BioShock

  So this is it for my first blog series, for now at least. Two reasons this blog has taken so long. First, I've been trying to figure out what I should be writing about. Second, I've been spending a lot of time working on finishing the answer for my next series. I'm happy to say, I have finished it today. To give you an idea of my planned schedule, here is my next few planned posts. Persona 3 FES Retrospective: The Journey (My Review of 'The Journey' section of the game), Anatomy of an Epilogue, and an analysis of the themes of P3. Now onto another game with a lot of depth to it's story, BioShock.

I played BioShock when it first came out a couple years ago, and it really left an impression on me. It made me realize that you actually tell a deep, adult story in a way that couldn't have been done by film or literature. It was also the first game I actually obtained the full 1000 points in. I played it through twice in just a couple of weekends. 

What made BioShock's story so compelling and unique? First, the setting. It's completely original and just feels so full of history. The environment has a history, and it shows. It's enhanced by the audio logs you find lying around. The Audio Logs are an amazing way to tell the history of Rapture and finding each one was a treat. Another thing that makes BioShock's tale unique is the way it tells its story. The game feels so cinematic, yet it does things no film could ever do. It is really one of the first stories completely unique to gaming. It doesn't make the mistake so many other games do, it doesn't try to explain everything. It doesn't have a random character tell you Big Daddies are dangerous, it shows you. There are so few interactions with other characters in the game that the story is really about a man trying to survive in a bad situation. The story gradually grows and grows until the tension reaches a fever pitch, and then the game throws the most surprising game twists I've ever seen. 

Than the game keeps going. This is the problem Sure, becoming a Big Daddy was awesome, but it didn't really feel necessary to the story and the game then moves on to one of the least satisfying final boss fights in game history before wrapping up with a fairly bland ending. This is really the games only fault, though. I love the enemy design. They manage to do a lot with very little. They never over power your character, though. Even at the end of the game, fighting a Big Daddy is still a tense experience. It's a lot easier than before, but one wrong move and you still could be in real trouble. Overall, it's the game's environment and story that make it unique and amazing and what make it one of the most fun games I've played this generation. I'm interested to see how they continue to make Rapture a mysterious place in BiShock 2. If they can't pull that off, I think they'll have a hell of a time living up to the original.

Hey Gamers! 
 
Jamie and Matt here with a massive update from our gaming HQ here in Ottawa, Canada. Things have been really busy here as of late. Jamie and I both work on a Flu Pandemic floor at the local hospital and deal with large amounts of H1N1 (Swine Flu) Cases so we've been spending a lot of time at work. Other than that we've taken up some hiking (before Winter) and we're about to buckle down and do some hardcore studying for our Anatomy and Physiology University work. 
 
We've got a massive Achievement Update list for you as well as some other exciting news that we'll get to at the end of the updates. So let's get to it!...You'll notice we've gotten pretty keen on the Guitar based 360 games on this update. They combine for the bulk of our updates but I promise that we're moving into new territory! You'll find out about it at the end of the blog!  (Cue Excitiement!)  
 
You'll notice we've tried to re-organize our blog so please tell us what you think! Thanks! 
 
New Games 
 
We've picked up a few games this last update. A few from my birthday and birthday money and a few just for kicks. 
 
Rock Band 2 (We won't be playing this until we complete as much of Rock Band 1 as we can) 
 
Guitar Hero 5 + Guitar Bundle (A birthday present from Jamie)
 
Fallout 3: GOTY Edition (Just started this epic tale, expect it to be in lots of future updates, just arrived in Megaton for the first time) 
 
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (It was 10 bucks, what could go wrong?)  
 
New DLC  
 
Crash Course (Left4Dead) I was hooked on Left4Dead on the PC (as you can see from my achievement page) but Jamie told me I should play with her and do a few run throughs. After finishing the original 4 campaigns we were thirsty for more and decided to squander some coin on the DLC. While short, the campaign was fun and exciting.  
 
Survival Pack (Left4Dead) Threw some extra M$ Point at this one just for sake of having it. No extra achievement included but the constant stream of undead hordes make for easy pickings for the Zombie Genocidest achievmeent. Jamies just itching to get her Man vs Tank achievement in this one. 
 
