tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3819238341309716822024-03-21T20:48:08.455-07:00Just Fucking Give UpOne small step for douchebag, one giant leap, for douchekind.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-11134557915931282502012-07-01T01:57:00.004-07:002012-07-01T01:57:48.875-07:00UX Case Study: Persona 4 (Team Composition)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9gFdUK-PvXM_ix4m_y3xbcdWIKR5JKjBp5ik05PcUNYXQUawBPOJObwbIYggYHmG3Ulyhxb72QwPjrcyFJzQNwdIvnH3CRT7fCDCuOyQW5olT4znv7laRVMPMz9z6KnHf9FHsL-kFHk/s1600/title.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju9gFdUK-PvXM_ix4m_y3xbcdWIKR5JKjBp5ik05PcUNYXQUawBPOJObwbIYggYHmG3Ulyhxb72QwPjrcyFJzQNwdIvnH3CRT7fCDCuOyQW5olT4znv7laRVMPMz9z6KnHf9FHsL-kFHk/s640/title.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DAT YUKIKO</td></tr>
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First, I haven't actually beaten Persona 4. I've just beaten Heaven, which had probably one of the best boss battles in any JRPG. It's quite possibly ATLUS's most prominent piece de resistance. That said, I've got a few gripes about JRPGs in general, because if we're perfectly honest, they're just spreadsheets with pretty pictures. Good design patterns explain to the user how the game is meant to be played, but Persona 4 fails to provide tools that facilitate workflow, instead sticking to traditional hierarchal menus.<div>
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I've got enough pictures to do a few of these posts, but let's pick one topic for now. For the final boss of Heaven, Kuni no Sagiri, you need maximum awareness of your personae weaknesses. (If you're curious, Kuni no Sagiri has 3 attack patterns--1st Quad Coverage will do a universal buff/debuff so only 1 primary element is given a 200% weight and to determine this element your team must guard to avoid knockdown, 2nd a party member is afflicted by confusion and previous pattern continues, 3rd he will spam physical attacks and you need a persona with Phys strong/null/repel/drain.)</div>
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Sorry about the quality, my video capture card is ripped out right now so I used a DSLR.</div>
<h2>
Task: Team Composition</h2>
<h3>
Need Case</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2joLbvXwj4nykpXuVv9ZGElRbviPPUKR6pCdubp_IiQCgw9eo8wlq4OL68Qd-b1GN_P78yBnWZrVBHIf0XQGTSHnT2YbMUqk1dCXDjULisHKBEExO2LTPv6Bfbpg7rtpKiHCfVeou6E/s1600/dungeon_entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2joLbvXwj4nykpXuVv9ZGElRbviPPUKR6pCdubp_IiQCgw9eo8wlq4OL68Qd-b1GN_P78yBnWZrVBHIf0XQGTSHnT2YbMUqk1dCXDjULisHKBEExO2LTPv6Bfbpg7rtpKiHCfVeou6E/s640/dungeon_entrance.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infinitely better than Minecraft</td></tr>
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This is the dungeon screen. This is where you first have the ability to compose and adjust your team. In fact, this is the only place where you can swap out members. This creates an interesting gameplay mechanic that gives value to Certain Escape, Traesto, and Goho-M. It places additional risk into the calculus you must perform to determine your bingo point and switch out members. Let's get started and add Brosuke to your party.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iIp3rOvdMK_f7x2ZXiR_QkijKG5HMi7kBhYfXRwszUZNf9yLrtXqgFwb_kULOp86vT4qZemHNkAmwG_7cpnJ4H-PvBUrP1MMGjToQsvMCSoPYK_1DZyNv4oqMUwzFT2SkZwIdVkxjPA/s1600/dungeon_entrance_add_yousuke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="390" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4iIp3rOvdMK_f7x2ZXiR_QkijKG5HMi7kBhYfXRwszUZNf9yLrtXqgFwb_kULOp86vT4qZemHNkAmwG_7cpnJ4H-PvBUrP1MMGjToQsvMCSoPYK_1DZyNv4oqMUwzFT2SkZwIdVkxjPA/s640/dungeon_entrance_add_yousuke.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not-so-subtle nod to Metal Gear Solid 2</td></tr>
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This design pattern requires that the player walk to the desired party member and add him to the party. This vastly differs from the design pattern of recent Final Fantasy games of toggle and commit. This is a minor annoyance that the player must experience every time he enters a new dungeon. Let's say I've added my A-team, Brosuke, Chie, and Yukiko.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDzn0SUlyqABjstgsYFDqJuhduiDZn4H6f4QykW03bX2-AMGr2xQZWJc1y5yj-0WS0UZPtPMZkcxTJvYjCKXVWEKlx2LAV8JMJIrL7WJ6V_91Bd46roadoLRiJ9ow0LuBPQDnc5Lt_7c/s1600/menu_root.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDzn0SUlyqABjstgsYFDqJuhduiDZn4H6f4QykW03bX2-AMGr2xQZWJc1y5yj-0WS0UZPtPMZkcxTJvYjCKXVWEKlx2LAV8JMJIrL7WJ6V_91Bd46roadoLRiJ9ow0LuBPQDnc5Lt_7c/s640/menu_root.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pressing Triangle pulls up the root menu</td></tr>
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<div>
Let's look up the weakness tables for my team, so let's go to their personas.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pQ5z4CQrroOaETbFRR6eMP9dZEBCBshEFxmvaa6NihQMFidquxU6ISUPjai-HusTbdGySXfE9gfmZXMJt2obnojogcQ-A5oqdHlTqBd4a4eGRITktgkC2kZemqQj68NSXxW3UPjNFXs/s1600/menu_persona.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6pQ5z4CQrroOaETbFRR6eMP9dZEBCBshEFxmvaa6NihQMFidquxU6ISUPjai-HusTbdGySXfE9gfmZXMJt2obnojogcQ-A5oqdHlTqBd4a4eGRITktgkC2kZemqQj68NSXxW3UPjNFXs/s640/menu_persona.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, my character is named Man Assface, of course. It adds humor to all the wrong moments.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJybdY7Ug6-YkkALvelAJTLEhnMRISN883vXlTADx3d5OtRflgwUoj2Lge99rdsBh3v3XXI1zEHfVHBg9FdW2MwhNsLJxwmQSlPiwohSAS18CcDWWBKsgMvP_92nPL7bqEIp6G1IPDhnQ/s1600/menu_persona_chie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJybdY7Ug6-YkkALvelAJTLEhnMRISN883vXlTADx3d5OtRflgwUoj2Lge99rdsBh3v3XXI1zEHfVHBg9FdW2MwhNsLJxwmQSlPiwohSAS18CcDWWBKsgMvP_92nPL7bqEIp6G1IPDhnQ/s640/menu_persona_chie.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There's a lot of information packed in here, and the density is actually fairly nice. To get here, I had to press Triangle, 3x Dpad down, X, at least 1x Dpad down, X. At least 7 inputs to access Chie's elemental affinities. It's nice that the persona's arcana aren't presented here, since it's largely irrelevant outside of the fusion task.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkCfP5aVX7dkRVt09fA5YUzpmHTSBw54FiNKH2rCnwIGNAaASZmZGYicrObTDOufhyphenhyphentyEtlEAPhDCPh_LW7NeRKP7JXmwbRa2p2o_zos_xh4-0z5Lna9ApdhxhzaHBVOl-SvzNBF0rE0/s1600/menu_persona_yousuke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="404" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkCfP5aVX7dkRVt09fA5YUzpmHTSBw54FiNKH2rCnwIGNAaASZmZGYicrObTDOufhyphenhyphentyEtlEAPhDCPh_LW7NeRKP7JXmwbRa2p2o_zos_xh4-0z5Lna9ApdhxhzaHBVOl-SvzNBF0rE0/s640/menu_persona_yousuke.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Here's Brosuke. What is never explained is the question marks underneath the Next Level block. These represent future skills that can be learned. You'd have to go on Gamefaqs to find these, but these do affect the evolution of your party members. In Final Fantasy 13 parlance, he starts as a Medic, Commando, and Ravager. He becomes a better Ravager, and gains Jammer and Enhancer abilities; his Medic and Commando abilities become obsolete and you taper them off at your discretion.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7d6r8OJRfzIFRi0zAhCHcZSZrMF21ZAA841xwnUa5Sc7nQGKHxxm0M_A68m_g3O7eWajQfQrRkhPo3BYB0lPTOO-eIt3DeJp-G_xVK35vgm7tzweP-Ud-8SGKhmvPm4YLmWgSO0og4-Q/s1600/menu_persona_yukiko.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="406" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7d6r8OJRfzIFRi0zAhCHcZSZrMF21ZAA841xwnUa5Sc7nQGKHxxm0M_A68m_g3O7eWajQfQrRkhPo3BYB0lPTOO-eIt3DeJp-G_xVK35vgm7tzweP-Ud-8SGKhmvPm4YLmWgSO0og4-Q/s640/menu_persona_yukiko.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is Yukiko's. What isn't explicitly explained is the rock-papers-scissors system of the primary elements. Fire is weak to Ice is weak to Electricity is weak to Wind is weak to Fire. If you see an enemy use a fire-element attack, countering with ice may be a reliable bet (though this is not always the case). You can see that Yukiko is able to nullify all attacks of her fire affinity and is weak to ice attacks.</div>
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Let's hit Circle and select my character.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf9UQA-rZSD7iAVFBt5_clBSvA-9RFbO-eLe66_-rcMSrM5REQwRDl2Ab9Wh46fzxc3iOPPstW2xrJeIO5F69F_SXYjdhtkK01rNHl0uehBCbtVmRgT_jWMXXbRl-V4OBDo74Cj1mJrI/s1600/menu_persona_bancho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimf9UQA-rZSD7iAVFBt5_clBSvA-9RFbO-eLe66_-rcMSrM5REQwRDl2Ab9Wh46fzxc3iOPPstW2xrJeIO5F69F_SXYjdhtkK01rNHl0uehBCbtVmRgT_jWMXXbRl-V4OBDo74Cj1mJrI/s640/menu_persona_bancho.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Disney Lawyers, attack!</td></tr>
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<div>
Well we want to check elemental affinities, so let's hit Square. Assigning your default persona is useful, but considering you can switch them within a turn so there's not a huge penalty.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhwT1EvFNDX2mZg6tmDPDrEM9iW2TEtImyQK4-fBJ5UpZziRxJKJHe53WZ173mf2bV78qdBI0916DgEJ3-IQpq4uC3gjBTUl7S5DM6bOXq2eTDfH5ZjGHcH_gL_wHLuAPH1gK2V9vHwI/s1600/menu_persona_bancho_specific.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="392" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhwT1EvFNDX2mZg6tmDPDrEM9iW2TEtImyQK4-fBJ5UpZziRxJKJHe53WZ173mf2bV78qdBI0916DgEJ3-IQpq4uC3gjBTUl7S5DM6bOXq2eTDfH5ZjGHcH_gL_wHLuAPH1gK2V9vHwI/s640/menu_persona_bancho_specific.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those sandals are FIERCE bro</td></tr>
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<div>
First, Siegfried is great for turtling against enemies that have a preference for physical attacks. He has great Synergist and Commando properties as well as great passive buffs. But one thing the player learns throughout the course of gameplay is the difference between the resistance types of Strong (reduced damage), Null (take 0 damage), Repel (damage is reflected--essentially a guaranteed counter attack), and Drain (damage inflicted is converted into healing). I have to hit L1/R1 to cycle through my personae to check that my team composition doesn't leave my character weak against any one element type with adequate warning.</div>
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To recap:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR3vjcwNPawUnp0RVqwxgXw4LB_2-kUAUCRX9zigh7jZTCInw2QPiArgHdUZPqT0vYnlXkBAbSBlx-tw0CENaBJYmY9PK5S9ymaXp6dn9fEFGa-JNWpjZ8YI6h_y9fi6di21D9ocoFlQ/s1600/excelsheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="314" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnR3vjcwNPawUnp0RVqwxgXw4LB_2-kUAUCRX9zigh7jZTCInw2QPiArgHdUZPqT0vYnlXkBAbSBlx-tw0CENaBJYmY9PK5S9ymaXp6dn9fEFGa-JNWpjZ8YI6h_y9fi6di21D9ocoFlQ/s640/excelsheet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif;">ಠ___ಠ Seriously?</span></td></tr>
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<div>
From this I can tell that Yukiko is going to be a liability, and I should take steps to minimize her risks by equiping ice-reduction items, evasion items, increasing her social link rank, and blocking often.</div>
<h3>
Normal Case</h3>
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I'm going to keep working on this and edit the post, but here's food for thought: Warm colors for weakness, cool colors for strength?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAE1_iIxWJyhcSL2GjNG6eMPXSJQKTVczSjRQhalvqsCtPeXe8TDbESh5YuoSV5ek7pcP7GUJEf0pOrrPY0DgtKmzlQOinNncBTaBr7yC2FvcCTa9V1kiocooBhO9nWvW4Ra5f4Nexz0/s1600/colorcode.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzAE1_iIxWJyhcSL2GjNG6eMPXSJQKTVczSjRQhalvqsCtPeXe8TDbESh5YuoSV5ek7pcP7GUJEf0pOrrPY0DgtKmzlQOinNncBTaBr7yC2FvcCTa9V1kiocooBhO9nWvW4Ra5f4Nexz0/s1600/colorcode.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-47596630394209211782012-06-30T21:58:00.004-07:002012-06-30T22:01:52.665-07:00[Just Fucking Shut Up] Utter Clusterfuck<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0y-sliBpxVHHjHwd4fo-6bHPmfkLHypMuqevXjw498WuLUGWrUN3yLkrwCD3FydCKglJZB4TShlbxRy0JVQzU7sHFpv93nrjprHrTLwOX1C-aCWRC69P5GoH0WCHBL1XxwNiZvGn8fQ/s1600/jfsu7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0y-sliBpxVHHjHwd4fo-6bHPmfkLHypMuqevXjw498WuLUGWrUN3yLkrwCD3FydCKglJZB4TShlbxRy0JVQzU7sHFpv93nrjprHrTLwOX1C-aCWRC69P5GoH0WCHBL1XxwNiZvGn8fQ/s640/jfsu7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
Robotics;Notes just came out. Will it be able to meet our expectations from Steins;Gate and Chaos;Head? As long as it doesn't pull its narrative from Heart of Darkness, 2012 has too many of those already.<br />
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Anyway, we recorded a podcast forever ago but I got too busy to post. (And Megaupload got SWAT'd). We had 5 people, it was an utter clusterfuck. More so than usual. Very, very, NSFW.<br />
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<a href="http://depositfiles.com/files/mln00q5l5">http://depositfiles.com/files/mln00q5l5</a>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-84597763460556071722012-04-25T18:30:00.002-07:002012-04-25T19:35:26.317-07:00Years from now, we'll all look back and realize Guilty Crown was the greatest cultural artifact of 2012. Sure, you're laughing now, but you'll see. You'll see that its irrational characters, its internal inconsistency, and its plothole bonanza, all serve to create a single, compelling narrative of the likes that we have never known, and may never see again. <br />
<br />Oh, you'll see. We'll all sit down, and cry when Shu discovers that he's been the target of his sister's incestuous infatuation. When Inori kills someone, we'll shudder, knowing the remorse and guilt that she is truly wracked with. Gai's revival, will be bittersweet, as we both cheer and curse his existence. <br /><br />
And the tropes! Oh, the wonderful tropes! We'll never see such an amazing amalgation of contemporary Japanese animation tropes for years, perhaps even decades. Where else will we find such a perfect collection of bad cooking sheltered girls, disabled tsunderes, and robot catgirl maid hackers? <br />
<br />Like true geniuses, Guilty Crown is light years ahead of its time. May future generations laugh as our unrefined tastes were so shallow and unable to truly grasp its greatness. <br />
<br />...or maybe not. Maybe we will not be able to, and future viewing of this show only used to shock, horrify and disappoint. If it is so, manking truly has a grim future ahead of it.Lianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10257916341023411926noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-81437119669207658372011-10-22T20:29:00.000-07:002011-10-23T00:41:09.655-07:00[Just Fucking Shut Up] Robocop caused 9/11<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfgE4bMcxySJDzQxHIe1EQrscBpKheu9JAVa_GyiCTKrzR0C8YnKHcCwfq4k3FyDzziKUsXDTnMNjxm4f6PHCPcRzFE9zCTO2d7_AmjLQ7ICkaqMNcEDi067WIXxGnIJa4hjvuiwkYGQ/s1600/justfuckingpodcast6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFfgE4bMcxySJDzQxHIe1EQrscBpKheu9JAVa_GyiCTKrzR0C8YnKHcCwfq4k3FyDzziKUsXDTnMNjxm4f6PHCPcRzFE9zCTO2d7_AmjLQ7ICkaqMNcEDi067WIXxGnIJa4hjvuiwkYGQ/s640/justfuckingpodcast6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RA77KNBM<br />
<br />
We didn't play the podcast game this time! Avoided all the juicier animu topics because Andy's out<br />
<ul><li>Payday: The Heist is a great Left 4 Dead mod that we don't want to pay for</li>
<li>OCCUPY TILLAMOOK IS A THING THAT EXISTS</li>
<li>Bryan threatens to kick Nathan off the podcast</li>
<li>Bryan and Nathan tell a shitty 9/11 joke</li>
<li>1vs100 is an unintentional reality show</li>
<li>Black people don't play Armored Core except for two Xbros named Black Jesus</li>
<li>Black people can't play fighting games</li>
<li>http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/49267 </li>
<li>Call of Duty and Battlefield sales don't matter, it's the web-based statistics pages that are advancing the products.</li>
<li>DOWNLOAD SERVICES SHOWDOWN</li>
<li>DESURA IS RUN BY MEEHECANS</li>
<li>AMAZON IS RUN BY...suits that want to destroy Steam</li>
<li>Amazon vs Box vs Dropbox CLOUD STORAGE ARMS RACE</li>
<li>CIRCLE JERKS ARE ARMS RACES WHERE EVERYONE WINS</li>
<li>Season Passes: Subscription vs Pre-purchase model?</li>
<li>EA SPORTS IS MAGIC</li>
<li>Project Ten Dollar--inevitably comes down to license to use vs ownership of good.</li>
<li>Light painting is so bourgeoisie</li>
<li>Turn off your cell phones in the woods, people. WELCOME TO 2G.</li>
<li>SYNDICATE: I DID ASK FOR THIS</li>
<li>FROZEN SYNAPSE IS SOMETHING I HAD TO BUY AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY</li>
<li>(We play Frozen Synapse against each other mid-podcast)</li>
<li>Dungeon Defenders is a thing that can be bought for money and played.</li>
<li>Costume Quest is another thing that can be bought.</li>
<li>OFFICIAL MANDATE: Bryan must complete Persona 4 before the anime finishes up</li>
<li>Take ALL the painkillers</li>
<li>BROS BEFORE HOS (Persona 4 is a reverse trap dating simulator and that's all you need to know)</li>
<li>Brick is a movie that we should watch</li>
<li>Terra Nova is not a good show</li>
<li>13 Assassins is boring</li>
<li>Mean Girls is totally not on my Netflix queue</li>
<li>LesboDrum! (Mawaru Penguindrum)</li>
<li>Lust Caution is a high budget porno</li>
<li>Metal Gear Solid 4 is softcore man porn</li>
<li>Google+ is Facebook for people who have firewalls at work</li>
<li>Nathan and Ling Ling look for jobs on USAjobs.gov</li>
<li>Manyuu Hikenchou < Freezing. Freezing is the king.</li>
<li>Denpa [Onna to Seishun Otoko] is about breaking your arm that one summer where you did stuff</li>
<li>There's no such thing as a free motorboat</li>
<li>Phi Brain NEEDS TO BE STAR DRIVER WITH PUZZLES</li>
<li>Dubs are better than subs nowadays if they don't take themselves seriously</li>
<li>[Shakugan no] Shana is good this season</li>
<li>Cripple chick can't catch a break HAHA GET IT (Honey and Clover Season 1)</li>
<li>Blood-C is Freezing but with SWEET SWEET RELEASE</li>
<li>Hebrew and Yiddish are different things that we can't explain</li>
<li>Ling Ling measures this physical fitness with actions per minute</li>
