Alex Moore, lead designer at Rebellion, the UK developers behind AvP 3, kindly took some time out to answer our questions about the game.

LS.net – The original AVP and AVP 2 on PC are classics of the genre with metacritic ratings in the high 80’s. When developing your current AVP game what elements did you decide to take and build on from the previous games in the franchise and what did you approach from a fresh, new perspective?

AJM – “Both the Jaguar version from 1995 and the PC game from 1999 are so highly regarded due to their realization of iconic moments from the franchises – not just the individual films but also the comics and novels.  So making sure that we nailed each species to make it feel like the characters people expect was a big starting point.  We then looked at what we wanted to improve, and ways of pushing each species more than ever before to create three unique perspectives.”

LS.net – In dealing with two of the most well known franchises in Action/horror Sci-fi you must be aware that a core of gamers interested in these story worlds will be drawn to your game. What have you done to keep these franchise fans happy? Conversely, what have you done to draw in new gamers who have no previous experience of the AVP universe?

AJM – “Across all three campaigns we’ve made sure there are plenty of nods towards the films, not just in the characters you come up against from each perspective but also iconic moments like entering the hive or stalking prey from a tree.  This generation of consoles gives us the opportunity to perfect things like the Predator vision modes, which provides a great sense of immersion into the game and makes you feel like you are each character more than ever before.”

LS.net - Your “Focus Jumping” mechanic is clearly designed to streamline gameplay for a more immersive experience. In making the game suitable for consoles what other gameplay advancements will be included in the final release?

AJM – “A core philosophy behind the design of the mechanics has been to ensure that all players can perform all the actions in the game they want as easily as possible.  The focus jumping is a big part of ensuring that when playing as the Predator the player can get up into the trees as fast as possible without the danger of missing the branch.  The Alien player has a similar mechanic for getting into vents, but the key throughout development has been constant iteration to streamline the experience as much as possible.”

LS.net – With the Australian release controversy and the possibility of certain violent moves such as the predator’s “trophy kill” being removed from the game we are interested to know how you have approached the violence and gore aspects of the game.

AJM – “The Alien only has itself as a weapon, so we knew early on in development that we needed a strong close quarters combat mechanic.  The Predator has his huge wrist blades which are just perfect for ripping things apart, so again he fits with the close quarters combat.  The Marine has weapons and basic defense at his disposal so from the human perspective you never inflict the kind of violence that is reserved for the other species.”

LS.net – As a veteran of previous AVP titles I always enjoyed playing as a Marine the most, this was due to the intense periods of silent tension punctuated with explosive and frightening action. What can you tell us about your approach to the Marine portion of the game and how you will ramp up the immersion and tension and intensify the fear levels? What new techniques will you be using to scare us?

AJM – “The key to the scares in AvP Classic is that the Aliens can come from anywhere, at any time.  We’ve continued that in sections of Aliens vs Predator, and even after extensive playing in the office it’s nice to see members of the team still being caught unaware.”

LS.net - Having seen some of the multiplayer gameplay videos I for one am excited to get my hands on the multiplayer part of the game. How have you approached the aspect of balance and gameplay in the multiplayer portion? Do you plan on keeping it fresh with DLC and further support?

AJM – “The three species help balance each other out as they all have a key strength and weakness.  The Marine has great firepower, but only very basic melee.  The Alien has no firepower but is lethal close up, and the Predator fits between them with a blend of weaponry and gadgets.  DLC is planned and more details on it will be released closer to the time.”

LS.net – Finally, the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 is seeing a large amount of shooters. How do you plan on standing out from the crowd and winning over gamers’ wallets in the post Christmas season?

AJM – “There’s four games in one box – 3 very distinct single player campaigns and then multiplayer on top.  Oh, and survivor where up to 4 people have to stay alive for as long as possible.”

So there you have it, I’m sure many gamers will be interested to see what the finished product is like and more details on the DLC will be hotly anticipated. I for one am looking forward to the game and will be picking it up on its February 16th release date.

What are your opinions on the game and how its going to turn out? Comments appreciated.

Cryptic have been kind enough to take the time to answer a number of questions that I thought would be interesting, both to those who might not have played the recent beta, and to those who’ve been grabbing up our keys at warp speed over the last week or so (note: all 500 keys have now been handed out).

In choosing questions for the team, I tried to cover  information on the the game’s background, its development, its status as a brand new title in a massive worldwide franchise, and, of course, the technology and gameplay we can expect from the game.

I think we got some good answers.

Star Trek Online has been in development for a very long time (since 2004), and has seen a change in developer (from Perpetual Entertainment to Cryptic Studios).  Do you think this has made the development of the game more difficult, or has the extra time allowed you to go further with your ideas?

Actually, we didn’t use any code or design from the previous developer. We began from scratch, so there really wasn’t any additional development time for us. We got working on the game in 2008, and we’re very proud of the work we’ve done in such a brief period of time.

Star Trek is a worldwide phenomenon, with one of the largest fanbases of any science fiction franchise.  Do you see that as a guarantee of success?  Trek fans will play it no matter how good it is.  Or as a challenge?  Star Wars Galaxies had some problems establishing a core base of players; we have to do this right.

It’s nice to have that fan base to build up excitement for the game.  They’re excited, we’re excited but you can’t rely just on the name to sell the game.  It has to be something fun and something that is true to the Star Trek franchise. So what the Star Trek name guarantees us is exposure. There are a lot of eyeballs on us right now, and if the game is good, those people will play. We’re not counting on anyone to stick around just because it’s Star Trek; we want to make the best game we can.

