Day Two - Everyone loves Zombies

I was on the train this morning on my daily commute. It's just a one off thing this week as I'm working at a newspaper for work experience. It is a local Newspaper called the Yorkshire Evening Post. The publication is okay but very limited. I've not actually had anything printed yet despite writing plenty of stories and I've not had the chance to cover topics I would like to. I understand that I won't get the ability to review computer games in a paper like this, there would already exist a reporter for that. My work ends tomorrow and I'm hoping to leave a lasting impression. That impression being some graffiti on the office wall saying: "Alec Woz Ere." But while I was on the train this morning I saw a chap I've seen every morning for the past three days. He was wearing the exact same clothes each day. They weren't poor clothes, it was actually a cool outfit and it reminded me of many computer game characters. Like cartoon characters, many computer game characters never change clothes. These outfits essentially become costumes to us. If we wish to take the identity of Fred Flintstone, we get his outfit. This guy on the train had his costume. Maybe I need one. I have a coat and hood combination I wear in the winter and a good friend of mine said if I was ever in a film and needed a costume I would be wearing that coat cos it's my identity. It's a cool coat, but I'd be screwed in the summer cos it is a very warm coat.

Fred Flintstone costume against a group of girls as Final Fantasy Characters.

Last night I drafted up a few ideas for articles and features for the publication. I have a lot going on, maybe too much, maybe not enough. I won't actually know until I get told how many pages I'm allow to produce. Today's in depth look will be into Retrospectives. Many magazines do Retrospectives for games that have a long line of history. The most recent one I read was in the Official PlayStation Magazine. To co inside with the release of the new Metal Gear Solid game, the magazine did a numerous page spread on a Metal Gear Retrospect, starting at the year 1987 (my favourite year) all the way up to the present day. It was a very interesting read and I found out many things I didn't know about Metal Gear, especially the behind-the-scenes items and the games inspirations. QUICK FACT: Did you that Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid Director) was inspired by the George A. Romero cult film Dawn of the Dead? No? Well he was. Everyone loves Zombies, right? Except of course when they're the enemy.

Kojima is inspired by Zombies, from my picture you can tell that I am to.

I thought about doing my own MGS retrospective but since it's already been done in the aforementioned publication I may have to reconsider. Another serial game I'm really into and know a hell of a lot about is RESIDENT EVIL!!!! (I did that for dramatic effect, just like the game does. RESIDENT EVIL...TWO! Brilliant.) Since the fifth game (yet technically it's the err...I think the 12th, but I'm not too sure) is set for release next year then a retrospective would be suitable, but I also suspect someone else will be thinking of doing one. The only other game I can really think about doing is Sonic the Hedgehog, mainly because of the rumours about his imminent demise. I think Resident Evil is the better choice though, cos it has such a grand history and a complicated back story. All the history of the evil Umberlla Inc. fasinates me: "playing god they were, foolish bastards." I've written on my draft of ideas from last night, under RETROSPECTIVES, "only one per issue". Maybe my original intent was to do one retrospective each month or whatever. There is plenty of gaming franchises, and some could be spread across two issues. Perhaps that's something to consider.

Will Sonic perish?

Still no updates on the Machinima interview and no word as of yet from VG Live, let's be patient. I have contacted Destructoid and computerandvideogames.com about interviews and advice. Chris Marsh said he'd do the interview, I may yet turn that it to something bloody spectacular. Since starting this job (work experience) I've not had the chance to sit and play on a video game. I'm getting a little bored of the ones I've got for my Xbox360 and my PS2 won't run Resident Evil 4, which I still haven't finished. Perhaps I should look into buying a new game. Alone in the Dark looks tempting:

Alone in the Dark, is it worth it? This is an image of New York. It's not like we've never seen it like this before.

I'll leave with a quote from Resident Evil 2's Leon S. Kennedy: "Hey, it's up to us to take out Umbrella."

Leon S. Kennedy