Life has been uneventful the past few days, so I don't have much to talk about. I thought for this update I might give a few quick-shot reviews like I did for Indiana Jones for things that have captured my fancy the past few weeks. Here goes:
Grand Theft Auto IV The attention to detail in this game should be something as well thought out in all forms of media. At first, it's easy to miss why this game is so groundbreaking. It really feels like a GTA game, which millions of people are already pretty familiar with. But below that surface is a level of detail and storytelling that hasn't been realized in a videogame before. Roger Ebert thinks that, by putting the control into the consumer of the medium and taking some away from the auteur, videogames cannot be considered art. GTA IV is the biggest argument against that, as it defines good videogame storytelling as giving the player control. The game presents you with several choices to make, and they aren't easy. I had to struggle with moral decisions as the protagonist would. Being able to experience that viscerally is probably the coolest moment I've ever had encountering a videogame narrative. The game has some small technical flaws (pop-in is predominant in the XBOX 360 version, and I've experienced some slowdown recently, even though I didn't notice it much at all during the first many hours of the game). However, all of the flaws are not even noticeable in this amazing game. Buy it.
Boom Blox: A videogame for the Wii by Steven Spielberg. It pretty much consists of reverse jenga, where your goal is destruction of blocks. You get to throw balls at stacks of blocks and knock them over. Sometimes they explode. This should be screaming to the inner 5-year old in you. Playing with blocks, and knocking them over, is now part of our DNA. This game taps in on that. That's all I really need to say.
Prof. Layton and the Curious Village A great puzzle game. Even though the story might seem a little convoluted, especially when they do things like "This man is dead. There has been a murder... That reminds me of a puzzle!" it's still a very clever romp.
Moment of Truth: This show is nothing short of despicable. Much like boom blox and GTA to an extent, this taps in on our fascination with destruction. Unlike GTA and Boom Blox, Moment of Truth is in the business of destroying real lives, not fake polygonal ones or stakes of make-believe blocks (blox?). They bring up some two-timing, cheating sleezebag in front of their family and friends and ask them to truthfully answer questions like "Have you cheated on your wife?" or "Have you ever suspected your best friend of hitting on your girlfriend?" Usually the answers are yes. The contestants get paid for being honest. I guess it's compensation for ruining all of your personal relationships. And the worst part about it is that it's impossible to stop watching once you start. I feel dirty, but I couldn't look away. Sadly, I will stop watching this show not because it's morally offensive, but that I hate how it's edited. They do so many time-fillers and cheesy cut-aways to commercials that the American Idol results show seems about as action packed as an episode of Lost. And they will replay the same minute of footage at least twice during the show. It's like watching a 30 minute show strangely cut to be played out over 60 minutes. And that is truly sickening.
Speaking of Lost, the three-hour finale event is on tomorrow on ABC. I'm so pumped, I can hardly explain it. All I can hope is that there will be lots of Michael Emerson in the finale and that he lives into next season. He's a fantastic actor, and Ben is easily my favorite character on TV right now. Yeah, eat it House.
Actually, I really like House too.
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