Yes, Apocalyptica’s lyrics ring true about the PSP. I sat down and thought for a while about the PSP recently, and realised I just am not playing games on it anymore. The fact is, Sony’s PSP unit has become testament on how not to market a handheld. The system in my eyes (despite Sony’s claims) has been quite a failure in my eyes.

The launch of the system brought some great titles to the PSP franchise. The likes of Burnout, Ridge racer, Syphon Filter etc. are just a few example of the rather solid franchises. It even has my favourite Turn based game Field Commander… But the diversity of releases over the last couple of years has just been too poor to justify continual use of the PSP.

Some people may argue that the likes of MGS, Gran Turismo and a whole catalog of great potential games will be released in a couple of months. Unfortunately it’s too little to late I think. Sony have had plenty of time to deal with the PSP in a correct, sensible manner. But chucking a couple of AAA titles at the system is not retribution by a long shot. So within the next week or so, I’ll be waving goodbye to it.

So what do I intend to do with the money I get from selling? I’m thinking a DS actually. I did buy my mrs one in the Xmas of 2007, but she never used it, I was partially to blame, cos I was on it more than my PSP at the time… but we had to sell that because money was tight. It was a good machine in my book, not as powerful as the PSP, but somehow much more fun. The likes of Advance Wars had me hooked for hours as did the likes of the classic 2D Mario and Sonic games. Now with the likes of GTA: ChinaTown Wars and a few other great looking titles in the Library, it already kicks the PSP’s ass sideways over a fence. I have no hesitation in gunning for this system, it’ll keep me going until the games industry gets their act together.

But some thing has changed. I can’t be happy or angry about the announcement. In all fairness, I’m neutral, right down the middle. The fact is, when you’re a fanboy dedicated to something, everything turns to Marmite. You’re either gonna love it or hate it. But from my perspective, the RTS genre is in dire need of some real titles. After all, there’s nothing out there other than the up and coming Starcraft 2, to go nuts about.

This is the same for gaming in general really. There’s Modern Warfare 2 on the way, and (….Insert safe sequel title here….) But as gamers, we’re really not seeing new IPs waltz out the door and make a statement. Prototype is probably an exception here, and of course the casual shovelware market.

But back to C&C 4… I’m seeing no bases, a limited resource collection mechanic, and the sidebar fell over again. Not for one minute am I going to complain about the lack of traditional elements at all here. I for one am happy there’s going to be some extra RTS titles coming along. But I’m also rather pleased that EALA have decided to kill off the same old tired formula, that really wasn’t doing the franchise any major favours. Because, after all, things need to evolve. You cannot expect as a company to pump out the same old stuff every couple of years and expect everyone to continue singing your praises…

Admittedly, some would argue that Starcraft 2 is playing the same old game. But my response is that the game is no C&C. It hasn’t several predecessors each very little from the last, and the game isn’t just an entertainment tool either. SC2 as it stands is going to be part of a strong national sport in Korea for many years to come. Very few games across all genres can uphold such a status for year on year pro gamers to compete with.

SO maybe C&C 4 will change things. Sure, it has elements of games like Dawn of War 2, but what it’s offering is beyond anything the franchise has ever offered before… If EALA can pull off a level of Strategic game play and balance not seen very often in RTS gaming, C&C 4 could be a killer PC app, and while it may not equal Starcraft 2′s popularity, or indeed inevitable life-span. One thing EALA can do, is give it a bloody good go.. and that’s worth keeping an eye on.

I for one am quite pleased that the Classic/Traditional etc. RTS is dead in the water. Quite frankly, I don’t know how it’s only taken 17 years to do it!

EA admittedly rode the Bandwagon the longest (With exception to Blizzard). With RA3 we didn’t really see much difference from the C&C 95 days… It was sorta a nail in my coffin when it came to supporting the Franchise. Now they’ve spotted the Dawn of War 2 Bandwagon with C&C 4, and have jumped upon that.

Personally I can’t help feel that it’s a cheap gamble. Sure DoW2 was fun while it lasted, but the RPG elements didn’t make the game any more exciting, and as a result… DoW2 planted itself in mediocrity. Because the upgrade system and such turned the game more into an RPG action game than a strategy title. So in essence I wouldn’t regard C&C 4 as an advancement in the genre… just a shift back to the status quo.

