Xantiriad

Blog Moved to GiantBomb

2010-02-15T11:50:00.003Z

You can now find my blog on GiantBomb.com. This carries several advantages, but in particular it allows me to distribute my little reviews to a wider audience.

Reviews: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/xantiriad/reviews/

Blog Posts: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/xantiriad/blog/

Game Lists: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/xantiriad/lists/

Summary of Activity: http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/xantiriad/

Top Five Games of 2010?

2009-12-29T16:16:00.011Z

Concluding my top 5 lists I present my five most anticipated games of 2010 and my five to watch in 2010.

Most Anticipated Games of 2010

1. Infinite Space (DS)

I have been looking forward to the European release of this Starship-based JRPG for some time. It is my most anticipated game of the year.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infinite_space

2. Mass Effect 2 (360/PC)

Mass Effect created a world that I really wanted to spend a lot more time in. Thankfully, I now don't have long to wait to don my N7 suit again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Effect_2

3. Split/Second (360/PS3)

I played Split/Second at Eurogamer and was instantly won over. This could be the best arcade racer since Burnout Paradise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split/Second

4. Red Dead Redemption (PS3/360)

If someone could make a decent Wild-West genre game then you would expect it would be Rockstar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Dead_Redemption

5. Professor Layton & The Final Time Travel (DS)

With two fantastic adventures under his belt surely the Professor can be trusted to give us a third memorable game?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layton-ky%C5%8Dju_to_Saigo_no_Jikan_Ryok%C5%8D

Five to Watch in 2010

1. Bioshock 2 (360/PC/PS3)

Most people are expecting it to fail to live up to its predecessor, but it could once again be a surprise package?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioshock_2

2. The Eye of Judgement Legends (PSP)

No fussy camera or fiddly cards necessary in this portable reinterpretation of the game.

3. Tower of Shadow (Wiiware)

A really interesting concept (using shadows) is at the heart of this future Wiiware title.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/lost-in-shadow-dated-detailed

4. R.U.S.E (360/PC/PS3)

Can an RTS on a console actually work?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R.U.S.E

5. Fallout: New Vegas (360/PC/PS3)

It has yet to build any hype, but if it is as good as Fallout 3 no one will be complaining.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallout:_New_Vegas

Other games I'm really interested in...

Lego Harry Potter Years 1-4 (All)
Dead Space 2 (PS3/360)
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake (PSP)
Hot Shot Tennis (PSP)
Picross 3D (DS)
Dragon Quest IX (DS)
Alan Wake (360)
Splinter Cell Conviction (360)
Fable III (360)
Joe Danger (XBLA)
Heavy Rain (PS3)
ModNation Racers (PS3)
Final Fantasy XIII (PS3/360)
Sonic & Sega All-Stars (All)

Five Great Games Everybody Played in 2009

2009-12-18T15:48:00.007Z

Continuing my top 5 games for 2009 I’m moving on to the 5 great games that everybody played: a collection of games that grabbed the headlines as well as being the cream of the crop.

DiRT2

Easily took the crown as the most enjoyable and rewarding racing game of recent years. DiRT 2 is the best pure racer –with focus on racing rather than simulation- since Project Gotham Racing 4, and much more fun than the cold and anaesthetic Forza 3. Amazing graphics, a solid frame-rate and a pumping soundtrack complete the package on one of the games of the year.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

The real outstanding feature of Uncharted 2, in addition to the jaw-dropping environments and non-stop action, is the quality of the dialogue, narrative and general writing. It really does raise the bar in interactive character driven story telling: there is little exposition, well rounded and believable characters, and a story that propels itself without the need for clumsy prolonged cut scenes or back-story. At no point do you think “what am I doing?”.

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box

The Professor and Luke are back again to unravel the mysteries of Pandora’s Box and a train full of crazy characters. Like the previous game in the series the puzzles range from the very easy to the fiendishly hard. In this second outing the puzzles are much better integrated into the main story and its events. With three more Layton games bound for Europe, we can look forward to many more years of intriguing stories and addictive puzzles.

Battlefield 1943

Battlefield 1943 excels as a fun and enjoyable multiplayer first person shooter. Stripped of complexity and perfectly balanced, it proved to be a hit with both shooter aficionados and more laid back players alike. The easy to master controls (with the exception of the plane) and non-stop action mean there is never a dull moment and no frustration. A sub £12 price-point made Battlefield 1943 one of the best value games of the year.

The Beatles: Rockband

I really don't like the Beatles: I don't enjoy their music and I find their whole mythology an irritation. Somehow Harmonix have managed to sell me something I don't like and have a great time playing it? I think it is in no small part to the quality of the production, and the visual flare used in the presentation of many of the songs. It hasn't made me a fan of the band, but I can honestly say I really enjoyed playing their music in the game.

(At the time of writing I have yet to start playing Assassin's Creed 2 or Batman Arkham Asylum in any depth.)

Read part 1 of this series: "5 Great Games Nobody Played"...

Five Great Games Nobody Played in 2009

2009-12-18T10:34:00.002Z

In what is rapidly becoming a seasonal feature, I am once again going to reveal my top 5 games for 2009. We start with the 5 great games that nobody played: a collection of games that passed under the radar or that sold poorly.

Anno: Create a New World

Shamelessly overlooked by most of the gaming press, Anno: Create a New World (or Dawn of Discovery in the US) is the first Anno game to have been specifically designed from the ground-up for the Wii. The result is a first rate Civilisation-style game with arguably the best control system yet devised on a console. Playing the game with the Wii Remote and Nun-chuck is simple, intuitive and an absolute pleasure. If only all games were as well produced and designed as Anno: Create a New World.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno:_Create_A_New_World

Dead Space Extraction

The Wii has hosted some excellent games this year that cater for all gaming tastes. Dead Space Extraction is the year’s surprising twist on the survival horror genre. Mislabelled by those who haven’t played it as “on rails”, Dead Space Extraction proves to be both intelligent and frightening in equal measure. Clever use of cinematic techniques and brilliant voice acting add depth and quality to the presentation; whilst the level design and ammo conservation deliver tension with the frights.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Space_Extraction

Swords & Soldiers

Wiiware has really taken off this year and has seen some remarkable independent games - such as the Bit Trip series and Art Style: Orbient. However, the real star was this unusual 2D side-on real-time strategy game. It could well be the best real-time strategy game conceived on a console. Its design overcomes the limitations of using a control pad, whilst retaining all the necessary features for a fun and challenging strategic game. What makes Swords and Soldiers really stand-out is the charm and humour of the characters, which are clearly inspired by Hagar-the-Horrible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swords_%26_Soldiers

Tropico 3

Who wouldn’t want to be a dictator and run their own mini Cuba? Think of it: cigars, mojitos, and all night salsa! Tropico 3 is a clever blend of Sim-City and Theme Park set in the 1950s Caribbean. Available for both the PC and Xbox360, it made a refreshing change to the “flash-bang-wallop” that most of November’s games were all about. With a wonderful soundtrack, decent graphics and more satire than an episode of “Have I Got News For You”; Tropico 3 is a real winner.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropico_3

DJ Hero

A combination of a devalued “Hero” brand, a high price, animosity towards Activision and some bizarre marketing decisions (Emimen and Jay-Z - their music is hardly in it) has put off most people. It is a real pity as DJ Hero is an absolute gem and goes a long way in refreshing the tired rhythm game genre. DJ Hero’s eclectic soundtrack has music in it to sort all tastes, whilst the combination of tight controls and excellent mixes makes for a really enjoyable game. Even the Turntable peripheral is solidly constructed and well designed – aside from a slightly loose cross-fader.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dj_hero

Modern Warfare 2: Bad Story Ruins Games

2009-11-10T11:51:00.006Z

If you are not buying Modern Warfare and want to know about its crazy plot then read on?

-Or-

If you are curious as to why, for me, I just can't get my head around it then read on.

The Story (Spoilers!)

Basically a Russian dissident goes to Moscow Airport and murders everyone inside. You play a CIA agent in his gang and witness/take part in the killing (I chose not to shoot anyone). The event takes place in a graphic scene, which is cruel and brutal. In the right context it would have been challenging and interesting; however In MW2 it is just unnecessary (it is skip-able) and violent for the sake of a weak plot device.

At the end of this massacre, the villain shoots you to make it look like the CIA walked into Moscow airport and killed everyone - a ludicrous conceit. You are supposed to believe that the Russians would not know that the CIA had infiltrated the gang, or that the gang are all Russians anyway. The fact that four terrorists take on and kill 200 Russian SWAT is even more daft.

The following day Russia stages a full scale invasion of the USA and large land battles take place in a suburban town (for no real reason - or explanation) and on Capitol Hill/The White House. We are supposed to believe the Russians were so mad, they were able to stage a full scale assault on the US in retaliation. Where are China and Europe in all this? The Russians barely had enough troops to invade Georgia in 2008. What about the global condemnation that would follow. Would the rest of the world just stand by? How did all these 10,000s of paratroopers & tanks, and aircraft cross European airspace?

To solve the problem a special ops team kidnap a terrorist in Sao Paulo (not sure why), rescue a prisoner from a Russian Gulag, steal a Russian nuclear sub and launch its nuke into space. The ICBM is detonated over the US east coast to cause a EMP wave that causes all planes and helicopters to crash, as well as destroy the International Space Station.

With me so far?

The special ops team then hunt down the dissident to kill him. Some how doing this will end the full scale conflict that has taken over the world?

Opinion

It is all completely implausible.

I don't buy the argument it is just a game. IW have gone out of their way to set it in a contemporary setting. If it was a Fallout style twisted reality I would let it ride, but they set it up as a "what if".

The "what if" is based on the worst kind of soviet-era/communist aggressor tripe and lacking any historical context from the last 20 years. Worse, it is based on an enemy, and nation, who has never had the capability to do what they suggest. The major premise that a single out of context terrorist incident could cause a conflict on this scale is a leap even "24" writers would have trouble with. The single player plot is fictional garbage and neo-con scaremongering of the worst kind. The fact the plot is almost impossible to follow doesn't help either.

What MW2's story is, is a string of set pieces in locations the developers wanted to exploit for shock value. They often have no relationship to the story and lack any kind of logical cohesion. It is fiction, but it is ludicrous fiction. At least Tom Clancy based his tech-war writings on genuine facts and plausible events.

I am not the only one who finds it completely silly, I've read several reviews saying pretty much the same thing (see Charlie Brooker's and Eurogamer's reviews).

As for the scene in Moscow Airport, it is certainly one of the most violent things even done in a game. It doesn't offend me, but I did find it unnecessary and over-the-top (people crawling away bleeding to death and then being shot). As a plot device, it completely failed.

I do like many of the levels, taken in isolation, and I get that it is an action movie. However, the makers have gone out of their way to make it a "what if" story, and it deserves to be critiqued as such.

I'm sure the co-op and multiplayer will provide hours of entertainment, but the solo story in MW2 is a massive misstep, in my opinion, and belittles a lot of the ground breaking immersion that IW created in Call of Duty 1 and 2. Personally I found the story to be laughably preposterous and, at times, baffling, bloodthirsty and misjudged.

Big Daddy – Bioshock (Hi-Score Article)

2009-09-17T14:51:00.002+01:00

Big Daddy – Bioshock (my entry to the Hi-Score Top Ten Bad Guys)

The Big Daddy is the iconic image of the 2007 critical hit Bioshock. Whenever you think about your experiences of playing Bioshock, two images spring to mind: the creepy yet charming Little Sisters, and her ever present gargantuan guardian, the Big Daddy. Dressed in an armoured diving suite, with either a giant drill or grenade launcher grafted on to its body, the Big Daddy presents a formidable presence of size, strength and brutality.

