Podcast: Agent 47
One of the most innovative hybrids between a stealth game, a puzzle game, and a shooter are the Hitman titles. Born on PC from a group of Danish developers with an interesting past, IO Interactive introduced a polarizing title that both intrigued and frustrated before moving to consoles. This week Fred and Jam look into the origins of developer IO Interactive and the thought-provoking Hitman series it created.
Cross Talk: Dissecting Microsoft’s Vision of the Future
This is an article that is going live simultaneously on Gaming History 101 and The B-Team Podcast as the topic is applicable to both. This was based on a conversation started on B-Team Episode 354 and continued without me on Episode 355 with Chip and Ryan. It regards the news from Microsoft’s Spring Event regarding Xbox One and Windows 10 gaming (this link provides a VR 360 video of the whole 30 minute announcement and was the only video I could still find of the actual Phil Spencer speech). Once the event ended, everyone wanted to chime in on what this means for Xbox One (the “updated hardware” announcement), Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps instead of Win32 (.exe) programs, and just what the heck Microsoft is planning. This also led to a series of articles rightfully criticizing many of Microsoft’s claims about PC gaming. Professional acquaintance Jason Evangelho did a great piece dissecting it on Forbes, Tim Sweeny (co-founder of Epic Games) flat out wants us to fight UWP, and Peter “Durante” Thoman (the modder responsible for the DSfix on Dark Souls PC and overall fixer of broken PC ports) explains how UWP renders many of the tweaks/mods PC gamers go to the platform for completely impossible. With all the discussion, I figured I would break it down for you and explain why I think that the future can exist with consoles, UWP, and PC games, but they all need each other.
What Was at the Microsoft Spring Showcase
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox at Microsoft, took to the stage to make the content-filled half hour presentation. For the record, I like Spencer and feel he is not only good for Microsoft but also the industry as a whole. That doesn’t mean he can avoid the corporate overlords above him or that he can spill the beans to the public outright, but that he probably knows what the masses are going to say. He also has legacy on his side. In the last 2-3 years we’ve seen the public scorn digital content, attack Microsoft’s disc-less future to the point that it reversed its decision only to read countless opinion pieces asking for it back, and even recently Microsoft announced it would add cross-platform play with PC/PS4 as well as look into “loaning” digital games. This isn’t new, kids, it’s something Microsoft led this console generation with, but the public wasn’t ready…until now?
The focal point of the presentation were the goals of Windows 10 as a PC gaming platform, the bright future for Xbox One hardware/software, and how the two may work in tandem. I already know that last sentence is enough to get some people heated and opinionated so just let that soak for a minute. Of the efforts we heard about plenty of games that were previous Xbox One exclusives hitting Windows 10, Windows 10 getting some proprietary ports as the process of Xbox One/Windows 10 games is streamlined, and a potential upgraded hardware future for Xbox One. If this doesn’t fill you with more questions then this is for you because it not only dissects what this could mean (Microsoft has been its typical vague self since the Showcase) but what I think about it.
Jam’s Dream List for the Resident Evil 2 Remake
Capcom really has been trying to do a make good with its long term fans even if that make good is them just re-releasing all their old games. With the recently released Devil May Cry 4 HD Remaster, Mega Man Legacy collection, and heck there is even talk the Onimusha series might make a comeback (yes please), Capcom has now pulled a Final Fantasy 7 announcement and revealed that it’s remaking Resident Evil 2. Arguably one of my favourite games of all time, this is the title that got me hooked to the series back on the original Playstation. I’m certainly excited for the project and this article covers what I’d like to see from the release. Keep in mind a lot of this “wish list” is completely barmy and probably won’t happen but hey one can dream.
Wrapping up the Coleco Chameleon and My Eventual Anger
The story is basically finished, the seemingly adaptable Coleco Chameleon, known formerly as the Retro VGS, is no more. We’ve already covered the topic quite a bit here, so I’ll just briefly mention that you can read about the history and my opinions of the console here, Jam and I took the concepts of the console and historically dissected them in a podcast here, and as of a press release yesterday on Engadget Coleco has pulled its name from the console. The reason this is the end of the road for the console has really little to do with Coleco pulling its name and rather why the company chose to do so.
As allegations were being thrown out left and right that the 2016 Toy Fair console showed off was nothing more than an SNES Jr. in an Atari Jaguar shell and the later revealed prototype model was proven to be a PCI capture card in a Jaguar shell, Coleco rightfully wanted proof that this device prototype actually existed. Not only did Coleco want to know, but Kickstarter flat out requires that you have a working prototype before you can post on the fundraising site these days. Coleco was fair in asking Retro VGS, the company behind the hardware, to present it a working prototype – as the company had previously contested they had – in order to keep the Coleco name. Yesterday marked the one week deadline and Coleco pulled the name because it still had yet to see a working prototype. That is the smoking gun. Not that it matters, but Atari has also followed-up to announce that they never had an agreement with Kennedy, Retro VGS, or the Chameleon to ever put any Atari games on the console either (source is in the same Engadget article above).
Check This Out: Play NES Games Rendered in 3D
Overnight there was apparently a craze regarding 3DNes, a project capable of re-living your favorite NES games in a browser and now in 3D. This isn’t those 3D games that appear on the 3DS either, it’s a seemingly re-rendered version of the game to support depth (or volume). Originally this is what I imagined voxels (volumetric pixels) to look like and it’s somewhat like the aesthetic of 3D Dot Game Heroes but in your favorite NES games. In order to play you need to be on the 64-bit version of Mozilla’s Firefox web browser, have the NES rom you want to play uploaded to a linked location online (they recommend cloud storage), and you can only play online. A downloadable version will be available soon.
It’s super cool to see these classics with new life in 3DNes and while I messed around with it a little, I have to admit I would probably prefer a downloadable version. You are welcome to head on over to the developer, Geod Studio’s site and play around with it yourself or merely watch the video at the top of the page. Now you’re playing with 3D power.
Monster Boy is Coming Sometime in 2016
This is probably my most anticipated game of 2016. A new game for the Wonder Boy, well its spiritual successor. The latest trailer for Monster Boy looks like a love letter to Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap by featuring animal transformations in the game. Inspiration and love from both Wonder Boy in Monster Land and Wonder Boy in Monster World by featuring the infamous merchant sections from Land. It was interesting to see the trailer features animated cutscenes which look kinda cute. The developers have been allowed to practically mimic the formula made famous by the Wonder Boy series, Sega just didn’t want to give up the name for some reason. I guess Sega’s just going to sit on that IP and do nothing with it while other developers work around them, thanks Sega stay classy.
Interesting to note the game is going to be released to PS4, Xbox One, and PC but it has been rumoured the game will come to Wii U and PS Vita if the game does well. Not only would I love for this game to come to a portable device but I want Sega to release a complete Wonder Boy Collection. We were fortunate enough to get a Wonder Boy Collection of three games on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 but there are still several games on the series that very much need a re release. Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap one of the best Sega Master System (and Game Gear) games for the system can only be found on the original Wiis virtual console which is quite disappointing. The only glimmer of hope is Monster Boy sells 40 billion copies and Sega at least considers releasing the old games. But I guess I’ll keep dreaming.
At the end of the day I’m hugely excited for Monster Boy. Hopefully the game will do well and we will see ports to other consoles but more importantly I want to see sequels. I want more games like this and hopefully it will encourage more developers to attempt to bring back for forgotten gems from the past, even if they can’t use the name. If you can’t call it Kid Chameleon call it Power Helmets ….. anyone buy that?
It’s Not “Wii U” It’s “Me, U, and Nintendo”
With the arrival of Zelda Twilight Princess HD being released on Wii U this week and ever circulating rumours that that next Zelda game will be released to the Wii U and Nintendo’s follow up console (codename NX), I though this would be an opportunity to review just what has happened with the Wii U and why Nintendo seems keen to move on from this console despite pockets of success.
First off it’s worth acknowledging that the Wii U is far from a failure and this console will not be the end of the company. After all, if Nintendo can survive the awful Virtual Boy it can survive most things. The Wii U is a console that had the best intentions behind it: it wanted to bring the tablet experience to the living room along with exclusive Nintendo IPs that you can’t play on any other system. I initially always felt the Wii U was like the DS of video game consoles, where you would have two screens to look at. Unlike the portable, though, you would have to do some significant head movements to view the different screens. There are games made for this console both first and, yes, third party that really made the most of this set up. Despite the criticism ZombiU was a very clever experiment in having the player manage inventory on the tablet screen while action was happening in real time on the TV adding to the horror and tension of the experience. Rayman Legends (a game I adore across all platforms) was originally a Wii U exclusive and it shows on other ports of this game. If you play the game with other people, one player can use the tablet control to manipulate the environment and assist the other players. Another example is Unepic, a very cool indie title which uses the tablet to allow you to manage inventory. Yes, all of these titles were released to other platforms, but they’re examples where developers made the most of the hardware without making it feel like a tacked on gimmick.
Book Review: Legends of Localization Book 1: The Legend of Zelda
Like all great media, video games transcend the restriction of language. Thanks to standardized interfaces, albeit complicated and vast, one can easily pick up a game in any language and navigate it. Whether or not you absorb the key gameplay concepts or the story, however, still comes down to understanding the written or spoken words. This is especially true of retro video games since a majority were born in Japan and then exported to various countries and languages (the most common being English). Unfortunately the process of translating a game requires more care than simply asking what a word or written symbol converts to in another language. Localization is a more appropriate term for what video game translation is really all about. Clyde “Mato” Mandelin has actually done it and continues to document various changes and localization between video games in Japanese and English in his wonderful Legends of Localization site. He recently took the next step and published his first hardcover book, Legends of Localization Book 1: The Legend of Zelda, which does a few things I never thought possible. For one, it taught me a bunch of stuff about The Legend of Zelda that I never knew.
Let’s Play Bio Hazard (Japanese version of Resident Evil)
On the 24 hour live stream Fred and the group decided to randomly start Bio Hazard, the Japanese version of Resident Evil. After breezing through the mansion in less than 90 minutes, Fred and Jam decided to get together a second round and play through the rest of the game. Unfortunately much of the game audio in the first half of the second video was muted, but the important parts and of course the ending portion, are all intact, loud, and clear. Also Fred and Jam have a running commentary the whole time that was not muted so it’s not so bad. We decided to do the full Mo Disk, save everyone, ideal Jill ending and wrapped the whole thing in just over 4 hours total (over 2 videos). The play list is found above, enjoy.
Lost Treasures of Gaming: Boulder Dash (NES)
A classic on consoles, microcomputers, and arcades alike, Boulder Dash took many concepts from the past and turned them into a puzzle game all its own. Whether you’re watching for falling objects coming from most directions or avoiding enemies to unleash a flurry of rocks at them, Boulder Dash keeps you on your toes. This week Syd and Sean interviewed developer Chris Gray and I got an opportunity to dig out my old NES copy.
Head on over to omgnexus.com for the Lost Treasures of Gaming podcast.
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