Category: video-games

Empire Earth (2001) is a special game

There are not many games similar to Empire Earth. The ability to have a civilization that is going to be able stand the test of time is truly gratifying experience.

I will say that after spending many years not playing it, the game still holds up as an exceptional game. I think it represents something we haven’t seen in the industry in ages. The video game has a competency in it which is missing in Civilization VII. That idea of someone putting effort into a game and having a great product is being replaced by people making poor quality things on an assembly line of code.

To just emphasize the differences between the games. Just look at the way in which maps are made in Empire Earth vs Civilization VII. While Empire Earth is not a 4X game, it does have some similarities here. What I want to emphasize is that the map generation in the game is much better than that of Civilization VII.

The maps actually look like actual continents.

Civilization VII sacrificed single player for a stale multiplayer experience.

Empire Earth belongs to a time when the industry was in a state of transition. However, there were still many of the old greats working away and it shows in this game. It was grown up but not yet lethargic and nostalgic for the past.

Civilization VII is stuck in the past. Empire Earth was using the past and present to tell a story in the future. It is a game that transcends its video game nature and provides a soundtrack to mankind.

While some may say this is overly idealistic and that it is simply a game, I disagree with this sentiment here. No video game is simply product of recreation. It is art.

InZoi: The South Korean answer to the Sims

South Korea in this age is a country which is becoming a software powerhouse. In the realm of video games, this is becoming more apparent and is clearly showing some ability in challenging America in these genres. This is one of the most interesting countries when it comes to the making video games and computers. Inzoi is just one of the examples of how South Korea is punching above its weight.

inZoi is a game that seeks to replicate the magic of the Sims.

Maxis and Electronic Arts have been milking the series for all its worth but is clear that they have run out of energy to continue it. They have basically been milking it and releasing expansions that are basically taking people’s money at this point. Instead of having expansions that are worth the money, they are just extending the game’s presence on the market while not allowing innovation. It is because of this stagnation that many fans in the Sims community are starting to take a look at inZoi.

InZoi in many ways represents the Korean ethics that dominates the peninsula, regardless of whether it be North or South. The North is generally speaking in its own island of ethics, but the traditionalism is still strong in both countries. The game has a karma system which represents the ethical choices that the Inzois make in the game.

This game repersents a natural evolution of the Sims. Unlike the Sims, it is less about being a dollhouse simulation and more akin to a simulation aiming to be realistic.

It is only in early access, but it will interesting to see how it changes the genre and makes it interesting to gamers.

Why Video Games still do not have respect in our Western culture

The Video Game industry is at a crossroads, especially in the West. China’s video game industry after about a decade and a half of hibernating under government regulations, is now spreading its wings. However, the video game industry in America and the rest of the West is very weak and stuck mostly on franchises instead of new ideas. Is it really a sign of healthy industry when we have video games that are on multiple installments? We need to have a healthy mix but anything new tends to lack any media coverage which causes them to be under the radar and have little influence on the people who are making the games.

Video games began quite successfully under the leadership of Atari in California, but the bubble would burst under the weight of too many mediocre games. Nintendo would save it and then competition would blossom between them and Sega. Other companies would join but it would take until the release of the Xbox for an American company to come back into the console market in a significant way which would actually have some presence.

However, the video game industry probably peaked in 2007 and the increasing popularity of mobile games on smartphones has made the video game industry a more brittle industry which is causing issues.

The video game industry has a lack of quality control in this age.

Many games are coming out which are not meeting expectations.

Increasingly, video game journalists seem to be trying to prop up mediocre or horrible games just to make political points. Such attitudes can only come from a culture of entitlement that comes in such circles. Video game reviewers should be focused on advancing the medium through careful analysis of games. They are simply becoming mouthpieces of ancient newspapers and television shows. Video Games have become a medium which become attached in a sense to the establishment, which makes them tools of government power. Instead of emphasizing the uniqueness of video games that make them stand out, they are being made into symbols of the degenerate nature of the youth. It is within the realm of video games where creativity is still allowed to flourish in some ways.

Video Games are not seen as art but as something that has to be manipulated in order to gain political power.

Video Games need to return to the realm of being pure art not just Panem, or bread and circuses. Only then, will video games be given the respect which the medium needs in order to change and grow.