Rebooted?
The subject of recent classic PC franchise reboots, has been something I have been avoiding for some time now. When I discovered these cherished moments are being dumbed downed into shooters, to appeal to a larger, less cerebral audience, than the audience who initially made these classics, there are mixed feelings that come with that. On the one hand, a popular IP from the days of my youth, will now be appreciated (to some degree), by an entirely new audience. On the other hand . . . well, the games have been dumbed downed, and very likely devoid of most of what made them special in the first place, just to reach this new audience. In my mind, it’s like having sex while wearing a concrete condom – the upside is that you are having sex . . . if you can call taking almost everything that makes sex pleasurable in the first place, having it stripped away, and replaced with a blunt-force object, “having sex.” (more…)
The Art of Interactive Fear
I was going to write the entire thing about Dead Space 2. And I was going to go on and on about how the original was awesome, and how part two was going to be even better. And I was going to go into an entire soliloquy about how outside of Alan Wake (a video game that everyone without exception should experience), the original Dead Space while flawed, was the closest thing to real, honest to God fear, you could experience in a video game, and how Dead Space 2 was going to build on that, repairing the faults found in the first game, and likely become one of the most frightening experiences any form of entertainment (film, novel, etc.) has ever managed to be. But then I decided there was really no point. Either you already know that Dead Space will make you pee your pants, or you do not. If you already know, then you already have Dead Space 2 pre-ordered and ready to go later this month. If you are in the category of people who had no clue . . . skip over the first game, rent or buy Dead Space 2, turn out the lights, turn up your home theater surround sound system, and either play it or have someone else play it for you as you watch on . . . and prepare to wet yourselves. Outside of that, and the trailer and some photos from the game (after the break), there is nothing else to say about this game. (more…)
What the Hell am I Doing? 