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Hyping Halo 3: A Sign of What's Wrong?
I just came across this rant in the New York Times on a familiar topic--why are modern games so inspid? The author goes into the usual criticisms about how shallow the vast majority of games are, and how they pale compared to the best in film. We've often talked here about how the film industry is so different than the games industry--there is, after all, a place in the film industry for independent films, and not even every Hollywood blockbuster is a mindless action extravaganza. Yet when we turn to the games industry, it's just one highly polished clone after another, right? What is Halo 3 but just the latest remake of Wolfenstein 3D (or 3D Monster Mash, for that matter?)
In a way it IS silly calling Halo 3 (of Halo 1, for that matter) a "cultural phenomenon." Let's call it what it is: a derivative game with a so-so plot and cardboard characters. Sure, it's pretty and compelling, but it wouldn't hold up as a film or novel (at least one that a non-gamer would care about). I'm not saying it's not fun--I'd be an idiot to say that--but it's a bit disappointing to think that it's 2007, and it's still all about the audiovisuals. Sigh.
Imagine this: Every six months or so you go the bookstore and buy the same novel. Same story, same text. The only thing that changes is the art on the cover, which gets a little bit more realistic every time you see it. Pretty soon, that damn cover art will look so real it'll be indistinguishable from a photograph. Who knows, maybe it will look MORE REAL than a photograph.
Get my point?
That said, there are developers out there busting paradigms, but they're not the ones we hear about in the mainstream press. Dreamfall? Totally unmentioned except in the gaming press. Half-Life 2? Well, it ain't Halo, so why bother? Psychonauts? Who cares, it isn't a MMORPG. How many people have ever hear of Syberia, Bad Mojo, or The Dig? Ah, they can't be bothered; the only adventure games worth playing are Myst and Monkey Island.
In short, I don't think the problem is that there aren't any original or artistic games out there. I think that the problem is that the only ones that attract the mainstream press are either over-hyped games like Halo 3, or publicity stunts like Grand Theft Auto.
Link via Grand Text Auto.
- Matt Barton's blog
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Comments
Funny
Well, at least they evened things out a bit as they're playing Guitar Hero in the background!! When are people going to realize that playing video games doesn't translate into turning someone into a serial killer? There's probably been at least one person that could make the claim, but the vast majority simply want to have a good time. I liked the part in the article where they talk about "what's next...having porn video night at church...". Cheers
No need for accuracy in the mainstream press...
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/us/07halo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
take care
What's even funnier is that they're playing Xbox 1, not Xbox 360 in the photos! (check out the black Xbox 1 controllers!)
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Master Chief = Messiah?
Here's another weird thing:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/us/07halo.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
take care
Mwoehahahahaha :)
Now THAT was funny.
Editor / Pixelator - Armchair Arcade, Inc.
Funny!
I mean, hell, I cared far more about Arnold in Predator than Master Chief in Halo.
Darn it Matt, I read this and laughed so hard I spit my diet coke on my ancient 19-inch PC screen!! I agree, as I too cared about Arnold in Predator.
Cheers
Twists and Turns
Halo 3 definitely cranks up the "chatter" quite a bit over previous entries in the series. Also, if you're familiar with Halo 2, the Arbiter is now your sidekick, in an almost comical buddy flick type of pairing (though they play it serious).
And then there is the strange turn by the Flood temporarily siding with Master Chief and the Arbiter, and even stranger than that, the sudden return of the Oracle. I won't spoil it for you, but something is going to happen that you least expect. The Campaign turns out to be like a soap opera, primarily for guys, even though I know alot of girls/women that play the game!
Chatter
This is what I really found to be the best part of the game. Whereas in so many other games you're "one man alone" (Doom, Far Cry, Half-Life), here you feel like part of a team. Some parts almost felt like you were playing a multiplayer game with a group of buddies. These moments, while not constant, really did stand out. Indeed, the parts that seemed to drag out to me were those that didn't have your comrades with you. I thought Quake 4 did a good job in this regard too, though not as well as Halo.
Halo 3 definitely cranks up the "chatter" quite a bit over previous entries in the series. Also, if you're familiar with Halo 2, the Arbiter is now your sidekick, in an almost comical buddy flick type of pairing (though they play it serious).
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Halo Good Points
This is what I really found to be the best part of the game. Whereas in so many other games you're "one man alone" (Doom, Far Cry, Half-Life), here you feel like part of a team. Some parts almost felt like you were playing a multiplayer game with a group of buddies. These moments, while not constant, really did stand out. Indeed, the parts that seemed to drag out to me were those that didn't have your comrades with you. I thought Quake 4 did a good job in this regard too, though not as well as Halo.
More Halo
I forgot about that one. Frankly, I'm a sucker for "love" angles, complicated relationships and emotions, and so far - from what little I've played - Halo 3 is nailing that with the Cortana "flashbacks". What's all the more intriguing is that we're talking about essentially a modified human "cyborg" of sorts in Master Chief and a non-corporeal AI construct in Cortana.
Matt also makes a good point about essentially the fighting breaking up the story. But frankly, that's the videogame construct more than anything. Halo is not quite so bad in that regard - as particularly in Halo 3 - there's constant team chatter. There IS a story going on around you and "independent" of you as you yourself are progressing it.
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Bill Loguidice, Managing Director
Armchair Arcade, Inc.
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Gettin' Emotional over halo
I did actually play all the way through Halo 1, and I did enjoy it more than most other FPS I've played. The storyline did have you wondering what would happen next. Still, I can't honestly imagine breaking into tears over it. Even if there was a part or two with emotional interest, that was immediately squashed by the next hour or two of blowing stuff up. There was never any part of the game where I felt anything was really at stake. Here's the bad guys, kill them. You have nothing here, for instance, that can move you like the battles between Luke and Darth Vader in Star Wars, or between Gandalf and Saramon in Lord of the Rings.
I mean, hell, I cared far more about Arnold in Predator than Master Chief in Halo.
Again, please don't think I'm saying that Halo isn't fun or compelling. They're great games. But I don't see any value in them beyond pure entertainment. There's nothing wrong with that, but I do wish we could get to a point where a game could be tremendous fun AND have some redeeming value to it, like the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movies.