Deus Ex: Human Revolution

I have the same goal whether I’m playing a game, watching a movie, or reading a book.  I want to forget I’m doing any of them.  All three of those mediums have different ways of doing so, but in the end they’re all forms of escapism.  I believe video games are the hardest of the three to be able to truly pull you into an experience, because YOU as the player controls it.  A film is just something you follow, every scene and bit of dialogue is planned out from the start.  Reading works the same in that the only possible line you can follow is what words are on the page in front of you.  Gaming though, gaming is tough.  A developer might construct a brilliant level that is all about timing, but if the player decides to spend twenty minutes exploring an office there goes the carefully constructed pacing.  The term “sandbox” game has been popular because players like the idea of a truly open world in which they are free to do whatever they want; developing one while maintaining an effective story is tricky.  Deus Ex: Human Revolution manages to skirt this line in a fantastic way by having a carefully constructed illusion.  And that isn’t a criticism.  No game in recent memory, save maybe Red Dead Redemption, has engrossed me in the world it created like Deus Ex has.  The cracks in the armor do show at points, sometimes glaringly, but it’s a game that sets itself apart for both its lofty goals and it’s ability to almost achieve them.  Eidos Montreal shoots for the moon, doesn’t quite get there, but deserves credit for trying and getting remarkably close.

L.A. Noire: Not all Rockstars peak early

These guys take Rockstar to the top of their game.

Rockstar has their formula down. They’ve been building greek tragedies in a sandbox for years and they’ve polished that pearl quite nicely. GTA IV showed us some new things, Red Dead Redemption brought them to the next level, but L.A. Noire is the sweet culmination of all that hard work. I’ve been a Rockstar fan since I memorized the weapons codes for GTA III on Venice’s Playstation, I even played a little top-down GTA II with my senior year roommate. But looking back it’s almost unfair to make comparisons. The story telling has come so far it makes the likes of Vice City and San Andreas seem cheesy. But let’s face it. They were cheesy. Remember the Scarface homage in Vice City? Or watching Sammy L. driving that fire truck off the bridge in San Andreas? It was fun, but boy was it awful. Fast forward 10 years to L.A. Noire. Here we have a story that lives up to the genre. A gritty murder mystery full of corruption and Colt .45s that keeps you on your toes to the end. I seems Rockstar needed to team up with Sony’s men down under to bring it all together.