vote.

A bounty of excellent games can be found here, especially if you own Half Life 2 or Battlefield 2. The Half Life 2 mod Insurgency won the award for best released Mod of 2007. The game is a highly refined multiplayer modern combat game set in the Middle East.

Zombie Panic: Source won the prize for best Unreleased Mod of 2007. Zombie Panic has actually been released since the voting started taking place, so be sure to give this unsettlingly eerie zombie/survival horror mod for Half Life 2 a try.

My highly anticipated game, Beyond the Red Line, won first place in the Indie Games category and shows excellent production values usually not seen in an indie game. None of the indie games require other games to play, so be sure to give them a try.

I myself would of course recommend Beyond the Red Line to any Battlestar Galactica fan, but I'd also like to give a shout out to 5th place winner Minerva . This mod is so ridiculously impressive, that employees from Valve actually got involved in its development. Any gamer who loves Half Life 2 owes it to themselves to pay this mod. The game is phenomenally good, you'll swear Valve made the levels for the real game and just forgot to put them in.

It's also nice to try out these indie games and show their developers support. They make these games and mods out of pure passion without any expectations of pay. Mods are also an excellent jumping point into the gaming industry, so I wouldn't be surprised if Valve and EA were looking at these developers too. Counter Strike and Team Fortress both started off as mods (the originals are still popular today) and led to fully produced sequels, so hopefully we will see some great work from these developers in the future.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 11:00 PM | Comments (5) | Posted to PC |      

Console Friendly CryEngine 2 To Be Running on Xbox 360/PS3 at GDC

The CryEngine2, known best as the software powering the ridiculously beautiful PC game Crysis, will be shown running on the Xbox 360 and PS3 at this year's Game Developers Conference. Developer Crytek did not confirm whether a tech demo, or specific game would be shown at the show.

Crytek will also be showing the engine running on a budget PC costing only $600 (cheap for a gaming PC) to prove the scalability of their engine. The presentation, name "Crysis in the Making", will also detail the making of both CryEngine2 and Crysis.

This is definitely a good move for Crytek, considering how much Crysis didn't sell last year. Consoles also make more sense for game publishers, seeing how they have a larger "core" audience and less piracy to deal with. I'd really like to play Crysis, and though my MacBook Pro can play some modern games well while in Windows (including Team Fortress 2 and Command and Conquer 3), I have a feeling I'd come no where near the experience the game is meant to have. Hopefully a console version will follow this development cycle.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 10:30 PM | Comments (9) | Posted to PlayStation 3 | Xbox |      

What Was The Greatest Video Game Console of All Time?

A few days ago CNet blogger Don Reisinger caused a small stir when he stated that the Super Nintendo was the greatest video game system of all time. Although I don't personally agree with his choice, the question itself is quite interesting as I would say that every console, both good and bad, has contributed to video game industry as a whole.

Take, for example, the world's first video game system the Magnavox Odyssey. The graphics for this system were so basic that my analog watch has better graphics, but the Odyssey introduced concepts such as game cartridges, the ability to play video games on your TV, custom game controllers, and so many other innovations.

In fact, aside from technology improvements over the past 36 years, the basic functionality of the Odyssey is nearly identical with the Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii – which is pretty amazing if you think about it. You could almost say that the entire console industry owes its existence to the Odyssey – so who's to say that the Odyssey isn't the "greatest" of all time?

So my question this week is, "What was the greatest video game console of all time?"

Personally I would have to go with the Atari 2600 as my pick. Sure I have a soft spot in my heart for every system (even the Sega Saturn), but as a kid growing up in the 1980s Atari was the system of the day. All the cool games were on the Atari 2600 (Pitfall! Adventure! Yar's Revenge! River Raid! ET! ... okay, maybe not ET), nobody else could come close to the Atari in sales and popularity, and the culture of Atari is the stuff of legends. If you played video games in the 80s you played Atari, period.

Sure times have changed and Infogrames Entertainment (AKA the "new" Atari) have done their best to destroy the once proud name. And the 2600 had it's problems, like the joystick which was built as if to give you carpal tunnel syndrome by design, but for me the Atari 2600 was still the greatest system of all time.

What about you? What system was the greatest in your opinion?

Posted by Gaming Steve at 10:00 PM | Comments (30) | Posted to Poll |      

Gaming Steve Review: Burnout Paradise

Burnout Paradise
Developer: Criterion Games
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Price: $59.99
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Category: Racing
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Release Date: January 22, 2008 (US); January 25, 2008 (Europe); February 7, 2008 (Australia)

The latest addition to Criterion's long-running, turbo-charged, truly insane race 'em up series turns the franchise on its head via a surprising new free-roaming slant, with oddly conflicting results to show for it. While Burnout Paradise is often a fantastic, truly original title that supersedes its predecessors right across the board, it just as often proves a frustrating and flawed exercise in missed opportunities and even flat-out monotony. Allow me to explain.

On firing up the game for the first time, you'll find yourself almost instantly set loose upon Paradise City minus any sort of leash. There's all but two minutes of a tutorial to get you up to speed, and scarce little in the way of unlockable content for which to work towards, with Paradise instead throwing an entire god damn world at you in pretty much one go. The idea is, you blaze around this wide-open city, pull off stunts, track down collectibles, and partake in any of its endless list of challenges and events as and when you please. It's all up to you, fella.

This is all fantastic stuff at first too. Beholding the exquisite detail of Paradise City, and the luscious fluidity in which you careen around its plush, sensual innards awards it instant love that's hard to deny. For a while, you feel as if you're witnessing the very future of racing games in fact, not just graphically, but in terms of sheer design. All of the series' landmark traits — the ludicrous speed, the demented pile-ups and the jaw-dropping crashes — come through in-tact, but this time via a seamless, less constrained and undeniably next-gen universe in which to now savor them. Wow.

Unfortunately, the actual content within this world often fails to live up to the premise. Over time, the challenges reveal themselves to be a repetitive, cut-back and under-realized bunch, giving the game a far more hollow feeling than perhaps one would've liked. Criterion boast the presence of a new such challenge at each and every crossroad in the entire game — with you merely holding down the two triggers to enter any at will — but in practice, the majority of its 120 odd events prove a little too similar for comfort.

