Yves Saint Laurent

This week, we’ll start-off with YSL–my absolute favourite “high-end” cosmetic line. Yves Saint Laurent is notorious for their luxurious, gold packaging. This collection is my ideal “Fall Face,” with rich, sophisticated colour. Even if purple and blue eyeshadow doesn’t make your cut for “everyday” and “wearable,” this collection is versatile and unique. Remember, you don’t have to paint yourself like the model; try only one shadow on your lid or a bold, pop of colour under your waterline with two coats of mascara. The Rouge Volupte Perle Lipstick in “Mesmerizing Purple” is a glossy sister to the famous Allure winning original. If you’re a nail junkie like me, the gold/purple duo is gorgeous, as well.

Availability: Available Now

“This season the YSL woman takes to the stage. She is excessive, flamboyant, passionate. She experiments with color to reinvent herself. Her life is a theatre. She plays with textures and shades: satin skin, velvet lips, eyes shimmer in metallic hues. There are no rules. She is after all, the YSL Woman!” — YSLBEAUTYUS.COM

• PERFECT TOUCH N° 6 Gold beige
• TOUCHE ÉCLAT N° 1 Luminous Radiance
• PÉCHÉ N° 1 : L’ÉCLAT Collector Powder for Complexion
• OMBRES DUOLUMIÉRES N° 29 Purple Amethyst/Tawny Brown
• OMBRE SOLO N° 13 Aquamarine
• MASCARA SINGULIER N° 5 Deep Indigo
• ROUGE VOLUPTÉ PERLE N° 106 Mesmerizing Purple
• MANUCURE COUTURE N° 3 Duo Belle De Nuit

Firstly, Microsoft, if I truly believed holding the weight of a controller was cumbersome, I would have no “Kinection” or desire to “Kinect” to the video-game realm in the first place. As a gamer, I need a controller. No, I’m serious. I need one. It just feels right. Don’t laugh, hee. Maybe it’s because I don’t find that “simplicity” should always be the standard to look forward to. I attribute a lot of fond memories to a controller, man. Ironically, I see and feel a controller as my only connection to an uncontrollable environment. I see it as a necessity. I see it as a bond between, say John Marston and I. Like, we’re both a reserved Outlaw with a great purpose; except only he is, I just guide him like some-sort of encouraging and meaningful relationship. To imagine I can no longer have a controller providing a kind-of division between Marston and myself is frightening. Contrary to other thought-provoking articles I’ve come across, I don’t want any sort-of joined persona. I don’t care to relate to him. I don’t want to become “one” with him. At all, actually. I don’t care to feel like I am him. I want my immersion and Marston, as a character, to be separate entities. I’d rather be on a stallion galloping next to him.

This is one reason I’ve essentially never “got” the Wii. It nudged these boundaries, yes, but it still never quite broke them. Yeah, it’s fun, but I never found it to be a level replacement for the actual activities themselves. If I want to go for a “joy ride,” I get in my car. If I want to go bowling, I go bowling. If I want to dance, I grab a chair and do a private round of Striptease. If I want to game, I’ll play a game. I play it, not air guitar it. Maybe because “Kinect” is essentially ridding a representation of something inherently valuable to me and it’s playing on my fragile emotions. See? Yet another reason why women shouldn’t be left alone to run an entire country. Just kidding. Just scared to say I’m not kidding, actually.

Then again, I may never have to worry about “Kinect” or similar forthcoming technology taking-over, simply because I’ve declared myself an outcast from the growing “casual” demographic and it may never reach my own niche at all. Think about the amount of work it’d take to motion-sensor a game like Call of Duty, if at all possible. It would give a whole, new meaning to “hand-gun,” though.

See, I understand I’m not in the solely “casual” gaming category, but “Kinect” honestly feels like a promising concept gone to waste on a demographic that probably couldn’t care less about the rapid technological evolution imminent in the gaming industry. At least, not nearly as much as I. Probably most of this demographic stayed home for E3, anyway. I’m fully aware of the “multi-genre” gamer who could very well be excited about the possibilities of “Kinect,” because I could be, too. What about the people who refuse to buy a Wii or “Kinect” just to fake-it? I’m last on the list. It’s likely you or I won’t be seeing the implementation of “Kinect” to suit my needs as a “hardcore” gamer anytime soon, so I’m just a tad flustered that accessibility will likely take precedence over making my experience better. As the saying goes, “Its just not fair!” Now I’ll need to go out and purchase the Wii I never did because I just wasn’t appreciative of the controller-hand “kinection.” Or should I say, “diskinection?” Whatever.

