Summer Wars

I'm sorry I have no pictures at this time, I'm kinda bootleg posting this from my phone at the moment (computer is awaiting it's graphics card to come back from the "shop") and I wanted to get this review up pronto, while the film is still fresh in my mind.

"But George!" you may be saying, "This is a site for game news/reviews! Surely you can't deviate!"

Well you're wrong, and I will. Mostly when I post it's something that draws me strong enough that it inspires me to put keystrokes to a pseudo-word processor and write, and this is definitely no exception.

Before I launch completely into this, be forewarned. This is an anime, but I believe it stands up to any modern live-action movie made in any of the recent years. As far as animated features, this movie stirred me more than Toy Story 3, but more on that in a minute.

Where to start...I guess with a synopsis.

The movie takes place during what is either intended as an alternate version of the present, or a relatively close future. The Internet (and computer technology) is so important and integrated into everything that there is a whole virtual world dedicated to hosting a few billion user accounts worldwide. This world handles everything from phone calls and text messages, to online gaming, it even handles online transactions. It's a mainframe built on top of the original internet, that utilizes it much like an MMO does, and it's security is supposedly unbreakable.

As the movie starts, a teen girl offers a teen boy a summer job. She says it will be simple, and after a little convicing he agrees to go along with it, without even knowing what he's in for. She asks him to come with her for her grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. When they arrive she introduces him as her fiancée, which--of course--he plays along with despite much protesting. On the first night of his stay, he receives an email with nothing but numbers. He's a math whiz, so he stays up the whole night and cracks the code. What he doesn't realize is that he starts a chain of events that endanger the very world.

To avoid spoiling any more (basically the first 15 minutes of the movie, which I believe are included in the actual description of the movie), I'll cut right down to it. This movie is amazing. Whether or not you like anime, this is something that anyone can enjoy. I know for a fact that it won at least one Sundance award.

With Internet culture the way it is today, with everyone being plugged in via cellphones and computers, the movie is very easy to identify with. The message that it sends about the Internet culture is shockingly chilling as well, yet it doesn't smash you over the head with it a dozen times; it merely whispers the message every so often, to the point where you barely grasp it.

But this film isn't only about the internet. It also features family as a strong centralized theme throughout the movie. The main family that is introduced is full of quirky characters, all of which help to tie the story together closer.
The movie reminds me a lot of the game/anime series .hack//, which is probably why it resonates so much with me, that being a game series that I obsessed over for a bit. It uses elements such as the Internet going so haywire that it wrecks society, even for a little bit of time. It--very chillingly might I add again--cautions us on our dependence on the web.

I'm going to go one step further and reveal something that will make me hand over my Man Card to the authorities. This movie is one of the very few movies that has ever made me cry. The last one was Toy Story 3, and I can't really remember any prior to that. I'm the type of person who forced himself not to cry during his grandmother's funeral, and would rather do almost anything other than admit that I cried. This movie was so powerful near the end that I literally couldn't hold anything in. My eyes started stinging, and then it was game over.

But you know what? I don't take that as a sign of weakness. Rather, I see this as the movie being so powerful that it actually broke a boundary that normally isn't crossed. Now--I'm easy to entertain, just not to emotionally engage. This movie did both for me, and for that I'm grateful.

The animation style was great. It switched between what I believe is traditional animated style (with very limited computer assistance) to full CG/Cel-shaded 2.5/3D models and environments. The blending of both work extremely well with the two separate worlds that are in coexistence in the movie. On top of looking nice in the "Game world" of "Oz", the "real world" looks stunning. I haven't seen such attention to detail since the last Hayo Miyazaki movie I saw (Ponyo, for the record).

I'll repeat it again: if you're a gamer--no, ANYONE who uses the internet--NO, anyone who can appreciate a good movie, I recommend watching Summer Wars. I'd imagine it's especially a great movie to pull out on movie night with the significant other, as there's a dash of romance thrown in as well (and drama, I hear chicks dig drama).

I will actually be purchasing this ASAP when I wake up tomorrow, and I recommend you do the same.