<li>Hulu has Infinite Stratos now. Apply head to desk. We're done here.</li>
</ul><div>Things we discussed after recording:</div><ul><li>Epilepsy + AIDS = Epilaids</li>
<li>Nyanners is an old balding man</li>
<li>BROHOOF</li>
<li>Progeria causes brain damage on Youtube</li>
<li>Nathan thinks that a world where Japanese women have big breasts is a "nightmare world"</li>
<li>Nathan thinks stealth Asians are awesomer</li>
<li>Bryan: "One ticket to nightmare world, please."</li>
<li>Bryan laughs at your cheap prostitution given the weak dollar-to-yuan exchange rate</li>
<li>We talk about unionizing prostitution in Germany</li>
<li>Ling Ling cooks ramen LIVE</li>
<li>Nathan: "He talked with his fist into Brosuke's face"</li>
<li>(Playing Dungeon Defenders) Ling Ling: "I'm going to turn him white. Wait. This isn't white."</li>
<li>Ling Ling: "I can't make him white. So I'll make him Communist."</li>
</ul>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-58703810849014302252011-05-16T23:33:00.000-07:002011-05-16T23:35:07.735-07:00[Just Fucking Shut Up] We love the SHAFT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2Nv7BPeZ7EYY88t1ShOi-LPCLPKgEfnemvCKb-70OWgTMdY3K52V72yIofyu0kXxI0e3C3cz56aQdiYm2Mn4GOtZFqSDioG749varlofPUxtKB9DjrE92lLRw77qhgVIt8OIdCR6iP0/s1600/tumblr_ljs5c0n3Lm1qhk9vno1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN2Nv7BPeZ7EYY88t1ShOi-LPCLPKgEfnemvCKb-70OWgTMdY3K52V72yIofyu0kXxI0e3C3cz56aQdiYm2Mn4GOtZFqSDioG749varlofPUxtKB9DjrE92lLRw77qhgVIt8OIdCR6iP0/s1600/tumblr_ljs5c0n3Lm1qhk9vno1_500.png" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>The JFGUcast game is as follows:</div><div><ol><li>+1 point if Andy is eating something</li>
<li>+5 points if we're on Wikipedia looking it up</li>
<li>+5 points if Bryan brings up industrial design or art history</li>
<li>+5 points if Nathan mentions a novel nobody else has read</li>
<li>+5 points if one of us gets an IM or phone call during podcast</li>
<li>+10 points if one of us is playing a game while podcasting</li>
<li>+20 points if we start recreating scenes from Star Driver or Guren Lagann </li>
</ol><div><a href="http://kiwi6.com/file/5c301qqkbb">http://kiwi6.com/file/5c301qqkbb</a></div><div><br />
</div><div>In this thread:</div></div><ul><li>Nerdbait</li>
<li>MADOKAS</li>
<li>PS3 Development is NDA'd'd</li>
<li>Crunchyroll has shitty original content</li>
<li>KareKano was good</li>
<li>HanaIro is about a bubbly narcissist</li>
<li>Hoshizora is like Akaneiro no Somaru Saka but with 50% more homo wincest</li>
<li>I like Da Capo because I used to be an emofag</li>
<li>OreTsuba has the worst pilot of all time</li>
<li>Shuffle sucked because it had COUGAR END</li>
<li>I SUCK AT JAPANESE OKAY</li>
<li>Japan doesn't understand the concept of heavy drug use</li>
<li>Steins;Gate CHRISTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINA</li>
<li>Clannad is a thing you should watch</li>
<li>Ace Combat is unoriginal but I play all of them</li>
<li>SPECULAH is a word</li>
<li>DOO DOO DOOOOOO</li>
<li>HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER HIPSTER</li>
<li>Full Metal Exorcist is like Soul Eater</li>
<li>Japan doesn't understand the concept of demonology</li>
<li>Johnny Depp is exploitable</li>
<li>We still love SHAFT</li>
<li>As long as they don't turn into Gonzo</li>
<li>Because Gonzo really sucks</li>
<li>I make bad tsunami jokes</li>
<li>Andy makes a Spaceballs reference that I didn't get</li>
<li>MOAIDS IS KILLING JAPAN</li>
<li>Andy makes HILARIOUS GAY JOKES NO SERIOUSLY</li>
<li>Blassreiter is weird and not fun </li>
<li>But Linebarrels is quirky and enjoyable</li>
<li>Rosario Vampire was meta</li>
<li>Fafner is for emofags</li>
<li>I don't understand why my cousin likes Saki</li>
<li>What the fuck is Nyanpire?</li>
<li>Last Exile Season 2 is make-or-break</li>
<li>Full Metal Panic Season 3 would print money</li>
<li>ANDY IS REALLY ANNOYING USING GOOGLE DOCS</li>
<li>Japan doesn't understand the concept of an umlaut</li>
<li>Astaroth is a large burly Kugyu</li>
<li>SHAFT shows = boy meets eccentric girl</li>
<li>I nerd out over Yamamoto Yoko AGAIN</li>
<li>Persona 4 is a thing you should play (oh hypocrisy)</li>
<li>Macross Frontier is something we won't admit to loving</li>
<li>Hidan no Aria is now Highschool of the Tsukaima May Cry D:</li>
<li>Azazel-san is a thing that is good</li>
<li>C is now Shin Moneybag Tensei</li>
<li>We should force Andy to play ATLUS games and finish Honey and Clover</li>
<li>We love noitaminA shows</li>
<li>Except Jyu Oh Sei, fuck that shit</li>
<li>Andy makes an earthquake joke</li>
<li>I propose another rejected trope (girls with tasers!)</li>
<li>Apparently Source Code is a movie that doesn't suck? (Lies)</li>
</ul><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6f0L_neLcvY_ngLUkXxNfS-_6ZRwX1I640KcVy-TnU37nsFN-zrFM1N3o6fhBdNlZE3dxJyto2CHxRMnONLX5n96C4OIMWIEwxUoE5y2Yizwcs9KbWq0RiD1e1dyvYda_6fBk0bAyBXU/s1600/tumblr_lkx3sdO0Us1qjkif2o1_1280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6f0L_neLcvY_ngLUkXxNfS-_6ZRwX1I640KcVy-TnU37nsFN-zrFM1N3o6fhBdNlZE3dxJyto2CHxRMnONLX5n96C4OIMWIEwxUoE5y2Yizwcs9KbWq0RiD1e1dyvYda_6fBk0bAyBXU/s640/tumblr_lkx3sdO0Us1qjkif2o1_1280.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I found this on the internet. Weeaboomods are the only reason to play Fallout games.</div><div><br />
</div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-11433648209030712882011-04-17T04:08:00.000-07:002011-04-17T04:13:23.721-07:00Just Fucking Denounce Me #Civ5So I've had two very very weird experiences this weekend:<br />
<br />
1) A game where we had NO wars from Ancient Era to 1900. Yeah. It helps we were all archipelago'd out.<br />
<br />
2) A game where I reluctantly became Germany in WWII.<br />
<br />
Let's talk about the latter:<br />
Babylonians, Raging Barbs, Ancient Era, Continents. 12/4 AI.<br />
a) Right off the bat, the Incas don't settle their city on the first 3 turns. I show them the error of their ways by immediately killing their settlers. Incas removed from game.<br />
b) So I meet my neighbors. India, Germany, Russia, America, Japan, Mongolia.<br />
c) Germany seems to be the troublemaker, and I'm striking up friendships with America and Japan, India less so.<br />
d) Germany goes to war with US and Japan, tries to recruit me. I lost my military assets while scouting (Raging Barbs are fun) so I really couldn't shore up the forces in 10 turns. Plus, I was thinking about getting a UN victory this time since I've never done that.<br />
e) India joins our coalition, and Germany calls a ceasefire. But they're still really pushing those boundaries hard and we're starting to get really close to each other. But luckily we've just gotten Open Borders tech, so scouting farther ahead we see that Warsaw is the only CS on our continent. Polynesia appears to be on another continent.<br />
f) Germany looks like its building up troops again, but now Mongolia invades. I defend myself on one front while preparing to fight Germany on another.<br />
g) Mongolia was just testing me, I made it to their capital but it was too well fortified. I move my troops to the German border to cover a US and Japanese rebuildup.<br />
h) Japan doesn't appreciate this and declares war on me. Apparently they roped America in with them. So over 2 rounds of fighting and ceasefire, I had to take them down one at a time. Japan had set up a pocket of resistance on the ocean and America had a small river fortress that was rather pointless (because my capital was on the same river delta, DERP.)<br />
i) I beat them both down, but India, my only steadfast ally through this, starts distancing itself. Soon, the rest of the continent denounces me. India and Russia are both running single-city strategies, Mongolia rapid expansion. I took this brief period of peace to reinvest in infrastructure and tackle a wonder or two.<br />
j) Fucking Germany. They take my weakest Japanese city. I build things back up and well fuck, Mongolia jumps in. I'm in a two-front war. I run headfirst in the German capital, by this time I've got Civil War-era weaponry, so sieges are rather easy against his late-Medieval troops (who were very threatening mid-game because they get Landsknechts sooner than Longswordsmen, and Babylonians are only optimized for early-game plinking).<br />
k) Mongolia manages to hold me off at its Capital, so I build up troops for the inevitable. They do the same. I take the initiative this time, trying to pull them into an ex-American stronghold (hill fortress). It doesn't work, they go for the ex-Japanese coastal pocket. Ugh. India joins in to opportunistically take advantage. That's low.<br />
l) I beat back Mongolia. Russia still wants at me, so I set up a cordon at a small Mongolian border town. I fortify it and station some troops. But I change my mind and leave only 3 troops there so I can free up manpower for India, which is pounding my Production-oriented city. By this time I have aircraft and I've got them completely boxed in. After a short ceasefire, I try to get them to loosen that tight formation by giving them Open Borders (I'm after their capital by now, better to let them spread out). India doesn't take the bait. But the fight is on. Artillery and aircraft manage to keep them from taking my cities, but FUCK RUSSIA JUST NUKED ME. Nuked the Mongol territories and took that cordon I had set up.<br />
m) IMMEDIATELY rebase all my aircraft to ex-American hill fortress to kill off anyone trying to finish off that nuked city. Eventually I get confident enough with WWI-era infantry that I just fucking airstrike EVERYTHING in the way and use only 2 ground troops to take the entire country. But India's still a problem.<br />
n) They have modern sea power and anti-air all over the place. All of my attempts to airstrike or seastrike their capital fails. Eventually I set up a rotation for my fighters and bombers that keeps the pressure on (while taking NO air losses) and allows a few tanks to roll in and finish them off. Jesus. Fucking rough. But now I own the whole continent...which doesn't make France or Spain happy.<br />
o) France initially didn't give a shit about my ongoing wars, but Spain and Polynesia fucking hated me. Eventually France buddied up with Spain and hated me too. I remember being at war with FUCKING EVERY COUNTRY AND CITY STATE AT ONCE. ;____________________; So it ended up being Polynesia denouncing me, then a turn later France/Spain doing the same. But, they mostly left my continent alone. Eventually I got Satellite tech and saw that they were on two slivers of land. And since I didn't really explore the ocean much (too occupied with, you know, building land and air units) that I didn't notice that the Persians didn't seem to be big because they were a single-city nation. I learned my lesson. For a while I had troops pumped out from my wartime queues, I keep them around since they were Modern Era. Upgraded all my fighters to Jets.<br />
p) And then came a time of massive massive unhappiness. I was at -17 happiness, yikes. Protip: red fist icon means you can't just annex + purchase courthouse (this tactic costs 820g but gets you a +2 to net happiness). Did this a few times, but mostly concentrated on happiness buildings + food buildings. Then I unlocked Petrol and nearly simultaneously built science buildings all over the place. (By the end of the game I had 5 Great Scientists because of this). My cities were pumping out 150+ science. Then it was culture. I got my capital up to +93 culture, turned the ENTIRE COUNTRY to gold production so I could buy up culture buildings in former Russian cities. Protip: conquered cities default to GOLD FOCUS. This may cause cities to build tons of trading posts. Switch it back to Default Focus if you don't want a crippled city.<br />
q) So, I had built nearly all the improvements for all 15-ish of my cities, decided to knock out the space victory. Culture victory would take too long, and the UN victory required a 14-vote bloc (there were only 9 available votes because I had killed too many people ;____;)<br />
<br />
In the end, I was a secular communist fascist with spread out air power and a small continent of rapid reaction land troops, and a modest 2-ship navy. And except for in the Russian peninsula, every city was utopia, even the ex-Mongol capital which had recovered from the nuke. I'd experienced at least 2-3 two-front wars tonight. They're just exhausting. I'm just lucky that they weren't stupid enough to challenge my defensive positions seriously.<br />
<br />
YAY, final score 2800s.<br />
<br />
Things I learned about myself:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>The larger my military, the more likely I am to use it.</li>
<li>Despite being a huge critic of Cold War theory, I sure as hell tried to use it quite a bit after a ceasefire.</li>
<li>I dislike nukes, because they slow down the process of subjugating people. That sounds so horrible.</li>
<li>I almost never play single-city builds, likely due to my bad experience vs Mongolia in the "Evil Empire" scenario I made. I still have nightmares about a zerg rush of modern tanks mowing down 3x Giant Death Robots. It's why I turned off the Legions mod (troop stacking and more promotions).</li>
<li>Cities regenerate faster than airpower. If you're not massed up in sufficient numbers, just let the city heal back to full, then get those numbers up. Then rotate in and out so you constantly have a few planes in the green. By this point, artillery units should be nearly useless and even Battleships should be having trouble. Start using cruise missiles.</li>
<li>If you have only 1 of a luxury resource left, only trade it for another luxury good (preferably one that your people want). The excess ones should be for new luxury goods and at least 200g in cash. Hold out if you can.</li>
<li>Before you cross a river, remember that line-of-sight may reveal an unpleasant surprise. Like 4 sides of being surrounded by artillery.</li>
<li>Don't be afraid of anti-air batteries. Numbers will win out the day against them.</li>
<li>Never send a last-era troop to take a current-era city. You're just asking for it.</li>
</ul><div>So, I'm going to sleep now that it's 6AM. Will format and add pics maybe later? Derp.</div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-76805210733867046292010-10-10T22:45:00.000-07:002010-10-10T23:08:03.402-07:00Haterade #nerdrage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFGJUz8wF23bSFNSv0kRcgqDJHIyAH_u76luSW_ibQBG9IJd3W_gM8H9VX-k7fFEUtE_Etioyd8LN3taE2rK9jUFB-qtmohrgePmuQkiOcZtlH6t7jjXIVUc3AZimFAJLxyc-VjB3LIg/s1600/2010_10_11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMFGJUz8wF23bSFNSv0kRcgqDJHIyAH_u76luSW_ibQBG9IJd3W_gM8H9VX-k7fFEUtE_Etioyd8LN3taE2rK9jUFB-qtmohrgePmuQkiOcZtlH6t7jjXIVUc3AZimFAJLxyc-VjB3LIg/s640/2010_10_11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Oh? I'm using hashtags now instead of gawker tags.<br />
<br />
<b>On Protectionism</b><br />
So, here's our yearly butthurt over Japanese devs bemoaning their lack of relevance to the global market. I'm going to give a quick analysis of two titles that I feel merit some discussion.<br />
<br />
Exhibit A: <b><i>Quantum Theory</i></b><br />
First of all, it's a pretty fresh dev team and working with Tecmo. Trying to enter the shooterspace. Well, this could have been a great chance, were it not for a few massive issues. It's great that you, smalltime dev, are trying to make a <b><i>Gears of War</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> clone--seriously, new ideas are always welcome. But the controls are too different: making sprint and wallglue on two different buttons, wat? Cursor acceleration (that can't be turned off?) WAT. Using action-game controls (X for light melee, Y for heavy melee) instead of <i>Gears</i>-friendly B and holding B? Listen, games that do this (looking at you, </span><i>Call of Duty </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">and </span><i>Bad Company</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">), piss us off. Even </span><i>Bayonetta</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> did this, but those we learn to adapt by remapping internally. Even if this were a Japanese action title, this would be unacceptable.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Exhibit B: </span><i>Lost Planet 2</i></b><br />
Sigh. You were fun, sort of. You thought that its failure was "Americans don't want Monster Hunter with guns." Are you shitting me? We WANT MONSTER HUNTER WITH GUNS. You delivered something very short of that premise. It didn't go with the cycle of 1) stock up, 2) locate, 3) tag, 4) combat phases. If you, Capcom, released this experience as value-priced DLC, copies of LP2 will be selling at full retail again.<br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">I think this points to big problem with Japanese devs across the board. Your definitions of Western gaming are completely wrong.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">1) You see big dudes with big guns, we see an insertion / empowerment fantasy (something your RPGs do quite well).</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">2) You see over-the-top violence, we see a victory well-earned.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">3) You see FPS-centric mechanics, we see agency and intentionality.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">You see our titles from the lens that made yours successful, so why not look at the ones that we eat up without any localization efforts? We love shmups and fighting games because of tight controls. We love visual novels and </span><i>Persona</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> because it facilitates insertion. Japanese and Western gamers have very similar core motivations with a few nuances. I'm going to attribute this wave of cultural insularism to an unwillingness to blame yourself for your failure as cultural observers. Or, at the least, blame your fucking market researchers.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>On Rivalries</b><br />
