LUCID FORGE

How quickly a month passes and now, here we are, with the second of Lucid Forge’s new monthly column about gaming. The column is continually evolving so you’ll notice some differences between this month’s column and the last. Hopefully you’ll think, as I, that these are quality improvements.

Table of Contents:

In the news:
“Wii-habilitation?”
Tough economic times not affecting gaming industry
When good movies become bad games

Other Sections:
Previews
Way Back Review – Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
New Releases


In the News

“Wii-habilitation?”

If American scientists have anything to say about it, then the term “Wii-habilitation” will become part of the popular vernacular of doctors and physiotherapists. Wii games like bowling and tennis have already been used in high-end health care centres to help patients with their rehabilitation, primarily in returning motor functions to stroke victims. So now the University of South Carolina is getting a piece of a $2 million grant to see if they can quantify those results.

Two organizations: the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of California Santa Barbara's Health Games Research Center are handing out the grants for the USC study, as well as other video game-based research seeking to find health benefits to gaming. Other projects getting funding include The University of Central Florida's College of Medicine study to examine whether virtual world role-playing games can influence the recovery of former alcohol abusers and Union College's Department of Psychology test on senior citizens' "cyber-cycling," or exercising on a stationery bike with a networked 3D screen.

Tough economic times not affecting gaming industry

Gas prices are high, the cost of grocery shopping is going up and if you live in America, you may or may not be losing your home, but people aren’t cutting out their precious video games any.

According to Reuters, in April, the combined revenue of the gaming industry added up to about $1.23 billion, which is an increase of 47 per cent over the same month in 2007. This is in keeping with numbers from the retail consulting group NPD, which says that the gaming industry made a $18 billion in 2007 — a 43 per cent increase over 2006.

“We know that movie theatres continued to make money and have people come in huge numbers. They went there to escape the bad things going on in the culture and life overall back then,” said Justin Shortt, an assistant manager of a G2K store. “Think about it now. People are stressed about gas prices, the economy, the war and other things, and they need an escape. Yeah, they’re still going to the movies, but you have got a lot of people who use video games to keep them occupied, to take their mind off things.”

When good movies become bad games

Over at Yahoo!, columnist Ben Silverman compiled a list of some of the worst movie to video game translations. Typically this is talked about the other way around; the frequent awfulness of movies based on games. But in (dis)honour of the less than stellar reviews for SEGA’s Iron Man adaptation, Silver looked back at 20 years of terrible games based on good (and not-so-good) movies.

Making the top of the list was E.T. for which Silverman said, “Alongside a shoddy port of Pac-Man, the ghastly Atari 2600 version of Steven Spielberg's spectacular family film is often credited with contributing to Atari's epic downfall, and, in turn, the great video game crash of 1983.”

Also spared no bile was another based on a Spielberg hit Jaws: Unleashed, which was released on X-Box, PS2 and PC barely two years ago. “Worse yet,” wrote Silverman, “were the inaccurate controls and inane mission goals (throw barrels at the oil refinery using your mouth?), making this fearsome predator go belly up faster than a carnival goldfish.”

For the full list, and the whole commentary, visit the Yahoo! Games page here: http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/great-film-bad-game/1212547

Previews

In this segment, we do a straw poll of upcoming and recently released games to see what some of the experts are saying.

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

“However, there is a distinct difference between the "Indiana Jones" and "Star Wars" trilogies, and it could transfer over to the game: there's a much greater likelihood for puzzles in the Indy LEGO game, just because there happens to be a lot of puzzles and conundrums in the world of archaeology. Granted, there's always plenty of action in every Indiana Jones movie, but each one also boasts some pretty intriguing puzzle-solving, and we believe we'll see a lot of that in this title.” – PSX Extreme



“In addition to creating great co-op experiences (lack of online aside), Traveller's Tales has also consistently done a great job of offering tons of replayability to gamers. LEGO Indy delivers this in spades, with plenty of stuff hidden away in levels that you'll need to come back to in the Free Play mode to unlock.” – IGN.com

Ninja Gaiden II

“While Ninja Gaiden was a challenging game for even hardcore gamers, Ninja Gaiden II's difficulty has been dropped a notch so as to cater to a wider audience. Despite that, there's a range of difficulty levels, and even the easiest one (acolyte) will be a challenge for Ninja Gaiden novices. Thankfully, we were able to play through the first couple of levels before attempting level eight, but even with a bit of gameplay under our belt, it certainly wasn't a walk in the park.” – Gamespot.com

“Ninja Gaiden 2 is a spectacle. Its predecessor has come to be remembered for a steep but perfectly pitched difficulty curve - but firing up NG2 for the first time is a reminder of just how cinematic and exciting the whole thing is, too. With Ninja Gaiden, we came for the eye-catching, beautiful combat, and stayed for the challenge. Ninja Gaiden 2 ramps up the first part of that formula to a whole new level.” –Eurogamer.net



Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy

“The game's good motion capturing ensures that fights look smooth, but we're disappointed by how clumsy the controls felt as we worked our way through brawls. Jason Bourne is capable of pulling off various combos, which enemies will learn to recognize -- and adapt to -- if you repeat them. But we couldn't get the hang of it; maybe our timing sucked.” – 1up.com

“The importance of the dynamic camera, inspired by the direction of Paul Greengrass' movies, shouldn't be underplayed (and it quite frankly hasn't been), and neither should the level of inspiration the movies provided for High Moon. By recruiting two veterans of the trilogy to oversee the storyline and the fight sequences, the studio is desperate to tap into the same breathless pace created by the silver screen adaptations. In fact, there's a strong level of intensity for as long as something is going on, whether that's a race to escape the lockdown at the US Embassy in Zurich, or taking down several enemies in hand-to-hand combat.” – Total Video Games



Way Back Review – Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire (N64/LucasArts)

For this first “Way Back Review,” I take you back to 1996 when, in an effort to keep the Star Wars gravy train going between its early 90s resurgence and the premiere of the prequel trilogy, Lucas’ dream factory came up with Shadows of the Empire. Shadows was a multimedia event involving comics, video games, action figures and a soundtrack, all based around a book that filled in the missing time between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

For the uninitiated, or for those who’ve forgotten PPM (pre-Phantom Menace), Shadows introduces us to a new character called Dash Rendar, a contemporary of Han Solo that assists Luke Skywalker and the gang in thwarting the machinations of Xizor, an intergalactic gangster that has his sights on usurping Darth Vader as the Emperor’s right hand man. Well the video game more or less follows this storyline, with the player taking up the blaster of Dash as he toys along the periphery of the main story details of the Star Wars universe.



The first level takes us to Hoth, which is odd considering that Hoth has nothing to do with the Shadows novel. (Although the game is based on both the novel and the comic and I’ve never read the comic.) First Dash mounts a snow speeder in order to participate in the Battle of Hoth, which to me is kind of a weak start because in every Star Wars game I’ve played, the speeder is the worst vehicle to control. So it goes here, but it’s more noticeable in Shadows which features some control problems with the vehicle that have obviously rectified in games made since like the first Rogue Squadron. Still, firing your grappler to topple an Imperial walker is an exercise in excruciating patience.

So once you get out of the speeder, you get something a little more substantive to chew on. Dash on foot must make his way through Echo base evading Snowtroopers, probe droids and Wampas in order to reactivate the power generators in order to allow the Millennium Falcon to escape. A lot of the levels actually play very similar to this one in terms having to navigate complex fortresses, find and activate various passages, and shoot to kill many of the same old baddies; the Tatooine levels even have desert Wampas.

By far my least favourite level though has to be the third where you have to man the guns of Dash’s ship, the Outrider, in order to escape the Imperial armada in the Asteroid field. Instead of piloting the Outrider through the field, you can only control the guns on the top of the craft and while you can turn 360 degrees any which way, the gameplay can be difficult because you’re the only stationary object amongst a screen full of moving objects. And playing Shadows again, it’s easy to forget just how far graphics have come in the last ten years. Watch carefully because the faces on several characters have a very angular quality, almost like controlling Lego men painted in full detail on some of the close-ups. Also, some of the various mountain paths can be difficult to navigate because there are times that you can’t be sure whether you’re going over the crest of an incline or the edge of a cliff. Finally, and this may be just me, I found the run controls stick sometimes, like Dash was doing the Bionic Man run. But again, that could be just my controller.

Overall though, I think that Shadows of the Empire is still solid fun that combines a lot of great elements from past (and future) Star Wars games. Play it on easy level and it’s a great way to just relax and chill and play something that’s just fun to work you’re way through. Plus, on the brightside, we’re far enough away from the over-hyped marketing machine of the event for this to stand decently on its own.

