Mashed Buttons

E3 PART 1

2007-07-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

GTA IV

2007-06-29T12:09:00.000-07:00

The release of GTA IV (and the resulting failure of my 4th year) is quickly approaching. The first trailer was fairly sparse (but it did show off the sexy new graphics) but this new video gives us alot more to get excited about. Above is the gamevideos analyzation of the video.

Anyone else afraid that this game will cause ripples in the education of GTA loving gamers across the world? I bet it at least lowers the mark average by at least a few points.

Getting Play

2007-06-26T22:33:00.000-07:00

My past few weeks have been divided between my PC and my 360. My Wii has been getting little to no attention. When friends come over who havent played it yet I'll fire up some Wii Sports, but the novelty has worn off. I eagerly await some new titles that arent just a collection of minigames. Gametrailers has put up a glowing review of Resident Evil 4, which i tried for PS2 but couldnt really get into. I found the pacing of the game a little slow for my liking and it didnt really keep me interested. I enjoyed the early Resident Evil games, so Im gonna give ill have to give this one a spin to see if the Wii controls make the experience a bit more.... yknow... Creepy.. and Resident Evily.

For the PC I have been playing UFO Extraterrestrials which is basically a frame for frame remake of the legendary X-Com, UFO Defence. X-Com holds a special place in my heart as it was the first PC game that I really fell for (cue the cheesy love music). This unnoficial remake is still able to captivate me for hours on end even with its subpar graphics and completely plagiarised gameplay. I also have been playing Bad Mojo . I dont really enjoy the game very much, but it does have some very interesting elements to it. The gameplay is quite immersive and the designers really did a good job of trying to make the player think like the character, which happens to be a cockroach. Perhaps the reason I dont enjoy the game has nothing to do with the quality, but with fact that I dont enjoy thinking like a cockroach.

On the 360 Ive been tearing up tracks on the new driving games. Forza 2 (pending review) has me collecting cars, and Dirt (errr.. also pending review?) has me trashing them. In my endless quest to make a gamer out of my father I have tried to find good racing games that might appeal to him, as he is a racing enthusiast. He visited for my birthday (June 24... Ill be hurt if you dont send a card next year) and I couldnt get him to give them a try as we were in a rush... but he promised he'd try them out. After converting my girlfriend from a gamophobe into a DS wielding hottie with a WoW account (drool) Ive been interested in what it takes to turn a non-gamer onto the wonderfull world of video games. My father doesnt really enjoy games of any type, not to mention digital ones. His complaint about driving simulations is that the response time is too slow and he doesnt feel like its a good representation of the tactile experience of driving. Both Dirt and Forza 2 feel quite responsive for me.. but I could see the controller being a barrier for him. Ive been considering picking up one of the Official 360 Wireless Racing Wheel as I've only been hearing good things. Has anyone has any negative experiences with this thing?

Im not dead!!

2007-06-26T22:32:00.001-07:00

I assure you I am still alive and very commited to this website. I have been speaking with some people about getting a bit of design done so that the site format is more accesible. To make up for my brief absence I will give you this recent gem on youtube.

I dont know whats better.. the fact that hes hand farting Mario brothers.. or the expression on his face.

Spiderman 3 Review

2007-05-24T21:44:00.000-07:00

While the last few Spiderman games have been at least enjoyable, Spiderman 3 misses the mark and ends up being a frustrating experience. Each element of the game is well polished on its own, but the designers lacked the vision to pull all of the elements together into a concise product.

The graphics? good enough. Not breathtaking but enough to give a good representation of spidey. The sound? Pretty good, with wicked voice over actors.

The combat? Shaky at times, but with a bit more polish it could have been much more enjoyable. There is far too many moves and not enough reason to learn the difference between them. This means that players will usually end up button mashing and hoping for the best. Less moves with a bit more refinement would have gone a long way in this category.

The plotline is fairly standard comic book fare. It is acted out through in game cutscenes. It tends to be cheesy at times, but few games are able to avoid doing so.

But the problem with Spiderman is none of the single elements on their own, but to lack of smooth integration of all of the elements into an enjoyable package. Its like they spent all of their time working on making sure there were enough attack moves, missions, and a large enough city but forgot to spend any time making the game fun. All in all.. if you a big fan of spidey you will get some enjoyment out of this game. If you are looking for an open ended super hero adventure that plays like GTA after being bit by a radioactive spider, your going to be disappointed. First Superman, and now this... can someone bring us an open ended superhero game that doesn't stink?

Starcraft 2

2007-05-21T21:23:00.000-07:00

SOoooooo they announced it.

I was up at 4 AM watching the IGN live Blog of the event as it unfolded.

And yeah.. its been a few days since then without a post about what could be one of the most talked about unveiling's in a while. But theres a reason for that... and its because SC2's unveiling was entirely underwhelming.

Am I excited about SC2? Hell yeah! But I just dont think that this much hype should go into what has boiled down to a few screenshots and a lengthy gameplay video. The graphics they showed are nothing dazzling, but Blizzard has always been very good about keeping system requirements within the reach of most computers, so I cant blame them there.

