You know, being a male with zip social life and living in the age of gaming it's only natural that I'm, well a gamer. That is a duur fact, considering if I'm not uploading a Japanese song, or random spoof; I'm uploading gaming videos. Well, I know what you're thinking "But Jamie, I never look at your videos and you don't even talk on facebook so why are you even using it?." That's a good question.
The History:
One of the biggest problems of being a gamer in the 21st century is gaming preferences. Now normally, it wouldn't be a problem but this started all the way back when Ninetndo and Sega were going toe to toe, fighting for dominance. Nintendo has Mario, Sega has Sonic, it was down the wire. Nothing was stopping these kids. Then Sony released the Playstation with Final Fantasy 7. Aw Nuts. Sega went into a downward spiral until it became strictly third company. With Sony replacing Sega as the breakthrough kid, it seemed that it was remaining a two kid show. With the release of the Playstation 2, it seemed that gaming was evolving and Sony was in the lead. Then Nintendo upped the ante with the Gamecube, but the community got another surprise. The Xbox, the console brought to us by satan worshipers Microsoft. A lot of people quickly bought into this, seeing as how the Xbox gave us the first Halo and that had attracted a lot of people's attention. People went nuts, even though this newcomer wasn't able to keep up with it's big brother (Sony) and bigger sister (Nintendo), it was still successful enough to give way to the development for the Xbox 360. Or Microsoft just made it anyway even if the original Xbox didn't gain them any profit due to Microsoft being a PC company and they have cash coming out of their collective asses.
The year is 2006 and Sony and Nintendo were still developing their new gaming boxes, but Microsoft pumped their unit out first. Gaining the upper hand that they didn't have the first time around( and seriously, biased aside, they got it by default due to lack of competition). For about a year, the 360 quickly climbed the charts. . . . very easily and it seemed like this system was all the general populace. Then came 2007, the year where the console war sparked a new. Nintendo brought out the Wii, and Sony brought out their big overweight hitter, the Playstation 3. Unfortunate though, the PS3 was packing some new buffs and had a huge price tag following, so everyone looked at the 360. . . then eyes shifted to the Wii. 300 bucks? well hot damn, and that was all she wrote. Microsoft lost their lead to a cheaper, more innovative system. It stayed like this for a while, the Wii leaving the 360 in it's dust and the PS3. . . . . well struggling to get up the stairs.
Then 2009 came into play, with Uncharted 2 making way for a huge surprise. The PS3 stuck to it's protein diet and ran up and down those stairs and slimmed down. Showing off a new look and a new price tag, which the 360 had yet to match at the time, the Sega killer had spread it's wings again and began to soar. Quickly catching up to the 360 in sales, it seems that this is an underdog story. The Wii is still dominating and Microsoft is losing it's footing a head of Sony. Yes, the three consoles were dueling for our pocket funding supremacy.
The War Begins:
Something happened though, on a personal level. You see, the 360 had sparked something the day it came out. Complete arrogance, utter chaos. The console wars had begun, of course no one really knew until the PS3 and Wii came out. Everyone had rushed to buy the 360 when it came out, because everyone wanted to try something new, but they hadn't bothered to look around the corner to what was coming. They closed their eyes to the approaching tides, and that gave way to denial. Yes, everyone who bought a 360 began to twist their way of thinking, trying to justify buying a console that had made sure that until they got a job, they wouldn't be getting the other two consoles. This gave way to what I like to call, gametradation. The 360 owners were so desperate to claim top spot they gave birth to stupid internet memes, and 4chan( or at least this is my explanation for that stupid site), but this fight wasn't so one sided. The PS3 has it's own fare share of stupidity. Remember when I said that Sony pumped it's baby full of new gadgets? Well, people who were buying PS3's began something I like to call smugdouche. They became elitists, looking down on the system patched together with duct tape (referring of course to the 360's 60 percent fail rate). What of the Wii? Well, they were being played by kids and parents a like. They're not teenagers and young adults, they knew nothing of the stupidity that was plaguing the internet. With the Wii left out of the loop, the argument was strictly between elitists and retards. Both arguing the same thing, both unaware that they were more a like than they thought; like communism and fascism. So close yet so far.
