Halo as RTS? That’s IMPOSSIBLE!!!

One of my favorite columns on the web is Gamespot’s Rumor Control. As the administrator of the Fiorina 161 penal colony says, “This is Rumor Control. Here are the facts.” Unfortunately, Gamespot sometimes gets it wrong. Not often, though.

They said:

Source: Various conspiracy theorists in the gaming industry who read a Halo 2 survey dispatched by Microsoft.

The official story: Say it with me: “Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation.”–official Microsoft spokesperson.

What we heard: Microsoft recently posted a survey asking questions about Halo 2 and its multiplayer map pack. Nothing special here, right? Well, not exactly. A few clues prompted some to see this as simply more than market research. Case in point, Question #17: “Do you regularly or occasionally play Simulation games on a console or PC?” Why would Microsoft ask Halo players such a thing? Next clue: an e-mail informing gamers of the survey says “Commanding the battlefield takes strategic thinking.” Anyone who has played Halo 2 knows that the only thing one commands in the game is the direction bullets fly. These clues spawned one eagle-eyed GameSpot editor to be rich with curiosity, and he/she promptly galloped to the conclusion that a Halo-themed strategy game may be in the works. Logic says that if Solid Snake can be featured in a card-based strategy game, then Master Chief could meet the same fate, right? However, given developer Bungie’s track record with its popular franchises (Marathon was always a FPS, Myth was always an RTS), it seems unlikely that you’ll be reading the text “M Chief needles Covenant Elite for 20 points of damage.”

Bogus or not bogus?: We have to say Bogus on this one. If only because the thought of the Chief moving across a hexagonal board is creepy.

Gamespot must have forgotten that Halo originally started out as a RTS. It was after getting bought by MS that Bungie switched gears and made Halo the FPS that we know now.

So, a Halo RTS doesn’t sound so far-fetched, now, does it?

More SG-1: The Alliance: Interview with Perception Dev Chris Proctor

Stargate Gaming has an interview up with one of the developers for Stargate SG-1: The Alliance.

Note the awesome al’kesh screen:

Also, if you haven’t checked out the games many multi-player modes, please do so.

The Latest on SG-1: The Alliance

This news was so depressing to me I didn’t know how to comment. I am unapologetically a Stargate fanboy. Have been ever since the original movie.

In case anyone hasn’t been bothering to read the news linked on every other gaming site, The Stargate game’s publisher, JoWood, announced that SG-1: The Alliance was being cancelled due to lack of quality on the part of the developer, Perception. I was so sad.

I knew the Ancients were still watching over us when I read this press release direct from the developer:

Development on the game will continue uninterrupted at Perception’s Sydney studio. Perception is committed to giving fans the best gaming experience possible.

Oh, and Perception is suing the pants off JoWood (and rightly so if their claims are true.)

Ben Lenzo, CEO of Perception said, “We view it as unfortunate that JoWooD would elect to make such misleading and libelous comments to the media and the marketplace. Over the last 9 months, JoWooD has openly acknowledged being in breach of contract in a number of areas including many legal and confidentiality breaches as well as several financial defaults for work performed by Perception and accepted by JoWooD.”

JoWood reminds me of the g’oauld, and Perception’s Jaffa decided they weren’t taking this crap from their false gods.

Anyway, I plan to follow this one and will let you know what happens.

I would also like to add that if EA becomes the publisher for this game… I will cry.

Jack Thompson: Rampage!

The Buttonmasher has a great post highlighting this Economist article on video game violence which sums up the FACTS on this whole video game violence thing.

In a corollary, El Buttonmasher posted a great link to this email flame war between VGCats and the one and only Jack Thompson, professional idiot.

My favorite part is where Jack Thompson goes off on this whole “I get death threats so I don’t have time to respons to you.” Then, the very next email he sends:

From: “Jack Thompson”
To: scott@vgcats.com

dear idiot: you initially contacted me. stop, or else. got it?

Wow. This is Jack Thompson, folks.

Lucas at SIGGRAPH: AI stinks!

At SIGGRAPH, George Lucas expressed his desire that video games have much better AI. I’ve seen his comments posted in a few places, and the so far, the most lucid response has been, “OMGZ!! JARJAR IS SO GHEY!!!111 LOL!!! JARJAR NEEDS AI!!!”

Are we done hating on Lucas yet? No? Well, too bad.

He is right.

The AI in current video games is CRAP. Right now, AI consists of very elaborate scripting. Scripted sequences != AI. Video games need real AI, where an NPC watches the PC and learns behavior from you. If you are bunny-hopping and getting more kills that way, then the AI should pick up on that and do the same thing. Using the same route every map? Then the AI should learn from that and send more guys that way. Or perhaps the AI will decide to use a feint and really be planning an assault on the other route and come from behind.

AI in games has been pretty much the same or worse since Descent. That was the last time the AI did something that made me go, “Holy crap, I’ve never seen a computer-controlled enemy do anything like that!” I was floating down some tunnel, I turn to go into a room and I start getting plinked in the back by some drone. I turn around to lay into him, and as soon as the drone notices this, it backs out of the room and hides behind a corner. It didn’t even wait for me to fire. That moment scared me.

I realize that it was scripted, blah blah blah, but it was really well done. That was over 10 years ago. It’s time to move on. Let’s see some truly innovative AI.

Oh, that’s right. EAUbisoftVivendi controls the video game market… nevermind.

Carnival of Gamers V

Welp, the latest chapter in the Carnival of Gamers has hit the streets.

I haven’t had time to read through everything yet. Some of the posts I had read in past few weeks as they had been posted, and there is some quality stuff here, folks. And if you came to this page from the carnival, thanks for stopping by and don’t feed Gizmo after midnight.

Hot Coffee: Why Video Game Sex is Worse than Video Game Violence

A lot of hubbub has been published relating to the now infamous Hot Coffee mod of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. A mod which unlocks disabled code in the game to enable a player to take part in a simulated sex mini-game.

Senator Hilary Rodham (D-NY) has even gotten in on the action, proposing a federal law, in large part due to the mod, that would fine game clerks $5000 for selling M- or AO-rated games to minors.

Rockstar has denied that they had ANYTHING to do with the mod. Gamespot quickly proved that all the code is there and can be utilized even on a PS2 using various cheat codes, thereby proving that the original code was written by Rockstar, even if the code was never intended to be part of the final release.

Some bloggers out there are arguing along the lines of, “What’s wrong with a little sex compared to all the violence that is in the game?”

Well, I’ll tell you.
Read the rest of this entry »

Activision announces Marvel Comics RPG

Sometimes, Activision rules.

I love Marvel Comics.

I love non-persistent (aka non-MMO) RPG’s.

Thank you, Activision.

For the record, I loved X-men Legends. One of the best Xbox games out there. Holy crap… that reminds me. Is X-men Legends out, yet? Dang, looks like it got pushed back. Oh well.

Anyway, I also loved the Freedom Force games. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, go get these games, NOW! At least download the demo.

I can’t wait to find out what developer received these exclusive rights.

Game Awards Not Owned by EA = Quasi-meaningful

G4 released the results of their G-Phoria awards. These “awards” were given to highest vote getters among fans.

Unlike the pathetic waste of time that was the SpikeTV VGA’s, someone besides an EA owned and operated hoochie won “Best Voice Performance – Female”, namely, Merle Dandridge for her portrayal of Alyx Vance in Half-Life 2. Just like I ranted about earlier.

Kutaragi Watch: PS3 Expensive… because it’s for Flat Panels

Kutaragi has been making the rounds letting everyone know that the PS3 is going to be hella expensive. Well, we pretty much knew that already. What most people are missing however is what Kutaragi has said about HD and Flat Panels.

We’re looking at a life cycle of 10 years with the PlayStation 3. We’re currently shifting from standard TVs to HD TVs.

Wait, you’re telling me Sony is going to support the PS3 for 10 years?

Indeed. We’ll see if that actually materializes or not. I doubt it.

Basically, Kutaragi is trying to explain why the PS3 is more expensive and why it will be supported for the next 10 years when he says:

But in the next couple of years, most flat-panel TVs will be full HD.

Heh heh. I can’t argue with that. But the fact that market penetration for flat panel TV’s is currently pretty pathetic isn’t going to help Sony win the fight against Microsoft. (Granted flat panel sales are projected to increase and become more mainstream, but not for several years, yet. So what does that mean for Kutaragi and Sony, who seem to be wagering their PS3 against flat panels becoming more HD?

It means that no one (except those dreamy early adopters) is going to buy a PS3 until it is a closer price point to the Xbox 360. The Xbox 360 is going to win the console war right out of the gate. And Sony is on crack if they think they can overcome the Xbox steamroller with a $500 multimedia behemoth. Now, in 5 years, when the PS3 is a much closer price point to the Xbox 360, things may start to get a little more interesting.