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The Corrente Review of Games: Volume II Number 6 (English Edition)

Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on Sat, 03/05/2011 - 10:52am
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Aeryl

The Corrente Review Of Games: Volume II, Number 6 (English Edition)

Masthead

The Corrente Review Of Games is published on the first Saturday of the month.
Posting is done in rotation by the following contributors:

Aeryl,
BDBlue and
danps.

Please contact any of us with submission ideas or feedback.

Contents

  1. We Dare (danps)
  2. Joining the 21st Century of Gaming (Aeryl)

We Dare

You knew this was inevitable, right?

I mean, the whole damn thing, from start to finish. It was inevitable that after enough time some software developer - Ubisoft in this case - would decide it was time to use the Wiimote for something a little more edgy than bowling or archery. It was inevitable there would be a racy teaser video. The spanking wasn't necessarily inevitable, but the girl-on-girl action was.

The subsequent parental blowup over the corruption of our innocent young people was predictable. (Every time something like that happens I think, weren't these people ever young themselves?) The hasty announcement that it would not be made for sale in the US was inevitable. And I will now play my part and make the inevitable observation that the outrage reeks of a peculiarly American brand of puritanical hypocrisy, in which we shrug at harrowing, explicit depictions of violence but freak right the hell out over anything even vaguely titillating.

So let's just stipulate that it's a scandalous game and while the developers have every (yawn) right to publish it they should (feeling sleepy) have been more [zzzzz...] (sound of forehead bonking on keyboard). Here's what I want to know: what was the business plan for this game? Wii isn't a very cutting edge hardware platform, so maybe it's relatively cheap for developers to take a flyer on something that might provoke a firestorm of criticism. Maybe it will be worthwhile even if they have to keep it out of the American market. I don't know about the economics of game development, so maybe this little venture will turn a tidy profit even if it has a very limited market.

Still, I can't help but think that any mainstream outfit wants at least a theoretical chance at a blockbuster for each title. So even if it had wide distribution, where do sales come from? Teenagers? They are notoriously shy about publicly revealing the low and smutty thoughts galloping through their brains. If it's laying around I'm sure they'd pounce on it, but I don't think too many would actually walk into a store and say "hey, give me that sexytime title!"

Young adults? The Wii isn't exactly a hot item in that demographic. It might played in a hip and ironic way if the opportunity presented itself, but that's once again in the "if it's laying around" category. I have a hard time envisioning a bunch of urban professionals circling their calendars for a "We Play" party. At that age there are much more appealing options for getting the same result.

Older adults? Look, I'm a video game enthusiast and it doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it would be a big hit at swinger parties or among those looking to do some partner swapping, but that seems to be a fairly small demographic. Maybe between that and an initial curiosity-driven spike in sales it could be a money maker, but aside from that it doesn't seem to me that its prospects would be that good.

I understand what Ubisoft seems to be trying to do here. Video game demographics have skewed older; it's not like the market is dominated by fifteen year olds. Video games have a history of racy content as old as video games themselves. There should be enough adults buying games for themselves for a well done sexually frank game to be a big success. I have no idea what something like that would look like though, and at the moment neither does Ubisoft. How about you? Can you think of one that would tempt you to put some money down for, and actually play?

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Joining the 21st Century of Gaming

As I've just recently acquired an XBos 360, after years and years of gaming on an old and battered PS2, I was eagerly awaiting the next generation of gaming. And many things about it are very enjoyable. I'm a bigger fan of downloading content than I thought I would be(Peggle!! Pac-Man!). Netflix is bomb-ass. Knowing what my friends are watching on Netflix is great, as it allows me to taunt their tastes(and vice versa. But that wasn't me you saw watching Xena for 6 hours straight!!)

Oh yeah, but the games? So far, meh. Admittedly, I haven't had an opportunity to play every game in the 360 catalogue, but I've gotten more games than I though I would have by now.

Firstly, I purchased Oblivion when I bought the XBox, and went home and tried to play it immediately. First of all, picking up things is a PITA. It looks similar to Champions of Norath, but Norath was much simpler in the acquiring of fallen items. When you ran near it, it highlighted, and you picked it up. Oblivion, apparently, requires that you hold your mouth just.....right. And that's if you're lucky. It's an endeavor.

Secondly, while I can appreciate the depth of the gameplay, a game where I have to follow an NPC around for hours, is just not appealing to me. I haven't yet completed the first major mission of the game, taking an amulet to someone, and I'm already daunted by the scope of this game.

