Tagged: hot pixels
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (2010)
Amuse-bouche. With Zombies.
Dead Rising 2, the multi-platform sequel to the hit game from the early days of Xbox 360 (and slightly less successful Nintendo Wii port), scheduled for release this September, comes with a hors d’oeuvre in the form of a chapter zero, a prologue or, if you like, a prequel.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero is a short Xbox Live Arcade title, which gives you a few hours of playtime if you’re not too pedantic, but serves as a valuable introduction in to the story, explaining who Chuck Green is and why he does what he does. The story (after a few introductory cut-scenes) takes place in a small town called Still Creek, where Chuck and his daughter get stuck without a ride, any money or Zombrex (a drug that prevents his zombie-bitten daughter from turning undead). In the strictly allotted time-frame, before the army flies into town to clean it up, Chuck has to explore the town, gather parts to build a motorbike, so he can continue on his way towards Fortune City.
The game gives a taste of everything Dead Rising titles have to offer, only in bite-sized chunks – you can roam about the town, use weapons and weapon-like objects to annihilate the undead, try out a few different costumes, makes some money playing the slots (or beating the crap out of slot machines with said weapon-like objects), do some trading, save a few survivors for fun and PP’s and take down a psychopath.
Just like in the original game, this chapter has the standard issue with time limitations (it’s a sandbox-type game which absolutely forces you to do certain things at certain times), there’s no auto-save, only a semi-automatic save which comes up after every sub-chapter, but luckily, there are more then enough restrooms where you can save the game. The ability to move through the game area vertically is another thing that worked so well in the original Dead Rising and works well here.
Playing this introductory chapter has additional advantages, since you can import your character into Dead Rising 2 and carry over the character level (up to Level 5, which is the best you can get in the prequel), some money, combo cards and some of the outfits.
Dead Rising: Case Zero is definitely worth the 400 XBLA points and I can sincerely recommend it to all the fans of the series. And if Capcom doesn’t start selling orange T-shirts like the one Chuck is wearing in the game, then they have no business sense whatsoever. 🙂
Finally, a few words about Dead Rising 2. I’ll probably do a full review once I finish the game, but until then, I’ll leave you with a few original screenshots and answers to a couple of less important, but still fun questions about Chuck Greene.
We all still vividly remember how difficult it was to get Frank West in his underwear, and that in order to achieve that, one had to play very carefully and do things which may not have been in the best interest of getting the best ending to the game. Luckily, we won’t be having this problem in the sequel, and I’m grateful to the development team for giving us a practical and easy way of stripping Chuck down into his underwear by simply selecting the option “Underwear” in the clothing locker.
This nifty feature has also made it easier to research the answer to the other burning question which may have bothered the hell out of this blog’s target audience, so I am happy to inform everyone that Frank, indeed, has a hairy chest (although he still doesn’t hold a candle to Frank West’s chest fuzz) and that he is quite easy on the eye whilst wearing underwear. The development team, I salute you!
Lagano predjelo sa zombijima
Dead Rising 2, višeplatformski nastavak uspješnice iz ranih dana Xboxa 360 (i manje uspješnice na Nintendo Wiiju) čiji je izlazak najavljen za kraj rujna ove godine, došao nam je uz predjelo u obliku nultog poglavlja priče, kratkog prednastavka, prologa ili, ako baš hoćete na naškom, prequela.
Dead Rising 2: Case Zero kratak je Xbox Live Arcade naslov koji možete dovršiti za nekoliko sati ukoliko niste suviše pedantni, ali služi kao vrijedan uvod u priču i objašnjava tko je Chuck Greene i zašto radi to što radi. Radnja (nakon nekoliko uvodnih scena) se događa u malome mjestašcu imena Still Creek, gdje je Chuck zaglavio bez prijevoza, novca i Zombrexa za svoju kći (lijek koji sprečava da ugriženi postanu zombiji). U strogo određenom vremenu, do dolaska vojske koja kani ‘očistiti’ lokaciju, Chuck mora obići mjestašce i skupiti dijelove za motocikl kojim će nastaviti put prema Fortune Cityju.
Igra daje sve ono što cijeli Dead Rising naslovi nude, samo u doista malim dozama – imate priliku istražiti gradić, koristiti normalno oružje u borbi sa zombijima, koristiti sva priručna sredstva, možete sami složiti nekoliko kombiniranih oružja, isprobati nekoliko kostima, zaraditi nešto novca kockajući se na automatima (ili prijateljski uvjeravajući iste automate već spomenutim priručnim sredstvima), trgovati na malo, spasiti nekolicinu ljudi i srediti jednog psihopata.
Kao i prvi nastavak, ovo poglavlje ima onaj standardan problem ograničenosti vremena (igra sandbox tipa koja vas bezuvjetno tjera da napravite određene stvari u određenom vremenu), automatskog snimanja igre nema, samo ‘poluautomatsko’ koje vam nudi snimanje nakon što dovršite pojedinačne dijelove igre, ali na svu sreću toaleta za snimanje pozicije ima puno više nego u prvom nastavku, a tri moguća slota za snimanje svakako dobro dođu. Mogućnost vertikalnog kretanja još je jedna dobra strana koju smo naslijedili iz prvog nastavka na Xboxu, na tendama, krovovima i ostalim teže dostupnim mjestima opet ćete naći bolje komade oružja.
Igranje uvoda ima dodatne prednosti, jer lik možete uvesti u Dead Rising 2, što vam u igru prenosi razinu (Chucka možete dovesti maksimalno do pete razine, prenosi se u potpunosti), nešto novca, combo kartice i odjevne predmete.
Za kraj, pozabavit ću se kratko i Dead Risingom 2. Puna recenzija slijedi nakon što dovršim igru, a do tada mogu sa zadovoljstvom objaviti da sam našao odgovor na jedno od manje značajnih, ali jednako zabavnih pitanja o Chucku.
Svi se vjerojatno sjećamo koliko je zeznuto bilo svući Franka Westa u donje rublje i da je ta akcija zahtijevala pozorno praćenje radnje i katkada postupanje koje ugrožava uspješan dovršetak igre. Toga u drugome nastavku, srećom, neće biti i zahvalan sam autorima što su omogućili da Chucka svučemo u gaće jednostavnim odabirom opcije “Underwear” u ormariću s odjećom.
Ta opcija također je olakšala pronalazak odgovora i na drugo pitanje koje je možda mučilo dio ciljne publike ovoga bloga i sa zadovoljstvom mogu objaviti da Frank ima dlakava prsa (iako nešto manje do Franka) te da uopće nije gadan za gledati u gaćama. Pljesak za autore!
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009)
Nathan Drake is back…
But he hasn’t gotten any wiser. Granted, had he learned anything from events in his adventure with the treasure of Sir Francis Drake and realised once and for all that plans for a quick and easy treasure hunt almost never turn out the way they are supposed to, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would certainly be a lot more boring. The Naughty Dog team took their task and demands from the gaming public seriously, and responded in the best way possible – by making an excellent game which improves upon the original formula and makes for an even better ‘movie’.
This time, Nathan is after the Cintamani stone, a mythical jewel which shows the way to the even more mythical kingdom of Shambhala. Unfortunately for him, modern-day counterpart to Indiana Jones’s Nazis, a maniacal war criminal named Zoran Lazarević, wants the same thing. I’m sure you can work out the rest of the story, just add some vandalism of historical monuments, unlawful entry, illegal taking of property, strange creatures and a love triangle. Strangely enough, this will get you a story which is much better than the sum of its parts.
Technically, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is carefully polished to perfection. The graphics are stunning, the camera works flawlessly and makes the game very cinematic. Water is so 2007, snow and wavy flags are the new water.
There are some real changes in the game compared to the first instalment, and one of the niftiest new additions is a targeting reticule which appears when Nate fires from the hip, shoots from cover or runs and guns. There are also a few new powerful weapons and a worrying number of explosive gas tanks strewn around the environment. Nate’s notebook is still here, but now we get a peek into the whole thing, not just one single page that should help us solve a puzzle. It’s full of memorabilia, scribblings and funny drawings, and it gets updated as you play the game.
Mr Drake himself is even hotter and more (photo)realistic than before, and other character models are rendered in much more detail. As for the acting, it is superb, and all the cut-scenes are well directed, played and faithfully reproduced in-game. The method in which they recorded their motion capture is not the golden standard in video game production, but it should certainly become and its benefits are more than evident. Character interaction is much more natural and believable than in cases where voice actors just sit in the recording booth with a script and deliver lines according to the director’s instructions. This was often mentioned in the press kits, but with a good reason. The best quips and one-liners are often spontaneous and improvised. There are buckets-full of chemistry between the protagonists, but you can’t expect any less if you put together Claudia Black, who could have chemistry with a piece of driftwood, and the genius that is Nolan North, whose recent lead roles seem to be the recipe for a game’s success. North’s Drake seems natural while trading verbal blows with Harry Flynn or climbing Tibetan temples with Tenzin who doesn’t speak a word of English.
