“The Bandwagon Effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with “the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have already done so”.As more people come to believe in something, others also “hop on the bandwagon” regardless of the underlying evidence. The tendency to follow the actions or beliefs of others can occur because individuals directly prefer to conform, or because individuals derive information from others. Both explanations have been used for evidence of conformity in psychological experiments. For example, social pressure has been used to explain Asch’s conformity experiments, and information has been used to explain Sherif’s autokinetic experiment.

When individuals make rational choices based on the information they receive from others, economists have proposed that information cascades can quickly form in which people decide to ignore their personal information signals and follow the behavior of others. Cascades explain why behavior is fragile—people understand that they are based on very limited information. As a result, fads form easily but are also easily dislodged. Such informational effects have been used to explain political bandwagons.”

Thanks Wikipedia <3

Note the first sign.

We’ve all seen this in action so many times before. When a team catches a hot streak at the right time everyone suddenly a fan of said team. Stadiums are full and once cheap tickets are now super expensive. If you want to see it in everyday life look at all the ‘new’ Yankees or Giants fans (sorry, I’ve never been a big football guy, but I did like the Chargers in the Junior Seau days) that pop up whenever the team is competing for the c’hip (or championship). For the purposes of this article, I’ll use three really good examples: The Miami Heat once they signed Chris Bosh and Lebron, The L.A. Clippers once they got Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups and the Golden State Warriors when they made that incredible play off run that produced highlights such as this.

After that dunk, Warriors tickets became the new thing for everyone. The Clippers are currently going through the same thing. This phenomenon is not just limited to sports, or politics, it also extends into the gaming world. Allow me to give you some background before I rage the hell out.

In fighting games picking a character is a much like picking a tool box. There are different tools in each of them for different situations, but they all serve the purpose of winning the match for your character. In most competitive games (especially fighters) people tend to pick their characters, teams, weapons, etc in usually one of three ways.

The first type of player picks by character loyalty. This means they simply like the character design so much that they play as that fighter/race/whatever for that reason alone. These people will usually use the same character over the course of multiple installments of a game. It’s like those die hard sports fans who like their team even if they’re horrible or someone who likes a band that everyone thinks is terrible. The second type of people pick their character based on whether the character-in-question’s play style fits in with their current skill level. For example, in my early Street Fighter IV days, starting off with a complex character like C.Viper wasn’t a good idea because at the time I didn’t have the execution required to play her effectively. This skill-based approach to choosing also leads them to experiment with other characters after they get to a certain level of proficiency with their main character. The third and final type are the people who pick characters because they are easier to win with, or ‘high tier’ ones, meaning they have attributes that outrank a considerable number of characters in the roster. While this may seem shameless, it is in fact a valid strategy. In the end, the game is about winning, so you pick whoever gives you the best chance of winning.

Teaching them early, huh pal?

With that said, you’d think things would be pretty cut and dry, right? No, they aren’t. In fact, there is a fourth shadow group no one wants to admit they are a part of. The assholes are called the bandwagoners. These are the people who I despise the most. “But Phire”, you ask, “Why all the hate towards the bandwagon?” Simply put, for the fact that these are the same people who, to use a fighter as an example, will talk about how bad your character is, how weak/low-tier they are and how you need to switch them. However, if something changes or new tech is found, they’ll jump on that character too and talk about how good they are with everyone else. Of course, if you confront them, they will deny they ever said anything negative about them and claim that they had “played them before”. Come on. It’s like they just saw the ugly girl from High School hit her stride, become hot and they’re the first in line, claiming they always had a crush on her.

No one was there for these days in Vanilla 4 or Super Turbo.

Why am I bringing this up now? Well since I started playing the SFIV series I’ve watched my Cammy develop from an ’0-2 and out’ champion to something actually kind of dangerous. With the new 2012 patch, Cammy is no longer nerfed to hell. I remember in the original Arcade Edition when they took her dive kick I was about to commit seppuku and find a new main (had my mind set on Yun at the time) but I decided to stick it out with her, and my patience paid off becuase now, I like the way she plays. But now I’m seeing Cammy players popping up EVERYWHERE claiming to have a good one, which 90% of the time they really don’t. They lose to characters that they should be beating, and when fighting against Cammy they lose horribly. Playing online, I tend to win the mirror matches because 80% of the time I know what I’m looking for, what to watch out for, I’m not doing anything stupid, because I know how she works. This is the main problem with bandwagoners, because they really don’t understand the character they’re choosing. They will see videos, or watch some matches and say “Oh man that’s so cheap, I want to do that too!”. So they practice that set of moves, go out to try, then lose to high level players who know their bandwagon character is fraudulent or they lose via being counter-picked because they have NO match up experience.

