I’ve been playing around with a new gaming community video content hub/service called GameVee.com. Along with the ability for users to upload and share HD game video content, GameVee has a unique utility called “Grab.” Using a top secret voodoo propietary algorithm/solution, Grab automates the process of capturing video content from games and uploads it into a tidy Flash-based video player for you to share with everyone on the web.
Right now the service only works with game replays/clips on Halo 3 file shares, but it’s still pretty damn awesome. All you need to do is put in an Xbox Live gamertag along with the title of a video clip on the person’s file share and Grab will automagically capture, convert, and upload the clip. It does take a few hours to complete a Grab request, though, as it looks like a laborious process for the black box to download, play, capture, and convert a replay. It’s hard to find fault with the results though.
Making gameplay video capturing this easy is going to take social gaming to a new level. Games like Pixeljunk Eden already have the ability to capture gameplay video and upload directly into YouTube from within the game. I know I’m going to be sharing my awesome gaming exploits with people who don’t even own a game console. It’s only going to help generate interest and awareness for games and the games industry.
Downloadable content is again the story this week, although there’s a long awaited big budget exclusive title for the Xbox 360 as well. Here are the games I’m excited to play this week:
Too Human (Xbox 360, $60) - 8/20/08 - Too Human is an Xbox 360 exclusive that has been in development for almost 10 years. It’s an ambitious action/rpg game that aims to be as addictive as Diablo, but with the graphical prowess and combat depth of a Devil May Cry. The internet has already been torn in half by drama over the game. Suffice to say, I’ve been excited for it and have it pre-ordered. I enjoyed the demo and the promise of co-op play still has me itching to play it. The mediocre reviews are troubling though…
Ratchet and Clank: Quest For Booty (PS3, $15) - 8/21/08 - One of the surprises of Sony’s E3 conference was the announcement of an original downloadable Ratchet and Clank game for the PS3. Boasting the same Pixar-movie quality production value as last year’s Tools of Destruction, Quest For Booty is a 3-4 hour experience that continues the storyline from Tools of Destruction. With a manageable gameplay length, the value proposition of quality over quantity is huge here.
Galaga Legions (Xbox 360, $10) - 8/20/08 - Old school game remakes are the flavor du jour of digital distribution lately. Anyone over the age of 20 probably remembers Galaga, the seminal top down space shoot ‘em up from the 80’s. Namco has remade the game with pretty graphics and some extra gameplay changes, such as the ability to move in all directions and deploy “satellite” ships to attack for you.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo (PS3, Xbox 360, free) - 8/21/08 - How nice of Lucasarts to be platform neutral and release the demo for the most anticipated Star Wars game in years on the same day. With a crazyawesomecool physics engine and an actual honest-to-god interesting new story, The Force Unleashed actually has the potential to be the first Star Wars game in nearly a decade to not completely suck. (How awesome are these videos!) I’m still skeptical, but will eagerly download and try the demo the first chance I get on Thursday.
American McGee is best known for his work on DOOM, Quake, and Alice. The latter, which I found to be a deliciously twisted romp through the wonderland of Lewis Carroll. McGee’s past games have earned him an automatic “I gotta check out what he’s doing next” pass. His latest project is entitled American McGee’s Grimm and is a 24-part episodic game available exclusively on Gametap. New episodes are released every Thursday and will be available free to play for a 24-hour period, much like a television show. Grimm is based on the idea of “f’d up fairy tales,” with each episode centering on the corruption of a particular fairy tale, like Little Red Riding Hood or Beauty and the Beast. Gameplay is very simple and casual friendly. It plays kind of like Katamari Damacy in that you are guiding a character in a world with the objective of covering the most surface area possible. There is some light platforming as well.
With the number of quality music and games releases increasing as we inch towards the fourth quarter, we here at My Day Will Come will be starting a new weekly feature entitled “My Day Has Come,” where we’ll spotlight the most noteworthy releases of the week.
This week sees a couple of great downloadable games along with the 800 pound gorilla in the room.
Madden NFL 09 (PS2/PS3/Xbox/Xbox 360/DS/PSP/Wii) - 8/12/08 - The latest edition of EA’s golden goose promises to be the best edition in years. A really cool feature of the 360/PS3 versions is the ability to save a highlight from a game and immediately upload it to the web youtube-style. Get the Wii version if you’re planning on playing a lot of local multiplayer, otherwise go 360/PS3 if you want a deeper single player or online experience.
Strong Bad’s Game For Cool Attractive People (Wii/PC) - 8/11/08 - Strong Bad and the Homestar Runner cast star in their first point and click adventure game. It’s the first episode of five monthly releases. Definitely check this one out if you’re a Homestar and/or adventure game fan. Read our review from yesterday for more detail.
Bionic Commando Rearmed (Xbox 360/PS3/PC) - 8/13/08 (360) and 8/14/08 (PS3/PC) - I loved the original Bionic Commando on the NES back in the early 90’s. Capcom reimagines Bionic Command for modern game platforms. The game is a 2d platformer/shooter combo with the unique twist in that you can’t jump. You can only use your bionic grapple arm to navigate. An early review from IGN’s Hilary Goldstein calls it “the best downloadable game to date on XBLA and PSN.” Strong words from the dude who gave Braid an 8.8 rating.
