Rayman Legends is coming to the PS4 and Xbox One on February 25, 2014, Ubisoft announced today.
Aside from claiming improved load times and improved visual fidelity, each version of the game will feature its own exclusive costumes and content.
The Xbox One version will include 10 exclusive challenges and feature a Splinter Cell–inspired Sam Fisher costume for Rayman and a costume based on Vaasfrom Far Cry 3 for both Rayman and Globox. The PS4 version will tout Assassin’s Creed–inspired threads for Rayman, cross-play with the PS Vita, and will utilize the DualShock 4’s touchpad for various in-game actions, including scratching off Lucky Tickets. Both Xbox One and PS4 versions will also feature a “Funky Ray” costume available for purchase with Uplay points.
If you can’t wait to get your hands on Rayman Legends, the game is already available for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Wii U, and PS Vita. You can see what Andrew thought of three of those versions in his review.
VGX was supposed to be a new beginning for Viacom’s oft-mocked videogame awards, the former VGAs. It was supposed to just be about the games and gamers, moving away from the glitz and celebrity it had always tried to pair with the industry in the past. It was supposed to be different, and it was supposed to be better. Well, it was at least different, I guess.
If you missed the constant stream of social-media vitriol toward this past weekend’s VGX, then you’re probably not concerned with videogames in the slightest. Even those with a passing interest would’ve been hard pressed to avoid seeing their Twitter feed or Facebook flooded with anger over yet another year of talking down to gamers and failing to provide us with a legitimate venue to celebrate an ever-growing pastime.
And while some of those new ideas might be the beginnings of a show turning in the right direction, just about everything else reminded me of the end chase scene in the 1980 musical comedy classic, The Blues Brothers, where more and more cop cars kept crashing into each other for no good reason. Every VGX segment was simply another one of those ill-fated cop cars.
Now, since it’s my opinion that the people who put this show on every year don’t get what we want to see, I’ve taken it upon myself to come up with 10 ways that they could improve and maybe, finally, give gamers the awards show they deserve.
1) New Hosts
Since at least 75 percent of the VGX hate on the Internet has been slung in the general direction of Joel McHale, this is the easiest—and first—fix. For three hours, it seemed like McHale’s sole purpose was to try to derail the show as much as possible while also talking down to his audience like we were a bunch of sideshow freaks who didn’t deserve him as a host. You’re right, Joel: We don’t deserve you as a host, but it’s not because we’re beneath you.
And I understand that Joel was brought in at the last minute, probably to infuse the show with a little of the celebrity of VGAs gone by in case some viewers still liked that idea. The problem is that plenty of other celebrities actually care about their audience—or are talented enough at least to hide their contempt. This is the second time I’ve seen McHale host a videogame function, and both times, he came off as a prissy little assclown who was just there to collect a paycheck.
And whether you like him or not, Geoff Keighley isn’t a bad host, but he was put into a situation where he was doomed to fail from the start. Every time McHale went off-prompter, Keighley was like a deer in headlights—McHale’s ad libbing was too much for him to keep up with. Keighley’s effort should be commended, since it’s never easy when your co-host throws you and your show under the bus every chance he gets, but it was frustrating to watch and created an awkward dynamic.
The easiest solution to this is simple. Either cut VGX down to a single host like most every other awards show, or bring in co-hosts that could actually work off each other. Plus, the hosts don’t need to be traditional “Hollywood celebrities.” There’s a wealth of videogame journalists and developers out there that have enough on-camera experience to hold their own and still provide entertaining commentary. Or, if you want to really show off some talent, how about the best of both worlds and having voice actors host? Who wouldn’t want to see Troy Baker, Jennifer Hale, and Nolan North talk about games and give out awards?
2) A Live Studio Audience
Another ridiculously awkward element of VGX was the lack of an audience beyond the production crew. The only time I actually laughed at something Joel McHale said was when he painfully mentioned, “And I’m the only one clapping…” after an award was announced.
Again, this seemed to be part of the movement away from the 300-plus-person live audience of years past, but not having anyone at all to react to what was going on left a lot of uncomfortable silence. All you need is 20 to 30 people applauding to really help transition everything smoothly, and the crew should have more important things to worry about than waiting for Joel’s cue to clap to fill what became an increasingly evident problem.
3) Rehearsal!
Back when I first started my media career, I freelanced for quite a few live and live-to-tape productions, so I know how difficult it is to pull off something like that—and most of those were only 30 or 60 minutes. So, I tip my hat to the cast and crew anytime something along the lines of three hours actually gets done. That being said, there were clear moments that made the lack of preparation evident—like when Camilla Luddington, the voice of Lara Croft, had no idea that Keighley and McHale were going to ask her to throw to a clip introducing Lara as one of the nominees for Character of the Year.
Of course, any live production is going to include elements that are simply out of a crew’s control, and no amount of pre-production can predict some untimely mishaps. That wasn’t the case here, though. Making sure all the talent is on the same page would surely be one thing the producers, a floor manager, or ANYONE on the crew (as, again, McHale pointed out live after Luddington’s face became a total blank by saying “I guess we should’ve told you we were going to do this”) could’ve done to make the overall production look a bit more professional. And, obviously, I’m not saying a somewhat off-the-cuff interview should’ve been rehearsed, but someone should’ve made Luddington aware of what was planned during her segment. A lack of organization will always find a way to make itself known, and this was only one of several instances where folks in front of the camera were in the dark about what was going on around them.
This is another easy fix. If you plan on doing something special or different with someone on-air, make sure they’re fully aware before the cameras start rolling.
4) Smarter Social-Media Interaction
Incorporating Twitter and Facebook into any live show seems to be a necessity nowadays, and VGX wanted to make sure it didn’t miss jumping on the bandwagon. The problem is—especially considering how obviously disorganized the show already was behind the scenes—utilizing something as unpredictable as social media effectively is a monumental task.
Many times, the questions tweeted in and read by Keighley and McHale were already asked by one of the hosts before the social-media segment started. Was no one screening these tweets? Of course, maybe there was so much hate directed toward VGX that the screeners just couldn’t pay attention to the live show while filtering out all the rage.
And having the order of your awards dictated by social media was repetitive, considering you already have the viewers voting on two awards as is. Nothing like coming up with scripts live while switching other segments on the fly. VGX should have simply included a scrolling ticker on the bottom of the screen, since Keighley and McHale didn’t need anymore help making this show a trainwreck.
5) No More Concerts
Game music should be celebrated any chance we get. When you look at shows like Video Games Live and other events dedicated solely to some of our favorites themes, there’s more than enough proof of why game music is an art form in and of itself. I don’t think anyone was clamoring for live performances of several songs from the hundred-song GTAV playlist, though.
I understand that part of it was because GTAV had won the Best Soundtrack Award (and deservedly so, partially due to the sheer size of the game’s playlist alone). But if you really want to celebrate the music, you should pick songs that are less likely to offend than “Hood Gone Love It.” Also, give every game’s music a little recognition. Do it like the Oscars and have bands or orchestras perform each game’s main theme over the course of the show. The concert was overkill and felt like nothing more than a desperate attempt to fill the last a half hour of airtime.
6) Don’t Give Out the Biggest Award in the Middle of the Show
This is just Awards Show 101. You’ve only got so many things people are looking forward to—especially with so many “reveals” being leaked early from various sources. By giving this award out at the halfway mark, you’re just asking for people (particularly a more casual audience) to close the video player. Whoever thought this was a good idea should be fired. Plain and simple: The biggest award is given out last.
