"It's not personal.. it's business" (review)

Before I start out on what a great game this movie adaption is, I have to point out that I have not actually seen the Godfather movies. I am thoroughly ashamed of this, especially since I own all three movies and they're sitting right under my tv. But give me a break; they're in VHS form and in all honesty.. nobody has a tape player anymore.

Despite having missed one of the best movies of all time, I did manage to get a movie-like experience when I played the Xbox version of the Godfather. While versions exist for both Xbox and PS2 (as well as an updated Xbox 360 version, with new missions, improved graphics, and various other game tweaks), they are essentially the same game following the plot of the movie with a new character (the player) helping the Corleone's take back control of New York.

First of all, the game kicks ass. Straight up, no question. It's a 'sandbox' game modeled after Rockstar's GTA series (see GTA Clones) which is a particular favorite gaming model of mine, because it incorporates several game genres into one awesome product. You have racing, shoot-'em-up, role playing, and even a little bit of basic puzzle solving all incorporated into a large real-world model environment that allows for lots of interaction. In Godfather you can listen to people on the streets talk about what they're going to make for dinner, complain about their unfaithful spouses or even make snide or outraged remarks when you bribe police officers in their presence ("I wish I could make deals like that"). Touches like these are what makes good games great.

EA delivers an authentic New York Gangster experience. Come and get me copper!

Regarding the game play, Godfather is a tough game. Expect to get "iced" regularly, because dying is easy when you're a mobster and tommy guns are rampant throughout the city. There are five families (based on the fictional movie families, not the ones from the book) and some tend to be more violent and aggressive than others. The Tattaglia's are notably the weakest, the Stracci's and the Cuneo's are somewhat in the middle, and the Barzini's are absolutely ruthless. So paying attention to what family you are attacking is important, because some are much quicker to violence (the Barzini's in particular will whip out a shotgun and blast your face away before you can say "spaghetti")

As with every game, there are a few glitches: the targeting system is well done but it is a little finicky on choosing a target; I found myself accidentally mowing down innocent bystanders on more than one occasion. Overall, it is clear that EA spent a lot of time making sure that these glitches were minor and easily made up for by the excellent game play. In short, if you love sandbox style games... this is a must have.

Sheel-Score: 8.9/10

Downloadable games = Increasing gaming sales, and modded Xbox takes over my life

Today I wanted to discuss something that is extremely prevalent in today's "digital" society: the art of downloading. Theres a lot of yapping in this post, so if you have a short attention span I have a place for you to go. Otherwise, sit back, put on your reading glasses and pay attention..

Downloads Driving Gaming Sales Growth (article)
Note: this graph is for aesthetic purposes only; no correlation between actual sales data and this graph exist. Just in case you can't already tell...

Everybody who has been online looking for TV shows more than a couple times is probably familiar with programs like Bit Torrent; if not, let me explain: Torrent's are the next generation of "Napster," where you can download media such as movies, albums, television shows, and yes.. even video games. The user downloads a file (called a .torrent) and then uses a program very similar to Napster to activate these files and download whatever content comes with the torrent. For example, if I wanted to download the Trailer Park Boys Movie, I would search for the TPB movie torrent (ie "TrailerParkBoysSeason 7.torrent") and download that to my computer. Then (assuming I have already installed the Bit Torrent or other sharing program) I would use the Bit Torrent software to download the movie with the .torrent file, just like downloading a song from Napster.

So how does this relate to gaming? Well, the story started with Microsoft's release of the Xbox, which was the first console to have a build in hard drive intended to store gaming data. This is important because it essentially makes the Xbox a mini PC, with data storage capabilities and a processor fast enough to run just about any computer program. After a few years, computer nerds started figuring this out, and began to modify Xboxes to bypass Microsoft's default loading sequence. With a little bit of spot welding or software modification, your Xbox (or even Xbox 360) can become a mini media center, with the capability to store whole games on the hard drive, as well as sound and movie files, programs (emulators or media players), and even web browsing capabilities.

Basically, think of the modified Xbox as a way to play any game you want (limited to the console of course) without having the CD. On top of this, you can load your favorite tv shows, movies, or music artists and play them right through your Xbox. This means quicker loading time for games, easier access to your media, and a really really cool piece of hardware that replaces your CD, DVD and video game units all in one. So, now that you understand the modded xbox, the question remains: how does the ability to download games mark an increase in gaming sales, when you consider the trend in the music industry of decreasing sales?