The Big Daddy is, however, an unlikely “bad guy” because he isn’t all bad. His paternal nature means that he will completely ignore you -posing no threat- seemingly happy to lumber around escorting his Little Sister. Ultimately the Little Sisters are in the way of your goal in Rapture, and they carry the precious Adam that you must somehow obtain. Thus, reluctantly, you know you must take on and defeat the hulking brutes.

Regardless of the difficulty level played, the Big Daddy always offers a significant challenge. Each Big Daddy encounter is normally premised with fear and indecision. Taking down the armour plated guardian requires more than a little cunning to succeed. Big Daddy battles are often savage, violent and prolonged. Bioshock successfully makes you feel every punch, drill and thump from the Big Daddy – often sending you dramatically flying off your feet, or stunned on the spot. In defeat the Big Daddy continues to toy with your emotions. The morally good player is confronted with feelings of guilt and repentance; made worse by the cries of grief from the Little Sister for her now lost “Mr Bubbles”.

There have not been many games that have established such an iconic bad guy. Even fewer have established a character class so strong that, in itself, it is a metaphor for the game and world in which it is set. The Big Daddy is Bioshock. Plastered over the front of the game cover; shipped as an ornament in the special edition; and taking centre stage in the gruesome promotion video for Bioshock’s initial release. Bioshock 2 looks to be building its entire story with a Big Daddy as its central heroic character. I wait with bated breath to see if a promised Big Sister can match her paternal inspiration.

To read the other entries in the top 10, visit Hi-Score.co.uk...

Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits (DS)

2009-08-22T02:00:00.005+01:00

Originally written for The Gamer Scene (http://www.thegamerscene.com)

Guitar Hero On Tour, for the Nintendo DS, was a surprise worldwide hit in 2008 despite its mixed critical reception. Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits is the third instalment of the cramp-inducing series that comes complete with a handful of tweaks and a new “modern” set-list.

Guitar Hero On Tour is probably better described as “Plectrum Hero”, since the gameplay centres around the use of the custom four-button fret board device that plugs into the DS Slot 2 (sorry DSi owners, no rock for you!), and a large plectrum stylus. The mechanics are fully translated from the plastic guitar version. The only difference being that the board has only 4 tracks of notes, and you strum on the touch screen using the plectrum stylus. Star Power, activated by shouting into the microphone, and Whammy effects are all present just as before.

Modern Hits makes no amendments to the series’ tried and tested gameplay, and it’s still the same heady mix of “Wow! this really works” and “Oow! This really hurts!” Strumming the plectrum on the virtual strings, and holding the frets, is enjoyable and feels strangely satisfying. The problem is you have to hold the DS very still in an uncomfortable portrait position. If you rock-out for anything more than 30 minutes at a time, it induces a painful cramp in your wrist and fingers. You will also constantly find yourself adjusting your grip or even propping the DS on a convenient shelf – a beer belly in my case.

The presentation is what you would expect from Guitar Hero. You get the usual whimsical 3D animations of the franchise characters, such as Clive Wilson and Judy Nails, performing on crazy virtual stages around the world. The sound, however, is heavily compressed to fit onto the DS cartridge. If you are not are wearing headphones the music will sound tinny and flat – not ideal for a rock music game.

Structurally Modern Hits is pretty much the same as the previous two installments. There are some cosmetic changes to menu layout and new replay challenges for each song you unlock. Modern Hits, like the two previous games, is fully cross-compatible with other Guitar Hero On Tour games: so you can enjoy a multiplayer game with a friend even if you both have different versions. I have found this feature to be particularly useful for long train journeys with the wife or friends. The technology to stream the song from one DS to another, during gameplay, is seamless.

Guitar Hero On Tour: Modern Hits is fun in small bursts but, ultimately, rhythm music games like this are judged on the set-list they contain. Like most Guitar Hero games, you can enjoy playing the notes on certain songs even if you might not like the music itself. It really is up to you to decide if these songs make you want to wield your inner plectrum, or “run to the hills”. (3/5)

Set-list:
12 Stones – “Adrenalin”
AFI – “Miss Murder”
Angels & Airwaves – “Call to Arms”
Atreyu – “Falling Down”
Black Tide – “Shockwave”
Coldplay – “Violet Hill”
Endeverafter – “I Wanna Be Your Man”
Evanescence – “Sweet Sacrifice”
Fall Out Boy – “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s An Arms Race”
Finger Eleven – “Paralyzer”
Foo Fighters – “All My Life”
Franz Ferdinand – “The Fallen”
Kaiser Chiefs – “Ruby”
Lenny Kravitz – “Where Are We Runnin’?”
Modest Mouse – “Dashboard”
Phantom Planet – “Do The Panic”
Sum 41 – “Still Waiting”
Tenacious D – “The Metal”
The Bravery – “Unconditional”
The Donnas – “What Do I Have to Do”
The Duke Spirit – “Lassoo”
The Fratellis – “Chelsea Dagger”
The Kooks – “Always Where I Need to Be”
The Offspring – “Half-Truism”
The Strokes – “Reptilia”
Weezer – “Everybody Get Dangerous”
Wolfmother – “Dimension”
Yellowcard – “Lights and Sounds”

L'Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers

2009-07-22T11:19:00.001+01:00

"A Nation of Shopkeepers" ("L'Angleterre est une nation de boutiquiers" is how Napoleon once famously described our fair isle (although it was probably first coined by Adam Smith). There are two topics of conversation that all British people are obsessed with: the weather, and “the price of fish”. Well, not just fish, anything and everything!

We have a culture that is always skewed towards cheapness over quality: from badly placed government IT contracts and infrastructure projects, to supermarket produce and hooky DVDs down the pub. This obsession also skews our retailers and high-streets.

Walk into any shop and 60-80% of the stock is “on-sale”, “on offer”, or “buy one get one free”. It’s like no one will buy anything unless they think they are getting a deal. But of course, the retailer has to make money, so products now must routinely carry a higher recommended retail price to make margin so that it can then be artificially discounted.

Listen to many UK-based gaming podcasts and you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only thing that matters is the price. With the exception of often sound consumer advice on FrugalGaming, I have become increasingly annoyed at complaints about the price of video games, in particular those on Xbox Live and the iPhone.

I think a lot of gamers fail to appreciate just how much it costs to create a game, even a fairly small one. The average Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 game costs £5-15m to create. That is a considerable investment for any company to make. Only half of all games made actually break even. In the beginning of Xbox Live Arcade titles were small ports of PC games that were produced for less than £100k and came in under 50MB. Today, Xbox Live Arcade games can be anything up to 500MB and costs between £100k and £1m to make: for example Braid is reported to have cost $200k.

Given the dramatic increase in the quality, size, value and cost of an Xbox Live Arcade titles isn’t it inevitable that the retail cost must increase. Given the 200-1000% increase in production costs, it would not be unexpected to see a similar increase in the purchase price? However, most games are today are either 800 or 1200 Microsoft Points: that a miserly increase of 50%, or just £3.40. Are we really trying to say that we are not prepared to pay an extra £3 for games that have the quality and production values of Battlefield 1943 or Braid, or would we rather stick to playing cheap thrill ports like Wik?

Incidentally, £3.40 buys you:

A pint of beer and some peanuts

A fish pie ready meal

A copy of the TV Times

A Venti Skinny Latte

The iPhone has revolutionised handheld gaming, and has created a new wave of “bedroom” indie games developers. The App Store provides an opportunity for games developers to produce small, cheap games that can be enjoyed by the masses. Prices range from 59p to £5.99, with most games selling for between £1 and £3. Considering the more expensive studio games, such as Tiger Woods, it still seems incredible value when compared to the cost of the same game on a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP (£25+). Yet, I still hear complaints about the pricing!

So what is the underlying problem here? Is it because these games have no physical media, and so therefore our perceived value of the product is less, even if the game may be identical to a physical version of greater cost? Probably.

Maybe it is the method of pricing that is the issue? 1200 sounds like a lot of money compared to 800. But £10.20 doesn’t sound like a huge amount of money; after all it’s the price of the average movie DVD?

Activision recently announced that their premium titles would carry and premium price. Not totally unexpected. Modern Warfare 2 is likely to be the best selling game of the year, but also one of the most expensive games ever produced. The publisher’s margins will also have been squeezed by the dramatic increase in the popularity of game rentals and trading that become a feature of this generation.

Whilst the timing of this price increase seems opportunistic, I have felt for some time that the impact of game trading and rental, on the scale we are seeing today, can only ever result in forcing prices up. A similar thing occurred in the early 90s when rampant piracy on the Commodore Amiga saw the price of games increase twofold in a couple of years. Video Games cost a lot of money to make, and the main means of returning a profit is to sell disks. If the disk is being resold or rented then you aren’t making money on that.

The issue of retail price is further exaggerated in the UK by our obsession with “getting a deal”. I can’t remember the last time I actually paid RRP (recommended retail price) for a game, even on pre-order. There is almost an unwritten rule that all games bought online or on the high-street carry a 20% discount!

I have a feeling we are heading towards a very uncomfortable future. Retail copies of games are likely to continue to increase in price in an effort to claw back revenue lost to trading and rental. The publishers are keen to get their games distributed online, but that carries the burden of massive IT infrastructure; discrimination against those gamers who are not online; or who can only “trade purchase”; and the aforementioned perception that download games are overpriced or lower value.

Microsoft are due to launch their own On-Demand service soon. It is the future, but I can already hear the complaints from British podcasters; I might just have to take a 3 month holiday when it arrives!

An Elixir for Success

2009-03-03T11:57:00.003Z

I recently recorded an episode of the Big Red Potion podcast (http://bigredpotion.com) with StridentUK (blog writer for the Cranky Gamers) and the show's host Shoinan a.k.a Sinan Kubba (writer for TheGameReviews and EGC Games). In the show we discussed the often tricky subject of Sony's relative demise. I say relative, because any product that sells 20 million units cannot be considered a failure.

I personally found it a very rewarding discussion and one which I think video game enthusiasts would have thought about themselves over the last 18 months. It did however get me wondering just how important our opinions are to the wider world? I certainly have influence over the buying decisions of friends and relatives; that could account for maybe 20 sales. I have been known to dish out advice to strangers in a store if I think they are getting bad advice (I once sold a Mac to someone in PC World!); so that could influence another half a dozen people. Would they pass on my views and advice? Possibly. But it would have increasingly less impact.

I guess what I am mulling over is how much influence do gaming enthusiasts have over the general console buying public? My conclusion is actually very little. Movie critics have very little impact on what films make it to number one, and similarly, gaming enthusiasts can only ever hope to influence each other.

Anyway, listen to the podcast and leave feedback for Sinan on iTunes and his blog. It was a pleasure to record the show and I hope you enjoy it.

http://shoinan.com/2009/03/02/big-red-potion-episode-4-how-to-sell-a-ps3/

Review: My Horse and Me 2 (Xbox 360)

2009-02-14T01:04:00.003Z

Full Review on Cranky Gamers UK

My Horse and Me 2 turns out to be a rather enjoyable, if simplistic, sports game. Essentially it is a “Three Day Eventing” simulator (Dressage, Show-jumping, Cross Country) with various horse grooming mini games thrown into the mix. Despite being clearly aimed at young girls, My Horse and Me 2 avoids many of the usual female social stereotypes. It is only the unintentionally funny cutscenes and sugary presentation that illustrate you’re playing something aimed at a specific gender.

(3/5)

Reviews Round-up Part 5

2009-01-09T21:20:00.002Z

Motorstorm 2: Pacific Rift (PS3)

Motorstorm is back, and this time it has taken the cyberpunk off-road racing even further and set the entire game on a volcanic pacific island. The setting provides Motorstorm with much needed variety in both the track environments and design: from long beaches and lava tubes, to jungle tracks and mountain top observatories. Races are grouped by location and race type, making progression less linear and more interesting. Online, you can race with up to 12 other suicidal petrol heads. Motorstorm 2 is loud, brash and loads of fun.

