I am presented with a strange decision when reviewing something like Asura's Wrath.  Capcom has, for sure, created one of the most unique experiences that can currently be had on any console.  The action is fast, the characters are memorable, the world is vibrant - All of the puzzle pieces for a near-perfect title are laid out before me.  The decision one must make is not how to rate or score Asura's Wrath, it is much more basic than that. The question is...can one even call Asura's Wrath a video game?

Wrath takes place in an insane world, one where sci fi and mysticism have colided head.  Asura and pals are all servants of an Emperor, the best warriors humanity has ever seen.  They are known as the Eight Guardian Generals, and while called "demi-gods", they are in reality a group of humans whos genetic and cybernetic enhancements make them by far the strongest beings alive.  They fight a seemingly neverending, looping war for the protection of humanity's souls against "the will of the planet" and it's quite random soldiers, the Gohma.  Without ruining how or why, Asura finds himself betrayed and his family taken from him.  He is thrown from the heavens (or just a giant space station, you be the judge) to Earth, called Gaea in this world, and lies dormant for 12,000 years.  Then, everything starts picking up speed.

Asura himself is quite a sight to behold.  He is a very rough and feral fighter, constantly moving forward despite whatever may be in his path, and theres something about that which makes him appealing.  Theres a lot of repetition in the things he does, but he does them with such feeling, with such pure determination, that you want to see what he will do next.  There are entire levels you will play in the game where Asura has lost use of both of his arms and is forced to fight with legs and body alone, and yet his fighting prowess seems undiminished.  His design works well too, and really shines when you release his "Infinite Mode", where the lines on his body glow an orange/reddish hue and he gains the ability to use multiple powerful attacks.  I can easily recommend that Capcom should start putting Asura in as many things as they can.  If he is ever put in a fighting game, I am buying that game no matter what it is.

Visually, Wrath is something to really marvel at.  The enemies may be a bit too repetitious for their own good, not to mention that the Gohma look like normal wildlife animals, just slightly mutated, but the world is something to behold.  The game makes wonderful use of the Unreal Engine and spins it in a direction most aren't used to seeing.  When I think of the Unreal Engine, I think big, bulky, gritty, and fourty shades of brown...y'know, essentially Gears of War.  In Wrath, everything is vibrant, fast, hard hitting and overall unique in the current gaming catelogue.  Asura himself constantly goes through wear and tear, and his multiple forms are something to marvel at as well.  Every one of the eight Generals are animated wonderfully, and the pace of the fighting can get so frantic that Kratos would find himself left in the dust.  My only problem visualy with the game was for some reason the lips of characters kept changing which language they were speaking (They've been animated for both Japanese and English), but if one can get over that you won't find much to fault in this games incredibly varried visuals.

The core gameplay of the game is split up into three real parts.  The first is the actual combat, which like the rest of the game around it, is fast and flashy.  It isn't complicated by any means, and you'll find yourself hitting the attack button more times than a Dynasty Warrior game, but its satisfying.  Opponents who are knocked down can usually be met with a short, powerful animated attack (some of which just really, REALLY look good). The entire point of main combat is to hit enough enemies to fill your "Burst Gauge" underneath your health bar.  Once you do this, you enter what is really the heart of the game, Burst Mode.  Burst Mode is nothing more than a highly stylish cinematic that is also sort-of a quick time event.  Frantic anime-style fight scenes begin and you are constantly given input prompts to follow along with the action.  Most of the time these are not even necessary - the game will go as it was wether or not you do the input.  It all adds up to an accuracy rating at the end of every mission.  It does make one pay attention during all cutscenes though, as one never knows when these prompts may appear.  The third part of gameplay is a bit of a surprising addition, but you'll be doing plenty of it - On-rails shooting.  Entire levels play out much like a level of Panzer Dragoon, and one in particular later in the game stands out prominently as the best visual design in the game.  Dodging, locking on "missiles", destroying anything in your way, but the goal remains to fill your Burst Gague.  This game is all about its flair, and its constant goal is to get you to the next big moment.