In my previous article on Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, I said I’d love to see this character exploited in the demeaning manner in which Lara Croft usually gets exploited, but Among Thieves just gave me Drake in a winter jacket and occasionally wet and squishy jeans, which remain a major selling point since the first game. For the third instalment of the series, I will look forward to a game at least as good as this or better. If Shirtless Nate somehow worms his way into the story, I won’t mind.
To sum up, here’s a series of random screenshots of Nathan Drake for your perusal.
Vratio nam se Nathan Drake…
Opametio se nije. Naravno, da je izvukao kakvu pouku iz svega što je preživio u pustolovini oko blaga Sir Francisa Drakea i jednom za svagda naučio da svi planovi za siguran i lak dolazak do blaga neumitno završe katastrofom, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves bila bi iznimno dosadna igra. Ekipa Naughty Doga ozbiljno je shvatila svoj zadatak i zahtjeve koju će pred njih postaviti igrači prve igre i odgovorila na najbolji mogući način – izvrsnom igrom koja je uspjela unaprijediti izvornu formulu, napravivši još bolji ‘film’.
Nathan ovoga puta ide u potragu za draguljem Cintamani, koji ga treba dovesti do mitskog budističkog kraljevstva, Shambhale. Istu namjeru ima i ovovjeki pandan nacistima Indiane Jonesa, manijak i ratni zločinac Zoran Lazarević, a ostatak priče uglavnom možete rekonstruirati i sami na temelju tih nekoliko detalja. U slikovnicu još samo umetnite napucavanja sa zlikovcima, podosta vandaliziranja spomenika kulture, malo društveno opasnih radnji, povremeno protupravno pribavljanje koristi, nadnaravne stvorove, te ljubavni trokut, i dobit ćete priču koja je odlična unatoč svojim sastavnim dijelovima.
S tehničke strane, Uncharted 2 je pažljivo ispoliran i doveden do savršenstva. Grafika je prekrasna, kamera funkcionira besprijekorno i ima snažan filmski štih. Voda je out, snijeg i lepršave zastavice su in. Od konkretnih promjena u odnosu na jedinicu, korisna je novost ciljnik na ekranu koji se pojavljuje kada Nate puca iz zaklona ili u pokretu koji znatno olakšava pucanje, a tu su par novih komada vrlo razornog oružja i zabrinjavajuća količina eksplozivnih plinskih spremnika na ulicama. Nateova famozna bilježnica koja je u prvome dijelu služila tek par puta za rješavanje zagonetki sada ima znatno više stranica korisnih i beskorisnih črčkarija i memorabilija, a tijekom igre dobivate i nove stranice.
Nate je, ako je to ikako moguće, još zgodniji i (foto)realističniji nego u prvoj igri, a i modeli drugih likova znatno su detaljnije renderirani. Što se tiče glume, to doista ne može biti prigovora, igrane scene filmski su kvalitetno režirane i odglumljene, te vjerno preslikane u igru. Način na koji je motion capture izveden nije standardna praksa u razvoju video igara, ali u ovome slučaju predstavlja ogromnu prednost i čini interakcije glumaca puno prirodnijima i uvjerljivijima nego slučaju kada glumci koji sinkroniziraju likove sjede u kabini sa scenarijem i samo čitaju svoje rečenice uz upute redatelja. Developeri su stavili značajan naglasak na to u press materijalima, no posve opravdano. Najbolja zajebancija uvijek se postiže spontano. Kemije ima na vjedra, ali kada spojite Claudiu Black koja bi mogla imati kemiju s trulim komadom drveta i genijalnog Nolana Northa za kojeg je lakše prebrojati hit igre u kojima ne igra, drugo se ne može ni očekivati. Northov Drake djeluje prirodno i kada razmjenjuje doskočice s Harryjem Flynnom i kada se vere po tibetanskim hramovima s Tenzinom, koji ne govori ni riječ engleskoga.
U članku o Unchartedu: Drake’s Fortune izrazio sam želju vidjeti da i ovaj lik počnu eksploatirati na ponižavajući način na koji to čine Lari Croft, ali odgovor u Among Thieves došao je u obliku još deblje zimske jakne i povremenih vlažnih traperica koje su ionako bile prisutne u prvome dijelu. Za treći dio u serijalu, stoga, očekujem samo da bude dobar kao ovaj, ili bolji. Ako se Nate bez majice na neki način uklopi u radnju, neće mi smetati.
InFamous (2009)
… or Prototype?
The summer of 2009 was a time of sandbox catastrophe games, and by some cosmic fluke, two such games were published within a month of each other, Prototype for XBox 360, PC and PlayStation 3, and InFamous, a PlayStation 3 exclusive. Regardless of the subheading, I intend to talk a bit about InFamous, which turned out to be slightly better than its prototypical competitor. Allow my to clarify my point.
In the latter, you play as the (In)Famous Cole McGrath, a courier assigned with a delivery of a package which blows up, blasting away half of the island (because all sandbox game inexplicably feature cities on islands, connected by bridges), and giving Cole special powers to manipulate electrical energy and an allergy to water.
Since great power usually comes both with great clichés and huge villains, major players are interested in Cole, while he does menial tasks, trying to find out the reason for the explosion, dealing with bad guys and innocent bystanders, all the while walking the line between good and evil. This good/evil thing would work much better, if the game wasn’t so inclined to pronounce your deeds evil, even though you were doing what you were told was the ‘good’ solution. It would also be much more interesting if the two courses of action weren’t such polar opposites, and if it the point wasn’t hammered in by a huge blue and red screen telling you the end results, all accompanied by Cole’s internal monologue basically saying the same thing (this was meant, I presume, for people who aren’t able to discern on their own that helping people get to some food is an act of good, and killing said people and taking all the food for yourself an act of evil).
That being said, the story itself is solid, although it’s only the first chapter of some future bigger story (like everything else recently), Cole’s powers are well thought-out and levelled, and the autosave system works just fine, not forcing you to repeat entire missions if you screw up along the way. The side-missions are reasonably varied and useful, because they significantly reduce the number of enemies in the cleared areas. Jumping and climbing the buildings is more reminiscent of Crackdown than Protoype, and same can be said for the shard-collecting. Surfing the power lines and electrified train tracks is a fun way to quickly moving about the town, and with all the upgrades, they become a way for Cole to recharge his ‘batteries’. Static thrusters are slightly less useful than flying through the air we saw in Prototype, but even without it you will be quite able to climb any building in the game, provided you take gravity and inertia into account at all times.
In the 30+ hours of gameplay, I’ve come across only a few bugs, at one point the game simply froze during saving, and once Cole simply fell through the pavement, flying into the void for a few seconds, until the game killed him off and reloaded the last save point.
So in face to face combat, with a similare premise, game mechanics, and similar anti-heroes, I would support InFamous. Since Protoype is equally good, and since other reviewers had their own unusual criteria for choosing the champion, I will say that InFamous is a better game because Cole McGrath is better looking, he doesn’t devour innocent passers by, he wears a leather jacket and has a goatee. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give the other game a chance, you probably won’t be disappointed.
ZloGlasan…
Ljeto 2009. bilo je u znaku igara katastrofe otvorenoga tipa i igrom slučaja, dvije su takve igre izišle unutar mjesec dana, Prototype na XBoxu 360, PC-u i PlayStationu 3, te InFamous isključivo na PlayStationu 3. Tema ovog članka je upravo InFamous, koji se pokazao nešto zanimljivijim od konkurencije. Pojasnit ću ovu tvrdnju u nekoliko točaka.
Na zlu glasu u ovoj je igri Cole McGrath, dostavljač koji jednoga dana dobije zadatak prenijeti paket koji putem eksplodira, raznese pola otoka (jer gradovi u sandbox igrama uvijek su na otocima povezanim mostovima), a Colea obdari posebnim moćima manipulacije električnom energijom i alergijom na vodu.
Kako uz veliku moć dolaze i veliki klišeji i veliki negativci, za Colea su odjednom zainteresirani različiti veliki igrači, dok se on bavi sitnim zadatcima, istraživanjem uzroka eksplozije, sređivanjem zločestih momaka/nevinih prolaznika i biranjem između puta dobra i zla. Ovo zadnje bi još nekako i funkcioniralo da igra povremeno iz posve nejasnih razloga ne odluči da ste bili zločesti, te bilo puno zanimljivije da dva smjera djelovanja nisu potpuno polarno-suprotna i da se igra svaki puta ne zaustavi kako bi vam Cole putem unutarnjeg monologa objasnio koja je radnja zla, a koja dobra (za one koji nisu sami sposobni razlučiti da je pomaganje ljudima da dođu do hrane dobar čin, a njihovo ubijanje i otimanje sve hrane zao čin).
