FEATURE - Nintendo 3DS. Hit or Miss?

When it comes to the history of video games, I am firmly in the school of thought that video games have become significantly better over time.  Although I do have an appreciation for the odd old game (FFVII the classic example for yours truly), especially those with fond memories attached, I don't really buy into the whole "retro" outlook that tells us that games were better back in the days before high quality soundtracks, amazing graphics and immersive gameplay.  This line of thinking might work for films and music, but not for games.

Consequently, I am always excited by new technological advancements, and especially new consoles.  To me it signals that games are going to take another leap forward, and that very soon the consoles we now think are so great are going to be those that we are reminisicing about - saying things like "Do you remember when wireless controllers were the new thing!?"

This year is therefore going to be an exciting one for buffs like me.  Last year we had Kinect and Move and that was about it - and both are yet to impress as far as I am concerned.  However, this year we have no less than 3 major upgrades, all in the area of handhelds.  Nintendo are bringing out the 3DS within the month, and Sony are bringing out both the PlayStation phone as well as the PSP2, (or the NGP as it has become known.)  All three are very exciting in their own ways, but I also see significant risks attached to each one, which raises a real possibility that each one could fail.  Failure is nothing new in console terms.  For every PlayStation there is a Sega Saturn, for every Game Boy there is a Game Gear, and for every iPhone there is an N-gage.  So which handhelds will be the successes, and which will be the failures?

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be looking at these three new pieces of kit and the prospects for success and failure for each one.  This week, it is the Nintendo 3DS...

Nintendo 3DS


Without doubt, this handheld is the one that everyone is talking about, mainly because of its imminent release date and its highly unique feature - 3D gaming that doesn't require 3D glasses.  With increased processing power, as well as all the features of the DSi XL for those gamers that didn't have it before, this is not just another Nintendo DS; this is indeed a movement to the next generation of handhelds.  We have seen clips of games such as Plotwings:Resort that offers graphics similar to those on the Wii, and features such as augmented reality and the much touted 3D to produce a whole new dimension (excuse the pun) to handheld gaming.

Additionally, Nintendo has a near perfect record when it comes to handhelds, and has dominated the market since the introduction of the Game Boy in the late 80's.  Solid challengers such as the Game Gear and the PSP have had to take second place to Nintendo consoles, and this has a dramatic effect on the market.   Simply put, Nintendo's continued domination is a safe bet, and consumers taking a gamble with their hard earned cash will respond to that.  Although the Game Boy and the DS have not always been the most powerful handhelds on the market, they attract innovation and high quality, fun games that more than compensates.  Whatever else happens, we all know that the 3DS will have Professor Layton, Super Mario, Zelda and Pokemon titles within the year - and all will be amazing.

Yet while the 3DS might seem a safe bet, there are a number of reasons why the latest entry into the handheld market may be an unusual flop for Nintendo.  The first reason for this is (ironically) the fact that its predecessor is such a success.  As a DS owner myself, I am still quite happy with my chirpy little console, and have no pressing need to upgrade.  This appears to be the attitude of many DS owners, especially those who have shelled out significant money to upgrade to either the DSi or the DSi XL in 2010.  Nintendo's success may actually prove a stumbling block in convincing current customers that the console they love so much is now old news.

It also needs remembering that the Nintendo fanbase consists of a great many children who, before getting a new console, must convince their parents.  Many parents will see the 3DS, with its similar look to the DS, and believe that this is little more than a gimmicky upgrade.  In these tough economics times, parents will not be keen to shell out $250 for what is perceived to be little more than an upgrade to an already purchased handheld.  Additionally the warnings from Nintendo that the 3D function may damage children's eyesight over the long term are not exactly going to encourage parents to invest in the 3DS.

Pilotwings looks incredible!

Along with the price of the console, Nintendo have also confirmed that games will be more expensive.  This is perfectly natural - games for the 3DS will be better, and more expensive to produce.  But it all adds to a highly expensive investment in handheld gaming that is not far off the investment required for full blown home console gaming.  The audience that Nintendo need to snare in order to be successful - the casual gamers that enjoy Wii Sports and Angry Birds - are not people who are going to be prepared to spend somewhere in the region of $400 for a handheld console and a few games.  Put another way, the Nintendo 3DS might just be too good for it to succeed!

