Link Out (22/5/08)

May 23rd, 2008

shanghai city skyline

It’s another month and I have another handful of recommended readings to share with you. I figured that I’d also take this opportunity to make a brief apology. I must confess that I have been driving myself into the ground lately with this juggling act called life and as such I have been a little late responding to your comments and emails as well as putting out new content every 2 days. By the time this goes live though I should be well and truly back on the saddle. Thanks for bearing with me.

Also while I am talking off topic I would just like to say that I have been accepted into studying in ShangHai, China this September through to January. I will be living and studying in ?? district which is popular for its electronics. I’m very excited and I hope that this experience will allow me to talk about some interesting issues regarding video games in one of Asia’s most gorgeous cities.

As always, I have been storing some of these links since the end of the last Link Out which was over a month ago. So be aware that some may not be on the bleeding edge of gaming news.

We’ve won: get over it – The Guardian

With the release of Grand Theft Auto 4, us bloggers have naturally increased our receptiveness to the media’s portrayal of video games just to observe how out of touch they are with the average player. I’m pleased to say though that admist the RockStar bashing and parent protests a handful of major media outlets have actually got it right. One of my favorite such articles is this one written by Richard Bartle of The Guardian.

China’s Forgotten Gamers - ESkyCity

As I just mentioned I will be heading off to ShangHai this August (leaving in August, study in September) and if possible I would like to keep this blog alive during that time. If this is possible then I will probably write a few articles shedding light on the state of play in China. As a prelude though I found this article to be perfect for warming you all into the idea. :)

Abdullah’s Blogging: A Generation 1.5 Student Enters the Blogosphere

This journal is one that I selected for one of my University classes. The journal is a case study of a Somalian student study ESL (English second language) in an American high school and how blogging had allowed him and his peers to make the transition from a strong spoken language into a better form of academic writing.

This article as well as many others can be found in the Language Learning and Technology archives where there is a fantastic selection of journals. A lot of good reads in there.

Resident Evil Series Time Line

In my recent critique of Resident Evil Remake I mentioned that the journal entries littered around the mansion were so very compelling because it provided context to the haunting environments. This got me thinking about the series’ complete story, I had a solid idea of what had happened over the course of the series but I wanted to fully understand everything. So after a little searching I found a time line of the series which includes all backstory and journals featured within all of the Resident Evil games. Yes sure, I am spoiling the game’s storyline but considering that I kinda already knew what happened and was just after the finer details I don’t see a problem with it.

In anycase what I found was extremely comprehensive, I would guess that there is enough history here to fill an 80 paged book. So take a look if you need some more context. With this I have decided to play through the rest of the series.

David Hayter Interview

The man behind the voice of Solid Snake shares his thoughts on the Metal Gear series and his current work load. There’s a couple of nuggets of insight into the voice work behind Metal Gear inside which makes this worth the read. Hayter did also seemed quite immature in some of his remarks.

Wii Fit Reviewed by Everyday New Yorkers and Tourists – MTV Multiplayer

Being someone who previously sold electronics I always love the idea of having customers return to the store to tell me what they thought of the product that I had recommended for them. This article is similar to that sort of customer feedback. We should all be paying more attention to the critique of new players to games.

Prince of Persia Speed Art

I must say that I am impressed with the number of new, refreshing games being announced left, right and centre. It appears as though some developers may not be willing to wait until E3 this year to put all of their eggs in the one basket. This is probably a good idea too because it allows for better exposure. In anycase Ubisoft have recently announced a new, cel shaded Prince of Persia game which looks absolutely gorgeous. The following link shows how some of the conceptual artwork was made.

Other Links

Resident Evil 4 (PC Version) ~ Essential Enhancement Mods

Animal Crossing Wii Speculation and Hints Analysis

Pokemon MMO Being Made by Fans

Nintendo Australia Members Club Back in Action

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Resident Evil Remake Critique and Observations

May 4th, 2008

resident evil remake critique

Over a year ago now I completed Resident Evil 4 on my beloved Gamecube and much like a zombie waiting for the next brain to munch on, I was hungry for the next Resident Evil fix. With this is mind, a few months ago my brother was kind enough to buy me a good condition, used copy of the Resident Evil Remake on the Gamecube.

I’ve been playing parts of this game on and off for a few months now and last week I decided to lay this game to rest and finally complete it. As I was playing this game I noted several observations and points of interest, my account can be found below.

The Prior Expectations

There are numerous judgments and criticisms of the original Resident Evil games that are common knowledge among most of us. They are:

With these three issues kept in mind I decided to approach Resident Evil Remake in a way which would lessen the outdated pain that I was going to be dragged through. I had already experienced some of this with a PC port of RE3 that I nabbed a few years back and I wasn’t particularly enthusiastic to experience these dramas again. So my first remedy was to play guide my way through this game and boy am I glad I opted for the play guide. :)

Lets Get Dangerous!