7) Nix the Pre-Show
I didn’t even realize there was a VGX pre-show until I tuned in for the 3 p.m. Pacific start time. It was never promoted (and, if it was, no one I know saw it), so when I first came to the VGX website, there were already five or six videos that I wanted to see instead of the actual show itself. There was a world premiere and six awards given out before the show officially started. If you’re going to do a pre-show, you need to do a better job of promoting yourself—and, actually, this leads into my next point.
8) Give Out ALL the Awards During the Show
One of the longest-running complaints about the VGAs reared its head again this year: VGX still refused to give out all its awards during the show. Considering how much difficulty they had filling three hours of content—what with the clueless hosts, botched segments, and boring “comedy” sketches—there was no reason for all 21 awards to not be given out over the course of the show. Fighting Game of the Year, RPG of the Year, and more were relegated to second-rate award status, preventing these games from getting the proper recognition from the largest audience possible. Nothing like disrespecting several gaming genres when putting on a show about gamers. This is another simple fix: Just give out the monkey trophy for every category you have.
9) Don’t Make Winning a Chore
It was an interesting idea to give the winners of this year’s awards the time to do whatever they wanted with their acceptance video. Mind you, it comes off like the devs are tired of making the trek to L.A., but without the pomp and circumstance of years past, I can’t blame them, either.
One thing could bring them back, though. Instead of boring acceptance speeches or “funny” videos, what if the developers sat down with the hosts afterward for a couple of minutes and talked about their game and how things may have changed for them since launch? Maybe a mini-postmortem. Work with the developers instead of making them do something. (They just won an award, and they’ve worked enough on their own already.) VGX would get content, viewers would get insight, and the creators could get the chance to talk meaningfully about something they put a lot of clear effort into.
Definitely don’t make them do something, though. No one needs another redubbed Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag cinema scene.
10) Better Exclusives
With most of the VGX “reveals” already leaked the week prior—and the only three legitimate surprises including two from the same company—there’s some murmuring among the gaming community that developers have finally decided to start pulling out of VGX, since its demotion from primetime TV to web streaming puts the relevance at an all-time low.
Disappointing trailer after disappointing trailer was easily the worst part of the show. We could’ve tolerated McHale’s animosity, the awful concert, and the social-media stupidity if VGX gave us something truly awesome to look forward to. And while Telltale’s new games and No Man’s Sky raised our eyebrows for brief moments, they were nowhere near enough to save this show from itself. No elaboration on Uncharted 4, no big announcement from Nintendo, and nothing to get truly excited about to carry us into 2014. Those are VGX’s greatest mistakes of all, because this year, more than any other, the show came across as a waste of time.
As the series celebrates its 15th anniversary, Gran Turismo has had plenty of experience with both sequels and success. With just over 70 million combined copies sold (primary and secondary releases), it’s the single most lucrative exclusive brand under the PlayStation banner. But now, with all its success, it feels like Polyphony Digital is scared to change too much about a series that’s become such a massive institution—and it shows. Gran Turismo 6 feels more like a polished copy of Gran Turismo 5 than a true sequel.
This isn’t to say that GT6 is a bad game. It still wields the pedigree of one of the most applauded racing sims ever made, and in regards to the actual racing, it handles itself very well. Consistently smooth controls remain a highlight, now carried across the most cars ever in the series (1,200, over 100 more than in GT5), and 37 tracks that can be configured into 100 different layouts, including new ones like Silverstone and Willow Springs Raceway. The physics are also more realistic than before, since the game’s engine has been overhauled with an even greater focus on your car’s tires and suspension in mind. Of course, you can always take any one of your cars to the garage and tweak them yourself if you’re afraid of little extra tire burn when drifting or you want to loosen your shocks to really feel that “oomph” when you bump another car.
The career mode is also still a delight to work through as you move up through six different classes, each with their own set of special challenges unlocked in the middle and end of their respective gauntlets to keep things fresh. At the completion of each class, you’re also awarded a special car not normally attainable—such as a GT-themed go-kart—that you can then place in Photo mode (along with any other cars in your garage) and take pictures in digital re-creations of scenic locales.
But while these aspects that serve as cornerstones for a good racing sim remain, the flaws of the past linger in the experience as well—most markedly the awful visuals. Some minor improvements have been made, such as the convoluted user interface of past games being overhauled. Once you get into a race, however, the photorealistic backgrounds in the distance may look nice, but everything on or around the immediate track area looks like something from the start of the PS3 generation—not the end of it. You’d think that, by now, with the access and knowledge they have, Polyphony would produce better results than this. Maybe we can take a little solace in the fact they’ve already started work on GT7, so hopefully they’ll figure out the PS4 before this new generation is over.
And the screen tearing! Dear god the screen tearing! My head started to hurt after about an hour, due to the out-of-sync refresh and framerate drops, especially when hitting higher speeds or in stormy weather. Flaws like this feel amplified in a racing game because of the split-second decisions players have to make. I had to call in a couple of the other EGM editors to confirm that this was what I was seeing, since these problems–prevalent in GT5—still clearly plague the series three years later. What’s more, the real-time damage effects remain barely noticeable. I can’t believe a series that takes such pride in its attention to detail would allow these blemishes to remain in two straight games.
Gran Turismo 6 does offer a few new elements, though not many. Load times are much faster than what we saw in GT5, and the difference between Standard and Premium cars is a thing of the past, both welcome changes. The limitations on performance tuning or race mods have also been removed, with all 1,200 cars brought up to PS3 specs, unlike GT5’s PS2 imports comprising half of the car lineup.
Unfortunately, Polyphony also felt it necessary to include an obnoxious tutorial mode that forces players to take part in a race that teaches the controls. It can’t be skipped, and at the end, you’re forced to buy a crappy Honda Fit to play the first few races of your career. I’m an ill-tempered Italian from New Jersey. The only thing a Honda Fit is good for is burning it like the piece of garbage that it is.
I understand the need to cater to possible new players, but it’s highly unlikely GT6 will be the first racing game someone’s ever played—and, even if it is, I think gamers will be smart enough to figure out that X means “GO” and Square means “STOP.” By their very nature, racing games are supposed to be relatively easy to figure out but difficult to master, and a tutorial mode feels like the devs are blatantly talking down to us.
The bottom line is that Gran Turismo 6 feels like nothing more than a stopgap release to keep fans appeased until Polyphony’s new-gen offering is ready. Problems that persisted in GT5 remain, and the most noticeable difference—the mandatory tutorial mode—is an insult to anyone who’s ever played a racing title. Still, there is a solid racing game at GT6’s core, as the game does offer an unprecedented amount of cars compared to other racing sims, and the team keeps finding ways to make the physics better and better.
Developer: Polyphony Digital • Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 12.06.13
7.5
GT6 feels like a rushed effort, and many problems from GT5 remain unresolved. But the classic GT base remains intact, since the actual act of simulation driving remains very tight—and it’s coupled with a tremendous amount of choice when you consider the 1,200 cars that come on the disc.
The Good
Solid career mode; plenty of cars and tracks to choose from; great controls.
When I look at the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 hardware, there’s not the largely noticeable jump that defined previous generational transitions. One piece of tech that was supposed to help embody the little bit of change we did receive, however, was the new Kinect sensor. Whereas the original Kinect needed all your playing conditions to be just right in order to work (and even then, it failed at times), the next-gen model was supposed to alleviate many of these problems.
