Slashdot Log In
Croal vs. Totilo - The God of War 2 Letters
Posted by
Zonk
on Fri Mar 30, 2007 04:47 PM
from the ready?-fight! dept.
from the ready?-fight! dept.
I've mentioned previously how much I enjoy the writing of Newsweek's N'Gai Croal and MTV's Stephen Totilo. All this week, then, it's been a pleasure to enjoy their witty exchange on the PS2's most recent blockbuster, God of War 2. The conversation is spread across both Croal's LevelUp column and Totilo's Player Two blog, and features ruminations on the title from a number of viewpoints. If you have some time this afternoon I highly recommend you give their full correspondence a look. More than just a discussion about a single game, they manage to capture some of the greatness of the medium, with their conversation ranging across genre, time, and content to get at some of the most fundamental elements of videogaming. From N'Gai's final post: "I've said before that we 'see' videogames with our hands. Extending that analogy further, the way cutscenes are used today is the film equivalent of title cards during the silent film era: even though the audience came to the movies to watch people move, they had to do a fair bit of reading to get the full measure of the filmmaker's vision. Similarly, cutscenes leave gamers watching when they should be playing. Sure, cutscenes can communicate critical information; they allow for dramatic and spectacular sequences that might be too difficult to pull off interactively; they provide a nice breather or bookend to lengthy gameplay sections. But just as silent film gave way to the talkies, cutscenes need to keep giving way to gameplay so that our eyes--excuse me, our hands--are constantly engaged."
Related Stories
[+]
Talking With TV's Most-Respected Games Journalist 39 comments
N'Gai Croal, at Newsweek, has a three-part interview up speaking with games journalist Geoff Keighley. Undoubtedly the most respected games reporter on television, Keighley is probably best known at the moment for the SpikeTV show Game Head. He's also written for Entertainment Weekly, Time, Rolling Stone, Gamespot (with the behind the games series), and EGM, as well as hosting the "McLaughlin Group"-ish show Bonus Round for the GameTrailers site. The first part of the interview deals with the creation of 'Bonus Round', and his inspiration for the show. The second piece looks at Keighley's extensive CV, and what it is like writing about games for a mainstream audience. The third piece wraps up with a few words on the industry at large, and perspective on gaming from a business standpoint.
[+]
Your Mom And Gaming 76 comments
Tomorrow is Mother's Day in the US, and Newsweek's N'Gai Croal rightly estimates that many gamers owe a lot to their mothers. Because they indulged what they likely initially saw as a strange choice of hobby, we have a thriving gaming industry to enjoy today. The Level Up site offers an interview with a woman on the Newsweek staff who learned to tolerate those 'console things', and another piece where N'Gai interviews his own mom about his games-related past. "N'Gai: Growing up, you allowed us kids to have a computer, but we weren't allowed to have a videogame machine. What was your thinking behind that? Yvonne Croal: Well, in my estimation at that time, videogames were just another silly game. We certainly didn't want you to be spending 24/7 playing these games that we considered not productive in any way." If you're still looking for a gift for your own mom, Pop Cap is giving away a free copy of Bejeweled to anyone that signs up for their newsletter. Worked on my mom. Happy Mother's Day.
[+]
Halo, Nothing But Halo 67 comments
The Halo 3 Beta has been in the news just a bit lately, and with it the Halo franchise is again looming large in other formats. Director Peter Jackson is speculating that the release of the game this September may refocus attention on the movie, stalled as it has been since October of last year. Jackson still wants to make it, but only with Neill Blomkamp directing. The Halo comic, meanwhile, has been confirmed as an ongoing series. The comic will consist of several mini-series runs, with future adventures possibly featuring the return of Brian Michael Bendis (the mind behind the first series). As for the game itself, Beta code has uncovered several game achievements that will be earnable after launch. Trying to calm fans somehow disappointed with the Beta's graphics, Bungie's Frank O'Connor assures us the shipped game will look better. And finally for a broader view of the game N'Gai Croal and Stephen Totilo are at it again, dissecting the Beta experience with witty correspondence.
[+]
News: Croal vs. Totilo - The Manhunt 2 Letters 42 comments
N'Gai Croal (of Newsweek) and Stephen Totilo (of MTV) once again match wits in a textual format, this time over the Manhunt 2 controversy. In Round One, the two reporters discuss the process of playing the game for the first time, and wonder what the experience must have been like for the ESRB raters. Round Two sees them take things up a notch, discussing what exactly it is about the game that's so violent. Round Three ... has them questioning the nature of gaming itself. As always, these are two smart guys with some interesting insights into the medium. Well worth your time. From N'Gai's final letter: "It's difficult to 'read' or derive much meaning from a game. That's why in our three Vs. Modes, we ultimately don't spend very much time talking about or analyzing the experience of playing a game, because it's hard to do so without turning our emails into "I went here. I did this. I picked that up." Which is, after all, what games are. So if the essence of a game is located in what we do, is a walkthrough--go here, do this, pick up that--the most truthful way to write about the experience of playing a game? I hope not. But it's something we should consider. Once again, if the essence of any game is located in its action, reaction, interaction, and the rules which circumscribe those three elements, what does the narrative do?"
