Developers: Q1 2011

Right, right, Q1 is unofficially the worst time to release games with the exception of the dead summer months in Q2... which is precisely why developers should be capitalizing on the drought and garnering some momentum before it all starts over again around holiday season.

One would think this would be the perfect time for some new IP... a safe zone where monstrous blockbusters don't suffocate the market. Alas, these months will be as dead as the majority of enemies in video games. Still, it can't hurt to look at which developers might have a little momentum going into 2012.


Square Enix:

Square corners the JRPG market and have goliaths for franchises. Many of these franchises are coming due for a new installation, the frontrunner of course being FFXIII-2. Still, it's tough to maintain interest in a developer when one limits the genre as Square does, and some new IP would definitely prevent Square from slipping off the list as it is bound to do.

Market Domination- minimal. Square caters to one fanbase, albeit a large fanbase. They can easily be distracted by the multi-disc epics that the company is expected to put out, and variety will confuse and startle them. This causes Square to thrive in short bursts... like the 100 meter dash of developers.

Next Step- Expand their fanbase. Market to gamers not already playing their games. Innovate the standard gameplay of a Square game and generate some buzz in the industry.

Ubisoft:

 Ubisoft deserves your respect. They have a repertoire of decent franchises mainly because they aren't afraid to invest in new ideas. Assassin's Creed won't be due again for awhile, but Ghost Recon sure is ready for a new title. They also have a new arcade title coming out called I Am Alive. Maybe you saw the crazy-fantastic trailer? I predict Ubisoft has great things in it.

Market Domination- minimal. It's unfortunate Ubisoft doesn't make waves the way Bethesda or Valve do. For a behemoth of a company, they sure are the underdog when it comes to influence. Still, they do well enough for themselves... and their brand of releases make the company a survivalist in a fickle industry.

Next Step- Build the company name. UPlay attempts to put the company on people's mind, but they really need to get more involved with the fans. This company is bound for greater things, and they need to get everyone to know it.

Bioware:

The pioneer of the western RPG, everything they touch turns to gold. Mass Effect 3 and Old Republic are sure to be successes funding future "do-no-wrong" projects. The developer may be better represented by Dragon Age 2 rather than Mass Effect. History proves that Bioware knows how to write a story, they just might be a little stale at telling it.

Market Domination- Massive. Bioware makes blockbusters now. For the next few years their games will be bought by everyone who hears they are selling. The benefit of being able to "do-no-wrong".

Next Step- Stop making Knights of the Old Republic. Some developers care more about gameplay than story... Bioware is not one of them. Gameplay varies between the games but the story presentation does not and repeated looks bring attention to the chinks in the armor. No rush though. You won't see a loss and sales for the next decade... at least.

Trailing: Space and Revolution

Gameplay is overrated... at least in trailers.

If you want and idea of how a game plays, get a demo... Trailers exist to hype and inspire people into returning to a beloved franchise, or accepting a new IP. Watching gameplay is boring and destroys immersion, so leave it out. The best trailers do... and these are some of the best trailers around right now.

 

Review: Sonic Generations

At this point the Blue Hedgehog has been plastered all over the world of gaming and you would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't played any of his games. This makes his recent fall into drug abuse and impotence all the more depressing, yet for some reason fans have kept coming to his show, even if he doesn't. It's safe to say that their persistence paid off with Sonic Generations.

Look familiar?

Generations serves as an homage to the history of Sonic. You have seen all these levels and bosses before, but it was either a long long time ago, or it wasn't very fun. That's all different now! The levels design is excellent and there isn't a dud in the 9 available (well... Planet Wisp is debatable). Sonic controls well and the boss fights are some of the better set pieces in recent memory.

Sonic controls as he should and the ACT 2 levels are all runny-jumpy-fun. The ACT 1 levels are a throwback to classic Sonic and bring back memories of all the frustrating console-destroying sibling-fighting of the early 1990's. The cutscenes have some weird texturing and Tails earns his "Grating Character Voice of the Week Award". Actually, he can split that with the rest of the supporting cast, all of whom serve absolutely no purpose within the storyline of the game besides giving Sonic something to "rescue".

The inclusion of leaderboards is always a good idea, and the 30 second distance challenges are surprisingly addicting. I also would like to send a muffin basket to whomever decided to put the original Sonic the Hedgehog game as a fully-playable extra under the circumstances that he doesn't share it with the guy who said they shouldn't put in Sonic 2 as well.

If it seems like I have a bit of a crush on this game, it's a fair analysis. I have been waiting and hoping for Sonic to return to his glory of being "playable". Yet, Sonic is a being of irony, and he would truly live up to expectations if Sega sunk this series right now.

3 of 4

First Impression: The Saboteur

The Nazi's will certainly regret the day I spawned as an Irishman! The French TOO!

Normally I wouldn't pay any attention to race, but the game can't seem to get itself off it. The main character seems to compulsively remind everyone that he is Irish every time he talks. National pride is the prime conversation piece in WWII Europe apparently and if you don't have it, some will be provided for you.

So far the gameplay is eh, although I haven't actually done that much in-game. The parkour is worse than Assassin's Creed and the brawling is worse then... well, everything. Still the environment and atmosphere are very impressive and I enjoy splashing color across Europe by killing Nazis or blowing up their art projects.

Really too soon to tell whether this will all be worth it or not. I'll let you know.

Patch v2.0

So... updates.

I haven't been fantastic at them lately, but that will all change in the near future for some arbitrary reason! Regardless, not the best couple of weeks for releases. One notable--

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

I'm not expected to get to that one very quickly either as my Wii is in an undisclosed location and will be unavailable to me into the foreseeable future.

