(Games) Two Upcoming games I am really looking forward to

I have been bad (to say the least) about keeping up with my blog lately. I am going to try and get a bit better on that :) Part has been due to having the Flu coming to visit and deciding to stay awhile, the holidays, and having a sick pet for a bit, and sick family members, fun fun.
 
This is the time of year that just seems to drag on, where as a gamer your wanting more information on upcoming titles and looking forward  to hearing about new titles in development. It's far away from E3 and
mostly quiet on titles that haven't already been announced. It's also that time after a new console generation releases where games trickle in and hasn't yet really got much momentum going. You find yourself wanting new games to play but they just aren't there yet.

I bought a PS4 back in November and will be getting a Xbox One in time for Halo (Hoping for a special edition console as I missed out on that as I have already owned several Xbox 360's and didn't need another.).
I'm looking forward to Thief (one of my favorite game series ever, but still debating on PS4 or PC version), Infamous: Second Son (as I have never played the series but it looks amazing and I loved the Prototype and Crackdown series of games), South Park:The Stick of Truth,  and Fable Anniversary (hoping for a PC edition).

The rest of the games I cannot wait to play are either unknown on a release date or a long ways off.
Games like The Witcher 3,  The Order:1886, Dragon Age: Inquisition, The Elder Scrolls Online, Destiny, Murdered: Soul Suspect, Deus Ex:Universe, Hellraid, Watch Dogs, Bound By flame, Lichdom, The Evil Within, to name only a few. I just hope I have time to play all of them when they release :) I am still trying to finish games from 2012 and 2013, and work on music :) I tend to play when I'm not being creative, and being sick, I played quite a bit over the last month so.

Two upcoming games that recently released new videos are Hellraid and Bound By Flame. Iam looking forward to both very much and thought I would share them here. They both look great and I'm very much looking forward to playing them. :)

Bound By Flame - A beautiful PS4 RPG

Hellraid - A Heretic style fantasy FPS

(Games) 2013 E3 Pre - assessment - Wecome to the Next Gen!!

If you have read any of my previous posts regarding last year's E3, you know that I view this time of year as a gaming Holiday. These are the days that developers and publishers reveal their upcoming AAA titles,. their new hardware, and new IP (hopefully!). This year it's June 11th though June 13th.

Before E3 hits, I thought I'd actually write what I would like to see this year, and my thoughts on what the big three (Sony, MS, and Nintendo) are going to show and announce. I also will list what I hope to see on PC.
I am also going to talk about the new consoles. (This will be a long one....)

Let's start with Microsoft. (Confession: I am an Xbox fan and bought the first two Xbox's at launch.)
MS has had a very difficult time since late last year and then after their Xbox One reveal earlier this month.
Microsoft seems very focused on the media capabilities of the Xbox one, and their reveal was literally summed up in a Youtube video as TV, TV, TV, SPORTS, SPORTS, SPORTS, CALL OF DUTY, CALL OF DUTY, DOG, CALL OF DUTY

It's also of course, the new watercooler

Seriously though, I have never seen a console announcement go this badly in my entire life. I have seen funny and underwhelming E3 appearances or product announcements, but never a announcement that had so many people up in arms. Most people were just underwhelmed about the reveal, the rage didn't start till after it was over. MS's Phil (former Sony Vice President) Harrison's interview where he mentioned the console needing to check in every 24 hours online (so if your internet was down a day...no xbox for you) which came after months of speculating and anger about a always online console, the talk of DRM and no used games, or changing the way we currently use used games, the required Kinect which had to be connected for the console to function, and the lack of a cohesive and transparent message from MS regarding the outrage just fueled the fire. Gamers literary went nuts, and there was enough negative press to print and fill a pool with it and drown in. MS even disabled the comments on their own Youtube channel regarding Xbox One videos.

All the above plus no backward compatibility, 33% percent less powerful than the rival PS4, no self publishing for indies, the Xbox One being region locked, some type of visual DRM regarding movies,  achievements for watching TV, and it's taken weeks for MS to come out and give us a clear message on what they are going to do and not going to do. According to online reports, the reveal was one of the most watched ever online, and per IGN's poll, also the most disappointing. As of this writing, MS still hasn't really given clear indications of it's plans. Xbox fans are not happy. It doesn't help MS's that their execs are not really making the message clear or in a positive way.

