gdf

Recently completed video games

Recommended Posts

Isn't Kratos supposed to be a huge dick, though? I mean, it's one thing if you're playing the good guy, and evil stuff is portrayed as justified by the end, but if you're playing a ruthless guy without morals, isn't that the sort of stuff you should be doing?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Pretty much, yeah. I've been getting more and more irritated with stuff like that lately a well, and wholly shit did God of War 3 push all the wrong buttons in that one scene. Hell, I've avoided the Girl With a Dragon Tattoo stuff because I'm sick of the only way to make a strong female character in so many stories being to have her be a rape victim before she can ever become strong. There's so much shit like that out there that once it's pointed out to you you just can't not see it anymore.

To be as fair as possible, killing an innocent person as a side-effect of solving a puzzle is kind of a God of War tradition at this point, established in the first game where you have to set a guy in a cage on fire to get through a room. This however went too fucking far. It went beyond "Kratos is a brutal guy who does whatever it takes" into reveling it.

Having her plead with you, escorting her from room to room as you go towards the gear that you'll be using her body to jam, and on top of it all, her tits are hanging out the whole time for no reason. She's wearing a robe that literally just has the chest cut out of it and everything else normal.

Seriously. It's just fucking sick. And again, a massive fucking bummer that an amazing, unequaled (to my knowledge), and ridiculously ambitious sequence comes less than 30 minutes afterwards.

Y'know what? The more I think about it the more I doubt it was worth it. God of War 3 has some bloody amazing things. It deserves the accolades that it got from so many people for them. But, if you care at all about the messages and attitudes that your games carry, I can't recommend it to you. The fact that if I had known in advance I wouldn't have bought it should be enough for me to say that I shouldn't recommend it to others. If you love the game, I understand why. But fuck am I ever grossed out right now.

Also, please note: This does not reflect on the God of War series in general. In particular, Ghost of Sparta on PSP is one of the most fun times I've had with a portable system last year, and contains nothing so objectionable. God of War 2 on PS2 is one of my favorite action games out there. The series is really fucking good. I just can't recommend the last game in the series. The story is pretty lame anyway, so you're not missing much by skipping the conclusion.

EDIT: 'blix, you posted while I was writing that, but I think I responded well enough in what I wrote. It's not that he kills an innocent. Hell, when walking in an area with civilians, I would routinely stab them in the chest for a health boost. It was done quickly and with as much voyeurism as breaking a pot in Zelda would have been (read: none). The sequence in question was so disgusting because of the joy that the makers of the game obviously took in putting it together. From the long lead up where you're seemingly meant to be savouring it, to the creepy and out of place nudity, to the achievement with a terrible name at the end of it all, the whole thing was just gross.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds pretty terrible. I've played GoW 3 for a couple of hours, but stopped for some reason. I'll probably pick it up again, and it'll be interesting to see what it's like.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't ever really want to play God of War. It kind of confirms how I've always felt, that God of War is just a jock's wet dream (with added bloodlust) realized in video game form with high production values and probably solid controls and pacing and all the like.

To me, this is was most obviously reflected in the way David Jaffe gets upset or talks about all of his great internet battles and arguments in hindsight, but he had nothing to do with GoW 3, so I don't know what to think.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

God of War has always been excessive. That's fine. I knew what I was going in for in that respect. I don't mind the violence, and the sex scenes were always stupid little off camera things that were more funny that anything else. As I said, God of War 1, 2, and both PSP games are incredibly good and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a great character-action game. I haven't come across anyone who's done it better yet. God of War 3 does continue that tradition, but adds the really gross stuff as well. It's the fact that the action is so tight and the rest of the game is so great that's killing me about this, but gross is gross. I bought it on a one-day deal Amazon had going where you could get the HD remakes of GoW 1 and 2 bundled with GoW3 for $50 last summer, so I still feel good about the purchase because GoW 1 and 2 are so damn good and the remakes are great, but I'm bummed that 3 did what it did.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've only played the first 2 games, but i wouldn't say anything Kratos does is justified. It reminds me of how in greek mythology everything you do causes an ironic/terrible thing to happen despite your attempts to do the opposite. I don't think you're ever supposed to feel sorry for Kratos, as he mostly causes his problems through his anger, the interesting thing is watching how he gets his comeuppance. The moments I've come to appreciate are Kratos' defeats, because they are almost completely his fault. The endings of the first two games have been very Pyrrhic victories, if you can even call them victories at all. The thing I anticipate most about 3 is how he will get screwed by the Titans, this new supernatural force he's decided to trust after he's had such a terrible time with the Gods.

My favorite part would have to be in 2, when he

kills a fellow spartan who has embarked on the same quest because the room is too dark to see him

. Kratos just realizes that his life is terrible and although he blames the gods he also knows it's his fault. A huge boss appears to fight, but the controls change: Kratos' movement speed slows to a crawl as he walks around and all of the button presses cause him to just curse his existence while this huge monster attempts to kill him. Of course he snaps out of it, but that moment of realization and play subversion is great.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Bleurgh. That sounds horrible :( One day games will mature with the audience that's playing them... One day.

