Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Midweek link love

I'm embargoed from talking about Dead Space until Monday,* which is a shame, because there's a lot I would like to say about it. And while I'd like to continue to bore you with the details of my unstoppable rise to drumming dominance in Rock Band 2, I've probably beaten that drum to death, too.

(Okay, quick digression: I'm working my way up the challenge mode on hard difficulty. I can't believe it, but after the first three tiers, I'm starting to feel downright proficient. Syncopation isn't taking me by surprise. Relatively fast rolls on the snare are nothing. I see every reason to be overconfident at this point. "Painkiller," here I come!)

So instead of all that, how about a brief link dump?

-This is why it's good to check your referrer logs. I had a couple of hits in there from a site called PixelVixen707, which I highly recommend you check out. Rachel's newly posted review of Fracture is much more entertaining than it sounds like the game was. Great stuff.

-Mike Walbridge has been on a tear lately. His write-up of Mega Man 9 is an insightful look at the game that makes a few points I haven't seen elsewhere. Mike argues that MM9 is much more forward-looking than anybody gives it credit for. I can't disagree, and yet it was the retro elements that were responsible both for what I liked and what I disliked about the game. (My review should be up shortly.)

-Hit Self-Destruct may often qualify as "brilliant," such as in this post about whether Hideo Kojima needs an editor. I was disappointed to learn that Insult Swordfighting shows up on the second page of Google results for the phrase "Kojima needs an editor." Here's hoping this post boosts my ranking!

-Iroquois Pliskin wrote a nice look at Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Sometimes there's an advantage in reviewing a game well after its release, because you're not swept up in the excitement of its newness. You can talk about what really interests you without feeling the pressure to condense the entire game into one easily digestable paragraph. (By the way, I thought my own post about Call of Duty 4 made some similar points.)

*Is "embargoed from" accurate? I don't have any idea what the proper usage is here.

8 comments:

Etelmik said...

Kojima needs an editor. With our powers combined, that should do it.

Daniel Purvis said...

I think "from" works.

Maybe, "I'm under embargo and cannot discuss Dead Space etc."

Oh God, who knows!

Alex said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alex said...

To me, Kojima is the Richard Kelly of games, which makes Metal Gear Solid 4 the Southland Tales of games. The work is certainly an ineffable experience; in terms of what it has to say, the messages have been said far better so many times that aforementioned work comes across as nothing more than belabored number-painting coupled with canonical ejaculation.

In other indirect words: no matter how many minutes you chop from Southland Tales, common dilettantes and common denizens will at best note it to be fluff.

pixelvixen707 said...

Mitch - thank you so much for your link - it's greatly appreciated! I'm a fan of yours from wayback, and very grateful to get a nod.

Oh, and congrats on picking up a Mrs. Krpata! Obviously I know nothing about her, but she looks like she has a good sense of humor, and I understand that's what counts.

Duncan said...

I'm still in the lead, Krpata! At least you're up to the first page.

(Thank you for the link by the way.)

Mitch Krpata said...

Mrs. Krpata has a wonderful sense of humor. She is also tolerant of things like coming home to find me playing Rock Band in my underpants.

Also, Hideo Kojima needs an editor. (This is a competition now.)

pixelvixen707 said...

Playing Rock Band in your underwear? We just call that Tuesday ...

And Hideo Kojima NEAR/2 editor