Cheer Up! You did great

It’s sad to say but creativity does not always produce success in the games industry. Playing it safe has become almost standard practice for development studios.

So in an industry of playing it safe and original games rarely achieving beyond mediocre sales it is wonderful news to see ‘Heavy Rain’ (a marvelously original title) shift one million units worldwide after just 5 weeks since its release.

“It’s a stunning achievement – not least because Heavy Rain is not a traditional blockbuster game,” says Mark Hardy, European Product Marketing Director at SCEE

I completely agree!! Sony took a chance in making ‘Heavy Rain’. There is no online play, it’s not a First Person Shooter and its strongly story focused experience may not cater to the gamers who are accustomed to run and gun play.

But what does this mean for gamers?? Will developers catch on and realize that well produced and thought out material can really draw large numbers of players? Titles such as ‘Heavy Rain’, ‘Mass Effect 2′ and ‘Assassins Creed 2′ have all highlighted the fact that the industry is always on the lookout for innovation. Will we see better games because of success stories like this??

I hope so.

We at Venntertainment loved ‘Heavy Rain’ and can catch our review here

Congratulations to Sony and Quantic Dream.

‘Heavy Rain’ is in stores now exclusively for PS3.

So there I stood, pounding Hercules’ face into mush with gigantic steel gloves. His nose had inverted and the once perfectly symmetrical visage of this Olympian God now held a greater resemblance to mince meat, so I threw his bloodied corpse into a river and walked away soaked in blood. I am of course referring to one of the many moments of violence that I experienced in ‘God of War III’. I enjoyed the game very much and I have a certain  appreciation of its over the top gore but something about that gameplay sequence left me feeling slightly unsettled. I finished the game and still this scene stayed with me the most and I know why.

Most modern day gamers are no strangers to the use of violence in videogames. Actually lets make it broader, all people have experienced violence depicted in some entertainment medium or another whether it be relatively clean violence of a Shakespearean tragedy, the cold depiction of gangster culture in ‘Goodfellas’ or the latest drove of “Torture Porn” which the makers of the ‘Saw’ series continually subject us to. We accept the use of violence as an aesthetic tool and have grown comfortable with increasingly graphic depictions of violence in general. Now I am entire opposed to full censorship, I would never advocate the banning of any material because I believe (as most do) that as adults we should be allowed to exercise the free will to watch whatever we want and our artists should be allowed to express themselves freely.

But playing ‘God of War’ led me to ask some questions. At what stage does violence stop becoming entertaining and become grotesque?? Is ‘God of War III’ too gory? Am I already making the transition into the older generation that value tasteful violence as opposed to over-the-top gore fests??

What is “Mature Gaming”? Does a game instantly become mature due to its adult content?? Is a game like ‘Super Mario Galaxy’ mature?

For me, I think that any games that sport enough depth to really draw in players are mature. I loved ‘God of War III’ and I definitely found some of its intense violence very fitting and satisfying but after beating Hercules like that I was only left feeling kind of terrible.

Niiiiice

When ‘Manhunt 2’ was banned from release in the UK and Ireland in 2007 I was highly opposed. I don’t want to see developers restricted in their works, I would however love to see them try and find more creative ways of depicting hard violence than using gore. We have seen how effective storytelling techniques can create elements of violence in the film genre without using brutal violence, with the ever advancing storytelling techniques of games today, these tools are there for the developers, and it can’t be that difficult.

Is ‘God of War III’ too gory?? Not completely but it definitely has its moments. I am absolutely not attacking the game, I loved it. It’s only that this title represented the first time that I have found violence that I felt to be slightly excessive in games.

My kind of violence

Where do you draw the line on violence?? Am I in the minority that would like to see less gore and maybe more creativity in game violence??

Some strong videogame violence *Approach with Caution*

Released: 19^th March

Platform: PS3

Background: ‘God of War III’ is an action adventure game developed by ‘Santa Monica Studios’. The God of War series has long since stood as one of the core Sony IP’s since the release of the first game in 2005. It put players in control of Kratos, the Spartan God of War as he battles his way through hordes of evil armies and monsters in the Greek mythology universe.

