choosing to Play & Playing to choose By Robin

I have a lot of thoughts about moral consequence systems in video games, I really do. I filled entire pages with web diagrams of how I feel moral choices impact a game's story, immersion, and personalization. I contemplated how designers use it to impact everything from the game environment to a character's wardrobe. But I think I finally realized after all of that - it isn't some defined effect on a gameplay mechanic that creates a truly successful moral system in a video game. It is most memorable when a game presents you with a situation that you can honestly relate to your life, and it becomes more than “how will this affect my good/evil stat”. It becomes a legitimate contemplation of “what would I really do in this situation,” and the best answer isn't obvious. 

Unleash potential evil on entire galaxy for good morality points?

    The problem is most moral systems thus far have been obsessed with tracking ethical purity on a linear scale. Good versus evil, paragon versus renegade, shiny blue glow versus shiny red glow – every choice is defined on a set “+10 asshole” or “+10 angel” points. Unfortunately, this often degrades the choices in the game to a mere tacked on character stat, and it becomes simply more advantageous to  consistently respond to people as a careless murderer or a squeaky clean savior. And honestly, there aren't many dimensions to these linear types of questions. The choice whether to harvest the lives of little girls for your own benefit or offer them a brighter future is pretty straightforward.

Are my angel wings a bit too much? I just wanted people to know I'm a good person!

    Some games are beginning to transcend the blunt morality fault, though. Despite Fable's continuously cliché demonic versus angelic character development, I can honestly say Fable III presented me with situations that left me yelling at my television screen, heart torn in opposite directions at my options. The third instillation in the Fable series seems to have finally gotten it right. It's moral choice system is very emotionally compelling because it manages to embody the feeling that whatever you choose, there will be consequences.

“Life in the Castle: Choose who must die.”

    For example, Fable III smacks you with one monster of a moral decision within the first few cutscenes. Your brother, the King of Albion, forces you to choose between the life of your close friend or the lives of a group of protestors. This type of question goes beyond a virtual setting. It's essentially a question of what you, as an individual, really value. Neither option is in any way ideal, but the game forces you to weigh logic and emotion to make the decision that you believe is best.

    In addition to some incredibly emotionally compelling decisions, Fable III consistently holds the notion that doing what is “right” isn't always the easiest. The latest release in the Fallout series, Fallout New Vegas, uses a faction system to rate the player's karma. Like real life, different groups of people react to your decisions in different ways based on their perceptions. And despite it's reliance on stereotypical benevolent blue and evil red meters, the Mass Effect series has provided some intense situations that make you wonder the impact of your judgment. Since all of the decisions you make in the first two Mass Effect games will carry over to the conclusion of the story in the third, I predict Mass Effect 3 will really display the weight of all of your previous choices.

    I think we've really only scratched the surface of the game experiences that could be created with moral systems. The gaming industry is continuously evolving to offer gamers engaging stories, unique environments, and new ways to play. I see moral choice systems continuing to evolve with those goals. Granted, despite all the story-telling possibility, life contemplating immersion, and future gaming implication – it's really damn fun to just be evil sometimes.

PPR 32

You have been given a choice; listen to the newest episode of Press Pause Radio or ignore it. We really really hope you choose to listen. Please? On this week's episode we will be discussing moral choices in video games, and the popularity of such games as Fallout and Fable. With so many western developed games utilizing choice as a option in the role playing experience, will we see this trend continue in other genres? The group will discuss this as well as updates to the Xbox 360 dashboard and George's Kinect impressions. Serraxor will also be reviewing Ys: The Oath in Felghana for the Playstation Portable, and proudly informing the listeners of becoming the best in the world in Raiden Fighters Jet Score Attack!

Thanks to everyone for listening to the show and providing feedback on the forums as well as our social networking sites. Don't forget to review us on iTunes or Zune before December 4 for your chance to win our massive Zom-Blowout contest with over fifteen games!

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PPR Episode 32

The Evolution of The Hedgehog By Sean B.

Sonic Colors has arrived, and the reviews are pouring in. The results for the Wii version are rather promising for a three dimensional Sonic title. Though the current Metacritic score (not that it means anything) is weighing in at 78, most contributing review sites still agree that it's a step in the right direction, which is terrific news. As for the more classic feeling DS version, less review scores have combined to form an assumed 80. Among these (volatile) statistics, the most interesting reviews came from Destructoid, who gave the Wii version a pathetic 4.5, while presenting the classic revamp for the DS with an 8.5 -- guess they're retro nostalgia freaks like we are.

