Always, Always, Always a Hero

Hello blogging world, it's been a while. Between school, work, sorority, and Netflix time, I haven't had a lot of time to play any video games. Well recently my work load decreased significantly and I was finally able to open up Infamous: Second Son and give it a go. As is tradition with this series, very early on you are given the choice of whether you are going to play as a "Hero" or "Villain." I chose hero. I always choose hero. And I always wonder why?

The point of video games is to give you a glorious world where you can choose to do whatever you please. These can be an escape where you can do despicable things that you otherwise couldn't do in the real world. The name of these games is Infamous, so why in every one so far have I chosen to not play infamously? This is far from the only game where I've played the good guy.

So, when did it all start? I remember very clearly when I was younger playing Grand Theft Auto: Vice City killing every pedestrian in sight, never once playing a story mission. I remember getting a little older and doing the same in Grand Theft Auto IV, but this was also when I became engaged in the characters and story. I would say it all started with a glorious little game called Red Dead Redemption.

Rockstar Games are made to be played devilishly. They give you gigantic worlds full of pedestrians
shouting nonsense that just deserve to be sucker punched. Red Dead Redemption was the perfect landscape to play this way, to be the outlaw. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't bring myself to aid the bad guys, I couldn't just ride away from outlaws about to kill innocent people, and I couldn't let some asshole get away with stealing some poor man's horse. I loved seeing my honor go up. I loved rising from "nobody" all the way to "legend." I loved hearing the pedestrians praising me and saying hello as they rode by rather than running in fear. It made you feel like a superhero.

Ever since finishing Red Dead, I've realized this style of playing has followed me in every game since. Whenever given the choice, I always try to make the "right" one. Whenever given the chance to act as a hero, I always take it. Whenever I made a mistake and accidentally killed an innocent bystander, I felt guilty. Whenever I made a dialogue choice in The Walking Dead in which Clementine "remembered" it in a bad way, that sense of shame followed me all day. But why? In the same way that playing a villain gives you a sense of satisfaction because you don't do these things in real life, the exact same thing can be said for playing the hero.

I am not the kind of person that is going to step in and stop something horrible from happening in real life. Never will you see me as headline news for doing something miraculous. I keep to myself in the real world. If someone is on the side of the road with a flat tire, I'm one of the idiots slowing down traffic to look instead of stopping to help. Partly because I know nothing of changing flat tires, but mostly because I'm just trying to get through whatever misfortune is thrown at me during an average day without getting involved in someone else's. I am the exact opposite of a superhero.

So maybe that explains it. Maybe not. Maybe I just have strong moral values that follow me even into the virtual world. Or maybe some games are just better playing the hero.

For more gaming ramblings, or just my daily misfortune follow me on Twitter: @AshtynMarlow

Returning To The Never Ending World of Assassin's Creed

Let me just begin this article saying I truly loved Assassin's Creed. AC 2 is most definitely in my top favorite games and, despite it being incredibly loathed, I quite enjoyed the world and story of AC 3. However, it was after finishing this game that I fell out of love with the series, or rather started to loath how regularly the games were coming out. It started to echo Call of Duty

Ah, Call of Duty, another franchise I used to be quite fond of. My adrenaline was pumping throughout the "All Ghillied Up" mission in Modern Warfare, I loved revisiting old characters in the over-the-top follow up Modern Warfare 2, and there were countless moments in World at War that had my heart pounding. But as the years went on and the games kept coming I realized it was pointless of me to make a 60 dollar purchase for a 4 hour story, especially because I don't play and have no interest in playing the multiplayer. If I went into my local game retailer today, I couldn't tell you which Call of Duty game came out last year and which one came out this year. That's how much I can't keep up with these releases, and sadly I'm starting to feel the same way about Assassin's Creed.

Of course this may be an unfair argument. After all, Ubisoft manages to give us an entirely new, detailed, gorgeous open world to explore every year, whereas Activision/Infinity Ward gives us a couple linear over the top set pieces to spend a few minutes per mission in. However, the more the AC series goes on, I keep finding myself less impressed by the world and characters around me and less interested in all the side-quests they have to offer.

I remember my first trip into the Animus. My first thought was; "...the f**k is an animus?" But as I started to get the hang of the tricky controls and got my first glimpses of the gorgeous cities that make up the huge and detailed world, I immediately fell in love. And though, at times, the first AC game felt like a bit of a chore to finish only to get a lackluster cliffhanger of an ending, it piqued my interest enough for me to immediately get on Amazon and have AC 2 shipped as soon as humanly possible.

