A Hidden Gem: Metro 2033

Our blind Let's Play of Metro 2033 is finished, guys. We destroyed the Dark Ones with the same nuclear fires that birthed them, hopefully providing a modicum of peace to the Metro before the next threat comes over the horizon.

Tom Sea and I both loved this game, being practically perfect in almost every way (do yourself the service of playing the game in its native Russian for the truest experience).  The items in the game's favor are numerous, but what impressed me the most about it and why it receives such lofty praise from the Sons is the atmosphere. Skulking around the pitch-black tunnels of  the ruined metro, trying to avoid both man and beast, keeps you on the edge of your seat in a way I haven't felt since I played the first Metal Gear Solid all those years ago. Even the stations practically drip with a realist feel as the survivors of the Last Great War huddle together to eke out some survivability from practically every resource they can.

I don't say this very often, but this is a game that I feel rivals BioShock in almost every regard (and I love, love, love BioShock). Traveling the tunnels, I got flashbacks of walking the narrow corridors of Rapture, the glass standing between me and the Atlantic reminding me just how trapped I was in that former submerged Eden. The metro tunnels are almost the only slightly welcoming place in Metro in that regard as well. The above-ground, like the ocean that surrounds Rapture, is a place not meant for man, being more dangerous than the metros by many folds.

But game feel isn't everything, and Metro keeps that in mind with a surprisingly gripping story of a young man's journey through the new world created by war. The NPCs and player companions form a very real-feeling support background which helps Artyom grow along each leg of his journey and inform his decisions and choices down the line. One level in particular sticks out as Khan, the magician of the metro, led me through the tunnels, showing that not everything in this world was a threat to man; it was simply the next stage of life in the world, and men should move along with it. A stark contrast to Miller, a ranger commander who imparts one crucial bit of advice to Artyom, "If it's hostile, you kill it."

It's rare when games encourage actual player learning over heaping rewards on them, and I feel it was a good choice for a game where survival is paramount objective. Yes, as the game progresses, new gear and guns become available, but unlike a Fallout, which ammo and health is fairly plentiful, the restrictions applied to their use through ammo shortages make a player think twice about engaging every enemy he passes. The guns, by the way, use mostly crappy homemade rounds which pale in comparison to today's "good bullets," which make even the most threatening-looking of weapons less effective against the strongest beasts that Metro has to offer. So it behooves that play to use every scrap of knowledge he's picked up during the game--avoiding danger, finding alternate paths, making every single shot count--to survive, not simply to hold down the trigger and wait for the muzzle flash to die down.

In the end, it all comes together to make a true gaming treasure. The only thing I ever knew about the game before playing it is that it had gas masks and funky homemade guns. What I got was a great gaming experience that kept me interested throughout its whole length and one I'll remember fondly for a long time.

Metro 2033 is available for PC (you can buy it on Steam for probably less than ten bucks) and Xbox 360. Its sequel, Last Light, will be released Q1 2013 and will be for PC, Xbox, and PS3.

--D Marx

An Unbiased, Totally Fair Piece on why the NCR is Awesome and You Suck for Not Liking Them* (Part 1)

Okay guys. I'm pulling back the curtain for reals. The past few posts/articles/pieces/whatevers, I've made mention to New Vegas (*cough* the best game of this gaming generation*cough*), but this is going to be the first article fully devoted to New Vegas. It's gonna get geeky. It's gonna get political-y. It's gonna get fanboy-y. So...you know...just be ready for that.

I'm just gonna start off with a pretty non-inflammatory statement: Caesar's Legion can seriously go suck a rusty railroad spike and is consistently terrible. I've heard people who actually defend this faction of monsters in men's skin, saying "Oh well Caesar actually protects his lands from raiders" and "Caesar is trying to build a whole culture, not just a nation" and "Caesar isn't just waging a war on the NCR, he's winning the war against post-apocalyptic childhood obesity!" I think some people may actually kind of romanticize the Legion: the NCR to them is the capitalist bourgeois where the wealthy exercise political power by putting caps in the pockets of those who make the NCR's policies. And on the surface, it probably makes sense to fall in line with the Legion. The strong, the worthy, the clever lead the lesser men, having their talents recognized by their superiors. If you're a dude. This is the first real pitfall of the Legion, and that is the fact that it's totally sexist: women are slaves, alternating between heavy labor and a different kind of labor...you know, the kind with babies. Hopefully most women who play the game are smart enough to realize that's enough of a reason to realize that the Legion is pretty much less-than-human scum.

