Interviewer: Is that why you wouldn’t play LEGO Star Wars with Megan Fox on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen?
Shia: Correct. Who wants to play the Wii version of LEGO Star Wars. I’d rather eat glass.

Read the full, but sadly short, interview on BigDownload.

• Braid and Mirror’s Edge share an award for reinventing platforming, a genre I normally dislike, in new and supremely creative ways. Braid is probably the most creative video game I’ve ever played while Mirror’s Edge has some of the slickest design aesthetics.
• Far Cry 2 and Burnout Paradise share another award for bringing great open-world gameplay to their respective genres (shooter and driving respectively). Both succeed because they make learning the environment (be it shortcuts through city streets or sniper hills over mercenary camps) just as important as raw driving or shooting ability.
• Left 4 Dead, Resistance 2, and PixelJunk Monsters all get awards for perfecting co-op gameplay. The best parts of these games are impossible to win without good team-work, but that requirement feels more like an opportunity than a burden.
• The Witcher Enhanced Edition and Mass Effect for PC prove that even great games can be better with some polish. Both games suffered from dramatically long load times in their original forms but that is no longer much of an issue in the improved versions. The Witcher also received the kind of polish that it always deserved in its Enhanced Edition which smoothed out the uneven dialog and cumbersome inventory management. Mass Effect also got some inventory improvements in the PC version along with better squad control. There are two take-away lessons here: it’s hard to do an RPG right but extra work can make a big difference. I hope that publishers looking to rush RPGs out the door in the future take note of this; some great RPG games have died unnecessary deaths because of hurried ship dates (See Vampire: Bloodlines or Knights of the Old Republic II).
• Sins of a Solar Empire get big kudos for transplanting the one-more-turn ad-infinitum addictiveness of games like Civilization into a RTS game that’s nearly impossible to stop playing. It’s so good, in fact, that after two marathon games when it first came out I’ve been loathe to pick it up again because I worry it will consume me.

The newest Halo game is hugely outdone by BioShock in single player and Team Fortress 2 and Call of Duty 4 in multiplayer… so why should I bother with Halo at all? Oh yes, I remember, because I enjoy hearing the words homo and fag as insults.

In summary, Halo 3: Why Bother?

In some poorer news, it was also announced that the game would be pushed back from December to February 10th here in the US. Oh well, it gives me more time to secure a Wii instead of fighting for one with soccer moms this Christmas season (since this and Mario Kart are really the only games I’m interested in playing on the Wii).

(Via Ars: Opposable Thumbs)

It certainly looks like it’s being done ‘right’ (meaning adhering to the classic traditions) rather than the filthy POS that was known as Bomberman: Act Zero. It’s good to see that Hudson pulled their head out of their ass after that one.

Check out the trailer for the new game known, very surprisingly, as Bomberman Live.

I can’t say I’m a fan of the costumes but I am a huge believer in 8 player mayhem so who am I to complain? I’d even venture to say Bomberman (done right) is the purest form of multiplayer video-game.

Go Go Red Bomber!

“Meh.”

I mean, I only played Wii Sports, but I really don’t understand what the big deal is about. I see Wii like computer solitaire: a complete waste of my time. Are people that hard-up for simple games? (Answer: yes, apparently so, because the casual gaming market is in the middle midst of an explosion.)

Yes, the motion controller is kind of cool. Yes, it does bring some new dimension to the games. But no one seems to realize there is a trade-off that comes from this controller. Designing a game around the motion control means you leave the traditional schemes behind, and with that you sacrifice a lot of depth because the Wiimote is not really a precision input device like a button. Sure it makes a great pointer but so does a mouse (plus, a mouse is hundreds of times more sensitive). So you loose a lot of accuracy from the motion control and this means you have to make your game ‘looser’ to compensate.

It’s akin to the difference between playing Halo with your Xbox controller joystick or playing with the mouse a keyboard: when you play with a joystick the game takes this into account and gives you a margin of error (auto-aim). On the flip side, mice are accurate to the point that an auto-aim feature in a shooter would be considered kiddie mode or outright cheating. The difference between the Wiimote and a joystick works on the same level. The game has to make assumptions that you’re doing the right thing as long as you’re close enough even more so than a the joystick. This makes the experience feel sloppy to me and it ruins the whole illusion that “Wow, it’s like I’m really swinging the bat.”

