When Society Falls

A testament to the precarious nature of this world awaits in the new year.  Within The Division, the ever suspenseful theory of the world's impending systematic collapse is reintroduced.  Rather than attributing such a grand calamity to the supernatural, similar to many other post-apocalyptic stories, the cause and the victim of this calamity are one and the same.  This new approach proclaims that it would be civilization that is responsible for its own destruction.  Its rapidly increasing complexity will render it catastrophically vulnerable to a global disaster, in this case, a contagion.  

Promotional media on the game alludes to two factual actions taken by the U.S. Government that are believed to support the realism of this scenario.  One is a covert operation enacted in the early 2000's known as Dark Winter, which apparently served to simulate the government's response to a bioterrorist attack.  The results of this test apparently provoked the subtle passing of a protocol into law in 2007.  This protocol, Directive 51, institutes a new strategy for predicting, preventing, and assessing an anarchic crisis.  The strategy is rumored utilize a network of sleeper cells or covert agents, referred to within the game as The Division, that would be optimized for survival in the conditions of a modern apocalypse, should one arise.  What follows will be the focus of the game's exploration, set within the incredibly detailed remnants of New York.  Tom Clancy's The Division is due to launch as a role-playing multiplayer third-person shooter by Ubisoft and Red Storm Entertainment on March 8, 2016.  

http://tomclancy-thedivision.ubi.com/game/en-us/home/

The Force is Calling

The Force's awakening is not limited to its origins in film.  In addition to the Star Wars film revival premiering on December 18th, a revival of Star Wars:Battlefront released Tuesday, November 17th.  This series had originally been developed by LucasArts and Pandemic Studios with its first release in 2004.  Following the acquisition of LucasArts by Walt Disney in 2013, however, production has been transferred to Electronic Arts, specifically to their subsidiary, DICE ( Digital Illusions Creative Entertainment).  DICE is responsible for an array of EA's successes, the most prominent of which is the Battlefield series, a direct rival of Activision's Call of Duty.  

Star Wars:Battlefront, distinguishable from the similarly titled Battlefield, is not driven by the storyline of the saga, something already explored on screen.  Instead, it serves to emulate the intergalactic conflict in which the story is presented.  As an entirely multiplayer experience, matches will be set within accurately detailed environments from within the films.  Teams will of course be divided into the Rebel Alliance and The Galactic Empire.  This will allow the opportunity to not only serve in battle as the soldiers of each but also as notable characters from within the original trilogy, such as Han Solo and Boba Fett (The Bounty Hunter).  DICE has made extensive efforts to ensure that this experience within beloved franchise's universe maintains its authenticity, sending team members to not only Lucasfilm's studio but also to the locations in which the scenes were filmed.  Scenery, film props, and artist renderings have all been studied in order to transit Star Wars from one form of entertainment to another with maximum efficiency.  

http://starwars.ea.com/starwars/battlefront

Never Drive Alone

The next innovative sensation within the racing genre has been introduced by a perhaps unlikely source.  Ubisoft in collaboration with technical studio Ivory Tower released their most recent joint project, The Crew, on December 4, 2014.  This is certainly an attempt at experimentation by Ubisoft given its lack of experience with any production projects similar to this.  Ivory Tower, in contrast, is very well affiliated with this genre.  The team consists of developers previously affiliated with Eden Games, with whom they developed for such renowned franchises as Need for Speed and Test Drive Unlimited.  The Crew, however, introduces an entirely reevaluated approach to the virtual driving experience. 

The Crew delivers a vast and unprecedented open world landscape, spanning the entirety of the mainland United States.  This will yield significant transitions between climate and terrain.  Vehicle specs optimized for different conditions ensures the versatility of the player's capabilities along with intricate vehicle customization options.  Each of the five regions introduces a different spec, which can be used anywhere in the game's world.  The game itself is ultimately a multiplayer experience, one which requires online connectivity.  It is, of course, possible not to interact with other players, but the free roam environment is one that is always being shared.  If one does choose to utilize their multiplayer access, they will discover the ability to form "crews" of up to 4 players who can all collaborate or compete in the game's vast array of activities.

  http://thecrew-game.ubi.com/portal/en-us/home/

The Bird or the Cage

A depiction of the Lutece "Twins" and one of their symbolic experiments with Booker and Elizabeth.

Superficiality is traditionally found to be quite synonymous with the concept of gaming.  A game's value as a tool for anything beyond simplistic entertainment for a relatively brief period of time is often perceived to be nonexistent.  It is quite apparent, however, that this has been rendered largely invalid by those games that have managed to display the potentiality to perhaps even surpass the depth and complexity of film or literature.  One of the more recently notable of such games is  Bioshock:Infinite, released by the now defunct Irrational Games in early 2013.    

      Infinite serves as the 3rd installment of the science-ficiton franchise.  It therefore maintains many of the characteristics that have been attributed to Bioshock in the past, these include a setting within a fabled utopian city and a culturally notable time period within American history.  The setting within the underwater city of Rapture in the 1960's has now transitioned to Columbia, a city suspended above the clouds just off the coast of Maine, in the year 1912.  This has allowed for an entire reevaluation of Bioshock's atmosphere and symbolism. 

