Editorial | Isolation in video games, how it crafts atmosphere.

By Sam Coles:

Isolation in everyday life is perceived as a bad thing, which too much of it is as the human mind requires interaction with their fellow man. However in video games isolation is used as an effective tool for exploration, and of course my favourite aspect video games atmosphere. I just want to talk about for a few paragraphs about how isolation in the context of atmosphere is effective in games; I’ll go through a few examples which are horror and non-horror games.

Horror is an obvious start when it comes to building a thick atmosphere with games when being alone, as isolation and dealing with horror whether it be literal or figurative monsters. Dead Space the first to be specific is a perfect example of this; Isaac Clarke is mute throughout with the exception of when he is being torn in half by a Necromorph. He is alone throughout when slowly traversing the dark corridors of the space station, you hear the scratching in the vents as the terrors are plotting what they are going to do to you.

It’s this tension that elevates this game with the use of isolation, until the sequels. Now don’t get me wrong I like Dead Space 2, but all tension is lost when Isaac started to talk and I get he had to have some dialogue to push the story forward but it lost the atmosphere from the first and the less said about Dead Space 3 the better.  When they added in co-op and voice acting for the protagonist, you can’t really get a sense of isolation when your main character is constantly giving running commentary, or if you have enough fire power with a friend to arm a small militia.

Now I know I’m about to somewhat contradict myself, but the Resident Evil games specifically the remake on the GameCube utilise isolation for horror. Yes your character talks and you are backed up by support characters, but nine times out of ten you are on your own with the expertly crafted soundtrack and intense sound design. It’s those moments that lack music and all you can hear are your foot steps and the fast and terrifying shambling as a Crimson Head smells the blood flowing through your veins.

Horror is not the only way you can use isolation to craft atmosphere, it is also a great way to craft a sense of exploration. Metroid Prime is a perfect example of this, although you could probably throw any Metroid game in here (not Other M) as they all do it beautifully but Prime in my opinion is the pinnacle of it.

Metroid Prime manages to convey its story and exploration without any dialogue, as you explore the world you get this sense that these ancient alien worlds were once thriving societies but now rot in decay infested with space pirates and parasites. This is not shown through cutscenes where it sits you down for 10 minutes to explain with laborious exposition, no it is done through environmental storytelling coupled with flavour text when you scan lifeforms and objects.

Samus starts off weak and at first the isolation is daunting and almost terrifying, but as she slowly understands the ins and outs of this hostile world she becomes stronger both mentally and physically. Her isolation becomes her ultimate strength to overcome the trials and tribulations of the situation, as she becomes accustomed to the parasitic lifeforms. 

The Metroid Prime games (well the first two), have conveyed the situation through the eyes of Samus Aran, and don’t need extra characters to fill out the lore as Samus’ isolation already does that coupled with the haunting musical score that to this day sticks with me ever since I played the first game as a child. It is a testament of how you can use isolation as means to build atmosphere, to help compliment the exploration and storytelling without saying a word.

Isolation goes hand in hand with video games when you want to convey atmosphere, as well as exploring storytelling with certain themes. It is not just a tool for horror tropes, as it can also be used for exploration as you know most of us find interesting things when explore on our own.

Editorial | In times of darkness: My "Safe Place" games.

By Sam Coles:

There are certain games that we all turn to whether we are feeling down or ill, what I like to call my “Safe Place” games these tend to be games that I just get lost in when things become a bit overwhelming in life or I’m in a bad mood. Now I’m not saying that you should shut yourself out from others, when life gets the better of you whether it be through anxiety or depression talk to someone as that is the best medicine overall, but sometimes a bit of escapism can really help the mind focus. I just want to go over some games that are special to me that were a part of some of my low points in my younger life, let’s get into it.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:

Now there is a very good reason that I consistently talk about this game as it was part of my growing up in my early teens, plus it was during a time where I was not in the best of places during secondary education. During this period I was bullied due to my background of having a “posh” accent due to me coming from a middle class family, not only that my nerdy tendencies and long hair were often subject of ridicule. Let’s just say I wasn’t the happiest person during this period, and it was a dark moment in my life where I hated going to school but I kept my head down got on with it thinking about the world I can explore when I got home.

I first experienced this game on PC when my Dad bought it for me, after installed it and first experienced that moment when you exited the imperial sewers my 13 year old mind was blown by the beauty of the world that was unfolding in front of me. Coupled with the tones of Jeremy Soule with his superb soundtrack, I was immediately immersed where to this day I get a childlike wonder when I boot this game up.

