Halo 4 Preview Part 1 - The Campaign

This is 343 studios first true game in the Halo universe. The anniversary edition of Halo Combat Evolved was handled by the fledgling studio but it would have been hard to mess that game up. In fact 343 could have released the original Halo game on an XBOX 360 disc wiht no improvements to it and it would have still been loved by all halo fans. So here is 343 studios first important foray into the halo universe and there are already two planned sequels to this game. When Halo 3 released in September 2007 it was arguably the most important franchise on any console but that was before a handful of competing games saw break out success, it was before the first Call of Duty Modern Warfare, before Resident Evil 5 came to the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, and before the first Assassin’s creed. It was so long ago that you hadn’t even started pretending you could sing and play the drums in Rock Band. The landscape has changed and Bungie has moved onto its next IP.  The start of this new triology is a pivotal moment for Halo .

 Halo 4 picks up after the events of Halo 3, which may seem like it doesn't need to be said except for the fact that Halo ODST was released after Halo 3, a game the chronologically takes place during the events of Halo 2, Halo Wars released, the Halo Real Time Strategy game which chronologically takes place before all the other games, and Halo Reach has been out for two years and Reach takes place before any of the other shooters in the franchise.  So while it makes sense from the idea that the number 3 follows 4 it’s worth mentioning that a slew of other Halo games have come out none of them have featured the Master Chief as the protagonist.

We last saw the Chief urgently trying to get off of a Halo ring that was set to blow up and destroy the Ark – A repair and command station for all 7 of the Halo rings (if you’re honoring Bungie Studios persistent love of the Number 7 with a drinking game you can take a swig now). The Chief and his pal the Arbiter make it into a ship however the Arbiter makes it back alive while the back end of the ship containing the Master Chief is cut off by the ensuing explosion, that explosion saved all sentient life in the galaxy from the Flood.  Last we knew the Master Chief was in cryo-sleep floating towards a strange forerunner planet and Cortana was keeping an eye out for him.

Between Halo 3 and Halo 4

The end of Halo 3 was also the end of the end of the covenant-human war but that does mean all the fighting between these two groups is done. The truce between the Covenant and Humans has been shaky, the start of the game will certainly have to touch on this issue but the key location for a more in depth back story can be found in the Halo books Grasslands and the Thursday War. Part of these new rumblings of war will likely be part of the reason the UNSC Infinity is crusing around the galazy

What's Known So Far

One of the largest UNSC warships, the UNSC Infinity is captained by Andrew Del Rio whose likely to become a key character in this new trilogy. The ship is crewed by the best of the UNSC fleet and this includes a number of Spartan IVs on board. So far all we know is that this ship is crash landing on Requiem. 

The Master Chief is awake again and it looks like the first thing he'll have to do is fight is way out of the distressed ship Forward Unto Dawn and make his way onto Requim. Cortana is with him but it appears she's going Rampant. Rampancy has been on the horizon for Contana for sometime. In the Halo universe AIs have about a 7 year life span (more love for the perfect number) and Cortana is about 8 years old.  We've seen a number of allusions to Cortanas Rampancy.

It's almost a little surprising that it hasn't happened in the series yet, Bungie even considered having Cortana become engorged with information in Halo CE and becoming Rampant at that early time in the series. Take a look at the video "Origins" to see more of Cortanas Rampacy begin as well as some backstory into the Forerunners. 

The forerunners are central to this new story and the real enemies to fear are no longer the shielded elites but the Prometheans. Not much is know about these Forerunner entities, the Prometheans were a warrior class of forerunner but these menacing creatures don't appear to be truly alive and don't seem to be robotic. What we do know is they're will be plenty of them to fight as the Master Chief learns more about this forerunner planet. 

