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In Memory
Sean Pettibone

                                                     Voice Module: Inside The Laser

Quote of the Day:
  
"Be One with Fun..... or Else!"

From The Laser fanzine

For example, I was flipping through EDGE magazine's excellent FILE issue which took you back to 1993/4. Back then, the industry insiders and pundits blindly assumed that 3DO would be the next standard console, while the other contenders like CD-I, Atari Jaguar, Sony's Playstation and Nintendo's Project Reality (later N64) would fade away. Its strange how things work in video games - what seems inevitable almost never comes to pass, yet looking back on things, the technologies and platforms that do end up dominating the industry seem like they were fated to happen. I think we're in a similar situation now with the Wii. Whether Nintendo can maintain and build on its momentum and possibly retake the console crown is still up in the air, but it seems more realistic now than it has in over a decade.

December 12, 2006 -  Bad Launch

Gamers everywhere seem to have turned on Sony and the PS3. Why this is happening seems somewhat dubious. Whether its an example of Sony over-reaching or people just acting like sheep, the fact remains that the launch of PS3 hasn't gone anywhere near as smoothly as one would expect. The company seems to be under attack from all quarters, no matter what they do. This seems strange - the PS3 is a good machine, has a decent library of launch titles, though it is probably more expensive than most gamers out there would want. Everything from the low launch quantities, the system's controller and even the decent online service seems to come under relentless attack. Adding to the buzz-kill: Highly anticipated games are getting delayed, shifted to other platforms or cancelled entirely. Meanwhile, Sony and Ziff-Davis made the baffling, poorly-timed  decision to announce the end of Official Playstation Magazine during the console's launch window. The latest PR disaster involves a lame attempt at viral marketing for the PSP. Despite these mis-steps, you have to wonder what exactly Sony has done to deserve such an outpouring of hatred from the gaming community. 

It's not like Microsoft and Nintendo never had a bad E3 press conference. Of course, a lot of this negativity is more perception than reality, the system sells out almost immediately and there are some truly promising titles on the way. Virtua Fighter 5, Heavenly Sword, Killzone and Lair all look impressive and should go a long way towards putting the system on firmer footing if they live up to their billing. The good news for Sony: Things can only get better. They can't get much worse - or can they? Whether Sony is able to hold onto its leadership position this time around seems genuinely up in the air. What is undeniable here is that there hasn't been this much uncertainty and doubt about the company's prospects since it entered the industry more than a decade ago. 

December 5, 2006 - Hidden Costs

The HD era finally arrived here over the weekend with the long-overdue upgrade to our systems finally complete. The difference in image quality is quite impressive and we're struck by how much better even last generation titles look at the higher-resolution, we can finally see the fine detail and light sourcing in many shooter titles, and it definitely makes a vast improvement in readability in certain titles. Now, we can actually figure out what's going on in Dead Rising, and this makes the game more fun. Of course, the biggest problem we had was the hidden cost of these visual upgrades. While the cost of a decent HD has now plummeted to the middle three figures, companies are still charging exorbitant prices for the cables used to connect thier systems. The PS3 cables cost at least $100 (unless you know where to shop) which is just plain ridiculous considering these are cords. Of course, you can connect your systems to the HDTV's using standard RCA cables, but that just defeats the purpose. We tried, but the results were quite disappointing for the most part, with only a marginal improvement in picture quality. At best, the images were upscaled to 480i, which is nice, but not nearly true HDTV quality. Consider this a warning to anyone considering the upgrade, as many gamers out there are probably doing. We got blindsided a bit by this, we hope you won't either.

November 25, 2006 - Virtual Swindle

You have to wonder why so many gamers are falling over themselves in praise of Nintendo's virtual console releases s and downloadable games being offered with the new systems. It seems like a good deal to be able to download Genesis titles for five bucks a pop online, you have to remember that Sega just released a full-blown compilation including more than a dozen games for $20. Its slightly more convenient than going out to the store and buying a copy of these games, but you really have to question whether gamers are getting fleeced at these prices. It's not like companies are offering anything rare online either. Most of these games are incredibly common to collectors, which means you're paying a huge premium to support online services. It sounds good on the surface, but the pricing seems completely exorbitant to our eyes. The same thing applies to the Playstation download service which also seems really expensive in relation to the games themselves. While the originals are getting harder to find, they are still several times cheaper if you want to own the real thing. As an added bonus, you'll also get an actual disc.

On the bright side, we were playing around with the PS3's web-browser last night and we're happy to tell you that this is a fine bonus feature, the pages we tried loaded fast, looked crisp on our HDTV and we even got some video to play, somewhat suprisingly. Sony's come in for a lot of criticism, but we found signing up and logging in very easy to use. The Cross-bar navigation system makes it easy to access this feature as well. We also downloaded some demos and trailers from the Playstation store, which was a much simpler and faster process than we anticipated, it only took us about 20 minutes to download the impressive Motor Storm demo. We followed this up with Blast Factor and NBA 07, both of which went very quickly. The trailers for Lair and Resistance streamed quickly, which is especially impressive given the massive amount of data blu-ray commands. The wi-fi worked effortlessly with a nearly painless installation. Given the high quality it offered, plus the fact that it was free, there's little wonder why Sony decided to discontinue the Official magazine and go this route instead. As an added bonus, the service is absolutely free, which is really impressive. Sony should definitely start putting more effort into promoting the PS3's online features, since they're a lot better than some of the more biased journalists would have you believe.

