A WEEK IN GAMING 11/4/13 TO 11/8/13. FEATURING "XBOX ONE'S MOST RACIST LAUNCH TITLE?"

Apologize for the late post again this week folks.

Let's take a look at a week in gaming from 11/4/13 to 11/8/13. Below is a feature about the strangely under the radar controversy about Twisted Pixel's LocoCycle content.

Steam Box and Controller Update: Do we still want one? (11/4)

A ton of details emerged last week on Valve’s couch gaming initiative across their Steam controller, Steam Box hardware as well as software. While we still don’t know much more about the Steam machines themselves, we’ve been given a little background about the controller’s development, and an interesting take on how Valve will approach software on their platforms.

Initially it was unclear if the Steam controller was to take on the genre landscape as a whole, or just bring PC gaming to the living room. Valve’s Greg Coomer’s statements of approaching the “whole catalog” suggests the former, but the history of the controller’s development hints at the later.

The original trackball idea is undoubtedly PC influenced, taking the archaic input feature and prototyping it on their controller concept. It’s a bizarre pitch that would have arguably flopped, especially given that trackballs have been absent from the popular PC space for years, and can only be imagined for limited types of games.

We were briskly paced through the touch only phase where Valve thrusted itself into accommodating for all 104 keys on the keyboard. This concept eventually evolved into what we see now.

Valve is clearly confident in their controller’s ability to accommodate for all genres, claiming that they’ve played and won games in every competitive genre with the exception of DOTA. But I still have my reservations with both the odd button placement and the lack of a traditional D-pad despite what their engineers and early testers who’ve had the chance to mess around with the thing have stated.

That’s what’s so valuable about their hardware beta. Despite their confidence in believing that they’ve engineered the perfect controller, it would be foolish to release it to the masses without consumer feedback. I fully bear in mind that I’ve yet to touch the controller and won’t get a chance to until the hardware’s official launch, but I would have to see it and hold it to believe it.

It’s exciting to hear that we’re going to begin hearing news about the machines themselves as early as CES next January. And despite the skeptism asking, “Who is this console for?” it makes sense that Valve is only looking for a slow burn over the course of the next several years.

One can easily imagine that one of two minds will be attracted to the idea of a Steam Box: those who would like to enter PC gaming without the headache and the cost (such as myself), and those looking to just simply take their already established PC gaming experience to the living room without running an HDMI cable to their display. But regardless the small interest now, I’m confident that if Valve fulfills on their promises, word of mouth from strong supporters will balloon the number of Steam Boxes in living rooms.

Vale clearly doesn’t need to do this. With Steam being 65 million subscribers strong, this is clearly an elaborate passion investment. But as lucrative as Valve is as a company, I worry about the yet to be named hardware partners’ stake in this living room initiative. If this push fails, certainly Valve will still [weather the flop], but will their partners?

Lastly, we can finally rest easy and not have to worry that the now again hypothesized Half-Life 3 being a Steam Box exclusive. Valve’s Anna Sweet boasts a very admirable philosophy in encouraging developers to land their games on as many platforms as possible (sounds very similar to Ouya’s founder Julie Uhrman’s statements of encouraging developers to test their software on the Android system first before moving onto other platforms).

Ostensibly, this goes against the console game of tug of war that capitalizes on exclusivity. But Valve’s strong suit isn’t in software alone, especially when going up against the likes of Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. What attracts me as well as many other gamers are Steam deals [early access, and games that release on the Steam platform long before anywhere else]. It’s almost safe to say that it goes without saying that we’ll see the same Steam deals on these machines as we do currently. And once this market place establishes itself, then we could see a much larger shift than those who’ve moved to Sony's platforms for Playstation Plus.

The next console generation might be in full swing weeks away with the launch of the Xbox One after this week's PS4, however there is yet another addition to the console space fast approaching possibly as early as next year. We have a firm idea of the direction Sony and Microsoft are taking their systems. However we cannot anticipate what Valve will add to the console space. But I’m willing to bet that the Steam Boxes’ addition to the living room equation will change the console landscape much more drastically than what traditional consoles have allowed us to imagine.

Image Source: Engadget

My first impressions of Call of Duty: Ghosts (11/5)

The first few hours of a Call of Duty experience can easily evoke of feeling of more of the same. And while my first day (played around the hours of being a responsible social worker) was so much like other Call of Duty titles, there was enough seen in my first time with it that hints at major changes for the franchise.

Even within an hour of playing Call of Duty Ghosts multiplayer, there are subtle design changes that make significant differences in both how you play and experience competitive multiplayer. IGN's Scott Lowe made some profound observations of the new maps. They are indeed significantly larger than previous Call of Duty games. This is turn reinforces, as he points out, better performing and more reliable mid to long range rifles (Marksman, Assault, etc).

With the wider real estate comes valuable verticality. Maps like Siege are unfriendly to those that stay low with no direction. This approach will box you in tunnel vision, negating any awareness of danger approaching from around the corner or from above. It then becomes increasingly important to gain some latitude for a quick look ahead before making your way around the map.

Verticality is also multi-leveled, which is why Ghosts introduces [vertical] identifiers on the mini map, a much needed addition just as it was appreciated in Halo 4. I can’t imagine playing maps like Flooded without this feature. Taking place in a destroyed dam split in half, Flooded’s multi-level set up makes [vertical] locating a necessity.

Flooded is also a great place to practice Ghosts’ new maneuverability mechanics. There are plenty of corners to lean around, a number of obstacles to vault over, and plenty of opportunities to knee slide to safety.

Infinity Ward may have put an almost unnecessary amount of effort around their new dynamic sound engine, but none of these audio tweaks are as effective as the sound of female soldiers shouting during battle. It creates a different audible environment when listening to women barking the locations of enemy combatants and alerting you for confirmed kills. It’s a small addition that makes me very much appreciate the gender diversity.

