Girl gamers? I understand your pain.

You’re torn. You're conflicted. You're unsure. On one hand, you love videogames for all the obvious reasons. They’re fun. They’re pleasantly addictive. They come with a rich and popular culture. On the other, they’re often shallow. They can be sexist. And more often than not they send heroines into battle with naught but a thong to guard them.

I hear you, sister - men are pigs.

It's no secret that video games have developed a bad reputation amongst non-gamers for creating a gallery of shallow, oversexualised female characters. Snobbish fans of other entertainment mediums hang their hats on this; they love to point out that whilst our heroines seem to be paid by the midriff, there wasn’t a navel to be found in Citizen Kane. Our favourite industry has leapt many a hurdle since its economic genesis in the mid 80s, bounding repeatedly and with quantum leaps towards fully-fledged artistic respectability, but characters like Lara Croft, Cammy, Sivir and hundreds of others hold it back.

If you’re a man, pick your favorite male protagonist. Someone cool, and heroic (if you can't think of anyone, go with Han Solo). Now close your eyes and imagine them as accurately as you can. Make sure to account for every detail - their height, weight, stance, clothes; all of it. Once you've got a clear image, pin it down in your mind. Got it? Good.

Now have that character meet your gaze.

Now give him a speedo.

Now make him dance. He seems different now, doesn’t he? At the very least, he's less badass than when clothed. Do you still want to cheer for that character; want to lead him into dangerous battle? That’s how I imagine women feel about their videogame heroines.

Anybody who’s spent a summer of adolescent sexual tension at theatre camp knows that a character is only as good as his or her costume. You immediately realise that Malcolm Reynolds is a bona fide hero because his outfit screams 'space pirate'. We all know that a worn leather jacket + weathered brown fedora + ripped khaki adventurer's shirt = caution-to-the-wind, globe-trekking archaeologist. Combine face piercings, a hooded leather jacket and a $10,000 shopping spree at Hot Topic and what do you end up with? The troubled cyberpunk genius Lisbeth Salander, from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. These are just a few iconic characters that to some extent are defined by what they wear, by how they are presented to us.


So when a game company dresses their leading female character in a slutty bikini covered in knives, what do you think of them? Are you struck by their intelligence? Do you think they could be a doctor, or a philanthropist? Maybe a Congresswoman? I bet Margaret Thatcher wore her medieval G-string to work.

As a fan of good storytelling, I have trouble viewing scantily-clad warrioresses as real characters. They’re too impractical to be real people. Too shallow and robotic. Their existence makes me turn off the PS3; turns me away from their products. And I’m not the only one.

To be fair, there are plenty of videogame heroines with the two-hit combo of clothes and personality to choose from. Alyx Vance, from Half Life 2. Chell, from Portal. Zelda, from the Legend of Herself. Samus Aran, from Metroid. Jill Valentine, from Resident Evil. Faith, from Mirror’s Edge. Jade, from Beyond Good and Evil. Female Shepard, from Mass Effect. There are plenty of respectable women-folk to be found in the great game character sisterhood. But at the end of the day it's the gun-toting, skin-baring, Victoria's Secret model look-a-likes that seem to get the most attention.


By continuing to loudly voice how much we the gaming community enjoy seeing these clothed, believable female characters in our games, perhaps we will convince game developers guilty of oversexualising their female characters into changing their tune. If we stand together as consumers and call for more independent, badass lady-folk in our games, we might get them.

But as long as the videogame industry allows companies to create games about X-rated beach volleyball, it will remain barred from the lounge of artistic respectability, and therefore continue to press its hands longingly against the window as it watches art, film and literature converse tastefully amongst one another whilst wearing smoking jackets, puffing on expensive Cuban cigars and mahogany smoking pipes.

It's up to us to keep demanding respectable female characters in our games, brothers and sisters. We’ll slow the creation of over-sexualised video game heroines yet. And I don’t care if that lingerie is made of diamond-coated mithril tungsten - it’s not going to stop that swarm of arrows flying full-speed at your crotch.

