Since your normally scheduled Dover is out of the country tending to what is known as his "real" job, it falls upon me to explain this week. All I can say is that when the creator is arguably more exciting than his admittedly impressive (and some recently released) creations, abstaining from commentary can be difficult. Of course, that hyperlink-laden comment refers to Tomonobu Itagaki, famed developer and head of Tecmo’s elite Team Ninja. His recent resignation announcement was issued with a fiery vigor, and his soon-to-be former employer responded with equal verve. Some may classify Tecmo’s present stand as typical corporate bullying, but I see some justification. If a horse breeder awoke one day to discover his stables ablaze and championship stud missing, I could understand some frustration.
Tecmo is a relatively small fish in a pond expanding as quickly as its inhabitants are shrinking. How many major console game publishers operate nowadays? Twenty? Thirty? This business is tightening, and Team Ninja just lost its public face.
I tried the Bad Company demo over PSN on Saturday. I would state that loading this kind of game onto a console for online play rather than a PC feels odd, but that notion is becoming more token by the month. Though I have never been huge into the majority of the FPS scene, I empty out a forty in my imagination whenever my enemy falls due to a thumbstick instead of a mouse. Regardless, while never fully immersing myself in the Battlefield experience in the past, I have found temptation in its beguiling ways. Bad Company has set itself up to be my first major foray into that world. The game ran solid, and "out of nowhere" sniping seemed minimal, though I feel certain that time and an overabundance of fourteen-year olds will fix that. Oddly enough, I very much liked the title screen music. I let it run for several minutes, secretly hoping that I would be rewarded with a special "Shaft" class for my efforts. Sadly, it was not to be.
Before I forget, did anybody out there like Tribes? Yeah, that Tribes. I can’t let another day pass without mentioning that it is available as freeware, and has been for awhile. Click here for the free grab. It may change your life.
- Irving
