It’s arguable from both sides of the fence, and the first argument worth taking a look at is that motion control defeats the point of the classic console gaming attitude. People play party poker because they love poker, but don’t want to travel to Vegas. In the same vein, console gamers love playing NBA titles, but the reason they do this is because they are not as keen on being out on the court playing basketball at that precise moment. But what if that becomes the norm, and the only way to play Halo is to spend four hours a night jogging on the spot? Hardly relaxing, some would say.

On the other hand, motion control enables game designers to take interaction to a whole new level. Microsoft’s Kinect is being used for purposes outside this, however – to help blind people see, to produce more advanced technology that is swiftly catching up with our visions of virtual reality, and so on. But in order for this tech to develop, people have to embrace the idea that motion control is the way forward. Controllers will always have a place in gaming, but being able to actually exercise, or just explore with your hands is an arguably more fluid experience.

Both arguments are valid, and a lot of developers are producing titles that worth with both, or settle for one or the other. The controller will always have a place in any gamer’s home, but whether or not it falls by the wayside in favour of a sensor is yet to be decided.

With recent progress in the Playstation 3 modification scene, growing amounts of innovative console modifications are surfacing on the internet.

Last week the above video was posted to YouTube which shows ‘proof of concept’ of an idea that could pave the way to further developments in multiplatform accessories and homebrew code, much to the dismay and embarrassment of Sony and Microsoft.

The video details the developer of the modification; Shantanu Goel, using Microsoft’s Kinect sensor to interact with Sony’s Playstation 3! Not only does he navigate the Menus of the Playstation, he also boots up Killzone 3 and shows possibilites for future developments.

There are issues with many standard functions the Kinect offers, however Goel is working to enable these features for use with the Playstation, his developments are updated on Twitter here.

There have been several lawsuits entailing Sony and creators of software upgrades for the Playstation that allow the execution of homebrew applications, so who knows whats in store for the enthusiast.

Is Kinect better than the Move? Should this kind of thing be accepted as innovation in the eyes of corporate games giants like Sony and Microsoft? Do you want to look like a psychotic lunatic whilst you play FPS games online? Let us know in the comments section below.

The trailer is completely comprised of in-game footage, and the animation is looking even more impressive than the last time we saw a trailer from them.

For more information on L.A. Noire’s animation technology, check out Ste’s post.

^ MP Row Over Gaming Violence ^

 Once again video games have become the centre of attention for the misfortunes of a modern day society massacres. A recent post on CVG has stated that Sue Fish who is the Assistant Chief Constable of Nottinghamshire Police and Government Advisor on Gun Crime has made the announcement that violent video games are “extremely distasteful” during a committee meeting led by none other than, Leicester East Labour MP, Keith Vaz.

Keith Vaz is renowned for taking action, based on the knowledge that the violence in video games and the violence presented to people in the world have a strong link.  Previous articles involved Vaz stating that Counter Strike has a link to a series of shootings in Malmo, Sweden and explains that the game was also banned in Brazil in 2007 and shared a link to the US College Campus massacres.

 He also states in the article that more recognition needs to be placed into society assuring relative information needs to be presented to the parents of under age children allowing them to gain a clear understanding that violence within these games could have a meaningful effect on the children they are buying it for. He also confidently states in the article “The recent race shootings in Malmo, Sweden have been associated with the violent video game Counter-Strike”, making it clear that some sort of scientific evidence has been announced to the public, which to my understanding is not true.

Since the release of video games, they have been the target of anti – social behaviour groups and persons with, of course, the safety of the public in mind, but the question that sits in every one’s mind is why?

 Keith Vaz confronted Sue Fish who was a spokes person at the Home Office Affairs Select Committee with a question that revolved around the influence of gun violent video games on young people and how they might attract more gun crime. She answered, “I think, as a human being as much as a police officer, that the two are not incompatible. My sense is that I find them extremely distasteful, and I cannot help but feel that they cannot help the situation. The level of ambient violence, as well as extreme violence, in society today is a real issue not only in gun crime, but across the whole spectrum   of violent crime. As for the question of whether there is any evidence or any research that indicates that, not that I have been made aware of”.

