Look who comes crawling back for more

I generally thought I'd finished with this blog. I mean, the last post was 9 months ago. But I might have reason to kick this thing back into gear sooner or later. I began university last September studying Film & TV Production, and it's been a blast, but come this September I'll also be doing a short course in 'The Emergence of Games Culture', which means it may be useful for me to write critically about games and things.

So I'm going to try and get back into the habit of reading those blogs there on the right. I guess I've missed a lot of awesome writing. I'm sorry. But hopefully I'll be able to contribute something of my own soon. At least when Left 4 Dead has released its firm grip of my balls. I'm still not good at writing well, my vocabulary has probably only degraded since I last wrote an article, and I'm still going to fuss more over the colour scheme of this blog than the posts, but it might at least be beneficial to me, even if not at all for you. So see you soon, and remember, all the noobs will be playing as Ken, so for god's sake pick someone else.

The image has no relation to the contents of this post.

Hiatus - Curtains will be temporarily closed

Not that I've exactly been on fire for the last...two months. Well, in case anyone was expecting a new post in the comings weeks, you can now expect differently. It's nothing personal. GTA IV has been dominating my game playing, and I think there's enough people talking about that already, plus I've been doing lots of work and focusing on films, my perhaps slightly bigger (or at least more presently active) passion. I mostly won't be posting in the next few weeks though due to the start of the 2008 Festival de Cannes, (like GDC, but for films, and two weeks long) and so my game blog reading is kind of getting shunned by my film blog reading instead.

So seeya in a few weeks. Don't touch my stuff, please.

Two for the price of two!

Got an email today from Amazon explaining how by Special Edition GTA IV will not be delivered till sometime late May. I couldn't cancel the order of course, as I'd be sure to miss my chance on bagging the limited extras. 'A pity', I thought to myself as I handed over my cash for a second copy of the game in the local supermarket. So it totals up to over £100 when you combine the two, but that's still gonna work out as around 50p per hour in the long term, which is damned good value for the entertainment I'm getting!

First hour's impressions? I won't be buying another game for quite some time...

And just when you thought it was over...

As any readership I have may have noticed, there hasn’t been much to actually read in the past few weeks. There’s not really any major reason why, just lots of little reasons that have added up. First, as a film student and aspiring film director (though I’ll settle for whatever I can get, to be honest), I’ve been spending more time watching films, reading films and making short films than I have been playing and thinking about games. I’ve also been very busy with work, as it’s getting to that point of the year where every week sees another deadline I don’t stand a chance of making. I’ve also been contemplating leaving my job, but can’t decide whether I should just hand in my resignation or keep pushing acceptable limits of laziness until I get fired.

I’ve still been playing a bit though. As the 360 is officially off limits until the release of GTA IV, the PS3’s been getting a showing, particularly Hot Shots (best online playbase I’ve ever encountered), MotorStorm (or the step-by-step guide to creating the perfect racing experience), and recently a little Unreal Tournament III (or the step-by-step guide to making a gamer cry. It’s tricky online…)

But most of my playing time has been devoted to free online browser game Ikariam. I read about it here, and then here, and then decided to check it out myself. It’s meant to be a game you just ‘check on’ every few hours for five minutes or so, adjust a few bars and click on a few pretty buildings, but I’ve found it so compulsive it’s gotten to the points where I kill time in between actions by mapping out everything I need to do in the next two days worth of playtime. It’s really, really hooked me. I think I even dreamt about it last night.

But another reason I haven’t been posting so much recently is because I keep getting ideas for a new kind of videogame blog, a unique and potentially hilarious bunch of concepts. I can’t really explain it. Think MST3K, wrestling, reality TV and The Trap Door combined, with crazy characters and different rooms and in-jokes. All expressed through text. Yeah, it sounds shit, but it could cover up my writing weaknesses at the very least. Anyway, I’ll build on it and see how it goes.

As for the near future, I’m sure GTA IV will give me plenty to talk about.

Game Consoles, the Third Parent

Here’s a thought. Children grow up playing games from a very young age these days, and proberbly spend more time playing than they do listening to their parents. Due to the existence of different consoles, and the common limitation amongst children of only having the choice of owning one for a five year-odd period, is it possible that the console may effect their upbringing like a third parent?

I have a friend who primarily grew up with Nintendo consoles. Nowadays he wants to become a graphics designer, wears brightly coloured clothes, has an overwhelmingly positive personality, still watches cartoons and seems essentially allergic to cursing. Meanwhile I grew up with the PlayStation brand, and as such often display a more bleak perception on life, wearing black shirts and grey jeans, possessing an obsession with Scorsese pictures, swearing quite fucking often to be honest, and seeing the idea of getting shot at a young age as a pretty damn cool way to go. Essentially, when he thinks Italian, he thinks Mario. When I think Italian, I think Tommy DeVitto.

My mother proberbly wouldn’t approve.

