If the hype surrounding Horde mode in Gears of War 2 was to be believed, it is the only reason you need to own this game. It made me wonder if the gaming press had finally lost it, by eclipsing a retread of the previous single player campaign with what sounded like some clever variation of multiplayer. In his review of Gears of War 2, Tim Rogers writes:

Let’s go ahead and mint a brand new law to be obeyed from here on out by all those seeking citizenship in the kingdom of videogames: if your game isn’t fun enough to be enthralling in the context of an endless mode, nothing else about it means shit.

Is this an exaggeration, or an epiphany on the elegance of the game mechanics behind Horde mode in Gears of War 2?

I had the opportunity to play both the single player campaign and Horde mode over the weekend. The single player campaign starts off in almost the exact same fashion as the original game (Hospital = Prison). After the first chapter it felt too familiar; this was nothing new, and I can hardly get excited about a few new weapons. From what I’ve read, the story of Delta Squad in their endless battle with the Locust doesn’t have much to offer either, but this is an action game and I was too busy falling in love with the controls again to notice.

I’m still making my way through the PC port of the original Gears of War, and one of the stand-out aspects of the game for me are the controls when played with the XBox 360 gamepad. The third person shooter is always a dubious proposition for me as a PC gamer – especially noticeable when compared with my recent adventures in Dead Space – but Gears is one game that perfected them on the first attempt.

After a few rounds of Horde, I felt myself getting even more comfortable with these controls. The bursts of action enclosed in encounters of increasing difficulty forced me to be quicker with each wave of Locust; with only two of us playing I had to be. I stopped trying to reach for a mouse. I felt myself being programmed.

Horde mode strips away the missions and the story and the meaningless objectives that take you from point A to point B. It dumps players into a multiplayer map and throws a varying collection of Locust against the players. There is only one objective: survive the onslaught. The Locust increase in number and difficulty, mercilessly, until you get through all 50 waves. Or you die. It is you versus the game itself.

As a result, the game’s mechanics are front and centre. Everything available in the game is here for use and is on display and open for criticism. As such, the controls are revealed to be every bit as good as I originally thought. The concepts that form the very core of playing Gears of War are fucking brilliant in their simplicity. This is not a tactical FPS that gets bogged down in implementing what can only be called video game realism. Nor is it pure action, that is satisfied in putting a big gun in your hand and asking you to repeatedly pull the trigger.

Instead, Horde lets the player experience the best parts of Gears of War over and over again. Duck and cover, suppressing fire, flank, chainsaw the living fuck out of anyone that gets close enough to do so. And even when you die, it’s still pretty enjoyable. You managed to survive one more wave.

By Cliff Bleszinski’s own admission Gears of War 2 will almost certainly never see the PC; and for that reason I feel the sudden need to own an XBox 360.

The film’s focus is on a high-profile bank robbery where a number of hostages are taken, including a preteen African-American boy who was with his father at the bank. In one scene, the captives are asked to hand over all phones and electronic devices by the leader of the group robbing the bank (played by Clive Owen). The boy happened to be playing a Sony Playstation Portable®, and is ready to give it up. In what is supposed to be an act of kindness, showing our antagonist may be human after all, Owen tells the boy to “Keep it”. I wouldn’t have been so hasty if I was him – those PSP®s can watch movies and play music, too! But that was just the set-up for what follows.

Later on, the boy is seen playing his Sony Playstation Portable® in the bank’s vault. Owen’s character sits down to talk with him, and asks to try out what the kid is playing. We are then shown a scene that is clearly modelled after Rockstar’s own Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The player is shown as a gangsta dressed in West coast garb cruising in his convertible, who proceeds to blast someone at the side of the road in typical gangland fashion. The player gets out of the car to pump a few more bullets into his victim, blood spattering the wall and pavement. The words “Kill Dat Nigga!” flash on the screen, and the player places an armed hand grenade in the mouth of the other character, showering the scene with gore in some kind of finishing move. The entire scene lasted 30 seconds. I have to admit I was a bit shocked.

The obvious criticism about this situation is that Owen’s character immediately knows how to play, yet is asking about the game. It hints at how forced this commentary feels in the context of the film. Some dialogue loosely paraphrased from the scene:

Robber: “What’s the point of this game?”
Boy: “Rob people. Kill people.”
Robber: “And you like this?”
Boy: “Sure. Just like my man Fitty says, ‘Get rich, or die tryin’. That’s what you’re doing, isn’t it?”