Keith Vaz then confronted the issue again on Adrian Whiting who is the Assistant Chief Constable of the Dorset Police. Adrian seemed to have a more understanding point of view to the issue and replies, “It’s difficult directly to correlate between violence on video games, in films and on television and people’s immediate activity, particularly in relation to the use of firearms, I think probably it is linked, but in a much broader sociological spectrum. I don’t have any strong view that participation in such games leads inevitably, as it were, to some sort of crime commission. I can understand why the concerns are there-as a parent myself, I share them-but I don’t have a strong view that there is a clear link.”

 So the initial outcome still stands that violent video games do not hold a direct link to the violence that surrounds us in daily life, however it is clear that people are beginning to grow more suspicious  as violence and games still present themselves in modern society.

 Please feel free to share any strong criticism towards the issues stated.

This racing exclusive being crafted by Polyphony Digital is finally going to see light of day on the 24th of November, 2010. That’s right, tomorrow.

Get your driving helmets on ladies and gents, it looks to be a good one. Gran Turismo 5 isn’t known for holding back on it’s promises.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Opening Cinematic

I aim to inform you all, Alliance and Horde alike, of what we can expect when this chaotic evil hits the 12 million strong world. I’m going to be covering content that will be unfolded in Cataclysm, prerequisites to the event, my own opinions on certain things that I have forged over the year and a bit more that we have known about Cataclysm, and just generally how I see the World of Warcraft to be affected by the third expansion pack’s release date, on the 7^th of December this year.

This article will be split up into multiple parts (as to give you, the reader, less content per release but give it to you quicker) and in this volume I am going to be covering some of the basic things we already know and can expect, and also talk about the classes and more specifically the races of Cataclysm.

It was back at Blizzcon 2009, August 21^st. There was already a lot of speculation flying around, thanks to websites such as MMOChampion, but Blizzard had no qualms in announcing Cataclysm for all the world (or of which was watching / attending) to see. Roars from the crowd and many homes (mine not being excluded) all over the globe were heard. Blizzard did there thing and rolled the trailer after the announcement, documenting a lot of the new features – many of which were spot on from the rumours that MMOChampion had announced a few weeks prior to the event.

I don’t want to dwell on all the unquestionable and concrete statements the game is making, as they have been known for a long time now and there is really no here nor there standpoint on them. However, the first thing that really struck me as different was the level cap interval being raised only by 5 levels, as opposed to the standard 10, resulting in the max level now being level 85. I’m sure a great deal of players expected the possibility of level 90 to be introduced, and I want to go over a few reasons that I believe helped contribute to Blizzard’s decision.

Firstly, Blizzard’s reason for doing it; end game content focus. They have stood by a statement since the announcement of this game that they want more players doing more endgame content, and as a result they just generally want more endgame content. So on the surface it seems that Blizzard have thrown out five levels of questing and grinding for experience points, and awarded players with even more raiding content when the game goes live.

More players spending more time raiding is a direct result of spending less time levelling, and the time it would of taken to forge 5 levels of content that Blizzard would have been required to include as levelling zones, can now be replaced with the creation of more endgame content – such as raids.

As well as this, Blizzard are completely revamping the majority of the ‘vanilla’ (1-60 levelling zones) areas to bring them more up to scratch with their Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King content – not to mention the whole point of the Cataclysm expansion pack is that the world is being invaded by the Titan empowered Dragonkin.

It’s evident now that Blizzard focusing on endgame and raiding content for the PvE sides of things, and that’s not to say that levelling will be lacking in that Blizzard ingenuity and satirical comedy we have all come to know and love – there just won’t be as much of it. Azeroth revamped is enough reason alone for me to create a new character and get him to max level, and with the new race and class combinations, what better time is there to do it?

For those who don’t know, here is the list of race / class combinations. Classes with green ticks are only playable as that race since Cataclysm:

Race and Class Matrix for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm

As a Dwarf player, I am far from unappreciative of the love we seem to be getting now – as Dwarves receive the most new classes to their race. Not surprisingly Draenei are completely left out of the loop, as the only race that received no new playable classes. As it stands now, every race can now be a Warrior (accompanying the globally available Death Knight). Additionally, every Alliance race can now be a Mage and Priest, and every Horde race can now be a Hunter.

Dwarves and Worgens are now the most versatile races in the game, with a whopping nine classes available to them. The Gnomes see a flashback of Gnomeregan as they are left behind with a measly 6 available classes. The rest of the races have a choice of 7 or 8 possible classes, the majority being 8.

