posted 18 Oct 2011 02:55 by Chris Smith
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updated 18 Oct 2011 03:11
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November 24th 2006.
I was five years younger than I am today and more reckless with my purchases. I would often fritter away good money on stuff I didn't need or buy things only to sell them on later. But on this day in history even I was not prepared for the horrors of that day.
I was and still am a SEGA fanboy at heart. I am also not ashamed to admit to being a massive DC Comics nerd. This would push these two loves of mine to the limit.
As I waited for the bus to work that morning, I popped into Game in the Lion Yard Cambridge to purchase a few games I had been hoping to buy. I don't know why I didn't wait for reviews, after all I had played the demos of each game I was going in for and to be honest was not impressed with any of them, yet my rational side of my brain wanted none of that information as I picked up each title from the shelf. As I gave the shop assistant the games I had selected there was no warning from this young man either, why didn't he stop me? Surely he knew these games would be brought back later for part exchange cluttering his shelves! No, then manages to convince me that I needed a Halo 3 faceplate for my XBOX 360 to go along with these mad purchases. I like to think this guy has gone on to become a tycoon of business.
All day at work, the games are sitting on my desk still unopened so in perfect condition to take back to Game for a full refund. During the day reviews start to appear!
" So criminally lacking in any inspiration, though, and is such a dismal waste of the licence that you'll want to curl up and rock yourself into a trance. At least then your mind can entertain you with thoughts of what a good game might be like. 3/10"
Oh dear, it can't be that bad right? I think to myself.
"In this case the name of one of the most beloved videogame characters of all time, couldn't provide the slightest defence against the big fat tyres of apathy which have spread it all over the road. 2/10"
Oh..........The third game was not reviewed that day so things showed promise there at least.
With these two review scores making the games sound like the worst things released that year, I really should have headed to the shops and taken them back for a refund asap. But I wanted to believe I could enjoy them.
I soon discovered that two of three games were indeed unplayable pieces of crap, that had no right to bear the name their respective names. The third game was playable and enjoyable if not a bit of a disappointment as a follow up to my most played game of all time.
The three games in case you hadn't guessed were Superman Returns, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Phantasy Star Universe. Needless to say two of those were traded in the following week for less than half of what I had paid the previous week. The lesson learnt? Never buy blind on being a fan of the franchise.
At least my Halo faceplate looked boss!
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posted 17 Oct 2011 08:37 by Chris Smith
Capcom have announced the release of Devil May Cry Trilogy HD for PS3 and XBOX 360.
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posted 17 Oct 2011 04:06 by Chris Smith
In 2010 EA started to lock out their online portions of their games unless a code was used with new purchases of games. This meant those renting or buying pre-owned software are forced to pay a fee to unlock this content. Now we have Sony, Ubisoft and THQ all jumping on this trend.
One of the worst things I have heard someone say to justify this terrible idea comes from the director of Uncharted 3, Justin Richmond.
“We give literally thousands of hours of content in our online stuff, and on top of that we give you not just competitive, but an entire co-op experience as well,” he said. “There’s basically a whole alternate history, alternate version story in our co-op, and in this game they’re actually all tied together. All the co-op missions, of which there are even more, are all actually one continuous story, if you play them in the right order. “We’re giving out a huge amount of content, and part of the reason for the online pass is that when that stuff goes online, it isn’t free. We have to pay for servers and all this different stuff to maintain it, and so at some point games have to make money. It’s a business, and we just want to be able to continue to provide that kind of content.” I'm sorry, but when I buy a product I don't expect to be locked out of portions of the game. Yes it is a business and yes pre-owned games are a problem for publishers, but I have been buying games new and used since I was a teenager and still being able to play the game as it was meant to be played without all these hoops to jump through. I wouldn't expect to buy a used car and have gears 4,5 and 6 locked out because I bought the car second hand. It's a poor example maybe and not reflective of the current state of the video game industry, but surely there is another way? I look to iOS and Android software for a workable solution. Why not have the online portion of the game fully playable in all copies of the game, but ad supported for those who buy pre-owned? Subsiding development costs with ads and then charging customers who didn't buy the game new to avoid these ads? To access the multiplayer of Uncharted 3 early consumers in the USA were able to get a free code buying a soft drink at Subway, surely this sort of advertising could be moved into the game? We all hate advertisements, yet if it meant getting something cheaper we would suck it up? I feel this locking away content for a price is more harmful for a game's online life span than it doing anything positive for it. Sorry for the rant, but I see things only getting worse in this area.
Thanks to VG247 for the quote |
posted 17 Oct 2011 01:57 by Chris Smith
Namco Bandai have announced they are bringing Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch to Europe. |
posted 17 Oct 2011 00:56 by Chris Smith
Level 5 last week announced a new 3DS title Guild 01. The game is actually four games in one package.
The package comes courtesy of Yasumi Matsuno(Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre), Suda 51(Killer 7, No More Heroes), Yoot Saito(Seaman, Odama) and Yoshiyuki Hirai(a comedian in Japan).
From Suda 51 we have Maiden Liberation, a 3D mech based shooter. The game sees you play a teenage high school girl who is also the President of America(so far so Suda).
Saito brings us Air Porter, which as you can guess from the title a simulation of luggage control at an airport.
Hirai is working on an RPG called Weapon Rental Shop. The game sees the player in charge of a weapon shop for adventurers.
But the star attraction of the package is Crimson Shroud from Matsuno. The soundtrack is being done by Hitoshi Sakimoto of Tactics Ogre, Vagrant Story and Final Fantasy XII fame. The game is said to be an RPG that is like an old school table top RPG.
Check out the trailer: |
posted 16 Oct 2011 15:27 by Chris Smith
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updated 17 Oct 2011 00:19
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It's a funny saying isn't it? I can understand wanting to keep those with experience around longer than someone who may appeal to the eyes, but offends the ears.
It really is a saying that holds some weight with how I spend my gaming hours these days.
2011 has been one hell of a year for games, Portal 2, inFAMOUS 2, Dark Souls, Xenoblade Chronicles, Gears of War 3, Deus Ex Human Revolution and the upcoming games like Uncharted 3, Batman Arkham City and Zelda Skyward Sword all pushing the boundaries of the medium, but 2011 has also seen some old favourites return and often outshine those games mentioned.
This time last year I looked at 2011 and was excited with all the new games coming, I didn't think I would be playing more of games I have played years ago than I do games of today, but here I am.
Tactics Ogre Let us Cling Together kicked me off this year when it was released in February. This game was originally released in 1996 for the Super Famicom. It did get an English release on PlayStation in America, but this was the first time the game was released in Europe. This time the game received a graphical overhaul, nothing drastic, just redrawn sprites that were optimised to take advantage of the PSP screen. Another difference was the translation, Alexander O'Smith the man who translated Vagrant Story brought to life this amazing story. The big game play innovation that was added was called the Wheel of Fortune, this gave the player an option to rewind up to 50 moves in any one battle. This made purists unhappy, but for me, it was a god send, I am often selecting the wrong unit by mistake or pressing cancel when I wasn't meant to etc, so now I was able to correct silly errors.
One of the things that made this game so great in 1996 was left intact. That is the moral decisions the game will throw at you. This would determine the path of the game the player would take. These decisions are not only played out intelligently later in the game but they also made me stop and think hard about the choice laid out in front of you. It honestly puts games like Mass Effect and inFAMOUS' moral decisions to shame and this from a game 15 years old.
"The new art brings the sprites to life"
2011 is the 25th Anniversary for The Legend of Zelda and what better way to say happy birthday than by releasing the most celebrated video game of all time. The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time!
June saw Nintendo release Ocarina of Time on their fancy new Nintendo 3DS console. And what a wonderful remake this is. Nintendo upped the pretty and made the best looking 3D game on the system. Not only were the visuals updated, but Nintendo added some motion controls to the game for aiming, surprisingly these were excellent and easy to use.
I remember when the DS was released, I said to my brother "Imagine Ocarina on the DS, with the inventory on the bottom screen for easy access" well Nintendo added this time saving feature in this 3D remake and it really helped streamline this already timeless classic.
I certainly hope Nintendo are able to bring us Marjora's Mask and then Wind Waker to 3DS after how successfully they brought Ocarina back.
These two were just the start, stay tuned for another two games that were brought back to life in 2011. |
posted 16 Oct 2011 14:38 by Chris Smith
For anyone who has come by and not seen an update in the last five months, I apologise for not posting anything. It's been a hectic period for me personally.
I hope that from now on, I can get back to updating this place daily.
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posted 5 Jun 2011 11:21 by Chris Smith
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updated 6 Jun 2011 00:59
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And all through the net, not a creature was stirring, not even keyboard and mouse.
Well, it's that time of year again where gamers the world over, look to L.A. to see what publishers and platform holders have in store for them over the next 12 months or so.
This year promises to be the biggest in five years. Nintendo are going to be showing their vision on home console gaming. Sony will be showing off their vision of portable gaming with the PSP follow up, strongly rumoured to be called PlayStation Vita. Whilst Microsoft will no doubt be showing us their second generation of Kinect titles, Mass Effect 3 is very likely to support the motion sensor.
So don't forget to watch the big three's conferences at the following links:
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posted 28 May 2011 15:24 by Neil Gow
The Gears of War 3 trailer debuted on our screens tonight. Everyone's looking as chunky as ever, there are new beasties to fight and some hints at the usual spectacular set pieces. The highlight for me though is their choice of song this time around. You can't beat a bit of Sabbath. You too can get your gear on when GOW (love that acronym...) 3 is released worldwide on 20th September 2011. |
posted 28 May 2011 13:08 by Neil Gow
Why I love Valve's masterpiece and my regret that it took me so long to actually play it. I <3 Portal |
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