The series gained a strong dedicated following who loved the game for its dynamic action, well realised world and the unique, satisfying combat.

Meet Kratos

‘God of War III’ represents the debut of the series on a current generation console and therefore has some very high expectations. Does the final product successfully carry the series to new levels?

‘God of War III’ starts right where the last game left off, with Kratos climbing mount Olympus ready to take the fight to the Olympian gods. You are immediately thrust into the action and see this action from a great perspective. Kratos is accompanied by the Titan ‘Gaia’ and it is truly jaw dropping to watch yourself climb up this 500 foot titan whilst all the chaos is going on around you.

This gives an extraordinary level of scale. There will be moments when the camera pulls out to show the action where you can see Kratos a little dot on the screen but you can still control him completely. The game takes full control of the camera offering a guided and tight perspective on all the action throughout the game and the way in which the camera creates wonderful scale whilst all the while giving the best view of the action is a stunning achievement in itself.

Environments are expertly designed and complimented by subtle nuances that add a level of atmosphere rarely achieved in any entertainment medium. Kratos will sprawl huge mountains and battle through the depths of hell. Each of the locations fulfill everything you would expect from it. Boulders and rocks rush past you while climbing and hell is filled with the eerie screams of fallen souls plummeting into the darkness.

The game looks gorgeous and you will almost feel guilty for staring in awe at the visuals and pining over just how incredible the gore looks.

Did I mention the gore??

Kratos is a seriously angry guy. In the events of ‘God of War II’ he felt betrayed by his father Zeus and has since sought out vengeance against the God of Olympus. Anyone expecting to play as a hero may find themselves shocked here; Kratos has no allegiances and no qualms about massacring anyone who gets in his way. I personally found myself very hesitant in some of the actions which Kratos took and was left saying “Wow, he is kind of a jerk”. Throughout the game Kratos will battle an assortment of monsters, titans and immortals and dispatch them in gloriously bloody fashion. The game clocks in at about 9 hours and runs at a strong pace throughout.

Gameplay: The game consists of mostly fighting and platforming sequences. You move Kratos with the left stick; evade attacks with the right, jump, light, heavy and grab attacks are marked to the four primary buttons and shoulder buttons offer variations on the action.

The combat on a whole is very simple and for the most part, the game encourages you to play aggressively.  Though the combat is simple it animates beautifully and though you will find yourself using many of the same attacks to down your enemies, it is simply joyous to watch Kratos in action. We will swirl chains of fire with incredible grace, leap over foes, block their attacks and tear them in half for good measure.

Although you acquire four primary weapons throughout the game you will generally find yourself sticking to the same bunch of attacks. Some weapons are very similar to each other and eventhough you will sport a huge combo list by the end of the game, it is easy to figure out that most enemies will fall to the simplest attacks.

With larger enemies after enough damage has been done to them, a button prompt will appear that will initiate an execution sequence. In these sequences, the player will follow on screen button prompts to effectively put an end to your hapless foe.

The platforming sequences will see Kratos scale walls, jump gaps and navigate perilous ledges. These sections are challenging and satisfying but not too difficult thanks to a lifesaving glide mechanic and some excellent camera work.

Ouch!!

Presentation: Glorious production quality. Very well pays homage to Greek mythology but is hardly within the traditional canon. Frame rate occasionally dips in some more intense sequences but holds up very well for the most part. Story lags a bit during the middle but opens with a bang and ends quite well. At 9 – 10 hours it feels just right for an action game.

Graphics: A Technical Marvel. There are times when it looks like the best game you will ever see. It hasn’t stolen the crown from ‘Uncharted 2’ but can definitely hold its own. Animations are slick, Kratos looks stunning and my god…..the GORE!!!!

Sound: The accompanying score for me has cemented the fact that video game and movie music is now on the same playing field. A booming orchestral score supports all the action and some of the voice work is excellent.

