Baldur's Gate 3 is looking pretty nice. Or whatever it's called.

So the one thing I hate about old Bioware games is the awful pause intensive combat. I hated it so much that I've never finished a Baldur's Gate game. The sad part is I really do love everything else in those games. The story, characters, setting, and interaction with the world are all top notch, but I just hated having to micro manage in combat so much. The path finding for party members also sucked ass. It honestly felt like I was playing a shitty RTS, and I fucking hate RTS games.

But this gameplay demonstration for Dragon Age (the spiritual successor to Baldur's Gate) I watched gives me hope. The combat seems quick, yet manageable, and the AI for the teammates appears pretty hands off. Ideally I would love to see an in-depth version of the Final Fantasy 12 gambit system in a game like this. Square was really just scratching the surface of awesome AI programming potential with the gambits, and I think a system like that would translate perfectly to the combat interface in Dragon Age: Origins.

Ironically, my real worries for Dragon Age are not the combat at all. High fantasy in video games is usually a turnoff for me lately, and the characters and story in this game look corny as hell -- and kind of boring. I have an odd feeling that this may be related to the realistic graphics of this generation. Suits of armor and dragons just seemed way cooler back in 16 bit JRPGs and late 90s PC WRPGs. I'm hoping Bioware can make this setting cool again. I suppose we shall see.

Anyway, check out these gameplay clips.





Brad

You Ask, David Answers: What is Gurren Lagann?

Thanks Ukitake987 for the question. He asked about how Gurren Lagann came packaged. I sort of elaborated on it a little.



Thanks,
David

Looking Forward To The Revival Club Podcast

There were doubts. But like I said, no problem. I finished Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath last night/this morning. Thanks again all the chatters who stayed up to watch me finish it. You guys were really keeping me motivated during the tight spots.

I don't want to go into any details about the game as it's going to be an interesting talk this weekend on the new show.

Here's a preview if you want to know what I mean....

I Still Cannot Move


Steef, It's What's For Dinner


And you guys were worried about me finishing it in time,
David

F.E.A.R. 2 Announcement

I get asked a lot about why I don't broadcast as much as David or Brad. To answer your question in simple terms, my preferred play style doesn't involve playing for an audience. However, certain games really do inspire me to play with our chatters. In the past, I have become known for playing survival horror games live on the feed (Condemned 1 & 2, Fatal Frame, Siren, Silent Hill V, etc...). This post is simply to announce that I will be playing through F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin live on the feed starting Wednesday night around 10 pm. I'm sure that Brad will be joining me for the festivities so be sure to tune in. I hope to see everyone there.

-Nick

Resident Dilemma 5

One of the most pleasant surprises and welcome evolutions to an established IP in recent years was the release of Resident Evil 4 on the Gamecube. It somehow managed to create a new look and feel while still managing to remain firmly "Resident Evil". I was totally blown away by the shift in story and setting and was excited to see where Capcom would take the series next. Needless to say, my excitement has been slowly building as more and more information regarding Resident Evil 5 has been released. The new African setting is just as fresh as its predecessor and the game looks breathtaking in every sense of the word but as March 13th draws near, I am beginning to worry. Let me explain.

First and foremost, Resident Evil has always been a survival horror game. It pioneered the genre for god sakes. However, Resident Evil 4 was the beginning of a shift for the series into a more action oriented genre. In a market where all of the best selling games are shooters and RPG's, let's face it, horror games sell like shit. Despite all this, Resident Evil is still Resident Evil and it will sell no matter what type of game it is. Unfortunately this works both ways. I firmly believe that Capcom could have kept this game a classic survival horror and had it sell well. One must also consider that Capcom realizes that they could boost the already impressive sales numbers by making the game more action oriented in order to appeal to the mass market.
So here in is where my dilemma begins. Resident Evil 5 is going to be an impressive game. There is no doubt about it. But I am getting the feeling that it may not feel enough like a RE. I recently read IGN's coverage of the first three levels of the game, a segment that they claim covers the first half of the game. Throughout the article, the one thing that stuck out to me was how much they referred to this game as an action game and not a horror title. Will RE5 still contain the slower paced, creepy exploration segments? The cryptic puzzles used to find various keys and open new paths? Im starting to suspect that these key ingredients will be absent from the game. I want to be on edge when I play this game. I want to be nervous before I turn corners or open doors. But above all, I want to be scared. I am worried that RE5 could stray a bit too far from the path.

