Game Diary: July 9, 2008

After one hour, I've got three Colossi down and thirteen left to go.

The thing that strikes me most about revisiting "Shadow of the Colossus" just one week before E3 is that I'm convinced this game was only successful because of the huge marketing push that Sony put behind it. That's not to say that the game isn't art, but I recall a number of two-page ads, a commercial, and similar endorsements created to generate buzz for the obscure sounding game (and I only hope that they eventually learned this).

My first experience came with a demo sent to me in the mail (prior to that, i never knew what a Colossi was). And what a demo indeed! It captured the first battle with a Colossi (I think it ended actually before you even fought him). You look up at this lumbering creature roughly the size of a five or six story house (actually he's petite compared to his comrades) and BAM! Demo over. End Scene.

But what is it that specifically makes this game feel enormous, even by today's standards? Is it the immense proportions of scope and scale as you battle enormous creatures that can, and will, kill you if they land a blow? Is it the connection to your horse, the only character in the game you'll interact with during the eight to ten hour game? Or is it the futility of the Wander's mission, as he is fooled into believing that his sacrifice will reunite him with the woman he loves?

People on the internets continue to argue that "Shadow of the Colossus" is a sheer representation of games as art, and that's fine. But I argue that if "Shadow of the Colossus" is art, then "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is our Mona Lisa (and forget the constant comparisons to film, as if nothing ever existed before Citizen Kain). I make this argument because as much as Shadow does so much with very little, it's really a minimalist version of the stuff Link has done for decades. The only detractor being that Zelda bosses never appeared as complex on the surface (they didn't make you feel anywhere as pathetic as some of the Colossi can).

However, Nintendo's constant refinements to the franchise (without introducing anything really new) are slowly making the series lose its luster.

Besides rolling around and cutting up some Colossi, I managed to sneak in some time in Animal Crossing. I named my town Cali (for obvious reasons), and my character doesn;t have enough money to pay the rent. I'll try to stick with this one for as long as I can, but i have a feeling its not going to last.

Maybe I should invest in the DS version instead.

Backlog: Time to Topple Mountains, Again!

I’m genuinely excited to be playing old games right now, thanks in part to 1UP FM. In the segment titled “Backlog”, the editors and other media people play through older games (ahem..., Squadron of Shame caliber choices) like “Shadow of the Colossus” and other prolific titles to reminisce and ruminate about their experiences in game’s the world.


Although I tend to move from game to game pretty quickly, I admire this segment since it encourages me to revisit games that I quickly flew through years ago, and never gave a second glance. I look forward to the Backlog segment each week, and although they are one podcast away from finishing “Shadow of the Colossus”, I figured now was a good a time to join them as any. So today at Gamestop, I re-bought the game everyone dubbed “a masterpiece” back in 2005.

Clearly, I’ve returned to gaming’s well this past week since all I’ve played is a lot of “Super Stardust HD” (61,000,000 points, and growing), fragged up the place in Halo 3’s Chill Out map remake named “Cold Storage”, and enlisted for my second tour in “Call of Duty 4” campaign.

Maybe I’m just a sour puss but I’m only half excited for for the plethora of announcements that will be unveiled during next weeks E3 in Los Angeles. E3 represents so much to gamers everywhere, and even if it’s significance is slightly diminished, it’ll still be North America’s biggest gaming spectacle of 2008 (unless PAX ’08 comes along and ends up even bigger).

Still, while we all wait and ruminate over the upcoming blockbuster titles that will slowly surface next week, I’ll be slaying mountain sized monster men (if Colossi indeed have a gender - and they might not).


Oh, and I went out and picked up the original “Animal Crossing” for the Nintendo Gamecube. Now, before the where-the-fuck-have-you-been alarm goes off in your head, Animal Crossing is one of the few games that I missed last gen (and I still don’t remember why). Now that I dwell on it, i recall playing “the Sims” and getting fed up with that kind of game. I haven’t tried any simulator till I played “Viva Pinata” this year.

My problem in general with these games is the amount of tedium in managing the micro economies they provide. In “The Sims” (the console sims Get a Life mode), i had to get a job and try to grow and manage relationships, and it all bored me to tears . The whole doll house, sandbox thing was completely irrelevant to me (mind you, Doll house fever and the Sims were all the rage back then), and despite my initial attraction to the concept I grew bored of the game and moved on. Then in 2006, the 1UP Yours podcast enticed me to go out an try “Viva Pinata”, a similar title in the simulation world, but I couldn’t get past the abhorrent packaging Microsoft slapped on that game (if you haven’t seen it, you need to).
A good friend of mine in New York sent me the game for Christmas, and I’ve loved it ever since. Now I’m not sure what changed in me from 2002 to now. Logistically, I still can’t figure it out, but I try to tend my Garden of Love in Viva, whenever I can.

However, Animal Crossing wasn’t an impulse buy. It was influenced by the opinion everyone has that we’ll hear Nintendo announce a sequel on Tuesday. Oh, well. We'll find out soon enough now won't we.

Show Some Support...

If you haven't heard of John Davison, former Editorial Director of 1UP.com, then shame on you. John left the Ziff crew back in September and co-founded "What They Play", a website geared at bridging the digital divide between parents and video games. John recently appeared on the Today Show this morning, and explained a variety of significant issues between kids and parents at his site. Check it out and show some support.

Also, check out this Newsweek piece by N'Gai Croal, for more information on What They Play.

You Know My Name

No introduction needed.

Friendly Letters # 1

This space isn't always about games...

Ok, well maybe it is, but today's post is different. It's a copy of a letter I just sent to a good friend of mine. So wait, if its personal why am I posting it? Well, because I feel like it!

(Name have been blocked to protect the innocent)


Hey Dude,

First and foremost, its great to hear from you. I think I asked J***-A**** about you two weeks ago. Congrats on successfully doing the "SMART THING" and saving your money up. Soon, all of that penny pinching will pay off, and you'll walk out of Best Buy with the only thing that matters: an Xbox 360. But what will your first game be? See me, I like to think ahead, and there are plenty of choices. I say get "Halo 3" because wouldn't you know it, today is Bungie Day!

What is Bungie Day you say? It's only the bestest day of the whole year! Today is the day that Bungie (the makers of Halo) celebrate their fans and give away free stuff. They released a new map (for FREE) on Xbox Live called "Chill out". Now you know that I love "Halo 3". Hell, I love Bungie. But instead of enjoying the Bungie Day festivities and splattering rivals all over the new map they released today, I did something... else.

I know what you're thinking. "Dude, why aren't you enjoying this fake holiday that you're all excited about?"

Well, the thing is I have a bit of an an ego, and when someone challenges me ( a friend from NY), I can't help but get a little competitive. See, my friend back home challenged my score in a PS3 game that I have called "Super Stardust HD" - - a very gay name, but a really good shooter. It's like "Shoot 'Em Up" but without Clive Owen, and in the future... in space. Okay, Okay, maybe it isn't like "Shoot 'Em Up", but I like the damn game and I'm a big sore loser. So I've been playing non-stop these past few days, trying to keep my high score before the little jerk back home tops it. And sadly, this keeps me from enjoying my Bungie Day, lol.

Other than that, I'm doing fine. I sorta miss school, and ***** sucks major supremo, but I can't complain: its a job. I recently interviewed for a job at *** ***** ***** - that ******** ******* that I would never stop talking about. Good news, they liked me. Bad news, they haven't called back yet. In the meantime, I've been trying to keep myself busy and just focus on other stuff besides my dream job.

Mercenaries is great a great game! Do you love it, or hate it? Choose a side if you dare.

P.S. Sorry I wrote a book here, but its been a while so I wanted to tell you everything that I could.

Talk to you soon,

Jose

Unbreakable!

I've already explained what i think is wrong with "Alone in the Dark", but if you need proof, watch this. Props to Mike Nelson and the MyCheats crew as they flail away at the upcoming SuperGuide.

Game Diary - July 2, 2008

I spent today revisting a number of games that I cast aside for some reason or another, the biggest one being "Resident Evil 4". Indeed this was Capsom's masterpiece and acclaimed GOTY for 2005, yet it still managed to sift into my mile-high pile o'shame. I decided today was the day to cast aside " and indulge in the smash hit of Capcom's internal development team. Even though I am playing the Wii version (and I have owned each version of this game, regardless of the platform it appeared on). It's a truly remarkable game packed with intense survival horror. I'd have to agreed with a friend of mine that the pacing is a bit rough, but the game build and builds to multiple climaxes, as expected. My heart was racing today, and it was during a battle that I've played at least three times before (it's the one after you save Ashley for the first time. It takes place in an old house, and you tag-team the Latino zombie invasion with Luis Serra as your teamate).


I also returned to the lush land of Mistral for more of the Frontier Developments' "Lost Winds". Little Toku and the Wind Spirit are an amazing little dynamic duo, and this particular project reminds me of "Zelda II", for in the NES, in many ways. Granted it's a much more streamlined version, with a quest subtly smaller than Link's epic endeavors, but the side scrolling levels really do evoke a Zelda-ish aesthetic. I'm impressed with the end product that Frontier has delivered, regardless of how short it is (I can tell I'm almost done after two hours or so).

My one complaint with "Lost Winds" is the design decision to exclude a map in the game. There are enough diverse locations that a map would really shave off some time from the backtracking segments. Yes, I'm aware that backtracking is unanimously declared as poor game design in today's development scene, but previous games that implemented it established the importance of having a map in the first place. Embarking on quests in "Lost Winds" will get you lost more often than not, and I find that frustrating, but not unbearable.