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| Dead Space - Déjà Tue |
| Thursday 18 December 2008 |
Given the riot at the première of Shostakovich's The Rite of Spring - such was the shock of all those new disharmonies, apparently - you can't help imagining the projectile vomiting that would have greeted the likes of Dead Space (or maybe that's just me). Either way, if these days we need visceral horror to jolt us out of our complacency, Dead Space is here to plaster our stunted little gamer brains with lashings of screaming gore.
Which, needless to add, we get by the bucket-load. Unlike The Rite of Spring, however, it's neither particularly shocking nor the least bit new. Playing an engineer called Isaac Clarke, you crash-land on the mining vessel Ishimura to discover that its crew has turned into - whodathunkit - screaming, homicidal zombie-alien-mutants.
So far, so what. In the same spirit, here's a potted summary of what you get next:
First, a hero whom you glimpse only once before he becomes the Man in the Iron Welding Mask, controlled from an over-the-right-shoulder view as he braves flickering lights, clank-skreeaak sound-effects and blood-spattered rooms designed by artists whose screenwriter equivalents get paid Actual Money to type this sort of thing:
JOHN Q. REDSHIRT
I got a bad feeling about this...
Your weapons are a kind of space-age welding kit, which entertainingly enough breaches every imaginable health and safety regulation by shooting knives of light some twenty feet through the air. You also get a time-slowing effect called "stasis" and - despite everything else on the boat being absolutely fubar - a fully-functioning network of guns'n'ammo vending machines.
Isaac is guided through this Tartarean mess by his surviving crew "mates", who continually yelp things like, "The emergency-security-access-override-systems are offline! Hey, Isaac, would you kindly go down that very dark corridor - the one with all the screaming and the blood - and get the key?" And so on, through level after bloody level, to the point that it's quite satisfying when they start getting shredded. (And if you couldn't see that coming, you don't deserve to have thumbs.)
Much has been made of Dead Space's source material - Doom 3, Event Horizon, Solaris - and yes, it really is that derivative. But its various knowing winks seem like an attempt at intertextual chic, as if to say: look, because we know it's derivative, that makes it all, like, postmodern. But it's doesn't; unfortunately it's still just unoriginal crap, so devoid of new ideas it could have been a JRPG.
(And so much, then, for CEO John Riccitiello's remarks last year about how EA were going to - don't laugh - innovate.)
As for Dead Space, its own much-touted novelty - its USP, perhaps - is what its creators call "strategic dismemberment". In the real world, that sounds like a Beltway euphemism for what the Pentagon does to third-world countries; in the game, this means... wait for it... you shoot off their limbs.
Wow. God help their share price if that's the best they can come up with.
To try something more radical with the story, they've thrown in a cultish religion called Unitology - but that's as far as any satire goes; everything else is caricature, even to the extent that one villain has both a Middle-Eastern appearance and accent (why didn't they just make him French?). The narrative itself is by turns amateurish, boring, predictable and ultimately a complete mess; any surprises come from monsters, not the plot.
But the game's real hollow core is Isaac himself. The various Half Lifes worked in spite of the mute protagonist, not because of him - and even that jolly green gruntosaurus Master Chief had more charisma than this pie-faced dullard. Unresponsive and unreactive, his catatonia even extends to the physical: apparently, if you're clodhopping around in a glorified Victorian diver's suit, space-men can't jump. As if to emphasise this, there's even a mini-game in a basketball court.
And so Arthur C. Asimov - sorry, Isaac the Terrible - goes stomping on around the Ishimura (which is presumably Japanese for "pastiche"), fetching yet more keys and dismembering yet more zombie-alien-mutants. Bleh.
But even if it sucks as a piece of art, it can still work as a game, right?
Well, strangely... it does. For ten whole minutes. Because as you're flung straight into the bowels of hell, it serves up some decent shocks: necromorphs come slashing out of nowhere, the music screams at you, you're all alone(ish), and armed with a puny weapon. Hoorah.
