Tracy Emin?
Yeah, whatever.
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Artwork of the Month
Tracy Emin?
Yeah, whatever.
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
A Little Solidarity, Please!
Earlier this year the Venezuelan court officially outlawed violent video games in the formally Spanish-owned South American Republic, adding to the ruling that anyone caught importing, selling or distributing said digital contraband could face up to 3-5 years imprisonment.
Now, I’m not here to attack the Venezuelan government or its legislation no matter how misguided, but as yet another overreaction to video games-be they of an adult nature or not-one has to ask: What is it about video games that garner such a strong reaction from what is, ostensibly, an entire generation?
Video games have always been kept at arms length, even sneered at, by those who simply don’t understand or are confused by them. In its infancy video gaming was predominantly the pastime of young men who-as it has often been thought- chose to lock themselves away in darkened rooms tapping furiously away at keyboards, gazing unblinkingly into TV monitors, communicating in lines of code that that to many were a complete mystery; the realm of the geek, the nerd and the loner. This was the widely accepted view, a stigma if you like, of the videogamer and those who created these quirky, yet extremely complex, slices of electronic entertainment. While it probably didn’t do one much good in the eyes of the opposite sex, it was an otherwise harmless depiction of video games and those who partook in them.
When the Sony Playstation exploded into the conscious mind of the mainstream in 1994 in Japan and 1995 in the US and Europe respectively, video games were given whole new lease of life. Using an aggressive marketing campaign largely aimed at the twenty-something male demographic with a disposable income, (who at this point had probably only had fleeting moments with video games during their childhood), Sony, quite literally, turned the entire industry up-side-down. Sony had brought the arcade into your living room with ground breaking titles like Ridge Racer, Tekken and Wipeout then later with Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo; some of the stigma that had become attached to video gaming began to wash away. As the brand grew in strength with the release of the Playstation 2, Sony upped its campaign for front room domination, steering their product in the direction of whole families with innovations such as the Eyetoy, Singstar and Guitar Hero.
In time having a Playstation, or indeed any games console, in your front room was as common place as the family DVD player. Video games hadn’t just become ‘acceptable’; they had, to some extent, become ‘cool’. But over the pursuing years, even as video games were becoming more widely accepted as a valued form of entertainment, there were those who began to take a very ugly view of the pastime. For some, video games were about to become the new video nasties.
On the 27th February 2004 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah was murdered by his friend Warren Leblanc, 17. The police cited the motive as a drug-related robbery but this didn’t stop the media bringing video games into the furor; in this case it was British based developer Rockstar North’s violent, adult themed survival horror Manhunt. It was claimed that Leblanc was ‘obsessed’ with the game and was suggested that it [Manhunt] played a major part in this heinous crime. During court proceedings it was discovered that it was in fact Stefan Pakeerah that owned the video game, not his killer. That didn’t stop the media of course. What followed was an unashamedly brutal attack directed at the games industry, most notably from The Daily Mail who, during the week surrounding the news of the murder, ran with the headline “Murder by Playstation” This was quickly followed up the following day with “Ban These Evil Games” Both issues featured a colourful collection of box art and screen grabs from various adult video games. Unsurprisingly these images, combined with some juicy sound bites, were completely taken out of context in an attempt to drive home whatever message the Daily Mail was trying to convey to its readership.
As you might expect everyone jumped on the band wagon. From the red-top tabloids, women’s lifestyle magazines, prime time news channels, in fact pretty much everyone with an opinion and who had an outlet to express that opinion were lining up to have stab at the games industry. Even some MPs began to voice their ‘concerns’, particularly Labour MP and prolific anti-violent video game campaigner, Keith Vaz, who still maintains to this day that Manhunt, contrary to the evidence, played a key role in Stefan Pakeerah’s tragic death. Sadly even key players in the retail side of the industry had their part to play as they hurried to pull the game from shelves for fear of a media backlash.
Then there’s Florida Attorney, Jack Thompson, whose own campaign against video games, or ‘murder simulators’ as he coined them, (particularly the multi-million selling franchise, Grand Theft Auto, -another Rockstar title), became synonymous with every anti-video game campaign that ever took up residence outside a developers front door. From gangland murders to school shootings, Mr. Thompson was leading the charge in trying to bring violent video games to the forefront of everybody’s mind as the catalyst in many of the gun related crimes taking place up and down America.
As the games industry has grown so has the number of people eager to stick the metaphorical boot into video games. Even the animal rights group, “The Academy of Notre Dame’s Animal Rights Club” has had a pop, stating that the killing of guard dogs in Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War was cruel and “should not be a form of entertainment”.
