Archive: Gaming

Getting older with ‘Mass Effect 3’

Lately I’ve been playing the popular sci-fi action/RPG Mass Effect 3 on my PS3. Overall it’s a blast, yet the game feels rushed, even a bit played out. It makes me wary of AAA console gaming for the next console generation. But is it the game? Or a reflection of a gamer in his 30s who’s been console gaming too long?

The best parts of ME3 hit me early. The core gameplay formula – a balance of straightforward combat and dialogue heavy cut scenes – remains intact. The graphics got a nice bump compared to the previous Mass Effect, especially in the facial animations. The extra fidelity adds a lot of depth to chats your character encounters on his journey. And the Mass Effect setting gives a better sense of space and presence than virtually any gaming series.

However, cracks in the ME3 facade emerge around the ten hour mark. The game has the budget of your average summer blockbuster and sadly, about as much care went into the writing. You get your obligatory sequel fan service of poorly written, coincidental bump ins with old teammates (“Grunt? What you doing here?”), halfhearted attempts at real emotion (Shepard has interactive, slo-mo flashbacks of a child lost in an early attack on Earth) and well worn, cliched lines between fighters (“It doesn’t get any better, does it?”).

Then there’s that sense that I’ve been down this road far too many times. Combat is sped up and adds grenades (thanks, Call of Duty sales!) but in the process, it becomes harder to distinguish from other third person shooters. Walks through larger non combat areas can stretch on for too long. Your combat partners still act fairly stupid; they often march straight into gunfire.

In short, there’s a general lack of evolution here, something I’ve also noticed in most AAA games I’ve played this year. In many ways, big budget console gaming parallels the Hollywood studio machine during the summer: repetitive genre works with proven plot lines aimed at a progressively younger audience.

Luckily, summer flicks have exceptions to the rule: strong counter programming (e.g. Magic Mike, Killer Joe) and blockbusters that exceed critical expectations (The Avengers). This happens in console gaming as well, but I’d argue we’re seeing those gaming exceptions further and further apart as current-gen consoles trudge on.

Nevertheless, when I contrast this with recent experiences on other platforms, I’ve got a lot of hope for gaming overall. I played the indie puzzle games Braid and Limbo on my Mac back-to-back, and it was, without exaggeration, a total joy. My iPhone also has been a nice match for casual gaming on the subway. Admittedly most iOS games are pretty poor, but a few times a year there is a game comes along that hooks me.

So where does that leave consoles? Digital distribution, combined with a thriving indie game scene, is key. I want a console that’s the home equivalent of the film scene in New York or LA: a blend of both big budget heavyweights and little indies, both readily available.

Trends and thoughts on E3 2012

As most gaming analysts predicted, this was a pretty quiet year for E3 news. Companies made very conservative moves and announcements given we’re at the end of this generation’s consoles. Several console manufacturers are also wary of making a costly misstep as mobile gaming devices (e.g. iPhone, iPad) eat up an increasing amount of their market share.

However, there were a few major trends worth noting.

Nintendo has lost its way

The 3DS wasn’t a strong seller out of the gate. Wii sales have crumbled. Nintendo is gambling a lot on its Wii U, and from what I’ve seen from E3, it looks like a non starter console. I’m aware that’s a strong prediction, but let’s break down what we’ve seen. First of all there’s the price, rumored to launch at $300. That’s almost surely cheaper than the next generation of consoles that Sony and Microsoft will offer. But then factor in the cost of those bulky controllers that I’d predict are far north of $100 each. That’s not exactly family friendly territory. There are other hardware problems as well: a controller only lasts for 3-5 hours per charge. It likely has a processor only marginally more powerful than a current gen Xbox 360 or PS3.

Finally, there’s a lack of compelling software. Nintendo’s E3 presser was depressingly conservative, even by Nintendo standards – few new IPs, no new Zelda or extra details on Paper Mario. Their flagship launch title NintendoLand doesn’t appear to have the crossover success of Wii Sports. And has Nintendo secured third party support? The company’s failure in that aspect really tanked long term sales of the Wii. The trend threatens to repeat itself with the Wii U.

Note that there are plenty of dissenters with my outlook. Josh Topolsky over at the Washington Post praised Nintendo’s “heads-down, single-minded mentality.” Time also defends Nintendo well, making some especially strong points regarding its hardware. Also Pimkin 3 looks great, but it doesn’t change my feeling that Nintendo could be out of the hardware business within a few years if it isn’t more careful.

Microsoft’s SmartGlass could be big

Microsoft had the best of the pre-E3 press conferences this year. It was yes, conservative, but it balanced the hardcore gaming and “casual” multimedia camps well. Most importantly, don’t underestimate SmartGlass. SmartGlass is a companion app for mobile devices (Windows phones, iOS, Android) that gives users the ability to control and interact with games and other XBox content. For instance, on the latest Madden you can preview and select plays before the huddle. For a TV show or movie extra bonus content is synced and displayed in SmartGlass as you watch. The Verge put together a nice preview.

Granted, Microsoft has pushed the multimedia convergence angle on every recent E3 and ended up bombing most of the time. Last year the Kinect got the hard sell. This year saw Internet Explorer for XBox, a total head scratcher. But SmartGlass is different because it’s not about selling a service or device that you have to run out and buy. A huge percentage of Microsoft’s target audience already has an iOS or Android phone, and as long as developers have incentive to make SmartGlass functionality, it could be a huge incentive to stick with the XBox over an Apple TV or Roku (there’s a nice Hacker News thread discussing this topic.)

An awkward transition period between current and next gen tech

There were a few new IPs announced that look incredible like Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs and Star Wars 1313 from LucasArts. However, their developers are cagey with regard to launch platforms. Watch Dogs may someday come to PS3 and XBox 360 but these E3 demos were clearly running on high-end PCs. I bet those demo PCs closely mirror the specs of Sony’s and Microsoft’s next gen consoles.

I’d expect any game without an early 2013 release date will debut on both current gen and next gen platforms. I’d also predict that next year is going to look very dry for console gaming as platforms shore up support for their big next gen console launches. That’s going to be a very interesting tech period. Mobile gaming will have matured by a full year, and the iOS ecosystem will be likely far more comprehensive, revolving around a completely revamped and relaunched Apple TV. Will console gaming thrive or weaken? It’s hard to say but we’ll know a lot more a year from now.

Following E3

E3 news coverage grows at a seemingly exponential rate each year but much of it amounts to little more than regurgitated press releases. At this point there’s only a few sources I’d personally recommend. On Twitter I’ll follow analysis by Giant Bomb’s Patrick Klepek (level headed, great reporting depth) and Polygon’s Arthur Gies (highly opinionated). I’m counting on stellar video reports and recaps on Giant Bomb.

For more traditional gaming news I’m giving Polygon a try this year. I really dig the Verge style “story stream” – a bunch of related articles are thrown together in a single thread – and their heavy usage of full bleed, high resolution imagery. I have high hopes but it is their first year; if their coverage starts to lag I’ll jump to Joystiq, a mainstay of previous years.

For live blogs of the big pre-E3 press conferences (EA, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony) I’m going to start with Ars Technica. Ars has a no-nonsense, “just the facts” house style that should suit the play by play well.

Note that all of this news source speculation may be overkill: according to many experts this year’s E3 won’t generate huge news. The assumption is we’re a year before Microsoft and Sony release their next game console iterations. That translates into conservative behavior by game studios as they tackle the programming hurdles necessary for next-gen hardware. But who’s to say there won’t be some surprises?