You’ve stated that the STO is set 30 years after the events of Star Trek: Nemesis, the final film featuring the Next Generation cast.  However, last year saw the Star Trek reboot, by J.J. Abrams, which was wildly successful.  Did you ever consider switching to the alternate timeline introduced in that movie?

Well CBS was the licensor with us and not Paramount who did the recent J.J. Abrams movie so we stuck with the original timeline.  Plus we were already working on our story and when that movie came out so it would have been a huge undertaking to switch stories, plus getting the rights, etc. The good news is, since its Star Trek, visiting alternate universes is always a possibility.

In the official FAQ, you’ve stated that, in STO, ‘Technology has advanced and the galaxy is a much more volatile place.’  Can you elaborate on that?

Well it’s 30 years past any recent Star Trek movie or TV show, so there’s a lot of new gadgetry in the universe. Most notably, people can wear miniaturized versions of the shields ships use, so they have some additional protection from ground phaser fire. The galaxy is a much more volatile place because the Borg are back, Klingons are back to their warlike ways again the Federation are trying to hold it all together.

Let’s talk gameplay.  Combat in MMOs can be a deciding factor in the game’s success.  How does STO’s action differ from other MMOs, is it a more casual experience, stats-focused, or a balance of both?

Well there are two different kinds of combat in STO:  space and ground.  In space, it’s a very tactical experience. You’re constantly thinking about what weapons you want to fire, which skills and abilities you want to use, how you want to position yourself, and so on. It demands a lot of attention from the player, but in a good, visceral way. On the ground, combat is more action-oriented. You can play with friends or with four NPC Bridge Officers, who have their own unique skills and contribute to the fight along the way. But it’s tactical, too. You can actually pause the game on the ground and issue orders to your Bridge Officers before unpausing and letting the action play out.

Though it’s not in the beta, the ‘Genesis’, system for creating randomly-generated content for explorers sounds like an exciting idea.  How will it work?  And what kind of content can we expect?

Genesis is actually in-game right now, but it works a bit differently than a lot of people think. The Genesis system is an in house tool that allows us to create maps and systems at a really quick rate.  A designer can go in and say he wants a purple planet with asteroids, 3 moons, a space station and 5 birds of prey to defeat.  And then boom it’s done.  Then our artists can go in and make it pretty looking.  This allows us to create things really quickly and then put them in the game.  So when people explore a star cluster they may go into one of these maps that has been generated and since we have so many of them, they could potentially be the first to discover it.

Just a quickie.  How’s the reaction to the beta been so far?  Got any big improvements/fixes to come?

The reaction to the beta has been really positive so far.  We’ve actually had so many people playing it that we’ve had to get more servers.  None that I can spill the beans on just yet but there will always be big improvements/fixes to come J.

So, there you have it.  While I can’t claim to have coaxed any huge  spoilers, or any brand new features, out of the team, I think there are some scraps of detail that are potentially exciting for STO fans.

Here’s my picks:

The ‘Genesis’ system is not an in-game feature that randomly generates large amounts of gameworld for the player.  Rather, it is a development tool, allowing for the swift creation of new ‘encounters’ and areas for the player to explore.  Effectively, this means Cryptic can support the game very efficiently by releasing new content more often.

‘The good news is, since its Star Trek, visiting alternate universes is always a possibility.’ - Cryptic haven’t ruled out using alternative universes and timelines in future updates for the game.  Could we see a tie in with the new movies?  Maybe, if the game is popular.

‘We’re not counting on anyone to stick around just because it’s Star Trek; we want to make the best game we can.’ – Something I’m sure we’d like to hear all developers say.  Cryptic aren’t resting on their laurels, and they know that they have to keep people playing.  Expect a lot of support for the game post-release.

Thanks again to Cryptic for the interview, and to those of you who left a quote for a beta key.

Loadscreen.net wishes the team at Cryptic the very best of luck with the release of Star Trek Online.

Let’s hope it’s a case of set phasers to ‘stunning’.

Ed: You can find our User Review and Discussions forum thread for Star Trek Online here.

A response to the article 2010 – The Death of Gaming

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited.  No, it’s not the new season of 24 – though OMG.  I’m talking about the gaming industry in 2010, and how, I believe, it is on the crest of a new wave of video gaming.

Now, this is an opinion piece, and I’ll admit my homework amounts to nothing more than being plugged into the gaming media 18/7 – I work part-time –  but I’m educated enough, and gamed enough, to know when something big is coming.

Let’s get down to it, shall we?  Motion control and 3-D (the abbreviation of ‘3D’, is dependent on where you look – the hyphenated version seems to relate specifically to certain television technologies allowing the domestic consumption of the format), the most significant advances in interactive entertainment – let’s call it Input – in the last ten years.  Forget chasing after the Magic Dragon of Photorealism, it’s a mirage; instead, look at the Nintendo Wii, at what that product has done to people’s perception of gaming.

Before this generation, in which I will include the Wii, though its hardware is largely (excepting the Wiimote) last generation, videogames were not something you’d share with your girlfriend/mother/grandma/sister.*

*Ok, yes, there are always going to be exceptions to this rule, but please don’t feel the need to remind me of who you are.  We’re all special, after all.

Today, a close proximity to Wii Fit enhances your social appeal.  It’s officially ‘in’, a ‘fad’, and a topic of conversation that doesn’t end in mild embarrassment.  All this, when I can still remember cultivating an attachment to Star Wars: Rogue Squadron on the Gamecube (Nintendo’s previous console); a game, about which, my girlfriend and I are unlikely to develop a bond; a game that has nothing but unhealthy connotations, from serious sci-fi addiction to the sofa-bound control scheme.

