A short while ago, on Pondercast, I described LucasArts as "A hulking zombie of a company which I wish someone would just shoot in the head so it could die." Those who didn't grow up with LucasArts games - perhaps console gamers or the younger among you - might not understand this response to the company but I haven't been alone in sharing it.

The short version of the story goes like this: From the early to mid-late nineties LucasArts were kings of the graphic adventure (and had a fair few great games in other genres, too), story based games which would involve a cast of characters, puzzles ranging from ingenious to irritating and boasting writing, stories and a level of artistic polish that few other games have managed to match. But slowly the talent that had fostered that golden age began to leave and start their own projects and the popularity of the adventure fell. The day that the excellent looking sequel to Sam and Max Hit the Road was cancelled was, for many, the final nail in the coffin. The LucasArts we knew and loved was dead. Even the leaked rumour of Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition provoked few expectations before details emerged, merely a few disgruntled murmurs of 'oh well, it's something, I suppose...'

And then came E3...



I don't want to go into the details of the news because it's all over the place and available in a more coherent manner than I would ever be able to manage to process through my hysteria-soaked brain. Here are the headlines though: the first Monkey Island game remade for XBLA and PC complete with voice actors from previous games, updated 2D graphics and re-recorded music, and an option to switch back to 'classic' mode a la R-Type Dimensions. On top of that, a brand new episodic series, Tales of Monkey Island developed by Telltale Games (and many of the team were part of that LucasArts golden age I mentioned) for Wiiware and PC with the first episode out in a little over a month.

Apart from the fact that all of this sounds great and that I have been extremely encouraged by some of the conversations I've had with a few the Telltale Games staff (many are long time fans and have frequented the #monkey-island IRC channel on Gamesurge for years), it marks a promising change in attitude from LucasArts itself. The last word we had from them about adventure games was back in those dark days of the Sam and Max cancellation. Then, we were told that the 'marketplace realities' meant they just couldn't release an almost-finished and great looking adventure game. Us fans got the message. They were no longer interested in adventures, and so all of this great intellectual property they had built up over more than ten years was just sat on, unlikely to see the day any time soon.



That was the worst part - not only did they neither have the talent nor the desire to make adventure games but as years went on they seemed completely oblivious to the growing market for this stuff and all the people who would simply love to make these games given the opportunity.

These latest announcements show that, at long last, LucasArts get it. Concentrating on a remake in-house, it's difficult to go wrong. A fully voiced Secret of Monkey Island has long been the dream of many a fan and people are genuinely excited to see the level of work that seems to have gone into this. Meanwhile, outsourcing the new Monkey Island to Telltale Games is a great move. It's a company which is comprised of old hands at LucasArts (including one of the holy trinity of Gilbert, Grossman, and Schafer that created the original) and genuine fans, and so just about the only developer in existence today that has a chance of doing the series justice.



Yes - finally someone up there in LucasArts is making some smart decisions: finding ways to get the old games out to an old audience while at the same time satisfying the fans, then allowing the old IP to be licensed out to those who genuinely want and are able to make the games.

LucasArts may not be the developer that I knew and loved but these announcements herald a marked change in attitude - if someone had predicted this a month ago I would simply have laughed. So, hulking zombie LucasArts, you've given me reason to stay my trigger finger - long may it continue.

I'm sure that many a Beatles fan has an idea of some of the songs that they want to feature in the 45-song strong Beatles: Rock Band. Here I present my personal list. This isn't necessarily the list I think the game ought to use and I very much doubt it's very close to what they will actually use. It's simply the songs which I'd love it to feature if the game was personally made for my enjoyment.

There are three rules, I've decided.

1) There must be at least one song from each of the main studio albums (going by UK releases)
2) There must be 15 songs from the period 1962 - 1964, 15 from 1965 - 1967, and 15 from 1968 on.
3) The songs must actually be ones written by the Beatles.

