This February, Worms, in all its addicting, turn-based strategy goodness, will come to XBLM. I for one, am quite excited about this. Ever since the Worms series made its not-so graceful transition into 3D, my interest in the series considerably waned. That, plus I deleted them all to save space on my HD, but it was mostly the 3D thing.

Consider my interest waxed.

Complete with XBL support, Worms is shaping up to be the first XBLA game I actually pay for.



Wik looks disappointed. Either that or homicidal. Let's just hope it's disappointment.


In other news, the overwhelming bundle of awesome that is the graphics in GoW just finally dawned on me now. After being on vacation for several days with no games but MK: DS to play, the aforementioned bundle just about made me have to change my underwear.

That raises the question: are graphics relative? I'll just let you ponder that while I go re-install Worms. And find something to defend myself from the jealous wrath of Wik...

Ragdoll physics have made their way into most shooters nowadays, and it's not always for the best...if done right, it can add a lot to the whole experience. But if it's not, it can leave you wondering "Why is that Terrorist's head down by his crotch, and what is his left foot doing to that poor civie?!?!??" (long story).

First, the good:

Counter Strike: Source


Oh, and the ability to alter the physics doesn't hurt, either.

Thanks the the Source engine used in HL2, CS:S did ragdoll right. It's generally convincing to watch a T or CT crumple after you fill him with lead. If you've ever played around with Garry's mod, you'd see just how impressive it is.

The bad:

America's Army


...Riiiiiight....

The ragdoll physics in AA are not pretty. Instead of characters just falling down normally, they tend to fall in the most awkward positions imaginable.

And the ugly:

Call of Duty 3


A rare occasion indeed

When it's working, the ragdoll in CoD 3 is acceptable. But therein lies the problem. It only seems to actually work when it wants to, and when it doesn't you're left with an ugly death animation, usually ending in one or more limbs hanging rigidly out over an edge.

Well, there you have it. The moral of the story? Every developer, use the Source engine. Problem solved.

Whenever that "pop-POP" plays and the "Achievement Unlocked" message
pops up, the 360 gamer's heart jumps with a rush of sheer joy and
exhilaration. Ok, so that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but
there isn't a 360 owner alive today who doesn't enjoy hunting down
achievements. Unfortunately, the fun in gathering elusive achievements
can turn into a full-blown addiction, so that these individuals will
cheat, boost, use gamesaves, and do whatever it takes to get to the top.

They're easy to spot. They have a gamerscore so oppressively massive
that they have no choice but to brag about it. They have a full 1000
points from a game that was just released. And, most importantly, they
will never, under any circumstances admit guilt.

I recently came across one such individual in the Xbox.com forums
who had a gamerscore of 90,000+. He had actually bought a PAL 360 so he
could play(or not play, rather) the different versions of games and get
the achievements twice. I worry for the future of gaming when I hear
that someone spent 400 dollars on a system that he already owns so that
he can boost some number on the internet.

What has gotten into people? Last time I checked we played games
for fun, to relax, or (thanks in part to achievements) for challenge.
But playing for bragging rights is going too fat, let alone wanting those bragging rights so badly that you are willing cheat to get them.

Don't get me wrong, I love getting achievements. I think they add a lot of replay value to games that I wouldn't otherwise play as much. Not for the points, but for the challenge. For example, F.E.A.R. has the hardest achievements of all the 360 games I own (a whopping three games!) and yet I have more points in that game than in any other because I love the challenge.

When you skip the challenge and go straight to the points, however, that takes away the entire point of playing games. When you boost and use gamesaves, you basically screw over those of us who get our achievements legit. When I see someone with 50,000+ points, instead of thinking "wow, that's one hardcore gamer!", I think "doesn't he have anything better to do than boost and cheat?".

Unfortunately, there's really not a lot that can be done to prevent this, so it looks like we'll have to deal with more and more "addicts" in the future. We can only hope that as they push their gamerscore past any lingering doubt that they got them legitimately, the whole purpose of having the highest gamerscore becomes...pointless.