Author: Shaun

Shaun thinks Lost's ending is actually very well done. You can reach him at shaun@atthebuzzershow.com
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A plea on behalf of Hunger Games

Shaun

Dear Hollywood,

Please don’t mess up the Hunger Games movie. If there is one movie in the next decade that you get right, make it this one. There are way too many factors riding on this movie being successful. I’ve included a list below that will numerically express what these factors are in order.

1. My happiness: If you do to this movie what Joel Shumacher did to Batman and Bane, I will send a vial of my tears to your corporate office.

2. Jennifer Lawrence: She’s a nice girl coming off an Oscar nomination and a good turn as Mystique in X-Men: First Class. Don’t ruin her career.

3. Fans: This book has fans. You will make them sad if this movie is terrible.

A trailer was shown of Hunger Games in which our hero Katniss is seen in the wilderness with her bow. Then a bunch of fire starts blasting, referencing the scene in the book where fire starts blasting. Okay, cool. Looks good. Then I find out that, since they started filming, this scene is all they had. Really? In all this time, you have shots of a bunch of trees? That’s like saying “We’re hard at work at The Dark Knight Rises,” but then only having footage of buildings. So far, all I’ve seen is this weak trailer and a bunch of movie posters featuring the different characters posing with different levels of brooding. Continue reading “A plea on behalf of Hunger Games”

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Mute Baby’s New Era

Shaun

Mute Baby has chosen me to be his official spokesperson.

Mute Baby knows the public believes that Mute Baby is very happy as the guest star and co-mascot of the At The Buzzer show. Mute Baby wants the public to know that they are wrong. Mute Baby has been oppressed and treated unfairly for too long. Mute Baby, in association with Gerber Baby Food, has Mr. Kitten Mittens’ favorite pillow. Mute Baby promises to shear this pillow in half unless his demands are met. Mute Baby wants the world to know he is serious.

The list of demands is as follows: Continue reading “Mute Baby’s New Era”

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Vote Shaun in 2012

Shaun

I interrupt my normally scheduled article for this important announcement. Ladies and gentlemen of America, if you’ve been following the show, you know that I’ve made an important announcement. I’m running for president in 2012. I think I stand a good shot, but my campaign strategy is critical. So here it is. I’ve made a realization: I’ve been playing it safe. I just made a drive across the country with a dollar in my pocket, and yet I continue to post conservative gaming columns like I work at Conservative Gaming Monthly. Well, no more; I have a presidency to think … Continue reading Vote Shaun in 2012

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Sexism in gaming

Shaun

Recently, a major company went on record stating they were no longer going to feature female leads in their video games because they believe there is a correlation between poor sales and women protagonists. The company claimed it’s not a question of gender bias or inequality, just the bottom-line. According to the company, games are getting more and more expensive to produce, and if there is an element that could put a dent in profit margins, it’s only natural to remove it.

This statement is just the latest thread in an ongoing issue regarding sexism in gaming, a problem that is not isolated to the medium. The Bechdel test, named after 80’s cartoonist Alison Bechdel, paints a pretty clear picture of the industry trends regarding males and females. In order to pass the Bechdel Test, a television program or movie must be able to answer “yes” to the following three questions:

  1. Are there two or more women in the film that have names?
  2. Do they talk to each other?
  3. Do they talk to each other about something other than a man?

While there are numerous instances where a Bechdel test would directly violate the thematic structure or historic fidelity of a program (Saving Private Ryan, for example), the sheer number of productions that fail this test is startling, and gaming is heading down the same road.

So both game developers and Hollywood execs have convinced themselves that a feminine influence in their products hinders the bottom line, but the more I try to analyze the problem, the more I am left wondering if the whole thing is a “chicken or the egg” conundrum. Is sexism a problem because we as consumers fail to buy into anything feminine-related, or do game developers cater to the male crowd because of preconceived notions of our bigotry? Continue reading “Sexism in gaming”

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Remembering Steve Jobs

Shaun

After a long battle with pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs has passed. And in his death, the world has lost one of their greatest visionaries. Many of you received the news of his death on devices that he shepherded, perhaps the greatest testament to his impact on 20th century technology. His genius transformed Apple into a globally recognized symbol of innovation. The man was a pioneer, and it is staggering to think how different the world could be right now without his brilliant legacy. The iPod, iPhone, and iPad have completely revolutionized technology and changed the way we listen to music, … Continue reading Remembering Steve Jobs

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An A to Z guide to Mario

Shaun

On November 13, the strangely titled Super Mario 3D Land comes out on the Nintendo 3DS.

