The State of the Game: March 30, 2011

Hey peeps.

This is going to be a more or less regular weekly article unless I find something else major occurring that warrants a further analysis. I'll just go over most of the major gaming news for the week and give my two cents about them, along with the additional content I plan to post up here in the coming week.

Right now, the games on my playlist are Crysis 2, Lego Star Wars 3 and Batman Arkham Asylum, again. Look for articles on the first two within the week. I'm also playing Pokemon Black off and on and probably not nearly as often as I should if I have a hope to catch up to those I regularly talk to in my Skype group.

I downloaded the Beta test of Darkspore and I'm actually enjoying it more than I thought I would. It's relatively simplistic, but has the capacity to be much more and I'm looking forward to its launch. I am not afraid to admit that I purchased and even enjoyed the original Spore, and I'm actually really hoping that you have the same complete autonomy to alter your heroes, at least later on down the road from where I am in the beta.

I'm also playing WoW more than I have in the past. I've started leveling a priest in the hopes that I can get it to max level relatively quickly to help out my raid team. I'll tell you one thing, they're not joking when they say leveling a priest is a pain in the ass, especially if you're speccing into holy as you level instead of shadow.

Anyway, enough about current playing, let's look at the news.

The 3DS came out this week and frankly, I don't really care. Like a lot of people I saw Avatar in 3-D and that was probably the first and to date only movie to actually get 3-D right, plot issues aside. Subsequent movies I saw in 3-D were decidedly underwhelming and I haven't looked any more forward to 3-D gaming. Though I do like how they've made 3-D on the handheld possible without those obnoxious glasses. However, 3 words can describe why I won't be upgrading my DS Lite any time soon:

Metroid Zero Mission.

Until they relaunch several previous Game Boy Advanced games on DS, I won't give up my DS' GBA slot until the system decides to die on me. And given the handheld's legendary resilience, I don't see that happening.

I also see that EA has announced that they're hiring people for a new "revolutionary MMO", but what attracted my interest wasn't so much the claims, I've seen them all already and tend to dismiss them quickly, but the responses from people on Gamespot where I read the article.

I've noticed that gamers in general are becoming a lot more cynical and disillusioned with the gaming industry as of late, and this is coming from me. And it doesn't matter the company. Even Blizzard and Bioware aren't immune to these spatters of flame.

In all honesty, I think we as the consumer have partially brought this upon ourselves, whether because of our own overblown expectations, or because despite our better judgement we purchase games anyway. The million-copy sales of very meh games such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and Homefront are evidence enough of this. And the explosion of hate towards Bioware for Dragon Age 2 is another.

I think that we as gamers have somewhat started to lose touch with the reality of game design. What I mean by that is we demand perfect games that fit squarely into our exact realm of what we want in the game, but we don't want to wait for it. However, if a game takes too long, we as a community get angry that the game isn't coming out fast enough, however if it comes out too fast then we get angry that it wasn't developed longer.

And then no matter what we may think, and sometimes against our better judgment, we purchase these games anyway, thus telling the developers that we'll still pay money for the game, even if all they shoveled out was a half-formed piece of crap.

What's the solution to this, you may ask? It's unfortunately difficult to say. The best piece of advice for both your wallet and your sanity is to wait for the reviews and let others play through possibly terrible games for you before you spend your hard-earned money. Or, if you're more the stubborn type, spend your money for the game, but don't be too upset if the game isn't the Molyneaux-style genre-defining uber game you followed the hype and believed.

Agree? Disagree? E-mail me or leave a comment and I'll see about featuring it here!

Until next time, game on and take care.

Rift: Worth the Hype?

MMOS HAVE BEEN AN EXPANDING GENRE SINCE THE DAWN OF THE COMPUTER AGE. EACH GENERATION AND GAME RELEASED AS AN M-M-O HAS AFFECTED THE GENRE SOMEHOW. THE LATEST ENTRY INTO THE GENRE IS A LITTLE GAME ENTITLED RIFT.

SO, HOW DOES THIS GAME STACK UP AGAINST THE VETERANS IN THE FIELD? WELL, LET’S FIND OUT. I’M NELIGAHN, THE BULLHEADED GAMER AND TODAY WE’LL REVIEW RIFT.

