Fract OSC Review

By: Zabcarno

FRACT OSC is exactly what I imagine life is like inside a dance musicians mind. The Tron-like world crafted by developer Phosfiend System pulses with sound and light like a midnight club. The symphonic aesthetic of the game is intertwined with and enhances each puzzle you solve. Generally it's the level design that hampers the experience the most, and the only time you won't be enjoying the musical atmosphere is when you're stuck on some geometry or running into another empty dead end. Though the sounds and imagination of the world can be impressive, it is more often amateurish and aggravating.

The game starts without a hint of where to go or what to do, though you will eventually find the many puzzles contained within. The puzzles themselves are fused with music, and once completed it will wail with drums and harmony. The starting three oscillator puzzles can get a little repetitive but there is enough variety to keep you interested until you finally unlock the sequencer through a series of puzzles that will make you realize you're playing a simpler Myst as envisioned by sound engineers. Eventually music becomes your path to the goal and you are rewarded with a decked-out studio in which to finally make your own music.

Though the visuals are sometimes impressive you will often find yourself caught on some protruding piece of the environment or slope that's one degree too steep. The world is large and mostly empty of anything interesting, and really could have at least used some tightening up. I found myself stuck in inescapable holes more than once, but fortunately the game has a fast travel system that you can return to at any time. Despite this fast travel system the game remains somewhat difficult to traverse, possibly due to the lack of landmarks or the general emptiness. It's even possible to complete the green oscillator puzzles completely out of order by reaching an elevator that probably shouldn't be accessible until later. Though the game is full of these sorts of issues it never truly inhibits it, though some particularly bad falls can cost you time. Many objects in the game will flick into place based on your proximity, but instead of any intended grace it tends to just look glitchy.

In spite of the glaring flaws in world design the focus is on the music. And the music is very good. All the more impressive is that it remains good even after you've tampered with everything. Seeing the building you were in light up to the beat like a spaceship on a Boston album cover after you solve a tough puzzle is satisfying beyond doubt. The collection of synths you finally unlock are fairly robust, though presenting only a modest drumkit. The FRACT development team is obviously passionate about their work, and while this game isn't as great as I would have hoped it's exciting to see what this team might do next.  If you like IDM, Dubstep, or any kind of Electro music and also love puzzles you will love this game.

FRACT OSC is available on Steam.

Tim Schafer: An Artist of Gaming

Known for his unique and creative development of video games, Tim Schafer was a great innovator for the gaming industry. He helped make games such as The Secret of Monkey Island, Psychonauts, and Brutal Legends, all with an immersive and unusual story.

Tim Schafer went to college at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz. He had a chance to work at Lucasfilm Games. During his interview, he accidentally mentioned that he loved their past game called Ballblaster which was actually the pirated version of their game that is actually called Ballblazer. He was still asked to apply with a cover letter of his dream job, which he wrote in a form of a text adventure game. They hired him as a game tester at first. Later Tim was promoted to a writer and designer for the game The Secret of Monkey Island. The game was an adventure game that emphasized Exploration and puzzle solving. The sequel to the game was in development soon after the first one's release. Tim was offered a chance to work as a project lead on a sequel for Maniac Mansion.

During the time that 3D gaming started to rise in popularity, Tim wanted to make a game using the 3D mechanics, but didn't like the look of the graphics at the time. He then came up with the idea to make a game where the characters are 3D models of paper mache skeletons to merge the 2D look with a 3D feel. The game was called Grim Fandango. Although the game was a huge hit for critics in the gaming industry, the game did not sell well due to the rising trend for the shooter genre. LascasArts shut down Shafer's adventure game division.

Tim Schafer left LucasArts and started a company of his own called Double Fine. Microsoft liked Tim's idea for the game Psychonauts at first and agreed to publish it as an Xbox exclusive, then later decided to pull out. Many publishers rejected his game because it wasn't the popular trend. Finally, Majesco Entertainment took the risk in publishing the game, although the game ended up not selling. It's a game where you play as a kid in a government training summer camp learning to use his psychic abilities. Although Psychonauts was not very popular, it started a tight knit fan base that wanted more games like it. Microsoft noticed this surprisingly large group of fans and decided to re-release the game on Xbox 360 on the marketplace.

Double Fine started developing a new game called Brutal Legends. The game was hyped up for it's comedic gameplay and it's rockstar voice actors such as Jack Black and Ozzy Osbourne. The game was well received by gamers but still wasn't a huge seller.

Although Tim Schafer has had struggles keeping adventure games on its feet, he successfully helped bring it to it's peak in popularity and watched as the genre dropped to the ground. Regardless, he is a developer that should be appreciated for what he has done to define games in a fun and creative way.

