Attendees of the Festival can enjoy over 30+ hours of keynotes, presentations, panels and more. In addition to various live play sessions, this year’s event will feature a “Game Arcade”, highlighting the nominees for this year’s Games for Change Awards. And while the focus is on games, our Festival is the perfect place to network with decision-makers from the government and NGOs, innovative game designers and publishers, visionary thought leaders in education and global development and members of the media.

Register before April 15th and save 30% at:

http://www.gamesforchange.org/festival-2011/

For now, just know that Donkey Kong Country Returns was there for me. And it can be there for you, too.  I received DKCR as a xmas gift and, besides a few 2-player games with my boyfriend, hadn’t really gotten into it.  I had seen all the positive reviews and I like Super Mario Brothers Wii just fine but, with all my super hardcore adventure death dealing gameplay, it really didn’t register on my radar.

That, folks, has changed dramatically over the last few days. DKCR is awesome. It is difficult and beautiful and charming (just like me!). It beats the snot out of SMBW through sheer charm and joy. That’s right. Donkey Kong’s joy beats Mario. Call your shrink if this upsets you.

Why am I so enamored with our simian friend? First, the platforming is superb. It has a great mix of nail-biting maneuvers and eureka puzzle solves. I am further impressed by how much humor can be expressed without words. We’ve been making a game that has really complex ideas, a young audience (5-10) base and a total lack of voice over.  Let me tell you that this particular game has tons and tons of reading but I would love for it to work akin to DKCR. I bet it could if we had 100x the budget. (any takers?) Also, DKCR is actually funny. Sorry plumber pals, but your butt as the crack of jokes does not appeal to me. Kidding. Mario and Luigi are definitely gentler humorists when it comes to the Nintendo World but Donkey Kong has more humor in his raised eyebrow than the straight-laced Peach or gender-confused Birdie. A small confession- when I restart in DKCR and our monkey heroes celebrate excitedly, I feel warm and good inside. It’s like when I figured out how to place the tape back on wrapped presents so no one would know I peeked. (sorry ma)

The 2-player mode is fun and great for a date but if you really want to get a feel for the game, 1-player is the way to go. Not only is there a chance for more health hearts, you can team up with Diddy Kong and his jet pack to help navigate especially tricky passes. Diddy rides Donkey (watch out for that monkey on your back, eh?) in such a way that it’s almost like Donkey is naked without his buddy. I should not be this attached to virtual monkeys. Oh, well.

This does not mean that I am kaput with CLoS but rather, I now am switching between the two games for variety and peace of mind.

Jess Grade-O-Rama: A

In the span of a couple of weeks, Nintendo revealed more information about their groundbreaking glasses-free 3D portable–the Nintendo 3DS–and Sony unveiled their next generation PlayStation Portable–tentatively titled the Next Generation Portable. We won’t see the NGP until the end of 2011 while the 3DS will be in consumer’s hands in March. Nintendo gets a bit of a head start but, one would have to say that Nintendo isn’t really ready to launch in March–their launch titles span a launch window of about 3 months with Kid Icarus Uprising and Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D not available on day one. The 3DS “launch” is effectively a launch in name only.

Assuming Sony will have their ducks in a row for the NGP launch, the real showing is going to come at the end of the year when both the 3DS and the NGP will be in full force.

Let the Battles Begin

Sony has not announced a price for the NGP although GameStop decided $999.99 was a good guess. The actual price will probably fall around $300 and $350 taking into account past Sony practices and the technological beast that the NGP is. This will make the Nintendo 3DS look like a much more affordable purchase even though the $250 price tag isn’t sitting well with many.

While the price is important, we all know that both portables will fall to much more acceptable price levels within a few years and then it’s going to come down to the games. The question then is: will 3D portable gaming enough of a revolution to best a modernized super PlayStation Portable?

The Nintendo DS offered features that were more than just a visual gimmick: dual screen, microphone, touch screen, and wireless connectivity. The 3DS is really just a more powerful DS with the ability to display 3D without glasses. Yes, it has two cameras and better wireless connectivity but, the NGP has all of those things minus the 3D capabilities.

I am still excited by the 3DS and first hand accounts does make it sound pretty awesome to play games in eye-popping 3D. However, if there’s one thing that I learned in the last five years, it is that Nintendo has generally left the more serious gamers in the cold. I enjoyed Twilight Princess, Metroid Other M, Super Mario Galaxy, New Super Mario Bros. DS, etc. but, my Wii collected more dust than it logged play time. I own more PS3 and XBOX 360 games each than I do Wii games.

Granted, I am not much for portable games anyway. I don’t own a PSP and probably wouldn’t play it any more than my DS. I play games on my iPhone about as much as do on my DS. For me, portable gaming is more or less a crap shoot. I don’t game on the go. However, the NGP looks like it can occupy a space much like the iPad. That intriques me.

I don’t own an iPad but, if I did, it would never leave my house. The NGP is bigger than the PSP which I thought was already pretty big. It looks like it is capable of current generation console gameplay experiences and then some with the dual analog sticks, front touch screen, and back touch pad. It just needs some amazing games and I think it can occupy the unchallenged third space of a portable home console.

