I get paid to look this good.

We all know that Syndicate has been refused classification in Australia, but any gamers worth their salt could (hypothetically) circumvent those restrictions. It’s not hard to get the game via some type of mail order service like Play Asia (hypothetically).

See all the “hypothetically”s that I’ve inserted there?

If someone were to register a Xbox Live account whilst living overseas, and then not be allowed to change the region settings after moving to Australia (hypothetically), it’s not entirely surprising that that particular someone could access the recent Syndicate multi-player demo.

If that person were to describe that experience in short hand, I’d suspect that he’d probably liken it to a sci-fi themed Left 4 Dead. And he’d probably say that it was a surprisingly enjoyable time (hypothetically). The action was quick and furious, with sufficient avenues to be creative (hacking and neutralising a grenade, then throwing it back at your assailants). Team-work is highly encouraged through heals and revivals. Weapons feel responsive, weighty and powerful.

There’s little indication about the quality of the single-player campaign. But the trailers so far have suggested a highly polished experience. Though the game has little relation to its supposed predecessor, there’s enough to suggest that Syndicate is a good game in its own right.

So if I had to spend my hard earned money somewhere, there’s far worse things than spending a few hours in Syndicate (hypothetically).

Syndicate will be available in most regions on PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Online retails stores (such as Play Asia) has the game advertised at around AU$60.00.

But in this instance, it’s referring to a completely fictional meaning of split-screen gaming.

Dem explosions.

I’m not particularly sure why I made up that meaning just now, but it’s been a strange couple of days. I’m currently holidaying down in Ballarat, Victoria, with some friends from my Starcraft 2 clan. We didn’t get the opportunity to have a big holiday earlier in the year, so we thought, bugger it, let’s just make an occasion of our own.

And that’s exactly what we did: around 15 of us, up to 20 depending on how the next day or so goes, will be congregating in a small area relaxing, playing games on console, computers and just having a few drinks and enjoying each other’s company.

So far the most popular group game has been Halo 3 with split-screen (hence the elongated and completely nonsensical beginnings). Being PC gamers, most of us lacked the faculties to properly, well, aim, although some fared much better than others (especially when their corner of the screen wasn’t blocked by, shall we say, body parts).

I think I understand why split-screen exists now – for moments like these, when mates get together and don’t have multiple consoles to link together. (We do, but we don’t have multiple TVs, so it’s kind of the same thing.)

So that’s what my weekend is going to consist of – just enjoying the company of my friends and some silly games for our fans. (Inside joke.) But what about yourselves – what will you be doing over the next couple of days?

Dedication, ho! You can feel the love this episode, even if our husband & wife duo decided to record in separate rooms. Apparently Jess finds it a little weird when her husband’s voice lags on itself, or something like that. Whatever. Video games made everything better!

What video games, I hear you ask? New and old video games, we say! Tim’s been busy clearing his steam list, but Mass and Jess bring things up to speed with tales of newer 360 experiences. The soul still burns, apparently.

And then there’s our topic – a topical one, for a change. With Double Fine kicking arse and taking names with regard to sourcing funds from its fans, we take a moment to spend a while chatting about… well, exactly that, mostly. There’s also some stuff about funding in general, and at some point Jess makes a poop joke. So, win all around, then.

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You can listen and download the podcast directly (.mp3 file) through the player below, but please also subscribe to the Cast on iTunes! That way, you will automatically download new episodes as soon as they’re live on the site.

0:00:00 – Intro

0:03:11 – KoA: Reckoning, Soul Calibur 5, and L.A. Noire

0:19:58 – Music – Smooth Unatco (by Gario)

0:22:59 – Kickstarter Kickstarter Kickstarter

0:45:02 – Wrap up

Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams (by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc)

Ghost of Ken Lee… wholly abscent

Helpful Links:

Double Fine Has Money Hats

Console Patches Are Expensive

1. I’ve got a baby, and
2. I’m saving money for a new laptop

Both these conditions have put me in a position where I need to be far more discerning about my game purchases, and my expenditure in general. iOS games are valid purchases (because of its general low prices), and free-to-play games have great appeal. Any full-retail console (or PC) game must be exceptional before I can really consider putting my money down.

So... we're just gonna hang out here, or what?

So it’s great luck that 2012 is shaping up to be the year where F2P games don’t automatically garner immediate disdain or dismissal. I’ve made clear my intentions for MechWarrior Online on multiple occasions. And there are a number of other tasty treats coming along too: MS Flight, Ghost Recon Online, Hawken, World of Warplanes, Settlers Online, Firefall.

