61 Frames Per Second : fable 2

My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Fable 2

Bob Mackey — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 16:00:00 GMT

It's the end of another year, and that can only mean one thing: it's list season. Inevitably, you're going to see top ten lists by the thousands; and, as an official member of the enthusiast press, I'm afraid I can't violate my directive. But, to make things a little more interesting, I've decided to assemble my 10 favorite games of this year in non-hierarchical form because--let's face facts--it's hard to pick a favorite. And unlike other top 10 lists, this one will be doled out to you in piecemeal over the next several excruciating days! Please enjoy.

One of the major reasons Fable II surprised me with its greatness is that Lionhead's medieval sequel was completely off of my radar until I needed something to play in October. Before that, the last time I had flirted with any of Peter Molyneux's creations was 1999's Dungeon Keeper II--and many would've agreed that was the perfect place to leave the ambitious developer behind. But Fable II was a redemption for Molyneux, and one he desperately needed, at that; after nearly an entire decade of disappointments, gamers were getting less and less interested in the shit he'd been shoveling. Thankfully, Fable II is remarkably less fecal than his 00 output--it's actually damned good.

Looking back at all of the time I spent with GTAIV makes me wish that Fable II had been released in the early summer. The two games are completely opposed in design, yet they each offer their own massive areas to explore; Fable II, however, remembers that it's a video game, so it actually gives you things to do in its world. What little story exists in Fable II sits quietly in the background as you take advantage of all the little systems the game has to offer. Sure, it's glitchy, and just a little too easy--I don't even remember dying once--but Fable II basically lets you play God (a Molyneux standby) to the people of Albion, instead of permitting you to be impressed with a large, sterile world you can ice skate around in.

And hell, Fable II is the first time a game made me turn completely evil. I plan on taking it on another spin at some point in the future, if only to see what it's like to live a life where I don't kick chickens and marry multiple whores. If only real life offered such options.

Related Links:

My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Audiosurf
My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Braid
My Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Grand Theft Auto IV

Joe’s Top Ten Games of 2008 – Part One

Joe Keiser — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:00:00 GMT

The official mandate has come down from the top—that it is December, and we all write about games, so we all have to pick some arbitrary number of them that we enjoyed above all others this year. I am taking on this task in the way of our forefathers, using their traditional number (10) and order (from great to most greatest). Games were chosen for this list using a highly scientific list of criteria, including but not limited to dopamine levels, blood alcohol content, coin flips, and the rate at which the number of in-game explosions approached infinity. Today is #10-#8.

10. Fable 2

I played Fable 2 during a two-week period in which I saw some significant real-life difficulties, so the game’s emotional moments, being fiction, didn’t resonate as strongly with me as they did with others. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate the risks the game took or the choices it forced the player to make. Yet while it went further than most games, it still didn’t go far enough, with punishment for doing the right thing in the face of temptation still being too easy to make up for later. But the game play was there; Fable 2’s shallow but broad mechanics encouraged experimentation while making sure there was always something new to try.

9. Mother 3

Yeah, this is a recent fan translation of an old GBA game. I don’t need to explain it, you know all about it already. The translation itself shamed some professional efforts, as it was flavorful but didn’t diminish any of the game’s most affecting moments. And the game itself was fantastic—it floated several candid depictions of loss on a sea of outrageous absurdity, a combination of themes that you’ll recall was loved by your college English professor. It’s easy to see why Nintendo opted to not bring this out in the States, as Mother 3 has a combination of themes and content that makes it almost impossible to market. But it was that combination that made Mother 3 one of the most unique and powerful titles in recent memory.

8. Spore

I feel like a lot of people didn’t really understand what Spore was trying to do, and why it was one of the year’s best games. Complaints like that most of the game modes weren’t fleshed out or complex enough were ridiculous—forcing players to figure out a whole new complicated set of interconnected rules every few hours isn’t a learning curve, it’s a learning Everest. Spore took the correct approach by instead being the first few hours of four very good games, staying put in the early periods that encourage playfulness and experimentation. Instead of throwing new rules at you, Spore throws out endless waves of surprising, often beautiful new content. The space phase is worth playing solely for this reason, as who knows when you’ll trip over your next tuxedo walrus? I often play games just to see what new art will be on the next screen. Spore is the king of games for this type of player.

