The Three Rs N3twork is a primarily British viral entertainment network, with standings in many niche interests involved in a variety of different groups. Ranging from gaming to adulthood to video creation.
1/10 - "Just, No." 2/10 - "Avoid." 3/10 - "Gamebreakingly flawed" 4/10 - "Not so great" 5/10 - "Pretty Average." 6/10 - "A few nice touches, nothing amazing" 7/10 - "Not brilliant, fun anyway" 8/10 - "A decent enough game, Well worth a look." 9/10 - "A really good game. Highly Recommended." 10/10 - "An absolute must buy, a defining game for the genre."
Japan has long been the heartland for Nintendo support. Release a 360 in Japan and plaster 'Nintendo' all over the box and it'll sell like a new Elvis Presley album. Yet, Microsoft have been adamantly chasing that market despite the polite nudge-offs that the Japanese have been giving them over the past few years. In a bid, perhaps, to do what Manchester City are currently doing the football industry, and become the ultimate games console for all walks of life in all 'theatres of war'.
The latest attempt by Microsoft to buy their success in Japan has resulted in them slashing the prices of all their Xbox models. From September 11th, the Elite will be dropped from $441 to $368 dollars, the Pro will be available for $275. The Arcade, shockingly, will go from $257 to $183 (that's just over £90!!! Cheaper than a DS lite in the UK [£99.99]). To put these numbers in some kind of context for British readers: in the UK, the Elite retails (according to prices on GameStation) at £259 (just over $510), the Pro sells at £200 (just under $400), and the Arcade goes for 159 (~$310). So for the arcade, that's a price difference of £60 between the UK and Japan. In other words, if you're thinking of buying an Xbox IMPORT! The games are cheaper too!
This, essentially, means that the Arcade model is $50 cheaper than a Wii, which retails out there for $231. A desperate gambit by Microsoft to steal the home advantage from Nintendo, which has often claimed to be the 'economical' choice for families. And, importantly, Nintendo, despite all their problems, have been able to afford it, by lowering the debt that producing the console itself has put them in. In other words, the smaller HDD and the, at times, 'last gen' software has in fact not mattered due to the market it's aimed at. Microsoft haven't really learned this lesson. It's market is, broadly speaking, people. Nintendo have aimed their products at a cross section of people that don't care for (and might not appreciate) the swarve graphics and astronomically complex game systems that Microsoft and Sony have put in their boxes. But Sony, as a side, know what they're doing, and have aimed their products for a market that appreciate the blu-ray and the processing speed.
Strictly speaking, Microsoft's hardcore has always been online gamers. With, arguably, the best online service around, the Xbox has always been able to rely on a community of gamers, rather than a chopping and changing casual gamer lot. This has made them take the middle ground, between Nintendo (who appeal to people who wouldn't usually game, and in a way, view the console as a toy), and Sony (who are geared towards making their equipment the best technologically [the PS2, you will remember was immensely ahead of its time in the field of graphics and game processes]).
However, I don't believe Microsoft are used to this position, and it's difficult for them. In the OS market, they have more or less total ownership over a great percentage of the market. Appealing to both big business and individual users. Mac and Linux are both highly specialised, though they are growing more popular. In an ideal world, I think Microsoft are aiming for a market strategy like that, achieved by making the 'catchment area' for the Wii and PS3 smaller; allowing a great percentage of the market to be appealed to by the Microsoft doctrine.
But this issue in Japan show exactly why they will fail in this. The situation is too far gone, and Microsoft came along too late in the game. The Xbox wasn't a Windows 3.1, it was just a successful third party candidate. Nintendo and Playstation are the original players in this game, and have their own loyalists. For Nintendo, this is Japan. Nintendo know exactly what Japan wants, and how to give it to them: and how to make a return on this. Microsoft can't do that, because it's stretched too far, every game has to be available for release in all the 'theatres of war' for it to make sufficient return on the games. Nintendo, on the other hand, can design games (and, more frequently than any other developer, does) that appeal just to Japan, and then release the bigger title games overseas too. And it can then export at greater profit, because of the Yen-Dollar exchange.
Then, finally, within this, and at the core of this, Nintendo have developed with the needs of the Japanese close to its heart. The Wii, with all its little niches and tidbits (like motion sensing), appeals to them, because it's been designed for them. Add a little bit of marketing alteration and this then appeals to families abroad, as the cheap, viable option. So Microsoft can undercut as much as they like, but the Japanese know what they want, and it's Nintendo that's offering it to them, like no other company can, and the price of it can go hang. Put it this way: if you lowered the price of Hell's Kitchen on the DS to £10, I'd still go for Battlefield for £40.
The floodgates open, the oasis is filled. Drink gamers, drink!
Spore The newest game from Will Wright (Sim City, the Sims etc.) puts players in the position of God, and in control of the evolutionary process of creatures on a planet. The Spore Creature Creator was released a couple of months ago as a teaser for this game, and gained acclaim. This game should be good: detailed, challenging and original. This is the pick of the month for PC. Platforms: PC, (separate title for DS: Spore Creatures) Release Date: 05/09/08
Mercenaries 2: World in Flames Building on the success of Mercenaries, EA are releasing this multi-platform sequel, which, again, puts the player in the body of a hired gun, working for the highest bidder. This game looks to have built satisfactorily on its predecessor, and if it's managed this successfully it should be a great game. Platforms: PC, PS3, PS2, X360 Release Date: 05/09/08 Infinite Undiscovery A new franchise is always nice in the midst of so many sequels. This is an action RPG, but team-based (like Might and Magic), except with a potentially better combat system (it's not turn-based, but real-time, like Fable, which I prefer). Bit of a Japanese style RPG, so if you like that kind of thing check it out. Personally I'll wait a bit. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 05/09/08
S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky A prologue to the original Stalker game, this game is set a year prior, and features 8 of the original levels, along with 5 of its own. The only real difference to the gameplay as far as I can see is the possibility of fixing weapons. To be honest, although the original Stalker was a solid game, this looks like a bit of a cop-out, with only 10 hours of original storyline. Only get this if you're an avid Stalker fan. Platforms: PC Release Date: 05/09/08
Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise I wasn't under the impression this game had sold well enough first time round to warrant a second one. Personally I love Rare, but I didn't enjoy the first Viva Pinata, and probably wouldn't enjoy this. If you got addicted the original... then don't buy this either because you don't want to have to admit to having an addiction to this kind of game. Platforms: X360 (DS: Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise) Release Date: 05/09/08
TNA Impact: Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Not a fan. But if you are, you'll probably love it. Platforms: PS2, PS3, X360 Release Date: 12/09/08 NHL 09 See above description. Platforms: PS3, X360 Release Date: 12/09/08
Supreme Commander These games can be great fun. You basically take a massive army to planets in order to defeat one of the other two factions, blowing up as much shit as possible. This game allows a player to both view the battleground from the standard RTS position, and also go right down to ground level and issue units with invididual orders. 360 edition comes with bonus units. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 12/09/08
Opoona Despite the unfortunate choice of name, this game looks like one of the few original games on the market. Described as both a battling and 'lifestyle' rpg, this Wii title is designed by the developers of the Dragon Quest series. Could be good? Wait for the reviews, because it could end up like so many Wii games before it: the Nintendo Hall of Shame. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 12/09/08