It doesn’t end with video games turning us all into monsters either. More recently there are those who would have us believe that the ever growing issue of obesity, (particularly amongst our children), sits squarely at the feet of interactive entertainment. Even in the light of motion controlled systems like the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft’s forth coming NATAL and Sony’s Playstation Move-gaming systems that would have us all jumping around like numpties-for a small majority, video games are the root of us all piling the on the pounds. Far be it for me to suggest that playing video games for hours on end each day is a healthy lifestyle choice-like with anything moderation is the key-but in a society where there’s an ever growing concern that a whole generation is slowly becoming dangerously un-healthy through poor lifestyle choices it doesn’t take a leap of faith to see that laying the blame directly at the door of just one [probable] cause is counterproductive to finding a solution to what is a much wider issue.
“Kids need to get out more”. True, but they also need hobbies that are both stimulating and rewarding and arguably video games are one such pastime. Again, it’s all a case of moderation.
So why such hatred, nay fear, of what is predominantly a fun, exciting and often rewarding pastime? One that has in more recent times brought people from all over the world together-particularly since the launch of the Nintendo Wii in 2006-in the enjoyment of playing games? Yes there are violent video games, (all of which are rated accordingly I hasten to add), and yes for the most part it is a passive form of entertainment, but as adults, (and for some of us, as parents), surely we’re allowed to make our own decisions and not be told as to what is deemed suitable when it comes to what video games we play and how long we play them for? Isn’t the freedom to make our own decisions on any aspect of our daily lives part and parcel of a free thinking, democratic society?
To quote the late Bill Hicks: “Did I miss a meeting?”
More and more people are playing and enjoying video games than ever before, but why our beloved hobby is still continually sneered at, looked down upon and condemned by so many is anyone’s guess. The recent law brought about in Venezuela has only gone to further serve the fact that video games still have a long way to go before they find true acceptance as a valued art form. We are getting there, a bit at a time, but for some though, it would seem, that time will never come; a case of fearing what they don’t understand, and much like in the tale of Frankenstein’s Monster they gather en masse, pitchfork and flaming torch in hand, ready to smite down that which they have, through their lack of understanding, come to loath.
Now, I’m not here to attack the Venezuelan government or its legislation no matter how misguided, but as yet another overreaction to video games-be they of an adult nature or not-one has to ask: What is it about video games that garner such a strong reaction from what is, ostensibly, an entire generation?
Video games have always been kept at arms length, even sneered at, by those who simply don’t understand or are confused by them. In its infancy video gaming was predominantly the pastime of young men who-as it has often been thought- chose to lock themselves away in darkened rooms tapping furiously away at keyboards, gazing unblinkingly into TV monitors, communicating in lines of code that that to many were a complete mystery; the realm of the geek, the nerd and the loner. This was the widely accepted view, a stigma if you like, of the videogamer and those who created these quirky, yet extremely complex, slices of electronic entertainment. While it probably didn’t do one much good in the eyes of the opposite sex, it was an otherwise harmless depiction of video games and those who partook in them.
When the Sony Playstation exploded into the conscious mind of the mainstream in 1994 in Japan and 1995 in the US and Europe respectively, video games were given whole new lease of life. Using an aggressive marketing campaign largely aimed at the twenty-something male demographic with a disposable income, (who at this point had probably only had fleeting moments with video games during their childhood), Sony, quite literally, turned the entire industry up-side-down. Sony had brought the arcade into your living room with ground breaking titles like Ridge Racer, Tekken and Wipeout then later with Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid and Gran Turismo; some of the stigma that had become attached to video gaming began to wash away. As the brand grew in strength with the release of the Playstation 2, Sony upped its campaign for front room domination, steering their product in the direction of whole families with innovations such as the Eyetoy, Singstar and Guitar Hero.
In time having a Playstation, or indeed any games console, in your front room was as common place as the family DVD player. Video games hadn’t just become ‘acceptable’; they had, to some extent, become ‘cool’. But over the pursuing years, even as video games were becoming more widely accepted as a valued form of entertainment, there were those who began to take a very ugly view of the pastime. For some, video games were about to become the new video nasties.
On the 27th February 2004 14 year old Stefan Pakeerah was murdered by his friend Warren Leblanc, 17. The police cited the motive as a drug-related robbery but this didn’t stop the media bringing video games into the furor; in this case it was British based developer Rockstar North’s violent, adult themed survival horror Manhunt. It was claimed that Leblanc was ‘obsessed’ with the game and was suggested that it [Manhunt] played a major part in this heinous crime. During court proceedings it was discovered that it was in fact Stefan Pakeerah that owned the video game, not his killer. That didn’t stop the media of course. What followed was an unashamedly brutal attack directed at the games industry, most notably from The Daily Mail who, during the week surrounding the news of the murder, ran with the headline “Murder by Playstation” This was quickly followed up the following day with “Ban These Evil Games” Both issues featured a colourful collection of box art and screen grabs from various adult video games. Unsurprisingly these images, combined with some juicy sound bites, were completely taken out of context in an attempt to drive home whatever message the Daily Mail was trying to convey to its readership.