Related Articles:

Joe's Top 10 Games of 2008 - Special Jury Prizes
10 Games Nadia Played Instead of Working: The World Ends With You, Super Smash Bros Brawl
Bob's Top 10 of 2008 in No Particular Order: Audiosurf, Braid, Grand Theft Auto IV
Derrick's Top 13 Games of 2008 - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
What Amber Didn't Play in 2008
Time Magazine's Top 10 Games of 2008

Populous: Text Based Tutorials Need to Die In A Fire

John Constantine — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Like every other Peter Molyneux game outside of Fable and its sequel, Populous escaped my attention the first time around. I remember sitting in my buddy Mike McBride’s house in the early ‘90s watching his brother play the game for hours and thinking, “I have absolutely no freaking idea what is going on! Why is nothing jumping or shooting?” XSEED, being the swell cats they are, sent us a copy of the new DS version of Molyneux’s classic, so I’m finally spending some time with the man’s much loved debut.

I have absolutely no freaking idea what is going on.

This is because Populous DS is frontloaded with that most dreaded of barriers between player and actual play: the text-based tutorial. Over the course of thirty minutes, you are given a text passage explaining the game’s basic rules and then asked to perform them individually, pretty much guaranteeing that you will retain none of the information you were just force-fed incrementally. Would it be so hard to have text pop-ups explaining the mechanics while you actually play the game instead of separating them? Is that really too much to ask in this magical day and age of narrative-integrated, in-play, and skippable tutorials?

You make it hard to love you, Populous DS. Dag nab it.

Editor’s Note: Text adventures are allowed to have text tutorials. I guess.

Related links:

Molyneux's Redemption?
Impressions: Fable 2
Screen Test: Fable 2
This Week in Shrieking Annoyances

Gamers: Let's Slow Things Down

Bob Mackey — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:00:00 GMT

There's been a certain problem with gaming that's only gotten worse over time: it's what I like to call Late to the Party Syndrome. It happens whenever people on the Internet venture to talk about a game more than two weeks after its release date; daring to excuse their transgression, they proclaim themselves "late to the party" and sheepishly try to revive a lost conversation.

Of course, the problem isn't these "latecomers." We, as gamers, are becoming--or may have already become--a culture that absorbs new products as fast as possible in order to move onto the newest and next biggest thing. There's something to be said about the only acceptable window of conversation for a game being the two week period around its release, and when said game becomes retro rougly a decade later.

This is why I'm thankful for podcasts like 1UPFM, which has a "Backlog" section that features editors' thoughts on playing games from as far back as the mythical age of 2005. And, to be completely fair, the consume-and-forget lifestyle doesn't exist in the world of video games alone. I remember back when the last Harry Potter book came out, everyone on the Internet practically had a race to see who could finish it first. Whatever happened to savoring something you enjoy, and taking time out to reflect instead of binge?

Oh, and now that Stephanie Meyer's god-awful Twilight books are the Next Big Thing, several articles about them have basically stated, "Potter who?" ARGH.

Between schooling, writing, teaching, and blogging, I have very little free time as it is, so I may sound like a hypocrite in asking people to be less effective with their spare time. I, too, could joylessly rush through as many games as I could in my gaming time--but that doesn't sound very fun to me. Last night, I finished Fable 2, a game that took me roughly a month to get through. The main quest probably could have been finished in about a week, but I wanted to get as much out of the game as I could. Yes, I did miss out on the nine million other games that were released in that month-long time span, but you know what? They're not going anywhere.

Places like GameStop may be encouraging this sort of "Get rid of your games ASAP" behavior, but that doesn't mean you have to buy into it. I know I pimp the place out enough (and receive nothing from my pimpings), but get a GameFly subscription, stop hoarding, and quit viewing your games as ticking time bombs steadily decreasing in value. And most importantly, slow the hell down. Don't become an automaton speedrunning through Corporate Blockbuster Version A-13 motivated by peer pressure alone.

Related Links:

Square-Enix's Prez Sez: "Japan needs to be #1 in gaming again, homeslices."
Video Games Are Haute Couture
Going Back in There: My Very First Hour With Pokemon, part 1

Microsoft Might Just Hate You

John Constantine — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:00:00 GMT

This is a rumor. It might not be true. Someone on the internet thinks it is. Others do not.

Maybe. Can’t tell for sure yet. I mean, Fable 2 sure does make it seem like Microsoft loves you and everyone else. That game is delightful. But there was that little matter of launching a console too early, shipping hundreds of thousands of units with faulty innards that ultimately caused them to crash and flash nasty red lights at game players across the land. This would seem to indicate that they do in fact hate you. Now, a purported customer service rep from Microsoft has said that the impending Xbox 360 fall update, which will introduce the brand new Xbox Experience and all of its avatar-ly goodness, might just cause a very large number of Xbox 360s, particularly launch consoles, to start flashing those little red rings of death. Not only that, but the rep has implied that Micorsoft’s positioned the launch of the update specifically so that it releases after the Xbox 360 extended warranty, instituted last year to compensate for the red ring failures, has lapsed.

There’s no way to confirm that this is true, mind you. Considering the nature of net rumors, it most likely isn’t true at all. But wouldn’t that be a pisser? The idea of it alone now has me nervous about the impending update. I’m actually quite excited about the new 360 interface. It’s attractive and looks like a far friendlier system than the current “blades” UI, and while I think the new avatars are a fairly limp attempt at competing with Nintendo’s Miis, I don’t exactly find them offensive either. Still, my roommate’s 360, the only one I have regular access to, is over two years old now, manufactured during the Red Ring of Death’s prime, and I’m nervous enough about its life expectancy without having to worry about a software update potentially bricking the poor thing.

For what it’s worth, you can check out the original story here. You can then join me in senseless anxiety.

(Link: Gaming Confidential via Xbox Scene via NeoGAF)

Related links:

Have You Seen This XBox Game?
R.I.P. Xbox 720 and Playstation 4: The Future of Gaming
The Banjo Kazooie Text Debacle Part 3: Text Hard With a Vengeance
Impressions: Fable 2
The Curious Case of Playstation Home
E3 Day Two: Spin, Malaise, Sony’s New Clothes, and Nintendo’s True Disruption

Election Day Gaming

Bob Mackey — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:00:00 GMT

If you live in America, it's voting day; and, if you have a the nuanced political view of your average American, voting is a binary choice between good and evil. This blog is hardly the place for politics--and I'm not going to tell you who I voted for (Hint: It rhymes with "I'm poor.")--but, if you are an American who hasn't been convicted of a felony, you should probably consider getting out to vote. Oh, and you also should have registered a month ago. Listen, I can't live your life for you.

Since I have this Election Day off, I have many options: should I start my drinking early, just in case the outcome is less than favorable? Should I continue with the production of my homemade dynamite, in preparation for possible class riots? The answer, of course, is I'm going to do what I do every day: play video games. But today, I'm working on a theme.

In keeping with the general election premise of good vs. evil, I think it's only fitting to play one of the many games that use this time-honored opposition as a core game play mechanic. Luckily for me, I still have Fable 2 sitting around; and while it's certainly an apolitical game, it marks one of the few times I've grown bored with good and decided to try evil on for size--but in no way does that reflect my voting habits.

What I love about the evil path in Fable 2 is how much they make you commit; you start off small by eating like chicks (the yellow, fuzzy kind) and sacrificing a handful of villagers to a cult. But after these two initial missions, you're asked to wipe out an entire village full of innocent citizens single handedly. I gotta admit shooting innocent farmers as they fled from me in terror made me feel a little guilty--but when I discovered I could make up for my 39 murders by doing a little community service, I started wondering if this is a system we could apply to America. I'd wander into a cave of monsters if it meant paying off all of my student loan debt in one fell swoop.

Anyone else working on a loosely-themed political gaming session today? If you're strapped for ideas, you can always check out Mercenaries 2.