You've got good old "Road Rage" challenges — the pick of the litter — that see you bashing enemies to death as you navigate the streets at immense speeds. Enjoyable "Stunt Runs", that enforce gravity defying jumps and crazy drifts within a set time limit. And of course the traditional Burnout races that you'd expect, in which you go toe to toe with seven AI combatants in a blitz for the finish line ala previous titles in the series. The difference being, Paradise has much improved new car handling, way better graphics, and some pleasing new depth to its boosting system. And hey, that's great.

What ain't are the actual "tracks". An unfortunate side effect of the free-roaming world in which they're set, sees these city-based routes never feeling setup, nor specifically designed for actual racing. Grid-like streets simply can't match the cornered-off, impeccably designed circuits of similar such driving games, and the added freedom of multiple routes can make such races notoriously confusing too. Given this game's extreme speeds, it's mildly annoying having to continually monitor your mini-map in order to gauge where to turn, with you regularly heading off down the wrong street and spontaneously having to backtrack at a split-second's notice. Expect many a lost race due to this. And grinded down teeth.

With only eight potential finishing lines peppered throughout the entirety of the city, races all end in a worryingly similar fashion too. You'll return to the same roads and same locations so darn often, déjà vu becomes a prominent gameplay feature. A new "Marked Man" twist on these races spruces them up occasionally, in which you'll have to zoom to the finishing line by your lonesome while kamikaze AI drivers ram you off the road to much amusement, but even these grow old in time. A pity.

What started out fresh and invigorating then — heralding the pinnacle of its genre — grows slowly stale and bland as you progress. Scrapping the challenges, hitting the streets sandbox-style, and merely seeing what crazy off-road secrets you can uncover becomes a far more gripping way to spend your time as a result, and there's plenty of nooks and crannies tucked away within Paradise City to set your sights on with that in mind. This can't hide the fact that the single player game is a somewhat short-lived affair for the most part though, and five or six hours in, I was just about done with it. Particularly in light of the city's shockingly small size that lets you blitz from literally one side to the other in about 4 minutes flat.

Thankfully, all is not lost. Paradise boasts a superb online mode you see, one that goes a hell of a long way towards filling in the blanks. A mode, oddly enough, that reminds heavily of Crackdown of all things. In the same way that game was always at its best when played online — with you and a buddy merely tearing up the town and causing as much improvised mischief as you could — Burnout is no different. Just er, trapped in a car this time out. Ignoring the plot — or in this case, the races — engaging in your own demented multiplayer stunts is where this game truly shines, only it supports a whopping great 8 players by comparison, and is choc-full of superb mini-games for you to partake in along the way.

Paradise weaves such inventive tomfoolery into the actual game design, you see. One minute it may task your group with pulling off 100 jumps between you in quick succession, the next it may have you pile every single car onto one specific level of a particular building without falling off, and so on. The subsequent calamity and group-based bundles prove endlessly enjoyable and undeniably hysterical, with literally hours dropping off the clock at a time as you work your way through its laundry list of shenanigans. The average newcomer will often be left with a, "Guh? I don't get it" look on their face on first firing it up, and given the co-operative nature of these challenges, it can be annoying when just one of your eight won't play along. Once you get your head around how it all works though, simply fartin' around with your pals starts to make up the very core of Paradise's brilliance, and with a decent host making full use of the challenges, it proves truly amazing stuff. Not to mention utterly unique.

Sure, for more traditional online fun, there are more familiar multiplayer races on offer too. You can partake in 4-round mini-leagues should you so wish, at which point the game reverts to more of a Burnout Revenge-style versus game. All the "rivalry" features of its predecessor return thankfully, with new Vision Cam/PlayStation Eye support giving such violence a new — and often mature-rated — twist, and it's pleasant enough fun I'm pleased to say. The finicky niggles and mass confusion of the single player races turn into plus points when played alongside humans, with all players regularly zooming off in the wrong direction to much amusement and giggly group banter. With no one at a distinct disadvantage, races can turn drastically at a moment's notice, right up to the very home straight, making 'em far more enjoyable and exciting than against AI. Combined with the aforementioned co-op mini-games, this multiplayer suite affords the game much needed mileage most noticeably lacking from solo play.

Burnout Paradise is an intriguing experiment all in all then, that at often times works, yet just as often fails. In addition to the plethora of negatives outlined above, a series of smaller annoyances like the lack of an instant "retry" option, the removal of the ever enjoyable "Crash" mode, and the inability to turn off the god-forsaken "takedown" cam continually grate, all culminating in far from the nutso racing classic some might have been expecting. There's no denying though, that in its first few hours alone, it's one hell of a spectacular ride, and with a server full of pals, there's no multiplayer game quite so original...nor so god damn hilarious.

Providing you have friends, I'd say it's worth the pinch.

PLUSES: Traditional Burnout car-bashing antics prove just as fun as you'd hope, while flawless graphics with a seldom-faltering 60 FPS render 'em better than ever before. Amazing multiplayer modes provide plenty of longevity.

MINUSES: Single player challenges lack variety, while the city feels small after just an hour or two of exploring. No instant retry on the events can be frustrating, as can the reliance on a mini-map for one so fast-paced.

FINAL VERDICT: 7.5 BUY IT!

Posted by Matt Robinson at 12:15 AM | Comments (7) | Posted to PlayStation 3 | Review | Xbox |      

A Small Victory For Gamers Against Mainstream Media

Earlier in the week, I covered the various ignorant media pieces going about, including the flak Mass Effect was unfairly receiving. I found this video to be the epitome of how the main stream media covers games ("Porn! Violence! Won't someone think of the children?!"), and how gamers should respond ("Did you actually play the game?"). Well it turns out that the mis-representative nature of the piece has somewhat been repaired by guest Cooper Lawrence admitting the following statement: "I recognize that I misspoke".

