VIDEO GAME HENCHMEN

Schwarzennager v. EMA: the biggest legal battle Video Games have ever faced.

First of all, I promise the legal jargon is brief....anywho for the last 5 years California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been fighting a war against violent video games; the bill being a ban against selling violent video games to minors. The bill started out in October 2005, when the Govenator signed into law:

"a bill restricting the sale or rental of certain video games to anyone under the age of 18. The computer and video games are classified as "violent video games" and restricted if the depictions of violence are "offensive to the community" or if the violence depicted is committed in an "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved" manner. Under the law, game manufacturers and distributors would be required to label games with 2" x 2" stickers displaying the numeral "18" on their front covers."

Quickly after the Video Software Dealers Association (Now known as the Entertainment Merchants Association...aka EMA) and the Entertainment Software Association filed a complaint and thus the legal battle has ensued.

As of now the bill has gone through both the District Court and the 9th Circuit Court and has been ruled unconstitutional under the 1st amendment, which is totally a good thing, but now on November 2, the bill is going all the way to the Supreme Court and will once and for all finally be decided.

In a way I'm relieved and worried. I'm relieved because both of the lower courts have found this in violation of the 1st Am. so I hope/believe they'll rule the same way. However...what if they don't? Now I'm 19 so it doesn't affect me in anyway, and after all who wants screaming children who shout racist profanities constantly playing these games anyways but there are so many issues with this bill.

First and foremost is that this is a clear violation of first amendment rights. Video games have long been proclaimed under the "free speech" clause of the 1st am. restricting the free speech of game designers. If the supreme court rules in favor of the T-800's mission from Skynet, this could be the beginning of many losses to our 1st amendment rights.

Additionally, proponents of the bill say that there are dangerous side-effects from violent video games; causing children to act much more aggressively. While the state legally has a vested interest in the psychological and physical well-being of minors, there has been no conclusive evidence to support that video games have an ill effect on minors or any evidence stating that video games are worse than any other forms of entertainment.

Another thing that irks me about this bill is the redundancy of it. The ESRB is already established and is working with retailers to limit the sale of rated "M" games to people under the ages of 17. While the retailers aren't bound by the ESRB's rating system, all the retailers I know of are actively working with the ESRB to enforce this.

So as I finish this article, I find it funny that a man with such a "colored" past in the entertainment industry would propose such a bill, so here is a little clip I found. Please let me know what you think of this bill below in the comments; and whether you think either video games or maybe movies and our culture that idolizes and elects for Governor people who display these "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved" acts is worse for the youth of America.

Interesting and related reads:

For some articles pertaining to the Bill
A history for the Bill
This might be a bit of a hard read, but has the basic arguments from both sides

Posted by Lance Tuesday, September 21, 2010 5 comments READ FULL POST

VGREVIEW - Halo: Reach

Halo: Reach. It's been touted by many as being the most hyped up game of 2010, and for good reason. This is Bungie's "Swan Song" to Halo, the last game they will ever make before they move on to whatever new IP they've had simmering on the back-burner. Sure Microsoft's 343 Studios is still going to carry on the Halo name, but it will never have that Bungie flair that everyone's come to know and love. After Reach, Halo will never be the same, which begs the question, did Bungie go out on a Martin O'Donnell inspired high note?

Due to the incredible amount of features present in Halo: Reach, I've decided to divide up my review into separate chunks about each area of the game: Campaign, Matchmaking, Firefight, Forge and Theater.

Campaign

Halo: Reach is a prequel, and like all of the advertisements have been saying, you already know how the game ends. However, it's the details behind the fall of Reach, and the efforts of Noble Team that really elevates this story from being boring and predictable, to an epic tale of survival and fighting for the people you care about.

