What Has Become Less Relevant (Return to Castle Wolfenstein)

August 16th, 2009

return-to-castle-wolfenstien

Last year I consulted my brother as to what PC games within his ownership ought I play in order to classify myself as someone well versed in the essentials of PC gaming. He provided me with a list and then I removed a few. To date I’ve completed Quake, Portal, Half-life (series), a couple of PopCap Games and Return to Castle Wolfenstein, which is decidedly less impressive to list than I originally thought it might have been. Oh, well, this is going to be a long expedition, so I’m just working on first person shooter games at the moment.

The only game on that list which I haven’t written extensively about is Return to Castle Wolfenstein which when I think about it kinda makes sense. I played Wolfenstein 3D as a kid and thought it was pretty funky, although perhaps a bit too puzzly for all the Nazi-shooting going on. After finishing Return to Castle Wolfenstein and thinking about this new Wolfenstein game (just titled “Wolfenstein”) I can’t help but think to myself “why do these games even exist?”.

Wolfenstein 3D layed the groundwork for an entirely new genre of game; the first person shooter. (Alternatively, it lead the way for Doom and Doom II which proceeded to lay the groundwork – either either) Return to Castle Wolfenstein on the other hand utilizes the popular Quake III engine and offers little else besides a largely uninteresting narrative to piece together a modestly fun single player game.

Maybe I’m missing the point here but both of these Wolfenstein 3D sequels (I am of course making assumptions of the new one) don’t appear to achieve anything that hasn’t already been achieved before, nor are they really doing anything significant within their own means. These sorts of pretender games which follow in the ripples of larger, more important games aren’t in anyways a bad thing. If you enjoyed Quake III imensely and further have at least some unflinching love for this dark part of Germany’s past, then sure, Return to Castle Wolfenstein is satisfying. Yet, if you’re a general tourist of the genre, then it all just feels a little tired. Tiredness, which I predict has only strengthened with age. That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy this revisiting of Nazi Germany, Return to Castle Wolfenstein comes recommended, but with the knowledge of its caliber.

While trying to pinpoint why I found Return to Castle Wolfenstein so anti-climatic, I want to also talk about limitations of the FPS genre. I’m not sure if these ideas make much sense, but they’re floating around, so I might as well share them.

return-to-castle-wolfenstein screenshot

I feel that my complaints may be tied to this larger criticism of first person shooters in general. The genre intrinsically has a lack of interplay between player and target. You move your mouse over some variation of bad guy, click, maybe click again and move on. Yes, there are tactics, such as moving and shooting, hiding, flanking etc, but the fundamental process is highly repetitive. Level design, AI operate as diversifiers here, they’re (some of the few) primary mechanics which play a major influence. These control knobs when turned correctly can make each confrontation unique and enjoyable, but in a title such as Return to Castle Wolfenstein it all feels the same, nothing is distinct and everything is boring. Quake or Halo on the other hand are always fun to play, even though you are repeating the same tasks over and over. In Halo it comes down to the construction of conflict which is designed to maximize impact and in Quake the level design represents a ghoulish character itself, giving the game another dimension to hold onto. Outside of these few variables, there is little diversity within the formula which is why so many modern first person shooters rely on new-fangled gimmicks (see here for examples) as a selling point. In reality though, most of these are artificial.

Ingenuity is ultimately what will bring this genre forward, but ingenuity is also very hard to achieve. Looking forward, it’s clear that the scripted set piece structure of Call of Duty 4 will be a continued winner, but racing elements in Rage or drop landing in Section 8? Perhaps not.

When Return to Castle Wolfenstein was relevant, these aforementioned issues were not (and hence it didn’t really need to do anything fresh, copying Quake III was ore than adequate) but with the genre slowly becoming the most prominent in the industry, playing Return to Castle Wolfenstein in this context where something fresh is essential in maintaining a presence, it doesn’t really hold up too well.

EDIT: Gametrailers has recently posted a retrospective on the Wolfenstein series which discusses the muliplayer element of Return to Castle Wolfenstein; the coo for the title, provides a much more balance overview.