And it’s not at all to do with appealing to women.  Heck no.  That would be a short-sighted conclusion, considering the large amount of female gamers there are and always have been.  No, it’s the uncanny ability of an oblong of plastic to encourage entire generations to treat videogames as a viable casual pastime.  But why?

Nintendo's Wii - appealing to women, attractive to men

First of all, the Wiimote has changed people’s perceptions of how people play games.  The image of an overweight, spotty teenager, slouched over a control pad has been replaced by an attractive 20-something woman in revealing sports gear, working up a sweat playing virtual volleyball.  It’s genius, and it’s not just for perverts either.  Granddad has the promise of a good, old fashioned game of golf in the safety of his own home.  Where are the Grand Theft Auto hoodlums now?  Challenging Auntie Madge to another round of Wii bowling, that’s where.  Motion control has brought the family unit into gaming.  How many of us played Wii with our nearest and dearest this Christmas?

This might well constitute a revolution in itself, however, I did not set out to write about the Wii’s success.  By itself, Nintendo’s motion control gimmick – as some call it – can’t redefine the videogames we play today, simply because of their console’s hardware limitations.  Don’t see that as an insult.  Understand that, in terms of computing power, the Wii is about seven years old.  It can’t handle the cutting edge game engines that power most of the HD consoles’ (PS3 and 360) AAA games.  If you’re a Wii owner holding out for a sudden revelation in pixel pushing prowess akin to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, please consider this your wake up call: it’s never going to happen.  And here in lies the problem.

The games favoured by the so called hardcore of gaming (at least, console hardcore – a separate species from their PC cousins), are all about graphical and networking innovation.  Textures, lighting, and the number of players in an online battle take supremacy over ingenious interfacing.  In fact, many PS3/360 will tell you they like the simplicity of an old-fashioned control pad – there’s a pleasant levelling factor in control pads, in that, no matter how capable you are at physical activity, twiddling your thumbs is relatively straightforward (though there must be a few of us who, sadly, may have issues with this control method as well).  And, of course, some of us will continue to swear by the keyboard and mouse as if they were rare, high-levelled loot in a game of Diablo.

But this adherence to a convention of controllers, like the Wii’s inferior power, has been counter-productive to the evolution of gaming.  Computer games have reached an impasse.  And while graphics have been improved and online gaming has been brought into the living room (by PS3/360), and whilst the concept of motion control has been proved popular (by the Wii), gamers have yet to see the benefit of these technologies working in tandem.

That’s where 2010 comes in.  Sony’s Motion Controller and Microsoft’s Project Natal have been scheduled to release this autumn/fall, and, with them, the next generation of motion controlled games.  Yes, Sony and Microsoft will have their own equivalents of Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit; it would idiotic of them not too, given the potential for such titles to win over the casual crowd, but both companies are well aware that they have an established base of hardcore gamers.  I predict that, before the year is out, we will see hardcore games, FPSs, RTSs and RPGs, adopting this technology in novel and surprising ways.

This can be a sensitive topic for many gamers.  Ever since the PS3/360 motion controllers were announced early last year, a large amount of comment/talkback time has been dedicated to the theory that Sony and Microsoft will abandon their core audience in favour of our grandmas.  This paranoia is symptomatic of a generation of gamers that believe the golden age of gaming is over and that we – those of us who can still remember playing the original Half-Life - have been left to fight over the scraps thrown down to us from the Sony/Microsoft table, in the form of platform exclusives released about every six months.  But the truth is that the golden age of gaming has not yet arrived, and, if there is one, it might well begin in 2010.

Microsoft’s Natal, the Sony ‘wand’ (a non-official name), and the advances in home 3-D technology, represent an opportunity for developers to reacquaint themselves with one of the fundamental concepts of Virtual Reality: immersion.  After all, how we interface with our virtual entertainment is about a lot more than overcoming the inconvenience of not being in direct physical contact with the worlds we play in.

A good interface should be invisible (as small and neat as possible), intuitive and natural, causing no sense of disorientation between the real and the virtual.  Such an interface allows for a sense of immersion in the entertainment.  Both the 360 controller and the Dual Shock 3 do a decent job at being invisible, and, if the controls are laid out well, intuitive, but they are not natural.  They do not mimic or recreate natural motion, which is exactly why Wii tennis, though it bares little visual resemblance to the real game, definitely feels more like playing tennis.

However, if Natal and the ‘wand’ can match or better the accuracy and speed of the Wiimote, then it is possible to imagine 360 and PS3 games with much more visceral, much more natural and much more immersive gameplay.  The tech demos for both devices have hinted at mind-boggling possibilities: speech recognition in character interaction, melee combat that actually involves wielding a virtual sword and shield with your own hands, as well as speed and precision when moving, placing and selecting objects in the virtual world.

There will be those that say, ‘We’ve had the Wii for years now, and no one has succeeded in making a single hardcore game that plays better with motion controls, than on consoles or the PC.’

Well, that may be the case.  But remember, the Wii is too slow to deliver the definitive experience in any of today’s games.  No matter what happens with the next Zelda, it will still not be as advanced as TES: Oblivion.  The Wii wasn’t designed to be a machine for ambitious blockbusters.  The deepest experiences on the console are Nintendo’s trademark IPs (Super Mario Galaxy and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess), and, while each makes liberal use of the Wiimote, motion control has not been at the heart of any of these games (apart, perhaps, for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption – the best implementation of a motion controller in a FPS-Platformer to date.)  Let’s face it; we shouldn’t be looking to the Wii for experiences like Demon’s Souls or Bioshock.  Long may it continue to be the no.1 console for bowling titles.

It is reasonable, however, to expect these advanced experiences on the 360 and PS3. And, in this case, I think motion control gaming is going where it belongs – to the cutting edge.