One game I do see as an innovation is RUSE. It uses more real war elements by allowing the player to use deception tactics, rather than brute strength to win the day. I cannot tell you how great this is! They’ve also removed the fog of war from the map, so you can see all units and bases etc. But what the RUSEs do is allow you to create your own fog of war (as in real life). Such as hiding units by initiating Radio Silence… Using dummy units to fool your enemies defences so you can deploy your real force somewhere else (The key to D-Day victory in WW2)… as well as many others.

Using this alongside your standard base building/Harvesting affair is nothing short of genius!!! Should RUSE pull off the deception mechanic with perfection. We could see the quality of RTS improve significantly… and finally after 17 years, Real Time Strategy may finally use “real” Strategy instead of the typical tactical strategy… It would potentially mean the end to tank rushes and massing, since numbers do not count for anything without the correct use of RUSE.

I am all for a more complex strategy game which is still simple in its approach. The vital importance in RTS though is to still keep it an RTS… too many developers are starting to merge genre’s and I think that’s not the way to go.

Eugen Systems have got the right idea, and that is to take a step back and look at what war really is. I believe it was on another forum I’m apart of, where someone on a gaming site, said that Politics should also be a part of RTS gaming. Because War is politics first, and fighting second.

What I would prefer then is to dump this RPG mechanic where you upgrade units and weapons between missions, and focus instead of the political ramifications of your war effort. You could combine what few deceptions (from a large list) you could use during the mission. Also, RA3 took a good (if somewhat rushed) approach with pre-mission briefings and intelligence. You could then act on that limited intelligence, and deploy where you think would be best according to that intelligence.

The original mission statement of C&C was to make you feel like a commander. It succeeded. But nowadays, I feel like I’m playing real time chess with a computer that tells me how to beat it. The immersion has gone. I would like a game where the options during the battle are just as, if not more diverse… but also my decisions off the battlefield should affect the overall gameplay.

So I’d say to developers. Stop leading us by the hand in Single Player. Don’t put objective arrows or spots as to where we should go (we didn’t need that in the mid 90′s so why now?) Give us some limited intelligence and allow the player to form their own decisions as to how to tackle the problem…. That is what Strategy is about after all, isn’t it? This is more the future of RTS. Bring back the Strategy, make things more immersive, perhaps add some politcal elements and give us more of a deeper, richer experience.

There have been comparisons between this game and InFamous. But I can assure you, both are completely different in every way other than the fact they are open world, Sandbox games. From a first impression perspective, Prototype really is kicking InFamous’ ass real hard! The story is automatically stronger, the action and gameplay a lot faster, the combat, a lot more raw and visceral.

The problem with InFamous is that it knows what it is. It’s a comic book game with a strong art direction. It’s a lot more polished, its narrative drives it forward, and your interactions with the world have direct consequence on you, and how the world reacts to you throughout the game. The game also presents itself as sleek and well made, and the controls feel perfect. However the pace comes across as slow at times, it can be bland, and the combat isn’t particularly engaging.

Prototype is without a doubt, more in your face. It’s more like a movie that starts with action and keeps on going. It’s like a crazed lunatic who keeps you on your toes by threatening to rip one of your limbs off. In fact, it’s trying hard to be several types of games, and it is succeeding well. Because I would compare it to a schizophrenic on steroids. There’s something about it that is more fun, more engaging, and ultimately better than any open world game I have played since GTA3.

However it’s not the Holy grail of open world games. It has a few issues which I will nit pick at this point. In comparison to Infamous, the character (Alex Mercer) does, for some reason, feel rather heavy at times. The last game by this developer was a Hulk game, and despite Alex’s much smaller frame, it does feel like you’re controlling Hulk at times. The controls are also not quite as responsive as one would like… in fact at times when the action is full on, you do stumble to co-ordinate yourself when even trying something as simple as firing a gun. Such a problem can only be overcome by more playtime I guess.

