Tribute to a classic genre: Been a long time since a federal dime made a jukebox sound

Some genres receive a lot of attention while others are pushed off to the side and almost entirely ignored by the entire gaming culture. Deserving more credit than it ever receives, isometric turn-based strategies were one of the original genres that bridged the gap of pen and paper into the electronic realm. Game for game ITBS games make the entire genre one of the most difficult and complex genres to play leaving casual gamers crying for their mommy and hardcore gamers wishing there were more hours in a day and for their friends to stop calling your mom a cougar.

So in an effort to rehash on some happy years of gaming and to shine the invisible medals of games once defeated, I've taken some time for inward reflection to ponder which ITBS will always stick out and helped define the genre for what it is. That time of meditation produced the following list which is not in any particular order but was chosen due to each game's importance to their respective system over the years. Danger: This list contains games that still pass me middle school notes which to this day I still check yes, I do like you.

Shining Force 2: Sega - 1994 - Genesis

If you were lucky enough to own or know someone that did own a Sega Genesis, there was a slight chance that you could of played one of the first console ITBS games. And yes, since this is written in English, I'm not talking about all the possible previous Japanese games (notably the Fire Emblem series has resurrected into something worth playing).

This game was one of the first to introduce the idea of an RPG style game in which you could control a group of up to 12 characters at once and doing all of the playing on a grid style map. Characters were all very unique and allowed for choosing which were a waste of time and which would be the workhorses of killing the armies of Zeon. And on a brighter note, this game also had involvment from mythical centaurs which are so rare nowadays that seeing one in the shower applying Old Spice bodywash is the only chance at catching a glimpse of these majestic animal/humans. 

The main character was named Bowie to aid you in becoming delusional enough to believe his first name was David and he was taking a quick smoke break in Labyrinth to save another civilization with his dance moves and action batch.

The game overall was quite lengthy and made for good replayability if switching out characters. It didn't receive much credit from the world as the age of initial consoles were rough on the Genesis and if you loved games enough that you couldn't hate any console, you were more than likely either a large fan of pure RPGs or side scrollers and couldn't relate to this game well. This game did help vary and emphasize 20 different character classes helping stem later RPGs to utilize ones such as berserker and animal types. If you were lucky enough to play this the first time it was available, you may be inclinded enough to want to replay it again as it's now available on WiiConsole.

Final Fantasy Tactics - Square - 1998 - PS1

Years later the genre was quite stale if you only owned consoles, and especially if you were without one of those expensive personal computers. There were a few choices but most had no storyline or terrible gameplay. Enter the king of console RPGs to venture into the ITBS arena and squash the competition with FFT.

FFT took everything that makes a good ITBS great and trimmed the fat of annoyances.  Tons of story, different classes, and true strategic gameplay kept PS1 gamers so enthralled that owning an original version of FFT to this day can reward you with over $50 to collectors.  Fans of previous FF games saw for the first time the entire ensemble of old class choices combined along with a few extra to boot the most amazing of which was the Calculator.  If you were lucky enough to level the proper classes to unlock the Calculator, your mathalete skills could be put to use to heal or do damage to all characters on screen reminiscent of craps, trigonometry, and the board game Sorry.  

FFT set the bar high for later GBA and PSP ITBS games and reissues but sadly none have matched the original.  Opinions vary as to why FFT glimmers as others clash plaids, but many will agree that the story hits many high notes housing interesting characters such as one of the most badass playables named Wiegraf.  The rest of the opinions say that the gameplay, detailed environments, and balanced strategies requiring you to scratch the old noggin' to succeed put FFT at the top of the ITBS of all times.  And much to the appeal of people who find FF games annoying, chocobos and moogles are kept to a bare minimum.  Kupo?!?

X-Com UFO Defense - Mythos Games - 1993 - PC

Crank up the VGA display, whip out the 3.5-inch floppies, and start up MS-DOS, it's X-Com time!  Right when PCs were becoming a booming economic staple in everyone's home, competing against Coke's mission statement to have a vending machine every mile, X-Com made gamers some of the most patient people around.  Well patient or full blown domestic extra-terrestrial abusers.  X-Com was one of the most difficult ITBS games around and in case the first time through was too easy, you could also scale the difficulty higher to grind your teeth at night for the next century.  

