Tag Archives: console

Fallout 4: A Nuclear Family

Posted by Chad Knick on

If, for some reason, you’ve been living underground in a bunker for the past decade you may not have heard of the Fallout franchise. If this is the case, I am sorry. I urge you to bust open that Vault door, step out into the light, and grab hold of Fallout 4. Fallout 4 follows the same trends that the established franchise has always experienced: vast open-world experience, exceptional story arcs, and riddled with enough bugs to make a radroach colony jealous. I say this to preempt this review, because I want people to understand that just because a game has flaws, doesn’t mean that it’s not a magical, fun experience that should be enjoyed.

fallout_1

First off, let me start by saying Fallout 4 has so many complexities, so many side quests, and so much of well – everything, that I can’t begin to cover it all in the scheme of a single review. This game will eat up hours of your life, but you’ll enjoy every minute of it. Even with the technical hiccups that sprinkle themselves throughout the coding, like a frosted doughnut, Fallout 4 is just too good to put down.

As in all Fallout games you become the unnamed citizen who escapes the fallout of a nuclear explosion by securing yourself within a Vault, an underground bunker designed with the soul purpose of protecting citizens. In Fallout 4, you are a survivor of Vault 111, finding yourself staggering about the future in search of your family. This is about as much as the game gives you initially, and it’s the perfect way to start things off. The more vague the initial storyline is the more enjoyable an RPG game, such as this, can become.

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You feel like you have a sense of choice and decision making in Fallout 4 that I hadn’t felt in previous renditions. Fallout is know for giving exceptional player agency, and this is no different, but the method in which they go about it is. The stat system: S.P.E.C.I.A.L, and the massive Perks chart allow for endless possibilities of playthroughs. If you’ve never played, but want to have a specific style I recommend checking out FudgeMuppet on Youtube for specific builds.

The biggest change in the Fallout system is V.A.T.S. The “Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System” has been around in previous renditions, but accessibly, this new version falters where it’s predecessor succeeded. V.A.T.S used to pause the game entirely, which made the game more accessible for players with mobility based limitations to play it. The ability to be able to time your attack and prep where you want to shoot is a necessity to some players. Bethesda has removed this from the game and instead V.A.T.S. now slows down time, instead of fully pausing it. It functions all well and good, but many of the Fallout 4 enemies have faster A.I. and response times than the V.A.T.S has time to slow properly.

fallout_7

The actual mechanics of shooting and moving around the vast environment are a rise above that now makes Fallout 4 a less clunky and more like a streamlined shooter. The crafting system in the game is massive, and I mean, MASSIVE. Each and every single piece of gear you can equip can be altered. It is a beautiful thing to behold. Now, no matter what gear you have, know you’re going to experience death – a lot. Fallout 4 doesn’t shy away from making the wasteland of the Commonwealth a beautiful, challenging death trap. If you can bear with the fact that there is key remapping, a requirement of precision skills in lock-picking, and lack of V.A.T.S. pause – you can get through Fallout 4.

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The soundtrack is beautiful and the dialog between characters, while sometimes expected, is quirky, exceptional, and keeps me coming back for more. The subtitles didn’t always play in certain parts of the game, and often times, would overlap one another if I had a radio signal on. The audio cues and subtitles don’t take away from the accessibility of the gameplay though, so you can finish the game without sound. Visually, it’s the most stunning game I’ve seen to date. The sprawling world of Commonwealth, combined with the lush NPC’s you can experience, gives such a depth that I couldn’t draw myself away.

Bethesda has really attacked the visual market by allowing for HUD, subtitle, and menu colors to be adjusted for ease of use. The color pallet for the game is varied enough that it shouldn’t affect colorblind players. I can’t speak to it, because I’m not colorblind myself, but there was nothing jarring or off-putting as I walked around Fallout 4. The subtitles can sometimes be difficult to read, but you can easily get past this by adjusting the color to something you can see from afar. If you can move past some of the jarring visual bugs and crashes, then Fallout 4 will wrap you up in it’s post-apocalyptic beauty.

Wrap Up:

Fallout 4 has one of the most well written and entertaining worlds I’ve ever experienced in a game. The Commonwealth is littered with people, and not just wall flower NPC’s I casually interact with. These companions, characters, and even vendors have such a depth that I wanted to play with each one of them. I wanted to experience their life stories, goals, and ups and downs, as much as I wanted to craft my own. They became a part of my family. I grew eager to see what would happen next on this journey. I now see what Fallout fans have been clamoring about for years. A beautiful world with such character you can’t help but be caught up in the chaos – and spend days exploring every facet of it.

It may have it’s hiccups from time to time, and Bethesda could do more to make the game more accessible in future iterations, but this version is quite refined. Fallout 4 gives the player so many options to experience the story however they wish. The crafting systems and settlement building feel like a whole separate game in and of themselves, and I could spend hours just altering my homestead. I haven’t touched the DLC yet, but from what I’ve experienced, I can’t wait. I want to get lost in this world again, and again, soaking up new stories of the Commonwealth like radiated Nuka-Cola.

  • Mods fix a lot of the problems in the PC and XBox One versions, but I wasn’t able to experience these first hand. The review is solely expressed with my PS4 journey, which doesn’t currently allow modding. 

Tech Talk: An Eye on the Ouya

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, I took a vacation from posting – as some of you may have noticed. It’s the summer though, so you can’t blame me for getting out there in the ‘world‘ and living a little. Among the things I missed out on covering, one of the most thrilling pieces of news to come out of this was:

The Ouya

With a plethora of gaming consoles already on the market, and mobile gaming making nearly every phone in the world into a mobile gaming mecha, the prospect of new technology always intrigues me. Last week the Ouya was announced via a Kickstarter campaign, and it practically made my ears pop off with intrigue. If you’ve not heard of what the Ouya is I’ll detail it for you in brief, and I’ll include the nice shiny trailer video too:

Now what does this mean for the future of gaming? Well, in my opinion, it just means to make the gaming world more impressive. I don’t think the intention is to wipe out Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. Those companies are megaliths of the industry, so I highly doubt it’ll put a dent in their revenue streams. The idea that the system is going to be using a ‘free-to-play’ and mobile business practice model is entirely up my alley!

I think I had a dream like this once… so glad it’s coming true!

I love hearing the word ‘developers’ used when discussing consoles. I think often times there’s so many hurdles to jump through to get a game onto a modern console these days. Developers feel intimidated by the high cost of publishing rights and the loss of artistic freedoms vs. company control.It’s no wonder that, in this day and age, mobile game development and the Android market system look so appealing.

The Ouya business model looks promising too:

The company will take a 30/70 percent split for any game you produce and want to port to console. This, to me, is fantastic. Here’s why. You get to craft and develop  a game for Android software, which is a highly accessible marketplace. As a developer, you’ll be pulling 70% back in revenue towards any sales of your game. This blows my mind folks!

Considering that there’s no manufacturing fees, no hardware fees, etc. because all of the games will be digital download/free to play streamed it makes so much more logical business sense from a development stance. If you cut out certain expenses, you can reduce the size of fees, and increase the productivity and quality of development. The specs don’t look remarkably fantastic, which is a bummer.

Sleek, refined, and shiny – seriously what else do I need?

If you’re a developer hoping for some Sony PS3 style next-gen graphics engine, then you’ll probably want to stand in line waiting for a publishing house to clear you. If you’re like me though, and a newbie developer, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It’ll give me a chance to bring designs into folks homes, rather than porting them to flash computer sites.

Here’s the Ouya’s specs:

  • Tegra 3 quad-core processor
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 8 GB Flash Storage
  • HDMI input that supports up to 1080p HD
  • WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
  • Bluetooth LE 4.0
  • USB 2.0
  • Wireless Controller w/ standard controls + touchpad
  • Android 4.0 

Now while I’m infatuated with the idea, of course I’m still skeptical. Any new technology is going to make a person nervous before they can actually see it in action. I’ve been hearing rumors that Valve may be releasing their own Steam Box console for homes as well and, if that’s the case, we many have a battle on our hands. The Steam market is already highly prolific and loved by many gamers and devs alike – so Ouya is going to have to claw to prove that their product is superior early on. My biggest suggestion to the development team would be this:

Includification.

