Xbox One Kinect Issue Breakdown June 28, 2013

After Microsoft changed their official DRM policy with the Xbox One, as far as I was concerned, the major issues I personally had with the consoles were waved away, and I applaud Microsoft for changing their policy prior to the launch of the console. When I notified several of my peers about this changed course, instead of hearing excited responses that they could play many of the console’s exclusive releases without concern, I was surprisingly met with distrustful and angry responses about a wide range of other problems that they had with the Xbox One, and most of them were about the new Kinect.

The first issue I heard from my peers was that it increased the price point of the Xbox One, as it was a $100US premium over the Playstation 4, which wasn’t going to ship with the 3D camera Sony previewed when they announced the console. They were also concerned the impact the console would have on the environment or their electric bill from it always being in a standby mode because the Kinect needed to draw some power in order to process the “Xbox, on” command. They were also concerned, after all the information that came out in the news recently about government eavesdropping, that anyone who installed the Xbox One in their home theater would practically be inviting shady individuals to view and hear them while they’re at home 24/7. This was especially a problem for the Unknown Cameraperson, who prefers no record of their identity, voice, or appearance to exist in any form.

Well, I never understood the Kinect issues with the Xbox One, no I’ve HEARD the issues people have had with them, ALL of them, but I don’t legitimately think they’re problems. I was an original Kinect adopter some time after it was released, so I’ve played Kinect games, used Kinect compatible software (including the dashboard or video streaming software like EPIX) and played 360 games with Kinect features, so I’ve got Kinect experience, and personally I’m really excited to see what the Xbox One can do with the improved Kinect.

Microsoft has an official stated policy that they would NEVER under any circumstances record a user without their consent or transmit their voice or audio streams without the user’s consent in some kind of application (like Skype or game streaming). If the Kinect was snooping on people 24/7 don’t you think a computer pro with a packet sniffer on their network (quite reasonable to assume) would find out 2 seconds after the console’s launch? That would be a huge black eye to MS for violating their policy and perhaps even local laws, as they said they had no intention to do that.

And for those who may prefer to be a bit more green on power, the Xbox One and Kinect can be completely turned off, which will disable the “Kinect, On” feature, but it could be slightly better for the environment for those who wish to conserve energy. If I remember correctly, the ability to turn your Xbox off and on by voice command was a feature users wanted when the first Kinect launched on the Xbox 360! It was even something shown in the original promotional demo video. The official stated policy why MS couldn’t offer the on command from voice that was because of the 360’s power consumption and they wanted to keep the 360 a green device, and they felt without the ability to turn the console on by voice, there was no reason to turn the console off by voice as well. However it looks like they have listened to gamer’s pleas. They later changed their position on turning the 360 off by your voice with a dashboard update, and the Xbox One will allow on and off voice commands. My guess is the Xbox One must have fixed the power issue.

In the end, the actual issue boils down to the price point. Now, there’s not been any confirmed information that it’s the Kinect that forced the $499US price tag to the Xbox One, but since it is $100US more expensive than the Playstation 4 (which will not be bundled with the 3D motion camera they demoed when the console was announced), people have speculated the Kinect is what’s making the Xbox One the most expensive console this generation. Whether the Kinect is the culprit or not, a higher price point over a competitor is a legitimate argument, but one that I’m willing to accept. If the Kinect is indeed the reason for the $100US premium over a PS4, then Microsoft should justify that price in some way to give consumers a reason to choose the Xbox One over the PS4, and the features of the Kinect could be that justification.

I REALLY want to see what the new Xbox One exclusive games (including Quantum Break) will do with this technology now that it’s a feature of the console itself. I’m excited for all the prospects we could have and the possibility of new features in games like talking options in games, motion control for simple commands without needing to pick up a remote or controller, it can further immerse a player in the experience. There’s also the non-gaming applications as well as other features like I can Skype Princess Angel in 1080p or do a picture-in-picture (PIP) commentary on a live game stream without having to spend $2000+US on a MacBook and new editing software. I believe the Xbox One is at a fair price. You may disagree with that, and that’s fine, but I really think the Kinect brings exciting possibilities for gaming enhancements.

I can’t wait to try the new consoles out.

