AaronThomas - "I can totally fold more molecules than you."
When people think of On the Spot they probably think of Rich, Jeff, and Ryan having a blast on camera, in-depth unstructured demos, and interesting video highlights from around the world of games. But there's a lot more to On the Spot than what you see on camera, and that's what I tried to capture with Behind the Spot, a behind-the-scenes look into the work that goes into making On the Spot the great show that it is.
I'm working on uploading a high-quality version of the video for those of you who have trouble with the video player or just want to have a version to watch over and over again. I'll update here if and when I'm able to do so.
As always, thanks for watching!
*Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about Getting To Know with Jody--it'll be right here on the Soapbox next Friday.
Polybren - Polybren's Blog
Earlier this month, Intent Media announced that it would be putting together a Games Media Awards to recognize the contribution the media makes to the games market."
The UK publisher of gaming trade MCV and game maker-focused Develop is putting the shindig together for October with the hope that it "will build stronger ties between the games industry and media at all levels." Awards will be given out for print, online, and TV outlets in a variety of categories, with the winners picked "by the industry itself." From the context of the story, that means the winners will be voted on by the game makers themselves, not by fellow members of the gaming media.
Since all the details haven't been announced yet, I can only express some concerns with the idea as it's been presented. For one thing, there's the issue of one publisher being responsible for honoring the efforts of both its competitors and itself.
And of course, having the subjects of the media coverage pick the winners and decide who did the best job covering them is even more worrisome. If there were another scandal on par with Hot Coffee, would you expect the publisher to respond by giving the journalist who broke the news and cost them millions of dollars an award? And even if you were a competing publisher, would you want to encourage the sort of reporting that brings those scandals to the surface, the sort of digging that could uncover skeletons in your own closet?
Having expressed those preliminary concerns (both of which I think could be adequately addressed by the manner in which articles are nominated and winners decided), I have to say that the gaming media needs awards. There's entirely too much mediocrity allowed in gaming journalism as it is. This industry has become larger and more influential in the last decade, yet the coverage of it has largely settled for becoming speedier and snarkier.
"Game journalism" is not an oxymoron, but it would be easier to prove that if there were better reasons for people to aspire to it. The actual legwork and care that go into applying honest-to-goodness journalistic standards to covering games is not trivial, and in some cases is functionally invisible to the reader. Unless a writer happens to be a journalism fanboy for whom the toil is the reward, there are currently few pay-offs for the effort.
Public recognition of a job well done will serve as good incentive for writers, and call attention to some of the best journalism being practiced in the field today. It's easy to dismiss gaming journalism entirely if one's only exposure to it is poorly written reviews and the occasional message board flare-up about a poorly constructed top 10 list. Singling out pieces of merit will not only reward the authors of that content, but it will also show readers what the field can offer at its best, and set the bar for other gaming journalists.
One gaming site editor has already all but dismissed the awards, saying the gaming media should be competing for existing mainstream journalism honors. While I agree the gaming media should hold itself to the same standards as the people who win Pulitzers, Peabodys, and Polks, I don't think it's realistic to expect the judges in mainstream journalism awards competitions to compare jargon-heavy, industry-specific coverage with vastly different general interest stories.
I'm sure lots of people would dismiss this post--and any such musings on the state of gaming journalism--as fruitless navel gazing about something largely irrelevant to the real world. But in dismissing the importance of gaming journalism, I think those people are also forfeiting the right to expect anything better.
LarkAnderson - I'm so sad... Ness... It's not right... not right... not right...
Game 2.0 is a semi-regular column dedicated to exposing the gaming community at large to the wonders of user-created content.
Though Half-Life 2 came out more than two years ago, the online community for player-made modifications, or mods, of the venerable game is stronger than ever. On a daily basis, hundreds of independent developers the world over toil endlessly to bring their own ideas to life within the robust Source engine, and the result of this intense labor of love is some unique and truly amazing gaming content.