Hey Baby is a PC game about unleashing all your pent-up anger and hatred on men that use annoying, out-played, and what some may call inappropriate pick-up lines. Properly made by LadyKillasINC, Hey Baby let’s you run around a neighborhood and AK men in the face, in hopes you won’t be angry anymore.

I have a few things I’d like to get off my breasts. Forgive me, I just wanted to write “breasts.”

Sally is, by common standards, attractive, while Mary-Sue is homely. While Sally says she’s grown tiresome of male attention, Mary-Sue says she’s flattered. Both Sally and Mary-Sue post sexy pictures on Myspace, Facebook, etc., except Mary-Sue is far more appreciative of inappropriate comments. Mary-Sue is compelled to post more. Mary-Sue has never had a boyfriend and Mary-Sue can’t saturate her face with a flattering light in real-life, so Mary-Sue feels in-control this way because Mary-Sue craves the power to reject something she desires.

But your guise is linked more closely to Sally, so you sink further into annoyance. You despise your freedom being encroached upon. The freedom to walk your dog in your neighborhood as non-erogenous as possible. You despise the obligation of returning eye-contact to unknown men parading all over your city. “I get it all the time,” you say. You don’t want the attention, as others more than likely assume you find gratification in mentioning so. It’s an inescapable part of your daily life. You feel dictated by the audacity of a few or more men. They make you feel powerless, impeded.

Remember, you’re Sally. As Sally, being hit-on is realistically a put-down. His comments make you feel insecure, so you unconsciously pull your spaghetti strap just a bit further up your bare shoulder. You pull your sweater down a little longer. As Sally, you feel obligated to create a game called Hey Baby. As Sally, you crave the chance to tip the virtual power scale by unloading a rifle into the face of an inconvenient male. You’d like to think it’s funny and harmless. Your reward? A tombstone with a bigoted pick-up line Sally has encountered over and over. As Sally, you crave the power to reject something you despise.

Then again, maybe you’re Betty–incomparably sexy, outwardly confident, with only a smidgen of self-respect, and a self-proclaimed attentionmonger.

Maybe you’re a less attractive Sally or a more attractive Mary-Sue. Sally and Mary-Sue are nearly interchangeable. Both Sally and Mary-Sue inherently expect and desire a commitment from men they’ve never met before. They expect decency. They expect to be heard. Sometimes, they only expect to be left alone.

I’ll admit it. I consider myself a fairly attractive female. I have long, dark hair. I have big, hazel eyes—props to my Middle-Eastern heritage. I’m fairly voluptuous. It’s nearly impossible for me to get somewhere quietly. Still, I’ve honestly never imagined I’d take the opportunity that Hey Baby provided to me because I’ve never been that angry. Someone else being angry enough to create Hey Baby? Scares me.

I’d never even opt to kid about it. Either way, I disagree with the self-victimization that plagues this game. Why?

Catcalling, usually performed in a moving vehicle or in groups of two or more, is a popular form of ineffective “flirting.” Lucky you. As you somehow manage to garner the attention of a man who cannot surmount the difficulty of creating a proper, introductory statement, you’re probably too uncomfortable or insecure to realize how you possess the ability to smash his poor demonstration of bravado to teeny-weeny pieces. Lucky you. In the very least, he’s saying he’d totally have sex with you. Instead, you ignore him because, hell, it’s more convenient. You rummage through your pockets, pret

ending to look for something. You reach for your cellphone, pretending to text someone. You question if what you’re wearing is too provocative, even if it’s a sweater paired with slacks. You, you, you, you, you. It’s always about poor you.

It’s a hard-knock life for both Sally and Mary-Sue. Except, not really.

The truth is, on some days you’ll catch me as Mary-Sue and other days you’ll swear I was Sally. Tuesday I went to dinner with my skirt reasonably hiked-up and Thursday I browsed the mall in sweatpants. Betty regrettably kicked-in on Saturday because it happened to be the weekend. The only key difference between Betty versus Mary-Sue and Sally is that Betty welcomes the cause and effect relationship between a male stranger and herself. She’s an exaggerated display of a woman who, for better or for worse, is fully aware of the fact that men are capable of being wolves. Instead of feeling uncomfortable like Mary-Sue or Sally, she folds her dress a little higher and smiles.