So I own both <b><i>Modern Warfare 2</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> and </span><i>Bad Company 2</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. I clearly enjoy both, and will purchase </span><i>Black Ops<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">and </span><b>Bad Company 2 Vietnam</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> when they come out. (</span><b>Medal of Honor<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">hasn't been able to capture me but that's a nerdrage for another day). <i>BC2</i> talks a lot of trash to <i>MW2</i> in its narrative, specifically referencing characters and setpieces. However, it clearly doesn't note the similarities. Both have a team of English-speaking men fighting the Russians. Both pit you against a singular boss who has a history of backstabbing. </span></span></b></span></i></b><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Both contain gratuitous violence against helicopters. Both deal with EMP-like weapons systems. </span></span></b></span></i></b><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">And in a nod to <i>MW1</i>, the final playable scene in <i>BC2</i> is a close-quarters fight on an aircraft. I can vaguely hear Michael Bay cackling in the background during the end credits for both games.</span></span></b></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></span></b></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">As Art</span></b></i></b><br />
A lot of people have offered their opinions on <i>MW2</i>, so I'll just stick with new material. I can see where the development process sort of fell apart. The campaign was based on a handful of powerful vignettes that probably had great target renders. <i>MW1</i> had parallel arcs that came together (something we see in virtually all <i>CoD</i> titles). However, the narrative of <i>MW2</i> has no direction and attempts to create anger at Makarov and Shepard (with only Shepard receiving a cathartic resolution) rather than make any effort to develop characters and explain motivations. It missed a golden opportunity to turn Price into a villain, but instead opted to keep him around for a sequel. Financial expediency trumping narrative quality, huh?<br />
<br />
<b>On Escalation</b><br />
Play <b><i>Bayonetta</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. Just when you think shit just got real, shit gets realer. Then play on Hard mode. </span><i>Ninja Gaiden 2</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> would get rock hard over </span><i>Bayonetta</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. This game has nearly infinite replayability.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>On Promises</b><br />
I bought and played <b><i>Civilization V</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. It's great. It does culture somewhat well, with mutually exclusive tech trees. Touche.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>On Copycats</b><br />
So, <b><i>Alan Wake</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> is great. Its pedigree really shows, as the ending and 1st DLC really explore the metaphysical on top of the psychological. This game is basically built on top of the idea of foreshadowing--Remedy has really taken the narrative style of </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Max Payne</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> and have tweaked it nearly to perfection</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. The gameplay should be familiar, your flashlight knocks down shadow and the bullets damage flesh. You're basically playing </span><i>Halo</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. The rock concert showdown will draw inevitable parallels to </span><i>Left 4 Dead 2</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, not that I think anyone will complain. Each episode is timed at around 1 hour and has a pretty fitting ED song. <i>Alan Wake</i> would have troubles as a weekly TV show, as the pacing is far more deliberate and has a clear sense of escalation. Still, I had a great time.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>On Inevitability</b><br />
As of today, <b><i>Halo Reach</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> has eaten nearly 80 hours of my life. I'll steer away from the multiplayer aspects, as they're just as fun as ever. I'll start off by stating that I think content was cut that could have made the narrative more complete. The only character death that I really felt was Jorge's, it's personal, referenced repeatedly, and Noble in design. Kat's was pointless and drawn out with silence--I would've liked to see the team franticly attempting field medicine. Subtitles indicated that something was cut here. It was a wasted opportunity. Jun doesn't die, he just goes missing in canon. Carter gets a one-liner send off, a bit more time for the player to dwell and think about his sacrifice would have been appropriate. Emile, while your death was clearly badass (in a 90s action movie pulling a grenade and taking the enemy with you sort of way), the player doesn't have any sort of emotional response. It's like we're not supposed to care. As if he were placed there so we'd have a reason to go there later. But, I suppose all is forgiven with Lone Wolf. That one level alone is a very fitting end that meshes nicely with the prologue. This was quite possibly the first sequence to have been penned, and it's sort of a core idea that, sadly, doesn't play as a motif in the narrative. Dear Bungie, your audience isn't too dumb for an in media res plot. I thought </span><i>ODST</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> was probably the strongest story to date.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b>On Obsolescence</b><br />
So I'm playing <b><i>Splinter Cell Double Agent</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. Note that I've already beaten </span><i>Splinter Cell Conviction<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(or, as I call it, Rainbow 6 District of Columbia--since I can beat it with unsilenced weapons, not using stealth at all).</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">1) Checkpoints pause the game. Wow, my hard drive isn't that slow. Seriously, there aren't that many variables to save.</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">2) Interface depends on OMGFUTURISTIC typeface.</span></span></i></b><br />
This one is much worse than both <i><b>Chaos Theory</b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">. I'm going to play just to try out the coop missions.</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>On Sympathy</b></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">I saw <b><i>The Social Network</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> and found myself strongly identifying with Mark. His conceptions of revenge really resonated with my own. His doe-eyed acceptance of Sean and the hedonist seeking of the frat lifestyle, not so much. Still, I've had the ending line, "You're not an asshole, you just try too hard to be one." thrown at me before. In fact, his attempt to reconnect with Erica also paralleled my life. This ending was sublime. The</span></b></span></i> narcissist anti-hero had learned his lesson. He had fulfilled the moral criteria for audience acceptance. Luckily, Trent Reznor's contribution to the soundtrack was barely noticeable, save for the opening credits. The droning of the piano combined with a running guy in a hoodie seemed more at place in a horror film. I had heard that some felt that the dialogue was too "smart and witty" and that women were poorly represented. I disagree with both, I felt that the back-and-forth was right at home with my daily speech, and that the female characters had little to do with the narrative except for Erica, the casus belli for Facemash, and the barometer for Mark's internal struggle for perceived accomplishment. Asian starfucker girl only served to parallel the visual stress on Eduardo, who served more as an alter ego (sort of an anti-Tyler Durden) than a character foil. Go see this movie. I'll probably go see <b><i>Easy A</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> later, since it tries to parallel </span><i>The Scarlet Letter</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> along with the theme of a-scheme-goes-bigger-than-the-inventor-can-control.</span></b><br />
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<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>Other Thoughts</b></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><br />
</b></span></i><br />
<b><i>Red Dead Redemption</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> is pretty good. While the social commentary isn't quite extraordinary, it's well-delivered. Not a fan of spurring horses, though I suppose it's supposed to be fatiguing and would actually work towards a 1:1 of player action to pawn action.</span></b><br />
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</i></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"></span><i>GTA IV</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> had a good ending. I fought it very fitting for Niko to make it to the Statue of Liberty. A culmination of everything the player has learned (combat, vehicles, chases) after all the trials and descents into worst the American experience has to offer, the protagonist is finally welcomed by the city's mascot as one of her own.</span></b><br />
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</span></b><br />
<b><i>Blur</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> should have a playlist just for Mount Haruna. We really miss the </span><i>Initial D</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> games here in the States.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><i>The Event</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> is not nearly as good as </span><i>Lost</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. The latter would have episodic structure where the two parallel plots would share a common motif or narrative significance. This new show just thinks that mystery and cliffhangers will keep us coming back. You shouldn't have to have texts indicating timeskips. Both plots seem quite boring on their own. And together they barely manage to evoke a "meh'.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><i>Hawaii Five-0</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> is quite good. The first episode establishes the signoff "Book 'em Danno", and the third establishes the team identity. They're not hamfisted, trying to force it to please fans of the original. But in terms of a police thriller, this does quite well--the chemistry of the two white cops is very entertaining, but it doesn't quite use the Korean star power to its full potential.</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">Shows from last season that were good: </span><i>Highschool of the Dead</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, </span><i>Mitsudomoe</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> (is the new <i>Minami-ke</i>), </span><i>Amagami SS </i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">(blows </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">KimiKiss</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> out of the water) (Shin over at Atarashii Prelude seems to enjoy this quite a bit) and </span><i>Asobi Ni Ikuyo!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">(give it a chance, it's actually smarter than its premise will promise).</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i>Lost Odyssey<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">made me cry like a little girl. Not only is it an impactful character death, they just drag it on and OH MY GOD THERE'S A DDR CLONE FUNERAL PYRE MINIGAME WHAT THE FUCK. Had puffy eyes the next day.</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
</span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">You know what's a very competent stealth action title? <b><i>Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena.</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> I don't have any particularly strong feelings about it, but I found it quite engaging. But a few bugs and random difficulty spikes make me <i>just fucking give up</i> more than once. Yes, a segue into a signoff. How pretentious of me.</span></b></span></span></i></b>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-81539481399586378742010-07-27T19:28:00.000-07:002010-07-27T19:45:09.822-07:00kill it with freitag!!! [HXB]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMmWkbKjAXQSBMrfAypmtzsspNlINOSTgTYjifpgxLW8e78zOHjRP3REFHXD8ZYj27rtspyWz8mq4ilPyW8ePaGOIXuHSxCJNnmHIQRR9eQem9sa3QH1KB9lZtImBhqgLnq2uHc3Ltnc/s1600/HXB2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIMmWkbKjAXQSBMrfAypmtzsspNlINOSTgTYjifpgxLW8e78zOHjRP3REFHXD8ZYj27rtspyWz8mq4ilPyW8ePaGOIXuHSxCJNnmHIQRR9eQem9sa3QH1KB9lZtImBhqgLnq2uHc3Ltnc/s640/HXB2.jpg" width="640" /></span></span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1) The Radio Dept. - Heaven's On Fire </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz6oixJiA8c"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz6oixJiA8c</span></span></a></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz6oixJiA8c"></a>2) Bratze - Jean Claude </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40y5zNN7bak"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40y5zNN7bak</span></span></a></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40y5zNN7bak"></a>3) DiceCream - Whoop Whoop </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbP8tMuQ7sU"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbP8tMuQ7sU</span></span></a></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbP8tMuQ7sU"></a>4) Sykur - Rocketship </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sdAISDUhfI"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sdAISDUhfI</span></span></a></ul><ul style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sdAISDUhfI"></a>5) </span></span><span x="y"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Perturbazione - Mao Zeitung<span class="__wave_paste" data-wave-annotations="170,197,style%2FfontFamily,sans-serif:" data-wave-xml="1) SWEDEN The Radio Dept - Heaven's On Fire<line></line>2) GERMANY Bratze - Jean Claude<line></line>3) NETHERLANDS DiceCream - Whoop Whoop<line></line>4) ICELAND Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum<line></line>5) ITALY Perturbazione - Mao Zeitung"></span> </span></span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljN7a1CKeoM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljN7a1CKeoM</span></span></a></ul><div><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></span></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I wish we had 10 tracks for this battle, I had so many! These are my favorites that didn't make the cut for reasons of narrative and variety.</span></span></span></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Vegastar - </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">5h dans ta Peau (France) </span></span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP4e2pC_YuU"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP4e2pC_YuU</span></span></a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Singleton - If I'm Falling</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="__wave_paste" data-wave-annotations="" data-wave-xml="Singleton - If I'm Falling"></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (Ukraine) </span></span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2hAg9kasM"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-2hAg9kasM</span></span></a></div></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">R.I.O. - After The Love<span class="__wave_paste" data-wave-annotations="" data-wave-xml="R.I.O. - After The Love"></span> (Germany) </span></span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJaW9Ai67lA"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJaW9Ai67lA</span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Emiliana Torrini - Jungle Drum (Tolo Remix) </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuwHPSa3zU0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuwHPSa3zU0</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> (Note: She's based in London now, so I've replaced her with Sykur, another great act from Iceland)</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Juri Gagarin - Kids on Fire Remix (Germany) </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxW6YBLSryk"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxW6YBLSryk</span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Gramophonedzie - V Got Hacked (Serbia) </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7NJLQKDFZ0"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7NJLQKDFZ0</span></span></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Delorean - Deli (Spain) </span></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FosyBy4390"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FosyBy4390</span></span></a></div></div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-57766652843113961082010-06-29T21:56:00.000-07:002010-06-29T22:06:21.162-07:00HXB--Mixtape 1<div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixd_8577b1W0sXsQa40gCqmcIAfYF0ndj6zey39e0i4ddK2ML87_bnBCFrDqNw8oUO98h_Hf6zEAl64jl1TBIYA4SfUXLy5G_KIvNYNoiEJEhj1pUzZIzl8GM02MQaCLUe3UBTE_k9aM8/s1600/sugarandhorror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixd_8577b1W0sXsQa40gCqmcIAfYF0ndj6zey39e0i4ddK2ML87_bnBCFrDqNw8oUO98h_Hf6zEAl64jl1TBIYA4SfUXLy5G_KIvNYNoiEJEhj1pUzZIzl8GM02MQaCLUe3UBTE_k9aM8/s640/sugarandhorror.jpg" width="456" /></a></div><br />