Asura's Wrath is certainly not without some glaring flaws, the chief amongst them being the actual length of the game.  On-disk you are looking at an absolute maximum of seven to eight hours of Wrath to experience, and that quite simply just will not do.  No full price title these days can have anything less than twenty hours of content or everyone will label it "not worth admission", and in Wrath's case, there are further problems. Beyond it being short, there is a distinct lack of gameplay, the focus instead on telling an entire story through very long (yet often beautiful) cutscenes.  If you play this, you are going to have to accept the fact that Wrath is much more interactive fiction than it is video game, and that isn't necissarily a bad thing, but it will catch many players off guard and leave them feeling short changed.  The plot is the main focus here, and I have to applaud the development team for finding a goal and sticking to it, despite what the reaction might be.

Thus the question must be asked - Is Asura's Wrath a video game?  In all honesty, I can't really say that it is.  It is more of a new branch, a kind of interactive animation.  It is very much set up like a typical Japanese anime, split into "episodes", each of which even have eyecatches thrown in as if there would be a commercial break in the center of each level.  The story that is there is good, there is little doubt there, but it is a ride you have to be willing to accept goes where it wants to.  Fans of anime will see some very typical conventions coming to play, and Naruto fans especially will be able to point at more than one thing as a little bit too familiar.  There is also the now typical glaring Capcom DLC issue where to see the REAL ending of the game, you have to buy it as an additional six "episodes".  

Still, all of this added up is not enough to deter me from saying that every gamer should at least experience Asura's Wrath.  I cannot promise that it will be an experience you like, but if it is, it will be one of the most memorable in recent history.  

Information is starting to flow quite readily about Assassin's Creed 3, one of the most highly anticipated games of 2012.  There are a few bits of information coming down that are quite interesting - and some that make AC3 stand out a bit from its predecessors.

1 - It's All in a Name

Assassin's Creed 3 will be staring Connor Kenway, son of an English father and a Native American mother. Connor Kenway is actually the name given to him by the Brotherhood once he joins up - his actual name is a bit harder to pronounce - Ratonhnhaké:ton, pronounced Rah-doon-ha-gae-doon.

More interesting than this for you name source enthusiasts is the choice of the name Connor.  The names of all previous assassins in the storyline (Altair, Ezio, Aquilus, Orleov) all have to do with Eagles.  Connor, on the other hand, is Gaelic for "Lover of Wolves" or "Hounds".  Seems like we won't be jumping from heights nearly as much with Connor as we have with others, but that makes sense - whats the tallest thing in colonial America, a bell tower in Boston?

2 - We've Already Got One, You See?

The items central to all of the Assassin's Creed universe are the Pieces of Eden, artifacts from the "First Civilization" used to control humanity that the Templars just go crazy for.  During the time of Connor there will be 50 pieces in total (In modern times two of the pieces have been destroyed, leaving 48).  Of course, if the history of the series is anything to go by, the focus during the Revolution will be much more than just the fight for independence.

But part of the plot may have already been spoiled.  Through "Glyph Hunting" in Assassins Creed 2, we already know that Washington has the Third Apple of Eden, or at least obtains it by 1781.  Does he have it the entire time?  More imporantly, what does this mean for Washington's true motives?  Is he a Templar, or allied with the Brotherhood?  We don't yet know how it got into his hands, but we DO know this Third Apple is passed down to later presidents including FDR and JFK - but by what means remains a mystery.  We know it ends up with a Templar (President Johnson) as well, so who owned it first?

3 - Fine, I'll Get Another One

The goal of the Templars has always been total control, we know that.  But do you know how close they really got?  With current technology, the main goal of the Templars is to use the Pieces of Eden on a very grand scale, and they have gotten very close.