So yeah, I’m done with the Wii at least until they get the next Super Smash Brothers out (which I’ll be playing with a GameCube controller anyway).

Disclaimer: I’m a mouse and keyboard PC gamer (I’m lumping Macs with PCs here). I was raised on the likes of SimCity, Civilization, and WarCraft. My favorite games are mostly hard RPGs (D&D) and real time or turn based strategy games. I like games where there is a lot of tactical decision making, where you have to think a lot, and where you have to work the math and numbers on your units/characters to succeed against your opponent. I’m exactly the wrong type of gamer for the Wii I think.

But honestly, if I really wanted to bowl, I would go bowl. At least then I would feel like my physical actions were having a strong impact on the outcome of the game.

I mean, he codes, he blogs, plays video games, he composes, and he sings: I want to be Cabel when I grow up. (Editor’s note, graduating from college would be a good time to start that grow up thing).

Who else would film bugs in Saints Row then edit them together with musical theatre? I present to you: Buggy Saints Row: The Musical

(Also, I would ask that someone grant me that kind of free time for personal blog-worthy projects… please?)

Anyone?

Not that there’s something wrong with it… it the trailer looks fantastic and the music definitely sets the mood, but it still seems like a very odd choice for a trailer.

Update (11/12/06): Kottke, as usual it seems, has more info here.

The private equity firm Elevation Partners has announced the formation of a creative and management partnership with Pandemic Studios, LLC and BioWare Corp., two leading independent video game developers.

There’s a bunch more information about the deal and the two companies on the press release page so I won’t regurgitate it here, but here’s a few points I found interesting.

• Thankfully it seems, at least from the press release, that Elevation Partners is interested in allowing both companies to retain their independence as developers. The companies won’t be merged to create some bastardized version of their former selves, and the funding will allow games to be created without the focus on artificially imposed build targets, deadlines, and rushed releases often associated with traditional game development. Greg Zeschuck, joint CEO of BioWare explains this best: “Great video games… are an art form, as lovingly crafted as a film, musical score, or novel. That means taking the time work [the] magic. Fans are the real winners in this deal, because we will now have the resources and creative discretion to make the right decisions for our products.” As some may know, I’m a huge BioWare aficionado, so news like this is music to my ears. Here’s the deal BioWare: whatever you need for Dragon Age is yours: My eternal soul? Where do I sign?, Dead babies? Cute, cuter or cutest ones? You get the idea (would you please update the Dragon Age website now though?).
• Original intellectual property (IP) is really played up in this deal (the press release notes each company has several in house IPs). I think it’s exciting that original IP is being supported in this way as it would be nice if the industry could cut itself off of the licensed property “crutch,” not that all licenses are bad (see BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic) but they’re often used instead of focusing on making a good game. Additionally, if you look at some of the stuff that Blizzard is able to do by having control over their own IP with games like World of Warcraft, you can start to understand the power of original IP over the licensed kind: Blizzard doesn’t have to get approval from say, Tolkien’s estate, to make changes and add features to the game and instead gets to focus their time on creating an exciting, original, and addictive alternate world. The other reason original IP excites me is that I know there are lots of exciting stories and original ideas out there that will never get get out if the gaming industry continues to rely on sequels and movie licenses.
• The last thing I found notable about the deal was a list of some of the Elevation Partners team members, which includes such notables as John Riccitiello, former President and COO of Electronic Arts (I imagine he knows something about game development), Fred “Fists of Fiscal Rage” Anderson, former CFO of Apple, and Bono, the singer for a little band known as U2 among others. It’s quite a powerhouse.

Overall, it looks like an exciting time and I’m hoping for the best for both development houses. Just continue putting out the goods guys (and BioWare, seriously, call me about Dragon Age okay?).

As some of you know, I have a little place in my heart for BioWare and now I’m considering getting a 360… [Okay, so it's a rather large place.]