To conclude their #12AnnouncementsOfXmas promotion, Madman Entertainment has saved the best for last. Madman have officially announced that they have acquired the rights to anime film HAL.
HAL is an anime film from Production I.G’s subsidiary WIT Studio, the people who brought you the blockbuster smash hit Attack on Titan. The film follows young lovers Kurumi and Hal, after death separates them, along comes ‘Robot HAL’ a robotic clone of the original Hal. It is a heart-warming drama the likes of which we have not seen before.
Madman plan to release HAL in various formats in 2014. That concludes Madman’s #12AnnouncementsOfXmas. Be sure to let us know what you think in the comments section.
So I got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that after my previous review, I’m completely out of space puns so I won’t be using any for this one. However the good news is that Starborn Anarchist is an exciting, addictive, rewarding, time-consuming gem that many are sure to enjoy. A customisable twin stick shooter with physics-based elements, Starborn Anarchist might not give you a good first impression, but it’s sure to give you a great lasting one instead.
Gameplay
Upon first glance I originally thought Starborn Anarchist was an Asteroidsclone and boy was I wrong! This twin stick shooter has players roaming the depths of space, battling against hordes of endless enemies space ships while also collecting items and currency along the way. Action is intense as bullets and lasers quickly fill the screen and massive bosses charge at you with no mercy. You kill, you collect, you get a score, you die and that’s pretty much it. But before you hit that replay button to try and beat your previous score, players are given the choice to upgrade their ship in the garage, and that’s when things start to get interesting. You see the whole basis behind Starborn Anarchist boils down to it’s deep upgrade system. Unlike many iOS titles which will simply just let you increase stats or whatever, these spaceships are customisable by dragging parts to where you’d like them be on the vehicle. The same combination of materials can lead to many potential ships all with different stats depending on how you choose to build it. A great example of this is the boosters for the ship, as placement of these can be make-or-break decisions, greatly impacting the momentum of the vehicle. Furthermore whilst picking up goodies during combat one will notice that deciding which ones to take will take a strategy of their own as weapons, shields and boosters can each be upgraded in different ways via three different types of coloured power ups. There’s a lot to get your head around. On top of all that there are challenges and goals set out for more opportunities to unlock parts and currency as well as over 50 achievements so it’s safe to say there’s a lot of ground to cover for the 100% completionist.
However it’s not all bells and whistles as Starborn Anarchist is held back by some major issues. Controls for one rely a lot on physics and can occasionally be awkward and clumsy. This sadly isn’t just limited to combat either as even while dragging parts around in the garage while customising can occasionally be a battle itself. In-app purchasing at times feels a little encouraged and worst of all this deep customisation experience is poorly explained in a big boring clunk of text. These are all major deterrents from the game so it won’t be surprising if many never see it’s full potential as it’s very easy to get extremely frustrated when playing for the first time. However if the player has the patience to learn the game and give it a second….or third chance, there is an enjoyable and rewarding experience waiting for them.
Audio & Visual
Let’s face it – this isn’t the prettiest game out there, but it’s not trying to be. Spaceships look and feel like lego blocks, and the effects are nothing memorable or spectacular. Debris and bullets chaotically fly across the screen in a way you’d expect them to in a title like this which does slightly add to the adrenaline rush. Sound effects again get the job done without taking anybody’s breath away. The soundtrack is a little more interesting, with a retro vibe reminiscent of the Super Nintendo era of gaming. Still, it’s nothing memorable but it’s nothing terrible either.
Overall
Remember when you were a kid and your parents bought you a Happy Meal and they forced you to eat all the food before you were aloud to play with the toy? That’s Starborn Anarchist. At first it’s not going to be very exciting, and you’ll have to read a long, boring block of text to understand what’s going on. Controls are awkward, in-app purchasing can be tempting and at first it all seems kinda generic. But once you get the hang of things, save up some currency and start customising your ship and earning new parts, things pick up very quickly. The trial & error of creating your own spaceship becomes very rewarding and gameplay becomes more and more addictive as you struggle to become the best space pilot you can be. These greatly overshadow the game’s flaws. Starborn Anarchist only sucks if you suck, and the more you’re willing to put in, the more you’re going to get out. This may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but damn it it’s still a good cuppa!