"But D Marx," I can hear you say through my magical powers of the Mystic Ear, "hating women isn't the only thing the Caesar does. Caesar is all about making something better than yourself, building a society one bloody step at a time." I know the Legion is pretty much just an allegory for a fascist dictatorship (did I say allegory? I meant to say that's exactly what it is without any question), the foundation of which is that your life belongs to the state, and your purpose is to make the state strong. And that's pretty much it. Something that I don't think a lot of people know is that fascism is based on several crucial ideas, not the least of which is a state of perpetual war. Caesar has already overseen the conquest of eighty-seven tribes (if this DLC armor is to be believed), and has his sights set on the NCR, a true rival to his own power. But what comes after that? Take a break? NOPE. Off to find some other, lesser jerks to, you know, enslave, terrorize, rape, and murder.


Anyway, that's part one done. I'll talk a little more about why the NCR rules and a little less why the Legion sucks next time.


*If you like the NCR then you do not suck.

D Marx's Top 5 Flash Games from Onemorelevel.com!

In the wake of our fabulous flash games podcast, I was inundated with emails from you loyal listeners reading: "Hey D Marx! Tell me what flash games I should play! I've never heard of the internet or search engines before!"

After getting over the irony of that last sentence, I set out to scour my favorite flash game website, onemorelevel.com, for my top 5 games to recommend to our listeners. These games are guaranteed to help you waste an afternoon or twelve at your boring place of business or education. So, rolling down from number 5, let's get this show on the road so I can go back to totally not looking at internet porn.

Number 5: 4, 5, 6 Differences

Okay these are all pretty much the same: your standard "spot the differences" flash game. What sets them apart is the ultra-relaxing soundtrack and the truly unique art style of ivoryboy, which brings an almost disturbing realness into the pictures in front of you. Heck, just leave the game on and have the music play if nothing else.

Also, I don't remember which game it's in, but how creepy is that moose-man in the subway level?

Number 4: Castle Clout: Return of the King

This game is like Angry Birds (I think), but instead of birds, you use a medieval trebuchet. And instead of pigs, you try and kill off enemy soldiers and kings. I call that an improvement.

Number 3: Learn to Fly 2

 Some people say penguins can't fly. The little penguin in this game has always heard that and decided that all they need to fly is a giant ice slope and a hang glider with a rocket attached to it. Learn to Fly 2 is part flash game, part thrilling drama, part documentary, but mostly it's just a flash game. However, seeing that little penguin flying along the surface of the Antarctic Ocean at 100 miles an hour is quite a joy, especially when you finally reach the end goal.

Number 2: Monster's Den: The Book of Dread

This game is as close to a classic Dungeons and Dragons-style dungeon crawl as you probably can get in a flash game. You'd think that it would get board after the billionth level of dungeon full of undead or drunken dwarves or evil cultists, but the sheer amount of random loot and dungeons combined with the ability to sell off old gear and the sheer number of possible number of teams would make Gary Gygax get a raging DMing boner. Again, a few tips: you're going to want a cleric. Or two. Or an entire team of them. The sheer versatility of the cleric makes them indispensable in the dungeon. Capable of casting healing and offense spells, wearing the heaviest armor, and wielding both shields and their own custom item, the censer, clerics put just about every other class to shame (although rangers aren't slouches either).

Number 1: Scuba

This game is beautiful, simple, and nearly flawless. Like Minecraft, this game is based around gathering resources, which you use to build upgrades and to rebuild the engine of your spaceship (except you trade in your archaic pickax with a top-of-the-line laser). The calming soundtrack only adds to the fun you have exploring down to the absolute depths of the randomly-seeded environment, and it's definitely worth replaying just to try and beat your previous time.

That's it for now, loyal readers/listeners/watchers/whateverers. Enjoy these games with my complements.

--D Marx

Hey guys, do you love animal crossing music as much as I do? This site automatically changes on the hour and plays the music that WOULD be playing in animal crossing at that time. I love it with all my heart. Stay up til 2am for the SOVOP intro! Also stay up til 3am for a sweet bassline!

http://tane.us/ac/

VGM the Best!

Hey readers! Check out VGM the Best on Twitter to download the latest collection of assorted video game music from across the generations. Volume 4 is the most recent release, and Vols 1, 2, and 3 are great too. Wholly Sons of Vidya endorsed.

--D Marx

Borderlands 2: Collector's Edition

Guys. Check out the Borderlands 2 super edition thing. So much cool 'swag' and 'loot.' Borderlands is a perennial favorite of the Sons and we are unbelievably excited for the sequel coming in Q4. We're gonna play the s out of it and you lucky ducks are probably gonna get to WATCH IT. YEAH. EXCITEMENT.