Whether you're looking for a story-driven single-player experience, or a no-holds bar multiplayer battle royale, it's a wild, wild world out there, and with so much content freely available it's easy to get bogged down in the details. Luckily, I've taken the liberty of composing a list of some of the most outstanding mods available for both single and multiplayer to help whet your appetite, which you'll find below along with links to their official websites and latest full versions and patches (as of this writing). Once you've gone through this by no means comprehensive list, I highly recommend browsing through GameSpot's Half-Life 2 mod index or a modding specialty site like ModDB, because believe me, there's plenty more out there.
Single-player Mods
Just because it wasn't made by a well-known developer like Valve Software or funded by a multi-billion dollar publisher like Vivendi Universal Games doesn't mean that it can't offer quality single-player gameplay. In fact, it is because these games are mods created by independent developers that they exist at all—in an industry where the bottom-line is everything, many of the unique ideas and gameplay mechanisms introduced here would simply be too risky for a publisher to invest in.
Causality Effect: 'A Red Letter Day' Gone Wrong
What if your initial teleport in Half-Life 2 actually caused a tear in the space-time continuum? What if you had the chance to travel to the past and correct a terrible mistake to prevent a future gone wrong? Causality Effect offers an intriguing alternate take on the main storyline, a variety of locations both new and old, unexpected plot twists and turns, and four separate endings based on your actions.
MINERVA: MetastasisA marvelous application of the concept of episodic content, MINERVA: Metastasis is a trilogy of single-player mods (two of which have been released at the time of this writing) created by Adam Foster which serves as the sequel to Foster's Half-Life mod Someplace Else. Each of the episodes gives just enough of the story and world concepts away to entice the player into wanting more, and the mapping and level design is among the best out there. My only complaint is that MINERVA is far too brief, but with rumors that Metastasis is only the first part of a trilogy, things just might pick up in the near future.
Mistake of PythagorasMistake of Pythagoras places you in the shoes of a Gordon Freeman from a parallel universe in which he must work together with Combine forces to protect his home from bizarre, otherworldly invaders in order to solve the mystery of the titular mistake that has provoked them. Packed with strange puzzles, unique architecture based on real-world buildings, and some incredible surprises, this is one mod you shouldn't pass up.
Rock 24When a renowned rebel scientist is captured by the Combine, it's up to Gordon Freeman to assault the mountain prison known as Rock 24 to free him from their sinister clutches. Loaded with action, Rock 24 features a variety of locations and simple puzzles, a solid opening sequence to engage you, and a powerful finale that really gives you the impression that you've accomplished something big.
Weekday WarriorWeekday Warrior is best described as Office Space meets Metal Gear Solid in the style of classic point-and-click adventure games of yore. As a fearless cubicle-dwelling weekday warrior, it's up to you to solve the mystery of an encrypted email you received that may or may not be the end of all you know. With its witty dialogue, smart gameplay, and collection of fun mini-games, it's no wonder why this creation was not only the recipient of the 2007 Independent Games Festival Best Single-player FPS Mod award, but also the Best Mod award.
Multiplayer Mods
The world of first-person shooter multiplayer action has come a long way since Doom first popularized deathmatch in 1993. Since then, many new types of competitive and cooperative games have emerged, some of which originated in or were made popular by modifications: capture the flag made it big as a Quake mod, and class-based combat wouldn't be anywhere without Team Fortress. And of course, you can't forget that Counter-Strike, the most successful online first-person shooter ever, began as a mod.
Dystopia v1.0For a Cyberpunk fan such as myself, Dystopia is a dream come true, but even if you don't know your Ghost in the Shell from your Neuromancer, you should be able to appreciate this unique, action-packed multiplayer experience. As either a Punk or a Corp Mercenary, battle your way through both physical space and cyberspace in unison to accomplish objectives, many of which can only be done through carefully synchronized teamwork. With the full version finally out after three years of development, now's the perfect time to break out your cyberdeck and hack the Gibson.
