Category: Uncategorised

Taking Liberties

Yes, I own GTA IV, but have I really played it yet?  Absolutely not.  At the time of GTA IV’s release, I was happily engrossed in playing Race Driver: GRID.  At the back of my mind from previous experience of past GTA titles, was that each games requires an enormous investment of time.  An investment I wasn’t willing to make without Trophies.

You’re probably thinking “Yes, Los Havros has really done it this time.  He’s finally sold himself out, putting thoughts of Trophies before the game itself”.  Fair enough, but this is my rationale for doing this.  The only game that I’ve been willing to play through for possibly the 4th or 5th time for Trophies has been Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.  Yet Uncharted has nowhere near the number of hours of gameplay that GTA IV has.

If I had already played through GTA IV, I doubt that I’d start from scratch again just for Trophies.  I’ve even seen quite a large number of posts from gamers who have stated exactly that.  Secondly, my time is precious these days.  I don’t actually have enough time to play each game in turn for 100% completion.  Even a game that I have actually completed like Uncharted, hasn’t been completed 100% as I haven’t collected all the Trophies for it yet.

So I suppose either over the Christmas period or through 2009 I vow to make a start on GTA IV by completing as much of the story as I can, and see how far through the Trophy system I can make it.  This isn’t a cast iron promise though, as something may inevitably crop up (there’s also the new ‘easier’ patch for PixelJunk Eden to consider).  But there you go.  I swear that after I’ve finished my degree I’ll be king of the jungle gym… of gaming.  Possibly.

Anyone got any games they haven’t yet started, but they’re going to have a decent crack at this Christmas?

A golden opportunity for Codemasters

I feel that Codemasters are missing out on a golden opportunity.  How so?  I’m referring to Trophy support and downloadable content; what I’m on about will all become clear very soon.

Codemasters are driving game veterans, having developed the Collin McRae Rally series over a number of years now.  They followed up their great series with the launch of DiRT on the PS3.  Then the subsequent development and launch of Race Driver: GRID- essentially the latest game in the TOCA Touring Car series, was a stroke of genius.  I’m only guessing here, but GRID surely reached a large audience.  I was a gamer that had played the TOCA Touring Car games and didn’t particularly like them, but GRID changed that. The visuals, the style, and the sublime handling.  Hey, I liked the handling! (some people would argue the handling was lumpy).

What has made things turn sour for PS3 users, is the fact that GRID won’t be patched to retrospectively support Trophies.  Everything’s been quiet on the GRID front for months, and then a mysterious downloadable content pack is available to purchase on the PlayStation Store.  It’s called the “8-ball pack“, and for £6.29 you get 8 cars.  Yup, for all that money, you just get that.  Let’s have a look what the competition have done…

Criterion Games, the developers of Burnout Paradise, have toiled away at and released Trophy support, and numerous downloadable content packs (all free!), and are only going to charge for their next pack because it adds a whole new island to the game.  It is probably even in the territory of an expansion pack.

This is why I don’t get this comment:

We’re currently not planning to retrospectively support PSN trophies – it’s not a trivial thing to add to a game.

Source.

This is where I believe that Codemasters have missed a golden opportunity.  The fans want Trophies, and the developers want a return on investment (ROI), so why don’t they patch the game for trophies, chuck a couple of cars in to sweeten the deal, then offer the pack up for purchase on the PlayStation Store?

You may think I’m making a big deal out of this, especially because there are many games out there that were released before Trophies came out and haven’t been patched such as Resistance: Fall of Man, The Orange Box, and many more.  But none of those games have just had a downloadable content pack released!  If they’re willing to develop new content packs, then why not Trophy support?

Sure, there will be a development team working on DiRT 2, but GRID is a franchise now in it’s own right and they could have kept interest in the game for far longer than they have done, just by following Criterion’s example.  But I digress.  I’ll conclude by admitting that the main reason I’m so upset about this is that GRID is one of my favourite games, and I’m just irritated by the attitude of the developers in this case.

