With the 2009 release of Infamous, Sucker Punch proved to the gaming community that they knew how to make a superb superhero game. The enemy AI was smart, you unlocked unique powers throughout the course of the game, and you felt powerful while not feeling immortal. These aspects helped make Infamous a ridiculously fun game that should be found in every PS3 owner’s library.

While I could spend hours zipping across Empire City with a smile on my face, Infamous also had its fair share of issues. With Infamous 2 arriving on June 7, one can hope that Sucker Punch will do it’s best to get rid of the following issues that plagued the first game:

Iffy Frame Rate

Like many open world games, Infamous was plagued by an unstable frame rate. Everything was fine as long as there weren’t more than a few enemies on screen. Unfortunately, combat mainly involved fighting groups of enemies. The frame rate never became debilitating, but gradually became more annoying as time wore on—nagging at your patience. Infamous 2 doesn’t need to run at a buttery-smooth 60 fps, but a locked frame rate at 30fps would be a welcome improvement.

Unnatural Cutscene Animations

While Infamous’ frame rate wasn’t terrible, the in-game cutscenes were. Character models didn’t look great, but even more disappointing was how they moved. Every shaking fist, tilting head and moving lip jerked around as though a novice puppeteer was controlling them. It’s hard to feel empathy for a character when they move like an old animitron from Disneyland. The superb graphic novel-style cut scenes and sharp writing kept Infamous’ story from being a total train wreck, but the in-game cutscenes need to be drastically improved if Infamous 2 is to have a great story.

Few Enemy Types

While Infamous gave you a bunch of different powers to play with, there aren’t that many kinds of enemies to use them on. The story makes it clear that there are three types of gangs that have taken control in different parts of the city. And what makes these gangs so different? Well, they wear different outfits and some can take more punishment than others—that’s it. They all use the same weapons and tactics, so there’s no need to modify your strategy other than “throw two shock grenades instead of one”.

I understand that not every enemy can be a super-powered behemoth capable of converting buildings into ash in the blink of an eye, but making almost every enemy an average thug only makes the game monotonous. Super hero games give developers a lot of creative freedom when it comes to enemy types. Sucker Punch just needs to take advantage of that freedom.

Make Side Quests Actually Matter

Mass Effect 2 is an amazing game partly because it manages to make side missions just as interesting and entertaining as the main story—if not more so. Conversely, the side quests in Infamous felt like optional chores that the developer shoehorned in at the last minute, with at least half of them being duplicates of previous story missions.

Since optional missions are in fact, optional, it’s important to make them worth the player’s time. Have side missions offer a new perspective on what’s happening in the story. Offer exclusive upgrades to certain powers as a reward instead of a minor boost in experience points. Above all else, don’t make the side missions feel like a chore. I don’t want to look for listening devices or go on a scavenger hunt looking for medical supplies.

 If the fine folks at Sucker Punch can address these issues, then there’s no doubt in my mind that Infamous 2 will be something truly special. We’ll just have to see come June 7. 

When I first bought my computer, one of the things I was most excited about was the ability to play a good RTS. Finally, I would have a control set up that let me quickly and effectively control units. No longer would I have to get my RTS fix from Halo Wars which while fun, felt dumbed down compared to its PC counterparts. I was all ready to buy the PC version of Command and Conquer 3 (I played the console version before), but hesitated when I realized that Starcraft II would be released in three months. I’d always heard how great the first game was and how thousands of people were still playing it after 11 years. So I figured I’d hold off buying an RTS until Starcraft II was released that summer. Starcraft II eventually released alongside countless glowing reviews. This was the day I had been waiting for. After watching Brad’s video review, I visited amazon and closed the deal. Starcraft II was finally mine. For the first week or so, I stuck with the game’s excellent campaign; fighting that bastard Mengsk with my newfound hotkey abilities. After I watched the credits roll, I dived into the multiplayer. Unfortunately, the result was equivalent to me diving into an empty pool. 

 You see, Starcraft II’s campaign made me soft. Sure I used hotkeys and set spawnpoints, but I also liked to turtle. To me, there was no greater feeling than building up a gigantic army and obliterating the enemy. And while turtling works fine in the campaign, it’s practically suicide in multiplayer. Fortunately, it didn’t take me long to learn this. I stopped researching damage upgrades and started building units. I started sending probes and observers to check out what my opponent was doing. And I learned it was handy to keep a few stalkers at my base in case of a surprise attack. Soon enough, I started winning a few games. My win/loss ratio began growing and I finally saw what Brad saw in Starcraft II’s multiplayer. To see my time and effort paid off in victories trumped anything I experienced in the campaign. I wasn’t winning because I found a great place to spawn camp, or because I got lucky. I won because I was better than the other player, which made me truly respect Starcraft II’s underlying mechanics. Unfortunately, Starcraft II made me stressed. 