Space and lighting issues would be a thing of the past, and the sensor would pick up the slightest movements—right down to your tiniest finger twitch. While the voice-command recognition can be tested via the Xbox One’s menus, we wouldn’t be able to see the most needed improvements until we actually got a game specifically designed for the peripheral. Unfortunately, if Fighter Within was supposed to show off how far Microsoft’s Kinect technology has come, then new-gen motion controls might be in trouble.
Issues to which first-generation Kinect users have become accustomed—such as inaccurate motion tracking and input lag—are prevalent in Fighter Within. You can’t even navigate the game’s menus effectively, because the recognition is so piss poor. I’d often have to use my controller to move through the wretchedly clunky user interface, since my body movements and voice commands were completely ignored outside of fights.
Once you manage to get past the menus, you’ll find the game has two modes. The first of these is your standard arcade-type option. You pick one of the game’s 12 fighters and move up a ladder comprised of eight of the other fighters (there are no mirror matches).
The other is a story mode called Initiation that follows a street urchin named Matt through 21 fights that are supposed to tie his tale together. I wish I could tell you something more about Matt and his journey, but there aren’t any cutscenes until the very end, and the between-bout dialogue is so devoid of personality that I quickly stopped caring. Oh, Matt’s father was a drunk boxer! And his opponent’s mother a disgraced Olympian! I wasn’t sure if I should use the Kinect to help determine a winner in brutal one-on-one combat or ask my Xbox One to find them a good therapist.
Then, finally, you get into actual combat, and it’s here that any fleeting hopes for Fighter Within at least being a fun tech demo are thrown out the window. The game does offer an interesting variety of moves for a motion-control game: standard punches and kicks, picking up sticks to whack your opponent in the face, jumping off scenery in the level, and even special powers—and you’ll need to go through Initiation mode just to be slowly introduced to everything your fighter can do. Of course, even with the added tutorials, it can be a bit much to take it all in, and you’ll find yourself falling in love with just a handful of moves that are more than enough to work your way through the ranks.
Still, this is all contingent on the Kinect sensor actually picking up your movements. Straight punches and kicks aren’t a problem, but the more complex the maneuver, the less likely the game will accurately translate it onscreen. Often, my grab and throw attempts turned into straight punches, kicks turned into wasted special moves, and raising my arms above my head for one special turned into nothing but a high block. And if you move too quickly, the delay between your actions and what happens onscreen becomes more prevalent. There’s nothing more frustrating in Fighter Within than watching your character throw extra punches into a blocking opponent after you’ve stopped—and then being helpless as the computer takes advantage.
It might not be entirely fair to condemn the new Kinect, because after playing this game for several hours, I think Fighter Within just may be one of the most poorly designed motion-control games we’ve seen yet. Simply put, it’s a complete mess. It almost feels like this was a game meant for the motion-tracking technology of the original Kinect, but because nothing was in the pipeline for the Xbox One’s launch window to show off what its new sensor can do beyond dancing and workout games, the project was shuffled from one platform to the other. That’s still no excuse, however, for this being one of the worst launch games I’ve ever had to play, and it should be avoided at all costs.
Developer: Daoka • Publisher: Ubisoft • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 11.22.13
2.5
Fighter Within was buried under the rest of the Xbox One launch lineup for a reason. This one-on-one fighter is a throwback to the problems of the first Kinect—and does nothing but sow seeds of doubt that the next-gen Kinect sensor is any different from its predecessor.
The Good
Interesting array of moves, including arena interaction.
The Bad
Input lag can be pretty terrible; lack of overall movement recognition, navigating the menus.
I remember a time when holiday themed items weren’t put on display until December, and “Black Friday” was only a single day. Now, we’re getting “Season’s Greetings” doormats flung in our faces around Labor Day, and “Black Friday” is more than a week long if you don’t count “Cyber Monday” as it’s own shopaholic holiday.
You can’t deny the deals that come about during this time, though, and if you’re on a budget, it might be worth cutting your Turkey Day dinner short to get some items on the cheap. The problem is, there are also so many retailers now that it’s hard to figure out who has the best deals and when exactly they are.
We here at EGM feel your pain, so we’ve put together a monstrous, still growing list of Black Friday deals that might help you sort out this mess of consumerism gone too far.
A few notes:
All games are for the Xbox 360/PS3 generation, unless otherwise noted.
All deals are for Thanksgiving/Black Friday, unless otherwise noted.
Best Buy
Cobalt Blue 3DS + Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – $149.99
PS Vita – $169.99 (this week starting 11/24, ending on Thanksgiving)
250 GB PS3 + Batman: Arkham Origins & The Last of Us – $199.99
250 GB Xbox 360 + Halo 4, Tomb Raider, Darksiders II, Batman: Arkham City – $189.99
Games for $44.99
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Games for $34.99
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
The Last of Us
Beyond: Two Souls
FIFA 14
Madden 25
Battlefield 4
Games for $29.99
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Saints Row IV
Games for $14.99
Far Cry 3
Tomb Raider
Xbox Live 3-month subscription
Walmart
Nintendo 2DS – $99.96
PS Vita – $179.99
4 GB Xbox 360 – $99
250 GB PS3 + Batman: Arkham Origins & The Last of Us – $199.99
Xbox One Launch Titles for $49 (week leading up to Black Friday):
Ryse: Son of Rome
Forza Motorsport 5
Fighter Within
Dead Rising 3
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Zoo Tycoon
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Battlefield 4
Need for Speed Rivals
Madden 25
FIFA 14
NBA 2K14
PS4 Launch Titles for $49 (week leading up to Black Friday):
Killzone: Shadow Fall
Knack
Injustice: Gods Among Us: – Ultimate Edition
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Battlefield 4
Need for Speed Rivals
Madden 25
FIFA 14
NBA 2K14
Games for $39.96
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Games for $34
Grand Theft Auto V
NBA 2K14
Games for $25
Injustice: Gods Among Us
Battlefield 4
Beyond: Two Souls
The Last of Us
Gamestop
PS Vita 3G/Wifi bundle – $179.99
250 GB Xbox 360 + Halo 4 & Tomb Raider – $199.99
250 GB PS3 + Batman: Arkham Origins & The Last of Us – $199.99
Games 50% off:
Bioshock Infinite
Borderlands 2: Game of the Year Edition
Games for $24.99:
Battlefield 4
Games for $14.99:
Just Dance 2014
Undisclosed game discounts:
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Grand Theft Auto V
Batman: Arkham Origins
Additional specials:
2-for-1 on Disney Infinity figures
Buy two pre-owned items, get a third free (includes games, systems, and accessories)
Target
Any Nintendo 3DS XL (including The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds bundle) – $149.99
Buy these games full price, get another 360/PS3/Wii U game half-off:
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Batman: Arkham Origins
Just Dance 2014
Amazon
Xbox One Launch Titles for $49 (week leading up to Black Friday):
Ryse: Son of Rome
NBA 2K14
Need for Speed Rivals
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Forza Motorsport 5
FIFA 14
Fighter Within
Dead Rising 3
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Call of Duty: Ghosts
Angry Birds: Star Wars
PS4 Launch Titles for $49 (week leading up to Black Friday):
Angry Birds: Star Wars
FIFA 14
Knack
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
Madden 25
Variety of smaller discounts ranging from $2-$20 on current gen versions of all titles listed here, plus other games including Remember Me, Dead Island: Riptide, and Rayman Legends.
