Gameology – Page 2

Xbox One Vs PlayStation 4: An Age Old Battle That Took A New Direction

June 15, 2013 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) saw Microsoft and Sony continue their punch-up in the next-generation console battle, revealing the games, the features, and (most importantly) the price points of their new home products.

Microsoft revealed the design of their new console, dubbed the Xbox One, weeks before, attracting criticism for a clunky box that drew comparisons to early model VCRs. The criticism did not end there. The company rolled out some rather clumsy policies with regards to the sharing of games and the need for an online connection.

According to the mass criticisms, the company seemed to have learned nothing from the SimCity debacle that engulfed EA and Maxis, where players had to have a constant internet connection in order to play the game. Likewise, the Xbox One required a connection once per day, and would not function without it. The company also announced anti-consumer rules ‘that would have effectively banned gamers from trading in their purchased titles, or charged them extra for it’.

Meanwhile, Sony’s PS4 console struck several blows. First, there was the design: sleek and angular, with a blue glowing bar across it that gave it an edgy, sci-fi feel. This was matched by the new controller, the DualShock 4, which also has a tantalising blue light, as well as tweaked grip, a share button and a headphone jack. Then came the powerful right hook; the pricing. Sony priced its new console at $399/£349, significantly lower than the cost of an Xbox One at $499/£429. Then came the killer blow: there would be no restrictions on sharing games, trading games or selling games.

In the weeks following E3, Microsoft has since reversed its used game and always-connected policies. While the company may hope it shows they are willing to change, others may see it as a pretty weak back-track effort.

There’s no doubt about the upcoming exclusive Xbox games such as Ryse: Son of Rome, Dead Rising 3 and Halo 5 will tempt fans back to the fold – but in any case, with the PS4’s lower price point, a classy aesthetic design and superior RAM, Sony has definitely won the first round.

Is ‘Resident Evil 6’ The End Of The Series?

October 25, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

Games are like time bombs. Not with respect to sales, but with respect to the scrutiny they go through. This is especially an aggravated scenario for a series where one game sets phenomenal standards for its successors to follow. And if the follow ups do not live up to the hype, they get bashed to hell. The Resident Evil series is at the Apex of such scrutiny.

When Resident Evil 4 was released, it changed the way people looked at the horror genre. Lots of horror games had come before, many of them achieving great successes both critically and commercially, but none of them combined horror, tension and action to this degree. The game was the absolute pinnacle of survival horror and was a pivotal game in the Game Cube life cycle. It eventually made its way onto the PS2, garnering critical acclaim and commercial success. And as expected, the bar was set too high.

resident evil 4 pose — *A poster for Resident Evil 4*

This bar, this hypothetical tower that builds itself whenever something good is created, this is the thing developers must be really getting scared and pissed of. This bar changes everything. It creates expectations, of monumental proportions. And this is what affected the Resident Evil franchise. The fifth game in the series was not a bad game. I actually enjoyed it a lot. The gun play was really improved over the previous games and the enemy AI was better. But what it gained in the action perspective, is what is lost when it came to providing the chills. The game simply did not have the eerie feel of its legendary predecessor, and did not give that feeling of hopelessness. The last feeling a horror game needs to impart a player is that of actually being able to survive, or worse still, of being a badass with great chances of making it out with your head and limbs intact. And this is what most horror developers don’t seem to get these days. And Capcom are no exception to this.

I think what the industry needs is different directions for different genres. These days, action is integrated into almost every game, at the cost of originality, at the cost of the elements which actually made the game good. There is a huge market for the casual gamers out there, and every company is trying to attract that market by making their games more accessible. And accessibility means including elements that people on a large scale will like. But that will not necessarily make a game better or even good compared to what it was. The focus should be on providing a better experience, and not on making one which should cater to many. If what you have created is great, it will garner an audience. This was what Resident Evil 4 did so well, and look how well it sold. With what i’ve been hearing about Resident Evil 6, that does not seem to be the case. And if the future releases follow the same path, then I believe the series as we know it is dead.

Darksiders 2 – Can Death Bring New Life To A Dying Genre?

October 24, 2012 by Raj Agrawal Leave a Comment

As ironical as the title might sound, it’s true. The Fantasy Action/Adventure genre is dying. While games like God of War might still be going strong, they’re really the last beacons of hope in an industry primarily dominated by shooters. Prince of Persia is a series which has been done to death and is now stagnant with monotony. So with Darksiders 2, there comes a plethora of expectations that it will perform, and perform outstandingly well. But can it?

darksider 2 still — A still from Darksiders 2

Darksiders 2 is the sequel to Darksiders, which tells a deep and intriguing tale about how the fight between heaven and hell came full circle to earth and destroyed the planet, and how War – one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse was caught in the middle of it. While the first game established the story and the setting, the second game expands upon it to a great degree. Care has been taken to ensure that handling Death feels different compared to handling War. The environments are more expansive, and have much more packed into them to make the game a complete package.

Having played the game to “Death”, I think one should really appreciate what Vigil games have created here. Gone are the days where action games would have long campaigns. Under the pretext of making a focused experience, developers these days get away with making 7 hour campaigns that feel severely underdone. So when a game almost 40 hour long graces us, it’s difficult not be thankful to the developers for it. While the main storyline can be completed in 20 hours, the many side-quests in the game can easily eat out another 20 hours of your life, giving you that satisfied feeling of having played a long game, something which is becoming increasingly rare.

In the end, the success of the game really depends on how popular it can become. Word of mouth does help, but these days people are only concerned about specific franchises, and are generally reluctant to give a chance to something new and unique. Even though the first game sold over a million copies, these days a million copies just doesn’t cut it. Production costs are on the rise, which makes game development a less lucrative proposition than what it was before. Hence, a single game can be a make or break affair for many companies, which is the reason why we’ve see many studios closing down in the recent past. In such times, it is necessary for games like Darksiders 2 to succeed. The game is great; no doubt about that. All it requires is the fan-base to appreciate it, and the sales that it deserves.