“Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” releases nationally in theaters today, potentially turning the underground graphic novel series into a money-making franchise. But while the flashy fights and spirited cast may put butts in seats, it’s the heart at the center of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s work that will keep people talking. This week, Justin and Nick tackle the entire story, looking at it specifically through the gamer’s perspective. They discuss their favorite moments, the recent game tie-in and why Edgar Wright was the right man to direct the film adaptation. It’s time to level up and discover the power of love.

Relevant Links:

“Spaced” on Hulu

UGO’s SP Video Game References List

Boing Boing’s Yakuza 3 Review (from the Yakuza perspective)

Relevant Links:

Kris Graft’s “Why Was Blizzard’s ‘Real ID’ Such an Issue?”

Bob Mackey’s “Found in Translation”

Tom Bissell’s “The Grammar of Fun”

I know I’m not the only one who found himself a bit dazed amidst the constant noise of gunfire, headshots and sword slicing present at this year’s E3. Perhaps I echo Justin Hemenway and Jeremy Parish’s thoughts when I walked away from the show slightly turned off at our not-so-magic-bullet theory of how to problem-solve and entertain in our medium - bigger guns, heightened realism and blood-splattered violence just aren’t doing it for me.

Where are my games that use more than 15 shades of grey, green and brown? The games with thought-provoking ideas, that feature some genuinely interesting characters and don’t leave me feeling either cold-blooded or (sorry, Nintendo) somewhat childish? It was with a huge sensation of relief then, that I was able to see more of Ignition Entertainment’s El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron. Although it wasn’t prominently featured in any one big press event, the more I learn about this surreal, pseudo-religious adventure, the more intrigued I become - it’s playing to almost every strength of the Japanese development scene, and doing so in a very unique way.

The colors, Duke, the colors!

The first and probably most striking aspect of El Shaddai is its look. If you couldn’t tell by the above screenshot, El Shaddai is playing in its own league - a dreamlike swirl of light pastels infuses both the characters and environments, and from what we’ve seen thus far, completely eschews anything remotely “gritty” or “realistic.”

Artistic comparisons that bring to mind the “living painting” art style found throughout Clover Studios’ Okami would also be well justified - Takeyasu Sawaki, Art Director for the acclaimed, mythological fan-favorite returns to form here to provide his own interpretation of a biblical, heavenly environment. In stark comparison to Okami however, nothing resembling a bold or defining black outline seems to be present - a switch from the Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock print to more of an impressionist painting style.

And what more appropriate art-style to incorporate into a surreal, religion-fueled game than Impressionism? With its core components being visible brush strokes, an emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), the inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience and unusual visual angles, it’s as if the art-style was conceived with the action genre in mind. Take a look at this trailer and pay attention to the swirling colors, changing light and varied visual angles - if Monet were around to play video games, I’m pretty sure he’d be proud.

Jesus Bleibet Meine Freude

In terms of story, it’s safe to say we’re in for an interesting ride. Those not familiar with anime such as “Neon Genesis Evangelion” or “RahXephon” or games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta might not realize the fascination that the Japanese media has with Christianity and Biblical tales in general. Although these types of stories always seem to carry a few key elements in common - powerful angels, violent battles, fights against God - the liberties and interpretations of characters, events, and themes (particularly of the apocalyptic variety) generally provide a smorgasbord of food for thought. Understanding a bit of the inspiration here, I’d be shocked if El Shaddai proved differently.

The title itself, “El Shaddai,” is one of several Judaic names for God, and roughly translates to “God Almighty.” Interestingly, the root word “shadad” means to “destroy or overpower,” giving the title a more literal meaning of “The Destroyer,” which in itself is an epithet for God. One can see how this falls in line with Ignition’s story in El Shaddai, which finds the protagonist, Enoch, trying to collect the souls of seven fallen angels in order to prevent a flood from destroying mankind.