Next, by best friend bought me the game that he's been playing, so we could play together online. We have yet to do this, but the game Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, while simple, straight forward and uncomplicated, is so far plagued with glitches. Also, it's very gender restrictive. If you want to be a warrior of light, you must be a female Seraphim. If you want be a dark warrior, you mist be a male Corrupter(or something like that). Magicians, techs and archers are a little more flexible, but still. Also, your Seraphim loses clothing as you gain more armor points. And you start the game in heels.

We bought another game for the Spawn, the 360 version of an earlier XBox game, Fuzion Frenzy. Let's just say we all agree the previous version was superior.

The third game I've tried to get into, is Golden Axe, Beast Rider. It's a fighting game, with the requisite red headed warrior maiden. You acquire different creatures to ride through combat. Attacking is simple and straightforward. It's the other part of combat that is annoying and distracting.

The game wants to be a hack-n-slash, but, it also wants to be more than that. So it requires, in the middle of combat, you evade or parry. Your enemies weapon's conveniently glow different colors as they prepare to attack, telling which defensive maneuver to perform. In the middle of a massed attack upon yourself by 5 superior fighters(which all converge upon you the moment battle begins, you can't really try to position yourself in a way to stagger the assaults) you have seconds to decide which attack you wish to parry, or evade, and you better hope you can orient your character towards the attack you wish to defend. And the gaming gods help you if they have mages in the combat group, who will hang back and target you in the middle of the mob, without fail, as you begin to recover from the last attack you failed to defend against.

And those problems don't even begin to cover the over-wrought voice acting, gratuitous nudity and gore, and the fact that the heroine carries an awkwardly big sword that makes her run funny, as you travel from stage to stage.

The only game I've purchased, that I have been satisfied with, is Lego Star Wars. Which probably shouldn't be a surprise. Simple, straightforward, energetic. And still challenging. You can't die, but you want to keep your studs. And the game taunts you with areas you can't access with the characters you have acquired yet, driving you to complete more and more.

But hey, YAY Netflix!

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Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on

Sign me up!

Well, not really, since my crappy computer won't let me look at the teaser, but my interest is piqued. I've been on the lookout for a game the Sailor and I can play together, cuz I suck at racing, and he hates vs. fighting. It's too bad he thinks Lego Star Wars is immature, his loss.

But, as for what would make a good titillating game, I'd like to see some more explicit games, where the cut scenes were perhaps real actors, like the opening scene of the original Resident Evil game on Playstation, but instead doing drrrty things . Because animated nudity and such, doesn't do much for me, personally, though I know there is a market for it.

There's also a market for adult games, usually in the board or card game variety(I remember being fascinated with a naked ladies card deck my mother kept in her sock drawer when I was 7). But my interest in adult toys runs along a more active variety, to stay the least.

But I like to be titillated and stimulated as much as the next person, so it's intriguing to see it coming to consoles again. Though I can't imagine the market for this being too extensive, as anything you could see on video games, you could find online cheaply and quickly.

danps's picture
Submitted by danps on

The trailer emphasizes the multiplayer aspect, and maybe it would be just as fun 1-on-1. I just had a hard time seeing where it would fit in with a group setting.

Maybe erotic cut scenes like you're talking about would be the way to go. Even something like the sex minigames in God of War were just for one person, so I don't know how much it would do for whoever didn't have the controller.

Maybe some unauthorized hacks of the Kinect will point the way.

danps's picture
Submitted by danps on

I'm REALLY surprised you're not digging it more. From what I remember there wasn't a huge section of following an NPC around, and the colored directional arrow in the compass made it pretty easy to stay on course.

But hey, different strokes!

Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on

By the fact that I got way of course at the beginning. I'm in the city, instead of traveling, and I've been picking up quests in the city.... I've mentioned how story oriented I am, and if I were getting more plot, I probably wouldn't be so frustrated.

So. it's partly my own fault. I also don't like that it's not explicit about whether taking something is theft, unless your in first person camera, which I can't stand. I prefer second person camera. And the walking controls are over complicated, IMO.

The trickiness of the controls, and exploring, are things I'm picking up on. But at the same time, I am daunted by the challenges, and am just going back and forth between intrigued enough to play more, or just tired of it already.

Submitted by Lex on

That is, i'm also a recent entry into the world of 21st Century gaming. I bought a PS3. Partly for gaming and also for streaming video. We've got Netflix and HuluPlus; it's great.

