Extra Punctuation: Battlefield 3 Is Scary
- Thread starter Yahtzee Croshaw
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Yeah I've always been creeped out a bit by the whole modern shooter thing. But I think for me it's because of the way they fetishise guns and war. Like when I hear fans of these games talking about them they are often talking about guns in a very dry technical way, they sound like they're neo-nazis planning a murdering spree or something. And the multiplayer too seems to addict people to very unhealthy levels. We've all heard the news stories about what people have done online and what they do to get hold of a copy of said game, but also I've never been in a room (or online party) with anyone playing CoD online who didn't seem to be very irate. Yet they continue on their repetitive fruitless never ending quest.
Ouch... sorry about that man...Wolfram01 said:
But, still, it's black humour. It suppose to be harsh. I don't think the developer wanted to flip the bird at Christianity (*spoilers* In the first ending, GOD helps Isaac *spoilers*). I understand, specially with your childhood, that it CAN be "tasteless"....
It really is sad that people don't take a moment to look at the deeper implications of their chosen areas of entertainment, and what liking them means (or at least appears to say) for their character.
Though I do remember the original Modern Warfare game being not so cut and dry as it originally appears (the American soldiers being shortsighted and dickish/the British soldiers being competent but amoral). Still, it missed out on any actual depth in the issue when the enemy insurgents were almost cartoonishly villainous.
Of course, you'd never see a modern warfare game from the perspective of the insurgent groups that you slaughter wholesale. That would make an actual artistic statement- and spark more controversy than any issue has any right to draw.
Though I do remember the original Modern Warfare game being not so cut and dry as it originally appears (the American soldiers being shortsighted and dickish/the British soldiers being competent but amoral). Still, it missed out on any actual depth in the issue when the enemy insurgents were almost cartoonishly villainous.
Of course, you'd never see a modern warfare game from the perspective of the insurgent groups that you slaughter wholesale. That would make an actual artistic statement- and spark more controversy than any issue has any right to draw.
Everybody said I should have, but the first books were marketed and written for kids... so I never read them. I've seen one or two of the movies. Not bad.Wolfram01 said:Thanks for the sympathy, but... ever read Harry Potter?Drake666 said:
I'm more of a Song of Ice and Fire guy
Or Discworld.
Why do I have the feeling that you didn't have the permission to read the harry Potter's books ?
Good quote.Adam Jensen said:
It's funny, I don't like blind patriotism and war but I have gotten into the military shooter. There's a few things I don't like in the real world but I like in games: war, driving, arson, police and defending with towers; in the real world it's just not practical.
But honestly, if the next CoD was all patriotic about some other random country, I probably wouldn't even notice. It's just guys shooting other guys. I don't think the draw for games like Battlefield or CoD is a depiction of any particular government; it could be any military that's highly funded...oh, I see.
"And the teddy bears would need to have had a history of backing the overthrow of South American democratic governments for the benefit of wealthy fruit corporations."
As if the British didn't invade CandyLand for Cadburys...everyone knows that was you guys.
Admittedly Candy Land was a monarchy.
Blame the people, not the game. The game does not create chemical addiction, a word that's massively overused as it is. The game does not make people threaten each other to get a copy. The game does not replace rational thoughts with a torrent of racist drivel spewing into a headset. As comforting as it is to think that the depths to which people sink come from an outside force like a game, they're largely just incredibly unpleasant or unhinged people.Scrustle said:
Blind patriotism is especially scary when placed into plots which are glorified snuff films and placed in the hands of foulmouthed kids who will threaten death against other players, reviewers, and even developers.
Oh, I think most of the kiddies are harmless enough, but when you combine THOSE moments with THOSE people, it's a briefly frightening thought.
Should I put on "Born in the USA" now?
Oh, I think most of the kiddies are harmless enough, but when you combine THOSE moments with THOSE people, it's a briefly frightening thought.
Should I put on "Born in the USA" now?
Yes, I was thinking that. Bad Company 1 had a brilliantly fun campaign - Crahs and Grab was a really good level, pretty much completely sandbox. Plus, it was tongue-in-cheek and genuinely funny, which a lot of modern combat games lack. Even BC2's singleplayer had shades of this - it railroaded you a bit more, but you still got a lot of choice, there were still funny moments.CD-R said:
I think I read somewhere that BF3's campaign, while not new in terms of the shooter genre as a whole, was a new thing for DICE. DICE are new to singleplayer campaigns, so this was actually an experiment for them, something different. That's why they did it - they know they can do that without losing their customers, because Battlefield is primarily a multiplayer game.
(Also, Halo is a hell of a lot less linear/corridor than Call of Duty).
I think it's pretty obvious that The Binding of Issac is my game of the year. I can't even remember what games came out this year, outside of Radiant Historia. That's how forgettable most of the AAA titles are to me.
Literally laughed out loud at the spotted dick joke.
I know this isn't the main focus of the article, but I think I've realized why Nathan Drake can bother me.
I by no means dislike him as much as Yahtzee, but there is something about him.
And it's this: Whenever he acts like a goof ball, he just expects everyone o roll with it. But when someone else tries to crack a joke, he's all, "hey, be serious" as if to say "Hey! I'm the funny one around here".
I know this isn't the main focus of the article, but I think I've realized why Nathan Drake can bother me.
I by no means dislike him as much as Yahtzee, but there is something about him.
And it's this: Whenever he acts like a goof ball, he just expects everyone o roll with it. But when someone else tries to crack a joke, he's all, "hey, be serious" as if to say "Hey! I'm the funny one around here".
I have to agree with Yahtzee about Black Ops. I liked it more when the main character was fighting against impossible odds to save his squad, his friends. Whenever it turned on the period-specific rock songs and showed off America's military might, I started to feel like someone was saying that the Cold War was a good thing.
I think part of the point of these sorts of games is that you aren't the underdog, that you have such fancy and interesting tech and such a large support network. The attempt appears to be making the player feel like a real life superhero, as sad and masturbatory as the concept of making killing other people and promoting xenophobia out to be heroic is.
Speaking as a born resident of the United States, though, I also find the concept quite questionable, if you couldn't tell from the above; I don't see anything glorious or heroic about the way these things are presented. There are ways to paint a soldier in a positive light, certainly, but "shoot those dirty Russians while 'oooh'ing at the scenery" isn't it. War as a whole should never be glorified.
Speaking as a born resident of the United States, though, I also find the concept quite questionable, if you couldn't tell from the above; I don't see anything glorious or heroic about the way these things are presented. There are ways to paint a soldier in a positive light, certainly, but "shoot those dirty Russians while 'oooh'ing at the scenery" isn't it. War as a whole should never be glorified.
As another one, who does not have a faynboydegree in US Military jerkoff I kinda got to agree, maybe thats what stopped me from buying those games since Battlefield 1941.
Since then, CoD and Battlefield felt more like recruiting stuff with the message "we are edgy, but still the awesome good hero guys".
This article makes it clear. Thanks Yahtzee!
Since then, CoD and Battlefield felt more like recruiting stuff with the message "we are edgy, but still the awesome good hero guys".
This article makes it clear. Thanks Yahtzee!
Which is just retreading the old "Escalate the Cold War" cliché. It's been done ten thousand katrillion times already and it was neither funny nor politically correct the first time.The Gentleman said: