While there have been precious few details about the newly confirmed Mass Effect film, the fact that the film will indeed be centred around the core plot line of the games (i.e. the story of Cmdr. Shepard) seems to be universally assumed.  My question is this:   ....why?
 
I don't know...it seems to me that a game whose real strengths lie in the personalization of one's experience would not benefit from a homogenized, railed romp through what is one of the most intriguing sci-fi universes I've ever dealt with.  Personally, I have grown quite attached to MY Shepard, and I don't want to go see some Hollywood B-lister shit all over the character that I have already spent hundreds of hours bending my mind around in interactive form.  The way I see it, Bioware has invented this massive universe with back story to burn.  Already from playing the first two games we know probably dozens of possible movie plots from codex entries alone.  To me, these would all be fair game - they are set aspects of the universe that won't change.  For instance:  How about a story about the quarians and the geth?  Or how about a story about discovering the prothean ruins on Mars and the events that led up to the First Contact War?  These things would advance the canon without fucking with our personal interpretations.  I mean, come on...a movie about the First Contact War?  That would be so awesome.  Can you even imagine how cool that would be?  Or for something more exotic how about a movie about the freaking Protheans?  The list of possibilities goes on and on...which is a testament to the strength of this universe.  Given this, why not stake a claim for this IP in the long term market by expanding DIFFERENT plots through DIFFERENT media just like the books do?
 
I have to admit that Mass Effect is likely my favorite game franchise.  I love it so dearly that it pains me to think that it might not amount to anything significant other than the games and novels, because the universe is so rich that it could be the next big thing.  Granted, this is not my IP...and they can do whatever the hell they want with it...but PLEASE bioware...use this movie as an opportunity to expand this universe!  Don't market it as just another video game movie, because we all know how that will turn out (cough Prince of Persia cough)!!!!!  
 
MAKE THIS ONE COUNT! 

In my previous blogs I've touched on the fact that I hold a strong dislike for Sony products.  In my previous blogs I've also touched on the fact that I was close to a breaking point on my holding out on the PS3 bandwagon, and it was the desire for an adequate baseball sim that was the culprit.  Since EA sports has been prevented from making MLB simulators, 2k (as the only third-party developer permitted to do so) has failed to deliver on their promises for new, innovative approaches to baseball simulation.  Granted, I will hand it to them...MLB 2k8, though buggy and unfinished, offered a very positive experience through its presentation and new game mechanics.  Their attempt at making the player more involved in a tactile, skillful way with regard to the finer points of the game was certainly entertaining and rewarding.  In this sense, I would call the game a success.  Other than this, however, the game fell flat.  Graphical glitches, animation blunders, gameplay breakdowns...all of which ultimately made the game feel like it was released a few months too early, and really detracted from what could have been a supremely entertaining experience.  With the very poor reception received by 2k9, I essentially gave up on the series.  I did not wish to waste my time and money on an unfinished product.  So, with a tearful look back at the days of classics such as MVP Baseball 2005, I packed my cleats, put away my glove, and stored my virtual bat in hopes that the 2k exclusivity on MLB gaming would be lifted before I went crazy.  MVP 05 can only be modded so much, after all.  
 
This August, though...I started to break.  I needed my fix, and I didn't want to go back to last year's game, as I'm a purist and wanted updated rosters and such.  When the PS3 price drop was announced, I figured it was my chance.  So I obliged, and bought the system about a week ago.  The experience so far has been one of violent switches between up and down.  As a fan of NHL '09 and its Be A Pro mode, I was absolutely ECSTATIC that there was a similar option in the MLB The Show series.  As amazing as it was to put myself in the skates of a player of my country's national passtime, my heart has always lain in the passtime of another country.  This was an opportunity I couldn't wait to experience...so I geared up, got myself drafted by the closest thing I have to a hometeam (The Toronto Blue Jays) and began my journey through the minors as an up-and-coming third baseman.
 
The experience was rocky at first.  Frustration overtook me on several occasions, and I found myself cursing the game to high heavens (as can be seen in an earlier blog).  What I saw then as gameplay mistakes (and they still kinda are) have served now only to increase my enjoyment of the experience.  It was some time coming though...this enjoyment.  I was about ready to send my ps3 out my bedroom window on several occasions.  Slowly but surely, though, I climbed my way through the system...meeting unreasonable goal after unreasonable goal...being accosted by my manager for struggling at the plate, despite a 24 game hit streak, and the highest batting average in the league.  Being benched for failed hit and runs on crazy outside pitches...
 
New Hampshire, so long.  Las Vegas...Had a time, but goodbye.  Bring on Toronto.  Bring on the Jays, and the team that's absorbed so much of my time and passion throughout my 22 years on the Earth.  
 
