Sunday Supplement – 5th February

Comic courtesy of Fat Gamers.

Standing on the shoulder of giants

For those of you who haven’t heard the news, Lara Croft’s comeback is set for April 7th. How should we feel about this? Certainly a clue is in the title: Tomb Raider: Legend. And in gaming terms, the franchise has been legendary. Lara Croft, while on the way to becoming a cultural icon, contributed more than most to Sony’s emergence as the dominant player in electronic entertainment. Lara also helped change the image of gaming forever. Gone were the spotty, geeky teenagers. Replacing them were older, drunken ravers.

So, we’ll allow ‘Legend’. But is Lara Croft, and the Tomb Raider franchise, relevant to today’s gamers? Do we still care? Gaming has come a long way since Lara’s heyday. It’s all open-ended exploration and online frag fests at the moment. Can a predominantly single-player action platformer cut the gaming mustard in 2006?

First impressions of the game at E3 last year were cautiously optimistic. Recent impressions suggest that Legend is a solid, polished effort – certainly better than Angel of Darkness (not hard). We’re told that it’s a return to the kind of form Lara showed back in the day. But is the past the way forward?

Other indications suggest Tomb Raider: Legend might not simply be Tomb Raider 2 wrapped in next-generation clothes. After the debacle of Angel of Darkness, Eidos dumped original developer Core Design for Crystal Dynamics, who will want to stamp their own impression on the IP.

It’s perhaps Lara’s greatest challenge. The negative press received after AoD meant the brand suffered immense damage. Legend will have to battle to win over the hearts and minds of gamers burnt by that experience. Then, Legend will have to convince veterans of the original games to have a bash, as well as new gamers who might not have played it.

But the potential rewards are highly desirable. Eidos certainly hope Crystal Dynamics’ offering will re-establish the franchise as one of the premier games out there. Spin-off revenue is also immense, considering the global reach Lara has; if the game is great – and we all hope it is – Lara may well return to the covers of lifestyle magazines the world over.

Follow the whistleblower

This week it emerged that a Sony Online Entertainment artist was fired for speaking out about the PlayStation 3 on his blog. Here’s what he said:

“Our game just keeps getting moved back… And back… And back. Again, where is the box? Where is the final system? When is it coming out? No one knows and in the mean time people in the industry are starting to get just a little salty. You could always tell where the PS3 dev box was because it’s the room that had the F-bomb coming out of it half the day. I’ve also talked with people on the technical side of the Xbox 360. The consistent comment I am hearing from people on my end is, ‘The Xbox 360 is better’. They are saying that it is capable of just doing more.”

You can see why Sony executives might have been just a tad annoyed. But my concern is not what his comment suggests, more the ramifications of his sacking. Josh Robinson’s big mistake was not making the comment, it was putting his name to it. Why bother? Why not call up a game publication and tell his story anonymously? The message would have been just as powerful, and he would have kept his job.

The worst thing Robinson’s sacking can do is put off others from revealing information. I’m not saying the games industry is as pertinent as, say, a government official revealing a minister abusing his power. But information relating to games is of interest to gamers. We all want to know when we’re being lied to, whatever the lie is.

Why am I worried? Here’s what Robinson said in an interview with PS3week: “I guess the new rule for me is, don’t ever say anything at all about anything. Ever… Ever.” What a shame.

Eye of the beholder

An interesting Gamasutra piece from Greg Wilson fell onto my PC this week. He discusses the relevance of the HUD, that time-honoured game device we’ve had since year zero. Wilson believes that the risk of ‘burn in’ on HDTVs from persistent onscreen elements like HUDs has made developers think again. He also pointed to the desire for developers to make gamers feel more immersed in the experience. One of those ways is to remove the HUD. Finally, Wilson suggests the hunt for the casual gamer, one who is put off by numerous status bars in a HUD, has led to a different approach to interface. Wilson puts forward Peter Jackson’s King Kong as an example of a new breed of HUD-less games that will start to fill game store shelves in the coming years.

Wilson’s argument is certainly strong, and well thought-out. But how should we feel about this trend? Does the next-generation mark the death of the HUD? Should we care?

Games are changing fast. Trends point to removing all the barriers gaming has developed over the years and providing a more cinematic, immersive experience. It’s unlikely, though, that the HUD will become extinct. It’s more likely we’ll see, as Wilson suggests, more sophisticated and creative ways of incorporating a HUD into the game world. Think Metroid Prime on the GameCube or Halo on the XBox. The HUD elements should be there. We can even see a reflection of Samus’ face on the inside of her helmet.

No more health bars? Perhaps not. But we still need to know how much health we have when we play a game. I for one look forward to seeing what tricks developers have up their sleeves.

Collective sigh of relief

Funny one this. Uwe Boll, destroyer of game brands, will certainly be aware of how ‘popular’ he is with the game community, but for some reason, at least up to now, he has actually been popular with game publishers. I say until now, because this week Hideo Kojima, creator of the massively popular Metal Gear Solid franchise and one of the most famous game developers in the world, said: “Absolutely not!” Three guesses as to what he was talking about.

That’s right. Kojima-san was responding to rumours (horrible, frightening rumours) that Uwe Boll had been approached to direct a movie based on MGS. He went on: “I don’t know why Uwe Boll is even talking about this kind of thing. We’ve never talked to him. It’s impossible that we’d do a movie with him.”

Let’s hope Konami doesn’t go over his head and sign Boll up anyway. I just don’t get it? Do game industry executives actually check out Boll’s work? Or is there an amazingly good hypnotist that attends screenings of Boll’s game-based films and keeps the audience behind for ten minutes after the film has finished?

In any case I’m glad Hideo Kojima hasn’t been brainwashed yet. But might he have a hidden agenda? If the MGS games are anything to go by, Kojima-san fancies himself as a bit of a director anyway. Might he be putting himself in the frame? Watch this space.

This week on Pro-G

This week we’ve reviewed Devil Kings, Sly 3 and Everybody’s Golf on the PlayStation 2, plus looked at what 2006 might hold for Sony and Microsoft.

Reviews

• Devil Kings (PS2)
• Everybody’s Golf (PS2)
• Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves (PS2)

Features

• Microsoft in 2006
• Sony in 2006

This week’s new releases

Many new games were released this week, but there’s really only one that should be on everybody’s shopping list. Katamari Damacy was – unforgivably – never released in Europe, but thankfully the King of All Cosmos is back and in Europe for the first time. Strangely, we have EA to thank for the game arriving on European shores, a publisher not known for innovative non-mainstream titles.

The one-time Flash game Alien Hominid also carries the flag for non-conformity, showing that hard-as-nails 2D action games still have a place in today’s market. Urban Reign is the only other title that jumps out of the list, having far exceeded my expectations. The street brawling can get a little tough, but the solid fighting engine makes for some very enjoyable multi-character fights.

• Alien Hominid (GBA)
• Dead To Rights: Reckoning (PSP)
• Devil Kings (PS2)
• Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors 2 (DS)
• Rome: Total War – Gold Edition (PC)
• Rugby Challenge 2006 (PS2, Xbox and PC)
• Sega Casino (DS)
• Sega Classics Collection (PS2)
• Urban Reign (PS2)
• We Love Katamari (PS2)