(4/5)

Mirror’s Edge (PS3)

Mirror’s Edge proved to be a revelation. Despite my dislike of the first person shooter genere, and especially first person precision jumping, I found the game to be exhilarating and rewarding. The first person free-running is brilliantly implemented, and the stark environments spectacularly convey the corporatocracy (a government dominated by corporate influence) in which the game is set. Despite a number of flaws, such as the forced combat and weak story-telling, Mirror’s Edge manages to balance frustration with fun, and difficulty with well thought out puzzles.

(5/5)

Little Big Planet (PS3)

Little Big Planet is both revolutionary and old fashioned in equal measure. Essentially it is a 2D platform game construction set. But such a description doesn’t do the game justice when you consider the sheer scope available to players and creators alike. With thousands of user created levels already in existence and the impossibly cute Sackboy, Little Big Planet should have something for everyone. Unfortunately, it is not a flawless experience: the floaty jumping never feels right and restricted number of retries make the gameplay more frustrating and difficult than it should be. However, Little Big Planet is a contemporary classic and many hours of fun can be had both playing and creating levels.

(5/5)

Reviews Round-up Part 4

2009-01-09T21:19:00.003Z

Fable II (Xbox 360)

Fable II is best described as an adventure game with RPG features, rather than a full-bodied RPG. Lionhead Studios have managed to create a wonderfully rich world to explore, and written a half decent story too. However, the real stand-out feature of Fable II is the way in which the game makes you really care for your Hero and dog companion. Very few games have managed to achieve such emotional depth. It elevates Fable II to be one of the best games of 2008.

(5/5)

CSI-Hard Evidence (Xbox 360)

CSI features five murders where you play the lead role in the criminal investigation. The gameplay involves examining the crime scenes for clues, interviewing suspects, and gathering evidence to get a conviction. The game is entertaining and well conceived. The only real drawbacks are the rather clunky controls (ported from the Wii/PC) and lack of replayability - unless you want to search for all the cockroaches!

Full Review

(3/5)

LEGO Batman (Xbox 360)

LEGO Batman follows on from LEGO StarWars and LEGO Indiana Jones and brings together Batman, Robin and an assortment of villains from the DC comics. The big difference this time is that the story and characterisations are all new and not taken directly from an existing film. LEGO Batman has huge number of different characters and puzzle solving special moves. But it is a case of less is more as you find yourself constantly swapping characters or abilities. Odd design decisions, such as the instant deaths in the hub world and recycled levels from LEGO StarWars, do spoil an otherwise enjoyable game.

Full Review

(3/5)

The Bourne Conspiracy (Xbox 360)

The Bourne Conspiracy is one of the best movie tie-ins of recent years and features cracking mêlée combat and great pacing. The destructible environments add a layer of texture and sadistic enjoyment to the gameplay and elevate it above the norm. The Bourne Conspiracy also successfully adds further back story to the movie/books, whilst not bogging itself down in lengthy cut-scenes or dialog. The Bourne Conspiracy is a hidden gem and not just another mediocre movie-licensed game.

Full Review

(5/5)

The Force Unleashed (Xbox 360)

The Force Unleashed attempts to establish another story arc and character to the StarWars universe, in the form of Vader’s apprentice. Unfortunately, although the story is interesting, the gameplay and force powers are not. Essentially a God of War clone, The Force Unleashed suffers from poor level design and lacklustre combat that never really manages to be anything other than competent. There were better sword-based action games last year, such as Viking: Battle for Asgard.

(3/5)

Reviews Round-up Part 3

2009-01-09T21:17:00.002Z

Banjo-Kazooie (Xbox 360)

Banjo-Kazooie is a flawless port of the N64 original and my favourite game of all time. On the surface it looks like any other 3D platform game from the period. But the cute characters and squeaky voices mask superb level design, balanced difficulty, and sharp dialog. The conversion to the Xbox Live Arcade comes complete with generous achievements and new hidden secrets. A must buy.

(5/5)

A Kingdom for Keflings (Xbox 360)

A Kingdom for Keflings is a city building game in which your giant New Xbox Experience avatar has a very hands-on role. The highly addictive gameplay focuses on resource collection tasks that are assigned to the little Kefling residents; your the ultimate goal being to complete the construction of the city and its castle. Kingdom for Keflings is simple, yet original, rewarding, and fun.

(5/5)

SceneIt? BOS! (Xbox 360)

SceneIt? Box Office Smash is the second instalment of the Buzz (PS3) beating movie trivia quiz game. Box Office smash includes much better localisation than the previous game: with UK questions and British voice-over talent. The Big Button Controller is easy to use and mixture of questions and puzzles can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in movies.

(Game 4/5, Peripheral 5/5)

Gears of War 2 (Xbox 360)

Marcus and Dom are back, and Gears is bigger and better than before. Gears of War helped define this generation of consoles, and the sequel improves on the original in almost every way. The action is grander, the 3rd person combat is refined, and the environments are varied and beautiful. The addition of the cooperative Horde mode, where you face waves of enemies, and excellent multiplayer maps, make Gears 2 the most complete shooter available.

(5/5)

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360)

Fallout 3 promised much but is held back by the dreariness of the game’s post-apocalyptic setting, and some questionable design choices. Essentially, Fallout 3 is a large open-world RPG where your actions have real consequence in the world. Key side-quest provide the opportunity to fundamentally change your character and the quests that you follow. A unique timed aiming system, called VATS, helps root the combat in solid RPG mechanics, but it is often overly constrained resulting in unnecessarily frantic encounters. Recycled side quests from Oblivion and a confusing mapping system further diminish the experience. Fallout 3 could have been great, but instead it is disappointingly mundane and difficult to enjoy.

(3/5)

Reviews Round-up Part 2

2009-01-09T21:15:00.003Z

Rock Band 2 (Xbox 360)

At first glance Rock Band 2 doesn't appear any different to Rock Band. Dig a bit deeper and you start to uncover an improved playlist and better game structure. Your Band can now be played in the Tour mode, even if you are the only player. You can also swap instruments and take the Band online. New challenges and additions to the Tour mode complete the perfect package. Just make sure you buy the Guitar Hero instruments instead, which are far superior to the Rock Band peripherals.

(Game 5/5, Peripherals 3/5)

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 (Xbox 360)

It's another Tiger Woods game, which means it's the same solid game as last year, but with a few additions. This year's biggest change is the introduction of simultaneous online play: instead of everyone taking their shots in turn, each player takes their shots in their own time; whilst coloured ball-paths show the other players' progress. If you like to play Tiger with friends then the changes really improve the experience and make for a quicker, more enjoyable game.

(4/5)

MONOPOLY (Xbox 360)

This version of the classic game features a number of alternative boards: from the 'Here and Now' edition to Cheese(!); and a new faster variation that incorporates Mario-Party style mini-games. Sadly the game seems to be optimised for the Wii version, making the point-and-click interface awkward on the Xbox 360 control sticks. Monopoly would have possibly been better suited to the Xbox Live Arcade, but it is still a decent package and saves you loosing the houses down the back of the sofa.

(3/5)

Dash of Destruction (Xbox 360)

Do you like easy Achievements? Do you like games for free? Dash of Destruction is a sponsored game involving pizza...sorry, I mean "Doritos" delivery vans and killer dinosaurs. Disposable and short, it is still more fun than some of the paid for content on the Xbox Live Arcade.

(3/5)

Full Auto (Xbox 360)

Full Auto was part of the handful of titles that came out just after the Xbox 360 launched. Essentially a combat racing game, it has more in common with Mario Kart than its contemporary Californian landscape suggests. The main problem with Full Auto is that it uses extreme AI rubber-banding (handicapping the leader) to ensure that the action is maintained in condensed field of cars - which is partly necessary because the weapons are so underpowered. Full Auto is mildly amusing, but dated and flawed.

(2/5)

Reviews Round-up Part 1

2009-01-09T21:10:00.005Z

I had a backlog of games that I played over the autumn period and had not yet published a review for. So here, in 100 words or less, are the reviews.

Guitar Hero World Tour (Xbox 360)

Guitar Hero continues to evolve along the path laid down in "III" and "Aerosmith". The inclusion of the overly complex music creator and “note-strings” don't really add much to the overall experience. The new peripherals, however, are the best yet and should be purchased for use in Rock Band 2 too. Guitar Hero’s core gameplay is still a whole lot of fun when the playlist throws up songs that you enjoy.

(Game 4/5, Peripherals 5/5)

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (Xbox 360)

A sequel to Banjo Tooie was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait. Nuts & Bolts cleverly integrates Lego style vehicle construction with entertaining mini-games complete with gaming satire. Nuts & Bolts doesn't hold the player by the hand, but it does offer huge depth and enjoyment for those willing to invest time in the vehicle editor. The silly multiplayer mini-games, and originality of everyone’s vehicle designs, make the online experience a real hoot.

(5/5)

Prince of Persia (Xbox 360)

A beautiful cell shaded look and interesting new direction fail to mask the inadequacies of the gameplay, script and design. Clearly using the same engine as the equally mixed Assassins Creed, the acrobatic gameplay is marred by floaty imprecise controls that fail to engage the player. The combat isn’t much better with little to communicate actions and an awkward block-&-parry system. The story and characters are shoehorned into the semi-open-world and fail to convey any sense of a "Persian" setting. The biggest crime, however, is the prince himself who has become a dislikeable jock with all the charisma and charm of a fight in a kebab shop.

(2/5)

Lips (Xbox 360)

Lips' brilliant wireless microphones and interesting party mini-games are not enough to unseat Singstar (PS3) as the king of the Karaoke game. Interestingly, for a music game, the background menu music is appallingly twee and inappropriate. If you don't own Singstar it is worth a look, otherwise stick to the best.

(Game 3/5, Peripherals 5/5)

Fun iPhone Games For the Holidays (CGUK)

2008-12-20T12:25:00.002Z

I've posted a small article on the Cranky Gamers UK blog (bit.ly/7lKP) about some great iPhone games to try out this Christmas.

The most addictive of these games was Monopoly - Here and Now. The game is so quick and easy to play on the touch screen. It looks great too and you can listen to your own music or podcast while playing.

The best games of 2008 that most people played

2008-12-16T17:49:00.005Z

The following list contains my favorite games of 2008 for each of the usual gaming categories.

Best Vehicle Game = Burnout Paradise put the fun back into driving games. We may have lost the crash mode, but the open world and numerous challenges more than made up for it. Worthy of a mention is GRID, which turned out to be a very enjoyable track racer with amazing presentation.

Best Shooter = Gears of War 2 is the "Burnout" of shooters: it perfectly balances action, fun and difficulty. Bold and brash, and this time with a decent plot. Gears 2's fantastic set pieces make it is the closest thing to an action movie you can get. The Horde and Online modes complete the package.

Best Action Game = The Bourne Conspiracy was the surprise of 2008 for me. It brilliantly captured the spirit of the books and films. It looked great too and has superb destruct able environments and frantic melee combat. Runners-up include Viking: Battle of Asgard, which combined huge battles with action RPG; and Mirror's Edge with its blend of style, free-running and sense of danger.

Best Open World Game = GTA IV really raised the bar in what can be achieved in an open world game. Many may lament the more serious tone, but the story and characters are some of the deepest created in a video game. It was just a shame the final acts dropped into an excessively darker tone.

Best Strategy Game = Civilization Revolution. No one thought it could be done, but Sid said he knew how. Both the DS and 360 versions are perfect strategy games for the console player. Short, intelligent, well designed and action packed. Anno 1701 on the DS completed a great year for handheld strategy games.