The image on the right represents one of the Apples of Eden sitting above all else and controlling it.  Seems mostly allegorical, but the Templars took this rather seriously.  The Templars would love nothing more than an aimable Piece of Eden floating up in space. The entire reason they took in Desmond to find a piece of Eden is that they already screwed up not once, but twice.  First, as covered in the American Assassin's Creed comic, Orleov and Nikolai Tesla destroyed one of the Staves of Eden in what would later be called the Tunguska Explosion.  The Second Apple of Eden was destroyed in an incident called the Denver International Airport Satellite Accident, were a Templar lost control of the Apple and ended up killing his entire team as well as a large number of others.  Theres apparently one survivor, a baggage handler, who I hope shows up in the next game.  Either way, the Templars find themselves desperately needing a new Piece of Eden, so they start hunting.  Eventually they find this guy named Desmond...

BONUS:  And Europe Thought Their Plague Was Bad...

A quick bonus to make your head spin.  According to emails that can be read in the first Assassin's Creed, a virus called "L-11" broke out in Africa in late 2006.  Within three months, 96% of Africa's population was killed.  Six years later (2012, when the games take place) Africa is still abandoned for the mostpart.

The Witcher 2 continues the tales of Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher of the series, in his quest to find further clues regarding his past.  He finds himself the personal guard of King Foltest, who is about to unleash hell upon La Valette castle and, really, thats about all you can say about the plot without begining to go into spoiler territory.  Just know that you are instantly thrown into the fray, and that is a good thing.  The game also is much less linear than its predecessor.  Three storylines exist in the game, and a single decision made at the end of the first act completely changes how and where you will play the second act.  It demands at least two playthroughs for this reason alone.

Geralt is a master of many things, so you'll find yourself spending quite a bit of time amongst menus crafting alchemic potions or altering your current set of items.  In fact, if you haven't played the first game in the series, the learning curve is quite steep.  Collecting items from almost anything, setting traps, making oils to enhance your blades, knowing what enemies need to be slain with steel and which need silver - theres quite a bit to learn.  The combat, though, is fantastic and frantic all at the same time.  The mix of swordplay and magic creates a wonderful flow during battle, so dealing with multiple enemies becomes not just a test of your equipment, but one limited only by your own creativity.  The addition of traps and throwable items just adds further depth to the numerous ways you can take care of situations.  You won't find yourself bored fighting.

Also, I did play this game on XBox 360 as opposed to PC, and I can imagine its interface being much simpler to understand when equipped with a keyboard and mouse.  This is not to say the game is impossible to play - I was able to more than cope with the controller's layout, but its efficiency is not quite what it could be.  Also, looting can be problematic with the controller as items usually appear in great big bundles, and its difficult to choose specific sets of those items.  You'll be spending a bit more time in your inventory selling or dumping useless loot than you may be used to.

The heart of this game is in it's character interactions.  The world is truly bustling and alive, though not a very cheerful place.  Blood and coin rule the day here, and alliances are necessary to ensure you'll at least see tomorrow.  Plenty of rivalries abound, as well as a good amount of straight up racism between men, dwarves and elves.  If you aren't the kind of gamer who enjoys going around talking to NPCs to find every little quest, you aren't going to have a very good time.  However, if you are, this game is an absolute gold mine.  The sheer number of things to do is insane.  Monster hunts, dealing with internal quarrels, treasure hunting - you'll never have a shortage of people to help or things or slay.  The world's areas, by compasason, feel surprisingly compact compared to other games, but don't take this for a shortage of content: every inch of this world has its worth.

The Witcher 2 is an utterly fantastic game that gamers will truly enjoy.  If you are a fan of Mass Effect or The Elder Scrolls, this game is right up your alley.  Memorable characters and plotlines, fantastic combat, a thriving world - I could list the good things about this game all day.  Simply, I reccomend you find a way to play it.  Find a friend who has it, rent it, buy it, whatever.  As I said before, this is one of those rare games where you can really tell the developers are one with their product, a true product of love.  For that reason alone I say this game is worth a go.

