But one question that has never faced gamers before will be an issue when looking at upgrading from one console to the next this go-around: What is going to happen to all the content I have on my current system?

This is the digital era. I have 85 gb of content stored to my Xbox 360′s hard drive and, while much of that is game installs, the rest is made up of the “arcade” games available on Xbox Live Arcade and PSN, downloadable add-on content for games, and digital downloads of full retail games. Some of the downloaded games also have their own DLC, which strikes me as a real through-the-looking-glass sort of moment.

Full copies of games you'd otherwise purchase at retail are available both on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network. What happens with the next generation of systems, though?

These are games I’ve bought and, in the case of the digital versions of games also sold at retail, are indistinguishable from hard copies. Yet I’m worried. I’m worried that these games could be completely worthless or, at the least, feature-handicapped in the future should Microsoft (or Sony for PSN) decide to flip a switch and shut off some servers. In the case of the Xbox 360, though the detachable hard drive means it’s possible to take your content on the go, you can only make use of DLC and full versions of games if they’re authenticated by Xbox Live; if I want to take my hard drive to a friend’s and make use of my Rock Band library, their 360 must be plugged in.

The authentication and access to games isn’t just a worry in cases like that, but for more practical reasons as well. The 360 has proven itself to be a bit fragile; my current 360 is my fifth, and I’m hardly an edge case. If you suffer a Red Ring of Death or any other kind of 360-killing malady, you have to migrate your account from the old console to the new one’s serial number. While it’s an annoyance during the 360′s life span, what happens in another five years? If your old NES or Genesis or even PlayStation 2 died, you just buy a new one; the games were kept within a physical medium and plug right in without a problem. But what happens in five or 10 years when my 360 inevitably dies again and I have to track down a replacement? Will Xbox Live still allow me to do what it does now in 2011?

While content on the current console is a question, what about taking content on to the next generation? Though few games had DLC on the original Xbox, you could previously download it on the 360; now, though, since the original Xbox’s Xbox Live servers have gone offline, it’s left you high and dry. While I doubt people will want to buy new content, even for Xbox 360 games in the far-flung future, what about retrieving what you’ve already purchased? Plus, as established, content delivery digitally is a much bigger deal this generation; that will be important to keep in mind, but it’s still Microsoft or Sony’s ball to take and go home with.

I’ll admit it’s all speculation and worry at this point, but admit it: a best-case scenario where everything still works, like in PC gaming, is probably a pipe dream. This is the point where I shake my fists at PC gamers sitting up in the cloud on Steam at this moment. But this is an issue that will be wider than gaming within the next 10 years; seeing the gaming industry’s reaction is going to be fascinating and, potentially, vital to digital rights beyond our favorite little corner of the entertainment world.

Child Labor Laws, Matryoshka Dolls and Fart Jokes: A Review of Double Fine’s Stacking

Stacking is an adventure-puzzle game about the youngest child of a family of Industrial Revolution-era chimney sweeps fighting against the upper class. What separates this from other period pieces is every man, woman, child and beast is portrayed by a Russian stacking doll. How that design document was successfully pitched I may never know, but what resulted is one of the most original, entertaining and charming games I’ve ever played — possibly the best yet from developer Double Fine.

The protagonist is Charlie Blackmore, smallest of all dolls and considered unfit for even the most menial of labor. His objective is to rescue his family from a tyrannical industrialist, the Baron, and along the way aid others hurt by the Baron’s exploitative policies. The manner in which this plays out is far more entertaining than any historical sociology thesis would otherwise suggest. Charlie has a unique advantage: as the world’s smallest doll, he can stack into any other doll, thereby using whatever unique ability they possess. The abilities can range from single use (opening a door) to multi-purpose (flatulence).

The art style in Stacking is unique and polished — fitting, as it was one of Double Fine's art directors who led the project.

Stacking is exceptionally clever in its themes and story. There is no voice acting, and cutscenes play out like a silent movie. Though none of the dolls have any appendages and facial expressions are minimal, the animation is so superbly realized that it’s never a question of how a character is behaving or feels. Likewise, each doll is so meticulously detailed it’s easy to pick one apart from another even without distinctive silhouettes or physical cues. What is truly exceptional about the experience is how Double Fine takes such serious subject matter, including the plight of the working class and child labor, and handles it in a way that is both humorous and touching. It’s a testament to the design that Charlie can stack into a child doll whose ability is “Black Lung Cough” and an adult with the ability to “Fart,” yet the game never feels depressing or crass. More importantly, these abilities are useful in their own right.

The primary flaw in most adventure games is linearity. The stories and quests are designed in a storybook-style progression, never deviating from the narrative plotted out from the start. Stacking partially avoids this dilemma. Every quest has multiple solutions, every level has several optional quests (called “Hi-Jinks”) and a set of unique dolls for Charlie to find and stack into, some of which are required for quests and some not. For completionists, finishing the game with a ‘100%’ rating requires finding all of the above; finishing the narrative requires just a fraction. Early puzzles may only require one ability to solve but there are more complex ones later on requiring combinations. Despite a couple of the solutions seeming a bit obtuse, moving through the game never became a chore.

In a medium entrenched in annualized sequels and third-person cover-based shooters, Stacking is a game that is truly original — both in the story it tells and the way it tells it. Double Fine deserves praise not only for the creativity on display but how well constructed a display it is. Every stage oozes charm with a well defined art style and musical presence that creates a sense of place better than other titles featuring real locales and more human characters. Stacking is absolutely a game that deserves to be experienced, and may even inspire it’s own uprising against the gaming bourgeoise.

Recommended for:

• Adventure gamers and Double Fine fans who swoon for Tim Schafer
• An inspired, unique and evocative art style
• Marrying an interesting and underused period in gaming (Industrial Revolution) with a cheeky take on the plight of the proletariat

Stacking is published by THQ and developed by Double Fine Productions and is on sale now. It is available on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. The version reviewed was on PSN, but the views from this review are relevant for the XBLA edition. It is available on XBLA for 1200 MS Points and PSN for $15.