I think that of all the three handhelds, the 3DS has the best chance of succeeding.  Cheaper than the NGP, yet fancier and more of a games console than the PlayStation Phone, it is the handheld that balances power and price.  Plus, there is little doubt that there will be some great titles for it eventually (even if launch looks a little drab), and as much as I may sniff at the gimmicky 3D element - it is still pretty cool!  Yet, as has been outlined earlier, it also faces the most challenges that any Nintendo handheld has faced before: so its success is by no means a sure thing.

FEATURE - Xbox Horror Story is a Warning to Both Parents and Gamers.

The UK's Daily Mail is running the story of an eleven year old boy who has managed to purchase over $1,700 of online Xbox products through Xbox Live on his mother's credit card without her realizing it.  Ouch!

Apparently, his mother placed her credit card details on the boy's Xbox account in order to pay for his Xbox Live subscription, unaware that the credit card can be used to purchase games, add-ons, videos and the like.  The boy then proceeded over the next six months to click his way through nearly $2,000 worth of products for his Xbox, until his mother received the bill and presumably had a coronary!

The story is a little difficult to believe in parts, and it can be even harder to feel sympathy for the mother in question when she acts so self-righteous and indignant towards Microsoft, saying things like,

A thousand pounds isn't that much to people like Bill Gates, but for a single mum it is a lot of money that I don't have.

The victim mentality becomes tougher to swallow when one realizes the costs were accumulated over six months, which raises the question of why such charges were not spotted earlier on the mother's credit card bill.  Also, although the boy may be eleven, I think most gamers who own an Xbox will find it a stretch to believe that an eleven year old in a digital age was entirely unaware that he was spending some serious money, even if he was unaware that it would be as high as $1,700.  However, the story does raise some interesting questions for gamers and parents of young gamers.

First, it needs stating that there are a number of parental safeguards on all the major consoles such as allowing parents to set up passwords and place spending restrictions on an account.  Also, any Xbox owner knows that when buying Microsoft Points, it is made clear just how many dollars one is spending on those points, so while it is easy to spend money, it is made crystal clear that one is indeed spending money.

That being said, the Xbox and other consoles do suffer from a classic case of what I have dubbed "Amazon Syndrome" - by which I mean the ability to go onto such as Amazon, spend a few minutes simply clicking a mouse, and find oneself having spent a heck of a lot of money that one probably would not have spent if it required the physical act of picking the product up from a shop and paying for it with cold, hard cash.

The Xbox is an easy system to do this on, as is the iPhone - I have frequently clicked purchases of cheap $1 games on iTunes, only to then buy a number of them, and find myself having spent a substantial amount of money on Angry Birds and remakes of old console games!  Such ease with which we can whittle away our hard earned cash, or (in the case of children) the cash of others, raises issues when it comes to the responsibility of corporations, and the responsibility of gamers themselves.

As far as corporations go, Nintendo, Sony, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft are naturally motivated to sell their products, and therefore want to make purchase of their products as easy as possible.  Yet they do have a legal responsibility to make the consumer aware of what they are doing when they press a button on the controller, or click a mouse.  This requires clear labelling of how much a product costs, whether it be in terms of "credits" or in actual price terms.  Basic contract law dictates that for a valid purchase to take place, that the consumer must be aware of the fact that they are making a purchase.

Corporations also have a responsibility to make sure that a consumer cannot "accidentally" purchase a product without knowing it.  Most companies do this in one form or another, by asking one to "confirm purchase" while reaffirming the details of the purchase.  As far as my game experiences have gone, I have found this set up to be quite adequate and have never accidentally clicked myself into spending money, but others may disagree.

What corporations do not have a responsibility to do is to be responsible on the consumer's behalf, and put up endless barriers just for the sake of irresponsible consumers.  Just as one would not expect McDonalds to refuse an obese person the right to purchase a cheeseburger, or expect Macy's to prevent someone from purchasing an "excessive" amount of clothes, one should not expect companies like Microsoft to step in to stop someone spending a lot money on their Xbox.