Well this is one hell of a surprise if you ask me.  If you pointed out most of the major single-player franchises there are left and said one of them would soon have a multiplayer component, God of War would not be my immediate choice.  Alas, we find out this morning that God of War: Ascention will feature a multiplayer component for the first time in the franchise's history.  The multiplayer looks quite intriguing actually, especially when you take into account the series' love for killing HUGE things, and this will carry straight over into multiplayer.  Still no word on a release date as of right now, but despite my hatred for the saying, this really does look like Sony Santa Monica's most ambitious project to date...and that's saying something.

GAMERS HELPING GAMERS

A quick update - If you havent heard, Michael "MYK" Kwon was recently rushed to his local hospital with a very dangerous skin disease that needed immediate treatment.  The fighting game community was able to pitch in and help with generous donations, raising their goal of $3100 in a very short amount of time.  I just think its fantastic to see a community support one in need, and fighting game players have really showed their comradery here.  Heres hoping for the best for MYK.

SUPER SONY SMASH BROS

News of the long-rumored Sony-themed Smash title has finally made its way public.  What we are getting is called PlayStation All Stars: Battle Royale, or PSASBS for short, which I have no idea how to properly pronounce.  Anyways, from what we can see from the trailer below, the game looks to play very similarly to the Smash Bros series, and you won't really get any complaints from me about that.  What is very interesting is that the studio in charge, SuperBot, was created to make this game, and has MANY fighting game enthusiasts and veterans on its crew, including Street Fighter legend Ed Ma.  I've always had a problem with including this kind of game under the "fighting game" umbrella, but maybe PSASBS can change that.

CROSSOVER ≠ CASH

Looks like its been long enough since the release of Street Fighter x Capcom to judge it as a bit of a flop sales-wise.  In the (just about) two months since the game was released it has barely managed to top 500k total worldwide sales.  This puts it a solid 175k back of Soul Calibur 5, and waaaaaay behind the sales of Street Fighter IV.  The real question at this point is simple:  what about TxSF?  Will the other side of the coin ever be seen, or will these sales numbers scare Namco off? Considering that Tekken 6 sold well over 3 million copies, I'd say Namco still has reason to be positive.  Still no potential release date on TxSF, but with no other Capcom fighters on the horizon, it's release will likely have a strong effect on the Street Fighter franchise and its current plans.

THE BEST OF THE REST

No major releases this week, but it is basically May, which means Diablo III is peeking around the corner.  Also, congrats to the Skullgirls crew for having over 50,000 downloads of the game!  It is a fantasic fighter, if you haven't played it yet, I strongly recommend it.

Thats all for this rant.  Good Luck, Have Fun.

In a move that I am frankly a little surprised to see done so early, Crysis 3's trailers have already begun to show up.  I won't talk about what happens in the trailer just in case you havent beaten Crysis 2...which I haven't, simply because I got very bored of the game very quickly.  Still, the pure eyecandy here cannot be denied - this series has always been about its graphics, and it looks like theres no major alterations to the gameplan here.

HELLER SMASH!

Prototype 2 has made its way to shelves.  It's been about three years since its predecesor was released, and though while not perfect, the original Prototype delivered a sense of power to the player few other games can. Prototype 2 doesn't seem to change up the formula all that much, which I'm okay with.  If you're after a game that truly makes you feel like the most powerful thing on earth, go pick this up - its like if inFamous decided to take the destructive powers it has and made them into in a much bigger, "destroy everything" scenario, all while eliminating any sense of grace the game has.

....am I the only one who is bugged that this guy can look like Kratos in certain ways?

Hey, look, MORE Zombies!

So it looks like two brand new downloadable games managed to sneak their way under my radar.  The first of them is The Walking Dead: The Game.  The game will be released episodically by Telltale Games, the absolute masters of such episodic content as they have been behind everything from the rerelease of Monkey Island to the Strong Bad series of games.  I have never seen or read anything to do with this series to it is likely not a good place for me to start (I think Zombies are a bit overdone), but I can firmly say that with Telltale at the helm fans of the series should be looking forward to playing this.

The game has a very unique art style, I will give it that.  If you want to see more about this new release, you can find a trailer here.

Crashing - Now with Friends!