Home opener...Rogers Centre...50,000 fans...the Majesty of the most massive, technologically advanced stadium in baseball; its giant, cavernous interior, the imposing presence of the giant jumbotron, the largest of its kind for some time...and YEARS ahead of its time on its installation way back in 1989.  The restaurant, the hotel overlooking centre field...visions of Joe Carter's world series winning home run in '93...and the thought that I was standing there now.  All pretty lame considering that it's a video game, but I felt it.  The sense of scale in the game is just amazing.  The strength of MLB '09 comes through here and wins me over indefinitely.  After my first major league hit against the Red Sox, I watched with glee as I stood on first base and David Ortiz walked up to me, gave me an amicable punch in the arm and flashed a knowing smile, clearly aware of the significance of the moment his young adversary was experiencing, and allowing us to see and appreciate the respect that these players have for each other.  It's easier to be friendly in a game such as baseball...a gentleman's game.  A game of thinkers, and knowers.  A game where you have a second to put things aside and respect each other.  That's one of the things that makes the game so special, and it's delightul that they included it in the The Show experience.  
 
So far, The Show's presentation is a lovely change of pace.  I'm not familiar with the franchise mode, but the switch from a broadcast feel that I was used to from 2k8 to the feeling of actually being there is really neat, though I didn't expect it to be.  I do miss a few things about 2k8, though...mainly in the fielding.  There is something a little lame about the lack of feedback you get from making plays...where in 2k8, you had direct control over how things proceeded through analog-stick throwing mechanics. It's subtle, but I liked it...and it made errors feel much less cheap.  They're essentially arbitrary in this game, which is kinda lame...especially since my fielding attributes are quite low, so I tend to make a lot of errors...which is frustrating when you don't actually earn them yourself.  
 
Anyway, I'm tempted to write an actual review about the game, with this as a leadup.  I need more experience with it though, as my sliders are still on the easy side.  I'll soon start weaning myself onto more difficult settings.
 
Until then, though...I'll keep feeling the magic.  Maybe there's a rookie of the year in my future?  I hope so.  Maybe even an all-star appearance, the way things are going.
 
Looking forward to it.

Hi.  I'm from Newfoundland, and I would like to give a free lesson on how to pronounce the name of my home that I love so dearly.
 
For those of you who have seen the newest TANG, I fear you have been misled.  Here is how Newfoundland is to be pronounced, as taught by me (a native, crotchety Newfoundlander)
 
The word Newfoundland should be pronounced in such a way that it rhymes with the word Understand.  If ever in doubt, repeat the phrase: "It's Newfoundland, understand?!"
 
Spelled Phonetically, it would look something like this:  Noofin-land, with the emphasis on LAND.
 
This is crucial information, and is not to be forgotten by any of you...understand?

I'm writing this in absolute frustration at the moment, but I wanted to write it while the sensation is still fresh.
 
I'm very, very hesitant to call MLB 09 a good game.  A proficient simulator, perhaps...I'm not even sure about that, though.  There is a point in time where attempts at realism can get hindered by the inherent flaws in simulation.  MLB 09 The Show is the perfect example of this.  Its qualities as a simulator are undeniable, but there is a dynamic that is not there which can make for a very, very, very, very frustrating experience.
 
Baseball is a game of stats...maybe moreso than any other major North American sport.  While this may be the case, there are considerations involved in the decisions that MLB 09 makes in its simulations that should go beyond.  On a day when I go 0-5 in Road to the Show, where every single out was a line drive...I should not be chewed out by my manager.  When the game is set in Rookie mode, my goals assigned by the game should not be "Do not strike out more than 6 times in the next 6 series" with a nice little "Have an on-base-percentage of .390 or higher in the next 6 series."  It also frustrates me that I can be on a 24 game hitting streak, hitting .350, and still get benched for my "Struggles" because I struck out 8 times over the course of a month, and my OBP was .379.  It also really frustrates me that when I miss a hit-and-run opportunity on a pitch that's near-impossible to hit, I lose points.  It also really frustrates me that the game forces you to dive in order to field balls that could otherwise be easily reached by simply moving sideways.  It also really frustrates me that the coaches give signs for hit-and-run, but the sign isn't listed in the possible choices.  It also really frustrates me that I purposely swing underneath a ball, knowing that every single time I get out with a runner on first it's a double play, and the ball still grounds weakly to a fielder, and upon reviewing the swing feedback it says "Wheelhouse, perfect timing." 
 
It also REALLY bothers me when sports games simulate player transations that would NEVER occur in real life.  
 
I have a really hard time believing that Ichiro Suzuki is going to retire after the 09 season due to old age.  That's just me though.

