Tag Archives: games

Summer’s Slim Pickings

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Summer’s traditionally a busy time for a lot of things; festivals, films, sports etc., but it’s also a very quiet time for other things, most notably news but also games.

Games traditionally have a very barren spell over the summer months, except for the titles held for ‘seasonal’ releases, which usually means tennis games. I can’t tell you how much seasonal releases annoy me, and the worst culprit in my eyes was Nintendo. Back in the N64 days there were a few games I was desperate for, and one of those was 1080 Snowboarding. Australia had it released in June or July (their winter), but Nintendo of Europe had the genius idea of holding the release here until Christmas time, as it was summer here and nobody wants snowboarding games in the summer, right? Well I did, and a lot of other people did, hence my first – and only – Australian import from a local shop.

Anyway, I’m getting away from the point in hand here, and that’s the lack of decent new games to pick up once summer gets here. I’ve got a couple of games on the go, but nothing I can really get my teeth stuck into, and I’m not the only one feeling the itch, friends have said the same thing to me. I got so desperate for something new, half-decent and involving to play that I trawled the games shops at lunchtime and still came up blank. Eventually I found one, and despite the ‘not bad, but not brilliant either’ reviews I picked up a cheap copy of Dungeon Siege III.

So far I think I must have put in about ten hours, and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a nice mix of RPG and third-person action adventure, with a heavy emphasis on loot and character development. Thankfully it’s all been given a nice easy interface which lets you get on with the important stuff – like actually playing the game -  rather than spending hours agonising over stats and figures. I love a good dungeon crawl, and that’s exactly what the game provides, powering up and getting stuck into a good fight. It reminds me of playing Neverwinter Nights on the PC, but with a bit less depth, making it far more living room friendly in my eyes. The story is pretty good too, and that’s high praise indeed from someone who finds it hard to get drawn into yet another fantasy back story. Oh and there are save points every five minutes too, whoever saw fit to put them in the game that frequently is a saint and deserves a pat on the back from someone who hates being forced to play for another hour just so he doesn’t lose his progress.

I have no idea how far into the game I am, but I think there’s still a good way to go yet. I’d thoroughly recommend it for anyone looking to fill the summer gap, and when you can pick it up for about 13 or 16 quid at Zavvi and Tesco respectively, you can’t really go wrong.

Now bring on Batman: Arkham City!

Nintendon’t

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I realised earlier that I’ve totally been neglecting anything Nintendo related when it comes to playing games, and this is bad news. When it comes to the Wii I’m not so sure why, whether it’s just the way it looks on the TV after being used to the nice HD displays of the 360 and PS3, I’m not sure. As far as the DS goes I’m under no illusions, it’s just because I have one of the original ones and using it now is horrid. The screen is so dull and the design is really dated now, if you try using anything from the DS Lite onwards and then go back to it, you’ll see why I can’t bring myself to pay money for games to play on it.

This all leaves me with two main resolutions to make:

1. Catch up on Wii software and play it a lot more.
2. Gets me a new DS!

The first should be relatively easy to do, I know there’s a ton of decent games that have slipped me by while I’ve been neglecting my Wii (steady!). Super Mario Galaxy 2 is a given, but there’s a lot of other stuff too, I’ve got the Metroid games to catch up on, Epic Mickey looks good and I dare say there’s a lot of other good stuff too. The stupid thing is I really enjoy the games once I start playing them, the original Super Mario Galaxy was one of the most fun, best presented games I’ve played in years, but it didn’t even occur to me to buy the sequel. I worry that secretly I may harbour anti-Wii prejudice :S That has to end, I’m depriving myself of some great stuff.

The second resolution is more difficult, because it requires money. If (more likely ‘when’) I get a new DS, I’m going to get a DSi XL. The thought of the nice big screens, a bigger console to fit in my big hands, and catching up with a lot of stuff I’ve missed out on is too much to resist. I know the 3DS is on the horizon, but a price of ~£250 is just too rich for my wallet. That said, the passive 3D sounds intriguing, and it’s supposed to work really well, maybe when it’s cheaper?

I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be a good year for games, there’s a lot of good stuff on the way, and it’s only a few weeks until Marvel vs Capcom 3!