What To Be Excited For

The New Story

Halo 2 and Halo 3 struggled with the story. Halo 2 opened up a new side of the story by making the Arbiter a key character, in doing so they placed a lot of the story on the covenant. Halo 2 muddled through revealing there are 7 halo rings (no surprise that there are 7 of them) and then came close to unleashing their death ray on the galaxy. After all that everyone was left with a rather dissatisfying cliff hanger. Halo 3 got it right by putting the story back on the shoulders of the humans and Master Chief but then it had a number of odd twists and a strange little love story between Cortana and the Chief. Halo 3 was able to finish off the war and come to a conclusion but both of the games seemed to try and get so much of the Halo Universe in that all of it was a little unpolished. One of the big keys to Halo CE was that all of the game took place on or near a Halo ring. The locations in Halo 2 covered a brief stint in an orbital defense gun around Earth, a city on Earth, a new Halo ring, an orbiting gas mining center, and the covenant capitol ship, all the while bouncing back between the Arbiter and the Master Chief.  Ignoring the head turning pace of locations, which was still a lot of fun at times, both games struggled to tell a well put together story, as often happens the first story in a trilogy stands well alone and the second two try so hard to be as engaging that they drown in their own narrative. Bungie struggled with the campaign in Halo 2 and while they did their best it was hard to pick up the pieces and finish the fight. 

All of those problems are what makes this trilogy and Halo 4 so exciting. Halo is the same engaging shooter with so many of the characters fans love and is set for a new story that has been penned as a trilogy from the start. On top of that they've dug out some deeper parts of the Halo story and started to weave them into the shooter. The one thing that has gone exceptionally well for Halo is the ever mysterious forerunner and discovery of the universe that they inhabited and controlled until the flood overran them, Halo 4 puts that story and the aftermath of that ancient Forerunner- Flood war center stage for the Spartan-117. 

 The Chief is Exposed

The Master Chief has always been an interesting character whit seemingly two sides. He's a fairly well fleshed out character in the books but the side that gets seen in the games isn't that deep. That's understandable for a character that always has a helmet on but that's all about to change (not all of it, he'll probably keep that helmet on). 

 "There's such a rich fiction around Chief that we get in the books and other media, but it hasn't traditionally come through in the game. So how do we take some of that and really pull back the curtain on Chief and his motivations? We want to look under the mask, without being disruptive to the game experience." 
           -Kiki Wolfkill Halo 4 Executive Producer

An Ancient Evil Awakens

We'll be doing a preview to try and cover all of the forerunner information and backstory, there is a lot and it's been almost non-existant in the games so far, but expect to see some of the Didact.   Most everything in the Halo games has been a war over forerunner technology and Halo 4 will be a clash with the forerunners on the largest forerunner structure that's been found, Requiem. 

Things to Look Out For

Linda and Dr. Halsey we're last seen together and Halsey is mentioned in a trailer. Halsey is the most important human knowledge base on forerunner technology and if something goes wrong with Cortana she's probably the only person who can fix it. Linda is the best Spartan II Sniper and while no one is holding their breath to see these characters in the game it would be interesting. 343 gave a nod to Linda with an Easter Egg in Halo anniversary. 

Master Chief vs the Everyone else

One thing that became pretty prominent in Halo is the Chief is teaming up with everyone he meets. He helps the gravemind for a while, he's working with the arbiter in Halo 3, and it's hard to find a level without guilty spark or another monitor tagging along with you. The moment in Halo 3 when the flood want to team up to stop the prophets from starting the great journey was likely the worst alliance ever formed in a video game campaign. Halo CE made you feel like a super soldier that was destroying the covenant and then the flood and then 343 with just you, your rifle, and Cortana. Halo 4 needs to get back to that formula. We're all for having a few marines that throw grenades at our feet on occasion but can we get back to feeling like only the MC can save the world from certain destruction?

 Other

The achievement list has been released

The soundtrack has been released

The game takes place in 2557, Cortana was put into service on November 7th 2549, John -117 was born in 2511 and is about 46 years old.  Not that we suspect any importance to Johns age in this series we just thought it was a fun fact. 

Immerse yourself in more back story of between Halo 3 and 4 

Read on to...

