Archive for March, 2009

Resident Evil 5 – “Bigger, Better, more Bad-ass!”

Every design choice in "Resident Evil 5" screams of an attempt at capturing American FPS audiences, from the embodiment of action-oriented staples such as co-op play, a cover-based battle system and epic-sized set-pieces, to the more buffed-up character designs and supposedly more serious narrative. Trampled beneath these realizations is the past of "Resident Evil", completely forgotten by the game's designers. Instead of trying to re-frame the action oriented nature of "4" in a an action-adventure context, closer to the series' classic ideas, "Resident Evil 5" designers chose to upgrade "Resident Evil 4" by taking inspiration from mainstream shooters. Had it been a thoughtful reinterpretation of Capcom's most beloved series, then it might have been a unique game to explore, but as it stands, it's as "unique" as the latest entry of "Killzone", "Call of Duty" or "Gears of War". "Resident Evil 5" may be a very tense, well paced shooter, or if you prefer, a "bigger, better, more bad-ass" version of its predecessor, but make no mistake, there's already too much of that around nowadays[ READ MORE ]

Gears of War 2 – “Apparently bigger, but the same… just with more testosterone.”

“Gears of War” was a decent game, nothing spectacular or revolutionary, and certainly not impervious to criticism for its lack of originality, but as it stood then, it still stands today – an uncompromising blockbuster game, more brawn than brain, well paced and with impressive production values.  Cliffy B., lead designer, summed up the sequel [ READ MORE ]

flower – “Wind of Change”

The million dollar question about "flower" though, is... "is it Art?" "flower" is a video-game in every sense of the word, that much is certain. It abides by many of the laws that define the means: it presents challenge to the player, it warrants skill and dexterity, and it encourages the most basic collectivism; it's more thrilling than contemplative (a fact not indifferent to the use of a six-axis control scheme), and it's a game not easily presentable to a non-gamer. "flower" is a game, and a game that would not be deemed as Art according to the principles of Tale of Tales' Realtime Art Manifesto. And yet, "flower" is Art... a fact that makes it puzzling in many ways. It's game, that while subscribing to some of the crudest notions of its means, can still convey its message, by subscribing to a unique aesthetic and artistic identity. Perhaps then "flower" is the solution for videogames as an Art form. Its metaphor for the change of Mankind's ways can thus also serve as a metaphor for the change that it represents to video-games. Indeed, "flower" is the wind of change we've all been yearning for[ READ MORE ]

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