Yes, I'm pissed off at "The Game", if you don't know what it is, good.
I'm annoyed at people who think it's an interesting experiment, I'm annoyed at people who mention it to one another as though it actually annoys them, and I'm most pissed off at people who, upon discovering they've lost The Game, act as though they are either annoyed or perturbed in the slightest way. It's a farcical act I thought people would grow out of once they turn eight years old.
Plus everyone knows the only person who could possibly win would be the oldest living person who has never heard of it.
That is all
Thursday 31 March 2011
Wednesday 30 March 2011
News and 3DS First Impressions
Ok so it's been a while since my last post, I've been quite busy with review copies i recieved from Fusion-gamer, and for the most part theyve been damn good fun. I'm really enjoying this reviewing thing and plan on someday making a career out of it.
Yakuza 4 was a damn fine title, although the series needs some new material. Being back in kamurocho is great but i'd like to see more variation. Serious Sam HD was damn good fun, although i really need some friends to play it with, random ppl on xbox live are ok but you dont get the same feeling of accomplishment. Alien Breed trilogy will keepo me entertained for a while, I'll give the ccop a go, although I already know it's not all it could be. Now, as for Jikandia... my god im glad to see the end of that review. The game literally made me feel pure hatred towards it. I dunno if you read it, but i gave it the lowest possible score i could without being malicious, it ran and didnt crash on me so i couldnt give it a 0 but believe me i tried.
Well besides those titles i've been playing a lot of Tactics Ogre and of course, my new 3DS. For those of you who might be interested in it, let me give you a few of my first impressions.
Yes, it suffers from short battery life, but it does so damn much to make up for it. First of all the 3D works, remarkably well. It's screen sends out two images at different angles so each of your eyes recieves a different picture, which your brain translates to a 3D image. You don't need 3d glasses but you do need to make sure your face is exactly infront of the screen. With the nature of the 3D screen, i'm guessing someone with a lazy eye won't benefit from it. I also noticed that when i removed my glasses, i couldn't see the 3D, most likely as i'm short sighted and my focal points weren't matching up to the screen, so if you have to wear specs or contacts, either keep 'em in or turn off the 3D function.
The amount of depth you can get from the screen is thrilling, I've noticed some games handle it better than others. The 3D camera functions of Splinter Cell 3D often created a lot of disorientation in-game. Everything looked fine if the camera was stationary, but moving my character and rotating the camera proved to be a dizzying experience, i didn't know where to look and as everything was shifting from close to far, i was having trouble keeping up. Think of it like you're spinning around in real life, disregarding the dizzying feeling from your inner ear, your eyes will have to take a moment to adjust for the depth of the object you are looking at, as it changes constantly. This isn't so much a problem of the 3DS as it is a feature of your own eyes, so I'm thinking First-person shooters might not do so well on the 3DS if only for the comfort of the player.
Speaking of which, i doubt we'll see many FPS games as once again, Nintendo didn't bother to put in a second analogue stick. I'm aware that the touch screen has doubled as one in the past, but it's not intuitive and doesn't sit quite the way most gamers would like. Having a second stick would free up the touch screen for more functions, plus the face buttons would become available for jumping/weapon switching. Surely by now Nintendo have heard that FPS games are the biggest sellers in the west? why not try to cater for them? and don't give me that "it's not nintendo's core audience" bullshit, they're a business and at least having the option to cater to FPS gamers would boost sales of units, even if nintendo wont make fps gamexs themselves (i can think of a lot more games that need a second stick for the camera)
The screens are bright and vivid, the touch screen responsive as ever, and the stylys, whilst neat as it's extendable, is sadly quite uncomfortable to hold with the harsh corners it has. Not a big deal, but i've been using a DS lite stylus for comfort reasons. The microphone has now been moved to just below the bottom screen on the right hand side, this was confusing as it seems oddly placed and isn't labelled, so when a game asked me to blow into the mic i didnt know how and blew all over the thing.
There's three cameras. One on the inside to take pics of the user and two external ones to take 3D pics. These 3D pics work well enough but due to the low resolution of the cameras, look grainy and low quality. The cameras really shine, however with the augmented reality games. You can take a pic of your face in "face raiders" and the game will make tiny floating enemies appear all around you with your face, which it animates remarkably well. You see, by using the two external cameras, the game projects the enemies into the real world around you. If there's an enemy behind you, you actually have to spin around with the 3DS (making use of the 3DS' gyroscopemotion sensor) to find it and shoot it. It's really something to behold and brings the game literally into your living room.
Another augmented reality game requires the provided augmented reality cards, which you place on any flat surface. The 3DS will then project a game character, a puzzle box or monster for you to play with. When looking through the screen, you can really believe there's a little dragon sitting on your desk, the game then requires you to shoot it's weak points, which can be anywhere on it's body, so you have to physically move around the desk to shoot them. It's a genius idea i'd like to see more of, perhaps a pokemon trading card game???
The speakers on the 3DS are exemplary, theyre crisp and loud and feature virtual surround sound, which does wonders to immerse you in the game. The 3DS has wifi, naturally, but now it has a consistent online feature like the PSN or xbox live so you know when your friends are online, this depletes battery life, but chances are if youre near a wifi signal, you'll be somewhere you can plug in the charger, besides, you can turn it off if you want.
Another nifty feature is that the 3DS can communicate with other 3DS consoles wirelessly when in sleep mode, so when you're out and about with it in your bag or pocket, it will speak to passer-by's 3DSs and you'll recieve cool in-game rewards and items. Don't worry, no personal info is sent, you only send/recieve the data necessary to get your rewards. This "street pass" feature allows you to swap Miis (a little avatar of yourself) with people, who will then join you in puzzles and quests in the pre-installed "Mii plaza" game. Ive heard there's also similar features for street fighter 4 and samurai warriors, where you will battle other players and recieve rewards.
At the moment there's no store to buy games like the Wii and DSi has, but Nintendo assures us it's coming, along with an internet browser. In the first update, we're treated to a sample of a 3D movie, suggesting that 3D movies or TV shows might be on the way, or perhaps access to 3d movies online like youtube is said to support.There's still a picture and sound editor like the DSi featured as well as an activity log and notifications feature similar to the Wii's. Oh, and it can also play all of your DS games :D
Ok i'm just about out of things to talk about, but as you can see the 3DS does a LOT of things already and looks to be adding more to its repertoire as time goes by. Yes, the battery life suffers a bit (as many people, quick to bring down nintendo, point out) but that's excusable with everything it manages. As i said you have the option to turn off the 3D features (you can also scale down the depth to your preferred level) and if you turn down the brightness or activate the energy-saving mode, you'll get more out of it.You get all these amazing features for £200 and i'm gonna say that is a ridiculously low price for what this thing does, the 3D is stunning by itself, even without all the added extras. Im sure nintendo are selling at a loss or something.
I can whole heartedly recommend the 3DS console, you haven't seen anything like it (unless you're some rich bastard who owns a 3D tv) and the line-up of games looks to be amazing. Ok so the launch titles arent all gold, but there's some real gems and more on the way.
Yakuza 4 was a damn fine title, although the series needs some new material. Being back in kamurocho is great but i'd like to see more variation. Serious Sam HD was damn good fun, although i really need some friends to play it with, random ppl on xbox live are ok but you dont get the same feeling of accomplishment. Alien Breed trilogy will keepo me entertained for a while, I'll give the ccop a go, although I already know it's not all it could be. Now, as for Jikandia... my god im glad to see the end of that review. The game literally made me feel pure hatred towards it. I dunno if you read it, but i gave it the lowest possible score i could without being malicious, it ran and didnt crash on me so i couldnt give it a 0 but believe me i tried.
Well besides those titles i've been playing a lot of Tactics Ogre and of course, my new 3DS. For those of you who might be interested in it, let me give you a few of my first impressions.
Yes, it suffers from short battery life, but it does so damn much to make up for it. First of all the 3D works, remarkably well. It's screen sends out two images at different angles so each of your eyes recieves a different picture, which your brain translates to a 3D image. You don't need 3d glasses but you do need to make sure your face is exactly infront of the screen. With the nature of the 3D screen, i'm guessing someone with a lazy eye won't benefit from it. I also noticed that when i removed my glasses, i couldn't see the 3D, most likely as i'm short sighted and my focal points weren't matching up to the screen, so if you have to wear specs or contacts, either keep 'em in or turn off the 3D function.
