We Should Be Talking About 'BioShock: Infinite'

Credit: MinecraftModerMan @ DeviantArt

***Warning: This op-ed will contain SPOILERS, whether vague or in-your-face. You have been warned.***

Last night, I received a very tired reaction from someone when I brought up yet another point concerning BioShock: Infinite. While they didn't make a spectacle nor a scene nor any verbal complaint, I was able to recognize that, to them, the conversation piece had become tired. And who could blame them? I had rented the game on Sunday April 7th and finished it at around 1:30am, Tuesday April 9th (seriously, it was that good), and hadn't stopped talking or thinking about the game since. That could be pretty exhausting to anyone, on any topic, let alone a topic on a game that only one half of the conversation has completed - they've seen major plot points and the ending, but haven't played it themselves, yet. So, I stopped bringing it up, if only to be fair.

However, I go online and find that the gaming community has yet to find the conversation growing stale. Honestly, I don't blame them. And it's important that they don't stop talking about it.

BioShock: Infinite has been available for nearly 2 weeks now, and ever since a few days after the game's release the gaming community has been a buzz over it. Whether it be talks about the different themes (racism, elitism, religious-zealotry), the necessary/unnecessary amounts of violence in the game, or the bizarre and out-of-left-field finale, the conversation hasn't stopped and certainly hasn't been without its differing opinions.

This is exactly why BioShock: Infinite should be shelved among the great games, at least of 2013.  While a game's mechanics and story, in the immediate moment of play, are important to how you rate it, what makes a game great is how it leaves an effect on you; how it leaves you talking and questioning, and wanting to play it again, even if just to clear up something about which you were confused.

Now, you might say, "Well, there are some games out there that are pretty terrible that people talk about all the time. Does that make them great games?" Of course not - see Aliens: Colonial Marines for a prime example of a horrendous game that people still talk about. It's not just the fact that conversation is happening, it's the topics of those conversations that really bring a unique light to Infinite. When it comes to BioShock: Infinite, people are talking about the stories, the gameplay, the themes, the ENDING!! Oh God, the ending! How much did that ending mess with people?

And that's really something that needs to happen more in video games; conversation. Good, productive conversation.

I grew up with video games, starting from 8-bit NES games through every console generation up to the present systems. Most of those games were nothing more than an attempt at making great entertainment, usually using puzzles, violence and/or tired character tropes. But, like many other gamers out there, I'm in my late twenties and I want to have my games mature with me. I want my games to treat me like an adult and make me think on an adult level. I don't want to simply be shown pretty things and flashy graphics anymore. I want something real, in-depth and intelligent.

More and more developers are starting to understand that. Games like Heavy Rain and Journey are among those that realize that age doesn't limit those that play video games. It just means that you, as the developer, need to give those older gamers something more than just entertainment. And that's where I feel BioShock: Infinite has really started to demonstrate the industry's grasp on this notion.

Why? Because they give intellectual themes. Sure, they might hit you over the head with these themes and maybe they don't give their players very much intellectual credit, but the point is they're trying. And because of that, people are talking about a video game's themes as much about, if not more than, the gameplay and the graphics.

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Here are the main talking points concerning BioShock Infinite as seen on the internet:

Violence
Anyone who's played an FPS (first person shooter) probably should expect some level of violence in another FPS like BioShock: Infinite. That's definitely past experience in the BioShock series of games, anyway. But Infinite turns it up a notch from previous BioShock games, which has put a few bees in the bonnets of some gamers. These people are feeling that the violence wasn't necessary and was nothing more than a means to draw in a crowd of gamers, who may never have played a previous BioShock game, who see video games as nothing more than a Y-chromosome action sport. These critics felt it cheapened everything that Infinite set out to achieve.

Then there are those - myself included - who feel that the heightened violence was a means to either A) distract from the underlying theme(s) of the game so you could be better blown away at the end, B) draw more of an importance to the ugliness of Columbia's society, or C) both.

Personally, I saw that the violence was necessary to show more importance on the ending (SPOILERS!!!), where we learned that Comstock (the antagonist) is actually Booker (the protagonist) from another universe. Booker runs around Columbia destroying everything in a horrid and violent manner. So, when Comstock makes a jab at Booker, saying, "then again, you've always had a talent for self-destruction," the player realizes it resonates throughout the entire game; Booker is essentially destroying himself, and doesn't even realize it. Thus, necessary violence; unfortunate to admit, but true.

Let's also note that Irrational Games, the minds behind all of the BioShock games, put in a little reminder of the disgusting nature of video game violence. If you pay attention to the ambient noise during fights, anytime you execute an opponent with the Skyhook, Elizabeth will give an audible reaction ("Oh God...", "Why?", "*groan*"). It's sort of Irrational Games' way of saying, "This may be a necessary thing to our story but this violence in video games is getting old, fast, and here's a little conscience to follow you around just to remind you of that."

Religion
This aspect of the game was one of the biggest conversation pieces, prior to BioShock Infinite's launch. It drew in people because we watched a "moral" land of the sky demonstrate how God hates all people of different creeds and races than those who are in the elite of Columbia. We saw how God anointed the Founding Fathers with a blessing to create a truly Utopian society and how Columbia emanates that. What we saw was a Theocracy at its finest level of manipulation.

The "Lady Comstock", martyr of Columbia.

Let's be honest, religion doesn't need to be in a video game for it to be controversial, at least not in today's society. People of different creeds and non-belief come out of the woodwork daily, spouting their opinions, respectfully or not. So, having it in this game isn't something terribly ground-breaking. However, when it's used as a means to essentially defecate on the foundation of the United States and everything for which the Founding Fathers fought, then maybe it does make things a little harder to swallow.

People got angry because it makes some people feel that creed is being persecuted. Others are saying it's a true reflection of how some in our current government are using God as a means to create morals for all people in the country, even if there are people of different creeds. And then there are those who believe that this was nothing more than a red herring, a distraction from what was really going on in Columbia.

Regardless, this was a great talking point that didn't have to do with violence and/or graphics. And I personally loved it.

Racism
Prior to launch, BioShock Infinite talked a lot about racism and religion as the two themes of the game; the things that truly drive Columbia.  Infinite boasts a grand level of racism and bigotry in Columbia as a means to create a massive superiority complex in the white, non-Irish members of its society. Interracial mingling is forbidden and "indentured servitude" is commonplace. And the Irish are seen as nothing more than factory workers sent to serve the higher folks.

This obviously sent a nice ripple through the world of gaming. "Why is there so much racism?" "Do they have no shame?" "How can they put this right in our face?"

Well, because while racism isn't as blatant in society now as it was before, it still was something very big during the turn of the 19th century. Therefore, it'd only make sense to have it be something important to a society that is hellbent on improving upon its "holier-than-thou" superiority complex; not to mention important in a game that takes place in 1912. No?

While violence, religion and racism were the main points of conversation, at first, the finale definitely made people realize there was something more important to talk about.

