Retorts
Y’know how you’re put on the spot and you can’t think of a reply fast enough? George from Seinfeld had that problem a lot and I did today when talking about Pokemon and Mirror’s Edge in today’s podcast. Matt asked what the big deal about Pokemon is. Well. It’s FUN, for one. It’s a deep, challenging RPG with over 300 characters you can mold and build to suit your style, there are tons of items and moves and secrets, a welcoming community to trade characters and items with, online play. Certainly there’s a nostalgia factory – the property’s been around a good, long while and is never going away. And it’s portable. It’s like asking what’s the big deal about Tetris? Whats’ the big deal about beer? C’mon. What more do you want? We’re obviously not changing each other’s minds here.
And Matt’s response to my query if he played the Mirror’s Edge demo out now: “It’s a jumping game. [or some similar snarky thing]”
So is Super Mario Bros.! RRRRRGGGHH. Try the demo, man. You too, Jess, you can download it on the PS3 through the Playstation Network Store. It’s the most unique thing out there. Every game out there looks like some brown, realistic shooter. Mirror’s Edge has primary colors. Do you remember the last time you saw those in a game? That wasn’t from Nintendo? It’s thrilling. The art design’s terrific, the music, the controls are different and weird and fun… the thrill of running away from armed pursuers. It’s completely different, emphasizing running and climbing and leaping over regular ‘ol SHOOTAN. It’s like the rooftop chase in Bourne Ultimatum or Casino Royale. And yes, you can see your legs if you look down. Try it out for PETE’S sake.
So yeah, in the feeble, limp words of George Costanza, “the jerk store ran out of you!”