A Look at Stardrive and Stardrive 2

By: Zabcarno

A Look at Stardrive and Stardrive 2

            Stardrive is an indie 4x space combat strategy game and passion project from Daniel Diccio of Zer0 Sum Games. It is his first attempt at creating a commercial videogame. Most art assets that were made by Ariel Chai and the music was composed by Jeff Dodson. Developing a game is a huge task, usually done by whole teams of people with specific skills. DiCiccio however has done it almost entirely for himself thanks to the financial help of a Kickstarter back in December of 2011. So how did it work out?

            The crowdfunding was very successful, and DiCiccio received $17,676 for the project, more than doubling his goal of $7,500. The features listed on the Kickstarter included race customization, module-based ship design, ground combat, a research tree, diplomacy, and most importantly: multiplayer.

            Stardrive finally released on Steam April 26 of 2013. The core gameplay of module based ship construction and real time combat was available in its entirety and very much in depth. The 2D and 3D art was wonderful and dialogue with the other races immersive and entertaining, at least for the first time playing. The music was also very well done and stands on its own as a composition. Being able to control your own flagship in massive real time battles was so satisfying of a mechanic that it could have been made into a game by itself. Planetary governance, research trees, and artifact discovery were satisfactory and functioning. With open mod support, though inconveniently not through Steam Workshop, the game was extremely replayable.

            Unfortunately it quickly became apparent that the game was not exactly everything that was promised. Aside bugs the most glaring issues were a seemingly unfinished ancient alien side-quest that ended abruptly, and the absence of the multiplayer components promised in the kickstarter. The ground combat and espionage systems were also fairly bare, though they were functional. For every feature that was engaging and had depth, there was another that was either missing or unpolished.

            Some features, such as the ancient alien questline, have eventually been finished through ongoing patches but what has caused the most issue with players is that the game remains without any multiplayer component whatsoever, despite the kickstarter promising it. Does this make the money from the kickstarter ill-gotten? Were all the backers taken advantage of? It certainly isn't the first time a kickstarter has gone rotten, and this is not nearly the worst case. With nearly 200 hours played, I can advocate that the game as it is is fun enough, though I would like to play with friends. However, is “fun enough” enough for DiCiccio?

            On February 25 this year Stardrive 2 was announced. Zero Sum Games claims in a GamingShogun.com article that: “It will bring [players] back to the golden age of 4x gaming with familiar strategic gameplay while using the power of the Unity engine to push AAA visuals.” When asked on twitter for hints about the ground combat DiCiccio replied: “It's what it should have been the first time.” On whether multiplayer will be in the game, DiCiccio would only say that “I've learned the hard way not to make promises about multiplayer. Suffice it to say that it is a distinct possibility.”

            Owners of the current Stardrive will be given a 33% loyalty discount for a purchase of Stardrive 2, which may be available as early as September.

Star Wars Battlefront III Is Not Dead

Although the many issues with Battlefield 4 hindered  DICE Stockholm's production on Battlefront III, they are still set to continue developing the game to be released in 2015. The studio is currently working on the Battlefield 4 expansion, Naval Strike. Afterwards Stockholm will resume the work on Battlefront III and all other expansions will be developed by DICE L.A.  Patrick Soderlund said in an interview with Polygon:

"The most important thing for me is that we take the Star Wars license and come up with games where peoples' jaws drop," he said. "We need to do with this what we did for the Batman license. It's going to take awhile. We just announced the license and showed a sneak peek of Hoth. The speeder and the AT-AT will be in for sure. We didn't toss anything out."

There may be quite some time until we hear much more about the game, but we can be sure that we will know more about it in 2015. We can only hope it lives up to the expectations of all the Star Wars fans out there.

Trailer:

Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes Preview

Metal gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes takes place after the events of Peace Walker and precedes the upcoming game The Phantom Pain. Announced at PAX Prime 2012, the trailer showed intense graphical detail, a strong emotional theme, and some hints of story development.

The Metal Gear Series has always been known for its stealth. This game allows players to choose to play stealthily or go into the full action, although it rewards players more if they play stealthily On hard difficulty the AI know how to tactically flank Snake if he is spotted. They can also see him from a farther distance. At times when the player is spotted by an enemy, it will activate reflex mode where the player can react before the enemies can alert the others. You may turn this feature off to obtain bonuses from completing a mission without it. The harder the game is, the more rewards you will get.

Snake has many devices that will help him through each mission. Binoculars can be used to tag enemies to keep track of where they are throughout the area. They will also be shown on the mini map. You may turn that feature off any time. You can also gather information on each area by calling for Intel when looking through your binoculars. The binoculars have a directional mic built in so players can gain information by listening to an enemy's conversations with the binoculars. Players will be able to drive enemy vehicles without being spotted as long as they drive normal and do not draw attention to themselves. You may call an escape helicopter to arrive at certain landing zones. If the player orders the helicopter to land close to an enemy compound it will attract enemies to that spot to try shooting it down. If shot down, the player must find a alternate way out of the enemy territory.

