The recent news about Activision’s ousting of the co-founders of Infinity Ward comes as a big surprise. I don’t know the quantifiable impact that their absence will bring to the company (can you measure creativity?), but I know that the dollar figures they love so much will be kept intact. How many people who played MW2 actually knew who these guys were?

I imagine a scenario where Jason West and Vince Zampella fabricate their annual reports (as it’s been rumored to be the main cause) to show that they are working on World of Call of Duty. In reality, they have developed a time machine. Their goal is to head into the past and force Bobby Kotick’s father to pull out right before he sends the diabolical ejaculation on its path of indomitable evil.

Realizing their plan, Bobby Kotick funnels money from his off-world bank account – on a planet he discovered merely two years ago – to hire bad ass ninja bouncers. These bouncers make an attempt to apprehend, and ultimately destroy, the brave duo; but a last minute call from Morpheus saves their lives – and they only lose their jobs.

I’m curious to see WHY the business man (because I can’t call him anything else) decided to let loose the two of best things that have EVER happened to him. If the reason falls on their desire to create a new IP, then Bobby Kotick has eschewed creativity entirely and his cupidity for money should be a force to be reckoned with, more so than now.

It better be a good fucking reason.

Oh well, maybe West and Zampella can go work for EA. I hear they are looking for fresh ideas.

We finished recording the podcast, and it’s a doozy. It should be up sometime this week so make sure you check it out.

The radioactivity isn’t exclusive to the zone, and my resulting infection has been nothing short of fantastic. My biggest problem with the game isn’t anything to do with technical issues or entertainment value, but with my disdain of typing the game’s title. I think it’s better to call it “that awesome thing I have been playing for the past three days so much that I’ve forgotten to shower.” It’s longer, but there are less periods.

The main draw – apart from my love of open worlds – is the level playing field between enemy and player. Knowing that the first bullet could possibly be the last gives them a bit louder ring as they shatter against the metal crate I’m hiding behind. It’s too bad the AI is as close to shooting a mentally challenged child you will get without getting in trouble with “the man.” What’s really odd – given how stupid they are – is they are fantastic shots. Especially from long distance. I guess that’s not too odd, the military has proven you don’t have to be intelligent to shoot well.

I started Firefly for the first time today. Yes, I know. I’m a terrible person. I never gave the show any chance before hand because I was familiar with Joss Whedon’s work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. No, not the television series – which is still shit – but that god awful movie. I admit fault now, but at the time it was sound reason. I’ve always loved Cowboy Bebop, but I never realized that love was actually unadulterated lust for space pirates and everything they stand for. Maybe it satisfies that part of me that always wanted to take that overpriced gum from the front counter.

Also, what is with British people being so damn sinister?

In a rather quixotic move I decided to eat three bowls of ice cream. I don’t know why. Maybe some aggressive dairy loving spirit possessed me to fill its needs for the succulent treat; or my body desired to catch up on the six days I don’t let it eat garbage.

Perhaps, it was none of the above. I’ve finished Heavy Rain and started S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat this week, and their awesomeness has sent my brain into a feverish overload that can only be quelled with more cowbell. Taking that into consideration, my brain sent a transmission down to my stomach, and in a strange game of telephone, the message was mixed up as a SAVAGE desire for ice cream.

Whatever the reason, my stomach hurts; and my brain is happy.

I was close to hanging up my snug multi-player hat for an adjustable single player alternative, but Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is being released Tuesday, and I can’t wait. For those of you that don’t know – which is good because I love personal confidence booster shots – I’m a bad-ass at it. The demo gave me something to believe in. I struck fear into the hearts of my opponents with controlled burst fire and providential grenades. Ask Dylan Snyder.

Sean Carey forced me to start doing a word of the day (see: quixotic). He wasn’t the only factor, but his “recalcitrant” sent my bourgeois vocabulary down to the mat.

Anyway, it’s time to head back to the zone.

