I’m Batman…no, seriously, I am!

Batman: Arkham Asylum is easily one of the best games of the year and if you haven’t played it then you are missing out on arguably the finest superhero video game of all time. I have to admit I wasn’t a believer at first when I started hearing all the hype, and even when I saw it at E3 this year I still wasn’t that impressed. But after playing the game in its entirety, I was glad to find out how wrong I was.

Part of the experience that really impressed me were the cinematics. Now mind you, I am not one to normally watch movies in a game -- I would rather play than be a spectator. But considering how well these movies were made, how good the 3D models looked and the overall quality of the voiceover work, who wouldn’t be impressed? One beef that I had is that the in-game cinematics were made half-heartedly and were like watching lifeless marionettes. Fortunately, they weren’t that prevalent in the game.

The combat turned out better than I expected. When I was at E3 this year I felt that Batman’s moves weren’t as fluid as they could have been. Granted, I made these comments as a mere over the shoulder spectator and not as a player. Now that I have fully played the game, I want to retract that statement. I believe the combat delivered in this product and the ability to fight multiple enemies at one time, dodge, jump and throw weapons all worked out pretty seamlessly. My only complaint was that the combat occasionally broke down if you had to fight enemies in tight corridors. This was something that didn’t occur often after the beginning of the game however.

Another positive about Batman: A A, is that the game really lets you play as you see fit. You can be heavily combat oriented or you can be completely stealthy. I enjoyed doing both depending on my mood, but I have always liked stealth games and getting to perch up high on a gargoyle ledge and fly down to dispatch an opponent was quite satisfying. Hiding in grates in the floor and taking the enemy by surprise or sneaking up behind them to quietly dispatch them before another enemy confirmed the kill was also quite fun. All of these things along with the array of Batman weaponry truly made the gameplay for me.

The game also has quite a Metroid feel to it, exploring areas for the first time, seeing new areas you couldn’t reach quite yet and then eventually returning to that area of the level once you acquired a new ability. Batman: A A also introduced abilities quite well. You are given a new ability, the game instructs you how to use it immediately and it is continually useful throughout the rest of the game. inFamous did this really well too, but I was disappointed with how Prototype dealt with this very same situation by overwhelming you with unlockable abilities that you never had time to master.

Graphically the game is very nice looking. The interiors of the buildings look significantly better than what you encounter outdoors, though. The vision modes were all quite useful, but I did find that I used the X-Ray mode the most out of all of them. Even though that mode was very useful, I used it so much that I didn’t experience the levels as they were intended to be seen. That is a detracting factor of the mode.

I especially enjoyed the Riddler puzzles where you had to use a vision mode to find the question marks around the levels. Figuring out what angle to view the question marks from in the levels and matching the upper and lower portions of the image were very intelligent design choices. And even though we never really saw the Riddler in the product, all of the audio tapes you found and all of the riddles that were scattered through the level really sealed him as the most enjoyable villain in the game. I was determined throughout playing the game to leave no Riddler stone unturned.

Of course, there were some things that could have been done better. Aside from the Scarecrow portions of the game which were all very well done and quite trippy, like Psycho-Mantis from the Metal Gear games, the mini-bosses in general were a bit too repetitive. Enemies that charge and try to ram you as you dodge their attacks were fun at first but got old after seeing it three to four times. Even the Joker fight at the end utilized this gameplay pattern (with a slight twist).

The Croc fight was probably the worst in the game because the whole experience left you wondering what you were even supposed to be doing. It just wasn’t that clear and ultimately left you confused. The Poison Ivy was one of the better bosses in the game, but even that fight wasn’t that engrossing. Hopefully when a sequel comes out, the boss fight designs will be more inspired and better to play, more along the lines of the Scarecrow sections.

So even though I had a few minor gripes with Batman: A A, overall I was pleasantly surprised by its level of quality in graphics and gameplay. I finally got to play a superhero video game where I became the character. Thanks for delivering one of the best games of the year, Rocksteady. You earned all the praise you are receiving!

