It's official Kombateers: Mortal Kombat has an official release date of 04/19/11. It's okay to do a dance, this one looks good.
If rumors are to be believed, NetherRealm Studios (see what they did there?) are determined to reboot the series. Gone are the obnoxiously silly finisher moves, and the even sillier character designs.* From screens popping up around the web, it looks slick and full of promise.
I've always been a die-hard MK fan. I can honestly say that Mortal Kombat has played a prominent role in most phases of my life. As a young teen I remember rigging the MK2 cabinet in a hotel in Macau with a Aussie boy named Tom. As a high schooler I can remember hanging out in an orange shag carpeted basement, determined to see every MK3's character's finisher. As a young woman, newly dating my future husband, I can remember house sitting for his mother, unlocking the entirety of the Krypt in MK: Deadly Alliance. And, as a side note, let's face it: Scorpion is the hotness.
I mention this because it seems that most old school gamers of my generation also have a fond memory associated with the franchise. While not one of the first fighting games, Mortal Kombat definitely brought something new to the table, and that may be why so many people look back upon the franchise with such nostalgia.
Which may be why Deception and Armageddon were so woefully disappointing. As a person who never sells video games or books because I feel they are "old friends," I fully admit to ridding myself of both games not 72 hours after purchase. Which is also a nice way of saying, to me, the series was dead ... until the screens and teasers for Mortal Kombat started surfacing.
From what I've seen, and what has been promised, I'm comfortable admitting that I am very, very excited and so too should you be.
*sigh. The female characters look obnoxious as always but I long ago came to terms with Mortal Kombat refusing to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, women play their games.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Closure. It's not just for bad relationships.
Yes, it's true: Duke Nukem Forever finally has a release date. Oh frabulous day! Now we can rush right out to purchase what appears to be ... a generic ... Fallout-esque, shooter... thing. I know what you're saying "Ain't no way I'm payin' $59.99 for this!" Well, you're wrong. You might not pay $60 for it, but you're going to play it. I don't care if every game reviewer from here to Illium gives it a resounding 'F' (they won't, but more on that later), you're going to play it. Why? Because you have to.
If you're looking at this post, or if the the release date for Duke Nukem was even a blip on your radar, chances are you were a fan of the proto-wise-cracking hero from days of yore. Which brings me to reason number one why you are going to play this game:
Do you remember Duke Nukem? I mean actually remember the games, not your nostalgia-tainted fond memories of parts of the game. Nothing about Duke Nukem was ever innovative or ground-breaking.* They were all generic "like-this-game-but" sorts of ordeals punctuated by testosterone-fueled, chauvinistic quips and puns. Don't forget the game was initially built on the Quake engine (see below), and then the Unreal engine. This series does not have an original bone in its body! Duke Nukem is not the Phantom Menace. It cannot be as large of a disappointment as your inner-self is whispering to you as you read this, because there's not a mammoth foundation of awesome to destroy. So what I'm saying boils down to: really, other than $$, what do you have to lose?
Reason two you will play this game, is the same reason you've tried Twinkie wiener sandwiches or Sippin' Syrup: you know it's going to be bad, but you must sample it for yourself. No one can describe Battlefield Earth; it must be experienced.
Reason three you will play this game is, above all else: closure. Again, if you're reading this, chances are you remember the original announcement for Duke Nukem Forever, back when it was going to be built on the Quake engine. Wait... Quake? Wasn't that that Doom-clone from, like, 1997 ( look it up, kids)? Holy crap! Have we be waiting 14 years for this?! Shouldn't this game descend from the heavens on a fiery chariot and bring peace to the Middle East? Yeah, that's right. It should. So you're going to play it just so you can marvel in the banality that will come from a game this long in development.
And then you'll drink a few beers, find the fun parts, the funny lines and the token good boss fight, and in 10 years you'll look back at it with the same fondness on which you look back at the original Duke Nukem.
*Gentlemen, start your flamers. I stand by this statement, wrapped in asbestos.
If you're looking at this post, or if the the release date for Duke Nukem was even a blip on your radar, chances are you were a fan of the proto-wise-cracking hero from days of yore. Which brings me to reason number one why you are going to play this game:
Do you remember Duke Nukem? I mean actually remember the games, not your nostalgia-tainted fond memories of parts of the game. Nothing about Duke Nukem was ever innovative or ground-breaking.* They were all generic "like-this-game-but" sorts of ordeals punctuated by testosterone-fueled, chauvinistic quips and puns. Don't forget the game was initially built on the Quake engine (see below), and then the Unreal engine. This series does not have an original bone in its body! Duke Nukem is not the Phantom Menace. It cannot be as large of a disappointment as your inner-self is whispering to you as you read this, because there's not a mammoth foundation of awesome to destroy. So what I'm saying boils down to: really, other than $$, what do you have to lose?
Reason two you will play this game, is the same reason you've tried Twinkie wiener sandwiches or Sippin' Syrup: you know it's going to be bad, but you must sample it for yourself. No one can describe Battlefield Earth; it must be experienced.
Reason three you will play this game is, above all else: closure. Again, if you're reading this, chances are you remember the original announcement for Duke Nukem Forever, back when it was going to be built on the Quake engine. Wait... Quake? Wasn't that that Doom-clone from, like, 1997 ( look it up, kids)? Holy crap! Have we be waiting 14 years for this?! Shouldn't this game descend from the heavens on a fiery chariot and bring peace to the Middle East? Yeah, that's right. It should. So you're going to play it just so you can marvel in the banality that will come from a game this long in development.
And then you'll drink a few beers, find the fun parts, the funny lines and the token good boss fight, and in 10 years you'll look back at it with the same fondness on which you look back at the original Duke Nukem.
*Gentlemen, start your flamers. I stand by this statement, wrapped in asbestos.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
An adult retrospect on Dead Space 2's advertising campaign
First: let it be known that I was a fan of the original Dead Space. Yes, it was a direct rip-off of Event Horizon, and not terribly frightening, but it was an all-around good game. And I do still plan on buying Dead Space 2 when it releases next month.
Having said that, I have to say their ad campaign has officially irked me. Being one of the frou-frou "games are art" type of people, I find myself constantly arguing that video games are no longer the teen boy's entertainment of choice, and are, in fact, the playground of adults. Often times have I made the argument that not only are video games one of the best values in the entertainment industry, they are, quite literally, the future of adult entertainment.
Then I received a link for yourmomhatesdeadspace2.com . My first thought was "this must be a joke." I quickly realized it was a very real ad campaign. Wow. So that I do no seem to be some suburbanite soccer mom with zero sense of humor, let me explain why this ad campaign irks me so:
1) I am an adult. As such, I have not cared whether my mom did or did not like something in about, oh, 15 years. (Yikes! Age reveal!) Personally, once you can smoke cigarettes, stay out late and have to pay your own rent check ... shocking your parents by engaging in an activity the do not approve of is, well, juvenile.
2) Have you met my mom? My mom would hate Dead Space 2. She also hates Ford Tauruses, inflation and R-rated movies. This is a woman who thought Silence of the Lambs was the scariest film ever made. Ever. Her radar is not what I would consider "accurate." Nor is she particularly hard to shock and scare. Nor were the "moms" in the ads.
3) Why can't my dad hate it? Here's a secret, guys: my dad would hate Dead Space 2 as much as my mom. As a D&D-rolling, LAN-party hosting, M:TG-trading girl, I have always accepted that female gamers are a largely ignored entity. Game developers have long treated us like the red-headed stepchild, assuming our game play consists of Cooking Mama, Final Fantasy X-2, and yelling at our boyfriends for playing games. Why can't old people in general hate Dead Space 2? Why is just moms? Because moms are female, and we all know the gentler sex just can't handle that game-stuff.
Having said that, I have to say their ad campaign has officially irked me. Being one of the frou-frou "games are art" type of people, I find myself constantly arguing that video games are no longer the teen boy's entertainment of choice, and are, in fact, the playground of adults. Often times have I made the argument that not only are video games one of the best values in the entertainment industry, they are, quite literally, the future of adult entertainment.
Then I received a link for yourmomhatesdeadspace2.com . My first thought was "this must be a joke." I quickly realized it was a very real ad campaign. Wow. So that I do no seem to be some suburbanite soccer mom with zero sense of humor, let me explain why this ad campaign irks me so:
1) I am an adult. As such, I have not cared whether my mom did or did not like something in about, oh, 15 years. (Yikes! Age reveal!) Personally, once you can smoke cigarettes, stay out late and have to pay your own rent check ... shocking your parents by engaging in an activity the do not approve of is, well, juvenile.
2) Have you met my mom? My mom would hate Dead Space 2. She also hates Ford Tauruses, inflation and R-rated movies. This is a woman who thought Silence of the Lambs was the scariest film ever made. Ever. Her radar is not what I would consider "accurate." Nor is she particularly hard to shock and scare. Nor were the "moms" in the ads.
3) Why can't my dad hate it? Here's a secret, guys: my dad would hate Dead Space 2 as much as my mom. As a D&D-rolling, LAN-party hosting, M:TG-trading girl, I have always accepted that female gamers are a largely ignored entity. Game developers have long treated us like the red-headed stepchild, assuming our game play consists of Cooking Mama, Final Fantasy X-2, and yelling at our boyfriends for playing games. Why can't old people in general hate Dead Space 2? Why is just moms? Because moms are female, and we all know the gentler sex just can't handle that game-stuff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)