Halo 4 Preview Part 2 -  The UNSC

The Console Life Cycle

Sony Recently announced that they are looking towards a ten year life span for the Playstation 3, something that is coming under fire from game developers, console gamers, and technology enthusiasts.
Video games maybe the last tech device that has such a long lifespan. A phone is obsolete in roughly 6-12 months, Computers at 18-24 months. Video game consoles have always been counted in years which is also something of a miracle.

Console Timeline

It's hard to say how long a console lifespan truly lasts and this chart isn't perfect. It doesn't show that historically Nintendo sales are much likely to be higher earlier in its life cycle and whimper out towards the end. Where as the Playstation and PS2 saw extended life cycles (Gamestop is still carrying PS2 games, a system that falls in the same generation as the Dreamcast).  I'm slightly amazed that the next Xbox has not been announced, especially when the original Xbox saw such an early disappearance and the current generation is nearing the decade mark, but can Sony really hold out until 2015 for another console?

Splinter Cell Black List First Look

Some Fischer That I Used to Know

Michael Ironside will no longer be the voice of Sam Fisher, which is unfortunate for all those who remember him as the grave voice interrogating victims before silently killing them and leaving them in the shadows. That's not the only place you'll feel a little bit like this isn't the Sam Fischer you used to know.

Ubisofts is bringing back more of the system from Conviction that allowed you to build up your "Mark & Execute Bar" and then bring down an entire group of terrorists in one swift combo. Which is cool to feel like an unstoppable force but it takes away a great deal of the slow patient play that splinter cell did so well. Hopefully a little more of the stealth gameplay is brought back but Ubisoft is making it clear they think action is much more accessible to a mainstream crowd.

The story is picking up from the last game and from the looks of the trailer the President is apparently a key character working with Fischer. The trailer seems spot on in at times, what President hasn't met with a spy in  a well lit parking lot to tell him to do whatever they want to protect America? Just about every game has these nit picky moments in story line but the splinter cell universe looks like it's gotten a little stretched.

Splinter Cell was the ultimate stealth game but has slowly evolved into something of an action third person shooter with stealth elements. I don't remember anyone ever considering a trailer full of explosions the best way to highlight a stealth action game. It looks like it will still be fun but it's not the same game that you remember and it's not the same Sam Fischer that you love.

Assassin's Creed 3 Preview

Dual Wielding Tomahawks? I think I just might

It has been three years since the last numbered Assassin's Creed game. Since then we have had two expansions so to say with AC: Brotherhood and AC: Revelations. Each game added a small new element to the formula but in the end was very much the same as before. Assassin's Creed 3 looks to break the mold and rejuvenate the franchise sending it soaring to all time heights.

Exit Ezio Enter Connor

I may be in the minority here but I always preferred Ezio to Altair. His carefree attitude and witty banter made my time in the animus more enjoyable. However, after 3 games playing as Ezio I will admit that I was growing tired of playing with him. When it was announced that AC: Revelations would be Ezio's final game I was somewhat relieved. I was able to enjoy his swan song even more knowing it would be his last. Ezio's departure marks a big step in the Assassin's Creed franchise. Where do we go from here? Enter Connor Kenway.

Connor Kenway is the new character with which players will have control. He is the son of a British father and Mohawk mother. Early trouble with colonial forces shaped Connor into fighting for justice and against tyranny whenever present. His parentage may be touched upon in the story somehow as a quote of him saying the following has been released, "On this land, I am torn. Part of me wants to fight and repel all outsiders. The other part of me is the outsider." It's always hard introducing a new lead character after so long with the previous. The only concern I have is if Connor will be as engaging and interesting as Ezio. So far all signs point to yes. 

American Revolution: Interacting with George Washington!

The setting for this installment in the American Revolution. I can finally interact with the founding fathers and help shape the making of the United States of America. This can be summed up with only one word, awesome. This is a time period rarely tackled by game developers and it should be really interesting how Ubisoft tackles the challenge. Characters the Connor may run into include Ben Franklin, Paul Revere and of course the one and only George Washington. The Templar ties run deep and Connor will actually take on both Loyalists and Revolutionary forces. How Ubisoft weaves this into the events from history is intriguing. This also marks a different approach for Ubisoft as well as most times the games take place in cities. There are still cities to be explored but Connor will venture out into the surrounding wilderness quite often.

