OXM Message Center (November 2007)

WE’LL GET ’EM NEXT YEAR
Why are so many people upset about Unreal Tournament III not coming to Xbox 360 this year? Think about it: Do we really need it? Between now and the end of the year, we’ll have Virtua Fighter 5, BioShock, Blue Dragon, Eternal Sonata, Halo 3, Mass Effect, Splinter Cell Conviction, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duty 4…and that doesn’t even include Xbox Live Arcade, which is always adding fun games. Your wallet can’t really take much more than this.
— Moose

We say: That’s a positive outlook on a bummer of a situation. We were as surprised as anyone when Mark Rein announced that Unreal Tournament III would appear only on PC and PlayStation 3 in 2007, but he did clarify for us at July’s E3 show that the 360 version (which we played for our July cover story) “will get done when it gets done.” We’re hoping that means early 2008, but as you said, at least we’ve got a few things to distract us in the meantime…

ONE DOWN, THOUSANDS TO GO 
I was excited when I saw a developer was finally ’fessing up to “my game sucked” on the cover of your September 2007 issue. I tore the plastic off of the magazine and found a comfy chair to read what I hoped was going to be any one of a number of public apologies I was owed by many developers. Was it going to be 5000ft and Myelin Media apologizing for my Stacked bankroll always disappearing? Was it going to be Brainbox and Groove Games begging for my forgiveness for Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler’s Green and the unbearable glitches that kept turning me around every time I went through a checkpoint?
Sadly, all we got were more excuses as to why games about movies suck. Any true gamer knows that a developer licensing his soul to the devil is a real problem, but when do we really get an apology for games that were hyped to be “the next thing in gaming” or “the best A.I. ever designed”?  
    Don’t tell me movie games are the only ones being released with bugs. We know they’re not going to be polished because you can’t polish a turd. Gamers deserve real apologies for games that were promised to be real games, not apologies for movie games that were made for kids and the occasional middle-aged adolescent.
— Ed Dugan

We say: We were happy that Randy Pitchford felt comfortable enough to admit things could have been better and offer some insight as to why they weren’t, but he can speak only from his own experience. Yes, you should be able to keep your bankroll in the casino and know which way you’re going in the zombie holocaust. (We’ll defend Stacked’s A.I. as notably better than most poker games’; the bankroll glitch is a serious problem but a separate one from artificial intelligence.) Don’t hold your breath for more industry apologies; instead, note the names of the guilty parties and make your future purchasing decisions accordingly.

TODAY CARCASSONNE, TOMORROW THE WORLD
Do you know of any developers working on making Risk for Xbox Live Arcade? I would buy that game in a heartbeat.
— Colin Fraser

We say: Risk, Monopoly, Clue, and Scrabble — judging from reader mail and forum topics, just about everyone wants to see these board games on Xbox Live Arcade (ourselves included). It’s encouraging that Infogrames recently sold the digital rights to nine big board games — all four previously mentioned, plus Game of Life, Yahtzee, Battleship, Boggle, and Simon — to Hasbro for just under $20 million. A few weeks later, EA announced it had scooped up some of those same licenses and had plans to make new games. Nobody’s ready to announce if there are plans for Live Arcade versions of these tabletop classics, but we’re guessing it’d be a winning move.

REASONS TO FRET
I consider myself knowledgeable about a wide variety of music, and I appreciate different genres of music and marketability, but putting “Dead!” by My Chemical Romance in Guitar Hero II just screams blatant marketing ploy. Personally, I wouldn’t consider that a song with a particularly challenging guitar part. I would understand if the song was in the first few tiers of tracks because plenty of people would buy the game for that song…but it’s in the seventh?!
    Buckethead is one of the better guitar players in the world, so seeing “Jordan” in GHII set my expectations high for GHIII. Unfortunately, the songs that’ve been announced so far have been...less than stellar for a game with an emphasis on guitar playing. I understand the fact that marketing comes into play and licensing plays a major role in RedOctane’s track selection, but I feel it’s their duty to introduce our generation of brainwashed consumers to artists with real musical talent.
— Brad D.