I’M GOING TO GET SOMETHING OUT OF THE WAY FIRST. YES, I’M A WORLD OF WARCRAFT VETERAN. I’VE PLAYED IT FOR YEARS AND EVEN STILL RUN WITH AN AWESOME RAID TEAM. HOWEVER, I’VE ALSO INDULGED IN OTHER MMOS AND HAVE A GOOD AMOUNT OF GAMING EXPERIENCE TO DRAW BACK ON.

NEVERTHELESS, I’LL ASSURE YOU THAT I WON’T MAKE THIS A WOW VS RIFT REVIEW. I WILL ENDEAVOR TO JUDGE THE GAME BASED UPON ITS OWN MERITS.

FIRST OFF, YOU’LL NOTICE THE GAME HAS A VERY REALISTIC AND DISTINCTIVE STYLE.THIS DOES INDEED SET IT APART FROM A LOT OF THE OTHER GAMES ON THE MARKET WHO USUALLY TEND TO SACRIFICE GRAPHICAL QUALITY FOR MORE PC ACCESS. LET’S FACE IT, NOT EVERYONE CAN AFFORD A TOP OF THE LINE SYSTEM TO PLAY THE ABSOLUTELY NEWEST GAMES.

THE GAME ITSELF IS SET IN A BRAND NEW LAND COMPLETE WITH ITS OWN LORE AND SETTING, WHICH IS GOOD…

…EXCEPT THE GAME SEEMS TO SHOVE BOOKS WORTH OF LORE AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION INTO YOUR FACE AT THE OUTSET.

THE TUTORIAL SECTION, WHILE EFFECTIVE AT TEACHING YOU THE BASICS, ESSENTIALLY JUST SAYS, “SHIT’S GOING CRAZY! REGULOS IS INVADING AND IT’S BAD!” SPEAKING OF THE GAME’S “BIG BAD”, IS ANYONE ELSE COMPLETELY UNDERWHELMED BY HIM?

THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH MOST M-M-O “VILLAINS”, AND A LOT OF R-P-GS IN GENERAL, IS THAT YOU REALLY HAVE NO FORCE OF DRIVE TO DEFEAT THEM. THEY’RE JUST A BOSS TO KILL AND RIFT REALLY DOESN’T DIFFER FROM THAT.

BUT ANYWAY, THE STORIES IN M-M-OS HAVE NEVER SERVED FOR MORE OF A PURPOSE THAN AN EXCUSE FOR WHY YOUR CHARACTER HAS TO GO FROM NOBODY TO SOMEBODY BY KILLING BOARS.

LET’S GET TO THE REAL MEAT OF THE GAME, THE GAMEPLAY.

ALLOW ME TO CLEAR THE AIR FIRST, THERE WAS A LOT OF HYPE AROUND THIS GAME BEFORE LAUNCH. IT MADE THE DANGEROUS MOVE TO DIRECTLY COMPARE ITSELF WITH WORLD OF WARCRAFT WHICH IS A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD. WHILE IT INVITES COMPARISONS WITH WHAT IS CURRENTLY THE LARGEST M-M-O IN THE INDUSTRY…IT ALSO INVITES COMPARISONS WITH WHAT IS THE LARGEST M-M-O IN THE INDUSTRY.

DOING THAT MAKES IT EXTREMELY HARD TO KEEP THE TWO SEPARATE, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE DEVELOPERS HAVE SO BLATANTLY STATED THAT THEIR INTENDED GOAL IS TO CONVERT PEOPLE FROM WORLD OF WARCRAFT. THAT BEING SAID, THE GAMEPLAY FOR RIFT IS ABOUT WHAT I’D EXPECT IN A GAME OUT TO COMPETE WITH WOW, NO MORE, NO LESS.

LIKE MOST OF THE M-M-OS COMING OUT NOW, IT ALL REVOLVES AROUND HOTKEYS AND ACTION BARS. PRESS THE BUTTON, YOUR CHARACTER STANDS THERE AND EXECUTES THE MOVE, YOU WAIT FOR THE GLOBAL COOLDOWN AND THEN PRESS THE BUTTON AGAIN.