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
The eleventh announcement in Madman Entertainment’s#12AnnouncementsOfXmas promotion has just been revealed. Madman announced that they have acquired the rights to the fifth Naruto Shippuden movie, Naruto Shippuden: Blood Prison.
The film follows Naruto as he is falsely imprisoned in the world’s most dangerous prison, a ‘blood prison’ some might say. Madman plan to release the film on DVD and Blu-Ray in April 2014.
With only one announcement left in Madman’s #12AnnouncementsOfXmas promotion, stay tuned for the last title acquisition tomorrow on the 12th day of Madman’s exciting series of announcements. Let us know what you think of this one in the comments section.
BTOOOM!: Complete Collection Studio: Madhouse Publisher:Sentai Filmworks Format:Blu-ray, DVD (Reviewed) Release Date: December 10, 2013 Price:$59.98 – Available Here
Overview Surviving against the elements can push people to take extreme measures, but surviving against your fellow man can reveal the darkest nature of humanity. Perhaps that is why in recent years, many mediums have portrayed people fighting against one another in order to survive and why zombies have been in the spotlight as it takes away the guilt of killing a living person while still placing humans against former humans. BTOOOM! is the latest take on a survival based series and now that the anime has made its way to North America is it worth your money?
Story A popular online video game called BTOOOM has been sweeping the world with millions of people playing it every day. In the game teams battle against one another using a variety of bombs and the last team standing wins. Among the millions of players, ten people are on top of the leaderboards and are considered the best players of BTOOOM. One of these players happens to be Ryuta Sakamoto, a Japanese gamer who has shut himself away from the world who regularly lashes out violently against his family.
When Sakamoto suddenly wakes up hanging from a tree by a parachute, he finds himself stuck on a jungle island. The last thing Sakamoto can remember is going to a convenience store but now he finds himself trapped on an island with a strange chip embedded in his hand, seemingly alone. When the first sign of life appears in front of him, it also carries a dangerous threat as this person attempts to take his life using explosives mimicking those used in BTOOOM.
Viewers eventually learn that Sakamoto is one of twenty to thirty people who have been taken from their homes and dropped on a remote island. The only way to escape is to use BIMs, miniature bombs that come in a number of varieties, to kill seven other people to obtain their chips, as the only way to get off the island is by having eight chips in total, their own included, and the only way to take a chip off is after the wearer’s heartbeat has stopped.
Thrown into a life or death struggle on a remote island, Sakamoto finds himself with familiar weaponry but an explosion in this game doesn’t end in a respawn, it ends with pain and death. However Sakamoto is far from the only person familiar with these types of weapons and while he may feel wary of taking other people’s lives and is willing to work together with others, the rest of the people on the island could be thinking only of their own survival, killing anyone who might get in their way.
BTOOOM! presents viewers with an interesting set of characters but thanks to their nature it is difficult to find most of them likable. You see, the only way these people were selected to take part in this death match is by being nominated by others. This means that the dregs of society have been gathered together in one place. In the case of Sakamoto, we already know that he is a NEET from a broken home with violent outbursts that have put his family at their wits end, while a few other participants’ dark pasts are brought to the light, revealing many of them to be either sinister at heart, backstabbing, or straight up murderers to begin with.
There lies one inconsistency in this selection process however, as it exposes a flaw with the nomination process. A girl named Himiko, who just so happens to look just like Sakamoto’s in-game wife, has also been dropped into the game and while the reason for her nomination is shown and understandable, it does show that it is entirely possible for people to be thrown into this death match even if they aren’t completely at fault for the events that occurred.
That being said, throughout the course of the series we do see Sakamoto go through a number of challenges which see him come to grips with the realities of the game as well as Himiko struggle against her hatred and distrust of men, which is caused not only by her backstory but also due to rape attempts on the island by people she tried to trust, making for some interesting developments as these two slowly begin to work together and learn there is more connecting them than just their current circumstances.
