Uncivil War: “Get Ready For War!”

Back in July/August when I was on work experience in Manchester, I was looking through twitter and discovered that The Escapist had a new show on their website. The show is hosted by the combined efforts of Jim Sterling who presents the Jimquisition, and Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw who presents the internet phenomenon; Zero Punctuation, to which both shows are shown on The Escapist. Jim and Yahtzee, both being originally from Great Britain previously co-hosted a show on the Escapist called Jim & Yahtzee’s Rhymedown Spectacular where they would each present a poem on a similar theme each week. The show went on for about a year, and was quite entertaining in the process; both showing their talent for poetry as well as write and perform poems about Video Game subjects.

Since the poetry however, Jim and Yahtzee have now changed direction and have started, once again co-hosting a new series on Video Games; Uncivil War. Basically each week, the two presenters play the same game, and make up a challenge which does not really exist in the game whilst also providing an awesome sounding name for the challenge and see who is better at it. For instance, in one show they played the new Watch Dogs game where the challenge was to run over as many in game characters who wearing the same colour clothing as the car that the co-host was driving and so therefore named “The Car-Clothing Colour Co-Ordinated Carnage Contest“. On a later episode, the challenge was a lot simpler as they played Left 4 Dead and challenged themselves in trying to be the first person to board the helicopter at the end of the ‘No Mercy’ campaign, suitably named the “Get To Da Choppa” challenge.

The show is very well produced as the title card and intro for the show publicize itself as being like an old-fashioned boxing match with even a pumped up introduction in the opening sequence while simultaneously assigning a blue and red corner to each participant. The title card at the beginning of the show as well as on the video view slide also gives the impression of a fly poster on a brick wall somewhere promoting the fight. The show also has a brilliant opening theme produced by another Escapist; Gavin Dunne who creates the Miracle of Sound songs and videos (including the brilliant song; Gordon Freeman Saved My Life). The theme tune is actually really catchy and while short can be expanded for little points in the show’s soundtrack. The opening theme though begins on a strong point with the lyric “Get Ready For War” before continuing with the rest of the sequence and keeping the song going.

Uncivil War is a terrific Show. I like it for the part of the shows co-hosts as well as the theme and soundtrack; but what I like most about it is that it represents for me anyway of what multiplayer games should be. Not just a straight race, or death match, or anything along those lines. Games should have more daft, silly modes for the basis of multiplayer more often, and the show’s two brilliant presenters have shown that. These are the kind of little games I would like to play in multiplayer more often, a little challenge between players to spice up the multiplayer element that little bit more. I remember watching my brother and a friend play one of the original Need for Speed games and not race each other, instead they spent their time tipping over big trucks with their cars. It’s little games like that between players as to what multiplayer games should be about, having fun doing something a little bit silly every now and again as well.

GENEPOOL