Games of September

Okay, so let me state that I officially hate game companies. Why, oh why, do they insist on releasing everything in the space of 10 weeks? This year is especially crazy, because it seems like the majority of games were released in September. I don't know about you guys, but there were a dozen games of interest to me this month, but only 3-4 in October. Maybe they were all scared off by San Andreas.

So, given that I bought a metric ton of games this month, I thought I might write a quick post about the ones that I picked up.

Burnout 3
This is the penultimate arcade racer. If you have even a modicum of interest in driving games, and by that I include playing Daytona at Dave & Buster's, then you owe it to yourself to pick this game up. Joining a multiplayer game is a little screwy, but other than that I would be hard pressed to find a fault with this game.

Silent Hill 4
If you have played and enjoyed other Silent Hill games in the past, pick this up. If not, there is nothing new to see here, so spend your money elsewhere. For those of you that have played Silent Hill games before, I found this game to be slightly more "frightening", if only because there are enemies that you just can't kill, i.e. running is your only option. That definitely adds tension to the mix.

Sims 2
I haven't really had a chance to delve into it much, but it sure does seem like the Sims in 3D. There are a few new additions, like aspirations and fears, movie mode, and aging. But it also seems like they left out an awful lot of the material from the expansions from the first game so they can sell them later as expansions for this one. Bottom line is: if you liked the Sims, you will like this game a lot. If the Sims was boring to you, this one won't change your mind.

Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone
Again, the best way to tell you about this game is through comparison. It was done by the same developer that created the Two Towers game for EA, and if you liked that game, you will like this one. It has a good story, solid voice acting, and amazing cutscenes. The gameplay is button mashing, hack and slash just like the LotR games were. The characters are sufficiently different that I actually do find myself switching between them. Plus, the thief's ability to go stealth and backstab is mucho cool. So far, I have been enjoying it.

Sly 2: Band of Thieves
If you have any love in your heart for platform games, pick this baby up. Playing this is like a class on how a platformer should be made. Great art and animations, interesting level design, a good camera....I could go on, but you get the point. I love this game.

Fable
Ah Fable. I wanted this game for a while, and I am really of mixed opinions about it. Starting with the basics: the graphics are great, the voice acting isn't as bad as some of the reviews have said, and the combat system is interesting. Some of the flaws are: targeting can be a pain in the ass, some of the menus are counter-intuitive, the zones are small and you will see a lot of loading screens, and in many ways it feels like you are playing on rails. This is definitely not Morrowind. That being said, I find myself having fun with the game, and that is really what matters. If you like console RPG's, this isn't a poor way to spend your time. But no one will mistake this game for KotOR

Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War
Wow what a great RTS. This is a RTS in the vein of Starcraft or C&C: Generals. Multiple sides with distinct personalities and play styles. The art and animation is amazing. This is quite literally the first RTS that I have ever thought was cool enough that I zoom in close to watch the combat play out. Watching some of the bigger units tear through infantry is just balls out cool. The campaign is well done and enjoyable, with steadily progressing difficulty and an enjoyable backstory. The multiplayer is nothing new for RTS, with a quick rush being an effective and annoying tactic. This is, by far, the best pure RTS to come out since C&C: Generals. I would put it up there with Rise of Nations and Starcraft as one of my favorite RTS games.

Def Jam: Fight for NY
Eh. Not a pure fighter like Virtua Fighter 4 or Soul Calibur, it definitely has some cool features, but nothing that compels me to want to play. It really feels like a button masher, and that makes it just 'Eh' to me. The environmental effects are cool though, and worth mentioning. You can use the arenas, and the audience of the arenas in your fights. Throw your opponent into the crowd, and they might help you out to execute a particularly brutal attack. It is an okay game, and if you like fighting games and are sick of VF4 or SC2 (and can't hold out for either Mortal Kombat or DoA:Ultimate), then pick it up. Otherwise, it is a rental at best.

X-men Legends
Gauntlet with the X-men. Or, better example, Champions of Norath with the X-Men. It is cel-shaded, giving it a distinctive look and you can switch quickly and easily through numerous X-men over the course of a mission. The fighting is a whole bunch of Diablo-esque button mashing. You have two attack buttons, that you can push in different patterns to execute different combos but I find myself just mash, mash, mashing along. On the downside, the camera can be annoying by shifting into a directly overhead view that I don't like. It never really gets in the way of the game, but it isn't really my preferred perspective.

I was surprised when I had heard that there wasn't online support for this game, but now I know why. The multi-player seems tacked on. You can have a friend plug in and take control of any of your party members that you aren't using. You can still switch between characters, just not usurp you friend's choice. However, there are stretches of the game where you only have one character to control, and in that case you friend has to sit there until you get into the next mission. The co-op is fun, but the game accommodates co-op, not encourages it.

If you like button-mashing games like Dark Alliance or Champions of Norath, this is worth a look.

Rome: Total War
Buy this game. If you have even a modicum of interest in strategy games, run out and buy this game now. I have only had it for a day and it has already displaced everything else. The game has an easier entry point for the strategic map than Medieval, without losing any of the depth that made that game great. The tactical battles are amazing, with fantastic graphics and a real payoff if you take the time to use terrain, the right unit mix and tactics.

I'll say it again: buy this game. It is Game of the Year material.

I haven't touched Katamari Damashi or FFXI's expansion, so I'll follow up with those later. Also Kohan II didn't make it to my EB yesterday, but after WH40K and Rome, I don't know if I'll be picking it up anytime soon.

