Extra Credits

[HandsomeDead]

Where They went wrong with Metroid: Other M.

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I like Other M on the most part, it's a cool action game; but it's hard to argue with the points drawn here.

[Sly Reflex]

I'm yet to play Other M. I can't say I'm really looking forward to it though, besides Prime 3 all of the Wii's output has left me disappointed. I have a gut feeling Other M will be the same.

[HandsomeDead]

Extra Credits improve education.

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As much as this stuff may seem to work in theory I can't see it being taken seriously enough to be applied.

[Sly Reflex]

They could do all that stuff with people helping the ones that are worse off already. A grading system is a grading system, whatever bells and whistles you attach to it.

[HandsomeDead]

Graphics v. Aesthetics!

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They just seem to be preaching to the choir with this one.

[Chinzon]

Graphics v. Aesthetics!

Ooh I'll watch this a bit later, I bet they mention Super Mario World

[HandsomeDead]

Graphics v. Aesthetics!

Ooh I'll watch this a bit later, I bet they mention Super Mario World

They don't!

[HandsomeDead]

Today we look at the route of America's obsession with the gun in games.

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Even they say play Vanquish, which is correct.

[Sly Reflex]

It's interesting that Japan gives you guns to protect yourself if everything goes wrong, where USA games give you a gun to go be aggressive. I never really thought about it like that, but it's right. Even in action games like RE4 it's more a case of defending yourself than it is marching in and slaying everything.

[HandsomeDead]

I'd never thought about it like that, too. My silly western mind. Even Vanquish is as equel as it is to movement and evading than it is to being a good shot.

This week they tackle PSNgate.

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[HandsomeDead]

Today they talk about Anonymous.

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I can't watch it myself at the moment as my internet is refusing to stream videos today, but browsing is fine. Weird.

[TopGunKnacker]

with regards to the fps episode, i think with successful japanese franchises with guns, like the mentioned re4 and vanquish, any difference in the notion of guns is in the eye of the beholder. i certainly went into that spanish village and that behemoth space station wanting to kill everything with my huge cannons.

[HandsomeDead]

I think with a lot of Japanese games that are aiming for the western market, which RE4 and Vanquish are doing, is that they try to be western but always sort of get it wrong, which is for the best as it still gives Japanese games their kitsch flavour and is more of a grey area with the culture theory. So maybe you can take those games and play the as you would a western shooter but there is gameplay mechanics within them that do still stem from Japanese ideals. Aka the hold fast survival style in RE4 or the more fast route based close quarter combat in Vanquish rather than the power fantasy stuff found in a lot of western shooters.

I guess when the power fantasy stuff comes into Japanese games is through mastery of the character rather than just being a killer shot, I'm not saying all western shooters have no sense of mastery but there is more of a focus on the shooting aspect. Gears of War and Vanquish are really similar on paper but you have to play them very differently and I think the differences do make a lot of sense in that video.

But its only a theory, one that does still make a lot of sense, though.

[TopGunKnacker]

yeah i think the observation about attitudes makes a lot of sense too, japanese and american culture is wildly different in most respects, including this one. i just mean that the difference when it comes to guns in those particular examples probably goes way over the head of westerners when theyre playing the game. mine included. plus theres inherent gameplay differences in say survival horrors compared to fps games (you want a scary, desperate game, give the player scarce ammo, make using the gun feel like a last resort) that might be the cause of a lot of the different use of guns in that case rather than a national attitude.

route based close quarter combat

dunno quite qhat you mean there buddy, the fights arent particularly any more close quarters in vanquish compared to say cod, (meleeing is powerful but massively impractial too)and they both have their sniping sections. plus its a linear game. its a dumb shooter, with some fancy bells on, like the agility of the suit.

ahhh the suits! giant (or not, see The Guyver. oh wait, he became 100ft tall megaguyver at some point too!) mechanized suits bestowing huge power upon the wearer are intensely common in japanese media. so as a side point they definitely have their own distinct power fantasies

back to re4 and vanquish tho, i just guess theyre not ver good examples of a major difference in cultures when it comes to guns imo, though i acknowledge it exists

[HandsomeDead]

route based close quarter combat

dunno quite qhat you mean there buddy, the fights arent particularly any more close quarters in vanquish compared to say cod, (meleeing is powerful but massively impractial too)and they both have their sniping sections. plus its a linear game. its a dumb shooter, with some fancy bells on, like the agility of the suit.

When I played Vanquish I'd plan a route where I knew I could use all my juice, take out as many baddies as possible, and get into cover to charge up. So I'd get usually get quite close to the action; rather than the way I usually play shooters (usually firing from somewhere safe as possible, only making risky sprints when I'm not safe any more).

[TopGunKnacker]

when i played gears of war, vanquish's closest analogue i feel, in the less linear gunfights i always pushed forward to flank them. dashing like a madman from cover to cover, putting the chainsaw to good use along the way to the stronghold etc. played it very aggressively, definitely with my own chosen route where applicable. both have a system where your melee leaves you vulnerable (vanquish massively so) so gunfights against multiple grouped enemies usually have to be fought at range. its all a lot faster and flashier in vanquish, but its the same kind of thing really.

[TopGunKnacker]

can i just add im not dissing vanquish, its the fucking nuts.

[HandsomeDead]

Fuck yeah it is.

Games award ceremonies.

<div style='width:650px;font-size: 12px;'><embed src="http://cdn2.themis-media.com/media/global/movies/player/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.5.swf" flashvars="config=http://www.themis-media.com/videos/config/3524-0b8f7a7d2fe208f1a385ad39b569e6d9.js%3Fplayer_version%3D2.5%26embed%3D1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" width="650" height="391" wmode="opaque"></embed><div><a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com'>The Escapist</a> : <a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits'>Extra Credits</a> : <a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/3524-Our-Oscars'>Our Oscars</a></div></div>

[HandsomeDead]

The role of the player.

<div style='width:650px;font-size: 12px;'><embed src="http://cdn2.themis-media.com/media/global/movies/player/flowplayer.commercial-3.2.5.swf" flashvars="config=http://www.themis-media.com/videos/config/3555-9c8772b7f27194c02a6e7d9fafdd7b45.js%3Fplayer_version%3D2.5%26embed%3D1" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" quality="high" bgcolor="#000000" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer" width="650" height="391" wmode="opaque"></embed><div><a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com'>The Escapist</a> : <a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits'>Extra Credits</a> : <a href='http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/extra-credits/3555-The-Role-of-the-Player'>The Role of the Player</a></div></div>

[Sly Reflex]

I find it interesting how people play. While I was in Texas I got chance to watch several people play various stuff and how they explained their experiences and action differed depending on their mindset and aptitude.

Rock Band was a really funny one as you would have people playing on easy even though they could clearly play a harder difficulty, some would play on the hardest setting they could cope with, some would mess up and just laugh it off, while others would mess up and get upset over it, or upset over others messing up. The players getting upset tended to be the ones pushing themselves, which as gamers, or men is a thing we tend to do. It's all about the one-upmanship for that type of player. This one particular player plays a lot of Reach and struggles to understand that sometimes people are not as good as him and rather than berate them he should be backing them up and helping them get better.