Musing: The Twelve Games That Will Define 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012 at 1:34PM 
Looking back at the year we departed from just a handful of days ago it’s hard to suggest that 2011 wasn’t a great year for gaming. From shooters to RPGs, from new beginnings to dramatic conclusions, from the return of classics to exciting new universes, there was something for everyone to love. Most of us are trying to get around to playing even half of the games that were released this past quarter, let alone finish such great games as Skyrim and Skyward Sword. And yet, while we still reel from having so much to play from this past Fall we have entered 2012, a year that has an exciting list of new games that will do their best to reduce our productivity to all-time lows.
The following games are in no particular order of popularity or priority but most assuredly deserve your money, if not your attention.
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Hooked Gamers, Musing Musing: Whatever Happened to Dinosaurs?
Saturday, September 17, 2011 at 10:33PM 
Usually when I'm at work and there's a combination of having nothing to do and it being a slow news day I find myself browsing Reddit, a repository for most of the interesting, funny and/or attention-worthy pieces of information you can find on the internet at any given time. Reddit of course has a large gaming-related community and it is where I usually find myself when I log on there. During one especially boring day several months back I, like many other Redditors, discovered a tweet from the Twitter account of Gustav Halling, the lead gameplay designer for Battlefield 3.
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The link, which can be read here, was a screenshot of a 4chan conversation from 2009 shortly after the launch of Modern Warfare 2. In it, an "Activision sales representative" asked the dangerous question of what the /v/ board thought about why Modern Warfare 2's PC version wasn't selling as well as its console brethren. Sure enough, the /v/ board responded in typically hilarious fashion, proclaiming that dinosaurs were the key selling point in their decisions to not purchase the game. The Twitter post itself was referencing EA's E3 2011 press conference wherein they demonstrated the infamous Thunder Run level whose intro depicted a soldier examining his child's dinosaur toy.
The resulting meme, of course, was short lived but offered a fine selection of Photoshop imagery, some of which I've included for your amusement below.
While these pictures easily entertained me and countless others it did sort of gnaw at me. Why exactly have dinosaurs gone, well, extinct in the eyes of every major development studio out there?
Defaulting On Dinos
To being with, let me define exactly what I mean by a dinosaur game. A dinosaur game should, most prominently, be a game about interacting with dinosaurs and not some educational BS title that has you doing point and click excavations of fossils in the scope of a grander mystery. It shouldn't be a game where you are raising them as pets and fitting them with clothing, nor is it a licensed title that uses them as a tool to pass along some kind of joke. No, I'm talking motherfucking DINOSAURS, the kinds of games that have you fighting for your life against creatures that outweigh you by a couple dozen tons and view you as a tasty afternoon snack best served raw. Dinosaurs, beasts that can't be tamed, don't care for social conduct and most certainly don't think that your Tuesday evening dinner plans are something to not interrupt. If you aren't running in fear or desperately emptying the last rounds of your magazine into them in a feeble attempt to put it down then we simply aren't speaking the same language and it is in your best interest that you click the back button now.
With that said, you're probably thinking to yourself "gee, when was the last time I really played a game with dinosaurs in it?" That's a good question my friend. In consideration of AA and AAA development studios and their release schedules over this past generation I think you'll be surprised at the number of games that have the prehistoric creatures in them: 5.
Yes, you read that right. Only 5 major AA/AAA titles fit this description and even then two of them don't necessarily come from known developers while another game, Telltale Games' Jurassic Park, isn't due for release until November. That leaves us with the 2005 Xbox 360 launch title King Kong and the 2008 Turok reboot. Only two major releases in six years from a plethora of several dozen high profile developers to choose from?
What the hell, gaming industry?
During the Playstation and Nintendo 64 console war that we all fondly remember we saw the pinnacle of the dinosaur game. With The Lost World we saw a renewed interest in the gaming genre with a whole slew of tie-ins none more famous than the controversial Trespasser which many gamers continue to play and mod to this day. The almost tactically-timed release of the Dino Crisis franchise (kudos to StrykeBlayde for his coincidentally-timed community article). I loved the DC franchise personally as it both captured the fear that was igniting Resident Evil fans at the time while giving the fan pretty much everything they could ask for from a survival-horror title with dinosaurs. Carnivores, a hunting simulator series for the PC, was wonderful as well as it had you chopping your way through jungles with the goal of adding a prehistoric trophy to your wall provided you don't in up in their stomachs.
It seems that the trouble began following the release of Jurassic Park 3 in 2001 which saw a slew of merchandising tie-in games for the Gameboy Advance and one title lightgun-based arcade title, all of which were, at best, mediocre. The 2003 title Jurassic Park Operation Genesis, a title that took the franchise at its most literal, came out to only modest reviews. The much anticipated Dino Crisis 3, a title that abandoned the Playstation and came to the Xbox, was a disaster of a title that still leaves many with a sour taste in their mouths. Despite this new generation nearly perfecting the design of 3D gaming and allowing players to travel to beautifully crafted worlds to explore, for dinosaurs at least, it seems to have been the beginning of the end, an ending heralded by a name that we can't help but recall with mixed feelings.
During the 8 and 16-bit generations dinosaurs were in what many can consider a renaissance as titles feature them were released regularly and done so in a variety of fashions. It wasn't until the 32-bit generation came along that we saw the greatest dinosaur franchise to come along: Turok. When Iguana Entertainment's Turok Dinosaur Hunter released in 1997 on the Nintendo 64 few could believe that this tale born from a less than popular comic book featuring a dimension-traveling Native American badass could be this good. Its sequel the following year, Seeds of Evil, is still widely cited as one of the most entertaining games of that generation thanks to its impressive graphics and arsenal of weapons, cementing the Cerebral Bore as one of the most beloved weapons even put in a video game. The series saw two more sequels, Rage Wars in 1999 and Shadows of Oblivion in 2000, both of which receiving positive reviews but it seems that, during that two year period, something changed. Perhaps it was their move to my hometown and their renaming to Acclaim Entertainment Austin. Maybe it was when then president Jeff Spangenberg left to found Retro Studios in 1998.
Killing the Dinosaur Hunter
Whatever the case was, it began with next-generation title Turok Evolution in 2002. While the jump to the Xbox was a highly anticipated one what gamers received that year was anything but what people expected of a Turok title. The storyline for the series had been in decline for some time but Evolution's story and singleplayer experience wasn't what people expected from a next-gen Turok title. After Evolution it seemed as if the once prominent franchise was dead as it wasn't until 2005 when we first got wind of the series making a comeback.
Turok, a title without subtitle, was released in 2008 by Propaganda Games. Just like the fact that Propaganda had little to nothing to do with Iguana Entertainment at all so too did Turok have anything to do with the titles released before it. A quintessential reboot of the franchise, Turok ditched the dimension-traveling, Native American badass with awesome weapons storyline in favor of a "more exciting" space marine one that has all the makings of BORING. Halo and countless others over that six year time span had pretty much covered every aspect of the space marine genre of shooters and Turok's tale of a man stranded on a dinosaur planet seeking revenge against his unit's leader that left him to die was neither original nor entertaining. While the brutality the series was known for was present in more ways than one the game's questionable AI, extremely linear level design and the lackluster of arsenal of more traditional weapons told the story of a game that had all but abandoned its origins in everything but name. This wasn't a Turok game nor should it have been. Any potential for a sequel that would do the franchise justice was gone after this title however as the Propaganda development team laid off 70 employees and was eventually shuttered this year after their RPG based on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise was cancelled. Touchstone Games, the current owners of the Turok franchise, has not expressed any interest at all in reviving it.
The dinosaur hunter is dead. Long live Turok.
One Last Hope to Prevent Extinction
With the end of the Turok franchise it seems that there is no franchise or major developer willing to step up and make a game about you're childhood's favorite topic. The Carnivores franchise isn't what it used to be at all and the new Jurassic Park is nothing but a cavalcade of quick-time events with, if they wish to stay true to the canon, no chance at shooting up some velociraptors. Even Capcom, a major Japanese production house that has been milking the hell out of the Resident Evil franchise as of late, doesn't seem willing to man up and do anything their fans want these days, meaning we'll probably get no resolution to what happened at the end of Dino Crisis 2. Are dinosaur games going the way of the World War II shooter?
Not necessarily my friends. While dinosaurs may never see a prominent return to the games we loved there is still hope in the most unlikely of places: the indie gaming scene. For your consideration I've compiled three projects from indie developers that may just be our ticket to reigniting the gaming community's passion for games with giant lizards. Let's take a look.
First up we have Dino D-Day, a title from indie devs 800 North LLC and Digital Ranch. This title was originally conceived as a total conversion mod for the Source engine before the team decided to release it on its own this past April. A multiplayer-based game, Dino D-Day's ludicrous plot is just as awesome as it sounds. Rather than storming the lands of Europe in his initial blitzkrieg Adolf Hitler instead was able to do with the most feared arsenal in the history of man: resurrected dinosaurs. As an Allied player you play as one of six human classes while the Nazis get either three human or three dinosaur choices to choose from including a Raptor, a Dilophosaur or a Desmatosuchus with a 20mm cannon strapped to its back. Yea, you read that right.