Na stranu s tim sitnim nelogičnostima, priča je solidna, iako kao i sve ostale priče u zadnje vrijeme predstavlja tek prvo poglavlje u jednoj dužoj trakavici, Coleove moći su dobro zamišljene i odmjerene, a sustav automatskog snimanja kontrolnih točaka dobar, pa nećete morati ponavljati cijeli zadatak ukoliko zabrljate. Sporedni zadatci su umjereno raznoliki i korisni, jer vam znatno smanjuju broj negativaca u ‘oslobođenim’ područjima. Način kretanja i uspinjanja po zgradama više podsjećaju na Crackdown nego na Protoype, kao i skupljanje krhotina po gradu. Surfanje po električnim vodovima i tračnicama vrlo je originalan i zabavan način brzog kretanja gradom, a uz nadogradnje, to postaje i način da Cole napuni svoje baterije. Statički potisnici su manje korisni od polu-letenja u Prototypeu, ali i bez toga moguće se popeti na sve zgrade u igri, jer na ovaj način morate malo razmišljati o sitnicama iz stvarnoga svijeta poput sile teže i inercije.
Tijekom tridesetak sati igre naišao sam na nekoliko bugova, u jednome se trenutku igra jednostavno zamrzla kod učitavanja zadnje snimljene pozicije, a drugom prilikom Cole je trčeći ulicom jednostavno propao kroz mapu, par sekundi letio kroz ništavilo i u tom trenutku igra ga je odlučila ubiti i vratiti zadnji save.
Dakle, u borbi prsa o prsa, sa sličnom premisom, sličnom mehanikom igre, glavnim antijunacima, iz posve niskih razloga, ja navijam za InFamous. Kako je i Prototype na istoj razini kvalitete i igrivosti, drugi recenzenti imali su neke svoje kriterije za odabir prvaka, a ja ću onda InFamous proglasiti boljim jer Cole McGrath je zgodniji, ne proždire prolaznike, nosi kožnjak i ima bradicu. Naravno, to nije razlog da i onoj drugoj ne date priliku, nećete se razočarati.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (2007)
Press START for hunk
Here’s another seemingly unnecessary review of a two-year old videogame, but as always, I have my reasons.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune was published in late 2007. The game was published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3, and developed by California-based studio Naughty Dog. The game is exclusive to PS3, and one of few games you simply have to have if you own the console, or a game you might just buy a console to play on.
The plot is heavily inspired by pulp adventure novels – the hero of the story, Nathan Drake, who may or may not be the descendant of Sir Francis Drake, is a two-bit tomb-robber who uncovers the coffin of his supposed ancestor, and therein finds notes and a map to the treasure of El Dorado. With the help of his friend Victor Sullivan and die-hard journalist Elena Fisher, Nathan sets out on the search for the legendary treasure.
This brief synopsis clearly shows what works Uncharted is proudly inspired by – the Indiana Jones flicks and pulp novels being the most obvious choices – but luckily, the authors picked all the right stuff from those sources, making the game play out like a summer blockbuster movie. The gameplay mechanic is an amalgamate of the best games across various genres, from ancient-ruin-acrobatics and puzzles not unlike those in Tomb Raider or Prince of Persia, to third person over-the-shoulder shooter sections and conveniently placed covers we keep seeing in every shooter game made post Gears of War.
So this covers what you do in the game, and how you do it, now it’s time to say what the whole thing looks like. And it looks – in a word – fantastic. Most of the game plays out in a wonderfully painted jungle full of greenery, streams and moss-covered ruins, with ancient forts, temples and monasteries with gorgeous vistas thrown in for good measure. Drake’s adventures include a vehicle chase and a couple of chances to take a water scooter for a spin.
Character and face animations are also extremely convincing, without a trace of botox, both in the cutscenes and the game proper. Unlike most of other shooter heroes, Nate’s face clearly shows his caution or fear when he is being shot at, and his reactions to impossible jumps on ledges are quite more realistic than Ms Croft’s cool and calm performance.
The developers from Naughty Dog succeeded in creating a character of a lovable petty thief who manages to walk the grey line between being a good guy and a bad guy. They did that using tricks I mentioned in the previous paragraph, but also by making him awfully cute, yet at the same time average-looking – especially compared to steroid junkies who seem to inhabit most of the recent popular games. Much to the dismay of this blog’s target audience, the alternative costumes for Nate include only a white tee with the Naughty Dog logo, a baseball shirt, the wetsuit from chapter one, and a few deformation options (if you want Serious Nate or fat Nate). I find it a bit odd that Nate doesn’t wear shorts to run around the jungle, but I’m sure there’s a rational explanation and really sound reasoning which makes jeans the right choice for such activities. 
One of the complaints I might make regarding this game is its strict linearity and sometimes lousily executed movement limits, but it would be unfair to hold this against a game from a genre which is predominantly linear. It appears that months of Fallout 3 have tainted me beyond repair, so I expect every game to give me at least three different ways of solving the same problem.
Another complaint could be the relative shortness of the campaign, but that is also in accordance with the genre. After all, the game has a few ways to make you re-play it once again (hidden treasures and bonuses) if Nathan Drake is not reason enough, and it’s quite certain that we will get a few more instalments of Nate’s adventures.
And while we’re on the subject of sequels, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is released in Europe on 16 October. I’m certain that Nate’s trip to the Himalayas accompanied by a character voiced by Claudia Black will prove to be another successful formula. My only peeve is that this means Nate will be wearing even more clothes, but since future sequels are more than likely, we can always hope episode three will take place in a hot part of the world, where our hero would have to change into something skimpier. If Lara Croft can be exploited this way, I don’t see why Nathan Drake could not be. 
Pritisni START za komada
Evo još jedne naoko nepotrebne recenzije godinama stare igre, ali kao i uvijek, imam svoje razloge za to.
Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune objavljena je krajem 2007. godine. Igru je za Sony Computer Entertainment i njihovu igraću konzolu PlayStation 3 razvio američki studio Naughty Dog. Radi se o platformskoj ekskluzivi, i jednoj od rijetkih igara koju ćete naprosto morati kupiti ako imate PS3 ili zbog koje ćete kupiti PS3 ako je želite igrati.
Sama priča drži se nebrojenih predložaka petparačkih pustolovnih romana – junak Nathan Drake, koji je možda potomak Sir Francisa Drakea, pljačkaš grobnica, pronalazi lijes svog navodnog pretka i ondje njegove zabilješke i mapu do blaga El Dorada. Uz pomoć prijatelja Victora Sullivana i odvažne/uporne novinarke Elene Fisher, Nathan kreće u potragu za legendarnim blagom. I ovaj kratki opis priče jasno ukazuje na ostala srodna djela od kojih Uncharted ponosno posuđuje – filmovi o Indiani Jonesu nameću se očit predložak, kao i šund romani – ali na svu sreću, od svih tih izvora autori su izabrali prave stvari, tako da igra podsjeća na filmski ljetni blockbuster. Način igranja je također amalgam perjanica različitih žanrova, od ruševinskih akrobacija i zagonetki u maniri Lare Croft ili izvjesnog perzijskog princa, do pucačkih dijelova u trećem licu preko ramena s obaveznim zgodno lociranim zaklonima kakve smo viđali u svemu i svačemu nakon Gears of War.
Dakle, pokrili smo što se i kako radi u igri, treba reći nekoliko riječi i o tome kako to sve izgleda. A izgleda – fantastično. Veći dio igre odvija se u u detaljno oslikanoj džungli prepunoj zelenila, potočića i mahovinom obraslih ruševina, ali tu su i stare utvrde, hramovi i samostani s kojih puca doista prekrasan pogled. U igru su ubačeni i obavezna potjera džipom, te par prigoda za korištenje vodenog skutera (u jednom slučaju uzvodno uz brzace).
Animacije likova i njihovih lica su također iznimno uvjerljivi, bez traga botoxa, što u ‘cut-scenama’, što u samoj igri. Za razliku od standardnih junačina u pucačinama, na Nateovom licu lako se da očitati oprez ili strah u trenutcima kada ga netko napada ili puca u njega, a njegove reakcije na nemoguće skokove na liticama znatno su realističnije od hladnokrvnog skakutanja Lare Croft.
Ekipa iz Naughty Doga uspješno je od Nathana Drakea stvorila lik dopadljivog sitnog lopova koji se uspješno drži linije sivoga između crnog i bijelog zahvaljujući trikovima iz prethodnog paragrafa, ali i činjenici da je Nate iznimno zgodan, ali opet u neku ruku prosječan – posebno u usporedbi s nabildanim mrcinama koje zadnjih godina igraju naslovne uloge u najpopularnijim igrama. Na veliku žalost ciljne publike ovoga bloga, od alternativnih kostima za Natea igra nudi tek bijelu majicu s logotipom Naughty Doga, bejzbolsku košulju, ronilačko odijelo iz prvog poglavlja, te nekoliko mogućnosti deformacija (ako želite Serious Natea ili debelog Natea). Malo mi je čudno da mu za trčanje džunglom ne trebaju kratke hlačice, ali valjda postoji razumno objašnjenje i jako dobar razlog koji jeans hlače čini savršenim odabirom za takve aktivnosti. Jedna od stvari koju bih mogao prigovoriti ovoj igri je stroga linearnost i katkada nemaštovito izvedeno ograničenje kretanja, ali bilo bi nepravedno uzeti to za zlo žanru koji i jest pretežno linearan. Čini se da su mjeseci igranja Fallouta 3 u mome slučaju ostavili traga, pa sada od svake igre očekujem da mi dozvoli riješiti svaki problem na najmanje tri načina.
