There's been a stereotype for a long time about gamers: we're anti-social hermits. Since the end of the last generation of gaming though, games have become a lot more of a social get together through the introduction of online multiplayer. Although it's become a very big player in the eyes of developers, it certainly hasn't given them the idea to phase out single player games altogether. At least, until now.
Apparently, EA's Frank Gibeau figures that gamers don't pay much attention to single player experience anymore. In a recent Q&A with Gamespot, Gibeau is quoted saying:
Frank Gibeau: Well let me back up and say that core to the strategy of the company--and very specifically our label--is that we want to be online with everything we do.I'm no longer greenlighting games that are single-player only, even console products. They have to have deep online modes because that's where our fans are spending a lot of time and, frankly, that's where a lot of the value in the IPs we create can really take hold. [Emphasis added].
This definitely is true of sports games, of course, but what about all the other titles EA has control over? What about the newly acquired Bioware and their titles? Does this mean that he won't pass KOTOR or ME games without the addition of online play? I know that the next KOTOR title is set to be an MMO, but whether or not that was EA's idea or not I don't know, so I won't comment on that, but if it is for the same reason Gibeau stated then we could be in for a real cluster#$#@ of EA glory.
The single player experience is essential in gaming, this is for sure. People don't always want to sit down and play with a bunch of people they may or may not know online. Sure we will want to do so on some occassions, but sometimes, we as gamers enjoy our alone time where we can take in playing a campaign or story mode by ourselves. There is something to be said about having some alone time, which we all need now and then, and enjoy it while playing a game.
Tacking a multiplayer mode to games does not always mean it's going to be played, nor does it mean it will make the game better by any stretch of the word. I'm sure you can think of numerous examples in which developers slapped on a multiplayer mode because they thought it would be the cool thing to do, only to have it completely bomb and do nothing for the game itself. Of course in some cases if there was more time spent on the multiplayer component, it would probably be passable. On the same token, an equal amount of games are burned with those tacked on components. These could have been discarded for the betterment of the single player component, but since the new fad is multiplayer, they just had to do it, right?
There doesn't seem to be much of a logical thought process here on Gibeau's behalf. It sounds more like he looked at some numbers on paper, ignored the numbers on another, and then made a blind decision based on the previously mentioned numbers, because they made him feel happy inside. The fact of the matter is that there are some games that just do NOT work as a multiplayer game.
The thought that a company as large and influential as EA is even entertaining an idea as insane as phasing out games that supply a single player experience only, is a scary one at best. Multplayer is all well and good, and there is an entire market for games that are multiplayer only, but if you are so worried about it then focus on games that provide that. That doesn't mean you have to bash current series of games with such an idea.
At least, that's the way I feel. I don't and can't speak for all of you out there, but from my point of view the single player experience is the most important part of a game unless the game is multiplayer focused. I don't want to see titles with tacked on multiplayer because as I previously mentioned, all that comes out of it is a single player mode that isn't paid enough attention to.
How do you feel about all of this? What's your take on it? This is all just of my opinion of course, and so think of it what you will. I'm very interested in what you all think though, and look forward to reading your individual opinions!
This post relates to:
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
The Force Unleashed was definitely on the top five most anticipated games of '08 for me. I had been hoping for another Star Wars experience since KOTOR 2, and when I found out about TFU I just about had a mild stroke out of excitement. I mean c'mon, the chance to finally kick some serious butt with a lightsabre in good old button mashing $tyle, along with being able to throw dudes around with some force push action just has to be good, right?
Well not entirely. Although this sounds as sexy as two hundred asian school girls chasing you around the bedroom (large bedroom needed), it doesn't quite all fit together as nicely as that.
For all the hyping that was done about the three engines running this beast, which apparently are so awesome they could brain wash you into taking over the world with only a toothpick and a lighter, they aren't really impressive at all. Sure, seeing stuff fly around and bash up real nice is cool, but it isn't THAT much of a jump ahead of what other games have -- at least, it's not the lightyear leap that they made it out to be.
As for the actual gameplay, dueling the lightsabre is pretty cool albeit a tad monotonous. They tell you to experiment with combinations to find the apparent plethora of Storm Trooper and Rebel Soldier pwning moves, but for the life of me I counted about four of five...which was mildly depressing. During the demo you are given the standard force push and force lightning powers to do with as you wish. Force lightning is pretty cool to combo with, and force push can cause some cool damage on some poor foes. Basically the game seems to throw crap loads of enemies at you at once, all shooting constantly, and so you basically in most cases have to pick something up using the force and throw it at them to thin out the larger groups. From there you can force dash your way over to the stragglers and proceed to cut up fools until theres nothing left, and then move on. It repeated this throughout the demo, and the strategy never really changed. Hopefully this won't always be the case, or it will get to be a grind pretty quick.
What made me a bit puzzled was the constand use of force push to open doors. Yes, it would be cool to have the OPTION to blow the doors open with a charged up force push to make a sparkly entrance, but I don't want to see it become the only means to open a damn door -- which is what the demo shoves in your face as if to say, "See! Those three engines really DO make this game awesome!"
