Summer video games in review

| Video Game Editor

Microsoft

“I can’t believe I’m not petting a real tiger!”

The big summer news from Bill Gates’ little workshop is Kinect, the new camera peripheral for the Xbox 360. At E3, it was ushered in by Cirque de Soleil in what can only be called the most acrobatic introduction for a video game peripheral. Through techno-voodoo magic, Kinect scans players’ bodies, letting them play games by merely moving their appendages. Or, as their marketing will constantly remind you, “You are the controller.”

It’s certainly a more unique approach to motion control next to the wand-loving ways of Nintendo and Sony, and the sheer novelty of Kinect may be a boon for Microsoft – just ask Nintendo. Even as someone who dislikes motion controls, I have to admit that the prospect of controlling games through interpretive dance – I dance, Kinect interprets! – is intriguing, and could very well turn out entertaining.

At this point, it’s difficult to say if Kinect will actually catch on. The set of launch titles is almost entirely casual fare that has already been done before in one form or another. Let’s just say that the virtual tiger-petting experience of “Kinectimals” has a dearth of curb-stomping compared to the console’s usual bestsellers. Kinect’s pricing will be another factor – at $150 for the camera and a bundled sports game, flailing with your Xbox 360 won’t be cheap. Plus, all we know is that the camera will recognize at least two people, but right now, nobody is quite sure of the upper limit.

Cheer up. There’s still Halo: Reach.

Sony

“I can’t believe they had the balls!”

Not to be left out of the waggle wars, this summer Sony officially trotted out the Playstation Move. Black paint job aside, the wand-like peripheral is looking very much like an enhanced version of the Nintendo Wii’s motion-control technology, right down to the optional nunchuk – a wireless add-on that Sony calls the “navigation controller.” Take that news as you will; whether or not you’ll enjoy Move depends on how much you wish you could waggle in high definition.

Familiarity may still have its benefits. I would hope that four years into the Wii’s lifespan, developers will have figured out what mechanics do and don’t work for motion-controlled games. PlayStation owners could be in for a treat – “could” being the key word. What they probably should do is run to their bomb shelters before casual game publishers begin bombarding them with shovelware. But to be fair, Sony has promised to provide Move support for their games, with patches on the way for “Heavy Rain” and “Resident Evil 5,” and built-in support for future titles like “Killzone 3.”

Like Kinect, however, Move’s pricing may slow its adoption. Sony will be selling a $100 package that comes with the main controller, a bundled sports game (sound familiar?), and the PlayStation Eye, the required camera peripheral. The navigation controller will be an extra $30, though you can choose to use a DualShock 3 as an awkward substitute. If for some reason you already own a PlayStation Eye, a lone Move controller will be $50. Not exactly priced to move, is it?

Nintendo

“I can’t believe I’m seeing 3D without glasses!”

Leave it to Nintendo to make a cutting-edge, graphically powerful 3D handheld system that doesn’t need uncomfortable glasses.

Wait. What? The same Nintendo who duct taped two GameCubes together and sold it as the Wii?

Yes, after a string of shameful E3 conferences culminating in last year’s mind-boggling Wii Vitality Sensor, Nintendo has finally announced a new piece of hardware worth getting excited about: the 3DS.

For one thing, it plays games in 3D without the need for glasses. The effect is supposed to be a bit on the subtle side, but I’ll take what I can get. It sounds almost too good to be true, which I suppose is why the device has a slider that adjusts the strength of the 3D effect if your fragile eyes can’t handle that extra dimension. And did I tell you it’s fast? Apparently it’s so fast you’ll swear they duct taped a GameCube to the back of it when you weren’t looking. To top it off, it still plays your DS games.

The 3DS is still a ways off, so that’s enough on the hardware front. Besides, what summer wrap of Nintendo news would be complete without mention of the new “Zelda”? Or the new “Kirby”? The new “Donkey Kong”? Even a new “Goldeneye” came out of left field. For the first time in a long time, Nintendo has given faithful Wii owners reasons to be excited. Heck, even I’m pumped, and I don’t own a Wii.

PC

“I can’t believe it’s not dead yet!”

I agree that PC gaming is a dinosaur, but hear me out – it’s a very special kind of dinosaur. You know the scene in “Jurassic Park” where the dude cocks his shotgun and he’s about to shoot a raptor when another raptor appears in the bushes right next to him and then he says “Clever girl” and then the raptor jumps on him and it shreds his face to pieces?

Yeah, PC gaming is that kind of dinosaur: a genetically resurrected species that will rip you a new facehole when you least expect it. How, you ask? Read on as you repeatedly scream “Not the face!”