There isn’t a whole lot to say about the first hour or so of Ghosts’ campaign. Black Ops 2 boasted such a strong emphasis on story unlike any installment before it that Ghosts is going to have to take major narrative leaps in order to rise above its predecessor.

The gunplay is largely unchanged within the first hour outside of oriented space shootouts and the mildly appreciated Riley sequences. Again, this is the first hour. There are allegedly 9 more hours of opportunity to mix things up in a big way.

So that’s my brief time with Call of Duty: Ghosts. Look forward to my full review later this month.

When will Call of Duty fall of the throne? (11/7)

Though Activision’s recent sales figures of $1 billion doesn’t reflect consumer sales, and is very likely a PR cover up of what Call of Duty: Ghosts actual units sales figures are, the Call of Duty franchise is still hugely profitable for Activision, and their latest installment is shaping up to be the best selling title this year only second to GTA V as far as we know.

But with a new console generation comes new opportunities for paradigms to shift, and within the next few years, we may finally see a less COD dominated AAA shooter space.

Respawn’s reclaiming next gen juggernaut Titanfall won’t be able to compete with Call of Duty simply because of their Xbox console exclusive. But beyond March 11th, we may begin to see signs of the potential popularity of the franchise. Titanfall’s revolutionized COD mechanics is hard to ignore which is undeniable knowing Respawn’s Infinity Ward veterans. These aspects are bound to capture the attention of even the slightest jaded Call of Duty player, and the amount of attention it has built since E3 will only continue to grow.

With the studio’s intention to remain independent for the time being, it’s hard to tell if Titanfall will grow into a franchise that churns out installments relatively close to one another. But with it potentially expanding to Sony’s platforms in future titles in the series, it quite possibly could be one of the most popular franchises in the next generation.

“From the creators of Halo and the company that brought you Call of Duty…” Though it would be foolish to think that Destiny was being developed to directly compete with Call of Duty, Activision’s gamble on Bungie’s next shooter could suggest that the publisher is preparing themselves for Call of Duty’s shrinkage.

Activision doesn’t bet on franchises without the expectation of them being a colossal success. We’ve seen it with Tony Hawk, Guitar Hero, Call of Duty, and Skylanders. The mere fact that that they’re investing in a franchise that’s within the same genre as their most profitable product yet speaks volumes for a publisher that funds few yet hugely successful franchises. And with the Bungie’s pedigree along with the speaks-for-itself marketing – hence the above used quote – Activision can very well be positioning themselves with a franchise that could outlast Call of Duty.

As a Call of Duty fan, I’d hate to see the franchise reduce to dust like past Activision lost and forgotten successes. But there are at least two new next gen shooters in the horizon that are catering to the Call of Duty audience with fresh ideas. It would be interesting to see the positioning of Call of Duty next to Titanfall and Destiny within the next three years.

A Week in Gaming Special Feature:

Xbox One's Most Racist Launch Title?

Originally reported on November 8th 2013

LocoCycle.

The name doesn’t verbalize much, but looking at the context of the game itself, it becomes clear what this title – and more importantly – this game is all about.

You play as I.R.I.S., a motorcycle with a female persona who’s dragging a helpless Spanish speaking (who looks to be a…) mechanic named Pablo down sped-through highways in this car combat style arcade game. The hook here is that Pablo is crying out for help in Spanish as I.R.I.S. willfully carries along whipping Pablo around as she kicks the crap out of enemies with no clue or care for Pablo’s pleas.

It’s intended to be a comedic premise, a brand of humor that is far more crude than what developer Twisted Pixel has ever done.

IGN's Jose Otero originally brought up his beef with LocoCycle on Podcast Unlocked, stating that the game offends him. IGN's Ryan McCaffrey got behind Jose’s unsettlement with the game after the LocoCycle’s campy trailer, particularly in a scene where Pablo pleads for help to a hopeful samaritan who dismisses him for speaking “Mexican”.

As a Black male who’s been a victim of racism for two decades and as a social worker who’s predisposed to cultural competency and political correctness, LocoCycle doesn’t sit well with me at all.

LocoCycle’s shtick can’t get away from the nation’s prejudicial propensity to disregard non English speaking legal and illegal immigrants. And it very well could intend not to be. The trailer’s 80’s goof looks to parody all sorts of American and movie stereotypes. But looking at a point made by Anita Sarkeesian, delivering a message through a tongue-in-cheek parody does little to serve a purpose by repeating [the target of satire].

But there’s a deeper level of unsettlement to LocoCycle’s premise, one that’s far more disturbing for those of us old enough to remember it. On June 7th, 1998, a Texan African American man named James Byrd Jr. was brutally murdered in a hate crime. Three men chained him to the back of a pickup truck and dragged his body for three miles. The makeshift lynching became fatal when his body hit the edge of a culvert, severing his head and right arm.

I’m convinced that there is no intended reference to this crime in LocoCycle, but the racial undertones of the game and the tortuous act that so closely replicates this 15 year old hate crime is hard to ignore.

Clearly not everyone aligns with this level of unease of LocoCycle. I showed videos and explained the premise to my girlfriend who’s half Puerto Rican. Who I thought would take the most offense to LocoCycle’s plot was to my surprise indifferent and nonchalant to the Hispanic portrayal, stating that she understood the brand of humor as simply just ‘humor’. Nothing else.

The worse I’ll label Twisted Pixel is being insensitive. But in all fairness, we can point the same finger to Seth MacFarlane and the South Park co-writers (it’s interesting how Ryan McCaffrey didn’t care for LocoCycle’s “Mexican” joke who also happens to be a huge South Park fan). Perhaps it’s that we’re not used to seeing this brand of humor in video games.

But if Twisted Pixel is going to go down this touchy route, it better be damn funny.

