GamerSushi Asks: Engrossing Gaming?Posted by Eddy on July 25th, 2010

My goal this weekend was to play lots of Alan Wake. And until today, I had not achieved it. As I am wont to do, I was distracted by any number of things over the weekend. You know how it goes: wives, martial arts, fantasy books, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, bike rides, saving the world… That kind of stuff tends to get in the way of the most well intentioned gaming.

However, today I finally sat down with Alan Wake and managed to knock out 3 and a half chapters (out of six) in one 4 hour sitting. While I’m not going to rave about the game and say it was the greatest thing anyone has ever played ever, there’s certainly something to be said about how engrossed and entertained I was. The fact that I sat there for 4 hours straight is a pretty big deal.

The more I thought about it, I’ve actually done that a handful of times in the last year, thanks to other great single player stories like Mass Effect 2, Uncharted 2, Heavy Rain and of course Red Dead Redemption. It made me curious to ask you guys what some of the most engrossing single player games you’ve played in recent memory? What really captured your attention and kept you glued to your seat? Go!

Head to Head: Co-Op or VersusPosted by Eddy on July 5th, 2010

I think one of the most interesting discussions in gaming right now is the idea of what’s more essential in terms of a multiplayer experience.

For years, co-op was the name of the game, with game studios offering chances for us to play through things with two players on our old school consoles. However, that eventually gave way to the rise of the versus mode through PC gaming, which then bled almost a decade later to the consoles. Now, we’re seeing a renaissance of sorts, with co-operative play coming back to the forefront of many AAA games. In fact, if there’s a multiplayer component, co-operative play is almost expected these days, where it wasn’t before.

For me, I think co-op is the more essential experience, but I know that others feel differently. Over this weekend, in fact, I’ve played several bouts of co-op in both Uncharted 2 and Bad Company 2, and had much more fun than I have in deathmatch modes for most games.

So I’ve put together a poll for you guys. Let the answers do battle!

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Great Moments in Video Game Music: Uncharted 2 – Drake’s ThemePosted by Anthony on May 4th, 2010

Time for another awesome song that I think you guys will like. Just to clarify, I am trying to pick songs that are good regardless of whether or not you have played the game.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time and amid all the praise, the music is one aspect that really drew me into the game. Featuring a score akin to that of something by John Williams, this is the main theme of the game and one of my favorites.

Crysis 2 Makers Call Out More GamesPosted by Eddy on April 14th, 2010

Dang. I always knew that Crysis sported itself some pretty graphics. Gorgeous, even. But I didn’t realize the original Crysis was such a groundbreaking smash of a hit in terms of narrative. Or at least, that’s what its writers and creators seem to think.

Earlier this week, Crysis 2 writer Richard Morgan called out Modern Warfare 2 for its story and its narrative. Then, he proceeded to follow that up with a shot at Halo, calling its archetypal characters “bullshit”. While it’s one thing to nip at the heels of the big dogs, it seems that Crytek isn’t quite done taking shots at other games. A new interview with the company’s CEO, Cevat Yerli, has now added Uncharted 2 to the list of giants that Crysis 2 is trying to fell with its stones of wordy criticisms. Here’s what Yerli had to say about the game.

It’s really great, and that’s an alternative style, but I don’t think they do justice to the medium of game. I think Mass Effect 2 is doing a better job to the game market, although it’s a completely different style to us, rather than Uncharted 2 or Modern Warfare, for that matter.

Say what you will about whether or not Richard Morgan or Yerli is right about any of the stuff they’ve made bold claims about with Crysis 2… but these dudes are dropping some major gonads down on the table. I mean, seriously, this game’s story had better start blowing some mothers out of the water with its brilliance when this game comes out.

Personally, I think their comments about Modern Warfare 2 are totally justified, and the ones about Halo slightly less justified (but not wrong), but calling out Uncharted 2 as not doing videogames justice seems a little out in left field for me. And this is coming from a guy who loved Mass Effect 2 just as much.

What do you guys think? Are these guys biting off more than they can chew? Have they been right about their comments?

Source- VG247

The 2009 Sushis: A Year In ReviewPosted by Eddy on January 28th, 2010

There are plenty of “best of the year” lists floating around for video games these days. But none of them are the Sushis. The Sushis represent a higher pedigree, one that rises above all of the other bush league video game blogs out there. These awards really mean something, people.