On the "Casualfication" of PC Gaming

Whether or not this picture is appropriate for the post is debatable, all I can say is COMPUTER! ATTACK FORMATION ALPHA!!!

As with most things that go on the internet, I have to counteract most of the potential questions/comments out of the gate. I'm an amateur game journalist here at bossvg.com. I haven't gone to school for journalism, but in the year that I've started collaborating on this site, I've become far more in-tune with the gaming industry than I was prior to it, whereas I was just completely immersed in gaming culture, but still on the outside of the industry. I grew up on a healthy mix of NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis, and have continually owned/played just about every console that has been around (still haven't physically played a Jaguar...).

When I was growing up, I wasn't as big on computer gaming as I was on consoles. I worked with the resources that I had available, and at the time, a high-end computer was simply something I didn't have access to. One of the earliest PC games I can remember playing was King's Quest IV, though I played Duke Nukem, and a little bit of Half-Life. Most of my time during those days was spent playing games on the SNES/Genesis, and later my N64.

But in the last 7 years, I've been steadily on top of PC gaming. I was converted by a mixture of Battlefield 2 and Half-Life 2, and WoW only helped it along. Since then, I've pooled my resources, kept an impressive custom gaming rig (if I do say so myself), yet still paid homage to my console roots.

But at the same time, I've grown into the PC market, being a tech-minded individual.


Whew, that's a decent chunk out of the way.


After reading the article that Brian Crecente posted today (on Kotaku) about how he didn't want to be a part of the new PC gaming world, I first misunderstood his claim. So much of the gaming press over the past year and a half consists of the claim that PC gaming is biting the dust. Then, us PC gamers argue back "Look at Steam!" and it's a never-ending cycle.

As I was preparing to write this, I went back and carefully read it again. I walked away from it with a different understanding. I understand now that it was more of a lamentation of his favorite developers from the years past making the move to less "ambitious" titles.

Everybody's waiting with baited breath at the bedside of PC gaming, pacing back and forth waiting for the telltale signs that PC gaming is going the way of the Atari. Every time a console gets a game demo first, or a former developer from some legendary game leaves to pursue other opportunities, people start calling the mortician.

PC gaming has mutated, and there's a very good reason why nobody should be alarmed. Computers are everywhere. Right? Right.

Not to discredit (or disrespect) Mr. Romero (as I have a sea of respect and appreciation for him), but he hasn't quite released anything notable since 2005. As with most creative types, sometimes certain creative branches get tapped out and there may be the need to pursue a different format. Obviously he's found great success doing to social games what he did to First-person PC gaming with Doom.

That doesn't mean it's the destiny of the PC to become a casual POS. You can keep pointing at Farmville all you want, and I'll keep pointing at Starcraft, Crysis, Half-Life (Steam as a whole), and other games on the PC, and say: "Look, it's still alive and kicking" and I don't think it's ever going to go away.

The difference with gaming nowadays is that everything is shared across all platforms. There has been a loss of exclusivity in general. Before, consoles and computers had very little in common, aside from the fact that both ran on circuitboards, chipsets, and processors. This created an elitist class of computer gamers (I'd happily raise my hand and nod if someone accused me of being one), much like the increase in console gamers created an elitist class of hardcore console gamer (see previous parentheses).

The consoles have suddenly morphed into computers that are dedicated to gaming. The games that would be unheard of on household consoles during the 90's and early 2000's, but unique to PC's, have begun to reach a much broader audience thanks to the PS3 and 360.

To put it simply, consoles have caught up to the PC. In turn, society has also caught up to the PC. While there's still a distance between them and us, the gap is now much closer than it ever has been. PC's are now as common as cars. During the 80's/90's (and earlier), it took a lot more effort to be a computer person. I'm sure most people remember running DoS.

It just seems now that casual gaming is the new future of the PC (and possibly even consoles in general).

I'm struggling with an analogy to end this. I want to point at cars, but I don't (personally) know enough about cars to be able to coherently form the analogy.

