Modern Warfare 2 controversy

It just seems like controversy after controversy for Infinity Ward lately. First all of the hooplah about no dedicated server support for the PC version of Modern Warfare 2, and now outrage over the leaked footage from the game in which you play a terrorist and shoot civilians in an airport.

In regards to the first controversy, about the PC online experience being neutered, like most other PC gamers I am pretty pissed off about this. So Infinity Ward want it to be more like a console experience, and also allow themselves to maintain more control over the online side of the PC game? Thanks, but no thanks. I have a PS3, if I wanted to have a console experience for MW2 then I would purchase the game for that console. When it comes to First Person Shooter games, however, I still much prefer the more refined experience offered by the PC. As much as I enjoyed Killzone 2 recently on the PS3, nothing really compares to the precise mouse control that you can get on the PC.

In regards to the second controversy, about the terrorist airport subplot, I'm definitely on Infinity Ward's side over this one. Infinity Ward are one of the most effective developers when it comes to creating games that really immerse you in the experience. Going right back to the first Call Of Duty, I have regularly found their games to be psychologically traumatic experiences. They have never shied away from presenting the utter brutality of war, while also maintaining a perfect balance between fun gameplay and intense scenarios.

Infinity Ward have said that:

"The scene is designed to evoke the atrocities of terrorism".

If they manage to put as much thought into this scenario as they do all of their others, then I'm sure that the scene will achieve its intended purpose.

They have also said:

"At the beginning of the game, players encounter a mandatory "checkpoint" in which they are warned that an upcoming segment may contain disturbing elements and they can choose not to engage in the gameplay that involves this scene."

So, they're giving players the option to skip this scene. Surely this type of socially and morally responsible action by Infinity Ward should allay any fears that media watchdogs might have about the scenario? Umm, no. Jane Roberts, president of the Australian Council on Children and the Media, now wants the game to reassessed by the Classification Board. As the game is already MA15+, the maximum rating allowed under the Draconian Australian game classification system, then if she was successful this would mean the game would be "RC", or refused classification, essentially banning it from sale in Australia.

Now, to anyone who follows the Australian gaming scene this should really come as no surprise. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but if you want to read my thoughts on the classification system in that country then read this:

http://gamertron5000.blogspot.com/2008/10/refused-classification.html

I wrote that when I was living in Australia last year, and unfortunately a year later the situation is no different than it was then.

Hopefully this will all just turn out to be a storm in a teacup, and the game will still be released in Australia unedited. But going on how the Classification board has forced other developers - such as Bethesda, Valve etc - to compromise their artistic vision when it comes to their games, I wouldn't really be suprised if the same thing happens to Infinity Ward.

In the end, will any of this really hurt the success of the game overall? No chance. Modern Warfare 2 is set to be the biggest product launch ever, of any type of media. That's a pretty amazing thing, and if any developer deserves it it is Infinity Ward. But, you know, how about giving us PC gamers dedicated server support and modding tools? No? Really? Oh well, you can't blame me for trying.

Braid: Closure

Yes! I just finished Braid. I had half a dozen puzzle pieces left in World Six, and last time I played I got pretty angry and just couldn't see the solution. But, coming back to the game now after a bit of a break, the final pieces all just fell into place. It's such a satisfying feeling. It's even more satisfying that I didn't use a walkthrough at any point, although there were a couple of times when I was tearing my hair out and felt close to cracking.

What a truly clever game. I'm not going to get into the whole "Can it be considered art?" side of things, although this game certainly does push the boundaries of what would be considered a standard game narrative into something a lot more deep and filled with metaphor. Take away all that story and subtext of the game - which I'm sure a fair few people don't really pay much attention to, anyway - and you've still got a fantastically crafted piece of gaming.

Whether or not Jonathan Blow tries to push the narrative and artistic boundaries with his next game - which, let's be honest, he probably will - as long as he creates another game that simply makes me feel joy to be playing it like Braid did, then I'll be more than satisfied.