The story of Enoch is also very interesting in its own right - he’s widely regarded to be a direct descendant of Adam, father of Methuselah and great grandfather of Noah, although the scripture in which he is referred to, the “Book of Enoch” (of which there are actually three books, all surviving in radically different languages) is considered non-canonical in all but the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Although interpretations all vary, several different tales of Enoch exist, including his direct interaction with all four archangels (Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel), his extremely long age (over 360 years) and perhaps most importantly, his ascension into heaven and transformation into the angel Metatron - the celestial scribe and voice of God.*

This Enoch, whose flesh was turned to flame, his veins to fire, his eye-lashes to flashes of lightning, his eye-balls to flaming torches, and whom God placed on a throne next to the throne of glory, received after this heavenly transformation the name Metatron. [Gershom G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1941/1961) p. 67. Extract of 3 Enoch.]

In stark contrast to some other characters in Christianity-themed games, Enoch’s story is (and always has been) very conducive to interpretation, and I can’t wait to see how his journey unfolds through a Japanese lens.

The boys are back in town

But what good is an ambitious project without the right skills to back it up? Perhaps one of the most promising aspects of El Shaddai is the strong development team behind it. Despite the fact that El Shaddai is Ignition’s first major independently developed game, it’s amassed quite an impressive list of talent to help it stand out from the crowd. At the top of that list is the aforementioned Takeyasu Sawaki, Director and Character Designer on the title, and his former Clover co-worker Masato Kimura, Producer, who’s contributed to Devil May Cry, Okami and Viewtiful Joe. With Ignition’s Shane Bettenhausen stating that we might see a Monster Hunter composer on the game as well (perhaps Masato Kouda, composer for Devil May Cry and Wild Arms), it sounds like development experience won’t be a cause for concern.

Let us also not forget the bit of cultural pioneering that Ignition Entertainment has recently accomplished by bringing us some truly unique Japanese titles over the past year or so, including Vanillaware’s Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and Marvelous Entertainment’s now cult-classic, Deadly Premonition. At the very least, we can be assured that we’re in for a very original tale, and with the developer’s pedigree beginning to stack up quite nicely, all signs are pointing to good things.

Bruises over blood

The very last piece of El Shaddai that really stands out is the presentation of its combat. From what has been seen and told thus far, it seems that the emphasis in combat is on defense – Enoch must disarm his opponents and use their weapons against them, while only being able to wield one weapon at a time. Although only one weapon has been seen thus far - a bow-shaped blade - it looks as if we’ll be treated to some unique pieces of artillery, and not your standard sword, shotgun and pistol.

More impressive however, is the fact that despite the fights that occur between Enoch and his opponents, there’s almost a de-emphasis on the over-the-top, blood-spurting, violent extremism, as found in almost every other shooter or 3D action title over the past few years. Although religious themes aren’t exactly new to the action genre (see Bayonetta, Devil May Cry and Dante’s Inferno), it’s refreshing to have a new contender attempt to pull off something that may prove much more difficult to accomplish - restraint. While Bayonetta and Dante’s Inferno may have been relegated to “play when alone” status out of their respective sexual and violent themes, I wouldn’t hesitate to play a game like El Shaddai with family, friends or strangers looking on - not only would the visuals prove to be inoffensive (and better yet, beautiful), but the story would provide an interesting topic for conversation. Everybody wins.

Keep your eye on the angel…

Although we still have seen relatively little, El Shaddai is showing a lot of promise. It’s visually striking, has a very original inspiration and story, a solid team developing it and looks to be avoiding the easier, over-violent road that its peers have been sprinting toward. While it’s still much too early to tell whether or not this could be the next Okami, Ignition has sowed the seeds for what could be a truly unique, thought-provoking experience. And while I’ll have to await its arrival until some point next year, I’ll do so with baited breath - this is exactly the type of game I’ve been waiting for to come out of Japan, and it looks pretty heavenly.

*Alan Rickman, eat your heart out.

*Also, their shorts, of course.

Relevant Links:

Christian Nutt’s “Characters. the Building Blocks of Your Reality”

Relevant Links:

Nels Anderson’s “Do We Need Fair Trade Games?”