Even he wasn't safe from Bandwagon fans after death.

Having beaten several ‘Cammy’ players far worse than I should have, in situations that wouldn’t have happened (like misjudging her drill distance) if these people actually knew her well enough to call their play style ‘unique’(which most bandwagoners do by default) we wouldn’t have this problem. I personally feel that people should just pick either what they like, or what they are most comfortable with and just play the game. I think it would make for a better game overall because we’d have more diversity rather than cookie cutter clones of a particular character and play style. Newsflash: This ultimately serves you and the community no purpose, because you aren’t choosing a character you’re invested in, you’re just trending. However, this may be part of a larger problem as a whole with players who aren’t willing to do any work to win popping up in large numbers. I’ll examine that next time.

You guys are welcome today to add here what you think will happen this year in the gaming and tech world as well. But I’ll start off:

World of Warcraft will continue to bleed out, and possibly hover at a stable million of players even though pandas will come but probably not help as much.

Guild Wars 2 will drop(be released) and be a success with former Guild Wars players and attracting new ones that will defend it as the best MMO out there.

Bioware will drop Mass effect 3 with Origin support on both PC and consoles. Gamers will cry all over the world.

Square-Enix will have FF13-2 out and it will be much better then 13.

Max Payne 3 will launch and remind us how a 3rd person shooter should be played.

The Vita will launch and be hacked within a month.

The 3DS will have a stand alone Pokemon game announced sometime in development.

SONY will make fans happy but will have a huge problem.

Nintendo will launch the Wii U, people everywhere will say it’s the end of Nintendo and they should sell off all their IPs(intellectual properties) to SONY.

Microsoft will still be Microsoft.

Valve will troll it’s users again.

Capcom will screw up again and lose money faster than an alcoholic gambler in Vegas.

These are my predictions for 2012 lets see what happens.

Here are the five worst characters to have on your tail as a video game villain. NO THE GODDAMNED BATMAN IS NOT ON THIS LIST, HE IS A COMIC BOOK CHARACTER WITH A VIDEO GAME.

5) Sonic the Hedgehog/Link

At number 5 it’s a tie between Sonic and Link. Sonic is a hedgehog with super speed that can destroy most object by simplify JUMPING OR ROLLING into them. You build this amazing robot death machine only to have a blue hedgehog jump and roll it to death. To make matters even worse he can become a super hedgehog capable of destroying things just by touching them and he can breathe in space. They only thing that could stop this hedgehog is not having any rings (which the world seems to have an abundant supply of), drowning him (but you’d have to make sure there’s no cracks so air can leak or or have a completely underwater fortress and risk drowning yourself if Sonic does come through and beats the snot of out of your base),trying to crush him or trying to get him to fall into a pit(both of which are completely random). And no matter what you’re planning to do Sonic will always find out and show up pissed about it.

Link is equally annoying. Think about this you have this amazing power from the Triforce, you’re immortal and you are overall bad ass. Then all of a sudden a kid in a green tunic shows up and ruins everything. The most screwed up part about it? It’s a different kid almost every time. So you’re immortal and doomed to having a kid in a green tunic just tear you up all because it’s a tradition to give every kid a green tunic at a certain time. Why don’t you just kill off all the children in every village? Then you won’t have anyone to rule over. Catch 22.

4) Ryu

So you are holding a fighting tournament to try and find a new body for yourself? You’re an inter-dimensional being that just happened to be threatening two worlds at once? Are you the most brutal Muay Thai fighter ever and have no challengers? Well it sucks to be you because Ryu is probably going to show up and punch you in the face. Even if you’re just a regular fighter he’s still just going to punch you in the face. The man wanders the world LOOKING FOR FIGHTS barefoot no less. He has fought everything from aliens and giant robots to super heroes and demons. What makes it even worse is that in the chance you actually may be winning, he’ll tap into some hidden energy reserves and go evil making him even more dangerous. His moves are always so basic but they are insanely strong. Now that he has the Soul-Glo in Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3 this makes him that much more powerful.

3) Megaman

He doesn’t look like much. He looks like he’d be at home in a toy chest.If you are a robot that’s gone evil or renegade, then he’s the worse thing ever. Not only does he keep coming back if you defeat him. He has probably killed your allies and took their abilities to use on you or he is going to kill you and use your ability to kill your allies. What makes him creepy is that he always shows up without saying a word and just stares and blinks at you,later in the series he talks but for a few years he was a silent killer. And to think all this started because two old guys had problems with each other.