It’s The End Of Video Games As We Know It – I Don’t Think So.

So this morning I read and watched the following news articles/videos in gaming news:

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=24208

http://media.digitaltrends.com/players-only/video-games-are-dead-part-1/

After doing so I had a few points I wanted to shout out to the readers.

First off, the game industry isn’t dead, nor will it be any time soon. Are there layoffs? Yes. Are developers closing and shutting their doors? Yes. Has the game industry lost sales over the last few months? Yes. Does that mean that the apocalypse is upon us and that the industry will shatter into the ground? No. To say or imply that it might be is a bit absurd.

What we have here is a recession (in case anyone has been living under a rock for the last year). To think that the game industry is immune to the economic downturn is foolish. What is worth pointing out is that our industry was hit later than most other industries and I expect it to have a shorter nosedive too. Our industry is resilient like the movie industry. If there is anything people want to do right now, it is to be entertained. They want to escape a reality that is disappointing and enter a place that brings them happiness. And there is nothing wrong with that.

This holiday season, the game industry will make a lot of money. Yes, there will be fewer games on the market, but the ones that are released will be strong and profitable. And it is probably a good thing that there will be less competition on the shelves this season, because the games that are coming out cost tons of money to make. Game development costs have risen to all-time highs and this cost will continue to be pushed onto the consumer. You would think in a recession that there would be some give and that we would see more affordable games. Instead we are seeing tons of product shipping with their own unique peripherals and many games will have to fork out the price of a gaming console for one game. Yes, these games have added value. Yes, they will have a plethora of DLC available. And yes, they are selling very well. But is that really good for the average gamer? Most players probably won’t be able to afford these games. And if they go out and spend their hard earned cash on one game, then it will be a long time before they buy another.

Development costs need to be reduced. The industry doesn’t need to spend $20-50 million on one game. In many cases $3-8 million is more than enough. It is very hard to recoup the costs that go into building a game, packaging it and marketing it. If development costs continue to rise, then the buck will be passed on to consumer. If costs come down, then the price of games would fall and the average gamer would be able to play more games a year. Personally, I think that would be better for the gaming industry.

My 2 cents.

How the West was Won (In 8-12 Hours)

If you are looking for a good first person shooter this summer while you wait for Modern Warfare 2 later this year and you happen to enjoy Westerns, then look no further. Go buy yourself a copy of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. I played the game all weekend and I believe it is a game that is worth purchasing.

Overall, Call of Juarez has quite a lot going for it but a few things could have used a few more layers of polish. That would have probably resulted in better reviews.

The graphics are quite good. The game utilizes the Chrome Engine (version 4) by Techland. You can see a video on the following website that pretty much looks like the same scenes visualized in Call of Juarez: http://www.moddb.com/engines/chrome-engine-4. The Chrome Engine definitely demonstrates that it can compete with other technologies on the market. My only comment regarding the graphics, and this has more to do with the cinematics than anything else, is that the lip-syncing and some of the character animations could have been more refined.

The storyline is good but not great and would have benefited from better writing and dialog. The story was also a bit predictable since it seemed to be a mix of plot elements from a number of classic westerns, including the Confederacy (The Outlaw Josey Wales), and a preacher (Pale Rider). There were also hints of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and even traces of Zorro as well.

The same pretty much holds true for the delivery of the voice acting. I really think the voiceover could have been better and that would have made the experience that much more authentic. If I were casting the parts in this game, I would have put Sam Elliot on my ”must have” list; he would have been a great addition as Ray. There are plenty of other qualified actors who have had a role in a Western movie that could have been cast as well, and it probably wouldn’t have blown the budget. Tom Selleck, Kevin Costner, Robert Duvall, Powers Booth, and Antonio Banderas would all be good choices. Of course if you have a huge budget and a lot of luck you could go for the big kahuna, Clint Eastwood. Getting him is not likely, but I had to throw that in to the mix.

