Backlog: The Embiggening – November, 2015
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/31/15 at 03:45 PM CT
As November – the month that shall be known as “Turkey” at some point in the distant future – arrives, we all need to stop and take time to think about what we’re thankful for. For most gamers, that will be the Turkey 10th release of “Fallout 4.” But the amount of shovelware still being crammed into the release schedule is a bit like Thanksgiving stuffing: nobody really likes or wants it, but it’s cheap filler, so we’re stuck with it. That, and it tastes bad fresh, but even worse left-over…
…Which is relevant because we have a rather large number of leftovers from last month that got delayed into this month. None of them are exciting or anticipated, though, so I will save us all the agony of rehashing them. Onto the fresh shovelware!
The biggest licensed release in quite some time is dropping in the same month as the latest movie sequel in its franchise, with “Star Wars: Battlefront” (a ‘Chris would love that’ title if ever there was one). Aside …
MMObile: Old-School MMOs are Alive and Well... on Smartphones.
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/25/15 at 08:36 PM CT
Recently, I shared my experience with “modern” Massively-Multi-Player Online (MMO) games. As someone who was never a fan of “traditional” MMOs, I appreciate the fact that modern MMOs at least put on airs of being less grindy, less time consuming, and more accessible than the primogenitors of the sub-genre.
However, the fact that modern MMOs now dominate on PC and console platforms does not, indeed, mean that traditional MMOs are dead. Much like any other criminal element, when detected and actively persecuted in one place, they simply moved to another – one that is sparsely regulated and that allows them to target a new audience of suckers who might not be familiar with their fiendish ways.
Sure, “Everquest” is gone, never to return (well, it is scheduled for a reboot, but it will most likely take the form of a modern MMO). Sure, none of the modern MMOs that have arisen to replace it have all of the horrible elements that made it so simultaneously unappealing and …
Steam Controller: First Impressions
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/18/15 at 04:39 PM CT
On Friday, October 16, 2015, the future arrived on my doorstep and made the world of contemporary PC gaming even better. I pre-ordered the Steam controller at the first opportunity for the not-terribly-outrageous price of $50 (plus $8 shipping), and this weekend the first wave of deliveries have been appearing across the United States. I’ve been putting my new gadget through its paces, and after two days of fiddling with it, all I can say is, “All hail Lord GabeN, for he hath liberated us from the typewriter tyranny of the keyboard once and for all!”
The Steam Controller comes in a stylish, navy blue box which contains the controller itself, the controller’s mandatory wireless dongle, a USB/micro USB extender cable, a micro USB/USB right-angle adapter (something of a mystery), two AA batteries, a legal BS pamphlet, and a three-page pictographic quick-start guide.
Click to Enlarge
Valve’s decision to go with standard, disposable batteries with the Steam …
Backlog: The Embiggening - October, 2015
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/10/15 at 03:46 PM CT
As the holidays (ALL of them, not just Christmas and New Year’s Day) perpetually expand their days of influence year after year, it should come as no surprise that the entire month of October is now dedicated to Halloween. Who knows, maybe in the distant future when our modern world is as much a mystery to the inhabitants of earth as the Greek city-states are to us, the 10th month of the year will simply be called “Halloween,” the 11th will be called “Turkey” and the 12th will be called “X-Mas.”
It is fitting to call this October by the name of the holiday it houses, as the amount of terrible things happening in the games industry is truly, utterly terrifying.
The flow of shovelware has not let up since it turned back on last month. October is slathering an unbelievable amount of crap across all platforms, but a lot of it is focused on the ‘new’ 8th Gen consoles, which have apparently finally existed for long enough to attract negative attention.
18 …
Of MMOs and Glazed Donuts
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/04/15 at 02:22 PM CT
Since I started writing for MeltedJoystick, I have done something I never thought I would do. I did not do this uncharacteristic thing once, but twice. What is this strange, alien, Lovecraftian affront to reason that I did? I played – and enjoyed – a Massively Multi-Player Online game.
When MMOs were first a thing, they were universally MMORPGs. And these MMORPGs took one aspect traditionally found in RPGs – grinding – and made it the entire purpose of the game. Early MMOs like “Everquest” weren’t too keen on telling a story or presenting a unique and engaging set of gameplay mechanics. No, they were intent on getting people to pay a monthly fee and then forcing everything in-game to take an unreasonably long amount of time in order to string subscribers players along for many, many months. These early MMORPGs were the games we still see stereotyped in other media when ‘normal’ characters talk about dysfunctional characters with online gaming addictions – …
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