I played more Assassin’s Creed, and since I knew its limitations, I actually had more fun killing off the next section. But knowing that I was far away from the end and that I ultimately have no real desire to beat it, I only made it to the 5th assassination. Still, it’s more than I would have played if it wasn’t Backlog Week, and now I have a solid opinion on the game when I didn’t before. Riddles, however, can’t even say that much. Whatever, man!
Anyway, foosball is happening. Bye! Badass Week will surely provide the most relevant content in a long time.
Bye!
Well…
Sunday, October 11th, 2009Dead Space: Extraction: Closing Thoughts
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
With Dead Space, it’s clear that EA Games has the makings of a winning franchise on their hands. The original game took many by surprise (myself included) upon its release in 2008. After all, who would have expected EA, of all publishers, to release the best original horror title in years? Now, hardly a year later, we are given Dead Space: Extraction, a prequel to the original game that forgoes the third-person action setup and takes on the form of a rail shooter. Extraction doesn’t try to be the original Dead Space, and it doesn’t have to be; haters of the genre can rest assured, Extraction pulls off the rail-shooting schtick with style. With a gripping narrative, memorable characters, and plenty of intense firefights, Extraction is a game that no Dead Space fan should miss.
Extraction begins some weeks before the original Dead Space, and explains how the horrific series of events began. The game’s opening chapter throws you right into the action, showing the extraction of the mysterious Marker itself. (Hence the subtitle “Extraction.” Get it?) From that point on, the game focuses on four main characters, and their desperate attempt to escape the colony, and then the Ishimura, with their lives.
There’s never, ever a dull moment in Extraction. Fans will love getting an up-close and personal look at the tragic events hinted at in the original game, and chances are that even newcomers will find this fast-paced tale of survival thrilling. Much to my delight, Extraction also delves more into the mythology behind the Dead Space universe; most notably the shady religious sect of Unitology, and their involvement in the catastrophic events at hand. The plot is clearly the main focus of the game, and you’ll want to keep playing just to see what happens next. While the original Dead Space took a minimalist approach to dialogue and development, Extraction is quite the opposite; the story is driven by a very meaty script, which is quite well-written. There are a few scattered lines that were seemingly taken from Horror Film Writing for Dummies, but these are thankfully rare. Like the original Dead Space, the plot is buffed out by text and audio logs scattered about for your reading and listening pleasure. Although, for some ungodly reason, Visceral decided it would be a good idea for the audio logs to be heard through the Wii-mote’s shitty little speaker. As a result, they’re barely audible above the volume of the game itself.
Dead Space: Extraction is, indeed, a rail shooter. The genre itself is quite the turn-off to many, which is understandable, especially given how well-received the third-person exploration mechanics of the original were. But worry not, skeptical fans; this is not House of the Dead Space. While the game is entirely on rails, it rarely ever hinders the experience. (Although a particular boss battle late in the game does come to mind). In reality, the game feels less like a typical rail shooter, and more like an interactive movie.
The interactivity, of course, comes in the form of shooting necromorphs, and it’s just as much fun as it was in the original game. All the weapons from the original Dead Space return, along with quite a few new ones. The Stasis ability also returns, allowing you to freeze enemies in place and pick them off with ease. While the original Dead Space was best described as a “limited-ammo shooter,” in which you were forced to conserve resources as best you could, Extraction is quite the opposite: ammo is plentiful, and so are the necromorphs. By nature of being a rail shooter, the encounters aren’t quite as intense as they were in the original game – but they can definitely get hairy. A quick trigger finger is essential.
Extraction make good use of the Wii’s motion controls without going over the top. The main use is the shooting, and as I said before, blasting off Necromorph limbs with the Wii-mote is quite satisfying indeed. Aside from that are a few other, slightly more gimmicky functions. Enemies will physically assault you, forcing you to shake the Wii-mote madly until they’re thrown back. The game also frequently makes you participate in hacking mini-games, which are incredibly simplistic (you carefully guide the power source from the first node to the last) yet strangely satisfying. Finally, when you’re wandering a particularly dark hallway, you must shake the Wii-mote to activate a “glow-stick.” Why aren’t flashlights standard issue centuries in the future? Don’t ask me.
One aspect of Extraction I simply don’t understand are the rare occasions in which you “choose your path.” It occurs maybe three or four times during the course of the story, and you’re literally given a choice between left or right, and nothing more. The game’s manual instructs you to “choose wisely, as each path has its own pros and cons,” but you’re given absolutely no information as to what lies ahead on either path. You essentially have to choose which dark hallway looks more attractive, and go from there.
Extraction is one of the best-looking Wii games ever made. Character models are strikingly detailed. Environments look almost as good as they did in the original game, and they drip with atmosphere. Similarly, the Necromorphs look almost identical to their Xbox 360/PS3 counterparts, and sport some of the best animations seen on the Wii. If Visceral knows how to do anything, it’s to squeeze every last bit of processing juice out of a system, and this is made clear with Extraction.
Audio is worth mentioning as well, though it isn’t as mind-blowingly impressive as it was in the original game. After all, the original Dead Space was a survival-horror experience that built its atmosphere largely through the sound design. Extraction, being a rail-shooter, doesn’t quite achieve the same level of artistry. That isn’t to say it doesn’t impress; the creepy, whispering voices that assault our protagonists’ minds are fantastic, and the voice acting is very solid across the board.
Despite its trappings as a rail shooter, Extraction is a fantastic experience, and one of the best I’ve had on the Wii. Fans of the original Dead Space can’t afford to miss this due to the storyline alone. And if the main storyline isn’t enough to satisfy you, the game features an unlockable motion comic that tells a fantastic paralell story to the game. There’s hardly a weak point to be found throughout, and if you refuse to give the game a shake on account of its genre alone, it’s only your loss.
Picture IM Post!
Saturday, October 10th, 2009
The Death of ‘ELLO GUV’NAH! Also: Assassin’s Creed.
Friday, October 9th, 2009
Dead and British, just like 'ELLO GUV'NAH!
Yes, it was fun to keep a tired joke going for a bit, but we’ve decided to retire the ‘ELLO GUV’NAH segment. There are a few reasons for this.
-I’ll pretty much always be playing a game highlighted by the theme week, so the feature often becomes redundant.
-Scattered Storming is more flexible, more interesting, and usually includes what I’ve been playing, anyway, so it renders ‘ELLO GUV’NAH a bit redundant.
-Noticing a redundant trend in these redundant bullet points?
-Also, what is this site? A podcast? No! There’s no “what have you been playing” at the end of it. Ridiculous.
Anyway, to counter this fact, Scatter Storming is now going to be an at least weekly feature on Wednesdays. It might prop up more often, but it will be at least on Wednesdays. I’m also considering making it appear on Fridays regularly as well. Would you guys be down for that? Anyway, I gotta move on to talking about Assassin’s Creed.
Yes, I have played it this week. Yes (excepting the brief Brutal Legend demo), it is the only console game I have played this week. I was talking to Riddles last night and mentioned that it’s probably a bad thing that I’ve picked this game up again after playing (and beating!) Batman: Arkham Asylum. I have been spoiled by the excellent combat. When sword fighting and grabbing in Assassin’s Creed, I’m expecting it to have the same tactile, fun, intuitive, yet challenging feel that Batman had. But no. It’s just flat out not fun. I’m good at it, I understand how it functions, but it is just aggressively mediocre. In fact, Assassin’s Creed seems to excel at creating really fun mechanics and then systematically draining said fun out of said mechanics. Let’s go through them, shall we?
-When Altaïr free-flow runs on top of buildings, it is an amazing feeling. The animation is fantastic, the environment is absolutely gorgeous, and Altaïr makes death-defying jumps. But apparently that’s too much fun, so Ubisoft decided to throw some guards on the roof to shoot you with arrows and make your GTA-like “wanted” siren go off like crazy. Not fun. Annoying. That brings me too…
-The stealth. Another aspect that starts off awesome. In fact, this is one of the few parts that is mostly awesome. If you’re able to go undetected to pull off a mission, it feels great. It’s thrilling to walk right past mortals enemies armed with the dramatic irony that you are a lethal assassin. However, the perpetual presence of this system is a bitch. Similar to my complaint about the free-flow running, it’s not always exciting to be constantly wary of that flashing yellow and red light. The stealth is great, but it shouldn’t be all reigning, at least not in the same stranglehold way.
-Pickpocketing. Seriously, it’s pretty cool at first. I feel like a badass sneaking up behind a dude and swiping whatever document from his cloak. But then after my success, he instantly notices, gets flustered and walks off. Umm…Maybe, just maybe it was the suspicious dude who was walking right behind you and then started to walk away the moment your precious piece of paper disappeared? Apparently that incredibly important information that he risked his life to obtain isn’t worth pestering the very obvious suspects about. It also makes me feel less cool.
It’s also kinda stupid that if I spend more time completing all the missions, it doesn’t really give me more information which I could use to shed light on new ways to make the big kill. In fact, unlike in games like InFamous, it’s really not satisfying at all to go the extra mile. Ultimately I seem to have come to the same consensus many others have: Assassin’s Creed has a lot of really cool stuff, but it just doesn’t come together in any meaningful or powerful way. But I suppose that leaves enormous potential for the impending sequel. Moreso for it, actually, than for the new Prince of Persia. A bit ironic, because I think the latter is the better game, but I think Assassin’s Creed just shows more potential as a series at the moment. The DLC for PoP was just…so…upsetting.
But I ramble! I’m still going to try and beat the game before the week ends! Wish me luck!
Hey! Look! Listen!
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
For some reason, I have a serious lack of motivation tonight. In fact, I suffered the same problem last night. However, I’ve determined the best way to overcome such lethargy is to actually open a text file and start typing.
So far, it’s working just fine.
Welcome to Hey! Look! Listen!, everyone. As always, it’s your darling Riddles here to bring you industry news as seen by ME. But enough faffing about; let us get down to BIDNESS. (That’s the cool way to say “business”).
Isolation is the word of the day...
Follow Up: IGN Won’t Drop the Citizen Kane/Metroid Prime Thing
Ugh. Perhaps you recall the segment from ABC I linked you to in my previous HLL, in which IGN’s Michael Thomsen compared Metroid Prime to the immortal Citizen Kane. I found the comparison rather odd, to say nothing of useless, and figured that was the last time we’d ever hear of it.
Well, I was quite wrong. Michael Thomsen has now followed up his brief appearance on ABC with a meaty article on IGN, exploring so-called similarities between Metroid Prime and Citizen Kane.
Regardless of the fallacies, the article is a fantastic read. However, the vast majority of it seems to focus on why Metroid Prime is such a definitive interactive experience. Why or how it supposedly translates the passive viewing experience of Citizen Kane into an interactive sci-fi action game is still somewhat unclear to me. I suggest you read it for yourself. Perhaps it will make more sense to you; if it does, I’d love to hear your opinion in the comment section below.
Michael Pachter Thinks the PS3 May Dominate the Holidays
Funny, I’ve been thinking this for some time. But now Michael Pachter, one of the more well-known industry analysts, agrees with me. Just listen to what he has to say:
“We believe that the recent round of price cuts may benefit the PS3 the most in coming months, given that unit sales last year were only 1.5 million for the September – December 2008 period. The Xbox 360 has outsold the PS3 for the past 13 months, likely due to a higher perceived value proposition (the Xbox 360 “core” model was priced $100 lower than the PS3). We think that the PS3 will outsell the Xbox 360 in September, and may continue to do so for the rest of the year.”
Beyond a doubt, the “higher perceived value” benefit of the Xbox 360 is gone. I was once convinced that the 360 was the definitive gaming console of this generation. The main reasons, of course, being the robust software library, and the competent price point. But unless you’re a zealot (and I know there are plenty of you out there) it’s clear that neither of those reasons apply today. The price points are identical, and the software battle, in my opinion, is at a dead heat. Can you point to a single notable 360 exclusive this holiday season that doesn’t have Halo in the title? And don’t forget, one of the two consoles sports a fully functional Blu-Ray player. (Kotaku).
Halo 3: ODST Sells 2.5 Million
Of course, that’s NOT to say the 360 is down and out by any means; not if the Halo franchise has anything to say about it. Within two weeks of release, ODST has pushed a staggering 2.5 million copies, despite it’s utter lack of Master Chief. (Kotaku).
On that note, if you’re worried about the Chief, don’t be. Microsoft’s Frank O’Connor is pretty sure you’ll see him again:
As for Master Chief, odds are he will be seen again. “I think that (his) fate, Cortana’s fate and the identity of that giant, dark planet at the ending (on the game’s hardest skill level) – that’s a spoiler – are probably big mysteries that would be irritating if they were just cliffhangers,” O’Connor says. “We do have a plan that goes out at least six years,” he says. “Eventually, it will become very apparent that there is a plan for the way the canon all ties together and the way the comic books and the novels all tie together.” (USA Today).
So, worry not Halo-Heads! Your beloved franchise isn’t going anywhere soon.
This is So Fucking Stupid: University Student Surveys “Gaymers”
A student at Full Sail University (essentially a game design school) has created a survey asking homosexuals what they would like to see in their video games. His name is Paul Nowak, and here’s his explanation:
“Ideally, I want to learn what exactly it is that gaymers want from their games and how that differs from their heterosexual counterparts. I’ll take that information to develop guidelines the industry can use when trying to make gaymer inclusive games that don’t become offensive or insulting to any gamer regardless of sexual orientation. If someone had done the same kind of research when the industry was trying to reach out to female gamers, girls wouldn’t have had to suffer through the wildly unsuccessful attempts of games like “Mary Kate & Ashley’s Winner’s Circle” pony racing. I’m hoping to help the industry avoid the same mistakes as it reaches out to gay gamers.”
Here’s a little tip to oppressed minorities everywhere: if you wish to achieve the acceptance you (supposedly) seek so desperately, stop trying to segregate, differentiate, and otherwise set yourself apart in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY YOU CAN.
Tell me, because I’m confused: what exactly would a homosexual want from videogames that a heterosexual wouldn’t? If this is about eliminating negative portrayals of homosexuals, I highly doubt we need a survey to accomplish that. Nowak says he’s attempting to avoid the mistakes the industry has made in reaching out to female gamers, and I applaud him for that. But what he doesn’t seem to realize is that those attempts failed on account of their very principle, not in their execution. Producing games that are “female-friendly” or “gay-friendly” is a sexist act in and of itself. This survey is utterly pointless, and if it accomplishes anything at all, it will be contrary to what Nowak is hoping to achieve. (Kotaku).
Quickie: Uncharted 2 Demo Sees 27+ Years of Playtime
Nope, I’m serious. Apparently everyone in the world except me has downloaded and played the Uncharted 2: Among Thieves demo. Naughty Dog co-president Even Wells has gone to the trouble of tallying up the stats, and here they are:
Total Number of games played – 1,217,424
Total Number of Kills – 92,110,787
Total Number of Treasures Captured – 1,860,645
Total Amount of Money Earned – $38,841,367,350
Total Time Played – 9,905 days (or 27+ years!)
I have a feeling that when the game actually hits stores, the numbers are going to be something to gawk at. Or maybe everyone will just be a cheap-ass and keep pounding away at the (seemingly quite robust) demo.
Well, my lack of motivation was seemingly replaced with an almost unprecedented strain of verbosity. It felt good to write all that, and I can only hope you enjoyed reading it. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a Dead Space: Extraction review later tonight. But I’m not gonna promise anything, especially after writing all that. My creative juices can only go so far in one shot.
It’s All Happening Tonight: A Quick Note from Prison
Thursday, October 8th, 2009
In Prison "Art" by Ethos
Good afternoon, my loyal followers. I am currently at work, meaning I can’t write anything meaty, but I figured I’d say hi and give you a taste of things to come later on.
First, and as you likely know, a brand-new Hey! Look! Listen! will be posted tonight. Judging by the headlines I saw in a brief fly-by of my favorite sites, it seems like we’ll have some interesting things to discuss.
But that’s not all! I finished a certain Dead Space: Extraction yesterday, and I intend to post my closing thoughts on the game later tonight. Here’s a little preview: IT WAS AWESOME.
Sadly, I’ve yet to touch Modern Warfare this week, but I plan to… touch it very soon. Hopefully, Ethos will follow suit and give Assassin’s Creed all the loving it deserves. It IS backlog week after all; the big banner at the top says so!
I leave you with this very well-written article from Ctrl+Alt+Del. Sums up my thoughts on the Left 4 Dead 2 “boycott” perfectly. Preach it, Tim!
A Proper Rivalry Update
Thursday, October 8th, 2009Brief update to show the current status of my PS3 Trophy War with Abe80. Here goes.
Vs.
So here are the stats:
Dog Chew Controller Winner totals:
Abe80 – 4 Weeks
Ethos – 0 Weeks
Longest Streak:
Abe80 – 4 Weeks.
The Bouncer Total Hours Owed:
Abe80 – 0 hours
Ethos – 1 hour
The Bouncer Total Hours Played:
Abe80 – 0 hours
Ethos – 0 hours
Next Bouncer Landmark:
World Ranking – 40 000
Yeah yeah, I’m losing. Just wait for crazy season! …although I’m kinda broke. Still, just you wait Abe80!
Suck on that!
Thursday, October 8th, 2009See! I knew it’d be good!
Er..although Hilary also gave GTA4 IGN’s first console 10/10 since Ocarina of Time…so…maybe I shouldn’t get too excited about his review.
Click here for 9.4age
Suck it!
Scatter Storming. Issue #004 “Work Work Issue”
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
Can you believe it’s been two weeks since the last Scatter Storming? That’s messed up, man. Anyway, as I posted some minor updates yesterday, I realized that there are quite a few more I’d like to relay to you guys. And since I’m at work, it all fits. I tried to find a YouTube clip of a Warcraft III Orc saying “work work”, but it wasn’t easy so I gave up.
REPEAT! The Upcoming Page –
Yeah, I talked about this yesterday, but if I’m going to be giving the full update, it’ll be weird leaving something out. Like I said, we’ve updated the Upcoming Page complete with a few surprises, but I wanted to remind you all that you’re welcome to suggest your own theme weeks. Are there things you want to see Riddles and I devote our week to? Specific games or game-related topics you’d be interested to see us smear our way too opinionated thoughts all over? Let us know.
HIATUS’D! Fate of the News Roundup –
Thank you for the positive feedback regarding the Roundup! However, Riddles and I have still decided to put the feature on a little bit of a hiatus. Not to say it’s gone away forever, but we’re trying to restructure a few things, and so we’re not sure what kind of place the Roundup will have. For now, you can still expect to see Riddles’ Hey! Look! Listen! twice a week for your Riddlethos flavoured news. And it’s now branded with a beautiful new logo. I like logos, and you might end up seeing more of them…
ARCHIVED! Okay, these slugs aren’t that creative this time… –
Yup, the Archives Page has been updated as well. It now organizes itself in chronological order instead of alphabetical as well as giving a date indicating when that week started. Just pay no attention to the inexplicable existence of and attached date to the “Uncategorized” category. We’re just as confused as you are.
SHEEN! Other little touchups -
Like I mentioned, we’ve added a logo to the Hey! Look! Listen! segment, and there are talks of more on the way. In addition to that, you may have noticed that the top tabs follow you to whatever page you go to. A small cosmetic change, sure, but it makes me happy!
SPAMM’D! Sorry! -
I apologize to everyone who subscribes to our comment feed as we seem to have some very bizarre spammers. Sure, it’s all strangely complimentary, but spam is spam. We’re working on getting rid of the problem.
Thanks to Charlie, who is responsible for many of the updates mentioned above. Questions, suggestions, and reactions are welcomed and can – as always – go in the comments below or be e-mailed directly to feedback@riddlethos.com
Thanks, losers, that’s it!
Hey! Look! Listen!
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009
God, do I love The Office. The American version I mean, not that British knockoff.
Yeah I know the British Office came first, but I dislike it strongly, and belittle it whenever I can.
That aside, welcome to Hey! Look! Listen! I’m your host Oliver “Riddles” Motok, and I STILL have not finished Dead Space: Extraction. I plan to do that, and then move on to Modern Warfare, which is my chosen backlog game to finish this week. The campaign is supposed to be super-short, so it shouldn’t take long; especially since I’ve already put a few hours into it.
On to the main event! Bit of an offbeat setlist of news today, actually.
FTC Ruling Might Affect Video Game Reviews?
The Federal Trade Commission has recently issued a ruling that may affect the way news outlets review video games.
The ruling states that “material connections” between “advertisers and endorsers” must be disclosed. Material connections being money or free products, presumably.
Speaking frankly, I really doubt this will have any effect on the way video games are reviewed. Why? Because I’m pretty sure a critical review isn’t considered an “endorsement.” I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.
But let’s say reviews were endorsements. In that case, “material connections” might refer to free review copies of games, and perhaps even money earned from advertising.
But again, I don’t think it will have an effect. I just figured I should report it, since every other news outlet is jumping all over the story. (GamePolitics).
Citizen Samus.
Metroid Prime Compared to Citizen Kane
ABC recently aired a segment that featured IGN’s Michael Thomsen comparing the classic film Citizen Kane to the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime series.
Yeah, no, I’m serious.
A bit strange, to say the least. I mean, as much as I like seeing video games given mainstream coverage, comparing Metroid Prime to Citizen Kane seems a bit over-the-top, to say nothing of… entirely superfluous. It was hard enough for me to take the report seriously; I can only wonder how non-gamers reacted to it. Check out the video yourself here
I'm failing at captions today.
Interesting Note: Activision Didn’t Want Modern Warfare
It’s true! Activision was convinced that Infinity Ward’s concept for a modernized FPS was not financially viable. This is according to Vince Zampella, head of Infinity Ward, in a recent interview with PlayStation Magazine.
“Activision also did not want Modern Warfare.” Zampella said. “They thought working on a modern game was risky and ‘Oh my God you can’t do that, it’s crazy!’ They were doing market research to show us we were wrong the whole time.”
Well there ya go. 14 million copies later, I’m pretty sure the big shots at Activision have experienced a collective change of heart. (Kotaku).
On That Note: Apparently a Call of Duty Movie is Happening
This isn’t officially official, as it’s all based off of a few Tweets from Robert Bowling, Infinity Ward’s creative strategist. He mentions having lunch with the Hitman movie director, Xavier Gens. Presumably during said lunch, he tweeted “talking game films.”
Bah, bah, and bah. I’ll concede that Hitman was actually a notch above most game-to-film adpatations. But it wasn’t good enough to make me think that Call of Duty would be anything more than a generic war film shamelessly hoping to profit from its name alone. (1UP).
Yes, This is for Real
And it's awesome.
As seen on Wine.Woot
That’s all I got. By the way, do you like the big shiny banner/logo up top? I think it looks pretty nice, myself.