Being in between was unheard of for a long time, until someone came on to a video game forum and replied with the exact words "I have a PS3 and a 360 and I love them both." Everyone ignored this comment and continued on about Halo being a revolution and that Rachet and Clank left everyone in the mud. This is where I come into play, see I obtained a PS3 first and foremost. I grew up with Sony and I'll die with Sony, it's my preference and so is Nintendo. I mostly stayed away from the 360, due in part for it's imaged being ruined for me by people making statements like "It has a bigger library so it's superior!" Why did this put me off? Most of those games that made up the 360's play list you could also get for the PS3, making the above a redundant statement. So I pressed on for a year, playing Disgaea 3 and Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; that is until a friend of mine let me borrow his 360 to try out Knights of the Old Republic 2. Borrowing Gears of War 1 and 2 as well as Halo ODST, I plugged in the 360 and played away. Carrying on, I purchased Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. Playing some more, I realized that Alan Wake was being released in a week and I'd have to return the 360. So you know what? I pulled out my wallet and bought one for myself. I came to a realization, I'm a hardcore gamer. I need variety, I needed something new, a challenge.
Thus I joined the ranks of the few that didn't care who made their console, they just wanted to play video games; like it was intended to be, free of the stupid delusion that just because they only had enough money for one console that means their console is the best by default. Does this mean I'm abandoning Sony and Nintendo? No, I would never do such a thing, they're still my preferences. Does this mean the 360 is inferior to them? No, but it's not superior either. The hardware may different, Sony may have better customer service and Microsoft may have better online gaming. The Wii may only be a party console, it doesn't matter. Gaming matters, in the 21st century where we have so many choices of entertainment; there shouldn't be any arguing. My PS3 plays games and so does my 360, the Wii plays them too. In the end it's all stupid and faulty, I could easily talk like I'm some Japanese wannabe and look down on 360 owners and how no one can surpass Nobuo Uematsu in musical terms( already did with Taku Iwasaki and Yoko Shimomura), or I could become a beer drinking delusional teenager who spends their free time stalking 4chan and making really dumb statements, but I don't believe in ignorance. Is one console better than the other? If they can all play games then there is no better one, just preferences and limited funds. Yes, console wars are dumb and should not exist. Until people can get past their insecurities then console wars will never disappear( Huh, personal matters being crossed over into something else, same reason why people talk about drinking alcohol is 'awesome' blah ).
So I just wasted an hour of my time writing this to explain why console wars are stupid, when I could be actually playing video games. Like I said, I have no social life and I couldn't care less. Gives me time to think and be creative. So have a blast everyone and remember leave you ignorance and insecurities where it should be, with your Commador 64s.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
"Ground control to Major Tom, can you hear us?" - Halo Trilogy Review
Yes I am listening to David Bowie's Space Oddity while writing this review. Can it and let's get this on the road.
Ever since I went multiplatform(my poor wallet), the first thing out peoples mouths is "Have you played Halo yet? It's sooooooo gewd wort wort wort!" This got a mild response out of me and curious as to how these people aren't on meds. Sufficed to say I sent out on a quest to obtain the so called Xbox holy grail, or bible, or mascot. Now going onto this I didn't have high expectations, I mean if you knew this was the game that gave birth to 12 year old 4chan addicts, would you? What I got was a vague, simple yet fun filled game that somewhat stood up to all the hype. Even if that hype is only cause it has multiplayer. . . . oooooooooooooooo.
Starting off with the first one, Halo: Combat Evolved; I could very clearly see why people ran over their grandma for this. Creating a controller layout that was, for most people, unheard of for console shooters, seeing as how all shooters were ports from their PC counterparts before this game. From using the two thumb sticks to move, to using the trigger buttons to shoot and throw some nades. This game was the game that changed the way FPS's were done on consoles. There are some of us however, that weren't exactly phased by this, I being one of them. Considering if you remember Goldeneye. . . yeah end of argument. That had an amazing button layout for an FPS, but at least I can appreciate what Halo set out to do.
The story of Halo is something to be desired, the first game doesn't really fill in the blanks; which from a marketing stand point is brilliant. I mean, look at stories and movies that start in the middle and then flashback, everyone loves the product because they want to know how everyone got there. Now before people start sending me links, trust me I already checked it out. Halo has a very good expanded story, even if the games don't touch on this in huge detail. Yes, I play games to play a story, because games are an other media of entertainment, I want game play and a story to convince me to keep playing, to see what happens to the characters we encounter, it's a sort of immersion that is given to us. To try and shape they story by becoming a part of it, to try out best to make it through another level with the squad intact. Which brings me to my next point: characters.