The Art of (Video Game) War

Like I said in the last post, video games are pretty violent. So it should be little surprise that so many games involve war. I mean, 'war' and 'violence' go together like peanut butter and jelly, or peanut butter and jelly and bread. It so happens that most people only really know about fighting wars comes through media, including video games. But video games, like almost everything else ever, gets some things pretty wrong when it comes to how good men and women blast the living bejezzus out of each other.

1. Giant, bipedal robots would not be efficient at anything other than falling over. Hilariously.

The culprits: Metal Gear Solid series, Armored Core series, Front Mission series, every Mobile Suit Gundam game ever

Okay kids, let's talk. You best count your lucky stars that you can walk out of your house with falling over like a 1920s slapstick film. Humans aren't what anyone would call stable. You know how cats and dogs have four legs? And tails? Ever try pushing a dog over? It's pretty hard, because dogs are extremely balanced. Give your neighbor a push (note, I am not condoning that), and there's a good chance they'll land on the ground (maybe in a pile of dog poop if you're a comedy master). Humans are tall and top-heavy, and even other animals similar to us like chimpanzees and gorillas use their front arms to walk for stability.

Now, taking what we've just learned about humans and their nearly miraculous ability to not fall over in a stiff wind, let's apply that to a several ton bipedal robot made out of heavy metals and standing several stories high. Unless your plan is to have them fall en masse onto your enemies (which may be against the Hague convention but would make a damn good highlight reel), it would not be particularly practical. Even AT-ATs, which have the benefit of a pair of pair of legs can't stay up after a few passes of a Rebel tow cable.

2. Invading America would only end in tears. For everyone who isn't an American citizen.


The culprits: World in Conflict, Modern Warfare 2&3, Homefront

To the best of my knowledge, the United States of America has been invaded four times since the end of its revolution, the last being in the Second World War II when the Japanese invaded Alaska to try and cripple the American naval power in the Pacific. After that, when the whole 'Cold War' thing happened and America became the go-to superpower in the world, with an ever-present threat of those damn Commies sailing across the Atlantic on their boats made of Marx's manifesto.

But, when it comes to war, the United States is not a place that screws around even for a second. Seeing as the country accounts for almost half the military spending of the world (as in, the US spends half and then everyone else on the planet spends the rest). The United States is in the god-tier of military tournament characters, with one of the largest, best-trained, and most well-equipped military forces on the planet. Now, you astute observers of history will say "But D Marx, the American military lost a war against a bunch of crazy dudes in jungle, and couldn't win a war against two very poorly equipped Middle Eastern nations, getting into a quagmire in both situations against foes that really should've been finished in months if not weeks."

Which kind of then proves my point. Americans, by and large, love America. And most would not take even a little bit kindly to someone speaking a different language driving a bunch of tanks all over their front lawns. Considering how everyone in the history of mankind thinks that Americans are gun-crazy, it's likely that every major city in the US would, according to some guy I read on the internet, "a mini-Stalingrad." Not to mention the fact that not only would the United States armed forces (again, one of the most powerful armies in the history of the world) would be worrying about defending truth, justice, and the American way, but they'd also be jetting around the globe and beating the living daylights out of whoever's invading America. Bad.

3. Not everyone knows how to fly a helicopter, plane, or drive a tank.


The culprits: Almost every war game ever made, with few exceptions

As any person who's actually done any of these activities before can tell you, one does not simply walk into a tank and drive it towards a group of unfortunate enemy soldiers (cue outdated Boromir meme). Tanks are pretty complicated pieces of machinery, in case you hadn't noticed. It's not like driving a car or riding a bike (although I'm told once you learn how, you never forget). Tanks weigh a lot, are hard to move, oh, and don't forget, don't have wheels. Not to mention the fact that a modern tank has a crew of about four: one to drive the thing, two to work the main gun and other armaments, and one to coordinate everyone else. And this is all pretty specialized training that soldiers devote their entire careers to doing, along with all the maintenance and repair that goes into keeping a modern army rolling.

Same goes to aircraft, only much more so. Flying a helicopter or a plane, takes a lot of know-how, just like driving a tank, and very few people in their right minds would fly solo. There's a lot of information for a single person to process, which is why just about every modern aircraft is a tandem deal--a pilot to actually fly the plane, and a copliot (or whatever they're called, I certainly can't be bothered to look it up) to do just about everything else, including tracking targets, shooting at targets, and making sure that the pilot doesn't get them both killed to death.

