8 Games You Need to Know About and Why

Just a quick caveat about Bioshock. Andrew mentions that it’s horror-based, and folks should take that to heart. There’s a lot of very disturbing imagery in it and it’s definitely not a game for everyone.

I’m sorry, but what exactly was your criteria in selecting games for this column? Because the glaring omission of Super Mario Galaxy (not only the highest rated game this year according to Metacritic and Gamerankings, but the second highest rated game in history), the Orange Box, and Call of Duty 4 demonstrates a serious lack of understanding of the industry, as does the inclusion of Resistance (which was A, released in 2006 and B, panned by critics and gamers alike). And I’m at a loss as to why you rounded out the list with also-ran titles like Scene It and Blast Factor.

Please stick to talking about home theater.

What about other great games like Uncharted, COD4, Heavenly Sword?

Please don’t have non-gamers write these things…

Thanks Peter for pointing that out, the opening sequence before the 1st level begins can be safely used.

It is avaialble as a demo from Xbox Live Marketplace

Andrew

@Agree’d
Actually, the guy who wrote this story also wrote a story about getting Halo 3 at midnight when it came out (http://www.cepro.com/article/why_halo_3_matters_to_your_custom_installation_business/), teaches a Gaming Minicamp at EHX, and has installed gaming systems in many home theaters.

I think the point is to show that games these days aren’t as traditional as they used to be ... they have great graphics, THX sound, and even casual games are becoming popular.

Your comments seem to be more about other games that should be on the list ... not that any of these are bad choices. So why the hate?

Steven,

The criteria for selecting the games was to point out games that CI customers would like as well as games that make good demonstrations of the capabilites of consoles in high end home theaters or media rooms,i.e. helps you sell better equipment.

I am agree that Super Mario Galaxy is agreat game, but the Wii is a 480P device with Dolby analog suround sound and does not do anything to convince customers that gaming will make thier investment in a custom installed theater look great.Am I saying you should not install a Wii for customers, of course not, I think CI’s should install all three consoles but I would not lead with it as a way to demonstrate what next generation console gaming can deliver in terms of HD video and digital surround audio quality.

Omitting COD4 and Orange box was not intentional, I chose limited number of games for the column and both are excellent games, portal is really innovative and COD4 is also great game.

I included Resistance because despite it being a 2006 title it really is great way to demo the importance of having the extra back two speakers in a game and many ninstallers commented at the EHX gaming demo room that until they had heard the demo of it they really did not understand why having the extra channels in the back adds to the realism of the game a well as alerting a player of enemies behind them.

Although Scene it and Blast factor are also rans to you, they represent the begining attempts by Microsoft and Sony to reach out to casual gamers, which Nintendo has absolutely done a much better job of doing so far. Scene It is afun party game and Blast factor is one of the few full 1080p quick to play for 5 to 10 minutes game out in the marketplace.

Although the Wii with it’s sensor bar technolgyn so far cornered the casual gaming market Sony’s new PlayStattion Eye camera with it’s 120HZ frame rate capture is going to be used to optically sense what Nintendo is currently doing.

I am appreciate the coments that fellow gamers like you and Agreed have made and my intentio is to get other not as game savvy and hardcore custom installers to embrace gaming and install game consoles on all of thier projects which sometimes means getting WAF approval by demoing Scene it and then introducing all the excellent games that you and Agreed have mentioned.

Andrew

Andrew,

Fair enough. I guess I forgot your audience. I did go into the piece assuming you were simply focusing on technically impressive games, but then you had stuff like Rock Band and Scene It in there, and at that point I couldn’t figure out why you excluded SMG.

I still disagree with some of your choices, but I do understand why you felt you had to make them. Thanks for responding.

This list is predictable, but I think it’s a mistake to pigeonhole high end home theater owners as people who are only interested in killer graphics and sound, and not gameplay.

Obviously I can’t speak for others, but when I start out on a new game, the graphics impress me for maybe the first ten or fifteen minutes. Then they completely disappear as I get immersed in the game, and I cease to notice them, unless I come upon a part of a game where there’s some truly impressive effect happening. Otherwise, this is the point where superior gameplay has to take over, or else in my view, it’s a waste of money no matter how good it looks.

Case in point: Halo 3. Its inclusion here is utterly predictable, but most of the gamers I know found it disappointing, and gave it up when Call of Duty 4 came out, which most of them judge the superior product: both in terms of gameplay AND in terms of impressive graphics/use of technology. Halo 3 doesn’t seem to be number one on any of their lists in -either- category.

Then there’s Super Mario Galaxy. I own a really nice television and sound system, and this game looks nice even on my large screen: the only downside you notice is some jaggies here and there. However, the game is just so much fun, it’s a perfect example of the visuals disappearing while you become immersed.

In short, the list is a predictable one to be made by someone who doesn’t play very many games.

PS - As to your prediction that the EyeToy will give Sony the same or better functionality that the Wii has: If you have paid any attention to Sony’s traditional pattern of support for peripherals, you’d know what a bad bet that is. An accessory that is purchased separately is never going to be used with a large number of titles, the way it would if it were integrated with the console out of the box, as the Wii’s remote is.

Halo 3 is a ‘no brainer’ for those with no brains.

No offense, but this entire article is a load of rubbish.

Bioshock does not run at 1080i/1080p unless you are running it on a PC, just like Halo 3 which is 720p (ok it is 640p), the 360 can upscale it to those resolutions.

Looks like a bunch of 1st person games with a mention of rockband so as to not #### us off *too much* and then an unknown game and a sympathy game thrown in.

I had the misfortune of seeing the Spike TV videogame awards commercialfest the other night.  Again, shooter shooter shooter.  I think mario got mentioned very briefly for a wii-only category, but no award was accepted on-screen.

Is gaming dead?  Has noone played Zach & Wiki?  No, I’m not employed at Nintendo, but I do think more creative games (like Little Big Planet) could get more attention than the rehash 1st person game.

Reallynotnick,

I just confirmed again, thanks for the post and keeping me on my toes,, with 2K games and thier technical support department that BIOSCHOCK does in fact support Native resolutions of 720P,1080i and 1080P and this is also indicated on the actual game box as well.

Yopu can also go into the adjustment menus and select a mode that emphasiszes faster frame rates over graphics as well, going to try that today myself to see what it looks like.

Andrew

Locke6854,

Thanks for the comment on first person shooters, I myself find that FPS are being focused on with the exclusion of other great games like the Eye of Judgement and I also am anticipating Little Big Planet which as well as being a great and unique game concept, will look great in 1080P.

Eye of Judgement, which is great merging of traditional D+D card game with cool camera detected interactivity, is a little difficult to integrate into most home theaters or media rooms as you need to extend the USB2.0 run for the camera to be set on a console or table in the room.

In terms of Rockband it is sad to say but based on the dramatic reduction in the funding of music programs in schools these days,as well as art, RB may be the only exposure to music and instrurmnts that some kids can get today.

I think that Fable 2, with the introduction of a Dog companion that you can not control and whose sole purpose is to love you is going to be a very different departure for traditional FPS’s from the run and gun format that is so dominant today.

I also did not include America’s Army which is the only game that actually reflects the reality of the military in that it rewards players for bravery and teamwork and punishes players who want to showboat and do every thing themselves at the cost of thier team members.

Finally,alas even the beloved Wii has latched onto the FPS market as well, hopefully we will see more innovation and attention coming this next year in non FPS titles like the upcoming Civ games for consoles, I am ready for them as well.

Andrew