Extras: Whilst there are no online or multiplayer modes the game offers a tonne of video content giving insight into game development and there are some challenging trophies for you completionists. An insanely difficult ‘Chaos Mode’ will challenge even veterans of the series.

Final Word: While not the most revolutionary leap from its predecessors; ‘God of War III’ is an excellent sequel. It combines stunning production quality with the tight and satisfying gameplay that has made the series a fan favourite. Those in the market for some visceral action and the feeling of controlling the ultimate bad-ass will be very happy with ‘God of War III’.

9.0 Stunning Action Game

Hey Guys

Came across some seriously funny COD related vids on youtube

Have a gander

Peace

The Annual “Game Developers Conference”(GDC) is on this week in San Francisco.

Traditionally the event has always served as a networking and demonstrating opportunity for Software and Hardware developers.

With a lot of mystery surrounding the motion control solutions of Microsoft and Sony, a lot of people expected to receive some further details about the technologies.

So breaking news, Sony are first out of the gate and have revealed the name for their motion controller

“The Playstation Move”

Get Moving

The name gives me a general “meh” feeling

What do you think??

We will update the site with any breaking news as we hear it.

Thanks for reading

I was delighted to hear this morning that the Playstation bug has been fixed. I turned off my Playstation 3 last night before posting this but have read on Gadget Republic that the issue has now been sorted. Why did PS3s around the world reset? Well it’s as simple as this: They thought that this year was a leap year. Oh dear.

Like the rest of you PS3 gamers out there, I’ve been affected by the 800105F Error that has reset the dates on our machines back to 1 Jan 2000 (a tardy Y2K bug maybe?). For those that haven’t figured it out already, it means that we can’t connect to the PS Network and therefore are prevented from playing games etc.

I would suggest that you keep yourselves up-to-date by checking out the OneRiot real-time stream over here. A search for PS3 will spit out the latest trending topic which will hopefully provide us with some answers sooner rather than later. That might save you thralling through Google to find the latest news Thanks to Jenny over at OneRiot for this post. For the moment, just don’t turn your PS3 on!

Released: 23^rd February

Platform: PS3

Background: ‘Heavy Rain’ is an adventure game developed by ‘Quantic Dream’. The game has been circling the tracks of major game shows for about two years now and promises to deliver an immersive story driven experience. ‘Quantic Dream’s’ history of game development includes games such as ‘Fahrenheit’, a previous generation game which garnered favourable media attention for taking risks and developing the ‘Interactive Film’ genre of games.

‘Heavy Rain’ is here; have ‘Quantic Dream’ brought game fiction to the next level??

‘Heavy Rain’ puts you in the shoes of four different characters. The background to the story is that there is a serial killer on the loose whom people have come to know as the “Origami Killer” who kidnaps children and leaves them to drown. The victims disappear and are found days later, dead with an origami figure in their hand. This game is very heavily story focused, so I will refrain from giving away any plot points aside from saying that all characters are affected by the murders and throughout the course of the game, they will all have a part to play in the hunt for the killer.

Crime Scene Sequences are superbly done

As a game, ‘Heavy Rain’ could be most accurately described as an “interactive movie”. It is quite different from anything I have played before. It employs a very powerful narrative, and I believe that many developers in future will look to this game for guidance on how to integrate great storytelling with gameplay.

This story is not perfect however; some of the dialogue is bad, the occasional voice actor feels unsuitable and there are some characters that feel a bit too clichéd and can take away from the genuinely gritty and realistic elements of the story.

That said I was engaged thoroughly with the story of the game. I was guessing to the very end as to how it would conclude, and although there are over a dozen endings, I feel like my experience was the way it was meant to conclude.

Gameplay: The gameplay of ‘Heavy Rain’ is something of a mixed bag. Players navigate the environment by looking in a direction with the left stick and holding R2 to move at your desired pace. You can even listen to your characters thoughts by holding L2 and pressing a button. Navigating the game world feels sluggish and imprecise. You will find the early portions of the game very frustrating, but you get the hang of movement after a while.

