G-pinions

I'm not sure how in the hell I missed it, but apparently Oddworld Inhabitants has completely restructured itself, disbanding partially, moving offices and rethinking the way they do business. Upon first reading the news, though a week and a half late, I interpreted the headline and summary as a complete breakup. I was heartbroken - they are truly one of the best developers in the industry, with some of the most creative minds in all of entertainment. I'll be brutally honest though - I didn't finish Stranger's Wrath. I played through the majority of it, but it was one of those experiences that's hard to pick back up once you put it down, since you have to completely reinvest yourself in such an engrossing story and character (same thing that happened with BG&E). That, and there's always a million new games to play. It's an amazing game though, combining tight action/adventure trappings, several entirely unique gameplay devices and of course, stupefyingly impressive art design. Funny how it wasn't even the best game released in January, but it was damn good.

Anyhow, they're a very important and entirely positive influence on the rest of the industry. Dealing with publishers isn't their strong suite, but I don't blame them for being a little frustrated when Microsoft decided it was better off backing Blinx 2 than their game. What they're doing now is essentially becoming a small team of designers and idea men that will create new properties to be used for more Oddworld games, as well as other movies, shows, and media. It's no longer just about videogames, and it's no longer about entirely internal development (assuming I understand all this correctly). In a way, it's like Microsoft's XNA plan - getting the grunt work done more easily so that all creative energies can be utilized to their fullest extent. I imagine this can only be a good thing for a company like OI; Lorne Lanning is an inspired guy, and I look forward to what he can create without the typical developmental restraints. Hopefully this doesn't take him away from pure gaming for too long though - it would be way too odd without him (*bites knuckle*).

There's only one thing that's better than monkeys in a game. One thing that we've reiterated over and over again that every game should have. That's right, co-op. Whether it's gimmicky, thrown into an already awful game or making a game exponentially more fun, it's always a welcome feature. I'm thrilled that more games are incorporating it these days, and in more dynamic ways.

Having online co-op in Doom 3 isn't just a gimmick to try and make up for the graphical deficiencies of the port (though the game still looks amazing); it falls more into the exponential category. To be fair, I haven't even touched the single-player game yet, but I know now that it won't be the same. Having someone playing with you feels completely new and fantastic. As you've no doubt read by now, someone usually has to hold the flashlight while the other person shoots, otherwise you won't see a damn thing in some areas. The lighting is fantastic, and there's nothing like seeing the shadow of a giant demon attack your unarmed buddy from behind, trying to yell out and warn him before it tears into his back. It would seem that not much has been changed from the solo game - some doors require dual authorization, people address you as "marines" and I assume there's a couple more health packs and enemies than usual (though maybe not). It's a helluva lot of fun though, and amplifies everything that's good about the game already.

It should be said though that critically, I'm not overly impressed with the game. It looks great, it's incredibly atmospheric (read: creepy), and the enemies are fairly cool. On the other side of the coin, It's simple, the impact of the guns feels weak, most enemy death animations are unsatisfying, and the actual enemy placement feels alternately precisely calculated and completely random. And that's all there is to the game - enemies. As I said, it's obscenely entertaining playing co-op, I'm just not sure if I'd ever want to play the game by myself. I'm also dying to check out the four-player co-op versions of Doom 2 and Ultimate Doom. I'll be back with an update on those eventually...