Radiohead - Weird Fishes/Arpeggi (2008) [Original Post]
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2022
Thursday, September 30, 2021
Monday, July 20, 2020
Thursday, February 13, 2020
Wednesday, March 08, 2017
Friday, April 24, 2015
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Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Monday, August 19, 2013
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
AdVantage Point: Silent Hill Homecoming (2008)
Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him to pick out all the advertisements for video games. This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, stream of consciousness.
Is it just me, or is there something about Silent Hill that always makes it seem older than it actually is? It's hard to believe 2009 is only the tenth anniversary of the first game!
Homecoming, the US-developed combat heavy instalment in the series, now becomes a distant footnote as we look forward to the latest version of the much loved series. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories throws players back into the embattered role of Harry Mason, who awakes from a car accident to find his adopted daughter missing and a foggy mystery awaiting him in the depths of the mysterious titular town.
Just like in Soviet Russia, the reimagining of the original 1999 PSX classic promises to be a game that plays YOU! By utilizing cutting edge technology, the game will constantly evaluate the psychological profile indicated by a player's decisions, creating deviations that respond to the behaviours exhibited. This new feature speaks to the intense immersion intended for the game, which now pipes trademark eerie static directly through the Wiimote speaker, and encourages players to fiddle with locks, and be distracted during conversations, seamlessly blending puzzles, cut scenes, and assessments, with live gameplay.
Generally speaking, I'm firmly against the very notion of remakes.
With a background in comic books, my perspective is one appreciative of the value of accumulated storytelling and on-going developments.
Sitting somewhere between the slow and expensive production of feature films, and the serialized accessibility of longer running comics, I often lean toward observing games through the conventions of comics as a reference base for viable long running development. In that respect, I think characters, (even ones that are actually spooky towns), deserve the chance to develop their story at every available junction, always moving forward, instead of lazily cashing in on uninventive repetition.
There's no denying the creative stagnancy of remakes, but Silent Hill: Shattered Memories really makes an effort to buck the negatives, defying even the staunchest critic with a game that imbues the spirit of the original with an entirely fresh perspective.
Admittedly, I'm a little curious as to why this game couldn't have been a brand new instalment in the series, but am willing to bet the radical shift in design might have played a part in that, built on the hopes of using the familiar to ease fans into something seemingly antithetical to the Silent Hill franchise.
I, of course, am referring to the dismissal of the trademark septic rusting that indicated to players their world was about to be turned upside down and inside out. While the hellacious faceless monsters remain; Shattered Memories favours an icey cold loneliness to spook players, taking full advantage of the game's cumulative assessment to play to a very different type of horror.
With so many interactive gimmicks and the prospect of a whole new presentation, it's really very hard to resist the charms, regardless of the game's status as a remake. Far from redundant for these facts, one wonders if the Shattered Memories moniker isn't a specific reference to the justification of the game. While it deliberately draws upon the first in the series, is it possible we're about to get a revised truth, or fractured reality in the Silent Hill canon?
I'm keen to find out!
Shattered Memories boasts a similar atmospheric solitude to it's famous predecessors, but really does tap in to a brand new scope of horror. For a franchise like this to remain successful, one could argue that this type of reinvention is necessary. The terraforming landscape of Silent Hill grants creators an opportunity to craft new experiences based upon the psychological underpinnings of the lead character in each game. By tapping in to the expected horror of Silent Hill, while undermining the fundamentals of the familiar, it recreates some of that fresh tension we all felt when first experiencing the franchise. To this end, it could be the most intriguing deviation in the series since the tangentially related sequel, The Room.
In response to today's AdVantage Point advert -- Shattered Memories also makes a deliberate decision to steer away from the cumbersome combat of the previous games. In opposition to Homecoming's expanded battling, Shattered Memories now encourages players to effectively speed run their way through locales, using the icy blue of the 'otherworld' to indicate paths through the expansive townscape.
All in all, it's a pleasant change of pace for any gamer like myself.
A game with a high concept and story-driven drive that actually makes the Nintendo Wii look like a more involving piece of hardware than it's plethora of novelty games. I regret that I'll probably cheap out to get the PS2 version, because I really can't imagine how it will be as successful as the Wiimote wielding version, which the game appears to have been built upon.
Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8995156
Homecoming, the US-developed combat heavy instalment in the series, now becomes a distant footnote as we look forward to the latest version of the much loved series. Silent Hill: Shattered Memories throws players back into the embattered role of Harry Mason, who awakes from a car accident to find his adopted daughter missing and a foggy mystery awaiting him in the depths of the mysterious titular town.
Just like in Soviet Russia, the reimagining of the original 1999 PSX classic promises to be a game that plays YOU! By utilizing cutting edge technology, the game will constantly evaluate the psychological profile indicated by a player's decisions, creating deviations that respond to the behaviours exhibited. This new feature speaks to the intense immersion intended for the game, which now pipes trademark eerie static directly through the Wiimote speaker, and encourages players to fiddle with locks, and be distracted during conversations, seamlessly blending puzzles, cut scenes, and assessments, with live gameplay.
Generally speaking, I'm firmly against the very notion of remakes.
With a background in comic books, my perspective is one appreciative of the value of accumulated storytelling and on-going developments.
Sitting somewhere between the slow and expensive production of feature films, and the serialized accessibility of longer running comics, I often lean toward observing games through the conventions of comics as a reference base for viable long running development. In that respect, I think characters, (even ones that are actually spooky towns), deserve the chance to develop their story at every available junction, always moving forward, instead of lazily cashing in on uninventive repetition.
There's no denying the creative stagnancy of remakes, but Silent Hill: Shattered Memories really makes an effort to buck the negatives, defying even the staunchest critic with a game that imbues the spirit of the original with an entirely fresh perspective.
Admittedly, I'm a little curious as to why this game couldn't have been a brand new instalment in the series, but am willing to bet the radical shift in design might have played a part in that, built on the hopes of using the familiar to ease fans into something seemingly antithetical to the Silent Hill franchise.
I, of course, am referring to the dismissal of the trademark septic rusting that indicated to players their world was about to be turned upside down and inside out. While the hellacious faceless monsters remain; Shattered Memories favours an icey cold loneliness to spook players, taking full advantage of the game's cumulative assessment to play to a very different type of horror.
I'm keen to find out!
Shattered Memories boasts a similar atmospheric solitude to it's famous predecessors, but really does tap in to a brand new scope of horror. For a franchise like this to remain successful, one could argue that this type of reinvention is necessary. The terraforming landscape of Silent Hill grants creators an opportunity to craft new experiences based upon the psychological underpinnings of the lead character in each game. By tapping in to the expected horror of Silent Hill, while undermining the fundamentals of the familiar, it recreates some of that fresh tension we all felt when first experiencing the franchise. To this end, it could be the most intriguing deviation in the series since the tangentially related sequel, The Room.
In response to today's AdVantage Point advert -- Shattered Memories also makes a deliberate decision to steer away from the cumbersome combat of the previous games. In opposition to Homecoming's expanded battling, Shattered Memories now encourages players to effectively speed run their way through locales, using the icy blue of the 'otherworld' to indicate paths through the expansive townscape.
All in all, it's a pleasant change of pace for any gamer like myself.
A game with a high concept and story-driven drive that actually makes the Nintendo Wii look like a more involving piece of hardware than it's plethora of novelty games. I regret that I'll probably cheap out to get the PS2 version, because I really can't imagine how it will be as successful as the Wiimote wielding version, which the game appears to have been built upon.
Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8995156
Thursday, April 23, 2009
AdVantage Point: Mirror's Edge (2008)
Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book, and let him to pick out all the advertisements for video games.
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, advertisements.
From a series of games promoting established brands with anticipated install bases, to one of the most exciting new properties to emerge from this generation of consoles. Mirror's Edge marks one of the glaring downsides to being a gamer not ready to invest in a current console.
In the comics direct market, the presence of licensed video game properties continues to grow.
Prominent series exist for Street Fighter, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Halo, World of Warcraft, and several others, including the exciting parkour future shock that Mirror's Edge represents.
The six issue series is published by DC imprint (subsidiary), Wildstorm, who are not connected to the famous DCU icons. With cartoon stylized artwork by Matthew Dow Smith, the action is overseen by writer from the game, Rhianna Pratchett, who has also worked on a handful of other game titles.
With this in mind, it's probably not surprising to learn that this double page advert comes from a DC comic book. I'm not entirely sure that the game hasn't been advertised by rival publishers, but you can assume that the presence of this dynamic double-page spread is the benefit of a deal between the cross promotional brands, playing in to the use of the license.
It's a great advert!
In stark contrast to the advertisement for TNA Impact! that focused on reiterating the personalities associated with the brand; Mirror's Edge offers something far more specific to the game itself.
Like most contemporary adverts, it lacks any kind of screenshot to preview the game, but by utilizing the same stunning CG featured in cover art for the game, we get a stylish image that does actually communicate most of what we need to know. The parkour-style running gameplay is pretty easily expressed through the dynamic image of lead-protagonist, Faith Connors, skirting the edge of a building, while enemies from the game appear across the two page expanse.