Misc.
Certain retailers will have 1-year PS Plus memberships for $29.99. We don’t have a list yet as to who these retailers are, but will update when we find out.
UPDATE 11/26: Microsoft has now released a list of games they’ll have on sale via Xbox Live with discounts ranging from 33-80% off. This list includes WWE 2K14 for 33% off, Deadpool for 40% off, Tomb Raider and Metro: Last Light for 50% off, and Far Cry: Blood Dragon for 75% off. The sale will last from November 26 until December 2, with more titles being added as the week goes on. For the full list of games and when they go on sale, click here.
More to come…
It’s hard to say which ones have the best deals and brand loyalty may play a part in where shoppers decide to go Friday, though Best Buy seems to have a lot of the best bundles available. On the other side of the coin, I remember when Toys ‘R’ Us would be the only place I’d get my games from when I was a kid (mostly because a lot of these other retailers didn’t exist yet). Now it seems they have the weakest deals of the bunch.
What deals sound most enticing to you and where do you think you’ll shop on Black Friday. Are you going to go shopping on Black Friday at all? What do you think of retailers like Walmart and Best Buy opening on Thanksgiving itself? Let us know your thoughts with comments below!
Before last week, if I had to make a bet on which game would be the strongest overall release during the next-gen console launch, Forza Motorsport 5 would’ve been my pick. You’ve got a first-party developer in Turn 10 Studios with a well-established pedigree and a ton of past success, plenty of time between entries (Playground Games was the primary studio behind last year’s spin-off, Forza Horizon), and excellent access to the Xbox One hardware. But, as is often the case when I gamble, I’d have been walking away from that table a poorer man.
Forza Motorsport 5 feels like the extended demo of an incomplete game. It looks great, it sounds great, the cars all handle wonderfully, and the physics are absolutely phenomenal. But after a couple of hours, I realized there weren’t nearly as many cars as previous years and barely a dozen tracks–with classics like Nürburgring and Suzuka notably absent–which got very old very quickly. The new features like Drivatars and an expansion of the relationship with the BBC’s Top Gear are both welcome additions, but the game just feels unfinished.
Now, I know that the tracks that are here have been completely remodeled for greater detail, along with the 200 cars in the game (compared to 500 at launch for Forza 4, mind you) so that they can all be seen in Forzavista, and 60 more cars are coming down the line via DLC, but Forza’s always been a series that provided a lot of content for gamers right out of the box. It looks great on next-gen, but quite honestly, I couldn’t care less about the damn upholstery of a Honda S2000 if it means I’m losing out on actually racing several other cars because of it. By providing such a small selection of racing locales and cars in Forza 5, it feels like Turn 10 is banking on players falling in love with a vehicle, drooling over the interiors, and tuning it up and down the class ranks while taking on the game’s various championship series.
Speaking of the championships series, Forza’s Career mode has been changed considerably, and not for the better. Instead of working your way through different racing tiers over the course of several calendar years, all the championship series in Career are unlocked from the start as long as you can afford the cars necessary to race in them. You’re given enough credits for your first car in the first series, and where you go from there is up to you.
I appreciate Turn 10 allowing us to have more choices in the way we compete, but they’ve taken away much of the value of Career mode in the process. Forza no longer offers bonus rewards for finishing a series. You don’t even get a new car anymore—since so few cars are featured in the game, they can’t afford to give them away, after all. So, by making you have to pay for all the cars—either via the game’s real-world money-exchange system or digital cash earned by racing—you’re more likely to keep playing (or paying) to flesh out your collection with different car types to take on different series, since the game itself won’t reward you for your skill. Nearly all sense of accomplishment has vanished. You don’t even need to get first place in most races, just finish in the Top 3 to get the most XP and credits.
The counterpoint to all this, I admit, is that Forza 5 offers more championship series in Career than any previous entry. Forty are available in all, including many classic car and exotic options. But with only a dozen tracks, you’re driving the same courses hundreds of times if you want to beat Career mode. This option—once one of the biggest draws of the franchise—now sees you literally driving around in an unending loop, and it’s a shell of its former self.
Despite this major issue, Forza 5 isn’t a burned-out clutch of a driving game—and a few new welcome features show why this is still a racing franchise to be reckoned with. The new Drivatar aspect is a nice way to earn credits offline, since your digital imprint can travel to your friends’ single-player modes, and it only takes three races before the game can make a general outline of how you drive. Obviously, the more you drive, the more detailed the profile can get, and the better decisions it can hopefully make. The idea of racing 15 of your friends at any given time instead of just ghosts or randomly generated computer cars does instill a little greater sense of competition.
Also, Forza 5’s expanded relationship with the BBC’s Top Gear definitely adds to the enjoyment. Not only do hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May provide humorous dialogue introducing every championship series, but the game also includes Top Gear challenge races. Not every championship series has them—and they’re unfortunately few and far between—but they’re the most entertaining objectives, hands down. Whether it’s racing against the digital cousin of the Stig or using your car to knock over giant bowling pins on the show’s famous test course, the tiny bit of diversity in Career mode comes right here.
In fact, I almost wish there were an entire mode—if not an entire racing game—devoted to Top Gear after seeing how Turn 10 seamlessly implemented the show elements into Forza 5. While the game offers a few other challenge types that don’t feature the Top Gear brand (like passing challenges or racing on a track with pedestrian traffic), much like the regular circuit races, they grow old quickly.
I look back at the Forzas that have come before, and I can’t help but wonder if the ever-growing push for interconnectivity is part of the reason why the Career mode is so sparse here. Just like in all Xbox One games, you can take screenshots and videos of your exploits and upload them to the Forza community, along with custom paint and tuning jobs. The multiplayer is a direct extension of the single-player, where you can race whatever cars you’ve earned against your friends in head-to-head competition—but if you all can’t agree on the car tier, you may have to pony up some cash to buy a new one, since maintaining a diverse garage is far harder now.
But when you finally do get on a track, Forza Motorsport 5 maintains the tradition of providing great control along with some stunningly realistic graphics. For all my complaints, this is still Forza, and the actual act of zooming down a virtual raceway is still top notch. The issue is simply this: When you slap down $60 for this game (and possibly another $50 for the DLC Season Pass), you’re not getting nearly as much out of it as you did with previous entries. Career mode has been unnecessarily dumbed down, and the lack of tracks gets boring fast, overshadowing the game’s positive additions like Drivatars and the still-stellar racing mechanics. If you’re in it for the social features, the multiplayer, and just plain driving, then this is still a solid pickup, but if the new grind of Career mode isn’t what you’re expecting, then you should steer clear.
Developer: Turn 10 Studios • Publisher: Microsoft Studios • ESRB: E – Everyone • Release Date: 11.22.13
6.5
Forza Motorsport 5’s Career mode is a shell of its former self, giving little reason for players to keep coming back. Couple this with a dismal launch lineup of cars and tracks, and this is a surprising step backward for the Forza franchise as it helps kick off Microsoft’s next-gen console.
The Good
One of the best looking and handling next-gen games; the Top Gear cross-promotion fits seamlessly into the experience.
The Bad
No sense of accomplishment in Career mode; an obvious lack of tracks and cars at launch.
Batman’s seen so many great representations in different mediums over the past couple of decades, whether it’s animation, movies, or videogames—so it absolutely boggles my mind when someone utterly fails to capture the essence of the Dark Knight. Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is such an awful depiction of the Caped Crusader, however, that I had to wonder whether Armature had even heard of Batman before being tasked with making this game.