But I think there’s one within the pile that has got people riled up more than any other, and that is Tribes: Ascend.

I never had an opportunity with the original Tribes games, due to a lack of suitable hardware (a repetitive theme in my gaming history). But I know that there are legions of fans, especially for the second game in that series. I know that people loved the high level of FPS skill required to play the game well, the emphasis on team-work, the scale of the environments, and the crazy antics that players were able to accomplish.

So I’m going to give this game a try (and hopefully my current laptop won’t protest too much). It’s currently in beta, but general opinions have been favourable. Tribes: Ascend seem to be hitting all the right notes for fans, in the ways that Vengeance, and even Instant Action, weren’t able to. I may need some hand holding, but I’m sure I’ll be able to find my way.

Tribes: Ascend is currently in beta (though it’s not hard to get access), but will be free-to-play when it is eventually released this year.

In videogames we are creatures of fate. Our actions are guided, with various degrees of tightness, by the rules that govern what is possible in given situations. You can’t pass the mission before carrying out the required action(s), XP or monetary reward will not flow until you have dutifully carried out your fate as ordained by the creators, the mighty Developers.

Not all games. Some open up into wonderful possibilities, whether through intent or player exploration, but most are tied to a well-worn path of action and reward, do and reveal, move past and progress. Kindoms of Amalur: Reckoning seems unaware of its intrinsic irony, that for a game where the central story – and indeed the entire world mythology – revolves around the idea of immutable fate, it is a product of guided fate itself.

"Um, do you guys still do those shaker fries?"

There’s a moment in BioShock – we’ll assume you’ve played to the end – where it’s revealed that everything you’ve done up to that point has been under a form of mind control. Would you kindly. When I had the fortune of interviewing the game’s creators several years ago, I asked them if that moment was a bit of a wry joke regarding the zombie-like obeisance of game players across the brief history of the medium. It was.

Reckoning has no such self awareness. Although your character is ostensibly some kind of fate-weaving messiah, with NPCs constantly fawning over this amazing, unbelievable skill, there’s no sense of realisation that this is nothing particularly special in videogames. It might be new to these fictional quest repositories, but making a big song and dance about choice – holy smoke, you can (wait for it) help people or ignore them, so powerful is your free will – only serves to make this fictional setting seem condescending. It would have been much more suited if the game truly gave you new and exciting narrative options, the power to cut through a swathe of pre-ordained programming to reach some new emergent precipice. But it doesn’t, and as such the constant spamming of fate, fate, fate can’t help but fall on deaf, non-reactionary ears.

As the smell of cooked dog wafted past, Garthus wondered if he mightn't enjoy a simple life once more

Stepping outside structural complaints, Reckoning is a fascinating product. Brought together as a combination of half-created MMO and a separate Ken Rolston-led RPG, the seams between the two projects have been very well hidden. The MMO side of things (which is reportedly still in production and may well result in an Amalur-themed release) is immediately palpable, both from the quest filled land lakes and the broad-strokes art design. Cross Fable with World of Warcraft and you have a fantasy game that eschews the popular grittiness of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings for something much more aligned with a fairy tale – all sparkling chests and glittering reagents. Reckoning is a Tonka Truck RPG, with chunky door locks and geometric ruins.

The amount of content is as daunting as it is impressive. Massive areas sprawl out of corridor transitions with designs that would not be out of place in a Zelda title. Each new geographical zone brings concordant creatures, lore, alchemical ingredients and sidequests – so many sidequests. Unless you are a completionist, those hanging yellow question marks might be best avoided, as the main quest itself occupies so many hours that Reckoning sits alongside Skyrim as a game in which playing to complete it is almost beside the point.

There is a compelling element to Reckoning, although this often ends up as mini-map fixation rather than any particular connection with the story. Following the gold main quest ring falls into a pattern of travel, ambush, fight, talk, choose the blue option, say goodbye, travel, fight and so on. The world is at times quite beautiful yet nothing ever feels like it is lived in. The small towns you come across are comprised of a handful of shops and homes, where loading transitions transport you to your various repair, crafting and enchanting needs. A few plebs wander about, some with quest exclamations above them, others just there to make you think they’re more than frilly pieces of coding. There’s no interaction beyond engaging in speech or physically assaulting them (for some reason, you can turn off ‘citizen safe mode’ at will). Smashing up the crates in front of the local inn and pocketing the nineteen gold pieces you find won’t elicit any reaction. A hero outside fate or a ghost with free will?