First of all, the list of notable upcoming releases for the PC is certifiably insane. “Civilization V,” “Portal 2,” “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” “The Witcher II,” “Dragon Age II,” “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm,” “Guild Wars 2,” and that’s only the short list of blockbuster titles. Dig deeper and you’ll discover games that fill niches nobody ever knew existed, like indie darling “Minecraft”

Let’s not forget about digital distribution, which now accounts for nearly half of PC game sales, if numbers are to be trusted. Valve’s Steam platform is growing at a remarkable rate while constantly adding new features. And it might sound crazy now, but Steam for Mac may eventually come to shape the face of Mac gaming. Thanks to streamlined clients and one-click installers, the barrier to entry for PC gaming has never been lower.

Indeed, despite never having died, PC gaming is back from the dead. And it’s going to (maul your face) rock your world.

“Games-I-played” recap

Fire Emblem (VII)

One of the finest games to ever grace the venerable Game Boy Advance, the seventh game in the long-running “Fire Emblem” series was actually the first one to reach American shores. It brought with it an engrossing combat system, a solid storyline, and perhaps best of all, permadeath.

See, when a friendly character dies in “Fire Emblem,” they’re gone. Not just for the rest of the mission, but for the remainder of the twenty-hour-plus game. Your only choices are to finish the game without that character, or restart the entire mission, thus rendering the last half hour of your life a Complete Waste of Time.

Being equal parts completionist and masochist, I decided to play through without losing any characters.

I was an idiot.

Each and every mission was like my own personal version of “The Seventh Seal,” in which I played “Fire Emblem” against an AI-controlled Death to save my own sanity. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve reached a mission’s boss, only for his two-percent critical rate to activate and wipe my precious cavalier off of the face of the Earth. Restart. By the closing missions, I was performing goat sacrifices to pagan gods to keep my little sprites alive.

But I did it. In the end, I prevailed, and my sanity survived. Then again, no sane man would have tried to play through “Fire Emblem” without a character dying.

Shatter

I shot bricks.

Now that that terrible joke is out of the way, I honestly can’t think of a single negative thing to say about “Shatter.” Inspired by “Breakout” and “Arkanoid,” it doesn’t try to overhaul the decades-old brick-breaking formula set forth by its ancestors, which was never necessary. There are some tweaks, such as the ability to suck and blow to affect the path of the ball, and the bricks are governed by physics, but otherwise, “Shatter” doesn’t stray too far from the beaten path.

Yet it’s different. In fact, it’s one of the most sublime and stylish games I’ve played in ages, because it has something so many others lack. “Shatter” has soul: a glossy, neon soul that pulses to the beat of an entrancing electronic soundtrack.

From a visual perspective, “Shatter” is nothing short of eye-melting, with an aesthetic full of sharp lines, vivid colors, and sparks. Lots of sparks. It’s cool and clean, yet unabashedly extravagant.

As wonderful as it looks, it’s the soundtrack that elevates “Shatter” to a higher level. Contributed by an artist named Module, the soundtrack is something I want to describe as electronica, but chances are I’ll be corrected and it’s actually techno, or synth, or nü metal. Whatever it is, it’s catchy and hypnotic, and it perfectly fits the game’s upbeat brand of colorful chaos.

Thief: Deadly Shadows

There’s something about Warren Spector’s games that makes them special. It’s difficult to pinpoint, and it’s probably different for every player, but for me, it’s the possibilities. Things simply work as you would expect them to, and frankly, I can’t think of a better way to immerse a player in a game world. In “Thief: Deadly Shadows,” when I found out I could ignite an oil puddle with a fire arrow, the sliding block puzzle in my mind solved itself, and I said, “Whoa.” Somewhere, Keanu Reeves started sobbing uncontrollably.

It was discoveries like this that make “Thief” so enjoyable. It doesn’t feel like an action game, or even a stealth game. It feels like – laugh if you will – a thief simulator. Everything about the game, from its lore to its tools, does its best to sell me on the fantasy of being Garrett, master thief in a medieval city.

Personally, I find this simulation spirit to be strongest in the interactions between the tools and the environment. Water arrows can be used to douse torches? It’s only logical, but that they actually do so within the game strikes me as just plain cool. Moss arrows can be used to instantly grow a soft patch for silent sneaking? Also cool. Other, more subtle uses exist, such as using water arrows to grow moss patches, or using flashbombs to kill undead when you’re out of holy water. It’s properly brilliant, and it’s organic in a way that other games can only dream of.

I only hope that Eidos Montreal does right by Warren Spector and Ion Storm when they release Thief 4. Godspeed, you brave men.

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