Manveer Heir’s “Reflections of a Five Year Vet”

John Constantine’s “Manifest Destiny”

Your Next Reading Assignment: Nintendo Magic

Relevant Links:

John Davison’s’ “Too Big and Too Hard”

Fintan Monaghan’s “Phoenix Wright’s Objection”

The first details on Best Buy’s @Gamer

Relevant Links:

Brian Sowers’ “Inside the Indie Game Development Cycle”

Kevin Gifford’s “The Way Cross Reviews Work”

Nintendo Magic – a future Reader selection

Expectations are sky-high.

To be clear, I’m a fan of the series. Not a die hard by any means, I’ve played only a few entries – namely VI, VII, part of VIII and X – but I still find myself happily anticipating new chapters in the main franchise. I’ve lived in Japan, I speak the language, I enjoy anime and I generally like Square Enix. Add to this the fact that some of my favorite games of the past few years include Uncharted 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, LittleBigPlanet and Gears of War 2, and I think you’ll understand that I’ve tried my best to diversify my palette. After recording this podcast for over two years and taking a serious look at what our industry has had to offer, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s really something great out there for everyone, regardless of genre, platform or country of origin.

I therefore find it to Square Enix’s credit that FFXIII has had such a varied response – the fact that there are so many diverse types of gamers all giving the game a shot is a testament to the staying power of the franchise. In a way, I would have been a bit disappointed to see the game be universally praised – it would show little in terms of developing tastes among RPG fans, and would suggest dishonesty from those who dislike the genre. Make no mistake, FFXIII is many parts old and many parts new, and it’s more than a bit unreasonable to think that the majority of players would appreciate both parts equally. But on the positive side, I can’t think of any thirteenth entry in a franchise outside of FFXIII that’s garnered just as much positive buzz as it has negative.

I love the fact that our medium has become home to divisive games like FFXIII – games that reinforce the notion that it’s actually OK to create experiences that aren’t for everyone yet still have the ability to succeed. Games that people love and hate but at the end of the day are still options for anyone who wants to give them a spin. Games that let us reevaluate what it is that we truly enjoy about a franchise, genre or style and provide a forum for debate regarding its merits and faults.

My struggle then comes from my own reluctance to play defense for Team FFXIII – because I fall on the positive side of the critical wall, I’m constantly finding myself under attack from a combination of insatiable nostalgia, preconceived notions and inflated hype that all surround the franchise from its past and present fans. For as much as I reiterate that there is as much to like as there is to dislike, the immediate focus for detractors seems to be to latch onto the perceived faults as a way to completely dismiss the gains made by this entry. And for a title whose every aspect is one man’s gain and another man’s bane, it’s a bit hard to swallow that there are many RPG fans still unwilling to give it a chance despite not knowing which side they’ll fall on. I truly don’t believe there’s any critical consensus here – no universally “good” or “bad” judgments to be made. The only valid criticism can come from your own personal experience with what the game has to offer – and it might be completely different from your neighbor’s.

Yet when we’re backed into corners regarding things we like, we often push back equally as hard in order to prevent ourselves from being marginalized. My hesitation with pushing back on FFXIII’s faults stems from the fact that each of them personally works in my favor. The game’s too long? I want something lengthy. The battle system is introduced too slowly? I rather not be overwhelmed too quickly. The exploration is too linear? I don’t really like side-quests. Lucky for me, but definitely not for everyone else.

The kids are alright.

Pushing back too hard often leads us to seem extreme, and there’s nothing to be “extreme” about in Final Fantasy XIII. To quote 1up’s Jeremy Parish, it’s a “game at a crossroads,” defined by mixed execution yet met with high expectations. So I’ll hesitate from making any kind of definitive remark here regarding FFXIII, save for one: if you have the chance to check it out and you’re remotely interested, give it a try. At the very least, you’ll gain an understanding of what works for you and what doesn’t and hopefully be willing to add to the conversation. All I ask is that you steady your sword before you decide whether or not the beast in front of you is the best summon or worst boss you’ve ever encountered. More often than not, it turns out to be both, and I personally think that’s pretty great.

This week, Justin and Nick delve into a recent article from Leigh Alexander that addresses GDC’s social gaming buzz. Farmville is definitely a phenomenon, but can it possibly take down console gaming? They also delve into the “lost” issue of EGM, supposedly just prior to the digital magazine’s launch. The presentation is pretty slick, but the guys still have a few reservations.