New 360 Achievements 
 
Matt (IceColdGames) 
 
The Beatles: Rock Band  
 
In The Studio - Play a song in Abbey Road, Studio 2 in Story - 10G 
 
In Penny Lane There Is A Barber - Get half of the Beatles Photos - 10G 
 
Gear Guitarist - Earn a Guitar Career Score of 1,000,000 - 20G 
 
All You Need Is Love - 5 Star Every song in The Beatles: Rock Band - 30G 
 
Passed The Audition - "I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and myself and I hope we passed the audition!" - 20G 
 
The Love You Make - Complete the Encore in Story - 10G 
 
Sun, Sun, Sun Here It Comes - Get a 350-note streak playing Here Comes The Sun on Guitar - 25G 
 
A Little Help From My Friends - Start a Story with a four player band - 10G 
 
Goo Goo G'joob - Get a 550-note streak playing I Am The Walrus on Drums - 25G 
 
Total The Beatles: Rock Band Score: 260/1000 (36%)  
 

 
Guitar Hero 2 
 
Scoremonger Award - Got an 8x multiplier - 10G 
 
Dimebag Darrell Award - Got a 100 note streak - 10G 
 
Perfectionist Award - Got 100% notes hit on a song - 30G 
 
100K Club - Got 100,000 points in a song - 10G 
 
Eddie Van Halen Award - Got a 500 note streak - 30G 
 
Long Road Ahead Award - Failed a song on Easy - 10G 
 
Roadie - Unlocked Rat Cellar - 10G 
 
Rock School Grad - Completed all tutorials - 10G 
 
New Kid - Unlocked Blackout Bar - 10G 
 
Teacher's Pet Award - Practiced three different songs - 10G 
 
Young Gun - Unlocked RedOctane Club - 10G 
 
Hendrix Award - Beat a song with lefty flip on - 10G 
 
Axe Grinder - Unlocked Rock City Theater - 10G 
 
Shredder - Unlocked Vans Warped Tour - 10G 
 
Rock Star - Unlocked Harmonix Arena - 10G 
 
Joan & Lita Award - Got a 100 note streak in Cooperative - 30G 
 
Lennon & McCartney Award - Got an 8x streak in Cooperative - 10G 
 
200K Pair - Got 200,000 points on a song in Cooperative - 30G 
 
Joe & Steven Award - Got a 500 note streak in Cooperative - 30G 
 
Page & Plant Award - Got 100% notes hit on a song in Cooperative - 30G 
 
Keef & Mick Award - Got a 1000 note streak in Cooperative - 30G 
 
Sandbox Hero Award - Earned five stars on all songs in the Easy tour - 30G 
 
Easy Tour Champ - Beat the Easy tour - 10G 
 
Extra Credit Award - Viewed the credits - 10G 
 
Rock Snob Award - Refused to play an encore - 10G 
 
Total Guitar Hero 2 Score: 410/1000 (50%)  
 

 
Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock 
 
Meet Your Maker - Beat one of the creators of Guitar Hero 3 at their own game - 20G 
 
Bronze Streaker - Earn a 100 note Streak in Career or Quick Play - 5G 
 
Silver Streaker - Earn a 250 note streak in Career or Quick Play - 10G 
 
Perfectionist - 100% a song - 10G 
 
Two By Four - Get an 8X multiplier in a Co-op game - 5G 
 
A Couple of Streakers - Earn a 200 note streak in a Co-op match - 5G 
 
Two Timer - Earn a 500 note streak in a Co-op match - 10G 
 
Half MIll' Club - Score 500,000 on any song in a Co-op match - 10G 
 
That's What Friends Are For - Complete Co-op Career - 25G 
 
Total Guitar Hero 3: Legends Of Rock Score: 100/1000 (15%)  
 

 
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith 
 
Cheesecake - You earned a 100 note streak in Career or Quick Play - 10G 
 
Subway - Played a song at the Max's Kansas City venue - 10G 
 
I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Holy cow, you earned a gold star rating on a Medium or harder song! - 30G 
 
