Recently I've seen the argument put forth that games cannot, by default, elicit the same emotions that movies do. Reason being, simply, that you're looking at computer-generated characters instead of real, living, breathing people. Is that actually the case? Is that a very strict limitation of games that can never be overcome? I give you two examples - one from an actual live performance, and one from a video game. The actual live performance is longer, but for the sake of my comparison, I think that's okay. I won't give you the insights into the Clapton song if you don't know what he's singing about, because the same context isn't readily available for the Silent Hill example. I'll simply place them next to each other and let you come to a conclusion.
Eric Clapton:
Silent Hill (ignore everything after the initial song):
It's not often a game pulls me in so completely. So completely, in fact, that I'm going to declare Silent Hill: Shattered Memories one of the most immersive games I've ever played. Every aspect is designed to make the player feel like they are part of the world, and it's working on me hook, line and sinker.
I'm not going to go into all the details just yet; I'll save that for when I've finished the game. Instead, I want to focus on a single mechanic: Harry's cell phone. When you hit the minus button on the Wiimote, Harry will take out his phone and hold it up to the screen. There are 9 menu items to pick from, including saving your game, dialing a number of your choice, listening to/reading messages, and using the phone's camera. There are phone numbers written all over the town, and if you dial one of them, you'll get some kind of an answer. It may just be an answering machine, but an answer nonetheless. And the genius part comes in once you hit "call". Not content to simply let Harry hold the phone up to his ear in the game, the developers decided to have the player do the same. The audio from the phone comes in through the Wiimote speaker, and let me tell you, it only adds about 985, 543% to feeling like you're really in Silent Hill. I almost said "hello" the first time I answered a call, and I did one of those things where you look at your phone, put it back to your ear, look at it again, put it back to your ear, etc. It's so wondrously simple an idea, yet its effect is monumental.
As I said, you can also choose to whip out the built-in camera. Doing so will cause Harry to hold it sideways, and you can take a picture of any and everything you want to. And just like talking on the phone, there's a little extra bit of immersion added to the camera. The phone's screen actually has the distortion and lag that real camera phones have, and walking around with it in the middle of your field of view makes everything seem even more disturbing. It's another small, genius move that puts a stupid grin on my face. Of course, there is an actual use for the camera besides taking random pictures of the game world. At times, you'll be prompted in some fashion to take out the camera. When you take a picture of a certain area, you'll get a voicemail or text sent to you from different people. It hasn't happened to me a lot yet, so I don't know the full extent of this part of the gameplay. Regardless, it's yet another use of the engrossing phone mechanic.
Even only a couple hours in, I already have so much more I want to talk about, but I'll hold my tongue until (probably) this weekend when I finish the game. I've heard it's relatively short, but I think I'm done measuring a game's worth in hours. The experience is what I'm after, not a mathematical division of hours played and dollars paid. So, yea. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Great stuff.
Let's get this right out of the way. There are sooooo many other FPS games with similar plots. There are sooooo may other FPS games that offer a robust multiplayer mode. The Level design won't blow you away....hallway....open room....bad guys...shoot....repeat over and over. Many games in the genre also look a lot better than what you will get with Wii's "The Conduit", however this little gem boasts one of the most immersive customizable control schemes you have ever played on any system..........period.
I have spent about three hours with the campaign mode so far and it has been an absolute joy to play. There is a huge learning curve while you get use to the motion controls, but once you do.....you'll be pulling off head shots and chucking grenades with relative ease. The big hook in the game is the aforementioned control scheme. Moving a little too slow....change it...don't like where the re-load button is....change it. For the most part, there is no control layout that is set in stone. I've never had such a good time tweaking my controller options in a video game until now. When you are in the menu screen making adjustments you basically stay in the game while taking no damage from enemies. This allows you customize on the fly and should be THE standard for any FPS in the future to follow.
Before the Wii came out, people were anticipating the very thing that High Voltage has created with "The Conduit." An immersive FPS built from the ground up with the Wii waggle in mind. They have proved that it can be done........and done beautifully I might add. Now I still love my standard controller, however it's nice to have something different on the menu when I'm craving that type of experience. If the Wii is your only console.....it is simply a no brainer purchase.
I totally praise High Voltage for what they have accomplished. Now I will admit they did sacrifice things like enemy a.i. and interesting levels, but their focus on making the controls truly exceptional outweigh the shortcomings. Future projects from this developer are already making this Wii owner totally giddy with excitement.
I would definately classify myself as a hardcore gamer....however..in recent years..and due to the popularity of the Wii with the soccer mom type crowd..I find myself enjoying the types of casual games that nintendo is offering on the Gamecube2.0. Whenever my family has a holiday get together...it is usually inevitable that we will turn on my nephews Wii and have a Rock Band session...or get lost in all of the silly mini games that Warioware Wii offers...and I admit...we have a lot of fun doing it. I own a Wii and it is usually not my console of choice. For every original title like No More Heros..there is a thousand crappy titles to wade through like Cooking Cake Dog Turd Tortoise party or something else quickly produced with only dollar signs in mind and no care of innovation. In the end...the Wii is simply another flavor on the menu...I can always eat pizza as my favorite junk food...but sometimes...I want tacos instead..and thats OK because there is room in the video game world for all kinds of different tastes!
Apparently, Nintendo has boarded the crazy train, and Shigeru Miyamoto is the conductor. I won't re-hash descriptions of it since you can find those elsewhere, but he filed a patent last year that would basically turn games into movies. Forget about the technical aspects of what that patent entails. I want to talk about the idea itself. I agree with Jonathan Blow when he said, "The defining characteristic of a game is that you play it." No shit. If you don't play a game, then what the hell are you doing? What's the point of paying hundreds of dollars on a console just so you can watch events unfold like a movie? A dvd is 10 bucks, and it doesn't take a dozen hours to watch.
We all know Nintendo isn't really about hardcore gamers anymore. This notion of just skipping around and watching a game is paramount to my argument that they've abandoned their roots. Yes, I'm aware that by encouraging non-gamers to pick up a console, they're allowing the industry far more growth than would otherwise be possible. And by "the industry", I mean Nintendo. Just look at their system. With so much of that growth already in place, what have you played on the Wii lately? Why do you own one?
I want you to know that question is not condescending. I'm genuine in my curiosity as to why anyone would want a Wii. What do you get out of it? Is buying the system worth the couple hours or so you'd get a loved one to play Wii Sports with you? Why not just watch a movie or play a board game with them?
I've heard people say that having a non-gamer participate in a hobby they love is worth the price of admission. The problem is, they're not joining in your hobby, and they still can't relate to the gaming lifestyle. That's not the growth I want or care enough to participate in.
You either love games or you don't, simple as that. And no dvd player masquerading as a gaming console will change that fact. The more Nintendo pushes me away, the less I care about what they have to contribute to the medium I love so much. If you own a Wii and are interested in what they're doing, tell me why. Maybe you can change my mind about all this, but I won't hold my breath.
Here at The Grind Spot you'll find news, reviews, commentary(mostly rambling), and pretty much anything video game related that needs to escape our beef stew-churning brains.
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