The Compact Disc- The future of gaming?

A look at the technological advancements in gaming from the 90s to now

No, you haven't stumbled across some ancient blog in the depths of cyberspace. I am writing this on the 30th January 2012. Whilst rummaging through my collection of games last night, a friend and I happened to stumble upon the dusty ghosts of two brilliant titles. The first was Flicky (from the glory days of SEGA) and the second was Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Being the age that I am, Flicky is a good example of the starting point of games for me. It didn't take days to complete a game and there was no such thing as a save file. You might get a game with passwords now and again but the majority of games could be passed around and shared, despite being 1 player games. You could have a five minute go on a game and then go about your day- something that seems ridiculous when you think about how ridiculously short an hour on Skyrim feels. Games were pixellated, 2D, simple, colourful and -above all- addictive.

With that as a backdrop, consider the next ten years in the world of games. 1994 gives us the first peek at the very ominous 'Project Reality' and come '97 it reveals itself as the Nintendo 64. With this comes the spread  of the 64BIT cartridge which means that we can play games with 3D characters in a 3D world! We can run around in circles and rotate a camera angle 360 degrees. This was a big jump and considering the fact that it coincided with the growth of the Pokemon franchise, Nintendo 64s were very popular with kids like me, hungry to get their mitts on Pokemon Snap and Pokemon Coliseum.We see the introduction of a console so futuristic and advanced that its games do not come on cartridges, but these new fangled 'Compact Discs'... Consoles the world over quake in fear as the most intimidating bit of kit bursts onto the scene and the era of the Playstation begins. During Sony's reign of terror, the SEGA Dreamcast is born and presents a lot of exciting ideas such as the first hint at online gaming. Unfortunately the world was not ready for the Dreamcast and so it didn't sell well and just kind of dissolved into the gaming fade. All in all, my childhood saw the making, breaking and advancement of many different technologies such as the Gameboy, GameGear, SEGA Dreamcast, Playstation 1&2, Nintendo 64 and XBox. What a childhood it was.

























So why all the rambling about the past? I just wanted to give a general feel of just how fast paced the market was in the nineties and early noughties. Naughty Dog released three Crash Bandicoot titles in under four years. Just think about that for a second. Three of the most popular games of the nineties were all developed  insanely quickly and in succession. If a game takes a year to develop now then it's a sure-fire bugfest and general letdown (cough cough- Dragon Age 2.) Skyrim- wonderful and complex as it is- took FIVE years to develop and it's still not flawless. That is the nature of gaming nowadays, true, but what a jump we've seen in the last fifteen years. People didn't wait five years for a game because in the time it took to make it, new technology would make the game obsolete. Imagine if Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped had been held in development until 2004. It might have looked a bit nicer and it would be bug free, but it would be on the shelves next to San Andreas on PS2!

Crash Bandicoot

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped

The evolution of Final Fantasy

I don't want to go on about this for much longer, because I want you to read to the end and participate with your opinions, so I'll wrap it up. The trend, in my opinion, has shifted in the build up to, and since the introduction of the seventh generation consoles (PS3, 360, Wii). In the past there has always been a limit to what you could potentially do when making a game, so progress was usually in the form of pushing the machine to its limits. This could be in terms of versatility such as the varied level designs and play styles in the Crash Bandicoot series. It could be in terms of sheer amount of content and visual quality as shown in the Final Fantasy series. The point I'm making is that the emphasis was always on getting the most out of the machine and then making a better machine to keep up with your ideas. Now we have a set of machines that are equipped to deal with more than ever before and the fact that the seventh generation isn't going anywhere fast means that developers don't have to worry about being left behind. Rather than having a framework of levels and worlds and loading screens in which you have to contain your ideas, developers can now attempt to do away with limitations and divides between what you can see and do. There doesn't have to be a distinction between the playable area and the background any more, because as we see in Skyrim, it is possible now to make the 'background' playable if you walk far enough.

