Next week, Super Street Fighter IV comes out! Awesome. I've been polishing up my Tournament Edition Fightstick in anticipation (no double entendres to be read there).I'm looking forward to the new characters, ultras, stages, modes, and matches. Looking at the new characters, I might stick with Gouken as my main, but I'll give Makoto and Hakan a try.

Will I rack up another 100+ hoursplaying SSFIV? We'll see.

Round two... FIGHT!

I got the Platinum Trophy for Batman: Arkham Asylum. That was tons of fun.

Plus, I splurged on several new games: God of War III, Tekken 6, a Super Street Fighter IV pre-order, and Patapon 2 for $7.99 on PSN. Awesome.

It's all awesome.

I don't usually like Challenge Modes. Usually, I just play the main story or gameplay mode, and I leave things like Time Attack and Endless Mode to their own devices. If there are unlockables or trophies involved, I might give these modes a try, but for the most part they hold little interest with me. I left the Portal challenge maps largely untouched. I hardly broke into the Shadow of the Colossus time attacks. I struggled through the Street Fighter IV challenges (except for the hard trials) and they weren't very enjoyable. It wasn't until the God of War Collection that I bothered with the Challenges of the Gods and Titans.

But now Batman: Arkham Asylum once more shows its true brilliance with a Challenge Mode that I actually find worth playing. First of all, the Batman challenges are not constrained by time limits (except for one), which I am immediately grateful for. I am not a speedy gamer. I like to take my time with things whenever I am able to. The Batman challenges take two of the best things about the game, the combat and the stealth sequences, and place you right in the thick of them to play whenever you want. The combat challenges reward you for long, varied combos, which are fun and satisfying to pull off (and they look awesome). The stealth challenges reward you for satisfying certain criteria in each challenge, usually specific types of takedowns (which also look awesome). Both challenge types help you improve skills of use in the main gameplay mode. Again, well thought out and well-implemented. Batman: Arkham Asylum is just pure up and down awesome.

I also got a couple of new games. For little more than $5, I got Beaterator for PSP. I like music and I like games, and I like it when these two come together. I also got Flower. I've heard a lot about the game, and have seen all of the awards the game has been winning, so I figured it was time for a change of pace. I'm going to see if I can resist buying any more games until all of the 2010 releases on my wishlist start dropping in price.

Another thing Batman: Arkham Asylum made me think of are video games that draw attention to the fact that they are video games. Some of these instances are unavoidable, like when tutorial messages pop up to tell you to press a particular button. Or some of these instances are just the result of long-established video game norms (some of which may be considered the result of lazy game design these days), like when you bust open a crate and a full roasted chicken pops out to regenerate your health. (In no other medium but video games would that kind of thing happen.) But what I'm thinking of specifically are those instances that are more playful and explicitly thought out, like Sonic tapping his foot impatiently if don't press any buttons for a while, or WarCraft/StarCraft characters saying funny things when you keep clicking on them. (My favourite is still the orc that says, "My tummy feels funny.") Then there are full games like Eat Lead: The Return of Matt Hazard that are all about sending up video games in a self-referential way.

Then there is a small subset of games, like Batman: Arkham Asylum, that use this phenomenon in a very clever and devious way: *MAJOR SPOILER* For example, in Batman, there is a moment when the game appears to crash, then reset, then start again from the game's opening animation. This is very jarring the first time it happens, if you aren't prepared for it. For a minute, you think your system really has crashed and you start to worry about corrupted data, or worse, a busted system. It's only once you start paying attention to the opening animation that you notice that something's amiss. Details are different. The scene jumps more than you remember. The moon doesn't look quite right. The road sign is wrong. Then, if you haven't figured it out yet, you see the Joker driving the Batmobile instead of Batman and you finally make the connection. Oh! It's another Scarecrow nightmare! You've been primed for this already with two previous nightmare sequences, but while the first two only affect Batman, this third one affects you, the gamer, too, by bringing a gamer's nightmare seemingly to life, making you feel at least a small amount of the fear Batman feels. This moment of a game acknowledging its own gameness is absolute genius.

