• 11Oct 11

  Things That I Should Not See In a Video Game

  Nothing is worse for a gamer than getting a game with high expectations and being let down by one of the many problems that affect us gamers. There are very VERY few games out there that can truthfully be said to be "Faultless". I mean, seriously, nothing is perfect. Neither are game developers. But there comes a time where we see something in a game and it just takes us too far. There is a laundry list of things I can speak about, but I will only list the ones I feel to be both: most prevalent and most aggravating.

  Stupid Friendly AI

  
  

  Many games out there boast amazing technologies for the enemy AI's. I remember when Lucas Arts announced their newest tech, Euphoria, which gave enemies self awareness. The debut of this tech was in The Force Unleashed, where Darth Vader's apprentice would grab and hurl both objects and enemies, using the Force. This new tech allowed Stormtroopers to be aware of what was happening. You toss a boulder at a Trooper, and he will attempt to dodge it, by either ducking or jumping out of the way. Grab him in the air, and he will try to straighten out to shoot you while he is floating. This is impressive stuff. Now I ask this: Why isn't this type of stuff added to FRIENDLY AI??

  Im sure everyone has played some game that requires the help of a companion or other type of unit. And I am also sure that everyone has experienced that agitation when you see your friendly unit facing a wall, while getting shot by enemies. Or when you have to escort a friendly unit and instead of ducking for cover, they stand in the middle of the fray. I understand that it adds a bit of "difficulty" to scenarios where applicable. But I mean really, if one of the key ideologies of developers is to make the gameplay as believable as possible, why make stupid companions and brilliant enemies?? This also ties into my next point.

  Ridiculously Intelligent Enemies

  
  

  Now, I am all for the advancement of artificial intelligence, especially in the field of video games. However, I find it difficult to deal with clairvoyant enemies. The above mentioned tech was sheer awesome in TFU. It definitely added a separate level of detail to the reality of what is the world of Star Wars. The game wasn't all that great, unfortunately, but the tech was utter brilliance. However, when a ghoul or an undead something has the ability to tell which direction you decide to go before YOU even decided, that's just plain stupid. How did he know I was going to fake to the left? Did I miss the memo where the undead now had the ability to tell the future? This was ESPECIALLY prevalent in Demon Souls. I know, I know. Its SUPPOSED to be difficult. Im sorry, but my opinion of "difficult" is the concept of having trouble to get through something because it requires you to improve on your SKILL, and not your ability to repeat everything over again. Especially when even the smallest enemies can kill you with 2 hits. And even more especially when they predicted PRECISELY when to make those 2 hits. That is the reason why I stopped playing Demon Souls. I don't mind having to try again from dying. But when dying appears to be the only thing you CAN do, meh I think im ok.

  Zombies

  
  

  Yea I said it; Zombies. The most overused concept in video gaming history. Almost every developer/series has incorporated SOME form of the undead rising to devour people. You might not know it, but Zombieism is in almost everything. Take the Halo series, for example. While the Flood is not your typical form of Zombie, it does fall under the same concept: soldiers who die and get fed on by the Flood turn themselves into the living undead. That comparison im sure will bring a lot of controversy and discussion so have at it if you wish. Super Mario World 3: the grey Stone Koopas. You can jump on them several times, but after a few seconds, they continue to rise. The Scourge from the lore of Warcraft. Resident Evil is ALL about zombies. Even the newer Mortal Kombat game has a few challenges where you fight zombies. And don't even get me started on any newer games.

  The reason why this subject bothers me the most of all in this discussion is not the fact that the concept is overused, but rather it the concept has been added to games where it has no premise. This is especially true with game Yakuza: Dead Souls. Now, i am a HUGE story freak. If a game's graphics and gameplay are blegh, but the story is phenomenal, I will give the game a play-through no matter what. I recently began playing the Yakuza series games, and I love them. The story is soo amazing, even the boring parts (playing hide and seek) still made me go on. So when I heard that Yakuza's 5th installment was going to be a zombie game… You can only imagine my disgust. As soon as I heard/saw the news, I removed Yakuza 3 from my PS3 and sent it back. In games that push REAL LIFE concepts are REALISM, you toss in ZOMBIES???

  Rehashing

  
  

  Why haven't game developers realized the fact that WE HATE REPEATING OURSELVES?! So many games out there make us see the exact same thing over, and over, and over again. One of the biggest let downs in my video game catalog was Dragon Age 2. When I realized that I had to run back and forth to the same 5 locations and fight the same 6 different type of enemies, I felt so discouraged. To make matters worse, "dungeons" were of the exact same template. I mean, its one thing if were fighting the Darkspawn… But they aren't even the primary enemies anymore. That right there is the only time I have ever seen Bioware drop the ball. Simplicity is good for casual gamers and children. I didn't buy a 400 dollar console or a 5000 PC to see and repeat the same damn renders. And don't tell me its because "you don't have the time or technology", because if you do ill slap you with a fish. I never want to play a linear video game and ask myself: "Wait… wasn't I just here?"

