Different approach, same goal. Xbox One and PS4.

In case you didn't know somehow, Microsoft has finally lifted the lid on it's latest 'console', the Xbox One. Let's start by saying how much of a stupid name that is. Going from Xbox 360 to Xbox One just seems illogical and will cause confusion because people refer to the original Xbox as Xbox 1.

The Xbox One with the Kinect camera, which is mandatory to even function the damn thing.

Now, it was expected that Microsoft would take the 'own the living room' stance, which is focusing on media functionality as well as games. The problem with that is that you may end up focusing too much on things which no one cares about, or has limited availability. Guess what? Yep, many of the features Microsoft will be putting out will only be available to the US, at least initially. Things such as the Live TV, where you can see a TV guide or cable box, will only be able to be used in the US at launch. Also, something which wasn't mentioned was the fact that an HDMI supported receiver is needed to even use the functionality. Kind of shoots the Xbox One's mantra down doesn't it?

Most of the reveal conference was about TV, with the announcement of a Halo TV show with input from Steven Spielberg and a deal with the NFL, which I can't imagine will be huge deal outside of North America. Kinect was also a big focus and is coming with every system sold. With all the gesture and voice commands you can pull off, if the thing recognises them that is, then you will be able to control the Xbox One without pressing a single button. I guess Microsoft think that pressing buttons is hard.

Microsoft showcasing the Xbox One's interface, which looks very similar  to the one currently found on the Xbox 360.

Speaking of buttons, Microsoft did show the new controller which looks to be a cross between the original Xbox controller and the one including with the 360. It now has a rechargeable battery included and has 40 different features and changes. It can also be seen in the picture above.

There were games shown, but no live gameplay demos which is a bit odd. EA came on stage to announce a new game engine called Ignite and then proceed to show us footage of Madden, FIFA, NHL and UFC which I'm guessing very little was gameplay footage, if any at all. Also shown was Forza Motorsport 5, said to be representative of gameplay footage but I'm not so sure. Forza 5 is confirmed to be a launch title. Another game shown was Quantum Break, which is a new IP developed by Max Payne and Alan Wake creators Remedy. It was a teaser and more will be shown at E3 for sure.

Also unveiled was Call of Duty: Ghosts, which looks like Call of Duty. They talked about how the new consoles can bring the series forward but it looks eerily similar to what has come before. Activision did a comparison to Modern Warfare 3 and there are improvements but you have to remember that this game is coming out on the 360 and PS3 too so it won't be a massive improvement. It looks to be using the same old game engine too, which was first used with Quake 3 many moons ago.

To me, this looks like Microsoft trying to do something which is unnecessary since a lot of these features are novelties at best and don't improve the current products out there. Also, it's apparent that Microsoft are after an increasingly outdated vision, a vision where everyone and everything is surrounded by one large TV. Many households have multiple TVs, not to mention phones and tablets which can access the internet. It all seems a bit redundant.

Contrast this to the PS4 announcement, which didn't show a console but did show Sony's approach, games. It also showed that Sony has learned from the mistakes that it made with the PS3, with using much simpler architecture, the same as the Xbox One it should be pointed out, 8GB of GDDR 5 RAM, the Xbox One also has 8GB of RAM but it is the much slower GDDR 3 type.

It's clear Sony have focused on making the PS4 a games console, first and foremost. That might not seem much but when it's the gaming enthusiasts that are the first to buy your system this is important. Of course, Sony will have non-gaming features such as movie and TV streaming since the PS3 is the most used platform for Netflix and Blu-ray obviously. They sent out this message with live gameplay demos of new IPs Knack and DriveClub, a new Killzone in the form of Shadow Fall, inFamous Second Son. Third parties were represented with Watch_Dogs from Ubisoft, Destiny from Halo creators Bungie and a tech demo called Deep Down from Capcom, as well as appearances from Epic Games, Square Enix and Blizzard.