The amount of depth you can get from the screen is thrilling, I've noticed some games handle it better than others. The 3D camera functions of Splinter Cell 3D often created a lot of disorientation in-game. Everything looked fine if the camera was stationary, but moving my character and rotating the camera proved to be a dizzying experience, i didn't know where to look and as everything was shifting from close to far, i was having trouble keeping up. Think of it like you're spinning around in real life, disregarding the dizzying feeling from your inner ear, your eyes will have to take a moment to adjust for the depth of the object you are looking at, as it changes constantly. This isn't so much a problem of the 3DS as it is a feature of your own eyes, so I'm thinking First-person shooters might not do so well on the 3DS if only for the comfort of the player.
Speaking of which, i doubt we'll see many FPS games as once again, Nintendo didn't bother to put in a second analogue stick. I'm aware that the touch screen has doubled as one in the past, but it's not intuitive and doesn't sit quite the way most gamers would like. Having a second stick would free up the touch screen for more functions, plus the face buttons would become available for jumping/weapon switching. Surely by now Nintendo have heard that FPS games are the biggest sellers in the west? why not try to cater for them? and don't give me that "it's not nintendo's core audience" bullshit, they're a business and at least having the option to cater to FPS gamers would boost sales of units, even if nintendo wont make fps gamexs themselves (i can think of a lot more games that need a second stick for the camera)
The screens are bright and vivid, the touch screen responsive as ever, and the stylys, whilst neat as it's extendable, is sadly quite uncomfortable to hold with the harsh corners it has. Not a big deal, but i've been using a DS lite stylus for comfort reasons. The microphone has now been moved to just below the bottom screen on the right hand side, this was confusing as it seems oddly placed and isn't labelled, so when a game asked me to blow into the mic i didnt know how and blew all over the thing.
There's three cameras. One on the inside to take pics of the user and two external ones to take 3D pics. These 3D pics work well enough but due to the low resolution of the cameras, look grainy and low quality. The cameras really shine, however with the augmented reality games. You can take a pic of your face in "face raiders" and the game will make tiny floating enemies appear all around you with your face, which it animates remarkably well. You see, by using the two external cameras, the game projects the enemies into the real world around you. If there's an enemy behind you, you actually have to spin around with the 3DS (making use of the 3DS' gyroscopemotion sensor) to find it and shoot it. It's really something to behold and brings the game literally into your living room.
Another augmented reality game requires the provided augmented reality cards, which you place on any flat surface. The 3DS will then project a game character, a puzzle box or monster for you to play with. When looking through the screen, you can really believe there's a little dragon sitting on your desk, the game then requires you to shoot it's weak points, which can be anywhere on it's body, so you have to physically move around the desk to shoot them. It's a genius idea i'd like to see more of, perhaps a pokemon trading card game???
The speakers on the 3DS are exemplary, theyre crisp and loud and feature virtual surround sound, which does wonders to immerse you in the game. The 3DS has wifi, naturally, but now it has a consistent online feature like the PSN or xbox live so you know when your friends are online, this depletes battery life, but chances are if youre near a wifi signal, you'll be somewhere you can plug in the charger, besides, you can turn it off if you want.
Another nifty feature is that the 3DS can communicate with other 3DS consoles wirelessly when in sleep mode, so when you're out and about with it in your bag or pocket, it will speak to passer-by's 3DSs and you'll recieve cool in-game rewards and items. Don't worry, no personal info is sent, you only send/recieve the data necessary to get your rewards. This "street pass" feature allows you to swap Miis (a little avatar of yourself) with people, who will then join you in puzzles and quests in the pre-installed "Mii plaza" game. Ive heard there's also similar features for street fighter 4 and samurai warriors, where you will battle other players and recieve rewards.
At the moment there's no store to buy games like the Wii and DSi has, but Nintendo assures us it's coming, along with an internet browser. In the first update, we're treated to a sample of a 3D movie, suggesting that 3D movies or TV shows might be on the way, or perhaps access to 3d movies online like youtube is said to support.There's still a picture and sound editor like the DSi featured as well as an activity log and notifications feature similar to the Wii's. Oh, and it can also play all of your DS games :D
Ok i'm just about out of things to talk about, but as you can see the 3DS does a LOT of things already and looks to be adding more to its repertoire as time goes by. Yes, the battery life suffers a bit (as many people, quick to bring down nintendo, point out) but that's excusable with everything it manages. As i said you have the option to turn off the 3D features (you can also scale down the depth to your preferred level) and if you turn down the brightness or activate the energy-saving mode, you'll get more out of it.You get all these amazing features for £200 and i'm gonna say that is a ridiculously low price for what this thing does, the 3D is stunning by itself, even without all the added extras. Im sure nintendo are selling at a loss or something.
I can whole heartedly recommend the 3DS console, you haven't seen anything like it (unless you're some rich bastard who owns a 3D tv) and the line-up of games looks to be amazing. Ok so the launch titles arent all gold, but there's some real gems and more on the way.
Friday 25 March 2011
Sonic The Hedgehog
I'm gonna try and enlighten you about sonic the hedgehog. He was once great and was the star of a generation, now hes a pathetic has-been. Let's take a look at the once-great hedgehog ans think about what could be done to bring him back into the spotlight.
So what the fuck happened to sonic the hedgehog? Since the Dreamcast days sonic has gone completely off the rails because SEGA dont take their own mascot seriously. Sonic still exists for the sole purpose of drawing in more children, when SEGA seem to be forgetting that he's MUCH more powerful a tool at pulling in money from nostalgic gamers who grew up playing the Mega Drive back in the early 90s in what gamers call sonic's golden age.
Why, with a mascot that could be so useful at pandering to both by revisiting old-school side-scrolling with an emphasis on speed and gameplay do they keep churning out SHIT like sonic and the black knight and sonic colours? All sonic has been doing since 2002 has been copying Mario when SEGA should instead be copying NINTENDO and marketing their mascot with a collection of serious games that stand out as the best in their field. I'm no mario fan but i see that mario games are solid, enjoyable platformers filled with catchy tunes and nifty powerups, but when i see sonic running about in sonic colours, changing forms like mario did in mario galaxy, I cant help but get pissed off because that isn't what sonic is about.
You may not be as familiar as me with sonic's backstory (and i wouldn't blame you as he has two official ones) but what is obvious is that he's all about speed and freeing small furry critters from dr. robotnik. So why then starting with sonic adventure was he saving cities full of humans from the evil; DR EGGMAN? Well let me tell you.
Sonic was originally designed by his Japanese creator as living on planet earth, saving his fellow woodland creatures from dr. eggman (that being a legitimate name to a japanese-speaking audience) it was only when he saw a western release that he was moved to the fictional planet Mobius and fought the now-renamed Dr. Robotnik (renamed for the obvious reason that Eggman was a laughable name for an antagonist in an english speaking country) . The games happily kept their stories separate until it came time to bring sonic into the 3d realm with sonic adventure. SEGA's newly appointed "Sonic team" created a rich 3d world for sonic to run around in what was obviously a human-populated planet earth, but when it came time to bring out adventure in the west, fans (like me) were shocked and appauled to find the little blue fellow ripped from his homeland mobius and pitted against Dr. Eggman, who was obviously Robotnik but with a ridiculous name.
This didn't sit well with western fans at all, so when sonic team continued to make sonic games in their version of the sonic universe, it only worked to deepen the void between die-hard sonic fans and the new generation of sonic fans post-dreamcast era. Following the flop of the dreamcast and SEGA being forced to become a software company, Sonic games were now being produced for multiple systems such as the playstation 2, xbox and gamecube, so SEGA naturally had to create sonic games that were accessible to all and didn't require a prior knowledge of sonic canon (which was all over the place by this point). The first game made as such was sonic heroes which, determined to stay in 3d, tried to be a straightforward platformer populated by a cast of sonic's friends who were varied, colourful and most importantly, dull and interchangeable.
The result was a game that flopped BIG TIME, but for some reason SEGA just kept at it, making games like "shadow the hedgehog", based around a one-time rival of sonic riding a motorbike and shooting guns. SEGA, finally taking the hint, made a sonic game that looked set to revitalize the franchise for the release of the xbox 360 and ps3 titled simply "sonic the hedgehog", they just made a few fatal flaws: It was in 3d and still featured humans and irritating "friend" characters. Sonic has never translated well to 3d as his main thing is speed, running about 3 dimensional levels at any speed tends to create a lot of problems that aren't there in 2d. Levels have to be "tracks" with obvious boundaries so sonic can move speedily but not get lost, not a problem in 2d as you can only go left or right, but in 3d this means a lot of samey, dull levels that limit your ability to explore.