Clever kid. In another startling display of social conscience at the end of this exchange, Owen’s character confiscates the game and says that he wants to talk to his father about allowing the boy to play it. This scene can be interpreted in a few ways. First, the commentary on video game violence. Yes it was a gratuitous display, but with mainstream film you are dealing with the uneducated. You have to be hyperbolic when making a point like this, because people still do not get it. The majority of parents do not understand that video game violence exists or is that accessible, or feel that it is “harmless” to impressionable young kids. I still see parents buying San Andreas for kids clearly too young to play it. It’s easier to give them what they want rather than explain why they can’t have it (yet).

Secondly, a complete stranger has taken it upon himself to determine what is appropriate for the boy, and to talk to his father about it. This is reflective of what the vocal minority of parents against violent video games are asking of the U.S. government in their creation of legislation to regulate video games.

Lastly, Lee is commenting on the “Black-on-Black” gang violence that is so prevalent in major urban centres, and how it has been glamorized in games, films and movies. I’m sure the reference to 50 Cent was intentional – his own game Bulletproof was released late last year. In the aftermath of the robbery, the boy and his father are questioned by Denzel Washington’s character, the detective leading the case. The boy boasts that he was never scared during the whole ordeal, even after being exposed to extreme violence first-hand, hinting at the desensitization of youth exposed to this kind of lifestyle.

An article in the Hollywood Reporter is a good summary of how the game sequence was created for the film, though it incorrectly labels it as “machinima”. The way I understand it, Machinima are movies created using existing games and working within the confines of their control schemes; otherwise, it’s just computer generated animation. Spike Lee apparently wanted this “game” to be as graphically violent as possible – in fact, the “Kill Dat Nigga!” screen wasn’t added until the game had been inserted into the film, as he wanted to add some additional “weight” to the sequence. I think the most important part of this exercise is the delivery: he used the medium itself to send the message. This isn’t the first time Lee has used to convey his opinions about video games and gangsta culture, either: Clockers showed a young boy enamored with the drug dealing scene in his housing project playing the ficticious 3D action game “Gangsta”, which allowed him to shoot people while on a bike.

Nevertheless, there is a time and a place for this kind of activism. How about contacting the ESRB next time, Spike? I’m sure you could dream up some killer commercials about the rating system that governs games that are inappropriate for minors. In the framework of this film it was an unnecessary product placement. And when I say product placement, I mean the PSP® (who really wants a PSP these days, anyway?) and the agenda of anti-video game activists. While it didn’t take away from the rest of the film, the method of relaying the message was far too overwrought to be taken seriously.

In summary, GameWorks wants to position itself in the same realm as Dave and Buster’s or Sega’s own Playdium chain: providing alcohol and food in an arcade-like setting to lure in adults, while providing a “safe, clean atmosphere” that would be just as comfortable for kids. In other words, an arcade that is less about the games, and more about the social interaction between patrons. You wouldn’t go to one of these places to play games – you’d go to eat or watch a football game or drink some beers, and then maybe play a few games. Manny elaborates:

The Arena Sports Bar & Grill has so much synergy between the gaming and the action and the environment that’s created on the arcade side – taking that to a bar and grill environment where you’ve still got that energy and excitement – there’s so much synergy between those two.

But wait, there’s more synergy:

There is that synergy between the game floor and back-and-forth in a social environment where you’re not sitting at home in front of a screen with two friends playing a game. Now you can compete, be the star, really shine, but you can also be there watching the latest and greatest on the flat-screens that we have which works really well on the gaming side.

At this point it’s clear that Manny is looking to pitch the company line, and not address the fundamental problem behind the current model for arcades. I don’t see how being able to hit my opponent in the back of the head in the comfort of my living room differs from hitting him in the back of the head at GameWorks with a menu.

Gamasutra poses the question: “What kind of people do you think visit arcades now?” The answer:

It’s probably much more diverse than what people would think from the outside, and I think once people experience it and can experience either a personal experience or an event experience at any of the locations that are more glorified than just the standard arcade. I think that they can see themselves in that experience…We’ve created a great “team-building” program in corporate America now, where you can actually go and be with your boss to talk about your sales goals and initiatives for the year, and planning for the quarter – all of those things. Then you can go out on teams and compete against each other and it really brings the team together.

So Corporate America loves arcades? He’s losing me. Just what is GameWorks supposed to be, anyway?