Read our policy on reviews here.

The purported Sony-Ericsson PlayStation Phone. Click the image for the original story and video.

When it comes to consumer-oriented smartphones, there’s no greater rivalry than Apple versus Google. With Apple’s iOS devices, including the iPhone, selling extraordinarily well and Android catching up in regard to United States market share, it’s clear that other phone systems aren’t competing on the same level.

There’s little doubt why both platforms are popular among the average consumer. Each boasts high-quality audio and video features, a sophisticated web-browsing experience and a diverse library of apps, many of which are free. But when it comes to mobile gaming, there’s no question that iOS is the dominant platform.

But with the news of a real, working PlayStation Phone having surfaced, that might not always be the case.

With the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple unwittingly stumbled upon the greatest portable gaming device since Nintendo’s DS launched in 2004. With the launch of iOS version 2 and the App Store in 2008, games for the device began to pour in from giants like Gameloft and EA as well as then-unknowns like Lima Sky (of Doodle Jump fame) and Rovio, best known for the definitive smartphone game-developer success story, Angry Birds. And with iOS 4, Apple introduced Game Center, a gaming-based social network that comes with all the sophisticated trappings you’d expect from a serious gaming platform: leaderboards, stat-tracking, achievements, online multiplayer, matchmaking, and so forth.

Android has its fair share of games, but nothing on the level of Apple’s mammoth collection. And while it’s a given that quantity rarely translated to quality, there haven’t been any major breakaway successes on Android to speak of — at least, none that haven’t come from greener pastures. This dearth of definitive, breakaway Android apps hasn’t gone unnoticed.

So what’s holding Android back?

1. No hardware parity. With its strict, vertically-integrated structure, Apple is the sole manufacturer of devices that run its operating systems. That means that when you buy an iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad, every app that says it will work with your platform is guaranteed to work. There’s no guesswork as to whether x generation of Android phone from y manufacturer will be able to run a game, let alone run it well. This is alleviated by Android’s app return policy, which seems less generous when you consider that it’s probably meant to function primarily as a hardware-incompatibility safety net.
2. Different feature sets. Some Android phones have a physical keyboard. Some don’t. And many Android phones have their hardware buttons arranged in a number of different permutations. As a game designer, understanding the features and limitations of your platform are essential for delivering the best-quality experience to as many people as possible. When you can’t guarantee such things as a hardware keyboard, it raises tough questions about where to put your money.
3. Android is only available on phones. Apple’s most brilliant tactical move in promoting the iOS platform may have been the production of the iPod Touch — essentially the iPhone minus the phone. It’s a great solution for consumers who want to have access to the features and apps available on the iPhone without signing on to AT&T’s gut-wrenching two-year contract. Considering that smartphones are still currently a relatively niche product — more than 70% of mobile phone owners own a so-called “dumb” phone — it makes sense that there’s going to be a large cross-section of prospective buyers who want an iPhone-like device without having to navigate the tangled web of attached strings. But there’s no phone contract-less Android device currently on the market, which significantly hinders its appeal to teenagers, late-adopters and current smartphone owners.
4. There’s no central gaming identity. Apple’s Game Center has become the de-facto gaming network on its devices (though it’s by no means the only one — alternatives like OpenFeint and Crystal still work and are still popular). Android, however, has no comparable, comprehensive nexus for its games. While OpenFeint is fully functional on Android, its identity is independent, and it’s not something you’ll see advertised at a store where prospective phone buyers will be able to learn about it.

Based on what little we know about PlayStation’s as-yet-unannounced phone, it seems like it might be the last, best hope for Android to gain a substantial foothold in the mobile gaming world. It’s likely that any and all Android-based PlayStation phones would have to adhere to a very strict hardware specification, both inside and out, much like the standardized nature of Apple’s iOS devices. So if Sony intends to license out the PlayStation brand and functionality to other phone manufacturers, that will mean more consistent hardware among Android phones, which in turn means greater compatibility and a broader market for Android game developers.

Sony is also the proprietor of PlayStation Network, a strong competitor to gaming networks like Xbox Live and Steam. By integrating mobile phones into that network, Sony would be poised to bring many of those features to its phones, easily matching Apple’s Game Center.

And what does a giant corporation like Sony stand to gain from this? For one thing, it means it can circumvent retail outlets for digital sales, earning a greater revenue share from games sold. It’s something Sony attempted earlier with its PlayStation Portable, a device that has come to be seen as anything but a definitive success. It also means that, if PlayStation becomes the central gaming identity of Android, Sony’s hardware division (namely phone manufacturer Sony Ericsson) stands to gain a significant share of the Android manufacturing market.

Yes, this is all speculation based on a couple minutes of video shot by an anonymous source, but that doesn’t change the facts. When it comes to mobile gaming, Apple is the biggest player right now, and Android is going to need a significant breakthrough to stand as iOS’s equal. PlayStation might just be the shot in the arm that it needs.

I’m not a dedicated football man, but I’m able to put aside my indifference in times like these. Truly, I’m elated that my alma mater is getting the sports recognition it deserves, aside from the obsession with our track-and-field pedigree. Best of all, there’s a good chance that the Ducks’ excessively disgusting uniform changes over the past five years might be forgotten in light of their current top-dog status.

But all this sports talk has nothing to do with video games; unless, if things keep going well, quarterback Darron Thomas is put on the cover of NCAA 2012.

Doug can probably correct me on that presumption, or anything else I’ve written above. In fact, I welcome it. Like I mentioned: no hablo fútbol americano.

Doug:

This is what losing five hours of your life looks like.

Holy shit. We joke often about games being addictive, or compare them to addictive narcotics. Lord knows I’ve felt this way about a number of games, including PES 2010, Words with Friends, and others.

