Posted by ASandoval on June 30, 2008 under Games | 
Today’s rant will be based off an article I read about here:
http://kotaku.com/397521/wall-street-journal-gta-ivs-no-godfather
I’d like to say it’s pretty cool that gaming is getting attention from a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer (Junot Diaz for those too lazy to look at the source). It’s even more amazing that it’s about GTAIV and not rambling on about its hypnotizing mindwaves programmed to make your children act out a live version of George Romero’s “The Crazies”. Actually, he takes an in-depth look at GTAIV as a viable art form. You can take a moment after finishing this article to check and see if the heavens have opened and the rapture is upon us if you’d like, but I don’t think you’re going to find anything. You see, the rest of the article reads out like the gamers who play Grand Theft Auto IV are the pretentious bunch who like to sit in comfortable mahogany chairs sucking on pipes whilst discussing the tragedies that unfold in the narrative.
The sad fact is anyone in the community who would actually care to go see Mr. Diaz on his soapbox will soon be turned away by the fact that he’s telling us things we already know. The most revealing part comes rather quickly as Diaz lets us know that, despite the crazy hype of the media, GTAIV doesn’t stand up to films such as Scarface or Godfather. To tell the truth, before reading the article, I just finished watching 2007’s “American Gangster” and never once did I think to myself “Well, this is okay, but it’s no GTAIV.”
No, I think the majority of us gamers have come to term with the fact that video game narrative, at it’s best, is as good as the best summer blockbuster popcorn movies, their moral themes of black and white good vs. evil being blatantly beaten over our heads in between fantastic explosions and goretastic violence. And I’m perfectly okay with that. What helps the medium transcend beyond other entertainment-based art forms isn’t just the narrative. It’s the combination of art, sound and interactivity neatly wrapped in one big package that helps push that boundary. It’s an escapist fantasy world that places me in the designer’s mind, so it’s not something I have qualms with.
That’s not to say narrative isn’t important, and I of all people would be a hypocrite to say so. Case in point, Diaz goes on to make claims about the characters of GTA that I just can’t get behind.
“Compared with Tommy and CJ, GTA IV’s protagonist Niko Bellic is somewhat of a milquetoast. He’s more of a reluctant hero in the classic tradition. I mean he ain’t exactly a boy scout, having been a human trafficker in the immediate past, and his descent into hits for hire is pretty swift but overall he’s a moral improvement over earlier GTA leads. Perhaps this is why the critics call him more nuanced, but in my estimation Niko isn’t nuanced; he’s just boring. You don’t play GTA because you want to roll with a Niko. You play GTA because, for a couple of hours, you want to be a Tommy Vercetti.”
Uh, no, actually, I want to be Niko Bellic far more than I want to be Tommy Vercetti. If I’m going to be transported into a world as a character who’s not me, I at least want it to be someone I can relate to, and not a one-dimensional sociopath like previous GTA protagonists. Now, Bellic is no Scarface in terms of immigrant-gone-American-crimelord (Which Diaz’s article goes to great lengths to let you know), however, he’s also not a dickhead, which I’m not, so I don’t want to play as one. This is where the importance of narrative in a game comes in: If I don’t care about the Hero’s Journey, then why am I going to care about seeing it through?
It kind of goes without saying that generally anyone who does want to be a Tommy Vercetti for a couple of hours in GTA, is also the kind of person who uses a cheat code to open all the islands and says “fuck all” to the narrative and the game’s missions anyway. It also goes without saying that, generally, game narrative that’s disjointed from the gameplay is all around bad design. Since the inclusion of narrative in GTAIII however, Rockstar has separated the two without anyone ever really noticing. Disagree? Then you are obviously not one of those millions of people who play GTA who never once set foot into Niko Bellic’s shoes apart from the games intro, living out their insane serial killer fantasies before going about their much more boring lives. And are more likely to be my friend.
That’s what’s so cool about the GTA series and gaming in general. You have the choice to play as who you want to, and how you want. If anything, I’d much rather see a critical analysis of that than have someone tell me that my game’s story is pulp fiction at best. It’s not really what keeps people playing GTAIV in the first place. For me, it’s that I care about Niko Bellic, and in general, I have fun playing out his scenarios. For others, they just wants to sleep with hookers, kill them and take their money.
To each their own, right?
Posted by ASandoval on June 27, 2008 under Games |
So if you couldn’t surmise from the title, I wanna talk a little bit about Too Human. So let’s talk about it.