Killzone: Shadow Fall gameplay screenshot

No doubt both will show new games at E3 but it's the long game here. The 360 will have been out for around 8 years when the Xbox One launches and the PS3 will have been out for 7 years at the PS4 launch, or there about. It seems odd that Microsoft are focusing on something that is seemingly becoming less and less integral to how we consume media, whereas Sony is fulling embracing the multiplatform way of modern technology by bringing PlayStation to mobile devices through streaming by Gaikai, the company Sony acquired last year. At least, that's the vision. I mean, who wants to browse the internet in the corner of your TV screen when watching a movie? Microsoft thinks you do, while paying for Xbox Live Gold too no less, when you have a phone or tablet or even fridge (I'm not joking by the way) which connects to the internet already.

If all else fails, use this scientific graph to determine which is best. ;)

Snatching Defeat From the Jaws of Victory

McLaren. What is going on at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes? (they won't be called that for much longer)

McLaren had a pretty good end to the 2012 season. They won the last two races to end a mixed year, with the loss of Lewis Hamilton to the Mercedes works team. Now, we know that title sponsor Vodafone are ending their relationship with the team which began in 2007, the year Hamilton made his debut in F1. The reason for this is unclear but I do believe that Hamilton's exit swayed Vodafone. This sponsorship deal was big money to McLaren and losing that deal must be a blow. However, McLaren have announced that a replacement will announced on December 2nd and Hamilton's replacement, Sergio Perez, is backed by a company called Telmex. Telemex is part-owned by a man named Carlos Slim, who is the world's richest man, with a fortune of $73 billion. Can anyone say Telmex McLaren Honda?

As for Honda, well, as I've written in a previous post, are rumoured to be returning to F1 as an engine supplier, in 2015 if reports are accurate. If true, this would mean McLaren sticking with Mercedes next year. What this could mean is McLaren reverse engineering the Mercedes engine with Honda and finding out it's pros and cons. Mercedes have insisted that they will protect themselves from something like this but I'm not sure how they could stop it if McLaren do use them.

Back to this season, it has been, in a word, shambolic. McLaren have been painfully slow and all pre-season optimism has evaporated into thin air. This was surprising given their end of season form last year and the promise they showed at the first pre-season test. The problem is apparently the new push rod suspension system, which is similar to the one Ferrari had trouble with last season.

Sergio Perez driving the McLaren MP4-28.

Will McLaren fix this issue? Possibly. They have three weeks until the Chinese Grand Prix and should be spending it finding why the car is so slow compared to its nearest rivals. McLaren will recover from setbacks, it's in their history.

When Honda pulled out of F1 in the early 90s, after struggling with Cosworth and Peugeot, McLaren recovered. After losing the West sponsorship McLaren came back and they will after losing Vodafone, Mercedes and Hamilton. If they don't then Martin (I can't stop making excuses) Whitmarsh should be fired. Teams have a tendency of bouncing back after losing their Vodafone sponsorship anyway. In 2007, Ferrari's ex-McLaren man Kimi Raikkonen beat the dueling bitch-fest between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton by 1 point. In the same year, Manchester United came back from 3 years of not winning the Premier League to reclaim their crown, after switching from Vodafone to AIG. Maybe McLaren can make it a hat-trick in 2014?

Switching on the light

It's been a while but I want to come back and write something. I want  to write about ideas and how coming up with great ones can be a pain in the ass. Anyone can come up with ideas but either they're shit or they've already been done. Both seem common, in all kinds of media.

Take movies as an example, many movies you see releasing at the cinema these days aren't new ideas but ones done previously but with different character names and settings but have been tarted up with special effects and other things. This isn't new but a good example is Avatar, James Cameron's uber expensive cinematic showcase which uses to latest CGI technology to great effect, and profit, since Avatar is the highest grossing movie of all time. However, rip all of that away and what you get is an old narrative, one about mankind and it's selfishness and how it refuses to take others into consideration. How the protagonist, in this case Jake Sulley, is wrong about his views and his journey into seeing the other perspective on things. It also has the classic love story of two complete opposites who in no way should fall in love but they do. If you watch enough times to not be overawed by the visuals you can see that. Avatar is nothing special.

