Doom: The Dark Ages- One Hell of a Compromise

All hell has broken loose…again. I’m of course referring to the recent launch of DOOM: The Dark Ages, which has felt like a longtime coming, with Eternal having launched back in March 2020, back during the start of the pandemic.


It was a shitty time, to say the least

Dark times indeed, though we move from the dark times to The Dark Ages, which is looking to do the near impossible task of following up Eternal, which was by many accounts a great success with how the game continued to capitalize on the core gameplay of Doom 2016, which itself was seen as an excellent return to form of the Doom formula. I think one of the startling notions Eternal brought to the mix was indeed a mix-up of sorts to the traditional run and gun style that has helped to earn Doom and Doom likes the moniker “Boomer Shooter”, in equal parts to show the antiquated style of gameplay’s age, but also as a way to possibly alert old school fans they will likely not be tripping over the modern day inconveniences that often litter and leave trashed the battlefields of our current day under heaps of financial garbage and loathable refuse.


But one example of the modern day inconveniences
I speak of

Which won’t even be a remotely possible temptation this time around, not that Doom has been known to dip it’s toe into the pools of financial madness in such a way, though Dark Ages has forgone the need of multiplayer entirely this time around, with developers id focusing solely on the single player experience. Which is fair, as 2016’s multiplayer wasn’t even worth a mention till the 6.66 update, which still only brought the mode up to the speed of lagging behind every other shooter on the market, albeit while maintaining an entertainment factor. Eternal, in spite of it’s best efforts, was never able to make their asymmetrical demon vs Slayer mode ever stand out in a meaningful way.


How a screenshot like this encapsulates an experience
that qualifies as pedestrian seems absurdly improbable

Which, once again, brings us to focus on The Dark Ages, and what it brings to the table. Keeping in mind this is more of a vibe check article and not one I consider a full blown preview, I still wanted to kind of grapple with some of the more immediate intricacies The Dark Ages (TDA) was serving up in it’s first three levels, as it became apparent from moment one how developer id has shifted it’s focuses in terms of the minute to minute.

That turn of phrase mentioned just now is a fitting one in our approach to understanding the temporal spacing TDA occupies, as it falls in line with a notion I’ve borrowed from the philosopher Hegel in the past, and his idea of “the pendulum swing” in critiquing shifting ideologies re-appropriated for game design critiques in this instance. The notion I speak of entails the idea that our shared reality normally has massive shifts in movements and perspectives over time, swinging in extremity from one side to another in response to the previous ages ways in a moment of self correction. When this notion is applied to the notion of gameplay from one title to another, you essentially see developers course correct in response to negative feedback or the success of the game itself, giving way to trying something new, and TDA represents the pendulum at it’s center most point for the modern Doom trilogy. In-between either apex of the pendulums furthest swing, TDA looks to stabilize the momentum between Doom 2016 and Eternal, by being the middle ground of the two. More than just the mindless simplicity of run and gun, but far more down to Earth than the high flying shenanigans Eternal’s acrobatic sense of swift wonderment brought about with it.


A successful romp through one of Eternal’s varied
demonic gauntlets feeling like some hellish version of
a Cirque de Soleil performance where you somehow
played the part of every acrobat within the theater of
the damned

Which I think does become kind of a focal point from which the entire experience pivots upon, contributing in a big way to either make or break the engagement level of any player with a more rigid mindset of what they prefer and what kind of entertainment they seek. With TDA not being quite as brutally simplistic in approach to the bare bones design of what 2016 offered up, which even the creative director Hugo Martin pointed out became far too repetitive by games end, and no where near as chaotically frenetic as the perpetual motion that the gameplay loop Eternal possessed, one of which even left me with the posit Eternal became almost an action-shooter as opposed to a traditional FPS.

With all of these sentiments kept in mind and considered as an amalgam of energy experienced as a result of Eternal’s machinations, we saw a sizable portion of the player base feeling the game was too demanding in how it wanted the player to go about their slaughter sprees, thus prompting the next pendulum swing in which id followed through with in moving forward to the follow up title. TDA occupies some strange place in the middle of both previous Doom games, somewhat methodical without the anchored posturing of purely gun driven gameplay, while attempting to maintain the energetic edge of constant combat combos that pushed players to be kept on their toes at all times. TDA pushes this notion in new ways, by introducing both a defensive mechanism (a chainsaw shield) that can be used offensively, along side a parry, defensive maneuvering which can unleash offensive havoc when used in appropriate conjunction with your full arsenal, all of this in the name of countering hell’s demonic forces with in the vein of some stylistic timed countering.


Parrying…so hot right now

If we hearken back to the conceptual middle ground TDA is seemingly set on standing it’s ground with in it’s approach of carving out a niche betwixt it’s two predecessors, you quickly realize this middle ground TDA is hellbent in occupying is indeed a compromise between the two modes of design. The saying “the best compromise is one in which no one is happy” may turn out to be a damning indictment in limiting the potential capabilities of success TDA is able to meaningfully expound upon, and a sentiment I look forward to deconstructing further.

~Pashford

Life’s A Beach

So many worthwhile games to discuss, so little time.


Pictured: Not an example of what I just referred to

Sorry (not sorry) to all of you Death Stranding fans/Kojima stans who are at the ready to cream your pants at the mere mention of new info on the upcoming sequel to the…err, “experimental” experience that was the first title, but I believe any positive reinforcement of the notion involving incentivizing a misguided fanbase is unworthy of serious consideration. Though there is apparently going to be new info on the sequel at SXSW 2025 on March 9th, with Kojima heading up what is likely to be a reveal detailing a ton of new info to keep his insane fanbase frothing at the mouth.


In-between their sessions of jerking themselves off
while enjoying their Amazon employee delivery simulator

Death Stranding was one of the weird titles that came out during my “mini-retirement” of sorts, so I never sat down and wrote out some thoughts on what kind of grandiose absurdity I believed the whole affair to truly be. I think there was an intensely interesting conversation to be had about the nature of DS in my opinion, though most invested into the idea of the quality relating to said title would likely be described as not enthused with my deconstruction of the whole experience down to it’s essential parts. I’ve always wanted to go back and write a much lengthier article involving my thoughts about the title, though that would mean me sitting down and actually wanting to play it again, which is unlikely to ever happen. After obtaining the platinum, I never really wanted to return to the scene of the crime, though for the notion of the article alone it may be worth the theoretical toleration of Death Stranding once more. I will leave you with the seed of the idea for my deconstructionism of DS, and that it wasn’t really a game per se, but more of a virtual experience.

