My First Gamescom!

Cologne. 2018. The 10-year anniversary of Europe’s premier Video game convention.

Gamescom has grown so massively I remember only a few years ago thinking it wasn’t a massive deal, similar in scope to say the UK’s own EGX event or something in a similar scale.

Boy I could not have been more mistaken, making my virgin voyage to the city of Koln for what would be, unknowingly, the biggest convention experience I have ever witnessed was quite an experience. Anyone who has attended events like these before know they can be a nightmare from entrance to exit but the organisation on show was a marvel, barring a few issues that I will cover later.

Now I’ve given a brief overview of what Gamescom initially was to me here are a few talking points on the biggest titles on show (that I played seriously some lines were crazy) the event as a whole and the small touches that put it on another level compared to other events.

Let’s get into the most memorable games I played at the show,

Devil May Cry 5

The game I bought the ticket for.

After 10 (I know, its been a while) long years Devil May Cry is back. Ever since 2008’s DMC4 I have been waiting for Capcom to continue from there they left off, one poorly received reboot attempt later and Capcom have finally let visionary Hideaki Itsuno loose on the DMC universe once again. The charm was all here, a cocky protagonist that isn’t irritating,unlike the 2012 Rebooted Dante, Nero is back and just as stylish as he always was.

Only Nero was playable in the short demo I was provided but you could immediately tell he has been reworked massively from his previous incarnation, the added complexity to his move set is a welcome change and helps change him from Dante-light into the more competent heir to the business he was always destined to be.

Air taunts are in and boy are they just the best to pull off mid combo, speaking of combo’s the insanely catchy Devil Trigger track (link below) ramps up in intensity the better you perform. The new devil breaker gimmick for Nero promises to shake up his moves even more with the Overture arm providing massive electric shocks and even a fully amplified explosion attack. The Gerbera arm is another that I found in the short demo, providing extra mobility and a deadly charged laser attack that made short work of the enemies and provided quite the spectacle.

Playing this demo put my fears to rest, Itsuno has said its his best game yet and after this I have no reason to doubt the man.

Jump Force

Jump Force is a game that made a big splash when it was revealed at E3 in June and at Microsoft’s presser to boot. A company, and its fans, not usually associated with Japanese games and Anime but here was a brand new IP, building on Bandai’s previous Jump series, debuting and it even had a booth at the Xbox corner at Gamescom right opposite DMC5 so naturally I headed there right after my time with Nero.

I expected a rather usual affair, anyone who has tried Bandai’s anime styled fighters usually know what to expect, a bit flashy but ultimately shallow, Jump Force however, in my short time at least, defied expectations the presentation in titles similar to these has always been top draw but JF is something else completely, mixing clashing creations of multiple different Manga and Anime series into one coherent flowing style is displayed brilliantly, the 3v3 interchanging combat keeps the momentum of matches going, one moment I was pulling off a Nine Tailed Bijuu bomb as Naruto then instantly switching into Goku and whipping out a KaioKen combo. It left me wanting more, I wasn’t able to get Jump Force out of my mind all weekend, the only complaint I have is that there was no option for Player VS Player at the show and that I couldn’t, in good conscience, spend all weekend playing Jump Force.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

The game with the longest line I have ever witnessed(7 freaking hours!) was FROM Software’s intriguing new IP

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

The immediate comparison to the developers famous Souls series are pretty evident, it’s a third person action game with a strong focus on combat and difficulty however actually playing Sekiro shatters these comparisons almost immediately. Off the bat the controls are insanely responsive, everyone who has played the Souls series and even Bloodborne will readily admit that although they control rather well there is always a slight rigidness to the movement and the camera.

From slinging between tree branches with the new grappling hook to turning on a dime for plunging attacks there is an air of modernity in the movement, its immediately familiar, welcoming and translates from other third person action games better than the Souls series that predates Sekiro.

That is not to say the Souls-ian combat loop isn’t still present, there is a counter, special tools (the demo had Shurikens, a flamethrower attachment and a devastating axe) finely tuned to overcome specific foes, the axe to break shields, the shuriken to disorient from afar and the flame thrower allowing for an easy strike while your foes were burning.

It wasn’t an easy demo, in my time (roughly 15 minutes) I explored quite a bit of the area, died and restarted more times than I’d like to admit.