4. Oh, and how about that sniping is a solo task, too?


The culprits: Pretty much any game that features a sniper rifle

Okay, I'll be the first to admit: sniper rifles are pretty cool. Rugged, accurate, deadly, what's not to love, right? The image of a lone sniper, watching over a ridge for enemy movements, picking off unfortunate stragglers of an enemy force is pretty ingrained in the social consciousness of war. And, in case you haven't figured this out by reading this article, it's pretty darn wrong. Almost every good sniper post-World War II operates in a two-soldier cell called a sniper team. Sniping is a pretty exact science--the targets a sniper needs to hit happen to be at a considerable distance, in which any number of things (wind, weather, distance, target movement, cover) can throw off a potential killshot. So, while a sniper is hard at work actually aiming at their target, his partner--called a spotter-- is worrying about just everything else, including making sure that the team isn't snuck up on and murdered to death. Oh, and a spotter does other cool stuff like call down artillery or perform surveillance on the enemy and report it back to HQ, and is also a damn fine marksmen himself, since spotters and snipers switch duties.

That's it for now guys. Thanks for your support as always, and keep up the good work...whatever it is.

--D Marx

I Shot a Man in New Reno, Just to Watch Him Die

Video games are pretty darn violent. With the exception of the cutest, cuddliest 'rated E10 and under' releases, most video games involve some sort of protagonist running around with an oversized weapon of choice (sword, gun, lollipop, cabinet, paintbrush, what have you) sending baddies to the hot place with some well-timed use of attacks and Special Hyper Combos. Concerned parents often get up in arms about the games where the sole focus is the destruction of thine enemies (although I've noticed a decrease in this kind of uproar within the past few years), saying that it shows too much crude and gory violence. Games like Grand Theft Auto and Mortal Kombat (especially the most recent release) have an almost pornographic violence to them, and to be honest I don't see the appeal of teaming up with a shadow copy of yourself and pulling a man in half by his legs (definitely NSFW, definitely bloody. Just FYI).

I think that kind of ultraviolence is a minority of the video game population. Like I said, video games are violent, but in most cases, the violence does have a justification to them. Take Commander Shepard in Mass Effect. Shepard is a murder machine, wasting geth, krogan, reaper, ice cream stand, and intergalactic government official with little remorse. But it's war. And while a lot of people would argue that war isn't a good thing, it was good enough to save the world from a crazy man bent on world domination 70 years ago. No one had a problem with that kind of violence, because guess what? It was necessary. When Shepard kills a wing of vorcha mercenaries keeping him from curing a plague in a poor community, those jerks totally got what was coming to them. If a bunch of bad people are doing bad things to innocent people and can't be reasoned with, most people would advocate getting out your level 72 +9 holy smiting claymore and going to town on them to protect those in need. Weapons and violence are a tool, just like anything else, and when used in a righteous manner, I don't think it's any cause for concern.

And not even every release makes violence a necessary part of the game. From the very beginning of its franchise, the Metal Gear Solid games stress that unnecessary bloodshed is bad, and the highest ratings you can get in those games can only be gotten through not killing a single man. The same goes for the latest Deus Ex game (and maybe the other ones too I don't know), and in all of the Fallout games, almost every major enemy or challenge can be overcome through words or stealth. These kinds of things teach kids that there are other answers to violence and that with a bit of cunning, challenges can be overcome without it. But again, in most cases, no one would begrudge Solid Snake or Adam Jensen for using deadly force against a bunch of terrorists/rogue government agents/crazy Illuminati.

That's it for now. Lucky episode 7 is up. Check out our youtube page and I'll see you kids later.

--D Marx

Who Do You Think You Are? The Style of PCs

Let's compare Commander Shepard of Mass Effect fame with the Courier from Fallout: New Vegas, shall we?


Take my Shepard, Wren. Wren Shepard grew up on a space station, never setting foot on a planet until she was in her teens. Her parents were proud members of the Human Systems Alliance Navy, and when Wren came-of-age, she followed in her parents' footsteps and joined the Alliance Marines. When Batarian slavers attacked the human colony of  Elysium, Wren single-handed protected the colonists from the invaders, earning the Star of Terra and being selected into the prestigious N7 program. During this time, she rose through the ranks, eventually becoming the Executive Officer of one of the most advanced ships ever built, the Normandy, under the command of Captain David Anderson. And that was before the game even started.

Now, let's look at one of my Couriers, Adam. Adam is a courier. He ran afoul of Benny and his Great Khan cronies outside of Goodsprings whilst carrying the Platinum chip. Annnnnd that's it.