Meet Noble Team

The campaign of Reach is one of the strongest I've seen in a Halo game. Being part of a 5 man team allowed Bungie to create some very real and likable characters who, by the end of the game, you genuinely feel for. It also helps that the facial modeling is 10x better in Reach than in past Halo games, breathing life into what could've been faceless Spartan soldiers. Throughout the game you play as Noble 6, a faceless soldier who, following Bungie fashion, keeps mostly to him/herself (Yes, you can be Male or Female, whatever you fancy). You'll hear an occasional, "Yes sir," or "Take a look at this," but Noble 6 is primarily a silent protagonist, which isn't a bad thing. In fact, given that all of your armor customization carries over to campaign, it really helps reinforce the illusion that this is your own Spartan going through this, not some souped up super soldier. I won't go into to too much detail about the story, however, let it be known that there are some awesome set pieces during the campaign, and I would've loved to see more space combat, better yet, give me a whole game dedicated to space combat and I'd be one happy camper. I also wanted to touch on the graphics in the game, specifically the art and environments. Reach has some of the best environments I've seen in a Halo game and Xbox game. Mountains look majestic and the planets off on the horizon are breathtaking. There were moments in the game where I literally just did a 360 degree pan to take in all of the amazing visuals, and this a Halo game we're talking about.

The Campaign is certainly not one to be skipped in Reach, and while I may get some hate from all you Halo 3 fans, I thought that Reach's campaign was by far the best of the bunch. To me, it seemed like Reach was the perfect mix of ODST's storytelling and Halo 3's action, set pieces. Everything came together extremely well, and it just provided for a very action-packed and emotionally gripping story that I won't soon forget.

Matchmaking

Say hello to your new best friend, the DMR.

With the huge success of Halo 3's matchmaking, many gamers, including myself, wondered if Bungie could top the multiplayer behemoth they had unleashed upon Xbox Live. The balance, the skill, the custom games, the competitiveness, the pure enjoyment, I mean what more could you possibly ask for? Well, we might not have known, but Bungie sure did, and apparently it's classes, an EXP system and tons of armor customization. Those are just a few of the things that stick out right off the bat in Reach's fine tuned multiplayer experience. Also, let me just start off by saying that, if you've never made the jump to Halo matchmaking, now would be the perfect time to join. Halo: Reach literally took everything that made Halo 3 great and expanded upon it. Tired of the seemingly random ranking system in Halo 3? I've got good news, now instead of numbers, you've got a system that revolves around the earning of credits and focuses more on individual achievement rather than the overall team's score. With those credits, you can buy anything from helmets and chest pieces, to custom Firefight voices and armor effects, and some of that stuff isn't cheap, so expect some heavy credit grinding if you want your spartan to have a field of electricity around him. Granted, all of these are still cosmetic changes, so a bigger chest piece won't provide you with extra shields, it's still the good old balanced Halo we've come to know and love.

Surprise!

The biggest change to the game is the addition of certain class based armor abilities. Just to give you a quick rundown, you've got Sprint, which gives the player a short burst of speed, Armor Lock, which gives the player temporary invincibility, Jet Pack, well, it's a jet pack, Active Camo, basically makes the player invisible when standing still or moving slowly, Drop Shield, similar to the bubble shield except it can be destroyed by continuous gunfire and grenades, Hologram, which projects a clone of yourself to distract enemies, and the final ability Evade, which is an Elite only armor ability that allows the player to perform the quick Elite dodge roll move. Now, you might be thinking that these new Armor Abilities are going to cause the balanced nature of Halo to go right out the window, however, after playing around in matchmaking for about a week, I have to say that not only are they a ton of fun to use, but they also provide a new tactical approach where you're constantly having to guess and adjust to new armor abilities. I think it was a great addition that kept Reach's multiplayer from being Halo 3 all over again.

WHOAHOWOWHOA!!!!

With Custom Games still in full force, Reach's matchmaking looks to be everything Halo 3's was and then some. With the addition of Daily and Weekly Challenges, there's plenty of stuff to keep players coming back for more, months and even years after release. If there was one thing I would change about the multiplayer, it would probably be the lack of Maps in the game. With only 9 maps on the disc, everything else is created using Forge World, and while some of my favorite maps are Forge maps, I just felt like the game could've used a few more maps to vary things up a little more, but then again, there's always DLC.

Firefight

For all you Co-op fans out there.

If matchmaking isn't your forte, and you and your friends are more of the cooperative type, then Reach has just the ticket to keep you busy, Firefight 2.0. Let me just say, that Firefight in ODST was a great addition, and while the Endure achievement might've killed my love for Firefight for a few months, I'm happy to say that Firefight 2.0 is back and so far, I like what I see. Firefight in ODST was great, however there wasn't much customization to go along with the new game type. In Reach, that's all changed. Want an entire game of grunts, set the enemies to grunts only and you're good to go. Feel like challenging yourself to a wave of hunters, there's that as well. There are literally so many customization options, that it would take me probably 3 pages to go through them all. Now add in matchmaking support, and you've got one of the most enjoyable co-op experiences out there.

Forge

The Forge mode in Halo 3 was one of the coolest aspects of the game. Gamers somehow managed to take this simple map editor/creator and make these super complex maps, ranging from intricately thought out race maps, to mind bending puzzle maps. It's no surprise that Bungie was constantly listening to the fans complaints with Halo 3's Forge and were thinking up different ways to improve the system and make it easier and more accessible for people to Forge their own maps. Fast forward a few years and you have Forge 2.0 coupled with Forge World, which might be the most in depth map editor/creator I've ever seen.

More goodies to add to the Forge arsenal.

Now, I'm no Forge expert, and you'll probably rarely see me touch Forge mainly because I'm not that creative when it comes to building maps. I'd much prefer to leave it up to the creative geniuses who are actually good at this stuff. With that being said, I did fiddle around with Forge, just to get a feel of it, and right off the bat I noticed just how much easier it was to make structures. The fine tune adjustment tools, and snap to certain angles, makes it ten times easier to lay out a structure, and the addition of having an option to either make objects float or "glitch" into each other is something that I'm sure Forge fans have been dying for. Gone are the days of saving and reloading up maps to make objects float, not it's as simple as the flick of a switch.

This is just a small glimpse of Forge World.

But what good would improved controls be if you didn't have an awesome place to use them in. Enter Forge World, the biggest Halo map ever made, and a literal Forge playground. Forge World pretty much encompasses every type of map, whether it be a small enclosed area, a level grifball field, a giant open arena, or a rock like spire. The idea is, you make what you want to make, and aren't tied down to the limitations of a custom map. When they say the possibilities are endless, they aren't joking. I can't even begin to imagine some of the maps that people are going to come up with, and if they're half as good as Halo 3's Forge maps, then we should be in for a real treat.

Theater

Spartan JG04 reporting for duty.

Theater has always been an awesome feature. The ability to play back and save your old films so that you can show off that amazing headshot or grenade stick is a something that I don't think any Halo fan could live with out. Fortunately in Reach, Theater's back and is as good as ever. The only real change was the removal of watching saved films with your friends, but I hardly ever watched saved films with my friends so it's a deleted feature that doesn't really affect me, but I can see why people would be angry. Other than that, there's not much to talk about regarding Theater, it is what it is, a great tool to watch and save your films, enough said.

HOW DOES IT LOOK? Halo: Reach is by far the best looking game in the Halo series, and a great looking game on the Xbox as well. The art, level design and characters are all extremely well done. I think where Reach really shines is in it's environments. From snow capped mountains, to looming planets off in space, Bungie did a great job of crafting a living world that you can't help but fall in love with. Also, character models are a big step up from previous outings and the game overall looks extremely crisp and smooth. There are, however, a few instances of slow down during the game mainly in a couple cut scenes and a couple of the bigger battles where you have a lot of explosions and enemies on screen.

HOW DOES IT SOUND? Martin O'Donnell has once again outdone himself with Reach's soundtrack. From sweeping cinematic strings, to crunchy, heart-thumping guitar riffs, the man is nothing short of a musical genius. It'll keep you on the edge of your seat during those intense fire fights and will tug at your heartstrings during those emotional moments. I thought ODST's soundtrack was good, but Reach has now risen to the top as my favorite overall Halo soundtrack. Besides the score, the sound design in the game is top notch, as always. Vehicles and gunfire sound great, and the voice work, while nothing special, delivers where it needs to.