November 20, 2006 - Nintendo Wii: First Look

The second launch into three days finally took place and we finally have the much-hyped Nintendo Wii in our hands. Comparing this directly to the PS3 and Xbox 360 is probably not the wisest thing to do, sine Nintendo has chosen to take their own path lately and look to have largely succeeded, just as they have with the DS in creating a unique platform. The first thing you notice is that controller, which seems both too odd and too simple at first glance. Once you have the thing in your hand, however it becomes much more intuitive and easier to understand. The wII-mote is fairly easy to use and works surprisingly well with games like Wii Sports and ExciteTruck. We found the device to be both responsive and easy to use, and it's simplicity is deceptive, since you can imagine developers finding and creating all sorts of cool ways to use the device. In fact, after playing with it for awhile, we daresay this might even offer MORE versatility and creativity than the DS allowed, which makes for an exciting start. While we haven't had nearly enough time with the game to pronounce a final verdict, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess looks to live up to its advance billing in many ways. As the title with the most elaborate gameplay of any launcher, we found the Wii-Mote/Nunchuck combination surprisingly easy and fun to use, though the Nunchuck feels familar (N64 fans might remember the middle handle of that controller.....), it's been used and implemented in a totally different context here, which makes using it much more intuitive and comfortable. The Wii's interface is also quire accessible as well, and makes navigation quite easy. We're impressed with the system and quite happy to say it far exceeded our expectations. There's no doubt that Nintendo's radically different philosophy has paid off big time, but this time around, after the success of the DS, things might turn out differently.  This is definitely turning out to be a lot more interesting than the last console battle. The Wii already standing as the most interesting and innovative system of the past decade. Other Nintendo systems have started off strong, only to tail off after the first year. History has a way of repeating, but this time might be different. Unlike the N64 and Gamecube, it finally looks like the rest of the world is ready to play Nintendo's game.

November 17, 2006 - PlayStation 3: First Look

Sony's much-anticipated Playstation 3 hit retail today, and we were lucky enough to grab a console and a few of its launch games. The console itself is a work of beauty, standing much taller and cooler than Xbox 360 in a side-by-side arrangement. As for the games, obviously we're most impressed with Resistance: Fall of Man, which is a really cool shooter with awesome visuals, an intense storyline, and fantastic play. Ridge Racer 7 looks fantastic as well, equaling or surpassing RR6 from a visual standpoint while maintaining continuity with the previous games. Genji: Dawn of the Sword looks pretty good as well, excellent cinematic presentation, cool moves and some impressive looking levels. We also played Call of Duty 3, which looks like another solid installment in the series, though doesn't seem to really push the PS3 to its limits. Finally, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom delivered a sold hack and slash dungeon adventure, with some cool moves as well. Dark Kingdom seemed to be the dark horse and this game was much better looking and playing than we expected it to be. Even on day one, the PS3 launch titles display plenty of polish and accomplishment. After months of speculation and rumor, the hardware is here and the truth is undeniable: Sony looks to outclass and outperform every system on the market by a wide margin. It's definitely several notches above anything else you can buy and is definitely worth the money. Maybe not ebay money, but definitely delivers on its MSRP. We'll be back next week with more detailed reviews. Have a good weekend. 

Email: Lasermouse@worldnet.att.net to say hello! 

Blog Archive
Earlier installments of Voice Module.
December, 2006
November, 2006
October, 2006
September, 2006
Fall, 2005

Links
Check out these recommended sites.

Next Generation
The classic magazine
reborn as a business and industry site.

Edge Magazine
From Britain, the planet's best game publication.

GamesIndustry.biz
More behind-the- scenes business info.

Video Games of
The Damned
Daniel Thomas MacIness' insightful
gaming blog.

Dean Takahashi
Behind-the-scenes
of the gaming scene

Digital Press
Joe Santulli and friends are online as well with this excellent site that reflects the zine's attitude. 

The Gameroom Blitz
Jess Ragan's always entertaining website. Lots of opinion and commentary.

VideoGame Connections
Excellent service and selection, Mike Etler carries all systems from Vectrex to Xbox. Recommended! 

Atari Historical Society
Comprehensive archive site covers the Atari Age. Obscure prototypes and rarities galore plus fascinating
stories. 

John Palisano
My brother's a writer, too. A much better one than me.

Atari Gaming Headquarters
Another great site with tons of rare archive material for Atarians & news on the latest classic happenings. 

Videogames.com
Gamespot's video game page.

1UP.com
EGM's new official home, for now. Sure beats the old Gamers.com site, at least.

CBS News
Free video, lots
of information.