Game Series That Should Come to the iPhone June 26, 2013

Lets face it, everyone is carrying around a cell phone with them nowadays.  They’re more than just phones, they’re a gamer’s dream.  They have fantastic hardware on par with current generation mobile devices, a flexible control system, and can offer internet access on the go regardless of being in range of WiFi hotspots.  Since smartphones can play games, that would make a device like Apple’s iPhone one of the biggest selling portable gaming platforms currently on the market.  With its laundry list of features, amazing software support, and unique design, it’s a juggernaut with a wide installation base.  With such a large installation base of active gamers, it’s sad that there are some great game series out there that practically seem perfect for the device and yet have not yet made the leap to the platform.  I think its time to rectify that.

In this article, I’m going to be talking about some game series which should come to the iPhone, and what makes them so perfect for the handheld device.  For the record, I’m going to only talk about game series that are not avalible on the iPhone.  That means that series which already have at least one game on the iPhone will not be brought up.  That includes series like Mass Effect, Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, Batman: Arkham City, and Final Fantasy.  If you’re interested in playing any of those games, you can check out the app store and download them right now.

With all that out of the way, lets get started shall we?

Catherine – A young man is forced to climb a never ending tower every night in his dreams, and if he falls he will die.  Somehow, this curse has to do with the choices he’s made in life, as he doesn’t know if he’s ready to settle down with his long term girlfriend or move on.  To make things worse, a new woman enters his life which seems a perfect match for him, and against his better judgment, they start to have an affair.  With these nightmares and a major life decision on the horizon, can he survive long enough to decide who he should spend the rest of his life with?

The game’s story is told by lengthy cutscenes which occasionally present a simple choice for the player.  Those choices impact the game’s ending, and the possible survival of secondary characters.  During gameplay sections, you must push and pull blocks, trying to build your way to the exit of a never ending tower.  If this game’s design doesn’t at first seem like a perfect match for the iPhone’s interface, that’s because it is.  I must admit what really sold me was the design of the game’s Rapuzel minigame, which you can play every night at the Stray Sheep.  The gameplay seems perfectly suited to the iPhone’s touch and tilt capabilities.  Some of the game is handled through Vincent’s cell phone, which would make this kind of meta.  You could receive texts in-game and respond to them if you choose.  The game could offer the ability to unlock exclusive wallpapers and background images from the game or perhaps even ringtones.

Kingdom Hearts – One night, a young boy witnesses a horrible storm at his island home.  His best friend is swept away in the storm and he chases after him, only to find himself in an unfamiliar place.  Soon, he meets up with Donald Duck and Goofy who have been charged by King Mickey Mouse himself to protect the many Disney worlds with the help of a Key, the same Key that the boy seems to have a connection to since arriving in this strange place.  Together, the three must travel from world to world based on many of the most popular Disney movies to protect them from the darkness that is attacking them, all the while hoping that their friends are waiting for them in the next one.

There was at least one Kingdom Hearts game brought to an earlier cell phone platform in Japan, I think it was redesigned as a game for the Nintendo DS, but as far as I know the mobile game was never brought to the iPhone.  With the recent announcement of Kingdom Hearts III and the continued success of the game series on handheld devices, as well as Square’s success on the iOS platform, a Kingdom Hearts smartphone game would be a great addition to the series.

Pokémon – A young boy comes of age and decides he wants to, *ahem* be the best like no one ever was.  To do that, he explores the entire land he lives in, traveling from town to town, capturing and training Pokémon.  With the Pokémon he’s trained in hand, he challenges each town’s best Pokémon Masters, in order to earn the right to battle the Elite Four and become the Grand Pokémon Master.

I didn’t bring this up during the most requested Pokémon games article and I apologize.  A Pokémon iPhone game would be fantastic!  There are so many users who want to try out this popular series but can’t due to the expense of buying a new Nintendo handheld.  Pokémon has always been a handheld game so being released to a mobile device would be a great fit.  It would be amazing to play a Pokémon game on a device which would always have internet access on the go due to the cellular network.  Pokémon is quickly starting to take over the iPhone app store with the Pokémon TV show app and interactive Pokédex, but we haven’t seen an actual Pokémon game come to the platform yet, and that is quite a shame.