Now, I remember when EGM did it’s Too Human cover story a while back. At the time, the next gen was a tad bit of a let down. There was no Bioshock to speak of and Gears of War did nothing for me. So far, the only next gen title to really excite me to any end was Dead Rising. So I read about this game which, at the time, I didn’t really know much about. Silicon Knights is an awesome company, but I’ll be honest: Legacy of Kain is not my cup of tea, and MGS: The Twin Snakes, downright sucked. So I wasn’t in the habit of keeping up with what the company was doing, to say the least.
Anyway, my eyes poured over the issue. A Norse mythology based story in a cyber punk detting? Diablo like RPG elements in a God of War style game? A compelling sci fi narrative promising to explore issues seen in other medias such as Logan’s Run and Blade Runner? Nietzsche?! I was sold. I remember running around with that copy of the magazine to anyone who’d listen. I made them read it, had them absorb every little detail on each and every page. I boldly proclaimed THIS was the game I had gotten my 360 for.
And then, E3 2006 happened. In a well told story that need not be restated here, a lackluster demo of the early game created an ugly stain of a shadow that Too Human and Silicon Knights have been unable to escape from. Since then, the game has hit the shit list of every cynical net asshole who doesn’t understand how development works. Denis Dyack, head of Silicon Knights, has been very vocal about this, and quite frankly I’ve always agreed with him. Demos and mass media events are a blight on the industry; It can destroy the reputation of a game way too early in development, which is a pain when it costs millions to produce that kind of demo as well as all the advertising a show like E3 demanded at the time before it was neutered. After all, there was another game that was chastised the same way at E3 a few years earlier; it was called Halo. These are all really good, solid points that Mr. Dyack has presented with gusto over the 2 year period that Too Human has had to incubate and stretch beyond the confines of early alpha. With the games presence looming over us, however, I feel as though Mr. Dyack has now created a monster of which he will lose control over come this August.
You see, it seems Good Ole’ Uncle Denis has decided go one man Guerrilla style into the heart of the naysayers’ homeland, the NeoGAF boards. Not just go in, but even so far as to issue a challenge. But don’t take my word for it, let’s hear what Mr. Dyack had to say for himself, albeit abridged.
“I think it is time to draw the digital line. Too Human will be out in August and I think there is going to be a lot of trolls crying here. Either way when the game comes out this forum will likely be on fire. So in order to try to put it out some gasoline on this fire I will ask those interested to stand up and be counted .
“I feel Too Human is a great game, likely to be better than most that will come out this year. I certainly feel it is the best game we have ever made. I also believe the press and gamers alike will believe this. This puts me in the ‘For’ camp.
“I know there are many who feel strongly in opposite camp. I also would ask you to stand up and say ‘Against’.
. . .
“So it’s time to be stand and be counted:
“Denis Dyack — ‘For’”
I fully appreciate that the man is open with the community and that he’s willing to defend his property. I only hope that I’m so bold when I’m making million dollar blockbusters. That said, what he’s done here is reputation suicide, for him and his entire company. Now when Too Human comes out, it has to b *gasp* good. But not in that “Only appreciated by niche gamers who still find games like Dead Rising to be amongst the best games of this generation” good which is what I’ve been expecting this entire time. What I mean is, the game has to be let into the same club that Halo, Call of Duty and Mass Effect have created for themselves. People are going to have to be stupidly RETARDED for this game if Silicon Knights is ever going to wash away the stink it has created. I mean, this has been true since 2006, but Dyack has been trying to push it to all new levels. Seriously, I will not be surprised that in the event that this game flops, Silicon Knights will belly up, or at best, gets bought out.
That said, I really want to join the For camp Denis, I really do. But I don’t have that much faith in your game. And it’s not because of a shitty demo from 2 years back. It’s your seemingly misplace ego, the air of pretentiousness that seems thick and musty whenever you invade virtual space with comments about the game you made being “better than most this year”. And while yes, you do have the advantage of having played it, you also were the one to make it, so no, that doesn’t bring me any sort of small comfort.
But fret not, because I will not be in that Against camp either. I fully expect an adequate and fun experience from Too Human, especially for someone such as myself. But do I feel that a game, overloaded with drawn out cutscenes about Norse Gods dealing with concepts taught in an intro to Philosophy class with a second analog stick based combat system and a fixed camera will cause the gaming world to turn over on itself? Do I even have to mention that question was rhetorical?
So I’ll sit idly by on the sidelines, watching the flames of war spread across the wildfire. It’s much, much safer here, I must say.
Posted by ASandoval on June 22, 2008 under Games, Movies |
Just picked up Space Invaders Extreme. First impressions: Wow, I actually need a manual for Space Invaders. This is awesome.
