Preview: Making FIFA 13 'predictably unpredictable'

7 minutes ago - 3:30 PM on 05.16.2012   |   Samit Sarkar

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The draw of “reality” television is its ostensibly greater degree of unpredictability over scripted shows, the coveted “you can’t make this stuff up” factor. Many simulation videogames better replicate the infinite variability of life than reality TV does, and one way in which a few recent sports games have gotten there is by implementing real-time physics engines. EA Sports’ venerated FIFA series did that with FIFA 12 last year, delivering often impressive but occasionally laughable results. There was more work to be done; modeling collisions is only one aspect of simulating soccer.

The holy grail in sports games is calculating everything on the fly, taking into account the unending variety of variables in every case. “The philosophy of the team,” explained David Rutter, executive producer for the FIFA franchise, “has been to take all of the inputs that would occur in this real world that we live in, and use them to drive the outcomes of the game that you are playing.” It’s an asymptotic venture, and the talented developers at EA Canada are getting closer every year.

[Editor’s note: I use the terms “soccer” and “football” interchangeably in this article. --Samit]

Metacritic user reviews tear Diablo III apart

5 hours ago - 10:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Jim Sterling

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Anybody attempting to play Diablo III last night may have been disappointed to learn that the servers were down for a spell, meaning that even those who wanted to play solo were unable to log in and play. As outrage abounds over Diablo III's "always-on" requirement (and subsequent errors), gamers have done what they do best -- they took to Metacritic's user reviews.

At the time of writing, Diablo III has 1839 reviews and a score average of 3.5. As expected, the negative reviews focus on Blizzard's DRM (or anti-cheating measure if you prefer), though a few twist the knife by damning its "cookie cutter" gameplay and "sloppy" graphics. 

"If Blizzard demands that the user have an active online connection. The user should be allowed to demand an active online connection," wrote one review, quite elegantly. 

In most cases of Metabombing, I tend to side with the game, usually because the grievances are silly or presumptuous. In the case of Diablo III, however, I find it difficult to be angry at people who are upset because they bought a game and couldn't play it. 

Treyarch: Black Ops II doesn't need a new engine

6 hours ago - 9:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Jim Sterling

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Among the ten thousand criticisms reserved for the Call of Duty series, one persistent complaint is that the game engine hasn't been changed in forever. According to Treyarch's Mark Lamia, however, Black Ops II doesn't need an updated motor, even in the face of insanely pretty games like Battlefield 3. 

"People always ask me, 'Is this a new engine?' I liken it to people who live in an older house that has been remodeled," Lamia told One of Swords. "Just because you’re remodeling the house and it will look new or it will have a new kitchen, you don’t tear out the foundation, or break out some of the framing. You might even go as hardcore as replacing the plumbing, and we will do that sort of thing, as an analogy. It’s a gross simplification, but it’s one way to say that. There’s a lot of good still in that foundation that you wouldn’t get rid of, and we don’t. We look to advance in the areas that support our game design.

"Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don’t modify what they don’t need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can’t make a competitive product if you’re not upgrading that engine along the way."

As someone who cares more about what's done with a game's visuals than the visuals themselves, I've never been too hung up on COD's graphics. They're not ugly and they don't affect my enjoyment of the game. That's just me, though. 

Kingdoms of Amalur dev misses $1.25 million loan payment

7 hours ago - 8:00 AM on 05.16.2012   |   Jim Sterling

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Kingdoms of Amalur was hailed by Electronic Arts as a success, partly responsible for the publisher's strong first quarter financial results. Meanwhile, the folks that actually made it are in debt, and the financial future of 38 Studios is uncertain. 

It's become known that the studio owes the Rhode Island government $75 million, and this last month it missed the last payment. It's now behind $1.25 million. For those curious, the $75 million was a controversial sum of money given to 38 Studios in order to get them to relocate from Massachusetts. The idea was that the developer would generate jobs and tax revenue in Rhode Island. 

If 38 Studios can't pay up, the taxpayers will be expected to dig everybody out of the hole. The public could be expected to shell out $112.6 million by the year 2020. 

38 Studios has an Amalur MMO in the works, but given how crowded that sector is, I'm not sure it's the guaranteed pot of gold it needs. In any case, this is yet another case of a studio that makes a successful game while still finding itself up shit creek. What a demented industry. 

RI taxpayers actually on the hook for $112.6M with 38 Studios [WPRI]