Honestly, I will not hesitate to get my hands on the PS3 ‘wand’, when the inevitable sword and sorcery epic is released – be it Hack and Slash or RPG.  And I’m thrilled at the prospect of what the ‘wand’ can do for online shooters.  In my mind, if it really works at 60fps, it may elevate the biggest disadvantage about FPS gaming on a console – the fact that no analogue stick on earth will ever require as much precision and skill as a mouse.  Who knows, we could see the end of ‘Aim Assist.’  Consoles could become the place for competitive online gaming.  Similarly, RTSs may finally become playable with the precision of a fast pointer.

How to talk about Natal?  It’s hard to make any judgments before we’ve seen what the technology can do, but I’ve got a few ideas.  For the hardcore gamer, there are a number of benefits motion-tracking can offer, though they do not resemble what we’ve come to expect from the controller based systems (Wii, PS3).  The first is that of speech recognition in RPG games or adventure games, where interacting with NPCs is a large part of the gameplay.  If you’ve seen the ‘Milo Demo’, introduced by Peter Molyneux at E3 2009, you will know what I’m talking about here.  Sure, the demo is a set-up – there’s a script.  But if Microsoft can actually come close to the vision of that demo then we’ll have something special on our hands – or not on our hands, as the case may be.

One has to wonder, however, about the biggest issue with Natal, and how it can be resolved.  You can’t move your character in the virtual world: it’s a tracking system, not a control system.  Is there a solution?  Yes.  Will it be used?  Almost certainly.  What is it?  Simple, the 360 Wireless Controller isn’t going anywhere.  For 50% of all Natal games, 90% of all hardcore games, I am prepared to bet that you will control most of your in-game movement the same way you’ve always done it, with the analogue sticks and the ABXY buttons.  And, while this is not a bad thing, it reveals the limitation of Natal’s technology for the hardcore gamer.

What remains is something that’s been around on the PC for a few years, and something that the PS3’s Eye Toy can also do:  head tracking.  Good news is that this is a damn cool feature which is excellent for action gaming.  Basically, the camera tracks your head movements and makes them correspond to where you’re looking in-game – aiming can then be handled separately by the analogue stick.  This means you can look in one direction, while pointing your gun in another.  It’s tactically realistic, immersive, and very, very useful.  Of course, with the advanced nature of Natal, you might also get the chance to duck and lean and jump, if you can be bothered, and don’t mind looking like an ass in front of your friends.

In conclusion, I must mention 3-D.  We won’t all have it in our homes this year, but there’s a fair chance that most of us will in 3-5 years.  Its benefits for gaming are self-explanatory, but it’s safe to say it can only enhance the immersion we have in our videogames.  Combined, as it must be, with motion technology it could literally add another dimension to the experience.

So, with 3-D TVs, motion trackers and motion controllers becoming commonplace in our living rooms, the notion of ‘Full Immersion VR’, for everyone is easier to imagine than ever before.  Are you ready to embrace these technologies, and be the first to score a headshot with a virtual gun you had to physically aim?  Or will you rail against them, clamouring for the good-old-days when games were simple, and when GTA’s hookers didn’t meet your eye in defiance when you beat them to death with a baseball bat?

One thing’s for sure: we live in exciting times for interactive entertainment.  The games of the future are being born today.

Further to my recent article on loadscreen.net concerning the Death of Real Gaming, I’d like to take this guest posting opportunity to explore something that is very close to my own, and hopefully my readers, hearts: The State of Modern Gaming.

Recap:

In recent years, as I’m sure you’ve all noticed, gaming has enjoyed (or suffered, depending on your point of view) a huge popularity explosion leading to a proliferation of watered down quasi-games that barely  deserve mentioning in the same media category as classics such as Deus Ex, Half Life, Goldeneye, Mario 64, Zelda: OOT and many, many others. This is clearly bad for the art form, and only serves to pander to the tabloid media’s view of gaming as something that corrupts the soul and twists young minds in to performing acts of extreme violence. There has been enough written on that subject to sink a battleship so I will not open the Pandora’s box of gaming violence or the amount of pure tripe that is currently assaulting the gaming market (at least not in this article…).

On the other side, many of you will realize that the proliferation of modern gaming and its meteoric rise in sales and popularity has given rise to another, more powerful animal: The Blockbuster game. You know what I’m talking about; those games that have been wrung through the hype machine so many times that they almost cease to exist as a game and transcend in to the realm of entertainment franchise. Games such as MW2, UC2, the eponymous Halo series, these are not mere games, no, they are media giants branching out in to film, music, internet and getting their sticky fingers in to so many pies that you cant avoid knowing about them.

This fact is known of course, the Blockbusters have been around for ages, but is it good for gaming?

Analysis

Consider this: the recent juggernaut FPS, Modern Warefare 2, was recently reported as having grossed over one billion dollars with sales figures in excess of 15 million units. So, more people buying games = more money in gaming = better games for gamers, right? Wrong. At least in my opinion. For me, modern gaming has become more about churning out more of the same carbon copy games that about forwarding the development of the medium. Games such as MW2 and Halo become so huge that the spawn whole ecosystems of copycat games around them with small games publishers trying to cash in on the popularity of the blockbusters with quick, dirty builds of games that bare a resemblance to the real deal. Parents at Christmas and birthdays don’t know the difference and before you know it kids hopeful for their next dose of Modern Warfare end up with a copy of Rogue Warrior (lasting appeal 1/10 !!!).