Second impression: Since when does Square Enix own Taito?
No, seriously, this is an amazing game. Lots of cool game modes, power ups, boss battles, dual screen mini games. And it’s only 20 bucks, which was my main motivation for picking it up.
Movie runs have been rare this year, which is weird because a lot of good films are out. I did get the chance to check out Get Smart in theaters… Which is, you know, standard blockbuster comedy fair. It’s a fairly faithful adaptation of the original show (of which I’m a big fan of), a little heavier on potty humor for my taste, but not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Subtle throwbacks to the show are there, but not overplayed as to be like “Look, it’s just like the show!”, which is appreciated. My final word is if you’re a fan of the show, it’s worth seeing, and if you’re too young, than wait for it on DVD.
Oh, and don’t listen to critics, but as far as movie critics go, that’s not really saying much you didn’t already know. They’ve been just as out of touch about this movie as ever, and I’m guessing are letting there nostalgia cloud there vision of what the original show actually was: A campy primetime sitcom. Considering the source material, this movie is about as good as it possibly could have been. It’s faithful unlike the worst of the fair (Underdog) but it’s still update enough for the hipsters to appreciate.
Posted by ASandoval on June 16, 2008 under Games |
So my Metal Gear Solid 4 review is now floating around the internet by way of GameFAQs. Be sure to check it out and praise me on how right I am. Spoilers: I liked it.
I mentioned in the review that I really don’t have many qualms about the narrative in MGS4. I think a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that no matter how dumb or arbitrary something comes across, it was written with the purpose of resolving a plot that’s spanned across six games. Now, let that last sentence settle for a second. I want you to think about it for a little bit before we go any further. A major video game franchise actually finished its story. No cliffhangers, no new questions to go unanswered. The entire purpose of the game’s story was to satisfy the collective belly of every fan of the series who spent an obscene number of hours playing the game over and over, picking away at every minute detail. This in mind, I have a feeling most fans will forgive the game’s shortcomings out of the pure satisfaction they’ll get from having all of their questions answered. It’s enough to make you wonder why more games don’t do this.
Also in my review, I took some potshots at Resident Evil 4. I’m sure that is going to be a point of contention for a lot of you, but hear me out for a second. The Resident Evil series as a whole has always had a batshit bonkers plotline to begin with, but it’d still be something of an injustice to say that the games weren’t driven by the narrative. It’s always used its plot to create interesting scenarios for the gameplay. Consider this example: A book left by a former lab technician slowly becomes less and less coherent until it starts talking about the taste of human flesh, and then the man’s living corpse jumps out at you from behind. This is one of many ways the series has used its storytelling as a way to enhance the game experience, something that I and many other fans have always liked about the RE series, so naturally that means we’re going to take an emotional investment in that story.
So you can imagine my personal disappointment when Resident Evil 4 comes out to find the plot jumped ahead a few years, the shadowy antagonist organization taken out by simple economics, and the new enemy being practically unrelated to the old. Could you imagine if Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows had come out and it was 10 years later, Snape was arrested for murder by the Defense Against the Dark Arts, Hogwarts had been shut down and Harry had struck out on his own to find the secret apprentice of Voldemort? I’d imagine a lot of people would be pretty upset.
I’m not saying Resident Evil wasn’t in need for a change; they can only release the same game so many times. I’m also not saying that franchising is a bad idea, as it certainly makes sense from a business standpoint. Why take a risk when people will buy what’s familiar? If anything, what I’m saying is that maybe more games should follow Metal Gear Solid 4’s example and actually finish the story they set out to tell. Resident Evil 4 would have definitely benefited if there had been some form of closure in the previous games rather than mucking about and making it as needlessly complicated and obtrusive as possible before deciding to go a different direction and effectively boning the RE storywriters, and their fans, in the ass.
I think it’s a big reason why I’m for this recent trend of making game series into trilogies. You have a clear direction of where your series is going, you still stand to benefit from two other games if the first one is a hit, and you can start fresh and try something else once that story is complete. If anything, that’s a sign of improvement. Let’s just hope it keeps pushing in that direction.
Posted by ASandoval on June 11, 2008 under Misc. |
So the website is done. Astute readers may notice the finish product removed all the options from the front to just add a link to bring them here. This is probably the smartest thing I could’ve done.
While there are additions I will make either in the near or far future, my own motivation willing, really this blog is all I needed for the most part, as the whole idea is to be a journalist or something like it anyway. Really, do I need this site to be a webzine? Especially considering no one reads it right now anyway?
So instead, it will remain a place for me to stretch my journalistic muscles. Really, that’s all it needs to be.
