People in the gaming business love creative games. Titles like Flower, Limbo, Braid, Swords and Sworcery, etc. are almost universally loved by people in the gaming the business. Some feel that…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, getting busy signals when you’re trying to vote for Paul McDonald, Kobe Bryant’s unfortunate language, or BlackBerry PlayBook reviews, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
People in the gaming business love creative games. Titles like Flower, Limbo, Braid, Swords and Sworcery, etc. are almost universally loved by people in the gaming the business. Some feel that these games deserve every bit of praise they get. Others feel that insiders get overly enamored with games that are different, simply because they’re different.
I think both are true to a certain degree. I adore Flower for its originality and uncanny resemblance to several dreams I’ve had. I also understand that most gamers are of the balls-and-guns variety — Madden and Halo are way more important to them than some artsy game with flower petals that may or may not be the result of too many marijuana brownies. I can count on writing about a Madden game or a Halo game every year or so, but a game like Flower is more exciting to write about because it’s atypical.
Do you think the gaming business is guilty of overrating and over-hyping creative games? Or should these titles be lauded for being refreshingly different? Do you like reading about and playing unique games from indie developers? Or would you rather stick to balls and guns?
Here are a bunch of screenshots for Insomniac Games’ upcoming Resistance 3. The game is looking great and I was treated to some multifaceted gameplay yesterday. I’ll have more thoughts on…
Here are a bunch of screenshots for Insomniac Games’ upcoming Resistance 3. The game is looking great and I was treated to some multifaceted gameplay yesterday. I’ll have more thoughts on that later, but please enjoy these screens for now.
Yesterday I caught a demo and got some hands-on time with Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. As a fan of the Ratchet & Clank series and cooperative gaming, I was really looking forward to this title. I definitely enjoyed my time with the game, but there were some elements that surprised me (in a good way). Let’s take a look!
All 4 One is a four-player cooperative affair starring Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark, and Dr. Nefarious. You can play alone, accompanied by character AI, but it’s much more fun playing with another player or three. Multiplayer can be done on the same console or online through PlayStation Network. Players are free to drop in and drop out of the game.
As expected, there are traditional platform elements that require players to work together to solve puzzles. I was pleasantly surprised to see driving and shooting portions that played up the cooperative aspect of the game. I wasn’t expecting that kind of diversity.
Another surprise was the amount of storytelling involved. I was expecting the game to focus entirely on multiplayer gameplay, with no storytelling at all. Honestly, I should have expected more from Insomniac — of course there’s story in the game! The events pick up after Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Ratchet and Clank are tired and want to retire. Qwark has become president (though he’s still a lovable idiot). Nefarious is plotting evil schemes. Naturally, they end up involved in a larger plot that requires the four of them to work together in order to survive and — wait for it — save the world! Sony showed off a bunch of cutscenes that revealed a bit of the game’s plot. They were full of the humor and charm you’d expect from Insomniac.
While the game requires cooperation, it also has competitive aspects. For example, there are boxes that can only be opened by two players. I had fun frantically racing to boxes in order to get a higher score than my companions. Some cooperative actions result in players getting a score multiplier. Not only will you be racing to get more collectibles, but you’ll be racing to work together too. The mix of cooperative and competitive gameplay was way fun in the brief time I had with the game.
My companions and I had to tackle environmental puzzles that required us to work together to advance. For example, some ledges or objects are too far to reach by jumping. To reach these areas, one player has to power up a vacuum gun and another has to jump into it. Once the player is shot over the chasm, the rest of us could swing over to him via tether lines. Of course there are the typical (and fun) Ratchet & Clank activities of running, jumping, and beating/shooting the crap out of enemies.
I got to play the game in stereoscopic 3D and “normal” 2D. I definitely preferred playing in 2D. 3D was novel for a minute or two, but after that it added more eyestrain than enjoyment. While the eyestrain was mildly annoying while I was playing, it felt like someone was jamming toothpicks into my eyes when I took the 3D glasses off. For me, 3D didn’t add enough to the experience to make the discomfort worthwhile. The game looked great in 2D…and didn’t leave me with the toothpick-jammed-in-they-eyes sensation. I think I’ll stick with that.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One looks like the super-fun game I imagined it to be when it was announced, but with more diversity and storytelling than I expected. I’m definitely going to pick it up when it’s released later this year. I hope some of you grab it as well. It would be awesome to play with you in an RPad.tv Invitational. If you have any questions about the game, please ask away in the comments section.
Here are a bunch of screenshots from the upcoming cooperative game Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. I got to play it for a bit yesterday and really enjoyed it. A preview is coming soon. For now…
Here are a bunch of screenshots from the upcoming cooperative game Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. I got to play it for a bit yesterday and really enjoyed it. A preview is coming soon. For now, please eat up these screens!
