August 2007

Devil

August 7, 2007

Devil's Advocate / Features / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

It is not racist for a white man to shoot a black man.

Think on that for a minute. Now, stop calling me a racist and listen.

Capcom recently released a trailer for the sixth main storyline installment of their Resident Evil (BioHazard in Japan) franchise. RE5 takes place in Haiti. Haiti is populated predominantly by black people. Now, if some crazy zombie-virus making company were to “accidentally” create a zombie-virus breakout in Haiti, what would most of the zombies look like? If you said “Haitians” you deserve a gold star. Logic dictates that the zombie population of an area will be primarily composed of the rotting corpses of the old population of an area. To prove this we need to look no further than Resident Evil 4. When Las Plagas (that’s Spanish for “The Plague”) infected an area of Spain, the vast majority (if not all) of the zombies were originally Spanish people. That game wasn’t racist either. It was internally consistent.

Kym Platt, a contributor to the Black Looks blog, thinks that the Resident Evil 5 trailer is racist. The problem with this view is that it is formed from ignorance. The trailer isn’t examined in the proper context – that of the Resident Evil video game series. Regarding the trailer she writes this.

“This is problematic on so many levels, including the depiction of Black people as inhuman savages, the killing of Black people by a white man in military clothing, and the fact that this video game is marketed to children and young adults. Start them young… fearing, hating, and destroying Black people.”

The black people in the trailer, as far as I can tell, aren’t depicted as inhuman savages until they are inhuman savages: zombies infected by the Umbrella Corporation’s zombie-virus. The white man in military clothing she mentions is none other than Chris Redfield – a now-recurring character in the series. Undoubtedly, Capcom took notice of Leon S. Kennedy’s popularity in Resident Evil 4 and sought to recreate their success. See, Leon is also a recurring character in the franchise; RE4 wasn’t his first time encountering the zombie hoards. As a matter of fact, Resident Evil 5 looks like a set and main character change for Resident Evil 4. The combat looks the same, the story (so far) feels similar (RE4: Spain has been turned into zombie country; clean it up! – RE5: Haiti has been turned into zombie country; clean it up!), and it features the same over-the-shoulder viewpoint as its predecessor.

What I really want to talk about, though, is racism in general. I said it at the beginning of this piece, and I’m saying it again now. It is not racist for a white man to shoot a black man. The act only becomes racist when the white man is shooting the black man because that black man is, in fact, black. Viewing the RE5 trailer it is painfully obvious that something isn’t right in that little Haitian village. One man is bleeding from his eyes. A crowd of people seem to be rioting and throwing things at a stage. And a few seconds later everybody is attacking the player character. Common sense says “if the best weapon I have is a rake then I shouldn’t attack the man with a gun,” but that’s exactly what the infected Haitian population is doing to Chirs Redfield. He’s not shooting at them because they’re black. He’s shooting at them because they’re trying to kill him.

Now that that’s out of the way, I have never felt more ashamed of my hobby than when I read the comments directed at Ms. Platt on the Black Looks blog. Disagree with her opinion. I know I do. But there is absolutely no reason to call her a nigger, a bitch, a whore. She is a human being, and she is entitled to her opinion. If you disagree with her then engage her in intelligent conversation. Bring up your points in a calm and rational manner. Race relations are a touchy subject, and getting riled up because somebody else is riled up isn’t going to help anything. Education is what will fix this; not seeing who can yell the loudest over the Internet. Ms. Platt may be wrong, but so are those that left racist comments for her. She may be ignorant of the Resident Evil series of video games, but that’s no reason to throw racial slurs.

I have only one thing left to say:

Ms. Platt, I am deeply sorry for the comments left to you on your blog post. They were inappropriate, racist, hateful, and it makes me sad to think that people would use that kind of language today. I hope that you read this, and I hope that even if you don’t agree with my opinion that you give it a fair shake. We’re not all adolescent punks looking to ruffle one another’s feathers, and you deserve better than to be treated that way.

Hour of Victory

August 6, 2007

Reviews / Xbox 360 / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Unpolished and overambitious, Hour of Victory must have been a tough game to get made. It’s one more World War II era first person shooter in a market that is already flooded with established franchises in the genre. In an attempt to separate Hour of Victory from the ever-growing collection of WWII FPS games, Midway chose to create three player characters and create levels with different paths available to each character that made use of each characters’ special skills and combat strengths. Sadly, it didn’t really work.