Mark Bartlet, President/Founder of the AbleGamers Foundation, coined this term two days ago in an article he wrote for their site. I couldn’t be more in agreement with his statements, and if you want to read the full article you can. Essentially, Barlet discusses the term of ‘accessibility’ and sometimes how that term can make development seem difficult, frustrating, and down right hard. He decided at a recent conference that he’d try and devise a different approach to how developers look at games and coined this term.

Includification means:

1. Making sure content includes everyone, regardless of ability. 

2. Design so that everyone can enjoy and appreciate the fruits of creative labor.

In the case of the Ouya, I see tons of potential here to be played with. The idea that the entire system is open to tweaking and hardware reconfiguration, peripherals can be toyed with, etc. It’s like a game developer’s LEGO set! I think if the Ouya staff, and future developers for the console, focus on the idea of includification the console will succeed. The games, and hardware, need to be versatile – flow with the accessible punches so that it doesn’t become an ‘exclusives’ war like the major console brands.

If I were designing for the Ouya, I’d be design for kids like him. Inspiring!

Gaming should be for everyone, and if developers and hardware designers can work together I don’t see why games can’t include ALL types of players. I can’t wait to see what comes of this system, and you’ll bet I’ll probably own one at some point. The price point is set at around $99.00 at the moment, and that’s a wonderful price for the plethora of games they wish to display near launch time. There seem to be tons of major developers in support of the project, and so I can only say I’m one of the indies waiting to get my hands dirty with this new IP.

Developer Profiles? Well that just makes it all the more impressive!

Here’s to you Ouya! You’re shaking up the status-quo and I hope that it brings game development to new levels! You’ve already raised up past $5 MILLION dollars with 3 WEEKS to go – so RUN with these funds and MAKE it happen! THIS DEVELOPER would love to see it in his living room – that’s for certain. If you believe that the Ouya is the future of in-home gaming – feel free to stop by their Kickstarter and dump a little love to their console dreams!

Sincerely,

Chad K. aka Gastrogamer

E3 Impressions: XBox Smart Glass

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well I’ve done a lot of E3 coverage on the games lately, and I think it’s about time that we started talking a little bit of TECH don’t you? I also want folks to know that I’m an all inclusive gamer. I don’t want it to seem like I have a bias towards one company or the other just because I don’t happen to own a system to play games exclusive to it – SO let’s talk some XBox news shall we?

Microsoft’s press conference was loaded with some pretty awesome coverage of Kinect and their games, but there was something that definitely peeked my interest: XBox Smart Glass. Now what exactly is XBox Smart Glass:

What intrigues me about this concept is that Microsoft is realizing that gaming consoles are swiftly becoming hubs of peoples homes. Games are becoming more casual, movies are being streamed, music is being uploaded, and the web is practically a necessity in this generation of an interconnected world. So – how does Microsoft plan to answer this conundrum of how to provide all of this to mobile on-the-go families?

XBox Smart Glass.

Wii shows off Wii U, but Smart Glass looks sharp for sure!

The applications that you’ve seen above really grasped me. The idea that Microsoft will allow players to use their smartphones and tablets that they already own to interact with the 360 device is genius. They’re not asking for players to go out and buy a peripheral piece of hardware like they asked for when they released Kinect, but rather, they’re integrating their products into the already mobile lives of families and gamers. I’m sort of in love with this honestly. It’s not like I haven’t seen this before, in fact, this technologies been around for quite a while.

Tablet to TV? Awesomeness!

I’ve seen integrated screen technology being utilized by Microsoft and Apple for ages now. In Disneyland’s Innoventions – Microsoft and HP fully utilize the integrated screen technology within the Disney Dream Home segment. They opened the exhibit in 2008 – so it’s been around. It’s a fantastic look at the usage that Microsoft can get out of their software and integration technology. Honestly, walking through that home, sometimes I wonder why some of these integrations haven’t been fully utilized in games. Well now that looks as though that’s about to change.

This is a girls room – look at how it customizes itself to the programmers interests!

If you want to learn more and take a virtual look of the Dream Home, check it out:

Disney Dream Home Tour

We’ve all heard about the voice command gaming using Kinect via Mass Effect 3 and other games, but what does Smart Glass bring to the table as far as accessibility? Well, here’s what I’m seeing. I see a gaming console that utilizes both voice controls via Kinect and touchscreen functions using your own tablet devices to bring a valued, immersive, and refreshing experience. All this would require is the download of an app to your phone or smartphone.

