Boom! Headshot!!
Atlus Supports the PSPgo
When the go was announced a lot of us worried about possible lack of support for the digital only system. Some of that has been laid to rest with recent developers coming out and supporting the PSPgo. The most recent was Atlus with the announcement of over 6 games to be released on the PS Store. Atlus has released its fair share of titles for the PSP and its great to have them on board to support the go. We can only hope that more companies follow suit and release their old games through the PS Store, that way giving go owners a wider selection of games.
Humor in Video Games
Sometime around the 60’s, movie directors figured out that if you put a little bit of humor in your movie, then it makes the movie slightly more enjoyable. That’s why you have serious dramas like the Departed and the Godfather that have some humor in them, even there is nothing funny about the plot. Now, video game developers have started to catch on. Sure, we had Conker’s Bad Fur Day back in the N64 days, but back then games were either funny or not. Today, video game developers have started putting humor in their games even if they don’t plan on making a “comedy” game. That’s why there are overly-macho characters in Gears of War 2, humorous one-liners in Fallout 3, and DJ Atomica’s lines in Burnout Paradise. Blurring the lines between genre’s is a natural progression in media, because life isn’t separated into genre’s, so why should characters be strictly defined as funny, sad, or psychotically murderous. Actually, that last one makes for a fun game, but that’s beside the point. Video game devs just need to keep mixing comedy, drama, and action and keeping the story relevant and strong throughout the game. If your having trouble with that, just use Uncharted 2 as a guideline.
Quick Reset
This is also a very important feature for puzzle and challenge games. In games that you are likely to fail a lot, you don’t want to have to wait 10 seconds between each try. Look at Cuboid; If you had to wait 5 seconds every time your block fell off the edge, the game would be unplayable. I played the Ratchet & Clank demo, and I wish there was a button specifically assigned to reset the clank puzzles. You can re-record over your past selves as many times as you want, but I know there will be puzzles where I just want to start over from scratch. Saw (the video game) let you reset those gear puzzles with one push of a button, and because of it, those gear puzzles were the best ones. And no, a Rubix cube doesn’t have a quick reset, but not every game is perfect.
Video Game Emotions
I am sure most people will attempt to act strong and say that they have never cried during a video game but I know I have, its hard not to cry during some games. I can name of so many games that I have shed a tear during, and some were more than just one tear. Suikoden III when Lulu is slain by Chris Lightfellow in front of Hugo. Hugo and Lulu were childhood friends and it was a very emotional scene. Final Fantasy X at the end when Tidus begins to disappear in front of Yuna, whose attempt to hug him is in vain as she falls right through him. Valkyria Chronicles when Isara Gunther is shot down by a sniper. These are just a few examples of a how a well told story and depth in the characters can create an attachment on our part to these characters, making us put emotional stock into how things unfold. This is what a great story and experience is suppose to be about. And don’t tell me you didn’t shed a bit of a tear in Final Fantasy VII when Aeris joins the lifestream after being killed by Sephiroth because I know I had to hide my tears.
As always, check us out next week when we talk more on the good and bad of the gaming industry as we see it.