We understand that we’re not trying to be all to everyone, but what we are is as the generation grows, you and I grew up where we could go to the convenience stores and play Pac-Man and Asteroids. Then later we started getting into other games and we understand gaming…I’ll still go in with my ten-year old girl and my seven-year old girl and my wife and I’ll play the games. I’ll also wander over and have a beer and check out the score of the college football games. That’s a nice environment for me.

Yes, it does sounds like a nice environment for the majority of the U.S. – but what about gamers? Providing a casual setting like this is great to attract people that want to get together with friends and family, but I don’t see how this is preserving video game culture.

And now Manny addresses the rise of networked gaming, both on consoles and PC:

I think what we’re starting to see is more and more of that integration, and taking that and putting it in a social environment and setting. Most people are not going to be able to sit at home and play on their flat-screen with great-surround sound in a leather chair and be playing [the] latest and greatest console gaming.

Actually, yes they are. And they will choose to do that because it’s free. Let’s consider this for a second – and I know in the article they mention House of the Dead 4 – but what was the last exclusive must-play arcade game? My sister plays Dance Dance Revolution on her XBox, complete with floormat. It just doesn’t make financial sense anymore to put an exclusive in the arcade and expect people to play it for $4 a round, when they can achieve the same experience at home.

The title of this interview was frustrating, because I actually thought for a second that someone had taken the lead to bring back what made arcades such a fun experience. But the sales pitch was so prevalent in this interview, and used not-so-tactfully to obfuscate the real questions of where they are taking this concept. I realize now that the arcade as we knew it is gone forever. It has been replaced by multiplayer gaming both on the console and PC.

Though most disturbingly, the trend of adding a “sports bar” dilutes the culture that established this activity in the first place. Once again I am reminded of the people who shoved video gamers into lockers when I was in high school. Now, they’re playing with us in some bid to preserve their youth. It’s simply another stage in the commercialization of gamer culture – and GameWorks’ plan sounds incredibly insincere.

On a general DS note, I wouldn’t advise changing the Gameboy/Gameboy Advance display screen on the DS while a game cartridge is in the slot. I lost all of my progress in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (including my recent replay) when I switched from the upper to the lower screen, though I haven’t read of this happening to anyone else. It wasn’t a big deal; I already know how it ends and my opinion of the game hasn’t changed two years later.

It’s an argument that has strong points for either case, but in today’s overly fickle game marketplace I wonder if the need for backward compatibility is only a perceived one. Next Generation ran an article a couple of weeks ago, exploring this very issue. As usual they take a business-oriented approach – ascertaining whether backward compatibility is a feature worth producing just to put on the back of the box. Aaron Ruby’s response to the article seemed to ring a little more true, citing the cultural signifigance of games over the convenience for manufacturers to be able to implement the feature in the hardware to decide its necessity. Of course, I have my own opinions on the matter.

Practically speaking, a console with backward compatibility increases the usefulness of the console overall from a consumer’s perspective. The console’s library multiplies by 100 (or some other arbitrary number), while hardware requirements have decreased. Nobody likes an entertainment center full of old consoles that rarely get touched. It also extends the life of the previous generation’s games. By allowing old games to function in new consoles it exposes them to new audiences that may not have had the chance to try them out the first time around. It also gives game obsessives like me the chance to catch up on those so called “critically acclaimed” titles, without having to dig through ebay’s multitude of old console listings.

Most importantly, I think it gives gamers a sense of history instead of being caught in the “now-ism” that seems to be plaguing the industry. Games did not always have to be hyper realistic or have cinema quality presentation to be absorbing. I’ve touched on this before, and it pains me to see a review where gaming history is cast aside in favor of some arbitrary list of features. Large scale strategy seems to only go back as far as Shogun: Total War. What about Nobunaga’s Ambition? Or Grand Theft Auto’s top-down origins? Or the Prince of Perisa’s purist platforming action and fluid character animations? Today’s hit series had humble beginnings, but it seems they have been obscured by their more accessible and attractive descendants of the recent past. PCs have had the luxury of being able to play older games through third party software and tweaking of the operating system. Consoles not so much, and as a result this “year zero” culture arises at the beginning of every generation. I think backward compatibility is an easy way to provide continuity between them. But is it essential?