I gotta admit, Homestar Runner was a huge part of my college days. Every Monday my friends and I would eagerly wait for the latest animated Strong Bad email to be posted so we could watch and quote it for the rest of the week. Though I stopped following the site in recent years, I was still very excited when Telltale Games announced an episodic adventure game based on the Homestar Runner characters and world. After a two month delay, the first episode was finally released yesterday on Wii Ware and for the PC.
Not content with totally mishandling the music industry’s disastrous “transition” into the iPod age, Warner Music CEO, Edgar Bronfman Jr., has started down the path of bungling yet another potential revenue stream. With the recent explosion in popularity (and sales) of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it was only a matter of time before someone had to open their big mouth. The churlish executive told Reuters:
The amount being paid to the music industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content we own and control, is far too small.
Now, to be fair, no specifics were given as to how much the record labels are actually getting paid for the use of their music recordings in the games. It’s certainly possible that the game industry is not paying enough. Let’s forget for a minute all the other components that make Guitar Hero/Rock Band successful (development costs, peripheral manufacturing, distribution, marketing, etc.) and play Ed’s game. If I had to guess, I’d posit that the current cut for music in rhythm games is close, if not the same, as a digital download on iTunes. Our pal Eddie must have seen this, and thought, “Hay! Activision is charging double the price of iTunes, but we’re only getting the same as El Jobso. Let me talk to the press, they will surely be on our side!”
Sarcasm aside, Eduardo and the rest of the music industry really need to think before they speak. Even if they are getting the shaft, it would be much more productive to solve the issue behind closed doors. Coming out and complaining to the press in a haughty tone is not going to help their situation any. To the contrary, it’ll just serve as blogger and message board fodder to further drag the music industry through the mud.
Not that the record labels really need any more help with that.
In case you couldn’t recognize this hip-hop “superstar” (I couldn’t), it’s Twista, Chicago’s very own fast-rhyming MC! It’s slightly baffling to me why EA would would want the first person to have Madden 09 be a rapper who peaked in 2004 (with “Slow Jamz feat. Kanye West and Jamie Foxx”). Maybe he suckled the teet of Peter Moore at E3 real good.
Also, I can see why an average Joe would want to make the video equivalent of the “FIRST POST!” comment, but a rapper with (former) cred like Twista? Really? Has hip-hop fallen this far?
(Extra points for the shady-looking copy of the Wii version of the game. Looks real nice on a blatantly obvious promotional video, EA.)
Wow. Ubisoft’s new trailer for the upcoming Prince of Persia game is absolutely stunning. I was skeptical about the new art direction for the game, but am no longer. Do yourself a favor and watch it in HD. Your life will thank you for it.
The speculation is over. Harmonix and MTV have revealed the final song list for the much anticipated songpack sequel to Rock Band. We knew it was going to have 80+ songs on the disc, but in a slightly surprising twist, rockers will be getting another bonus 20 songs that will be downloadable for free in the fall.
As expected, Rock Band 2 will be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360, releasing on that platform in September with the PS3, Wii, and PS2 following a few months later (presumably in November).
From the press release:
• After 14 years since Guns N’ Roses last official music release, Axl Rose selects Rock Band 2 to debut official new track “Shackler’s Revenge” from the highly-anticipated album Chinese Democracy.
• Rock Band 2 is the first and only video game to feature the music of AC/DC. It includes their epic rock anthem, “Let There Be Rock.”
• For the first time ever, music from American music icon, Bob Dylan, is featured in a video game with “Tangled Up In Blue.”
• Rock Band 2 will feature backwards compatibility with all Rock Band downloadable music content released to date.
• Owners of the original Rock Band will have the ability to export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay–the first time ever in videogame history!
There are some really awesome songs on this list. If all Rock Band 2 was just a song addon pack, it would be worth the $60 for the dvd by itself as each song would be costing you just $0.57. However, it appears as if there will be some minor improvements to the gameplay and the fact that you can import all of your songs from Rock Band 1 into the new format for free gives me a warm and tingly feeling as a customer. Harmonix is really pushing Rock Band as a platform, as opposed to yearly stand alone exploits to siphon money from our wallets.
2008 Pulitzer Prize winning author of the novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz, is a Grand Theft Auto fan. He’s played all of them since the first 2d entry into the series and has liked them. But does he think the game is art on the level of The Godfather, as many critics have said?
According to his missive on the WSJ, the answer is “No.”
GTA IV for all its awesomeness doesn’t have the sordid bipolar humanity of “The Sopranos,” and it certainly lacks the epic flawed protagonists that define “The Godfather” and its bloodier lesser brother “Scarface.” Successful art tears away the veil and allows you to see the world with lapidary clarity; successful art pulls you apart and puts you back together again, often against your will, and in the process reminds you in a visceral way of your limitations, your vulnerabilities, makes you in effect more human. Does GTA IV do that? Not for me it doesn’t, and heck, I love this damn game.
Take that GTA fanboys! How do you like dem Pulitzer-winning apples now!