When I was exploring the land of Cyrodiil my worries just washed away off my back, the dark cloud over my head would part to make way for a ray of sunshine as I converse with the town folk on my adventures. It’s a game that I constantly boot up to this day when I find things getting the better of me, and I have the soundtrack saved in a playlist on my Youtube account and listen to it often.

Red Dead Redemption:

Now I won’t go too much into detail about this game as I did recently, but this game was a big part of my late teens and early 20s. My A-level years were certainly a better time in my life as I reunited with friends from primary school, but that didn’t mean I did not have high levels of anxiety during my studies because I did due to the pressure.

It came out just before the summer of 2010 and I had just finished my first year of A-levels, my anxiety kicked into overdrive as I awaited my results of my AS exams. When they finally came, my grades were not exactly great but I just remember those hot summer nights as galloped across the desert in the spurs of John Marston. The beautiful ambient soundtrack helped me relax, as I lived the life of a gunslinger exploring the deserts of New Austin and the hostile wastes of Mexico during the civil war. It is a game that stuck by during the summer and all anxiety was forgotten, as I heard the pleasant sound of nature and the horse shoes pounding the dirt.

The Witcher 2:

Now I might be cheating a little bit with this one as my mind was fine somewhat during 2012, as I was studying film and creative production within media so I was mostly happy. However The Witcher reminded me of myself from the past, as Geralt of Riva is treated like an outsider due his mutations and how he looks. His piercing cat eyes and long white hair are constantly under scrutiny, he looks different and people constantly judge him and it evoked feelings from my past when I was an outcast at secondary school and that is why I fell in love with The Witcher.

The story of The Witcher 2 instantly hooked me, unlike most fantasy stories this game doesn’t treat you like a child it presents real world problems such as political discourse and prejudice within society. Now one would say that this game is heavy handed to be a “Safe Place” game, but the world crafted around it is beautiful coupled with the superbly written characters which are voiced well (mostly). It’s just a game that I got lost in with its rich lore and storytelling, and each area was unique and different to explore.

Those were a few examples of my “Safe Place” games with some history behind them about me as a person. Remember though do not replace games with actual help, if you are ever feel that depression or anxiety are really taking hold on you talk to someone as loved ones whether it be family, friends or your partner are there for you no matter what. However games can help as they can unravel beautiful worlds and stories, which can help you forget about those worries temporarily. Just remember there are always those out there for you.

Editorial | Why you should play Yakuza.

By Sam Coles:

Let’s move on from my recent emotion filled articles and let me turn tone dial in the opposite direction, yes I’m of course talking about Yakuza and why you should play it. The now long running series that will turn 15 years old this year (2020), has always struggled to find its footing outside of Japan. However it wasn’t until 2017 with the release of Yakuza 0 is where things started to gain momentum, why is that? Was it marketed better compared to past instalments or was it just the fact it was just a good game. Anyway I’m going to convince you why you should play this series, which is rather fitting with Yakuza 7 releasing at some point this year as well as the Xbox releases of 0 and Kiwami 1 and 2 as well.

Yakuza takes place in Tokyo in the fictional district of Kamurocho, where you step in the shoes of hardened ex-gangster Kazuma Kiryu who is trying to live a life of a civilian but is always pulled back into the criminal underworld. He generally solves the issue the only way he knows how, by polishing his shoes on someone’s nose. Not to say that he doesn’t try solve things diplomatically, because nine times out of ten he tries to warn his foes but it turns into a frenzy of blood, teeth and a nearby bicycle wheel as Kiryu decks someone with a 700c rim. He is generally a calm and collective character, however if one is going to antagonise him he will show you what for and break your jaw with a nearby traffic cone.

On the other side of the coin you have Goro Majima who is a complete lunatic, he is the Ying to Kiyru’s Yang and he pretty much just beats people up who merely twitch at him in a funny way. He gets off on being hurt or getting into scraps, but honestly it is always entertaining when he is on screen as you hear in the distance as he shouts “Kiyru chan”.

The story is not the only highlight with this series the city of Kamourocho is a character within itself, with lively crowds, music from vendors and random people wanting to deck you. There is almost an unnecessary amount of detail within the city with skill tester machines, Sega arcade games and questionable activities that involve online chat rooms and telephone conversations, but I won’t divulge any more than that, just do it for the trophy.

Now we get into the meat and potatoes of game, and that is the incredibly brutal and satisfying melee combat. The combat is what sells the series to me outside of the narrative; it’s completely over the top with bone shattering blows as Kiyru makes someone’s jawline explode into a red mist. You can also use weapons around you which can be something as mundane as a chair or bat, or you can pick a neon lit sign and slam it into someone’s head. It’s this flexibility with the combat which makes it fun and fresh, not only that you have the Heat finishers. The Heat gauge goes up when you land hits, block or dodge incoming attacks, when you fill it to a certain point you can pull off brutal moves which can include the standard stamping on someone’s face to the more ridiculous of kicking a metal pole into someone’s eyes. You learn more of these moves as you progress, and it is actually insane how animations there are for these moves and shows the lengths the developers are willing to go.