1. I Saw Her Standing There
Why: First song on their first album, and a classic rocker at that.

2. Please Please Me
Why: How could I leave out the first number 1 single?

3. All My Loving
Why: Fun to play, fun to sing, it's an all-out fun song.

4. A Hard Day's Night
Why: I want to play that opening chord, and that final arpeggio.

5. If I Fell
Why: If the rumoured harmony support is true, this is the perfect song for that. Bagsy John's part!

6. Can't Buy Me Love
Why: Because... um... it's a good, catchy pop tune. Get off my case!

7. I'll Cry Instead
Why: Classic early Lennon, I'd sing the hell out of this one.

8. Things We Said Today
Why: One of my favourite early-Beatles tunes, and another great candidate for harmony support.

9. You Can't Do That
Why: If I could sing this with backing singers, uh, backing me up, I'd be a happy, happy man.

10. I'll Be Back
Why: Another of my favourites, no particular reason other than I love it.

11. No Reply
Why: When I was a kid and the only one my age who thought the Beatles were cool, I used to play this song all the time, so I'll take it for pure nostalgia.

12. I'm a Loser
Why: Lennon wrote more great songs during this period than he's given credit for. This is one of them.

13. I Don't Want To Spoil The Party
Why: Harmonies, man. Harmonies. I know I'm putting a lot of faith in the harmony rumour, but with good reason!

14. She Loves You
Why: It's just one of those songs that is so representative of that whole Beatlemania period, it's difficult to hear this song and not imagine the screaming girls to go with it.

15. I Feel Fine
Why: Fun instrumental parts are why I really want to see this one. It ought to be very fun to play as a band.



16. Help
Why: Did I mention I really want harmony support?

17. The Night Before
Why: Another tune I feel a great deal of nostalgia for, to me this song marks the point where the band really started tightening their pop skills.

18. Ticket to Ride
Why: I think the stumbling rhythm featured in this song would make for an interesting full-band session.

19. I've Just Seen a Face
Why: Usually I prefer to sing Lennon parts, but in this case I'm all over this Paul song. It also sounds fun to play on guitar.

20. Drive My Car
Why: See above!

21. You Won't See Me
Why: Another pop masterpiece from the middle-Beatles, I've lost count of the number of times I've heard shades of this song in other songs from other bands.

22. Nowhere Man
Why: A very fun bassline and another opportunity for harmonies.

23. Girl
Why: I like the song, but honesty? I just want to see if they chart the weird inward breath noise John makes in the chorus.

24. In My Life
Why: Even though it's not particularly drum heavy, there's one fill that repeats throughout the song and I always remember air drumming to it. Now I want to do it on a Rock Band kit.

25. Taxman
Why: I feel like so far I've underrepresented Harrison, and by this point he was getting really good. Great bass line, great solo, this one has potential.

26. She Said She Said
Why: Dig those changing time signatures.

27. And You Bird Can Sing
Why: Fun to play on guitar, and an all round great, underrated song!

28. Lucy in The Sky With Diamonds
Why: Despite being critically acclaimed, I don't see much on Pepper that'd suit Rock Band really well. This was about the closest I got, given that I'm not especially fond of some of the more guitar based Paul numbers on this album.

29. I am The Walrus
Why: Perhaps it's not the most obvious Rock Band choice but I know I'd love to see it there anyway. And they better write the lyrics as 'GOO GOO GOO JOOB,' or I'll cry.

30. Strawberry Fields Forever
Why: They used editing magic to flip back and forth between two different recordings of this song, one recorded as a straight band song and the other with an orchestra. I'd like to see how they deal with that.



31. Back in The USSR
Why: I believe this song speaks for itself as to why it should be included on Rock Band.

32. While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Why: The lead guitar on this song was actually Eric Clapton, and I want a piece of that action.

33. Happiness Is a Warm Gun
Why: Because this would just be a fun, fun song to play as a full band. And the lovely innuendo.

34. I'm So Tired
Why: Because I think it's an oft-forgotten but excellent song.

35. Why Don't We Do It In The Road?
Why: Honestly I think the chances of this song appearing are virtually nil. But I want to be on those vocals.

36. Sexy Sadie
Why: One of my favourites from the White Album, I'd love Harmonix forever if they chose it.

37. Cry Baby Cry
Why: See above!

38. Come Together
Why: I really want to do that gutteral growl noise John does towards the end of the song. I always thought that sounded cool.