New Releases

Legend: Title (Genre/Studio) – Platform

June 2nd

Stronghold Crusader Extreme (Strategy/Gamecock) - PC
Dracula: Origin (Adventure/The Adventure Company) - PC
Kung Fu Panda (Action/Activision) - X360

June 3rd

Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Adventure/LucasArts) – Wii, DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, X360, PC
Fatal Inertia EX (Driving/Koei) - PS3
Kung Fu Panda (Action/Activision) – Wii, DS, PS2, PS3, PC
Summon Night: Twin Age (Role-Playing/Atlus Co.) - DS
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (Sports/SCEA) - PSP
Ninja Gaiden II (Action/Microsoft) - X360
GRID (Driving/Codemasters) - X360, PS3, PC
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (Action/Sierra Entertainment) - X360, PS3

June 5th

Roogoo (Puzzle/SouthPeak Interactive) - X360
The Incredible Hulk (Action/Sega) - X360, PS2, PS3, Wii, DS

June 10th

Total Extreme Wrestling 2008 (Action/Grey Dog Software) - PC
Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles (Puzzle/Aksys Games) - DS
Blast Works: Build, Trade, Destroy (Action/Majesco Games) - Wii
Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor (Action/Eidos Interactive) - DS
Backyard Baseball 2009 (Sports/Atari) - Wii
1 vs. 100 (Puzzle/DSI Games) - DS
Trainz: The Complete Collection (Simulation/Paradox Interactive) - PC
NASCAR 09 (Driving/EA Sports) - PS2, PS3, X360
Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm (Sports/Navarre Corp) – PC, X360
Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit (Action/Atari) - PS3, X360
Don King Presents: Prizefighter (Sports/2K Sports) - X360
EVE Online: Empyrean Age (Role-Playing/CCP) - PC

June 12th

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Adventure/Konami) - PS3

June 17th

Imagine Rock Star (Action/Ubisoft) - DS
Arkanoid DS (Action/Square Enix) - DS
Tamagotchi Connection: Corner Shop 3 (Role-Playing/Namco Bandai Games) - DS
Space Invaders Extreme (Action/Square Enix) – DS, PSP
Wacky Races: Crash & Dash (Driving/Warner Bros.) – Wii, DS
Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. (Adventure/Game Factory) - DS
The Incredible Hulk (Action/Sega) - PC
Secret Agent Clank (Action/SCEA) - PSP
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (Role-Playing/Atlus Co.) - DS
City Life 2008 Edition (Strategy/5.0 Paradox Interactive) - PC
Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity (Action/Game Factory) - PSP

June 18th

The Political Machine 2008 (Strategy/Stardock) - PC

June 22nd

Rock Band (Puzzle/MTV Games) - Wii
Guitar Hero: On Tour (Action/Activision) - DS

June 23rd

Battlefield: Bad Company (Action/EA Games) - PS3, X360
Top Spin 3 (Sports/2K Sports) - Wii, X360, DS, PS3
Command & Conquer 3: Kane's Wrath (Strategy/EA Games) - X360
The Sims 2: Ikea Home Stuff (Simulation/Electronic Arts) - PC
SimCity Societies: Destinations (Strategy/Electronic Arts) - PC
Supreme Commander (Strategy/Aspyr) - X360

June 24th

WALL-E (Action/THQ) – Wii, DS, PS2, PS3, PSP, X360, PC
My Weight Loss Coach (Simulation/Ubisoft) - DS
Gourmet Chef (Puzzle/Ubisoft) - DS
Cake Mania 2 (Puzzle/Majesco Games) - DS
Purr Pals (Puzzle/Crave) - Wii
Elements (Puzzle/MumboJumbo) - PC
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian (Action/Capcom) - DS
Baseball Mogul 2009 (Sports/Strategy First) - PC
Supreme Ruler 2020 (Strategy/Paradox Interactive) - PC
Hellboy: Science of Evil (Action/Konami) – PSP, PS3, X360
Alone in the Dark (Action/Atari) – Wii, X360, PS2, PC
Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (Action/Namco Bandai) - PSP
Hail to the Chimp (Action/Gamecock Media Group) - PS3, X360
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift  DS Strategy Jun 24, 2008   Square Enix
Big Beach Sports (Sports/THQ) - Wii
Operation Darkness (Strategy/Atlus Co.) - X360
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja (Action/Capcom) - DS
Overlord: Raising Hell (Action/Codemasters) - PS3

June 28th

Samurai Warriors 2 (Action/Koei) - PC
Buku Sudoku (Puzzle/Merscom LLC) - X360

June 29th

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Puzzle/Activision) – PS2, PS3, X360, Wii
Garfield Gets Real (Action/DSI Games) – Wii
In the Shadow of the Raven 2 (Adventure/House of Dragonflies) - PC

Also coming June 2008

Roogoo (Puzzle/SouthPeak Interactive) - PC
Doodle Hex (Puzzle/Tragnarion Studios)
PopCap Hits Vol. 2 (Action/PopCap) - PS2
Touch Darts (Sports/Agetec Inc.) - DS
Code Lyoko: Quest for Infinity (Action/Game Factory) - PS2
Burnout Paradise (Driving/Electronic Arts) - PC
Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People (Adventure/Telltale Games) - Wii
Fading Shadows Puzzle/Agetec Inc.) - PSP