This is a rather concerning thing. But Manhattan has 3 main islands. As it stands, the map is only showing just the one small island. I know open world games seem to have an unwritten “3 Island Rule” these days…. But I’m just hoping to god that the play area I have started with is not the only play area I have throughout the whole game… I dunno, but despite the sense of scale elsewhere, such a play area feels a little underwhelming. I would like to think that I can run across bridges later in the game to other islands or areas… But something tells me I’m not going to get it. Although, I haven’t located Times Square in free roam mode yet , despite playing it in the tutoral section… so maybe there is more to come.

Anyway, I’m gonna leave off here and continue with my travels around this rather tiny Version of New York. If the play area does open up, and I get a feel for the controls a little better, then I’m willing to overlook the seemingly heavy Alex Mercer, and call this game 100% Pure Awesome…. But we’ll see.

Someone asked me a short while ago…. “OK Saracen, you never seem to be happy…. So what in the hell do you want!?”

It is undoubtedly a good question to ask. Afterall, I’ve been playing games since I was knee high. My mother used to take me to gaming arcades when I was younger to play the likes of Pacman, pong, and even missile command. After which I soon was given a C64 to play with, and on that followed the likes of Chuckie Egg, Ghostbusters and Dizzy to name a few. Well back then, and even in the 90′s to a degree, games were simple. What was written out as a mission statement, was accomplished. They are what we’d call today, pixelated casual games at best. I’ve gone over most of this in my “Gaming is losing its Charm” blog post… But…..

Games these days are rather complex pieces of work. There’s often huge scale to address, and many areas to pin down on. That also means potentially millions of lines of code. As developers have found, if you’re wanting to create a game, you have the man-power, talent and vision to pull it off. But in the world we live in today where publishers call a lot of the shots, that just isn’t possible. Publishers want sales, they want cash, they want to be able to crack the whip when it suits them.

C64 games back in the day were varied. There were a few basic genres, but the whole library of games open to that system, were a huge myriad of ideas. Very few games were really the same, and the freedom available was quite ashtonishing. In the 90′s all that changed when everything really had to fit into the basic genre description. Tarnished with the same Brush, it was easier to identify what a game was by the genre it was in, rather than what it really was. In fact, I can’t really help but feel that this genre definition has pushed games developers away from innovation.

Case in point.. if you create a game over several genres, then a new genre isn’t really created anymore. What prominantly stands out that game is what genre it goes into. So if you’ve got a game that is an MMO, an RTS, and a 3rd Person Shooter (The game I’m referring to which name which escapes me right now)… It’s still regarded as an MMO-3rd person shooter, simply because that’s what’s in it. Any attempt to seize an opportunity at creating a new genre these days, seems to be just shunned. Perhaps because it’ll confuse all the simple minds out there… who knows. RTS is still in its infancy as a genre…. Can’t we allow creativity to create something new which isn’t branded the moment it’s announced? I want to see more genres! Such things, we don’t get enough of, and they are exciting!

The other thing I wish to see is Civilization 5. I know that in my previous post I went on about sequels being a huge part of fan-service. But how many games from the classic era have been going on as long as this Franchise. Quite simply, Sid Meier’s games are an art form. Perfrectly made, and often well balanced from the outset. A game such as this commands respect. I’m dying to get a hold of the next Civ game. Afterall, I have every PC Civ Game going, including Revolution on the PS3. I have lost countless hours of my life on these games, and you know what. Unlike the C&C Franchise, I do not regret doing so.

The last thing ties in with both the above. The latest recognised Genre in this industry is the RT4X Strategy game. Coined by the already classic Sins of a Solar Empire, it is a genre I follow closely to my heart. The first real RT4X game to my memory was Imperium Galactica . It was part 4X, part RTS, part Sim City… The sequel to it “Alliances” was pure perfection, and arguably did it better than SoaSE in many ways. Especially the likes of designing craft, spying, and diplomacy… it was so much a deeper game. Plus it had a rather credible storyline to boot.

RT4X is my mind is a very underused Genre. While at present point in time, it has only been limited to space exploration games. The potential in expanding this genre into all theatres of war, and timelines is truly immense! The depth to this genre of Strategy is just unreal, and I’d love nothing more than for more PC developers to jump on this Bandwagon. If it were to happen, and if it were to be done right like IG2 & SoaSE have demonstrated…. Alongside the Civilization franchise, I probably wouldn’t have a life!