Labels: Beyond Good and Evil, Dead or Alive, Feature, female gamers, Film tie-in, Greg Mengel, Lara Croft, League of Legends, Mass Effect, Metroid, Mirror's Edge, Opinion, Portal, Zelda

Music is a generally-overlooked component of videogames, at least from the player's perspective, some background to the main product that (often) many don't notice. However, creative decisions about videogame music can be essential to creating memorable videogames, argues Andrew Testerman.

This past Tuesday, Nintendo released a new 3DS port of one of its most beloved games: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The game has drawn a slew of positive reviews, but one review I came across brought up an interesting point I hadn’t considered. The reviewer was disappointed that Nintendo hadn’t done anything with the music, and that Ocarina of Time '3D' contains the exact same MIDI compositions as its N64 predecessor.

This isn’t the first time criticism has been levied at Nintendo for clinging to its aged music system. Nearly five years ago, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was called out for doing exactly the same thing. Nintendo has been quick to rebuff these criticisms, though, saying that they can change the music to suit the gameplay more easily with MIDI than pre-recorded symphonic tunes.

I’ll go one step further than that, though. I think it sounds better.

I’m not trying to levy that MIDI recordings sound better than real, live instruments. Far from it; games with stirring, epic scores, like Mass Effect, Modern Warfare 2 or Assassin’s Creed, would suffer greatly from losing their orchestrated soundtracks, and the switch from synthesised instruments to actual musicians has contributed to gaming’s stature as an accepted part of mainstream media.

Despite this, I just don’t think every game needs a symphony. Many games benefit from a large scale, orchestral approach, but the best soundtracks are the ones that best suit the game, and to preclude using MIDI compositions simply because they’re old would be a mistake. I’m not saying that the Zelda franchise shouldn’t have orchestral music, but I also don’t think MIDI compositions are 'wrong' for the series either, especially for a release predicated on building nostalgia for an older title.

Moreover, I think the creative challenges associated with working only with MIDI have resulted in some of the most memorable soundtracks in gaming. Game composers had less sound channels to work with on older consoles, and simple, memorable melodies were imperative to get the soundtrack to stand out. Listen to some of the songs from Mega Man II, or even Super Mario Bros. - would those melodies still be around today if their respected composers hadn’t been so focussed on creating such basic, catchy songs? For another take, look at Final Fantasy XIII. FFXIII had access to every amenity that modern consoles provide for sound, but arguably the only memorable track is the battle theme. They say that limitations spark creativity, and who knows if today’s most popular gaming melodies would even be around if it weren’t for talented composers working within the confines of the technology of the time.

It really boils down to what the developers hope to accomplish. Titles like Modern Warfare hope to replicate huge, movie-like experiences, and they’re the ones that need Hans Zimmer. A smaller, quirky title - like Raskulls, which uses graphical simplicity and quirky writing to fuel much of its charm - might feel overly busy with a soundtrack full of rich, deep orchestral tunes. In fact, the same issue was raised when Super Mario Galaxy 2 was released last May. Some reviewers complained that the new fully-symphonic soundtrack sounded much too grand and sweeping; despite the conceptually-better soundtrack, it didn’t sound like a Mario game.

Ultimately, though, it doesn’t matter whether the soundtrack is MIDI, fully orchestral, or even licensed music. It’s about the quality of the songs themselves. I merely hope that developers don’t shirk the idea of working with one over the other, simply because it isn't the 'in' thing to do. Play to the strengths of the game at hand, and the result will be memorable every time.

Labels: 2011, 3DS, Andrew Testerman, Culture, Feature, Game music, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Zelda

It's happening. Angels are singing, politicians are hugging, unicorn Pegasus are flying through the sky. Rivers are running with cream soda. The beer is flowing like wine. The Korean DMZ has be redubbed the "Designated Mega-fun-time Zone." Medical researchers have discovered that the cure for cancer is Rease's Peanut Butter Cups. People can now talk to animals. Lightsabers have been invented by a mad scientist in Canada that don't kill, but tickle. All governments worldwide have decided to give each eight year-old child their very own dolphin. Life is good.

Life is great.

And why? Because Nintendo has conscripted Haephestus to forge an HD, possibly heavily multiplayer-capable, Super Nintendo Wii.