Fox news had psychologist Cooper Lawrence on the show as their "expert" to defend their already preconceived notion that Mass Effect was a pornography simulator, marketed to 15-year-old boys, and that you could only play as a male character. The host of Spike TV show Game Head, Geoff Keighley, did his best to fight these clear falsifications, and pointedly asked Cooper whether or not she had played the game, to which she giggled and responded "no".

Cooper Lawrence decided to apologize to gamers today, saying "I really regret saying that, and now that I've seen the game and seen the sex scenes it's kind of a joke". Of course, this is probably attributed to gamers hitting her back were it hurts: the wallet. During the past week, over 400 negative reviews were added on amazon.com to Cooper's book, The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever, with many of the reviewers saying they hadn't read the book, but simply that they had simply heard it was bad. Cooper had reportedly just asked someone nearby before going on the show what the game was like, with their reply being "it's like pornography". That's some really expert research right there.

While it's nice to see someone apologizing to the gaming community, it's really too bad this is what has to be done to achieve it. Some might say falsely reviewing her book was unfair, but gamers only did exactly what she did to them: talk about something they knew nothing about, and act like an expert about it. Lucky for Cooper, Amazon has removed all the reviews from those who clearly didn't read the book. I also suspect many more people saw the news program and now have many incorrect assumptions about Mass Effect, than those who now have incorrect assumptions about The Cult of Perfection.

EA also responded to the news report, pointing out all the incorrect facts Fox had on the program. Fox has said they would allow EA to come on television to defend their case, but this isn't what EA or gamers want: we want Fox to say they broadcast falsifications about Mass Effect, and apologize for doing so.

Cooper got the falsifications of her book erased from Amazon, but I highly doubt Fox will do the same with their distorted reports.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 8:30 PM | Comments (15) | Posted to Culture |      

Grand Theft Auto Lawsuit Settlement: You Get $35, Lawyers Get "One Million Dollars"

It's not often that People Magazine and video games have a lot in common, but in the February 4th issue (the one with Heath Ledger on the cover ... tragic) if you flip to page 50 there an interesting Legal Notice concerning one Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Just in case you forgot in 2007 Rockstar Games proposed a settlement for a class action lawsuit concerning the infamous Hot Coffee modification. As a result any US citizen who was officially "offended and upset" by the ability to unlock this hidden content can now claim up to $35 in compensation.

The exact amount you may be entitled depends upon directly upon how much documentation you have of your "outrage":

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas First Edition Disc: Replacement Disc
Detailed Store Receipt: Cash payment up to $35.00
General Credit Card Statement or Check: Cash payment up to $17.50
Disc/Purchase Details: Cash payment up to $10.00
No Disc/Purchase Details: Cash payment up to $5.00

Full details on the program can be found at GTASettlement.com and you must submit your claim by May 16, 2008 to be eligible for compensation.

Curious about this lawsuit I actually went through the trouble to download the many long and detailed legal documents when I came across this little gem on page 11 of the Motion for Preliminary Approval document concerning the attorneys' fees:

E. Attorneys’ Fees, Costs and Disbursements. Finally, as mentioned above, only this past Friday, the Parties agreed on an amount to compensate Plaintiffs’ Counsel for attorneys’ fees and costs and disbursements in the amount of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000), the entire amount of which will be paid separate and apart from any amounts made available for payment to the Class and Class Representatives, as set forth above. This agreed upon amount includes approximately Forty-Five Thousands Dollars ($45,000) for costs and disbursements and approximately Nine Hundred Fifty Five Thousand Dollars ($955,000) for attorneys’ fees, a highly reasonable request and well within the range previously approved by this and other courts. A full and formal application for attorneys’ fees and costs and disbursements will be made prior to the proposed final fairness hearing for approval of this Settlement.

So to sum up, you can get a brand-new Hot Coffee-free version of GTA: SA and, at most, $35. While the lawyers who are representing you, me, and all the other "little people" damaged by this outrage on humanity are getting a mere "One Million Dollars ($1,000,000)".

Of course I couldn't help but think about the upcoming class action lawsuit against Microsoft concerning a few days of downtime for Xbox Live in late 2007. In that suit three angry Texans are asking for $5 million dollars from Microsoft ... but it's not really about the money.

As the plaintiffs' lawyer, Jason Gibson, explained to MTV News, "These are not guys looking to get rich". "They are college-educated. These are not young kids who just turned 18 and [want] to sue for the fun of it. This is, to them, a real issue." Gibson went on to explain, "They're not going to get a windfall or anything like that."

No, it seems that "windfall" would be reserved for the lawyers...

Posted by Gaming Steve at 11:00 PM | Comments (10) | Posted to Business | PlayStation 2 | Xbox |      

From Console to Tabletop: First Steps

While the RPG has been having a very nice year, with the release of Mass Effect for the 360 and Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the DS, there are still thing to recommend a good tabletop roleplaying game. The main thing is that gaming is a much more social activity even than a MMO or other type of multi-player game.

There’s just something fun about inviting a bunch of friends over to your house for some beer and pizza.

Still, if these are your first steps into the world of offline gaming, it can be a little daunting. This article will cover the basics of what you’ll need and where you can get it. If you have previous experience with gaming on the tabletop this will be stuff you already know but we’re going to begin from the beginning.

What You’ll Need

So you've decided to jump into the world of tabletop RPGs, what game should you pick? Below we'll look at some of the most popular RPG franchises and which game you will most likely be attracted to. Basically, if you liked the console game, then the RPGs I recommend will likely be your cup of tea.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: For me, this is a simple choice. If you like KOTOR, you should check out the new Star Wars Saga Edition from Wizards of the Coast. It's a great game system and one book gives you everything you need for countless adventures in the Star Wars universe.

Baldur's Gate: Another easy one, mostly because Baldur's Gate is actually based on the Dungeons and Dragons tabletop game, though a slightly older edition. So here's the sitch, the latest version of D&D is a great game and provides a tremendous play experience, so you can't go wrong there.