I waged a war with myself yesterday, and I lost. After work, I walked into my local Wal-Mart – one of three here – and bought Heavy Rain. I could feel the weight of anticipation and high expectations pressing on the gas pedal as the little sack taunted me. I had fleeting thoughts of the game being nothing more than a choose-your-own-adventure book where I pressed a button every so often so I didn’t fall asleep.

I slid the game into the system with the same careful insecurity I deployed when I asked out my first girlfriend. Unlike that first encounter, the PS3 accepted my offer.

I’m several hours in and the game has lived up to every expectation I’ve thrown its way. For those of you looking to play a traditional video game, don’t bother. Heavy Rain is something completely different that blurs the line between film and interactivity, and does so willingly. The voice acting (as an aggregate) is great, the action beats are thrilling, and the characters are believable. Yet, something happened that I wasn’t expecting.

I was moved.

David Cage and his team have written scenes that transcend conventional killing and maiming, and they are fucking fantastic. In an effort to protect those that haven’t played the game, I won’t go into detail. But, before you write the game off for being a QTE-fest, take some time to play more than the demo. There is more going on besides buttons and joysticks, and you won’t be disappointed.

A Hollywood Video in Edmond, Oklahoma was the last place I thought to find another person that would know of The Escapist.  However, in a serendipitous turn of events, I walked into the co-creators of this great short submitted to The Escapist’s film festival last year.

Check this link out and give some love to my Oklahoman brethern, and stay tuned for future episodes from the promising series.

The Escapist Film Festival: Pocket Monsters

I’ve noticed people complaining about Final Fantasy XIII and it’s lack of linearity.  Now, I know this may come as a big surprise to all of you, but I wouldn’t count any Final Fantasy game (in the core series) as “non-linear.”  In fact, each game is quite linear.  In Final Fantasy VII, when you finally escape Midgar and peer into the yonder, you can’t really DO anything.  Sure, you can walk around, but it isn’t until the very end of the game – or after getting all of the vehicles – that you can actually do any side quests anyway.

It reminds of a river delta.  You know, when the river separates into the ocean.  Here’s a picture.

Notice how there is one distinct path, with pathways that branch out.  Final Fantasy follows a river delta formula that simulates freedom, but it ultimately guides the player along a set path.  There are goodies for those that venture away, but completing them offers little to no progression.  In non-linear titles, such as Fallout 3, the world takes front seat while the story sits in the back.  You can walk to one end of the map to the other. This is the complete opposite for Final Fantasy.  Every town has a set path, and the overworld is a large map made up of a series of points of interest.

This is what a non-linear title looks like.

That’s right.  It’s the F****** ocean.  You can do whatever you want, however you want, whenever you want in any direction.  In Final Fantasy, you don’t have to progress the story if you don’t want to, it’s not a level based game.  However, there is a limit to what you can do for each section of the story.  In a non-linear game, it shouldn’t matter where you are in the story.  Everything should be available to the player from the onset, or somewhere close to it.

Look back at all of the JRPG’s.  Most of them are linear, even the awesome ones.  So, why don’t we worry about whether the story is going to be any good.  Or if the turn-based system is going to set the standard for next-generation RPG’s, because the genre desperately needs the help.

Yep, I said it.  I finished the single player campaign and have played the multiplayer extensively.  The game has lost all of it’s gritty war-like feel and relevancy with over-the-top characters and bright graphics.  It’s a great shooter, but it fails to do anything but capitalize on the first game’s success.  Out.

I’m back again and I feel that my ‘I don’t do this often’ excuse fades more with each letter on the page.
I am sitting at home on my deskstop, enjoying the sounds of Them Crooked Vultures and John Mayer, prematurely wondering about the end of the year.  It’s like sitting next to a crash test dummy hurtling along rails towards December 31st 11:59 p.m.  It is there, right before we kiss the ones we love or the ones drunk enough kiss us, we reflect in 60 seconds on 364.9 days.