These are two pretty different kinds of PCs. One is a fleshed out character in a long story: creating Shepard in Mass Effect involves deciding who Shepard is, and where he/she has come from. Deciding the story of Shepard comes even before deciding what Shepard looks like. In ME1, the first scene of game comes with the knowledge of the kind of person that Shepard is. It's fairly important to the story; Shepard's past changes and informs how the NPCs of the galaxy interact with him/her, and even comes back to haunt him/her at certain points of Shepard's story.

The Courier is, of course, almost the exact opposite, a blank slate. While snippets of who the Courier is comes out occasionally in conversation with other NPCs, really, it almost doesn't matter the roads that the Courier has walked. The world continues turning even without knowing every detail of the Courier's life.

So who's the stronger PC? The obvious choice is Shepard; after all, Shepard is a fleshed out PC with a lot of hooks, a fair amount of depth, and that's reflected in the world around it. But really this isn't a fair comparison. What the Courier lacks in backstory he/she more than makes up for by just being a set-piece in a bigger story around them. Shepard is the king of the Mass Effect chessboard: the most important thing on the board that, by the end of the third game, becomes the single focal point of all the galaxy's attention. The Courier, by contrast, is really a pawn in the big scheme of things, especially to those he/she chooses to work for throughout the course of the game. The Courier slogs along, one square at a time, until the Battle of Hoover Dam where it meets the other end of the board and becomes the queen, the most powerful piece on the board. This is the second biggest difference between the Courier and Shepard: Shepard is a child of circumstance, a (wo)man who happens to receive a message from a long-dead civilization fortelling the death of the galaxy, setting him/her on a course of the its salvation from the Reapers. The Courier is a child of nurture, someone who makes decisions based on what's best for him/her as opposed to what needs to be done. While both PCs are ultimately the arbiters of their own fate, making the decisions that shake the world around them, the motivations for the characters are radically different.

I like Shepard. I like being able to choose who (s)he is and what happens to him/her. But I like the Courier too. I like being able to put myself in the Courier's shoes, pretending that I'm lynchpin of the war of attrition between the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion. And it's that ability to be in New Vegas that makes the Courier every bit as memorable as Shepard. In my opinion.

--D Marx

Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

Hello loyal Sons supporters! Apologies for the lack of updates as of late, but your Sons have been busy working on our brand-spanking new Youtube account! That's right; now you can watch your favorite Sons do quick reviews, play-throughs (or 'Let's Plays' to those in the biz), and whatever else we feel like throwing on. Go there, watch the videos, and ENJOY them!

Also, this week's podcast is up, detail the Sons' views on how homosexuality is portrayed in video games; who does it right, who does it wrong, and who doesn't do it at all. Also they talk the new fighting game sensation, Skullgirls, which can be downloaded on the PSN and Xbox Arcade. And, of course, the legendary SONS OF VIDYA SPEED REVIEWS!

Thanks as always for the support and don't be afraid to email us with  anything that's on your mind!

--D Marx

Second Episode! TOP 5

Hello hello! D Marx here with your Sons of Vidya update. We have now released our second podcast, which we've conveniently been able to link right to this blog for you, the fans. This week, the Sons discuss the Top 5 games of this generation. Who made the list? Who got snubbed? Be sure to send us tons of emails agreeing with us or a few emails disagreeing with us. We also discuss what's currently in our consoles right now, and of course our famous Speed Reviews. Download, listen, and enjoy!

--D Marx

Fall of the Samurai and Scheduling News

Hey everyone! D Marx with another Sons of Vidya blog update. Today I'm talking recommendations, and that is for the newest expansion for Shogun II Total War, Fall of the Samurai. The latest from the Total War team takes you to the Meiji Restoration period of Japan, where the old ways of bushido begin to conflict with the oncoming of Western military technology and ideology. Fight as six different clans, three traditional samurai and three that embrace the ways of the West. New units like devastating Gatling guns and ironclads will give the traditional samurai the truest challenge a warrior can face. Fall of the Samurai will be released this Friday, the 23rd, and you can preorder it now through Steam.

In addition, the Sons of Vidya are now releasing our glorious podcast every Tuesday. Be sure to subscribe to us on iTunes or check our RSS feed for the latest releases. Thank you for all your support and don't hesitate to pop us an email.

--D Marx

First podcast is best podcast

Hello listeners; we at the Sons of Vidya are proud to bring you our very first podcast! This week we discuss Mass Effect 3 (there are some spoilers, be forewarned), we discuss Playing This, Not That with Guilty Gear over the newly released Street Fighter X Tekken, and the classic Sons of Vidya lightning review! Be sure to drop us a line at our email (sonsofvidya@gmail.com) and you may end up with a fabulous prize. You can find the podcast here or you can find us on iTunes!

And be sure to keep checking the blog! Thanks for the support!

--D Marx