Although most of the announcements at this year’s Game Developer’s Conference (GDC) were a bit boring, there was one that peaked everyone’s interest: OnLive.  Why is it such a hot topic?  Well, if they are successful, it could possibly lead to a unified game console future and put all of the Xboxes, Playstations, and Wiis into the gutter.  With all the debate regarding digital distribution vs. disks, could OnLive prove the deciding victor?

So what exactly is OnLive?  Think NetFlix movie streaming, but for video games.  OnLive is a video game on-demand subscription service that allows you to instantly buy and rent titles in the comfort of your own home.  What’s so special about this service is that all of the games are hosted on OnLive’s powerful servers, while the game content is streamed to you over the Internet.  Unlike services like Xbox Live, which requires you to have a the software and hardware locally, everything is executed online.  Anything you see on the screen, every button you push is transmitted back and forth to you via the Internet.  Since the games are streamed, you no longer have to deal with discs, lengthy downloads, software installations, or annoying driver updates to enjoy your favorite games.  The best part about this is that you can play high-end games on basically any entry-level hardware.   Since all of the processing are done on the remote OnLive servers, you can play power hungry games like Crysis in full 720p resolution on any old Pentium II desktop.  There’s no longer a need to drop a pretty penny for the top of the line video card.  Not only is it compatible with your PC, it will also work with your television and even Macs.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2009. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: gdc, onlive, streaming

You may have heard that the federal deadline for the digital television transition has been postponed until June 2009.  However, a lot of the local channels are still beginning their digital only transmissions in just a little less than a week from now.  So what does this mean to you?  Starting Feb. 17th, you may start seeing static on your favorite television channels if you don’t have the right equipment.  If you’re a bit worried about the digital conversion read on to see what you can do to save yourself from the the white fuzz.

Digital to Analog Converter Box

If you are currently watching your beloved shows through an old tube TV hooked up to antennae, you’ll definitely need to look into purchasing a digital converter box.  These boxes essentially take the incoming digital signals and converts it to an analog output so that your old TV can view it.  This is by far the most cost effective choice since these boxes are quite affordable and typically rang from $30-$60.  On top of that, the federal government is offering two $40 rebates towards the purchase of a digital converter box.  You have until March 31^st to apply for these rebates, so do it soon.   If the struggling economy isn’t treating you very well, this is the way to go.

Cable/Satellite TV

Believe it or not, cable TV subscribers will be affected by this transition as well.  If you have a standard cable subscription without a digital cable box, you’ll need to pony up the extra cash and upgrade to the digital service.  Fear not though since this digital upgrade can enhance your TV watching pleasures if you tack on features like DVR and movies on demand.  The digital service is typically $10-$15 more than your standard cable service depending on your provider.  Satellite subscribers shouldn’t need to worry about upgrading anything since most, if not all satellite receivers accept digital signals anyway.

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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cable, digital transition, hdtv, satellite

The Cinematic or Cutscene. Story devices such as pre-rendered or in-game cutscenes are just about as old as gaming itself.  They control the pacing of a game and can portray important story elements in ways the game may not be fully able to, such as complicated action sequences or emotional set pieces.  They also tend to restrict player involvement, which can be useful when large portions of data are needed to play the next area of the game.  Mission briefings in military FPS or RTS games like Gears of War use these breaks to feed you with objectives and background intel, while enormous amounts of texture data are piped in behind the scenes, keeping the actual downtime to a minimum.

Ridiculously Long Elevator Ride. Although similar in nature to the previously mentioned lengthy hallway, this techique differs slightly in that these more blatant transitions do not usually require any player action whist in the load screen. Portal had many such elevator rides, with one after every puzzle. Some games choose to use this time to also convey some story elements, such as was the case in the Metroid Prime series. Likewise, Mass Effect was famous for it’s incredibly long elevator rides, but also supplemented the trip with relevant radio broadcasts pertaining to some of the player’s more recent endeavors. Another similar technique is the laughably long, door-opening animation, found in early Resident Evil games and many other 3D action titles. The animation for opening a desk drawer or treasure chest could even give the game a split second to process whatever random loot you happen to find in that hidden stash.