So with guide in hand and preconceptions cast aside I began my RE Remake experience. Off the bat the bad dialog was readily apparent. But as I started discovering more of the mansion I noticed that there were only a limited number of instances with dialog so contrary to my original ideas there is actually very little voice acting to complain about. What was there though was poorly written and just plain cringe worthy material. I cannot understand why Capcom would re-record the voicework but stick to the original script. This damages the tension of the game, something that I’ll get to later.
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Capcom gets Narcy over Okami Flak

October 26th, 2007

When Capcom announced that they were bringing an Okami game to the Wii last week, I was really excited. Finally the rumours were true, goodie. Although my excitement quickly waned once I got past the news headline to discover that it was a direct port of last years PS2 game. I was even more disappointed after discovering that there was going to be no extra content, nothing. Just Wii controls and thats it.

Its not just me that is angry, plenty of people are angry. Enough people to warrant this post from Christian Svensson(Senior Director of Strategic Planning and Research) on the Capcom America forum:

“A few points here… I get the issues, I really do, but people seem to be missing a few things. We selected Ready at Dawn to do the port. These guys are all ex-Naughty Dog and ex-Blizzard, and they have already shipped their own titles that have ridiculously high review scores and sales (and have more on the way). Their attention to detail and technical prowess is among the best of any team I’ve ever worked with.

If we wanted a cheap and dirty port, I could have turned around and picked any one of 50 houses and gotten it done for less and perhaps more quickly. Clearly, that wasn’t the approach we sought for a variety of reasons (for the fans, for the reputation of our company, for the potential of the product, etc. okami artwork

Lastly, if this were a quick cash in, let’s face it, there’s TONS of other products that had higher sales on other platforms we could have chosen to port, quickly and cheaply. Okami, as great as it was, wasn’t a huge seller on PS2 such that its quick and dirty port would be assured “sales success” on a new platform. We picked a huge game (read: expensive, especially on testing costs), with a ton of moving parts.

So, on the contrary, we have a lot to prove with this game and I know we, and RAD are up to the task. I apologize if I bristle at the accusation that this is a cheap port, but I do.

Given that the only port we’ve done to date was RE4, which has a 90+ gamerankings score and provided AMAZING value for the platform, has this really been Capcom’s modus operendi such that this allegation should be leveled at us? Zack & Wiki is getting better reviews than just about anything you’ll see this year on Wii, except possibly Galaxy. Shovelware is not what we do.

As I’ve said in prior interviews, we’re getting the game up and running first. The game is enormous. If after we have everything working correctly, cleanly and as desired so as not to “break” the amazing experience that is Okami, we will worry about potential enhancements. As we are NOT at that point in the process yet, we are loathe to even mention any potential changes or enhancements for fear of disappointing the fans/media.

So for now, if you MUST assume the worst, assume that you will have an amazing 40-60 hour adventure that is one of gaming’s most impressive pieces of art to play in fantastic new ways. If you want to hope for the best, well, perhaps we’ll have more to say in a few months, but for now we’re going to have to ask for your patience.”

This whole topic is rather interesting because I think both sides are justified. This is a port of the original game, there should be some sort of benefit for people that have played it already. Resident Evil 4 players got a number of improvements over the Gamecube version:

Adas missions are enough to warrant another purchase of this title(they are extremely interesting). Don’t know what I’m talking about? Watch these if you have completed RE4 already: Part 1 - Part 2

Capcom also should not get so defensive when gamers expect more from them. They are one of best developers in the world(second only to Nintendo IMO), so a port like this really isn’t their style.

On the flipside, it really shouldn’t matter if there is little in the way of additional content as this game is already ace. Bringing it to the Wii only ensures that the title gets the attention that it deserved(like RE4). Capcom chose an excellent studio to work on the game, which was a wise choice as this one isn’t going to be so easy to port across. My final point is that Wii owners should feel content with what Capcom are doing for the Wii: Resident Evil 4, Umbrella Chronicles(new trailer here, it keeps looking better), Zack and Wiki, Monster Hunter and now Okami. Over half a year ago I was concerned about Capcoms commitment to the Wii but now I am completely satisfied. Its a pity that other gamers haven’t recognised this yet. :(

To conclude I think that the most interesting part of this kufuffle is this quote:

“Zack & Wiki is getting better reviews than just about anything you’ll see this year on Wii, except possibly Galaxy.”

Its not like Capcom to boast about themselves in such a way. So this is very interesting indeed.

So what do you think about this whole drama? Be sure to hit us up via the comment box.

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