As you might expect everyone jumped on the band wagon. From the red-top tabloids, women’s lifestyle magazines, prime time news channels, in fact pretty much everyone with an opinion and who had an outlet to express that opinion were lining up to have stab at the games industry. Even some MPs began to voice their ‘concerns’, particularly Labour MP and prolific anti-violent video game campaigner, Keith Vaz, who still maintains to this day that Manhunt, contrary to the evidence, played a key role in Stefan Pakeerah’s tragic death. Sadly even key players in the retail side of the industry had their part to play as they hurried to pull the game from shelves for fear of a media backlash.
Then there’s Florida Attorney, Jack Thompson, whose own campaign against video games, or ‘murder simulators’ as he coined them, (particularly the multi-million selling franchise, Grand Theft Auto, -another Rockstar title), became synonymous with every anti-video game campaign that ever took up residence outside a developers front door. From gangland murders to school shootings, Mr. Thompson was leading the charge in trying to bring violent video games to the forefront of everybody’s mind as the catalyst in many of the gun related crimes taking place up and down America.
As the games industry has grown so has the number of people eager to stick the metaphorical boot into video games. Even the animal rights group, “The Academy of Notre Dame’s Animal Rights Club” has had a pop, stating that the killing of guard dogs in Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War was cruel and “should not be a form of entertainment”.
It doesn’t end with video games turning us all into monsters either. More recently there are those who would have us believe that the ever growing issue of obesity, (particularly amongst our children), sits squarely at the feet of interactive entertainment. Even in the light of motion controlled systems like the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft’s forth coming NATAL and Sony’s Playstation Move-gaming systems that would have us all jumping around like numpties-for a small majority, video games are the root of us all piling the on the pounds. Far be it for me to suggest that playing video games for hours on end each day is a healthy lifestyle choice-like with anything moderation is the key-but in a society where there’s an ever growing concern that a whole generation is slowly becoming dangerously un-healthy through poor lifestyle choices it doesn’t take a leap of faith to see that laying the blame directly at the door of just one [probable] cause is counterproductive to finding a solution to what is a much wider issue.
“Kids need to get out more”. True, but they also need hobbies that are both stimulating and rewarding and arguably video games are one such pastime. Again, it’s all a case of moderation.
So why such hatred, nay fear, of what is predominantly a fun, exciting and often rewarding pastime? One that has in more recent times brought people from all over the world together-particularly since the launch of the Nintendo Wii in 2006-in the enjoyment of playing games? Yes there are violent video games, (all of which are rated accordingly I hasten to add), and yes for the most part it is a passive form of entertainment, but as adults, (and for some of us, as parents), surely we’re allowed to make our own decisions and not be told as to what is deemed suitable when it comes to what video games we play and how long we play them for? Isn’t the freedom to make our own decisions on any aspect of our daily lives part and parcel of a free thinking, democratic society?
To quote the late Bill Hicks: “Did I miss a meeting?”
More and more people are playing and enjoying video games than ever before, but why our beloved hobby is still continually sneered at, looked down upon and condemned by so many is anyone’s guess. The recent law brought about in Venezuela has only gone to further serve the fact that video games still have a long way to go before they find true acceptance as a valued art form. We are getting there, a bit at a time, but for some though, it would seem, that time will never come; a case of fearing what they don’t understand, and much like in the tale of Frankenstein’s Monster they gather en masse, pitchfork and flaming torch in hand, ready to smite down that which they have, through their lack of understanding, come to loath.
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Video Game Character of the Month
A new blog and a new category. And what better way to start said category than with one of the many [disturbingly] lovely ladies of popular video game beat 'em up 'Dead or Alive'.
Rio is a new character who has been introduced in a recent release for the Playstation Portable, DOA: Paradise. For those of you who don't know, DOA: Paradise is yet another installment from the often dubious series of Dead or Alive spin offs involving beach volleyball, photo shoots, gambling and an assortment of other mini games.
Rio plays the role of dealer in the DOA Paradise casino where games from Poker to Roulette are yours to enjoy and make some cash to spend on the island. Like with all of the DOA ladies in the series, you can also take some [rather questionable] photos of Rio relaxing by the pool and whatnot. DOA Beach Volleyball, (and the sequential games that followed it), is all about chilling out, taking your time and relaxing; it certainly makes a change from all the blood, guts and guns that currently dominates the western video game market. Only in Japan could a game like this ever come into existance, and that's why they're a joy to play.