 As I started to get better at Starcraft II, I realized there were more things I had to keep track of. Soon enough, I got to a point where my hands couldn’t keep up with my thoughts. At that point I would feel physically uncomfortable. It’s the same feeling you get when you ask someone you’re interested in out on a date for the first time. Your heart beats faster, your hands start shaking, and you feel a little sick to your stomach. It isn’t a pleasant experience, but luckily asking someone out usually doesn’t take any longer than 30 seconds. Multiplayer games in Starcraft II on the other hand, can last quite a long time if you and your opponent are equally matched. Oftentimes I wouldn’t want to play more than two or three consecutive games because I would get so wound up. Listening to podcasts or music helped, but it was tough to take deep breaths while making sure every little thing was going according to plan. I was tired of being stressed out all the time, so I ended my Starcraft II “career”. 

 I uninstalled Starcraft and started on some games that I had been meaning to play but kept putting off. And to be honest, it was nice. No longer did I have to worry about being supply-blocked or keeping my gas and minerals low. I didn’t have to worry about micro-ing my army while simultaneously maintaining my production. Things were easy and I was having fun.

 I reasoned that I was always flustered because I fell back into one of my worst habits—over-complicating things. When playing Starcraft II, I would always focus on making sure I didn’t forget anything. And if I did forget something, then I became more stressed and played worse. For example, I would move my army to my enemy’s base, and fight his army. Then I would forget that my research had completed. Then I would forget to build a key building. Then I would realize my warp gates had been available for two minutes. 

 Then, while browsing the GB forums, I came across a topic with a video of Day[9], doing a feature he calls “Newbie Tuesday”. This involves him taking user videos and discussing how people who are new to Starcraft can become better players. At first, I was semi-reluctant to watch the video since most of the Starcraft II “help videos” I found involved the commentator saying something really obvious like, “Protoss players can destroy their enemies with Void Rays if their opponent doesn’t have any ant-air units.”   Well no shit. But I was surprised when Sean (Day[9]’s real name) actually described why things happened the way they did, and how to take advantage of the game mechanics in Starcraft II. Even more surprising was how entertaining he was to listen to. I had so much fun watching his videos that I began seriously thinking about re-installing Starcraft II. So I did.  

 A few days ago, I dug out my copy of Starcraft II and re-installed it. I was ready to use all the techniques I had learned from watching Day[9] and was ready to play stress-free. Unfortunately, things didn’t exactly go according to plan. While I re-learned the hotkeys soon enough, I still felt anxious. I still felt like I was fighting the game rather than my opponent. 

 Now we reach the present day. I’m still playing Starcraft II, but I’m waging a war inside my own head. Part of me wants to keep going, hoping that things will just “click” somewhere down the road. But the other part of me just wants to say “fuck it” and get back into Civilization V—a game that lets me put my feet up and stroke my non-existent beard as I ponder my next move. Or, I could replay Arkham Asylum. After all, you can never have too much Batman.

What makes a game something truly special? Is it a story that can turn your tears of sorrow into tears of joy? Is it gameplay that makes you forget you are holding a chunk of plastic in your hands? Or, is it its ability to transform a supposed weekend of productivity into a weekend of Diet Coke and pizza rolls? I look for all of these qualities when buying a new game, but for many people it all depends on how realistic the game is. It’s why some people play Burnout and Call of Duty while others play Gran Turismo and Battlefield. But when does a game’s realism transform from an asset into an obstacle?

Unfortunately there is no exact answer to this question because everyone has different tastes. A game mechanic designed to add a realistic effect might be engrossing for some, but tedious for others. So, I’ve compiled a list of game mechanics whose purpose is to make a game feel more realistic, and shared my thoughts on what I think does and does not work. Enjoy.

Weapon/Armor Degradation

 I can’t tell you how many times I've run up to a guy in Far Cry 2, only to be insta-killed because my damn gun jammed. It sucks to die in any video game, but it’s especially bad if the death wasn’t directly your fault. And while it sucks to have a weapon break in the middle of a fight, weapon degradation is still a great tool that developers can use to make their game more realistic. In fact, weapon degradation is one of the things that make Far Cry 2 stand out in a world that’s overcrowded with first-person shooters. Weapon degradation encourages the player to visit gun shops and complete missions they might have passed by, because all of the weapons the enemies use are rusty pieces of shit. 

 The same goes for the Elder Scrolls series and the latest Fallout games. Part of the reason you explore the world and search through containers is to ensure that you have enough supplies/money to keep your equipment in good shape. I’ll admit there are other reasons to exploring in the Fallout/Elder Scrolls universes, but there’s no denial that weapon condition is an important factor.