So to answer the question… That is what I want.

But other than that. Games conventions are pure geekfests. Going to one for me would be rather like going to a train-spotting convention. It’s just not going to happen. I’ve been to a couple of community summits a few years previous, and to say that I felt out of place would be an understatement… Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure these things are great… but once you’ve been around a group of nerds who prefer games to women, it just doesn’t seem right.

Anyway, I flicked through the unexciting parts of the Microsoft Conference (which was pretty much most of it) and found the MGS section. It’s coming out on the PS3 anyway at some point, so I took a look, and wasn’t exactly bowled over). I then watched the Sony conference from beginning to end… skipping the MAG game, and a few others on show that really bored me once the developers opened their mouths.. Then there was a section on God of War 3, which kinda doesn’t want me to buy it. It looked average… The 1st and 2nd Games were epic, and the PSP version was “meh”. But the 3rd? Well, it all feels a bit “been here before” territory. Graphics I couldn’t care for, they’re not important. As for the rest? Well, I’ll be in this game for the story, and like all the other games in this Franchise, I’ll wait for a price drop.

What did interest me though, was in fact that Sony are getting of their ass after 4 years of neglect, and are attempting to do something with the PSP! After waking up from feinting at the very sound of supporting the platform… They bust out a new PSP which allows for online Digital only content (Move against Homebrew much?), then they announce a string of titles including the next true MGS sequel, Gran Turismo (about time) and a whole host of other titles, including a new Jak & Daxter. On top of all that they’ve slashed the dev kits by as much as 80%! Music to my ears I can say! I still hold a 1003 model, and I’m proud of my fully functioning electronic brick. PSP loving, here we come!

Then there’s Nintendo. No suprises from them really. A new Zelda, 4 new Mario games, and a new Metroid. Plus about another 500 shovelware titles to be released over the next 12 months… I’m sure there was more than that, but it all seemed too “safe” in my eyes. Here are Nintendo, probably the most powerful console developer of the lot… and there’s hardly any decent quality New IPs making an impact.

In fact I’d go as far to say that E3 could be summed up as the “safe” games conference. With a recession on, no-one in their right mind is going to take a risk and bring a new IP to the table. It’s a shame, because that’s what I want! This is why I commend the likes of Sucker Punch and Radical Entertainment for releasing their respective IPs InFamous and Prototype. It’s also the reason why for the last few entries, I haven’t shut the hell up about both games. Sequels grow old. I’m tired of seeing them. There’s some creative juice flowing in some of these developers, and we need to bloody see it!

I’m not asking for innovation at this point. Just the ability to push the boat out a little and try something a little more new. And for those of you who would like to see constant sequels of your favourite game. For God’s Sake already, grow some balls and demand your favourite developers do something more than just “Update” all the damn time… I swear I’ve said this before, but consumers are killing this industry. And I’m not just talking about Piracy and the pre-owned market. I’m talking about the over-zealous need for constant fan-service! It friggin sucks!

Anyway, my first play through of InFamous was quite a fun and exciting experience. I wouldn’t say it’s as deep or as varied as other open world, Sandbox games. But there are a heap of collectables to find as well as the Good Vs Evil decisions you have to make… so at least the game needs a 2nd play through, to see how the storyline is affected, have a more thorough play through, as well as gain the other 48% of trophies you don’t get the 1st time around for being good.

The game is addictive, I will admit that. I did spend more than my standard casual hours on it. Which why in comparison to say like GTA4, I completed the game a lot faster than I expected to. Powers open up at a nice pace, as does the rest of the city. I would argue that it does appear a lot slower paced than Prototype. But then I purchased InFamous without really any clue as to what it was like other than what I saw on the net a fortnight ago. Not that I regret the decision in any way. But I will say, if you own a PS3, go buy it! As it stands, InFamous is probably the only PS3 exclusive worth buying this year, and it’s more of an esential purchase than MGS4 in my opinion. You can’t compare the 2 in that way, but I enjoyed InFamous more.

