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The Week Ending December 13, 1999

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Welcome to a look at the highlights and lowlights in gaming for the week ending December 13:
Unreal Tournament
Ok, I admit it: I've long been pessimistic about the whole "bot" revolution in first person gaming, where the goal of the game switches from completing a level to merely running around in circles trying to destroy enemy targets. That being said, I have to admit to being incredibly impressed with Epic Games' Unreal Tournament, a game that is much deeper than I expected it to be. Besides offering the familiar deathmatch experience, I think the game really stands out in the other game modes, which include Capture the Flag, Domination, and my favorite, Assault, a fast-paced infiltrate-the-enemy-base experience.
What stands out about Unreal Tournament is the pacing and feeling within the game – The combination of the visuals, music, and level design culminate into an experience that is addicting, and I find myself always trying to squeeze in a quick game. I was disappointed to hear this weekend from retailers in the Los Angeles area that the game is only selling moderately well, because Unreal Tournament is one of the finest games of the year; it redefines what we should expect from an action game, and moves the whole sport of deathmatch beyond just having the most frags on a leader board. It's definitely a contender for game of the year consideration.
Game Difficulty Settings
Over the past few weeks I've been playing a lot of games with difficulty setting selection screens, and it got me thinking: Why do we have to select the difficulty in a game? I guess the game is basically prompting us to decide how much challenge we want in the experience, but wouldn't it be so much better if the game learned about how we wanted to be challenged through our actions? Think about it: If the game's AI could dynamically adjust during play, players would always be challenged, yet never frustrated.
Yes, some players want more challenge than others, but games could also track how many times we give up and that could factor into AI decisions too. (For instance, if you play the game three times and exit out of it each time without beating a certain level, the enemies could scale back in difficulty). The goal of every game designer should be to provide an experience that keeps the player on edge but never frustrates them to a point where they give up. Often, I worry that difficulty settings set in stone are counter to this goal.

Let's Rent a PC Game
Last week Blockbuster Video and AegiSoft announced plans to implement a new rental program for PC games in 14 top U.S. markets. According to a press release, gamers will be able to rent PC games for $4.99 for 5 days, and then if you like the title, it can be purchased over the Internet via an unlock code. The best aspect of this program is the fact you never have to return the CD to Blockbuster. After 5 days, if you don't buy the game, the CD expires.
Sure, there are two big issues with this program: First, piracy concerns, and secondly, a question of how many games will be available under this plan. (So far, the only "hit" game being offered is Rainbow Six, which has been out for a year). I'm glad to see Blockbuster trying PC game rentals, but if they really want to do good business, they are going to have to work with game publishers to make sure the latest releases are part of the program.

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