  Disappearing Corpses

  
  

  This one is a kicker. Its definitely a high ranking pet peeve of mine. Nothing feels worse than killing a large squad of clever enemies and having no evidence to prove you did it. It doesn't make any logical sense. If it doesn't do anything, like move or shoot, why take it out? Developers put millions into technology to make a rock look as much like a real rock as possible, and yet they suck the bodies out of the game when they die? What gives? I mean, there are only 2 logical reasons that can explain disappearing bodies: Either it is Judgment Day in ALL video games, or Obi-Wan Kenobi trained EVERYONE to become with the Force when they died. Its completely redundant. The only place I see that makes sense for the bodies to disappear (and this is only from a technical stand point) is in online games. And there are plenty of games that would benefit from left over bodies. A perfect example is The Force Unleashed. Wouldn't it make sense, being a Sith apprentice, to be able to toss the dead bodies of your enemies as projectiles? Even more so with the ability to turn targets into electric grenades. Another Star Wars game that suffers from this is Knights of the Old Republic. Its bothersome to see the body of the Rancor you just blew up disappear into thin air. Take a look at the Terrnetatek. When you defeat the one on Kashyyyk, his body instantly disappears, and he leaves behind a sack like bag, which contains its "loot". Where did that bag come from?

  For now this is the list I have construed. I will add to it as time goes on. Feel free to add any input or ideas that you think apply.

  • Posted Oct 11, 2011 11:34 am GMT
  • Category: Games
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 29Sep 11

  BIG BIG Mess Up By Bioware!

  So, i have some embarrassing news.

  It turns out someone at Bioware dropped the ball. Today, Bioware was apparently preparing to send out more weekend Beta invites, when instead, they sent these 2 emails. Im not the only one who got this also.

  

  

  Now i can GUARANTEE you i have never been invited to the Beta or any testing phases. And im not the only one. The community forums was exploding with thread upon thread of people getting the exact same emails, and freaking out. It got so out of hand, they had to shut down the website. Right now it is closed for high traffic. Bioware was first beginning to delete the excesive amount of threads created, but they couldnt keep up. Luckily, i sent in a ticket about it just before it crashed. I doubt ill get an answer, but it was worth a try.

  EDIT: I will clarify as to what this is. This is an email, meant for a person who has infact been invited to the beta testing. It was sent to thousands, millions of followers. Naturally everyone assumed they had a Beta invite and nobody knew about it. Some people have found old emails in their spam, but the majority dont have them. People are claiming either someone hacked Bioware's network for phishing, or, Bioware is attempting draw more pre-orders by using these emails.

  So apparently, someone at Bioware /facerolled onto the keyboard and sent a **** load of emails out, and the people are PISSED. Anyone get these emails? What do you all think is going on?

  Bioware has finally released a statement on their forums regarding these emails. The last bit seems a bit shrewed:

  "Earlier today, two e-mails were sent to members of theStar Wars: The Old Republic community. These e-mails were sent to a larger group than intended, and have caused some confusion in the community. We can confirm that these e-mails were from EA and BioWare and apologize for any confusion they have caused. Please note that receiving these e-mails does not affect your chances to be invited to test the game. Thank you all for your understanding!"

  • Posted Sep 29, 2011 7:37 pm GMT
  • Category: News
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 26Sep 11

  Still No Access to Fuse

  I would never have thought i would say this, but i am having Fuse withdrawals. Its been a few hours since i could last log onto Fuse. For some strange reason, i cannot see jack. When i go to the main screen, or any screen for that matter, this is what i am seeing:

  

  It sucks because when i looked, i had about 8 notifications, and i could not see as to what they are. And as you know, i wrote a HUGE blog article a few hours ago. Im dying of curiosity to see what people commented, on Fuse. At first, i thought my issue was related to my blog article, and the argument i was having with that mentioned member. However, as you can tell, i can still contribute to GS, so im not banned or modded.

  Unfortunately, i already messaged Boubou, yet i dont think he has determined the source of the issue. I tried posting on the forums, but the only comment i received was being notified that my thread was getting shut down. I had to move it over, and i have yet to see a reply.

  Has anyone else had issues with Fuse recently? Or has heard of such problems?

  • Posted Sep 26, 2011 10:22 pm GMT
  • Category: Rant
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »