E3 2014 Sony VS. Microsoft, Take Two

           Competition is good for the consumer. Competition is good for the industry. Competition breeds innovation and options galore. Competition...well, you get the idea. Last year, at E3 2013, Microsoft compounded its problems of TV and more TV with DRM and always online restrictiveness, and Sony answered the calls of many gamers to not follow suit; Planting a flag and declaring unrestricted freedom and traditional gaming for all. Sony threw haymakers, taking advantage of Microsoft's foolhardy, pompous maneuvers. Sony declared no 24 hour online check-ins and the ability to, as always, trade and play used games. The crowd at E3 2013, attending Sony's conference, erupted as they were galvanized to a pronounced and thunderous applause. This all lead to a sustained momentum, which has thus far carried over to impressive sales numbers for the PlayStation 4. Microsoft has yielded, terminating their unrelenting vision for the future of gaming that only they could foresee. 

Infamous: Second Son Review

Should you get hip to the power trip?

Infamous: Second Son, from Sucker Punch Productions

      Cole MacGrath--no more. Say hello to the new infamy: Delsin Rowe! Infamous Second Son introduces us to a new protagonist and a new setting.Seattle (in all its splendor and realism) is the playground for our latest adventures in the, now familiar, superhero comic-styled Franchise, Infamous. The lead, Delsin Rowe, is a member of the game's Akomish tribe. Delsin, from the very opening, is "painted" as a trouble maker. He lacks a sense of responsibility, but--if the player so chooses--he doesn't lack the heart or the compunction to make the daring decisions befitting a destined hero. Delsin is (all things considered) quite affable; and as he revels in his new-found abilities as a conduit, his attitude is infectious and serves to instill players with a secondhand bliss, so much so that uncertain experiences ahead seem bright.With circumstances that seem fated to be, if not strangely and irreversibly set in motion by hidden, causal factors--as future revelations may reveal, Delsin is torn from the confines of the Akomish reserve; and he must make telegraphed karmic (moral) decisions, which, to some extent, add depth and development, but, ultimately, have so little impact that the developers might as well have settled upon a two path system--as the current one artificially slots players into one of two karmic paths. The D.U.P (the Department of Unified Protection) has locked down Seattle and are out to contain the Conduit problem. Conduits are the Infamous equivalent of superhumans, think X-Men. Delsin, in a straightforward plot to undue the work of Augustine (the D.U.P commander in charge of a Seattle wide lock-down), ventures into Seattle for middling fun.

Watch_Dogs Preview

After nearly two years of hype, can Watch_Dogs (Ubisoft's latest open-world outing) hack it?

 

Watch_Dogs, published by Ubisoft, releases on May 27th

     
      I've been keenly interested in Watch Dogs for some time now. The game made its debut at E3 2012 to a floored crowd, anticipation has surged since. What the heck is Watch Dogs? An open-world action-adventure starring Aiden Pearce, a hacker extraordinaire. Yes. It is also touted to be a "true next-gen experience." From what has been shown thus far, I can say that things look assuredly bright for Ubisoft Montreal's latest brain child-- In development since 2009 and hotly anticipated.

HACK IN

       Hack anything, play any way, do anything--well, not exactly a tag, but you get the idea. Grand claims and grander visions align. The preview images and videos for the game show off the many ways that Watch Dogs will attempt to deepen the level of player interaction and choice within the gaming realm. We see the protagonist, Aiden, speeding across the cityscape of Watch Dogs' virtual Chicago. In escape of the authorities, he (the player) slows time and pinpoints from an array of options, which include ground spikes to steam pipes, the ability to hack an oncoming draw bridge. With his pursuers in tail, Aiden initiates the hack and darts across the raising bridge just in time to cutoff the cops. 

         How? The city--Chicago--is connected. CtOS, a city wide operating system, functions to monitor and control wireless, interconnected facets--both seemingly public and private. And as such, Aiden Pearce can hack the CtOS systems and gain control over many of the cities networked components. These include the ability to raise guard rails—for cover in combat, short circuit breaker boxes, activate searing steam pipes and, as has been seen innumerable times, hack NPC's cellphones and private networks. Though a morality system is nowhere to be found in the upcoming title, Ubisoft's creative minds want players to be wholly aware of their actions, choosing to forgo the stale and limited reaches of a binary morality bar, instead opting to reflect the consequences of player action within the dynamics of the city itself. 

How Viable is the Push Towards All Digital?

All Digital? Or No? Is it Safe?

 With the advent of the PS4 and Xbox One on the horizon, we see a discussion brewing over the fabric of the gaming world. The make-up of which is in flux. There is a stronger push from those within the games industry for an all-digital gaming experience. I can see the benefits. Indeed, easier access to your entire library of games, no matter where you are--that is, if you have an internet connection. Then there is the clamoring of the crowd of sheep, who easily-- without quantification and solid proof-- buy the notions that all publishers and online market places--Sony and Microsoft--will enact policies that would be becoming of the highly vaunted Valve corp.. I think there is a fundamental desire for the latest advances in technology. This desire may, at times, prove to be a major flaw. Only allowing the most longing of us to establish a cue of interest that is heavily weighted and steered by the foggy intentions and motivations of the companies that helm our games. The idea that Sony and Microsoft would, for little reason other than digital meaning a release from physical media and its trappings, shower the consumer in Steam/GOG styled sales and offers is absurd. These companies only need you to buy-in. They have no vested interest in your well-being. And, as such there is no way to determine whether or not the so called "necessary"push to all digital, will bring with it the very necessary benefits that it must provide to be fully justified.

Why I Am Excited About Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag

Will you be setting sail this fall or has the Creed worn thin with this one.

 

Assassin's Creed 4 is the sixth game in the main series, if you only include its console releases. As such one would be forgiven for feeling fatigue setting in, especially since the series has shifted to a yearly release schedule. Though I hear the dissension and I can completely understand it, but I must disagree with those who are down on this particular release in the series. Why, you may ask, do I care about a franchise that seemingly has lost its way in more ways than one? Well, the sea you see, Is the reason.

Set sail with the Jackdaw 

I do still have my doubts, after all. When AC4 was first announced earlier this year, I was just as pessimistic as some of the detractors I have seen and heard from. I told myself that I had no intention of even listening to any AC4 news. But, here we are, only a few months later, and I can now say--after listening to a lot of the news that has been revealed-- that I am hopeful this entry in the series will live up to the potential espoused by the solid, personal favorite of mine, Assassin's Creed 2. Assassin's Creed 2 is, in my opinion, exemplary of the franchises capabilities; from its rich, expansive Italy, to its much improved variety over AC1, AC2 combines the open-ended structure of AC1 with an expansive narrative and a variety of gameplay. With AC2 in mind, what can we gauge from what little we know about AC4? The Jackdaw, which looks to be a symbol of freedom, liberation and a much welcomed return to Assassin's Creed 1 levels of open-ended gameplay. Running off of the ground-work, laid down in last years AC3, the open sea Caribbean expanse of AC4, looks to catalyze a, somewhat lost, sense of adventure. The heavily praised naval missions of Assassin's Creed 3 are proof that life on the Jackdaw will rouse the most cranky of fans, as the open sea is rife with mystery and adventure.

Playstation 4 Better Not... Screw it Up

  Giving my thoughts on a story reported by Gamespot.com

There are apparently rumors of the PS4 only allowing developers to utilize 4.5GB of memory--though do recall that the PS4 uses DDR5 memory, which is supposed to be much faster than the DDR3 that will be used in the Xbox One. That is 4.5GB out of the announced 8GB total housed within the system. Now, my thoughts are that Sony better not screw up, what some might call, a technically impressive work of design (for a console) and bottle developers into reduced possibilities.