The Color of a Game; A Commentary on Resident Evil

I am fully aware that we live in an age — and country — that demands that people walk on egg shells when it comes to communicating with other people. I also realize that no matter what you say, there is probably someone, someplace that could take offense to it.

Enter the trailer for Capcom’s upcoming installment of the zombie shoot ‘em up series, Resident Evil 5.

Even though RE5 isn’t scheduled for a Wii release, the franchise is still a part of every Nintendo gamer’s canon of games, especially considering the Wii’s nearly flawless port of Resident Evil 4

Since the trailer’s release at E3 ‘07, video game and socio-political pundits have been in arms over the racist overtones in the trailer. In many ways, those crying “racism” remind me of the very same torch and pitchfork mobs found in RE4. Well, if they are the same manipulated mobs, then I will gladly take the part of RE5’s Chris Redfield.

Lock and load, baby.

Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal was one of the first to voice his uneasiness about the trailer. Soon, everyone was crying wolf at RE5, including the outspoken X-Play co-host Adam Sessler in his soapbox web special. However, I applaud writers like Gameworld Network’s Brian Allen, who defended Capcom and RE5.

I have watched the trailer many times, and enjoyed it each time. Even though it looks exactly like RE4 — except instead of Spaniards, they are Africans — it made my heart race with the thought of having an entire village assault baring down on me. All the time, you, as the gamer, are fully-aware that you only have one clip of bullets for your handgun and two shotgun shells. Ah, how I love the new age of Resident Evil games.

Of course, now I must ask myself the question as to whether or not I am a racist because I enjoyed the trailer. I also enjoyed Black Hawk Down and Schindler’s List. Maybe I am a racist after all. Or maybe, just maybe, I can take a form of media entertainment for exactly what it is: entertainment.

Capcom (a Japanese company) isn’t making a game for white Americans to play so that they can expel the fears that they have towards “the black man” by mowing down mindless legions of them. I say mindless, but if they are anything like the Spaniards in RE4, they will be anything but mindless. Just thinking about it makes me conjure up feelings of how I longed for rows of dumb zombies in previous games of the series. Sorry, for the digression. I’ll get back to my point now - you can’t honestly believe that Capcom’s goal was to produce racist propaganda.

Ok, then it was Capcom who, instead of being out-right racist, was instead insensitive. How dare Capcom show African villagers in an African village. Hell, take the image of Chris Redfield walking through the village, replace him with *insert famous white celebrity here* and you have a common occurrence on television.

Sure, Brad Pitt doesn’t shoot the villagers, but then again, the villagers don’t become zombie-like and attack Pitt, either.

People, and Americans in general, need to stop making race such a large issue. Don’t people realize that every time we point out that a black man is running for president, or how a black coach won the SuperBowl, or that February is Black History month, that we are actually drawing even more of a racial distinction based on our cultural differences? In America, a country of mixed cultures, shouldn’t we just except people for who they are? If that is in fact the case, then stop making it news every time a person of another race does something special.

If we want to progress beyond race, we have to stop making race an issue. Good or bad; stop it. So what if Indianapolis Colts’ coach Tony Dungy is the first black man to win the Superbowl? If we spotlight it, all we do is magnify the issue that he has racial and cultural differences that set him apart from white caucasians.

Those who are attacking RE5 from within the industry are also those that have otherwise defended it, often saying that games like Grand Theft Auto, Postal and Mass Effect have no damaging effects on the minds of gamers. Yet, they seem to think that RE5 will be different. RE5 will somehow heighten a player’s desensitization to cultural differences. It will fuel a gamer’s disrespect for “different” people.

While we’re on the subject, let’s focus on the racial issues found in a few other games. How about the critically-acclaimed Gears of War. I mean, come on, look at how stereotypical the character, Cole Train, is. Can he fit the stereotype of urban black man any more than he already does? How about Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas? Do I even need to remind people of the terrifyingly negative images portrayed by the African American protagonist as he waged crimes all over the cityscape?

Wake up, people.

RE5 is just a game — just like those previously listed — and is not a commentary on racial issues, nor is it a lesson on insensitivity for other races. The moment we, as gamers, start attacking games, is when Jack Thompson and the other pinheads start winning. Just pick up the controller and play the game.

If, after you are finished, you find the game morally reprehensible, then maybe you should take a long vacation and relax for a while. Might I suggest, Africa?