Gaming Milestones

In my previous post, I wrote about how Gina bought me a PS3 as a gift when we got engaged. This got me to thinking about how I associate certain events or periods in my life with a particular video game or game system, and vice-versa. Here are some that I have come up with after pondering the subject for a while:

Commodore 64
When I think of my brother Bruce, who is considerably older than me, I can't help but flash back to when I was probably only about 7 years old and he would let me play on his Commodore 64. I have such fond memories of playing games such as Archon, Gremlins, Summer Games, World Games, and many more.

Amiga 500
Eventually my brother reached working age and got a job, and not long after that he upgraded to an Amiga 500. This lead to a fairly lengthy period when I would sneak into his room while he was at work and load up game after game to play. I clearly recall one of my favourites was BMX Simulator, even though it was very difficult to control and I normally couldn't even get past the first track.

Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES )
I got an NES when I was 8 or 9 years old, as a Birthday gift from my mum and dad as I recall. When I think of this system, the main image that pops into my head is of my young self sitting cross-legged in front of our massive old school Philips TV, on our red and gold patterned axminster carpet in the living room. I would sit there entranced, playing through Super Mario Bros. 2, or the forgotten gem Skate or Die. I remember that I wouldn't realise that my legs were going to sleep under me, and would get a nasty surprise when I tried to stand up.

Sega Megadrive ( Genesis )
My very generous parents bought me a Megadrive when I was 11 years old, if I recall correctly. I have so many fond memories of this machine, they are too numerous to count. But sticking with the theme of the post, this machine played a role at a milestone in my life. I recall taking it over to my friend Jason's house for my very last sleep over before I got to the age when you just didn't do sleep overs any more. We had a blast playing Sonic 2 until late at night, hoping like hell that the rapidly failing power adaptor didn't decide to cut out like it used to quite often. I would have to bend the cable tightly where it connected to the adaptor in order for it to actually work.

Half Life
This game was my first real introduction to the FPS genre ( I'm not counting Corporation on the Megadrive due to the rather limited amount of movement that the game allows you ).


This game marked the beginning of my hunger to make my PC as powerful as I possibly could. I had purchased my first PC, a massively overpriced pre-built PC from Smith's City, with the aid of my friend Brent who was a bit of a computer geek. This was at the turning point when PCI was being replaced by AGP as the standard for GPU expansion slots, and I was under the impression that my machine had an AGP expansion slot. Turns out it didn't, so I had to hunt around before eventually finding a PCI graphics card that would suit so that I could play Half Life in all of it's 3D glory. The card was a Geforce 4 TI4600, and it totally rocked. Since then, I have constantly tried to keep at least reasonably up to date with my PC technology so that I can play games at a high enough resolution to satisfy my graphics whore cravings.

EverQuest


When I think of my first girlfriend, the game that defines my period with her is definitely Everquest. This game was my second venture into the world of MMORPGs ( after Ultima Online, which never really captured my attention ). For the majority of the time that we were going out, I was playing EverQuest. When I wasn't with her, or at the Hagley Theatre Company where I was studying at the time, then chances are I was at home hunched in front of the computer playing EverQuest. In fact, my love of EverQuest long outlasted my relationship with her. That damn game was just so hard to leave...

Final Fantasy VII
This game, along with being the first game to really open my eyes to the wonders of RPGs, also gave me a common point of interest with my second girlfriend. She loved the game also, and for a Birthday present for her I went to the trouble of ordering in the Final Fantasy VII orchestral soundtrack from Amazon.

Final Fantasy X

Fast forward a while, and this game also played a part during a time in my life related to the same girl mentioned above. She had just broken up with me, and I can honestly say that it is the only time in my life when I have had my heart broken. It fucking hurt. It may sound ridiculous, but Final Fantasy X got me through the few months that it took to recover from the break-up. It allowed me to take my mind off the whole situation. As well as being a truly fine game, It will always hold a special place in my heart for helping me through this period.

Nintendo Gamecube and the Resident Evil remake
I remember purcasing a Gamecube, along with Resident Evil, before heading over to hang out with my girlfriend at the time. My mind totally wasn't on her, I kept thinking about the little purple cube and was longing to go home and set it up and get playing. She totally picked up on this, and it wasn't long before I made my excuses to head off so that I could rush home. Kind of sad, really, but looking back at that relationship, the Gamecube and I were a hell of a lot more suited to each other than she and I were...

