Final Game Studies Proposal

For my final game studies project I wanted to do an art project, but as I expressed in an earlier post I didn't know what to do it on. After my most recent class I decided to take the topic of hardcore gamers and their stereotypes and turn it into a piece that reflects me and my interests (as far as video games go). I wanted to express the the absurdness of how "casual gamers" or people who just down right hate games see us (the hardcore gamers), and since it's going to be reflecting me I chose to portray this idea using a Left 4 Dead theme. As of now the idea in my head is to have a Boomer sitting on a bed playing Guitar Hero or some other "super nerdy" game with junk food and caffeinated drinks covering the floor. I chose the Boomer because he's fat (which all people think hardcore gamers are) and because he represents the epitome of lazy with his sweats and his one sock that's only half on. Depending on how much time I will have to work on this I may include other special infected from the Left 4 Dead franchise to portray different aspects of gamers; we'll see. The only concern I have by taking this approach is with the PowerPoint presentation and the written portion of this assignment. I have some ideas on what I am going to do, but I'm not sure if they will be enough to meet the minimum length requirements for both of those aspects.

Donkey Kong Country

I've always liked to think that Donkey Kong Country for the SNES has indirectly affected the popularity of video games based on the chain of facts that with it's success came the success of platformers, from that came the success of Nintendo in it's earlier days, and from that came the success of the video game genre has a whole. I may be biased in this sense but it is a viable theory and explanation that is left strictly to the opinion of the player. I, obviously, found Donkey Kong Country to be a spectacular game, paving the road for many video games that would succeed it and bringing fresh ideas to the table that would be used as a foundation for many games to come.

The main idea I have in mind when I say this is the engulfing nature of the environment the game creates. Never before have I felt so entrenched in the world of a platformer and maybe even any video game. It is clear that every aspect of the video game was clearly thought out by the developers and given careful attention. The visuals in this game are extremely impressive for their time. This game acts as a pioneer to the world of fully detailed backgrounds. No matter what level the player is in, whether it be jungles, mines, ruins, snowy mountains, or factories, every area has it's own unique background which adds both variety and visual appeal to the game. The foreground designs are equally, if not more, impressive as the backgrounds as well. Every character, both bad and good, has an excellent and unique design; none overshadowing or copying another. Everything about the visuals is beautifully done and is near impossible to complain about. Another aspect that lends itself well to the environment is the music. When you're in the jungle levels you will hear songs with a beat composed mostly of bongos and a rockin' bass line which adds to the feeling that the player is in a jungle. The fact that you don't even realize that there's music playing sometimes is a clear indication that it blends perfectly with everything else going on and reflects the genius of those responsible for the soundtrack. That's not to say that the music is the only aspect that adds to the overall experience however. The sound effects play just as big a roll as any song does. You'll notice quickly that most bad guys have a distinct sound to them that will not only let you know what is coming, but also increases the depth the environment has. If a bee is near, for example, then you will begin hearing a buzzing sound that gets louder and louder as you approach it. You will also hear everything from klaptraps chomping their teeth, to kritters jumping around, to neckys flapping there wings, and even the sound of your buddy trapped in a barrel when they are near. After a while you may not even notice that you're using these environmental clues to get through the game because once again, they mesh perfectly with every other aspect of the game and are so fundamental to a real life experience that we take it for granted sometimes.

Aside from the engulfing environment, Donkey Kong Country is still a great game that plays like a dream. The game takes a simple Mario based concept where the main way to defeat an enemy is to jump on their head and expands on it perfectly: not so much that it becomes too complicated and takes away from other aspects of the gaming experience but just enough to become provide a fresh and exciting time that many will enjoy. All of the controls are fluid and never take away from the gaming experience which is a trap most early generation games fall in too often; and the simplistic controls make the game very easy to pick up and play, but at the same time takes a seasoned veteran to accomplish everything the game has to offer. On that note, Donkey Kong Country definitely sports a hardcore/fanboy game style in the sense that most can beat the game if they try hard enough but the re-playability factor comes from the desire to max out the game by finding all the secret areas, collecting all the tokens, or maybe having a perfect run through the game. Even if this isn't you though, the game still has its reasons for coming back to it. The overall concept leads to such a fun game that you'll find yourself wanting to play it again and again even if you do get through all of the levels and find most of the insane amount of secret areas. There's something about rolling through bad guys on a metal barrel, stabbing people with a swordfish named Enguarde, or just blowing up bad guys with a TNT barrel that makes you want to do it more than once or twice.

All in all there's not much to complain about in this game. It's still popular and well known today for a reason. Both the impressive detail given to the overall look, feel, and sound of the game and the overall fun but simple concept are enough to make it a legend in the video game industry, but the fact that one game contains both of these elements and takes them to a level that has never been seen prior to it makes Donkey Kong Country a work of art that should been remembered through out time. Nothing has and will probably ever achieve what this game did and open the road to as many games as it did which is as good of a reason as any for me to give it a 10 out of 10.

Concerns on the Final Game Studies Project

So the final game studies project for ENG 298 is upon me... what to do? I already had an idea of what I'm going to do actually, but after reading the assigned last chapter of "An Introduction to Game Studies" all I thought was a very confused "huh". I was flipping through the chapter over and over again to find where it talked about an art project, but I guess that's not a legitimate project to Frans Mayra so it looks like I'm going solo on this one. Maybe I can take what I read in the chapter and use it though. Could there be an art project based on research in my future? I wouldn't even know where to begin though or how to go about it. Should I even consider basing my piece on research? I could always do my own piece and have no regards to what my final grade would be. I would be happy with that because after all, life isn't just about getting an A. I'm just rambling on, expressing my thoughts, concerns, and questions about the final game studies project so I apologize to anyone who doesn't care. Are there any other people planning on taking the art approach that have come across the same issues? Any ideas?

All in all I thought the reading was very insightful though. If I were to take the research paper approach then I would've found it useful and probably would've paid more attention to what I was actually reading. I especially like the quote where Mayra talks about how you shouldn't abandon your original idea just because there's no existing info or pieces about it because I feel like a lot of people fall into that trap whereas they should be excited and maybe even honored that they get to explore uncharted territory. After all, would Anakin have brought balance to the force if he hadn't explored unfamiliar lands and left Tatooine to become a jedi? If he didn't, that would've have been a pretty short tale and George Lucas would probably be a bum living in his mother's basement building models of the USS Enterprise.

Anyway, I have a lot of thinking and decision making that needs to be done. I'm not going to lie either, I didn't make the minimum word count for blog entries in my class but I've kind of hit a wall here due to my choice for a final project. There's no getting around that so I'm just going to come out with it. At least it was easy on the readers. We'll see what happens. Stay tuned for updates.

Same song, same dance

Here we go again with the attacks on video games and how they contain too much violence or other suggestive themes. This whole debate is so worn out that I'm already fed up with this blog post 37 words into it. As long as there are bored politicians on capital hill, overly-worried parents, or people who just take some topics way too seriously this whole argument will never end, and chances are that none of the above are going to take time to google MetaMeeks' blog or anyone's blog for that matter. People love thinking they're right, and they want to continue to think they're right even if all evidence points otherwise so I'm struggling to see how I'm not wasting my time especially when the topic is video games.

Quick question: What is the second word in video games? IT'S A GAME! It's meant to be fun and not taken seriously. They're not called "video reality" or "video life" for a reason. Don't you dare try to argue that they influence what the player does in real life or how they act too because I have yet to see someone dressed up as a frog, hopping across a freeway, dodging cars, and then coming back to life where they left off if they die. Give people at least enough credit to understand what's real and what isn't.

On a similar note, PLEASE be sure you have all the info before you complain about anything people. Take the whole Resident Evil 5 "racism" fiasco for example. People started freaking out and playing the racist card when they saw Chris Redfield shooting Las Plagas infected black people in a trailer. Everyone that complained about this failed to wait till it was revealed that the game takes place in Africa. It kind of makes sense that infected people were dominantly black, and I'm not saying that because I particularly enjoy killing any one race over another, I'm saying that because killing a bunch of infected Chinese people, for example, wouldn't make an ounce of sense in a game set in Africa.

Here's a thought experiment for everyone: Let's say it's my birthday and my mom promises to take me out to Applebee's for dinner so we hop in the car and away we go. While on our way to Applebee's though she says "Oh, there's been a change of plans; we're not going to Applebee's anymore." Am I going to start throwing a fit because we're not going to Applebee's as originally planned? No because we're already in the car so we're obviously going somewhere so I will wait to find out where we're going. Turns out we pull into Chuck E. Cheese (my favorite place to eat out) and all my family is there to celebrate. WHOOO! I have a great time, win that giant stuffed Chuck E. that costs 2,000 tickets, and I live happily ever after. Now how pointless and childish would it have been for me to complain and start kicking and screaming when I found out we weren't going to Applebee's? Get the picture?

Back to this whole debate: where were these equal rights activists when Leon was shooting up Spaniards in Resident Evil 4 to save the President's incompetent blond hair blue-eyed daughter? I'm dominantly Mexican and yeah that's a far cry from the Spaniards in RE4, but you don't see me complaining about the Mexican gangs in the Grand Theft Auto series or about how every Mexican character in a fighter has to be a luchadore (El Fuerte anyone?). It's because, once again, IT'S A GAME! So everyone complaining can get over themselves, find something else to do, and go watch your favorite blockbuster films (because those are all violent free and are sent straight to us by God himself).

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days Review

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days (pronounced 358 days over 2) for the DS is the newest installment of the extremely popular series that combines Final Fantasy and Disney characters in the same universe. This game, taking place between the second and third installments attempts to clear up the history of some of the lesser known but still crucial characters, and fill in the 358 day gap that was missing in the now continuous story line. This Kingdom Hearts, like every other game before it contains the basic concepts of the series but introduces aspects that make it unique in it's own way.

Returning aspects are the battle system, item collection, and multiple worlds you'll visit in your game. The game is still at heart, the same. You'll run through with your keyblade, bringing down any heartless you see in order to achieve your goal in the game. The fighting starts out pretty slow, but as you progress you will get new abilities that will both make you stronger and improve the overall fighting experience. Things like being able to jump higher, glide, air dash, upgraded magic, and better combos are among these upgrades. The overall progression of the game, which has been the same in every game, has the player going from world to world, interacting with the characters, and completing an objective. The sad thing is that although this may be fun for people who are rather new to the series, veterans may find this a bit redundant because no new worlds are added to this game and there's only so many times you can talk with the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland without wanting to strike him down with your all powerful weapon. The concept of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" may be a useful philosophy but updating the lineup of worlds you can visit isn't the same as fixing. Item collection also makes a triumphant return and is still a welcome addition to the game play. The beauty of the Kingdom Hearts series and most Square-Enix games for that matter is that there are multiple incentives to just run around fighting more bad guys. Since it is a role-playing game fighting helps you level up but it also gives you items or money (spelled munny in the Kingdom Hearts franchise) that are necessary to power up your character even further. It adds more depth to the game which helps take away from having to do the same routine, different world throughout all 30 hours of the game.

Some brand new features that were added to the game include the leveling up system, upgrading magic, missions, and multiplayer which is a first for the series. The most prominent of these additions is the mission aspect of the game. Because you will be playing a different character for the first time in the series, the way you go about the levels isn't entirely the same. Roxas, the main character, works for an organization in the game and because of this he is given missions to complete every day. For 93 missions straight almost all you'll be doing is waking up into a common area that acts as headquarters where you can take care of any customization, receiving you mission, completing your mission, and then repeating the same thing over and over again. It's basically like having a job, and even though killing heartless and taking names may be the coolest job in the world, it is still a job in which you do the same general task every day. I personally would've liked to see some adversity in the sense of these missions but there are some features that take away from this somewhat negative aspect. Instead of just fighting until you get level ups and leveling up until you get new abilities, there is a panel system which almost acts like a distant relative of Tetris. Every level up, ability, magic, weapon, and equipment all contain there specifically shaped blocks that must be arranged and fitted into this grid in order to use them during battle. There are also various panels that level up your abilities, magic, and weapons which can be linked to the corresponding slot in order to upgrade them even further. While this may seem as a last minute addition to the game that is more annoying than helpful, I found this to take up the perfect amount of time from game play and actually helped by breaking up the repetitiveness of the game. Because of this system, the magic upgrades are also different. Instead of blizzard turning into blizzara, then into blizzaga, each is there own panel which can be leveled up and by doing this, each tier of magic has its own effects. One may just be a blast of that element, one may be a radial spell that hits everyone in the area, and one may be a mine in which you place for your enemies to run into. This adds even more customization to a game that already contains a plethora of it. The last big change brought to the series is multiplayer which no one can logically complain about. You play through the exact same missions as you would in story mode, but with up to three other friends and nineteen playable characters. The group can either work together to complete a mission and receive points that go towards unlockable items in the main story or you can concentrate on competing against each other to see who gets the most points in the mission. Either way, multiplayer plays extremely well and is a must for any fan of the series.

The main thing to know about this game, and the reason that this review didn't focus on regular topics touched upon in a review such as graphics and re-playability, is because this is not a game for newcomers. If you're playing this game then you should know most if not all of the Kingdom Hearts story up until this point. There is no introduction, no brief summary, and no exposition. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is not the opportune game to jump in the Kingdom Hearts series, period. Square-Enix expects you to have played the other games and so for the sake of this review, so do I. To put to rest any remaining questions though, the graphics are very impressive for a DS. Some of the cinema scenes are on the same level of some from the original game, and the re-playability is at a very acceptable level with multiplayer and unlockables. The only thing keeping this game from receiving a perfect score is it's repetitiveness. Even being a long time, die-hard fan of the series, I had to force myself through some of the missions so I could finish the story. All in all though, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a great game that both clears up a lot of unanswered questions about the series and brings an abundant amount of exciting new features to the series. I'm giving it 4 stars out of 5.

Video Game Journalism Revolution

The numerous conflicts about video game journalism are very interesting and all have their own bone to pick with the industry. Whether it be the movement of most video game articles to the world wide web or the movement towards "New Game Journalism", they all have a common thread and I believe that to be that video game journalism has hit a rut (and not the good kind either). It's reached a point where magazines struggle just to stay afloat and every review or preview is the exact same way. I'm not saying that way is bad though. I believe just laying out the goods, the bads, and the "meh"s of every game lets readers know exactly what the game is about, but come on... it does get a little tiresome after a while. That is why I am a strong advocate of New Game Journalism.

All of Kieron Gillen's ideas make perfect sense. Why would someone review a game like Halo 3, Left 4 Dead, or World of Warcraft without mentioning the multiplayer experience? A community can very well ruin a game; there's no doubt about that. I enjoy pretty much every game under the sun, but when I get beat (yeah, it happens to everyone once in a while) and return to the game lobby to hear people screaming "yeah, suck it b****. I pwned your a** and banged your mom" it kinda makes me think that the game isn't even worth playing if people are getting to be that big of D bags about something that's supposed to be fun. What I'm saying is that every game has it's own pulse and feel to it just like every human does so we should treat each one differently in our analysis of it. Focus on what the game is made for. Most people wouldn't greet the president with the phrase "what's up buttercup?" if they're meeting him for the first time because he's the president, not some long-time snuggle buddy (or whatever you're into). In the same sense you wouldn't only look at the story when analyzing Halo 3; you're just asking for angry fanboys if you do that. Yeah, it has a campaign but I guarantee the developers didn't walk in to work on the first day of development for the game and say "let's put all the attention on the story. We gotta make it bigger, better, and bolder". Let's just use some common sense with our critiques.

As far as the battle between magazine's and internet reviews: Cheez-Its beat Cheese Nips every time.... That is about as useful of a statement as me writing an entire paper on the subject. With the internet came a lot of changes and there's not much anyone can do about it. Music, games, books, programs, and many more things are all mediums that have the same nemesis. Unless we go back in time with our DeLorean and slay Al Gore for inventing the internet, it's going to be here to stay so learn to love it.
So there you have it, short and sweet. Now let's go start a Video Game Journalism revolution.

Edit: And for the record magazines do not have a toilet browsing advantage. I've seen people with their laptops in a public stall numerous times. Just a side note.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Review

With the huge success and fan base that Marvel Ultimate Alliance brought, it was a no-brainer that a sequel would be coming out sooner or later. This time however, the main developer of the first game, Raven Software, passed the reins onto Vicarious Visions. Under new development Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 set its sights on being bigger and better in every sense, and in most ways it doesn't disappoint.

First off, Vicarious Visions decided to stay true to the comic books and go with the widely popular Civil War story arch which places super heroes on opposite sides, battling against one another over the Superhuman Registration Act. This requires the player to make a choice about one third through the game of either joining Iron Man's team and fight for the government or joining Captain America's team and fight against the government, with each side having three exclusive playable characters. Being taken straight from probably Marvel Comics' most famous series, no one can really complain about most of the story, and I say most because the last third or so of the game is a new story line, made just for the game, that is apparent when that point in the game is reached. The story takes a sudden turn, causing a drastic change in the tone of the game, and goes in a direction that the player can tell was written by the developers due to its over the top feel for the setup of the final stage/boss battle. When the player finishes the game it almost leaves a thought of "...that's it?" running through their head, and if they're a long time comic book fan that's familiar with the story it will just leave a sour taste in their mouth. Although compared to the last game which was all story written specifically for the game, I would still have to say that Vicarious Visions made an improvement. There are moments in the game where the player actually feels like they are in the Marvel Universe and must fight through enemies to save Captain America in time or make a desperate escape from the government, and this is exactly what a person wants out of a storyline.

The visuals are definitely a step up in the new installment. Being developed as an Original Xbox game that was just moved to the 360, the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance wasn't exactly the most cutting edge in the graphics department, to put it lightly, so that kind of made VV's job easier. Bringing in a comparison to all other 360 games, the visuals are a tad above par. It's easy to see when the camera zooms in that the character models received a lot of attention, but sadly the same amount of attention wasn't given to all aspects of the game as seen in the on screen explosions, destroyed debris, and super hero's powers that look extremely outdated. This may seem like a minor set back but when Vicarious Visions promotes the fact that almost all of the environment is destructible the player would think that destroying everything in sight should look good. The fact that the entire team will be either blowing things up or using super powers at nearly all times makes this really noticeable.

The gameplay is about the same as the previous installment. The player runs into a level, beats up the bad guys by mashing buttons, finishes their objectives, gets lifted back to headquarters, gets their new mission, and then starts the whole cycle over again. Even though this is one and the same as the first Marvel Ultimate Alliance, VV did do themselves a favor by making each character a unique experience as opposed to the last game in which every character within a category (ie. brutes, focus users, etc.) played the exact same. It's possible to put Hulk and Juggernaut in one's group and tackle the bad guys, pummeling their face into the ground with the jolly green giant, and then switch to Juggernaut and have a different kind of fun elbow dropping people. Adding to the character aspect of the game, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 has one of the most diverse character lineups anyone will ever see which helps out the fun factor. No other super hero game before this will let the player run through Washington DC playing as Green Goblin, Deadpool, Thor, and Jean Grey at the same time. Even in comparison to the previous installment, this is extremely diverse. The re-playability of the game is also in the improvement. While in the previous installment there was only one linear story line, the civil war gives two stories for the price of one. Once the player is done with their first play through they can restart the game with their upgraded characters and choose whichever side they didn't take during the first run through, or pick the same side if that's what they want.

Other new components that Vicarious Visions added to the game include the fusion system, power buffs, and boosts. While new aspects are always welcome, I feel like there was more the development team could have done with their ideas. Take the fusion system for example. This is the first game to finally do what was promised as far as doing different combination of powers. The other games would just say "combo" at the top of the screen when one target was hit with two different abilities and add 10 damage to the attack. This game actually has a special fusion bar that let's the player take two characters and fuse their powers together to make one "super move" with a special animation and do a devastating amount of damage. The problem I have with this is that after a while I started seeing the same 4 or 5 types of fusions, just different colored. For example, if the player fuses Storm's and Human Torch's power they get a fire tornado, and if they fuse Jean Grey's and Iceman's powers they get an ice tornado which looks about the same just white for the ice instead of red for fire. With around 250 different combination amongst all the characters however, I guess VV had to have some kind of overlap somewhere. The power buffs, also known as passive abilities which are always active, are another addition to the game, although I would call them more of a return since they were present in the X-Men Legends series. There are no complaints here. The buffs only add to the gameplay and help to make each character unique which is the biggest strength of a game featuring 25 playable heroes. The final addition is the boost system. In this game boosts are essentially equipment in every other Role-Playing game. All they do is give the characters additional perks to help the player survive. The difference in this game however is that boosts may be earned by doing special objectives such as defeat a certain number of enemies with a specific character. While some may find this annoying, I found it to be a nice distraction or goal to aim towards to take away from the repetitiveness of the game.

My final, miscellaneous, complaint about the game is the depth of the characters. Trying to take away from the uselessness of the plethora of powers for each character in the last game, Vicarious Visions decided to give every character four powers and that is it. I have a problem with this because yeah, some of the powers may have been worthless in the last game, but they still presented options to the player on which abilities to use. This game gives one for each face button and that's it. I, personally would have liked to see more to give the player more customization over there characters.

All in all, while the game does have its minor flaws, it shines more than it disappoints. Players may find themselves sticking with their four favorite characters but when they realize that every hero/villain is unique they will have a blast trying out all of them. Also, the additions to this game bump it into the above average category but if more attention would have been given to them, the game would have had the potential to be really good. In conclusion, between the storyline, detailed character models and environments, and diverse lineup this game is far from disappointing and will be loved by any Marvel fan. I give it a 7 out of 10.

SkyFyre: Art?

Having just played SkyFyre on newgrounds.com, I realized that clearly not all video games are art. Yes the game was very fun and addicting, I realized that in order to be art it a game can't just be a game. Substance is required. By substance I mean story, a creative thought or idea, visual appeal, or something in which it's artistic value can be measured.

In result, the game was fun, but fun does not equal art.

By Method of Comparison...

In my personal opinion, art is any and all forms of creative expression. If you've read my blog anytime before now then you already know my stance on the topic of whether or not video games should be considered art. For those who haven't: I am all for it. Now as any philosopher would tell me, I must argue my stance and show why I believe what I believe. So let's get this show on the road.

First and foremost, I believe video games should be considered an art simply by method of comparison. Most would agree with me in saying that music is a form of art, and most (maybe not as many) would agree with me in saying that Miley Cyrus's (yes, the Disney girl turned superstar) music is, in fact, music. Therefore that would make Miley Cyrus singing about "throwin' her hands up" and "partyin' in the USA" a work of art, and if you're trying to tell me that that song is art but games like Okami aren't then I'm not buying what you're selling. Plain and simple, cut and dry, end of story. Sorry Miley Cyrus or any Miley Cyrus fangirls (or fanboys.......), but I don't thinking singing about listening to other artists' songs and dancing to them is creative or an example of expressing any educated thought. There, I said it.

Another way I, personally, define is art is a work that may provoke you to look at something in a different way, or present a brand new idea to you such as films (not movies, films. There's a difference) often do. Now, I dare you to pick up any Square-Enix game and say it didn't do just that. SPOILER ALERT: In Final Fantasy X they present the idea of what makes an individual real by having the main character never truly exist, but instead be a dream of a group of omnipotent beings. Another concept is presented in the Kingdom Hearts series (NEW ONE COMES OUT TODAY!!! Go pick it up!) which has characters and the player questioning what the nature of the human heart is: good or evil. Anything that sprouts this kind of thought from the player, reader, listener, watcher, etc MUST be considered art if we're also going to put "It's getting hot in here" in the category. Once again, sorry to Nelly or any Nelly fangirls or boys.

I don't know though, maybe I'm just crazy. I'm not going to pretend like my word is the word of God or like everything I say goes. Maybe there's something to get out of reading between the lines of those songs and I'm just missing it. You tell me:

So I put my hands up
They’re playing my song,
And the butterflys fly away
Noddin’ my head like yea
Movin my hips like yea
I got my hands up,
They’re playin my song
I know im gonna be ok
Yea, It's a party in the USA
Yea, It's a party in the USA

Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody's lookin at me now
Like “whos that chick, thats rockin’ kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”

2009: Chinese Year of the Fanboys

Two words... fanboys (yeah, I know, technically it's one but it's a compound word so we'll cheat a little). The gaming community is littered with them and I don't believe it'll be getting better any time soon, especially with this year being the year of big sequels. Actually, I'm going to take that back. This DECADE has been the decade of sequels thus far. It seems like every big title coming out these days is a direct sequel, prequel, re-release, or just plain and simple: something that has been done before. I'm convinced that God was pissed off by a couple gamers, and in retaliation, took away all the creativity of the developers as some secret master plan. Just looking at almost all of the big games at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) we had Mass Effect 2, Assassin's Creed 2, Halo 3: ODST, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, and many more I'm sure. These are only the one's that made it into Microsoft's press conference (oh yeah, and this is JUST the games for the 360. Did I mention that?). Before I let you know exactly how I feel though I'm going to say that not all fanboys are bad. In fact, most of them aren't. I, myself, am a huge Nintendo fanboy. I will buy every one of their systems till the day either they die or I do (bets anyone?). The one's that have given us the bad name are the extremist fanboys that either think without saying, argue just to argue, or are really just that ignorant. So keep in mind that for the remainder of this post, I will be referring to these "extremist" fanboys.

This has resulted in a fanboy community that you have to see to believe. Go ahead and watch Adam Sessler's response to his review of Killzone 2 on G4 to get an idea or just to get a good laugh (there's a link to it at the end of this post for sake of time and effort). The comments left by the message board users (a.k.a. fanboys) are a little insane to say the least. WARNING: I am about to be extremely bias so turn away if you do not agree... and away we go. The ONLY reason the fanboys of Killzone 2 are so upset by G4's review of the game, and the ONLY reason they left comments as nasty as they did is because they are PS3 fanboys. For some reason they feel a need to be at war with the 360, and no offense, but the 360 is leaving them in the dust and this makes them very mad indeed. Potential doesn't make a system (which PS3 has more of, in case you didn't know), how you use that potential is what matters. Accept the fact that you're a little behind! Don't get all mopey and complain about every little thing you don't like or agree with. This isn't just for Killzone fanboys either, this is a general statement to all. What do you get out of bashing something that's in your favor?! On the other side of the 360 vs PS3 fiasco is the 360 fanboys who complain about every good game that isn't on their system. Sorry for the rude wake up call boys and girls, but you can't win them all and I'm going to go ahead and say you SHOULDN'T win them all. I don't even own a PS3 but I think every system should have there own big exclusive titles because that's what keeps every console developing company afloat and keeps variety in the genre and thus keeps the gamers happy. So I guess if you want to complain until you really hate how the industry works, then you can just ignore my advice.

Just some closing remarks to clear up any thoughts you may have about me after that rant: I do not hate all fanboys, PS3, Killzone 2 (so please don't kill me Killzone 2 fans). All I'm saying is that extremist fanboys need to consider what they are saying, why they are saying it, and what will come out of it BEFORE you actually open your mouth. I also realize that some people may like PS3 more than the 360 and good for them, honestly. There are some great aspects about the system that some may prefer over the 360. When I said that the PS3 was behind, I was taking an objective stance and considering all aspects of both systems, and I just feel that the 360 is ahead.

Link: http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/692992/Sesslers-Soapbox-Killzone-Mailbag.html#commentpost

Personal Game History

Since first picking up the NES controller I have, and will always, be a fan of video games. They have altered my life and helped me get to where I am today. Although I play just about every type of game under the sun, there are a few that will always stand out in my mind such as my very first game, the first game I beat from start to finish, the first game that helped me win money, and the ones that I will always love and remember. Though I may have had a late start due to the fact that I'm a 90's baby, I have just as much, if not more, gaming experience as the next gamer.

The first game I ever played was the Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros fusion game, but I would still consider myself to be a Super Nintendo era gamer. In my memories it seems like more times than not my days would begin with my mom yelling at me to stop playing Donkey Kong so I could get ready for school or church or whatever else I was doing at that age. It is easily the system that influenced my gaming lifestyle the most, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. In my opinion the Super Nintendo was the best platform to grow up on. It was easy enough to where a 5 year old could beat some of his or her favorite games but still challenging enough to keep people happy with even just a couple games. To me, Donkey Kong was a religion, and King K. Rool was Satan himself. He needed to be brought to justice for stealing poor Donkey and Diddy's secret banana stash beneath their elegant tree house. I thought the first game was the epitome of heaven, but when I found out that there was a second one coming out I knew video games were my calling in life and that was where it all started.

Fast forward to 1996 and all of the sudden I find myself with a Nintendo 64 in my hands and a desire to conquer yet another system of platforming to the best of my ability. My first N64 game, like pretty much everyone else, was Super Mario 64. I was baffled by the fact that I was running, jumping, flying, and swimming more than just from left to right. I was going forward, backward, around, under, over, and every other direction as the famous Italian plumber. This system opened up my eyes to what video games could be. In awe by this accomplishment, I also really started exploring more than just the big Nintendo adventure games. I dabbled in racing, sports, RPG, strategy, simulation, and everything else the Nintendo 64 had to offer until I came to Super Smash Bros. which is easily the series I have put the most time and effort into. From the minute I received it on my seventh birthday I could not put the game down. I wanted to be the best. I wanted to cut through any competition as if it were like cutting through melted butter with a broadsword. Super Smash Bros, in my opinion, is what took me into the hardcore level of video gaming. It is the first game that I did more than just play. I would look up guides on different moves, strategies, combos, and everything else it consisted of. I remember holding neighborhood tournaments for all the kids my age so I could play other people and establish my dominance at the game. Because of this game, I consider the golden years to be the three years after I turned seven.

My third generation of game consoles was the PlayStation2, Xbox, and Gamecube era. Fortunately, I lucked out when my cousin's got a hold of two PlayStation 2's the night it was released so I had one before everyone else in my fifth grade class, and I was the cool kid in town and I loved it. The only game I had was Madden for the longest time which I didn't really care for so I really learned to research games I was interested in and follow them throughout development in this time frame. If I had to limit my experience on the PS2 to any one genre it would be Role-Playing Games. My brother introduced the Final Fantasy series to me with Final Fantasy 7 and I was hooked. At first the music of the series is what drew me in most because music has always been a part of my life, but I instantly loved everything else about the game the moment I got a hold of it. I am addicted to the idea of your character growing and becoming stronger as you progress through the story. This aspect is what still draws me to Role-Playing Games today. After Final Fantasy 7 I bought numbers 8, 10, and 10-2 in the series. I also branched out from the Final Fantasies and became addicted to the Kingdom Hearts series. Basically, the PS2 is the system where I established my love for Squaresoft, known now as Square-Enix. My brother also owned an Xbox during this time but I never really played it much due to the fact that it wasn't mine. I played Halo religiously for a while just like everyone else but my commitment died after the second game. Sadly, I never owned a Gamecube. My cousin did however, and with him living a couple minutes away, I was at his house from the minute school got out on Friday till the minute my mom picked me up Sunday night playing nothing but Super Smash Bros Melee. Since I was older during the lifetime of the sequel I had to opportunity to go to venues and compete in tournaments which is exactly what I did. I didn't get too far into the competitive scene at this time since I was still only twelve or thirteen, but I did go to four competitions by the time the game was winding down, winning three of them and earning over 200 dollars for playing video games. These results are probably what kept me in the competitive community and helped me realize that I could make money doing what I loved most.

With the current generation of consoles came tons more opportunities. Knowing what I learned from the last three sets of systems I had owned, I knew exactly what I was doing. The Wii was the first system I got due to the fact that Nintendo had played such a big role in my life and because the chances of Super Smash Bros being multi-platform were slim to none. I got my Wii opening day, camping outside for thirteen hours, in freezing temperatures, a week before Thanksgiving. At the time I wanted to die but the moment I got home, plugged that thing in, and used to motion controls to play video games, I knew it was all worth it. From the day I got it I started counting down the grueling 16 month wait till the new Super Smash Bros. Once it finally came out my calling was revealed to me. Being the game I spent the most time playing, Super Smash Bros Brawl is also the most rewarding game. Diving even more into the competitive scene of gaming, I established a name for myself in the Super Smash Bros Brawl community as one of the best Diddy Kong players in the state of Michigan. Obviously my choice of Diddy Kong was based on my love for Donkey Kong over a decade earlier. To this day I would say the Super Smash Bros series would have to be my favorite of all time. It is not the only game I devote my time and effort into though. Not even a year ago from now I finally broke down and got an Xbox 360 because I'm addicted to online gaming as much as anyone else and that is something Nintendo has always lacked in. The game that came out not even two weeks after I got my 360 and still takes up the majority of my time is Left 4 Dead. Me, my two cousins, and a friend all play the game together, and for a while it was just about every night. Mowing down masses of zombies while trying to escape a deserted city, river town, airport, or farmland is just about the most fun anyone will ever have playing games in my opinion. Taking what I have learned from Super Smash Bros, I decided to try to get involved in the Left 4 Dead competitive scene, but unfortunately it is still a very underground community that has yet to take off. Until that time I am doing everything I can to speed the process up.

This brief history isn't to say that these were the only games I touched in my lifetime however. I have been a longtime fan of the Zelda series, Street Fighter, Pokemon, MegaMan and many other diverse games. These games are just the ones that influenced my life the most. They helped me grow from the little nerdy kid sitting up late playing "just one more level" to the video game super fan that I am today. Also, the beauty of the whole situation is that there are thousands of games I have never played or maybe even heard of despite my fan-boy status. There are thousands of stories people could take from this one genre. Though I have always struggled to get others to see what I do in video games, as I'm sure every fan has, the fact of the matter is that games are here to stay just as my love for them is, and there is nothing any frustrated mom, ignored girlfriend, or put off school work can do about that.

Game Criticisms: The New Marty McFly

The debate of reviews versus criticisms presented in this sessions reading is an interesting one for many reasons. One because criticisms require video games to be viewed as an art, which is already a controversial topic, and two because of the question of whether or not video game journalism needs more criticisms and less reviews.

I may be bias due to my history with video games, but I have always agreed with the above idea and found video games to be a legitimate work of art. It's hard to not think this way after you play games like Okami, Shadow of Colossus, or any other game that's really innovative in regards to the game's visuals (and I'm not just talking about the best graphics, I'm talking about something that really explores uncharted territory).

Now, the problem I have with criticisms is that even though they are an educated work that analyzes a piece of art, I don't believe the video game genre is ready for that step just yet. For every room or class full of video game fans, there is an equal number that think everything about our hobby is other worldly or may just straight up hate it such as politicians who believe that video games affect our behavior (how often do you see people dressed up as a giant yellow ball, eating dots, and running away from ghosts named pinky and blinky). Additionally, even fans of video games may not see the genre as a work of art so they won't see any point in a criticism of Super Mario Bros. and how it's style and innovation affected the history of video games or how Call of Duty: World at War reflects the average Americans mentality during the World War era (I have a feeling that all the soccer moms playing Wii Fit fall into this category). I do strongly believe however that pure criticisms will one day have a future in the industry. As of now though, the world just sees video games as a product and will see criticisms of this "product" no more legit than a criticism of a toilet bowl cleaner.

Now moving out of the gloomy tone and to a more positive note, I do believe that criticisms do have their place. I support the idea that reviewers could use a bit more critical analysis in their pieces instead of just taking a simple yay or nay stance and here's why: gamers like me (I have to believe that there are people out their with similar tastes as me) are suckers for innovation. I love games that give me an experience I've never had before with anything in the field, and a good way to tell which games are and what games aren't is through criticisms. Specifically, an analysis of where the game lies in the history of video games or maybe how it affects the industry as being the first of its kind. A perfect example of this being being Little Big Planet. Game reviews main goal is to tell a person how good/bad a game is and an analysis covering those points on a game such as LBP would do just that, help push Sony's new genre of "Play. Create. Share." (which LBP helped launch), AND be classified as a criticism. That's a triple whammy right there! And who knows, maybe all we need to do to reach a place where video game criticisms will be respected is take baby steps to that ultimate goal.

Nintendo Let's Us Down, and the World Loves It

I was planning on touching on the subject of Nintendo and the hardcore vs casual gamer on my own time or in an open blog post but since the opportunity has so delicately fallen into my lap I say to myself "why not". If there were any one topic I would take up with video game developers, it would be this. This is the itch on my nose, the torn in my side, my bone to pick, whatever you want to call it. I'll just get straight to the point though.

A hardcore gamer plays games to beat them, be the best at them, or just get better. Casual gamers play games for just about every other reason like just to waste time, because it's the cool thing (who knew, right?), to lose weight (yeah, look what wii fit has done to the world), or whatever else they want. The only thing that unifies the two groups is that they both have fun doing it (they are video games after all), and that is it. Plain and simple. To the hardcore gamer though, the casual gamers are the enemy. Why, you ask? It's because although we may have been picked on, bullied, or just isolated by everyone else for playing games, what we had was a form a entertainment/genre/whole other world all to our self; something that was ours and only ours. Plus, they dare say that they're gamers just because they play Wii Ski or Carnival Games Wii. After all those years of out casting us, NOW you want to be like us? ...No. Another reason why they are the enemy is that as we've seen with Nintendo, more time spent on those lame casual games means less time spent on awesome hardcore games, and we need our hardcore games. Not only that but they are major newbs (get that spell check out of my face, I know how to spell newb).

More on Nintendo now. Though I may be young compared to others and wasn't around when they started, I have loved Nintendo since I played the NES. They offered the world new and interesting games on every platform and because of this, dominated the video game market. They had everything from Mario, to Metroid, to Donkey Kong (my personal favorite as a wee-tot), to Legend of Zelda, the list goes on and on. If you didn't have a Nintendo, you were not a gamer. Nowadays, pretty much the opposite is true. If you own the newest Nintendo system you LOSE gamer credibility. All because Nintendo decided that they were more in it for the money than the satisfaction of their fans. Every year E3, Tokyo Game Show, or any other big video game event rolls around, Nintendo always fails their long time fans and the rest of the world loves it because they are getting Wii Sports Resort or a new peripheral (heart rate monitor, really?). Even when they try to please their fans with something like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, they flop in my opinion. You can't create innovative games for years; make that your norm; and then just develop a game that has already been made on your hand held system, touch it up, call it new, and expect your fans to be happy buying the exact same game twice but with multiplayer this time around. My word count limit is running low though, so I'll just wrap up by saying I don't despise the popularization of games. I think it's a step in the right direction (the legitimizing games direction). I'd be happy to share my hobby with the world. Just don't let down the people that made you what you are in the process....NINTENDO!

Read, read, read

So the first reading assignment definitely had its highs and lows. The low being the reading from "An Introduction to Game Studies" and the high being everything but the reading from "An Introduction to Game Studies". In my personal opinion that book took a lot to say a little. It may have been because I read it while I was half asleep, but then again... it's the thing that put me in that state. All it needed to say was "video games should be respected as a legitimate field of study", throw out a couple examples, and then wrap the section up. Wham, bam, thank you officer. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for legitimizing video games and they're fields of study because they are a form of entertainment and an art, but keep in mind that those grueling 12 pages were just the introduction to the book. If you're going to talk about everything later in the book that you did in the introduction (which is usually the case) then why would you want to drill an idea into someone's head to the point where they are bored of the topic before the book even gets going? I understand that some people enjoy this approach on things, but it's not like I have the shortest attention span in the world so I could only assume that other people were thinking the same thing. Then again, we all know what assuming does.

The other two readings however, did keep my attention long enough for me to get through (possibly because they were shorter or possibly because I did it on the computer so I could check email, facebook, and everything else if I got bored). The argument's presented in the Video Game Style Guide and the blog, "Videogames or Video Games - What are We Talking About?", were hit and miss I found. Yeah, in order for video game journalism to be taken seriously it needs to be unified as far as spelling, grammar, abbreviations, etc, but I think people are looking way to far into it. Take the choice between video games and videogames for example. Spell check just popped up for one of them (no space), but they are both still technically correct in video game journalism and people feel we need to argue which one we should use. There are obviously arguments for each side but honestly now, who feels they are that connected to a word or holds a word that dear to their heart that they would be genuinely upset if they didn't get what they wanted? The whole debate just seems silly to me. Pick one and move on.

Introductions...

Hello everyone, Michael (aka MetaMeeks) here. Welcome to my blog. Over the duration of my Analysis & Criticism of Video Games class at U of M Flint, and possibly longer, I will be posting any and all of my thoughts, critiques, complaints, and anything else that goes through my head about video games. So if you enjoy games and have your own opinions about them, that's great and this is probably the place for you; if not then you may not find as much interest in my blogs as others, but you are still welcome to browse around and have a good time.

Just some info about me:

I am a true gamer. It is easily my biggest and best hobby in life. The current systems I own are a PS2, XBox 360, DS, and Wii. The games I play the most are Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter games on the PS2; Left 4 Dead, Left 4 Dead, and Left 4 Dead on the 360; Pokemon and The World Ends With You on the DS; and Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii. I am open to any and all types of games. I have at least dabbled in everything from MMOs to rhythm games so most, if not all, of my opinions have some experience behind them. I am also a competitive gamer. I am one of the best Smash Bros players in the state and I frequently go to tournaments and other events so I also have some knowledge of the professional video game scene.

Once again, welcome to my blog. If you have any questions, complaints, or concerns feel free to leave comments.