Relevant Links:

Leigh Alexander’s “The News of Console Gaming’s Death Has Been Greatly Exaggerated”

EGM’s Lost Issue

Special thanks to Nick for the Fatal Fury Special assessment.

Mega Man 10
WiiWare/Capcom
1,000 Points

Mega Man 10 doesn’t need a cheerleader, but I’ll still give it the full Justin endorsement. Whether it’s a worthy successor to the ninth installment remains to be seen, but it’s definitely fun…if your idea of fun is falling into bottomless pits and spike traps, that is. You can expect a full review in the next week or two once I’ve bested the game’s robot masters – which are not as goofy as they could have been – but this is a pretty safe investment. I also don’t think it’s quite as slapdash as the 1up review would lead you to believe.

Globulos Party
DSiWare/Globz
500 Points

Let me save you five bucks. Click on this link. This candy-coated shuffleboard Flash game is pretty dull, right? Now imagine this multiplayer-only affair with the online play stripped out. Boooo.

VT Tennis
DSiWare/Virtual Toys
500 Points

This game wants to be Sega’s Virtua Tennis so badly. The long charge-up swings, the racket sounds, the butt-rock title theme – VT Tennis comes pretty close to matching the look and feel of the Dreamcast/arcade classic. However, the game’s omission of multiplayer is unforgivable. And just in case you think the tournament mode would be enough, the game’s stupid A.I. further cripples this download.

Fatal Fury Special
Virtual Console/SNK
900 Points

Nick says: “Fatal Fury Special is the “Championship Edition” of the classic Neo Geo franchise. Inside the nine dollar asking price, you’ll find the original, highly entertaining cast of Fatal Fury 2, plus a host of playable bosses, new characters (Duck King!), a new combo system and enhanced fight speeds. It’s a fairly solid purchase overall, although one that should only be recommended to hardened Neo Geo and/or fighting game fans – it still doesn’t hold a candle to the Real Bout Fatal Fury sequels, let alone critical darling Mark of the Wolves. Savvy gamers should also realize that Fatal Fury Special has already hit the Xbox Live Arcade – with a one dollar hike in asking price equating to online matches and customizable controls. Is it worth it? Hey – c’mon, c’mon.”

What content, you ask? According to a Sega representative (talking to IGN.com): “…parts that we felt wouldn’t make sense (like a Japanese history quiz game) or wouldn’t resonate as much (such as the concept of a hostess club).” Given how much underground buzz and cult popularity this Shenmue successor has received, how vocal fans have been in requesting a localization and how apt Sega has been to make very crucial mistakes over the past few years, I think I speak for the majority of gamers out there when I give an emphatic “sigh” to this situation. What a mess.

Don’t even try to apologize.

And while I can sympathize with development costs and localization efforts regarding a fairly niche title, I’m even more perplexed after reading Sega of America’s blog entry addressing the situation. According to today’s entry, “Ultimately, the choice that had to be made was either no Yakuza 3 in the west, or a version of the game that was almost exactly the same, but with a little less trivia.”

Really, Sega? After all of that clamoring for the localization, were hostess clubs and a small bit of historical translation that big of a deal breaker? Really?

Now please don’t get me wrong. I’m still extremely happy to see the game getting a local release after the poor western sales of the previous PS2 titles. But I just can’t help but wonder what kind of thought process or stumbling blocks Sega of America is running into when they decide to deliberately cut out some of the least offensive – yet culturally defining – content that the game has offer.

For those of you that don’t know what a Japanese hostess bar is, I’ll refer you to Brian Ashcraft’s excellent article over at Kotaku. Suffice to say, courting the ladies at the local キャバクラ (kyabakura, or Caboret-Club) is one of the more innocent activities you can participate in while in Kamuro-cho. Ya know, between beating thugs with brass knuckles, going to strip clubs, gambling and god forbid, playing video games in a local arcade.

But to be more specific, visiting a hostess bar in the context of the game is fairly similar to relationship-building in the newer Persona or Mass Effect titles – listen to what people have to say and make the right choices, and friends will a good gangster make. Throw in food and drink choices and a very particular environment and you have a pretty stunningly accurate portrayal of the Kabuki-cho hostess scene. Essentially, the ladies are there to serve you and make conversation. My particular experience with the Japanese-version demo even ended with a friendly “It was a pleasure to meet you. Please come by and spend time with me again!” text message on my cell phone. What a hussy.