Well, I have a theory. First of all, the latest gaming trends are (and have been) going in the direction of online gaming, which relies on a monthly subscription to sustain itself (see Xbox Live). These services also provide downloadable games which give the user instant access to any games, as well as access to numerous re-released games from older systems like Super Nintendo, Sega or Playstation. And even if these gamers were to download games free of charge from sites like the Pirate Bay, they still have to purchase the console in order to have it modified so that they can download these games. So if you want to be able to download and play Xbox games, you have to actually purchase and own an Xbox, whereas in the music industry an Ipod (while extremely popular, and very cool) is not necessary to listen to your favorite artists.

Finally, I believe that being able to download content like this contributes to the interest levels of gamers. This goes back to the idea of "demo discs" which became common after Playstation borrowed the idea from PC gaming and began releasing numerous samples to the public. These demos allowed you to play the first few levels of four or five different games, so you could find out if it was a game you wanted to buy. With downloading, you get the advantage of being able to own the entire game, but at the same time you can generate the interest of other gamers. This works because there is a community of gamers around the world are constantly trying new games and telling their friends how awesome (or how crappy) the latest titles are.

All in all, its a dangerous piece of hardware for people who can get distracted easily.. Like me. It has so much to keep you occupied that if you're not careful, you could stay glued to your TV for hours. But it keeps me on my toes playing the latest games, and lets me indulge in a little nostalgia with my Super Nintendo emulator whenever I feel the need. And clearly, it isn't hurting the video game market whatsoever. So now that we've all had a little education on the concept of downloading games, its time for me to go fire up the box and get started on my 'homework' for the day.

Ahhh, life is good.

The next 'Power Glove' uses Electroencephalography [link]

A company called Emotiv Systems is developing a brain cap that allows the user to control actions on a gaming screen with your mind. It works by reading brain waves and transfers them into commands such as "push" or "lift." The interview on Emotiv's main home page shows users lifting, spinning and pushing the giant stone pillars of Stonehenge using only their minds. They call it 'electro-encephalograph' or EEG for short (don't worry I can't pronounce it either), and they claim that it is the next revolution in the 13.5 billion dollar gaming industry.

Personally, I'm not convinced and neither are some experts, who claim that signals from brain waves are extremely weak and difficult to pick up. This leads to sluggish response times and somewhat awkward movements, two things that drive gamers absolutely crazy. The less control I have over the screen, the more frustrated I'm likely to become when the game doesn't respond the way I want it to. Essentially, you become the Angry Videogame Nerd.

The Power Glove looks cool, and thats about it. I used to own one but I used it more often when I was pretending to be Robocop.

This new technology just reminds me of the Power Glove which, incidentally the AVN reviews on this video. If you watch how frustrated he gets playing these older and technologically simpler games, imagine how difficult it will be to use this so called 'electro-encephalograph' technology to play a next-generation game like Harry Potter (which Emotiv uses as an example) where a slow response time could and will spell disaster for the gamer. I'll give it some credit; it is a revolutionary step forward in how we play video games (*cough*virtual reality!*cough*), but becoming a successful consumer product by 2008? Sorry Emotiv, you'll have to show me something a little more effective.

Jack Black, heavy metal, and a complete overdose of violence.. my kind of game!

Awe·some:

1. Full of awe, profoundly reverential.
2. Inspiring awe; appalling, dreadful, weird.
3. a. In weakened sense: overwhelming, staggering; remarkable, prodigious. colloq. (orig. and chiefly U.S.). b. In trivial use, as an enthusiastic term of commendation: ‘marvellous’, ‘great’; stunning, mind-boggling. slang

Now that I've properly defined what you're about to witness, please check out the latest source of my 'awe-filled' excitement.

....and watch closely. Right as the heavy metal music cues up, the character (a Roadie named 'Riggs' played by none other than Jack Black himself) actually flashes the devil horns before starting off on a violent ass-kicking massacre of all sorts of wild creatures. That is so metal I don't even know what to do with myself.

Apparently the promotions that were sent out for this game last week included a working vinyl record player, a record and a flier with some cryptic poem. This video clip shows you the whole package, but don't watch too much because whoever is filming really starts to get annoying by the middle of the video (he even admits it himself).

The Devil Horns.. Rock and roll baby!