Clearly you can see from the demo that these ideas may actually make games like Madden, FPS games, etc. more accessible for those gamers with mobility issues. Imagine if you were able to play an FPS via a touchscreen, while still being able to interact and play with friends who participate via controllers. I would also love to see if they’ll start utilizing PC/XBox/Android cross play in the future. This technology may soon be able to shrink the boundaries and difficulties that many gamers find in trying to become valued and integral participants with their fellow gamers.

I thought for a moment that Wii U would be the leader in touchscreen gaming, but clearly XBox is trying to take a vast bite out of the newest console from their competition. I see so much potential in this that I can’t wait to pick up a 360 just to test out the future of this technology. I see a vast social and mobile aspect to this technology and I can only hope that Microsoft keeps up with this design!

Way to go Microsoft – you just set the bar for console accessibility in my opinion!

What are your opinions on the newest tech to be released by the tech juggernaut? Let me know in the comments below. How do you think this will change the face of the industry, accessibility for games, the way we design games, etc. I would love to hear from you all!

E3 Impressions: The Last of Us

Posted by Chad Knick on

The theme of  a post-apocalyptic survival game isn’t unheard of, in fact, it’s really quite a prevalent style found in some of the most recent games. I think I’ve found one, however, that’s going to rock the pants off me this upcoming season. Naughty Dog Studios is getting ready to release The Last of Us, a PS3 exclusive that’s far darker, grittier, and more adult than the former hero study of Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series. Seriously, the main characters of The Last of Us live such a violent lifestyle that it makes Drake look like a toddler still sucking on a bottle.

Apocalypse – WOW!

Now I’m a huge fan of the Uncharted series. I love the quips, the humor, and the high octane action. I’m excited though to see a studio who I’ve always associated with jovial, family friendly, entertaining series [ Jak and Daxter, Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted ] actually branching out into a far more mature realm with The Last of Us. This story deals with a duo, similar to how they did with Uncharted, but the pairing is far different. Here’s why I’m so excited for this game:

  • You play as Joel, a rugged survivor with a brutal attitude, who befriends and takes a young teenager, named Ellie [ Ashley Johnson ] , under his wing. It seems as though you’ll be playing primarily as Joel as you go throughout the game, but the AI of Ellie looks phenomenal.
  • I’m hoping there will be moments within the game where you can switch, or the game switches, the character you play. I understand that Ellie doesn’t really seem like she poses a threat, but I think that’s the strategy of it. It would be a whole new game challenge if you had to deal with drifters, infected, etc. as a young girl vs. a rough and tumble survivalist.
  • There seems to be some sort of infection going on. This was apparent to me since the first few trailers that were ever released for this game. It seems like some sort of fungus, or organic infection, that’s turning any living organism into some sort of zombified cannibalistic creature. This means, not only are you traversing the apocalyptic city scape, but you’re fighting off drifters AND infected as enemies.
  • The infected enemies seem to be dubbed “Clickers” and so I’m stoked to see how they became infected, etc. I also like the inventory system as it seems to be very fluid and easily accessible. The characters seem to mesh well and the vibe of the game seems to be increasingly focused on moment to moment combat, seamlessly ducking in and out of cutscenes and gameplay.
Overall, I’m stoked by this game – and even though I know it’s probably going to be rated M for Mature I’m so eager to grab this up like warm, piping blueberry pancakes from a morning skillet! It’s slated to be out some time [ I’m hoping earlier than later ] in 2013. So here’s to hoping the apocalypse doesn’t happen in December so I can focus on my gaming apocalypse in 2013!

 

Thanks Naughty Dog giving me something to look forward to, for providing me with two brand new characters I can now obsess over!

Game of the Week: Dragon’s Dogma

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, you’ve done it. You’ve outsmarted the likes of the Qunari, saved Kirkwall and have become the Viscount to end all Viscounts – callo-calla-what fraptious day! – but wait, you’ve grown bored with not having dragons to slay you say? Need something to fulfill your dragon slaying fixes till the time comes when Bioware will pull back the lids on Dragon Age III? – well your quest is over dear mortals! There is potential in one little gaming hatchling on the horizon, and it’s name is Dragon’s Dogma.