In an attempt to wrap this up again, I would just like to point out that this is not an essay and is incomplete without the ideas of others. I would really like for people that read this to post a response with their opinions because that makes it so much more fun for me! Please contradict me, challenge me or improve on what I've said. I need a third party to bounce ideas off, because my ideas aren't as inspired as they once were when I had people to discuss them with- I'm looking at you Jyggalag.

DannyDarko x

Final Fantasy VIII (8)

Time for something a little bit older here. Final Fantasy 8 is one of the many installments of Squaresoft's (now Square-Enix) Final Fantasy series. Most of the games are completely separate stories set in different fictional worlds. There are common features in all of the games such as Mogs and Chocobos, but there are also lots of recycled names and non-player characters. Final Fantasy 8 was originally released on PS1 in late 1999. Back then it was on 4 discs, which shows just how big this game was, considering that most games fit on one disc. This was also the case for it's predecessor, FF7 which was released in late '97 on three discs. After the commercial success of FF7, Squaresoft were regarded by many as master storytellers and brilliant game maker, but following FF8's release they became known for smashing the competition to pieces with their stunning cut-scenes. The cut-scenes in this game were so advanced that it is difficult to believe there was room for improvement. The characters looked more real than anything in any game or animated movie and I don't recall any other game of the time coming anywhere near as precise and lifelike as FF8. 

Cutscene

Like any gamer that revisits a treasured nostalgic game, I started FF8 with quite a knot in my stomach. I was wondering if it would be as good as I remembered. Would it be as good-looking? Would it be as encapsulating? Would it feel the same? This time round I have downloaded FF8 from the PlayStation network and played it on my PSP, which removes the element of undivided attention from the proceedings, because I tend to do other things while I am using my PSP. It was probably for the best however, because this game is very time-consuming. Back when I was 10 years old this was a huge plus, because it meant that for the price of one game I could be entertained for months and months. Now that I have other things in my life such as a job and a relationship and family etc., I do have to split my attention between more than just games and food. So, in a roundabout way I'm trying to say that the PSP allowed me to play for an amount of time I could not give to the PS3.

In-game

 The game was just as I remembered: lots of menus, drawing magic from monsters, equipping magic to raise stats, stealing, fighting, finding, reading and exploring. Each of the characters that I found along the course of the story were like old friends I was catching up with, scheduled and familiar because I knew when they all came into the story, of course. The story unfolded as I played and I knew what was going to happen at every turn. I found myself returning to a random corner of a house or stealing from a certain boss because I just knew that that's what I should do. It would seem that all of the habits and tricks I had picked up in the past had stuck with me over the last decade. Playing the game felt very much like de ja vu and I took delight in the fact that I had remembered to play cards with the boy in the blue top and the Trepe Groupie #1 in order to get my Minimog and Quistis cards. This might sound crazy to anyone who hasn't played the game, but if you have then you will know what I'm talking about. If you've played the game again recently then I'd really like to know if the game had the same effect on you. 

Battle

If I was looking at the game as a new release in 2012, then I would have to say that the cut-scenes look good, the in game graphics are grainy and the lack of spoken dialogue means the text boxes are a bit heavy on the eyes. I would probably think that the turn based battles were a bit slow and that the story was good, but the game's difficulty hiked up by the games complicated levelling and junctioning system was too difficult for a newcomer or casual gamer. That said, if you've enjoyed other Final Fantasy games then I would recommend this, as well as the others. If, like me, you haven't played this game for a long time I would say it's definitely worth a trip down memory lane.

DannyDarko x

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3

Here we go: MW3 post- Mark II

So I had already written the most beautifully crafted, hilarious, accurate and encapsulating piece on this game, but it somehow got deleted. This means that in true Tenacious D style, I give you the tribute to the greatest post in the world. (Just going to write another piece really..)

