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Off The Radar

Every year hundreds games make the trek through the development phase, past certification and marketing on its way to its big release. But every now and then a few games get lost in the process. Most get announced, some even get full cinematic cut scenes released at big gaming conventions like E3, and then simply disappear. Some fall behind, some may even get released but die out quickly in the shadow of larger, more anticipated games. In the spirit of the release of the sleeper hit "sleeping dogs," a project that was dropped by Activision in 2011 and later adopted by Square Enix, I wanted to do an article bringing some of the most recent berried gems back into the light, back on the radar.

    Final Fantasy Versus XIII:

This high anticipated addition to Square Enix's beloved RPG franchise has lost a lot of traction since its big reveal at E3 back in 2006. Square remained very secretive about the project releasing only one other trailer back in 2009. Then out of no where, on July 20, 2011, nearly three years later, an article surfaces on Kotaku.com that Final Fantasy Versus XIII had been canceled. Four days later Square Enix confirms that previous rumors concerning cancellation we're purely rumor, and that FF Versus XIII was still in the works. However, Square failed to offer up any addition information. Starts to make gamers wonder if the game really will ever make it to release, and if it does, will anyone be left to care?  

Kingdom Hearts III:

Kingdom Hearts has quickly become one of Square Enix's most recognizable IPs. The compelling story, and exciting combat system, that only Square can deliver mixed with cute, loveable Disney characters, makes an appeal to multiple age groups. But lately the series has become diluted amongst mini handheld releases that were meant to bridge the gap between KH1 and 2 and provide context for the third game. But now after five new installments to the franchise, each of which appearing across multiple hand held systems. One starts to wonder if Kingdom Hearts will ever make it back to a major home console to deliver a satisfactory conclusion to what should have been a graceful trilogy, or if square will continue to beat around the bush until all interest has dissolved.

State Of Decay:

Originally announced as "class 3" last year, State of decay is an open world zombie survival game being developed for Microsoft by Undead Lads. You'd think an open world zombie survival game should have appeared on the market much sooner, seems like a no-brainer. Regardless, not much marketing has been put forth on behalf of the game, so not much is known. One thing is certain, you should definitely keep this game on your radar.

Fallout Online:

Publicity surrounding the speculation that a massively multilayer Fall Out game was that of controversy between Bethesda and Interplay concerning the ownership of the IP. After receiving notice from Bethesda that Bethesda intended to terminate the trademark license agreement, due to Interplay's failure to commence full scale production, Interplay refuted, which caused Bethesda to sue Interplay for copyright infringement on September 8, 2009.  Several suits followed thereafter, eventually ending in an out-of-court settlement was reached in January 2012, in which Bethesda received full rights to the Fallout online game for two million dollars. Development has had a rocky development, but you can be sure, the two million dollar franchise is destine for a grand return.

-Brice

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TXT Debate (side missions)

Ron:

I was thinking about doing one on sandbox games, or reviewing heavy rain

Brice:

Id like to do one on sandbox games. Whats the angle?

Ron:

I dont like them, to be honest they seem to be a time asassin that hits u with a barrage of side missions that have little to nothing to do with the plot. to me

and their sole purpose is to take twenty hours to tell a story that should take 10.

Maybe ill just spin it into an article about side missions

Brice:

I love sandbox games. Some of the best games are sandbox

Ron:

I never said u had to agree, it just takes me out of the experience when i have to do everyone favors while trying to save the world, i have priorities

Brice:

Id like to read that article.

Ron:

If its ur thing more power to u, i just dont get it, Give me a counter argument. For the sake of perspective

Brice:

Side missions insentivise exploration. Side missions and quest allow players to explore the world and all it has to offer while still giving the player direction. Side missions fill the world with content, context and personality. Imagine how one dimentional the world of skyrim would have felt if it consisted solely of story quests.

Ron:

If you set the right pace character development will happen and it will create an opportunity to explore the universe, random quest actually make the universe feel artificial because if the universe is at stake i dont care if a random npc dies due to my negligence, in fact it may help create atmosphere

Brice:

But it also creates context for the world. In the thieves guild side missions you learn about the village of riften as well as the people. You also learn about the political corruption that is taking place in riften which speeks volumes about tamriel as a whole durring the end days.

