“Get over here!“

It has been nearly 20 years since I first heard those three simple words growled out by the iconic fighting game character known as Scorpion, and it still triggers the same kind of carnal excitement it did when I was kid.  After all these years, the arrival of the ninth installment of the Mortal Kombat series is on its way, and with a demo recently released on  the Playstation Network eager gamers have finally been able to get their hands on a first taste of the brutal carnage to come.

The demo gives players the opportunity to play through a limited ladder of opponents using four well known MK characters: Sub-Zero, Scorpion, Johnny Cage, and Mileena.  Each one handles differently and gives you a feel for the type of diversity to come from the full cast of characters, which is already marked at a healthy 26, with the potential for more on the way.

If this demo has done thing right, it’s assured me that this new Mortal Kombat is a return to the game of my youth.  It looks and feels the way a Mortal Kombat should.  The return to 2-D fighting was exactly what the series needed to bring it back from the brink after so many less than spectacular sequels, and the 3-D models and backgrounds keep the look feeling current despite its old-school throwbacks.

For this game the devil is definitely in the details.  Backgrounds are beautifully rendered and alive with movement, and the characters show off the ferocity of their battle through real-time battle damage.  Through each play-through in this demo my character and opponents never ended with the same visible damage twice.  Different combinations of punches and kicks would bruise and cut my opponent, leaving them covered in blood.  Clothing also takes a beating.  Shirts get ripped, masks get broken–even Johnny Cage’s trademark sunglasses cannot escape the brutality of combat.  These little touches keep each fight feeling fresh, a subtle yet significant detail in a game that may demand hundreds of matches throughout your ownership.

By and large, my favorite addition to the series is the X-Ray attacks.  Charge up your power meter far enough and you gain the ability to execute a cinematic attack that zooms in on the your opponent’s internal structure, showing the brutal damage done to bone and organ while inflicting massive damage.  While not only visually pleasing, these attacks can be the key to a late in the game comeback, or a flashy in your face finisher.  A fantastic and original addition to the game that I am sure will be an inspiration in future games within the fighting genre.

Mortal Kombat also has an extra mode where you take on up to 300 different special challenges, but those were unavailable in the demo.

If it has done one thing, this demo has assured me that this new iteration in the Mortal Kombat franchise is visceral and brutal homage to its own controversial origins.  If you miss the fighting games of yesteryear, or are simply in need of some gratuitous gore-porn, then look no further than the release of the full version of this game, due out April 19, 2011.

Played through the Playstation 3, single-player ladder demo at least once with the four available characters, multiple times with some.  Did not try the two-player demo.

If you don’t mind some spoilers, here’s a youtube video depicting some of the new fatalities you’ll be seeing:  http://bit.ly/gjKDdI

Title:

Release Date: November 20, 2007 (NA)

Genre: Action Role-Playing Game/Third Person Shooter

Rating: Mature

Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for Windows PC)

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Bioware

Website: http://masseffect.bioware.com/

Product Link: http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-Xbox-360/dp/B000OLXX86

The year is 2183, thirty five years after humanity has discovered the ancient alien technology that makes interstellar space flight possible.  As newcomers to the galactic community, Humans are fighting an uphill battle for respect among the alien races of the galactic council.  As Commander Shepard, you are tasked with chasing down the rogue Turian agent, Saren in order to put an end to the threat of the Geth, a race of sentient robots bent on the galactic destruction.  Your choices and actions will not only affect your own fate, but also that of all humanity.  …Read More…

Zombie!!!  Games of the Living Dead [Kotaku]

There’s No Time to Rest Until the Last Zombie in Africa Is Toast [The New York Times]

Leave comments discussing you choices.  I want the reason behind your picks.  Personally, I am most glad that Gouken was added into the roster.  Considering how significant of a character he is, his appearance is well past due.