Looking back at the big picture, what did happen to sonic? We saw a great amount of success with Sonic Adventure, one of the first launch titles to hit the Dreamcast, but why has it been so hard for them to recreate this in later 3D Sonic games? It's like they're trying too hard with all these additional bells, whistles and werehogs nobody even asked for. And then we have those terrible voices, don't even get me started on those. Perhaps Sonic Team lost its spunk after being dethroned from the console wars?

Then we have Sonic 4, quite possibly the elephant in the room. Most folks will agree it's one of the greatest Sonic titles this generation's seen, with spectacular connections and references to past Sonic games, especially 1 and 2 -- unfortunately this also reflected a serious problem involving Sonic Team's assumed creativity. The game's supposed to be a follow-up to the classic Sonic saga, technically ending after Sonic 3 (even though there were additional 2D titles like Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic CD and Knuckles Chaotix), so why do we see so many reoccurring events and themes? Don't get me wrong, it's extraordinary to be greeted with revamped, familiar Green Hill and rather sexy Casino Night zones presented in diamond sharp High Definition, but to what extent can this go on? Again, the game was great, but as a follow-up to a series that saw obvious points of evolution throughout the years, why not just call this "Sonic Rebirth"?

We know the creativity and skills are present. Let's also not forget about the undying support from legions of fans, submitting thousands (if not millions) of suggestions while dying to see the next great thing Sonic Team has to offer. Please, listen to your fans, and listen well. It's the greatest thing you'll ever do when it comes to satisfying your audience and continuing to be progressive. As for myself, I'll probably head towards the "best of past with future" route and look into Sonic Colors for the Nintendo DS. As far as I'm concerned, 2D remains the best way to play with the hedgehog. If I want a three dimensional werehog, I'll go wander into some mountains. At least nobody will complain when I discover it -- though I may be killed (or possibly raped).

Gran Turismo 5 release date confirmed! By Sean B.

So we recently heard some significant news involving the release of a prolonged project from Sony, one which was even deemed their own "Apollo space program" according to the president of Polyphony Digital Inc. I'm talking about Gran Turismo 5, finally announced to hit stores on November 24th, just in time for the holidays. Seriously, we've been hearing about this one for what feels like an eternity.

It's weird looking back at an era where two guys could design a hit title in their basement, publish it practically the next day and profit from that release over the course of a week. It's especially weird when you take a look at how things are now, where entire teams of artists, designers and software engineers will take months or years trying to design a smash hit title, that can still receive a minimal amount of reception from gamers, along with a review score of 80 percent or lower.

Many gamers can look at the situation and accuse developers of being "slow" or inconsiderate to fans, but we also need to realize how much technology has changed over the past two decades. We're in an era where single artists or tiny firms can no longer be credited with some of the most powerful games, but where developing a groundbreaking title really could be compared to something as large scale as a space program or medical research project. Yes, new games are projects. Sure, we'll have a couple of hit titles where excuses should be limited, especially when you look at past endeavors from the same studio, but some folks might need to wake up and realize how much of a process development has become.

Though also gazing on another side of the spectrum, are some of these "innovations" and "groundbreaking" features really necessary? Some gamers have also expressed their disinterest in newer additions they didn't even ask for, stating how passionate they are to see the same thing for a second, third or maybe even fourth time around. Take some of these "Neo Retro" titles for instance, how many of them have slipped away from a perfect score or even become ruined by some of these adjustments? Some classics were simply meant to stay that way -- classic, priceless and untouched by the hands of modern technology.

It's a slippery slope no matter which side you look down. Either way I think it's safe to assume there's one thing we can all agree on -- that an 80 percent score is still way better than a half-assed game rushed out to the market. So next time you're walking down the street, and you just happen to see a concept artist, sound engineer, level designer, software developer, quality control tester or anyone else from a game developing giant walking down that same path as you, be sure to give them a nice, hearty pat on the back and say "Thanks for not rushing my game and therefore ruining it."

PPR 31

On Halloween Day, we at Press Pause Radio recorded a massive Zombiecast which is now available for all to hear. The normal cast welcomes special guest Daeruna to discuss current events in the gaming industry as well as some twitter fighting and resignations.  Toast harnesses the energy of Ryu before reviewing the recent Left 4 Dead 2 DLC,  "The Sacrifice".