In other news, I'm unemployed, as this video (my second ever posted to YouTube) shows far too well...

mm9n3xBeQUo

(Yes, another Amiga "classic" completed.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Wow, this is something very obscure from my childhood gaming that I forgot about until I seen it here. Definitely want to give this a go, the MS-DOS version of course.

The Amiga version is slightly better, but I can understand going for the DOS version for ease (it was just a port of the Amiga original). It's worth looking up the controls before you begin, so you can save your progress :tup:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I've only played the first 2 games, but i wouldn't say anything Kratos does is justified. It reminds me of how in greek mythology everything you do causes an ironic/terrible thing to happen despite your attempts to do the opposite. I don't think you're ever supposed to feel sorry for Kratos, as he mostly causes his problems through his anger, the interesting thing is watching how he gets his comeuppance. The moments I've come to appreciate are Kratos' defeats, because they are almost completely his fault. The endings of the first two games have been very Pyrrhic victories, if you can even call them victories at all. The thing I anticipate most about 3 is how he will get screwed by the Titans, this new supernatural force he's decided to trust after he's had such a terrible time with the Gods.

My favorite part would have to be in 2, when he

kills a fellow spartan who has embarked on the same quest because the room is too dark to see him

. Kratos just realizes that his life is terrible and although he blames the gods he also knows it's his fault. A huge boss appears to fight, but the controls change: Kratos' movement speed slows to a crawl as he walks around and all of the button presses cause him to just curse his existence while this huge monster attempts to kill him. Of course he snaps out of it, but that moment of realization and play subversion is great.

I quite enjoyed that moment as well. I'm never looking for anything Kratos does to be justified, as yeah, the whole point is that he is a ridiculous asshole who keeps fucking himself over through his violent tendencies. What I object to isn't that Kratos is a dick, or that he doesn't have any remorse for killing innocents. As I said, treating villagers as you would a pot in a Zelda game is no problem for me. That's just the game that I'm playing, and the game that they sold me. What creeped me out and made me not like the game isn't sacrificing a person to get to my ends. It's not the fact that that person happens to be a woman either (though a part of me is more creeped out by that, if I'm willing and eager to see a woman beat the shit out of some people [see: Kick Ass, which I thought was awesome] I should be willing to see her take a hit in a fight without getting my "think of the children!" buttons pushed). It's the glee that the designers had with it. It's slow. It's drawn out. There is begging. She tries to run. She's not getting hit in a fight, she's getting hit because she's there. She's half-naked for some reason (violence is always better when it's sexualized!). And then they give you a fucking achievement for it. That's my problem. There is a puzzle later in the game that requires

placing Hera's corpse on a switch

. The fact that you're using the body of a woman you killed to solve the puzzle isn't so offensive to me there, because she's tried to kill you herself (twice!) already by that point. The woman in the disgusting puzzle just happens to be there, and you have to go so far as to rescue her from a cell before killing her. And earlier in the game you solve a nearly identical puzzle by using a pile of bricks instead of a naked lady corpse, so it really is that superfluous.

I like violent asshole Kratos. It's part of why the game is fun. It is also, as you mentioned, actually pretty in keeping with real Greek mythology. Dude is a dick, gets fucked over by fate as a consequence of his own actions, maybe passes down curse to a child. Repeat. That's pretty much the classic structure there. How it's presented matters though. You kill two innocent people as part of puzzles in that game. The first is a dude who dies pretty quickly, a bit of screaming, you barely see him, and he's dead so you can take his bow. The second is a naked lady who you chase through a series of tunnels, throw into the solution area rather brutally, and gleefully murder for an achievement. There's definitely some misogyny at work here on the developer's part. That's what disturbs me.

Anyway, I've probably talked this to death by now. Right now I'm playing the N64 Paper Mario on my Wii's Virtual Console. Much happier gaming experience.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
It's the glee that the designers had with it. It's slow. It's drawn out. There is begging. She tries to run. She's not getting hit in a fight, she's getting hit because she's there. She's half-naked for some reason (violence is always better when it's sexualized!). And then they give you a fucking achievement for it. That's my problem.

I totally get this, and I expect I'll react in much the same way.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Anyway, I've probably talked this to death by now. Right now I'm playing the N64 Paper Mario on my Wii's Virtual Console. Much happier gaming experience.

Just wait until you get to the part where Mario takes an innocent toad, rips the top of his head off, and uses it as a trampoline to reach a platform.

It's amazing how much brutality they managed to convey with the paper aestethics.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just wait until you get to the part where Mario takes an innocent toad, rips the top of his head off, and uses it as a trampoline to reach a platform.

It's amazing how much brutality they managed to convey with the paper aestethics.

Oh man, when I beat it in 2001 I totally must have glossed that scene over. My goal of replaying all three Paper Mario games before the end of the year may have to be put on hold.

Also, Thunderpeel, I'm not sure how to feel about the new Tomb Raider game. I read that whole thread and found both sides of the argument to be pretty compelling, enough so that I figured I'd hold off on any kind of judgement until after the game's release. The designer's intent in that game is kind of questionable from the interview that was linked, but you're certainly not wrong. That said; the "If you enjoy seeing bad things happen to pretty ladies" quote from IGN is pretty stupid and awful, and the mocking of the quote was what I found funny, ignoring any claims about the game whatsoever.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
In other news, I'm unemployed,

;(

mm9n3xBeQUo

(Yes, another Amiga "classic" completed.)

Is that James Pond? I know nothing about James Pond.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

James Pond is awesome. My brother had the two first real sidescroller games, but we never had the Aquatic Games. I did play that a bit at a friend's place in the 90's.

I actually once bought the GBA port of the second game Codename: Robocod.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Also, Thunderpeel, I'm not sure how to feel about the new Tomb Raider game. I read that whole thread and found both sides of the argument to be pretty compelling, enough so that I figured I'd hold off on any kind of judgement until after the game's release. The designer's intent in that game is kind of questionable from the interview that was linked, but you're certainly not wrong. That said; the "If you enjoy seeing bad things happen to pretty ladies" quote from IGN is pretty stupid and awful, and the mocking of the quote was what I found funny, ignoring any claims about the game whatsoever.

That's cool. I don't like that quote, either. Hmm. I think we're all going to see where they finally end up with this... I'm still not sure either way. It could definitely be as horrible as some are suggesting. Time will tell!

James Pond is awesome. My brother had the two first real sidescroller games, but we never had the Aquatic Games. I did play that a bit at a friend's place in the 90's.

I actually once bought the GBA port of the second game Codename: Robocod.

Yep. This is the James Pond game they released between Robocod and James Pond 3. Personally I've never been a fan, and I particularly disliked the Aquatic Games because it was so randomly difficult... but it always bugged me that I could never complete it.

Cue: Man with lots of free time on his hands :grin:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was finally able to get a hold of the Russian copy of Samorost 2 recently and the game is now complete. Very short and sweet. Took less than an hour. I guess I really don't need to be spending a ton of time on games anyway right now, but I wanted a little bit more.

Still great, and I have the tiny art booklet. Woohoo!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I was really angry at the point when they announced James Pond 3: Operation Starfish and didn't make it to Amiga. Even though according to Wikipedia they did make it to Amiga and bunch of other platforms, what the hell? I though it was only made to Mega Drive and SNES...

Why did I think as a kid that it will not be ever done to Amiga? Were the first platforms Mega Drive/SNES?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Just finished the campaign of Dawn of War 1. It's clearly very basic skirmishes with a few small alterations. I did like the story and voice over work, although I wish some of the cutscenes were done out of engine. Some of them came off pretty silly because of the animations not being meant for close up views.

As for the gameplay, I wasn't super impressed. There's an issue with the basic control that is infuriating. Units who I've set to attack move across the map will fight one enemy and just stop, vehicles and infantry will get tied up together on scenery, squads will stop short so that not all units can fire. Nothing felt as responsive as I wanted it to feel. Luckily, with the way squads work it's never the end of the world. Losing one man isn't as impactful as it would be in other games. I did like the idea of squads as being the default number of units that you would find useful. It's like C&C's X of 5 infantry. I definitely had the most fun when there was open space and I had hotkeyed all my different weapon specialist marine groups and could choose the correct targets to minimize damage.

I'm thinking about doing Winter Assault and Dark Crusade for the story, so I can finally play DoW2, but I'll gladly skip them if the plot isn't related. Could anyone let me know whether or not that's the case?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Just finished the campaign of Dawn of War 1. It's clearly very basic skirmishes with a few small alterations. I did like the story and voice over work, although I wish some of the cutscenes were done out of engine. Some of them came off pretty silly because of the animations not being meant for close up views.

As for the gameplay, I wasn't super impressed. There's an issue with the basic control that is infuriating. Units who I've set to attack move across the map will fight one enemy and just stop, vehicles and infantry will get tied up together on scenery, squads will stop short so that not all units can fire. Nothing felt as responsive as I wanted it to feel. Luckily, with the way squads work it's never the end of the world. Losing one man isn't as impactful as it would be in other games. I did like the idea of squads as being the default number of units that you would find useful. It's like C&C's X of 5 infantry. I definitely had the most fun when there was open space and I had hotkeyed all my different weapon specialist marine groups and could choose the correct targets to minimize damage.

I'm thinking about doing Winter Assault and Dark Crusade for the story, so I can finally play DoW2, but I'll gladly skip them if the plot isn't related. Could anyone let me know whether or not that's the case?

DC has no story, the plot to DoW II isn't related to DoW.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Alright, good to know. Since I've already installed them, I'll play a little bit of the expansions. I'll definitely stop once I get bored though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now