Tough decisions were abundant this year.  Most of them were between soft or hard tacos.  Others were personal Teutonic plates that shook the foundations of personal lives.  But, those choices were made. I hope they shape me into a better person, and this is the first time I have admitted this, a better writer.  Writing was one of the last things I thought I would do.  Sure, I emulated R.A. Salvatore because pretending brought me closer to my favorite characters.  Sometimes, I have fleeting moments of rushed creativity ultimately dissipated by inability.  I never thought of pursuing a career in my personal bogeyman.  Yet, I sit, arranging letters.

I’m a journalism student/journalist now.  I can say sheik things like J-school, off the record, or that needs a comma.  I am obligated to ask questions.  My sarcasm gets me into trouble.  I am part of a group that has ruined exposed liars, shifted elections, and ruined self image.  Jack’s pancreas wishes he could be me.  I don’t know what lies ahead in a career of uncertainty, and more than likely, low pay. I am excited.

I remember telling someone I love in a parking lot that my favorite poem was “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.  Admittedly, I said this because she liked poetry and I knew I could give an answer that was accurate of my personality, and hopefully make her like me.  Even if I had read the poem one time, ten years before.  However, I understand the poem now.  It is less about the actual road you take, and more about making that choice.  I have done that.  I am proud of that.

It’s been a while since I sat down and educated the fine readers here at Gamer Limit.  Our podcast will be up tomorrow, whenever Josh gets his lazy ass into editing mode, but I had a few extra thoughts on Brutal Legend that I wanted to elaborate on.

There has been a lot of press recently about how Tim Schafer’s new epic has pulled a sleight of hand of sorts.  It’s true that the company didn’t push the gameplay, and instead relied on Jack Black, but it’s true – the game exhibits RTS elements.  This may scare some of you into the fetal position, but I strongly urge you to give it a chance.  Schafer has done something extraordinary; he was creative.  The characters are funny, the dialogue is witty, the soundtrack is perfect, the artistic design is unique, and the gameplay is refreshing. It’s paving the way for a reexamination of genre roles and it should be applauded for that.  However, paving the way is challenging.

The game has it’s own fair share of problems and runs a lot like any new invention.  The first run isn’t always going to revolutionize anything, but it’s sure as hell going to turn some heads.  It’s gameplay isn’t perfect and adapting and accepting it is difficult.  Some of you may feel duped that it isn’t the standard action/adventure that you were all hoping for, and  I don’t blame you holding onto the last $65 dollars in your wallet for Call of Duty 15 or Saxophone Hero, but don’t write it off.  Give the game a rental or even a borrow.  Will yourself to operate outside the confines of how a genre is “supposed to be played.”  It might just make you question some of the overused gameplay tossed at us every year.  Great Job Double Fine.

Make sure you check out the podcast tomorrow!  You can find us here at Gamerlimit.com or through iTunes.

Dear Nintendo DS,

I know this going to be hard to take, especially coming from a blog post of all things, but I have to say it.  I can’t hide anymore…I’m leaving you. I can’t give you the same old cliche line, “it’s me, not you” because that’s untrue.  I’m moving on because I have found someone else.  This system fills my needs like you can’t, with downloadable classics. We have had some great times, like when my human companion got me that new stylus for you, or when I tickled your sensitive bottom screen while playing Elite Beat Agents.  They were great.  But…now, The PSP is where I want to spend most of my time. I can’t believe that I lied to you, but remember when I said I just needed to work on a review?  Well, I actually went to Midgar with Cloud and the gang, and PSP took me there.

You can argue about battery life all you want, and that your do have touch screen capabilities, and sound altering technology, but PSP has a network that wants to take care of me.  And on top of that, it’s completely open to threesomes.  I’m allowed to invite over the PS3 whenever I want for intimate connectivity.  I can’t fight that anymore.  I was scared at first, moving into new waters, but over time…I realized it was exactly where I wanted to be.  I know this hurts, but I think that, sometime in the future, if you can find a way to bring me downloadable classics such as Golden Sun or Final Fantasy Legend…maybe things will work out.  For now, though, this is the way things need to be.

Your loving ex-user,

Chase Cook