Oh man have I secretly been waiting for this one.  Trials: Evolution has hit XBox 360 and I for one am happy to see it return.  The original game in this series is a downloadable classic and one of the first strong flagbearers for downloadable games on console, and the sequel seems to push everything up to 11.  Skis, flapping wings, and crashing into cars, and even with friends - this looks like its gonna be fun.  You can find it's trailer here. 

Thats all for this morning.  Good Luck, Have Fun.

Terrans Reign Supreme at Dreamhack

For starters, a big congrats to ThorZaIN for his win this past weekend at Dreamhack Open: Stockholm. ThorZaIN, who plays for mousesports, lost only two games in the sixteen man bracket, including a clean 2-0 win over Socke.  He took the win in an impressive 3-1 match over TSL Polt, a TvT matchup which can be watched here, starting at the 7:27:00 mark.  I'm looking forward to the Summer tournament and seeing ThorZaIN attempt a repeat performance.

DongRaeGu Breaks Through

After losing two finals in a row at MLG events to MarineKing, DongRaeGu of MVP finally led his Zerg army to victory over his new rival at MLG's Spring SCII Arena after finding himself amongst a sea of Terran experts. Finding himself down 3-2, DongRaeGu squeezed out two victories on Daybreak and Tal'Darim Altar.  Great to see him clench this win over MarineKing after those two hard losses.  

Not Even Death Can Save You From Queues

This past weekend saw Diablo III's open beta finally, but many gamers found themselves staring at the login page for far longer than they may have anticipated.  The torrent of PC gamers attempting to play the beta meant long wait times to log in to Blizzard's servers.  Those who could not get in can at least rest easy knowing the game will be in their hands soon enough.   Diablo III unleashes its armies upon us May 15th.

Batman Returns...Again.

Everyone's favorite female clown is getting her own new segment in the upcoming Batman: Arkham City - Game of the Year edition.  I won't give anything away plot-wise for why she is getting her own segment, but if you have completed the game this news should be quite exciting.  You can find a trailer for this rerelease here.  The game packages all previous DLC as well as the new DLC Harley Quinn's Revenge as well as a download key for the new animated feature Batman: Year One.  Not a bad package.  Both the game and new DLC will be released May 29th.

The Rest of the Rest

Not many game releases this week.  Prototype 2 hits shelves tomorrow, May 24th, but has not seen many favorable reviews as of the publishing of this article.  I quite enjoyed the first game in the series despite its flaws, and think I may find the same with the sequel.  Risen 2: Dark Waters (which I cannot type without thinking of this) and a PC release of Binary Domain round out April's game release calendar with both being released on the 27th.

May is just around the corner, and with it quite a few games alongside Diablo III.  Be on the lookout for Starhawk and Max Payne 3, both coming before the middle of the month.

KRATOS RETURNS AGAIN...AGAIN

Yep, "God of War 4" is here and actually being called God of War: Ascention, and appears to be set as a prequel amongst prequels for the God of War universe.  Not much is given away in this trailer, only the familiar voiceover of Gaia (Linda Hunt) telling us that there was a time "before Kratos became known as the Ghost of Sparta".  Also, Kratos is oddly...tame, by his standards, finding himself bound and seemingly helpless through the majority of the teaser.  I am actually really looking forward to this one, to see how they handle Kratos' mortality this time around.  My main question is wether or not the Blades of Chaos will be his main weapon this time around, and I'm kind of hoping for a "no".

The game is currently slated for a Spring 2013 release.

DEATH IS DELAYED

Death may be eternal but that doesn't mean he isn't subject to quality checks.  Darksiders II, sequel to Vigil's "Zelda meets Eddie the Head" Darksiders (which is one of my not so guilty pleasures) has been delayed until at least August, being pushed back from its original late June release date.  This is a bit of a bummer for me as I am really looking forward to this game.  The art style and combat of the original game was fantastic, and I am eager to know how the now set-in-stone lore is effected by the emergance of the other Horsemen, namely Fury, Strife and Death.  This had better be a "Blizzard" style delay and not a "Duke Nukem" one.