Related Links:

Alternate Soundtrack: Castlevania III vs Bush
Barack Obama: Master Debater
Barack Obama's Sweet Ride

Watcha Playing: The Palette Cleanser

John Constantine — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 21:45:00 GMT

The past six weeks have been teeming with meaty, action games. I’ve been working through them slowly but surely, like an elegant seven course meal. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed was thick, hot comfort fare, a brief appetizer of sloppy design coated in delicious Stormtrooper and rancor killing action. The game’s a buggy mess, really, the gaming equivalent of empty calories, but definitely satisfying. Then there was the dynamic horror duo of Dead Space and Silent Hill: Homecoming, a soup and salad combo built to terrify. They didn’t really scare, but instead delivered visceral body simulations. Both games succeeded by making you constantly aware of your avatar’s physical presence and the heft of their actions, and they achieved this through a careful synergy between atmosphere and play. Yakuza 2 was truly the main course, a game I had no expectations for whatsoever that turned into an all time favorite. Its broad adventure, pulp tale of cops and crooks, and simple but ceaselessly engaging fisticuffs were nourishing, more substantial than anything released on current gen consoles. For dessert, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia. Another bonafide surprise, Ecclesia turned out to not be another retread through Igarashi’s decade-old formula, but a challenging successor to Castlevania 2 with fierce action whose variety and elegance was exceeded only by the game’s environments. Yes, it’s been a great month of big games, but it’s been the small things I’ve played in between them, games I’ve played for no more than a handful of minutes here and there, that have given the most *ahem* food for thought.

The palette cleansers, as it were, aren’t what you might expect either. These quick play sessions, no more than fifteen or twenty minutes, haven’t been with simplistic small titles. Far from it actually. The ones I keep returning to are Wipeout HD, Mega Man 9, the original Katamari Damacy, and Castle Crashers, all games that sport demanding mechanics, all games that get very stressful very quickly. Hairpin turns at high speed in Wipeout and precision jumps toward clandestine robot master confrontations don’t exactly seem like the ingredients for refreshment, but they’ve been restorative between the larger games. What makes these games perfect palette cleansers isn’t their immediacy, nor is it their lack of an expansive narrative. The key characteristic is that they don’t demand a serious investment in their world before and after. You don’t have to remember what you were on your way to do before your last save, what sidequests you’ve half completed. You simply need to know how to control them, and all of them take practice to control well.

Strange as it is to say, after recently starting a game of Fable 2, I immediately thought that it would make for an excellent palette cleanser. The game may be huge in scope and have a sweeping story to tell, but its play and guiding hand towards objectives don’t ask much of you beyond an understanding of the world’s rules. Molyneux’s made a sprawling RPG that’s less of a filet mignon and more of a small dish of sherbert. I’m wondering what other fall blockbusters may hide the same quality.

What are some of your favorite palette cleansers, everyone?

Related links:

The 61FPS Review: Dead Space
Katamari in the Classroom, Part 1
Style Over Substance: Why I'm In Love With WiiWare's "Art Style"
Screen Test: Star Wars – The Force Unleashed
Whatcha Playing: Weight of the Stone
Surprise of the Week: Sega Releases a Good Game
Impressions: Fable 2
Gears of LittleBig Fable Music: Considering the First-Party Blitz
New Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia Pics
Suffering Castlevania Fatigue

Molyneux's Redemption?

Bob Mackey — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:00:00 GMT

If you asked me a few years ago, I never would've believed Fable 2 would be so highly-reviewed--or that I'd be having so much fun playing it. Even the ruthless gang over at 1UP Yours likes Fable 2; in their latest podcast, they go so far as to recommend that you play it before the highly-anticipated Fallout 3--and that's saying something. So, after a series of disappointments this decade, is Molyneux finally back in our good graces?

Maybe; it's possible that he never left them. Games like the original Black and White may be mocked and derided in the Disappointment Hall of Fame, but, if you do a simple Metacritic search, you'll notice that nearly all of Molyneux's 21st century games were highly regarded upon their release. Hell, as of this writing, Fable 2 is pulling in the same Metacritic score as Black and White. Metacritic isn't the best tool for judging the quality of a game, but something fishy's going on here.

Will there eventually be a Fable 2 backlash? I think it's inevitable. While I'll agree it's a quality product, Molyneux's game is one that's made to be broken--even though in this case, "breaking" the game means having a blast exploiting the social interactions and economy of Fable 2's world. It's a messy sandbox, but a fun one nonetheless--and Fable 2's land of Albion is much more immersive than the over-hyped and sterile Grand Theft Auto 4. Still, I believe disappointment is a Molyneux meme that isn't going to disappear soon; and, by early next year, I'm sure we'll hear rumblings about how much Fable 2 sucked. But bookmark this post, friends--as of October 27, 2008, Fable 2 is officially awesome.