Alan Wake – One night, a writer suffering from a major case of writer’s block is powerless to stop his wife’s abduction while they were on vacation in the Pacific Northwest.  After she’s been taken, he blacks out and loses over a week of time.  While trying to find her, he finds pages of a book he can’t remember writing and most amazing of all is the stuff he wrote is coming true.

We already know that Remedy has chosen to make a new IP for their first Triple A retail title since Alan Wake.  It’s called Quantum Break and it will be released for the Xbox One.  This has upset several Remedy fans who were hoping that Remedy would work on Alan Wake 2, since the first game ended on a cliffhanger, and neither the DLC missions or the Xbox Live Arcade game Alan Wake’s American Nightmare seemed to resolve much about Alan’s predicament.

Even though we now know what secret project Remedy was working on for the Xbox One, Remedy has not announced what the secret iOS game they are working on is.  Remedy REALLY is doing well with their iOS games and has already promised that another unannounced iOS exclusive game is in development. They did well bringing their Death Rally franchise back, why not bring back Alan Wake?

Ways Nintendo Can Improve Miiverse May 9, 2013

One of the major selling points of the Wii U is that it offers players the chance to join Nintendo Network, which grants access to the Wii U’s social platform, Miiverse.  For those of you who don’t know what Miiverse is, it’s a social platform through the Wii U which allows players to post their thoughts on a wide variety of Nintendo’s games or Nintendo exclusive communities.  Just like in other social platforms, users can respond to comments or “like” comments by other users.  Posts in text format are limited to one-hundred characters, so its very similar to Twitter in a lot of ways, but it offers options to users that Twitter does not.  In particular, you can also use the Wii U’s gamepad to post simple handwritten drawings, and a lot of phenomenal artwork has been created since the service launched.  You can even directly post screenshots from your games to attach to your comments.

Right now, Nintendo is doing a really good job with Miiverse, but there is a lot they can do to improve the service.  Nintendo has already announced their intention to expand Miiverse beyond access through the Wii U, and they have made good on that promise.  Miiverse can now be accessed through the web for existing users, but users without a Wii U can’t sign up just yet.  Nintendo has also promised that a dedicated Smartphone app is in development, but there aren’t a lot of details about this.

First off, Miiverse needs Nintendo 3DS support.  Miis used in the Nintendo 3DS will transfer back and forth between the Wii U and 3DS but for right now, 3DS owners, who a huge portion of Nintendo’s customers, can’t even access the Miiverse’s website with their internet browser.  The 3DS has some pretty cool social functions of its own, with things like Streetpass, which allows 3DS owners who come in proximity with each other to share Miis for the purpose of using them in various minigames to unlock things like 3D pictures or hats for their Miis.  Right now, all of that functionality is separate from the Wii U, and its a shame.  It would be cool to have the ability to access Miiverse on the 3DS and interact with it using the 3DS touch screen or unlockable Mii hats.  Right now, 3DS owners can’t even sign up for Nintendo Network, despite the Nintendo Network logo being featured on many recent 3DS games.

Another great idea would be for Miiverse to get opened to more users, including people who don’t have the Wii U.  While PC users wouldn’t be able to use a large amount of the functionality Miiverse offers Wii U owners, like the ability to post screenshots or handwrite on the Wii U controller, they would be able to contribute in text format, check if there were any “likes” or replies to their already posted comments, update their friends list, and browse, “like”, and respond to new posts.

Adding an entire social platform to a game console was practically unheard of, and who would have imagined that it would be Nintendo to do it first?  The Miiverse is a great selling point to encourage people to buy a Wii U and to encourage Wii U owners to keep playing it.  I have just posted up a few minor ideas that I had that I thought Nintendo could implement to improve the service, but I want to hear what you think.  If there are any ideas you had that Nintendo should implement to improve Miiverse, please post a comment!

Most Requested Pokémon Games April 24, 2013

While at this year’s Quinni-Con I had the pleasure of speaking to Michael Hecht, better known to the internet as 1KidsEntertainment, the creator of the Pokémon ‘Bridged series, and several other popular abridged series on the web. During our Q&A, we had a discussion about all things Pokémon, and I mentioned the fact that I didn’t like that Nintendo hasn’t yet released any of the first generation Pokémon games to the Virtual Console service on the Nintendo 3DS. Immediately, OneKids started bringing up a wide range of Pokémon game ideas he wished Nintendo would make, but hasn’t.