NORWAY KILLER SAYS MW2 HELPED HIM

Norwegan mass murder and all around scum of the earth Anders Behring Breivik has admitted to court that he "played Modern Warfare 2 for practice" before killing 77 in a shooting spree in July 2011.  He claims that he used the game to "familiarize himself with holographic sights", which he used during his attacks.   

Breivik also was apparently a former World of Warcraft addict who would play the game in sixteen hour stints at a time, which he called "unrelated".  The ultranationalist is currently on trial in Oslo, Norway and the trial is expected to last about ten weeks.  Breivik seems adimant on making the court his own soapbox from which to preach his ultranationalist ideals, and appears to have called on violence in gaming as a beacon just so everyone will look at him when he is talking.  Learning to aim by using a Call of Duty game is like learning to play football by playing Madden; you get an idea of it, sure, but the physical reality is a far different story.  Personally, I hope he gets whats coming to him.

Feel free to leave any responses here or on Facebook.  Also, if you have any news stories worthy of discussion, post them as well!

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE ABOUT MASS EFFECT 3 CONTAINS SPOILERS.  IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO READ ABOUT STORY ELEMENTS FROM MASS EFFECT 3, PLEASE REFRAIN FROM READING FURTHER.

Okay.

Let me start off by saying that Mass Effect 3 is a wonderful game.  It looks great, it plays great, it even sounds great.  Seriously, if you haven't, listen to this game with a good pair of headphones, it's fantastic.  I thoroughly enjoyed my third outing aboard the Normandy and my interactions with the crew.  I loved how exploring the world brought out new story elements that only a longime fan could understand.  I loved the tension, all that weight on Sheperd's shoulders that made all of his past outings seem like basic training compared to the threat before them.

Dozens of hours later, after building up the fleets, after saving multiple entire civilizations and ending conflicts that had lasted for millenia, the endgame began.  Hundreds of gameplay hours divided amongst three games, all of those choices, all of that fighting, led to this.  The time for Shepard and his crew to become legends had arrived.  The tension built, the fighting got tougher and tougher, everything was shaping up for the epic end that this series so richly deserved.

And then the floor fell out from under me.  The game doesn't come to a crescendo.  There isnt a final battle. There isn't closure.  And this, people, is the true problem with the ending of Mass Effect 3.  Yes, the options before you seem so limited, and it doesnt help that there is a complete lack of any final challenge before the game ends.  It isn't the "three colors of shit" ending.  The fact of the matter is that the writers of Mass Effect 3 find themselves between a rock and a hard place in writing an ending for this game due to a need for a safety net. 

The problem with Mass Effect 3's ending is that it's attempt to please everyone ends up being it's worst enemy. The ending assumes that there are people who are playing the game who have never played a Mass Effect game before it, which is a horrible assumption for EA to make.  There is a chance that BioWare has more in store for us, but I'll believe that when I see it.  Mass Effect is a series that, before this, had pretty much made good on its promise that your actions in each game of the series would have MAJOR rammifications on later games in the series.  However, to ensure that the game held a conclusion that would "please" both newcomers and longtime fans, the writers seem to have been forced into a corner.  They needed to find an ending that would please both newcomers as well as have the effective closure the trillogy needs, and instead of finding a way to make this harmony work the ending has become neither here nor there.

I actually had quite a few problems with Mass Effect 3's handling of it's cast.  All of the time and effort I put into saving my entire crew in Mass Effect 2 felt somewhat wasted when I realized how all of that work materialized in what really is no more than a handfull of cameo appearances by past characters.  But these are characters that I had come to love, to be truly invested in.  Some of the game's most impactful moments come via side conversations you overhear or email bulletins about characters from past games meeting their end.  The offscreen death of Yeoman Kelly Chambers is one that especially hit home for me, as I found her to be one of the most enjoyable and fun characters of the series.  Still, the examples of how this is sometimes handled well are far outweighed by the single horrible choice that was Mass Effect 3's endgame.