HOW DOES IT PLAY? Halo: Reach doesn't dare deviate from the tried and true Halo formula. If you've played any Halo game before, then you pretty much know how Reach plays. The addition of Armor Abilities switches the controls ever so slightly, but after a few matches you're right back into the groove. Halo has always been my FPS of choice, and I personally think the controls are some of the best out there, and Reach is no exception.

HOW LONG WILL IT LAST? On your first playthrough, the Campaign can last anywhere from 9 - 11 hours depending on how fast, and experienced you are at the game. Once, you get down the level structure, and skip cut scenes, you could probably speed run through the Campaign in anywhere from 6 - 8 hours. Where the game really shines is in the multiplayer. If you're like me, and you enjoy Halo and matchmaking then this is a game you're going to be playing for a very long time, I'm talking months to even years. The credit and armor customization will have you coming back for more, and Firefight and Forge just add more fuel to the fire. In the end it comes down to how much time you want to spend with the multiplayer, and co-op aspects of the game and if you have friends to play it with, because honestly, what would Halo be without friends.

HOW IS IT PRESENTED? Reach is probably one of the best Halo games presentation wise. The menus are streamlined and easy to use, matchmaking is noticeably faster than it was in Halo 3. The Campaign is arguably one of the best, if not the best in the series, and the game just flat out looks nice. From menus to artwork to gameplay this really is the complete package.

FINAL VERDICT:

Halo: Reach truly is the definitive Halo package. It has one of the best single player campaigns, an extremely robust and long lasting multiplayer component, co-op modes, theater and quite possibly the biggest and most in depth level editor/creator out there. If you haven't jumped on the Halo bandwagon yet, there's no better place to start than Reach.

Buy It Now/Highly Recommended

For more Halo: Reach discussion head on over to the VGH forums by clicking here or at the top of the page on the forums tab. As always, thanks for reading guys, I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to leave a comment on what you thought about Halo: Reach.

Posted by Lance 8 comments READ FULL POST

10 Minutes of Bioshock Infinite!

Even though Bioshock Infinite is a long ways from being released, this new demo trailer has me itching to play the game right now. Released on Xbox.com and the Xbox Live Marketplace, this 10 minute gameplay extravaganza gives players a little taste of what they can expect when Infinite hits store shelves in 2012. Check out the trailer and my thoughts on the big reveal below.

Bioshock Infinite justs keeps getting better and better the more I see of it. The overly cinematic feel has me drooling all over my keyboard, and while I had my doubts about the main protagonist, Booker DeWitt seems to be an incredibly fleshed out and likable character. I really like the little remarks that he makes throughout the trailer, it almost reminded of Nathan Drake from Uncharted, and how he's always making these little comments to himself. It just adds an extra depth and dimension to DeWitt, and I'm really excited to see what the rest of the game brings to the table. Another thing I'm really happy and excited about is the role of the story in the game. Infinite is shaping up to be a very story driven game, and if you know anything about me then you know I love me a good story.

If the entire game can keep up this level of action, gameplay, story and character progression, then Bioshock Infinite could shape up to be one of the best games of 2012. In all honesty, I want the game now!

For more Bioshock Infinite discussion head on over to the VGH forums by clicking here or at the top of the page on the forums tabs. As always, thanks for reading guys, and feel free to leave a comment on what you thought of the new gameplay trailer.

Posted by Lance 4 comments READ FULL POST

Left 4 Dead Update

Left 4 Dead is the last promised Valve title to see release on Steam for Mac, and yet we haven't heard anything about an official release date. Valve was moving along pretty well for a while there, releasing games for our platform every Wednesday. But they've petered out lately, leaving a lot of Mac gamers wondering if we'd ever get to shoot zombies along with the rest of the gaming world. But a slip found by our former cohort David Chartier, now at Macworld, hints that we'll be exploring the zombie apocalypse soon -- he notes that Valve is bringing the game's new downloadable content, "The Sacrifice," to all platforms, including the Mac, by October 5th. (I'm pretty psyched!)