Oh, Kiraki Sayaka-san. Why didn’t you just renew your passport like I told you?

So what’s the real problem here? It’s not as if Sega is attempting to censor any of the content – the game’s Mature rating has already been established. Nor is the hostess scene new to the Yakuza series – both of the first games allowed you to spend time with the ladies of Kamuro-cho. But most of all, I think we can safely assume that almost all of the niche fan-base expects to have access to every activity found in the original game. Whether it resonates or not should be for us, as individual gamers, to decide.

Don’t tell me what I can’t do!

I don’t think I need to stress how crucial Yakuza‘s environment is in conveying the cultural immersion of Tokyo’s red light district. If you’ve ever been to Kabuki-cho, talked to anyone who has, or have even seen pictures, you’ll know that the setting of this series has always stolen the show. Stores, products and logos all painstakingly detailed – I can’t put it any more bluntly than to just flat out say it: It feels like you’re there.

And it’s in that immersion that Sega’s localized port now seems a bit unnecessarily gimped. Is it ruined? Absolutely not. Is it lesser? Undoubtedly.

Between the sent-to-die release date of March 9th (The same date as Final Fantasy XIII – ever heard of it?) and now the stripping of game features, I have to wonder how well Sega knows its audience.

A hint, Sega: It’s me. And I’ve got to tell you – that “Best Hits” import version is looking more and more attractive for my region-less PS3. Just saying.

頑張れ。

Let’s start with the probably the best reason to play through the original game again: the highly shapeable story and the dialogue system on which it rests. Although BioWare fans will recognize this as the company’s MO, nearly every conversation and decision within  Mass Effect allows the player to select responses that lead to major and minor consequences. Depending on whether you react to a situation with a cool-headed and diplomatic “Paragon” response or a hot-headed and likely more risky “Renegade” option (or anything in between), NPCs will come to either respect you or hate your guts, open up to you or shut you out, or ultimately be allowed to live or suffer a gruesome death. Although not every detail of Commander Shepard’s adventures will be changed via this system – you’ll still fight the same bosses, still be able to access the same shops and still have the same amount of selectable missions – it’s these major choices that the player is forced to make that have become Mass Effect’s true legacy. I won’t sugarcoat the situation – some of the decisions can be quite difficult, but that only reinforces the success that BioWare has had in helping players establish meaningful connections to their in-game crew and support characters. Their fate is quite literally in your controller-greased hands.

But while you’ll delight in seeing the fruits of your dialogue-based decisions, chances are that the combat won’t live up to your modern-day expectations. Battles are carried out through a behind the shoulder, third-person perspective, with Shepard leading two of his fellow squadmates, all with different traits and abilities (of course) into a cover-based shooter against armies of robots, mercenaries and nogoodniks. Each character has an assortment of different guns and special abilities that allow for an amusing combination of battle tactics at your disposal – you can suspend enemies in mid-air, overload their weapons and disable their shields, all before they hit the ground. Unfortunately, the cover system, in which you try to stick as close to a wall as possible in hopes of automatically latching onto it, can only be described as serviceable at best, especially with other third-person shooters such as Gears of War setting a high bar over the past few years. And while certain character classes, such as the Soldier or Vanguard, will have little trouble disposing of the legions of seemingly crack-shot enemies despite this flawed mechanic, others will be doomed to restarting the same battles multiple times due to an over-exposed limb. Add to this a fairly crude checkpoint system, and you could find yourself repeating the same 20 minute battle over and over again, complete with unskippable cutscenes and loss of saved player settings. Suffice to say, your learning curve may vary.

