PS2 Game News, Previews and Reviews from 1UP

Re-Examining the Role of Digital Death

Nickolai Adkins — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:44:00 PDT

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Re-Examining the Role of Digital Death

How death has evolved over the four decades of gaming.

By: Nickolai Adkins May 9, 2012

There is possibly no greater representative icon for the entirety of gaming than that of the game over screen. That negative void with stolid letters painted cryptically across; there is a certain mysticism surrounding the screen, the dark back corners of arcade holes that once used to thrive, and the natural competition to overcome the inevitability of failure that it represents.

Bore with the medium's creation in arcade cabinets and the surrounding culture that developed after their inception, the challenge of prolonging play time and avoiding inevitable failure in death became the central function for nearly every game created to date. In the form of a barrel throwing gorilla, the simple existence of a play clock, infinite and unseen pits that trail into the unknown below the screens of any number of platformers, or even in competition between players, video games have always been a participatory form of near exclusive survival.

Game Music Thunderdome Round 2.1: The Mario Paint Face-Off

1UP Staff — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:27:00 PDT

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Game Music Thunderdome Round 2.1: The Mario Paint Face-Off

Finally! Our game music voting continues... with a 16-bit twist.

By: 1UP Staff April 18, 2012

A few months ago, we pitted together 64 of our favorite pieces of game music ever and asked you to vote on them. Once you'd narrowed the picks down to 32, we... well, we got sidetracked a bit and forgot to advance things to the next round. Sorry. But better late than never, right?

We're compacting our second round into two parts of 16 tunes apiece rather than running them each as daily one-vs-one contests. For this first set of face-offs, we've decided to pay tribute to the greatest 16-bit artistic tool of all time: Nintendo's Mario Paint. These 16 tracks are presented below in fan-made Mario Paint renditions (or ersatz versions created in Mario Paint Composer. It's the great equalizer! By stripping these tracks from their original context, the core melodies are freed from the shackles of technology and can face off on compositional merit alone. Also, mario Paint remixes are awesome.

Gamers Reflect on What They'll Miss Most About the Old Days

Chris Pereira — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:00:00 PDT

Gaming is rapidly changing. Whether we're talking about things becoming more digital or new business models or whatever else, the industry already looks a great deal different than it did 10 or 20 years ago and that's only going to continue in the coming decades.

As with anything in entertainment that changes, people are going to yearn for the way things used to be (while also worrying about what the future will bring). For me, one of the things I miss most is the sort of manuals games used to come with. What I looked forward to most when first buying a new game, regardless of what it was, was opening the box up and flipping through the manual before actually trying the game out. And I'm not just talking about spending time devouring the pages of a manual (or whatever other paperwork a PC game would come with -- keyboard shortcut cards, tech trees, etc. -- as it installs); console and handheld game manuals had to be read cover to cover before the game went into the system. This wasn't a matter of preparing for games with no tutorials, as I treated those with in-game instructions no differently. I specifically remember reading the entire manual for Mario Party 2 -- Mario Party 2 -- before I would even stick the cart in my Nintendo 64.

Mad Men Vs. Metal Gear Solid 3

Jeremy Parish — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:52:00 PDT

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Mad Men Vs. Metal Gear Solid 3

Two tales of the '60s demonstrate how games and television can create the same narrative impact.

By: Jeremy Parish March 23, 2012

Knowing the fifth season of Mad Men is set to debut this weekend, I finally decided to check out the series. Coworkers, friends, online strangers, and even my wife have been singing its praises for years, so I wanted to see what I'd been missing all this time. Turns out the answer is, "an extraordinarily written television show."

By a complete coincidence, my Mad Men marathon led right up to my revisiting Metal Gear Solid 3 through its 3DS remake, Snake Eater 3D. Our minds like to find patterns and similarities where none may exist, so naturally I was struck by the fact that both pieces are set in the same time period: The first half of the 1960s. One week I was watching Don Draper and associates react to the Cuban missile crisis and the assassination of John F. Kennedy; the next I was watching Naked Snake slink through a Russian jungle in response to military maneuvers precipitated by those same events.

Both Mad Men and Metal Gear Solid 3 stand as very different creations that offer wildly disparate takes on their settings, but they both share something in common: They represent some of the finest narrative work ever produced in their respective mediums. Because they're set against the backdrop of the '60s, the similarities and variances in their presentation offer a reference point of sorts for exploring the differing strengths and potential of film and games.

You're Not Alone: Gamers Share Their Quirky Playing Habits

Chris Pereira — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:41:00 PDT

Everyone has their quirks, and when it comes to playing videogames things are no different, whether it be inconsequential things no one would ever notice or more drastic habits that radically alter your playing experience.

Writing about the way I tend to play open-ended games like Mass Effect recently prompted me to take a more critical look at the way I play games to see what else I do that might be considered... unusual. Wrong would not be the correct word to use, as I'm not sure that you can play a game the wrong way. You can certainly play them in a less than ideal way, as demonstrated by my propensity for playing Mass Effect or Heavy Rain in such a way that important decisions are rendered insignificant. Other eccentricities are less harmful, which is certainly good news for me as I seem to be in never-ending supply of them.

OP-ED: Netflix's Failures Highlight Steam's Strength

Ryan Winterhalter — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:00:00 PST

Netflix subscribers will find their movie selection gutted tomorrow, as the service removes thousands of movies and TV shows due to the end of its contract with the premium cable movie network Starz, which, while providing only around 5% of the overall Netflix library, just happens to offer some of the more popular content.

The same thing happens to online game providers, from Netflix-like streaming services like OnLive, to more traditional digital distribution platforms like Xbox Live or Steam. With all this uncertainty one might be tempted to simply stick with physical media, but despite what its ardent defenders will tell you, the physical media sold by normal retail channels comes with a finite lifespan. Regardless of whether you stream, download, or buy optical discs, no game you purchase will last forever, and any streaming service will face periodic mass delistings like Netflix as contracts change every few years. Meaning downloadable game services may offer you the best chance of playing your favorite game thirty years from now.

The Video Game Fashion Revue

1UP Staff — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 07:22:00 PST

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The Video Game Fashion Revue

We analyze the best and worst of video game fashion... well, mostly the worst.

By: Jeremy Parish and Tina Palacios February 23, 2012

As the coolest and most fashionable people in the 1UP/IGN offices*, Jeremy Parish and Tina Palacios are totally qualified** to commenting on the stylistic sensibilities of video game characters. Which looks work, and which should be sent back to the sewing machine? Our in-house style mavens take to the runway to offer their takes on the looks that dominate the video game industry. It's not all just hoodies and jeans, but is it good? We weigh in.

* This may be a lie.
** Also a possible lie.

Metal Gear Solid 3: The Boss of Stealth Action Games

Jeremy Parish — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:36:00 PST

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Metal Gear Solid 3: The Boss of Stealth Action Games

Exploring the innovations that made Snake's '60s adventure a best-in-class production.

By: Jeremy Parish February 17, 2012

Hideo Kojima has been trying to make a video game for 25 years now. With Metal Gear Solid 3, he very nearly succeeded.

This isn't to say Kojima hasn't overseen the creation of quite a few games in his time -- from whimsical penguin racers to vampiric spaghetti westerns with overtones of Norse legend, he's had his hand in several greats. But he's best known for the Metal Gear series, the ongoing saga of a guy named Dave who constantly, reluctantly finds himself as the world's last resort against utter nuclear armageddon, and all just because he happens to possess an acute genetic disposition to be adept at killing people. (He inherited it from his dad. Whom he killed. Twice. Once with hairspray.)

Why We Love Video Games: The Movie

Ryan Winterhalter — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 17:10:00 PST

For Valentine's Day we examined 35 reasons why we love games, but we're not done expressing our affection yet. Prose alone couldn't handle out boundless adoration; we had to make a video. Watch as we discuss our personal favorite reason to love.

OP-ED: Activision Has a Point When Defending Itself Against Claims It Doesn't Innovate

Chris Pereira — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:47:00 PST

Between DICE taking place last week and Tim Schafer successfully turning to Kickstarter to fund a Double Fine-developed graphic adventure, there has been a lot of talk recently about the role publishers serve in the videogame industry. There is the belief among many people that publishers do little more than stifle innovation, a suggestion Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg takes issue with.

During a panel at DICE, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter made the case that today's publishing model isn't good for for the industry. Publishers are opposed to risks and many shy away from bringing out games unlikely to sell millions of units, he said, also adding, "We are getting fewer choices as consumers because financial guys are taking over. Financial guys are making the decisions."