While these two get a little bit of development, it merely covers them overcoming their issues while working together to survive. As for the rest of the cast, the interesting part doesn’t come from development but figuring out just what they are up to instead. As mentioned earlier, almost everyone on the island is in it for their own survival and will do whatever it takes to escape the island. This leaves viewers trying to figure out each character’s plans as the action takes center stage, though there are still a handful of emotional moments that do spring up amongst the bloodshed.
BTOOOM is at its best when there is a battle occurring. Thanks to a number of tools brought from the outside world, fights come in the forms of manipulating bomb placement and taking advantage of various bomb types, battling with knives, or even a stun gun. There is also some strategy when it comes to using the chips placed in a player’s hand, as they can be used to activate a sonar to find where nearby survivors are at, keeping the suspense high. However after explaining the rules of the sonar ability and how it does not pick up people not moving, there are a number of times throughout the series that the sonar acts inconsistent with previously established rules.
By the end of BTOOOM! viewers are left with plenty of hints as to what is really happening, including Sakamoto’s knowledge about who may be behind the game, and why these people have been placed on this island to kill each other, but nothing truly ends in this release as it leaves off on a cliffhanger with viewers who have enjoyed the series left hoping for either a second season or the official English release of the manga the series was adapted from to pick up the pace.
Visuals It is clear coming into the series that Madhouse had a stylized look planned for the series and it works to their benefit. While the characters aren’t the most detailed looking, they have certainly used a more down to earth representation for their facial features and this helps make some of the facial expressions better looking and really helps deliver the psychotic nature of a few of the characters. There is some decent detail to be had as far as the fan-service character Himiko is concerned, but outside of that most of the clothing is kept pretty simple and while gore is present, it is rather basic for a series about blowing people up.
As far as the action goes, the character animation is fluidly handled and while the explosions help keep the level of intensity up, there are inconsistencies about the strengths of certain bombs. At one point we’re presented with a small explosion from a bomb while the same exact type is capable of annihilating a ten foot radius, often resulting in certain characters escaping by the skin of their teeth thanks to varying explosive radius’.
Audio BTOOOM! sports a fairly satisfying English dub with believable voice work by the cast. This is a pretty great accomplishment considering there are characters from young teenagers to middle-aged salary men to voice in the series. While some may prefer the Japanese voice track included in the release, the English cast does a nice job giving a sense of danger to each confrontation with their character portrayals.
It is interesting to note that while there are some canned pieces of background music used throughout the series, there are also some incredible sounding tracks that lack lyrics but are used to great effect during important moments of the series. As for the opening theme, we have “No Pain, No Game” by nano which is excellent for a series such as this and an ending theme named “Aozora” by May’n provides a solemn close to each episode.
Extras There are some rather basic bonus features on offer with this release. There are trailers for other Sentai Filmworks anime, a clean version of the opening and ending theme, and some Japanese promotional material. There are also a few Btooom Digests that are a few minutes long and show information and clips of killed characters.
Overall BTOOOM! takes a common survival game path and amps things up with plenty of explosives. While the series’ characters can be hard to like or even get behind and the main storyline only really moves in the background as Sakamoto and Himiko try to survive, it tries to make up for it with some impressive action sequences and tense moments as viewers feel concerned about the only characters they really have a choice to care about before the release ends just as the plot begins to advance.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
With the holidays upon us, online retailers are going all out with discounted video games. Of course, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without Steam’s massive Holiday Sale which includes steep discounts from indie titles from Gaijin Games to AAA titles like Sleeping Dogs.
Greenman Gaming is running the Dealsford Holiday Sale with new sales every day. Each purchase will reqard buyers with $0.10 store credit and an extra 20% can be taken off most prices with the coupon GMG20-ZB5D1-93X49.
GamersGate will be wrapping up their holiday sale a little before Christmas. New deals come every day along with a discounted bundle every week.
Amazon is making another serious challenge to Steam’s holiday sales crown with their Holiday Deals. All purchases made will reward buyers will an extra $5.00 promotional credit that will be valid on the Editor’s Choice Best Games of the Year sale that will kick off in January.
Get Games is holding a slightly smaller but still a respectable sale that brings a new major deal every day for 12 days.
GameFly has teamed up with EA to celebrate the holidays with up to 50% off EA titles and a free copy of Red Alert 3 with each purchase. Be sure to use GFDDEC20 at checkout to get an extra 20% off.