I started to think, if there were some game ideas that both he and I badly wanted to see and Nintendo hasn’t produced them, just how many other ideas do fans have for future games? Well, put on your Pokémon Trainer hats! Without further ado, here’s some of the requested Pokémon games!

Pokémon MMO – This was the first thing that OneKids blurted out when I asked him about Pokémon games he wanted to see, and it’s very easy to imagine why its such a popular idea. The Pokémon world seems ripe for a massively multiplayer experience. In a normal Pokémon game you can explore a wide land and visit all the cities and towns in it. As you travel through the wilderness from town to town you battle and capture the region’s Pokémon, and challenge other trainers as you try to become the greatest Pokémon Master. However, in a normal Pokémon game you and your captured Pokémon will accomplish this task alone. You can battle and trade with others in real life who also have a Nintendo handheld, but only in designated areas, and they cannot join you on your quests. Given the large scope of each of the games, this is pretty disappointing.

Now imagine playing through a game’s story along with people from all over the world. You would not need to take on the world alone, in the spirit of the Pokémon animated series, you could choose to travel with companions that were being controlled by actual people on their own systems. You could create your own character from the ground up, choose their appearance and clothing to look however you wanted. Heck, the game could let you pick your allegiances as well. Perhaps you can choose to be good natured heroes or join a sinister group like Team Rocket or Team Galactic. Once you’ve set up the game, you can find a group of companions with similar goals and travel the world, trading, battling and capturing however you see fit.

The hardware of both the 3DS and Wii U seem ready and able to make this leap. The 3DS and Wii U have online capabilities through WiFi and are compatible with most modern wireless routers without the need of a DS WiFi Adapter. Nintendo is already hosting a beta for the first MMO game on the Wii U in Japan, so the hardware can without a doubt support an MMO. In fact, both platforms have a lot of great features that would work well in a Massively Multiplayer experience. Each 3DS and Wii U controller features a camera and a microphone which could allow online voice and video chat with other players you meet in the game. This is perfect for online interaction. Since both systems are also dual screen native and offer touch screen controls (something that could be used to give the platforms an advantage over the PC), you could use the second screen for chatting or managing your friends list, or do other creative tasks. You could manage your inventory during gameplay, or play mini-games to help you progress.

What are the odds we’ll see it? I would say less than 25%. With the Nintendo Network designed the way it is, its very likely that it could be used to host an MMO from either the Wii U or 3DS. The problem is, as far as I know, Nintendo has never made an MMO before. MMOs have a very different set of requirements for its game design than a regular single-player retail game with a multiplayer component does. On top of that, while a 3DS owner may very well have 24/7 Internet access at home or at Nintendo Zone hotspots, if a 3DS user takes their handheld away from a trusted hotspot to play, since the 3DS lacks a cellular modem like smartphones have, they won’t be able to play the Pokémon MMO until they got back into an area with Internet access. Most of the time, the 3DS’s WiFi capabilities are used for local battling against other people in close proximity, you wouldn’t be able to do this in an MMO.

When you play an MMO, you need Internet 24/7, and that can’t be guaranteed on a mobile platform without a cellular modem. The 3DS is something designed to be played on the go while away from the Internet. However, that’s just an issue the 3DS would have. The Wii U has a different issue. Nintendo’s portable platforms have always been the platform of choice for the latest Pokémon games, and the chance such a new flagship game in the Pokémon series would be released exclusive to the Wii U may rub some fans the wrong way. However, the Wii U would likely be the prime platform for such an endeavor, and I’ll talk more about why later on.

If you would like to see a glimpse for yourselves at what a fake Pokémon MMO would be like, check out Suede’s reviews of the first Pokémon movie.

Pokémon PC Game – Lets face it, a lot of kids out there can’t afford to buy a brand new Nintendo console or handheld system, but almost everyone already has a PC. The PC will always boast the most powerful system specs for any console, and can take a wide range of forms from desktops, laptops and now tablets. Here’s a platform you can develop your game on that would have absolutely no limitations. You could have the greatest graphics your artists can imagine, and not have to worry as much about performance. You could have more people inhabiting the towns, dynamic weather and lighting, more dialog options when speaking with NPCs, and more Pokémon to capture and battle! Oh, and save games can also transfer from system to system if a player has decided to upgrade their computer for a faster one down the road.