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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: gamedev

With the phenomenal sales of the original PS1 and PS2, Sony was once way ahead of the curve.  So it’s come to be quite a disappointment to see the PS3 limping along this generation.  When Ken Kuturagi unveiled the PS3 back in 2005, it was touted as the most powerful and revolutionary gaming system ever made.  Apparently, all that power and revolution didn’t mean squat.  Looking at the December 2008 sales figures, we can see that the Wii completely outsold the PS3 almost 3:1, with the Xbox 360 outselling almost 2:1.

* Wii — 2,150,000
* Xbox 360 — 1,440,000
* PlayStation 3 — 726,000

Sony needs to do some damage control, and they need to do it fast.  Here are some suggestions to make 2009, the year of the Playstation.

PS3 Price Drop
Since there’s no way for the PS3 to compete with the Wii, the best that they can do right now is fight for 2nd place.  With the current recession, it’s obviously not a good idea to be the most expensive system on the market.  With the PS3 models retailing at $399 and $499, it’s much more expensive than the Xbox 360 at $199, $299, and $399.  Sony justifies this price difference due to the built-in blu-ray player capabilities, but it appears the general public is still quite happy with their DVDs and can’t justify paying the extra premium for this feature.  To top it off, most PS3 versions of a game often look worse than its Xbox counterpart.  So why pay more when its competitor is providing a better gaming experience at a lower price?  Sony needs to drop the price to $299 to simply compete with the Xbox 360.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 2009, microsoft, ps3, sony, xbox

Dead Rising (Xbox360)

You, trapped in a mall with thousands of zombies and the freedom to use practically anything as a weapon.  It’s no wonder we haven’t seen this game concept done earlier.  The zombie playground idea could be applied to almost anywhere too. Amusement park, airport, or even a small, open-world town would all be great locales.  Throw in a bunch more interactive objects for creative, new ways to kill the walking dead and you’re all set.  Oh yeah, how about some online co-op, please?

Zack and Wiki (Wii)

It’s the brilliant, Wii, point-and-click adventure that was a critically success, but a retail failure.  Sadly, we probably won’t ever see a sequel any time soon.  Some of the later puzzles were down right diabolical, but when you finally did figure it out, that “eureka” moment was pure magic.  The cute, lovable animations, the multiple solutions, and the clever use of items and enemies all worked to create an experience that could only be compared to the days of playing an old-school, LucasArts adventure game.  More of the same is all I ask.

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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2009. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DS, pcgaming, ps3, PSP, wii, xbox360

When Home was first announced, Sony had built up a lot of hype for this service.  First of all, it’s absolutely free and it provided a full 3-D interactive experience to online gaming.  Also, did I mention it was free?  However, after the long delay, it seemed that Home’s momentum has slowed down.  It has definitely lost its steam that it gained a couple years ago.  Plus, with the recent release of the new Xbox experience, will Home provide the revolutionary gaming experience that Sony promised?

So what is PlayStation Home?  Home is essentially a virtual online 3-D space that allows you to meet up and socialize with other PS3 users.  You can chat, dance, flirt, and also play games with them.  It’s basically the Sims meet Second Life, in which you create a personal avatar to traverse through the virtual realm.  Like Second Life, Home also serves as a breeding ground for advertisements.  Everywhere you go, there are large monitors that constantly loops movie and video game trailers.  There’s even a movie theater that you can enter just to watch game trailers.  Since its a free service, I suppose this is how Sony had to find some way to make money back.