Sadly there has been no official announcement of another DOA fighter since DOA 4, (which was one of the Xbox 360's more solid launch titles), but if developer/publisher TECMO are anything to go by, even in the absence of Dead or Alives' creator and lead designer, Tomonobu Itagaki, then they won't let up on a chance to introduce Rio-and no doubt her own unique selection of costumes-into the combat arena.
Pfft, who needs Lara Croft.
Beautifully drawn, wonderfully animated, technically brilliant and with easily the best multi-tiered fighting arenas of the genre, the Dead or Alive series, (overly sexualised female protagonists aside), remains one of the best 3D fighters on the market.
Here's hoping for Dead or Alive 5...
Rio is a new character who has been introduced in a recent release for the Playstation Portable, DOA: Paradise. For those of you who don't know, DOA: Paradise is yet another installment from the often dubious series of Dead or Alive spin offs involving beach volleyball, photo shoots, gambling and an assortment of other mini games.
Rio plays the role of dealer in the DOA Paradise casino where games from Poker to Roulette are yours to enjoy and make some cash to spend on the island. Like with all of the DOA ladies in the series, you can also take some [rather questionable] photos of Rio relaxing by the pool and whatnot. DOA Beach Volleyball, (and the sequential games that followed it), is all about chilling out, taking your time and relaxing; it certainly makes a change from all the blood, guts and guns that currently dominates the western video game market. Only in Japan could a game like this ever come into existance, and that's why they're a joy to play.
Pfft, who needs Lara Croft.
Beautifully drawn, wonderfully animated, technically brilliant and with easily the best multi-tiered fighting arenas of the genre, the Dead or Alive series, (overly sexualised female protagonists aside), remains one of the best 3D fighters on the market.
Here's hoping for Dead or Alive 5...
Sunday, 4 April 2010
7outof10 Forums are now up!
Whilst we love reading all of your comments and Tweets, we figured it was about time to create a more varied and free-form hotpot of opinion and debate over here at 7outof10 Towers, and so today we’re unveiling the fruits of our labours and inviting you all to participate in the freshly-minted 7outof10 Forums.
Please feel free to make them your home to discuss gaming news, reviews, arrange play sessions, submit stuff to the site, or generally moan about whatever takes your fancy. We welcome all of your feedback, and our merry team of moderators will be on-hand to assist and poke about as necessary.
On top of that, we’ve also got a bunch of free stuff to give away throughout April.
Jump in!
7outof10 Forums
Editor
Manuel Brown.
Please feel free to make them your home to discuss gaming news, reviews, arrange play sessions, submit stuff to the site, or generally moan about whatever takes your fancy. We welcome all of your feedback, and our merry team of moderators will be on-hand to assist and poke about as necessary.
On top of that, we’ve also got a bunch of free stuff to give away throughout April.
Jump in!
7outof10 Forums
Editor
Manuel Brown.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
7outof10-Video games & stuff
Looking for a good video game site, one written by gamers for gamers? Then this is the place to visit. It also happens to be the web magazine I write for, so you'll excuse the blatent plug. Here's the link: 7outof10
Friday, 12 March 2010
Game Review: MAG-PS3
Technically speaking MAG is quite an achievement with teams made up of 64-128 players battling it out over huge, war torn environments with visuals that, while not as aesthetically pleasing as some other titles, still pack a punch with a frame rate that rarely misses a beat. It’s this level of commitment to keeping everything tightly sewn together that clearly sets SOCOM teams’ Grand Opus as more than just a tech-demo showing off the PS3’s extra grunt secretly hidden away beneath all that black, shiny plastic.
The front end is as much as one would expect from an FPS title. There’s a selection of different soldier types ranging from mercenaries, war criminals, ex-special operatives and so on. Each of these are placed into separate factions, (SVER, Raven and Valour), and each have their own selection of weapons and equipment to choose from. One you’ve decided your soldier type, faction and initial weapons loadout, (there are three to begin with, with others being unlocked as you progress), you’re ready to enter the combat zone. As with any other game of this type you begin with the obligatory training level which, if the joke cracking commander directing you is anything to go by, Zipper Interactive are a little embarrassed about: “Oh look, a rock, better make sure you ‘jump over’ that!”
Clearly if Zipper already knew what kind of gamer was going to pick up MAG on day of release, albeit one who probably wouldn’t require such a simplistic introduction on the basic functions of an FPS title, then it does raise the question as to why they included one at all? Once you’ve got your training out of the way, have waited patiently for the queuing time to hit zero and you’ve selected a squad to join, it’s time to deploy into the field.
