Your God Not Mine

Some weeks ago, a new God of War was announced. Well I suppose a new God of War game is, by now, inevitable as the tide, regardless of actual quality.

Honestly, I think the God of War games have the same problem the Tomb Raider games one faced: The trap of formula. Both franchises had a big hit with the first game but everything that's followed in it's wake is the same formula - hindered by a Player character who has plenty of brand recognition but is handled by writers who don't seem to have a clue what to do with the them.

Really, what can you do with Kratos? It's fair to say that the God of War games that aren't no.1 have wrecked what made Kratos initially interesting: Now he's just being angry for the sake of it. Kratos is a parody of himself and he's stuck there. Now, he's been angry for so long that it's now expected of him: if he isn't tearing shit up, his fans will call foul - and if he were to have a moment of introspection and/or actual character depth, he'll be called a pussy.

Personally, I can see some potential in the idea of Kratos being confronted with the constant carnage he's caused. What if he was cast into a desert where he has no one to fight? There, in amongst the silence, he is confronted with his actions and the countless people he has killed. Only problem there is a) the afore-mentioned danger of making Kratos a pussy and b) that doesn't sound like much of a game.

Another idea, which continues the wavelength from the previous idea is having someone else as the Player Character. They saw their wife being cut down by Kratos so the player character takes it upon himself to take out Kratos himself. True Yahtzee suggested this before but it would make an interesting iteration on the themes established in the first game. Only problem there is that game franchises without their established lead tend not to do well (Metal Gear Solid 2 anyone?).

Still Tomb Raider managed to do something new with it's latest iteration, so there may be some hope for the God of War games - but I sincerely doubt it.

Free the Elder Scrolls

So Elder Scrolls Online has gone Free to Play. What this means is that this game is joining the other MMORPGs on the same boat whilst WoW is continuing to stream-roll along unabated.

Okay seriously, I've played ESO and I will certainly admit that it has been fun. So to hear to go Free to Play is something of a mixed blessing. On one hand, it may generate new interest in the game and become something of a lifeline. But on the other hand, it is a step towards the graveyard where many other MMORPGs lie.

Ultimately though, I guess time, as ever, will tell whether or not ESO has enough clout to go in for the long-term but it would be interesting to see how things develop in the wake of the FTP announcement

Its a Sony

Recently I contemplated investing in a PS4. Not for one it's games, God no, but for the PS1 and PS2 games available on the PSN. As is often the case with digital distribution, I like the idea of having a classic game readily available that I can continue to enjoy long after the original console has claimed by the march of time.

Thing is, I've built up a large number of PS2 and PS1 games over the years so this does raise the issue of whether or not all of them are available to the PS4 in one form or another.

So let's take a look:

PS1:
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Darkstalkers: Night Warriors
Final Fantasy Anthology
Final Fantasy 6
Final Fantasy 9
Ghost in the Shell
Loaded
Metal Gear Solid
Raiden Project
Return Fire
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Wip3out


PS2:
Burnout 3
Final Fantasy 10
God of War
Gran Turismo 3
Grand Theft Auto 3
Hyper Street Fighter 2
Ico
Madden NFL 2004
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Slug Anthology
Okami
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus
Silent Hill 2
Soulcalibur 3
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution


So we have seventeen games available out of twenty nine. And some of the omissions are glaring (No Return Fire?! But that game's great!). Geez Sony, you're not making a persuasive case for me to shell out for a PS4.

Okay seriously: I can see the appeal of having some of my favorite games readily available but I've spent hours on many of these games. In some cases I've achieved hard fought victories, other times I've achieved success through pure luck and other times still I've won through patience and careful planning (Final Fantasy X Sphere Grid anyone?). So is it worth doing it all over again?

Probably not

Hey Man Slow Down

Happy New Year!

Yep, I'm back after my Christmas Break, ready to take on the new year. And what better way to start the new year with an announcement....stating that I'm slowing down.

Yep, I've made the decision to update this blog solely on a irregular basis. Some of you may have noticed that many of my posts last year came late or were really strained for content. A telling sign as any that coming up with regular material for this blog has become increasingly difficult.

So the time has come to scale down material for Game Tumour. This, by no means, doesn't mean the blog is dead, it will just be updated when I have something to say. And I think you'll agree that quality the posts is far better than quantity.

Still, it would be interesting to see how the ongoing issue of My Hall of Shame shapes out this year...

That was the year it was: 2014

And so we reach the end of another year. So what can I say about 2014?

For me 2014 is defined by Elder Scrolls Online. It's the game I spent the most time on this year - although one could argue that the monthly subscription may have had something to do with it. I never thought I would return to MMORPGurs following my falling out with WoW and whilst ESO has never quite generated the same enthusiasm I had for WoW, it is still a lot fun to play and a great way to get together with some friends and have a bash.

Elsewhere, I did knock off more games off my Hall of Shame. And two of which I am particularly proud of beating: Jade Empire and Planescape Torment. Which goes to show that, in my book, RPGs still rule the roost. Also of note is that Jade Empire was a console game, thus proving that I haven't abandoned that field completely.

And speaking of consoles, the eighth generation has yet to make it's move. Nothing has reared it's head to pique my interest and pull me away from my PC. And considering that my PC is based largely around Steam and heavily modified PC games, that's a very tall order. Still, this generation has only begun and it would be interesting to see what happens next....

And with that, this is the end of Game Tumour for 2014. Okay so I may not have had much to talk about this year but I have no intention of abandoning this blog yet.
So thank you to everyone who has visited this blog over the past twelve months - and I look forward to speaking to you all again in 2015.

R.I.P. Ralph Baer

Today I was saddened by the news that Ralph Baer had passed away at the age of 92.

Who was Ralph Baer you may ask? He is largely credited as being the inventor of the game console, having worked on the first gaming console the Magnavox Odyessy. And at the time his passing, he had 150 patents in his name.

It's a funny thing with the gaming industry: We don't really recognize the efforts of the pioneers that came before us. Indeed, many of them are in their twilight years yet when one passes on, it usually goes unnoticed. Which is a shame as these were real people, like you and me, and they put in a lot of hard effort into the gaming industry and bring us where we are today. And that surely is worth more than some lines of text in some newspaper obituary column.

Still, you can't deny with the efforts of Ralph Baer, we wouldn't be using the gaming consoles as we know them - and gaming today would be a much different place.

And for that, Mr. Baer, I salute you

Fade to Black

Last weekend was the infamous 'Black Friday', where Steam enjoys it's biggest sale of the year. I'm not sure why it's called Black Friday or why that particular weekend is such a big deal but no matter: Any sale on Steam is as good as the next one.

Strangely I didn't buy a lot: I did buy Long Live the Queen (largely due to the hilarious trailer that promoted it) and Mysterious Cities of Gold Secret Paths (because if you were a kid who grew up in the eighties you watched the show that inspired it).

I did buy the Steam version of Elder Scrolls Online as well - that may seem pointless seeing as I already have it but it's nice having a game linked to your Steam account.