6am beach pilates had been getting more and more serious each session

Nothing is specifically ‘bad’ here, just… disappointing. It is a well made action RPG that is missing the extra weight of originality. The fantasy fiction is full of wonderful, easily forgotten nouns, all pulled effortlessly from R.A. Salvatore’s vast bag of fantasy cliche. Each land has a distinct design that reflects the creatures and beings inhabiting it. Combat is satisfying, especially in terms of animated weight, but the game leans on it too much, opting to pad out missions with repetitive ambushes. The degredation of weapons is a dangerous element that can see you without a decent backup if you lacked the foresight to pack enough repair kits or a second weapon. The dual weapon system goes no further than to allow you to map two weapons to different buttons – there are no combo strings between the two, with each one resetting at the start of its move chain. Still, it’s handy to maintain specific combinations, such as stealthy daggers in your belt or a bow for long range takedowns.

In a handy coincidence, the fate-shifting theme has allowed for a skill tree system that is extremely flexible. For a fee, you can rebuild your character through any of the three main options. From a practical standpoint, this makes perfect sense because of the massive investment that would have been needed for multiple playthroughs. Who in their right mind would play through a forty hour game three times? This way, a player can spend ten hours as a mage and then swap to a might-focused warrior for the next ten. And go back if it doesn’t suit. That it connects to the game’s thematic undercurrent is a fortunate coincedence.

Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning occupies an interesting space between MMO and RPG. With voiced quest givers and a single-player focus, solo adventurers are able to enjoy the benefits of vast areas, creature mobs and bountiful sidequests without the griefing and grinding. At the same time, the vending machine nature of its vapid creatures and the rather dense fiction encourages a ‘blinders on’ approach whereby quest text is skipped and the next goal dutifully carried out. There’s little room for experimentation or even discovery, despite the proliferation of chests, traps and other secret loot caches. In this kingdom, nothing is really waiting to be discovered, only bashed into submission and picked of its alchemical components.

6

Anyway, I brought up this useless little tidbit only because the sound of a piano at an RSL club where I was having dinner with my family – the pianist was playing  ”The Entertainer” – evoked some very strong memories about one of the few games I ever had the chance to play with my father.

Remember when demos were fun?

Virtual Pool really was a fantastic little game for its time. There’s nothing wrong with the newer titles, but it’s one of those franchises that definitely seems to have lost its charm over gamers with age, a bit like Flight Unlimited, Descent and space sims.

(I still love space sims, I’m just making a comment on the broader market. Keep the pitchforks in the closet, please.)

My dad used to frequent the pool halls when he was younger. He still enjoys a trip to the pool hall now, even if leaning over the table for a shot is a lot less comfortable for him at 62 than it was at 22.

I haven’t been playing the original Virtual Pool, mind you, nor have I been playing online matches with my father (although that would be a sweet touch). The reason why I thought of this old chestnut was thanks to a cute little mobile app called Pool Break Pro.

I prefer normal tables, myself, but games on the board-game inspired table can be quite entertaining.

I’ve largely been playing Snooker, but I find any of the traditional games are satisfying as long as you put the mental effort into setting up your next shot. The cheater’s line makes things a little easy, although I think a zero assistance approach to the interface might be a bit too much for smartphones.

Either way, I’ve been enjoying a lovely trip down memory lane this week. Given that I’ll be occupied for the weekend, this is probably all I’ll get to play. But what about yourselves?

Stiff upper lip, now

The year has started to roll, and we’re already seeing the early salvos of big name game releases. And if 2012 will be anything like last year, I’m expecting a lot of quality games, a lot of unexpected surprises and lots of disappointments. As such, I thought I’d put together a list of games that I’m categorising as DFIU: Don’t f*** it up.

1. Mass Effect 3
2. Max Payne 3
3. Tribes: Ascend
4. Planetside 2
5. MechWarrior Online
6. South Park RPG
7. The Last Guardian
8. BioShock Infinite
9. Transformers: Fall of Cybertron
10. Borderlands 2
11. Halo 4

These aren’t necessarily games that’ll be released this year (though most are scheduled to), or the most highly ranked ones. But these are the games that I’m most interested in, and really hope they don’t turn out to be a massive turd.

Come at me, bro!

So when there’s two particularly attractive games in the space of a week, I’m torn. Having to choose is tough as it is, but it’s even harder when the games in question are so radically different. But instead of Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (whose demo I liked quite a bit) I think I’ll probably be going with Soul Calibur 5 this week.