Bottom Line

I love how the gaming industry continues to revolutionize technology and interactive experiences. No matter how we want to slice this, the 3DS is an impressive consumer innovation. Retailers have been pushing 3D TV’s that require you to wear glasses–who is going to watch a movie at home with silly glasses? 3D viewing should be glasses-free and the Nintendo 3DS will deliver just that.

The NGP is little short of a super computer in the palm of your hands. In proper Sony fashion, all their products have more raw power than whatever their competition has. (You have dual screens? We have quad cores! Eat it.) The games are going to look and perform even more incredibly than they did on the PSP.

I believe technology isn’t going to be the deciding factor. It is going to come down to how developers can best utilize each platform’s traits to create engaging and memorable experiences. If the 3DS allows for a Mario experience that I’ve never had before and will never forget–like Super Mario 64–then the 3DS will be golden. If the NGP does something similar then it will be golden.

It all comes down to the games. Speaking of which, wouldn’t it be nice to play Propaganda Lander on the NGP?

Nintendo is being fairly coy on what games will be out on launch day. We know there is a 30 game launch window spanning roughly 3 months. So the 3DS doesn’t have as much of a launch date as it does a launch window. Gaming hardware–no matter how technologically groundbreaking it is–is of little use if there’s no games for it to play.

I’d feel pretty safe betting the house that Nintendo isn’t going to drop the price shortly after launch so we’re stuck with this price until the holidays at earliest. And even then I doubt a price drop will happen. Maybe holiday 2012. So deciding if the 3DS is worth it based on a reduced price is a moot discussion. And without knowing the launch titles, it is a moot point discussing whether it’ll be worth it on launch day.

So, I’m going to judge it’s worthiness through the launch window and assume that Nintendo will live up to their word and release all the games they plan to in those 3 months. Based on past history, we can be pretty sure that some games will fall through the cracks–especially first party Nintendo ones. A good deal are just remakes of older games so there is a lesser chance of delays.

3DS 125% Better Than the Wii?

The most obvious oddity–for a Nintendo product–is that a handheld gaming device is going to cost more than the home console. Is there a logical reason to why this is strange? Not really. There’s just been no historical precedent–that I know of–by Nintendo. Granted, there’s also no precedent for glasses-free 3D games so, precedence doesn’t account for much here.

The worth of a $250 3DS is in the eye of the beholder–and that beholder will need both eyes working. The most die hard Nintendo fan will be in line for the 3DS on launch day’s eve. There’s no stopping them. They are going to get their hands on it come hell or high water. These are sales Nintendo can confidently expect.

The real question is whether everyone else will pay $250 for a portable gaming device. The launch window titles suggest that Nintendo is aiming broadly. This isn’t the Wii launch where they clearly aimed for the less serious consumer. There are some serious games in this launch window like the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D–or what I’d call the Greatest Game Ever Made 3D–and Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D plus games like Animal Crossing and Nintendogs + Cats.

This is a broad spectrum, bait for everyone kind of launch.

For the more serious mobile gaming consumer, there are no other products coming soon to compete with their game buying dollars. The holidays have passed and no one else is launching new hardware. This price tag will be easier to swallow for them. There’s also enough games for this audience to justify the purchase: Resident Evil, Madden NFL, Street Fighter, and Splinter Cell to name a few and all in eye popping 3D! This audience isn’t just drawn to franchises they know but, also the magical new technologies that these games pioneer.

The real test of this price point’s success is going to lie with the less serious mobile gamer. Nintendo knows that they are competing with Apple. The iPod Touch is $229. Not very different price wise but, there’s enough apps in the Games category alone to drown Nintendo several times over. Nintendo isn’t a game factory and the App Store model is going to win in sheer magnitude every time.

Can the adorableness of Nintendogs + Cats, the coziness of Animal Crossing, and the often irresistible charm of Mario be enough to entice the less serious gaming consumer to shell out close to $300–3DS and a game–compared to $250–iPod Touch, Propaganda Lander, and a handful of other games and apps?

It is honestly too close to call.

Bottom Line

It is entirely unlike me to avoid making a stand but, I am torn myself! I am not a serious mobile gamer. I may not even be a casual mobile gamer. I do not mobile game. I have a DS. I have an iPhone. I don’t play games on either with any regularity. I am a Nintendo fan and the glasses-free 3D is exciting. I haven’t seen it in action so I can’t judge if the product is as mind blowing as I want to think it is. And I can’t make a stand based solely on my imagination.

I am sure that Nintendo will sell a lot of 3DS units. There is little doubt that there will be impressive numbers during the launch window. If there aren’t, Nintendo’s PR team will spin some up. However, I cannot confidently forecast the success of the device 6 months after launch and into the holidays. The launch itself is going to play a large role in building anticipation for the product during the holidays.

It might seem like the holidays are far away in March but, a poor launch will be anything but helpful if Nintendo wants to share stories of 3DS inventory shortages 8 months later.