Time Travel
Now, this isn't the modern-day version of time travel where we'd expect to find a blue box popping up on the corner of a Columbian street. No no. This is the type of time travel where the universe is a living thing and if you tear into it, there are wounds. This is the type of time travel where choices have consequences and new paths are formed from said choices.

As stated earlier, it is revealed in the end that Booker and Comstock are one and the same, but are different versions of each other from different universes. Each are formed after one specific moment in time, where one choice creates one path and another choice creates another. The choice to be baptized and have his sins washed away was one choice Booker made, being reborn as Comstock. The other Booker chose to run from baptism, believing that his sins couldn't be so easily forgiven, let alone forgotten. After this, numerous worlds were born and millions more were born from the choices that followed in those worlds. Thus, "a million million worlds" were created just from that one moment. So, in the end, the only way to truly defeat Comstock was to remove him from existence. And to do that was to make sure only one choice was made at the point of baptism, the one where you kill yourself and never let Comstock be "born" in the baptismal river.

And that's really where all these different talking points come together, where conversation makes people question different things. "What was important to the gameplay?" "What was the point of religion and racism in Columbia?" "What truly happened in the end?" "Does the post-credits sequence mean Booker can keep his daughter and raise her without interference from Comstock?"

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With all the talk of gun violence in the United States and just as much talk of video games being responsible, it's good that we get more and more games coming forward and displaying the gaming community's willingness to think and be challenged intellectually. Finally, we're seeing something happening in gaming where conversation is about the story, or why something was necessary to help the story, not just about something that was there to help the entertainment value of the game, or how awesome it was blowing off a guy's head. Finally, we can say, "We understand it's violent, but in order to show how horrid a man Booker/Comstock is we need to show how he embraces this nasty side of himself."

Many people outside of gaming probably won't understand it, but this game, BioShock Infinite, is a huge step in the right direction for video games. And we need to keep talking about it. We need to keep hearing more about what someone thought of the Nolan-esque ending. We need to hear more about how religion and racism as themes were nothing more than red herrings distracting us from the truth of the matter. We need to hear more about how Elizabeth had verbal disdain for the violence we enacted upon our enemies. We need to hear more on how it was a battle between two men, that are the same man, fighting to be the right version of that man; the right version of the father for Elizabeth. We need to hear more about BioShock Infinite and games just like it.

Plain and simple, folks, we need to keep talking.

Elizabeth is one of the most realistic and engaging NPCs one could ever encounter in a video game.
Credit: gamereuphoria.com

G-Spirits: The Proper Gamer's Drink

Are you a stereotypical gamer?

Do you live at home, in your parents' basement?

Do you shy away from sunlight, healthy foods, hygiene and.... women?

Do you long for the taste of a beautiful, silicon-filled woman to be upon your tongue while you drink away your conscious thoughts of depressing loneliness?

Well, we have the drink for you!!

G-SPIRITS!! The proper drink for an improper world!

This is not an actual advertisement, but from the way the German brewer is promoting its product you'd think that this was the target audience.

"G-Spirits is promising customers that "every drop" of its line of alcoholic beverages has been poured on the naked breasts of a certified model - with her approval, of course." 

O.o
Seriously?
I mean, I'm all for a naked women being wet and there being alcohol involved, but this just goes beyond* ridiculous. It's like these guys took the greatest thing about being a stereotyped "loser" - being alone and, apparently, male - and using that as a means to draw them in. And which group still, to this day, gets the greatest classification of being a hermitted loser? The video gamer. So, hey, they've got to be the perfect target audience.

Let's see, we've got the demeaning of women down already. Why not take the next step, G-Spirits, and head to E3? That'd be the perfect place! Your target "loser" consumer-base is there and they're already demeaning women in the skanky costumes! You'll fit right in!! You can even have girls pouring booze all over themselves to show the process and no one would bat an eyelash, too.
*gasp*
That's genius!! I should be in marketing. It's that simple, right?



Hey, at least they were kind enough to make sure they got the approval from these women to do it. They were really classy about it.


Check out this blurb about it on the Miss Representation website.

*Speaking of "Beyond", please be sure to pass along your best wishes to IGN's Greg Miller who is battling cancer - Hodgkin's Lymphoma - and is going to be missing NYCC 2012 due to a port being surgically implanted into his chest. All the best to him.

IGN Made Me Think? About Addiction?

They've done it! It's finally happened! IGN has finally written an article that can't, logically, be seen as pointless drivel. It's actually more of an Op-Ed, but it's one of the better ones that I've seen on the internet, let alone on IGN.
Don't get me wrong. I enjoy IGN's content a great deal and I tend to look to them for my gaming news. It's just that their content is well... Let's think of it like Jim Gaffigan would, "It's all McDonald's. McDonald's for your soul. Momentary pleasure followed by incredible guilt, eventually leading to cancer. 'I'm lovin' it.'"

Anyway!

IGN. Yes. Article.

So, IGN posted an Op-Ed written by IGN Wireless editor Justin Davis. Who?  Yeah. I was unaware of him until now, too. Guess if you don't do the mainstream stuff or scream "BEYOND!" you're not likely to be known on the website, unless you write something with some heart. And this guy did.

Seriously. If you're a person that has come to hate life - aka the 99% - and has come to play video games as a means of stress release and relaxation, then perhaps you should be reading this little tidbit from Mr. Davis. Here is the link!

He basically talks about how video games can be a destructive means of "security" and protection from the outside world. According to Davis video games have a certain level of guaranteed accomplishment; that they give you a feeling that your hard work is paying off. I, for one, cannot see anything incorrect with this logic.

I mean, the basis of video games is to play something entertaining, whether that be manipulating RG3's rookie season in Madden NFL 13, or you're running around a dark version of ancient Greece, killing Gods in God of War. Either way, you're doing it because you want to be entertained, right?  Well, what if you're doing it because you NEED to be entertained? There's a new and troubling way to think about it.

The truth is, you want me on that TV; you NEED me on that TV.

Gaming as an addiction isn't a relatively new viewpoint, but the way that Davis words it - in an "everyday man" sort of way - is a bit more convincing than from a doctor who's never laid a finger on a controller and yet wants to put you down for your evil vice (shame). Personally, I can find a whole lot of things that relate to me recently for why I would use a digital world to escape the shitty one in which I currently reside. And frankly, I don't care.

I'm not running out and buying up every new game every week for $60 a pop. I'm not standing in line for 18 hours waiting for the latest consoles (just bought my first N64 the other day which doesn't work on this craptastic coax port on this TV but that's anotherrantforanotherdayohmyGodmakeitstop!!). I'm not ignoring work, my girlfriend or eating in favor of long term gaming sessions. Well, maybe the eating part if I'm really getting into a game and a I have to turn in a review by a specific time, but that's actually doing work. REGARDLESS. I'm not letting the controllers control me.

