Tag Archives: gimmgp

Commentary, Console, Food For Thought, News, Posts By Active Authors

Anchoring the Vita

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Screenshot by Flickr User: Debris2008
Screenshot by Flickr User: Debris2008

Earlier last year, one of my co-workers was part-timing at Best Buy as a gaming ambassador.  He had the opportunity to borrow a display unit of the PS Vita and show it off to his friends and family.  I guess the hope was to encourage consumers to pick one up on launch day, or just to create enthusiasm for Sony’s new handheld.  At the time, I was impressed: the processing speed and graphics were stunning, and many of the games available to demo held my interest.  Even with these offerings, I still made no plans to purchase a Vita.  The high cost of the system, combined with the fact that I already owned a 3DS, kept the Vita off of my wish list.

This isn’t to say the Vita did not hold my interest.  I have kept up with the various releases to the handheld, many of which I would love to play.  What I would really prefer is some way to enjoy these games without having to invest in a costly mobile device.  At this year’s Tokyo Game Show, Sony unveiled just such a method.

Dubbed the PS Vita TV, this little set-top box has been turning heads at the Sony booth.  Roughly the size of a deck of cards, this hardware can be connected to a television in order to play Vita games on the big screen.  The PSVTV (an abbreviation of my own device, it’s cool, you can use it) will also be able to play PSOne Classics and other Playstation Network  titles.  In addition to all that gaming goodness, the system will feature Remote Play, so players can stream games from a single PS4 onto other screens in the area.  When you top it all off with Dual Shock 3 controller functionality, video streaming services, and a final price of $100, Sony has made quite an interesting console.

Currently, there are no plans to release the PS Vita TV outside of Asian markets, so I certainly hope the system does well enough to make it over here.  There is so much potential in a low-cost console that can play classic games along with handheld titles, but I think its true power lies in Remote Play.  Since so many games are moving multiplayer options into an online/network space, it would be nice to have a cheaper option to get some local group gaming.  Just think, instead of dropping $400 on a PS4 to play with your friends (not to mention lugging around a huge console), you could invest in a PS Vita TV and piggy-back on someone else’s system.  Saving money and mooching off of friends at the same time, what could be better?

-Chip, Games I Made My Girlfriend Play

Food For Thought, General Commentary, Retro

Honor to the Classics

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Image by Flickr User:n0cturbulous
Image by Flickr User:n0cturbulous

It was rather early in 2008 when Square-Enix announced their plans to re-release Chrono Trigger for the Nintendo DS.  After playing through the fully upgraded visuals and new 3D perspective of Final Fantasy III, I was eager to see what sort of treatment Chrono Trigger would receive.  Would Square-Enix rebuild the game with a 3D engine, or keep the visuals in 2D but re-draw all of the sprites?  The soundtrack certainly deserved to be re-mastered, maybe even with a symphonic performance track.  My head was buzzing with the thoughts of one of my favorite games being brought back and drastically improved.

 Then the first screenshots came out and they were… the same as always.  It seemed that the only changes being lauded by Square-Enix were the inclusion of anime-style cutscenes (which were already made for the PS1 port, and could be watched anytime on Youtube), an extra dungeon or two, and a Pokemon-esque battle arena.  Hoo-freakin-ray.

Needless to say, I gave up on buying this seemingly lackluster port and moved on to other major releases in 2008.  Nearly five years (and one massive sale) later, I decided to pick up Chrono Trigger DS and complete yet another playthrough of a classic RPG.  What I found upon this tiny cartridge was not just another lackluster rom-dump of an old game, but the perfect version of a Super Nintendo classic.

Right from the start of the game, there are two new options that take advantage of the design of the DS.  The first of these is using the touch screen controls to navigate the game menus and commands.  The second gives the option of playing with all of the menus displayed on the lower screen of the handheld, leaving the actual game world on the top screen.  This is huge.  Chrono Trigger is well-known for its distinct art style by Akira Toriyama, and being able to enjoy the game’s visuals without any sort of menu clutter is an excellent upgrade.  All of the memorable battles and gorgeous sprite work were presented like never before, and I was able to appreciate the art from a new perspective.

The story has been expanded to a degree as well.  A fresh translation was completed and included, which provides a more accurate and fleshed-out narrative.  This means that all of the “cafes” from the SNES version have been transformed back into taverns and pubs, and any sort of mature content/dialogue has returned, which certainly gives the cast of characters more depth.  The cutscenes add a bit of flair to the game, and run quite nicely on the DS.  Furthermore, an extra ending was added, which creates stronger ties from the game to its pseudo-sequel, Chrono Cross.  All of this is topped off with an in-game encyclopedia which catalogs and details every enemy, boss, item, and ending as the player encounters each one.