BEYOND: TWO SOULS REVIEW: KILLING BOTH PLAYER INTEREST AND PLAYER AGENCY

Reviewed by: Jamaal Ryan

WRITER'S NOTE: Sorry for the late post. Being without internet for a week is a real bummer. But I've managed to work on this review in the meantime. Enjoy.

Quantic Dream was on to something when developing Heavy Rain. It was a game about choice and consequence, splitting into separate written fibers running through an interwoven storyline that presented very different outcomes within each strand. It was a masterful demonstration of the consequential concept told through a strangely voice acted and often flawed thriller.

Given years to assumingly master their craft, Quantic Dream was hard at work on Beyond: Two Souls, bringing Hollywood talents Ellen Page, Willem Dafoe, and Kadeem Hardison in a supernatural journey through the life of Jodie Holmes. It’s an interesting plot that delivers Jodie’s story through thematic vignettes which are scattered throughout the course of 15 years of her life.

We experience significant events from the perspective of a lost and displaced little girl gripping with her tethered relationship to the unseen supernatural entity: Aiden, to a desperate teenager whose attempts at social acceptance range from awkward to downright dangerous, to a determined adult running from the life created for her to uncover her mysterious past.

But what was expected to be a provocative and engaging experience ultimately turns out to be a disappointing and disastrous product.

Pretty visuals is one of the few things Beyond has going for it.

Beyond: Two Souls manages to get two things right. First, the game looks absolutely stunning. It frighteningly replicates the Hollywood talent it casted allowing me to often forget I was playing a video game. In turn, this compliments some of the very best animations I've ever seen (I spent three whole minutes walking Jodie back and forth watching her dashing red dress whip and furl). It also casts some amazing shots on screen rivaling some of the system’s best looking games – the canyon orange vistas of the Navajo Desert is Beyond at its visual best.

The second is Ellen Page herself. The actress’ demonstrable talent boasts a captivating range as Jodie Holmes. She’s frightening when threatening, she’s understandable when furious, and she shares her burden with the audience when in tears. It’s a performance that effortlessly holds your attention throughout the story’s entirety.

Beyond tries to get a third thing right by writing an actual story. But it only ends up to be a near catastrophic cave-in with bad writing, awful directing, armature dialogue, and questionable acting. The fourth is indeed a successful catastrophe; Beyond: Two Souls is ultimately a bad game.

Beyond presents a firm narrative base. Jodie Holmes’ connectedness to Aiden inadvertently sets her life adrift. She’s feared by her parents, studied and hunted by the CIA, and loved by passing strangers despite her supernatural essence. There’s a thematic overture that touches on how living with an unseen phenomena can impact one’s life, and the message illustrating on how some truly genuine characters can look past one’s abnormalities. It’s clear that Beyond is trying to say something, but it’s how this message is conveyed that creates crippling interference.

Jodie’s life is delivered in a disorganized mess. Ideally, Beyond could have been a collection of interrelated short stories adhering to a pattern of relevance. If Jodie suffered from a traumatic recall resurfaced by current triggers – say the gunshot-mimicking backfire of a muffler – a dive into her earlier years could have revealed the source of that trauma. If Jodie struggles with trusting others, especially authoritative figures, perhaps looking at her first betrayal will give insight into her mistrust. This manner of storytelling could have promoted a sense of agency, allowing the player to make those connections.

Sadly, this is rarely the case. The order in which these painfully self-contained vignettes are presented are completely random for the most part, contributing little to the overall plot outside of further demonstrating Jodie’s complex relationship with Aiden and the effects that has on her from childhood to young adulthood.

One of the few ways Beyond actually does manage to enable a sense of narrative agency through gameplay is with Aiden. Beyond presents uncommon control parity between Jodie and Aiden. The manner in which Jodie can navigate the world around her is expectedly limited. But jumping over to Aiden with just a tap of the Triangle button allows you to roam areas with guided freedom.

Controlling Aiden is sluggish, but adds a unique layer of interaction.

Though messing around with inanimate objects as a haunting poltergeist doesn’t always elicit the reactions you would like, you can listen in on isolated conversations in other rooms Jodie isn’t present in, and you can open up small glimpses of backstory by acting as a conduit and unlocking vividly revealing mementos for Jodie to see through. Being a fly on the wall and uncovering brief glances of history primarily serve the individual vignettes, yet hardly contribute much to the overall plot.

Randomized storytelling could have been a creative decision, and might have succeeded if the quality of the content was up to par. But while Beyond delivers moments that are interesting in concept and relatable in a way that most games aren't, it’s polluted by faults that mimic those of a struggling film writer and a performance and scene director, all in which nearly completely deflates the significance of the message Beyond is trying to sell.

Ellen Page’s talent may serve as an emotional link between the player and the story, however much of the surrounding cast delivers mediocre and unconvincing performances; even the more talented ones are brought down with a jarring script. Willem Dafeo is given a challenging supporting role as Dr. Nathan Dawkins, one of Jodie’s surrogate guardians. And though his acting chops are minimally questioned, it’s his written arch that’s the main culprit to his un-empathized character.

Kadeem Hardison is the real star supporting cast member here. Given a very convincing albeit one dimensional role as Cole Freeman, Hardison’s character as the kinder father figure paired next to Nathan is delivered naturally. However these recognizable three hardly carry the performance value in Beyond next to clichéd and sometimes over exaggerated acting that stand as little improvement over Heavy Rain.

Visuals couldn't do it, neither could the left three talented individuals.

When looking at some of the many wrong doings Beyond has committed, we can easily look at ‘The Party’, our first look into Jodie’s attempt to fit in with her teenage-peers, which presents itself as a thematic recreation of awkward adolescent encounters. The scene is riddled with meaningless choices outside of the final decision, but the cultish behavior – which is so unlike real world adolescent behavior – and terrible lines like, “Let’s like… do something to her” ultimately turn this sequence into a cartoonish affair, watering down nearly any sense of empathy.