Ron:

Ok, ill find a way to play skyrim and make a decision

Brice:

I mean even fallout is filled with similar examples. The ghouls of tenpenny tower, the vapires of arafu station, and another thing that fallout does brilliantly is introducing side missions thant arnt even labled as such. Exploring the numerous vaults scatered through out the capital waste land, the keller family hollow tapes. All provide the player with extra content as well as context that helps the player farther understand the world.

Ron:

Right but if u dont go there u miss out, y not just lead u there

Brice:

Because its more rewarding to the player when they find it on their own. Like they discovered it. It feels alot more rewarding when you stumble upon something you feel like the world was trying to keep hidden from u as opposed to being led by the hand to a certain goal. Again they arnt crucial to the story so you can afford to miss them but they help ground the world your playing in and give it context.

Ron:

Which is fine....provided u have 30-40 hours of free time, and besides fallout doesnt bother me because the objective is survival as opposed to a goal driven narrative

Brice:

True, they feel a little more trivial in skyrim but its all about adding content context and personality to the world.

Brice:

Hey, i just thought of something crazy. What if we made this txt thread the article?

[icbt]

Videogame Companies are your friends.

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"Okay, so here's the thing..." (DLC)

Downloadable content has been a big part of gaming for a long time now. Downloadable content provides gamers a flow of extra content, and game-play well after the finished game has hit store shelves. But unfortunately, due to the rising price of game development, developers and game retailer have been forced to cut corners, screwing gamers out of a money and content with trivial, gimmicky pre-order incentives, day one DLC as well as on-disc DLC. DLC has become less about prolonging game play and more about leasing unfinished games.

The question of Downloadable Content is a complicated one at that. We as gamers look at gaming as a recreational activity, an art form, and a vessel for the future of story telling, but among all those things it is also a business, a very high risk one at that. During the first few months before a game is released, developers and retailers depend on game pre-order to to drive sales and provide sales data, which is where pre-order incentives come in. If all major retailers aren't provided with exclusive content for the game, they will not order a huge amount of copies. So in order for developers to keep making games, they need all the sales they can get, pre-order sales being the most important. However, a person willing to invest money into a game, that they simply can't wait until release to purchase, should not be forced to choose between what content they want available to them. A simple compromise to the problem of incentivize pre-order DLC is to simply make all content available for purchase a month after the game is released. That way, the devoted pre-order gamer is given the option to experience content, for a small fee, that would have otherwise been withheld based on which exclusive copy he/she had purchased, the developers pocket extra profit, and gamers who might have missed out by waiting till release, now have the option indulge, the same as those who had decided to pre-ordered. 

      Day one DLC and On-Disk DLC draw a very fine line when it comes to the question of digital property being the property of the buyer all the same. When some one pays for a game they expect to get the whole game, and shouldn't they? are they not entitle to the whole experience as opposed to a $60 chunk of it? The best way to combat the day one DLC and on-disk DLC scam is to simply stop buying games from companies that trim content from the final game only to re-sell it as "extra content." Developers and Retailers need to realize that it's at a greater loss to scam their fans, than it is release a finished copy game that includes all the content that was intended for release.

Downloadable content is a great way for both gamers and game developers to continue to do what they love. DLC allows the gamer a flow of game-play and content, and also allows profit for the developers to keep making content for us gamers. But its when game developers start locking gamers out of game content as opposed to allowing them extra content to prolong the experience, that's when the balance falls apart. Developers need to make money, but this dishonest content-throttle business plan many developers have adopted has left gamers feeling cheated. I believe DLC has so much potential for both the gamer and the game developer. it is my hope that future developers will take gamer's feelings into account and think twice before cheating gamers out content they rightfully deserve. Its hard to say where things will go. Will the market will find a way out of this rut of dishonesty? Will DLC loose all relevance as gaming moves away from physical media? One thing is certain. We'll just have to wait for the next expansion to find out. 

-Brice

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Ron Reviews Okami (Spoiler Free Despite it's Age)

   Allow me to preface this post with a brief apology;  The blog has been rather stagnate as of late and for that I offer my sincere condolences.  I'm sure you're all well aware of the fact that pursuing a higher education requires one to pursue fiscal resources as well which, unfortunately, cuts into my free time.  In addition to apologizing I would also like to thank those of you who still follow this page. Now to the review.

