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Nat

Monday Madness?

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This is going to be a big madness. Due to recent excitement, we’ve got to catch up three weeks worth.

GAME: Gamers With Jobs featured a game a while back called Ether Cannon. It’s Asteroids with pretty visuals, concussion visuals.

PICS: Ever heard of the website PostSecret? Gamers With Jobs (again) started the same thing with games. The Teamfortress 2 pyro is my favorite. Post 1. Post 2.

GAME: Luminara, a much better take on Asteroids—much better. Now with trippy visuals, excellent controls, and a catchy soundtrack.

GAME: Do you like the Civilization games? Then you’ll love this FREE, dumbed-down, web-based version. Call it Ikariam. I’ll be sharing the server I’m on eventually.

PICS: Somebody took some screencaps of Metroid Prime 3 and made them 3D. I’ve got some glasses and I’ll admit: awesome. Thanks, Kotaku.

GAME: Audiosurf has recently added some new features. Why do I keep coming back to this game? Oh, yeah, because of allowing me to use my own songs. I don’t have to pay for each and every new song. Zing?

VIDEO: I usually cannot stand watching sportcasters, but somebody at TNT is teh phunny.

GAME: Zombies. That’s all I’m going to say. The Last Stand gets a sequel.

GAME: 1up has the first footage of Gears of War 2. Can you say $60 expansion pack? Sure you can.

GAME: Make your own Ouendan (Elite Beat Agents) clone for the PC. They’ve got video. N-E-A-T.

PICS: Warning! LEGO! I have two excellent posts. These guys have skills we should all have: the Germinated Ruby and the works of Izzo.

Well, the post was not as large as I thought after I weeded out some links I’d like to dedicate time for their own posts.

A Reason for All the Perfect Scores?

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I’ve not had one viable reason to trust the reviews from the big boys when it comes to GTAIV. Recently, I came across this: something from somebody I trust—a person who actually used to be with the big boys.

The story is what I came to see. And I’m having trouble putting my feelings for this game’s story into words right now. I’ll spare you the fumbling and just say that it’s probably the greatest game story of all time, both in content and how it’s integrated into the rest of the game.

I’m curious as to what others (even here) may say about the storyline. This statement comes from a guy who plays games for a living—a lot of games. If it’s a tale of redemption, I will be greatly impressed. However, if the story is so brilliant, how come almost none of the reviews mention how excellent plot is?

Why I Am Not Playing GTAIV

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Gamespot: 10 out of 10. Game Informer: 10 out of 10. X-Play: 5 out of 5. IGN: 10 out of 10. 1UP: A+. Gamespy: 5 out of 5.

I would not be surprised if GTAIV is Game of the Year. I’m not playing it, and I probably never will.

Here are my reasons in no particular order:

There are just too many reasons not to.

I’ve changed. In the past, I would play any game that was popular or a triple-A title without any regard to content or subject matter. I just cannot play a game where it’s good to be bad. I pretty much avoid games where you are a serial killer, psycho, or just some crazy going postal. The GTA games let you do just that. You’re rewarded for being evil, and not just a satiric or comedic type of evil. Generally, the worse you are the better. I’m not against violence. I like playing Crackdown and Assassin’s Creed, but even then I don’t play them all that much anymore. Now, someone will argue that I really don’t know the game because I’ve never played it. However, there’s so much about GTA in popular culture and reviews that I’m pretty sure I’m not too far off the mark.

Violence and language affects you. Argue this as much as you want, but playing games influence you. Any game. There is no way around it. Another argument is that anything we watch, do, hear, and feel influences a person. Over the past year I’ve come to realize that when I surround myself with violence I tend to be more agitated and have a shorter fuse. I’m also tempted to use language I shouldn’t when I hear a lot of it. That’s not good. I generally avoid movies, comics, books, and games with over-the-top violence and language.

I have two kids under the age of five. Why even fall into the trap of exposing my boys to this? Will I be able to protect them from everything? No. This is me being a responsible parent. By the way, the adult games I do own and play are put up and out of sight from the kids. I don’t watch movies or play games until after they are in bed.

My job. In working with teenagers, I am appalled at how many of them know about games such as the GTA series or any other type of game that the ESRB says they shouldn’t play. It’s only too obvious: they’ve played them. Gamers, publishers, and designers can scream all they want, but these type of games are being played primarily by kids. Who’s to blame? Parents? Retailers? Gamers? Publisher? Designers? You? Me? No one really knows, and that debate will go on forever. I’m trying to influence kids to live good, clean lives and uphold at least a modicum of morality. It gets difficult when I’ve got to break up a group of kids sharing gaming tips when it’s time to teach them. Oh, and it’s not just games either. Movies like Superbad (Quality matches title? Brilliant) and their ilk are just as to blame.

