A Decade of Torment

Article Sourced from my Blog at GameSpot. Original Post date: 30th November 2009.

Exactly 10 years ago, in times when the word 'gamer' conjured up images of creepy guys staying in their parent's basement (well, it still does, but not quite THAT often), Black Isle Studios and Interplay gave the world something special. For all practical purposes, the commodity that went on sale that day was but a Video Game. But to some of the people who were attributed with the glowing 'gamer' tag at the time, that particular Video Game became something much, MUCH more.

I am, of course, referring to Planescape: Torment.

For the uninitiated (I just love using that phrase), PS: T is an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons based RPG set in the Planscape universe. You play the game as The Nameless One, who, after waking up in a mortuary with no memories of his past, must now undertake a journey of rediscovery. Typical RPG fare you say? Well, no. The catch here is that the guy you're playing is Immortal (you can't just 'wake up' in a mortuary just like that now can you?). So apart from the re-discovery fare, he also needs to find the reason behind his immortality. Pretty unique premise for a game now isn't it?

Anyway, I managed to get my hands on that game only about a year after its release. Being only 13 at the time, my mind was not wizened enough to comprehend the true intricacies of the plot and the depth of the characters that I interacted with. Nonetheless, I continued to play the game and finally beat it. But for probably the very first time since I had started referring to myself as a gamer, I completed a game... to finish the story.

Upon revisiting the game a month back, I noticed that although my teen-self had not managed to fully grasp the sheer wit behind the dark humor, the cleverly disguised puns, the beautifully crafted alignment system or the reason why a floating-skull would want to have intercourse with a Tiefling (I understand now... completely), he did realize that what he had just beat was not your run-of-the-mill RPG.

Even now, when I read the beautifully chosen words that describe, in precise detail, the areas, objects and characters that make up the world of PS: T, the magic reworks itself into my system. There are more than a few occasions when I feel a shiver run down my spine when I read a particularly well-written piece of conversation or gape in utter amazement when I see the consequences of a previously-unknown bit of information revealed to my character.

It is rare to see a game made with such love and passion in nearly every minute detail. Even though the 2-D isotropic view in which you play the game is dated, the game still manages to convey the beauty, the wretchedness, the squalor or the gloom of a place very effectively. The music and sounds strike a perfect mood for exploration. And it still amazes me how the same track can seem delightfully relaxing at one instance and yet goose-bump-inducing-ly spectacular at another.

I have played a lot of RPGs in my life as a gamer. Games like Oblivion, Fallout and KotOR to name a few are all right up there in the list of my all time favorites. But the very way in which this game conveys its philosophy and unveils the true nature of the characters you interact with is especially astounding. The revelation about Morte and his Baatorian smell, the unraveling of the Circle of Zerthimon and the episode in Ravel's maze are all experiences that one must have for oneself (unless, of course, one has a Sensorium).

For me, it was a privilege to have played (and re-played) this gem of a game. If you have not managed to get your hands on this thus far, I strongly suggest you do so. For those who have already had their Immortality woes sorted before, I suggest you give it another go.

After all, in the words of the Nameless One himself, "I wonder what it was I said that made death reject me."

Vixture: Frictionless?

Gaming is becoming a serious affair here in India. Come June 15 and the winning team of the gaming tournament 'Vixture', organized by Zero Friction in association with publishing giant Electronic Arts, stands to get a hefty sum of INR 2 million. Whew! Now I seriously didn't see THAT happening in THIS century! Or atleast this decade............

But behind the huge wads of cash and corporate sponsorship are the things that actually drive such tourneys: The Games! And with all due respect to ZFriction for their valiant venture, the games, overall, are not really up to the mark. In fact, leave out Crysis, and the rest of the games on offer (FIFA Soccer 08, Cricket 07, Fight Night Round 3 and NFS Pro Street) have either been done to death in other competitions or aren't the quality material that you'd expect to see in a competition with such high stakes.

Don't get me wrong here. The organizers have done a fabulous job by including one of last year's most popular, fun, stunning and critically acclaimed games: Crysis. But that was not a good enough reason to associate with EA and fill the entire game list with the rest of their assembly-line, sports-oriented titles. Then there's the fact that the games are gonna be played on different platforms and that there's a pretty vague team-play concept involved in the format as well. With all of this in play, the quality of the competition stands to be sacrificed. Allow me to ramble on and explain why..........