The Blockbusters themselves are almost invariably excellent, even if they do lack a certain innovation factor, and are known for delivering a level of shine and polish that makes other games seems amateurish in comparison, so I don’t have too many complaints there. However the effect that they have on the industry is in my opinion pretty devastating; the amount of terrible games plopping out of the dark unplumbed depths of the bottom of the gaming industry is frankly appalling. It all comes back to something I’ve mentioned before: the greed factor. The ratio of devoted games developers with a passion for their work to greedy corporate publisher drones is quickly diminishing and I fear soon all we will have left is a huge creativity vacuum where the same content and ideas a rehashed just enough to provide the ever hungry gaming masses with something new to satiate their lust.

Conclusion

Although the situation seems good at the moment, with new IPO’s such as Heavy Rain pushing the boundaries of gaming, I think that within the next year or two we may begin to see a steadily diminishing quality in the games that make up the large majority of the market. That being said, the state of modern gaming is currently very healthy, I wonder what the future holds?

Comments appreciated.

Happy Grinding!

So far this generation of hardware has seen a dearth of quality RPGs.  And by RPGs, I mean actual RPGs (aka JRPGs), not Mass Oblivion.  I have nothing against those games or their ilk, but for me they belong in a different genre.  So, as for ‘actual’ RPGs, the only reasonable options that come to mind are Lost Odyssey (2008), Star Ocean 4 (2009), Tales of Vesperia (2008) and Eternal Sonata (2007).  All are decent games, but none is particularly memorable or deserving of the large amount of time required to complete it.

In fact, the best RPG of the last few years is a PS2 game, Persona 4.  There are several conclusions to be drawn from this observation.  There is the possibility that Persona 4 (2009 Europe) just happens to be a particularly outstanding game and all the RPGs released for Xbox 360 and PS3 just happen to be poor.  Similarly it could be that because the PS2 has been around for so long and so many RPGs have been released on it, the quality of those RPGs has gradually improved to the point of Persona 4.  Perhaps though it could also be that the technological difference between a PS2 and a PS3, or an Xbox and an Xbox 360 is so great that developers simply haven’t been able to transfer the good bits of RPGs from the former generation into the latter.  I mean, what exactly is a next-gen RPG supposed to be?

Persona 4: Last-gen perfection?

You would think that RPGs as a genre would be among those with the most potential gain from any advances in hardware.  After all, RPGs are by their nature reliant on successfully transporting the player from the real world to another.  What better way to do this than with more emotive visuals and larger, more convincing environments.  Yet still we find RPGs on this generation of consoles living or dying by their stories and their combat.  Admittedly these are two of the staple elements of RPGs and very important parts to get right, but they have a small bearing on the overall feel or atmosphere of the game.  This bit, the feel or atmosphere, comes from the game’s designer.  If they are unable to craft the game in such a way that all the stories, characters, music and artwork are parts of the same idea, the feeling of immersion is lost and you may as well be reading a novel interspersed with sudoku.

Incidentally, we shouldn’t ignore the fact that Persona 4 is actually an exceptional game and would probably still be the best RPG of the last few years even if the current-gen releases weren’t so terribly average.  Likewise Atlus did have Persona 3 to practise with and none of the current-gen RPGs has had a sequel yet, so I may be jumping the gun a little.  However, what all this says to me is that the great RPG designers at the great RPG developers are still finding their feet on the new consoles.  A strange thing to say maybe considering the Xbox 360 has been around for over four years now, but there really has been that much of a stagnation.  It appears that for RPGs to truly take the next step in the progression of storytelling in games, someone is going to have to release something epic.

Something epic in the sense that the Final Fantasy series has always been epic.  So we come to Final Fantasy XIII.  It’s the first Final Fantasy of the generation and represents what may be the sole opportunity to save real RPGs from an endless repetition of mediocrity that slowly merges into one big glut of Western action RPGs.  I should be confident then that this opportunity falls to Square.  I mean if they can’t think of a way to push RPGs into the next decade, we are really in trouble.

This is why I’m dreading it, because of what it means if they can’t do it; if Final Fantasy XIII is similarly as bog standard and boring as the rest of them.  And from what I’ve seen and played so far, the outlook may be bleak.  Still, the budget is there, the experience of breaking new ground is there, the significant staff are there, so let’s remain hopeful for now.  Finally, if anyone at Square happens to read this, please give us English speakers the option of subtitled Japanese voices.  A tiny option, I know, but its inclusion just might go someway to safeguarding the future of the RPG.

Final Fantasy XIII is released in North America, Europe and Australia on March 9th 2010.

IPO’s don’t usually get any bigger than this so we were really excited to get our hands on it and will be posting our impressions and a Q&A interview with the Star Trek Online development team later on today.

Before that however Cryptic have kindly given us 500 Beta keys to give away on Loadscreen.net

Update: Over 450 400 350 300 250 69 32 ***13*** NO KEYS LEFT (as of 24th Jan 2010 @ 16:50 GMT)

To get your hands on a key simply head over to our forums, register, and post in the Star Trek Online Beta key thread here requesting a key along with your favourite Star Trek quote, character or reference AND how you found out about this giveaway. The keys will then be mailed out to you in batches at 2 hourly intervals. Hurry as they are sure to disappear quickly!

Attention: If you do not REGISTER in the forums, your email will not be included in the list, please do not just comment on this post but REGISTER in the forums. This puts your email address in the correct database.

Update: Keys are being sent out in batches of 50. Please be patient, if you post before the 500th post you WILL get a key.

Don’t forget to check back later as well for our interview with the STO Dev team along with our personal impressions of the beta.

What’s the reason for this insanity? Well, currently, I am a fan, not of the final product, but of what it represents.  I am certain that Heavy Rain is going to change gaming irrevocably, and those of you that have read my article, ‘2010: The Death of Real Gaming‘, will know that, as far as I’m concerned, it couldn’t come at a more important time.

