Unlimited2

Conviction was on sale recently and I picked it up for a pittance off Steam. I first saw articles on Conviction in 2007/2008 and the game has undergone many changes since then. It was developed by Ubisoft Montreal (Splinter Cell, SC: Chaos Theory, SC: Double Agent, and Rainbow Six: Vegas). Conviction is a short, fun jaunt through a convoluted plot.

For non-veterans of the franchise, the plot may be confusing. Former Third Echelon Agent Sam Fisher is tapped by former colleague Agent Anna “Grim” Grímsdóttir in regards to his “dead” daughter. I hadn’t played more than a few missions of the previous games, so I was completely at a loss. In any case, the plot provides sufficient motivation for most players to take up arms against a faceless PMC and various conspirators.

Gameplay is very solid. The cover system is clean and easy to use. The melee quick-kill system works well. Sometimes it works too well. More than once, I simply hid myself behind a doorway or hung from a pipe, using previous kills to lure more enemies to their doom. Mark and execute is also a very fun, if incredibly overpowered tool. After you perform a melee kill with Fisher, you are able to essentially autokill up to four enemies (depending on your weapon) instantly. While this results in a lot of gee-wizz how-awesome moments, it’s almost an “I Win” button for any encounter with fewer than five enemies. Gadgets are take a backseat to these new kill systems as compared to previous entries in the series, however, it’s still fun to blow up baddies with a remote mine.

The presentation of the game is probably it’s strong suit. Desks are cluttered with junk that explode spectacularly when shot. The models are pretty and animations are smooth. Painting objectives (and some of the story) onto the environment is a small stroke of genius and works well with Conviction’s kinetic, moment-to-moment narrative. I’m not a huge fan of the fade to greyscale when Fisher is hidden by darkness. It makes sense, but the effect is far too binary. Either he is hidden or he is exposed and that just isn’t how light works.

Conviction had the potential to be a triple-A title and succeeded on many levels. It has minor flaws and previous installments seem like required reading to get the full experience, however, it’s definitely worth picking up.

Global Agenda (Hi-Rez Studios’ 3rd Person Persistent World MMO) has lifted it’s monthly fee, moving to a micro-payment and expansion model. More on this later.

Reviewing MMOs is difficult. The greatest difficulty is that they really don’t have an ending, and they are (ideally) ever changing. Most MMO developers release a free trial, to supplement rather scanty reviews. Cryptic Games, developer of City of Heroes and Champions Online, has taken the rather bold step of releasing actual demos, with no time limit. However, they only allow the player to experience the first couple hours of gameplay, so it’s six of one, a half dozen of the other.

Star Trek Online, their most recent MMO offering, shows that Cryptic is learning from previous mistakes. Visuals  are clean and attractive, clearly using the same engine as Champions Online, and slightly stylized. Right up front, character customization, including a full create-an-alien suite allows players to replicate most of their favorite Star Trek races that aren’t specifically represented.

Gameplay is alternately interesting and limited. The entire game is set during a galaxy-wide war, and thus, this game is very much combat based. The combat is split into two phases; space combat and ground combat. Space combat is handled well, although it seems somewhat dumbed down. Ground combat is very MMO-ish, except with ranged weapons. Away teams seem too large to control solo, and there is no cover system. This game feels enough like a third-person shooter that it is inexcusable to not have some sort of cover system.

What is missing is the emphasis on diplomacy and exploration, as well as the spirit of teamwork. All of the early combat occurs against the Borg and Orions and offers no option to appease or threaten. There’s the odd glowing crate with gear in it and the odd glowing symbol indicating hidden gear to scan for, but there’s no real feeling of exploration or adventure. Honestly, STO feels like an incredibly dumbed down shooter.

I’m not sure what to think about Star Trek Online. On the one hand it’s fun, but on the other hand, it doesn’t really take advantage of what makes Star Trek enjoyable. It feels like Champions Online in space.

Mirror’s Edge is only $4.99 today on Steam. You may recall my little review. For all it’s flaws, $5 is a steal.

Alpha Protocol is Obsidian Entertainment’s (Knights of the Old Republic 2, Neverwinter Nights 2) new IP, billed  as the first espionage RPG. It sat on the shelf for a long time; apparently Obsidian finished up with code almost six months ago. The idea is sound, however the execution leaves much to be desired.

Plot wise, Alpha Protocol’s writing is about on par with any syndicated or cable spy series. It’s good, but not great, and the endgame leaves a bit to be desired. The overall character development is strong and most characters feel like they have real motivations and agendas. In this way, Alpha Protocol feels on par with it’s closest spiritual sibling, Mass Effect. Most of the characters play very broad, particularly Stephen Heck and SIE. They feel like they would be perfectly comfortable on Burn Notice or in any James Bond movie.

Gameplay can neatly be cut into two parts; conversation and combat. Easily the most satisfying part of this game is conversation; different conversational stances definitely feel like they have different consequences moving forward. Conversations are the part of this game that give it depth and breadth, and make it more than just a third-person shooter.

While the combat sequences have a lot of paths and variance, they do seem to lack the punch of games like Mass Effect, and certainly dedicated third-person shooters. Headshots are hard to come by early on and the shooting mechanic feels very stunted… of course, this could also be described as “more realistic” as well. This tends to encourage stealth takedowns. However, this is not to say that you can’t run and gun. My first time through, I specialized in assault rifles and racked up quite the body count.

Graphically, the game is roughly on par with games that were released nine months ago. Facial animation is wooden and the game is plagued with texture pop-in. There are some minor problems with pathfinding and hit detection. Overall, the graphics are a weakness, but they are not terrible.

Normally, I wouldn’t bring this up but; Alpha Protocol’s experience is greatly hampered by terrible technical issues. My first runthrough ended tragically, in the middle of the final mission, with a corrupted save that set me back about an hour. Ultimately, Alpha Protocol would have benefited immensely from six more months of development.

I’m on the fence about this game. I paid full price for it and don’t regret it, due to the great replayability afforded by a deep conversation stance system, as well as multiple combat routes. However, looking past the crashes and corrupt savegames has been very difficult. It might be best to wait six to twelve months and grabbing this flawed gem from the bargain bin.

“It’s 2010, where the hell is my flying car?” — Anon, The Internet

Ten years ago, I was a high school freshman. I had an eMachines desktop with a 15″ monitor and a 633 Celeron processor. Now, I’m lying in bed, blogging on an 10″ netbook, at least as powerful as the one I had ten years ago. Sitting on top of a 25 year old television, long dead, in my living room is a 22″ HD computer monitor, and next to it is a custom built shuttle PC.

And I’m watching Encounters at the End of the Earth. Wirelessly. In HD.

Fuck flying cars.