The references within the story and scenery of the game, are presented in overwhelming abundance.  Elements of history, theology, philosophy, and physics are all assimilated into the atmosphere.  In particular, there is a major focus on the coalition of american patriotism and the multi-universe theory.  Booker Dewitt, under unknown circumstances, has become indebted to the private detective agency, by which he appears to have been formerly employed, known as the Pinkertons.  In a final opportunity for redemption, he is tasked with infiltrating the now independent city of Columbia to retrieve a young girl named Elizabeth who has been imprisoned within the city.  This task will grow increasingly complex as they each are granted further insight on the predicament of the city, their own identities, and the ultimate purpose of their entire adventure. 

https://www.bioshockinfinite.com

Time to Take Back London

The next major release of the first-party category approaches with this latest installment of Ubisoft's flagship franchise.  Assassin's Creed Syndicate will be released on Friday, October 23rd.  It will technically serve as the 9th installment of the franchise, despite it being the 8th of its occasions for a major release.  This is a mere result of the unusual occurrence in 2014, when Assassin's Creed Unity and Rogue were released in conjunction with one another.  One of which pertained to the most recent past generation of consoles while the other to the contemporary.  It was no longer possible, as it had been previously, to formulate the code of one particular game to extend its availability to both console generations.  This installment serves as the series's first appearance following the completion of its transition from one generation to another.  For obvious reasons, all future main titles will be dedicated to the current generation alone.

The franchise continues its exploration of the past as it transitions to a setting within Victorian London, at the commencement of the Industrial Revolution.  As the title suggests, the game will feature the presence of underground syndicates, one of which will be led by one the protagonists.  This will be the first installment to feature two simultaneous protagonists, twin siblings named Jacob and Evie Frye.  The plot will focus upon their conquest against the corruption within the city's political and commercial infrastructure that they may be able to liberate the public from the invisible tyranny that threatens them.

Of course, information pertaining to the game and all of its predecessors can be explored at their website: http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-US/home/index.aspx

The Siege Before the Siege

Tom Clancy's upcoming first-person tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege, has had its original release date, October 13, postponed to December 1.  This decision was more than likely influenced by the apparent success of the game's closed beta, which was scheduled to conclude this passed Monday.  However, as compensation for the game's delay, and in an effort to collect even more data for the final revisions of the game, the beta has been extended an additional week.

For those of you not familiar with the term "beta" used previously (and have yet to search the term on an online encyclopedia), it is, in this context, associated with a specific phase of game development.  This phase involves the release of a limited portion of the game's infrastructure to a select group of  individuals who meet a specific criteria for participation, which typically involves pre-ordering the game among other alternatives.  Also referred to as beta testing, it is one of the final stages of the development process, typically directly leading to the final revisions and enhancements just prior to launch.  When this is not possible the game's official release may be delayed, as demonstrated, or immediately followed by the release of a resolution to any discovered technical difficulties, or bugs, in the form of a software update.

The original purpose of the presence of a beta, which is not always guaranteed, is indeed that of technical diagnostics on behalf of the developers.  The beta itself, however, is in fact capable of providing further benefit.  It can potentially serve as a means of collaborative participation between fellow supporters of a specific community.  Within this community, they all share in a common interest, or perhaps, a common passion.  

  

The Dark Knight has his Day

It appears that the influence of Batman is to once more be reflected on the calendar.  In accordance with the support of the vast majority, DC Entertainment has announced that September 26th of this year is to be attributed to one of, if not the, most popular of Detective Comic's characters.  Batman has become a prominently influential icon found throughout popular culture.  Gaming, in this respect, is no exception.  The success of Batman in this branch of the entertainment industry, however, is of the far more recent variety.  Prior to 2009, Batman was relatively unpopular amongst gaming enthusiasts and participants.  Those few games that did feature the beloved hero did not receive significant critical acclaim.  It was follwing the release of Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) that The Dark Knight's popularity as a game icon began to parallel that of the film industry.  It is believed that the success of Christopher Nolan's film trilogy may have served as a primary inspiration for the Batman: Arkham series.  The two sagas, however, are entirely independent of one another.  The Dark Knight trilogy is unique to its director whilst the Batman: Arkham series was created in collaboration with DC Comics, the original creators of Batman in 1939.  While "Batman Day" may merely serve as a promotional tactic to its initiators, it also presents an opportunity on behalf of any who may possess interest in this Caped Crusader to reflect upon those memories and sensations that have rendered him the prime subject of an entire day of this year.

Batman in his most recent appearance within Batman: Arkham Knight (2015).

        

To the Game's Credit

It is a well established stereotype, the cynicism with which that branch of entertainment known as gaming is perceived.  It can be considered common knowledge that the vast majority of those who do not affiliate with this form of entertainment or its corresponding culture do not consider it with optimism. This can be observed in many pertaining controversies throughout its existence.  Accusations usually pertain to its negative influence over a demographic typically believed to consist nearly entirely of individuals below 18 years of age. In reality these depictions and all those relating to them are little beyond a travesty rooted in superstition and deception.  With hope, this blog will simply be one of many means of achieving insight on a unique reflection of this world's culture that has been drastically misunderstood.