In case you needed a refresher on the realm of insanity that is the Mario series, I’ve compiled an A-Z guide covering everything on the mustachioed Olympian kart racing partying doctor plumber.

Airship

First introduced in Super Mario Bros. 3, the airships replaced the castles of the original Mario game with floating fortresses filled to the brim with death. Cannon balls, wrenches, and every other painful object you could think of fly through the air as the screen slowly scrolls over, forcing gamers to constantly stay on their toes. At the end, Mario faces off with one of Bowser’s children before falling a thousand feet to safety. Continue reading “An A to Z guide to Mario”

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Video games and artistic value

Shaun

Yes, I’m aware that everyone and their mother have voiced their opinions on the artistic merit of the video game industry, but I figure I may as well give my two cents on the topic. I’m a frequent victim of peer pressure, so this is only me acting within character.

Video games have grown up. Once a niche technology focused on high scores and competition and defined solely by its gameplay, the medium has evolved into a thematic vehicle that utilizes storytelling, character development, and audio and visual ambiance. Games now provide their audiences with a truly unique form of media by blending storytelling with interactivity.

Despite this growth and progression, the true nature of games is still fervently debated.

The biggest debate regarding this issue is whether games can be considered a “higher art.” Even Roger Ebert, renowned film critic, has voiced his opinion on this topic, stating that although games can sometimes possess aesthetically pleasing qualities, video games, by definition, cannot be art. Continue reading “Video games and artistic value”

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Gears of Mediocrity (A War Against Reviewer Bias)

Shaun

Gears of War 2 was one of the biggest disappointments of my life. Period. In a life marred by things failing to ever live up to my already meager expectations, that’s saying something. After a solid first entry in their machismo, testosterone-addled franchise, I had high hopes that the sequel would deliver more tight gameplay and visceral set pieces, as well as delve deeper into the established fiction, which was ripe with potential.

Instead of this complete package that built off the strengths of the first installment, I got Gears of War 2. The story was laughably terrible, the character development (if you can call it that) made me cringe, and the gameplay actually felt somewhat dated. I’m not sure what exactly I was looking for, but incoherent grunts and offensive, borderline racist dialogue wasn’t it. Even the gunplay was a letdown; it was still the “stop and pop” style shooter, but the build of the levels and placement of the chest-high walls for which your roided-out character takes cover behind created a sense of the game playing itself. When you can walk into a battle and see exactly the way the developer intended you to progress, it transforms the experience into a sort of rail shooter. Instead of being in control, I was along for the ride. Mix this with fights inside of the belly of a worm and one of the most anticlimactic finales of this generation, and Gears of War 2 just wasn’t as good of a game as everyone led me to believe.

So forgive me if I’m not buying the early hype and positive reviews for Gears of War 3, especially given what aspects of the game the reviewers are basing their scores on. Continue reading “Gears of Mediocrity (A War Against Reviewer Bias)”

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Shaun’s wish list for Kingdom Hearts 3

Shaun

The Kingdom Hearts series certainly likes to space out its main entries. We are now five years and counting since the release of Kingdom Hearts 2, with only the prequels and side stories to bridge the gap. It is a legitimate concern now that if the world does end in 2012, John Cusack and his family will never see the proper third chapter in this series.

In fact, the word in the hood (also known as rumors my little sister tracks down) is that Tetsuya Nomura and his posse haven’t even started work on Kingdom Hearts 3 yet. Still, we all know it’s going to happen eventually, and after playing Birth by Sleep (and lamenting how monotone Aqua and Terra’s voice actors are), I’ve chronicled some of the changes I would like to see. Continue reading “Shaun’s wish list for Kingdom Hearts 3”

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Blog: The best of Final Fantasy

Shaun

At the end of last year, Square Enix released Final Fantasy: Dissidia Duodecim (or something…I’m gonna be honest, I don’t care enough to figure out the real title), a game in which the main characters from all the Final Fantasy games duke it out with the central antagonists. The game is decently fun and rich with the series’ history, but the plot manages to be even dumber than its premise would lead you to believe, and the script reads like a 7-year-old’s fan fiction. An illiterate 7-year-old.

Anyway, when you load up the game and pass the unnecessarily long tutorial, you are tasked with choosing which hero’s quest to first embark on. The good news is that I had already planned to select which Final Fantasy character to use first based on which installment in the series was my favorite. The bad news is that I had no idea which one that is (I am terrible at making any sort of exclusive choices). In order to work through this dilemma that I’m sure you are now deeply invested in, I decided to utilize a very in-depth process to arrive at my selection. Sit back; I know you’re excited.

Continue reading “Blog: The best of Final Fantasy”