I had shaped this crew, kept it as safe as I possibly could, and there was no reward.  Nothing I had done mattered.  I could have let them all die, been a jackass, an intergalactic psycho who somehow still managed to get to the Crucible, and the endings would have all been the same.  Worse still, after the randomness that was Mass Effect 2's final boss, I was expecting this game to end with a boss fight the likes of which the series had never seen.  I kinda thought I'd end up fighting ON a reaper like Harbinger or something.  Instead, I got the Illusive Man to shoot himself in the head.  Not very original, as I got Saren to do that too, and at least I got a badass boss after that happened.

The fact that EA made an active choice in shaping the end of Mass Effect 3 with newcomers to the series in mind is sad.  Mass Effect 3 finds itself in the same position as a game like Metal Gear Solid 4 - the only people who bought it are people who are already well invested in the series.  Serve THEM.  These are your fans, these are the people who made this series a success.  These are the people who deserve to know what happened to Earth, to the Council, to the Asari, to the Krogan, to their crew, to their lover.  A universe full of choices is suddenly bottlenecked to a simple choice.  Sadly, EA, that has bottlenecked this fanbase's oppinions of the series as well.  We want to know what happened to this rich, deep universe that Bioware has created.  Instead, we get handed one of three preprinted postcards that say "THANKS FOR PLAYING" either in blue, red or green.

Basically, this is how it feels.  I just got back from vacation.  I've made a ton of new friends and gotten some really cool swag along the way.  I get to customs, and suddenly all of that disappears, and before me are three nearly identical shirts.  All I can do is choose one, and I also have to forget about everyone I just met.  I'm not upset really about the shirts or the swag.  I'm just upset that I don't know how my friends are.  The new guy who only was away for the weekend is just happy he got a new shirt.

UPDATE: Ray Muzyka, co founder of BioWare, has come out with a statement regarding the reaction to the ending.  Most important in his statement is the following: "Building on their research, Exec Producer Casey Hudson and the team are hard at work on a number of game content initiatives that will help answer the questions, providing more clarity for those seeking further closure to their journey".  It seems we have not yet seen the end of Shepard's story, but it still stings that such an outcry had to happen at all.

By now there's a chance you've heard the rumors.  If you haven't, Valve may be making their own console.

I'll let that sink in for just a moment.

Now, I'm writing this entire bit under the guise that this is happening, that a miracle console will decend upon us in the near future to the sound of trumpets (8-bit trumpets, but trumpets). What would VALVe need to do to have a successful console launch?  VALVe, who have already conquered most of the PC gaming world with Steam, may be setting its sights squarely on Microsoft/Sony territory.  I cannot possibly overstate the potential shockwaves that this could send through the entire gaming industry, nay the entire entertainment industry.  The barrier between PC gamer and Console gamer could colapse.  Harmony may come at last.  Hunger would end.  The world would be at peace.  And standing atop it all would be Gabe Newell, a man whos epicness at that point would be inspiration for the likes of John Woo or Michael Bay.

Okay, it sounds like I'm overstating this, but hear me out.  I really do think a VALVe console has the potential to end gaming as we currently know it.  The mere concept that this could happen should be something that is making Microsoft and Sony take notice.  There are a few holes in this idea, and I'll get to those, but first: Why this is a good idea.  A VALVe console would certainly use Steam, this should be a no brainer.  The thought of having most games available for instant download is something PC gamers have had for years now thanks to Steam.  But what if this came to the living room?  What if, instead of having to spend upwards of $700 for a good PC, assuming you could build it yourself, you instead could have the same convenience PC gamers have with plug-and-play convenience (and likely half the price)?  I'd say, for the average consumer, thats a damn good deal.

The real challenge here is trying to imagine how far VALVe could take this console.  What if this console is more than just...a console?   What if you could choose between a mouse/keyboard or a controler for EVERY game? What if this console has the same entertainment options as XBox Live or PSN, such as Netflix and Hulu?  I literally think that this new console has the potential to move beyond our current classifications and become a true first "entertainment hub".  Want to watch your new favorite show?  Thats on VALVe's console.  Want to send that episode and some music onto your MP3 player?  VALVe's console can do that too.  It can also surf the web (with Flash too!), you can video chat with friends, etc. etc.