Apparently, there are a few other games that have done similar things. The first Metal Gear Solid's boss battle against Psycho Mantis is apparently pretty disconcerting when Psycho Mantis starts interfering with your controller and reading the contents of your memory card. And the GameCube's Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem apparently does things like turns down the volume, makes it appear as though the TV channel has been changed, or momentarily throws up the Windows Blue Screen of Death when the character's sanity meter drops too low. I love when metafictional stuff like this happens in video games. And it's just another detail that made me love playing Batman: Arkham Asylum. The use of this device remains clever and devious because it has yet to be overexploited. I hope that it continues to pop up in games, but just infrequently enough that it remains a well-appreciated surprise when it does.

GameSpot's Oh Snap! game emblem, plus a recent experience in Batman: Arkham Asylum has made me think about the times I can remember experiencing the equivalent of Oh Snap! moments in gaming. As usual, this is not an exhaustive list; it's what I can remember off-hand. The fact that these are the specific moments I can remember implies that these are the Oh Snappiest! of my Oh Snap! moments. What about your Oh Snap! moments?

Batman: Arkham Asylum: The third Scarecrow sequence. Rocksteady has tapped into the darkest fear of gamers.
Bioshock: Would you kindly? (Even though I had spoiled nearly the whole game for myself before playing, it was still awesome.)
Dante's Inferno: When Dante enters the City of Dis on top of Phlegyas.
God of War II: The opening fight with the Colossus.
God of War: The fire sacrifice. Never have I felt so guilty over completing an in-game task.
Mortal Kombat: Sub-Zero's fatality. OMG!
Okami: Restoring life and light to the world in an explosion of colour and nature.
Pilotwings: Skydiving for the first time. Mode 7 FTW!
Portal: Pretty much the whole game.
Shadow of the Colossus: The colossus battles (maybe not the smaller ones).
Soul Blade: The CG opening with theme song. Whoa.
Street Fighter II: Playing a game with eight selectable characters.
Super Mario World: The first 16-bit game I played. The colours! The sounds! The size of it!
WipEout XL: The banging electronic soundtrack and visual design. Sweet.
WipEout Pulse: The MagLock strip on De Konstruct: ships zoom by overhead and upsidedown!
Wolfenstein 3D: The first awesome 3D shooter.
Doom: The first really awesome 3D shooter; and, Encountering the Cyberdemon.

I got Mirror's Edge for free! I know that really isn't a big deal. It's an older game and it's only $20 anyway and it's hardly worth putting an exclamation point to, but I still think it cool that I managed to get an entire game I've kinda wanted for a while now for free.

How? Well, I got an EA newsletter asking me to fill out a survey for $10. That's all it said. Fill this out and get $10. I knew they weren't talking about cash, but still, I thought a $10 coupon could be useful. I filled out the survey then... nothing. No $10 coupon. No notification e-mail. It's like I never filled out the survey. I e-mailed EA to let them know this. They looked into it. Then they looked into it some more. Then they apologized and gave me a coupon for $20. Nice! I checked the EA store and Mirror's Edge PC Download was the best-looking thing I could get for free. What makes this story extra-special is that I didn't have to pay the usual 13% in taxes us people from Ontario are almost always subject to (this makes things a real hassle on the PSN, for example, where a $20 PSN card does not get you $20 in games--you always have to factor in an extra 13%). Anyway, here I am with a full version of Mirror's Edge and I didn't pay a cent. Awesome. Thank you, EA.

Wow. Batman: Arkham Asylum is fantastic. What a prime example of a game of sweeping quality from end to end (possibly prematurely stated, as I am only about three quarters of the way through the main game). It is clear that the developers have worked hard to create a solidly great game that does justice to the Batman universe. The combat system is fun and fluid (Prince of Persia ( 2008 ) take note on how it can be done right). The stealth components are pretty cool. The detective work (including riddles) adds diversity. The locale is creepy, with great touches of detail. The balance of linear plot vs. freedom to explore is well-implemented. The collectibles, in the form of character bios, trophies, and interview tapes, are rewarding. I never imagined, back in the days of previous console generations, that I would ever be playing games of this comprehensive awesomeness. I don't quite understand the arguments of those who say that gaming is going downhill this generation. I'm enjoying games more than ever.

Requisite nitpick: While the Joker and others are loose, innocent people on Arkham Island are dying. So, why the hell would Batman waste even a minute trying to solve any of the Riddler's riddles? Maybe this side-story could have been enhanced if Riddler had a hostage whom he would kill if Batman did not solve all the riddles. (I know. I know. "It's just a game." Plus, I admit it. I like the extra challenges. :) )

It's games like this that have all but killed my interest in movies. I'm not saying that games surpass movies in every respect. They don't, particularly not in the areas of acting or writing... In general... Yet. ;) I'm saying I get swept up in games like Batman: Arkham Asylum in a way that I no longer do by films, since films lack that interactive component to yank me in.

What I like about Dante's Inferno above all else is Dante's journey of redemption… patchy and inconsistent as it may be. Although DI is a violent, dark, gory, frightening game, at its heart is a story about someone trying to right past wrongs.

I like that Dante starts out a sinner as bad as or worse than any other. He has made mistakes and keeps making them because he doesn't know better; he thinks his actions--his anger, his violence, his treachery, his deception--are justified according to his understanding of the world. For a while, he is never made to appreciate the effects of his unconscious actions; however, his past eventually catches up to him. Because of his behavior, Beatrice is murdered, Francesco is executed, and Dante himself is stabbed in the back and condemned to eternity in hell. (It is a moment of chilling irony when Lucifer later admonishes Dante,telling him that violence only begets violence.)

It is only when Dante is told by Death that his actions have damned him and those he loves that he realizes his need to change. And although the moment of death is usually leaving things a bit too late, Dante decides there's no time like the present to start atoning. He doesn't deny his sins. He doesn't complain that it isn't fair. He kicks Death's bony butt and resolves to right his wrongs then and there, the mark of the hero emerging from her/his own ignorance.

Dante's attempts at atonement begin with the mortification of his own flesh, the stitching of the cross into his chest, to remind him of his past, to make his pledge to be a better person (or Christian in his specific case), and to transcend the corporeal and aspire to the spiritual. Then, his atonement develops into the facing of and the true repentance for all of his past sins, symbolized by his victory over each successive circle of the Inferno. Then, he saves the souls of his loved ones (and possibly others, depending on your actions in the game): Beatrice, Francesco, his mother, even his father who remains unforgiving and unrepentant to the end.

It is this spiritual journey, more than any physical journey, that ultimately makes me appreciate Dante as a heroic character, and DI as a game that attempts to tell a grand story.

I did mention that the story isn't without flaws. The narrative is sometimes disjointed; I was sometimes left feeling that I needed just a few more details to really connect all of what was going on. Next, in the game, you can absolve or punish souls you encounter, but if you choose to punish them, that makes Dante a hypocrite. He judges and condemns others for their sins, while he believes that he himself deserves another chance, which detracts from how heroic he appears at the end of the game. (Incidentally, how did Dante gain the ability to damn or absolve souls to begin with? Why is he able to do what the bishop could not?) Also, the Dante you see in flashbacks and the Dante you control act like two entirely different people. I know that's partially the point, that Dante's a changed man, but the difference between the two is so vast, there's no trace of one in the other. The former is a self-serving seething xenophobe. The latter is a gentleman by comparison, albeit one who's rather handy with a scythe.You would think that either the old Dante might occasionally doubt his false righteousness, or the new Dante would struggle more to remain truly righteously righteous. The difference is too night and day.

However, in the end (provided you absolve more souls than you damn), Dante's redemption does feel complete. Dante's ascent to Purgatory by Beatrice's hand and the removal of his stitched cross, symbol of his past transgressions, seems justified, and you feel it will be a purer, more fully spiritually-realized man who engages Lucifer's forces in what I hope will be more than one soon-to-be-released sequel.

I just wanted to use the word "ApocalyPS3" in a blog title...

Seriously, did any of your phat PS3's suffer any ill-effects when the month changed over? Anything permanent? I hope no one erased their save data or anything. Fortunately for me, I was too tired to play games Sunday night, so I didn't even turn my PS3 on during the critical period. I found out about the system issue at work the next morning and just waited it out. (Sony had said they'd get to the bottom of it in 24 hours after all--which makes it sound like they knew what was going on all along...)

My wife had told me that my horoscope said I'd have a lucky weekend. Maybe not playing my PS3 on Sunday was my stroke of luck?

After spending the last two weeks trying to figure out whether or not I like Dante's Inferno, I've realized that I'm thinking about it too hard: I like it. How do I know? I always want to know what will happen next and I think about the game when I'm not playing, checking related forums, sites, and FAQs. That's more than I could say about, for example, the last Prince of Persia game, which I really wanted to like, but didn't.

Part of the reason I like DI is it is based on my favourite epic poem, which I've always thought provided top-notch source material for a game. I'm really impressed with the way Visceral worked with the first book of the Divine Comedy to make a game that is equal parts God-of-Warvian hash'n'slacktion (how's that for a messed-up mashed-up neologism?) and homage to Dante's original work. I love the thematic ideas they came up with: a holy cross as a weapon, the option to punish or absolve souls, holy (and unholy) relics that alter your abilities, Judas's silver coins scattered about (like breadcrumbs leading to Lucifer), and lines from the poem included in death screens, cut-scenes, and Dante's conversations with Virgil. I'm fine with the liberties Visceral have taken with the story. It's to be expected.

I also like that each circle of the Inferno has a distinct look, inspired largely by Dante's original description (at the time of writing, I have reached the Circle of Fraud (i.e. the second to last)); however, I admit I have found some of the circles a bit short, and reviewers and players have tended to complain about the later circles, which do appear to be more hastily designed than the earlier ones, but I continue to enjoy the game regardless. I wonder: during the game's development, there was news that EA had cut jobs, including some at Visceral. Did Visceral have to cut corners with the rest of DI because of this? How largely did this affect the end product? I don't see how the game could not have suffered from job cuts, unless EA only fired marketers (which may have been justified, considering how some of the game's marketing went awry).

The game has had some great moments. The most epic I've seen so far is at the beginning of Heresy (when Dante enters the City of Dis on top of Phlegyas). Awesome use of the camera panning out, of the action slowing without stopping it altogether (there are no enemies to fight, but you're still controlling Phlegyas as he crosses the long, narrow bridge to Dis), and of the sense of scale implied (i.e. Phlegyas makes Dante look tiny; Dis makes Phlegyas look tiny). Totally epic.

Although I really like DI, I acknowledge that it is far from perfect. It doesn't bother me that it is so undisguisedly similar to God of War. Fair enough. But, for example, I do find it a poor choice to continually bar the player from progressing until s/he has defeated all enemies in a room. It feels like you're constantly stopping and starting, stopping and starting. Can't the player even occasionally run past monsters if s/he chooses not to fight (as is sometimes the case in GoW)? This could help maintain pacing for less battle-focused players, and their minor penalty is the experience lost from the monsters they skip over. Also, the story unfolds in a way that is sometimes disjointed. I think a game like DI needs an enveloping, cohesive narrative from start to finish. The choppiness of the story, the major details left unexplained or inserted at times that don't entirely make sense, keep me from feeling as fully immersed in the game as I feel when reading Dante's poem.

Anyway. Although it is not quite a masterpiece of gaming, nothing like the poem is to literature, it is still solidly good. It's got action. It's got atmosphere. And best of all, it is generating tons of interesting conversation on the boards about the original poem, about sin, about religion, about controversy, about game genres and design. It's getting people discussing things, which is great.