And what’s triggered me to externalize my feelings on Heavy Rain and what it represents? Watch this:

Today, I caught this astounding piece of footage from G4TV as it meandered its way down the front page on N4G. At first, I was merely interested, having not seen much footage of the game, however, as the scene unfolded my jaw literally dropped open. Never have I seen such attention to detail, such poise, such thought, and such relatable characterisation in a videogame.  Even the loadscreen (No puns please-ed) shown in the video knocks the socks of anything I’ve seen before. The way Madison’s eyes dart and flicker, how the skin around the eyes pinches realistically when she blinks. These are subtle details that take real care and respect to create in a medium so often as clumsy and blunt as video games.  And let me remind you, this is only the loading screen.

Moreover, the graphics, though incredible, are not the reason that Heavy Rain will, in my view, revolutionize gaming, and raise the bar.

The secret lies in a simple truth.

Think back to the games that you have played recently. Who did you play as?  A super soldier or a fantasy creature?  A trained killer or a famous soccer player?  An insanely gifted racing driver? All these, and many more, are probably roles that you have slipped in to, like a comfortable pair of old slippers, time and time again over the years.  Did you ever once play as someone like you? I doubt it, and, if you did, then you ought to be off saving the world right now instead of reading this article.

The CEO and founder of Quantic Dream, the developers of Heavy Rain, David Cage, had this to say in an exclusive interview in Dutch Magazine Chief early on in Heavy Rain’s development:

“Heavy Rain is about normal people who have landed in extraordinary situations. I wanted a much more personal story. The first thing that came to my mind, as a father of two little boys, was that the main theme should simply be a father’s love for his son. This is not a game about saving the princess or the world. Its [sic] purely about a father’s love. The main story will revolve around four different characters, and we’re putting the spotlight on their perceptions. The question ‘what is good and what is evil’ is the key here, that will be just a matter of viewpoint…I believe heavily in moral choices, I’m going to use them A LOT. They’re not about being good or bad, but about finding the right balance.” ( From kotaku )

So we’ve established that Heavy Rain is going to be about normal, everyday people like you and me.  This goes against the grain of gaming in general and I think it is a brave move that will indeed spark the revolution in gaming I eluded to earlier.  Imagine being able to truly relate to a character, as a representation of a human being, instead of empathising with a heroic architype, when Nathan Drake gets pissed off at being captured again, or understanding how getting blown up must suck for Master Chief.

I think that this is the way forward in gaming.  True immersion is to be found, not in increasingly advanced motion control systems (Natal, I’m looking at you), but in storytelling innovation.  In my opinion, Heavy Rain is going to become the stick against which all others will come to be measured.  Players will no longer be satisfied with superficial tales of war and adventure.

I for one, have been craving a game that really sets me in the place of the protagonist, really lets me relate and feel.

I want to be stimulated beyond my adrenal gland.

Heavy Rain is forcast to fall on February 26^th.

The loadscreen team have taken time out of their busy schedules (yeah right) to each list their top five favourite titles of the last 10 years.

Josh Walker (joshwk)

COUNTER STRIKE – Valve 2000

Memories bring back loading up cs_italy around a mate’s and firstly being taken aback by his ISDN connection (Yes, I had 28k at the time). Beyond doubt, CS is one of the most addictive FPS’s that has ever been released. Its level design and balanced gameplay are top notch and it can’t be forgotten that this game led to the formation of competitive gaming. A classic.

WORLD OF WARCRAFT – Blizzard 2004

Reluctantly, the game deserves a mention. Blizzard had successfully created an MMO that could be played by the hardcore MMOer or an entire family thanks to its simplicity and cheeky artwork. Track of time was immediately lost while playing and when it came to quitting, gamers found themselves in rehabilitation for a number of weeks. That, or they’re still logged in grinding for honour in Arathi Basin.

CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE – Infinity Ward 2007

Modern Warfare revolutionised first person shooters with Infinity’s 2007 release. The title arguably showed Counter Strike: Source how multiplayer should be done and came with the added bonus of an incredible single player story line. Who can forget Capt Price. sliding Soap that M1911 across the bridge and the slow mo bullets to the face of Zakhaev?

FIFA 09 – EA 2009

I assured myself a number of years back these words would never leave my mouth, but here goes; FIFA is better than Pro. This was proved in their 2009 release which helped many others realise the truth and show that EA were beating Konami at the beautiful game, on and off the field.

BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM- Rocksteady Studios 2009

Licence + Videogame = Fail?  You’d be forgiven for making this assumption but Rocksteady took their time over this title and pulled out all the stops. Batman was finally given the adult treatment he deserved and the groundwork for an excellent franchise was set. Roll on Arkham 2!

Chris Finch (phonicx)

DEUX EX – ION Storm 2000

This game got me in to cyberpunk and for that I am eternally grateful. With so many things that were years ahead of its time this beauty held me entranced in its silky grip from beginning to end and has resided deep within my memory and consciousness ever since. Tracer Tong FTW.

HALF LIFE 2 - Valve 2004

The original Half Life was released in 1998 so I can’t put that, that’s why I’m choosing Half Life 2. It’s part of one of my favourite game series and I can clearly remember playing for the first time and being completely stunned as to how gorgeous it looked and how incredibly it played. Remember the buggy? Or the first time you met Alyx?

UNCHARTED 2 – SCE 2009

Never has a game gripped me so relentlessly with its single player campaign. I was glued to the controller from beginning to end of the blockbuster movie thrill ride and loved it so much I pushed all the way through for the platinum trophy. “You will not defeat ME!”