Set several months after the events of the console Arkham Origins, Blackgate sees Batman infiltrating Blackgate Prison—again—in order to quell a riot. Three of Batman’s most notorious foes are at the head of all the chaos, and they’ve divided the prison up into sections that their respective gangs control. Batman must defeat them all if he hopes to save the hostages kept in the prison’s Arkham wing.
Aiding Batman is Catwoman, whom he apprehended a couple of weeks prior to the riot. In exchange for her assistance, Batman will put in a good word for her to be moved to more “accommodating” quarters, since supposedly a fragile thief like her could be torn apart in a place like Blackgate. Batman must unlock new abilities and gadgets to help him traverse the different security systems and hazards of the now-dilapidated prison, often backtracking frequently to do so.
And sure—this sounds like the makings of a decent Batman game. The prologue level that revolves around catching Catwoman at an abandoned construction site gave me high hopes that this would be the Batman game we never knew we wanted on handhelds. But as soon as you set foot on the prison grounds, the game takes a serious nosedive. When I sat down to write this review, two words kept coming into my mind to best describe Blackgate: broken and boring.
The first major flaw? Armature tried to develop the game as a Metroidvania within the confines of the story. As we all know, Batman is never without his gadgets and his utility belt, and he goes to Blackgate of his own volition after being called by Commissioner Gordon. Yet, right from the get-go, all he has are Batarangs. No rhyme or reason—just to stay within the parameters of what defines Metroidvanias as a genre.
Someone who actually knows the character would’ve set up the story so to have Batman kidnapped and dragged to Blackgate against his will. Since we’re talking about a young Batman here, he wouldn’t have all the safeguards in his utility belt to prevent it from being forcibly removed. Batman shouldn’t randomly find a Batclaw in a container—like he does in Blackgate—just because he forgot his other one at home. Breaking the character’s basic traits to fit the genre you want your game to be is not forgivable.
Speaking of breaking character, Catwoman’s always played both sides of the fence in Batman lore, but she fills the role of Oracle/Alfred in this game—again, for no apparent reason. Catwoman doesn’t need Batman to break her out of prison, and she doesn’t really need to help Batman. After what happened in Origins, Batman should know Blackgate like the back of his hand. If he does need help, though, did Batman give Alfred the night off? Were his shows on again? Yes, I could definitely imagine Alfred curling up with a cup of Earl Grey and catching up on Downton Abbey instead of manning the Batcomputer!
The story isn’t the only element that’s broken, though. The game itself, from a technical standpoint, is as glitchy as it gets: items flickering in and out of existence, Batman getting caught on invisible walls, or falling through the floor to oblivion (or a checkpoint reload). At one point, I actually glitched through a wall and into a hidden compartment that had an armor upgrade I shouldn’t have been able to get to at that point. I was lucky I could backtrack with the gadgets I had—otherwise, I might’ve had to start over completely.
And if I had to start over, I might’ve just chalked this game up as a lost cause (more so than I already do). If I had to stare at another gray, bland, repeated prison wall, I’d have broken my Vita. The only good-looking aspect of the game is the comic-style cutscenes.
You can forgive the look of a game to an extent if it’s at least fun to play. But with Blackgate, the combat system that has made the Arkham games great is almost completely nonexistent. You can’t quickfire any gadgets, and you don’t even need to counter most of the time, since you’ll rarely encounter more than three of four guys in a room at once. Sometimes—almost like an early-’90s side-scrolling arcade game—a couple more will crawl out of the background when the first group’s been dispatched, but never will there be more than a few fightable enemies onscreen at any given moment.
Detective mode was also a pain in my cowl. I don’t mind having to tap the touchscreen to turn it on—it actually helped deter me from wanting to stay in Detective mode and served as a unique fix to a persistent problem with the series. But I did mind having to keep my finger on the screen to actually scan or look for things because it prevented me from freely interacting with the environment while I was in the mode. I had to move, enter Detective mode, scan, find I was out of range, turn the mode off, move to a better position, re-scan, turn the mode off, then interact. Just let me scan things automatically—no one wants their thumbs off the sticks for that long!
At least the boss fights provide much-needed variety. New characters to the Arkhamverse like Bronze Tiger actually make you work for your wins, since they’re more or less the only time you need to utilize multiple gadgets or techniques. And even though we’ve seen most of Batman’s gadgets before, the one new addition—an explosive-gel launcher—was something I’d like to see on consoles at some point. It reminded me a lot of a grenade launcher, and it could be used in a lot of ingenious ways in both combat and puzzle-solving.
Some decent boss fights aren’t enough to save this game, though. Never before have I been so disappointed in a Batman-inspired property. Plus, this is also one of the worst examples I’ve ever seen of a Metroidvania, since the backtracking and gadget-finding is kept to a bare minimum. Broken, boring, and just plain bad, everyone should steer clear of this as though you had chiroptophobia (fear of bats).
Developer: Armature Studio • Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 10.25.13
3.0
A waste of potential, Batman: Arkham OriginsBlackgate is a broken, boring game and a stain on the Metroidvania genre. Its positives are few and far between, buried under a mountain of glitches, tedious gameplay, and poor level design.
The Good
Comic-style cutscenes look great.
The Bad
One of the worst Metroidvanias you’ll ever play.
The Ugly
All of Blackgate Prison—and its single shade of gray.
Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate is available on Nintendo 3DS and PS Vita. Primary version reviewed was for PS Vita.
I admit that I’m a bit new to the Rayman series, only having played the most recent ones. But once the limbless wonder works his magic on you, it’s hard not to develop an affinity for Michel Ancel’s iconic character. So, when the opportunity arose to take Rayman from the controller to a touchscreen, I was curious.
Rayman Fiesta Run is the follow up to last year’s Rayman Jungle Run and continues in that game’s footsteps, replacing the precision platforming we’ve come to know on consoles with an endless-run dynamic. At first, this worried me greatly, given how tightly Rayman controls on consoles—it’s one of the major reasons I’ve gotten so addicted to his games. After several hours tapping furiously at my iPad, however, I can tell you that the endless-run motif isn’t necessarily better or worse; it’s simply a different way to enjoy Rayman and his world.
In order to get used to this new mechanic, the game strips Rayman of many of his basic moves at the start—all you can do is tap to jump, wall jump, and run. This helps you get into the rhythm you need if you’re going to collect all 100 lums and four Teensies per level. Multiple paths and familiar obstacles to overcome lend even more replayability since the only way to truly beat the game is to collect everything in each level and its twisted “Invaded” counterpart.
Knowing when to tap—and when not to—might sound simple enough, but it’s harder to master than it seems, so it’s great that the game takes it easy early on. But when Rayman starts getting abilities back—like gliding and punching—the difficulty ramps up fast. You must master performing each move in conjunction with multiple taps to ensure that Rayman sails through the world smoothly and collects everything along the way.
Fiesta Run also does a great job of utilizing the phenomenal art and music for which the series is known. Even though the areas are all new, they’ll be familiar enough that fans will appreciate listening to their favorite level music set against recognizable backdrops.
I’m afraid that Fiesta Run isn’t all one big party, though. The game is surprisingly short, even with multiple playthroughs of each level. Seventy-two levels sounds like a lot—and if this were a console Rayman game, it would be—but here you can get through the entire game in only a few hours.
