The Software Nook

Heavy Rain vs. Deadly Premonition: Heavy Rain "wins"

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:02:57 +0000

Having given up on Deadly Premonition and having finished Heavy Rain, here is my review: “So that happened.”

While I can’t say my overall impression of Heavy Rain improved - I think it’s a terrible game and a poorly written story - I’m glad I finished it.

After the jump, the spoiler-ridden postmortem for the winner of the face-off

Originally posted here:
Heavy Rain vs. Deadly Premonition: Heavy Rain "wins"

New Xbox Live policy makes it okay to declare sexuality

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:38:40 +0000

It used to be against the rules to use the words gay, straight, lesbian, bi, or transgender in your Xbox Live gamertag. That’s just changed. From Xbox Live General Manager Marc Whitten:

I’d like to announce an update to the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and Code of Conduct which will allow our members to more freely express their race, nationality, religion and sexual orientation in Gamertags and profiles. Under our previous policy, some of these expressions of self-identification were not allowed in Gamertags or profiles to prevent the use of these terms as insults or slurs. However we have since heard feedback from our customers that while the spirit of this approach was genuine, it inadvertently excluded a part of our Xbox LIVE community. This update also comes hand-in-hand with increased stringency and enforcement to prevent the misuse of these terms.

While I understand the rationale for doing this, I’ve got a bad feeling for how it’s going to turn out. I get a lot of guff for my gamertag because it includes my last name, which leads folks to think I’m a chick. If I get hassled for a perceived reference to gender, I can only imagine how disruptive it’s going to be when gamertags include references to sexuality. Hopefully Xbox Live’s new permissiveness will go hand-in-hand with a new willingness to crackdown on reports of abusive behavior.

View original here:
New Xbox Live policy makes it okay to declare sexuality

OnLive goes live in June, doesn’t cost what you’d expect

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:13:19 +0000

OnLive will go live on June 17th, presumably letting you play high-end PC games without needing a high-end PC. The idea is that the games run on “cloud servers” which accept your input, crunch all those processor-intensive numbers, and then stream the results to whatever pokey computer you have that can’t run the game itself. Basically, you’re using your computer as little more than a controller and a connection to a server. You can see a list of supported games here.

Of course, that’s not the only reason to subscribe to something like OnLive. Some folks might be interested in a service that hosts a lot of games they can play for one low price. Unfortunately, it seems that OnLive isn’t going to be that service. Check out the second line in the announced pricing scheme.

The base month-to-month service fee is $14.95. Note that the service fee does not include the purchase or rental of games.

Oh my. So what do you get for your fifteen bucks?

Included in the monthly service fee are OnLive-exclusive features such as instant-play free game demos; multiplayer across PC, Mac and TV platforms; massive spectating; viewing of Brag Clips™ video capture and posting; and cloud-saving of games you’ve purchased–pause, and instantly resume from anywhere, even on a different platform. Also included in the monthly service fee are features you’d expect from standard online games services such as gamer tags, user profiles, friends, and chat.

Basically, you’re paying $15 a month to be able to pay for games individually. Gametap this ain’t.

Playstation Wii gets an official name and a nunchuk attachment

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:12:09 +0000

Sony has left us in the lurch for nearly a year. That’s about how long it’s been since the demo of their motion controller sensor, which actually built up a fair amount of buzz. But we haven’t known what to call it. Plus, it looked silly.

It still looks silly, but at least it has a name now: Playstation Move. Here’s Sony’s description:

Through PlayStation Move system, both fast and subtle motion can be detected, whether the user is swinging a tennis racket, or painting with a brush. With PlayStation Move motion controller, users can provide direct input through action buttons and an analog trigger, while receiving physical feedback from rumble functionality and visual feedback from the sphere’s ability to display a variety of different colors. Furthermore, PlayStation Eye camera can capture the player’s voice or image, enabling augmented reality experiences.

The Move (above, right) got more than just a name in the latest announcement. It’s also getting a nunchuk (above, left). Here’s the description of that:

The newly announced PlayStation Move sub-controller is a one-handed controller, developed to further expand the game play options that PlayStation Move games can offer. PlayStation Move sub-controller features a sleek curved design that pairs with the motion controller and comes with an analog stick and directional buttons that allow users to easily control the game when moving characters or choosing a direction.

The Playstation Move will be out this fall. Sony says there are 36 developers on board, with more than 20 games with Move support due out before the end of the year.

View original here:
Playstation Wii gets an official name and a nunchuk attachment

Heavy Rain vs. Deadly Premonition: Round Five

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:49:25 +0000

I’m officially giving up on Deadly Premonition. But I’m going to play through to the end of Heavy Rain. And it’s all because of FBI agent Francis Morgan York and private investigator Scott Shelby.

After the jump, a tale of two characters

Read the original here:
Heavy Rain vs. Deadly Premonition: Round Five

Windows Live Support Moves To Forums

pthurrott — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:50:01 +0000

Microsoft is moving its Windows Live support to online forums, which sounds like a step down, until you realize that it was previously email-based.

Today, Microsoft announced changes to the way Windows Live customers will receive support.

