Quarterlies 2005
TomChick - Features - Comments - 01/01/06
4. The One That Rocks
Guitar Hero
 It’s a time-honored gimmick: make a special plastic controller that only works for a particular game. When it doesn’t really work, it’s a uniquely sour experience that slaps you in the face every time you have to go into that one closet. Yes, I’m talking about you, Steel Battalion and you, Micro Uzi Cybergun with blowback recoil action. But when it works, it’s a wonder. In this case, it has turned me into a rock god. And I haven’t even begun to try playing on hard.
It’s partly because of the great song list, which has something for everyone. ‘Why isn’t there a Jimi Hendrix song on here?’ I wondered until I’d unlocked it. It’s partly because of the controller, which lets you ape every rock star you’ve ever wanted to be, even if it is slightly ridiculous for being as kid-sized as it is. But it’s mainly the conjunction of that song list and that controller with a set of rhythm patterns that don’t really mimic playing a guitar, something I wouldn’t know the first thing about. Instead, they mimic what I imagine playing the guitar would be like. And that’s all I really need to become the rock god that I am.
3. The One We’ve Been Waiting For
Guild Wars
 Guild Wars is not nearly as demanding a mistress as World of Warcraft. She’s not so high maintenance. You can just visit her from time to time and she’s cool with that. Just pop in to rearrange your spells and enjoy a few battles. Unlike other MMOs, this isn’t a lifestyle so much as a mere game, finally putting the ‘g’ back in MMORPG.
From my Computer Games Magazine review: The game world avoids a lot of hackneyed fantasy conventions in favor of its own humanistic sensibility. Players are all people -- there are no orcs, dwarves, or elves among them -- who gather in friendly bustling hubs (conveniently arranged so there is no travel time and no futzing around with different servers). Once you go out into the uncivilized wastelands, an instance is spawned just for you and your party, who are now alone in a place of strange monsters. This isn't the typical MMO with player characters traipsing all over the place, poaching someone else's ore or politely camping bosses, all the while emoting to each other. It's a desolate unexplored post-apocalyptic wilderness where you don't belong.
2. The Funnest One
Timesplitters: Future Perfect
 This Rare-ish gem is the best shooter of the year for its variety, technology, and writing (it’s far smarter and funnier than it has any business being). It’s a fascinating counterpoint to Perfect Dark Zero, a remarkably similar game that flatlines on nearly every level. Both share the same creative roots in Goldeneye for the Nintendo 64, the title that proved consoles can do shooters.
But these two games couldn’t be more different despite their similarities. Why is Timesplitters' desultory story so cheerfully energetic and wacky while PDZ wanders all over the place without any sense of direction? Why is PDZ’s Mei Hem so unabashedly stupid, but Timesplitters’ Jo-Beth is actually funny and, dare I say, titillating? Why does an M60 that drops caltrops feel contrived in PDZ, but you don’t think twice about a wristband with a gravity gun and map function in Timesplitters? Why is it that by the time I’m facing the flying boss at the end of PDZ, I’m so ready for the game to be over; but by the time I’ve found the underwater Jules Verne city in Timesplitters, I’m still delighted to still be seeing new places? Why does Cortez’ “Time to split!” riff actually elicit a chuckle, but Jack Dark’s “I never thought I’d be thankful for trash” leave you drumming your fingers, wondering if no one noticed that instead of cutscenes, they've created ponderous filler from writers who haven’t graduated beyond the worst action movies of the 80s? Why is it that two games that have such similar feature sets can be so different in the end?
There’s no simple answer, but it comes down to the interaction of elements like tone, the developer's experience, the way the team is managed, platform(s) of choice, innate talent, technology, and so on. It’s fascinating to see two developers setting out to do pretty much the same thing -- I can imagine how similar their design docs must have looked! -- and creating such markedly different games.
From my Computer Games Magazine review: Some of [the weapons] are shamelessly borrowed, such as a gravity gun from Half-Life 2 and a stake gun straight out of Painkiller. But Timesplitters isn't about being original; it's about being complete. It's about taking everything you could want in a shooter, as well as some things you didn't even know you wanted, and putting them into a ridiculously overgenerous toybox of a game. Although it's debatable whether any other console shooters are better, you're not going to find one this comprehensive.
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