Now that proper BioShock 2 video previews are circulating instead of scanned magazine covers and wild fan speculation, I can’t help but feel like the gaming public is being duped and they don’t even realize it. Or maybe they don’t want to realize it, because BioShock has already been granted its lofty position as a new standard for video games, and no one dares knock it off its pedestal for fear of losing that anchor for cultural legitimacy. Even though I don’t share this opinion, I was willing to see this game through because it at least made an attempt at a philosophical statement, whether I agreed with its implementation or not [1]. BioShock may have failed as the game that showed such promise in its first 10 minutes, but at least it prompted a discussion that was not mostly Games-Are-Art wankery. And I’m not talking about how the game made you go out and buy a copy of Atlas Shrugged; I’m referring to the way it makes the “choice” in video games we love to complain about a mostly empty gesture. Maybe this statement was intentional; or maybe it was just an honest, unfiltered reflection of game design as it stands today.

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For the last three weeks, I have been completely absorbed by an XBox 360-induced euphoria. Getting this console was both the best and worst decision I made in 2008.

As if my current playlist wasn’t big enough, I now have at least five more titles to make my way through in the months ahead. Finding time for these new adventures and keeping up with my writing was a challenge, especially when the novelty phase was still underway. After many late night binges, I think I’ve finally flushed it out. I have regained my original focus and want to get back to posting regularly. Except now I’ll have even more to write about.

Spending time with this console over the past few weeks has resulted in the following (occasionally startling) revelations:

• I should have purchased an XBox 360 sooner. Like, in 2006.
• I can see why former PC-exclusive gamers have no problems making the 360 their primary game platform. Avoiding the hassles with hardware upgrades, compatibility, the process of installation and DRM are the obvious examples, but a lot of what the XBox 360 does can be compared to a media center PC. By including these features in one package, it can be considered an entire replacement for a the average PC dedicated to entertainment.
• I used to think FPS on the XBox 360 was impossible, especially for a person coming from a formerly PC-exclusive background. After playing the F.E.A.R. 2 demo, I am now thinking about getting Far Cry 2 for the 360 instead of sitting here wondering if I have to turn down all the settings for it to run on my laptop. I would have considered these thoughts forbidden a couple of years ago. It’s testament to the design of this controller, though I suppose only a few developers of this genre have been able to truly master it.
• XBox Live, while convenient as a method of online distribution and matchmaking, is still just a ruse intended to rob the consumer blind. There is no need for a tiered subscription system. Why I should pay extra to do something that the entire XBox Live system was originally intended for (and what I can do on the PC for free) seems like an insult. Even Sony has gotten wise with the PS3. I don’t care about Achievements and Gamer Points and a free online profile. I want to play my games online. Also, by separating “Microsoft Points” from actual money and creating denominational “Points Packages”, people think they aren’t spending as much as they actually are.
• XBox Live is also the reason why many indie and community game developers have reached a much wider audience, by making it incredibly easy to access and experience their work. This was a real eye-opener for me, as aside from the critically acclaimed titles of the past couple of years, I never would have thought to look any further into this entirely different, self-sustaining gaming universe. There is enough content on Live Arcade that you would never have to purchase a single packaged product for your 360 if you didn’t want to.
• I find it extremely disturbing that the release-then-patch process is in full effect on this console. It seems that every new Arcade game, demo or new physical media I introduce to my 360, there is a patch waiting for me. The attitude previously held by PC game publishers and devlopers has now made its way into this realm, and it’s extremely disappointing. What if someone never puts their XBox online? Not everyone has a network connection easily accessed near their TV, or are willing to drop $100 CDN on an overpriced Wi-Fi adapter. For some casual users, this will certainly be true. Will they be missing out on essential after-market support? It’s an interesting problem that was never encountered by the PC gaming industry, which was safe to assume any PC had some form of connection to the internet.
• I would rather download a demo on XBox Live than on my PC. It is a painless procedure that ensures that I will have a preview of a product in my hands that will simply work. The large selection of demos available out of the box and Microsoft’s commitment to getting early exclusives is also making rentals seem unnecessary. Like on the PC, most of the demos I tried gave a solid impression of what is contained in the full version of the game in order to make the decision to pursue it further or move on.
• The new XBox Dashboard puts Apple TV – and frankly any media playing aspects of Mac OS X – to shame. It is clean looking, organized, and seamless in the way it integrates other media on a home network with the standard features of the game console. Microsoft’s partnership with Netflix was also a brilliant move. I have used my 360 enough for music and movies now that I can’t see how we lived without it.
• I used to think the whole Achievements and Gamer Points framework was a ridiculous concept. Now that I’ve experienced it first-hand, I think it’s a brilliant strategy for building a game-centric community and providing significant replay value to existing titles. Though some games certainly do a better job of using Achievements than others. I don’t think we will see anything else come close to this system. Steam has tried, but they don’t have the same reach.

And just like that the XBox 360 has suddenly become an essential part of my gaming repertoire.

I recenly picked up a copy of the December 2008 issue of PC Gamer while waiting at the airport. I haven’t read it since 2004, but it’s not like I have a choice for PC-centric commentary in print now that Computer Games Magazine doesn’t exist anymore. Flipping through the reviews section, I came to a review of Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway, the full fledged sequel to one of my favorite games of 2005. Like many others this time of year, I’m struggling to figure out what games I should dedicate my limited free time to, and nothing informs gamers better than a review of pre-retail code, right? Though in the particular case of Hell’s Highway, I was astonished by the absence of a final score. The reasoning (emphasis mine):

While we didn’t encounter any bugs in the build we played, at the last moment before going to press, we received word from Gearbox that their commitment to fixing a one-in-200 crash bug has delayed final code of the game. In addition, Ubisoft was unable to provide specific information about possible DRM restrictions at press time. In keeping with our policy of reviewing finished code, we are withholding our score until next issue when we’ve played the final. In the meantime, we feel that the text detailing what we saw in the build we played will be helpful to you in making your game purchasing decision.

Being my usual cynical self, my first reaction was: what were you doing reviewing unfinished code? Furthermore, if specific information about DRM was required to provide a final score, what in the fuck is Spore doing with a 91%?

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After finishing my tenure at The Cultural Gutter and jumping ship from Game Set Watch after a three-post stint, I threw together a summary of what I had been listening to over the previous year, and then essentially stopped writing. I thought I could keep the momentum going after that, even though I wasn’t really playing any games. But for some reason the muse abandoned me. And I abandoned this website.

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For the last nine months, I have considered myself a non-gamer. Not a reformed gamer, mind you, but someone who just hasn’t had the time to dedicate to playing games or keeping up with the industry. Once again I felt forced to contemplate my new lifestyle and how I could somehow re-insert my beloved hobby into a busy schedule. A good friend and I started talking about how this was possible now that we were parents. Eventually the topic of World of Warcraft came up. When I quit last year, I thought it was for good. I stopped writing because of that game, as I was too preoccupied with spending Talent points and obsessively trying to keep up with guild mates. It wasn’t healthy. And yet there was still something strangely appealing about the thought of playing again, in the context of a social activity for two new dads struggling to find ways to grasp hold of a hobby that would have otherwise slipped away. What better way to get back into gaming than playing something we already knew? My latest article at the Cultural Gutter describes the reactivation of my World of Warcraft account with a friend and fellow gamer, and how at this point in our lives, this really is the game for us.