The Gaming Standard - Blogs - ashlan·nathens by Ashlann http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/blog.php?4-ashlan·nathens en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 18:01:26 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/images/BP-Black/misc/rss.jpg The Gaming Standard - Blogs - ashlan·nathens by Ashlann http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/blog.php?4-ashlan·nathens E3 2012 wrap up http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?38-E3-2012-wrap-up Tue, 05 Jun 2012 03:46:11 GMT With the gaming industry currently bloated to bang point with promise and technological revolutions, it was very difficult not to approach *E32012*... With the gaming industry currently bloated to bang point with promise and technological revolutions, it was very difficult not to approach E32012 with enormous hope and expectation. Fortunately, I'm the consummate cynic, and was therefore not overly disappointed, despite the very underwhelming presentations this year.

UBISoft have announced a continuation of their FarCry fable with FarCry 3: Insanity Edition; the trailer for which is less revolutionary for ground-breaking game play than it is for Boobs, Tigers and Madness. Be prepared to revisit the original glorious environment of a glittering archipelagos swarming with nasty, heavily armed men, gun boats and non-linear exploration. But this time with... well, boobs and tigers. It just goes to show - if you want to re-hash something old and sell it en mass, just add boobs. We, the consumers, are to blame for the fact that this works (and WILL work in this case) so successfully.

One possible shining beacon from Sony's stage this year is Quantic Dream's new title starring Ellen Page of (most recently) Inception fame - the announced title is BEYOND - and despite the lack of game-play in the demo, the facial realism of the gaming models shown in the demo was quite stunning. If there is a strong enough story and enjoyable game-play - this could be a big title for the year.

Sony also showcased an entirely new interactive concept 'Wonderbook' with Dave Ranyard of Sony introducing it with this: "We actually kept it a secret - that is a bit of a surprise to us" - and after 5 minutes of H K Rowling' s Book Of Spells game-play we could see why. It is completely insipid and fleshless. Unless there is a whole lot more to this game, it seems utterly self-serving, overly complex and pointless to have your screen interacting with a book in your hands - if you want a book, read a book. if you want to game - give us a game. No doubt the ability to do this with Move technology was enticing, but the development seems to seriously have lacked focus on the end result: a game for gamers.

The most disappointing of all, however, is the continued silence from Valve - where is the continuation of our beloved Half Life series? Has the success of Portal 2 sent the developers into a completely new direction, causing a complete rewrite of Gordon Freeman's story? Some news would have been good, after all these years of waiting. Or are we going to have the next grand Duke Nukem disaster?

The only other mentionable is the loudly echoed theme from all developers and platforms this year: we will re-hash old titles for dollars. FarCry, Assassin's Creed, Battlefield3 - Premium... we're getting very little for our money this year it seems. I'm a huge fan of all 3 of those titles, but so little seems to have been done in developing truly new content! Assassin's Creed 3: Revelations holds the most promise, and as a die-hard fan of the Battlefield games 'BF3:Close Quarters' is certainly alluring, but the asking price for what is inarguably nothing more than DLC borders on criminal. The announced asking price for BF3:Premium (the all-inclusive DLC package which, with utter cheek, includes the already released Back To Karkand!) is US$50. That really is somewhat disgraceful. And sadly, the consumers drive this marketing model by supporting it with hard earned money. Me? Not this time. This will be the first time EA Games won't have a hand in my wallet with a Battlefield sale.

There are a lot more little spiky bones to pick over in the E3 aftermath, and the official E3 wrap-up isn't for some hours yet - but thus far there hasn't been anything to pin on the must-play board, certainly nothing to rival Guild Wars 2 as 'new, fresh and exciting' gaming.

And with little else that can possibly happen, it's been a huge disappointment this year. We would love to hear your thoughts and feedback - please send in your reviews and opinions to ashlann@thegamingstandard.com or leave your comments here on the site.

Good gaming, and keep the standards high=)

Ash ]]> Ashlann http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?38-E3-2012-wrap-up Games are for kids... http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?3-Games-are-for-kids... Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:16:46 GMT On the surface of it, that comment may seem rather disparaging I suppose. But anyone with kids knows: games are for kids. My daughter Jasmine... On the surface of it, that comment may seem rather disparaging I suppose. But anyone with kids knows: games are for kids.

My daughter Jasmine turns 6 on the 24th of this month, and already she is showing me that, despite my extreme pride and elation at basically tearing the code of Portal (original) to pieces when I first played the game, she can grasp the concepts faster. And it's only my years of using a mouse and keyboard in co-ordination that gives me the upper hand to solve the puzzles faster. She is seeing the solutions better than I did.

Not only that, the way she can solve complex problems in games like Crayon Physics Deluxe* is phenomenal. She quite happily tears through the moaning hoards in Dead Nation on PS3. Oh, and while we're on PS3 games, have you tried your hand at WipeOut HD? I grabbed that game for free after the little PSN 'hiccup'. I played the original back in the day; it was always a superb title; fast, furious, and the best music in any game I've ever played. I've tried to master this new offering, but I just can't control a vehicle doing nearly 500km/h like I used to. Jasmine, however... no problems.

Jasmine loves walking around Guild Wars with me, and I'm sure when she's old enough to handle the content in the Battlefield series, she'll just as happily snipe my brains all over the closest graphical rendering. At this stage, the only way I'm pwning my 6 year old in the gaming world is by saying, "hey, how about a game of chess, kid?"

I'll take my victories where I can get 'em:)

p.s. anyone who has an issue with a 6 year old playing Dead Nation needs to spend sixty seconds talking to my daughter:)

*Wiki link; sadly the official site isn't responding. If it's still available through Steam, it's a must have for anyone with kids. And it's super cheap! ]]> Ashlann http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?3-Games-are-for-kids... Supply and Demand http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?2-Supply-and-Demand Tue, 13 Sep 2011 10:25:05 GMT Hi pax!

I wanted to give you all a rough idea of where I'm at in terms of time for development of the SoX site.

Some of you who have known me since my days in TOG know I am somewhat of a workaholic when it comes to graphics and site development. The last 2 years I needed to dramatically step away from that to enjoy the true pleasure of being a parent; Jasmine is now better at Portals than I am. She's 6 in 11 days from today, and can already make it to level 16 unassisted. Anyone who played the original Portals might fully comprehend what that means. I have spawned a bona fide genius.

Anyway, to give you an idea of my workload, I am currently managing the following sites:
This is the reason I had been only partially involved with the development of The Twilight Gamers (with whom I still maintain a good relationship and am still actively sporadically assisting) - I simply don't have the time. I also have to go to one of those real jobs and earn actual cash;)

Having said that, it is always fun to help get a new project up and running quickly. Squirrel and myself have worked together for many moons now, and since my gentle attempts to teach him the finer arts of Photoshopping have not yet come fully to fruition, I am very happy to be part of the development of this new venture, The Gaming Standard.

I plan to develop this blog into a GFX how-to, so please follow it if you're interested in how the graphical elements of the site are developed. Several headers went live today and I'm not too unhappy with them; feedback so far has been positive (except from Squeak. And she is welcome to improve them whenever she sees fit to open Photoshop:)).

Anyhoodle, good gaming all, and hopefully I will get a little time in game in the near future! ]]> Ashlann http://www.thegamingstandard.com/forums/entry.php?2-Supply-and-Demand