The boss levels also disappoint. Bosses you have to run from are huge and beautifully designed, but they’re never really a threat, since you just keep running. The level layout isn’t really anything different compared to what you’ve played up to that point, either, so the entire concept of a “boss” area is really lost after the level’s brief opening cinematic.
I’m also a bit surprised that the game doesn’t tie back into the console versions. It’s not really a negative, but with so many companies releasing apps with or around a recent release that can unlock costumes or extra items or a minigame when you link them, I’m just surprised I can’t transfer lums from Fiesta Run to Rayman Legends or earn extra trophies or something along those lines. I could use those additional trophies and lums, too, because it’s not easy trying to get to the 11th level of awesomeness or unlock every character in Legends!
Sometimes, though, simple is the way to go—and Rayman Fiesta Run proves that. Its user-friendly control scheme should provide nothing but fun for fans of the franchise, and even if you’re not a huge Rayman devotee, the game’s cheap price tag of $2.99 makes it a worthwhile download if you’re a completionist with a few hours to kill.
Simple and to the point, Rayman Fiesta Run follows proudly in its predecessors’ footsteps. The endless-run dynamic is a nice change of pace for fans of the franchise—I just wish the party could’ve lasted longer.
The Good
Enough challenge and collectibles to compare favorably to its console brethren.
The Bad
Short enough to be blown through in only a few hours.
The Ugly
Just missing that last lum before crossing the finish line.
Rayman Fiesta Run is available on Google Play, Amazon App Store, and iOS devices. Primary version reviewed was for iOS devices, specifically using an iPad 2.
Even a billion-dollar franchise like Call of Duty feels pressure sometimes, and this year’s entry, Call of Duty: Ghosts, probably had even more than usual. Fans were concerned about Infinity Ward stepping away from the Modern Warfare series and introducing something new—not to mention rival Battlefield 4 raising the stakes on next-gen with 32-on-32 multiplayer.
Infinity Ward also felt competition from fellow Call of Duty developer Treyarch’s huge success with Black Ops II last year. Even with all this pressure, though, Infinity Ward looked to maintain a steady course and reach their customary peak at the top of the FPS food chain. But sometimes, more change is needed to reach familiar goals—and I couldn’t help but feel that Ghosts doesn’t do enough to keep the formula fresh.
Ghosts’ campaign starts when a South American alliance called the Federation hijacks an American space station armed with ODIN, a kinetic bombardment system. Turning their own weapon against them, the Federation thrusts America into a decade-long conflict that instantly flips the global balance of power.
Logan Walker—the son of a former member of a U.S. Special Ops unit designated as “Ghosts”—quickly rises up the ranks along with his brother, Hesh, in a resistance group led by their dad as they help protect the ever-shrinking American border. But the Federation isn’t the only threat Logan and his family needs to deal with; an ex-Ghost named Rorke has allied himself with the Federation for the express purpose of making the lives of his former squadmates a living nightmare.
While Ghosts may tread familiar ground, it’s certainly not a bad experience overall. In fact, its single-player campaign is on par, in many regards, with Black Ops II, and it has the added bonus of not including those broken RTS side missions. Most of the levels impart that big-budget, adrenaline-fueled, action-movie ride players are looking for. It’s just that there are enough blemishes here—and a lack of overall innovation—to make it a good game, not a great one.
The major issue comes with the disconnect between the action and the narrative. Ghosts takes players all over the world and throws them into some insane scenarios that further the parallel between this game and action movies. But, like many action flicks, when the protagonists are placed in cool places like the Antarctic, dense jungles, underwater, or deep space, the narrative starts to come undone. In at least four of the game’s 18 missions, you’ll probably find yourself having flashbacks to college philosophy classes when you ask, “Why am I here?” I don’t know, Plato—but you might as well blow it all to kingdom come while you’re at it!
While the narrative reasoning leaves something to be desired, there’s certainly plenty of gameplay variety this time around. Whether it’s high-speed chases or subterranean subterfuge, Ghosts makes sure there’s never a dull moment. I did take issue with one activity, however—and that was playing as Riley, the German Shepard.
Don’t get me wrong—it’s awesome having Riley as a part of your unit, and it’s a blast issuing him commands. If you’re not good enough in multiplayer to ever earn that new perk, at least you get the satisfaction in single-player of having your pooch bite off a bad guy’s face. It’s nothing short of stupid, though, to have sections where you’re actually playing as the dog himself. Sneaking through the grass and silently taking down enemies isn’t something you need the dog for. Looking through a camera on its back is completely unnecessary, too, and considering that Riley’s only in three of the 18 missions, he’s not all that important, giving his segments a tacked-on feeling. I will say, however, that Riley’s voice actor is probably the second-best in the game after Rorke’s.
Despite these issues, the five-hour campaign still managed to pull me in with some excellent action sequences and enough of a cohesive narrative to make me want to keep going. But even with all its cool moments—unless you miss some Achievements or want to go through on harder difficulty levels—you probably won’t be going back to the campaign again and again. No, it’s the multiplayer that makes Call of Duty stay in our systems for months on end until the next chapter hits store shelves. But while this portion is technically sound—much like the campaign—it does little to make the experience feel fresh again.
Unfortunately, all the “new” multiplayer options in Ghosts are simply mashups of previous game modes, direct ports, or minor rule changes. Most of them are still fun, but I expected more than just a bunch of rehashes. The worst part of the multiplayer, however, is the new UI. The new character customization is a huge bonus this year, but the screen’s a mess, and most players will have to look long and hard at their TVs just to find the simplest of options, such as making the character male or female.
The UI problems continue when setting up your perks. While the few limits of Black Ops II’s Pick Ten system have been thrown out the window, so has the ability to quickly and conveniently make changes to your loadouts between matches. Due to tiny icons and a cluttered menu screen, if you really want to change your guns and perks, you should leave your respective lobby, since it’s going to take some time to really figure everything out.
All that said, the maps are more intricate than ever. Many of the larger areas have a multitude of lanes you can use in order to reach your objectives, providing some interesting variety when you spawn on these new killing fields.
The biggest surprise with Ghosts comes in the co-op mode: Extinction. The idea here is that up to four players have been inserted into the remains of a town that was hit by one of ODIN’s orbital strikes. It seems this strike unearthed something that had been long been buried…something alien. Now, you and your teammates have to get to ground zero, plant a nuke, and get the heck out of Dodge, all while trying to fend off this alien horde.
More focused than Zombies and far more creative than anything Infinity Ward has done with a co-op mode before, Extinction may be my new favorite co-op mode for the franchise. My only concern comes from the lack of replayability. Once you beat this section with your buddies, there’s little to make you come back, but hopefully some more maps and other add-ons come down the line.
When compared to the Call of Duty games that have come before it, Ghosts has a few problems, primarily in regards to innovation and moving the franchise forward. There’s no denying this.There’s also no denying, however, that the game’s still really damn fun to play—and even with the issues I’ve outlined, Infinity Ward has proven they can still hold the line, no matter the pressure.
Narrative issues and a lack of ingenuity in multiplayer plague what could’ve been an all-time great Call of Duty game. As is, Ghosts is still an enjoyable experience and shows that Infinity Ward can still hold the line—but the concept falls short of its true potential.
The Good
Gorgeous set pieces with tons of action; the new bad guy is excellent; Extinction mode adds something new to multiplayer.
The Bad
Some levels feel tacked on for the sole purpose of lengthening the campaign; multiplayer UI is awful.