The Yakuza series is one of the best story driven experiences in gaming, not only that it packs in a densely detail world to explore coupled with teeth smashing combat. If you haven’t I recommend giving the series ago, it’s easy these days as all the games are easily available with remakes and re-releases on PS4. Give them a go, you won’t regret it!

Editorial | Red Dead Redemption: A decade long legacy.

By Sam Coles:

Sometimes I have to look at my calendar and go “Where the hell has the decade gone”? Anyway the past decade we have had some truly beautiful gaming experiences, as well as a console generation transition which is coming to close this year. A lot of games are turning 10 years old this year and one of my favourite games of last generation falls into this camp, and I think you know what it is Red Dead Redemption. I know what you are going to say “Sam it turns 10 years old in May”, which you would be correct but to be crude about it I couldn’t keep it in my pants. Anyway let’s look at the decade legacy that is Red Dead Redemption.

Red Dead Redemption’s concept was first announced all the way back in 2005 at Sony’s E3, where it was titled “Wild West Project” which was nothing more than a tech demo to show the power of the PS3. However we wouldn’t get a proper reveal until early 2009! When the game was first announced I must have been 15 at the time in early 2009, at first me being a cynical teenager I thought of it as nothing more as Grand Theft Auto in the Wild West which it does share elements from that series but it separates itself from that series. However when it got more marketing in 2010 it began to interest me, so I did more research into the game and it was the first game I have ever pre-ordered and when release day came I couldn’t put it down.

What captivated me first was the narrative, stepping into the shoes of former outlaw John Marston he is being blackmailed by the federal government to track and hunt down his former allies. To make him do this they have kidnapped his wife and son, which makes John reluctantly accept the mission. What transpires is a tale of revenge, betrayal and tragedy which I will openly admit was the first video game narrative that I shed a tear at its ending.

What I like about the narrative are the contractions of what is right and wrong, because the government claim that they want to bring order to the dying days of the outlaw but on other hand their methods are no better than the criminals they are hunting. It’s great and John himself notices this and constantly provides commentary about it, as he knew what he did was wrong but he saw his gang as a Robin Hood type of outlaws as they stole from the rich and only killed those who deserved it, well initially if you have played Red Dead Redemption 2.

John Marston as a character also grabbed me because he puts on this tough exterior, where he threatens people with his fists or a gun to their forehead. However underneath all of the gruffness he is a sensitive soul, he is someone who is trying to rebuild and redeem (get it) his life. He knows what he has done in the past was wrong, but on the other hand he sometimes thinks it is the only way of life that he knows. Don’t get me wrong he solves most conflicts diplomatically, but there are moments where his rage and impulsive nature take over and he shoots people with even blinking. However as the story progresses he starts to calm down, especially when he is reunited with his family even if it is brief.

Now the open world and gameplay was something that we really didn’t see on consoles at the time, yes at its core the gameplay is what one would expect form third person action games. However coupled with the unique setting it comes together with this mix of shooter, role playing game and a faffing about simulator alright that last one is a bit of stretch but the possibilities were almost endless. The dynamic nature of the world with its wildlife systems was brand new to consoles at the time; the only game I can think of that even comes close is Far Cry 2. Animals would react to the player in an organic manner, where they would look up if they heard even a slight sound from you and run away (obviously) when you start shooting.

The world itself was something I had not seen before back in 2010, I mean yes I had put dozens of hours into Oblivion beforehand but Red Dead’s world felt more organic and believable. It’s a world I can just slowly explore for hours on end, as it slowly unfolds its secrets to me coupled with the ambient soundtrack which can be relaxing and eerie at the same time. To this day 10 years down the line the visuals look great, Rockstar by this point started to get into the grove of producing high quality visuals with their games and Red Dead Redemption to me is where it started. Character models still look decent, and the overall attention to detail in each environment still look fantastic.

Red Dead Redemption is a game that people will be discussing for the next 10, 20 or hell 30 years; it’s the combination of story and open world exploration that has stood the test of time. This truly deserves to be in the archives as one of the best games in video game history!

Editorial | Hellblade: Representing Psychosis in video games.