There is a point to this, my point is that coming up with ideas isn't just about the premise or the mechanics, it's just as much as the execution and how it looks at first glance. That's how most forms of entertainment exist today be it movies, TV shows, music and video games. Very few these days is truly original. Of course it's very hard to do something truly original but many don't even try to modify it and just throw something together and hope people like it enough for it to make money. That tends to be driver in a lot of this and also follow what is popular instead of trying to stand out.

As I've said I know it's hard to do something different but you can see what is out there and purposefully avoid doing that will go some way to not being seen as a cheap cash-in. I know how hard it is to come up with ideas myself. As in university I have to come up with an idea for a 30 minute script for a TV show/short movie. This was difficult as there's lot of things out which covers pretty much everything. We had to actually share our ideas in the class to everyone and as everyone was explaining their idea I couldn't help thinking that it had been done before for most. Some were original, like one which is about a girl who wants to bed the hottest girl in school. It got a laugh from the class and I have to admit, it is different. Also, I'm sure you can guess the gender of the person who came up with that.

As for my idea, well, I have to admit something now, I came up with it pretty much on the spot because I had nothing so I quickly scribbled something down. Now, I'm not going to tell you my idea at this moment because it hasn't been written as a script just a first draft of a synopsis which needs refining. I bet you're thinking how much of a cocktease I am after writing all of this for then not to share my supposed idea. I'll probably get accused for being a Jay from The Inbetweeners but I don't care, I have my idea and I'm going with it. Simples. My idea did get a laugh in the class too like the one I mentioned earlier but that wasn't intentional and it did surprise me a bit. My lecturer Anita likes the idea quite a bit and I should probably mention that she is a writer for Casualty, the BBC hospital drama.

This comes back to my original point, amazingly, anyone can up with an idea but whether it's something different or even good doesn't always matter. As proved by many of the popular, books, movies and other stuff. Complete shit sells, somehow.

From Groundbreaking to Trend Following

Having been playing it recently on my PlayStation Vita, (a great piece of hardware but it's a shame about the sales), I want to talk about one of the biggest games of the 90s both in terms of quality and in regards to the immense popularity it garnered back then, Tomb Raider.

The box art for the first Tomb Raider game which first released in November 1996

The game was a huge phenomenon back then because of it's unique gameplay. Today, many see it as clunky and unresponsive but at the time it was fresh because 3D games were still in their infancy. Playing it today for me is still a very enjoyable experience. Yeah, the controls are heavy and archaic but they are consistent and any mistakes made are the player's fault and not anything to do with bugs or glitches unlike many games today. 

Tomb Raider was an unforgiving game. Any small mistake could lead to failure and losing quite a bit of progress due to the save crystal system the game used, unless you were playing on the PC then you could save anywhere but even that has it's risks. You had to think carefully about each jump and trap, making the game more tense and/or frustrating depending on the outcome of the attempt at the jump or whatever the game threw at you. The game's combat isn't very good, it wasn't back in 1996 either but that was never the focus of the game. Anyway, it made things more interesting and increased the tension due to the rubbishness.

The focus of Tomb Raider was always the levels. These levels which had big, overlapping puzzles and many opportunities to explore the landscape and discover every nook and cranny. Wonderful. No hand-holding either with the puzzles. These days, many games have glowing icons or objects, showing you what can be interacted with. That's fine but it isn't very challenging or fun, well to me anyway. 

It can't be understated how much I love this game. I'd love to see a new game in the vein of the original with excellent puzzles and lots of exploring and challenges. Sadly, it's increasingly looking like that will never happen. I'm talking about the reboot of Tomb Raider.

Box art for the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider. HNNNNNNG.

When first announced, Crystal Dynamics, who replaced series creators Core Design (who have since gone defunct) after the mess that was Angel of Darkness back in 2004, wanted to redefine the series and take it in a new direction. Initially, that was interesting since they focused on survival and being lost on a deserted island off the coast of Japan. It sounded a bit like Metal Gear Solid 3 from what they were saying. Not classic Tomb Raider but it's a quality game and could work well if done right. However, after a long silence there has been a deluge of information but nothing shown sounds like nothing Crystal Dynamics said previously.