Additional Readings

Planet Wolfenstein

Bookworm Adventures Column

August 14th, 2009

Column: ‘Lingua Franca’ – The Fun Of Language Development with Bookworm Adventures

Due to an influx of new columnists at GameSetWatch my latest Lingua Franca column was delayed by two weeks. It’s a pity because I timed it perfectly to balance out the lateness of the previous column as well as fitting snugly with the release of Bookworm Adventures 2 (which I covered in the piece). You see, this is the problem with me, I can’t cover new release material, and in the land of video game hysteria, Bookworm Adventures 2 is old by now. ^_^

I’m a big fan of the Bookworm series, so I was super pleased to conduct the interview, even if most of my ideas were dismissed instantly. As you’ll be able to tell when reading, the interview was a little awkward. Combine that with my dimwitted, anecdotal intro regarding the poor spelling and grammar of yours truly and I look like a bit of an ass. 😀 Anyways, I’ll leave you to judge that for yourself. Enjoy!

Additional Readings
Bookworm Adventures Deluxe – Linguistic Observations

Trigun Animated Series Impressions

August 13th, 2009

trigun-vash

The first DVD in the Trigun (1998) animated series comprises of five of the arguably best installments, kicking things off with an initial peak before settling comfortably into worthwhile. Trigun may appear misleading in this regard, warmly asserting the quality of writing and animation higher than it actually is, but I presume most animated series go through a wonky period where the producers are searching for a good balance of affordability and production. It’s just this one is a little more visible.

Trigun is compelling as it amalgamates a series of polar ideas together to create a familiar yet distinctively refreshing identity for itself. The main hero Vash, is dressed in a way which might have some viewers confuse him for the equally stylized Alucard from the (also popular) Hellsing manga/anime series. Both don the long red coats and wield guns with ultra long barrels, conducting themselves in a clam and sophisticated manner, but it’s here where Trigun diverges.

Vash is a pacifist gunman. Despite his ace marksmanship, he refuses to kill or even injure those who oppose him. When forced to play the reaper it burdens him to his emotional core. His personality has no vestige of hate; a pure soul who’s means (gun slinging) contradicts his ends (love and peace throughout the world). Vash only plays the ace gunslinger role when it is most appropriate though; when innocents are in danger. For the most part Vash’s personality switches between gentle, soft and caring, and self-deprecatingbuffoon with the most obscene laugh imaginable. His character is somewhat schizophrenic and colours the mood of the show, breaking up the serious action and drama from the comedic relief. He’s the device which achieves this, the one we all came here to see. When the two moods collide it also makes for interesting circumstances as Vash will hilariously attempt to avoid gun fire or shoot a round of lucky shots to cut himself a break. He’s skilled, no doubt, but his wacky natures subverts any perceived professionalism.

This latter point sets the scene for the series’ story. In recent times, a man known as Vash the Stampede has been causing a trail of destruction among townships on the dessert planet Gunsmoke. (As the name suggests, this series is steeped heavily in the wild west thematic). Originally Vash leveled the city of July. In response authorities placed a massive bounty over his head of 60,000,000,000$$ (sixty billion “double dollars”). As a run-off effect, bounty hunters begin searching the land in pursuit of Vash and the bounty on his head, themselves creating the destruction of which is believed to be the doing of Vash.

Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, two insurance agents from The Bernardelli Insurance Society are instructed to also pursue the gunman, so that they can evaluate and report on the actual events, providing validity for the innumerous number of insurance claims filed due to Vash’s wave of destruction. Initially, after following the rumour vine they run into a man who fits the identity of Vash, yet due to this subverted professionalism, they’re unsure as to whether he is the Vash the Stampede. After continually running into Vash and the ensuing trail of destruction, the two come to much deliberation, before decided that he is the “Humanoid Typhoon”. Later a traveling Spike Spiegel-esque priest tags along as a support, making up the main cast.

