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Pause-Resume revisits all those games I stopped playing, and whether it’s worth the second run.
At first, I hesitated going back.
I remember the last time I fired up Demon’s Souls. I tore off the shrink wrapping and thought about how well the game was received. The adjectives used in the reviews lingered on my thoughts. Brutal. Unforgiving. Humbling. Rewarding. Continue reading
Leave your grudges at the door.
Remember being “forced” to do group work in school? After attempting single-player, it’s clear that Monaco wants you to play with a bunch of strangers you’ve never worked with before (unless you have the fortune of picking out your partners in crime). It places a heavy emphasis on co-operative play in the sense that “no man gets left behind” and everyone relies on everyone else’s skills. Any lone-wolves will find that attempting to work alone will only make things worse. If you’re thinking of picking this one up, be prepared to work with others if you want to truly enjoy it. Continue reading
From college grad to pyromaniac.
I was a young’un when the original Tomb Raider released, and even back then I could see that Lara was a blatant sex symbol. Subsequent games didn’t help my image of her at all; the Action Dress Rip in Tomb Raider: Legend comes to mind. This reboot, however, helped put Lara in a whole new light for me. As far as origin stories go, Tomb Raider puts on a great show, backed up with some enjoyable action and solid gunplay.
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Cockiness must come from somewhere.
The times, they are a changin’. The Devil May Cry series has always been about marrying slick swordplay with gung-ho gunslinging, all delivered by a white-haired trash talker who turns demonic when things get rough. Ninja Theory still delivers on that experience, but the presentation and tone of the series has undertaken a marked change. Not all fans will like the result. The gameplay is noticeably more forgiving, and Dante’s appearance has been given a complete makeover. It is a firm departure from the Devil May Cry of past years, but after casting my nostalgia aside, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the game exceeded my expectations. Continue reading
Daddy’s home.
Bioshock 2 is all about protection. In the first few moments when you realise that you are a Big Daddy, one of the most feared opponents in first game, you might think otherwise. Your initial inclination may be to leap feet first into a band of splicers and throw them around the room like a child having a tantrum with their toys. For the most part, this still happens and there’s plenty of action, but throughout the game I found that I was defending myself and a Little Sister against attacks, rather than initiating them. It was an unexpected direction that required a bit of a shift in thinking. It forced me to slow down and consider my surroundings, and it was there that I appreciated the compelling and detailed world of Bioshock. This is the highlight of the game, and it’s why I chose to see it through to the end. Continue reading
I’m still not sure if petitions actually do anything. (source: joystiq)
A few days ago, the R18+ rating for videogames was made official in Australia.
An R18+ rating for games is a pretty big deal. Australia does have an R18+ rating (and beyond) for other forms of media, but former Attorney General Michael Atkinson actively opposed and blocked any attempts at having an R18+ rating for games.
Why did he do this? He claims he did so “chiefly because it will greatly increase the risk of children and vulnerable adults being exposed to damaging images and messages.” The problem was that passing this legislation required a unanimous decision among the Attorneys General, and as long as Atkinson opposed it, the legislation couldn’t move forward. Democracy: fuck yeah!
After he retired, the legislation grew some legs. Despite a shaky start, federal legislation was passed, and several states followed soon after with their own complementary legislation. Aussie gamers quietly rejoiced, foreign gamers wondered who would want to live on an island infested with venomous animals, scaremongers reminded us how evil videogames are, and the rest is history.
It took long enough. Several American friends of mine were aghast when I detailed the censored content in the sanitised Australian re-release of Left 4 Dead 2. “What do you mean, there’s no riot cop?” they exclaimed. “And fading corpses? Whuh?” They could relate to games like the Mortal Kombat reboot, what with the tearing of bodies in half and all. Syndicate, however, was a bit harder to comprehend. Marc Ecko’s Getting Up was even more difficult.
Does this mean that my fellow countrymen and I can finally stop importing uncensored Asian localisations of adult games and start supporting local businesses instead? For new releases, quite possibly. There are still certain games that will be refused classification, such as games that feature sexual violence. Games that have already been released will be subject to a two-year waiting period for reclassification, but I doubt many people would be interested in waiting two years for a game that they most likely already purchased. Publishers would be equally unenthusiastic at the thought of going through the whole process again for some meager returns.
So, we’re finally in line with the rest of the world when it comes to classifying interactive media. It probably won’t be rainbows all the way, though. I foresee that kids are still going to find ways to get their parents to purchase adult games for them. I imagine there will be some games in future that the Classification Board will still be unable to stomach. I’m anticipating all those moral crusaders getting ready to shoot down the latest R18+ title corrupting the impressionable minds of Australia’s youth.
But this was long overdue. It’s necessary. Violence, profanity and adult themes are here to stay, so we may as well have a label warning us that it’s coming our way. If you can’t dig it, I’m sure we can at least agree that we can both exercise our freedom to choose whether to consume these products or not.
At least one thing is certain – the zombies won’t judge you. (source: bagofgames)
Before Telltale’s The Walking Dead was released, I didn’t think all that much of episodic gaming. I think I was jaded about the whole thing by Half Life 2‘s episodic strategy and its “release schedule”. Thankfully, this game has turned it all around for me. The Walking Dead delivers a fantastic experience that I actually looked forward to each time an episode was released. Certainly one of the more memorable games of 2012. Continue reading