The game is open world and will have side missions to complete throughout the game. The game will effect how you play based on the time of day, the weather, and the mission objective. Some objectives will require you to find a specific target. So even if you know your way around the map, it can change where the objective is. While in combat you can use CQC to knock out enemies, steal their weapon, or take them hostage.

A open world stealth game that rewards you for challenging yourself? Sounds like a definite buy. It uses the best mechanics from its previous titles and adds in much more. Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes will be in stores March 18th, 2014 for PS3, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox 360.

Gameplay Videos:

The Witcher 3 Delayed

The highly anticipated RPG,The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, has been delayed from Fall 2014 to February 2015. CD Projekt Red explained in a letter to fans:

"We know many of you would have liked to play The Witcher 3 sooner, as soon as possible, even. We're sorry to make you wait longer than you, or we, initially assumed you would. At the same time, we believe the game will prove to be worth the wait and meet the expectations you have of us. We believe The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will be an exceptional RPG, one of the best, providing many hours of wonderful entertainment."

There is a lot to expect from this title considering it is said to have an open world that is 20% larger than Skyrim. With all these AAA titles that try to reach a deadline once a year, developers who have been taking their time polishing their game have come out with greater responses from the community of gamers. This delay can only improve the quality and entertainment of the final product.

Trailer: 

Titanfall Preview

Titanfall dropped in as a seemingly smash hit with it's announcement gameplay trailer at E3. Since then the game has had nothing but positive reactions from the gaming community. Jason West and Vince Zampella, who were originally known for the development of Infinity Ward, founded Respawn Entertainment. Using the funding provided by EA, they started off with their first project called Titanfall. This game seems like an ordinary first person shooter at first glance, but with the addition to special abilities, fast and fluent free running, and the use of giant mechs called titans, it takes on a new perspective of how shooters should be played.

Although the titans seem overpowered, they do have their advantages and disadvantages making everything in the game very well balanced. While the titans can withstand a beating and have heavy gun power, the soldiers will be able to get to certain vantage points and use weapons specifically to take out these monstrous machines. Players will even be able to take the risk of jumping on these titans and shoot at their wiring to do much more damage to it, leaving it helpless. Unless the pilot of the titan has certain perks that allow it to defend itself from these attacks.

Each players can customize their pilots after a certain level. They can choose their weapon, weapon attachments, abilities, and their titans abilities. All abilities give advantages to help the team win. Leveling up will unlock more weapons and abilities. Completing challenges will increase the player's XP and also reward players with burn cards. A burn card gives players a special ability they can use only once and will only stay active until death.

Gameplay feels polished and strategic. The AI interacts with players to either give them strategic advice or create a randomly generated event that makes the battle seem all too real.  There are teams of 6 players who will be accompanied by multiple waves of AI to fight each other. Players will be rewarded more points when they kill another player rather than an AI. Some of the AIs are robots called specters that you can hack to take control of and make an ally.

The maps are very well made. Each part of the map can provide tactical advantage on the enemy. Whether it be for cover, high ground, or running from the enemy, each bit of the map is easily accessible and maneuverable. After many playthroughs, players will find a starting route they like the most that will allow them to get the advantage if they run it right.

There is so much to say about this game. Overall Titanfall is a must have out of this years upcoming titles. Titanfall will be released on March 11th for Windows and Xbox One.

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag Review

Assassin's Creed Black Flag takes an interesting turn from it's predecessors. The story no longer follows the life and memories of Desmond Miles' ancestors, but now follows a new unnamed character who works for Abstergo Entertainment. This company takes the memories of employees' ancestors and turn them into products such as video games and movies. The protagonist is currently researching the life of Edward Kenway; a pirate who gets caught in the war between the Assassins and Templars.

Players must traverse the immense world to complete missions, find treasure, and explore the vast seas. The visuals are stunning. With the lush tropical islands, the vast powerful sea, and the well-designed cities the game looks amazing. While you run through the streets and across rooftops, it looks and feels smooth and realistic. The sound design however sounds quirky at times and repetitive. While swimming you hear the same two sounds over and over again. At points when you are near a person that is a mission objective, they may repeat a line 3 or 4 times in a row before changing what they say making it really noticeable that it is an AI.

Although most missions allow you to decide whether to sneak past stealthy or run through and kill everything, you do get a completion bonus for doing it without going into combat. There may also be another side objective such as killing enemies around a corner or inside a hidden area. You may restart from a checkpoint at the beginning of the mission to retry as many times as you want until you are satisfied with how you completed it.

Players will find themselves spending most of their time on sea. Their ship will encounter whales, hurricanes, and other ships that will seek to destroy them. The ship battles are fun but get repetitive after a short while. Controlling the ship may be a challenge at first but players will catch on fairly quickly. Upgrades will be available for your ship, armor, and weaponry as you progress through the game.