I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of the Soul Calibur series, but only because I’ve never really delved into it. I’ve always appreciated its approach to 3D fighting. And big, honking weapons are always a win in my book.

I think I got the thrust of it...

It probably doesn’t help that I’m a sucker for fighting games. It’s one of the few genres that just really gets under my skin, and I constantly fighting the urge to embarrass myself in every single one. I’ve also gotten myself into something of a recursive loop here. I always think that if I can get into a new release as early as possible, then I could throw myself into it and get to a competitive level. So when I finally realise that it’s not going to happen, I coast along until the next big game.

So whether it’s pig-headed stubbornness born of stupidity, or a fool’s dream… Soul Calibur 5, mark my words. I’m taking you all the way to EVO 2012!

Soul Calibur 5 is available now on PS3 and Xbox 360 for AU$98.00 RRP.

Most gamers are adults now. The boffins at Bond University found a few years ago that the average gamer was 30 years old, with 70 percent of Australians partaking in some form of electronic entertainment.

But this is largely preaching to the choir here. Pixel Hunt readers certainly don’t need to be told about the matured world of gaming.

What I’d like to do this week, however, is turn the coin on its head per se.

Rather than inquiring about what you’ll be playing this weekend, I’d like to know: why exactly do you play games, and what reasons do you have for specifically playing each game?

Wing formation out.

Since we’re opening in reverse this week, I figured I may as well kick off the discussion.

I’m a fan of competitive gaming; in a world where plot-lines and stories fell by the wayside for the better part of a decade, competition allows players to write their own stories, their own histories.

It’s uncanny the conversations and memories I’ve had with some of my friends about completely meaningless, inconsequential games of Counter-Strike we’ve played. But not all of the memories were good; one of them in particular was especially depressing.

The following is an excerpt from a blog I wrote some time ago recounting the ordeal. It’s too long to fully quote here: if you’re interested, follow the link to read more.

A close friend of Diablo wanted to put together a team of Australians to compete at the Brunei Cyber Games being held later that year. And by later that year, he actually meant within a couple of weeks.

Obviously I’d been doing something wrong – and it was about to come to a head.

Because of the short notice, it was difficult to get a team together. This wasn’t helped by the fact that I was fairly bitter. I’d been playing for six years and been screwed around an awful lot, so I was fairly selective in who I wanted to come overseas with me.

I could have asked players that had played for Immunity, Sequential Gaming, XR, fzer0 and so on – in retrospect, they would have been the easiest to get, considering their passports would already be in order. But those players often had little time for me, and I was ill-prepared to reward their lack of respect with a free trip overseas.

We finished second at the tournament, but while the two players I picked meshed well together, I wasn’t a good fit with them. Even more worringly, I didn’t get along with the guy who arranged everything.

Part of the reason why I still put the effort into playing seriously is to try and correct the wrongs that happened that day, to earn one more chance to give a proper account of myself before packing up the mice (hanging up the boots doesn’t seem an appropriate metaphor for gaming) for good.

It’s also more interesting than grinding my life away playing an MMO or wasting tens of hours on a litter of mediocre titles. Mind you, my catch-up list of decent games is already embarrassingly large, so maybe sooner is better than later.

Listeners beware – Tim has been playing a Sonic game that he actually (mostly) likes! In this respect, we may as well have given control of the show to a 12-year-old. Luckily, there is a supporting cast who have showed up in, erm… support.

The cast in question includes Ken, Dylan, and (hopefully) new regular, Matt West. Also, there are a couple of very special appearances by the Ghost of Ken Lee.

What do they talk about, you ask? Well, there’s a bit about that new Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning thing (which probably should be in the title graphic, but, well… 12-year-old), some other games (Sonic!) and then spend the back end trying to make some predictions about what might happen in the coming year in gaming. It’s like a podcast time-capsule that we’ll be digging up when we (presumably) try this again in 2013!

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You can listen and download the podcast directly (.mp3 file) through the player below, but please also subscribe to the Cast on iTunes! That way, you will automatically download new episodes as soon as they’re live on the site.

0:00:00 – Intro

0:02:32 – Cave Story 3D, Shadows of the Damned, and Sonic Generations

0:18:13 – Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning

0:26:16 – Music – Flying Battery Remaster (by mikeblastdude)

0:28:47 – 2012 Predictions

0:46:10 – Wrap up

Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams (by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc)

Matt forced to wear cuffs by… yeaaaaah…

Helpful Links:

Kingdoms of Amalur

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