Best Party Game = Guitar Hero World Tour narrowly pips Rockband 1 & 2. World Tour is more accessible to new players, has better instruments, and has a more eclectic mix of music to suite all tastes. Singstar should also had a successful next-gen launch with its user-content videos.

Best Role Play Game = Lost Odyssey. For me RPGs live a die by the story. If the story doesn't engage with you then the game can become a grindfest. Thankfully, Lost Odyssey had a beautiful story woven with tragedy and humour. The world, characters and plot we perfectly in harmony though to the climatic and satisfying conclusion.

It has been a great year for RPGs: Fable II was a wonderful experience, particularly the quality of its presentation and gameplay; Final Fantasy IV was a fantastic DS update of a fine JRPG. Unfortunately Fallout 3 was less successful. It suffered from some questionable "dungeon" design, poor character animation, and recycled side quests.

Best Sports/Casual Game = FIFA Street 3 might be an unusual choice for some. But FIFA Street 3 put the fun back into football games that have become increasingly dull the more realistic they become. Exaggerated character models, tight controls and a funky soundtrack made this a whole lot of fun to play.

Best Multiplayer Game = Burnout Paradise. A Ninja Fat Pigeon gaming favourite. The online co-op challenges are the real highlight of a great game - played with 3-8 mates it is timeless fun. Some of the best gaming nights I have ever played were with Burnout Paradise.

Best Download Game (Xbox Live Arcade, PSN or Wiiware) = Geometry Wars 2 – bigger, better and with even more compulsion to beat your scores. Other notable downloadable games include A Kingdom for Keflings and Elefunk: both of which offer something different and constructive. I personally loved Ticket to Ride too. It was just a shame you have to buy it three times to get the full game.

Best Microsoft Platform Exclusive Game (Xbox 360 or PC) = Lost Odyssey. The year's best RPG and a 360 exclusive to boot. Runners-up include: Fable II, Gears of War 2, Viva Pinata Trouble in Paradise and Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts.

Best Sony Platform Exclusive (PS3 or PSP) = Little Big Planet might have dodgy controls and an underwhelming single player experience, but the level creator and on-line co-op are genius. The YouTube of video games really is revolutionary. Runners-up include: Elefunk, Motorstorm 2 and Wipeout HD.

Best Nintendo Platform Exclusive (Wii or DS) = Professor Layton and the Curious Village is one of the most original and fun game for years. Great art, story and puzzles. A must buy! Also worthy was Anno 1701 – Dawn of Discovery (DS). Based on the long running German PC game series (don't let that put you off) this is one of the most polished and rewarding god games, and best of all it fits in the palm of your hand. Graphics are good, sound and music are excellent, gameplay top notch, and stylus control is perfect.

Best Graphics in a Game = Gears of War 2. Step back an look at the incredible attention to detail lavished in the environments. From full rendered drip trails on the windows, to unbelievable underground worlds and huge vistas. It is breathtaking. Runners-up: Fable II, Dead Space, and Lost Odyssey.

Best Music/Sound in a Game = Dead Space brings all the audio tricks from Alien and the Thing to create one of the most atmospheric games of recent years. Play in the dark if you dare. Runners-up: Fable II, GTA IV, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, and The World Ends with You.

Best Story in a Game = Lost Odyssey had a beautiful story woven with tragedy and humour. GTA IV featured fully fleshed out characters, a very real and human story, and a real sense of time and place. So it is a shame that the last few acts tarnish it. Professor Layton and the Curious Village added a great story to the puzzles and comic book art.

Biggest Waste of Money = Rainbow Six Vegas 2 was an almighty let down. One of the best strategic shooters was reduced to a damp Call of Duty 4 wannabe. The best bits were taken out and all sense of drama was lost. Even the multiplayer mode had become tired. Mercenaries 2 (terrible voice acting and weak gameplay) and A-Train (impossible to win) came a very close second.

Game of the Year = Burnout Paradise is a landmark game in many ways. It's innovative co-op challenges and drop-in/out world set a new standard for online play. It was also tonnes of fun with friends and great value. The continuous stream of free DLC updates was the icing on the cake.

The best games of 2008 I won't be playing

2008-12-11T16:38:00.001Z

1. Left 4 Dead

I don't know what it is, but I have never enjoyed a Valve game. I don't include Portal in the mix, as it was developed by another team, just the Half Lifes and now Left 4 Dead. I find them to be rather sterile and unsatisfactory. Their games often feature design decisions that baffle me. Left 4 Dead is a case in point: It's loose controls and twitch mechanics feel like something from 10 years ago. If it wasn't for the Zombies - another overrated cliché - I really don't think it would get the critical acclaim is has.

2. Call of Duty - World at War

I'm so done with Call of Duty games. The series' obsession with war glamorisation, in all its gruesome violence, is bordering on outright vulgarity. The message in the original Call of Duty - and to a certain extent Modern Warfare - is completely lost on the masses of teenagers gleefully murdering each other in multiplayer areas.

3. Resistance 2

The first game was mediocre at best. The flagship shooter on the PS3 for many months, it was carried on the shoulders of fanboys to a height the sequel could never match. Essentially more of the same, it has been interesting to see how PS3 owners have been more critical and less forgiving second time around.

4. Animal Crossing - City Folk

Nintendo is establishing a reputation for releasing very flimsy sequels to much loved franchises. Mario Kart Wii and Super Smash Bros Brawl were sequels barely distinguishable from their predecessors. Animal Crossing - City Folk is its predecessor: a port of a DS game, ported from the Gamecube, ported from the N64. Any good will for Nintendo's Wii has all but vanished for the enthusiast gamer now.

5. Mercenaries 2 - World in Flames

I purchased Mercs 2 with good intensions. It looked like fun, people seemed to like it, and it would fill the void left post GTA IV completion. Unfortunately it was a good awful mess with clumsy controls, terrible dialog and a poor game structure. Two hours was enough to banish it to the back of the CD wallet for good.

The best games of 2008 you didn't play.

2008-12-10T22:42:00.001Z

The best games of 2008 you didn't play.

1. The Bourne Conspiracy. (PS/360)

The Bourne Conspiracy was one of the best movie tie-ins of recent years. It features cracking melée combat and great pacing. It also adds further back story to the movie/books.

2. Viking: Battle For Asgard (PS/360)

A proper game based on Norse mythology, and from the talents at Creative Assembly. Huge battles & satisfying combat blend with an interesting story and an enticing game world. One of the best action RPGs this year. Take note Denis Dyack.

3. FIFA Street 3. (PS/360)

Poo poo'd by the sports game snobs, but Street actually put the fun and enjoyment back into a footie game. Over the top action and a comic book aethetics make this a genuine video game rather than a dull virtual sport.

4. Anno 1701. (DS)

One of the best strategy games series makes its way onto the little DS. Plenty of depth and charm than make this the best "god" game this year. Fine music and graphics complete the package.

5. Elefunk. (PS3)

Get elephants across a ravine by building a bridge from wood, steel or rope. Sounds crazy but it is immense fun and challenging too. One of the best PSN titles.

Posted from my iPhone

Review: Age of Booty (X360)

2008-10-20T19:55:00.002+01:00

Developed by former Bungie developers, Booty is a real-time strategy game featuring customisable maps and pirate whimsy. Played with up to 8 other players, you control a single pirate ship and work together to capture a specific number of towns. Easy to pick up and tricky to master, Booty is a good edition to XBLA libary.

Co-operation and strategy are key elements needed to win each match: do you attack or defend? which town offers the best resources? Played with friends, Booty can be a lot of fun. Teams can coordinate who gets ship upgrades and who holds or attacks. Online, random players tend to
steal upgrades and double cross team mates. Depending on your view this could be a laugh or just plain annoying.

Offline there are 21 challenges to keep you going, with a less than satisfactory AI for company. However, the challenges do allow the player to learn the best strategies to use in the game and prepare you for life on the Live high seas. A map editor and Bungie like playlists complete the package.

4/5

Sent from my iPhone

Review: Viva Pinata - Trouble in Paradise (X360)

2008-10-20T19:22:00.003+01:00

The sequel to 2007's Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise makes enough tweaks and improvements to justify a new release: including structured challenges, an improved user interface and some novel co-op features.

Essentially a garden and zoo simulator, Viva Pinata requires players to develop a virtual garden to entice and breed cute Pinata creatures. The game employs a food chain so that you must carefully balance the plants and Pinatas in your garden to attract higher species. .

The cute visuals and jolly music mask what can be a very challenging and adult game. Later stages include garden vandals called "ruffians", who can ruin your best laid plans. Thankfully Trouble in Paradise includes a "just for fun" mode which removes some of the difficulty
and allows parents and children to develop gardens together.

5/5

Sent from my iPhone

Review: CSI - Hard Evidence (X360)

2008-10-20T16:26:00.003+01:00

Pros: Captures the spirit and cheese of the TV show; great for achievement boosting

Cons: Dialog is often ponderous (like the TV show!); voice acting can be really bad; bizarre use of the d-pad; long load times.

CSI - Hard Evidence is a good example of how not to port a PC game. Despite this, it is actually a compelling game with five interesting investigations to resolve.

Anyone who has seen the TV series will be familiar with the laughable context (forensics playing lead homicide detectives), plot misdirection, and over-acting that are hallmarks of the show. Thankfully, these elements have been successfully retained in the video game. Essentially
a point and click adventure, you are tasked with solving each crime by: performing investigations of the crime scene, collecting evidence and interviewing suspects - normally just asking them every question you can.

Each of the five crimes has been carefully constructed with a colourful set of characters and a plausible trail of evidence. Unfortunately, on each investigation you are accompanied by a sound-alike character from the Vegas show, who generally states the bleeding obvious and gets in the way. Other minor irritations include the mysterious unlocking of new evidence at certain points -something the show does- and occasionally long load times.

The presentation is adequate but the menu navigation is poorly implemented. The game is clearly a port from a PC title, and you often move a cursor around the screen using the analogue stick to select or identify objects - this in itself works just fine. However, for some bizarre reason you cannot use the cursor to select large menu icons on the same screen. Instead you have to use the unresponsive abomination of a d-pad that the 360 controller comes equipped with. It is often difficult to see which menu button is highlighted and you'll often select the wrong menu option.

Achievement collectors will enjoy the 200G reward for completing each investigation - which can take anything from 2-3 hours to complete. Fans of the show will also enjoy the opportunity to play out 5 new episodes. CSI - Hard Evidence actually provides a welcome change of pace and can be enjoyed in single sittings or small instalments. As a cheap purchase or rental it makes perfect sense for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

3/5

Review: The Bourne Conspiracy (X360)

2008-10-20T15:59:00.004+01:00

Pros: Feels like the movies; great combat; presentation; quality

Cons: Not much to do once the story has been completed; you need to like cut-scene events; driving level is a bit of a mess.

The Bourne Conspiracy is a character action game, based on the book & film series and is probably one of the best tie-ins since GoldenEye on the N64. High Moon studios have created quality product with superb presentation and production values that really gives you the feeling of playing Jason Bourne.

Released in the summer of 2008, the Bourne Conspiracy will probably have been overlooked by many, or rejected as another cheesy movie tie-in. It is a real shame as no game has captured the action film aesthetic as successfully as this. The game plays like a combination of "God of War" or "Conan" melee action and "Gears of War" cover-based firearm combat.

What really makes the game stand-out, however, is the use of destructible environments and finishing moves. Build up enough "adrenaline" and you can initiate a melee or gun finishing move. This often results in your character slamming the enemy into chairs, tables, windows, pipes or other scenery with spectacular results. You really feel like you are bashing the shit out of someone and making full use of the environment to hand. It is just awesome!