The game's development team sounds quite passionate right now so if you're in the mood to do some dino-killing right now head on over to Steam and pick it up for $10. Not convinced? Check out their recent T-rex update that adds the king of the dinosaurs to the game with the Nazi addition of twin MG-42 machine guns mounted on either side of its head.
Next up we have Orion Prelude.
Much like Dino D-Day, Orion Prelude comes from humble beginnings as a mod for the Source engine that took on a life of its own as an Unreal 3 title. This new indie development team, Spiral Game Studios, has been getting a lot of press this year thanks to several partnerships as well as a successful Kickstarter campaign that was held back in February. Orion looks to include single, co-op and multplayer modes with eight vehicles total, a class that includes a jetpack, and playable dinosaurs with optional AI for them. Orion's team seems to have quite a love for this project as they've already established a long background narrative that sets the stage for the game. Looking at the gameplay the best way to describe it is that it is Tribes with dinosaurs. Go ahead, soak that statement up a little bit. Ready? Let's continue.
Orion Prelude is the first in a planned series of titles set to release (hopefully) this year on Steam, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN. Here's the latest footage of the game straight from Gamescom and Pax Prime 2011.
One final entry for your consideration is Primal Carnage and before you ask, no, it has nothing to do with that rather fantastic fighting game of a similar name.
Coming to us from the international team of Luke Warm Media, Primal Carnage is much like the other two titles listed above as it is a multiplayer-focused affair of dinos versus humans. What the other two games don't have however is looks as, of the three, Primal Carnage is goddamn beautiful. From just one look at the game it looks like Crysis with, well, you know. Each side has five classes of varying strengths and weaknesses with the possibility of DLC expansions that include the Spinosaurus as was demonstrated in a tech demo. Of the three though it is also the least well known as Luke Warm has yet to announce gameplay modes or a release date. Either way though Primal Carnage looks fantastic and should be well worth the price when it finally drops on Steam and, hopefully, consoles.
Meanest Six Foot Turkey You Ever Saw
Dinosaurs and video games were once inseparable but sometime within the past decade it seems like the industry decided that modern war games, zombies and high fantasy was far more important an endeavor which is a shame considering the bountiful amount of talent to be had across thousands upon thousands of creative minds. This "Dino Dustbowl" we've been forced to endure is not only frustrating, its down right cruel. As gamers, we deserve the chance to bring shotgun to velociraptor, rocket launcher to Tyrannosaurus Rex, steel-toed boot to Compsognathus!
Go out gamers! Write your congressman and tell them that we need more dinosaurs in video games! Stage protests in front of Valve's headquarters demanding an Allosaurus tear apart a Strider in Half Life 2 Episode Three! Demand compensation from EA for not including the Tyrannosaurus Warfare Pack in the DLC for Battlefield 3! Fight, FIGHT FOR YOUR RIGHTS!
Or at least check out Dino D-Day, Orion Prelude and Primal Carnage. They look great and are probably the only games we have a chance of shooting giant lizards in anytime soon.
Musing: A Modest Proposal About DRM
Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 7:54PM 
In 1729 an Irish writer by the name of Jonathan Swift published a satirical essay anonymously about the growing problem of poverty-stricken children in Ireland and how they could be put to use in such a way that is beneficial to society at large. As anyone who attended high school English classes may remember the essay was a commentary on the plight of the Irish poor and the British policies concerning them that all but prevented them from reaching a higher standing in life. What readers of the essay do remember however is its proposition: the selling and cannibalization of impoverished Irish children by the wealthy.
While Swift’s essay about the consumption of (potentially delicious) children was designed to draw reactions of disgust and provoke thought amongst his audience Swift’s approach to it was logically-driven and played the much needed part of a devil’s advocate. In a similar manner to the Irish living conditions in the 18th century it seems that the gaming industry is, from a developer and publisher perspective, suffering from a funding problem thanks to pirating and the sale of used games. What can be done about this? Not much currently but with a little industry-wide cooperation and perhaps lending an ear to this modest proposal we could find a way to solve these issues.
Be forewarned readers as I am about to play devil’s advocate and you’re not going to like what is to be said below.
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A Boatload of Problems
The internet is a vast and widely used tool for which information can be stored, tracked, and shared between billions of people across the world. Unfortunately though, given its open nature, it is prone to being used for illicit actions such as pirating. Ten years ago the big problem with pirating was in the music industry thanks to peer-to-peer sharing services like Napster, Kazaa, and Limewire. Go ahead, try and lie to me and say you didn’t illegally download or share a bunch of songs back then. See? You couldn’t do it because pretty much everyone who had access to a dial-up connection wanted to get their “fair” load of hundreds of songs for free without having to purchase “bulky” CDs. The RIAA did all it pretty much could do but given that it is hard to track down the people actually responsible for distributing the music it couldn’t do much short of suing the most elicit offenders and placing near-draconian software on the discs to prevent sharing on the albums. We all know how that worked out.
Equally as troublesome today we see digital buccaneers trolling the internet to torrent video games but whereas people ten years ago were sharing $10-15 albums of maybe a dozen songs a piece, making for an hour or so of listening time, today they are instead downloading $50-60 video games which can be made up of hundreds of hours of entertainment. While I hate to say it the music recording industry, which has been going strong for well over a century, is something that is used by pretty much everyone on the planet whereas the video game industry has only been around for a few decades and still has a growing audience with only roughly 500 million gamers worldwide. That may seem like a lot of other players out there but, mathematically, when your audience is only 13% of the overall population, developers have a hard enough time finding people to buy their products given that gamers are further subdivided by such things as genres, consoles, purchasing power, and online connectivity. They don’t need pirates any less than the recording industry does but it is even harder for our game-bearing developers and publishers to continue to create content when they can’t actually make a return on their investment.
So why is it that developers spend years and thousands of man hours advancing a creative vision from paper concept to full release, sacrificing time, energy, and even loved ones for the sake of a product that is meant to bring people enjoyment when a large portion of their audience simply download an stolen version of their product? Does it seem fair to you that the effort of thousands of man-hours do not return a monetary value, regardless of the quality of the product? It is a shame to see people unwilling to reward a developer or publisher for the hard work they put into a title regardless of the reasons behind their actions.
Now I understand why some people pirate and the most commonly used excuse seems to be that they’d actually purchase games had they been able to afford them. That is understandable; after all, video games are probably one of the most expensive hobbies to have. Considering that it requires a console, controllers, a decent audio/video setup and, most importantly, the games themselves, the average gamer with a high definition system can look to be spending hundreds of dollars each year. Given the state of the recovering global economy you can probably only afford to get a handful of games a year and you don’t want to miss out on those other great experiences your friends are raving about. I am probably in one of the top 10% of gamers out there that has the adequate purchasing power to experience most of the great games that come out across the various platforms and I’m very appreciative of this fact. However, I say to you, digital bandit, there are plenty of alternatives to pirating due to financial strains, the most prevalent of which are renting and waiting for the price to go down.
The other main issue pirates always seem to thrown in front of them in the face of criticism is the age old argument of not wanting to be burned by purchasing a bad game. I could cite a dozen reasons for which you can prevent such a thing from occurring especially in an age in which information can be transmitted and received faster than any other time in history. The answer is clear: don’t buy it on day one and listen to what your peers (and critics) have to say about it. Chances are that if it walks, talks, and looks like a duck it probably is so why on Earth would you use such an excuse when you are downloading great games like Call of Duty Black Ops, Super Mario Galaxy 2, and Dante’s Inferno? These excellent titles also earned the titles of being the most pirated titles on the PC, Wii, and Xbox 360 respectively in 2010 according to TorrentFreak.com so your use of being afraid of being burned by a bad game just went out the window.
I could cite dozens of other reasons for pirating video games but I don’t have the time, effort, or necessary column space to go down the checklist and say that what you are doing is wrong and why. Suffice it to say that if you feel that your money isn’t worth investing in the existence of a development studio and the hundreds of employees therein whose goal at the end of the day is to entertain you then you probably don’t deserve to play what they created. What you’re doing is illegal and isn’t helping anyone at all. Stop it.
Jim Sterling of Destructoid recently released a new episode of his editorial video series “The Jimquisition” and it strong sums up my feelings about piracy in general so I’ve included it below (thanks Jim!).
Sometimes Overkill is Necessary
So how does one go about solving two of the biggest problems in the gaming industry? The answer lies in a process that PC gamers have been all too familiar with: Digital Rights Management. DRM is one the more controversial pieces of anti-piracy tools and has been implemented in a strong amount of PC games over the past ten years. But the true potential of DRM can’t be realized however simply because of the platform in which it is used: the PC. But what if you could find a way to implement it on a console?
The console space has always been considered a region in which it isn’t proper to utilize DRM because, among other things, it is perceived as such a proprietary field that it isn’t necessary to use it. Yet, as we are well aware, thousands of players have been banned over the years for pirating games on all the major consoles. For a recent example you can look to the Call of Duty Black Ops mass banning on the Playstation 3 thanks to its 3.56 firmware update. If this isn’t a great example of why we need a modern reinvention of DRM for gaming I can’t think of a better one.