Beyond takes you to many places at different levels of Jodie’s life. Fittingly, it just so happens that the lowest point of her life also happens to be Beyond amongst its very best. There’s a reason why ‘Homeless’, the chapter where we find Jodie battling winter as a beggar, was the scene showcased at the Tribeca Film Festival. Many of Beyond’s issues overlap here, but the dark, sometimes agonizing tone and the writers’ cohesive handle on the homeless exposition stands as one of the few instances where Beyond’s message is largely unscathed.

But where ‘Homeless’ rises above Beyond’s issues, ‘The Mission’ effortlessly exemplifies all of them. In Jodie’s assassination mission to Somalia, the character sequences here are sloppy, from Jodie’s unwarranted self-convincing of her questionable orders, to her love interests’ complete dickish blind-siding behavior.

The scenes here also don’t make any sense. You can rattle an oil drum to distract guards, but shattering glass next to them to make your escape causes no alarm; you can take full swings of a machete to the face and stagger through a crowd of hostile civilians shouting for blood, however Jodie will walk away with just a few scratches. Nothing you see here is at all convincing, but even that’s the least of ‘The Mission’s’ problems.

This chapter is also Beyond at its most gamey. But it’s a failed attempt in shoehorning stealth mechanics in a game with limited controls to begin with. Linearity is king here in a bizarre and appalling way with references to stealth action titles, all thanks to its disempowering cover system. The beauty of stealth action games is the element of choice and consequence, a concept that Beyond fails at miserably.

Jodie can blow her cover by simply walking up to an enemy, but the game quickly jumps to a combat sequence that, whether you succeed or not, will submit your opponent into unconsciousness or death. Other areas where Beyond simply can't figure out a way to emulate an encounter literally guides you covertly. I did my damnest to blow my cover just to see where the game will turn, but with the exception of a few instances, Beyond kept thrusting me in the direction it demanded that I go in.

This poorly designed chapter is one big metaphor for Beyond’s biggest flaw, your choices have a minimal impact on the story at large.

Here lies the worst gaming experience in my recent memory.

The element of consequence in Beyond is excruciatingly limited. On one hand, different scenes open and close based on your decisions, and the number of elicited outcomes from presented choices range from two to several. However regardless of the path taken, Beyond’s chapters nearly always meets at a common conclusion.

In my first playthrough of Beyond, I was actively invested in involving myself into the game as much as possible. Within my second playthrough, I was actively withdrawn, deliberately putting down the controller and forcing Jodie in making opposite decisions from what I chose during my first. And while there were nuanced reactions to the decisions, the bulk of the story remained the same which defeated almost any sense of purpose.

This lacking purpose is what leads the diminished enjoyment, ultimately exacerbating the boredom of the game itself. Controlling a sluggish Aiden becomes less meaningful once you notice that the SWAT team who’s supposedly hunting for Jodie is standing still as you possess and pick off the seat-warming gunmen. Fight sequences – which are inherently more intuitive than Heavy Rain’s combat with a prompt-less momentum identification system – are far less enjoyable once you find out that no matter how badly you fail, Aiden will bail Jodie out.

Beyond would easily get away with this lack of deviation if it played as a traditional game. Spec Ops: The Line and even the Mass Effect Trilogy were written to be more or less the same story (although Mass Effect had heavier and far more pronounced consequences than Spec Ops and certainly the game here in question). But in a game where there’s very little interaction with the, well… game itself, it’s worth little more than what is a haphazard 8 hour film.

It isn’t until the final act where Beyond begins becoming the game it should have been. The game’s out of order storytelling finally finds a purpose nearing the game's conclusion, mixing in a clever volley between moments just hours apart, and holds the only meaningful flashback that contributes to Jodie's later-in-life events.

It isn’t a complete accomplishment, as Beyond almost never is. The conclusion is marred by a painfully clichéd madman driven twist -with an inconsequential and jarring 180. But here, we finally see concrete repercussions for our decisions which directly alter the outcome of Beyond’s curtain call. Much like I’ve suggested in the case of Spec Ops, the final chapter is worth multiple playthroughs to view Beyond’s several endings.

The Bottom Line

Beyond Two Souls is in two part a crushing disappointment to fans of David Cage's work, and an absolute dysfunctional relationship between storytelling and game design. Accomplished studios like Telltale have demonstrated how games that are heavily reliant on story can lift their experiences to a master-class despite their mechanical flaws. But terribly unlike Heavy Rain – which is rightfully lauded as a pioneer in the interactive story sub-genre – Beyond: Two Souls shows how bad story telling can ruin a game completely; and that’s excluding the empty sense of player agency mixed with a pointless design philosophy. Even with Hollywood talent and a unique premise, Beyond is an interesting experience at best, and a drawn out catastrophe at its worst.

+ Gorgeous looking game

+ Interesting premise

+ Some Hollywood talent

-  Everything else

SCORE: F

A WEEK IN GAMING 10/21/13 TO 10/25/13. SPECIAL FEATURE INSIDE.

By Jamaal Ryan

Let’s take a looking at a week in gaming from 10/21/13 to 10/25/13. Below is a special feature discussing the strained potential of facilitating modern day classic titles.

Paid DLC for Pokemon X/Y? (10/23)

Yeah, um… no.

Nintendo and friends have been very faithful to the idea of selling software in complete, self contained packages, unlike countless current gen (Killzone: Mercenary eclipsing a 4 GB memory card) and a number of next gen titles we already know about. DLC hasn’t been common practice of the company either, with a few exceptions such as New Super Luigi U – later shipping as a full retail title. But when discussing DLC for the wildly popular Pokemon X/Y, series art director Ken Sugimori unwaveringly states, “I've always said no to the act of buying Pokemon with money."