Starting Home, you are immediately introduced to create an avatar.  The avatar creation tool is much more robust than the Xbox 360’s, but I’m not convinced if that it’s a good thing.  For a beginner, Home provides so many options that it can be quite intimidating for a non-core player.  Just customizing the face alone has hundreds of possibilities if you factor things like cheeks, forehead, and chin structures.  On top of that, all of these features can be adjusted with a grid that allows you to adjust the dimensions of your head.  Call me lazy, but it got to the point where I stopped caring and just picked a preset character model.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: home, playstation3, psn

Your gut is probably bulging the size of a bowling ball after stuffing yourself with turkey the last few days.  Don’t worry, there’s help.  I can show you plenty of games that can help you lose the holiday weight right in the comfort of your home.  Just make sure that you’re not pounding down donuts and hamburgers while playing these games.

Wii Sports
The ever popular Wii Sports comes bundled with a number of mini-games that include Tennis, Baseball, Bowling, Golf, and Boxing.  These mini-games feel more like tech-demos, but is very fun and intuitive for first time Wii players.  Most newcomers will burn a lot of calories since they will be standing and exerting all of their energy in every swing.  However, once you learn the gameplay nuances, you’ll end up slouching in your couch and lazily flicking your wrist effortlessly to get the same results.  Hopefully Wii Sports will be used as a template for other Mario Sports games.  Give use Mario Tennis already!

Wii Fit
This is the pinnacle of all fitness games.  Do not…I repeat…do not buy Wii Fit expecting it to be a game.  It’s more like a fitness program than anything else.  The main thing that stands Wii fit apart from other fitness games is the balance board.  Not only is the board used for exercising, it also measures your weight, balance, and body mass index (BMI).  Typically, BMI tells you if you’re underweight, normal, or obese.  However, if Wii Fit calls you a fat-ass, keep in mind that it doesn’t count other factors like your body type and muscle mass so it’s very misleading.  I only found that the Yoga and Strength training to be particularly useful since it does a good job working out your core.  However, the Aerobic exercises are pure garbage since running in one place doesn’t make your blood pumping enough to be effective.  The beauty of Wii Fit is that it keeps track of all your progress, so you can clearly see how much improvement you’ve made.  Just keep in mind that the balance board only works if you weigh less than 350lbs.  If you weigh more than that… it’s probably a good idea to get a gym pass.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fat, fitness, turkey, wii

Sleepy Gamer is thankful for.. bite-sized game experiences.

I love the occasional 50-60 hour RPG experience as much as the next guy, but sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and play a game for 5-10 minutes.  Thankfully, there are a host of games that are just perfect for that situation.  Geometry Wars 2, Pac-man C.E., and Pixel Junk Eden all possess great “pick up & play” appeal.  Smaller, casual games also provide another great benefit.  They’re great “wind you down” games for that last bit of gaming at the end of the day, or even right before bed.  Nothing like a 2-hour Peggle session when you can’t sleep at 3 in the morning.

Sleepy Gamer is thankful for.. save anywhere.

You weren’t always able to save your game at anytime in console games.  True, some games still stick to the antiquated concept of the artificially increased challenge that rigid save points bring, but the vast majority have moved past this.  Now we’re free to save our game every five steps and abuse quick save/load to our heart’s content.  Ridiculously long dungeons are finally a thing of the past.  Now you’re playing with power.. and it doesn’t involve holding the reset button while turning off the power.

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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: co-op, netflix

Just thinking about the Dreamcast brings back lots of fond memories.  Witnessing the red swirl as you powered it on, you knew that there was something special about it.   This was the first system that truly felt “next gen”.  The thought of playing an arcade-perfect Marvel vs. Capcom at the comfort of your home was simply marvelous.  Resident Evil sent chills down my spine as I was blasting zombies away in beautiful real-time graphics.  So, where did it all go wrong?

History in the Making
Towards the later part of the 90s, Sega was in a rut.  With the previous blunders of the Sega CD and 32X, Sega’s current console, the Saturn, was on the verge of yet another failure.  Despite some modest success in Japan, the Saturn only sold a mere 9 million units worldwide.  In comparison, the original Sony PlayStation dominated the sales charts with over 100 million units sold.  The public was starting to lose faith in Sega, and they needed a way to revitalize the Sega name.  Towards the end of the Saturn lifecycle, Sega had a secret project with 2 of their internal groups.  With one group in Japan, and the other in the U.S, they would be competing against each other to develop a new console system.  In the end, Sega crowned the Japanese team the victor, and thus the Dreamcast was born.