Dragon’s Dogma is an RPG game produced by CAPCOM. Yep. The makers of some of the most prolific FIGHTING games have taken to the RPG arena – with this new IP title, and you know what? – it looks promising. There’s clearly a lot of aspects that I’m going to discuss here, but what you should know is that I’ve only played the demo for the time being. A demo does not a great first impression always make, therefore, keep an open mind and a reptilian, cold-blooded, open heart as I guide you through what may very well be your next gaming addiction.

Now the Dragon’s Dogma demo didn’t give any hints to the campaign. I didn’t feel like I learned anything about story or anything – but I did find on their website a sort of explanation for why your created hero embarks out into this dragon and creature infested world. It’s a little digital action comic and it clarifies a lot of the questions that I had while playing the demo:

Apparently you play as your created character who is a soul villager who stands up to this fierce dragon in a village called Cassardis. You stand up to him and the dragon, pretty much, calls you out. He steals your heart and goats you into finding him later in the game. You later awake somewhere safe, your scar from the dragon’s talon healed – you have become what’s dubbed as an “Arisen” and you must go forth and try to the dragon and seek vengeance upon it. Does that premise sound appealing to you? It did to me too, and this is what happened.

Here’s where things get juicy – the accessibility portion of our show – right?

Now I saw a lot of grand things, and I saw a lot of tweaks that may need to be looked at before final release, but alas, here goes – because I truly enjoyed my experience with this demo and I feel it needs to be shared:

Pros:

  • Text-based instruction perfect for deaf gamers. Most instructions are text based or visually noted, so helps deaf gamers with learning controls, etc. 
  • Character customization is robust and easy to use. Sliders for most changes, or just click on a predetermined face/body part/etc. makes for quick and simple customization.
  • Party AI is actually really helpful. If you feel stuck they’ll direct you, pin enemies, etc.
  • Lots of HUD displays [ Map, move notation on-screen buttons, etc. ] is a plus.
  • Multiple classes lends itself to allowing a player to pick what control scheme may fit him/her best. If you feel like ranged combat would be more suitable so you don’t have to be in the immediate party attack radius you can choose to be an archer.
  • Colors are nice and vivid, which will help for colorblind gamers – no harsh tones.

Cons:

  • Text is small and difficult to read for vision impaired players. Can also make it hard for deaf players to see instructions, etc.
  • Physically impaired gamers will have a heart attack via the control scheme. 16+ inputs, and while there are at least 6 custom settings for button placement – you have to use L1 and R1 for attacks and defense respectfully and L2 and R2 for grappling an enemy, and or using special abilities. Highly complex controls, easy to get to know, hard to actually pull off.
  • Camera angles. Fast paced gameplay lends itself to losing sight of enemies and party fast if you don’t keep your camera steady.
  • Inventory system, while aware of it, is almost unnoticeable via gameplay. No HUD for it on screen makes for a hassle via combat sequences for the impaired.

This is only what I’ve witnessed so far, but Capcom has done a rather decent job at this game. Yes, there’s quite a lot of issues with it as far as accessibility, but they’re designing the game for console players. It’s only scheduled to be available for 360 and PS3 – and so like I’m used to seeing – the accessibility goes down via console play. I’m hoping at some point they’ll release a PC version that’ll allow more players to play it. I’m hoping for a lower screen inventory bar, a party customizer setting, some customizable control settings – shoot anything to give this game a bit of an edge accessibility wise.

Lions… and Goats?… and Snakes?! OH MY!

I truly am intrigued by this story, and I’d love to see this game do well. I personally will probably be picking this game up when it comes out May 22nd. The game is unique in many ways, because it employs the use of party mechanics – so if you’re more of an RTS player you could effectively play as an overseeing-healer while your party battled enemies. I also found it amazingly intriguing with the grapple mechanics. You can ride creatures and stab them – how cool is that? The game is open world with side quests, main quests, and a slew of high energy battles.

You can check out Dragon’s Dogma right now on XBox and PS3 – and get ready to hunt some dragon May 22nd. Here’s looking at you Capcom – time to see what your RPG can do! I’ll most likely post a full review whenever I get a chance to get my hands on this nugget!

Happy gaming folks!