Dystopia v1.1 Patch
Official Website
Empires v1.02A full blend of the first-person shooter and real-time strategy game genres, Empires is a unique and flexible team-based game. Each team has a commander, who plays the game from a top-down perspective and constructs bases, plans out strategies, and gives orders to their team members, who play the standard FPS game and fight the team's battles, gaining ranks and new abilities along the way.
Empires v1.06 Patch
Official Website
Eternal Silence v2.3Action rages on a scale rarely seen before as you engage in full-fledged space battles between massive capital ships. Part first-person shooter and part combat flight simulator, you must pilot a variety of space vessels to attack your enemy's ship and engage in dogfights or to infiltrate their base to capture their subsystems. The flight controls are very well implemented and feature full Newtonian physics, and the FPS action is fast and furious. To attest to this mod's quality, I'll point out that it won the 2007 Independent Game Festival's Best Multiplayer FPS Mod award.
Iron Grip: The Oppression v1.32
Another blend of RTS and FPS gameplay, Iron Grip has you play as either a member of the noble Resistance or the oppressive Rahmos. As part of the Resistance, select from a number of heroes with various weapons and abilities and play from a first-person perspective as you try to eliminate the enemy general. As the Rahmos, which is usually played by one person, take control of your empire in a full RTS game and crush the Resistance, optionally possessing your general and personally participating in FPS battles alongside your troops.
Pirates Vikings and Knights II v1.1
Like Snakes on a Plane, the title says it all. In the eagerly anticipated sequel to the original Half-Life mod, command Pirates, Vikings, or Knights in often hilarious and incredibly satisfying ranged and melee battles as their war for supremacy transcends space, time, and historical accuracy. Though I find its lack of ninjas disturbing, I must admit that this mod is ridiculous fun nonetheless.
BrianEk - From the desk of...
This time around, each game seemed to have an interesting sidenote running parallel with the new features that were being shown off. In the case of Tiger, it's the fact that the Tiburon studio (and more accurately, the development team formerly known as Hypnotix) is now responsible for the development of the game. They certainly are keeping things interesting, thanks to the game's huge focus on user-created content (which, in the case of Tiger, manifests itself as the Gamernet feature). Despite being sick of the phrase and its marketing connotations, I suspect this is only the beginning of "user-created content" in EA Sports games (and, indeed, the entire industry).
With NASCAR 08, it's the debut of the series on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Last year's NASCAR game was all but invisible from a hype standpoint, and perhaps with good reason. Still with an "extra" year to get the series ready for the next generation, I figure expectations, at least among the NASCAR faithful, will be pretty high for this game. There's some reason for optimism--the 16-car online play target is a nice start.
Then we come to football. The story behind NCAA this year, at least from my impression, is the game finding the balance between sharing the technology the Tiburon studio has built around its core football engine--shared by both NCAA and Madden--while moving forward with the series to further establish its own identity. There are some unsurprising parallels between the two games (such as the campus legend mode moving towards a superstar mode-like feel) as well as some divergences that I suspect are going to generate some strong opinions (the lead by example feature, for instance). If I had to guess at this early stage, I'd say that this year's NCAA is going to be a strongly polarizing game. Some people are going to love new features such as motivation while others are going to be left scratching their heads. And then, of course, there's the matter of the dynasty mode, which remains a mystery. If there's any aspect of NCAA 08 I'm looking forward to hearing more about--and one that is most deserving of an overhaul--it's dynasty mode.
As for Madden, well, we're going to have to wait a few more weeks before we can spill the beans. Without giving anything away, though, I'm happy to report that I appreciated the theme and approach of this year's Madden demo--it was proof to me that the team behind the game is most assuredly listening to its knowledgeable and vocal fanbase. I wish I could say more but, trust me, the information is coming.
