Saturday Night Slam Masters: Undisputed Muscle Bomber Comeback!!

The premise is simple -- bring back the early nineties Capcom wrestler Saturday Night Slam Masters in a whole new way for a whole new generation!

We started talking about this during a post a couple of days ago, and I'm going to be honest, I haven't really given it much more thought. Making punch noises in the shower while imagining shampoo bottle Zangief and Haggar duking it out for the right to rinse is about the extent of it, but with a concept like this, that's probably all the thought that a talented programmer really needs!

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm just going to steal images wholesale from the Gamespy "Hardcore Gaming 101" entry for Muscle Bomber. If you want to know more about the game and it's characters, you should definitely go have a look! Now! Do it, maggot!!!

Any S.N.S.M. revival would demand a great sense of balance if it's to achieve success.
In a perfect world, it should sit somewhere between the hyperactive action of Street Fighter IV and the pro wrestling format of Smackdown! vs RAW. It should combine conventional wrestling styles and characters, with the over-the-top energy that made Capcom famous. It should have an Arcade Mode on the top of the select menu, to cater to gamers who want fight their way freely through a ladder of opponents; while also placing a Career Mode right beneath it to allow players to embark on a story-driven quest to obtain the title and become the undisputed muscle bomber!

In theory, an SNSM revival would have the time and faith behind it to garner a great dev team.
Like any fighting game, the foundation lies in the successful construction of characters who have their own vivid fighting techniques that do not interfere with the perfection of a balanced fair fight. Characters should definitely possess advantages of strength, speed, endurance, and technique, but that should never be at the cost of a player's potential to win.

As basically fundamental as the success of the fighting engine should be -- it arguably comes second to the creative direction, which should be funding any level of development throughout the process. The mechanics of each fighting style should come directly from the references that have invented the character, ensuring each fighter has their own nuances and trademarks.
In a perfect world, gameplay would strike a balance between the vast customary movesets of any WWE wrestling game, whilst combining it with the fast paced simplicity of execution that the original Slam Masters was known for.

The construction of gameplay pretty much takes care of the basic idea. On this foundation is where a SNSM revival would set itself apart from it's previous SF-lite incarnations, utilizing cosmetics to create a whole new experience. Sure, Arcade and Online modes are probably where a lot of classic gamers would flock, but the real experience would lie in the Career mode.

Unlike SFIV; SNSM should fully embrace what Capcom's twenty-year old stable has to offer.
Bring back all those original characters from the last game, but for crying out loud, give your other characters a chance to shine! When I think "pro wrestling" and "Capcom" I think - Zangief!
The fame of these well established characters not only makes the prospect of playing them in a wrestling game exciting, but also panders directly to the traditions of heirarchy in wrestling! Let Zangief and his ilk be the headlining talent that budding Career Mode players work toward!

Rainbow Mika, Hugo Andores, Poison, El Fuerte, Alex, Sodom, Birdie, and if possible, Darun Mister, are all absolutely obvious inclusions for any Capcom wrestling game. Coming from SFA, SFIII, SFIV, SFEX, and Final Fight, they're the ready in-game equivalents of Triple H, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Goldberg, and any other prominent wrestling example you want to think of. They carry the exact same name value and weight as any longstanding superstar of the wrestling world, and should be made use of accordingly!

Similarly, precedent from the professional wrestling world gives you the chance to work in unique attract events, like elusive encounters with celebrity guests. Balrog, Ken Masters, and Fei Long, feel absolutely comparable to boxing, martial arts, and cinematic guest stars that have helped push WWE into the spotlight in the past. These special events could allow SNSM the chance to battle these specially unlocked opponents, team with them, or maybe just have cheeky ringside encounters and intereferences.

Add these headliners to the slightly more obscure SNSM classic cast of; Sheep the Royal, King Rasta, Lucky Colt, Mysterious Budo, Titan the Great, Aleksy Zalazof, El Stinger, Kimala the Bouncer, Astro, Black Widow, Victor Ortega, Wraith, and Rip Saber; and suddenly you're building a very credible roster of wrestlers to fill out tier-based progression in a career mode.

For me, a great attraction of a new Slam Masters would be the chance to use a better developed wrestling game to establish the otherwise vague characters moreso. More extravagant entrance treatments complete with music and effects would help communicate details about the characters just like "real" wrestling. Likewise, the chance to use storylines to build rivalries and establish attitudes would also be an opportunity to develop the characters further. The creation of some new characters - based upon popular references, and convenience - would also allow for tailor made rivalries on top of pre-existing opportunities. Career mode's story could allow these to play out through a series of standard events, and feuds and rivalries unique to characters, all set to a calendar of Saturday Night fights that culminate with monthly PPV-style mega events.