We say: We’re not going to argue about which bands rock and which bands suck (because everybody already knows all the ones they like “rock,” and all the ones you like “suck”), but we can argue about what Guitar Hero is supposed to be in the first place. It’s really not designed as a game for guitarists, but as a game for people who WISH they were guitarists.
Still, we asked RedOctane about the lack of shred virtuosos like Steve Vai and Yngvie Malmsteen on the setlist. Guitar Hero II’s “rocksultant,” Marcus Henderson, believes they’re killer songs if you’re a guitarist (Yngwie’s “I Am A Viking” tops his personal wishlist), but not the kind of material that gets the mass market all excited. Better to stick to songs that get radio airplay, he says, so players get the thrill of “playing” songs they already know well.
    As the series develops, more variety is inevitable, but you’re always going to see accessible songs from mainstream bands in the mix — and we think that’s okay. Hell, we even had fun playing “Dead!”

DRIVING IN REVERSE
I recently re-read the review of Microsoft’s Wireless Racing Wheel in your February 2007 issue, and I was wondering why Microsoft can’t just send out an auto-update for all racing games. I have to admit, I’ve always hated racing games, but I loved Burnout Revenge. You said that the racing wheel feels sluggish, and I bought the 360 for one reason: performance. So what’s the problem? I just want to know because I really want to buy this thing so I can enjoy racing like it was supposed to be enjoyed.
— Bernard Gaytan

We say: Unfortunately, it’s not always as easy as an auto-update, Bernard. Adding support for a new peripheral usually requires a completely new chunk of code that may or may not match what’s already there. As a result, it’s usually simply not worth the developer’s time to keep improving the last game when they’re being told to focus on the next one. Don’t count on any updates for older games like Burnout Revenge; look instead to future games, which can be built with wheel support from the beginning.

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
If I never see that E3 2006 picture of that arrogant ass Cliffy Bleszinski (Epic Games) again, it will be too soon.
I get a marker and block out that photo every time you include it anywhere in your magazine. The way he’s standing there…with that anticipatory look on his face, waiting for his fans to bestow their love for him...Bleh.
— Jason a. myers

We say: Thanks for your letter, Jason. We passed along your comments to CliffyB himself, who responded:

“Dear Jason,
You’re completely right — that picture did look a bit smug and/or arrogant. In response, we’ve taken a new one that we feel represents the attitude of the average Xbox Live player.
Sincerely,
CliffyB”

THREE SCARY STORIES
Three red lights? I actually have a story about my Xbox 360 performing over and above expectations. To make my story short and to the point, let’s say a very angry woman threw my console three stories into the dry Missouri grass. The faceplate broke off and I was initially depressed that the ride was over. However, upon plugging it in and reattaching the faceplate, it worked. The system even remembered the place in the movie we had been watching earlier. Clearly the engineering is a work of art, as the Xbox is still working strong. Try throwing the PS3 three stories and see what happens. Or a woman...
— Daniel Flaspohler

We say: And when she reads this? Dude. Let’s hope your warranty has been extended. You’ll need it.

DIFFERENCE OF OPINION
I’ve been a huge fan of your magazine since its first issue, and I’ve trusted the reviews and information inside. But sometimes I see reviews on some internet sites that totally contradict what you guys have said. Why is this? Shouldn’t they be kind of close? They could potentially cause us to spend $60. I hope you can shed some light.
— Jeff (ST6 FLeUry)

We say: Remember that reviews are ultimately opinions, supported by examples. We put a lot of effort into justifying our scores with experience and concrete examples; we’ve got only our reputation and a few hundred words, and we take our responsibilities seriously, to the point of having a staff meeting about our reviews every month before we go to print. Other magazines and websites might not always agree with our reviews, but as to why they’re sometimes wildly off…who can say? How everyone else reviews games is, of course, up to them! It’s ultimately a question of who you trust more. Read both and decide who’s talking about points with more clarity, and which points of praise and criticism coincide more with your tastes. For our part, you have our word: We’re not playing around with your $60 decisions, because they’re our $60 decisions, too.

BASKETBALL JONES
What ever happened to the planned Xbox Live Arcade release Hoopworld? The concept of a Small Arms–style basketball game is really intriguing, but I haven’t seen anything about it in months. Do you have any news?
— docsteel92

We say: We’ve been wondering about this game, too, Doc, so we checked in with developer Streamline Studios. David Lee, VP of development and marketing, tells us: “Hoopworld is alive and kicking, and in fact I was just doing some level polishing with our team this afternoon. We had to set it aside for a while, but Streamline is cranking on it [now] with our good friends and co-developers Virtual Toys. We’re looking to finish it around the end of this year...but our [main] goal is to make the game a really fun experience.” We’ll keep you posted on its progress in future issues.