   I've wanted to post a review for some time now but due to my aforementioned monetary restrictions I wasn't sure how to progress.  I could talk about almost any game and post my review but for anyone to read it the timing of a review is just as important as the subject matter.  Ideally I would like to review the newest games or shiniest toys but I lack the disposable income to do so.  The other option would be to review older games, but that raises the problem of retaining ( or rather gaining) your interest. Thus was the source of my dilemma.  So how does one overcome this obstacle?  Simply pick a game that is timeless. All I needed was a game that -despite it's age- resonates with players, so I turned to Brice ( the blog's better author) and asked what his favorite game was.  Which brings me to Okami.

   Okami is one of those games i've heard people whisper about but never really payed attention to.  Perhaps due to my PS2 days being full of too much angst and sugar for me to care about a games "artistic value".  (yes, I was that guy )needless to say despite my alleged maturation I came into this game as a skeptic.  I rather enjoy artistic games but at times they come across as, well, pretentious. Often selling a weak story-line as "artistic ambiguity" but given Brice's glowing endorsement as "The best game ever" I tried to keep an open mind.

           Okami is quite possibly the PS2's most beautiful game aesthetically.  The game looks and -more importantly- feels like a living tapestry.  there were times where I would simply stop playing and just look around the world the developers created for me.  And that brings me to another point; It seems like the artists treated the environment as a labor of love, taking the theme to heart and remaining faithful to it throughout the course of the game.  The only issue I have with the presentation is the way the story is presented.  The story itself is engaging enough to draw my interest, but given the fact that the game seems to sell itself on it's artistic value i expected the environment to play a more pivotal role in telling the story as opposed to the rolling text presentation that set up the plot and often broke the fourth wall briefly taking me out of the experience.  Despite those minor flaws I was thoroughly engaged once the story got going. It's nice to see a more mythological driven plot that isn't focused on visceral combat or rescuing a princess from a giant turtle; and there were times where I lost track of much time I spent playing the game.

      The game does offer a damn good experience that is as enjoyable to an adult as it is to a younger audience and I highly recommend it.

Grade: A- 

P.S. No Brice, not best game ever!

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The Man Without A Gamertag

   Whenever I discuss gaming with my peers or constituents the conversation always turns stale when the subject of muiltiplayer is brought to the table.  You see while many members of my generation are obsessed with disemboweling each other in a rather mindless community setting, I've never really understood the appeal.  In fact the whole phenomena seems akin to sadomasochism from my perspective; in the sense that it offers instant visceral gratification for those who invest the time to develop a tolerance to the whole ordeal while simultaneously offering a rude awakening for those who just decided look around town and accidentally stumbled into the wrong building (I digress).  Despite the fact that I don't personally invest the time or energy to become proficient in online fratricide, millions and millions of gamers regard it as a lifestyle and instantly label you as casual or ignorant (often interchangeable with queer or pussy in muiltiplayer vernacular) for not wasting as much time as they have learning their trade.

   Trolls aside, the cynical, jaded side of me of can't help but to notice that the popularity of muiltiplayer spawns the perfect opportunity for game developers to cut corners.  For example: when's the last time you played a F.P.S. for the narrative or new I.P.?  It's been a while.  See, developers are reasonably intelligent people so they understand that: old I.P. + rabid and devoted fan base = huge profit margin.  In other words; why should devs create anything new or waste resources on innovation when they can recycle the same game year after year while justifying the hefty price tag by offering a "more complete" muiltiplayer experience, since when has it been okay to allow your game to stagnate so much that muiltiplayer is the sole selling-point!?!  The biggest transgression manifest itself in the form of micro-transactions so that after you spent $60.00 on a game and decide to play online  you realize that in order to stay competitive in the online community you have to shell out more of your disposable income for "a new weapons pack" (or some related feature like that).  