FIFA Soccer 08 is a decent game. And EA Sports has done a good job of constantly upgrading the gameplay, graphics and library of its FIFA franchise year after year after year; to the point that its a mainstay in several popular gaming tourneys like the World Cyber Games. So why showcase it in another one?? NFS: Pro Street, on the other hand, is not even a half-decent game! With the developers focusing a little too much on realism lately, the franchise has lost some of the fun-factor and sheen that made it popular AND acclaimed. As of now, its just popular, industrial-made crap.

Including Cricket 07 in a cricket obsessed nation like ours may seem like a wise choice. But the gameplay (so far the best in the series) remains ordinary and gets very repetitive and tedious very soon. Maybe thats the reason the organizers decided to limit the number of overs to 5 per side. Just FIVE. How, pray tell, is that even Cricket?? Then there is Fight Night Round 3. A very good game in its own right but the combination of 4 sports titles in a single tourney kinda kills the individual flavor the game possesses.

As with any other tournament, the format is crucial. This includes everything from the individual event rules, the elimination style, team rules and platforms. As an event meant for Indians, Vixture has really screwed up here. The ONLY game that will be played on the PC platform is Crysis. ALL the other games are set to be played on consoles. FIFA and NFS will be played on the Xbox 360. Now these are two games in which Indians have done well at the international level. Counter Strike may well be the #1 online game here but even the top clans get reduced to the status of noobs at the international stage. Thats not the case with NFS and especially not with FIFA.

Just last year Reuben Pereira from Mumbai won the Silver Medal in FIFA 07 at WCG Asian Championships. That event had the PC platform. Now even a casual gamer would know that switching platforms can really affect your style of play and takes some getting used to, but the pros and hardcore gamers TOTALLY detest it. In fact, the very size and make of the humble mouse is enough to cause problems and fights in gaming tourneys. Its not that the games are not good on the consoles. They may even be better in some cases. But the thing is that the most prevalent platform here in India is not an X360. Even though a lot of people have got it after its official release, the PC remains the mainstay of the majority of players. Especially the pros. Why force them to change their play-styles to participate?

Probably the biggest farce is that Fight Night Round 3 is being set for the PS3. Why don't you just take out a shotgun and shoot the game then? First off, Fight Night isn't even that popular here. And THIS is one game that SHOULD have been played on the X360 or maybe even the PS2 cause the penetration of the PS3 in Indian markets is currently laughable! The only game for the PS2 is Cricket 07. A sad situation for probably the most widely owned console in India.

The team concept is another hindrance. The rules state that there should be a minimum of 5 members in a team and a team will need to compete in all the games to qualify. Moreover, the Crysis format is a vague 5 vs. 5 team deathmatch! So not only does the team need to have individuals who can play the other games (all of them being sport titles) well, they all need to be good at Crysis too. Which, being a first person shooter, belongs to an entirely different genre altogether! How in the world can that be called fair?? Some of the game rules are weird as well. For instance the only teams you can select in FIFA throughout the competition are France and Italy. Now thats just brilliant isn't it? Who's the genius who came up with THAT gem of an idea??

ALL that said, any competition that values games and gamers alike takes us a bit further towards realizing an India where pro-gaming can actually be a rewarding profession. But I'd still like to see competitions taking into account the actual statistics of gaming in India before deciding formats. Moreover, I'd like to see newer games in the various covered genres replacing, or atleast complementing, the existing and more popular ones in such tourneys.

Just to cite some examples, Kane's Wrath, an expansion for Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, is an amazing and fast paced RTS and is a part of a series that enjoys cult-popularity the world over. Then there's the economic model, exceptional macro-management aspects and the sheer scope of Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties which make it an online favorite in several countries. Both these games are set as official games for the World Cyber Games Final 2008. But, rather unfortunately, WCG India's RTS roster has been restricted to only Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne. While the organizers should be looking to increase their list of official games each year, the guys incharge of WCG India are happy and content to give us the same roster at every event. And that too at an amazingly inflationary entry fee (up 400% since 2005).

The organization of gaming tourneys in India can only improve from here on. There are gonna be more sponsors, more participants, better formats and, hopefully, newer and better games involved in the fray. Lets just hope that the change comes sooner rather than later! That said and done though, I'll still be keeping my eyes peeled for the Vixture finals from June 13!

EA's own Console?

Sounds far-fetched? Maybe. But consider this: EA had been the largest third-party games publisher for quite a while. All that ended when Vivendi Games and Activision announced a merger valued at a mind-boggling $18.9 billion to surpass the publishing giant. Ever since then EA has been 'bullish' in the takeover market.