I haven't spent all that much time gaming with it yet, and what i have spent has been kind of sucked up with NCAA '11. I have fiddled with The Force Unleashed which is pretty fun and Blazing Angels II ('cause killin' Nazi's is fun even if the game is terribly unrealistic, historically).

I haven't played GTA much, but i don't understand the complaints. I like it, and appreciate that there's more story line than previous releases. Plus i get to drive around listening to Radio Vladivostok and wear track pants...and the main character has the same name as my brother.

And i own GT5, but i'm waiting to buy a wheel and build a chair to even seriously start it.

I have not tried any online gaming.

Nick's picture
Submitted by Nick on

First: Just about every office I've been in has a Wii. It is the great equalizer in a business office in terns of games, because the controls are so simple that anyone can pick it up and play. Considering that most account and project management-type people have the mental development of a small, not-especially-bright child, this is unsurprising.

Second: Oblivion is a game about managing resources to complete goals, which carries through heavily into combat. It's also a much, much more complex game than, say, Lego Star Wars, so if you're an older/newer gamer, it can be overwhelming - especially in combat. For a simpler game with RPG elements I'd recommend the Final Fantasy series which, although I'm not a fan myself, is very popular with most game-playing age groups.

As for Golden Axe, well, it's just a bad game - but it is hack n' slash, and most hack n' slash games have block/evade/parry, and have had such features since at LEAST Double Dragon (1987).

Even BETTER, though, would be to forego the big-budget games altogether, and carry the spirit of independence into your gaming by connecting to XBox Live/Playstation Network and enjoy the hundreds of try-before-you-buy, often indie-developed titles that are cheaper, more interesting and more innovative. And, you're probably supporting two guys living in a basement apartment who are trying to do things their own way without outside interference effecting their creativity.

Games like (in no particular order):
Castle Crashers (10+, cartoon violence, 4-player action/adventure)
Shank (17+, cartoon violence, 1 or 2-player action/platformer)
Braid (all ages, puzzle/platfomer)
Costume Quest (for the kids, adventure)
Catan (Settlers of, based on the board game, up to 16-player I think)
The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom (10+, puzzle/adventure)
Rez HD (10+, action/shooter)
Sam & Max Save the World (all ages, puzzle/adventure)
Limbo (17+, scariness, adventure)
Stacking (10+, puzzle/adventure/being awesome)

Or, check out the previously-expensive, now cheap & downloadable games on both services. On the XB360 side, I recommend:

Psychonauts
A highly underrated action/adventure game with writing & artistry easily on par, and often surpassing, Pixar

Alan Wake (17+, scary)
Another underrated adventure game gem. More realistic, scarier, and with a storyline that has a very HP Lovecraft/early Stephen King (when he was still a drunk) horror flavor.

Fallout 3 (17+)
Now downloadable (I think?). Think Oblivion set in a Mad-Max-style East Coast after 1950's era atomic armageddon. Impressively dark and foreboding, with a pitch black sense of humor.

Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on

I'm kinda known for my FF love around here, even the much maligned FF X-2. I intend to trade the current games I have at the local geek exchange store for FF XIII.

I only have the tiny hard drive on the XB right now, but I am looking at getting a hard drive, so downloadable content like that will have to wait.

Thanks for the recs, though.

Nick's picture
Submitted by Nick on

Aeryl:

XBox360 supports plugging in any Fat16/32-formatted external USB 2.x hard drive up to 32GB (you can get a bigger drive and partition it for multiple drives), including USB thumb drives.

NewEgg 32GB flash drives:
http://tinyurl.com/468re8h

$30 external HD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...

So, you'll spend $40-$50 to save hundreds.

Also: hi Lambert! Been awhile.

Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on

That are flashed laptop HDs. 250g for $50-$60 is about the going rate.

Submitted by PA_Lady on

I've been reading these for awhile, but I don't know enough about games to comment. (Unless you covered Scrabble and I missed it....)

However, I was given an Xbox 360 in January, which is currently used only for Netflix (Yay Netflix!!) because there are so many game choices for it and I'm baffled. Given the prices, I don't want to find myself stuck with a game that's way above my skill and frustration levels (and worth only $5 at the used game store after I open it.) The pimply teenager at the store offered me some kind of cooking game. Which, I'm sure is fun, but...no.

Here's some (sad?) facts to help:

1. Something that would be interesting to a 42yo who has the skill level of ... oh, a 12-14yo? Maybe a 7yo these days...

2. I've only had two games that I've ever been any good at, where the demands and the frustration level were low enough I wanted to continue: Metal Gear Solid (wayyy back before there were numbers on the PS) and one of the Medal of Honor games (?? -- a WWII setting).

