Gaming grist from Rock, Paper, Shotgun
After looking up the definition of "insouciant" — it's a quality expressed by sauce pans, I think — browsing the headlines of our favorite PC gaming blog Rock, Paper, Shotgun is my favorite mid-day work avoidance routine. Here are some of the week's best:
• Pirates director Gore Verbinski to direct a BioShock film. Says RPS, "The immediate problem with using the existing narrative is that, unlike the game, the audience isn’t in the shoes of the lead character, so Bioshock’s moments of greatest resonance will be that much tougher to achieve. Potentially the big reveal could be a bit Sixth Sense - which, in fairness, was reasonably affecting on the first viewing." As long as the Big Daddies have a love interest in the Little Sisters, re-cast as large-breasted algae farmers but still wearing the same filmy dresses, everything should be fine. Oh, and someone should ride a whale just ahead of a slow-motion explosion.
• Wolf 3D turns 16. I'm just linking this because of the Lego Hitler mecha.
• Is the future of consoles the PC? asks Rossignol, who posits future gaming will be done on a monolithic home computing slab which broadcasts the visuals over IP to the display and interface of your choice. My take: I think it will be just like that, but different.
• Spore and Mass Effect (PC) will have onerous, unnecessary DRM. I actually sold my 360 copy of Mass Effect in anticipation of the PC version. Ah well. More DRM-less Sins of a Solar Empire for me.
• Ken Levine and 2K Boston to remake X-Com? As one of the only games from that era that stands the test of time (some of the interface is a little rough, but more than ably smoothed over by the waves of general brilliance) X-Com deserves an all-star polishing up. But only if — and I acknowledge that I'm about to become the fussy, aging, ossifying gamer I loathe — it's turn-based.
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For a second I thought this post would be about Mechaton the game of Giant Fighty (Lego) Robots.
You totally missed this interview:(
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1707
Joel, if you're having trouble grasping the concept of insouciance, just think about the feeling you got when you almost stepped on that rattlesnake... Insouciance is the opposite. :)
I've been anticipating Spore for so long that I can't imagine not buying it, no matter what sh^t-eating DRM is attached, but I did go ahead and cancel my Amazon pre-order. Amazon actually required me to give a reason before I could cancel, so I did, and also included this link: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1699
Maybe enough canceled pre-orders will make a difference...yeah, right...
The DRM is a sad thing to see in Mass Effect and Spore. If anyone had been wondering why BioWare fans were sad when EA aquired them, here's why!
Its funny, I took a look at a comment thread for a 'Sins of the Solar Empire' torrent, and nearly every commentor was saying something along the lines of 'Great game, it has no DRM either, so you should really support these guys and go buy it' and I'm betting a number of people did.
>Ken Levine and 2K Boston to remake X-Com?
I just started a game of x-Com a few weeks ago. I have the PS1 game that plays on my PS3.
Real shame that series has been left alone for so long. Great game.
Some changes have been announced for the Mass Effect and Spore. Still has some DRM, but it's not as crazy as it was before.
Kotaku posted an article about it earlier: http://kotaku.com/5008452/bioware-backs-down-from-draconian-mass-effect-authentication
EA Backs Down From 10-Day Authentication
Thanks for the updates, folks.
Not that bothered by online authentication, myself, so long as they turn it off when they stop supporting the game or the authentication system.
For anything multiplayer, this is going to be the way it is, I have little doubt. I'd rather register and auto-auth than enter a damn CD-key every time I reinstall, that's for sure.