The Jahns Report: Video Games and Movies (9-9-10)

By Jeremy Jahns

Ok, so it’s safe to say that this summer (Minus a couple of exceptions) was a bit disappointing. Next summer might be looking up, but at Pax, I was surrounded with Grade A entertainment, and insane cinematics. ALL the things that a good movie should be made of. For example:

The Force Unleashed II. Now I know that the Star Wars Prequels are so 5 years ago, but like a kidney stone, the pain keeps coming back. At PAX I saw a trailer for the Force Unleashed II, and played the game. And I had to ask myself, “Why am I willing to accept this story into Star Wars canon with less friction than the Prequels”? It had everything I look for in a movie, great action, great story, emotion, betrayal, vengeance, and conflict. Not to mention a main character that wasn’t a whiney little punk. (Anakin anyone?)

And it wasn’t just the stories that were built off of stories from movies. Infamous 2 was a blast. Electric superpowers, Sliding across electric wires like some park skater, Creating an Electric Ion vortex that sucks up all cars, and people within 10 feet. This was a blast! And it hits me that to get quality entertainment, all you have to do is stay home and play games.“I’ve been telling you people this for years!”

Games these days have become more “Playable cinematic stories” than games. Some have complained about this, but the reality is that video games took off in popularity after they felt more like movies. If done right, Video games offer we the people a way to experience a story for many more hours than a movie allows while also letting us control the main Protagonist (Or antagonist in some cases) In a world where games ARE movies….I will say what I have been saying all along; Hollywood needs to step it up. They are NOT the big dogs in the world of supply in demand.

Take 3D as well. To experience 3D in movies, (At home) you need a 3Dtv, a 3D blu-ray player, and a 3D version of the movie. To play 3D games, you only need a 3D graphics card, and a 120hz monitor (Mostly standard at this point). And your graphics card will convert your 2D game to a 3D experience. Now right now, most of you just thought “SHIT, 3D conversion!!!!!!” Well, from what I experienced, it is not the same thing. This was not Clash of the Titans, or Last Airbender 2.8D bullshit. This 3D was solid. I saw Dead Rising 2, Civilization V, Guild Wars 2, and Resident Evil 5 all in 3D. All from 2D content and it looked very good. It’s a different experience than that crappy cinema 3D conversion that we’ve been force fed this past year. “And for my next trick, I will now hypnotize you to spend $15.00 on crappy 3D.”

Now to clarify, my intention is not to bash cinema. I love movies as do all of you, But I just need to stress that Home entertainment has ALL that movies have and more. And in a world like that, movies can not be shoveling out rushed projects and garbage. Granted, there are crap games out there as well, and I played them at PAX also. But I can also say that the last time I was, THAT the last few Sagas that I have experienced come to an end that truly effected me were Harry Potter (Book), Metal Gear Solid (Game), and Lost (Tv). This may seem like my “TV vs. Movies” rant all over again, but I am just here to say that Video games are also here to stay, and entertain us. The Wii has expanded the gamer market to soccer moms, and school teachers now. And if this past summer speaks to Hollywood’s retort to this, I will say that they are in trouble. Big time.

So studios of Hollywood, Please, come back! We want you to succeed, but we can’t wait around forever.

-Jeremy Jahns

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