I promise to not eat my words on this one.

Related Links:

Impressions: Fable 2
Screen Test: Fable 2
Non-Gamers Reviewing Games: Wait, What?

Impressions: Fable 2

Bob Mackey — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:15:00 GMT

So far, I've managed to avoid riding Peter Molyneux's 21st century disappointment train, as popular opinion alone has kept me away from his post-Bullfrog work. I was a big fan of his PC games throughout the 90s--and I'm still hoping for some sort of Dungeon Keeper revival--but his self-aggrandizing nature and the vicarious pain of others didn't exactly motivate me to check out anything from Lionhead Studios. But I'm a weak man, and the years of hype for Fable 2 eventually got to me; would it be a good game? Would Molyneux actually be able to live up to his promises?

Color me surprised, because Fable 2 actually held my attention for nearly four hours last night--and my busy life makes it hard to fit in long periods of prolonged motionlessness. Fable 2 may not be quite as stellar as Peter Molyneux would have you think, but it is a surprising mix of Zelda and The Sims. You heard right.

Of course, the beginning of the game might lead you to believe otherwise; initially, Fable 2 makes you play a portion of your character's childhood, which eventually sets up the story for the rest of the game. It's meant to be a tutorial, but it honestly doesn't teach you about much, aside from the morality system--and like the shmuck I always am, I made all of the "good" choices based on my lousy moral reflex. These choices eventually affect the development of your neighborhood some ten years later (3-4 hours into the game); on returning to my town as an adult, I saw that cooperating with the introductory fetch quests made everything much more pleasant, and even gave me a significant discount in some of the shops. Note: karma only exists in the world of video games.

It isn't until you become an adult that the game actually becomes fun, and sadly, Fable 2 waits just a little too long to throw you into combat--which is one of the best parts of the game. Three of the face buttons on the 360 controller represent strength, skill, and will--Fable 2's main set of traits--which allows the relatively simple combat to expand as you put more experience points into developing these three areas. The X button starts out as only being used for simple sword strikes, but upon building up your character's "strength" skill, it can also be held in to block attacks. So far, it's an interesting and intuitive system that I'm looking forward to exploring--which won't be a chore, because I love the combat so much.

Of course, the most exciting thing about Fable 2 are the Sims-ish interactions you can have with your fellow CPU citizens. I've heard some amazing stories from various message borads, but I'm a little too early in the game to fully explore the limits of character interaction--which has mainly consisted of me dancing and farting in large groups to become the dancingest, fartingest adventurer in all of Fable. Oh, and flirting with barmaids, then having no idea where to take them for some sweet lovin'. Rest assured that I am responsible and have purchased numerous virtual condoms, just to be safe. I doubt the downstairs hygiene is up to snuff in Albion.

So far, the game has my attention, and the minor annoyances, like the lack of any useful maps, are somewhat easy to ignore after seeing only a little of what the game has to offer. I'm also pretty enchanted by Fable 2's world; European high-fantasy is one of my least-favorite settings, but Fable 2 actually has a sense of humor, along with some authentic whimsy. Any game where you can shit your pants on purpose is one I'm going to stick around for.

Related Links:

Non-Gamers Reviewing Games: Wait, What?
Screen Test: Fable 2
Gears of LittleBig Fable Music: Considering the First-Party Blitz

This Week's Releases: Too Many Damned Games!

Bob Mackey — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:30:00 GMT

The holiday season has officially begun, what with today marking the release of about 9 million games. It's true a lot of these titles are pure crap, but quite a few gems have snuck into the pre-pre-Thanksgiving buying rush, like Far Cry 2 and the new DS Castlevania. I'm even having Fable 2 sent to my house via GameFly, and I have no idea why! It could be that I'm caught up in the hype of release season, or that I'm just trying to figure out how an industry can be so prosperous in a time of economic turmoil. Whatever the case, having so many options available to murder free time will inevitably ruin my life, as I'm sure it will also ruin yours.

