Call of Duty: Black Ops Xombies Mobile Edition
The Black Ops Zombies App isn't actually too bad of a game to have on your device, the price in the App store can vary from £4.99 to the full game of £13.99 which includes all the extra guns and points you can earn. The touch controls including tapping, shaking the device and swiping allow the player to complete the game, although the constant lagging of graphics and the continuous pop up adverts for other similar first person shooters can be a put off. The lagging can spoil the game for the audience as it can affect the game play and timing of the weapons being used - costing you your life in some instants. Even by shutting off the wifi and putting on airoplane mode it doesn't change the lag. Also if you get the Zues Cannon and ammo you cannot die; which then can make the game become uninteresting as the point of the game is to survive the zombie attack. While you can choose one of three different control schemes (joystick, tilt, and swap), honestly while controls don’t have to be ultra-precise, I find that in a game like this (where aiming is paramount and saving ammo and being resourceful is key) it can be tough not having perfect control over your character.
The game sets you off by putting you as a survivor of a zombie apocalypse; you travel to different locations with a map in the corner of your screen, dealing with an onslaught of the undead all willing to rip into your flesh. In order to survive you must shoot them down, board up the entering points of the map, and collect cash to be able to upgrade to better weapons, doing so wave after wave to be able to write your name and score on the leaderboards. With each wave the difficulty becomes harder, and you can easily find your self having jump scares as you rush from different window to doorway shooting everything that moves towards you.
For the latest devices that require IO5, a new application of the game can be used which is the multiplayer feature. This multiplayer choice is actually a fun way to play the game as you can help your team mate (the other player) to survive with you. Theres even the choice of voice chat for the IPhones. However, your internet connection for this is required and needs excellent signal for you to be able to get the best out of the game. Once again the lag became a major problem.
One of the most redeeming factors actually comes from the arcade mose of the game, which puts the player in a room surrounded by zombies until you can escape to the next one and continues over again.
The downside of this game would be that you're only given one map and that the waves can become very repetitive surprisingly quick. Another would be the graphics, as they lag constantly on mobile devices. If you're a huge fan of the Call of Duty franchise then no doubt you'll love this mobile game.
Sunday 2 March 2014
Tuesday 7 January 2014
Representation in chosen texts
Chosen texts – GTA 4
-Co Co Mademoiselle
Essay question:
1.How stereotypical is the representations in GTA 4?
2. How stereotypical are the representations in Co Co Mademoiselle
Grand Theft Auto is open-world gameplay based and shows no fixed linear storyline, making the player finish missions in order. In Grand Theft Auto 4, there are many different representations of things including; women, men, action, gangs, violence, vehicles and different cities. One of the most popular being the masculinity of the men. Even though each portagonist in GTA changes with every game, they feature similiar representations none the less. It is only in this game and the newest GTA that we start to develop a back story with these main characters. Instead of just wandering the cities. This representation is created through the use of crime and violence and general behaviour of how the character acts in certain scenerios. For example, we never see a woman in these games creating these sort of crimes. The main protagonist shows us a stern looking male with broad shoulders in jeans and a jacket with fingerless gloves. He doesn't have the nicest posture of expression which shows us that he means serious buisness and isn't one to be messed with. The men in this game dominate. This we can tell by the way they are portrayed, always taking the lead role and having them be able to use women to their advantage. There has been a lot of controversial discussion in the media because of these representations. Many are starting to be offended by them as they are portraying men from different ethnic groups are the violent type, women are nothing more than sex appeals and the city has nothing but violence and crime problems. The testosterone life of deviancy.
As for violence, the game practically revolves around it. The constant shooting with guns that can be unlocked through even more violent missions. Of course the game shows a lot of the gang culture in that city and so there is going to be a lot of violence revolving around that. The protagonist being the main culprit as the player uses this character to be violent. Killing innocent non playable characters to earn money or weapons or even just for the fun of it encourages this sort of bloody violence. None the less these three representations are what GTA games are most famously known for and so prefer to keep these representations are they are to keep up the fans expectations of the game. With each new release just being more bloodier, testosterone filled and sex enthused.