Responsible purchasing comes down to the gamer.  As long as one is aware of what the price of a product is, and is aware of what one is doing, controlling one's spending is the gamer's responsibility.  This is not a controversial statement - if this story was not about an 11 year old boy, but was about a 26 year old man who had spent himself into trouble, we would have little sympathy.

It is in the case of children, who cannot be expected to act as responsible adults, where this issue becomes problematic and where the role of the parent becomes more prominent.  Microsoft is correct to state that they have significant parental controls in place for parents to use, which if used correctly will stop children from doing what children do best - spend money!  However, this requires that parents know about those controls in the first place.  Unfortunately a great many parents are unaware of the fact that there is even a risk for which parental controls would be needed.  The mother in the article was unaware that her credit card could be used for anything other than Xbox Live subscriptions, and therefore saw no risk that needed her supervision.

I believe that this is a situation that many parents find themselves in, mainly because the risks that come with the new online communities that have arisen in recent years are so new and relatively unpublicized.  In the days of the SNES and the PlayStation, the most damage a child could do was by throwing their pad at the TV screen in frustration.  Now, in the right (or wrong) situation, a child can plunge an unsuspecting parent into thousands of dollars of debt without them even leaving the living room.

This is why it is so important for parents to be aware of the risks that come with the harmless looking box that they have bought Junior for Christmas.  Just like it took years for parents to become aware of the risks of the internet, it may be years before parents become fully aware of the risks of the new generation of online gaming consoles.  It is certainly up to parents to inform themselves of what they are bringing into the family household, and perhaps it is here where companies such as Microsoft may be able to help more than they are already.

While Microsoft may not have a legal responsibility to publicize the financial risks that come with their consoles, and while it may be easy for them to dismiss the mother of this story as trying to pass the blame of her irresponsible parenting onto them (and perhaps they are correct), it would still be nice if Microsoft saw that many parents who are not tech savvy are genuinely unaware of the risks that come with placing one's credit card details onto a child's Xbox account.  It would be a signficant gesture if from that, Microsoft and other gaming companies started working more closely with parents to make them aware of the dangers that accompany the advancements of online console technology.

REVIEW - Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (PC, PS3, Xbox 360)

 As a Catholic games reviewer, I have developed a subtle alarm system in the back of my head that alerts me to early signs in a game that indicate it is either technically poor or morally offensive.  So for instance, from a technical standpoint, I might hear the ringing of bells when the first level is a sewer level, or if I spend the first thirty minutes mired in tutorials and cut scenes.  From a Catholic perspective, alarm bells may ring if the opening phrase of dialogue includes profanity, or if the first time I kill a bad guy a voice blares through with "BOOM!!  HEAD SHOT!!", or if the female sidekick is wearing little more than a bikini and a pair of high heels.

Imagine then the blaring klaxon that rang out in my poor coffee-addled brain when, before I had even got to the menu screen of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (Ubisoft), a disclaimer appeared stating,

"Inspired by historical events, this work of fiction was designed, developed and produced by a multicultural team of various religious faiths and beliefs."

When a game feels the need to assure you that it is not a work of anti-religious bigotry before you have even chosen the difficulty setting, you can be guaranteed that there is trouble afoot.  Call me cynical but when a game feels the need to use the religious version of the "I'm not racist, some of my best friends are black..." line of defense, it makes me shift uncomfortably in my seat.

Assassin's Creed or Nicene Creed?

Ezio, not yet having mastered the art of camouflage.

It turns out that my instincts were 100% correct.  Let me be clear when I say that this game might just be the most anti-Catholic game I have ever played, and I have been playing games for over 20 years.  The plot and tone of the game comprise of a 20-30 hour anti-Catholic screed, so much so that I am surprised that the disclaimer didn't also state "Ubisoft would like to thank Jack Chick and Richard Dawkins for their help on historical and religious matters in the game."

