More Randomness from the Internet - Editorials

Omni takes a look at three issues he found noteworthy this week.

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More Randomness from the Internet

From NeoGAF, a thread titled "What the hell has happened to gaming journalism in the last decade?"

VictimofGrief kicks off the thread with the question, "What truly has happened to the objective journalism of games nowadays?" It's a specific question but in this case VictimofGrief is actually referring to game reviews, but it still got my hamster wheel turning.

I'd hate to read a truly objective review. Give me bias, give me opinion. When I ask a buddy if a game is worth playing, I wouldn't expect him to sit back and figuratively cut the open the game from larynx to groin, pull out its entrails, and give me the "objective" view. I'd expect him to say the game is:

Fun because...

Awesome because...

Crummy because...

You've gotta play this because...

Haven't played it but I heard it was...

And I don't expect game reviewers to perform an autopsy -- I want to know what they think about a game. Fortunately, there aren't many game reviewers out that that do that kind of thing. It all boils down to the level of trust you develop with

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the game reviewer. If they have done nothing but steer you clear of crap and point you in the direction of gaming nirvana, you are far more likely to trust what that reviewer has to say. (Maybe you share the same tastes, etc.) But if a reviewer constantly slaps gold stars on anything and everything, and you experience nothing but agony every time you follow his suggestion

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to, "Buy this game now! Buy two!" then you're unlikely to put much stock in what they say. Maybe their opinion is being "bought" via press junkets, trinkets, and shaving kits but who gives a rats ass when their opinion is not one you trust.

For those articles labeled as "Features" I'd expect a bit more objectivity seep in, even if only on the periphery. Hell, even some research or views from both sides of the argument to back up their article (i.e. padding) is great but lets not fool ourselves by thinking the writer is without bias.

From Mega64, "The New Super Mario Bros. Skit"

I won't wreck the ending of this brilliant bit shot at GDC last week, but suffice to say, it's a feather in the collective cap for the brains at Mega64.

If you're unfamiliar with Mega64 -- you shouldn't be, they've been reported on all over the place -- the basic premise is that they take video games characters and throw them into real world environments. What happens when Shenmue's Ryo Hazuki asks real people "Do you know where can I find some sailors around here?" How do people react when Agent 47 garrotes a target then takes his clothes? Does security think they have a mental patient on their hands when Frank West visits a mall to cover the zombie outbreak? Does the Resident Evil 4 merchant get peppered sprayed by the cops? It's definitely worth a look and they have a couple of DVDs available as well that are packed with extras.

From Sony's "this is living" campaign

playstation 3 this is living

Yes, that's a hand grenade he's taking away from the poodle.

While many of Sony's recent game commercials have been worth a laugh -- the Shrink Ray demonstration for Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters always cracks me up -- the "high concept" commercials are completely bat-shit crazy. I've had an aversion to high concept, "arty" films ever since the film class I applied for in university didn't want to hear about slapstick comedy -- they wanted the tragedy, pain, and philosophical pinning of the angst of bisexual quadriplegics who want to start a family of vegetables, I'm not kidding -- and "this is living" fits the bill. The console is only mentioned peripherally, if at all, in the slickly produced vignettes strung together, which have nothing to do with gaming except for the fact they make absolutely no sense.

And yes, other game companies are just as guilty for producing "high concept" horseshit, but if Sony wants to sell PS3s why not show the viewer what it's all about?

- Omni

(March 16, 2007)


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