It’s also surprising – again, given its release – how well Mass Effect’s graphics still hold up. While it certainly doesn’t represent the bleeding-edge of textures and polygons that it once was, there are still quite a few awe-inspiring moments to be found within the galaxy – especially during the last few missions. And although some may blame unsynchronized voices and mouth movements on a general lack of polish (and they might be right), I find myself more willing to stick the rather uninspired side-missions and exploration quests into that unfortunate possibility bucket. No matter what the task might be, whether it’s to rescue a sibling, purchase a certain good or procure information for someone, everything revolves around either too lengthy, although admittedly well-done, conversations or raids on generic buildings, wiping out baddies for cash that’s all but worthless. With nearly every worthwhile weapon and piece of armor procured through chests along the main story arc, there’s even less reason to explore the dozens of additional planets littered throughout the galaxy, most of them empty wastelands that contain some sort of mineral or artifact, good only for cash or obsessive collection relief.

But despite the janky, unbalanced combat, the slightly outdated visuals and the largely uninteresting side-quests, Mass Effect still manages to win over the majority of players through its thoroughly engaging story and dialogue system. It’s proof-positive that giving players a greater array of choices within their game will allow them to connect more strongly to it, especially if the consequences are interesting, heartfelt and permanent. It’s very little wonder why fans are excited for the sequel – we want to see how our actions will continue to affect all of our stories, lack of polish be damned. But while the new model is right around the corner, don’t hesitate to take the ol’ gal out for a ride if you’re interested. She might not look as pretty anymore, but she still runs just fine.

 Look into my eyes…

The premise, for the uninitiated, is equal parts familiar and confusing.  Based loosely on Dante Alighieri’s “The Divine Comedy”, the original poem detailed the journey of main character Dante being led by the Roman poet Virgil through a walking tour of the medieval concept of Hell. Symbolism abound, it’s an incredibly lyrical and fascinating piece that’s had a very long-lasting impact on religion and society in general. EA’s Inferno, on the other hand, finds a relentless crusader Dante slashing his way through the nine circles of hell (with Death’s scythe, no less) to free the soul of his late wife whom Satan seems to have claimed. It’s a classic “rescue the girl” plot – albeit a very graphic one – that has more in common with God of War than it does with Mario or classical literature.

And by “more in common”, I mean to say that Dante’s Inferno could easily be mistaken for a God of War spin off – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The game plays like a very well-constructed third person action title – Dante darts back and forth between waves of enemies, effortlessly swinging his gargantuan scythe and ripping apart legions of demons with simple yet upgradeable combos, all to a silky-smooth 60 frames per second. “Light” and “Strong” attack buttons are mapped to the square and triangle buttons respectively, while x allows for a jump, and circle shoots forth a white “cross” projectile, handy for defeating winged baddies or for dousing flamed-enemies that wouldn’t normally be touchable. Add to the concoction a handful of magic-infused attacks, a few quick-time event bosses, and the ability to either “absolve” or “punish” enemies for their sins (the former of which grants you more experience points for upgrades but leaves you helpless for a few seconds), and you have the closest cousin to Kratos to ever fight outside of Greece. The controls are responsive, each hit has a nice sense of impact and combat mechanics genuinely feel good.

But if there’s one thing to set Dante’s Inferno apart from other action titles arriving early this year, it’s undoubtedly the eerie, disturbing and unabashedly Christian symbol-infused environments. Each of the nine stages is said to contain landscapes and enemies that represent one particular circle of hell, and from what I’ve witnessed thus far, there’s very little being held back in favor of not pushing the envelope. (If you haven’t heard of the demon-hatching breasts from the boss of the lust stage, well, that’s just the beginning.) And although I can imagine it would be quite difficult to create a game centered on the concept of hell without Christian imagery, I was still shocked at the amount of religious symbols flashing across the screen throughout the course of the fifteen minute demo. To say it felt a little awkward would be an understatement – am I rooting for God if I kick the devil’s ass?

A thinking man’s game…

Indeed, from what I’ve been able to experience thus far, although Dante’s Inferno looks and feels quite good, my concerns lie more with its underlying concept than anything else it tries to achieve. It’s not very often that a piece of classic literature becomes the basis for a video game, and while Dante’s seems to be shaping up to be a fine third-person action title, the idea of taking the rich, symbolic commentary presented in the original poem and shoehorning it into a hack’n'slash just seems to be missing the mark. Hopefully the full release will offer either a few thought-provoking moments or bits of self-referential humor – for a title that will surely involve ridiculous settings, enemies and attacks, taking itself too seriously could prove to be a major obstacle to creating something special. Alternatively, the game could offer environments so unique and haunting that I would be able to recommend it to my literature-major friends as a fresh take on the classic inspiration and not as a shallow, violent depiction of the original work.