Oh, AC 2...What is there to say about AC 2 that hasn't already been said millions of times? It was incredible, beautiful, and interesting. It had characters that I liked and cared about and a protagonist that I didn't mind spending endless hours with. Each city was programmed with such personality, from the petals that fluttered down from Florence rooftops to the mask wearing and fire breathing jesters throughout the streets of Venice. It was an experience. This was the game that made me fall in love with the series. And luckily, since I jumped into the series a couple years after release, I didn't have to suffer through yet another cliffhanger ending. Once again I was on the computer ordering the next installment.

Days later I was jumping into Brotherhood. And while it is not my favorite in the series, I loved all the improvements and new features added. Most of the improvements came in terms of that dreaded present day plot line. I found the modern day stuff interesting in the first game, but it was incredibly tedious, (for the love of god, just let me run back and forth to the computer and my room!) In Brotherhood, they stepped up their game. I found myself caring for the characters more, interested in seeing present day Monteriggioni, and putting my new skills to the test in modern cities. Man, it could have been great! Instead, they ended the game with a bizarre, you guessed it, cliffhanger ending and managed to take a gigantic step back when it came to the present day story in the next installment.

I had finally caught up with the series almost exactly in time for the release of Revelations. The game was good, the story was okay, the characters were interesting, and it was a nice wrap up to both Ezio and Altair's stories. However, after the improvements to the present day plot in Brotherhood, I was a little more than upset that is was reduced to...to...I'm not even sure what to compare it to, but it was bad...really bad. I wasn't blown away by the game to say the least. I was going to mention how I felt about new features it introduced, but to be honest I don't quite remember. I remember protecting assassin's dens, I found it to be almost as tedious as reading those emails in the original. Mostly, I ignored all the little side stuff. I wanted to play the story, I wanted to know what happens next. I wanted to finish what I had started. I'm beginning to think I never will.

After finishing Revelations, I was totally okay if it was going to be a couple years before I played
another AC game. Ubisoft was not okay with this logic. Exactly one year later AC 3 was released to incredibly mixed reviews. Despite how I felt about Revelations, I was still very excited about AC 3. I loved the setting they were taking it to, after learning everything about the Revolutionary war from elementary school all the way up through my first semester of college, I was incredibly excited to see how they were going to bring it to life and incorporate real events. Also this game was to give a definitive ending to that present day story that they butchered so badly in Revelations. I was pumped! After completing the game I feel conflicted. I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't in awe, and the only thing that left me with a bad taste in my mouth was the cop-out ending of the Desmond story arc. (Am I the only one that somewhat cared about the present day story? Probably.) Sure, the villain was slightly more likable than the hero, the story had some plot holes and loose ends, and the cities certainly didn't have the flair that Renaissance Italy did, (Sometimes I couldn't tell whether I was in Boston or New York unless a character mentioned it.) But it wasn't a bad game by any means, it just wasn't as good as previous entries in the series. One of the more polished and certainly most praised parts of the game was the naval combat. Ubisoft saw this praise and gave the audience seemingly what they wanted...a pirate assassin.

The day Black Flag was announced I decided I was done. A new game every year was getting to be too much, especially a new game where each one is declining in quality. I came to the conclusion that I would never finish what I started and it was time to end my time with the series. Besides, how good could a game about a pirate assassin be? Very good apparently. I've heard nothing but praise for Black Flag and feel like an idiot for calling it quits before playing it. But it isn't too late.

As you've seen, I've recently got my hands on a PS4 and with it AC Unity. I figured I would see what Ubisoft has done with a next-gen AC. I have only just started and am impressed so far. The cities are beautiful and huge, the details on the more extravagant buildings are gorgeous, and the crowded streets are impressive. As far as story and characters go, I don't have any particular interest so far. Arno certainly doesn't have the personality of Ezio or even Haytham for that matter. I started playing this game after the floods of patches swooped in to save the day, so the glitches I have encountered are far and few between. (By the way, I'm a firm believer in delaying games. I would much rather wait than play a game that is broken.) However, I feel the controls have gotten worse as far as trying to get your character to climb a certain thing or go a certain path. I have made multiple attempts to go through open doors and windows while free running only to have my character decide he would rather climb to the roof instead. I also feel a little overwhelmed by the amount of markers on my map. I appreciate side missions and other activities to distract from the main story, but damn! Also, I have yet to try to co-op missions. I'm interested to see what it's like to play cooperatively, but I can't see it running smoothly. If we are all given the same target, isn't it just going to be a race to see who can kill him first? Because I know I want to be the guy that kills the target. We shall see...Since I am nowhere near completion, I can't come to a conclusion whether it's a great, okay, or just another lackluster entry in the never ending series that is AC. Perhaps once I'm finished with the game I will write a review of sorts...no promises though.

