Probably NSFW - Note that killing a tank restores health for everyone.

Pt 2

Once I rose above the noise and confusion . . . but I flew too high.

"'The Simak book is a great story,' he said. 'Not such great writing, though. Not bad, I don't mean to say that, but take it from me, there is better.'
"Bobby waited.
"'There are also books full of great writing that don't have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story, Bobby. Don't be like the book-snobs who won't do that. Read sometimes for the words - the language. Don't be like the play-it-safers that won't do that. But when you find a book that has both a good story and good words, treasure that book.'
"'Are there many of those, do you think?' Bobby asked.
"'More than the book-snobs and play-it-safers think. Many more. Perhaps I'll give you one. A belated birthday present.'"

-Stephen King in "Low Men in Yellow Coats" from Hearts in Atlantis

Sometimes when discussing innovation and narrative in games I fear I come off as one of Ted Brautigan's book-snobs. That is not my intent. I not only agree with the sentiments expressed above by the fictional Ted Brautigan about books but think a similar idea applies to games. Some games are fun regardless of innovation and story. There was nothing revolutionary or even evolutionary about Serious Sam and the story was certainly nothing to write home about but the game was a blast. I'm sure there are some game snobs who look down on Gears of War and similar games but sometimes you have to play just because the game is fun. Given my recent complaints about E3 and my review of Extra Lives I want to make it clear that I support that sentiment.

The quotes that Tom Bissell uses to introduce Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter sets up the dichotomy of the book from the start. One quote is from Shakespeare's Pericles and the other from Blade Runner. One a classic piece of literature and one a popular science fiction movie. The first is important because it reminds us that games (in the general, non-video sense) have been around for a long time (read The Immortal Game about the history of chess for some feeling of how long). The second because it speaks to the somewhat limited audience of video games and their frequent fantastical nature ("I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.").

More after the jump.

On IGN under the heading of Contrarian Corner Michael Thomsen takes issue with some claims about Alan Wake. In this post I want to address some of his central claims and why I believe they are wrong. Please note that the following discussion is spoiler heavy.

Is Alan Wake's story as shabby as many of the buildings around Bright Falls?

Gameplay

The first place where he takes issue with the game is in the claim that the light adds a new dynamic to the game. His central thesis can be summed up in the following statement:

This system adds some interesting tactical complexity, but the net impact is that enemies basically have longer life meters.

This is an oversimplification of the place in light in the game. If you wanted to make an analogy to other games a better point of reference would be shields and health. The Darkness serves in some sense as a shield around the Taken that makes them invincible to projectile weapons. Light in this analogy is akin to some energy draining system that renders the shields inoperable. (more after the jump)

UPDATE: Sunday 6/20/2010 - For a similar viewpoint, check out this article from Chris Holt at MacWorld.

If you look over the list of games shown at one of the big press conferences, there is something for everyone. For fans of military shooters there is Call of Duty:Black Ops and the new Medal of Honor game; for fans of futuristic shooters there is Halo:Reach, Gears of War 3, Kill Zone 3, and Crysis 2. Shooters not your thing? How about some Portal 2 with the new trailer promising the return of GLaDOS in full form? Or if you like classic Nintendo, there's a new Zelda game, Kid Icarus for the 3DS, and the 3DS itself. And let's not dwell too long on The Old Republic, an MMORPG that threatens the wallets and clocks of gamers everywhere.

So no matter who you are as a gamer, there almost has to be some game coming out of the Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and Sony press conferences that appeals to you. The next 6 months to a year will see the continued release of huge titles. There will be fun games to play in the single player and multiplayer space. So as individual gamers we all win. (of course, there's a but after the jump).

E3 yada yada yada Microsoft blah blah blah Kinect. Zzzzz. Ooo! Dead Space 2. oh sports games. Yawn. Hey, Crysis 2 looking good even on the 360! more blah blah blah. Bioware get your hand off my wallet! Do you take checks?

Somehow, with all the sound and fury (what do you mean E3 hasn't even started yet?) I almost missed this. Just when I thought all the freakiness was out in the open after the end of Alan Wake, we get this trailer for the DLC.

Poets of the Fall have released their video for War from the Alan Wake soundtrack and it features Alan. If you haven't finished the game I will not guarantee that this will not spoil something in the game, but I don't think there's anything major in this.

Ten years ago (June 2000) the game that remains my favorite video game of all time was released. Deus Ex is an amazing combination of the first person shooter and role-playing game genres. Add to that a near future setting where multiple factions/secret societies are vying to set the direction for the world including a shadow government that has created nano-augmented agents including JC Denton, the protagonist for just a great story and you begin to see why the game has a metacritic score of 90 (and a user score there of 9.5).

The sequel, Deus Ex: Invisible War, was a decent game but was streamlined (fewer RPG elements) and the story wasn't as good. So for over five years the Deus Ex series was dormant (although the closing of Ion Storm, the developers, was a factor here as well) with just hints that a sequel was in the works. But earlier this year we got a teaser trailer. 

Now with E3 coming up we have a more complete trailer (if this is gameplay I'd be really impressed). This gives more of the story background/setting for the game. I'm pleased that they do not seem to be tying this into JC Denton's story. This looks to me like it is using some of the best elements of the original game, so I'm becoming more hopeful that this will be a major release for this year.

Enough from me. Enjoy.

In 2010 with developers having reached a significant level of familiarity with the current generation of hardware expectations for better story and gameplay are high. Two games this year are early attempts to meet those expectations, Heavy Rain and Alan Wake. Because of this many have been asking how the games compare. In response some have noted that the games are different and comparisons may not be fair. To some extent I would agree in that the games may appeal to differing audiences but there are some things about the games that deserve comparison.

Both Heavy Rain and Alan Wake are follow on games, but not sequels, by developers who have already proven their ability to make games. Quantic Dream made Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit for those not in North America). Indigo Prophecy is known as an innovative game that used a distinct control scheme. Indigo Prophecy also touted a branching story but the reality was a rather unique fail screen.

Remedy is the studio that created and developed Max Payne 1 & 2 (not to be confused with Rockstar, the company that appears to be about ready to butcher the franchise). Max Payne introduced bullet time to gaming. It also had a Noir feel like a Philip Marlowe story. Both companies delivered improvements on their previous games, with Quantic Dream delivering on the promise of what Indigo Prophecy was said to be and with Remedy creating an even more compelling world.

Before the comparisons let me state that I love both these games and that for 2010 these are currently my top two games of the year. Other games may be released that I like more but these are the best so far. So any negative comments in the comparisons should be taken in light of this. Also, there will be spoilers in the following discussion, so if you have not played both games, you may want to stop here. Otherwise, hit the read more link below.

That's right, Valve keeps rolling out new games for the Mac Steam client. That's not news. But for me the following, while not news, is really cool.

For those too young to remember, this is a play off of Apple's famous 1984 Superbowl ad.

I'm still a PC guy for now, but as more games come out on Steam one of the reasons for me being a PC guy erodes each day. And given my love for the iPad, I'm curious about Macs now.