by on
Sega announced today that there will be no sequel to Obsidian Entertainment’s game Alpha Protocol.
 
That’s really a pity. It was, underneath all the glitches, really a very good idea for a game, with some very memorable characters. I can’t believe how it’s getting savaged in the video game press. 
 
I mean, look at BioWare’s first Mass Effect. That thing was glitchy too, and, if I do say so myself, the characters weren’t nearly as memorable as AP’s. But everyone knew it had major potential; and sure enough, you give BioWare two years to iron out the flaws and they made a masterpiece.
 
And also, can someone explain why everyone hates the rather intuitive combat mechanics of Alpha Protocol, but not the extremely awkward controls in Fallout 3? (Or, as I call it: “Fallout: The Quest for Liam Neeson”.)

by on

He writes:

“My error in the first place was to think I could make a convincing argument on purely theoretical grounds. What I was saying is that video games could not in principle be Art. That was a foolish position to take, particularly as it seemed to apply to the entire unseen future of games. This was pointed out to me maybe hundreds of times. How could I disagree? It is quite possible a game could someday be great Art.”

Well, when you say something like that “Time is not your enemy, forever is.”  But, while Ebert is correct that he ought not to have said that because there will be games that are Art in the future, he fails to realize that there are already games that are Art, which I listed here.

He goes on to say: “If I could save the works of Shakespeare by sacrificing all the video games in existence, I would do it without a moment’s hesitation.”

Well, I suppose there’s no accounting for taste. But personally, I would gladly sacrifice the works of Shakespeare to save the works of Chris Avellone.

But never mind. You’ve made a good start, Ebert.

by on

Obsidian Entertainment’s new video game Alpha Protocol is superb. Do not allow yourself to be duped by the reviews; while it may not have the greatest graphics ever, it has a great story, great characters, and its replay value is incredibly high.

If there were any justice in the world, it would be a serious contender for Game of the Year.

by on
“Be eloquent in praise of the very dull old days
   which have long since passed away,
And convince ’em, if you can, that the reign of good Queen Anne was Culture’s palmiest day.
Of course you will pooh-pooh whatever’s fresh and new,
   and declare it’s crude and mean,
For Art stopped short in the cultivated court 

Roger Ebert was named the “Webby Person of the Year” for his “contributions to the craft of online writing and journalism. In addition to his film criticism, which remains as eloquent as ever, his online journal has raised the bar for the level of poignancy, thoughtfulness and critique one can achieve on the Web.”

“Film criticism”? “Eloquent”? Give me a break. This guy gave Avatar four stars, and then has the guts to say that video games aren’t art. One can almost hear the Roger Eberts of a century ago complaining that “it’s not art if it’s captured on film!” The arrogance is appalling… which is probably why he liked Avatar so much.

As for “raising the bar for thoughtfulness one can achieve on the web”, well… over to you, John Nolte!

by on

Okay, it’s a little thing, but it irritated me. In his review of the video game-based movie “Prince of Persia”, Darin Miller writes: “Given that the film’s underlying premise is a video game, it’s no surprise that the story is a little weak.”

It is true that most video game-inspired movies are pretty awful. And yes, from what I can tell, the story of “Prince of Persia” the game wasn’t exactly a brilliant one. Heck, it’s even true that most video game plots really do suck. But there’s something about the way he phrases it that suggests to me that he thinks all video games are like that.

And, after all, can anyone claim that most movie plots nowadays aren’t “a little weak”?

by on

From the Commander-in-Chief, no less:

“With iPods and iPads and Xboxes and PlayStations, — none of which I know how to work — information becomes a distraction, a diversion, a form of entertainment, rather than a tool of empowerment, rather than the means of emancipation,” Obama said.

At least he admits he doesn’t know how to work them–although it’s sort of odd, because you don’t have to be a genius to turn on an Xbox–but this is far from the first time Obama has complained about video games interfering with education. In fact, seemingly every time he talks about education, he tells parents to make kids put away their games.

I agree with Obama that sometimes people do use the technology for mindless entertainment; but that’s true of everything: For every great work of literature, there’s also about 200 trashy romance novels. This does not mean all books are meaningless diversions.

For the record, I have learned a lot of important lessons from video games like the ones I listed here.

by on

Roger Ebert says no. Hot Air speculates that Ebert hates them because they many of them involve fighting terrorists, like the seemingly never-ending Call of Duty series. (I like Call of Duty, but it is not art–it is, however, more intellectually challenging than some may realize.) They speculate that the lack of nuance and depth in games–which they seem to like–is what repels Ebert.

Ebert is completely and utterly wrong. Hot Air is sort of right, except that they fail to realize that they are succumbing to the same sort of bigotry as Ebert.

“No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets. [sic]” Ebert writes.

Then I shall do so now:

Planescape: Torment 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

Metal Gear Solid

Mass Effect 2

Those games are all at least as powerful as any movie, any poem or any novel.

(Hat Tip to Big Hollywood.)

by on

…so I can’t finish the long post I was working on. I prefer not to run my computer during thunderstorms, and my internet connection will almost certainly give out anyway, so it’ll have to wait.

Just like the last time there was a storm here, I’ve had some really… good… luck: I spent about an hour earlier this evening playing F.E.A.R. (And before you ask, I was composing my post in my head while playing.)

by on

This is pretty cool. The article concludes:

“The X-37B might lack a flashy name, a made-for-the-movies mission and public hoopla, but this space plane’s low profile might be just the thing that helps it beat the long odds and become a success.” 

Actually, “X-37B” sounds exactly like the sort of name that Secret Projects have in science fiction. Perhaps it will be our first line of defense against The Reapers.

(Hat Tip to Huffington Post)

by on

I have this little tradition: whenever I get a week or so of free time, I play through my favorite video game of all time: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords. It is my favorite game because it is one of the very few video games that not only entertains, but also addresses deep philosophical questions with complex characters and well-written, intelligent dialogue.

For example, in the beginning you are trapped on an asteroid mining station that’s being sabotaged. You can just fight your way out, of course; but if you take your time and pay attention, you can gather up lots of clues that allow you to unravel who is sabotaging it and how and why. It’s a great feeling when you piece it all together, because you feel like you really figured something out, rather than having it all explained to you.

If you’ve played it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, don’t waste time here, go buy it!

UPDATE: I should mention that Obsidian Entertainment, the company who made KotOR II, has also made many other games which people tell me are of similarly high or higher quality, and that many of the people who founded Obsidian worked on Planescape: Torment, which is, I’ve often been told, the ultimate in deep, philosophical gaming. I’ve never played any of these games, so I can’t comment on them. I will say that the reason I gravitated towards KotOR is that I tend to prefer Space settings to Medieval-Fantasy settings.