So with this in mind I think it is about time that the Entertainment Consumers Association (ECA) and the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) along with the major software and hardware manufacturers should band together to create a new version of DRM to be utilized in the console space. Such a measure is certainly possible given the nature of the problem at hand and, while the current technology available wouldn’t support it properly, the time is right to consider its creation given that we are at the point to where hardware manufacturers are preparing to begin design work on the next generation of consoles. But how should such a creation work?
I think that a next generation of DRM can be built upon what has already been tested and tried on the PC. Utilizing a serial code system similar to what is used in most physical copies of PC games nowadays the collective might of the console gaming section of the industry could actually create an easily updateable, simple and user-friendly system. After all, the foundations are there; all you need to do is to start laying the bricks and mortar. Such a new DRM system should be composed of three main components: a serial number system, a user-friendly confirmation system, and, most importantly, a checks-and-balances system to make sure it all is maintained.
The serial code system is the easiest place to start from. An ideal creation would be one that can allow for a theoretical maximum of several hundred quadrillion or even quintillion unique combinations per system that can accommodate both physical and digital software purchases. Inspiration can be taken from something that’s actually quite common: bank routing numbers. Take the American routing number system for example. Composed of nine digits, the first two digits identify the regional federal bank in which a check is processed, the next two corresponding to the processing center and state in which it comes from, and so on. Similarly, one can make an alphanumeric serial code composed of, say, thirty digits with certain digits within the code identifying the developer, the publisher, the type of software it is (physical or digital), the platform in which it will be played on, and the region in which this version of the software is published (I’m a strong advocate of region-free gaming but an identifier would help in anti-piracy cases). The rest of the code would conform to a unique code tied to that disc only.
A Simple Process
Here’s how it would work in an ideal scenario. Joe Blow gamer decides to go pick up a copy of Mega Shooter Duty 7 and heads on into his local retail store. After selecting the game he takes it up to the counter and begins the standard transaction. During the transaction an automated process would begin at the press of a button as soon as the customer has paid for the title. As the receipt gets ready to print out the cash register’s system would dial into a proprietary server belonging to the developer or publisher of the game and tells it that the disc with that a certain serial number has been purchased and is awaiting activation upon the console it would be primarily played on.
Upon arriving home Joe puts the game into his Playstation 4/Xbox 3/Wii HD or whatever is on the market at the time and connects the system to the internet. As the game is activating for the first time (whether or not there is a required installation to the system’s hard drive) the system would identify the serial number contained on the disc and connect to a server belonging to Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo. This one would contain both the user’s account information along with the console’s ID number and would record the disc’s serial number. Based on the key identifiers in the code it would dial into the developer or publisher’s server that the retailer from whom the game was purchased from and it would acknowledge that it is both a legitimate copy of the game and would send back to the game console’s server a unique primary response code along with five other codes that would allow for use of the game on another console (guest codes if you will). At this point a popup will appear on screen alerting the player that this is the first time the disc has been used and will ask him/her whether he/she would like to mark this console as the primary console in which it will be played on. Should the answer be yes the primary code would be recorded into the user’s account information and, along with the serial number and the console’s ID, the game would thereby be permanently connected with the console the player is using and would associate it as the main console in which it will be played upon. Should the player say no to this it would instead do only assign the guest to that console. This process would occur only once and the system would reconfirm the serial number every time the player starts the game much the same way as many PC games do. This confirmation process could also take less than ten seconds to accomplish and could be easily hidden behind a loading screen or perhaps a logo display.
Now let us suppose that the gamer in question doesn’t have internet access at their house or place of residence. As the gamer arrives home and unwraps his/her purchase, savoring the sweet smell of new plastic in the process, he/she would boot up the game as per normal. However, given that the system doesn’t have internet access a message pops up saying as much and, while containing the game’s serial number, informs the gamer that they have 24 hours to activate it on the console’s servers. From there the gamer can continue on and play through as they normally would while the console keeps track of the time. Should the gamer not register the game within that amount of time the console would deny the gamer the ability to play the game on that console.
In order to complete the registration without connecting the console to the internet the player would either have to log in to the console maker’s website or actually call them over the phone and, after going through the process of confirming their account information, would record both the serial code and the primary response code (obtained from the developer/publisher’s server) to his/her information. The response code would then be given to the player who would, from the dashboard of the console, enter the system’s settings, identify the permanent memory file of the game and enter it into it. From there the player can start up the game without hassle.
Friends and More Friends
There is always the scenario however that the player would want to bring the game over to a friend’s place to show it off. This is easily solved in almost the same manner as the fist situation. This time however the console maker’s server would recognize that the serial number is already in use on another system. Should this case occur the server would assign one of the five other response codes the owner originally obtained to the guest player’s console and their information on the platform maker’s server. This event would be recorded into the owner’s information as well and would identify the guest console by the last four digits of its ID number and the guest’s login name. For security reasons the owner of that copy of the game would be asked to login to confirm this action is desired, lest the game having been stolen. Should the friend not have an internet connection the owner of the game would be forced to retrieve one of the guest codes from their information online or over the phone and enter it into the memory file for the game in the console’s system settings.
In the unlikely scenario that the player decides that he/she wants to share the game with more than five people a bit of commercial ingenuity can be utilized. Logging into the developer/publisher’s server the guest player would be informed that the main player has exceeded the five guest response codes they were allotted. Should they still desire to play the game on that particular console the owner of that copy of the game would be asked to login and purchase another guest code for, say, $5-10, this money going directly to them instead of a retailer or the console maker’s. Given that only an insignificantly small portion of the gaming community would end up doing this a public response about this would probably be minimal. In the event that the owner is unwilling to purchase another game code he/she could simply log onto their console maker’s website, access their account information, and simply deactivate one of the response codes but I mean come on, who shares games with more than five friends? Isn’t the small sacrifice of having only six game consoles to play it on before having to spend more money on it a fair trade off for preventing the game from becoming an illegally pirated copy?
Need help trying to sift through that process? Check out this handy flowchart.
Rented and Used Games
The process I detailed above is designed to make a rather complex problem a bit more easy to understand and, in the end, help combat it. While it does answer the question of how one can control piracy on the console side of the industry the question remains as to how one would handle rental services and the major issue of used game sales. For those my friend the solutions are actually quite straightforward as well.
Rental services are still a big part of the gaming industry today and while many of the previously venerable institutions like Blockbuster have gone the way of the dinosaur new services like Gamefly and, most recently, Red Box, have taken the video game rental market by storm. Providing good service for low prices in a timely manner one could play a game for a month for the same price as playing a game rented from a brick-and-mortar store for five days and not having to worry about annoying late fees. Given the nature of the proposed DRM system one would think it nigh impossible to utilize by these types of services. The solution however is actually quite simple: instead of just limiting serial numbers associated with discs to a certain amount of response codes to utilize these discs would have an unlimited amount of guest codes. All one would have to do is simply include a slip of paper with the disc when it is shipped out that includes the necessary login information (which could easily be matched to that of your login information for that service) and the necessary response code. Should someone want to purchase the game from the renter the service would only have to send the primary response code: it’s that easy!
The used games market is something of a strong divide between consumers and the content providers. Gamers love the ability to purchase games for lower prices at almost no sacrifice to gameplay quality while developers and publishers hate them because they do not receive any of the money spent on the title. Unfortunately there seems to be no way for content providers to force places like Gamestop from selling used games or forcing them to pay a portion of the sales fee because they are, at least in the United States, legally considered to be a pawn shop. With a little creative usage of this system however a developer or publisher could easily get back at least some of the money that’d come from the sale.
Let’s suppose again that Joe Blow has decided to sell his copy of Mega Shooter Duty 7 in favor of the upcoming and highly-anticipated Mega Shooter Duty 8: Personal Edition. Should he want to sell the game to an individual and not a retail store he would need to access his account information, select the serial number and primary response code for the game and have them transferred to the account of the intended buyer. In doing so it would deactivate the other response codes associated with that serial key, thereby preventing anyone associated with Joe from playing it and allowing the new owner to disseminate them as he/she sees fit. This process wouldn’t affect the save file for the game but it would prevent Joe from being able to play that particular disc unless he got the game back and reinstalled it.
The process would be even easier however should Joe decide to sell it to a place like Gamestop. Similar to the process of the initial sale a signal would be sent to the developer or publisher’s server that would tell it that the disc with that particular serial number is about to transfer ownership to the store. With that out of the way Joe could easily continue his transaction and purchase his next big game. Either way however developers and publishers can take advantage of this transfer of ownership by charging a transfer fee which, while not enough to recoup the cost of a normal used game sale, it does put some money back into their wallets. This transfer fee can also be applied during or possibly after the game is resold to another customer.
Doing the Right Thing
This entire system may seem to be scary at first and overtly limiting but if you think about it this is far from the case. DRM is something that gamers are going to have to get used to one day and while various experiments have been applied on the PC such as SecuROM and while these have met with limited success at best their attempts to prevent piracy have ended up infuriating gamers to the point of actually not purchasing those titles. This system, in my opinion, would allow content providers to control the use of their product in a realistic manner that isn’t limiting to the player.