X-Com showed the world a game in which the era of the Internet and TV would give people even more reason to keep staring into the stars as shows such as X-Files and the Sci-Fi channel took off.  Set all across Earth, the X-Com (Extraterrestrial Combat Unit) attempt to save the world from the on-going threat of alien terrorists much like the similar threats of Predator, Ko-Dan, Killer Klowns, or Martians from Mars.  As you spend global amounts of cash on bases and research, you attempt to reclaim Earth from these invaders using their technology against them while hopefully not creating a deficit over 2 months.  Yes, the US has had a deficit for almost the entire 21st century but blow your budget for 2 months and it's game over.

Much of the games acclaim over the years has been the intertwining of a Sid Meyer's Civilization-esque game and joining an ITBS with a great interface, sounds, and gameplay.  X-Com was also one of the first ITBS games to use projectile weaponry and urban military tactics within a game without shortchanging on fun.  While games such as Wolfenstein and Doom were busy making bullets per second enjoyable, X-Com was slowing the speed of battle down to where claymation directors felt at home.  So if you've ever played and finished X-Com: UFO Defense, you deserve a free beer to trade war stories over.  If you didn't get enough of X-Com the first time it is again available on Steam as well as it's many sequels.

Jagged Alliance 2 - Sir Tech Canada - 1999 - PC

Where would Jack Ryan be without clandestine black operations?  Well Tom Clancy might be flipping burgers and we wouldn't get great games such as JA2.  Not to skimp on the prestige of JA1, JA2 gave Rambo a reason to go back into Burma with the same cheesy lines and almost as much gore.  Ok no where near as much blood and guts but the same attitude.  

Taking a small group of mercs into the fake Eastern European country of Alruco, you attempt to free the civilians of the country from the evil clutches of dictator Deidranna.  Overthrowing her husband Enrico who escaped the country after her attempt at framing Enrico for her father's murder, you are fronted a small amount of cash, a laptop with direct links to all the websites a merc would need, and a one way ticket into the country.  

Rich with voice acting and distinct personalities for an array of characters, JA2 makes replayability unique and a quite varied experience each time.  Some characters such as the Russian brothers Ivan and Igor make such a lovable pair you begin to prevent their deaths at every turn sometimes reloading savepoints until you can't stand it anymore.  JA2 plays on the map overview strategy mixed with turn based battle action made famous with X-Com and takes the fighting to a new level introducing more layers of physics down to differing bullet calibers and ballistics. 

You could hate ITBS games but the storyline presentation in JA2 is one of the more humorous around.  As you progress further into Alruco freeing town after town, Diedranna receives reports from her assistant Elliot who then in return receives a proper beating for each piece of bad news.  After a while it becomes one of the oddest rewards systems for a job well done.  Well those that can't feel sympathy for digital Urkel wannabes find it laughable since we can't save the rest of the Family Matters cast from Jaleel White's suspenders.  

Fallout - Interplay - 1997 - PC

Two men enter, none leave.  There are a few games here and there that touch on a futuristic Earth but none had ever been as bleakly honest as Fallout.  Some would show the world uniting in an effort for space exploration, others would have humanity unite in order to defend off invading aliens, but Fallout would go and say no to handholding togetherness and instead stay on the edge of suicide when resources become scarce and care not about the repercussions of scorching the Earth.  This post apocalyptic environment becomes one of the biggest characters and gives a great sense of being alone and fearful of death around every corner.  

Set in Southern California in the year 2161, you are a survivor of World War III living in an underground vault.  The vault's water chip breaks and you are chosen to go into the wasteland to search for a replacement.  

Much of the personality of the game is contained in references to pop culture a lot of it 1950's related.  The presentation of the RPG portions of the game are done through a Monopoly man type character that makes light of the darkly vast wasteland that is now the world.  The childhood innocence clashing with the dark humor makes for quite the combo making the entire journey unforgettable.    

