A New Cutthroats Approaches!
“Wow…somehow you’ve managed to cause some Home-drool with absolutely no specifics whatsoever.”
–johneboy1970
by NorseGamer, HSM Editor-in-Chief
I’m genuinely excited to be able to announce this.
Every Home community media site faces the same challenge: in an environment where all breaking news is delivered first by Sony, what sort of product can a community media site deliver that users will find compelling?
The cheap and easy solution is to play the copypasta game: as soon as something is announced, it’s a mad dash to see who can cut and paste the PR copy first in order to score kudos and some sense of status. And, hey, there’s a market for that.
In the case of our partners at AlphaZone4, Cubehouse and his team set up what can best be described as the encyclopedia of Home. They truly are the go-to source for pretty much all worldwide Home content information, and their visitor numbers reflect the fact that they do it better than anyone else.
And HomeStation? As a literary journal, our niche is that we analyze and discuss, rather than simply re-post. Our belief is that the Home community wants a deeper discussion of Home’s social issues and content releases, which in turn provides more useful and constructive feedback to the developers who create Home. If Sony is always the first to break a story, then the logical course of action is to offer the best coverage of that story, not necessarily the first coverage.
But what if Sony allowed you to be first?
Now this is a whole different ball game. It’s one thing to have advance knowledge of what’s coming, but it’s another to be allowed to actually publicly reveal it before anyone else even knows about it. Particularly on a story this big.
The story in question is Cutthroats. When Cutthroats was initially released, it was met with tremendous fanfare and a large marketing push from SCEA. And, to be fair, it’s a pretty astonishing game for Home. It’s one of the few spots in Home where you can actually see people playing the game, and it’s a massive 24-player romp full of sailing and cannonball mayhem, all without any issues in lag or collision detection. Thing is, though, Cutthroats did have some flaws, which were examined at length in HSM shortly after the game was first released.
To be fair, building a game for a social MMO world is a tough challenge; it has to be entertaining for years at a time, which requires a somewhat different structure than what you find in traditional gaming. The magic of Cutthroats is that it tantalizingly comes so close to being the perfect fusion of gaming with Home’s social scene, and the frustration of Cutthroats is that what turned into the final release just got so many things flat-out wrong.
The big question, then, is whether or not Cutthroats would simply continue on as is, or if it would be revisited and updated.
I’m happy to report that the latter took place. Which brings us to the obvious question: what’s the new content?
Here’s where I have to be coy. While I’ve been allowed to disclose there’s a Cutthroats content update, I’m not authorized to tell you the specifics (those are coming in a future article, already written and approved). I can tell you, however, that it’s ABSOLUTELY FREAKING AWESOME.
Remember, last year, when HomeStation visited the LOOT offices and we were allowed to publicly disclose that we’d been there and seen cool stuff, but we couldn’t tell you any specifics? And you had to take our word on it? And then you found out about the LOOT Space Station and the portable EOD and your head exploded? Yup.
This is another one of those articles. And I think I’ve earned enough street cred, particularly since I sort of ripped the game apart the last time I wrote about it, to tell you this: once this new content update takes place, Cutthroats stands a legitimate chance of being considered one of the all-time best games in Home.
HSM inside Sony VASG, helping to create a video game
How can I be so certain of this? Simple. I’ve playtested it.
That’s right. You heard me. Sony VASG invited HSM to preview the Cutthroats content update and offer creative input and feedback. And so I got on a plane, flew to California, and checked out what was what. And, in a nutshell, here’s a snapshot of what the new Cutthroats experience is like:
well this doesn’t look too different wait a minute that’s new whoa check that out OMG that’s EPIC how’d you do that HOLY **** WTF WAS THAT YOU CAN DO THAT NOW!?!?!?
No, seriously. I could try to be more literate and reflective about it, but that’s basically what it comes down to. With this new content update, Cutthroats plays like very nearly a completely different game. It’s like driving the base model of a car and then driving the hyper-tuned and supercharged top-range version of it. It’s like when Newsweek called Bush Sr. the wimp President and he responded by sending in everything except Samuel L. Jackson to stomp the Fritos out of Iraq. Seriously, you think, “Yeah, it’s just gonna be the same game with some body and fender work,” and it’s like the game heard you dissing it so it decided to call up the cast of The Expendables and morph them together into a giant bicep Voltron, and before you can say, “I was just kidding,” it punches you so hard that Dan Forden hands you some toast while the game makes out with your girlfriend and drinks your Mountain Dew.