THERE’S NOTHING INTUITIVE OR REALLY ACTION ORIENTED ABOUT THAT. AND THAT SEEMS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH MOST M-M-OS THAT ARE COMING OUT FOR A PIECE OF BLIZZARD’S MARKETING SHARE. WHILE I SAID I WOULDN’T DIRECTLY COMPARE THE GAME WITH WOW, I DIDN’T SAY I WOULDN’T COMPARE IT TO OTHER GAMES.

YEAH, I’M A CHEATING BASTARD THAT WAY.

ANOTHER RECENT M-M-O TO COME OUT WAS D-C UNIVERSE ONLINE. I ACTUALLY FOUND THIS GAME TO BE MORE OF A STEP FORWARD FOR MMOS THAN RIFT OR EVEN WOW’S LATEST EXPANSIONS.

THE COMBAT IS ALL BASED AROUND REAL TIME AND HALF OF YOUR ATTACKS ARE MOUSE CLICKS AND COMBINATION. YOU HAVE TO WATCH YOUR CHARACTER AND BE AWARE OF OTHER CHARACTERS AROUND YOU, ESPECIALLY IN PLAYER VS PLAYER.

WHY AM I DIGRESSING LIKE THIS?

BECAUSE RIFT’S COMBAT SYSTEM IS THE SAME AS THE OTHERS OF THE GENRE. YOU SPEND MOST OF THE TIME WATCHING EITHER YOUR HEALTH BAR, YOUR ENEMY’S HEALTH BAR OR YOUR ACTION BAR THAN ACTUALLY WATCHING YOUR CHARACTER FIGHT.

WHAT’S THE USE OF HAVING ALL THESE NIFTY MOVES IF YOU CAN’T WATCH THEM? THAT BEING SAID, I’M NOT SAYING THE COMBAT IN RIFT IS BAD.

IT’S NOT.

IT’S FLUID, SMOOTH AND LOOKS VERY GOOD.

BUT IT’S NOT ENGAGING.

MORE OFTEN THAN NOT I FOUND MYSELF JUST STANDING STILL WATCHING THE GLOBAL COOLDOWN DISAPPEAR SO I COULD HIT THE ATTACK BUTTON AGAIN.

NOT REALLY FUN.

THE MUCH TOUTED “SOUL SYSTEM” IS ALSO NOT EXACTLY NEW.

WHEN CRYPTIC STUDIOS LAUNCHED CHAMPIONS ONLINE, IT HAD PRETTY MUCH THE SAME SYSTEM. YOU CHOOSE YOUR INITIAL POWERSET AND THEN AS YOU LEVEL, GAIN NEW ONES TO “CUSTOMIZE” YOUR CHARACTER.

HOWEVER, I CAN SEE THE SAME ISSUES OCCURRING IN RIFT THAT THEY DID IN CO.

WHILE YES, YOU CAN CUSTOMIZE YOUR CLASS, THERE ARE ONLY A FEW COMBINATIONS I CAN SEE ACTUALLY BEING VIABLE LATER ON DOWN THE ROAD.

THE GOOD NEWS, THOUGH, IS THAT IT IS VERY EASY TO ADJUST YOUR CLASSES AND SOULS LATER ON DOWN THE LINE IN RIFT. AND THE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CLASSES WILL KEEP ALT-O-HOLICS PRETTY HAPPY FOR AWHILE.

AS FOR THE ALSO TOUTED “RIFTS” FROM WHICH THE GAME GETS ITS TITLE, THEY CAN BE HIT OR MISS.

I TOOK PART IN A LARGER INVASION THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE DISRUPTION OF THE AREA, WHICH WAS GOOD. BUT WON'T BE GOOD FOR EVERYONE. IT HALTED MOST QUESTING AS IT DROPPED BADDIES 3-5 LEVELS ABOVE WHAT THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF THE AREA WAS.

FOR THE MINOR RIFTS, THOUGH, UNLESS SOMEONE USES AN ABILITY TO DROP A RIFT, WHICH IN ALL HONESTY I HAVEN'T SEEN YET, THEN THEY ALL SEEM TO OPEN UP IN THE SAME SPOT ALL THE TIME.

AS FOR THE OTHER ELEMENTS, AS I SAID, THE GRAPHICS LOOK REALLY GOOD IF YOU HAVE A NICE SYSTEM.

THE SETTING IS VERY UNIQUE AND A GOOD BLEND OF FANTASY AND STEAMPUNK WITH A LITTLE TECHNOMAGIC THROWN IN THERE.