Recently, NAMCO BANDAI Games EU announced that some of the fan-favorite characters from the earlier installations of the Soul series will be available to play in the upcoming title, SOULCALIBUR: Lost Swords.
This next chapter in the Soul series will be a free-to-play single player game. It’ll feature a good selection of past characters in the older SOULCALIBUR games, such as Siegfried, Mitsurugi, and Sophitia. Nightmare, Pyrrha, and Astaroth will also be playable characters in SOULCALIBUR: Lost Swords.
Nightmare is the main antagonist of the Soul series. He embodies the power and strength of Soul Edge, the cursed sword that hungers for souls in order to sate its thirst. Pyrrha is a young nomadic girl whose parents were kidnapped by minions of Soul Edge. Although a pacifist by nature, Pyrrha’s natural ability to fight makes her a tough opponent out on the field. Astaroth is a golem warrior created for the sole purpose of finding and acquiring Soul Edge. He was made to destroy and to massacre, utilizing his broad axe and massive strength to overcome enemies.
SOULCALIBUR: Lost Swords will be arriving to Europe in 2014 on the PlayStation 3. This title will be exclusive to the PlayStation Network. Click here for screenshots and a trailer presented for the Tokyo Game Show 2013. Make sure you keep an eye on this upcoming title.
Following the reveal that a robotic Naruto will be making an appearance in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution, we’ve yet to see him in action. Thankfully, Namco Bandai has released a trailer showing off Mecha-Naruto in all his rocket-powered glory.
Designed by manga creator Masashi Kishimoto, the robot form is almost a throwback to the classic super robot anime of old, able to throw rocket punches, transform into a mechanical Kyubi Mode and finally unleash the devastating Mecha-Kurama. See it below for yourselves.
Due sometime in 2014, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution will feature new gameplay mechanics such as Combination Ultimate Jutsu attacks as well as a roster of over 100 characters spanning all arcs.
Even with the latest Steam project involving Linux, Valve still is able to provide us with an impressive new update for Team Fortress 2. The update should be automatically installed when you start up Team Fortress 2. The major changes include:
Happy Smissmas 2013!
All Players who play TF2 during the event will receive a Gift-Stuffed Stocking! Stockings contain goodies for good little Mercenaries.
Added community-contributed winter event items.
Added the Giftapult, which can be used to launch gift items to randomly-chosen online players.
Added Naughty and Nice winter keys to the Mann Co. Store.
Premium Players will receive a Secret Saxton to give to another player.
Item grants from previous events (including the Spirit of Giving and the Winter Holiday noise maker) have been re-enabled for all players, including those who deleted their earlier grants.
Weapons
Battalion’s Backup: Added +20 max HP passive for the wearer.
Concheror: Added +2 health per second passive for the wearer.
Crit-a-Cola: Reduced consumption penalty from +25% extra damage to +10%.
Diamondback: Now also gains a critical attack on successful backstab kills.
Flying Guillotine: Alt-Attack now also throws the Guillotine when active.
Short Circuit: Improve visual effects, greater attack speeds and lower ammunition and players are only targeted if in range and in front of attacking player.
Soda Popper: Hype no longer grants mini-crits, added Hypemode which grants up to 5 extra air jumps when active, hypemode is triggered by Alt-Attack when hype is full.
The Beggar’s Bazooka has been updated to use the same taunt as The Direct Hit.
Professional Killstreak Mantreads, Splendid Screen and The Chargin’ Targe now generate proper effects when on a killstreak. These effects do not stack if another killstreak effect weapon is active.
Cosmetics
“Head” and “Misc” slots for player loadouts have been converted to Cosmetic slots. All items that were previously Head- or Misc-slot-specific can now be equipped in any Cosmetic slot.
Unusual effect positioning can now be adjusted for all Cosmetic-slot items.
Unusual Circling Effects have been given a new origin.
Unusual effects for all Cosmetic-slot items are now visible in the loadout panel and character HUD.
Fixed the Wiki Cap clipping with the Demoman’s head.
Mann vs. Machine
Fixed being able to inspect Blue-team bots.