I guess I feel that if they were gonna hype the event up this much that they shouldve at least given us a release date. I cant help but to feel that this is going to be another two year wait for a product that I wouldve been much better off just not knowing about.

There seems to be a few different routes that companies go. Some trickle out pieces of information and information about gameplay mechanics and innovations (like peter molyneux with Fable 2), others keep things completely under the radar until release, like Command and Conquer 3 (maybe they released some press stuff.. but it was under MY radar), or they can go the shrouded hypebeast route that Rockstar seems to be so fond of. At least when Rockstar does it they give us a release date before they start tempting us with game footage and teasers.

is anyone else a little underwhelmed by the SC2 release?

Getting Play

2007-05-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

So this week as I mentioned alot of indy games have been getting play.

One in particular, Toribash , stands out. It has kept me up until the wee hours of the morning on a few occasions.

Its a physics heavy ragdoll driven turn based fighting game. If you think the name of the genre is complicated, wait until you play the game. Its like the calculus of fighting games. Each turn the player carefully instructs his character by telling each muscle whether to contract, extend, hold still, or relax. The amount of planning that goes into each kick, punch, or headbutt is insane. I still am only able to make my character do a simple forward kick or punch before they topple over from a lack of balance. You have to try it to understand the complexity... but once you know the game well its incredibly rewarding when after 10 tries your character finally executes a dismembering kick or decapitating elbow strike. Check out some insane highlight reels... and keep in mind how complicated it is to even make your character stand up properly.

I rented Spiderman 3 for XBOX 360, which is almost exactly the same as Spiderman 1, just with fancier graphics and voicework. Pretty disappointing.

Me and Nicolle got our Blood Elves up to lvl 29 in WoW. /cheer.

I downloaded Legend of the Mystical Ninja from the Wii Virtual Console store. I loved this game as a kid and over a decade later it still holds up.

Wii sports is still getting played when there are guests over. I got my replacement Wii Mote in the mail so two player tennis is the game of choice. Still waiting for my replacement straps. Should I try a dye job to color coordinate them?

Anyhow.. thats about all thats Getting Play around here. Till the next time.

Super Indy Game Massacre

2007-05-12T07:46:00.000-07:00

As a result of last weeks visit to GameJam, Ive been trying to keep my eye out for interesting indy games. I stumbled across the Slamdance website which had a pretty good collection of indy games, and a little bit of contraversy. Slamdance is a competition where independant games are given recognition through prizes and promotion. The contraversy is around a game that was originally part of the festival, but was removed because of complaints and public outcry.

The game, Super Columbine Massacre, is a role playing game where the player re-enacts the columbine killings and takes on the roll of the killers. While many have criticized it as barbaric and horribly offensive, after downloading it I feel like it was intended as a poignant commentary on the nature of the event, and the psychology of the kids. It paints a bleak and depressing picture of two unstable teens, and rewards you for reenacting their actions. As the player reluctantly carries out the killings, they are forced to consider the event from the perspective of one of the killers.

While it was definitely difficult to play through (and not because its hard), I think its a valuable lesson in the power of video games for making social statements. While the production process of big budget games is often so long that any issue that they could comment on would be obsolete by the time games are released, quick independent games can make poignant and valid comments on society in a way that other mediums cannot. The interactivity of video games captivates the player and brings them into an alternate reality. Games can just as easily bring their players into a grim and evil reality as they can into the more cheery worlds depicted in games like Mario. I look forward to other games that make us not only look at gaming differently, but make us rethink the world around us.

TO Gamejam, Part 2

2007-05-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

So gamejam was thoroughly impressive. This year there were only 2 incomplete games (and both of them were playable, just not completely finished). I met a lot of great people and ran into a few that I already knew. I had to take off before the votes for best game were tallied up so I dont know what the official verdict is, but Ill go over some of the games I found particularly impressive.

The most interesting game of the event to me was a game called Quiver. Its a two player top down shooter where one player controls the archer, who can move around and click on screen to shoot arrows, and the other controls the Dungeon Master, who punches in keys to generate enemies. The gameplay was great, but what really made it interesting was the way the two players interacted. The DM and the player both gained experience as the game went on, and the game ended when the archer was killed, so while the DM was sending characters which the player would fight, he was also making sure he was only sending as many as the archer could deal with. This type of interaction between players, where they are working together but not on the same side, is a really interesting dynamic that I think should be explored more in mainstream games. It really created an interesting gaming experience.

Xiq was another game that was particularly interesting. An homage to great spatial games like Qix and Jezzball, players in Xiq (pronounced 'sick') used a dual analog controller to move around the screen and fire lines in all four directions. They would need to use those lines to trap the oncoming triangles in a full square, which would kill them. There were powerups that made your lines stay on the screen longer, or make you move quicker, or destroyed all the enemies on the screen. What made it stand out was its artistic direction. The game had a wicked retro feel that was present throughout. Even the logo and title screen of the game were reminiscent of old commodore era games.