The central casts have great dynamics among each other. Meryl and Milly for instance balance each other out. Meryl is short-tempered and always looking for affirmation, Milly is kind hearted and accepting of others, believing in reason.

Each episode follows the exploits which…follow Vash’s notorious reputation wherever he goes. The premise is very simple, Vash is travelling from town to town, the insurance girls try to inconspicuously follow him and trouble abounds. Usually a moral is attached to said trouble. The confrontations are always made interesting as each band of bounty hunters are elaborately designed to accentuate certain elements of their personality. The personality ties into the motives of the character and hence a different facet of the overriding moral of the Trigun series. It’s all very well executed with slick dialogue and an above average serving of cel animation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dEYxSVVJxQ

Most episodes are self-contained, but when necessary the show will open into a multi-episode format to tell a single narrative. The entire run is mostly smooth, although there are occasional dips where the story and bounty hunters feel too iterative, but it quickly changes gears entering the later half.

For the early part of the series, the gun fights are played out without much consideration to why Vash, the pacifist gunman whom refuses to harm anyone, has been accused of such terrible acts. A past is peeled away at, but it isn’t until later that it is revealed, which is where things get a little weird. Randomly one of the episodes is set in space, where Vash and his brother Knives are discovered as plant-form humans and raised by the crew of a ship housing humans cryogenically frozen and ready for dropping on another planet. (Yeah, we totally messed up with Earth.) Rei, a young lady on the ship is the care taker and defacto mother of the two boys. She defends the normality of the children against disagreeing members of the crew. I think she is voiced by the same actor who did Hinoto in X. Rei teaches passes down her philosophies of pacifism and resolution without harm to the two boys. Knives believes otherwise, thinking that sacrifice is a mandatory part of resolution and hence walks down the path of the villain while Vash adopts Rei’s ideals. This point of separation is the ideological conflict of the series; resolution with or without sacrifice.

The backstory continues with Knives killing the crew (Rei included) and landing on the deserted GunSmoke with Vash along with a series of pods with the preserved humans. Vash, distraught from the Knive’s action and newfound tyrannical attitude towards Vash, shoots the maniac in the leg with a gun he provides (the same one he uses in the series) and flees. Some hundred years later, where Vash is now an adult, he carries out the destruction of July.

trigun-screen-captures

As the series enters it’s later half and Vash is challenged by the Gung-Ho Guns, a group under Knives who seek to harm Vash by forcing him to hurt themselves and others. It’s a No More Heroes sort of set up, with Vash facing off against the radical personalities. The Gung-Ho Guns bring to surface Vash’s more recent past, forcing a recreation of the July city incident (which originally made Vash notorious) where Vash’s arm, against his own will turned into a super cannon which destroyed much of the area. The reoccurence of this event (albeit, in a different location) is seemingly conducted by Knives, but the story doesn’t make this too clear, besides that it is all unintentional of Vash’s behalf – still, very weird. Teamed with accidental killings and inflictions of harm, Vash is haunted, particularly during this later half of the show. It makes him ashamed of his own creation.

This aspect of Vash’s identity cast him as the misunderstood hero, again; a clash of polar logics. He uses guns to demote the use of violence. He is a pacifist who has destroyed the lives of many people. His personality switches from serious to light hearted on a whim. These complexities craft a genuinely deep character, despite the ludicrous logic that he’s a plant who can turn his arm into a mega proton cannon. This history, while in some regards emotionally pulling (ie. his long lasting sympathy of Rei), is definitely a detriment to the series as it simply leaps beyond logic, becoming entangled in its immodesty. I enjoyed the series more as the misadventures of Vash the Stampede rather than attempting to elaborate on something which didn’t have to be played up to begin with.

Knives continues to toy with Vash’s personal beliefs as he takes control of GunSmoke’s populace and forces them to commit suicide. Vash then travels through a lull period while he grapples with his past regrets, once this is over, the series steadfastly approaches its conclusion where Vash and Knives face off in the final episode. Overall Trigun is a fantastic anime series which I thoroughly enjoyed, besides the weird, unnecessary parts of course.

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