Lastly, I am sure that everyone is very excited about the CO-OP in Resident Evil 5. Everyone except for me. Don't get me wrong, I will try it for sure but this is just one more thing that is going to remove the fear from the game. I don't want to be distracted from the fear and the story because some person is chatting away in my headset. I think it is definitely a welcome addition to the series but to think that this entire game has been designed around the concept of cooperative play scares me. Always having a partner to help you out is something that detract from the tension and the fear that is core to RE. While RE4 was still very action oriented, the fact that players found themselves exploring the game world alone made it tense and at times, scary. If Capcom manages to make this game still feel like a RE game with more than the obvious characters and clunky controls, then I will be happy. All will be revealed on March 13th. Until then, check out gametrailers first episode of the Resident Evil retrospective and start crossing your fingers for the fate of this beloved franchise.



-Nick

Microsoft & The Casual Market

Microsoft is a mega giant corporation. They dabble in a little bit of everything. Back when they first announced that they were going into the console market, I laughed. I never thought of the original Xbox as a "cool" system to own. Something about Bill Gates trying to sell me something of that nature didn't feel right.

But I think they have succeeded. Financially? Probably not. And even though it's questionable about the reliability of the 360 and the choices they made with it, the Xbox 360 is the current "gamers" machine. When someone buys Microsoft's console, they are doing so to buy games. But there is something that has confused me. It is Microsoft's Casual Market Strategy.

Each of the last few years, Microsoft has shown some great titles and then had a couple titles that were painfully geared towards the mainstream. The most recent of the two were LIPS and You're in the Movies. Other than the cheesiness of Movies, I have no problem with these two games. I understand who they're geared towards and what they represent. I love LIPS developer iNis, and had I the money to spend or a free copy to play, I definitely would have gave it a try.

My confusion spawns mainly from the success of these games. First, do they? I see the occasional sale here and there. Gaming magazine reviews really can't give a good impression because they're not the ones marketed towards. Sales of LIPS were .35m and You're in the Movies was surprisingly higher at .39m in the States. I can't tell if those are good in terms of projects like these. You're In the Movies was probably not a very costly venture, but I could see LIPS costing a pretty penny with licensing frees and such.

For sure these titles need to exist. There is the audience out there and they shouldn't be ignored. The Wii has capitalized on this to become the best selling console and one of the things keeping the PS3 somewhat healthy is because of it's Blu-Ray player capabilities. Sony also has SingStar. So what kept or is keeping LIPS from becoming that. Is there really a difference? I'm asking because I feel these titles are in jeopardy to being exchanged out for another shot in the dark casual title next year. I'd rather not see half-baked titles from Microsoft every year when they have perfectly ideas to built on. LIPS had wireless microphones and being able to play a song off your Zune was an interesting idea that probably only Microsoft could pull off. Why not actually make it work? Or is support for these games non-existant because they sell poorly and then are put on the shelf. And if that's the case, What are they doing wrong? Is the system too injected with the blood of core "gamers" to support the casual market. We've talked about the Casual Market killing the Wii for the Core, but what about the other direction for the Xbox 360?

Or is that even possible?
David

New Podcast Needs a Name

We are quickly approaching the first episode of our "Revival" or "Game Club" podcast but one thing still remains.... We need a name. We need something that summarizes what this podcast is about. A name that tells people that this show is designed to champion older games or shead light on some lesser known titles. So throw some ideas our way. If we pick your title for the show, we will find some way to reward you. So send me your ideas to:

Nickhenderson@4playerpodcast.com

Keep in mind, this is a podcast. It is a RADIO show essentially so think of names that are reminiscent of audio talk shows. Get creative, I know you guys have it in you because I have seen the power of our awesome communinity. The first episode will be recorded as soon as we have recieved our interview with "Oddworld Inhabitants".

Lastly, if you have recently played through "Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath" and would like to ask a question or leave your opinions about it for us to read on the show, send me an email! It's almost here.

Thanks guys,
Nick

4PP Video Blog - Travis, Can I Be A Mod?

Wednesday is Video Blog Day. This week's question...

Hey Travis, Can I Be A Mod?

Part I Cut off due to insufficient memory,


So Part II



Thanks for tuning in,
David

Podcast 099 - Ready For Download

Hey guys,

Here's this weeks show already for download.

099 - Cuboid, Fallout DLC, Big Bang Mini [download]

[#099 Pre-Show] [Watch Show #099]

Impressions:
Brad - Cuboid, Fallout DLC
Travis - Fallout DLC, Far Cry 2, Brave Fencer Musashi
Nick - Valkyria Chronicles
David - Big Bang Mini, Max Payne

News:
More Layoffs, Batman & Final Fantasy XIII Trailers, DJ Hero

Community Segment:
Ikkicon 3

4Player Minute

Thanks,
David

4PP Video Blog - Big Bang Mini

If you were around for the show this weekend, I talked about Big Bang
Mini for the Nintendo DS. Here is some footage I shot this morning.

Thanks,
David