However, if you want to emulate this classic game mechanically, you need to look for 2nd Edition Dungeons and Dragons. While these books are out of print, you can find them used online and at most gaming hobby shops relatively cheaply. You can also download digital PDF copies of these books for a cool $5 a piece from the leading e-book retailer, www.rpgnow.com

Elder Scrolls: Another fantasy game, and again you can't go wrong with Dungeons and Dragons. Another choice I will throw out here is Fantasy Hero. This is an excellent game system, produced by Hero Games, and is one of the best fantasy games out there.

Final Fantasy: This will require a bit more work. There's no game that directly captures the FF experience, and believe me I've looked. Two games that are flexible to handle it, with some elbow grease on your part, would be Fantasy Hero and another great game called True20, which is a simplified version of the system that drives Dungeons and Dragons.

World of Warcraft: Though there are a lot of choices here, I think, again, our old friend Dungeons and Dragons would be the best choice. At its heart, to me anyway, WoW was always something of an "action RPG" in the tradition of Diablo and I think D&D does that tactical RPG combat and dungeon delving better than anyone else.

City of Heroes: If you want to get your super-hero on (no capes!) the game I recommend is Green Ronin Publishing's Mutants and Masterminds. It's the best combination of depth (allowing you to make YOUR hero YOUR way) and ease of play. Whether you want something totally wild and new, or just want to rip off your favorite comic universe, this game gives you the tools to do it in one book.

Fallout: Maybe my favorite computer RPG of all time, the best game to replicate the Fallout experience is Darwin's World, produced by the company I work for, RPGObjects (though I've written very little for this particular game myself). This might seem a little self-serving, but it's the best support post-apocalypse game out there.

Pokemon: This is a toughie. Like Final Fantasy, there's really nothing that captures the spirit of the Pokemon games as an RPG, which means again, I'm going to recommend games that are noted for how flexible they are, Fantasy Hero and True20, both linked to above. Again, you'll have to do some prep work, but those two games are flexible enough to let you do your own thing with the least amount of pain.

Mass Effect: Here, I'm going to go with Star Wars Saga again, by Wizards of the Coast. While Mass Effect doesn't have "the force" it does have the next best thing, and I think the force powers with the serial numbers filed off would be the best way to emulate the experience of Mass Effect. Also, no frame rate issues in your imagination when you pretend to be a Spectre, so that's a bonus.

Diablo: As before, I'm going to recommend D&D because Diablo is a hack and slash, dungeon crawling action RPG like no other. While this isn't the ONLY thing you can do with D&D, it is one of the things the game handles very, very well.

Of course, you can't play your game by yourself, you'll need to perform a few more steps to get up running. Next you'll need to get together a group.

A Group: While there are other ways to play traditional RPGs, such as Play by Email and even online services such as Open RPG and Wizards’ upcoming Virtual Tabletop, these experiences won’t give you the different experience you’re looking for to find out if offline gaming is right for you. In short, while there are plenty of ways to game online, if you’re reading this, we’ll assume for now that you’d like to not stare at a glowing, light-bulb-like screen for several hours.

In short, you’re going to need 3-4 real human beings willing to try something out for an evening. If you don’t already know a group of guys and gals that you think would be willing, there are ways to seek them out.

Message Boards: If you go to any tabletop RPG forum, there will usually be a forum for gamers seeking gamers. This is a bit like online dating and the usual caveats apply. Meet the person for the first time in public, etc. etc. The best forum for tabletop RPGs is www.enworld.org, the single largest fansite on the net for tabletop rpgs. They have a large and active gamers seeking gamers forum where gamers from all around the world meet and schedule games.

The Local Gaming Store: Many Friendly Local Game Stores (FLGS) have tables where people can play. This might be the single best way to get into tabletop gaming if you’re new to it, or have been away for awhile and want to get back in. You could just watch a game to get a feel for it, buy the books and materials you need (dice, lots and lots of dice) and just hang out and meet some folks who might share your desire to get their game on.

Game tables are also handy for that first game, where you can game with new people, ensure that they aren’t jerks, before moving the game to someone’s house.

Even if they don’t have tables (but really, this is what I recommend and you can probably find at least one store near you that has game tables) most stores will let you post a seeking gamers flier as well. One advantage this can have over posting to an internet forum is that you can always meet prospective gamers at the game shop, then go to a neutral diner for coffee to make sure they aren’t crazy.

College/High School Club: If you are a student, especially if you’re a college student, there is a really good chance that your school has a gaming club. While the quality of gaming at such clubs varies wildly, it’s usually a good first step and a great place to meet fellow gamers. In fact, even if you don’t attend the local college, posting fliers there is also a good way to meet gamers.

Materials: Once you have your stout posse together, you’re going to need some gaming materials. At a minimum you’ll need game books, dice, paper and pencil. You can get these things in a variety of places. Amazon.com is a good place to find the books, and for dice there are places like www.rpgshop.com which is a great place to pick up dice online.

Many games will only have one core game book that you’ll need, while other games will require you to buy as many as three. In both cases, your total startup costs will usually be less than the price of a single console game (60-75 bucks is typical).

When you consider that these game books will allow you to play for decades, this startup price is very modest.

Finally, you’ll need one more material, covered below.

Adventures: One of the biggest differences between console games and tabletop games is that the game ends when you want it to, not when the dev team runs out of time and is told to ship the game. Once you’re familiar with the game, you’ll be making up your own adventures in no time, which is one of the real joys of a tabletop game. In the meantime however, especially if you’re new to the game, finding adventures is going to be key. There are lots of adventures online and in stores, with some of the online adventures being free but many are pay products.

Since these adventures vary wildly depending on what game you pick, I’ll cover those in future installments where we get into the nitty gritty of picking just the right game for you based on your console interests.

Until next time.

Posted by cwrice at 9:30 AM | Comments (7) | Posted to Culture | Feature |      

Doing It Yourself – The History and Future of the "Level Editor"

It’s a very old concept, the level editor. Lode Runner, a game that will soon become another enhanced and updated classic on Xbox Live Arcade, had the first level editor I spent a lot of time with. Level editors were a bold new idea: take the tool the developers use to create the content, hand it over to the users, and see what happens. Not only did it add tons of content to the game, but it created a community of sharing.