Toast then is attacked by an incoming zombie hoard, while the remaining cast runs for safety. From there they explain the history of zombies not only in video games but in writing and cinema as well. It seem like everything nowadays has zombies, and Press Pause Radio is no different. Go to the forums or respond on the Facebook, Destructoid and Twitter pages about this week's episode. Also please remember to rate and review us on iTunes and Zune for your chance to win fifteen amazing games and more! 

PPR Episode 31

The end of an era By Sean B.

It's been nearly a week since Keji Inafuene, long time designer and producer at Capcom announced he was turning in his letter of resignation after 23 years with the outstanding Japanese developer. Aside from his roll in the character design of Mega Man, Inafuene was a key player in producing the Resident Evil, Onimusha and Deadrising titles. That's four major franchises he's influenced, so it's easy to say this is probably quite a shock to both Capcom and the Japanese gaming industry - but what about the fans?

One thing's for sure, future Megaman titles will probably never feel the same. Even though his general influence will continue to live on, it's still scary to think of the outcome after two decades of the same man being primarily involved in one of the greatest classic gaming series we have. One could even argue it's similar to Miyamoto having no say in the development of a Mario game, or if Kojima had absolutely nothing to do with a Metal Gear Solid title. How will this affect the classic Megaman series? Is there even the possibility of seeing other changes take place to everyone's favorite blue bomber?

It was reported that Inafuene left for "personal reasons", so hopefully we'll see future projects he wishes to accomplish alone or by establishing his own development firm. Earlier this year he expressed great dissatisfaction with other Japanese game developers, claiming they were far behind many of the innovations we've seen in the West. Perhaps he's looking to either head west himself, or possibly create a company aimed more towards concepts in Western game development?

Unfortunately there's no telling what could happen next. Press Pause Radio wishes him the best with his endeavors, and would like to extend a great amount of thanks to what he's given the industry. Even if it's not directly involved with gaming, we know he'll move on to do great things with his life, hopefully giving folks something else to love about his work.

Motion Controls: A burning desire...By Iodine

Nintendo attempted a revolution with the advent of the Wii’s new fangled controller. That spark of innovation has benefited their bottom line immensely. As well as introduced a fresh crowd to the world of video games. It’s a situation that a lot of companies strive for, but rarely acquire.

The real question is whether this is a change that can sustain momentum or not. With competitors jumping into the fray and console sales hitting a saturation point, I find myself wondering more and more about that. There’s also a disconcerting gap between the quality regular gamers expect and what the casual market is more than happy with.

Let’s focus on the experience for now. Being with the Wii controller is like going on an amazing first date. She pulls some impressive tricks that grab your attention. And the next thing you’re in complete bliss on cloud nine. As the days stray on, you find yourself imaging what the future holds for the two of you. And it’s nothing but greatness. Months pass by. The Wii is still in your life, but you’re not giving it the attention you once did. Your private dreams slowly give way to the realty of the situation. She tries to dress herself up and even beckons nostalgia to spark your fire. But her tricks have become routine. Her limitations stand out like cracks in a mirror. Love is over. Before long the Wii collects dust as it sits neglected. It might even get tucked away into the closet. Bad end. Obviously this isn’t how every experience with the Wii is. But it seems to be consensus among the crowd I hang with.

I think Nintendo realizes this. That their gimmick can only go so far. This is where the Motion Plus comes into play. It’s a twenty dollar add-on that promises to make everything better with its gyroscopic technology. The ultimate promise being that it’s really, really close to 1:1 motion. The device has only made me realize that it should have been implemented in the controller’s design from the start. Now Nintendo sits in a position where their market is divided between the converted (those with) and the sinners (those without). Too bad for them the sinners make up most of their market. To attract new buyers and correct the market balance, Nintendo has combined the Motion Plus and Wii Controller into a unified plastic husk all for a mere $40. What a bargain! The problem remains that so few games bother to utilize the add-on. There’s hardly an incentive to invest or upgrade with the new red bundle (diehard Nintendo fans aside).

