Why did the American titles jump from Final Fantasy III to Final Fantasy VII?
How can there be more than one Final Fantasy?
What is a Chocobo?
If so, then I have an article for you. Check out IGN Presents the History of Final Fantasy. Spanning from the roots of the franchise on the Famicom through development for the current PS3 titles, this retrospective offers some good background to those who may not be as familiar with the rise of the console-based RPG in American culture. It’s a great read and a good chance to gain some insight to the genre. And it explains where they got the name!
For years writers have found ways to leverage interesting characters, stories, and experiences through sequels, spin-offs, and ongoing storylines. Another strategy to increase profitability of lucrative franchises is to place them into another media all together (i.e., successful books made into films, television series yielding books, and films spawning games). But with the advancement of gaming technology we are witnessing a new way to make money without creating all new titles.
The current platforms all have the ability to download content and many developers are taking advantage of this to create supplemental levels, characters and features to enhance games that have already proven successful. Rather than attempt to re-create “the magic” in a sequel, many have chosen to extend the experience for those who are still interested. The beauty of this approach is that it can offer enhanced value for an already owned title which a player knows he or she likes.
An example from the last year that has offered such enhancements is Soul Calibur IV. Both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 versions offer downloadable content through their online services (Xbox Live and The PlayStation Network respectively). These upgrade packs enable further customization of characters within the game. For an example of such modifications, see the trailer below.
Though customization of characters in a fighting game can be a treat, it doesn’t really approach the level of enhancement provided by a furthering of the story. The 2008 release of Prince of Persia offers additional narrative gameplay. In order to provide an enhanced experience to those who enjoyed the title, Ubisoft offered a download called “Epilogue” that gives the player a chance to enjoy more challenges and provides further closure to the story. For an idea of what is offered, view the trailer below.
Never willing to be an “also ran” in the video game industry, Rockstar Games produced one of the most striking game enhancements available within the last year – the Xbox 360 exclusive side story for GTA IV entitled The Lost and Damned. Though a little more expensive than other supplemental downloads available, this is an entire playable side story that adds at least another 10 hours of scripted gameplay to this title. View the trailer below for an idea of what this adds to the experience. (Keep in mind that this is very much a mature title and though it is an impressive and involved story, it is not intended for those under 17 years of age.)
But perhaps my favorite examples of developer-provided downloadable game enhancements are for Burnout Paradise. This title is over two years old and Criterion Games is still creating new content to keep this game fresh and fun. These upgrades include the Bikes Pack (which was free!), the Legendary Cars Pack, and the Cops and Robbers Pack. But one of the most impressive upgrades just came out earlier this month and it’s called Big Surf Island. This pack includes not only new vehicles, but an entire new island to explore! For an idea of what is included in this pack, watch the trailer below.
Granted, there are some who believe that all downloadable content should be free. in fact, there are many downloads that incur no charge. However, if developers are going to continue to invest their resources to enhance their customers’ gaming experience, it should only follow that they recover their costs. We as gamers and game-playing families can decide what options are worth our hard-earned dollars and what aren’t.
As a game-playing parent, I appreciate the option of spending only a fraction of what a new game costs to get added value for some of my favorite titles. And in the case of Burnout Paradise, you can currently find it new for $19.99 and the Big Surf Island is only $12.99 on top of that. Together, that’s just a little more than half of the original price of the game two years ago. Criterion Games is well aware of the current bargain price of their title and by providing continued support, many who originally purchased the game are rediscovering it while others are just seeing it for the first time and recognizing the continued enhancements to the gaming experience.
Consider it all food for thought from a frugal gamer. Enjoy!
For those of you who know what Ico is and have enjoyed Shadow of the Colossus, this information is golden. Check out the details from PlayStationLifestyle.net HERE. For those who don’t know what these games are, feel free to follow the Wikipedia links that I have provided. But please understand that the beauty of these games is not to be captured in still images or descriptions. Team Ico creates living breathing worlds where you want to discover what lies around each corner. Their use of soundscapes and music envelops the player within the environment. Simply put, their experiences are truly immersive.
If your curiosity hasn’t been piqued, take a look at the following video…
Both of the original titles from Team Ico have an ESRB T rating. Though there is a fairytale quality to these experiences, they provide some moral questions and have environments and situations which I believe could be a bit haunting for the younger ones in the household. See what you think before you present it to your family. Although I believe that like many of the good books or wonderful films I’ve enjoyed over the years, the experience of playing these titles has made my life richer and I heartily recommend them to all. As for the latest in the series, I’m downright giddy!
The following article is (like much of my writing) pure editorial. Consider the points that I am raising in the context of your own beliefs and use what makes sense to you. Please understand that some of the following subject matter is potentially disturbing. However, we need to be informed in order to make the right decisions on behalf of our children.
