New Game Passes the Bechdel Test

I know what you're thinking: another zombie game? You've played through all five Resident Evils and Left for Dead (1 &2) AND Dead Rising (1&2). You played zombie mode on Black ops and the zombie DLCs for Borderlands and Red Dead. You passed on Dead Island because, really, what could be different? And here comes another one.

So let me start by telling you what's different. There's a storyline here. There are characters you care about. There is campy humor. There are some truly awesome weapons. Ok, that's not different for the genre, per se, but the weapons in this game definitely provide many of its best moments. Can I say, "jelly shot?" No, not often enough! (And no, it doesn't mean what you think).

Let me give you the gist of the game:
      Single mom Liz Reese has been recruited to join the mysterious M.A.Z.A. (Mothers Against the Zombie Apocalypse) through a grief chat room after her husband's death. M.A.Z.A. has infiltrated most of the country's major corporations and government agencies all in the name of early detection of a zombie-creating disease and preparing their members to survive its outbreak, should they contain it. Liz, who is ex-military, declined a position high up in their combat division in favor of staying home to school her children in zombie survival methods. She works as a recruiter, fishing for new members on the net. The game starts when she's been doing this for about 7 years (you learn all of this through flashbacks and conversations). Liz and her children are the pariahs of their normal, upscale suburban neighborhood. Sarah Patton, President of the Neighborhood Association, is determined to drive the Reese family out of the neighborhood.
      Liz's two children, Joan and Xander, have opposite reactions to their mother's regime. Joan, 11, is a hardcore M.A.Z.A. disciple. She's known nothing else, and her dedication has brought her to the brink of overtaking her brother in training. Xander, 17, can't wait for the day he turns 18 and can move out and start a "normal" life. He lives and breathes for the slightest attention from the neighbor girl, Emily. Xander's noncompliance forms the basis of nearly all family conflicts.
      As co-op, you and a partner will play as Joan and Xander, during whose daily training you will learn the ins and outs of using and upgrading weapons and skills. Training points (which allow you to level up) may be gained both through physical practice and passing training programs on computers placed throughout the game.

If I haven't piqued your interest, gamer girls, remember this: the only objectified female in this game, Emily, brings only trouble to her objectifier. This game passes the Bechdel test with flying colors, meaning that the female presence in this game is both strong and equal. Female characters in this game are not tokens, the one female in a group of four who manages to serve as its most annoying member. They are strong, determined, and they just might save the world!

To check out more about M.A.Z.A., take a look at their website.

The Bechdel Test

I've griped before about the unequal, objectified position of female characters in video games. Never have I come across a video game that passes the "Bechdel Test." The Bechdel test evaluates the female presence in movies and whether or not they are concerned with anything other than men. Let me explain this test (or, if you'd rather, watch this explanatory Bechdel test video on youtube): to pass the test, a film, television show, or video game must include the following:

1. Two or more female characters with names.
2. Two women must talk to each other.
3. Two women must have a conversation about something other than men.

That shouldn't be too difficult, right? I'm sure you can think of a few movies, but it's surprising how many don't pass the test. Even in movies with strong female leads, you might find that character talks only or mostly to men. Watch the video if you want to see a list of a large number of movies which surprisingly do not pass. But we're talking about video games here. Can you think of one? Can you think of two? I admit that I could not, though I'm sure you'll all dig up a few I've forgotten about. Tune in tomorrow for my review of a new game that does pass, and also provides some truly epic gaming moments.

A Thank You Giveaway

As a thanks to all of my followers (all of you who successfully made the switch from my old blog to my new one), I'm giving away 1600 Microsoft points to one lucky winner. I know, it's only worth $20. Please for give me! I'm broke; have you seen how many awesome games studios have released since September? Please leave your contact info in the comments section and I'll enter you! I'll be drawing at the end of the week, do don't dawdle!

(Your fabulous prize)

Video Games and Body Image: Part 2

I realized after my last post that I left out the body image issues video games might cause in the majority of their users. Males aren't immune to these issues either, and games (most notably the Gears of War franchise, which I heart nonetheless) could lead one to believe that all males should be built more along the lines of Mr. Universe than your average Joe. I read this article on IGN and realized that female characters are not the only ones following a strict archetype. Yes, Dom and Marcus have biceps much larger than their heads:

I do have to give Gears 3 props for not sacrificing Anya's and Sam's body armor in order to make them look sexier. Despite the weird round armor plate things where their boobs should be, Gears 3 Anya might be the least objectified female character in video games today:

The media image of the "ideal woman" isn't the only one that has gotten so impossible and unnatural that trying to mold yourself into it is dangerous. The media image of what the perfect man should look like is equally dangerously unattainable. I couldn't find that clip from the documentary Bigger, Stronger, Faster showing the evolution of the G.I. Joe action figure from a normal, fit guy to a roided-out gorilla, but here's a picture that illustrates sort of the same thing:

Video Games and Body Image

I've been submerged in Gearbox's Borderlands for weeks now. It's open world, limitless crazy weapons, and the numerous challenges you can achieve to gain XP outside the quests given to you through gameplay makes for endless entertainment, despite the rather lackadaisical plot line. And when the main plot's over, there are four DLCs to play through!

Of course, though I'm having an amazing amount of fun setting baddies on fire as the Siren, Lilith, watching her jump, run, shoot, and get shot for hours on end has made me a little grumpy. She's perfect, of course. She's thin, with abnormally large boobs and a great butt, both of which are featured in the few cut scenes included in the game.  The angles the camera uses when it examines Lilith (often managing to look down her shirt, at her very obvious and desert-world-impractical cleavage) wasn't not the first annoyance to catch my eye. Or ear, as it were. Lilith makes the usual woman-in-video-game noises when jumping, running, and getting shot. What I'm talking about here, of course, are the sounds that pretty much sound like they're coming from a teenager's masturbatory aid. It's a little disgusting, frankly. Enjoy the opening cut scene here.

Let's face it, video games are men's worlds, far more than our own is. They are dominated by male characters, and even more than in other forms of media, the male gaze is the only point of view we ever get. This isn't hard to understand from a capitalist perspective; video games are marketed primarily to the adolescent male. Things are changing in the video game industry. According to consumerelectronics.net, "Females - young and old - have become major influences in the types of games that are played online and offline with smartphones" and now make up 40% of the video game market. Read the article here. I think it's about time game developers re-evaluate their market and rethink how to better appeal to us, the 40%.