256 players at any one time is a lot to take in, even for the grizzled FPS veteran, so MAG eases you in nicely with a ‘mere’ 64 players and little in the way of objectives. Experience is awarded for wounding, kills, repairs, healing, securing objectives etc. As you level up, so does the amount of players injected to the battle. The jump from 64 to 128 players is surprisingly quick with the move up to 256 taking a little more time, but with this being where the best of what MAG has to offer is, it is, for the most part, worth the slog.
While MAG certainly lacks the mayhem of close quarter combat found in the likes of Modern Warfare 2 it does have an intensity all on its own and when it all comes together and works it can often be an exhilarating experience. Of all the games currently doing the rounds in all things that is war, Zipper Interactives’ entry into what is ostensibly an overcrowded market is without a doubt the one that will conjure up the most images from your favourite war films. A relentless barrage of explosions churn up chunks of dirt and rock across each and every map, countless rockets hurtle overhead towards unknown targets behind you and a gazillion bullets zip by and ricochet in every direction, each one threatening to put you face down in the ground at every turn. If there is to ever be a follow up to MAG, then fully destructible environments would clearly be the most obvious inclusion to the format; in fact, with Zipper being able to hold everything neatly together in such huge playing areas with relative ease it would seem almost nonsensical not to include such a feature in a game desperately crying out for it.
In the early stages of play game modes are typical in that they range from the basic team death match, (Suppression), to capture and secure objectives, (Sabotage) found in many an online FPS experience. As you progress too much bigger battles with more players the action moves into an even more strategic environment under the headers ‘Acquisition’ and ‘Domination’. Here objectives range from infiltrating enemy territory to steal transport, destroying anti-aircraft batteries, eliminating enemy defensive lines and so on. It’s these later objectives that, while not brimming in originality, are enough to comfortably steer the game play away from becoming stale and somewhat hackneyed.
For all intents and purposes, Zipper Interactive have succeeded in their endeavour to bring mass player combat to the online world of the first person shooter and should you be lucky enough to venture into a match where a good percentage of players are all reading from the same page it does, as already stated, work very well. It’s a shame then that so much seems to have been lost on so many of Zipper Interactives’ target audience. As briefly touched on in the opening segment of this review MAG is a video game all about tactical planning and team play, indeed in order to get the best from MAG, working together as one unified unit is a requisite. Unfortunately the majority of your time spent with MAG will be on your own with barely a word spoken, beyond the occasional obscenity, between yourself and your ‘team mates’. Whole games where careful tactics are a necessity in order to gain the upper hand are left in a total shambles as each of your chosen brothers saunter off on their own with their only intent being to kill as many of the enemy as possible, completely oblivious to the objections that will secure them victory in the field and, somewhat ironically, garner them far more XP than any amount of headshots. If your dying avatar is suddenly given a second lease of life due to a comrade-in-arms sharing a medi-pack with you it’s not because they heard your desperate please for help but because they were most likely stood directly behind you at the time or happened to be passing by just moments before you drew your final breath. Looking back at the opening training sections it might have been more applicable if Zipper had used this tool to educate gamers on how MAG should be played as supposed to which button makes you crouch and which throws grenades.
But is it fair to lay MAGs failings at the feet of the very people who play it? Perhaps Zipper Interactive, in their eagerness to bring hundreds of players together via the most popular genre to hit consoles in the last ten years, made a glaring oversight when it came to what gamers actually want from their first person shooter experience? Maybe just gathering a few friends together to spend an evening ‘blowing shit up’ is all they require and to hell with plans of attack and thoughtful planning? Shoot first, ask questions later. Perhaps it’s a bit of both.
Whatever the case, MAG still has a lot of work ahead of it and maybe, in time, it may find an audience worthy of its sense of grandeur. For now though, as long as gamers across the globe are content with the instant thrills provided by Modern Warfare 2 and more recently, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, MAG will continue to struggle in the depths of its own ambition.
7/10
Friday, 5 March 2010
Great Movie Moments: Superman Vs Clark Kent
Okay, Superman III was a decidely average film but this sequence, (the best in the movie), is solid gold.
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
WIP, (Work in Progress): Elhaim Maiden of Light
This is my first mini that isn't by GamesWorkshop/Citadel. As good as they are, GW aren't the best when it comes to sculpts of the fairer sex, (god only knows why given the sheer amount of talent at GW), so this has been a real challenge, but an enjoyable one so far. There's still lots of work to do but I should have her finished come Thursday when I have some time off from work.
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