Within that perspective, it does prompt the interesting idea of what defines a game these days, and how much the medium has grown in the past few decades, so at least within that respect, I believe it to be a fitting pretense that the man responsible for being the one to prompt me to consider just what exactly a game can be with the release of Metal Gear Solid, does so again with Death Stranding, but for completely antithetical reasons.

~Pashford

Saving the day, one punched fascist at a time

My goal coming into March was a simple one: write everyday no matter what, and like some kind of demented boss warped by the pretense of capitalism beyond reason, that’s what I’ve set my mind on to put myself through.


This guy’s boss the next day wondering if he is still
coming into work to help cover a shift

Unfortunately, that might mean fighting agains the clock some days to get meager blurbs up instead of full on posts (EG: today), which means some of my posts may very much be just that-thoughts thrown into the eager. The picture is relevant in two ways, as it is also a reference to my continual trek through Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, which came out on the Xbox Series X in December 24, and as part of Microsofts Project Latitude, which make it’s way to the PS5 this spring. What I thought was just going to be a predictable movie tie in, ended up being a surprisingly engaging romp involving stealth beating fascists in far greater volumes than previously anticipated, mini-sandbox gameplay driven by light detective work reminiscent of Batman: Arkham Asylum, and kind of a “Let’s Play” atmosphere vibe that would likely nominate the game for an idealized look into the idea that experiences don’t even have to technically qualify as fun to play these days to be desirable, but just fun to watch, as I imagine many would simply get off on viewing someone else playing this one as opposed to playing it themselves, as if they were just enjoying another movie of Indy notoriety.

More on that another day. Hope you enjoy the rest of yours.

~Pashford

The PlayStation: Defying the Odds

A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.


The logic Peter Molyneux keeps using to convince people to
give him money for his bullshit video game ideas

So much news and so few minutes in which to mention most of it. The Tokyo Game Show is in full swing, but I’ve been too busy working and getting my Zelda on to be able to do much in the way of commenting on any of it. As I’ve joked before, topicality is not always Active Time Event’s forte, and when it’s a one man show with no budget, it’s really the thought that counts. At least, that’s what I tell myself when crying myself to sleep at night for failing to deliver.


Pictured: My coping skills on display

Moving briskly on to our focus of the day, I spend some of the few precious free minutes I have right now in sharing this interesting tidbit from one of Sony’s former superstars, Ken Kutaragi, who use to be the SIE president during the height of Sony’s reign before stepping down in 2007, and is credited as one of the major architects (even referred to as “the father”) of the original PlayStation, who would go on to work on the PS2 and PS3 as well. The interesting tidbit in question is from a part of a presentation Kutaragi gave at TGS this week, involving how many within the industry that Sony consulted with thought the system was doomed to fail before launch:

“We wanted to share our passion…and we wanted to hear what their expectations were and what they did not expect, so we wanted to hear from them. So we visited dozens of companies, if not hundreds, we visited a lot of game makers, it was a great memory … they were not interested at all. They just said, ‘Don’t do it. There were multiple companies and none of them were successful. You are going to fail.’ That’s what they told us.

Kutaragi shared much in his keynote address, but this seemed to stand out as one of the more enlightening shares, he went on to even comment on internal opinions on the possible PlayStation brands potential:

“Even within Sony, nobody believed that we would be successful.”

Just goes to show you that even ideas that seem in hindsight to be wild successes will have their detractors from the get go. To think, all of this started because of a failed attempt by Nintendo and Sony to create a shared piece of hardware together for the home video game market that ended up falling through. Just look where we are now.

~Pashford

PS5 Pro Incoming

Time marches on, and the world of video games continues to spin round and round.


For most of us, at least. R.I.P Concord: August 2024-September 2024
We hardly knew ye

Just another quick update today, as keeping a schedule as tight as I have been attempting to for as long as I have tends to catch up with one: the exhaustion is real. I recently spied this little gem today, which indicates that Sony is going to do a presentation for a mid-gen shake up with the introduction of a PS5 Pro model with a slight upgrade in processing power, though according to reports, the innards of the new tech will largely be the same, the system itself will possess a “high CPU frequency mode”, which is apparently suppose to help the system render graphics at an almost 50% increase.



The presentation, which Sony advertised will be a 9 minute tech presentation by lead architect and always affable Sony vet Mark Cerny, will stream tomorrow (September 10th) at around 8 AM PT/ 11 AM ET/ 4 PM BST, which you will be able to find on Sony’s Youtube channel. I don’t usually report directly on new tech, not due to the fact that I’m a luddite or something of the sort, I’m just usually more software driven in terms of excitement levels. I think if you combine that sentiment with the unfortunate reality I *still* haven’t picked up either the regular PS5 or an Xbox series X/S, and you begin to realize I’m still lagging behind in “new” tech acquisition. Oh well, any day now, I will finally enter the next gen console cycle and see what’s cooking.

~Pashford

Monkey News

With Gamescom still delivering on new announcements and trailers during its several day run, a game that I have slept on all the way through it’s development process has quickly climbed the charts to make a claim as king of the current gaming jungle.


Hail to the king

Black Myth: Wukong, an action title inspired by the old Chinese novel Journey to the West has, been in development for multiple years now, going all the way back to 2018. Having been developed by unknown studio Game Science, which is based out of China, you’d be surprised to hear about the games break out success if you weren’t paying better attention. The game just launched a few days ago, but it’s already sold a staggering 10 million copies in that short period of time, rivaling other giants in the industry like Elden Ring and Cyberpunk 2077’s epic launch numbers. The game, which is a souls like single player experience, also made waves by having more than two million concurrent players on Steam on launch day, placing it as one of the most played games on the platform. Wukong was also a winner of a couple of Gamescom awards, having won “Best Visuals” and “Most Epic” at the 2024 version of the expo, with Wukong continuing to show off why the old legend chronicling the adventures of the monkey king inspiring a new generation is worthy of praise.