Interacting with the environment is done by following on screen cues that vary depending on the task. Most of the actions will require you to move the right stick in a particular direction for example: right stick down to pick up a piece of paper on a desk, to the right to open doors etc. A problem with these onscreen cues is that they can be difficult to read. Occasionally, the character will obscure the view of the icon and since you cannot move the camera all the way around, you will have to either reposition your character or guess what you’re supposed to do. The controls register quite easily however and the game is normally quite forgiving when it comes to stick movements.

Oh the Beautiful Character Models

When interacting with other characters or making tough decisions, the player will almost always be given a multitude of options to select depending on what path they want to take, these will usually involve a moral dilemma that aren’t always as black & white as good vs. bad. A problem with these on screen cues is that in an effort to integrate the options into the game world the options are blended into the screen and as a result the corresponding button press is very difficult to make out.

On countless occasions I selected a choice which I didn’t intend to because I read the symbol wrong. These problems don’t detract greatly from the experience, but it can be annoying to have to get up and walk closer to the screen to read it.

For action sequences such as fights, quick-time scenarios are used that will require timed button presses. These are executed fairly well and are very forgiving of error.

This title won’t be remembered for it’s innovations in control, but overall, the game responds very well and makes the best use of ‘Sixaxis’ to date.

Presentation: Enormous production quality. An engaging story and wonderfully original narrative create a very involving experience that lasts for a solid 7-8 hours. I experienced a few system crashes during my playtime and the sound randomly cut out on several occasions.

Graphics: Character models look great and animate fluidly. Environments are expertly designed but can occasionally suffer from being overly dark and difficult to make out. Certain secondary elements such as water and fire seem very dated in their look but it is difficult to penalize the game for these minor blemishes.

Sound: A wonderful score is complimented by great sound effects and solid voice acting.

Extras: The game does not offer much in the way of extras but for completionists there are many endings to see, branching paths to explore and a tonne of trophies.

Final Word: Coming away from playing ‘Heavy Rain’, I feel thankful that there are still developers willing to really break the mould. ‘Quantic Dream’ have really succeeded in delivering an engaging and memorable single player experience. The game isn’t perfect, but it stands as a shining example of innovation done well.

8.5 Unique & Enjoyable

Who would have ever thought it? Nintendo at the top. The Wii has been undoubtedly the great success story of this generation. Nintendo have opened up the market to a crowd of Wii remote shaking families who still play Wii Sports to this day. Anybody who looks at the NPD numbers of American game sales will notice that the Wii is cleaning up on a monthly basis. Microsoft and Sony have noticed this.

With Motion Control being the gateway to this new audience, it was only a matter of time before Microsoft and Sony brought their casual gaming solutions to the market.

Project Natal

At last E3 Microsoft demoed ‘Project Natal’, a camera operated controls system that can track movement with very impressive accuracy. The games displayed included kicking footballs, stomping around like Godzilla to destroy buildings and making silhouettes. The device was so obviously aimed at the Wii audience, it was even accompanied by montage videos of families playing with the device that were reminiscent of the Wii ads currently on television. In the Aftermath of E3, Time Magazine declared Natal as being the Wii killer.

At the same show, Sony demoed their motion controller to the press. A tech demo showed the controller being used to map 1 to 1 motion to the screen in the form of spray painting.

Sony Motion Controller

Both of these solutions are clearly aimed at the Wii audience and for months, industry analysts have being trying to predict what Nintendo will do in response. Recently we had ‘High Voltage Software’ (HVS), previously a Nintendo focused developer of such games as ‘The Conduit’ announce that their latest Wii effort ‘The Grinder’ would be coming to 360 and PS3. HVS described Sony’s motion controller as an incredible device with great capabilities.

Today, news emerged that industry analyst Mike Hickey stated that Nintendo must promptly cut the price of the Wii in order to establish “as meaningful of an installed base as possible before the Natal and Arc are introduced”.