I’ve seen women moon men in public restaurant windows. I’ve seen women wigwag sexual innuendo from across the street. I’ve seen women catcall men. It isn’t a rarity on a Friday night on Hollywood Boulevard. The thing is, I won’t get angry at a man on Sunday because I’ve decided to adopt the pessimism of Sally on Sunday. Hell, at least this particular brand of man is constant in his behavior. At least you know what to expect.

With that being said, It ultimately doesn’t matter what persona you tend to adopt. This is what separates the normal, horny male species from a man on a power-trip. This is what separates the social implications of a game like Hey, Baby from a game like Rapelay. You are not the victim. He is. He is and he knows it. He’s waiting for you to accept his “foot in the door.” When a man “flirts” with you, hes giving you the power to accept or reject him. You’re just complaining you have this power.

Instead, you create a game like Hey, Baby. Instead, you complain about an inconvenience of social normalcy. Get over yourself. As they say, boys will be boys and men have a better gameplan. As for me, I have more important things to attend to. Like, uh, flossing my cat.

The general, female audience seems to have an issue with Bayonetta. Maybe her breasts just aren’t large enough? Nah. Maybe, to quote an “import-ante” person in the realm of gaming journalism, “have never had sex before?” Maybe, female gamers and their supposed deprivation of fluid exchange has somehow caused them raging insecurity? Nah. I mean, I highly doubt it. Well, the one, definite issue I do carry with Bayonetta is that it was not marketed as a “quality” game. Seeing as how a great deal of women probably do not share my love of Bayonetta, let us speak of your dislike for Bayonetta.

So, why am I so against this facetious represention of a great game? A game of it’s stature just, well, deserves better. I, as a consumer, deserve better. Bayonetta didn’t look worth it. My first impression of Bayonetta was “PASS!” I mean, numerous times when I had walked into Blockbuster looking for a game to rent, I look back now and I’m like, “Wow, this was pretty easy to skip over.” I couldn’t take the box seriously. It made SEGA look like one of those desperate, kiosk people in the center of the mall. I even questioned if some of these “reputable” game sites had lost their mind. Nines and tens—seriously? Thats what forced me to play it, though. I can’t lie.

Truthfully, I held off playing Bayonetta because I had read so much criticism within the female gaming community. I thought, Oh, God. I just want to play a genuinely solid game. I figured however, that if Bayonetta provided enough ammunition for like, every single journalist known to man to create extensive essays about “sexuality” and bicker about “female empowerment,” then it automatically assumed the role of being “exploitative” by default. If there are people, females particularly, prioritizing criticism on this game then, unquestionably, there lies something worth ardently defending. Think about it. Something is there. That’s why it’s being analyzed. Yeah. I didn’t understand the arguments arising in the blogosphere. Its obviously hyper-sexualized heroine was somehow the “elephant in the room” or something. Like, Of course the shape of her butt wasn’t a priority, Dude; Kamiya obviously lost sleep at night thinking “Oh my God, how will I empower her as a female?” What? Come on, man.

So, I sat back to oversee some people and again, mostly females, criticize a reputable journalist. She assured us that female heroines do not have to be devoid of massive breasts to assume a respectable and/or “empowering” status in video-games. I agreed with her completely and I realized I’ve had this point-of-view before I knew what “gaming journalism” was. What I didn’t agree with was her brash defense-mechanism aimed toward her Twitter critics in a cleverly controversial manner:

“anyone who’s offended by Bayonetta has never had sex before,” she tweets. Thank you, Advocate of The Vag-Team.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know how on earth to respond to that one. While I hold the utmost respect for her as an established game journalist, I felt this comment to be, uh, irrational to say the least.

Admittedly, the only thing I find repulsive and/or offensive about Bayonetta is that it superficially cheats consumers, especially the female market, out of an amazing video-game. The worst part? SEGA seems to do so intentionally, especially capitalizing on the grubby promotional work. Is it because some female gamers have “never had sex before?” Or is it because it looks like it has nothing to offer the gigantic, female gamer market? It just doesn’t scream “Play me! I’m one of the greatest, pure-action games on the planet!” It is. It really, just…is.

When I finally gave-in and took it for a spin, I was even more disturbed by the sensory overload of jiggling body parts and sleazy dialogue. I thought, how… can I… take this game seriously? You can’t. As soon as you don’t, you’ll start to realize what a superbly made game this is. Still, it’s not right to shun a good portion of your female audience because you’re not easily offended. I mean, is it? I didn’t psychoanalyze what the developers at Platinum Games were trying to tell me about Bayonetta. SEGA simply needed a good deal. They pounced on something outrageously provocative and ran with it because they needed it. Their track record needed it.

