Piracy: Death of PC Gaming?

Hardly, ladies and gents. Let me tell you that yes, many people who can afford and build the latest in greatest PC technology are capable of pirating any game they see fit. The issue is, is that game developers seem not to notice the proper way of going about piracy. The real truth about piracy is that companies don't lose sales over piracy because the people who download it aren't the people who would ever buy it.

So to reiterate, here are some common practices used to prevent piracy.

1. EA's path: DRM
2. Making a quality game worth buying
3. Make an online component within the game that is worthwhile to consumers.
4. Digital distribution. ie, Steam.

All of these methods are ways to prevent piracy. Obviously, EA's method directly correlates the games they produce. ie, recycled trash. Sorry for that. Blizzard was recently quoted saying, "The thing that I think helps us (with piracy), is that since our games have such a huge multiplayer component, Battle.net really is our most effective DRM."

Blizzard went on to outline saying how DRM isn't a viable solution and that taking an approach similar to Valve's Steam would be the best alternative. As a PC gamer who uses Steam, I can assure everyone that this is a wonderful solution compared to DRM. Given Spore's recently short comings in the DRM category, I think it's safe to say that as an industry we need to be far away from DRM. For it only creates issues for the legit consumers. There are many titles out there, that are DRM free and wonderful to play. Sins of the Solar Empire is a great example. Quality game, runs on a plethora of PC machines, DRM free, and the option of digital distribution. That's how it's done. Hey devs, listen up and follow the examples set by the companies doing it right.
odie

Odie 5375 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

Call of Duty: World at War - Most Expensive Mod Ever

CoD5

I must begin by saying this is clearly from my view after playing over 10+ hours with the multi-player beta of Call of Duty: World at War for Xbox 360. I have not played the single player campaign nor the 'co-op' campaign either. That said, I must say the MP portion is rather disappointing. The game feels simply like a recycled Call of Duty 4. Straight down to the 'create a weapon' based class system. Sure, Treyarch threw the WW2 element in there to stray us from the similarities to CoD4.

Treyarch has basically decided to take no creative risk with CoD:WaW and pump out a reused lackluster game that we've really only come to expect from an EA-series. The more and more I played it the more it felt awkward. The tanks are laughable. Completely worthless feature within multi-player, majority of the time I outrun the tank. Granted it is beta, but players aren't even given vehicle based maps either, hence leaving the half-assed tanks even more useless.

Perks have also been reused from CoD4, with a few minor updated for the WW2 cause. And of course the useless perks are back, gas mask, throwing back nades both seem silly. The sounds, graphics, are all similar to CoD4 but somehow seem cheaper, and lack detail. I still thoroughly enjoy playing CoD4 because of the unique game play. Fortunately the game play is fine for CoD:WaW and I still believe it offers a relatively fun experience, but doubt people that own CoD4 will ever really find the $60 to throw down on this one. I could be wrong, but when given just the multi-player, it feels like one very expensive modification. -Odie

Odie 13172 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

PES 2009: Konami's Redemption?

Last year Konami released the first Pro Evolution Soccer to grace a next-gen platform. For many fans alike, to much their disdain felt the series going backwards. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 left a bitter taste in all our mouths. Since, Konami has been dedicated to getting it back on track. They felt the series needed the same direction it once had to continue the dominance over EA's FIFA series. After playing the demo extensively I can assure you Konami has been hard at work.

Konami has listened to their fans and went back to their roots. For years, PES 5 has been herald as the pivotal point of gameplay; unmatched not only for the genre, but for sports simulation period. Unfortunately, the demo only allows 5 minute halves, and a few select teams. The matches I did play, I was stunned and marveled at what was available to my finger tips. Ball and player control are essentially in my opinion the best the series has ever seen. The arcade-ish feel and style from PES 2008 isn't there any more. Polished manual pass makes for an interesting playability option.

All in all, it doesn't feel rushed. Not only have they really nailed the refined gameplay, but have also added minor tweaks that I felt really needed to be done. Since we are referring to the next-gen version you'll be pleased to know Konami has upgraded the eye candy. The uniforms of each player sway with movement and the graphical characterization for each player has been improved to resemble the players a bit more. Last but surely not least, the devs have finally, after seeing years of poor menu design rebuilt the menus. Fortunately, for fans you'll still be able to navigate to various tasks as the underlying organization of the menu's are relatively unchanged. I think the simplicity and the more eye appealing menu helps the player feel more engaged.

So, to top it off for the end of 2008, we have two top contenders in the soccer genre. Granted, the only contenders, but both developers seem to have really spent the time and effort this time around to deliver what their fans want. Konami has refreshed this series with the same similar gameplay that PES 5 and 6 were so praised for. They've brought it back ladies and gents, an unmatched sports simulation. A simulation that begs to be played more and more. The type of quality we've come to expect from this series has finally landed in the next generation.

Of course in the near future we will face off these two great titles against each other. Regardless which choice you decide to make between this years soccer games, I think the clear winners are the fans and players alike.

Here are some screenshots. Unfortunately, they do not give the game justice. It's much better and more fluid looking in real time.



Odie 2053 feedbacks » • PermalinkPermalink

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