Nothing compares to recently released iPhone game Game Dev Story. The idea is simple: You run a game development studio, managing your employees and the direction of your games. Seems simple, right? It plays kind of like a Tycoon game or any other management simulation game, but with some serious RPG elements — you level up your staff, train them to increase stats, make adjustments to your company’s development direction and buy and use items (including advertising to increase your fan base).

Simple descriptions of the game don’t do it justice. I spent four hours straight Monday morning hooked to the game and tearing through my iPhone battery; I felt like I was in an opium den. Development of games goes so quickly, it can catch you with the “just-one-more-game” factor that all the most addictive video games maintain. Game Dev Story has simple yet catching graphics and music, plucked straight out of the 16-bit generation. Even better is the writing in the game; the 20-year campaign follows the arc of video game history, so you know not to invest in developing games for the Intendro Virtual Kid because it’s probably not going to sell terribly well.

And did I mention it’s addictive? Good lord it’s addictive. You can New Game+ to start with accumulated stats, too. It can become kind of rote, pumping out puzzle games or dating sims to fuel your company’s growth, but the freedom to choose your games and then, eventually, develop your own console creates an amazing little experience. I think this one will be wearing my iPhone battery down for a long while to come.

Nick:

DJ Hero 2 revitalizes the innovative formula from the first game with some much-needed freestyling sections that reward players for busting out fat beats at their own discretion

You’ll forgive me if I keep this short, right? I’m still recovering from a long day of driving, sitting, and yelling. I’m not a legitimate sports fan, but man, bearing witness to the Ducks’ first game as the #1 team in the nation — and getting to see UCLA go down in flames — was awesome.

I played a few great iPhone games this week, including current top-seller Cut the Rope and Trainyard, an independently developed puzzle game. All I’ll say is that they’re each a dollar and totally worth checking out if you own an iOS device. But I wanted to make sure I took the time to discuss another new game in depth in this week’s backlog because I don’t think I’ll end up reviewing it, but I still think it’s important to talk about.

The first DJ Hero did pretty well for an original title with its own plastic peripheral in a time when most people’s closets were already overflowing with discarded Guitar Hero controllers. Being the resident music-game aficionado at the Sasquatch, I picked up a copy soon after its release last fall, not knowing what to expect. But after a few minutes with the game, I was absolutely floored: DJ Hero somehow managed to be a fun and innovative experience in an already oversaturated market. But what was even more shocking to me was that it was published by Activision, the company perhaps most directly responsible for the nosedive into mediocrity and obsolescence that has plagued the Guitar Hero series since Harmonix and RedOctane split ways.

If DJ Hero was as innovative as Guitar Hero (and I’m tempted to say that’s a fair comparison, given that they both have roots in archaic Konami arcade games,) then DJ Hero 2 is the series’ Guitar Hero 2. It features a brilliant and diverse song list and a much-needed revamped user interface that make the experience even more inviting. And the mix-’n-scratch gameplay itself has been redesigned, giving the player more freedom with special freestyle crossfade and scratch sections that allow the player to improvise their own beats on the fly. It’s reminiscent of what Harmonix did with Frequency and Amplitude’s freestyle sections, but the effect is far more impressive when you’re manipulating tracks in a realistic way.

The only major problem is that one of its key features, Empire Mode, falls far short of expectations. Intended to serve as a new and creative approach to the typical music game campaign mode — essentially, to prevent the game from feeling like a linear setlist-crawl — Empire Mode simply takes the same sets of songs and lays them out in a two-dimensional array broken down by individual venues instead of the simple list from DJ Hero. It’s disappointing, especially when you compare it to the relative depth and openness of the Rock Band series’ World Tour mode.

But that said, there’s enough cool stuff happening here that it stands as an acceptable, significantly improved sequel to an already great game. For instance: The first time I plunged into a three-song set, I was shocked to see one mix seamlessly flow into the next with no loading screen and no break in the audio. It felt natural in a way I’d never experienced in a music game before. It’s those little details that FreeStyleGames bring to this series that make it special. This is definitely a series that’s worth a second look even if you passed over the first game.

Aaron:

Let's hope for the sake of our already obese nation that McDonald's doesn't invent an olfactory-hypnotizing fry suit like this one.

This is the lush fall bounty of games I tried, started or beat this week: Uncharted 1 and 2, Heavenly Sword, Costume Quest and Fallout: New Vegas.

The biggest surprise has been Costume Quest, the first attempt by Double Fine at crafting a downloadable console network title. It’s a clever RPG, razor-sharp with wit and charm, which comes as no surprise being from the studio that Tim Schafer built. What makes me love Costume Quest is how accurately it captures the feeling of being a kid on Halloween, when you were so excited to beg door to door for pounds of teeth-rotting, stomach-upsetting candy.

The characters even transform into realistic Godzilla-sized versions of their costumes during the battle sequences, which are a wink and a nod to classic turn-based RPGs. I can’t count how many times I imagined my Ghostbusters, Batman or Dracula costumes made me into the real deal, always ready to ignite, fight or bite the bad guys prowling about on All Hallows’ Eve.

Costume Quest isn’t a difficult game, but it’s an experience that will make almost anyone happy. Collecting candy to purchase ability-enhancing battle stamps, trading grotesque fake candy cards to complete the set, piecing together costume bits to become a unicorn, ninja or the Statue of Liberty — every aspect of this $15 game makes me laugh, smile or reminisce. Costume Quest is more proof that not all games need to be “AAA,” Unreal Engine-powered blockbusters to remind us why we like gaming in the first place. At its best, playing video games lets our imagination free, and can even make us happy while being entertained.

Now bear with me, but I need to make a parting comment or three on the Uncharted series before I close my contribution to this week’s Backlog.

Uncharted and its sequel are amazing games that compound Naughty Dog’s expertise for beautiful level design and tight platforming with savvy, humorous writing and Hollywood summer popcorn flick sensibilities. I beat Uncharted 2: Among Thieves this week. Afterward, I started Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune.