One of the best things about what follows is not the shock-horror, nor the minimal HUD, nor even the zero-G stuff (which is fine, if unspectacular) - but rather the inventory system, which forces you to make vital tactical decisions about what to carry: an extra air-tank or that stasis pack? The circular saw weapon, or the flame-thrower? Ammo is rare, and hoarding items becomes compulsive. Combined with the weapons upgrade system, this keeps things interesting long after everything else has turned to meh.
Because, far too soon - around the eleventh minute, in fact - the creatures become just as predictable as the story. Even the most bad-ass monsters eventually hold no fear; body parts bounce around like they're made of rubber, the effect of which is unintentionally comical. In a survival horror, which depends for its effectiveness on making you jump, this is fatal.
Which is a shame. There's nothing inherently wrong with the levels and puzzles (which are possessed of a certain baroque elegance); it's just that they're old hat, there are too many of them, and they're all the same. Likewise, the story is bonkers, confused and unoriginal, but so is Event Horizon. It goes on too long, but so does Solaris. The otherwise decent score is so unrelenting that you zone it out like a car alarm, the more so when you realise it's all been nicked from Bernard Hermann. The monsters become repetitive and predictable, just like in Doom 3. So... are you seeing a pattern yet?
With all that and not much replay value too, Dead Space isn't exactly enticing for forty quid. But it's certainly rentable, so if you have a weekend to spare, you like survival horror, and you have no cultural frame of reference whatsoever, go right ahead.
Just don't expect it to be Doom 4.
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posted by Daft @ 12:30  |
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| Virtual Morality |
| Tuesday 9 December 2008 |
 As technology advances and drags us into different spheres of reality we must re-examine the choices we make as virtual actors. Where does morality stand in these brave new worlds?
Games like Second Life and Grand Theft Auto allow players to experience virtual life with no lasting consequence. Anything goes. In Grand Theft Auto morally dubious things you can do include sex with prostitutes, killing civilians, killing cops, stealing cars and generally spreading fear and destruction. But why stop there - what is the difference between virtual murder and virtual rape? What makes one right and another so taboo? Of course if this was included in the game there would likely be mass public outrage but explaining exactly why virtual sex and murder are acceptable, and virtual rape isn't, is not easy.
There is the usual concern that violent games lead to violent actions - we've seen this most recently with the media's reaction to both the Columbine and Virginia Tech. massacres. Personally I think this argument is dull as it seems much more likely that instead of violent games inspiring violence in people that in fact violent people are drawn to violent games. Much more interesting, with games becoming more detailed and allowing for greater immersion, is the question: am I free to do anything, or are some things inherently wrong?
In the 2002 film Minority Report we are shown a virtual brothel of sorts where customers purchase fantasies ranging from murdering your boss to infidelity. The latter of which must require clarification by individuals and religious groups. When does infidelity become infidelity? Another more difficult question to answer is: what kinds of fantasies should be condoned?
Recently this question has been debated in relation to Second Life. It was found that certain members created child avatars and proceeded to engage in sexual acts with adult characters. This might have been allowed to carry on if it were not for actually child pornographic material being uploaded. When Linden Labs issued a warning that such actions would not be tolerated they came to loggerheads with some of the participants who argued that Linden Labs had no business in the activities that consenting adults participate in. This is a key challenge between people who see no moral boundaries in virtual worlds and those that do.
Religion takes a different view on morality from the model which governs society. As part of society we are part of a social contract. Simply put, this contract is there to prevent harm. Where state morality condemns harm against others, religious morality is mostly concerned with what offends God. You are not to wrong your neighbour because not only does it harm your neighbour, but because you anger God. This is clearly shown in that the first five commandments of the Decalogue are concerned not with the mistreatment of one's neighbour (e.g. lying, stealing, committing adultery), but with man's approach to God (e.g. creating idols, taking the Lord's name in vain, keeping the Sabbath holy). With Jesus there is a radical shift in interpreting moral codes, most easily shown through adultery. The sin is transferred from the physical realm to the virtual realm of the mind. In Matthew's gospel, Jesus says, "You have heard the commandment that says, 'You must not commit adultery.' But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Where as the humanist or secular view is concerned with the act, religious morality is concerned not only with what we do but what we think.