Fixed the mission victory screen not always showing the correct information for each player.
Fixed some clipping issues with the stats in the scoreboard.
General
Fixed an exploit where players could move around while using a taunt to attack enemies.
Fixed an exploit related to the Rocket Jumper and the Soldier’s grenade taunt.
Fixed killstreaks attained via healing not being considered for round-end win panel.
Fixed the killstreak hud indicator position in minmode.
Fixed Taunt Kills strange scores not incrementing properly for the Strange Scorch Shot.
Fixed strange scores on cosmetic items sometimes failing to increment.
Fixed gift-wrapped items not showing their interior item to the wrapping player in some conditions.
Fixed Steam Sale items granted from Snow Globe crafting not being listable on the Steam Community Market.
Improved bot navigation in cp_gorge.
Improved bot navigation in pl_upward.
Updated several materials to fix issues caused by mat_picmip.
Updated the backpack to filter to automatically filter for valid items when using a tool.
In recent weeks, I’ve found myself being asked the same question a lot of people lately. “Are you getting an Xbox One or PS4?” When you work with video games as a profession it’s a pretty difficult question to avoid. It is with some disdain that I honestly answer “Neither” each time I’m asked. This has nothing to do with console favouritism, or a misconstrued PC superiority complex. My choice to not partake in “Next Generation” console gaming comes down to a few conflicting factors, many of which I would imagine could be similarly felt by the wider gaming community.
The question itself implies that you have to be in one camp or another or else: ‘YOU AREN’T A REAL GAMER!’ Even after playing games for over 20 years, I’ve felt like less of a gamer when I say that I would be getting neither the XBO nor PS4 in the immediate future. I sometimes use the high price point to help justify this choice (even though I bought a Wii U a few months back), but in all honesty I just don’t feel like I would enjoy what either console has to offer. I realize that it’s still early days for both systems, as they haven’t even seen their first Christmases yet. However there was something I noticed about the launch lineups for both systems that retailers and paid advertisers describe as “impressive”. For the most part, many of the “Awesome next-gen launch titles” were simply graphically updated ports of games that had already been released on the previous generation consoles. It doesn’t say much for the launch and potential if the best things that the consoles are advertising themselves on are Fifa 14, COD: Ghosts and Assassin’s Creed IV. Sure there’s a few original IP’s in there, but for the most part, these launch lineups really seem to be lacking what new console generations should be inspirited to create: NEW original games and properties.
Wouldn’t be an issue if this wasn’t ALL of the original content on offer…
I’ve done a bit of research and a count of the week one retail launch lineups of both consoles. Of the 18 Xbox One titles and the 15 Playstation 4 titles, only TWO XBO titles and ONE PS4 title were NOT sequels or ports of games that had already been released on previous systems. Ryse, Powerstar Golf and Knack are the only original properties to have graced the systems thus far. Pretty eyebrow raising stuff, no? Where’s the originality disappeared to? All indicators point to the industry’s obsession with churning out sequels as the cause. Why do developers and publishers keep making new installments and slapping an extra number or subtitle to the name? It’s a pretty simple answer actually: Because they sell. Everything is in the brand name. A Fifa game will always sell to football fans, The Sims expansions will sell to simulation fans and Assassin’s Creed will sell to sandbox fans. From a business standpoint this makes pretty clear sense. Taking on lower risk ventures with predictably high profit results is Business 101. Creating new IP’s involves some pretty substantial risk of not selling, and demands a lot more groundwork establishment than the tried and true franchises. Sequels, with their pre-established characters, settings, and gameplay mechanics are also more time-efficient to produce. “No need to worry about introducing and explaining the story of the hero and villain, they’ve been at it five times already!”
This complicated graph explains everything!
I use the term ‘Sequelitis’ to describe this condition of the industry at present. Besides being the name of a hilariously insightful Egoraptor webseries, the term refers to the idea that within creative media, a constant cycle of sequel releases creates creative stagnation. This is true of all forms of creative media, including films, music, television shows, and yes, video games. Ask yourself, when was the last time you enjoyed a genuinely great ORIGINAL game, let alone as a full retail release? The last one I can recall was Dishonored, and before that it would have been the first Dragon Age game. That’s at least two years in between releases. In the time between, almost all of the games that frequent most gamer’s collections seem to be a sequel, prequel or spinoff in an already established franchise.