By Sam Coles:

To my surprise at the Game Awards 2019 Microsoft alongside their new Xbox announced a new Hellblade title, now honestly I was surprised because I wasn’t expecting a sequel as Ninja Theory have a habit of doing one off games and moving on. However it has me excited where they could take Senua’s saga, I want to talk for a few paragraphs about the impact the first game had with its message about mental health or psychosis specifically. Now this article is going to have less of my sarcasm and quips, as I’m going into more personal and dark subjects this is serious and not something to joke about.

At the time of writing this I have a new outlook and knowledge about psychosis and mental health, this is due to my current partner suffered with psychosis. At first I scared like a deer in the headlights I didn’t know what to do, I thought to myself do I run or take it head on? Obviously I stuck with her and she gave me a better understand of her endeavours, where now when I play Hellblade I have more of an emotional bond with the game as I understand Senua’s plight.

What ultimately stuck with me throughout the game are the constant whispers of the voices in her head, I once played this game with surround sound headphones like the game suggested and I lasted for about five minutes. It’s this attention to detail that really got to me, as her voices where either helping or poking fun at her because she didn’t know where she was going. She often can’t take the mixed emotions that she gets from the voices, however it is one sequence that stands out and that is when the voices leave her alone. It’s this sequence is where Senua panics and she doesn’t know what to do, she has been alone for most of her life ever since she fled her village and all the company she has had are the voices and words from illusions from deceased friends and relatives. 

The psychosis plays into the gameplay, now one could possibly deem it as distasteful to do that. However it plays into the puzzle solving, exploration and combat where you have the voices guide and tell you when danger is afoot. Her psychosis factors into combat the voices will tell her when enemies are behind her or if she falls they will taunt her and tell her “Get up” or “You can’t give up now”.

Past love ones such as her former partner whose soul she is trying to save talks to her throughout, there are frequent past exchanges from him that leave her sitting in the darkness alone with no one to turn to. It’s these moments that make players sympathise with Senua, as you slowly unfold what has happen in her life. Her family refused to believe what is happening with her mind as they put it “The Darkness”, they don’t let her get help and everything spirals completely out of control where she has to flee. It’s these past exchanges from her family, which showed they refused to take her illness seriously which is unfortunately still common place in today’s society.  

It’s not only the gameplay the performance from Melina Juergens is very convincing, she captures the illness with the intense close ups on Senua’s face. Her eyes constantly dart side to side and up and down, as she is trying to comprehend what is real and what is something that is purely a figment of her mind. The moments where she gives up as she traverses the hellish landscapes, she doesn’t sob with tears but says nothing and stares out into the distance where maybe she can find salvation.

Hellblade is an experience that has changed for me, ever since I have found a loved one who used to go through the endeavour that is psychosis it has really opened my eyes about it and mental health in general. It’s a game that one should experience to understand what people who suffer with it go through, it is a dark and disturbing game, but it is another example of video games as art.

The Witcher Netlflix Series: A fan's perspective.

By Sam Coles:

When crafting an adaptation it’s almost the same as standing the on the side of a building, where you have one side telling you to jump because you didn’t get every detail right while others are trying to save you. Nowhere is this more prevalent with book adaptations where most of the time they do get it right, but there are times where they completely miss the target and bombard the nearby village. Fortunately The Witcher on Netflix falls in the camp of a good adaptation of the books, now it’s not all plain sailing but overall it is good. I want to talk about the series as a whole and give my thoughts.

Let’s give some background about The Witcher, based on a set of novels by Andrzej Sapkowski that were first published in the early 1990s in Poland were at first a set of short stories that then birthed a saga. Years later CD Projekt Red managed to negotiate the rights of the books from the author and made games about them, simply named The Witcher. It wasn’t until 2015 with The Witcher 3 that the series exploded with popularity, where people started to pick up the books which I did but much earlier in 2012 after finishing The Witcher 2.

Like many I was sceptical about the Netflix series with the announcement, I was worried that they were going to tone down the violence and themes but then remembered Netflix are not bound by traditional television rules. When it finally debuted I was in love with it, the world from the books were perfectly translated onto screen coupled with the great characters, speaking of which.

Henry Cavill as Geralt of Riva was a great casting choice; he is very vocal about his love for The Witcher with both the books and the games. He takes elements from both the games and books, where he takes the gravely demeanour of the video games but he also brings across the sarcastic wit and often aggressive and broken man that is Geralt of the books. His performance as the monster hunter is superb; his delivery in every scene is on point coupled with his chemistry with the rest of the cast which is very convincing.

Not only that Anya Chalotra who plays Yennefer of Vengerberg is the perfect second half for Henry as Geralt, the passion between the two performers really captures the love that Geralt and Yen have in the books. They argue and then proceed to have sex afterwards, one would say a chemically imbalanced relationship, but one of filled with passion nonetheless. These two really carry the entire first season, as they really embody the characters and they are what I imagine them being from page to screen. She does a really good job of bringing the sorceress and temptress to life. 

Cinematography and music is fantastic, the series is shot masterfully with great angles and close ups during really intense moments coupled with great camera work during the fight sequences with quick cuts that don’t muddle conflicts. The music is unique while taking some ques from The Witcher 3 soundtrack from the folk band Percival, plus we have “Toss a coin to your Witcher” which the internet immediately ran into the ground. Overall presentation of the production is fantastic, with the costume design for Geralt looking amazing, where it is clearly inspired by the default armour set of The Witcher 3.

Now it’s not entirely perfect this series there were some questionable choices with design and cast, first is the casting of Triss Merigold. Now I’m all for different interpretations of a character if the description is somewhat vague, however Triss is distinctively written to be a red head and they cast someone with dark hair, what? It doesn’t shatter the immersion completely as she still has the same mannerisms from the books, but I did have to look twice when Yennefer called her Triss. Another problem I had are the designs for the Nilfgaardian armour, good lord I shan’t elude to what it looks like but most juvenile minds can put two and two together. It just doesn’t look great, but you don’t see it too often which is fine.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised with Netflix’s adaptation of The Witcher, Henry Cavill nailed the portrayal of The White Wolf Geralt of Riva and the characters overall where expertly written. The world was faithfully brought to live from page to screen, and I look forward to season 2 in 2021.

Editorial | Battlefield Bad Company 2: 10 years of destruction!

By Sam Coles:

Sometimes you have to take a step back and look at established formulas and see if they have progressed, or gone like the Dodo and slowly stagnate before their inevitable death. The Battlefield series has been up and down in my book, where we had classics like Battlefield 3, to the different and odd although I enjoyed it personally Hardline to Battlefield V which is just there. However what if I told their best games was from the fabled year of 2010? Let me introduce you to the world of Battlefield: Bad Company 2. Released in 2010 the Bad Company sub series of Battlefield games were at first developed with consoles first in mind, where the original did not see a PC release even to this day it is only available on the 360 and PS3.

Let’s start with the campaign, and to be honest it is a time capsule of that era where the Russians were the big bad guys in military shooters. It starts off promising where you are plonked in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War, where you are uncovering a super weapon that the Empire of Japan are developing. Everything goes wrong and then it fast forwards to what was the present day, where the Russians are trying to utilise the weapon to invade the United States.

The overall context isn’t that interesting, but you know what is the titular Bad Company who are the best part of the campaign. The thing about the Bad Company games they didn’t take themselves seriously, think it of it as Kelly’s Heroes in video games form as they are an outlaw group in the military. The interaction with each squad member is hilarious, as they are there on their own agenda and don’t really care about the war at hand as they laugh at death in the face. It shows that DICE can write really good and funny stories with this subseries, however after this game the campaigns weren’t bad by any means but were about as engaging as plain porridge as it’s there and functional but not particularly interesting.

Now the gameplay is where Bad Company 2 really shines, this really felt like they got the controls right although this was still a time where you had to click the right stick in to crouch. The dynamic gameplay especially in the multiplayer was fantastic, because basically everyone in the server was the vengeful finger of god as everyone could level a building to dust. Yeah it may look primitive by today’s standards, but everyone was a sledgehammer on legs as they would bombard a nearby build with a Gustav rocket launcher.

This game was by no means realistic as it had some quirks to say the least, you could nail people on the other side of the map with a slug round with the under barrel shotgun. Not only that you could upgrade the explosive damage to the already ridiculous Gustav launcher, where it would turn into a shoulder firing tactical nuke. Going back to the shotguns this was back before game balance was a concern, so you could increase your fire rate on the pump action shotguns by changing weapon and swapping back in a quick manner which would cause a reload cancel this made shotguns absolutely terrifying!

To complement the gameplay we had some excellent sound design, which DICE to this day still have great sound with weapons, explosions and yells of fellow and enemy soldiers. The loud chatter of automatic weapons is terrifying, alongside the thunderous and screen shaking shotguns to go with the subwoofer shattering grenades and explosions. It is absolutely over the top and if you have a good sound system crank up the volume.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 was a game that wasn’t meant to be taken seriously; it shows that DICE can poke fun at themselves with over the top gameplay that is also fun. It’s a shame that the servers for the game are dead these days, well what do you expect for a 10 year old game but I wish they would re-release it as it is a blast to play. Could you imagine bringing this game out now, it would be amazing and great to show the younger generation the good days of Battlefield.