Let's begin with Master Chief, the semi silent protagonist of the Halo Trilogy. The character is expanded upon in the books, but what the players are introduced to is the man who's already been to hell and back. Now Bungie did defend this by saying that they wanted to focus on what was happening outside the armor as apposed to what was happening within, and they showed it, from the A.I. Cortana and her slow decent into rampancy, Sgt. Johnson(It's nice to see you again Sgt. Apone, I knew the xenomorphs couldn't keep ya down) keeping his marines in check, and realizing just how serious the situation keeps progressing, Miranda Keyes trying to live up to the legacy left behind by her father, the Arbiter trying to free his people and Guilty Spark being a total douche. It's all here and you witness it through the Chief's eyes. Now to say he's a cardboard cutout is a misconception, if you really look you can see just how human the Chief really is: everytime someone dies(In a cutscene) and I mean everytime, ol' John 117 does subtle movements, little gestures to show his hurt and his pain. To me subtle always says a lot more than Bale choking on his own vocal cords to say "Rachael" .
Moving right a long, the next question I asked myself was: Is the game play deep? Not at all, it played like every other shoot at the time, despite it's button layout. There was no accurate zoom in, no way to duck behind cover, not a very good crouch system, and the 'stealth' sections were about as stealthy as a fat man diving into a wooden shed; but those were the mechanics for shooters at the time. I let that slide, but by the time Halo 2 came out; Call of Duty had shown it's face and added some much more to the FPS genre while Halo was still just adding bits here and there to game play, by following the ancient rule of it ain't broke, don't fix it. Which is good and bad, good because Halo is already a fun shooter to begin with, bad because as other game companies were building cars, Halo was still polishing it's frame work, which in itself is another good and bad thing. Either way, Halo didn't evolve that much over it's run, even as the third one came out it was virtually unchanged from the previous installment. It's still fun, even if it doesn't require that much skill to strafe and fire.
The music and voice acting is superb, it's good to see Kieth David getting more and more work after Spawn and Gargoyles hit the shitter. Jen Taylor is excellent as Cortana, I mean come on aside from voicing Zoey from L4D as well she also voices Princess Peach, just proves she's got talent. Steve Downes is perfect as John 117, show casing that the man has seen a lot and that he's not afraid to show it. Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori have made an awesome score, the music is amazing and fits well with the pacing. From the chants to the chimes, it plays out perfectly and is one of the best video game soundtracks I've ever heard.
No I didn't play multiplayer, I've never seen multiplayer as anything but an optional add on. I'm not put off by multiplayer but when a game advertises itself as having a story, then I only care about that experience. For more information just look up Yahtzee's article on multiplayer(The Escapist.com).
All in all Halo is still a solid series, packing enough punch to keep you playing it, even if you take breaks here and there. The story is well thought even if you have to look elsewhere other than the video games, the characters are what hold the games together (best example would be ODST) as they develop throughout the series.
Does it live up to it's hype? Somewhat, even if that hype is only for the multiplayer. Did you need to be there in the beginning to completely enjoy the series? No, that ludicrous. Considering the game is simple enough to pick up and enjoy even if you weren't present at launch day. Is the series revolutionary? The button layout is for some, but that's where it ends, and if you're like me and have been playing games since you popped out of the womb and remember goldeneye, or perfect dark then it's nothing new.
The Halo Trilogy gets 3.5 stickies out of 5.
Gone are the days of me dreading an AI program like the HAL-9000. Ahhh Cortana. . . .you've proven just how much of a lonely nerd I am.
Ever since I went multiplatform(my poor wallet), the first thing out peoples mouths is "Have you played Halo yet? It's sooooooo gewd wort wort wort!" This got a mild response out of me and curious as to how these people aren't on meds. Sufficed to say I sent out on a quest to obtain the so called Xbox holy grail, or bible, or mascot. Now going onto this I didn't have high expectations, I mean if you knew this was the game that gave birth to 12 year old 4chan addicts, would you? What I got was a vague, simple yet fun filled game that somewhat stood up to all the hype. Even if that hype is only cause it has multiplayer. . . . oooooooooooooooo.
Starting off with the first one, Halo: Combat Evolved; I could very clearly see why people ran over their grandma for this. Creating a controller layout that was, for most people, unheard of for console shooters, seeing as how all shooters were ports from their PC counterparts before this game. From using the two thumb sticks to move, to using the trigger buttons to shoot and throw some nades. This game was the game that changed the way FPS's were done on consoles. There are some of us however, that weren't exactly phased by this, I being one of them. Considering if you remember Goldeneye. . . yeah end of argument. That had an amazing button layout for an FPS, but at least I can appreciate what Halo set out to do.