Most importantly, though: the game has a lot more long-term appeal to it now. A lot of the issues which hampered this game’s replayability have been dealt with. This is not the first time that a Home developer has gone back and tweaked a game based on community feedback, but I honestly can’t recall another Home game being so dramatically reinvented. It’s actually really hard for me to play the current version of the game that’s in Home, because I’ve had hands-on time with the new version, and it just does not compare. Comparing the two versions of Cutthroats is a bit like comparing a turnip with Gisele Bündchen.
Sony VASG hard at work, creating Cutthroats
And then — and then, because this is the best part — there’s even more awesomesauce coming. Stuff that’s built and done — properly big stuff — but just didn’t make it in time to meet the content update. We’re not talking about some free t-shirts. No. We’re talking about stuff that’s like that freeway scene from The Matrix Reloaded when there’s dudes leaping on top of cars and Morpheus taking out albino dreadlock phantoms with a katana and my pause button getting worn out because Carrie-Anne Moss is riding a Ducati and Daniel Bernhardt playing boom with the big rigs and there’s flying Neo and holy fark I need more popcorn.
Now, granted, there’s always the risk of hyping something too far, which sets the audience up for disappointment. But I will say this: a lot of money was thrown at this game. A lot of money. And this should be applauded, because all too often, it seems like stuff is simply abandoned. Not this time, though. This time, Sony’s gambling that they can successfully reintroduce Cutthroats to a Home consumer base that’s already got its eye on what else is scheduled to come out this year. I wouldn’t be this hyped for the game unless I genuinely believed that it was worth spending this many words on, and having enjoyed some hands-on time with it, I can absolutely tell you it’s worth rediscovering when it comes out.
Cutthroats, then and now
It’s like going to your high school reunion and discovering that the quiet mousy girl was Tina Fey. That’s what it’s like to rediscover Cutthroats.
I can’t quite finish this up without teasing one small item: there’s something in the new Cutthroats which is, quite possibly, the funniest thing ever seen in PlayStation Home. It just doesn’t get old. People are going to have a lot of fun with it. And that’s about all I can say before Sony’s death ninjas, flesh-eating lawyers and a large man with a glandular problem all get out of the unmarked white van across the street and beat me with an NDA made out of concrete.
Many thanks to the Sony VASG team for allowing HSM to experience, in person, the new Cutthroats, and to SCEA for permitting this article to be published. Look for the revamped Cutthroats experience in PlayStation Home very soon.
August 7th, 2012 by NorseGamer | 10 comments
NorseGamer is the product manager for LOOT Entertainment at Sony Pictures, as well as the founder and publisher of HomeStation Magazine. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he holds a B.A. in English/Creative Writing from San Francisco State University and presently lives in Los Angeles. All opinions expressed in HSM are solely his and do not necessarily reflect the views of Sony DADC.
LinkedIn
Twitter
Wow…somehow you’ve managed to cause some Home-drool with absolutely no specifics whatsoever. Again.
Ditto
I hope the people who think Sony is just trying to take their money see this and realize that they are wrong. These are improvements that no one was asking for, but everyone will enjoy. The people inside Sony who made this happen need the support of the Home gamers if there is to be more of this. I have not seen this kind of loyalty to a game from a corporation ever in my life. If this were any other game publisher, they would have cut it loose. So make sure to applaud the behaviors you like and want them to continue. This is corporate bravery. I know it is hard to recognize because it almost never happens. The good thing -- I think supporting their efforts will be fun!
Norse -- “You have a feel for ambiguity.” -- Professor Taub, “The Sure Thing”
WOOOOOOO-HOOOOO! XDDDDD So looking forward to this! Guess I need to get some practice in! ^^ Excuse my typing spittle. XD
Wow is all I can say. I can’t wait to see what this is about. Hope it comes soon!
Hmmm, I’ll trust you on it being awesome. HSM is right about cool new stuff. But if this become rubbish (read as Slap Happy) I’ll be really bummed of for Sony.
out for Sony*
Wow. 1st Awsome article. You really got me here. And I really want to see this.
I liked the game. But it had all the flaws I dont need to repeat. Then I lost coins for over a month…
Now, now… what can I say. I WANT IT NOW!!! lol
n.b. Congrats on this scoop! You really deserve it.
My eyes popped!!! We shall see what happens but I am excited. What more to say then thanks for the article report.
Captain Kid
Right I am digging this! I now cannot wait. Thanks Norse for the all the anticipation anxiety. Man when it rains it pours. Will I ever have enough time or money to experience it all?! I guess I will sleep when I am dead. Drooling on keyboard. Lights out.