Tag: xbox

Empire Earth and the importance of aesthetics in video games

The future ages in Empire Earth are my favorite parts of the game. All parts of the game, excluding the Modern Age receive my attention.

Take a look at the screenshot here. It showcases the Nano Age cities with its smooth lines and high-tech architecture.

In the screenshot above is bit more intimate than the other screenshot. It shows multiple Guardian soldiers standing in military formations near the sea. The Guardian soldier is the apex of soldiers in Empire Earth. In the Nano Age, they look more like astronauts with guns than soldiers we recognize.

The AA guns are also another great part of the game.

They are intimidating and look like air guardians waiting to smash any enemy airplanes that approach.

The towers of the Nano Age stand gleaming white alongside the snow and the sea.

This is why Empire Earth still stands among one of the best video games in history. The presentation of the game is awesome.

This is what video games need now. They need an aesthetic vision to help distinguish themselves. Genre orthodoxy is getting in the way and people to embrace some more creativity.

That is the only way that the video game industry can regain some strength. It will take time of course, but breaking out of genre conventions and having some unique vision that goes beyond graphics is what games need in this age.

Nvidia’s GeForce Now is the future of mainstream gaming

There will always be room for tinkers working on their gaming pcs; the age however of everyone having to shell money on them is going to give way to cloud streaming games.

I have talked about Nvidia’s GeForce Now many times on here. I think that the service is great for those who have great internet connections and lots of bandwidth. With an internet connection, you do not have worry about the system requirements only the strength of your internet connection and to a lesser extent, the location of your router and bandwidth usage. Such requirements are easier to deal with than the arcane internal structure of computers.

The Strength of Nvidia GeForce Now

The main strength is the ability to play any device you have. This is a major change which will bring more opportunities for different kinds of gamers. One of the issues we have with our gaming industry right now is that there is genre orthodoxy. You simply cannot be syncretic like in the past; your game has to be certain way or have a certain style.

This is where the RTS genre began to stumble after the release of Empire Earth. There was no sense of how the genre could move on with Starcraft breathing down its neck. Starcraft II, while a great game, would ossify the genre and prevent it from growing here. There were many experiments and crossovers such as Activision’s Battlezone series. Such experimentation is rare now.

This is what Nvidia GeForce Now can bring to the table.

What we need in the gaming space is an opening up of the player base. Sometimes we are too arcane in the way we talk about our games. Sometimes we need new perspectives to help innovate. This isn’t to say that our traditions are not important, but we need to take our time to invite newcomers.

This is the only way that the industry can truly start being healthy again. New perspectives will beget risk but no great artform was able to change without someone taking the first step in an uneven river.

Battlefield 6: Liberation Peak is the best map in the Open Beta

Battlefield 6 Liberation Peak Mountains and Sniper

Battlefield 6’s Liberation Peak was probably one of the best maps of the open beta. I am guy who loves snow and this map just scratches that itch in more ways than one.

In comparison with the infantry heavy Empire State map, Liberation peak allows for the player to breathe and for tactics to matter instead of constantly worrying about soldiers behind you or in nearby buildings. Unlike that map, Liberation Peak uses space in a way that similar to Monte Grappe in Battlefield 1. Natural formations allow for snipers to hide behind rocks and mountain passes give the map a character which is missing in some of the maps such as Siege of Cairo and Empire State.

In my opinion, those urban maps are simply too cluttered and filed with cars and rubble. It is hard to make out what you are seeing and it turns the matches into whack a mole games where one guy slips by and you race to capture yet another location in the rear.

I believe that they will be improving these maps before the release of the full game.

What Liberation Peak reminds me of those classic Battlefield maps from before Battlefield 3. They were just huge maps where you could use vehicles or infantry and just walk around. It made it tough for hackers as they would be more exposed to attack from the air or snipers.

This map is a very interesting rendition of Tajikistan, a country of mountains and beautiful peaks which have snowtops; it is a truly beautiful and amazing place.

Battlefield 6 Liberation Peak Apache Nato Base

That’s what I love about. Honestly, it has that atmosphere that I love in the winter: it has that crisp and cold and most importantly, clean air.