Graphically the game does a pretty good job of things. The character models are well done and animations are pretty smooth and realistic -- well, as realistic as a force weilder can seem. The environment the demo was in looks great even though it seems a bit cookie cutter. I'm sure that some of the other worlds you'll travel will show off the graphics more than the grey walls of the demo world. The sound is good also, bringing the familiar sounds together to immerse you in the Star Wars universe.
Overall, if you want to hear about it on an experience level, The Force Unleashed seems to be a pretty solid game. It seems to make a genuine attempt to slide a good chunk of new Star Wars lore into the series, and it looks to have done a decent job of doing so. The fighting may be a bit weak in spots, and the developers may be force pushing the whole "World dominating engines" thing down our throats, but on the whole TFU is shaping up to be a good game. For the fun of it, I'll project the score to be a 8.0.
That's all I've got for now folks. This was the first real game related blog I've done in a while, and I must say it feels good to be back on track haha.
Have a good one!
XR
Well I managd to really mess myself up today. We had taken the kids to Urban Farm, a farm in the city...thus the urban...
Anyway, while we were there we were playing a tag game and one of the kids rolled their ankle. I ran over and checked out her foot to see if everything was ok. It seemed fine, but she was still complaining of pain so I thought it best to pick her up and carry her over to the picnic table to rest for a bit.
I don't know what it was. Maybe it was all the heaving lifting I've been doing at the gym lately, or maybe it was the uneven ground I was standing on, or maybe it was a bunch of factors all mixed up into once cluster $#^% of badness. In any case, my back said ^%$# you! and I put the girl down quickly before realizing how much pain I was really in. I pinched a nerve/threw my back out, and so now I am out of service for just about anything that involves movement of any kind. Yay.
I'm feeling a bit better from this afternoon. I had a nap and took some meds along with putting some heat on it, so at least now I can take a deep breath without doubling over in pain, which conveniently also puts me in pain for bending over.
I watched the Olympic opening tonight from the comfort of my couch. It was really well done, and as I expected, everything was huge and over the top. It was quite enjoyable though, and I look forward to watching the games. I also downloaded the demo for Braid today. That game is pretty awesometastic, I must say. The graphical beauty alone is amazing, but the music and gameplay are also insanely well done. I would buy it, but it's so damn expensive that I'm putting it off until God knows when...unless I crack and buy it anyway.
With my back in this shape, I may not get to take Nathalie out tomorow as planned, so we'll probably stay in and watch a movie or play some games of some sort. Unfortunately, Rock Band is totally out of the question...grumble.
In any case, I thought you would all be thrilled to hear of my misfortunes, and so there you have it haha. I'm really not used to things actually hurting me due to a very high threshold for pain, but this has been enough to keep me sitting or laying in one spot long enough to annoy me. Guild Wars and making that Life's a Glitch video will more than likely be the main events of the weekend.
That's all from me for now guys and gals, have a good one and don't pick up children!
CPU1
Do you wake up on saturday morning, run to grab a bowl of sugar coated cereal, and plop yourself in front of the tube to watch cartoons until noon? Do you still read books that are listed as "for ages 8-15"? Is your idea of a fulfilling and successful day watching every Star Wars movie, and then play KOTOR until three in the A.M.? Do dunkaroos and fruit roll-ups tickle your fancy?
If you've answered to one or all of the above, you are much like myself -- the eternal child. Sure, we may grow up enough to hold down a job, but deep down we can still derive joy from the same simple things that did so when we were all but a wee little child, or in my case a large child.
I kind of feel sorry for the people who can't turn the t.v. on and crack a smile when they see Alf. There's something rather calming about sticking to the childish side of things -- maybe it's because there's no responsibility tied to having a Star Wars marathon.
Where am I going with all this? Although you could probably write quite a bit about such a subject, I'm leading up to a small and more than likely anti-climactic announcement.
After much debate, I went with Chaotic cards. Why? Well the packs are cheap, and the cards have a very respectable value. Also, I have a feeling that they're about to explode much like Pokemon did oh so long ago. I bought a starter deck for Overworld, and bought eight booster packs to get me going. I managed to land an Ultra rare and a Super rare in the first lot which is a bit short of a miracle. I also learned how to play the game, and I have to say it seems pretty well set up and easy to pick up and play but has lots of room for strategy. I'll more than likely only buy a few more booster packs and then wait out the initial hype to see if it's really here to stay.
Two of the kids in that are in the summer camp I'm a leader at collect them, and they'll freak when they see that I have them too. I'm very popular with the guys because I'm the video game/card collecting dude. Being a kid at heart rules and I don't think I'll lose that part of me any time soon.
Have a good one,
CPU1
Well it's finally here! Giant Bomb has dropped down upon us and I'm excited to see all the features come together throughout the beta and beyond.
I don't have a great deal to say at the moment, and this is really just a test blog but since I have nobody tracking me I suppose this doesn't really matter much haha.
To those who may actually see this...
Have a good one!
CPU1
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