I don’t want to spend too much time discussing the controls or weapon upgrades other than to say that they all felt good and I had no real issues with them. The cover mechanics were so light that I could have done without them; I utilized them on occasion to peer around corners or take a few shots, but standing or ducking behind a piece of world geometry worked just as well. The special abilities such as the concentration modes for each character were worth using--they were basically similar to a limited bullet time mechanic. This ability came in handy when facing 6-10 enemies at once so you could just mow them all down with great precision. It definitely got me out of a jam or two.

The one mechanic that I wanted to touch on however was the dueling. I really believe that this could have been better and it would have been a really cool and satisfying addition to the game if it was balanced better. Basically, you just die a lot, so be prepared to put your ‘patience’ hat on for this one. You will easily die anywhere from 5-15 times per duel. Each duel is practically identical to the next, too. The only variation that I noticed was the location of the fight, the character you were fighting and the timing of the bell ring (which was the indicator for when you were supposed to draw your gun). The main problem is that the enemy never misses and it didn’t seem that any enemy was better or worse than any other one that you fought either. It would have been good to see some AI variety with these duels so that you felt like you fought better opponents as you advanced through the game. As it stands, the only way to win is to get the first shot to kill your opponent. Positioning your character is vital to your survival. Be sure that you aren’t too far to the left or the right of the enemy or your shot won’t be on target. One final comment regarding this feature is that more on-screen feedback or controller rumble would have been appreciated. It would have been cool to look at your opponent’s eyes to see if he was nervous or watch his hand as it went for his pistol. These would have been good indicators that your opponent was getting his itchy trigger finger in position to go for the kill. It would also have helped to feel how close your hand was getting to your pistol perhaps with a small amount of rumble, just to designate that you were within a proper radius of grabbing your gun.

The single player game was enjoyable and worth the purchase. The linear missions were fun and challenging. I played the game on Hard and I think it took me about 8-12 hours to beat. I’m not certain of the exact duration with all the dying I did. With first person shooters, I tend to be a run in and shoot everything that moves kind of player, so I think that methodology bit me in the rear more than once. I also enjoyed the small open world portions that contained some side missions within each interlude. I almost wish there had been more of those types of missions sprinkled throughout the entire game instead of being so separate from the main game. By having the open world sections as two separate levels within the main story line, it felt a bit tacked on to the game.

Finally, I jumped into some multiplayer, but not enough to comment on it. But from everything I read about it in the reviews, it seems robust and well received. So to Techland, a job well done. I look forward to the next installment.

Thoughts about inFAMOUS

Sucker Punch Productions has done it again! They have made another great title with solid gameplay, great controls and well written story. The game has just about everything going for it. The open world is large much like a GTA environment. The upgradable powers are worth the investment and the amount of playing time equates to good bang for the buck. Every PS3 owner should buy this game because it is very enjoyable and entertaining.

If you play both paths, good and evil, you would probably get about 20-30 hours out of this title. I played the game on the Hard difficulty setting and was challenged while not being frustrated very often. I only finished the game as the good alignment and still need go back and play through the evil side. I probably won’t get to do this any time soon though because there are other games I want to check out that I recently purchased. I should be able to give it another try sometime later this summer.

I do have a few minor points I want to comment on however…

One of my few complaints with inFAMOUS is that the main character lacks the recognizable and memorable aspects that Sly Cooper possessed. Without looking it up online, I can’t even remember the main character’s name – which happens to be Cole MacGrath. His visual features and design are also a bit forgettable. I am sure that the developers felt that Cole’s jacket would be a unique trait, but it doesn’t really work as well as it could. The gray visuals of the entire city fall into the typical ‘next-gen’ mentality making it look like a lot of other games on the market today. Sly Cooper had a stylized look that really worked for it and made it stand out from the pack. Obviously this game has a serious tone with regards to its story and that is a big difference compared to the Sly Cooper series, but it could still have used a more unique look especially since the 2D/Flash style cut scenes were done so well and had a lot of panache.