I Love Seasons Too Much...

Assassin's Creed has done a very good job of creating a world that seems alive and bustling. This new installment is taking that further. Along with its usual day/night cycle, AC:3 now has seasonal changes as well as random rain and fog generation. The summer will be as you expect. Green grass warm colors and leaves. The winter will affect game play dramatically. When trying to run in the deep snow Connor will be slowed as well as leave tracks. The setting will reflect the season change as the trees and vegetation has been thinned. These seasonal changes will be marked by which memory you are accessing at the time but the rain/fog generation will be random and you may encounter it in one spot in a play through and not in the next.

Enemies Meet My Tomahawks...Both of Them

The combat for this game is being overhauled dramatically for this game. In the previous games moat fights included holding the block button, waiting for the enemy to attack and then proceeding to counter-attack for the kill. In this game Ubisoft wants to put you on the offensive. Connor should feel dangerous and aggressive, almost like a predator. It is much harder to block and counter. Speed and momentum also play a large role in the combat mechanics. Enemies will react differently if Connor is attacking swiftly and using momentum on his side. Over a thousand animations have been added to this game and very few were carried over from the previous game.

With the new combat also comes new weapons and the ability to dual wield. Often times I would think to myself how cool it would be to have a dagger and sword equipped together in previous games, well Ubisoft is giving me that chance. Connor can equip a large combination of weapons. New to this game are the bow and arrow and tomahawks and trusty old weapons return as well including the dual hidden blades an assassin's best friend.

Animals Beware

The economy system is being updated for the game as well. When I first heard this I thought why change and fix something that isn't broken. To my surprise this system looks better then ever. Connor now has the ability to hunt the animals of the frontier and sell their pelts. The quality for which they are killed affects the amount earned from the resources. This adds a new layer to exploration. Before it was exploring for the sake of exploring. With the ability to hunt there is a method to the madness. Stalking animals could open up a new area you haven't been to just by straying after a deer. It's a very interesting mechanic and could prove to be excellent. A new property system is being implemented as well.

I'm On a Boat

One of the biggest changes in the game is the addition of ship to ship combat. Connor will take control of a ship and proceed to take part in naval combat. This is a huge difference from previous installment and an interesting risk. The tower defense game in AC:Revelations was far from fun and kind of a nuisance. With this however Ubisoft is looking to craft a fun departure from the norm and so far so good. The missions shown have been pretty simple hunt and kill targets. Its the method for which to accomplish this is different. You can fire at a distance with chains to slow the enemy ship down pepper it with cannon fire at mid-range and even shoot fire and smash straight through it. Connor can even board the enemy boat and dispatch foes. This is shaping up to by one of the best new additions in the game.

Prepare to Ram

Is it October Yet?

Ubisoft has made mention of the fact that they would like a yearly release of an Assassin title. This has put fear into many fans that the game could fall into the Call of Duty trap. That being the games become stale and very clone like lacking innovation and steps forward. However Ubisoft has taken great strides to prevent this from happening. The changes being made have Assassin's Creed 3 feeling fresh and injected life into a franchise that was possibly falling into the sequel trap. Assassin's Creed 3 is seeing large innovations that make it feel almost entirely new but at its heart AC:3 is still an Assassin's Creed game. That is a testament to the lengths Ubisoft has gone to make this the best in the series while still delivering a game we are familiar with. Just over a month away from release and October 30th can't come soon enough.









The Rankings - September

Mark's Rankings

Platform

1. Xbox 360 - Personal Favorite system
2. PS3 - If Xbox didn't exist this would be all I use but first I would weep
3. Ouya - I'm intrigued and excited to see this new console
4. PC - Star Craft II is around and that makes this better than Wii
5. Wii - Only good for Wii bowling and multiplayer New Super Mario Bros. 
6. Wii U - Has there ever been less hype for a new Nintendo Console?
7. Nintendo DS - Pokemon has to exist somewhere

Games

1. Borderlands 2- Best game of the Year so far
2. Halo 4 - Soon to be best game of the year
3. Madden 13 - Every so often I breakdown and buy madden - this one one of those years. This is my Review. 
4. Assassins Creed III - I kind of love the American revolution
5. Forza Horizon - A racing game set in my home state gets me giddy
6. Castleminer Z - Don't buy Minecraft on the 360. Go find this little Indie gem for $1. 