3. Any kind of game that lets me take my time would be good. Most of the games my son has require super-quick mental and visual processing (or so it seems). I can drive a stick-shift 3500 hauling a 16' trailer in heavy traffic in Miami where everyone does 90mph, but when it comes to games... I can't figure out the controls AND figure out my current task/goal AND figure out the steps to complete those AND watch for enemies or whatever all at the same time. (Call of Duty...ugh. I was utterly frustrated after 4 tries and never, ever want to play it again.)

4. I seem to enjoy games where I can sneak around and hide out from bad guys before I kill them. (This also worked for dodgeball in elementary school, though without the killing part.)

5. I'm not certain, but it seems like MGS and MoH, I could advance at least somewhat within an hour or so of starting a unfamiliar section. Enough of a sense of reward that I was willing to come back and play again the next day.

Submitted by Lex on

I'm not a 360 guy and not a hardcore gamer so take this with a grain of salt...on the other hand, i've long been a fan of the MoH series and am sad that they've started moving away from WWII. (I also share some of your frustrations with overly complex playing.)

I've seen people who ever play video games pick up the Ratchett and Clank games and have a blast. Bonus for lots of puzzles.

Left for Dead is a lot of fun, and you can probably pick up the first version used and cheap.

One of my brothers swears by Gamefly. It's a game rental deal like Netflix: monthly fee, one game at a time, keep it as long as you want and get a new one from your queue when you return the old one.

danps's picture
Submitted by danps on

you'll know about my affection for Oblivion. Aeryl wrote her dissent above, but it might be a good choice for you for several reasons.

First, it's a few years old. You could probably pick up a used Oblivion: Game of the Year Edition for 25 or so bucks, maybe less.

Second, Oblivion, like MGS, isn't a "twitch" game. There's combat is real time and not turn based, so you'll have to be able to react there, but it's a relatively small part of the game. That's especially true if you try to suck the marrow out of the game. (Try to persuade lots of people to like you! It ups your skill level and sometimes unlocks new options.)

Third, you can save anywhere. There aren't save points, so even if you only have 15 minutes you can get a little bit done and save there. No limit on number of saved games either (well, the hard drive limit anyway).

Fourth, you can take the approach you want for your character's skill set. In your case you could definitely up the stealth skills and play it like that.

Fifth, it's a LOOOONG game and will keep you occupied for a long time once you get into it. Give it a few hours though - literally three minimum, maybe eve 4 or 5. While it doesn't throw you into the fire immediately, it does take a little while to get your bearings. Get used to the controls, the menus, the leveling system, etc. by just sort of poking around in the first (safe) areas, then head out when you're more comfortable.

Sixth, the next installment comes out in November, so you can get your next fix right away - unlike me and BDBlue who HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR YEARS FOR THE NEXT ONE! Ahem.

danps's picture
Submitted by danps on

Play games from the hard drive when possible:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5179874_save-xbo...

You probably won't have space to keep more than one or two games on the hard drive at a time, so just play whichever one you're using at the moment and delete it when you move onto a new one. But the Xbox 360 seems to be somewhat flaky with its disks, and the less the system has to reference them the better. It speeds up performance too.

BDBlue's picture
Submitted by BDBlue on

I adore Ratchet & Clank, but unfortunately it's only on the PS3, so the xbox newbies won't have access to it (I agree it's a great choice for newbie gamers).

Oblivion drove me crazy when I first got it (I was relatively new at gaming then). I spent too much time talking to people and stealing things and not enough time leveling up my combat skills and then would get to, like, level 5 and have a totally gimped character who died in about a second whenever I had to fight anything. I had never played a role playing game before and I had no idea how any of it worked. I went out and got the Game Guide (1 cent, yes that's right, at Best Buy because it wasn't the GOTY edition and they were trying to get rid of them). But you don't need to pay for any Game Guide because the web also has great info. Once I understood it, it completely hooked me. Having said that, while you don't have to like to figure things like leveling up or character building, IMO, to enjoy Oblivion, it certainly helps. Also, if you don't like first-person view, then the Bethesda games are probably not going to be for you, because while I'd rather play them than anything else (seriously, I have nothing to review because I'm on my second month or so of playing Fallout New Vegas), they kind of suck, IMO, if you aren't in first-person. Having said that, Aeryl, try getting out of the cities and into the countryside and dungeons or on with the main quest. Deliver the amulet (you can fast travel there, essentially) and then go to Kvatch and start the fight to save the world. It's not a bad main quest and that's where you'll get more story and more action. There's only so much chatting with the locals I can take before I want to put my war axe through someone's head. You'll also get richer, which will mean better equipment. Also, for RPGs, while I prefer Bethesda to Bioware, a lot of people prefer the Bioware games because they're in third-person and are story driven. So you may prefer Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age (I think most people think Mass Effect 2 is the better game, but I've only played the demo so I don't know).

