It's the Clerks of horror.
It’s the spoopy time of year, which means it’s time for Halloween Havoc on Nerds Without Pants! We are once again joined by show co-founder and horror writer Rob Ottone to talk about game characters and creatures that scare us. Also: Resident Evil 4 takes on Dead Space 2 in the steel cage!
Oh, Electronic Arts, you're in a bit of a pickle, aren't you?
To say that EA is having a bit of a problem with public perception would be a massive understatement. In the past year they have come under fire for predatory micro transaction practices, cancelled a highly anticipated Star Wars game, stated that single player games are a dying breed, and shuttered yet another well-regarded development team. Their lackluster E3 presentation didn’t do much to help matters. Sure, EA is doing gangbusters as far as sales and revenue, but they have burned up so much good will with their customers that it’s easy to see a scenario where they find themselves in a tough position, relying on their yearly Madden and FIFA games to keep them afloat. As someone who has a complicated relationship with their brand, I have some ideas on how EA can win players over, and move strongly into the upcoming next generation.
First it giveth, then it taketh away.
Last June, EA Labels President Frank Gibeau said the publisher's objective for Dead Space 3 was to increase accessibility without upsetting established fans. To give credit where it's due, EA was half successful—the first half. But with its compromised and uninspired design, Dead Space 3 is streamlined almost beyond recognition. And I'm upset.
In light of the possible cancellation of Dead Space 4, Jesse loses his cool and goes on a rant.
At PixlBit we pride ourselves on reporting news and reviewing games with as little bias as humanly possible. That being said, there are times when we don’t want to sit all quiet and polite and instead rage into the vastness that is the internet.
Publishers aren't the main reason horror franchises are quick to lose the scares.
It’s hard to talk about games like Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 without having someone go off on a tangent on how the publishers “ruined” these series by trying to broaden the series fanbases – moving beloved franchises away from their horror roots and towards the more spectacle driven action genre. There is an idiom of truth to this complaint. Horror doesn’t generate Call of Duty sales volume. It’s a niche genre where only the exceptional few break into the mainstream. Action titles, counterparts of the money eating summer movie blockbusters, appeal to a much greater audience and are thus able to bring in much more cash. So yes, it makes sense that the “big bad” publishers would be responsible for the taming of your favorite horror franchise.
Available now for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
We went a little off the rails...
Hello again! Julian here, joined as always by Patrick and Rob for another episode of Nerds Without Pants. No topic this time...we decided to just wing it with some random discussion. Yes, a hodge podge of talking points brought together to form a pleasant bouquet. Some potpourri, if you will. We can all enjoy a little P O T. And if you got that obscure Laugh In joke, congratulations! I love you.
One shall stand...one shall fall.
Well, we goofed. Due to circumstances beyond our control, this episode of NWP is woefully lacking a second segment. Worry not though, true believers! We’ll be bringing you the intended topic of this episode (vices and video games) next week. So sit back and enjoy what we’ve been playing and some bloopers.
Tau Volantis isn't the only thing that leaves me cold about Dead Space 3.
Dead Space 2 was one of my favorite games of 2011, and when rumblings began to stir about a third game in the series I waited with giddy anticipation for details. Now that the game has been officially announced and the first gameplay has been shown I can’t help but find myself…concerned about this title. While I see enough of the core DNA of Dead Space in the E3 demo, it feels like the game is losing some of its identity, not unlike what happened with the Mass Effect series.