Isti tako, mogli bismo prigovoriti i relativnu kratkoću igre, ali i to je u skladu s očekivanjima za ovaj žanr. Na kraju krajeva, igra ima nekoliko načina da vas natjera da je prođete još koji put (potraga za skrivenim blagom, bonusi) ako vam Nathan Drake nije dovoljan razlog, a posve je izvjesno da je ovo serijal iz kojega ćemo dočekati još nekoliko nastavaka.
Vezano uz te nastavke, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves izlazi u Europi 16. listopada, a o samoj igri sam već pisao. Vjerujem kako će Nate na Himalajama u društvu nove pratilje (Claudia Black) biti još jedna uspješna formula. Jedino sam razočaran jer to znači da će on biti još deblje obučen, no kako ćemo sigurno dobiti i treći nastavak, možemo se uvijek nadati da će se raditi opet o kakvom vrućem dijelu zemaljske kugle, gdje će se naš junak morati presvući u nešto oskudnije. Ako se može Lara Croft na taj način eksploatirati, ne vidim zašto ne bi mogao i Nathan Drake.
Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop
The Attack of Killer Zombie Poodles!
I meant to do a short review of Dead Rising for the Wii, but in order to write anything even remotely objective, I would be have to be able to forget that I played the Xbox 360 original. This, however, has proven to be an impossible mission, since I kept comparing the two versions while playing, continuously cursing this remake.
Basically, I’ll repeat what almost everyone who reviewed Chop Till You Drop said before me – it works if you haven’t played the original, a number of problems and issues from the original have been fixed, but a lot of things were cut that weren’t supposed to be. Here are just some of my pet peeves.
Firstly, the Resident Evil 4 Wii engine used in the remake and the number of buttons on the Wiimote have imposed certain limitations, and because of that, there is no ‘jump’ button. In those rare instances when Frank needs to make a jump for it, the “A” button is used. In the original version, you had the option of wandering around the mall, getting away from the zombies by jumping into the fountains and pools, you were able to smash and enter through the shop windows or find hidden weapons on the awnings over the shop entrances. You can forget about this in the Wii version – shop windows are unbreakable, you can’t jump into the fountains or the grass patches, and just to make things a bit worse, some new barriers were inexplicably added, forcing you to walk a set path. Instead of a sandbox game, we’re getting a very linear experience.
Secondly, shopping around the mall is an important element for a game set in, well, a mall. In the Xbox version, Frank had a lot of clothing, footwear and accessories at his disposal, and although it was not crucial for game-play, it was a nice time-waster when you got tired of bludgeoning the undead. Two novelty items were announced for the Wii version (Bionic Commando kit and a bikini), but none of the press releases mentioned that most of other clothing, footwear and accessories will be cut.
To make the game wiieasy, the developers gave us more lawnmowers and bikes which enable safer passage outside, but they took away the car which was useful in the underground tunnels. And the whole underground tunnel bit (which had an insane number of zombies in the original) was magically transformed into a mini-game with a bunch of zombies who just stand around, do nothing to attack you and just wait for you to kill them off. And you also have to pay Otis to play the mini-game.
The worst idea, however, was taking away Frank’s ability to take photos. Basically, you have a photojournalist who carries his camera everywhere with him, even in states of utter undress, but the camera remains unused. The pre-rendered cut-scenes are another thing – they were pre-rendered in the Xbox 360 engine so you can easily see what the game was supposed to look like before it was ‘adapted’ for the Wii.
In Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop, there is less of everything, with the exception of zombie parrots, zombie poodles and explosive gas tanks, which are, for some reason, kept right in the middle of the mall. You need think carefully whether you consider that a sufficient trade-off.
Zombi-pudlice napadaju!
Namjera mi je bila napisati jednu kratku recenziju Dead Risinga za Wii, ali da bi ta recenzija bila iole objektivna, morao bih potpuno zaboraviti original za Xbox 360. To se pokazalo nemogućom misijom, jer sam cijelo vrijeme igranja Wii varijante uspoređivao i, iskreno, u sebi pljuvao ovu lošu, lošu preradu.
U principu, mogu vam reći ono što su rekli gotovo svi recenzenti igre – Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop funkcionira ako niste naviknuti na bolje, iz nje su izbacili dosta stvari koje su se spočitavale originalu, ali nestalo je i puno stvari koje nije trebalo dirati. Navest ću, po meni, najveće nedostatke.
Prvo, Resident Evil 4 Wii engine i smanjen broj tipaka na kontroleru uvjetovali su izostanak tipke za skakanje. Kada nešto već morate preskočiti, to se radi “A” tipkom, ali tih situacija ima puno manje. U originalnoj verziji mogli ste lutati kamo god ste htjeli, bježati od zombija u fontane, razbijati i ulaziti kroz izloge ili pronalaziti skriveno oružje na tendama iznad ulaza u prodavaonice. To ovdje možete zaboraviti, jer osim što su izlozi neprobojni i ne možete hodati fontanama ili zelenilom, postavljene su još i neke umjetne arhitektonske barijere i prisiljeni ste hodati putem koji vam je igra zadala, što sandbox original pretvara u jedno linearno iskustvo.
Drugo, važan element originalne igre bio je element kupovine, pa je Frank imao na izbor puno odjeće, obuće i (po)modnih detalja, s kojima ste se mogli zezati kad god ste se htjeli odmoriti od umlaćivanja zombija. Za Wii verziju najavili su dva nova odjevna predmeta (između ostalog i bikini), ali nisu u tim najavama spomenuli kako su ostatak odjeće, obuće i detalja osiromašili na tek mizeran dio stare ponude.
Kako bi olakšali igru, ponudili su puno više kosilica i bicikala za siguran prolaz vanjskim dijelom, ali je nestala mogućnost vožnje automobila kroz podzemne tunele. Taj dio s podzemnim tunelima (koji je u originalu imao sulud broj zombija) postao je mini-igrica sa šačicom živih mrtvaca koji stoje na mjestu, ne napadaju i samo čekaju da ih pokosite ili dokrajčite oružjem koje ste odabrali. Ahda, usput morate i platiti Otisu za to zadovoljstvo.
Vrhunac loših odluka u izradi ove varijante bilo je oduzimanje mogućnosti fotografiranja. Frank je sada foto-reporter koji svoj fotić nosi oko vrata u svim bizarnim i obnaženim situacijama, ali fotografirati ne možete. Cutscene su priča za sebe, jer su preuzete s Xbox varijante igre, pa možete zorno vidjeti kako bi igra trebala izgledati i uspoređivati to s onime što Wii može ispljunuti.
Igra je, dakle, znatno osiromašena i jedino čega ima više su zombi-papagaji, zombi-pudlice i eksplozivni plinski spremnici koji se iz neobjašnjivih razloga drže usred trgovačkog centra. Jesu li to dovoljne zamjene, odlučite sami.
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Bromance Mountain
Radnja akcionih filmova devedesetih, homoerotika Top Guna i grafika s početka tisućljeća ne moraju nužno biti loša stvar. Posebno ako se radi o video-igri u kojoj igrate kao pristojno razbacani, tetovirani, bradati bivši marinac s anime frizurom. Slijedi kratak osvrt na igru Disaster: Day of Crisis, nedavno objavljenoj na konzoli Nintendo Wii u Europi. Recenzija je u planu ako i kada dovršim igru.
Da pojasnim uvodnu rečenicu. Radnja ‘akcića’ je po tome što je glavni lik bivši marinac Raymond Bryce, koji napušta vojsku i postaje član službe spašavanja. Na jednoj akciji on i njegov partner zaglave u podnožju vulkana koji treba erumpirati. Partner mu govori da mu pripazi na sestru ‘ako se nešto dogodi’ i u skladu s naputcima iz knjige Pisanje akcijskih scenarija, poglavlju o najčešćim klišejima i pisanju plošnih kilova, Ray ga ne uspijeva spasiti. Godinu dana kasnije nakon tragične pogibije njegovog partnera, Ray je napustio službu spašavanja, ali zovu ga u pomoć kada izvjesna (zločinačka) organizacija otme jednog znanstvenika i sestru poginulog mu partnera koju on treba čuvati. I sad, on ih lovi, oni love njega, a u gradu požari, oluje, tsunamiji, vulkanske erupcije i sijaset drugih problema.
Grafika s početka tisućljeća možda je malčice paušalna i pretjerana ocjena, međutim govorimo i igri za Nintendo Wii, na kojemu ne možemo očekivati čuda. Slike u članku izvučene su iz cutscena, koje su unaprijed renderirane u igri, ali koristeći originalni engine igre. U prijevodu – sama igra izgleda slično ovome, samo malo ružnije.