But VALVe need something big.  Something to burst out of the gate with.  Something none of the other consoles will have at first.  A killer app.  OH, look here, we have something called Half-Life 3 waiting in the wings, one of the most highly anticipated games of all time.  Maybe even Team Fortress 3?  Okay, my point is, VALVe has a huge opportunity here.  One where they could, in one potential wide swoop, take a HUGE chunk of the entertainment industry as their own.  And I don't mean just a XBox sized chunk, I mean an Apple sized chunk.  VALVe understands what makes their clients happy, and if they can add the console market to those potential clients, the sky is the limit.

Problems?  Well, it really all comes down to the launch.  Sure, console owners purchased The Orange Box by the dozens at least, so they know who VALVe is.  But what they don't know is what Steam is.  By this point in the current console war, is there really enough room for a third major contender to be fighting over the exact same games as Sony and Microsoft (because lets face it, they wont go into Nintendo territory.  There be sacred.)?  Apart from Half-Life 3 as a potential exclusive, what could VALVe offer us that the current consoles don't already?  They won't get Uncharted or Halo anytime soon, thats for sure, and that hurts.  If the vast majority of its library is already available to the other consoles...why pay for a new one?

Also, console players like their controllers; the PS3 Dualshock is a classic thats familiar to all, and the XBox 360's controller is arguably the most comfortable controller to hold in console history.  If VALVe can't make a good controller, the console is dead in the water from the start, because console players will NOT (for the mostpart) want to use a keyboard and mouse.  With so much unknown about Microsoft or Sony's plans for their next console generation, VALVe would be placing a major gamble on its console being unique amongst the group.  PS4 or XBox 720 (yeah I'm hoping for that name) might have their own Steam like system coming, which would suddenly make adding Steam to the console market a bit overkill.

Let us not forget cost.  Assuming that 90% or so of all game purchases on a VALVe system would be done over Steam (assuming there would even be a CD drive in the thing), that means it better come with a hefty amount of storage space.  That can get expensive.  To really make an impact with its arrival, this console would have to be affordable.  Just look at how long PS3 took to get a solid foothold in the current console wars.  The only reason Sony had that luxury is the fact that the PS2 gave them an enormous financial safety net.  As of early 2010 Sony was still losing money on every PS3 they sold.  Steam is redicuously successful, but is VALVe willing to have the same kind of safety net?  VALVe has a difficult dance ahead of them if they want to find a balace of hardware quality and initial pricing if they want to avoid the route the PS3 took.

For me, the one problem I find is...the love of actual games.  I mean physical games.  Having the disk, the cartridge, in one's posession.  I'm not sure if I'm ready to give that up completely.  Yes, I play games on PC, but at heart I suppose I really am a console gamer.  I like having a game collection that is actually there for you to see.  I don't want that to ever become completely digital.  Sure, its overall cheaper that way and less waste and the environment and yeah yeah yeah, but my goal is to someday have an actual video game Library, and that will never feel the same if I always choose my game via an on screen menu.  Yes, PC gamers, I know you have been doing this for years.  It might not hurt that I'm a sucker for Collectors Edition items like with Uncharted 3 or Skyrim, but to me theres always been a difference in owning a game and actually having the same game.

Could a VALVe system work?  Oh man could it.  It could change everything we know about entertainment and how we get it.  VALVe needs a perfect shot, a royal flush, to pull this off.  If they can offer enough incentives to choose a console with Steam over its competition, we could see a completely new chapter of gaming begin. But if the price is off, or the incentives uninviting, or the controller poor, or the exclusives weak, or one of so many other things gamers can debate about from here until we hear something concrete, this could fall flat on its face.

Or this could never happen and this could all be a rumor.  But hey, I'm hopeful.  _END RANT_