I mean this demo came 9 hours into the show I was very tired, but fans of the Dark Souls series will appreciate the immediately familiar challenge. The titles brutality is strikingly similar to FROM’s previous outings but the biggest difference with Sekiro is the amount of control granted to the player. You are free to sneak around your enemies, fly over their heads or engage them in brutal one on one swordplay.

Despite all the AAA game presence at the show, the little moments you catch out of the corner of your eye can really make your weekend, the Xbox adaptive controller is a great innovation by Microsoft and actually getting to see it close up and how its modular design helps disabled gamers massively is one thing but seeing actual gamers, for whom a traditional controller is difficult to use, eyes light up as they are able to play these games really hit home the message that I believe Video Games send. They are for everyone, they aren’t there to divide or create barriers anyone can play and seeing all kinds of gamers have this opportunity is really heart warming.

Gamescom 2018 is an event that rekindled a large amount of gaming enthusiasm for me, I will always enjoy games , they are a gateway to some of the best experiences of my life. Usually conventions are tiresome and you just want to leave after a few hours but Gamescom was buzzing from start to end. People lining up 30 minutes before the end just to squeeze more time in, contests and fan meetups abundant. I cannot wait to return to the city of Cologne next year, I’ll just make sure to pack some more comfortable shoes.

(P.S I’ve never played Kingdom Hearts)

Halo 4 Critique :You Talk Too Much

ChiefSilent

You talk too much.

Master Chief and the value of a silent protagonist.

Within the Halo community and fandom at large it is a generally accepted idea that, prior to Halo 4, the Master Chief had little to no character and showed little growth throughout the series. The idea that finally in 2012 we, as a community, finally bore witness to a more emotional and human side to the Master Chief but this isn’t one hundred percent accurate

    This belief has never sat too well with myself and with this post I’d like to dissect and explain exactly why this notion is damaging to not only the nature of Master Chief as a protagonist but also to the narrative direction Halo is taking.

         Master Chief Petty Officer Spartan 117 is deliberately obtuse as a character, his mannerisms exaggerated. This form of character development and storytelling is massively underappreciated in the modern industry, in a time where if the protagonist doesn’t quip every 5 seconds or constantly convey what is happening on-screen the player would lose interest. Trying to work this dialogue into sounding natural and not come across as patronising to those in control a is very delicate balance and I applaud those who manage to strike the perfect balance. The developers have to ensure the person holding the controller knows very clearly what is going on and what to do, it is with this need to spell it out and simplify the product with over expressive characters that the brilliance of the Master Chief is diluted.

Master chief is a character whose every word carries weight and significance; he rarely speaks so when he does you listen, the weight given to every word by the magnificent Steve Downes helps bring legitimacy to what Chief says, his deep booming voice hits hard whenever it is heard and unfortunately too much of a good thing can ruin it. We don’t need to hear Master Chief confirming orders during gameplay, responding like he is just another tool to help player’s along. That is the role Cortana, Chief’s Artificial Intelligence, plays, she guides the player while Chief just gets the job done, only offering insight when it is warranted or when the situation is begging out for a clichéd Eastwoodesque quip.  To have the giant hulking soldier chatter away like a gossip dilutes what makes him special in the first place, I get it, 343 Industries and the Halo community want more ‘depth’ to his character but it shouldn’t come from him, it should be informed by how the people surrounding him react to his presence, or his body language and the slight twitches he makes in response to situations.

Take for example the following scene from Halo 3.

The only words spoken by the Master Chief during this climactic scene are the reassuring ‘We’ll make it’, no screams or grunts to convey the action of the scene, that is all left up to the music and character animations, Chief becoming at ease after the excellently delivered ‘It’s been an honour serving with you John’ epitomise his character, there is no throwaway thank you line or small talk just a solider finally able to rest and no dialogue here could convey this feeling better than that animation.

  There are examples in Halo 4 and beyond of chief being more emotional and in line with what we have seen in prior games, the final goodbye with Cortana hits hard, as does his confrontation with Del Rio and the final biting line about being a machine. These are fantastic snippets of dialogue that help build his character in a great way, just leave the generic small talk out. Don’t dilute the impact Chief’s voice has to the player, they don’t need him blurting out the next objective or casually chatting, let Chief’s words remain few and far between, maintain the oomph that Steve Downe’s performance demands and don’t insult the player’s intelligence and rob them of what Chief, not just as a character but an example of the franchise, truly is. Commanding. Intense and Hard hitting.