At the end of the day though this DRM system isn’t about making sure that people don’t pirate and play their games legitimately so much as it is about getting more money into content provider’s hands. $60 may not seem like much of a loss when compared to that of the overall profits from a game but the fact of the matter is that when thousands upon thousands of people are doing this at a time you’re looking at millions of dollars being lost, money that could be put forward to their next project, extra game content and even perhaps keeping costs from ballooning from what they are right now. Five years from now it isn’t hard to imagine that video games will again rise in price to perhaps $70 but a system like this could help delay such an event because more money would get back to the creators. People’s livelihoods are at stake and when you pirate you’re denying companies the money they worked hard to earn and it could cost their employees their jobs. Do you really want to be responsible for the termination of a game creator who could be responsible for the next great game like Call of Duty, Halo, or even Zelda?
Stop cheating the system people. Pay for what you play and we can hopefully avoid a future like this. Otherwise, well, I hope you’re caught up on your Orwellian novels…
Musing Musing: Great Game Ideas That Will (Probably) Never Happen
Tuesday, December 7, 2010 at 9:08PM 
Let’s face facts people: when it comes to many original games on the market you have found yourself wishing that they would get a sequel, incorporate aspects of another title, or any other of thousands of ideas that you feel would end up (theoretically at least) making a better product out of what you had just played. I’m no stranger to this and before I discovered that writing was my calling in life I had desires to join the gaming industry in a more focused capacity as a designer or programmer. Two years into it though I realized something: a) I’m not good at drawing and b) I just can’t wrap my head around proper C++ code. That didn’t stop me from dreaming up ideas for games that I felt would be well received if done properly and so over the years I’ve kept most of them bottled up within me while simultaneously asking myself rhetorical questions as to why X game idea hasn’t been done.
Though I have no doubt that the design ideas presented to you below will most likely never be done I still feel that they need to be discussed. So without further ado I give you Hooked Gamers’ list of game concepts that will (probably) never happen.
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G.I. Joe Returns
In my opinion the most underrated NES game of all time, Taxan's G.I. Joe game was one of my favorite games growing up. If you get the chance you MUST try it.
The Concept: Classic G.I. Joe franchise from the 1980s revitalized using modern concepts and made into a first person shooter using DICE’s Frostbite engine.
The Pitch: G.I. Joe and video games is pretty much the chocolate and peanut butter concoction the industry’s confectioners never really took advantage of. Only a handful of titles were ever produced based on the series and even then the license jumped from developer and publisher to the next in the early 90s before disappearing entirely for over a decade. Last year the franchise was revived when Hasbro and Paramount Pictures got together and released a live action film that, to be frank, was one of the worst of 2009. As a G.I. Joe fan since childhood I was disgusted by both the direction of the remake, the extremely weak plot, downright dumb film design (seriously, ice FLOATS in water), and a disastrous utilization of a collection great character archetypes especially considering a decent set of actors were taken on to the film! What was even worse than the move though was the concept for the game, a license tie-in that we here at Hooked Gamers actually refused to even bother reviewing. It was even more troubling that the game’s development was relegated by EA to Double Helix Games, a studio whose singular previous endeavor was Silent Hill: Homecoming.
So why hasn’t G.I. Joe been given the proper video game treatment? The question still weighs on my mind, especially so given that Hasbro has seen tremendous success over the past few years with the revitalization of the Transformers franchise. The 90s iterations varied from an excellent Contra-esque sidescrolling shooter to a coin-op 2.5D arcade game. What is clear though is that the formula for creating a proper G.I. Joe game wasn’t ready for consoles or arcades at the time and was only beginning to see its potential on the PC: the first person shooter. And what better way for EA to compliment a franchise with such potential than to team them up with one of the most beloved shooter developers out there than DICE?
Just replace that Abrams with a Cobra HISS tank and the bullets with red and blue lasers and you're good to go.
Immediately it is apparent that the developers of the Battlefield series are the proper team to work on such a beloved franchise given their pedigree for human and vehicular combat. With them hard at work on Battlefield 3 and a strong gameplay engine almost perfected at this point it is hard to not ask why DICE would be a good choice for developing a G.I. Joe game. With DICE still exploring what they can do with a singleplayer experience the Joe series would be an especially good basis for source material given an almost excessively large meta-universe of stories to work with from both the cartoons as well as the comics, not to mention the humungous cast of characters present throughout it. Singleplayer stories can be developed off of any number of plots from the cartoons alone, the M.A.S.S. Device and Weather Dominator miniseries in particular being more than enough to encourage full on DLC expansions to such a game. The only really good product to come out of last year’s Joe debacle, G.I. Joe Resolute, would provide an excellent basis for updating the franchise to modern standards and giving the series a proper video game.
With almost every single shooter title on the market now nigh compelled to create a multiplayer experience for their game G.I. Joe serves the basis for an excellent competitive team-based experience. Utilizing the Battlefield gameplay formula alone would more than serve to being fitting to the series but it is in the existing foundation of the characters and their unique abilities in which a Call of Duty perk system could be enabled. For example your base character could be a standard Joe or Cobra soldier and as you progressively rank up you gain the ability to access different core characters like Duke, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, or Destro who would each have unique abilities. For example Scarlet could use her multi-purpose crossbow to reach hard-to-access areas while Zartan could utilize his disguise prowess to have enhanced camouflage or even appear as a member of the Joe team itself. This would provide for a unique way of utilizing the established perk system that has seen so much success in Call of Duty and, with a cast of dozens of characters, the possibilities are near endless.
In summation the G.I. Joe experience is a solid franchise that is just waiting for a proper video game experience and the proper environment for getting the maximum potential out of such a title has existed for several years now. What’s not to love in reviving a classic franchise like this one, this time properly?
Chances of this happening: Slim. Many X factors contribute to this rating, the most predominant one being the extent to which the G.I. Joe license remains in EA’s hands. While EA produced last year’s abysmal title it wasn’t clear in any of the press releases whether the license granted by Hasbro was for just that particular title or if it was for a certain amount of time. Given that another G.I. Joe film is in production right now there’s no doubt in my mind that a game is being developed. However, given that this past year’s surprisingly good Transformers title War for Cybertron was produced by Activision I’m not betting the house on an EA published title.
Seriously, come on EA, see reason and give this series the game it truly deserves! Cobra Commander demands it!
Seriously EA, get on it.
Pokémon the MMO
The Concept: Pokémon takes their role-playing gameplay concept to the next logical playspace: online.
The Pitch: Nintendo’s go-to cash cow for the past decade and a half has done nothing but succeed title after title with almost universal acclaim for every core title. Sure, offshoot titles, particularly the Nintendo 64 titles Pokémon Snap and Hey You, Pikachu, have suffered critical outcry for being more of a tribute to the franchise rather than actual games to play, let alone enjoy. So why, in the almost fifteen years since the series came onto the gaming scene, hasn’t a core title in the franchise stepped out of the handheld space for a proper console experience?
This is only one section of the overall Pokemon world. This series has the potential to have more to explore than two Azeroths combined and it STILL isn't an MMO?!
I will admit that, as a child, this author was a bit of a Pokémon addict but, being a child of the 90s, who wasn’t? I grew out of the series after the first generation of titles for it but I don’t think I could have ever conceived of how much of an impact the Pokémon series would have on the gaming scene. Though I didn’t have all that many friends as a kid who had a Gameboy the occasional kid in school like me who had Red, Blue, or Yellow editions of the game were a blast to play against and, though I lost more matches than one, I couldn’t help but continue on leveling up my creatures in preparation for the next battle. In the years following I’ve always wondered why Pokémon had always been formulated as a 1v1 experience but I always chocked it up to hardware limitations but in a day and age in which millions of people can play and compete against one another in an online space called Azeroth that is no longer an excuse to make.
Think about it! With a user install base of, conservatively speaking, bajillions, it is hard to understand why, in all the years that Nintendo has been adding on to the franchise, they have never sought to take the natural role playing and competitive gameplay elements into the online space. There have already been unofficial Pokémon games such as Pokénet, a successful fan-developed MMO before it received a cease-and-desist letter from Nintendo back in March of this year.
Massively Multiplayer Online games start out just the same way as any core Pokémon title does: you create a character, select your class (or in this case, Pokémon) and head out into the world. Along the way you explore the world, do battle with monsters in the environment and level up your character with experience points. You even do battle with other NPCs for cash and items; the comparison is uncanny!
The possibilities of a Pokémon MMO are almost limitless in scope. In the fifteen years since the series came about an entire lore has been created with new lands and regions being added on an almost constant basis leaving almost no room for the argument that there isn’t enough source material to support such an endeavor. There are now, at the count of the latest title in the series, 649 Pokémon to collect and do battle with which is a staggering number. The rate at which the series has expanded through its games, anime, manga, and even trading cards it is hard to not find a way to combine them in some way into a full multiplayer experience.
And that's just the first 493 of those suckers! I imagine by 2012 there will be almost 1,000..
