I love a rainy night -
March 28, 2001 - Chris Jones
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed
within this column are those of the participants and the
moderator, and do not necessarily reflect those of the
GIA. There is coarse language and potentially offensive
material afoot.
Grew a mustache and a mullet, got a job at Chic-fil-a...
Don't say we didn't warn you.
Wow. Haven't played ZOE yet, but the MGS demo is... hell, there aren't
enough superlatives in the dictionary. Didn't get a ton of email today, but
that's ok, you're excused, for obvious reasons. Now let's get this show on
the road so I can get back to snapping necks.
Onward.
| It's CODEC! CODEC,
dammit! |
| Hey Muffins (you need a nick-name),
My impression of Z.O.E. is that the game is fun. Let me show you a little
math equation.
Virtua On + multiple enemies + the ability to destroy the enviorment around
you + Hideo Kojima = Z.O.E.
Which in turn equals a good buy for fans of mindless violence ("you know who
ya are." On a side note, for mindless violence fans play the combat
simulator in Perfect Dark with 8 meatsims and one-hit kills. Make it so you
can only use pistols and you've got your own little John Woo movie!). ,
As for Metal Gear Solid 2 the first word that comes to mind are the graphics.
The intro is just jaw dropping (especially with that kick-ass soundtrack)
and the ingame stuff is nearly on par with any FMV on the PSone. The
gameplay has remained essentially the same (why fix what isn't broke) with
some added bonuses like being able to jump over/onto small barricades and the
first person POV. The faces while you're using your radio (god help me I
can't remember the name of it) move in time with the dialouge adding a very
realistic tone to the previously stale radio conversations in MGS1. They
also fixed my major peeve from the first game in that you start out with two
weapons: a tranquilizer gun and tazer. I mean why would you go on a secret
espionage mission against a heavily armed/well trained terrioist organization
unarmed? There's a thin line between bravery and stupidity.
In closing, buy Z.O.E. if not for mindless violence then for the MGS2 demo.
Thank you and goodnight.
-Figure Four
|
I'm impressed with a ton of things about MGS2, but one of the big
plusses so far is how the game manages to feel like a big step forward and
ties smoothly into the original Metal Gear Solid. The Codec images, even
though they're animated and synched to the voices, still manage to look
like the original game. Likewise, the gameplay feels exactly like MGS1, and
light years ahead at the same time. The only thing that doesn't ring true
is Snake's character model, which takes some getting used to. Not that it
matters in any significant way, but Snake is one ugly bastard.
| The importance of
moving product |
| Well, I was expecting Z.O.E. to come out tomorrow,
but as soon as I got home I received a call from the local E.B. that
my reserved Z.O.E. was in. So, of course I hopped immediately into
the car to go get it. It's amazing! Until I played Onimusha, I
hadn't really been to impressed by the PS2 graphically. However,
even Onimusha still had the same gameplay and pre-rendered backgrounds
of a PS1 game. So, there wasn't a substantial move forward.
When I first put in Z.O.E., my first thought was that I didn't realize
that with the DVD-ROM format that cutscenes are now drastically longer.
I felt like I was watching a anime movie. Then when it first went the first
battle scene, I just sat there waiting for something to happen. It took me a
few seconds to realize that it was my turn to play. Almost as impressive
as the graphics are the controls. I had read that they were intuitive, but
that doesn't do it justice. It's just totally smooth and flawless. The only
complaint that I have would be that I would prefered Japanese dialog, but
that's just the whinings of an anime freak and not a serious complaint.
I have heard complaints about game length of Z.O.E. Of course since I have
just received the game, I can't really comment on that other than it's not
so short that I have finished it in the hour or so I have owned it. This
is the same complaint that has been levied on Onimusha and Bouncer.
I think maybe these companies are somehow feeling the push to get
these games out there for the consumers whether that be from Sony or
their respective companies. You have to consider that the PS2 has been
out in Japan for a year now, and that these are the big name titles that we
all heard about when the PS2 was first released. Video games are a business.
Without money coming in, no future games can be made. That's just my two
cents worth. I am not saying I am 100% correct, but I think that this does
play some factor in the game-making process. What do you think, Chris??
Dwayne T. |
We've talked about the length of games a lot recently, so I'll just
give a quick summary of the conventional wisdom: a lot of the current
games are still early on the learning curve for developers, and it seems
like they're going for a flashy, if not deep, play experience, probably
because that's the best way to focus their attention if they want to sell
games. As later games with more development time behind them start to show
up, we'll probably see longer, more interesting games show up too.