The second problem, with keeping the humans and other characters is that this was not the backstory us westerners had grown up with, having cute woodland creatures fight the humans (well, human) created the obvious dichotomy of animals = good, humans = bad. Having a whole load of humans just didnt make sense and made sonic look ridiculous in contrast to all of the people wandering about like he was ripped right from a different world. The inherant problem with the ever-growing numbers of support characters is that they not only draw focus from sonic, the primary reason people buy sonic games, they were never in any given title for long enough to develop a back story or real relationship with sonic or eachother. Tails had been around since sonic 2, we know him as the sidekick, knuckles is sonic's rival , but when SEGA went overboard trying to draw in new fans and introduced rouge the bat, e-102, big the cat, shadow the hedgehog, cream the rabbit, silver the hedgehog and a whole LOT more, sonic games became SWAMPED with characters who were only loosely associated with sonic and that fans knew nothing about.
So here we are now: SEGA has no idea what to do with sonic as a character, the sonic team have came up with a whole host of unusable characters they cant un-write and have bastardized the sonic storyline to the point of uselessness. So what can they do? well stop ripping off mario games for starters but then what?
I'm not an expert but i have a few ideas:
1. go back to 2d for starters then build from there. Everyone loved sonic up until he dipped his feet in 3d, so stick with what will make the fans happy. Sonic 4 was a step in the right direction and could be the start of something big, but could just as easily go bad again, as there is no story to back it up and he still retains some of his 3d moves list.
2. erase all the 2000-2010 storylines (no big tragedy as they don't even continue from one another and ignore sonic's backstory anyway) and have separate teams working on sonic games in the east and west to give the individual sotrylines room to grow or at the very LEAST have proper localization that use earth and mobius and eggman and robotnik separately.
3. Get rid of the extraneous characters. While this may get rid of the occasional gem, sonic was easiest to understand when it was just sonic, tails, knuckles, amy and robotnik. Rouge and cream may well be missed, but they could be written back in TASTEFULLY with proper storylines at a later date, but SEGA should be VERY picky and remember to:
4. NEVER let sonic characters speak again. Any attempt at making sonic and chums vocalize has been like nails on a blackboard. Sonic (according to certain sources) is meant to be 16 years old but talks like a twelve year old mixed with a surfer. Whilst that was bad enough, Tails (12 years old) has only been voiced by women who make him sound much younger, and the less said about Cream's or Amy's voice actors the better.
Some people have said sonic has run his course, if he continues to be in games like sonic unleashed where he transforms into a werehog (werewolf...thing) i'd gladly never see him again. But i just know that sonic is better than that. The original sonic 2d games were something new and exciting, but also had wonderful mechanics, varied, memorable levels and soundtracks and speed, lots of speed. They are still utterly classic games that are seeing releases on iphone and xbox live simply because people still find them enjoyable to play. If SEGA sits down and actually takes its time to treat the guy that made them a household name with the consideration they owe him, we could be looking at the revival of the century and then it would be sonic vs mario the way nature intended.
For those still in doubt that sonic was awesome and deserves a second chance, take a look at this picture:
Remember super sonic? The story goes that the chaos emeralds, when collected, infused sonic with such tremendous power and rage, he transformed into a psychotic version of himself, unstable yet unparalleled in terms of speed and brute force. Tell me you wouldn't like to see that explained in a story arc, where sonic fights to remain sane under the opressive force of the emeralds. Theres a lot of interesting stories to be explored in the sonic universe, once you look past the squaeky voices and big-eyed kiddy character bullshit. Sonic was serious and can be again.
So what the fuck happened to sonic the hedgehog? Since the Dreamcast days sonic has gone completely off the rails because SEGA dont take their own mascot seriously. Sonic still exists for the sole purpose of drawing in more children, when SEGA seem to be forgetting that he's MUCH more powerful a tool at pulling in money from nostalgic gamers who grew up playing the Mega Drive back in the early 90s in what gamers call sonic's golden age.
Why, with a mascot that could be so useful at pandering to both by revisiting old-school side-scrolling with an emphasis on speed and gameplay do they keep churning out SHIT like sonic and the black knight and sonic colours? All sonic has been doing since 2002 has been copying Mario when SEGA should instead be copying NINTENDO and marketing their mascot with a collection of serious games that stand out as the best in their field. I'm no mario fan but i see that mario games are solid, enjoyable platformers filled with catchy tunes and nifty powerups, but when i see sonic running about in sonic colours, changing forms like mario did in mario galaxy, I cant help but get pissed off because that isn't what sonic is about.
You may not be as familiar as me with sonic's backstory (and i wouldn't blame you as he has two official ones) but what is obvious is that he's all about speed and freeing small furry critters from dr. robotnik. So why then starting with sonic adventure was he saving cities full of humans from the evil; DR EGGMAN? Well let me tell you.
Sonic was originally designed by his Japanese creator as living on planet earth, saving his fellow woodland creatures from dr. eggman (that being a legitimate name to a japanese-speaking audience) it was only when he saw a western release that he was moved to the fictional planet Mobius and fought the now-renamed Dr. Robotnik (renamed for the obvious reason that Eggman was a laughable name for an antagonist in an english speaking country) . The games happily kept their stories separate until it came time to bring sonic into the 3d realm with sonic adventure. SEGA's newly appointed "Sonic team" created a rich 3d world for sonic to run around in what was obviously a human-populated planet earth, but when it came time to bring out adventure in the west, fans (like me) were shocked and appauled to find the little blue fellow ripped from his homeland mobius and pitted against Dr. Eggman, who was obviously Robotnik but with a ridiculous name.
This didn't sit well with western fans at all, so when sonic team continued to make sonic games in their version of the sonic universe, it only worked to deepen the void between die-hard sonic fans and the new generation of sonic fans post-dreamcast era. Following the flop of the dreamcast and SEGA being forced to become a software company, Sonic games were now being produced for multiple systems such as the playstation 2, xbox and gamecube, so SEGA naturally had to create sonic games that were accessible to all and didn't require a prior knowledge of sonic canon (which was all over the place by this point). The first game made as such was sonic heroes which, determined to stay in 3d, tried to be a straightforward platformer populated by a cast of sonic's friends who were varied, colourful and most importantly, dull and interchangeable.
The result was a game that flopped BIG TIME, but for some reason SEGA just kept at it, making games like "shadow the hedgehog", based around a one-time rival of sonic riding a motorbike and shooting guns. SEGA, finally taking the hint, made a sonic game that looked set to revitalize the franchise for the release of the xbox 360 and ps3 titled simply "sonic the hedgehog", they just made a few fatal flaws: It was in 3d and still featured humans and irritating "friend" characters. Sonic has never translated well to 3d as his main thing is speed, running about 3 dimensional levels at any speed tends to create a lot of problems that aren't there in 2d. Levels have to be "tracks" with obvious boundaries so sonic can move speedily but not get lost, not a problem in 2d as you can only go left or right, but in 3d this means a lot of samey, dull levels that limit your ability to explore.
The second problem, with keeping the humans and other characters is that this was not the backstory us westerners had grown up with, having cute woodland creatures fight the humans (well, human) created the obvious dichotomy of animals = good, humans = bad. Having a whole load of humans just didnt make sense and made sonic look ridiculous in contrast to all of the people wandering about like he was ripped right from a different world. The inherant problem with the ever-growing numbers of support characters is that they not only draw focus from sonic, the primary reason people buy sonic games, they were never in any given title for long enough to develop a back story or real relationship with sonic or eachother. Tails had been around since sonic 2, we know him as the sidekick, knuckles is sonic's rival , but when SEGA went overboard trying to draw in new fans and introduced rouge the bat, e-102, big the cat, shadow the hedgehog, cream the rabbit, silver the hedgehog and a whole LOT more, sonic games became SWAMPED with characters who were only loosely associated with sonic and that fans knew nothing about.
So here we are now: SEGA has no idea what to do with sonic as a character, the sonic team have came up with a whole host of unusable characters they cant un-write and have bastardized the sonic storyline to the point of uselessness. So what can they do? well stop ripping off mario games for starters but then what?