Sugimori firmly explains the consistency throughout the Pokemon franchise as all allowing players to collect and manage Pokemon has adhered to a consistent formula throughout the 15 year duration of the franchise.

He adds that such a monetary decision would “ruin the worldview of Pokemon," explaining that having to do things such as charging 100 yen for a single Pokemon in a microtransaction format would put the developer in a position to make that yen spent worth spending. This is similar to the reasonings as to why developers such as Zenimax are willing to charge a monthly fee for The Elder Scrolls Online, avoiding the design balancing of free-to-play to justify the cost.

But this also goes against the entire appeal and philosophy Pokemon’s quintessential formula. Even after 7 years away from the franchise, Pokemon X/Y easily reminds me why the series is arguably the most powerful handheld franchise in gaming history. I spent a proud 1,000 hours (no, that wasn’t a typo) on Pokemon Crystal version.  There’s a respectable time investment in building up your Pokedex and hunting down Pokemon throughout each region. There’s a sense of pride and embarrassment when you can identify a Pokemon just from the electronic chirps and memorizing when or what make Pokemon level up from hours upon hours of grinding to build up your ultimate collection. There’s also a very obtainable, but no less simple achievement of sucking the game world bone dry of all of its secrets from rare breeds, to rare items, to rare wild Pokemon.

Under this massive feat of catch-‘em-all lies a social aspect of trading Pokemon. The double releases of every iteration is built upon this very principle which brings players of different versions to trade Pokemon that don’t exist in their particular version, trade Pokemon for evolution, or even trade Pokemon while gifting a rare item.

Now imagine if those rare Pokemon, those evolutions, those special secrets can be bought for 100 yen or $1?

Source: Polygon

Thanks to: 4gamer

Ouya's Retail Strategy and Desperate PR (10/24)

Since its launch, Ouya was sold at some of the locations of some of the major retailers in which consumers purchase video games. Now this month, Ouya will be selling at every single location of one of the major retailers, Target.

Target isn’t the first choice when it comes to video game retail. In fact, one can argue that the chain is the last option among the retailers that Ouya launched in, that being among GameStop, Best Buy and GAME. But regardless of the fact that Ouya hasn’t managed to get a deal with the likes of a retailer like GameStop, being at all 1,800 Target locations throughout the nation is a big push for the Ouya’s sales.

It also should be noted that this comes after Ouya has opened their availability further throughout Europe and Middle East. But especially when looking at videos and displays popping up within the next two months, and available kiosks coming in to Target locations early next year, it’s clear that Ouya is aggressive in getting the attention of as many consumers as possible.

But when discussing their new sales strategies and light justification for the system’s commercial performance with Polygon, Ouya founder Julie Uhrman begins to sound less convincing.

On one hand, Uhrman claims that the decision to ship to all target locations was based off of consumer demand; but on the other, Uhrman hesitates to reveal sales numbers at this time. It’s hard to see where the consumer demand is coming from when you neglect to reveal sales numbers and when you’re working with selling to a second tier games retailer. Not to mention that the gaming community hasn't responded well to Ouya, unknown sales aside.

Throughout the interview, her comments become increasingly more desperate.

Uhrman attempts to justify the success of Ouya from a company of 35 to a successful Kickstarter and production in nine months with 500 games and 25,000 developers (those numbers seem a bit off to me) backing the system after four months. The success story is all good to hear, but a system that has received poor critical response with a safely assumingly low consumer demand, as a product, it has not done very well.

But the most painfully digestible statements are as follows:

“…we haven't had a software outage. We haven't had a major bug that made the system unplayable. We haven't had it accidentally release credit card information.”

Uhrman very clearly references the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 with the PS3 outage and the Red Ring of Death. It’s a feeble comparison to systems that are vastly more successful than the Ouya, part of the statement in which even claws at the PS3’s network failure which took place several years into the console’s life cycle.

The Ouya may be doing the best it can in getting in the hands of new consumers, and her statements makes these efforts sound understandably desperate, however what Ouya truly needs besides kick ass marketing is an abundance of software to legitimize the system to be more than an Android box hooked up to your television.

Source/ Image Source: Polygon

Will COD Ghosts' Squads Mode gain traction? (10/25)

Ghosts’ will bring many new additions to multiplayer from mechanical maneuverability, to new soldier customization options, to dynamic maps. New game modes are in abundance as well, but the new Squads mode appears to be the most robust.

Squads is broken down into 4 different game types: Wargame, Safeguard, Squad v Squad, and Squad Assault. Wargame can be used as a platform to test player’s skill against Ghosts’ newly advance AI which is said to be more aggressive while utilizing human player tactics. A team of human or AI filled players -- if need be -- will face off against a team of AI soldiers in standard multiplayer match types.

There’s little difference between Wargame and Squad Assault, which will pin you against an AI team with the exception that the AI team is another players cherry picked squad on a hand selected map of their choice to “defend”. In this asynchronous relationship, the player whose squad you’ll be battling against will gain experience while away from the game.

Squad v Squad allows players to be the most intimate with their squads where only one human player will be on each team rolling with their entire squad. All modes involving squads gives players an RPG sensibility even more so than the staple Call of Duty formula. It allows players to customize AI soldiers of different classes and playstyles and see the results directly in the battlefield.

What’s left is Safeguard which really has nothing to do with squads at all. The similarities only lie with battling – only – against AI in a survivor mode match type.

Unfortunately, when it comes down to my Squad Mode preference, I’ll strangely stick with the least Squad influence mode in Ghosts, Safeguard. Instead of explaining my reasoning behind my preference to Safeguard, I’ll discuss why I’m not interested in either Squad v Squad or Squad Assault, the two most squady modes of Squad Mode.