I love classic gaming, but there’s something about going back to old games and looking at them with a jaded eye. Like watching a favorite old movie, nostalgia influences the hindsight that it was the best thing you ever experienced. And when you do play it again, knowing what vast improvements had been made to gaming since, a bad game will be readily apparent, ruining any fond memory you may have had. This is also a great way to figure out if a game really does stand the test of time.

Though improvements to standard genres like the First Person Shooter can’t be denied. In fact, they are probably the genre that pilots the industry machine. The basic mechanics haven’t changed in over 10 years, but the visuals and presentation have improved dramatically. I readily admit that going back to play Quake for its single-player campaign is a waste of time after playing Half Life. And after seeing the epic battlefields of World War II unfold in Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Call of Duty, I can’t expect myself to enjoy the Nazi shooting gallery of Wolfenstein 3D beyond its immediate comedic value.

With the amount of sequels being produced every year, going back to a previous installment would be like going back to a previous verison of MS Windows. There are too many features that have been implemented that have become commonplace. A good example would be Diablo versus Diablo II. The game world in Diablo feels smaller, it has a less interesting soundtrack, and you have to walk everywhere. I would rather play Super Metroid than Metroid. Super Mario Bros. 3 is the lowest I’ll go in the series for a serious playthrough. There is a balance between play and aesthetics that is reached; I really can’t explain it. Though in some rare cases, the previous game is actually better.

Yes, please.

Er…no thanks.

Wait. That’s the same game.

Mostly, though, backward compatibility can be bad for business. The good thing about making game consoles backward compatible is that you can play old games on it. The bad thing about backward compatibility is that you can play old games on it. The industry is well aware of these hypothetical lost sales. Why let people play the old game when they could be buying a brand new, “updated” version? Look at Super Mario All-Stars, Dune 2000, Metroid: Zero Mission, Sid Meier’s Pirates!, Doom 3. Publishers want you to be buying new stuff, not playing old stuff.

Furthermore, the funds spent on developing the means for backward compatibility may be an excercise in futility if it’s not even used. While the argument has been skewed in games media in either direction, it’s tough to really get an idea of whether this is a feature that’s absolutely required, or simply “nice” to have. While console developers have traditionally remained at a distance from the headaches of network code and constantly changing hardware, they are fast approaching the same realm of frustration that has plagued PC game development for years. The Xbox 360 has proven that backward compatibility can be a costly feature to implement – even partially. To ask that console manufacturers design their hardware for the future, but leaving it open to play games of the past is a tall order if a reasonable price point is to be maintained. Varying hardware configurations is a problem PC developers have to deal with all the time. With extra features being added to every generation of consoles to keep up with the trends in home theatre, is backward compatibility even a priority? Pursuing backward compatibility complicates the entire process, once again falling into the same types of traps as PCs – something that could have easily been avoided by not trying to replace them.

As for continuity, compiling gaming history onto one machine is next to impossible. Unless you’re using a PC. Though even running old DOS games can be tricky without using third-party tools. The history of gaming is too fragmented: we have arcade games of varying hardware specs, Atari and Colecovision’s home consoles, NES, Turbo Grafx 16, Neo Geo, Playstation – without resorting to emulation on a PC, there’s no way to play these games without the original hardware. While I’m sure there are individuals that have stacks of boxes in their garages filled with these gaming relics, it isn’t likely that the typical gamer would be able to experience these games as they were meant to be played. To ask for true backward compatibility is really asking for a unified platform. Being able to play a few hundred games over two generations on a single console is really insignificant next to having access to the countless games that influenced them.

I’m almost convinced that it’s too late for backward compatibilty. Forward compatibiltiy, as Ricardo Sanchez put it, should really be where the focus is. Make older games easily accessible by current hardware for those that want to play them. The Classics collections like Midway Arcade Treasures and the Mega Man Anniversary Collection that have seen release in recent years is evidence enough that some are willing to invest in them. Nintendo has even gone ahead and planned a service for the Wii that allows downloads of classic games for their own platforms, those of Sega, and the Turbo Grafx 16 for a nominal fee. It may not be true compatibility (the Wii will likely be running various emulators), but it involves no modifications to the console’s hardware. I’m no console hardware developer, but it seems to me it would be much easier to make old software run inside an emulator than designing new hardware to be adaptable for old programs.

It may be tough to justify spending money on a game already owned in another form, but if it means that someone will get to experience it at all, I’d consider it a small victory for the medium – not the industry. Ultimately, how backward compatibility is implemented isn’t that important. What’s important is that gaming’s collective history isn’t forgotten as the technology arms race reaches new heights of excess.