But it doesn't have to be that way--surely there are ways to experience all of the holiday releases while keeping social relationships intact and also avoiding pesky bedsores. As a public service, I have compiled a list of tips to get you through this season of unbridled entertainment unscathed and experienced in your chosen hobby. Keep in mind I am in no way responsible for the disappointment of search parties that will inevitably find you.

- Game while driving. If you own some portable, turn-based RPGs that require you to look at the screen only 50% of the time, more power to you. If not, then I suggest you take wide, unpopulated country roads to your destinations.

- Decide that games suck before you play them. This has been a tactic used by the Internet since the early days of GameFAQs, but now it can be used practically, instead of just in e-penis fights. Ignorant, negative reactions to a game you've barely seen will keep intact the free time that would be taken away by said game, and give you an airtight justification.

- Think about your significant other. Is he or she really worth it? Think about it: the money going into all of those dinners, dates, and anniversary gifts could be spent on Microsoft points. You'll die alone, but dying alone is an inevitability that you've maturely decided to accept very early in life. Congrats.

- Pets: find a way for them to live off of the filth and discarded food products you will constantly generate around your couch over the next few. Colonies of helpful insects are a good choice.

- Sleep: don't let your body own you--that jerk wants you to be unconscious for nearly 1/3 of the day! Truck stops carry various supplements that will make sleep irrelevant and also turn your heart into a makeshift subwoofer. And you'll find that fatigue-induced hallucinations make any gaming experience more immersive. Good luck fighting those giant butterflies!

Related Links:

Screen Test: Fable 2
Non-Gamers Reviewing Games: Wait, What?
Counterpoint: Too Many Games?

Trailer Review: Dragon Quest IX

John Constantine — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 22:00:00 GMT

As October wears on and the fruits of game season, grand experiences like Dead Space and Fable 2, start to illuminate my living room with an incandescent and warming light, I find myself not looking forward, but back. 2008 has been, to date, a year overflowing with great games and even though it’s been less than a month since I finished it, I’m already looking back at Dragon Quest IV fondly. The characters, the leveling, the music; it was glorious. But, as it is with JRPGs, it will be a very long time before I ever attempt to complete that particularly glorious remake again. (If ever. Role-playing games are a steep time investment as is, a fact I’ve discussed many times in the past.) But this trailer, only recently presented in high-quality after its debut at Tokyo Game Show, fills me with hope for the future. Dragon Quest IX will be awesome. Oh yes, it will be so, so awesome.

Which isn’t to say it hasn’t previously. It’s just that this is the first look at what the game is going to look like in a complete state. The 3D engine does a truly impressive job of replicating DQVIII’s luscious cel-shading and the character designs, the mix of super-deformed characters and more human proportions, have evolved nicely since 2005’s Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. It’s still up in the air whether or not DQIX’s multiplayer will be a quality addition or distracting from Dragon Quest’s inherent, and generally solitary, merits. But the trailer assures us of two things: the game will be beautiful and it will be chock-full of Dragon Questly goodness. Bring on the slimes, Mr. Horii.

Previous Trailer Reviews:

TGS Trailer Time: Resident Evil 5
Retro Game Challenge
Golden Axe: Beast Rider
House of the Dead: Overkill
Riz-Zoawd
Idolm@ster PSP
The Last Guy
Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff
Captain Rainbow
The Past and Future With Mega Man 9 and Chrono Trigger DS
Densetsu no Stafi 5
Sonic Unleashed
Infinite Undiscovery
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
Street Fighter 4
The Conduit
Mirror’s Edge

Non-Gamers Reviewing Games: Wait, What?

Nadia Oxford — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:37:00 GMT

I don't know if it's intentional or not, but hallowed gamer webcomic Penny Arcade sometimes manages to deliver a perfect set-up and punchline in its first panel. Take, for example, this recent strip about Fable II and the reviewing thereof:

Gabe: "Peter Molyneux is telling reviewers they should get people who don't play games to play his game."

Tycho: "They don't play games, though."

Gabe: "He never said it would be easy."