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
This game makes me think of living in my first flat. I was flatting with my friend Abbie, and her friend Mark - who was a bit of a douche - but like me he had a PS2 which meant that we shared games. I spent many nights playing his copy of Vice City in front of the TV trying to pull off stunt jumps and mowing down Haitian gangsters while listening to the hits of the 90s. Ahh, good times.

Gameboy Advance SP
This console was my saviour while living overseas, in Edinburgh, Scotland. By this point I had been away from home for about six months. This meant that I had been without video games for six long months. Now, I have been playing video games since I was about six or seven years old. Six months is the longest I have ever gone without video games. I had to get something to play, and my living situation at the time meant that I couldn't get a console to plug into a TV due to not having easy access to a TV. The Gameboy Advance was the perfect solution. I spent many hours, shut away in my little box room, playing Harvest Moon: Friends Of Mineral Town. Being away from my friends and family could get pretty depressing, but that little silver palm sized machine kept my spirits up.


Okay, this post is far too long and rambly so let's just say that this brings me up to the PS3, and associating it with my engagement to Gina.

Wow, that kind of got all over the show. That's what happens when you turn 30, you start to ramble.

PS3

So, some news: I got engaged to my beautiful girl, which totally kicks ass! While this, in and of itself, is totally fantastic, I also got a bit of a bonus out of it too. She felt a bit of engagement ring guilt - not that it was insanely expensive or anything, but it still set me back a few bob - so to assuage that guilt she bought me a new PS3 Slim! Best. Fiance. Ever.

Not that it was a totally selfless act, seeing as she also purchased Guitar Hero World Tour which she's been wanting to play for ages. We've both been having a lot of fun playing it, me on the guitar and her on the drums. It took a while for my fingers to listen to what my eyes and brain were trying to tell them, but I'm now at the point where I can play most songs on Hard. Expert still destroys me, however. Favourite song to play? Hotel California.

She also grabbed Killzone 2 as part of a preorder deal. I blitzed through that in a few weeks, I really enjoyed it. It's the first console FPS I've played, and being a long time PC FPS player it took me a while to get the hang of the dual analogue control. As a game, there was nothing particularly innovative or original about it. It pretty much ticked all of the standard FPS boxes, but the sheer amount of polish and fine tuning that the game displayed was incredible. It really goes to show what a studio can do when they have the backing of the console parent company, and money and time is no obstacle.

I also picked up The Ultimate Megadrive Collection second hand from EB. I haven't delved too much into it yet, but it's been fun to have a quick bash on the Sonic games. I also played through Comix Zone, which I had never played before. It was charmingly repetitive and straightforward, as a lot of retro games can be, but it showed a lot of artistry and some new ideas. Thank God that the collection allows you to save at any point, though, as otherwise I would have had no chance completing it. All these new games with their multiple save points and quick saves has made me soft, I tell you!

The high point of my PS3 experience so far, however, has been Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. I picked this up a couple of weeks ago, and I finished it a few days ago. The fact that as soon as the end credits finished rolling, I went straight back to the menu and started up a new game on Hard should tell you how much I enjoyed the game. The game is just so much fun! The whole package just appeals to my sensibilities. Amazing, lush graphics? Check. Classic rollercoaster ride adventure story? Check. Genuinely good dialogue and cutscenes? Check. Very nearly perfect controls? Check. A whole bunch of other awesome things? Check. The only thing I didn't really like about it was the "zombie" sections near the end of the game. After 16 or 17 chapters of playing against reasonably intelligent human AI enemies, to all of a sudden be pitted against typical "run at the player blindly" enemies felt a bit disappointing. I tolerated these sections rather than enjoyed them.

Based on my new found love of Uncharted, needless to say I am totally amped about Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. I've been playing the multiplayer beta, and it's fantastic. I didn't want to commit too much time to the beta though, as any rewards and stats you've built up don't carry over to the full game.

In summary, the PS3 is like a magical black box of wonder and joy filled with electronic lollies and sparkles that I consume with my heart.