Let's talk about the good now, and forget about the bad for a moment. The Xbox One has a HDMI in that you can connect your TV to and control the TV with the new more powerful Kinect. It's voice activated and you can tell it what channel to watch. (I keep thinking that if I was a kid and had a brother playing a game, I would love walking by his room and yelling "Xbox Lifetime" so it changed from his in progress multiplayer game to a lifetime movie (You know that's going to happen lol) It uses the Smartglass tech even more than before to work with your smartphone and tablet. They are going to have their own TV programming on Xbox live and announced a new Halo live action series. They will have a deal with the NFL and it will be great for fantasy football players. It's not really the reason I want a console, but there are some great features there if thats your thing. I am not into Sports and don't watch TV and movies all that much. The new features that are media based don't really matter to me. (Rather than link everything, You can watch the actual reveal here)

The Console itself is kind of a strange departure from the 360, and more of a throw back to the original Xbox. I loved the original Xbox and even "The Duke" controller, so the size doesn't really bother me all that much. The streamlined and slim Xbox 360 design was a big departure from the original, and MS seems to have gone back to it. I have seen many derogatory comments calling it a VCR but I actually like the black stereo receiver or cablebox like design. The Xbox One has a ton of outputs and inputs on the back, way more than I expected and compared to the 360, that might be confusing for some, but being a Geek, any input is a good input lol. The slot loading drive is a great touch and is Blu-ray this time. While that is great, it seems to mean that like the PS3, you have to install a game to the HD before playing and thats a complete drag. That along with the PC like insides of the unit make it more of a PC than console. I guess the days of placing in a disk and playing it immediately are gone. The unit has a 500GB hard drive that will quickly fill up so the Xbox One has USB 3.0 that will allow for USB 3.0 storage. Thats great but I would have rather had a removable drive like the 360 or PS3. If the Xbox One's Hard drive dies, you cannot repair it yourself which I dislike. Supposedly it's HDMI only, so anyone still using component will be unhappy. I hope that it works with VGA adaptors, I have on old projector that I might want to use it on sometime.

The best thing so far about the Xbox One (I'm going to call it Xbone from now on) is the new controller, it looks awesome. It's a redesigned 360 controller with some very nice new features. The best new feature is the rumble triggers so you can have feedback when using them, that might be alot of fun or a gimmick, i wont know till I actually try it. They got rid of the bulky battery pack and its a smooth back now, it has a micro or Mini USB connector, it uses AA batteries rather than proprietary battery packs. It has a better designed thumb pad, bumper buttons are better designed, and a very clean look overall. It's not backward compatible with the 360, and I have no idea if it will work on PC out of the box. I imagine with the USB cable it should work, but wireless wise I have no idea.

The new Kinect looks HUGE compared to original kinect, and very different looking. It is much more powerful this time, and should actually be useable for games other than casual or dancing games now. They have improved the latency issues, and upped the specs quite a bit. It now has a 1080p camera rather than just VGA, has a closer useable range (which is one reason I never owned the original), can track up to six people rather than two at a time, and does it all faster. I have heard that you will be able to scan yourself into a game and possible create a real avatar based on you. That will be a neat feature if true :) Currently, there are some security issues that many are concerned about.

Overall the jury is out on the Xbone, as until MS tells it like it is, many people will be on the fence. I think they are hoping that once people see the console in action at E3 and all these games they are planning to show, people will just forget about all the negativity. I think people (especially gamers) have long memories so I hope MS actually listens to its fans and customers, and doesn't do a typical MS move "Where we go, the world will follow".

Game wise, the reveal was a major disappointment but they said they are going to focus all that at E3. I am not a huge Call of Duty fan. I loved the original two games of the series, and the first Modern Warfare, but lost interest after that. Call of Duty 2 is still my favorite in the series and I was blown away the first time I saw it on the 360 and PC. So, I wasn't that excited about the Call of Duty:Ghosts reveal but I did think it looked interesting and it was pretty. I love animals and I tend to dislike games that have dogs in it as they always kill the dog or place the dog in a unwinable situation to tug at your heartstrings, and I imagine this might the case with COD:Ghost. They showed a Forza trailer but I am not a huge racing game fan, I love Rallysport games in that genre the most, so I guess im looking forward to a next gen Dirt title.

