Wow — five months since a post, and I have a backlog of notes on the games I’ve played during that time. That’s pretty intimidating, which makes me think there’s no time like the present to write my take on GDC and the themes for games going into 2013. So, without further ado, here are my big takeaways from the 2013 Game Developers Conference. And if I had to some it up with a sound bite, it would go something like, “We’re HERE, We’re [QUEER/WOMEN/INDIE/NOT TRIPLE-A WHITE MEN], GAMES ARE OURS TOO!!!!!!” That made it the most heartwarming if uncertain GDC I’ve ever been to. Details within.
Spec Ops The Line Day#2: Into the Pit
Day#2 of Spec Ops is how I’m spending my time while trapped in the hurricane. (I was thankful to still have power, and I feel for those who don’t. Stay safe.) The game continues to be interesting subversive. It’s a very pretty game to start, in the sense that the level layouts are regularly new and striking. The narrative remains weird and disturbing amidst the fairly traditional (and sometimes unrealistically cheap) military shooting. I’m still curious about where this game is heading. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– November 3, 2012
Spec Ops The Line Day#1: Fighting Blind
So long travel hiatus from console-style games; planes are only conducive to things such as Super Hexagon and hotels are for web games mainly. But I’m back now and back on it. I will get back to Uncharted, but I decided to go for a shorter game first and picked up Spec Ops: The Line. I’ve heard nothing but positive things about the narrative in this military shooter, and that is a weird enough combination (see my comments on Modern Warfare) that I had to check it out. So my shorthand verdict: it’s a military game with a fascinatingly weird story. I mean both parts of that. It’s a pure military shooter, and the story is very weird in a so-far very good way. The story weaves strange disturbing stuff in between completely conventional gameplay. It’s disconcerting, and I like it. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– October 10, 2012
Stochastic Thought: Lost is a -3 (Why I’ve been away)
Hey there. You may have noticed a conspicuous lack of posting from me lately. Again, I fell into a television black hole. This time it was for Lost. I did this purely because I felt that it was too important a show for me not to have seen. I think I was right that I should have watched it, but it’s an uneven series overall. There are strong points and weak points. But Season Six is absolutely a miss and makes the whole series a -3 on my Midi-Chlorian Ruination Scale. I’m going to spoil like crazy right now, but I want to justify my selection here and also give people who are interested a forum to reflect or disagree. Spoilers (obviously) within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– July 2, 2012
Uncharted 3 Day#1: Revisiting the Past
So, another long time away due to travel, work, prolonged illness, general life chaos, and frankly, boredom with Arkham City, but we’re back with a vengeance with Uncharted 3. You’ll remember what I said about Uncharted 2 in a previous post, and I had no reason to believe that 3 will be anything but the same exciting, limited-agency, roller coaster thrill romp. And what did I find? Well, it’s basically the same as before. It looks good, the voice-acting is good, the writing is witty enough, and the game is still an only quasi-player-controlled thing. I like it so far, but very very often I wonder if I’m doing anything to influence the game at all. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– April 10, 2012
Arkham City Day#7: The Race for the Cure
Day#7 is just solidifying my opinion of the game. On the plus side, the core fighting and predation are good. On the minus, the narrative continues to scrap along the bottom of stupidity, this time by introducing things that the player hasn’t been prepared for at all and expecting you to buy it or care. And the boss battle this time isn’t as horrible as the nadir of what Batman bosses have been, it’s still annoying formulaic compared to the heights the regular gameplay offers. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– January 17, 2012
Arkham City Day#6: A Trial in Many Senses
I had a long time away from games as I watched all of The Wire recently (very good, by the way), so it’s a return to Batman with fresh eyes. Verdict so far is still the same: great moment to moment gameplay, awful boss battles, and dumb dumb narrative. There is one great story cut scene in this session, but overall it’s a gimmicky set of levels and the story is largely both obvious and ridiculous. It’s a relatively self-contained plot though and the fighting and predation are still excellent, so I’m hoping I can leave this behind. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– January 7, 2012
Arkham City Day#5: Night at the Museum
Day#5 is probably the most reminiscent of Arkham Asylum so far and that’s a mostly good thing. There’s a nice setting in the middle surrounded by an OSSIM predation scene and a couple of boss fights — one decent and one stupid. Still, it’s not even close to the stupidity of the bosses of the original game, which if you read my post on it, you will know I thought was the single worst thing in an otherwise excellent game. But, and I know I keep saying it, this story is just SO STUPID it’s hard to ignore. I hit my tenth supervillain this session — MY TENTH. Need I say more. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– December 3, 2011
Arkham City Day#4: Out in the Cold
Day#4 is I think the rhythm of this game, for better and for worse. I have to do a LOT of running around the world, and while it is less annoying than I found it in the first session, it’s full of tons of distractions that pull me off of the plot. And the plot itself is just nonsensically stupid. Thankfully, you can just ignore it and treat the game as a set of fights, stealth, and mini-quests. And as that, the game is very good. Or at least it’s very good until you hit the one room where you have to use an awkward mechanic or solve a hintless puzzle. Mixed bag I guess is what I’m saying. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– November 26, 2011
Arkham City Day#3: On the Catwalk
Day#3 is a return to form for Batman, and I like it. In the constraints of a limited environment (i.e. not wandering around the city), the brawling and predation really come to the fore, and it shows off all of the strengths of the franchise. I also get my first taste of Catwoman play, and that too is good. Even the local narrative is better, despite the fact that the story overall is quite stupid. As a return to form, this is exactly what I was looking for. Spoilers within.
Posted in Hardcore.
– November 20, 2011