The level editor was most common in grid-based platform games, because platform games were the majority of arcade games since Donkey Kong. So Lode Runner was a big deal. It continued on with some games being mostly a level editor like Pinball Construction Set. I found one of the most open-ended platforming game level editor to be Ultimate Wizard, where you were encouraged to even add your own programming code. Today, games like Marble Blast Gold (PC), Alien Hominid (PC/PS2), GripShift (PSP), and even Dance Dance Revolution (all systems) have editors.

The fringe benefit to the developer when they include the content creation tool with the game is they get free content they can use in future updates and releases. The user created content levels often reveal certain exploits of game elements the designers never thought of.

Unfortunately, there are some negative side effects, too. First, everyone has a natural tendency to make the hardest levels they can think of. The creators know how to solve their own hard levels because they practice them over and over. These levels are typically tedious and devoid of fun. Second, someone with crude humor or bad taste has to create what I’ll call the “Fudge” Level, except I really mean the F-star-star-star word! Equally tasteless is what happened with Forza 2 (Xbox 360) with a user-created detailed car containing hateful and racist symbolism.

Considering that these editors have been around a very long time, you’d think they would put them in any game that could logically use it. I mean, Band of Bugs (XBLA) has a terrain and scenario editor, 3D Ultra Minigolf (XBLA) has a level creator, and DDR Supernova 2 (PS2) has the step-editor. Yet, the next-gen versions of Alien Hominid (XBLA), GripShift (PS3/XBLA), and Marble Blast Ultra (XBLA), have the level editors removed! I want them back, please.

Luckily, many hit games have thrived on the creation concept and the community of sharing user-created content. The monster of all these is of course The Sims. Every level of detail in the game can be directed by the player. Create the people, create the homes, create the furnishings, jobs, foods, manipulate their lives, share your creations with the community, and choose to be a benevolent or vengeful god. And that’s all before you try out any of the additional content. Heroes of Might and Magic, a cross between a feudal society sim and turn-based strategy, with its 100+ hours of scenarios, had a scenario editor for impressing your other HOMM-crazy friends. The new Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is also allowing you to create your own scenarios and share them over WiFi. Halo 3 (Xbox360) is also cashing in on the level editing with its Forge and the DLC Foundry level in the Heroic Map Pack. You can edit the other multiplayer maps as well.

Games coming out are also embracing this idea of user content. What would Gaming Steve be without all of the Spore information, where you create life, edit it, give it worlds, and ultimately send it into space? In fact, the user creation is the core of the game, much like The Sims. Future Pinball (currently available freeware) will pull the creative pinball designer out of you! Metaplace is a developing new entry into the MMORPG genre, except it is customizable from the ground up. If ever there was a reason to game on the PC, open-ended games with user created content are all of the reasons you need.

So far I’m only talking PC games, but on consoles, LittleBigPlanet on the PS3 with its incredible graphics, physics engine, and reliance on player-created levels has all of the ingredients of a huge hit. Little Big Planet also promises an intuitive editing system based on play-style. This one is my personal most-anticipated of the year 2008. Although not a game, Playstation Home promises to feature much of the customization available in The Sims. The remake of Lode Runner (XBLA) approaches, I hope it includes the level editor. All of my previous Lode Runner games have it, including the terrible NES version (available on Wii VC). It’s not just tradition, but rather an integral part of the franchise.

There are also many other resources for the game-mod enthusiast. The Internet houses many sites that have the tools to reskin, edit, and otherwise adjust your gaming experience. Garry’s Mod is a very popular Half-Life 2 mod tool. There’s a robust community of World of Warcraft Mods.

Level editors, user created content, and mods add extra spice to the gaming experience, build community, and add concepts and content to their games. For the developer, it may also help the game profits, create brand loyalty, and extend the game life cycle. For the gamer, it is a deeper connection to the game. In fact, if you look at the most popular games, Like The Sims or Half Life 2, they continuously thrive from all of the additional content. When many of the next-gen console games have the editors removed from their games, I believe they should look at the success of the games that have them.

Posted by Robert Gauss at 10:00 PM | Comments (12) | Posted to Feature |      

World of Warcraft Now Officially Successful – Passes 10 Million Subscribers

Some may have doubted it, thought it had reached a plateau, but today Blizzard announced that World of Warcraft has officially hit 10 Million subscribers. With 2 million in Europe, 2.5 million in North America, and 5.5 million subscribers in China, Azeroth now has the 80th highest population of the 221 countries in the world.

Blizzard was also happy to remind us that the Burning Crusade was the highest selling PC game in North America in 2007, as well as the record for the fastest selling PC game ever, at 2.4 million copies sold in one day. Because they so totally earned it, here's a quote of Blizzard co-founder and CEO Mike Morhaime "gloating" over the news:

"It's very gratifying to see gamers around the world continuing to show such enthusiasm and support for World of Warcraft. We're always pleased to welcome new players to the game, and we're looking forward to sharing the next major content update with the entire community in the months ahead."

Blizzard also clarified that this subscriber number counts only those who have paid a subscription fee in the last month, use a prepaid card in the last month, or are using the free 1 month trial that comes in the box. Those using free trials or promotional codes, as well as expired subscriptions and prepaid cards, are not counted in this total.

I think it's appropriate to use the phrase here: Wow. 10 Million people all playing the same relatively hardcore game, all at the same time is really quite mind boggling. I myself have played World of Warcraft as much as possible for as little as possible (2 free trials and the 1 month that comes in the box), though I have always considering going back in if any of my friends would be willing to join me. The game really does have an addicting quality to it, one that I would probably have continued if I hadn't got my Xbox 360 just as the trial was ending. How many Gaming Steve readers and listeners count towards this incredible number?