The presentation, music and level design is lifted straight from the movies and books. The quality of the presentation is top notch, and is supported by full THX 5.1 support. It 10 hours of play, I never encountered a single glitch or graphical anomaly.

The game carefully blends the present day story with assassination missions during Bourne's Treadstone years. These provide additional back-story, not found in the movies, and add to the Bourne universe. Not many games can claim to add something valuable to a movie or book
franchise, but The Bourne Conspiracy certainly does. If there is one criticism however, it is that the game can be completed (on easy) in under 10 hours. It doesn't offer much replay either, other than achievement collecting.

Such a high quality and enjoyable game should really have got more attention on release. Short? Yes. But also immensely satisfying and fun. Fans of the books or films will get even more from the game, and for them The Bourne Conspiracy should be a must buy.

A full demo, taken from one of the few escape missions in the game, can be found on XBL Marketplace and PSN.

5/5

Review: Lego Batman (X360)

2008-10-20T15:22:00.002+01:00

Pros: It's Batman; Lego characters are cute; the villains

Cons: Platforming hampered by camera; vehicle levels are poor; hub world has instant death; no online co-op; dodgy AI again!

Lego Batman continues with the same formula used in Lego Starwars and Lego Indy. It is the usual mixture of 3D platforming and item collecting -studs, mini-kits & red power bricks- that have been hallmarks of the series. Where Lego Batman does differ is that we now have an original story and context that is not based on existing movies alone. Lego Batman is an welcome addition to the family but ultimately highlights the usual complaints about the Lego titles.

The Lego games are really the last bastion of traditional 3D platforming left in the current generation of video game consoles. For that we should be truly thankful. However, the cracks are starting to show, and the issues in the previous Lego games have still not been addressed: poor camera, instant death jumps, screen tearing, and unpredictable AI are still here and just as
annoying as in the last 3 games.

The switch to an original story, based around the various movie, comic book and TV interpretations of Batman, works well. It has allowed the developers to include some interesting new gameplay mechanics, specifically with the villain characters (always the best characters in the Batman canon). It does, however, make this Lego game even more fragmented when playing through on Free Play (where you can use any characters). You often have to toggle through 20 different characters to find the one skill you need to unlock a
particular door or object.

The sound effects are lifted from previous Lego titles, and the music has been licensed from the Batman movies. The music blends well with the "Burton-sequel" level design aesthetics. This is also probably the best looking Lego game to date, with lots of cool next-gen water and smoke
effects thrown into the environments.

Lego Batman is a good game but it feels like it should be the last in the current Lego series. Whilst maintaining the fun and whimsy of the previous games, the gameplay mechanics are starting to become tiresome. Adding more skills and characters doesn't completely make up for the poor AI and often unfair level design that continue to be a problem. Wherever the Lego series goes next, it must reinvent and resolve these issues or risk undermining the
good will it has generated so far.

3/5

Review: Too Human (X360)

2008-09-02T16:34:00.002+01:00

Too Human is worth exploring if you have enjoyed action RPGs in the past, but you will have to look beyond flawed game mechanics and design.

Pros: Sci-Fi twist on Norse mythology; plenty of action
Cons: Broken RPG class & item system; no sense of empowerment; weak level design; many small annoyances; below par graphics and character design

Too Human attempts to blend elements from multiple video genres and concepts: including, Diablo, Halo, Devil May Cry, God of War, Legacy of Kane and Shadowman. However, for each neat idea that has been borrowed, there is flawed execution and questionable design decisions.

The combat is a very good example. The game is designed to mirror the point and click top-down PC RPGs, by using a twin stick mechanic where you point towards enemies to engage them. It is a nice idea, but you are actually left with a very loose feeling experience and limited camera control as the right stick usually assigned camera control in 3D games. Unfortunately the automatic camera doesn’t work too well so there can be some really frustrating moments. The lack of camera control also makes exploring the game world, for secrets and hidden items, needlessly tiresome.

Too Human features an extremely comprehensive item system with many nuances and customization options. However, again, the good idea is ruined by the game forcing you to use weapons within a level or two. You never, therefore, feel any benefit from the new item, as the enemies level up at exactly the same rate. Other RPGs and action RPGs successfully allow the player to use a powerful weapon - to give the feeling of awesomeness from the reward. Unfortunately, Too Human never lets you experience empowerment, and removes one of the key features that make action RPGs fun and satisfying.

Too Human also attempts to blend Sci-Fi with Norse mythology. It should be fantastic but it is less than successful. The narrative is clumsy and crude, whilst the characters are not established such that you feel anything for them. The Norse Mythology was so badly handled that I had to resort to Wikipedia to actually work out what was going on! The game ends with a rather limp cliffhanger too. So much for Dyack’s priority in storytelling?

The biggest problem with Too Human, by far, are the fundamental design issues; particularly the class system. On my play-through, I chose the Berserker class who’s strengths reside in combos and dual welding. However, these strengths are balanced with very weak ranged attack and no real defense. This would be fine except that nearly all the the game’s larger enemies and bosses require ranged attacks in order to expose their weak spots. Creating a game that plays to the strengths of some classes, but makes it almost impossible for others, is a serious oversight. It can make for some very long and tedious battles that could only be accomplished by the (fairly) penalty free reincarnation - provided you can put up with the 30 second death animation..clipping and all.

Every time I felt I was starting to enjoy my play-through of Too Human, another serious flaw would rob me of my enjoyment. Despite that, it is worth playing though the game to experience some of the better scripted moments and occasional sense of accomplishment. I did enjoy the game in places. If only it had another 12 months of development to fix some of the design flaws.

3/5

First Impressions: Guitar Hero - On Tour (DS)

2008-07-17T11:33:00.002+01:00

My copy of GH On Tour arrived this morning, and I am about 25% though the set list.

The Good
- It really is Guitar Hero! (see my photo)
- 3D Animation is very good for the DS
- Touch Screen controls
- Blow to activate Star Power
- New characters

The Bad
- The controller is slightly loose when plugged in
- It is a little awkward to see what is going on behind your strumming hand

The Ugly
- It takes a while to get a comfortable position
- You can only really play 5-6 songs without having to take rest

Telling Niko's Story

2008-05-17T10:39:00.002+01:00

Originally posted for the Cranky Gamers UK

About six months ago I wrote an article on why Bioshock was the most important game of this generation. In my opinion it was the first video game to successfully implement a genuine interactive narrative. Until that point, video games had relied on emulating cinematic techniques using non-interactive cutscenes to deliver the story. Even the mighty Metal Gear Solid, often lauded for its complex story and cinematic quality, relied on non-interactive methods: remember the codec!

The latest edition of the GTA series includes many new features: such as, multiplayer, improved combat and cutting-edge physics. But it has also subtly changed the way in which the narrative is delivered. You might not notice when you are playing, but the cut scenes only set-up each mission. Just like Bioshock, the real detail and plot are revealed through more interactive events - your relationships with other characters.

If you blast through the game without engaging in the relationships, by taking out friends and dating, you will only reveal a tiny proportion of Niko’s story. Like the “tapes” in Bioshock, exploration and interacting with the environment are just as important to the story as the cutscenes and missions themselves. Even after completing the game, you can find out more about Niko and the other characters, by continuing to socialise and interact with them; particularly Roman and Packie.

The current generation of video games are setting new standards for technology: such as graphics, physics and scope. But as someone who has played and thought about games for 25 years, the big change I have seen is the birth of a genuine interactive art form. One where the boundaries on non-interactive cinema no longer constrain the game design. I think we can look forward to games that don’t just deliver fun, but also emotional and thought provoking stories for those who seek it as they play.

Bioshock is the most important game of this generation

2008-04-25T20:43:00.007+01:00

Let me explain why.

For many years, video games have been seen as a childish pursuit, something the the “mainstream” looks down on as being immature and unworthy. It all feeds into the debate about whether a video game can be judged as an art form.

This point of view upsets me and degrades our hobby. We are constantly tarnished with accusations that all games involve killing and violence. Alright, so does Bioshock, but it is balanced with emotion and alternative play mechanics.

We all know this perception that we are all immature and blood thirsty morons is wrong. I’m pleased, in some small way, that consoles like the Wii & DS are starting to dispel this myth.

Back to Bioshock.... Every few years a game comes along that revolutionises the game design: Mario Brothers established platform gaming rules, Tomb Raider did the same for adventure gaming; Mario 64 shocked the gaming world with a virtual three dimensional world; Metal Gear Solid 2 pioneered cinematic story telling; and Grand Theft Auto III released the shackles of linear game design, creating a new sense of “exploration and fun”.

To this epic list, you should now add Bioshock.

When people look back in a few years time, it will be Bioshock that defines the key landmark in the current generation of video games. Not because of its gameplay, or how fun it is, but because it is the first game to establish video games as the fourth storytelling art form, after books, comics and film. The first video game that can be considered art. I shall try to explain why....

Until now, video games have used cinematic techniques to tell stories: through cut scenes, dialog, or flash backs. Metal Gear Solid 2 was the first game to establish many of the techniques we see used today in hit games like Uncharted, COD4, Halo 3 etc. All of these techniques, while original for video games, are borrowed from the cinema. The trend has been to make games more like movies, in order to tell a dramatic story.

Bioshock completely re-writes the rule book; rather than follow the established convention it has actually defined a new form of “interactive story telling” which no movie, game, book or comic has previously achieved. Bioshock has a genuine claim to present video games as a new art form.

Let me give you a definition of art: “Generally art is a (product of) human activity, made with the intention of stimulating the human senses as well as the human mind; by transmitting emotions and/or ideas.”

If you have played through this game, you would be hard pressed to say that it did not stir an emotional reaction when you decided the fate of a little sister, or when you discover the reasons for you linear actions.

At no time during the game are you spoon fed what to think (other than the “motivation” to move forward). In fact, the games power is in turning an established norm in video game design into a key part of the plot and narrative.

The story itself is not “watched” like a movie, or “read” like comic but interactively discovered and revealed through interaction and exploration. The audio diaries are cleverly distributed so that they reveal character stories and plot in reverse, or out of sync, so that you constantly question the motivations and wrestle with your own ideas. Anyone who has seen the film Memento will know what a powerful and unsettling experience that can be.

Finally, the subject matter itself: Ryan’s objectivist-dystopian city of Rapture; is an ingenious comment on the conventions established in modern video games. Once again, you are left to decide for yourself: Is Rapture was a flawed and evil concept? Or the unlucky result of a failed genius’ big idea. The developers leave hints to their opinions through the audio diaries, but ultimately the player makes up their own mind.

I’ve being reading and listening to the various “games of the year” awards that the internet is saturated with at this time of year. I’ve becoming increasingly cranky about the short-sighted views of some of the mass media, and one or two sites in particular (not this one I hasten to add). They all moan and complain about the reputation that video games has, and how it is not taken seriously. Now, when presented with the clearest evidence yet that we have reach a new high, they fail to see the significance and resort back to handing out awards to the best looking games, or the most recent, or (worse) the most hyped.

I felt I had to make this point because I probably won’t get a chance in the Cranky Gamer’s Xmas Podcast...plus I would probably go on, and on, like an intellectual idiot anyway.

I would be interested to know what other people think?

I am not talking about how “fun” Bioshock was (although it was a lot of fun), but how significant and important you think it will be in years to come?

[Orginally posted on www.crankygamersuk.com]

First Impressions: Wii Fit

2008-04-25T20:33:00.003+01:00

The first thing you notice is the weight. The board is heavy, solid and large. The build quality is excellent and the plastics are tough. 4AA batteries sit in the base, as does the WiFi sync button to hook it up to the Wii.

