Who Needs Real People?

We all know the stories. Screaming 12 year olds coming through your headset. Manic laughter as yet another player repeatedly crouches over your corpse’s head. People with names like “1337Pwner1995″ who insist on shooting you, despite being on your team. All of it great fun, and only really came about with the dawn of online play.

We’re also all too familiar with games that seem either too short, or missing really cool armour for your horse, but that’s OK because it will come in the form of DLC. DLC that, unless it’s a Valve game on the PC, you are likely to have to pay for.

None of these scenarios make me happy as a gamer. I remember simpler times when I could sit with a group of friends and race around on Mario Kart in split-screen mode. The simpler era of Goldeneye where you knew you could see where the other guy was, but that was screen watching, and therefore very bad. In-the-room gaming hasn’t died, in fact it was one of the few things that I actually enjoyed about Modern Warfare 2, but it is certainly in decline.

We have reached a point when most people, especially those who play video games, have a broadband internet connection. A link to the outside world, and therefore a way to play with people who otherwise you wouldn’t be playing with. I’m not against this, it is usually fine, but often it comes at a price.

Take the aforementioned game from Infinity Ward. It was painfully short, and the story was poor, but this was defended on the basis that it had almost unlimited play in the multiplayer online world. This is not a one-off case, it’s been happening more and more, and it looks like EA want to make it worse.

EA aren’t exactly known for their truly amazing games, more often than not the good games with an EA badge were made out-of-house and then simply distributed by EA. Now the CEO of previously named gaming house, John Riccitiello, has made a bold statement, “In fiscal 2011, every one of EA’s releases will have an online component, both downloadable content and online play.”

EA have often had a “release it now, we’ll patch it later” approach to releases, so with DLC being a prerequisite this could get even worse. More importantly we might keep seeing games that are short, either because devs are being forced to find a way to make DLC and online play fit into a game which doesn’t have an obvious use, thus distracting from the important task of making a good game, or because they will feel they can make it up to players in the long run.

DLC isn’t inherently bad, neither is online play. Saying that every game you release will include them, however, is a dangerous path to start down.

2010
02/09
POSTED BY
Peter
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Death By Ninja

There’s always something fun about going to see a film that has received and almost complete critical slamming. There have been one star reviews galore for Ninja Assassin, but I thought I’d go for it anyway. I mean, this is a film from James McTeigue. He. for the uneducated, was assistant director on the Matrix Trilogy, Star Wars Episode 2, and made his directorial debut in 2006 with one of the better film adaptations of a comic book, the unforgettable V for Vendetta.

With my hopes of a resurrection of true narrative cinema gold crushed before I even entered the cinema, and having seen the trailers, I sat ready to be bored to death and be bathed in CGI blood. The second part happened, the first however, didn’t go as I had expected.

Don’t get the wrong end of the stick here, the dialogue is read with the energy of someone reading the telephone directory, the acting is nothing to write home about and what little plot there is won’t really engage you, but this is more of a B-Movie than the $40 million budget implies.

I never liked re-inventing the wheel, and I always love quoting the BBFC, so I’ll give you the synopsis they supply because it sums the film up so perfectly. “NINJA ASSASSIN is an action film about a young ninja seeking revenge on the clan who killed his closest friend.” That’s it, that’s the story. There are Ninjas, they are assassins, there is an assassin, he is a ninja. They fight. That is pretty much the only plot here.

To spice the movie up, however, and in true B-Movie style, you get action. Lots of action. And a lot of blood. How much, well, let’s ask the BBFC:

In NINJA ASSASSIN the violent battles between the main character and the clan he wishes to defeat are frequent and very bloody. Swords, knives, chains and throwing stars are all used to inflict injuries which always result in huge plumes of blood spraying into the air.

These plumes are, indeed, huge, and these battles are exceptionally frequent. I said that the dialogue was clunky and boring, but there isn’t enough of it for that to be a real complaint. The fight scenes are entertaining, in a very B-Movie way, and it comes thick and fast. It’s all a lot of fun, it’s all a bit silly, but it’s what you expect from a film called “Ninja Assassin”.

There is one last thing I would like to quote from the BBFC. Maybe I should start paying them for writing this blog for me. It’s about their classification of this film as an 18.

the BBFC Guidelines also state ‘that adults should, as far as possible, be free to choose what they see, provided that it remains within the law and is not potentially harmful’, and therefore ‘18’ was felt to be the appropriate category.

There was a time in the early 80s, amid the video nasties period, when a film like this would have been banned by the BBFC, but this time is gone, and this is, officially, not a potentially harmful film.

This won’t be winning any awards, it’s never going to score highly with a critical audience, but it’s fun, and that’s what you want from a high-budget B-Movie. That, and it isn’t illegal!

MTFBWY

2010
02/02
POSTED BY
Peter
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Films
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What’s In A Name?

Are you a gamer? Does it matter if all you play is the “latest and greatest”, your only real gaming pleasure are some obscure Indie titles, perhaps you call yourself a gamer but all you play with any frequency is Farmville. Is “gamer” a badge that must be earned or simply something someone can bestow upon themselves. It used to be a badge of honour, but now anyone can play a game should the hobby be more selective of who gets that name.

