Gaming Signal: May 2006 Archives

Wednesday May 31, 2006

What do you mean they don't ask questions?

The Sony PS3 BlueRay DRM post here has been going strong with some great discussion (go on and check it out - I can wait...), but the originating statements implied that Sony was doing yet more nefarious things to prevent consumers from reselling games and other things. But, it turns out that this wasn't completely true, and there is a great article over at GameDaily about how sometimes overzealous reporters looking for a scoop may not question some "facts".

I am not sure if his points are completely accurate, but I do think it is part of human nature to accept some things offered up by these companies as real hard facts. Furthermore, I think gamers are optimists with respect to what the future of thier preferred platforms will hold, but I also think that there is some amount of one-ups-man-ship (is that a word? Kinda like ManBearPig) in the industry where bloggers and game industry pundits attempt to get the dirt faster than the next guy.

Luckily, we are not in that number in that we don't try to do breaking news, but we can get drawn in on some of these topics. Ultimately, the answer is really in being a bit more cynical about the information that is given out and maybe having a bit more paitence to get statistics and capabilities before crying out about how great a certain product will be. Here at GamingSignal, we have been discussing the concept of a hype meter of sorts that could be used to track if a given title or system is truely great or just alot of marketing and fanboy fervor.

Indie Games!!!!

Well there was some news this week about Independent Games and as such I have decided to link them here:

GameTunnel has published its top ten Indie games for the month of May. They publish the list every month and I think its a great repository for the indie game scene and suggest our readers to check it out.
Joystiq has an article where it proposes the statement: Why there are no indie games (and why there should be). I wonder if this is a true statement? I mean there are alot of indie developers out there (as demonstrated in the previous link), and maybe the problem is lack of visibility to the work they are doing? Or then again maybe the question is: Are Modders and Total Conversions the next indie games? I don't have the answer, but it is one for discussion.
Finally, if you are a fan of the old LucasArts SCUMM type of games (Think Day of the Tentacle and Maniac Mansion), then you will want to check out Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth. This game brings back some great memories of these types of games and it might be worth following its development to see if they can finish it.

If folks are looking for low cost gaming options that do not necessarily require the absolutely latest in computing hardware, indie games are the way to go. Try a few or look for fan made expansions for games you may already own - Neverwinter Nights has a huge number of modules created for it and the same can be said for Half-Life.

Tuesday May 30, 2006

PS3 just an 'expensive toy'?

Thanks to Engadget for this one, but Sony's Ken Kutaragi is calling the Playstation 3 an 'expensive toy' - assuming you think that's all it is. See what it really is is a Playstation 3, and the only Playstation 3. No really.

In all seriousness, what Kutaragi-san is saying is that if you want the games that will only be on the PS3 bad enough, you won't mind paying the price. No truer words could be said - it's about the content, and Sony believes they are going to have the best. You have to like the positive thinking, but I still think they may be looking at 2nd place on this one.

Polls and the site changes...

Yes, SnapPoll is back up after a hiatus, and I doubt I will continue to use them. The current poll is still valid until Friday - so please vote. (Did I mention please vote?) We will move to a new poll site for the next week and with luck that will be more reliable.

Its mainly a cosmetic change to match up with the changes made over at our sister site, SFSignal. The main changes were to move the feed links up to a more prominent location on the page. More changes in our layout will be coming as we continue to figure out our niche in this gaming blog scene.

So bear with us and let us know what you think about the changes...

Monday May 29, 2006

Casual MMOs

I've been messing around this weekend looking at the MMOs oriented toward the casual gamer from Three Rings Design. The first you've probably heard of, its called Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.

Puzzle Pirates is, as the name suggests, a game oriented around solving puzzles. Everything you do has a puzzle involved. Sailing, swordfighting, bilging, just about everything. And they are all different, although they can be somewhat similar. They are 'guilds' which revolve around operating a ship, which is done by different people performing different puzzles at the same time to keep the ship moving. It seems interesting. I haven't really done much, but there is a large community here and it seems like a good way to spend a few minutes and earn some 'doubloons' for use in the meta game. PP is free to play, but you can spend real world money to purchase doubloons for use in game to upgrade you pirate and his equipment. If you do play, you can add me to your 'Mates' list. My pirate's name is 'Parrottop'. Now I just need to find a parrot.

The other game I've been playing is called Bang! Howdy. It's a western themed, isometric, squad-based, tactical strategy game, similar to Xcom. You get to purchase different units, and then battle it out in the field in a variety of game scenarios. So far there are three different game types: Cattle Rustling (where you brand cattle, most brands wins), Claim Jumping (finite amount of gold on the board, whoever has the most gold at the end wins) and Gold Rush (gold keeps popping up, most gold wins). You earn money which you then can use to upgrade your guy, but equipment, cards (for use in game) or other units. You start out with one 'Big Shot' unit, I chose a cavalry unit, but there are two other types. The community here is much smaller as B!H is in beta. Again, if you play, look for 'Sam Houston' and add me to your friends list! I also named my big shot unit the 'Texas Rangers' and I don't mean the baseball team...

Thursday May 25, 2006

Sony to nix game resale oppertunity for PS3 games. In fact, when you buy them you dont even own them!

So if I'm the resident Sony hater, I need to do my job of, ummm, "hate!" This news is yet to be confirmed by Sony but it looks pretty solid at this point. Sony aims to only license the use of their games and not allow you to actually own them. This also means that you can't resell them for store credit at a participating store like EB Games or Gamestop. This is pure greed in my opinion.

This could have something to do with Blue-Ray DRM and the fact that it might phone home to Mothership Sony to let them know which DRM key infection you own, but that is pure speculation by me trying to read between the lines here.

Both Shacknews - PS3 to Block Used Games articles Games Radar - [PS3] Sony makes moves to stamp out lucrative second-hand market that broke this story do state that this is still speculation at this point but if it does turn out to be true you can most assuredly bet places like Gamefly will not be carrying PS3 titles. Gamefly is the only place I buy from now so this is yet another reason I probably will not get a PS3.

Tuesday May 23, 2006

The poll is dead sir!!!

I know the poll was not updated on Friday. There are a bunch of reasons for it, and the only one that anybody will believe is that I was too lazy to get it up in time. So, I felt that three or four days would not be enough time to let folks weigh in on the next big MMO for their money. I was hoping that this poll would generate a few more votes than our previous two (I know we are a new blog really but we want love and attention too), but now it appears that SnapPoll has gave up its ghost. Therefore, we (SFSignal and GSignal) are now on the hunt for a new poll provider that does not include questionable material for our younger or more sensitive readers. That right, here at GamingSignal and SFSignal we care about you!!! So stay tuned - I will work with John to find us a new poll provider and we will soon be back in action baby!!!

While you wait, why not join in the Trent flame war about the PS3 or any one of our lovely articles about gold farming.

Friday May 19, 2006

Video Games Infleunced by Literature and Myth

Here's a great read [link via Backwards City]: IGN's 5-page article The Influence of Literature and Myth in Videogames.

"It's hard to name a single science fiction author, but Robert Heinlein would be at the top of the list," said Hennig. "He and other classic sci-fi writers like Larry Niven, E.E. Smith and Orson Scott Card have had a huge influence on the development of the science fiction genre in games, from the first mainframe computer games to Halo."

There have been a few direct collaborations between game developers and science fiction writers. Though it didn't fare well critically or commercially, Advent Rising was a rare collaboration between science fiction writer Orson Scott Card and developer Glyphx. Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream" was also a standout PC game for many.

[Cross-posted on SF Signal]

Monday May 15, 2006

Sony PS3 - mistakes in marketing?

At E3 last week Sony unveiled more details on the PS3, including pricing. So the big question is - have they made a mistake? The price is undeniably high - pack out a PS3 with the new Madden NFL 07 and you're looking at $600 out the door with tax. Yikes! With that kind of money I could have a new PC ready to run all kinds of things a PS3 can't.

And what seems worse to me, the 'entry level' model (if you can call it that) lacks 40GB of hard disk space, HDMI output (so long decent 1080p), and WiFi support. It also lacks memory flash card slots for SD, CF, and Sony's goofy MemoryStick (which surprises me, because you'd think they try all they can to push that format.) All those things can be upgraded, but still - Sony clearly expects to sell as few of the 'base' models as Microsoft does of its Core System. [Note: Early rumors that the base model wouldn't support the wireless controller proved to be false.]