It’s important to note that weapon degradation should not be included in multi-player. It works in single player because you have the time to find a nice quiet spot to repair your weapon or visit a safe house and pick up a new one. Also, good multiplayer is based on a system of fairness. If you die, it should be because you were caught reloading your gun or you forgot to check your corners—not because some complex algorithm decided your gun should stop firing instead of the enemy’s. 

 Arsenal Size   

 One of the things that set Halo apart from other first-person shooters was its restriction that kept you from carrying more than two weapons. While Master Chief may have had top-of-the-line armor and training, he still lacked the deep pockets of Gordon Freeman and the main character in Doom. While it was nice to never drop a weapon, cycling through your entire arsenal during combat became a nightmare—especially on consoles.

 Realistic Damage

 A great way to make a game feel realistic is by making objects respond to damage as they would in reality. A big reason why I chose to buy Burnout Paradise over all the other racing games was because Criterion managed to make crashing your car fun rather than aggravating. Sure I may total my car and cost myself a race, but it’s hard for me to get frustrated while I watch my $500,000 car suffer the effects of Newton’s third law in remarkable detail. In fact, realistic car damage is practically a necessity for today’s games (that contain cars).

Of course the only things more impressive than expensive cars smashing into guardrails at 200 mph are expensive collapsing buildings. Unfortunately realistic building damage is still a relatively new technology, and seems to only be prevalent in Bad Company 2 and Red Faction: Guerilla. The problem many developers probably have with building damage is that it allows the player to pick and choose how they enter and exit a building, which can be a problem if players are meant to stay on a set path. Still, it would be nice if the damage buildings sustained in future games was more detailed than an ash mark. 

Realistic damage ceases to be a positive game element when it is applied to the main character of a game, a.k.a—you. Let’s face it, most of the characters in today’s games are walking tanks, capable of taking a dozen bullets with the only symptom involving their vision turning red for a couple of seconds. The reason video game characters can be shot, stabbed, and mutilated without dying, is because most people would chuck the controller at their TV an hour into the game.

The point I’m trying to make is that it’s fine to make a game feel realistic as long as the player’s enjoyment isn’t sacrificed in doing so. The highest priority a game developer should have is to make their game as fun as possible. And if that means directly depositing money into a player’s pocket instead of forcing them to visit a bank, so be it.

  Ah… It’s that time of year again. The holiday sales are over, irritatingly cheery Christmas songs are replaced by vapid elevator music at department stores, and people make New Year’s resolutions they promise themselves to keep, even though it’s the exact resolution they made last year. Normally these resolutions consist of improving one’s self, whether it be losing a few pounds or getting that damn promotion that continues to elude your grasp. Unfortunately my resolution more closely relates to self-detriment, as I have decided to complete Mass Effect 2 on insanity. Consequently, many of my nights now consist of muffled obscenities and asking a TV screen why it hates me. It’s not all bad though, as the frequent loading screens have given me plenty of time to think about what I would like to see in the next Mass Effect, and here’s a list of what I have come up with so far:

Improved Partner AI

One thing playing Mass Effect 2 on insanity has done is put a magnifying glass over the flaws of your partner’s AI. The problems weren’t obvious on lower difficulties, as I could normally clear a room of enemies with little assistance. However on insanity, I need to rely on my companions to a certain extent which wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t die a minute into battle. I understand the difficulty “insanity” is meant to be hard, but my companions shouldn’t be crouching on top of cover no matter the difficulty setting. To be fair, most of the time my companions take cover and follow orders, consequently saving my ass on more than one occasion. It would just be nice if they didn’t run through a group of Krogan warlords when I order them to regroup.

Bring Back the Loot

If you played the first Mass Effect, chances are you can recall spending hours sifting through a broken inventory system to find items you just picked up. It was a pain—a pain that Bioware “solved” by replacing the many guns and armor sets from the first game with only a handful in the second. You no longer have to spend time scrolling through your inventory because there is no inventory . While the inventory system may have been garbage in the first game, you still had the option of customizing your weapons and armor to your unique playing style. If you liked to run into battle guns blazing, then you could outfit your armor with extra shielding to compensate. If your assault rifle overheated too quickly, you could equip it with an attachment that would decrease the amount of heat it would produce.   

In most RPG’s, part of the fun is finding better equipment to improve your character—something that is missing in Mass Effect 2. So what’s the solution? Well for one, make an organized, navigable inventory system that allows the player to find exactly they want within seconds. If a player wants to equip a squad member with an improved set of armor, don’t include the armor of a different species in the list. Color code weapons and armor to give the player an idea of what is good or bad without having to read all of the stats. Add sorting options so players can look through items based on different stats. Having a large inventory is fine as long as the player has the tools to manage it effectively.
 

