GAMES

NB: this was originally posted by qazimod under the DM account as part of a new posting template test thing (but it was crap), hence the “disposable media” author.

I can’t help but laugh at the “games are art” people sometimes. Well, not exactly laugh, but I do sympathise with them. I mean, it’s hard enough convincing people that games aren’t the spawn of the Devil, that they won’t destroy our inner humanity, that they aren’t about to defile our grandparents and bring about the collapse of society as we know it. So how on Earth are you supposed to put forward an argument for gaming as an artform? I don’t want to get into that debate just this moment, but I will say that Ico has frequently been touted as a game that provides ammunition for those who think games are more than just FIFA and Def Jam.

I haven’t had a lot of time to play the game, but I must admit to being suckered in by it’s lack of complexity: think of all the squad -based firstperson shooters where you’re launched into a chaotic battlefield with meaningless marine jargon babbling in your ear from the offset; it’s not the most subtle welcome, and after a while it gets a little predictable. However, Ico‘s introduction is nice and understated: you have a chance to get a feel for the surrounding architecture, mess around with the swinging and jumping of Ico himself (I really like the attention to detail in Ico’s animation, by the way), you meet Yorda, and then you fight the weird shadowy creatures.

One of the other things I like about Ico‘s initial combat sequences is that the shadow creatures have no distinct form, and you can vaguely swing at them and they’ll collapse beautifully. Again, the little details in the animation are brilliant; it’s like playing something like Flashback for the first time. And I thought Ico himself would be a lot more dorky than he actually is, but the characterisation isn’t all that bad (as for Yorda, the first thing I tried to do was swing my stick at her – old habits…)

Anyway, I’ve barely scratched the surface, and I’m in the middle of a few other titles as always, but it’s comforting to know that it is still possible to find a copy of the game if you are determined enough. 😛

GAMES/CULTURE

I’d like to put a hypothetical scenario across to all the DC nuts who still think that Sega’s console is the best thing since sliced bread and that no other console has, or ever will, better it. This isn’t going to be the obvious rant about hating/loving a piece of hardware rather than it’s individual software offerings – I’ve gone through that enough times with the PSP – instead, I’m curious as to how important the Dreamcast brand is to these fans when compared to the architecture, design, and specifications of the machine.

My scenario is simple:

Sega are still publishing software for other formats, but in this scenario they hold the rights/patent/whatever you want to call it to the Dreamcast name, brand, architecture. However, one day a smart entrepreneur with a few billion to burn realises that people still obsess over the machine to this day. Since Sega aren’t doing anything with their Dreamcast rights, the entrepreneur buys the architecture rights. It doesn’t matter to Sega, because any sort of return to the hardware market would get the jism of the Sega fanboys flowing, and so they are more than happy to make the sale.

Meanwhile, this entrepreneur has a business to be starting. After much organisation of his labour and resources, this guy’s got Dreamcast hardware coming off the factory line by the minute; he’s more than ready to start branding and marketing. And herein lies the catch: since he never bought the rights to the Dreamcast name or brand, he has to release his console – a console with identical specifications to the Dreamcast (a week after launch, enterprising hackers were able to break the system so that it runs Dreamcast games in addition to its own) – under a name of his choosing. Would you buy it?

You see, I think that if people really loved the Dreamcast for it’s hardware and games (rather than the fact that it’s a Sega machine and they get geek kudos whenever they tell someone how much they love it), they wouldn’t care what it was called, or who made it. But how many people would genuinely be willing to accept the kind of scenario I have outlined?

qazimod

https://www.disposablemedia.co.uk/2007/06/3069/

GAMES

“It’s like Halo 1/2, but a bit sharper.”

Okay, so I haven’t been playing it for that long, but there’s more than a hint of familiarity when you first spawn. The map is a reasonable size, visuals are a bit less blurry than previous Halos, and there are one or two interesting new items, but it isn’t going to be much of a shock to the system if you’re familiar with previous Halo multiplayer things. No doubt extended play will reveal some interesting subtleties, but at the moment it seems like a bit of a remix of older Halo excellence.

Which, by the way, is no bad thing.

qazimod

https://www.disposablemedia.co.uk/2007/05/3071/

GAMES

Fans of the Chief, keep ’em peeled…

So I’ve been recently checking that my disc of Crackdown still works after many weeks of inactivity (because it went through a nasty period of freezing up all the time and so I didn’t bother trying to play it), mainly because next week sees the opening of the Halo 3 beta. Obviously, this is significant news for many people, and fingers crossed you’ll see some coverage of how good/bad it is somewhere in Disposable’s network of…stuff.

In the meantime, why not enjoy issue seven of the magazine? Launched only the other day and with details here, it’s solid proof that we haven’t been scratching our arses all this time (or, in my case, spending more time here at Blogger than I am with the PDF ‘zine. Ooops…)

qazimod

https://www.disposablemedia.co.uk/2007/05/3076/

MINIATURE REVIEW TYPE THING

Hotel Dusk (revisited)

The other day I mentioned that I’d been playing Hotel Dusk: Room 215 for the Nintendo DS; well, that game has been completed now, so I suppose I might as well deliver a more substantial opinion.

Yes, it’s very similar to Phoenix Wright in places. For most of the game you will go from location to location examining the area and acquiring items and evidence. You’ll open up new locations as the story progresses. You’ll meet people at these locations and may be able to talk to them (some conversations opening up new topics to talk about, granting access to new areas, or resulting in new inventory items), and you can show these people any of the items you’ve already acquired in your inventory. Sometimes in these conversations you’ll have to show people the right item or say the right thing, or else you’ll be penalised. Any of this sound familiar?

If you think about it, the only real differences are that HD is a bit more technologically advanced (with 3D environments and many more varied interactive minigames), and Phoenix Wright has more wit, as well as “evolving” a lot faster – it’s not until the final moments of Dusk that the game throws up multiple “succeed or else” challenges containing many questions and generally being much craftier than it’s been in the other chapters; Wright‘s difficulty curve is a standard 45 degree angle compared to Hotel Dusk, which stays near to flat for most of the nine chapters, then climbs very rapidly as it reaches the end.

If you’re willing to accept that the Phoenix Wright games are a decidedly hard act to follow, and can therefore forgive Dusk when it sometimes seems substandard, then it’s well worth getting hold of. Also, whilst the mechanics of the games are very similar, the writing is obviously completely different (a different cast, different character histories to learn…) and so it’s very important that you enjoy Dusk’s writing for what it is, instead of subconsciously comparing it to Wright‘s.

Anyway, I’ve rambled on enough for now. Expect a proper review in the next DM, perhaps. Until then, see you.

qazimod

https://www.disposablemedia.co.uk/2007/05/3077/

GAMES

Microgames, interactive stories and rock

Today has already proven to be quite eventful. Whilst I have recently been disheartened at the fact that it’s still impossible to find Guitar Hero II on shelves anywhere in the gaming (GAME, ePlay) and entertainment stores (HMV, Virgin) around town, I decided that it’d be best for me to just make a reservationy order thingy, and so – thanks to the helpful folk at Woolworths – I should be rocking in a matter of weeks. I can’t wait.

My habit of purchasing more handhelds than I need got the better of me too – I spotted a GB Micro going for about £30 and snapped it up, even though I already own a DS. The theory is that it’ll spur me on to repurchase all those GBA titles I sold to originally finance my DS. The reality? I bought it because it’s cute. And cheap.

Finally, in a little follow up to the Wright cross-examination a couple of posts down, I’m currently enjoying Hotel Dusk: Room 215, another “retrograde formula with dated mechanics confined to a linear path”; hmm. Anyway, the atmosphere in the game is really likeable, and even the mini-puzzles are enjoyable, despite being a bit throwaway at times.

So, yeah. I’ve got plenty to keep me busy until GHII arrives, and so I’ll doubtless have more to say shortly; see you then.

qazimod

https://www.disposablemedia.co.uk/2007/04/3078/