POLL RESULTS: Nintendo Wii

Sorry for the delay, but I was a bit overburdened with some stuff at work/school/life so the results are late.

Here are the results of the latest Gaming Signal poll.

QUESTION
The Nintendo Wii - will you buy one?

RESULTS

(8 total votes)

Well, it looks like most of our readers will be at least considering a purchase of the next gen Nintendo machine. I know someone who is not - and we will be sending the attack dogs over immediately. For me, the console represents what I want in an evolutionary machine. It will be backward compatible and will have some new features that really make it compelling. And its lower price means that it won't require a debate on whether to make the purchase.

Be sure to vote in this week's poll on what might be your next MMO purchase.

Wednesday May 10, 2006

Sigil leaves Microsoft for SOE?

In the MMO news of the hour, Sigil Games Online have bought back the publishing rights to Vanguard and has worked a deal with Sony Online Entertainment to publish the game. For me this news is summarized as holy crap - honestly this is almost a complete redirection from Brad McQuaid who originally left Everquest and SOE based on differences of vision. Microsoft is now out of the MMO business again after cancelling Mythica and Asheron's Call 2 - and the sale of Asheron's Call back to Turbine Entertainment.

Well, this is what your friendly curmudgeon (okay its an oxymoron) thinks about this:

Sony will embrace the hard core MMO gamer. This was the original audience for Everquest and ultimately those are the folks who will flock to Vanguard. From a money making perspective - this will work and since they (Sigil) know the audience well. Combine that with a focus on a specific class of gamer and Sony will not be trying to compete with World of Warcraft on a one to one basis. I know Everquest 2 has tried to become more friendly to a casual audience, but ultimately has not been a rousing success. Some will say that they still have a decent base, but I firmly believe that Everquest should be viewed as the game for the hardcore MMO gamer. Everqiest was a game where being a certain high level was a badge of honor and the encounters were truly epic. I remember my time in Everquest and I remember levelling my Shadowknight to 60ish and what a badge of honor that truly was, but hard core gaming is not my idea of a good time.

Blizzard has done a fine job with WOW and they took all the things that worked from previous games like Dark Age of Camelot and Asheron's Call and even Everquest and then combined that with thier universe to create a title that is accessable to a large audience. But it does not have the epic uber feel that EQ did - for me that is bad, but there is an audience that fits with. Those are the folks who will be playing Vanguard.

On a personal note, I think that McQuaid does not get how the market has changed and instead of bringing out a title that either revolutionizes the MMO market (admittedly very hard) or evolves and improves upon WOW (also pretty hard) - he is focusing on rebuilding the vision that was Everquest and a game that is extremely difficult and will only appeal to certain folks. I do wish him luck and at least look forward to seeing how the game evolves. If Brad is reading this, I would be willing to help test the game just to see how it compares to the original EQ and WOW.

Cross Gaming Platform Communication!!!

For many years there has a been a divide between console gamers communicating with other console gamers and PC gamers communicating with other PC gamers. Most often communication is nothing more than trash talk and sexual orientation, but I digress. At this year's E3, Microsoft has announced a service called "Live Anywhere" (not very creative), but it will allow gamers on thier Vista enabled PC's and mobile phones (most likely running Windows Mobile) to communicate on Xbox Live.

This is definitely an interesting step in Microsoft's strategy and may spell the capability of PC gamers running Vista to play XBox type titles, but who knows...

Tuesday May 09, 2006

Warcraft - the movie!

In what has to be the continuation of a terrible trend, Blizzard announced they are working with Legendary Pictures on a movie based on the Warcraft universe. I guess we should be happy it isn't Uwe Bole isn't doing it, but I predict this movie can be no better than the Tomb Raider movies or any other movie based on a game property. Frankly, not to much game content translates well to the big screen. But, people never give up because the reward seems so huge.

My PS3 can blog too!

In light of the awsome work done by 360voice.com on the XBOX 360 blog I present for you the PS3 blog!
Axiomatic's PS3 Blog

Is it just me or is this thing out to get me?

Friday May 05, 2006

What do you mean there is more than one or two MMOs?