I basically want to say that casual gaming is nothing to be alarmed about, it's merely a byproduct of the popularization of computers, and that Hardcore gaming (as a whole, both PC and console) is here to stay. So what if some of our favorite creators have jumped on the social bandwagon? If they're finding success, be happy for them, as they obviously are enjoying themselves.

It only leaves a space for a new generation to take up the mantle. I (for one) hope to some day be my generation's Warren Specter, Shigeru Miyamoto, or Will Wright. Am I claiming that I will? No. Hell no, that would be as good as committing internet suicide.

But it all starts with a hope, a dream and the willpower to get there. Only time will tell.

And casual gaming is only another face on the Wheel of Gaming, one that will be around as long as entertainment is.

Doctor Lautrec and the Forgotten Knights

So today Konami announced a new title in their 3DS launch. Normally this wouldn't exactly be that remarkable, except for the fact that it's a direct ripoff of the Professor Layton series of games made by Level-5. The facts about it are as follows:

-Doctor Lautrec is a French Archaeologist
-Has a young (female) assistant named Sophie
-Setting is 19th Century Paris
-Will be a Puzzle game
-Doctor Lautrec is shown in several pictures (including the above) with a large hat (similar to Layton's) and overcoat (which is Layton's signature appearance).

That alone really isn't that much of a ripoff, though fans of the Layton series are probably already up in arms about this.

Here's a picture of Layton and his apprentice for reference:



Professor Layton facts:
-English Archaeology Professor
-Lives in contemporary London (Although the world that is crafted usually feels closer to 20th century London)
-Has a young (male) apprentice
-Puzzle Game

And as you can see from the picture, he's sporting a nice hat and overcoat, sporting an orange shirt underneath, though is sometimes pictured with a red vest.

In my opinion, it's similar to what Capcom did to Twisted Pixel games with MaxSplosion for the iPhone. Except Level-5 is a big enough company that they can actually do something about it.

Personally, I don't think I'll be buying this game when it releases. It's a complete rip off of Level-5's design, and Konami should be punished for it.

Expect it out this Summer. No word yet on when the next two Professor Layton games (and Prof. Layton vs. Phoenix Wright) will be released.

Dead Island Trailer

It's not often that a zombie trailer evokes any emotion other than "God, not another zombie game," but Dead Island is the rare exception. It's a very melancholic trailer played in reverse of the events that actually happen in the story. Not much is shown from the sad trailer, but from previous trailers that have been released, it will be a first-person survival-horror game in which you can only use melee weapons. Looks neat, and the story looks pretty interesting as well. I can't wait to get my hands on it, despite how over-saturated the zombie market is these days.

Other game devs take note: Make a sad trailer, pique many gamers' interest.

UPDATE: After reading the following article over at IGN, there is quite a bit more to the game than just "Zombie-styled survival-horror with melee combat" Apparently there are VERY few guns that exist, and all of the weapons degrade over time.



Based on this video, there's a lot of in-depth model deformation that will be able to take place as you hack-and-slash zombies. The game is slated for "Sometime in 2011" for the usual trio of devices (PC/360/PS3). Also, there is supposed to be an RPG system where your character gets stronger as you progress through the game, which is an interesting system that is (as of yet) unimplemented in a serious Survival-horror game (Dead Rising is campy/comedic more than serious) As a fan of games like Silent Hill 2, I'm definitely looking forward to this new title in the genre.

Dead Island is being developed in collaboration by Techland and Deepsilver Games.

Red Faction Guerilla

I've bought every Red Faction game since they made the first one for the computer in 2001. What can I say? The game has mined itself into my heart. No pun intended. This THQ franchise has had its ups and downs but Red Faction: Guerrilla was a fresh new start. The game brought me countless hours of destruction, but lacked on story and re-playability. The multiplayer was fun but yet very lack-luster, but to my surprise seemed to have a MLG (Major League Gaming) map list. Yet through all of that - I still managed to complete the story and all of its side missions.(Which became like pulling teeth after the 70th one.)