It isn’t about Bayonetta’s character being “exploitative” or “empowered,” it’s about intention. It’s about appeal. All inclusive. So, why do some women idolize the chesty Lara Croft, yet some of the same women feel slightly uncomfortable about the idea of Bayonetta–all tramping around in a cheerleader costume with a special move entitled “Climax?” It’s the presentation.

I wasn’t offended by the “sex” or the “sexiness” or even her breasts and it certainly wasn’t pertaining to abstinence. Good lord. Sega just lacked a compelling market outside of just making it look “sexy.” This, and this alone, is offensive as a female and more importantly, as a gamer.

But, let me tell you something. Bayonetta is, well, ferocious.  I could very well end my review here and plead everyone to silence hearsay and controversy and just play this damn game because if you’re a legitimate gamer, you’ll immediately attest to it’s fantastic polish.Yeah, it’s been done before, but what’s been done before certainly fails to supersede Bayonetta. This game is the perfect concoction; it distills the bad flavor of uninspiring sister-titles and it doesn’t snub the most potent ingredient—gameplay. Its an action title and God knows how many brothers and sisters it has to complete against. I can assure you, though–It’s the “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!” of the Brady Bunch.

Bayonetta is at the forefront of her genre. It proved my judgement wrong and that’s why I love it. All I’m asking is that next time, Dear Devs, just fricking give me an inkling as to why I should play your game. Give me verifiable data. Take me beyond your Playboy model search. Don’t forget that I, as a female, buy your games. Boobs or not, I don’t want to skip a fantastic game. It’s that simple.

The point is, this is what good games force you to do. It’s what they’re supposed to do. Thats how you define a good game. Where is it written that a good game has to be concerned with your feelings? It’s not. Only we care. So if a game can somehow make me “un-care,” then its good game. A good game is concerned with being a good game. Thats what Bayonetta is. As much as I’m for the “respectful” portrayer of females, I’m still a gamer and, instinctively, judgement comes accordingly.

If the general consensus says theres something “wrong” with Final Fantasy XIII, shouldn’t there be? I dunno. Maybe. It isn’t “linearity,” though. Let’s see what Bioware has to say:

“Well, before I address the main point I just want to take a slightly more controversial route: You can put a ‘J’ in front of it, but it’s not an RPG. You don’t make any choices, you don’t create a character, you don’t live your character… I don’t know what those are – adventure games maybe? But they’re not RPG’s.”

Said Daniel Erickson, Writing Director for Bioware. Some of us can probably picture him gallivanting atop his high-horse. The thing is, Bioware isn’t revolutionizing the RPG genre; They’re tactful at compensating for the lack of RPG elements that many previous RPG titles have been unable to foster. The intricacy of immersion, to be exact. Funny thing is, this is all a matter of opinion. Who says someone somewhere didn’t “live” the characters in Final Fantasy XIII? Its hard to imagine, I tell you what.

Anyway you slice it, they’re at the, uh, Vanguard of the RPG genre because they’ve, well, yet to take anything away from the concept of the RPG. They’re just givers, I suppose.

On this site, the writer comments: “By his definition, a Role-Playing Game allows for choices, character creation and immersion. By that definition more than half of the RPGs out there including the famously award-winning Final Fantasy VII aren’t really RPGs.” Unfortunately, Final Fantasy XIII removed a few cards and the entire structure gave-out. As I’ve stated previously, it really wasn’t the quantity of cards removed. The best cards in the deck were like, torn. Burned beyond recognition. Messed with far too much. I mean, we’re all so eager to kick games into labeled containers, but aren’t we only playing by recognition? Many people simply didn’t recognize Final Fantasy XIII–whether it be as a Final Fantasy or a general RPG. You can’t say I didn’t try.

Thank you, Bioware.

Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case for their surplus of DLC. Recently released, “The Darkspawn Chronicles” is yet another uninspired add-on aimed at blind and loyal lemmings. Basically, uh, like me. Players are placed in a “what-if” scenario as they relive the ambitious attack on Denerim. Only this time, you’re the fugly and strategically lacking Darkspawn. As a “Hurlock Vangard” and professional lackey of the Archdemon, your mission is to crush familiar faces and aid the grouchy bastard in the final, dreadfully easy battle.