I was sure of the success of the DS and the Wii. I don’t have that same sense of certainty now which may be telling but, I can’t bring myself to damn the product and the price. I will forecast a successful launch. Everything else I leave to the gods.

I now own all three of the newest generation consoles: Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3. On the train ride home from my parent’s house, I explained to my boyfriend all the awesome things the PS3 can do. His wise response was that he no longer saw the purpose of owning a Wii and, possibly, the Xbox. As I had just received games for all three consoles, I nervously scoffed at his assessment. If he was correct, then the dollars spent on the other two consoles would be lost in uselessness. This was not good news for my tiny tight wad heart.

I knew that when I got home that I wanted to play some game. Would I continue on with Splinter Cell? Or would I jump right into GOW 3? I was nervous about breaking the PS3 seal. Would I ever go back? Well, it was my boyfriend who gave me the PS3. When he saw me attempt to turn on the Xbox to get some quality time with Sam Fisher his face fell as if I had just punted his disabled puppy. So there you go. Time to turn on the PS3 and see what she can do.

Wowza. Eddie was right. I may no longer have any use for the Xbox and Wii. Especially if Mass Effect 3 is going to be simultaneously released on the 360 and PS3. The Wii might still entice me with the new Zelda but after the poor showing known as Metroid: Other M, I feel no pressure to jump on the re-visioned Zelda train. As it is, I barely use the Wii. The most attention it receives is when I want to watch Netflix but now the PS3 even does that better. Oh well.

From the moment I switched the PS3 on, I was in love. I dig the simple interface. I find the Wii and the Xbox’s interface too busy for my tastes. I hate clutter. I hate in at my workspace or in my apartment or in my interface. This is not to say that, left alone to my own devices, my personal spaces are spic and spam but I will say that my desktop has a minimum of icons and files.

I also have to say that the PS3 is super quick. It downloads files fairly speedily. I didn’t download anything too huge, like I have on the Xbox, as of yet but, call it a hunch, I bet it’s quicker. Internet connection is where the PS3 and Wii beat the Xbox. Both consoles come wired with Wi-Fi while the Xbox asks you to buy a peripheral or plug into the wall. Really? Come on Microsoft, don’t be so lame. Name me another internet capable device being sold today that does not come equipped with Wi-Fi and I will show you a shoddy product. From what I know, Wi-Fi shouldn’t really be that difficult (or expensive) for Microsoft to implement and yet, they chose not to. Why? To squeeze another $100 from the consumer. Maybe they wanted to keep the price down to compete with the PS3 but when the cheapest console (Wii) can manage it, so can Microsoft.

While we are on the topic of boldly lame moves, how about the lack of a rechargeable controllers in both the Wii and Xbox? The PS3 comes with a rechargeable controller that is charged by connecting it to the console. In both the Wii and Xbox, the consumer must purchase a recharging peripheral. By the way, I bought the recharging dock for the Xbox and it broke immediately. Just like the first Xbox I bought home. Awesome. Oh and pay for Netflix? When I already have a subscription?!? Crazy.

Obviously the PS3′s graphic quality is going to outperform the Wii. Even Nintendo will admit that, so I don’t feel the need to drag them into the HD battle. I think they are planning to address the HD issue soon anyway. As for the PS3 to Xbox debate I would have to say that the PS3 does seem a bit more glossy when I compare games like Dragon Age to God of War. But I have to admit that Splinter Cell: Conviction is as nice looking as God of War. I know that developers have just begun to explore the PS3′s capabilities while the Xbox has already been heavily mined. This leads me to believe that the PS3 will triumph sooner rather than later. I get the feeling that the Xbox and the Wii will release at least one more generation before Sony has to revisit the Playstation.

I am so happy that my bordering on irrational love for the Playstation is not misguided. If any other of you cheap bastards are on the fence about whether to buy a PS3 or not, do it. From one cheapo to another: It’s worth it.

I believe this claim to be utterly ridiculous. I have no issues with Zynga. I don’t agree with Mark Pinkus’ business and creative(less) strategies but, I like how social games has widened the gaming audience and was even a FarmVille addict once upon a time. So, I have no predisposition to dislike Zynga or social games. In fact, the opposite is true: I like Zynga.

However, the recent reports that Zynga is worth more than EA is asinine at best. I may accept that Zynga is worth more than EA Play but, even then, is FarmVille bigger than The Sims?

Looking Under the Hood

Since Zynga is privately held, we can’t get any hard revenue numbers so the best we’ve got are educated guesses. If we accept that Zynga pulled in around $250 – $270 million dollars in 2009 and forecast that they’ll do just as well if not better in 2010, do those levels of revenue justify a $5.5 billion dollar valuation?

EA’s biggest title in 2010, Madden ’11, sold 1.8 million copies in August. The overwhelming majority of FarmVille players spend a grand total of $0 to a few dollars at most. I’ve spent nothing and know of no one who has–obviously my observations are not indicative of the market as a whole but, still worth mentioning. Every single one of those 1.8 million Madden ’11 owners spent $60. Obviously Madden cost a lot more to develop than FarmVille but, as YouTube will tell you: bandwidth ain’t free.

This is not to say that I don’t believe in the micro-transaction or freemium model, I think it is a viable system. I just don’t believe Zynga currently or in any near future will be able to take that model to the heights of Electronic Arts. EA has been in a bit of a slump in recent years but, they are fighting back.

And let’s not forget that FarmVille peaked earlier this year with its daily active users cut in half since. FarmVille is still Zynga’s most popular game by a huge margin–two times more popular than Zynga’s second most popular game: FrontierVille.

While all these numbers, trends, and charts are good and well, they can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The most telling point in all of this is that Zynga’s evaluation is based largely on how the employees of Zynga are trading their shares of the company. If I owned shares of Zynga, I’d be exaggerating it’s value too. I may have either drank the Kool-Aid or I just rationally want these shares to be worth a lot.

Bottom Line

There is no evidence to suggest that Zynga should be worth as much or more than Electronic Arts. EA has a family of big name franchises and a wider reach than Zynga. EA is in Zynga’s markets and markets that Zynga is not. This may or may not be an advantage but, Zynga is not some kind of innovative company that’ll be able to out maneuver EA. If anything, EA is the one with the innovative culture and development houses.

There is a lot of hype over the growth of the virtual goods market with some estimates showing revenues going to $3.6 billion in three years. Even if that came to pass, Zynga isn’t going to own 100% of that market. All evidence points to a $5.5 billion valuation of Zynga to be nothing more than a hyped bubble.

Of course, I could also be completely wrong and we may see a series of reports showing that Zynga is worth more than the $13 billion value of Activision next year. Maybe all gamers will stop playing Mass Effect, Resident Evil, Fallout, Dead Space, Madden, etc. and just buy different colored hats for their 2 inch tall 2D avatars that look strikingly similar to each other and plant virtual strawberries all day. That’s obviously more engaging than solving puzzles while lighting zombies ablaze on a spaceship in a post-apocalyptic football field. It could happen.

In preparation for raucous hauntings and fun frights I wanted to mention some of the games that have scared me throughout my illustrious gaming life.  These games are listed in the order in which I remembered them.  Perhaps that says something about how much they seared their brand of scary into my brain. Perhaps not.

That'll teach 'em.

Bioshock’s cast of splicers, Adam addled school girls and all-round maniacs definitely stressed my spook quotient.  Man, those splicers can be quick and slashy, appearing when you least expect them.

I know a good doctor that could remove that growth from your face

There were points in my Dead Space career in which I would turn off the game because I was too jumpy to continue.  The cinematic isolation, horrific deaths and anxiety-inducing soundtrack all led to me only playing this game during the day. A sunny day. With lots of birds chirping.

MAAWWWW!!!

Resident Evil 4 maybe isn’t the scariest game I’ve encountered but the ambiance and propensity towards large masses of evil dudes crunching on Leon Kennedy’s face did garner more than a couple of expletives from my maw.

I really doubt that pistol is going to have much of an effect....

Silent Hill 2 marks the only game on this list that I didn’t finish and only saw later levels while watching others play.  A video game that can scare the people in the room not playing it is a scary video game indeed.

BBQ! I love a good burnt briskett.

The Thing! This is one of themore successful movie to game imports.  Although it didn’t exactly feel like John Carpenter’s vision, it had enough craziness to turn the notch up on my anxiety meter.

I was going to mention Castlevania Symphony of the Night but honestly, I don’t remember it as scary as more vampire sexy.  I want to also say that the N64 game HeXen also disturbed me a little.  I’m not exactly sure why…

Happy Halloween!

The only Metroid titles that I’ve beaten are Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime. I am not a hardcore or long time fan of the series. I’ve played Super Metroid but it was too much for me at the time. I’m not sure how old I was but, it was a small number. I may have actually beaten it with the help of the Official Nintendo Strategy Guide but, I’m not sure so we won’t count that one. That’s cheating anyway.

Fast forward to 2010, I was excited by the flashy cinematics and action packed game play that Team Ninja would be bringing to the Metroid franchise. I had also not played a Wii game for months–that poor tiny console was sitting there collecting dust. The last Wii title I dabbled in was Mario Galaxy and I never finished it. Any game out of Nintendo that targeted the more mature audience would have had me drooling.

Like a drug addict who hasn’t had his fix for a while, I was dying to give Nintendo some hard earned cash.

I pre-ordered the game from Amazon a day before it’s release. I only did this because Amazon was running a deal for $20 Amazon credit towards a future video game purchase if you pre-ordered Other M. I was sure I was going to buy Other M anyway so why not get $20 out of it? The $20 has gone towards Halo Reach if anyone is curious.

The wonderful folks at Amazon got the game to me incredibly fast. It took me much longer to get through the roughly 10 – 12 hours of gameplay.

Likes, Dislikes, and Thoughts

Generally speaking, I was not a big fan of all the talking. Samus talked too much and the other characters talked too much. I don’t recall any other Metroid title having this much dialogue. While I don’t think it had an immensely negative impact on the game, it did make the game feel less Metroidy. Here’s to hoping that the next Metroid title goes back to being quiet and desolate.

I did like the linearity of the game. I often find myself lost and confused in Metroid games. Other M told you where to go. No guessing or head-scratching to figure out what to do next. I know that this goes against the Metroid tradition but, I am rarely in the mood to play a game where I spend hours with it only to make snail paced progress. Let’s get the show on the road!

I think I’m the only one at SMASHWORX who didn’t find the switching from third-person to first-person jarring. It also didn’t bother me that I couldn’t fire missiles in third-person view. It was like Metal Gear Solid; I’ve played them all and I love them. The pointing mechanism with the Wii remote didn’t make me feel more like Samus. I haven’t bought into the “greater immersion” theory with motion controls yet. I look at it as just another means of control and I was fine with how it was used in Other M.

If nothing else, I applaud Nintendo and Team Ninja for trying this hybrid control system and making it a pretty painless experience. This little experiment might give birth to a truly fantastic control scheme a few years down the road. Who knows?

What really shocked me the most was how graphically gorgeous the game was. I’m not even talking about the cut scenes. Those looked great but, they were all pre-rendered and it is 2010 so I expect that. Standard definition didn’t seem to deter Team Ninja from producing stunning visuals that could compete with some XBOX 360 and PS3 titles.

Bottom Line

Metroid: Other M isn’t going to get Game of the Year from any gaming publication. I’m not even sure if it will spawn a sequel. Team Ninja added their own flavor to the Metroid universe and that flavor might be too foreign for most fans. This was an enjoyable experiment and if there was a sequel, I’d probably get it–I have a “giving Nintendo cash” problem. But, this game won’t blow your mind and likely won’t become your favorite Metroid game of all time. At the very least I’d rent, borrow, or get it when it falls in price and there’s an unforeseen shortage of games.

At first, I was hesitant to get started.  I’ve been wronged by fantasy rpg’s before and I didn’t want to get my hopes up.  But this was Bioware, maker of my beloved Mass Effect.  They wouldn’t let me down. Well, I can say this about that, Dragon Age is freakin’ awesome!  I have been playing non-stop at the peril of my eyesight and personal relationships. (Why exactly does Bioware make their text in migraine font?)  In fact, I now have dreams with multiple-choice dialogs.

While I completely love Mass Effect, I get the feeling that the Dragon Age universe is deeper and more involved then what I experienced with Shepherd at the helm.  I suppose with 6 story lines to follow and 120 hours of gameplay, Dragon Age: Origins would have to feel huge.  My first dose of universe magnitude came after I restarted the game about 5 hours in.  I don’t know about you but I am one of those players that constantly battles the urge to restart using the knowledge of some outcomes to make what might be “better” choices.  I then do some quick calculations of how OCD I am verses how much time I’ve already spent playing.

Sometimes I win this battle.  This time I lost.  I basically remade the same character I had been playing but changed some of the stats.  On the second time through, most of my options were the same but not all.  The guard I had previously been able to persuade to release his prisoner was less open this time around and I had to bribe him.  While not exactly the outcome I was hoping to gain by restarting, it did point to the fact that the amount of gameplay I could see was disproportionate to the gameplay I was not seeing.  It’s the ole tip of the iceberg trick.  In other words, there is potential for an awesome amount of  replay value in Dragon Age: Origins. Maybe this game will actually help me save money by distracting me for weeks instead of hours.  I am already looking forward to checking out the other races and classes.  I know I should not expect wildly different experiences but I still look forward to comparing story tracks.  I feel that if the story is written well enough, then there should be a desire to see that story from every angle.  As opposed to Mass Effect, I get the feeling that my character’s background actually will effect the NPC’s.  I did not get that impression with Shepherd.  It didn’t matter if she was an orphan or a military brat.  In Dragon Age: Origins the racism against elves is palpable and nobody really wants to be seen with a Grey Warden.  This piques my interest into how the other characters experience will compare to my current elf lady mage.

My theory is that Mass Effect could have been Dragon Age: Origins but Bioware was courting different audiences.  Mass Effect might be a somewhat lighter experience so those intimidated or uninterested in the complexities of a full-blown rpg can have a product that also offers a richness to the experience through great writing, heroic themes and highly customizable characters.  Dragon Age: Origins is definitely intended for the WoW players and middle-earthians.  At this point in my life, I am sometimes turned off by the medieval fantasy setting.  This is due to the amount of hokiness I’ve had to put up with as a fan of the genre.  I am a grown woman who wants mature (get your minds out of the gutter) story-lines.  There is a small amount of damsels-in-distress that I can actually get behind and unicorns should be cruel and violent not virgin transportation (why else have the crazy, stabby horn?).  I am not ashamed that I am all sorts of “Huzzah!” for this game.  And now that I mention it, I have missed the pleasures of spell casting and flaming broadswords.

Man. I can’t wait to get out of work so I can go play me some game!

Famous mute protagonists include Jack Ryan from Bioshock and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space. The main difference between these unlucky gents is that there is or conceivably can be a reason why Jack is silent as opposed to Isaac, who is just a regular chap beset by very irregular circumstances. Jack’s head has been severely messed with by an egotistical/bug nuts crazy father figure and a shady (severe understatement) scientist. Although, Jack does give the initial voice over, he does not speak a word of audible language through out the game. In a somewhat ironic twist, Jack does not get a voice until he puts on the Big Daddy suit (and that voice is more of a moan than anything). Furthermore, when Jack dons the Big Daddy suit he must go through the voice modification process which, I believe, is a complete severing of the vocal chords. While odd that Jack can speak the game’s opening lines and nothing more, it is not out of the realm of possibilities in a submerged city, surreal alternate universe type of way. I am not bothered by Jack’s silence mainly because I have already been clued into the fact that this is a game that is not tethered to reality.  Jack is being controlled by so many different forces: Fontaine, Suchong, Ryan, Tenenbaum and the player, that is acceptable that he doesn’t have a voice or a choice.

Isaac Clarke’s silence is another matter.  Dead Space takes place in the year 2508 in this (yours and mine, reader friends) universe. Earth has chugged along to its assumed fate of 500 years in the future bereft of natural resources. Isaac’s universe is presented as the player’s universe and that is where his silence becomes a bit unrealistic and frustrating. If Isaac is just a regular human on a regular day, why doesn’t he ever tell Kendra to shut up and stop freaking out? I sure would have if I was in his gravity boots.  Why doesn’t he ever voice his opinion on Hammond’s knowledge of what was on the Ishimura? Are we saying that in 500 years humans will not feel the necessity to express themselves during periods of heightened periods of stress? How come Kendra and Hammond can yammer on but Isaac is committed to his monk-like vow of silence? In contradiction to Bioshock where the player can understand why Jack is not completely under player control, in Dead Space there is no reason why Isaac shouldn’t be thinking, speaking and reacting through player directives.

As it was Samus that started this discussion, I will use her silent ways to explore the secretive protagonist. Samus is a woman of action and, until recently, little words. The difference between Samus and the previously described mute protagonist is that her character is presented with choices inherent to the non-linear nature of the Metroid series. Samus gets a directive and either immediately follows it or goes off to explore another section in search of upgrades and newly accessible pathways.  Yes, Samus will eventually have to return to the directive but it’s not a “jump and how high” situation as in Dead Space and Bioshock. This is not to say that all Metroid players are not directed towards the same end goals but the paths may be different from player to player. In this manner, players can begin to connect to their own “Samus.” The player and Samus tangentially explore and discover the world together.  There isn’t the thought that there is someone in the universe that knows more about Samus then the player.

To that ends, it should be said that as opposed to Isaac and Jack, Samus seems to always be in control of her situation.  This sense of control, however, delineates between a survival game (everything is happening to you) from an adventure game (you are causing things to happen).  I wonder if there is a correlation there between the mute protagonist and horror/survival games.  Perhaps one day I will do some research but that’s another day and another huge blog post.

The last silent protagonist is the reactive type.  Link from the venerable Legend of Zelda series is the epitome of the silent, reactive protagonist.  In Windwaker, Tetra reacts to Link as if he makes statements but the little sound that does come out of our reticent hero adds up to a couple of grunts, sighs and yips. I have read in multiple places that Nintendo says it doesn’t want to make Link talk because it would “contradict players’ individual interpretations of the character,” but none of these quote users include citation so I don’t know how reliable the information is.  I do agree, however, with the sentiment.  Without hearing Link’s side conversations, the player is allowed to come to a spectrum of conclusions.

Players don’t have a chance to mentally change Link’s overall personality because the Zelda universe keeps him on track.  For example, it’s fairly hard to imagine Link dropping f-bombs and pushing drugs on them yeti guys.  He’s just not that guy and never will be.  Even in Twilight Princess where Hyrule gets a bit more dangerous and adult, Link still sticks to the script.  We know he is loyal, so he is not going to respond disingenuously.  We know he is heroic, so of course he is going to help the lonely lady find her rabbit-loving husband. In this manner, we can gleam the tone and type of response Link will give in almost every situation.

Others might argue that the main characters in Dragon Age are reactive, silent protagonists but I disagree.  It is true that the characters do not audibly speak, but the player chooses dialogue that translates through the secondary character reactions.  Where Dragon Age differs from other games is that the player gets to mold the personality type of their character, which seems related to the silent character in that the player imprints their own personality onto the game avatar.

Although I think the Bioshock silent protagonist is more enjoyable / understandable than the Dead Space version, I’d have to say that where both games fail is in the protagonist character development.  Both heroes take orders without missing a beat. Both heroes put themselves in immense danger for strangers and unknown loyalties. Why? As a player, I do not feel connected enough to imprint my own emotions or attitudes on the avatar. These two dumb jerks just do whatever there told and never discernibly question their directives or the outcomes of said directives. It does not surprise me that both sequels for these titles will let the protagonist speak.  I want to not that I enjoyed both games and the mute protagonist in both games seemed to lend to their cinematic quality.  In fact, I would go so far to say that both game’s sets where a bigger character than the protagonists themselves.  I look forward to both sequels.