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 6:00 PM | Comments (23) | Posted to MMORPG | PC |      

Mainstream Media Still Doesn't Understand Video Games (Surprise, Surprise)

There has been quite a bit of flak going around from the main stream media about video games the past few weeks. I didn't really want to give each one of them another soap box, but I suppose I'll summarize all their ignorance right here: Mass Effect is interactive porn, video games are like crack for kids, and Bully just won't stop destroying our children.

The Mass Effect hubbub started when a conservative blogger on townhall.com made multiple incorrect assumptions about the game that include players being able to control sex acts and the game being marketed to 15 year old boys. The blogger later apologized to the "gaming universe" saying he didn't play the game (obviously) and only saw some clips of the sex online, though he still thought the game was offensive and should be kept out of young peoples hand's. I think Penny Arcade summed up this "incident" fairly well.

More recently, a writer from timesonline.co.uk wrote in an attention grabbing headline how the "Xbox is crack for kids". The ill informed "reporter" goes on through the classic anti-video game talking points about obesity (oh right, McDonalds figured that one out), the rotting of children's minds, and how hard video games make it for parents to raise their children. She then goes on to make the one of the most ridiculous assumption about video games I've ever heard by saying that even the "crappiest cartoon or lamest soap teaches a child about character, plot, drama, humour, life" while video games do not. She doesn't specifically say in the article whether she has played any games with her children but I highly doubt it.

The last foible of the media may sound a bit familiar. But wait, don't go away just yet, these reporters are not completely treading over the same ground as last time! They don't try to position Bully as a graphic bullying simulator as opposed to the satire of life in a boarding school that it really is. I mean, these guys point out that their are motion controls for the Wii version that make the game much more interactive and violent, and this will certainly lead to the collapse of society. Just like last time.

Their really isn't much to say about all this that hasn't been said before. It's obvious that these reporters are trying to get their name in the news buy criticizing an easy target. I wouldn't be surprised if none of these people had ever even touched a game, let alone tried to understand them. But just keep hope, because every once in a while the media lets us make our case, and when we do, we can at least make a couple of them look totally foolish.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 4:00 PM | Comments (11) | Posted to Culture |      

What Game Would You Like To Be Turned Into A (Good) Movie?

With the release of Uwe Boll's latest masterpiece it had me thinking of what games I would like to see turned into a movie (a good movie – let's just assume it would be good).

So my question this week is, “What game would you like to be turned into a (good) movie?”

It is rare that a movie will improve or surpass their source material, but it is possible as seen in the Lord of the Rings movies. (Yes I know that the books are still better, but seeing Tolkien’s world come to live on the Sliver Screen was something to behold … and Gollum was incredible.)

This question is pretty tricky because I have to honestly say that most games I think are probably better than any movie they could make. The recently released Mass Effect and Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune I could argue are interactive movies. However, one game I would love to see turned into a movie would be Bioshock. Not only do I think this could be a great movie with a rich story, interesting characters, and the fantastic Rapture, but it’s actually “normal” enough that I can see a mainstream Hollywood director taking it on. In fact, if Spielberg released a movie which took place in the Bioshock universe – and the game never existed – I don’t think anyone would find it any stranger than his past films.

Of course, what I would really love is to see someone take on Guitar Hero (how would they do that?) or Tetris (ditto) or even Super Mario Galaxy. Hum, on second thought, maybe I wouldn’t want to see that. I still have nightmares about the last Super Mario Bros. movie.

What about you? What game would you like to be seen turned into a good movie?

Posted by Gaming Steve at 10:30 PM | Comments (37) | Posted to Poll |      

Battlefield Heroes to be Free, Online, and Cartoony

The next chapter in the Battlefield series was announced today, Battlefield Heroes, and it seems that EA and DICE are taking a page from Chinese MMOs and Team Fortress 2. Battlefield Heroes is scheduled for release this Summer, will online-only, and completely free to download and play – could this "casual" FPS that is immune to piracy be the new direction of multiplayer PC games?

Although free to download ads will display within sections of the game, but will not appear within the game itself. According to Ben Cousins, senior producer at DICE, the ads "wouldn't work inside the fictional world".

Battlefield: Heroes will also allow people to purchase new items and content within the game. Cousins also promises that these micro-transactions will not include weapons and be mostly cosmetic, although both these comments sound contrary to other reports about the game.

As long as Ben Cousins is the one with the correct information (and I don't see why not), this sounds great. Leaving the ads out of the gameplay and making the micro-transactions only cosmetic is the best way to implement these features. I know some gamers have a problem with ads in games, but I've always been of the mind that as long as they are actually make the game cheaper (or in this case free) and don't impede gameplay that they are completely welcome. Micro-transactions also seem to be handled well since they won't allow a wealthier player to simply buy better a better character.

The exaggerated graphics are also a nice touch. The game will reportedly run on "grandma's laptop", meaning just about anyone with a computer can play, plus stylized graphics also don't get outdated as quickly as games that try to look as "realistic" as possible. Team Fortress 2 proved that having exaggerated characters also helps to identify characters, which is a perfect combination for cosmetic micro-transactions. I can also see how EA is interested in this model because it both prevents piracy while also lowering the barrier of entry.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 9:00 PM | Comments (3) | Posted to PC |      

Metal Gear Solid 4 Demo Coming to PSN In February?

Playstation 3 owners looking forward to what is arguably the console's biggest release of this year will be getting a reward for all their patience: a Metal Gear Solid 4 demo in February.

This shocking news is from poster TomEmo12 on the gametrailers.com forums where he posted a picture of the British magazine PSW stating a fairly straightforward remark that a demo will be on the Playstation Network in February.

Details are extremely sparse, and Konami has yet to confirm anything, but it appears to be one single player level from the game. If true, this a complete turn around for Konami, who was quoted at TGS 2007 as having no demo planned. Being that the game has become quite the poster child for the console, it would probably be in both Sony and Konami's best interest to get a demo out as soon as possible.

I personally look forward to playing this game, having really enjoyed Metal Gear Solid 3 (and the tactical card game on the PSP) and as long as it doesn't come out for the Xbox 360, it will probably be one of the games that convinces me to purchase my own PS3. Releasing a demo would also be both great publicity for Sony and, so long as the demo is good, a sales boon for Konami. Apparently, that's something they really need for this title.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 4:00 PM | Comments (7) | Posted to PlayStation 3 | Rumor |      

Scandal! Corporate Greed! The Truth Behind The Red Ring of Death?