Many common gameplay elements present in online multiplayer games and MMOs could really contribute to the overall Pokémon formula and transform it into an outstanding online experience. Other than the NPCs present in the core titles Pokémon games have always felt quite desolate and lifeless when it comes to human characters. Incorporating thousands of players into the experience has the potential to create a truly lush world to build upon and allows for the possibility of entire clans (or leagues as it would be in this case) to bring players together in ways that only conventions and online forums could do before. Imagine large-scale battles between dozens of trainers taking place in a persistent 3D space, an act that could only be dreamt of by players and only ever teased in the remarkably terrible films. Throw in the ability to customize your creatures’ appearances, actions, and commands and you’ve got the grounds for which to actually steal a portion of WoW’s population away from Blizzard. What’s not to love?
Chances of this happening: next to none, at least for this console generation. Nintendo has done their best to keep core Pokémon titles simple and there’s no sign of them changing their approach anytime soon. Nintendo’s attempts to enter the online space have, as I’ve said many times in the past, been abysmal in execution, bordering on half-assed. As long as the Friends Code system is still in place there is almost no room for innovation on the Wii’s online space outside of games that completely abandon the system like Call of Duty Black Ops and as such, since there is no core Nintendo title that has not used the Friend Code system, a Pokémon MMO is nigh impossible. Nintendo has never even expressed interest in developing titles outside of their own hardware so a PC-oriented project is almost out of the question. Kotaku even addressed this with Pokemon franchise director Junichi Masuda last year who was quoted as saying:
"At this point, we're not thinking of going in that direction… Trading is a core concept of Pokémon. So when you're trading, you meet with a friend and decide which one you want and which one they want. I would like to emphasize real-world communication. You don't see each other online."
Perhaps five years from now we could see something like this approach a Wii 2 with an enhanced online service that hopefully comes close to Xbox Live 1.0 but I’m not keeping my fingers crossed. Nintendo, admit it, you want to show us your Pokemans; just get it over with already!
Musing Steal This Pitch: Bioshock 3
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 9:14PM 
Over the course of this generation one of the more interesting new intellectual properties has been a spiritual successor to a long dead one: Bioshock. Produced in part from the mind of Ken Levine, a senior designer that helped shape famous titles like Thief, Freedom Force, and series namesake System Shock 2, him and his team at 2k Boston, now known as Irrational Games, made one of the most iconic series in 4gaming today. Both Bioshock titles have been a commercial and critical success despite the sequel being developed by another studio.
Despite the continued success however, 2k as a whole is looking to branch out in new directions rather than continuing to milk the genetically-enhanced cash cow they have on their hands. Irrational Games right now is working on a new, unannounced project that is reported to be unrelated to Bioshock. 2k Marin, the lead development studio for Bioshock 2 is working on XCOM, a remake of the classic sci-fi franchise that’s beloved by millions. It seems that despite rumblings of a reboot of the franchise rather than a continuation, for all intents and purposes the Bioshock franchise as we know and love it may never see a rise to the surface ever again. And that my friend is a terrible shame.
This is not to say that I’m completely against 2k branching out, nor IP creation and innovation as a whole. Far from it; you’ll often hear me complaining about the hundreds of games out there than need a modern refresh or the thousands of concepts indie game developers are exploring right now that deserve the public’s (and publishers’) attention. Rather I feel that sometimes, when you know you have something good on your hands it is wise to instead stick to your guns and innovate off of what you’ve already created.
For this reason I feel that 2k is missing out on a grand opportunity with the franchise and if the series is indeed going away for a time in order to make room for XCOM and whatever it is Irrational is working on then I feel that it might be wise to actually conclude the series rather than put it on hiatus. Though I am excited about the possibilities of XCOM I feel that I’d rather play another Bioshock than play Marin’s latest effort.
When I say ‘conclude’ I mean really conclude the series. Let it go out on a high note that ends the Rapture story and ensure that we’ll never return to the destroyed city beneath the waves. Ensure that Rapture’s last breath is made in a third game: Bioshock 3.
Please note that the following includes spoilers to the storyline of Bioshock 1 and 2. If you have not at least played the first title I highly encourage you to do so in order to fully appreciate what is below. This also does not reflect the events of the Bioshock 2 DLC Minerva’s Den which at the time of the publishing of this piece has not been released.
Just a perfectly normal strangely-lit lighthouse hundreds of miles away from any sort of land. Nothing to see here, move along.
The Pitch
At the heart of almost every great singleplayer game is probably one of the most important aspects of gaming in general: a story. Sure, gameplay is essential in creating a masterpiece but when combined with a great story you can completely alter how one approaches the game as a whole. Some series as a whole have forgotten over the years that a story is what can take an already good game and make it an incredible one. Bioshock doesn’t deserve this fate and neither do we.
I’ve always enjoyed games that explored the concept of a Cold-War-gone-hot scenario. Titles like World in Conflict (a game that’s close to my heart) and Freedom Fighters, and books like Red Storm Rising have always been exciting to me. After all, during one of the most dangerous times in recorded human history never has the fate of our entire species ever been in such doubt as it was during that forty year period after the fall of the Nazi regime.
Andrew Ryan, one of the main antagonists of the first Bioshock, knew the risks of what must have appeared to him as a no-win scenario between the two superpowers. To his eyes the world was too polarized between politics and religion to allow for survivability in a world where the power of the atom had been harnessed for destructive purposes. I believe that was one of the many reasons he founded Rapture: to help ensure that, if the world above the waves fell into a disarray of war and nuclear fire that the pinnacles of humanity would live on.
If I am correct in assuming that Ryan’s vision for an underwater utopia was fear of the outside world then there were definitely reasons to justify such a drastic course of action. After all, the Soviet Union finally developed an atomic bomb in 1949 and steadfastly deployed the weapon for use amid rising fears of invasion by NATO and the United States. In response the Western powers drastically increased their arsenals and the friction between the two lead to the largest arms race in the history of mankind.
The six most powerful people in all of Rapture, all of whom also played a key roll in the downfall of the city.
While the societies above the waves quibbled over the use of a nuclear weapon, deep within the North Atlantic a new type of weapon was being discovered: a genetic one. Sometime between 1948 and 1951 Dr. Brigid Tenenbaum, a former German scientist who had come to Rapture following World War II, found herself passing through Neptune’s Bounty, one of the first areas you visit in Bioshock, and watched a former soldier unloading a barge with another worker. What she found fascinating was that the worker’s hands had been paralyzed during the war several years back. When she asked how his hands had become functional once again he said that he had been bitten by a sea slug and that the following morning he had awoken to find himself able to articulate his fingers for the first time in years. When asked if he had kept the slug he said yes and offered it to her, ignorant of the repercussions of what the slug meant.
This gave way to the birth of ADAM, the genetic currency of Rapture and the very reason for its eventual downfall years later. The viscous substance the sea slug created was able to alter the genetic material within the human body. While Ryan did not see the possibilities of such a life-altering discovery was and refused to offer funding to Tenenbaum’s research another man named Frank Fontaine, whose funds came from smuggling illegal goods into Rapture, did. His funding lead to the eventual creation of Tonics and Plasmids, the weapons that would soon alter life for the worse rather than the good of the people as intended. And thus, on New Year’s Eve in 1958 it all came to a head when Fontaine, under the guise of Atlas, lead teams of Splicers (citizens who had become addicted to ADAM after ingesting Plasmids) in strikes against key locations within Rapture, igniting the Rapture Civil War.
ADAM and its weaponization of the human body through Plasmids could fundamentally alter the balance of power in the world and potentially the course of warfare forever. No more would the mightiest weapon be that of nuclear fire; instead you would fear the ordinary man who walks down the block who could cause you to burst into flames with a snap of his fingers. An army of Splicers has the potential to topple an entire nation and all it would have to do is live among us waiting for the right time to attack.
So what would have happened if either of the Cold War superpowers had gotten a hold of ADAM and Plasmid technology? Ryan was justifiably fearful of this possibility even if his methods for containing Plasmid technology from the outside not being as such. This is very apparent in the metanarrative behind the fall of Rapture in actions such as closing down the bathysphere transportation system in and around the city, effectively cutting off Rapture from the outside world. Nowhere else in the series is this more apparent than during the opening events of Bioshock in which the main character, Jack, gets trapped by Ryan in-between stations and accuses him of being a foreign agent here to procure Rapture technology.
But what if Ryan’s worst nightmare came to life? Here is one scenario I’d like to offer that provides a glimpse as to what that could be like.
The Story
The year is 1984, almost forty years after the foundation for Rapture was laid and long after the departure of Sofia Lamb from the decimated city. To most intelligence agencies across the globe Rapture has gone silent; no radio transmissions have been intercepted in almost five years and no traffic has been monitored coming in or out of the underwater city. For all intents and purposes, to the outside world, it appears that Andrew Ryan’s mad yet partially successful dream has come to a bitter end.
No dogs, cats, hampsters, turtles, goldfish, lions, bears, snickerdoodles, Sno Balls, Twinkies, red licorish, and ESPECIALLY no marshmellows. Ryan HATES marshmellows.
Meanwhile, on the surface, the tides of change are coming in. Four years after the death of Leonid Brezhnev, General Secretary of the Community Party, the Soviet Union is entering a state of collapse. The still newly appointed General Secretary, Mikhail Gorbachev, is struggling to contain the situation and hopefully restore power to the once great nation. It is still fighting a fierce war in Afghanistan and Soviet satellite states are abandoning communism in favor of democratic and capitalistic approaches. Even attempts to restore the pubic and international trust via doctrines such as Glasnost are not helping to save the fledgling nation.