I’ve been told that Uncharted 2 was a monumental improvement over the first. Unfortunately, I don’t see it. I’m hard-pressed to even call it evolutionary.

While I’ve enjoyed the hell out of both games, my perspective is unique: I’m playing the original after finishing the sequel — to me, the differences (or lack thereof) are much more noticeable.

The start menu graphics and music are the same — not a big deal, but I still noticed it. The gunplay is a bit more tight in Uncharted 2, and thankfully Sixaxis support was dropped after 1, but my least favorite part of the Uncharted series still feels unnautral. The shooting is too loose, and tells me that Naughty Dog’s attempts at making a satisfying shooting mechanic haven’t improved much since Jak II.

However, the graphics are much better in Uncharted 2, and are perhaps the most notable improvement over the first game. Additionally, both titles’ exploration and platforming elements are still the best reasons to play the Uncharted series.

While I accept that my pickiness regarding two of the most highly rated titles of the last console generation will rub some the wrong way, I’m at least being honest. The difference between Uncharted 1 and 2 is about as drastic, or interesting, as Police Academy and Police Academy 2: You know what you’re getting into, and will enjoy the experiences both have to offer (yes, I do like the Police Academy movies), but arguing that some sequels are unprecedented achievements over the originals is falling into a nostalgia pit.

The first thing you’ll see in Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a carbon copy of Space Invaders, the seminal 1978 black-and-white arcade classic. A swarm of aliens march in neat rows toward the bottom of the screen, where your tiny spaceship with its peashooter cannon fights to repel the alien invasion.

And then everything just goes crazy. The screen flashes to a blank white and this message appears:

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”

— Charles Darwin

And just in case that message didn’t establish the game’s purpose clearly enough, it’s quickly followed by this proclamation:

“THE KING OF GAMES STRIKES BACK!”

And really, in a nutshell, that’s Space Invaders Infinity Gene. It’s an attempt to take one of the most important (and old) video games ever designed and to introduce change after change into the formula through a series of “evolutions.” It’s as fascinating to consider from an intellectual perspective as it is enjoyable to play.

Frankly, it’s surprising that Infinity Gene was ever made. Sure, Taito has made a few efforts to reboot the Space Invaders franchise before, but none of them has ever been as flagrantly bizarre as this one. That Taito was willing to take such a huge risk with arguably its most valuable intellectual property is something that I think deserves commendation, particularly because it resulted in a game that’s surprisingly relevant today. Considering that it’s the successor to a 32-year-old game makes it an even more fascinating case study.

The core of the experience is called “normal” mode, where you progress through 31 stages of increasing difficulty, length, and overall strangeness. What starts out as a two-bit homage to vintage arcade games rapidly evolves into an entirely different game, culminating in a wild, three-dimensional shooter. It’s a strange concept that the slow-and-steady approach of the original Space Invaders is thrown out the window in favor of twitch reflexes, rapid-fire attacks and a heavy emphasis on cautious positioning — those are the sort of things you’d expect from a Cave-developed shooter. But as is explicitly stated at the outset, the name of this game is change. And to my surprise, it’s one of the better shoot-’em-ups I’ve ever played.

Perspectives shift, enemies swarm, and weapons diversify

Progression is also handled in an interesting way. While beating one level opens up the next in sequence, there’s also a GENE meter that fills based on your score in each level. Fill that meter up and you’ll unlock something new: a new song or sound effect for the sound test mode, the option to increase your maximum number of lives, a new bonus stage, and so forth. But the most interesting thing you’ll unlock is a new ship, which basically amounts to a new style of play.

Each ship has its own unique weapon, such as a gun that automatically locks on to nearby enemies, a deployable black hole that sucks in enemy bullets, or a number of small drones called “options” that, just like in games like Gradius or Galaga, fire their own cannons whenever you attack. While not every weapon is balanced to be equally useful (I found the field-attack gun, which expands to fill the entire screen with your bullets, to be my weapon of choice,) each has its own applications and lends the game a much-needed sense of variety.

Besides the constantly-shifting perspective and visual effects, Infinity Gene also introduces clever new enemy ship patterns and boss fights at regular intervals. Each boss requires a distinct strategy in order to survive your encounter with it, which is a rarity in classic shooters like this. Across the board, they’re engaging and a fun, gratifying exercise in quick-thinking and manual dexterity. So really, while 31 levels might seem short when each takes a few minutes to complete, the trade-off is that each stage feels distinct from the rest and the experience never becomes stale. And fortunately, there are a number of ways to continue the experience long after you’ve completed normal mode.

Even the bosses are in a state of flux; this one builds more and more weapons onto itself until it's destroyed

Bonus stages unlock occasionally when you fill up the GENE meter. These are unusual levels that are kind of like deleted scenes from the main game mode experience. There’s also a challenge mode, which consists of 99 additional levels to complete for the hardcore shoot-’em-up fan. But the real standout is music mode, which takes music stored on your console and builds levels around the songs. In that sense, it’s reminiscent of Vib Ribbon.

To try out music mode, I ripped a copy of DJ Shadow’s The Private Press onto my PS3 and loaded up a few tracks in Infinity Gene. The result is a pretty cool experience where the beat is visualized in the background and enemy waves are generated based on the music. While your enjoyment may vary depending on your music selection, what I played felt like a fun, natural extension of the game.

There were a couple strange lag issues I encountered while playing through the game. Fortunately, these only occurred in the game’s menus and never while playing through levels, but they were consistent and significant enough that I think they ought to be mentioned. The first problem arose whenever I first loaded up normal mode after launching the game — it would seem to hang for about fifteen seconds before finally displaying the level select screen. But there was another consistent problem in the after-level score screen, where it’d flash the message to press any button to continue but nothing would happen for up to ten seconds. They’re minor gripes, and the game never once froze up completely, but they definitely interrupted the flow of the game.