The Sacrifice is an extra level that's available for both the first and second games in the series, so there's still a chance that Valve will only give us the original Left 4 Dead, and save the sequel for later. But I'd guess the reason for the long delay is that they're bringing both games over, so we might see both of them released on Steam for Mac by then.

Of course, this could just be a slip of the blog, with the Mac just accidentally listed as an available platform. But that doesn't seem likely -- Valve tends to be careful about what they say. To whet your appetite, check out the game's brand new comic, created just for the new DLC.

Posted by Lance Monday, September 20, 2010 0 comments READ FULL POST

TGS: Ninja Gaiden III

Ryu Hayabusa Returns.

With the release of Ninja Gaiden II's for the Xbox 360 in June 2008 it was a rather unpleasant release for Tecmo, as it saw celebrity designer Tomonobu Itagaki filing a law suit and leaving the company while president Yoshimi Yasuda resigned amid the controversy. With Itagaki having formed Valhalla GAme Studios and Tecmo merging with Dynasty Warriors creator Koei, the Ninja Gaiden's franchise show must go on.

Gamasutra reports today that Tecmo Koei has announced Ninja Gaiden III as part of its presence at the 2010 Tokyo Game Show. The game will be the first all-new installment in the franchise since Itagaki's departure, following on from Ninja Gaiden Sigma II's release for the PlayStation 3 in September 2009. A 3DS installment in the franchise is also in development.

Team Ninja head Yosuke Hayashi offered few specifics on what gamers can expect from Ninja Gaiden III as part of his presentation. However, Hayashi did unveil the first bit of art (pictured), saying that the game's direction could be "summed up in one image."

Said image is that of series protagonist Ryu Hayabusa, and judging from the blood smatterings on his fist and face, he has evidently just emerged from a battle. Hayabusa's hand seems to be lowering the shawl protecting his face, while his eyes appear to be reflecting flames.

Tecmo Koei did not provide a release window or platforms for Ninja Gaiden III.

Along with announcing Ninja Gaiden III, Hayashi reannounced Ni-Oh, which was first teased by Koei for the PlayStation 3 in 2005. Hayashi was equally tight-lipped about the title, saying only that it was being built in collaboration with Koei and that the focus of the action game would be on samurai. Development on the game is being overseen by Kou Shibusawa, a founder of Koei.

Posted by Lance Sunday, September 19, 2010 0 comments READ FULL POST

Apology for a dumb remark of mine/ Deus Ex: Human Revolution Trailer

Earlier tonight I posted an article about Deus Ex: Human Revoloution. Mant of you all commented and were dissastisfied with something I said. As you might already know, I am a very sarcastic person. One of the hardest things about me writing is being able to control how people perceive sarcasm. Obviously my sarcasm didn't come through well in this article. I did not mean to upset anyone nor did I intend to sound like a jackass. What I meant was that this video is really good and I wanted you to pay attention to the video over anything I would write. I am not as important as this video. I am very sincerely sorry. You all are what keeps this site churning and I would never want to put off anyone or make you believe that I do not value what you guys have to say. Please believe me when I say I am truly sorry and don't let this article in anyway deter you from Video Game Henchmen. So at the bottom is the original trailer I posted. I thought that this was a very enjoyable trailer and wanted to share it with the community.

Posted by Lance Saturday, September 18, 2010 0 comments READ FULL POST

Henchmen Cast - Episode 10

Sorry for the delay in posting up the podcast today. We had some trouble with our recording location, but all was solved for the good of the site. However, it's sort of a small cast this week, with only Lance, Sean and myself here to talk about the latest in the gaming industry. We talk a little bit about Reach and dive into all of the TGS news out there. We also may have some surprises in store for next week, so stay tuned to the site for all of those. Don't forget, if you have iTunes, you can subscribe to us through there or download directly via the link below. Also, if you're feeling in a good mood, go ahead and leave a review on iTunes, we could sure use all the help we can get. Anyways, grab your favorite drink and snack and enjoy this latest episode of Henchmen Cast.

Henchmen Cast - Episode 10
MP3 Audio File
52 Mb
[download]

Posted by Lance Friday, September 17, 2010 2 comments READ FULL POST