Your character choices are commando, ranger, and stealth soldier. Each character has a name, but it doesn’t matter. They all play pretty much the same, and the story progresses the same regardless of which character you pick. The game tries to create a sense that the three of you are the very best that the Allied forces have to offer. This would be a lot more believable if they ever worked as a team. If you choose to play the first mission as the commando then you’ll never see your ranger buddy helping you out by sniping the occasional German from the rooftops, and if you pick the ranger then the stealthy SAS soldier never alerts you to the fact that there’s a contingent of enemies in that building 500 feet ahead of you. The manual also tells you to make sure that you choose the right soldier for the job. This is a great idea. Make every mission completable for each soldier but have one in mind that will have a much easier time. That’s a good idea, but Midway didn’t do that. Prior to starting a mission all you can do is choose a character. There’s no description to tip you off that maybe the sniper-rifle wielding ranger is the way to go, and aside from occasionally taking a longer path there’s no reason not to play the entire game as the commando. He’s got extra health, and due to the inadequate aiming system he’s just as good at sniping as the ranger is.

There are a myriad of issues that just shouldn’t make it into a finished game. For example, doorways are extremely small. If you die while playing Hour of Victory, odds are high that you were stuck while trying to navigate a doorway. Did the play testers never attempt to enter a building? Maybe they got stuck in a doorway, assumed it was an invisible wall, decided that they couldn’t go in, and got bored when they couldn’t figure out how to complete the first mission. Similarly, if a game touts itself on an “each level can be completed by each character” gameplay type then don’t give me a sniper rifle, a handful of ammunition, and a never-ending supply of enemies. I’ll never kill them all (because the game just spawns more), and when I run out of ammunition my only option is to run for the machine gun at the top of the hill while being shot by enemies. True, the sniper can complete the mission, but it’s especially difficult due to the game’s practical design not matching up with its theoretical design.

There’s still hope though. FPS games – especially on the 360 – live beyond their single-player campaign in multiplayer. Not this time. There are a number of things wrong with Hour of Victory‘s multiplayer experience. There are alarmingly few people playing online. At the right time of day there’s a good chance you’ll be the only one. If you do manage to find somebody to play with, then the entire match you’ll be fighting lag and shoddy collision detection the entire time. Combine the sub-par aiming system with intelligently moving targets, and it’s plain to see that Hour of Victory shouldn’t be played. By anybody. Especially in multiplayer.

I wanted to like this game. The concept is solid, but poor execution just killed it. Please, somebody make an FPS with branching paths and multiple character types where character selection actually matters, and if I’m supposed to be a part of a team then please, please, please don’t make me play through the levels as a lone gunmen. Honestly, my commando could use some help, and I hear that there’s a ranger and an SAS operative chilling in a tent somewhere hoping I pick them for the next mission. There are better FPS games available on the 360, and you should be playing them instead.

Pony Friends

August 6, 2007

DS / Reviews / by Justin Last Make a comment! / Tweet it!

Ninendogs. Dogz. Catz. Even Hamsterz. (What’s with the zees? Are zees cooler than esses?) After Nintendo released Nintendogs for the DS everybody else jumped on the boat and released their own pet sim for the DS. Unfortunately they missed a few animals. One of those unrepresented animals is the pony. Thankfully, Eidos has stepped up to the plate and given us Pony Friends, a pet simulator that actually does more than the game from which it draws inspiration.

Don’t misunderstand, Pony Friends treads over much of the same ground that Nintendogs does. As the game begins the player must choose a pony or create one from scratch. Then the pony must be named and following that your new equine buddy can be groomed, ridden, given accessories to wear, or chores can be done to make money.

Where Pony Friends really differentiates itself from Nintendogs, however, is the trail rides. In all actuality Pony Friends is a pony riding game with a smattering of pony care minigames. Picking hooves is all well and good, but you’ll spend most of your time out on the trail. Rides take place from the first-person perspective of the rider. And the ride isn’t just an excuse to scope out the game’s overworld. There are photos of animals to be taken, gates to be found. Finding the aforementioned animals and gates is no easy task either. Some of the animals are well-hidden and only appear in one area while some of the gates are on the complete opposite end of the park. Finding these gates is immediately gratifying because not only have you completed a task, but you’ve unlocked new areas to explore on your titular pony friend. And the best part? Pony Friends chose not to implement a Nintendogs-inspired fecal matter clean-up minigame (and it’s a good thing, too – horses poop a lot).