   Now the purpose of this post (or rant) was not to condemn the online experience or belittle those who enjoy muiltiplayer; but rather to address the disturbing effect it seems to have on the gaming industry in general.  If you enjoy Tea-bagging you fallen digital adversary by all means continue.  I, however, prefer innovative gameplay and a deeper, well written narrative in my games and it seems like I have fallen into the minority.  Which causes me to fear a great stagnation of the industry.......only time will tell.     

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Penny Arcade Sells Out

When most people hear the phrase "sell out", they think of someone submitting to the higher-ups in exchange for money or "success", often compromising independent integrity or principles. That is why it's ironic that Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins of penny-arcade.com have decided to title their latest kickstarter initiative "Penny Arcade Sells Out." Krahulik and Holkins raised a question to fans of the site, asking them: "would you be willing to pay for a Penny Arcade website devoid of Advertisement?"

Krahulik and Holkins began this initiative for a couple of reason. They wanted to eliminate the workload of two people securing ad revs for the site in order to move focus on providing more content for users, as well as creating an ad free experience for fans of the site. In order to continue to provide content for users without advertisement revenues they estimated that they would need at least $250,000 from those willing to contribute, in order to maintain the site for one year.

After only two days "Penny Arcade Sells Out" has already raised over $215,000 with 34 days remaining. For many years now ad revenue has been the only way Internet content providers have been able to continue providing content to users. Youtube, Facebook, Yelp, Kotoku, and many other are all funded by companies that host ads on their sites. If Penny Arcade's goal of $250,000 is reached, it will mark a huge revolution in how internet content is funded, it will also lay testament to the power of crowd funding and devoted online communities.

In order to become a backer, users are asked to make a donation to projects they wish to support. Donations are subject to a minimum of one dollar. The more money a user pledges to a project the higher the incentive. Typical incentives ranging anywhere between honorable mention, to, a meet and greet with the founders. Farther more, If you decide to donate $1 or more to "Penny Arcade Sells Out," Gabe will shout your name while chasing a duck. If you decide to donate $15 dollars or more, Gabe will think about you during sex, with a certificate of appreciation of course.... No...wait- he wont think about you while having sex WITH the CERTIFICATE, you see... you receive a certificate separately..... :\

    go donate.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/575109064/penny-arcade-sells-out

-Brice

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Ode To Evil: My Top 5 Video Game Villains (Possible Spoilers)

  By definition, every protagonist needs an antagonist( it is a symbiotic relationship) and since video games are the only medium I know of that allows you to actually be the protagonist we wouldn't be very worthy of our titles without some kick-ass enemies to scare, enrage, and torment us whilst simultaneously endearing us through sheer badassitude, or their identifiable, or even esoteric qualities.  So here are my selections for the best video game villains.         

5. Harbinger:"Mass Effect 2"

   Easily the most annoying villain on the list; the reaper known as Harbinger manages to appear at possibly the most inconvenient times to attack and berate you without ever actually appearing as himself.  Instead he possesses the collector generals thus possessing the drones, so while you may feel relieved or accomplished after shooting the puppet, those feelings are gone when you realize you haven't even seen what's holding the strings.

4. Bob Page: "Deus-Ex" franchise

   While most villains aspire to world domination Bob Page has actually obtained it,after all, he managed to summit the hierarchy of "The Illuminati" and that wasn't even enough to tame his lust for power.  Instead of resting on his laurels, page sought to deify himself be embodying the technological singularity, and may have succeeded, depending on which ending you chose.

3. Pyramid Head: "Silent-Hill" franchise

   Pyramid Head was the first antagonist that actually managed to scare me simply by being in the same room!  Seriously.  The concept artist who designed him deserves a medal for his uncanny ability to make geometry terrifying.  Aesthetics aside everything this guy (and I use this term loosely) does is simply horrifying; from the awkward way he kills you to the way he will probably defile you after he kills you (hypothesis based off empirical evidence from various mannequin scenes)  On top of that he turns out to be the living embodiment of your guilt, so by the end of this game you could have been literally and metaphorically F$#@ed by the scariest monster in the game. Think about that next time you hear sirens go off.