Disaster: Day of Crisis razvio je japanski studio Monolith Soft, poznat po serijalu Xenosaga. Japanski developeri imaju povijest produkcije igara i interaktivnih romana sa slučajnim ili namjernim homoerotskim elementima (npr. Junjou Romanchika, prema istoimenoj yaoi mangi/animeu), pa nije uopće čudno da su takvi elementi prisutni i u ovakvoj avanturi. Iz cheesy dijaloga da se iščitati prava romansa, ukoliko vas to zabavlja. A mene, očito, zabavlja.
U nastavku donosim nekoliko ilustriranih dijaloga, izvučenih iz konteksta kako bih bolje dokazao poantu.
Primjer prvi: Ray bodri jednoga tipa kojeg spašavaju dok ga izvlače helikopterom.
RAY: Slušaj, neću dozvoliti da padnete, u redu? Čak i da krenete padati, skočio bih i ulovio vas, bez brige.
[…]
STEVE: “Skočio bih i ulovio vas?” To je tako slatko! Bit ćeš tom tipu simpatija za Valentinovo, Ray.
Ray: Je, pravi sam sretnik, ne?
Primjer drugi: Helikopter je srušen i Steve tješi Raya.
RAY: Nismo ih mogli spasiti. Svi ti ljudi u helikopteru, oni su… Dovraga!
STEVE: Partneru, moraš to zaboraviti. Ti nisi superjunak. Ne možeš sve spasiti.
Primjer treći: Ozlijeđeni Steve moli Raya za uslugu.
STEVE: Ray, učini nešto za mene. Ako se ne izvučem, daj ovo mojoj sestrici. Nešto po čemu će me se sjećati.
RAY: Hej, prestani tako govoriti-
STEVE: Za svaki slučaj, Ray, molim te! Slušaj, ona nema druge obitelji osim mene. Ako se bilo što dogodi, želim da je čuvaš, u redu? Čak i ako ćeš joj samo pričati naše glupe nogometne priče iz srednje škole.
RAY: Razlog više da preživiš. Uostalom, misliš da bi stvarno željela čuti kako smo…
RAY: Nisam ni mislio.
Detalje o tome što su njih dvojica radili zajedno u srednjoj školi ostat će vječni misterij…
Za kraj članka, cijeli uvodni dio igre, u kojemu možete sve ovo pogledati u kontekstu i zaključiti koliko su muškoljubavni elementi u igri zapravo očiti. Isječak traje nešto ispod 10 minuta i sadrži moguće spoilere, ukoliko spoilerom smatrate nešto što saznate u prvih 15 minuta filma.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbYZlZN1a2U&w=425&h=344
Bromance Mountain
Cheap B-production action movie script, homoerotic subtext worthy of Top Gun and graphics quality from the turn of the century needn’t necessarily make a bad combination. Especially if it’s a video game which lets you play as a nicely buff, tattoed, bearded ex-marine with anime hair. This is a short preview of Disaster: Day of Crisis, a video game recently published on Nintendo Wii in Europe and Japan. I plan on doing a full review if and when I finish the game.
Allow me to explain. The B-action-movie-script features Raymond Bryce, ex-marine who leaves the military to work for the International Rescue Team, as the main character. During one mission, Ray and his partner get stuck at the foot of a volcano about to erupt. His partner Steve asks him to look after his sister ‘if something happens’, and in accordance to the rules from the Action Script Cliché And One-Dimensional Character Handbook, Ray fails to save his life. A year later after his partner’s tragic death, Ray is no longer a member of the rescue team, but he is called in when a certain (crime) organization kindaps a scientist and his former partner’s sister. So he is after them, they are after him, and the city is raging with fires, storms, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and a multitude of other disasters.
The turn-of-the-century graphics are maybe an overstatement, but this is a game on the Nintendo Wii, so we can’t expect miracles. The screenshots in this article are taken out of cutscenes, which, although pre-rendered, were done using the game engine. This basically means that the game looks something like this, only slighty worse.
Disaster: Day of Crisis was developed by the Japanese company Monolith Soft, known for Xenosaga. Japanese developers have a history of producing video games and interactive novels with blatant or hidden homoerotic content (e.g. Junjou Romanchika, based on an eponymous yaoi manga/anime), so it’s no wonder that such elements can be found in an adventure game such as this. The cheesy dialogues hide a true bromance, if one is idle enough to look for it. And I’m clearly both idle enough and amused enough by it.
Let us look at several illustrated dialogues from the game, blatantly taken out of context to better prove a point.
Ex. 1: Ray is cheering up a guy he is rescuing, and who’s about to be flown out on a chopper.
RAY: Listen, I’m not gonna let you fall, okay? And even if you did fall, I’d jump out there and catch you, no sweat.
[…]
STEVE: “Jump out there and catch you?” Oooh, that is so sweet! You’re gonna be that guy’s valentine, Ray.
Ray: Yeah, lucky me, huh?
Ex. 2: The helicopter was destroyed, and Steve is trying to console Ray.
RAY: We couldn’t save them. All those people on the helicopter, they’re… Dammit!
STEVE: You gotta let it go, partner. You aren’t a superhero. You can’t save everyone.
Ex. 3: Injured Steve is asking Ray to do him a favour.
STEVE: Hey, Ray. I want you to do something for me. If I don’t make it, give this to my little sister. Something for her to remember me by.
RAY: Hey, quit talking like that-
STEVE: Just in case, Ray, please! Listen, I’m all the family she’s got left. If anything happens, I want you to look after her, okay? Even if it’s just to tell her our stupid high school football stories.
RAY: All the more reason for you to survive. Besides, does she really want to hear about the time we…
RAY: I didn’t think so.
Details on what exactly those two did together in high school will remain a mystery forever…
Finally, here’s the entire prologue to the game, where you can see the whole thing in context and find out how obvious the manlove in the game is, if any. The clip is little short of ten minutes long, and may contain spoilers, if you consider something you see in the first 15 minutes of a film a spoiler.
Mass Effect (2008)
Lesbian space orgies
So yes, the subhead is a dirty lie, but when Bioware released Mass Effect for Xbox 360 in October 2007, the media quickly pounced on the horrible controversy – the possibility of inter-species lesbian sex in the game. The same thing happened when the game was re-released for the PC in May 2008. But we’ll get to that.
Mass Effect is an RPG adventure that puts you in the role of Commander Shepard, a hardened soldier whose first name, gender, physical appearance, and background are up to the player to decide. The game offers two default profiles with appropriate physical features and a generic name – John for the male and Jane for the female version. You can also fully customize the characters physical features and traits, but since in most cases with male characters you get an ugly big guy a mother couldn’t like, for starters I’d recommend you go for the default Shepard, because the developers played it safe and modelled him after the Dutch model Mark Vanderloo.
As it usually happens in epic space operas, Shepard has the future of the entire galaxy in his hands. The future depends on his decisions, and it is up to the player to make those decisions – usually in the form of branching dialogue, which usually offers at least two standard options, one leading to the “dark side” (only they call it Renegade) and one leading to the light side (Paragon). Dueling Analogs show us the way it works:
Same as with previous Bioware RPG’s (Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic – KoTOR, Jade Empire), the basic story is beefed up with a bunch of side missions which you may choose to ignore, but you’ll probably want to do them to find out more about the characters or up your character’s abilities. With all of that, we’re talking a minimum of 20 hours of gameplay if you’re fairly thorough. The only problem with side-missions is that they’re almost identical, and after you land your MAKO vehicle on the planet (which has a “theme” – snow, red dust, green plants, monkey-like creatures), survey ore and heavy metals, pick up some weapons from a downed capsule and investigate anomalies, you have to get to the base/lab/camp and kill/save whoever or whatever you find there. There is just one possible layout of an underground base, and one layout of a ground base – interior decoration is the only thing that makes them different – so after five such missions, you’ll get a strong sense of deja-vu.
Voice actors in the game will probably sound familiar, in part from earlier (Bioware) titles – Jennifer Hale (female Shepard) is known for her roles of Samus Aran in the Metroid Prime series and Bastila Shan in KoTOR, Raphael Sbarge (Alenko) voiced the KoTOR hunk Carthu Onassi, Seth Green’s Joker will be all to familiar, as well as Martina Sirtis (Benezia).
Main missions are very detailed and offer varied environments (ranging from underground tunnels on a frozen planet to lush tropical surroundings). The main and side-quests usually have several solutions which give you different amounts of experience points, credits or boost your Renegade/Paragon status. The game ran well on my computer (Athlon X2 4200+, 2 GB of RAM-a, GeForce 8800 GS), at 1280×1024 with all graphics settings set to the max, the animations are smooth and well motion-capped, with the exception of lip-sync which is just dreadful.
And now, let’s talk about love. Mass Effect enables your character to get romantically involved with other characters, so Sheppard can break military regulations by hooking up with the human crew-member of the opposite sex or the asari Liara T’Soni who, like all other asari, is of undetermined gender, but appears female.