Not a totally unheard of happening, I might add

Needless to say, gamers are impressed. With both critics and players alike rating the experience quite highly, and the game having only been out for a matter of days generating massive hype behind the title, I have a feeling we have a new industry darling on our hands, and the first entry in a must play series down the road. No doubt that the game’s Chinese background and focus on the country’s cultural heritage has given the game a huge boost, as doing well in a market as massive as the Chinese one is no doubt going to push the game to insane heights of popularity. Studio Game Science seemed to be paying attention to what works and what doesn’t to replicate that souls-like pedigree, and looking at gameplay trailers and demos reinforces the notion that the game looks gorgeous, and plays with extreme fluidity, making it an ideal action packed romp with a focus on epic boss fights for anyone looking to enjoy another tough as nails experience to sink their teeth into.


Nothing says zen like reaching a flow state by beating the
ever loving shit out of your sworn enemies

As mentioned, the game has already launched on both the PC and the PS5, which means if you’re lucky enough to have a beefy computer or Sony’s latest, you’re in for a good time…a rare moment I lament not having a PS5. An Xbox release date has yet to be announced, but based on the games success, a port is not out of the question. You can check out a gameplay trailer below.

~Pashford

Ohh, Chimpanzee that…

Sometimes, life gives you lemons…and if you’re anything like Cave Johnson…


You ask to see life’s manager

(Apologies in advance for getting any Portal 2 fans hopes up of any writing related to that game in the coming article, by the way.)

That’s how i felt recently when playing the game Postal Redux for some writing ideas, which turned out to be a much bigger pain in the ass than I had originally considered. I had remembered playing Postal 2 in my youth, which in my memory, was on similar levels of divisive, trashy satire as say something akin to Duke Nukem 3D; solid game engines built upon some crass humor (Duke being a thousand times better having said that). I could say it was a different time, but that always sounds like a cop out to justify shitty behavior, so I won’t. I now question my memory entirely though, as when I played Postal 1’s enhanced port, I was fairly stunned at just how tasteless the whole affair ended up being, and now question entirely whether or not Postal 2 was indeed just a complete dogshit sandwich of an experience than I had previously remembered chowing down on.


Telling me to suck on lemons being of a desirable comparison upon reflection

As I’ve said before: context is key, as there is a key difference in what Postal Redux does or how it goes about it vs going on a rampage in something like GTAIV. Alas, I may be putting the horse before the buggy with these sentiments, as I don’t know if I’m ever going to go back and replay Postal 2, but I have yet to even put my thoughts to keyboard in finalizing my overall considerations on Postal Redux. To that point, I kind of needed a break from feeling like the mayor of Bummercity by engaging in a mass murder simulation on the regs, and wanted to break up the bloodstained monotony with something that would lighten the mood considerably in contrast.

That’s right…I think it’s time for some monkey news.

Picture related

Now that my finances have started to stabilize, I figured I would upgrade my PS+ plan to include the classic catalog, and go back to basics with a little bit of some monkey news…and get down on some Ape Escape in the process. I think the series resides in that weird sweet spot of history; looked upon fondly by the vets of yore, but perhaps not quite as celebrated as some of the other Sony staples. Considering Ape Escape had to compete with the likes of Lara Croft, Crash, and Spyro (just to name a few), it’s of little surprise even a title as charming as Ape Escape got lost in the shuffle a bit.


Ape Escape’s contemporaries were no joke (art by Reddit user Old-Biscotti647)

The title was billed as proof positive that Sony was cooking with gasoline, as it was the first game to utilize the dual shock controller design. What seems like an industry standard today, and something maybe even unfathomable to exclude in modern day controllers, was wildly innovative back in 99′ when Ape Escape launched, and helped to forever cement a step forward in progress by being paired with it’s technological wunderkin of a hardware concept. With a couple of years of development under their belts for the game, it was clear Japan Studio of Sony Computer Entertainment fame wanted to nail the concept involving propping up the twin stick control scheme as the way forward with 3D gaming.


Not the only trail blazer of his day

Which was a large sigh of relief when the concept came together and the press and gamers alike lauded the title for it’s innovative approach to gameplay. Ape Escape stood on it’s own as a solid title, even aside from being the poster child for the dual shock concept, as the entire package was ridiculously charming, combining cartoonish visuals with some really tight audio design, playfully engaging soundtrack included. The games titular characters were also brimming with character, as they all seemingly had distinct personalities, or so the monkey radar would lead you to believe.


He’s a bit confused but George has got the spirit

I think one of the reasons I tended to gravitate towards Ape Escape, aside from just generally being a playfully delightful romp, was due to my recent run-ins with some Metal Gear Solid related replays earlier this year, Snake vs Monkey included. The MGS series is no stranger to cross overs, having traded blows with the roster of Smash Bros, taking down some of the monstrous foes from the Monster Hunter games, and even doing an olly and grinding railings in an Evolution Skateboarding cross-over The MGSxApe Escape pairing always made perfect sense to me, as most people likely forget that Ape Escape isn’t just a 3D action platformer, but low key a stealth experience.


Like the best of us, when confronting the problems of the every day,
Spike of Ape Escape fame also goes into the fetal position to give
himself a moment of respite

Replaying Ape Escape right now also comes at a great time in reminding me that low poly 90’s nostalgia is in full swing, which warms my aging gaming heart, as their is a veritable treasure trove of both old titles and new opportunities to re-explore the feels and vibes of early 3D themed adventures in all of their jagged glory. I will likely try to take advantage of replaying a lot of PS1 classics, as they do in my opinion represent that sweet spot of “just enough” gameplay to get me excited, without going completely overboard in terms of content involving the gratuity that can be a collectathon.


Also known as DK64ing it, or as my friends and I
have also perversely mused “Overfeeding the Goose”

While I don’t have any official plans to cement rigid thoughts on Ape Escape or other PS1 classics in an official review format, I will continue to remind myself to take it easy every once in awhile, and that in the midst of dealing with the treachery and stress of the everyday, sometimes, all you need is a little good old fashioned monkey business to provide some levity in a weary world of woe gone wrong.

