@texasgoldrush FFVII may be overrated (how could it not be, given the ferocity with which its cult fans defend its merits?) but it still popularized the RPG, one of the few genres where narrative can equal or outweigh the emphasis of gameplay. It brought video game as story to millions; and I'm sorry, it was a good story. Clearly a lot of thought was put into the narrative and a lot of charm was put into the ambience, a successful combo. Though I do agree, its narrative structure didn't break much ground; it was told exactly like any book or movie, with only minor dialogue options that were usually comical at best.
Professor Dutton is clearly a brilliant man; to investigate the narrative potential of video games he explores Grand Theft Auto IV and BioShock instead of Mass Effect or, better yet, Indigo Prophecy. And then there's an obtuse comparison of a traditional story arc to a video game story arc, as if an effective narrative experience must be either a comedy or a tragedy. Perhaps if we included a Greek chorus to sing the narrative overlay he might be more inclined to appreciate games. To more insightful critics, though, games open up an entire world, and can guide you through an effective traditional narrative or, maybe better yet, allow you the freedom to explore the world in a manner most suited to your tastes. You can choose what people to talk to, what documents to read, where to go, and yes, whom to kill and how to kill them. Of course that's different than a book or a film but to some, and I emphasize to some, it's better. It has everything that film has, plus another element of interactivity. Who can claim with a straight face that it can't tell an effective story if film can?
I'm not sure if you all are addressing me specifically, but I agree that the differences are miniscule, and shouldn't matter. My problem is that this article fails to point out a great deal of the miniscule differences that favor the Playstation 3. Not long ago they were complaining about whitewashed PS3 games (the article is still floating around). Now they're talking about rock shading. If you're going to nitpick do it consistently; don't pander to the community with the larger fan base.
I'm not one to argue about consoles but this article 3 years ago ripped on the PS3 for whitewashed graphics and now doesn't make a peep about the fact that many of the 360 games suffer from the same problem, in addition to the fact that I don't think it listed a single positive through all these games about the PS3. And Gamespot, you were "surprised" there were more as many jaggies on the 360 as the PS3? What gives?
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