All this talk about 3D

I've read and heard lots of discussion about the pros and cons of 3D in gaming, but one point that I believe will be one of the most important is also one that I haven't heard elsewhere. What will the effect of adding 3D to videogames do to development costs? Costs have already been climbing so fast and high that developers are going to have to hire company Sherpas. We are already seeing games like Mirror's Edge which sold something like 1.5 million copies and still weren't considered a financial success.

If developing for 3D adds to that I worry that we're going to wind up seeing a more extreme form of the current segregation between high profile games that have ultra-high budgets and tons of marketing that sell millions of copies. . . and everyone else.

An Hour Into Uncharted 2

Earlier today I was standing in EB Games with Uncharted 2 for $55 in one hand and Skate and Prince of Persia $40 in the other. I was leaning towards Skate and Prince of Persia but in the end, based on the rave reviews and the plethora of game of the year awards it has recieved I walked out with Uncharted 2. I haven't yet decided whether that was a good choice.

I'm only an hour in so far, mucking around in the museum in Istanbul, so there's a lot of game ahead for me to play. Still, I can't help but feel underwhelmed. Of course, the graphics are top notch and the animations are some of the best and natural ever in a videogame, but those animations seem to have come at a cost. Controlling the character feels like he is moving around knee deep in mud; what Nathan Drake does on screen certainly looks convincing but I often feel that it doesn't reflect what I am trying to make him do. Also the cinematic nature of the game often comes from dramatic camera angles that made me feel like I was watching a movie but sadly has sent Drake to his death at least a dozen times. When the game cuts to a dramatic camera angle I just can't figure out which direction the game wants me to point the analog stick and jumping from one ledge to another becomes a game of guess and check. I can't help but feel like if all the graphics and admittedly superb voice acting were stripped away, the game mechanics would be almost identical to the clunky and stiff but passable mechanics of Lego Indiana Jones.

As I mentioned before, the graphics are some of the best I've ever seen, but there are little inconsistencies that drive me bananas. Maybe I'm just a pessimist or way too anal about little details but in a game that gets so many other things right, the small but repetitive problems are often the worst. The flashlight attached to Drake's hip always points forward, yet is able to shine light wherever the camera is directed, even if it is behind him. Guards immediately sound the alarm if they see Drake or his accomplice, but they couldn't care less if they stumble across another guard lying unconscious on the ground. These are all strange omissions from a developer that went out of their way to make Drake look sopping wet when he gets out of water which, by the way, is an awesome effect that they absolutely nailed.

Maybe these issues will all fade into the background as I continue playing and I haven't even looked at the coop or multiplayer yet, but the first hour of a game just shouldn't be as underwhelming and sometimes even frustrating as this. I'll post more impressions once I'm further into or done with the game.

Spec Ops: The Line - My Underdog of 2010

The Spec Ops series isn't one known for quality. Released at budget prices for the Playstation 2 in the late 90s and early 2000s, the Spec Ops games were moderately enjoyable but the gameplay was stiff and unoriginal. Hopefully gamers forget about all that when Spec Ops: The Line arrives on store shelves in late 2010 because based on the short trailer that was aired at the Spike VGAs and the little other information I've heard about it, it could be a classic in the making.

Spec Ops: The Line is set in Dubai after a series of devastating sandstorms and the scenery is barren and intense. The plot has you playing as a soldier sent in after a crazed army colonel named John Konrad. That's right, like Apocalypse Now, this is a re-imagining of Joseph Conrad's 'The Heart of Darkness,' but with Dubai taking the place of Apocalypse's Vietnam and Darkness' Africa. The gameplay looks like like a third person shooter with a Gears of War/Rainbow Six Vegas style cover system.

Debut Trailer


Extended Trailer