After being smashed in the backside like someone’s bitch, I decided to watch all the interviews and trailers for Prototype yesterday. Better than Infamous? We’ll see on that one… But if you ask me does it look better than InFamous… then I will say YES! Prototype has already been reviewed by 2 magazines here in the UK, and both have scored 9/10 for the game. Apparently it is a game that lives up to the hype and keeps on giving. It’s fast when it needs to be, and well paced when required. Not a game you’d let your mother catch you play, due to it’s gore content.

The irony here is though, This game probably has a more gruesome representation of violence (albeit fantasy) than the original Manhunt did. I mean it’s clear as day on the trailers afterall… and no doubt if someonce decides to stab someone in the streets of New York cos they are ill… then why not Blame this game… Radical deserves the Rockstar media attention don’t they!? Of course not… but why do I get a feeling that some retarded X-Box 360 user is going to go on a knife rampage, end up killing himself, and others, only for the cops to find this game in his library.

What would be amusing on the news though is if said gamer actually jumps off the empire state building to elbow drop a taxi below. That would be hilarious! Actually, it’s a shame New York’s airspace is shut off… cos a Helicopter would be even better!!! I’m so looking forward to the release of this game.

While it’s true I’m not a sadist, I can’t help but feel some disturbed idiot is going to try something present in Prototype. In fact I’m suprised that no-one has cracked open an electrical appliance to draw electricity from it like Cole does in InFamous… cos afterall…. Video games have obviously been scientifically proven to manipulate ordinary life loving teenagers…

Just imagine that on a personal injury claim!

When I was a part of CNCNZ.com, I’d be swamped in every conceivable piece of news related to Command & Conquer. Quite literally as a result, I had played the damn game before even purchasing it. Every unit, feature, nook and cranny seemed to be on display. To say the least, it sucked the life out of what should be a damn good gaming experience. It’s also why I’ve probably been a bastard to the EALA developers and the franchise as a whole.

I understand this now. So as a rule of thumb. I normally do not follow games at all now, and neither do I join any such communities linked to them until a game’s release. I will occasionally watch a trailer, check up on the latest release date, and when the game is real close, I will read reviews and watch at least one preview walk-through. This dips a toe in the water for me to see if I am going to like the game or not. Plus, for the most part, I’ve found that it keeps spoilers, and the most pleasant surprises in check.

This morning was one such experience. A chance to take a look at a couple of game’s that I have had my eye on. The PS3 exclusive InFamous, and the multi-format Prototype. Infamous is out next week.. Official PS3 mags rate it highly, and IGN have a hard-on for it… so the game is damn good, and it’s a recommended buy. There’s a 24ish minute gameplay walk-through over at Giant-Bomb which has me sold. The game looks a relatively simple affair. But I enjoy the super hero-esque type games where 1 man wields some seriously shit-hot super-powers.

Ever since Second Sight came out on the PS2, I’ve been longing for a game to match it. Second Sight was very under-rated to say the least. It was supremely linear, short, somewhat easy and the story-line (while good) was nothing short of predictable… But by half way through the game, the freedom to kill people as you saw fit, and the things you could do with your psi-powers meant a truly invigorating experience. To cut a long story short, such things made me see the game to its final closure. It’s simply one of my best action games on the PS2, I don’t care what other people think.

So a game like InFamous, which takes the open world, sandbox style gameplay, and adds Second Sight’s concept of innocent guy turned superhero fighting for justice makes it sound bloody good. I mean, I live for games such as this one. Plus with a gameplay mechanic that allows you to gain experience to gain new abilities…. I am all for it.

Next is Prototype. From what I’ve gathered this morning is that there are InFamous fanboys, and there are Prototype fanboys. Both games follow an almost exact same concept. So while I may not know why people say they are ripping each other off… My response is, who cares! Two of these games in the space of a month? Give me some of that! Now if Ghostbusters was also an open world concept as well, I’d probably be wetting myself with delight. But I’ll take two, that’s good enough for me!