Overall, Assassin's Creed Black Flag gives a strong feeling of adventure. Exploring the tremendous world and learning your surroundings creates an experience that allows players to have strong control over the outcome of each mission. Although it may have moments where it feels repetitive, there is enough missions to choose from to enjoy the game in general. Even if you are not an Assassin's Creed fan, this game is worth picking up and playing through.

PS4 FAQ Summary

The PlayStation 4 will have a similar account system as the Xbox One's. Gamers will be asked to choose a console to a PS4 to use as their primary console. All the accounts on the same primary console will have access to the features given from subscribing to PlayStation Plus and the games that are downloaded on that console. When moving an account to another console, users can downloaded the games they bought on that account to the new console. The PS4 will not support MP3 files, youtube, and external capture devices. It will allow players to stream on Ustream and Twitch. The controller will have an audio jack to plug in headphones and there will be cross game chat available. The console will have voice command capabilities. For more information go to the PS4 FAQ at this link: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/10/30/ps4-the-ultimate-faq-north-america/ 

Batman: Arkham Origins Review

Batman Arkham Origins is the third installment to the Batman Arkham series. The game delivers hours worth of fighting criminals, solving mysteries, and a city to explore. It has an enriching story with greatly interactive gameplay. Although, there are some frustrations in the game such as  indirect waypoints in some areas, bad respawns, or bad checkpoints.

The story is a prequel to the past two games. Batman is just a myth to the city. The game opens on Christmas Eve with news describing a prison break led by a infamous criminal known as Black Mask. Batman, of course, goes out to save the day. Black Mask hired 8 assassins to take out Batman. Each of them have their own special abilities and fighting styles. Killer Croc, Deathstroke, Bane, Copperhead, Deadshot, Shiva, Firefly, and Electrocutioner all compete for a bounty of $50,000,000 to kill off Batman, luring him by causing mayhem throughout the city. Batman decides to find Black Mask to end it all, but on his mission he meets many new challenges, mysteries, and enemies to face.

The gameplay is another button masher with occasional quick time events. Although this seems dull, the fighting is really fluent, the counters are precise, and the fighting just looks and feels realistic. The boss battle against Deathstroke was an example of amazing game animations. Both the player and Deathstroke can attack, block, and counter with different moves each time. It closely similar compared to an action movie. The fight became harder as it goes on bringing new surprises to the battle causing the player to react differently every moment.

As stated before, there are a few imperfections with the game. At some moments, players may find themselves dying and being respawned across the city from the current objective. This can be frustrating after a couple attempts to complete the mission. Also, the level design can make players look around for something as simple as a door that was hidden around a corner they couldn't see and will cause the player to search for hours to find out the exit was just in a spot they passed multiple times. There are also some missions that can will be activated when you enter a certain area that are literally impossible to complete at the location you start at. Fortunately if you fail, the game will respawn the player closer and it will be easier to start again.

The game is very interactive with the player. There are many puzzles that can be solved in many different ways. It can range from hacking a radio signal, to throwing a Batarang at a button. Enigma is one of the main sources of these puzzles and adds much more enjoyable game mechanics. There are also interactive crime scenes that the player must locate and analyze each part of the scene to figure out what had happened. Batman gives off some commentary to explain to the players what events took place to leave the scene the way it is, so there isn't much thinking needed to be done from the player. It is rather an interactive cut scene.

Players can upgrade their equipment or learn new abilities with points they gain from leveling up. There aren't many choices of upgrades at the beginning of the game but they can alter your gameplay slightly. You gain levels from completing mission and defeating enemies in combat. You gain more experience from defeating an enemy stealthily or with a high combo.

Batman Arkham Origins is a fun, interactive game that make players think logically, strategically, and creatively, whether it is to take down targets or complete a puzzle. With very few weak points, this game has a strong design that plays great and looks beautiful. It is a game that all gamers should play and all Batman fans should appreciate.

Dark Souls 2 Beta Failure

Unfortunately due to server issues, the Dark Souls 2 beta did not launch for North and South America at the time specified. The developers worked hard at keeping fans informed on the state of the server but could not fully fix the problem. Although the beta testers could not log into this beta, they have a secured spot to participate in the next beta test. The beta was a "server load test using massive simultaneous logins from all areas," so it was expected to have these problems. There is no set date for the rescheduling, but Namco will release that information sometime this week.

Playing By the Rules

by: Zippynom

“I'm jumping on the bed!” Exclaims my sister, while she makes Link duck up and down on a bed. I can barely constrain myself from telling her that she's supposed to be going up Death Mountain to save the Gorons from all the monsters. She insists, instead of following the plot, on hanging out in Lon Lon Ranch doing pretty much nothing. Between gritting my teeth and trying to hint her where she is supposed to go I realize she isn't playing the game wrong, but playing it the best way a game can be played: Her way. She's participating in a world that functions understandably and having her own kind of fun.

