A Special Thanks to my Friend and housemate Charlie for bringing this game to my attention.
Ever wish you could watch a movie and interact with it through it's characters? Kissing the girl, punching the villain, or interrogating the tough suspects?
As of February 23rd a game by Quantic Dream by the name of Heavy Rain was released. Labeled as a Film Noir thriller (my favourite) the game immerses you into a film-like story, taking you on an interactive ride as several characters as they try to figure out the mystery of the oregami killer, a merciless and mysterious child murderer.
Now you must be thinking "aren't all video games interactive?" well of course, but the game's graphics and style as you will see in the trailer and review videos approach the gameplay and cinematics as completely immersed into one another. Many games limit your movement or improve graphics during cinematics before they switch back to the gameplay. The design of the game allows you to play with the most detailed and consistent graphics to date, almost bordering photorealism, and with a great soundtrack and compelling mystery I find it very hard to call it a videogame instead of a movie.
The nature of the movement-sensored gameplay and controls during the game do not take away from the camera positioning or cinematic techniques that are simulated in the game. Some reviewers wonder if this cross-over between cinematic storytelling and gameplay together is a watershed moment in video game and film technology.
If in a few years we are able to be part of our favourite movies by "playing them" would it be a cool new improvement? Or should we keep a healthy barrier between Hollywood and our ever evolving games?
I don't know about the rest of you, but I wouldn't mind fighting as russell crowe while watching Gladiator or Chasing a bomb maker through Madagascar as Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.
Whether you are hanging off the crenelations of a 13th century crusader castle in Acre, wall running along mudbrick walls of a persian palace, or just grabbing some stars and green mushrooms for a 1up, there is something to be said about the open world, sandbox games that are slowly consuming and contending on the video game market. Although many have marked games like Prince of Persia: The Sands Of Time and Grand Theft Auto as the first great sandbox games, we have to remember the definition of what this means.
ASandbox game is based on an open world and concept system in which the environment and capabilities of the avatar or character you play do not limit them to one linear objective or route. Instead, sandbox games allow you several possibilities and maneuverability throughout the atmosphere. For example, one game brought to my attention as a sandbox game was Mario 64! This shocked me when I read this but upon further explanation the game allows you not just platform jump through a level, but even choose several different routes and choose which world you want to enter whenever you want (for those who remember, the paintings on the wall).
Recently, the cool factor to sandbox games has taken a great leap, especially towards the idea of using accessible atmosphere and architecture as props and holds in the many parkour-based games like mirrors edge, Assassins Creed, and Prince of Persia. These have raged through the market as the ''must-play'' games of their respected years and have remained my favourite video games for the most recent consoles.
This growing popularity in the concept of adding malleability to gameplay also makes me wonder about a possible genre mixing pot now that these games have given a 'be there or be square' attitude to most game developers who have added many of these features to once untouched genres like first person shooters and arena combat games. Now games like Modern Warfare 2 give airstrike capabilities and camouflage options, and others like Sould Calibur give armour deterioration details and downgrades when an opponent has been hit.
Are changes like these just a closer step to video game realism? Or are we ruining the true-beating heart of nice simple linear games and their genres?
...my athletic fencing journey in the CFF (Canadian Fencing Federation) and its trials and tribulations. Mostly, this blog will look into the film industry and how to get a foot in the door, through my current experiences and those of friends and opportunities that arise. Being a movie lover, I will also tackle some of my favourite films and film genres and defend their honour against terrible critics. Like all good blogs, I will also share the occasional rant or cool fact about film and media and technology...Just enjoy and comment :)
A Special Thanks to my Friend and housemate Charlie for bringing this game to my attention.
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