On starting the game you are asked to select a Mii, perform a balance test (something to do with posture) and then enter your age and height. Wii Fit then weighs you and gives you a BMI rating. Just to rub salt into the wound, your Mii then morphs comically according to your BMI. In my case this resulted in a humiliating and depressing expansion.

You are then asked to set your fitness goal -lowering the BMI in my case- and how long you want to set the goal for. The game then suggests the type of games to play and gives you a Wii Fit age; again, depressingly I was 20% over. At this point I was starting to see how Wii Fit works, it humiliates you into loosing weight…it certainly put me off my tea.

The two most interesting games I tried were Skiing (a balance game) and Jogging (aerobic). The Skiing was a lot of fun, whilst the Jogging worked a lot better than I thought. The Jogging doesn’t use the board. Instead you put the Wiimote in your back pocket and jog on the spot. On screen, your jogging Mii follows the trainer around a park filled with all your other Mii characters. Not only was it a good work-out (I did get out of breath), there was enough on screen to make it interesting too. Your fellow Mii’s wave and cheer you on, which improves ones mood a little after the depressing weigh-in.

Overall, I have actually been impressed with Wii Fit. My Wife has been looking forward to getting the game and gizmo for some time. Time will tell if it actually works or just becomes another peripheral collecting dust.

Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2008-04-21T18:56:00.005+01:00

HP OotP has all the right elements to be a great game but is let down
by a lack of imagination.

Pros: Hogwarts is fantastic; licenced music; voiced by some of the cast; cool analog stick spell casting

Cons: Dull quests; excessive treking; limited shortcuts; weak story integration

The opening 10 minutes of HP OotP contains all the good and bad things in the game. Your introduction to Hogwarts is breathtaking and the analog stick spell casting makes immediate sense. However, unless you've seen the film or read the book, the cut scenes do not tell the
story successfully. Worse, the tasks and quests have little to do with the novel's plot.

The game design is clearly inspired by Bully, but toned down in scope and difficulty. Exploring Hogwarts is initially enjoyable, and finding all its secrets proves to be fun. However, many tasks resort to you treking from one side of the school to the other for nothing more than greeting a new character. Shortcuts are provided but they are of limited use and never really reduce the time taken to traipse across Hogwarts for the 100th time.

The game clearly has great potential and the core elements are there. If EA can integrate the story into the game and reduce the pointless school treking, the next installment could be a real winner.

3/5

Review: Bladestorm

2008-04-18T20:49:00.004+01:00

Bladestorm successfully blends Japanese hack and slash with real time strategy.

Pros: Plenty of strategic options; unit variety; a great sense of scale;

Cons: Lack of variety; repetitive mission structure; some AI path finding issues; more historical inaccuracies than Braveheart.

Set against the Hundred Years War between England and France, Bladestorm is a curious game that defies categorising. Visually it is a marriage between Japanese style and western theme. The character models are pure Japanese fantasy, whilst the environments and settings recreate the castles and fortified towns of northern France. It is a curious blend but one that does work.

The simplistic story is revealed by completing various mercenary missions for either the French or English forces. Essentially, you use your mercenary avatar to control entire battlefield units and capture control points. You are able to issue command instructions and special attacks to your unit by holding down controller face buttons. Missions can be completed with the provided units, or you can hire and summon your own. There is not a great deal of variety and it soon becomes a little repetitive.

Occasionally you are required to follow key NPC characters to capture mission objectives or locations. The AI is often not quite up to the job of finding the path for the units to get to the destination. This can lead to some comedy moments when the NPC characters get stuck on walls or in bushes.

Bladestorm offers a unique game experience on the Xbox 360 and should appeal to fans of real time strategy and action role-play games. The blend of European setting and Japanese character design may put some people off, but they would be missing an enjoyable game.

3/5

Review: Singstar

2008-04-18T13:25:00.001+01:00

Singstar makes its way to the PS3 and introduces some revolutionary community features.

Pros: fun; excellent integrated community features; great online store; large selection of music DLC

Cons: limited initial play list; weaker rap mode; no online modes

Singstar has a long pedigree on the Playstation 2. The PS3 version expands the features to include both iTunes and YouTube like functionality. Singstar is one of the first PS3 games to make full use of both the Playstation Store and Playstation Eye. You can capture movie, audio and photo snapshots of your performances, and then upload them to share with friends and other players.

The core game remains unchanged from the previous generation. You might feel silly the first time you play Singstar's virtual karaoke but with a partner or friends it can be a whole lot of fun.

Singstar's excellent community features and integrated store really do showcase the potential of the Playstation 3. The game should be a welcome addition to any party.

5/5

Review: Burnout Paradise

2008-04-15T20:45:00.003+01:00

Burnout Paradise is the best game in the series, and possibly the best arcade driving experience on any console.

Pros: Fantastic city environment; seamless online; online co-op challenges; well balanced cars

Cons: Some bad EA Trax; EA servers; online racing is dull; single player can become repetitive; Sat Nav and map are hard to read.

No other game this year that has had me grinning from ear to ear so much. What Burnout Paradise's clever online experience exploits is the sheer fun to be found in completing silly challenges with a group of friends. Criterion have also managed to create the first seamless online system that allows players to drop in and out of a session without any disruption.

Paradise's brilliantly designed open city allows the player to explore, play and race at their leisure. The driving mechanics are classic Burnout: fast, frantic and with lots of power sliding. The framerate never falls and the sense of speed is without equal. Only minor niggles over the map and sound-track tarnish an otherwise perfect game.

There is something for everyone in Burnout Paradise. Petrol heads will love the seat of the pants racing, whilst puzzle solvers will enjoy the stunt and online co-op challenges.

5/5

PS3 and X360 versions played.

Review: Blue Dragon

2008-04-15T20:32:00.003+01:00

Blue Dragon is a quality role-play game that any fan of the genre will enjoy.

Pros: Simple mechanics; no random battles; great music;

Cons: Obsessive item hunting; difficulty spikes; tough bosses; unbalanced achievements; occasional framerate issues.

Along with Mistwalker's other Xbox 360 game -Lost Odyssey-, Blue Dragon gives the role-play game fan another interesting and fun adventure to experience. Filled with the usual assortment of dysfunctional teenagers, Blue Dragon looks like a clichéd title. However, there are enough

innovations to make it accessible to everyone.

One of Blue Dragon's best features is the inclusion of field enemies rather than random encounters. As your characters gain skills, you can actually avoid endless battles with weak enemies by beating them on touch - at the expense of some experience and energy. This saves a lot of time and tedious level grinding later in the game.

The presentation is consistently attractive with some sophisticated graphical effects and wonderful music. The colourful palette and cartoon characters help to make the game enjoyable for a western gamer. The robots enemies, in particular, are well designed and somewhat reminiscent of characters from Ratchet and Clank.

Blue Dragon is recommended for any role-play game fans. Gamers more orientated toward action games, may enjoy Blue Dragon because of the lack of random encounters too.

4/5

Review: Lost Odyssey

2008-04-15T19:17:00.007+01:00

Lost Odyssey is an exceptional title. It mixes a compelling story with a perfectly presented and balanced game.

Pros: Fantastic music and visuals; well defined characters; evenly paced; balanced battle system; novel ring system; level grinding is not necessary

Cons: Item hunting in scenery gets tiresome; one over dramatic scene; occasional long load times

I've never been a great fan of Japanese role-play games. However, Lost Odyssey hit every one of my gaming buttons. It features an engrossing story in an imaginative game world. The presentation is exceptional with a unique "Future-Medieval" art style and some wonderful music by Uemastu.

The usual JRPG teenage angst is replaced with more adult themes of death, love and loss. The characters are all interesting and appealing. And with the exception of one scene, the game deftly blends drama, tragedy and comedy. The writing is universally good and never descends into Eastenders like character changes.

If you have never played or enjoyed a JRPG in the past, then Lost Odyssey could be the gateway game for you. If you are a fan, then this is an essential purchase.

5/5

Xan's Gaming Electronica Selection

2008-04-11T13:26:00.002+01:00

Music to play games to...

First Impressions: Rainbow Six Vegas 2

2008-03-21T16:01:00.005Z

Rainbow Six Vegas 2 is a slightly disappointing sequel to one of the best games of 2006.

Vegas 2 lacks the polish and level design of its predecessor, with the first 3 acts consisting of narrow corridors in dull buildings. Some of the levels, like the Convention Centre, are constructed from multiple featureless rectangular objects and flat surfaces. The result is that Vegas 2 looks like a high-res version of a 5 year old game...quite frankly, it is ugly in places. The original Rainbow Six Vegas had much more variety and far superior level design to this. It makes me wonder if this game was developed by a different team?

The basic gameplay is still spot on, and T-Hunt is great. However, both are hampered the numerous technical issues and AI problems that did not effect the previous game. I lost count how many times the NPCs have got stuck or I have fallen through or clipped the scenery. What is it with Ubisoft at the moment? Do they not have a QA department?

The additional EXP stuff is neat, but it only unlocks all the same weapons we had in the previous game. That seems kind of pointless really? The revised achievements are well designed, equally rewarding players in Player and Ranked matches.

Unfortunately, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 feels rushed and unfinished. For me, this was a missed opportunity.

Review: Patapon (PSP)

2008-02-28T09:12:00.002Z

Pros: charming graphics, music and gameplay; original ideas; good value

Cons: repeated backtracking; unnecessary resource management; no in-level save; difficult in parts; occasionally confusing

Patapon follows on from last years quirky PSP title LocoRoco, in offering a fun, stylised and unforgettable experience. Sadly, Patapon is let down by some unwelcome backtracking, resource management and difficulty spikes.

The basic premise of Patapon is to progress your little army of units through a series of battles and boss fights by issuing instructions played out on a drum. Essentially a rhythm action game, you beat out different rhythms using the four face buttons on the PSP. These rhythms instruct the little army to move forward, attack, take cover or fall back.

For example: Square, Square, Circle, Square (pata, pata, pata, pon) sends the units forward; Triangle, Triangle, Square, Circle (chaka, chaka, pata, pon) makes them take cover.

A successfully timed instruction is greeted by singing Patapons, whilst a missed beat will cause them to get confused and expose them to danger. Chaining together successful rhythms will put the army into fever which powers-up their individual attacks.

Each level consists of hunting animals for food, attacking enemy units, or taking on a huge boss. There isn’t a great deal of variety other than in the art and boss attacks. The game feels artificially lengthened as you often have to repeat early levels several times to collect food and items required to continue. The hunting is particularly tedious as soon as you move forward the animals run away (tip: only use ranged units).

To add a little RPG to the mix, you can upgrade your unit’s weapons and armor, and earn new items from a singing tree (a whimsical trumpet playing mini-game). However, the game does a very poor job of explaining all these elements, particularly the backtracking, despite the frequent tips and messages displayed on the loading screens.

Visually Patapon is a treat. It may not push the hardware to the limits, but the abstract silhouettes and cute visual style are charming. Each of the different units is uniquely animated and expressive in their own way. The visuals are complemented by the music and sound effects, which are essential elements in a rhythm action game like this. The Patapon songs are certainly infectious, and you will find yourself humming them long after you have stopped playing.

The frequent backtracking, and often unforgiving difficulty, mean that the game represents good value if you have the patience to stick with it. Sadly it a difficult game to enjoy in a portable environment: there is no save game feature in the levels, and you obviously must have the headphones on. I tend to play the PSP on the train, where the lack of inh-level save means that I must either abandon a level or miss my stop.

There is genuine charm and enjoyment in tapping out the rhythms and watching the cute little army, but the game’s problems do hinder the overall experience. However, it is still a recommended purchase for anyone in the market for an original PSP title, but be aware it is addictive and frustrating in equal measure.

3/5

Review: FIFA Street 3 (X360)

2008-02-24T19:04:00.003Z

Underrated and unappreciated, FIFA Street 3 injects a sense of fun back into video game football.

Pros: well balanced teams and players; arcade controls; a glorious sense of fun; slick animations; superb music sound track

Cons: online plays slightly slower; most game modes designed for local multiplayer; product placement

Achievements: Fair - Easy

Each year both FIFA and ProEvo try their best to beat each other by adding more of everything: more controls; mode game modes; more realism; more menus! FIFA Street represents a move in the opposite direction with deconstructed fun and acrobatic gameplay at its heart. As a video game, FIFA Street 3 is a resounding success

Fundamentally, EA have taken the NBA Street Homecourt engine and applied it to the concepts you see in the Nike/Adidas football advertisements. To emphasis this new approach, the player models have been replaced with abstract caricature styling. Some of the more discerning football fans may not appreciate the change, but I think they are an interesting twist and add to the sense of fun.

ProEvo and FIFA’s annual battle has ensured that the games have become increasingly complex. ProEvo alone, has more than 17 different button combinations. What makes Street so refreshing is the adoption of gaming first principles - with well tuned, basic controls, a risk vs reward system (the Game-breaker), and perfect rock-paper-scissor balance (Tricksters > Enforcers > Strikers). The result is some of the best arcade sports fun I have enjoyed for a long time. Let me just say that I’ve played more FIFA Street in past last 3 days, that I’ve played ProEvo and FIFA in the past 3 years...that’s how good it is.

If you approach Street as a “football sim”, then you will undoubtedly hate it. However, if you come to it with an open mind and embrace the video game principles of building “trick combos” and exploiting the “game-breaker” power-up, it is loads of fun and very satisfying. I've read a few reviews and been surprised by some of the comments. In some cases I have felt that the reviewer has missed the point. It is not football sports game, but an arcade game that happens to use cartoon footballers and a ball. I don’t remember the same criticisms being leveled at Mario Strikers? However, this is essentially the same type of game. I can’t help feeling there is a degree of football snobbery when it comes to video games.

The team/character combinations are really quite clever with players are grouped into attribute sets like “Youngsters”, “Veterans” and “Speedsters”. Individually, the players are all balanced by a class system that effects the ability to shoot, pass, dash and tackle [from Enforcers and Defenders to Tricksters and Strikers].

I have read a few comments that is too difficult to tackle. Let me dispel that issue: it is no harder than ProEvo and FIFA, and in fact the “block-rather-than-slide” rule works just as well here. You also have to remember that this is essentially and arcade game about crazy skills rather than clod-hopping centre halfs. If you pick Enforcers in your team, the the tackling is lot easier and works just fine. It is all a question of optimising your team to your play style.

As well as the unusual art style, the music is also a revelation. The mix of European dance and Latin American beats is inspired and perfectly suits the game. When not completely engrossed in the action, it is is quite nice and just kick back and listen to the EA Trax - I don’t recall ever doing that in an EA game before.

FIFA Street 3 does come-up a little short with the options for the solo player. Most football games are always better enjoyed playing locally with friends. Three out the the four game modes in Street are specifically designed for local multiplayer. As a solo player you really only have the challenging career mode (I’ve racked up about 8 hours and I have just one tier left) or ‘Xbox Live’. ‘Xbox Live’ supports the same local multiplayer match modes (playground, normal, and game-breaker) but does play noticeable slower than a solo or local game. I expect this is to reduce the effects of lag in what is a very face paced game.

Overall, I’ve enjoyed playing FIFA Street 3 more than any football game for the past few years. The back-to-basics arcade controls and finely balanced gameplay really puts the fun back into video game football. Only the limited number of solo player options hinders its value and longevity.

8/10

Preview: Final Fantasy XII – Revenant Wings (DS)

2008-02-22T12:09:00.001Z

First off, I have never played FFXII. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to matter as the story kicks off after the events in the original game, and the characters (including Vaan) are all carefully introduced for new players.

The game is an original concept in the series. It cleverly merges a traditional RPG with real-time strategy (instead of the turn-based FF Tactics). Each member of your party is able to summon units (Espers) to fight along side them. It plays very much much Warcraft 3's heroes system, with each character fighting as well as controlling one group of units. The units themselves follow the standard RTS convention of three different types that all counter each other: Ranged > Flying > Melee; and Fire > Lightning > Earth > Water. In order to win each level, you must capture summoning points, and assemble your little army, before defeating the enemy forces. As you progress you can level-up to obtain new weapons, units (Espers), magic and abilities.

I'm about 20% of the way through the story (about 3 hours), which is excellent, witty and compelling. I've enjoyed the challenges presented so far, and the level design has been very interesting. What really amazes me is the quality of the dual-screen full motion video used in the cut scenes. The quality of the images and animation on the little DS screens is incredible. The levels are also highly detailed with some fantastic textures.

The only couple of niggles I have found so far is that it can get a bit chaotic on screen (like all RTSs do when it becomes a unit brawl) and the stealth missions are horrible.

I'll probably publish a full review when I get past 50%.

Preview: FIFA Street 3 (X360)

2008-02-22T11:51:00.002Z

My pre-order arrived, and I played the first 4 challenges on FIFA Street 3 last night. I have to say that I really like it.

EA have basically taken the NBA Street Homecourt engine and applied it to the concepts you see in a Nike/Adidas football advertisement. They have also thrown in abstract caricature styling and player models – which some folks will dislike, but I think they are an interesting twist.

Now I was a big fan of NBA Street Homecourt. I actually think the over-the-top acrobatics and simple arcade controls make for a better video game. It worked perfectly in Homecourt, and it works really well in FIFA Street.

If you approach this game as a “football sim”, then you will undoubtedly hate it. However, if you come to it with an open mind and embrace the “trick combos” and “gamebreaker” mechanics, it is a load of fun. I've read a few reviews and been surprised by some of the comments. In some cases I have felt that the reviewer has missed the point. It is not football sports game, but an arcade game that happens to use cartoon footballers and a ball.

I'll need to play it a lot more to see how much depth and longevity there is, but so far the 4 games I played were great fun. The team/character combinations are really quite clever (players are grouped into sets like “Youngsters”, “Veterans” and “Speedsters”) and I personally like the caricatures (- particularly Samuel Eto's which made me laugh!.

BTW: There is an achievement for scoring a hat-trick with Peter Crouch!

Review: Geometry Wars Galaxies (DS)

2008-02-20T09:24:00.003Z

Geometry Wars is perfectly suited to the DS and trumps Evolved in every way.

Pros: Great controls; many game variations; more enemy types; the drone and geoms are excellent additions; online leaderboards; music

Cons: Some slow down when the enemies number in 100s; later levels are really tough; best for daily play rather than long sessions

Xbox owners will already know the simple joy of Geometry Wars. Everyone else will have done well to avoid the many “rip-off” twin stick shooters that have emerged since. Now the Wii and DS get their very own full retail release of Geometry Wars Galaxies.

Were this just Geometry Wars Evolved, it would be a questionable purchase, but the game is some 100 times larger than Evolved with many planets, each representing one Geometry Wars grid. No two grids are the same, with virtually every conceivable parameter changed on each: from enemy types and patterns, to grid shape, number of lives and enemy AI.

The dual stick controls and mapped to the D-pad, for movement, and touch screen, for shooting. Basically you point on the lower screen in the direction you want to shoot. To assist you, the ship has a thin red “laser target” line coming out of the front so you can always orientate your hand to the ship. It works a treat.

Galaxies also introduces two new concepts. First is the Drone, a small orbiting partner to your ship, its logic and powers can be customised and levelled-up. For example, you can tailor the drone to protect you, attack at will, encircle you or collect items. The second innovation is the game's currency – the geoms – which must be collected after destroying enemies, and are used to unlock planets and the power-ups for your drone. The geoms fundamentally change your strategy: you now have to move the ship, not only to destroy the waves of enemies, but also to collect the geoms. It adds a further risk vs. reward mechanism into what is already an intense game, and it is a stroke of genius. The combination of the drone and geoms mean you can adjust your tactics depending on the grid.

The graphics and music are top quality, and perfectly suited to the DS. With the exception of some or the more fancy effects, the music and graphics are ported straight from the Xbox 360 version. Only when encountering the occasional framerate drop, when there are many enemies on screen, do the limitations of the hardware become noticeable.

Leaderboards made the Xbox version so addictive, and amazingly, they have made there way into the DS version too. When you start a new galaxy, you are prompted to download/upload the latest scores via the Nintendo WFC.

With dozens of grids, simple controls, online leaderboards, and a considerable challenge, Geometry Wars Galaxies is an excellent addition to anyone's DS library.

8/10

Review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)

2008-02-20T09:22:00.003Z

Uncharted lands on the PS3 with a bang as loud as Indiana Jones' whip.

Pros: Slick presentation and graphics; a cracking yarn; interesting lead character; great controls; achievements!

Cons: A little short; final boss is lame; some illogical paths; simple puzzles

Medals (Achievements): Fair

Very few games deliver on their early promise. Fewer still exceed it. Uncharted is one of those rare beasts that, right from the start, displays a quality of gameplay and presentation that supersedes any preconceptions or expectations. Uncharted looks amazing, sounds brilliant, has some excellent voice acting, and is complemented by an engrossing story.

Essentially, Uncharted is a new take on the Indiana Jones/Lara Croft action adventure that blends the classic puzzle solving and platforming with an exceptional third person shooter. Uncharted is more combat orientated than Lara's adventures, and more tactical in execution. You will need make extensive use of cover and conserve ammunition in order to progress through the story.

The game has a genuine sense of pace, with enemy encounters counterpointed with more laid-back problem solving, platforming or adrenaline fuelled vehicles sections, including a memorable journey up river-rapids on a jet-bike. At no point does any of this become repetitive or old, and it really helps to drive the story and adventure forward. If there is a slight criticism, it is that the puzzles can be a tad obvious, and some of the routes a little illogical. For instance, in once section you travel through enemy infested tombs, following a trail of puzzles and clues, only to end up back where you started from.

I completed a play-through on normal difficulty in about 11 hours, which would have been shorter were it not for the ridiculous last boss. The Medals (Achievements) add an incentive to replay the game and unlock all 1000 points.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is my PS3 game of 2007, and should be the first game you purchase when you pick up a new PS3. The breathtaking environments, story, gameplay, action and adventure, all add up to one great game.

5/5

Review: Football Manager Handheld 2008 (PSP)

2008-02-20T09:16:00.004Z

FMH 2008 for the PSP contains all the essential elements that make Football Manager such a great game.

Pros: Short load times; large database; less bloat than the PC/Mac version; good user interface

Cons: Can't compare players easily; challenging; buggy loan system

In writing this review, I will assume that the reader has at least played a “Football Manager” iteration before on the PC/Mac, Xbox or PSP.

I have been fan of the Sports Interactive series from the original Championship Manager through to the latest SEGA Football Manager. I purchased the Xbox 360 version last year, and the first PSP version the year before that. Essentially this is the same game again, although the 2008 hand-held edition does introduce some interesting new features as well as an up-to-date database.

The biggest change is the introduction of media handling, from the PC/Mac/Xbox, to the hand-held game. It adds an additional team and player dynamic that you must handle in addition to the formation and team squad management. On the whole it works pretty well, with players responding to media speculation and comments for better or worse.

Other changes include an overall of the user interface, which has resulted in a much more intuitive navigation through the use of the PSP shoulder buttons (back page and forward page). The text and button placement has also been improved for greater clarity on the PSP screen.

The game is as challenging, addictive and satisfying as ever. My success in promoting Darlington through two leagues was really engaging, and I found myself sitting in work meetings, planning the changes I was going to make in the game on the way home. Personally I find the PSP version to be a much leaner and superior game to the PC/Mac edition, which I find has become too complicated and convoluted. FMH 2008 just seems perfectly suited to short gameplay sessions on the train, bus or plane.

