UEFA Euro 2008
Developer: EA Canada
Publisher: EA Sports
Genre: Traditional Sports
Release: April 18, 2008 (UK/EU), May 20, 2008 (US/Canada)
In my last article, I gave a hypothetical situation of what could happen if the providers of DRM for today’s downloadable games and content just all of a sudden stopped supporting their system.
If you don’t directly follow the IT newsletters and RSS feeds, you might have missed a little tidbit about Microsoft shutting down their DRM key servers on August 31st for MSN Music files figuring they were no longer needed with the Zune setup.
Puchi Puchi Virus
Genre: Colour Matching Puzzle
Publisher: NIS America
Developer: Keys Factory
Release Date: May 20, 2008
As so-called “casual” gamers start buying into video games, more games are going to be released that cater to their general genres, one of which is the puzzle game genre. NIS America - more known for their strategy and role playing games […]
Mr. Driller was a quirky Dreamcast and Playstation title with a very loose connection to 80s smash hit Dig Dug that developed a bit of a cult following, along with titles like Chu Chu Rocket and Space Channel 5, and like other obscure titles with a niche following, it’s found it’s way onto the XBox Live Arcade service for the highly manageable price of $10 in real world money. Considering I spent $30 on the DS game, $10 for one I can play against people online sounded like a bargain. Would I be let down? Let’s find out.
It’s fair to say that, to the naked eye, the video game industry has never been stronger.
Between three regular consoles to play, all with their own online sevices that enable people to buy new and old games in their underwear without leaving the comfort of their own bedroom/living room/parents’ basement (as if we, as a people, needed LESS human interaction), two handheld consoles, a robust PC gaming market that handles both the hardcore freaks and the more casual, Popcap trained gamer, and add in the fact that every one of the above mentioned has great games almost literally overflowing from it, and there’s almost too much choice for the average gamer. The bins at local game stores are brimming with quality titles, from the newest games to the under $10 bargain bins, and if you can’t find something that suits your fancy - whatever it may be - then you simply do not like video games.
Due to all of this, the games industry has gone mainstream. What used to be something that was solely the realm of kids and basement dwellers is now accepted on a level with more contemporary movies and music. Instead of movies using video games as a way to extend a license, it’s gone the other way around, with mixed results (though the results are more favourable if someone goes back in time about 15 years and takes and throws Uwe Boll into a meat grinder), as companies grow, franchises become worldwide commodities, and just havng the right name on a box is enough to make multi millions of dollars. The video gaming industry has become just as high stakes as the rest of the entertainment sector, and due to this, the money is abundant.
The money is so abundant, as a matter of fact, that it’s virtually killing everything that make video games in themselves - as an entertainment medium and not a commodity - great. In fact, the parallels between now and 1983-1984 in terms of where the industry is going are startling.
I knew going into this that reviewing Dynasty Warriors 6 would be tough. As a fan of the series, it’s hard for someone like me to articulate the game’s strengths and weaknesses to everyday gamers that don’t normally play the game, and avoid falling into the trap of just saying “if you’re a fan, you’ll like it anyway because only faggots like this game”. If anything, reading most reviews of Musou style games - Samurai Warriors and Gundam included - is fun if only because most of them read as if they were written the day the game was announced, as reviewers ignore the specifics of the game itself to rail against Koei’s cash cow, the company itself, and the gamers who will buy the game regardless of what he says, and how dare they! Then of course, they go back to masturbating over Halo.
While I had every intention of playing and reviewing a game that I’ve enjoyed for years, I didn’t know quite what was in store for me, and all of the changes that were made. Character redesigns? Weapons changes? Sun Shang Xiang… with a bow? I wasn’t sure how to take these changes, with the exception of the fact that they did make the very same SSX even more fetching than they did in prior games. But I did know that the deletion of seven characters (Jiang Wei, Xing Cai, Pang De, Da Qiao, Zuo Ci, Meng Huo and Zhu Rong) didn’t sit well with me, as it didn’t with the fanbase in general.
Were these the welcome changes that outsiders had been calling for for years? Or are they going to make a community allergic to change recoil in horror? And how has Koei’s money franchise made the transition to the next generation? Let’s find out…
GAME: Massive Assault Network 2
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER: Wargaming.net
PLATFORMS: Windows 2000 or higher
GENRE: Turn Based Strategy
RELEASE DATE: November 17th, 2006
COMPANY WEBSITE: http://www.massiveassaultnetwork.com
As the former administrator on the Internet’s largest English based Fire Emblem community, and a noted fan of games like Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre and Dynasty Tactics, it’s easy to see that I have an affinity […]
One of the main advantages of the recently released Nintendo Wii is the Virtual Console. This beautiful invention allows players - for anywhere from $5 to $10 USD - to download picture perfect copies of older games from the Nintendo Entertainment System to the Nintendo 64, with even some old PC Engine and Genesis/Mega Drive […]
Note: This is a review of Football Manager 2007. North American gamers that don’t import their games should look for Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007.
Game: Football Manager 2007 (Europe)/Worldwide Soccer Manager 2007 (North America)
Developer: Sports Interactive
Publisher: Sega of Europe/Sega of America
Genre: Tradional Sports Stat-Based Simulator
Release Date: October 18, 2006 (Europe)/November 1, 2006 (North America)
American Football fans […]
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