The story of Halo is something to be desired, the first game doesn't really fill in the blanks; which from a marketing stand point is brilliant. I mean, look at stories and movies that start in the middle and then flashback, everyone loves the product because they want to know how everyone got there. Now before people start sending me links, trust me I already checked it out. Halo has a very good expanded story, even if the games don't touch on this in huge detail. Yes, I play games to play a story, because games are an other media of entertainment, I want game play and a story to convince me to keep playing, to see what happens to the characters we encounter, it's a sort of immersion that is given to us. To try and shape they story by becoming a part of it, to try out best to make it through another level with the squad intact. Which brings me to my next point: characters.
Let's begin with Master Chief, the semi silent protagonist of the Halo Trilogy. The character is expanded upon in the books, but what the players are introduced to is the man who's already been to hell and back. Now Bungie did defend this by saying that they wanted to focus on what was happening outside the armor as apposed to what was happening within, and they showed it, from the A.I. Cortana and her slow decent into rampancy, Sgt. Johnson(It's nice to see you again Sgt. Apone, I knew the xenomorphs couldn't keep ya down) keeping his marines in check, and realizing just how serious the situation keeps progressing, Miranda Keyes trying to live up to the legacy left behind by her father, the Arbiter trying to free his people and Guilty Spark being a total douche. It's all here and you witness it through the Chief's eyes. Now to say he's a cardboard cutout is a misconception, if you really look you can see just how human the Chief really is: everytime someone dies(In a cutscene) and I mean everytime, ol' John 117 does subtle movements, little gestures to show his hurt and his pain. To me subtle always says a lot more than Bale choking on his own vocal cords to say "Rachael" .
Moving right a long, the next question I asked myself was: Is the game play deep? Not at all, it played like every other shoot at the time, despite it's button layout. There was no accurate zoom in, no way to duck behind cover, not a very good crouch system, and the 'stealth' sections were about as stealthy as a fat man diving into a wooden shed; but those were the mechanics for shooters at the time. I let that slide, but by the time Halo 2 came out; Call of Duty had shown it's face and added some much more to the FPS genre while Halo was still just adding bits here and there to game play, by following the ancient rule of it ain't broke, don't fix it. Which is good and bad, good because Halo is already a fun shooter to begin with, bad because as other game companies were building cars, Halo was still polishing it's frame work, which in itself is another good and bad thing. Either way, Halo didn't evolve that much over it's run, even as the third one came out it was virtually unchanged from the previous installment. It's still fun, even if it doesn't require that much skill to strafe and fire.
The music and voice acting is superb, it's good to see Kieth David getting more and more work after Spawn and Gargoyles hit the shitter. Jen Taylor is excellent as Cortana, I mean come on aside from voicing Zoey from L4D as well she also voices Princess Peach, just proves she's got talent. Steve Downes is perfect as John 117, show casing that the man has seen a lot and that he's not afraid to show it. Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori have made an awesome score, the music is amazing and fits well with the pacing. From the chants to the chimes, it plays out perfectly and is one of the best video game soundtracks I've ever heard.
No I didn't play multiplayer, I've never seen multiplayer as anything but an optional add on. I'm not put off by multiplayer but when a game advertises itself as having a story, then I only care about that experience. For more information just look up Yahtzee's article on multiplayer(The Escapist.com).
All in all Halo is still a solid series, packing enough punch to keep you playing it, even if you take breaks here and there. The story is well thought even if you have to look elsewhere other than the video games, the characters are what hold the games together (best example would be ODST) as they develop throughout the series.
Does it live up to it's hype? Somewhat, even if that hype is only for the multiplayer. Did you need to be there in the beginning to completely enjoy the series? No, that ludicrous. Considering the game is simple enough to pick up and enjoy even if you weren't present at launch day. Is the series revolutionary? The button layout is for some, but that's where it ends, and if you're like me and have been playing games since you popped out of the womb and remember goldeneye, or perfect dark then it's nothing new.
The Halo Trilogy gets 3.5 stickies out of 5.
Gone are the days of me dreading an AI program like the HAL-9000. Ahhh Cortana. . . .you've proven just how much of a lonely nerd I am.
Introduction and shallow pool parties
So here I am, 10:17 at night with my itunes on shuffle and wondering what to do. My ps3 and 360 slowly collecting dust beside, I finally decided to upload my blog. This is merely a stepping stone for what is to come, some days I'll just be putting up some random crap and the rest? Reviews, previews on movies and games. In fact I might upload on of my recent interviews onto this blog just to get things started.
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