Mutually assured destruction

I enjoyed playing through the different modes in Infinity Gene, but the broader experience is greater than the sum of its parts. It represents what’s sorely missing from so many game series that pump out iteration after dull iteration, fearful of taking risks that might disrupt sales figures or draw the ire of shareholders. Essentially, it’s proof that even the oldest games still have relevance, and with enough creativity and risk-taking, they can surprise us in ways we never expected.

The ending is clever and a little poignant, so I won’t spoil it here. But I thought I should mention this dedication that appears after the credits roll:

“To everyone who loves games
and Charles Darwin”

I’d say that makes for a pretty solid recommendation.

Recommended for:

• Everyone who loves games and Charles Darwin, naturally
• The fact that it stands as proof that innovation can be found within even the oldest games

Not Recommended for:

• Anyone who lacks the patience to conquer a challenging, occasionally frustrating, classic arcade game

Space Invaders Infinity Gene was developed by Taito and published by Square-Enix. It is available on Xbox Live and PlayStation Network for $9.99. Additionally, an older version of the game is also available for iOS devices for $4.99 through the App Store. A copy was provided for review by Maverick PR. The reviewer played the game to completion on normal difficulty, finished about half of the available challenge levels and played almost every track from The Private Press in music mode, earning six of a possible twelve trophies.

Read our policy on reviews here.

I vividly remember the first time I played Shank one year ago at the Penny Arcade Expo. It sticks out in my mind not because I was so impressed with its sense of style and good-natured, over-the-top violence, but because something about the game’s presentation tapped right into my old adolescent subconscious. After about thirty seconds of gameplay, I apparently forgot where I was and exclaimed the first thing that came to mind:

“This game is fucking ridiculous!”

To which a group of pre-teens looked at me incredulously and giggled while their father gave me a stern look. Oops.

Though it’s been a full year since I got my hands on Shank (and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I’m not fit to be a parent), those few extraordinary minutes were enough to convince me to buy it as soon as it was available for download. But five minutes of creative, celebratory violence doesn’t necessarily guarantee five hours of solid entertainment. Now that I’ve battled a frustrating control system, trudged through fight after protracted fight and experienced a muddled, relatively disappointing storyline, I’m left with a totally different verdict:

This game is fucking ridiculous…but it’s not all that much fun.
Shank is divided up into two discrete modes, comprising a single-player campaign — the real meat of Shank, if you will — and a brief co-operative campaign that functions as a prequel to the events of the main game. While each campaign has a few standout moments and some entertaining cinematics to tie the whole thing together, the same problems persist across the board.

Shank is steeped in a Robert Rodriguez-inspired Mexican aesthetic, chock-full of booze, babes and badasses. It’s offensive and unflinchingly politically incorrect, but in that tongue-in-cheek way that made Rodriguez’ El Mariachi trilogy so much fun. In fact, I’d always thought its gritty, gruesome atmosphere was perfectly suited for a video game adaptation. Unfortunately, that spirit fails to translate well to Shank, whose presentation comes across as awkward and inconsistent throughout.

Its cartoony visual style, with its bold lines and exaggerated proportions, leaves the characters looking kind of soft and almost cutesy (at least when they’re not gushing blood or missing extremities, anyway). That’s coupled with a story that’s vague and difficult to decipher, which makes the events of the game tough to care about. The result is a game that feels at odds with itself — at times funny, at others disgusting, with no real consistency to speak of.

The cast of the co-op mode, demonstrating the visual style of the game's animated cutscenes

Calling to mind great brawlers like Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Castle Crashers, Shank slices, saws, and shoots everything that stands in his two-dimensional path with bravado. Part of the game’s learning curve and long-term appeal comes from experimenting with the various weapons you come across and learning how to adjust your tactics based on the enemies and terrain at hand.

But the thrill of leaping onto bad dudes and creatively disemboweling them loses its appeal once the game’s control flaws become apparent. Dodging incoming attacks and canceling out of moves that you’ve begun to perform are tricky, if not downright impossible at times. Dodging feels clunky and imprecise when compared to something like Bayonetta or even Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, and that can lead to a number of frustrating, unintentional deaths. It’s unclear to me whether the lack of a reliable defensive move set is intentional on the part of the developer or just something that didn’t get ironed out in playtesting, but it’s significantly detrimental to the experience either way.

Shank includes a variety of levels in both modes of play, including seedy strip clubs, dusty cityscapes and criminal hideouts in the jungle, but each level is relatively homogeneous in design. Shank runs to the right, fights a few enemies, and continues going to the right. Occasionally there are minor jumping puzzles where Shank has to shimmy, slide and swing across hazards, but these fail to change or increase in difficulty as the game progresses. As a result, they’re more of an inconvenience than a worthwhile addition to the gameplay.

An argument in favor of hormone-free meat

Each level is capped off with a boss fight against a lumbering, oversized powerhouse of a humanoid. While there are a few nuances to each battle, they all boil down to the same basic gameplan: dodge their attacks, wait for them to injure themselves, and then strike while they’re stunned. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The faults with Shank’s pacing and controls in the single-player mode carry over to the co-operative campaign, but the addition of some clever (and brutal) tag-team abilities helps compensate for inconsistent dodging and canceling abilities. While an online multiplayer mode would have been nice, there’s no question that playing an old-fashioned brawler is a lot more fun with a buddy sitting next to you.

Having another person to share the experience with made the co-operative campaign a great deal more enjoyable than the single-player campaign, but much of that might have to do with the fact that the co-op mode is significantly shorter. We managed to run it start-to-finish in just under 90 minutes, and even that felt a little bit long, especially given the game’s insistence on stretching each level out too long with few too many enemy encounters, then capping each level off with a nearly identical boss fight.

Shank is a perfect example of a great concept that fails to grow over time. After the first thirty minutes, you’ll have seen just about everything the game has to offer. It’s a shame, because those first thirty minutes are a whole lot of fun; however, once the repetitive nature of the game becomes apparent, you’ll probably end up feeling short-changed.