The stereotyping of ethnicity in this game is harder to master unless the consumer has first hand experience of it. It's usually the only encounter of this culture so it is harder for video games to not make a false accusation of the culture. Which could lead to abuse directed at that culture.
2.) Their website even though has a plain background still shows style and elegance through their use of products covering the pages, their models posing for them and their name at the bottom in a plain white font against the black background helps to seperate it from whats going on, this shows it's classy yet bare Keira Knightly placed infront of a black background with three main light points directed behind her, and enough light to show off the bottle is a typical idea by Co Co Chanel. It's a perfume and fragranced spray targeted towards woman more than men in their advertising as we always see famous actresses or woman to advertise their product or using it as product placement. An example being the current actress Keira Knightly posing for their Coco Mademoiselle.Their fragrance for woman are usually presented in their glass bottle and usually a wine colour of some sorts, the gentle golden or soft pinks adds elegance to their company and avertising these bottles with dim lighting and an attractive model makes them seem all the more expensive and elegant. The french touch also adds the sense of attraction as France is known for it being the country of love, represents the country of love. These advertisements tend to favouritise their representation of females as being elegant, classy and built to perfection. The women are always represented to have perfectly polished skin that's glossy and without imperfections that all real women have. Therefore this edited picture of perfection that's made to be seductive with the natural colours and soft lighting is false of what a true representation of a real woman looks like.
Wednesday 12 June 2013
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Mirrors Edge Representation
In Mirrors Edge you get to play as a young 'runner' named Faith who tries to help her sister not to be framed for the death of someone she didn't kill.
The game takes you straight away into the shoes of the heroine as she runs over vertical-inducing cityscape and engages in fast paced battles and chases.
The representation of Faith in this is in my opinion un-sexist as she preforms the same as the other runners and wears the same clothing as them too. The game shows the audience that girl characters in video games can be just as good at all these skilled tricks as guys and the game helps to boost this idea of having the main character as a female to many other competitive industries.
Mirrors Edge cancels out stereotypical imagery of both men and women as they all basically wear the same uniform and preform the same way, on the other hand Hope her sister is the only female officer in the game and Faith is the only character that you can play as, making sure you can follow the narrative easily.
Representation of Women in Video Games
Answering the following:
A.) Who was the first woman video game character that you can remember, (you played as) describe her.
The first character I remember where you play as the girl would be Cassandra from Soul Calibur. She always wore short tops that easily showed off her chest and often never wore trousers or anything other than a pair of pants to cover her body below, this emphasized her bum and chest to the players which gave off the typical sex appeal. Even though she carried a sword and shield she was always limited to certain moves, for example when I played as her I remember I was limited to a simple stab, a nudge with the shield and sexual taunts. Nothing quite as powerful or amazing as the males but we were thankful to see a female fighter on the scene.
B.) Who was the first woman you knew that played video games? Describe her.
The first woman who I knew to play video games would have to have been my mother who would often play shooting, puzzle or driving games with me or on her own. She sometimes acts what most would call masculine compared to what many stereotype a female to play. Lynda (my mother) also behaves in a tomboy manner so she doesn't care much for beauty or fashion. Now however, she doesn't play as much because she finds new consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PS3 confusing, she likes to stick to the simpler games or ways of playing such as solitaire which seems to be at the moment her favourite game, even if it is a card game.
C.) Do you think the woman gamer felt she was "represented" in the character you described? Why? Why not?
I think Lynda would probably laugh and say that in a way she was represented by Cassandra because of the fact that Cassandra has strong thighs, and always looks so determined, which my mother has in common. However, Cassandra wouldn't be a true representation because for one my mother wears a lot more clothing, and isn't afraid to pack a proper punch. Not just that but Lynda doesn't have the perfect curved figure that this character does and this character is a lot younger too.
D.) Can you think of another woman character that this woman would feel is a representation of her, why?
The only character I can think of would be Lara Croft. My mother loves action which is all Lara ever does. They both also love to rock climb and explore new places as well as both being strong independent women who know how to take care of themselves and others. The view of Lara in the new game has become a lot less sexually stereotyped- setting her as an equal to men almost, this is another thing that they would have in common. With the way my mother dresses and acts everyone sees her as an equal no matter what gender they were.
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