lost in games

When asked by people why do I game, my usual and simple (easy) answer is because they are fun. Playing videogames however can be a turbulent ride and not always of the fun kind.

A couple of days ago, i got stuck at Super Mario Galaxy and had to repeat the same planet 3-4 times. At some point, right before another imminent death, i yelled at the TV, “PETAKTOU MALAKA!” (JUMP YOU A…….LE). I am not sure if videogames’ most iconic character heard me but he still fell to his inevitable death.

With Battlefield: Bad Company, i kept cursing the developers whenever i had to find a RPG to destroy a tank, whilst watching my Explosives expert squadmate with a rocket launcher on his back, moving around and doing absolutely nothing to help. The “EN PELLOI RE” (THEY ARE CRAZY) screams were probably heard by my neighbours of the floor we share.

Before that i played Demon’s Souls where the recipient of my abuse was actually me. “EIMAI GAROS”, “EN EXW YPOTHESI” (I AM A DONKEY/IDIOT, I DON’T HAVE A CLUE) were some of the insults that crashed my confidence even more alongside the never ending deaths in the game.

This behaviour and sentiment really does go back to my childhood gaming days with games like Syndicate Wars and Cannon Fodder. Abuse, anger, screaming and swearing while playing videogames.

Am i alone in this? What about you? Ever had this experience and if yes why do you keep putting yourself through it?

By Mitch Krpata at Insult SwordFighting - Link

“Okay, I’m exaggerating, but when I thought I lost my Far Cry 2 saves I really was ready to throw the whole thing out the window. I put more effort into playing that game than getting my college degree.”

Fantastic tension and a lot of yelling in co-op.

It was one hell of a weekend gaming wise. It started off with a marathon local multiplayer session of Castle Crashers (XBLA) and was followed by Far Cry 2 and Halo Wars on Saturday and Sunday. I plan to write a few more things in detail about all three games soon.

Flower is one of those experiences i never want them to end. I need to savour every second and prolong it for as much as possible. I don’t want to see any more today. I want to save some for tomorrow and the day after that. Besides, i can still dream and tomorrow i will be dreaming of Flower until it’s that time again to live it.

What would a new year be without some resolutions and set ourselves some targets. Still have not decided my resolutions with regards to life in general but guess what. I have already made up my mind about the ones which relate to my gaming. Without further ado, here they are.

1. Write 3 great (LOL!) articles a month. Currently i am writing some stuff on a regular basis but most are just writing thoughts as they come to me. My aim is write some articles of proper length and and quality (again LOL!) beginning from February.

2. Play 2 great old games and I have already decided which ones too. The first one is Beyond Good & Evil on the original XBOX and the second Grim Fandango on the PC. Both superb games that i should have already played. In 2009 i will be makind amends.

3.  Get back to football games. I used to be a pro maniac from the days when it was still named International Superstar Soccer till it was changed to PES. Master Leagues and local multiplayer games were part of the training and i was quite good too. Not anymore. Basically gave it up two years ago and never actually got back into it. Last year i bought my first ever FIFA and also stayed with the franchise this year too. But i have not actually played it much apart from the “Be A Pro” mode. I miss being good at the footy games and i want 2009 to be my comeback year.

There are a few more that i am thinking about but these are the big 3 i really want to achieve by the end of 2009. I will of course be updating the blog on all three of them and any new ones i decide to include.

The year begins!

I have not been blogging for some time now so i thought i should just update you on what i am currently reading/playing/watching:

The Sopranos

I am now on Season 6 and this is probably the best series i have ever watched together with The Wire. Awesome!

Necessary Ilussiions by Noam Chomsky

It’s a book i started reading when i was at the university but never finished it. It’s about how the media in democratic societies are being used by the state-corporate establishment to define and narrow down the field of debate among the people. It’s very interesting although it can be somewhat repetitive and also so far most of the examples/facts used by Chomsky relate to the American continent i.e. Nicaragua, El Salvador etc. I would have preferred a more worldwide approach.

Lost Odyssey (360)

A game that takes the space of 4 DVDs. I can’t remember when was the last time a console asked me to “Insert Disc 2″. It’s a very traditional Japanese RPG and reminds me of the Final Fantasy series. I am actually really enjoying this game. A lot more than i expected. The game requires a lot of patience due to its length (i inserted disc 2 after 14hours) and the numerous dreams you read in the form of text. I like the musical score, the character development and also had one of those great experiences you encounter every now and then in games. I will write about that in a later blog.