SUPER SMASH BROS. MELEE – Nintendo 2002

If this was a list of “most hours spent playing any game” this one would be at the top. I spent countless nights with roommates smash attacking into the night and loved every minute of it. The Wii version is great and a possibly better that Melee, but this version holds a special place in my heart.

METAL GEAR SOLID 4 - Konami 2008

I’m a fan of the metal gear solid series despite the cutscenes due to the great gameplay, interesting plots and imaginative ideas of Kojima. MGS4 is the best of the series in my opinion and I had the most fun playing it, so it gets my last spot. “SnaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!!!!”

Charlie Gibbs (trix)

I had to wrestle hard with these. There have been some really great games over the last few years that I would have loved to put in this list (Oblivion, Metal Gear Solid 2 & 4, Fallout 3, Uncharted 1 & 2, Bioshock, Grand Theft Auto IV), and I know my games are only from the first half of the last decade, but in my opinion it really was a magic five years in the gaming industry.

DIABLO 2 – Blizzard 2000

‘Well met, noble Paladin. It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of your kind in the west’. Blizzard’s hack and slash masterpiece returned in 2000 to kick some serious Prime Evil ass. Yes the gameplay isn’t the most intuitive in the world but that’s its style. The dark-fantasy lands of sanctuary draw you in such a way that you really do start to care about your character that doesn’t even have a name. Let’s also be honest, the art direction is fantastic, perhaps at the time some of the best ever seen in a game. And as we’ve come to expect with Blizzard, the cutscenes were also out of this world.

DEUS EX – ION Storm 2000

The best game ever, period. A cyber-punk themed word of genius – one of the first games to successfully blend first person shooter with RPG elements. The story is epic, the world is immersive, and you can bionically augment yourself till your heart’s content. Just thinking about this game makes me want to play it again, you know I may just do that… and post a review, how’s bout it?

THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE – Looking Glass Studios 2000

Ahhh Garrett, when will your roof topping antics ever be topped… (perhaps with the recently unveiled Thief 4? – I hope so). Gritty and realistic graphics, a dark and engaging story, multiple ways to do the missions, a melee combat system that has rarely been topped over the past ten years, and a sense that you really were a truly masterful thief. There hasn’t been a game quite like this one for a long time.

MAFIA: CITY OF LOST HEAVEN – Gathering 2002

When I first saw Mafia on the shelf in Game I thought to myself, ‘it’s going to be about the film, and it’s going to be shit’, oh how wrong I was. Another extremely immersive game with an excellent story, the screenplay for this title was apparently 400 pages. Remember that this game had to follow Grand Theft Auto III that had just come out a few months earlier – and oh how it did in style. The driving mechanics, although now dated, were perfect. The city felt grand, the cops would even book you for running a red light or speeding such was the realism. 10 out of 10.

HALF LIFE 2 – Valve 2004

I don’t really need to say much about Half-Life 2. It pushed the boundaries beyond the level that was already set in 1998 by Half-Life. Its just a shame that the MODS for source never turned out to be quite as good as the originals (apart from L4D).

Ben Brown (abdo)

ICO – SCEE 2002

The only game of which I have bought a second copy.  It’s still sealed, completely pristine and I will never open it for fear of spoiling what I fondly remember as a most enchanting experience.  Ico is like that – you want to keep it safe, to protect that deliciously crisp atmosphere from so much as the tiniest blemish.

METAL GEAR SOLID 2 – Konami 2002

Oh Hideo.  Hideo, Hideo, Hideo.  Hideo, Hideo, Hideo, Hideo, Hideo.  HHHHHHHideo, your game is bre-aKInG ###–+_+.  Fourth wall violation of the highest, most satisfying, order.

FINAL FANTASY 10 – Square Enix 2002

Have to admit, I really didn’t want it to end.  Somehow a slightly tedious premise turns into a tearful love story.  The only shame is that the branching point to decide which ending you see is entirely bound up in a single, arbitrary looking scene.  The kind of one-off event that could easily be missed should you quite reasonably leave Yuna standing idly by herself whilst you go to the toilet.  Thanks for making it obvious, Square, cheers.

HALF LIFE 2 – Valve 2004

For no other reason than to prove that I didn’t just borrow someone’s PS2 for a month in 2002.  I jest of course.  HL2 must have a very good claim at being the most immersive game of all time.  If you want to feel like you, yourself, are actually the unwitting broker of the intergalactic deal of the millennium, allow Gordon Freeman’s sturdy glasses to frame your screen.

PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 4 – Konami 2004

There have been only a few truly great football games and Konami has made at least two of them.  In the last decade, the obvious stand out version for me is PES 4.  The pace, the animations, the A.I., all were superb.  Hopefully they will get it similarly right with this generation of consoles sooner rather than later.

Ben Hudson (frayed)

THIEF 2: THE METAL AGE – Looking Glass Studios 2000

Building on the excellent Thief: The Dark Project (1998), The Metal Age expanded on the ‘complex AI’ and ‘emergent gameplay’ of the original to allow players to inhabit the role of Garret, master thief, exploring one of the best realised, darkly atmospheric, game worlds ever created.  One of the first games that really allowed players to approach missions in a freeform manner, by stealth, by arrow, or by sword.  Copied by many, bettered by none.  Taffers.

DEUS EX – ION Storm 2000

Quite simply the best Action RPG ever made.  The sheer scope and depth of this game still astounds me.  It’s one of the few games, other than the Thief series, that went the distance when it came to level design and character skill progression, allowing consumate exploration and an almost infinite number of play-styles.  Built with rooms that had no other purpose than you could find them.  Characters that you didn’t have to speak to.  Endings you might never experience.  A masterpiece.