The keyboard and mouse combination can offer a great control option for an RPG designed around it, as it can offer plenty of buttons. However, you can just as easily plug a USB joystick in and play that way if you prefer. Most computers nowadays are already Internet connected as well, and can offer players 24/7 Internet access, making online multiplayer a natural feature. You could keep a friends list to have a regular group of players to battle or trade with. And software updates would be very convenient to the player. All in all, it could be a great option from both a design and a consumer’s perspective.

What are the odds we’ll see it? Next to zero. Nintendo has a long history of denying developers the chance to bring their games to the PC, with the exception of simple licensed games like Mario Teaches Typing. The most famous denial was after John Carmack discovered how to make a side-scrolling engine work on a then modern 386 PC, and tested its capabilities by replicating the entire first level of Super Mario Bros 3. After that, id Software went through the difficult process to port the rest of the game in order to show Nintendo they had the technology that could bring their games to the PC, but Nintendo was not interested, and instead id Software used the technology to make Commander Keen.

It is highly unlikely Nintendo would allow one of their biggest handheld franchises to get a new game specifically for the PC. It’s more likely we could get…

A full Pokémon Generation Adventure Game on Wii U – This is an idea that I’ve seen requested online quite a lot and I felt it important to represent here. People have wanted to see a full-length Pokémon game on their home consoles since the days of the Nintendo 64. Since the Wii U is their dominant platform right now, I’m going to talk about seeing this on the Wii U. Lets face it, not everyone likes to play games while on the go and while today’s handhelds may have some great hardware in them, they’re nowhere near as powerful as the home consoles are, and the handheld screens can’t render resolutions as high as your HDTV can.

With the increased graphical power and resolution, playing these games would be like seeing Pokémon for the first time all over again. You’d practically be seeing the world with fresh eyes. The game may have to be retooled for the switch, but I could imagine being able to explore towns in full 3D from a third person perspective. It would also be great to see all the areas we remember from the earlier games on this new platform. Many people created fan art and 3D models for all kinds of environments in the Pokémon games to show what it could look like on your HD console, and they have looked phenomenal!

You wouldn’t just have the chance to see Pokémon in glorious HD, the Wii U controller would work great as well. Nintendo has been experimenting with dual screen adventure games on consoles for years now. Even back in the GameCube days you could plug a Game Boy Advance into a controller port and keep track of things like your inventory while playing games like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles or Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures. You could use the Wii U controller to pull up your map to help you navigate, manage your inventory, or my favorite option would be to use it as a fully interactive Pokédex! The possibilities are endless on the Wii U!

What are the odds we’ll see it? Less than 10%. The problem is Pokémon games thrived on the fact they were games that could be played on mobile devices. The whole gameplay for the games were developed around mobile use. Because of this, it was easy to trade and battle other trainers from their own mobile devices using a Link Cable or later WiFi. A console experience is totally different than a mobile one. You can’t really bring your console on the go.

On top of that, from a game design perspective, this is one heck of an ambitious idea. In fact it might be too ambitious. Nintendo usually releases at least two versions of a new Pokémon game, each with a different set of Pokémon to find in certain areas, and while that doesn’t work too bad for a game released at a price of $40US, that strategy may not fly for a full priced retail game. But they may need to do that to recoup the cost’s of the game’s development. Even if the development team just adapted all of the currently existing Pokémon and environments to a HD console game, this game could take years to develop and test! Will the Wii U still be around or will we be in the next console cycle by then?

And now, the most likely request…

Pokémon Yellow/Blue/Red on Virtual Console – Sadly, the games that started Pokémon fever are long out of print. The new Nintendo platforms no longer ship with a Game Boy Advance slot, like the original DS had, preventing 3DS players from playing original Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games. Well, those are the platforms the original Pokémon games shipped on! On top of that the original game carts, if you can even find them and get them to work, required a battery backup in order to keep a save in memory. A save not only held all your game progress but also all the Pokémon you spent so long capturing. Well, the batteries on these original game paks have long died with age, and its risky to replace them. Without a working battery, playing the game without being able to save your progress isn’t a lot of fun. Well, none of this is a problem for games released through the Virtual Console.