Dawn of Sorrow’s “Julius Mode” is unlocked by completing the ending where Soma (the character in the main game) assumes the mantle of Dracula. As Julius Belmont, you must go through the same castle to fulfill the destiny of the Belmonts. Subtracting the details of spell and inventory management, what remains is a veritable tribute to the Castlevania games of old. In fact, this same premise was used for Julius Mode in 2003’s Aria of Sorrow. Only this time you have friends.

Dawn of Sorrow’s Julius Mode gives you a team of three characters. Aside from the whip, Julius comes with a solid collection of traditional Castlevania powers like holy water, axes, and a cross boomerang. Yoko Belnades, who was a character from the main game, adds fire, ice and lightning spells into your repertoire of powers. Last, but certainly not least, as Julius you run into Genya Arikado (a returning character from Aria of Sorrow), who reveals himself to be none other than Alucard. While not having as many powers as the other two, he can change into a bat which allows entrance into some of the castle’s otherwise inaccessible areas. The current character is switched at the press of the “X” button.

As such, balancing the use of these three characters becomes an entirely new game that focuses on the straight ahead side-scrolling action of Castlevania before it had been fused with Metroid. The game even allows you to level up the characters. Aria’s Julius mode simply gave a full powered static character to plow through the game with, which was no easy feat during the last third of the game. My only criticism for this experience system is that the levelled-up life and mana pools are shared among the three characters, so the weaker Yoko will tend to drain the health pool faster than say, Alucard. Yoko’s mana will recharge a lot faster, though. With regard to castle exploration, there are quite a few dead ends such as the “Ice Blocks” area that is extremely time consuming to clear with the whip, only to find that there’s nothing at the other end worth pursuing. Though I’d hardly fault Konami for these shortcomings – they’ve essentially turned a bonus for completing the main game into a completely separate adventure.

The gaming mob is fickle.

The novelty of E3 continues to wear thin, for me at least. I’d rather selectively watch coverage on the internet than be stuck in line with a bunch of people who are probably not even supposed to be there. It’s become an amusement park. A giant, throbbing, noisy commercial for games that might not even see release, but we’re going to get super happy excited about anyway. How much can you really glean from a game’s trailer or 5 minute playtest that’s been built up after waiting for two hours? The software isn’t even complete. Is it to say you’ve played it first? I’m having a hard time figuring out my former longstanding desire to attend an E3. The gaming mob is fickle.

Remember when Nintendo announced the Nintendo DS a couple of years ago? Nobody knew what it would look like or what it would be capable of doing, and yet we all took turns kicking Nintendo in the balls. I did it, because I didn’t know any better. I’m glad I’ve learned since. And not just that the Nintendo DS is the best gaming handheld available. Yes, a handheld that is designed to play games.

Remember when Nintendo announced their new controller last year? I didn’t go out of my way to say anything, because it’s a controller. I didn’t know what it did yet. It looked a bit unconventional, sure. Who am I kidding, it looked like a TV remote in delightfully trendy iPod white. But who was to say what Nintendo had in store?

Remember when Nintendo announced the name of their new console? It wasn’t “Revolution”, but “Wii”. A hideous pun that was driven so far into the ground that I’m glad it will remain buried for eternity. With the dinosaurs. Was Nintendo making a mistake?

Now everyone wants to be Nintendo’s best friend. “We have a winner!” the people proclaim, proudly predicting the results of the Next Generation War after viewing Nintendo’s presentation at their press conference and overall showing at E3. I’d prefer to continue my cautious interest. Microsoft is staying their course and is proving everyone wrong after the early release of their hardware with a solid set of second wave releases. And how the mighty Sony has fallen. A tilting controller? Please. I’m glad to see that gamers are wising up to the diversion that graphical fidelity has become – polygon pushing processors don’t ever make up for bad game design.

The good thing about this year’s E3 was that there wasn’t a shortage of things to read about. There were many games that made their first appearance; some I hadn’t even heard about until the E3 coverage. What I’ve noticed, though, are the amount of titles that are being developed for the XBox 360 and PS3. Next to the PS3’s ridiculous pricing schemes, what incentive does a person have to get one? The 360 is even getting a simultaneous release of Grand Theft Auto IV! I didn’t see a single mention of the PS3’s online functionality. I was going to get a PS3 if only to have access to three generations worth of the excellent games that I’ve missed. Now I might just buy a PS2 when the price drops even further later this year.

