I'm Sukharevskaya, and this is your source for game reviews, news, previews, rankings, and more! I always try to choose interesting and fun topics, so suggestions are of course welcome. Feel free to comment!

• 25Nov 10

  A Very Merry Thanksgiving To All of You!

  Thanksgiving is here folks, and Christmas is just right around the corner! So get out there and enjoy the time you've be given with family and friends. Remember your blessings, look forward to your future, and appreciate this day! In other words, stop reading this, get off your computer, and get started!

  

  • Posted Nov 25, 2010 10:22 am GMT
  • Category: Other
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 22Oct 10

  Hello BIRTHDAY!!!

  Another great year has been all used up, and I hope to make this one even better! Yeah, this is a serious deviation from my usual analytical blog posts, but heck--it's my birthday!Just thought I'd let the community know the spectacular news! And as for presents--considering Assassin's Creed Brotherhood and Call of Duty Black Ops won't be released until November--I've received the money to spend on them when they finally hit the shelves...I can hold out until then.

  Skaya

  

  Chill dude, it's only a month...

  • Posted Oct 22, 2010 3:46 pm GMT
  • Category: Rant
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg
• 7Oct 10

  The Dangers of 3D and Motion Control Gaming

  Games have been constantly evolving since the emergence of Tennis for Two back in '58, and as evidenced by today's booming industry, the trend isn't about to slow down. Developers are throwing wads of cash into their games and marketing like never before. Infinity Ward's most recent release, Modern Warfare 2, cost a whopping $40-$50 million to make, and that's not even including the $200 million they spent on TV commercials, online ads, fliers, and every form of advertising imaginable. If that's not enough to convince you of the level of attention games are receiving, take a look at the statistics. According to various sources, we can expect the videogame industry to surpass the music business in a few short years, an unprecedented event and a huge jump from the wavering influence of games a decade ago. But without the innovation that developers and corporations are pouring into their systems and software year after year, this growth pattern would most certainly take a massive plunge, and that is exactly why we, as gamers, are being swamped with two of the biggest new technologies on the market: 3D and Motion Control Gaming.

  

  Slapping a $150 price tag on a pair of goggles kinda makes sense when you consider how much they spent to get there...

  Most of us probably remember when the Project Natal tech demo was first shown off the summer of last year. There was that kid named Milo who interacted with the player in real-time, and it was at that moment that we began to fantasize of all the applications this technology could have. We could actually go through the movements of a quarterback in Madden or the firing of our Halo assault rifles....Motion Control was finally a reality. Well, a year has gone by, Project Natal has been redubbed Kinect, Sony has adopted a similar system, and the truth be told, very little has progressed with this wonder tech. So what went wrong? It's not necessarily the systems themselves that have failed. Looking closely, a trend becomes very apparent--one that threatens long-time and hardcore gamers alike. Microsoft and Sony, two of the largest factors ingaming, are now catering to a new audience...and at the expense of their loyal followers.

  

  No, no! Not the kitty!

  E3 left most of us scratching our heads in this respect. Where were the games to back theKinect and the Move? Demonstration after demonstration showed off little children petting virtual cats, using their cartoonish Avatars to race down a cartoonish river in a cartoonish canyon, and running around aimlessly playing laser tag and catcalling to each other....what has this world come to? There can be only one answer: casual gamers have become the target audience. Now, providing a solid option for newcomers and those who just want a lighthearted experience is no problem, hence the Wii and a selection of titles on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. It becomes a whole different matter, however, when this new audience that pays very little into these corporations' profits overshadows the real gamer's importance.

  A prime example is the dramatic shift in therenowned Madden franchise and its new philosophy of Simpler. Quicker. Deeper. How you can make something simpler and quicker while providing a deeper experience and not forgetting the repeat customers that have been dishing out sixty bucks a year for two decades? You can't, hence the worst user-rated Madden in many years. And that is exactly how EA betrayed long-time fans with its "new" system where the AI runs more of the game for you than ever before, so all you have to do is hike the ball and hit a button. Unfortunately, the tactics don't stop there, with control of the gaming experience across a variety of genres being snatched away and handed to the computer instead. Even the representations of games have changed, where we have to settle with bouncy little versions of ourselves grinning on our Xbox Dashboard. The majority call out for progression and depth in the gaming industry, and yet the developers continue to ignore their requests.

  

  "You can buy some new pants for me if you like, and we can play virtual dress-up!"

  Now everything isn't falling apart because we still have our God of War's and Call of Duty's to keep us satisfied, but it's not so much a matter of the current state of things as it is where they are heading. Where will we be a decade from now? Will Motion Control finally have taken off and realized that focusing on a very limited group of newcomers isn't the best business tactic? Most likely not. While they may suck in more potential customers, namely the young and elderly, it is only a matter of time before they completely isolate the prominent and serious gaming community. So how does this tie in with 3D gaming? Well, only time will truly tell, but if the change from hope-to-flop that Motion Control seems to have become is any indicator, then expect the same business motives for 3D. Sure, we've already seen games like Killzone 3 and Black Ops guaranteed compatibility, but evenif the technology doesn't apply as much to casual gaming, then at the very least, it will likely be used as a distraction by Sony and Microsoft to temporarily please serious gamers while they ramp up their devotion of Motion Control and games as a whole to the minority.

  

  Can you tell the difference? Yeah, didn't think so. Welcome to 3D Gaming.

  So where do we go from here? True gamers obviously still receive the most attention in the gaming world, but it is undoubtedly slipping at an alarming rate. 3D and Motion Control are fantastic ideas, but again, do they really support the cornerstones of the industry? As of now, the answer is most certainly not, but it can only be hoped that the new technology and the games themselves can make a turnaround when the developers understand the significance of the dangers at hand. The way I see it, if you want cute entertainment, watch a Disney movie. If you want more beginner-friendly gameplay, switch the difficulty to easy. But never touch the core experience of gaming itself. It is when this occurs that the line is crossed.

  Where do you stand on the issue? Feel free to express your views below!

  • Posted Oct 7, 2010 6:22 pm GMT
  • Category: Editorial
  • Tag
  • Print
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Digg

See Previous Blog Posts »