Gems - You hit every star power phrase on a song - 25G 
 
Sick As A Dog - You earned a 5 star rating on a song on Medium or harder - 25G 
 
Ain't That A Bitch - Whoa! You earned a gold star rating on a song - 20G 
 
Total Guitar Hero: Aerosmith Score: 120/1000 (12%)  
 

 
Guitar Hero: World Tour 
 
One Time Solo Artist - You completed a song solo - 5G 
 
Pick And Axe - You performed as a Guitarist - 5G 
 
Survival Of The Fittest - You completed an Xbox LIVE Battle Mode match - 5G 
 
Learning The Ropes - You completed a tutorial - 5G 
 
First of Many - You completed a gig - 10G 
 
Yodeler - You performed as a Vocalist - 5G 
 
One Of A Kind Axe - You created your own custom guitar - 5G 
 
Warrior Of Rock - You created a male band member - 5G 
 
Download Junkie - You downloaded a few songs from GHTunes - 5G 
 
Total Guitar Hero: World Tour Score: 50/1000 (18%)  
 

 
Guitar Hero 5 
 
Crowd Pleaser - Topped out the rock - 5G 
 
Over 9000! - Went super - 5G 
 
Senior Commander - Did quite well - 10G 
 
Special Guest - Introduced a special guest - 10G 
 
Total Guitar Hero 5 Score: 30/1000 (8%) 
  
 

Fallout 3: GOTY Edition 
 
Vault 101 Citizenship Award - Got the Pip-Boy 3000 - 10G 
 
The G.O.A.T. Whisperer - Took the G.O.A.T. - 10G 
 
Escape! - Completed "Escape!" - 20G 
 
Total Fallout 3: GOTY Edition Score: 40/1550 (4%)  
 

 
Left 4 Dead 
 
Hero Closet - Rescue a Survivor trapped in a closet.    - 10G

Spinal Tap - Kill an Infected with a single blow from behind - 10G

Cr0wned - Kill a Witch with a single headshot - 30G

Witch Hunter - Kill a Witch without any Survivor taking damage from her - 20G

Clean Kill - Shove a Boomer and then kill him without him splashing on anyone - 10G

Pyrotechnician - Blow up 20 Infected in a single explosion - 10G

Blind Luck - You or another Survivor take no damage after being vomited on by a Boomer - 10G

No-one Left Behind - Beat a campaign with all 4 Survivors - 20G

Mercy Killer - Survive the No Mercy campaign - 15G
 
Drag And Drop - Rescue a Survivor from a Smoker's tongue before he takes damage - 20G 
 
Tongue Twister - Free yourself from a Smoker who has grabbed you with his tongue - 20G 
 
Tankbusters - Kill a Tank without it dealing any damage to a Survivor - 20G 
 
Burn The Witch - Light a Witch with a Molotov - 10G 
 
Hunter Punter - Shove a Hunter off of a pinned and helpless Survivor - 10G 
 
Dead Giveaway - Heal a fellow Survivor when your own health is below 10 - 10G 
 
Towering Inferno - Light a Tank with a Molotov - 10G 
 
Back 2 Help - Leave a safe room to save an incapped teammate and bring them back safely - 20G 
 
Brain Salad - Make 100 headshot kills - 15G 
 
Toll Collector - Survive the Death Toll campaign - 15G 
 
101 Cremations - Set 101 Infected on fire - 20G 
 
Dead Stop - Punch a Hunter as he is pouncing - 10G 
 
Pharm-Assist - Give pain pills to 10 Survivors - 20G 
 
No Smoking Section - Kill 10 Smokers as they are pulling helpless Survivors - 15G 
 
My Bodyguard - Protect any Survivor from an attacking Infected 50 times - 15G 
 
Akimbo Assassin - Survive an entire campaign using only pistols - 30G 
 
Grim Reaper - Survive the Blood Harvest campaign - 15G 
 
Tank Stumble - Stun a Tank with an explosion in the Crash Course campaign - 20G 
 
Ground Cover - Save another Survivor from a Special Infected while on the ground - 30G 
 
Double Jump - Pounce two different Survivors in one life as a Hunter - 20G 
 
Chain Smoker - Constrict two Survivors in one life as a Smoker - 20G 
 
Crash-Proof - Survive the Crash Course Campaign - 15G 
 
Field Medic - Heal 25 Survivors with a first aid kit - 20G 
 
Do Not Disturb - Sneak past all Witches in a campaign without disturbing one - 20G 
 
Unbreakable - Finish a campaign without ever being healed - 30G 
 
Stand Tall - Survive a campaign without being incapacitated - 20G 
 
Dead Baron - Survive the Dead Air campaign - 15G 
 
Total Left 4 Dead Score: 640/1250 (60%)  
 
 
 
BIG NEWS! 
 