 

Now we get into the software. WiiSports was the perfect showcase for the new motion technology. Granted it’s more an assortment of tech demos, but it’s all Nintendo needed to dazzle audiences. The actual controls are primitive to keep it accessible. And modeling the game after real world activities gave the casual gamer something they could relate to. A flood of imitators would soon hit the Wii trying to duplicate WiiSports’ success. The themes and licenses may vary per title, but they’re all essentially mini-games collections. That’s not particularly appealing to the average gamer. They’ve become accustomed to epic storylines, the highest tier in graphics and sounds. And most importantly were raised on multi-faceted controllers with a dizzying amount of buttons. When a sophisticated title does hit the Wii, it typically lands with a dull thud. The mainstay gamer simply isn’t there.

This leads me to the competitors, Microsoft and Sony. Each has put out their own take on the motion control phenomenon. Microsoft dropped the controller altogether in favor of a camera based system. The caveat being that the new model 360 can power the device whereas an external power supply is needed to make it work with older consoles. Sony deployed a compartmentalized controller that operates alongside their own camera. Technical differences aside, the end goal is the same. Where these companies could have made the difference is in their marketing and software. Unfortunately both companies seem perfectly happy to follow after Nintendo’s PR. It starts with the ads showing people of various ethnic and age groups with big smiles swishing their limbs about like loose noodles. And it will end with the presence of cookie-cutter games that don’t excite. At a point people will get bored with the limited variety and on move to more exciting endeavors. This leaves the regular audience, but they’ve already exited onto greener pastures. The customer pool is getting shallow. When it finally dries up, the big companies will keep throwing out ideas until they get one that brings the masses shambling back.

For all the potential that motion controls have, the very companies behind them are sabotaging their own products with inept implementation. I would like to think that this technology could be taken seriously and that it’s here to stay, but the current path is keeping it squarely in fad territory. Now only if we can get Kojima to a produce an all motion controlled game. Then we’d be talking about changing the face of the industry.

Quarter Circle Forward: Popful Mail By GeorgieBoysAXE

I recently did a Quarter Circle Forward for most recent episode of Press Pause Radio for an over-looked gem that may have unfortunately been over-looked because of the format it was released on in here in the states yet contrary to popular belief, we received the best version of the original PC-8801 & PC-9801 original that was ported to the PC Engine CD & Super Famicom.

The plot of the game as I touched on before is about an elfish bounty hunter by the name of Mail, who's simply out to make it rich & get her due, however she just happens to be a terrible bounty hunter & though she's skilled with a sword, her bounties are always one step ahead of her, her most recent attempt was at the infamous Nuts-Cracker, as she collectedly self deprecates through her defeated trek back into the nearest village, she finds her new bounty goal listed on the board being Muttonhead, a skilled & powerful wizard who has recently become evil & has been guilty of misdeeds & evil doings, thus starting off your adventure. As I finish up the premise of the game's into & lead into how the  game plays out, I need iterate that this was all introduced through high quality cut scenes which proves my point over the attention that Sega CD could have received through the western releases only seen here where the shitty glaucoma inducing lego-Esq cut scenes pale in comparison to all of ported Mega CD releases that we were able to enjoy here like Sonic CD, Lunar, Popful Mail, Dark Wizard, & the Ecco titles. Falcom placed the same care into the visuals & cut scenes to where not only are they presented in the clearest resolution that the Sega CD can produce but the animation can really be comparable to what you would expect from anime in 1994.

Popful Mail is a side-scrolling platform game that utilizes Metroid-vania aspects through it's stage layout but the stages are still split into selectable stages on an over world map to where not all the levels are completely connected though there will be certain secret exits that allow you to appear at an earlier are of the world map presenting this short cut so again there are pseudo Metroid-Vania aspects as well as the later gameplay objectives resemble back tracking in a similar fashion. As the game progresses opening up the plot & enemies, the game will become a much more in depth experience then simply hack'n slash & platforming as you will have two other characters join you in a party like fashion being the apprentice wizard Tatt & the annoyingly adorable smaller breed of dragon Gaw which both have a different play style then Mail. Tatt is able to attack through projectiles which when equipped through different magical staff allow his attacks to be elementally imbued with fire or ice or even allow an after control of altering the trajectory & flight path of the launched projectile attack which helps his favor to towards hard to reach enemies or specific bosses that allow him to fight from a distance as opposed to Mail who is mostly close-quarters sans her throwing weapons. Tatt is much weaker then Mail though in terms of offense & defense making it very easy for him to receive heavy damage or die fairly quick if you make the wrong decisions. Gaw is a mixture of both strengths being he has some strong attacks depending on his equipment & projectile fireball attacks or claw swipes & he has an incredibly high jump, allowing him to reach certain platforms that the others can not reach at all, however his jump is all height & no distance so I highly recommend against using Gaw for any chasm crossing which attributes to his biggest weakness in being is he's so God damn slow. This will be a big issue if you like switching between the two but you'll notice that you won't use Gaw as much other than areas that demand for his skill set.


