Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Did I ever tell you the definition of inainity?

Not sure I like the new gym teacher

Far Cry 3.

I've watched the trailer above and...I don't think it works? The guy in the picture - he's shallow. He seems to exist only to antagonise - I mean, what's his favorite beer? Does he like sport? No, he has nothing except to be eeeeeeevil. Even sociopaths have more personality than that.

But is there anything wrong died in the wool, binarily evil, mustache twirling villains? Not especially.

But then the clip contains about warcrimes (or just plain old murder). Degrading then murdering unarmed people - setting them to drown, tied to concrete blocks.

And the thing is - as soon as your guy (who is obviously the special mesiah who breaks free of the concrete block) gets free, what does he do?

Well, without a word he goes and murders the guys with guns as well.

It's basically sociopaths killing sociopaths.

I mean sure, maybe you like your cartoon villains who must be shot in the head. Okay. But this isn't cartoon villainry - your not going to save the innocents, they have already been murdered. You are not going to be some frackin' hero for making more human meat become room temperature.

Because this is presented as more real world, it doesn't have the D&D like cosmological elements of good and evil. Because it's presented as real world, all you have are principles that you try and stand by. Unless, dear reader you believe that much like in D&D, magical cosmological forces of good and evil are existant things. And heck, maybe your right, but you'll have a damn hard time inventing an empirical test for that. Anyway, back to personal principles and that's all you have.

And from the very damn start, the characters principles are that he is just as fine with murder to get to his own ends, as the guys he murders.

I dunno - far cry 2 seemed to try and make you feel dirty for doing what they coded it to force you to do it. But forcing it doesn't work - in a game like Dues ex, because there is a non lethal alternative (ie, you are not FORCED to only use lethal force), it is a choice. So in Dues ex, yes, you can feel a little dirty for killing someone in the game.

Here in farcry 3, it just seems a sociopath murder sim. The only people left alive are the murderers, and your as cool with murder as they are, so really there is no moral issue going on. The only moral issue is already case closed, floating under the water on a rope tied to a cinderblock. So apart from really, really high graphics ferns, who gives a crap about that?

Well, I guess the teens who's moral part of the brain has not yet turned on (I think I read that that is the case, in an article somewhere).

Ie, it's pretty inane.

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