Everything that doesn’t fit into any other category.
An informative video about “Trusted” Computing. I’d previously felt that this is something that would be naturally rejected by consumers, but it looks more and more like an issue that will require active resistance.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1H7omJW4TI
Original authors: http://www.lafkon.net/tc/
More information: http://www.againsttcpa.com/
This post is a followup to my last post on boobies in God of War. I felt that a rant about the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) was in order.
I think the fact the OFLC deems God of War fine for consumption by 15 year olds, but Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure not, indicates that Larry and Getting Up were most likely banned based on their reputation rather than an actual review of their contents. One is know to be about trying to get laid and the other is known to be about graffiti.
Further support for this apparant lack of real content review is the game Mark of Kri. The opening cinematics consist of traditional hand-drawn animation very reminiscent of a Disney animated film. If this was all you saw of the game, you would probably think “Oh, this game is harmless and suitable for small children” and I think that is why Mark of Kri was originally released with a G rating. I know, I have a copy with a G rating symbol printed on the front.
When you actually play the game, you realise that it is at least as violent as God of War and probably more so. Case in point: it has a level in which you slaughter as many enemies as possible with a battle axe that slices and dices limbs, spines, and heads. The enemies that end up with no legs attempt to pull themselves away with their arms until they either bleed to death or you provide the finishing blow.
Well someone must have complained because the G ratings were soon covered with MA rating stickers and later versions of the game came out with MA ratings printed on the packaging. I’ll post a photo of the original G rated packaging sometime.
Conclusion: No respect (For the OFLC)
Note: I personally don’t think that any of these games should be banned. We need an R rating for video games in Australia!
I recently picked up God of War for PS2. I was planning on getting it earlier, but then I found out that it was going to be re-released for $29.95 and figured that I could wait it out. (Thank you DVD-Crave pre-order listings!)
I’ll post a mini-review when I am further into the game, but I thought that I might make a quick mention of something that was a little surprising to me given the Office of Film and Literature Classification’s (OFLC) ban of Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure. Okay, here it is…:
There’s even a menage a trois mini game a la the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Hot Coffee mode hack that resulted in a recall and then re-release with the offending mini-game completely removed. Seriously, there’s two topless women on a bed and you enter a mini-game in which you pleasure them and receive powerups. (The camera moves offscreen, but the audio is there).
The game is also incredibly violent and gory. You can grab an enemy and rip its top half from their bottom half. You perform fatalities such as shoving a massive knife through a minotaur’s head via its screaming mouth. You happily kill innocent bystanders for the health rewards you receive as a result.
I seriously wonder what is up with the OFLC. For Larry and Getting Up to be refused classification and for this game to be deemed appropriate for 15 year olds… illustrates a complete lack of consistency and standards.
I’ve just recently started watching The 1UP Show, and I’m already convinced that there is hope for video game journalism.
The show complements personable game reviews and interviews with slick video editing and a very catchy theme song. The latest episode includes interviews by Jane Pinckard with Fumito Ueda (Shadow of the Colossus), Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy), and Tetsuya Mizaguchi (Rez).
Conclusion: Highly Recommended
So I got tickets for Belle and Sebastian‘s Perth gig. Not great seats, but decent.
I’m not sure if anyone reading this listens to them, but they’re… um… popular with hippies, don’t shy from sexual innuendo, and can mix styles like crazy (provided said styles are all fairly similar).
Note: Most links above are to videos on YouTube. The sexual innuendo one is kinda funny… the others are probably for fans only.
I saw Project Gotham Racing 3 for XBOX 360 at GameTraders on the weekend. Here are my thoughts. (This will be much shorter than my Fight Night Round 3 impressions).
“What’s with the load time? What’s with the jaggies? Is that sky a low colour depth texture? What’s with the choppy framerate when the GUI pops up?”
Maybe they should have spent less time on crowd simulation and more time on just getting the overall look right. PGR3 looks good in some small details. In contrast, Gran Turismo 4 looks great in the big picture.
Note: Why all this talk on graphics and no word on gameplay? The graphics are used as the key selling point, and realistic racing games don’t really appeal to me gameplay-wise.
I saw Fight Night Round 3 for XBOX 360 at JB-HIFI after lunch today. Here are my thoughts.
Firstly, the graphics are very good. They look similar to the Playstation 3 demo shown at E3 last year. The skin rendering is top notch and the animation is realistic (but not always smooth). As with most games that involve close contact between characters, the biggest visual problems have to do with surfaces passing through each other. This is clearly a physical simulation issue, but it does severely affect the graphics. Especially since the general awesomeness makes these mistakes that much more glaring. Every time one boxer’s arm passed through the other’s boxing glove stood out like a… well, an arm going through a glove.
The things that struck me (more so than the graphics) about Fight Night Round 3 were the control scheme and gameplay. The oustanding bit about the control scheme is that you use the right analog stick for “total punch control”. In terms of gameplay nuances, you play the role of the coach between rounds and have to “patch up” your boxer by rubbing ice on his swollen face. Another thing I saw was that when you are knocked out, instead of just mashing the buttons to get back up, the camera changes to first person and you have to use the two analog sticks to line up circles to pull yourself back into consciousness. Neato!
How to wrap things up? I expected the graphics, but was surprised by the gamplay. I noticed that most people crowded around were keen to look, but not really keen to play. I wonder if this says something about promoting graphics above all the neat gameplay features. Will consumers take a look, but ultimately pass it by without even trying it out?
Note: All the gameplay is also in the Playstation2 and XBOX versions of the game.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBa…item=7601131682
That’s over $6000 (AU)! There’s still one day left, so get your bids in… or not… because you have better things to spend your money on.
It’s interesting that in the bid history there are a number of rejected bids for less than the current amount with “Please contact seller with evidence demonstrating the bid is serious” as the reason for cancellation. I guess they never expected it to get this high!
The in joke
For those who have no idea what I am talking about, this item is a reference to the latest episode of gaming mockumentary PurePwnage in which the main character decides to sell his hair on Ebay to make some money. I think he said something like “That’s a great idea! I grow my hair back for free!”
Another reference to that episode is this notice on the Ebay listing: “Jeremy has not balled-rubbed the bandana, but will do so upon request for no additional fee.”
http://www.gamasutra.com/…ffield_01.shtml
I came across this article on “one button action games” from Gamevil, a South Korean game developer. Their claim to fame is a title called “Skipping Stone” and it’s pretty obvious just from the name what the game is about (and you can probably even imagine the gameplay).
Check out the article on Gamasutra for more information.
Just a quick overview of the news from GDC’06. There is a good roundup on Next Generation and you can find more detailed information on the usual sites.
General news:
Nintendo news (from Iwata’s keynote; see the press release):
What happened to the announcement of the official name for the Nintendo Revolution?