Let me start by saying that one can define PROTECT as, “to keep from being harmed.” One way to keep our children from harm is to empower them. Another is to keep an eye on them and intervene when necessary. At certain ages, we need to let the kids fall and scrape their knees. They’ll cry, but they’ll learn. Being a parent requires that we maintain the balance between isolating our children from certain experiences while allowing them to be exposed to others. To clarify, I do not believe that we should lock our children away from the world. Instead we need to gauge their maturity and introduce certain experiences and concepts when we think that they are ready.
Having said that, I’ve had a couple of wake-up calls so far this year. One was when I first heard about sexting. For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, read more HERE. The fact that this is becoming popular in middle schools concerns me as a parent. I got the second wake-up call last month when I read THIS ARTICLE about a 24-year-old male from Kentucky who was using his PlayStation Network account to get an 11-year-old girl to send him nude pictures of herself. Though I was horrified at the thought, I should have expected it.
The game console is not the villain here. The child-predator is. A tool can be used for something other than its intended purpose. I have a dozen or so knives in our kitchen that we use for cutting vegetables, cheese, meat, etc. Does that mean I blame the manufacturer of my Ginsu knife if some psycho comes into my home and comes after me with it? No. At least that’s not where I would put the blame. Up to that point, the tool served its intended purpose.
As technology advances it provides us different opportunities. Many of the most popular and pervasive technologies facilitate communication. In the 80s when Cell phones were too big to carry in your pocket, we never thought of taking pictures or video with them and sending those to people. The most “adult” content for the Atari 2600 of my childhood was so pixelated that calling it “graphic” would be gross misrepresentation. But our children have a different world.
As of tomorrow (April 1st), you can buy a new PS2 for $99. For more details, check out Sony’s announcement HERE.
I don’t know if Sony feels guilty about the lack of backward compatibility in the PS3, but the fact is that the PS2 is still selling well and it’s hard to ignore the huge library. In fact by the end of this year they claim that there will be almost 1900 titles for the system. Considering that the second PlayStation launched almost nine years ago, that’s quite a feat. Sony is trying to leverage the value of their systems by maintaining a 10-year product cycle. I know that as a parent, I appreciate knowing that if I buy a console a couple years after it has launched, it still has some lifespan before the company tries to convince me to purchase their next system.
Granted, this is a previous generation console. However, Sony and third party developers are still releasing new games for the platform. Factor in the existing library which contains well over 50 A+ titles and the ability to enjoy the original PlayStation 1 library and this becomes a worthwhile investment. Also, unlike the original PS2, the current “Slim” version includes the built-in Ethernet and modem hardware so this functionality does not require an additional purchase. Just don’t forget a memory card!
Wow, now that I’m waxing nostalgic, I think I’d like to put together a top 50 list of last generation’s best games. What do you say, Chris? Are you up for that? I’m guessing that we could find at least one title beyond Rez and Okami upon which we could agree!
According to Sony’s Official PlayStation Blog, The PlayStation Network has provided a venue through which Sierra Online could resurrect an old franchise of theirs. (Read the details HERE.) To say that the gameplay is addictive is an understatement for those who enjoy a simplified flight sim fighter. In fact, I am shaking my fist (much like Snoopy did in Charles Shultz’s comics) as a testament to that.
Having got that out of the way, Red Baron Arcade is not as involved as the original series on the PCs from the 90s, but it sure is fun. I believe that it falls somewhere between the Sierra Online franchise and the original Atari arcade game. For those of you unfamiliar with the original vector arcade game, you can see some footage of a sit-down cabinet that we observed at an auction in Game Apparent TV Episode 2. The Red Baron cabinet makes a short but memorable 15-20 second appearance starting at 6 minutes and 4 seconds into the video. Also, for those of you who are interested in seeing the original in action, Atari actually has a playable version on their website RIGHT HERE!
In fact, this feels a little like a simplified version of Crimson Skies or the Xbox version Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. I logged many an hour on the last one. When it comes down to it, one of the most important things about the old Red Baron franchise, the newest version, and the Crimson Skies titles has been the multi-player capability. The games are fun, but playing them against human opponents and shooting them down in the heat of battle is a real treat. Having spent an hour last night playing the demo for Red Baron Arcade, I can say that the multi-player is there and the fun-factor is intact.
One thing unique to the PS3 incarnation of this title is that it utilizes the motion detection functionality of the controller (and fairly well). Instead of using the joystick on the controller, I opted for the motion control function and the controller could be configured to interact with the game like an actual airplane’s yoke. I found this very immersive and quite natural.
For those with PCs interested in the Red Baron 3D experience, a community website is still sponsored HERE for the game and it is available for free download on that page. Otherwise, PS3 owners will find the $9.99 pricetag hard to beat for some online fun for their families.