Virtual Console Games For 4-20-08

River City Ransomâ„¢ (NES®, 1-2 players, Rated E10+ for Everyone 10 and Older-Mild Suggestive Themes and Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): River City Ransom takes place in River City, where our heroes, Alex and Ryan, find a letter on Ryan’s locker from a guy named Slick. The letter says that Ryan’s girlfriend, Cyndi, has been kidnapped, and Slick has taken River City hostage with the help of countless gangs and evil bosses. It’s up to our heroes to save poor Cyndi and free River City from the clutches of Slick and his underlings. You can play as Alex and take on the challenge alone or battle with two players simultaneously as Alex and Ryan. Kick and punch to fight your way through gang members, evil bosses and other goons, or use a variety of weapons including a chain whip, brass knuckles and a tire, to name a few. Raise your stats by eating right, and gain new techniques by reading books. With your fighting prowess and never-ending spirit, the bad guys won’t know what hit them.

Phantasy Starâ„¢ III Generations of Doom (Sega Genesis, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): As Rhys, the crown prince of the Orakian kingdom of Landen, you are engaged to be married to Maia, a woman from a rival kingdom. But Maia is kidnapped on your wedding day, setting you on a quest filled with twists and turns that will reintroduce you to people and places from previous Phantasy Star games. This epic spans several generations of characters, and your choices will dramatically impact the way the story unfolds, which makes it a great game to play all the way through more than once. In Phantasy Star III, things aren’t always what they seem-check it out and watch the mysteries unfold.

Wiikly Wii Releases - 4/20/08

Welcome to the this week’s edition of the Wiikly Wii Releases! Here we will let you know about all the great Wii titles coming out this week and give you some information to help you pick the game that’s right for you. When applicable, we’ll choose one game to be the “MyWiiNews Pick of the Week,” a game that stands out among all the others as the title that takes the crown for that week. Without further ado, let’s look at what’s coming out this week.

Wild Earth: African Safari

Majesco – April 22nd

Do you like taking pictures? How about playing videogames? Now, hold onto your hats, what about playing videogames about taking pictures? If your mind isn’t completely blown yet, hop into the Jeep and start up your very own African Safari.

You guessed it: Wild Earth: African Safari is a game about taking pictures. But these are no normal pictures; they’re pictures freshly taken from the exotic Savannah, where life and limb are constantly at risk of being torn asunder by a lion the size of most small cars. Yeah, that’s right, lions. Africa doesn’t mess around.

For those who remember yesteryear’s Pokemon Snap!, Wild Earth: African Safari is more of the same virtual photography fun with a few cool extra features, including two-player co-op, multiplayer missions, and an “interactive Safari mini-game” that allows players to play from the animals perspective. Neat!

Wild Earth: African Safari is a port of the similarly-titled, award-winning PC game Safari Photo Africa: Wild Earth, so even if you played (or missed it) it the first time around, give it a try for the new content and improved Wii controls. Nothing quite like quaking in front of a Wildebeest with a camera in your hand!

Target: Terror

Konami – April 21st

America. Terror. Both are undeniably words that don’t get along under almost any circumstances, Iran-Contra affair excepted. So what in the heck was Konami thinking in bringing these two volatile concepts together? A quick lightgun buck, that’s what. And that’s exactly what you’ll find here.

In addition to continuing this week’s colon theme, Target: Terror brings the arcade experience of annihilating swarms of infidels to your Wii in a way that hasn’t been seen since, well, House of the Dead 2 & 3, which was released earlier this month. Only this game was specially designed for the Wii’s Zapper attachment, making it the first game that will hopefully work well with the giant piece of plastic. Oh, and it’s absolutely hideous.

If you love to shoot some terrorists, need to get another lightgun fix, and are hankering to see how a game that was designed for the Wii Zapper controls, give Target: Terror a go. If you want pure lightgun joy, don’t care about the zapper, want something that’s a tiny bit easier on the eyes, and only want to spend $20, give House of the Dead 2&3 a go. Either way, both games are fun and at least worth a rental, especially for those times when you just need to kill something.

Heavenly Guardian

U.F.O. Interactive – April 22nd

For those who like their shooters to be in two-dimensions, thankyouverymuch, U.F.O. Interactive has just released the bargain-priced Heavenly Guardian. The $20 title is overflowing with 32-bit charm that two parts hack n’ slash adventure and one part Tempest/Stinger clone, with a little bit of story and exploration thrown in there for good measure.