The Ugly
Riley’s whimpering actually had an effect on me.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is available on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, and PC and is a launch title for Xbox One and PS4. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.
It’s been a difficult transition from current-gen hardware to next-gen for a lot of the yearly sports franchises, but these titles seem to fall into one of two categories. Some series are taking the challenge head-on, while others are trying desperately not to rock the boat, with hopes of riding out whatever wave of momentum they’ve built up over the last seven years to survive their final current-gen entry.
WWE 2K14 falls in the latter category. Even taking events like a huge publisher change into consideration, it feels like the franchise is just ready for current-gen to be over and done with and is biding its time.
It’s not that WWE 2K14 is a bad experience. I still had a lot of fun with this year’s version of WWE’s annual gaming series, but a lot of its features and ideas seem stale, with little innovation in any of its modes. The same glitches and AI shortcomings that seem to pester the game year in and year out persist—Extreme Rules matches remaining counterfests where wrestlers just keep ripping whatever weapon they have out of each other’s hands and doing no real damage, players seeming to meld through the ropes instead of climbing over them, or character models looking like they’re floating off the mat when you go for the pin.
A perfect example of the lackadaisical approach taken to this year’s game is the WWE Universe mode. This option is so outdated that it still lists the Wednesday-night show as WWE Superstars, even though it’s now WWE Main Event and Superstars has been relegated to an Internet-only show on Friday nights. The only real addition to the mode this year is the Rivalry feature, where you can change storylines to force wrestlers to face each other—with varying stipulations—week in and week out. It’s really just a small customization feature that doesn’t do much for the experience as a whole–and serves to add more clutter to a user interface that’s already in desperate need of an overhaul.
Sure, it’s still interesting to create a character—or take control of one of your favorites—and put them through the paces of a year in the WWE and see if you can become top dog. But how about we expand this into NXT, the WWE’s developmental promotion? You could start as a rookie and really work your way up or learn new moves through a mentor, just like on the show. This could give us a chance to tell a much longer, more detailed story than we could before. And can we at least get the schedule of shows right? Yes, we can create our own, but let’s at least start from an accurate default.
While on the subject of creating things, I do have to say that while nothing’s really changed with the character, entrance, moveset, or arena-creator modes, nothing really had to, either. I can’t imagine these being any better than they already are, besides perhaps offering more options with greater detail. Hopefully, that will come with some of the added horsepower next year. The WWE series is known for having one of the best creator suites in the industry—and that, at the very least, remains in pristine condition.
Something that has seen some changes, however, is the story mode. Last year told the tale of the Attitude Era, while this year brings us 30 Years of WrestleMania. The major focus of this mode revolves around reliving 46 epic matches from three decades of the most dominant brand in wrestling, trying to pull off the same iconic moments that made these matches classics to begin with: Hogan bodyslamming Andre at Wrestlemania III, Stone Cold Steve Austin refusing to tap to Bret Hart in WrestleMania 13 (one of my personal favorites), all the way up to John Cena versus The Rock from just last year.
Hardcore wrestling fans will be able to recognize this is just an extension of last year’s mode, but instead of focusing on one specific time period (which also happens to be the shortest chapter here to prevent too much crossover), it draws from the WWE’s long history. It also conjures up a lot of memories of 2009’s WWE’s Legends of WrestleMania game—mostly early on—in regards to the matches chosen and the objectives given. It was like déjà vu; I had this constant feeling I’d already played half the mode before I even started it. However, it’s still tremendously fun to relive so many vintage moments, and it serves as a great learning tool for younger wrestling fans—or a trip down memory lane for older ones.
But there’s a lot more to 30 Years of Wrestlemania than just reliving the best matches of yesteryear. Another option in the mode is challenging “The Streak.” Here, you’re presented with two choices: Defeat the legendary Undertaker at WrestleMania, where his AI’s been amped up to near-impossible levels to offer you the truest test of your wrestling skills, or play as the Undertaker in the ultimate Gauntlet match against the entire WWE roster.
The Gauntlet match choice sounds much tougher than it is, though. Most combatants don’t really start to put up a fight until you’ve eliminated at least 25 guys, and the Undertaker recovers his health after every five. A score is assigned in either option, giving the entire mode a very arcade-like feel; it’s a nice change of pace from the rest of the simulation-heavy game. But unless you become obsessed with bettering your score, this mode sorely lacks any replay value. Even a difficult Undertaker can be countered after you learn his timing, and the Gauntlet match can take close to an hour for each runthrough of the roster, which is far too long for anything to be deemed truly “arcadey.”
WWE 2K14 is a decent entry into the series, but it lacks any changes that could help the franchise stay completely fresh and fun; this feels like a mailed-in effort before the advent of next-gen. The customization options we’ve come to know and love are still here to complement the most robust roster of old-school and current wrestlers yet. It just feels like the overall presentation and WWE Universe mode need to see the same spit-and-polish effort that goes into story mode every year.
Developer: Yuke’s/Visual Concepts • Publisher: 2K Sports • ESRB: T – Teen • Release Date: 10.29.13
7.0
30 Years of WrestleMania will be a fun stroll down memory lane for older, more diehard WWE fans. Otherwise, WWE 2K14 feels like a mailed-in effort before next-gen hits, especially as the WWE Universe mode starts to show its age.
The Good
30 Years of WrestleMania is a great follow up to last year’s Attitude Era mode.
The Bad
WWE Universe mode is starting to show its age; same glitches we see every year.
The Ugly
Mae Young. Just because.
WWE 2K14 is available on Xbox 360 and PS3. Primary version reviewed was for Xbox 360.
RayCarsilloWrites.com 
Commentary: 10 Ways to Fix VGX
VGX was supposed to be a new beginning for Viacom’s oft-mocked videogame awards, the former VGAs. It was supposed to just be about the games and gamers, moving away from the glitz and celebrity it had always tried to pair with the industry in the past. It was supposed to be different, and it was supposed to be better. Well, it was at least different, I guess.
If you missed the constant stream of social-media vitriol toward this past weekend’s VGX, then you’re probably not concerned with videogames in the slightest. Even those with a passing interest would’ve been hard pressed to avoid seeing their Twitter feed or Facebook flooded with anger over yet another year of talking down to gamers and failing to provide us with a legitimate venue to celebrate an ever-growing pastime.
And while some of those new ideas might be the beginnings of a show turning in the right direction, just about everything else reminded me of the end chase scene in the 1980 musical comedy classic, The Blues Brothers, where more and more cop cars kept crashing into each other for no good reason. Every VGX segment was simply another one of those ill-fated cop cars.
Now, since it’s my opinion that the people who put this show on every year don’t get what we want to see, I’ve taken it upon myself to come up with 10 ways that they could improve and maybe, finally, give gamers the awards show they deserve.
1) New Hosts
Since at least 75 percent of the VGX hate on the Internet has been slung in the general direction of Joel McHale, this is the easiest—and first—fix. For three hours, it seemed like McHale’s sole purpose was to try to derail the show as much as possible while also talking down to his audience like we were a bunch of sideshow freaks who didn’t deserve him as a host. You’re right, Joel: We don’t deserve you as a host, but it’s not because we’re beneath you.
And I understand that Joel was brought in at the last minute, probably to infuse the show with a little of the celebrity of VGAs gone by in case some viewers still liked that idea. The problem is that plenty of other celebrities actually care about their audience—or are talented enough at least to hide their contempt. This is the second time I’ve seen McHale host a videogame function, and both times, he came off as a prissy little assclown who was just there to collect a paycheck.