~Pashford

E3 2016: Nintendo, Microsoft, And Sony

Hey Gamers,

Once again, I excitedly share the news about being invited back to E3.

Like, as excited as making bacon pancakes excited.

I have always found E3 to be one of the biggest highlights of the gaming year, and having had the pleasure of experiencing a couple firsthand, my opinion has only been strengthened in it’s resolve. I always cover the show as Editor-in-Chief of Gamersyndrome (as I will this year, too), but due to server issues, I can’t even log into my own site right now. Oh the frustrating irony of it all.

Like Batman being locked out of the Batmobile.

Like every year, before the show, I always enjoy talking about what we can expect, by throwing around some fun speculation, and generally, shoot the shit about what the fuck we are waiting for. This year is no different, and I want to take this moment now to run down some of the major players and what they have to bring, at E3 2o16. First up, we look at Nintendo and see what massive variety they have planned for the show floor.

That’s right folks, The Legend of Zelda is just the beginning (of the end).

It’s been no secret that Nintendo has vowed to finally showcase Zelda NX, in all of it’s beautiful glory at E3 2o16. What’s more, is that the big N plans on having multiple kiosks for Zelda on the show floor for attendees to play and enjoy, along with a Treehouse Live special going on during E3, which has developers hands on with the title, showing off the new Hyrule in all of it’s next gen bravado for the world to see.

If that wasn’t enough, Nintendo has also said Zelda will simultaneously release on both the NX and the Wii U, much to the delight of any Wii U owner, and one of very few delights they will know in the next year or so.

Pictured: Wii U owners reactions when they heard Zelda wasn’t coming out until 2017

Most of that sounds good, right? I hope it does, because Zelda at E3 is about the only thing Nintendo fans have to look forward to this year. For the third year running, Nintendo has opted out of doing a press conference, which makes some kind of sense, as it would be very hard to rationalize what would ultimately be a 90 minute commercial for Zelda, and not subsequently get pissed on by the collective gaming community. I know it worked for Nintendo with Super Mario Bros 3 and The Wizard once upon a time, but we live in a very different time now.

“Very Different”

So yes, Nintendo isn’t doing a press conference, and they won’t have anything but Zelda on the floor. That is incredibly unprecedented by any E3 standard, and should help reinforce just how much trouble Nintendo has been in for awhile. Not a “Nintendo is doooomed” kind of implication, but all of these massive underwhelming announcements for the next year, in combination with the complete lack of content for the Wii U in 2016, and Nintendo is struggling to do anything outside of flashing their Zelda bling. Which admittedly, they do well.

As a fan of Zelda, I’m thrilled I’ll be surrounded by my favorite green clad hero. As a critic, I’m like “Dudes, are you serious? One freaking game?” I do my best to rationalize the situation in the sanest ways possible.

The upshot to this is that no one is really expecting anything from Nintendo at all this E3, so if Zelda is surprisingly good, they will  get great press about it. Which is perfect, cause they will likely get little press other than Zelda. They have back peddled recently to say they will mention in some capacity a few other titles, like the new Pokémon titles Sun and Moon, along with Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest VII for the 3Ds, but have safe expectations going into the show.

Let’s hope Nintendo hasn’t done to Zelda ‘s E3 showing what Link has done to love letters.

Safe Expectation: Zelda. Seriously, that’s it.
Impossible Expectation: Nintendo has been lying about not showing the NX this year, and we get a physical look at the console, with an official name.

Next up, we have Microsoft, the tech giant that went from disastrous launch, to admirable sales for the Xbox One, with their system currently outpacing the success of the 360 in comparison of sales to time on the market. MS is still almost twice as far behind as Sony’s PS4 however, and will have to continue to pull out all the stops to catch up.

With one of the stops being continually not bringing up the failure that is the Kinect.

I know you wanted the Kinect to be embraced by your core base, Microsoft…but it’s just not going to happen

Microsoft is likely to continue their “games first” strategy that we saw them steam ahead with last year, tech add on’s and vague promises of future upgrades just (haven’t) and aren’t going to satiate the expectations of gamers. With more than 50% of all games announced at last years E3 (from all companies) still not out a year later, MS is going to have to wow the crowds with some concrete content with solid release dates.

Luckily, among the contenders for games likely to be announced at the show this year for the X1, we’ve got Crackdown 3, Cuphead, and Gears of War 4 all riding the hype train to E3. All three of these games have been in the works for some time, and round out an impressive variety that MS has been trying to compete with Sony on, a company that has had a quality stable of varied content in the past couple years.

Not that Sony hasn’t had a varied amount of content that hasn’t seen the light of day. Everyone is looking at you FF7.

To that point, we already know Gears 4 will be coming out October 11th, and it’s going to be one of the games to beat this year in terms of hype factor. I’d be surprised if Crackdown 3 didn’t finally have a release date announced, as well as Cuphead finally getting a launch window. I’m excited to finally see Rare showcase Sea of Thieves on top of it all, as they’ve had plenty of time to get the project off the ground, though a 2016 launch for it feels unlikely to me.

I think Recore and Scalebound are doomed to delay till 2017, considering what little we’ve seen of either in the past year. With Inafune heading up Recore, and having trouble getting even a small project like Mighty No.9 out, and Kamiya heading up Scalebound, who’s notorious for being patient in development to put out a quality experience, I will be very surprised if either see the light of day in 2016, but expect awesome previews at Microsoft’s conference non the less. It’s been rumored Halo Wars 2 will finally be announced, and I’m foolishly hopeful that it’s been in development long enough to be ready by years end.

But in the end, this is Halo we are talking about. We will likely be bummed about having to wait a little longer.

Other honorable mentions go to Microsoft’s continual need to remind us it owns Mincecraft, some kind of Windows 10 pimping, and perhaps most excitedly, the rumored Xbox One slim, which is suppose to be almost half the size, and with possible 4k resolution support. There have also been rumors of an “Xbox Scorpio” flying about, which is supposedly far more powerful than the Xbox One, and possibly equipped with VR in mind, but with the Slim being the likely candidate (and MS still being mum on any possible VR focus), it would be pointless for Microsoft to announce the hypothetical Scorpio, as Sony and Nintendo have vowed not to bring new hardware to E3.