There’s also a riding game included. Unlike other racing games Pony Friends races are controlled via the DS’s microphone. Speak too softly and the pony trots along slowly; yell too loudly and the pony gets scared and lets off the speed. It’s a delicate balance that must be struck, and it makes the races entertaining, fresh, and great for the game’s target audience.

Pony Friends isn’t for the hardcore gamer. It won’t sit proudly on your shelf between Disgaea and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, but it succeeds in creating a virtual environment for pony enthusiasts. Those that love horses and have a DS are going to have a good time with Pony Friends – especially if they enjoy the Nintendogs gameplay model.

Mario Strikers Charged

August 6, 2007

Reviews / Wii / by Chris Chester Make a comment! / Tweet it!

For all the success that the Wii has enjoyed to date, for all the press and internet fanfare that it has generated, for all its dominance of hardware sales charts, the Wii has really done little to sustain player interest. Outside of short, explorative stabs at the novelty of motion controls and the handful of GameCube ports that have found their way over, there just hasn’t been a lot on the platform to get excited about so far this year. So we wait, with baited breath for each successive Nintendo release, assuring ourselves that surely this one is going to be the one worth writing home about.

There’s no use beating around the bush; Mario Strikers Charged is not the game you’ve been looking forward to. A sequel to the moderately successful Super Mario Strikers on the GameCube, Mario Strikers Charged follows the Mario sports mantra to the letter: take a sport, strip it of all the unnecessary rules and gameplay elements, add some ridiculous super moves and power-ups, and wait for the money to flow in. For a lot of sports, this formula works exceedingly well. Games like Mario Tennis and Mario Golf benefit quite a bit from this approach and have enjoyed considerable success. And while it is indeed possible to develop an arcade soccer game (look no further than Next Level Games’ own Sega Soccer Slam on the GameCube); it requires a more nuanced approach to the game in order to keep things from getting out of control.

Sadly, “out of control” is probably the most apt description one can think of to describe Mario Strikers‘ gameplay. Players control teams of four players, with one perennial Nintendo star as the Captain, and three sidekicks of various shapes and sizes. True to the formula for dumbed-down sports games, each character is essentially weak and fast, strong and slow, or in the middle. In this respect it feels almost like that Virtual Console favorite, Ice Hockey. Captains are capable of delivering brutal Megastrikes which can score as many as six goals at once, and multiplayer games frequently devolve into a test to see who can get the most Megastrikes off without being disrupted by the other team.

And boy are there ample ways to disrupt shots. There are all manner of things that can separate a dribble player from the ball. There are scads of items that can be picked up by shooting power shots – including various colored shells, Chain Chomps, Bob-ombs, Bananas, mushrooms, and so on. Captains each also have their own individual power-ups that are nearly impossible to escape or counter, the most memorable (or notorious) being Diddy Kong’s tractor beam, which sucks an opposing player off of the pitch completely. And as if that didn’t make for enough chaos to begin with, most stages have ridiculous game-interrupting elements like electric currents running through the ground, giant balls of magma taking up a quarter of the field, or flying tractors careening across the grass.

This might seem like a fun spin on the sport in abstract, but playing against the game’s unforgiving AI in a setting as unpredictable as the one presented in Mario Strikers is a recipe for lost tempers and broken controllers. While the AI is apt to roll over on the Easy difficulty setting, getting through even the second of the game’s cup challenges requires a good deal of patience and a lot of practice. The Challenges the game offers also prove to exceedingly frustrating, as you only get to play three or four before the difficulty gets out of control.

The game’s saving grace is the fact that it’s the first to make use of the Wii’s understated online multiplayer capabilities. And believe me, if you want to enjoy this game, you’re going to need to play it with a friend. Whether on the couch with you or across the country, Strikers becomes much more palatable when you’re playing against somebody you know. More competitive folks will likely be frustrated by the seeming randomness of the scoring, but those just looking for an easy game to get into without a lot of depth will have a lot of fun with what the game brings together.

I imagine there is little I can say or do that would dissuade game-starved fans from picking up this latest Wii release from Nintendo. It’s the first solid title in a while and the first to make use of the online multiplayer. So I can’t say I blame them. But for everybody else, I can’t recommend this game in full confidence. The single player experience is shallow and frustrating, and the novelty of the multiplayer is fleeting. Mario Strikers Charged would make a terrific rental for the weekend, but it’s just not worth the full purchase price.

Next Entries →