It does not surprise me that the two other protagonists I chose to explore are Nintendo creations.  Their ability to create entire nuanced universes with minimalist tools would seem to support the use of a silent protagonist.  It does not surprise me that there are generations of gamers that identify with such tight-lipped heroes as Link, Samus and, even, Mario.  These characters “play” along with the gamer and are very effective in endearing themselves to the public.  Thus, the public responds poorly if some developers come along and mess with a player’s imagined bond with a character.

Silent protagonists can and are as effective as the speaking protagonist.  I do not have a preference between the two, as long as the protagonist type serves the experience and not the other way around.

Originally, I had played God of War II with a ravenous excitement. God of War was one of my favorite games and I completely bought the hype for GoW II. I remember the opening fight with the Colossus had left me with a feeling that finally, a game has lived up to the hype. I had been impressed by the scale of the experience and the little to no loading times. I had appreciated that the button scheme supported both precision players (me) and button mashers (some others who shall not be named). I thought the story was continuous and kick ass. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire game and played each mode, including Titan. In fact, it is GoW II that got me this illustrious job at SMASHWORX. I was getting my haircut and talking to my future boss (my hair cutter’s husband) about my GoW experience. About a week later I get a call from Nik saying, “Hey, You seem to know a lot about games and you’re a good writer. Want a job?” So basically, my job came about because I had clear, discussable points about game mechanics and could crack a joke. Sometimes that’s all you need.

On repeat play I have to say, GoW II really stands up. It’s still brain-bustingly fun. GoW II’s set design, optics and art makes one feel that everything around you is massive and goes further than what presented on tv. Now that I’m in the business of making games, I’m perhaps more impressed than on my first play. GoW II is a tight, frenetic experience that is so damn satisfying. I’m impressed with how much fun the battles are and, besides a couple of duds, how well the puzzles work. The creature design is top notch and reminds me more of Ray Harryhausen’s Clash of the Titans than the new, terrible version. Honestly, GoW II looks better than some of the recent Xbox titles I’ve played.

The only disappointment I felt upon replay was actually quite surprising. Ahh, Kratos. If only you could take a little more responsibility in your actions…That’s right, folks. I’m beefing the ultimate Beefcake. Admit it. Kratos is a bit of a whiner. He’s always blaming the Gods, “The Gods are what they made me,” or crying foul over godly pettiness. Come on man. Maybe you should keep the “why me” act to yourself. We get it. The Gods are Jerks (with a capital J). But how about a little mystery, K-man? I know that I complained about Samus giving herself away last post but I can’t help myself. It’s hard as a player to completely agree with a character’s decisions. This is not true about movies, where the audience has no chance of physical interaction or input on unfolding events. As a game player, I am looking for a certain amount of autonomy that I can’t acquire through books or movies. I can’t quite remember if Kratos complained as much in the first GoW. Maybe I am mistaken and Kratos was always the petulant but I feel as if his defiant attitude was not properly addressed in GoW II. I don’t think that straight up story play through is dated, I thoroughly enjoyed the story of Bayonetta. It’s just some of the script in GoW II tries a little to hard to say something when maybe actions are all Kratos needs to express his point.

Honestly, a game is as good as it plays and GoW II plays mighty fine. I think it holds its own against newer titles and am interested in playing it in a year from now to again re-gauge the experience. Now to convince Nik that the office needs a PS3 and a copy of GoW III….

A little background, I have always liked Metroid. I liked the side-scrollers and I liked the first-person shooters. I am the audience Team Ninja wanted to court. Also (on a lady level), I love Samus. I love Samus in the same way I love Ripley or Aeon Flux. Dangerous space ladies who go beyond pretenses. Women whom I look up to and would probably like to be in some Doctor Who-like alternative world type of way.

Metroid: Other M looked right. It was beautiful like the Prime series but also cartoonish, in a SNES type of way. I liked the opening movie except this tiny little tingle in my brain kept on distracting me. It was the hope that Team Ninja wasn’t about to explain the mystery of Samus away. Samus as a near-silent bounty hunter was interesting. One honestly didn’t know what she thought about some hairy situations and encouraged the audience to place their own feelings and attitudes on the proceedings. Take, for example, Aeon Flux as a near-silent character that received demystifying through over exposition in that awful Charlize Theron helmed Aeon Flux movie. In the comic and the MTV show, Aeon was silent and died in almost every episode. The audience could sort of guess her stance through her actions but the next move was unpredictable. It is more exciting to think that anything can happen, rather than think that a predetermined fate is set out for the character. In Samus’s case, should the player feel that they have to agree with everything the avatar represents by exposing the avatar’s psyche? Should the player feel that they have to play a game one way, with one set of morals? And what about those who thought Samus was a little more badass than some Papa issues and cute girl playing with the big boys? Should they believe in Samus the “princess” over Samus the “Ripley-type”?