Recommended for:

• Ardent fans of Robert Rodriguez’ style of dirty, gritty Mexploitation films who are willing to overlook some frustrating gameplay elements in the interest of some raunchy, Grindhouse-esque fun

Not Recommended for:

• Hardcore brawler fans searching for the next high-quality beat-’em-up; a frustrating dodging and canceling system makes Shank difficult to recommend, especially with games like Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game available on multiple platforms
• Friends who like playing games together — Shank’s multiplayer campaign is short and offline-only
• Repetitive enemy design and cookie-cutter boss fights
• Its awkward, cartoony art style, which clashes uncomfortably with the violence and depravity that define the game’s narrative

Shank is available on PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade for $14.99/1200 Microsoft Points. The reviewer purchased a copy on PSN, completed the single-player mode on normal difficulty and also played through the co-operative multiplayer mode, earning eleven of twelve possible trophies.

Read our policy on reviews here.

While our Top 10 Games of 2009 deserve attention for their overall excellence, we can’t neglect this year’s other fantastic games — titles that just missed the final cut. Be it their charm or presentation, our Honorable Mentions were simply hard to forget. We now present a five-part series of articles, one from each member of the Silicon Sasquatch staff. Today, Aaron brings us our penultimate installment in this series with his list of honorable mentions.

The Maw

January — Xbox Live Arcade, Windows

Twisted Pixel Games knows how to have fun with its projects. Instead of filling a crowded gaming market with more of the same, Twisted Pixel created The Maw — a wonderfully original title that made me laugh without needing a single complete sentence of dialog. The Pixar-like scenario of an alien (Frank) teaming up and becoming friends with an insatiably hungry purple blob (Maw) made for a refreshingly heartfelt downloadable game. Little things like watching Maw express emotions — panic when it was burned, pain when it ate a bad creature and fear when it hid behind Frank — were fantastic visual treats, and demonstrated the development team’s knack for working in a cartoon style. While the game’s controls and light platforming segments were average, watching Maw grow to the size of a planet by the end made up for the less-impressive aspects. Charm makes all the difference in an industry that has resorted to provoking reactions through gore and realistic graphics.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

February — Windows

If it’s a real time strategy game, I’ve more than likely played it. At one time I enjoyed only RTS titles; incessant in my collection of resources and conscription of soldiers, I would double click and hotkey my adolescent nights away. So I might be a habitual RTS player, but I’m ready to break tradition and openly thank Relic Entertainment for its innovative and decidedly non-traditional Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II. Instead of micromanaging a base, the game granted intimate control over a squad of four unique (and upgradeable) characters. Dawn of War II is still a strategy-intensive game played in real time, but it feels more like a merger of Relic’s light squad mechanics from Company of Heroes with the intensity of a cover shooter like Gears of War. The RTS die-hards and Dawn of War I fans were somewhat upset by the big changes to a tried-and-true genre, but I’ll take innovation over stagnation any day.

The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition

July — Xbox Live Arcade, Windows

It’s a good thing I first experienced the Secret of Monkey Island in its Special Edition form. While I’m confident the original would still have captivated me with its self-referential humor and sharp wit, it was simply brilliant to discover such a timeless story intact underneath the drastic makeover. I might not have grown up playing any of the classic LucasArts adventure titles, but I’m happy the genre is experiencing a period of revivalthanks in part to Telltale Games’ work on the Sam and Max and Tales of Monkey Island episodes. The Special Edition’s updated art was gorgeous, and fit with the series’ style in the opinion of a Monkey Island newcomer like me. The numerous jokes, gags and one-liners are relevant 19 years later, and the characters are memorable enough that I hope Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge gets the same fresh coat of paint that Secret did.

Battlefield 1943

July — Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network

DICE won’t win any awards for shrinking the Battlefield formula into a petite downloadable package, but that doesn’t mean 1943 was anything less than a solid summer distraction. The concept of ground, sea and air forces clashing over control points to keep decreasing the enemy’s reinforcements is still the best option for multiplayer chaos. Other games’ online deathmatch modes have their limits, so I gladly accepted Battlefield 1943′s break from the monotony to laugh maniacally while I flew numerous Japanese Zeros into hapless Sherman tanks. And sure, the game had a meager selection of four maps (which as of this writing are still the only available maps), but at the end of the day I felt my money was well spent. DICE might be guilty of milking its franchises a bit, but it says something about the team’s capabilities and the strength of the core Battlefield product that I can continue to purchase the same game indefinitely and have an absolute blast, each and every time.

Torchlight

October — Windows

Is it unethical that I decided Torchlight would be one of my honorable mentions long before I even played the full game? Sometimes a demo is all you need, and Torchlight dug itself into my brain the moment I loaded its trial-sized world. Now that I own the full Torchlight experience, I feel much better about giving it a spot on my list. Call Torchlight Diablo Lite, but don’t say it isn’t addictive and well-designed. The art direction alone is worth the price of admission. Diablo may still be the boss in the world of isometric action RPGs, but Torchlight deserves recognition for its lighthearted attempt at being different in a sea of familiarity — and because it proves that, as far as gameplay is concerned, an expanded color palette won’t ruin Diablo III.

Aaron:

Let’s get the praise out of the way: Borderlands is a monumental success, a title overflowing with charm, style, solid combat and addictive gameplay.

And now, the condemnation: Despite its quality, Borderlands’ longevity is questionable upon subsequent playthroughs. What was so impressive at first becomes a chore later on. If I were an economist I might call this a case of diminishing returns; however, numbers scare me.

It seems desperate to scan for criticisms after spending over 35 hours on one game. But in the end, Gearbox’s accomplishment in creating a polished loot-fest for consoles is a fleeting bit of impressive technical fancy.