Arcade Memories

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For no reason other than amusing myself, here’s a list of some of my favourite memories from the glory days of arcades.

Seeing Street Fighter II in the flesh for the first time. Ever since seeing the first pictures in an old copy of C+VG I was absolutely obsessed with the game. I spent hours poring over the few pictures I had deciding who I was going to choose when I played it and so on, so when it turned up in the local arcade I was in rapture. I swear that machine must’ve generated more money than any other since Space Invaders and Pac-Man hit the world (Space Invaders was so popular in Japan there was a shortage of 100Y coins and the mint had to make more), and it was especially true at our arcade.

The unwritten rule. If you wanted to be next to take on the person currently playing, you had to put your ‘credit’ (10p pieces) on the cabinet, next to the joysticks. On popular games this led to teetering towers of coins, people crowded around a machine waiting for the chance to play next.

Excessively loud cabinets. Every once in a while the guy who came to change the games installed in the cabs (otherwise known as God) would leave a machine turned up to dangerously loud volume levels. Off the top of my head I can’t remember many, but I remember Double Dragon at the leisure centre being one of them. The first time I heard someone kick a knife out of the air in that game could probably have been heard on the moon (yes, defying even the vacuum of space).

‘Stuck’ credits. It was an event as rare as a lottery win, but every once in a while the credit mech on a cab would get stuck, granting unlimited credits to those lucky enough to be playing at the time. I remember a Shinobi machine in this state (the first and only time I ever completed it), and most memorably of all the four-player Turtles machine too. That game was one of those excessively loud ones detailed above – which is probably why phrases like ‘Say your prayers toitles!’ and ‘Tonight I dine on turtle soup’ and indelibly etched into my brain – and every time you hit the credit button the machine would shout ‘Cowabunga!!’. Imagine if you can, the cacophany of four overly excited teenagers hammering four of these buttons as fast as they can… ‘COW-COW-COW-C-C-C-COW-C-C-C-COW-COW-COW-COW-COW…… COWABUNGA!’. What a great day that was  :D .

Hydraulic cabinets. These beasts were rare, especially in small local arcades, and the games weren’t always that good, but they were so much fun! Afterburner II was my favourite of the bunch, swinging around in that F-14 Tomcat was awesome fun, especially once the music for level 4 kicked in (Megadriver do an awesome cover of this). I seem to remember sitting on the Thunderblade one once as well.

Girl Games. The few girls seen in flea-pit arcades would normally be adorned in shell suits, hanging around local hoodlum-wannabes with bum fluff moustaches, but occasionally some would actually play a game, and for whatever reason it was always one of a couple of games. Wonderboy and Pac-Land are prime examples of this, both of them were excellent games, full of secrets and tricks, but it was the girls who found them. They played the games obsessively, moreso than most boys and got really good at them, but it meant that you could never really play them, either because there was a girl camped out on one of them, or because on the rare occasion it was free you’d be seen playing a ‘girl game’.

I realise now this list could get very big, very quickly, so for now here are some of my favourite games from that era:

Crime City
Rolling Thunder 2
Double Dragon
Toki
The Cliffhanger: Edward Randy
Wonderboy III (The arcade style side-scrolling shooter)
Dark Seal
Wardener
The Combattribes
Bubble Bobble (I still remember the cheats, not many coin-ops had cheats!)
Battle Chopper/Mr Heli
Mr Bonze Adventure
Shadow Warriors
Hat Trick Hero (I only ever remember seeing the elusive SUUUUPER SHOT!!!! twice)
Aliens

Again, I’ve forced myself to stop before it gets even more boring and irrelevant. If you can be bothered to find out any more about any of those, hit them up on KLOV.

I realise I’ve probably made very similar posts to this before, apologies if it feels like Groundhog day reading it, at my age now my memory isn’t what it used to be ;) .

Lurgified

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I’m listening to Paul Simon’s Graceland and looking forward to the weekend, so I thought I’d have a go at writing an update for this. I’ve been at a bit of an impasse for the last couple of weeks where I’ve wanted to write something, but just haven’t been able to muster up the enthusiasm or subject matter. Not really writers’ block, more of a general brain block.