The question of morality in virtual worlds has been largely ignored due to only recent advances in technology allowing such choices to be made. As use of virtual worlds grow the issue of morality, right and wrong, will become more and more important. How we act in these worlds will ultimately stem from our understanding of the source of morality. Either we will have to concede that as long as no one is harmed people are free to do as they please, or we will conclude that morality does have a place in virtual worlds.
Adapted from 'Virtual Morality', Adbusters #80. Labels: Daft, Through the Looking Glass
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| posted by Daft @ 12:10 |
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| Review - Football Manager Handheld 09 |
| Tuesday 2 December 2008 |
 The Football Manager series on PC has evolved from its Championship Manager roots and become the premier football title. On the PSP there hasn't been much in the way of serious competition but that hasn't stopped them from trying something different and innovating with this years iteration.
Football Manager Handheld 09 comes with a series of refinements and improvements. For the first time the game features a 2D match engine along with the feature to hop between different countries rather than being limited to the run nation. Both of these new headline features aren't without their fair share of problems though. There is also improved transfer code which helps make selling those unwanted players easier. The game also has two new skins, the dark skin in particular is gorgeous and very pleasing to the eye.
The 2D match engine shares none of the same code as the PC version and as such starts from scratch, with this in mind it will come as no surprise that the match experience has its fair share of glitches. Strange sights such a defender running at the keeper one on one and then laying it back half the length of the pitch rather than shooting are common place and using the pitch for tactical analysis can be very hard. Instead much more can be garnered from the brilliant text that gives plenty of hints and tips at where players are being beaten or how attacks break down. Some decisions have clearly been made with the format in mind as well, only goals or near misses are shown and even then it is only the smallest of glimpses. This helps to keep the action going quick and fast and means that games don't drag on, the option for full match highlights would be welcome. SI have had a fair stab at improving the match day experience and should be praised for their efforts and as a starting point the engine looks to have a solid enough framework to build on.
The database problems arise from the hardware only being able to handle X number of players existing in the game at any one time. Things are fine when running one nation with every team having their full first team, high profile reserves and a smattering of exciting youngsters, teams abroad have a decent selection to pick from. When running with extra nations though the game has to spread its players thinly across all of the leagues running meaning that not all teams have their full complements of players and some even having very noticeable first team absences. There seems no solution though unless SI can push that bit more out of the PSP. It is a shame that their is no way to install the database in full on a Memory Card and run them off this faster solid state rather than streaming off the UMD, whether this is even possible or simply pie in the sky is another matter.
There are many other aspects that people would argue mean the handheld version is a poor relation to the its PC brother. This is however not the case as the developers have taken all the key features and distilled them down to their most common form. Take the media involvement, whilst the PC version has taken things a step further and created media conferences. Rather than offering a ream of time consuming options all of which are either positive, negative or no comment related Handheld simply offers these three simple offers. This is by no means a bad thing however has is helps keep the pace to that more suitable to a handheld game where you may just be catching five minutes here or there. It strikes the right mix between just enough whilst not being to much.
If you are looking for a game that can both fill a quick five minutes and offer hours and hours of gameplay this is the one for you. The game has the usual 30 season limit plus all the unlockables fans have come to expect. A bigger database adds to the experience as well offering more players than ever.
 As always finding the right tactics is key to success
The game has improved with each passing year and this is no exception yes there are a few niggling faults, but this doesn't detract from a core experience that will see you spends hours and hours pouring over it's simple text based interface. It may not be the flashiest most graphically intensive PSP game out there but it certainly tests the systems' durability as you will find yourself putting in the hours - time to think about picking up a spare battery for those long distance journeys.
 Labels: flameboy, Football Manager Handheld, PSP, Reviews
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| posted by flameboy @ 19:45 |
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