39. Something
Why: Because it's time for Harrison to shine.

40. Oh! Darling
Why: Another Paul song where I want to take the vocals.

41. I Want You
Why: I'd like to see how they handle the abrupt tape cut-off, and also this song sounds fun to play on all instruments. It's one of my all time favourites.

42. Here Comes The Sun
Why: I still don't think Harrison has shone enough.

43. Dig a Pony
Why: Yeaaaah, you can syndicate every boat you row. Whatever that means.

44. I've Got A Feeling
Why: Probably the last great Beatles song that was truly a Lennon/McCartney collaboration.

45. Revolution
Why: Why not? Are you saying this song shouldn't be in? Only an ass would say that.

It's been a little while since I've had a rant... so let's rant. I've finally gotten around to playing Persona 4 and I'm enjoying it thoroughly. As of now it has taken over my life. It isn't without its difficult and frustrating moments and that's okay. What's less okay, though, is what happens when I talk about this with other people.

The conversation tends to go something like this:

"Man, that boss just kicked my arse."
"Oh, he's not so bad, see what you gotta do is make sure you fuse X with Y and also always do it on Tuesday because that means you get Z and did you remember to by some A, B and C from the store?"
"Well, I didn't really--"
"Wait. Please tell me you've maxed out your social links with Q already..."
"Well, no, I--"
"Dude, you're playing it all wrong. It's like ten shitloads harder if you don't have P and Q equipped and you should definitely be blahblahblahblahblah."



This is the point when I stop listening (or offer a critical hit to the nads). I don't know what it is about Persona and maybe JRPGs in general but you only have to read the comments in Giant Bomb's excellent Endurance Run series to realise that there are a lot of people out there all too ready to say 'you're playing it wrong.' If you recognise yourself in the above, then listen carefully:

1) It is okay to make mistakes, even if it makes things a little harder. Most games are built with a little wiggle room and in particular Persona would be no fun at all if you had to do everything one way.

2) You might like to plan every second of your roleplaying time to perfection. That's okay. That's your style. This game is great for people who want to look at every angle and go into fine detail to figure out how to completely optimize their strategy. That's not everyone's style, though! Some people just want to try things, see what happens, take each day as it comes. That approach can work too and for a lot of people it's more fun that way. Please, please accept this, already.



3) I understand, particularly those watching the Giant Bomb videos. It's painful to watch someone doing something badly when you know a much better way to do it. Also, it's okay to offer helpful hints. You know, stuff like 'Sometimes enemies are weak to those instant death spells, so don't dismiss them completely.' That's a nice, constructive tip that someone can take or leave. Why not do more of that, instead of trying to play the game for them?

Here's my ideal version of the above conversation:
"Man, that boss just kicked my arse."
"Want a hint?"
"Sure, if it's not too involved."
"Well, the trick with him is to keep his little helper busy so that he doesn't have a chance to do his powerful attack."
"I'll keep that in mind!"

In summary, gameplay dictators suck and I'm best of friends with a fox.

One or two people expressed an interest in me carrying this on from last time as they wanted to see how Boomerang was shaping up for me as a rental service, so here it is - my second month of rentals.

Boomerang was certainly in my good books at the start of the month. I had read in their FAQ that sometimes they sell games if they have ex-rental copies available. I looked into this and not only did they sell me Shadow of the Colossus for £12, a full £3 lower than CEX's going rate, but that's with a pristine condition box/manual, and reconditioned disc ensuring that I'll get it scratch-free. That's fine by me but it didn't quite work since it seemed to get accidentally scratched in the descratchifying process, rendering it unplayable. Whoops. To their credit, though, they are being very helpful in sorting it all out. More on that next month.

Onto the games! It's a short one this week, because I've had too many other gaming distractions to rent as many games as last month. Between getting games through Goozex and receiving all that free swag I haven't had much time to rent.

1) Mirror's Edge



This game was wallowing in the middle of my priority list and is a bit of an interesting choice for me. I've taken it upon myself to pass comment on the game in the past based mainly on what I found in the demo and confirmed by a lot of other people I've spoken. I do feel, however, that I shouldn't really feel qualified to talk about a game that I haven't at least given a good, proper go of and so this was my chance.