On one chilly November afternoon Gorbachev receives a classified report concerning the perceived dead state of Rapture. Survivors of the city are few and far between to locate but in the documents it is revealed that an interrogation of a former Little Sister who was rescued by Jack and brought to the surface gave detailed accounts of Plasmids and their ability to alter human DNA into a malleable yet controllable weapon. Engrossed by the possibility that this could be the tool needed to return the Soviet Union to prominence Gorbachev call together a meeting of his best and most trusted military minds to discuss recovery operations. A plan is formed, detailed, and, just a week prior to New Years, is enacted.
A Soviet fleet is dispatched to the 63°5’N, 29°55’W, the location of the lighthouse above the dead city. In what is perceived to be the largest deployment of Soviet naval assets since the Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and NATO’s militaries are placed on high alert and begin to deploy their Atlantic fleets in order to shadow the Soviets. Learning that a Soviet reconnaissance force has been put in place in and around the sea above Rapture, intelligence officials deduce that the Soviets are mobilizing to take control of it and the technology within. Fearing a resurgent Soviet threat and the possibility of a new arms race, one that the Americans would not have a leg-up on, President Reagan orders an American team to Rapture in hopes of beating them to it.
Unfortunately the Soviets beat them to it. As the Soviet fleet arrives on the scene on New Year’s Eve they attempt to contact their reconnaissance force; nothing. All attempts to reach them fail so the fleet’s admiral orders a Spetsnaz team to the patrol crafts adjacent to the lighthouse and to report back with the news. When the team boards the lead craft they find no one. All the equipment is intact, all their weapons are still unloaded and in their proper space, and there is even coffee in the pot, albeit cold. In essence the men have simply vanished. Thinking the men may have gone down to the city itself the Spetsnaz team is recalled to the flagship where they board a minisub that will take them down to the city.
As the sub descends the small portholes gaze upon the art deco buildings that have stood tall and strong for almost half a century. Despite years of war and lack of maintenance they still look intact and almost habitable were it not for them having no signs of power or life for that matter. As they approach their destination, the same bathysphere terminal Jack arrive at twenty-four years prior, the team sees lights coming from inside. As the sub docks and the team exits they are greeted with a horrific sight: the mangled remains of the reconnaissance crew now ripped apart and strewn across the floor and walls. Only one body remains intact, crucified against the wall. Above it, written in the blood of the men is written a message: “Rapture will rise tonight.” Reporting in to the fleet, the team is cut off in mid-communications as static fills the airwaves. The lights suddenly go out and a scream comes from the point-man whose body flies past them. One by one the team is literally torn apart, gunfire only able to partially illuminate the source of death. Whatever it is, it’s huge. As it continues tear its way through the team the last man watches as his team leader is grabbed by the head and thrown against the wall, impaling him against it. The final man runs and manages to get into a derelict bathysphere; the creature closes fast but stops just short. It stands there for a minute breathing a guttural, animalistic growl and it stares at the last man. With an ethereal voice that sounds more like a beast than man, it speaks.
“Your time will come little one.”
With a grunt, the bathysphere is lifted into the air and is hurled against the wall, crashing against it with a large clang. As the man slips into unconsciousness you hear an almost demonic laugh as the title screen rolls.
The Way to Play
If there’s one thing that 2k Boston really drove home it was definitely the gameplay of Bioshock. In most modern shooters nowadays you see the same format over and over again: cover, shoot, cover. Bioshock changed this formula up with the introduction of Plasmids, a tool that would become utilized by players as much as the weapons themselves. Should the base gameplay of the Bioshock experience change to fit the modern methods established in Call of Duty, Battlefield, and the likes? In my opinion: absolutely not.
What should change however is the way the game should be perceived and played through as. For too long modern horror titles have relegated themselves to being anything but scary and the fight for survival has not dependent on surviving on meager weapons and ammo and knowing when to run but rather on getting as many hits in before the enemy gets too close. That is not survival horror at all and I’m looking at you Resident Evil 5, F.E.A.R. 2, and Condemned 2.
In the original marketing for Bioshock it was shown to be a horror title that would live up to the legacy left behind by System Shock 2. Though I cannot vouch for whether this is a complete success or not as I never actually played either of the System Shocks I can tell you that it did indeed succeed as a horror title if only partially. Throughout the majority of my first playthrough of Bioshock I did feel like I was underprepared for many of the games sequences. During the second half of the game did I feel especially ill-suited for many of the tasks such as the optional quest to investigate Apollo Square. The problem is that the horror aspect is completely defeated by one simple yet narratively-necessary part of the Bioshock experience: the Vita-Camber.
The problem with a horror game is that, at the end of the day, if you remove the fear of death there is almost no reason for a player to feel fear. Without the threat of death and a loss of progress a gamer can do some Leroy Jenkins-style charges over and over again to defeat the enemy over time. While this may work in an MMO it certainly doesn’t apply to horror games at all. When I played both Bioshock titles, in order to truly appreciate the horror aspect of the game, I disabled the Vita-Chambers. That way, I felt the consequences of death and foolhardy balls-to-the-wall escapades and learned to approach a situation appropriately.
This Big Daddy design wasn't actually in either game. However, given that the design was that far along I feel that we may actually see it in Minerva's Den...
To this end I propose to you the following: either make the Vita-Chamber a story-imperative piece of technology or get rid of it all together. I can picture a sequence early on in what would be Bioshock 3 in which, as the player is being briefed on Rapture 101 a distant explosion from another building causes a power surge and explosion within the Vita-Chamber network, either causing it to be completely destroyed or possibly becoming disabled. In the case of the later I’d suggest that they only be active in segmented areas or levels and that they would require powering up in order to be utilized if worse comes to worse.
Another suggestion I would have is for the Vita-Chamber network to be narratively crucial. Sure, Bioshock 2’s story opens with the main character being revived from death ten years after he died within one but after that they didn’t serve anymore purpose other than what they did in the first game. To that end I think that it would be a good idea to make resurrection a necessity in order to advance the plot. For example, suppose our main character is trapped in a room that is slowly filling up with water. On the other side of the room, separated by a glass wall, is a Vita-Chamber that needs to be powered on and right next to him is the control panel for it. After solving a time limited hacking puzzle (after all, if the player doesn’t do it fast enough then the room fills up with water and the character drowns) the Vita-Chamber powers on, allowing the player to kill himself instead of suffering a painful drowning and a game over screen.
Another aspect I’d recommend retooling is the question of who can actually utilize a Vita-Chamber. According to the Rapture narrative Jack and Subject Delta are the only two known to have had their genetic information stored in the Vita-Chamber network. What if, however, in the years since the events of Bioshock 2 that the Vita-Chamber network had been penetrated and made open-source, allowing for anyone to be resurrected instead of a particular person? This, in my opinion, could greatly restore the horror aspect originally proposed in the first game. Imagine, if you will, a boss enemy that continues to resurrect over and over again and endlessly hunts you down as you progress through a level until you are able to disable the local Vita-Chamber network. How terrified would you be to be low on ammo and EVE hearing the approaching footsteps of an enemy that you don’t think you can take down again with your limited resources? Done properly this could be a fascinating change to the combat of the game.
One final aspect of the Vita-Chamber I’d recommend changing is the consequences of a revival. When resurrected in one you automatically have all of your inventory back and are essentially ready to face the enemy head-on once again. What if, however, it didn’t come with you and all you had was your one bar of health of a single bar of EVE? As such you’d have to seek out your lost weapons and tools for a far more challenging sequence.
What Evil Lie in the Hearts of Men?
One of the key ingredients to the Bioshock franchise is the aspect of the Splicers, denizens of Rapture who became addicted to ADAM and have been driven mad in their never-ending quest for more. These people were victims of their own devices and thus many of them find themselves stuck in a never-ending cycle of rage and sorrow. With thousands of them patrolling the streets of Rapture seeking their next hit of ADAM it is understandable that they would make a great common foe to run into.
Therein however lays the problem: the evolution, or rather the devolution, of the Splicer. According to the story of Bioshock ADAM is able to unlock the potential of human DNA at the cost of physical and mental deformation. While Bioshock depicted the madness one suffers from after ingesting ADAM into oneself the Splicers, more or less, appeared like any other normal human being. Conversely, during Bioshock 2, which takes place eight years later, players were shown aging Splicers whose physical appearance had been deformed severely in most cases, leading to many of them being obligated to wear masks.
Come to think of it I didn't think they were THIS ugly until I actually saw this picture. She's a looker alright.
What if, however, the Splicer changed even further? What if, say, twenty-five years after first splicing up they were still alive? How would this be represented in the game? Well we actually have some choice examples to examine this idea with, notably Frank Fontaine from the end of the first game and Gilbert Alexander from the second. In the first instance we witness the over-splicing of one in a very short length of time. Fontaine’s transformation in that time turns him into a sort of demigod not unlike that of Dr. Manhattan in Watchmen. In this case Fontaine appears to retain his mental prowess. In the instance of Alexander however this is not the case. Whereas Fontaine was transformed into a hulking pinnacle of the male form Alexander instead turned into a gigantic, almost prenatal human not unlike a child still in the womb. The contrast between the two is stark but it does give clues as to how large a threat a Splicer can become if exposed to too much ADAM over period of time.