2) Snake

This includes the original Snake the one that the current Snake is cloned from. This man is a combination of spy, special operations soldier and mercenary commando from a black operations and espionage unit. He is tasked with disarming and destroying the latest incarnation of Metal Gear which is usually a bipedal nuclear weapon-armed mecha which is another word for giant robot. Usually Snake has to deal with people with ridiculous powers or armed with incredible skills to do so. You know he’s out there. You’re doing something that ridiculous you know that he’s going to be there and he’s not coming to negotiate anything with you, ever. While you’re trying to get your plan to completion, he’s either killing your allies or hes tranquilizing them and taking pictures of them in compromising positions, who knows what else he’s doing to them. You know what that’s going to be your fate too. This man has taken down so many organizations, robots, people in robots, ninja robots, vampires, ghosts, etc. that anything you can come up with he’s ready for. How do you stop a man like that? You don’t, you just pray that he kills you.

1) Belmonts

At the top of this list sits one family, the Belmonts. If you’re a citizen of the night this name strikes terror into your heart. If you’re a vampire and have a castle it’s even worse. These asshoels will show up at your front door, destroy everything in your house, steal your treasure and money, kill your tenants, find you in your panic room, beat the hell out of you and then sink your castle or destroy it. They ALWAYS show up and they more than likely will bring a friend or two. There’s really no way to get rid of them and they will always lecture you on morals and why what you’re doing is wrong. What if you’re not a creature of the night but have a castle? All it would take is one rumor from the towns folk and you’ll have them sniffing around in no time. I don’t think they even ask questions they just whip the hell out of everything and leave. And to top it all off they WILL be prettier than you with better hair and look cooler (in some cases) than you ever will.

What’s your top 5 ? I’d love to hear it tweet it to me or post on the Facebook!

Download it here for your listening pleasure: http://traffic.libsyn.com/geekfist/Geekfist_Mamamia-moto.mp3

P.S. …the year end…shall be soon…

An eMotion-al triumph.

2011 will likely go down as one of, if not the most quality laced years in gaming, especially the second half of the year. When you have Batman Arkham City, Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, Super Mario 3D Land and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim all released within weeks of each other, there’s no denying that being a gamer has never felt so fulfilling and rewarding. After nearly a half decade, Nintendo ushered in its return to the Zelda universe during the same period as these other juggernauts, with The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and ends up superseding nearly every release before it this year.

Two of the predominant areas in which Skyward Sword enjoys an immense success is in narration and environment. For the latter, the art direction is yet another deviance in the console Zelda franchise. Where Wind Waker took a more cartoon-like route and Twilight Princess was more gritty, Skyward Sword sort of brings together elements of those two previous titles, with much brighter and colorful details abound. A lot of the exposition utilizes dramatic camera angles, and combined with the art style, character models and environments, the quality of the experience ranks as one of the best the Nintendo Wii has seen to date.

The first hour will be heavily emphasized on exposition and character development. Link literally lives in a city in the clouds, which is more or less a peaceful land, rich with its own traditions and hidden secrets. There have been stories of a land below the clouds, but no one has ever been able to penetrate the cloud cover and witness it for themselves….of course until our two main focuses for Skyward Sword, Link and Zelda, are thrusted into a situation that allows them to. Throughout the first hours, Nintendo manages to infuse a rather fascinating story that develops at a steady pace that’s a more story heavy approach than the series has seen as a whole. Throughout the adventures, story bits will develop and pause the gameplay, though at no point does it feel like it unnecessarily breaks up any immersion gained.

Better have that Iron Shield for your fire area battles. If it's wooden, it can and will burn up into ashes.

Coincidentally, narration also suffers from one of the only flaws that blatantly stands out to me: Charlie Brown Syndrome. I understand that, especially after Metroid: Other M, giving a voice narrative can be a risky venture, but Nintendo needs to come out of its old school mentality some. While some strides have been made with the development of Skyward Sword, one of the major pieces that could have infused an even heavier dose of validity to the opening hours (voice acting), was sadly omitted once again. Even though the development of the storyline throughout is gripping and will keep players invested throughout, I can’t help but to feel that Skyward Sword could have reached that level of greatness that few games ever achieve, if Zelda had an angelic voice to fit the look of her character, and not random mumbles and grunts like the adults blurt out during a Peanuts cartoon. As with the lack of voice acting throughout the Nintendo developed series, the franchise has never been treated to an in game orchestrated musical score. At least until now. While there’s nothing that will stand out as the singular piece that envelops the experience as a whole, it’s more than appreciated to listen to beautifully composed music that isn’t all developed through MIDI.

Everything else about Skyward Sword shines brightly and will leave a positive and lasting impression for some time to come. Unlike Twilight Princess, where the motion controls were tacked onto the end to compensate for the fact that it was a Gamecube title put onto the Nintendo Wii, Skyward Sword features a comprehensive motion control scheme. Though I had a limited amount of time with Skyward Sword at E3 in 2010, I was already accustomed to the precision and fluidity of the motion controls. Fast forward a year and a half later and that same grace and presence that my first sample had fed me.

