Sleepy Gamer

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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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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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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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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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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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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