I'm not an expert but i have a few ideas:
1. go back to 2d for starters then build from there. Everyone loved sonic up until he dipped his feet in 3d, so stick with what will make the fans happy. Sonic 4 was a step in the right direction and could be the start of something big, but could just as easily go bad again, as there is no story to back it up and he still retains some of his 3d moves list.
2. erase all the 2000-2010 storylines (no big tragedy as they don't even continue from one another and ignore sonic's backstory anyway) and have separate teams working on sonic games in the east and west to give the individual sotrylines room to grow or at the very LEAST have proper localization that use earth and mobius and eggman and robotnik separately.
3. Get rid of the extraneous characters. While this may get rid of the occasional gem, sonic was easiest to understand when it was just sonic, tails, knuckles, amy and robotnik. Rouge and cream may well be missed, but they could be written back in TASTEFULLY with proper storylines at a later date, but SEGA should be VERY picky and remember to:
4. NEVER let sonic characters speak again. Any attempt at making sonic and chums vocalize has been like nails on a blackboard. Sonic (according to certain sources) is meant to be 16 years old but talks like a twelve year old mixed with a surfer. Whilst that was bad enough, Tails (12 years old) has only been voiced by women who make him sound much younger, and the less said about Cream's or Amy's voice actors the better.
Some people have said sonic has run his course, if he continues to be in games like sonic unleashed where he transforms into a werehog (werewolf...thing) i'd gladly never see him again. But i just know that sonic is better than that. The original sonic 2d games were something new and exciting, but also had wonderful mechanics, varied, memorable levels and soundtracks and speed, lots of speed. They are still utterly classic games that are seeing releases on iphone and xbox live simply because people still find them enjoyable to play. If SEGA sits down and actually takes its time to treat the guy that made them a household name with the consideration they owe him, we could be looking at the revival of the century and then it would be sonic vs mario the way nature intended.
For those still in doubt that sonic was awesome and deserves a second chance, take a look at this picture:
Fanboy-ism
I've had it!
I'm fed up with gamers calling one another "fanboys" for preferring one system over another or for making a factual statement that is negative about a certain title or platform. Recently I wrote a preview for a game and said that I didn't much care for MAG (a first person shooter that features up to 256 players simultaneously that suffered from some bad design choices) and I was called an Xbox fanboy solely for making that statement.
First of all, that is completely unnecessary and shows the readiness people have to jump to conclusions. I said i didnt care for a game that happens to be a Playstation 3 exclusive title and was immediately branded an Xbox fanboy. Since when does saying something dismissive of one party immediately make you on the side of their proposed opposition? I could have just as easily been a Nintendo fanboy but the public seems to see microsoft and Sony as the main two competitors.
Now, let me explain. The term "fanboy" is pretty much what it sounds like, much as a person who considers themself a Liverpool supporter for example would fanatically defend their team against all criticism and deem all other teams inferior, a videogame fanboy is said to do the same for their preferred system or franchise. What started out as an endearing tem for one who, say, loved nintendo games over all others has evolved into a derogatory term meaning one who single-mindedly defends nintendo, even the bad games, and dismisses all other systems and franchises regardless of quality. If you were to call me a fanboy i would take it as a personal insult nowadays as it has become just that.
the gaming community is rife with individuals who think it appropriate to think "what you say means nothing, as you are clearly an xxxxx fanboy" (xxxx being the system or franchise in question) meaning that now, no civilized discussion can take place, making absolutely any given subject impervious to critique, as anyone who does is branded a fanboy of the opposition. Is this really a fair, mature approach to the medium we all love?
Granted, some people do exhibit fanboy-ish behaviour and will defend a developer to the grave, but these people are in the minority and shouldn't be an example of the common gamer. I don't call people fanboy because it is never appropriate, and due to the negative connotations it now brings it would be rude of me to do so. If someone dislikes my opinion i will discuss it like a civilized human being instead of ignoring any opposing viewpoint and holding my head up high like I won the "argument" because only MY opinion matters.
I implore you to never use this term and discourage others from doing it, it's pathetic and ridiculously narrow-minded and narcissistic If you don't listen to what someone has to say, they won't listen to you and you end up being a foul-mouthed baby that has to resort to name-calling to feel like they are superior.
I say all this as i was watching a video on a new game for the nintendo 3DS and someone made the fair comment that 3D gaming is only popular because of 3D movies, this is pretty much indisputable, people love watching 3D movies so naturally games are the next step. The fellow that made the comment was then verbally assaulted and called a sony fanboy (amongst other things) and it led me to believe that THEY were in fact Nintendo fanboys who didn't want to listen to anyone bashing their favorite developer. Now i didn't call them that, but it troubled me that my mind went there, i realized that the term "fanboy" is now ingrained into gamers minds to describe anyone with a viewpoint.This has gotta stop, it's not healthy discussion and it's not painting gamers in a good light.
If someone has a viewpoint that's against yours, hear them out and counter it with facts of your own, if it is obvious they are just biased you do have the option to just leave them be. They can go cry into their mario plushies.
I'm fed up with gamers calling one another "fanboys" for preferring one system over another or for making a factual statement that is negative about a certain title or platform. Recently I wrote a preview for a game and said that I didn't much care for MAG (a first person shooter that features up to 256 players simultaneously that suffered from some bad design choices) and I was called an Xbox fanboy solely for making that statement.
First of all, that is completely unnecessary and shows the readiness people have to jump to conclusions. I said i didnt care for a game that happens to be a Playstation 3 exclusive title and was immediately branded an Xbox fanboy. Since when does saying something dismissive of one party immediately make you on the side of their proposed opposition? I could have just as easily been a Nintendo fanboy but the public seems to see microsoft and Sony as the main two competitors.
Now, let me explain. The term "fanboy" is pretty much what it sounds like, much as a person who considers themself a Liverpool supporter for example would fanatically defend their team against all criticism and deem all other teams inferior, a videogame fanboy is said to do the same for their preferred system or franchise. What started out as an endearing tem for one who, say, loved nintendo games over all others has evolved into a derogatory term meaning one who single-mindedly defends nintendo, even the bad games, and dismisses all other systems and franchises regardless of quality. If you were to call me a fanboy i would take it as a personal insult nowadays as it has become just that.
the gaming community is rife with individuals who think it appropriate to think "what you say means nothing, as you are clearly an xxxxx fanboy" (xxxx being the system or franchise in question) meaning that now, no civilized discussion can take place, making absolutely any given subject impervious to critique, as anyone who does is branded a fanboy of the opposition. Is this really a fair, mature approach to the medium we all love?
Granted, some people do exhibit fanboy-ish behaviour and will defend a developer to the grave, but these people are in the minority and shouldn't be an example of the common gamer. I don't call people fanboy because it is never appropriate, and due to the negative connotations it now brings it would be rude of me to do so. If someone dislikes my opinion i will discuss it like a civilized human being instead of ignoring any opposing viewpoint and holding my head up high like I won the "argument" because only MY opinion matters.
I implore you to never use this term and discourage others from doing it, it's pathetic and ridiculously narrow-minded and narcissistic If you don't listen to what someone has to say, they won't listen to you and you end up being a foul-mouthed baby that has to resort to name-calling to feel like they are superior.
I say all this as i was watching a video on a new game for the nintendo 3DS and someone made the fair comment that 3D gaming is only popular because of 3D movies, this is pretty much indisputable, people love watching 3D movies so naturally games are the next step. The fellow that made the comment was then verbally assaulted and called a sony fanboy (amongst other things) and it led me to believe that THEY were in fact Nintendo fanboys who didn't want to listen to anyone bashing their favorite developer. Now i didn't call them that, but it troubled me that my mind went there, i realized that the term "fanboy" is now ingrained into gamers minds to describe anyone with a viewpoint.This has gotta stop, it's not healthy discussion and it's not painting gamers in a good light.
If someone has a viewpoint that's against yours, hear them out and counter it with facts of your own, if it is obvious they are just biased you do have the option to just leave them be. They can go cry into their mario plushies.
Thursday 24 March 2011
quick comment on online etiquette
Be civil to other players online, for god's sake!
everyone was new to games at one point so laughing at less skilled players and calling them noobs is elitist and is damaging to the public perception of gamers in general.