The ever changing release dates of games

I love how publishers change release dates of games, sometimes just a few days before the published ship date. Almost as much as I love the fact that they release everything in a 3 month window.

Updating my previous list-o-games, here are the games of Fall:

October
For Sure:
Shin Megami Tensei
GTA: San Andreas
Otogi 2 DOA:Ultimate
Paper Mario 2

Maybe:
Mortal Kombat: Deception
Tribes: Vengeance

November
Half-life 2
Vampire: Bloodlines
LotR: Battle for Middle Earth
Sid Meier's Pirates
Ratchet and Clank: Up your Arsenal
LotR: The Third Age
Jak 3
Gran Turismo
Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater
Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
Ghost Recon 2
Halo 2
Metroid Prime 2
Baten Kaitos
Viewtiful Joe 2

The realities of outsourcing

Jobs are just like any other commodity in a free market. Sure, it's easy to point at someone that lost a job and say 'we have to do something', but that is exactly the wrong thing to happen. That is the reaction of being able to see a person suffer, but not being able to 'see' the benefits of letting a free market work. The current study that people are in an uproar about says that the US will outsource 3.3M jobs by 2015. 500,000 of them will be in the IT sector. "Eek! Let's close our borders and hide our heads in the sand! What can we do to save ourselves from the evil corporations?" Is that about right? Here's reality. Just like trade in goods, trade in services forces painful redistributions of employment. However, the truth is that outsourcing is less of a threat than US workers understand, and there are enormous benefits to the US economy. There isn't a one-for-one relationship between jobs lost in the US and those gained overseas. For example, outsourcing of IT services typically leads to domestic job losses of less than 20 percent. To say that more clearly: for every 100 jobs sent overseas, only 20 US jobs are actually lost. In addition, a recent report on offshoring from McKinsey estimates that every dollar of costs the United States moves offshore brings America a net benefit of $1.12 to $1.14 (the additional benefit to the country receiving the investment comes on top). Part of this arises because, as low value-added jobs go abroad, labor and investment can switch to jobs that generate more economic value. This is what has happened with manufacturing: employment has dwindled, but workers have moved into educational and health services where pay is higher (and conditions often more agreeable). The increases in efficiency that corporations will be able to enjoy will also have ancilliary benefits. For example, the globalization of computer hardware manufacturing led to a 10 percent to 30 percent decline in prices. This made computer equipment more affordable and led to a far greater increase in jobs in the long run than were lost initially when production went abroad. In another thread, someone mentioned the fear of shipping technical expertise overseas. I assume that reference was a fear that US innovation would suffer. Perhaps all those bright young Chinese and Indians will steal not just jobs but the rich world's most precious skills. To such fears there are two answers. First, some innovation will undoubtedly move abroad: the relocation of research and design, and the enormous increase in the numbers of highly trained graduates, will ensure that happens. But the transfer may be slower and more modest than the isolationists fear. Innovation needs the right culture to flourish. Chinese and Indians in California generate more new ideas than they do in their homelands. I say with some confidence that America's long tradition of embracing new ideas and new ways of doing things, combined with a willingness to question authority, ensures that we will continue to foster innovation more effectively than most industrializing countries can do. Second, innovation abroad makes everyone richer. Remember, the British once feared the rise of America's industrial might: today, both nations are vastly wealthier than they were. In services, as in goods, trade brings benefits too great to refuse.

"Old Faithful" and other deck updates

I have made several changes to my "Old Faithful" deck, as I continue to test it out in the Tournament practice room of MTGO. The latest iteration of the deck looks something like this:

"Old Faithful"

Creatures:
2x Clone
3x Daring Apprentice
3x Intrepid Hero
4x Prodigal Sorcerer
4x Serra Angel
2x Weathered Wayfarer
18 Creatures

Other Spells:
3x Arrest
3x Glorious Anthem
4x Condescend
4x Counterspell
4x Disenchant
2x Rewind
20 other spells

Land
7x Island
7x Plains
4x Coastal Tower
2x Secluded Steppe
2x Lonely Sandbar
22 land

Sideboard
2x Akroma, Angel of Wrath
2x Clone
2x Mawcor
3x Sacred Ground
3x Stifle
3x Story Circle
15 card sideboard

I took out the Damping Matrix because it interfered with too many of my own creatures. I replaced them with Stifle because that is the only thing that can prevent the cycling for Soldiers with Decree of Justice. I'd say with the changes in place, the only deck that really gives me headaches is Affinity, just because it is so damn fast.

I have been playing with a variation of the Ravager Affinity deck that I made. It uses black and white mana as it's base, and adds in Second Sunrise to make for an interesting mechanic. I tap for the required mana and then sacrifice everything to the Ravager, making it stronger and doing damage if I have a Disciple of the Vault out. When I say I sacrifice everything, I mean everything. Then I cast Second Sunrise, bringing everything I just sacrificed back, which if I have a Leonin Elder out, gives me life for all of it. I can then either attack with everything, including the monstrous Ravager, or I can sacrifice everything again, killing them with the Disciple.

"Arcbound Return"

Creatures
3x Arcbound Crusher
3x Arcbound Ravager
3x Arcbound Slith
3x Arcbound Stinger
4x Disciple of the Vault
4x Leonin Elder
20 creatures

Other Spells
4x Aether Vial
4x Chromatic Sphere
4x Cranial Plating
4x Arrest
4x Second Sunrise
20 other spells

Land
2x Plains
2x Swamps
4x Ancient Den
4x Vault of Whispers
4x Darksteel Citadel
4x Glimmervoid
20 land