Friday, May 13, 2005

Wait, what?

The last twenty-four hours have been...weird. A console unveiling from bizarro world. First, let's agree that the MTV thing was the worst half hour of television ever produced. The Killers performance - whom I'm fairly indifferent to - was probably the most entertaining part of the show; I wouldn't know though, as I fast-forwarded through it thinking actual content lay ahead (I had my dad tape it since I had to work - on two different TVs so that I wouldn't miss it haha). They showed so little of anything to do with video games that it's not really worth talking about. The fifteen seconds or so of Perfect Dark Zero footage looked like absolute ass, and it was pretty much the only new thing there. If that's seriously the stage of development that they are at, there's no WAY it will be a launch game; five thousand polys a character? Didn't Leon have FIFTEEN thousand in RE4?

As the only aspect of the Frag Dolls I respect, Kat Hunter, puts it: "It kinda pissed me off that gaming has come to a point where we needed people who may have had no idea what the 360 even was, selling the product. Then I realized I believe that the model in the Suave commercial actually uses a $2 bottle of conditioner hanging in my shower, but the truth is, I am pretty darn sure she doesn't." Indeed. It just wasn't for us. The difference between this and the Video Game Awards travesty is that that tried to appeal to gamers as well, embarrassing both parties. The MTV special only appealed to morons, i.e. everyone who regularly watches the channel, that's why it was so confounding for the rest of us.

Thankfully, the night wasn't entirely a disappointment. Media of various games quickly leaked out on most every gaming site on the web, and some of it actually looks pretty great. Well, about half of it. Plenty of what's been shown looks like crap, and it's really weird seeing such a varying range of visual quality for something that is supposedly coming out in sixth months. Perfect Dark Zero, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Call of Duty 2, Condemned, Kameo and Full Auto all look more or less like Xbox games, PGR3, Ghost Recon 3, Gears of War and 99 Nights look amazing, definitely next-gen, and NBA 2k6 looks like goddamn Xbox3. Seriously, I'm not going to steal anyone else's media here (plus screenshots wouldn't do it justice anyhow), but go and watch that trailer somewhere, it will blow your mind.

I'm actually anticipating E3 more than ever now. Not only will Microsoft have tons of REAL information and details to reveal, but I'm assuming I'll get to play an entirely different build of PDZ. The newest rumor is that Sony is actually going to show their next-gen hardware at the show, or at least a prototype, so Microsoft better have theirs quite a bit more ready than they had it last night.

Oh, and one more very important news item from yesterday - Disney's new game development studio picked up the Turok license! I don't know whether to laugh or to cry. I mean, the series can't get any worse, but man can it get better.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

It's Rare indeed

Hi and welcome back to your regularly scheduled G-Pinions column. First, let's give Nick a round of applause for doing a bang-up job in my absence. He single-handedly fixed our vital comments system and debuted to a worldwide audience the secrets that have been buried under Fort Redmond for years. It's not often that a small website such as ours, with no funding to speak of and a cache of informants only willing to speak "off the record," is able to break the biggest news story of the year.

Moving on to more important matters: Rare is back in a big, big way. You all know that I love Rare more than any other video game company. You have witnessed my passion for current gaming ebb and flow as time has slowly crept by this generation. Considering how into gaming I was during the last go 'round - my social life could have been described as "Goldeneye with pizza" - it saddens me to realize I have been on the final boss in two games for more than a week now and have yet to actually finish my adventures. I would love to say I have "grown up" and found more adult activities to pass the time, but ultimately that is a lie. The reason, at least in my mind, gaming has gone downhill this generation is a simply lack of the one company who has guided me over every hurdle through my gaming years - Rare. But now, after four long years of dormancy, they are back and I couldn't be happier.

While the horizon is almost blinding in its brightness, I'll start things off with a trip down Present Lane (the lane in questions walks people down the present, a period of time. It does not bring a gift with each passing step). Behold Tom at his most happy: holding a brand new Rare game!



Tune in to G-Pinions towards the end of June for the next installment in Tom Holds a Brand New Rare Game!

In the immediate future is the much anticipated Conker: Live and Reloaded. Leave it to Rare to take two years and four months to essentially port an N64 title to a current console. In my mind, this is an incredibly important game, though. First, it is the first ever online enabled Rare title. They were the kings of multiplayer during the split screen days, but the world is a different place now. Can they avoid lag? Can they provide enough variety to keep gamers coming back? Can they provide enough depth that every match is an entirely new experience? Can they woo gamers away from Halo 2? I assume the answer will be "yes" to all but the last question.

Conker is also very important because it is a non-FPS that utilizes bots. I'm sure there have been bots in games like Conker before, but considering the dearth of AI opponents available this generation I am not only surprised but genuinely impressed that Rare has gone that extra mile. Programming AI routines into a game like Conker, where teamwork is key and every character type needs to be played in a different way, is a step towards showing the world that bots should be standard in every FPS experience and really aren't that difficult to incorporate. Let's hope it sticks this time.

And now, the most important piece of information: a pre-rendered screenshot of Joanna Dark.


Move over Jade...


Early reports describe Perfect Dark Zero as playing similar to Counter-Strike and Splinter Cell. My first impression was to recoil in horror. But then I remembered - Goldeneye is the original stealth first person shooter. That is what made the game so amazing. Though I didn't even realize it before these reports, mostly because how far the stealth genre has fallen since GE's release, this is the logical next step for PDZ. Sneaking around an enemy base with a bunch of spy weapons. That is exactly what the original Perfect Dark was like and I can only assume, with five years of development time, the new adventure will be just as fun to play through. Though ultimately I don't care about the Campaign mode because, like every FPS worth its sat, PDZ will live and die in its multiplayer mode. Turn in to G-Pinions during E3 for a hands on impression of the game that will change my life.

Monday, May 09, 2005

And just in time, too

Best news of the day: Next Generation is back. Well, in web form anyhow. Some of the original staff from the best gaming magazine in it's day appear to have formed a gaming site for industry professionals. Next Generation combined the focus on art and great layout and screenshots of Play with people who actually know how to write and understand the industry. The worst part of it's demise is that my subscription was replaced with that god-awful celebrity-centered gaming mag, where the first issue was free. I forget the name, but you know the one. That's like watching your mansion burn down and having the insurance company set you up with a giant hollowed out pumpkin. Anyhow, who knows if the Next Gen site will even be open to the public, but in such a news-driven industry I'm glad to see an intelligent, reliable force back in action regardless.

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