Let's Talk About Youtube's New Content ID System

Recently Google made the Content ID system on Youtube more aggressive and people who produce video game related content were hit the hardest. But before we continue, let’s educate the ignorant about what the Content ID system does. Basically it’s an automated system (or bot) that scans uploaded videos on Youtube and checks if they match any copyrighted material in their database such as films and music. If a positive is found the ad revenue from the video is given to the copyright holders while the person who uploaded the video, doesn’t receive a cent. In some instances, having several ID matches can result in the closure of your account.

This can be a major issue if you’re a partner that makes a living off Youtube. Classic Game Room, which has been on Youtube since 2007, has decided to leave and upload their reviews on their own site. Probably because they can make money off the ads they run on their site without any interference from Google or Youtube.

Now why has Google suddenly become so strict? Well my theory is it might have something do with closure of a certain website like “Megaupload”. Which encouraged people to upload copyrighted material such as films and music. Probably because they could sell premium account subscriptions to give you faster, ad-free access to the copyrighted content on their servers. Because of these unethical practices, the FBI shut them down and made several arrests. Google obviously wants to avoid a similar fate and demonstrate vigilance against people who upload copyrighted material.

Fortunately my channel hasn’t received any ID matches and here are some tips to avoid getting any Content ID matches on your future videos.

- Don’t use any copyrighted songs, music or footage that isn’t taken from a video game. If you need music in your videos, use stock or free domain music. But please check with the rights holder if you can freely use their music without paying royalties in monetised videos. Alternatively Youtube does offer stock music for free. You can download this music from the “Creation Tools” in the “Video Manager” section of your Youtube account.

- When applicable, go to the options menu of the game you’re playing and turn off the music or mute the audio when editing the footage. Most of the content ID matches are triggered by the soundtrack of the game.

- Avoid using game play footage that uses copyright material from a non gaming-source. For example many games based on a movielike Tomorrow Never Dies feature live-action footage from said film. This will most likely get a content ID match.

- Some publishers issue an outline of what content from their games they want or don’t want uploaded Youtube. Reviewing these is a good idea.

- Uploading game play footage without commentary or any educational value is not fair use.

If you still get a Content ID match and think your video uses game play footage within the terms of fair use. Some publishers can help remove the Content ID match if you contact them via email.

The Difference Between A Placeholder And An Official Release Date

 

It seems most gamers don’t know the difference between a placeholder and an actual release date issued by the publisher. Because of this I hear many people saying “The Last Guardian” is coming out (or did) in 2012 and apparently Kingdom Hearts 3 will be out before the end of 2014 (even though Nomura’s team at Square-Enix has spent the last 8 years working on a Final Fantasy game that is nowhere near being ready to be ship).

So what is a placeholder and why do they exist? Well a placeholder is an unofficial (i.e. wrong) time frame in which a game could potentially come out. This is made up by stores that sell video games because they need some sort of date to include the game in their database or it’s designed to encourage people to buy or pre-order the latest and newest game systems. For example, in the lead up to the launch of the Xbox One and Playstation 4, many shops advertised the new Wolfenstein would be coming out in 2013. We’re at the end of 2013 and the new Wolfenstein still hasn’t come out.

Hopefully this article will educate and help people avoid confusing a place holder with an actual release date issued by publishers. If you want an accurate date for when a game is coming out, visit the official site of the video game or contact the publisher via email. Also remember that each region could have a different release date and don’t forget the Americans have a different format for dates. Horray, for more layers of confusion!!!

Anarchy Reigns (PS3) Review - Old School Brawling With Every Racial Stereotype

 

When Anarchy Reigns can out in January 2013, I imported it from Europe, brand new on launch day for $28AU. This was basically Platinum Games (Bayonetta, Madworld, Vanquish) admitting that nobody buys their games and they quickly end up in the bargain bin. Which is a real shame because Platinum Games make some of the most creative, over the top games on the market. Even if Anarchy Reigns isn't their best work.

You’ll be forgiven, for mistaking Anarchy Reigns as the sequel to Madworld. Since both games were developed by the same studio and share many of the same characters (like Jack, ex-CIA, ex-NSA, ex-everything). However according to an interview with the game’s director, the two games are not connected story-wise. This becomes apparent when the events of Madworld are never mentioned in the game. You could say Anarchy Reigns takes place in a parallel universe. But there's still a few references to Madworld that fans will enjoy.

With the debate of continuity out of the way, let’s talk about the narrative in Anarchy Reigns which revolves around two men who are looking for the same person. The story isn’t exactly deep, the production values aren’t consistent and most of the dialogue is pure nonsense. But that’s the reason I enjoyed every cut-scene. The game never tries to be serious and the large cast of flamboyant characters kept a smile on my face. Plus the overall voice work is excellent with the amazing Steven Blum (Spike from Cowboy Bebop) returning to voice Jack.

