Getting My Mesocorticolimbic Buzz On…
May 30, 2008 (2 Responses)
I LOVE GAMES. There I said it. I’ve loved gaming (the computer kind) since I was capable of understanding what the concept was. I started with a BBC Acorn, progressed to a ZX Spectrum and eventually after years of loading tapes, writing pointless programs that printed out ‘Hello’ a few times I managed to purchase myself my very first PC, then the endless opportunity for faster, slicker and better upgrades arrived and took hold and then of course the Internet arrived and, well… I’ve never looked back since.
I’ve never really questioned why I love games so much, however I’ve always wondered why none of my female friends ever got into the act. I know there are female gamers and clans out there, but they are far outnumbered by the males and always have been. We just seem to get more out of games, but until now I never knew why.
It’s all about territory apparently, and the impact gaining territory within a game has on a males brain; specifically the mesocorticolimbic centre. This is the part of the brain linked to reward and addiction and it goes bananas in males when we achieve objectives, gain territory or otherwise make important stuff happen within a game context according to a recent study conducted at Stanford university. Read more
Crysis Outstanding Gaming Moment
November 20, 2007 (2 Responses)
GOOD GAMES are easy to come by these days, given the growth of the industry, the improvements in production quality and general focus on pushing the envelope again and again to keep pace with technology. Great games however are few and far between, and even when a great game is produced it doesn’t guarantee anything from its audience. Ultimately the success or failure of the game is driven not just by the sales performance but also by the cult status it achieves amongst gamers and the level and intensity of discussions it promotes online. Typically a really excellent game will have an outstanding gaming moment, hidden somewhere within it.
I have just experienced one of those outstanding ‘gaming moments’ in playing Crysis, a moment which - for me - has justified my investment in this game, because up to this point I was beginning to loose the faith and this game was falling into the category of so many other games before it; good, entertaining but nothing “that special”.
Before I tell you about this let me first clarify a few things. For starters, if you have not played this game, or you don’t want to have any information which may spoil your gameplaying experience - then don’t read any further, because in order to explain what happened I’m going to have to get into the details. In other words… SPOILER ALERT!
So what makes an outstanding ‘gaming moment’ for me? Well, it’s those elusive occasions when you’re playing a game and the combination of all elements of that game come together into something - an event, a challenge, a scene - some unique occurance that just causes your jaw to drop. It is generally accompanied by uncontrollable expletives like ‘Fuck me!’ or “You clever, clever bastards”, and it inevitably ends in a huge appreciative grin on behalf of the player for the game designers and developers, for it was their ingenuity and forethought which crafted this moment, this special unique thing within the game in question.
It doesn’t happen very often, so when it does it’s worthy of mention. Read more
No Surrender, No Retreat (Enemy Territory: Quake Wars)
October 7, 2007 (No Responses)
I’VE BEEN HANDS ON with this PC game now for about a week so I think it’s time to put down in words what I’ve only been able to do in actions for the last few nights, and believe me there have been many late nights with this one.
For anyone who has been living under a rock for the past few years, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW) is the offspring of two excellent, but totally different games. The concept was to take the speed and backstory of the Quake universe (with their associated Strogg bad guys, weaponary etc.) and merge it with the teamplay, tactical variety and map design of Enemy Territory, originally a World War II Allies versus Nazis game. Personally I was never much of a Quake fan because I found the lack of team work and endless one-on-one score whoring a bit boring after a while; for my sins however I was a huge Enemy Territory fan becuase of the teamwork it demanded and the thinking it required in order to master it. Having said that I’d been waiting for the release of ET:QW and following it’s development with great interest because I was very curious to see where the developers were going to take the concept next; and they didn’t dissappoint when they decided to marry ET with Quake.
The bastard offspring of this union is Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and while it’s not a direct descendant of either of it’s two parents I think it’s fair to say that it has managed to surpass both in the way that the developers have brought together the two previous incarnations into one hugely entertaining and breakneck paced tactical squad and objective based sci-fi orientated shooter. This is an entirely online multiplayer game - although it does provide a “play versus computer” mode which allows you to practice all the maps against computer controlled (bots) opponents - and believe me you will need the practice before you go online with this puppy, because you will get your ass handed to you again and again until you are familiar with all the new bells and whistles, no matter which pedigree you hail from (e.g. Quake or ET).
That’s not to say it doesn’t have it’s problems, but the news is the good far outweighs the bad in this department, and there’s not too much ugly around either; but more on that later. Let’s get into the details… Read more
Makibishi: Annoyingly Addictive & Completely Weird Browser Game
April 29, 2007 (No Responses)
THIS ONE IS going to be a little hard to explain. It all started with my stumbling across a site called “Makibishi Comic”, which turned out to be some sort of online Flash based point-and-click adventure from one of those insane Manga-esque Japanese software houses. This isn’t the first Japanese browser game I’ve featured here at the site, but it’s certainly the weirdest.
A cursory look at the site and you really have no idea what it’s all about, even when you select the English version. Pretty quickly it becomes obvious that this is one of those simple point and click style affairs, where you advance through various quests from screen to screen, but within about 5 minutes of playing this little gem you begin to realise just how different this thing is. In fact - I’m betting you haven’t seen anything like this before, I know I hadn’t. The general objective of the game is to solve a series of clues/puzzles in order to locate five missing people, each search representing a different screen or area within the game.