And whether you like him or not, Geoff Keighley isn’t a bad host, but he was put into a situation where he was doomed to fail from the start. Every time McHale went off-prompter, Keighley was like a deer in headlights—McHale’s ad libbing was too much for him to keep up with. Keighley’s effort should be commended, since it’s never easy when your co-host throws you and your show under the bus every chance he gets, but it was frustrating to watch and created an awkward dynamic.
The easiest solution to this is simple. Either cut VGX down to a single host like most every other awards show, or bring in co-hosts that could actually work off each other. Plus, the hosts don’t need to be traditional “Hollywood celebrities.” There’s a wealth of videogame journalists and developers out there that have enough on-camera experience to hold their own and still provide entertaining commentary. Or, if you want to really show off some talent, how about the best of both worlds and having voice actors host? Who wouldn’t want to see Troy Baker, Jennifer Hale, and Nolan North talk about games and give out awards?
2) A Live Studio Audience
Another ridiculously awkward element of VGX was the lack of an audience beyond the production crew. The only time I actually laughed at something Joel McHale said was when he painfully mentioned, “And I’m the only one clapping…” after an award was announced.
Again, this seemed to be part of the movement away from the 300-plus-person live audience of years past, but not having anyone at all to react to what was going on left a lot of uncomfortable silence. All you need is 20 to 30 people applauding to really help transition everything smoothly, and the crew should have more important things to worry about than waiting for Joel’s cue to clap to fill what became an increasingly evident problem.
3) Rehearsal!
Back when I first started my media career, I freelanced for quite a few live and live-to-tape productions, so I know how difficult it is to pull off something like that—and most of those were only 30 or 60 minutes. So, I tip my hat to the cast and crew anytime something along the lines of three hours actually gets done. That being said, there were clear moments that made the lack of preparation evident—like when Camilla Luddington, the voice of Lara Croft, had no idea that Keighley and McHale were going to ask her to throw to a clip introducing Lara as one of the nominees for Character of the Year.
Of course, any live production is going to include elements that are simply out of a crew’s control, and no amount of pre-production can predict some untimely mishaps. That wasn’t the case here, though. Making sure all the talent is on the same page would surely be one thing the producers, a floor manager, or ANYONE on the crew (as, again, McHale pointed out live after Luddington’s face became a total blank by saying “I guess we should’ve told you we were going to do this”) could’ve done to make the overall production look a bit more professional. And, obviously, I’m not saying a somewhat off-the-cuff interview should’ve been rehearsed, but someone should’ve made Luddington aware of what was planned during her segment. A lack of organization will always find a way to make itself known, and this was only one of several instances where folks in front of the camera were in the dark about what was going on around them.
This is another easy fix. If you plan on doing something special or different with someone on-air, make sure they’re fully aware before the cameras start rolling.
4) Smarter Social-Media Interaction
Incorporating Twitter and Facebook into any live show seems to be a necessity nowadays, and VGX wanted to make sure it didn’t miss jumping on the bandwagon. The problem is—especially considering how obviously disorganized the show already was behind the scenes—utilizing something as unpredictable as social media effectively is a monumental task.
Many times, the questions tweeted in and read by Keighley and McHale were already asked by one of the hosts before the social-media segment started. Was no one screening these tweets? Of course, maybe there was so much hate directed toward VGX that the screeners just couldn’t pay attention to the live show while filtering out all the rage.
And having the order of your awards dictated by social media was repetitive, considering you already have the viewers voting on two awards as is. Nothing like coming up with scripts live while switching other segments on the fly. VGX should have simply included a scrolling ticker on the bottom of the screen, since Keighley and McHale didn’t need anymore help making this show a trainwreck.
5) No More Concerts
Game music should be celebrated any chance we get. When you look at shows like Video Games Live and other events dedicated solely to some of our favorites themes, there’s more than enough proof of why game music is an art form in and of itself. I don’t think anyone was clamoring for live performances of several songs from the hundred-song GTAV playlist, though.
I understand that part of it was because GTAV had won the Best Soundtrack Award (and deservedly so, partially due to the sheer size of the game’s playlist alone). But if you really want to celebrate the music, you should pick songs that are less likely to offend than “Hood Gone Love It.” Also, give every game’s music a little recognition. Do it like the Oscars and have bands or orchestras perform each game’s main theme over the course of the show. The concert was overkill and felt like nothing more than a desperate attempt to fill the last a half hour of airtime.
6) Don’t Give Out the Biggest Award in the Middle of the Show
This is just Awards Show 101. You’ve only got so many things people are looking forward to—especially with so many “reveals” being leaked early from various sources. By giving this award out at the halfway mark, you’re just asking for people (particularly a more casual audience) to close the video player. Whoever thought this was a good idea should be fired. Plain and simple: The biggest award is given out last.
7) Nix the Pre-Show
I didn’t even realize there was a VGX pre-show until I tuned in for the 3 p.m. Pacific start time. It was never promoted (and, if it was, no one I know saw it), so when I first came to the VGX website, there were already five or six videos that I wanted to see instead of the actual show itself. There was a world premiere and six awards given out before the show officially started. If you’re going to do a pre-show, you need to do a better job of promoting yourself—and, actually, this leads into my next point.
8) Give Out ALL the Awards During the Show
One of the longest-running complaints about the VGAs reared its head again this year: VGX still refused to give out all its awards during the show. Considering how much difficulty they had filling three hours of content—what with the clueless hosts, botched segments, and boring “comedy” sketches—there was no reason for all 21 awards to not be given out over the course of the show. Fighting Game of the Year, RPG of the Year, and more were relegated to second-rate award status, preventing these games from getting the proper recognition from the largest audience possible. Nothing like disrespecting several gaming genres when putting on a show about gamers. This is another simple fix: Just give out the monkey trophy for every category you have.
9) Don’t Make Winning a Chore
It was an interesting idea to give the winners of this year’s awards the time to do whatever they wanted with their acceptance video. Mind you, it comes off like the devs are tired of making the trek to L.A., but without the pomp and circumstance of years past, I can’t blame them, either.
One thing could bring them back, though. Instead of boring acceptance speeches or “funny” videos, what if the developers sat down with the hosts afterward for a couple of minutes and talked about their game and how things may have changed for them since launch? Maybe a mini-postmortem. Work with the developers instead of making them do something. (They just won an award, and they’ve worked enough on their own already.) VGX would get content, viewers would get insight, and the creators could get the chance to talk meaningfully about something they put a lot of clear effort into.
Definitely don’t make them do something, though. No one needs another redubbed Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag cinema scene.
10) Better Exclusives
With most of the VGX “reveals” already leaked the week prior—and the only three legitimate surprises including two from the same company—there’s some murmuring among the gaming community that developers have finally decided to start pulling out of VGX, since its demotion from primetime TV to web streaming puts the relevance at an all-time low.
Disappointing trailer after disappointing trailer was easily the worst part of the show. We could’ve tolerated McHale’s animosity, the awful concert, and the social-media stupidity if VGX gave us something truly awesome to look forward to. And while Telltale’s new games and No Man’s Sky raised our eyebrows for brief moments, they were nowhere near enough to save this show from itself. No elaboration on Uncharted 4, no big announcement from Nintendo, and nothing to get truly excited about to carry us into 2014. Those are VGX’s greatest mistakes of all, because this year, more than any other, the show came across as a waste of time.