Have you ever played games at an unusual place or an odd time? I’m talking about something that others might find inappropriate. Look at the picture above, for example. Three of my friends whipped out their…
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the wrath of Xenu, your NBA playoff predictions, or your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Have you ever played games at an unusual place or an odd time? I’m talking about something that others might find inappropriate. Look at the picture above, for example. Three of my friends whipped out their Nintendo DS systems during a wedding. Some people would consider that rude. (To be fair, there was no alcohol at this wedding.) We honestly didn’t think anything of it, but the picture makes it seem a bit strange.
So how about it? Ever play games at a hopping bar or during a…I don’t know…a funeral? Perhaps you’ve interrupted a job interview to make a Scrabble move on your phone. Share your unusual gaming stories today (please)!
HTC has officially announced the HTC Sensation for T-Mobile. This super-hot Android phone previously went by the codename Pyramid. Packing a qHD 4.3-inch screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, and a new version of HTC Sense, the Sensation should be…well…sensational!
I love the phone’s specs, but I wish it had a kickstand like the Evo 4G (Sprint) and Thunderbolt (Verizon). I’m positive that the phone will have T-Mobile WiFi calling (love this feature!) and hope that it will have Swype (need this feature!). I’m getting conflicting information on whether the phone supports T-Mobile’s new HSPA+ 42 network. Support for HSPA+ 42 would definitely take my eyes off the upcoming T-Mobile G2X and keep them glued to the Sensation.
Any thoughts on this hot phone and the accompanying video?
The first episode of Mortal Kombat: Legacy is here! This gritty live-action series stars Jeri Ryan, Michael Jai White, Jolene Tran (cute!), and Sam Tjhia (also cute!). The project got a lot of Internet buzz last June thanks to this trailer. I’m so jazzed that it ended up panning out!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on episode one of Mortal Kombat: Legacy. Check it out and share your feelings like a Care Bear (please)!
Consumers that really want an Amazon Kindle but are low on cash will want to check out the new ad-supported model that hits in May. Dealing with ads on the Kindle home screen and the screensaver saves you $25, lowering the cost of the Kindle to $114. Here’s a bit more from handsome Dan at PC Magazine:
The screen saver and home screen bar are the only places customers will see ads and offers, according to Russ Grandinetti, vice president of Kindle content. “We are not interested in doing anything that interrupts the reading experience,” he said.
As described by Gandinetti, the advertising doesn’t sound all that obnoxious. Is it worth $25 to consumers? Or will people pay a bit more to read books without being assaulted by ads.
I love Eddie Izzard. He’s been my favorite comedian for the last decade or so. When I heard he did a bit on updating Mac software, I was psyched to see it. While it’s not one of his funniest bits, it’s clever, modern, and relevant. Check it out and let me know what you think (please)!
The iPad is such a fantastic device for reading news. It offers a reading experience that blends magazine/newspaper browsing with the interactivity of the Internet. I’ve been playing around with several news apps on my iPad 2 and love that I can flip through pages as if it were a magazine. I also love that I can click on a video or slideshow that illustrates a news story. It’s such a delightful way to consume content.
Here are my five favorite news apps. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I’d love to check them out.
1) CNN — I love the default setting for this app. You have blocks of images with headlines that lead to text articles or videos. The content is strong and diverse (who knew that CNN would be a great source for entertainment news?!?). I think this is a great example of serving up a simple magazine-like experience with Internet features.
2) Flipboard — This is a fantastic app for flipping through news and social content. It initially generated buzz for offering a visually pleasing way to read links and view photos found on your Facebook and Twitter feeds. It sets it up in a newspaper-like way that lets your flip through batches of content. The app also has channels you can add, such as gaming and tech, that pull content from a variety of top sources. There are even site-specific feeds. For example, reading TechCrunch on Flipboard offers a more visually appealing experience than going to the web site.
3) BBC News — This is a straightforward app that offers an elegant touch experience and fantastic content. I highly recommend reading BBC News (by any means) at least once a week. It gives you a nice “outsider” view of world news and American politics. If you miss what news reporting used to be and are tired of the heavily opinionated news cycles that dominate America then you should definitely catch BBC News. The iPad app is clean and convenient way to browse the outstanding content.
4) Huffington Post — I’m familiar with the “slide” version of HuffPo from using it on Chrome OS. It’s definitely on the busy side, but it lets you browse through a ton of content quickly. It’s easy to sift through dozens of opinion pieces, videos, slideshows, and aggregated content using the iPad app. This is much easier to use in landscape mode. You really need the additional width to see all the content.
5) The Daily — This is one of the most ambitious “digital magazines” for iPad. I like where it is and love where it could go. The content quality is uneven, but the delivery is super slick. It uses images and touch in a way that’s dynamic and elegant. News Corp offers a free two-week trial before charging $0.99 per week or $39.99 per year. While I love how it takes advantage of the tablet experience, I’m not sold on the content quality just yet.