OK, maybe not. But they’re fun as hell, and that’s the point of playing games, right?

The Sushi awards represent our goofy and snarky take on the year in gaming, for better or worse, chosen by the GS dudes. A proper “best of” list is coming this weekend, but for now, enjoy these custom awards and feel free to comment on them.

Enjoy!
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GamerSushi Asks: What Should Anthony Play First?Posted by Anthony on December 11th, 2009

As some of you may know from comments I have left, I am anxiously awaiting Christmas Day for the 3 games I asked my fiancée to get me for Christmas: Uncharted 2, Dragon Age: Origins and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Christmas is my traditional time of year for getting a bunch of games and I am very much looking forward to playing them all.

But which should I play first? I plan to play a little bit of each one that day, to whet my appetite and see what I feel like playing, but I wanted to get the opinion of my adoring public. Should I jump right into Dragon Age and potentially be there for a month or two? Or Modern Warfare 2, where the danger lies in getting sucked into the online component and not playing anything else for months on end, as happened with the Call of Duty 4. Or should I play Uncharted 2 since that one is the shortest game and then Eddy and I can do co-op together and give him a reason to put his PS3 back online?

Decisions, decisions…you make the call: GO!

GamerSushi Grade Chart Part DeuxPosted by Eddy on December 5th, 2009

A month back or so, we asked for your input on how our grading scale worked for the games we review here at GamerSushi. You all weighted in with you thoughts, and gave some really valuable input that helped us in our discussions about how we should address our grading system going forward. Seriously, it really pointed us in the right direction. So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce to you the brand new version of the grade chart.

We’ve created a new page that has a breakdown (written by Anthony) of how the updated grading scale works. We basically combined several ideas that people gave us.

Our problem before was that since we are a small site with limited resources beyond our own wits (and even that isn’t much), there’s no way we’re going to be reviewing games that are truly worthy of D’s or F’s. Even C’s for that matter. All of our scores ended up being in the same zone for this reason, because half of our scale was useless.

What we’ve done now is address that issue by re-scaling the chart so that it basically only takes into account the hyped or AAA titles. That means that even a D could still be a good game, just a blockbuster title we didn’t enjoy as much as others. On top of all that, we ditched the +/- system, and added a new grade of “S” for the truly special games. This took care of the issues we were having where a game like Resident Evil 5 deserved an A+, but on our old scale, that would mean it was one of the “greatest games of all time”, along with Uncharted 2. In our new scale, RE5 becomes an A and Uncharted 2 becomes an S.

Anywho, Anthony explains all of that much better on the new grade chart page. I’d suggest checking it out and leaving your thoughts here! We’ll be re-scoring all of our reviews over the next weekend, so tell us your thoughts on those, too.

EDIT: Nick made the sweet graphic of the grade chart. He yelled at me for not telling you guys that. Whoops. NICK MADE IT.

Are Video Games Really Art?Posted by Anthony on December 2nd, 2009

Are video games art? This is a question that sends some people into a tizzy, as gamers plot revenge against Roger Ebert for answering in the negative. I personally have always been of the opinion that games are art. They have writing, music and visuals, therefore, since all of those elements by themselves are art, when they are combined, that must be art, too. But lately I have been wavering in my conviction.

The problem I have is that art should mean something. It should express an idea or explore something about the world or our humanity. And some games do this, such as Braid or Bioshock. But for every one of those, you get 50 of Left 4 Dead or Borderlands, great games, but not really stretching the limits of the medium’s potential. These games do away with story in order to focus on gameplay, which can be an art itself. Not every game has to move the medium forward, but the gems are few and far between. Where is the video game equivalent of Casablanca or The Godfather? We have one of the most amazing media platforms in history and we waste it on zombies and ninjas?

The medium most copied by games is film. It seems ever since the dawn of games that there has been a concerted effort to make games more cinematic. This is not the ideal direction for games to take. Games are unique in that it is an interactive experience and even communal at times. Why should games try to be something it is not? A movie tells a story. You sit back and watch it unfold, passive in your viewing, knowing that nothing you do will change the events on the screen.