Games often do their best to constrain the player in a set of rules. These are usually physical limitations – Mario can only jump so high and Masterchief can only soak so many bullets. However, most video games will leave a lot of the justification of specific character action to the player. Almost never will a game constrain the player's head narrative. Is Mario finally tired of the princess being in another castle? Does Masterchief have PTSD? Why did your Pokemon choose now to evolve? Once questions like these are asked within the context of a game it can potentially be a lot more interesting. The best games for this type of play are sandbox games, but you can express your play style in unlimited ways across genres.

In Skyrim your interactions with NPCs are extremely limited and many characters are rarely very fleshed out (though this is probably a result of the world being so huge and there being so many). This leaves a lot of room for the player to imagine their own stories. In one of my playthroughs Lydia, one of the games many followers, had grown up in the city Whiterun and joined the Companions, a fighter's guild of sorts. After a certain fantastic skirmish with roaming giants Lydia was handpicked to serve the Jarl. Afterward she could only watch as the land of Skyrim was wracked by civil war while her Jarl wrestled with which side he should join, if any. It was about this time I met her and she became my Housecarl. With this imagined backstory Lydia became a much more interesting character. This impromptu style of filling in the story where there is none applies even better to the player's character, and the game is kind enough to leave your background mostly open-ended whether you play a thief or a mage.

Mass Effect might seem like a game where this playstyle would not apply, but think again. There is no better application of your imagined character's ideas and beliefs than constant testing. The basis of one of my playthroughs was simply unite as many allies as possible against the Reapers as possible, which led to more than a few decisions I might have made differently playing for myself. Another playthrough I was a space cowboy while another I was a lost romantic who never quite understood the weight of my decisions, always filling in the story for my characters when there wasn't one or it wasn't enough.

The best games find ways of giving the player as much freedom as possible while still following its rules. Arguably many videogames are merely skeletons for you to build a personal story or experience out of. Maybe next time you play a videogame play as if your character had an odd religion or was afraid of water(sometimes part of the gameplay if water kills you). Maybe make up a backstory for another character or enemy that doesn't have one, insignificant or not. You can imagine all kinds of ways to play your games then.

Peter Molyneux: Monster or Mastermind?

Peter Molyneux is a game developer known for his innovative ideas and his broken promises. Some people believe he is a marvel of gaming and others believe he is a con artist. Let's take a look at Peter Molyneux more closely and see what he has brought to the gaming world.

Even as a child, Molyneux was a devious entrepreneur. At age twelve he started his first business by hiring his sisters to mow people's lawns. Molyneux paid them only $.01 for every $1 he made off of their work. Peter Molyneux started off as a floppy disc salesman. He started to add video games to the floppy disc to improve sales. What he realized was consumers were buying the product not for the floppy discs, but for the games on them. This is where he found an interest in the gaming industry. He created his first text-based game called The Entrepreneur. Although he believed this game would sell tons, only 2 people actually bought the game. With this shortage of sales, Molyneux ended his career with gaming. Or so he thought.

Molyneux started a baked bean shipping company called Taurus. This is where Molyneux is set up for his first lie coming into the gaming industry. Commodore International, a computer selling company, called Molyneux explaining how they heard about his company and were offering him a chance to see their new product. After they took him on a tour, had lunch with him, and showed some of their hardware, Molyneux realized they have mistaken his company, Taurus, for the company Torus. They asked him when the network will be ready and he went with it and told them it would be ready in a couple of months. With this opportunity, Molyneux created a database system called Acquisition and it was moderately successful.

In 1987, Peter Molyneux founded a game development company called Bullfrog. Struggling to develop a game, Peter came up with the idea for Populous, a game where you play as a god.. He said, "Populous was born out of my incompetence as a programmer." Which couldn't be more true. He didn't know how to make the game automatically flatten land for the villagers, so he decided to make it a gameplay mechanic. Players had to flatten the land themselves. This one of Molyneux s most innovative ideas for gaming.. Electronic Arts offered to publish the game and it was released in 1989 and was a big hit. He then released Powermonger, Populous II, and Magic Carpet. All of which winning many awards and becoming more popular. He decided to leave Bullfrog to start a new company so he can go back to programming.

Lionhead Studios was founded by Peter Molyneux in 1997. Their first game in development was Black and White. A game where you play as a god that has the choice of being good or evil. It was the same ideas as Populous but moral ambiguity was emphasized in the creation of this game. When it hit the shelves, it became another huge success. It even made it into the Guinness's Book of World Records as the smartest artificial intelligence. He moved on to making a series called Fable. This series was considered a disappointment for many of Molyneux s fans. He claimed there would be so many new innovated ideas in the RPG game and many of them were not met to the expectations of the gamers. This started happening with each Fable to come out up to fable: The Journey.

During an E3 conference, Molyneux introduced a tech demo for the Kinect called Milo. The game was suppose to have an AI that interacts with absolutely anything you do or say. This unfortunately wasn't the case for what the Kinect was actually capable of. Fable: Journey was said to have the same amount of interaction as the Milo tech demo. This game was yet another disappointment for the fans of Molyneux.

He left Lionhead Studios to make yet another game developing company. This one is called 22Cans. They released an experimental game called "Curiosity – What's Inside the Cube?" The gameplay was simply clicking the screen to remove cubes until one player reaches the middle. Molyneux promised there would be something in the box that was life changing. People spent countless hours picking away at the block . A person finally reached the middle and was revealed a video to which he chose to share with the world. In the video Molyneux reveals that the person who clicked the last box will become the god above all players in the new game Godus and will receive a portion of the profit made from the game itself. This may have been life changing for the one who was lucky enough to reach the middle, but it was a disappointment to everyone else who put their share of work removing the boxes hoping to get to the middle.

With his new game, Godus, releasing soon, gamers aren't quite sure whether it will be a innovative gaming marvel, or if it will be another big disappointment. Although his recent games did not live up to player expectation, maybe with this game going back to the roots of what made him great will win back the fans' trust.

The Difficulty in Space Invaders, Galaxian, and Galaga

by: Zippynom

            The early days of popular gaming were in the arcade. Here, difficulty was money. The more difficult a video game was, the more coins players would spend to try again. The majority of video game developers would make design decision that made video games more difficult to play and easy to try again. Usually a player would start with a few lives and play to the end of a number of levels. They could get a high score from points won by defeating enemies or collecting bonuses. After a player lost all their lives they would often be asked whether they would like to insert more coins to start again, sometimes retaining their current progress. Players were encouraged to get better at the game itself so they didn't have to spend so many quarters to beat a game or get a higher score.

            Space Invaders was developed by Midway Games and in arcades by 1978. It was one of the earliest games to be released on a large scale and quickly became very popular. The gameplay of Space Invaders was relatively simple. The player would control a ship that could move side-to-side near the bottom of the screen. The player had to shoot upwards at the invading aliens whom would slowly shimmy down to the bottom of the screen. If they reached the bottom, the game was over. The challenge was in the player lining up the shot so it would hit an alien. Only one bullet could be on the screen at a time, so the player could shoot aliens closer to the ground more quickly, however a miss would cost time that could otherwise be spent shooting more aliens. As more invaders were shot down the others became faster. There were 55 aliens per level, and each level was the same except for the aliens being a little faster. Aliens gave between 30-50 points per kill. Occasionally a difficult to hit bonus ship would fly across the very top of the screen. If the player could hit it it would give 50-300 points. 1,500 points gave an extra life. Four bunkers stood between the player and the aliens that would block both the player and alien's bullets. These bunkers gave the player some cover and would take damage over the course of a game until they were destroyed. A common strategy was to shoot a small hole through a bunker and hit the aliens through it. Space Invaders was a relatively easy game as long as the player could kill the final few aliens of a wave quickly, before they become too fast. Space Invaders was the simple foundation that the following successors would be built on.

            Galaxian was released by Namco to Japanese arcades in 1979. It improved on its predecessor Space Invaders in many ways. It had color and the enemies moved in more advanced patterns. As in Space Invaders the player would shoot up from the bottom of the screen at enemies that fell from the top of the screen. What was most obviously changed were the losing conditions. Instead of moving slowly down the screen, the enemies would drop bombs and make suicide runs against the player, whom would lose lives when destroyed. This was definitely an improvement of gameplay, as the player now had more direct control over a loss. Though the difficulty in Space Invaders had been limited to the speed of enemies and the rate at which they fired, now Galaxian's enhanced software and hardware allowed for enemies to literally behave more aggressively at higher levels throwing more bombs and moving faster. One hit would kill an enemy, and one enemy bomb or collision would kill the player. Enemies were worth 30-100 points, depending on their height in formation, while command ships were worth a most 800 points. This time it took 7,000 points to get an extra life. Once again only one of the player's bullets could be on the screen at a time, and a miss still cost valuable time. Galaxian, without the defensive bunkers or predictable enemies of Space Invaders, is arguably more difficult than its predecessor. It requires more precise timing and aiming of a shot than Space Invaders due to its speed and the diagonal paths of the enemies.

            Galaga was the successor to Galaxian and it again enhanced the Space Invaders formula in almost every way. Enemies were once again faster and smarter, and there were more of them. At the beginning of each level the enemies would file in from the top of the screen rather than just appearing from nowhere. This gave the player time to pick off a few enemies, but sometimes a few enemies would unexpectedly fly right at the player. Levels were much more dynamic. Enemies would travel in different paths depending on the position of the player, spinning and whirling in space. They would often dive at just the right time to catch the player off guard or attack from the side where the player could not shoot them. After a certain number of levels there would be a bonus level where the game changed the rules a little. Instead of a horde of enemies assembling in formation and making strikes at the player, a bonus level would have the player shooting at enemies while they buzzed around the screen in various patterns. If the player could shoot all of them before they left the screen they were rewarded extra points. The most interesting difficulty mechanic in Galaga, however, involved the sacrifice of one of the player's lives. An enemy command ship had the unique ability to capture the player's ship. The captured ship then became an enemy for the player's next life. If the player could destroy that enemy command ship they could get their old ship back in the form of an attachment to their current one that would fire two bullets at once!

