Resident Evil 5 Review

I've been playing Resident Evil 5 for the past two days now, and I'm torn. The game had the potential to stand as a seminal title of the Biohazard series and of the current console generation, but a few fatal flaws have relegated the title to simply, "A great video game". RE5 demands a lot of the player in terms of patience - and I'm not referring to the controls. Too often am I asked to bear with convoluted boss encounters, idiotic ally A.I. and a few broken mechanics. I could recall hundreds of anectodes during gameplay, but the point stands - there are some moments where Resident Evil 5 simply doesn't feel like a good game. Now that I have your attention, I'd like to make it clear, those moments can be few and far between and (depending on your opinions and expectations) they may never make themselves obvious.

Capcom has done something wonderful with the game's environment. Graphically, I was disarmingly astonished by the games achievements. Not only are the weapon and character models great, but the environment wreaks of a sordid mood which enhances the experience. From time to time, (and most notably in the Cavernesque underground city) you'll exit a tunnel or small room and be rewarded with a stunning view, which will make you forget you're playing a horror/survival game. Reuben Langdon, the motion-capture director for RE5, has claimed he wanted the game to reach a cinematic and Hollywood-esque zenith. With that in mind Resident Evil 5 can be considered an accolade in bridging the gap between video game and high-budget motion picture. Some of the game's quick-time events and cinematics will keep your mouth ajar for minutes - I assure you.


I played Resident Evil 5 both with a friend and alone. I essentially played two different games. The first was almost reminiscent of Left 4 Dead. Complete co-operation was paramount, zombies were in sight and, above all, the plot took a backseat to over-coming the games difficulties. While playing the second game, I sat at the edge of my seat, volume turned up, paying close attention to my own character and the environment surrounding him. The second game had me "examing" every inch of each area - tapping "X" at anything that looked like it might reveal some parochial detail about my situation. I can't definitively claim one style of play is better than the other, but I can tell you that, they were two completely distinct experiences, yet it seem seems obvious that RE5 was made for co-operative play.

Considering the mass hysteria over Resident Evil 5 my I'll get to the point and make my reservations obvious. While the weapons felt great, there were fun and challenging puzzles, the game looked gorgeous and the plot seemed passably enjoyable, there were quite a few things which lead me to believe the development team was just outright lazy. First and foremost, your A.I. counter-part is completely mindless. If you're not playing the game with a friend or a stranger over PSN or XBL, you're out of luck. Your partner acts like a toddler - someone on whom you have to constantly check up. I played as Chris, and so Sheva was my team-mate. Not only would she expend all of my hard-earned ammunition, she would habitually waste green herbs and sprays. Sheva could not even hold her own, despite all of the powerful weaponry I handed over to her, she would continually find herself with lower health than me. This problem persists on all difficulties unfortunately. Luckily, the A.I. stays close to the player-controlled character, so it can't cause too much trouble.

Another small pet peeve I found with the game, was the voice work. The cinematic acting was great, and I have no issue with it, but I'm shocked to see developers recorded so little in the area of in-game voice commands. You will not hear Chris or Sheva make more the than 3 or 4 unique commands - and for a 10 hour game, hearing "take this" or "help" yelled in the exact same manner gets annoying. Lastly, Resident Evil 5 makes its fair share unreasonable demands of the player. I've never played a game which forced me to do so many boring and tedious things in repetition than RE5. Especially on veteran mode, bosses and more powerful enemies will force you to unload your ammo for more than six minutes without pause. After the first two, it tends to become uninteresting and boring.


All my complaints concerning Biohazard 5 seem - in my mind - to be temporary. Because as soon as I kill an oddly-powerful enemy, or once Sheva seems to smarten up after some trial and error, I can't help but to feel excitement for what is coming next. Even now, with the game complete, it's difficult to feel dissapointed by what I got from playing the game. I may have sounded wildly pessimistic, but rest assured, RE5 is a must-play. It's getting quite late, so I'll probably edit this and elaborate tomorrow. And if you're curious, I own a hacked Xbox and so I was able to play about 12 days before the release.