My problem with this game is that I'm supposed to feel like this skilled runner, leaping across ledges and rooftops with ease, intuitively bounding from one place to the next but the game doesn't let me do that very often. Whether it's interrupting me with combat, providing a frustrating series of jumps that I fail repeatedly or simply not providing enough clues about where to go, often when there are enemies on my tail and I don't have time to take in the surroundings, it's always stopping me. I feel like the worst runner in the group who they only keep around out of sympathy. By the incredible anticlimax of the game's end, I felt that I had rarely managed to get that feeling of 'flow' that the game needs. If I got into the time trial mode then maybe, just maybe I could learn the levels well enough to get it but that makes me think it should have been a less story-based game. Instead, my first playthrough rarely rose above mediocrity.

Rental Experience-O-Meter:
Glad I Didn't Buy : 5/5
Service : 4/5
Enjoyment Factor : 3/5

Final Score : 4/5

2) Super Paper Mario



Ah, good, another game high up on my list. I think this game found its way creeping up in my priorities because at the time I was after something light-hearted and fun and I had heard this game delivers that, while not necessarily being one to treasure - in other words, a perfect candidate for rental. I was very pleased with the turnaround with these last two games. Having mailed the last two back late afternoon Monday, they were on my doormat by the time I got home from work on Wednesday.

As for the game itself, it started out really fun! I was enjoying it crazy amounts, then it went on... and on... and, well, what can I say? Its charm started to wane. I was still enjoying bits and pieces of it but it seemed like there was a lot of filler towards the end. Then in the last couple of levels, the difficulty suddenly jacked itself right up, along with the maze-like find-the-secret-hidden-thing-to-proceed mechanics. In a moment of frustration, I ejected the disc and sent the game back on stage 8-3 of 8-4. I thought: what else do I have to look forward to? A probably-annoying final boss, Mario will defeat the Count and something will happen with Tippi the Pixl and all will be saved, etc. I didn't feel like I needed to see it through. I don't want to put people off playing the game, though, because the first two-thirds or so of the game were non-stop fun.

Rental Experience-O-Meter:
Glad I Didn't Buy : 4/5
Service : 5/5
Enjoyment Factor : 4/5

Final Score : 5/5

--

On Wednesday I received both MGS4 and God of War, both titles being very high on my priority list , so that was pleasing. Once I finish them I'll likely suspend my subscription to Boomerang for a month to give myself time to catch up with my backlog. I haven't played enough of them yet to say what I think in detail and I don't want to change the subject by talking about why I don't think the MGS games are the best things since Sliced Bread: The Game.

So instead I'll change the subject by embedding this NES Chiptune I made yesterday afternoon. Enjoy!

There's a passage in the Bible from Corinthians that people quote now and again that goes:

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."

Well, it's exactly that attitude which is why so many adults find it difficult just to let go and have simple fun. Here's a quote I enjoy much more; it's from Keith Johnstone, one of the trailblazers of modern improvised theater:

"I began to think of children not as immature adults, but of adults as atrophied children."



I started thinking about this again when upon getting hold of a Sega Mega Drive (or Genesis, depending). It wasn't a system I ever owned before but playing it was instantly familiar, bringing back memories of the way I used to play before I, and gaming, grew up.

At first I rebelled against it. It was quite shocking when it dawned on me that the games couldn't be saved. But then the next day I put the game on again, starting from the very beginning. It didn't matter. I had the same fun, got a little further, had to stop or failed again and repeated the process the next day - or even straight away.

It was back to the days where when I played games I would actually play. I may as well have been eight years old. At no time did it feel like work. Never did I wonder if I would make it to the next level, I was just fooling around and having a good time. It never seemed to matter whether the session lasted two minutes or two hours. Playing it on the original console meant I couldn't just create a save image or leave the Wii to remember where I left off last time. Instead of the frustration I expected, however I was simply freed from the relentless need to win, making it all the more delightful when victory came. For me, retro isn't just what I play but also my whole approach to playing it.