It remains to be seen whether the game will find success upon release amidst the likes of other action juggernauts like God of War III, but if the final release is nearly as bold and brazen as the demo I’ve played, I’m sure it will leave its mark among one crowd or another. Although they’ve proven themselves as being capable of creating great atmospheres in prior titles, we’ll just have to wait and see if Visceral and EA are able to craft an experience with Dante’s Inferno that more than absolves it of its sinfully unoriginal nature. Here’s praying.

Justin: I watched a 3D screening of “Avatar” a couple weeks ago, and I’ll admit that I’m a little sick of the coverage this movie has received, a huge box-office take be damned. While I found much to like about the film, which is why Nick and I are dual-blogging here, I found the plot and thinly drawn characters to be utterly forgettable. I think if you take even a not-so-close look at the logistics of the Avatar program and the supposed diplomatic mission to Pandora, it makes little sense, and there are a bunch of other nagging issues that bug the hell out of me. Not trying to be a downer, but I want to make it clear that I have a lot of issues that I’m ignoring for the sake of this conversation before we proceed.

That said, I love those glowing helicopter lizards. And the hair-tentacle fusion stuff between the Na’vi and Pandoran wildlife. And the bioluminescent fauna that lights up when Jake walks by at night. Throughout the entire 2+ hour experience, I kept thinking about how much the planet reminded me of the Panzer Dragoon series, most notably Orta, and I was unsurprised when Nick mentioned that he picked up a similar video game vibe during his viewing. The movie, both thematically and visually, seems reminiscent of many recent gaming favorites, and I thought it would be fun to explore the symbiotic relationship between Hollywood and our industry that’s cropped up in recent years. So Nick, I was hoping you could touch a bit upon the “virtual world” theme that you were talking about last night…

Nick: I would be happy to, but first, let me provide a little context on my experience with “Avatar.” Perhaps the most telling sign of my opinion is the fact that I spent roughly nine hours of my holiday break watching Cameron’s 3D epic come to life – coming from a guy that usually never sees a movie twice, that’s a pretty big deal. But as someone who can be quick to give an opinion on a game I’ve never even played, I was completely enthralled with the film – it’s characters, art and yes, even plot – without really understanding why. All I knew was that I loved it, and I wanted to see it again. And again.

After about a week of thought and conversation, it’s become clear that one of the reasons why “Avatar” stuck a deep chord with me is due to its direct appeal to my gamer side. To say nothing about the stunning CG and beautiful characters, in my opinion, it’s the “virtual world” concept that Cameron uses as the basis of the movie – that we can inhabit other bodies as an “escape” – that shines through the brightest. Not to say that other movies haven’t touched upon or used the idea (lest I have die-hard “Matrix” or “Lawnmower Man” fans breathing down my neck, and god I hope the latter don’t exist), but “Avatar” stands out in my mind as the the first film where the idea of escaping into that “virtual world” is actually an acceptable, even preferable practice. Watching Jake, the main character, become addicted to his second life as a Na’vi, to the point where he doesn’t care about his personal appearance or grooming practices, rings far too close to home for anyone who’s truly been in love with an hour-melting game. I wonder how many Everquest or World of Warcraft players would transfer their consciousness to their in-game avatars if they were given the same opportunity that Jake was.

Justin: I think that sense of escapism extends beyond MMORPGs, too. During all of Jake’s leaps and bounds, particularly the few he takes when he’s first transferred into his Avatar, there was the same freedom of movement and exploration that platforming greats like Super Mario Galaxy and Uncharted 2 encourage. (Pandora’s lush jungles definitely remind me of the latter game.) Jake never thought he’d be able to walk again, which makes the Avatar program particularly enticing. His host body makes the impossible possible, and I think that’s often why we play games.