Some standout examples of original titles of the last generation (Dishonoured, Dragon Age, Xenoblade Chronicles, Mass Effect and Left 4 Dead)
Not often enough do we seem to stop and look at what this mentality of ‘rinse and repeat’ is doing to the creative drive of the industry. By placing a business (rather than creative) emphasis on the production of video games, fewer and fewer developers and publishers will be inclined to take that new IP risk. Of course game production ultimately has to be run as a business to generate revenue, and a few sequels will always be in demand, but 16 out of 18 launch titles is taking the piss. I do not write this article to disparage and nay-say what gaming sequels bring to the industry. They generate billions of dollars in the industry every year and many have been revolutionary names with powerful fan followings. Heck, many of my favorite game releases have been sequels: Mass Effect 2, Elder Scrolls III-V, the Halo series, Legend of Zelda and Pokémon of all generations. Many of these are some of the best ever made. Like movies and television shows, sequels in games can be an extraordinary mixed bag of quality. Some are poorer shadows of their original title, others are extremely well developed expansions on the game’s universe, and others attempt to emulate expansion while really adding very little. It’s that third result that concerns us. The issue I want to draw out is the difference between expanding on the game universe and what’s essentially milking a cash cow.
The yearly released sports titles and ‘modern’ shooters are the most guilty of perpetuating this trend. Now, by no means am I saying these are bad games. To sell so well all of the time, they have to be doing something really well in the design and marketing side of things. It is not the games themselves I wish to challenge, but the mentality of their production. These are the series and franchises that treat the smallest of additions to the game formula as the most groundbreaking gameplay mechanic ever. Case in point example: The dog in Call of Duty Ghosts, who appeared heavily in the marketing of the game but only showed up for action in two campaign stages. A lot of hype over very little delivery. If I were to ask you, “What was the difference between Fifa 11 and Fifa 12, or Modern Warfare 2 and 3?” I’d wager that many would have difficulty transcribing these thoughts into words. Most responses one might expect would be: “Different story? Updated rosters? Better Graphics?”
This will probably exist too…
It still astounds me how much hype gets made over the detailed level of graphics in modern video games. In earlier days, when games were extraordinarily more limited by the graphics technology of the time, successful games had to make themselves appealing on the basis of story or gameplay instead of how pretty it looked. Some of my fondest gaming memories involve nothing more than 16 bit pixel characters in Megaman X, Chrono Trigger and Sonic the Hedgehog. However, as time has progressed and as the business demand for everything to look pretty rather than play well has taken over the development process. Now we move into a console generation that promises to be the most “powerful” ever in terms of processing power. However, I guarantee that of all the new releases to come, at least 80% of a game’s processing power will be devoted to the graphics. And what sorts of games market themselves most on graphic improvement? That’s right. Sequels. That, and any Playstation game staring Ellen Page. You only have to look at the launch lineup to observe it.
What’s wrong with this picture?
This is the part where I lavishly praise the independent video game development scene for their work. Many of the best original IP’s I’ve played in the last five odd years have been independent development projects released on Steam, Xboxlive and PSN. I’ve been quite pleasantly surprised at how much I’ve marketplace games like Castle Crashers, Super Meat Boy, Limbo and Dust: An Elysian Tale. These are the titles that tend to more commonly forgo multi-dimensional graphics in favour of superior gameplay. I’ve found that Steam, XBLA, PSN and the Nintendo Store have become havens for the original, and I encourage all Indie developers to continue their often groundbreaking work. I asked the question: “Will Next-Gen gaming suffer from Sequelitis?” Unfortunately, all of the evidence points towards “Yes”. The launch lineups and announcements of new titles are not encouraging for the future of console gaming. And considering that some of the biggest exclusive hype has been generated for new Halo and Infamous games, I don’t think we’re going to be seeing any more revolutionary genre defying IP’s any time soon. I sincerely hope that some of the upcoming release titles like Watchdogs and Destiny will start to break out of this trend, but toppling the “successful” rinse and repeat formula is going to take a lot of gamers to stand up and say “Seriously. No. More.”