Fallout became one of the starting RPGs to flirt with the idea of choices and repercussions morbid as many would be.  Any NPC can be chosen to become a target for random violence even down to children.  Prostitution and drug use can become hobbies while you choose to either help your vault or totally ignore them and become the wasteland's biggest fan.  Multiple endings can be gained depending on choices made throughout the game even down to the last seconds as you receive an ultimate reward for helping your vault.  All of these aspects took ITBS games to a new level of quality and expectance including the atmosphere and ethics.

Syndicate - Bullfrog - 1993 - PC

A quick honorable mention since it's not turn based goes to the isometric wonder known as Syndicate.  Taking place in a  future where corporations use cyborgs for hostile takeovers, Syndicate puts you in charge of your own corporation as you fight against the futuristic Wal-Mart known as Eurocorp.  Using a four agent team, you roam the gritty concrete landscape of cities exterminating, persuading and stealing corporate goods.  Much of the setting derived from the movie Blade Runner, as well as the attitudes toward cyborgs and civilians.

Besides the Lorenzo Lamas trenchcoats that your agents are forced to wear, the action is where this game deserves the mention.  Just about everything can be destroyed and there is no consequence for killing off civilians.  In fact, an item called the Persuadertron can be used to convince mobs of civilians to become a wall of protection for you and then can be sent to their death if you feel a twinge of nervousness for your cyborg buddies.  The overall idea of Syndicate would make for a great game today but sadly no confirmed remakes are in the works.

Summer Catchup: I can be the source you crave, I can spell what you can't say

To go along with the first "scheduled" summer vacation for me in over six years, I felt the need to catch up on reviews on things I've put off.  So here are some quick reviews of games and technology that are overdue.  

PogoPlug - No it's not a recharging station for your gyroscopically enhanced pogo-segway.  This small 

little piece of electronic plastic goodness is essentially remote desktop-ing made easy. Made by a company called Cloudengines, this device bridges the gap between your external hard drive and your router.  It then allows you to stream your hard drive onto whatever lovely computerish device, aka iPhoneS(nob), you happen to be using to annoy the hell out people eating their dinner at that fancy restaurant Olive Garden.  What used to be a limitation on OS matching between a computer and remote device has now been removed and replaced with a large 

backorder and a price tag of $99.  

Nokia E71x Smartphone -  And speaking of the vile world of confusing popularity contests 

with annoyances in public, one of the newest AT&T installment standards is the Nokia E71x Smartphone. Nokia really does know how to make quality phones and AT&T knows how to take them a step back.  

The design is slick, battery long lived, camera is so-so, standard software artful in its self destruction, but web browsing, WLAN, and GPS portions are above the rest as long as you stay under the 3G umbrella during reception rain.  Navigation of menus and number typing is a bit on the "special side" but once understood the phone does shine for those using it in the business sense.  As long as that business isn't human trafficking then you'll be happy if an E71x comes your way.

Tiger Woods 10 (Wii, EA) - It's in the game alright.  No, not shoving Tileset golf balls into any opening you can find around your TV.  The Wii Motion Plus will take care of that sort of thing for you if you haven't done it already.  

TW10 is a large showoff of what sports games should feel like when you are handed 

a controller.  Even if you aren't a fan of rolling out of bed onto your couch Sunday mornings for day long sessions to watch golf, playing this game will help you begin to enjoy the difficulty of getting a small white ball into a barely big enough hole about 300 yards away.  And then it will help you begin to whip Wii controllers into fragile objects around your room.  And then help you turn into a similar demonic hellion known as Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore.  

The game (with Wii Motion Plus) is so sensitive to very slight motions as you swing your controller that it will bring you to the point of wanting to keep your wrist in a splint to avoid draw shots.  The added features from previous years are a big bonus such as disc golf, real time weather, and precision putting.  And yes you can still deck yourself out in actual Caddyshack fashions as you progress through the Masters Tournament.  

Rating:  6.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

X3: Terran Conflict (PC, Egosoft) - X3: TC is the latest in the series.  It was released in September of 2008 and done so with barely a glimmer of advertising along side of it.  