Other

1. The Video Game Holiday season - From March on I look forward to this time of year
2. Forge Mode in Halo 4 - I love custom maps
3. Borderlands 2 improvements- There is almost no aspect of Borderlands 2 that is not better than the first. Finally I pick up Health automatically
4. Gangam Style - If you haven't watch this video do it now. I do not know what they are saying and that little dancing kids has an unreal sized head, I thought he was computer generated.

Danny's (aka The Master Chief with a Pen) Rankings

Games I'm Playing Now

1. Borderlands 2 - New and improved, bring your friends!
2. FIFA 12 - From release date to release date, FIFA is a year-rounder for me.
3. Halo Campaigns - Get ready for Halo 4 by replaying the old campaigns, just as good as ever.
4. Skyrim (Hearthfire and Dawnguard) -  Two great add-ons that add an additional experience with leveled characters but make you want to start again from the beginning. 
5. Halo Anniversary Multi-player - I'm old school Halo and stick to the classic modes, but brush up on your skills because Halo 4 drops in less than two months.

Games I'm Looking Forward To

1. FIFA 13 - Proximity takes precedent over Halo 4...FIFA comes out first.
2. Halo 4 - Another installment of my favorite game franchise ever, HELL YA!
3. Assassins Creed 3 - Huge fan of the series and the American Civil War as the setting is just sweet.
4. Grand Theft Auto 5 - April 29, 2008 was when GTA IV was released with two DLC's in 2009. It has been far to long Rockstar but we should finally get the Cali based GTA 5 in 2013.
5. Hitman Absolution - Agent 47 is back but might handle a bit different this time around...hopefully they don't stray to far from the style that got the franchise where it is today.

Robert's Rankings

What I am Looking Forward to:

1. Borderlands 2- This game has not suffered the sequel let down and in my opinion on par if not better then the first. Definitely a game that is worth playing.

2a. Assassin's Creed 3- The first game in this series I picked up was Assassin's Creed 2 and since then I have been hooked. This game touts thousands of brand new animations and a setting that is sure to bring new life to the franchise. So long Ezio bring on Connor.

2b. Halo 4 - One of the few X-Box exclusives to release this year and by far the biggest. Halo seems to be in capable hands with 343 and all that has been shown so far seems to improve yet maintain that Halo feel. The return of the Master Chief, the iconic hero of the franchise, doesn't hurt either.

4. WWE '13- Boasting the largest roster ever for the franchise and a return to the Attitude Era color me sold. Unfortunatly last years controls have me somewhat weary of a chance at greatness marred. Let's hope THQ can get it right and make WWE '13 the best in the series.

5. Resident Evil 6- A long time fan of this series all the way back to Resident Evil on the Playstation. New combat tweaks including running while shooting seem to be working well. Plus Chris Redfield and Leon Kennedy in the same game, has this shaping up to be the next great Resident Evil.

Top Upcoming Releases:

1. Halo 4 - Master Chief is back. (See Above)

2. Assassin's Creed 3 - (See Above)

3. FIFA 13 - Enhanced controls and mechanics have FIFA 13 looking like the best in the series again. It seems every year the FIFA team finds innovative ways to make the new game better then the last and this installment is no different.

4. Dishonored - Somewhat overshadowed by the sequel mania that has come about this year but Dishonored has a chance to be a standout title. A stealth-action game with emphasis on the stealth as well as gadgets and the environment to dispatch foes throw in a promising story and Dishonored may be the best non-sequel title of the year.