Call of Duty Black Ops 2 had formulated one of the most innovative game modes in the series in years with Strike Force, the quazi RTS that failed its potential and seemed to have been sent to die – unless a hopeful and more refined iteration comes up in Treyarch’s next Call of Duty game.

In Squad Assault, the prospect of customizing your squad and assigning them to maps is interesting, but I feel as if there’ll be a detachment from your units having no control over them. I wish Infinity Ward adopted Treyarch’s Strike Force formula and fulfilled it’s true potential in multiplayer by having a player command their squad against a team of human players in real time.

Infinity Ward’s Mark Ruben outlines a layer of strategy in Squad Assault when assigning a particular team to a map. But no matter how the AI replicates human tactics, I can’t imagine that NPCs can take full advantage of each map’s level design in ways that humans can.

This leaves Squad v Squad; while it seems to have players interact with their squads the most, I can’t help but think of getting a lonely feeling only facing once human player. Sure, there’s no other way to incorporate more players in a match while bringing in full squads, but perhaps a tournament format allowing spectators to watch will make Squad v Squad less baron.

Outside of Safeguard, Squads Mode looks to be more like an elaborate demonstration of Infinity Ward’s new AI system as well as an interesting practice battleground for players rather than a primary destination for multiplayer. Perhaps I’m wrong. But we won’t know until Call of Duty: Ghosts release in just over a week.

A Week in Gaming Special Feature:

Part of Gaming's Evergreen Problem

Originally reported on: October 21st 2013

Last week, IGN’s Mitch Dyer wrote a piece discussing how gaming’s inherent nature as a medium render’s its products impermanent. Books such as the 150+ year old book A Tale of Two Cities and classic films such as Citizen Cane have a particular relevance – even in casual discussion today – decades up to over a century later. Video games, particularly games today, hardly have the staying power of a few years. This is an inherent problem caused by both prioritized technological advancement and capitalistic cost efficiency.

Polygon’s Editor-in-Chief Chris Grant has beef with Microsoft and Sony when comparing PC to console gaming. He brings up an argument that can hardly be defeated by console gamers in that PC dwarfs any console library by thousands of titles. He points to his shelf with PC classics such as Gabriel Knight, Star Craft, Fallout 2 , Under A Killing Moon, and System Shock – all games released between 1993 and 1998 – and discusses how they will still work on his high specs PC that could stand toe to toe with current and eventually next gen hardware, however Xbox One and the PS4 gleefully set aside backwards compatibility with only the nebulous promise of cloud software.

How many games can we access from the mid 90’s without unearthing dusty antique consoles or booting up emulators without relying on remakes and re-releases? Nintendo’s consoles may have come and gone with a weakened fizz, but their effort in giving today’s gamers the opportunity to experience its historical classics is a lot more than what Sony and Microsoft can say.

The question, “Which of today’s games will be remembered as classics years from now?” gets thrown around a lot. And as effortlessly uncreative the question may be, it’s a very difficult question to answer. Many gamers scoff at classic games from the 90’s as products of nostalgia, gems of our childhood, and mementos of happier times; but the philosophy and intention behind past generation games weren’t as monetized focused as today’s games are, allowing them to deliver everlasting creative experiences instead of multi-million dollar flashes in the pan.

We’ve been within the midst of an age where high profile titles represent an insignificant zeitgeist. Many gamers remember Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare fondly, but the 5 games after that are just a blur (even as a Call of Duty fan myself, I can’t deny that). The difference between the games of today and the games of yester-year is the propensity to make the most technologically advanced and financially safe games rather than the intellectually and creatively complex. This sort of disease has metastasized over the course of the short generations of games. Think of the significance of Resident Evil on the PS1 and the direction that franchise is being taken in after Resident Evil 6.

Tucked away in the corner is Battefield 3 a franchise now set to chase after Call of Duty over creating the best land, air and sea military combat shooter on the market.

Oddworld’s CEO Lorne Lanning’s Britney Spears and Pink Floyd comparison profoundly highlights the juxtaposition between games directed by publishers and games directed by creators. The most bombastic, visceral, gory, and explosive “Britney Spearsy” games deliver on the idea “immediacy”, a term that is the opposite of evergreen. Some of the most thought provoking and evocative “Pink Floydy” games comes from small studios with a small budget.

This leads into where we may see some staying power. Some of the most memorable experiences I’ve had this generation have moved away from the Call of Dutys and the Uncharteds to games like Sound Shapes, Journey, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. These games generate a sense of warmth, glee, and awe unlike any of the best selling franchises this generation. But all is not lost for games moving mountains of cash. Ask anyone of a game that defines this generation, and you’ll likely hear Bioshock, a game that put its money where its mind was. Ask me which game defines this generation, and you’ll quickly get me to say The Last of Us, easily one of the most cohesive games of this generation.

The focus of the industry’s present mindset bleeds the potential to facilitate and generate classic games. As we move further and further into the future of gaming, hardware manufacturers turn away from the past to look into the present and future, which leaves Nintendo's virtual console and hopes that we get services from other platforms in the next year. We’re also witnessing publishers playing it incredibly safe and looking for immediate return over evergreen quality. But here’s hoping that the emergent of more games like The Last of Us and Journey create more staying power for the future.

A WEEK IN GAMING 10/14/13 TO 10/18/13. SPECIAL FEATURE INSIDE.

By Jamaal Ryan

Let’s take a looking at a week in gaming from 10/14/13 to 10/18/13. Below is a special feature discussing some of the most emotionally evocative games of this generation.

NYCC 2013: The Nintendo Center (10/14)

Rough Around the Third Dimension

My time with Sonic Lost World was a ball tap to my shame after a small child blazed through the very Galaxy-esque first level before I struggled after two deaths during my own playthrough. To be fair, I jumped in the last of the four playable levels, the casino themed Frozen Factory which was arguably the most difficult of the four.