Either way, I'd say that if you do have a curiosity into the psyche of a gamer and you'd like to read something that isn't pointless opinion about why Black Ops II is the second coming, I'd suggest reading Davis's Op-Ed.

Examiner blurb!!

Hey, guys.
I know you're desperate to hear my opinion on something soon, but I have nothing at the moment. However, I do indeed want to point you in the direction of my Examiner page, which has been updated with a short blurb about the "Hearthfire" DLC for Skyrim. Check it out!
Here it is!!!



In other news....

Weeee! Pandas!!

You Are a Splinter Cell

Morning, all!

It's Tuesday, so that means there should probably be some posts going on in here again. Today, we're going to try something different. How about not hearing from me for a change, hmm? Okay then. Today's piece is brought to you by @xbmcxbox, or Xbox Softmod. They specialize in softmods on the Original XBOX.

***As a note, Gamer Cents blog does NOT endorse/support the modification, whether hardware or software, and sale of any gaming console - XBOX, 360, PS2, PS3, etc - as it is a breach of the terms of use to either sell these modded systems and/or use them in an online capacity.

However, Gamer Cents is a blog that covers viewpoints on different topics of gaming, modding should not be excluded from that.***

You are a Splinter Cell

The date was October 31, 2006. I remember because I still have the receipt. I had previously gone to GameStop and purchased an Xbox Action Replay Kit. At the time, it cost around forty dollars, but it was worth it for what I had in mind. I was planning to hack my very first game console.

I was fascinated by anything hacking, tweaking, modifying or reverse engineering. The first thing I ever hacked was the T-Mobile Razr, clearing space and customizing files. The discovery in hacking electronics always kept me curious. But I'm not a real hacker; the real hacker is the guy who created the Splinter Cell exploit. I just read and applied like most.

I’m thinking the hacker read the back cover of Splinter Cell and took it seriously. At the top right it states, “You are Sam Fisher. You have the right to spy, steal, destroy, and assassinate to ensure that American freedoms are protected. If captured, the U.S. government will disavow any knowledge of your existence. You are a Splinter Cell.” That was intense! 

Anyhow, I was going for the Splinter Cell Xbox softmod. This quickly struck a chord since I always like software and I was always tweaking my Windows XP every chance I got. Software is where it's at - hardware always came off as tedious to me - so it was cool that I didn’t have to unscrew the Xbox to hack it. Anyhow, I got home with the hardware requirements to softmod the Xbox and this is when I started cracking my head. The difficulty was all in the research. It had seemed as if no one person was capable of publishing a simple softmod tutorial and these days people still write in circles. The lack of simplicity in tutorials is catastrophic. One should take tips from the instructions on the back of a Pop-Tarts® box, like "Step One: remove pastry from pouch." On top of that, there's such animosity on forums; users are so quick to flame you. Just make sure to hold back to block. Eventually I softmodded the Xbox and learned how to install emulators and XBMC. The first game I played was Donkey Kong Country (SNES); I was so amped I think I did a barrel roll.  At the same time I felt like Sam Fisher; I had sneaked my way in and solved the mission. 

At the same time I felt like Sam Fisher; I had sneaked
my way in and solved the mission.

Some time afterwards, I stumbled upon an idea to simplify the softmod process for the newbs. I quickly put it up on eBay, promoting that Action Replay was not required to softmod the Xbox. It did very well and then eBay eventually suspended me. This caused me to branch out, I began a site and instead of Action Replay Kit, I named it the Xbox Softmod Kit. Eventually I would write my own tutorial that was rated "E" for everyone to comprehend. The idea was to help the new comers cut through the forums and obscure information and create a one-stop service to softmod the Xbox.

The Xbox Softmod Kit is still active today with a 3-day rental option and contact support for obscure questions. Needful to say, I created this niche and now there are a few others doing the same. A special thanks to UberDalem from GameBlips forever posting that video tutorial/review and to the one who created the exploit, you are a Splinter Cell.

Kinect: Better With Skyrim

Dilated pupils, Dovahkiin?  So, that isn't fog floating around you.

Well, tomorrow is Tuesday, the day of the week that always finds its way into the soft place in a gamer's heart, despite being in the beginning of the week.  This is all the more so with the release of the Skyrim Kinect Support!  Yes, it's finally happened where a main stream game has a massive update to allow great use of the Kinect controller-free system.  What about Mass Effect 3?  Well, that was the first to really utilize the Kinect but it was in more of a "hey that's neat" kind of way.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim options for Kinect seem to be far more in-depth.  At least, in my opinion.
Take a look at the Skyrim Kinect Support trailer:

That.  Looks.  So.  Damn.  Cool.
In addition, Bethesda, developer of the Elder Scroll Series has so graciously posted a list of all the Kinect supported words and phrases.  I'd suggest printing it. Hi, I'm the link!!

::prints::

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty nuts about this.  I even traded in my PS3 version of Skyrim for the 360 version just so I could utilize my Kinect a little more (it's been collecting dust as an exercise piece...)!!  Plus, it didn't hurt my decision that the PS3 version was still insanely buggy. >_<

One last bit... along with the release of the Kinect update, Bethesda will be giving an announcement concerning the first DLC (downloadable content) for Skyrim.  Oh, my nerd-dom has gone off the radar here.  I guess there's a small part of me that is glad that my better half is gone for the week as I fulfill much delayed gaming withdrawl.  She'd probably kill me if I were to start shouting at the TV while she's trying to do.... well, anything.

Devs Are People, Too!

A recent article from Gamespot has rekindled my attention to something that has been floating out in rumor land for a few months now, Next-Gen consoles blocking used video games.  This is probably one of the more important topics for gamers to pay attention to, but is kind of flying under the radar a bit, or is at least over looked a lot more than topics like homosexuality in video games.  However, when the topic does come up a good amount of the voices are those of the consumer exclaiming the selfish evils of the developers and publishers and their money-grubbing tactics.  WAAAAAHHH!!

You know what?  I too feel a slight stinging in my heart when I think about how much money I WON'T be saving if I'm forced to buy only new, unused games at full retail price.  That would make my purchasing habits minimize as well as minimize the bookshelf of games of which I'm slowly growing proud.  I don't want to have to deal with buying a game at full price, then, after an hour of play, realize what a horrid piece of refuse I have purchased and then come to find out I cannot trade it in for anything because it was part of the "non-resellable" games for the new Next-Gens.  It would be the end of all things for anyone less sane.  And let's face it, despite my mild temperament, I border on sanity and bi-polar pretty often.  And remember that there are many, many people who are worse than me and with louder voices.

There would be no doubt that a veritable shit-storm of cries, whines, bitches and moans would emanate from the victimized masses.  Panic and chaos would reign supreme at Gamestops all over the country as calls for refunds and credits would hail from the heavens upon the unprepared black-polo-ed customer service representatives.  Stores would close.  Walmarts would take over.  Uninformed game opinions would take over the internet.  ANARCHY!!!

However.

