Pint-Sized Playability

OK, one more brief thought on Shadow Complex while I’m on the subject: one of the most common recurring themes in game reviews for the title is that SC represents a “great value” because it includes a full-sized game in an Xbox Live release.  The thought occurs to me, however, that this might not be a good thing for developers.

The basic problem, as I see it, is that if Xbox Live simply becomes an arena for discounted AAA titles, it hurts everybody.  Developers will be forced into an arms race to produce cheaper but high-quality games, essentially lowering the starting price point for new games and squeezing their profitability.  Gamers who, like Michael Abbott, are drawn to “bursts of [streamlined] fun,” will have a harder time finding the more casual titles they treasure, because they’ll be sandwiched in between more premium titles.  And hardware manufacturers, who responded to this issue first with the Wii and Live/PSN, will find themselves in much the same predicament as they did before the current generation.

I’m hardly one to bemoan getting more for less.  But I do become concerned that the more we blur the lines between the delivery of AAA or hardcore games and casual titles, the more we actually end up hurting ourselves.  Definitely think of this more as a thought experiment if this trend were carried to an extreme, rather than a complaint about Shadow Complex, which I like quite a bit: is it possible that segregating our games by type and channel is actually beneficial?

Zenonia

A review from Kotaku sums up my feelings.  Regardless of the difficult movement controls, which are never even close to as crisp as Zelda, it’s a pretty astonishing achievement for an iPhone game and I’d recommend it to iPhone or Touch owners.

iPhone Update

Technically, an iPod touch update, but the software is more or less the same.

My DS and PSP are basically defunct - I have little to no interest in Chinatown Wars, mainly because the entire GTA style leaves me cold.  But I’ve been surprised at how entertaining a few random iPhone apps can be at keeping me amused for a few minutes here and there; particular notice should go to Oregon Trail, Galcon, iDracula, and Flight Control (I assume I’ll be paying for Zen Bound soon enough).  The collective cost is under $15 for all of these games combined.  I say this not to try to make some silly argument that handheld gaming is fundamentally changed somehow, but rather to wonder if a lot of creative energy previously focused on AAA Game Boy titles is being focused on the iPhone platform instead right now.  (The microtransaction format also makes it much easier to spend $15 in bits and pieces, which is sort of the point.)

No More Snake

I’m not sure who - if anyone - is actually an “avid” mobile gamer, but this story on the death of free cell phone games made me sad.  I always liked Freecell and Snake, but I have yet to meet a cell phone title that I thought was worth more than a dollar - and very few that met even that low threshold. 

It seems to me that mobile gaming still has a very long way to go before it becomes a viable alternative (or even substitute) for “real” consoles, and the success of recent titles like Orcs & Elves doesn’t reassure me.  I don’t demand a lot, but a decent control system is pretty crucial and so far the vast majority are terrible.