Gaming
On the topic of Elite:Dangerous – I’m very glad to say I was wrong. After so many promises, and then seeing Frontier struggle as a company, I didn’t think it would ever ship. I was quite wrong, and I have to say it looks very impressive. It is essentially Elite as I remember it, but freshened up for the modern day – a perfect update. As a result of my misplaced scepticism I didn’t back it or get the betas, so missed out on earlier builds, but the full game comes out this coming week, so I’m quite excited.
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Here’s a lovely retrospective on Half-Life 2 by Eurogamer, that if you like your video games on the story telling side, is worth a read. Covering why it’s long remembered and still borrowed from today, down to the smallest tricks:
One of the best uses of physics in the game is a minor but brilliant narrative trick – a Combine soldier hits a can to the floor and orders Freeman to pick it up. At once a powerful piece of world-building and an opportunity for the player to ‘take control’ of Freeman’s response, the sequence echoes throughout the genre to this day.
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I’ve rambled on before about Forza Motorsport 4 when it first came out and about some of the UX aspects of typing to communicate something quite physical when you’re sat in your living room. But I’ve not said much about Forza Motorsport 5, which launched with the Xbox One. I was waiting until I’d managed to group them into some coherent narrative, but I’ve failed to do so, so rather than put it off yet more, here’s some mixed thoughts, along with a few pretty pictures of cars.
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I must confess I wasn’t paying much attention to Titanfall until I saw some footage of the open beta that came out this weekend, but now I have, I’m really enjoying it.
Titanfall is a multiplayer only game, and the pacing seems just pitch perfect. It reminds me a lot of the last multiplayer only FPS I played heavily, Unreal Tournament 2004 (shout out to the old #playpen clan). Not in terms of specifics, but in the general pace and tone of the game. Not very serious sci-fi, keep running, double jumping, and a lovely mix of weapons. It’s one of the few games I’ve played where it has parkour elements that just melt away so that you’re not aware you’re using them, and the smart pistol is a boon for people like me who don’t have enough free time to be come expert sharp shooters.
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When we got the Xbox One I thought that that was it for new games for the Xbox 360, I’d play the existing games on the 360, but all new games would be on the Xbox One. And I was kinda right. I’ve not bought any new games for the Xbox 360, but I have got hooked on an old classic, Trials Evolution, which you can see demonstrated here by the chaps at Hat Films:
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