The LBP Community shot me down

I’d like to start off by saying that first and foremost, my experience with LittleBigPlanet as a whole, and more specifically, the community, has been really good.  Great, in fact.  I’ve been making my way gingerly through the story mode; loving the visuals, level-design, and uniqueness of the whole LittleBigPlanet universe.  I’ve even ventured online properly, playing a couple of levels with other people, playing user-created levels and passing judgment.  Then I created my own level…

The rating system is out of 5 stars, then you can sum up what you think of the level with a one-word answer, which gets rid of any profanities I guess.  After doing a few story levels, I was itching to create something.  However, due to being away at University for most of the time, I admit it has taken much longer than I planned to get my first level out of the door.

After working my way through some of the tutorials, I started to piece my level together.  I admit though, that because I haven’t completed the whole story mode yet, I don’t exactly have a full list of parts to select from!  I created a fairly short level, named it “Life’s A Beach“, and provided a description saying something along the lines that it was my first level, please be kind. I put some sand castles in it, added a bit of humour, an obstacle or two, and offered some prizes.  Fairly reasonable, no?  So I uploaded the level…

I checked back a few hours later and my level received 3 stars- hooray!  But the words I got describing what people thought of the level was: horizontal, empty, rubbish.  Fair enough with the first one, probably the second as well, but rubbish?!  That struck me as being a bit mean.  I did state, didn’t I not, that it was my first-ever level?

I suppose what I’m after, Is some support here.  Of course, there are some great levels out there, and I’m just starting off with my first steps into LittleBigPlanet level creation, but was a label of ‘rubbish’ really required?  I’ve seen some pretty dire levels myself, but would never dream of labelling them rubbish.  I only go so far as calling them empty, or horizontal.  Am I being too nice here?!  I want answers dammit!

Any thoughts my fellow sack people?

Shoot! away

Hello there everyone, I’ve been contacted by the good guys at PlayStation about Shoot!  Without further ado, I present the info straight from the horse’s mouth:

I was just browsing your blog and thought that this would be of interest to you and your readers. It’s an online project for PlayStation 3 called Shoot!.

It brings six of the most promising international directorial talents together with the six of the most respected names in the film industry today, to make six short films commissioned exclusively for PlayStation.

Some of these films are already available and some will be released later this month through the PlayStation Network (available in High Definition through a PS3 or PSP) or 7 days later at www.psshoot.com (in standard definition).

Each week one of the films will be released to download (for free) along with further video content which tells the story of how that film was made, from its pitch to its production and interviews with the respective directors.

This is the kind of rich, value-added content that will entice users to make the most of the PlayStation Network and show that it can provide a wealth of great content, not limited to downloadable games.  I came across Shoot! at the weekend whilst perusing the PlayStation Store, but I didn’t know about this dedicated website.

Aside from the standard ‘this is good for PlayStation’ spiel, the content itself is very interesting and sheds light on how each respective director approached the creative process and the techniques used to achieve their vision.  Even for those who don’t have a PS3, videos are up on www.psshoot.com– well worth a look.

Since when did games become such ‘cheap’ commodities?

This has been bugging me for quite a bit, but across various forums and websites I’ve seen gamers talk about their PS3 games collections that are absolutely huge- we’re talking 50 games plus.  Sure, you can pick up some games for a reasonable £30, but most of the latest releases are around £40.  I’ve seen some stores try and get away with selling PS3 games for £50.  Shame on them.

I just find it astounding that many gamers in general these days will actually grab three or four games even if they are all released in the same week.  Maybe because money is a bit tight in my case, if I have any spare funds I’ll try and pick one of them.  Even if I was flush with money, I would still probably stick with getting one game as I don’t seem to have enough hours in the day to play everything.

Take the past month or so with the releases of LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Call of Duty: World at War, FarCry 2 etc…  It was a big stretch for me even to get LittleBigPlanet in the end.  As for the other games?  I may get some of them as and when I can afford to do so, but by then, another must-have game will probably be out by then (hello, Killzone 2?).

