[Friday Five] Reservations About Project Fiona

Recently unveiled at CES 2012, Razer’s Project Fiona hasbeen turning heads for the tablet’s ability to playcore PC games like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marines ratherthan being relegated to casual games like AngryBirds. While the idea of playing full blown PC games on a touchscreentablet is appealing and unimaginable at the moment, I still have somereservations about the system’s viability, especially in its current prototypeform.

It’s Way Too Bulky

The 10-inch screen itself isn’t that big of an issue – theiPad and Motorolla XOOM series both are ten inch tablets as well. Thecontrollers on the side, however, not only expand the tablet considerably, butmakes for unnecessary bulkiness. Unlike an ordinary laptop or tablet that onlycontains a flat surface, Project Fiona and its controller add-ons will likely becomea nuisance in any backpack. At most, it will need a special carrying case orfeature detachable controllers, both options of which I find cumbersome incomparison to carrying a gaming laptop around.

Tablets and HardcoreGames are Incompatible

Like smartphones, tablets appeal most to people who are onthe go. Tablets specifically cater more to people who aren’t computer savvy. Thetarget audience isn’t exactly composed of the hardcore gamers that would wantto play core games on the go. Even worse, there’s no benefit that tablets couldbring to these genres either – anything that Project Fiona could allow thesegames to do, the 3DS or PSV have probably already done. With action adventuregames, the tablet and controllers may be adequate, but FPS fans willundoubtedly pine for mouse and keyboard over the tablet’s offerings.

Short ForeseeableBattery Life

With an Intel i7 processor inside the tablet, I’m nothopeful for Project Fiona’s battery life. If the tablet does have a massivebattery, then it may stand a chance. A low battery life will inherently hurtany gameplay experience, cutting play time dramatically. Obviously with thetypes of titles that gamers are looking to play with Project Fiona, games thatwill undoubtedly eat away at and use the tablet’s processor, they will want acharger and outlet nearby throughout gameplay.

It Won’t be Cheap

There’s several reasons why we already know it won’t becheap. For one, Razer isn’t known for making cheap products – that’s not to saytheir products are a rip off, but they definitely burn holes in gamers’wallets. While we don’t know what exact processor the device will use, the i7still hovers at around high 200s to mid 300s on Newegg. On top of that, tabletsthemselves don’t come cheap right now either. The ASUS EP121 Tablet PC, whichruns Windows 7 and features an i5 processor at 1.33 GHz with no dedicated videocard. Razer hasn’t said anything about dedicated video cards yet, but it’s safeto assume that Project Fiona will have it if it’s meant for gaming. With that,an Intel i7 processor, and a projected Windows 8 OS, the tablet is looking moreand more exclusive.

You Can Always JustBuy a Laptop

This option will always come up when one ponders the meritsof buying a tablet. In this case, it’s even more imperative to compare the practicalityof a tablet to that of a laptop. All of the reasons mentioned above seem tofavor a laptop purchase over that of a tablet. For gaming, a laptop will have akeyboard. Even a 17-inch laptop would fit better in a backpack than a tabletwith controllers hanging out. Most laptops also have extendable batteriesavailable. While a gaming laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M will probablyrun gamers around $1200, they can be assured it will be compatible with gamesfor a long time to come. At the moment though, this is all speculation and wehave quite a while to see how the Razer’s price and specs will compare withtraditional gaming laptops. But until then, I won’t be holding my breath forsomething that may turn out to be just a novelty.  

[Friday Five] Reasons to Get the Wi-Fi PS Vita

With the launch of the Playstation Vita only a little morethan a month away, it seems like the prime time to talk about the system. Afterit had launched in Japan to abysmal figures that were dwarfed by the 3DS’sgrowing sales, most experts predicted an early price drop like Nintendo did forits portable or even the possibility of a cancelled North American launch. Butwe’re not here to talk about that. No, I personally have faith in the PSV. Justnot the 3G model.

You’re Saving Money

Maybe it’s because I’m a miser or maybe it’s because gamesare costing more and more, but the amount you’ll be saving really adds up. It’snot just the initial extra $50 you’ll be saving, but you also have to considerthe subscription fees that will be racking up every month. Right now, AT&T's revealed plans are at $15 per month for 250MB of data and $25 for 2GB of data. It’s simply notworth it considering that…

You Might Have a CellPhone

In the age of smart phones and data plans that can get unlimited data at speeds up to 4G, depending on the provider, there’s no reason to settle for adevice that can only reach speeds of 3G for an extra subscription. Any of the socialnetworking opportunities the PSVita has, such as Facebook and foursquare, areabundantly present in any smart phone. And I’m certainly not spending an extrapremium for the luxury of telling the world I’ve been playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at Denny’sversus just telling them I’m at Denny’s. Plus, with a cell phone…

Internet’s EverywhereAnyways

The tech savvy gamer knows that most phones can be used ashotspots, whether the carriers allow it or not. Many places, including Denny’s,the cheap gamer’s diner of choice, will also have complimentary Wi-Fi. Internetis either simply so abundant or found in so many other sources that it‘s just awaste to jam it into another device. Tether your phone or buy a drink at aStarbucks, because those are both better alternatives considering…

3G Speeds for OnlineGaming…Really?