Which is believable, as Nintendo has  vowed to barely bring any new software to E3 *twiddles cigar*

Safe Expectation: Microsoft announces a slew of release dates for big games, and the Slim is unveiled with a cool design and reasonable price point
Impossible Expectation: Microsoft shows working prototypes of a virtual reality machine, with a late 2017 launch window.

Last but not least, we discuss what Sony may do come this years E3, and what they have to avoid in order to not be the laughing stock of the gaming community.

Step 1: No crazy announcements

 

Step 2: No crazy long term promises

 

Step 3: Seriously…just don’t be crazy, Sony. Sheesh.

While Sony has had their fair share of missteps in the past, they regularly have an incredibly strong showing at E3. Even when they announce something ludicrous, or ham fist some heavy handed promises, it’s at the least extremely entertaining on a memetic level. Though Sony has confirmed the existence of the  “PS4 Neo”, a new iteration of the PS4 line (much like the X1 Scorpio) which has been confirmed by Sony’s president to be more powerful and more expensive, it has also been confirmed it will not be making it’s E3 debut this year. Sony is still ramping up on showing off it’s not to distant future VR offerings with the PS4 VR add on, Project Morpheus, which will be the cheapest way to get your VR funk on.

Though, unlike their competitors, no word yet on whether or not Sony will offer games which will have you getting funk off of your VR,

PS VR helps to solidify  the PS4 as the most attractive offering on the console side, and Sony has the sales numbers to back that up. There are quite a few games Sony has planned to discuss at their show this year, with some impressive names like Gran Turismo, Ace Combat, and Harmonix showing off titles for Project Morpheus for gamers to enjoy. Other titles which will be explored include Rigs: Mechanized Combat League, Dreams, a project from Little Big Planet Developers Media Molecule, and even a VR version of Rez, the highly acclaimed cult classic rhythm experience.

There are another dozen titles or so planned for PS VR, and it seems Sony is putting a great deal of focus on showing it off this year, which leads me to believe we may get a solid release date in late 2016, with the price point of $400. I know not everyone is sold on the idea of VR, but after having the joy of experiencing it myself at E3 2014, I can’t help but be excited for the future of virtual reality in gaming, which will only become more popular as the price goes down.

And like most major modern day tech innovations, I’m sure porn will most certainly convince everyone to jump in and help expedite cost reduction.

Putting aside the saucy nature of possible VR advancements, Sony has regular software lined up for their conference, including looks at Horizon: Zero Dawn, a futuristic open world third person action game that looks beautiful in motion, and a game I’m crossing my fingers comes out this year. The Last Guardian, which better have a release date this year, or is doomed to catch up with the number of times Duke Nukem Forever was delayed, the long awaited sequel to the gravitationally challenged Vita darling Gravity Rush 2, and possibly the rumored announcement of a Norse myth focused from one of Sony’s biggest, God of War 4.

Spoiler Alert: Kratos will still be a massive asshole.

The last couple of years I’ve gone, while some companies have delivered the goods in terms of conferences (Microsoft 2014, Bethesda 2015), Sony always seems to be the ones to beat in terms of variety of content and showmanship. Let’s see if they can pull it off again this year.

Safe Expectation: Sony will announce a lot of cool shit
Impossible Expectation: Any of it will be cheap or come out any time soon.

And that concludes my overview of the big three in some of the preliminary analysis of E3 2016. What’s exciting is that the show is always anyone’s game, and even if one company rises above the rest, they all always have a chance to impress, and to collectively succeed to make an excellent show. What’s more is that this year has seen a surprisingly low number of leaks, so there are still a ton of surprises left, with dozens of unannounced projects just waiting to shock and awe. Stay tune as I cover the conferences and the show live from LA, as we all enjoy the awesomeness that is E3 2o16.

~Pashford

 

Serious About Horses

Hey Gamers,

I think, no matter what, I’m done talking about Zelda and horses for awhile after this post. While I’ve had a lot of fun discussing both(?), I desperately need a break from both Hyrule and equines in a serious way.

How serious of a way you may ask?

This Serious

And before I move on, I know what you’re thinking: “Pashford, how could you!? Using the memories of Artax casually again to play with my emotions just for a cheap laugh? How could you!” I understand where you’re coming from dear readers, but it’s hard to convey how serious about horses I’ve been, and that picture sums up horses in a serious way. I mean, I tried to go a different route, and include a picture of Elton John on a horse for the joke to work, but a Google search provided me with only this picture involving Elton John and horses:

And I’m way more serious about horses than what’s shown in that picture. Though, considering that picture says “Live Like Horses”, I would suggest if you were a horse (of course), not to live in the Swamp of Sadness. You know…for obvious reasons.

Because You Can’t

To the denizens of Fantasia: to avoid further depression involving dead animals we love, let’s just assume horses can’t go into the Swamps of Sadness, just to be safe. I mean, we can experiment all day with this shit, but if all we get is a couple hundred dead horses and therapy sessions for the rest of our lives, I’d say let’s just agree upon the “Horses Don’t Do Swamps” theory and be done with it. That sounded like a Goosebumps book waiting to happen. Also, did they explain how Atreyu didn’t just submerge entirely after losing his best friend? I mean, you sink into the swamp if you’re sad, right? What, was Atreyu popping Prozac’s like they were skittles or something?

Thinking About It, Yeah He Probably Was

Eh, whatever helps get you through the day…err swamp I suppose.

Weeeeeell, It’s Mostly Accurate

I mean seriously, what kind of person goes around committing genocide as a life choice? Honestly, don’t be going around hurting people for fun! While I’m at it…

Don’t Be Smashing Stuff That Doesn’t Belong To You, Yah Tit.

I mean thinking about it (not to derail or anything here, Zelda), if we really take a look at the social and moral implications of the Triforce and the philosophy behind the series as a whole, I believe you’ll find…

Okay, okay! I’m sorry! I’ll rein in my thoughts about horses and continue on.