It was November 2006 and I was in my second year at the Memorial University School of Music.  Ripe was my thirst for adventure, flamed by the expansion of my creative sensibilities, I was all set to live vicariously through another generation of game consoles.  I had already written off the Xbox 360, using the dismal hardware failure rate as an excuse for my prejudice.  My hate for Sony was eclipsed only by my hate for the New York Yankees, and my mind was set on one goal...
 
...Play...Twilight...Princess...
 
While I was not one of those who so unfairly brushed the previous console iteration of the Zelda franchise aside like a non-EON James Bond film, I was still looking forward to a darker Zelda game.  So eager was I that I played through Ocarina of Time several times while I waited...which I believe constitutes some sort of disorder.
 
At any rate, November 18th arrived.  I had considered waiting in line for the Wii launch the next day, and did so for an hour...but I was not feeling well and I figured I'd be able to track one down anyway.  I was wrong, but I did eventually manage to get my hands on one by Christmas.  So began the adventure, and almost 70 hours later, my Twilight Princess experience came to an end.  I had managed to milk every second I could out of that game, and it was well worth it.  Such an experience had I that I immediately wanted more.  The problem, however, was that there was no more to be had.  I refused to consider the other consoles...they were too expensive, I HATED Sony and everything they do, and I was still baffled by the 360 hardware issues. 
 
I'll now take you back to 1997.
 
I lied...this is before 1997, but we'll get there in just a second.  I was jipped as a child.  I blame it on my brother, who was so influential on me in so many positive ways, with this as the exception.  He was, for whatever reason, convinced to buy a Sega Genesis in lieu of a Super NES.  Yes, that's right.  No Super Mario World.  No Donkey Kong Country.  Those came later, after I had seen the light and was compelled to fill in what I had missed.  The result of this purchase was that I became a Sega fanboy, in the worst way.  Sonic and Tails became my heroes, and Mario was actually, for a brief few years, my enemy.  Hard to believe for anyone who knows me.  (back to 1997)  I rented the Sega Saturn a few times.  It was dismal.  A complete waste of time.  It was so bad that even my blue and white sonic-ridden young brain could see that it was a sinking ship.  I went to my friend's house, and it was then that I first played Super Mario 64.  The next month, I had an N64, and the following November, I was utterly convinced.  Nintendo was my company.  It only took the greatest game ever created to convince me.  Ocarina of Time changed my life, as dramatic as it may sound, but not all for good.  It was almost ten years before I realized that life existed beyond Nintendo.
 
November 2007
 
I caved.  $500 later I had an Xbox 360 and Call of Duty 4.  Xbox Live was more than I thought it would be.  The growth continued.  Ushered by my disgust at the lack of a substantial game for my estranged white Nintendo box, lost derelict among a sea of chords and wires.  Defeated by my new purchase, it remained unplayed for months and months.  I had found a new home, for the time being at least.  But I left with a promise of returning with the next coming of Link.  That has yet to occur.  With the exception of the week I spent playing Mario Galaxy, I haven't returned.  That was fantastic, but brief.
 
August 2009
 
With the recent revelations coming from Gamescom, I find myself at another junction.  I think this may be the final transformation.  I think I'm going to buy a PS3.  Despite my loathing of the company, Sony's console holds several keys to my heart, notably the MLB The Show series, as I'm a die-hard baseball fan, and MLB 2k blows.  We'll see if I do it, but if I do it marks an end to an era of stagnant, brooding bias toward consoles.  
 
Let the living begin, hence.

Now for a completely useless observation:  
     
in·er·tia    (-nûrsh)       Resistance or disinclination to motion, action or change.  
 
I've been grappling lately with what I call video game inertia.  This is a phenomenon where one runs out of things they are compelled to play, and are unwilling to try something else despite recommendation from friends or even the knowledge that one would certainly enjoy a game.  The mystery is in the reason why.
 
I have reason to believe that I am more inclined toward this disposition.  It's actually quite stifling to my enjoyment of games.  For instance, it was some 6 months before I was finally convinced to purchase a copy of that quaint little title they call Fallout 3; a game which I subsequently poured over 100 hours of my youth into.  Worse still, though, was another game which some of you may or may not recognize; a title which certainly has not been getting any attention of late, Mass Effect.  I was a year and a half before I finally managed to convince myself that this game would not be an utter waste of my time.  This game, in fact, can now be found counted in my measly little brain as one of my top 5 favorite games of all time.  There are lots of examples of similar cases: Assassin's Creed, Gears of War, NHL 09...all games that I now very much enjoy.  Then of course there's all those games that I never did convince myself to get.  Notable among those titles being blockbusters like esIV: Oblivion and Braid.
 