Setting itself apart from the Arcade mode; Career mode would also have the luxury of allowing players to continue unhindered despite their defeats. Statistical rankings systems, checkpoints, and other unseen factors could provide basic branching points for your unfolding story. Something that could be contributed to through annual (or more regular) DLC storylines.

Admittedly, nothing about this post has been quite as well thoughtout as I'd hoped, and that might not have adequately represented the idea. In this generation of retro revivals like Street Fighter IV and Punch-Out!!, it seems increasingly important that each game have a strong reason for being in order to avoid another conceptual recession.

As a game not quite arcade, and not quite simulation, I think a new Slam Masters could be the perfect comeback vehicle for the Muscle Bombers to find an undisputed Capcom champion! By capitalizing on references, it even has the opportunity to go places no previous Street Fighter has quite gone. Maybe next time I'll pluck up the courage and geek-out completely over ideas for some of the characters.

 

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8993250

Musi(c.)PSX: Run On (1998)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Moby - Run On (1998)

The second-single from Moby's stand-out 1998 album, Play, continues the unifying them of sampling folk and gospel, borrowing vocals from the Bill Landford and the Landfordaires recording of God's Gonna Cut You Down to reinvent it as Run On. The relatively simple track picks up the pace, giving the finger wagging religious warning an effective and infectious dance beat reprise in a string of exciting remixes.

This electronic edict of sampling sat well alongside the gaming console that, as described in previous posts, made everything old, new again. It's examples like the expansion of humble platformers into 3D explorational adventure games that's made romanticizing the era so easy, even if Sony can hardly claim exclusive ownership of the refreshing paradigm shift.

I felt compelled to deviate from the intended Saturday Night Slam Masters follow-up [RE: AdVantage Point: WWF Royal Rumble] in light of the crop of titles being promised by vendors at this year's E3.

It strikes me as slightly concerning that, while reconfirming their long history as the #1 choice for morons [No, no. An attachable finger-zapper clearly indicates of a demographic of geniuses...], Nintendo are simultaneously looking like the most interesting vendor at this year's expo.

Microsoft are giving it the ol' college try with Project Natal and a string of cross platform acquisitions (ie; Metal Gear), but then, the glut of familiarity, particularly much shorter sequels in series that seem to blend together, is a big part of my problem.

Several years into the cycle of this generation's consoles, I'm still not particularly disappointed with the fact that I don't yet own one. From the outside looking in, it's been difficult to feel any sense of attachment or interest in any of the available options! I've been around the block long enough to be savvy to the Wii's inevitable syndrome of short-lived novelty and limited catalogue; spent too much time imagining a future where games take full advantage of story and design to have any appreciation for the Xbox 360 and it's many Personal Console shooting games; and still like gaming enough to be dissatisfied with the PS3 and it's small handful of unique titles. E3 2009 has done little to change this.

I don't know what it is that I'm looking for.
While I desperately seek a balance between the simplistic conventions of gaming and a greater sense of creative story-driven direction, I look to titles like Pixeljunk Eden, WipeoutHD, and Little Big Planet as positives of this generation. While I bemoan the vast array of franchise sequels on show at E3; I'm holding out hope that there might yet be a Twisted Metal announcement soon and was excitied to see Force Mode return in Tekken 6. While I still seem to have an affinity for Sony, I could just as easily see myself buying Mirror's Edge and Street Fighter IV for 360, if I had any inclination to put that kind of money down.

As soon as I begin to entertain the horrifying thought that I might actually be in danger of growing up, I look at the variety of games from the past that I continue to play, and wish to play, and realise that it can't be something as simple, internal, and frankly implausible, as a variation of maturity. Could it be that I'm just thinking about it wrong, discounting the above mentioned titles in some misguided attempt to have an opinion?

No. Sorry, babe.
In this relationship breakdown, it's definitely you, not me.

I think what really bothers me is the perception of variety.
Where during the PlayStation cycle I was excited to learn about, and play, a multitude of unpredictable releases doing unpredictable things - this generation has none of that mystery.
With only a handful of exceptions, titles feel incredibly derivative and/or predictable as they extrapolate the present from the past in ways that are distinctly unremarkable and uninventive. Sure, there are diamonds in this rough, and plastic distractions in a variety of shapes and vibration settings, but they're hardly new.

I feel I'm a disconnected gamer, neither hardcore, nor casual.
Where E3 once brought packages of excitement and anticipation, there are only a few glimmers to interrupt the disappointment in what this generation has come to accept. Fortunately, far off in the distance, there might be a prospect for change. Project Natal suggests that much, at least, even if it's a little too vague to start celebrations just yet.

Woe for the days of the PSX, when irrelevance was nary a thought to ponder.
When games felt plentiful and ran free. A time I miss, to be sure.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8992938

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

Hero of the Week #1: Wolverine

WOLVERINE (Marvel)  
Real Name: James "Logan" Howlett
First Appearance: Incredible Hulk #181 (November, 1974)
Group Affiliation: Secret Avengers, X-Men, X-Force
Gaming Credentials: Wolverine (1991); X-Men (1993); Wolverine: Adamantium Rage (1994); X-Men 2: Clone Wars (1995); Marvel Superheroes in War of the Gems (1996); Marvel vs Capcom 2 (2000); X2: Wolverine's Revenge (2003); X-Men Legends (2004); X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009); Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (TBA)
Infinite Wars Cumulative Ranking: #6

When I'm hanging around here blowing off steam, you might not know that I'm actually neglecting a much longer running blog called, Secret Wars on Infinite Earths. In a nutshell, that's the place where I indulge in the lows and highs of comics culture, featuring superhero fights like a big weird pseudo-sports league. Like a lot of great comics themselves; I like to think it's a lowbrow vehicle with highbrow ideals.

In an effort to reconcile the gap between the two blogs, I generally use my own references when linking to details of relevance. Fortunately for me, superheroes are inexorably linked with video games, and while it might seem slightly obtuse for the uninitiated, it's not really that much of a stretch to spotlight a superhero each week. Wolverine's a great example of that!

Wolverine has a long and sordid past in video games, but his most recent outings have all shown just how at home the character is in the gaming arena.

Early appearances famously hindered trademark attacks as the conventions of 8-bit gaming struggled to reconcile the capabilities of a claw slashing, brute sniffing, always healing mutant into the conventions of the time. While some suffered on a fundamental level that forced the usually agile hero into clumsy platforming, others succeeded at failing on more deliberate levels, like the various games that penalized players for popping a blob of white pixels representing his famous adamantium-laced claws.

The revolution of 3D gaming brought with it many challenges to be navigated in order to unlock the massive potential of the added plane. Through the last few generations we've seen in-game logics gradually let go of the boxed-in fundamentals that constrained early games, adapting the rules to represent a heightened state of hyper-realism.
The introduction of stealth elements, 360 directional environments, diverse enemy AI, adaptable visual displays, and designs that minimized the importance of life-and-death scenarios, all played directly in to the hands of a character like Wolverine.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine, like the film it was based on, had it's creative issues as a result of contemporary influences ("IMO"), but it made the next vital step toward realising superheroes (and Wolverine in particular) in all their visceral glory.

The most prominent feature unique to Wolverine was the graphical impetus for ramping up the violence.

Despite being a custom-designed killing machine with knives sticking out of his hands; it's been a struggle to ever see that adequately represented in any satisfying form, let alone put in the hands of gamers. Raven Software's graphical impetus for ramping up levels of blood and violence might not have put forward an argument for superheroes as chin-rubbing philosophical cyphers, but it seems safe to say that it announced the guilty visceral extent the character and games are capable of reaching far better than the film.
Of course, as much as Origins pushed a version of realism to some success, that does nothing to discount the classic almost literal version of the character that will return in 2009's rereleased downloadable version of Marvel vs Capcom 2!

Despite being best known for their free-flowing superpowered melees in comics, developers have made regular efforts to capture the energy of superhero fisticuffs under the ceremonial restrictions of single-plane 2D fighters. Results have ranged from the average to downright mediocre, but unsurprisingly, the seasoned masters at Capcom found a way to make it work.
Vital to their success was the graphical fidelity and artistry that made this 2D fighter an enduring staple of the 3D era, defying contemporaries like Tekken and Virtua Fighter with it's bold and accurate representations of characters from the comics, and fluid, fever-pitched combat. Wolverine never once lopped an opponent's limb off, or suffered a career threatening impalement, but still felt beautifully accurate in his various movements before the inevitable berzerker barrage.

Over in the comics, the Wolvster's still wrapped up in all the universe-spanning guest-appearing action that made him infamous. Today, however, let the record show that our Hero of the Week isn't just a secret avenging X-man, but a gaming super-stud, as well.
Secret Wars on Infinite Earths: The Comic Book Fight Club is updated with varying consistency, promising a feature fight for every Friday on the calendar (even if sometimes they're late). The site acts as an information resource, discussion site, review blog, and general good time.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8992180

Musi(c.)PSX: Open Your Mind '97 (1997)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

USURA - Open Your Mind '97 (1997)

When I renewed efforts to make use of 1up's super-cool free blogging tool, I wasn't sure how long I'd actually last.
As it turns out, almost as if to support the argument contained within some of them, something resembling an on-going discussion has formed over the past few weeks worth of posts, emerging inadvertently from common elements to a particular timeframe. I guess that's what stream of consciousness is all about.

Persistent rantings dedicated to romanticizing the PlayStation eventually led us from experimental dance music, to the Wipeout games, to overlapping influences, to the turn of the century, to the Matrix films and games. The latter subject became eerily topical with Sony's announcement to disconnect the Matrix MMO coming a day after our discussion [AdVantage Point: Matrix Online].

To round out the week I thought I'd take it easy, finishing up with the 1997 rerelease of the '92 dance classic, Open Your Mind. The title of the track comes from the line sampled in the song from the film, Total Recall, which features a handful of comparisons to the Matrix, including it's themes of uncertain realities, simulation, and pill-based escapes (from aforementioned uncertain realities).

In the various doe-eyed rants about the PSX a recurring theme has been the way the console (and generation) was able to reinvigorate imagination within the industry, effectively rendering everything established in gaming as a brand new playing field. The transition from side-scrolling 2D platformers, to 3D action-adventure games, is a prime example of this fundamental rethink.
This kind of referential adaptation by technology has been at the very heart of dance music, embodied quite purely by the practise of remixing. Open Your Mind '97 quite literally took something old, changing very little to modernize it for a re-release.

Next week's E3 will almost certainly attempt to roll out familiar elements repackaged for a rerelease in 2009 and 2010. Among them, the expected announcement of Sony's PSPgo. Also on the way will be more news from Steve Harris, who will also be dusting off the old to make it new with the timely resurrection Electronic Gaming Monthly. So there's the tenuous tie between music and game for the weekend. Super!

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991759 

Musi(c.)PSX: Clubbed to Death (1996)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Rob Dougan - Clubbed to Death (Kurayamino Variation) (1996/2002)

Despite gaining cult status upon it's initial release in the mid-nineties; the elusive Australian DJ/solo artist, Rob D, first gained widespread recognition for his underground hit, Clubbed to Death, when it was featured in the 1999 breakout picture, The Matrix.

Drawing upon samples from a wide variety of sources, the DJ elevated himself to greater recognition as a solo artist with an eclectic sound that merged classical refrains with looping dance beats.
It wouldn't be until 2002 that an album would officially be released, but his many variations and remixes of his, and other artist's work, provided a wide catalogue of works throughout the nineties. His many self-referential mixes culminated with the fan favourite version of Clubbed to Death, the Kurayamino Variation.

After visiting the subject of the Matrix yesterday [AdVantage Point: Matrix Online], it seemed fitting to blog about a track that managed to gain significance at multiple points throughout the PlayStation lifespan.
The song itself might not have had any significant connection to the console, none that am I'm aware of, but it again captures a reflection of a moment of time. From it's close association with The Matrix, the song takes on even greater significance, providing a soundtrack to a vivid example of the lofty aspirations that took hold of music and cinema in the final years of the twentieth century.

Even without court-settled accusations of plagiarism, The Matrix was a hybrid of influences stemming from comics, animation, cinema, and science-fiction. While it combined the tone poem of these many interests into a single gestalt entity, one could arguably attribute a great deal of it's success in the mainstream to the coinciding relevance of technologies like the Sony PlayStation.

By 1999, the console was well ingrained in the social consciousness. As part of the same movement connecting homes globally via the world wide web (internet); gaming's growing significance as a household appliance helped induct families into logics vital to appreciating the metatext of the basic concept of the Matrix. An expanded library of 3D action-adventure games also surely contributed to preparing unsuspecting audiences to anticipate the types of action sequences that were at the core of celebration of the much loved film.

Like all of these articles, I'm conscious of the need to emphasise that this is no claim of sole responsibility. The PlayStation, for all it's achievements, did not invent the wheel. It's merely my hope to look back fondly upon the influences and features of the era, to observe how this timeline of change ushered in the conventions of the twenty-first century. It is my opinion we have lost much of the creativity that took us to new heights in the race toward the year 2000.

I wonder what lies ahead for this century and how an emerging generation will make up for lost time during this decade. As current consoles become indifferent facts of modern life regardless of any perceived mediocrity, I wonder how gaming will play a role in the future of entertainment. It would be easy to take current information as a forecast for grim times ahead, but I am hopeful that there is still plenty more to come from what is still a relatively young industry. I am hopeful that we can again break from convention. That everything old can be new again.

I am hopeful that someone will run ahead of the pack, and there will yet be more to miss.

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

Musi(c.)PSX: Superthruster (1999)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Sly & Robbie - Superthruster (1999)

If you've been reading the entire series of these music-derived articles, you could be forgiven for thinking me a deranged lunatic convinced the PlayStation was the centre of the universe. While I'm not sure I appreciate the inference of insanity, I have to wonder if, in this gaming world gone mad, the perspective of a madman isn't the most clear of all.

The focus of most of these blog entries has been on the significance and contribution the PSX made to electronic music, and vice versa. It's fair to say, however, that the PlayStation was a very different thing to very different people.

By 1999, the Sony PlayStation was firmly established as a household name.
This feat, particularly as a global phenomenon, could not have been achieved through the exclusive sensibility of Sony's trendy, Euro, youth driven marketing stratagems. As much as the vivid cool of electronic urbana was able to infuse the clunky grey box with a sexy beeping soul, it was a darwinist math that inevitably demanded broader interests to support the machine.

The PSX had to offer much more than the paninaro of it's time to expand it's reaches across the gaming market. Sega's bungling business meant rising to the role of a console for all Europe was simple, but regardless of it's clunky ineptitude, the tragically unremarkable Nintendo 64 put the Nostalgia in NTSC, and had the confidence of fists stained with the blood of a blue hedgehog.

A congregation of entertainment movements was needed to unite the efforts of the techno-fashionista and common man.

Experimentation created a conversation of common interest between the professional ranks of niche interests, like skateboarding and wrestling. Sony's early line-ups established a strong enough base upon which emerging trends could position themselves to further interact with hardcore and casual fanbases, alike. This commercial discussion re-established gaming a vital tool in cross promotional marketing, encouraging fans to feel increasingly involved with their interests.

CD-based technology meant many of these games could challenge alternative mediums through high quality sound and video. Even before the WWF Smackdown! games introduced exclusivity to wrestling on consoles, FMV challenge promos like those seen on broadcasts made playing Warzone on the PSX a valued unique experience.

Though significant for decades prior, the PSX era coincided with a mainstream boom for anime in Western culture. Now a staple of Saturday mornings, it's hard to imagine a world where the wide-eyed kinetic style of Japanese animation wasn't so prevalent.

1995 gave the world a name to rally behind with the release of Mamoru Oshii's cinematic adaptation of the Masamune Shirow manga, Ghost in the Shell.

This rallying point engendered a renewed sense of familiarity that boosted interest in other iconic titles (like 1991's Akira), and gave way to a phenomenon. While Nintendo were well primed to capitalize (and fund) the trend with titles like the Pokemon franchise; the PlayStation arguably connected Western audiences to Japanese development in ways that mirrored their perception of the "genre" as something exotic and adult, whilst pandering to familiarity. (Unlike the import-heavy favourites of the Dreamcast).

The 1997 PSX-exclusive, Ghost in the Shell, contributed a relevant example despite it's relative obscurity today, and in-game graphical removal from the anime style. Animated sequences closer to the manga in design were enough to pick up the slack, making it a smooth segue from the film deeper into the niche, and a rival to more direct correlation seen on the Sega.

This, of course, is the long way round to introducing today's musical feature.

The Sly & Robbie track quickly became a staple of my listening at the time, which, also coincided with casual interests in anime. Early experiences in gaming, ie; Street Fighter II, helped prepare me for the animation titles that would be popular at the time, and made connecting with softcore Japanese titles on the PSX a fun fad for all. I'd like to think I've never been nearly as ignorant to the culture as that implies, but it's a touchstone for the importance of these congregating interests.

It was a time of intertwining interests and expanding horizons.
A chance to share and communicate through different mediums.
It was a time for shiney skyscrapers and full frontal nudity. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991086

Musi(c.)PSX: Atom Bomb (1996)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Fluke - Atom Bomb (1996)

It was only a matter of time before it came to this...
When the mid-nineties introduced a new variable into the home console equation, it was Wipeout, and the game's close association with the PSX, that formed a compelling argument to abandon the sinking Sega ship before their fate was even sealed.