This isn't a knee jerk reaction, I tried to view Brotherhood in the best light. I kept reminding myself that it was intended as a work of fiction, and that at various points the game makes subtle distinctions, and that the ending of the game seems to paint the Church a little better, but ultimately I failed, or should I say the game failed - Brotherhood is just plain offensive.

The Da Vinci Creed

Brotherhood is the third game in the successful Assassin's Creed series that involves lead character Desmond Miles recalling various memories of his ancestors in order to stop a modern day conspiracy that involves temples, Templars, hidden secrets in churches, and generally nothing that you haven't seen a hundred times before if you have so much as sniffed a Dan Brown novel.  AC Brotherhood is set in early 16th century Rome, and is the second game of the series to recall the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze - a nobleman turned assassin who, having had his family killed in the previous game, is out for revenge against the ruling Borgia family.

Those readers with a knowledge of Church history during the Renaissance will shudder at the name of Borgia.  The Borgias were a Spanish-Italian noble family who managed to entangle themselves with the Church, and produced the so-called "Borgia Popes" - a set of Popes who now symbolize the debased standards of the papacy at the time.  One of these Popes was Rodrigo Borgia, who took the name Pope Alexander VI, and was known for having had many mistresses and having fathered a number of children.  Alexander was Pope at the time that AC Brotherhood is set.

This is the closest you will get to a smile from Ezio.

Consequently, it would be unfair to demand that Brotherhood present the Church as a glorious and ever-sacred institution at that time.  There is no need for game developers to rewrite history in order not to offend Catholic sensibilities.  In fact, it could have even opened up the game for praise from a Catholic perspective had it adopted a plot in which the good Catholics try and reclaim the Church back from the debasement that it underwent during that time.  This would not only be historically accurate but would also add a sense of balance to proceedings.

However, where Brotherhood goes awfully wrong from a Catholic perspective is that it takes a particularly bad period of Church history, and then plays the fiction card in order to make the Church even more debased than it was at that time!  The Pope and his son Cesare are not just slimy, corrupt figures but are also shown as being involved in the intertemporal conspiracy that the game is based on, and the Church as a whole is presented as if it did not have one redeeming feature or person within its ranks.  While you will meet corrupt, sexualized Cardinals conducting orgies, listen to Church officials explain how slavery is OK, hear stories and jokes that encourage the myth that all priests are pedophiles, and encounter many Church officials who can be bribed or corrupted, at no point will you encounter one single good priest, nun or member of the laity who identifies themselves as Catholic and who wants to bring the Church back to its state of holiness.  Instead it is a case of The Church hierarchy vs "The People".  Everyone involved with the Church is evil and corrupt without exception, while everyone outside the Church seems to be absolved of any wrongdoing they may have engaged in, just on the basis that they are not part of the dreaded Catholic Church.  There is obviously an anti-Catholic agenda at the root of this game, and it does not even attempt to disguise itself.

No Popery!

Ezio killing an unarmed man.  But this is fine...apparently.

As Ezio, you are put in charge of a mysterious Brotherhood of assassins (and yes, they profess a creed!)  The best I can describe the Brotherhood as is a sort of pseudo-spiritual, anarcho-communist band of people that kill people that they don't like.  While the gamer is constantly assured by the game that one is on the side of "the good guys", it was often very difficult to see how that was the case.  Within the first hour of playing I had already helped establish two brothels (thereby perpetuating the prostitution that the Brotherhood condemn Church officials for engaging in), collaborated with thieves, had indiscriminately cut my way through a whole host of guards, and had walked through a crowd pickpocketing the very people my Brotherhood was claiming to protect, all in order to fund yet another brothel!  Yet the Brotherhood is still presented as a the pinnacle of moral superiority, dedicated to vague slogan-like 'principles' such as "Everything is permitted" and "Nothing is true!"  The whole thing plays out as if it were written by a college freshman who had just discovered Nietzsche and wanted to "overthrow the system, man!"

