lost in games

First of, let me express my best wishes for the year for 2010 to you and your families.Now then, I sincerely hope you took a breather during the Christmas holidays because you are going to need all your strength (and quite possibly a lot of cash) in the first 3 months of 2010. The release list is phenomenal and even bigger than last year’s autumn with games like God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Splinter Cell: Conviction and Heavy Rain.

But even this week there are two excellent titles, one of which quite possibly might be a contender for game of the year 2010. And this is just in the first week!

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When asked by people why do I game, my usual and simple (easy) answer is because they are fun. Playing videogames however can be a turbulent ride and not always of the fun kind.

A couple of days ago, i got stuck at Super Mario Galaxy and had to repeat the same planet 3-4 times. At some point, right before another imminent death, i yelled at the TV, “PETAKTOU MALAKA!” (JUMP YOU A…….LE). I am not sure if videogames’ most iconic character heard me but he still fell to his inevitable death.

With Battlefield: Bad Company, i kept cursing the developers whenever i had to find a RPG to destroy a tank, whilst watching my Explosives expert squadmate with a rocket launcher on his back, moving around and doing absolutely nothing to help. The “EN PELLOI RE” (THEY ARE CRAZY) screams were probably heard by my neighbours of the floor we share.

Before that i played Demon’s Souls where the recipient of my abuse was actually me. “EIMAI GAROS”, “EN EXW YPOTHESI” (I AM A DONKEY/IDIOT, I DON’T HAVE A CLUE) were some of the insults that crashed my confidence even more alongside the never ending deaths in the game.

This behaviour and sentiment really does go back to my childhood gaming days with games like Syndicate Wars and Cannon Fodder. Abuse, anger, screaming and swearing while playing videogames.

Am i alone in this? What about you? Ever had this experience and if yes why do you keep putting yourself through it?

I’ve been playing Battlefield: Bad Company for the past week or so as it has been a game that i really wanted to try last year but missed the boat. Unfortunately, the single player campaign is extremely disappointing.

I can not get used to the controls and specifically the aiming part. It reminds me of the problems i have with FPS games on the PS3 where due to the sensitivity of the analog stick i find myself constantly making minor changes to aim properly. Bungie, Infinity Ward and so many others have shown us that this is not longer an issue on 360 FPS games.

Then it’s the destructability of objects which is good and bad. Good, because you never feel safe behind a wall or inside a building. Bad, because there is no consistency. You can bomb the hell out of a building but certain parts of it simply do not get destroyed. It loses it’s realistic feel and it’s even more noticeable than if there was no destruction at all.

Also, what is it with this healing system? You can heal yourself with an injection which basically has a meter showing you when you can do it again. It only takes a few seconds to recharge and this means that i am constantly injecting myself. I mean all the time! It feels so ridiculous. Why not simply use a recharging health instead??

Finally, you are in a squad of 4. Actually of 1 soldier (myself) and 3 guys who are just hanging around you shouting all the time. Their AI is horrible with some Naked Gun moments where they are shooting at enemies a meter away with nothing happening. Also one of them is supposed to be the demolitions expert and carries around a rocket launcher. But he never uses it! NEVER! If there is a tank or an armoured vehicle that needs to be taken out I am supposed to go find a RPG and take it out yourself.

As far as the story is concerned it is really irrelevant although i actually like the characters. But it’s a pretty shallow affair overall.

It’s a very boring FPS in fact. I am just going through the motions of finishing. Learn from my mistakes. Stay away!

There is good thread over at the forums of www.cygaming.net (Link) with a healthy discussion going on. I wish there were more discussions like this and also stop beating around the bush. Start naming Cypriot retailers charging exorbitant prices. Apart from the Megaland fiasco i also find Stephanis to have some ridiculous pricing system with games at Euro70 to Euro80 and i am not talking about limited editions.

Also something that all retailers have in common is that they are too late with their sales. They could introduce some deal of the week schemes much like the Game and Play online stores.

The first quarter of 2010 will be one of the busiest for many years. Why you may ask and what does this have to do with this week’s releases? Well, a lot of games publishers have moved the release date of their titles to avoid coinciding with the biggest release of the year, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The chances are you have played the first Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward two years ago either in multiplayer or/and single player, so you know what this game is all about. The chances are it’s one of the games you will be picking up this year.

I have not seen any reviews yet on the game, but as the competition this week is pretty weak, there is no doubt that COD:MW2 is game of the week.

Release List

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PS3, PC, Wii)
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast (360, PS3)
Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage (Wii)
Tales Of Symphonia: Dawn Of The New World (Wii)
Tornado Outbreak (360, Wii, PS3)
Tropico 3 (360)
Speedzone (Wii)

We are going the handheld way this week with some notable releases on the DS including the likes of Scribblenauts and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. The latter represents what Nintendo has been all about in recent years. Refining and releasing games based on existing franchises. The quality of these games usually overcomes any issues we have regarding originality. This is one of those times as scores a 9/10 at Eurogamer.

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This week sees the release of the first ever console which plays only downloadable games. The PSPGo is probably the last version of the PSP console from Sony. It will aim to capture some of the Iphone game market by encouraging developers to create mini games that will only be available from the PSP store. At Euros260 though it makes you wonder how many people will buy it. It’s more expensive than the 360 and only 40 Euros cheaper than the PS3 Slim.

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Reading: Stuart: A life backwards, by Alexander Masters. A biography of a homeless man in the UK. It’s too early to say anything of substance but it’s keeping my interest in the first few chapters.

Playing:  Panzer Tactics (DS). An excellent turn based WWII strategy game which will satisfy the more hardcore strategy gamer. It’s a clear case of a game receiving a lower rating than it should due to its narrow scope and audience. It keeps its targeted audience happy but not anyone else.

Watching: Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 . I am disappointed with this show. After watching the mini series i had my expectations set very high and has not lived up to them. The main issue i have with the show is that the decisions taken by the characters are not believable and often contradict previous ones they have taken. Humans do tend to be irrational and inconsistent but not to such an extent. Also it fails to take some interesting questions like “what defines humanity?” to the next level. It’s just keeps the show at a more soap opera standard.

I think the most interesting aspect of this show is that it truly reflects the era of the American history in which it was written and shown i.e. the war on terror and all that this implies.

Still planning to finish this but it’s more like going through the motions now than actual interest in the series.

By Mitch Krpata at Insult SwordFighting - Link

“Okay, I’m exaggerating, but when I thought I lost my Far Cry 2 saves I really was ready to throw the whole thing out the window. I put more effort into playing that game than getting my college degree.”