Some of the best games you’ll ever play are those not bought in a store. (Limbo, Dust: An Elysian Tale, Castle Crashers, Bastion, Binding of Isaac)
Of course, there are always those occasional entrants into the industry that really do defy these genre trends. Despite the relative sameness of most modern shooters, Spec Ops: The Line was an excellent example storytelling told through gameplay decisions. And it was an original title. Similarly, Xenoblade Chronicles on the Wii was an exemplary RPG title, again, an original IP. We know that it is possible to innovate in the modern market. They just need the backing of developers and fans to make it a reality. On that note, I’m not just writing this to rant about my own personal misgivings about the upcoming console generation. In fact, I offer a few realistic suggestions on how we might breathe a little bit more of that creative spark back into the mainstream industry. First and foremost, I should point out that we should not stop making sequels. Like I said before, some of the best games ever made were sequels. But what many of us notice about the most successful and enjoyable of them are that the best sequels are those that leave some time between releases. Extra time gives developers more creative freedom, because they are not under significant time pressure to get their project done. Remember when I said the yearly releasers are the most guilty? It’s because they are under pressure to meet that yearly release deadline. Not only does this stifle creative freedom, in the minds of the players it also makes the experience seem all the more bland.
Every. Freaking. Year.
Remember, game development takes time and care. Make the demand for franchise releases less frequent, and you grant the developers more time to come up with some truly great ideas. While the onus is on publishers to not pressure the development teams in this regard, this can be helped along if we consumers learn a little patience and stop sending in letters and emails asking “OMG WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE COMMIN’ OUT LOL!?” Having appropriate time to finish games properly can really make the difference between your Skyrim epics and your Mass Effect 3 rushed ending. Personally I love the sequel series like Elder Scrolls and Smash Brothers. But these franchises are so appealing because their development takes time, with around 4 or 5 years between releases. I guarantee many of you would become significantly less interested in them if they were to be released every year. This is advice I aim towards games like Assassin’s Creed and Call of Duty. I challenge these developers to just take an extra year in making your next entry, and see where it takes you.
E3: Supporting or Killing Originality?
Secondly, we really need to address the overhype that exists around these yearly released sequels. It’s very surprising how so few players have played, or even heard of outstanding titles like Shadow of the Colossus, Grim Fandango or Psychonauts. It’s because the yearly re-releasers tend to get all the huge marketing hype and attention. I suggest that we aim, not to cut off, but at least reduce the overhype from its source. And you don’t get much more gaming overhype than at E3. E3 in the many years gone past was the premiere gaming expo that aimed to show off the latest in gaming innovations, both for hardware and software. Recently however, the expo has developed a bit of an “over-rated” reputation in the gaming community. It’s become something of a springboard for developers to showcase new installments as opposed to new franchises. I’m sure many would agree that E3 would be a richer experience if there were more originality to be shown. My suggestion in this regard is to make E3 all about new IP’s and new ideas. In other words, ban sequels from E3. Now, this is not to say developers should stop making new games in their pre-existing franchises. Heck, I support it. But if developer entry into E3 came with the proviso “No Sequels”, we would see a huge wealth of innovation. Imagine if every title on the showroom floor was an original IP. This would generate some much needed attention for these creations, and drag it away from the yearly re-releasers. EA wants to announce a new Battlefield game? Ubisoft, a new Assassin’s Creed? Great, but announce it any other time of the year, with your own marketing on your own website. Let’s start celebrating and supporting the prospective new franchises, and not just the same old same old.
Not so much sequels as spin-offs.
