AdVantage Point: InFamous (2009)

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.

 

So, you've decided to create your very own superhero?
Before you get started there are a few things you should know!

Despite the multi-million dollar success of superheroes on film, the comics industry remains dependent on a niche market. While DC and Marvel dominate monthly sales of comics, even they regularly cull the weakest titles in their catalogue based upon minimum sales milestones. This controlling corporate inundation makes creating an independent superhero a careful consideration of the balance of market viability based upon the success of these types of characters, versus the potential to provide something unique.

Following on from the success of his Mandrake the Magician news strip, Lee Falk contributed one of the first recognised costumed superheroes in 1936. The Phantom predates the icons that have permeated through Marvel and DC, extrapolating the exploits of pulp adventurers into something inexplicably different. His contribution helped influence subsequent icons, namely Batman, who was immediately inspired by the success of Superman in 1938, as well as the characteristics of precursors like The Phantom, The Shadow, and Zorro.

The proliferation of this adapted form of costumed mythic demigods created a platform upon which an industry has been defined. Over the span of seventy years, a legion of thousands of successful characters have been developed through large catalogues of regularly printed material, making wholly unique creations highly unlikely. Modern understanding of this saturated art form has given license to many creators to derive originality from the perception and exploration of familiar ideals, such as the revered maxi-series by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Watchmen.

When creating your superhero, it's important to remember this lengthy history because it will provide valuable insight into what will be required of your creation. It will inspire you to seek new concepts and help you fashion a character that might yet find it's way through the barren profitless landscape of independent comics.

Realistically, many comics creators, even very successful ones, might never explore the medium to such an intimate extent. For those developing characters in other mediums, the requirement arguably becomes even less significant, which brings us to InFamous and Prototype.

I have to admit, as a guy forged in the fires of comics over the past few decades, I never quite understand the appeal of the mostly generic superheroes who are born in other mediums. More often than not they seem to lack the confidence of those informed references described slightly tongue-in-cheek above, and consequently melt away to insignificance. The same could be said for the lead protagonists in InFamous and Prototype, the latter of which I was already critical of in a previous post [AdVantage Point: Prototype].

As an medium built on sequential storytelling and mass marketing of iconic heroes; the comics industry is potentially a wizened big brother to the video game industry. Comics have crossed generational divides and experienced the various stages of growth that have seen it's characters and production reach extreme highs, and equal lows.

As an interactive art form with it's own history, video games inevitably benefit from their own diverging perspective. While comics might provide suggestions of what the future holds, games are ultimately creating their own future out of their own context. This interactive element immediately deviates the creation of a superhero from the laborious considerations of comics, where a pantheon of superheroes are the measuring stick for everything else. While icons of DC and Marvel comics are now staples of video games, they are not the controlling entity of an entertainment form that has developed an army of super-heroes, but done so with the benefit of youth and incremental differences based upon "gameplay."
Mario and Sonic are as much superheroes as Superman and Batman, and one wonders if we won't eventually come to perceive them in a similar fashion as time goes on. One could arguably already derive comparisons between Superman and Sonic as two long running characters bogged down in the perceptions of an audience convinced their least successful moments are their only potential.

Gameplay creates distraction and an immediate sense of interactivity that often excuses failings of concept or narrative. Modern gamers of the current generation have come to embrace this lack of story or direction with gusto, content to shoot and run with minimal motivation, even going so far as to consider story an inconvenient distraction, no matter how tangential. As this new generation foregoes the dreams of concept that once were hampered my restrictions of technology, high budget games give way to a corporate mandates of generic imitation and a willing lack of artistry (to certain extents).

This atmosphere, as described in a previous article, is very reminiscent of the comics crash of the nineties, steered into a nosedive by nonsensical design and a general disregard for strong story and artistic business practises. One wonders if games aren't creating for themselves a similar situation of depression as technology advances to a point where mechanic and gameplay are no longer the specific keys to attracting gamers to a brand. As this generation of players matures, will they be so easily convinced by familiarity and mechanic, or will this maturing medium finally be forced to reach the same contemplative plane as comics?

The success of the Nintendo Wii and games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band arguably points to some necessity for change, an example of struggling efforts to differentiate exclusively through  novelty or mechanic.
Prototype and InFamous conveniently encapsulate the growing issue of repetition in games under the microscope of a superhero fad that has not yet become so widespread as to be perceived as a genre platform. Their similar aesthetics, gameplay, and concept highlight a necessity for the kinds of differentiation developed by the reflective and informed narrative, characterization, and story, that comics have mastered.

With great console power comes repetitive cityscapes and familiar abilities.

To the point of these posts, I was very critical of the advertising design used by Prototype, which emphasised the least admirable qualities of their lead character, Alex Mercer. There can be no doubt that InFamous' striking advertisement (which has a red variant) is far superior. That said, as an outsider looking in, it seems to lack the same punch of character and Biohazard-meets-NYC-superheroes plot.

From the hat and cloak of Mandrake and The Shadow, to the colourful union suits of The Phantom and Superman, superheroes and costumes have always been an on-going discussion. Modern creations have pressure to comply with timid filmic references, and that's probably had some influence on the urban nature of these two designs. The Iron Man film remains one of the most successful modern examples of having confidence in the colourful iconography of superhero design. Much of the film's success seems to have hinged on the "refreshing" twist of superheroes on film as 'robot fighting men,' and this aspect of machining gave Iron Man a unique opportunity to deliver a colourful design in a way audiences were ready to understand. The character of Iron Man arguably has a less ingrained design than Spider-man, who was also faithfully realised in full colour, making it an exceptional step forward for the mainstream understanding of superhero design.

Time has given DC and Marvel's characters great weight. It will be a little while before we can really assess the value of Alex Mercer and Cole McGrath. The next step in either franchise could elevate the characters from generic equivalents to the mid-nineties, to lasting icons far from infamy. Imitation has given comics some of their greatest stories and characters, but with great power, must come great responsibility.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8997129

AdVantage Point: Prototype (2009)

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.

   

 

Y'know, as a pseudo-archival concept, these AdVantage Point posts have been promising something more retro than the early 2000's for quite a while. Finally I was inspired to rummage through the back issues, to pull out what I think was one of the greatest gaming adverts to ever be put into print; the Splatterhouse double-page comic strip from 1990!

While I was there, I spent some time flicking through, and scanning, other advertisements for future reference. Their designs varied from the simple to the robust, but there was an inevitable observation to be made when comparing them to the types of ads that have been mostly featured thus far. Those ads actually looked like they were interested in trying!

While beginning this blog I happened to stumble across a similar post by "videosta" [Let's kill the AD men!] which provides a pre-emptive counterpoint to the post I'm about to make. I just wanted to point that out because I've been enjoying looking through the 1up blogs lately, and thought that was a great way to represent the opposing opinions of what I'm expressing (even if I vehemently disagree).