As a result of not being able to go out and buy each and every game that is out there, I feel I respect my games more: I play longer on them, I cherish them.  Which is why I probably only have about ten or so games for my PS3.  I’m not counting PSN games or any games that people rent, their disposability is understandable.  But full retail games abandoned after a few plays, like some cheap soda can?

I just don’t get it- for me it is wasteful, and just shows decadence by those who have more money than sense.  Sure, over the period of about 5 years or so with a PS2, I notched up quite a games collection, but perhaps no more than 30 games.  Games seemed to be a lot cheaper those days as well, because they probably were.  These are just some thoughts of mine, however there are always two sides to a story.  I’d love to hear from anyone who has a ton of games and has something to say about it.  I’ll discount those people with an Xbox 360, as it has been out for a few years now.  Muchos gracias.

Sony unleashes ‘My PlayStation Network’ on eu.playstation.com

Those of you who visit the European PlayStation site from your home country (in my case, the UK PlayStation site) regularly may have noticed another section of the site that has quietly sneaked its way onto the menu: ‘PSN’.  Quite innocuous you might think, but this new section is quite a significant addition to the site, containing such pages as ‘About’, ‘News’, ‘Events Calendar’, ‘Store’, ‘Community’, ‘Registration’ and ‘My PlayStation Network’.

Whilst some of the above pages I’ve listed had already been tucked away elsewhere on the site, ‘My PlayStation Network’ is a totally new addition.  Let’s take a look, shall we?

My PlayStation Network page
'My PlayStation Network' page

The most exciting feature is the ‘Portable ID‘, a feature that Xbox 360 users have had for a good number of years now in the form of a GamerCard.  This is how Sony describe it:

The Portable ID is your public face in the PlayStation Network community. It contains your PSN avatar, Online ID, current mood, favourite console and more.

Once you have created your Portable ID, you can easily embed the image into forum signatures and websites. We provide you with the code for you to do this.

Over time, the Portable ID will evolve to include Trophies and achievements, so keep an eye on eu.playstation.com for updates.

This is what a Portable ID looks like (you can get your own at http://secure.eu.playstation.com/psn/):

Currently, you can select your favourite game, your preferred console of choice (between PSP, PS2 and PS3), and your current mood.  For now, the list of favourite games to choose from is quite limited for the moment, but it will obviously expand in the coming weeks and months.

Many of you will be disappointed that with the Portable ID you can’t share your trophies and achievements like you can with an Xbox 360 GamerCard, but it is quite exciting that we’ve even got this far.  PS3 gamers have come to expect far less from the PSN than Xbox users might expect from Xbox Live.  However, seen as the PSN is a free service, most PS3 gamers don’t seem to mind.

What is reassuring though, is seeing Sony’s commitment to expanding the features and functionality of the PlayStation Network to rival that of Xbox Live.  We’re getting there, bit by bit.  Gradually, with connectivity such as this, the introduction of Trophies, and the future release of PlayStation Home, the PlayStation Network will take its place amongst the others as being a trully first class online network for gaming.

The Portable ID can be embedded in forum signatures, or any websites and blogs you may have.  I’d love to see what you are doing with your Portable ID- leave a comment with where you’ve put your Portable ID and I’ll take a look!

Hands-on with LittleBigPlanet

LittleBigPlanet is here, and gamers everywhere are giddy with excitement- and that’s just the adults!  Children are going to love this game, as in fact, will anyone really.  From what I’ve experienced, I can totally see how this can be a cult classic for the cool, hardcore gamers, but still be fun for all the family.

You’ll be glad to know that my woes with Amazon did not last long.  The package was waiting for me when I arrived home.  As I hadn’t been on my PS3 for quite some time, the usual formalities were required: download firmware update, install update, restart PS3.  Time for some LittleBigPlanet goodness then?  Apparently not: two updates needed to be downloaded and installed before I could so much as look at the loading screen.