When it comes the the miscellaneous portions of the controls, such as navigating Link’s flying mount, nothing feels too foreign. Unlike the somewhat finicky controls when flying with that bird in Super Mario Galaxy 2, Riding Link’s mount is much more precise without as much effort. Handling one of the many items that requires aiming has its own refinements as well. Probably the one thing that aids in its success is the ability to recenter Link’s aim by pressing down on the d-pad Wiimote. The enables players to always have the ability to center their aim at ant time, without having to cancel out, recenter manually and then activate the item again.

Actually manipulating Link’s swordplay was done in such a way that even a five year old couldn’t stumble with them, so long as you know what not to do. The players Wiimote is basically an extension of Link’s right arm — whichever position the players arm is moving towards, Link will closely reciprocate. This isn’t just in response to positioning, but with delivery in regards to attacks. Downward, diagonal, thrusts and other sword slashes that seem feasible and plausible, are such. The thing is, if players are vicious, unrelenting and inept with how they deliver these motions, the game will not properly recognize things. Super slow motion is not required nor asked of anyone, but common sense more so. With the way the controls act, combating adversaries has a bit of a novel tinge to it as well. Taking out some of the early goblin enemies isn’t just about swiping at them and moving on (unless you sneak up behind them) but recognizing not only their patterns, but their mannerisms. The same goblins mentioned will hold their swords in a certain position that will deflect oncoming attacks in the direction that Link’s arm currently holds his sword. Take them out with a swipe that will go through their defense, add in another two swipes, and that goblin has been defeated. With the depth of the sword controls, Nintendo parlayed a bit more depth to its rogue gallery, thus making combat feel that much more gratifying as a whole.

Attack its weak point for maximum damage!

A lot has been said about the “lack of evolution” to the Zelda formula over the years, and how every 3D console title follows a similar formula throughout. In a way, Skyward Sword is guilty here, however there are enough deviations to the norm that can more than justify the formula still retaining a semblance of similarity. With the intricate workings of the motion controls, this is the first Zelda title in which the sword Link carries, is actually being used to its fullest. None of this preformatted swing nonsense anymore. There are ways to upgrade existing items as well which, for all practical terms, isn’t an innovation to either gaming its self or the franchise at hand, but the way it’s handled is an innovation to the franchise. Instead of throwing your sword at a fairy in a hidden cave to get an updated main hand weapon, certain items found throughout Link’s travels can be used to fortify currently equipped items and weapons. On top of that, the game is more story driven than previous entries, giving a sense of care for what happens next..

As for the formula its self, yeah, after 25 years, maybe there should be a bit of a change up from the often used and mostly abused “princess is kidnapped/lost/ran away and needs to be rescued/found/located” plot devices, but the same can be said about the Super Mario Bros. franchise in the same respects, the Madden NFL franchise with the little innovations and changes brought with each release, or especially the Call of Duty series of games. The latter has had a half dozen games released in the last half dozen years, with barely any kind of deviance from the same tired and true formula. The Call of Duty franchise refuses to go out of its comfort zone enough to add any kind of practical innovative twists to its formula, whereas at least the Zelda franchise takes several years per installment, doesn’t use the same engine, tries to add elements of change and distributes a notion of fulfillment when playing each release. They are completely different genres, with Madden being a sports title, Call of Duty residing in first person shooter land, and Skyward Sword blending together action, adventure and even role-playing elements. The thing is, the number of changes and innovations within the umbrella of the same formula that the Zelda franchise resides under, especially with Skyward Sword, completely blows away the combined efforts of the two previously mentioned franchises. It’s the same plot device, but a new engine. The same plot device, yet an expansion on how the game is played, something the aforementioned franchises refuse to do.

You are one with your sword. Handle it with care and sipe as you would an actual bladed weapon. Waggle and shake hour Wiimote around and the controls will deteriorate.

That’s what makes The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword that much more fascinating — the fact that the familiar plot devices that have been utilized for a quarter of a century, can still be made into an experience that captures the minds and hearts of gamers that place the game into their consoles. Link is out to search for Zelda once again, but instead of just running around a beautifully crafted world and waggling around Link’s sword with a button press or a tacked on motion gesture, players can now take command of his sword, and take out a world of creatures that have adapted to the fully realized mechanics. The shell casing of a story that most of the older Zelda titles have had, has now been broken open and put a heavier focus upon, giving even further reasoning to become invested in your journey. The sub weapons and their controls all fit in with the motion control conventions instilled into Skyward Sword, aiding in the fact that players should now feel like they are more in control of Link than they ever have been before. It may not reinvent the franchise certain ways, but it gives players an unprecedented way of taking control of the action, with a more fleshed out storyline that begs for your attention. With an absolutely loaded line up of holiday releases this year, it would be a massive disservice if you were to pass up The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. A premiere release in a year of dominant releases.