I know some folks may find this information hard to swallow, but there are a whole bunch of new massively multiplayer online games coming in the next year. Joystiq has pulled together an impressive list of the games that will be at the E3 show next week. Only time will tell if these will be successful, but in the meanwhile here is an opportunity to sign up for some beta tests. Personally, I like World of Warcraft, but I am interested in Warhammer: Day of Reckoning from Mythic (the folks behind Dark Age of Camelot).

POLL RESULTS: Where we buy our games...

Here are the results of the latest Gaming Signal poll.

QUESTION
Where do you buy most of your games?

RESULTS

(10 total votes)

I see we have at least one honest reader (go pirate boy go). The results are interesting in that given this small sample the game buying location of choice is the Gamestop/EB facility versus Walmart. Walmart does wield a rather large stick in the market, but time will tell how the merger of Gamestop and EB will be upon that situation.

Be sure to vote in this week's poll on whether you would purchase a Wii given the target market is not necessarily the hardcore gamer and the name has generated alot of discussion (and bathroom humor.)

Thursday May 04, 2006

My XBOX 360 thinks I am cheating on it with another console!

In a bizarre twist of console functionality a new blogging website called 360voice has created a RSS style blog based off of the information Microsoft publishes to your gamertag. If you are interested in creating your own 360voice blog just go to 360voice and plug in your own gamertag and in a few days (two days was how long it took for mine to activate) your 360 will be blogging with the best of them.

JP and I have set ours up already and can be viewed here: Axiomatic 360 and jpfrantz 360

This is not actually very useful but the dialog that the blog outputs is quite quippy and just shows off the creativity that the 360voice guys have employed with this effort. Kudos to you 360voice guys!

Wednesday May 03, 2006

Gaming Tidbits - 05/03/2006

An MMO flavored tidbits today:

Spacecowboy is a MMO 3D space shooter, where you control a fighter and duke it out with other players. I think this a skill game, where player reflexes are rather key. I haven't played it, don't know if I will, but it's here because of the SF theme.

D&D 3.5 is coming to the PSP. D&D: Tactics sounds, and looks, like Lord of the Rings: Tactics, also for the PSP. Hopefully they learn from the mistakes of that game and make the D&D one a better game. Any takers out there for this one?

Enchanted Arms is the first Japanese RPG to make its way to North American 360s. IGN UK has a preview.

Kylindra, on the WoW forums, has posted a giant missive discussing the randomness of high end drops, and the theories about what loot drops and when. The conclusion? It is all random, and everyone who says otherwise is a clueless moron. Well, he didn't actually say that last part.

E3 is around the corner, which means that gaming god, Richard Garriot, will be (hopefully) releasing more info on his new MMO, Tabula Rasa. Until then, here is a trailer and a preview to tide you over. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On one hand, its Lord British and NC Soft (CoH, Guild Wars), on the other hand, its NC Soft (Auto Assault, unnamed MMO being tested). I'll probably try to get into the beta anyway.

REVIEW - AK Rocker 200

On the same trip to Best Buy where we found the AK Octane chair, my wife also wanted to get the kids their own gaming chairs so they don't have to sit on the floor to game. I thought floor sitting would build character in them, but I was over ruled. Therefore, we decided to purchash the AK Rocker 200. I figured they could have gone all L33T and named it the R0x0r 200, but I guess cooler heads prevailed in the AK marketing department. But I digress.

The Rocker 200 is basically 3 pieces of heavy duty, form-molded plastic that snap together to form a F1 inspired (why not IRL or CART inspired?) rocking chair for you to game on. Luckily, they learned from their mistake of the Rocker 100 which didn't have stops on the back, thus causing sitters who rocked too hard to rock all the way back to the floor. I'm guessing there may have been some liability issues there, and thus the Rocker 200 was born. With stops. To stop you from flipping backwards out of the chair. Which is a good thing. Now, the chair goes back a fair way before stopping and you're in a semi-reclined position and the chair is supporting your back and head. All in all, not a bad way to play. It's actually rather comfortable to sit this way. In fact, it's really the only way I can sit in the chair. Fully upright and I have to extend my legs at an uncomfortable angle to sit, and the sides come up and are too close for me to site cross-legged on it. My kids, however, have no problem sitting that way.