Games are radically different. A game still tells a story, but you are an active participant. You are still being driven along a pre-set path, though some have more freedom than others, but you decide if the plot moves forward. In some games, there are choices that take the story along a different path, although this aspect of games is still in it’s relative infancy and much more can be done with it. But games are not movies and I really believe that developers should stop trying to force a square peg in a round hold. Games have the luxury of defining themselves and what kind of methods they can use to being a story to gamers. Even games like Uncharted 2, while amazing, are trying to be like movies. There is a freedom in games that is being squandered and it would not be beneficial to the industry if games became stagnant so earlier in it’s still young life.

The main issue that I have been dwelling on is that most art starts with an emotion or an idea that the artist, writer, singer or director wants to express. Maybe someone had their heart broken and they write a book about a similar person that allows the writer to have a cathartic experience. A director reads the screenplay and is moved by it and makes a film out of it, adding their personal touch to the tale, but still maintaining the original vision. The same thing happens with music. Someone is compelled write a song from an experience they had. This is not to say that all movies and music originate from this point. Indeed, many movies and songs are written simply to make money, but the best movies and songs come from something personal.

With video games, this is not so. I have no figures, but I would estimate that 90% of all games originate from a business plan. Very few games start off with someone trying to capture an emotion or some essence of humanity. It seems that many games start off with an idea for a gameplay mechanic and then a story is woven around that concept. Now, this is not always the case, but I don’t see people writing original game scripts and shopping them around, hoping that some studio will take a chance and make a game based on it. Games are largely a team effort and so are movies, but the key difference seems to be that the original impetus for a movie usually comes from one person, or perhaps a small group of people writing together. Games seem to be formed in meetings and committees. This does not make them lesser stories or ideas, but it does seem to focus on the business side of things and not the artistic side. This seems just be the nature of the beast.

But it is this aspect of games that is making me doubt whether all games are art. I guess what I can say for sure is that some games art art, but all games have art inherent in them: the music, the design, the writing (Except for Resident Evil games) and everything that goes into making a game all come from people who are artists in their own way. But what a game means, what it is about, are the factors that determine if a game is art. It’s a difficult object to judge, but I don’t need all games to be Picassos. But it would be nice to see a drive to move video games forward. Games like Bioshock have shown that this can be done without sacrificing success. I only hope it happens before video games hit the wall that comic books did.

What do you guys think? Are all games art? Only some? None? Am I dwelling too much on the origins of a game’s idea or am I on the right track?

Putting the Controller DownPosted by Eddy on October 24th, 2009

Woah. So Uncharted 2 is one incredible game. If you have been on the fence about getting a Playstation 3 (or a PS triple, as some would say), you no longer have any excuses. Go out and get this game right now. I’m being serious. There will be punches if you ignore me on this.

Now that that’s out of the way, on to what I was really trying to say. This morning I finally finished this fantastic game, and I found myself sad to see it over. Most of the time when I beat a game, I usually find myself excited about my accomplishment, being able to move on to something else. It’s only with movies and books that I get sad during an ending. Which really says a lot to me about the quality of Uncharted 2′s storytelling. In fact, I was so engrossed throughout the whole game that it was often hard to put the controller down. On nights that I needed to go to bed earlier, I would purposely avoid the game because I knew once it was one, it was go time.

Honestly, I can’t really remember the last time that a game struck me with that same sense of “holy crap I can’t put this down”. For a single player game, it’s certainly been awhile. What about you guys? When was the last time you suffered from “can’t put the controller down” syndrome?

GamerSushi Asks: Greatest Single Player Game?Posted by Eddy on October 13th, 2009

Two great single player games are coming out today, in case you didn’t know. That’s right, both Uncharted 2 and Brutal Legend are dropping today, and from the reports, they are both awesome. In fact, Adam Sessler referred to Uncharted 2 as the greatest single player game he’s ever played. Ever. While it’s usually hard to take such grand statements seriously, I can’t help but get hyped for this game.

So it got me thinking about what the greatest single player game I’ve ever played actually is. There are quite a few of them, to be honest. Knights of the Old Republic, Mario 64, Final Fantasy 7 and Suikoden III come to mind. Also, Shadow of the Colossus is a strong contender for number one as well.

I’m very much aware that this topic of discussion is the complete opposite end of the spectrum from one we had last week, but I wanted to explore it anyway. So what about you guys? What’s the best single player game you’ve ever played? And are any of you going to pick up Brutal Legend or Uncharted 2? Go!