The battle system is a tad simplified as there is absolutely no character development. Instead, as a Vangard, its your job to “Enthrall” other Darkspawn on your team until they eventually die. “Woo” them with gifts for bonus status effects, but it’s really all…worthless. Of course, the DLC only includes a miniscule piece of gameplay, a lack of character customization options, and zero depth. Generally speaking, Bioware’s DLC has been a pretty faulty representation of an amazing developer.

Needless to say, “Chronicles” isn’t a befitting name, either.

For five bucks, you can purchase an hour of storming through exits and killing innocent townsfolk; If you’re like me and found Zevran to be an incredible annoyance, you may enjoy punching him repeatedly as a gargantuan Ogre. If you want to butcher Clerics and women, be my guest. Although this sounds insanely fun, “The Darkspawn Chronicles” manages to perfect “boring.” Essentially, it’s the same game with different character models and nothing to offer the Dragon Age crowd minus a few, humorous codex entries. Your reward is 25 achievement points and a lackluster ending. Unless you’d like a bloody-up a few teammates—save another five bucks for a legit rental at your local Blockbuster.

Rating: T (for Teen)
Players: 1-2
Genre: Action
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: April 15, 2010 (PSN) / April 14, 2010 (XBLA)

BUY (Cheap)

Final Fight is a twentysomeodd year-old game, born for after-work brawling in a local arcade. Whether its ported to 16-bit console, PS3, or an X-Box 360 is irrelevant. Like comparable titles, it loses a good bit of luster unless it exists in the presence of an arcade. It demands a fight-stick. It demands live, “IRL” commentary by a friend. It demands a chaotic ambiance. It demands we stand and fight, uh, literally. It, well, needs the unprecedented “coolness” of a 90’s smelling arcade… or something. The arcade makes the experience, you know?

Besides, now that games are more than side-scrolling, beat-em-ups, it’s extremely intimidating; reviewing a game I used to play everyday after pre-school, I mean. So, the question becomes: is it really worth 800 Microsoft Points? Yes and no. Many XBLA games cater to an audience widely known as the “nostalgic gamer” and hardly anything more. Final Fight is such a case, though Capcom somehow manages to tack-on a few incentives to re-purchase this classic. For…ten, whole dollars, you decide.

That being said, Final Fight: Double-Impact is still a nice bundle. It includes unlockable goodies like concept art and comic books, a leaderboard, a drop-in/drop-out multiplayer mode, and neat old-fashioned visual settings that mimic the arcade monitor. Plus, it throws another Capcom classic in the mix—Magic Sword.

The story goes, in a city called “Metro,” a Mayor and former pro-wrestler by the name of Mike Haggar is blackmailed by a large criminal organization known as “The Mad Gear” gang. Haggar’s daughter, Jessica, is held hostage in the name of the leverage game and Mr. Haggar sees no other option but to recruit her boyfriend Cody and martial-artist named Guy. What …a choice team.

Players punch, kick, jump, and jump-kick their way to victory by continuously heading right, of course, and picking-up weapons and a bit of health sustenance along the way; this includes nicely plated food, like a succulent dish of perfectly brown turkey under orange oil (!?) canisters. To think, this is as good as it used to get.

One, great thing about Final Fight: Double Impact is that it IS essentially a direct port of Capcom’s original, arcade version and it does NOT omit or modify tidbits like the International SNES port–this includes odd and trivial things, like the altered skincolor and/or gender of many character models and violence effects; The discerning fan may notice this right away with the appearance of “Poison,” a provocatively dressed pink-haired baddy who happens to be pretty proficient in “cartwheel.” Fans of Final Fight may also appreciate that Guy is a playable-character alongside Cody and Haggar, as well. Both local and online co-op are supported and players are able to join random games in progress or create custom matches with preferred privacy and “Easy,” “Medium,” and “Hard” difficulty settings. This is a nice compensation for the lack of multiplayer in the SNES version of Final Fight.

Porting classic video-games and throwing in like, ten achievement points isn’t bringing anything new to the table, but that certainly doesn’t mean they aren’t worth our scraps. Especially you. Yeah, you. Young, unappreciative gamer who shudders to think that video-games haven’t always looked like 2010. Kidding. XBLA, though often uneventful, is a good way to revisit and pay tribute to our roots and Final Fight: Double Impact is a good way to start. Grab it if you enjoy all-time “greats.”

So, the other day, said friend named Final Fantasy XIII “exhausting.” Um, OK. “The characters fail to be people,” he said. “I got so tired of trying to relate. It was… hard.”