Kevin-V - Kevin-V's blog: Neverwinter Days
I didn't expect to do well at this week's Game Night, only because I had a hectic, terrible day that I would rather soon forget. On the otherhand, GameSpot staffers like Stanley Lin, Jody Robinson, Jason Ocampo, Greg Mueller, Craig Beers, and Anthony Roman kicked butt, so after a while, I was content just to sit back and watch in awe. As always, I learn something new at Game Night. This week?
1. Jody Robinson may look adorable and seem sweet, but don't give her anti-aircraft missiles. Her smile simply disguises her wrath.
2. Stanley Lin cannot be counted on to kill anyone but me. He killed me more often than any GS community member. What gives, Stanley???
3. Craig Beers accuses me of whining. Well, yeah. I don't like finding myself the victim of a flak cannon. I should remind Craig that his cries of, "C'mon, a one-hit kill? Sheesh!" also count as whining. Whaah!
That said, take a look at some of the sweet action. Some of it shows me being owned, and all of it shows you exactly why you need to turn up for GameSpot Community Game Night!
Jeff - Turn Your Key, Sir!
The title of Activision's press release for Guitar Hero songpacks on the Xbox 360 Marketplace is "ACTIVISION ANNOUNCES DETAILS ON DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FOR GUITAR HERO II ON THE XBOX 360" but it might as well be "ACTIVISION PROPOSES RIPPING YOU THE HELL OFF ON DOWNLOADABLE CONTENT FOR GUITAR HERO II ON THE XBOX 360." Seriously, $6.25 for three songs? I didn't do this math myself, but here's a taste of the numbers courtesy of UGAThornhill on our forums...
"Each pack includes 3 songs. With Microsoft selling 1600 points for $20.00 on it's website,that means that 500 points is equivalent to $6.25 or each song equaling $2.083. There were 47 songs in the original game: 30 covers and 17 bonus tracks. At this pricing, to repurchase all the songs would cost $97. If you only want the covers? $62."
Now, it seems likely that there will have to be some kind of bulk pack with slightly more reasonably pricing, but this is the biggest rip-off in the history of Xbox Live Marketplace. Moreso than horse armor. More, even, than paying for cheat codes in EA games. With this pricing plan, they want you to pay more money than it would cost to go out and buy Guitar Hero 1 on disc for the PS2.
You know, it's almost as if they know that most of the songs in Guitar Hero 2 kind of suck and aren't fun to play more than three or four times, and are pricing "the good stuff" accordingly.
I would be willing to pay $30 for a pack containing every Guitar Hero 1 song in it. That makes sense, given that we aren't going out and buying a full retail disc. But anything more than that, and you'd be better off just buying the first game on the PS2. Not to get all "rally cry" on this, but I will say that I'm not paying for any of these packs, and I recommend you do the same. When you cave in to crap like this, you're just letting publishers like Activision and RedOctane get away with unreasonable pricing.
AaronThomas - "I can totally fold more molecules than you."
Get to know the people that bring you all of the great content on GameSpot in a regular series of short and lighthearted gaming-related interviews.
Episode XV: Brad Shoemaker
I've got one of the greatest jobs in the world, but sometimes it's difficult to not get jealous of the previews guys. A few months ago I was slogging my way through three(!) versions of Spyro trying not to fall asleep and Brad's sitting next to me with an early build of Guitar Hero II. Just the other day Brad and Brian were comparing notes on how their interviews with Megatron and Optimus Prime went. Yep, sometimes (but not always) the previews guys have got it made.
If you've been curious to find out more about the man behind so many of GameSpot's in-depth previews, now's your chance. I pulled Brad away from his shiny new TV just long enough to find out how he spent his most recent vacation, his reputation for being bad at games, and his addiction to World of Warcraft.
I've got my On The Spot behind-the-scenes video on tap for next week, and Getting To Know will return in two weeks with Jody Robinson, one of the unsung heroes who makes sure GameSpot's online community is one big happy family. As always, thanks for watching!
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