For a start off, for a so-called survival game, the game has regenerating health. No medipacks or anything. Just hide in cover for a few seconds and all wounds are healed. A popular feature of modern games which feels out of place in a Tomb Raider. Another thing out of place in a Tomb Raider is the excessive gore and violence. I know Tomb Raider has guns and Lara killing but in this manner, especially when this new Lara is made out to be inexperienced and vulnerable, yet can kill in cold blood like a seasoned veteran.

In this video, you see Lara kill some enemies in brutal fashion which completely goes against the theme that Crystal Dynamics were trying to portray. They are complete opposites and conflict with each other immensely. I know she is in danger but she looks so calculated and those finishers just top it off.

The Magical Shape-shifting Bow/Pickaxe combo...

Another feature brought over is the upgrade system found in RPGs and online First Person Shooters. This allows people to unlock abilities or useless stuff like cosmetic crap other ways to kill people. I'm not sure where this belongs in Tomb Raider. It seems like it's there to keep the OCD gamer who likes to unlock useless nonsense to keep them engaged because the gameplay itself is so drab and boring. 

Blow something up, earn some XP!!!!!!!1

Which brings me on the next point. The levels. In the original like I explained, the levels were the star of the show. In this new game, the focus is shifted on Lara and her growth as a character. The problem with this is that no one cares about Lara as a character. If you ask people who are aware of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, pretty much no one will say Lara is best known for her personality. Why Crystal Dynamics insist on this, they tried it before deciding the reboot the franchise, is a mystery. A result of this is the increase in confrontation, the combat. This is one area where the reboot should beat the original to a pulp thanks to better technology. However, like Lara's character, this was never important and just served as a break from all of the puzzles. 

With this new-found emphasis on killing things to death, the challenging levels have been simply discarded, replaced by linear pathways which link the combat engagements together, as well as the 'cinematic set pieces'. Another one of those things brought in current gaming trends, used commonly in games such as Call of Duty and of course Uncharted, once referred to as 'Dude Raider', despite Uncharted and Tomb Raider not sharing very much in common... until now it seems. Uncharted has always focused on the characters and narrative instead of challenging gameplay but it works in that because the characters are interesting and have a good chemistry. The only thing Uncharted and the original Tomb Raider have in common  is having a globe-trotting protagonist who go in search of an ancient artifact. Both have similar influences, Indiana Jones being one, but ultimately take that influence and go in different directions. However, Tomb Raider seems to be going in that direction now with the highlighted pathways and objects as well as increasing emphasis on combat and story. I Think these two pictures show it well:

Says it all.

I like Uncharted, it's my favourite new game series from this console generation but that doesn't mean that I want every game to be just like it. Especially not Tomb Raider but I guess I must be in the minority because Square-Enix and Crystal Dynamics must think I do. It's as if there's a checklist for every popular feature in some of the most popular games and every one had to be ticked, including a Detective-like mode where objects and pathways glow to show where to go, as seen in the Batman Arkham games and Multiplayer. 

Yes, multiplayer in a Tomb Raider game. Not officially confirmed but it's as good as confirmed because GAME put up a description on their product page for it for then to remove it hours later. Luckily someone screengrabbed it because I didn't.

:(

I may be overreacting but the game so far looks to be one of the most cynical, uninspiring and creatively bankrupt game I have seen in some time. Since they've got all of these features they might as well go the whole way and shove in some multiplayer which will be forgotten about a few weeks after launch most likely. The game has its fans but so does everything no matter how terrible and this looks to be no exception. Most of the people interested have no prior experience with the franchise and don't care about it's history and what it was about. Some Tomb Raider fans support it too but they're the type who'll buy anything with the name Tomb Raider on it. 

Many fans, myself included, are immensely disappointed with the direction of this game. It's not what I want in a Tomb Raider game and I hope this games fails. That might sound harsh, given the number of people at Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix who have dedicated lots of time and effort into it but there has to be a point where you have to say that it didn't work and it's not what is right for the series. Maybe a break is what's best. After a short while someone else takes the franchise and takes it back in the direction of the original Core Design games but makes them for the current day with little compromise. One can dream. 