Video Reviews

For several weeks now, I've promised myself I would begin writing reviews for games I've played. Last night, I finished Street Fighter IV, but I didn't have the energy to write a 700 word opinion piece of the finished product. On Wednesday, it was the same deal with Onechambara: Samurai Bikini Squad. That said, I'm going to begin doing video reviews, as opposed to writing long diatribes about the games themselves. For one, they're easier to do. Secondly, they're more interesting to watch (then written reviews are to read). And lastly, because its about time my beautiful face graced the internet.

The End of an Era

In tandem with my guild members and a few close friends, I exited Naxxramas relatively unscathed. With 3 new epic pieces to adorn my character sheet, I was feeling relatively proud of myself. The Naxxramas run concluded an 8 hour stretch of stagnancy, sitting at my desk immobile and unaware of the world beyond my monitor. After congratulating everyone, repairing and sending some gold to my Alt character, I logged off. Heading straight to bed, I lay down on top of my covers. I began to think, as one often does during the restless throes which preclude sleep. I thought especially of the next day. My estimation was that I would wake up at about 4pm, and I imagined I would probably play WoW once I got up, my rationale being, "The day is already wasted, why not wait for the next one to be productive". My schedule seemed to promote that mentality, one which has been the norm for several weeks now. Most recently, I feel like I've been generally more apathetic towards things in life, in the face of in-game gear objectives, achievements and guild issues. Between farming for T7.5 equivalent gear and tank disciple within the guild, the intrigues of Political theory, my friends....and my own birthday (Jan. 20th) seemed to wane. It's a sad state, I'll admit.


I have been playing World of Warcraft - on and off - for about four years now. The game, its sub-culture and relationships which it has allowed me to develop represent a noticeable part of my adolescent life. I was always the dissenting voice when the topic of video game or online addiction came up, dismissing the idea as far-fetched, rare or unlikely. Only a few weeks ago, on this very site, I wrote an article about the fallacies and exaggerations concerning addiction to video games. But the issue isn't that simple. It's not simply a matter of addiction or self-control. Axiomatically, World of Warcraft evolved in my life's value system; first, a simple time-sink, and soon a mild diversion. Eventually the diversion became a past-time, a hobby, a passion and now....a driving force in my daily routine and colloquial life. I fear what the driving force might turn into. Luckily, I'm only 19 years old, and many responsibilities in life are not yet mine to carry. I don't yet have a wife to neglect, children to ignore or a job to get laid-off from.

5pm, 2am and 7am......hardly responsible...

I can't say for certainty that I was addicted. Looking back at my experiences with the game, I don't blame Blizzard, the structure of the game or the internet at large. I can only blame myself. I was able to convince myself on too many occasions, that what I was doing was only temporary, that it was normal, or that I could recover. However odd it may sound, I'll cherish the time I spent with World of Warcraft. It was a magnificent game, and at times, it could illicit emotions unimaginable in any other form of entertainment. The other day I found a Hakkar killshot from way back when, and it made my stomach turn. It felt like an eternity ago, but the screenshot couldn't have been taken more than 2 years from today.

I've played on 6 servers, I have had 4 characters reach their highest level, and I have participated in every end-game instance and raid. While somewhat destructive, World of Warcraft made me feel as though I was a part of something bigger than myself. Each time I read that WoW had reached a new population milestone, it became harder to leave. I was a part of a sub-culture, which recognized my talents and abilities in a context the outside world would never understand. But that period has ended now, and in some strange way, I suppose a part of my life is done and over with. But as time passes on, I have no doubt that I will be thankful that this part ends with a reflective blog post, as opposed to something much less ideal.

Giving my loot to low levelers in Thunder Bluff

I'll try and remember the good times, playing with friends who I met in-game, and playing with friends from real life. RPing in Eastern Plaguelands with Sneake, my own guild of acolytes: Silent Storm, Michael Bateman.....oh Mike, and ofcourse the Boulton Summer of Love. I'm done with World of Warcraft, but I'm certain I'll never be done with the world of video gaming, so to speak.

GUNS UP! LETS DO THIS.