I miss the days when everyone said "good game" to other players after a match, whether they won or lost. Sportsmanship doesn't have to be native to sports (although there are plenty of ass holes in the sporting world). Playing constructively, telling one another about their strengths and weaknesses is going to make a much better gaming community than the one we have now, where someone will threaten to skull f*ck your mother because you got more points than them.
I know most of the people i know act like human beings online, but if you don't want to help new players, at least leave them be, theyr'e more likely to improve by playing the game than by you telling them theyr'e shit.. If online players are constantly dicks to one another, people won't buy online games so developers will lose money and the next call of duty will be even shittier than the last as it had a smaller budget. Yes, you're actions online do make an impact, so try to act like a grown up, don't start being a jerk because the recipient can't reach over and punch you for insulting them.
everyone was new to games at one point so laughing at less skilled players and calling them noobs is elitist and is damaging to the public perception of gamers in general.
I miss the days when everyone said "good game" to other players after a match, whether they won or lost. Sportsmanship doesn't have to be native to sports (although there are plenty of ass holes in the sporting world). Playing constructively, telling one another about their strengths and weaknesses is going to make a much better gaming community than the one we have now, where someone will threaten to skull f*ck your mother because you got more points than them.
I know most of the people i know act like human beings online, but if you don't want to help new players, at least leave them be, theyr'e more likely to improve by playing the game than by you telling them theyr'e shit.. If online players are constantly dicks to one another, people won't buy online games so developers will lose money and the next call of duty will be even shittier than the last as it had a smaller budget. Yes, you're actions online do make an impact, so try to act like a grown up, don't start being a jerk because the recipient can't reach over and punch you for insulting them.
Tuesday 22 March 2011
casual games (again)
Now i may actually have something positive to say about casual games, I'm not saying my last post was erroneous, but i HAVE discovered that casual games have more uses than just pumping money into the industry and acting as a good pool to try new game ideas. So stick with me
Now, i've been trying to think of good subjects for games articles, i want to learn more about gaming in a serious way and think i need to relay a bit about what i learn to you, you may learn a think or two and i just know it will make you a better gamer (unless you already know this stuff as ur higher on the ladder than me, in which case, fuck it, this is revision)
Upon writing my "why i hate casual games"blog post i wanted to find something positive to say (not because i was going to force myself to or in the interest of fairness, but because there was definitely something there i couldnt quite grasp) and i came up with the following.
I play a vast number of games from all genres (except sports, heck i played the quidditch world cup game in uni for longer than i played fifa in the past 5 years) and as a veteran gamer (shut up, i can call myself that) i find it incredibly easy to pick up and play a game, no matter what it may be. I don't have to look at the controller to confirm im pressing the correct button, and for the most part it's like the controller isn't even there, and i'm playing the game with my mind. Do you drive? well then i'm guessing you don't need to look to see what gear you're in as you can operatie the car by feel alone. This is an example of the conditioning we all recieve through gaming.
There is a reason why all first person shooters use dual analogue sticks or the wasd keys on a keyboard - theyr'e the best possible configurations with the hardware available to us. Every gamer who plays often knows exactly how to hold a controller or where to place his fingers, likewise most gamers can predict where a jump button will be for a platformer, which button fires the gun or simple stuff like which buttons will be used to navigate menus
***A quick aside here on that issue. Westerners tend to use the X button on a playstation pad as the OK button and circle as the cancel button, this is because we naturally asssume that the ok button will be the one closest to the bottom, but the face buttons on a playstation have actual meanings. The playstation's triangle, circle, X and square buttons were created in japan and like our "tick" or "check" mark for positive and "cross" for negative (think of a teacher marking a test paper) the japanese have a system. The thing is that instead of check and cross, they use a "circle" for positive and a "cross" for negative so that's why in japanese-made games like the metal gear solid series and final fantasy 7, the circle button is used as the OK button. As we don't use that method we assumed they meant nothing so made our own rules, and are occasionally thrown by games that use japan's system***
Similarly, a seasoned gamer can take a look at any given game's HUD (heads-up display) and guess what most of the symbols mean. Most of the time(and in no particular order) there's a compass or map, a health bar and magic bar, a stance indicator, an ammo indicator, arrows pointing to objectives, the screennames of other players, a chat log, a score indicator, a leaderboard, a position indicator (for racing games), a speed counter, status indicators or for other games on-screen effects to show your character's current state like blood on the screento show you are wounded and need to get to safety.
My point is, these things are learned and built into a gamer through experience but actuually may have taken me many years to learn. Right now i find it an alien concept to pick up even the simplest of games and not know what to do or what the symbols and numbers mean. It is here that i think back on simpler days when i would play sonic games and all i needed to know was how many rings i had and how many lives were remaining.
It seems obvious that HUDs today are much more cluttered and complex than years ago, with some exceptions of course where the designers make an effort to simplify. If a new player were to be thrown into a first person shooter today without this inbuilt conditioning, the game's ins and outs might as well be in a different language, it is here that casual games that are generally simpler shine.
You see, a casual game is usually centered around performing one particular task, be it repelling zombies orknocking down structures. By offering more straightforward objectives, less gameplay mechanics need to be explained, so if the only thing constantly onscreen at a given time is a score counter, it won't be long before a new gamer can recognize one in another title and know what the game requires. Other examples are simple things like a health bar or a timer that tell the player that there will be conflict or that speed will be required, once gamers have been exposed to game mechanics in steady bite-sized chunks they will build a repertoire of videogame knowledge that they can apply to other titles
Whilst for me it was games on the megadrive/genesis today's gamers often have to begin with the relative complexity of a dozen-buttoned controller with knobs on instead of one with just a d-pad and three buttons. It's understandable why people prefer casual games on things like the iphone (which can customize the number of buttons needed or remove them entirely for swipes and tilt) it's because they're simpler, more approachable. As someone (i forget who) once said, a controller might as well be the control board for a jumbo jet for all it means to a new gamer.
So i admit i was wrong to think casual games weren't as important for hardcore gamers, the thing was that what they had to teach i ALREADY knew, so it all seems so backwards and pointless to me.
My point still stands tho, they may be wonderful for getting people to lnow more about game mechanice, but they still PISS ME OFF if it's all you want to play! come on, you accidentally learned a lot about gaming, why not use that knowledge to experience something monumental? I can see people using the judgment for trajectory they learn through angry birds for a serious game of worms, just replace the birds with grenades and the pigs with a rival team who throw 'em back
-On a personal note-
I'm glad i figured this out, it reminds me i still have an introspective mind and can learn about gaming without prompting, i wasn't actively seeking to learn this. It all started when the guy from extra credits mentioned that gamers know the best way to hold a controller and i took it from there. Maybe i have what it takes to write a videogame commentary, but i still have a long way to go, one day im gonna have to read those academic books on videogames (shame theyre like university books so cost 30-60 pounds each)
there are a great deal of topics id like to touch on, the thing is coming up with an appropriate angle.
Now, i've been trying to think of good subjects for games articles, i want to learn more about gaming in a serious way and think i need to relay a bit about what i learn to you, you may learn a think or two and i just know it will make you a better gamer (unless you already know this stuff as ur higher on the ladder than me, in which case, fuck it, this is revision)
Upon writing my "why i hate casual games"blog post i wanted to find something positive to say (not because i was going to force myself to or in the interest of fairness, but because there was definitely something there i couldnt quite grasp) and i came up with the following.
I play a vast number of games from all genres (except sports, heck i played the quidditch world cup game in uni for longer than i played fifa in the past 5 years) and as a veteran gamer (shut up, i can call myself that) i find it incredibly easy to pick up and play a game, no matter what it may be. I don't have to look at the controller to confirm im pressing the correct button, and for the most part it's like the controller isn't even there, and i'm playing the game with my mind. Do you drive? well then i'm guessing you don't need to look to see what gear you're in as you can operatie the car by feel alone. This is an example of the conditioning we all recieve through gaming.