Of course, there were some particular games that stood out in my mind (both good and bad):

Supreme Commander

Chris Taylor’s Gas Powered Games appears to be picking up where Total Annihilation left off. This has a lot of RTS fans in a slavering frenzy. If you haven’t played Total Annihilation, you probably don’t like RTS. That really is the only excuse.

Warhammer: Mark of Chaos

Dawn of War has one of the best opening videos I’ve ever seen in a game, even next to Diablo II. And yet Mark of Chaos comes along with something so astounding that makes it me want to play the game immediately. From the footage I have seen the game is taking the epic Total War approach to battles, with each faction in the game starting with a stronghold to launch a campaign across a contintental map. This is probably the game I am most excited about, based on the limited information available.

Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway and Call of Duty 3

Why do I continue to follow this genre like a lost puppy? It doesn’t seem to change much, and yet my thirst for the same Nazi-slaying action remains unsated. Hell’s Highway tackles Operation Market Garden, while Call of Duty 3 seems to be er…still streetfighting somewhere in Normandy. Except you can wrestle guns from your opponents now. The most troubling news about Call of Duty 3 is that it’s not being made for the PC. After experiencing the low-level tactics of Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers, I am expecting a lot more from Brothers in Arms.

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

This game sounds like Dawn of Sorrow’s Julius Mode, where you can switch between Julius Belmont the whip-wielding vampire hunter and Yoko Belnades (magic user). The third dimension is being introduced, curdling the blood of any Castlevania fan. It supposedly “adds depth” to the game world, but see for yourself how out of place the 2D sprites look on a 3D backdrop. I’m also disappointed at the the lack of any “collecting” system that has been at the core of the three GBA titles and Dawn of Sorrow. Is this to be a straightforward side scrolling action game? It’s a disappointing step backward.

Shadowrun

Um. Is that 3rd person action I smell? I can see Microsoft taking a beloved tabletop RPG and using its licensing power to market a mediocre shooter. Sounds like another Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel.

Sid Meier’s Railroads!

More family fun from Sid Meier! I’m anxious to try this thing if only for the implied historical content, though I’m not sure about those chunky looking graphics. Railroad Tycoon for kids? I hope the economic complexity of the Tycoon series holds up in this “reimagining” of sorts. I don’t think Firaxis will be able to get away with another remake like Pirates!, a game that actually made me feel bad for not being able to dance. But the plunder!

Mass Effect

Bioware’s latest RPG for the XBox 360 appears to go one step further than the Knights of the Old Republic series. Oblivion’s speechcraft system seems only half-realized; the dynamic conversation options in Mass Effect sound incredible in comparison. The action system is carried over from the KOTOR series in that it takes the party-based, pause to issue commands approach. Though using a brand new universe and story isn’t unfamiliar to Bioware, as one only has to look back at the well received Jade Empire. Nevertheless I’m very, very interested in what the game potentially offers. My only question is, what the fuck happened to Dragon Age?

Bioshock

Not sure about this one. All this talk about “spiritual successor” to System Shock 2 is getting a little annoying. It is, after all, being made for a console and from the sounds of it eliminating interface conventions of the CRPG experience (Oblivion is guilty of this as well). I get the sense that the story will be the discerning feature of this game, because to me they’re simply trying to make another System Shock 2.

Assassin’s Creed

Likely the only PS3 game I’m looking forward to. There’s a lot of talk of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in the previews when describing the main character’s movements throughout the game world. I don’t want an action game, though, because the medieval setting and the themes presented are easily suited for the stealth gameplay pioneered by the Thief series.

Indiana Jones

I love this character. I’ve played every Indy game there ever was. And yet something has happened over the years where the adventure is gone and the action has become the focal point. In most of the PR material, LucasArts is flogging “euphoria”, a kind of environmental awareness AI that allows the creation of unique animations during fistfights. Which sounds great, except that this does little to convince me I’m going to be getting an Indiana Jones adventure. Besides, using this new engine seems like asking for Havok’s amazing circus-like death poses that break immersion through sheer physical impossibility.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

This will be launching with the Wii. And it sounds like the controller is well suited to the series’ style. Like Hunters on the DS, Nintendo is quietly revolutionizing first person shooters for the console. I am glad that at least one console manufacturer is listening to PC gamers.

In this month’s article at The Cultural Gutter, I examine that the casual player of flight simulators may not be so casual after all.