In a way Bioshock’s Splicers are a bit of a commentary on Darwinism and evolution. Not unlike the possibilities of the genetically-altered beasts of the Resident Evil series, is it possible that prolonged and continued exposure to ADAM would induce genetically destabilizing conditions that would allow for continuous, unrelenting growth not unlike that of a cancer tumor? If this is the case then wouldn’t the type of ADAM ingested by a Splicer help artificially determine the genetic outcome of him/her?
To this end I feel that the Splicer is a character that should be far more fearsome than they were in the first two games and therefore could allow for a hierarchy of them instead of just a simple variety. Imagine if Spider Splicer’s continued to evolve to a state in which the lower half of its body actually resembled a spider. Imagine the Houdini Splicer had had their skin pigmentation altered to a permanent state of translucence rather than just being able to teleport wherever they wanted. Or, even further beyond that, imagine a Splicer whose body exhibits plant-like characteristics and can manipulate the environment around it with releases of pheromones. The possibilities are endless in this regard.
Keeping it in the Family
By far one of the most iconic things about the Bioshock franchise is the Big Daddy and Little Sister dynamic. Almost always an optional thing to do, a fight with a Big Daddy is something you didn’t want to do on a whim. Heck, I can recall the first time I was actually forced to fight one in Bioshock. I remember feeling extremely apprehensive after having witnessed one take down a half dozen Splicers earlier in the level after having gotten caught in the crossfire. Even after the first encounter I had I still felt I had to prepare for a fight rather than even consider starting one on a whim.
When Bioshock 2 rolled around we were introduced to the Big Sister, a Little Sister who had grown up and been modified to protect Little Sisters whose Big Daddy had died in combat. The idea of the Big Sister was intriguing and, in the marketing leading up to the release of the game, it was described as the ultimate challenge in the Bioshock universe. If only this were the case.
The initial encounter with the Big Sister was indeed frightening; it's too bad that how you interacted with her didn't retain that same feeling.
Contrary to what we were shown in trailers and in previews of the game, a Big Sister encounter was not indeed random. Instead, a Big Sister would only arrive after you have rescued or harvested all the Little Sisters in a given area. While the battle was indeed intense and the lead up to your first battle with a Big Sister was equally frightening, after recognizing the pattern I did not feel that the Big Sister adds to a horrific atmosphere that the franchise tries to pass on to the player. Instead of being terrified of a sudden Big Sister encounter I instead found myself laying out traps before finally rescuing my Little Sister, prepared for the inevitable battle.
If there were to be a third Bioshock then this would have to be entirely changed in order to maintain a horror atmosphere. While Bid Daddy and Little Sister encounters should remain as they are (though with multiple variants present in a level), Big Sisters should be a random encounter that can happen at any time during the game. While this would cause an imbalance with the gameplay I do propose a solution for the player: allowing them to hide. Imagine, if you will, wandering through a large mall-esque area when suddenly you hear the scream of a Big Sister. She’s on her way and she’s pretty pissed but doesn’t know exactly where you are. As would be the case, what if the player could hide in say a locker or a closet should they wish to not engage in combat or be unable to for that matter? The Big Sister could search the environment, looking for you and would leave after a short while, satisfied that you are not there. This could provide a sense of fear that players would enjoy and would actually make each person’s experiences a little unique from everyone else’s. It’s not a tremendous change from the standard formula but it is definitely something that would make a world of difference in gameplay.
For the Love of Others
For a story to properly conclude the Bioshock series I feel that there is one character that absolutely has to return for one last go: Dr. Tenenbaum. Tenenbaum is probably one of the most tragic characters of the series as she is both responsible for the downfall of Rapture due to her discover of ADAM but also her attempts at redemption for her sins by rescuing the Little Sisters from their enslavement at the hands of Andrew Ryan, Frank Fontaine, and Sofia Lamb. Tenenbaum was a critical character in both Bioshock games as she aided you in the rescue of the Little Sisters while providing information on how to reach and complete objectives.
While her fate in Bioshock 2 is unknown (Minerva’s Den may answer this question) I can only assume that she left Rapture again after Subject Delta and Eleanor Lamb escaped Persephone. The ideal scenario for her return for the storyline I proposed above would be that she had been found and entrapped to help the Soviet or American forces as an “advisor” to the men who’d be descending beneath the waves. One can imagine a Naomi Hunter-esque relationship.
The most tragic and compelling character of the series, Dr. Tenenbaum deserves more than just to disappear into the night like she did at the end of Bioshock 2.
I also believe that this would be a prime opportunity to give a voice to former Little Sisters rescued by either Jack or Subject Delta. While we have had very little experience with these women other than the endings to Bioshock and the marketing for Bioshock 2 I feel that this would be a perfect chance to explore their side of the story in a way that Bioshock 2’s Little Sister sequence hinted at. Imagine being given advice through the radio by one of Eleanor Lamb’s rescued girls, explaining aspects of areas you are exploring and giving you advice about how to proceed from there. This could be an excellent prospect to take advantage of and breathe even more life into this lively universe.
One final aspect of gameplay I think should be explored is having an occasional companion to fight alongside. In almost every instance in the Bioshock series you are either alone or in the presence of a non-combative NPC. What if on the other hand you had to protect and fight alongside a friendly Splicer or perhaps a teammate? Such a sequence would allow for players to actually feel that they are not the only good soul in Rapture, especially more so than a voice on the radio talking to you. While I do not propose a full-on cooperative mode for the game I do suggest that players would want to feel a little bit safer, if only for a short while.
Somewhere, Beyond the Sea
Bioshock as a franchise is one of very strong possibilities. With 2k exploring new directions however there is no guarantee that the prestige that the franchise deserves will stay with it. I fear that a Bioshock remake as has been rumored would lead to a completely different style of gameplay or worse a more family friendly experience. I can only hope that this doesn’t happen. While Irrational Games is set to reveal Project Icarus Thursday (8/12) I feel that whatever that project will eventually be will not indeed be a new Bioshock title. Who deserves to take up the mantle? That is not a question I can properly answer at this time given that the two studios that have done the primary work on the series are currently at work on other games.
Whatever comes, one thing remains certain: Bioshock is not a series that deserves to be sent out to sea without at least a proper final title. 2k, do the series proud.
Hitman Absolution
The Hitman series was one of last generation’s best, providing an entertaining sandbox experience that lets you kill your targets the way you want to. The last Hitman title to be released was 2006’s Blood Money which was the most refined title in the series to date. When SquareEnix announced a new entry in the series last year many of us were excited at the possibilities. At E3 though it was the first title I got to see and I have to say it was one of my favorite games of the show.
You can read my preview of the game below but probably the most exciting thing about the return of Agent 47 is exactly how different it wants to be from its predecessors. The demonstration wasn’t a traditional Hitman level (though Eidos has said that the game will contain them) but what it did show was something no Hitman title has ever done: transitional levels explaining how and why you go from one mission to the next. The demonstration felt quite fluid and the universal comparison to Splinter Cell Conviction isn’t without merit, nor should it be condemned for it. Absolution looks great and you should definitely look forward to its appearance at E3 2012 if not beforehand.
Prey 2
2006’s gravity-shifting, Native American on alien-focused shooter from Human Head Games had been in development in one form or another since 1995 having only be surpassed as one of the longest development times for a game by Duke Nukem Forever. Human Head’s “Turok meets Quake” title was a nice demonstration of what the Id Tech 4 engine could accomplish on a console but as good as it was it wasn’t destined to be able to stand in the face of other shooters like Call of Duty that would go on to become juggernauts in the industry.
Prey 2 is another E3 2011 premiere but the game is a far cry from what we expected. Abandoning the linear focus of Prey along with its protagonist Tommy, the new game takes place several years later on an alien planet that looks quite similar to the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner. Playing as a bounty hunter that was abducted by aliens years before, you have to regain your memory while trying to adapt to the hostile megalopolis filled to the brim with every species but your own. The game showed off both a surprisingly great amount of parkour gameplay that occurs in a very non-linear environment. The amount of weapons and tools you have on hand ensure that you can have a remarkably different experience from anyone else as your targets can be taken in alive or dead and even then will sometimes be of more benefit to you narratively speaking in one form or another. Prey 2 definitely hits the sweet spot in a space that desperately needs a sequel to Mirror’s Edge and is a title that has an outstanding amount of potential.
Devil May Cry (DmC)
Ninja Theory over the past few years has become one of my favorite developers, bringing already good stories together with fantastic deliveries from believable characters. 2007’s Heavenly Sword and the despairing quest of protagonist Nariko dazzled players with its combat while 2010’s excellent Enslaved: Odyssey to the West was one of the year’s sleeper hits. Their latest project, a supposed reboot of the Devil May Cry franchise, has been the target of controversy for its redesign of main character Dante and will good reason: up until the most recent trailers he hasn’t looked or acted a thing like what we remember him to be.
Since the game was announced at 2010’s TGS every single trailer shown has been progressively better in showing off the game’s capabilities and just how similar, rather than different, it is to the core DMC titles. The combat looks smooth as silk and all of the aspects that make a DMC title what it is appear to be there. Will this new vision of Dante be what the people didn’t know they wanted? We’ll find out later this year.
