My love affair with Samus (we're so good together, you and I)

Okay, so I guess Metroid Prime 3 came out earlier this week or something. WHY DID I NOT REMEMBER THIS? I'm a sucker for all things Metroid, and in fact, I own basically every game in the series. Yes, even Metroid Prime Pinball (which rocked, by the way). There's just something about the series that's so appealing...maybe it's the isolation you feel being sent to a planet teeming with unusual secrets. Or it could be the unique gadgets and weapons you pick up. Or it could be the backtracking.



Wait...backtracking? Well, yes. And I'm not crazy either. See, when you start out in Metroid games, you usually have a scant amount of equipment and weapons on you. That means you can only access certain areas to begin with. But as you gain more and more items and abilities, the list of places you can go expands, and by going back and revisiting areas you've been to before, you get to see more and more incredible things on your journey. In Metroid, backtracking is good, and I think it wouldn't be a good Metroid game without it. This sense of progression empowers you, but it also entices you and makes you want to explore so much more of the world you're in. Diehard fans such as myself will know what I'm talking about.



So I gotta pick this up today or something. I've heard all about it in previews and reviews, how the fantastic art style looks, about how the game is streamlined and controls like a dream, an actual decent story...see, I'm salivating already. If Metroid was Pavlov, I'd be one of his dogs. I just can't get enough of the series. I guess that's why I decided to buy Super Metroid again on the Virtual Console, despite the fact that I already own it on my SNES. I'm a sad, sad man, and yet strangely, I don't regret it.

And no, I'm not a paid spokesman for Nintendo. Though it would seem like I'd make a good one, right? A gushing look at one of my favorite video game franchises? Hmmm...how about I balance this out with something. Uh...I think the Classic NES Series release of Metroid on the GBA was a waste of money, especially when you could just pick up the awesome Metroid: Zero Mission, beat it, and then play Metroid on your GBA that way. And Prime 2 wasn't as good as Prime 1. Yes! I have balanced this blog post. Well, kinda, if by "balance" you mean "show two minor negatives among a bunch of positives."

Which is something I tend to do.

Postmodern Gaming, or, what the hell is going on here?

I think most of us don't really consider how normal our games really are. I mean, we take up swords and guns, we defeat these scourges of evil, we save the world, and...wait, wait, that's not normal at all! Well, you get my point. Although the plot, settings, and features of games change all the time, games follow much of the same conventions they always have. Nowadays, we usually go from point A to point B, save this person, kill this baddie, and we call it a day. These games follow the conventions of their own in-game universes, and they don't usually talk to the player directly or mess around with their psyches too much.

But not all games are like that...oh no, not at all. I think we can all agree that Hideo Kojima has done some pretty weird stuff in the Metal Gear series. Where else could a boss read a memory card filled with your saves from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night? What about the plot of Metal Gear Solid 2 itself? I can't help but think of the number of times Kojima has broken the fourth wall, and of all the times the Metal Gear games have been just plain weird and unusual. Call it what you like, but it has a strange impact on the player, that's for sure. Somehow breaking all the rules draws you into the game even more...at least when I wasn't searching for Meryl's codec number and didn't know what the hell they were talking about, but that's a story for another day.

But are there any other examples we know of? Well, I might have one: Takeshi's Castle. Released in 1986 for the Famicom, it's a weird, experimental title designed by actor and director Takeshi Kitano, and...let's not mince words here, it's pretty messed up. You have to sing into the Famicom's microphone (on the second controller) for a hour without stopping, hit a button 20,000 times to beat a boss, and...well, just see for yourself. Trust me, this game breaks so many rules and tortures you so much. From a guy like Takeshi Kitano, who has his own unusual philosophical views in his movies, this kind of makes sense. But only somewhat. It's still a pretty devious game. As a piece of postmodern gaming, I think it gives Kojima a run for his money.

Oh yeah, that link I posted on Takeshi's Castle? It goes to Polas' Goodtime Retro Cafe, which, despite hardly updating EVER, is still an underrated, humorous game site. Check out some of their stuff on Karnov (which is weird enough in itself).

How do we really view games?

GamePolitics.com is one of my favorite "serious" game sites, and for good reason: despite being presented by the Entertainment Consumers Association, they seem to be fairly objective and have a good grasp on issues relating to the game industry today. Today they responded to a piece Ian Bogost wrote about how hardware manufacturers are the real reason for why there is some censorship in games; that is, the manufacturers won't allow any AO-rated games to appeal on their consoles. (This is related to Manhunt 2, can't you tell?). Now, I generally agree with what they say: this is a complex issue, and part of problem lies in how some of the general public perceive games as merely children's entertainment. As GamePolitics states:

"So the game industry finds itself under a microscope. The issue of sales to children is a big one for critics like Leland Yee and the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. And for the Federal Trade Commission, which studies the industry’s marketing practices in relation to kids.

For their part, the console makers don’t want to be accused of licensing porn on a machine that’s sold at Toys’R'Us. The major game publishers are largely public corporations that don’t want to be seen as being in the porn creation business, either. Developers have largely adapted to these parameters, although some are clearly frustrated."

Clearly, we have much to figure out.

I'd disagree, however, with their belief that the term" video game" needs to be reevaluated. For one, the term "video game" has stuck, and I don't see it going away any time soon. Also, when we talk about sports, we talk about "sports games," don't we? Our culture feels they aren't just for children, yet we still call them "games." Like GamePolitics states, much of the industry's origins came from the toy business, and being marketed as such for many years, gaming has traditionally been referred to as a kid's activity. I'm guessing that's how the perception of video games today came about. Changing these views on games might help earn them some more legitimacy as a hobby and interest.

What can we do, as consumers, to fix this perception of video games? I'm not sure writing to the console makers directly will solve anything - they seem pretty firm on these policies right now. But raising awareness about these issues would be worth it, and having people know that games aren't just for children will help considerably. That might be all we can do right now.

What is Imjerage?

Imjerage is another blog that talks about video games. Okay, so we've all seen that before. But Imjerage strives to be more than that. I'll strive to bring you more to gaming than simple news or previews. I'll try to be as objective and non-biased as I can when I report on gaming news and events. And I'll try to make people laugh: no sense in being serious all the time, right? So come along, grab your favorite snack, and sit down and enjoy: with your viewership, Imjerage will know no bounds.

And yeah, if I'm being pompous or boring, tell me. No one likes a boring, droning gamer.