The suicide jump from Thunder Bluff's Elder Rise.

1UP Layoffs: See You at the Crossroads

A pillar in the gaming criticism and journalism industry, the 1UP staff and community has now been victim to a near implosion of its identity. In a new deal conceived by Ziff Davis (the producers of all 1UP content) and UGO Entertainment claims to expand and "strengthen" the "1UP brand and its products". The very language used in press releases indicates the callous and profit-minded mentality employed by the UGO corporate investors, with respect to the community which their newly acquired website served.

While Ziff-Davis' CEO, Jason Young, points towards progress and expansion, dozens of memorable characters, from Ryan Scott to Anthony Gallegos have been laid off; presumably to make room for more commercially-inclined employees and content-providers (editors, writers etc). While the corporate merger may be commercially beneficial, it is negligent of several facts. Primarily, the individuals who provided 1UP network content, their talents, opinions and idiosyncrasies are all what made the website and its podcasts so special. People tuned in and read on a daily basis, not to see ads and banners, but to hear "fanboy-bating commentary and office tom-foolery" (as described by EGM). 1UP did its utmost to minimize the division between the editors and the readers, by encouraging message board conversations, in-game collaboration (an example being the 1UP WoW guild, "Can't Quit You")

After the termination of Jeff Gerstmann as a result of (allegedly) poor review scores given to "Kane and Lynch: Dead Men", my confidence in the - then - innocent, free-spirited and creatively-driven industry of video games was shaken. But this....this is unconscionable. To think that UGO would be so arrogant! They believe, that despite the irrational and unannounced firings of the majority of the 1UP.com staff, people would continue to visit their site. That by simply fueling more money into the website and their endeavors, the void left by the departure of so many editors and writers would cease to exist.

Well, I for one hope and trust that the terminated editors, takes a cue from Jeff Gerstmann and Ryan Davis: establish your own site! Through word of mouth and a little luck, the 1UP club members and community will flock to any new content outlet provided by the laid-off workers, not only to for the sake of entertainment, but to prove that quality of content is paramount next to the bottom-line.

As Shawn Elliot put it accurately.....

"Those were the glory days. Where did they go? Without a few fossils there's no way to know.....lets do this....like 1991"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeLC3ecwmSo&feature=related

Nerdcore used to be just a made-up word. What occurred?

"This song goes out to those with coke bottle glasses, to all you lonely kids who were the last picked in gym classes. We got your back, detract your malefactors - all you up in the back, unite like Thundercats!" - 2 Skinee J's



Throughout the early 90's, the alternative rock bars and clubs of the Pacific-Northwest and the bedrooms and back alley mixing studios of South-East L.A. both gave birth to new forms of stylistic music, progressive hip-hop and and grunge. Both genres reached mainstream success despite the disinterest by major record labels and radio stations. However, in the ten years since their respective inceptions, gangster rap and hip-hop and grunge rock have become over-saturated and cliche. The true angst and social-disappointment which the original artists held no longer exists, making music like hip-hop, more about "bitches", "smack" and "glocks" and less about the results of government marginalization and neglect.


What new, imaginative and original form of music has reared its head in the recent past? What stylistic genre can we look towards for genuineness and candid lyrics? Like Luke Skywalker sneaking into Jabba's pleasure palace in Return of the Jedi, Nerdcore Hip-Hop has crawled unnoticed into the periphery of the music mainstream. Nerdcore rap and hip-hop is music by nerds for nerds. Like its predecessors in Washington and Compton, L.A., Nerdcore is all self-produced and distributed, its artists (for the most part) release their work for free on the internet. Like its predecessors it speaks to the interests and concerns of its audience. And, like its predecessors, Nerdcore is widely experimental and its capacities are still undiscovered. Despite this, the genre and its notable artists possess a loyal and stalwart fan-base.


Above all, Nerdcore should not be confused with a parody genre. The music is not meant as a "witty twist" on mainstream rap. Nerdcore hip-hop and rap would exist irrelevant of the progression of mainstream music. Its origins lie with New York and San Francisco-based scenes, whose most notable artists include Deltron 3030, Dr. Octagon and MF Doom. These rappers wrote music before the term "Nerdcore hip hop" was coined in 2000 by MC Frontalot, yet explored themes outside traditional rap culture, rhyming about science-fiction, comic books and video games.