On the other side of the coin, there are games that I will indeed buy without hesitation.  I am certainly not immune to hype and excitement.  It seems though that all those games within series which I have already played.  Games which I usually anticipate the most are titles like The Legend of Zelda, GTA, Mario, Metroid, and basically anything that I grew up with.
 
Why is that I find it so difficult to get new games?  Is it maybe the fact that I hold a deep (broodingly so) dislike of short campaigns?  That seems likely at times but I am this way with titles that I'm assured are at least 20 hours long.  Even 20 hours, though, is short for me.  Perhaps I'm just cheap...and don't like spending money...that seems to me much more likely, as I am lazy as sin and my employment is very much part time.  I still can't bring myself to chock it up to that exclusively, though.  Perhaps it is that as a frustrated artist I'm constantly in search of an outlet for my unburned creative fuel, which makes me only want to purchase games which I can invest heavily in.  Usually these are RPGs.  Xbox 360 is certainly not rank with those, and my PC is prone to exploding.   
 
Gosh aren't I eccentric...why aren't you pitying me? 
 
Anyway, I've been grappling with this, and I believe that I may have come across my answer.  This brings me to the fact that...
 
...Some may be wondering why I would be writing this, especially since no-one will read it in all likelyhood.  Part of the reason is because I am currently sitting in my very-much-part-time job and don't have anything better to do.  Part of the reason, though, is that hopefully in discussing this with myself I can get over this stifling little inclination of mine to be so stingy with the activity which brings me so much enjoyment.  I think I'm getting better.  I'm even considering buying one of those nice little PS3s everyone's talking about, now that they'll be somewhat more reasonable in price...this would be significant as I would basically be getting it for one game.  That's the utlimate step forward with this problem...spending hundreds of dollars for one game.  (that game, by the way, is MLB The Show.)  I'll just call it cured then, and hope for the best. 
 
Cheers.

 So I was reading this article on Gamespot regarding the effectiveness of video games as a storytelling medium. So, immediately upon reading the title I knew the article was going to be stupid, subjective and irritating because that's what has become of Gamespot lately...but I gave it a chance.

I was correct at least in that it was irritating.

There was this one character named Dutton, apparently a professor at some university in New Zealand, whose opinions were quoted in the article. It was him whom I found to be particularly useless.

*aside*

Where has the assumption of imagination gone? Perhaps it was just me growing up, but if I was presented with a situation (in my recreational activities) where not everything added up, I would use my imagination to fill in the gaps and everything would be fine. Was that not the way it worked? We're having fun anyway...or we're at least doing something that was not in any way grounded in reality. What harm was there in caulking up a scenario with a good ol' bit of mental duct-tape? We did it all the time. It was assumed it would be done. At least I thought it was.

While watching Star Trek: The Next Generation growing up...Did I notice that all the species in the galaxy appeared to speak English for some reason? Yes. Yes I did. I was 8 years old, and I noticed. I'll tell you what else I realized at that ripe young age...I realized that whether or not they were speaking English made no difference. I knew at that age that the point of the show was not to portray an accurate representation of life on other worlds, but to comment on our own. That's what Star Trek is about, after all. It's social commentary.

If I can suspend disbelief at such a young age, why can't Denis Dutton of the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand tie two game elements together Grand Theft Auto IV?

Dutton argues that the story in GTAIV serves as a "Window dressing." He says that the real point is the gameplay. I can't argue with him. But what I can argue with is the fact that he gives the impression that the narrative cannot be tied in with the gameplay. He says that they're separate identities, and that game developers have not successfully married the two elements. I say that this is not a failure at the hands of the developers, but a failure of imagination in the heads of the players.

What more can a game developer do at this point in time to immerse one in the actions of a playable character? There's not much, indeed. Especially in an open ended game such as GTAIV. But while this may seem to be detrimental to narrative to some, I believe it opens up more of an opportunity for the player to bring much more out of the story, if they're willing to tie together the loose ends left by technical limitations, if you want to call them that (which I don't but will). The game is stuffed full of moral and emotional subtext...it lays the groundwork perfectly for what Niko (the protagonist) would or would not do in a certain situation. It's up to the player to make it play out that way, and it's up to the player to apply these morals to the gameplay.

There's ample opportunity for the gameplay to be "married" to the narrative, particularly in a game as hefty as GTAIV. We just have to be sensitive to it. That's not a problem for me, but so long as there are people like Denis Dutton who are void of imagination writing papers about the limitations of video game narrative, I fear the medium will be stuck in a rut...

...Unvalidated, unappreciated, untapped of its true potential. All because limitations MUST lie at the feet of the creator, not the user.