Losing My Religion: How I Grew to Hate Faith

I’m a real fan of Mirror’s Edge, and I feel like that kind of puts me in the minority.

During those first few weeks just after the game’s release, I found myself actively avoiding what appeared to be a general blogosphere backlash: here was a title whose demo I’d really liked, but didn’t seem to be going over spectacularly well, and, for whatever reason, I simply didn’t want my experience to be polluted with others’ impressions. So I tried not to read much of anything that seemed even tangentially focused on it. The exception was Leigh Alexander’s “Gotta Have Faith” post at Sexy Videogameland, which made me suspect that folks were having trouble identifying with the protagonist. After finally playing Mirror’s Edge, I was surprised to find that I count myself among them. 

Short Shrift: Resistance 2

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been woefully disappointed at the lack of coverage Resistance 2 has received from the folks I tend to read. Even the podcast circuit seems to have passed on Insomniac Games’ second first-person shooter for the Sony PlayStation 3. Yes this is a bountiful season, but, seriously, hasn’t ANYbody made time for this thing? I’ve seen and heard some fairly dismissive reviews of the single-player campaign, though that’s only a tiny percentage of what’s on offer. While it’s true that Nathan Hale’s story can’t stand quite so tall as, say, Gordon Freeman’s, Insomniac has nevertheless managed to add a few especially interesting narrative innovations.

I’m speaking, of course, about the unparalleled cooperative mode.  Sure, folks have generally thrown it a bone, but I’m of a mind to say this game type deserves a lot more attention. I haven’t played it since the beta, but I know I had a damned fun time. Anyway — the Big Deal, at least in my opinion, is that co-op play enhances the solo story. They may not dovetail in any significant fashion, but, at least from what I’ve seen, one builds upon the other in order to create a larger and more complete setting. What’s more, this carries over to competitive skirmish.

Bottom line is, few shooters connect their multiplayer content so convincingly to the core story. “Scale” was the big buzzword surrounding this game’s development; Resistance 2 manages to nail a universe so huge it boggles the mind. In other words: if you haven’t played Insomniac Games’ latest, I heartily recommend giving it a try.

“I Am Jack’s Smirking Revenge”: Games as Expression and Performance

Play. What is it, exactly? Let’s make this an “according to Webster’s”-style moment and find out. 

Oop. I used the über-convenient Dictionary.com instead. They define the word in an astonishing sixty-two different ways sans idioms and verb phrases.

Fourteen of these definitions rely on an understanding of the concept of performance. But not a one even so much as mentions expression, which is defined as an “indication of feeling, spirit” or “character…as on the face, in the voice, or in artistic execution.”

Follow-Up: Against All Auteur Theory (What Was I Talking About?)

I’ll admit it: I’ve been having a hard time trying to justify my alternative to auteur theory. Studios as bands and games as albums…sounds kind of ridiculous, eh? Then again, maybe I’d do well to try and explain where this line of thinking came from.

Ironically, the idea emerged while I was playing Jonathan Mak’s Everyday Shooter, a one-man effort that could probably be described as evidence of an auteur on the rise. According to Mak:

Against All Auteur Theory

Er…not really. I don’t have a problem with the notion that a single person can imprint his or her own personal vision on a collaborative creative project. But I have been wondering if adopting an established mode of film criticism is really the most appropriate means of advancing discourse on games.

Not that anybody’s forcing this stuff down our throats. It’s just that, from time to time, names like Cliff Bleszinski, Hideo Kojima, and Ken Levine get bandied about to the extent that one has to wonder whether the industry is helped or hindered by their prominence. There seems to be a general consensus that the gaming business needs rock star personalities. But are the critics getting anything out of these?