"I'm in the hood you know, I keep a fully loaded AWP, Pwnin' n00bs for EXP, I gotta get that gwap." - EZ Mac



What Nerdcore hip hop represents is this: the death of wide-stream and watered-down music. The mentality that a single style of music can catch the permanent interest of the globe may be the dream (once realised throughout the 90's in the form of Pop music) of a marketing executive, but is not what the future holds. In an era where anyone, like these nerdcore artists, can mix, blend and create their own unique form of music, more and more niches will erupt, giving rise to more personal and specialised forms of musical art. While the nerds and geeks of the world may have been the first to exploit the available technology, artists from every walk of life will be sure to follow. Say good bye to Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys and say hello to ZeaLous1 and Optimus Rhyme.

From Norrath to Northrend: The Realities of Onling Gaming Addiction

With each year, we see a growing number of news stories which chronicle the misadventures of online gaming addicts. These new media dependants participate in video game over-use and obsession, most of them suffering in some form or another. From neglected children to community-assisted suicide, each report becomes more and more farcical. As a campus of 45,000 students, St. George hosts its fair share of gamers, but how many can be considered to be a part of this cultural singularity of gaming addiction. Are video games as innately addictive and destructive as these stories lead the readers to believe? Experts, legislators and gamers each hold their respective opinions concerning the subject...






The disappearance and death of Brandon Crisp, a 15 year old who left his Barrie, Ontario home after his Xbox 360 was taken from him, fueled nation-wide concern towards video game addiction and obsession. Parents across Canada grew fearful that their own children were as dangerously enraptured as Brandon with computer and console games. While members of parliament scattered to pass bills, in an attempt to assuage these fears, the psychology behind video game addiction remains embryonic.







In an interview in 2005, Dr. Maressa Orzack of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts estimated that 40% of the 10 million (now 12 million) players of the MMORPG World of Warcraft are addicted, a figure she obtained from a survey conducted by the "Daedalus Project". Dr. Brody, head of the media committee at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, puts forth his beliefs that online gaming addiction stems from a predilection to or affliction from other psychological problems including anti-social personality disorder, depression, social anxiety disorder and other phobias. This notion concludes that the online gaming addiction will, most likely, only affect individuals who possess a predisposition to it.


So do, according to Dr. Orzack’s estimation, 40% of WoW players suffer from or have propensities to suffer from social disorders? Unlikely, and yet this isn’t surprising as the McLean Hospital researcher came under widespread criticism from her peers as a result of this claim. This seems to be the fate associated with doctor’s who claim the ubiquity of online gaming addiction. While most gamers enjoy video games in a healthy and safe manner, the industry comes under constant fire as the severity and preposterousness of stories increases.




This gamer is a "rocket-whoring son of a cock-monger", a colloquial term for a skilled player


With the recent introduction of Blizzard’s newest WoW expansion, Wrath of the Lich King, there have been 10 documented deaths up until this point. While all of these deaths, save for that of a baby whose negligent father was too busy playing to feed him, were secluded to irresponsible gamers, the press has done its fair part in inflating and exaggerating the danger of these games.

Upon my suggestion of playing World of Warcraft to close friends, almost all reply, “I don’t want to get addicted”. This reaction, in fact this entire phenomenon, is the result of misinformation. Video games possess no documented addictive properties outside of those related to any social activity. One is more likely to become addicted to chocolate in fact, due to its chemically enticing properties. It shocks me that most acquaintances are perfectly willing to indulge in a game of Call of Duty 4 (the same game which – indirectly – led to the death of local - Brandon Crisp), while they are opposed to so much as trying the trial which game developer, Blizzard, offers for WoW. Video game addiction can be said to be the result of genetic predisposition, personal characteristics, and in many cases, social context.