Allow me to use a bunch of stereotypes to predict several scenarios which might happen with Mass Effect: .
Scenario #1: if you’re a straight guy, you’ll probably play as male Shepard, because the game itself expects you to see him as your alter ego, so you’ll identify with him quite easily. In this case, you’ll probably make out with Ashley [Ashley? Really? Awesome name. Why not Kelly?], and you might also hook up with the Asari escort and Liara T’Soni, in case blue alien chicks turn you on.
Scenario #2: if you’re a girl, you’ll probably play as female Shepard, because she’s a strong female warrior-type who takes shit from no one (for similar pop-culture examples, see Ellen Ripley, Aeryn Sun or Kara Thrace). In this particular case, you’ll probably get Shepard involved with Kaidan Alenko, but if you’re the type of person who can watch “The L Word” without flinching, you might take something more from the asari escort than just the gift of words, or become romantic with Liara T’Soni.
Scenario #3: if you’re lesbian, you’ll probably play as female Shepard for reasons similar to those from the previous scenario. It’s just that you’ll probably woo the asaris, which makes sense.
Scenario #4: if you’re a teenager or an average heterosexual who gets turned on by “lezzers” but the thought of two men together turns his stomach and makes him violent, after you’ve gone through Scenario #1, you’ll probably restart the game as female Shepard so you could nail the asaris and get a peek at some lesbian action, some blue ass and a boob or two.
Scenario #5: if you’re a gay gamer, then you’re pretty much screwed, but that’s nothing new. You’ll play as male Shepard because he looks like the Dutch model Mark Vanderloo, he’s awfully handsome and you want to identify with him… And ogle him for 20 hours. Of course, your Shepard won’t be really interested in Ashley, so you’ll chase her away immediately, you’ll take cold hard cash from the asari escort, you simply don’t trust Liara T’Soni because you know her family history, so all you can do is drag Kaidan Alenko with you to all the missions, talk to him every chance you get, get to know his history, heroically save his life, and in return, he’ll tell you that he has the hots for Liara. Dear developers, thanks for nothing.
It’s usually the female players who get the rough end and who get discriminated by the video game industry, because most of the games of this genre are targeted towards your average gamer who’s in his late twenties or early thirties, and male (with the exception of “girl” games, featuring what the industry thinks girls want – strategies, simulations, lovely things, ponies, etc). A female player would hardly identify with a huge guy who seduces women and waves his enormous gun around. Gay gamers have a slight advantage here, because they can and want to identify with the aforementioned type, and from time to time they get thrown a bone in the form of video game man-love, but you can count those games using fingers of a sawmill worker’s hand.
So it remains unclear, since the game is already rated M and includes lesbionics, why male Shepard can’t enter a relationship with Alenko, when Jade Empire had a similar option. We can only hope that people in charge will find the balls to allow male Shepard to find comfort and support in a man’s firm embrace in the following episodes of the Mass Effect trilogy.
Lezbijske orgije u svemiru
Jest, lažem ko pseto u podnaslovu, ali kada je Bioware objavio Mass Effect za Xbox360 u listopadu 2007. godine, američki mediji očekivano su se pozabavili strašnom kontroverzom – mogućnošću međuvrsnog lezbijskog seksa. Isto se ponovilo kada je u svibnju 2008. izašla PC verzija koju recenziram. Ali o tom potom. Članak sam morao pisati dvaput jer je Google Docs iz čista mira odlučio progutati pola teksta. Rekonstruirao sam koliko sam mogao.
Mass Effect je RPG avantura koja vas stavlja u ulogu kapetana fregate Sheparda, prekaljene vojničine, čiji su spol, izgled, ime i prošlost ostavljeni na izbor igraču. Ponuđena su dva difoltna profila s pripadajućim izgledom i imenom – John ako odaberete muški lik i Jane ako vam se više sviđaju cure. Postoji mogućnost i potpune prilagodbe izgleda i osobina lika, ali kako u većini tih slučajeva dobijete mrcinu koju ni rođena mater ne bi mogla voljeti, za početak preporučam difoltnog Sheparda jer su tu developeri igrali na sigurno i modelirali mušku verziju po nizozemskom fotomodelu Marku Vanderloou.
Kako to obično biva u epskim svemirskim operama, Shepard na svojim plećima nosi budućnost cijele galaktike, koja ovisi o njegovim odlukama, a igrač mora donijeti te odluke – najčešće su u granajućem dijalogu ponuđene dvije standardne mogućnosti, jedna darksiderska (samo se to ovdje zove Renegade) i jedna lightsiderska (Paragon). Dueling Analogs su to lijepo iskarikirali (iako bi bilo lijepo da igra funkcionira na ovaj način):
Kao i kod prethodnih Biowareovih RPG-ova (Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic – KoTOR, Jade Empire), osnovna priča pojačana je gomilom neobveznih zadataka koje možete ignorirati, ali ćete ih vjerojatno htjeti odraditi zbog boljeg uvida u priču i pojačavanja sposobnosti likova. Uz sve to, radi se o nekih dvadesetak sati igre ako poželite biti temeljiti. Jedini problem s neobveznim misijama je to što su identične i nakon što sletite terenskim vozilom na planet (koji se razlikuje samo po količini planina i “temi” – snijeg, crvena prašina, zeleno raslinje, majmunoliki stvorovi), istražite rudače i teške metale, pokupite nešto oružja sa srušene kapsule i istražite anomalije, morate otići do baze/laboratorija/kampa, te pobiti ili spasiti koga god tamo nađete. Postoji samo jedan mogući tlocrt podzemne baze i jedan mogući tlocrt nadzemne – razlikuju se samo po unutrašnjem uređenju – i nakon pet takvih misija, dobit ćete snažan osjećaj deja-vua.
Glasovi glumaca u igri vjerojatno će vam biti poznati, dijelom i iz ranijih (Biowareovih) igara – Jennifer Hale (Shepardica) poznata je po ulozi Samus Aran iz Metroid Prime serijala, kao i Bastile Shan (KoTOR), Raphael Sbarge (Alenko) dao je glas KoTOR-ovskom komadu Carthu Onassiju, a Joker Seth Greena bit će vam i više no prepoznatljiv, kao i Martina Sirtis (Benezia).
Glavni zadaci detaljno su razrađeni i nude različite okoliše (od podzemnih tunela na smrznutom planetu do prekrasnog tropskog krajolika) i dovoljan broj (ne)obveznih misija koje možete riješiti na više načina i tako zaraditi više ili manje iskustvenih bodova, kredita ili pojačati svoj Renegade/Paragon status. Na mom računalu (Athlon X2 4200+, 2 GB RAM-a, GeForce 8800 GS), igra je izvrsno radila na 1280×1024 sa svim grafičkim postavkama na maksimumu, animacije su glatke i kvalitetno izvedene motion captureom s izuzetkom animacija usta koje su očajne.
A sada, jebiga, ljubav. Kao i kod prethodnih Biowareovih igara, i u Mass Effectu možete ulaziti u romantične veze s drugim likovima, odnosno Sheppard(ica) se može, protivno vojnim propisima, spanđati sa zemaljskim članom svoje posade suprotnog spola ili asarijankom Liarom T’Soni koja, kao i ostali asarijanci, nije određenoga spola, ali ima ženska fizička obilježja.
Dozvolite mi sada da pribjegnem seriji stereotipa kako bih pretpostavio nekoliko scenarija koji će se u ovome slučaju odigrati.
Scenarij 1: ako ste hetero tip, igrat ćete vjerojatno kao Shepard, jer i sama je igra predvidjela da Shepard bude vaš alter ego, pa ćete se lako poistovijetiti s njim. U tom slučaju, vjerojatno ćete smotati Ashley [zbilja, Ashley? Kakvo je to ime? Zašto ne Kelly?], a možda se odlučite uzeti nešto više od asarijanske eskort-dame i Liare T’Soni, ovisno o tome pale li vas plave izvanzemaljke.
Scenarij 2: ako ste cura, vjerojatno ćete zaigrati kao Shepardica, jer se radi o pozitivnom ženskom liku ratnice koje se ne da zajebavati (za ostale primjere u pop-kulturi vidi Ellen Ripley, Aeryn Sun ili Kara Thrace). U tom slučaju, vjerojatno ćete se odlučiti na romantičnu vezu s Kaidanom Alenkom, ali ako ste tip osobe koja bez većeg sablažnjavanja gleda “The L Word”, možda od asarijanske eskort-dame uzmete nešto više doli dara riječi, ili se pak zbližite s Liarom T’Soni.
Scenarij 3: ako ste lezbijka, vjerojatno ćete igrati kao Shepardica iz sličnih razloga kao u prethodnom primjeru. Jedino što će Shepardica ponajviše hofirati s asarijankama. I to je posve logično.