The Year of Playing Dangerously

As I’m sure most people are quite aware, the fourth addition in the Grand Theft Auto series is due to hit stores worldwide by April 29 after its most out of character delay several months ago. The series has become undoubtedly the main event of the second half of my gamer years, and so this is a pretty damn important event for me. I’m imagining that a lot of people reading this, who I suspect (hope) are from the more intelligent side of the gaming crowd, have proberbly got a few bad words to say of my beloved franchise, and you know what? I proberbly agree with them all. But no matter how “shallow” or “scrappy” or “dumb” past games may have been, I have to admit that some of my most intimate and emotionally immersive experiences I’ve ever come across have occurred within the realms of GTA. In fact, I fail to be able to think of a real life place that brings back as much nostalgia and good memories as happy old Vice City. I was barely alive in the 80’s, yet through that game I now have a very personal connection with everything that decade stood for.

But enough of the past. The latest GTA aims to fix everything that past games did wrong. The “quantity over quality” attitude has been reversed, and the gameplay and details are predicted to be as refined as they come, and all wrapped up in a damn fine looking engine. As per normal in the build up to a GTA, I tend to “prepare” myself for the countless hours I’ll be in company with the game world by doing a little background research and leaching off every info leak I can get my hands on. Seeing as this title seems to focus on the Eastern European crime scene, I’ve already done some reading into the Russian Mafia and aim to get hold of a few of Sam Houser’s named influences, including last years Eastern Promises. I’ll be memorising the names of the characters and streets revealed so far, as well as the names of the cars and guns that’ll be helping me along in Niko’s pursuit of the American dream. Expect the Xbox 360 to be sealed off a week in advance to avoid any cursed Red Ring of Death moments (my last console died on me two weeks before Halo 3), and the PS2 to get a quick encore while I familiarise myself with the series history.

I love these times in gaming. I’ve looked forwards to a lot of films and music over the years, but nothing can quite have the hands shaking in anticipation like a good old sequel to an aggressively marketed videogame franchise. To think that in a couple of month’s time I’ll have an entire map of a virtual city permanently indented into my memory banks, and all from the comfort of my own chair. Yet again, I seriously cannot wait.

Uncomfortable Viewing

The other day I visited the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) as part of a film studies trip in London. For those unaware they’re the guys who caused the 'Manhunt 2' kerfuffle last year, resulting in the game being band in the UK. They didn’t say much about it, seeing as we were there for the films, but some things did strike me. Firstly they mentioned how they only ban things that break the law. Secondly that they only banned two works last year, the other being a foreign film about toddlers killing people. Okay, the toddler massacre thing may have broken a few rules on the treatment and wellbeing of child actors, but what law was 'Manhunt 2' breaking? The lady giving the presentation (who was very friendly, like an old librarian, but not afraid of saying several “fucks” when covering the ‘language’ section), didn’t say much on the game other than it was very bleak, and was only about killing. Still not breaking any laws though. Bah, we ain’t missing much anyway.

Other than that she mostly showed clips that had been cut out of various releases due to their inappropriate content, which was kind of cool, and ironic. I also nearly exploded from needing a piss. We got the train down and didn’t stop walking till we arrived there, where the presentation hastily began, so no chance for a toilet break. It was one of those times where it’s so bad you actually nearly cripple yourself, stomach and back tense, hands shaking, struggling for breath. I sneaked out half way through after discovering there wasn’t going to be a designated break for another hour, and ended up standing over the urinal for close to five minutes. When I returned I found myself strolling to my chair with a swagger, overwrought with confidence and pride as if I’d just slaughtered a giant bear. Total prick…

It’s also worth mentioning that the presentation was filmed to be put on the official BBFC website, so there’ll be me, struggling and squirming away at the back, smiling politely. What was interesting, and equally non game-related, was that (awesome Korean film) 'Oldboy' was apparently edited by the BBFC to remove the scene where he eats a live (actual live) octopus, due to animal rights and what not. However, my DVD of the film at home, which was purchased in a leading British entertainment store, has the scene included. I considered pointing it out to her, but duly decided against it in case it got people into trouble. Oh, I also saw one of those life-sized Big Daddy models in an electronics store hidden round the back. And I got kissed simultaneously on either cheek by two young Indian looking girls while waiting outside a Subway. Yup, still got the magic … or aids.

Joining the Dark Side

Today marks a significant day in my gamer diary. Along with my birthday comes a PlayStation 3, a console I mocked just a year ago, before it turned into the most desirable piece of kit on the market. Uncharted and Warhawk came with the console, and I’ve got Ratchet, MotorStorm and Resistance on unlimited rental. Uncharted unsurprisingly makes for the highest priority on the list, as does downloading Everyday Shooter from PSN once I’ve got it hooked up online. It’s everything I expected it to be. It’s sleek, it’s silent, it’s got ‘the future’ written all over it, its hideously ugly and indescribably beautiful at the same time…it’s Sony’s old black box of love and hate.

It only occurred to me just the other night what I’ve now got to look forwards too, essentially all the games I previously gazed at enviously while feeling I was in some way handicapped due to not being able to play, but how things have changed. The collective hype of MGS4, GT5, LittleBigPlanet and ‘The Next Project from Team Ico’ has hit me all on the same day and swept me off my feet. I am a happier man because of it. Here’s to consumerism!