Alex P

Anything else you remember about the game or Gagne?

Super early is right! These are never online before I go to bed the night before.

That Trine song was pretty spectacular, Chris.

Do you guys talk about Trine at all in this one?

Anyone have that crazy, surreal Mario corruption video that the guys were talking about a few weeks back?

WHAT'S IN THE <strike>BOX</strike> EMAIL?!

The Jews are lose.

More to come at E3!

Okay, agreed, especially since the vast majority of that praise seems to be for the stuff like the radio talk shows and advertisements and not for the overarching themes and character motivations.

I wanted to respond specifically to the discussion about Rockstar's portrayal of America in Grand Theft Auto IV. I felt like you all missed the point (at least during this recording, you may all have it tucked away somewhere in your minds) regarding the skewering of American culture with the radio stations, advertisements, fast food restaurants, etc. etc. All that stuff is kept incredibly lowbrow in the game simply because...it's incredibly lowbrow in actuality. Fast food restaurants that serve ground dairy cows and conservative talk radio stations with vapid hosts serve no real purpose in our society. They have no redeeming value in our culture and Rockstar does a good job of demonstrating that in the game. Understandably, that's not the America Rockstar really cares about in GTA IV. The real reason why that stuff is so effective is because it actually helps strengthen the more significant "American" themes in GTA IV. All that ancillary shit just serves to obfuscate what the so-called "American Dream" is all about: hard work and sacrifice will allow for a more satisfying and free life. That's what the "American culture" in GTA IV is really all about. That's the story Rockstar wants to tell us. Of course, it's debatable whether or not Rockstar actually believes that to be true in today's day and age. And that, in a sense, is why I enjoyed GTA IV so much more than past GTA games: Niko's story begins with hardship and suffering and ends with not much more than that. He doesn't finish the game with a string of mansions and fleet of cars and boats. Maybe that worked within the confines of 1980s Vice City for Tommy Vercetti, but those days are long behind us. The America that Niko Bellic lives in is very different than that. He ends in that same dingy apartment that he started with, no better off than at the game's inception. Maybe for him, the American Dream is a lie. But that doesn't make it any less true. And it doesn't make it any less American.

That's okay. EA threatened me too. They said the information was "factually inaccurate," which I knew to be a lie. I asked them to speak specifically to the inaccuracies, they chose not to, and I left the story up.

I'm still mad at you for pulling my preview. (No, not really). But yes, I also recommend Thrik's site. It's fucking rad.

New interview today on Eurogamer http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/brutal-legend-tim-schafer-interview

I've been playing this for the better part of this afternoon. So goddamn good. The score is incredible, the story is surprisingly interesting, and the visuals are stunning. Strong writing and voice-acting. Doesn't feel like this was made by a tiny independent studio of 20 at all. Gameplay is fun and hasn't gotten repetitive yet. It really feels like each character is meant to do a specific task though. The thief feels like she's made for platforming, the wizard for puzzle solving, and the knight for combat. I'm kind of torn on whether or not I like it this way or would have preferred that it was a little more balanced. I have to play and think about it some more. Also, THE WIZARD. I'll have a more formal preview written by week's end. Maybe some video footage. Not sure yet. I'll entertain questions for now.

Glorious.

I've been wondering about this for a while. As the title suggests, do you believe a person who reports on the video gaming industry should be precluded from writing criticisms of individual games? I'm not talking about sharing opinions or commentary in news stories or features, which I believe should be kept separate regardless. I'm asking if a person who writes news should also be allowed to write reviews, and vice-versa, either for the same publication or another. Do you think an inherent conflict exists? Should it be just one or the other? Or does no conflict exist? Does one not undermine the other?

Good discussion here, thanks for the thoughts everyone.

That was my primary concern. That by having such a close relationship with the studio responsible for a particular title over the course of its development, any objectivity when critiquing the game would go out the window. It's akin to a film reviewer touring the sets of Apocalypse Now during its filming and delivering a verdict that was positive because "the movie took 16 months to film and almost killed Francis Ford Coppola." Maybe knowing all the blood and sweat that went into a game shouldn't be a possible consideration when objectively critiquing a game.

For those not in attendance at GDC, I thought you might want to watch the Game Developers Choice Awards in its near-entirety. http://www.primotechnology.com/2009/03/31/watch-the-game-developers-choice-awards-2009/ Sorry for the shaky cam. No tripod and my arm started falling asleep after twenty minutes.

No problem at all! That's why I put it out there. Yeah, Gamespot's version was pretty terrible. Even without my tripod, mine was better.

Still not quite.

You did it wrong.

Thanks Bronstring Marek Bronstring, enjoy! It was great meeting you!

And I'm home. What a supremely awesome nine days. Oh, Virgin America lost my luggage on the return flight. So there's that.

Ashby might post a slightly better shot a bit later. But this is rad regardless. This will be worth millions one day. All for now!