Combining a slick sci-fi setting with future beats from talented dance acts; the Wipeout series instantly established itself as much more than a game. By featuring tracks from established club acts like, The Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, and Orbital, while also defining the work of Tim Wright, the games quite literally transcended the console through conventional CD capabilities.

UK dance act, Fluke, might've been around for a decade prior, but it was the '96 recording of Atom Bomb that handed them their biggest mainstream success to that date. Created for the first sequel,  Wipeout 2097; the single reached the upper echelons of European pop charts, creating an iconic vision that supported the cross promotional maelstrom instigated for SCEE.

More so than other entries in this series of blog articles; Atom Bomb presents a very literal example of the discussion between the PSX and it's counterpart entertainment contemporaries. It leads one to ponder exactly why it was music had become so significant to games at this period.

Obviously, as already discussed, there was a deliberate communication between pre-existing facets of entertainment that happily benefitted mutually from this association.
Bridging talents like Chris Cunningham [discussed previously], and the artists featured in Europe's first launch title, Wipeout, brought a complimentary aesthetic to a platform clearly conceived, (at least in Europe), to represent the fashionable dance sub-culture.

Music has always been important to gaming.
While hardware developed perpetually to support expanding technical aspirations, creators happily pushed the technology to it's very limits in the pursuit of sound. This total immersion of interaction was comparable to film, but arguably far more significant, as the repeating tones of a good soundtrack replaced dialogue to emote far beyond the limited animations of 8 and 16 bit sprites.

Games weren't without their memorable or iconic tunes before the PSX, but the development of a CD-based machine capable of replicating the fidelity and complexity of conventional pop music arguably signed the death warrant of past midi compositions.
As graphical capabilities developed visuals toward a similar quality, the comparisons between gaming and film were inevitably growing more accurate. This facility of imitation meant the corporate logics that steered cinema toward sourced pop tunes were ripe to be replicated in games, even if their motivation was now artistically contemporary, rather than strictly corporate driven (ie; Batman's 1989 Prince soundtrack).

These congregating movements almost inevitably gave us Wipeout.
They were part of an industrial machine racing toward the year 2000, like some sort of technological competitor with space-faring Russians. It was a time of techno aspiration and high production, giving us music we could not only walk away from humming, but also take with us in fantastic dual purchase.
It was a time of tremendous value. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8991001

Musi(c.)PSX: Donkey Rhubarb (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Aphex Twin - Donkey Rhubarb (1995)

Looking back, I'm not sure there's an artist that captures the romance of the PlayStation era quite like Aphex Twin.
His work branches the period definitively with a catalogue of tracks running the gamut of electronic styles. From the mid-nineties happy hardcore bouncing of Donkey Rhubarb, to the characteristic grinding metal sequences and abstract dance showcased in Windowlicker (1999), it's as if Aphex Twin was laying sounds to match the diversity of the PlayStation line-up.

The association isn't entirely coincidental.
The slick techno chic of electronic music was working hand-in-hand with the aesthetic of the Sony PlayStation and the lifestyle ethic the brand was selling. The PSX represented an excitement and urban fashion that made the console a staple of youth culture and built on the goodwill established by early gaming experiences of Gen X and Y. Gaming was elevated as the PSX became a vital piece of social communication, even if only for a few rounds before heading out to opening clubs.

To establish this brand, Sony tapped plenty of the right sources to spread their concept.
The shouting and energy of nineties promotion was rechanneled and tweaked for a modernist approach. Print and television campaigns sold the PSX vibrancy through artistic and abstract imagery, tapping in to an unspoken chic that was attractive, fun, and a little smart.
One such example is the "Mental Wealth" commercial directed by Chris Cunningham, who was also responsible for the now iconic Aphex Twin videos; Come to Daddy, Rubber Johnny, and Window Licker.

The inevitable overlap of the association between two cultures was typified by the future-racer series, Wipeout, which actually did eventually include Aphex Twin on the soundtrack of their 2005 PSP exclusive, Wipeout Pure.
The song, Naks Acid, came from a limited edition 12" shared with LFO, whose track, Flu Shot, was also featured in the game.

Above of all else, Aphex Twin represents similar ideas (and ideals) to the PSX.
His music, within it's space, could appeal to a range of listeners. At times it was harmonious, rebellious, intellectual, mindless, commercial, alternative. It was a level of experimentation that seemed in sync with the shifting sands of the PlayStation catalogue. It was an intriguing time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8990907

Musi(c.)PSX: Diva (1998)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Dana International - Diva (1998)

Nevermind that the 1998 Eurovision winning song, Diva, was performed in Hebrew, or that the artist, Dana International, was the first transgenderist to win the competition. Smack bang in the centre of the PlayStation's life cycle, one posits that the genre of music is far more significant [to us] than the social politics the song might otherwise represent.

It's now the week after the subject of the song contest was topical, but in the interest of maintaining some fleeting shred of musical credibility, I'm following up on the previous entry in this series to elaborate on the same simplistic point it contained.

Nocturne, (as I'm sure you already knew), won the competition for Norway, in 1995.
Anyone inquisitive enough to actually play the YouTube vid will have come across a reasonably conventional track quite unlike any of the songs featured in any of the previous articles. In it's own curious way, it is meant to represent the conventional pop of the time.

Music is significant to all walks of life. It represents the beat of the drum of life.
It provides background noise to a generation and era, or in those special instances, congeals to be the athem of a very specific moment. In an increasingly manufactured process, pop music provides sound direction and influence on culture around it, undermining the timeline of songs. That said, even the most atrociously uncreative source is the bastard of some other catalytic concept.

Four years into the PSX timeline, Diva marked the departure from Eurovision winning generic pop, boldly reflecting the swelling significance of electronic music. Dana International was hardly a pioneer of the genre, nor was the dance track a turning point for European music.

I suggest, ladies and gentlemen, that the 1998 song is simply a cultural touchstone for the growing awareness and appreciation for electronic statements. By that year, the PSX console was a well established phenomenon in homes across the globe. As we marched enthusiastically and inspired toward a new millennium, even the common man was coming face-to-face with the looping rhythm of an electronic age.
This pre-millennial movement in music and art might have come from eager anticipation for the future. It might have been bred in the pens of Cakewalk and other sampling programs of the time, fed by cultural inbreeding and imitation. It might have resulted from many sources, but it was undoubtedly sponsored by the Sony Playstation. It was a rare moment in time. I miss it.

Musi(c.)PSX: Nocturne (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Secret Garden - Nocturne (1995)

Judging from other blogs I've been reading, you don't really expect me to say a lot, but I feel I'd be short sheeting you if I didn't at least elaborate a little...

Admittedly, this probably isn't what I would look back upon with fond nostalgia for the days of the PlayStation, but there's something to be said for the theory that all things are connected. Norway just won the Eurovision Song Contest, and guess what? They did the same in the first big year of the PSX - 1995! Connection obtained!

I personally associate the PlayStation with much of the Euro/UK outlets and design I came to enjoy. Watching this year's Eurovision, I was pleasantly rewarded by the Russian network's design sense for the show, which reconnected me with that modern, clean, light motif that only the Wii still seems to have some reference to. It was a good time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8989529

Musi(c.)PSX: Windowlicker (1999)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Aphex Twin - Windowlicker (1999)

Make mine a 99!
(Video edited to just the music)

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8989015

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

Musi(c.)PSX: Eisbaer (1997)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994.
A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Groovezone - Eisbaer (1997)

1997 was a great time to own a PSX.
By this point, the console was well and truly entering a mainstream in flux. I'd like to think the Playstation could be described, not just out of romantic nostalgia, but historic fact, as the centre of the universe at that time.
I don't necessarily mean to suggest Sony were secretly pulling the world's strings like a dog in a UFO ending, but there was a definite energy about the period that seemed to congregate around the circular lid of the Playstation console.

Cheesy Eurodance music videos reflected a literal influence from the growing excitement of 3D gaming, but this "energy" wasn't restricted to the peroxide-frosted ravers looking at the world through orange tinted lenses. The proliferation of the PSX in it's mid-life meant connecting with a vast range of people, interests, and brands. It was becoming as much an icon of high fashion as it was family-friendly home entertainment. It was all things, to all people.

Sponsored in part by the growing accessibility of the internet, various topics of interest were able to expand well beyond their niche audiences.
The Playstation created an interactive discussion with licensed gaming properties that scattered growing trends around the globe, personally inducting fans through an exciting exchange of information. The early WWF releases and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater remain bold examples of how the world consumed entertainment during this time.