As for ZOE, I'm waiting for this weekend, when I can focus on it
completely.
| A little anime... why
not? |
| Chris
"Cowboy Bebop"
"I'd argue that the strength of those particular works lies more in the ideas
and content, and less in how it's displayed"
Now I know this isn't an anime column, but bear with me. While it is true that
all great anime is going to be something that semi transcends the genre, due
to its story telling, and character development, but because its anime don't
you think how its displayed goes hand in hand with the ideas and content?
As an example, lets take a look at one of the titles you mentioned--Cowboy Bebop.
Just as any film student will tell you, things like lighting, camera placement, costumes,
music, etc. all relate back to what's being presented, the same holds true for anime.
Bebop does wonders with lighting and animation style to portray the ideas and style
of the series. When something is light, or laid back, reflecting the whole "free,
wandering idealists" idea of the series, the animation usually follows. Its loose and
wacky, the colors are bright and distinct, and the music strums or bangs along
appropriately, etc. When the more serious episodes hit, we get the sharp, edgy
feel, and the extensive use of dark blues and greens, all highlighting prominent
areas of light and dark. Hell, even the planets/moons themselves reflect this stylistic
approach. As far as I'm concerned, you couldn't have picked a better example of
"how its displayed" correlating with the "ideas and content".
ZOE and MGS2 demo? Its 3:30 in the morning--I'll get back to you later "today"
when I actually pick them up.
Justin Freeman
|
It's true that the more intense episodes have a darker palette, but
other than that Bebop looks pretty constant throughout - you're not going
to see an SD Spike popping up in a comedy episode. (Except maybe for
Mushroom Samba, haven't seen that one yet.) Bebop is largely realistic as
anime goes, and while Bebop is excellent as an animated work, the
characters, stories and styles would probably translate just as well to a
manga, or perhaps even a live action series.
| Produced by The Man!
(No, not Gilgamesh) |
| Hey, Chris,
I just got ZOE! Apparently, for the first time in history, a videogame
actually came out on its shipping date (rather than the day later, which is
usually the rule). I have yet to open it, because I know that then I will
face the decision of which to play first -- the game itself (Konami and
Kojima can do no wrong when it comes to giant robots) or the Metal Gear Solid
II demo. Hmmm... were I as diehard an MGS fan as the narrator of my "fanfic"
last week, it'd be the demo all the way. However, I think I'll play ZOE
first...
Anyway, that's not why I'm writing in. I'm writing to suggest something to
you (A topic, perhaps? I don't know). I'm sure you too have ZOE. Now, look
on the bottom of the front of the case, under the big "Zone of the Enders"
logo. Between the Konami logo and the "M" rating. Yes, it says "Produced by
Hideo Kojima."
Now, we saw the words "Produced by Yu Suzuki" preface the video demo of
Shenmue. However, we've never seen anything like this. I mean, the name of
a Japanese game producer, appearing on the game's box? What is the world
coming to?
"Produced by Hideo Kojima." I just checked again. It really says that. I
mean, Zelda games don't need "Produced by Shigeru Miyamoto" on the box, do
they? Then again, Shigeru Miyamoto doesn't get an interview in SPIN,
either.
Anyway, what do YOU think this means? I'm too occupied with thoughts of what
will happen when I open the box to say anything right now. So, well... shit.
I'm just going to play the game now. Bye.
--tim rogers, who hopes this game will prove the age-old saying,
"Konami knows robots," and be as good as Cybernator, Metal Warriors,
Policenauts, and Snatcher (the latter two of which could be released in a
new playstation 2 special deluxe DVD package bearing Hideo Kojima's name --
to huge sales in Japan AND the US...) |
As you say, Kojima has a slightly more personable profile than a lot of
other major developers: Sakaguchi and Miyamoto are Sakaguchi and
Miyamoto, but Kojima is a developer of major, important games who's
still perhaps a little more street level. As games become more mainstream,
it wouldn't and shouldn't surprise me to see games sold by their
directors, much like movies... and if you remember way back, the FFT
trailer did make a fairly big deal out of having Sakaguchi as Executive
Producer, or even further back, the Dream Team for Chrono Trigger.
Or this could just be an isolated incident, as Konami tries very hard
to associate ZOE with MGS via the Kojima reference. Still worth a topic,
tho.
Closing Comments:
Ok, you heard the man - relatively hard core gamers may pay attention to
who's developed what, but is it really worth it for publishers to market
games by playing up the particular producers or directors? Let me know,
and I'll see you after I've put a few more guards to sleep.
-Chris Jones, thinking
about getting a mullet... nah, not really
|
