Spoiler Warning 3×8: Artistic Murder Simulator

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 21, 2010

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 71 comments

I give BioShock a hard time about it’s plot doors, but pretty much all games are based on plot doors. Sure, sometimes the door is a drawbridge with improbably inaccessible controls and sometimes it’s a subway in need of power and sometimes it’s an elevator in need of repair. Any game more complex than “run forward and murder everyone not on your side” is going to have some sort of structured obstacles for you to overcome. I don’t mind that plot doors exist. I mind when they are so poorly justified that they take you out of the experience.

Sander Cohen’s door works well enough, plot-wise. Much better than the next door, I think.

Hello, person from the future. This space used to have an embed from the video hosting site Viddler. The video is gone now. If you want to find out why and laugh at Viddler in the process, you can read the entire silly story for yourself.

At any rate, the video is gone. Sorry. On the upside, we're gradually re-posting these old videos to YouTube. Check the Spoiler Warning page to see the full index.

Every time I see the main character produce a poster-sized full-color photograph out of nowhere I’m reminded of the sitcom where an archetypal nerd was able to produce all sort of useful objects from his trenchcoat, and was even able to make photocopies. (He’d stick an item behind his back under one arm, there would be photocopier sounds and a bright light, and he’d pull the copy out from the other side.

First person who can name the show should be ashamed.

 


 

Experienced Points: A Fanboy’s Guide to Fanboying

By Shamus Posted Friday Sep 17, 2010

Filed under: Column 150 comments

Contrary to the promise made earlier this week, my column isn’t the word “Chime” over and over again for three pages. Sorry. Instead, it’s simply a modest proposal for the fanboys of the internet on how to do their job.

 


 

Stolen Pixels #227: PUNishment

By Shamus Posted Friday Sep 17, 2010

Filed under: Column 58 comments

You people and your endless “bee” puns. You think you’re so funny. Well now look at what you made me do. LOOK AT IT. IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT? IS IT? LOOK AT WHAT I’VE BECOME! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT. I HATE YOU!

 


 

Spoiler Warning 3×7: Hold W to Win!

By Shamus Posted Thursday Sep 16, 2010

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 71 comments

Atlas continues to guide us through the zany madcap world of “BoyoShock”.

Hello, person from the future. This space used to have an embed from the video hosting site Viddler. The video is gone now. If you want to find out why and laugh at Viddler in the process, you can read the entire silly story for yourself.

At any rate, the video is gone. Sorry. On the upside, we're gradually re-posting these old videos to YouTube. Check the Spoiler Warning page to see the full index.

Also, to those of you who made all the bee puns in the last episode: My revenge is coming. Tomorrow.

 


 

Mass Effect 2: Mordin Solus Part 4

By Shamus Posted Wednesday Sep 15, 2010

Filed under: Game Reviews 149 comments

So now we get to the bit where we talk about Mordin Solus.

The New Genophage

me_mordin_loyalty2.jpg

In Mass Effect 2, Mordin reveals to you that your initial impression of the Krogan genophage in Mass Effect 1 was incorrect. (Or, if we’re not feeling generous, that it’s been retconned.) The Korgans were no longer dying out. Their numbers were increasing. Natural selection was helping the Krogan overcome the genophage. The effect was small at first, but left unchecked the Krogan would again become a problem once their numbers increased too far.

The Salarians worked on a secret project to create a new strain of the genophage that would correct this. They took great pains to make sure that the new genophage was strong enough, but also that they didn’t make it too strong. Krogan extinction was seen as undesirable an outcome as Krogan proliferation. Mordin was part of this team.

I see the events leading up to Mordin as being the outcome of 4 important decisions, each one more difficult and problematic than the last:

Continue reading ⟩⟩ “Mass Effect 2: Mordin Solus Part 4”

 


 

Stolen Pixels #226: Chime Chime Chime

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 14, 2010

Filed under: Column 85 comments

Chime.

 


 

Spoiler Warning 3×6: The Hazardous Vector

By Shamus Posted Tuesday Sep 14, 2010

Filed under: Spoiler Warning 90 comments

Hello, person from the future. This space used to have an embed from the video hosting site Viddler. The video is gone now. If you want to find out why and laugh at Viddler in the process, you can read the entire silly story for yourself.

At any rate, the video is gone. Sorry. On the upside, we're gradually re-posting these old videos to YouTube. Check the Spoiler Warning page to see the full index.