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Controller1.com FOCUS TEST- 2008 Ramblings

No, we’re not drunk. We just make as much sense as two drunks talking about video games. Join Cam and George on a journey through the year that was.

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Published in Tuesday, December 30th, 2008, at 10:15 am, and filed under PODCATS.

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3 Responses

  1. LisVender LisVender Says:
    December 30th, 2008 at 9:16 pm

    This is a nice surprise: two Focus Tests in one week! Going to listen to this one on the way to work.

  2. LisVender LisVender Says:
    December 30th, 2008 at 10:31 pm

    Okay, I’ve listened to it, and now I must comment. I must, because George nailed two of my complaints about 2008′s perfect-10 games. I mean, he totally mirrored them.

    First, I burst out laughing in approval at George’s cognitive dissonance regarding Niko Bellic’s whining in Grand Theft Auto IV. I think Niko is a likeable guy, but he’s way out of place in a GTA game. He complains about being hunted by the cops and the mob, and yet he’s capable of mowing down hundreds of strangers with both cars and automatic weapons in his free time. What a whinger! I think the reason so many folks like Vice City is that Tommy Vercetti was a pissed-off psychopath, and thus his antisocial behavior suited him. I want the next GTA game to be set on the Texas-Mexico border, with Anton Chigurh as the protagonist. You can drive about, punching folks in the forehead with a captive-bolt pistol and blowing up cars to steal prescription drugs.

    Then, George nailed a complaint I’ve had with Japanese voice acting for years: that pissy little grunt/gulp/gasp that EVERY SINGLE FUCKING seiyu has mastered. You hear it in every fucking anime and video game, even Legend of Zelda – Twilight Princess. When the production is dubbed, the English actors imitate it in their own personal ways, but in the original Japanese audio, it’s always the same. It’s a quick little “eh,” “guh,” or “ah” followed by a sharp draw of breath. I’ve never heard anyone make this sound in real life, and its ubiquitous nature pisses me off. Is the technical term for it really [awkward grunt]? I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a Japanese word and kanji for it.

    I also agree with George to a lesser degree that Metal Gear Solid 4 is a terrific game when you’re playing it. The cutscenes, however, are adolescent and repulsive. The controls are perfect and the atmosphere is amazing…for the first two acts, the war zones. Had I been one of the first people to review this game, I would have happily given it a 5 out of 10, simply because only half of the game is any good.

    Yes, Spore was the disappointment of the decade, and LittleBigPlanet was over-sold. Nowadays games are such bloated, over-budgeted monstrosities that they need to be hyped to heaven and back in order for their insecure publishers to expect a profit.

    Great podcats. Wonderful work. I love the earthy discussion of the true minute-to-minute problems and pleasures of today’s games, with all the hyperbole and veiled advertising tossed in the rubbish bin. I missed Clint in this one. I’d love to know what his Game of the Year was.

  3. George George Says:
    December 30th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

    Clint will no doubt disagree with everything we said. Can’t wait!
    :)

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