Prototype seems to be like a step-up on Infamous… Instead of having a bomb blow up in your face that gives you super-powers, you’re a host of a virus that gives you epic powers. While there are no reviews as yet, watching the game’s Intro and a trailer on mission types had my jaw drop open. If InFamous was the goody two-shoes of a brother that kept a reserved insight… Prototype certainly is the Violent Bastard Child from another father. I try not to hype myself over games, but this is looking nothing short of pretty damn fucking awesome.

The ability to actually hijack vehicles, kill in spectacular fashion, be anybody in the game and wreak havoc at any given particular point, has me thirsting for this game. If it equals or surpasses InFamous on the gameplay factor… Hell knows how high it will score. Such a thing is a very exciting prospect, and I certainly am looking forward to reading the reviews, if indeed, it is as good as it looks.

If we put this all into the June Catergory…. This will probably be the best month for gaming in the entire year… Not to mention that I have another Papa Roach Concert coming up on the 15th… it’s a good time to be alive!

Back in the 80′s and early 90′s… consumer Internet had not yet been made available to the masses. Developers back then we’re quite passionate about the games they created, and worked their asses off to make a playable product. Bedroom programmers we’re rife, and new Genres such as the 1st Person shooter, and Real Time Strategy were experiments which eventually became staple. Innovative ideas we’re not seen as risks, and we’re often presented with open arms by publishers such as US Gold, Ocean and even modern publishing giant Activision.

Games back then we’re shorter, and simpler back then. But many were often bastard hard… Saves were rarely heard of…. but they were something that that most games lack today, and that is “FUN”. By today’s standards, they are heavily pixelated, extremely simple, and would widely be regarded as nothing more as quick 5 minute time killers. But what people fail to understand is that games on the likes of the C64 and Spectrum ZX would take, 5 or 10 minutes to load on average… plus they came on tape cassettes. Such simple games then were a huge thing, and we’d stick by them and dedicate countless hours to them. This because we didn’t want to wait another 15 minutes to load, because we got frustrated.. We dealt with the problem and tried to get around it. In other words we appriciated the game (no matter how crap it was)… because it was still fun.

One of my favourite C64 games is Super Pipeline 2… I still regard it as one of the best games ever. It not only kicks more ass than Chuck Norris… but it had great gameplay, and a memorable soundtrack. I wore the tape on this game out twice! After which I made several copies to stop upsetting my parents.

Anyway, the point I’m making here is that modern games have lost their charm. Back then things were raw and visceral. Every Kid on my street who owned a C64 or spectrum could do some form of programming, and we’d often share tape head realignment kits due to extensive play. Those were our community forums back then. We’d compare scores, exchange games, cheats and pokes… and print out ASCII pictures on our dot matrix printers that we happened to make on our father’s word processors.

Modern games don’t allow pure, raw, and visceral experiences. Nowadays it’s about being led by the hand, pointless complexity and mediocre linearity. Like a movie, a game nowadays has to have some sort of story attached to it, it has to be at the pinnacle of graphical prowess, it has to immerse you, and it has to clone the likes of something before it. My father (god rest his soul) would pick up and play absolutely any of the 300+ games I had in my library. Be it Bubble Bobble, Ghostbusters or even R-type… They were all easily accessible, and enjoyable. A few years ago, all he would pick up is the odd Real Time Strategy game, and the real gems that shone, but not much else.

This wasn’t because the games are more complex, or the fact he was getting older… But it was because the games nowadays disregard the past. The money, graphics etc didn’t matter back then… it was all about the game itself. That lent a huge emphasis on great gameplay. Sequels were often unheard of, because Franchises were not important, trying something new to better the last product was the key. I cannot really explain it, but since the turn of the new millennium, something has been lost in transition over the last 9 years.

I’m sure in years to come, we will be saying the same thing about games in the future, and how games in 2009 kicked serious ass. Maybe it’s just the evolution of the industry and the fact I’m getting older myself. But to hammer my point home and to see what I mean. Just look at the Sonic the Hedgehog Franchise… it’s 2D days were a pure testament to the fact that they were great pieces of work. Simple, elegant, and fun… Today? Well, it’s just purely piss poor. The games industry is much like the ageing hedgehog franchise itself, and it speaks volumes.