Josh Korr, a games reviewer for the St. Petersburg Times echoes Clive Thompson's concerns with the Xbox 360 and its character models. They look so, well fake, in some cases. Korr calls it the Jar Jar effect, (citing the plastic appearance of the character in the Star Wars prequels as evidence). Korr points out that Binks lacked the "mass, physics and details of a living thing" and feels similarly about the Xbox 360's early characters. We've all seen Gears of War footage by now, those guys don't look plastic-y and their giant suits definitely have some weight to them. Remember, the original Xbox didn't really hit its stride visually until the last 50 percent of its lifecycle - we need to give the developers a little time to craft and create.

Thanks Chilly!

The Jar Jar Problem [St. Petersburg Times]
Monsters of Photorealism [Wired]

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