Rating: 9.0

Aksys Games will sponsor the winning team of the BlazBlue Revolution US Finals by providing full airfare and hotel accommodations to Japan, along with the pride of representing the United States in the BlazBlue Revolution Japan Finals. Not only that, but if the US Team is able to take the top spot in the Japanese Finals, an extra bonus prize will be awarded to the US Team! Now’s the time to grab two of your most trusted comrades and prepare for the revolution of a lifetime!

BlazBlue Revolution US Event Details:

Finals Date: 2/25/2012

Location: Southern California, venue TBA

Format: 3v3 Double Elimination, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND console version

Prize: Winning team will win full hotel and airfare to Japan and a spot in the Japan Finals

Restriction: Winners MUST have their US passport or equivalent document by 2/25. NO EXCEPTIONS.

BlazBlue Revolution Japan Event Details:

Final Date: 3/24/2012

Location: Japan, venue TBA

Format: 3v3 Format Final Rules TBA, BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II (V1.05) Arcade Version

Prize: TBA + Special US Team Prize*

*The US Team prize is a monetary award that will be given if the US Team is able to take the gold at the BlazBlue Revolution Japan Finals.

Full rules and event details will be announced on 12/17/2011 here. Until then, stay tuned for more information on BlazBlue Revolution at www.aksysgames.com.

Cruis'n'USA + Michael Bay = NFS The Run ?

The campaign puts the player in the shoes of Jack Rourke, a pro driver who’s landed in a debt with the mob he can’t repay.  Conveniently, long-time friend Sam Harper shows up just in time to inform Jack of a cross-country race spanning from San Francisco to New York.  She’s made money off of Jack’s racing before and with “The Run” holding a payout of $25 million, competing would be an inevitability.  She fesses up the $250k entry fee and the race begins.

Sadly, the game doesn’t become anymore elaborate than that as it delivers an underdeveloped tale, which Black Box ironically kept close to its chest until the game’s launch while touting its compelling story.  Though one shouldn’t be expecting Kojima-tier storytelling in an annual racer, the game shows passion for detail in other areas so it’s a shame that more attention has not been brought to its throwaway characters as the premise does sound provocative and intriguing.  Instead, we are treated to the highlighting of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models serving their expansive roles in the campaign.  And by expansive I mean filling up their cars with gas in a single scene.

This isn't a summary. It's Jack's entire bio.In a loading screen.

Right from the start, we can see that The Run puts emphasis on tension as its getting you from SF to NY first against 200+ drivers.  The game excludes any form of free roam or overworld to explore in as you aggressively push east across a wide variety of environments.  Some may be turned off by the idea but it certainly makes sense as aimlessly driving in a desert for fun would certainly kill any sense of urgency.  Races typically involve surpassing a few drivers at a time starting from #211 with the intent of making it to #1 by the time you reach the east coast.  Other times you will be on the road by yourself making up time by reaching checkpoints in an aggressive manner.  Throw in some cop chases and a few memorable action sequences and you have a game that is, while repetitive at times, intriguing to say the least.

A cross-country road trip would require serious diversity in landscape.  Thankfully, the environments in The Run are delivered with a sense of grand scale and lush detail, courtesy of the Frostbite 2 engine– the same engine that made its debut with Battlefield 3.  As it was designed with next-generation platforms in mind, some portions of the game such as select textures, vehicle interiors and character models will occasionally make lo-res appearances along with pop-ups in the console versions of the game, while PC enthusiasts will enjoy a higher fidelity The Run has to offer.  That is of course, assuming they have the necessary hardware to allow Frostbite 2 realize its full potential.

Breakneck speeds in the Rockies has SAFE written all over it.

Players will see themselves driving through a variety of locations, ranging from cities and deserts to mountains and canyons.  And for the first time in the series, all the levels are real world locations such as Las Vegas, Denver and Detroit.  Past NFS titles usually have a fair degree of diversity but none quite tackle the ambitious layouts of this installment.  And what better way to enjoy 3000 miles of asphalt than with 120+ vehicles to choose from.  Different from the past few titles is the fact that you don’t require money to obtain different rides.  Whenever the player is required to select a vehicle (which happens a few times throughout the story) they will be free to choose whichever set of wheels suit their taste.  That’s not to say that the game has all 120+ vehicles available from the get-go however, as several of the cars that are inaccessible have to be acquired through completing tasks in challenge and multiplayer modes.