Really significant to the game itself, as well as it's promotion, are the clean lines, and ultra-modern stark colour palette that make Mirror's Edge instantly recognisable. It's a visual design sense that creates a brand for the game, consistent throughout all aspects, including the character, who is best glimpsed as legs and arms in the shifting aspect of the first-person view.
It's an aesthetic that speaks to a gamer like me, who really misses the Euro modern techno-pop aspects of the Playstation era. It's the kind of game that shares that immersive level of cool that the Wipeout series had, as much fun to experience and observe, as it is to play.
Of the six adverts featured so far in these laboured almost-daily features, this is probably my favourite.
As interesting as some of the others might be, this strikes me as the perfect balance between communication of the product, composition of the image, and sheer dynamism. Flipping through the pages of inked and coloured comic book artwork, this blindingly stark image with it's vivid reds pops exactly the way the game does. Everything you need to know to inform a purchase, is there.
The only regrets I have regarding Mirror's Edge are that this couldn't have been secured as a Sony-exclusive title that reinvigorated the Playstation brand and attitude. That, and that I don't have any of the currently available consoles (or a viable PC) to play this.
Has the cross-promotion of video games into comics paid any dividends?
Honestly, I don't know. There's been a suggestion that UDON's efforts with Street Fighter have found a market outside the direct comics business, but I don't know how accurate that is. Looking around 1up as I do occasionally, I certainly haven't encountered any awareness about these kinds of tie-ins, aside from occasional references in discussions about franchises.
Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8986737
This is AdVantage Point -- a chance to document the winding timeline of comics/gaming history as it was canonized by the adverts. Musings, rantings, observations, advertisements.
In the comics direct market, the presence of licensed video game properties continues to grow.
Prominent series exist for Street Fighter, Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Halo, World of Warcraft, and several others, including the exciting parkour future shock that Mirror's Edge represents.
The six issue series is published by DC imprint (subsidiary), Wildstorm, who are not connected to the famous DCU icons. With cartoon stylized artwork by Matthew Dow Smith, the action is overseen by writer from the game, Rhianna Pratchett, who has also worked on a handful of other game titles.
With this in mind, it's probably not surprising to learn that this double page advert comes from a DC comic book. I'm not entirely sure that the game hasn't been advertised by rival publishers, but you can assume that the presence of this dynamic double-page spread is the benefit of a deal between the cross promotional brands, playing in to the use of the license.
It's a great advert!
In stark contrast to the advertisement for TNA Impact! that focused on reiterating the personalities associated with the brand; Mirror's Edge offers something far more specific to the game itself.
Like most contemporary adverts, it lacks any kind of screenshot to preview the game, but by utilizing the same stunning CG featured in cover art for the game, we get a stylish image that does actually communicate most of what we need to know. The parkour-style running gameplay is pretty easily expressed through the dynamic image of lead-protagonist, Faith Connors, skirting the edge of a building, while enemies from the game appear across the two page expanse.
Really significant to the game itself, as well as it's promotion, are the clean lines, and ultra-modern stark colour palette that make Mirror's Edge instantly recognisable. It's a visual design sense that creates a brand for the game, consistent throughout all aspects, including the character, who is best glimpsed as legs and arms in the shifting aspect of the first-person view.
It's an aesthetic that speaks to a gamer like me, who really misses the Euro modern techno-pop aspects of the Playstation era. It's the kind of game that shares that immersive level of cool that the Wipeout series had, as much fun to experience and observe, as it is to play.
Of the six adverts featured so far in these laboured almost-daily features, this is probably my favourite.
As interesting as some of the others might be, this strikes me as the perfect balance between communication of the product, composition of the image, and sheer dynamism. Flipping through the pages of inked and coloured comic book artwork, this blindingly stark image with it's vivid reds pops exactly the way the game does. Everything you need to know to inform a purchase, is there.
The only regrets I have regarding Mirror's Edge are that this couldn't have been secured as a Sony-exclusive title that reinvigorated the Playstation brand and attitude. That, and that I don't have any of the currently available consoles (or a viable PC) to play this.
Has the cross-promotion of video games into comics paid any dividends?
Honestly, I don't know. There's been a suggestion that UDON's efforts with Street Fighter have found a market outside the direct comics business, but I don't know how accurate that is. Looking around 1up as I do occasionally, I certainly haven't encountered any awareness about these kinds of tie-ins, aside from occasional references in discussions about franchises.
Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8986737
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