If you had the guts to either read or scroll all the way down to this part of the blog you'll know now that a few days ago, Jamie and I ventured into town to FutureShop so I could spend my 50.00 Gift Card there. To my shock and utter amazement I walked out of the store with.... 
 
A PLAYSTATION 3 160GB Uncharted Edition!!!! 
 
I know! I never thought it would happen. I never broke down and bought a PS2 and I always told myself I wouldn't get a PS3...But I wanted a Blu-Ray player and it just seemed right... 
 
Along with the bundle I picked up The Dark Knight on Blu-Ray and Jamie grabbed Dirty Dancing and Dawn Of The Dead (2004).... 
 
So since we've now got a new console...With it comes a new section!  
 

 
PS3 Trophy Updates! 
   
Matt (IceColdGames) Level 2 - 18 Trophies  
 
 

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune 
 
First Treasure - Find One Treasure - Bronze 
 
Beginner Fortune Hunter - Find 5 Treasures - Bronze 
 
Brutal Brawler - Kill 5 Enemies With A Brutal Combo - Bronze 
 
Brutal Slugger- KIll 20 Enemies With A Brutal Combo - Silver 
 
Brutal Expert - Kill 5 Enemies In A Row With A Brutal Combo - Silver 
 
Stealth Attacker - Kill 20 Enemies With A Melee Attack From Behind - Silver 
 
Steel Fist - KIll 5 Enemies With A Single Punch After Softening Them Up With Gunfire - Bronze 
 
Steel Fist Expert - Kill 5 Enemies In A Row With A Single Punch After Softening Them Up With Gunfire - Silver 
 
Headshot Expert - Kill 5 Enemies In A Row With A Headshot - Bronze 
 
10 Headshots - Kill 10 Enemies With Headshots - Bronze 
 
30 Headshots - Kill 30 Enemies With Headshots - Bronze 
 
100 Headshots - Kill 100 Enemies With Headshots - Silver 
 
Dyno-Might! - Kill 3 Enemies With One Explosion - Bronze 
 
Run-And-Gunner - Kill 20 Enemies While Firing From The Hip (No Aiming) - Bronze 
 
Hangman - Kill 10 Enemies While Hanging From A Ledge - Bronze 
 
50 Kills: PM - 9mm - Kill 50 Enemies With The PM - 9mm - Bronze 
 
50 Kills: Micro - 9mm - Kill 50 Enemies With The Micro 9mm - Bronze 
 
20 Kills: Wes .44 - Kill 20 Enemies With The Wes .44 - Bronze 
 
50 Kills: AK-47 - Kill 50 Enemies With The AK-47 - Bronze 
 
20 Kills: MK ND1 - Kill 20 Enemies With The MK ND1 Grenades - Bronze 
 
Total Uncharted: Drake's Fortune Trophies: 18 (15 Bronze/3Silver/0Gold/0Platinum) 30% 
 
--- 
 
So that just about sums up our HUGE Update. I'm thinking about finishing up my BioShock Character Guide sooner rather than later and I think I'm gonna keep trekking through Uncharted and Fallout 3 in the near future. Stay tuned for more MULTI-CONSOLES (:D) Updates from both of us! 
 
Happy Gaming! 
 
M + J

 
This week's "What We've Been Playing" features discussion on Brutal Legend, Katamari Forever, Axel & Pixel, Fishing Girl, Dark, Frontlines: Fuel of War, South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!, and plenty more. We follow that up with some gaming news including the idea that gaming journalists should have to develop a game before becoming a journalist, a PSP Minis developer surprised by the cost of getting an ESRB rating, and more. We end the gaming portion with our "QotW" and have a very good discussion on our "Citizen Kane" of gaming.