Some countries, including Canada, South Korea, China, the Netherlands and the United States, have responded to the observed threat of video games by opening specialized medical institutions. These facilities do their best to acclimate victims of addiction to conventionally accepted social activity. The strategies which they employ, however, are not vastly different from those applied to alcoholics, debtors or over-eaters. In this sense, the psychopharmacology and therapy of video game addicts is not unique.

It might simply be a generational gap which promotes this misunderstanding; while alcoholism has been accepted as a rare and circumstantially afflictive disease, online gaming addiction has not. Hopefully, these media endorsed fallacies can be removed from the public mentality in time. Until then, I hope to see you all in the Eye of Eternity, I can’t kill Malygos the Steward of the Blue Dragonflight by myself!

The Story of Stellar Stone LLC

My recent post which named Big-Rigs: Over the Road Racing as the best game of the year, has become a controversial one. I have received threats upon my life, antrax-laced mail and my own mother has claimed never to speak to me again. Despite this overwhelming disapproval of my belief in Big Rigs, I stand firm by my conviction. The following is my argument, and upon reading it, I am confident any sane, level-headed individual will see value in it, eventually joining me in my praise of Big Rigs, as the greatest video game ever developed.

Most contemporary review criteria are based on 4 important factors: Graphics, sound, story and gameplay. I don't normally enjoy criticising games in such an uninspired, rudimentary way, but, to shed all doubt of Big Rigs' perfection, I will make an exception. So, here I give you the ultimate review of Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing by Stellar Stone LLC.


Gameplay

Recent studies have proven that most teens possess an inate desire to truck, truck it out, or keep on trucking. Big Rigs appeals to all of these predilictions. The game is simply put: a racing simulation, which puts you in the cab of a truck, speeding through such famous American trucking routes, including "Devil's Passage 1", "City" and "Devil's Passage 2". The objective is to reach the destination before the competition does. This objective is executed fantastically, emulating perfectly the exhiliarting and simulating experience of being a real American trucker, zooming down long interstate stretches. In reality, of the four maps, only Devil's Passage 1 and 2 can be played, whereas the latter 2 cause a crash of the game. But who really wanted to play them, Devil's Passage rocks!

Flight is perfectly possible in Stellar Stone's newest trucking adventure!

The artificial intelligence competitors do not move from the starting line; a troubling realisation at first. A recent press release from Stellar Stone reveals they built the game with the physically handicapped in mind. How terrible would it be for a young, crippled boy to be beaten by an incompassionate AI? Instead, Stellar Stone LLC elimated the competition, gratifying the crippies of the world in knowing they beat the enemy!

Story

...


Sound

Big Rig's has no soundtrack, no music, no sound effects. While this avant-garde approach to sound development may shock many gamers, the result is spectacular. Without the buzz and whir of a radio, a humming exhaust pipe, or passing traffic, the player's mind becomes clear, focusing on the road ahead, and the competing truckers behind. It is very powerful and therapeutic indeed.


Graphics

The final criterion for a great game; the graphical milestones which Big Rigs has overcome are astonishing. Forget the pathetic achievements of Crytek, Rockstar and Infinity Ward, stand before the glory of Stellar Stone LLC, an accolade which only Ukranian and Western Russian minds could conceivably attain. Yes, in the department of graphics, Big Rigs is truly a 'chef d'oevre'.

Each rig looks used, worn and bent in a realistic manner. The light sourcing adds to the glossy look of the game, by providing a soothing finish to each model; complete with shaders and anisotropic texture filtering! Made in 2003, few computers today in 2008/09 can run Big Rigs at its highest graphical settings.

A completely destructible world is your to explore using the patented "ULTRANAV"!

To conclude, Big Rigs is a game which is artistic, moving and ahead-of-the-curve in every manner. I say with great pride that I will stand and defend my claims to the greatness of Big Rigs and their Russian developers, Stellar Stone. I can say with certainty, that had Big Rigs never been developed or released, I would surely have taken my life already.

The knowledge that a Big Rigs MMO is currently in development keeps hope alive in my heart, and the rat poison away from my coffee mug. Thank you Stellar Stone, my life now has meaning!