That’s not to say Borderlands isn’t worth purchasing. You’ll enjoy it, and your money will have been well spent. Day after day, you’ll keep coming back to look for the next elusive upgrade. Maybe that Badass Brawler will drop a revolver with a 2.2x magnification scope that can rapid fire corrosive bullets in a fraction of the time your last gun took. Or you might pick up some chump change and a health pack. Don’t be alarmed by the game’s subtle insistence on gambling your time away: You’ll find yourself playing “just a little more” to find the next big cache. That’s the point.

Shootin' at the dock of the bay

Borderlands is unequivocal gun pornography — a sensory overload of randomized statistics packed into each computationally different piece of ballistic hardware. That’s what made Diablo so successful. That’s why, to this day, the press and the fans refer to any game containing random treasures and frantic mouse-click combat (or controller trigger depressions in the case of Borderlands) as being Diablo-like. Gearbox even added a reference to Blizzard’s franchise with an enemy named Rakkinishu, a fully modeled pun of a classic Diablo II enemy. Its loot: a cracked sash. If you don’t get the joke, Borderlands might be the most original game of the past 10 years for you. Just remember that PC gamers have been slaughtering hordes and filling relic coffers since 1996.

Yet the Diablo parallels aren’t a negative trait. That pedigree, one valuing the pursuit of loot above all else (and the belief that all classes are created equal until skill points are allocated), is the strongest aspect of Borderlands. This game is a nod to the tradition of obsessive item collecting coupled with deep action-RPG elements. It works because the concept has always worked iteration after iteration, and it’s somehow fun every single time. Though to be fair, I can’t think of another FPS title that so perfectly incorporates the isometric stylings of the Diablo franchise into a shooter’s ground-level perspective.

How else can we dissect a title so obvious in its goals? If you can’t find joy in the slaughter of thousands of enemies and the endless hunt for better gear with a few friends, Borderlands isn’t for you.

The vehicles, while a bit awkward, certainly pack a punch

Nick:

Never underestimate the importance of a good ending. No matter the faults a game may have in structure or design, a great narrative escalation leading up to a satisfying conclusion can accommodate for any number of hiccups along the way.

Unfortunately, when an excellent game is tethered to a half-hearted final sequence with not even the slightest hint of closure — not to mention no sign of what’s to come in a sequel — the player is left with such a sour feeling that there’s no way in hell they’re returning to that same game environment.

Borderlands falls squarely in the second category. Despite its brilliantly calculated pacing, engaging variety of firearms and intense-but-rarely-unfair combat, the thirty or so hours it took me to arrive at the vault on Pandora felt entirely negated by the abortive conclusion. It’ll ruin nobody’s enjoyment of the game to explain that the final boss is located at the vault; you kill it, it drops some inconspicuous loot, and…that’s it. The mysterious windswept lady says you can go sell the vault key for some money and it’ll be openable again two hundred years down the line. There you go. Time to start a second playthrough, right?

Wrong. For such a brilliant Diablo-like game, Borderlands missed one crucial component: A gripping conclusion. It’s the part that tugs not just at your brain’s obsessive impulses but at its emotional receptors as well. Why did anyone go back and play through Diablo 1 on Nightmare or Hell after killing the prime evil himself? Because in order to truly defeat him, the hero had to take on his curse — and we all know that can’t last forever. It makes the prospect of a repeat playthrough exciting because a sequel is inevitable, and the ending (admittedly poor as it was in the first game) was enough compulsion to add purpose to a second venture into the abyss.

Skills = kills

Diablo II did an even better job with the betrayal of Marius at the hands of Baal. Even though Diablo was once again killed, his soulstone remained — allowing Baal to deceive Marius, murder him in cold blood, and begin his march toward Mount Arreat and the ominous Worldstone. With an expansion imminent, Diablo II offered plenty of reason to keep venturing back throughout the world of Sanctuary in search of better loot, more robust skills and more challenging duels. And it’s probably safe to say that its expansion, Lord of Destruction, wouldn’t still have the massive fanbase it holds today without a similarly compelling conclusion: Tyrael’s destruction of the World Stone and the unpredictable, dramatic future that would follow. While Diablo is undoubtedly the genre-defining series for hack ‘n slash RPGs, it very likely would have lost its place at the top to other admirable contenders (Titan Quest, Sacred, Torchlight) without having developed a solid purpose and alluring narrative within the world of Sanctuary.

They may look like great hosts, but bandits really aren't your friends

The thirty-odd hours I spent with Borderlands were an absolute blast. Whether going it solo or with a group of friends, the game scaled intelligently and always provided something fun to do or exciting to kill. But I realize now that I was only enjoying the raw design of the game, and not the Borderlands mythology itself. Even the world itself is devoid of character; while its sarcasm is deeply entrenched in the characters and missions themselves, and it certainly benefits the game, it’s no substitute for a real soul or purpose.

Gearbox demonstrated a first-class understanding of what makes gamers tick, and what makes playing a game with friends fun. They nailed the science — and the next time around, with any luck, they’ll discover the soul as well.

Borderlands is available for a suggested retail price of $59.99 on the Xbox 360 and PS3, and for $49.99 on the PC. The reviewers completed the story mode, and each began a second playthrough that adds different enemies and more difficult encounters. The multiplayer was tested throughout much of the game in varying numbers of two to four participants.

Recommended for:

• White-knuckle, trigger-depressing action
• The lack of shame in being a total loot fest
• An initial sense of style and humor that separates Borderlands from other titles
• A drop-in/drop-out multiplayer mechanic that makes the concept look easy
• Those with a lot of friends

Not Recommended for:

• A lack of longevity — it’s great while it lasts, but who cares about getting to level 50? (Aside from me. – Aaron)
• The ending: a complete letdown that nearly ruins the earlier fun of getting there
• It’s almost there, but not quite — Gearbox showed a lot of potential here, but missteps in the tone and pacing of the game after a wonderful honeymoon period make for a bit of head-scratching

Read our policy on reviews here

This, metaphorically, is what the release calendar looks like for the next few months

It’s been a busy week for all of us here at Silicon Sasquatch. Doug’s been camping in the cold-yet-wait-it’s-hot-again Oregon weather, and enjoying the rebirth of his broken Xbox 360; Nick’s been playing through five or so games at once while writing, writing and more writing; I’ve been composing an extremely long review of Batman: Arkham Asylum in addition to enjoying a social life and trying to forge videogame industry public relations contacts.