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1) Mark Ronson & The Business INTL - Bang Bang Bang</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTM6TCGltfHM" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM6TCGltfHM</a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">2) Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrVxTsXRjNTw" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxTsXRjNTw</a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">3) Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better (GRVRBBRS Remix)</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DUCf2MU7_LI0" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCf2MU7_LI0</a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">4) The Dirty Secrets - Five Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix)</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtOkdwEBOZNM" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOkdwEBOZNM</a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">5) Biffy Clyro - Born on a Horse</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSxQmV0Sd6qo" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxQmV0Sd6qo<span class="__wave_paste" data-wave-annotations="53,97,link%2Fmanual,http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DTM6TCGltfHM:133,177,link%2Fmanual,http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrVxTsXRjNTw:420,462,link%2Fmanual,http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSxQmV0Sd6qo:" data-wave-xml="1) Mark Ronson & The Business INTL - Bang Bang Bang<line></line>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM6TCGltfHM<line></line>2) Broken Bells - The Ghost Inside<line></line>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVxTsXRjNTw<line></line>3) Amanda Blank - Might Like You Better (GRVRBBRS Remix)<line></line>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCf2MU7_LI0<line></line>4) The Dirty Secrets - Five Feet of Snow (Miami Horror Remix)<line></line>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOkdwEBOZNM<line></line>5) Biffy Clyro - Born on a Horse<line></line>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxQmV0Sd6qo"></span></a><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DSxQmV0Sd6qo" style="color: #003ea8; font-family: arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank" x="y"> </a></div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've got a 2nd playlist ready and I'm ready to put together another 2 if anyone's up for the challenge.</div>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-21110464823134507482010-04-06T20:04:00.000-07:002010-04-06T20:09:37.097-07:00reluctant timesinks [bitch & moan]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R2U1VeUyCarRRD19JSTSNZxhStIow-yNKDbCspIIEk74tqci-4UlW19PioZor9cCuQJbTyEMuA3Vdjg76BHpS4UHQbcb2a7hmF1W2zH_0fiNNPv0TfIh2bajKFI3RuoJE132gRLv-_4/s1600/2010-04-06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R2U1VeUyCarRRD19JSTSNZxhStIow-yNKDbCspIIEk74tqci-4UlW19PioZor9cCuQJbTyEMuA3Vdjg76BHpS4UHQbcb2a7hmF1W2zH_0fiNNPv0TfIh2bajKFI3RuoJE132gRLv-_4/s640/2010-04-06.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
I didn't have internet for a few hours while I got my oil changed (that's what she said). So I wrote a blog post.<br />
<br />
<br />
Anyone that's played a 4X game in the last few years has their personal favorites. There are the <i>Civ</i> variants (<b><i>Civilization, Rise of Nations, Empire Earth</i></b>), the <i>MoO</i> variants (<b><i>Masters of Orion, Sins of a Solar Empire, Galactic Civilization, Sword of the Stars</i></b>). Okay, that last one, Sword of the Stars, is actually unapologetic in its focus on combat. It's a timesink that I'd rather not discuss, like a threesome turned into a drug deal turned into a Mexican standoff.<br />
<br />
First of all, I'd like to applaud <i>Civ</i> and <i>Sins</i> for addressing nonkinetic competition through expansions, namely <i>Beyond the Sword</i> and <i>Diplomacy</i>. They allow turtlers to open up a race-wide stat war that is comparatively cheaper than fleet production. I've only installed <i>Beyond the Sword</i> and never really gotten any play out of it, so pretend I don't know shit about it. Likewise, <i>Diplomacy</i> is too far down my play queue to warrant a time commitment.<br />
<br />
Pre-DLC, <i>Sins</i> was a great 4X game. Its cultural aspect was sadly, limited to a single planetary structure and its research tree, while better than the mostly multi-linear path of most strategy games, was still limited to economic and expansion buffs. Sure, these are design decisions that keep the gameplay constrained to a tight mix of statistics, but it poses as an aggregate for the arts and entertainment. I'll go as far as to say that warfare and culture are inseperably related, and that their implementation in contemporary strategy games is now irrelevant due to the very thing that made them so popular--computer networks.<br />
<br />
Strategy games have greatly benefited from the internet, allowing groups of basement-dwelling nerds to do more than play <i><b>Warhammer</b></i> or <b><i>Age of Empires</i></b> on a LAN. It's ironic that the fruits of the technology ignore the other resultant cultural phenomenon. For instance, Latin America has a fairly large heavy metal following, but mostly limited to suburban teens who had no other means of sharing their interests than niche communities such as the internet. It allowed communities to be formed around interests rather than ethnicity. There's no such representation in strategy games. In Sins, culture is a singular statistic belonging to a single state, competing with cultures from competing states.<br />
<br />
The best representations of communities formed around interests within states are (and get ready to groan), are from <b><i>Battlestar Galactica</i></b>. Yeah, I managed to drag <i>BSG</i> into this, shut the fuck up. First, there's the reconciliation movement pre-Occupation. A mostly underground movement, aspects of the internet allowed it to thrive--anonymity and memology of message. Sure, we can extrapolate to past movements using flyers (even fake ones, such as the meme of Atlas in <b><i>Bioshock</i></b>). Second, there's Baltar's radio program--lack of anonymity, but insanely popular. The equivalent of a fireside chat (or, a more lol-worthy example, Glenn Beck's daily psychopathy), exists within a nation where the state is hostile to such a message, without necessarily a state-based sponsor.<br />
<br />
Let's spew random historical examples of my hypothesis! Information always travels faster than conventional combattants. A viral video will travel faster than a cruise missile, from CONOPS (idea for video) to payload delivery (lulz). During the age of Ancient Warfare (your 1st generation warfare), messengers were dedicated channels of rapid information delivery. If combatants were faster than information, there'd be no reason to cipher "ATTACK AT DAWN" (by the way, this is a classic encryption text). It's also why AWACS and other early warning radar platforms are built--because were it not possible to intercept using time-sensitive targetting data, we'd just keep a contingent of intercepts in the air at all times (as well as completely flooding airspace to dangerous levels). So why is it that it takes me a damn hour to culturally undermine a planet and only 30 seconds to bombard and colonize it?<br />
<br />
Where are the nonstate actors in strategy games? Well, there are creeps/pirates but they're almost always dealt with kinetically. The closest examples we have are your various infection/mind control units (see: Starcraft) and ambush troops from the GLA in <b><i>C&C Generals</i></b>. State-sponsored insurgencies are worthy of exploration, even at the expense of game mechanic simplicity.<br />
<br />
I wouldn't be a pretentious douche unless I brought up the origins of Hellenistic culture--it was Macedonian conquest (and in turn, subjugation) that created a lasting effect on cultural exchange. Resisting urge to bring up <i>BSG</i> again.<br />
<br />
One last fucking topic: the influence of religion in strategy games. The British split from the Catholic Church fueled generations of legitimate and insurgent conflicts. We've yet to see a strategy game that can capture the mechanics of the Irish civil War. This style of insurgent kinetic operations would really appeal to fans of micromanagement.<br />
<br />
In any case, I can understand the various design decisions that abstract nonkinetic aspects of warfare into an ineffectual last ditch for turtling players, but it's as if the onus to provide clear victors stifles any efforts to capture the cyclical nature of conflict and its relationship to culture and media.<br />
<br />
I've already decided that <b><i>Civilization 5</i></b> will be boring, Firaxis sux, and fuck you for pointing out that I'll end up spending 20 hours in the game.<br />
<br />
Coming next time is a spray and pray, I promise.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-50499668521378902232010-03-16T20:35:00.000-07:002010-03-16T20:41:05.060-07:00rag(e)s to riches: the game [Bitch & Moan]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKoS8sIyZL5iApmUleq0U_zmVnh7qdufOXNEF_DhpX5f7R-kjP3b754nZYucLk7rpjJ1aBDuxINhK037L8jMZvfH45qg3R3yQDfn20tJboxHUw-1Z9CqZeDrLp32Qf7UepmiecAZhp1Y/s1600-h/rags_to_riches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRKoS8sIyZL5iApmUleq0U_zmVnh7qdufOXNEF_DhpX5f7R-kjP3b754nZYucLk7rpjJ1aBDuxINhK037L8jMZvfH45qg3R3yQDfn20tJboxHUw-1Z9CqZeDrLp32Qf7UepmiecAZhp1Y/s640/rags_to_riches.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
I'm sick today, but I'm still blogging dammit.<br />
<br />
Other than the whole mortal coil angle, let's take a look at two notable Western open-world games, the <b><i>GTA</i></b> series and the <b><i>Saints Row</i></b> series. Both use story events and revenue-generating activity to provide the player with a sense of growth. The stat-based character growth that we last saw in <i>GTA San Andreas</i> is seen also in <i>Saints Row 2</i>, but these are rarely the loci of capital management--the heart and soul of these games is the accumulation of wealth, where clothing, cars, real estate, and social capital are merely status symbols indicative of player progress.<br />
<br />
First of all, it's interesting that there's no barometer for total net worth. Well, there are stats such as total money earned and total money spent. However, these are hidden in statistics pages and aren't central to the design--which flies in the face of these games' purpose--not to advance a story (though these are important for setting motivations). In <i>Saints Row</i>, there's a style meter, which grows as the protagonist purchases clothing and real estate. This translates to a multiplier buff in a metacurrency, reputation. <i>GTA 4</i> goes in the opposite direction, where social capital is the most easily measured (your number of friends, and for some reason, the wallpaper on your phone). These divergent designs both work for different reasons, and no doubt contribute to a feature differentiation. Not that I'm complaining (yet).<br />
<br />
The meat of the issue is the cost of goods and arguably services. Since I'm currently playing <i>Saints Row 2</i>, I'll pull from these prices:<br />
<br />
A jelly donut:<br />
Real Life: $2 at most<br />
In-game: $85.<br />
Real Life: Delicious, probably a thousand or so calories.<br />
In-game: 70% health. Okay, I suppose this is an incredible value.<br />
<br />
20rds 9mm Ammo:<br />
Real Life: $5-10 depending on where you shop.<br />
In-game: $100. What.<br />
Real Life: Fun for the whole family.<br />
In-game: Mostly useless. Ridiculous. I'm assuming these are pre-loaded and come with the magazine. Then, we're close to real life.<br />
<br />
Plastic surgery:<br />
Real Life: $thousands, risk of death, not covered by insurance<br />
In-game: $500 all-you-can-eat. Instant recovery.<br />
Real Life: Evade law enforcement, look awesome.<br />
In-game: Evade law enforcement, loow awesome. Fine, for the sake of gameplay, we can ignore the recovery time.<br />
<br />
Sweet downtown loft:<br />
Real Life: depending on location, $500k-$2M. Then there are the condo fees, taxes, etc.<br />
In-game: $50k. Cash, no financing. For starters, 50k is what I'd pay in real life for a down payment on a property.<br />
Real Life: Shelter, possibly happiness? Tax shelter? Rent it out?<br />
In-game: Right now I have strippers and ninjas hanging out and drinking booze. Oh yeah, I get access to a bottomless garage and a helipad.<br />
<br />
Bonus: Hookers from <i>GTA</i>:<br />
Real Life: hm, I'm not familiar with the market but I'm assuming a few hundred for street meat and thousands for an escort service.<br />
In-game: approx $100.<br />
Real Life: Realizing your life is empty<br />
In-game: Nothing really, your car just bounces up and down. There's no STD statistic.<br />
<br />
I'm interested in costs from <b><i>Fable 2</i></b>. Anyone got numbers?<br />
<br />
In any case, we see a drastic inflation of costs for everyday goods and a significant discount for larger capital purchases. If we were to take in-game prices to represent a different currency, a conversion rate would correct your everyday costs-of-living to be about market. However, this makes the big-ticket items even more affordable.<br />
<br />
We can attribute these design choices to two factors: player progression and disposable income. Making the switch from couch surfing to renting usually takes a stable income. The transition from rental to ownership is even more drastic, requiring the ability to make a down payment and afford upkeep costs. Ownership usually sets back the purchaser's buying power temporarily--and while this effect is preserved, the player is able to claw his way out of the burden of ownership rather quickly, if he subscribes to story-centric tasks with an exponentially increasing reward size but fixed reward schedule (the player's willingness to fulfill mission objectives). This is the reason for a logarithmically flat cost range: to avoid a financial grind that players are actually trying to escape (oh look, let's call it Financial Escapism).<br />
<br />
One interesting design choice from <i>Saints Row 2</i> is the ability to purchase businesses--which provide a 20% kickback on purchase price. This amounts to a 100% ROI in 5 in-game days. And since there's no inflation or taxes and the returns are fixed, it's an investment scheme that, for me, makes about $13k/day at the moment. This is a minimal-risk investment (the only risk being running out of cash to purchase food and ammo). These merely make story progress harder but not impossible. Protip: start fights on the street to obtain ammo. This assumes you expend less ammo than you collect, so don't suck at shooting, k? Protip: The Fight Club activity provides free food during matches. Throw away those blunts and fill up on burgers being thrown into a sweaty octagon.<br />
<br />
Tangent: In racing games, two opposite attempts have been made in this topic. In <b><i>Need For Speed Underground 2</i></b>, car purchases were based on vouchers based on sponsorship instead of vehicle costs. This tied your stable size to your story progression and kept us from windowshopping all day. But game developers also understand that we ENJOY the process. Latter <i>NFS</i> games as well as the <b><i>Midnight Club </i></b>series use approximate real costs and enjoy success because a) there isn't really a sub-$10k market for new cars, so your entry barrier is much lower and b) story progression demands exponentially increasing reward sizes with a fixed schedule.<br />
<br />
Tangent: Let's take another genre, my masochistic favorite, the <b><i>Armored Core</i></b> series. In the early game, there's a focus on trading parts and working with a budget to accomplish goals. Sure, it's a spreadsheet simulator of sorts, but difficulty and reward are matched with story progress, along with a logarithmically flat cost range, make progression bearable. Sure, there's a bit of a grind in this series, but it's mostly your fault--using parts that use more expensive ammo, failing to invest in PA-centric parts, resulting in a higher cost in armor repair, picking more expensive wingmen. There's not much grind for financial leeway, moreso the OCD is instigated by the impulse to obtain an S-rank more than the urge to obtain exotic parts.<br />
<br />
Bleh, so that's it. We play games with money in them because of Financial Escapism and its more important features are logarithmic cost range and reward scheduling via story progression and risk to disposable income.<br />
<br />
This sorta makes me wish <b><i>This Is Vegas</i></b> would finally come out so I can economicanalysisnerdraeg about that game too, but I fucking gave up on that title already.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-15471717000796120762010-02-02T10:13:00.000-08:002010-02-02T12:44:15.762-08:00Baka-Test 4 [Field-Stripping]<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEq6JeZ-kZ2q7O5a7dwWV9PaInlOQpc05Qastg-pJAhrqj88hwIgsZHGqTkcxhS-Z3-9E-oh_CXf-XgkpafxIvEzyEis-dIWu0XOfkokHEDih_7LDm8bx4Z2Gut7SSI8C7MqfLmtMGXOI/s1600-h/bakat4-op2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEq6JeZ-kZ2q7O5a7dwWV9PaInlOQpc05Qastg-pJAhrqj88hwIgsZHGqTkcxhS-Z3-9E-oh_CXf-XgkpafxIvEzyEis-dIWu0XOfkokHEDih_7LDm8bx4Z2Gut7SSI8C7MqfLmtMGXOI/s400/bakat4-op2.jpg" alt="a nice cup of doom" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433745724079069554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[yep...i just used comic-sans just to irritate you</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />If the first three episodes were any indication, hilarity & brain damage will ensue. (ampersand WIN)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">[0:15] explanation of "punishment bearer" </span><span style="font-size:100%;">(akihisa)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> as something prodigious<br />[0:23] Real explanation: akihisa is a gofer<br />[1:00] Cue OP <vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[3:08] event! with loli shouko = cue upcoming abuse<br /></vomit></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere="">[3:38] college life SA</vomit></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere="">VANT + bad ramen math<br />[3:52] apparently that was a tsundere (</vomit></span><span style="font-size:100%;">minami)</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""> flag...gah...<br />[4:08] flag failure - no lunch<br />[4:20] akihisa + stupid comment = SUPLEX!! (through portra</vomit></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere="">it scene cut)<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kAZDuGzKq84R5jDMgXbTggrDsOARn2RU7yAFkYBARjGQD0x-y3S63wBpy98E8aAakqSvnaSgLLFDU_hsnZ8bhm54s3po7CigH28_zUtMLyAaDuxXWV6-6XAyaoebK4E0zDbUNavGz88/s1600-h/bakat4-4.28.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-kAZDuGzKq84R5jDMgXbTggrDsOARn2RU7yAFkYBARjGQD0x-y3S63wBpy98E8aAakqSvnaSgLLFDU_hsnZ8bhm54s3po7CigH28_zUtMLyAaDuxXWV6-6XAyaoebK4E0zDbUNavGz88/s400/bakat4-4.28.jpg" alt="chalkboards are talking...again (a la pani poni dash X zetsubou sensei" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433739579241488914" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[chalkboard a la pani poni dash X zetsubou sensei</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[4:28] gah...the chalkboard is talking...<br />[4:38] oh crap...new loli (hazuki)<br />[4:42] confirmed as tsundere sister<br />[4:50] oh, look, it's like a standard character comparison sheet<br />[5:00] wtf...it's only the 4th episode. *cue love pentagon/gram<br />[5:12] narrator laziness "We'll explore the details later"<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhkWslLZ0eCKWPIQJevq2zgudNCG4c8e8D3ClJp2CIpID5NAVuwbDQ7ri3pd2aZSefnzkI17RBqcqUcvYrEcnmbhHZzddxhJ6Irzy5Wxpnq5XTr1zSunggUYFG5lpKbJFpY-Yw_0rt3Q/s1600-h/bakat4-5.27.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 337px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZhkWslLZ0eCKWPIQJevq2zgudNCG4c8e8D3ClJp2CIpID5NAVuwbDQ7ri3pd2aZSefnzkI17RBqcqUcvYrEcnmbhHZzddxhJ6Irzy5Wxpnq5XTr1zSunggUYFG5lpKbJFpY-Yw_0rt3Q/s400/bakat4-5.27.jpg" alt="yeah...this'll export well" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433740848243851474" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[yeah...that'll export just fine</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[5:27] wtf secret society inquisition complete with black KKK-style robes<br />[6:00] tsundere flag - reactivated. lunch delivery<br />[6:20] sibling betrayal<br />[6:30] trap character (hideyoshi) calling out tsundere<br />[6:47] the hell? german tank?<br />[7:05] shy/boob character(himeji) made "extra" lunch too...gah..i might call out the rest of the episode<br /><br />predictions<br />-love triangle/square/pentagon fight-o<br />-one of the girls (if not both) sucks at cooking<br />-more than akihisa will try it and suffer<br />-feelings hurt + akihisa abuse<br />-add some yuuji abuse since he's there<br />-trap character glamor shot (just because)<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9QpceQeupu4zPms7kF6UVTY_j8lXGcrogHrpuXwYB5ODMJ2WlFU-q8pbUNYLain-no-D62t5enSfVL1RnYd0iDaDmP_XQSMNeXszcjiYAgVXOVmT1U8mvAPn0FlL028kWPgIoH1z418/s1600-h/bakat4-7.24.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9QpceQeupu4zPms7kF6UVTY_j8lXGcrogHrpuXwYB5ODMJ2WlFU-q8pbUNYLain-no-D62t5enSfVL1RnYd0iDaDmP_XQSMNeXszcjiYAgVXOVmT1U8mvAPn0FlL028kWPgIoH1z418/s400/bakat4-7.24.jpg" alt="this is a death flag - thank you persona 4" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433741706131051170" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[thank you persona 4 for making primary female character bento a death flag</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[7:24] more stylization of character design on simple backgrounds. budget anyone?<br />[7:28] shy/boob character vs. tsundere/dfc - challenge issued<br />[7:36] more secret society inquisition<br />[7:50] plea by shy/boob character for mercy<br />[8:00] plea fail = extra abuse (off camera)<br />[8:18] INSERT COMMERCIAL HERE<br />[8:40] rooftop lunch (with himeji) to inevitable fail?<br />[9:00] yuuji interruption<br />[9:05] hideyoshi interruption<br />[9:07] voyeur interruption<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMPJ3qcKSFmLOtdO_0t0D9sPun62v_fAjdmQs_FckMBtiwQILa_ryg7KSJJrb0pUtKSy5bouthGXTp3Odu4Ih8dTH1idy8eSv4bikqYgsHnxKEu1EaSt5UJcHcsbdrL5-fYDtDimI_gg/s1600-h/bakat4-9.20.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhMPJ3qcKSFmLOtdO_0t0D9sPun62v_fAjdmQs_FckMBtiwQILa_ryg7KSJJrb0pUtKSy5bouthGXTp3Odu4Ih8dTH1idy8eSv4bikqYgsHnxKEu1EaSt5UJcHcsbdrL5-fYDtDimI_gg/s400/bakat4-9.20.jpg" alt="side character death in EP4...wut?" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433742653493323730" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[all that we need now is a generic explosion to remove the corpse</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[9:20] everyone dies (fucking called it, +4 points)<br />[9:34] smell test = pain<br />[9:40] reel swap. okay..where did this cut come from (film borders?)<br />[9:42] serious face<br />[9:52] gate to hell/FMA reference<br />[10:04] trap back from the dead<br />[10:12] fatalism WIN<br />[10:30] feign ignorance at bad cooking flag<br />[10:45] trepidation at drink...doom? cue crisis<br />[11:10] akihisa feint - will probably fail<br />[11:17] wow. taking the middle route. impressive +paragon +renegade<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkSgwAT9NhDRqOZ3X4vpf6gUmCOdMsenZREdc7yV1tsH-vfZA5Ch8cNHRrDepcgPNz2VYeg0BVf6C-9z7bhlmeZLj1EFMeDPU31eL6MbwQlJtRtYzrrvjx1r0jEwsMfy6wQvQmcCHOq0/s1600-h/bakat4-11.34.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 604px; height: 338px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXkSgwAT9NhDRqOZ3X4vpf6gUmCOdMsenZREdc7yV1tsH-vfZA5Ch8cNHRrDepcgPNz2VYeg0BVf6C-9z7bhlmeZLj1EFMeDPU31eL6MbwQlJtRtYzrrvjx1r0jEwsMfy6wQvQmcCHOq0/s400/bakat4-11.34.jpg" alt="answer: it's over...you're doomed" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433743305392285058" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[conscience manifestation - yet another sign of doom</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[11:34] the damning sentence "I wanted you to be the first person to try it"<br />[11:36] art style change - aki death flag<br />[11:56] last second save by yuuji? switch to pencil-paper mode<br />[12:30] extra death flag - yuuji tells aki love will save him<br />[12:35] final words? wow...those were dumb<br />[12:42] switch reels - back to the gate?<br />[12:50] death<br />[12:55] yuuji admits to lying<br />[13:25] aki zombie + tsundere = round 2?<br />[14:06] tsundere flag activation?<br />[14:16] miharu (lesbian/fang) interruption<br />[14:22] another bento layer. goddamnit<br />[14:50] round 2 delayed + fancy classrooms?<br /><br />more predictions<br />-more miharu interruptions + class A gay dude = aki life fail<br /><br />[15:10] traveling montage - school edition<br />[15:40] more inquisition...jeez<br />[15:51] wow...go japan. change the color of those robes and this can't be exported as is<br /><br /></vomit></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KlbaudYrMgHA59hInC5JHeuWkEIvNW4empp8ULA_QeUhXiLAJKqoVsR3WGFGwaIB8-dX8x53-7le0LqnidJgV6JbpB6We1VAB0D8WKZ-z7aMI4lYUHV-DlNW9hc56QRM4er0grZPI_s/s1600-h/bakat4-end.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9KlbaudYrMgHA59hInC5JHeuWkEIvNW4empp8ULA_QeUhXiLAJKqoVsR3WGFGwaIB8-dX8x53-7le0LqnidJgV6JbpB6We1VAB0D8WKZ-z7aMI4lYUHV-DlNW9hc56QRM4er0grZPI_s/s400/bakat4-end.jpg" alt="another cut sort-of-out-of-context" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5433746094898645602" border="0" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">[just wait for someone to take this out of context</span><span style="font-style: italic;">]</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""></vomit></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><vomit color="" everywhere=""><br />[16:04] aki's doomed by the same face...again<br />[16:30] crossing paths - fang interrupt imminet?<br />[17:15] tsundere fail<br />[17:20] enter gay class A student (called it +1 point)<br />[17:40] requisite lunch offer = tsundere interrupt<br />[18:20] tsundere resignation<br />[18:55] train station lunch = meal of champions/rich hobos<br />[19:00] teacher/narrator entrance?<br />[19:24] accidental pain to detention. all lunch plans fail<br />[20:05] tsundere venting<br />[20:50] aki entrance at trash can = wants to scrape dish clean?<br />[21:08] haiti reference? TLs must be screwing with me<br />[21:30] tsundere cheerup<br />[22:00] ED - after scene next (please)?<br />[23:36] no after scene... :\<br /></vomit><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;">Eh...too much work for +5 points. Maybe I'll do another one of these for a less joke driven show. If this doesn't get you to have an opinion on this show, I fucking give up. </span>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233559353151341325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-10692954711010063922010-01-30T21:34:00.000-08:002010-01-30T21:53:39.037-08:00State of the Union [Spray and Pray]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qZ2YMSRSvcC2HxPWgJiIGupF50PKcFzpBkMnH1xytIhws72444bYh6msyAnbBG9PDvgiHPnuT_aSsZD7WS_CtNTwg9q9RAfiYX56hQMHzSuMP9Ln_C88qzjCJk4YX_t2MKDOJR6Tvi4/s1600-h/2010_01_30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8qZ2YMSRSvcC2HxPWgJiIGupF50PKcFzpBkMnH1xytIhws72444bYh6msyAnbBG9PDvgiHPnuT_aSsZD7WS_CtNTwg9q9RAfiYX56hQMHzSuMP9Ln_C88qzjCJk4YX_t2MKDOJR6Tvi4/s640/2010_01_30.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Let's destroy <s>The Shagohod</s> your mind, one piece of culture at a time.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-large;">Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Beta</span></i></b><br />
I've gotten the Xbox 360 demo and the PC beta.<br />
360: Little lag. Plays just like <b><i>Bad Company 1</i></b>. Vehicle controls are better.<br />
PC: Lags like shit. Server browser causes CTD. Lags like shit. GUI is poorly-designed, uses too much abbreviation. Lags like shit.<br />
General: Still no prone?! UAVs = fucking awesome. Destruction 2.0 = the camping-killer. New unlock system = <b><i>CoD4</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">-inspired. I'm ambivalent. But, it's still in the <i>Bad Company</i> subfranchise and so of course I'll play it. For now, stick to the 360 demo. Ranking is locked at Private II and all class unlocks are limited to Lvl 2. You'll start with the AEK-791, 9A91, PKM, and M24--and unlock the XM8, SCAR-LC, M249, Type 88, and the tracer dart. Happy hunting.</span></b><br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu</span></i></b><br />
This show is the brain-melting culturally-aware show of the season. It's pretty much pure gold to anyone who consumes the anime medium. Let's count!<br />
<br />
<ol><li>Zetsuboushita! A bit too early to reference the 3-season juggernaut that is <b><i>Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei</i></b>?</li>
<li>Hideyoshi has a magical girl transformation. Despite being a guy. And transforms into his own clothes again. This trap-ism becomes a gimmick for the rest of the show, and there's already porn of him. Yes. He's essentially the show's mascot.</li>
<li>There's a running subtitle side conversation, in the style of Colbert's <b><i>The Word</i></b>. It's new to the medium, but the content is stale.</li>
<li>I love how the SPECIAL ACE of the team is actually the most useless.</li>
<li>There's another running gag where the seme/uke relationship is consistently disgusting.</li>
<li>Usually saved for the season finale, the ultimate battle plan fails. In episode 2.</li>
<li>Oh god, the Ranka Lee (<b><i>Macross Frontier</i></b>) gang sign is viral. We'll be seeing it in the <b><i>Gundam 00</i></b> movie, Christ.</li>
<li>Tons of visual gags and great design choices, which really make the most of the genre.</li>
</ol>Watch this show.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Chuu Bra</span></i></b><br />
I don't know what to make of this show. If we were to take the narrative from a purely textual point of view, it'd be a story about female development, societal mores, and amateur couture. If you actually watch the show, you'll find it to be what amounts to Japan's next wave of statutory rape. Somehow, the <b><i>Batman</i></b>-style transitions makes me think that Adam West is going to pop out and fondle little girls. Another thing to note is that they reference the job of an industry monitor, which, as I understand it, does not cooperate with the design house. Those guys use fit models and the feedback stays in-house. The previews are creative and are omake-esque. Overall, the show is too risque for its best audience--young girls 12-16.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Dance in the Vampire Bund</span></i></b><br />
I haven't followed this show much, but from what I can tell, it's weird, quirky, and different. The character designs are detailed and a lot of care went into adapting it from the manga. Watch the pilot all the way through and decide if you're into it then.<br />
<br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Durarara!!</span></i></b><br />
Show of the year. Yes, I've already called it. It's the perfect followup to <b><i>Baccano!</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, as the same animation studio does the work. The original story comes from the same author and the character design comes from the same guy who did </span><i>Yozakura Quartet</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"> and it shows--the show makes constant nods to <i>Quartet</i>, <b><i>Spice and Wolf</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, and <i>Baccano</i></span></b>. Hell, there are way too many cat ears in these shows. Go ahead and check, I shit you not. This blog will still be here when you come back. Fucking boot up the Googles and look for the cat ears. And suffer the knowledge as I do. The plot is far less confusing than <i>Baccano</i>'s, which had far too many timejumps for the typical viewer; this show's episodic structure deals with the narrative with thematic selection. There's a typical white vs black conflict, but that's not fully explored so far and for some reason there's the brown man, a black Russian (what the hell), so we've got a three-way power struggle that makes no sense but is hilarious. There's also a mystery group, the DOLLARS, whose colored visual vocabulary has only been hinted. Why are you still reading this start fucking torrenting.</span></b><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><br />
</span></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Sora no Woto</span></i></b><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">This is basically the new </span><i>K-On</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">. 5-piece band in a post-apocalyptic world. Oh look, AMAZING GRACE IN THE FUTUUUUURE. There's a walking tank (is there any other kind?) that serves as the retrofuturist lampshade for the premise. I'm hoping for a little more musical emphasis (<i>K-On</i> had a little, but it was for a few brief moment), particularly regarding brass instruments. Our main female lead has a terrible weakass embosure, it makes me cringe. Anyway, the setting reminds me of the Festival de la Tomate, so it's trying to be somewhat Euro-centric. Oh yes, the token tsundere plays the clarinet, what a big fucking surprise (I play the clarinet as well. Does that make me a man-tsundere?). They have a mascot, an owl, which is on their unit patches--this instantly made me think of </span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i>Pumpkin Scissors</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">, but instead of a giant killing machine they have lolis. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">The OP really catches my eye because it reminds me a </span><i>Elfen Lied</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;">'s OP/ED, pulling from the gold leaf murals of Gustav Klimt (the only Sezessionstil artist you will ever need to know). Drop this show unless you like <i>K-On</i>.</span></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Caprica</span></i></b><br />
GENTRIFICATION IN SPAAAAACE. Only seen the pilot, missed last night's episode. Okay, it's not terrible but the plot is very easy to mock. Replace Cylons with golems and we've got a crappy fantasy show. The Greystones are your typical well-to-do family with a typically rebellious daughter. Zoe is some mastermind genius religious character. The Adamas are interesting, as the plot paints their origin as Taurons to be something of a mix between the Sicilian mafia and the Palestinians. The mixing of technological, ethnic, and religious topics is interesting, so I'll be following this show because there's a <b><i>BSG</i></b>-sized vacuum in my life.<br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Johnny Foreigner - Cranes and Cranes and Cranes and Cranes</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Desert Sessions - You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like A Millionaire</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Owl City - Strawberry Avalanche</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Philip Glass - Metamorphosis (Movement I) </span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T.O.K. - SHOTTAS/HOTTA</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Nanquan Mama feat. MC Hotdog - Here We Go</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Ultraviolet - Spin Like A DJ</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">New Boyz feat. Ray Z - Tie Me Down</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">G-Dragon - Heartbreaker</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Ramona Rey vs Ayuze Kozue - Find Sundae & Take It<br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Fujiya & Miyagi - Knickerboxer</span></i></b><br />
<object height="505" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G0E8MWb3hgo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G0E8MWb3hgo&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="505"></embed></object><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Hail Mary Mallon - D-Up</span></i></b><br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vKXyAZWM3gw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vKXyAZWM3gw&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">I'm spent. I fucki- Oh look, how about you stick around for some dessert?</span><br />
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<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Spice and Wolf S1 OP</span></i></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span">Fucking give up already. (Today's pop culture count: 25)</span>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-67272045937320806732010-01-24T11:47:00.000-08:002010-01-24T12:27:37.661-08:00Curse Your Sudden But Inevitable Betrayal! [Bitch and Moan]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCenuPJlN8OkW0OrNWgrcQM0h67_XCvJxjMV4S8LPFWf1huBcSePiN3Kot7RdriGN6NM_EB5F27GdDDqo0jCoWmK4rksDskDwM1iXcM2jRuyQFZcidMKJJlB1-kpd9buMS9HYRosxeglc/s1600-h/2010_01_24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCenuPJlN8OkW0OrNWgrcQM0h67_XCvJxjMV4S8LPFWf1huBcSePiN3Kot7RdriGN6NM_EB5F27GdDDqo0jCoWmK4rksDskDwM1iXcM2jRuyQFZcidMKJJlB1-kpd9buMS9HYRosxeglc/s640/2010_01_24.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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This is going to be a more srs post, but not too in-depth because I haven't had breakfast. This week we'll discuss something Anthony Burch brought up in a Rev Rant way way back, oh look, <a href="http://www.destructoid.com/rev-rant-gaaaaaaaaaaaaay-154057.phtml">a link</a>. Audiences in all media experience surprise when expectations are proven wrong. However, the sense of betrayal is slightly different in that it causes more dramatic behaviors such as cognitive dissonance and raegquits (in the academic community known as balking).<br />