That's about it until The Old Republic comes out late December. I think there might be a few DLC's lurking about as well. If you're starved for releases you could always jump into the casual gaming side of the pool but for the rest of us it is backlog time. I am honestly grateful for some time to work through the gigantic monstrosity my backlog has become... but I'm insane.

Ubisoft and EA Accounts

Having just recently picked up N4S and ACR, I had a lovely reunion with my UPlay and EA accounts. I had fun searching my long disorganized email activation folder to see if I already had such accounts. And if I did, did they know my XBOX personally? After typing in several different codes into the game, everything appeared to sort itself out and I just dove in.

Still, I feel I must raise question as to if these "developer accounts" are actually necessary. I thought the purpose of having a live account was to keep track of the games for me... I don't need Ubisoft repeating all of my achievements after Microsoft already tells me I have them. I suppose Ubisoft is onto something though. Exchanging game achievement points for in-game content is something I've been hoping Microsoft and Sony would catch onto.

Microsoft kind of gets it. Avatar awards have the right idea, but just don't make me care beyond my usual 100% completion aspirations. I dream of someday having one gamer score shared between all three platforms where the points can be spent on something I actually want... but that won't happen short of an evil corporation buying everyone up... much like a successful EA would.

First Impression: Sonic Generations

It seems like the products of our nostalgia dominate this society. Probably why Sonic Generations caters directly to it.

Having avoided playing the majority of the new-era Sonic ilk (last one I played was Adventure 2), I really never thought the Hedgehog was in that bad a place. Oh sure I heard rumors, but never experienced it first hand mind you. I heard somewhere that Generations is the best Sonic game of the decade so that alone merited a play. I never thought turning into a 2d version of myself could be this easy. I also thoroughly enjoyed scrapping Metal Sonic and The Death Egg, two baddies that I am actually familiar with. I do get the feeling I should be more familiar with the series before finishing this game though... maybe acquaint myself with Heroes.

Anyways... I'll report back when I've recovered the last of those pesky Chaos Emeralds.

First Impression: Need for Speed The Run

In case anyone was wondering, I totally made it to Las Vegas in the top 150... woot woot. Those mob guys will be feeling pretty stupid when I pay them their money.

On the game side of things, not sure starting a game with a quick-time event is the best idea. It did however segue into a nice opening chase involving myself dodging gunfire from two overzealous debt collectors. The game has pretty much kept a fast pace and great action throughout the first few hours including (but not limited to) a bridge chase, a dust storm, and myself ramming a rival into a road block... ah, good times.

There are some issues with resets activating because the shortcut I'm driving at is actually just a plain ol' dirt road of death, but it is definitely not a game buster... yet.

See you in Chicago.

First Impression: Assassin's Creed Revelations

Dropped the ball straight off by nixing the usually epic intro to opt for a recap of the first three games. Necessary evil I suppose, given how convoluted the plot has gotten at this point. Bright side: If you forgot the first three game, don't worry... they will be shoved down your throat in the intro.

Don't expect Ezio to have any epiphanies in his old age, he's still out to kill every single templar in the world and now that he's thoroughly swept Italy clean, he's off to Constantinople. There is an interesting little tower defense game added that I can see myself growing to hate later. Ezio also adds a hook to his hidden blade allowing him to pretty much become Spider-Man. 

The story does not mess around and immediately wraps up cliffhangers. It then gets sidetracked and prevents any progress as you are essentially attempting to get back to where you started.

Multiplayer and endings are yet to come. Stay tuned.

First Impression: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box

3 hours in and already filled to the brim with mystery and puzzles. Considering the size of  Layton's hat, it's saying something. Yes, yes, calm down... I know I'm hilarious.

Not too much different gameplay wise going on here. Swap a mechanical dog for an out of shape hamster and a shredded painting for a broken camera and the game might as well take place in a curious village. Still, the brain teasers are always welcome (though I seem to be blowing through them due to my increased mental stamina from the first game) and the plot is still intriguing. I've always likened Layton more to a mystery novel than a game anyways.

We'll just have to see what the endgame holds for the traveling team of sleuths. Or I will anyways... this game is really old.

Midnight Release: Assassin's Creed Revelations

Crowd: 70+
Arrived: 11:55PM Departed: 12:15 AM
MIA: Anyone dressed up like Ezio.
What?: Templar with a sword on his back riding a vespa.
Noteworthy: Large stack of unsold Need For Speeds used to block masses from pouring into store.

Press Start

So as far as post titles go, this one doesn't exactly gleam with originality, but cliches are cliches for a reason right? At the very least I didn't call it "Hello World"... that would have been the worst. Rather than dwell on that  though, we'll just dive straight into the week's releases.

Assassin's Creed Revelations 

Mario and Sonic at the London Olympics

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Need For Speed: The Run

Saints Row The Third 

Lego Harry Potter Years 5-7

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3

Rayman Origins

Too bad this blog wasn't around last week with big hitters MW3 and Scrim lurking about. Top 3 for the week go as follows--

1. Assassin's Creed Revelations

2. Need For Speed: The Run

3. Rayman Origins

Assassin's Creed easily snatches the top with the promise of resolving cliffhanger endings and some updated multiplayer prospects. Need For Speed's cross country setting is also looking to impress those whom desire a shift from cop chasing race dynamics (which is no one based on who I've talked to). Rayman sneaks in for being the only one on the list not being a stagnant sequel or remake. Halo does hover in fourth though by being the one game on the list that truly merits an HD update.