The controls prove to be an attractive factor for both race purists as well as casual go-kart drivers as it attempts to blend the chaos of arcade style speed and havoc with the elegance of a simulation.  The end result is something that will allow the majority of players to enjoy the game’s interface as something that isn’t too difficult or too simple.  Continuing with the accessible approach, The Run grants players the ability to level up during time spent racing allowing them obtain perks such as nitrous, drifting and drafting abilities automatically without having to worry about maintenance on the vehicles of their choice.  While overall customizations, including aesthetic as well as performance tuning, are practically non-existent in this installment it keeps the pace of the action going forward.

Who needs Autosculpt when we got lens flare?

An awkward design choice is the fact that changing vehicles is done by stopping at a gas station.  In mid-race.  While the action stops as you make your selection, having to steer out of the way to pull in may hinder your position in the race.  Pair that with the occasional “out of bounds” driving that triggers a checkpoint reset even when you thought you were driving well within the road’s barriers and you may have a time or two where you’ll be banging your head against the wall due to what feels to be an absence of logic.  Thankfully the blow is softened as The Run’s inclusion of stock “resets” allows players to rewind their race to designated checkpoints giving them the luxury of refining their track time or if they just have bad luck and consistently crash their vehicles.  The only thing worse than losing a race is losing it when you were in 1st place the entire time.

While the streets have traffic conditions that make some areas seem more lively than others, the game still omits the inclusion of using pedestrians.  Chances are that it is a deliberate design choice so that players won’t have to worry about dragging a cadaver under their wheels in the middle of a race, however there are some locations where you’d expect heavy volume only to see the area in question appear lifeless.  Las Vegas Boulevard feels like a ghost town and the Holland Tunnel literally had two people in it; your opponent and you.  This would almost guarantee a chuckle out of a player who’s driven down those roads before, but to be fair that’s not to say that those places deserved to be identical to their real life counterparts.  After all, the game isn’t called “Need for Speed: The Jam”.

This...probably won't end well.

Autolog once again returns to help players not only keep track of their times but to constantly monitor the advances their friends make as well, encouraging players to replay segments in an attempt to hold down their position as 1st ranked.  Although the concept of Autolog promotes interaction with friends the actual multiplayer of The Run may have a few players wanting a little more.  When racing against others, players can have a roulette determine what bonuses the winning party might obtain, such as new cars or bonus XP, although the variety doesn’t go much further than the typical 16-player races.

In the end, Need for Speed: The Run is a good game that has a few things holding it back from being a great game.  It would be nice to see Black Box take a crack at “The Run 2″ and fix all the shortcomings of the first installment that will satisfy both single and multiplayer racers.  The engine is in place, the art direction is established and the vision is certainly clear.  Now throw in a compelling story mode that lasts longer than 3 hours with characters that aren’t one-dimensional and a robust online component and NFS will have an entry in the franchise that will be spoken of for quite some time.

Hope to see you again, Jack.

I feel that games back in those days were meant to be played while games now are trying to be more of an experience. You know the type with huge budgets with cinematic events, engrossing story and dialogue and unforgettable characters. While that is very ambitious and commendable, it sometimes feels that games forget that they are indeed games to be played and not movies. Even though the Video Game industry is just as big (if not bigger than the current movie industry) I sometimes feel as if my experience or level of accomplishment has grown/improved that much over playing retro games which had obviously smaller budgets. Why is that?

I don’t buy into the whole achievement point/trophy rush of this generation. I feel as if it’s an artificial way to extend the life of these games. Most achievements you do receive in game are for things you would have done normally anyway, complete X level, find this item, use a gizmo a certain way, create something, reach this level, etc. while this could be seen as some sort of positive reinforcement to encourage people to keep playing, it also encourages people to play easy achievement games just to get a few free achievement points (which aren’t used for anything by the way just to have a gamer score). There are some feats however that are pretty respectable that achievements could possibly serve as a badge for but the flip side of that is you can hack your gamer score and achievements. I’ve seen someone actually do this and I just wondered why he would (I figure he may just want acceptance from other gamers for his skill or to be seen as a serious player something, who knows.)

When you look at the older doing certain things like beating a certain game, speed running, running up a high score, etc seems as if more like a notable feat. I don’t know what the devs were thing back then it’s as if they hated the players (kidding, but some games do make it seem as if you winning was bad), I’m sure the buffed cheapness and difficulty of some games were just to give it life. There were no DLC updates and no sequel announced every year. Secrets in the game were actually secrets. There was no internet to disseminate the info and make it common knowledge or Wikis to plan out what your character and team will be. And at the end of it all you only received a thanks for playing screen and no accolades that you can show off to your friends.