Wii U poem

Oh Nintendo, Nintendo
You release a new console
Which made many go 'doh'
And want to whack you with a pole

Updating the firmware can make you old
When it does and you only get to play
Inferior ports that are sold
'It's not the same game. It's not the same content' Reggie will say

Rehashing 2D Mario once again
Is it the same game as sold before?
Little to excite the brain
No new Galaxy or HD Hyrule to explore

Only Pikmin 3 and Bayonetta 2
Not enough for most
Get the fans talking about you
But not really to boast

The Gamepad
A new Revolution was claimed
But it is quite sad
Low battery life and poor screen is blamed

Keeping costs down
Not pushing the boat
Giving many a frown
And you easily afloat

Off screen gameplay
Without the need for a TV
Allowing you to pick up and play
Whilst leaving others to be

Media features such as streaming
Netflix and YouTube
Will they keep it from becoming
The next GameCube?

Dust Settling on Carbon-fibre

One word describes the 2012 Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix. Dramatic. From the unpredictable weather  to the Championship climax both at the front and the back of the field. There was plenty still left to play for. In the end, it was Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team celebrating as Vettel won his third Driver's Championship in a row to go with Red Bull's third consecutive Constructor's trophy. 

At the other end of the field. There was something to play for as well. 11th in the Constructor's Championship. It doesn't sound much but it was worth millions in prize money to whoever got that place. The contenders were Caterham and Marussia and it was the Caterham team who came out in 11th place as Vitaly Petrov came in, you guessed it, in 11th, to secure the money. Funny thing is, Petrov might not be racing next year.

The biggest loser, outside of Alonso who must have known he only had an outside chance he would end up Champion, is Lewis Hamilton. I have already written about him and his move to Mercedes but now I have to again because I think he may be the unluckiest driver in F1.

Hamilton was flying in Brazil. He secured pole and was looking to end his McLaren career on a high and win  his final race for the team. Something achieved by the legend that was Aytron Senna in his final race at McLaren. However, like for much of the season, it just wasn't meant to be. Hamilton was out in front at Interlagos but was being caught by the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg, who like Hamilton was in his final race for the team he was currently at and wanted to end on a high, and the tricky conditions made things difficult for everyone. Which led to an incident which summed up Hamilton's season...

Not the first time in 2012 had Hamilton had to retire because of outside factors, whether it may be getting wiped out by say, Pastor Maldonado, or having technical difficulties with the car, things haven't gone Hamilton's way. What could he have done? Nothing. Hamilton has proved to everyone that he is one of the best in F1 despite the problems he's had this season and deserves a crack at winning a second Driver's Championship more than anyone. Will he get that at Mercedes? If things continue for them like they have recently then probably not. Mercedes have only scored six points in the last six races. Speaking of his Mercedes, McLaren have handled Hamilton's move to Mercedes in a pretty interesting way in their animated show Tooned. Tooned is a series of short episodes starring Lewis Hamilton (not now after the last episode of the series), Jenson Button and presenter of BBC gameshow Pointless, Alexander Armstrong. Here is the last episode of the first series of Tooned.

You can't say they don't have a sense of humour.

So now that the season is finished, many will reflect on what did happen and what could have been and of course, what could be for next season.

Going backpacking or gone forever?

This weekend, the 2012 Formula 1 season hits it's climax at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos and the title will be decided between smug, whiny bitch Sebastian Vettel and eyebrow extraordinaire Fernando Alonso. However, attentions are already turning to the 2013 season and the biggest news is that Lewis Hamilton is leaving McLaren, the team who has supported him since he was just thirteen.

Lewis Hamilton at McLaren

Earlier this season, Hamilton announced that he was joining Mercedes and ending his long-standing association with the Woking-based team. The reason cited by Hamilton was that he wanted a new challenge and more freedom for sponsorship and other things. This is interesting given that his management company is the same one that orchestrated David Beckham's move to LA Galaxy several years ago. Of course, we can't forget that Hamilton's manager was his own dad before ending the professional relationship. Anthony, Lewis' dad has his own company and manages racing drivers, including Force India's Paul Di Resta. 