“Vanille. Do people really act like this in Japan? I complained about this on a forum and some dude told me Japanese chicks behave this way, but I dunno ‘cause I’ve never been to Japan.” I LOL’d. “I presume young girls of any nationality could very well act squirrelly,” I said.

By “act this way” I suppose he meant the JRPG way of exasperating awkward emotional reactions—like the “ugh-ing,”“ah-ing” and “oh-ing” in every scene, I guess. “Maybe this is why I prefer Western RPGs,” he said. Sure, you could say he was highly annoyed. He said he’d held his tongue a good forty hours into the game before he realized he couldn’t build an attachment to it. I still found it funny that said friend blamed his dislike of Final Fantasy XIII on Japan’s “social norms.” In his usual nonsensical fashion, I presumed he was trying to say that he wasn’t used to trying so hard to like the characters in a Final Fantasy game. I agreed because, well, I wasn’t either.

Welp, our Twitter stream didn’t help. People were calling it “epic.” I’m not gunna lie, this made me cringe. Lets not forget telling nay sayers to “blame technology.” Sorry to say, “Better” technology doesn’t necessitate a poorly designed game and I can’t imagine, say, the turn-based battle system of Final Fantasy games up until XIII being a forced design mechanic. Even now, we’re still seeing numerous JRPG titles being made “traditionally.” This isn’t the root of the issue, though. If Final Fantasy XIII was half as “polished” as people say, I would gladly accept it.

It was like, XIII grew so overly concerned with forcing a dynamic cast of characters; So much in fact, that Square Enix probably forgot they’re attempting to create fathomable people. This game however, only manages to produce hollow creatures, beautifully designed yet completely unremarkable in every other aspect. The funny thing is, I wouldn’t complain about this if Final Fantasy XIII didn’t try so hard to force emotion into me and… it tries really, really hard. I was confused. Do I put the blame on its terribly, messy narrative direction? Or is my maturity rendering me unable to buy into the “fantasy” aspect anymore? I was scared. In the entirety of this installment, I realized I’ve never felt so utterly detached.

People look at Final Fantasy and usually, a particular age-group and “type” of gamer come to mind. I’ve never believed that. I do believe that it possesses (or possessed) something to offer everyone if they at least try it and that’s why I continue to play it. You can’t sit there however, and try to convince me that nostalgia isn’t one, definite reason why Final Fantasy continues to ship millions of units worldwide. The majority of people purchase Final Fantasy based on their expectations of previous games. I must realistically add, that, whatever potential this game possessed at being “a good Final Fantasy” is far more important than it being “a good game.”

This is because Final Fantasy IS distinguished by its characters. Final Fantasy IS to what degree of emotional investment I place in its characters. Final Fantasy hinges on the strength of its plot. Its what we’d hope for all JRPGs but rarely, recently especially, ever find. Its what we hope to find by continually purchasing every Final Fantasy game and every side-game relating to it. All XIII offered me was a series of poor ideas and poor excuses for ideas. Regardless of how long it took to hit shelves, it was weak.

Should I just accept the fact that I’ll never feel like I felt in IV? What about II? Or VII, VIII, IX, X…? I’m not asking for another dip in the Lifestream, but should I care if Vanille gets shot? Probably. They’re trying to make me to care. I’m trying really hard to care. Sorry, I don’t care. If Square Enix wasn’t planning on making an actual Final Fantasy game, they shouldn’t have titled it as such.

I think the defining reason for our, to say the least, disappointment over Final Fantasy XIII was that it made us realize just how empty an aesthetically pleasing game was capable of being.

One of the four playable characters, Scott Shelby.

The “Four Days Challenge,” a cleverly concocted viral marketing campaign, went public on the 26^th of January. The challenge played out as a wild, internet goose chase, where eager followers of the upcoming interactive murder-mystery Heavy Rain scouted various social media websites for a taste of “killer” goodness. The mysterious “Origami Killer” as well as the game’s haunting tagline persisting “What would you do for love?” had me, a doomed lemming of game designer David Cage, enamored from the get-go. Quantic Dream recently surprised loyal detectives with a bit of early glee—a split-segment demo introducing two of the four playable characters in Heavy Rain,  accent-equipped “Nahmen Jeyden” (FBI agent Norman Jayden) and a very burly P.I., Scott Shelby. I’m no longer terrified to admit that I’ve recently made a quick turn-around from being a regretful PS3 owner; exclusives like Heavy Rain, Demon’s Souls, and Uncharted 2 are finally legitimizing my purchase. Very early-on in the development process, Cage stated that he couldn’t fathom translating Heavy Rain for any other platform aside from the PS3, the only console he felt could superbly handle his expectations visually. For this reason, including Sony’s role as publisher, I wouldn’t hold my breath expecting a multi-platform release anywhere down the line.

I can’t remember the last time I failed to properly classify game by it’s genre. Indigo Prophecy wasn’t a simple “adventure” game and “interactive movie,” as grandeur as it sounds, didn’t do this game’s originality any justice. Like its predecessor, the concept of Heavy Rain is what grabs ahold of me; its premise is extremely dark and serious. In an earlier interview regarding the type of audience Heavy Rain will cater to, Cage let it be known that the video-game industry suffers from a lack of “adult” appeal and his team strived to provide more mature audiences, even pessimistic “non-gamers,” a chance to enter a world they’d feel compelled to return to. The demo revealed Heavy Rain to be another unrivaled brainchild of Quantic Dream, except this time its awe-inspiring visuals will most likely equate to a darker, sexier, and more titillating experience.

Norman Jayden.

While starting off as Private Investigator Scott Shelby, the player acquaints themselves with the slightly unnatural, almost clunky controls. I say “clunky” because I don’t exactly understand the need to strain my index finger to “R2″ in order to simply set my character in motion; This may seem like a snarky complaint, but as a gamer who’s accustomed myself to many archetypical “adventure” titles, it’s weird to attribute anything but the joystick to walking and switching camera angles. Instead, the joystick is simply used to change the character’s literal direction and the camera angle may be manually changed at any time, enabling players to look at a scene from a different and perhaps, more revealing, perspective. Initially, I felt as if Quantic Dream wanted to challenge our “comfort zone” by manipulating how we utilize the PS3 controller. The core of Heavy Rain is clearly it’s interactivity and the player is constantly reminded of this one-of-a-kind feature during gameplay. In fact, I cannot get over the clever integration of the PS3 controller’s motion sensor. I specifically remember an instance from Indigo Prophecy when detective Carla Valenti was suffering from claustrophobia; the PC keyboard had limitations, so button mashing was our only option for keeping Carla calm. This time around however, the “quick time events” are paired with a more interactive feel and a variety of button sequences. Honestly, I felt more on-edge brawling with buttons than committing Grand Theft Auto and running over grannies to eighties music.

In many, if not most games, we’re always anxious for the next bit of info, usually wrapped-up in a pretty cutscene. In Heavy Rain however, we’re interacting with scenes we’d normally watch and instead of anticipating the outcome, Heavy Rain appoints players in-charge of the end result. Unlike Indigo Prophecy however, Heavy Rain is more suspenseful because it is more forgiving; whereas the previous title left little room for “game-over” mistakes, Heavy Rain makes use of a more realistic approach towards danger. If players screw-up and take a couple punches to the gut, the penalty is nowhere near as aggravating. Since the storyline will still progress regardless of death, I’m really excited by the thought of meaningful replayability as well. Lastly, Heavy Rain does offer a nicely integrated “hints system,” which is basically a series of personal thoughts swarming around the characters head; this neat tidbit aids players in their next task.

In the second segment of the demo, we’re introduced to the main elements of gameplay such as investigation and of course, interrogation. Although not demonstrated in the demo, I’m not quite sure if Heavy Rain will be devoid of time-sensitive responses; While probing other characters for relevant information, any questions missed cannot be asked again. It looks as if Heavy Rain more-so encourages players to ask the “right” questions, regardless of efficiency, but this is only an observation. Personally, I prefer the psychological approach.

In an interview with GameDaily, Executive Producer Guillaume de Fondaumière stressed that the characters are not simply “characters,” but actors capable of realistic and intense emotion; Clearly, both Cage and Guillaume knew exactly what they were talking about. The potential to develop a strong, personal connection with the cast of Indigo Prophecy was a compelling component inter-weaved in it’s gameplay; Unfortunately, many excellent characteristics embedded in this game suffered at the hands of it’s sub-par visuals and flat, blocky textures.  This time around however, it feels like Quantic Dream accomplished everything I’ve believed them to be capable of. The environments are dark, rich, and uninviting. I can hear Shelby breathing and I can see his breath. I can honestly say Heavy Rain is in a league of it’s own as far as our eyes go and as trivial as it sounds, even rummaging through Shelby’s pants during his miniature asthma attack is an adventure. Ultimately, the graphical presentation of Heavy Rain is arguably the most important connection between the game and the player; it’s what truly blurs the line between a Hollywood film and an interactive ‘Film-Noir thriller,” so to speak.

