Opening Day

Hello world and welcome to the first post on MultiPlatform, the blog geared towards an in-depth analysis and reflection on different forms of media. Instead of posting news, I have taken it upon myself to give a more concise perspective on specific topics going around a particular industry. Given the title of the blog, I will be most focused on video games, and rightly so since any formal type of analysis and criticism seems to not have found much acceptance in the industry. I am here to look at games in a different way, as more than a medium for enjoyment and instead as viable pieces of culture.

Now, video games will not be the sole focus. I plan on lumping together films and television in this blog on occasion and offering a perspective on trends of each subsequent industry. While I have not yet determined the best way to go about reflecting on each specific topic, I plan to start with the idea of 'mini-marathons.' Whether going through the decline of a previously popular medium and speculating on the interest of another, or simply examining specific genres, the marathon format would seem to give me the ability to make an accurate judgement with a variety of background information.

I reckon any readers would like to know a bit about the man behind the text, and as such I will oblige. My name is Rich and I am an 18 year old male from the state of New Jersey. Now for something you couldn't get by reading the little 'about me' tab a few inches over, you lazy bastards. I'm currently a student at TCNJ where I am majoring in English. I grew up playing video games and reading books, so after completing my first semester and being introduced to critical ways of reading literature, I figured that the video game industry could benefit from a more critical approach. As such, MultiPlatform was started on June 30th, 2008, which is good since we still have a few years to benefit from this knowledge before the Mayan Apocalypse falls down upon the masses. So yes, I live a fairly calm life and enjoy a little writing every once in a while. I also do a YouTube program called 'The College Gamer' and the 'Dorm Room Reflections' spin-off. I have another plan in the works at the moment, but it's still in alpha phase. The one thing that should be stated before continuing on to the meat of the blog, is that all of my work is as much for my own benefit as it is for the benefit of the reader/viewer. Feedback is always welcome and lovingly accepted, though hardly expected. As such, I plan to benefit from the discoveries made during any of my ventures, just as the reader/viewer benefits.

As such, I shall immediately get down to business by announcing the first project undertaken by the MultiPlatform blog. Video game will be examined, but more importantly I going to look at a series of licensed games, each based off a property that achieved success in a different medium, and offer reviews on each experience. At the end, I plan to take what I learned and come up with a comprehensive idea of why licensed games tend to succeed only on the commercial scale rather than the critical scale. It should also be noted that I will be focusing on 'modern' games rather than licensed games from the SNES backward, so yes, that means no Super Star Wars or GoldenEye. I will also note that the definition of 'modern' will change from time to time, as I consider console past the SNES/Genesis days to be modern, even if all consoles aren't reflected.

So here's the slate...
Licensed Video Games:

1. The Darkness (Xbox 360) - Representing comics
2. Lost: Via Domus (Xbox 360) - Representing television
3. Naruto: Rise of a Ninja (Xbox 360) - Representing anime/manga
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Xbox 360) - Representing film/literature
5. POST ANALYSIS The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (PS2) - Representing literature/film/distanced license

Harry Potter is subject to change because currently none of the GameStops in my area have a used copy and I can't justify blind-buying a licensed game. Also, I plan to evaluate the first four as fast as possible and reflect on the finding, The Lord of the Rings title will be a follow up and take place after my conclusions, as RPGs take a while to play. I also realize that all the games are the for 360, so calling them modern applies only to the newest generation of gamers, but I figured it would be the best starting point, since I've played Riddik before and don't feel like hunting for licensed games from older systems. Plus I never turn down easy achievements. I will also state that, with the exception of Lost and Naruto, and excluding LotR entirely, I chose to list the titles by my personal familiarity with the source material. I have not once read anything from The Darkness series, and I have followed Harry Potter since the first book so I know a bit about that franchise. I'm vaguely familiar with Naruto and I've watched Lost since the end of the first season, so I know much more about that than I do about Naruto. I plan to also include reflections as a fan and as someone new to a series. I just finished The Darkness yesterday and plan to start Lost today, so look for a The Darkness review/reflection later on today.

Thank you for reading MultiPlatform and I hope you enjoy the forthcoming entries and that your ideas of how games/films/shows 'be' is expanded, as is your knowledge of the respective industry.