The RI Clusterfuck Video Game(s) of the Year

[FourthBase]

Probably ought to expand this thread to cover all video games.

Wikipedia page
US official site

I was at a friend's apartment last night watching him play this. There's about 15 pages' worth of discussion to be had about this game. The constant "jihadist" chatter, the truly vicious violence, the fucking warped sci-fi premise, the masonic references, and the unsubtle/subtle deep-geopolitical propaganda throughout the game is nauseatingly dense. Some of the visual aspects are breathtakingly beautiful, complex, and innovative, I'll say that much for it -- especially the cut scenes with authentic first-person depth of field. One of the many double-take things about the game is that the main character bears a striking resemblance to Lee Harvey Oswald (with a little Jason Kidd mixed in).

[chillin]

I thought http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Behin ... nal_Forces was the current title holder =)

[rothbardian]

chillin--

What did you see with the Left Behind game? Was there Masonic symbolism and such? The guy who originated the whole Left Behind thing, Tim LaHaye, with all the books and movies, is another one of these (in my view) very weird "Christian" posers who is actually heavily into occult behind the scenes. If you noticed any 'weirdness' in connection with the video game, that would be interesting.

[chillin]

I haven't played it. It's just the basic idea of the game that I find strange, going around converting or killing anyone who's not Christian.

[Fat Lady Singing]

Hi all: Interesting you mentioning this game (the Assassins one, not the Left Behind one). We've got a DVR, so we can skip most commercials, although some capture our interest and we watch them.

Commercials for this game have been flooding the airwaves *we* watch, anyway. I've rarely seen video game commercials so elaborate, or so lengthy. My guess is that they have quite a bit of capital invested in this game... and perhaps there's more at stake, now that you describe it.

Edited for clarification.

[FourthBase]

Hi all: Interesting you mentioning this game (the Assassins one, not the Left Behind one). We've got a DVR, so we can skip most commercials, although some capture our interest and we watch them.

Commercials for this game have been flooding the airwaves *we* watch, anyway. I've rarely seen video game commercials so elaborate, or so lengthy. My guess is that they have quite a bit of capital invested in this game... and perhaps there's more at stake, now that you describe it.

Edited for clarification.

I would also guess they invested a fortune in it, and years of work.

[orz]

My guess is that they have quite a bit of capital invested in this game

All games nowadays have a great amount of capital invested in them. The industry is now bigger than the film industry, and the consoles have reached the point, power-wise, that the games companies are actually finding it very hard to even be able to afford to make games of the required technical standard. A major game release is a HUGE project these days,


This one does sound like and interesting and weird premise for a game, for sure.

[theeKultleeder]

I was going to start a new thread, but I'll stick this here if no one minds:

I've mentioned that I've been playing a first-person shooter game lately. Well, this morning I was dreaming I was "in the game." And it wasn't chunks of actual game play or the animated images, either. I had become a fully fleshed character in a material world; a physical game world with real flesh and fire and guns (in this case, laser-rifles).

I half awoke into a hypnogogic state, and as I opened my eyes, one of the characters I had been shooting at was standing right there in my room. He was holding a grenade, ready to launch it at me, and he was saying "Oh really? Oh really?"

As I awoke a little further, I noticed his shape blurring around the edges. It was like his form was destabilizing. I actually willed him to disappear by saying out loud "poof" and he was gone. Standing where this fully realized dream figure had been in my room a moment ago was a lamp.

I enjoy dreaming like this.



The Assassin's Creed looks like a fabulous game. I think the main person behind it is a woman. If one looks at video games as immersive fiction, some of the problems of interpreting them go away.

And yes, Left Behind is disgusting. LaHaye was indeed an occult astrologer before he ingratiated himself with Christians.

[8bitagent]

Anyone remember Dues Ex and Dues Ex 2? Now that was the ultimate parapolitic game.

[theeKultleeder]

Anyone remember Dues Ex and Dues Ex 2? Now that was the ultimate parapolitic game.

I never got to play them. If there are Mac versions, I will.

[FourthBase]

Didn't mean to suggest this was the ultimate RI video game.
Just the most RI-related video game of the year, IMO.

Played some of it myself tonight, and by refraining from the murder one is supposed to commit, the gameplay is just so much fun and immersive and visually appealing. A little repetitive, and a little glitchy. Otherwise very enjoyable. Without the slaughter.

[Stephen Morgan]

I haven't played it. It's just the basic idea of the game that I find strange, going around converting or killing anyone who's not Christian.

"No, you just winged him. You made him a Unitarian."

[8bitagent]

I notice a LOT of "RI" themes in ghost in the shell the series.

Soul implanted machines, child sex kidnapping, false flag government terrorism, intelligence black ops, proxy PMC warfare, you name it.

[FourthBase]

Hugh's gonna love this:

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a ... /712060306

Coming a Long Way: Women love violent video games, too

My fiancée played cute Wii games at first, like Table Tennis and Rayman Raving Rabbids. But it was a bloody fighting title that turned her into a game nut for the first time in her life.

There she was, stomping people, punching them in the throat, and trying to rip out their spines.

"What is this game?" Stephanie asked excitedly.

"Mortal Kombat: Armageddon," I said.

"Oh!" she called out with a shock, knowing the great old game only from its controversial "bloody" headlines a decade ago. "THIS is what Mortal Komba' is?"

And so, the video game industry often presumes new women gamers will only be interested in bunnies, sudoku and sparkle ponies. But the truth is women enjoy anything good (just like men do), if they're enticed to give it a chance. And the Wii magically draws in women.

"The standard game console makes no sense to us," Stephanie says. "All those buttons and controls. And we give up easily. The Wii is far less intimidating, and we can easily master the controls."

The controls, by the way, also vibrate, and this is cool, she says.

Lately, there's a whole slate of violent games for the Wii. Nintendo even has an excellent new gun device called the Wii Zapper for $25. It looks like a small rifle. You snap your Wii controllers into it, and you point the whole thing at the TV, which reads your aim and trigger finger.

You can use the Zapper if you want to dive into a typical "guy's game," Medal of Honor: Heroes 2. It's a fairly entertaining, rather difficult World War II shooter. You crouch. You gun down Nazis. You walk ahead some more. And this goes on for many hours.

If, however, you're like Stephanie and prefer fighting games, WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2008 is the standard bearer of wrestling matches. It's good fun.

You use whichever wrestling style you like -- technical, dirty, submission -- to punch, kick and pile-drive burly men.

Sometimes, when one guy is power-holding another guy, this looks, um, romantic.

You want to stay away from Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, because it's just an arcade shooter. The game forces you down various paths, things pop up in front of you, and all you do is aim guns and blast them in the head. It's OK, though very utilitarian, like a shooting gallery.

And it's just not on par with the Wii's Resident Evil 4, one of the best games of all time.

"4" is very hard. Crazy farmers act like zombies as they come at you with pitchforks and other weapons. You snake your way through a very long story, killing the farmers and some anti-American religious cultists.

But the Wii game that seems destined to appeal to women is Lara Croft: Tomb Raider Anniversary. It's an updated version of the original Tomb Raider games. It's a masterpiece.

You explore tombs and cities by running through them, climbing ropes and walls, swinging across open spaces from a grapple hook, swimming underwater and, of course, shooting anything that gets in your way, which includes bears. Poor little bears.

New women gamers will also see why guys have been into Lara Croft so much visually. When she shimmies poles and does heaving-bosom splits while climbing ledges, it looks like the cleanest-dirty game ever. So it seems like it's made for a man, but it's strong enough for a woman.

From same article:

Here are the Top 10 best-selling video games, according to retailer Blockbuster. Games are listed by title, company, gaming system, and rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board.

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision) for Xbox 360; also available for PS 3, DS; rated "M" (blood, gore intense violence, strong language)

2. Mass Effect (Microsoft) for Xbox 360; rated "M" (blood, language, partial nudity, sexual themes, violence)

3. Assassin's Creed (UbiSoft) for Xbox 360; also available for PS 3; rated "M" (blood, strong language, violence)

4. Need for Speed: ProStreet (EA) for PS 2; also available for Xbox 360, PS 3, Wii, DS; rated "E 10+" (suggestive themes)

5. Rock Band: Special Editions (EA) for Xbox 360; also available for PS 3; rated "T" (lyrics, mild suggestive themes)

6. Assassin's Creed for PS 3

7. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo) for Wii; rated "E" (mild cartoon violence)

8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for PS 3

9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Aspyr Media) for Xbox 360; also available for Wii, PS 3, PS 2; "T" (lyrics, mild suggestive themes)

10. Need for Speed: ProStreet for Xbox 360

More recent rental leaderboard in Toronto:

TORONTO - The most popular game rentals (all platforms) according to Rogers Video for the period ending Dec. 2.

1 Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360)

2 Mass Effect (Xbox 360)

3 Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo Wii)

4 Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (Xbox 360)

5 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360)

6 Mario and Sonic at the Olympics (Nintendo Wii)

7 Assassin's Creed (PlayStation 3)

8 Kane and Lynch: Dead Men (PlayStation 3)

9 Halo (Xbox 360)

10 Need for Speed: Pro Street (Xbox 360)

And now onto the "good stuff":

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?secti ... id=5812939

NEW YORK -- Parents are getting a failing grade when it comes to knowing what video games their kids are playing.
A new report finds many kids are playing games they shouldn't be.
ABC's Jake Tapper has more.
In its annual report card, the National Institute on Media and the Family lists Assassin's Creed, Stranglehold, The Darkness and other violent video games as ones Santa should not leave under the tree this holiday season.
Retailers are criticized for not doing enough to keep extremely violent games out of the hands of children, but the report is especially harsh when it comes to parents. Seven out of 10, it says, know little or nothing about the video game rating system.
"One of the messages of the report card for the last couple of years, and it's again this year, is that we parents need to step up, we need to know what are kids are playing," said Dr. David Walsh, of the institute.
Games rated M for mature are intended for players 17 years old and older. Despite that, almost half of the under-age secret shoppers the institute sent to buy M rated games were able to do so.
Thirteen-year-old video game enthusiasts we spoke to say the games have no real impact on them.
"I'll play grand theft auto for like an hour straight, and I'll go on missions where you have to do drive-by's and stuff, but I'm not going to get a gun and attack someone [YET]," teen Connor Maxwell said.
One thing the report card says the kids and parents agree on is that these games are increasingly causing family friction.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j-L6 ... gD8TARCG80

WASHINGTON (AP) — Graphic scenes of gunshot victims spurting blood and a man urinating into a prisoner's cell are included among the 10 video games that a media watchdog group warns should be avoided by kids and teens under 17.