There is a reason why all first person shooters use dual analogue sticks or the wasd keys on a keyboard - theyr'e the best possible configurations with the hardware available to us. Every gamer who plays often knows exactly how to hold a controller or where to place his fingers, likewise most gamers can predict where a jump button will be for a platformer, which button fires the gun or simple stuff like which buttons will be used to navigate menus
***A quick aside here on that issue. Westerners tend to use the X button on a playstation pad as the OK button and circle as the cancel button, this is because we naturally asssume that the ok button will be the one closest to the bottom, but the face buttons on a playstation have actual meanings. The playstation's triangle, circle, X and square buttons were created in japan and like our "tick" or "check" mark for positive and "cross" for negative (think of a teacher marking a test paper) the japanese have a system. The thing is that instead of check and cross, they use a "circle" for positive and a "cross" for negative so that's why in japanese-made games like the metal gear solid series and final fantasy 7, the circle button is used as the OK button. As we don't use that method we assumed they meant nothing so made our own rules, and are occasionally thrown by games that use japan's system***
Similarly, a seasoned gamer can take a look at any given game's HUD (heads-up display) and guess what most of the symbols mean. Most of the time(and in no particular order) there's a compass or map, a health bar and magic bar, a stance indicator, an ammo indicator, arrows pointing to objectives, the screennames of other players, a chat log, a score indicator, a leaderboard, a position indicator (for racing games), a speed counter, status indicators or for other games on-screen effects to show your character's current state like blood on the screento show you are wounded and need to get to safety.
My point is, these things are learned and built into a gamer through experience but actuually may have taken me many years to learn. Right now i find it an alien concept to pick up even the simplest of games and not know what to do or what the symbols and numbers mean. It is here that i think back on simpler days when i would play sonic games and all i needed to know was how many rings i had and how many lives were remaining.
It seems obvious that HUDs today are much more cluttered and complex than years ago, with some exceptions of course where the designers make an effort to simplify. If a new player were to be thrown into a first person shooter today without this inbuilt conditioning, the game's ins and outs might as well be in a different language, it is here that casual games that are generally simpler shine.
You see, a casual game is usually centered around performing one particular task, be it repelling zombies orknocking down structures. By offering more straightforward objectives, less gameplay mechanics need to be explained, so if the only thing constantly onscreen at a given time is a score counter, it won't be long before a new gamer can recognize one in another title and know what the game requires. Other examples are simple things like a health bar or a timer that tell the player that there will be conflict or that speed will be required, once gamers have been exposed to game mechanics in steady bite-sized chunks they will build a repertoire of videogame knowledge that they can apply to other titles
Whilst for me it was games on the megadrive/genesis today's gamers often have to begin with the relative complexity of a dozen-buttoned controller with knobs on instead of one with just a d-pad and three buttons. It's understandable why people prefer casual games on things like the iphone (which can customize the number of buttons needed or remove them entirely for swipes and tilt) it's because they're simpler, more approachable. As someone (i forget who) once said, a controller might as well be the control board for a jumbo jet for all it means to a new gamer.
So i admit i was wrong to think casual games weren't as important for hardcore gamers, the thing was that what they had to teach i ALREADY knew, so it all seems so backwards and pointless to me.
My point still stands tho, they may be wonderful for getting people to lnow more about game mechanice, but they still PISS ME OFF if it's all you want to play! come on, you accidentally learned a lot about gaming, why not use that knowledge to experience something monumental? I can see people using the judgment for trajectory they learn through angry birds for a serious game of worms, just replace the birds with grenades and the pigs with a rival team who throw 'em back
-On a personal note-
I'm glad i figured this out, it reminds me i still have an introspective mind and can learn about gaming without prompting, i wasn't actively seeking to learn this. It all started when the guy from extra credits mentioned that gamers know the best way to hold a controller and i took it from there. Maybe i have what it takes to write a videogame commentary, but i still have a long way to go, one day im gonna have to read those academic books on videogames (shame theyre like university books so cost 30-60 pounds each)
there are a great deal of topics id like to touch on, the thing is coming up with an appropriate angle.
Tuesday 15 March 2011
Casual games (and why i hate them)
OK time to have a go at the weakest branch of videogaming, casual games, games like farmville, peggle and angry birds (this intro is aimed at lewis first of all, as im sure he'll have the most to say on the subject). I PLAY casual games, i enjoy them and they fill the time i'm waiting for the kettle to boil or for the bath to fill but they are for the most part pointless and completely interchageable. You CANNOT substiturte metal gear solid for the legend of zelda, they are both masterpieces in their own right and have their own unique styles and messages, you CAN swap out plants vs zombies and doodle jump as they are designed to keep (for the most part) non-gamers occupied.
This entire blog post may seem elitist but trust me, it is well founded and stems from a deep seated profound love of videogames, i don't at all wish that casual games didnt exist or claim they do not help the industry, but i do wish they would have some more substance and depth in order to portray what videogames are capable of.
Now here goes: I have played videogames practically since birth, and regularly since the very early 90's with the amiga 500, the master system then most notably kicking off with the original sonic the hedgehog for the megadrive. Videogames have literally been the keystone to my existance and for better or worse they have always been the stable bedrock to my life. I grew up with crazy titles like vigilante 8, future cop lapd and james pond which were kinda pointless, but which look like f**king masterpieces when compared to bejewelled, which has made more money than all three of those titles combined by simply being a shiny puzzle game which requires you to like up coloured blocks in order to gain points.
Videogames are art, they are a magnificent medium for storytelling, socializing, entertainment and technological marvel that have matured and grown year on year from quaint programs designed by university students in basements to multi million dollar projects created by literally hundreds of extremely talented individuals. Anyone who denies videogames are influential, educational, culturally relevant or wholesome has clearly jumped onto the "ban videogames for society's faults" bandwagon that not too long ago was the rock and roll band wagon, the rap music bandwagon, the violent movie bandwagon or going back a bit farther, the intellectuals bandwagon. Videogames have taught me so much i can honestly say i wouldn't be the person i am without them.
So why then do i despise casual games? because they are a pathetic example of selling the medium short, of perpetuating the view that videogames cannot be art because they lack message and depth and because they just don't measure up to "real videogames". People argue that, like movies, a game doesn't HAVE to be about anything, it doesn't HAVE to have a message or require you to think to be entertained. This is such a tired, defeatist argument it seems like a get-out clause for not putting in any effort and expecting to make a profit. because some idiots out there are scared by any depth they are happy to match colours instead of being entertained by complex characters, weaving, believable storylines and gameplay that tests the player's wits and endurance. to these people i'd like nothing more than to remove their iphone priviliges (as they clearly won't know how to use the damn thing to plan a route or trade stocks if theyre so afraid of thinking) and instead give them a 90's mobile with no extra features and a colouring-in book or MAYBE one of those wooden bats with the rubber ball on a string.
OK I LOVE to use analogies, so here goes: playing casual games, settling for such simple concepts without even trying to look into the deeper world of gaming is like eating toast all your life. it's simple to make, it keeps you alive, it isnt adventurous but it gets the job done. To open your eyes to the wonder of videogames is to learn to cook with a whole library of cook books and a veritable cornucopia of ingredients, there is something in videogaming for everyone. Sweeping orchestral scores, rich and immersive plots and narratives, gameplay elements that will test every fibre of your mental being from making tough moral choices to working in tandem with other real-life players to achieve a common goal, not unlike a sports team working as one unit. The difference between casual games and real videogames is the difference between eating to survive and eating to experience.
Casual games are not the same as low-budget games. there have been a plethora of cheaply-made games that have touched audiences worldwide and brought them together in marvel of how much depth can be crammed into a tiny hour-long interactive experience. Games like Braid, Machinarium, Puzzle Agent and even Minecraft aren't hollywood equivalent big budget titles but are no less amazing and touching. Puzzle Agent scared me, Machinarium charmed me and Minecraft is played by literally MILLIONS of people and was created by a team of five people (i believe) on their home computers.
I do not hate cheap games, i hate games that settle for less because people that accept less will pay for it. Some studios have started with casual games and grown to become big-name developers while others have stuck being casual games developers and have made more money than companies like KONAMI have in their entire existence. kudos for them for making money from old rope, but don't then become an old rope manufacturer because it's convenient. Eventually people might get sick of your old rope and dismiss rope, old or new entirely as a gimmick (ok that's one drawn-out analogy)
So the reason i hate casual games is because gaming is so incredibly varied and wonderful, it sickens me to think people will settle for flinging birds at pigs to get the high-score and never know the sadness i felt for solid snake when he had to kill his mentor and mother figure at the end of metal gear solid 3.
Surely YOU have a passion? do you love wine? what if everyone you knew were content to drink nothing but lambrini all their lives? What if you loved a good novel and instead everyone around you never read anything other than NUTS magazine? Do you love movies? What if hollywood only made shit films like Twilight, Transformers and SAW? Oh, wait, they do that.
