The Rains Are Comin’ – E3 2008
July 13th, 2008
Tomorrow, the annual E3 expo kicks off with Microsoft’s conference followed on Tuesday by Nintendo and Sony (much in the same structure as last year). I get so excited by E3 each year that I’m thinking of holding back content for a few days as we’ll all be absorbing the flood of information coming from the show.
All of the bigger sites, as by tradition, have already put forth their predictions of the show. I’d like to do the same but try to keep it focused on a few ideas of my own that haven’t really been discussed yet.
Microsoft
I agree with the idea that most of Microsoft’s show has already been done, we’ve already seen plenty of content on Gears of War, Fable 2 and Banjo Kazooie and I think that the hands on feedback with be quite similar to the video impressions. Banjo Kazooie though stands out with uncertainty and should clarify how the new Rare is holding up.
Microsoft’s showing looks surprisingly slim and with many of their big games already being shown in video form, I think that they’ll need to step it up on all fronts to hold their own (as their 3 key titles won’t be enough). This means, confirming their status on motion sensing controls, announcing a new Xbox Live interface and banking on their timed exclusives (Rock Band) as well as the GTA IV downloadable content. Read the rest of this entry »
Link Out (7/7/08)
July 7th, 2008
The slighter longer time window between this and the previous Link Out has provided me with the opportunity to build up a slightly more varied and grounded set of links this month (or perhaps last month). In this time I have also embarked on another quest to seek out other like minded blogs (which takes a considerable amount of time, mind you). I would have gone through about 50-60 unfamiliar blogs in order to add the best ones to my feed list (with the rest on bookmarks). So I hope to share some articles from those blogs as well.
Of course, if you have any of your own suggestions for the next segment or just want to drop by a question then hit me up via this page.
MGS4, EGM, NDAs and YOU
Jeremy Parish from 1Up and host of Retronauts explains the issues surrounding EGM’s review of Metal Gear Solid 4 and the conflicts with Konami’s non-disclosure agreements. Supposively there is even a flash game set around this incident as well, ‘Escape from Konami’ or something like that.
Rock Band Best for Motley Crue
In a win for video games, rock band Motley Crue’s latest single “Saints of Los Angeles” which was released for download on Rock Band (the game that is) has sold 5x more as a downloadable song on RockBand compared to other digital distribution services (iTunes and Amazon).
OddWorld 5 in Development
As someone who casually delves in design (ie. the site design of this rather important site) I often pull apart media and critically assess how it was created. You know, to make me feel competent in design. OddWorld among other media is something that I have never understood in this regard. The OddWorld games just ooze an unsurmountable amount of creative diversity and pure talent. Simply put; you could never dream up such a world (universe rather) like OddWorld.
Not a lot of details to be said here other than don’t expect it too soon.
Prince of Persia Wallpaper Blowout
This new Prince of Persia looks phenomenally reminiscent of the majesty and craftsmenship of the original PoP games. I cannot wait to return to Arabia and familiarize myself with this naturally illustrated world. In the meantime though these wallpapers work a treat.
The Shootout Over Hidden Meanings in a Video Game
Several of us bloggers always laud mass media outlets when they put out articles which critically assess important happenings within our industry. This for us is so, so very important because it represents a success in the slow evolution for gaming journalism. Games writing needs to improve and the more articles like this we see, the better for us all. BTW it’s about MGS4, no surprise, har har har!
Articles Relating to Video Game Blogging and Bloggers
On the topic of games journalism there have been two very pleasing articles put up on GameSetWatch regarding blogging and games journalism. ‘Why We Write About Games’ by Chris Plante talks about his experience with game blogging and why it is important. In another article, Michael Walbridge interviews several of the most significant gaming bloggers (yeah I know, I was dissapointed not to have been contacted [/bad, self indulgent joke]). His results conclude the general yearning of change among bloggers. Both articles are essential reads.
iPhone as a Reputable Handheld console
My brother (who studies software engineering) attended a workshop which ran through the iPhone’s feature set and programming capabilities, now While the iPhone is yet to see an Australian release, this undoubtedly piqued my attention. Infact there is a lot of good stuff to be said about the console , particularly from developers like Sega and Maxis (it’s Maxis right?) who have been delivering high praise on the system ease of development.
There seems to be a complete disregard for mobile phone games including the iPhone within the gaming community. I’m not sure why this is though as there is definitely profits to be made in the mobile phone gaming market. The articles linked to discuss the potential of the iPhone.
Other Links
Breaking Down Casual Gaming Misconceptions – Infendo Guest Post
Zarathustran Analytics in Video Games Part 9 – Flaws in Criticism Today
Capcom, Sony, Media Debate Possible Reviewer Neglect Of Downloadable Console Games
Game Reviews: Critique, Subjectivity and the 10 Point Scale
July 4th, 2008
I have already put forth my own frustrations with game reviews but I would like to add a little more as I feel that there is still a substantial amount of work that still needs to be done on fixing the current make up of video game assessment.
The Reviewing Vs Critiquing Framework
For a long time this has been (and no surprises here, still remains) the crux of my argument for improving game reviews. The word ‘review’ doesn’t really work in this context as I am comparing ‘reviews’ to critique and the final product will still classified as a review. So lets give it a name like ‘Check Box Review’.
Check box reviews are reviews where a game is judged based on a preconceived set of builds that determine where the game falls on the scale of good or bad. There is a “standardized” set of these prerequisites which are often clearly labeled in the reviews such as graphics, gameplay and sound .
More importantly are other controls which are not spoken of but still greatly affect the outcome of a review’s text. This is the company’s/reviewer’s perception as to what formula and framework make a perfect game. This is a little tough to explain, what I am referring are the opinions that speak to you as:
“I’m a reviewer and for this I know what a great game should consist of and these variables are what I am going to measure my games on”.
Basically, as the quotation says, the reviewer is the person whom defines what video games are and he reviews based on that judgment. Unfortunately the reviewer is wrong as he should have no role in defining the experience, the experience defines itself. So when we add the already familiar variables (gameplay, sound etc.) in with this pre-purposed idea as to what exactly defines a video game then the result is this broken set of rules for analyzing games with the narrowest of perspectives.
Read the rest of this entry »
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