Snowfall

We actually got some bloody snow! The big northeast storm dropped quite a few inches on us, though it won't be enough to cause any cancellations. It kinda sucked watching people run down hills and throw snowballs yesterday evening while I was cooped up for yet another night trying to get rid of this bronchitis. Cabin Fever is no laughing matter (and when next weekend rolls around, no way in hell I'm sitting around doing nothing. I need a drink people).

Links are a healthy part of a daily blogging diet. Actually, they aren't, because everyone does them, but that won't stop me.

Don't you hate how console debates always boil down to who's doing the best business wise? When people start claiming that Nintendo is going down the tubes thanks to the Gamecube, and Nintendo fans claim that they're the only ones making a profit, and thus are diong the best? And somewhere in the middle there's a quip about Microsoft losign money on the Xbox. 1up has jumped into the fray and decided to take a look at these ridiculous discussions. Their verdict?

"it looks like the only losers here are those gamers who get so hung up on numbers and bragging rights that they forget how to enjoy all the great games these companies keep churning out. Seriously, guys -- it totally sucks to be you."

Amen to that.

At the recent D.I.C.E summit, Peter Moore once again admitted that Microsoft has done a horrible job promoting PC gaming. Once again there were promises to fix this. Once again I don't believe them. They did a good job with the PC compatibility with the 360 controller, but its going to take more than that for one of my favorite gaming platforms to pick up some steam, and MS is in the best position to make some changes. Unfortunately, as long as that shiny Xbox 360 is in demand, I think that PC fans will have to continue to settle with old product andempty promises.

I haven't gotten around to playing God of War yet, but I'm thinking I really should. Every time the game's creater David Jaffe speaks, I find myself listening. His latest speech at D.I.C.E., he compares games to porn ("sort of"), which seems apt when you read the latest previews for Black and continue to see the game being called "Gun porn". In reality, he was trying to express his disappointment with the lack of good writing and creative people in the industry. He also lamented how much the industry attempts to emulate film. Every game is trying to be more "exciting and cinematic", and in doing so they often fail to embrace certain gaming concepts that are rather important.

I wholeheartedly agree with this stance. I always find that the truly "cinematic" games are the ones that aren't trying to be so, but rather focus on solid design and good gameplay. Half Life 2 feels straight out of a good sci fi film, because it does so much of the gameplay is dynamic, and the anything that is scripted is well hidden from the player. Then we have something like Call of Duty 2, where it isn't too hard to see the smoke in mirrors (more on that in my upcoming review!). Ico doens't have a HUD because it literally doesn't need one, whereas something like The Getaway has no HUD simply so it can seem like a film, despite the fact that it desperately needs one.

In any case, good job Mr. Jaffe. We need more developers like you around (and as he said in his speech, they need to be better compensated!)