My point is, if you have a passion, chances are you can associate with where i'm coming from. By all means enjoy playing casual games but let it be a stepping stone into the world of gaming, dont just stop there because you are missing out on some of the most amazing experiences in human history.
This entire blog post may seem elitist but trust me, it is well founded and stems from a deep seated profound love of videogames, i don't at all wish that casual games didnt exist or claim they do not help the industry, but i do wish they would have some more substance and depth in order to portray what videogames are capable of.
Now here goes: I have played videogames practically since birth, and regularly since the very early 90's with the amiga 500, the master system then most notably kicking off with the original sonic the hedgehog for the megadrive. Videogames have literally been the keystone to my existance and for better or worse they have always been the stable bedrock to my life. I grew up with crazy titles like vigilante 8, future cop lapd and james pond which were kinda pointless, but which look like f**king masterpieces when compared to bejewelled, which has made more money than all three of those titles combined by simply being a shiny puzzle game which requires you to like up coloured blocks in order to gain points.
Videogames are art, they are a magnificent medium for storytelling, socializing, entertainment and technological marvel that have matured and grown year on year from quaint programs designed by university students in basements to multi million dollar projects created by literally hundreds of extremely talented individuals. Anyone who denies videogames are influential, educational, culturally relevant or wholesome has clearly jumped onto the "ban videogames for society's faults" bandwagon that not too long ago was the rock and roll band wagon, the rap music bandwagon, the violent movie bandwagon or going back a bit farther, the intellectuals bandwagon. Videogames have taught me so much i can honestly say i wouldn't be the person i am without them.
So why then do i despise casual games? because they are a pathetic example of selling the medium short, of perpetuating the view that videogames cannot be art because they lack message and depth and because they just don't measure up to "real videogames". People argue that, like movies, a game doesn't HAVE to be about anything, it doesn't HAVE to have a message or require you to think to be entertained. This is such a tired, defeatist argument it seems like a get-out clause for not putting in any effort and expecting to make a profit. because some idiots out there are scared by any depth they are happy to match colours instead of being entertained by complex characters, weaving, believable storylines and gameplay that tests the player's wits and endurance. to these people i'd like nothing more than to remove their iphone priviliges (as they clearly won't know how to use the damn thing to plan a route or trade stocks if theyre so afraid of thinking) and instead give them a 90's mobile with no extra features and a colouring-in book or MAYBE one of those wooden bats with the rubber ball on a string.
OK I LOVE to use analogies, so here goes: playing casual games, settling for such simple concepts without even trying to look into the deeper world of gaming is like eating toast all your life. it's simple to make, it keeps you alive, it isnt adventurous but it gets the job done. To open your eyes to the wonder of videogames is to learn to cook with a whole library of cook books and a veritable cornucopia of ingredients, there is something in videogaming for everyone. Sweeping orchestral scores, rich and immersive plots and narratives, gameplay elements that will test every fibre of your mental being from making tough moral choices to working in tandem with other real-life players to achieve a common goal, not unlike a sports team working as one unit. The difference between casual games and real videogames is the difference between eating to survive and eating to experience.
Casual games are not the same as low-budget games. there have been a plethora of cheaply-made games that have touched audiences worldwide and brought them together in marvel of how much depth can be crammed into a tiny hour-long interactive experience. Games like Braid, Machinarium, Puzzle Agent and even Minecraft aren't hollywood equivalent big budget titles but are no less amazing and touching. Puzzle Agent scared me, Machinarium charmed me and Minecraft is played by literally MILLIONS of people and was created by a team of five people (i believe) on their home computers.
I do not hate cheap games, i hate games that settle for less because people that accept less will pay for it. Some studios have started with casual games and grown to become big-name developers while others have stuck being casual games developers and have made more money than companies like KONAMI have in their entire existence. kudos for them for making money from old rope, but don't then become an old rope manufacturer because it's convenient. Eventually people might get sick of your old rope and dismiss rope, old or new entirely as a gimmick (ok that's one drawn-out analogy)
So the reason i hate casual games is because gaming is so incredibly varied and wonderful, it sickens me to think people will settle for flinging birds at pigs to get the high-score and never know the sadness i felt for solid snake when he had to kill his mentor and mother figure at the end of metal gear solid 3.
Surely YOU have a passion? do you love wine? what if everyone you knew were content to drink nothing but lambrini all their lives? What if you loved a good novel and instead everyone around you never read anything other than NUTS magazine? Do you love movies? What if hollywood only made shit films like Twilight, Transformers and SAW? Oh, wait, they do that.
My point is, if you have a passion, chances are you can associate with where i'm coming from. By all means enjoy playing casual games but let it be a stepping stone into the world of gaming, dont just stop there because you are missing out on some of the most amazing experiences in human history.
Monday 14 March 2011
Back once more - news and herbal medicine
Hey there guys,
so i've been busy writing for various websites (find links to all my publications in my new blog here: http://dilarus-journalism.blogspot.com/ please bookmark it) so i've somewhat neglected my blog as of late, im gonna make more of an effort to update it regular and keep you all updated.
For the most part, working for fusion gamer and hookedgamers has been fun. The guys at fusion send me the occasional game to review, which i love and the guys at hookedgamers want me to source my own games which i have no idea how to do and because i don't have access to my hookedgamers email address i doubt will be very fruitful. So one is going better than the other, due to my ongoing unemployment i am still unable to buy games to write about. Happily, fusion gamer encourages me to write retrospectives about my favorite old games and pastes them on the front page for all to see so i can busy myself with that.
Now, onto the main point of this blog post. Oddly, what i want to write about now is not game-related but a common sense piece. So here's some facts about herbal medicine.
People may not know that 99% of all medicine started out as herbal medicine (the rest have been created in labs only recently). For thousands of years humans have sought out and collected plants, roots and other ingredients to make salves and balms, soups and potions to fight various illnesses. Fighting fever, dulling pain, aiding sleep or driving out demons, some of the remedies we came up with worked, others not so well.
Let me take you back
One common cure for most fevers was the flobotomy or blood-letting, where doctors would cut an artery to drain blood from the patient. Oddly, the loss of blood would reduce the patient's blood pressure and would actually result in sedation and the patient's fever would go down simply due to less blood going to the extremities and skin. It was due to the fact a flobotomy could easily lead to death from blood loss that some people believe doctors turned to leeches, which drained a set amount of blood from a patient without risking the severing of an artery. The leeches, when full would seal up the wound they made and wouldn't leave a scar, nifty little critters.
One other famous procedure was trepanning, where holes would be made in a patient's skull with sharp stones to let demons out back in "caveman" days, later still performed to relieve headaches, believably caused by a build-up of pressure in the head. Doctors would clamp the patient's head and scrape the scalp off, then proceed to bore holes with metal instruments. Death was almost certain, not usually from the procedure, but due to deadly infections from open wounds as doctors were not yet aware of microorganisms and the need to be hygienic.
Now, if you're like me, you're glad these practises died out, we now understand a great deal about the human body, what causes and cures a wide variety of ailments and due to a huge leap of technological advancement can create medicines that work much better than chewing roots and applying frog intestines to the forehead.
Now here's the real important part. Hippocrates wrote in the 5th century BC about a powder gathered from the bark of the willow tree that could help dull pain and reduce a fever, we found out he was indeed correct, and referring to salicylic acid, a compount that has analgesic (pain killing) and anti-inflammatory properties useful in fighting pains and fever. A very useful discovery and a great representation of early medicine.
There was one downside to salicylic acid though: when taken in a dose high enough to be truly effective, it caused the stomach and intestines to bleed. Death was also common from overdose in its early application, as nobody could predict the effects of it on children or the elderly as prescribed doses were not made by informed experts. Many years later (in the 19th century) a group of german scientists succeeded in isolating salicylic acid and set out to tackle the problem of internal bleeding.
After many years of altering various chains of the compound, they eventually succeeded in creating a substance called acetylsalicylic acid otherwise known as ASPIRIN (you may have heard of it). Aspirin keeps the useful qualities of salicylic acid but without the dangerous side-effects (you can still overdose on it, but you can overdose on oxygen too). Now, this is a brilliant example of natural medicine versus medicine (as we call it) Doctors and scientists, people will brilliant minds have worked tirelessly throughout the centuries to look at each and every example of natural herbal medicine and separate the useful and the useless (ground rhinoceros horn doesn't reduce a fever, you may be shocked to find out).