Sometimes you just need some mindless fun, and for those times, Heavenly Guardian should probably fit the bill. For those wondering what version of the game to pick up, the Wii version features some special Wii Remote actions, while the PS2 version is $5 cheaper, so pick your poison wisely. Now buy somethin’, will ya?

Battle of the Bands

THQ – April 22nd

If only I had a “wow, that sure didn’t take too long” award to hand out here, Battle of the Bands would be the first candidate after Rock Band to take home the top honor for music-oriented game bandwagoning. Oh sure, THQ added a few different play mechanics and uses the Wii Remote instead of some wonky peripheral, but Battle of the Bands? C’mon! The name is hardly better than “Guitar Hiro” or “Country Band;” both of which are only one or two notches below this unfortunately-named Wii exclusive.

Generic title qualms aside, Battle of the Bands looks to give Samba de Amigo a run for its maraca-shaking money with its mildly-innovative control scheme. Instead of pressing down buttons, strumming, or tapping controller triggers rhythmically, the majority of Battle of the Bands is based around shaking the Wii Remote at appropriate times. Seemingly influenced by the musical minigame found in Zack and Wiki, Battle of the Bands seems to be an interesting take on the rhythm genre. It also features multiple music renditions of the same song, making for some of the most confusing aural abominations ever heard. Ever heard country renditions of Cypress Hill songs? How about latin interpretations of metal? While the latter may be better than the former, Battle of the Bands looks to give players a run for their money with the 150 included songs.

If you’re looking for more maraca shaking fun and can’t wait until Samba de Amigo’s proper Wii release later this year, give Battle of the Bands a try. It’s hard to say it won’t be at least interesting.

None. Go play Okami instead.

Publishers wanted: The Conduit Looks Pretty

It’s time to admit something to ourselves: the Wii isn’t the “it” system for graphics. So what? We have good gameplay and a familiar interface that never fails to bring a new experience to gamers. But the graphic-geek-bullying will end now.

IGN posted a preview of High Voltage Software’s in-progress FPS, The Conduit. Build from scratch entirely for the Wii, this beautiful could-be uses a 3D engine that rivals Metroid Prime 3 for best Wii graphics to date (yeah, I’m sure there are other games up for contention, but MP3 always trumps).

If made correctly, this very well could be the FPS game that some core gamers are asking for on Nintendo’s system. As of right now, however, no publisher is backing it. And with a storyline that they have setup, I wouldn’t either. Who wants to play a pretty game with no decent plot? That’s for the other systems. We have these gems instead.

Okami Watermark Fiasco - Is IGN Involved?

For many hardcore gamers on the Wii, this past Tuesday marked the starting of a grand adventure in Okami, one of the most anticipated games to hit the Wii so far this year. With an updated control screen, minor graphical improvements, and new widescreen support, the Wii looked to have the definitive version of the adventure game.

Yet suddenly something is up. No, not the slightly problematic control scheme, or the questionable graphics which have both been receiving minor flack from a handful of critics. No, the big fiasco has to do with the picture right on the cover of the box - plain and clear as night and day (you may need to adjust your monitor screen to see it more clearly).

(Click to enlarge)

See that little watermark right there? That’s the watermark used to mark images as exclusive to IGN, one of the largest hubs for gamers across the Internet. How could such a blatant and obviously problematic thing have taken place? It’s not sure right now, but according to sleuths on NeoGAF, the image actually wasn’t watermarked in pictures prior to release. Here is the original art that was featured on the Capcom website and other media outlets before the game hit stores. Notice how it’s flipped, and how you can’t really make out any watermarks in the same area.

Either someone intentionally stuck the IGN watermark there in hopes of subliminal advertising, or there was a major snafu at the publishing plant. Either way, the problems are obvious:

(Courtesy of Double_A on the IGN Boards)

That’s not supposed to be there. And it’s even more obvious on the actual boxart you’ll see in stores. For shame, Capcom. What’s the real story here? Could it be a disgruntled employee? A lazy one? The same one behind Mr. Gay? Only time, and Capcom, will tell.

Stay tuned at My Wii News as we figure out if there is something special going on with this cover, and what future steps may be taken by Capcom.