I'm a big fan of Remedy, so I was excited about a new remedy game but disappointed that it wasn't Alan Wake 2. Sam Lake, Remedy's writer, released a very cool video about why the new game wasn't Alan Wake 2. The video had a nice little ending that was geared to AW fans. I hope that we will get a sequel someday, but I haven't finished American Nightmare so I guess I should do that first. I am really looking forward to Quantum Break. I first Played AW on Xbox 360 but bought the PC version laer on Steam, it's so much better on a great PC :) Quantum is supposed to run alongside a TV style show, so it will be a bit like Defiance I guess.

They hinted at things to come art E3 with 15 exclusives and 8 new franchises, and that they are spending a Billion dollars in development. There was an article saying that MS bought rights to games because they were running behind on exclusives so that may be the case with that billion spent. Rumored exclusive games are the first game from the studio that was formed from COD developers Infinity Ward.

Update: - I should have mentioned some games I am looking forward to seeing from MS. Fable 4 is number one, Halo 2:Anniversary edition kind of remake, more RPG's, more platformers, a new mechassualt, less Kinect type of games.

MS says that they are aware of the anti-DRM movement and and I hope that they listen to their fans and take notice. What they decide to do might affect how well the Xbone does this gen, or consoles in general if the PS4 goes the same way. MS has given much goodwill away to Sony and their PS4, and Sony has been very quiet, letting MS take the heat and not being clear what they are going to do. I suspect the publishers made this a must when discussing support of the new consoles, and Sony is being pressured by them to follow the same route. Gamestop said in an article/statement that 70% of used game trade in's go back into the costs to buy games and gaming hardware. If DRM does get pushed, they better lower the prices like Steam does or I see the PC becoming a force in gaming again. With Steam and a Xbox controller, you literally have a next gen console now, but its' more expensive, confusing to some, and usually bulkier. I love the PC, and I see the new consoles PC like insides being a boon to porting games easily to PC's, so hopefully no more bad ports and even more of those games coming to PC.

MS has alot to prove at E3 this year, I hope they do it right, and tell the gamers out there what they want to hear, and stay true to what gamers want. I guess we shall know in less than a couple of weeks.

Next Part: I'll cover Sony and the PS4.

(Gaming) - Gender Criticism for Gamers

Gamasutra featured a great article from Kaitlin Tremblay that covers an aspect of games that gets on my nerves at times. The over the top sexual objectification of characters in games.

I'm not just talking the barely clothed comic book style representations of females, but the buff beefcake machismo in male characters too. I recommend reading the article, it's funny and well written.

Kaitlin also has a blog  (ThatMonster) where she writes about games and nerd culture, I recommend checking that out as well.

(Games) - The Elder Scrolls online - an opinion.

First off, a disclaimer: I am a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls Series.
I'm one of those gamers that have scheduled off from work the release day for a game in this series (no I don't get an Elder Scrolls flu, I pre-plan my time off.)

The first game in the series I played was Daggerfall, and I have played every Elder Scroll's rpg and their expansions since. I cannot say that I am a scholar in the game's lore, but I could give you a nice dissertation of events that have happened in the series, from Arena to Skyrim. Admittedly, I did not play the step-children of the series, Battlespire, and Redguard.  Those are games I would still love to try, but I have heard that the 3D acceleration requires 3DFX's Glide API ( I owned a 3DFX Voodoo 1, Voodoo 2, and Voodoo 3 but no longer do) and thus cannot play it on my current video card.

Whisperings of a Elder Scrolls Online

The rumor of an MMO based on the Elder Scroll's has been around for quite awhile, with the first rumors starting to appear in 2006-2007. At the time, I had pulled myself away from World of Warcraft (WOW) after being addicted to several beta's and then finally the full game when it was released in November of 2004. When I first heard of a possible Elder Scroll's Online, I wasn't ready for another MMO at that time, and was worried i would find myself combating a new addiction.
Six years later we finally receive information from Zenimax that indeed the rumored game was in production, some screenshots, and some articles on the game. All I can say is FINALLY :)

The Timing?