Scenarij 4: ako ste nedojebeno čeljade, tinejdžer ili prosječna heteroseksualčina koja se “pali na lezbe”, ali mu pomisao o dva muškarca zajedno okreće želudac i tjera ga na nasilje, nakon što odradite scenarij 1, ponovit ćete igru i kao Shepardica, sve kako biste mogli puknuti asarijanke i vidjeti malo lezbijske akcije, nešto plave guzice i pokoju sisu iz profila.
Scenarij 5: ako ste gej gejmer, onda ste u ovome slučaju, kao i mnogo slučajeva prije toga, jebena stranka. Igrat ćete Sheparda, jer izgleda kao nizozemski fotomodel Mark Vanderloo, užasno je zgodan i nije vam problem poistovjetiti se s njime. I gledati ga 20 sati. Dakako, Ashley vašeg Sheparda ni najmanje ne zanima pa ćete je glatko odjebati, od asarijanske eskort-dame uzet ćete lovu, Liari T’Soni jednostavno ne vjerujete jer znate njenu obiteljsku povijest, tako da vam jedino preostaje vucarati Kaidana Alenka sa sobom na sve misije, razgovarati s njim svakom prilikom koju ulovite, saznati cijelu njegovu povijest, junački ga spasiti, a on će vam zauzvrat u povjerenju reći kako se pali na Liaru. E, pa puno vam hvala, developeri.
Obično su igračice te koje najviše ispaštaju i bivaju diskriminirane od strane industrije videoigara, jer se većina igara ove vrste i dalje radi za prosječnog gejmera koji je u svojim poznim dvadesetima i muško (iz ovoga isključujem “ženske” igre, odnosno igre s elementima za koje industrija misli da žene vole – strategije, simulacije, lijepe sladunjave stvari, poniji i slične gadarije). Normalno je da će se ženskoj osobi biti teško poistovijetiti s mrgom od preko sto kila koja zavodi žene i lamata naokolo svojim golemim oružjem. Gej gejmeri su ovdje u maloj prednosti, jer se mogu i žele poistovjećivati s naprijed spomenutima, a povremeno im se baci i kost u obliku mogućnosti muške ljubavi, iako se takve igre mogu izbrojati na prste jedne ruke radnika u pilani.
Iz svega ovoga ostaje nejasno zašto, kada je igra već namijenjena punoljetnim osobama i kad već petljaju s lezbijskim elementima, nisu omogućili Shepardu romantičnu vezu s Alenkom, kada je Biowareovo prošlo veliko ostvarenje Jade Empire to omogućavalo. Možemo se tek nadati da će odgovorni pronaći negdje muda i u preostala dva nastavka trilogije Mass Effect dati priliku Shepardu da pronađe utjehu i potporu u čvrstom muškom naručju.
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
A hard man is good to find…
You’ll probably wonder why I insist on recommending action video games which are several years old. Well, the geek in me my geekiness is to blame, coupled with the fact that I’ve moved on from my “movie” phase into a gaming phase. Also, the reason also lies in the fact that Xbox 360 games are graphically impressive (well, most of them), but since my console RRoD-ed on me after seven games, you’ll be reading about those for a while.
Double Agent is my first Splinter Cell game I had the patience to finish, even though real Splinter Cell will surely try to convince me that this is a major flaw and that I should have first finished Pandora Tomorrow, but the fact is I chose this one because it was the prettiest one 🙂
The game was published on all platforms, but the basic storyline is the only thing in common to all of them – gameplay and missions set for Sam Fisher in the X360/PS3/PC, and Xbox/PS2/Wii versions are completely different. Formerly-next-gen-now-current-gen version for XBOX360/PS3/PC introduced major changes compared to previous games from the franchise in regards to the gameplay mechanics – the HUD is gone, there is just a green/yellow/red indicator on Sam’s back telling you if you’re fucked and just how much. Apart from that, the environments in the missions are huge, there is a lot to explore, walk around and browse, starting from the HQ of the terrorist organization Fisher infiltrates, with several floors, detailed environments and NPC’s, moving on to a snow-covered tanker in the Sea of Okhotsk, down to a luxurious cruise ship The Cozumel. On the other hand, the XBOX variety is standard, follows the same story, but concentrates on different events. Even though this is one of the most advanced games for Microsoft’s last generation console, the environments seem quite small compared to those on the 360. Of course, graphics are not everything, the story and the gameplay are equally important, and those are similar in both version of the game.
When I first started playing, Sam Fisher was not really interesting to me, but a few hours into the game, I started to like the character. And why wouldn’t I – agile, cool, silent, brooding and handsome, daddy-type-of-guy with a dark past. I’m sure I wouldn’t throw him out of my bed for eating crackers and leaving a mess.
In any case, you can read proper reviews on the linked pages, and all I can offer with that is a recommendation to give this videogame a shot because you just might get a new virtual, CGI hunk in your life.
I will conclude this blatant gay fanboyism with a glance into the future – there, we can look forward to the fifth installment in the franchise, entitled Conviction, which promises a renegade, rough, unshaven Fisher with emo hair. Six years of shaving his head and wearing the same identical gear is quite enough, and the authors have decided that it’s time for a change. Let’s just hope they stick to their original ideas. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction will be out on the PC and XBOX 360 when it’s out, apparently, because there have already been two major delays (initial release date was November 2007). According to the latest rumours, it seems we will have to wait until 2009. Let’s just hope it’s worth it.
A hard man is good to find…
Sigurno ćete se zapitati zašto inzistiram na preporukama nekoliko godina starih akcijskih igara. E, pa za to je kriv geek u meni kriva moja gikovština i činjenica da sam trenutno iz filmske prešao u igraću fazu. Također, to je djelomično i zato što su igre za Xbox 360 grafički impresivne (barem dobar dio njih), ali kako mi je konzola krepala vrlo brzo, još ćete neko vrijeme čitati o igrama koje sam uspio odigrati.
Double Agent je prva igra iz Splinter Cell serijala koju sam prošao do kraja, iako će me pravi Splinter Cell fanovi jamačno uvjeravati kako je to strašan propust i kako sam prvo trebao proći barem Pandoru Tomorrow, ali činjenica je da sam se ovoga nastavka dohvatio jer je vizualno najatraktivniji.
Igra je izašla na svim mogućim platformama, no osnovna priča igre jedino je što te verzije dijele – način igre i misije kroz koje Sam Fisher prolazi u X360/PS3/PC, odnosno Xbox/PS2/Wii varijanti posve su različite. Prije-next-gen-sada-current-gen varijanta za XBOX360/PS3/PC donijela je velike promjene u odnosu na prethodne igre iz franšize vezano uz mehaniku igre, nema više HUD-a u donjem uglu ekrana, imate samo indikator zeleno/žuto/crveno na Samovim leđima koji vam kazuje jeste li najebali i koliko. Osim toga, okolina u misijama je ogromna, ima mnogo toga za istražiti, pregledati i prehodati, od sjedišta terorističke organizacije koju Fisher inflitrira s njezinih nekoliko katova, detaljno uređenih prostora i NPC-ova, preko tankera prekrivenog snijegom u Okhotskom moru do raskošno i skupo uređenog broda za krstarenje Cozumel. Standardna procedura u igri bila mi je pronjuškati prvo cijeli okoliš, a tek onda napraviti što trebam. S druge strane, varijanta za stari XBOX drži se klasike, slijedi istu priču, ali se usredotočuje na druge događaje. Iako je to jedna od grafički najnaprednijih igara za staru Microsoftovu konzolu (i jedna od posljednih objavljenih), okoline u usporedbi s 360 verzijom djeluju znatno skučenije i jednostavnije. Naravno, nije u grafici sve, važni su i priča i igrivost, a to dvoje je podjednako u obje generacije igre.
U samome startu, kada sam se dohvatio igre Sam Fisher mi nije bio previše drag, ali nakon nekoliko sati uz igru naviknuo sam se na njega i zavolio ga. A zašto i ne bih – spretan, kul, šutljiv, mrk i zgodan, tatica-tip s mračnom prošlošću. Vjerojatno ga ne bih istjerao iz kreveta jer mrvi krekere.
Bilo kako bilo, prave i ozbiljne recenzije na igru sam vam linkao, a povrh toga nudim vam samo preporuku dobre igre i još jednog virtualnog, računalno generiranog komada.
Ovo obožavanje lika i djela Sama Fishera zaključit ću pogledom u budućnost – tamo nas čeka sljedeći, peti nastavak serijala naslovljen Conviction, koji nam po najavama donosi odmetnutoga, čupavijeg, neobrijanijeg Fishera u civilu s emo-frizurom. Šest godina iste obrijane glave i identične opreme je sasvim dovoljno i autori su dobro zaključili da je vrijeme za promjenu. Nadam se samo da će ostati dosljedni inicijalnim idejama. Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction izaći će za PC i XBOX360 kad izađe, po svemu sudeći, jer je igra već dvaput odgođena (trebala je biti objavljena još u studenom 2007). Prema najnovijim glasinama, izgleda da ćemo je morati čekati do 2009. Valjda će se čekanje isplatiti.
