I'm really not a fan of where I currently stand in life. I have a crummy job, making crummy wages, and I'm not really going anywhere. After a talk with my brother; he gave me quite a different, and inspiring point of view. He told me that this was actually a positive thing, as I have no ties. This is true, I really don't have anything tying me down here, besides the lease on my apartment, but, that's going to go up early next year. The end goal for me is to become a video game journalist. Whether that be for Kotaku, Revision3 games, Game Informer, Giant Bomb, or any other site that I admire. I just have to become a video game journalist. No better time than the present as they say.
I'm not saying that I'll be moving out to Los Angeles, San Fansisco or anywhere like that as soon as my lease goes up next year, but on the other hand... what's holding me back? Money, well that's one thing, but is it really enough, or something that is worth putting in my way just because I don't want to go into debt? But I feel like Bilbo Baggins. WOAH! LITERARY REFERENCE!
It's true, though. I live comfortably in my hobbit hole and make comments about my neighbors behind their back because I've got it so good, and I am much more civilized than they are. Though, this is not the life for me. I need that call to adventure. I need a kindly old wizard to cross my doorstep and take me on the adventure of my lifetime.
Being my mind the one that it is, and working the way that it does. My mind went straight to video games.
I feel like most adventure type of games don't exactly establish this call to action and adventure. Generally it's already been established that you're, the main character of the game, is already well established as some kind of adventurer/ some kind of badass. I never get that feel of normalcy. Generally, players are thrown into the thick of it right from the get go. Except for one game in particular.....
That's right Zelda. The Legend of Zelda is very close to my heart, so there is a great deal of bias, however I also haven't really played that many other adventure or RPG games that I could really get into. Generally a LoZ game starts off with Link just living life. It's nothing interesting, but it's comfortable. Life is good. He's got a roof over his head. Sometimes, he even has a job that keeps him busy and out of trouble. Then suddenly, there is that call for action. That one thing that seems to come out of nowhere, that upsets the balance and the state of normalcy.
If this is all sounding familiar, it's because it's the tried and true method of the heros journey tale.
Did you watch it? Good.
The Hero with a Thousand faces is the basic breakdown of the heros tale that we all know and love. Link is the quintessential hero of video games, and of heroism. He's not the only one. Sora of Kingdom Hearts, The Kid From Bastion, Alexandra Rovias of Eternal Darkness, Jade of Beyond Good and Evil and many more. Though, these games don't establish that sense of comfort that the hero is ripped from by the call to adventure.
That contrast between the state of normalcy, and the grand epicness of adventure is what can really drive home the sense of adventure. I'm reminded of Red Dead Redemption; where, towards the end of the game, John Marston has completed his mission that was beset upon him by the government and was given his state of normalcy back to him. This moment in the game is beautiful. John Marston, throughout the game had always talked of his family and his ranch that he wanted to get back to after he was done. True to their word, the government gave John back his family and his land, just as he wanted, so that he can get back to what was normal. I didn't mind playing through this part of the game. It was kind of relaxing to have all of this nonviolence. I was happy to see John and his wife reunited and to see the way that he looked at her even though she was yelling at him to get some menial task or another done. I enjoyed the state of normalcy.
This contrast can be used quite effectively, if used properly. It's not a bad thing to be thrown into the middle of things, but it certainly makes clear what it is exactly that you're fighting for when you go on your adventure.
P.S.
I know that normalcy is not what the beginning of this post was about, but my life isn't being overrun by monsters or general evilness, that I need to fight for it. I need to fight for change so that I can make my state of normalcy something worth fighting for.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Friday, August 23, 2013
Games need to be quotable.
He doesn't like you.
I'm sorry
I don't like you either. You best watch yourself! I have the death sentence on twelve different systems!
I'll be careful.
You'll be dead!
Quotes are what movies memorable. Some quotes are so memorable that some interactions with our friends are just quotes from movies.I think that video games are getting to the point where they have the potential to be as quotable as movies.
There are quotes from video games that are pretty popular, but they're all one-liners and exist in a popular fashion that is congruent with internet memes. They aren't that clever, or as fun to quote. They're just kind of there, and they're kind of ridiculous. They're more punchlines than interactions between the characters.
All your base are belong to us.
I've got balls of steel.
Though, some games have fantastic dialogue. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Mass Effect Series, Borderlands 2, and Red Dead Redemption are games that are well written, have clever dialogue, amazing characters, and great interaction between said characters. Uncharted 2 is my favorite game to quote. It's because the characters interact in a way that is unlike any other game that I've seen come before it. The characters are so well voice acted and captured that they transcend the video game and become human. They may exist in crazy-impossible situations, but retain their human element that make them great characters. Uncharted 2 has great characters that play off each other, and the thing is, a couple of the characters are female. The thing with female characters, is that writers need to write them as humans, and not from their perspective of women, but that's a post for another time.
Mass Effect has some really well written dialogue, though it's all kind of hit or miss. There wasn't any particular line that I remember exactly. I remember the dialogue painting the picture of the characters and their history and cultures, but there wasn't any kind of exchange that I just, remember.
Have you ever gone to a movie and remembered some really awesome line, or scene that was just the dialogue or the clever quips that were said during some scene? In The Avengers movie there was a quick dialogue between Black Widow and Hawkeye,
"Just like Budapest!" said Black Widow as she squeezes off a few rounds from her pistol.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently" as Hawkeye lets loose another arrow into the face of a Chitari warrior.
There's a lot going on in this scene. Part of it is Joss Whedon and his ability to create characters that leave a lasting impression and bring with them their presence and color wherever they go. Another thing is that when watching movies we tend to think about the things that are said and the things that we see. Whereas with video games, we focus on the gameplay.
Video games are not famous for their writing and dialogue. Games are known for how they play. If a game plays well, it's good. Likewise, if a movie is well written it succeeds as the box office. That may not always be the case, but movies that are well written tend to get a good amount of recognition.
I feel that games need to be more quotable because it would make it more easy to talk about. Whenever I hear two gamers discussing video games, it's always critical. They analyze every aspect of the game, including the writing and characters. There's no real discussion, or geeking out, about the characters of the story. It's all about the game, how it plays, the enemy AI, the bossfights, the quality of this or that. If there is any discussion about what the player experienced, it's always an awkward, clunky, description of playstyle and stats. "I love Bioshock! That game is so great! I remember this one time when I was playing: I shocked a bad guy with the electric plasmid so I could stun him, Then I lined up my crosshairs and pulled off a sweet headshot." Why was he attacking the bad guy? Why was the bad guy attacking him? What's going on in Bioshock? Where does it take place? Who are the characters? What are their motivations? What's the point?
"I love Star Wars! It's a fantastic movie about an average kid who finds his destiny as a Jedi. Jedi are like space knights! Did I mention that this movie takes place in outer space? Well, it totally does, and it's awesome! There's this huge empire that's trying to take over the galaxy, but there's the rebels who are fighting back because the empire is really bad. The Jedi were wiped out by the empire, and they're trying to regain their foothold in the galaxy and restore peace because that's what they do. Luke is the main character, and joins up with the rebels to fight the empire and rescue the princess who's been captured by the empire and holds some major important information about the Death Star, a huge space station that's the size of a moon!"
There's so much more enthusiasm about movies, books, or even television shows than there are with video games. So, maybe it's not that video games need to be more quotable, so much as they need to be better written, and we as gamers just need to be more enthusiastic about the games we play rather than be so analytical. Video games are an art, and we can totally geek out about them if we want to. It's ok. Not everyone has to be a critic.
I'm sorry
I don't like you either. You best watch yourself! I have the death sentence on twelve different systems!
I'll be careful.
You'll be dead!
Quotes are what movies memorable. Some quotes are so memorable that some interactions with our friends are just quotes from movies.I think that video games are getting to the point where they have the potential to be as quotable as movies.
There are quotes from video games that are pretty popular, but they're all one-liners and exist in a popular fashion that is congruent with internet memes. They aren't that clever, or as fun to quote. They're just kind of there, and they're kind of ridiculous. They're more punchlines than interactions between the characters.
All your base are belong to us.
I've got balls of steel.
Though, some games have fantastic dialogue. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Mass Effect Series, Borderlands 2, and Red Dead Redemption are games that are well written, have clever dialogue, amazing characters, and great interaction between said characters. Uncharted 2 is my favorite game to quote. It's because the characters interact in a way that is unlike any other game that I've seen come before it. The characters are so well voice acted and captured that they transcend the video game and become human. They may exist in crazy-impossible situations, but retain their human element that make them great characters. Uncharted 2 has great characters that play off each other, and the thing is, a couple of the characters are female. The thing with female characters, is that writers need to write them as humans, and not from their perspective of women, but that's a post for another time.
Mass Effect has some really well written dialogue, though it's all kind of hit or miss. There wasn't any particular line that I remember exactly. I remember the dialogue painting the picture of the characters and their history and cultures, but there wasn't any kind of exchange that I just, remember.
Have you ever gone to a movie and remembered some really awesome line, or scene that was just the dialogue or the clever quips that were said during some scene? In The Avengers movie there was a quick dialogue between Black Widow and Hawkeye,
"Just like Budapest!" said Black Widow as she squeezes off a few rounds from her pistol.
"You and I remember Budapest very differently" as Hawkeye lets loose another arrow into the face of a Chitari warrior.
There's a lot going on in this scene. Part of it is Joss Whedon and his ability to create characters that leave a lasting impression and bring with them their presence and color wherever they go. Another thing is that when watching movies we tend to think about the things that are said and the things that we see. Whereas with video games, we focus on the gameplay.
Video games are not famous for their writing and dialogue. Games are known for how they play. If a game plays well, it's good. Likewise, if a movie is well written it succeeds as the box office. That may not always be the case, but movies that are well written tend to get a good amount of recognition.
I feel that games need to be more quotable because it would make it more easy to talk about. Whenever I hear two gamers discussing video games, it's always critical. They analyze every aspect of the game, including the writing and characters. There's no real discussion, or geeking out, about the characters of the story. It's all about the game, how it plays, the enemy AI, the bossfights, the quality of this or that. If there is any discussion about what the player experienced, it's always an awkward, clunky, description of playstyle and stats. "I love Bioshock! That game is so great! I remember this one time when I was playing: I shocked a bad guy with the electric plasmid so I could stun him, Then I lined up my crosshairs and pulled off a sweet headshot." Why was he attacking the bad guy? Why was the bad guy attacking him? What's going on in Bioshock? Where does it take place? Who are the characters? What are their motivations? What's the point?
"I love Star Wars! It's a fantastic movie about an average kid who finds his destiny as a Jedi. Jedi are like space knights! Did I mention that this movie takes place in outer space? Well, it totally does, and it's awesome! There's this huge empire that's trying to take over the galaxy, but there's the rebels who are fighting back because the empire is really bad. The Jedi were wiped out by the empire, and they're trying to regain their foothold in the galaxy and restore peace because that's what they do. Luke is the main character, and joins up with the rebels to fight the empire and rescue the princess who's been captured by the empire and holds some major important information about the Death Star, a huge space station that's the size of a moon!"
There's so much more enthusiasm about movies, books, or even television shows than there are with video games. So, maybe it's not that video games need to be more quotable, so much as they need to be better written, and we as gamers just need to be more enthusiastic about the games we play rather than be so analytical. Video games are an art, and we can totally geek out about them if we want to. It's ok. Not everyone has to be a critic.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
TOP 5 LICENSED VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS!
I play a lot of video games. I mean a lot. They're kind of my only window to the outside world and what the goings on are with things other than video games. In fact, a lot of the music that I listen to I heard from one video game or another. So, without further ado, here is my list of my TOP 5 LICENSED VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS!
In case you didn't get that from the title.
Rules: No music games. So nothing like Amplitude, Rockband, etc. Also, the soundtracks of the game are entirely licensed songs, not just a few songs like the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack, which I love so much.
5. Burnout 3
Among the symphony of crashing cars and twisting metal, there is a fantastically high paced and high quality soundtrack to play among the carnage. Featuring top hits of the day such as "I'm not OK" by My Chemical Romance, "This Fire" by Franz Ferdinand, "My Favorite Accident" by Motion City Soundtrack, and many others. This is a great soundtrack that compliments the energy and speed of the game. Though, to be honest, it doesn't really seem to fit while listening to it in my car while I'm obeying traffic laws...
4. Project Gotham Racing 2
It's really good when your soundtrack includes variety, even more so when said variety is from multiple countries. PGR2 has an amazingly wide selection of music to choose from, and you can completely customize it by creating your own mixtape. There is so much different music to choose from, it's a marathon to get through it all. Tracks including, but not limited to "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips, "Automatic" by The Androids, "Tango Shoes" by Bif Naked, "Maschine" by Unheilig and so, so many more.
3. Need for Speed: Underground
Ok, so I play a lot of racing games. I guess I have that need for speed. Say, speaking of which.... Need for Speed has a really great soundtrack for a game that was the first of its kind. What with all the customization and the tuning of the cars. The release of NFS Underground coincided with the release of the movie The Fast and the Furious, a movie all about illegal street racing, over the top modifications of cars, and lots of homoerotic undertones, bro. The soundtrack to NFS Underground had a solid mix of rock, electronic, hip-hop, and Little Jon and the East Side Boys. Each time that you start up NFS Underground the song "Get Low" by Little Jon and his East Side Boys will play every time, so that you get that a cappella "badumdumdum..."
2. SSX 3
This is one of the greatest licensed soundtracks of all time. Seriously. The music in this game fits so perfectly with the insane stunts and the eccentric characters of this game, they couldn't have done a better job. Even the radio's DJ Atomika gets in on the action and brings his own slice of personality to the table. SSX 3 is filled with so much character and personality that it's only fitting that the soundtrack do the same.
1. FIFA 13
A sports game? Yes. A sports game. EA Sports games have surprisingly good soundtracks. You'd think that having music that plays only during the menu screens would defeat the purpose, but it just works so well for FIFA 13. Reason being, is that the amazing soundtrack plays during the incredibly addicting and helpful training games and during the waiting periods in between games in the tournament and career screens. This incredible soundtrack includes "Searching" by Matisyahu, "Top of The World" by Imagine Dragons, "Club Foot" by Kasabian, and so many great other great songs. Sometimes, I don't even play the game, I just turn the TV up really loud and let the music play while I do other things around the house.
In case you didn't get that from the title.
Rules: No music games. So nothing like Amplitude, Rockband, etc. Also, the soundtracks of the game are entirely licensed songs, not just a few songs like the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack, which I love so much.
5. Burnout 3
Among the symphony of crashing cars and twisting metal, there is a fantastically high paced and high quality soundtrack to play among the carnage. Featuring top hits of the day such as "I'm not OK" by My Chemical Romance, "This Fire" by Franz Ferdinand, "My Favorite Accident" by Motion City Soundtrack, and many others. This is a great soundtrack that compliments the energy and speed of the game. Though, to be honest, it doesn't really seem to fit while listening to it in my car while I'm obeying traffic laws...
4. Project Gotham Racing 2
It's really good when your soundtrack includes variety, even more so when said variety is from multiple countries. PGR2 has an amazingly wide selection of music to choose from, and you can completely customize it by creating your own mixtape. There is so much different music to choose from, it's a marathon to get through it all. Tracks including, but not limited to "Fight Test" by The Flaming Lips, "Automatic" by The Androids, "Tango Shoes" by Bif Naked, "Maschine" by Unheilig and so, so many more.
3. Need for Speed: Underground
Ok, so I play a lot of racing games. I guess I have that need for speed. Say, speaking of which.... Need for Speed has a really great soundtrack for a game that was the first of its kind. What with all the customization and the tuning of the cars. The release of NFS Underground coincided with the release of the movie The Fast and the Furious, a movie all about illegal street racing, over the top modifications of cars, and lots of homoerotic undertones, bro. The soundtrack to NFS Underground had a solid mix of rock, electronic, hip-hop, and Little Jon and the East Side Boys. Each time that you start up NFS Underground the song "Get Low" by Little Jon and his East Side Boys will play every time, so that you get that a cappella "badumdumdum..."
2. SSX 3
This is one of the greatest licensed soundtracks of all time. Seriously. The music in this game fits so perfectly with the insane stunts and the eccentric characters of this game, they couldn't have done a better job. Even the radio's DJ Atomika gets in on the action and brings his own slice of personality to the table. SSX 3 is filled with so much character and personality that it's only fitting that the soundtrack do the same.
1. FIFA 13
A sports game? Yes. A sports game. EA Sports games have surprisingly good soundtracks. You'd think that having music that plays only during the menu screens would defeat the purpose, but it just works so well for FIFA 13. Reason being, is that the amazing soundtrack plays during the incredibly addicting and helpful training games and during the waiting periods in between games in the tournament and career screens. This incredible soundtrack includes "Searching" by Matisyahu, "Top of The World" by Imagine Dragons, "Club Foot" by Kasabian, and so many great other great songs. Sometimes, I don't even play the game, I just turn the TV up really loud and let the music play while I do other things around the house.
Going down....
There has always been something genuinely unsettling about going downward in video games with me. When I was young, I lived in a house that had a creepy basement, as did we all. I was scared of the dark, the things that went bump in the night, and the creatures of the shadow. That basement embodied every one of those fears. It was dank, dark, desolate, and all kinds of scary. Yet, I still had to brave that basement to get to what I desired: my Nintendo Entertainment System. Eventually, I overcame my fear of that basement, and I realized that there was really nothing to be feared. During the summers I would spend with my dad, I would actually spend time in his equally scary basement. My dad had a Super Nintendo. He also had The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past. I would later realize that it's one of the quintessential Zelda games to be played, but back then, it was the thing that would bring back all of those fears of going downstairs into my creepy basement.
Recently I was reading on Kotaku, an interesting article discussing this advertisement. In the article, there is a line discussing the "threshold" that players must gather up the courage and cross in order to save the world, or complete their objective. "Traversing the known to the unknown requires you to cross an important threshold: fear." It is true that we cross into the unknown when we play video games, but often times, we go across that threshold with a casual stride. Perhaps this comes from my old age and experience with video games, but games seem to have lost that appeal. I don't like to get scared, but I like overcoming fears. I love games that give me that sense of overcoming something, and gathering up that courage to achieve my quest. Because the bad guys aren't the only enemy in that game. It's also myself.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past, and many other Zelda games that I've played, helped me to overcome my fears. They've helped me journey into that unknown without fear. In Zelda games, players take control of Link, just a young and ordinary lad, who also happens to be the holder of the Triforce of Courage. It's really become clear just how much they push the whole courage aspect of Zelda. Every single dungeon in Zelda is a force to be reckoned with. Each one has a momentous sense of being and terror. These are landmarks, filled with mystery, evil, and monsters. The player acts as a light in that darkness. It is dangerous to go alone, and that's what makes Zelda such a brilliant and fearful affair.
Often times in the dungeons, the player must travel downward. Going down a flight of stairs in Link to the past has a sense of foreboding danger. The player couldn't see what was on the other end of that staircase, and Link went off screen. Who knows what could happen? Traveling deeper and deeper into the depths of an ancient and evil temple, further into the dark, that has meaning, and danger. That's something that requires a lot of courage to undertake.
The Legend of Zelda is a great series that is very important to the video game industry on the whole because of subtleties like these. Games just aren't scary anymore. There are the Dead Spaces, and the FEARs, and some kind of gorefest, but they all have the same thing, which is just gore, and jump scares. That's not scary, it's just disgusting. There's no set up, or meaning to it. It's just an insignificant and pointless scare. There's nothing to overcome. In games like those, you just survive, which is exhilarating in its own right, but I feel as though there isn't a take away from those kind of games and experiences. Zelda is a game that instills fear in the player, but in a way that presents a barrier. Players have to knock down this barrier, and when they do, they feel as though they have accomplished something. They've grown, as a person in a small way.
Zelda is an adventure game, and that means that players get to explore, and experiment, and interact, and discover. I feel that most adventuring games these days don't quite capture those elements of discovery and wonder in the way that Zelda does. Skyrim is a fantastic game that captures those elements of discovery quite well. The first time that you come across a Dwarven Ruin, or a Draconic Tomb, and it's a wonderful feeling of adventure and discovery. Yet, because of the modern format of games, discovery is relegated to an aspect of completion. There's no sense of wonder to it, or even wander for that matter. Skyrim is enormous and has lots and lots to offer, but it just doesn't seem to carry as much weight to it as Ocarina of Time. While the overworld of Ocarina of Time seems like a subdivision compared to the entire country of Skyrim, there seems to be a lot more at stake. In the world of Skyrim, folks don't seem to care much if the world is coming to an end. Sure they talk about it, but the game itself doesn't really seem to care whether or not the hero of the story goes off and joins a guild of thieves or revives a terror of a league of assassins. I know that's what the game is for: just doing stuff, but nothing really takes precedence. I'd think that I should take issue with the whole "world ending" matter, but instead I just raise my arms up in excitement and fight them for the fun of it. Killing a random dragon doesn't affect the outcome, or force any progress, it's just another random battle which has been tailor made for me and my character.
While this has been a bit of a rant comparing Zelda games to others, I think that the point still stands that games don't let the player be afraid anymore. They don't build up an illusion of insurmountable odds that the player has to face not only that, but also themselves. Gamers these days rarely have to gather up courage to take on the challenge that lies before them. I haven't felt that threshold for a very long time, and for as much as I dread it's presence, I honestly kind of miss it.
Recently I was reading on Kotaku, an interesting article discussing this advertisement. In the article, there is a line discussing the "threshold" that players must gather up the courage and cross in order to save the world, or complete their objective. "Traversing the known to the unknown requires you to cross an important threshold: fear." It is true that we cross into the unknown when we play video games, but often times, we go across that threshold with a casual stride. Perhaps this comes from my old age and experience with video games, but games seem to have lost that appeal. I don't like to get scared, but I like overcoming fears. I love games that give me that sense of overcoming something, and gathering up that courage to achieve my quest. Because the bad guys aren't the only enemy in that game. It's also myself.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to The Past, and many other Zelda games that I've played, helped me to overcome my fears. They've helped me journey into that unknown without fear. In Zelda games, players take control of Link, just a young and ordinary lad, who also happens to be the holder of the Triforce of Courage. It's really become clear just how much they push the whole courage aspect of Zelda. Every single dungeon in Zelda is a force to be reckoned with. Each one has a momentous sense of being and terror. These are landmarks, filled with mystery, evil, and monsters. The player acts as a light in that darkness. It is dangerous to go alone, and that's what makes Zelda such a brilliant and fearful affair.
Often times in the dungeons, the player must travel downward. Going down a flight of stairs in Link to the past has a sense of foreboding danger. The player couldn't see what was on the other end of that staircase, and Link went off screen. Who knows what could happen? Traveling deeper and deeper into the depths of an ancient and evil temple, further into the dark, that has meaning, and danger. That's something that requires a lot of courage to undertake.
The Legend of Zelda is a great series that is very important to the video game industry on the whole because of subtleties like these. Games just aren't scary anymore. There are the Dead Spaces, and the FEARs, and some kind of gorefest, but they all have the same thing, which is just gore, and jump scares. That's not scary, it's just disgusting. There's no set up, or meaning to it. It's just an insignificant and pointless scare. There's nothing to overcome. In games like those, you just survive, which is exhilarating in its own right, but I feel as though there isn't a take away from those kind of games and experiences. Zelda is a game that instills fear in the player, but in a way that presents a barrier. Players have to knock down this barrier, and when they do, they feel as though they have accomplished something. They've grown, as a person in a small way.
Zelda is an adventure game, and that means that players get to explore, and experiment, and interact, and discover. I feel that most adventuring games these days don't quite capture those elements of discovery and wonder in the way that Zelda does. Skyrim is a fantastic game that captures those elements of discovery quite well. The first time that you come across a Dwarven Ruin, or a Draconic Tomb, and it's a wonderful feeling of adventure and discovery. Yet, because of the modern format of games, discovery is relegated to an aspect of completion. There's no sense of wonder to it, or even wander for that matter. Skyrim is enormous and has lots and lots to offer, but it just doesn't seem to carry as much weight to it as Ocarina of Time. While the overworld of Ocarina of Time seems like a subdivision compared to the entire country of Skyrim, there seems to be a lot more at stake. In the world of Skyrim, folks don't seem to care much if the world is coming to an end. Sure they talk about it, but the game itself doesn't really seem to care whether or not the hero of the story goes off and joins a guild of thieves or revives a terror of a league of assassins. I know that's what the game is for: just doing stuff, but nothing really takes precedence. I'd think that I should take issue with the whole "world ending" matter, but instead I just raise my arms up in excitement and fight them for the fun of it. Killing a random dragon doesn't affect the outcome, or force any progress, it's just another random battle which has been tailor made for me and my character.
While this has been a bit of a rant comparing Zelda games to others, I think that the point still stands that games don't let the player be afraid anymore. They don't build up an illusion of insurmountable odds that the player has to face not only that, but also themselves. Gamers these days rarely have to gather up courage to take on the challenge that lies before them. I haven't felt that threshold for a very long time, and for as much as I dread it's presence, I honestly kind of miss it.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Mirror's Edge Review
Recently, my mom, who I am eternally thankful, bought me a new laptop computer. It is really awesome, and really kicks ass at playing video games. It is also more conducive to my lifestyle. It is absolutely fantastic to have a gaming computer. It is by no means the best gaming computer around, but boy does it get the job done. It can run Star Craft II on Ultra. That's pretty dang good. So, now that I'm part of the PC gaming community, I can now take part in many of the great things about PC gaming. Like the Steam Summer Sale.
One of the games that was on sale for the low price of $10 was Mirror's Edge. Oh, Mirror's Edge, such fond memories of fun and exciting new gameplay, and such disappointment.
Mirror's Edge actually kind of holds a special place in my heart, as it is the first game that I ever officially reviewed. I say "official" in that it was the first game review that I ever had published. However, my game review career had just begun and I was limited to only 250 words. That, frankly, is no where near enough to describe my experience with Mirror's Edge.
Mirror's Edge comes to us from DICE, the creators of the Battlefield series. Mirror's Edge is quite the departure from the norm over at DICE, as the principle behind Mirror's Edge is to run away rather than fight directly. The game is about a group of people called runners who use parkour to leap across rooftops and deliver information to resistance groups in an overly protective city. The main character is Faith, a girl who gets mixed up in a murder mystery with her sister who is framed for murder. The game follows Faith as she investigates to find out who framed her sister for a crime that she didn't commit.
The gameplay of Mirror's Edge is in the style of a freerunning platformer game, but also a first person shooter. Platforming, or jumping doesn't usually work out in first person shooters, because the player can't often see their legs. In Mirror's Edge, if you look down, you can actually see the character's legs, but you won't be staring downward the entire game. Not unless you want to see where you're going, which is difficult as is given the poorly constructed level design, which often fails at conveying where to go next. This confusion is made even more difficult with the consistent barrage of bullets that are fired at you by large men wearing more than enough body armor. Players can't exactly explore and experiment with the character if they are always being shot at and left defenseless with only their fists. You don't go into a firefight without a gun, but the game always puts the player into this situation. The levels are designed like a first person SHOOTER would be, but being that there is a focus on not shooting things, these two decisions in design clash with each other.
The first half of the game is actually pretty well done when it comes to the running away bit, however it seems had fallen back into their ways of making another Battlefield game. As the story, which is only 4-5 hours long, progresses, the security gets tighter and there are more guards. This game can't decide whether it wants you to be a runner or a fighter. For the first few levels, players have their guy back at HQ telling them that they should run away. Yet, in several spots in the early half of the game force the player to fight the bad guys with a "looks like you're going to have to fight them", like a father pushing his kids into the pool to teach them how to swim. The game doesn't even give you the option to run away. I feel like there should have always been that option to run away from the bad guys in Mirror's Edge, even when your superior is telling you to fight. Players should be able to outsmart the cops when you're a small lightweight girl whose job it is to run away. I think that Mirror's Edge could have been a much better experience if there was a stealthy element to it. Stealth usually consists of slow moving sections that involve the player waiting for guards to pass by, but hear me out.
Mirror's Edge often puts players atop high places to overlook the landscape and find a path, of which there are regrettably few to choose from. I think that if the level design was a bit more multifaceted, then there could be a bit more room to play around and zip past the guards undetected. How cool would that be? The player is already basically a modern day ninja, what with the running and the jumping and the rolling around. But, this is just an idea that I had while playing through the game.
The animation of the character is fast and fluid as it should be with a freerunning character, which is really impressive given that it's a first person game and you can't exactly see the entire character. Yet the movement of the camera, and even that subtle inclusion of the characters lower body being visible really adds to the feel of the character. The way that the camera sways when sprinting down across a rooftop or sliding a stairway, it all feels natural. This combined withe some of the most impressive visuals I have ever seen in a game make for a very pleasing visual experience.
The graphics of Mirror's Edge are some of the best I have seen. It's not only the detail of the graphics, or the fluidity of the character animation, it's actually it's use of color. Mirror's Edge effectively uses a simple basic color scheme. Each level has it's own primary color. Kind of like levels in old school video games. Most environments are primarily white with a select color. The contrast of the color on the white makes that color all the more vivid, as white seems to brighten up whatever color it is put up against. Though, as impressive as the graphics are, they do not make for a great game. Graphics are important, but only to set the tone and personality of the game.
All in all, Mirror's Edge is just another pretty face, and sadly there isn't much going on behind that face but broken level design that clashes with it's game design. It's almost bipolar how this game treats the player, first it wants you to run, then it forces you to fight. It doesn't make much sense, and the player pays for it dearly. The level design doesn't allow for much freerunning and feels blocky and stagnated, and doesn't give a good sense of flow to a game that should be all about flow. I admire Mirror's Edge for its trying something new, but it just fell a bit short.
One of the games that was on sale for the low price of $10 was Mirror's Edge. Oh, Mirror's Edge, such fond memories of fun and exciting new gameplay, and such disappointment.
Mirror's Edge actually kind of holds a special place in my heart, as it is the first game that I ever officially reviewed. I say "official" in that it was the first game review that I ever had published. However, my game review career had just begun and I was limited to only 250 words. That, frankly, is no where near enough to describe my experience with Mirror's Edge.
Mirror's Edge comes to us from DICE, the creators of the Battlefield series. Mirror's Edge is quite the departure from the norm over at DICE, as the principle behind Mirror's Edge is to run away rather than fight directly. The game is about a group of people called runners who use parkour to leap across rooftops and deliver information to resistance groups in an overly protective city. The main character is Faith, a girl who gets mixed up in a murder mystery with her sister who is framed for murder. The game follows Faith as she investigates to find out who framed her sister for a crime that she didn't commit.
The gameplay of Mirror's Edge is in the style of a freerunning platformer game, but also a first person shooter. Platforming, or jumping doesn't usually work out in first person shooters, because the player can't often see their legs. In Mirror's Edge, if you look down, you can actually see the character's legs, but you won't be staring downward the entire game. Not unless you want to see where you're going, which is difficult as is given the poorly constructed level design, which often fails at conveying where to go next. This confusion is made even more difficult with the consistent barrage of bullets that are fired at you by large men wearing more than enough body armor. Players can't exactly explore and experiment with the character if they are always being shot at and left defenseless with only their fists. You don't go into a firefight without a gun, but the game always puts the player into this situation. The levels are designed like a first person SHOOTER would be, but being that there is a focus on not shooting things, these two decisions in design clash with each other.
The first half of the game is actually pretty well done when it comes to the running away bit, however it seems had fallen back into their ways of making another Battlefield game. As the story, which is only 4-5 hours long, progresses, the security gets tighter and there are more guards. This game can't decide whether it wants you to be a runner or a fighter. For the first few levels, players have their guy back at HQ telling them that they should run away. Yet, in several spots in the early half of the game force the player to fight the bad guys with a "looks like you're going to have to fight them", like a father pushing his kids into the pool to teach them how to swim. The game doesn't even give you the option to run away. I feel like there should have always been that option to run away from the bad guys in Mirror's Edge, even when your superior is telling you to fight. Players should be able to outsmart the cops when you're a small lightweight girl whose job it is to run away. I think that Mirror's Edge could have been a much better experience if there was a stealthy element to it. Stealth usually consists of slow moving sections that involve the player waiting for guards to pass by, but hear me out.
Mirror's Edge often puts players atop high places to overlook the landscape and find a path, of which there are regrettably few to choose from. I think that if the level design was a bit more multifaceted, then there could be a bit more room to play around and zip past the guards undetected. How cool would that be? The player is already basically a modern day ninja, what with the running and the jumping and the rolling around. But, this is just an idea that I had while playing through the game.
The animation of the character is fast and fluid as it should be with a freerunning character, which is really impressive given that it's a first person game and you can't exactly see the entire character. Yet the movement of the camera, and even that subtle inclusion of the characters lower body being visible really adds to the feel of the character. The way that the camera sways when sprinting down across a rooftop or sliding a stairway, it all feels natural. This combined withe some of the most impressive visuals I have ever seen in a game make for a very pleasing visual experience.
The graphics of Mirror's Edge are some of the best I have seen. It's not only the detail of the graphics, or the fluidity of the character animation, it's actually it's use of color. Mirror's Edge effectively uses a simple basic color scheme. Each level has it's own primary color. Kind of like levels in old school video games. Most environments are primarily white with a select color. The contrast of the color on the white makes that color all the more vivid, as white seems to brighten up whatever color it is put up against. Though, as impressive as the graphics are, they do not make for a great game. Graphics are important, but only to set the tone and personality of the game.
All in all, Mirror's Edge is just another pretty face, and sadly there isn't much going on behind that face but broken level design that clashes with it's game design. It's almost bipolar how this game treats the player, first it wants you to run, then it forces you to fight. It doesn't make much sense, and the player pays for it dearly. The level design doesn't allow for much freerunning and feels blocky and stagnated, and doesn't give a good sense of flow to a game that should be all about flow. I admire Mirror's Edge for its trying something new, but it just fell a bit short.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)