2. Glad0s: "Portal" series

  My personal favorite, Glad0s is as menacing as she is likable.  The fine folks at valve did a fantastic job writing her seemingly as a more humorous but equally diabolical version of Hal ( pardon the "2001: A Space Odyssey" reference) over the course of the two games she manages to impart a dark yet intelligent comedic tone to the game and manages to win us over despite providing the player with a constant barrage of belittlement and numerous attempts against their life .......and she can sing 

1. G-man: "Half-Life" series

   Perhaps G-man's most interesting quality is the sheer amount of ambiguity surrounding the character.  You never actually fight him, you never know when he's going to show up, and you have no idea who he is.  In-fact their are whole websites dedicated to uncovering his identity.  But by far his most nefarious attribute is his capacity to manipulate.  Throughout the whole series, no matter who you are playing as, everything action you take seems to fit seamlessly into his scheme.  During the course of the game you spend so much time thinking about his comings and goings that you lose focus on the aliens THAT ARE INVADING EARTH.  Think about it, he  (probably) shares your objective in stopping the combine, yet the average player spends more time worried about the threat he poses than the combine.  That takes a powerful performance......or at least a creepy voice. 

-Ron

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Triple Threat: 3 Hurdles That May Hinder The Evolution of Gaming

   I often praise the gaming industry as well as the direction it seems to be going; hell my first post was almost exclusively about the evolution of the industry and how it was transforming into an artistic medium.  That being said nothing worth having ever comes without struggle or opposition.  While I believe gaming will continue to evolve it won't happen instantaneously nor will the mutation arise unopposed. So, as a man with opinions (or rather an opinionated man) I decided to name the three biggest threats to the evolution of gaming to provide a little warning so we may avoid these potential pit-falls.

-The Economy

   It's no secret that the gaming industry has felt the recent recession, console sales are down and more developers seem to be closing shop and going out of business.  While initially this leads to less games being made, it also leads to less diversity in the industry which (in my opinion) is HORRIBLE.  A lack of diversity dilutes the competition.  Competition that would force developers to manufacture and introduce new I.P. in order to gain an edge over the competition.  But as the competition continues to wane the successful developers can continue to play it close to the vest and release generic titles while still earning a considerable profit margin because nobody is there to challenge them.  Evolution appears as a result of environmental pressures, consequently, if developers are allowed to become stagnate and still make money doing so, there is no need to evolve.

-The Public Eye

   As much as I'd hate to admit it, there is still a stigma attached to gaming.  It hasn't been completely accepted as a creative medium mostly because older generations still view it as being an activity reserved for those of us who don't excel in the real world or the simply view it as "just a game" or a way to "kill time" our predecessors see it in the same light as they view high brow cinema or music. That being said I don't see this as a major obstacle because the changing of values and norms seems to correlate with the rise and fall of generations; to put it  in laymen's terms: as we grow older and take the spot of our parents, we take our societal values with us, as they did with their's and so on.

-We The People

   It's odd to think of ourselves as an obstacle to the evolution of gaming, but we may be the most dangerous threat of all.  In the paragraph about the economic hazards I emphasized the importance of competition as a deterrent to complacency.  Well, the only way to enforce the importance of competition is to demand it.  As consumers we dictate how the industry progresses by the way we react to the products we our offered- If we only buy generic, mindless shooters then that's all we will get offered to us.  The fact that we live in a market driven world means that we can command innovation and not settle for mediocrity.  We have the power to ask for more!  So ,as a gamer, I humbly ask my constituents to only buy games that validate the price and lead to the progression of the industry as a whole, don't settle for anything less than excellence, While we may not have any say in how games are priced, we create the demand.  So demand more!!! 

    As the industry continues to grow the aforementioned hazards are real, and while they may not be insurmountable, they're still very formidable.  With that said ultimately the fate of the industry will be a representation of how we reacted to said threats.  Personally, I remain optimistic and retain my belief that gaming will continue to improve but only time will tell.    

-Ron     

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Hub of Hope: How The Gaming Industry Offers sanctuary To The American Dream

   Anyone who has ever spent any quantifiable amount of time in America has probably heard about "The American Dream"; In essence: the ability to climb the social ladder and become successful by working hard and chasing one's dreams.  In theory this sounds fantastic but the bitter reality is that it seems unattainable, many of us feel pegged and trapped at the bottom of the food chain, destined to remain the smallest fish in the pond.  I certainly know what it's like to taste poverty and I know that chasing a dream often leads to a hard punch to the mouth, I've been there and in many ways haven't left.  I spent most of my time believing that success is a lie and that there is no "Manifest Destiny".  Though a fairly recent experience may have shook my very understanding what it means to persevere through adversity.  

  After suffering some of the aforementioned adversity I decided to quit my job and fly out west to visit an old friend of mine for a few weeks, I was on the verge of abandoning hope and accepting an existence marred by mediocrity.  We walked around San Francisco, fell prey to the various tourist traps, and managed to take in a crappy movie, but the most important part of our journey was born out of impulse.

  While we were walking down the street we stumbled across a game developers conference so naturally, we went inside (despite not paying the $200 admission fee) the conference was full of small presentations made by various independent developers.  and while some of them were more successful than others they all shared a common genesis.  All of the devs. we spoke with came from rather humble beginnings-a lot came from minimum wage jobs and just tinkered with software in their spare time.-

   One of the reasons I admire the gaming industry is that even though there is still a separation between the haves and have-nots, the little guy can still get involved and be successful.  Due (in part) to the fact that modern technology is difficult to contain. While the playing-field may not be completely level, anyone can obtain decent software and when that is paired with ingenuity and creativity the possibilities are innumerable in scope.  Someone in their basement can feasibly make a damn good game without having a heavy wallet or intricate network of "higher-ups" to get their foot into the right doors.  The gaming industry encourages involvement and offers various opportunities for the average Joe to showcase his/her work to the masses while many other industries are moving towards a more "elite" clientele.  Sneaking into that conference allowed me to view people of all backgrounds showing-off their work and sharing knowledge freely. It seemed as though they wanted everyone to succeed irregardless of the competition they may create for themselves(if not encouraging the competition).  Perhaps I'm overly-optimistic but the gaming industry seems like a place where everyone can do well.  The last Asylum for the "American Dream."   

-Ron          

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Gaming's Lesser Known Genres

From humble beginnings, gaming has come a long way since the days of pong and asteroids. Not unlike films, strides in technology has helped push the gaming industry to new heights. Since the birth of gaming, the industry has managed to branch off into many distinct genres. In the year 2012 the market is full of puzzle games, action adventure games, shooters, simulations, RTS's and RPGs. But there are some lesser known genres that are silently pushing the gaming medium towards that of an art form. Taking what we know about the world, about gaming, about ourselves and flipping it on its head.

DOCUMENTARY GAMES:

Documentary games are games designed to put the player into the roll of historical figure or situation of any given historical event in order to teach the gamer or present an alternate perspective. Some Documentary games include Super Columbine Massacre RPG, JFK Reloaded, and Escape from Woomera.

ART GAMES:

Art game are games that often use a unique mechanic or unconventional look to evoke emotions or ideas in their audience. Some art games are defined as such for their unique visual esthetic where as others are defined by unique game play (or lack of there of). Some art games include Every Day The Same Dream, Ico, and Flower

ARG'S:

ARG is an acronym that stands for Alternate Reality Game. The premise of an ARG is that there is more going on in our daily life than most people are aware and that the player is one of the few that realize it. Becoming a player in an alternate reality game is possible by simply realizing it exists. ARG's never admit that they are in fact games thus blurring the line between the game world and reality and allowing for puzzles that would be considered by many designers as much to hard for conventional games. Some examples ARGs include Year Zero, I Love Bees, and more recently, the Watch Dogs DOT Connexion ARG.

EXPERIMENTAL GAMES:

Experimental games are games created strictly to test the limits of what we view as video games, they use unconventional mechanics and test new ways to portray narrative or execute game play. One example of an experimental game is the half life 2 mod known as Dear Esther. Dear Esther is a type of exploration game that takes place on an island. As the player explores certain areas of the island, segments of narrative are delivered to the player through audio narration. Game play is virtually non existent but the player still receives a full narrative experience and has something to think about well after the game is over.

-Brice

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Top 5 Overlooked Films in My Opinion (In No Particular Order and Spoiler Free)

Nowadays media coverage occurs at a nauseating pace, soit's hard to believe any film could be overlooked these 5 have been (for the most part) so without further adieu here are my picks for the top 5 overlooked movies.