People who have dedicated their lives to saving people's lives, working day after day to advance the cause of medicine have helped to create the medicines we now use, don't simply dismiss their research and instead choose herbal medicine because it's "natural", we can prove they are less effective (if at all) and often have more side-effects than their laboratory-made counterparts.
I cannot begin to describe how stupid people are to choose not to have anaesthetic when giving birth, to choose ginseng when they're stressed or to have a hot cup of lemongrass tea rather than see a dentist for crippling dental pain. These people are afraid of what they don't understand and are wrong to push their ill-informed beliefs onto those they love. The same goes for "organic" food and *choke* religion. If you're put off of a certain cure because of honest testimony from someone you know who has had a bad experience with it or has suffered side effects, fair enough, but remember there are often a variety of cures available for any given ailment (for a headache alone, if you cannot take aspirin, you can try paracetamol or ibuprofen).
I myself am allergic to penicillin, but that is not the medicine's FAULT, nor is it science's, it is a genetic disposition i have. When i had a terrible infection in my throat, i could not take penicillin to cure it, but that doesn't mean i turned to herbal medicine! I instead took a course of another antibiotic: amoxycillin. i was not allergic to it (which we knew beforehand as scientists actually do their research) and the infection went away with no ill effects.
So please, if you have a problem talk to your doctor. You may not realize it, but doctors and scientists are SMARTER THAN YOU and may actually know what they're doing, together man has spent millions of hours and countless amounts of money to bring you medicine that is effective and safe, don't dismiss their hard work and instead take a herbal medicine people have been using since the dark ages because someone you know had a tummy ache after recieving treatment.
I have a great deal of faith in medicine, i'm asthmatic and its a fact that i wouldnt be alive today if scientists hadn't developed treatment for when i had asthma attacks and had to be taken to hospital when i was young. There is no way herbal medicine could have saved me, the only way to treat an asthma attack is to apply steroids directly to the lungs, something tree bark and hot water sadly cannot achieve.
So i implore you. Stay away from herbal medicine, if you get stabbed you'd live longer by going to the emergency room than to the herbal medicine counter at your local supermarket, You'd also feel better with morphine than with st. john's wort.
medicine isnt perfect, yes it may sometimes have a side-effect or two, but that's the price you pay for ridding yourself of a horrible debilitating illness. Trust me, it's the lesser of two evils, the herbal cure for polio involves charred donkey penis, and it very rarely works.
so i've been busy writing for various websites (find links to all my publications in my new blog here: http://dilarus-journalism.blogspot.com/ please bookmark it) so i've somewhat neglected my blog as of late, im gonna make more of an effort to update it regular and keep you all updated.
For the most part, working for fusion gamer and hookedgamers has been fun. The guys at fusion send me the occasional game to review, which i love and the guys at hookedgamers want me to source my own games which i have no idea how to do and because i don't have access to my hookedgamers email address i doubt will be very fruitful. So one is going better than the other, due to my ongoing unemployment i am still unable to buy games to write about. Happily, fusion gamer encourages me to write retrospectives about my favorite old games and pastes them on the front page for all to see so i can busy myself with that.
Now, onto the main point of this blog post. Oddly, what i want to write about now is not game-related but a common sense piece. So here's some facts about herbal medicine.
Herbal/Natural Medicine.
People may not know that 99% of all medicine started out as herbal medicine (the rest have been created in labs only recently). For thousands of years humans have sought out and collected plants, roots and other ingredients to make salves and balms, soups and potions to fight various illnesses. Fighting fever, dulling pain, aiding sleep or driving out demons, some of the remedies we came up with worked, others not so well.
Let me take you back
One common cure for most fevers was the flobotomy or blood-letting, where doctors would cut an artery to drain blood from the patient. Oddly, the loss of blood would reduce the patient's blood pressure and would actually result in sedation and the patient's fever would go down simply due to less blood going to the extremities and skin. It was due to the fact a flobotomy could easily lead to death from blood loss that some people believe doctors turned to leeches, which drained a set amount of blood from a patient without risking the severing of an artery. The leeches, when full would seal up the wound they made and wouldn't leave a scar, nifty little critters.
One other famous procedure was trepanning, where holes would be made in a patient's skull with sharp stones to let demons out back in "caveman" days, later still performed to relieve headaches, believably caused by a build-up of pressure in the head. Doctors would clamp the patient's head and scrape the scalp off, then proceed to bore holes with metal instruments. Death was almost certain, not usually from the procedure, but due to deadly infections from open wounds as doctors were not yet aware of microorganisms and the need to be hygienic.
Now, if you're like me, you're glad these practises died out, we now understand a great deal about the human body, what causes and cures a wide variety of ailments and due to a huge leap of technological advancement can create medicines that work much better than chewing roots and applying frog intestines to the forehead.
Now here's the real important part. Hippocrates wrote in the 5th century BC about a powder gathered from the bark of the willow tree that could help dull pain and reduce a fever, we found out he was indeed correct, and referring to salicylic acid, a compount that has analgesic (pain killing) and anti-inflammatory properties useful in fighting pains and fever. A very useful discovery and a great representation of early medicine.
There was one downside to salicylic acid though: when taken in a dose high enough to be truly effective, it caused the stomach and intestines to bleed. Death was also common from overdose in its early application, as nobody could predict the effects of it on children or the elderly as prescribed doses were not made by informed experts. Many years later (in the 19th century) a group of german scientists succeeded in isolating salicylic acid and set out to tackle the problem of internal bleeding.
After many years of altering various chains of the compound, they eventually succeeded in creating a substance called acetylsalicylic acid otherwise known as ASPIRIN (you may have heard of it). Aspirin keeps the useful qualities of salicylic acid but without the dangerous side-effects (you can still overdose on it, but you can overdose on oxygen too). Now, this is a brilliant example of natural medicine versus medicine (as we call it) Doctors and scientists, people will brilliant minds have worked tirelessly throughout the centuries to look at each and every example of natural herbal medicine and separate the useful and the useless (ground rhinoceros horn doesn't reduce a fever, you may be shocked to find out).
People who have dedicated their lives to saving people's lives, working day after day to advance the cause of medicine have helped to create the medicines we now use, don't simply dismiss their research and instead choose herbal medicine because it's "natural", we can prove they are less effective (if at all) and often have more side-effects than their laboratory-made counterparts.
I cannot begin to describe how stupid people are to choose not to have anaesthetic when giving birth, to choose ginseng when they're stressed or to have a hot cup of lemongrass tea rather than see a dentist for crippling dental pain. These people are afraid of what they don't understand and are wrong to push their ill-informed beliefs onto those they love. The same goes for "organic" food and *choke* religion. If you're put off of a certain cure because of honest testimony from someone you know who has had a bad experience with it or has suffered side effects, fair enough, but remember there are often a variety of cures available for any given ailment (for a headache alone, if you cannot take aspirin, you can try paracetamol or ibuprofen).
I myself am allergic to penicillin, but that is not the medicine's FAULT, nor is it science's, it is a genetic disposition i have. When i had a terrible infection in my throat, i could not take penicillin to cure it, but that doesn't mean i turned to herbal medicine! I instead took a course of another antibiotic: amoxycillin. i was not allergic to it (which we knew beforehand as scientists actually do their research) and the infection went away with no ill effects.
So please, if you have a problem talk to your doctor. You may not realize it, but doctors and scientists are SMARTER THAN YOU and may actually know what they're doing, together man has spent millions of hours and countless amounts of money to bring you medicine that is effective and safe, don't dismiss their hard work and instead take a herbal medicine people have been using since the dark ages because someone you know had a tummy ache after recieving treatment.
I have a great deal of faith in medicine, i'm asthmatic and its a fact that i wouldnt be alive today if scientists hadn't developed treatment for when i had asthma attacks and had to be taken to hospital when i was young. There is no way herbal medicine could have saved me, the only way to treat an asthma attack is to apply steroids directly to the lungs, something tree bark and hot water sadly cannot achieve.
So i implore you. Stay away from herbal medicine, if you get stabbed you'd live longer by going to the emergency room than to the herbal medicine counter at your local supermarket, You'd also feel better with morphine than with st. john's wort.
medicine isnt perfect, yes it may sometimes have a side-effect or two, but that's the price you pay for ridding yourself of a horrible debilitating illness. Trust me, it's the lesser of two evils, the herbal cure for polio involves charred donkey penis, and it very rarely works.
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