Despite the fact that the doomsday machines are possibly in the works with the Next-Gens, I cannot help but think that blocking used games is something that makes complete and total sense, from a business perspective.  Most gamers are hobbyists and play only for an escape from a rough day... or the real world, whatever.  And those people don't pay attention to the workings behind the machine.  They don't see the cogs; developers, publishers, distributors, etc.  They only see the game and the price tag on it.  Isn't that a bit selfish?

"Waaaaaaahhhh!!"  Why should I have to buy the game new?  Why do I have to pay for a code to play the game online when I could rip off the development company and buy the game used?  I SHOULD be able to buy the game at a cheaper price and give nothing to the people that make the game.  I'm a special consumer.  Waaaaahhhhh!!!"  Oh, good grief.  Shut the hell up already!

This is seriously the thinking behind many gamers on the internet.  They see it as "unfair" or a "scam" or some damn invasion of their rights to cheaper shit.  Well, it isn't (well maybe the invasion of getting cheaper shit, but that's not immoral).  It's business and it's a way for the companies that gamers love and enjoy to stay alive.

Let's face it.  Gamers have been ripping these poor bastards off for years now, especially with how long the current gens have been running.  Gamers go into a Gamestop, GAME, EB Games, etc and buy a slew of great games, used and at a fraction of the original, new retail price every day.  This does a world of good to the retailer but does next to nothing for the people that make and/or publish the game.  Shouldn't they be the ones that gamers, the "loyal" fans of these guys, be protecting?  YES!!

It's being seen all over the place.  SONY recently announced they're cutting thousands of jobs.  Developers are closing down and/or are being bought out by other companies just to survive.  Thousands of jobs are being lost in an industry that shows such great potential for progression and innovation.  Why?  Because the consumers are not giving anything back to these people.  They're essentially STEALING the products from under the noses of the ones making them.

Now, I'm not a developer (would love to be some day *dreams*) and I really hate spending 60 bucks for a video game, but I also am intelligent enough to know that if I keep buying used games, a lot of my favorite developers, and thus my favorite series, will be shut down due to lack of profit gains. I think that takes a little bit more prevalence, at least in my mind, than saving 20 or so dollars.  Wouldn't one agree?

Personally, I'm not completely for the ban of used games in the Next-Gen systems, but I wouldn't be outraged if it happened.  I'd realize that these people, who work the hardest for us, the gamers, need to put food on their families' plates, too.  Therefore, we should be buying new games, instead of used.  And if any gamers get concerned about buying garbage games and then being stuck with them, perhaps looking into a Gamefly or Blockbuster account may end up being a good solution.  Rent a game for a few days, decide you don't like it and send it back.  The end.  Not so hard, huh?

"But it's an inconvenience to me.  I want to worry only about me."

Well, get over it, and yourself.

Where is everybody?

Okay, while I've got some downtime at work, I just wanted to post something on here that was bugging for the last week or so, and something reminded me of it.

Maybe about a week and a half ago, I was looking to play something online, namely a shooter type and on my 360. I decided to go with Transformers: War For Cybertron. Now if you've grown up with the Transformers G1 series and want to see something that takes the horrid taste of Michael Bay from your mouth, then this is the one for you. Enjoy.

With that in mind, I figured, "Hey, there should be a decent amount of people still playing this, despite the fact that this came out almost 2 years ago." Good enough logic, right? Boy was I on the "dark of the moon" on that one (see what I did there?).

I went to the global options for multiplayer and local and found a grand total of 128 players online... in the evening! What!? Apparently, unless your game's title is Call of Duty or Gears of War or Battlefield, etc, the likelihood of your multiplayer function lasting longer than six months is pretty much slim-to-none. Seriously!? That's how fickle you guys are? Are we really at the point where playing a game that's barely two years old is considered "nostalgia?" Oy vey.

That's just becoming sad. Not only did High Moon Studios create a Transformers game that embodies pretty much everything one could want from the series, they created a pretty fantastic multiplayer that had me playing pretty heavily. Sadly, that's not enough in today's gaming market. You gotta be a big name franchise before people will play your game beyond a year's time.

Really, people? I thought we knew better than that. And honestly, if playing WFC is nostalgia, then what is playing Super Mario Bros. on the original Nintendo? Being in denial? Gah!

The Color Purple... Isn't Manly?

I was gallivanting through Facebook earlier and came across this article on The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/kristen-wolfe/dear-customer-who-stuck-u_b_1190690.html

Yes, the link is crude, but I'm trying out a new app for my 3GS for mobile posting, so whatever.

I honestly cannot fathom how a human, in this day and age, would actually consider an ass whooping to be a proper response to a child wanting to have a "girly" colored controller. Nor can that be an appropriate response to getting a game that has a female protagonist. I was always under the impression that playing a game with a hot female lead was always a good idea (reference every Tomb Raider game, ever, and Bayonetta). Perhaps I was misguided.

In addition, as a little brother to a big brother, I have to give major props (yo) to this young man for sticking up for his little brother, especially against his idiot father. I mean, yeah, maybe not all dads want their boys to show a feminine side, even in video gaming, but that doesn't mean you have to be a dick about the whole process. Slip your suggestion in, make your case, but then let your kid decide what they want to play. As long as the game is AGE appropriate, not GENDER appropriate, it shouldn't matter, right?

Seriously? "I'm gonna whoop you into shape if you don't pick something more manly," is how you get your kid to show more masculinity? Hell, you were even going to let a 10-12 year old play an M FOR MATURE rated game just to make sure he wasn't being "girly." Loser.

Honestly, folks, we could all take a lesson from this teenage, older brother. Protect who someone is, not who you think they should be. Gaming has matured to where all types of players, characters, and worlds exist. Perhaps maybe we could start thinking our real one could learn something from that.

BioWare: Synonym For Sexism?

Well, here we are.  It's a new year and a new day to be a gamer/blogger (after researching a bit more on blogging, I realize that I have a lot more to learn, but that's for another day).  And on this day I learned that I can get some really awesome perks when I pre-order my soon-to-be-owned copy of Mass Effect 3.  Imagine my excitement to learn that when I pre-order from Gamestop I'll be getting some really kickass in-game stuff.  Win, right?  Well, that doesn't seem to be enough to assuage some concerns from some in the gaming community.

Twitter has let me know that some people are talking about the binary nature of all the alien species in the Mass Effect universe. Kris Ligman, host of Dire Critic and curator of "This Week in Video Game Blogging"  on Critical Distance, set my Twitter afire with a discussion about sexism and sexual binaries in video games, namely Mass Effect.  I can't necessarily blame her.  Human sexes have always been split up into male and female.  It's that way in nature, too.  So, video games are made that way, too; male characters and female characters.  Nothing wrong with that, right? Well, if you think about it, we're getting into an age in which it is acceptable that sex doesn't define gender.  And yes, there is a difference between the two.  Sex is what you're born as, gender is more along the lines as what you define yourself to be.

 

Bieber is still deciding.

It's a guy.  Nothing wrong with that.