With their new game Red Faction: Armageddon, they promise to wield a new immersible story and more 'think shooter' game play. Regardless of the cosmic internet nay, it will find itself included my very prejudiced Xbox game collection. I'm just fucking happy the character doesn't look like Nico Bellic.

LA Noir Gameplay!!!!!!

LA Noire has been a very interesting game to me. It's actually a game that I haven't quite wanted to get excited for, yet have been the whole time. It's a Rockstar game, which is a good thing, but at the same time my personal gaming tastes dictate that I probably will not.

I think I've said this before, but I have never really enjoyed a Rockstar game for more than an hour. It all goes back to how I don't like games that are too open world, and that I end up shelving the game due to my odd obsession with beating the rest of the games I have. It ends up feeling like I don't have enough time to spend on it vs. the other games, and then it just starts collecting dust. The most recent examples of this are Fallout: New Vegas and Red Dead Redemption.


LA Noire will more than likely turn out the same way for me, or maybe my inner-fanboy sleuth will override that general boredom I experience with Rockstar games.

Again, I know they're great games. I KNOW. But at the same time it boils down to what type of games entertain me, as well as the ones I have time for.

Then again, the time argument is coming from someone who played Mass Effect 2 through twice, the second time after beating Mass Effect 1, having all DLC, and doing all side-missions...


Either way, With the trailer above, I finally know what the gameplay is going to be like for LA Noire. It definitely looks like it's going to change up the formula of Rockstar games. While it looks like it's a very organic world, with very interesting mechanics not only for combat, but for dialog as well. The interrogation system by itself has me interested, as you have to pay attention to gestures that the people you're interrogating make as well.



Look for LA Noire come May.

Guitar Hero Gets the Axe

Today was a day that should have been unremarkable. Activision had its usual conference call with investors to let them know how the company is doing, showing upcoming prospects within the company (usually the source of leaks for new games). Unfortunately, it seems like today was the day yet another studio was laid off.

Freestyle Games--the in-house team behind DJ Hero--has supposedly been gutted, according to an article by Eurogamer. In addition, Activision has "restructured" (fancy word for either laid off/disbanding a studio and redistributing its workers) the in-house Guitar Hero teams, canceling the 2011 Guitar Hero game in the process.

The official quote:
"[D]ue to continued declines in the music genre, the company will disband Activision Publishing's Guitar Hero business unit and discontinue development on its Guitar Hero game for 2011. The company also will stop development on True Crime: Hong Kong. These decisions are based on the desire to focus on the greatest opportunities that the company currently has to create the world's best interactive entertainment experiences."
-Activision

Not that I'm a huge fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, but I hope the developers affected by the lay-offs find new work soon.

Another game to get the axe is True Crime: Hong Kong, which looked to reclaim the glory that True Crime captured when it first appeared on the Xbox/PS2. It looked like a fairly ambitious title, and I was 'kinda' looking forward to it. The game was in collaboration with the studio behind the PS3 kart racing game ModNation Racers, United Front Games. No word on how they're being affected by the cancellation.

What I'm wondering at this point: How is Activision not completely absorbed by Blizzard at this point? It seems like Blizzard (and the money from the Call of Duty games) are what's keeping Activision afloat, but how long will CoD be able to prop Activision up?

Mark my words: Call of Duty is the next Guitar Hero.

Over-saturated and losing its touch; they need to go back to basics and try to recapture what MW did for the brand, instead of pumping out a game every year, with $15 map packs every three months.

Conduit 2, Hands-on

Man, the folks over at Sega know how to make a fun game. Despite my barometer that ranges between love and moderate dislike of their games, I can safely say this is going to be a game that Wii owners should be watching for.

Screenshot courtesy of Destructoid.

Most of the hands-on time I had was spent with the single player campaign. I'll admit I never played the original Conduit, but the game does a good job of explaining the events of the first game. Your character is in pursuit of an FBI agent responsible for an alien invasion, and the supposed (attempted) destruction of Washington DC.