Gameplay today is night and day different from yesteryear. There are so many save points, check points, full restore life on level up, healing items, etc. within a game that it’s really hard for someone to die once they get a hang of the game on any difficulty that isn’t available initially. But back in the older games you’re lucky to get a full restore item randomly or finding it when you need it and the sad thing is you could not back track in some cases to go get that item to heal you (as you can tell I’m a little bit salty about Castlevania.) You also did not have infinite continues in some of the games or if you did continue you had to restart that entire level over even if you were at the boss. (Ghost ‘n Goblins started you off right from the start of the area you died at, thank you based god.) This means you have to make perfect runs by memorizing patterns and knowing the game very well (still mad about Castlevania) in order to navigate most sections of a game.

Yes the plots and experiences were simpler but the game play was the focal point now it’s the other way around game play is being simplified while the plots and experiences are being described as epic. You’ve mashed a single button, followed on screen commands and destroyed a giant monster, in theory you’ve just played a mobile phone game on your console but due to presentation you’ve accomplished a near impossible feat. I’m still celebrating about landing the plane consistently in Top Gun.

While not everyone is guilty of this obviously, it is a growing trend because quite frankly it sells. In part two of this rant which will probably be next week, I’ll talk about how this stacks up to the multiplayer aspect and more than likely complain some more about the newer stuff.

In the world of gaming however, there’s more of a predominance towards the most comical, ill-fitted pieces of art adorning the cover of a video game box, than the exquisite composition that relays any sort of story telling before the game is inserted. But why is that so? How come the tender love and care isn’t applied to this form of media? Are there any box covers that portray any semblance of intrigue and passion?

Going back a couple dozen years, cover art was actually quite spectacular, capturing the subject matter in ways that even the actual game couldn’t even do successfully. The visuals in a typical Colecovision or Intellivision game were basic, without much, if any, detail to be found. With meager graphical power offered by those systems, box art could help tell a story in ways that the game could not. Like Drew’s work with movie posters, these box arts were able to tell a story before players even purchased the title. Imagination was the vessel for immersion; while the in-game graphics might be composed of sticks and blocks, viewing the box art in which this video game originated from would help stir the imaginations and creativity of the player. Unfortunately, while there were a plethora of impressive covers for these games:

there were still quite a few that left little to the imagination:

Hell, these artists made a checkers game look incredibly appealing, solely based off of what the cover looked like. I ask you this – when was the last time you ever saw an advert for a checkers game that looked as gripping as this:

One could even argue that these cover art pieces were too good. The fascination of seeing the outer space themed 3D Tic-Tac-Toe on the cover of the box and witnessing the massive letdown once the game is powered on, might have put off those that didn’t enjoy having the pictures aid in their imagination as they played. It could also have something to do with a flood of poorly developed video games that were streaming out in the early 80′s, which led to the eventual video game crash in 1983. Even though there were titles released on the Commodore 64 and Amiga at that time, the quality those cover pieces started to slowly degrade.

Whether they were arcade marquees or standard cover work, things weren’t the same anymore. As time passed and with the re-establishment of the video game market, the technology used within these systems have improved drastically, making humanoid characters appear as such, as opposed to seven white blocks that barely animate. The games themselves were able to convey more imagination and creativity with them than they were able to in years past. But with these visual upgrades, the boxes that housed these games for retail purchases started to show more and more laziness and barely emphasized any kind of storytelling for the gamer that has never heard of the product before. Maybe this was for the better?

The mid to late 80′s didn’t have a whole lot of places where gamers could read up on the latest releases. With magazines such as Nintendo Power, Electronic Gaming Monthly, GamePro and Game Players being a late 80′s birth and slow to expand its circulation territories, curious gamers were subjected to the prenatal care of their peers for their gaming information. But with the slow rise of gaming coverage via print magazines, it became either a bit more difficult, or all the more easier to sell these games, thanks to ratings and such. Why put much effort into making the cover of your game look dramatic, trepidations or eye catching, when you can now get free press and promotion by having your products featured in magazines?

The 8-bit generation had a distinct lacked of creativity with the images on their boxes. The gaming market as a whole picked up drastically, whereas these game boxes became more and more obtuse. There weren’t any stories being told anymore, no way to stimulate ones imagination before the adventure begins. Lets take a quick look at a couple of the more imaginative covers that managed to squeak by in the United States, shall we?