However, I can't help but think we're not quite at an age where games, especially those made by big name companies like BioWare, are going to introduce title characters that are not ruled by gender.  Granted, there are some decent hits in the past where you could find some androgynous characters (go here to check out the "Top 25 Androgynous Characters in Gaming" according to Ugo.com), but I doubt a high-end AAA game is going to want to make massive waves with a cross-dressing or highly androgynous main character.  And it's not because they think it's bad (nor do I), but it's more so coming from the fact that the mainstream audience of gamers isn't ready for that, yet.  And while I think that is a sad fact, I cannot help but think that it's the safe way to play things, for now.  Hell, BioWare had no issue with putting blatant homosexual situations (both female AND MALE!!) into Dragon Age II (kudos for that, by the way), so I wouldn't be surprised if they were to become the ones that pave the way for a new way of thinking about a AAA main character and its gender.  Hell, they did an awesome job with Bastilla Shan from Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.  She was hot in a powerful, "don't-f*ck-with-me-or-I'll-spear-you-with-my-double-bladed-lightsaber" kind of way.  And, of course, everyone loved FemShep, the feminine version of the lead character of the Mass Effect series.  She's so badass, Sylvester Stallone sits in a corner moping about how he wishes he was as badass. Neither Bastilla nor FemShep required cleavage to pull that off.

"I don't care if shit's going down behind me, I'm busy being a badass!"

In the meantime, BioWare is probably worrying about people's concern with the sexism that is seemingly running rampant in their newly released Star Wars: The Old Republic.

A bit of info on SWTOR:
You are a character that has a main story in the Star Wars universe, 3000 years before the rise of Darth Vader.  Your choices affect who you are and what kind of relationships you have with the NPCs (non-playable characters) in the game.  Those decisions could be romantic or twisted in nature.  You get to decide.

Amongst the more popular, or more prominent ones, are those decisions based around the Sith Warrior class.  The Sith Warrior has a companion (a little helper that you get along the way) that is a slave, Vette.  As a slave, she wears a restraining collar that shocks her at your pleasure.  Yep, you get to decide what kind of torture she does or does not endure during your travels together.  Personally, I find it amusing that games still have this sense of stupid power control available, but I guess it's mainly there in the hopes that the player will be nice enough to fall for Vette and remove the collar from her and advance the romantic arc.  However, that may not always happen, so BioWare had to create the options for those in the mindset of pure evil and allow Vette to be abused; verbally, physically, and emotionally.  For more on the subject, reference this article from Forbes.com for their writer's opinion on the matter.

Overall, this is just a small part of what some female gamers have had an issue with.  The bigger problem lies in the fact that BioWare's character creation is lacking overall.  Female characters have no real differentiation in size of bust or in curves ratio on the body, the main things that differentiate women.  And again, this is more so an overarching problem with the lack of options in the whole character creation of SWTOR (male creation included) than it is as a situation directed at female characters.  However, BioWare used this model format to dictate the whole of the Star Wars galaxy and how the characters would look.  Something that doesn't wear well on players and their significant others (yep, my better half really is not thrilled).  This, in turn, has left some people concerned that the good doctors at BioWare, Dr. Ray Muzyka and Dr. Greg Zeschuk (**edited this due to my incompetence over the Doctors' degrees**) haven't had the female gamers much in mind during the production of their multi-million dollar gaming venture.

"Yep, we're the ladies men you all think we are... Who wants to play D&D?"

Should that be the case, perhaps it's time for the good doctors and the BioWare squad to get together and find a means to draw in more female gamers and/or heal a few of the wounds inflicted by displaying a sign of good faith.  Perhaps a new trailer for Mass Effect 3 which features a very outstanding and brave female Commander Shepard.  I doubt any person would have a complaint about that.  Then again, this is the internet and expecting an unanimous approval of something on here is like expecting a wise decision from the Iowa Caucus.

Modern Warfare 3 goes for over $1700!? GAH!!

So, through numerous gaming sites, it has come to my attention that a leaked, early copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 went for $1,725 on ebay.

Let us have that marinade for a bit...





I'll give you a minute...





Just one more...





Okay.
REALLY!?  ONE THOUSAND, SEVEN HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE FUCKING DOLLARS?!  ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?
I thought it was nuts that people would spend something similar to that for the PS3 or XBOX 360 on their release.  Nope, the world has once again surprised me with its brilliance by letting a human being spend more than I make in a month on one, single game... 6 days early.
Yes, that grossly overpaid amount was given just so the idiot who paid it could play the game 6 days early.
I hang my head in shame at the thought that I share a species with this person.  Honestly, if you have the money to blow $1,725 on a video game then you should be doing something better with that money, namely for the people who can't even afford the game at its $60 release price.
Is this seriously the world that we live in?  I get wanting to get into playing one of the most anticipated games of 2011.  Hell, I want to be amongst those people at the midnight release.  But shelling out nearly 2 grand to do so?  Ugh.  That's just heart-breaking, people.  And we wonder why people are scrambling by trying to make ends meet on two jobs.
To the person who spent that money for a $60 video game... what the Hell is wrong with you?  Straight up.  If you have nothing better to do with that money then I guess you are a lucky, little bitch.  But you're still a fucking idiot.

Very Happy Holidays... To Those Who Can Afford It

Once again, it has come to my attention that I have a blog and I have been neglecting it, making it feel small and low about itself.  If I truly gave a damn about the feelings of an inanimate... Hell... intangible object, I might buy it something to forgive me.  Alas, I am not that kindhearted.  Yet, here I am, typing away.  So I guess acknowledging it is enough.

Anyway....

It has arrived!!  The Holiday Season!!  Or at least according to the advertisement companies it has arrived.  To me it still won't arrive for another 2-3 weeks, but whatever.  It's here and so are the games for which many a gamer have been pining.
Battlefield 3
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Assassin's Creed: Revelations

These guys are amongst the hot list for the console generations (and the PC guys who want to do nothing but drool at the Skyrim graphics) during the Holiday 2011 season.  You might throw Star Wars: The Old Republic in there, too (I know that I am going ga-ga over it since I've been following its development since the 2008 announcement), but with it releasing so close to Christmas (December 20th, worldwide) you might not be finding it being something that many will be racing to the stores to get at the last second.
For me, I find that this is such a cruel time of year.  Anyone who has read my previous ramblings will notice that I work sales... big money making is to be had there.  Therefore, I am not really in the market to be shelling out $60 a week on a new game, not to mention twice a week for dual releases (MW3 and Skyrim are releasing Tuesday and Friday, respectively, this week).
Seriously.  I would love to get my hands on all of these games; Uncharted 3 to complete Drake's quest, Assassin's Creed 4, to see how they FINALLY end Ezio's end of things, Skyrim... because I love the idea of spending hundreds of hours in a game and not even being close to done.  However, I cannot, much like many others out there.  And it sucks for us.  Those of us who would love to be classified as "Hardcore Gamers", but have to scrape by just to pay the rent, absolutely hate this time of year.  So many great games, too little time, and WAY too little cash to spend.
How long are we going to have to wait before we can actually find games, new games, for $40-50?  Are those days never going to reach us?  What about the days before Madden owned the rights to the NFL?  Remember when 2KSports practically gave out their NFL games for $20, brand new, and scared the pants off of the EA execs?  I do.  I miss that.  Not only did it make gamers feel like they could afford great, new releases, but it also made the market much more competitive.  But that's an argument for another day.
I guess my point is that this time of year, despite the Christmas music, lights and cheer that I love, I cannot help but feel low about my gamer status because I just cannot justify the spending of $60-120 a week for new games, just to keep up.  Please, gaming execs, I know you enjoy the heaps of cash that you may rake in from these releases, but please understand that we, the gamers, can't keep up with you guys.  It's maddening and saddening.  Emphasis on the saddening part.
I just want to be able to get paid a full salary for gaming.
Maybe I just need to win the lottery first....

Gamer cents, literally!!

HAPPY FOoooorrrrr not....
So, apparently, I suck at keeping up with anything when holidays come 'round.  It's true!  Just ask my family  O.O *ahem*
Anyway....

Admit it, your job feels like this...

I have finally reached what many would call a "weekend", which, to me, is just 2 days in a row in which I don't have to worry about showing up to work.  However, that usually ends up with me still showing up to work doing some meaningless bullshit service.  Today, it was just dropping off a prepaid phone from one store to another.  Joy!  Why should you care?  You shouldn't.  I just felt like letting you in on that small jewel of happiness in my life.

 *stews*..........


Speaking of happy.  You know what makes a gamer happy?  Buying cheap ass video games!!  Seriously.  I had the day off (as stated earlier, but in case you weren't paying attention it was stated again) and decided that I needed to go shopping for stuff for the relatively-new apartment.  Yes, Myriah and I are STILL trying to get the place spruced up with little knick-knacks (where the Hell did that term come from?) here or there.
I became increasingly depressed as my search had encountered no luck in finding something that was of decent quality for a cheap price or just not a piece of shit on four legs.  With this melancholy, I came across a GameStop, a Game Craze and a Target.  Inside these wonderlands of electronic, euphoric escapism (and Target) I discovered a great thing... deals can exist in the the video game world!!

Now, let's take into account the fact that NEW (as in brand-spanking new) video games are selling for $50-60 at retail.  That's pretty steep, and when you're paid minimum wage, it's easy to say, "HA!  You're crazy if you think I'm paying that.... unless it's a really cool game like Mass Effect... or Assassin's Creed.... or Gears ofDAMMIT!!"  But truthfully, I cannot find myself paying these prices anymore, so I'll take my elation where I can get it.

Squeeee!!

Today, elation was present when I was able to expand my collection for less than $8 bucks a game.  Yeah... that was awesome.  I was able to pick up Assassin's Creed for $7, Gears of War for $5 and Crimson Skies (the classic aerial shooter from the original XBOX) for $3.  Granted, these games are a bit old, and were purchased used, but they're still popular titles.  And any collector worth his salt (that's another stupid phrase I've never understood) understands that collecting can be expensive, so finding your right price is hard to do.  I'll take my victories where I can. 
Include the fact that I was able to pick up the ever-so-popular Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, brand-spanking new, for $15 at Target (cheaper than Gamestop or Game Craze) and I'd say that it was a good day to bargain hunt, especially for video games.

Total: $30 for 4 games that I love and highly enjoy.

Now, I've played all of these games before (except Oblivion), but I just wanted to have them on my shelf for the same reasons that people keep books on their shelves: it looks awesome to have the whole collection and to occasionally jump back into the story (or in this case gameplay) once in a while.  Can you fault me for that?  If so, I hope someone knocks you off your high tower.  Asshole.
So, to sum up, I'll just say this.  If you're a gamer that likes to get the gamerscore/trophies and you want to bolster your collection, only buy the games waaaaaaay after they've released.  Renting them saves you money and then down the line, when you're ready to add them to your collection, you won't have to worry about buying the games for a majorly over-priced... er... price.  Yeah.

To quote Myriah: "Yay! Monies!!"

L.A. Noire Review

Team Bondi's story sizzles and pops while gameplay fizzles and drops.

L.A. Noire has been out for nearly a month now, but that doesn't change the fact that it's one of the more popular games going right now.  Therefore, I see no reason why I shouldn't jump into the fray and share my thoughts on it, especially now that a majority of the "high" has worn off from the market hype.  And when you think about it, the hype really was what probably cost the game something... maybe.


When I first heard about L.A. Noire all I could think of was, "Holy Hell!! It's Grand Theft Auto but you're a cop! And, oh man, check out the graphics they're using to record faces for the interviews.  Sweet!!"  It was a high amount of hope that I was placing in Rockstar Games' endeavor to pass the developing torch to another group.  For the most part, I'd say it did well what it wanted to do (the interviews/story) but lost sight of nearly everything else.  Sadly, that's where I felt my hopes were not as well placed as I would have liked.


Let's start with the parts that really rocked, and were the major selling points of L.A. Noire; story and the tech that Team Bondi used for the interview scenes.  First, the story was pretty fantastic, overall.  I felt drawn in from the start and never really felt that I was confused.  The use of the random newspapers that helped to develop the back story were a great idea so that the player knew more than the main character, so it helped to drive some of the interviews that the player would later encounter.  A really smart way to go about making everything add up.  There were only two drawbacks that came about in the storytelling.  The World War II flashbacks that came up between cases were a bit confusing as to where they placed in the current story, especially the last one at the end of the credits.  Maybe I'm naive.  Maybe I'm a total dumbass. Maybe I wasn't really paying much attention after beating the game at 3am...  Then there was the ending all together... (I have yet to say this on my blog so forgive my enthusiasm...ahem) **SPOILERS!!!**  Seriously?  A semi-challenging shootout in the sewers that is left with the main character dead and a majority of the corruption left in the city?  GAHfdsiqongdjkalauy301298(*&&*%($*&#*#!!!  **END SPOILER***  It's like they didn't even try to finish the storyline with effort.
Now that's not to say that I hated the story.  I actually loved it and thought it was the best part of the game.  I honestly felt that the 1940s were happening around me.  It was completely believable and a solid performance was achieved by all the actors.  It seriously was a damned good story (you know... up until the end).


In addition to the story that did so well (for the majority of the game), Team Bondi used a new type of technology for their game that involved the game's voice actors being.... actors.  Seriously.  The actors got into make-up and hair designs and they performed their roles.  But, it was in a chair... and they were surrounded by cameras... and only their faces were the focus.  Why?  Because Team Bondi used both motion capture (that's the traditional stuff where little balls are attached to the body to use as points for scanning and making body movements) and facial motion scanning.  Yeah, they scanned faces for expressions and it paid off.  It was definitely an exciting thrill to watch the faces of people as you ask them questions and get answers.  Now you decide whether those answers are met with a "Lie", "Doubt", or "Truth" response from you the player.  Get it right and you're gonna know more.  Get it wrong and you're bound to look like a jackass, just so you know.  Definitely a great addition and well worth Team Bondi's money.


However, the novelty of the story and the facial expressions wear off over the 20-30 hours that you'll probably put into this game.  It did for me.  At some point in the Vice Desk, I started to realize that the story was driving the game, but the game wasn't really... fun? anymore.  It just seemed like I was more in a "choose your own adventure" book from my childhood.  But instead of choosing the next path, I just was choosing what answers were bullshit or fact from my Persons of Interest.  While that may seem like a nice thing to some, I felt that this game could have given more to drive away monotony of the game.
Eventually, you'll realize that it was the same formula over and over; get an assignment, get to the scene, look around the scene, question the people, chase someone on foot, shoot someone, fight someone, more scenes to check, ask some more questions, interview, charge, rinse and repeat.  That formula may change things up every so often with how those objectives arrive, but they still end up feeling the same.


Overall, I enjoyed the game for what it was, a great story-teller and a wonderful innovation in video games.  Game creation will probably never be the same thanks to this one.  However, like any good relationship, it's the small things that count and this time Rockstar and Team Bondi hurt our feelings by ignoring the desire for those small things.  Hopefully, they'll give us flowers, or some really nice DLC to make us forget about that little slip up.


Story: 9/10
Gameplay: 6.5/10
Replayability: 7/10

Overall: 7.5/10

E3, Stay Home...

Right now, it's a wonderful time of the year for everyone.  Blossoms are all over the place, the warmth is just right (unless you live where I live and the weather has bipolar syndrome), and the exercise nuts feel the need to be all over the place (especially the middle of the road when I'm on my way to work).  I feel like running down the street while singing "June is Busting Out All Over."  However, I don't think I'll be doing that, because, while all of those previous characteristics of June are pretty great, it isn't what I look forward to the most about the month: the Electronic Entertainment Expo!

"Booth Babes" are a rare species of female that only come
out during the summer months then disappear.

Yes, ladies and germs, June also means the start of the season of the Nerd, where every nerdy trend imaginable finds three to four days out of the year to recognize how awesomely lonely its participants are... unless you're a gamer.  Seriously, gaming is something that is getting sexier and sexier!  Awesome!  But that's besides the point...
Anyway...
Did I just hear "my hand wakes up when I do" while listening to the latest TOROcast? O.o  Still getting distracted. Sorry.

Okay.  The Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, is the biggest gaming event of the calendar year.  If you're a gamer and are all about the gaming news, not just the boxed products, then this is the event for you.  Nearly every developer and producer in the video game industry comes out to play and show off their stuff to make their stock holders either incredibly optimistic or insanely terrified of the next fiscal year.  Games that are coming out for release soon are having demos for people to play, betas announced and release dates unveiled (unless you're watching SW:TOR  >_<).  Basically, it's a big car show for video gamers, but you actually get to drive the cars that are on the show floor.
This year, E3 is happening in Los Angeles from June 7-9, with the main press conferences happening today, June 6th.  These conferences are where big heads from the different major players in the industry come forward and talk for around 1 hour about what their gaming system/company is going to be giving the gaming world.  I for one love the conferences because that's where you see the biggest releases.

Here's the list of the Press Conferences for today and tomorrow (all times are PST):
Today:

• Microsoft - 9:30am
• Electronic Arts - 12:30pm
• Ubisoft - 2:20pm
• SONY - 5:00pm

Tomorrow:

• Nintendo - 9:00am

Portable home gaming?  Hmmm... awesome? Yes!

Expect SONY and Nintendo to be the ones that people will be watching the most.  These guys have a lot riding on E3 this year.  SONY is going to have to give something awesome to destroy the lasting memory of the hack that left the Playstation Network down for about a month.  Perhaps that something will be focused around their new portable gaming system, so pay attention to that one.  Meanwhile, Nintendo will be the focus of a new gaming console.  "Project Cafe," as it's referred to, should be expected to get its proper name and details at the Nintendo Press Conference.

Overall, I'm pretty excited for the expo this year for a number of reasons, but mainly Star Wars The Old Republic (better known as SW:TOR) and Mass Effect 3.  I love the stuff that BioWare brings to the table for any of their games (Dragon Age II wasn't a complete failure, but it wasn't as well received as its predecessor) and am really anticipating both of these games' release.

Now, I know there's a lot more to E3 than what I've covered here, but life continues on outside of my blog.  So, I shall have more input later tonight concerning the conferences and their subsequent announcements.  Stay tuned.

Oh, and if you want to watch live streams of the Press Conferences IGN should have them streaming live.

You're Not Mature Enough!!

Could you even live to 50 in the 16th Century,
let alone be a badass Assassin?

Life is a grind, a pain in the ass, and takes hard work.  Sadly, that hard work can, and probably will, drive you nuts and there are few things in this world that make you feel better about having to accept that.  For me, I find release in gaming and reading about gaming.  So, after a long day of work and boring monotony I needed a lift.  Good news for me, I just got my copy of the latest issue of gameinformer (June 2011, issue 218).  I saw the cover that displayed what seems to be an aging Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed Revelations (I gave my thoughts on this recent game announcement in my previous blog post) and was instantly intrigued about this issue.  Regretfully, I didn't jump to that article, but decided to read from cover to cover (rare for me).  I only got as far as the reader feedback page.

Shut the Hell up and play your LEGO video games!!

Lo and behold, I come across the age old topic of "waaaaaahhhhhh, I'm 14 and I want to play Call of Duty: Black Ops and Grand Theft Auto IV, but my parents are meanyheads and won't let me play it because they think that I'm too impressionable, wwaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"  This time, it was a parent's response that I was reading.  It was in response to a whiny child from 2 issues earlier.  I gotta say, I was impressed.  This parent, Jason, had some really solid points that I agree with: age appropriateness, gameplay time restrictions.  And he and his wife are gamers, so they understand the fun of gaming all around.

I guess it's just experience from my days as a Walmart cashier that makes me bitter towards the "Prayer of the Children" (music nerds might get that reference) when it comes to playing adult games.  I would constantly get parents coming up to the counter with what would seem to be a 9-year-old in tow.  And in the child's hands?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?   A copy of Grand Theft Auto IV or something to that tune.  The parent, fully involved in his/her cell phone, seemed completely oblivious to the ESRB rating on the game's front cover that stated "M FOR MATURE," meaning, anyone who hasn't had their voice cracking yet, probably isn't ready for this type of game.  I made a point of explaining to the child's parent that the game is full of theft, guns, sex, drugs, heavy language and all around adult mayhem and was really designed for a player around the age of around 16/17 and up, unless a parent feels their kid is mature enough to handle it.  Side note: if you have a 9-year-old and you think they're mature enough for this type of game, then you need to have a lobotomy.  This Walmart parent was in need of said procedure.  When I explained the game to her, she looked at me as though I had insulted her intelligence (which really doesn't take a great deal of effort in this case) and "explained" to me that I was nothing more than a clerk and didn't have the right to tell her what games her child should or should not be playing.  She bought the game, left and I got reported.  Happy time!!

Now, I'm not violent, aggressive, vulgar, nor, by any means, inappropriate in public.  Hell, you might say that I'm an all-around great guy.  But you give me a video game where the main purpose is to run around shooting the heads off of (usually) helpless digital victims, causing as much destruction and chaos, murder and mayhem while swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain... and I'm a kitten with a ball of yarn (without the adorable nature).  What does that mean?  Well, for one thing, it may mean that I have latent aggression issues that I only let out when I play video games and need some sort of psycho-therapy.  I don't know.  Maybe it could mean that, like a lot of people over the age of 18, I have a lot of stress in life that I need to vent, hence video games.  But it's the fact that even though I play games that are violent and vulgar, I still look at the news or movies like Saving Private Ryan and cringe about how people have to deal with REAL LIFE violence that exists today.  That means I am mature enough to know that while violent video games are fun and stress-relieving there is still real violence that people experience every day.  That's something I learned from my parents and from my friends that go through the real stuff.

Any questions?

Now, "maturity" isn't always reliant on age.  I get that and I understand that.  It is mainly dependent on how you act and/or react to certain situations.  But (as a once-education-major) I can tell you that your mind is most impressionable when it's in the early stages, aka before 18.  If you're below that age and doing incredibly horrid things with sticks to cats, dogs, llamas, birds, neighbors and your parents, then you're probably not mature enough for these types of  "M" rated games.

There's no fun left in playing "Cops and Robbers

 Your maturity level isn't based solely on your own interpretations of what maturity is.  It's based on your actions and how people view them.  That means, if you're thinking that you're mature enough for something and most people in the world can look at you and go, "NO! YOU'RE NOT!" then you're probably not.  Therefore, to this kid (dubbed "GI Issue 216," so I don't get sued or any of that crap) and all others that believe that their parents shouldn't be telling them what games they can or cannot play, grow up. Seriously!  Cry all you want and tantrum all you wish.  Parents get the final say.  And guess what... eventually you'll be old enough to buy these games, so get over it and deal.  Everyone else did.  Besides, if you're not mature enough to follow the wishes of your parents are you mature enough to handle a violent video game?  The Magic 8-Ball says, "Outlook is doubtful."

The Assassination of "Interesting"

For anyone who has played or viewed someone playing or, at the very least, has heard about the gist of the first two Assassin's Creed games there is has been an expectation for an "Assassin's Creed III".  Why?  Well, because most game developers, much like the cinema nowadays, are making trilogies, not stand-alone games (or movies).  Apparently, Ubisoft, the masterminds behind the Assassin's Creed franchise, are no different.  They're looking to bank on that as well.  Sadly, their banking has perhaps brought about the slow death of interest in Desmond Miles and his exploits through his lineage's dark history.

To quickly sum up, Assassin's Creed (2007) was the first game in the overall story.  We were introduced to Desmond Miles who has been kidnapped by Abstergo, an evil corporate entity (seriously, is there ever a loner bad guy fighting a good guy corporation?) with ties to the Templars looking towards world domination, and forced to lay on his ass all day while the Animus, a machine that accesses memories of long dead relatives,  makes him live out the memories of his ancestor, Altair ibn La-Ahad, an assassin from the 12th century, which he has somehow genetically inherited.  These memories hold the key for Abstergo to gain a powerful artifact known as the "Apple", a piece of Eden.  In the Animus, Desmond controls Altair, learning the ways of the Assassin, etc etc.  Eventually, the Apple is found, but shit goes down, Desmond wakes up to an attack on Abstergo, flees with the assistant Lucy (an Assassin all along) and leads off into number 2.

Assassin's Creed II (2009) is more of the same (story wise).  A hacked Abstergo machine (similar to that of the Matrix hacking machinces) gives Desmond access to the memories of another ancestor, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, an assassin in Renaissance Italy (late 15th century).  Again, Desmond is trying to learn more about the Apple and where it is.  More assassinating and roof-jumping occur, but in better format, which gains more praise to Ubisoft.  Game ends and leaves it open for the third game.  Were surprised?  No. The surprise came when Ubisoft decided to take a turn towards financial stimulation rather than linear story building by releasing Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (2010).

It starts immediately after the conclusion of ACII and continues the story of Ezio.  While that decision did put a lot of fans on edge of anger concerning the overall story, it didn't disappoint as it played well, gave a nice continuation of the overall story and, for the first time in the series, included.... multiplayer!!  Stabbing computer controlled enemies wasn't enough.  Now we have to do it to each other. Fun!  I honestly couldn't complain.  I did enjoy hunting someone who was hunting me, too.

That game ended and left the AC Series faithful with a question of when Assassin's Creed III was going to release.  Then I started to see hints on the web about upcoming information concerning the next Assassin's Creed.  "Ubisoft will tell us where we're headed to next!!"
Sweet! Was it, Russia, like in the recent comic book?  Would it be in America?  Would it be World War II Britain or Germany?  WHERE?!  We're all anxious to see how it all ends!!

Constantinople.  And it's not titled Assassin's Creed III.  Nope, it's Assassin's Creed Revelations.  So who would you guess to be the leading Assassino?  Yep, good old, worn out, over used Ezio.  Again.  Ubisoft loves him... or at least their wallets do.

Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, but I'm growing very tired of the corporate machine that video games are turning into and this lack of consideration for the fans.  Seriously, I'd be really surprised by anyone enjoying yet another Ezio story line.  We liked ACII because it was a new and more interesting place to roam around and kill in than Jerusalem was in the original AC.  That became the draw for the overarching series, "where will we go next? What time period?  What place? What character?"  All those questions are still floating in the air 2 years later as we see that Ezio still reigns supreme in the AC series as we head into 2011.

It says to me that it (the gaming industry) has become more about the money than it is about making something that wows the audience and makes them happy.  Ubisoft is showing that.  They're keeping around a tired character so that they can keep the series alive longer and make more money rather than complete the overall story of Assassin's Creed and give the answers that everyone is looking for.  Instead, with all these branch off games we're asking more questions and still getting no answers to them.  Gah!

Can you imagine BioWare doing something like that with Mass Effect?  They'd be shooting themselves in the foot if they did spin-offs based on the characters you've saved before they released Mass Effect 3.  Madness, I tell you.

Hopefully, I'm wrong about how this will play out.  I'm certain that I'll play Assassin's Creed Revelations  when it releases and I'm sure that the gameplay will rock just as much as the first three did.  But I'm still worried that the story is what's going to be crushed and people will start to lash out for something a little more fresh in terms of the Assassin's Creed storyline.  I really hope that I'm wrong.