I had a few conversations recently that brought me to questioning the way “gamer” is used, one of which, perhaps unsurprisingly, was not gaming related at all, but actually what criteria someone should meet to be a Star Wars fan.

Should someone who has hated everything Star Wars since 1983, or worse 1980, be allowed to call themselves a Star Wars fan. Surely if you only like less than half of the theatrical releases, completely ignore any TV release and just generally hate Lucas and everything non-Original Trilogy, how can you be a “fan”? You don’t have to like everything by any means, I don’t love everything Star Wars, but I will accept it, as long as it’s real cannon, and I will at least give it a try if it’s something in the Expanded Universe.

So, do you have to like every game ever to be a gamer? Do you have to get some sort of warm fuzzy feeling when you see Barbie Horse Adventures, Grand Theft Auto IV and Farming Simulator 2010. Do you atleast have to appreciate everything. If so, take my card away, I am no longer a gamer. But the difference with games and Star Wars is that whilst there is a wide range of Star Wars things to partake in, there is even more in games.

Not just do you have to look at every different cosole, but all the genres and all the approaches to every genre. All the franchises, all the development studios, everything. There is no way you will like everything, but there is a prety good chance there is going to be something you will like.

My mum’s a big fan of Mario Golf, she has been known to take part in some death matches, and whilst not into GTA will have a go at Gran Turismo. Is she a gamer. Well, she wouldn’t call herself such, but she enjoys some games, so maybe she is. I enjoy gaming, I’m not a big fan of anything GTA past Vice City, I never got into Halo, and you can read on these pages what I think of Modern Warfare 2 or some of those Simulator games. But I have fun playing Team Fortress 2 (I’m even part of a team making a certain mod), I have fun in Counter Strike, playing Dawn of War can be an enjoyable experience, as can Defcon. I’ll play around in GMod, Goldeneye 64 still stays in my collection and is occasionally blowed on. I have fun with games, I play them fairly regularly, does that let me wear the badge of gamer?

Enough of the easy conventional “gamer”, what about Farmville or Mafia Wars. If someone regularly plays games like this, or maybe just picks something up on their iPhone/iTouch, Android phone, or any other sort of non-dedicated mobile gaming device. They play games, they have fun with them, they just don’t do it in what we would consider a “conventional way”.

But does it matter what the game is, are we going to discriminate against people who only play “Casual” games and want to call themselves “gamers”. They have fun, they play them fairly regularly. Sure they don’t qualify as a “hardcore gamer” but they game, and they get fun out of it. Anyway, it’s all fun and games.

MTFBWY

2010
02/01
POSTED BY
Peter
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It’s Raining Chaos

As I’ve been suffering from a minor case of death for the past few days I haven’t been out to enjoy a new film, instead I drew upon my collection of DVDs for some entertainment. This made me realise that last year I was silly enough never to mention Antichrist. Let’s see if we can correct that.

Antichrist DVD

Antichrist DVD

The story is strangely simple whilst mantaining quite complex undertones. Essentially it is a tale of grief. After the baby of a man and woman falls to his dath whilst they are locked in, shall we say, a loving embrace, the woman struggles to deal with her grief. The man is a therapist and decides to help his wife by trying to get her over the grief. He finds that the only way to do so is to make her confront what she fears most.

So far, so normal. The thing is, this is a Lars von Trier movie. Lars tends to take nice, simple, film concepts and do something with them which is new and exciting. We have, in this film, something which owes a lot to the horror films that came along thanks to the cheap availability of hand-held cameras. There are elements of the alone-in-a-cabin films, and, as anyone who has heard anything about the film is probably aware, it owes a lot to the torture porn movement

But whilst these are all over-used concepts lately, Lars does something new with this. It could be something with the wonderful way it’s been shot, the constantly changing visual style, with everything from high-contrast black and white to slighly washed-out hand-held and with fantasy scenes mixed in. Perhaps it’s the truly superb performances from Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Whatever it is, this film does something with established conventions, and makes a great film from it.

It is worth noting, before you go out and buy this DVD, that there is material that some people may find somewhat objectionable. In the interest of maintaining a spoiler-free approach to reviewing I won’t give details, but will let the BBFC have their say.

It is clear that ANTICHRIST is not a ’sex work’ but a serious drama exploring issues such as grief, loss, guilt and fear. The brief images of explicit real sex (sight of a penis penetrating a vagina during a consensual sex scene and sight of the man’s penis being masturbated to climax) are exceptionally justified, in this context, by the manner in which they illustrate the film’s themes and the nature of the couple’s relationship.

ANTICHRIST also contains two scenes showing violence towards genitals or genital mutilation. … The shot in question exceeds the BBFC’s Guidelines at ‘15′ … Even at ‘18′ the BBFC recognises that the scene will be shocking and offensive to some viewers. However, the Board is aware of no evidence to suggest that the viewing of this scene is likely to be harmful to adults. The scene is not presented in an eroticised or attractive manner and is not likely to encourage emulation or arousal.