Revolutionary Specs
At the time, the Dreamcast specs were unparalleled.  Powered by a powerful 200MHz 128-bit Hitachi SH4 processor, 16MB of RAM, and a 12x GD-ROM drive, it was capable of crunching a whopping 7 million polygons per second.  To provide a different perspective, the original PlayStation only featured a 33MHz 32-bit MIPS processor, 2MB of RAM, and a 2x CD-ROM drive only capable of processing 360,000 polygons per second.  Clearly, nothing came close to the Dreamcast power.  What’s even more impressive was that it came boxed with a 56k modem.  You may scoff at the thought of dial-up Internet, but back then, playing games online was something simply ahead of its time.  Online game play was always a PC commodity up until the Dreamcast, since no prior consoles offered anything like it.  Contrary to prior beliefs, it was actually Sega who pioneered console online gameplay, not Microsoft.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: dreamcast, Features, Flashback, sega

In the spirits of Halloween, this post is dedicated to 4 scary video game moments that I’ve experienced.  I was originally going to do 5, but I couldn’t think of a 5th moment that scared the crap out of me without listing the same game franchise twice.  Plus, it’s Friday, so I deserve to be lazy.  =)  Enjoy and have a safe, and happy Halloween!

Resident Evil 2

Eternal Darkness
It has been hours since you last saved your game.  You’ve slain countless undead foes, traveled thousands of years, and gathered all of the Ancient’s artifacts.  The only thing’s left is to defeat Pious, the maniacal guardian who’s bent on ending all of humanity as we know it.  Moments before reaching the final boss and saving the world, you encounter… “Disc Read Error”.  At this point, you’re screaming out loud, “This can’t be happening!”  Just when you’re about to throw your Gamecube out the window, it resumes like nothing happened.  You then realized that the game was messing with you all along.  Good one Nintendo… bravo.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bioshock, eternal darkness, feature, halloween, resident evil, scary, silent hill, survival horror

Upon receiving a beta key for Resistance 2, I was really eager to rush home and download the beta.  However, after 3.5 hours for 2GB download, in addition to the 10 minute install, plus another 15 minutes for an update, I was finally ready to play.  So is this game worth that 4 hour wait?  Read on.

Beta Basics
Just to clarify, this beta only provides the multi-player feature.  You won’t get a sneak peak at the single player campaign until you buy it.  Starting the beta, you’re introduced to 2 game play options: Cooperative and Competitive.  In the cooperative mode, you have the choice to play online or offline with friends.  This mode allows casual fun play without affecting your ranking stats.  The competitive mode is where the meat of the game is focused on.  Similar to Call of Duty’s “Perks”, Resistance 2 has the “Berserks/Loadout” system.  As you gain more experience and rank up, you can unlock additional “Berserks/Loadout” that enhance your abilities.  The default beserks/loadouts provide small enhancements like upgraded radar or electric burst shots.  But leveling up will provide much better abilities, such as force fields or healing rings, that will help keep you alive longer.

The main appeal that Resistance 2 has over other shooters are the 60 player skirmishes.  When you jump into a 60 player battle, things can get really chaotic.  The first time I jumped in, my average lifespan was less than 10 seconds.  However, as you get more accustomed to the map layout, you’ll realize how grand and epic these matches are.  It’s quite exhilarating when there’s a stand-off between the two factions fighting on opposite sides of the ravine.  One side is desperately defending the beacon, while the other is trying to overtake it.  The whole beauty of this is that this grand experience is practically lag-free, so any deaths that you encounter is because of your own noob skills.