It’s only a week before the European Championships now, and I’m nervous and excited. More excited than nervous for the time being, but we’ll see how long that lasts. The big team sessions we’ve had lately have really helped pull the clubs together, and I think it’s going to feel like a really good, big family unit going u to compete. I’m confident in at least knowing the forms I’m going to be competing with, it’s just smartening them up and practising again and again for the next seven days that I need to do. I’ve always stuck to just sparring at previous competitions which has suited me just fine, but it’s a loooong day just waiting for your category to get called and I’ve never really tested myself with my forms in front of a high-ranking group of strangers. I really hope don’t let the chang bong slip out of my hand!

Before I even get as far as the competition though I need to get better. I’ve had colds and sniffles on and off for weeks now, literally weeks and weeks, and just as I seem to be getting over one another one comes along and kicks me in the ass – or more accurately the lungs. This latest one has made itself right at home unfortunately and has turned into a chest and sinus infection, and the most irritating cough I’ve ever had. It tickles and tickles and never clears, and it meant I got about 3 hours sleep last night. People who know me know I don’t do well without a good night’s sleep, I’m like a zombie, so I’m amazed I’ve even written this much today. It doesn’t bode well for poor Murphy who’s meant to be going back to dog agility tomorrow morning after two weeks off due to Crufts and a local competition. Sorry Murph, we’ll be back to dog school soon.

On the games front it’s been pretty quiet. I milked Batman Arkham Asylum for all it was worth and finally gave it back yesterday, but it’s been such a long time since I played a game I enjoyed as much as that that I’m itching for more. So much so that I went into town and made a random purchase yesterday thanks to a sale at the games shop and a new reward card so I could at last spend the points I’ve had saved on there for ages. I bought Dragon Age: Origins, despite the graphics really not looking that great (although my last few games have probably spoiled me), but mainly because it’s a Bioware game and they have a tendency to make very good role-players. I had a couple of hours on it last night and really enjoyed what I’ve seen so far, even though there’s an unusually small number of race and class choices. I’m still waiting to borrow Assassin’s Creed 2 too, it’s supposed to be very good. Oh, and Blazblue Calamity Trigger is out next week too, more 2D fighting goodness from Arc Systemworks, the genius behind the likes of Guilty Gear XX (which is still the pinnacle of that series if you ask me).

So yeah, that’s me. More inspiration and less boring updates next week with a bit of luck!

Heavy Rain

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I’ve spent the last couple of days at home worshipping the white porcelain god in my bathroom with a nasty stomach bug. It’s not been pretty, but I seem to be on the mend now. I knew there was something up after Sunday’s training when I felt like death, even though (warmup aside) it wasn’t a particularly tough lesson. It gave me a chance to plough some more hours into what’s been my favourite game in a long time though, Quantic Dream’s magnum opus, Heavy Rain.

Heavy Rain

Heavy Rain was on my pre-order list as soon as I found out it was being developed by the same team and producer as the criminally under-rated Fahrenheit, which I loved on the PS2. That style of game doesn’t appeal to everyone, as it’s pretty much an interactive story with limited choices available, and a series of QTEs (Quick Time Event – reflex tests, first really shown in the likes of the laserdisc classics Dragon’s Lair and Space Ace, but only really given its new moniker when Shenmue came along), but I love it. I actually finished Heavy Rain yesterday for the first time, and I have to say I loved every minute. This game does a LOT of things right, namely story-telling and presentation, and you can tell that it’s been a real labour of love. Nothing’s been left to chance, and it’s got the same polish and feel as a tense movie thriller. I realise a lot of people haven’t played it yet, and may want to in the future, so for those people, avoid the section below as there are some pretty big spoilers ;)

************************************** SPOILERS BEGIN ***************************************

Firstly there are a few things that still seem unexplained to me, which a bit of backstory would’ve helped with at times. For example, why are there intruders at Madison’s place the first time you meet her? I thought it was going to be related to the story, but it never comes up again, it just felt like an unnecessary mechanic to get her into the motel. Also, where did Norman’s ‘Tripto’ addiction come from? It feels like we were dropped into their storylines a few chapters late.

I didn’t see the twist at the end coming at all, they did really well at keeping the suspicion of guilt moving from one person to another. I’m still not sure how mentally unstable Shelby was supposed to be though. He was obviously very aware of what he was doing, and meticulous in his preparation and execution, so why risk his own life in gunfights trying to get to people he would then accuse of his own crimes? I can only assume he was meant to have pretty stark split personalities, but it was never eluded to, not even when it came to light that he was the guilty party.

Ethan’s own foible’s were never properly explained either. Why was he getting the blackouts? Why would he wake up somewhere completely different? Why was he holding an origami animal each time? Are we to assume Shelby was somehow drugging him and leaving the origami with him? It doesn’t make much sense. I’m hoping a lot of the questions I raised above can be answered with a second or even third playthrough, but with a different direction taken at certain points.

There are a few things that make me wonder what would have been different if I’d done it differently. Does taking the Tripto whenever given the opportunity do anything to Norman? What difference did it make when I accidentally (yes accidentally!) shot the religious nut? Was there any way to save the girl from the car underwater? What if I’d shot the man in the fourth trial? What if I’d rejected Madison instead of forgiving her, or never found out she was a journalist in the first place? I guess it’s these questions which are the genius of the game, it makes you want to play again to see what other things could’ve happened and how the game would’ve ended.

My own ending was one where Norman died (I guess I missed an important QTE during his final fight), Shelby got away (he’s seen walking in the rain at the end), and Ethan and Madison end up in a lovely new studio apartment with Shaun. Carter takes Norman’s ARI glasses and is haunted by Norman in the virtual world (again, WTF??).

*************************************** SPOILERS END ********************************************

If you’ve resisted reading the spoilers, and are even the slightest bit curious about it – Hell, even if you aren’t! – I implore you to get the game. There really is something for everyone in it. The story-telling is masterful, the presentation and graphics are second to none (and that’s saying something), and the soundtrack is great. Norman’s ARI glasses, crime scene investigation and clue analysis are a Minority Report fan’s wet dream. I can almost guarantee you won’t end up seeing the same story as I did, and you might even have a completely different ending. It asks a lot of very difficult moral questions during the course of the game, and several times I found myself pausing the game and thinking ‘Should I do what I would do, or what I think the character would do?’, and it’s being made to think that way that lifts this game above the rest of the crowd. The sense of panic and tension it can generate, messing around with people’s fears (claustrophobics will love one section of the game ;) ), and making you actually give a damn about the characters is pretty unique.

Heavy Rain - Madison

In-game footage, it really is a gorgeous looking game

Go and buy it, or at the very least borrow it. Set yourself a few hours aside and enjoy. I can only hope David Cage and the rest of QD are working on a Sequel.

Seriously, go and buy it now!

A Glut Of Games

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It’s no secret that I still love games, and still play and buy them regularly, but recently I’m up to my neck in them. First up was Darksiders which I wrote about in a previous entry, and it really is a fantastic game, but I’m stuck at a save point where I have a tricky fight before I can get any further, and after dying umpteen times it’s been relegated to the games shelves until I can be bothered to try again.

I picked up Forza Motorsport 3 on the cheap at the end of an online January sale and got stuck into it, and it’s a great racing game. I’ve always like the Forza series, they seem to find a great balance between realism and fun, and 3 is no different. There are an enormous number of cars to choose from as your career progresses, and as always with Forza, an insane amount of customisation options. As well as being able to change and tweak every part of the internal workings and chassis, there are the famous aesthetics options too. The Forza car editor has no equal when it comes to custom decals and paint jobs, and the inclusion of the storefront (which enables players to buy and sell customised cars and paint jobs) means that everyone has access to them. I’ve still got a long way to go in the career mode, but it’s a gorgeous looking game and I’m so pleased they managed to keep it all running at a silky-smooth 60FPS. If you can pick it up for under thirty quid (easily done online) then do it if you’re at all into racing games.

