Gamer Grow

Halo Wars video1 Many are hoping for Halo Wars to prove that a console controller can work for an RTS game. The main issue I have with Halo Wars is tied to the source that created such hopeful people in the first place. Halo Wars, though designed for the 360 from the ground up, still looks like a PC RTS. The reason why so many other developers have struggled to adapt the PC controls to a console controller is because they're still trying to play a PC game on a console. If Halo Wars is really designed for the Xbox360, then the developers would have created their own unique brand of RTS gameplay that would only make perfect sense using a console controller. I can't tell whether they did or not at this point. Pikmin did it. Pikmin 2 did it again. Both of the excellent games feature the best console RTS controls around. Is it a surprise that the gameplay in Pikmin1&2 is some of the most unique gameplay in grand scheme of RTSs? I will be watching Halo Wars in the future for its...

Resident Evil 5 video1 video2 I'm not at all impressed with RE5 so far. Looks like RE4 with a different main character. The destructible environments look like graphical embellishments. The co-op play looks stiff and forced. Face Breaker 360/PS3 version Wii version Oh really? What makes old school gaming so great if you don't mind me asking? Because form the looks of things, Face Breaker (Wii) looks pretty shallow. Designing a game where players will get hit no matter how skilled one is or how inexperienced their opponent is, is a big mistake. From the looks of things, Face Breaker isn't a good game. I don't know why a developer would spend so much time trying offset the advantage a pro has over a new comer. Sakurai made this mistake and now all the Brawl players are suffering. Developing games is hard enough without fighting battles you should be involved in. The 360/PS3 version looks much better than the Wii version gameplay wise. Two different teams are working on th...

As the title indicates, this is your guide to keeping afloat for the next week. Every entry in bold (beside the dates) are the events that I'm looking forward to most. Read the line up. Study it. And buckle up. Monday July 14th 1PM ET – Half-hour pre-show followed by the entire Microsoft Press Conference – live and commercial free on-air and online. 6PM ET – EA Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com 7PM ET – Two-hour E3 Preview Show featuring the following DEMOS: Fallout 3 Fable 2 Halo Wars Ghostbusters : The Videogame Silent Hill: Homecoming Tuesday July 15th 12PM ET – Live on-air and online streaming, commercial free coverage of the Nintendo Press conference 2:30PM ET - Live on-air and online streaming, commercial free coverage of the Sony Press conference 5:30PM ET – Ubisoft Press Conference - Live streaming coverage on G4tv.com 6:00PM ET– Live three hour E308 Special featuring the following DEMOS: Gears of War 2 Resistance 2 Killzone 2 Rock Band 2 Star W...

If you aren't aware (for some strange reason) E3 is nearly upon us. To join in the festivities Critical-Gaming is going all out with a new series called "Critical-Hit." These hard hitting segments will feature updates that are completely free form. Video, podcast, essay, link lists, and bullet points are all game. It's all about absorbing the content, running it under the critical-eye, and packaging it all into a quick "critical" update or hit. Nintendo might show their creative hand at E3 this year to show the world that they're still on top of things. Regardless, I've been preparing a few unofficial reveals myself on behalf of Nintendo. No matter how creative Nintendo gets this time around, the ideas and products that I'll reveal this week on the blog are guaranteed to match or exceed Nintendo legendary handiwork. That's right! They caught me by surprise last year with the Wii Balance Board and Wii Fit. Though I didn't see Wii Fit comin...

So I opened the box and BOOM... I was having fun. Ok, maybe it wasn't quite that instantaneous. I still had to put the disk into the Wii. I started off easy on the training levels, and quickly moved to passing the Wiimote around, laughing, and enjoying the multiplayer modes. Before I knew it, it was four hours later. Sound like a great game? Perhaps. Sound like an A+ game? Even upon initial impressions, Boom Blox is no A+ game. I remember a quote that went something like... "physics based indie games are the new first person shooter mods. Everyone can do it, and they're not that impressive. You sort of code the physics and watch the game play itself." Boom Blox, being a physics based puzzle game, falls in this category. The 4 biggest problems with Boom Blox so far are... The camera The camera controls in Boom Blox is are some of the best 3D camera controls I've encountered. Using the Wiimote pointer and B button to drag the camera around is direct, intuitive, indi...

I've been having a problem with aiming in first-person shooters. Actually, I've been having a problem with shooters in general, but today aiming was particular irksome. Imagine a typical FPS complete with a disembodied floating gun in the bottom right corner and some kind of symbol for the aiming reticule. Depending on the game, you might be imagining a dual stick controller, Wiimote and Nunchuck, or mouse and keyboard under your fingertips. We've already established that shooting is a mechanic that typically doesn't involve a lot of interplay , but what about aiming? Before we can consider the interplay of aiming, we must established that aiming has interaction in the first place. After all, enemies certainly can't see the floating reticle unless it's a laser sight. In a typical FPS, the only thing that aiming interacts with is the player's view. Otherwise, aiming is just the intent of the player. The irksome part of it all comes from trying to find the min...

As I was thinking about Classical game design the other day, I came upon a realization. After I had watched the new Hulk movie with all of the B.E.S. members, as is our custom, we conducted a rousing and thorough discussion of the movie. Without getting into the details, the new Hulk movie was disappointing for us. Like so many super hero movies that seem to have caught the attention of main stream America, the screenplays writers have no idea how to write "action". All in all, action in a film is very similar to mechanics in a video game. And when writing a super hero film (or any action film) connecting the action to the core themes/characters/and ideas of a story is essential for creating a cohesive product. The first Hulk movie (which is to this day my favorite super hero movie) is an outstanding example of linking action/super abilities with the characters. In this case, Banner had a problem with his anger and himself (as a character). Using the Hulk as the symbol for po...