The Nintendo eShop Virtual Console on the 3DS has been a great opportunity for 3DS owners who can no longer play these classic portable games, You can conveniently purchase and download selected games to your 3DS’s internal memory for a pretty reasonable price of around 3-5 dollars US. Once you have it downloaded, you can play it whenever you want, no need for a game pak or separate battery. All your game data saves will stay on your 3DS’s SD card, and if you plan to upgrade your memory, you can transfer your save data through your PC without much of an issue. The 3DS’s screen is also far superior to that of an original Game Boy, and that can make the old games look better than you ever remembered.

What are the odds we’ll see it? 50-50. This one is really a crap shoot.  I think the reason we haven’t seen this on the VC yet have more to do than just the cost of developing it.  As of this writing, Nintendo hasn’t been able to replicate the function of a Link Cable for Virtual Console Game Boy games.  For example, Tetris cannot make use of the Game Boy version’s extremely fun 2-player mode when playing it on the 3DS.  Since 2-player support through link cable was so essential to the Pokémon’s catch it all philosophy, Nintendo may just decide to wait on releasing these games for the 3DS until they can replicate the function of a Link Cable on the 3DS.

On top of that there may be another reason the original games aren’t being rereleased and that is Nintendo may want to avoid restarting a controversy. The original Pokémon games may not be coming to the 3DS because of the Jinx controversy. I really don’t want to go into it but if you want to know more check out Suede’s review of the Pokémon TV series episode “Holiday Hi-Jinx” for all the details on that. However, this may not be as big of an issue, as I have seen that some of the games featuring the Jinx’s original appearance were slightly altered when they were rereleased on the Virtual Console like Pokémon Snap, so Nintendo could take the option to simply alter the Jinx’s appearance to its current form.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article. This is by no means a list of games I feel Nintendo or The Pokémon Company must produce, just a simple list of games that I have seen requested by fans of the series. This list does not include any Pokémon games that have either been announced already or sequels to Pokémon games that have already been released. Three months ago I would have included a 3DS native Pokémon 6th-generation game on this list, but Nintendo has already announced Pokémon X and Y are exactly that and are coming in October, so there’s no reason to include that. I’m also not going to include a request for more sequels to the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon or Pokémon Ranger series, as one of those has just been released, and its likely more are coming down the road.

Did I include a request you may have? Post a comment with your thoughts!

The Spirit of Metal Gear April 3, 2013

I’ve been playing the games of the Metal Gear series ever since Metal Gear Solid released for the Playstation in 1999. Having grown up on PC action games where your only friend was the biggest weapon you could find in the map, I felt that Metal Gear Solid showed that you could have the polar opposite of what games before it had done and still deliver one of the most immersive cinematic experiences I had ever played.

I still remember the scene that forever grabbed me in the early portion of the game. Snake has found the man he believes to be the DARPA Chief and the player is given the first glimpse into the world Hideo Kojima had created. The player was going to face a nuclear equipped walking death machine which, if used, could mean the end of the world as we knew it. After battles with a M1 Tank, Hind-D Helicopter and one of the world’s greatest snipers, by the time we faced off with the most horrific weapon ever conceived it became clear that the point of the Metal Gear games was never to glorify war, but to demonize it.

I don’t believe you could ever trace back to a time where war was a simple concept, but if we think of the wars of the past I’m sure most people could imagine that it involved soldiers wearing their uniforms and killing their enemy. In a modern world where most games strive for realism above all else, Konami has stood against realism and instead produced some of the coolest stories I’ve ever seen in a video game. But more than that the story of Metal Gear is designed more than just to be cool, but to make the player think. The original Metal Gear Solid focused very heavily on the danger of a modern nuclear war that could still have happened after the fall of the Soviet Union. The game’s end scroll just before the credits detailed just how far behind the world was in dismantling the overabundant supplies of obsolete nuclear weapons left over from the Cold War by the end of the 90s. This was all coming from the same game which featured a Cyborg Ninja being crushed by a Nuclear Equipped Walking Battle Tank!

With Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, the gameplay may have changed but the spirit of Metal Gear is quite intact. Just like the world we live in now, wars are a consistent financial opportunity and mercenaries with no ideology of their own other than the pursuit of a paycheck fight wars on behalf of countries they are not a part of with weapons and technology far superior to what can be obtained by local armies. After the fall of SOP at the end of Metal Gear Solid 4, private military companies needed new technology to stay competitive in the ongoing global instability. Eventually, soldiers received cybernetic upgrades to stay on top of their game. Cyborgs are faster and more resilient to harm than normal humans, making it a attractive option to people who make their living fighting wars. Unlike drones or artificial intelligence, cybernetic troops are still human, and because they’re being used by Private Military Corporations and not the military of any specific country, they’re under the PR radar.

It’s funny how this looks to be the logical evolution of the nanomachine theories that were first tested in Metal Gear Solid, and fully implemented into all soldiers by the end of Metal Gear Solid 4. In fact, Kevin Washington referred to cyborg implants in the game as, “SOP by any other name.” Metal Gear has always tried to be ahead of the curve on what is currenly possible with the technology of our day. Could this be where the military is headed in the future?

Instead of telling another story about nuclear armageddon, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance chose to tell a much more personal story to connect to the main character. The game focuses very strongly on the horror of child soldiers being used as pawns in other people’s wars. We knew this was something that had happened to Raiden when he was first introduced in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and that angle is greatly expanded upon in Rising. Sadly this is something that happens in many third-world nations and the game developers must have done a lot of research on the subject because the game is full of optional codec conversations where the player can hear real information from our world woven into the story, making the tragedy all the more real to the player.

Its more than just entertainment, it makes you think. This is why I liked the Metal Gear Solid series, it serves as a scary reminder of what technology can bring to war when technology isn’t held back. After playing the final version of the game, it seems this spirit is still alive and well in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. I can’t wait to hear more about the next title in the Metal Gear series, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Top Ten Most “Romantic” Video Games March 11, 2013

Now that it’s March, that means that the month of love is over. For some people, that will be a huge relief, either emotionally or financially, for others the time will pass as if nothing changed for them. I never understood the whole media sensationalism about love until I experienced it for myself. Love is a very interesting thing in that it is very difficult to define or describe. Think about it for yourselves, can you define love without just using the word? Personally, I happen to like when something takes a basic concept and turns it completely on its head. Over the years, I’ve played some great games that have taken the romantic subplot common in many books and films and presented it a way that only video games can, and in turn have created some of the most romantic stories I’ve seen in any medium, and were quite entertaining to boot.

What follows is a list that I’ve been working on of the top ten “Romantic” Video Games. I say “Romantic” in quotations because I wanted to choose games that were not about straight up romance or marriage simulators. If I did that, this would be a very boring list. No, by “Romantic” I mean games that by all accounts would not be considered romantic at all, but have a special kind of love story that makes the game all the better.

10. Duke Nukem Forever – I know what you’re thinking, why is this game on the list? Duke Nukem is a womanizing egotist. He’s not in any relationships we’re aware of, and most of the girls that surround him barely have any clothes on. Duke Nukem has retired from his job of constantly saving the world and now runs his own casino on the heart of the Las Vegas strip. Then, the aliens return with the intention to get revenge on the champion who defeated them twelve years earlier, and they will kidnap all the women on the planet attractive enough to be host to their offspring unless Duke Nukem can stop them. The reason why this game has made my list is because when you think about it, the entire plotline of this game revolves around Duke Nukem saving his chicks (the Holsom Twins), and when he fails to save them, he loses it and seeks revenge against the aliens who killed them to ensure the safety of all of our planet’s babes!

9. Brütal Legend – In a world where heavy metal is a weapon, a roadie falls in love with a groupie. Transported to a world beyond time, everything veteran roadie Eddie Riggs knew about road touring can be used as a weapon of war, and he has the power to use it to free an oppressed people from a tyrant. What I liked the most about Brütal Legend was the story. It is more than just about one man overthrowing oppression, that’s been used a lot in video games. At its core, Brütal Legend is a love story. In the very beginning of the game, the hero Eddie meets Ophelia, a warrior who looked a lot like a modern-day rock angel. He’s immediately taken back by her skills and beauty, and she’s impressed by him as well. Halfway through the game, they’re both deceived by the villain and they break up. Later on, we believe she comes back as a villain, changed by what she believed to be his betrayal of their love, and he has to stop what he believes she’s become at any cost.

