Gamecca Best Games Magazine March 2012

NEW UPLOAD

I haven't ranted or complained about anything in Unstuck for a while (or at least, not that I remember), but a culmination of events happened in the last couple of weeks that spurred the following frustration.

As game reviewers we receive a good amount of electronic entertainment to keep the reviews flowing, and it's an unfortunate part of the job where we have to write about the not-so-stellar attempts for some developers.

Sometimes a game is enjoyable, but there are just certain elements that don't see to work well. Anybody that knows me will know that I'm huge FIFA fan, so when the latest PES title came out, I wasn't too excited.

But regardless for the title, I popped in the game and... There it was, staring me right in the face. I didn't quite know what to make of it, or how I should handle the situation. I glanced away, hoping not to make eye contact, and decided to keep things professional.

While there have been a couple of similar incidents, the same unfortunate occurrence happened with a more recent title - Metal Gear Solid HD Collection.

The remake (or HD re-release, if you prefer) was developed by Konami. Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 was also developed by Konami. So while both games were developed by the same studio, they have something more sinister in common. Something so vile, that I'm not sure if I will survive another encounter. oh the horror.

At this point you might start to wonder what has me so afraid of Japanese games? Well, it's actually a very simple answer: pink. That's right, the colour pink. While most games make use of traditional colours, Konami for some strange reason like to violently and unannounced throw in sporadic splashes of pink - and I wish they would stop.

There is nothing worse than putting in an extremely manly game such as Metal Gear Solid, just to confronted and pushed into a corner by pink. Anybody who knows what I'm talking about will know what kind of pink I'm talking about.

It's not the "let's have a cup of tea” kind of pink, nor is it the "will you hand me my teddy” kind of pink. This type of off-red bundles you into the corner and loudly shout "You will see me and you will like it”.

Why? I'm no expert in colour, but why do you have to torture me with a colour that clearly doesn't fit in with any of the others that you have chosen for the title. Pink in PES I can still understand to a degree, but then again, they used it at all the wrong moments.

So while I was typing this, I had a spark of an idea. What if pink actually meant something in Japan or in Japanese culture? What if I don't like it, and it has some or other hidden meaning? Nah... what are the chances of that, right? I mean, it's only pink, a shade of red that lies between red, white and magenta colours.

And so it turns out that pink does actually mean something in Japanese culture, but it's not what you might think. It turns out that pink has a masculine association. According to Sensational Colour, "The annual spring blooming of the pink-blossomed cherry trees (the Sakura) is said to represent the young Japanese warriors who fell in battle in the prime of life (the Samurai).”

As a side note, if it wasn't for Western influence, the Chinese would never have known pink, and the Chinese word for pink translates as "foreign colour.”

I guess I'll be a bit more understanding and patient when I play games developed by Japanese studios. I have to admit that I was quick to judge a game by its colour, but at least now I know why some games will feature the colour.

It's still a stupid shade though.

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