Doing what... Nintendoes?

That's right! Now Sony has unveiled its own smaller replica old-timey console! Coming this December, the PlayStation Classic will remind you of the days when d-pads m??attered a whole lot more because they aren't even offering a DualShock controller with this retro bad boy.

Personally, my inner collector is tempting me to pre-order one, but my common sense is screaming: “you already own tons of original PlayStation games and have multiple ways to play them!” So, I'll probably be passing on this. However, Sony is nailing it with the holiday release schedule, as I do think this would make the perfect gift for ??a relative who no longer has their original PlayStation and wants to go on a nostalgia trip over the holidays.

Here's hoping they don't get tripp??ed up on the lack of analog sticks.

The post The PlayStation Classic is up next on the chopping block in today’s Destructoid Impulse appeared first on Destructoid.

You have to graduate sometime

“THA'S HOW YOU RIDE A CARRRRRAGOR!"

Yeah, thanks asshole. I've already done this like two dozen times. You might have noticed I rode up to your mission marker ON a Caragor.

“WHEN UN' ORC IS DOWN, THA'S WHE??N YOUR CARRRAGOR CAN POUNCE ON EM!”

DIE IN A FIRE.

I loved Shadow of Mordor. You know, unlike some people. I could ignore the generic revenge-driven plot, put up with Gollum's shenanigans, and embrace the hell out of the unique cast of orcs the game generated for me. Hell, I even loved the Arkham-style combat and the kill-crazy orc murder sprees it enabled. I'm not si??ck of that brand of carnage yet, not by a l?ongshot.

But the game committed one unforgivable sin – It was still tutorializing basic mechanics well into the back half of the game. Every time it happened it ??was enough to make me want to pitch the game i??nto Mount Doom's lava basement.

Shadow of Mordor is just the most recent and notable culprit of a crime we've seen repeated again and again in recent years - games that go out of their way to include a direct tutorialization of mechanics you've probably already used a ton of times right up to the game's final moments. I cringe every time it happens and wonder how and why this is a thing.

I'll forgive it if you have a real game-changer of a mechanic. If some ability or tool only appears in the later part of a game because of plot or balance reasons, it might make sense to give the player a heads-up about it. Say for example, when Talion's ability to drain an orc turns into his ability to brand one and bend him to his will. Sure, tha??t's a big mechanical change that occurs as a result of the game's natural plot. Go ahead and tutorialize tha??t.

But dedicating missions to learning how to ride the same beasts you've been ??taming since your first hour of playtime? Or instructing you on the finer points of slaying the same Ghul Matron monster you've probably annihilated in a few side-missions already? Ridiculous. It just kill??s all the momentum for me. A big fat ugly reminder that “YOU ARE PLAYING A VIDEOGAME!” So much for all that willing suspension of disbelief and investing in a fantasy world.

If you're making a game and realize that, oh shit, you've made 8 hours worth of content already and still haven't included a mission that primarily revolves around X-mechanic, maybe you don't need that mission. If you couldn't find a non-intrusive way to slide that idea into the first third of the game, it probably isn't all that important. If this is a problem that is happening multiple times in your game, maybe its just too full of stuff.

Or,?? maybe you just don't give your players enough credit to fig??ure things out on their own.

I guess it bugs me in particular with Mordor because Monolith already found the perfect way to non-intrusively teach things with an easy-to-use two-pronged attack: 1) Make those tools available to the player early and provide opportunity to use them organically. 2) ??Slide those mechanics? into optional, but attractive, side-missions.

Mordor slightly stumbles on the first point bu?t does well enough. Some powers and abilities are tied to mission progress, sometimes sensibly, other times seemingly arbitrary. But most of the cool toys can be unlocked and used by the player as he or she deigns to, or at least are unlocked fairly early.

They nail the second part though. Seeded throughout Mordor are plenty of side-missions and challenges that are just entertaining enough to entice most players to give them a try. They offer unique situations and dilemmas to solve using the available tools with extra bonus conditions that encourage players to approach them in a particular, often more difficult, way. They're a fun distraction and test of the player's abilities in their own right, but also offer fun stat boosting rewards and cooler looking re-forges of ??your weapons to boot.

Well done Monolith. So why put in so many late-game tutorials? Why not jus?t leave it up to those side-missions and the player's natural curiosity to figure these things out?

All of this is ignoring the simple fact that some things are just better left to players to find out on their own. Not EVERY SINGLE mechanic has to be explicitly laid out, broken down, blue-printed, and reassembled in front of a player's eyes. It turns out, we actually like figuring this stuff out on our own.

I played through the entirety of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater, no exaggeration, at least ten times. Know why I kept coming back? Because the game just kept giving. Now MGS might seem like an odd example to hold up in comparison since the series is known for <DREET, DREET> chiming in with a codec message every three second??s with some “helpful tip,” but hear me out. For all the helicopter-parenting Snake's support staff is guilty of, there are at least twice as many things to discover on your own in that game as they hand-hold you through.

Every playthrough I discovered something new to Snake Eater that I didn't know before. Maybe a major thing, like a weapon or movement technique I somehow missed on my first few playthroughs. Or something small and disposable, like one of Kojima's cheeky ?little gags, or some sly film reference buried deep inside a codec conversation.

But most of all, I kept finding all these neat game mechanics and little tricks. “Oh, turns out you can interrogate enemies into giving you artillery codes, that's neat.” “Hey, the knife is super effective against The Fury!” “Hah, you can trick enemies into eating spoile?d food if you destroy the ration sheds.” “Oh my god, you can kill The End before you even face him in a boss fight, holy shit!”

I think it is a beautiful and wonderful thing when games are packed with content, but it's left for the players to find and unearth, not beaten over the players head. Don't make me quote from the scriptures of Dark Souls. *puts ?on ceremonial Sun Robes and begins to praise vigorously*

You don't need tutorials if your game is interesting enough to encourage play?ers to experiment. Especially these days, in the era of YouTube and Steam guides being available WHILE PLAYING with the press of a button. You can offload the slow, cumbersome, drudgery of tutorial work t??o the organic nature of the gaming community.

