This year proves to be a big one for gamers as they eagerly anticipate the upcoming consoles from Sony and Microsoft; with their predecessor consoles selling out and going for hundreds above manufacturer’s suggested retail price on places like eBay.

“There are two things that people want from backwards compatibility: only paying once for a game or game content, and always being able to play it when they upgrade their hardware.” said Neil Sorens, creative director at Zen Studios.

Consumers often look at backwards compatibility when buying a new system; usually resulting in a big push for awareness of said feature.

As time goes on and the consoles have enough of a game library to hold their own, backwards compatibility goes to the wayside.

Sony made this apparent when in 2009 they removed Playstation 2 compatibility with their Playstation 3 and Nintendo followed suit in 2011 when they removed Gamecube support from the Nintendo Wii.

A big difference between why the issue may be a bit bigger this time around is that the current set of consoles are very susceptible to failure and with a huge catalog of downloadable only games, they could very well be lost in time.

Sony’s announced the Playstation 4 not having backwards compatibility from the get-go with only a small hint that cloud play may be possible in the future.

The developers of some games exclusively on a specific platform could very well just lose that game.

Creativity in books and movies are immune to the ever-evolving cycle of technology, but the amount of coding and adaptability of infrastructures may leave games out of this loop.

A lot of games that developers spent years working on will more than likely be left due to the amount of time not being worth going back to.

“It might mean porting the games if backwards compatibility is not an option which from our perspective would take up a lot of our time and resources and may not even be possible,” said Michelle Silva, part of the duo who make up Ska Studios.

“They still sell every month after but not nearly in the same numbers,” Silva responded with when asked about the lifespan of their games.

Other mediums don’t have this hurdle; books don’t disappear over time, classic movies all exist in one form or another.

One way developers have tried to dodge this problem is by putting their games on multiple platforms, specifically on iOS and the various Android platforms.

“Ideally, though, we’d see something like the iOS and Android stores, where you can upgrade your device as often as you like and still be able to play all the games you’ve purchased,” said Sorens.

Both iOS and Android have allowed for rollover purchases on hardware upgrades only disallowing more technically advanced games to be downloaded on older devices.

“Based on how that system is built, I expect there will be a day when you simply cannot play any [Xbox Live Indie Games] games anymore. Porting these games will be my only option for them to live on,” said Kris Steele, the developer for Fun Infused Games.

Steele has developed most of his games for the XBLIG service, which allows indie developers to put their games on the Xbox Live Marketplace assuming they pass an evaluation testing for bugs.

“Expanding to new platforms is a great way to get your game to entire new audiences with far less work required than developing a whole new game from scratch,” said Steele.

Recently Steele has been developing his games for iOS as well; “Hypership Out of Control!,” one of Steele’s first XBLIG has now been living on in the iOS while his game “Bad Caterpillar” is currently working its way to the mobile market.

Developers and consumers both deal with the fact that their collection may or may not be obsolete in a few years time, with the anticipation still running heavy it’s safe to assume that the backwards compatibility issue will be brought up a few more times leading up to their launch.

Written Review:

Story: It’s an 80′s style vision of the future and it does that justice. The many different references to past 80′s and 90′s movies and the over the top dialogue really makes the story feel unique even if it is paying homage to a certain decade in films. It’s hilarious from beginning to end. Side note: Best tutorial I have ever experienced in a game.

Sound: Michael Beihn is the highlight for the games voice acting. His older gravelly voice and, at times, deadpan delivery works wonders with the clever and ridiculous one liners and dialogue. Sound design is great during combat and the soundtrack is filled with electronic music and even some more references to older movies. I heard a “The Thing” reference in there somewhere.

Graphics: The dark world and the bright neon colors mix very nicely. Having that darkness really makes the colors and the action pop off the screen. The character designs (especially the blood dragons) are cool and some might find it hard to see in a world that is (literally) dark like this, but I had no issues myself.

Gameplay: Gunplay is just as tight as it ever was and being able too transition or start off with stealth adds a lot of variety in the gameplay. The story might be short (3-4 hours) but it is jam packed with tons of memorable moments and, like I keep saying, references that you will not regret any second of playing.

Entertainment: One of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had with a shooter. Some will complain that the story is too short but if you have tons of extra stuff to do. Enemy bases to capture, animals to hunt, scientists to save and collectables to…collect. It will take you a good 10 hours to finish everything which is plenty of content for only 15 bucks. Especially since it is a great 10 hours!

Final Thoughts: Highly recommended for First Person Shooter fans that want more than just another linear military run and gun shooter. You can play it as that, but I recommend not to. It’s a shooter game and a stealth game and both would work perfectly alone. Get this and the original Far Cry 3 right now! You won’t be disappointed.

What did we think of the aesthetic? How were the puzzles? How about the story?

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-Chris (@Goracus)
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As the title implies, Judgment’s story revolves around the Kilo Squad as they are charged with war crimes and treason, as their fate lies in the hands of the vigorously upfront Colonel Loomis. He allows each member to depict their side of the story, where the flashbacks allow the player to assume the role of old Gears alums Damon Baird and Augustus Cole along with some new characters.

Although the meat and potatoes of the franchise’s gameplay remains intact, Judgment’s campaign differs in a way that may be a breath of fresh air or a turn in the wrong direction.The campaign rejects the traditional format of gameplay in favor of bold new ideas. Each act in the game consists of different sections where you’ll be blasting your way through hordes of Locust in many different environments. The segment tracks your performance via an arcade-style 3 star ranking system. Lots of variables impact your score; melee executions, headshots, how many times you go “Down-But-Not-Out.” Judgment also has up to 4-player co-op so you and three other buddies can rev-it-up. I did experience some lag and frame-rate issues, but nothing too impactful.