A friend of mine has been singing the praises of the next game for months, and I finally gave in and decided to have a look at what all the fuss was about. Tatsunoko Vs Capcom is the latest in the ‘Vs’ series from Capcom, which now that I think back has been going for years, and includes some cracking games. Marvel Vs Capcom 1 & 2, SNK Vs Capcom 1, 2 and Chaos, X-Men Vs Streetfighter to name but a few, but new on the scene is Tatsunoko Vs Capcom. Tatsunoko is the Japanese cartoon house which won’t be overly familiar to most people, unless they’re old enough to remember the ‘Battle Of The Planets’ cartoons in the early 80s. In Japan it was known as Kagaku Ninja Tai Gacchaman (Science Ninja Team Gatchaman), and was a far different cartoon (violence and transgenderism being common themes), but it still provides some of the characters for the game, along with other less well-known series. Surprisingly it’s a Wii-only release, but I kinda like that, it’s a reason to use my dust-collecting console at the very least. The gameplay is excellent, proper ‘Vs’ style fighting with over the top super moves, tag play and all manner of intricacies to work out. There’s a decent roster of characters with both sides well-represented, just don’t let the fact that you may not know many of the Tatsunoko cast put you off. Capcom have covered all bases with characters ranging from the stalwarts (Ryu, Chun Li) right through to some you might not to expect to see (Frank West from Dead Rising and a giant mech from Lost Planet spring to mind). It’s well worth a buy for anyone fond of Capcom 2D fighters, but even moreso if you like the ‘Vs’ games. It’s out today, although I luckily got mine yesterday after nattering to the guys working in a local indy games shop and them telling me they were breaking the release date. I was weak, I bought it, and I’m very glad I did. You should do the same.

Tatsunoko wasn’t the only game I was surprised to be playing yesterday. Some time ago I wrote about the beta of MAG and how I enjoyed it, so much so in fact that I pre-ordered the game. Shopto had both the normal and collectors editions of the game, but I didn’t want to pay the extra five pounds for an extra outfit in the game and some themes, so I stuck with the cheaper option. The game’s released today, but Shopto being the efficient little elves they are, they got it to me yesterday (in fact the postman needed a signature, so signed it himself and wrote ‘signed for it, hope that’s ok, Postie’ on it – I have a great postman!). I opened it up and found the steelbook collectors edition inside too, ideal! I didn’t want to pay extra for it, but if they’re going to give it to me for free then who am I to argue?! I’ve only had time to play one mission so far, but initial impressions are good, it feels far snappier and more inclined to hit the person I’m aiming at, rather than the lagfest the beta could be at times.

I need to get these games out of my system before April when the clocks go forward and I get my evenings out with the dog back again, and there are still a few more to come before then too.

Pure & Simple (Needs)

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Ahh beautiful, the first barbecue of the year. Last Friday was my friend’s birthday and in celebration (of him being the oldest one of the lot of us and being due for a month of ribbing before the next birthday) he hosted a barbie on Good Friday. In true barbecue tradition we got through enough stubby beers to sink a battleship and headed down to a local bar on the beach for a few more later in the evening. I’ve got to say it was so satisfying to tuck into that first grilled meat of the year that I’m desperate to have the house finished and get into my Saturday rituals again. Quality sausages with leafy salad in a tortilla wrap, liberally smothered with whatever sauce is currently in favour – Jack Daniels Smoky at the moment – bliss.

Despite the amount of beer consumed, three of us headed into town the next morning for an old-style ‘games perv’. A couple of hours later, a few games shops down and a fresh pasty eaten, and we headed back to waste the afternoon locked away with our bounty. Well, actually we went via a garden centre to look at lizards and frogs and things, but that’s by-the-by. Between us we had a reasonable haul and had spent very little money, which has got to be good. We started off with Mad World (Wii) which was a real novelty for me, because I knew it was a ‘big’ game, but I knew nothing about it. It’s not very often I can say that. It’s great though, stylised over-the-top violence and a great sense of humour. Being rewarded for finding more and more ingenious ways of combining the items littering the levels to dispatch the enemies is a nice touch. I don’t think we’ve laughed as much playing a game for a long time, and the boss fights are pretty impressive. The music’s great, the voice acting for once is not actually too terrible, and the funky black-and-white visuals are really refreshing. At the time of writing you can pick it up in Game for about £20 which is a bargain.