Maybe it’s just me, but I feel that “Avatar” is one of many recent films that seem to reinforce a symbiotic relationship between the game industry and Hollywood. While we hear all the time about how Grand Theft Auto and Metal Gear Solid want to be movies, James Cameron wants the “Avatar” experience to be almost interactive – it’s definitely game-like in its pacing – with 3D imagery that can (ideally) immerse you completely into an alien world. As we hear about 3D televisions being shown at CES, it seems like the lines between gaming and cinema could begin to blur. Cameron, above all else, is a technology guy, and while he may be mostly interested in bringing audiences to the theater, I could see him latching onto game development more as displays become more sophisticated.

Nick: It immediately reminds me of seeing Steven Spielberg’s name attached to the front of Boom Blox – whether or not the title sold well because of him, I’m really not sure, but it would definitely be interesting to see Cameron’s take on games given how well he can suck me into his non-interactive worlds. But I think you’re spot-on in terms of the symbiotic relationship between movies and games – you can’t play more than two minutes of Bethesda’s WET without being bludgeoned over the head by the development team’s Tarantino influence. Unfortunately, I don’t think there are many examples of films or games that have been able to effectively channel the interactive nature or supreme story-telling that signals the best of either medium. Although there’s blame to be had on both sides, I’m quick to glare at the game industry for continuously giving us control over trite, action-oriented “cool” movie experiences and shying away from “meaningful” ones. Mass Effect 2 and Heavy Rain can’t come soon enough.

I also find it interesting that several outlets have voiced the same issue with “Avatar” that they have with other big-title games – anxiety over supporting a “huge-budget” title. Although I really don’t enjoy riding on the back of whatever hype train comes rolling through pop-culture station, I feel powerless to fight this increasing trend of enormous budgets being tied to enormous success, especially when they arrive via quality titles like “Avatar” and Modern Warfare 2. Is that extra layer of shimmer and shine worth the $100 million bridge across the uncanny valley?

Justin: That’s the thing, though – while I enjoyed those experiences, I’m not sure their quality justifies the outrageous price tags. You feel powerless not because these titles are so riveting, but because that’s where major studios are putting their advertising dollars. Even as the snobby indie film fan, I don’t know how to fight this either.

If box office money was really a barometer of excellence, “District 9″ should have enjoyed the same level of success as “Avatar.” Cameron clearly squeezed every last pixel out of his special effects budget, but Blomkamp got quite a bit of shimmer from his estimated $30 million, too. (I would even say that the interaction between the prawns and humans was just as seamless as some of the battles in “Avatar.”) If we’re looking at big budget, “video-game-like” movies, I think “District 9″ is the model to follow. While the South African parable will eventually be recognized as the better film – trust me – the lasting legacy of “Avatar” will be for ushering 3D into theaters,* and gaming will benefit from that down the road.

*…even if my astigmatism-ized eyes can’t tell the difference.

Not to derail our conversation, but everyone who cares about big budget sci-fi or game-to-film adaptations should check out a recent L.A. Times interview with Neil Blomkamp. Here, he espouses the virtues of gaming, including some behind-the-shoulder shots ripped straight from the modern third person shooter, as well as why so many previous efforts have failed. It thematically ties into a lot of what we’ve been talking about here.

Nick: And yet, I can’t easily pin down the powerless feeling I get with giant marketing budgets. To “Avatar” team’s credit, Michael Bay’s marketing team can throw all of the money they want at me (and I know they had quite a bit), but I still haven’t been suckered into the tornado of filth that was “Transformers 2.” It’s that same “love-to-hate” feeling that creeps up inside me any time I see a major title I’m not fond of receive loads of media attention – while I certainly don’t want to fan the flames, I’m reluctant to be left out in the cold either.

Overall however, I think we’re only going to see this blurring trend between games, movies and other media in general continue to increase. With every medium looking to another for both creative inspiration and financial solutions, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of franchise ideas being nixed in the first place because of a lack of game or film “potential.” Whether “Avatar” will be looked back upon as a bridge or milestone between games, movies and 3D, I really have no clue. I’ll let Cameron, critics and society decide that. Meanwhile, I’ll be over here doing what I do best – shelling out my money and time for those experiences that can immerse me in something fantastically different.