The juvenile moral posturing is made even more agonizing by one of the worst stories I have ever encountered in a video game.  This isn't simply my dislike of its view of the Church - the story is just so tedious, and I have noticed this common complaint on gaming websites not known for their Catholicism!  If you have not played Assassin's Creed 2, then you will be completely lost by the complexities of the main conspiracy that involves the Apple of Eden (which is really a weapon apparently), the Knights Templar, the Goddess Minerva, some corporation called Abstergo and the Goddess Juno.  The icing on the cake comes with a final level that involves the Goddess Minerva shrieking banalities at you as you try and navigate a frustrating platform level that looks like something off the set of a Lady Gaga music video.  Add to this a host of main characters who are so forgettable that after playing for over 25 hours I could only name three characters off the top of my head, and you have a story that really damages the game.

"You Wanna Be in My Gang, My Gang?"  "No..."

Try and do this without humming the Batman theme!

All the above is a terrific shame, as when you get away from the story, the gameplay is very good.  If you have not played the previous games, Ezio is a nimble assassin who can jump around Prince-of-Persia style across rooftops, climb up the sides of buildings, sneak around guards, and assassinate people without them knowing it.  The game eventually allows you to hire your own assassin apprentices, who you can send off on missions all around Europe to build up their strength and to bring in more money, and who you can then call on when in trouble.  Additionally, you can invest money into dilapidated buildings in order to restore banks, art houses, blacksmiths etc all so that you can then purchase various goods from and so that they also generate income for the Brotherhood's coffers.

It is this part of the game that Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is at its best.  I spent many hours happily scurrying around Rome, reclaiming parts of the town from the Borgia and then rebuilding those areas to generate income.  The side quests are varied and lots of fun, and will have you doing everything from climbing up the Colosseum, to stalking a spy back to his base without being seen, to flying around in Leonardo Da Vinci's helicopter prototype terrorizing Borgia guards.  The controls are a little clunky at times, especially in periods of hectic combat, but they are workable, and very quickly the player will find themselves scampering up buildings, taking out a guard and then soaring off the top into a haystack in order to remain unseen.  It is all very satisfying.

The graphics are quite lovely.

Even the story missions are very varied and lots of fun once you get through the dreaded cut scenes that update you on the story.  Sneaking into the Vatican in order to say "Hello" to the Pope was a particular favorite of mine.  The experience is enhanced by some very beautiful landscapes and environments.  I found myself frequently stopping to admire the view, especially from the tops of the tall buildings the game had me climbing.  The soundtrack is also a high point.  Beautiful melodies that weave traditional Gregorian chant with more modern "chillout" tracks result in an exceptional soundtrack that make one seriously consider purchasing the CD.  The varied missions, the soundtrack, the graphics and the ease of navigation all blend together into a game that is very easy to get caught up in, and will eat into significant chunks of your free time if you immerse yourself in it.  It is not all perfect for gameplay however.  While most of the missions are very good, there are a number of stealth missions that result in instant death if you are spotted.  Combine this with extremely long loading screens, and replaying these long missions over and over again can become very frustrating very quickly.  In spite of these quibbles, the gameplay and presentation are by far the strongest points of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood.

Conclusion

From a technical perspective, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood is a deeply immersive, well-designed game that is let down by a tiresome, clichéd and frankly laughable storyline that takes itself way too seriously.  Once one escapes the story for a while, the beautiful graphics, excellent soundtrack, the ability to recruit assassins, restore entire towns, and to engage on a series of fun and varied side quests will distract from the dour narrative for many hours.  Yet clunky controls, long loading times, some frustrating missions, and of course the dreaded main storyline all detract from what could have been a quite exceptional game.

From a Catholic perspective, Brotherhood's presentation of the Church as lacking any moral merit whatsoever and as entirely depraved and corrupt, as well as the sense that the game is doing nothing more than indulging in the most hideous anti-Catholic prejudice makes this a game impossible to recommend for Catholics who do not wish to play a game that uses their religion as a target for sneering attacks and ignorant prejudice.  In addition, instances of strong non marital sexual content, implied scenes of incest, rape and prostitution, frequent bloodless violence,  and infrequent profane and crude language do not make up for well rendered churches and the occasional Gregorian Chant.

The Technical Rating for this title is 7/10


The Catholic rating is O --Morally Offensive.