The year began with EA finalizing a $860 million deal to takeover VG Holding Corp., the owners of acclaimed development studios BioWare and Pandemic. Soon after that, EA announced a takeover bid worth $2 billion for Take-Two studios. And guess what they own: the GTA franchise. And BioShock. And the 2K Sports label. With such acclaim and following behind their titles, Take-Two have so far resisted the bids, calling EA's offer 'undervalued'.

With John Riccitiello taking over as CEO, EA's takeover intentions turned 'hostile'. Deadlines have come and passed with Take-Two maintaining a firm stance. But as of May 16, EA has already gobbled up 6,210,261 (8%) of Take-Two's outstanding shares. Another bid deadline, June 16, has already been set and EA has made its intentions clear. Even Ubisoft (behind the Prince of Persia series and Assassin's Creed) continues to resist a bid. But EA has already pocketed around 15% of its shares.

They've taken all this trouble when they have their own mega-successful EA Sports & EA Games (that includes EA Mythic) labels and a studio roster that boasts developing powerhouses like Maxis and Westwood. My simple question is this: Why?

To become the number one publishing house could be an honest and obvious answer. But $2 billion just to have #1 stamped across your chest seems a bit too much -- even for EA!! As I pondered over my own query, one possible scenario came to my mind. It seemed ridiculous, no doubt, but, in some insane way, logical -- from EA's point of view atleast.

An EA exclusive console. Think about it! With amazingly popular and best-selling franchises like Need for Speed, FIFA, Madden, NFL, NBA and even Cricket already under its belt, EA could drive the other consoles out of the market by declaring exclusivity as these titles drive millions in sales. Add to that all the future Sims & Spore titles and you already have a virtual monopoly! And I haven't even begun to add to the fray the future sequels of GTA, Command and Conquer, BioShock, Mass Effect and god knows what all else they've got up there billion-dollar-sleeves.

Besides, exclusivity would reduce production costs. Yeah, sure, making a future-gen console to compete with what Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo can come up with is gonna take still more billions in investment. But once they launch an exclusive, standard system, the returns will ensure that they only need to do what they do best: publish more and more games! Yearly upgrades, sequels, new intellectual properties........ all for ONE console. No multi-platform ports (apart from PC, that is :)) to worry about.

Food for thought? It remains to be seen. But, for now, even that is enough to ruin the appetites of current-gen honchos! Do post in with your own views on EA's buying spree.

News Source: GameSpot.

Mass Effect coming to PCs

The BioWare stamp on any RPG has become a mark of identifying excellence, innovation and unmatched superiority in the genre. After delivering acclaimed titles such as Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, BioWare released Mass Effect -- for the Xbox 360!

The latest addition to BioWare's stable is set in the 22nd century. Humans have discovered alien artifacts which allow for faster-than-light speed travels across the galaxy. Players play as Commander Shepard, a (customizable) human on a mission to track down a rogue agent named Saren. While in pursuing the bad-dude throughout the galaxy, Shepard encounters various races, conspiracies, alien monsters, and interstellar mercenaries before uncovering a conspiracy that could doom all life in the Milky Way! Sounds like a lot of quests -- and hence a lot of fun!!

Amazing though it may be, BioWare left the PC fans, myself included, in a state of utter disappointment and with a feeling of abandonment by giving it an exclusive release! But come May 28th and PC fans across most of the world (aided no-doubt by unscrupulous pirates) will gleefully start an adventure through the space soap-opera universe that is Mass Effect!

Whats even more exciting is the prospect that the game (developed in association with Demiurge Studios), instead of being a mere port, would be, in the words of BioWare, an 'evolution'! Debatable in some terms but likely nonetheless. The debatable aspect is the recent acquisition of BioWare by Electronic Arts. Probably a bad news for the gaming world in general, but given EA's recent track record of not meddling too much with high-stakes games, it could well work out.

In fact, the new PC version of the game is all set to revamp the X360 version's 'clunky' inventory system and decryption minigames. In addition to that, it will also allow for hot key assignment for a more action-oriented style of play and will have graphics enhanced for higher resolution PC displays. Nice to see the guys at BioWare making such amends after royally snubbing us PC fans last year!!