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<b>Case 1: My First Null Hypothesis.</b> Let's take a look at a genre with surprise but no breach of expectations. Greek tragedies are an example of rituals where the endgame is already known. Surprise comes from individual experience, such as timing and delivery. The same can be said of one of my favorite traditions, Guy Fawkes Day. We know exactly what we're going to do to the straw man, but the often secret selection of our Guy Fawkes reenactor offers a modicum of surprise. Note that balking is minimal in these instances, unless you have serious objections to straw-on-fire violence.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXjoeYjpWPStC0s_nSZjcgm7OIAhQVKC56IWOXBtju9NN64zRtiGDiAI-lpAGUqgv1zEtJcNIoQVc1uB4Dn2GTusMM7zT-2Wn7Sd9WPf5WmVufTmJpQt6bCw5VwoY0ou8ZIO_6MqXsfo/s1600-h/1_24_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXjoeYjpWPStC0s_nSZjcgm7OIAhQVKC56IWOXBtju9NN64zRtiGDiAI-lpAGUqgv1zEtJcNIoQVc1uB4Dn2GTusMM7zT-2Wn7Sd9WPf5WmVufTmJpQt6bCw5VwoY0ou8ZIO_6MqXsfo/s640/1_24_2.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<b>Case 2: Breach of Expectation Without Balking.</b> This is best characterized by the Mystery genre. As I mostly hate the genre since it's one of the bastions of shitty pulps that only survive because of a combination of fanatical otaku-like readership and somewhat meh gimmicks, I'll post some that are out of the mold but still fit. Two films, <b><i>Memento</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and </span><i>Clue</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> are great examples where escalation of surprise (albeit in different ways because....eh...just go fucking watch those two movies, you won't regret it) acclimate the audience, thus avoiding sudden and arguably inevitable betrayals. A lesser example is anything related to </span><i>Law and Order</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, as the plots generally dodge and weave as new evidence is revealed. However, episodes where complete reversals of the typical ending where the villain-de-jour is brought to justice are rare, and thus repeat audiences can generally bank on a formulaic exposition. The exception is the spinoff </span><i>Criminal Intent</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> where the criminals have their own concurrent subplot. In any case, this type of betrayal actually increases audience engagement--usually because these pieces all exist within a historical context. The form of betrayal changes with each medium and period as we are trained to add another dimension of comparison, so in the age of serialized novels it would have been unexpected for the detectives to be perpetrators (nowadays we have </span><i>Michael C Hall plays the same asshole in everything he's in but we still love him like we love Christopher Walken</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">) and in more modern times, having the villain played by a confederate in the audience thereby breaking the fourth wall (I seriously have no example because I don't see many stage plays and that would be impossibly expensive for a movie, not to mention the DVD although I'm sure </span><i>Rocky Horror</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> fans would beg to differ).</span></b><br />
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<b>Case 3: Shit, It Was In Front Of Me And Nobody Said Anything</b>. I guess this is where <b><i>Polaris</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> comes into play. When the mimesis offers no cues into an unknown, the audience simply projects themselves into these gaps. However, when they are revealed, the shock can result in balking behavior. The reveal of a gay main character is something of a shock as no cues were given as to the character's nature, and in keeping with the narrative and player's own projections of sexual normalcy, create a female. The resulting shock is something of a cognitive dissonance, where players were fine with portraying a heterosexual female but not a homosexual male. In </span><i>KOTOR</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, our facelessnamelessevengordonfreemanhadaname protagonist was revealed to be Darth Revan. Oh, yeah, spoilers. Too late. Whatever, get over it. Note that this is avoided completely in its spiritual offspring, </span><i>Mass Effect</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> where backstory is chosen to player taste and Shepard's heroic destiny is chosen by literally a deus ex machina. Back to <i>KOTOR</i>, the fact that our investment as players was changed because suddenly, instead of our own projections, our character was now Revan, playstyles were changed and balking may have occurred. I guess you could say the same thing about </span><i>Sixth Sense</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> but honestly that scene was created so you'd jizz in your pants. This effect comes from audience alienation. When the mimesis doesn't offer sympathy, audience members look to their peers. Individuals try to reaffirm that they are not alone in the shock by looking for signs of distress anywhere available, this includes bitching and moaning on the IMDB forums. <i>KOTOR</i> had other characters note their surprise but quickly restate the mission to force us to move on. I guess one way of recreating this effect is to watch a foreign comedy film in a theater full of native speakers, where you don't get any of the jokes but they do. You'll likely sink in your seat or laugh alone to avoid alienation. And somehow I just sold some copies of Rosetta Stone.</span></b><br />
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<b>Case 4: Fixed Reward Scheduling.</b> This comes from mostly episodic experiences, we'll start with gaming. Because games mostly revolve around a risk/reward mechanic, and playtimes are split into consistent chunks, we have an effect where our ultimate goal is only partially met for our efforts. In old-school <b><i>Mario</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> titles, the princess is in another castle. We have, however, eliminated an enemy stronghold and never have to go back (doing so would dramatically result in balking). If it were revealed that the princess was raped and murdered before our porcelain protagonist is able to produce said prodigal princess, a player would abandon his plan to procure royal poon and accept what is called sunken cost. Yes, I used alliteration for no reason than to piss you off. The same could be argued of </span><i>Dead Space</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, where we're dealt two consecutive blows--first finding out that our escort mission to save Nicole was for naught, thus negating Isaac's raison de PLASMA CUTTER, and later having undead Nicole kill(?) Isaac, robbing us of our consolation goal, getting the fuck out. This is an economic effect: humans understand the concept of sunken cost and respond to it by abandoning the investment or escalation.</span></b><br />
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<b><i>Case 5: You Suck At ___ FPS, GG UNINSTALL.</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Sometimes we just hate losing, it reminds us that we're not as good as we think we are. Also, I hate children on Xbox Live. It makes me want to open an abortion clinic. Besides, I'm better than you are at ____. You should just fucking give up. Unless you want to play </span><i>Hookerbrawl 6<span style="font-weight: normal;"> (Tekken)<span style="font-style: normal;">.</span></span></i></b><br />
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I'll be posting a Spray and Pray later (maybe today or tomorrow), I've got hot new music and the Q1 2010 anime season loaded on my leechbox.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-60028427022350291102010-01-16T23:32:00.000-08:002010-01-17T00:09:25.768-08:00Army of Three: Forced Replay Value [Nolan North Strikes Again]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOp4IQkhdF3bQ3y-xl3xuTpwU3ojdPxVB6AcmRFejCrbh7YA_Dr4Yp4WepxBIkpgARV-h55Yiw0oXeGXDZt0WDQHygfU3JjQWV4cLivDN0aavJcoLUDh3RJmKUuG0zZ81kiAQ_ZkDbjs/s1600-h/2010_01_16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXOp4IQkhdF3bQ3y-xl3xuTpwU3ojdPxVB6AcmRFejCrbh7YA_Dr4Yp4WepxBIkpgARV-h55Yiw0oXeGXDZt0WDQHygfU3JjQWV4cLivDN0aavJcoLUDh3RJmKUuG0zZ81kiAQ_ZkDbjs/s640/2010_01_16.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div>In lieu of a Bitch and Moan and Spray and Pray, here is my weekly post. Seriously, I've done thing but play this game this week.<br />
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First of all, let's just get this out of the way. Nolan North = Elliot Salem. FML. People who know me in real life are aware of my well-documented meltdowns whenever Nolan North and Karen Strassman are in a game I play. It's inevitable. All that's left is for Nolan North to be in a Persona game and the universe will likely come to an end.<br />
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Anyway, <b><i>Army of Two: The 40th Day</i></b>, starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith, is a buddy action comedy directed by Michael Bay. Of course most literary duos do consist of an umpbridge and a loose cannon. On a side note, we need more Steve Zahn because he performs brilliantly as the latter--his appearance on an episode of <b><i>Monk</i></b> is an exaggerated example of those pairing, while his role in <b><i>Sahara</i></b>, not so much. I allude to <b><i>Bad Boys</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, for multiple reasons.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">1) Michael Bay jacks off to disaster porn. Full disclosure: I am from Shanghai. I have an attention to detail. I bitch and moan. The architecture is very Western-inspired, and makes me wonder if the team actually took reference photos outside of Pudong. Let's discuss environments: the game mostly takes place in the Pudong and Hongkou districts, with the chapters starting out in a post-60s office building. Do note that over there, construction uses far more bamboo for struts and temporary supports. We waterslide down a mid-30s skyscraper and are treated to all sorts of falling buildings, just to show off the physics engine, and I presume, not to preload textures for the next portion of the map. You think they'd learn to utilize the Unreal engine a little better if they have time for pointless unskippable cutscenes. Later on you traverse the streets of Hongkou, which are admittedly sorta close to real life, though there aren't nearly that many winding alleys and the run-down places are far more run down than this disaster porn can capture. The zoo is filled with dead animals. Hippos, gorillas, monkeys, elephants, etc. And optionally, a dead tiger should you choose to kill it to unlock weapon parts. The hospital is very westernized and strangely devoid of random blood everywhere, so it felt out of place as I have actually gone to a hospital. Google for China Hospital Lines for an example of how people actually get trampled to death waiting for medical care in China. In real life. The mall is actually close to what a real mall in Pudong looks like. Except for the giant satellite receiver. Which you blow up. Unsurprisingly. Next is The Bund, a faux-colonized street with plenty of German-derived architecture. It looks quite nice and, if we were to take away all the cover, stationary guns, mandatory crates, and GIANT SHIPPING CONTAINERS, it'd resemble real life. Except for the green tint, which I guess is a good thing since the earlier portions of the game were very red/orange and visual variety does help. Finally, we go to the "temple" which, in real life, is just "the old city" and is a tourist trap. There aren't stairs or anything, just lots of shopping vendors and Starbucks (Xinbake, ask for it by name or you'll get ripped off). And the icing on the cake? You C4 open the inner keep to confront your enemy. If the FDI troops don't destroy something, it's you doing the destruction.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">(You know what this game is missing? Violence against Space Elevators. See: </span><i>Gundam 00<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal;">,</span></span> Halo ODST</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">.)</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">2) Michael Bay jacks off to helicopter porn. Again, whip out your Google Fu and you'll find that Michael Bay always has helicopters flying into a sunset in his movies. </span><i>Bad Boys. Transformers. The Island.</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> Here, we've got helicopters crashing into buildings, dropping off heavy troops, and finally UN helicopters flying back into Shanghai. Search Youtube if you want to have a peek. A few I couldn't identify easily but I did spot a Mi-17 and a MH-53s. The MH-53s at the end are incredibly detailed and I just realized I've basically sold 20 copies of this game to Michael Bay fans.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">3) Somewhat capable female ally. Alice Murray was complete trash in </span><i>Army of Two</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">. You had to carry her on your shoulder and were limited to your secondary weapon and slow move speed. Now she's back, wielding a G36, and able to do anything your partner can: heal, pull aggro, make sandwiches. I've also noticed she has breast physics. Quite the upgrade, my dear. How is this fap material for Michael Bay? Just replace her with Tea Leoni and you've got the same thing. Edit: How could I forget Scarlett Johannsen and Megan Fox?</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Well, let's get on with a more serious look into the game.</span></b><br />
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Language - Four languages are spoken. Bro English, Shitty English, Mandarin, and Wu. Fake accents are fake, Nolan North is actually a convincing actor in this role, and the Chinese languages are used correctly. News broadcasts are in English and Mandarin, and actually make sense in a <b><i>Cloverfield</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> sort of way--exposition via emotion rather than content worked, but an ability to speak Mandarin will let you actually understand two broadcasts. I love the hostages. They speak authentic Wu, and are whiny arrogant bitches. A man says "I don't want to die, I have children" right before he's crushed by a bus. A woman says "You think you're all that just because you have a gun?" A few more "please don't kill me" and "please don't shoot your gun" and "what are you doing" scatter the dialogue. (Word of the day: polysyndeton).</span></b><br />
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Customization - This is what made the prequel very fun. Now, you're just purchasing parts and mixing them with receivers for....weird and ugly combinations. I suppose it's why we have paintjobs and camo now, to cover up the ugliness of our guns. I was turned off by this since the demo, but I've discovered that only on the 1st playthrough is this an issue--you gain more parts and eventually there isn't much motivation to keep that ugly part because a more visually symmetrical part does the job almost as good. I've found out that if your gun looks good, it actually functions quite well for its role (I've recreated a Special Operations SCAR, turned the AK-47 into a 74 paratrooper carbine, and the FAMAS into what I've seen in the FELIN project vision). So, try to keep your guns visually similar (by using a floating rail on your M416 and keeping AKM barrels on your AK-47) and they'll perform well. You can actually tune your guns to perform to any stat level with this system, so I guess it all comes down to preference. Some guns are incapable of headshots and some can receive exclusive part upgrades, so keep this in mind before you try to turn an AK into a marksmanship rifle. We now have bayonets. They give us satisfying animations that don't necessarily kill enemies faster. I'd recommend not using them, as they only go on shotguns and rifles. SMGs and pistols allow you run faster, which is ideal with a bayonet, but cannot equip them. We now have ghetto mods, which are ultimately pointless unless you badly, and I mean BADLY, need a silencer or a bayonet. I will note that the Rusty Stock part is actually very useful. Slap it on the MP5 and, with the right suppressors and camo, will generate no aggro.<br />
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Mile High Club - Remember the end of MHC where you have to save the hostage? This happens all the time in hostage situations (which has caused many quickloads because my partner is a little bitch), as well as twice with your partner (forcing us to quickload out of failure to form bromance). It's a stolen gimmick but in the former scenario, is quite fun. Blatantly stolen and frustrating because...<br />
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Completionists and OCD - The game takes a mandatory 2 playthroughs to unlock all the parts and see all the comic book cutscenes. That's about 12 hours commitment. Extraction Mode plays nothing like <b><i>Gears 2</i></b>'s Horde or <b><i>Halo ODST</i></b>'s Firefight. Various enemy types from the campaign return, but with different weapons (the flamethrower heavy now uses a SCAR, the grenade launcher heavy uses an RPG) and are far more aggressive--they'll run around and give you a much harder time. To survive this game mode, you'll need to memorize spawn patterns on top of managing 4-man aggro to finish off the easy ones first, and then gang up on heavies, one at a time (as sometimes 2 will spawn at once). There's no way to get around this, it's something like Firefight in that knowing spawn patterns let you finish off the mass cannon fodder.<br />
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Removed features - Overkill mode was a great way to let your partner go stealth and rack up some kills, but that's gone now. It's actually part of the design by default, but there's no more bullet time and damage multiplier involved. Co-op snipe is now built-in, and can be done at any time. Certainly makes more sense than sniping a propane tank. Weapon swap is now absent, but that makes sense as we now have anytime weapon customization and public co-op. I miss this feature the most as it lets new players get a taste for more powerful weapons. Feign Death is now changed so we can't use it as an aggro-cleanser, and lets one partner go full stealth for a rushdown. This can all be overlooked because new features, such as mock surrender and the ability to equip a primary weapon to the special weapon slot, are vast improvements on the design.<br />
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Mandatory capture level - Yeah, get caught, get your weapons taken away. It's a freaking staple of the FPS genre. <b><i>Half-Life</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> did the best because right before you're captured, you fight backflipping latex spies. The room going dark right as you approach the door is just so fitting. </span><i>Half-Life 2</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> does it even better by replacing your arsenal with the most fun weapon in all of video games, a messed up gravity gun. In </span><i>40th Day</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, it's somewhat fun since throughout the game, you're allowed to temporarily take dropped weapons and add to your arsenal. This level isn't as disruptive to the game design and really captures the procure-on-site feel. One note is that there are two weapons, the flamethrower and the gatling gun, which are exclusive to this feature. I'd suggest using it as your high-aggro weapon or your main rifle, as those are the most common weapons (Remington 870, M4, SCAR-L, G36).</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Extra party members - For some parts of the game, you get a 3rd or even 4th party member. Alice and Breznev are very combat capable, and working with Breznev just feels awesome--he's got similar gear, his own personality mask, and a machete. He's like Clyde from </span><i>Army of Two</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> but foreign and on your side. Why isn't he playable in multiplayer? Qin, the little boy, is cute and all but he doesn't do much. A zookeeper just gets in the way and soaks up bullets. In the final level, if you were in positive morality, will have 2 random Chinese guys sent from Dr. Wu to help you out for 2 arenas. They're pretty useless, don't cooperate with you (just sorta go off and shoot stuff), and are completely unrealistic because it's established fact that Chinese people can't shoot. Still, it is interesting to have more than 2 party members in this style of game--and should possibly be explored in future titles in this franchise. But when it's a decision to choose between money + weapon parts (evil) vs allies + weapon parts (good), I'd go with the evil route for the first playthrough. The only real draw of good morality is that Dr. Wu will unlock the automatic Glock 18 for you--which is essentially a poor man's SMG and great for low-aggro rushdown, but not essential if you're playing on Casual or Normal.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bleh, morality - This game is all about escalation. Fights get more intense, bosses are more in number (up to 3 on the last arena), the hostage situations get harder, and the morality choices get more interesting. It's interesting because the last two involve violence against children--but mostly because they have moments of irony, culminating in a classic Dead Man's Switch scenario with an expectedly reversal. These cutscenes might as well be an advertisement for the upcoming comic. This is part of a larger problem, as free will is just another gaming gimmick.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Collectibles - meh. Japanese cats? How does that make sense? Cute and all, but really? Well, it does make some sense because this game is more and more converging on </span><i>Metal Gear Solid</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">. (</span><i>MGS3</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> had the cute frogs, so I guess cats are close on the cuteness). The radio transmissions, wow, it's a stolen concept from </span><i>System Shock 2</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span><i>Doom 3</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span><i>Bioshock</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, </span><i>Halo ODST</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, et al. But these transmissions are played only in menu, so in essence this is a step BACK in technology. It does ultimately make sense since the other games have long lags of loneliness, and the </span><i>Army of Two</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> series is much faster paced. This makes me question the very need for these collectibles--the cats are cute and placed in weird places, but the radio transmissions just have newscasts, one is just a 3-second long scream, and the others are just Jonah preaching to China.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Jonah - I hate Jonah. He mixes patches from Army and USAF. He talks about modern society from some weird Biblical perspective and aims that message at China. He clearly doesn't know much about China, even after we make an allowance for the Bystander Effect (we're callous, yes, but we're all about connections). He's only seen in menu screens until the final cutscene. He's the worst villain in literature, ever. No attempt was made to develop his personality and his hypocritical doublecross is easily expected. Are we going to get DLC where we actually get to fight him like we did for Dalton in </span><i>Army of Two</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">? The Biblical allegory finally comes into play in the final cutscene for only one of the 3 endings, refering to the legend of Minerva's 40 days to repent. And how do cruise missiles and running over civilians accomplish Jonah's goals of making humans reconnect? Or is he so arrogant that he believe himself to be God's device? Haet.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">I fucking give up. Buy this game when it drops down to $40 after the rest of you get Extraction unlocked, and download any DLC that comes down the pipe because it'll likely be good. Online versus is brutal (makes playing Gears look easy).</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bonus: My singleplayer setups:</span></b><br />
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Balanced:<br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Primary: Vector Kriss-V with 50rd mag, RDS - this is great for anti-heavy ops.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Secondary: Glock 18 with 33rd mag, silencer - great for rushdowns against cannon fodder, also pretty accurate so you can sharpshoot</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Special: Milkor MGL with 10rd mag, Masterkey undersling - cannon fodder, high-aggro ops</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Sniper / High-Aggro</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Primary: H&K M416 customized for damage + precision - just remove the scope and you've got a medium range weapon.</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Secondary: IMI Desert Eagle - if you're low on ammo (you shouldn't ever be), a great backup weapon</span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Special: Barret .50 - doesn't matter how you customize it, a chestshot will kill cannon fodder</span></b><br />
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Rushdown / Low-Aggro<br />
Primary: MP5 customized for low aggro, Eotech reflex sight - does blindfire well, and can plink.<br />
Secondary: Type 77 customized for low aggro - seriously this gun gets no aggro at all.<br />
Special: FSB Shotgun with a silencer - just press X and it'll equip to special slot.<br />
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If you've got a setup you like, post em in the comments.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-206597788183785312010-01-08T23:25:00.000-08:002010-01-09T00:33:02.537-08:00ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOSAGAN [Spray and Pray]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN2wuT0i7MnfTGiykIQXGn-yv9v75Q7qPuQ5CrHwkqoVvLCWUY21l7QqTO3dU2tX7m_hQtYtcBC7AZkDTnl6BQF9zCM8cJE4iyfNyncC7GNQqQUUD56C2jvMoopMD8nfbl4xdDVoOUtU/s1600-h/2010_01_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXN2wuT0i7MnfTGiykIQXGn-yv9v75Q7qPuQ5CrHwkqoVvLCWUY21l7QqTO3dU2tX7m_hQtYtcBC7AZkDTnl6BQF9zCM8cJE4iyfNyncC7GNQqQUUD56C2jvMoopMD8nfbl4xdDVoOUtU/s640/2010_01_09.jpg" /></a><br />
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Original joke by Matt P via GRS.<br />
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[01:55:17] Shawn: That is incredibly scary<br />
[01:55:39] Bryan: hypnosagan?<br />
[01:55:42] Shawn: Yes<br />
[01:55:53] Bryan: did you forget he saved the free world from communism?<br />
[01:56:12] Shawn: I must've missed that part in my cold war studies<br />
[01:57:36] Bryan: yeah, he was in talks about a movie deal with vin diesel but vin backed down out of respect<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><i>Needless</i></span></b><br />
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Jesus fucking another Jesus. This show is a complete wash if you can't appreciate the meta. First if all, Eve is an expy for, ugh, Eve from <b><i>Black Cat</i></b> and Yami from <b><i>To Love Ru</i></b>. There. I watched both of those shows, and fuck you you watched them too. An underdeveloped teenage girl with the power of shapeshifting, only in a male-driven audience would that character not be the main lead, and serve only as comic relief and an odd fundoshi fetish object (yeah I don't quite understand that either). Well <b><i>Needless</i></b> is good if only for its own genre awareness. With callbacks, running self-referencials, and about half the show dedicated to "SETSUMEI SHIRO" moments, it's painfully cognizant of its media peers and manages to eke out some slapstick comedy. I hear the manga has more guro and fewer pantyshots (a fact the anime actually acknowledges) but I plan to finish the season and never watch it again. Unless it's for a drinking game, then it's, you know, ironic.<br />
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Some additional meta for you to chew on: Adam Blade is played by the same man who was Sasuke in <b><i>Sengoku Basara</i></b>, Zastin in <b><i>To Love Ru</i></b> (because fail comes full circle), and Luck Gandor of <b><i>Baccano!</i></b> (the man has do<span style="font-family: inherit;">ne many other roles you'll recognize but that's what AnimeNFO is for), Eve is Arwarwarwarwagi Karen (who was Tsukihi then?) from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bakemonogatari</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, Saya from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Blood+</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">, and Ami from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Toradora!</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;">. Cruz is Sheryl Nome from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Macross Frontier</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (there, I just ruined both shows at the same time), Matsu from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sekirei</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (</span><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sekirei</span></i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> is like the Kevin Bacon of shitty anime), and Kinue Crossroad from </span><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gundam 00</span></i></b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (FALCON...).</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Kimi no Todoke</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Been catching up on this series, which recently got picked up for a live action pilot. The visual gags that staccatto the anime should really work well in live action, so my main concern is their picking a male lead for Kazehaya--he needs to be convincingly embarassed, which is pretty hard to feign (unless he did all the scenes with no pants on, which would be impressive). He's played by the same guy who did Rock in <b><i>Black Lagoon</i></b> and Michael Trinity in <b><i>Gundam 00</i></b> (...PUUUUUNCH) --and in an obvious troll to make Nathan hate himself, is also the BANCHOU from <b><i>Persona 4</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">--so if you've at all watched anime or cutscenes in the past few years, you've probably heard his work and probably dismissed it as lackluster in delivery. This may not fly in live action since part of establishing a believable two-way romance in media is successfully forming mancrushes in the male viewership. </span></b>For those of you keeping score at home, our ugly duckling female lead is voiced by Mamiko Fucking Noto (she's like, one of Japan's national treasures). I'm mostly looking forward to Kurumi's character, mostly because the anime and manga show her to be an obvious frenemy (wow, spellcheck didn't explode on that word) in the mimesis using staple anime emotes (veiled shock and aggression towards Sawako's naivette). If we were to consume it as a dialogue-only piece, it would come off as a display of self-sabotage and completely retool Kurumi from a heel-face-turn character to a reluctant confidant. I'm not convinced an adaptation show would have the budget to pull the talent for this to really work, so I'm expecting a rewrite for several critical scenes. Now that we're in the midseason, Ryu is shaping up to be some sort of midboss-esque frenemy (sorta like <b><i>H2</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> but minus the baseball and minus Satomi Ishihara)</span></b>. I call it, <i>A Midseason Night's Facepalm</i>.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>KnT Drinking Game:</b></span></span><br />
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<ul><li>Sawako scares normal people: 1 shot</li>
<li>Kazehaya blushes: 1 shot</li>
<li>Background art fades away because pastel bubbles are more important: chug a beer</li>
<li>Morally uplifting reaffirmation of group friendship: chug a beer</li>
<li>You feel inspired to be more inclusive and a better person: get the hell out, we're not drinking with you anymore</li>
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bloc Party - Mercury</span></i></b><br />
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This song is on the <b><i>Midnight Club: LA</i></b> soundtrack. It's one of the songs that had staying power for me, and I'll be honest, it's mostly because it's Bloc Party. The sound is slowly converging on <b><i>Prodigy's Slap My Bitch Up</i></b> (Prodigy is like Outkast--you'll eventually sound like them so just fucking give up). Shit, I just thought up of a mashup. MAKE IT SO. Anyway, the phrase "Mercury's in retrograde" in astrology is a indicator of events having a nature interpretable as a loss of agency--so we're going to interpret the video as some sort of narrative possessing an external locus of control, but ultimately fail because the video constructs a different narrative. So these damn dirty apes create a clawed moose thing (like Megaman or Zoidberg, both equally awesome) in what we presume to be a reference to Mary Shelley's <b><i>Frankenstein</i><span style="font-weight: normal;">, and like Adam, Smith goes out into the world attempting to find completion of his soul in a deli, which, as you may recall, is Mecca for bacon lovers and thus is a hamfisted caricature of Hajj. But this is where we encounter a departure--Smith is intentionally under control of the apes, fulfilling the role of the </span><i>Manchurian Candidate</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> whereas Adam is motivated by internal forces. But we have a co-co-combo breaker because the original </span><i>Manchurian Candidate</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> was an attempt by Warsaw Pact intelligence to subvert Western military strength, and so this narrative is more consistent with the Denzel-infused remake, where the puppeteers are an American PMC. The ultimate goal seems to be a jingoistic power play on Brazil (seriously?) to acquire bananas and I can only presume their hot hot sambo music (google for Marcio Local). Oh look, a commentary on American expansionism. How original. Yeah, that was just a really long way of saying the lyrics and video have nothing to do with each other.</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Bonus: Watch this video:</span></b><br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Aesop Rock ft. John Darnielle - Coffee</span></i></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Similar visual vocabulary (I wouldn't be surprised if they had the same director). Eh, let's not talk about the plot. I have no idea what's going on but John Romero's probably getting a parsh.</span></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Qemists - S.W.A.G.</span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow, so all your pandoran box does is make your entire band dance like a bunch of scenesters? Really fucking impressed. But D&B makes everything better--hell just hire Dieselboy to remix Evanescence and we'll have this music video. I get the feeling this music video was shot in one day in someone's loft. Plus, why the hell do you need a 4-piece band when you're a D&B act? I mean, the frontman is pretty hot and all, and I bet their concerts are awesome, but trying to mimic a Daughtry aesthetic probably is a little misleading as to the act's style. And it's not even an ironic mismatch, so I'm sort of disappointed.</span></span></i></b><br />