CHARACTER CREATION IS VERY DIVERSE AND I WAS ACTUALLY SURPRISED BY THE LEVEL OF DIVERSITY YOU COULD HAVE.

ALTHOUGH THE DOWNSIDE TO THAT IS, THIS BEING JUST THAT TYPE OF MMO, YOU WON’T SPEND MUCH TIME LOOKING AT YOUR CHARACTER AND WHEN YOU DO THEY’LL BE COVERED IN ARMOR OR OTHER BAUBLES.

WITH ALL THAT OUT OF THE WAY, HOW DOES RIFT MEASURE UP?

I CAN SAY WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT IT’S CERTAINLY NOT A BAD GAME.

TRION CERTAINLY WENT ALL OUT IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND THE QUALITY AND RELEASE STATE CERTAINLY SHOWS IN THE FINAL PRODUCT.

THAT BEING SAID, I DIDN’T FIND IT A TERRIFIC STEP FORWARD BUT NEITHER A STEP BACKWARDS.

I CONSIDER IT A VERY SOLID STEP SIDEWAYS FOR THE MMO GENRE AND THAT’S NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING.

RIFT KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT IT IS AND IT DOES IT TO THE BEST OF ITS ABILITY WHICH IS FAR MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR THE MAJORITY OF MMOS THAT HAVE BEEN RELEASED SINCE WOW DOMINATED THE MARKET.

IT MIGHT BE A GOOD CHANGE OF PACE FOR THOSE WHO ARE GETTING TIRED OF WOW'S SETTING AND STYLE, BUT DON'T WANT TO LEAP INTO AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STYLE OF GAMEPLAY.

NOT THAT THERE'S MUCH CHOICE OUT THERE NOW, ANYWAY.

HOWEVER, IF YOU DON’T LIKE THIS HOTKEY STYLE OF GAMEPLAY, RIFT CERTAINLY WON’T CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT THAT.

SO OVERALL, THE GAME RATES AN EIGHT POINT SEVEN ON THE RATING METER.

IT’S A GOOD GAME WHEN YOU TAKE IT FOR ITS MERITS AND DON’T WANT ANYTHING MORE THAN A GOOD MODERN FANTASY M-M-O.

FOR ME PERSONALLY, WHEN I'VE GOT ABOUT 5 YEARS INVESTED IN WOW, I JUST CAN'T DEDICATE TIME TO START OVER IN A GAME THAT'S NEARLY IDENTICAL IN STYLE AND GAMEPLAY WITH A FEW EXTRA BAUBLES ON TOP.

UNTIL NEXT TIME, FELLOW GAMERS, TAKE CARE AND GAME ON.

Who am I?

Hello there.

My named is N'Eligahn and I can sometimes be argumentative and stubborn.

Okay, so sometimes is a slight underexaggeration. Let's go with "tend to be".

However, I like to believe I argue and debate not to so much be a stubborn ass, but to make what I hope are good opinions known, albeit somewhat forcefully.

That being said, I created this blog so that I have a decent outlet for those opinions rather than shouting them at people.

A little background about my gaming experience:

My first game console was a used Nintendo Entertainment system. I think it was actually somewhat broken because the games never looked the way they were supposed to. That dream ended when my sister soved a peanut butter and jelly sandwich into it, thinking that it was supposed to be put there.

My next console was a brand new Sega Genesis and yes, I was a member of the Sega Army during the 16-bit wars and I still maintain that that era of Sonic could easily beat up Mario. Hey, as long as he has one ring, he'll never die.

After that it was an N64 and that was also the period when my family finally upgraded our computer to something with a CD drive and about the time I played Starcraft for the first time. It was around this point that I really became a true gamer.

It wasn't until I joined the Navy and started really delving into the gaming lifestyle that I really fell in love with the industry. I like to read the soap operas about the goings-on of the developers and publishers just as much as the articles about the games themselves.

So that brings us around full circle to this Blog itself. It will be here that I write my articles and make my opinions known about the industry and the games themselves. I'm looking at reviews, commentary, opinion pieces and hopefully more than a few YouTube videos.

Well, that's it for now. If you have any questions, e-mail me and we'll see how quickly I can get them answered.

Until next time, take care and game on.

-N'Eligahn