5. "Bronson"

  "Bronson" is a film loosely based off the life of a British criminal of the same name who seeks fame throughout his time in prison.  What makes this movie great, however, is Tom Hardy's masterful performance as the main character.  Seriously, if you want to see great acting watch this movie. 

4. "Gattaca"

While primarily billed as a science-fiction film set in the near future "Gattaca" is really an essay on humanity's ability to persevere through adversity and overcome limitations weather they're societal or genetic. While the acting is stiff at times it's nice to see a movie that actually manages to inspire it's audience and make them believe.

3. "Man Bites Dog"

   This Belgian false-documentary serves as a satirical commentary of media violence by taking you into the life of serial killer Benoit Benoit Poelvoorde as he his followed by a team of filmmakers who capture his exploits on camera as he explains the various aspects of his job and motivations. Not everyone will enjoy this film but it's worth watching.

2. "The Ides of March"

A political drama about a campaign worker's promising career and growing cynicism as a major scandal hits,  There isn't a bad acting performance to be found and the film is written fairly well.

1. "The Prestige"

Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman portray two battling magicians whose competition turns into obsession and betrayal, while I can't give much away Nolan wrote a fantastic screenplay and the acting is actually a lot better than I anticipated definatly worth a watch

-Ron

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Video Games and Sensitivity

A while ago I read an article on 1Up.com about the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Japan back in March of 2011. The article was called "How Japan's Earthquake Change Japan." I wanted to briefly touch on the topics presented in the article, one of which being, Sensitivity. The article mentions several games that were in production at the time that were forced to be altered or were pushed back to be released at a later time. The delays were not entirely caused by the catastrophe itself but instead by public reception and backlash.

After the tsunami many games that were set to be released, such as: Tekken Tag Tournament, Yakuza: Dead souls, and even Naruto, all came under heavy fire from the public for containing insensitive sense portraying disaster. Another incident described in the article was in the case of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. Public backlash caused Kojima Studios to remove a scene from Metal Gear Solid 2 In which a ship crashes into the Statue Of Liberty. Kojima's team also started spelling the name "Raiden" rather than katakana because people felt it sounded similar to "Bin Laden."

A larger underlying topic of this article soon becomes very clear to the reader, that topic being: Censorship in games. Gaming is still a relatively young medium and still has a long path ahead of it on its road to respectability. However, in any case, we as a community should be assertive and steadfast in our convictions. We need speak out against public out cry and censorship no matter what the reason if we ever hope to achieve public recognition as a mature respectable medium. When ordinary people see a team of game developers they don't see hard working artists, and storytellers, they see toy makers, naive, and immature.

Games have the potential to take us to places we could never dream of, tell us story and teach us thing; not only about the world around us, but about ourselves as well. Im not saying we should all turn into insensitive pricks in the name of gaming, we should stand up for the games we love and not crumble at the first sign of trouble. I believe Toshihiro Nagoshi said it best:

"we should be proud of what we make...sometimes in entertainment, we should make bold decisions against minor concerns. In this case (the case of Yakuza: Dead souls), the story was about the city being destroyed, but the focus was on how the characters tried to fight back and their struggle to retain what they lost. So if something like this happened again, and we were faced with the decision whether to postpone the title past its original date, I think we'd stick to the original timing."

The earthquake and tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011 was, no doubt, a tragedy. Many people lost their homes and loved ones to the catastrophe. To every disaster there is fear, pain, suffering and loss, but in its wake there is also heroism, love, bravery, and triumph. The human condition is not always an easy one. Life is a gift, a story waiting to be told. No matter how much pain and suffering, no matter how much love and joy, You can be sure that games will always do their best to tell a story.

link to article: http://www.1up.com/features/how-japans-earthquake-changed-developers

-Brice

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High Score to High Brow (the evolution of games)

  Perhaps one of humanity's most endearing qualities is the unique capability to express ourselves through a cleverly crafted narrative.  A well forged story is quite possibly the epitome of art: they take us places we could never go , Thrust us into emotional states we would never seek, and manage to endow us with seemingly esoteric knowledge we may never have fathomed.  Irregardless of how new the medium is, storytelling manages to infiltrate every venue that serves as a host to human expressionism, and the gaming industry is no different.