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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beta, first impressions, ps3, resistance 2

Console revisions are nothing new to the gaming industry.  A look in history will show us that most successful systems has gone through at least 3 console revisions.  Take a look at the Genesis, Gameboy, PS2, and the list goes on.  This generation is no different.  These changes are made to either reach a new markets, introduce better security, or just to save a couple of bucks.  Here’s a general look at what we’ll be expecting this generation.

20GB, 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, 160GB, what next?

Since its November 2006 release, there has been a total of 5 PS3 model changes.  Initially, you had the choice of a 20GB or 60GB model retailing at $499 and $599 respectively.  Despite the enormous price tag, Sony was still taking a $300 loss for each console sold.  They needed a way to bring the price down fast if they wanted more consumers to purchase their platform.  In late 2007, Sony introduced the 40GB and 80GB models for $399 and $499.  Although that seemed like a much better deal, one key feature was lost… backwards compatibility.  The older 20GB and 60GB models, included the PS2 “Emotion Engine” CPU that allowed it to natively play PS2 games.  To save manufacturing costs, this CPU was removed from the later models.  Thus, the 80GB model only provided limited PS2 backwards compatibility through software emulation, while the 40GB cannot play PS2 games at all.  Just recently, Sony announced a newer 80GB and 160GB models to replace the current ones.  Like the 40GB model, the new revisions will completely remove PS2 backwards compatibility as well.  Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to play your old PSOne games.

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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: DS, Features, ps3, PSP, wii, xbox360

It wasn’t too long ago that game exclusivity was king among “third party” blockbusters like Final Fantasy and Guitar Hero.  When games were only released on one system and one system alone.  However, with this console generation having no clear cut leader to shoulder the burden of millions of sales, like it was during the Playstation 2 era, the ideas of exclusivity are beginning to change.  But why move away from single platform exclusivity when it’s obviously much easier to develop for one system?  The sad truth is that game development costs are a lot higher now than they were a few years ago.  The move to HD graphics means much more detailed art assets are required and production quality expectations are at an all time high.  Just like the movie business, video games are turning into a big budget, blockbuster-obsessed industry.  So game publishers are finding little reason to stick to one platform when they could be selling to a much wider audience.

The concept of exclusivity is not altogether dead yet.  Although not an entirely new idea, timed exclusivity is one way Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are continuing to compete for dominance in the continuing console war.  Traditionally, when a game receives a timed exclusivity window of a year or more, sales are generally skewed heavily toward the first version of the game, since all the buzz and anticipation will have worn off by the time the ported game comes out.  After all, the Grand Theft Auto series became a timed exclusive for the PS2, which later appeared on both the PC and Xbox.  The same could be said for Resident Evil 4, which first debuted on Nintendo’s Gamecube and was later ported to PS2.  Today, the timed exclusive has all but replaced the “third party” exclusive.  Bioshock and Eternal Sonata were both timed exclusives for the Xbox360 and Unreal Tournament III was temporarily a PS3-only game.

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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: ps2, ps3, xbox360

Ever popped in a DVD lately? I bet you’ve already seen those annoying Blu-ray commercials. Blu-ray, the ultimate hi-def blah blah blah. We’re constantly reminded that Blu-ray is so much better than DVD. But is it really?

First off, what is Blu-ray? Blu-ray is a proprietary media format produced by a little company named Sony. These are the same folks who introduced us to the failed UMD, mini-discs, and even Beta tapes. This format is called Blu-ray since these discs are literally made using a blue laser. DVDs on the other hand, are produced with a red laser. Because blue has a much shorter wave length than red, a blue laser can burn more data onto a disc. Imagine writing with a fine-tipped pen vs. writing with a highlighter marker.

