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Slate's 'Game Club' kicks off third year
Out of the handful of mainstream media outlets that handle video games in a capacity beyond when controversy strikes or the occasional blockbuster's release, Slate.com's "Game Club" annually gets together for a critical discussion on the year in games. This year's crew includes Chris Suellentrop, Leigh Alexander, Mitch Krpata and Jamin Brophy-Warren, and covers everything from the beauty and simplicity of Canabalt to the "shocking and meaningless" Modern Warfare 2 airport scene (their words). Rather than present a top 10 list list like some mainstream publications choose (we're looking at you, Time Magazine!), the group discusses various themes that pervaded their favorite (and less than favorite) games of 2009. You might call it "game criticism," but we just call it "an interesting read."
Kill Screen gaming mag aiming for highbrow readers
Between John Davison recently promising a revitalization of GamePro, Steve Harris' purchase and subsequent relaunch of EGM (as EGM Now), and now the announcement of "Kill Screen" from Jamin Brophy-Warren and Chris Dahlen, it's been quite the year for gaming magazines. But Kill Screen seems to be taking a decidedly different approach to publishing, aiming its first print run at "2 or 3,000 copies," Brophy-Warren told us this afternoon. With an editorial directive to thematically tackle game writing -- and no obligation to the traditional reviews/previews/news format due to a donation/subscriber-funded, non-profit approach -- Kill Screen intends to avoid the mechanical nitty gritty that plagues game writing. "A great example of that is with Brütal Legend," Brophy-Warren said. "Tim Schafer had to come out and defend the RTS elements ... When we talk about games critically, it's not going to be in that sense." The first issue, the "test run" or "zero issue" as it's being called, will be finished in "the next week or two" and shipping by January. Brophy-Warren added that he's hoping the second issue will be ready for GDC, but he's not so certain. And as for the short initial print run, he says "Everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?" and encourages people to subscribe to insure they'll get a copy. We wish them the best of luck!
Konami announces 'Six Days in Fallujah,' based on real battle in Iraq
Sourcing dozens of US Marines from Camp Pendleton's 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, the Atomic Games-developed Six Days in Fallujah was announced this morning for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Set for release "next year," the third-person shooter takes place during the real-life 2004 US Marine-lead battle for the central Baghdad city and attempts to recreate the battle on a day-to-day basis. "We replicate a specific and accurate timeline -- we mean six days literally," Atomic Games president Peter Tamte told the Wall Street Journal. "We track several units through the process and you get to know what it was like from day-to-day." Unfortunately, for all the realism touted by the game's developer, Konami's VP of marketing, Anthony Crouts, gives the impression that the publisher's still playing it safe, saying, "We're not trying to make social commentary. We're not pro-war. We're not trying to make people feel uncomfortable. We just want to bring a compelling entertainment experience. At the end of the day, it's just a game." With little go to on other than the handful of screens you can see below in the gallery, we'll just have to wait and see more on Six Days in Fallujah before we cast any judgments. One thing's for sure: With the battle this game is based around having occurred so recently, its developers have a built-in audience to appease (who grew up with video games, mind you) and we wish them luck.%Gallery-49389%
WSJ explores claims of racism in Resident Evil 5
The Wall Street Journal's Jamin Brophy-Warren has a piece today exploring the racial connotations some are seeing in Capcom's latest effort, Resident Evil 5. The game's producer Jun Takeuchi recently said, "There is no racial element to it at all," and Capcom's Chris Kramer expands on that point, stating to the WSJ that the game adopts an "anti-colonialist" stance. Mr. Kramer is referring to white protagonist Chris Redfield, shooting his way through RE5's African non-zombies, and the imagery it represents with regards to traditional Western colonialism on the continent.The theme of the piece is one of exploring whether or not the game is racist, rather than starting with a condemnation and then going forward like we've seen so many times in mainstream video game coverage. He speaks to a variety of major game developers (from Fallout 3's Todd Howard to Dead Space's Glen Schofield) and even broaches the topic of racism in American society being perpetuated by a largely caucasian game industry. Surprisingly, no sweeping claims are made and no aspersions cast. Bravo, we say!