YouTube verbally mangles Mass Effect 2 and it is awesome

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:23:55 +0000

YouTube’s new captioning system translates audio to subtitles on the fly. What a fantastic invention. Not for how useful it is, but for its unintentional hilarity. Take, for instance, these captioned screenshots from Mass Effect 2 cinematics posted on YouTube. If you like that bit up there about how being mean to Democrats will make it hard for you to get chicks, wait till you find out about China’s crackdown on the discussion of spiders and who should be killed.

(Thanks to the inimitable Angie Gallant!)

Go here to see the original:
YouTube verbally mangles Mass Effect 2 and it is awesome

First look: Command & Conquer 4’s offline mode

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:49:18 +0000

When you boot up Command & Conquer 4, it starts a front end from which you have to log in, much like you would get for an MMO. But then you’re in the game and it’s mostly like any other real time strategy game. You can play the campaign, a skirmish, or search for an online game.

But what happens when you lose your connection? Or when Electronic Arts’ servers get all gummed up, as they’ve done a few times with week with Bad Company 2?

The above screen is the message that pops up when the game loses contact with the servers. Unlike Ubisoft’s new copy protection scheme, which boots you out of the game entirely and cuts you off from your saved games, Command & Conquer 4 just warns you that you won’t be able to save your progress. Which is a pretty big deal considering the game is all about earning experience to unlock more units and abilities. But if you’re in it for the actual, you know, gameplay, at least you can keep playing.

From here, you can keep playing, and you can even save the game or load a saved game from the escape menu. But if you back out of the actual match, you’re staring at the login screen with no option to access the game. So there you have it: Command & Conquer 4’s offline mode is mostly the same as its login screen.

Read the original post:
First look: Command & Conquer 4’s offline mode

Can Battlestar Galactica Online make broswer-based MMOs fun?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 15:11:35 +0000

Hey, look, a Battlestar Galactica MMO!

Leading [MMO publisher Bigpoint's] product slate for 2010 will be Battlestar Galactica Online, a tactical space combat and adventure MMOG based upon Syfy’s Battlestar Galactica series. The game, inspired by one of the most popular science fiction series in television history, will launch worldwide exclusively this fall on Syfy.com for a 30 day period. The Unity co-developed MMOG will offer state of the art graphics that can be played directly in an Internet browser.

I’m allergic to the word “browser” appearing anywhere in the same paragraph as “MMO” or even “game”, but that’s usually because it indicates some cutesy free-to-play thing that’s big in Korea, or else a social gaming pyramid scheme.

Fortunately, this doesn’t seem to be case with Battlestar Galactica Online. The game is being developed by a Norwegian studio called Artplant that, as near as I can tell, isn’t yet guilty of any particularly bad online games. In fact, checking their website, they don’t seem to be guilty of many games at all. But they seem to have the right idea.

Players will be able to choose to play as cylons or humans in a constant struggle to control the universe or just survive its perils. A blend of tactical space combat, exploration, and mission-based gameplay will provide a diverse experience. The dramatic missions will define the game’s overall storyline, enabling the player to delve into mysteries of the Battlestar universe. Battlestar Galactica Online will create a new standard for web games, with beautiful 3d graphics and innovative game mechanics bringing a new level of game play to browser based MMOG. Assets from the television production will be integrated into the game to deliver an even more authentic experience.

The biggest obstacle is distilling from the Battlestar Galactica universe something manageable for a first-time MMO developer using relatively modest technology. Because as soon as you say Battlestar Galactica Online, folks probably imagine professions like Raptor pilot, lawyer, politician, cigarette-smoking doctor, or leader of a cult of hot chicks. They might expect a sophisticated character creation tool that can make Number Six, Fatpollo, bald Roslin, or Colonel Tigh with one or both eyes. Of course, the battles should look every bit as good as Star Trek Online, but hopefully better. Finally, there will be an epic and epically incomprehensible story arc, ship-boarding actions, inter-colonial Triad leagues, and exploration of new planets that look suspiciously like Vancouver.

But that’s not what this is going to be. Instead, I think the best case scenario will be something like Dark Orbit, but with better production values, more gameplay, and plenty of fan service. My fingers are crossed.

Original post:
Can Battlestar Galactica Online make broswer-based MMOs fun?

Need for Speed Shift sets out for the French Riviera

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:10:06 +0000

Next week Need for Speed: Shift will be getting a ten-dollar expansion pack that adds seven fancy new cars I’ve mostly never heard of.

1. Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
2. BMW M1 Procar
3. GUMPERT apollo
4. Honda NSX
5. McLaren MP4-12C
6. Maserati GranTurismo S
7. Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Stirling Moss

The Gumpert Apollo? Seriously. Or rather, the GUMPERT apollo? There’s a car called that? I think someone’s pulling my leg.

I’ll be there mainly for the new courses and achievement points.

The challenging and spectacular new Riviera track boasts four unique layouts, each with daring corners, multiple blazing straight-aways and a few hairpins that will push these cars to the limit. Players that complete the package will receive an additional 125 Microsoft gamerpoints or 5 PlayStation Trophies as a reward for undertaking various exciting challenges.

Riviera is apparently a non-branded version of the Circuit de Monaco (pictured), which probably features the most famous hairpin turn in the world. Not that I know much about actual racing, but that course has been featured often enough that I remember it way back from some Formula One racing game on the Sega Genesis. I’m sure it’ll be even more well-known to people who know what a Grumbert Apollo is.

Go here to read the rest:
Need for Speed Shift sets out for the French Riviera