Sonic games have never been done quite well in 3D. The added dimension lends too many opportunities for slow down which is a kill joy to the trail blazing Sonic experience. It's the very reason why Sonic has always worked better as a side scroller.

Lost World left that unsatisfying impression on me. His baseline speed wasn’t nearly as fast as I would have liked, and even his spin dash lent an underwhelming push. My playthrough was plagued with ping-pong table bumpers, rolling slot wheels, and giant poker chips that posed a real challenge, but all with little speedy reward.

I take partial responsibility jumping in the final playable stage as my first time hands on with Sonic Lost World. However my brief time with this 3D Sonic game hasn't reinvigorated my trust in the added dimension.

Frozen Impressions

Donkey Kong Country Returns was my third favorite platformer for Wii, only next to the Galaxy entries. So you can imagine my cautious curiosity before getting hands on with Tropical Freeze. Has Retro caught lightening in the bottle again much like Galaxy 2 did after the original? Or does Tropical Freeze strike the numbing nerve that has been abused by the incessant sequels that have populated this generation. Of course I can't answer that question with only 7 short minutes with a stage, but unfortunately my impressions fall in the later.

My Tropical Freeze playthrough felt largely identical to Wii's Returns. Relentless hazards striking from left, right and center, barrel launches hiding collectable secrets, and a layered control scheme separating the rookies from the veteran. I ran through as Diddy along with my uncooperative partner in crime, Donkey. Unlike my session, two players should work well together just they have in Returns. Whoever controls the lighter primate play through the level autonomously or hop on DK’s back to augment his airtime.

Without getting a chance to control the added Dixy Kong or any of the levels outside of traditional platforming, I haven’t had the chance to see much of anything that has supposedly changed in this next gen sequel. But that doesn’t take away from impressions that Tropical Freeze is very similar to Returns.

Pocket Mario on the Big Screen

I've been locked in an emotional roller coaster with New Super Mario 3D World since its debut at E3 2013. As the title and the first game play video suggested, it’s a console spin off of the fantastic 2011 3DS game, much like the other New Super Mario games that have jumped from the DS titles. Earlier this month, Nintendo released an exciting look with unusually manic game play, many of which was very reminiscent of Mario Galaxy (Galaxy influences were in abundance at this year's comic con).

With the multiple 3D World kiosks, I got a chance to play through two levels, which gave me a more confident impression on the general pacing of the game. These stages are short, like handheld short. The first playthrough jumped straight to boss level (it wasn't my decision this time). Me, along with three other eager Mario characters, made a mad dash to the Cat Suit power ups before confronting the boss himself. It becomes apparent that the encounter was built around the idea of the Cat Suit's capabilities. Plate balancing goofy looking eels sprouted from beneath creating platforms that offer vantage points to whittle down the boss's health. The Cat Suit's wall scaling abilities allows you to scurry up the elongated necks of these sprouting eels, and though I wasn't able to figure out how to pull it off, I can easily imagine the suit's dive would be a convenient offensive maneuver directly towards the boss's face.

The second runthrough was more of a passive endeavor. It was a painfully straight forward level that would have been more appropriate in the middle of a larger level than a standalone stage. The four of us hopped on what looked like an orange Yoshi ancestor. After that, we were off. Racing down a waterfall, I never felt as if I was in control of the steering, and I was never sure that I was making the dragon jump or I just managed to time it right when someone else did. The sequence didn't feel collaborative at all, as I eventually stood there holding the controller with one hand. Before I was completely pulled out of the experience, it was over; the end signified by that iconic black Browser flag pole.

Based on my impressions, it’s safe to say that New Super Mario 3D World will be stuffed with bite sized stages. And while Nintendo's trailer showed off some truly exciting gameplay, my biggest concern is that the fun will be over far too soon.

In a convention with dense crowds,

… long lines, and limited playtime, NY Comic Con won’t be the ideal place – along with any other crowded convention – to get a firm grasp on demoed games. Some games like Rayman Legends (tried it at last year’s event) demo better than others. Unfortunately this year’s hands-on left me with underwhelming impressions. As I remain conscious of this, I’m willing to give each of these games another try once they all release later this year and early 2014.

My Next Gen Holiday Crushed (10/15)

Okay. That might be a bit if an over-reaction, but Ubisoft’s shocking announcement of Watch Dog’s delay to 2014 was painful.

Watch Dogs defined next gen for me since its show stealing debut at E3 2012. The level of visual fidelity seamlessly moving from cutscenes to gameplay, the dynamism of interactivity of a near future simulated Chicago, it was clear at last year’s show that this wasn’t a product of current gen hardware, but one from the future of gaming (and high end PCs of course).

No title had me more excited for what the next generation would bring. Even though it has been announced to virtually every home console, it’s new IP status separated it from other cross gen titles like Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and Assassins Creed IV: Black Flag.

My Xbox One’s launch was set: Call of Duty: Ghosts upgrade from the 360 version right alongside Watch Dogs, Battlefield 4 down the line and Dead Rising 3 (the only native next gen title I’m interested in) if it’s received well.

And while it pains me that such an iconic title has been shoved months into next year, I always use this as a reassurance: there are plenty of other games to play. New Super Mario 3D World, though didn’t impress me with my hands on at this year’s NYCC, will have a better chance finding a spot this holiday. In addition, either Battlefield 4 or Dead Rising 3 will fill in the obligatory second title next gen slot.

But I can’t help be feel that neither of these games will fill the Watch Dog sized hole in my anticipated holiday.

Watch Dogs' Delay & Ubisoft's Under-performing Sales (10/16)

As a consumer, I withheld some skepticism towards Ubisoft’s CFO Alain Martinez’s remarks on his explanation on Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s and Rayman Origins’ lower than expected sales, and CEO Yves Guillemot’s reasoning behind Watch Dogs’ delay.