            Galaga can be considered more difficult and complex than both of its previous iterations, and it handled that difficulty very well. The concept of risk is reflected throughout the game. The player, after losing their ship to the commander, was now pressured to be skillful enough to retrieve the lost ship. Enemies are worth more points if you shoot them while they are traveling down to attack you and the player had a chance to shoot some enemies while they got into formation at the beginning of a level if they could dodge the kamikaze ones. Finally, the bonus levels gave the player a chance for more points if they were skillful enough. Galaga is a great example of difficulty handled well.

Pokemon X&Y Preview

Pokemon X & Y are the newest installations to the video game series of Pokemon. They will be coming to the 3DS on October 12th. These games take place in the 6th generation of Pokemon and will include over 40 new pokemon plus the ones from the past generations. This game will be the first handheld pokemon game to have full 3D gameplay.

A new feature added to the game is the ability to customize your character. You will start out being able to choose a boy or girl, skin tone, and the outfit your character will wear. Throughout the game players will be able to buy additional accessory to change their characters style.

Another new feature is Mega Evolutions. A player will recieve a stone that can be given to a few select pokemon. This will allow players to mega evolve certain pokemon once per battle to make them more powerful. This evolution will also cause the pokemon to change their type. Some mega evolutions differ between X & Y.

A new type of pokemon was added to this generation. It is the Fairy type. They are strong against dragon, fighting, and dark. They are weak against fire, steel, and poison.

Throughout Pokemon X and Y, there are mini games where you can interact with your pokemon such as petting them and feeding them causing them to like you even more. The more your pokemon likes you the more effective they will be in battle. You can also train your pokemon's stats through mini games.

With only a week until the game releases, fans are getting really excited for what the next generation of Pokemon can bring to gaming. Which version are you going to buy? Write below in the comments.

Half-Life 3 Confirmed!

Valve filed an Intent to Use trademark for the title Half-Life 3 on September 29th of this year. According to some research done by reddit, Valve must use this trademark within 3 months unless they get a 6 month extension. They can only extend the trademark 5 times until they must use it. If this is the case, gamers will see the release of Half-Life 3 within the next 2.5 years.

GTA Online's Day One Technical Issues

Released today was the highly anticipated GTA Online. As expected, the servers are failing due to technical issues. Some players may experience a message popping up saying "Cloud servers are unavailable.", the game freezing after starting their first race, match making timeout notifications, or other bugs in the game that prevent them from playing. Rockstar is currently working on these issues to ensure the game is available to play for everyone. A rockstar employee stated an apology on their website saying

"We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this."

Hopefully the game will be playable soon so that we can all enjoy the online experience and join it's community.

Steam Universe Details

Over the past week, Valve made 3 announcements based around playing Steam games in the living room. First they announced Steam's new operating system. SteamOS is a Linux based system that is centered around streaming games to the TV using a gamepad. Along will the easy access to video games, the OS will allow users to access movies, TV, and music. Another feature tied in SteamOS is the ability to share your games with your family. A game can only be played by one person at a time but the person playing is able to keep their own saves and earn their own achievements.

The second announcement released by Valve was the Steam Machine. Valve is collaborating with many different companies to create a variety of Steam Machines to stream games, music, and videos from the computer to the television through Steam. Each Steam Machine will have different specifications to fit the consumer's preferences.

The final thing Valve announced was their new Steam Controller. The controller is meant to support any game that is currently and will be available on Steam, including the games without controller support. It has 2 track pads that are designed for high performance feedback. It was created to be easily modded to enhance the users experience. This controller is a big change from the usual console gamepads, Although players may not be comfortable using it at first, this may be the future of gaming controllers.


With all these new announcements from valve, i am personally excited to see what they can do. I'm hoping for Valve to someday release a handheld PC that allows you to access Steam games on the go. Write in the comments what you think of the Steam Universe and what you feel Valve should do next. (Other than Half-Life 3.)

Grand Theft Auto V - First impression.

By PRVMALONE

Let's start off with the word "wow." Rockstar promised a great game and they certainly didn't disappoint. The graphics have been updated, but I don't give a crap about graphics. The gameplay thus far has been flawless, after I turned off the aim assist of course. Driving in GTA V is much more fluid and manageable than in Rockstar's previous GTA titles, and with the addition of a driving super ability for one of the characters it's much more fun than driving Roman's cab around Liberty City for thirty missions.

The game starts you off in the middle of a mission, which is an interesting take. The missions following the first are some what like GTA IV, but Rockstar include inside jokes at every turn about this. It isn't long before the missions become completely different than any of the GTA games.