A source deep within Microsoft has given an interview to the website 8bitjoystick.com (who successfully predicted Bungie's departure from Microsoft) about the real story behind the Xbox 360's infamous Red Ring of Death. Reportedly understaffed departments, the need to beat Sony to market, and corporate arrogance led to the Xbox 360's abnormally high failure rate.

The insider reported that the test, quality, manufacturing, and supplier management departments were all understaffed and unable to cope with the problems at hand. He then went on to describe how in their determination to beat Sony to market, Microsoft wasn't willing to stop production and get the problem fixed, rather just continue shipping will also trying to fix the problem. He pointed out that Microsoft saw it as a numbers game, that even the first million or so being defective was worth getting ahead of Sony in the market.

The interview also details a few other interesting aspects of the problem. For instance, the insider states that the failure rate for the Xenon (the first Xbox 360s) was at least 30%. He also details how the repair process works, and that it's very unlikely you will get either a new Xbox 360 or your own repaired. In fact, it's very possible to get your new more "reliable" Xbox 360 exchanged for a repaired Xenon.

I may not be an expert in console hardware, but this is what I'd do if I where Microsoft: release a "new and improved" redesigned Xbox 360, just like Sony did the the PS2 Slimline. A slightly different shape and/or color, quieter DVD drive, and compatibility with the current hard drives ... oh yeah, and no Red Ring of Death. This would help to erase the current perception of the Xbox 360 as a highly fallible console, because this is really going to hurt them in the long term.

Of course Microsoft sort of did this already with their more expensive Xbox 360 Elite, which is supposed to have fixed the Red Ring of Death. So you can either buy an Xbox 360 and wait until dies on you, or you can purchase the more expensive Elite version which works like it's supposed to ... I think it might be time for a lemon law for gaming consoles.

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 1:00 AM | Comments (5) | Posted to Business | Xbox |      

Gaming Steve Episode 68 - 01.18.2008

The first new show of 2008 and it's a fun one! This week I have Nobu Taguchi from Namco Bandai Games on the show to chat about the very cool Culdcept Saga.

And make sure to check out this week's Show Mail where I'm giving out four free copies of Culdcept Saga! Enjoy the show!

Gaming Steve Episode 68 Program

• 00:03:33 Game News:
• Bioshock prequel in development?
• Star Wars in Soul Calibur IV ... what?
• Over one million get Wii Fit.
• GoldenEye to appear on XBLA? Don't count on it.
• Assassin's Creed DS leaks info and the Internet explodes.
• Xbox Live lawsuit muzzles Microsoft.
• Surprise! Smash Bros. Brawl delayed again ... okay, nobody is really surprised.
• Spore and Call of Duty 4 confirmed for Macs.
• Uwe Boll returning to low-budget projects ... or is he?
• Nintendo to explode with new releases in 2008.
• Master Chief not starring in Halo movie? Why is everyone so surprised?
• 00:43:31 Interview: Nobu Taguchi, localization producer for Culdcept Saga from Namco Bandai Games.
• 01:09:33 Name That Game: I'm giving away four free copies of Culdcept Saga, find out how to win yours!
• 01:11:51 Show Mail: I answer your audio and text questions.
• 01:35:40 Final Thoughts: Everyone all rested up after the holidays as here come the glut of games!

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Posted by Gaming Steve at 11:00 PM | Comments (93) | Posted to Interview | Podcast |      

Free Undertow for All Xbox Live Members

It was first reported almost two weeks ago that Microsoft was going to compensate XBox Live members with a free game because of their server outage issues.

Today it was announced that the game Undertow will be available to download for free starting next Wednesday at 2:00 a.m. PST up through Sunday, 11:59 p.m. PST for all Xbox Live Members worldwide; this includes both gold and silver memberships.

I actually recently downloaded the trial for Undertow, and it was quite fun. In fact, I even considered purchasing it when I had an extra 1600 points, but decided to download Psychonauts instead. Overall I'm rather happy with the game they selected – at least it's better than Uno.

Posted by Steven Mills at 8:00 PM | Comments (1) | Posted to Xbox |      

December and 2007 NPD's Released: Everybody Wins!

Today the December video game NPD numbers were released and regardless of what each company says, they were good for the entire industry. With an industry total of 17.94 Billion dollars (not counting PC games or hardware), video games broke their previous sales record. This was a 46% increase over 2006's already high sales.

Microsoft spun the NPDs in their favor by saying that 45% of the money consumer's spent on video games was on the Xbox 360 and its games. Microsoft also rubbed their 3rd party sales in Sony's face: Rockband, Call of Duty 4, and Assassin's Creed all sold at least 2 copies on the Xbox 360 for each copy sold on the PS3. Overall, the Xbox 360 had 11 of the top 20 games sold in 2007, and of course, Halo 3 was sitting at the top of that list.

Nintendo gloated over the continued sell out of the Nintendo Wii and the astonishing 8.5 Million DS's they sold in 2007 (2.5 Million in December alone). Nintendo had 15 of the top 30 games of 2007, withWii Play taking second place at 4.12 Million. Mario Galaxy took second place in December sales at 1.40 Million units sold.

Sony found light at the end of the tunnel because the PlayStation "brand" sold $714 million in December, more than either Nintendo or Microsoft. Sony also pointed out that the PS3 had its best month since its launch in December, with 798K units of hardware sold. Sony was also happy to point out that upcoming Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Devil May Cry 4, Burnout Paradise, and HAZE will continue this momentum.

As for 2008, here's what I see: Sony is going to have a great year because of their exclusives, though I don't think they'll surpass the Xbox 360 just yet because Microsoft is getting the lion share of 3rd party sales (specifically Grand Theft Auto 4 on day one). Home however, could really have an impact considering how popular social networking websites have become.