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<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">Castle</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You know the rule about never talking to an ex if things fell apart spectacularly? That's what happened to <b><i>Drive</i></b>. I'd all but accepted that we should shoot Nathan Fillion into space so he'd always be remembered for a role that didn't suck, and then revive him again in some <b><i>Futurama</i></b> episode. Well, the fact that I don't have a rocket capable of orbital insertion (yet) worked out for the better because <i>Castle</i> is a great show. It's essentially a personality vehicle for Fillion and practically written to cure our <b><i>Firefly</i></b> withdrawl symptoms. That said, the plots are subpar for the police procedural genre but it more than makes up for it with humorous character interaction. Whereas a similar show <b><i>NCIS</i></b> requires dedicated watching to understand all the jokes (as well as get movie suggestions, thanks Eyes Only (go watch <b><i>Angel</i></b> if you haven't seen Michael Weatherly not being a smug bastard for once)), <i>Castle</i> is better for casual viewing but offers a similar value proposition.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Recommended Reading: Duga-3 + Pirate Radio</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Way to get complete tools to represent the legal side. They practically oozed smug superiority. Look, there are legal reasons for restricting radio bandwidth. But once it becomes a matter of national security, things like the Duga-3 get a virtually unlimited operating license. Duga-3, for the more astute and masochistic of you, was the Brain Scorcher in <b><i>STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl</i></b>. Video link if you want to hear how it worked:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">In-game: </span><br />
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One of my favorite FPS moments by the way. I didn't know the ghosts couldn't hurt you a la The Pain boss fight from <b><i>Metal Gear Solid 3</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> but the game does such a great job training you to avoid psychic entities and mutants much less the unholy union of the two. I recommend STALKER Classic, as I call it, to anyone who thought </span><i>Fallout 3</i><span style="font-weight: normal;"> was too much charisma and wanted a less forgiving environment.</span></b><br />
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Real life:<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Okay, the conspiracy nut is just another quack, but lemme give you a little background: The Duga-3 was a series of multistatic over-the-horizon frequency-hopping radars that scanned from Chernobyl all the way to Maryland with a resolution of 150 feet by sending 31-bit pseudorandom chirps at 10Hz (what this guy extracted is likely the binary chirp). It was intended as an early warning system but ended up jamming radio, television, radio telescopes, and generally pissing EVERYONE off, the Russians themselves included. Point is, pirate radios transmit on usually unused bands and get prosecuted, whereas a wartime radar that makes legitimate broadcasts unsuable gets A SECOND ONE BUILT?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">"In Soviet Russia, radar jams you!" just popped into my head, shit.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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Bonus video:<br />
<b><i><span style="font-size: x-large;">So Solid Crew - 21 Seconds</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">So Solid Crew is fucking awesome. Sorta like Ruff Riders with shittier special effects. (How cute, matching uniforms!)</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">IFGU.</span>Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-69387323548714617762010-01-07T13:12:00.000-08:002010-01-07T22:29:02.022-08:00Entertainment, Maybe Endorsement [Double-Tapping]<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zgtkK23tCOw-G6iQaIY1U-K6ul6y0p-L4vqIlEEGlfrDJal5At6NYbWZCbmNnNpK3ZKsepqsKfFJITtwCuQpKKjTTwTwYZhfkT4611N7MYBdsr0zBaTsMbRYTfa6Vldg0tKGMFlsljc/s1600-h/ac2_s_019-1024.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 336px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zgtkK23tCOw-G6iQaIY1U-K6ul6y0p-L4vqIlEEGlfrDJal5At6NYbWZCbmNnNpK3ZKsepqsKfFJITtwCuQpKKjTTwTwYZhfkT4611N7MYBdsr0zBaTsMbRYTfa6Vldg0tKGMFlsljc/s400/ac2_s_019-1024.jpg" alt="Fly-bys" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5424248549112824242" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />And now for something much much shorter. Two (maybe run-on) sentences that review random, unrelated entertainment pieces (books, anime, movies, game, TV).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Assassin's Creed 2</span>: A scifi "memory" drama that contains lots of quick-bursts of city guard depopulation and some epic fourth-wall destruction. Even better, finishing the main side question collection quest grants you a cloak that draws in guards like flies to your deadly, bug-zapper of a protagonist.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Borderlands</span>: A role-playing-shooter taking you across various wastelands and trash heaps, depopulating the lands of bandits, animals, and guns. It's mindnumbingly fun when you play it with 3 other players over a local network, even if it goes kill-loot-move-kill-loot-die-rinse-repeat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Zeno Clash</span>: A well-realized world filled with enough animal-human crossovers that you may feel that it's Jeff Noon done in a more early-human setting as opposed to a post-human setting. And you get lots of hand-to-hand combat in first-person perspective that tends to be quite enjoyable.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Terminator Salvation</span>: The robot apocalypse from the 1980's James Cameron given life with Christian Bale and an extremely predictable plot. Oh, and it ends with a sacrifice, like all the other Terminator movies.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tales of Monkey Island</span>: A Monkey Island story chopped up in five episodes of varying quality that somehow justified its purchase with me at its conclusion. Also, the first instance of character development for the typically static "sage" character.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Needless</span>: Your typical shounen mess with an insane lolicon priest main character and everyone screaming the names of their secrets moves like they were going out of style. The show is saved by its ridiculous-factor, laughably unpredictable shifts in animation quality, and the presence of a conclusion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Darker Than Black - Gemini of the Meteor</span>: Hei is back for another season with a list of one-shot and two-shot (and the mythical three-shot) character meeting violent deaths. Also returning from the first season are irrelevant characters and a not-ending that leaves you angry that you expected a conclusion from anything DtB.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sora No Otoshimono</span>: An ecchi-comedy that stays entertaining throughout its season and has a new ED every episode. Watch this to balance out the craptacularity of Kampher.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Altered Carbon</span>: The first part of a tech-noir trilogy by Richard K. Morgan that is set in a future where technology allows for the backup of human personas upon or near death, actualizing the concept of the body really just being a meat puppet/sleeve. The concept is integral to the setting, so the story focuses on its government-super-trained sociopath of a main character and his unwilling employment as a private investigator for a 300-something year-old man/persona as opposed to the tech that supports the setting.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Umineko No Naku Koro Ni</span>: Why the hell did I watch this disorganized snuff-anime poorly disguised as a murder-mystery show? Oh yeah, to see it try to conclude everything in the last 10 minutes of its run, then cut away to the two characters with the least amount of screen time in the whole twenty-six episode run.<br /><br />Eh...I fucking give up.Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233559353151341325noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-58936424478218212662010-01-06T21:08:00.000-08:002010-01-06T22:31:52.570-08:00Sloths of War [Bitch and Moan]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30SwNq7GvxldL9oaUXxYI5WSnuoKRQKWLqb1ZB8frrqJiloVgus-yUw8ibUV0Dra7uyi6WC6iLPn7A6kN6OesnKijfCUPaA_vnLrSsjDsWxzPw3G6bY4uAEyFyGfgvnkyP95iv7GAMqs/s1600-h/2010_01_06_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30SwNq7GvxldL9oaUXxYI5WSnuoKRQKWLqb1ZB8frrqJiloVgus-yUw8ibUV0Dra7uyi6WC6iLPn7A6kN6OesnKijfCUPaA_vnLrSsjDsWxzPw3G6bY4uAEyFyGfgvnkyP95iv7GAMqs/s640/2010_01_06_1.jpg" /></a><br />
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I'm not making any promises to post EVERY Wednesday, but today's a good day to start with an analysis feature.<br />
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It's no secret that WW2 games have been a source of bitching and moaning among the intelligamesia, but we should take a step back and look at the major problem: the medium hasn't moved past the "Big War" mentality with any success. Now, one might say that the Delta Force series breaks out of that, and yes, it does, but only in that you're not always in for the long haul battles. I'm asserting that the concept of two (or three) uniformed armed forces conducting large maneuvers still dominates the majority of game design. Let's take a look at titles where design choices are disjoint from the intended aesthetic of so-called modern warfare.<br />
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<b>Command and Conquer: Generals</b><br />
We played this recently at a LAN, so getting tank rushed (despite the fact that I played the Chinese tank general) is still fresh on my mind. I do give it credit for the attempt to portray caricature versions of US and Chinese military organizations. We won't get technical about the egregious abuse of weapon systems and doctrine, but rather the attempts to include NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) agents into gameplay. The faux-Chinese forces employ incendiary agent from a cavalry unit--which is analogous to a flamethrower tank in real life. Flame tanks saw popularity in WW2 as a method of clearing caves and bunkers, where mobility was not an issue as the target was mostly standing and fortified. The US used this concept with Sherman and Patton tanks, but abandoned the idea as technology improved. Today, destruction of caves and heavy fortifications has been relegated to kinetic penetration (see: the BLU-109 warhead), or thermobaric ordinance (see: fuel air explosives). Now, the faux-US has a large FAEB, but even this concept is behind. This is more closely resembling the fuel-air ordinance of yore, drawing back to Vietnam and as recent as Desert Storm. In a post-911 battlespace, we've moved onto smaller thermobaric warheads. Then we have their large-scale WMDs for both the PLA and GLA--these are not affected by windage, and are intended to be reusable assets--they do not incur a maintenance cost, don't have a per-unit-delivered cost, and, oh yeah, are used more than once. Even during the Cold War, a heavy emphasis was placed on first-strike capability, with a focus on what was termed a "decapitation strike." Instead, WMDs are treated as a repeated time-sensitive threat instead of a strategic blitzkrieg standoff. Who did it better? <b>World in Conflict</b>, but not by much. But in its defense, a kinetic exchange had already kicked off, and nuclear deployment (at least in the single player) was on home turf. The payload did not need to pass through inter-theater defenses, and it was used as a way of defending the illusion of an operational SDI.<br />
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<b>Call of Duty: Subtitle Anything</b><br />
Jesus, this is why I'm not posting under my full name. The fanbase is less than cerebral and it's an admitted guilty pleasure of mine. We fight the faux-Russians, the faux-Syrians, and basically any politically hot adversary in the media. While yes, cinematic, the majority of action is a mix of "going silent" and "going loud" kinetic operations. Enemies are commonly uniformed, immediately aggressive, and well-armed. Don't think I've seen a single SKS in a proportedly modern shooter. Anyway, while this paradigm of conflict (engage on contact) may have been relevant before the advent of standoff-range weaponry, we now work with weapons that have lethality at ranges beyond our capability to conduct IFF. In the MW1 gunship sequence, IR strobes were simply handwaved as a simple method of IFF--and this may not work in real life since there needs to be some measure of interrogation. Coupled with joint forces and allied forces issues, modern militaries are forced to spend more time and resources to communicate through chain-of-command and liason officers. In this sense, the franchise manages to cut straight to the juicy fire-and-maneuver action. Who does it better? <b>ArmA2</b>, I guess. You've got noncooperative civilians, poorly armed adversaries, and a potential IFF nightmare were it not for your NPC squadmates. Sadly, this game sucks because of dealbreaker bugs, and a first-person camera that makes Cloverfield look tame.<br />
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<b>Homeworld series</b><br />
Well, it's a space-based game, so I'm going to ignore a few big violations--mostly that of logistics. The biggest thing I've got gripes about is ship capturing. Yeah, it's a huge ego boost to capture a flotilla's heaviest ship, but this goes so far as to revert to pre-ironclad naval warfare. Ship capturing is, in modern doctrine, done for the intent of rescue, recovery, or apprehension. Captured technology is sent to reverse engineers for evaluation. If you'll recall, this is done extensively in HW1 (assault frigate), HWC (your wave motion cannon trope), and HW2 (movers) at certain plot points to unlock tech trees. However, the ability to utilize war prizes is limited in modern warfare. It does happen, like when the British exchanged their semiautomatic FN FALs for the Argentinian full automatic FN FALs. But my cheap tactic of capturing capital ships to serve as an immediate counterattack rarely happens. <b>U-571</b> (the eponymous submarine) and <b>Space: Above and Beyond</b> (damaged bomber) are examples where a prize crew operates an enemy vessel with a level of competence, but this is unlikely to occur without months of research and reverse engineering. Even worse is <b>Independence Day</b> where a playboy cop from Miami (<b>Bad Boys</b>) and an eccentric cop from New York (<b>Law and Order CI</b>) team up to pilot an alien spacecraft under short notice. As survivability tech improves (since the advent of armored ships), it's more practical to score a destruction of target than capture and control. How long was NATO in the dark about the MiG-25's capabilities until a defector willingly surrendered the craft? Why didn't the US Navy use the captured Prinz Eugens in its regular navy? (Well, that's a logistical problem more than sailing experience, though they did keep the German crew for quite a while until it was outfitted with sail-by-wire and stripped of weaponry). Who does it better? <b>Your mother</b>.<br />
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There's a reason these games sell. They offer the player a sense of accomplishment, which is why Vietnam-based games don't do so well (see: <b>Shellshocked</b>). This sentiment is shared in the cinema, where two prominent war films, <b>Apocalypse Now</b> and <b>Doctor Strangelove</b> are cynical views of big war mentality. It was a period of anxiety and doubt more than victory and survival. Cinema has grown, with countless works such as <b>Over There </b>and <b>The Hurt Locker</b> giving audiences a look into the intricacies of contemporary asymmetric warfare.<br />
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Interesting notes: Warfare and cinema have a lot of interplay. Anyone who has watched <b>Inglorious Basterds</b> will recall the importance of propaganda during wartime, but postwar attitudes also color themes. There's a distinction between the historical masturbation <b>Band of Brothers</b> and the antiwar overtures of <b>Grave of the Fireflies</b>. Compare the nuclear sequences of <b>Terminator 2</b> and <b>Barefoot Gen--</b>Western interpretations involve the destruction of civilization as a projection of the American dream (expected since Americans have never had to experience the long term effects of the weapon), whereas the Japanese interpretation is focused on human misery and by extension survivor's guilt. I'll also note that Chinese cinema regarding WW2 has a completely different tone, ranging from victory pieces such as <b>Tunnel War</b> to sobering documentaries like the recent <b>Nanking</b>.<br />
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Ultimately, I feel that war in this country's media is categorized into two categories--big war blockbusters and contemporary war art pieces. This makes me all the more cynical about the <b>Medal of Honor</b> reboot. We'll probably never talk about it years down the road as having broke ground with a complex or symbolic narrative. We'll be talking about Cowboy and his sweet beard.<br />
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I fucking give up.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-68786286379153128632010-01-05T22:21:00.000-08:002010-01-05T22:22:10.011-08:00Contributor +1Redundant post GO!<a id="publishButton" class="cssButton" href="javascript:void(0)" target="" onclick="if (this.className.indexOf("ubtn-disabled") == -1) {var e = document['stuffform'].publish;(e.length) ? e[0].click() : e.click(); if (window.event) window.event.cancelBubble = true; return false;}"><div class="cssButtonOuter"><div class="cssButtonMiddle"><div class="cssButtonInner">Publish Post</div></div></div></a>Nathanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17233559353151341325noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381923834130971682.post-6572141993221707152010-01-05T22:15:00.000-08:002010-01-05T22:16:21.351-08:00Oh look. We're on the internet.So say we all.Bryanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479560672991351331noreply@blogger.com0