Ben Zackheim
Articles by Ben Zackheim
Gears of War is an Xbox 360 exclusive
So the latest from informed sources is that Gears of War will not be a PC title. Mark Rein insists it will only be available on the Xbox 360, at least at first. As we all know, even Halo eventually hit the PC, so never say never. It's a good thing Epic/MS put this rumor down fast. You don't want people thinking that your sexiest title is easy.
Project Gotham Racing 3 pics
This is more like it. If you want to see some nice Xbox 360 eye candy, check out these screenies on DailyGame. The high-rez pics may be renders, they may be game shots. Quite a riddle, huh? If you've got your critical eye on, move along. But if you don't mind being naive, dream away!
Sony PSP is getting us all hot and bothered
If you don't own a PSP, you probably want one. That is, if Parks Associates' "Mobile Entertainment Platforms and Services" study is accurate. The consumer study asked around 2,000 U.S. Internet users what portable device they wanted to buy, and 49% answered "PSP." The second most desired hardware was the Nintendo DS/GBA (they were grouped together) at 33% and the N-Gage at 4%. You can take it with a grain of salt if you want, but it's hard to deny that the PSP is appealing to a mainstream audience with its sleek looks, and multimedia abilities.
Nintendo rakes up DS dough
Nintendo has nothing to complain about when it comes to the DS. The dual-screened unit has helped them more than double their year's profit. Net profit soared to Y87.42 billion from Y33.19 billion a year ago. The hot portable was part of the reason, and the weaker yen was, apparently, the other part. This should go a long way to dousing the ever-hot "Nintendo is going down!!!" meme. At least for this fiscal year…
Public Service Announcement: How to corpse hump
Nothing will get lunch digested faster than a belly laugh. Check out this clip titled, "Talking Smack Over Xbox Live!" In it, you'll find useful tips on corpse humping, smack talking and voicemasking. "Stay in drugs, don't do school…" Not a single socially acceptable moment in the whole thing. Timmy is my new hero. He's a fast learner. NOTE: The link goes righ to the WMV file. [Thanks Larry]
People are buying UMD movies for the Sony PSP
It looks like the UMD format is off to a good start. A lot of people wondered if the introduction of yet another format would turn users off. Actually, a lot of people still wonder if the introduction of yet another format will turn users off; but now proponents of UMD can snap back with some stats. Resident Evil 2 and House of the Flying Daggers have sold 100,000 copies each 70 available titles "Hundreds more" by the end of the year I watched Spider-Man 2 on my PSP on the flight to E3. It was a great experience, beating out my first DVD run-in, where the disc didn't play at all. The device is certainly a great way to avoid the trash they usually show on planes. I got quite a few admiring looks as I watched the crystal-clear screen. Especially from businessmen/guys in suits. Yes, they were looking at the PSP! UPDATE: Paramount has announced plans to brining television series to UMD. Expect to see compilations of South Park, SpongeBob SquarePants, Ren & Stimpy, and Viva La Bam, among other popular series.
Ultimate Spider-Man site is now open
One of the more eye-catching games at E3 was Ultimate Spider-Man. If a game opts for an animated or painted look it will always get more attention. Whether it's good or not is another matter. I passed the booth a couple more times, and found myself hypnotized by the visuals (an accomplishment when you consider how much stuff is at E3). It's pretty certain that Spidey fans will rush out to buy it, and if it's half as good as Spider-Man 2 then Vicarious Visions will have a mainstream hit on their hands. WARNING: Link will take you to a loud and obnoxious Intro page. Shame!