Oh, and that feeling creeping down the back of your spine and into your pocket to make your wallet tingle with fear? Well, that’s the start of the Great Game Goldrush of 2009 — this previous week had quite the prodigious release schedule. Among the horde of games were NHL 10, NHL2k10, WET, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, Scribblenauts, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Need for Speed Shift.

Next week, Halo 3: ODST releases. You can discuss (your praise for or condemnation of) that fact in our comments section.

See what we’ve been up to, game-wise, after the break.

Doesn't it seem more logical to call soccer "football" in the states? This guy is clearly using his foot on a ball.

Doug:

It’s baaaaaaaack! My 360 has risen from its grave and, despite how angry I could get over the fact that this is the third time it’s happened, I don’t care.

I don’t care that I had to re-download everything because of a license transfer, and I don’t care that I had to re-set a ton of console settings; I don’t care about anything else.I have my console back and all is well.

So I’ve started to play some 360 games again — including some demos. I’m glad to have NCAA 10 back to sate my football needs, and I’m going to go get Madden 10 as well to engage in some online shenanigans with friends. I’m also putting money down to reserve my copy of Forza 3 — all the content coming out of Turn 10 looks absolutely awesome, and the game will likely suck my soul away this fall.

Demo-wise, the two titans of soccer gaming put demos up for their new titles on Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network this week. PES 2010 is an Xbox Live Gold special for the next week or so, and FIFA 10 is now up as well. FIFA feels good — like an updated version of FIFA 09. It plays well, yes, but the graphics, interface and front-end are all carried over from FIFA 09.

PES 2010, though, is something of a revelation. One of my favorite games is Winning Eleven 9, Konami’s soccer game from the 2005-06 season, and that’s for the deep feature set, huge amount of customization and great gameplay that creates a very different game each time you step on the pitch. The PES games on next-gen consoles, however, have lost that feeling — they’ve been too fast, too arcadey and controlled too loosely to match up to the gains EA has been making with FIFA.

With that knowledge in tow, I stepped back into the stage of history and downloaded PES 2010. Last year’s demo felt seven shades of wrong — it was terrible enough to turn me off of the game for good. 2010, however, feels like a return to PES of old. Despite me fumbling with the controls (FIFA’s are ingrained by now), the game just feels right. Passing the ball around has a heft and weight behind it that feels almost perfect, and the way players interact in the build-up feels much better than FIFA, which can sometimes feel formulaic and stale.

Watch for both soccer games this fall, but I definitely know which one I’ll be scouring over reviews for — and which one’s demo stays on my hard drive.

Speaking of which…anyone want to sell me a 60 gigabyte Xbox 360 hard drive for a song?

The Beatles: Rock Band boasts some inspired artwork that, if you're a fan, will consistently delight

Nick:

Never mind that we’re 40 years late to the party: My friends and I have all been swept up in Beatlemania. Without incriminating myself, I’ve spent enough time with The Beatles: Rock Band to have earned 46 of the game’s 50 achievements — and I’m still having a blast. Meanwhile, I just wrapped up Guitar Hero 5, which will be getting a review soon. And nearly a year after I last played it, I managed to finish off Dead Space. Despite its minor faults, it still stands as an exemplary survival horror game; the fact that it was the first entry in a new franchise is all the more impressive.

With the majority of my backlog polished off, I’ve been able to return to Batman: Arkham Asylum. It’s an extremely rare breed of game in that it only gets better the more I play. It was impressive from the outset, but now that I’m approaching its conclusion I’m prepared to place it on my shortlist for best game of 2009.

I also picked up 5TH Cell’s charming and ambitious Scribblenauts, a game so bursting with ingenuity and cheer that even its horribly imprecise stylus-based control scheme can be overlooked. Frankly, any game that lets you apply shark repellent to yourself to swim unharmed past a shark deserves recognition.

Agents definitely are GO!

Aaron:

Like Nick, I’ve been sucked into the vortex that is Beatlemania. Sure, the band’s music has been on a variety of my playlists for years now — thanks to my eclectic musical upbringing — but I didn’t fully appreciate the band until I received The Beatles: Rock Band in the mail yesterday, and proceeded to beat it in just a few hours. It sounds like overkill, or even tragically short, but the craftsmanship that went into the game is dripping from every pixel. Plus, there’s a lot more to do after finishing “The End.”

It’s readily apparent that Harmonix loved working with such a historic body of work, and I only hope future band-specific rhythm games are a quarter as neat as this one is.

Aside from enjoying the lads from Liverpool, I’ve spent some time becoming reacquainted with my DSi. Here and there I’ll play some Suikoden: Tierkreis (I promise, eventually a review will be written) and Elite Beat Agents. I’m realizing I need to purchase more games for the system, and Scribblenauts seems like a safe bet.

Otherwise it’s been a low-key kind of week for my tastes. A few rounds of Marvel Ultimate Alliance with Nick and some solo singing in Rock Band 2 topped off my free time. I’m hoping that, come October with its influx of amazing-looking titles, I’ll soon be busy playing, writing, reviewing and recording all about videogames when I’m able.

We’re all familiar with the summer doldrums — the scorching heat, the long days and short nights, and the almost total lack of good games being released in stores. But was it always like this? And thanks to the digital distribution market, are things changing?

Site editors Nick and Aaron were joined by our number-one (and possibly only) fan Tyler for this discussion. Although the show weighs in at a mere 40ish minutes this time around, we did find ourselves sidetracked a few times. It just goes to show that if you get a few nerds together to talk, the discussion will invariably devolve into an argument over which Final Fantasy is the best.

Editor’s Note: It’s Final Fantasy VI.