*Ahem*

I refocus my attempts at wrapping up my thoughts involving Ocarina of Time, Epona, and everything that has followed suit. I really didn’t mean to go on for so long about the event, looking back now realizing Back in the Saddle was a fine enough stand alone piece as it was. Not to say the rest has been bad, but there are just so many other great games and awesome sites I need to tend to at this very moment. This exercise in examining the merits of replaying Master Quest was suppose to be a quick effort, not a multi-part series over a period of a month. No matter what happens by the end of this post, I will take my leave of both Hyrule and horses for a time, as two things have happened since I’ve begun my extensive conversation about both:

1. I don’t stop hearing fairies I can’t see
2. I can’t stop seeing horses that don’t exist

As you can imagine, I’m deeply concerned for my own sanity, and must make way to more reasonable pastures post haste. BUT, not before bringing to light a few thoughts I hadn’t properly molded into a write up while I was explaining why Epona in Ocarina of Time represents some of the best horse action in gaming, and everything that entails.

Two posts ago, I was a little enamored by the idea of Epona’s nostalgic value, in relation to the gaming populace as a whole. I cited the regular difficulty gamers had in completing their games, even observing statistics that 90% of players couldn’t even beat the first level of Super Mario Bros. This relates to getting Epona (as I had mentioned), due in part to her not only being much later into the game, but rather difficult to eventually obtain. This speaks to the levels of dedication Ocaina instilled in it’s user base, and holds value in realizing people loved them some Zelda on the 64. The number of times I’ve personally talked to gamers about their fondest memories of Ocarina, involving riding around Hyrule Field on Epona mind you as an extremely high number, which shows you she may very well have been many gamers first horse.

Well, Let’s Not Get Filthy About This…

 

Err…Again Anyways…

 

Okay, That’s Enough Of That!

Epona being many gamers first horse is fitting, as at this point I think Ocarina may have been many people’s first Zelda, so they are just impossibly interconnected for all of time in many gaming minds, resulting in kind of an “ideal experience”.

The potent value of nostalgia often lends itself to strengthening not only the quality of the experience, but the quality of person, too. I’m sure that’s why it will be a long while before a game comes along to top the perceived value of Ocarina of Time, and the horse it rode in on. I’d like to take this moment to contextualize “Best Horse Action”, as I know riding on Epona (at this point in time anyways) is limited in many ways, and that there are plenty of other games I’ve played and many more that other gamers have enjoyed with arguably better horse action:

Just

 

To

 

Mention

 

A

 

Few

 

Examples

Those aren’t all of them, of course, but some of the first that popped into my mind. I had a handful of other ones I didn’t even mention I thought of almost as immediately (Assassins Creed, Darksiders, Minecraft, about a billion MMO mount experiences), but thought my point was justifiably reinforced. The point I was making was in comprehension, in having a mutual understanding that while there may be great horse action out there, even mechanics that help to make or define the game entirely, Epona may yet stand as the most pivotal or valued equine when looking back on our glorious gaming history. Not just any Epona either, Ocarina’s Epona. Much like I interjected the idea of other games being able to claim “better horse action” in general that is more intertwined with the quality of the game, I take one more moment to remind everyone that another Zelda game (Twilight Princess) even had better horse mechanics (with Epona no less), that helped to differentiate and heighten Twilight Princess, by taking a page out of Ocarina’s book.

Or As Many Would Acknowledge, Taking All The Pages Out Of Ocarina’s Book And Simply Revising Them

But that’s the point here, and one that shouldn’t be mistaken as contradiction or flip-flopping. My current point is not one of derailment (there’s been plenty of that going on already), I am trying to stay on point by observing….

AW, COME ON BATMAN! BAT BOMBED AGAIN!

Man, I hate when you do that, Bruce! You just Bat Bomb me when I’m in the middle of a good point! Now what am I going to do?

Hey, Look! It’s Another One Of My Running Jokes! Sonic Must Be Here To Save Me From Being Bat Bombed!

Yeah, go Sonic! Help me get back on point! Uh oh, looks like The Batman is activating something in response to Sonic’s attempted Anti-Bat Bombing Plan!

Oh No! The Batman Is Using His Patented Cucco Transponder Device!

What kind of gloom and doom could this spell for Sonic, I wonder?

…

That’s A Shame

Well, things don’t look very good for our little blue running joke here, however fast he may be.

While those two are distracted fighting, I’ll take this moment to sneak away and finish up my point involving best horse action. Even with all of the given standards of games using horses (and when Ocarina launched, there really weren’t many at all), and even within the Zelda universe having another game with an arguably better experience involving a horse, the power of nostalgia transcends perhaps even higher quality, which in turn makes the memory of Epona almost impossible good. Obviously, the memories of the quality involved are genuine, and do come from a place of excellence Ocarina can indeed brag about, but it’s this sense of personal indomitable truth from our past that makes so many look back on Epona so fondly.

Putting aside the legacy of influence Epona has had, like making mounts absolute staples in the Zelda series or the impact she has on other developers who have tried to match and or beat her inclusion in Ocarina of Time, the standards for which many games are judged by gamers, is in turn from how much people enjoyed this game, Epona included, and the fun they had as a result.

Much like, say for example, Final Fantasy 7’s effects on gaming history having more to do with time and place then it’s observable quality.

Speaking Of Another Memorable Mount

While the hype for FF7 comes from a real place of quality, the game’s ultimate relevancy stems from when it came out and what it did at that time, thusly reaching a huge audience and influencing those who were not previously influenced by RPG’s in general. While the debate is seriously subjective, myself and many others could argue better RPG experiences before and after FF7 that “did it better” so to speak, even looking at games within the pedigree (like FF6 and FF9) as example. All of these games, however, did not come out when FF7 did, and in turn did not effect, influence and set the standard for new comers to the RPG scene like FF7 did, effectively memory locking the game as the “ideal experience” for millions.

I know the mention of FF7 may seem like a random aside, but I believe the related thought ties in nicely with Epona, as I could have easily replaced just about every noun in my description of FF7 with OoT, which relates to the best horse action I’ve been going on about all this time. It’s not as if Ocarina really is the end all be all Zelda or the absolute best of it’s kind in terms of video games, but it did greet gaming audiences at a certain time and place in a major way, which is something no other Zelda experience can ever completely duplicate. One of the big reasons the game is remembered, is for it’s refinement in regards to both fun and solutions, Epona a prime example of both. Everything about Ocarina came out when it did, at that specific time and place that it did, and as a result, cemented the experience in a lot of minds as “the ideal experience”.