Since the birth of the Wii, there's been an influx of "non-gamers" who are suddenly very interested in throwing around remotes. That's fine. In my opinion, that's great. I'm hoping that when established gamers are finished their pissing contests over "casual" versus "hardcore," we'll all realise the benefits of our elders having fun with consoles instead of cringing away from them like they're rabid animals. Then we'll be a big huggy family.

At the same time, I'm not naive. My father hadn't touched a video game since Duck Hunt (for which he had his own pronunciation, with special emphasis on the second syllable: "ducKHUNT") when he asked to come over and, um, play with our Wii. He's a golfer, so he went straight into Wii Sports' Golf game. No surprise: golf is relevant to his interests, and the Wii remote puts non-gamers at ease because it's primarily motion-based. He took to it with no problem at all.

On the other hand, when I tried to get him into Guitar Hero (he's also a guitarist), he didn't know what to make of the Fisher-Price guitar, the buttons, the menus, etc. It's standard for us, but for someone who hasn't touched a game in a long time, it's easier to point and click than to remember that "A" makes a selection and "X" goes back to the main menu.

That's why, as cool as Fable II looks, I have to sigh a little at Peter Molyneux's review manifesto. Every sane company wants to capitalise on Nintendo's success, but they're all looking at the sky instead of at the reason why the Wii is printing money. I haven't played Fable II yet, but I can imagine my father's reaction if I were to hand it to him: "Oh my God, there are twenty million buttons on this damn controller. What the hell do I do?" He'd do the most natural thing: toss the controller aside like it's a viper. To be fair, that'd be his reaction if I handed him certain Wii games--say, for example, Super Mario Galaxy--but RPGs in particular are not really accessible to non-gamers.

You know what, though? That's okay. It's okay that non-gamers are going to continue to be stumped by some titles. Even Nintendo's record at capturing non-gamers is fifty-fifty at best: Hotel Dusk and Elite Beat Agents didn't draw in grandpa like they were supposed to.

I understand why Molyneux wants to appeal to non-gamers. It's not just a money thing; it's very special to watch the faces of the digitally impaired light up when they grasp a game's mechanics. He's also very correct in his assumption that someone who doesn't play games on a regular basis will see an adventure from a different perspective. You can't really force these things, though. Breathe. Relax. Let the Universe flow where it will.

Related Links:

By Any Other Name
Personal Firsts: My Gaming Scrapbook From A to Wii
Along Came a Gamer: James Patterson and Authors in Games

Turning Japanese: Microsoft’s Latest Ditch Effort to Win the East

John Constantine — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Microsoft held a press conference yesterday in Tokyo to show off their upcoming slate of six Xbox 360 role-playing games. Aside from the Japanese edition of 2007’s Mass Effect and a look at Peter Molyneux’s Fable 2, Microsoft showed off four Japanese developed RPGs. Two of which are the latest in entries in Namco and Square-Enix’s long-running Tales and Star Ocean franchises. Microsoft’s also pulled a slight coup with the announcement that Square-Enix’s new IP Last Remnant, developed to appeal to both eastern and western audiences, will now release on Xbox 360 before Playstation 3.

Since the Xbox 360’s release in 2005, Microsoft has been trying to woo Japanese audiences with high-profile role-playing games. Namco’s Trusty Bell: Chopin’s Dream and From Software’s Enchant Arms were the first J-RPGS to see release this console cycle. Microsoft also secured the exclusive rights to Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, Final Fantasy-creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s first post-Square-Enix work. But in the past thirty months, both Trusty Bell and Enchant Arms failed to find a significant audience in Japan and have since been ported to the Playstation 3. Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, despite being heavily promoted under Sakaguchi’s name, have also done poorly despite strong debuts. Microsoft’s RPG Premiere Event shows a commitment to a failed tactic. Having the support of both Namco and Square-Enix might have been a winning strategy ten years ago but the fact of the matter is that Japanese gamers have never, and most likely will never, be interested in purchasing an American made game system. While western fashion, film, and food brands have significant cultural currency in Japan, the culture’s taste for consumer products has always been exclusive. Japanese gamers want Japanese systems and Japanese games. Additionally, the pool of Japanese gamers who play home consoles has been on the decline for half a decade as tastes have shifted to quicker, portable experiences.

All of these new RPGs look fantastic. But they won’t make a lick of difference for Microsoft.