From the naked eye, there isn’t much distinction between Blu-ray and DVD discs. But what makes Blu-ray so special is that it can hold about 6x more data than DVD. Dual-layer Blu-ray discs can hold up to 50 GB while a dual-layer DVD can only hold up to 8.5 GB. With DVDs, movie studios need to compress and reduce the video quality so that it can fit onto the disc. Watch a DVD movie on an HD display and you will notice quite a bit of pixilation and artifacts that degrade the picture quality. Blu-ray movies are clear as day since the video looks extremely vibrant and crisp. That’s because it also provides 6x the resolution of a standard DVD movie. The higher the resolution, the better the picture will look.
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© van for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Blu-ray, Features, Media, Technology

Nintendo redefined what was traditionally thought to be the video game console life cycle with the Wii. They focused on getting a fun and affordable system into people’s houses, with the concept of “play, not graphics” being the primary driving force. In doing so, they were able to jump forward into the console life cycle at the point in which mass market acceptance becomes high and barriers to entry are low. Everyone became an early adopter of the Wii; hardcore gamers, families, young professionals, middle aged couples, and everyone in between.

One side effect of this swift change has been the reduction in quantity of game releases aimed squarely at the hardcore gamer. While Nintendo initially did an excellent job releasing their stable of beloved franchises (Mario, Zelda, Smash Bros, Mart Kart), since then we’ve seen a considerable decline in the amount of notable core game releases from Nintendo. E3 was a prime example of this, as Nintendo failed to deliver the excitement and promise of new games to get the hardcore excited. They did, however, acknowledge that these titles were being worked on. Recently, there was an article in Edge magazine about how Nintendo would have these core titles ready in approximately 2 to 3 years. But if the Wii software cycle started off toward the middle of what we’ve come to know of the conventional product cycle, does this mean we should expect these games on the next Nintendo console instead?

The rumors and speculation about an major upcoming Wii redesign are actually very plausible. Nintendo could still draw upon the incredibly popular Wii branding, perhaps naming the next console “Nintendo Wii Plus” or “Wii HD”, to keep the strong mainstream mind share alive. And just like the jump from Gamecube to Wii wasn’t a monumental jump forward in graphics, this redesign could continue this tradition, using multicore technology and the Bluray format, at a point when such hardware is much cheaper. It could easily include hardware-based backwards compatibility with all the existing Wii software and maybe even support the current controllers and peripherals as well.

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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: microsoft, nintendo, sony, wii

While PC gaming has enjoyed smaller downloadable games for just about as long as the Internet has been around, the console space has only just begun to embrace this concept.  The incredible ease of obtaining digitally distributed content along with the rising cost of game development for AAA titles has carved out a nice niche for independent developers to showcase their wares.

Sony has proved that downloadable games can offer large, retail game-sized experiences (see Warhawk , GT 5 Prologue and the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty), however, the space is primarily inhabited by more casual “pick up and play” games.  Titles like Geometry Wars Retro Evolved or Super Stardust HD are extremely addictive twin stick shooter gems, but they’re also great games to play for 10 to 15 mins, while you wait for your buddy to join you online.  In a way, they’re really more like palette cleansers that can be loaded up quickly while you’re in between game sessions.  These games also don’t require individual discs, which means you can turn on your console and then decide what you want to play, possibly after you’re glanced at your friend’s list.  And since they tend to be smaller, less complicated games, you’re more apt to find a local multiplayer game everyone can join in on.  Rather than entice your friends to come over and play Halo 3 or Madden, you can boot up N+ or Calling All Cars! to bring out some good old fashioned couch rivalries.

Creating these smaller bite-sized games also means you can charge less and still turn a decent profit because the development times are drastically lower.  Independent development studios like thatgamecompany or NinjaBee would have probably never existed or at least might not have been as successful had it not been for the smaller canvas and digital distribution.  Rather than deal with one of the incredibly massive multi-national publishers, Xbox Live Arcade, Playstaion Network, and Wiiware, offer direct channels for consumers to buy their products.  Since a lower cost of development means lower investment risk, developers are given more freedom to innovate.  The single-man production of Everyday Shooter is a great example of a game that seems unlikely to have ever existed on a console 5 years ago.  Such is the potential for this brand new medium.
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© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: psn, wiiware, xbla

© garret for Sleepy Gamer, 2008. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog