Smokey64 ‘1994’ is out now via Bandcamp.

Grand Theft Auto: Continuing to Push Boundaries

Grand Theft Auto seriously pushed the boundaries when it was released. It has been a game-changer for video games in many respects, with fans so attached to the virtual characters that many are choosing to take them with them from old console to new. However, it has also been a game that has pushed further boundaries as it has developed.

“Grand Theft Auto V (45)” by Videogame Photography (CC BY 2.0)

Sure, the majority of the game has always been about grabbing a car, getting your drive on, and not getting too many stars against your name. However, in GTA V online, gamers were able to wager money in races. So seriously has this aspect been taken, in fact, that you can read how to make the most of glitches online to win big, showing that despite just being intended as a fun, light-hearted part of the game, it certainly made a huge impression on fans!

Red Dead Redemption: Bringing Poker to the Mini Game World

If one game was going to show how to do gambling and betting within a gaming format, then Red Dead Redemption with its no-nonsense approach was going to take the title. With mini games of poker available to be enjoyed, players had another way to make the most of the huge gaming environment that you can enjoy on Red Dead.

“Red Dead Redemption” by Ian Hughes (CC BY 2.0)

“Red Dead Redemption” by Ian Hughes (CC BY 2.0)

When the original game came out, the world of real online poker play wasn’t quite as popular as it is nowadays, when iGaming companies like 888poker in 2017 can offer a huge range of games to play for real money, with technology making these online poker experiences hugely realistic whilst allowing players to enjoy the social aspect of cards.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see if the upcoming (and much delayed!) Red Dead Redemption 2 will feature a more extended mini game series or if Rockstar will instead focus on making it a more action-based game.

James Bond 007: I Spy a Mini Game

While GTA and Red Dead Redemption are still very recent and retain their relevancy to the world of modern gaming, there hasn’t really been a wonderful James Bond video game since the era of Goldeneye, which gave gamers the chance to blow up their friends in multiplayer mode using proximity mines and even reveling in suspending the mines in the air (reveling unless, that is, you happen to be Pierce Brosnan, who apparently rather sucks at the game!).

The James Bond 007 game, however, did bring the world’s most famous secret agent into the gambling mini-game arena. Of course being on the Gameboy (which was still at its peak when this was made during 1998) made this a slightly less realistic experience, but the fact that you could finally enjoy the fun that Bond has (the sort of gambling fun seen in films like Casino Royale since) was a huge plus for the narrative.

Gaming within a game really does seem to enhance the overall experience, whether it’s gaming for the sake of gaming, gaming to resolve conflict, or gaming in the form of gambling. It may seem like rather a niche meta-world, but when you start looking more widely in the world of console gaming, you may find it’s far more common than you first thought.

You will know within the first 20 seconds of “Gravity”, the opening track of Jamatar’s Spacesounds is an EP that you will love or skip. It straddles the line between being a heavily chiptune-influenced synthwave album and a heavily synthwave influenced chiptune album. Chiptunes aren’t for everybody, and people can sometimes write off any aspect of that genre quickly. That’s a shame though, because there isn’t a second on Spacesounds that isn’t fresh and infectious.

            The debut EP by the Australian artist is at it’s most impressive when it is using the same Gameboy source to create interesting textures and layer them. “Gravity” does this masterfully, mixing warmer, rounder tones with the more brittle, distinctive video game sounds we are all accustomed to. “Singularity” follows by doing much the same. While filled with layered melodies, the song is more subdued and chilled out. It is more house-oriented than the other tracks, but the wash of nostalgic sounds manages to keep it from sounding overly repetitive.

            “Dead Space” sees Jamatar channeling darker atmospheres that wouldn’t be out of place in an old Metroid game, but with Final Fantasy sounding melodies, if that makes sense. It is an overtly chiptune song, without as much of the synthwave influence. The next song, “Asasamu” is a highpoint of the EP and brings back the retro-synthwave feel with full force, blending it with a little bit of that the house music vibe of “Singularity”. It is ultimately a track showcasing most of Jamatar’s strengths as an artist.

            “Space Sounds” and “Unity” close out the EP, making it one of the few releases that is bottom heavy, as opposed to top heavy. Many artists put their best songs in the beginning of releases, but the three longest, and by far strongest Jamatar tracks occupy the back half of the EP. If you are on the fence about it, start from “Asasamu” and work your way to the end from there. It’ll be interesting to see if Jamatar continues along the path of synthwave composition in a largely chiptune format, or if we blends more into that distinct Gameboy-generated sound. “Unity” implies that it could be more of the latter, and that makes me really excited for this artist’s future releases. 

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