8. Lollipop Chainsaw – Zombies have invaded San Romero high school. The only person who can save the school is the school’s head cheerleader Juliet Starling, who just so happens to also be part of a family of zombie hunters. While it may have started off as any other simple zombie infestation day, the day took a turn for the worse when Juliet’s boyfriend Nick got bitten trying to protect her. Sadly, he was just about to give her a birthday present and tell her that he loved her. In her grief she did what every teenage girl would do. She cut off his head with her chainsaw and cast a magic incantation so his he would remain alive and unzombified, but now he was just a head. Fixing his head to her skirt, he became the ultimate zombie fighting accessory, and together they fought to end the zombie outbreak and save San Romero High.

7-4: The Metal Gear Solid Series – Yep, all four of them are on this list, and I just couldn’t place any order on them, so you’ll just have to think of the whole series as a group. You may not have noticed it, but practically every one of the four Metal Gear Solid games have some kind of love story in them and each one is unique. The first Metal Gear Solid was a straight up love story during an action game, where a battle hardened veteran falls for a rookie with the strongest spirit he’s ever seen, and in the middle of the game the player makes a decision that determines if she lives or dies. In the second game, we have a new main character and a new perspective on love as he has been in a relationship with someone for a while, and he must set aside his emotions to complete his mission while making sure he doesn’t lose the one he cares for. In the third game, we fall for a femme fatale who helps us through the game, and while she betrays him at the very end of it, you can tell she’s not doing it willingly. Finally in the fourth game, two background characters get the chance for happiness in one of the most romantic scenes I’ve ever seen during an all out firefight. It’s a great series that personally set the bar for me on what made for a good love story in any medium, and I can’t wait to see what else is to come down the road.

3. Catherine – The game follows Vincent Brooks, an everyman in a steady relationship with a girl who wants to take it to the next step, but he doesn’t know if he’s ready to settle down and get married. At the same time he’s met this very attractive woman who is practically everything he’s ever wanted, and who feels exactly the same about relationships that he does. Oh and did I mention that every night he’s being cursed by nightmares where he is constantly climbing endless blocks, running from all the concerns of his life involving the girl who wants to settle down with him, his future child, and immoral demons?

While the game is by all intents a puzzle game, its story is based on the ultimate question we all may face some day, will we settle down or stay independent? The best part is that you decide for yourself how Vincent feels about relationships, and if you make it to the end of the game, you’ll see how your decisions affect the outcome of his life. Its the ultimate puzzle game and life simulation, and whether you’re a romantic at heart or someone who just can’t settle down, your ending could show you everything you want for yourself.

2. Splatterhouse – On the night he planned to ask his girlfriend to marry him, a frail nerd named Rick is attacked by monsters and left for dead. To save his girlfriend, he must put on a cursed mask which promises to save his life and grant him extraordinary powers. But can he save her in time before the coming eclipse? To me, Splatterhouse tried to bring out a lot of the basest of guy fantasies, but at its core, the game was a love story. The Happy Video Game Nerd described the game’s entire plotline in one simple sentence. “Dude, save yo girl!” When the love of his life is in mortal danger, the main character instantly went from a frail, skinny nerd to a superhuman behemoth when he put on the Terror Mask. Rick made that decision at the risk of his own life and possibly his soul just because he loved his girlfriend and would brave all the horrors of Dr. West’s mansion wanted to save her.

1. Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne – A hard-boiled New York detective with a colored past is investigating a high profile murder suspect he has encountered in the past. During his investigation a hit has been put out on both of them and they need to trust each other and work together in order to survive what is coming. The problem is, the more time they spend together, the harder it is for them to resist each other. Will they be able to find out who is coming after them, and will he be able to save her? This is without a doubt one of the best love stories ever told in a video game. In fact, it says it right on the box the game is, “A Film Noir Love Story”. I don’t think a love story has ever been better told in the framework of still images than this game. The best part is, her survival is left ambiguous in the game’s cannon. If you prefer a happy ending to your game don’t worry, there is a way you can get a happy ending in the game, just play it on the highest difficulty.