There are a few other minor technical issues that gamers might notice as well, like some models that LOD or pop into view when you are traversing the world at a fast pace (i.e. while riding the train or wires that connect to buildings). There are a few surfaces on the facades of some buildings that are difficult to climb because of extruding geometry. There are some collision surface issues where you can actually fall into an object and not get out without reloading your saved game and there was an occasional crash that made me restart as well. Even though these bugs (and probably some others) exist, they don’t detract from the overall experience of the game. It is worth pointing out that these issues exist with many games on the market because you just can’t test every possible scenario that can occur in a game this size. Overall, I found the game to be very solid from a technical aspect.

At any rate, don’t take my word for it. Go out and give it a shot. I don’t think you will be disappointed!

Batman: Arkham Asylum

One of the games I was really looking forward to seeing at E3 this year was the new Batman game Arkham Asylum. The game was practically everywhere on the show floor (i.e. Sony, Eidos, WB).

From what I could tell, the game looked almost complete. The gameplay was focused around a mix of action and stealth mechanics. The game’s visuals (from the level I saw) were pretty desaturated and bland, which was a bit disappointing because I am getting pretty worn out on gray visuals. The combat and combos seemed fluid, but the moves themselves were more reminiscent of slow motion. I would have rather seen the character’s animations move faster and have more snap than feel like Batman was moving through molasses. The other point that bothered me a bit was the camera. It was very poppy during combat and it could get annoying during fight sequences in its current state.

Even though my initial impression left me slightly underwhelmed, I will continue to look for this game when it comes out and decide if I should invest in it after I read some reviews. Like many gamers, I have been waiting for a good game to hit the shelves with this license, but tend to be continuously let down. I guess we shall see.

In the mean time, check out this pic I took of the Collectors’ Edition of the game. Looks like you get a Batarang (which was massive btw) along with a case, a journal and a few other odds and ends. Not sure I will buy it myself, but I thought I would share it with everyone nonetheless.

And below you can see that they also had the Batmobile at the show. Not too shabby.

E3 2009

It has been about a week since I was at E3, so I figured I would upload some pics from my trip. It was good to see E3 back at the LA Convention Center this year; however, it didn’t feel like the E3 of old. The expo felt as if only half of the publishers in the industry had booths and their displays were very minimalistic compared to the over-the-top antics that we had seen in the past. Basically, there were walls, carpet, monitors and game kiosks.

I guess you could say that is all that the show needs to have especially with how the economy is performing this year, but after attending E3 for over a decade I have come accustomed to seeing it shine with more pizzazz.

Hopefully, next year’s show will gain a bit more momentum and have even more product to evaluate. It only took me a half of a day to wander the expo and observe everything there was to see and there were only a handful of products that I would say were really worth checking out. I will post more pictures from the show soon – stay tuned…

Temper's Game Room

This is where I play games and watch movies. In many ways, it is my personal research and development facility.

It is decked out with a Sony Bravia projector, 92” FireHawk projector screen, Genelec speakers (5.1 surround sound), 6 leather incliners and my PS3, Xbox 360 and Wii systems.

It is my man cave, my sanctuary and the only room in the house that I like to think is my own.

First blog post and a brief introduction.

I have dedicated more than a decade of my life to working in the video game industry. And for most of my life, I have played games. It is something I thoroughly enjoy doing and honestly I can’t envision what I would do if it wasn’t this.

A great song and video by Twisted Sister once said, “What do you want to do with your life?”

The answer was, “I wanna rock!”

I had a similar experience (albeit not as cool)…

My mother said something that was close to that when I was just a kid. Unfortunately, I never had a response like, “I wanna make games!” At the time, I didn’t even know it was a possible career choice. Looking back on it now, I guess I should have said something like that guy in the video, but as you can tell from this post, I just ended up doing it with my actions instead of my words.

I look forward to sharing my thoughts on the video games that I play, my experiences as a video game developer and the industry in general.

Welcome to my blog.