Even with my 15Mbps connection, gaming is often an iffy andlag-filled affair. Giving AT&T the benefit of the doubt and having faiththat it will consistently deliver the 1700Kbps and 700Kbps upload speedsurveyed by Speedtest.net earlier this year, I still wouldn’t expect a smoothexperience. Good luck dealing with low coverage areas and dead zones, too. Remember,not all 3G is delivered equally.

Minimal HardwareDifferences

The only addition to the 3G model that the Wi-Fi model lacksis the GPS chip. Otherwise, gamers who purchase either model will end up withthe same experience. Unless developers start to utilize the GPS chip in somegames, which heavily relies on the success of the 3G model itself to berealistic, it will sit by and miss out on all the action. Oh, and did I mention how unreliable most GPS chips are indoors, where most gaming will likelytake place? 

[Friday Five] Good Reasons to Import

Back in the days of cartridge converters and illegal modifications all for the purpose of playing imported games, most American gamers only heard about the elusive Japanese games and could only find out about them from rare magazine articles or word of mouth. With the internet and a greater interest in gaming, not only is there more information making it to western gamers by way of individual user created videos, but there is a greater number of games making their way to western shores as well. Although that is the case, people still import games – and for good reason. Here are at least five reasons why to import a game instead of waiting for it to come overseas.

Japanese Voice Acting

This isn’t much of a knock against English voice acting, really. It has been done successfully before and games like the Metal Gear Solid series (which originally has Japanese voice acting) and many American games, since it is the game’s native language. However, let’s not forget the horrible translations that make it over without any Japanese audio option: Final Fantasy, the Dynasty Warrior series (before the free godsend DLC), and many others that I have probably blocked out from my memory. Just like with movies, lackluster acting can easily take the audience out of the experience and turn any potential blockbuster product into a dud. Here’s to those of you lucky enough to understand Japanese – your Final Fantasy experience will be infinitely better than others who are subjected to emotionless cries of characters’ names as they fall in battle.

Cultural Differences

While this may not apply as much to general gaming as much as it applies to any work that is translated. Anyone who’s familiar with more than one culture knows what I’m talking about. Some phrases and aspects of culture just can’t be translated. Cultural ideas like saying “gochisoosama” after a meal and speaking to employers or older classmates in the honorific speech, keego, that Japanese people use would be awkward if translated directly into English. Of course, there are acceptable replacements for the most part that localizers manage to think of, but purists can never be satisfied. But hey, that’s on them and they’re perfectly justified in spending about 50% more for an import copy!

Withheld Content

This is an odd one. Some games, despite being brought over, are not given to western gamers in their entirety. As much as I loved Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 3and will ooze everytime I destroy entire squads of Zakus, it will always sting knowing that I won’t be doing that to tracks like “Unicorn” or “Turn A Turn.” InYakuza 3, fans were unable to take part in the hostess clubs or Japanese history trivia in the domestic release. Of course, this is a small price to pay compared to not having the game published at all, but it does take part of the experience away, which is a shame.

Waiting is Not an Option

I’m not talking about getting the jitters to play the latest niche RPG just so you can show off and tell others about it. I’m not talking about running through Final Fantasy XIII-2 with a complete disregard for the story just to be able to troll the internet with a spoiler screenshot. I’m talking about competitive gamers who can’t lose the edge to the competition and needs to get any release on day one. For some games, it’s a minor problem. BlazBlue: Continuum Shift’s Japanese release was only about a month before the US release but a full five months before the European one. Arcana Heart 3 took about three months to hit the US and another seven before European gamers got a chance at it. This isn’t only a dilemma for fans of niche genres – Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out in Japan a good two months before it did in the US and five before Europe. That’s a lot of practice and tournament time for a competitive player to give up.

It Won’t Go to Your Country. Ever.

Many times, those niche games just won’t make it to countries outside of Japan. As hardcore as some of the games’ followers might be, the Super Robot Wars series simply requires too much licensing to be considered a viable release in the states. Due to the original anime’s lack of popularity in the US, the upcoming Saint Seiya Sanctuary Battle will likely never make it to America – although it will still have a European release. Let’s not even get ourselves started on the obscure releases that westerners are unlikely to take to, such as dating simulator Love Plus+, and games that failed the one time a publisher brought it over, like the Taiko series. If you like these games, your options look grim and bank account empty. Yeah. You’re going to have to buy it.