Remember the crappy stranger missions in GTA IV? If you don't they sucked. Well they're back in GTA V but with a twist-- the twist is that they don't suck. You'll find yourself in a park with a man trying to give you weed, outside celebrities houses trying to get a compromising picture, or using a tow truck to help out a cracked out neighbor. At points the game is as outrageous as the Saints Row series, but it pulls you back in before you become the leader of the free world.

The story content is great as well. You'll hear of the Liberty City adventures, and you may even meet some familiar faces along the way. It's hard not to spoil anything because there is just so much to talk about. But I'm certain our head writer, Jammage, will discuss the game further in due time. For now, just know that this game has so much to offer, and I'm only three hours in.

GTA V has been granted the PRVMALONE seal of approval

Xbox One VS. PS4

Sony and Microsoft have been going head to head in this campaign to find out who has the better of the next-gen consoles. This year has been fully of rumors, fanboy flame wars, and press conference for both candidates. So with all that aside, which console is truly better? The all-in-one Xbox One? Or the user friendly PS4? We will decide that right here, right now. No opinions, just facts.

Specifications:

Let's start with one of the key things that determine the stronger of the two consoles, and that is their power. Which ones hardware makes up for a better gaming experience?
Xbox One                                            PS4 

8-core X86 AMD Processor	8-core X86-64 AMD Processor
8GB DDR3 RAM	8GB GDDR5 RAM
500GB Hard Drive	500GB Hard Drive

According to the specs on both official websites, the PS4 is slightly stronger than the Xbox One, but only so slightly that it really won't make a difference in the gaming experience. If you do consider the minuscule difference in hardware, PS4 wins in power.

Games:

Both console have announced an array of games such as COD: Ghosts, Assassin's Creed Black Flag, and Destiny. The question is, who has better exclusives? Well, as we all know Activision has an agreement with Microsoft to release content for Xbox first before releasing it everywhere else, so if you don't mind waiting for the new maps it won't be a hassle. Here is a list of games for both consoles:

Xbox One                                  PS4           

Below	Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Cobalt	Deep Down
Crimson Dragon	Drive Club
D4	Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Dead Rising 3	Guns of Icarus
Fable Legends	Helldivers
Fighter Within	Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number
Forza Motorsports	Infamous: Second Son
Killer Instinct	Killzone: Shadow Fall
Kinect Sports Rivals	Knack
Quantum Break	N++
Peggle 2	The Order: 1886
Project Spark	Rime
Rabbids Invasion	Rouge Legacy
Ryse: Son of Rome	Shadow of the Beast
Sunset Overdrive	Volume
	War Thunder
	Wasteland Kings

Now as you can see, PS4 has slightly more exclusives but to determine which is better is based on the gamer's personal taste in video games. 

Features:

Since their reveals, there has been many changes and innovations to each company's features and policies. There were plenty of rumors that games will no longer be able to be traded or returned without a complicated process. I will tell you now, neither sides have that policy anymore. Microsoft once had plans to do so but was hit hard by enraged fans and decided to remove that policy of no used games. So to clear things up of any confusion, used games are still playable on both consoles. One feature that has been confirmed for both consoles is the ability to record and share gameplay footage. Xbox allows you to record 5 minutes of gameplay and has a built in video editor for Xbox Gold members only. They will also allow players to stream directly to Twitch. PS4 allows you to record without the need to pay for PS Plus. They claim it will record from 7-15 minutes of gameplay and there is a simple trimming software to edit your video. The PS4 will also allow friends to watch each others games and help out by joining the game or taking over if the player allows it. The PS4 will allow users to access all of it's features without an extra fee except you must have PS Plus to play online multiplayer and will get extra rewards such as free games every month.

Controller:

Xbox One has created many key features to enhance the experiences the gamer has while playing. They changed the ergonomic design to allow the battery pack to sit inside the controller without interfering with the player's hand position. The analog sticks are slightly smaller with an improved grip that does not wear out as easily. The buttons are more responsive to the player's touch.  They also added rumble motors in the triggers to make vibrations in certain areas depending on what happens in the game. If a car hits a bump on it's front left tire, the controller will vibrate near the left trigger.

The Playstation 4 controller has a couple new features as well. It has a touch pad in the middle to add to gameplay mechanics. It has a share button that allows you instantly use the last 7-15 minutes of gameplay to share with your friends. The top of the controller has a light sensor that has a different color indicating which player is which.

The Xbox 360 controller tends to be more favorable to gamers than the PS3. The new Xbox One controller seems to be slightly more interactive and comfortable than the PS4, but we can't really tell until the actual product is in our hands.

Conclusion:

Gamers everywhere are highly anticipating the release of both of these console. The future of console gaming depends on what the next generation can provide. The new exciting features of these consoles will bring a new experience to the players. There is a lot of potential for consoles on both sides, we can only wait and see the innovations they bring.