So - what’s all the fuss about then? Read more
New Chinese Gaming Addiction Strategy (No More Genital Electric Shocks!)
April 10, 2007 (2 Responses)
IT’S NICE TO SEE the Chinese making an attempt to join the rest of us in the 21st Century; especially when it comes to dealing with gaming addiction. Ever since the Internet opened up in China the folks have been flocking in their millions to the online virtual existence, and in particular to MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games).
In order to appreciate why China is so focused on this you need to appreciate the sheer size of the market over there. The Chinese games market has grown rapidly in recent years, so rapidly that it scared the shit out of the authorities. Back in 2005 the market was estimated to grow to approximately $580 Million with over 70% of that market dedicated to MMORPG type games. In 2006 this grew to $1 Billion, and it’s now estimated that before this year is out (2007) the Chinese games market will eclipse even South Korea and will continue to grow to a predicted online usage base of 180 Million subscribers by 2010. Think about that for a second, 180 Million people online, playing games!
Now comes the tricky bit; How the hell can China expect to control this explosive growth?
Thus far the Chinese authorities have focused their attentions on two key fronts in a strategic attempt to both identify and control the online population. On the one hand they want to know who is online and what they are doing; especially in relation to the content they are viewing. On the other hand the authorities want to ensure they control the amount of online game time kids are being exposed to, due to the rise in gaming addictions. Both strategies have their flaws, but the Chinese have just come out with a new approach to dealing with gaming addiction which might actually catch on in other countries too, if they manage to pull it off. And the best news of all for gamers in China is that it no longer involves getting electric shock treatments! Read more
S.T.A.L.K.E.R (First Impressions)
March 29, 2007 (No Responses)
IT’S BEEN A GOOD WEEK for PC gamers; first up was the release of S.T.A.L.K.E.R (Shadow Of Chernobyl) amidst high expectations and hype concerning the A-life system and now I find in my inbox this morning confirmation that Play.com has just posted out my copy of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars… so my weekends are taken care of for a while 
I did the usual thing of admiring the special edition packaging and documentation for approximately 0.3 seconds and then slung the DVD into the drive and started the installation, and I haven’t looked back since. I’m sure there are plenty of useful bits of information and context contained in the documentation, but I prefer to just stumble along and around the game mechanics and levels, seeing how it feels and how it plays; it’s just my way.
So then - what can you expect from my first impressions of the game? Well, I’ve got a bunch of cool screenshots from the game, a lot of observations on the performance, mechanics, graphics, design, interactions, AI and just about everything else… so if you are considering this PC game as an addition to your existing collection then I hope this review will give you some food for thought.
The good news is this is not your average game; the really good news is that whatever your expectations for this game, whatever hype you have heard about in advance - it still delivers enough bang for your [insert appropriate currency] to make it worth your time, as long as you know just what type of game play you are in for because this one is a breed apart from the usual FPS gunfests. It may not live up to all the aforementioned hype, but it does deliver more than enough to keep your interest.
This is a new direction for a PC game and I’m getting so much enjoyment from it that it reminds me of my first play through of Thief. Back then the gaming industry ended up coining the phrase First Person Sneaker for Thief, because so much of the game was focused upon sound and stealth. I’ve no idea yet what to use as an acronym for this game because it just keeps surprising me with new and innovative touches.
Right so - where to start? Let’s go straight to the eye candy, the graphics… Read more
7 Most Wanted PC Games For 2007 (Part 2)
January 23, 2007 (4 Responses)
OK - SO WE’VE had the nostalgia trip, the eye candy, the cheesy goodness and even the adventure on the first part of this countdown… but what does that leave then? Well - for those of you who can count - it leaves three games spread across distinct genres. We have a frag fest spectacular, some teamwork taken to a new level and of course the most ambitious game of the year too. So let’s get started then and complete the list of Howl @ The Moons! top 7 games for 2007 (Part 2):-
Next up is an evolution of one of the main reasons I got so into playing games online in the first place. Up until I played Enemy Territory (ET), I was pretty much a confirmed offline gamer with the odd addiction to a game called Tribes, but for the most part I didn’t get much of a kick from online gaming. ET changed all that. For starters - it was free, and to make things better, it was also the best implementation of a teamwork and role/class based game available at the time. Winning a round wasn’t possible unless the sides worked together as a team, sharing roles (such as Engineer, Medic, Covert Ops etc.) in order to achieve common objectives.
Now flash forward a few years and the team behind ET are releasing Enemy Territory: Quake Wars (ET:QW). Picture the teamwork from ET, combined with latest state-of-the-art graphics and the character attributes of the various half-human and pure monsters from Quake. Now add a dash of strategy, a pinch of tactical control and a lot of repurposing (salvaging parts from partially destroyed vehicles to improve or repair your own, ripping out body parts from your fallen enemies to help repair your fellow team mates etc.) ET:QW has all the signs of a brilliantly balanced online shooter which cannot be dominated by just FPS heads with a quick trigger finger. It’s fast and it’s futuristic but it will take teamwork, tactics and some seriously explosive playing styles to win this one.
Check out the video promo on the EnemyTerritory website and you will see why I’m excited about this one. Might be worth a read of some reviews as well (IGN, Eurogamer, Gamespy). Current release date is set for the end of March, but this is one that I’d also count on slipping into Q2. Read more