So far, this post must seem like nothing more than a roaring endorsement of Chrono Trigger DS (guilty as charged), but what I am really trying to get across is that this game serves as a template more publishers should follow when re-releasing older titles.  Instead of simply providing players with a fancy emulator to play old games, companies should be piling on special treatment to these classics.  Imagine downloading a game from the Virtual Console or PSN Classics and receiving tons of concept art, developer interviews, or even the original instruction manual for a game.  Planning to release an HD collection of games from the Playstation 2?  Include the original versions, voice actor interviews, bonus games; really the sky’s the limit with this stuff.  It may cost a bit more to add these tidbits to a re-release, but the content is certainly worth it and I am ready for video games to receive the same fanfare and treatment as the film industry.

-Chip, Games I Made My Girlfriend Play

Food For Thought, General Commentary, Posts By Active Authors, Widely Read Posts

Everyone Plays Video Games

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Screenshot by Flickr User: faseextra
Screenshot by Flickr User: faseextra

A strange thing has been happening around my workplace: people are playing video games during their free time. Not just the usual two or three of us who bring our DS to work, but everyone seems to be hunched over their phones and computer screens, clicking or swiping away at little stacks of sweets. That’s right folks, Candy Crush fever is at full pandemic levels in our building, and there is no cure in sight (save for upset bosses).

For those who are unfamiliar with Candy Crush Saga (CCS), allow me to brief you on the game. Available as a mobile or Facebook game, CCS is a match-three puzzle title in which a player must clear certain pieces of candy from the screen in a set number of moves. Combos greater than three and chain-moves will provide the player with special candy, which may be used to clear the board more easily, and failing to destroy the target pieces will result in a game over, and the loss of a coin. This is where the game becomes diabolical.

In a given day, each player is given X coins which translate as chances to complete a level. Once the coins are expended, the only way to gain more chances is through the spending of actual money. Like so many free-to-play games before it, Candy Crush makes its money through the unfortunate souls who spend their hard-earned income to buy more coins, and, in essence, pay to keep playing the game.

This is exactly the sort of scheme that many of us “real gamers” will proudly (and loudly) defame, citing that these so-called-games ruin the medium as a whole. With even one listener, we will ramble about a dystopian future where all video games are money traps. All of these casual games are passing fads that have overstayed their welcome, and we scoff at those who play Angry Birds or Words with Friends when they are waiting in line at an overpriced coffee shop. Don’t these people know that the games that are actually fun and worthwhile only exist on consoles and computers?

At an earlier time, I would have taken up the torch right alongside my brethren and blindly marched on these lost souls, ready to push my gaming preferences on each of them. Then it dawned on me: I am living in a time where nearly everyone plays video games. The advent of mobile games and the emphasis on a casual market have brought so many people into the fold, and that effect continues to this day. I have overheard complete strangers telling stories of playing with their relatives over the iPhone. I have watched kids roam around in Minecraft on a tablet at the airport. I witnessed my own mother, who never touched a controller in her life, toss a virtual bowling ball down the lane, score a strike, and trash talk my brother in the process.

When this realization first hit me, I felt pure revulsion. Here was my hobby, being pulled right out from under me by people who didn’t even seem to care about video games. I spent so much of my life being picked on and looked over for being an “inside kid” who played too many video games to have a proper social life. Suddenly, every department store was selling cheap retro gaming t-shirts and belt buckles, fake geeks were coming out of the woodwork, and crappy mobile games were making millions of dollars. But I would not be fooled, no sir. I had the good sense to know real games from these shoddy facsimiles, so I would stay my snobby course and scoff at these fools who were trying to play pretend at my hobby.

Once I had calmed down (it took a while, mind you) and actually tried out some of these games on my wife’s phone, I came to a harsh conclusion. In spite of all the commercialization and monetization at work in so many of these games, there is fun to be had in their play. Angry Birds is so reminiscent of the simple games of my youth, and Candy Crush Saga (at its core) is a competent match-three puzzle game for the masses. There are several other examples of fun “casual” games, and these sorts of titles exist right alongside what I consider more mainstream examples of video games.

So instead of perpetuating the “casual versus hardcore” games argument, why don’t we take joy in the multitudes who are playing video games all around the world? Candy Crush Saga may not be the game for all of us, but it can be a great first step into the deep well that is puzzle gaming, or just the means to have an actual conversation with an otherwise unknown co-worker. After all, everyone likes Tetris and Mario, right? Just go from there and share your hobby with the world.

-Chip, Games I Made My Girlfriend Play