Subbuteo Grab a franchise, design a game, and voila you have a gold selling game. This Subbuteo title will probably be as boring as the 'watching paint dry' original. Mainly because it uses the 'official' Subbuteo rules, meaning no grabbing the player, running him into the ball and dragging them both down the pitch. Platforms: DS Release Date: 12/09/08 Crysis: Warhead PC gamer's 2007 game of the year was Crysis. This new installment looks like an expansion, sounds like an expansion, costs like an expansion. But is in fact a standalone. New weapons, new story, new vehicles, upgraded AI and graphics. No major changes to the gameplay which makes it look to me a bit like a marketing technique to take some money and keep interest in the Crysis series before they bring out their next big title. And if I were you, I'd save your money and wait for that. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 19/09/08 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Despite DW's disparraging review of the Demo, this Star Wars franchised game is still the biggest game coming out this month. For those of you that have been living in a cave (like Ben Kenobi) (or just don't like Star Wars, but have nothing better to do than read this), TFU takes place between episodes III and IV, and you play as Darth Vader's Secret Apprentice, hunting down Jedi. The gameplay centres around the four force powers Force push, grip, repulse and lightning, which you combine in order to create devestating (and just damn cool) combos. Despite being firmly and Action title, this game does also have reminders of RPG ideas, such as levelling up. I have high hopes for this game (but not for the graphics is they stay the same as they were on the Demo). This is my pick of the month for the 360 (I know I'll be buying it). Platforms: X360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, DS Release Date: 19/09/08
PlayTV A couple of months ago, something similar to this almost slipped under my radar for the Wii. These applications need to be watched because they can turn into something incredibly useful. This one turns your PS3 into a Sky+ box (without the Sky channels of course). It enables you to record, pause and rewind live television, and also provides you with freeview channels. A fantastic application if you don't have something similar already, and dead cheap at 70 quid. My pick for the PS3. Platforms: PS3 Release Date: 19/09/08 Brothers In Arms 3: Hell's Highway The latest in the highly successful Brothers In Arms series, which take the biggest battles in WWII and put them in your control. In Hell's Highway, you take control of a member of the 101st airborne in order to successfully carry out Operation Market Garden, a capture of two bridges after D-Day which failed for the Allies. This game should be a fantastic FPS, and great online play too. Pick for the PS3 Platforms: X360, PS3, PC (Wii: Brothers in Arms: Double Time) Release Date: 26/09/08
Wario Land: Shake It! An old formula revitalised and made new. This game takes the old 2D Wario ramblings and infuses them with the Wii remote. I've had a look at this and I've made the mistake of underestimating Wii games like this too much, and I think this has the potential to be a lot of fun. Fun, a concept that the game industry seems to be fast forgetting. Picked for the Wii! Platforms: Wii Release Date: 26/09/08
Rise of the Argonauts Only on release for the PS3 this month, this is an epic scale RPG set in the ancient Greek era. Basically, if you liked the film 300, you should give this game a go. It's nothing particularly new, but it's attempting something on a scale that few RPGs dare to attempt. Platforms: PS3 (X360 and PC next month) Release Date: 26/09/08
SimCity Creator I do enjoy the SimCity games, and this looks to be the most detailed yet, enabling you to 'draw' roads with your Wii remote. It appears to be fun, mixing old style retro gameplay with new stle technologies. A must for SimCity fans with Wiis, otherwise, steer clear. Platforms: Wii, DS Release Date: 26/09/08
Hell's Kitchen Haha. Platforms: DS, PC (Wii in November) Release Date: 26/09/08
That's it for this month, but it's enough to be going on with, and then some. Whichever console you own, there's something for you on this list (unless you only own a Commodore). What does October hold? A football game, a music game, and a fabled game.
Right, first off apologies for how bloody long this has taken to do (computer problems last couple months, mainly my family! Feel free to stone me) but I have finally got the chance to do this review/general chit chat about MGS4: Guns of the Patriots, which by the way I felt was awesome. Even if I had never played an mgs game before this one I would still say the same as well, and before I go any further I definitely give this game a full 10/10. Probably predictable but still very truthful. By the way I am avoiding any spoilers for any crazy person who still hasn’t played this game, so don’t worry!
As I said in my first look of the game, this is a fucking amazing looking game, an now I’ve completed it (several times) I can follow this up with that I believe it’s the best looking game out on the market, and even mgs-haters cant deny that.
Playing as Old crusty Snake was slightly shocking, but still oh so very enjoyable, and seeing other characters from all the others games was a pretty damn nice touch, even (yes I’m going to say it) Rosemary. Otacon and Raiden were even more cool then before, especially Raiden, and Liquid Ocelot was pretty damn brilliant. New characters such as Drebin and Sunny also weren’t as annoying as they might appear……well not Drebin anyway. And the Beauty and Beast Unit were a set of disturbingly good bosses; my personal fave was Crying Wolf.
It was also a slight shock when playing the game and realising that some of the controls that have stayed fundamentally the same since MGS1 had changed, such as how to use the guns and now having to press X instead of O to confirm stuff, but I got over that, learnt to get used to it, an now they’re just second nature. Also it would’ve been rather difficult and frustrating using the same controls for guns from previous MGS’s in this, as they play a much heavier role.
Gameplay itself was just brilliant. Adding dives an a crouch walk an such now makes Snake move so much better, an makes playing it even more enjoyable, especially when u get that good feeling of dodging a load of shots with a well placed dive. Finding CQC had changed as well made it much more fun to use, and it felt easier to use than in MGS3 too. The button-bashing prompt bits when getting choked by Haven Troops for instance were very pleasing as well, and looked pretty damn stylish. Also customizable guns = thumbs up! Although half the time didn’t really feel it was necessary. In fact if I had any criticism of this game, it wouldn’t be too long cut scenes (which I loved, and besides you could pause them!), it wouldn’t be that I felt they traded stealth for combat (you could do what you wanted to, so it was in fact made more open for those crap at stealth), it wouldn’t even be how vamp was still an immortal bastard and how liquid ocelot still said ‘BROTHER!!!’ every time he clocked me……ok I’m going off a bit here.
What I was leading up to was that I felt that there might have been a tad too much equipment for one player to use. This was a problem I had with MGS2 as well, that you were given so much equipment to use of which I only really use about five or six things now, unlike MGS1 and MGS3 where I used almost everything given to me, because it was definitely needed. Not that it really matters though in the scheme of things, and I of course tested everything!
In the end this is the biggest and most impressive chapter of MGS, and such a way to finish of Solid Snake’s story. There are so many twists and turns (CLICHÉ!) and in every act there is always something different and fresh thrown in. And Act 4, well…..that’s all I’m going to say. This is one of the extremely few games that have touched me emotionally and made me believing the characters are real and wanting them to succeed, keeping me gripped till the very end. Oh and the ending? What an ending it is, just what an ending…..want to know more? THEN PLAY IT!!
One technical problem with me though is that i currently dont have online, so don't have a say on MG Online just yet, but when i do ill put a say on here.
Btw there was one good thing about taking so long to do this: I’ve now completed the game a fair bit and I’m currently on my FOXHOUND emblem play on Big Boss Hard, and I’ve got some stats to share!
Here is the stats for my first time of completing the game:
And here is the stats for my second time, in which I got the FOX emblem, which I was rather proud of.
Now I feel its time to get DW round to play it, as he has been wanting to and I’ve unfortunately kept him waiting.
Sorry, this review has been a while after the game actually came out, but I've been busy. At any rate, here it is.
Firstly, I'd like to say this game, in a quick pleinary before we begin, is a lot of fun, and a good time to play. But that's all. It's not going to get nominated for game of the year (and if it does, it certainly shouldn't win it). It lacks imagination and innovation, though some of the techniques used aren't justified to change. The Soul Calibur formula is pretty untouchable.
Let's discuss that formula first off. The things that define the Soul Calibur series is beautiful graphics, topped with a good, simple fighting style and an imaginative inventory, varied, but easy to chop and change to suit your own style of play. To an extent SCIV has managed to maintain this: the fighting style is still simple, easy to understand and not chocked full of thousands of combos which you have to memorise. However, the simplicity of the fighting system can occasionally be marred by a slow catch up time. Often, whilst I was attempting an attack on the lower body of the opposition (performed with down and Y, B or X) it would, first time, do a mid attack, and not adjust until the next strike. Particularly frustrating when you're trying to get around the opponents block, and you just keep striking them with no damage.
The imaginative inventory I was discussing earlier has also been damaged. Back in SC2, I remember there was a great way of acquiring weapons which involved working your way through a map. There were hidden areas, and you defeating the inhabitants often meant you won some sort of weapon or item of clothing. This system was fantastic: in fact, it was one of the reasons I bought SCIV. However, SCIV has done away with this system. You acquire new sets of items when you get 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 achievments. And weapons are unlocked when you complete the story mode. However, you can also get items by unlocking them in the 'Tower of Lost Souls'. Though, there's little point to this, seeing as you can simply buy them, and they cost next to nothing. The items in the inventory have no explanation to them and seem just to have been created for the sake of them. One good part to this system, or so it seems, is the ability of a piece of armour to affect stat percentages and skill points. This way, both your overall attack and your special moves (which you can manually select with the amount of skill points you have) are decided by just the items you carry (levelling up has no bearing on it). This is a very clever system. A bit too clever: if you care enough, you will find yourself spending hours editing your character to get the right balance between different types of skill points, just so you can get the skills you want. The character graphics are just as beautiful as they should be: the physics are sometimes a bit off with the hair, but the character models are very good, as are the cutscenes. However, many of the backgrounds seem rushed, with water detail looking flakey at best (when the difference between the texture of water and the texture of lava is difficult to decipher, you know something's wrong).
Now there were two big marketing points for this game: things that it built on to SC3. Firstly, was the inclusion of Star Wars characters. For the 360: Yoda and for the PS3: Darth Vader. With Darth Vader's Apprentice appearing on both platforms. Now, it's true that this seems a bit stupid, and they may be right. Certainly these characters seem to have been stuck onto the game with airfix glue. But, personally, I don't see why it should be such a problem. You don't have to play as them, and they aren't fundamental to any plot aside from their own. Also, Yoda and the Apprentice (I haven't played as Darth Vader yet) have been very tastefully done. The voice acting for them is spot on, and they fit very well into the Soul Calibur role, despite DW's accusations that they are broken characters. His grounds for this are that Yoda is too short to be hit, and that the Apprentice's throw always performs a ring out. However, I contest that. The two characters have some bonus attributes because, due to their nature, they can't have their costume edited, and so they can't be given skill points. Their bonuses are just to account for this.
The other marketing pitch was the new Create-a-Character piece. To be honest, Creating a Character should be fun, and in this game, it just isn't. There aren't enough settings, and all the characters just end up looking like one of the pre-mades anyway. And even when you've done this, you've still got to go through all the palava of kitting him out with the skills you want him to have, and the armour he needs for that.
The story mode gives you a lot to unlock. A lot of characters that can be purchased, and a lot of items to buy too. But the story mode itself lacks any sort of imagination. The opening screen for each character tells you what the characters wants with the Soul Blade/Calibur, you do five stages (mostly in the same locations) and then there's a cut scene telling you that the character got what they were after in the opening screen. Far too short, far too expected, far too shit. It is tricky doing stories and cutscenes and bits and pieces for 32 different characters (33 including both Yoda and Darth Vader), but if that's the case then there should be fewer characters. The game would not harm from having only 10 characters, possibly less, as long as the stories were interesting, and their fighting styles were varied. Instead, I was forced to slog through these 32 different stories to get full completion of the story mode. Luckily, it only took me 10 hours. But is that a good thing? If 32 characters only leave a story trail that last 10 hours?
Far more promising is the Tower of Lost Souls. You get a choice to ascend or descend (descending is only an option once you've gotten to the 20th floor of ascension). The Ascending is basically a more challenging version of the story mode, involving 1 or more stages of 1-4 enemies. You have to get through all the given stages in a slot with just your starting amount of health (though you are allowed, usually two or three characters). This is a challenge sometimes, but fun. A much better time than trying to complete story mode. The Descending is just a survival mode: two characters versus the hordes of time.
There are other points: an arcade mode that leaves much to the imagination (each time through, with all characters is the same), and a well-composed, but largely irrelevant, soundtrack. But the last point that needs to be made is about the online. The online system is incredibly simple, and very easy to play. In ranked or player it's fun, especially if you just want a quick game. Most people use customised characters (and win with them I've found). However, the game falls prey to the only Live problem that such a game cannot fall prey too: lag. The lag on this game, all too frequent, just spoils and ruins play, making it more or less impossible to play. It's not always a problem, but when it is, you may as well leave the room and go find somewhere else (I don't mean on the Xbox, I mean, literally, get up and just leave the room, come back when the servers are less crowded).
It's fun, there's a lot to complete, but it can be monotonous at times. It's great if you're on school holidays or whatever, and you've got nothing to do on the long boring days when no one's out, because you can just keep playing it. But it's not anything special, not worth buying if you can wait till September when some better games are coming out. I give it a 7.
Here we are again, the beginning of the new gaming month. Well... the beginning of the new month, but the new gaming month too. Hopefully after last months disappointments we'll see a more formidable line up of summer games. In addition, this is to note that DW apologises for his continuing absence, but he's working on a new project currently. Hopefully once it's up and running we'll see some more of him. Thanks to Melasis for keeping some sort of material on the site.
Table Football Well... I know to people who don't have a Wii this must sound like a ridiculous idea for a game. But it looks like it might be fun. And I don't see why it shouldn't be. It's a typical Wii-style game: and they've been one style of game that hasn't seen disappointment after disappointment. Mainly because people didn't really expect much from them. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 08/08/08
Age of Empires III: Asian Dynasties This is a new expansion for AoE III. If you enjoy AoE III then go for it, it adds quite a bit of new content: maps, civilisations, campaigns etc.If you haven't played AoE III and you were thinking of buying this game and the original and giving it a go then I would suggest against it, even if you enjoyed the previous installments of AoE. It was a fair game but not really much worth spending good time and money. This expansion, unless it fixes the inherent 'business' of the first one probably isn't worth getting. Platforms: PC, Mac Release Date: 12/08/08
Madden NFL 09 If you don't know what this is, don't buy it. If you do, then you might like it, lots of new features etc. but still, essentially, Madden NFL 08, just updated slightly. Your choice this time. As a side note, the Wii has its own version Madden NFL 09 All-Play. Same game, but with support for your remote. Dunno whether that really makes a difference. *yawn* Platforms: Wii, PS3, X360, PSP, DS Release Date: 15/08/08
X-OOM Media Centre for Wii XE This looks interesting. I hadn't heard about it this before I started the research for this article, but it looks like a must have for Wii-only owners. It basically brings Wii owners up to speed with Xbox owners, working as an extension of their PC onto their Wii: effectively Media Centre Extender. However, as far as I can see, this program doesn't require XP Media Centre 05, or Vista. And it retails at £29.99! Not bad at all. So if you own a Wii and can't be bothered with the more complicated methods of getting your movies onto your big screen then this is the way to do it. So long as it works ok, this is my pick of the month for the Wii. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 15/08/08
Sony Playstation 3 with 80 gig HDD It's finally arriving here. The 60 gig's bigger brother. Retailing at 299, so snap one up if you have the odd £300lying around. Pick of the month for PS3, seeing as PS3 games seem so scarce this month. Platforms: n/a Release Date: 27/08/08
The Sims 2: Apartment Life Well... it's yet another expansion pack from EA Games for the Sims 2. God knows what extras this one contains, but I can tell you without looking at a detailed list that it will have new items, new places to go, and new clothes and stuff for your own personal avatar. If you Sims fans have any space left on your shelf for more expansions then I'm sure you don't need to tell you to buy this one. Platforms: PC Release Date: 29/08/08
Too Human Looks something interesting: an RPG set in the middle of the typical 'epic struggle' between some guys and the bad guys. You are a 'cybernetic god' in the middle of it all, preventing the good guys from getting wiped out. Dunno. Seems a little 'done' to me, but the developers are pretty reputable, Silicon Knights, it uses that Unreal Engine 3, which is pretty well reknowned. So, yeah, it might be worth giving a go. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 29/08/08
Soul Calibur: Legends For those people unlucky enough to not be able to own SCIV, you've been given this token game: Legends. Honestly... get a console that has SCIV on it if you want it. There is no way this could be good. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 29/08/08
Well, there seems to be plenty of choice, but no quality. Not a good month for gaming really. My two 'pick of the month' games weren't even games! If you own a 360 my suggestion is going to remain SCIV, same for the PS3, unless you want another PS3. I suppose my general suggestion to all gamers this month is for you to go out and get some much needed fresh air. Next month the gaming season starts again, you're going to need to store away as much oxygen as possible for the gaming-heavy winter months.
Here's my monthly rundown of the top games coming out.
Unreal Tournament III This game has been out for a while on other platforms, but only now comes toX360. It's been critically acclaimedfor the other platforms, and so Xbox 360 owners should be pleased to have some extra input. I don't think I need to tell you much about this game, only that, if you don't already have this game, it'll be well worth a look. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 04/07/08
Devil May Cry 4 This game, again, has been out for a while on console, and this month is coming to the PC. There's already a review on here for the game, so this is just a recommendation for those PC gamers of you out there. This is a game worth your time. Platforms: PC Release Date: 11/07/08
Soul Calibur IV In a bit of a dry spell for games, Soul Calibur is positively an oasis. This month this game gets my pick for both X360 and PS3. People who are familiar with the Soul Calibur series don't need me to tell them that this is the finestfantasy beat-em-up available, and SCIV looks good to build on the great games that have already come out of the franchise. This ought to be must have gaming. Platforms: X360, PS3 Release Date: 01/08/08 (not strictly in this Month, but it'd get missed out otherwise).
That's really it this month. A bit poor as far as gaming standards go. Of course, if you're a Wii fanatic there are plenty of sports games flooding the market which you might like to give a shot. For the rest of us though, let's just look forward to Soul Calibur and hope August brings more fruitful gaming.
Due to my fellow contributors being otherwise occupied, I’ve taken time out from MGS4 to give a little news on a few games coming out in the near (and far) future.
Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe A couple of months back DW posted a few trailers on this game, and since then a little more info has come out on it. Apart from Batman (in the trailer) and Superman there haven’t been any other confirmed DC characters, but the co-creator of Mortal Kombat, Ed Boon, has said that if you think about the top five from the DC universe, you’d probably be right that they would appear in the game, as well as supervillains being included too. This is getting me thoroughly excited as well now, and I'm also gunna be keeping a close eye on this game too, as the idea of (possibly) playing as The Joker is a very intriguing one. The Mortal Kombat characters will be the most iconic stars, so this includes Scorpion as well as Sub Zero. The game is due out some time in autumn, so we’ve got a while to wait yet.
GT5 As far as im aware there hasn’t been any coverage on this game on the blog, so this is a first! After GT5 Prologue’s just above average scores since its release, it has been confirmed that there is a new GT5 Prologue being released at the end of the year with more content on it, such as Damage being added, allowing you to smash your car to shit, and the online content getting more variety, as well as more cars and tracks. Unfortunately for people looking forward to the finished version, that isn’t planned to come out until towards the end of next year! So unlucky there really. But there is going to be a massive range of cars and a whole new range of tracks to choose from in the finished game, and as I've mentioned a second Prologue is coming out, so hang in there GT fans!
Prince of Persia Now the new POP game looks very interesting. Graphics are cel-shaded, to give it a more comic feel, and lighten the tone from previous dark POP instalments (I’m looking at you Warrior Within), and there have been hints to a new combat system in this game, as well as massive increase in speed thanks to the Prince’s mysterious metal gauntlet. Also this isn’t the same Prince from previous games, but a different guy, although there is a good chance this is just another version of the Prince we know. The game also uses an updated version of Assassin’s Creed’s engine, so the areas you traverse are going to be MUCH bigger. Having played the first two games of the series and enjoying them a lot, this new one is looking rather swish, so expect some more news on this one at a later date.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII For me it’s a shame that this game is coming out when it is (June 20th, so 3 days people!) because im obviously not going to spare it any attention for a while thanks to MGS4, but I really like the FF series, and FF7, so I felt it was worth a mention here. Also there is a lack of PSP related info on the blog too, but I'm not really that surprised.
Anyway this game is receiving generally positive reviews and looks pretty good, even on the small screen. The game is huge (main story plus over 100 side missions) and plays very much like FF12, with the combat being almost real time. Materia is also back again (yay!) but you can’t make changes during battles (boo!), and there is a new combat feature involved called the Digital Mind Wave, a fruit machine-like system that gives you special magic attacks or special moves etc as the reels spin. One thing I'm looking forward to is seeing old characters like Cloud, Zack, Sephiroth, Aerith (or Aeris) and the Turks coming back, as well as getting to know more about that red-haired git Genesis (those who played Dirge of Cerberus will know what I mean). I’ll be getting this later in the year for sure.
And a quick note for all you Brawl fans, in case you've somehow forgotten or been asleep for the past year, the game comes out on the 27th, so not long to wait now!
In a word: awesome. That’s how I can only describe the behemoth that is Metal Gear Solid 4. The game that myself and so many fans included have been waiting for since the teary eyed salute at the end of MGS3 is here. And it was definitely worth the wait!
Of course my wait was a little more pro-longed, by a whole day, thanks to the postal service and my lovely job (in turn making this post a little later then planned) but that just increased my excitement for when it was finally in my hands. Placing the game in the machine, I was treated to 8 minutes of update time while I watched Snake chain smoke in the background (looking as cool as ever I might add) with the game itself telling me about how to look after the disc and about health risks when playing the game and such. And then once Snake said the words, “Kept you waiting huh?” the game really began. Needless to say I was close to wetting myself, dignified of course.
Going on to the start menu, I decided to try out the virtual training before stepping into the game, and testing out how Snake handled. And he handles very well, with nothing really changing in controls except for using the R1 button to kill. I tried out the CQC techniques, aiming the guns, throwing the grenades and generally tearing the shit out of the non-responsive blank orange humans (cannon fodder) dotting the area.
Then I decided it was time to start the game in earnest. Selecting the Solid Normal mode I started a new game and it began in the Middle East, with Old Snake riding in a truck looking very Assassin’s Creed with a load of militia ‘buddies’. I won’t reveal anything about the story for those who don’t want spoilers, so don’t worry guys!
Then hell breaks loose, and the Praying Mantic PMC pops up and starts shooting at the militia, and I found myself in the middle of a fire-fight with only my knife handy, wondering what I should do. Few kick-ass cut scenes and some running and sneaking about later, things really hotted up when I heard distant mooing in the background, and anyone who’s watched the MGS4 trailers will know that that signals the coming of the Gecko’s. After half an hour I was breathless with excitement at all the new innovations and techniques put in, for instance I was doing the worm past Praying Mantis bad boys, and also how much more aggressive the AI is when they actually find you. And of course there was the Octocamo, which is ingenious I might add! The threat ring implemented in place of rumble also works extremely well and is very handy. And what about how the game looks you might ask? It’s a complete visual treat and the best looking game out at the moment.
Hell I’d even say it’s the best game out at the moment, but I have to complete the game before making that assessment. So now I’m going to stop typing this and pick up my controller again, and next time you hear from me it will be on this game’s review written by a very satisfied gamer, because I believe this game is going to satisfy me immensely. And that’s not a word I use lightly either.
Well I am quite into Dragonball Z Seeing DWs first look at the game and his ignorance of the DBZ universe made me want to kill him, but since then he has had the courtesy to watch the series so i don't want to kill him and is now currently most of the way through the Saiyan saga, anyway enough of me ranting at DWs lack of expertise in the DBZ universe (for want of a better phrase), on to the game.
Now I have played Budokai 2 and Tenkaich 2 and 3, so i do have a lot of Dragonball Z gaming experience, though I am now so used to flailing around like a retarded Seal with the Wii remote, now I'm going to have to concentrate for this review as DW is currently sitting next to me getting ever more irritated with a giant silver electrified ninja snake with cannons attached to its head on Ninja Gaiden 2.
When i first started playing burst limit i must say that i was and still am very happy with the way it keeps to the storyline, the problem with this though is though they do very very well on keeping to the storyline they miss out huge chunks of the story line, maybe because they don't have the 160 characters that Tenkaichi 3 had, this does work as a blessing and a curse, you don't have to do all the mindless filler episodes where they are "waiting for the saiyans," which would probably have made me fire it out of a cannon into mount doom because i would have died from boredom. But this does have it's down side, i mean i personally wanted to exterminate every member of the Ginyu force myself, but the only ones that are in the bloody game are the Captain and pants on head retarded Racoome, evidently this would not be the case.
The in game Cut scenes are really very very good, they look good, they also view almost exactly the same as original episodes, some of the voice actors appear to have been changed, but that's no biggy i don't really care as long as the dam thing looks good.
Dw and i both also have a criticism, we both loved the combat, well as much as you can love mindless button bashing combat, which aside from the tutorials is 90% of what I'm doing with the occasional thing I meant to do making me very happy, because sending Nappa flying across the map with a kamehameha wave you meant to do is very satisfying, but once again i have digressed the thing DW and i hated about the combat is that they have added these things called "drama pieces," now the tutorial said you choose them before the beginning of the fight, in single player you are given no such option, making me pull a very angry face. Then i became even more enraged, as did DW when we saw how badly they break the flow of combat, your happy helping yourself to a Freiza sandwich and then suddenly out of nowhere the game will go into cut scene mode, he will deflect one of your attacks or send you flying, at this point i thought to myself "how the hell did you do that when i just sent you flying across the whole bloody map."
The other thing i will say about it, is it has a difficulty curve so steep i had to get Spiderman wall crawling abilities to overcome it, especially when the CPU blocks every bloody move you do and you can't get a word in edge ways.
Overall though i am pleased with the game and after this am going to go and play it some more, but here is my advice, if you loved Budokai, buy this game you will really enjoy it, but if you preferred Tenkaichi you will probably still enjoy it if you are a DBZ fan as it adheres to the storyline so very closely, but it will never compare trust me.
Ninja Gaiden II This is my pick of the month for the 360. Following from the previous game called, believe it or not Ninja Gaiden, you play as a Ninja, Ryu Hayabusa, who is on a mission to avenge his clan (original) and save the world from destruction (not quite so original). Ninja Gaiden is a critically acclaimed game that I personally enjoyed, with fast paced gaming that is a little more complicated than simple button bashing. Ninja Gaiden II looks set to build upon this sturdy base with an enhanced battle system and a completely innovative health system, being a hybrid of the traditional 'health bar' style and the more modern 'regen' system. This, all in all, looks like a very worthwhile game from a trusted group of developers (Team Ninja), and one that I will certainly be keeping an eye on. Platforms: X360 Release Date: 06/06/08 Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit I've played the original DBZ fighting game, and I was not too impressed, saying this, I was never a fan of the DBZ series. However, for an in depth look at the pros and cons of this game, I direct you to DW's First Impressionson this game. Platforms: X360, PS3 Release Date: 06/06/08
Sports Island Another example of how Nintendo is attempting to change the face of gaming. Sports Island is a third party, and more in depth version, of Wii Sports. It includes 10 different 'disciplines' of which a couple of examples are Badminton an Basketball. However, the question for its popularity will be whether it can live up to the simplicity of Wii Sports. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 06/06/08
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots This is, of course, my pick of the month for PS3. This is the last episode in the Solid Snake saga, and is set to be monumental as such. With visually stunning effects and a grand amount of innovative technology, MGS will be a game for even non-Playstation owners to watch. For those of you already interested, I don't need to remind you of the basic storyline, and we can see included Metal Gear Online for those of you who like your 'social gaming'. I can say that we should all be watching this space. Platforms: PS3 Release Date: 12/06/08
Sid Meier's Civilisation: Revolution Turn based stratey at its very best. With Sid Meier somewhere in the title, this is guaranteed to be a classic game, though a questionable choice to not go on the PC, where the traditional fan base lies. If you're not a purist, and don't believe that Strategy should be confined to the mouse and keyboard, then give this game a go, it has the potential to be another great game in a long list under this franchise. Platforms: PS3, X360, DS Release Date: 13/06/08
Sins of a Solar Empire This looks to be an interesting sci-fi strategy game. It involves building an empire, and destroying other empires in order to further your own gain. Of course, its been done before, but never really to the extent that AoE managed. Could this be the AoE of the stars (and I don't mean SW: Battlegrounds)? Only time will tell. Platforms: PC Release Date: 13/06/08
Guitar Hero: Aerosmith The first time this franchise has been brought to an individual band, and Aerosmith is decided on. Not sure what to say about this. I guess we can expect GH3 with all Aerosmith songs. Good if you really like Aerosmith, not so great if you don't. This really needs some big fundamental changes in it for me to consider it worth buying. It should be stressed that this game is not GH4, and so will probably just be the GH3 interface again. Platforms: PS3, X360, Wii, PS2 Release Date: 13/06/08
Ferrari Challenge This is the official Ferrari game. All real cars, and all real tracks. This looks to be the best racing game of this month, if you're an enthusiast, and if you're not, it might be worth a look in if nothing else here tickles your fancy. Unlike other genres, 'official' driving games don't tend to be that poor, so don't let the 'Ferrari' label necessarily put you off, this could be a good game. Platforms: PS3, Wii, DS Release Date: 20/06/08
Battlefield: Bad Company This looks impressive, as can be expected. The storyline looks a bit whimsical... set in the 'near future' during a 'eurasian conflict', not the most original of scenarios. But the gameplay looks solid, taking part half way between squad based and trad-Battlefield play. The online will be up to 24 players, and looks set to improve on previous Battlefield games. This may give MGS a run for its money in sales on the PS3 this month. Platforms: X360, PS3 Release Date: 27/06/08
Super Smash Bros.: Brawl This is my pick for the Wii this month. For those who haven't played this series, explaining it would be pointless because it would just come across as a simple beat-em-up game. But it's so much more than that. Super Smash Bros. is an opportunity to get inside the minds of Nintendo characters and really understand what makes them tick... and then get them to kick the arses of other Ninty characters. Great fun for fans of Nintendo, and more sceptical people. Even if this game only changed the stages of the previous game, Melee, it would still come out great. Platforms: Wii Release Date: 27/06/08
Robert Ludlum's: The Bourne Conspiracy Not based on any of the films, but instead one of the books, the demo of this was not looked favourably on by DW, in his First Impressions, which is a shame, because I thought it looked quite good till I read the preview. Platforms: X360, PS3 Release Date: 27/06/08
This looks to be a good month for gaming, with MGS, Super Smash Bros. and Ninja Gaiden II. You can expect reviews for the best games here. I know that the review for DBZ and Ninja Gaiden will be up hopefully this weekend. Keep reading.
Right, this has been rather a long time coming, for which I apologise, BUT here's a little post all to do with the spectacle known as Devil May Cry 4! But I've decided to change what I was going to do, as I'm such a big fan of this series, any review I give would be pretty biased, so instead of a review I'm gunna have a general rant on what I loved and liked and felt like obliterating in this game.
First off, the new boy, Nero. If I'm being honest, I actually didnt mind him in the slightest. It was brave to put Nero into the game, with Metal Gear Solid doing the same and Raiden getting a lot of hate directed at him for it, yet it works very well here, with two different perspectives of the same story being shown, making it more interesting. I enjoyed knocking about deranged scarecrows, big fire demons and old men with his meaty demonic fist, the Devil Bringer, as it brought a new element of fighting to an already excellant series. It took a bit more for me to like his gun, which i didnt feel had enough ass-kicking power to it, and it took even more to get used to him shouting out 'KYRIE!!' every time she bloody appeared, but thats being a little picky. At the very least, I didn't resent playing as him for a lot of the game, and I really enjoyed using his sword too, so that was a definite up-side!
Something I really loved in the game was the dramatic boss fights. Each one actually involved some sort of strategy instead of just a hack an' slash-fest, and they also looked visually impressive too, especially Berial, who was a mix between the Balrog from LOTR and a centaur, with a nasty-ass attitude. Some of them also were just a pure joy to fight against, like Credo. the amount of dodging you had to do, coupled with some quick attacks and counters left me wanting to re-do the whole level just to fight him again! And of course, fighting Dante was a massive highlight of the game, reminding me of the fights against Vergil in the previous installment which I felt were some of the best bits. Not to say it didn't get frustrating when Dante would land his billionth stinger move on me though!
It wasn't just the boss fights either, but some of the fights against normal demons and nasty things were pretty darn fun too! The knights were a particular favourite of mine, reminding me fondly of Nelo Angelo from the original DMC. In fact they were pretty much watered down versions of that bastard, but numerous enough to pose a challenge, especially on modes such as Son of Sparda. An enemy I'm not too fond of however is the electric demon that crops up now an then. I mean I love a good challenge on games, and I'm not complaining about that, but he was such an annoying fucker, again especially on the harder modes. You had to shoot him to weaken him enuff so you could hit him with your sword as he electrocuted you otherwise, and it didn't help that he was using his own version of the Trickster style against you. And then once you finally felt you had killed him, he can grab you and explode with you as a parting gift. I couldn't help but feel he was laughing at me when this happened, but I would perservere an carry on.
Another character in the game that stuck in my mind was Agnus, the science guy from the Order. The moment he stuttered onto the screen you instantly knew he was trouble, so it was very satisfying getting to beat him up later on. Agnus is a character I loved to hate, and everytime he appeared something big always went down, so i looked forward to him popping up, even if I did wanna ram my over-sized sword down his throat.
Of course I cant go on about a DMC game without mentioning the old hero, Dante, a little bit more. He may be a little more grizzled than previous games, but he's still got the same style and grace from before, and if anything he's even more cocky and more of a show off! At first it was strange not playing as him, but this just made his appearances even more exciting, especially the opening FMV with the big fight between Dante and Nero, which is the best opening for any DMC game so far. Once i got to play as Dante though, I instantly fell in love with him again. He brought back loving memories of DMC 3, and handles almost exactly the same as he did on DMC 3 too. He has all four styles again, Trickster, Gun Slinger, Sword Master and Royal Guard *spit* except they are even better then before, as this time you can change style mid-fight with the d-pad! This cheered me up immensly as being stuck to just one style for a level on DMC 3 was a little depressing. Weapons can also be changed mid-fight too, so you're no longer stuck with just two guns and two melee weapons for the level either.
Speaking of weapons, I also fell in love with Rebellion and Ebony and Ivory again. In my opinion they were real weapons, and fighting with them felt like pure stylish scrapping, getting in quick hits and quicker counters and always being on the move. Fighting with Dante to me was a lot more fun then fighting with Nero, mostly because you didn't have a demonic arm that could bring the enemies to you, you had to do the moving; I loved it! Felt much more satisfying. Can't say I was a big fan of many of his other weapons though. I felt that the gaunlets while powerful were too slow, the Lucifer was a little impractical, and Pandora's Box while a brilliant idea in theory wasn't a great weapon to use unless I was bored of the conventional types. I did love the shotgun though, being a fan of it in other DMC games, so i felt by law it needed to be used, and it still impressed.
I felt that Trish and Lady making returns in this game was a good thing too, and enjoyed seeing them again, especially Trish who hasn't been seen since DMC 1 way back in 2001! Wasn't too sure on Lady's new look though, but she still had the Kalina-Ann so that made up for it. I was also giddy with excitement when the swords Yamato (Vergil's sword) and Sparda cropped up, and even more happy when I got to use Yamato! Having played DMC 3 Special Edition with Vergil I grew to really like his sword and fighting style, so it was a really nice touch to be able to play with it again. Unfortunately Sparda wasn't on the menu though, and depressingly it was used against you too, but it was a very good feeling beating the guy who was using it i must say.
Visually the game is rather impressive, as it should be, and the difference between this game and other DMC games can be seen best with Dante. The detail on his face an clothes, and in his movements are astounding, and this is true of the other characters too. The best example of the visual step-up is with Berial, in all his fiery glory! Yet the backgrounds and levels you can play in, even though they were rather large and very good looking (especially the outside of Fortuna Castle and the jungle) I felt were rather sparse and in some cases a little samey. Then again there isn't always time to look at your surroundings in a game like this, and let's be honest, not many would.
Unlike certain critics (and some fans I might add) I actually enjoyed the soundtrack to the game as well, feeling that the hardcore metal and rock vibes are what gave the game a much more edgy and energetic feel when pounding the crap out of some demons who deserve it, and if that was changed or taken away then it just wouldn't feel like DMC anymore. I personally prefer Nero's background fighting music to Dante's myself, and enjoyed the music during the credits too, coincidentally them being the same.
Overall I feel this game is a very strong jewel in Devil May Cry's impressive crown, and I really enjoyed playing this game, and still do. Instead of carrying on talking about it, I instead suggest that you play it for youself, if you havent done already, and I recommend this to anyone who enjoys stylish action games even just a little, because I assure you that everyone will find at least one thing they like in this game. In fact, going against what I said at the beginning of this post, I feel that if I did pass a review on this game, it'd be 9/10, being as un-biased as I can be, just because the enjoyment from this game was so much, even being new to the series I'd think it was this good.
As a parting gift, here's a link leading to a video containing the main DMC 4 song, with a lot of game art, promotional pictures and screen shots playing in the background. Enjoy!
Do you live in "North America, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan"? Do you own Army Of Two for your 360? Then congratulations, you can download the free Veterans map pack[Sponsored by pontiac]. Do you live in europe? Tough shit. No free DLC for you.
Weirdly enough, this is reversed for PS3 owners. The PSN has the Army of two content for free in europe, and unavailable elsewhere.
While i have unfortunately already played through and traded in my copy of Ao2, Major Nelson states that the pack contains: "two additional co-op campaign maps, plus a new multiplayer map, more exciting co-op experiences, including an alternate ending to the game!". The second Co-op level contains a "real" boss fight, missing from the original copies of Ao2, where you return to the SSC building.
Again, the Multiregion clusterfuck has been met with general confusion by the gaming community, and no reason has been presented for the delays.
Look at the above image. If you immediately yelled "HOGS OF WAR 2" then you're incorrect, but have a gold star for effort anyway. No folks, it's official, at the Ubidays 2008 event in Paris, France, Ubisoft's CEO Yves Guillemot showed off a new trailer for the company's new project.
What new project is this?
Beyond good and evil 2
It turns out Ubi soft was listening to our prayers after all.
Interestingly the trailer has a number 1 on it, indicating more trailers highlighting on the other characters from Beyond Good and Evil. I really enjoyed this game back on the Xbox, and so I'll probably keep an eye on this as it develops, which is handy as the teaser trailer isnt giving so much away.
Yesterday, according to IGN, Gamespot, and various other reliable gaming sources, Capcom finally announced the beginning of production for Street Fighter IV. The announcement has not come as a surprise, and has been widely anticipated, despite the fears that 2D beat-em-ups have left common favour in exchange for 3D arcade styles such as Tekken and Dead or Alive. The announcement by Capcom, despite coming yesterday, was clearly prompted by their public unveiling of the game as a Japanese arcade fighter, but have now confirmed it will also be coming to the platforms of 360, PS3 and PC, leaving the Wii uncomfortably out of the loop considering the franchise made millions on the SNES.
As for release dates, nothing has been specified, the arcade version is set for late July, but no such time frame has been given to console release, suggesting they are over a year away. The game, as those who hated Street Fighter EX will be pleased to hear, maintains the 2D stylings of the original Street Fighters, with up-to-date 3D visuals. As for characters, Ken, Ryu, Chun-Li and Guile are all set to return, whilst new additions will be made such as Crimson Viper. There is no doubt that this game should be watched by the whole gaming world with interest, because, if it fails, it will be a backstep, but if it succeeds, it could reshape beat-em-ups as we know them.
It's nearly June, we're nearly half way through the calendar, and the latest game release schedule has just been posted on IGN. Here's a quick look at the titles that I think are worth a look at. (where PS3/360/Wii/PC dates conflict, I've used the 360 date.) (PC only games from Play)
Ninja Gaiden II: June 6th Sid Meier's Civilisation: Revolution: June 6th Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots: June 12th Super Smash Bros.: Brawl: June 27th Soul Calibur IV: July 31st Saints Row 2: August 28th Empire: Total War: September 5th Midnight Club: Los Angeles: September 12th Star Wars: The Force Unleashed: September 19th Starcraft II: September 26th Fable 2: Q3 Mercenaries 2: Q3 Tom Clancy's EndWar: Q3 FarCry 2: October C&C: Tiberium: October Splinter Cell: Conviction: October 24th Call of Duty 5: Q4
All the above dates are subject to revision, and some great games aren't yet on the register even though they're due for release this year. So, in other words, if you don't think there are enough games here for you, don't worry, more are due before the end of the year.
Recently my colleagues have been focusing on looking at upcoming games, so I thought I'd have a look at what was, for me, the most engrossing game of last year: Call Of Duty 4.
Now, if I had written this article a few months ago, I would have come off as a rabid fanboy, In fact, it took Rainbow Six Vegas 2 to break the spell of this game, where I would regularly play from 10pm when I got home from work, until the sun came up and my team and I grudgingly dragged ourselves to bed.
On the PC market, the game seems to share the success of its Console counterparts, with Xfire stating that 6,909,213 minutes of the multiplayer game have been played today, second only to the online behemoth that is WoW.
I'll start with the bad. The often forgotten Single Player campaign is, after a promising start, a pretty standard "Spec Ops" FPS fare, with the slightly familiar scenario's of "America waging a war on a Middle eastern country" as mirrored by the incredibly popular "Real Life" and the classic "Russians as the enemy", however cliched these may be, thats not to say they don't do them well, but more on that later. It also suffers from the classic CoD problem of having to literally slog through hundreds of generic terrorists who respawn endlessly until you reach the waypoint, there is no way to stay back and play it cautiously, you just end up wasting your ammo, and enraging yourself.
The multiplayer suffers from other flaws, Some of the perks are either ridiculously useless [Eavesdrop] or ridiculously overpowered/cheap [Grenade launcher/Matyrdom] and, while they are well thought out, popular use of them has cheapened the COD4 multiplayer experience heavily. It's a great testimonial to the game when I can only find a single big flaw with its multiplayer experience, and I stand by the fact that it is the best multiplayer game of 2007.
On the positive side, and its certainly a big ol' positive side, the campain is well thought out and is full of awesome set pieces, including a particularly tense firefight in a TV station, and a highly commended level that has you crawling through Cherynobl, you really do have to play the campaign to get the true feel for it.
The same is true of the multiplayer, The engine itself is very simple, there's no cover system, no character customisation, and is pretty standard multiplayer shooter fare. A visitor for example could play a few rounds and enjoy it, without knowing too much about the game. However, it shows a level of depth totally unheard of in an FPS game, with a healthy amount of weapon customisation, and a frankly stunning level design. I have never played maps as fine as Call of Duty 4's, which have been amazing people hunting for tricks and tips since the games release. I think it's the depth of the maps that have really ensured CoD4's continued dominance.
In retrospect, I dont play Call of Duty 4 anymore, because I took it far too seriously, going down the gamebattles route and playing in clan matches until I "burnt out" on the game, but I think it still holds up. It's a masterpiece of what can be achieved, and its technically impressive too. It stands among Team Fortress 2 and Halo3 as the greatest Xbox live has to offer.
You may notice i've been avoiding blogging about GTA4 since it came out.
This is because, when faced with the sheer vastness that GTA4 actually is, i'm lost for how to describe it.
Today I was going to discuss it. But hey, its PSday, which means theres far more interesting PS3 news to talk about.
Sony held this event at the 02 arena in london, And the exciting news for me was new Killzone 2 screens and the announcement of it's release next febuary, and the announcement of a Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 Bundle shortly after the games release in June. Another thing that caught my eye from the coverage was the new EA prospect, Mirror Edge. EA claims to be putting you "in an action game, Instead of watching an action game" and so I'm going to keep an eye on it from now on.
Today I saw the latest MGS4 trailer, Even though i'm a big Metal Gear Solid fan, the hype has passed me by completely, being as its a Playstation 3 game, and I dont have nearly enough cash to shell out for a new PS3 and a copy of Metal Gear 4.
Either way, i saw the trailer:
And even though I dont have a fucking clue whats being said i figured i'd try some interpretations.
In the first twenty seconds we see what looks like Snake dying on the ground, usually not such a brilliant starting point for a game trailer, but alot of the MGS4 stuff i've seen is telling me that this is the end of solid snake as a character. Seeing as he looks dead already, this doesnt suprise me.
Then a guy i can only presume to be Ocelot shows up, and he's alot different from the last time we saw him [Chronologically] in MGS2. Then we see some soldiers in a battlefield, and some 15 foot tall mechs that are clearly imitating Cows with the mooing sound they are making.
Around the one minute mark, Snake shows up, Very much not dead, and then we see Meryl. Now she definately doesnt look like she did in Metal Gear 1, for a start, she's not dead. And for a second, it doesnt like like she was carved out of Balsa wood.
From here on in, it gets badass. A group of soldiers start punching some other soldiers, and beating the shite out of them and then we are shown total warfare in a street. From 2 minutes, the voice stops, and the guys at Kojima studio's show what a talent they have for trailers, they managed to show Snake maybe 4 times in the whole trailer, and still make a brilliant trailer.
I'm going to start keeping an eye on this game from now, as my PS3 owning friend is going on about it, and this trailer has reminded me quite how rabid i got with excitement over Snake Eater.
IGN recently gave GTA4 a 10/10, that makes it the first 10/10 in this decade. The last game to receive the highly coveted 10 score was Soul calibur, back in 1999.
From the off, Hilary goldstein heaps praise on the game, ending the first paragraph of his review with "Every facet of Rockstar's new masterpiece is worthy of applause. Without question, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best game since Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.". I think it's pretty clear to say he's a big fan.
He closes with an explaination for the perfect score: "A "10" is not a score we give out very often. In fact, the last time we gave a 10 to a console game was Soul Calibur in 1999. A 10 doesn't mean a game is perfect -- it means a game is pushing boundaries, expanding a genre, and doing many things to a level so far above and beyond its competitors that they overshadows any flaws. Certainly, GTA IV has some issues, the most noticeable being the occasional flaw in the cover system, but there are many more pieces of GTA IV that are better than anything I've seen from a game in the past decade. We don't give 10s often -- just to games that merit the score."
The Review is located here and the video review here and my copy arrives on Monday.
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Japan has long been the heartland for Nintendo support. Release a 360 in Japan and plaster 'Nintendo' all over the box and it'll sell like a new Elvis Presley album. Yet, Microsoft have been adamantly chasing that market despite the polite nudge-offs that the Japanese have been giving them over the past few years. In a bid, perhaps, to do what Manchester City are currently doing the football industry, and become the ultimate games console for all walks of life in all 'theatres of war'.
intendo know exactly what Japan wants, and how to give it to them: and how to make a return on this. Microsoft can't do that, because it's stretched too far, every game has to be available for release in all the 'theatres of war' for it to make sufficient return on the games. Nintendo, on the other hand, can design games (and, more frequently than any other developer, does) that appeal just to Japan, and then release the bigger title games overseas too. And it can then export at greater profit, because of the Yen-Dollar exchange.
It was also a slight shock when playing the game and realising that some of the controls that have stayed fundamentally the same since MGS1 had changed, such as how to use the guns and now having to press X instead of O to confirm stuff, but I got over that, learnt to get used to it, an now they’re just second nature. Also it would’ve been rather difficult and frustrating using the same controls for guns from previous MGS’s in this, as they play a much heavier role.
In fact if I had any criticism of this game, it wouldn’t be too long cut scenes (which I loved, and besides you could pause them!), it wouldn’t be that I felt they traded stealth for combat (you could do what you wanted to, so it was in fact made more open for those crap at stealth), it wouldn’t even be how vamp was still an immortal bastard and how liquid ocelot still said ‘BROTHER!!!’ every time he clocked me……ok I’m going off a bit here.
GT5
First off, the new boy, Nero. If I'm being honest, I actually didnt mind him in the slightest. It was brave to put Nero into the game, with Metal Gear Solid doing the same and Raiden getting a lot of hate directed at him for it, yet it works very well here, with two different perspectives of the same story being shown, making it more interesting. I enjoyed knocking about deranged scarecrows, big fire demons and old men with his meaty demonic fist, the Devil Bringer, as it brought a new element of fighting to an already excellant series. It took a bit more for me to like his gun, which i didnt feel had enough ass-kicking power to it, and it took even more to get used to him shouting out 'KYRIE!!' every time she bloody appeared, but thats being a little picky. At the very least, I didn't resent playing as him for a lot of the game, and I really enjoyed using his sword too, so that was a definite up-side!
It wasn't just the boss fights either, but some of the fights against normal demons and nasty things were pretty darn fun too! The knights were a particular favourite of mine, reminding me fondly of Nelo Angelo from the original DMC. In fact they were pretty much watered down versions of that bastard, but numerous enough to pose a challenge, especially on modes such as Son of Sparda. An enemy I'm not too fond of however is the electric demon that crops up now an then. I mean I love a good challenge on games, and I'm not complaining about that, but he was such an annoying fucker, again especially on the harder modes. You had to shoot him to weaken him enuff so you could hit him with your sword as he electrocuted you otherwise, and it didn't help that he was using his own version of the Trickster style against you. And then once you finally felt you had killed him, he can grab you and explode with you as a parting gift. I couldn't help but feel he was laughing at me when this happened, but I would perservere an carry on.