What made the event so interesting was the variety. Participants ranged from students and hobby game designers, to professionals who make games 9-5. The results ranged from polished and refined to just barely playable. There were games to be played with a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, and even a Homebrew title that was playable on the Nintendo DS. I took some pics of the event that you can check out at my BRAND NEW flickr site. Brendan Lynch, a designer at Blast Radius, was the official photographer for the event, and you can check out his work at his less new flickr site.

I spent most of my time at the event trying not to get in peoples way. I thought there was a chance I would be unwelcome, as I was not participating in the game design, but everyone was very friendly. I hope to participate in next years event, I will probably put together a team this year at school. Any programmers interested?

World Of Starcraft?

2007-05-06T02:10:00.000-07:00

Rumors about the upcoming Blizzard Invitational have continued to pop up across the internet. First a translation of a translation of a Korean publication claimed that a sequel for Starcraft was going to be announced at the event. They outline a new race based on the Zerg/Terran hybrid character Kerrigan. They claimed that the game would stick to the RTS roots of Starcraft, but that a few new units would be added to each race. But today an article on CVG says that the new game is not an RTS, but in fact an MMO based in the World of Starcraft. Next year marks the 10 year anniversary of Starcraft, so a new title definitely seems believable. Fans of the classic game have been expressing their desire for a new RTS version starcraft, even going as far as completely remaking warcraft 3 to get their SC fix, so the news of another MMO has been receiving mixed feedback. The event is in two weeks so we wont have to wait long to see which rumor is accurate.

TO Gamejam

2007-05-06T02:01:00.000-07:00

Today I went to check out Toronto's second annual Game Jam. Game Jam is a weekend long gathering where game designers from around Toronto get together and create a bunch of games. Sleep deprivation and gaming have always gone hand in hand, but these guys really push it to the limit by squeezing every minute out of the weekend. Its incredible to see what these guys can do over such a short period of time and Im excited to see how the games end up. Ill be going back tomorrow to take some more pictures of the teams and report back with a bit more of a specific look at the games I saw. Till then.

-J

What Ive been up to

2007-04-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

SOoooo... now that we're all nicely aquainted... I should let you know what Ive been up to so that you have some idea of the direction of this blog.

Jobs: Ive been working a job called 'data categorization' where I go through game related search results and process consumer opinions from blogs and forums into numbers so that the companies can more easily make use of the data. I turn 'I cant wait for the new GTA... the Trailers amazing!. The graphics are Uber!' into 'anticipation, 5. Video Trailer, 5. Graphics, 5.'. I also write game related articles for my school newspaper, 'The Silhoutte' which has an arts and entertainment section.

Games: Ive been hooked ever since my mom bought me an Atari 2600 from a door to door salesman who was originally trying to sell her a vacuum (he must have been desperate for a sale!). Along the years there have been far too many infatuations... but some of the more prolific games in my past have been; Street Fighter (the whole series... one of the only games I could challenge the Asians at my local arcade at) Mario (of course) early FF games (played up until 7 before they got too plot heavy and not as fun) Anything from Blizzard (I keep my Warcrack addiction minimal by only playing when Nicolle wants to play) Counterstrike, Tony hawk and GTA since it was on PC as a top down game. I play just about everything that comes out, but those are some of the games and IP's that have consumed more than their fair share of gametime.

Currently im playing Super Paper Mario, Company of Heroes, WoW, SF2: Turbo, Smash Bros (N64) and Dead Rising. I bought Nicolle Okami and Psychonauts both of which she seems to enjoy quite a bit. I also just dug out my old magic the gathering cards to play a few games with some university buddies who also gave up magic cards a decade ago.

I have Wii, 360, Dreamcast, Ps2, and an FC Twin.

Anyhoo.. thats about it. Till the next time.

Who I am...

2007-04-13T11:34:00.000-07:00

ITS ALIVE!!

So here it is.. the MONUMENTAL first post in my new blog...

Ive done blogs before for my photos... but never for my biggest passion turned career path... Video Games!

I am Jacob Karsemeyer... A student at Mcmaster University (thats in Canada.. near Toronto for you non-Canucks) studying multimedia and communications. Im not taking many technical design or programming courses (I did some basic 3d modeling, and other beginner courses) and I plan on becoming a game designer... more on the creative side of things. If this fails I will go to college to learn more practical game design techniques and then try again. As of now the plan is to get a job doing game testing for one of the many companies that operate out of Toronto and then use that as a springboard to climb that lovely corporate ladder.

Im sure that all could have been said in my profile... but there it is.

Recently I have been bogged down with exams and such... but the summer is readily approaching and Im finding myself with more and more free time... so I thought I might as well fill some of it by trying to maintain a gaming blog as I so often have opinions. The other things that take up my time are (in order of likeliness of getting in trouble for not having them near the front of the list); My lovely girlfriend Nicolle, my music (ask me about it if you love music...), family, school, occasional inebriation, gadgets, photography, and people in general.

anyhow.. enough about me.. what brings you here?