Tuesday, July 8, 2014

The Core Gamer Seige


Gamesindustry.biz has a fantastic article by Peter Moore detailing some of the struggles EA has had moving away from the traditional business model. Even if you don't agree with the sentiment, its a great look inside the thinking of big game publishers.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Does the Time Make the Game?

Yesterday Hideo Kojima had a great roundtable discussion about his series, Metal Gear Solid, and how he views the issue of taking on real world issues in video games. Here it is:


Friday, April 18, 2014

The Successful Relaunch

Gamasutra has a great interview with Naoki Yoshida, the producer and director of SquareEnix MMO FFXIV: A Realm Reborn.

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

200

Its March now, the big games are coming down the pipeline. Dark Souls II, Titanfall, FFX/X-2 Remaster, inFamous: Second Son, and MGS V; are all games that are highly anticipated. Whether you own next-gen, last gen or a handheld system there is much to be excited for this month and the ones to come. Marking the 200th post has made me reflective and looking backwards I have pored over the ones I could have done better. I want to start by saying Mea Culpa. I haven’t always been right in what I foresaw for the industry. The Tomb Raider reboot was of the highest excellence, I found out after playing the PS4 DE edition. While I was hesitant to latch onto the idea of a reboot being necessary after the trilogy that began with the excellent Tomb Raider: Legend I can acknowledge that Crystal Dynamics did an outstanding job with the IP. It wasn’t the only thing I got wrong but it stands out to me as one of the biggest.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

The Three S's

 It’s come down from on high that Capcom’s Deep Down, a F2P PS4 exclusive, is not allowing female characters to be created in the game. As the pronouncement was translated in an interview from Japanese to English, one has to take it with a grain of salt. Translation errors have accounted for more than a few embarrassments, so while things look grim on that front, there’s always hope. Whatever happens in the end though, it’s another stab in the gut for the industry. Video games are one of the only forms of entertainment that have a few good women fronting popular series. The reboot of Tomb Raider was quite good, Mass Effect, Dragon Age, The Last of Us, are all examples of strong female leads.

Friday, February 7, 2014

The Trust of a Hero

Have your ever noticed that the hero is never trusted? Superman and Batman, Buffy and Angel, Master Chief and Cortana; every modern hero has to face the idea that the very people that they save, that they fight with every day will end up mistrusting them. It’s something of a modern convention. In the old days calling a man a liar was paramount to signing your death warrant. A gentleman would have you at ten paces by the dawn, and in the west if you weren’t shot outright, you’d be looking at a six shooter on a dusty main street.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Galactic Starfighter Expert Scout Guide

So you want to play the Scout class in The Old Republic’s latest expansion? There are a few guidelines to set forth before we get to the meat of the guide. First of all the Scout class is a dagger class, you need to get in quick and get out quick, and the best damage comes from getting up close. To have any real chance of taking out an enemy, especially a better armored one than yourself you need to be within about five thousand meters from the enemy ship. You are given the Blackbolt/NovaDive free of charge and must unlock the Sting/Flashfire but be aware that the two scout ships do not play exactly alike.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Enter Galactic Starfighter

I love the Galactic Star Fighter expansion for The Old Republic. It’s unexpectedly fun. PVP has always been something of a bane for me. Its hardcore enthusiasts will be first to get the best gear and the best accessories. In most games that means coming in later takes a lot of gumption. You have to ready to eat the dirt a lot to gain the skill and the gear to compete. Enter GSF.



Saturday, January 11, 2014

In Defense of ESO

MMORPG.com has a guest article from Pathfinder Online's Ryan Dancey. In his OP-ED he defends The Elder Scrolls Online and the use of the hybrid subscription/micro-transaction model for the future of MMO's. 


Link

Friday, January 3, 2014

The Fan

As I read comment section after comment section, I have come to realize that usually the most vocal MMO gamers are not actually fans of Role Playing Games. RPG’s are all about combat, loot, level progression, story and rinse and repeat. It’s its purest form the RPG is grind, loot, story and repeat and it’s a diagram that has been repeated by Massively Multiplayer Online RPG’s as well. The shell may differ from game to game but each MMORPG looks the same when broken down.