5. COD: Black Ops 2- I throw this into this section on the fact that this game will sell and sell and sell some more. Expanding on the story of the first black-ops with the tried and true competitive multiplayer Black-Ops 2 will be another big seller for the franchise. Also could it be the last great Call of Duty?

Halo 4 Preview Part 3 - The Covenant

Halo 4 The Covenant

Key People/ Races

Elites

Jackals

Grunts

Brutes

Prophets

Engineers

Drones

Weapons

Important events

Vehicles and Ships

Banshee

Ghost

Other

Madden 13 Review

I love cash cows. I’m a big fan of companies that have something that continually rakes in money because for the most part it means they’re doing something right and usually they’re doing something right for their customers. In this case the thing EA did right was create a monopoly on NFL games and even football games in general. It may have happened had EA not picked up exclusive rights to NFL licensing. So EAs cash cow kind of sucks. In fact it maybe my least favorite cash cow that I can think of.  So I try to avoid buying the game as often as I can. This year I faltered but for good reason.  

I’ll start with the bottom line because if you’re hardcore Madden fan then you already bought the game. I would say rent this game if you even remotely enjoy football video games. The career mode is improved, it’s worth seeing the new physics at work and if you have a Kinect you will love shouting audibles at your tv screen and after doing that if you’re still loving it then consider buying it but frankly I think a good rental and you can move on.  If you are a casual sports fan just go play the demo and call it good.

The Good

Physics

The new physics in Madden take a minute to get used to and you’ll be furious the first time you run into your own line man and get knocked back down 3 yards . But the first time you break a few tackles with well executed side steps, spin moves and trucking you’ll be addicted.  Players feel much more like their size, if you’re cornerback gets picked up by a lineman on a blitz you’re not going to easily shed that block.

Audibles with Kinect

If you have a Kinect and you need to go try the audibles in Madden. On occasion I’m not even picking up the controller anymore. I sit back, read the defense, switch my run to a quick pass, change specific wide receivers routes by yelling their name and the passing pattern, hike the ball and just let my players do the rest. The only difference between me and Peyton Manning is I’m doing it with a corn dog in my hand and ketchup dribbling onto my shirt.

The Secondary Controls

I can’t describe how many times I’ve been frustrated by a football game controls as my safety is in prime position to pick of or swat a ball and then act as if they have never played defense in their life. Suddenly All Pro Cornerbacks are swatting the wrong way for the ball.  You’ll still see a few more dropped interceptions than you would like but it feels a little better knowing that when you’ve got man to man coverage and help over the top that even the great wide receivers won’t be able to consistently beat you.

Neutral

Commentary

The commentary has never been something that makes or breaks a football game for me. It gets slightly better every 2 or three years in all the games. I would however like to use the Kinect to record my own voice and my own commentary for situations and then hear myself announce the football game as I watch my own gameface on the virtual coach and on my star running back.  

Connected Careers

I really enjoy a good Franchise mode and this one isn’t perfect. It falls a little short in Player progression, however that’s still much improved over previous madden Games. You’re player will get points based on how well you perform but it is a slow process which makes you want to save up for the good upgrades, like the ones that increase how quickly you upgrade but then you find that they didn’t really improve you’re player that much. Still in that Area I fell like Madden is heading in the right direction. There’s really not that many “oh Wow that’s new” moments. The menus feel a little more streamlined and it’s what you would expect but it won’t blow you away.

Bad

Easier AI

The game isn’t as hard as I remember. Pro feels like Rookie mode used to and I can only imagine what rookie mode feels like. Once you get used to it The running game is just too easy. Your blockers seem to move defensive linemen easily and once you get the hang of avoiding tripping on your own players or running into guys that are being blocked you’ll see you’re average yards per carry in the 8- 15 yard area and that’s just not fair. Playing defense is about the same as in past games however I will say that if you blitz every down the opposing AI isn’t as likely to exploit it and you’ll stop the run and get pressure on the QB. SO when it comes down to it this is a Madden game you’ll want to play on All Pro.