We end the show with another "Sausage Dump" and discuss such TV shows as Supernatural and the not so awesome film, The Lost Boys: The Tribe! We hope you enjoy the show and don't forget to rate/review us on iTunes.

• Site: Pixelated Sausage
  
• Podcast: DF #78: The Citizen Kane of Gaming Podcasts
  

 Serious Blogging Episode 1: Is creative still cool?  

Videogaming (a friend of mine is trying to stop the word "gamer" from being used anymore. Long story) is at an interesting crossroad that all forms of popular media have come to at some point: straddling the line between an accepted mainstream artform and something that politicians from both sides of the spectrum want to burn in effigy for corrupting the youth of America, who everyone knows has no capacity to think for itself. It's happened a few times with more books than I can count (look up a banned book list on any search engine and prepare to be surprised),  all different kinds of music (metal and rap most recently, but basically every form of music has been crusaded against at some point), movies are still choking under the yoke of the MPAA, and TV still has to contend with censorship on a daily basis, though the grip is slackening. Videogaming just showed up the party, and guess what? It's already got six drinks in it. Videogames present an interesting problem to the debate: interactivity. This is Roger Ebert's argument as to why they can't be considered true "art" forms: because the user interacts with and changes it, it's not truly art. I don't agree with this contention one little bit not only for the fact that I've seen art exhibits that allow audience participation, but there's only so much a user can do to "alter" a videogame while playing it. You'll never be able to make Marcus Fenix soar over the battlefield on the back of a pegasus raining down fireballs from a sword. But I'm preaching to the choir, and I won't lie it's a good feeling, but I have another point: one of the biggest hurdles is from within. It's us not taking the medium seriously, even on a sub-conscious level.

I was watching a review for a game on Zero Punctuation when the reviewer made the fascinating point of the community getting SO excited when someone from the mainstream gets involved, even peripherally, with a videogame. Now whether or not you like Zero Punctuation is irrelevant, I think the point is an incredibly good one. Why DO we fawn over people who don't work with videogames when they come and make a game? Why do we, as the reviewer put it, "Say 'oh YES Mr. Bigshot movie producer! Come down to the filthy masses and show us how it's done!'" This art form has been around for well over thirty years, mostly without help from outside sources, so why is there this hero-worship when a game comes out that has Stephen Spielberg as an executive producer?

Quick: what's one of the first comments about any hot new game sure to show up in the forums within 24 hours of the game's release and vindication of quality? No, not lewd comments about whatever female character is in it, "I'd love for them to make this into a movie." Why? Videogames have, historically, made atrocious movies. There hasn't been a single one of actual quality with the possible exception of Silent Hill (Mortal Kombat doesn't count because, while it was a fun movie, it's not a "good" movie). Metal Gear Solid is the one I hear talked about most and it's also the one I find most puzzling. I love this series, I've loved it since the first PS1 game, but the game is HEAVY on the cinematics, so why would one want to see an inferior version, most likely starring an actor no one wants to play the character, with a script that's been passed around like a dutchie 'pon the left hand side so many times, to so many different people who've probably never even heard of the game, that by the end it's called Metallic Cog Mercurial and stars Chris Kattan as the WACKIEST secret agent this side of the RUSTY CURTAIN! (rated PG-13)? 

I think it's because deep down a lot of us are still waiting for something to come along and make gaming OK for mainstream acceptance. Like what the one-two combo of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies did for comic books (with Blade being the lead-in), but comic books lend themselves more naturally to being adapted to the big screen, and even those movies didn't get REALLY good until very recently. So I think we need to bring gaming to the mainstream ourselves. Games like Bioshock are a great step in the right direction because they have incredible artistic vision as well as a satirical, philosophical plotline. In short: it has depth. That's what people look for in art: depth and that's what so many games lack. I'm not saying EVERY game needs to become Bioshock in order for us as a community to progress beyond what we are, I'm saying that we shouldn't let someone on the outside ride in like a white knight and redeem something that doesn't even need redeeming. We should solve our own problems by supporting games that actually try something daring and dynamic and even by trying to hold these games up as counter-examples rather than simply shouting at the top of our lungs about how artsy games can be.