With the holiday shopping season in full swing, the National Institute on Media and the Family presented its 12th annual video game report card Tuesday to help parents decide what games are appropriate for their children.

"There's an endless stream of new games that will never be suitable for children," said Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who joined institute officials and other lawmakers at a news conference.

Efforts to protect children from the dangers posed by excessively violent video games have not kept pace with growth of the video game industry, the institute said.

Institute officials cited "growing complacency" among game retailers, parents and the gaming industry on video game ratings.

"Unfortunately, we're seeing some steps backwards," said institute president David Walsh.

Walsh said fewer retailers, for example, are participating in efforts to educate their customers and employers about the video game ratings.

The institute, a media watchdog group, cited figures showing that nearly half of kids between 8 and 12 have played M-rated games intended for those 17 and over.

But the industry's Entertainment Software Rating Board, which assigns game ratings, defended the effectiveness of its program.

"At a time of year when parents are looking for helpful guidance about video games, this year's report card does little more than sow unwarranted doubt about effective tools like ESRB ratings," said ESRB president Patricia Vance.

Vance said a recent Federal Trade Commission report called the ESRB rating system useful and informative for parents.

The institute showed gory scenes of sword, gun and knife violence from several video games. A scene from "Assassin's Creed" depicts an attacker plunging a knife into his victim's back several times. A man in "Manhunt 2" taunts a prisoner by urinating into the man's cell. A fallen victim's body is riddled with gunfire as blood spurts across the screen in "The Darkness."

The group's list of 10 "games to avoid, " all M-rated, are in the video game report card on its Web site, http://www.mediafamily.org, along with a list of recommended games for kids and teens.

Here's the "Report Card":

http://www.mediafamily.org/research/200 ... t_Card.pdf

"An Ominous Backslide on Multiple Fronts"

The bibliography is probably a fucking goldmine.

Finally, this hilarious and mostly accurate review of Assassin's Creed:

http://news.filefront.com/zero-punctuat ... he-throat/

[AlanStrangis]

I was going to start a new thread, but I'll stick this here if no one minds:

I've mentioned that I've been playing a first-person shooter game lately. Well, this morning I was dreaming I was "in the game." And it wasn't chunks of actual game play or the animated images, either. I had become a fully fleshed character in a material world; a physical game world with real flesh and fire and guns (in this case, laser-rifles).

I half awoke into a hypnogogic state, and as I opened my eyes, one of the characters I had been shooting at was standing right there in my room. He was holding a grenade, ready to launch it at me, and he was saying "Oh really? Oh really?"

As I awoke a little further, I noticed his shape blurring around the edges. It was like his form was destabilizing. I actually willed him to disappear by saying out loud "poof" and he was gone. Standing where this fully realized dream figure had been in my room a moment ago was a lamp.

I enjoy dreaming like this.

I've had very similar experiences in the past as well (if I'm lucky a couple of times a year), after getting engrossed in a game. I wish it were more frequent, because I rarely remember more than a fleeting emotion or snippet from my dreams. I remember a Prince of Persia Two Thrones induced dream almost as vividly as a 2 day clinical LSD trip from many, many years ago.

I think games, especially well made modern games that depend on more complex stories and advanced graphics, affect players differently on a subconscious level than books or film (or insert media). Instead of passive viewing, these games make you become the star of the show, which creates a different emotional response than other media. One feels they have something at stake when playing a game. A well-designed game can stimulate us on a visual/audible level (like a movie) while giving the player that sense of creation (though in a different form) that one gets from a book.

As a side note, I found out why I recall dreams less frequently than most. About 2 years ago, my girlfriend convinced me to go to a sleep clinic because she was concerned about my snoring actually being apnea... (and rightly so... I'm one of those 'walls tremble when I sleep' kind of people). I went to a clinic here in Toronto with a great reputation did a multi-day test where they do sensory deprivation as well as sleep studies, hooked up to electrodes and a clunky box with a parallel port for data collection for 2 days straight (what? no USB?).

About a month after the testing was the follow up discussion, and I found out that I'm a VERY deep sleeper. The Dr. showed me what an average chart is like, and when it comes to brain waves, I'm well below the surface for a higher percentage of time than most people. He also said this is why I probably only sleep about 5.5 - 6 hrs a night, and don't feel tired in the morning.