Microsoft on the other hand should be able to continue sitting atop Sony by just relying on their 3rd party sales, though they'll need to prove why we should buy their consoles instead of Sony's. Being cheaper than the competition is good, but they really need some top notch 1st party titles to stay competitive. They also need to prove their online service is the best there is, considering what Sony plans to do for free and with all the trouble Live has had recently.

And Nintendo can pretty much just ignore the other two companies and continue sinking their teeth into the casual market, though it's pretty safe to say that exclusive 3rd party developers will soon abandon the Wii. Games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart will still keep them in the eye of the hardcore crowd. Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm completely wrong by the end of the next year, considering how surprising this console war has been so far.

THE NPD GROUP's 2007 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Category / Total / Change
Video Games: $17.94 billion +43%
Video Games Hardware: $7.04 billion +54%
Console Hardware: $5.12 billion +73%
Portable Game Hardware: $1.92 billion +19%
Video Games Software: $8.64 billion +34%
Console Software: $6.64 billion +39%
Portable Game Software: $2.00 billion +18%
Video Game Accessories: $2.26 billion +52%

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Nintendo DS: 8.50 million (17.65 million LTD)
Wii: 6.29 million (7.38 million LTD)
Xbox 360: 4.62 million (9.15 million LTD)
PlayStation 2: 3.97 million (41.12 million LTD)
PlayStation Portable: 3.82 million (10.47 million LTD)
PlayStation 3: 2.56 million (3.25 million LTD)

Game Software (in units sold)
1) Halo 3 (360, Microsoft) - 4.82 million
2) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 4.12 million
3) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360, Activision) - 3.04 million
4) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, Activision) - 2.72 million
5) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 2.52 million
6) Pokémon Diamond (DS, Nintendo) - 2.48 million
7) Madden NFL 08 (PS2, Electronic Arts) - 1.9 million
8) Guitar Hero II (PS2, Activision) - 1.89 million
9) Assassin's Creed (360, Ubisoft) - 1.87 million
10) Mario Party 8 (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.82 million

THE NPD GROUP's DECEMBER 2007 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Category / Total / Change
Video Games: $4.82 billion +28%
Video Games Hardware: $1.83 billion +17%
Console Hardware $1.3 billion: +21%
Portable Game Hardware: $525,700 +7%
Video Games Software: $2.37 billion +36%
Console Software $1.8 billion: +47%
Portable Game Software: $574,900 +11%
Video Game Accessories: $621,600 +37%

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Nintendo DS: 2.47 million
Wii: 1.35 million
Xbox 360: 1.26 million
PlayStation 2: 1.1 million
PlayStation Portable: 1.06 million
PlayStation 3: 797,600

Game Software (in units sold)
1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) - 1.47 million
2) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.40 million
3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, Activision) - 1.25 million
4) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.08 million
5) Assassin's Creed (360, Ubisoft) - 893,700
6) Halo 3 (360, Microsoft) - 742,700
7) Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day (DS, Nintendo) - 659,500
8) Madden NFL 08 (PS2, Electronic Arts) - 655,200
9) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (360, Activision) - 624,600
10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii, Sega) - 613,000

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 9:00 AM | Comments (11) | Posted to Business |      

Writers Guild of America to Honor Video Games; Snub Portal, BioShock, and Mass Effect

The Writers Guild of America has been in the headlines this past few months for their on going strike against their Producers, but even on the picket lines the guild has listed its first winners for their "Videogame Writing Award": Crash of the Titans, Dead Head Fred, The Simpsons Game, The Witcher, and World in Conflict.

What eludes me to no end is how big name releases like BioShock and Mass Effect were kept off the list, despite one having a totally original story, place, and character, and the other containing nearly a full books worth of dialog and back story. And perhaps most grievous is to leave off the critical darling, Portal. Part of the magic experienced the first time you play that game is the darkly hilarious writing spouted from the GlaDOS. The game didn't even require the story to be great, but Valve created one of the most memorable game experiences in years because of it. I suppose Steve was right about it being overlooked.

I am also amazed that Half Life 2: Episode 2 was also left off the list. Perhaps disqualified for being a direct continuation of the story, the latest episode has some of the most emotional scenes in the series, and perhaps in all of gaming. If I could nominate a best female performance in gaming, it would definitely have to go to Merle Dandridge, who performs Alyx's voice in the series.

While I'd agree that The Simpsons Game and The Witcher have great writing, what I can't understand is how the WGA thought Crash of the Titans had better writing than all the other games I mentioned. I mean ... did they play the game?

Posted by Clayton Ashley at 6:00 PM | Comments (7) | Posted to Business |      

Clayton's Top 10 Most Anticipated Games of the Next 3 Months

2007 was a fantastic year of gaming, one filled with games I still have yet to play. But 2008 is already looking like a another great year for gaming, one filled with many potential triple-A titles. I was prepared to write up a list of my 10 most anticipated games of the whole year but I quickly found 10 coming out before April that I'm dying to play.

10. Bully: Scholarship Edition (Xbox 360, Wii)
I have always appreciated Rockstar's ability to make interesting characters, witty dialog, and deep stories more than anything else they do. The Grand Theft Auto games always had an entertaining, well written story beneath all the prostitute killing and car jacking, so I'm really looking forward seeing what Rockstar did with Bully.

I missed Bully back on the PS2, so I'm happy for its re-release on the Xbox 360 and Wii, with added content and updated graphics. Mostly known for its media backlash before even being released, the original game focused on tough kid Jimmy Hopkins, who's been sent to Bullsworth Academy after being expelled from seven other schools.

Consisting of the sandbox style gameplay known from the GTA games, Bully takes you through high school culture using a wide variety of gameplay including schoolyard combat, bicycle riding, childhood crushes, and school pranks to name just a few. Jimmy interacts with five groups at the school, ranging from preps to jocks to nerds, while teachers and adults outside the school also give Jimmy missions to complete. While the gameplay looks varied, what I'm really looking forward too is the excellent voice acting, story, and interesting characters, something I wish more developers would spend time on.

Release Date: March 4, 20