This surely means that Lewis' career managers were behind the move, since they had the most the gain from it. There's no way you can say it's to get a better car, since the Mercedes is struggling at this moment in time. That's not to say they won't improve for next year but given Hamilton won the last race at the new US circuit in Austin last time out and is looking good in Practice at Interlagos at the time of writing, you have to question the real motives of this moves. 

Hamilton's current team-mate at McLaren, Jenson Button, believes that his not-for-much-longer team-mate is making a mistake. Button said that "He has chosen to go his own way at the end of the year. It is his decision, although I personally don't think it is the right decision," and Jenson will know the Mercedes team better than anyone if you think about it. Given that had driven for them for quite a number of years in several guises: BAR, Honda and then the one season wonder Brawn GP.

Jenson Button driving the Brawn GP car which won both 2009 F1 championships

For years, even with the backing of Honda, who are rumoured to be returning to the sport, potentially as the engine supplier to McLaren, the team struggled to make real headway and only won one race as Honda in 2006 with Button behind the wheel. Ironically, had Honda stayed in the championship in 2009 they would have won both championships since Honda funded the development of the Brawn GP car which gave Button his Driver's Championship glory. Though that car was only as competitive as it was because they abandoned development of the 2008 car which was a total dud. To their credit, Mercedes have won a race this year, in China, and it was German shampoo model Nico Rosberg who gave them their first victory since they bought the team at the end of 2009. It was Nico's first and only F1 victory as well.

Not even the legend Michael Schumacher (pictured) can save the Mercedes F1 team from midfield  mediocrity so far. 

Since Button's comments, Hamilton has refuted any notions of regret at agreeing to join the Silver Arrows. Hamilton has said  "What I do have is a huge amount of love for the (McLaren) team. Leaving is always a tough decision and these last couple of races will be tough. "I'm happy I've got a new challenge ahead of me. I've got to build new relationships with people. Everyone does that in life so I don't know why I can't do it." 

However, the Team Principal at McLaren, Martin Whitmarsh, does believe that Hamilton is regretting signing on the dotted line to join BAR-Honda Mercedes, saying that he believes his reasons are that he has been offered more money and that Hamilton feels he has to 'flee the nest' so to speak. However, neither have ruled out Hamilton rejoining the team one day. That itself is a bit odd since you never hear drivers saying that they'd one day like to rejoin the team they're about the leave. Whitmarsh did go on the record and say that he would "have him back, yes".

"So let's hope it's just a gap year."

For the last time? Hamilton and Whitmarsh celebrating the victory at the 2012 US Grand Prix

Could we see Hamilton rejoining McLaren after three, or maybe even just a single year at Mercedes if things don't go too well?

It has happened of course. A driver rejoins the team he left for 'a new challenge'. The most recent example is Fernando Alonso, who in 2005 announced that he was joining McLaren from the all conquering Renault team of 2005-6. This only lasted for one year, despite him signing on for three years at McLaren. Alonso returned to Renault for 2008 and endured mediocrity for two years before joining Ferrari.This was down to him having his eyebrows ruffled by the new kid on the block, Lewis Hamilton. Annoyed at this and not being the Schumacher-esque dominator he had hoped, he sabotaged his own and Hamilton's chance of winning the F1 title, allowing Kimi "Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing" Raikkonen to win the championship by a single point.

Will Hamilton rejoin McLaren at some point? I think he will, it's just a case of when to be honest. McLaren have signed Sauber's Speedy Gonzalez Sergio Perez to replace him at McLaren and he is an exciting prospect and one to look out for next year for certain. I think it's more likely Hamilton will return when Button decides to hang up the helmet whenever that is. He's not getting any younger. 

In and out. Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez.

Only time will tell what happens but whatever the case. It's going to be exciting as hell to watch and that can only be a good thing.