As evidenced by Square Enix’s disappointment over Sleeping Dogs, Hitman Absolution, and especially Tomb Raider’s sales figures, big name publishers are setting high bar expectations for their titles. That thought immediately rushed to my consciousness after reading the publisher’s missed expectations with Rayman and Blacklist. Martinez followed up with the statement claiming that approaching next gen shrunk its chances of commercial success.

Splinter Cell Blacklist was one of the top selling games in August, despite my assumptions that it wouldn’t perform as well being that the Splinter Cell franchise is mainly popular among the hardcore community, while other franchises like Saints Row (whose popularity has The Third to thank) is more widely accepted as evidenced by Saints Row IV being only second to Madden 25 as the top selling game in August.

And while it's hard to easily say that Splinter Cell isn't as widely recognized by the general crowd, I’d be more confident to state that this was the very reason for Rayman Legends’ underwhelming sales figures. 2D platformers are hard pressed to compete with other titles with higher production values when it comes to consumer appeal. Analysts have stated that the over software sales in August were impressive despite just months prior to a new console generation. And though this can be counted as an exception, let’s not forget GTA V’s historical sales (a current gen only title) in its first three days. So I’m not so certain that preceding next gen is the only reasoning to missed expectations when looking at franchise popularity and high bar forecasts.

We may butch and bicker over game delays, but we must always remember that such incidents aren’t decided upon lightly by publishers unless they’re absolutely necessary. That’s what concerns me about Watch Dogs’ delay. Nearly a month before release -- a time when it should have gone gold -- Ubisoft only then decides not only to push it till next year, but next fiscal year setting it back roughly half a year from now.

That smells trouble.

There have only been variations of a few scenarios shown of Watch Dogs since the year plus it’s been announced. I myself saw a demo at NYCC which was rather underwhelming with a generic stealth mixed with shootout mission that was introduced by only passing mentionings of the dynamic hacking you can use on the city. Having not seen much else in between should have hinted that there might have been a problem, and with such a procrastinated decision, now we know.

While under the shadow of a new generation of consoles, we’ve seen some examples that current gen software sales can still sustain a high mark. Simply blaming new hardware doesn't justify low sales numbers; it's rather one of many reasons why two of Ubisoft’s latest games underperformed. As for Watch Dogs, while we wish they caught the issues sooner, with a several month delay, it better damn well justify the wait.

A Week in Gaming Special Feature

The Emotional Spectrum

of Video Games: A Brief Look

Originally reported on October 18th 2013

WARNING: Spoilers for Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead, The Last of Us, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, GTA V, and Red Dead Redemption

Jenova Chen, the zen master of the video game industry, stated that games are too stressful, oversimplifying the challenge and high score grind that was see in some games today. This attitude may have been true a generation ago, however for years now, we’ve seen a much wider spectrum of emotional draw from the medium. Not all are pleasant like Chen philosophically adheres to, but many are no less evocative.

We have games like Journey that present what I call a “therapeutic escape to a perfectly imaginative other-world”, a calming stress treatment that serves its own purpose. However we human beings are masochists, locking ourselves in dark rooms to endure Outlast, or jumping on a rollercoaster to self-inflict the feeling of falling to our deaths without actually falling.

Heavy Rain attempts to be an emotional headcase, but what it excels at is empathy. Trying to be a good father when getting a chance to have your son home after a divorce, sifting your way through a crowded mall with a heavy sense of guilt not quite remembering what your son wore or where he is, understanding the desperation of another parent before you take his life to save the life of your own child, Heavy Rain had a multitude of moments that connected you with Ethan Mars.

The Walking Dead draws heavy inspiration from Heavy Rain, but it becomes a master stroke of igniting the father among us (slight Fable reference). From the very first moment you commit a violent act in front of Clementine and see the look of shock through those big brown innocent eyes, you were driven to protect her from the inevitable ills of this decaying world. One of the briefest moments that made me grip my controller the hardest was when Clementine darted through the dog door inside the house not knowing if it was safe or not. The shot was perfectly delivered, preying on the relationship built from the moment you found her alone in Episode 1.

The Last of Us’ 20 year old rotting era was steaming with desperation. Every human kill felt significant, every resource was valuable, and every Clicker and Runner avoided lifted an immense weight off of your shoulders. And despite what Ellie’s immunity meant to the world, as a daughter figure, I couldn’t find myself to apologize for all the lives I took to save her.

Brothers was an artistic amalgamation for a better part of the game, both visually and thematically. But its emotional significance dropped when your older brother, your other half was fatally wounded. The deliberately dragging sequence of having to bury your own brother, the feeling of needing someone to hug perfectly satisfied by the griffin, feeling the gaping hole that the older brother once filled as you had to control one brother after having had controlled both simultaneously for the entire game, was masterfully evocative.

Rockstar is responsible for two of my most unpleasant emotional reactions to video games. GTA V’s torture scene was properly uncomfortable, yanking the freedom that I’ve grown so accustomed to from years in the franchise and locking me into inflicting intimate pain on an individual. And I’d like to not think that I’m the only person who eyes watered in utter shock after John Marston was decimated with bullets, watching him stagger with a futile effort to cling to life before he fell dead in front of his barn.

And though I never played Gone Home, I heard more than enough of the pungent nostalgia it emitted, both for adolescents of the 90’s and for everyone else who’s experienced first love as a teenager; for many, Gone Home was a recreation of one of the most significant moments in the most conflicting developmental stages of our lives.

Video games don’t have to be a stress-less escape. One of the strongest justification of violent video games reigns true here, they’re a safe space to experience unpleasant emotions. One of my undergraduate psychology professors said, “We often forget most of the moments we laugh, but never forget the moments we cry.”