What race and class (not necessarily combination) is your favourite? Are there any new race/class combinations you are specifically psyched for? Let me know with a comment below, I personally am looking forward to levelling my Dwarf Mage!

The introductory races to Cataclysm, Goblin for Horde and Worgen for Alliance, will be getting a strong number of 8 classes for players to mess around with. From a lore point of view, I am quite curious as to how certain encampments are now going to react to a players presence depending on his faction choice.

For example, Gadgetzan of Tanaris and Booty Bay of Stranglethorn Vale are both heavily armed by Goblins – are these Goblins going to be non-affiliated with the Horde? Is it just the Goblins that were taken as slaves by the trade princes and survived that are Horde affiliated? The whole Cataclysm event could easily permit Blizzard to reintroduce different races guarding aforementioned locations, so it’s a definite possibility that they won’t be where we expect them anymore.

I’m very excited to see how the Worgen’s operate, as they receive both their Darkflight active ability and Running Wild ability (that, if you do not know, places you on all fours in Worgen form (if this can be activated as a Human I will be comically impressed but very surprised) and increases your running speed. It is the Worgen’s mount.) and as a result should work very well as rogues in coherence with the sprint ability. They also get the (purely cosmetic) ability of transforming between your Human form and Worgen form – which looks VERY cool, I might add.

Footage of the Human into Worgen Transformation and vice-versa

Make sure to note that when you enter combat you will always be forced into your Worgen form, should you be in Human form at the time. You will experience the same graphical effect that you can see when transforming back into a Worgen when in Human form (the fiery poof).

This concludes part 1 of my Cataclysm Preparation – I hope you have enjoyed reading this and I thank you for stopping by. Be sure to check out some other articles while you are here at EnvisionGaming.net, as our other authors have some very interesting content for your eyes only!

Check back soon for the second part, where I will be covering both PvE content and PvP content. Also, don’t forget to pre-order your copy of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm now! The game is scheduled for release on December 7^th 2010 for PC and MAC.

^ L.A. Noire Announcement Trailer ^

L.A. Noire is the upcoming title developed by Team Bondi (founded by the Director of Team Soho, The Getaway) and published by Rockstar Games.

It was first announced in 2005 and since then there hasn’t been much of an update, however on November the 11th, the new trailer was released showing off more than we could chew.

It was originally planned to to be a PlayStation 3 exclusive but it was later announced that it will also be hosted on the Xbox 360 so everyone is happy.

The game is set in a well created late 1940′s Los Angeles and features the player having to take control of a “beat cop” and in effect help rid the tyrants of L.A.’s underground. Following the story and working your way through the ranks of L.A.’s finest, you’ll be given the chance to unearth the mysteries that lie beneath a chain of murders offering a diverse story that can’t help familiarise itself with Film Noire.

According to GI, it is said that upon entering a crime scene within the game, the player will have to look closely to find clues as the objects  needed to progress will not be as obvious as you’d hope, more to the point you’ll be able to pick up items and investigate them, noting down various details within your notepad that can be accessed at any point throughout the game.

It drifts away from the typical “kill, kill, kill” mentality of the Grand Theft Auto series and offers a more diverse style of game play ranging from interrogation to investigation, so expect some changes and some big things.

Team Bondi have also added their excitement about some revolutionary technology they are using that will be implemented within the game itself. The technology, developed by Depth Analysis features a system that was used when recording the dialogue for the game and it involved actors placed in a well lit room surrounded by cameras and microphones ready to record the scene from various angles.

This system is revolutionary as it captures the actors performing the scenes just as a film maker would, but instead it of creating video footage, it renders the final footage onto 3D models eliminating the animation process.

The colour scheme in the feature is distinctive to that 1940′s look as well, thanks to Darksprint’s real time global illumination technology and really aids in creating the atmosphere that Team Bondi wants to gain within this feature.

Providing it has that Hollywood production look painted all over it that makes these games so appealing its expected that the game will host familiar themes that were common in features from the 1940′s and 1950′s, such as crime, sex, drugs and a lack of law enforcement to go due to the ending of WWII.

It almost seems ideal to want to recreate a world that resembles this gritty lifestyle for gamers to enjoy and really sink their teeth into so they can gain a visual idea of what times might have been like back then providing that historical value that almost compliments such a difficult time in America.

This is a stunning looking game that has had a lot of work and effort put into it, it almost seems rude not to be excited about this one.

Set for release in early 2011