The three playable characters will be selectable anytime their skills are called for from what I also attribute to the very Pokemon-styled menu accessed accessed from one of the buttons which still act as a way to pause the game with out actually being the pause button which is always nifty to me but anyway it allows you to access your status increasing items, equipment, & healing items as well as a Save & Load function that can be used ( granted if you're using a Sega CD Model 2 which for fuck's sake all of you who own a Sega CD should be using, ) which can literally be done anywhere & at any point in the game attributing to a very Pokemon-styled save system sans the fact that you do have more than one save slot for Popful Mail, & if you are unfortunate enough to have a Sega CD model 1 then there is a password that you can use to access at the beginning of the game but it will allow you to start from the beginning of the stage you're in which is extremely inferior to the save system alternative if you have the correct hardware. The game also pays incredible detail to it's presentation even though the game's story itself is extremely hokey & very tongue-in cheek when it comes to the dialogue but I really enjoy that the dialogue changes up with the NPCs that you confront depending on which character you have selected to confront them. The dialogue itself, whether you're speaking with NPC's in town or any across the stage you find are actually very rarely presented in just text, this game boast several hours of voice acting which are all really well done especially for a pre-32 bit era release where this sort of thing was extremely rare & only seen with the Sega CD or Turbo-Grafx 16 CD releases which were...not done well. Here's where the game does fall short & there are flaws that can not be simply looked over.

Everyone is aware that in any game, even more modern ones, that when you're damaged there is usually a temporary post damage time time to where you're invulnerable to any other further damage giving you time to recover in the dangerous situation that you have been in whether it was an obstacle or enemy, this is not the case with Popful Mail. if damaged you will immediately be ready to continue & if placed in that shitty predicament ( which you will be in later levels ) ready to receive more consecutive damage meaning there can be times where you're at full health & after making a mistake or mistep against a group of enemies or a lethal obstacle, you'll watch in horror which as your character flails & ricochets against bouts of damage to their death, & regardless of the equipment that you'll receive to boost your defense, you'll still take stupid amounts of damage, that will constantly have you attempt to keep a stock health items, which isn't hard because I may have failed to mention that acquiring gold is extremely easy from enemies & most enemies are actually guaranteed to carry a certain amount of gold so you can simply exploit a respawn of said enemy after their previous defeat & build up your early digital retirement fund & stores are abundant both in towns & the action stages themselves. Again I can not stress that this key flaw will really become maddening as you progress in the game especially against bosses which, despite this huge disadvantage against your recovery & vulnerability to stupid amounts of damage, can be defeated, however the way I've done it & seen it done, it's done through these set strategies which almost make it like you're breaking the game or exploiting it in order to win (Ala the Dead Rising series ) so it will take it's toll on you at time & the Game over screen is overtly animated which I know I was giving kudos for this game in terms of it's presentation, but seeing that fucking screen over & over again really wears on you. Also I thought I should bring up the annoyance of jumping down to a platform from a great height will stun the character which doesn't reduce your health but it will stun them in a fashion that can ricochet you into the same fuck fest I mentioned in my earlier gripes.

The light-hearted RPG elements are all done through the game's equipment system to where it will add to your strength, defense & dexterity, the dexterity comes in the form of the projectile weapons the characters use to where you will not be able to spam your attack constantly as your attack meter will go down & it will take time to slowly recharge back up meaning that you have to make your decisions wisely when you attack & do so precisely. The better the dexterity the more you can attack with the said weapon though, but melee weapons do not use the attack meter so you can spam those away but again this gets to be difficult later on in the game. the equipment never adds any additional heat to your hit points though, you will always have 100 which I feel does make the simple where it can be simple & adds to it's accessible approach.

Overall I recommend this game, but it's difficult, however through it's amazing presentation & charming story, I really feel it's worth it & it's quite a gem, enough to make it a staple in any Sega CD library. it shouldn't be too expensive so seek it online & get it complete so you can get the gorgeous package that Working designs put together with this release, see you guys around as usual & I'll be adding a Quarter Circle forward thread within the forum so we can discuss any differing opinions.