He's back and you actually control him this time

In the unlikely event that you are new to the Call of Duty series, then let me give a brief but accurate synopsis of any and all of the games in the series. Call of Duty: *insert number/subtitle here* is a fast-paced, first person shooter that sees military hard men parading round the globe shooting up anyone that looks even remotely eastern. The general gist for the Modern Warfare titles has been that a crazy, sadistic Russian terrorist by the name of Makarov has been traipsing around Europe killing folk with various technologies. Makarov wants to see Russia at war with America and has a pretty good go at making this happen. Modern Warfare 3 runs with this storyline and the whole game is centred around finding Makarov and his lackeys. I may as well not bother with any of this storyline lark, because it is all a ruse. The story is a very minor feature in this game, just like it was in the others. When I'm sneaking through the dusty streets of some African village watching civilians being executed as I stare helplessly, knowing that if I break cover I will be killed, my focus is entirely on the problems at hand. However, when I have finished sneaking through the streets, infiltrating a stronghold and killing the leader of this murderous bunch, the level ends and a loading screen comes up. At this point in time I have a moment to reflect and I wonder to myself... What the bloody hell did that have to do with anything? Oh it was the CoD version of chasing up a bit of intel. Right...

Minor rant aside, I don't mind that the story is so threadbare because quite honestly they could scrap the campaign altogether for all I care and give me twice as many Special Ops. This game mode is the best thing to happen to the series in my opinion because it does away with the silly problem that is plotline and allows CoD to do what it does best: brilliant set pieces that involve stealth, tactics, brute force, vehicles, allies, gadgets and any mix of the lot. The Special Ops mode allows you to feel like a proper military badass and the only bad thing about them in my opinion is that there aren't more of them. And yes, I do think Special Ops is better than zombies- 100% better.

 The graphics haven't seen much of an improvement since Modern Warfare 2, in fact I was shocked at how similar it looked on first sight. I do like the look of the rain dripping from things in the campaign and I'm going to try and figure out how to get a clip of that up just in case anyone else is as painfully sad as me. Not much else to say about looks really, because sadly not much has changed... big downer. On the plus side, however, the guns feel right again and when you look down the sights of an AS50 and pull the trigger you can feel the power. Recoil, bullet damage and knife lunging is all back to normal so for me the gameplay is spot on. One big problem for me is that Sledgehammer have turned the grenade launcher setting from terminate to tickle, which must be a knee-jerk reaction to Blandy's videos.

Multiplayer is obviously a big selling point for this game and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I know that a lot of people seem to have a problem with multiplayer sacrificing single player content (See fullyramblomatic.com) I'm going to leave multiplayer out of it for today, but I will come back to it. I like it, but I'll save it for another time.

The bottom line is that the game has it's flaws. If you want a deep, rich story with complex characters and intricate interlinked plot points then you should be looking at my Heavy Rain post, because you aren't going to find all that in MW3. The gameplay more than makes up for the lack of story, because it constantly entertains. It gives you set piece after brilliant set piece and never really gives you a minute to take a breath. The easiest thing to say is that if you liked MW2 you'll like this, because unfortunately it's very similar. The good thing about that is that MW2 was the best in the series and this one has survival mode too!

DannyDarko x

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

So it's finally here after a huge five year wait. If you care about this series you probably already bought this game with the intention of making the character you've been thinking of for years. But wait... You only choose your race and what you look like. No more major and minor skills, no more star sign, no more setup. You pick who you are and you begin. What you are isn't decided by your 'class' but by how you play. Cool right?

This decision from the developers is very interesting and highly discussed, but the question is does it work, is it an improvement? Long story short: yes. You stumble out of the first town armeed with a bow, a sword, a shield, some spells and two hands. You can put a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. You can use a bow and arrows, taking up both hands. I put a sword in one hand and alternated between a healing spell and a fire spell in the other using the 'favourites' menu. So really, by removing a bunch of choices from the game and throwing you in the deep end, Bethesda have actually given us the chance to choose every time we play. I could be a greatsword-wielding tank on Tuesday and an armourless spellslinger on Wednesday with only a Mr.Ben-esque change in between.