Add a Psychological Profile Mission

What I mean by a “Psychological Profile Mission” is have a mission based on your Shepard’s Psychological profile that you chose in either the first or second Mass Effect. For example, if you picked the “Sole Survivor” psych profile, then there would be a mission where Shepard revisits Akuze and reflects on what happened. The memory would be playable and you would fight alongside your fellow marines as they get wiped out by thresher maws. Or if you chose the “War Hero” profile, Shepard could revisit the events on Elysium where you fight against Batarian slavers with barely any support. Playing out the missions described in Shepard’s psych profile would give the player a chance to witness firsthand how Shepard became the hero of the galaxy and the bane of the reapers.

Have Shepard Recruit Entire Species

In Mass Effect 2, Shepard spent most of his time recruiting elite individuals to help him stop the collectors. In the next game, it would be neat if Shepard had to convince the Humans, Turians, Asari, Salarians, Krogan, Quarian, and possibly Geth to group together and fight the reapers under a single banner. With all the racial turmoil that is prevalent in the Mass Effect universe, there would be problems that Shepard and his crew would have to solve in order to convince the various species to join his cause. Past actions would also play a crucial role when asking for aid. For example, if you killed Wrex in Mass Effect 1, the Krogan would be much harder to bring to your side. Each mission would involve you traveling to that species’ home world. You would witness firsthand, the differences in that species’ government, military, religion, architecture, etc. that have so far only been described in the codex. I could go on and on about my ideas regarding Mass Effect 3’s story and overall mission structure, but that would turn this blog into a giant fan fiction and nobody wants to see that. Moving on.

Make it Obvious When Squad Members Want to Talk

One of the most frustrating parts of Mass Effect 2 is jogging across the Normandy to talk to your squad mates to see if they have something new to say, only to hear “I’m not interested in talking, come back later”. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that your squad is split up all across the ship, ensuring that you visit every fucking room aboard the Normandy if you want to be sure you’re up to date with everyone aboard. Again, this is a huge pain that can be easily fixed by making it painfully obvious when a squad

member has something new to say. At first, I praised Bioware when Kelly Chambers said she would inform me if team members wished to speak with me. I thought, “Yes! I don’t have to scour this ship that’s twice as big as the first Normandy to see if people want to talk.” However it soon became apparent that Ms. Chambers would only do this if my squad members wanted to talk about loyalty missions. If a squad member failed to utter the words “loyalty” and “mission” Kelly would conveniently forget to tell me someone had something new to say. I appreciated her feeding my fish, but it would be nice if in Mass Effect 3 she did her damn job.  
 
Even with all of my aforementioned gripes, I still think Mass Effect 2 is the greatest game of 2010 and one of Bioware’s top achievements. It has a cinematic element many games don’t even come close to achieving, and contains one of the most well-developed universes that I have ever seen. If some of the things I’ve mentioned above are fixed or addressed , I have no doubt that Mass Effect 3 will be one of Bioware’s greatest games yet.

In my mind, Russian-made games accomplish two things extremely well. One, they provide a unique atmosphere that is both nonsensical and believable. Two, they can make me go from a state of pure elation, to rage in a matter of seconds. You might ask, "Well, what's so wrong with a game like Metro 2033 that makes you seem like a sociopath?" The answer is simply this: poor AI. Metro 2033 is a magnificent storytelling device, creating a frightening world ravaged by nuclear warfare and the story of a young man trying

If there is one thing I hate about the game industry, it's the fact that it's a business. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that developers and publishers shouldn't be paid, or that games shouldn't be a significant part of today's media. What irritates me is when awesome creative decisions are overridden by the corporate side of a company if more money will be made because of it. Let me give you an example that happened quite recently. Before Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood came out, Jean Francois Boivin (An Associate Producer at Ubisoft) said how he didn't think there would be another Assassin's Creed game in 2011 since  the series needed a "breather". When I first

Hey guys, 
 
So about a week ago I got the awful, awful idea of watching every single Game Room Quick Look again, and making a video out of it. A good 15 hours of watching videos and editing later, I have compiled this abomination or what I like to call "The 5 Stages of Game Room Grief". Enjoy. 
 
  

  Earlier in the year, I pre-ordered Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood on Amazon and thought "You know, it's been a while since I last played Assassin's Creed II, and I'd like to refresh my memory before playing Brotherhood." And so, I made the moronic decision of doing everything you can possibly do in AC II a couple weeks before AC: Brotherhood

My thought's on the idea of Round Table's new "Pizza Dippers" where you get a pizza with a bowl of salad dressing. I haven't actually tried them yet, but thought I would make a stupid video about them anyway. Here you go. 
 
  

So with with my next video, I decided to test out some drink combinations with Red bull and a variety of sodas and lemonade, the purpose of which was to find a combination that gave me the extra energy boost from Red Bull, without that weird chemical aftertaste. Watch the video to see what combinations worked, and what combinations...didn't.