Anarchy Reigns is a beat em’ up style of video game, but with a very old school approach to the genre. There are no RPG elements and all the moves are available right from the word go. This makes the learning curve a little steep, but just play through the tutorial a few times and you’ll easily grasp the mechanics. The story mode consists of two different campaigns and both of them use the same four areas. Each area is full of respawning
enemies and the extreme hazards to stop things from becoming predictable.

To progress to the next area you have to complete all the story missions, but there’s also some side missions to help you rank up those points required to unlock the next story mission. These missions offer a really nice variety of standard brawls, shooting galleries, racing with vehicles and lots of other crazy stuff. Most of the boss battles aren’t particular special, with the exception of those giant monsters.

Completing the story mode with both characters will take somewhere between 8 to 10 hours. As you progress through the story mode you unlock additional characters which can be used in the game’s online component. Now before I continue, I should confess that I’m not the biggest fan of online gaming. But the 16 player brawls in Anarchy Reigns is the most fun I’ve had in any online game. I can admit there aren’t many people playing it, so finding a game can take a long time. But the fact that nobody has ever done an online brawler like this before makes it a unique experience in an age ruled by First Person Shooters.

The soundtrack in Anarchy Reigns is definitely one of the best I’ve heard in a video game. Instead of using just orchestral music like every other game on the market, the soundtrack in Anarchy Reigns consists of hip hop, rap and funk with really entertaining lyrics. If you don't the pick the game, at least buy the soundtrack on iTune. Unfortunately the game doesn’t look as good as it sounds. Most of the textures are muddy and some of the effects look really dated. Graphical glitches like clipping and pop-in also occur.

Anarchy Reigns isn’t a game without faults. But it’s easy to overlook them when the core game play is so enjoyable and playing an online brawler is such a breath of fresh air in this industry dominated by First Person Shooters. Plus don't forget you can pick it up for half the price of a regular Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 game.

RATING - 7/10

 

My PS3 Experience - Two Jobs, Stolen Debit Card and JASON!!!!

It’s really funny looking back at the PS3, because when it originally came out in 2007 (Australia) it was an object of hate. The only thing people hated more than the PS3 was North Korea. Mainly because of its high price compared to the competition and lackluster line-up of software. Publishers were redrawing their support and analysts were predicting the Playstation brand would soon be dead and Sony would become a third party publisher like Sega.

But regardless of how much my co-workers or high school chums told me the PS3 was “gay” or “sucked”. I still wanted one, because I already owned and loved all the previous Playstation hardware, PS1, PS2 and PSP. Playstation blood was running through my veins and I needed the PS3 to complete my life. Of course the big obstacle was that huge price. The RRP for the 80GB model in 2008 was $699 Australian. CEO Kaz Hirai said you would need two jobs to afford this thing and he wanted to make you feel like you earned the PS3 - Arrogant, but surprisingly true. Back then I was only earning $10 an hour at a Chinese Restaurant and if you do that maths. I worked a total of 70 hours to afford the PS3, although I brought it at JB Hi-Fi for $650. God bless JB Hi-Fi, what would I do without you?

It was July 2008 and the PS3 was mine. Boy did I feel like I was on top of the world, Kaz Hirai was absolutely right. I felt like I’d earned it, those hard days slaving at that Chinese Restaurant had finally produced the rewards. The first games I got for the system was Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. Both of them were incredible games that blew me away with their visuals and attention to detail. I would soon expand that library with games like Resistance 2, which at one point had the highest player count for an online shooter; over 60 players could fight each other at the same time. Little Big Planet was the first platformer from Sony that almost made me forget about Super Mario, mainly because of its robust level editor and strong online community. Valkyria Chronicles showed me that a game about war could treat the subject matter with maturity and human emotion. Alone in the Dark was well.....a mistake.

Of course in September 2009 Sony would bring out the Slim PS3 with a cheaper, more attractive price. Key titles like Uncharted 2, Killzone 2, God of War III and Infamous made people finally want a PS3 and the system would eventually overtake the Xbox 360 in sales, but still hasn’t reach the same sales as the almighty Nintendo Wii. People now loved the PS3 and it’s hard to think at one point Activison was threatening to redraw support and key franchises like Call of Duty if sales didn’t improve.

But even with a bright future, there were still dark moments. In March 2010, the PS3 clock bug made the system think it was a leap year and reset the clock to the end of 1999. This made any digital software or games that support trophies unplayable. Which was annoying because I was nearly towards the end of Heavy Rain and almost about to discover the identity of the Origami Killer (to my surprise, it wasn't that scary clown with the balloons). Fortunately a patch corrected those issues with the Operating System.