  Storytelling in video games is not a new concept, but given the relative youth of gaming the progression of narratives is impressive.  One may even be so bold as to compare it to human growth.  Human adolescence tends to concentrate most of it's efforts towards competition -through sports, grades, looks, popularity- as we age we begin to look for a deeper understanding of ourselves and our place in the universe the same could be said about the medium of gaming. Our parents knew it as, well, a game; However, in less than a generation it has grown from a way to earn the highest score to a way to convey a less tangible, yet more profound, message.  Simply put, we've transitioned from being " players" to being witnesses as well as becoming students.

  In the interest of perspective consider how generation x felt after playing "Asteroids" for a day; Now compare that experience to a more recent game, say... "Mass Effect"( bar the ending or extended cut DLC) while "Asteroids" gave me a competitive outlet, "Mass Effect" made me contemplate the value of diversity and even question the definition of life itself.  While technology has made games more enjoyable to play and more aesthetically pleasing; the true testament of advancement lies withing their ability to make us think as well as feel which is a  trait truly indicative of art.

  Personally, I've enjoyed this growth and look forward to watching it progress throughout the next few years.  Given enough time we may look upon games in the same manner we view a Shakespearean tragedy or a visual masterpiece.  But with the addition of red eyes and sore thumbs. 

                                                                                     - Ron

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Where Did All Good Cheats Go?

Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right. A, B.  A non-sensible phrase to many, but strikes a nostalgic chord in the hearts and minds of gamers from the mid 80’s up till those of the early 21st century. Cheat codes, were what they were called. Theses sequences of button combinations could allow you anything from infinite amo to infinite health, enabling god mode to letting you skip whole levels all together. So what happened? After the release of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo’s Wii, Gamers saw a gradual decline in the release of cheat codes and an increase in Walkthroughs and strategy guides. No longer were gamers aloud to cheat their way to a bazooka with infinite rockets, they had to earn it by beating the game twice, on hard, while collecting all collectables, without dieing.   

There are many different theories as to why game developers abandoned cheat codes for unlockables. One theory being that games were just harder back in the day. Gamers needed cheat codes. I can imagine many more destroyed TV sets and mangled gaming consoles due to frustrated gamers had cheat codes not been around. As developer limitation decreased as too did difficulty in game, ergo, decreasing cheat code relevance. 

Another factor may well have been the implementation of achievements. Gamer scores became a badge of pride among peers and one could only attain a high gamer score by unlocking in-game achievement. In most of the few new games that still allowed cheat codes, the gamer was required to turn off achievements in order to use them. cheat codes would allow an unfair advantage and allow gamers to complete achievements much quicker and easier. With this higher emphasis on achievements, most developers soon abandoned cheat codes all together. 

However, one of the most reoccurring theories is that the death of the cheat code was not on the hands of a newer calmer gaming generation or Achievement, but in the hands of Online gaming and DLC. As Xbox online and PlayStation network took off so did the concept of downloadable content as well as pre-order incentive. Why allow gamers to access additional content with just a few button taps when you can, instead, charge them for said additional content and make a quick buck? With Online gaming on the rise much additional content was now being released in the form of micro transactions. New weapons and costumes were no longer unlockable by five digit pass phrases, but instead by three digit credit card security codes.

In the end, all these theories may have played a role in the death of the cheat code. But gaming is still evolving and progressing as a medium and cheat codes have played a significant role that evolution. So perhaps instead of mourning the death of the cheat code, we should celebrate it as a cherished memory, unique to us gamers of old. Besides, the exhilarating feeling of punching in a non-sensible sequence of letters and numbers will always live on, just in the form of $25 redeemable online codes. 

-Brice

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Intr0ductions

If you're reading this, welcome to L00t_Drop. My name is Brice (from California) and his name is Ron (from Michigan). The L00t_Drop blog is dedicated to everything Entertainment and Gaming. Look forward to Game and movie Reviews, Previews, Tech and industry News, as well as personal thoughts, opinions, and rants from the two of us. We aim to help better inform and educate on everything that interests. Be sure to follow for future updates and everything you need on everything entertainment.  

-Brice