A decade later, the experimentation and excitement of the PSX era can still be felt.
The legacy of this period might not be entirely positive, particularly as profitable properties attempt to hold on to their former glory through conservative business practises counter-intuitive to the era that defined them.

The PSX was a development of technology that invigorated gaming and connected with a world that was striving for something new. It was the mainstream induction of gaming in ways Generation X had always imagined, allowing the practise to enter homes across the globe. It was an important time in entertainment history. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8988149

Musi(c.)PSX: Breathe (1996)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994. A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

The Prodigy - Breathe (1996)

I'm not sure I could think of a song more anthemic to the era than this one.
A bit like Keith Flint's misappropriation as the lead-man behind Liam Howlett's The Prodigy, I could probably make a vague connection between this song's presence in the era, and my eventual purchase of a PSX in '97.

After doing the Master System and Genesis thing in the years prior, it was a logical progression to look forward to the Sega Saturn. It wasn't that I had anything against Nintendo, but with it's clunky handling and ugly red hues, it just stood to reason that the brand was the lesser option for spoon fed windowlickers. The 64 didn't show up until 1996, but like most Nintendo consoles that followed, it was fast a non-issue, worthy of note only for a small handful of familiar releases.

Familiarity was definitely a factor in this new age of console gaming, but what quickly became apparent was that this was unlike any generation before it. Genres that had previously been restricted to unfeasible dimensions exploded in ways only possible on machines that boasted 3D design across their line-up. Everything old was new again, and decisions now more than ever had to be made based on brand new available information.

Platformers and fighting games had been deal-makers in the 2D era, but as important as they still were, suddenly a good racing game had it's place. Never before on home consoles had the thrill of racing opponents in a match of speed and skill been so thrilling. The illusion of movement was transferred from scrolling backgrounds to realistically manoeuvring vehicles, and the results were electrifying. Wipeout -- a game I'll mention often -- played a major hand in veering a Virtua Eye for a Console Guy away from the Sega, over to the new challenger.

In those early days accessibility gave the PSX a slight edge, but as my world was changing in 1997, a new friend's enthusiasm for the Playstation made understanding it's range that much easier.

With the sounds of Breathe echoing throughout a period where all bets were off, the then upcoming sequel to Sony's combat racer, Twisted Metal, somehow emerged as one of several straws that broke the camel's back. It was as if the grungy BPM of Keith Flint and Prodigy were beating in time with the punk-clown symbol of Twisted Metal. The time for a decision had finally arrived and there was only one possible answer: Sony's "PSX" -- the Playstation.

Through the PSX came several years of enjoyment and exploration.
The Saturn faded into obscurity, and that PSX loving friend drifted into the post-Nirvana punk that permeated through the era, but our overlap was defined by the versatility and excitement of the Playstation. It was the race to the year 2000, when humanity was at it's most excited and ambitious. It was the culmination of video game theory and the troubleshooting execution of everything we had imagined. It was an exciting time. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987663

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

Musi(c.)PSX: Born Slippy .NUXX (1995)

Sony's Playstation console was first released in Japan in December of 1994. A year later, it spread across the globe, leading to it's eventual assimilation into modern living. The console was officially discontinued by Sony in 2006, but began a process of phasing out with the 2000 release of the Playstation2. Known in it's early years colloquially as the PSX, the console was characterised by a slick attitude that met modern gamers on varying levels, boasting releases like Wipeout, which fused electronic music culture with the gaming experience. This post is a celebration of that time. Music circa (c.) the PSX.

Underworld - Born Slippy .NUXX (1995)

In the interest of trying to make use of this blog, without forcefully contributing to the glut with more of the same, I look back on a time I have great appreciation for. It was a time when gaming was part of the pop culture zeitgeist in an assimilative way. In many ways I believe the PSX was the console that gave gaming to the masses and finally confirmed to anyone uncertain that this was a pasttime to be enjoyed by all.

Bursting onto the scene with a bold step toward multimedia entertainment and modern 3D console gaming, the PSX was more than just a platform. It's wide range of titles were enfused with a chic lost on mainstream gamers who now clamber backward to the likes of the Wii. It was a console reaching for a future that culminated in the PS2, more thrilling in it's chase of what was to come, than the malaise of it's established successor.

Music was so much a part of my time with the PSX.
I listened to the Wipeout games as much as I played them. When I wasn't doing that, I was soaking in some of the similar music of the time, whilst playing other titles. The PSX was a Silver Age for video gaming. A time of hope, imagination, excitement, experimentation. I miss it.

Original Post: http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8987356

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