Of course let’s not forget the big one, the Playstation Network hacking. I will always remember April 2011 and how the world went crazy when it became apparent that hackers had broken into the Playstation Network servers and had stolen all our personal information including our credit/debit cards. I immediately cancelled my Debit Card and the woman at the bank even said they had several victims of the Playstation Network cancelling their cards as well. But I’ll never forget how my co-workers and friends had a meltdown over losing the ability to play their online games for 3 weeks and you have to remember the Playstation hacking happened the day before Australia had a long 5 day weekend. One of my co-workers said he was planning to run out and trade his PS3 towards a Xbox 360. Which seemed like failed logic since Xbox Live could go down at any time, in fact it did during 2007 and people were denied service for 2 whole weeks. I was more annoyed about the fact I had purchased Portal 2 and promised a friend who owned a PC. I would redeem the free PC version that came with Portal 2 and give it to him. But with the network down, I couldn’t do it until service resumed 3 weeks later. Although because I had 3 Playstation accounts before the hacking, I scored myself not 4 but 12 free games with the Welcome Back package. Victory!!!

So looking back at the PS3, was it a good or bad console? I believe it was a great system and the positives usually get buried by uninformed trolls. Obviously people complain about Sony removing PS2 backwards compatibility early in its life, but what they forget this was done to bring the price of the system down and having two different models on the market at the same time (one that plays PS2 games and one that doesn’t), could really confuse consumers and lead to a lot of unhappy buyers realising they have a unit that doesn’t play PS2 games. Of course ironically the only next gen console with backwards compatibility, the Wii U is the system that’s getting all the hate. Ironnnyyy!!!! The PS3 introduced us to Blu-Ray which allowed for more data in our games and of course HD movies which look incredible. I honestly don’t know why people are still torturing their eyes with fuzzy DVDs, when Blu-Ray movies come out at almost the same price. But my favourite part about the PS3 was being 100% region free with the exception of two games, Persona 4 Arena and Stranglehold. I love the luxury of being to play any game from any part of the globe. Since it increases my buying options and lets me to play certain games before their release in Australia (like Catherine and Back To The Future) or play games that never got a PAL release (MLB The Show).

So that was my experience with the Playstation 3 over the last 5 years. It has been fun seeing the black box go from being the most hated thing on the Earth to a force to be reckoned with. Of course the system isn’t dead yet, unlike other console makers Sony doesn’t abandon their platforms (another plus for Sony) as soon as they announce the successor. I can’t wait to pick up The Puppeteer this week, Beyond Two Souls in October and of course Gran Turismo 6 in December. Plus there will be tonnes of games coming out in 2014. Honestly why are people worried about the PS4 shortage and not getting one until 2014? When the PS3 is still pumping out these incredible titles.

Ashley Wood's Art of Metal Gear Solid (2011 Hardcover) - Quick Review

In today's post we’re taking a look at Ashley Wood’s Art of Metal Gear Solid. First published in paperback form in 2009 and in 2011 they released a hardcover edition, the version I'll be talking about. It's exactly 120 pages long and contains Metal Gear artwork done by Australian artist Ashley Wood. More specifically it collects artwork used in the comic books based on the first and second Metal Gear Solid. As well as the art used in the cut-scenes for Portable Ops on the PSP. Unfortunately, since the book was first published before Peace Walker was released, you won’t find any of his artwork used in that game.

I’m a really big fan of Ashley Wood, his various styles and choice of colours is unlike anything else in a comic book or a video game. So it’s a real shame that the majority of Metal Gear fans hate him. Although I do have a few complaints with this book, first thing that annoys me is the artwork is all over the place. They didn’t try to categorise it in any manner, like for example. The first section would be art taken from the first Metal Gear Solid comic, then the second one, followed by Portable Ops. My other gripe is it only contains the finalised art and nothing exclusive. No rough sketches or any sort of production notes.

Of course I wouldn’t classify these problems as a deal breaker, because it’s such a beautiful book with high quality paper and a gorgeous cover. As a big fan of Metal Gear I love owning it in my collection and recommend it to other fans as well.

Killzone Mercenary First Impressions - The Greatest FPS On A Handheld Console

I would never have guessed that a Killzone game would become the most important game for the Playstation Vita. But since the previous attempts at  making an FPS game on the system were complete hack jobs (Resistance Burning Skies and Black Ops Declassified) and very few publisher driven titles coming out before Christmas. Sony is clearly betting the farm on Killzone Mercenary and has dropped the price of the Vita (and it’s memory sticks) just before the release of this game. The good news is that Sony has picked the winning horse, because Killzone Mercenary has exceeded my expectations and hopefully yours.