Title:

Genre: Fighting

Rating: Teen

Platform: Xbox 360 (also available for Playstation 3 and Windows PC)

Publisher: Capcom

Developer(s): Dimps/Capcom

Website

Product Link

Prepare yourselves, fight fans! The world warriors return in the latest addition to the franchise that fathered the fighting genre as we know it.  In Street Fighter IV, Capcom trims the fat that has built up over the years and brings the series back to the roots that made Street Fighter II into such an immense hit in the first place, while adding enough new elements to give the game a fresh approach. New recruits will likely find a satisfying and memorable introduction to the series, while returning veterans will be welcomed back by nostalgic gameplay with a modern twist.  …Read More…

Let’s cut right to the heart of the matter, shall we?  Despite whatever flaws people may choose to pick and gnaw at, you cannot deny how faithful of an adaptation Watchmen is.  Most of the scenes and dialogue might as well have been copy and pasted directly from the source material itself.  As a fan of the original graphic novel, I was pleasantly surprised and quite relieved.  

Watchmen is a dense story that focuses more on the psychology and interpersonal relationships of the titular heroes than on actual romp and stomp action sequences.  Previously, I could not imagine a film version being made without it being butchered into some bastardized form of its former glory, but Snyder delivered.  

While not every scene is included in the final product, none that were left out compromise the plot.  Besides, at a meaty two hour and forty-three minute run-time, any more might have been too much for film audiences to bear.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the film will be received as well by audience members new to the title–at least not in one sitting.  The story is a lot to take in, even in written form.  Driven by the exchanged dialogues and internal monologues of its main characters, it may prove to be harder to digest without a second helping.  The film makes an adequate companion to the novel, but without the story already established in ones mind it might come off as a bit heavy handed.  Scenes shared between characters that may seem drawn out in the film are usually the most significant in unraveling who they are as people.

“But Mike, you discredit the general public” you interject.  ”Surely your average joe can manage to wrap his mind around this beautiful film.”

And you’re right, nameless review interrupter.  This isn’t some unapproachable literary goliath.  However, the average audience member going to see this movie will be going with the expectation of seeing an early-delivered summer blockbuster; a typical, American action movie that opens with an explosion and ends with an even bigger one (no doubt an intentional effort–just look at its marketing campaign and trailers).  This misconception will lead to feelings of confusion and betrayal as audience members are presented with a rich and well conceived deconstruction of the modern superhero, rather than an epic clash of super powers.

The graphics are beautiful.  Moore’s characters come to life with a bold vibrance that highlights them against the dark and grimy backdrop of a crime-ridden New York City.  The actors fit their roles perfectly.  Casting did an amazing job:  Patrick Wilson fits the bill as Dan Dryberg, and Jackie Haley couldn’t look and sound more like Walter Kovacs if he tried.

 I’m glad that Keanu Reeves didn’t make it into the cast as Dr. Manhattan, not because of Billy Crudup, whose portrayal of the pre-accident Dr. Manhattan was nothing special.  Having a single big name actor like Reeves would have simply thrown off the chemistry that the existing actors exuded so well.  

The show stealer for this piece is Jeffrey Dean Morgan in his role as The Comedian.  Undoubtedly the best performance in the film, Morgan brings a vitality and grim energy to the cast.  I can’t imagine anyone else creating a more accurate portrayal of the Comedian’s personality.

The soundtrack is a topic that I still find myself torn over.  The tracks used do a good job of creating a nostalgic feel through titles referenced in the comic itself like Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower”.  At times though, the songs just did not click with the scene it was played over.  There were other moments of musical perfection.  Playing “The Times They Are A-changing” over the opening montage of the film worked like perfection.

Snyder stayed true to Moore’s vision, and I appreciate his efforts.   Still, I was a bit surprised at the decision to enhance certain aspects of the film.  Namely, a certain irradiated man’s irradiated junk.  If you’re offended by full frontal male nudity, you may want to prepare yourself to cover your eyes during certain scenes as Dr. Manhattan appears in the nude, and with “equipment” significantly larger than his comic book source.  It’s not a big deal, but one can’t help but wonder how the faces in the room looked when the designers got back the Dr. Manhattan concept art with a post-it note attached that read “He needs a bigger cock”.