There is only one appropriate response:



After the spectacular success that came with releasing a blockbuster, household name like The Legend of Zelda alongside the Super Nintendo Wii's father console, I strongly believe that this young new piece of hardware will sport its own mega-hit title come release day. If it worked once, Nintendo is likely try it again, only this time in a way that shows off the Super Nintendo Wii's simultaneously hardcore-courting and family friendly hardware.

Please note: I only believe that one, or perhaps two of these titles actually have any chance of being released. Appealing though it may seem right now, I doubt we'll have an avalanche of all five blockbuster titles rushing at us come that great and terrible day, when the clouds part and Thor reaches down from Asgard to give humanity the Super Nintendo Wii.

5: Mii Tournament

Imagine if Mario Party and Wii Sports met each other at a romantic cabana and hit it off over jokes and strawberry daiquiris somewhere in the Caribbean, only to copulate and bear an adorable Mii-populated game-board mini-game tournament release title for the Super Nintendo Wii. Mario Party could cheat on the Mario universe, leaving behind its characters to instead adopt Miis, which would run through Mario Party-styled fun endlessly in family rooms and old folks homes while Nintendo used their swimming pools of money to secretly carve Shigeru Miyamoto's face into a volcanic island somewhere in the mid-Pacific.

When the Wii was released, it brought families together. Even though it may be courting a more "hardcore" audience, Nintendo isn't stupid enough to relinquish its stranglehold on adorable family room fun-time to Sony or Microsoft. Keeping a game that uses Mii is a great way to get soccer moms and assisted living centers to buy the Super Nintendo Wii in droves.

4: Super Mario... Universe?

While it didn't work for the GameCube, it definitely worked for the Nintendo 64. Releasing a new Super Mario title that expands on the vertigo-inducing effects of the Galaxy series is a solid move, in that it...

a) Ties the Wii to a memorable product within the Nintendo brand

b) Shows off jaw-dropping HD capabilities reminiscent of pictures sent back to Earth by the Hubble telescope, using the game's backdrop of space

c) Can tie (a) and (b) together by demonstrating to the world that amazing graphics and the cartoony Nintendo brand are not, in fact, oil and water

I'd personally love to take another trip to Luigi's mansion, but something tells me that Nintendo doesn't want to touch that sales tragedy with a thirty-nine and a half foot pole.

3: Popular Third Party Title

And I mean actually popular. Perhaps a Call of Duty, or an Assassin's Creed, or something of similarly cyclopean-scale. Releasing a great third-party game alongside its counterpart console release would dispel fears that the Super Nintendo Wii might have the same third-party development issues as its forerunner.

Even if Nintendo opts to develop one of its own titles to unveil alongside its new console, I wouldn't be at all surprised if a blockbuster third-party title was added to shopping carts come release day.

2: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Is anyone else having the strangest feeling of deja vu? We all thought Twilight Princess was going to be a GameCube exclusive.

...until it wasn't.

Twilight Princess gave gamers a chance to try out the formula they had been fantasising over since the Wii was first announced: Wiimote = Lightsaber/Sword. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we heard, come E3, that Skyward Sword had been pushed back to the Super Nintendo Wii release.

1: Super Smash Bros. [Synonym for Escalating Altercation]

Let's just call it 'the new Smash'. If the Super Nintendo Wii is truly and honestly a powerful multiplayer device, then Nintendo may want to prove it to gamers with its strongest 'hardcore' multiplayer title right off the bat.

A release title Smash Bros. would generate all the hype a new console could ever need, and leave plenty to spare once its success showed gamers that a hardcore, online Nintendo game was in fact possible. The question is: will Masahiro Sakurai have the time to complete a new Smash between now and the Super Nintendo Wii's release, given the fact that he's been directing Kid Icarus: Uprising? Does he even want to come back to direct another Smash? These are all important questions, but given the upside of a Super Nintendo Wii/New Smash Bros. dream team, Nintendo could always find a way.

Hell, they could re-release Tetris for all it would do: I'm buying a Super Nintendo Wii.

Labels: 2011, Greg Mengel, Mario, Mii, Nintendo, Project Cafe, Super Nintendo Wii, Super Smash Bros, Wii, Zelda

Game Information


Basic information
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: December 2009

Platforms
Nintendo DS

Genres
Action-adventure

Certification
CERO: A
ESRB: E10+
OFLC: PG
PEGI: 7

While there are some game series that seem to fade into the bleak world of monotony after countless sequels are released, the Zelda chronicles have always presented a polished product which leaves us quite satisfied. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS lives up to its pedigree, and will keep you engaged and enticed from start to finish.

The story opens simply enough in a small coastal village, where we find Link (or any name of your choosing) preparing for his final engineering test and ensuing graduation ceremony at Hyrule castle. At the ceremony, Princess Zelda bestows Link with the title of Royal Engineer, but also slips him a note requesting a secret meeting in her chambers. She proceeds to explain that her Chancellor, named Cole, has been acting suspicious, and wants Link to escort her to the Tower of Spirits to investigate the gradual disappearance of the Spirit Tracks. Zelda gives Link his standard green garb, which sadly in the this game is reduced to a mere recruit’s uniform, in order to pose as a guard and escape the castle that Zelda has been confined to for her protection. After a successful escape, Link, Zelda, and Link’s tutor Alfonzo, make their way to the Tower of Spirits via train, only to run off-course halfway due to a sudden disappearance of the tracks. The party is confronted by Cole, who reveals his true form and intent, and his second-in-command, Byrne. The diabolic duo defeats the party and, for all intents and purposes, kills Zelda and takes her body to be used as a vessel for the resurrection of the Demon Lord, Malladus. Zelda’s spirit remains and accompanies Link throughout his journey as he tries to restore the Spirit Tracks and find the powers needed to defeat Malladus so Zelda may reclaim her body.

While many may sneer at the notion of a train corrupting the classic fantasy world of Hyrule, the concept and gameplay actually work quite well with the story. The tracks themselves are actually chains, which have bound the Demon Lord to the Tower of Spirits, but as his powers have strengthened, the chains have disappeared. Movement on the track feels surprisingly more free than the open waterworld from Phantom Hourglass, and as more of the track is revealed, more options and obstacles present themselves. Since this game does not take place in an endless sea of blue, the world is much more vibrant and appealing to the eye. There are essentially four quadrants which make up the land of Hyrule: the Forest Realm, Snow Realm, Ocean Realm, and Fire Realm, each with at least one temple (dungeon) to explore, and all filled with interesting locales to visit. Since the train is bound to the speed of its engine, the time to travel between destinations can become tedious. However, portals become available on the tracks as you progress through the story, allowing you to quickly travel to distant locations with a blow of the train’s whistle. Of course, the train rides are never stagnant, as enemies and obstacles frequently appear, many of which can be handled with a well placed cannon shot. Though your cannon will only slow the possessed demon trains; and if your route is not planned properly, or you are not quick at timing your turns to avoid a collision, your game ends in flames and cries from Zelda.

The train also becomes a transport vehicle for both passengers and cargo, as some of the sidequests have you hauling such things as fish, cuccos, lumber, and ice to an alternative destination in a timely fashion; and residents who are eager to visit other parts of the world. Each successful transport will result in a new section of track being revealed, with new mysteries to be uncovered. Even with an empty train, you could lose plenty of hours tracking down all the rabbits hidden behind boulders, which you must catch in a netting minigame and bring them to the refuge called Rabbitland Rescue in order to claim rupees and other prizes. Along with other minigames such as stamp collecting, a target course, and a fighting challenge which pits you against progressively more difficult rounds of monsters and bosses, there are many ways to collect upgrades and artifacts. Yet, as clever and fun as these sidequests and minigames are, they are inconsequential to the main plot, and their rewards are merely for the “completist” gamer.