Aside from the “just O.K.” voice acting, it’s safe to say that this game already has a spot on my “buy” list. I’m totally ready to play something refreshing after hours upon hours of all-night RPG stints. For all the PS3less people, watch me play the demo in HD…and suffer.

Previous: Day 1 “Four Days Challenge” Investigation
Previous: Day 2 & 3 “Four Days Challenge” Investigation
Previous: Day 4 “Four Days Challenge” Investigation

6:40 PM 02.05.10 Day 5-8

The past few days haven’t been as foggy as last week, when I was only beginning to comprehend what the hell is going on. Why is this happening to me? I still continue to ask this question …without answers. “@PerfectFolds” is doing a splendid job of setting up a witch hunt, wouldn’t you say? I feel like I’ve wasted so much time thinking harder than I should; this is probably my biggest downfall. Thinking too much is a disease, honestly. All these wasted days trying to understand the significance of all those Twitter accounts. Ungh, it just makes my head spin. I just… don’t understand. The FBI came to my door the other day. Apparently word gets around when you’re a suspected killer, twittering away. Or is it “tweeting?” Whatever, I’m tired. They asked me for my cooperation and let me listen to a recorded 911 call from a terrified woman:

According to her, she witnessed a strange man lingering outside. She shut off her lights and watched him, utterly frightened, through her window. Luckily, they kept her on the phone long enough to get some information out of her. Good thing the police arrived in-time, because she quickly caught his eye.

Our town is turning into some-kind of Hitchcock movie.

I’m just glad she’s ok… for now. Shortly thereafter, the FBI must’ve got ahold of a few witnesses aside from the woman on the phone. One of them was a peculiar man, “@SleeperInTheSun,” who claimed he may have witnessed a murder. I don’t… I don’t even want to talk about this. I don’t know why I’m doing this. I want to get away from here but… “@SleeperInTheSun” helped us more than anyone else. The FBI lead me to http://www.precinct52.com where I had to wait 24-hours for evidence pick-up. Yesterday, they had my full cooperation when they handed me a slightly crinkled letter addressed to yours truly.

I used everything that “@SleeperInTheSun” mentioned. I knew there were clues in his words, big clues. They needed four pieces of evidence and I never thought I’d be able to pick-apart this nightmare, but the FBI informed me that I had been the biggest help of all. I haven’t felt this useful in a long, long time. I guess we don’t necessarily need to be “important” to help people. Who cares about reputation, right? Anyway, I feel good. I fgured I’d do good to share with everyone the evidence I hand-picked and why. Information is power. Knowledge is power. I know it’s sounds so… corny, but I’m starting to understand this now. I just never thought I’d have to be placed in such excruciating circumstances to figure this out. We learn the hard way, don’t we? Thanks to the evidence, http://www.precinct52.com was able to pick-out two suspects with a link to their Facebookpages: Roland Narwood and DeShaun Snap Knapp. Piece of cake, right?

1117/B “@SleeperInTheSun” mentioned how a woman across the street from him smokes cigarettes, but only takes a few puffs and throws ‘em out. Naturally, I went with the short one without lipstick. Mr. Narwood mentioned he’s fond of smoking, too.

1117/E “Think like a killer…”

1117/C A picture of a coffee shop was displayed on the evidence board via http://www.precinct52.com. “@SleeperInTheSun” mentioned that he doesn’t drink coffee, but does have a substance abuse addiction to alcohol. He also mentioned how this particular cup of coffee looked expensive, most likely from an “up-town” place. I matched the logos from the coffee to the company logo on the outside of the coffee shop.

1117/H Suspect DeShaun Snap Knapp mentioned how he loves “imports,” so I went with the tires from an imported model. “@SleeperInTheSun” was also adamant about the suspect driving away in the passenger’s seat. Many European cars are RHD (right-hand drive), where the driver’s seat is on the right side. I’m guessing it was an “import.”

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“* Four Days: The Heavy Rain Online Experience is a live event which plays

out in real time across three weeks. Between Tuesday and Friday every week there will be daily tasks for you to complete. Each task will lead you onto the next part of the journey. At key stages you will be prompted, whilst on other occasions you will need to deduce the right thing to do. You will receive an instructional email at the beginning of each of the three weekly events, and you can always turn to the Facebook Fan Page Community for help and discussion http://www.facebook.com/heavyrainofficialfanpage.”

Remember – make your choices, and live with the consequences. Because your smallest decisions can change everything…”