An ideal experience exists somewhere between fantasy and reality, and one that can’t be quantified or measured, only marveled at and discussed. A preference spawned from our best or earliest moments, and one that will live on invincibly, shared between minds and preserved in culture for generations to come. This is what Epona represents, I believe, the “ideal experience”, and is the reason why I’ve been so serious about horses these past few weeks.

How serious you may ask?

This Serious

~Pashford

PS4 News Round Up (Finale)

Having covered the bulk of the Sony Press Conference, and the exciting new prospect of the PS4, I have just a few loose ends to discuss. While I have looked at some of the finer points of the system tech itself, and the slew of games mentioned, there remained larger conceptual projects yet to be touched upon. Some of the ideas shown off weren’t in concrete game form, nor did they offer themselves to what the PS4 is capable of by itself, but what the hardware can do with the right creativity.

As mentioned previously, one of Sony’s big focuses in discussing the PS4 was how developer friendly, and even, developer contributed the core building process has been. Sony demoed a small video clip going over some of the finer points of what they wish to see in conjunction with developers, and some of their ideas going forward.

The video covers a wide arrange of topics and observations of gaming, helping to paint an honest picture of where the PS4 needs to be, in moving towards a successful future. Smaller developers, like Ready at Dawn Studios (contributors to the Jak & Daxter series and God of War series), make a mention of Sony’s all inclusiveness. Hardcore, casual, social…etc, all of these trends help to motivate each other, and work well to create a dynamic picture of gaming. Instead of just one subjective vision of what a “console experience” should be, a fun game will be a fun game, regardless of it’s market approach, or demographic aim.

Other big names in the small community come from the likes of Tim Schafer, who was open in referring to Sony as approaching him with questions. Questions on how best to execute an inviting environment for a smaller studio like Double Fine, and and how to service a company who is usually restrained in their creative vision.

Other third part devs of note, like Randy Pitchford of Gearbox fame, comments on Sony working hard with dev feedback to provide a simple system to work on. Pitchford mentioned the platform having a certain “elegance” in it’s approach to designing engaging experiences. Elegant in the sense of creating  streamlined simplicity, to more easily create these fun video games devs want to make, and players want to explore.

Others still, like Alex Rigopulos of Harmonix (Guitar Hero, Rock Band), talks about retaining their individuality in property, to better hone what they believe to be a better craft of game making.

While the developer video will of course, be favorable to Sony, a lot of the devs they talked to haven’t historically shilled for Sony related press, signifying they are trying to reach beyond their own creative walls. On top of the simple fact that many of these men are usually too busy developing games of their own, and are usually very frank about their own visions, paints a favorable picture for the PS4. The off the shelf PC hardware innards of the PS4 has pros and cons certainly, but if nothing else, should provide needed benefit to companies who only have the time and money to produce one really great product. With the alternative being not affording a longer budget of money and time to port the game to more complicated hardware. The PS4 sharing hardware commonality from a unified development stand point, is an overall win for gamers and third party developers alike.

One of the other designers they interviewed was David Cage from Quantic Dreams (Indigo Prophecy, Heavy Rain). He was invited to the conference in person, to talk about his new tech, and the emotionally driven, but technologically backed vision he sees possible on the PS4.

“Getting the player involved is the holy grail of all game designers”, complete immersion being a huge challenge for any one in the field of creation. David Cage is well known for his more cinematic approach to game design, so comparisons to black and white movies with a contrast to older game tech and the PS4 isn’t surprising. He outlines how far his own company has come, showcasing the dramatic rise in technological advancement involved.

Starting with his first game, Omicron in 99, the game boasted a mere 350 polygons per character.  Moving forward through the years, the poly’s involved in making the characters spring to life is exponential, with his next game, Beyond starring Ellen Page, reaching over 30,ooo polygon’s involved with a single character.

This all leads up to Quantic Dreams next big leap in technology, with what has now been dubbed as “The Old Man Tech”. Cage showed off, what is likely the most realistic character model ever showcased during a video game press conference, with the visage of an incredibly detailed old man living and breathing, in real time.

The Old Man  dwarves any other character Quantic Dream has ever rendered in  polygon count alone. This is without the mention of their engine utilizing advanced skin shaders with translucency,  realistic eye shading, volumetric light reactions, 3D depth of field, and several other complex systems working smoothly real time, in 3D, to create one of the most impressive character models developed to show off a game engine to date.

Cage points out that the  technological feats that go into making  the “Old Man” possible isn’t  important to remember for the gamer, of course. He merely runs through the laundry list of features to further underline that the PS4 is capable of creating a new image of video game visual excellence. This is all in an effort to push the boundaries of how meaningful games can be, and what kind of emotional experiences can come from it.

David Cage want in helping set a precedence for visual standards, and what the PS4 can achieve in the future was the key of the Old Man Tech Demo. The Old man being a character that doesn’t say a word, but simply displays the emotion through visual cues alone.

With a decided push towards some third party exposure, Capcom had the light shined on them and their new game engine “Panta Rhei”. Yoshinori Ono (Executive Producer for the  Street Fighter series) was on hand, to help boisterously introduce the new tech from Capcom. The engine Panta Rhei,  looked to be using some incredibly impressive texture mapping and lighting effects, to give an early glimpse at the working titled game “Deep Down”.

While not a whole lot of additional information was provided for the game, the trailer provides a stunning glimpse into what looks to be an Elder Scrolls like game, complete with  a first person perspective, and incredibly detailed environments to explore.

Throughout the trailer, an element of survival horror is hinted at, possibly suggesting the game may borrow some elements of suspense to keep the game play tight, and fast paced. There are several more action packed segments later on where the knight in the trailer, rushes at and is fighting a dragon from a behind the shoulder third person perspective a la Resident Evil 4.

Whether or not the first person and third persons stuff can be switched at will, or forced upon the player depending on circumstance remains to be seen. Given the rather successful nature of RE4, I’d venture a guess and say it may rely more heavily on a third person view, with small  in between first person glimpses from  the eyes of the adventurer, to heighten the thrills.