Our gracious host wasn’t the only one playing new games, my other friend had grabbed himself a bargain copy of Fallout 3, and I treated myself to a second-hand copy of Pure. I downloaded the demo months ago and really enjoyed its mix of decent ATV physics, racing and over-the-top stunts, so I’d been looking forward to finding a cheap copy of the full game. I’m not disappointed at all in my purchase, it just builds on the demo and adds more and more to warrant a buy. The bike creation is very in depth and lots of fun. The first time I looked at it I didn’t even bother building one manually, there are so many components you need to sort through and add, it was just overwhelming. But when you take your time and choose it all by hand, picking the colours and decals for literally every part, it’s very satisfying to ride it and see it ‘in the flesh’. The announcer is a little annoying, and due to my constant playing every spare minute I’ve had I’ve pretty much finished the championships already, so I’m not sure about the longevity, but it is great fun and a great quick-fix, which is exactly what I look for in a game now.

Good times.

Blog Nibbles

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I couldn’t come up with anything as a main subject that would fill out a whole update here, so instead I think I’ll just do some little bites. Like ‘Blogger’s Digest’ if you will.

I updated WordPress (the magical engine which provides the world with my inane posting here) again this morning. This time it was just a minor upgrade with bugfixes, but a few weeks ago I did the major jump to 2.3.0 which was the first update I’d ever done to the software since its original upload. It was a little intimidating, as updating web scripts/software isn’t like updating an install  on your computer. I made good backups, which really I ought to do more often anyway, so I was fairly confident, but it didn’t stop me reading the instructions several times. I’ve used other blogging stuff before, like the nice and friendly Blogger, but for me WordPress beats the rest hands-down. It’s simple and really powerful.

The coming weeks could make me very poor indeed. I’ve recently started playing some more games again (maybe it’s the dark evenings), and there is so much in the way of good new releases coming out I’m finding it difficult to decide which ones to pick up early and which to wait for. Call Of Duty 4, Mass Effect, Super Mario Galaxy, Assassins Creed, Guitar Hero 3 are among the culprits, and there’s more besides. I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist CoD4, and that’s out this friday… maybe I can sell a kidney on ebay.

Newquay airport has started doing direct flight skiing package holidays to Geneva. Oh how I’d love to go, especially being able to fly from 10 miles away, but I think Mr Bank Account is going to have the final say on that this year. Maybe next.

A week of NaBloPoMo down, three more to go. It’s not as tricky as I thought it might be, I think I might miss it in December.

Blam! Ill!

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Last Friday night was ordinary enough; training, home for some food, bit of Singstar later before bed. On Saturday morning however, I woke up to find I was utterly ill – streaming nose, eyes feeling like they were trying to burn their way out of my head, pounding headache and aching all over – fun! Normally when I get a cold I can feel it coming the day before and at least be ready for it with some Lemsips and assorted ‘feel better’ paraphernalia, but there was no warning at all this time. “No problem!” I though, colds usually pass off within a day or two for me now, but alas no. Five days later, two missed training sessions and two days off work and I’m still not right, although I am at least up and out and back at work. I can’t believe how badly this has kicked my arse.

As you might imagine, with me being bed- and sofa-bound for the best part of four days, there’s not much to update here. Fortunately moving my thumbs proved to not be too exhausting, so I’ve put in some time on Halo 3 and Virtua Fighter 5 that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to. That’s finding a silver lining, right? Halo 3 is the big surprise of Autumn’s games for me. It was hyped to death once again, and being the weak-minded, easily led fool that I am I caved and bought it on the day of release. I honestly expected to play about an hour of the campaign, try it online once or twice, then consign it to the shelf forevermore.  But no! Adam perseveres with a game shocker! I’m still trudging through the campaign slowly, but I’ve put in loads of time online and have started to hold my own (steady!).  It’s a really enjoyable game online, and the variety of gametypes help to keep things fresh. Playing with a group of friends is just hilarious though, top stuff!

I also crumbled like a cheap custard cream and bought Virtua Fighter 5, although in fairness that was only because of the excellent deal Game had in-store. What a deep game, I can see why people get addicted. I think I’ve barely scratched the surface in terms of understanding the game, but I’m getting better and love the tactical, fast-paced gameplay. I’ve ventured online a few times and the standard seems to be pretty high for the most part, and I’ve already learned loads by having my ass handed to me repeatedly. Buy it now!

Wow, to think I said I had nothing to write about!  Hopefully next time I’ll have been back to training and have something TSD-related to bore you all with instead :)