Some games take their genre so far above and beyond, that expectations of what the game actually is or could be vanish, and you are left with something a bit odd and hard to describe.  It is much like comparing Microsoft's Flight Simulator versus Ace Combat.  They both have planes and they both involve flying but crashing and burning in one takes a little more work than the other.

X3: TC is a simulation game in the biggest sense of simulation.  Combat is there but is not a large highlight unlike Wing Commander, Descent: Freespace, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Freelancer, etc.  The storyline is there but is overshadowed by the rest of the game.  

So what exactly are you left with?  A gigantic universe to explore and trade within.  A place to commandeer for your galactic space stations and armada of ships.  It's much like Pogs or Magic: The Gathering.  At first it's really interesting to look at and play but after a short time passes only a select few people of the world will still be able to find enjoyment out of it.

Extremely high learning curve, not so easy controls, and a hard difficulty make X3: TC an even harder selection to pick.  Open source coding for modification, beautiful graphics, and a reason to dust off the old joystick make X3: TC a good alternative for those looking to branch way way off.

Rating:  2 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (360, Ubisoft)-  A sequel to the 2006 release, this first person shooter is one of the very few western FPS games available.  A run of the mill FPS with a very different setting for those that are used to killing Nazis or Aliens, CoJ: BiB will probably only appeal to those that really enjoy the setting the western setting. 

The game and it's appeal can be compared to something similar to the movie Jacques Cousteau and Life Aquatic.  Unless you were a large fan to the original works, the semi-recent film will seem more like an awkward broadway play that stays a mystery. 

So unless your parents made you sit and watch every Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Henry Fonda western of the 60s and 70s, you probably won't even have the slightest bit of interest in CoJ: BiB since most gamers are too young to know where the term spaghetti western even came from in the first place.  And if you did happen to watch them, there's still a decent chance you'll probably just bide your time and skip over this game waiting for HALO: ODST.  

CoJ: BiB is a pretty average FPS and doesn't have enough meat behind it to make a good meal.  Boss fights are done in the old western showdown at noon style, the action is fast paced, multiplayer competitive but not as good as CoD4, and the storyline and voiceovers are great but short overall.  The gameplay is a copycat to the Call of Duty series with waypoints, respawning, and storyline progression.

But again, the fast paced action and multiplayer are the only things linking FPS gamers of today to the western setting of yesterday.  If you're into a good appetizer and salad while you wait for dinner this fall, CoJ: BiB could be for you otherwise just order a bigger meal later.  

Rating:  3.5 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360, Infinity Ward/Activision) - 

One game that I had initially put off buying was CoD4. The Call of Duty predecessors were always very short with the single player game and could typically be completed in 15 hours or less.  The single player was always extremely fun to play but brought no multiplayer strength with it limiting reasons to pay $50+.  

Another annoyance was the other CoD games were all set in the WWII realm and after playing so many WWII games now, I can almost rattle off every gun and caliber of bullet used during that era without ever actually firing any of them.  An overdone period of time in the history of the world when it comes to FPS and strategy games, I set aside the CoD series altogether until very recently.  

Modern Warfare was well worth the revisit to the CoD series.  Reviews of the game all over the internet have told the story many times over and all say the same thing.  The game is great from start to finish in all aspects that make up an FPS game.  Graphics, sound, storyline, gameplay including both single and multiplay, etc, are all top notch.  

One part that really sets this game apart is the way the character modeling design is done along with the background and camera.  The model design from what I've read is separate from the way previous CoD games did them.  In modeling speak they have faked certain aspects to give it a three dimensional look and at the same time gives a ton of extra detail while keeping the game running at 60 frames per second.  

The look of the characters and background is amazing and is shown off even more when a gun is pulled up to the shoulder and the camera puts only what's directly down the sights into focus fuzzing out the surrounding area.  It's an exaggeration of what the eye really does but it's the good kind like the size of Babe the Blue Ox or the hope you feel for the Cubs to make the playoffs.  