HALF LIFE 2 – Valve 2004

Half-Life is probably the best FPS of all time.  But if there is a contender to the title, then Half-Life 2 is the only other choice.  Linear game design has never been so natural and un-forced. Characters have never been implemented with such finesse and focus on dramatic action.  And no game engine has ever felt so smooth and convincing.  This is the game that perfected the notion of real-time physics.  This is the game that brought us STEAM.  It’s also the only original science fiction story in modern videogaming.

BATTLEFIELD 2 – EA 2005

If you enjoy multiplayer wargames, then no other game series has done more to give players the tools and freedom they needed to have a Bloody good time and be part of a virtual battle.  Jets, helicopters, tanks, humvees – all playable, all tactical, all part of the game.  Conquest is the quintessential team-based online mode, it requires an amount of cooperation that team deathmatch does not.  Oh, and did I mention the concept of ranking up and unlocking weapons in an online FPS?  Battlefield did it first.  Forget COD4.  Please.  Forget it.

THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION – Bethesda Softworks 2006

Want to play an open world, action based RPG?  Oblivion is the Lord of the Rings of the gaming industry.  It’s an ambitious, beautiful, empowering experience that transports the player to a fantasy world of devastating believability and detail.  A world where NPCs live out actual lives in the towns and villages.  A world where completing the main story quest falls by the wayside in favour of simple, blissful adventure.

I don’t think I ever left Cyrodil.  Part of me will wander there until I die (or until they release a sequel).  After all, it’s so much better than real life.

With 2010 still shiny and brand new, I wanted to address something close to my heart: a disturbing trend with action properties that I’ve noticed in recent gaming. With Bayonetta receiving rave reviews in all the mainstream media, Darksiders garnering very positive scores across the board, Dante’s Inferno lurking somewhere in the near future and, of course, the shadow of God Of War 3 looming over them all, I am beginning to wonder where gaming is headed in 2010.

Now don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal of games like Bayonetta and Dante’s Inferno. And, sure, I’ll even enjoy them for a few days, but, after a while, I know I’ll find them underwhelming and lacking in depth and substance.  Apart from a minority of  modern games, such as Demon’s Souls (2009) and Heavy Rain (both PS3 exclusives), I am certain that we are witnessing the beginning of the breakdown of hardcore ‘real’, gaming.

Here’s why.

Do you remember in November 2006 when the Ninendo Wii was released?  Everyone was convinced that motion controls were the future, and that hardcore games for adults would soon make proper use of the features. All well and good, but now, looking back on the last few years since that supposed game-changer, and all I can see is pointless, brainless, mind-numbing casual gaming crap.

Gaming’s latest revolution has given us an industry devoted to stuffing our TV’s with bite-size, substance-less party games with no creative merit whatsoever. And why do this?  MONEY. Yes, there’s money to be had in gaming: in Wii balance boards, in Dance Dance Revolution mats and in Blockbuster Movie tie-ins.  There’s money to be made in endless sequels such as Halo: ODST (A series Reaching for yet more cash), Final Fantasy XIII or Gran Turismo 5 with ‘incredible ideas’, such as playing as a different character in a dubiously different story or slight upgrade in graphics. But most ly, there’s money to be made in so called, ‘casual’ gaming, and everyone wants a piece of the pie.  Project Natal and the PS3 motion control just confirm this fact – pointless pieces of technology designed to cash in on the never ending Wii craze.

‘But whats the problem with that?’ I hear you say, ‘I like being able to sit down with my gran and my little niece and my son and my dad and my seven mates all in one room for a nice Hello-Kitty-Halo-Online-MW2-MotionPlus-Wii-fitness-balance-boarding session. Gaming is for the people! Gaming is for everyone!’

The problem with that comment, is that it devalues the art of gaming (for there is art in videogames), making it little more than staring brainlessly at flashing lights on a screen.  This brings me back to 2010’s action gaming extravaganza. Nowadays, publishers only seem interested in pushing out the next big action game as quickly as possible with no concern for innovation, inventiveness, or for hardcore gamers (Bayonetta, Dante’s Inferno, GOW3: DMC and the original GOW did that already).

Action games are great, but where’s the depth?  Where’s the intriguing plotline that DOESN’T have your character die in a nuclear explosion? Where’s the gameplay that encourages skill rather than encourages running around with a knife annoying people? Where’s the combat system that doesn’t reward button mashers? Where are the countless other things that hardcore gamers like me wish they could find in gaming today?

The answer?  Publishers don’t care about you, the hardcore gamer.  They care about the bottom line, they care about money, they care about casual gaming. They don’t want to make the innovative games or the risky games, they don’t want to take things in new directions.  It’s safer to take an old mechanic and an old premise and dress it up in new clothes so it looks original.  So they’ll re-use and re-hash and water-down original IPs until they can be spoon fed to the masses, each year, for £60, or $60 or €60 a slurp (Don’t get me started on the price of games).

Where’s my evidence to back up this outrageous claim that may bring the entire internet fanboy population down on my head?  It’s all around you.  Pick up one of many games released recently, such as Bayonetta, Darksiders, Halo ODST, MW2 or a host of others and tell me that it isn’t a derivative piece of crap devoid of ideas and innovation. I’m tired of reading about the ‘next big thing’, which is actually the same as something that was around several years ago, but the mainstream media have forgotten.

I want to old days back, where I would spend hours in games stores marveling at the imagination on display. Now, all I have to do is fight my way through hordes of screaming kids and confused parents just so that I can come home and be called a ‘fag’ by a 13-year-old on XBOX live.

2010 – The Death of Real Gaming.  It’s closer that you think.

EDIT: I added a response to many of the readers comments on N4G, viewable here.