The game also introduces the risk-based reward curveball that is the Declassify System. These optional objectives, identified via a big glowing crimson omen, trigger challenging variables that handicaps players. Such as limited ammo, use of a specific weapons, and others. While risky, beating these challenges may earn the player more stars than normal. Adding these mini-challenges within each section spices up the gameplay and makes it more enjoyable. Although I had a few knee-jerk reactions when I kicked the bucket, I felt a sense of accomplishment that I survived the round.

Beating the campaign also will unlock Aftermath: a supplemental chapter taking place during the events of Gears of War 3. It fills a few plot holes in, however, even though it takes place during Gears 3 it plays like Judgment; so don’t expect Aftermath to feel like Gears 3.

Another big change is the fact that weapon switches are now accessed via the Y button as opposed to the traditional D-Pad, furthermore, gone are the traditional four weapon layout. The player now only has access to two guns and a grenade option and to throw it as well is mapped differently. Initially I kept tapping the D-Pad, only to have no success because the control setup that I have adopted and loved for

years now has been obligatory changed to a setup similar to modern first-person shooters that I loathe and abhor.

Some new weapons enter the fray such as the Booshka Grenade Launcher, a mortar-like device capable of ricocheting grenades off walls and the Markza Sniper Rifle, not as powerful as the Longshot, has a faster reload rate, bigger magazine and a quicker fire rate.

One of this biggest additions to Judgment is Overrun. Overrun is a tower-defense-like game mode which is centered around teamwork and pits the COGS against the Locust as they defend Emergency Hole Covers/Generator or attempt to destroy them. The main draw of this mode, unlike past games where you select a character and load out, in typical 5v5 format, there are classes for each team with each of their own special abilities and strengths. Out of all the multiplayer modes, I sunk more hours in this mode than any other. This is a step in the right direction and adds new strategy and promotes teamwork.

Free For Fall is also the first for the Gears franchise. The every-man-for-himself mode pits you versus 9 other players in a battle to the finish. Team Deathmatch excludes human vs. Locust and instead opts for a red-dressed Gear vs. a blue-dressed Gear. As an avid fan of the franchise, I yearned for a Free For Fall mode. Sadly, this is not what I envisioned. Considering there’s no DBNO, and the game is much faster-paced compared to the other titles, It’s very easy to get shredded into pieces, spawn immediately only then to get obliterated since the competitive multiplayer is a grenade-fest only to start the process again and again. Team Deathmatch had me questioning my shots because I was so used to seeing another species as opposed to my own kind just reskinned in a different color which really got on my nerves. It may be a problem if you are color-blind.

To my disappointment, I thought the other new multiplayer additions were very lacking and not very imaginative. Survival is a co-op-only version of Overrun, with the AI taking over the Locust, and only up to wave 12. Though “Horde Mode” is back, it is phoned in. Domination is what Annex would be if there were three rings to capture instead of one with of course Judgment’s multiplayer take, that’s it. Fun, but again lacking in the creative department.

It sounds like a there is a lot to offer, but compared to other games in the franchise, Judgment feels like a giant DLC add-on rather than a full-fledged game.

On a positive note, I enjoyed unlocking features of the game. Judgment takes unlocking a little step further from its predecessors and includes prize boxes. You receive them by leveling up, getting a certain amount of ribbons or getting x amount of kills. Prizes include extra skins for your weapons, extra skins to customize your characters and even bonus experience points to bolster your level and beyond.

One big gripe that actually turned me off to the multiplayer is the questionable inclusion of fall damage and the ability to fall in general. Falling from one part of the map to the other may help break a ring that has been captured by the other team, but falling isn’t meant for this franchise. It imbalances the game immensely. Instead of duking it out you can easily escape leaving the combat a giant game of cat and mouse; this has almost completely deteriorated the fun.

Overrun mode is really fun and enjoyable and I think that’s one step forward in the right direction for this series, but overall, the game just disappointed me. If you are expecting the same cutting-edge experience that is Gears 3, you will be shocked at this take of the franchise. This game was co-developed by People Can Fly, and I understand that they wanted to take a different approach and not keep the Gears ride stale, and I’m all for change, but with the additions and subtractions, this clearly is an experiment gone wrong.

I can only hope that the next game in the Gears series isn’t mandated the same way and if so, altered to cater to the classic fans and newcomers alike.

Hello! Welcome to Games Gone By. Your podcast all about giving games in the past another shot at the limelight. Sorry for the short hiatus, school got distracting for me.

This week, GorTheMovieGod and I reminisce about one of the most popular Xbox Live Arcade games… Castle Crashers!

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Welcome to Games Gone By!

This week GorTheMovieGod and I bring it back after that weird episode we had last week. We tackle the topic of Blitz: The League II HAAAAAAAAA.

What did we think of the mechanics? What kind of injuries are there? How crazy is this game!?

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-Adrian (@Adreun)
-Chris (@Goracus)
-Podcast (@GamesGoneBy)

Welcome to Games Gone By! I’m joined by GorTheMovieGod and MattR. This week, we bring to you one of the biggest games ever to be made, Lucha Fury. Sadly, we’re so ignorant that we haven’t had a chance to play the game! So we decide to enlist the help of viewers (listeners) like you!

ENJOY.

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-Adrian (@Adreun)
-Chris (@Goracus)
-Podcast (@GamesGoneBy)