As for my future with the series, it would appear they are going to keep making these games until they eventually don't make money and that's not something I appreciate. I suppose the same could be said for the Grand Theft Auto series, or Uncharted (Although 4 will be the last entry...sadly.) But the difference between these series is the time taken between games. GTA 5 came out 5 years after GTA 4. Uncharted 4, if released this year, will be coming out 3 years after Uncharted 3. It takes time, time to see what worked in the last game, what didn't, what to improve on and so-on. That is why each new GTA and each new Uncharted game are masterpieces. Okay, maybe masterpieces is going a tad overboard, but the games are great and the experience sticks with you long after the credits have rolled and you're dying of anticipation wondering what they will do with the next game and how long you will have to wait for it. Whereas, when information "leaks" about a new AC game, my reaction is mostly "...meh." And I'm sad that that's how I feel about a franchise I was once so deeply invested in...But, one can only play so much.

It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like Christmas

I've finally joined the club of prestigious PS4 owners...but I have not joined PS Network because it's convieniently down at the moment. (Shocking) I will most likely share my thoughts as I delve deeper into the system that I can't wait to spend the next 'X' number of years with. Also look out for my opinion on the games I got to accompany this amazing gift: Far Cry 4 and I will diving back into the world of Assassin's Creed after about a two-year break...or boycott...but that's a story for another time. In the meantime have a very Merry Christmas, or a Happy Hanukkah, or just Happy Holidays! 

"The Game Encouraged Me To Do This"

So today while not paying attention in my environmental science lecture, I stumbled across an article about beloved Grand Theft Auto V being banned at Australian retailers for "encouraging players to commit sexual violence against women." I was baffled...partly because this game has been out for a year already, but mostly because never in any of the 5 Grand Theft Auto games I have played was I ever explicitly told, "Mission objective: sleep with prostitute, then brutally murder her to get your money back." The game never encourages violence on women, unless that woman happens to be in the police force, the army, or a gang that you must fight and/or defend yourself against. What a player chooses to do with the large amounts of pedestrians scattered about the world is exactly that, the players choice. Therefore, the problem does not lie with the game, it lies with the player.

It is absolutely possible to go through the entirety of GTA V without ever harming a pedestrian or soliciting a prostitute. And if only it weren't Trevor's headquarters for the latter half of the game, you would never have to enter the games strip club either. That is the beauty of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, everything you do outside of the games main missions is completely up to you. You can explore every inch of the worlds gigantic map. You can drive or fly around the world in every car, plane, or helicopter imaginable. You can explore the depths of the games oceans with a submarine and full diving gear. You can hunt wildlife in the forests below Mt. Chiliad, and then climb to the top and jump off with a parachute. You can search high and low for every little Easter egg left by the developers. You can blaze through the story and spend as much time as possible with each incredible protagonist. Or...you can go on murderous rampages gunning down civilian after civilian and pick up thousands of virtual prostitutes and then kill them to get your virtual money back. The possibilities are endless, and the number of incredible non-violent things to within the game world far outweigh the violent bad ones, yet those are the only things talked about in mainstream media.

Now I'm not condemning those who do these questionable deeds, because we all have. It's fun to see how the world reacts to your rampages, the physics when a pedestrian is punched is satisfyingly hilarious, and trying to survive a six star wanted level is probably the most challenging and one of the most fun aspects of the game. Are you forced to do these things? No. Are you encouraged to do these things? No. It's the equivalent of trying to sneak a peek at Christmas presents as a kid, it's fun but you know what you are doing is morally wrong.

The argument also put a focus on the age old argument of corrupting our youth. But, if these petitioners bothered to look at the very front cover of the game they would see the big M for mature rating. If you flip the cover over, you get to see all the reasons this game was rated mature. The reasons for GTA V are: Blood and gore, intense violence, mature humor, nudity, strong language, strong sexual content, use of drugs, and use of alcohol. If you feel your youth would be negatively influenced by anything listed in the rating, then the ultimate answer is not buying your youth the game. Why must it be banned for mature adults who want to play out the fantastically written story and perfectly polished game mechanics?

Ultimately, what most people don't seem to realize is the satire in it all. Nobody buys a GTA game
expecting to be a hero. You are an anti-hero thrown into a spoof of a real American city, surrounded
by the worst people society has to offer, and surrounded by social commentary and radio ads that draw parallels with some events in the real world. It is not a game for the easily offended.

However, if you must play a mature rated game with a sympathetic hero and strong female characters then look no further than another incredible Rockstar Game, Red Dead Redemption. It tells the story

of John Marston, who like almost every GTA character is out to turn his life around and leave the life of crime. Only difference is he's actually done it, he has a family and a ranch making an honest living when the government comes knocking. But unlike Michael in GTA V where you can tell pulling heists and other things is where he is truly happy, Marston's one a only goal throughout the whole game is his family and getting to be with them again. Along the way you meet strong female characters like Bonnie, Luisa, and Abigail. You can not sleep with prostitutes because you are a faithful married man. And what you do with pedestrians, whether it be help or harm them, has an affect on your honor and reputation. It is almost the exact opposite of everything Grand Theft Auto is about, but still just as good as their most popular franchise, if not better.

Ultimately, my point is after 16 years of GTA being an established, well-received, and widely publicized franchise, shouldn't we know what we are getting into by now. If you are offended by the content, don't play it. There is no reason to ban a huge, expansive, incredible, award winning game over something that is entirely optional to the player.

Studying My Life Away With Video Game Soundtracks!

Do you have finals coming up? Do you need to study? Do you have a focus problem listening to music with lyrics while trying studying? Do you need to drown out those bitches in the library listening to Taylor Swift without headphones? Oh...is that last one just me? Anyways, I've got the solution for you! Video game soundtracks!

They are not distracting and awe inspiring. They can range from beautifully solemn to perfectly motivational. A few of my personal favorites to study to are the Journey soundtrack by Austin Wintory, the Assassin's Creed II soundtrack by Jesper Kyd, and The Last of Us soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla.

Have you ever tried to perfectly match a soundtrack to whatever is going on in your life just like a movie? Oh...that's just me as well? Anyways, the Journey soundtrack goes along with studying perfectly. As soon as the first track starts you immediately feel calm. The stress fades away and you begin the long Journey through your studying. The darker tracks in the middle perfectly sum up how you feel in the middle of assignments, and then you end with the two magically inspiring tracks "Apotheosis" and "I Was Born for This." Ending your homework on those notes is almost equally as beautiful as the game itself.

What is there to say about the glorious game that is Assassin's Creed II...I would argue there is even more to say about its glorious soundtrack. With beautiful vocals and subtle electric guitar riffs, the soundtrack is what made those standout moments in the game so memorable. And listening to the soundtrack while studying makes studying just a little more bearable.

The Last of Us soundtrack perfectly encapsulates that sinking and solemn feeling that comes over us as we sit down to study for those dreaded finals. So no surprise then that the incredible score put together by Gustavo Santaolalla is an amazing soundtrack to keep you calm and get you through finals week.

And those are just a couple of my favorites that are getting me through this last stretch of the semester. Go support these amazing composers, all game soundtracks are available on iTunes....but since I know we are college students on a budget, most all are available in full on YouTube. Happy studying!

The Negative Connotations That Come With Being a "Gamer"

These images and news reports have become synonymous with video games in the last decade. When one person does a horrible deed that results in multiple lives lost, the first questions asked are never what was his state of mental wellness or how did he get his hands on these weapons of mass destruction, it is always how many video games are sitting in his home miles away? Scapegoats have been around for hundreds of years, people blame things that millions of people enjoy and that one person enjoyed and then happened to commit a crime. First it was books, movies, music, and now video games. And although millions of people game around the world, we are still stuck with this mantra of being socially awkward shut ins. In my experience, when someone finds out I love video games they are incredibly surprised, mostly because when most people think of "gamers" they picture something like this...

Ah yes, the South Park WOW guy. And while I'm sure there may be somebody out there right now baring a striking resembelence, living off pizza and Rockstar energy drinks, (or Doritos and Mt. Dew according to Microsoft) going into their 10th straight hour of ____ game, bottom line is this isn't an accurate depiction of the gaming culture anymore. Unfortunately, the only depiction the gaming industry gets in the mainstream media is mass murderers, children yelling obscenities and threats online on Call of Duty, and death threats against game developers in the recent stories of #GamerGate.

I am in a sorority, meaning that every Fall I must endure the mental and physical exhaustion that is sorority recruitment. Basically, it is 3 days of non-stop talking, or rather yelling, because when 100 women are in one room together it is physically impossible for us to talk at a normal volume. So I am in a room, yelling in some poor girls face, question after question, desperately trying to remember her name, and the conversation eventually turns into what is my major and what do I plan on doing with it. Every sorority always says, "Be yourself." For the most part, people appreciate you being honest and being yourself...for the most part. However, when I go on to tell them I'm a journalism major with plans of writing about and reviewing video games, I get a look that closely resembles this...