More on Mass Effect:

• Official Community Site
• Wikipedia
• GameSpot

Command and Conquer 3 - Tiberium Wars

Kane is back!! And he's better than ever!! Yup, the newest installment of one of the greatest RTS franchises of all times goes back to its roots. The game revamps the style and graphics while keeping the gameplay mechanic of the C'n'C Series duly intact. With EA Games taking over the franchise, the fans had been almost disillusioned, fearing for the future of the series....... but EA has definitely exceeded their expectations. The game has already appeased the fan-base and recruited many-many more by giving the nostalgia a fresh and exquisite packing.

But, although the game has already released to rave reviews, its not yet available with retailers here in India. So this entry will mainly focus on the Tiberium Wars DEMO. But don't get disappointed, because at 1.18 GB, the demo offers a LOT!!

First of all, for the uninitiated, Command and Conquer 3 - Tiberium Wars is a Real Time Strategy game and is the newest installment of the 'Tiberium Universe' of the Command and Conquer franchise. The Tiberium (Tiberian) series of games focus on the battles between the GDI (Global Defense Initiative) and the Brotherhood of Nod over a highly dangerous but valuable alien resource called, well, Tiberium!! The GDI, who are what we'd call the 'good guys', view Tiberium as a valuable resource but a threat to mankind cause of its catastrophic effects on the ecology. The Nod, on the other hand, view it as a means to bring about the next stage of human evolution. Sounds far fetched?? Well, it is, and thats exactly whats so good about this series!! The new installment brings back the Nod leader Kane after his apparent 'death' and takes the Tiberium Wars to a new level by introducing a new faction: the Alien race of the Scrin, who've mastered the use of tiberium.

Now, we get back to the DEMO. Well, it basically features a tutorial mission and 2 other scenarios from the GDI side of the Single Player Campaign. The scenarios offer a good look into the GDI's tech-order. The accompanying cut-scenes are a bit over the top but at the same time are very well done and truly exciting. In addition all this, the demo features a 2 player Skirmish map in which you can play as the GDI while the AI handles the Nod. But while there a work-around that lets you play as the Nod in the game, the Scrin race is entirely unplayable. The best thing about playing as both the factions is that, even in the demo, the entire tech tree is available for use. There's not a single unit/building missing from the queue. The demo even has access to the super-weapons of the factions: the Ion Cannon for GDI and the Nuclear Missile for the Nod. And while the game plays out mostly like the previous titles in the series, it LOOKS waaayyy better!! The visuals are absolutely stunning and the units and buildings are rendered perfectly. So all in all, the demo is a brilliant showcase of what all you can expect from the game. Here's an in-game video of the DEMO showing the GDI's Ion Cannon in action:

Feeling excited?? Want to try it out for yourself?? The following is a list of links from where you can download this awesome demo:

• Get EA Link which lets you download EA's PC games, patches, demos, trailers and wallpapers. Its kind of like Valve's Steam client. Downloading from EA link is considerably faster and obviously reliable.
• Download off GameSpot Servers (Free Membership Required). GS servers are reliable but a bit slower.
• Download it from Tech2.com India.

And here's the trick to play as Nod in the demo's Skirmish mode:

• From the Main Menu goto Skirmish -> New Skirmish
• Click on the race selection tab, but do not select anything!!
  



• Move your mouse cursor over the Nod selection.
• At the same time press N and then click on the Nod selection.
  



• You can now play as the Nod!!


• It may take a couple of tries but it does work!!
• NOTE: The Nod's interface voice-over is not included with the demo, but the tech order is complete. You can also make the enemy GDI (G + Mouse Click). This can also be used to select the Scrin but you can't play as them because the demo doesn't support them

Hope you liked this blog entry!! If you have any comments or suggestions do post them here!! Cheers and Happy Gaming!!

Getting Started

Finally...... its done!! I've been wanting to set up this blog for a long time but I never got around to it. Now that its done, let me start off by introducing myself.

My name is Lov Loothra (aka mYTH_2k4) and I'm a college student pursuing my B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. Needless to say, I'm simply CRAZY about games. RTS's, Shooters or RPG's......... I like 'em ALL, but I'm just a wee bit inclined towards the RTS genre. I've been into gaming since I was around 7 years old. It all started with a visit to the local arcade and a nice game of Street Fighter and I was hooked....... for life!!

Over the years I've played several games and have mastered quite a few and now I feel that I should share some of my experiences, tips/strategies, feedbacks and expectation from future titles. This blog will mainly focus on PC games as that is the most widespread gaming platform here in India, but I will make posts on Consoles as well. I'll also make occasional technical posts which will help you get more performance out of your PC.

I sincerely hope that my blog can help the readers in some way or the other. Please don't hesitate to contact me personally.

GAME ON!! ;)