The first level has you on an oil rig. It's raining, and the graphics engine handles the slick shining of the metal that's affected by rain pretty well. The particle effects of the rain are also impressive. Of course this is on the Wii, so it is limited by the Wii's hardware capabilities. Looking past the limitations of the system, the game feels good. The controls are 100% customizable, from the sensitivity of your cursor, to the area on the outside of the screen that makes you turn.

There were a few bugs, but the version we were playing was an earlier make of the game with the debugging tools left in. We were told most of the bugs were probably already squashed, but of course they took note of them to double check. It's impressive the lengths that Sega and High Voltage are going to to make sure that this game is one of the best Wii games ever.

The enemies are impressive, and act organically. I also kind of like how you can get into a fistfight with some of them, as they don't go down in one blow. My favorite weapon out of the game is one (the name escapes me at the moment) that you charge up, and when it's fully charged, you release the trigger to shoot an explosive beam at enemies. It explodes when it comes into contact with either walls or enemies. If it's a close miss, it'll chase enemies for a small bit. You can even turn the Wii-mote to change the orientation of the beam, allowing you to shoot around boxes. It's alternate fire turns it into a machine gun of non-charged bullets.

After beating the first level in single player, it was about time to play multiplayer. I'm still kicking myself over not having brought our camera. I would have, but I (wrongly) assumed that it would be an NDA event.

Multiplayer can either be played split-screen or online. Thankfully, there are lobbies and the game takes care of matchmaking. Also, throughout the (single player and multiplayer) game you earn achievements. It's in multiplayer that these achievements help you out, as the points earned via said achievements can be invested in weapons, perks, and new skins. Your personal avatar is highly customizable, and I ran with a Grey/Green color scheme. The perks are a standard affair, such as more armor, unlimited sprint, better melee. The game is really tongue-in-cheek with the descriptions. For example, the improved melee says "You know Kung-Fu" and the unlimited sprint (metal legs) says "The surgery is highly risky, but you think the chicks'll dig it".

The online worked well. There's no telling at this point how the actual server plays out, as we were all using a switch (think closed-network router) to connect and form a local network to play on. You always have vision of nearby enemies, as they show up on your radar as blips. This keeps you from getting that "Call of Duty" feeling of walking around a corner and instantly getting killed before you have any reaction time.

The game mode which I liked the most was "ASE Basketball." For those who never played the Conduit, the ASE is your disembodied alien orb companion. ASE Basketball is like Capture the Flag, except at the end you have to throw the ASE in your enemies' hoops.

The only thing that I hope is improved by the time the game launches (TBD, though Sega recently pushed it back to April) is that the spawn time is lessened. It takes a bit of time after you die until you can "Submit to the pain" and then even more time after you hit the button to respawn until you actually do.


I didn't get to spend too much time with the multiplayer, admittedly, as via some random button combination on my controller I unlocked debug mode. But I can give it my shining seal of approval that this Wii game will (and should be) a Day 1 Purchase, as long as the game doesn't change much from the way it was in the build we played (which it shouldn't).


Thanks again Sega! I had quite a bit of fun meeting the team behind the Conduit, and wouldn't mind at all coming back to see what you guys have in the works.

Arkham City will be five times bigger than Asylum

Most sequels tend to be bigger than their predecessors and its no different for Rocksteady's next Batman game. According to game director Sefton Hill, Arkham City will be about five times larger than the game world in the previous game.

“The footprint of Arkham City is about five times bigger than Arkham Island, but our primary intention was never to create a bigger game world just for the sake of it,” Hill told GameSpot.

He also goes on to talk about how even though the game will look and feel like an open world game, the next objective will always be clear so players won't become sidetracked. And that the game is not a sandbox.

“I wouldn't describe the game as ‘sandbox’ because a totally open and free-form game world would not allow us to create the kind of atmosphere that we wanted to,” Hill continued, “but we don't hold your hand either. Arkham City is its own place; a massive super prison, jam packed with supervillains, thugs, and psychopaths.”

Having just now finally played and beaten Asylum, I can't wait to get my hands on City. Rocksteady knows what they are doing with the Batman IP and this game will be legit.