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Porn & Pong: Mass Effect was a step in the right direction.

Alexander Bevier — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:32:42 +0000

A month ago, when I was at PAX, I picked up a fun little book entitled Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider and Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture By Damon Brown. As the title suggests, it was about how the game industry intertwines with the Larry Flint and Hugh Hefner’s naked utopia. The book talks about the significance of titles like Custer’s Revenge, Tomb Raider, and Grand Theft Auto 3. Brown does a great job covering what was in the game, where the controversy lies, and what it meant for both the video game and the porn industry.

Unfortunately, the book was completed before Mass Effect and its sex scene was released. This drove me to send the author an e-mail to see what he had to say about the thirteen seconds of side-boob in Bioware’s RPG. Brown replied Last weekend:

“Mass Effect didn’t change the industry, but it did show that video games have the capability to show sensuality in a respectful manner and equal to anything done in mainstream movies. I’m not sure if sexual situations in video games have vastly improved in the two years since Mass Effect, but for future game designers it did show what’s possible with our medium. In short, Mass Effect was a step in the right direction.”

Brown also spoke about the challenge of writing the book. He wrote about the difficult balance of blending highbrow and lowbrow culture, as well as writing for both the hardcore gamer and the Bejeweled-playing mother.

If you like video games and boobs, this book is sure hold your interest. It’s a great analysis about two industries that aren’t always held in high regard. If you aren’t into boobs, I’m frankly surprised you visit this site. I’m sure you’d enjoy the book though.

Batman=DDR: Quick Time Events done Right.

Alexander Bevier — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:13:33 +0000

Gameinformer.com went live several days ago, and with it came a feature about tidbits in Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum. The short feature talked about some of the smaller details about the game that are largely overlooked; like where the sound effect for the explosive gel came from. Out of all of these, one tidbit caught my eye.

“Combat went through three distinct revisions – the first one being a full rhythm action game! The second one was prototyped in 2D, which popped up whenever you got into a fight, and involved colored circles bashing into each other. This actually formed the basis of the final system.”

I’ve thought it before, and now I have proof: Arkham Asylum is a rhythm game!

It may not have been in the final version, but the elements of rhythm games feel prominent in Batman. If you hammer the punch button in it, you will probably die a painful death. The key to success was the timing of your combat buttons. It led to one of the most fluid combat experiences I’ve ever felt in a game. Beforehand, I could only compare it to Assassin’s Creed’s combat done right.

Even with the rhythmic feel of the game, I entitled this post “Quick Time Events done Right” for a reason. By nature, a QTE is about reacting to an on-screen command with a single button combination. What gets in the way of this in modern games is that they are used to keep the player from screwing up something awesome (see God of War). What Batman does is give you rewards for pushing the correct button at the correct time. The game-given gift: Combo score. Getting a high combo is one of the most badass-feelings I have ever felt in a game. During the second-to-last moment of the game, I got a 60+ combo score and nothing has ever made me feel like Batman before (but feeling like Batman is already written about in another article).

Am I right? Am I an idiot for thinking that Batman has a lot in common with Dance Dance Revolution? Comment and tell me.

What exactly is the PSP Go?

Alexander Bevier — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 01:27:45 +0000

While reading reviews over this bizarre half-step upgrade of a handheld, I kept trying to figure what exactly the PSP Go is about. I also had to figure out what the PSP was, and why it failed in ways the Go will succeed. Later on, it hit me what Sony is thinking, and why nobody else has really mentioned it. The PSP Go is an iPod.

Handheld gaming has been odd as of late because it’s not entirely about gaming. Back in the day, a Game Boy played games, a Game Gear played games, and a Neo Geo Pocket played….. Neos? But during this decade, the MP3 market was born with the fetus that was Apple’s iPod. As the iPod grew and become the teenager known as the iTouch followed by the sophisticated gentleman called the iPhone; Sony, the maker of the extinct Walkman, started to see handheld gaming and MP3 players merging.

It could have been this idea that spawned the PSP. Nintendo, the competitor, had the game-only DS to rival the PSP’s multi-tasking wonder. The consumer base also wasn’t sure about the PSP as a gaming platform either, as the Console sells well, but software never seems to leave the shelves.

With the release of the iTouch and iPhone’s App. store, the internet has been abuzz about if Apple has a gaming machine on their hands. I think Sony realizes this with the PSP Go. As far as I can tell, the way the PSP Go should be thought of is the same way we think about the iPod. It’s odd to think of a PlayStation not being mostly about play, but it at least makes the $250 price tag more reasonable.

Leave comment and argue with me.

Is Street Fighter IV Super?

Alexander Bevier — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:55:21 +0000

Street Fighter IV has been available to the public sense spring 2009, and I feel myself concerned about the recent announcement about Super Street Fighter IV—an updated version of the game with a rebalanced roster and eight new characters. I love the idea of a rebalance, but Capcom has not only stated that it will be a stand-alone game, but also that the roster update will be so drastic it will not be playable with current Street Fighter IV discs. This leads to some slight turbulence though, what happens to players with old copies of the game? Are we supposed to buy a completely new game? Less die-hard fans of the series will be doing this, but with casual online play, does this mean Capcom is abandoning Street Fighter IV support? Will previously purchased DLC be usable?

Leave comment and talk about it.

Japanese game industry is dead?

Alexander Bevier — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:00:03 +0000

Keiji Inafune is a name every gamer from the NES generation should know. He is the mind behind the Mega-Man series, as well as many other amazing titles sense then. In the video below during TGS, Inafune talks about how the Japanese game industry is dead. More after the jump.

I’m giving you the link because I couldn’t get embedding the video to work.

“Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished.”

Aside from Capcom, Japan has no more creative innovations towards the game industry? Really? An odd sentiment considering Final Fantasy XIII and the new game from team Ico are on the way. On the other hand, Inafune has been recently working on the western developed Dead Rising 2. Inafune has also been working in the game industry sense Japan’s gaming hey-day when the world craved Nintendo games. Only the future can tell what will happen to the Japanese game industry though. Commenters, predict!