Regardless, the nude shots do not dominate the film in any way, and aren’t over used.   Maybe it’s just the immature junior high schooler in me, but I had to fight off a chuckle whenever the Doc’s glowing, blue wang flopped its way into the shot.

In conclusion, if you’re a fan of Watchmen, go see the movie.  You will not be disappointed.  If you have no background with the series whatsoever, go see it.  Then go see it again after mulling it over a bit.  You’ll connect to the characters more and have an overall better experience.  And if you’re of easily offended sensibilities, you may want to pass this one over.  There’s no reason for you to go if you’re the type that walks out of movies because of sex scenes, gratuitous violence, sacrilegious uses of music (watch for the use of the song Hallelujah, it’s brilliant), or full on nudity.

As a satisfied Alan Moore fan, I give the film a full 5 floppy dicks out of 5.

Storytelling plays a vital role in the world of video gaming.  A story, regardless of how feeble it may be, gives the player a purpose.  It is a driving force that validates their progression from level to level.  The story provides you with your goal–an ultimate achievement which ensures that if you reach a point of frustration, you steel yourself and press onward instead of throwing down the controller and walking away. 

Unfortunately, sometimes developers forget that the falling action of a video game’s story can be just as important to achieving a feeling of success and accomplishment as the rising action and climax.Players devote a significant amount of time into video games.  Depending on the genre, length of story, and difficulty, we’re talking several hours of sedentary thumb-flailing.  As a gamer, I like to know that all of the time and energy I put into these imagined worlds is worth something in the end.  I look forward to games delivering a satisfying ending after the final push and climactic boss fight.  Not only do I look forward to it, I expect it.   A satisfying ending should not be an option, but rather an essential component of the gaming experience.

These thoughts were spurred by my recent completion of 2K Boston’s BioShock.

The beginning doesn’t give you much story to chew in the way of story.  You begin on a plane, said plane crashes, and before you know it you’re traveling to the bottom of the ocean to begin your adventures in the city of Rapture.  I wasn’t bothered by the lack of any kind of in-depth introduction to the world.  In fact, I was enthralled by it.  The sudden drop into the game world left plenty of room for plot development during gameplay, a thought that made me excited to play the game and find out exactly what was going on.  My mouth was watering at the potential for plot development within. 

BioShock’s overall story was…adequate.  That didn’t bother me though.  Just because I had very high expectations doesn’t take away from the fact that it was an entertaining story overall (regardless of how transparent).  The finale is not what got my blood boiling either, even though it was a pathetic excuses for a final showdown and did not deserve the title of “boss fight”.  

It was the ending–or lack thereof.  <spoilers> Having taken the “evil” route (harvesting the Little Sisters for my benefit) I was presented with a short ending showing that the splicers escaped to the surface to assault the world of man through my own intervention, and vaguely implies a dim future for the world thanks to my uncompromising evil-ness. </spoilers>

…and that was it.  After devoting an estimated 15-20 hours of gameplay, I was rewarded for my work with a minute long video that showed the same enemies I had spent the entire game brushing aside jumping around on a submarine with some background narration.  I was left with vague implications and no solid information about anything.  Nothing about my character’s fate, the actions of those still alive in the city, or the city itself.  I looked up the “good” ending online, and found it goes a bit farther, letting you know what happens to your character and some of the other Rapture citizens in the long run.   Still, it too was a pretty weak ending.

Was the lack of a fulfilling ending some form of punishment for choosing a course of action 2K had deemed evil?  Or was it a lack of imagination within their staff?  Maybe they were just lazy.  Regardless, when the credits rolled all I could do was stare in disbelief, mouth agape, angry that I had wasted all that time for nothing, when I could have been playing a game with a substantive story like Fallout 3. 