The problem with their timing is that Bethesda have released Oblivion and Skyrim since those rumors began. Oblivion was a big seller for Bethesda, and sold far more than even Morrowind, which sold far more than Daggerfall.

Daggerfall was PC only, Morrowind was Xbox and PC, and then Oblivion was released for the Xbox 360 and PC four months after the 360 launched in March of 2006. Oblivion not only sold in large numbers, but it's DLC sold very well too. One year later, Oblivion was released with updates on the PS3, and did very well. After Oblivion came Fallout 3, and the Obsidian developed Fallout: New Vegas, which reached new fans for Bethesda's style of gameplay.

Fast forward to November 2011 and Bethesda released Skyrim, the 5th game in the series. I was at my local Gamestop for the midnight launch and 60 to 100 people were there, waiting in line patiently to grab their copy of the game. I was amazed as I had no idea that the Elder scrolls was now this huge IP. I knew the game had it's diehard fans, but no idea that such a wide range of ages were clamoring for this game.

The point?

The Elder Scrolls fanbase has continually grown with each new release, so much so that when it was released, it was Steam's fastest selling game ever. That is pretty amazing, and the fact that most of my gamer friends own the game also amazes me. For the longest time I was the only one playing the series. That changed with Oblivion as a few friends owned the game, and when Skyrim released, most of my friends bought it. As I said, each game reaches more and more new fans.

The reason the games have sold so well is it's gameplay and graphical style. The game allows for almost total freedom in that you are not on a linear path, you can do whatever you want, when you want, and not even complete the main quest. As an example, I am still playing Skyrim, still have a lot to see and do, and I'm 200 hours into it. The game is primarily played in first person, the option of third person is there, but it's not how most people play the game. The series is known for it's cutting edge graphics at the time of release and Skyrim certainly didn't disappoint.

My point is that when someone plays an Elder Scroll's game, they have an expectation for how it's going to play, look, and feel. Every MMO I have played feels very different than an Elder Scrolls game, and I have played most of them. Most MMO's play in the third person style as you have to be aware of your surroundings and can easily trigger an enemy in first person. I can't imagine playing an Elder Scroll's game this way.

Don't get me wrong, I love MMO's, but I'm not really talking about me here, I'm talking about the fanbase for the single player Elder Scroll's games. Are most Elder scrolls fans also fans of playing MMO's? Does the average Wow fan enjoy the single player of the elder scroll's? My concern is that Zenimax might be trying to sell an MMO to the wrong crowd, a crowd that isn't really into that style of game. I want to play it, and I hope to be on the beta's, but will the other fans feel the same?

Differences in game look and style

Edge Magazine has a new an interview regarding The Elder Scrolls Online (TESO). In the interview with Matt Firor, Edge asked him "What do you think Truly makes this an Elder Scrolls game?" Matt's answer is its the Lore behind the games, and I think he is partially right, but that the Lore isn't as important as he thinks.

I love the lore in the series, it's very deep, and there are hours and hours involved just reading the books from the games, you can read those at the Imperial Library.

The backstory that Bethesda has created over time for the series is truly vast, but I don't believe it's why the average person bought Skyrim. I believe the average person bought it due to the gameplay and graphic style.

From the comments I have read on articles regarding TESO, the hardcore fans of the series seem uneasy, skeptical, and sometimes downright critical of the idea of this series becoming an MMO. The average fan who loves the gameplay style of the past games, will they want to play an MMO? How many MMO's have come and gone since WOW became the Juggernaut of massively multiplayer games? It seems even the big budget latest MMO release, Star Wars: The Old Republic (SW:TOR) has suffered the same fate as other MMO's that came after World of Warcraft.

I got a free week of SW:TOR and I was disappointed to finally get to play it and realize it's essentially the same MMO we have all played before, but with different features and visuals. I was hoping for more than that.
Subscriptions seemed to have dropped quite a bit since launch already, but it's still doing well, but isn't even close to the huge numbers WOW had or even still has now.

So, the question becomes what is Zenimax really trying to do here? Are they trying to woo over MMO players to be the next WOW? To get MMO players interested in the other Elder scrolls games? Are they trying to get the fans of the single player RPG's into their MMO, with those nice monthly subscriptions? Of course the answer is all the above, and while i'd love to see that happen I have my doubts.