A third suggestion I would make would be to mix up the formula of the annual re-releases a bit. You may have noticed that not once yet have I berated the Mario franchise for its bout of Sequelitis. The difference I see in the Mario franchise however, in comparison to say Assassin’s Creed, is that each successive Mario title’s gameplay formula is mixed up just enough to keep it appealing, and not feel immediately repetitive. If asked to describe Assassin’s Creed I-IV, they’re all very samey in terms of formula and gameplay mechanics, just different settings. Super Mario World 3D is quite different from the New Super Mario Bros, which are quite different from Paper Mario, which again is different from Mario Kart/Party/Tennis, which are different STILL from Luigi’s mansion; and so on and so forth. Each successive Mario game is visually and gameplay-wise distinctive from previous installments. Of course, Peach always gets kidnapped by Bowser, and the next week they’re all kart racing, but each time Nintendo changes up the formula, so rather than seem like a string of the same game over and over again, instead they all feel like distinct standalone titles. The same can be said for franchises like Zelda and Sonic. I would love to see Call of Duty perhaps break into a third person tactical shooter like Gears of War, or Assassin’s Creed get an RPG tie-in game. Changing the formula is a great way to inspire innovation.
Console and PC exclusives that really put in the effort
The last suggestion I would like to offer is this, specifically aimed at the big three console companies: Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo. Start licensing more exclusives. This is another gripe I have with the XBO and PS4 launches, in that about 14 of the release titles were available on both systems. There’s so little distinguishing the performance of one from the other, and now the software availability is basically the same too. Credit where it’s due to Nintendo, and hence why I’ve felt their console was worth the buy. The Wii U has quite a few really good exclusives both already out, and slated for later release. (I’m particularly looking forward to the release of ‘X’). Increasing exclusivity licensing will encourage developers on all sides of the console wars to only release quality titles that can compete with the expanding market of their rivals. This in turn will encourage independent developers to really innovate creatively so they might be picked up as a Nintendo or Sony exclusive franchise. Now is the time to snatch up those Indie developers while you can, because a pretty big shadow is peaking over the horizon in 2014. As we all know, Indie developers tend to favor online as opposed to physical disc distribution for their games. With the Steam Machines slated for release next year, the direct download market is going to get increasingly competitive, and as such the number of multi-platform releases is going to increase significantly. And where multi-platform releases increase, exclusives tend to decrease. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Steam Machines to see how it might shake up the modern console market. Nintendo already seems pretty well set in terms of their exclusive titles, but if Microsoft and Sony want to break out of this bout of Sequelitis, they’re going to have to start investing in new IP’s, and the traditionally Steam dominated Indie dev scene would be an ideal place to start looking. After all Microsoft, wasn’t it a good idea to pick up Minecraft when you could? Yeah, thought so. Imagine what sort of success the company would get if Sony had picked up a series like Angry Birds exclusively.
The future is watching you…
Now, you could speculate that any of this might help, or it might just keep things the same as they are now. Ultimately this is an industry that many of us love for its creativity, storytelling and ability to bring a little bit of joy and fun into our lives. Regardless of whether you get that joy from completing a complex puzzle, defeating a difficult boss fight, winning a simulated world cup or blowing the heads off your online rivals, you can’t deny that it gets a little boring doing the same thing over and over. Variety is the spice of life after all, and we don’t want this industry to fall into creative stagnation. It will be our voices and choices that will drive the future direction, not publisher say-so. Is the new generation of gaming suffering from Sequelitis? Undoubtedly, yes. But does it have to stay this way? Not by a long shot.
MangaGamer the leading visual novel game publisher have just made some substantial announcements. The first announcement is that they will have just released Ef – The Latter Tale which is now available for download.
Ef – The Latter Tale is the second part and conclusion to Ef – The Fairy Tale of the Two. You can check out some screenshots for Ef – The Latter Tale below to get a glimpse at the game.
Ef – The Latter Tale is developed by Minori and will retail for a price of $34.95 exclusively for PC. While that is one big announcement for MangaGamer it wasn’t the only one. They also had another big one to reveal.
The second announcement was that pre-orders are now available for Valkyrie Svia. You can pre-order your copy from the MangaGamer website here.
Valkyire Svia is an erotic visual novel that challenges you to make Svia the most depraved maiden in all the land. Using tentacles and whatever other means appear to you, you must defile the maiden and make her feel the depravity.
The game is set for release on January 24th, 2014 exclusive to PC. Be sure to let us know what you think of these two very interesting visual novel titles in the comments section below.
With the holidays upon us, online retailers are going all out with discounted video games. Of course, the holidays wouldn’t be the same without 