Of course, modern games are often able to give us experiences much deeper and more artful than were possible (or, more accurately, deeper than were attempted) back then and I wouldn't miss those for the world. That games are growing up is something that is surely both necessary and mostly good for the artform. The past week has just been a stern reminder that depth isn't automatically a virtue and that winning isn't necessary to having a good time. Most importantly, though, I was reminded that childishness is not something to be avoided or grown out of but something to constantly rediscover and delight in.

If you've put away childish things, do yourself a favour and get them out again once in a while. It'll do you good.

It's easy to read 'expanded universe' and only see 'marketing opportunity.' The perfectly decent non-cynical reason for an expanded universe, though, is simply that it provides extra material for fans of a game to absorb if and when they want to. On that basis it seems like it's a good idea. If you're a big fan of, say, Halo indeed why wouldn't you want to read novels delving into the back-story? Why wouldn't you like to see a TV spinoff series as long as it's done right?

There are certainly good reasons to want expanded universe stuff and it would be silly to suggest that it can only ever be harmful. However, I'm going to argue that if there's any medium that can get along just fine without such products, it's games.

With a film or television series, the director is always trying to catch the viewer's attention in a specific way. That's not to say that there isn't any subtelty in the design or any subtext or background - but by their nature, films only have a set amount of time to tell their story. In other words, they can't afford to spend too much of it on peripheral matters. On the other hand, games can take as long as they want and the player gets handed at least some of the editorial control. This means that you can have an expanded universe living right within the background of the game without ever needing to create spinoffs or side-projects. There are a good few ways this can be and indeed has been accomplished.

1) Optional Reading Material


One of the best examples of this in recent memory is Mass Effect which provides a huge database of information about everything and anything to do with the game in quite some detail. If it's in the game, you can probably find out more about it by bringing up the menu and reading at any time. I hardly looked at any of the database but I'm glad that it's there if people wanted it. If Mass Effect were a film or TV series then someone probably would have brought out a book like the Star Trek ones going into technical detail, but this renders that sort of thing unnecessary.

2) Letting the environment tell the back-story

In a modern game, the player can generally wander around the environment at will and so why not use that to the game's advantage and provide more information about what is happening to those who want to look for it? One excellent recent example of this is Left 4 Dead's wall writing. Sure, Valve could have gone the Dead Space route and made Anime films, comics and Wii-based prequels but they understood that it is just as (if not more) effective simply to have a number of confused and sometimes contradictory scratchings on the wall to hint at the world beyond the game. It is a decidedly mature approach that pays full respect to the imagination of the gamer.

3) Bonus Content

Often, as a reward for performing certain tasks, bonus content will be unlocked which goes into greater but optional detail about certain aspects of the game. For example, in Valkyria Chronicles, you have an opportunity to fund a reporter's stories, which then gives you more cutscenes and deeper insight into what is happening. Other games handle it differently, but the premise is the same - provide more content by simply making it optional and unlockable. Of course DVD special editions and such mean that film has the opportunity to have similar content nowadays but nowhere does it seem more fitting than in games.



4) Downloadable content

Why release a book or TV series, when you can just make more game and either give it away or sell it as an expansion? That seems to be the philosophy behind GTA IV's The Lost and the Damned and the Fallout 3 expansions. While downloadable content is of variable quality, remember that it is still in its infancy. As it becomes more and more sophisticated in the future I think we can expect to see a lot more interesting things in our DLC, and it is yet another way that a game can expand its own universe.

--
So there you have it, just four ways that games don't need accompanying books, animated TV series and all that other crap and that's hardly an exhaustive list.

Don't get me wrong, though, I'm not trying to argue against that stuff existing and I'm aware that some of the games I listed above have expanded universe content in addition to the things I mentioned. After all, gamers aren't just gamers - many of us read books, watch TV and indulge in all sorts of other things. It can be nice to see a game universe cross over successfully from one medium to the other.

My point is merely that game developers now have a unique opportunity to build a far more detail-rich world than is possible in other media. That is a gift and should not be squandered as often as it is by offering an expanded universe as compensation for a lack of in-game attention to detail.