Xbox 360 clips line up for downloading
I can't figure out why MS and Sony are waiting so long to release high-def versions of their game clips. Why would any company want all these shaky-cam vids in rotation? Even the Big Boys are showing mostly sub-par files (except Killzone 2, of course). If MS wants to grab back some mindshare, now would be a good time to let loose the best they have. The link below will take you to a page of downloads, though it's incomplete. The biggest omission is Gears of War. Best foot forward everyone! [via MajorNelson]
Playstation 3 is still a work-in-progress
It will come as no surprise to many of us that the Sony Playstation 3 is not done yet. If you consider the launch is a good 9 months away then the next thought in your head should be, "that gives them a good 6 months to work on it." Making a console is like any other project out there — changes will be made right up to the 12th hour. Where it gets tricky is when you apply this logic to what we all saw at Sony's E3 PS3 launch. As I said in the podcast we did with Engadget, the Killzone 2 clip is a lie. There's no way it's captured real-time gameplay. When actual gameplay footage is eventually released a few of us will whine about the discrepencies, and the official word will be that E3 showed a representation of real gameplay, or somesuch nonsense. Yes, Sony has repeated that the Killzone 2 clip is real, but that doesn't make it true. Hey, I hope I'm just being a cranky old man, but I lived through the Emotion Engine and a Metal Gear Solid 2 gameplay/cutscene clip that made reporters cry. Traumatic stuff. On top of the Killzone 2 thing, the Fight Night Round 3 demo showed Kudo Tsunoda with a controller in his hand, as if he were playing the game. It's more likely he used it to rotate the camera during the sequence where he talked about the realistic look of the characters. Notice how still the characters were at that point. Yes, the FF graphics were probably real, but add a stadium of boxing fans, real-time action, audio and all the other bells and whistles we expect in a game, and my bet is that the final build will show a less impressive-looking game. Of course, many of us will point to the controller as proof that it wasn't an illusion, but it was. Both MS and Sony are trying to sell us on illusions. But, as time passes, I feel like Sony tried extra hard to pull the wool over my eyes. This article just drives that point home.
Just like being there - E3 gets done by GS
Sometimes we get the impression the mainstream gaming press doesn't like us very much. If we ever get mentioned it's usually as a rumor site. Sure, we do our little part to flame the speculation fire — it can be fun in measured doses. But we also love games, and the hardware that plays them. I'm big enough to admit I enjoy a couple of the big sites out there, and Gamespot's one of them. Here's a great example of why that is. Their E3 coverage was certainly among the best available. They tend to swarm the hell out of every event, every game and every accessory. The page on the other side of this link will show you what they're capable of on the hardware side. You'll find extensive run-downs of the top hardware (i.e. consoles) and quality video coverage of the console intros (the Sony speech alone is a 1.15 GB download!). We'll call them out when they're being morons, but we'll also throw them kudos when they done good.
Can games and religion mix?
BBC, ever-watchful of American trends, has a piece on the entry of Christian thinking in game development. What does this mean exactly? Good question. It seems to mean that the Christian developers will make action games without the gore and violence. Sounds good so far. However, the article ends with two quotes from Rev. Bagley, both striking in their contrast. "No blood, no guts, no gore," says Rev Bagley. "What we want are emotionally full games that don't just rely on adreneline." Awesome. I couldn't agree more. I enjoy Tetris as much as I enjoy Doom 3. Sure, in different ways, but Tetris has as much entertainment value as any game out there. And if he wants to, say, make a Bible game that lets you play in Christ's time, that could be really intriguing. But then Bagley goes on to say… "We are trying to build the genre of Christian gaming. People are tired of having these violent, demonic games dictating to their kids." Okay, come on. Dictating what, exactly? Is he implying that the developers are channeling the devil? I think he is. Does this mean Christians who work at Rockstar or id aren't Christians? Of course not. It's just a typical "Us vs. Them", "Good vs. Evil" attitude that's taken this country by storm. I'll be happy when that falls out of favor. Okay, I'll be happy when it even subsides a little. It's nonsense. Games are entertainment. If you're entertained by it, buy it. If you're not, don't. And if you're in a religious family, then keep the violent games out of your kids' hands. Outsmart them. It's in the job description.
The Xbox 360 OS is…
a revised Xbox OS, which was a derivative of Windows 2000. That is, if this article on WindowsForDevices is to be believed. The search for the OS came to a head at E3, when an ExtremeTech contributor dug up the goods. The data doesn't come from MS, but rather a hardware partner. Does that make it more or less likely to be true? Accurate, or not, the end result is the same…Xbox 360 will be a multimedia machine, so the OS will support copious amounts of hardware upgrades and accessories. [via slashdot] NOTE: The link is being hammered. Prepare to wait.
Call of Duty 2 game clip goes on forever, thankfully
If you don't mind some of that old E3 shaky-cam action, and you yearn for Call of Duty 2, then here's a file for you. Click on the "Download" link near the middle of the page. A pop-up will have a link called "HIER" and that's the one you're looking for. After a quick download, you'll have 13 minutes of a game that's so fun to watch you may mistake it for a great flick. [via BluesNews]
Playstation 3 to pull a Playstation 2?
Gamespot is asking the same question we all are…will the Playstation 3 be the same price as the PS2 was when it was released? The first two Sony efforts went for around $368 USD, and lightning may indeed strike three times. Though Sony has said the console will run at $466 USD, they recently told business partners that it would be closer to $370 USD. If true, this could mean more money in our pockets for actual games. If not true, we can always sit and stare at the cool console design until the next paycheck comes in.
Gamespot steps on Gamespy's toe
Gamespot is about to launch their new GameCenter initiative. The service will allow gamers to hook up the same way IGN's GameSpy Arcade does. Game servers, rankings, stat tracking, it's all there. It's hard to get an idea of what they're doing differently, though. I'd like to see a head-to-head comparison so I know what I'm buying. * Customize your own game server * Play on fast, pre-configured hosted servers * Quickmatch feature * Anti-cheat measures tools * GameCenter tournaments and events * Team matches and team profiles * multi-game rankings system (that sounds new) * VoIP technology * Access to Gamespot content * Game patches Considering IGN's partnerships with game developers, it should be interesting to see how extensive Gamepsot's library will be. If you're a Gamepot Complete member, you can check GameCenter out for free for "several weeks." At this point, you can sign up to be informed of when the trial begins.
Question: Are you excited about the Gizmondo?
With all the big guns in the room, the Gizmondo portable console was a bit quiet at E3. After a healthy debut in the UK recently, the device is about to make its North American bow. Come August 11th, the 50 states will be able to pick one up and start playing… • Angel Fish • Chicane • City • Colors • Conflict: Desert Storm II • Conflict: Vietnam • Fallen Kingdoms • Furious Phil • Future Tactics • Gizmondo Motocross 2005 • Hockey Rage 2005 • Interstellar Flames 2 • Johnny Whatever • Milo and the Rainbow Nasties • Momma Can I Mow the Lawn? • Speedgun Stadium • Sticky Balls • Stuntcar Extreme • Super Drop Mania • The Great Escape • Toy Golf • Trailblazer Not a lot of AAA titles, but they could be good. So, tell us…if you own one, do you like it? If you don't own it, do you want to?
Gameboy history gets some respect
4 color rebellion is a dependably good site to hit so get it on your bookmarks. This time around they strut their stuff with a Gameboy retrospective. It's high time we saw one of these, considering the Micro now makes the entire GB lineup quite formidable. The article gives us a good rundown of the history of the most successful portable console of all time. I couldn't agree more with the writer when he says that the GB has allowed developers to keep on crafting 2D ways to entertain us in a 3D-obsessed world. I sit here with my hand on my credit card, ready to buy Fire Emblem as testament to that fact.
Incredible Hulk impressions should give fans some hope
This is one of the titles I got a few minutes with at E3. The controls were easy and the moves were fun as hell to pull off. I don't want to say "I told you so" since it's still too early for that, but I can say with confidence that this will be the best Hulk game ever made. That says something, since the last one wasn't all that bad. I agree with the final paragraph of the Eurogamer article — the game may get repetitive after awhile. Of course, the same could be said for GTA. As long as Radical shakes up the missions, they'll have a sleeper on their hands. Oh yeah, and the more Betty, the better.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 E3 clip, in case you like Star Wars in the morning
Yup, my second Star Wars post in a row. Perhaps the hype has gotten to my head. This clip of Battlefront's sequel was playing at E3, and it was a genuine rubbernecker. The improvements to the game include a single player mode with "open-ended, mission based objectives" so you can sink your teeth into some AI action. You'll also get space combat, Jedi powers and the chance to fight inside the Death Star. What more could you want? Love the skirts on the troopers.
Star Wars Empire at War delayed
Word on the Lucas Arts site is that Star Wars Empire at War is getting bumped by a few months. The original launch period was Fall 2005, but the official game site now lists Spring 2006. It's an ambitious project that could help set the quality of post-film Star Wars games for years to come. Take all the time you need folks. [via GameGossip]