Imagine yourself about to finish an opponent in Mortal Kombat.  You fought a hard match and it came down to the wire, but now your opponent stands before you, dizzy from his beating and waiting for your finisher.  You enter the button combos, ready to obliterate your enemy for even contemplating fighting against you.  But, you didn’t enter them perfectly and instead of transforming into a dragon and biting your opponent in half, you hit them with a weak punch, sending them toppling to the ground.  The fight is over and while your opponent rests in a pool of his own blood, you wade in a pool of disappointment.

Do not misinterpret:  this is not a bash on BioShock.  It just had the poor fortune of being the latest game to disappoint me in such a fashion since I started this blog.  

To be a contender in today’s next-gen gaming market, you have to do more than provide a title with solid gameplay and graphics.  A video game is a total package.  If you don’t think you can provide a fulfilling story, than don’t try to fake it.  There are plenty of games that focus entirely on entertaining gameplay, and do little in the way of graphics or story.  Take Katamari Damacy for example.  The story is weak and silly, but the game does not build itself up for you to expect one.  The point  is the entertaining gameplay, and it delivers in spades.

The end of the game is the last thing the gamer experiences.  It is the developer’s send-off and the last chance to really wow the person playing the game.  Why not pull out all the stops?  Do something that slaps the player in the face and shouts “You may be done with the game, but the game isn’t done with you”.  After all, the purpose of a video game is to entertain you, not leave you wishing you could get those hours of your life back.

Something I have noticed more and more in next-gen titles is the tendency for game developers to create games with a cinematic feel to them.  It used to be that the most cinematic portion of any given game came during whatever cut-scenes it might have had.   Now it seems that it is just as important in modern video games to make the player feel as if they are watching a movie as much as they are playing a game.

Gears of War 2 starts you off with a Lord of the Rings style intro as well as an entire level before showing the title screen.  Call of Duty 4:  Modern Warfare sets up your character and puts him in his first mission, complete with theatrical escape scene, before reminding you of the title.   The title screen is no longer the first screen you see when starting a game.  It is now a tool used to convey a sense of epicness, a feeling that you are not just playing a game, but embarking on an experience.

Quick Time Events have also played a part in this transition.  Providing dramatic camera angles and actions that could by no means be completed by the player increase the cinematic experience.  Suddenly, you are no longer controlling your character, but rather watching as he accomplishes incredible feats that you would never be able to achieve with your limited control of the world.   The God of War series does it so well, with quick time events available for nearly every enemy and necessary for completing boss battles.

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed favors a cinematic presentation for highlighting deaths.  Succesfully executing assassinations, combos, and counter kills will switch the camera immediately to a more dramatic view, giving you a brief taste of cinematic flare before thrusting you right back into control of your character.

So what does this say about the state of video games today?  Well, I think it says more about the nature of video games as an entertainment media.  Video games do more than just provide the brain with useless stimulation and notions of fun.  They take the  best of all forms of entertainment, bringing it upon itself, growing from title to title.  Games have taken the story-telling and creativity of literature; the sounds and emotional emotiveness of music; the intense visual stimuli of cinema; and now, with the advent of systems like the Wii that employ motion control, the kinisthetic pleasures of actual movement.

The reason why video games have grown beyond a generational fad into an entertainment powerhouse and household staple is because developers have never allowed themselves to be locked into any form or image of what a video game is.  A video game is whatever delivers the most entertainment to the player, and as a result have amalgamated useful qualities and characteristics from every form of entertainment available.  It is on the cusp of every technological advance, consuming and growing.  It is a beast.

That is why video games are here to stay.  Yes, the line between gaming and cinema is blurring.   Just as the lines between gaming and literature, gaming and music, gaming and action, are blurring.  These lines will continue to drop out of focus as gaming continues to press forward as an entertainment media juggernaut.