Continue reading Hands-on with LittleBigPlanet

Let’s talk about brands in the games industry

There have been a couple of articles that have piqued my interest recently; one from Rockers Delight (excellent blog, go read now if you haven’t already done so) and another from PS3 Fanboy.  Rather than address each point separately, I’d like to make this one big article on my thoughts about brands in the games industry.

First, Let’s start with what I’d like to call ‘the PLAYSTATION debacle’.  Now, up until the launch of the PLAYSTATION 3, Sony’s consoles were always endowed with the simple, effective and iconic branding ‘PlayStation’.

Before I knew it, I was bombarded with products and services such as the PLAYSTATION Eye, the PLAYSTATION Network, and the PLAYSTATION Store.  I got the feeling that this once simple and effective branding had started shouting at me. Why tinker with something like that?

Even PS3 Fanboy’s article is titled ‘No need to shout: PLAYSTATION = PlayStation’.  On their poll that they’ve got going, most people prefer the original, lower-case version (at the time of writing).  They say that in the latest firmware update (2.50) names have been changed to ‘PlayStation Store’ and ‘PlayStation Network’.  You’ve also got box art coming in that is saying ‘Only on PlayStation‘.  What the heck is going on?  This is creating brand confusion.

Before, ‘PlayStation’ was understated, but a sign of quality- a brand you could trust.  ‘PLAYSTATION’ makes the brand loud and clumsy.  People know that the PlayStation brand is good, why shout at them?!  I’m going to label this debacle as pointless and potentially damaging.  Tsk tsk Sony.

Now, moving on to the ‘New Xbox Experience’.  Microsoft are changing their brand in a different way- by seemingly leaving their loyal, hardcore gamers to one side, and seeking out new, more casual gamers ala the Wii.

Initially to me this seemed more of a ‘Mii too’ move by Microsoft which could potentially alienate existing 360 gamers and dilute their brand.  However I do believe now that if Microsoft does this right it could make their whole service become more cohesive (if that’s possible!  It’s pretty much amazing already, let’s admit) and expand their reach into new territories.  Done wrong however, and it could end up like Xbox does Teletubbies.  (I’ll save how I feel about Nintendo and it’s Wii for another article).  This is quite a bold and risky move from Microsoft.  Such crazy horses.  And you know what?  It might even pay off.

So what can we conclude from this brief look at gaming brands?  Risks have to be made to further brand reach and recognition, but getting it wrong can give the wrong impression to customers, and potentially alienate them if they feel their console of choice no longer cares about their needs.  It’s a case of branding done right, and branding done wrong.  I’d love some discussion on this matter.

(N.b.: I feel marketing is a different issue here.  I’ll try and deal with it in due course)

LittleBigPlanet: Out now in the UK

After a short delay due to an offending soundtrack, LittleBigPlanet is officially out now in the UK.  I had been wondering when exactly to post this, as across different markets, retailers in some instances have chosen to sell LittleBigPlanet early anyway.  So I’ve settled for the official (revised) release date in the UK, which is today: November 5th, 2008- Bonfire Night!

Now, I have had my copy of LittleBigPlanet on pre order with Amazon for quite some time.  Last week, I received a disturbing email from them:

Unfortunately, the release date for the item(s) listed below was changed by the supplier, and we
need to provide you with a new estimated delivery date based on the new release date:

“Little Big Planet (PS3)” [Video Game]
Estimated arrival date: 12/11/08 – 19/11/08

We are sorry for any inconvenience this causes.

As you can imagine, I’m not particularly impressed with this.  I was hoping that I’d be able to have a mess about on it when I go home for the weekend.  I’m just praying that Amazon are somehow mistaken and my copy will be there when I arrive home.  I mean, what kind of pre order arrives a week or two after release date?!

So, if you don’t see any LittleBigPlanet hands-on thoughts from me round here, you’ll know why.  I am 100% behind the game.  Other than that, I’d like to mention that this game should be a system seller and Christmas hit this year.  It comes quite highly recommended as well, so it’d probably be a good idea if you snagged a copy yourself.