Dead Rising
Hot Pixels
Dead Rising is a video game from 2006, published exclusively for Xbox 360 game console published for XBOX 360, produced by the Japanese company Capcom. In July 2008 Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu announced a Nintendo Wii port of the game, which is supposed to be published in late 2008.
Main character of Dead Rising is Frank West, a photojournalist who is looking for a major story and gets stuck in the town of Willamette, inside a zombie-infested shopping mall (just like Romero’s Dawn of the Dead). Frank has to fend off zombie attacks, save the survivors, fight raging psychopats, all in an attempt to find out who or what turned the people into zombies.
Dear Rising is classified as a 3rd person action adventure with sandbox elements – you command Frank, investigate the shopping mall, do various tasks, solve obligatory and optional missions. Through all that, Frank has to fight huge groups of zombies, using any means or weapons available in the mall and the shops – baseball bats, flower pots, benches, but also all types of hunting, fishing and other equipment.
The authors have put in a lot of work into designing the mall, so Frank can enter each store and use whatever is on offer – dress up into various types of men’s, women’s or children’s clothing, change his hairstyle or hair colour, choose the right sunglasses, shoes or novelty costumes.
And now, since I’ve told you what it’s all about, let’s move on to the main feature and explains why the “hot pixels” subtitle, an essay on the topic “Why I bought an Xbox 360 over a zombie game.”
Keiji Inafune, Dead Rising producer, wanted to make Frank West different from your regular, run-of-the-mill JRPG character (i.e. and androgenous-looking person with anime hair), he wanted to give Frank an “average” look. How well he succeeded in this, from our western point of view, remains open to debate, since Frank is sort of ‘average’, but I just wish I’d been at a meeting where developers discussed whether to allow gamers to undress Frank, whether he should be buff or not, or if he should have a hairy chest. And I also wonder if the developers had the broader target audience in mind (the gayer target audience) in mind, since they readily accepted a well-designed hunk such as Frank West.
So, if you decide to play the game because of the piece of male totty serving as the main character (like I did), you will probably want to know how you can a) undress Frank or b) if it’s even worth trying. These are easy questions to answer. Firstly, you can partially undress Frank by chosing the right clothes – feel free to experiment here.
Frank looking sporty
You can get your Frank in boxer-shorts by intentionally allowing some mad cultists to kidnap him, tie him down and strip him, or you can do the same with special forces soldier boys who come to clean up the mall from zombies (it makes sense for them to take your weapons away – why they leave you in shorts, I have no idea, but whatever makes them happy).
Frank West in boxer shorts
This is what it looks like when the naughty special forces guys strip you down into your undies and tie you to their chopper.
Now that we’ve mentioned the good sides, a few words on the bad ones.
The game is extremely difficult and you have to accept the fact that you’ll do a lot of parts over and over again, mostly because of a sadistic save system – in order to save your game, you have to fight hundreds of zombies and go to the bathroom; there are only few of those, and not in all parts of the mall. If you get killed, you can choose between loading the last saved position (which may have been hours ago) or starting the game over (yes, from the beginning) whilst keeping your experience points and upgrades. This weird save system and tiny on-screen fonts which make the reading on a regular TV almost impossible, are the basic downsides of an otherwise good game.
The difficulty of the game also lies in its time limitation – Frank has to survive three days (six hours real time) because a chopper is picking him up, regardless if he managed to do all the missions or not, so you will often find yourself running from mission to mission in order to finish it all on time.
If you don’t have an Xbox 360, and really want to see Frank West in undies action, there is a solution for the PC or PlayStation3 in the form of Lost Planet: Colonies Edition, another game by Capcom, where you can play as Frank West in the multiplayer mode. On an ice-planet.
The cold doesn't seem to bother Frank
Hot Pixels
Dead Rising je video igra iz 2006. godine, objavljena isključivo za Xbox 360 igraću konzolu objavljena na XBOX 360 igraćoj konzoli, u produkciji japanske kompanije Capcom. U srpnju 2008. japanski je časopis Famitsu najavio Nintendo Wii port igre, ali bez datuma izlaska.
Glavni lik igre Dead Rising je fotoreporter Frank West, koji u svojoj potrazi za velikom pričom u gradiću Willametteu zaglavi u trgovačkom centru punom zombija (točno kao Romerova Zora živih mrtvaca). Frank se mora braniti od napada zombija, spašavati preživjele i izbjegavati poremećene psihopate sve u pokušaju da sazna što je ljude pretvorilo u zombije.
Dead Rising se klasificira kao akcijska avantura u trećem licu sa sandbox elementima, dakle upravljate Frankom, istražujete trgovački centar, obavljate zadatke, rješavate obavezne i izborne misije. Frank se putem mora boriti s mnoštvom zombija, koristeći bilo koje oružje ili oruđe koje mu je na raspolaganju u trgovačkom centru i prodavaonicama – baseball palice, žardinjere, klupe, ali i sve vrste vrtne, lovačke i ine opreme.
Autori su posebnu pažnju posvetili dizajniranju trgovačkog centra, tako da Frank može ući u svaki od njih i iskoristiti što se nudi – preodjenuti se u raznorazne komade muške, ženske ili dječje odjeće, promijeniti frizuru ili boju kose, odabrati sunčane naočale, cipele ili pak zabavne kostime.
I nakon što smo odradili tehnički dio recenzije, krenimo na main feature odnosno objašnjenje zašto “hot pixels” odnosno sastavak na temu “Zašto sam kupio Xbox 360 zbog igre o zombijima”.
Keiji Inafune, producent Dead Risinga htio je da glavni lik, Frank West, ne bude kao uobičajeni glavni likovi tipični za japanske igre (tj. androgene spodobe s anime-frizurama), htio je je da Frank izgleda “prosječno”. Sad, koliko je u tome uspio s našeg zapadnjačkog gledišta, ostaje predmet rasprave, jer Frank ima nekakav ‘prosječni’ štih, ali stvarno me zanima kako je izgledao sastanak na kojemu se raspravilo i hoće li se omogućiti Frankovo razodijevanje, koliko treba biti nabildan i smije li, ili mora, imati dlakava prsa. I naravno, jesu li developeri u tom slučaju imali na umu i proširenu ciljnu publiku, koja je vrlo rado prihvatila odlično dizajniranog komada kakav je Frank West.
Dakle, ukoliko se budete uhvatili igre zbog komada u naslovnoj ulozi (kao što sam ja učinio), vjerojatno će vas zanimati a) kako razodjenuti Franka i b) isplati li se to uopće pokušavati. Na ta pitanja je lako odgovoriti. Prvo, Franka možete djelomično razodjenuti pravim odabirom odjeće – to vam ostavljam na eksperimentiranje.
Frank u sportskom izdanju
Franka u boksericama možete dobiti tako da namjerno pustite ludim članovima nekakvog kulta da vas otmu, skinu i svežu ili isto to učinite s vojnicima koji dođu očistiti trgovački centar od zombija (logično je da će vam vojnici oduzeti oružje; nešto je manje logično da će vas ostaviti u gaćama, ali svakome njegovo veselje).
Frank West u boksama
I za kraj, kako to izgleda kada vas zločesti vojnici otmu, skinu do gaća i privežu na svoj helikopter.
Nakon što smo odradili dobre strane, riječ-dvije o lošima.
Igra nije laka i morate se pomiriti da ćete neke dijelove morati nekoliko puta ponavljati, ponajprije zbog načina snimanja igre koji je vrlo sadistički izveden – da biste snimili igru, morate se boriti s morem zombija i otići u WC, kojih ima tek nekoliko i ne u svim dijelovima trgovačkog centra. Ukoliko vas zombiji ubiju, što se često događa, možete birati između učitavanja zadnje usnimljene pozicije (koju ste možda napravili prije sat-dva) ili vraćanja igre na početak (da, POČETAK) uz zadržavanje zarađenih experience points i upgradeova. Ovaj način snimanja igre, tipičan za japansku produkciju, te presitan font za čitanje komunikacije s likovima koji vam zadaju zadatke ukoliko igru ne igrate na monitoru ili plazmi koja podržava rezoluciju 720p, osnovni su nedostatci inače izvrsne igre.
Težina igre se očituje i u vremenskom ograničenju – Frank mora preživjeti tri dana (6 sati u stvarnom vremenu), jer helikopter dolazi po njega, riješio on glavne zadatke ili ne, tako da ćete se često naći u situaciji da trčite od zadatka do zadatka kako bi sve stigli pozavršavati na vrijeme.
Ukoliko nemate pri ruci Xbox360, a ipak želite vidjeti Franka Westa u gaćama akciji, soluciju za PC ili PlayStation3 imate u igri Lost Planet: Colonies Edition, još jednom Capcomovom izdanju, koja vam među dostupnim likovima u multiplayeru nudi i Franka Westa. Na ledenom planetu.
Čini se da hladnoća Franku ne smeta.
ggeek.net Archive - GayGeek’s Stuff for Geeks 