Under ordinary circumstances, the only time I think of IGN with any affection is when I've crashed their E3 party and I'm closing down the bar. Through a thick curtain of well drinks I would watch a stage decked with shambling, washed-up hags, and raise a glass - technically, their glass - to whatever unwholesome virtues they revere over there. I usually feel pretty good about them at that specific point.
The rest of the time, they are our most cunning foe. They might not be aware of that, but when viewed in this framework their every activity has a sinister connotation.
Reading the fallout from their Killzone review, though, I felt like we were kindred spirits. I heard in those strangled mails the same ululation echoed in my own inbox, that howling assembly I must pretend to tolerate in order to play the gentle host. I'm right there with you, Ivan. The nicest thing you can say about Killzone is that flies real good when you throw it. You were way more polite than we would have been. Indeed, I'm about to show just how impolite we are with a comic sodomizing your detractors. Don't say I never did anything for you.
Now, one thing they said is true, and I don't mind letting them have it: sites like yours can't claim that they aren't a part, and a critical one, of the "hype cycle" for new releases. If Killzone was hyped, perhaps even over-hyped as you appear to claim, well, you can't point at Bob and say it was all Bob's doing. That's something everybody did. On the other hand, I was there when they announced it as well, and it seemed at the time like a good vessel for the hopes of that system. But Halo Killer? Be serious. There's only one Halo killer, and I'll tell you this much: it's not on the PS2.
I guess I thought the "console wars" as such were over for this generation, which is why seeing them break the flesh in this way this was startling - like the symptom of some forgotten pandemic. Each platform has, by this point, manifested its strengths and weaknesses to such a degree that they are patently obvious to anyone who is not in the throes of some orthodox mindset. Developers can take chances with their games on the PS2 because of the mind-boggling installed base, and it is the RPG enthusiast's only genuine choice. The Xbox has, in raw terms, the best hardware of this generation and the most robust multiplayer functionality. The Cube has first party titles of exceptional quality. That's the whole spectrum. There's nothing odd or unknown about any of it - and if facts like these inconvenience you to this degree, I can only imagine how difficult your life must be.
(CW)TB out.
that's why i've got a
phone
If you haven’t checked it out for a few days be sure and hit up the Child’s Play site. You can see we broke 50k in donations already. We also have a list of partners who have agreed to donate a portion of their profits to Child’s Play. So be sure to visit their stores and help them help us help the kids. We also have a big charity dinner coming up in December. Just like every other charity we’ll be hosting a formal dinner and auction with all the proceeds going to Child’s Play. We’re going to have original video game related artwork from famous comic book artists as well as awesome stuff from companies like Valve, Nintendo and Wizards of the Coast. Tycho and I will be the MC’s for the evening which should be a blast. It will be the first time since my wedding that I’ve worn a tuxedo. We’ll drop more information on you as we get closer to the event.
Also check out our Halo 2 ads. It’s funny because we talked to Bungie about it months ago and originally they wanted the ads to say “Remember that shitty game Halo? Well this is the Sequel.” We thought that was fucking awesome but unfortunately the Microsoft PR machine didn’t agree and so we ended up with pretty standard Halo 2 ads. I’m still proud to be advertising it anyway. Tycho’s played a lot more of it than I have but we both agree it’s going to be a Halo killer.
******* UPDATE*******
I didn't mean to get your hopes up about the Halo 2 ads. I didn't draw them or anything. They are just your basic Halo 2 ads like you'd see on any other site. They were up for a couple days but now they won't be up again until Nov. 9th. When you see them, please do us a favor and give them a click. We always need to convince big companies like this of what we can do before they let us go crazy. We ran some pretty lame ads for Ubisoft in the beginning and now we're doing full color comic books. Hopefully if these Halo 2 ads perform well for MS they will start to give us more creative freedom. I know I'd love a shot at a Halo 2 comic.
-Gabe out
It is not without it's charms.
(CW)TB