The game’s biggest flaw is the ease of difficulty. This fault translates to both the enemies and the dungeons, and while some may find it a refreshing change from the taxing and frustrating Ocean Temple in Phantom Hourglass, I believe it takes away an element that has always separated the Zelda franchise from other adventure games. The bulk of enemies are slow and easy to avoid, and while some carry their own defenses, most can be easily dazed with your boomerang, and quickly dispatched. Other obtainable weapons include the standard bombs and bow, a sand wand, a snake-like whip replacing the hookshot, and the whirlwind, which requires you to blow into the microphone to create the vortex. Another clever use of the microphone occurs when you obtain the pan flute. With it you must again blow into the microphone, but this time you create music depending on where you move the flute with the touch screen. It is an interesting addition with a realistic feel, as you must play in harmony with the spirit guardians in order to open paths to the temples. You will also learn tunes used to locate hidden objects, heal yourself, or call birds to help you reach inaccessible locations; yet most of these are only used sporadically and more could have been done to give the flute a better role. Despite needing many of these weapons and items to solve the temple riddles, in battles they are - for the most part - superfluous, as many will fall back to the boomerang’s “daze and destroy” tactic. The bosses, although well presented and intimidating, are easily predictable and defeated quite readily with the weapon obtained in that particular temple. So although you may feel compelled to dish out your rupees beforehand for a healing potion, it will probably go flat and get mouldy before you need to drink it. The temple puzzles themselves get progressively harder, yet with the exception of the final few floors of the Tower of Spirits, they remain easily solvable. Despite the lack of difficulty, the puzzles are still interesting, and while some seem to be recycled from previous Zelda games, there are definitely fresh ones to be had. One of the more interesting concepts is having Zelda use her spirit to control the Phantom Guardians in the Tower of Spirits. This allows a very unique cooperative experience between you and Zelda, as her Phantom embodiment can access areas Link cannot, forcing you to handle two characters alternatively to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Apart from the standard Phantom, there are also some that brandish a fiery blade, some that teleport, and some that transform into a havoc-wreaking boulder, all which can be possessed to reach the next floor.

The cast of characters in Spirit Tracks is broad and colourful, with the reappearance of familiar faces (supposed grandchildren of those in Phantom Hourglass, since this story takes place a century later) and races, but also some fresh ones as well. Zelda plays very well as Link’s partner, and it is nice to see her donning the princess garb, rather than her oddly drawn, androgynous alter ego, Tetra. Even Byrne, a suspected enemy, evolves throughout the story and eventually must grapple with an internal conflict. You can spot a relative of Jolene (the female pirate from Phantom Hourglass) running the Take ‘Em All On challenge in Hyrule Castle, and of course the Anouki and Goron tribes fit nicely in their respective realms. Thankfully, the very annoying character Linebeck from Phantom Hourglass has been reduced to an artifacts trader. Linebeck III now runs the shop and will pay rupees for any items Link comes across, and also sells upgraded sections of your train in all different styles. This however needed further development, since apart from a one or two heart boost to your train, the changes are merely superficial. And since a lot of effort is required to obtain some of the rarer artifacts, it would be more satisfying to have the train upgraded in different ways, possibly with cranes to pull up treasure from the ground or ocean, or luxury or bar cars that provide a steady income of rupees when carrying guests.

The graphics are the same cel-shaded style seen in Phantom Hourglass and its forebearer Wind Waker, and while not as popular as the more realistic designs seen in Twilight Princess, they work very well with the DS platform. The gameplay is smooth, and the only lag comes when multiple enemies appear in the same screen, which happens infrequently. The colours are gorgeous, and each quadrant of the world begs to be discovered and admired. The music and sound are also solid, as expected. Many of the classic Zelda tunes are present, slightly modified to fit the colonial/western theme that seems to accompany the use of a train. Of course all the dialogue is silent and subtitled, but this is one of the few series that doesn’t require voice acting for the story and characters to be engaging.

The multiplayer aspect comes in the form of a battle mode, which will look familiar to those who have played the Four Swords game. You and up to three other players duke it out on a dungeon-like level trying to obtain as many force gems as possible. There are six different levels to chose from, all with different obstacles, and although you are left without a weapon, there are many ways to dispatch your friends and capture their gems before the timer expires. It is an interesting, fast paced experience, but more of a diversion than a full-fledged multiplayer inclusion.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks brings some fresh ideas to the series, adding an exciting mode of transportation and new ways to solve the clever, yet tame, puzzles. While the graphics have not changed much from those of Phantom Hourglass, they are definitely smoother and more vibrant. The story is gripping, and all the sidequests and minigames provide a nice diversion from the task of saving Zelda and Hyrule. Whether you’re a fan of the series, or just looking for a good action-adventure game, this one will definitely provide many hours of enticing gameplay.

9/10

Sean

Labels: DS, Nintendo, Review, Sean, Sean Engemann, Zelda