The Scouting in Connected Careers

Why hasn’t this become an enjoyable and important part of career modes? When do I get to just look a highlight plays and compare players side by side and then have an LA noire like interview with them at the combine? Why am I always unveiling little bits of information at a time as though that’s how it really happens? I shouldn’t be able to look at a 45 second clip of a players “highlights” and make my own decisions the draft should give me a little bit of information but after that it should be about the time I put into it and some fun.   Scouting should have 300 players and I can easily sort out the ones I don’t need based on my team needs and then put them in some play time. Let me pass the ball with each QB I’m scouting 10 times. Let me run against a defense with my playbook and the 5 running backs I’m interested in. Either make scouting and the draft fun or get rid of it. Give me a scouting advisor that I pay with money out of my franchise who can actually make a difference in the information I get.

Brady never lines up under center.

Other Tidbits

Why are there not mini games anymore? I used to love the Running back challenge

I’m pretty sure Ultimate team exists so you can spend money, They have to try and sell you something after that fact right?

Cam Newton and RGII seem a little slower than I think they should be. Not too much but just enough that you won’t play as the Panthers or Redskins just so you can drop back and then run the ball.

The clothing options for the coach in Career mode are lacking, A vest that doesn’t look good, a suit that doesn’t fit, and the bland polo is your best option, Where is the cut off Belichick hoody? And if I’m gonna wear a suit I should look good like Tom Landry.

It’s solid sports game and if you play against a friend some good pressure filled trash talking times will emerge so defiantly try that sometime. 

Did we really need Twitter and Facebook Integration?

The opening starts with Ray Lewis making a statement about how many times he's been called too small. Who calls Ray Lewis small?

Version reviewed: Xbox 360

Opinionated: PS3 Skyrim Issues Gamings' Biggest Failure of the Year

Most of those that know me know that I am an XBOX 360 guy through and through, however that does not mean I ignore the rest of the gaming industry as a whole. Over the last six months video games have seen their respective successes and failures. More often then not, the failures are what stand out in the gamers eyes. Mass Effect alone saw several major failures in the eyes of the diehards including myself, from on disc day 1 DLC and the debacle that was the ending. It is neither of these that draws in my opinion the biggest failure of the year. That title is reserved for Bethesda and the troubles PS3 owners have had with Skyrim.

 

For those that may have missed the on going saga I'll let you in on a quick recap. The first problem on the PS3 was when the save file for Skyrim became to big, frame rates would drop creating a substantial amount of lag and making the game virtually unplayable. This alone irked the countless players on the PS3. This issue was fixed in the most part by an update from Bethesda but not before considerable amount of damage had already been done. The sad thing is Bethesda knew of the issue before hand. They encoded solutions they thought would work but in the end did not. Its like ordering a steak at a restaurant only to be given half a steak because of kitchen problems and then still having to pay full price for it.

Even with the fixed lag issue, the bigger concern and the problem in the forefront is the fact that the DLC that PC and 360 owners are enjoying may never come to the PS3. Many would believe that as a 360 fan I would laugh and say "should have got a 360" or "Lol. PS3 sucks." I feel just the opposite however and I really feel for those gamers that do not get to experience the DLC simply because of problems Bethesda can't work out for the console. In fact rumors are that it may never see the light of day on PS3. I would be extremely pissed if I had bought Skyrim on the PS3 only to be subjected to these issues. I understand that DLC is optional and the game itself can be thoroughly enjoyed without it but consumers have the right to be pissed.

Bethesda may see severe backlash from this issue and rightfully so. Skyrim on the PS3 plays as a shell of what it can and should be. Many can say that the issue may stem from the PS3 being hard to work with. To me that is garbage. A release of this magnitude can't be shipped with game-breaking problems. Maybe a delay on the PS3 release would have helped but we will never know. As for the DLC issue my hope is that Bethesda can work out these problems and release the content onto the PS3. All gamers no matter what you play on should have the opportunity to experience the incredible world Bethesda has created with Skyrim. I even hope Bethesda goes one further and releases Dawnguard as free DLC for PS3. But even if Bethesda releases the DLC for free the damage may already be done. Bethesda has earned their reward of biggest gaming fail of the past year.