So there you have it. The work is offensive, repulsive, and in some places close to being a “sex work”, but it’s not arousing and not harmful to adults.

All of this is mixed in with a clear sense of misogyny and images of death and the ruthlessness of nature are rife throughout the film, just take the appearence of a talking dead fox (yes, you might laugh at it when you see it) or a mother deer with a still-born fawn hanging from her.

All this is aimed at getting a response, and it worked. Undoubtedly not a film for the squeamish or those easily offended, but if you’re not going to run from something that would have been banned in the 80s as a video nasty, Antichrist is worth a look.

MTFBWY

2010
01/27
POSTED BY
Peter
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The Break of Day

So, a mid-week film review, I don’t do these often, but being associated with someone on Orange provides certain bonuses on Wednesday, so mid-week it is. The film this time round is Daybreakers.

The film is a vampire flick with a twist. Edging more towards thriller than horror, Daybreakers offers us a world where vampires are in the majority and humans are farmed for their blood. The problem is, with a shrinking human population blood is running out. This, rather understandably, is having a negative impact on the vampires, and a company is working on synthesising a blood substitute. Enter Ethan Hawke, or Edward Dalton if you want to stay in the movie world, who is a scientist, rather fond of humans, trying to get this substitute working.

Hawke plays a scientist at a leading company, doesn’t quite belong where he is, and has a problem that leads to him lying low a little. It’s not the first time he’s played this role (Gattaca anyone?), and it isn’t his best. The dialogue is fairly flat and the plot fairly formulaic. There’s nothing game changing here, but as a chase thriller, it works.

There is some nice humour in there,visually as well as in dialogue, including a vampire that is dressed suspiciously like a certain famous vampire. There are a few jumps with clever sound queues, although you can often see them coming.

It may be worth noting that Daybreakers has been passed with a 15 certificate, but only just. It has been granted the certificate by the BBFC for “scenes of strong, gory and bloody violence” and including “some strong language and a brief scene of female nudity”. It was cut by 6 seconds by the distributor to secure the 15 instead of 18, which should indicate how close it is was to being holding an 18 certificate.

There is plenty of the mindless violence and guts and gore to keep people entertained, should that be what they want, and there is a a slight look into how it is this society operates, and as with all films like this, a deeper reflection on us as humans. That said it isn’t that strong a message, and whilst the idea is greatly interesting, the presentation of it is less so.

In all it is a fun film, and it is likely to keep you entertained for the 98 minute runtime. Just don’t go expecting this to change your opinions of vampires. Oh, and they do a little more in sunlight than just sparkle.

MTFBWY

2010
01/20
POSTED BY
Peter
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The War on Drugs

The great thing about doing a university course on developing games is that you get to play games and call it research. The even better part of this is that as a member of the game development society (a founding member, no less) I have access to quite a few Steam games via the university steam accounts. One such game is Drug Wars.

Not the DOS game from the mid eighties where you sell drugs around NYC and try to make money, oh no. Whilst set in Brooklyn, that is where the similarities end. You play a genetically engineered neo-neanderthal who has been separated from his right arm by a chainsaw. As a replacement he has been given a new biomechanical arm that has many powers.

You may remember the outcry that came when an alpha release of the game was pushed on to Steam in March last year. Well here we are in January 2010, and it is a Beta version that we see on Steam, and so there are, understandably, problems. Graphical glitches, a lack of subtitles for the voice acting that is, in many places, unintelligible, and some unclear goals when playing, and that is a great shame, because beneath it all, there is a real gem of a game.

It is the first game from Paleo Entertainment, and if this is what we can expect from them, I have high hopes for the future. What makes this game great? It’s quite simple. It takes an imperfect game and makes it fun. In contrast to some games that give you high polish and nothing more, this game gives you joy without needing to be perfect.

What can be fun about a game you don’t know how to play? I hear my single reader cry, well let me tell you. You have a bionic arm. You can punch people so hard they explode in a cloud of blood. You can take a discarded body part, like a hand, and then use your arm to super charge it. Not just into something that leaves a faint, hand-shaped, red mark on an openants face, now a small, hand-shaped hole. No, you can turn a hand into a nuclear missile. You fill it with so much energy that it will explode on impact, taking your target with it.

Blood and mayhem are easy to come by in the game, but not in that “let’s shoot civilians” way, in that “HOLY WOW THAT’S FUN!” way. I wasn’t able to play the multiplayer with it, but I suspect running around blowing your mates up with their own hands could be quite enjoyable.

The game’s £3.99 on Steam. Is it worth it? Well, it’s hard to say. Having to pay for what is effectively a Beta release of a game is always hard to justify, especially a beta as buggy as Drug Wars. However it is great fun, and Paleo have said they are working hard to fix all the bugs.

If you can live with a few glitches, then this game will keep you entertained, it’s far from perfect, but who said you needed a game to be perfect to have fun with it?

MTFBWY

2010
01/17
POSTED BY
Peter
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