The best part about the game is how the multiplayer is done.  The multiplay is on the same level that Halo 1 was when it was first released with different play modes and maps.  As you play you begin to work your way through levels of experience gaining the use of new weapons and abilities.  Unlocking new items becomes as addicting as playing the slots after a few too many mojitos.  This idea has now become a standard for multiplayer games and will be copied for years to come.  

Overall the game is well worth the small price that comes with a game of the year release so be sure to pick it up and grab an xboxlive gold package too.  Just be sure to get ready to mute those arrogant mic users again.

Rating:  9 {on a scale of -10 to 10}

New Young Pony Club - Ice Cream

Aion MMO Preview: Lava flows over crooks and cragged cliffs to the ocean and explodes in a steam heat fevered cyclical motion

Over the history of MMOs and even other genres, there has been a representable and recognizable feature to the graphics and gameplay of games.  It comes with being able to distinguish what country/company the makers of that particular game happen to be or being able to come reasonably close to guessing who the man behind the curtain is with just a glance.  Another "putting the face to the name" game is Aion for the PC.  Made by the well known Korean company NCSoft (Lineage, City of Heroes, Guild Wars), this MMORPG is another sci-fi fantasy fiction MMO but from what I can translate from forums and reviews, contains less hardship and grindy-ness than the typical run of the mill Korean MMO.  

The graphics are some of the highest quality above and beyond FFXI, Everquest, and WoW, allowing for excessive video card settings whether it's to be a big time showoff or for visual stimulation.  This brings with it the problem of using an older computer to run the game and having to deal with graphical errors besides networking ones if you are still forcing a dinosaur to play with hover-boards and space guns.  

One look at the game and there should be some tingling of deja vu occurring in the back of your head.   NCSoft has taken what works in games such as WoW and built from those ideas.  The interface down to the action bars, chat logs, and menus all look eerily similar to WoW.  From what I can tell it is all fully customizable with the ability to resize and move things as you see fit.  Fighting and combat text looks much like it's predecessor City of Heroes as does the extremely large character customization feature when doing character creation and item customizing.  This allows for people to not fall into the Age of Conan issue of all looking exactly the same from level 1 - 20.  Class selection is the usual D+D montage as seen by the video below.

Aion boasts both PvE as well as PvP, also sporting what it calls PvEvP where races can fight along side of NPCs against opposing races.  Quick transportation is available by means of metamorphosing flying creatures but a new idea is indulged upon when it comes to close proximity's.  Not the water wing kind of your childhood but more like the advertising ploys of Victoria Secret.  Missing the laciness and tassel-liness, after completing part of the main quest you are given angel wings to allow you to explore areas in the upward direction and in essence becoming a flying mount.  A nice addition to this is the ability to fight foes in the air making for an even larger variety of motion and fighting sequences as well as new challenges with PvP.

What's interesting about Aion is it has already been released in the Far East for over a year now.  This will make the release to North America and Europe a far more mature one in terms of bug issues and latency problems that other recent MMOs have suffered from on initial release and should keep more people interested beyond the one month break or make point.

There has been enough time since the initial release of WoW for companies to shrug their shoulders and give in to completely running with everything that works for keeping an MMO fun and easy enough to play.  Quests are given to the player with easy directions, such as waypoints, and with the old question mark/exclamation point indicators.  English folk that are playing the Korean version now can still accomplish the quests without the ability to read the text.  Items when equipped become soul bound and can no longer resold keeping auction house enthusiasts from the ability to hold the market hostage (FFXI).  Party play is done with an almost carbon copy interface to WoW showing buffs, debuffs, health bars, etc, all in the same arrangement.    

The setting may not be for everyone, a lot of ideas have been done before, and the drudgery of having to start over again make Aion a game for those that can put all that aside.  It's probably not the best MMO to start with for those that are new to MMORPGs, but for those looking to branch off slightly, specifically from WoW, may have a good transitional feel with Aion.  I can see that this is NCSoft's answer to WoW and I have decided to see for myself if Aion will stand the test of time.  Open beta weekends are available to those that pre-purchase either from NCSoft directly or from Gamestop or Amazon.    

Andrew Bird - Fitz and Dizzyspells