As far as comfort goes, if you buy the chair, all you get is the plastic chair itself. Which, for $80, isn't much. There is no padding. For that, and for extra cool value, you have to purchase a skin for $20 more. This cloth covering has some padding, but not enough to be called soft. However, in the heat of the game, you don't really notice this and the chair is decently comfortable. At least for 30 minute stretches. My kids can sit in them for hours without complaint so YMMV. And we bought the blue and red skins, which is all Best Buy had. If I had known about the camo one, I would have bought that one. That way, you wouldn't be able to see the chair on the floor until you tripped over it.

So, I give the chair 3.5 stars. I'm not sure I could game for much more than an hour at most before really feeling the plastic through the skin, thus causing discomfort. Also, the base chair almost requires a skin purchase. Which isn't listed on the box. But your kids will probably like them. Now they just need to work more on the name for the next series...

Tuesday May 02, 2006

REVIEW - AK Octane

I know, you're thinking: "Octane? WTF?". Well, we were at Best Buy trying to find a TV stand to put downstairs when my wife saw this chair (yes, an office/PC gaming chair) sitting out. She sat in it and said: "This is comfy, we should get it.". That doesn't usually happen, so we bought it.

It, is the AK Octane home office/PC gaming chair. Aside from the name, there really isn't anything PC gaming centric about it that I could see. Nevertheless, I must say this is a very nice chair. Aside from being a cool looking blue (and F1 inspired design...), the seat itself is very comfortable, cushiony without being mushy. If it was a wine, I'd say it was soft yet firm. The arms can move up/down, swivel left/right, and move forward/backward so you can adjust them to your style of arm resting. You also get the standard up/down lever and tilt lock lever. The other really nice thing about this chair is the wheels. They aren't the standard plastic casters of lesser chairs. Oh no. They are polyurethane wheels you see on inline skates. And the kick all kinds of @$$ it isn't funny. This thing glides almost noiselessly across our floor (laminate wood). It's a breeze to move around, needing just a flick of your leg to get moving. Even on carpet it move smoothly. Its so nice, I don't know why other chairs don't use the same wheels.

All that being said, there are two negatives that I can see. First, a nit picky thing. The arm rests, while notched so they stay where you set them, are very easy to bump/move with your arms, which knocks the rests out of alignment. Annying, but not a killer. The one big thing, which accounts for almost an entire star, is the Octane will not lower itself enough for me to sit comfortably and type. The keyboard, which is on a try, is too low and I have to bend my wrists downward to type. This is bad as any amount of time in WoW of any FPS cause some discomfort. I have to move the keyboard up and place it on the desk proper to get better access. If the chair would lower about 2" more, everything would be fine and this would be a chair bordering on 5 stars.

I was leery about dropping the $$$ on this chair, but I think its worth it. Its very nice to sit in for long periods of time (so I've been told, not that I've had the chance to...) and it rolls very smoothly. I would say this should be the standard office chair for any company that is moving their employees into cubicles. It would go a long way to ameliorating any bad feelings that might arise from people being forced into the cubes. Hint, hint.

Update: Yes, already an update. This thing is only available at Best Buy and is apparently selling like hot cakes. We purchased the second to last chair in Houston on Saturday, and now it's backordered for two weeks. Certain large computer companies should be put on notice to buy early and often.

Monday May 01, 2006

Gaming Tidbits - 05/01/06

Lets jump right in:

Valve is now selling headcrab hats. Now you too can look like the zombie hordes Gordon Freeman decimates in HL/2. As a bonus, this is the only HP approved hat for cube wear.

Eric Heimburg, senior systems designer for Star Trek Onlines, discusses the economy in STO. There will be monetary units, credits, but all basic equipment will be free. Can someone tell me why, in a universe with energy to matter converters, everything isn't free? On a related note, it looks like players will be able to captain their own starships. I'm curious to see how that works and if it will be Federation only, or whether I can be a Tholian...

Legends is a free online game in the vein of Tribes. It looks rather interesting.

The hype machine continues to grind. The Gears Of War website just went live. Add that to Too Human and Mass Effect for a 360 trifecta of gaming goodness.

Wondering what to do with your PSP? Villainous Mind has created Locura, a personal media server, that allows you to stream audio and video from any PC on your network to your PSP. The content comes across the wire formatted for the PSP. Kinda neat.