People will find these tricks and mechanics on their own and spread them around, don't worry about it. Instead, worry about paying off for all the set-up and ??tutorial hoops you had players jump through in the FIRST HALF of the game, instead of setting up more motherfucking hoops.

The post Dear d??evs, stop i??t with tutorials all the way through the game appeared first on Destructoid.

3DS software dominated the top 10 chart last week in Japan

Surprising absolutely no one, the 3DS continues to make Japan squeal like a suckling pig. But the Media Create sales data for February 11-17 is a little more fascinating than usual -- nine of the top ten pieces of software are 3DS titles, the Dragon Quest VII 3DS remake taking top honors once again. The one non-3DS game on the list is Taiko no Tatsujin Wii: Super Deluxe Edition at #4, and the first non-Nintendo title on the chart is the PSP visual novel Sakura-Sou no Pet na Kanojo at #12, right underneath New Super Mario Bros. U.

It's understandable that Nintendo handhelds rule the roost in ol' Nihon, but we haven't seen domination like this since the heights of the DS, when the entire top ten was populated by DS software. That's to be expected when the 3DS hardware itself is selling at least twice as much as all other platforms combined (97,971 vs. 48,384 this past week).

Whenever I consider 3DS' high performance in Japan, I get frustrated by the portable's much colder reception everywhere else. Why can't the 3DS be just as successful here??, huh? I get that Japan's mobile-friendly, public transit-loving atmosphere ?fosters a better environment for handhelds, but is there no way to demonstrate that same value in other regions?

Even when the DS was smashing records worldwide, Western regions placed it on a lower rung compared to home consoles. This was made even more apparent by the software library -- Japanese devs showed a lo??t of appreciation whereas Western devs showed much less care and respect.

And what of consumers themselves? Handhelds may not be alluring because they can't be played on big home theater screens, but the tradeoff is that you can play them pretty much anywhere else: in the bathroom, on the porch, on the couch while friends or family watch something else on TV, etc. Plus, there's just something appealing about having a personal, isolated window into a game world, free from prying eyes and other distractions?.

I accept that my gaming habits don't align with my peers, that a lot o??f you place more stock in home console gaming or even eschew portables altogether. I just wonder if there is any way to turn pe?rception of dedicated handhelds around in the West and show that they can be every bit as compelling as the big boys.

「ドラゴンクエストVII エデンの戦士たち」が累計販売本数100万本を突破した「ゲームソフト週間販売ランキング＋」 [4Gamer via NeoGAF]

The post Why can’t 3DS be as successful here as in Japan? appeared first on Destructoid.

Time to get cran-tastic

[Talking to Women about Videogames is a series where Jonathan Holmes talks to different people who are women about the biggest videogame news of the week for some reason.]

Myths can start innocently enough. Pure fabrication, simple misunde?rstanding, or a more complex misdiagnosis of the phenomena at hand can all lead to faulty explanations and perceptions.What keeps those misconceptions going is usually a combination of lacking information and some measure of ill will. That happens a lot in the videogame world, largely doe to the secretive ways of game publis?hers and the inner-conflict-prone gaming community.

When a company has been a huge (and divi?sive) part of the videogame industry for as long as Nintendo has, you're going have a few myths stuck to your ass. I figured that the release of the Wii U would be as good a time as any to bust a few of them, be?cause I like busting. It makes me feel good. 

Nintendo always sells consoles at a profit

I think this got started as a byproduct of the bitterness that many felt towards Nintendo for selling the Wii for $250, despite the fact that the hardware wasn't much of an upgrade from the $99 GameCube. While it was "a bit ?cheeky" of Nintendo to charge so much for the Wii, they still en?ded up losing tons of potential ;revenue on the thing back when the Wii would go for ~$350 on the secondhand market. 

Back to the point, the Wii U is being sold at a loss, the 3DS is being sold at a loss now that the price has dropped, and the GameCube was sold at a loss ??for the majority of its time on the market. Nintendo consoles are so??metimes sold at a loss. Myth, consider yourself busted.

Nintendo doesn't support third parties

This one started back in the N64 days, and for good reason. Nintendo did give third parties a really hard time on the platform, charging ridiculous licensing fees and leaving them to deal with the near-obsolete cartridge format. Since the GameCube days though, Nintendo has taken a ver??y different tact with third parties. That's why the Wii and the DS were flooded with third-party releases (many of which were of questionable integrity, but we'll g??et to that later).

People also say Nintendo should promote third-party games more aggressively, like Sony and Microsoft tend to. I'm always baffled by that. Call of Duty: Black Ops II took center stage at the recent Wii U pre-release event in New York City. Nintendo has had EA,? Activision, and Rockstar with them on stage at E3 many times. Whenever third parties put their most marketable, top-budget titles on Nintendo consoles, Nintendo historically meets them in kind with marketing resources and active support. 

The problem often comes from th?e fact that third parties don't often put their best stuff on Nintendo consoles, which brings us to the next point

Third-party games don't sell on Nintendo consoles

In the NES and SNES days, third-party games did exceptionally well on Nintendo consoles, but things changed on the N64. The previously mentioned licensing fees and restraints inherent to the cartridge format, combined with the N64's smaller install base caused the console to be largely ignored by third parties. The GameCube saw improved support in those areas, which led to increased support from third-party developers (with initially exclusive games like Resident Evil 4, Viewtiful Joe, and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes), but with an eve?n smaller install base than the N64, they took more of their business to the PS2.

All that history definitely contributes to the myth that these companies don't care about and/or don't sell on Nintendo consoles, but the Wii is where idea that third-party games "don't sell" on Nintendo consoles truly ingrained itself in gamer culture, with some studios making bold statements about how disappointed they are with t??he sales of their Wii games, blaming the "Wii audience" for not appreciating their titles, etc.