[+]
News: Croal vs. Totilo - Metroid Prime 3 vs. BioShock 75 comments
Another round of considered commentary from two game journalism luminaries is now completed, and ready for your consumption. Newsweek's Croal and MTV's Totilo go back and forth on the merits of those 'other' console shooters, the ones without Halo in the title. What follows is a fascinating conversation focused on the titles BioShock and Metroid 3, with a wide-range of topics explored. They touch on the importance of a memorable opening, the sense of empowerment required for a good game, and a few words on what may have been lost in the move to 3D in the Metroid series. 'There's a very real argument to be made that something was lost in the transition from 2D to 3D, which is what the Wii's backers have been happy to talk about. While it's worth exploring why the transition ruined things for some gamers, I think little has been discussed about why other gamers didn't lose touch and what kind of tastes may have developed in those of us who stayed hardcore on both sides of the break. What do such gamers have to add to a discussion that so often deals only with the lapsed 2D gamers and the children of the 3D era, to say nothing of the outsider casuals?'"
This discussion has been archived.
No new comments can be posted.
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
Full
Abbreviated
Hidden
Loading... please wait.
Whoooooo... (Score:3, Funny)
I disagree with the paragraph quoted (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:1)
Yes.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Eternal Darkness on the gamecube was a game where you run from cutscene to cutscene and the story is told largely in the cutscenes, but it works, and its a great game because it knows that is what it is. The cutscenes contain crucial information and hints on how to solve the puzzles, etc.
Many other games purport to be FPSes and then keep INTERRUPTING the game play to show you a cutscene that by and
Re: (Score:1)
Eternal Darkness being one of my most hated offenders for that very crime. It's a wonderful game, excellent story-telling, all that. Too bad the FMV before the final boss battle is so very long and so very unskippable.
Re: (Score:2)
Great Game (Score:5, Interesting)
I've been playing GOW II recently and I have to say it's a FANTSTIC game. It looks great on my TV at widescreen and 480p, and it's a blast to play. Despite the fact that they to handicap Kratos (he was a god at the end of the last game, they had to do SOMETHING) they've done an excelelnt job in the parts I've played so far and handling his abilities, story telling, and keeping me hooked. The camera works great (because it's scripted). Loads are fast. For the most part, it's a textbook case of how to do a great game.
The only complaint I have is the visual tearing which is by no means infrequent. It looks like VSYNC was turned off. It is rather annoying. I'm really sorry that made it through QA (probably done to keep the frame rate up, but in a game like this with so much fast moving stuff it is quite noticeable).
Still, games like this and Shadow of the Colossus have come out of the PS2. I'd be happy with God of War II on a next-gen console if it was just anti-aliased. I can't wait to see what people can pull out of the PS3 and 360 4-5 years from now. Can you imagine what people would have said if you had Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, or God of War (1/2) near the PS2 launch. That would have blown people's minds of what "next-generation" could be at the time.
Re: (Score:2)
The camera works great (because it's scripted).
For me the fixed/scripted camera was the only part of the game I have truly disliked so far (at least technically). There are many hide items in the game and not being able to actually look around makes finding some of these things a real bitch. I don't know how many times I've had to just jump off a ledge, to my death usually, just to check and see if there were a hidden ledge below. Now this was not a problem in games like the first two OddWorlds, but since this some times means repeating a 15 minute
Re: (Score:2)
I tend to like fixed cameras. Most of the time I find that having the camera under my control is because they couldn't get the logic half-decent, and had to do it to make the game playable. There have been a few instances where it has annoyed me, but by and large I think they did a very good job with it.
As for Shadow of the Colossus, you have to remember that the scenes were VERY simple, except for the Colossus and the main character. Plus the game had noticeable frame-rate issues. So to combine that with
Re: (Score:1, Funny)
They SUUU-HUUU-HUUUUU-UUUUUUCK
Fixed cameras suck. Just deal.
Re: (Score:2)
Letters? (Score:1)
I think the answer lies somewhere between (Score:1, Insightful)
As with most things, I think the best result is usually a happy medium. As the guy who is okay with non-interactivity says, sometimes, a scene is more powerful when you can't control it. He uses the big plot reveal from KOTOR as an example. The cut scene makes you wait as the camera pans around to re
Re: (Score:1)
Sorry it took so long for me to post... (Score:2)
Sorry it took so long for me to post...my eyes and my hands were engaged in other activity.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
How many times have you tried to explain a complex gaming moment and failed, but your hands were conditioned enough to be able to pull off the move repeatedly?
Re: (Score:2)
I think it's absurd that I got moderated 'Troll' for my comment. I don't think I said was any more rediculous than the story itself.
Re: (Score:1)