Any game must "radically simplify complex systems," and MGS4's gun-launderer character, and fluctuating price of unlockable weapons and equipment does just that as a representation of a mercenary economy. And that, N'Gai reasons, makes a statement about the inherent amorality of war fought for profit just as much as cutscene dialogue, no matter how well written, where gamers are most conditioned to look for what was on the game creator's mind.

That's not to say MGS4 now goes into a pantheon of great allegorical commentaries on war and greed. It's a video game, so whatever message comes out is necessarily refracted through your experience of playing it. And it is a hell of a lot of fun. But N'Gai's point is that the "war economy" with which you, as Snake, must do business make it thought provoking, in addition to being an entertaining game at the top of its genre.

I Need a Hero, for Hire [Level Up]

For example, Game Informer gave Mass Effect a near-perfect 9.75 out of 10, while citing many problems that might otherwise lead to a lower score (and the fact Ben himself doesn't think it even comes close, but never mind that.) Without passing judgment on GTA IVs 10/10ness, he thinks that exclusive reviews are "ethically troubling" at minimum.

"But how can we trust a videogame review when the outlet running it has been given a major commercial favor — one that's worth money — from the publisher of the game? You never see a paper or TV station getting special access from a movie studio or TV network or book publisher to run an "exclusive review." Imagine the L.A. Times or Roger Ebert touting their "exclusive review of 'Iron Man.'" Absurd, right? So why do we tolerate it for a videogame?"

Exclusive Reviews are Ethically Troubling [The Cut Scene]

If the industry wants to upsell us with special limited editions, why not look beyond the Master Chief helmets and DVD documentaries? The same goes for DLC. Why limit the imagination to strategical tactics and bonus missions when content can be offered to enhance a gamer's appreciation of what they already have...requiring less of an investment on everyone's part?

So studios, if you are listening, we want more commentaries. Let us know what geniuses you are, the impetus behind every little spec of bloom lighting. Because while the 10-minute documentaries are nice, why not exploit the interactive model that you already do so well?

The Bongolian Deathcrab. The USS You Are All So Boned. 17 days of Galactic Civilizations II, and a really, really funny (if longish) running commentary to go with it.

Us Spectres have 12 billion people on every planet, and our nymphomania means we recouperate losses quickly, but the scale of the onslaught was such that we still lost one or two planets. So when it came to the fun part - designing my capital-class super battleship to use all the best technology in the universe, I was angry.

This is how, by the end of the half-hour design process, I ended up with a ship that is too wide to fit on the screen.

Maggie Greene

GalCiv 2 War Report: One small step for space aliens, no steps at all for man in pants [PC Gamer Magazine via Joystiq]

What more could we possibly add? Although Uwe's right: Tara Reid does look intelligent with those glasses! FLORIAN ECKHARDT

Meanwhile, here at Valve, we're frantically trying to put the finishing touches on Episode One for preloading to begin May 1st. The past couple of days have been spent with the team adding commentary tracks. Hopefully it will be interesting for people to gain some insight into our development processes. It's pretty hectic around the office, but it is always a lot of fun to be so close to shipping

We're sort of intrigued by the concept of game commentary tracks... it's a great lift from DVDs and one we'd like to see on a lot more games. Pop on God Mode, tick a Commentary check box and blaze your way through City 17, listening to the designers talk about the irradiated Bulgarian cities upon which it was based.

HL2: E1 Preloading Soon [Steam Powered]

Dictionary.com defines "next-generation" as: pertaining to the next generation in a family; also, pertaining to the next stage of development or version of a product, service, or technology

The example sentence reads, "Programmers are now developing next-generation software." Vague, at best.

Of course, of course, it could refer to super-powerful consoles, millions of new gamers or even that monster HDTV Crecente's gonna buy. Yes, of course. That still explains jack.

Not sure if "the super powerful console" argument sells me. We're not leaping from Pong to PGR3 here, folks. Last I checked, neither the PS2 nor the original Xbox sported lame-o images. Heck, the GameCube looks fine by me.

No matter how slick the 360 is or the PS3 will, these systems are going to let folks down. They cannot live up to the image we've created—especially the PS3, which I am expecting to do my taxes and shit candy canes.

Contrary to popular belief, Microsoft did not invent the HDTV.

If we are using millions of new gamers to define "next-gen," then shouldn't next-gen have already started? Like when the NDS launched and oodles of middle-aged women in Japan started playing brain games. That is the future of video games: old ladies in Saitama and Seattle with touch pens. For the market to grow, it needs new customers, not just new consoles.

So what's next-gen? Got me, but I think it began sometime last fall.

Are We Really in the Next-Gen? [Kotaku]

Keith Stuart of The Guardian wonders if all of this "Next Gen" talk is getting out of hand. After all, some of this year's biggest games Zelda, MGS4 and Vision Gran Turismo are all sequels to long-standing franchises. Stuart's not impressed.

Neither am I, frankly. However the direction that the games' market has gone (the rising costs of development) it makes risk-taking in game design far too financially taxing and forces developers who want to, and have the creative desire to do more, to work on sequels. Is there a way for developers to make the games they want to make and still have publishers be happy with the revenue? New IP rarely sells as well as established IP, but relying too hard on existing franchises isn't going to bring anything new and exciting to the table, either, is it? Any solutions from the Kotaku peanut gallery?

Love the New Consoles, Shame About the Games [The Guardian]

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]

Of those five, the most interesting might be the DS and PSP finding a strange harmony in your hands, or hip mailbag (are those still cool?). Because the two systems are so different in their software and function (i.e., the DS is starting to accumulate an excellent catalog of games, and the PSP is still, uh, really good at playing movies) both will be viable. I hope that 2006 sees the PSP software start to really develop.

The Five Biggest Trends of 2005 [Game Girl Advance]

Tom Loftus put together the 12 Days of Gaming (totally not singable) over at MSNBC, and in addition to being a superb wrap up of the year in gaming, is also a pretty clever idea (I wish I'd thought of it). Here at Kotaku, we're not all "bah humbug," just Ashcraft - but I think it's the jet lag.

12 Days of Video Gaming [MSNBC]

The New York Times tracked down Perrin Kaplan to talk to her about the mouthy K.K. Slider. Kaplan assures everyone that Animal Crossing's K.K. Slider does not have an anti-music industry agenda. "People can read a lot into a little," Kaplan said, "but musician K.K. Slider — a guitar-playing cartoon dog — is saying only that he's a free spirit who cannot be bought and sold for any amount of money." He's like Neil Young, I guess.

Social Commentary, or Just a Dog's Opinion [The New York Times]
Animal Crossing Blasts CD Companies

On the Cult of Sega Football Manager [Great Reporter]