I know some of these reasons are tied together. Do I think anything negative about people who play these type of games? Not at all. Each person is allowed to set their own standards. I just feel that if no one at least stands up and reminds us what we’re really surrounding ourselves with and sucking into our lives what it is we might become. If not, we may see games where you can drive spikes through a person’s skull, come up with creative ways by killing a person by cutting their genitalia, and exploring all ways to strangle a man. Oh, wait…I think we’ve got that on a couple of titles.

A Wonderful Weekend

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Let’s tally.

  • Our youngest (2) is going on his fourth day in the hospital with a rotavirus.
  • Our oldest (5) has a double ear infection.
  • My wife and I have not slept in two days. I get the hospital shift tonight.

Mario Kart Wii helps pass the time. I’ve not played it, but my son keeps me informed.

It’s snowed off and on all day. A weird weekend is more like it. A Monday Madness would pale by comparison.

In [Nat’s] Hands: FFVII:Crisis Core and Okami

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I am torn. As hard as I try, I cannot play two games at once.

I’ve only played one Final Fantasy game all the way through. In fact, I played it to almost 100% completion. That’s not entirely true. In college, my PSOne was powered on for a single semester. It played one game the entire time: Final Fantasy VII. There were six of us who would play off the same saved game file. We did everything. Everything. It’s probably one of the fondest gaming memories I’ll ever have. Sometimes, we’ll still chat about it through email.

I’m not a big Final Fantasy fan. I’ve played the aforementioned title and I’ve played FFIX. See, it’s never really a final fantasy. They just keep making more. Actually, I’m more of a chrono-guy.

That’s my setup. Here’s my reveal.

On a whim (I allow myself two “whims” a year) I picked up FFVII: Crisis Core for the PSP. Simply put, this title is currently my PSP Game of the Year. I cannot get enough of it. It’s one of those titles that just hooks you and you never really know why. Maybe it’s the excellent story and presentation, maybe it’s the best cinematic cutscenes of any game I’ve seen, or maybe it’s all the great references to the original game? (Better yet, this game is a prequel and it still has future references).

FFVII:Crisis Core

This game has enveloped me so deep that I want Zack to be Cloud in the FFVII game. The character progression and growth is written in such a way that you don’t even realize it’s happening until you go remember back to where you started.

Now there is a fault. I hate, HATE, HATE the DMW. It’s basically a slot machine that you have no control over that interrupts combat sequences. It’ll occasionally level your character up and toss some bonuses your way. It’ll constantly break the flow of excitement during battle. Necessary? No.

If I was to rate this game, I’d give it a 10. The DMW (I keep wanting to say DMV) makes it an 8. Harsh? Yes. However, Square Enix have been making excellent games for almost 20 years. They should know better.

Okami

A week ago I picked up Okami for the Wii. Roger Ebert knows nothing when it comes to games—maybe even art. This game is art in motion, a moving picture worth ten thousand words, a watercolor that doesn’t fade, a…well, you get the idea. Be ready to read as well. A lot. However, it’s all excellent.

I’m only one hour in to the game and it’s been the most unique hour of gaming I’ve ever experienced. How do I describe it? You’re a goddess who has been reincarnated as a white wolf. You mist rid the land of darkness and bring it back to life. Your weapon: a brush.

Yep. You solve problems, rejuvenate nature, experience combat, and paint the town red with your trusty brush. It’s wonderful. This game was made for the Wiimote. The execs at Capcom must be prophets considering the game was made in 2006.

I’m told this game could net a person 40 hours of playtime. Excellent. This may be a game where I do it all. I really don’t have the patience for RPGs, but this may be my exception.

I just find it interesting that the only two games I’m playing right now are RPGs.

Oh, and Ikaruga.

Monday Madness…on a Tuesday?

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A twelve hour workday yesterday wiped me out. Enjoy your weekly links week late. (This post is brought to you LEGO free).

I actually keep this bookmarked on my toolbar for when I need a quick laugh. It’s how Superman II should have ended.

Lastly, two amazingly addictive flash games:

  • The Last Canopy, a flash shooter with an interesting charge mechanic: you suck the power out of your enemies and use it against them.
  • Compulse, a game where you control falling balls through exits using excellent physics rules, snappy Asian music, and uh…just try it. It even saves your progress. “A game has been created in your honor.” Love it.

[Gamer Responsibility] Escape and the Pursuit of Life

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If I may, allow me to break the fourth wall of buttonmashing for a moment.

As some of you may know, I am an associate pastor of a rural church. One of my primary responsibilities is working with young people. A goal of mine is to lead and encourage them to live in faith, morality, genuineness, and to make an impact. In speaking with young people (who may even be like some of our readers) I am always trying to get them to see what is really important in life. Often in this society—especially in America—we spend most of our lives trying to escape it. Video games, movies, music, books, sports, parties, technology, and other such forms of escapism are moderately not bad, but can consume a person’s life.

Sometimes people forget. Why are we here? Many people think it’s to try and be happy, maybe even by pursuing the escape of life. I don’t think that is the reason. I believe it to be all about the impact we make on those around us. If we build a better life for just ourself, does it make it worth it? How about if we build a better life for another person?

You may have heard of Dr. Randy Pausch and may have seen his “Last Lecture” video. This is a person who doesn’t have long to live but is making an impact on those around him. His escapism is his life. The following is a ten minute presentation he did on Oprah that sums up his initial talk. I believe he gets it. He’s not a gamer (that we know of—he is a geek, however), but he knows about gamer responsibility.

Escaping to the world of video games is not a bad thing. Living the world of video games can be another thing entirely. Who does it benefit?

A few years ago I spent over 2,500 hours in Guild Wars. I have nothing to show for it other than lack of sleep, mini-arguments with my wife, and times lost that I could have spent with my first child during his toddler years. My evenings and Saturdays were full getting ultra-rare intangibles. I learned from that experience, and now I spend most of my time with the two boys I have.

Yes, there are times that we spend playing video games. Other times we read, we draw, we paint, we tell funny stories, we watch birds in the back yard, we travel, we disagree, we agree, and we talk. We live. As a gamer my responsibility is to not always be one. Yes it is something that I like to do, but there are a plethora of things that are more important.

I chose this topic for my first posting on gamer responsibility because I think it goes beyond just playing games. It’s foundational for how we should look at them. It’s foundational for how we should play them. I know that many arguments can be made for being immersed in video game culture, and I’ve not addressed any of them. That’s not what this is about. All I ask is who does living a life of virtuality impact?

Ikaruga Pleases Me

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Quite possibly the greatest shooter of all time is being released tomorrow on Xbox Live for 800 points. I’m seriously considering taking my first ever personal day just for a video game. It is the only game I have played consistently for almost three years.

This game is not for the faint of heart. The person in the video above has played it a lot more than I have, a lot more.

Monday Madness?

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I know I’m a little early, but I don’t have much time. I’ll be disconnected the next two days attending a conference.

Saving other items for next week, I present you with only one item for this post, The Force Unleashed. There is no doubt that I will get this game. The big question is for what system?

All of them?

Suu-per-mann!

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“You are who you choose to be.”

I’ve only known of three movies that cause me to tear up at the end almost every time I see them. I’m not ashamed to admit that one of them is animated. As far as I’m concerned Brad Bird’s The Iron Giant is nothing short of brilliant.

I introduced this wonderful movie to my two sons tonight and it was a great experience. At first, they didn’t know what to expect and fear reigned through the first half of the movie. But just like their ol’ man the emotions of the giant and the quirkiness of the movie started to win them over.

Then the giant died. How do you explain sacrifice to a five year old and a 2.5 year old? I really have no idea. However, one thing that they did realize is that using guns in the wrong way is bad. Our oldest had been running around the house over the last month pointing at random people and and yelling, “BANG! Your dead!” He didn’t understand the concept of death, and we didn’t want him flippantly thinking it’s OK to shoot things all the time.

We have a moratorium on certain things in our house while the boys are awake. This mainly includes violence of all forms in the areas of games and television. It just doesn’t happen. I think it’s worked for us. Actually, I think it’s worked for me. I don’t relate well to violence. It’s not that it makes me violent. It’s just that it agitates me. It changes my attitude. It changes the way I view things. That’s not good for a person who’s the head of a household and responsible for raising two boys (especially in an increasingly acceptable, violent world for younger ages—there’s always been violence.)

In short, in generally affects me for the worst.

Occasionally, I’ll make room for Half-Life or a quick FPS walkthrough. However, the last FPS I’ve completed was Half-Life 2—it’s episodes and Portal variant—a long time ago (Call of Duty 4 and Metroid Prime 3 came close). I think I’ve just learned to pass up on games with a sense of immediacy, especially in terms of violence.

If you’ve got to have that violent rush, I say take a break for a while. Find a different genre to play. See if it changes the way you act; who you are. As for me and my boys, we will take it slow and keep playing racing games.

The other day, while traveling down the highway my son asked me to ram into a rig we were passing. Maybe we won’t play any Burnout for a while either.