Konami/Ultra Games had a knack of featuring some of the more immersive covers, as well as some of the most piss poor box arts. One of the most impressive pieces comes from Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse. Trevor Belmont is shown battling a skeletal minion, Grant is climbing a pillar on the upper right portion with his dagger unsheathed, Sypha’s taking on a hydra in the background, a bat on the upper left portion that could very well be Alucard doing a fly by, all within the shadows of Dracula’s castle. The battles on the front look rather fascinating, showing me a sense of deep rooted action at every corner. If I had no previous history with this title, I would think that the guy with the whip seems like the all-around character, that person in the middle would be the magician, and that odd fella hanging off that pillar would be the agile thief. It was actually one of the few box arts that reflected a story to players that was mimicked within the titles its self. It didn’t reflect the sheer balls to the wall difficulty within, but the artist portrayal of the events within the game was as spot on as one could find during this era.

On a system that featured some of the most putrid pieces of artwork, as well as some of the most putrid pieces of gaming, one of the stronger on the latter was Golvellius: Valley of Doom. Judging from the image on the right, the adventure looks fierce, with a under-equipped, green haired individual wielding a shiny shield and dull sword raising his weapon towards an approaching phenomenon that appears to be chasing a damsel in distress. Though the heroes pose is goofy, and the undefinable menace approaching looks like a cross between Marjory the Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock, and the Swamp Thing’s morbidly obese sister, it tells its own story. Unfortunately I’ve never had any hands on time with Golvellius: Valley of Doom, but from this YouTube clip, it looks like a rather peculiar action adventure game with bits and pieces of an overworld similar to The Legend of Zelda, with vertical scrolling and horizontal platforming segments thrown it, as well as a boss fight with the creature that caught Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. For a Sega Master system game, it does look rather intriguing, though the cover seems like it gave more credit than it possibly deserved.

Now lets take a peek at some of the more uninspiring boxes that don’t even bother to illustrate anything of relevance, or importance, to the source material. For arguments sakes, I’ll pick out two NES boxes, since just about every Sega Master System game box is as atrocious and unimaginative as one can ever think.

 I know, I know….what more could one expect from a game based off a plastic doll that’s made for little girls? While just about everyone under the sun knows of the Barbie line of toys, but that doesn’t excuse this pathetic cover. It’s just a Barbie doll, with pink earrings with a pink outfit, in a pink background. The text on the box proclaims “A Glamorous Quest Full of Magic, Fun and Adventure!” yet even that doesn’t say much. I know a potential customer could flip the box around and get a bit more of an analysis, but if the front of the box doesn’t grab you to flip the box over in the first place, who’s going to know? While I wasn’t born a female (as far as I know) this Barbie game on the NES wouldn’t even hold the attention of any girl of any age. There was a distinct lack of games geared towards the female player-base, mostly because that player-base was so minute. A more unisex approach like Super Mario Bros. 2 gave more appeal to girl gamers as a whole than this abomination.

Shatterhand is not a game that many NES players played. While it certainly wasn’t one of the more horrific games on the system, it didn’t set the sales charts on fire. If you walked into the gaming department of Woolworth’s during the Nintendo’s lifespan and saw a guy with hideous shades on and a plain white shirt on, punching a piece of his logo off with knuckles that are peeling, would you even bother to give this one a second look? There’s nothing that tells me what to expect, no kind of message, short story or creative measures to pull me in and excite me. In fact, when the cover to your video game looks less imposing than Michael Dudikoff on the cover of American Ninja, you’re doing it wrong. It’s not the bottom of the barrel like Mega Man, but its blandness seemed more like a deterrent than anything.

As the newer generations came along, the lack of imagination continued to take center stage. With gaming magazines becoming a bigger staple in the lives of gamers around the country, that reliance on cover illustrations became even further nullified. I guess this was for the better, as each succeeding generation of consoles introduced storytelling a a higher level than the consoles before it. Going further and further into each generation of consoles, gaming started to become something more than a children’s hobby; television commercials, the rise of the Internet and a much more broadened distribution for a plethora of gaming magazines aimed at more than just kids, began to promote gaming. With the promotional powerhouse pumping out free press for publishers, as well as the fact that each video game that came along focused a lot more on storytelling than the previous generations of games, it seems as if the days of a game cover telling a story to the masses had come to an end.

Who’s to say that a company still can’t promote their own game with a cover that’s fitting to the game world within? While it might be cost effective to slap on a logo and plop a miscellaneous avatar on top of it all, making a more impressionable package could go a long way as well. There are still parents or guardians out there that are not as keen as most other gamers, so when they are asked to purchase a video game on the Xbox 360, something catchy could always flag them down and get their attention. Hell, the look can be more appealing to even those that were looking forward to the games release anyway, and would purchase the title even if the box had a picture of Gumby and Rob Van Dam playing golf.

Anyhow you can pick it up here. I like the red personally. I’ll pick one of these up and wear it in a upcoming episode,it’s getting cold in the studio,err I mean 8-bit.Let’s go Justin(sorry but I love that clip so much.)

Don’t forget to follow him on twitterand while you’re at it follow me too!