posts by christian
christian

Retrospectives – Metal Gear Solid series part 2

by

Continued from part 1.

My first experience with anything related to Metal Gear was the MGS cover story in Next Generation Magazine. Like any feature on the game should have, the article mentioned that this was not a new series, but the resurrection of an old one. It even gave a brief history of the past Metal Gear games, which made me feel like hot shit in my eighth grade mind, as if I knew something the unwashed masses that would eventually buy the game never would.

Oh how wrong I was. Remember the amazing boss fight with Liquid Snake in the Hind D? Or how funny and strange it was to meet Meryl in the bathroom? How about those great fights in the elevator and the stairwell? →  You fool. Don’t you understand? No one wishes to read on…

Retrospectives – Metal Gear Solid series part 1

by

Because this is a discussion of the game series there will be significant spoilers. Read and weep.

I have a strange relationship with MGS. If you take away a few enhanced releases, I have played (or am playing) just about everything MGS related, from the mainline trilogy to Twin Snakes and even the Game Boy Color game. Something tells me I’ll have finished MGS4 within four months of release, even if I have no PS3. I seem to be an absolute whore for Kojima. And yet, I’m not sure I entirely love MGS. In fact, I know I don’t.

The only game in the series that I would consider truly brilliant is 3. The rest may simply be problematic postmodern experiments. →  Game is dead. Game remains dead. And we have killed it.

RIP Blogs (I wish)

by

My one and only take on the Gerstman Gate fiasco lies here. Yesterday I was talking with Videolamer Ringleader Jay about games journalism, and how blogs seem to have far, far too much power. A site like Destructoid makes a cheap parody, and this is regarded as a major burn while they call it a day. The fact that we are mentioning burns in a so called area of journalism is troubling, but I digress. Blogs often give the appearance that they are reporting rumors and anonymous sources as facts, and while they do sometimes place disclaimers, it is curious that most people don’t focus on them. Either we as a nation cannot read, or the disclaimers are stealthily placed into the first rumormongering articles, so that later editions can bask in the sensationalism. →  You may say I’m a gamer, but I’m not the only one

Vivendi and Activision Merge (or Industry becomes The Blob)

by

If you thought the whole Gerstman-gate scandal over at Gamespot was a black eye for the industry, things just got worse. Activision, who just over took EA as the biggest publisher in existence, has merged with the also massive Vivendi Games. The name of the company? Actvision Blizzard.

This is bad on so many levels. A company this large has control of many, many titles, assets and developers, and it isn’t hard to believe that they are going to get less attention and respect than they did before. A company this size can take any IP and any developer and mush them together until a product rolls out and cash rolls in. In addition, not only are they using the Blizzard name to try and trick gamers into believing this is going to be a new era of quality, but if the Shacknews article is any indication, Blizzard is completely complacent in all of this, and perhaps downright happy. →  To be this lame takes ages.

Thanksiving Post – Game Movies

by

For family reasons I am not having my Thanksgiving until Friday, so tonight is just business as usual for me. I’m taking my small bit of self-alloted time on the computer to write a blog post.

Games Radar has written a classic fluff piece designed exclusively for diggs. It has to do with game game movies, and I find it completely wrong, so here is my fluff piece meant exclusively for diggs.

Let’s look at it point by point. Their first is

“Respect the source material

You bought the IP for a reason and it’s successful for a reason. Your audience is there, so take it seriously and they’ll come. ”

This is a narrow view that assumes that all gamers think like the ones who post on gaming websites. →  Read me now, believe me later.

Mario Galaxy and gaming mindshare

by

Super Mario Galaxy is officially out. With any luck, I’ll be the first person on Videolamer to discuss it, though I am probably the only one who doesn’t yet have it (though you are all welcome to buy it for me during my almost ended state of unemployment). That’s okay however, because I’m not really here to discuss the game proper, but the buzz surrounding it. Simply put, this is being called a return to form for Mario, a game that is the rightful successor to Mario 64. This sounds eerily similar to the remarks made about Twilight Princess, which fits the mold created by Ocarina of Time better than any other Zelda to succeed it, even Majora’s Mask. For most people’s money, these are the top two games on the Wii, Metroid Prime notwithstanding. →  The only thing we have to read is read itself.

Review – Sam & Max Season 2, Episode 1: Ice Station Santa

by

One thing I have noticed since I was young is that every new season of television shows creates a new trend or two. In the last 15 years it seems we have seen everything, from a flood of cartoons, themed sitcoms, non-themed sitcoms (thanks, Seinfeld), sci-fi shows, crime dramas, and more. There are two common patterns; either a network hits gold and cranks out dozens of similar shows to cash in (see how The Learning Channel nearly destroyed itself thanks to Trading Spaces), or two networks create almost identical pieces of shit in hopes that theirs will stick.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, we have seen both of these trends as the games industry has tried to tackle episodic gaming. On one hand, we had Telltale Games working on episodes for Bone and Sam and Max, while Valve and Ritual made their own serialized installments of Half Life and Sin via Steam and the Source engine. →  Article Kombat

Achieve Nothing

by

I try not to make VL blog posts sound like a broken record, but blogs are for random thoughts and insights. Playing more Guitar Hero has given me a few more.

I’ve commented in the past about how the achievement system on the 360 is a little goofy, yet we still clamor for them. I know I do, despite my best efforts. Its one thing when two games have vastly different ideas of what an achievement should constitute, but it is even more interesting to see what two sequels have to say on the matter.

Both GH2 and 3 have mostly the same kinds of achievements – beat the game on all the different difficulties, five star all the songs, earn big note streaks, buy stuff from the store, etc. →  All happy games are alike; each unhappy game is unhappy in its own way.

Review – Half-Life Episode 2

by

Half Life 2 Episode 1 was much like the Opposing Force expansion to the original Half Life. Both games were largely similar, but each offered a distinct twist that helped it along. In Opposing Force, it was the concept of playing as a soldier hunting down Gordon Freeman, and the benefits of having a troop of specialized AI soldiers to help you along the way.

In Episode 1, it was the impressive AI of Alyx Vance, which helped you bond with her character as well as giving Valve a chance to create some interesting scenarios for her and Gordon to tackle. Both games also benefited from their incredible set pieces that improved upon most of the things we experienced in the original games. →  Read Theft Auto 4

Sunshine, lollipops and – Rock Band?

by

I’m not sure what to name the Guitar Hero/Rock Band fan community, as they are far from the only rhythm games in the world, and “western rhythm games” sounds retarded. Let’s just say that in this not-yet-named community, the majority of fans realize and accept that both Guitar Hero 3 and Rock Band have strengths and weaknesses. Some players may prefer one over the other, but they also have enough reason to give them both a try, and maybe even a purchase.

Still, while the mass market seems to stand by Guitar Hero and its now titanium strong name brand, there is a contingent of folks who have sworn an oath to Harmonix and Rock Band, citing that a game with more instruments just has to be better (amirite?). →  Ask not what this post can do for you - ask what you can do for this post.