If you like story, you might want to try Red Dead Redemption (at least when the price comes down). I've had several people tell me how much they love it because of the story, including danps.

For PA_Lady the only advice I really have to offer is to try games and see if you like them. You can do this by downloading demos. You can also find used games at places like Gamestop, which are cheaper. I'm about your age and got a PS2 about five years ago (I've since moved onto PS3). It's taken me awhile to figure out games I like and those I don't. I have found that reviews and rankings are really helpful, especially bad reviews. I don't always like well-reviewed games, but I almost always hate the ones that got panned. I tend to read the ones at Gamespot, but there are other sites that do them, too. I loved the Medal of Honor games on the PS2, but confess that I've kind of lost interest in the PS3. I also have tried the Metal Gear Solid 4, which isn't for me and I spend about half of it totally confused, but a lot of people really love that game. If you have some experience with it, you may want to try it. It's been out for years and a used one goes for about $10-12. And while Oblivion or Fallout aren't for everybody, they do offer big open worlds to take at your own pace. I'll add that while I tend to prefer the Fallout series, my husband prefers Oblivion because it is much more of a fantasy world than the post-apocalyptic world of Fallout. It has magic and war hammers instead of combat shotguns. Although I am ridiculously excited by Skyrim, which is due to be released in November.

Oh, and I totally agree with Aeryl re Legos. All the Lego games are a blast, from what I can tell. I particularly love the Star Wars (Original) ones. Great platform game design and it's hilarious to watch little lego people re-enact the movies. Good for gamers of all ages and skill levels.

BDBlue's picture
Submitted by BDBlue on

There are 2 games that I like that you play entirely at your own pace - you can save almost at any time and they're turn-based. The first is the strategy game Civilization Revolution. This is a shorter, less complicated version of the Civilization series for PC. It takes about 2 hours to play a complete game (which can be played solely against the computer or against human competitors either in your living room or over the internet) and has a very good tutorial. The second is Valkyrie Chronicles, which is a turn-based role-playing game. It's got nice artwork, compelling characters and story and is just, IMO, a lot of fun. Given it's turn-based, you do everything on your own time.

BDBlue's picture
Submitted by BDBlue on

The demo is pretty good and gives a decent overview of what it's like to play. Essentially you build competing civilizations, which focus on managing resources of cities (tech, gold, culture, military). The regular PC Civilization games can take days or weeks to play, this simplified version takes about 2 hours. I enjoy it a great deal. It's a great thing to play between other big games, but I can also play it over and over. The nice thing is that no two games are ever alike because you have different maps, each civilization you can play has different strengths/weaknesses, and in addition to playing against the AI, you can play someone at your house or over the internet. The publisher also makes a "game of the week" available every week which is a new scenario that changes the parameters of the game that week (the game of the weeks are free).

Having said all the good things about it, it's really a question of whether the game is your style. If it is, you'll love it. If it's not, you'll likely be bored.

Submitted by Lex on

I've heard great things about it, and it's on my list. The reviews i've heard most are from people who loved the GTA series until the latest installment.

There's no doubt you get your money's worth from a Rockstar open world game; you can put incalculable hours into it and do what's asked of you or wander around looking for something interesting.

For me, i'm just not sure i can get into the Old West setting....

Submitted by Lex on

That looks amazing. The facial animation technology sounds like it's more than just stunning visuals too.

Submitted by PA_Lady on

I appreciate all the suggestions and can't wait to check out all the titles y'all mentioned! Ratchett and Clank sounded really interesting (puzzles!) so I'm sorry that isn't available for Xbox...darn.

Aeryl's picture
Submitted by Aeryl on

I was at the exchange today, game browsing, and they had one called Velvet Assassin, which is a lot of sneaking around. It has a female protagonist and everything!

It's actually based on real life British spy, Violette Szabo, so YAY WOMEN'S HISTORY!! on top of entertainment.

I haven't played, and it's recieved mixed reviews, so take this with a grain of salt, but when I saw it, I thought of you.

Submitted by hipparchia on

and i'm a sucker for spy stories too - both irl and fiction. must... resist... temptation....

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