If Team Ninja was creating a whole new character with this persona, I don’t think I’d have much of an issue. But Samus is a character that my generation grew up with and already had a set of characteristics that defined the Metroid series. So yes, Team Ninja, with it’s beautifully rendered yet horribly voice acted movies, has explained the mystery of Samus away. Bummer. Well, alright. But how does she play?

Pretty good. Not fantastic. Not oh my god, this is going to revolutionize the series but still, she plays pretty good. The action is frenetic and fun. The enemies (while a bit limited) range from one shot annoyance to strategy is key. Boss battles are fun and numerous. Although, I rarely died during boss battles due to the “focus” function. I didn’t have strong feelings either for or against the focus function. I liked not having to collect ammo but missed the tension of “am I going to make it?!?” that comes with defeating an enemy with just a sliver of life left.

What’s weird? Well, for one the shift between first and third person perspective was jarring. Why can’t I shoot missiles in third person? It would be so much more helpful during boss battles not having to switch, re-aim while not getting damaged if I could utilize all my weapons. But no. Gotta make it Wii-tastic. Even if motion-control really doesn’t add to game enjoyment, I bet Team Ninja had to shoe-horn some motion functionality in there somewhere for the powers that be. Another odd sensation is traveling in a 2D space without a joystiq. There were multiple times when I was pressing straight ahead on the D-Pad but Samus did this odd diagonal shuffle instead.

Even with these control issues, I was left wanting more game to play. I can’t tell if my desire for the gameplay to continue was out of annoyance that there wasn’t more to the game of if I was really enjoying myself.

I’m sure Nik and Tommy will chime in with their opinions soon. In the meantime, I’m looking forward to playing the new Zelda.

Metroid: Other M
Rating: B

Surprised or not, I am still excited for some of the new hardware and games!

Nintendo 3DS

Being that I wasn’t at the show, I couldn’t get a first hand experience of 3D portable gaming without glasses. In fact, there’s really no way to demonstrate the 3D except to play with a 3DS so I am excited purely on the speculation that it will be awesome. It is a Nintendo product so unless it’s another Virtual Boy, it should be pretty awesome. Can’t wait to experience the 3DS this Fall.

I’m not a big Kid Icarus fan but, if that’s the flagship title to show off the 3DS, I will have to get it. There’s a whole slew of N64 remakes at E3 showing off the 3DS. I wouldn’t mind some updated StarFox 64! Loved that game.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Even though the presentation of Skyward Sword looked horrendous due to wireless interference, I am still excited by the trust I have in Nintendo that they wouldn’t release a Zelda game that doesn’t control well. Again, my excitement for this Zelda game is purely speculation that it will be awesome because Nintendo is behind it.

As you can see, I have great trust in Nintendo to make great games–9 times out of 10 I am right.

I was expecting something different for this new Zelda but, if the sword controls are as good as I am expecting, it should still be incredibly fun. I would have liked to see some departure from the Ocarina of Time model that we’ve seen for over 10 years.

Crysis 2

I have not played Crysis or was ever interested in it. However, I saw the gameplay demo of Crysis 2 and was in awe. I have a soft spot for games that take place in NYC and who doesn’t love super soldiers? The movie alone has me excited about the prospects of this game!

Metal Gear Solid Rising

I love the Metal Gear Solid series and didn’t think much of Rising until I saw the demo from E3. The ability to cut things every which way looks really cool. A lot of people didn’t like Raiden from MGS2. I’m not one of those people. I thought Raiden was pretty cool. I have no problem with a MGS game that features Raiden–he’s kinda badass.

Kinect

It might be shocking but, I’m not interested in Kinect for it’s games. I’m interested in Kinect for what it can do for interface interaction. I would love to voice control my XBOX when watching Netflix and scroll through my queue with my hands. The video chat also looks awesome.

However, the games aren’t that interesting to me. The rumored $149 price tag doesn’t make me want it more either.

Metroid: Other M

I am quite excited about this game even before E3 and Nintendo only showed a small clip of it. This is on the list simply because I haven’t powered on my Wii in a very long time. In fact, I gave it to my brother so I’ll have to buy the shiny new black Wii to play Other M.

I have changed all my computer’s wallpapers to be Metroid themed. Just sayin’.

***

I haven’t mentioned PlayStation Move because it didn’t really interest me. I am interested in the highly accurate wands but, there aren’t any games that are particularly attention grabbing. Sorry Sony! If I see a great title for Move, I will get it. I’ve been using my PS3 the most as of late. None of the 3D games that require me to wear glasses were remotely interesting to me. I don’t want to wear glasses.

And that’s my favorite of E3 2010!

Hello lovelies! Check out our Fresh Apps page and make us the freshest app in all the land!

http://www.freshapps.com/propaganda-lander/

We’ll try to be as entertaining and informative as possible!

Other presenters include:

• Eric Zimmerman and Nathalie Pozzi
• Austin Lane, Muse Games
• Dave Gilbert, Wadjeteye Games
• Jason Schreiber, Powerhead Games

It will be held at:

Wollman Hall at the New School University
65 West 11th Street, 5th Floor (enter at 66 West 12th Street)

Time: 6:30-8:30 pm

We are excited! See you there!