Bioshock Infinite
A lot of things can be said about the Bioshock series but I don’t think any word other than ‘captivating’ properly conveys what the series does to its audience. The previous games in the series took us under the ocean to a city in the midst of a civil war over Plasmids, addictive genetic enhancements that inevitably turn its users into warped, insane mutants. Bioshock Infinite takes us beyond Rapture to a city in the sky called Colombia in the early 20th century. As a former Pinkerton agent, Booker DeWitt is hired to rescue a woman named Elizabeth from the city who has become the most-wanted figure of power for its warring factions. What lies within the conflict is anyone’s guess but given the accomplishments of the series thus far it’s sure to be one hell of a ride.
Infinite has easily been one of the most desired games any of has have seen in recent memory with an intriguing concept of bending the fabric of reality while being hunted by Elizabeth’s giant jailer known as The Songbird is sure to stir the same feelings you had when met your first Big Daddy in Bioshock. Beyond that Elizabeth is a character that you genuinely care about and want to protect above all else. Bioshock Infinite looks fantastic and I couldn’t pick a better title to begin the closeout of this generation of game consoles.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Ridley Scott’s incredible film franchise was destined for video games the moment Aliens was released to theater goers back in 1986. Over the years gamers have experienced a monotony of titles based on the series, the most prominent being the Aliens vs. Predator titles whose most recent iteration came out almost two years ago. Those titles however look to pale in comparison to this new Aliens title.
Developed by Gearbox Software, the creators of the Brothers in Arms and Borderlands series, Colonial Marines has been in the works for a long time, its initial announcement dating back to early 2008. This new entry takes place shortly after the events of the Aliens film as has you traveling back to LV-426 along with a battalion of marines to discover what happened to the rescue team Ripley lead into Hadley’s Hope and beyond. Beyond having an authentic feel to the universe, the game will feature four player drop-in, drop-out cooperative play. Gearbox is determined to make this an authentic Aliens experience filled with action and horror and This looks to be THE licensed title of 2012 and given that Gearbox is the developer you can rest assured that there’s going to be something great about it.
Tomb Raider
The adventures of Lara Croft have been one of mixed feelings for gamers over the years. While many veterans fondly remember the classic PS1 titles in the series the more recent titles have been somewhat mediocre. SquareEnix and Crystal Dynamics made a real splash however in 2011 when they announced the new Tomb Raider, this one taking us back to Lara’s origins and giving us a stark shift in both gameplay and focus. Trapped on a hostile remote island, Lara has to fight to survive in a gritty presentation that has never been associated with the series.
This new vision of Lara Croft not only gives you an entirely different experience in comparison to the previous games, it also shows her beginnings as she transforms from a young naïve adventurer into the strong, wise treasure hunter that we know her to be. The gameplay dynamics and overall presentation look to make Tomb Raider one of the most exciting titles to date and perhaps could be just what is needed to revitalize a series that has been in need of a refresher more than any other.
Mass Effect 3
It’s hard for me to accept that Mass Effect 2 was released two years ago this month. While I really enjoyed Mass Effect its sequel was a wondrous thrill ride for me that had me play through it twice, a rare occurrence for me when it comes to RPGs. Not only did it have a strong and smart DLC service that produced new content for over a year, it also allowed you to kill off the entire main cast, something that you never see in a game these days. It told an epic story and was easily the best RPG experience to have in 2010.
Mass Effect 3 is due to arrive this March and looks to be a more intense game than the previous titles combined. Whereas Mass Effect 1 & 2 were about preparing for war with an invading alien armada this new title is about the war proper, seeing the Reaper invasion of the galaxy (most notably Earth being a primary target) as it happens and the race against time to stop the assimilation of all sentient life. Mass Effect 3 will reincorporate many of the elements featured in the first game that weren’t in the second and the combat looks even faster and more responsive, pushing the boundaries for what an RPG can be. There’s no doubt that this conclusion to Commander Shepard’s story will be a great one and you don’t need to do any calibrating to see that.
Diablo III
Twelve years was a heck of a long time to wait for the next Starcraft title for Blizzard fans but the anticipation for a third entry in the Diablo series has been just as tumultuous. Hinted at for years, Diablo III was a title that was announced in 2008 and only recently was publically playable in the form of a beta. This classic isometric dungeon crawler returns to the world of Sanctuary twenty years after Diablo II and sees the rise of new heroes to face the impending invasion of the armies of the Burning Hells.
There’s so much to offer in a Diablo title that it’s hard to even list them on a single page. Five classes to choose from, an online auction house, PvP arena matches, even a hardcore mode offers unique challenges to the player whether they play alone or cooperatively. Diablo III will easily be one of the biggest titles on the PC this year and you shouldn’t be surprised if a home console port is released in the back half of 2012, if not early 2013.
Grand Theft Auto V
Finding itself in the “everyone saw this coming” category, Rockstar’s biggest franchise announced its return this past November to universal excitement. The 2008 release of Grand Theft Auto IV was easily one of the most hotly anticipated titles of this generation and its possible that GTA V may exceed it. This new entry takes us from the ragged streets of Liberty City to the glamorous scene of Los Santos, Rockstar’s take on Los Angeles and one of the three cities from 2004 title San Andreas. We haven’t even met the main protagonist yet and we here at Hooked are already excited.
What’s probably more exciting than the game itself is the speculation everyone is putting to the title. Is the main character really a father figure? Will we see the return of classic characters like CJ from San Andreas? There are lots of questions that need answering and you can be certain that Rockstar will answer them later this year as the windup to E3 2012 begins.
Dishonored
Hidden amongst the titles you read about above, Dishonored is a game that has come out of left field and looks to fill in a gap that hasn’t been properly tended to in years. In development at Arkane Studios, the studio responsible for 2006’s Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, this new IP looks to combine the player capabilities and plot intrigue of Bioshock with the parkour elements of Mirror’s Edge. If that combination doesn’t do it for you then you should be concerned for your mental wellbeing.
Set in the retro-futuristic steampunk-esque city of Dunwall, you play as royal guard turned assassin Corvo who is imprisoned after the Empress was murdered. This tale of vengeance that aids in the liberation of the city from the Lord Regent who has taken power in a game that has you altering the events of the world based on your actions therein. Dishonored not only stands out as one of the most visually unique titles of 2012, it also serves as representative for all those titles who deserve far more attention than the next inevitable Call of Duty title. It’s also the only title on this list that can only be described in word right now as there is no video content currently available to the public so I highly encourage you to read my preview of the game from Quakecon.
Far Cry 3
After Crytek went on to make what would eventually become the graphical juggernaut title Crysis during the last generation of consoles, Ubisoft retained the Far Cry title and published a series of ports to the Xbox and Xbox 360. In 2008 it released a sequel to the game whose only relations to Jack Carver’s adventure were in both name and scope of the world you play in. Though Far Cry 2 did well commercially and critically it didn’t scream that it needed a sequel. So, for myself and many others, it came as quite a surprise at E3’s Ubisoft Press Conference this past year when Far Cry 3 was presented to the world.
Returning to the tropical setting, this new Far Cry has the player attempting to escape from an island chain with crazed inhabitants. The game retains the open-world nature the series is known for as well as the gunplay and first-person actor characteristics that made Far Cry 2 a hit but also seems to tie in a RPG-esque leveling system like that seen in Borderlands. The game definitely gives off a sense of danger and excitement at every turn so if you want a shooter that doesn’t pit you against the Russian army this may be the one to get this year.
The Last of Us
Naughty Dog is a studio that is capable of tremendous things and has been demonstrating this since the last generation of consoles. With the seeming conclusion to the core Uncharted series for the inevitable future, the team from Santa Monica has decided to create a new IP and looks to venturing into a genre gamers are all too familiar with: zombies. Playing as Joel and Ellie, you survive in a world that has seen a deadly fungus wipe out most of the human population, the remainder of which either became infected, murderous cannibals or, to a far lesser extent, fight to survive in a world that sees nature taking our homes and cities back years after the world has ended.
Zombie games are nothing new and have thankfully begun to slow down in appearance and popularity over the past year or so but a Naughty Dog-developed title may be just what is needed to keep this declining genre shambling along. Naughty Dog is well known for their storytelling capabilities as well as smart, engaging gameplay and the potential for stealth and survival mechanics is definite possibility. The only thing you can’t be sure of is whether this game will find itself a 2012 release date but given the game’s wonderful announcement trailer we can’t wait to see more.
There you have it: the twelve titles destined for this year that deserve your attention. Some of these will be guaranteed purchases for you but others you may not even have been considering, let alone heard of. Sure, there’s the inevitable return of annual franchises like Call of Duty or that remake of that classic franchise but each of these are either new IPs or revitalized sequels that don’t come along very often. 2011 was a great year for gaming but, as hard to believe as it is, 2012 may be even better. Keep an eye out for on my personal blog as well as my articles on Hooked Gamers and 4Player Podcast. I failed this past year to review every game I played but I'm hoping to rectify that this year as a New Year's Resolution. In the mean time, gird your wallets people.