The 1990s were clearly an important decade to the video game industry.
By following the advertisements published year-to-year in the early nineties, you can almost see a timeline of how 8-bit gaming developed the medium beyond it's initial technical specifications, to start capitalizing and selling on the premise of concept and design aesthetic. Admittedly, not all of it is an artistic triumph, but ads like the Splatterhouse strip really remind us how technology and creativity converged to form the modern concept of a game.

The more extravagant adverts dabble in the kinds of esoteric references found in modern television campaigns, while more standard fare still manages to produce something heavily focused on informing readers of something more than just the title. There's artwork, sometimes screenshots, snide references to the opposition, technical achievements, reviews and awards, and of course, a healthy dose of story (or character) driven selling points.

Flash forward twenty years after Splatterhouse and you find much less compelling sales pitches.
Like artefacts from the post-apocalyptic future we always knew was coming; print adverts have become stark unimaginative propaganda pieces peddled by omnipresent corporations who own the press and want us to buy their soulless spirit-crushing crap. Information is minimal, character an afterthought, and design, simplistic and tyrannical. If you didn't know any better, you'd assume companys like Activision were run by bushy moustached madmen commanding a staff of whipped monkeys on typewriters. Which is about all you'd need to graft a single line of text on to the types of pre-existing artwork used in most modern ads.

With the proliferation of the internet, it stands to reason that most promotion is done online.
In a world where information and advertising is pumped directly into the mindstream, TV campaigns still exist, and have their place in a world where casual consumers are more than mere flirtations and facilitators, but it's the direct market that drives the cogs of the major releases, benefitting from the mainstream adoption of gaming consoles as household appliances during the early 2000s.

Prototype reads curiously like an artefact of the past.
If I wasn't wired most waking hours into the Matrix, (and had only the double-page advert [above] to go on), I'd assume someone had had a gross lapse of judgment and allowed Todd McFarlane back into game design.
With a flourish of red streaming out of what appears to be a nonsensical cluster of spikes and blades, Prototype's lead protagonist is something straight out of the most embarrassing examples of early nineties comics. All the hallmarks of a Toddy Mac special.

On the back of some of the most celebrated work in comics (in the eighties); nineties creators attempted to duplicate the rebellious and grim aesthetics of comics written by prolific creators like Frank Miller (Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil, Batman: Year One), and Alan Moore (Watchmen, Swamp Thing, Miracleman). When the mindless excesses of an era driven by visual extravagance and braindead double-page splashes attempted to recreate this creative success, the medium was met with a parade of stupidity that eventuated in the financial collapse of the once booming industry. The honeymoon was over, while in parallel, games were having more success.

Prototype at least benefits from a level of technical competence that games of the nineties did not have.
This liberation of technology, however, appears to create continuous struggle to attain the same heights early games appeared to aspire to. Whether or not game developers of the time actually intended to reach for the stars, often their games appeared to double their efforts, moving at a pace that suggested by now we should have something unique to the gaming medium, but cinematic in it's scope. Epic and interactive.

Technologically, we've reached that goal. While the PSX expressed some of the most vivid desires to reach the goal, subsequent console iterations have been the ones to provide the necessary visual fidelity, refinement, and storage space to actually fulfil the requirements. However, it seems much of the imagination that was once used to compensate for restrictions, and later drove us toward the year 2000 with gusto, has faded.

It's difficult not to see a pattern of complacency emerging across the "core" gaming industry.
While Nintendo have managed to break certain perceptions, they've done so through what can only be described as the familiar. By utilizing recycled technology, concepts familiar to any NES or SNES gamer, and a stable of brands that pander to mass market expectation, Nintendo have been just as guilty as promoting familiarity as any of the bland opposing examples.

Ultimately, this discussion has made some attempt to speak of the roots of the problem, but at the end of the day, this is a post about an utterly ineffective and creatively inglorious advertisement.
DC's deal with various [game] publishers means this double-page spread has been appearing in a wide variety of comics over several months. That repetition might very well successfully tap in to the subconscious of a demographic that is presumably already familiar with the product. It provides the bare minimum of information to ensure a sale in the event of successful penetration, but that assumes it is effective. In an established industry, maybe that kind of reinforcement is success.

"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
and then is heard no more: It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
- William Shakespeare; Macbeth

I can't honestly attempt to blame the content of the game, which might not be the crowning achievement of narrative creation, but does what is expected of it. I personally think some of the more short sighted examples that perhaps reflect onto a game like Prototype are preparing the medium for a recession. As this generation of gamers grow, their majority share of the market will potentially require the same types of progress we saw in previous eras. In a medium where the separation of techno ratios is becoming less significant, the most obvious source of longevity is the same thing that has sustained film and comic books for the best part of a century -- plot.

In that respect, the morality tale of Alex Mercer is exactly what the title claims.
Like any superhero from comics, the character has great potential as a serialized figure, and an emphasis on plot as a sales prospect needn't strip the medium of it's relevance. As a first chapter in something larger, the game could literally be a prototype build.
Gaming will always have interactive elements to rest upon and define them. Regular story-driven downloadable content has the potential to replace box sequels, while more ambitious projects could further take advantage of the medium, allowing players to enjoy subsequent instalments with ramifications unique to their initial playing experience. Effectively, it's an argument for something similar to film or comics, with sequentially divergent developments unique to each player.

As always, we speak in generalizations, and continue to look forward to excitement.
Opinions may vary.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8996219

AdVantage Point: Splatterhouse (1990)

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.

   

 

Noting that this was my 100th 1up blog post, I considered some sort of elaborate existential journey of self-discovery through the blogging fourth wall. Then, however, it was announced that Namco's beleaguered Splatterhouse revival was undergoing further delays, and it became instantly apparent that this was the far more special occasion to speak in regards to.

Over the past -- two years, is it? -- I've been quietly simmering with anticipation for what was, at the time, one of the exciting and fresh retro revival announcements. Since it's announcement and many delays, the game has become slightly passé, hardly the title the world was clamouring for with so many other classic revisions now available. Punch Out!!, Splatterhouse, is not.

Still, with a healthy dose of self-awareness (sans meta-existentialism), I eagerly await the results of the much-delayed series revamp. I hope, against all odds, that the game can now live up to the promise of the 16-bit era, and deliver the next level of what was, in it's time, an incredibly effective horror-themed fight game.

When I started doing this series of ad-themed posts, I had a few things in the back of my mind.
I hoped my gallery could eventually be a resource for anyone interested in the games advertised, particularly "retro" adverts like the one featured today.

I'm not sure I can think of a more memorable and well conceived gaming advert than this one.
If you were reading comics in 1990, you must remember this advert. I don't think any advertisement has ever had as much of an effect on me, even in my youth, as this one. It's almost certainly a direct contributor toward my interest toward the 2010 revamp. This is a damned good advert.

I imagine you'll have to [click to] enlarge the scans above to fully appreciate the details.
This was still around the height of popularity for character slasher flicks, and this simple two-page comic strip captured all the referential imagination and atmosphere of the games. Sure, it features the weird and discarded port version of the (red) Terror Mask, but with a ratings-defying pool of blood around Rick's body when he regains consciousness, that symmetry provides some sort of spooktacular additional level of excitement. He doesn't know where the blood or mask came from -- COULD THEY BE CONNECTED?!

Those kinds of dot connectings were half the fun of the era, when technology bound the lengths to which storytelling and concept could travel. Ironically, in this modern age of motion controls,  emotive character builds, and vast disc space, many developers seem to have been creatively crippled by the freedom of their liberation. When was the last time a new game really captured your imagination like this?

Hopefully 2010's Splatterhouse will remember this energy and deliver accordingly.
Admittedly, the games are remembered as much for their weapon-based beat 'em up action as any conceptual or aesthetic flair, but there is more to it. Skipping ahead to Splatterhouse 3, you can almost see the underpinnings of a vague survival horror concept. Time-based cut scenes apply the pressure as you navigate your way through an evil spook mansion in the hopes of protecting your loved ones -- assuming of course YOU survive!

That kind of progress in the 16-bit era implies something spectacular of a more developed sequel in this era of hi-tech freedom. If Namco-Bandai can strive for anything in their shuffling of teams, it should be the realisation of multi-path optional navigation of environments that threaten and motivate. I almost want to see a super-developed Silent Hill style of game, albeit with a character whose powers would make encounters with Pyramid Head more gladiatorial, than pants wetting.

In the mean time, I've got one of the most spectacular comics-game adverts in the history of such, to do me.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8995902

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

AdVantage Point: Final Fantasy VII (1997)

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.

 

If, by chance, you've read a a slice of my previous meandering blog rants, you've probably observed enough to know I'm far from any kind of RPG expert, or fan. About the closest I've come to seriously playing an RPG is Wonder Boy or X-Men Legends. That said, in 1997, even I had to stand up and take notice of this hot little game setting the entire world aflame with awesome.

I say "little"...

The thing that amazes me the most about Final Fantasy VII isn't any of it's technological feats or qualities of storytelling and gameplay, but rather, the longevity of excitement it's maintained. I'm largely ignorant to most of the sequels it's spawned, but have been educated enough by Final Fantasy fanboys to know that there are diverging canons, as opposed to sequential instalments. Actually, as a storyteller myself, I find that aspect of Final Fantasy very refreshing and exciting. More companies could do with investing in the regular creation of characters, rather than grinding some of their icons into the ground. My point, however, is the awe I feel for a game that's had so many pseudo-sequels but maintained such strong dedication.

Back in 1997, the overwhelming fandom, though alien, was easier to anticipate.

The PlayStation, as I so regularly and romantically note, was already a cultural phenomenon by this time. Actually, at least where I was at the time, 1997 was becoming the turning point for the console. It was the upward movement on the parabola of it's success and that excitement was rubbing off on any release worthy of some note. The mounting anime craze in Western mainstream culture worked in tandem to give FFVII an immediate pointy-haired hook to at least the sponge-bathed of the unwashed of the masses.

A lifetime of comics and video games in healthy doses meant I was just washed enough to be included in that bunch despite a lack of funds, or any precedent of RPG interest. Rather than blindly purchase, it was the Blockbuster rental that would provide me my only experience with FFVII. Oh, what a mythological moment it was, indeed.

 

After sitting through an FMV sequence ending with an Abe-esque locomotive transition into the real-time action, I was ready to dive into the most talked about game of the month. Dive I did, indeed, running from the trainstation into an abrupt instruction to insert the second disc.

Yes, you might notice something wrong with that scenario.
I admit, I was a little surprised, but so unfamiliar with the prospect of multi-disc console games that I was happy to go along. At least, until the second disc loaded and I got my arse kicked by whatever spider-legged mecha-monster I happened upon that toppled my chibi-bobble heads one by one. Or at least, that's the faint memory of the event. I never played FFVII again, or really gave any other Final Fantasy a shot, after that. I'm a little bit ashamed of my ignorance, but take solace in the fact that it was much less an issue of one bad experience, as much as it was relative disinterest.

If I'd known someone at the time more inclined to playthrough a Japanese RPG, I probably would've been content to contribute as co-pilot, but as that wasn't the case, it was the end of my experience. Considering that Croc featured prominently as one of the much-hyped alternatives that I actually did find myself owning, I'm not so sure my shame is entirely misplaced. Hey, like I said, at the time, anything of note was benefitting from the association of PSX hype.

Despite my.. "Negative" isn't the right word..
Despite my obtuse experience with Final Fantasy VII, even I can appreciate the nostalgia pop of it's distinct polished grime and giant sword-gun iconography. The E3 announcement of FFVII's release for PSN download did very little for me personally, but seemed like a great opportunity to reminisce, and add a very striking image to our catalogue of advertisements.

Of final note is the bold inclusion of "Only On PlayStation" in the ad.
Just another footnote to the success Sony haven't found with the PlayStation 3 when compared to it's former glory. FFVII might not have meant a huge amount to me personally, but alongside other games prominent in '97, like; Abe's Oddysee, PaRappa the Rapper, Wipeout 2097, and Twisted Metal: World Tour; it was part of a variety of exclusive options that made the console very attractive. Attractive in ways the PS3 has struggled to replicate.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8994363

AdVantage Point: Twisted Metal World Tour (1996)

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.

   

 

Y'know, in the process of scanning through advertisements from the nineties, I'm reminded that mental illness was actually quite popular at the time. I mean, sure, post-grunge rock and the anthems of Generation X made that known, but video games were right there to capitalize on the madness too. On reflection, I wonder if the anti-Mortal Kombat wowsers might've had legitimate reason to worry about the potential reactions of their disenfranchised youth... That's actually not the point today, but reflective food for thought. (No, not really.)

E3 2009 has officially passed us by, and as already noted on this blog, I'm left feeling cold.
Actually, when you consider that Silent Hill: Shattered Memories is one of the few upcoming titles I feel was of note, feeling cold is quite appropriate. Once again, that's not the point of today's post.

As you can clearly see, this edition of AdVantage Point features the paranoid fever-dream image that was used to promote the first TM sequel. A game that I will stubbornly only ever refer to as, Twisted Metal: World Tour .

The connection comes from rampant rumours leading up to E3, speculating the long awaited announcement of a PS3 instalment for the series. Adding to the existing maelstrom of hype was a supposed David Jaffe e-mail featuring an easily deciphered reference to cars, obscured by blur in it's released form. Given that a new Twisted Metal was already confirmed, I was a little disappointed that no game was announced at the expo itself.

For those who played before the days of the PS2 deviations, World Tour just about has to be the epitomy of the series. I never did manage to get my hands on Head-On which, for all intents and purposes, sounded like a return to the PSX classic with a bundle of exciting extra materials stashed in the boot. That's a positive potentially lost on newer generations of gamers, who, for some strange reason, often don't seem to care about anything more than the immediate experience of gameplay.

Admittedly, it's really splitting hairs, but in World Tour there was more than guns and shooting at play that made it so memorable. All the games have featured variations on the character-driven vehicles and their loose tournament stories, but it was World Tour that hit upon a combination of mid-nineties glorification of violent insanity and a comic book sense of humour that made it an experience with more personality than the bullets and wheels that drove the game.
Persistent layers of pseudo-secrets and ever-increasing challenges gave the game a faint sense of mystery that was also much appreciated. It played in to the personality that permeated throughout the design aesthetic, complimented well by the intro and ending sequences that featured crudely animated comic book-style sequences. Plus, you can drive around the Paris rooftops by blowing up the Eiffel Tower! Who doesn't love the sound of that?!

 

It wouldn't be unfair to describe Twisted Metal as Mortal Kombat on wheels.
In that respect, I have to admit to being slightly puzzled by my own dedication to the game. It isn't smart or even technically sound, but I suppose it was just that sense of character and style that was a piece of a larger puzzle of diversity in the PSX catalogue, which helped make the game so fun. Which in itself is another detail that makes it reminiscent of Mortal Kombat, which also doesn't always get the credit it deserves for it's vast cast of characters and more in-depth story [than Twisted Metal].

So I'm a little sad that no new Twisted Metal was announced.
In this landscape of meandering disinterest Sony seems to be showing with the PS3, the prospect of a new Twisted Metal carries with it the additional layer of console exclusivity. I'm not about to claim any undying dedication to a brand name, but after a decade of PSX and PS2, I can see the same potential for enjoyment in the PS3, albeit, untapped. The success of the previous machines clearly owed much to the presence of exclusive titles. I don't know that a vehicular combat game is going to drive those sales further, but with the loss of exclusivity to favourites like Tekken and Final Fantasy, it can't hurt to have something unique, and slightly different.

At the end of the day, the presence of that argument does speak to the age of Twisted Metal.
With any luck, a new coat of pixels and a return to the character-driven fun of the first two games can induct yet another generation of fans beyond even those who jumped aboard on the PS2.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8994230

AdVantage Point: WWF Royal Rumble (1993)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him 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.

 

The observant and thorough among you might recognise me from my brief tenure as a writer earlier in the decade for Prowrestling.com. If this revelation somehow startles you, it shouldn't. The appeal of professional wrestling isn't so different from any instance of comics, movies, or video games.
The latter, and principle concern of 1up.com, is particularly relevant since the mid-nineties, when gaming and wrestling become powerful allies. For me, this was never about the adolescent power fantasy, as much as it was the chance to download and interact with even more of the distinct characters and extravagant storylines that elevated pro wrestling to sports entertainment.

In that respect, American pro wrestling isn't so different to plonking down in front of Street Fighter II.
[Before the advent of UFC and MMA in the mainstream]; American wrestlers were instantly recognisable characters of limited, but vivid dimension, defined by their explosive friendships and rivalries, key concerns, and the trademarked moves through which they dispersed their passionate resolve for both.

Like a blue and yellow qipao, a battle earned chest scar, or an unmistakable rising dragon punch, prowrestlers wore their character boldly for all to see. Occasionally, they even did so with the same supernatural spirit of any hadou-ki wielding world warrior, defiantly shaking off the blows of a villainous rival, or striking down with a vengeful bolt of pulsating blue lightning.

Clearly I'm not the first person to realise this, past, or present.

In the early nineties, the power of pro wrestling was captured in sprites through a spate of 8 and 16 bit arcade-style brawlers. While Acclaim were rolling out the licensed smackdown of WWF Royal Rumble; Capcom took their Final Fight wrestler-turned-mayor, "Macho" Mike Haggar, and threw him back into his native environment as part of the line-up of the fictional CWA promotion in,  Saturday Night Slam Masters.

Slam Masters added a plane of movement akin to Final Fight's street roaming, confining the action to the squared circle, but with the extra illusion of depth absent from Street Fighter's side-to-side fisticuffs. The emphasis on styles of grappling (and lucha libre) also meant the action was more immediately engaging, speeding up the cumbersome balance of Zangief's lumbering holds to let the slams, bombs, and presses fly at rapid speed!

These days, the simulative emphasis of wrestling games is far more indepth.
Since their 2001 buy-out of competition, World Championship Wrestling; WWE have been the undisputed title holder of American pro wrestling games. Newest rivals, TNA Wrestling [Impact!], and the likes of legendary fan-favourite industry simulator, Fire Pro Wrestling, have taken shots at the top, but none have been able to dethrone the definitive grip of the annual Smackdown! (vs RAW) series [2009], or the recent nostalgia expansion, Legends of Wrestlemania.

Yes, there are other wrestling games out there. Some of them, probably pretty good, too.
None, however, have had the penetration of the examples listed, which is exactly why I think it's long overdue for Capcom to dust-off the early nineties classic and give it the old college puroresu ganbaru!

For me, a simple update to the classic 2D wrestler won't do.
Where Street Fighter IV was able to capitalize on conservative nostalgia, I want Slam Masters to be an opportunity to invent something fondly familiar, but new. I want the structure of the game to flirt with a hybrid of arcade fighters and pro wrestling simulators, whilst more boldly drawing upon the history of the company to truly represent a "Capcom Wrestling Association" (CWA).

The trick would be to never lose sight of the directive of the game.
Like the original Slam Masters; a retro revival should recapture the over-the-top action that made the series individual at the time, following on from the same exaggerated ethic that made Street Fighter's martial artists household names. Yet -- it would be imperative that it not veer too far from the basic structure of a professional wrestling organization, employing only suitable fighters, and applying that to a setting and context familiar to the sport (and entertainment).

Since I wasn't able to find an advert for Slam Masters from the time, I might cut it off here.
Taking (further) inspiration from "BigMex," perhaps we'll come back tomorrow to talk more about how Capcom's extensive history with pro wrestling could facilitate such a game. Characters, concepts, gameplay, and whatever else tickles the fancy.

If you haven't already, you simply must check out his series of Based on a True Story... reposts, discussing and detailing some of the real-life inspirations for Capcom characters, and how they've come to adapt to twenty years of gaming, wrestling, and MMA. Parts 1 & 2, 3 & 4, 5 & 6, 7 & 8, 9 & 10, and Final, are required reading for any fans of indulging in the fiction of these classic games.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8992512

AdVantage Point: Matrix Online (2004)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him 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.

 

Reinterpreting most developed fictions as an interactive experience isn't all that hard.

The basic construction blocks of video games are much the same as any other domain of fiction, complimented by using recognisable pro-nouns and concepts to establish a sense of verisimilitude in the interactive landscape. The best games possess the same attention to detail as any comic book, novel, or movie, no matter how incidental, making those comparable mediums and their recognisable locales ripe for plundering as video game levels.

The Matrix (1999) deliberately expanded upon the culture and technical references of video games and computing. Describing the multimedia franchise as a fitting choice for a licensed MMORPG would be an understatement of the obvious, if not the inevitable!
If ever there was a fanbase and commercial premise ready to embrace the infinite, it was the "free minds" enamoured with the cultural clash of kung fu action and existential lite-philosophy that took place within an artificial reality construct referenced in the film's title. I mean, essentially, the movie was about a giant "secret-best" MMO!

To deviate momentarily, I have to admit to being relatively late to the Matrix party.
Despite an instant campaign of approval reminiscent of Agent Smith's expanding ego in the sequels; I had a hard time looking at the film as anything but an overblown green anime/comic book hybrid starring Keanu "Whoa!" Reeves. For whatever reason, I didn't appreciate the type of cross-cultural references that helped further anime's growing popularity in the West, and other comparable ideas discussed yesterday [Musi(c.)PSX: Superthruster].

Fortunately for me, after a couple of stubborn years and some female encouragement, I finally got over my prejudices to discover a most excellent film, indeed.

This goodwill, for the most part, even extended to the much maligned sequels, which in my opinion, immediately felt like the logical continuation of those same anime/comic book styled adventures. Sure, I could've done without most scenes in Revolutions that weren't set in the Matrix itself, but I suppose after that first intrigue-filled viewing of the original film, that was true of all of the movies. Which is probably why I still watch Reloaded the most. That, and my giant man-crush on Daniel Bernhardt. Ahem.

The announcement of an on-going video game that expanded the now concluded adventures of the Matrix characters seemed like quite a brilliant idea! If I'd been more of a PC gamer with a wallet that justified paying periodical instalments for one game, I probably would've jumped all over the MMO like Neo on Trinity.
Alas; circumstances were such that no matter how accepting I had become of the escapades of these vinyl-clad digital warriors, I was not going to play Online.

Judging from 1up's own six-part pseudo-blog on the developments of "MxO," I apparently escaped a fate worse than techno-assimilation. I'm personally a little reluctant to place that much faith in the monotoned labourings of Monsieur Sharkey, but can't argue with some of the predicaments he found himself in. Shame he didn't last longer.

To date, my experiences with MMOs remain limited to a handful of naively enjoyed brief liaisons with reviled freebie, Runescape. Conversations with WoW diehards who share an interest in turning everything into an MMO pitch have taught me that this ignorance is true bliss.
Without the familiarity and acceptance of the fantasy game's internal conventions, I've been able to avoid becoming a slave to the machine world, unaware and uninterested in established task trees and methods of indulging the MMO experience.

Matrix Online immediately appealed to my sensibilities as an avid and seasoned superhero fan.
The inclusion of comics writer and acclaimed creator of Concrete, Paul Chadwick, was a vote of confidence for the game's ability to sustain a live-action plotline comparable to the on-going adventures of comics, where the craft was successfully honed over sixty-plus years.

Execution might have been lacking, but by featuring a cast of characters, new and old, in a massively developed open-world, Matrix Online developed a simple MMO model that I believe is far more viable than the grinding of more popular alternatives. MxO allowed players to embark on adventures to align themselves with factions from the film, whilst also developing simple skill sets familiar to fans of the movie, achieving an interactive brilliance of simplicity.
Live events and a regularly unfolding storyline that encouraged players to strive toward encounters with big name NPCs, mirrored the type of story-driven action found in any comic book, combining it with the simple conventions of neophyte-friendly gaming. Easily subverted emote-actions also meant seasoned avatars were likely appeased, easily rendered pantsless by combat.

To the best of my knowledge, much like the franchise in general, it seems the Matrix Online is now a distant memory. Ten years after the first film, it's really quite extraordinary to observe the shift in fervor. Once inescapable comparisons to The Matrix have faded as cinema goers become increasingly exposed to the superhuman exploits of DC and Marvel superheroes, and gain overdue perspective for what's truly possible. The sequels surely did their part to end widespread appeal, but in a reversal of roles, I think it's important we remember all the significant contributions this very late-late nineties/millennial series made.

EDIT: [May, 29] It seems Matrix Online had indeed still been running, but has just been announced for a final disconnect on July 31, 2009. How eerily topical.

In the lead-up toward DC Universe Online -- another brand perfectly suited to the MMO format -- I can't help but hope Sony Entertainment Online gained valuable insight from their acquisition of the Matrix Online game.
Sure, they led it to it's eventual demise, but the examples presented by MxO are no less admirable as a foundation for a friendly and accessible model of the MMO concept. With the diverse talents of contributors like Geoff Johns and Jim Lee, not to mention the vast universe of characters on tap for the series, I hope we have a ready-made model for success. The chance to literally interact with a comic book somehow seems even more obvious than the techno-hipster metaphors of a world based on computer programming. It also arguably has some proven measure of success, if you're inclined to use City of Heroes as a comparable example. Then there's Sony's other beloved MMO that I haven't mentioned; Everquest.

It'll be at least another year before we see if those examples, and Matrix Online, have contributed a legacy sufficient to support the superhero MMO franchise. Though admittedly naïve to a large extent; I like to think MxO, as a vestigial oddity of the turn of the millennium, will live on through DCU as a valuable example of what is truly conceivable when the WoW bullshit is pushed aside.

Yes! It was all about comics again!
You've been fooled by reality again, no? (Uh... No.)

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991316

AdVantage Point: Marvel Super Heroes War of the Gems (1996)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book and let him 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.

 

In only a handful of articles we've already discussed several examples of games making good use of a licensed comics property [Dragonball, Catwoman, Wolverine, X-Men], but while most have done well to adequately represent the recognised characters attached to specific brands, few games before 1996 could boast the scope of today's Capcom platforming beat 'em up feature -- Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems.

As this generation's movie goers are fast discovering, superheroes from Marvel (and DC) are part of an expansive universe that goes far beyond the human/mutant socio-politics of the X-Men, corporate espionage of Iron Man, and government experimentation of Hulk. The great creative attraction of borrowing the established properties of the Marvel Universe is not only the implied sales base it comes with, but also several decades of creations and ideas ready to be drawn upon!

Borrowing the six cosmic Infinity Gems from Infinity Crusade, and evil doppelgangers created by the Magus in Infinity War; War of the Gems leaves behind the various X-Men and Spider-man games in an effort to touch upon the Marvel Universe at large!

Fans will recognise the protagonists summoned by Adam Warlock (to obtain the scattered gems) as various heroes from Capcom's 1995 arcade fighter, Marvel Super Heroes. Iron Man, Spider-man, Captain America, Wolverine, and Hulk, all appear as playable options.
Like War of the Gems, the traditional beat 'em up also featured the Infinity Gems, allowing players to obtain various power-ups via their application. One or two pieces of art from the fighter were reused for the SNES exclusive, but for the most part, this did benefit from being a newly created game. Representing the Marvel Universe are villainous doppelgangers of previous Capcom absentees; Daredevil, Hawkeye, Puck, Sasquatch, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, Thing, Vision, as well as traditional antagonists, the Magus, Nebula, Blackheart, Dr. Doom, and Thanos.

In a period where comics and the SNES were in decline, you could note that the advert makes great usage of the established heroes of the Marvel Universe. Cross-promotion meant cartoons had already exposed audiences to the popular feature heroes, creating a self-perpetuating engine that could only benefit from the exposure of narrative direction that gave War of the Gems a greater point than many of it's 8 and 16-bit predecessors.

I might be inclined to be more critical of SNES games than most, but the 1996 release dates shows all it's benefits in colourful screenshots showcased in the ad. Quite unlike many games in the console's prime, War of the Gems shows off the four-colour glory of the recognisable icons of print. Level design struggles, as most games do, to be a trademark of the game, but locales like Latveria at least enfuse each stage with an imagination unique to established comics properties.

Though primative, these games represent the sustainability inherent to characters that have endured over forty years of publication. Problems encountered by the likes of the recent Wolverine film tie-in ( X-Men Origins: Wolverine), treat the properties with a short-sighted perspective, offering little to set them apart from alternate releases in the same genres. Wolverine succeeds on the unlikely premise of developing technological and conceptual platforms, but as increasingly evident in the current market of gaming, those aspects are becoming a diminished factor to any sales pitch. The leap in graphics and function simply isn't the same as it was in the medium's early days.

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 promises to capitalize on storylines introduced in Marvel's Civil War, offering up the next available opportunity to gauge how comics can use their experience as a sequential medium to blaze a trail in gaming's philosophical search for existence. One can't help but feel the eagerly anticipated virtual console release of Marvel vs Capcom 2 might just challenge the action-RPG, continuing this generation's disregard for the value of story. Disappointing, but a perspective that might just lend extra oomph to the future's change of heart.

Marvel vs Capcom 2 was the popular culmination of Capcom's Marvel license.
Thus, we come full circle. Hopefully the value of story in gaming can do the same.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8988273

AdVantage Point: X-Men Mutant Academy 2 (2001)

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.

 

Marvel's most marketed merry mutant, Wolverine, returns to big screens and gaming consoles, not just in a movie game tie-in, but also the reissued downloadable release of the 2D fighting classic, Marvel versus Capcom 2!

The popular fighter marked the culmination of a long association between Marvel and Capcom which saw multiple iterations of the formula, building on the original 1994 release, X-Men: Children of the Atom -- the game that presumably validated a string of subsequent "2.5D" fighting games released by Activision.

Writing Secret Wars on Infinite Earths, I know as well as anyone just how much of a superhero's time is spent fighting. I mean, sure, that's just part of the indulgent orgy of the Roman concept of beautiful iconoclastic people smashing into each other in a literal expression of metaphorical ideals. It makes sense!
What hasn't made sense, to me, however, is the sheer volume of fighting games we've now seen with superheroes in them.

Yes, fighting is a large aspect of the superhero super-genre, but I'm not sure what lining the characters up on a two-dimensional plane does to lure so many fans. I suppose the license offered by their well known superpowers grants a sense of acceptance that the martial arts-based genre might otherwise struggle to exceed, but I'm sure that's not the only reason. I guess it's more to do with a mindless acceptance -- which isn't inherently a bad thing!

It does, however, bring me back to the grinding dissatisfaction that can be felt when looking at the demands of contemporary gamers. Granted, the games that have framed this reference today come from this decade, but their self-imposed limitations are owing in part to technological limitations that made a history of simplistic gaming palatable to otherwise discerning consumers.

As much as Wolverine's recent outings have defied the fact -- the beauty of superheroes is that they partake in ideas and concepts much larger than themselves. Corporate superheroes are more than just their local associations. They are pieces of an entire universe filled with seventy years of rich history and information and ideas and story. Story being the driving motivation behind even the some of stupidest superhero comics.

I believe strongly that franchises like Street Fighter, Tekken, and to a lesser extent, Mortal Kombat, have all failed to fully realise their story-driven conceptual potential.
That said, even I can admit that the two-plane fighting genre doesn't really lend itself to the mass exploration that more interactive genres offer. It is a simple exercise in besting an opponent, and while some assemblance of story can be well insert into that model (ie; X-Men: Next Dimension), it doesn't communicate as naturally as the platform or action-adventure genres that superheroes also populate.

Superheroes are inherently suited to video games.
Maybe their popularity in fighting games is simply a facet of that inevitable association.

That inevitable association offers a nice closing point to this streaming rant.
Like most other instalments of the AdVantage Point, we observe a commercial that is obviously advertising an established brand to an audience probably already familiar with the topic. I can't help but think of a discussion I had with someone working in the industry - at Acclaim, if memory serves - about the difficulties of ever actually introducing something new to an industry making most of it's money off of established brands.

The Mutant Academy advert (and game) not only borrow the well established iconography of the comics and cartoons (which were still fresh enough in memory in 2001), while also borrowing from the recently successful 2000 first feature film. The advert recalls the popular fight between Wolverine and Mystique in the first film, which established an association that had otherwise been incidental, until that point. Mystique's film persona also worked it's way into the game itself, making a traditionally uninvolved character a more present offensive force.

Mutant Academy really wasn't anything special as a game, but probably served it's purpose.
Recalling recent apathy from gamers who have apparently come to associate superhero games with a similar negativity to their film tie-in cousins, I have to say I kind of understand. This goes against character for me, as I would otherwise thing of the many positive examples of superheroes in video games. A natural transition that's been in play since the beginning of gaming time.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987538

AdVantage Point: Wolverine Adamantium Rage (1994)

Give an idiot a scanner and a comic book, and let him 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.

With the arrival of May comes the moderately anticipated release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine in cinemas, and on game consoles, worldwide. The dual release ensures those who are lazy, disinterested, or illiterate, can finally learn the secret history of the much marvelled mutant.

When it comes to slashing claws, berzerker barrages, and gravelly brooding, few stalwarts of the medium can rival the iconic X-Man. With a well seasoned traveller in the realm of video games under their wing, Raven Software could've easily slackened off in the comfort of knowing they were part of a multimedia sure-thing. Instead, they went the extra mile to ensure their Wolverine game could stand-out in the crowd, attaching themselves to the violent origins of a character who, despite having six inch blades sticking out of his hands, is all too often pacified by kid-friendly ratings.

It's undeniable that Raven have pushed the graphical boundaries to match-up with the dreamy human pectacular that is the film's star, Hugh "Huge" Jackman, but unfortunately, that itself brings with it it's own baggage.

By tying in to the film Raven instantly bought in to a brand that was ready to be exploited.
While the filmic Wolverine offers a gritty hyper-realistic platform upon which the Wolverine game could be designed, the militant recreation, though conceivably palatable to mainstream gaming audiences, leaves little to inspire future generations.

Today's feature ad isn't entirely dissimilar from the 2009 release.
Now fifteen years old; Adamantium Rage pits Wolverine against a host of villains familiar to the decade, such as Bloodscream, Cyber, Albert the robo-clone, and Psi-Borg, as well as enduring mainstays like, Sabretooth, Lady Deathstrike, and the Hellfire Club. Unfortunately, these mid-nineties references drag the title down in a similar fashion to Origins, bogging the game down in less than intriguing elements from the heroic canon. Also like 2009's game is the awfully generic surroundings Wolverine is thrust into as he grapples with grossly powerful enemies, unremarkable level designs, grubby graphics, and surprisingly clunky controls.

In the modern era, you can at least be thankful that the mass slaughter of 2009's bland villains will come much easier; the overall quality of the visuals will be improved; and you won't have to see Elsie Dee at any point -- the hilariously named exploding little-girl-cyborg friend of Albert.

While ties to the film franchise are likely to muddy the connections between Origins' story and the facts of the thirty-plus year canon; Origins will benefit, like the film, from an era where the once legendary mysteries of Wolverine's past have been put to bed.
The false memories that once plagued the character with nauseating repetition now give way to decades of history as the immortal mutant walks a path of relative immortality thanks to his mutant healing factor. This history contributes to revealing the titular origins, whilst meandering into other recent revelations, like the existent of other instalments of the Weapon Plus program, into which James "Logan" Howlett was submitted in it's tenth (Weapon X) iteration. This was the process famously revealed to have grafted the unbreakable adamantium metal to his skeleton -- which included boney retractable claws!

This composite history established over the past three decades comes together as a glorious whole.
If you've read this blog, you know I'm a story guy, and from that perspective, it's pleasant that there can be some conceptual spine to a narrative that features FMV cut scenes and a handful of guest stars from the film (Sabretooth, Deadpool, Gambit) and others, like the robot-hunting Sentinels, whose giant-sized robotic proportions were always too financially unviable to make it to the big screen.

Where does this stream of consciousness take us?
Well, I'm going to introduce a third-act plot twist -- the greatest comic book game known to man.

Though graphically superior in terms of it's visual fidelity and violence, Origins can't hold a candle to Adamantium Rage's mid-nineties contemporary, X-Men 2: Clone Wars.

While playable characters included Cyclops, Gambit, Beast, Psylocke, and Nightcrawler, the X-sequel boasted some impressive Shinobi III-esque SEGA gameplay, an expansive list of tough-but-fun levels, and a narrative that invited an A-list parade of villains [The Hand, Master Mold, Magneto, Apocalypse] before finishing with the titular menace of the Phalanax, made this one of the best games around!

Wolverine, complete with functioning healing factor (at lower health levels), and everready claws, was easily the most playable character on the list! Perfect for platforming speedruns, Wolverine embodied what was great about the game, putting cumbersome alternatives to bloody shame.

Unfortunately, licensing likely prevents the underrated classic getting a digital second-life.
Such issues haven't kept Wolverine out of the downloadable circuit, however. Capcom have just announced a digital release for the much-loved beat 'em up, Marvel versus Capcom 2. Worthy of note for it's depiction of the character in the 2D fighting arena, it's not only a classic triumph for Capcom, but hopefully a symbol of hope for anyone keen to find more colourful and traditional outlets for Wolverine.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987280

AdVantage Point: Catwoman (2004)

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 games crossing over in to comics [ie; Mirror's Edge], we move to the other side of the corporate licensing relationship - the tie-in game. The upcoming Wolverine release (in conjunction with X-Men Origins: Wolverine) has prompted a whole lot of huffing and puffing about games licensed from film releases.

For one reason or another, industries with large groups of fans seem to be particularly good at spreading ill conceived rumours. In the case of license derivative games vs series native to the medium, there's certainly a compelling argument to say the former doesn't produce as exciting results as the latter. Does that result make a rule of thumb? Of course not.

Catwoman kinda represents the bottom of the conceptual barrel.
Consider it irony that I'm using this particular advert in a discussion that's intended to be confrontingly positive. In fact, I might even admit that it requires some level of naivety to rebuke popular theories such as this one. The evidence for cross-promotional franchise games resulting in anything but a steaming ball of infamy, is pretty overwhelming. Particularly if one stretches oneself to consider the endless glut of games not readily available in a favourable lexicon. Games dwelling deep within the bowels of retail, residing at the bottoms of bargain store bins, and post offices.

"Catwoman", as a film first, represents the extreme negatives of borrowed source materials.
Brand association ultimately undermines much of the project as it deviates wildly from a character who, at the time, sustained one of the most acclaimed on-going superhero series on shelves.
This was a character who should have represented great strength and intrigue, but instead, devolved into silliness as nauseating camera whips gave way to a macrocosmic expansion of an utterly underwhelming tale of insincere empowerment through corporate neo-fascist perfume hazed crud. Far from anything Darwyn Cooke, Ed Brubaker, or Cameron Stewart energized.

Such deviations should hold importance to the gaming industry, which, through it's large fanbase, has in many ways forgotten it's value as a story-driven medium. The attraction for a gamer like me will always be the same sorts of things that attract me to comics and films. The three mediums all share much in common, despite any resistances expressed by the uninspired masses who will at times proclaim one product transcends the prospects of adaptation in other fields [a fact thankfully and publicly refuted by the  Watchmen film, despite it's problems].

A great strength film or comics properties should immediately bring with them is a rich tapestry of characters, locations, and plot points. They are the ultimate antithesis of the generic grey gloom that hangs over gaming's popular genres today, possessing decades of experience and characterization, which should ooze from every polygonal pixelated orifice.

With such a thorough conceptual foundation, superheroes in particular lend themselves to a video game setting. From the earliest traditions of hero-based gaming, there has been a brotherly love between the mediums of gaming and superhero comics. Be it the ability to jump, punch, or fly through strange environments, it's all always been superheroes. That relationship was very literally solidified in the very early days of this young medium called "video games."

While AdVantage Point hasn't deviated so far back, commercial advertising of games in comics began a long time ago, in issues far far away. The 1980s saw ideas sent both ways, advertising in comics, and games like early Spider-man adventures, on home computers.

Unfortunately, it's this maturity and experience that appears to be lacking in Wolverine.
Unlike Catwoman, this conversion of character doesn't appear to suffer from the same wild deviations. Instead, much like the recent  Chun-Li film, the issue here is of under representation, rather than "mis-."

Instead of taking full control of the vast forty-year history surrounding the X-Men universe, and the thirty years of Wolverine; this game dwells on more contemporary conventional concerns. Game mechanics lending themselves to the bloodthirsty nature of the character have overwhelmed a property that should have done exactly that, with the motivation of vivid visuals and a sense of informed knowing.

As the gaming industry matures as a business, we see the increasing dominance of sequels and serialized series. As this seeming inevitability continues, the wisdom of a seventy-year old medium like comics becomes increasingly relevant. While gaming dwells on the distractions of improving technologies, the obselence of this obsession draws ever nearer, evident not only in the peaking technologies of consoles like Xbox and Playstation, but also the redundancy delivered by the public's resounding approval of Nintendo's Wii, which is graphically far inferior.

Looking to a lasting model of gaming, the power of the sequential adventure, and the serialized experience gamers can have alongside powerful characters, becomes the obvious way forward for companies intent on controlling their properties. Even in the futuristic event of an industry-wide adoption of MMO strategies, the user-generated experience has the potential to lull into the grinding formula that detaches many mainstream gamers (such as myself) from games like World of Warcraft. Instead, it's the serialized contributions, such as events contrived in Matrix Online, that propose a far more intriguing benefit. A benefit that boils gaming back down to it's traditional elements of the possibility to interact with fantastical scenarios, characters, and universes.

I'm dismayed by the current trend, particularly amongst younger gamers, to desire the omission of plot.
Even if that desire is a slight misconception.



As X-Men Origins: Wolverine passes us by, we now look forward on the comics tie-in calendar, toward Batman: Arkham Asylum, which promises a script by popular comics/TV writer, Paul Dini.
Sharing it's name with the acclaimed Grant Morrison "graphic novel," and starring a character whose greatest exploits have easily rivalled the much-praised Watchmen, this should be not only the ultimate outing for the Dark Knight Detective in games, but also a bold step forward in representing not only strong foundations in gameplay, but also conceptual adaptation and storytelling.

To the Catwoman ad featured -- it's actually not bad.
Far exceeding anything in the film, the commercial suffers the same obscenities of that costume and Halle Berry's most ferret-faced moment, but -- the black on white poses a graphic statement I myself am quite fond of. Not only that, but the game also offers something resembling in-game screenshots - always appreciated.

From this dark public moment in licensing history, we've derived a generally positive statement.
Sure, it's easy to sit and make snide remarks about the atrocities of film, comics, and gaming, but I've tried to avoid that today in an effort to refute the canonized theory that these games must be bad. Any game, comic, or film is just as capable of being a masterpiece as any other. There may be tools available to each that set the mediums apart, but anything one can do, the other can do just as well.

I'd like to think one day, when this is popularized, we won't have to deal with the underwhelming prospects of adaptations and licensed products that fail to invest in what made them viable properties to begin with. Unfortunately, both sides of the corporate system will need changes of minds to make that happen.

Fingers crossed for the future!

 

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987039

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

AdVantage Point: TNA Impact! (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.

 

Yesterday's entry, (featuring Halo Wars), glanced the subject of advantageous ambiguity in advertising. Looking back, it strikes me that all of the adverts we've featured, so far, have had one aesthetic commonality: they're all advertising brands assured a largely familiarized audience.

TNA Impact! marked the first video game entry for prowrestling's current number-two promotion.
Much like Halo Wars; Impact! does very little to indicate the qualities of the game in the print advertisement, instead emphasizing the personality of the brand, while also using the space to promote the shows the game is based on. Given TNA's prospective budget, it's not a bad idea to try to juggle as many objectives as possible, but is it really doing the job?

It's popular belief that some advertising needn't necessarily sell a product, but rather, simply keep it in the conscious and subconscious mindspace of consumers. Regular reiteration through strong advertising almost certainly has an effect on a potential buyer. If the brand is already in the frame of reference of the consumer, they're sure to subconsciously recognise brand association. If any TNA fan wasn't already aware of the game, then featuring three of the franchise's biggest stars; Kurt Angle, AJ Styles, and Samoa Joe; is sure to remind them during respective appearances.

Obviously the star appeal of headlining talent goes beyond those already familiar with it.
Kurt Angle shot to stardom after his 2000 debut in WWE, becoming one of the most decorated champions the company has ever known. The Olympic Gold Medallist shocked the industry when, in 2006, he left World Wrestling Entertainment, only to defect to their nearest rival, bringing with him one of the most recognised names in the business. It's not a terribly complex principle, then, when TNA promote the Kurt Angle brand, building their own association while perhaps luring fans from across the pond. The concept of association was there when Angle was first recruited by WWE, and now passes to TNA, and their new game.

A lot of fuss has been made about the Nintendo Wii's expansion of the gaming market.
While impressive, this does reemphasise the point that conventional gaming, and licensed material, is valuable for it's captive audience. Penetration into broader markets is highly unlikely, which is why very little time might be wasted on soft selling to new markets. Again, this is an advert directed at people who already know it's meaning, and that is why it's most striking elements are relatively unexplained.

Impact! follows on from a long tradition of prowrestling video games.
For a medium built on testosterone and competition, it's hardly surprising that interactive power fantasies have proved popular with it's audience. A resurgence of popularity in the late nineties saw wrestling capitalize on expanding technologies in gaming and online networking. Wrestling remains one of the most prevalent subjects on the internet, and the video games have contributed strongly, birthing an expansive and fiercely loyal niche market of gamers. "Create-A-Wrestler" formulas have to be one of the strongest examples of user-generated material in games, popularized in the late nineties by WWF: Warzone, it's sequel, WWF: Attitude, and a series of games released on the Nintendo 64, including cult favourite, No Mercy.

The Smackdown! series of games, originally exclusive to Playstation, have become the brand to beat. TNA Impact! goes up against the latest in the series of annual instalments, now featured across several platforms as Smackdown! vs RAW.

For the game itself, TNA Impact! attempts to rise to the challenge.
Innovative and popular talent, AJ Styles, was promoted as a prominent contributor to the mechanics and concepts of the game. TNA's unique match types and in-ring conceits are recreated for the game, along with all the visual trimmings that make prowrestling the spectacle of sports entertainment that it is. Unfortunately, Styles's influence can only inspire so much in the fairly mediocre game engine, however.

Given the business direction Midway has taken over the past six months, it seems increasingly likely that Impact! might gain infamy as one of the company's last productions. On the flipside, the footnote in wrestling will hopefully be a little more positive for the game's introduction of a new wrestling gimmick -- Suicide!

Despite channelling superheroes in the most hokey of ways, the skull-faced vigilante wrestler made the transition from in-game storyline, to life, bursting into TNA on a flying fox from the ceiling. Suicide's identity, for the time being, remains a mystery, but his unique role in the TNA Impact! game has to be one of the most admirable risks taken by both parties. Capitalizing on TNA's more receptive audience to a puroresu style clashed with US prowrestling drama, it's a fun concept that brings something to both sides of the licensing agreement.

TNA fans are bound to be very forgiving of the fairly uninspired track the game goes down.
This in itself could be another reason not to try to promote the in-game material, as much as pushing the brand of TNA, and it's cult of personality.

 

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8986585