Lost Odyssey has changed my attitude for FFXIII from indifference to a can’t wait!

• A magical 2nd half, together with some flawless offside decision making, was all i needed in a mostly non-gaming Sunday. Even though Arsenal’s target this season should only be to qualify for next year’s Champions League, it’s feels so good to beat Chelsea in their home ground. Arsene, enjoy this win and stop whining all the time to the 4th official and move on with building a title contending squad at last.

• Finished reading Criminal: Lawless (Vol: 2), a crime graphic novel. I like these guys (Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips). Very enjoyable series. I recommend it.

• Left 4 Dead is a fantastic multiplayer experience even in split screen. Played it on Saturday and the game constantly surprises and overwhelms you (in a good way). Each enemy type is oozing with personality. For example the first time i encountered a Hunter was fatal….Now every time i hear a girl crying i keep the hell away. And don’t get me started on the Tank….Brilliant game. I believed that the game was ideally suited for playing only with friends and not random people on Live but i read this beautifully written post on Graffiti Gamer that changed my mind.

• I am currently in Chapter 5 (a total of eight) in Mirror’s Edge and have two things to say. First of all, it’s a really short game. I mean it’s a game where the story can be finished in a weekend at most. Of course you can replay it at harder difficulty levels and also do the time trials but for a Euro 60-70 game i consider it a very short game. The second thing is that although innovative it is flawed in the way the developers want you to play it. I will have more on that in a later post.

• After going through a few DS titles to make a decision, i decided to start playing Square Enix’s The World Ends With You. Beautiful art! The combat needs some getting used to as you are fighting with two characters. One is in the touch screen and controlled via the stylus while the second is on the top screen and controlled using the d-pad. It needs some getting used to. Again i will write a few comments on the game later on as it’s very interesting.

It’s the sweet smell of Friday and not just that of my morning Jacobs that has dragged me from my bed to the laptop keyboard. As my mind and heart calculate with joy (think Scrooge McDuck but with games!) the games schedule for the weekend  i will spare a thought (and a blog post) for EA DICE Mirror’s Edge which is released today.

The demo (available on PSN and XBL Marketplace) has completely won me over. It had me at my first run, jump and climb. So here are a few links and posts on the game that i hope will help you decide to give this fresh IP a chance this holiday season.

The first link/post is an excerpt from Stephen Totilo’s MTV Multiplayer blog. The full blog post here.

“…..imagine an action game in which you don’t kill. Imagine it not for morality’s sake but for originality’s sake. Imagine finishing “Fable II” without causing a death. Imagine “Mass Effect” minus killing. Imagine mastering the existing, but hard, option to finish most “Metal Gear Solid” games without a kill. And imagine if any company ever made a James Bond game that allowed you to suavely avoid tallying a body count.

Last night, at least for a time, I controlled a character who, in my hands had no need to kill. Lacking a need to kill, my heroine began to feel like a heroine who had no desire and no willingness to kill. That made her feel special among gaming action heroes. That made her feel unique. And that made the first time she did pick up a gun and pull the trigger feel so very different, a violent rupture of a more believable state of mind.

Imagine that.”

The second link is from Gamasutra which features a roundup of the title’s critical reception. It quotes reviewers, hopefully communicating to you the thrill that is Mirror’s Edge. link

The final and third link is a link to a flash game. It’s not any flash game mind you. Indie Flash game developer Brad Borne is teaming up with Electronics Arts to deliver a free, Flash-based version of Mirror’s Edge in 2D. The single level beta demo of Mirror’s Edge 2D here and it’s looking damn good!

As Germany enters recession we find that the UK is already in one. We see the US politicians scrambling to come to the rescue of their carmakers with billions of dollar loans. Amidst all these, great games keep getting released week by week. But i think it’s time to stop the spending frenzy.

The last three games i will purchase this year. Two of them are coming out tomorrow, FM2009 and Mirror’s Edge while Left 4 Dead is released next week. That means no COD: World at War, no Resistance, no Motorstorm 2 and no Prince of Persia.

I think it’s time to leave that credit card alone for a couple of months. The US politicians won’t be coming to my rescue.