Now when Killzone Mercenary was announced at Gamescom 2012, I couldn’t believe when they said it would run on the Killzone 3 engine. One of the most graphically advanced engines ported to the Vita? They must be bluffing!!! Well looks like Guerrilla Cambridge is having the last laugh, because the engine runs beautifully on the Vita. This is by far the best looking game I’ve ever seen on a handheld. The lighting, smoke effects and the sense of scale is mind blowing. Yet the game runs at native resolution and a continuous 30 frames per second. However there is a very brief one second pause when the game loads new enemies or other assets.

Loading times only exist at the beginning of each level and are covered nicely by mission briefings. Although the story really isn’t anything special, the voice acting is average at best and there really isn’t any character development to found here. But then again nobody has ever played a Killzone game for the story (although the first game did have some hilarious writing – “Are you asking did I get laid?” – ahh...I miss Luger).

The controls are fantastic and I was pleased to discover that the game lets me switch off all the motion and touch controls in the options menu. However the game does force you to use touch when doing melee attacks (one of which is stabbing a guy in the balls – Call of Duty please take notes) and interacting with certain things, like those lame hacking mini-games (see the picture below). Ok game developers listen to me, because l’m going to tell you something that will blow your mind. When gamers and critics praised Bioshock as one of the best games of all time, nobody said they liked those annoying hacking mini-games. So stop putting them in every bloody FPS game you make. Do we understand this? 

I’ve only played through three of the nine missions in the story mode. But the pacing and overall action is excellent. There's plenty of explosions and massive set pieces to make Michael Bay jizz his pants. Weapon selection is massive and all the guns have a lot of weight to them. Unlike previous Killzone games, there’s a much greater emphasis on stealth and a nifty radar system and silence weapons allow you to stay undetected.

The new experience and money system adds a great sense of progression to the game. Plus the experience you earn in the campaign is carried over to the multiplayer and vice versa. Money can be spent on weapons, armour and deadly drones at terminals dotted all over the place. This gives you plenty of options to play the game in a way that suits your style. I’ll admit I haven’t touched the multiplayer component and it seems to be online only. So that means no local matches with your buddies without an internet connection. Another blow to the online component is the game requires you to download a 1190MB patch!!! I’m not even making this is up!!!

But I can’t stay mad at Killzone Mercenary, because it’s an incredible, technical achievement that pushes handheld gaming to its limit. We finally have an FPS game on the portable console that doesn’t suck and let’s hope this is the game that will finally make people want to invest in a Playstation Vita.

Defending the new Nintendo 2DS

 

 

On the 29th of August, Nintendo used a Direct conference to announce a new member of the 3DS family called the 2DS. Basically it’s a stripped down version of the 3DS without the 3D screen or the ability to fold in half. The two screen is now one large single LCD with a piece of plastic in the middle. This brings down the manufacturing costs and passes those saving on to the consumer.

The 2DS will be released on the 12th of October, the same day as the new Pokémon and will have a RRP of AU$149.95. It will come bundled with an AC adapter, stylus pen, 6 AR cards and a 4GB SDHC card (same as the 3DS XL, the standard 3DS only comes with a 2GB one). The screen size and battery life (3 hours) of the 2DS will be identical to the standard 3DS.

Of course the internet decided to explode and make fun of the system, because the 2DS doesn’t feature gratuitous violence or sex in its marketing campaign. In fact most of the promotional material shows the system being played by children, which is clearly the key market for this system. I mean it’s being released simultaneously with the new Pokemon, the lower price will make it more attractive to parents shopping for a Christmas present and removing the 3D functionality will silence any health concerns parents might have with the system. In fact the user manual and packaging for the 3DS does not recommend that children under the age of 7 play the system with the 3D effect on since it might cause permanent damage to their eye sight. Obviously the 3DS has a parental lock to disable the 3D, but removing it altogether eliminates any concerns from the most paranoid of parents.

Now as for the inability to fold in half, people might be asking - how do I put the system into sleep mode and do some good old Street Passing? How do I finish that one puzzle in “Hotel Dusk” or “Phantom Hourglass”? Well Nintendo has thought of this and has added a slider on the bottom that enables sleep mode.

From a business prospective, the 2DS is a great move. It will appeal to parents, kids and of course budget conscious people. Plus with the recent price drop of the rival PS Vita, Nintendo obviously wants to stay competitive. I personally have no interest in the 2DS since I already have both the standard 3DS and the XL model. But I’ve talked with some friends who are very interested in buying the system, mainly because of the cheap price and the new form factor. Which should make it more comfortable to hold than the 3DS since the weight is now distributed evenly.