Video Game Review 1

Kim Zimmerman
Video Game Review 1
Red Faction: Guerilla

Well I must begin by stating that I survived my first video game night with the guys from work; however, it cost me a hefty grocery bill in return for the help and education of video games. Red Faction: Guerilla was my first experience in the video game world. Now, being a virgin video gamer, I was immediately impressed with the extent of the graphics and how lifelike each movement was. I also couldn’t believe the depth of the storyline that was involved and how it connected to the first two games in the series. What I thought to be most confusing was all the words and notes that kept popping up on the screen. To me, as I was playing, they became very distracting. Also, the size of the map of the game seemed to be rather large and takes an exceptional amount of time to get through. I found myself getting lost in the different zones because they were too large to become familiarized with.
When I first started playing the game I was mesmerized with the extent of art and details that were put into the game. I always knew there was a lot of detail in video games, but going from playing Wii tennis to Red Faction just made me realize how intense the, physics engine (as was described to me) was for this particular game. Everything from the dust kicking up as Mason ran on Mars’ surface to the shadows on the characters faces, bodies and movements. Every time there was an explosion the blue/white colors of the explosions, as well as the sound that mimicked each motion was fascinating to me and really made me appreciate the technicality of the game.
Another part of the game that I found a very positive feature was the story line that followed the game. You learn the story of the two characters, Mason and Sam. You play Mason, a Guerilla trying to take back Mars from the EDF, by liberating each zone. Another character you don’t play but learn about is Mason’s go to girl, Sam. She is almost always beside him as he travels to each zone. If not personally with him, she is with him over radio contacting and leading him through the zone. I liked how after you complete certain missions, there is a ‘scene’ that will explain to you more of the story line. I can understand how a person could become wrapped up in a game and play for hours creating and playing more of the storyline.
Part of the game that I didn’t like, which may have been because of my inexperience of playing such an in-depth game, were all the distractions on the screen that seemed unnecessary. As the different icons were popping up on the screen I would spend more time trying to figure out what each one meant that I’d end up getting shot and die. Thank goodness that you can ‘respawn’ as many times as you want because my poor character would not have survived the evening.
I also was astonished at how large the extent of the game was. There were so many zones that needed to be liberated and each zone was rather large. I found myself getting turned around driving through the zones. Every place I went was reddish brown with big mountains and big steel machinery and buildings. I was very happy to have the guys guiding me through each area or I’d have felt very lost.
I thought another draw back of such a large area was the length of each game. To complete and liberate each zone to win the game, it would take hours and hours. However, after bring this point up to the other players; my thought was overruled that the length was truly about the length of any regular game. So this began another part of the education of video games I was receiving. No wonder people spend hours playing, because it takes an incredible amount of time to win.
Overall I found playing this game and education of video games for me and an overall enjoyable evening. I learned so much more about video game in general from this game that it was extremely helpful. I think the extent of Red Faction: Guerilla, made it easy to explain a lot of the basic but also educate me on how intense a game can really be.
This is definitely not a game I would willingly go to the store and pick out; however, I found it to be overall fascinating and very educational. I know this is to be a review and critique of a particular video game; but as I played and viewed this game it became a lot more than that for my purpose. I still don’t know lot of different names of games and I couldn’t even tell you the zones that I played in, in this game; but I now have an even bigger appreciation for this line of art. My first response would be to give whoever designed this game a 10 because there is so much work, intensity and details that went into designing it, I could never imagine being capable of creating something of this magnitude. But then when it comes to personal preference I’d give it about a 4. Therefore, after writing this review, I believe more than ever that there is no way to properly place a numerical rating on a game. So much of playing the game is personal preference. With so many types of games and so many different genres, each person is going to rate the game based on their person bias. However, I did enjoy the game and I found it to create a very fun social atmosphere and something I look forward to doing again in a couple weeks with a new game.

My Review

When it comes to our game review, I have to say that I hope to have everyones patience and understanding :). I can honestly say I have already learned sooo much from this class and continue to learn more as I read more articles and speak with more acquaintainces about them. However, I know when I begin my review I'll be leaving out many important aspects. Things I will be looing for in my review will be graphics, audio, difficulty and storyline.

Before I began this class I never knew there were storylines within video games. This may sound "uneducated" but I truly never thought about it! However, I see how it adds so much to the game and how it could make someone become "engaged " in even "obsessed" with a game.

I have also learned that there is a huge difference in the difficulties of different games and levels. So this may seem elementary but as a casual gamer this is something I wouldn't necessairly pay attention to. If I began playing a game and constantly lost I would assume that I just sucked at the game. When really, I may not be very good, but I also could have it set at a level that is WAY beyond my level of ability and understanding.

Therefore, when I write my review it will be aimed at the causal gamers and hardcore gamers would/could/should disreguard my review when researching for a new game. However, my review would be aimed at someone with my same knowledge. But just as anything else, that may be exactly what a particular person is looking. Someone who is a very causal gamer and would only play for fun and not to beat the game or break though new levels.

Video Game Culture

To say that video games have a large following and an ever growing culture would be an understatement. Video games and their players, whether casual or hardcore, has been an ever growing hobby/life/entertainment/etc. that's popularity has been multiplying over the last couple centuries. In my opinion, video games and their players deserve to be acknowledged as having their own culture. Dictionary.com defines culture as, "The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought." According to this definition video games qualifies as it's own culture. It truly is a behavior made up of human work that involves art, beliefs, etc. socially.



By stating this I think we can verify that video games is more than just a hip tread that will disappear in the near future. In fact, quite the opposite; I think we are only seeing the beginning of this culture taking off. Whether the manufactures are targeting the casual or hardcore gamers, there will always be a new game or console that millions will want to play for hours and hours.

Video Games vs. Videogames

Before this class I can honestly say I had NEVER thought about proper grammar when it came to video games. The discussion about XBox vs. XBOX vs. X Box and combinations of them all was nothing that occurred to me to think about. However, with the ever growing culture surrounding video games it is important to have common grammar rules for journalists, book keeping and writers. When it comes to the debate about what video games should be called I think we need to stick to the common known title of video games. Things like digital entertainment and such are names that would not catch on very quickly and would confuse more people than help clarify the definition of video games. As for the debate of whether they should be referred to as video games or videogames, I don't know if I'm educated on video games to decide this factor. I think splitting the word up shows us that we are talking about a particular type of game, which in a sense we are. When you keep the word connected it makes us think we are discussing one 'think', and in a sense we are. Therefore, in my opinion I think they could both be logically correct. I think the way we write it depends on the content of the article or writing. (I do want to make a small comment: after I finished writing this post I spell checked it and the computer did not reconize videogames as a word. I just found that interesting considedring the topic of the blog.)

Introduction

Hi Class! My name is Kimberly Zimmerman and I am a second year senior here at University of Michigan-Flint. Before attending U of M I received my associates in Arts and Science from Mott. This semester is my last semester of class before I do my student teaching in the Winter then receive my degree in Elementary Education. My major is Language Arts and my minor is Social Studies. Along with school I work at Gill-Roys Hardware, where I have been a cashier for the last 6 years. I also coach the Linden varsity cheer team, where I love working with my team and building skills and self confidence in them. I am very much looking forward to taking this class because I literally know NOTHING about video games. I think this will be a very educational and fun class. I look forward to all of you teaching me lots of new things this semester.