He also added “We expect a potential up-migration from a portion of Nintendo’s Wii market, as many new gaming console households chose to upscale their game entertainment experience, enjoy a broader array of multi-media options and experience “the new” casual gaming opportunities”.

In this writer’s opinion, I think Nintendo are sitting comfortably, they have a tremendous lead and they have developed a brand that is very recognisable to casual consumers. They can afford to cut the price of the Wii whenever they want and it won’t be until we see what Sony and Microsoft can really do with their devices that a meaningful response from Nintendo will be important.

Part 2

So I here I am, another few hours in and ready to give the verdict (Part One is here). Upon release of the title I had hoped that the game would achieve a better sense of balance. If you read the first part of the review I gave my impressions of the gameplay aspect of the title but with a newly recruited online community joining the ranks, has MAG found its place in the plethora of online shooters out there.

When I first started the game I was under the impression that the armies (‘Raven’, ‘SVER’ & ‘Valor’) were essentially the same and that no matter what team I picked it would be a generally even playing field. I have since discovered that there is a reason that I keep losing….because ‘Raven’ are getting their butts kicked.

Currently the majority of players have sided with ‘SVER’, with the second largest group siding with ‘Valor’ leaving ‘Raven’ in dead last. A backlash of this is that all of my matches are predictably one sided. ‘Raven’ are lower in the overall leaderboards and therefore are in an undesirable position.

It is difficult to penalize the game for this though as the developers could not have anticipated what sides would receive the most attention and I am fairly confident that this is an issue which will be ironed out over the natural course of time.

I have grown more used to the frantic pace of the gameplay. I am finding myself lasting longer through rounds and have even achieved MVP status once. It is still quite difficult to organize a cohesive team effort in a battle of any size, in many ways due to the dreadful lack of voice-chat equipped players yet despite this I have found an almost unspoken feeling of unity amongst the ‘Raven’ ranks. We are losing so badly at the moment that we revel in any big victories.

The large scale battles ring with Chaos such as explosions, earth shattering noises and the screams of your comrades on the ground. The game very successfully puts you in the centre of a warzone but at times I find myself feeling that no matter what size the battle there is a sense of isolation from the big picture. 256 players may be playing simultaneously but you will never really see more than 30 players in one area.

This is still a great achievement mind you and it doesn’t take you out of the experience but any players expecting to see 200 hundred men facing each other from across a river may be disappointed.

Earning experience is still achingly slow and dedication will be required to truly gain any distance in the ranks.

It’s tough to say whether MAG will sustain a thriving online community but I guess only time will tell. I am by no means a seasoned player of online FPS’ but even I have come to expect certain standards. These games must hook you and at times MAG fails at doing this a little too often. Everything functions well and the game mechanics were very clearly well planned but when many games offer so much more as well as having single player components, MAG can seem like an incomplete package.

Presentation: Functional. Bare bones menus and character customization are a disappointment. The three factions are very accessible to players of all tastes and add great personality to the game. Lack of offline play hurts the value.

Graphics: Nicely designed environments and character models run fluidly and virtually lag free. Textures aren’t mind blowing but look pretty from a distance. Explosions and lighting effects compliment great draw distance.

Audio: Very strong sound effects are accompanied by a very suitable and satisfying mix of contemporary orchestral and rock soundtracks. The battlefield will come alive with sound.

Extras: Tonnes of combat ribbons and very difficult trophies will challenge even the greatest of players. Zipper have promised to add plenty of DLC to the game in the future also which adds to the replayability.

Overall: I want so much for MAG to succeed. This is a classic case of great minds with great intentions that didn’t quite pan out the way they wanted. This shooter is solid, there is no denying that and the title acts as a benchmark for online server quality but when we get down to the bare bones of it, MAG although very ambitious and generally solid simply pales in comparison to what is currently being offered in the online FPS market.

6.0  Solid Shooter