I then introduce her to another one of my sorority sisters and hope to god my personal hobby hasn't scared her away from the amazing group of women I call my sisters.

So how did we get to this point? Maybe it was the 80's and 90's movies and TV shows that portray us as awkward zit-faced teenagers un-ironically wearing suspenders and taped glasses. Or maybe it's the mainstream media like Fox News desperately trying to find a link between violence and video games. However, if there truly was a direct link between violence and video games the world would look a little bit like the movie The Purge, considering games sell millions of copies, particularly games like Grand Theft Auto V which has sold 32 million copies and counting. 

I hate that my personal hobby and something that I'm truly passionate about is never shown in a positive light outside of the gaming community. I hate feeling ashamed of playing video games because people then see me as "weird." I hate telling people my aspirations of working in the gaming industry and then being looked down upon in my journalism classes and asked, "Why are you even getting a degree?" 

Maybe one day video games will be looked at as an art form outside of the industry. Maybe one day the mainstream media will recognize the incredible stories, the incredible satire saturated commentary, and the incredible originality that come in games like The Last of Us, the Grand Theft Auto series, and Journey. Maybe one day video games will be recognized as equal in the ranks of movies, music, and television shows when it comes to popular culture. Maybe one day the media will stop comparing a huge community of normal people with a video game hobby to one deranged killer. And maybe one day I can tell someone my aspirations of working within the video game industry without getting a look of concern and judgement. Just maybe.

Retro Gaming Expo, Las Vegas

If only I brought more money for merch.

This past weekend I attended the Retro Gaming Expo at the Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the
first gaming expo I had ever been to and I certainly hope it won't be the last. I saw the fliers around campus and immediately gathered some sorority sisters that I then forced to go with me, and even though my poor friends would have rather had been anywhere else, I had a blast.

Couldn't find Sonic 2, so Sonic 3 will have to do.

It was a small convention composed of small booths full of handmade merchandise, old school gaming consoles, and retro games for nearly every console ever made. The most popular were the Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis. I could have added several games to my old collection of only Sonic 2 if I knew where my old Sega Genesis was. Merchandise ranged anywhere from the hand beaded characters you see above (a hand beaded Pyramid Head that I unfortunately didn't get a picture of was the highlight,) to fan art posters, to Mario hats, and a necessity at every expo; Link's shield and sword.

Being the stereotypical broke college student, I only bought one thing at the expo...buttons...

BUTTONS!

And as pathetic as it may sound I tried to pick them so they would have sentimental value. Not only are they my first pieces of merchandise from my first convention, they all have meaning in my gaming heart. During my long Nintendo DS gaming life an embarrassingly long amount of time was spent in the world of Animal Crossing. I explored every inch of my little town, visited my friends towns who also had the game, tried to keep every animal neighbor in my town from moving, and tirelessly tried to work off the never ending debt to the bastard Tom Nook...what a dick that guy was...Anyways, when I saw the Animal Crossing character I just had to pick it. I picked Princess Peach specifically on her Mario Kart because that was another game I spent countless hours on and she was always my character of choice. The Pac-Man ghost, well who hasn't played Pac-Man. And finally the I love my Playstation 3 button because I do. It was my very first console where I played a game to completion the very first time and one day it will be a showcase at some Retro Gaming Expo and I will be telling kids my nostalgic memories of good ol' 2000's.

By far my favorite part of the expo was the game room. They had all kinds games in all kinds of consoles hooked to every kind of TV imaginable. On the outer walls there were arcade games and pinball machines ranging from South Park to even a pinball machine based on the movie "Twister." The popular games in the middle of the room were one of the many Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, the original Donkey Kong, and Mario Kart 64. Considering the fact that Mario Kart had so many people gathered around in the hopes to play that they decided to create a tournament, I gave up and sadly walked away and then stumbled on Mortal Kombat II. I immediately grabbed the controller and threw the other into the hands of my friend who has almost zero gaming experience. I chose Scorpion and tried my best to coach my friend through it but then I realized my only coaching instructions were "just hit the buttons...button mash." It was a disaster of epic proportions as our characters swung and kicked away at mostly air, only sometimes causing damage to the other player. But I didn't care, it was the first time I had played a Mortal Kombat game in years and I had a blast, no matter how terrible I was.

All in all I had an excellent time and I will certainly be on the lookout for more gaming expos to hit the Las Vegas area. And one day, maybe very soon I will save up the money to travel to Pax Prime up in Seattle, or maybe I will just go for the big guns and hit up San Diego Comic-Con or go for the ultimate dream of going to E3. One day...I'm determined.