Skills level up by simply using them which has been the case in the previous installments, Morrowind and Oblivion. You can raise skills using trainers and books, but the big change here is that all skills give experience towards your character's level advancement. Major skills, although technically being done away with are still cleverly incorporated because the higher a skill gets, the more experience you gain for raising it. I know I'm banging I a bit about the boring side of things, but that's what's brilliant about it; the boring task of planning your path by scrolling through menus has now become a sort of try before you buy. Are two-handed swords any good? In Oblivion I could have created a character, gone through the lengthy tutorial opening, made it a major skill had a little play. I could always make a new character if I didn't like it. Takes half an hour, an hour maximum. In Skyrim it's a simple case of relieving my latest victim of their huge sword and swinging it at their friend's head and neck. If I don't like it then I pick up the friend's staff and have a go with that. That's two little experiments in the space of a few minutes and becuase I'm not tied down to any particular skill set I could easily take a shine to a weapon or spell set and run with it for the rest of the game.

Ok, so I like the skill shakeup. That's clear, but that's just the beginning. The graphics in this game are very good. I do have to admit that the jump hasn't been the same as the mind-blowing change from Morrowind to Oblivion, but that's a cross platform jump, so tough competition. The little details are what count here. The fact that you can literally see for miles without fear of a broken or blurred image. The only thing that will affect the scenery off in the distance is the mist and cloud that rolls across the landscape, another nice touch. I think I read somewhere that if you can see a point, you can get there. I tried this out a little bit and ended up winding my way up a huge mountain, thus proving that the comment was quite right. Another nice touch is that you can still see the lanscape from within the walls of cities if you get high up, very immersive. There is one slight niggle in the 'see it, touch it' idea... the edge of the map. You can walk to the edge of the map to be greeted by a text prompt telling you 'You cannot go that way.' Slight hiccup in the immersion there, but to be fair to get to the edge of the map I did have to shuffle awkwardly up the side of a near vertical mountain side where no person has any business going... but still.

The combination of great graphics, great sound and improved voice acting means that the interactions that your character has with the physical world have seen a massive improvment from the previous installments. You will see doors actually open now, NPCs turn their heads to speak to you and actually mention their discomfort when you crouch down behind them in the hope of lightening their pockets. These little touches mean that you no longer get a mercant sucking your soul into his eyes or a beggar with a dual-personality disorder asking you for a coin one minute in a wobbly, wheezing voice and recommending his favourite vintage like a Cambridge elocution tutor the next. What you get is a huge, beautiful, complex world that damn near draws you in everytime you play it.

Act natural... They kind of do this time.

The absolute highlight for me about this game is one that will make many people question my ability to write these posts and have any stable opinion on games. But here it is anway: When I conjure my Dremora Lords and they kill an enemy on a ledge or rock face, if the next enemy is a small height below them, they just hop off the edge rather than walking along the designated path or simply skipping a few frames to get there. This means that when I've got one bandit backed against a wall, slashing at him with my bound sword and one Dremora Lord has another, I don't have to worry about the second Dremora taking a detour halfway round Skyrim. He hops off his ledge and advances on the next enemy, showing the urgency and pace of a real battle. Really? That's the best thing about this game? To quote Sawyer (From Lost, not Mark Twain's) 'It's all in the details, Freckles.' (Disregard the last bit... unless you have freckles.)

The gameplay is much the same as always, except that you can switch between weapons and spells more easily. You can swing a sword and cast some spells at the same time and you can cast more than one spell at once. Enchanting is back and there is a new Smithing skill which allows you to make and improve your own armour and weapons. You can sprint, sneak and jump your way around Skyrim, but Acrobatics is out so leaping tall buildings in a single bound is no longer possible, so put down the cape. Quests are completed, rewards are given, caves and ruins are explored. Life in The Elder Scrolls games goes on as normal and that's what I love so much about this series. The lore is still the same, the concept hasn't changed because it doesn't need to. Bethesda have taken a brilliant idea and painstakingly improved it over a massive period of time, paying attention to all the things that reviewers and fans have had to say. I know that this post is disgustingly positive, but there aren't many bad things for me to say about Skyrim.

Well, there are four:

1. The grind of raising Alchemy.

2. Overpowered bosses spanking me without warning.

3. Vampirism.

4. Deer stuck in a rock.

Discuss.

By DannyDarko x

Just a quick one to say that my laptop has been dead for a good six months now, but I'm reviving the blog. MW3 and Skyrim will be first in the firing line.

DannyDarko x