In one final moment of the trailer, the knight rushed the dragon unsuccessfully, and buckled down as the beast shot a stream of flame, clashing with his shield to create a brilliant display of fiery chaos.

While the Panta Rhei engine is looking impressive, without any concrete information to go on for the game “Deep Down”, it may remain merely an awesome tech demo. My fingers are crossed Capcom has the game in development, as some kind of third/or first person medieval survival horror game, which would represent a powerfully grand game play experience worth my time with the PS4.

No newly founded CGI tech demo fest would be complete without Square Enix present, and present they were.

They showed off their own next gen proprietary engine to wow the audience, but had no information to spare. Not even a name was given to the “state of the art game engine”, which was an honest mistake in the face of the other competition on hand. While bereft of informative detail, the visual wealth of knowledge was in line with what Square Enix is known for, in providing graphic quality rarely matched in any tech arena.

While  the sites were grandiose to gaze upon, I can’t really interject with further speculation of my own, as I found  it hard to deliver further context for what was shown.

The engine definitely looked impressive, with particle effects and complex lighting elements…though the themes of the cinematic were all over the place.

One moment we were in an isolated desert town.

The next moment we were in a dark and claustrophobic indoor structure, involved with some magical ritual.

At one point, guerilla soldiers broke into and crashed the ritual with (Ak-47’s?) …

…and then a woman shot electricity out of her hand.

Also, a hyena

The engine looked just to throw everything and the kitchen sink out at the viewer, in order to  showcase any number of common game elements to try and impress us with. While graphically the engine had some eye popping fidelity, and a fluidity to match (more so than my screenshots can provide), the content in motion confused more than enticed (as no solid game play footage of any kind was shown or hinted at).

The trailer ends after an incursion with the surprise enemy force, and an unnamed female magician barely escaping into a far stretching vista.

Could this be the new Final Fantasy game SquareEnix hyped during the press conference? There is a possibility, though it looks to be a long way from completion.

Last up, is probably the most ambitious idea from the entire conceptual side of the PS4 conference. The company who displayed their ever ambitious nature was Media Molecule (Little Big Planet.  They showed off their interest in striving to understand and use Sony’s motion controller, The Playstation Move, in order to help broaden gaming dialogue through creation.

For anyone who has been left out of the loop, Media Molecule has helped add tremendously to the stable of top notch Playstation titles with Little Big Planet, and it’s successfully fruitful ambition of providing the player with endless creativity. Not only does the game stand on traditional grounds, and offer an extremely fun title to play through, but also allowed players to customize, design, and even flesh out their own ideas in the game’s level creator.

The second title even let players design games and levels that were far outside the traditional scope of the simplistic platformer Little Big Planet was intended as. This stand out accomplishment didn’t happen in a vacuum, as millions of players have custom created millions of different ideas, all due in part to Media Molecules creative savvy with Little Big Planet.

The only reason I give such lengthy exposition, is due to the rather weighty (and admittedly) unbelievable mission statement MM had during the PS4 press conference. In their quest to give players ultimate control in creativity, Media Molecule has sought to”Let you record your Dreams”. This sentiment is grand enough, but then MM continues to go on and explain they want to do it through the use of Sony’s motion controller, The Playstation Move, a yet to be  ratified tool in conventional game playing, let alone abstract  creation.

Media Molecule helps to expedite Sony’s message of a diverse platform through sharing with the PS4, by providing this unique perspective into “recording your dreams”. This vast and ambitious process of using the Playstation move to create your own experiences exists as a detour to the common problem of creation frustration. The rep from MM refers to traditional game creation as “The Tyranny of the Polygon”, and with the Move, hopes to ease the pain and simplify the process for those who have the ideas to create, but not technical know how to do so.

Upon further explanation, Media Molecule goes into detail about their own experiences using the motion controller interface of the Playstation Move. Just through rudimentary testing and playing around, they found the Move to provide the level of accuracy they required  and the ease of movement necessary,  to help improve the process of creation, rather than hinder it. One example used prevalently throughout the demonstration was sculpting, and the incredibly detailed models you could create.This demonstration was  through nothing else but the ease of movement involved with the motion control of the PS Move, and your own talent.

He went on to show real time lapse of other very detailed sculptures, and then two more, and then 100 more. This in turned showcased how quickly adapted  and entertained his entire team was in expressing their creative sides, solely through the use of The Playstation Move.

He went on to show other real results using The Move, with an incredibly intricate sculpted town, complimentary with walls, houses, roads, and a large tower.

MM then showed off a video that was made entirely with The PS Move, involving marionettes, orchestrated music, choreography, and the players who made it possible.

While the presentation left me with a lot of questions, it left me with even more wonder. While the end of the demonstration was reminiscent of more awkward moments from E3’s of the past, this seemed a little more genuine in design and motivation. I felt some kind of soul behind the ideas of the project, and a general passion from Media Molecule in showing it off. The Move has yet to find it’s place as a staple in the Playstation library, and this would be the perfect ideal that propels the controller into the stratosphere of the memorable. The MM rep mentioned that sculpting was just the beginning, with suggestions that any form of creation would be equally possible with enough time and thought involved.

While The Move demo was not a singular game, and more of a proposed experience on the PS4, I really hope these lofty ideas to create this “ultimate form of user creation” comes to fruition. Everything they showed was within technological reason, and I’ve learned not to underestimate the fervor and creativity of gamers the world over. Little Big Planet sounded like a pipe dream when I first heard of it, thinking a company couldn’t possibly pull off that level of service in the department of creativity. Low and behold, LBP is one of the coolest and most engrossing creation properties in Sony’s library, and a unique gem across the gaming spectrum as a whole. I have adjusted expectations, trying to break through unreasonable excitement, but if anyone can pull of this class of quality, it’s Media Molecule.

That wraps up my look at the entirety of the PS4 Press Conference! From the PS4 details, to the mass of games on display, and the conceptual stuff following suit, I was nothing short of bursting with anticipation the entire time. I hope I’ve helped to shed some light on what Sony wishes to give you in the future with the PS4, and have provided some drool worthy details to keep you held over till E3. I’ll be doing a quick recap on everything I’ve covered in the past few days, with some final thoughts to go along with it.

See you next time, and cheers to a future with the PS4.