The Elder scrolls is largely a male audience. World of Warcraft managed to gather a large female audience, though it's prior real time strategy games were again mostly a male audience, so that's a possibility. However, WOW was very simplified, it was the first MMO that didn't punish the player so much, and had a female friendly colorful visual style. The elder scrolls is dark high fantasy, and it's look probably won't have the same appeal to the average female gamer. I think they will grab a decent male audience, but will the female audience be as responsive? I'm not talking about the hardcore female gamers, I'm talking the casual players that never played an MMO before WOW, as those are in much larger numbers.

Most of the MMO gamers I have met are not into single player games. They love the simplistic types of quests, hanging out online with old and new friends, and the constant draw of earning that next piece of armor or weapons. The single player gamers like the solo play, the story being about them as the definitive hero, the do what you want when you want exploration, the immersion of it all.

In conclusion

I am not bashing or deriding TESO, I'm just voicing my concerns. I want to be amazed, to be impressed, and to love the game when I have a chance to play it. I truly want to enjoy the game!

Zenimax, you have the chance to impress us all, and take MMO's to a new level, to essentially make MMO 3.0. World of Warcraft was MMO 2.0, and a flood of 2.0 copycats and imposters flooded the market and many died along the road. You make a 3.0 version where it's not the same old grind, the same old battles, the same old leveling scheme and we will love you for it.

(Music) - Bass player birth control?

I discovered this article posted on Synthtopia,
The article is posted and written at The Trichordist

What made me want to post the article at first is the bass player joke and comment :) I will not post the joke here, you have to read the article for that. If your a musician, it's worth the read, and it's definitely in depth.
Its great, well written, and packed with information. I will be going back to The Trichordist to read from time to time

Regarding the article, I haven't made that much money with my music, it's something that I would love to do as I would love to invest the income back into equipment for music creation. As a musician that creates music but doesn't tour, it's not easy to make money. I am trying to get my music out there for licensing, and find other ways to support my passion. There is so much equipment out there I would love to have, but it's not in my budget. Music creation (and gaming) are expensive loves :)

I have to say though that the internet has been wonderful to me, especially sites like Soundcloud, Youtube, Vimeo, etc. It used to be that only a few people would hear my music locally, but now I have a limited following that wants to hear my next tracks. I have found that there are others that enjoy my tracks, and that is very gratifying. I love it when people use my tracks for their videos, I think that is such a great compliment.
As a test I placed music on Jango found that I got more fans that I expected, and if people like me enough to do that, I must not be all that terrible. I would love to get signed by a decent label, get some marketing behind me and see what happens. I have been doing it all myself, it's time consuming, and although fun, I'm not great at it. If I could get in with a label that was great at marketing, that would be wonderful.

One particular quote in the article that I found interesting is the following:
"The general consensus in the music business is that The Bass Player is the most aggrieved and dissatisfied member of any ensemble.  I have many good friends that are bass players and even they will admit there is some truth to this stereotype".

I found that interesting, but I guess in my case I'm fortunate that I have never felt that way. I have always been a songwriter/composer and helped create the music in the bands I have been in, and was never in competition for getting my songs played or recorded. Many times the "lead" instrument players (Guitar, Keyboards, etc) are the main composers, and if the bass player joins the band that has been in progress for awhile, probably will have to fight to get their song used/recorded. I only briefly played in bands that already established, and most of the time found myself meeting other musicians and forming a project or group, with the expectation beforehand that I am going to write songs. Unless I joined a group that makes decent money so I could support my own projects, I wouldn't join if I couldn't partake in the groups song creation, I would feel stiffed.

I also think it depends on the bassist's style. Except for the early bands I was in where I was still learning to play properly and be comfortable with the instrument, I have always been a "out front" bass player. My main influences were bassists that weren't hidden in the group, bass players like Steve Harris, Geddy lee, Larry Graham, Anthony Jackson, and less "out-front: but no less impressive the great James Jamerson.
My music tastes are quite varied which has been great for my music creation, as I love to blend genre's and styles.

If you check out my music, I thank you :)