As a heavy metal lover and Jack Black fan, I'm so excited to see this game that I might go buy a 360 or PS3 just so I can play it. The game's producer Tim Schafer is known around the industry for infusing comedy into his games, and Jack Black pretty much sweats funny (see The Pick of Destiny) so I can't see this game being anything but totally AWESOME!


(Update: Oct 21st, 2007. Double Fine Productions and Tim Schafer officially announced the upcoming Brutal Legend as a very real project. It appears to be based on a fictional account of heavy metal antiquity:

"Together, the two groups [that's 'Double Fine' and Schafer] are in the process of reconstructing and realising the events that took place eons ago, allowing future generations to pay respect and experience first-hand the blood, sweat and chrome needed to ensure metal prevailed.")

Beautiful Katamari.. Can you roll with the best?

I'm so confused.. and strangely interested.

Beautiful Katamari is on it's way out for Xbox 360, and there is no easy way for me to explain the game.. So I took a blurb of the storyline from IGN's video review:

"You're a prince, and you roll around a katamari.. or a ball.. and you collect objects. The point is to restore the universe, but actually who cares what the point is; the game doesn't make any sense, and that's one of its main attractions."

Did you catch that? The game makes no sense. I watched IGN's video footage and all I can say is that yes, the game is complete nonsense. You're a little Prince, and you have to somehow save the universe by rolling around this ball collecting objects; starting small with things like stamps or bottle caps, and eventually moving to things like cars, fences and even people. Quite literally nothing is beyond your reach.

Watch out Grandma, the Prince does not discriminate.

But strangely enough, I would still give this game a try. I want to see how expansive the game can really get. It has an Xbox live version which allows players to compete against each other for... picking things up? I have to say I'm very curious, but I don't see myself going through a lot of effort to get my hands on this one.

Star Wars 'Nerdery' Continued... (Game Review)

Today I'm reviewing an older game, which was released way back in 2001. Why, you ask? Well, the other day I discovered some old computer games in my closet and one of them was Star Wars: Dark Forces 2. This was an old first person shooter that let you use different Jedi powers along with classic Star Wars blasters and thermal grenades. It, along with several other titles from LucasArts occupied a fairly big chunk of my very pathetic childhood as a computer gamer. I spent hours upon hours on games like Grim Fandango and Tie Fighter for the PC, and anyone thats nostalgic about old PC games should most definitely check these titles out, if you can somehow find them. But this blog is devoted to console games, because, well.. I think console games kick ass. So, permit me to introduce you to Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition for the Xbox.

This very cool remake of the original Starfighter game for PS2 (which I never played) impressed me in terms of its smoothness, although I found it did have a few more glitches than I would have liked to see. For instance, blowing up large spaceships often results in a few discombobulated seconds of pixelated flying space debris, which is choppy to play through. You also tend to 'bounce' off ships awkwardly if you get too close, and there is very little room on some of the planet battles which leads to a claustrophobic feel at times. However the space battles don't share this problem and overall the game runs very smoothly and only takes about a half hour of getting used to the throttle/braking system and the turning capabilities of all the ships.
You can see how the image looks crisp from a distance (left), but seems to get pixelated at close range (right). However this game was released in 2001, so it is actually ancient by technologies standards, and it still looks great. Kudos to LucasArts.


In the mission mode you play as one of three characters (all of which fly different ships) fighting against the Trade Federation to stop the invasion of some planet. I didn't really focus on the plot of the game too closely because the game is pretty much blasting away at everything you can target and destroy. There are some cool features, like having an interactive teammate or wing of fighters that follow your commands, but the commands are basically restricted to "attack my target" or "defend my target". The audio chatter gives you some direction as to what you should be blasting (for example, your wing mates will yell things like "quick, destroy that missile frigate!") but for the most part the game lays out your objectives beforehand and you can pretty much take out everything in sight.

Overall, there's nothing outstanding about this 'special edition' game, however it's a fun couple hours of gaming and it offers a decent challenge to any flight game fans out there. I'm pretty sure this game was motivated by its release date (it came out about a month before christmas) to generate a bit of green. Overall, not bad. But don't go rushing out to buy this technologically ancient title, there are some much better flight and fight games to be played.

The ancient look of the LucasArts 'gold guy' really speaks for how old this game actually is.

Sheel-Score: 6.5/10