The part they often leave out is that third parties rarely put marque titles on the Wii. Other than Monster Hunter Tri (which apparently sold well enough on the Wii to garner several Nintendo-exclusive follow-ups) and a few "down ports" of multiplatform titles like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Reflex Edition, third parti??es rarely put their mo??st marketable games on the Wii.

Instead, they took risks like MadWorld and Muramasa: The Demon Blade, tried to revive "dead" genres like the on-rails shooter, the point-and-click puzzle adventure and... whatever NBA Jam is, or just ported DS games to the console, assuming that Wii owners couldn't tell the difference between the two. (No offense, Trauma Center. You're still my jam.)

Third parties are right. Those games didn't tend to sell as well as their bigger budgeted, more fully featured relatives on the PS3/360, but that's not just  because "third-party games don't sell on the Wii." I'm more inclined to guess that lower budget, less marketable, new IP don't have much chance of doing big numbers at retail on any home console. There are plenty of  third-party games of varying levels of quality that didn't sell on the PS3/360 as well: Shadows of the Damned, The Sabatour, Darksiders II, Child of Eden, Wet, Hyperdimension Neptunia, El Shaddai, Enslaved, Vanquish, and Majin and the Foresaken Kingdom, to name a few. 

While I love a lot of those games, there is not questioning that they aren't as marketable as big-budget, established IP like Grand Theft Auto IV or Resident Evil 5. Like similarly budgeted, similarly struggling third-party games on the Wii, they just couldn't do GTA IV numbers. The only difference is, a game like No More Heroes can make a profit on th??e Wii where development costs allowed for games to sell 500,000 lifetime sales and still turn a profit.

Nintendo hasn't put out any new series since Pikmin

I love this one, because it's such a sweet Oroboros. There are people who complain that Nintendo only makes Mario and Zelda games. These are the people who will only buy a Nintendo game if it carries the Mario or Zelda name. Those folks who buy all kinds of Nintendo games already know that they released Xenoblade and Rhythm Heaven Fever just this year, that the worked very closely with Mistwalker on the development of The Last Story, with Treasure on Sin and Punishement: Star Successor, and so forth. 

Nintendo has published a lot of new IP since Pikmin was released. Sadly, people tend to overlook that, which only makes ??it harder for Nintendo to put out new IP. Oroboros indeed!

Nintendo only puts out games for "kids"

Nintendo of America has been pretty gun shy towards M-rated games ever since Eternal Darkness failed to set the world ablaze, but they've been pretty consistent in putting out T-rated games, like Metroid, Twilight Princess, and whatever else they think will sell. In Japan, it's a different story. Nintnedo publishes a lot more risky stuff there, in terms of both content and potential for sales -- stuff like psychologically disturbing Fatal Frame series, the dildo-infused Captain Rainbow, and the Cero Z-rated online ogre-slaying simulator Zangeki No Reginliev. 

It's only when compared to the "no kids allowed" attitude of Sony and Microsoft that Nintendo of America looks "less mature." Microsoft has dabbled in "all ages" games (mostly from Rare, and mostly with limited success) and Sony has put some resources into stuff like LittleBigPlanet, but most of the current crop of first-party titles from those two groups are T-rated or above. Combine that with fact that most who don't play Nintendo games only know the company for Mario and Zelda, and it's easy for the perception that they only make kids games to continue, despite am?ple&nbsp;evidence&n?bsp;to the contrary.

With the announcement that Nintendo is publishing the new Bayonetta, it will be ;interesting if that perception begins to chan??ge.

Conclusion: It's hard to hit a moving target

Nintendo has kept the same franchises alive for a long time, which gives off the perception that they are resistant to change. Anyone who's picked up the Wii U and booted up Miiverse can tell you that's no the case. Nintnedo went from completely ignoring multimedia features with the GameCube, to touting NintendoTVii and built-in video chat as killer apps for the Wii U. At one point, they were so focused on tech that they'll actually name one of their consoles after how many "bits" of processing power it had. Fast forward a few years later to the Wii, and you have a console that's only selling point came from software and its controller. And don't even get me started how much the Zelda games have&nbsp;simultan??eously changed and stayed the same over the years.

Almost all the myths about Nintendo have been true at one point in time, but those points in time have b?een fleeting. If you hate Nintendo today, you may love them tomorrow, and vice versa. That's something I know from experie?nce. The SNES is one of my favorite consoles of all time, but I can count the amount of N64 games that I truly love on one hand. 

The only constant about Nintendo is that there are no constants. Even the Mario brothers, who are most well known for their turtle-killing skills, may end up turning into wads of paper or sucking ghosts to death with ??vacuum cleaners at the drop of a hat. Whatever beliefs you may have about Nintendo, for better or worse, are always worth reassessing a few times a generation.

Personally, I don't think they??'d want it any o?ther way.

The post Talking?? to Women about Videogames: Nintendo myth busting appeared first on Destructoid.

If you're like me, you grew up reading Diehard GameFan. The magazine was as close as we had to a Destructoid back in the 1990's; independent, opinionated, and more focused on the love of games than getting rich. What a lot of people don't know is that Gamefan is actually still in print, though finding an issue in the wild requires more luck and perseverance than acquiring a Shiny Ponyta. 

GameFan's Editor in Chief Dave Halverson is rightfully disillusioned over that situation, and he lays the blame partially on the priorities of today's publishers; particularly their marketing departments. Among other things, he says- "Never has so much money been spent with so little regard. Knowing what it takes to make a great game it kills me to see how they're treated once they leave the studio. Like these so called "events" that have taken the place of proper objective coverage. Massive parties pilfering 10s of 1000s of dollars from a game’s budget to basically liquor up individuals who, for the most part, could give a rats ass about whatever game happens to be on display--unless it's one they're supposed to like."

As someone who's been to his fair share of press events, I know what he's talking about. The amount of money that publishers waste on prov??iding the gaming press with swag, expensive cheeses, and gigantic parties is just ridiculous. Knowing that all?? that money could have been spent on actually making better videogames is painful indeed (but not so painful that I'm going to let that cheese go to waste).

For more from Dave and the rest of the GameFan staff, check out their Facebook page, and don't forget to scour every inch of tall grass for the new GameFan on shelves soon (featuring Dtoid's own SBC Slam. You go girl!)

The post GameFan chief says the industry is a sad state ???of affairs appeared first on Destructoid.

As you likely already know, the next Kingdom Hearts game is called ... Dream Drop Distance. Really, Square Enix? Just when I thought the series couldn't get even more pretentious with names like 358/2 Days and Birth By Sleep, you really know it out of the park with what is both a pointlessly obtuse name and an awful attempt at wor??dplay. ;

Unfortunately, the names only speak of the content within -- which has managed to become so contrived and waffling over the course of multiple spin-offs, that any interest I may have had in Kingdom Hearts 3 has been?? summarily executed by Square's need to over-explain and over-complicate what was once a perfectly simple plot -- not to mention dialog that consists o?f the words "heart" and "darkness" repeated roughly 150,000 times per cutscene. 

Seriously, Famitsu even mentioned Kingdom Hearts 3 this week, and how Droopy Dog Dicks&nbsp;will hint toward the future sequel and ... I can't care anymore. A game I've wa??nted?? for years, and my energy for it has been sucked away completely.

I must, however, express just how impressed I am by the way in which the series has been milked to death without even reaching a second sequel. All these pompous mobile releases have managed to make the series stale and meaningless before Kingdom Hearts 3 has even been officially announced. That's a record, even by Square?? Enix's standards of saturation.

The post Oh just f*ck off, Kingdom Hearts! appeared first on Destructoid.

[Note: We’re not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that they may not jibe with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]

Through and through, I love a good story in a game. I may be slow on this, but I just heard about Homefront, which makes its debut on consoles in the US next week. The plot is based around a unified Korea rapidly rising to become a new superpower in the Far East and invading the United States, and is written by the guy behind Red Dawn and Apocalypse Now -- John Millus. 

Certainly, an interesting premise! Then... I went ahead and checked out the timeline for what happens up to the point of the invasion of America in 2027. It dealt a major blow to my faith in the game. Alternate history can be really dicey, but to me, there are lim??its of how much the story can stretch plausibility. To me, t?his story goes well beyond what's entire plausible and even possible. 

Putting my history degree to use for once, I'll go through the timeline bit by bit and give my counterpoint. Now, before we begin, I may as well say a few? things: I understand that Kaos Studios a?nd Mr. Millus have advisors and whatnot to help them flesh out the story. But, from the bit that I've seen, their advisors mostly focused on Korean culture and history. 

What's the issue here? Well, fro?m what I've read, it turned the story into a big apologist/vengeance piece against the mistreatment of Korea during and after World War II. The US did awful things there, and horribly mismanaged South Korea in the leadup to the Korean War, but I don't think that the mirror image would happen if Korea was lording over the United States. 

Onto the timeline! 

2011: North Korea faces another UN sanction over its latest nuclear test. 
This happens all the time. Nothing too surprising there. North Kor?ea does something brash, puts everyone on high alert, and then demands food/aid to back off. Standard operating procedure.&nb??sp;

2012: Kim Jong-Il passes away, he is succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un. 
Not surprising, either. Kim Jong-un? has been groomed for the last few years to take over the throne after his father croaks. For a while, there was discussion about someone other than from the Kim line taking over, but Kim Jong-un was quickly pegged after that. 

2013: Kim Jong-un is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and featured on the cover of Time Magazine for his accomplishment of Korean reunification. 
Nobel Peace Prize for the re-unification of Korea? Sure. That I don't bat my eye at. But it wouldn't go to Kim Jong-un -- it'd go to whoever is in charge of South Korea. Why? Two reasons: first, Kim Jong-un has been shown to have similar tendencies to his father, something? that the KCIA and greater intelligence community is aware of. He would not be the one leading the discussion -- it'd be the South Korean leader, because they're the ones who have been trying to reunify the country for years, not the north. 

Second, it's a much greater gesture of humanity by the South to take the North than the North to rejoin with the South. The North Korean economy is a basketcase, its people are living in god-forsaken poverty and seem to be stuck in the 1950s still. For South Korea to take on all of North Korea's debt, attempt to build its infrastructure, and suddenly deal with the tidal wave of poor and destitute would? tank its economy for years to come. Just look at East/West Germany -- the western half is still picking up the pieces in the East. 

2014: American military withdraws from the Korean Peninsula. General Motors declares bankruptcy for the second time. 
General Motors going bankrupt? Plausible, through mismanagement. But the American military withdraw??ing from the Korean peninsula? Nope! China is still a looming threat, not to mention that because of the increased instability of the Korean Peninsula, the US forces are going to stay there, guaranteed. I cannot think of a plausible reason why they'd leave. 

2015: The effects of peak oil are felt as gas prices reach up to 20 dollars a gallon due to a war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Russia cuts off all oil trade with Europe. Survivalist literature become bestsellers in America. China's influences diminish. 
I can see China's influence diminishing because they finally see their bubble burst -- it's something I'm actually expecting, and 2015 is a good time to p??eg it. Now, the war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. More likely than not, the US would support the Saudis in the war, which would put a quick end to Iran, in my mind. And why would Russia cut off its oil trade with anyone? That's pretty much the sole thing keep Russia wealthy right now is all their oil, unless they decide to sell solely to Asia/Pacific and the U.S. 

2016: America withdraws its military from Japan and other countries overseas, focusing on its instability back home. Texas splits from the United States, border bloodshed takes place as refugees from other states attempt to enter Texas. 
The American military pulls out of Japan? Excuse me? First off, Japan wouldn't let us go, because we're basicall??y the big guns behind their self-defense force, and if they're economy is still in a slump, they don't want to have to diverge more funds towards building a standing army of their own. Second, the US wouldn't want to leave, because we get so much money from Japan through selling them arms, vehicles, and ships. It's a cash cow for the military. 

I'll get to the instability back home in the next bullet point. Texas seceding from the Union? There would be a crackdown of major proportions, were that to happen -- the courts long ago made secession illegal??, and I cannot imag??ine a state threatening it. Plus, with all of Texas' debts, where would they have the money to successfully run their own national government? Sure, they have a Federal Reserve Bank there, but it's not going to supplement the increased cost of printing new government money, raising a state militia, and fighting against the 15 national military bases in the state. That would be over so quickly. 

2017: Martial law is declared in the United States as its infrastructure crumbles due to financial deficiencies. 
Why is the US infrastructure collapsing? Is it because of the rising gas prices? Because, you know, the US and Canada can tap into their oil reserves and be set for quite a while. Canada is only the second-largest oil reserve in the world, and if Canada was that reticent about sharing its oil, and the US were very desp??erate, we could invade them and take their oil reserves. Or "encourage" the Iraqis to give oil contracts to America instead of China, since their economy has collapsed. 

2018: After the destruction of one its nuclear facilities by Korean special forces, Japan surrenders to the Greater Korean Republic and is capitalized into a vassal state. 
Woah. Someone has some serious wish-fulfillment here. Say Korean forces did that, which I won't discount the possibility. That would lead to all-out war. The US forces in Korea, Japan and the JSDF would launch an attack on the Korean peninsula, and i??t would be slaughter. That's a serious act of war,?? and between Korea and Japan, Japan is our stronger ally. We'll back them, and taking out the Korean army wouldn't be terribly hard in an all-out war, especially considering the fact that we have nuclear weapons and they don't. 

2019: The UN goes out of commission. 
Why? B??ecause of international turmoil? I would think that the UN would be the?? strongest place for international discussion. 

2020: Canada closes its borders to Americans. The US military takes over the functions of many emergency services, as well as the distribution of basic goods. This causes many Americans to abandon the suburbs in exchange of the military-managed urban centers. 
Canada is hunky-dory, but not the US? I can't imagine we'd flee to there, when in terms of basic goods, we're the more self-sustaining nation. Sure, we'd have to change a??round our entire agricultural system from a number of gigantic farms with nothing but corn for miles and miles, but come on: with a policy set in place, say five years in advance (when the oil crisis happens), the US could definitely make itself a self-sustaining nation. 

2021: Korean forces succeed in annexing many countries in Southeast Asia. A new pandemic known as the Knoxville Cough begins to spread in the United States. 
Hold the phones here. There's a worldwide oil crisis, Korea's economy should be in shambles, and somehow they're able to launch an invasion campaign? First off, where did they get the oil? The country has no strategic reserves of the stuff -- they are entirely dependent on foreign oil. Second, if there's a food issue, how are the??y managing a supply chain to feed all of their troops on an expeditionary force? 

2022: To prevent the contagion of the Knoxville Cough, Mexico closes its borders to Americans. Hyperinflation pushes the US dollar to the edge of collapse. 
I really don't agree with the whole "mo??ving in to urban centers" idea. My thought is that the US government would start moving people out towards far?mland areas, and there would be more investment in agriculture. Which means, people are more spread out, not even more clustered in cities. 

2023: The Knoxville Cough ravages the American public. The Korean People's Army reaches 20 million total personnel. 
So, the Korean army grows to become about 30-50% of the total population of the peninsula? Good luck feeding thos??e troops. 

2024: Using the captured M-V rockets at the Uchinoura Space Center, Kim Jong-un announces a new space satellite program, under the pretense of replacing the decaying GPS system, which America could no longer afford to maintain. 
Yeah right. They've already invaded Japan, we woul?d have shot that thing down when ?it went in the air. No reason to trust them. 

2025: A thermonuclear device is detonated by one of the Korean satellites 300 miles above Kansas, blanketing America with an EMP that wipes out its power grid and most of the electronics above ground. The US infrastructure is virtually in ruins. This is followed by the Korean seizure of Hawaii and landings in San Francisco. Korean paratroopers are dropped into central United States. The economic downfall in Europe prevents its nations from intervening. 
Right here. This is where it should all stop. Say everything went according to the timeline. If Korea went ahead and detonated a nuclear device in an attempt to wipe out our power grid, we'd simply respond by launching an avalanche of nuclear devices at them. The US weapons reserves are specifically shielded against something like? this happening, and are able to launch and successfully hit targets even if the power were out in the rest of the country. 

Also, WHERE DID THEY GET THE OIL TO LAUNCH A MASSIVE EXPEDITIONARY FLEET? In Southeast Asia, there's barely any oil. If they took over China (which would be a massive and costly war in and of itself), then maybe. But even then, it would be one of the ?costliest ventures for a country, and I don't think Korea could properly bounce back from an economic pitfall, build the world's best army and successfully conquer two gigantic countries in the cours??e of 15 years. 

2026: The United States is split into two as the KPA irradiate the entire Mississippi River, as a fortification for their control of the western side. 
Impressive that they also have ??the oil to drive? and fly across all that territory. That's a lot of land you're looking to control, mister. 

2027: The United States Armed Forces are completely scattered. 
Don't you think that if Korea started buildin??g up a massive army, there would be a draft in the US? So, let's say we arm 15% of our population and train them (a slightly larger number than WWII), we would be at least 52 million-strong, presuming a population of 350,000,000. I would imagine that an army twice as large as the KPA would be hard to scatter, especially when you're looking to hold all of Southeast Asia (including China!), Japan, and anyplace you've island-hopped to on the way. Your army would have to survive on the food available in the US, because I can't imagine the costs of transporting enough food to feed even 10 million troops in a foreign nation halfway across the world. 

-- 

Welcome to the tl;dr section! 

I understand that I'm nit-picking at a plot for a first-person shooter, but if we're to argue that videogames are art, then that means the story needs to? be held to higher standards than we ?previously had. If you're going to write a story with alternate history, make sure you do your research. You pick a divergence point from the world's timeline, and go from there in a relatively plausible manner.

Most of my arguments come from simple cursory research and a functioning knowledge of the US and Korea -- work that the folks at Kaos and Mr. Millus should have done from day one. I'm only annoyed here because I really like the premise of the game and the message they're trying to get across (forcing people to experience the atrocities of US occupation of Korea and subsequent Korean war), but some of that is lost in the story because the chain of events?? are so impossible. 

By and large, the general audience will still get the message. Thus, you can probably say that because you've generated the specific feelings you set out to achieve, everything's fine and I'm nitpicking too much. But when you take that message, and put it in a half-baked vehicle, it can't help but cheapen the overall package. If this story were more thought out, then this could be one of the hallmarks of expressive and emotionally gripping FPS titles. But, I have the feelin??g it won't be. 

Still, I'll pick the game up come Tuesday, and give it a shot myself. Perhaps I'm wrong, and they manage to weave a more cohesive story than I thought. I'd love to be proven wrong, b?ut I have a feelin?g that I won't be. 

Sources: 
//www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2178rank.html 
//militarybases.com/texas/ 
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_nuclear_weapons 
//money.cnn.com/2011/01/19/news/economy/texas_budget_deficit/index.htm 
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_troops 
//www.npg.org/facts/us_historical_pops.htm

The post In which I break down why Homefront’s plot is impossible appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Stevil brings us some fascinating thoughts on survival horror games, how the genre has declined, and how we're getting away from the horror antagonists that made games truly scary. Give it a read and let us know what you think in the comments! - JRo]}

Survival horror was always going to head for a decline as soon as it was invented. The action horror we see today was an inevitable result of combating the poor sales of niche ideas and high development?? costs; horror aimed at a necessary broad audience. Hordes of enemies create great spectacles but hold none of that isolated fear, while characters that start off under-powered become walking armouries that can deal with any given situation.

That’s not a gloomy outlook, though, and there are still videogames like Forbidden Siren and Condemned that prefer to keep things minimal.

Still, itâ€??™s sad to see ??survival horror taking the ‘slay everything routeâ€?in order to conquer fear. Maybe it would have been better if a majority of survival horror videogames took the idea of a solitary antagonist and ran with it.

As discussed before in greater detail, videogame antagonists are created to serve as a way of keeping the player interested. For example, Silent Hill 2 would have been an empty experience without the inclusion of numerous monsters, symbolism or not. Out of all the creatures on display th?ough, the most feared is Pyramid Head �a nightmarish stalker who pops up in the most unexpected of places.

That one invincible enemy can be found in a plethora of horror videogames, e.g. Dead Space’s Regenerator, Deadly Premonition’s The Raincoat Killer and Resident Evil’s Nemesis. They’re the ones that carry with them unpalatable anticipation and yet they?? seemingly ??cannot carry the entire experience on their own hulking shoulders.

It’s a difficult balance between interaction and storytelling. Sometimes, the intentional lack of variety enemies, like with Alan Wake, fails to keep an interest in ??????????????????????????the eyes of others.

Not that the idea of a solitary antagonist ??can nev?er be achieved.

Atlus�only true survival horror offering, Hellnight, was a simple game of cat and mouse. All you had was a companion with a sixth sense or a stun weapon, while the sole antagonist continually evolved into a faster, larger and more adept killing machine. Even with the minimal audio and low-end graphics, the creature’s unique appearances and vented breathing were enough to make every ex?ploration of a tunnel and its subsequent de??ad-end a harrowing proposition.

Clock Tower is another survival horror that relies on a sole antagonist giving chase, much like the ‘slasher movie�genre that it emulates. Structurally, it’s an adventure game broken up by unscripted moments of ‘fright and flight�terror. You can’t fight the Scissorman, so you have to keep on the move and solve puzzles before he tracks you down. When he does, you have hide or knock him down like ‘the last girl�in a horror mov?ie.

Once the coast is clear, you can carry on with what you were doing, but with the knowledge that investigating the nearby fireplace might reveal a serial killer's new hiding place.

The formula was eventually repeated in the subsequent sequels and Capcom’s Haunting Ground a.k.a. Demento. Yet, horror videogames with this niche sub-genre fail to ignite mainstr?eam interest. It’s actually quite frustrating to see a game with so much potential in th??is kind of horror, only to side-step it for something familiar.

ObsCure was a solid B-movie videogame that involved a group of students being trapped in their school after dark. Instead of them being systematically bumped off by a deranged Scooby Doo caretaker, we get the ??usual asso?rtment of mutated monsters and weapons.

The developers clearly missed a trick there.

These little set-ups or invincible antagonists are flicke??rs of what some developers desire if they weren’t tied down by intensive interactivity and the increasing im??portance of sales. Unfortunately, that direction is probably long gone.

No??????????????????????????body said it was a dead and buried idea though. Well alright, permeating the soil at the very?? least.

An unstoppable force can be invisible, part of the interaction, one that indirectly changes the environment and impedes progress. An idea perfectly staged in SOS: The Final Escape and its sequels. You can’t fight against an unpredictable earthquake tremor??, nor will you ever overcome it with the equipment you collect and it relentlessly follows throughout the entire story.

All of these examples have shown that a horror game doesn’t have to be about numerous enemies that impede progress. They can be about a foreboding presence and sporadic appearances that ke??ep you on edge. That nearby cupboard might be a safe h?aven, but it’s also a necessary evil that sets out to reset the status quo and begin another chilling cycle.

For all the artistic praise, independent developers haven’t realised how well this would work for their short games. If Limbo touched upon it, how come there’s never been a videogame where you’re a s??chool kid being chased though an isolated area by a local bully?

It’s easily imaginable for that idea to be turned into a ‘survival horror�without needing to be pretentiously abstract either. In fact, here is a challenge to anybody out there to make this idea into a survival horror using Sleep is Death or RPG Maker with??out adding a superfluous twist or any other monsters.

What’s the ma??tter? Scared of the unknown? Well now we're getting somewhere.

The post The Lament of Solitary Antagonistic Horror appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[SwE3tMadness continues her blog series on music in video games! This time, she talks about great songs in games that are simply too short, or get overlooked because they weren't used properly. -- JRo]}

Over the past few months I've talked a bit about how the use of music in games enhances the overall experience as a whole. A good soundtrack in a game creates a specific atmosphere that can change the way we view the events it accompanies. However, sometimes the action in a game overrides the music, and the player potentially misses a great t?rack because it either plays for too short of a time, or is covered up ?the other concurrent sound effects.

This article is dedicated to tho??se orphaned tracks, the songs that make you want to buy the official soundtrack in order to hear the full version. Here I've decided to give some love to five pieces (in no particular order) that I feel aren't given their proper respects within the respective game.

Hit the jump.

Super Mario Galaxy: Buoy Base Galaxy Theme

Super Mario Galaxy as a whole features a tremendous soundtrack, one of the best I've ever seen in any video game (let alone the Mario franchise), so it was very disappointing that one of the best songs out of an already-incredible set is only played in one level with only two stars to collect. This song's grand orchestration and overall determination make you feel like an old-time sci-fi pulp hero, blasting out into outer space and face whatever unknown dangers await with confidence. It's a magnificent track, and one that I wish w??as used more within the game besides one level that is actually completely optional for beating the main story line and reaching the final boss.

Thankfully, it did get a well-deserved reprise in the sequel, so I'll give Nintendo credit for that - except it's only used here for one star in the Space Storm Galaxy. Seriously, what do you guys have against this song? ??

Donkey Kong Country 2: Haunted Chase

Buoy Base was actually lucky, although it's used only for a single stage, at least you can sit in one spot and listen to it in its entirety. The Haunted Hall level doesn't provide that luxury, as you're on a roller coaster, constantly moving forward. This further covers up the downright badass background music with the constant sound of the train whi?stle, grating tracks, sparks from the rails, and barrel switches being hit.

Not to mention there's also three bonus areas within the level, which switches out the background music for the normal bonus stage theme, and the regular level theme starts again from the beginning once you exit. It's entirely possible to play through this stage and never hear the full loop of the song, which is a shame, as it's one of the best themes in (again) an overwhelmingly outstanding soundtrac??k.

Don't believe me? Check out this remix which emphasizes the constant motion on the verge of panic that this song should have contributed to the level in which it's featured. (Shamelessly  ripping off Mussorgsk?y's "Night on Bald Mountain" can't hurt either.) "Haunted Chase" was a perfect match for a race to escape from a malicious pirate ghost in a spooky house, but it's a shame that it never really manages to take its deserved spotlight within the g??ame.

Killer7: Rave On

This song actually is played in more than one place in Killer7. It's the tune that you hear when w??alking down the corridor that leads to a boss fight. However, that corridor is so short th??at you'll probably only hear the first few bars before walking through the door and having it replaced by the next area's background.

It's very disappointing, because unlike the previous two examples, this game isn't really known for its soundtrack, and this is really the only memorable song out of the whole game. The full version of the track itself is over five minutes long, and only really gets good in the last minute. So why shove it away in a loadin??g screen designed as a hallw??ay?

Of course, this being Killer7, it's also entirely possible that putting the game's best track in such a limited area was entirely intentional. It could be a post-modernist message on how we should take our time in life and not constantly run blindly forwards, lest we miss something special. It's entirely possible that player could choose to sit on the stairs and listen to the entirety of the song, but the majority of gamers don't have the patience for that. Or maybe it's a statement on how we have to forgo present ple??asures to address the challenge at hand a?nd achieve future rewards. Or maybe I'm just pulling ideas out of my ass and it really doesn't have any significance. With Suda51, it's kind of hard to tell.

Paper Mario 2: The Thousand-Year Door: File Select Screen

The title screen/file select theme from this game is another one that should be heard many times over as you choose to continue your adventure, or start a new one. However, the way the intro cutscene music transitions into this one, combined with the two seconds it takes for the player to hit start, "A", then wait for the data to load, often mean that this track is often never even heard beyond the first few notes.

Normally, this isn't a huge loss. Developers assume that players won't spend a lot of time selecting their saved game, and so the music for these screens are usually short jingles just meant to take up empty space. But not this file select music. It's about two and a half minutes unlooped, and features multiple shifts in melody and structure, wonderful instrumention (gotta love that violin!), and bounciest, happiest, and most optimistic song of the entire franchise. It's the kind of song that?? you whistle to yourself strolling down the street when the sky is blue, the sun is warm and shining, and you haven't got a care in the world.

It's amazing that the composers put this much effort into the file select theme, and the rest of the soundtrack doesn't slack either, but the majority of players will probably never hear the full version of this son?g and realize just how wonderful it is. This track is probably my favorite from the entire game, and I always let it play for a bit before starting into the actual save file when I pick up and replay TTYD??.

Pikmin: The Final Trial

Pikmin overall has a very underrated soundtrack and I could probably write an entire article just analyzing the quirky music from this equally-quirky series (hmmm, I might want to write down that idea!) . However, the song that plays for the final level of the game is tragically downplayed. Many of the other overworld themes from Pikmin are very recognizable to players, from the peaceful Forest of Hope (which even got a spot in the soundtrack for Super Smash Bros. Brawl), to the inquisitive and innocent Impact Site. This is because you spend a lot of time exploring and collecting items in these areas, all while listening to the various permutations of each theme as the day shifts from morning to evening, and as you find yourself locked in battle with alien enemies. The Final Trial however, directs you to kill the Emperor Bulblax, claim the final part to your ship and then leave, because that is literally all there is to do in the area, and it's all easily accomplished in on??e day.

You get to hear the actual level theme only for about a minute or two before it gets overridden by the boss theme itself, and like with all the songs I mention here, that's a damn shame because this is by far the most interesting song out of the game. It's jaunty and determined on the surface, with a waltzing triplet melody, but lurking in the background is an unceasing cascade of strictly-timed eighth notes in a completely different key from the major chords of the tune itself. It gives the song an uneasy feeling, like trying to put on a brave face for your loyal followers while knowing that many of them will lose their lives in? the upcoming battle.

It gets more sinister as the song develops and the minor key creeps into piano accompaniment. The dissonance between the melody and harmony wonderfully reflects the cognitive dissonance of the game itself, as you lead your cute alien army into the jaws of an apex predator, arm them with expl?osives, and direct them to become the most adorable suicide bombers ever. The Final Trial features? the only song that really gives the player this feeling, unlike the simpler tunes used for the rest of the areas.

Now, for all of these examples I've provided, I'm not trying to say that a game should be totally built around its music, and the pacing directed only to perfectly frame its soundtrack. No, instead music is mean?t to enhance the game experience as a whole. But it is confusing when so much work is put into a song, and then only thirty seconds of it is heard in the game itself -- if it's even heard at all. These examples are all great pieces of music, but seem to be meant for something else, not the constrained circumst??ance in which they're heard normally in their respective games.

The post A Critical Ear #3: They wasted a ??pe?rfectly good song appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Editor's Note: We're not just a (rad) news site -- we also publish opinions/editorials from our community & employees like this one, though be aware that it may not jive with the opinions of Destructoid as a whole, or how our moms raised us. Want to post your own article in response? Publish it now on our community blogs.]}

In case you've been living with Buddhist monks in the mountains of China for the past few months, there's a clusterf*ck down in the Gulf of Mexico involving an underwater oil well erupting and polluting the water. Experts are having difficulties stopping it, but never fear, celebrities like John Cusack and Oprah are working around the clock in a secret underground base to save us all. Even James "I'm King Of the World" Cameron has an idea -- he suggests fixing the problem by stuffing a few billion dollars he got from Avatar DVD sales into it, then pray to the Tree of Souls and wait for the rhinos charge the evil oil tycoons and their army of oil mechs. Anyway, it's a long story, so just click here if you've been out? of the loop. Every?one else, read on.

Since everyone seems to have an idea on how to stop the massive leak, I figured, w??hy not ask a few video game celebrities if they would like to throw in their two c?ents?

Kirby's Plan

I'll go underneath the ocean, put my mouth over it, and suck in the rest of the oil. I'll then lap up the rest of oil in the Gulf, as well as the oil that's covering the animals. Once I've got all the oil I'll go over to King Dedede's palace and won't that fucker be surprised. Meta Knight will the?n come at me, but I'll swal??low some of the oil and spit globs of it at him. Not so badass when you're covered in dinosaur sludge, are you?

Kratos' Plan

I'll start out by taking a fleet of ships with a thousand men into the Gulf. I shall then descend into the heart of darkness itself, killing any oil soaked fish demons who get in my way. There is a chance I may find the dreaded Black Oil Humpback whale, but do not be afraid -- by using the head of Medusa I can turn them to stone and break them easily. Once I reach the dreaded gusher of Hades himself, I shall tra?p it in Pandora's box and unleash it upon those responsible. No longer shall the ocean be stained with black sludge. It shall instead run red with the blood of those who have defiled her, and the blood of the cursed ducks and baby seals I had to slaughter. Alas, I shall not find peace. Therefore I will drown in the blood ocean myself, so that the memories of my family's death will cease to haunt me.

Also, at some point I have a threesome with two ??Florida University student volunteers?.

Mario's Plan

I'm-a thinking I can-a use some Goomba carcasses to fill up the opening. Then me and-a Yoshi can swallow all the animals and-a shit them ou?t clean, providing they-a don't suffocate. Then I-a take a break -- union-a rules. I use-a annoying talking water cooler to clean ocean of-a sludge, and then kill-a all the squids who be-a polluting water. Peach can stand-a by on shore and pick some of those-a freaky turnips with faces we can eat afterward. And-a Luigi can... uhhh... play-a second player. Also, this-a gonn?a cost you twenty hundred red coins, plus extra for the-a rubber bands, gum, and-a paper clips I used.

Ekans' Plan

[Note: Please use Google translation to read this part of the post. Pokémon is located between Arabic and Gopher.]

Ekans Ekans, Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans-- Ekans Ekans -- Ekans Ekans. Ekans, Ekans Ekans Ekans, Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. EkansEkans Ekans. Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans: Ekans, Ekans Ekans, Ekans Ekans, Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans, Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. EkansEkans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans, Ekans, Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans ?Ekans Ekans. Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans Ekans.

Wrex's Plan

We Krogan live for hundreds of years, so I've seen hundreds of spills in my life and a few of them were oil. I can't swim, but I could jump into the ocean and sink to the bottom. Then I can eat all of the animals, I don't mind if they're covered in oil, that just makes them slip down the throat easier. In fact, whenever I eat an Asari, I like to put a little oil all over her body and then lick? up the excess so that she gets nice and tender. Oh, wait, that soun?ds dirty, sorry. Anyway, I might be able to plug up the leak with some Drell. Hey, Thane, you got a sec?

Dr. Gordon Freeman's Plan

I could whack it with this crowbar. Or maybe I could use the Zero G something, something Gun? Oh, I know, we could... Awww who am I kidding. I'm?? not a scientist, I'm a fr??aud. I got this degree online, oh God Lamarr hold me!

Bobby Kotick's Plan

If BP buys three thousand Guitar Hero game/controller packs (Guitar Hero games now ranging from only $59.99 to $60!) they can use them to plug the hole. However, there will be a monthly subscription required for continual use, about $15 ?a month. We can then station modern soldiers to guard the oil well, that too will cost $15 a month, plus a few dollars to keep the soldiers alive. Remember, Activision supports our men and women in uniform. Hey, Mike, how much food do our brave defenders of freedom need to survive? That much, huh? OK then, cut that in half and tell the senators to have them out tomorrow. Oh, where was I? Oh yeah, let's ??build a Tony Hawk skate park so the poor animals and volunteers have a place to hang out and relax. There will be a $20 entrance fee, plus $10 for the optional exit fee. So what do you say? How about we sign the contract now.

The post Video game characters solve the oil spill crisis appeared first on Destructoid.