FMH 2008 is not without its faults. It would be nice to be able to compare players statistics without having to resort to Stato-like memory or scribbles on paper; the game can occasionally be totally unfair – particularly with injuries or bad luck – and can throw up some crazy results; and the loan system is broken, resulting on players staying on loan indefinitely with the loan recall not working.

If you are a fan of the series, and own a PSP, then you can't go far wrong with FMH 2008. Football Manager in your pocket has never been better.

8/10

Review: Assassins Creed (X360)

2008-02-19T09:52:00.003Z

Assassins Creed is a beautiful but flawed open world game, that leaves the player feeling both elated and annoyed in equal measure.

Pros: Beautiful environments; wonderful historic setting; free-running is fun; climbing is enjoyable; animations are superb; solid counter-based combat; assassinations are satisfying

Cons: Confused and confusing story with no coherent narrative; Sci-Fi feels tacked on; poor variety of missions; difficulty spikes; occasional control issues; flag missions are game breaking

Achievements: Fair

I managed to complete Assassins Creed in two separate play-throughs. I eventually completed the game following a break after hitting “the wall”, as described by many players, just after the first visit to Acre. I am glad I did eventually completed it, as I wanted to find out what was going on. It also cemented my view that Assassins Creed could have been a spectacular game if not for some curious design decisions and a lack of depth.

There is no question that Assassins Creed looks fantastic. The historic renditions of the middle east are truly breathtaking, especially when enjoyed from the many vantage points. One of the highlights of the game for me was simply climbing the tallest building and surveying the city scape beneath Altair's feet. Down in the city streets, the world feels alive with people engaging in various day-to-day activities. The whole sense of place would have been incredible if it were not for the cod-Sci-Fi intrusions that blight the landscape and take the player out the the exquisitely crafted world.

The actual assassinations themselves, when you reach them, provide a good intellectual challenge, and offer the player a number of strategies. Had Assassins Creed stuck to the cities and assassinations, this would have been a superb game along the same lines of Shadow of the Colossus.

However, Ubisoft tried to take the game one stage further by introducing side-quests and missions of questionable design & quality. Most ridiculous of which is the timed flag collecting mission. Never has the inclusion of a mini-game been so out of place, and been so successful at reminding the player that they are playing a by-the-numbers video game. A simulation of Medieval Jerusalem should not include Crackdown style timed collection missions- I'm sorry it is fucking stupid!

Finally, we have the completely unsatisfactory Sci-Fi sub-plot, which I will maintain was added late in the development. If you have completed the game, and found all the “clues” in the present, sit back and think about the game's story again. How much of the Medieval game had any relevance to the “future”,.....the answer is none until the very last chapter, and even then it is pretty tenuous. I am willing to bet a tidy sum that the game originally did not have any of the cod-Sci-Fi. In fact, previews as late as last August had none of the “DNA glitching”effects or reference to the sub-plot. From a story telling point of view, the game makes much more sense, and has better narrative cohesion, without the inclusion of the DNA memory stuff. I just don't understand why they felt the need to introduce it, unless it was to ensure they could engineer a sequel.

So, Assassins Creed: some people love it, others hate it. Personally, I found it to be a good and enjoyable game that suffers from some flawed concepts and crazy design decisions. I would definitely recommend the game to anyone, simply for the satisfying assassinations and recreation of a Medieval Middle East.

4/5

Review: Mass Effect (X360)

2008-02-19T09:47:00.003Z

Mass Effect merges an astonishingly good Sci-Fi story with some great characters to create a truly memorable RPG

Pros: Incredible story; engaging characters; excellent RPG elements; solid combat; Mako is pretty cool

Cons: Graphical defects: texture pop-up & slowdown; some strange UI decisions; lack of environment variety; Mako can also be annoying

Achievements: Fair

I completed my first 40 hour play through of Mass Effect some 2 months ago, and I am about 20 hours into my second. I feel I have had sufficient time to come down from the climatic emotional story conclusion to be able to write an decent retrospective review.

If you are someone who prefers to play a game in bite size chunks, and enjoy immediate action, then I would suggest Mass Effect is not for you. If you are an RPG fan, or a Sci-Fi nerd, then Mass Effect is nothing short of an essential purchase.

Mass Effect's faults are well documented, and to be honest no single problem effects the overall experience. Yes, it does have the worlds slowest elevators, but then who is in a hurry!? Yes, the Mako driving can get on your nerves, but then it can also be very cool. Yes, cash seems largely irrelevant, but then we are all loot hoarders at heart.

The sheer depth and quality of the world created by Bioware is breathtaking and provides a rich back story to the events played out in the game. The game's narrative is exquisitely controlled though the best dialogue system in a game yet, with outcomes directly driven from the responses you make. It may often seem a bit predicable, but the allegiance to Paragon or Renegade really does have an impact on the overall story and the interactions with your crew.

Essentially, Mass Effect is one of the best RPGs of recent years, and definitely the best RPG of 2007. Everyone should at least give Mass Effect a go; you never know, you might get engrossed too?

5/5

Review: Commanders - Attack of the Genos (XBLA)

2008-02-18T11:47:00.003Z

Commanders is a welcome addition to the strategy games currently available on XBLA.

Pros: Advanced Wars on XBLA; well balanced gameplay;

Cons: music is weak; limited camera; multiplayer needs to be fine tuned.

Achievements: Hard

Commanders is a turn-based strategy game in which you use military units to complete single player missions, AI battle maps or 2-4 player online matches. Essentially Commanders is a rip-off of Advance Wars (Nintendo DS), complete with mock-anime characters, cheesy dialog and rock-paper-scissor units. Normally, I would decry the lack of originality. However, the lack of decent strategy games on the Xbox 360 means that this title stands out and is a lot of fun to play.

There are some minor issues with the game. The maps are viewed from a top down perspective, and it is sometimes hard to get the right zoom and view that you need. The graphics themselves are fine, but the units do lack variety (only two sets of models) and some of the colour combinations can be confusing.

The overall presentation is good for an XBLA title, with only the repetitive music really standing out as a weak area. The menus, user interface and general aesthetic, a kind of art-deco, are all perfectly functional and legible.

The turn-based gameplay is spot on, and the missions (15) offer a fairly steep challenge for Advanced Wars veterans. The addition of 10 multiplayer maps, that can be played both on-line and off, is enough to get started with. If there is a slight criticism, the maps are sometimes a little too large for the unit movement distances.

Online, the matches can take a long time. I personally have experienced a couple of 3 hour games. You can limit the number of turns to 20 or 30, and I would recommend that you do this otherwise things can start to drag on a bit. Another tip to maximise your enjoyment is to turn off the fog-of-war. Although this might make things a little easier for experienced players, the fog can lead to a vary isolated experience as you cannot see what is going on between the other players, and miss out on the more humorous encounters that might occur.

Overall, Commanders is a solid turn-based strategy game and one deserving of every-one's attention.

8/10

Blog and Pod

2008-02-17T17:03:00.003Z

Today I've manage to squeeze a few games of Commanders - Attack of the Genos in, whilst also recording and editing the NFP podcast and uploading the last of my reviews to the blog. Hopefully next week I can start writing some new reviews for a change; probably starting with Commanders which is an excellent little game.

If you have not had a chance to try the demo I suggest you have a go. It might be an Advance Wars rip off but that is no bad thing.

Right, the podcast should be up in the next hour... www.ninjafatpigeons.me.uk

Review: Geon: Emotions (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:52:00.001Z

Geon: Emotions is a fun and challenging game that is perfectly suited to Xbox Live Arcade.

For: Looks good; fun game concept; cool grids
Against: More fun online; some grids are difficult to navigate

‘Geon: Emotions’ has the potential to be one of those XBLA games that appears, you try once and and move on. That would be a real pitt because it is actually a fun and challenging game that is perfectly suited to the Arcade. The easiest way to describe it is a combination of Pac-Man and Marble-Blast’s competitive mode.

You control a cube on a 3d grid. The object of the game is collect enough pills on your side of the grid to become “full” and then score a goal. To score the goal, you flip the grid over onto your opponents side and make your way to the centre, before your opponent uses any collectable power-ups to inflict damage on you - knocking some of your pills out and sending you back to your grid to collect more.

The twist is provided in the emotions mechanic. You can play as a cube representing certain emotions: envy, anger, bliss etc. The collectable power-ups are also emotion based, and using matched emotions doubles the effect. This feature introduces an additional layer of strategy such that you select an emotion and power up combo that suits your game-play tactics.

The presentation of Geon: Emotions is excellent, with suitably vivid colours and nice visual and audio effects.
The game has a number of puzzle and challenge modes as well as competitive online, which is where the game really shines.

If you enjoyed Marble Blast or Pac-Man Championship edition (another brilliant game overlooked) then I can highly recommend Geon: Emotions as a game that you will enjoy both on and off-line.

7/10

Review: Bomberman Live (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:50:00.003Z

Backbone have done a fantastic job in delivering the best Bomberman yet

For: It's Bomberman; brilliant 2-8 player online; range of gameplay options
Against: No team mode (rumours of a later update)

Virtually every console in the past 15 years has featured a Bomberman game, or clone, at some point. Some editions have been a lot better than others. Attempts have been made, and failed, to reinvent the franchise but what Bomberman really needed was the ability to play online.

Bomberman Live delivers and is the perfect update for the current generation of video gaming with excellent HD graphics, slick controls and perfect multiplayer gameplay.

Bomberman Live also represents fantastic value for money with multiple maps, modes and character models to keep everything fresh and interesting.

On downloading Bomberman Live last week I racked up over 10 hours solid - rare for an Arcade tile - in just a couple of days; such was the addictiveness and enjoyment in playing the game.

5/5

Review: Carcassonne (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:46:00.002Z

Carcassonne is a thoroughly enjoyable rendition of a classic German board game.

For: Simple rules; tense games; deep strategy; 6 player online; 4 player local
Against: Annoying music; random colour assignment

Carcassonne is best described as a cross between Dominos and Risk. The basic premise is to connect land tiles –containing dirt, paths, monasteries and grass- to form towns, roads and farms and earn points. The strategy is introduced in how you build your towns, roads or farms. You are provided with seven settlers that must be placed tactically to claim that feature. Settlers are released once the feature is claimed, but the limited number of units means that you have to carefully consider your options at every turn.

The simplicity of the game hides the depth of the strategy involved. Matches vs other human opponents can be thoroughly tense affairs with the result often decided on the last tile placement.

The board game graphics are visually appealing; although the text can be small in SD (you can adjust the HUD size). The music is suitably medieval but it is also very repetitive and will get on your nerves after a few games.

At 800M$ Carcassone is brilliant value for money – it is actually cheaper than the board game and does all the difficult maths for you! If you enjoyed Catan or Outpost Kaloki X then Carcassone should make a worthy addition to your XBLA strategy game collection.

5/5

Review: Band of Bugs (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:44:00.001Z

Band of Bugs is an enjoyable turn-based game that has more than its fair share of bugs!

For: Well executed turn-based strategy; decent campaign; multiplayer
Against: Several show stopping bugs; dodgy camera

Band of Bugs recalls classic turn-based games such as FF Tactics, Advance Wars or UFO Enemy Unknown. The combat is well balanced with a range of unit types and weapons, whilst the story and level designs are well conceived.

Graphically Band of Bugs does a workman like job, but does suffer from a slightly off centre isometric view that the 4 position camera doesn’t always improve. The “comic book” style characters and story are nicely presented with some appropriate music and sound effects.

Unfortunately, I have found multiple ways to crash the game - including viewing the leaderboard with more than 50 friends - which is unacceptable for a finished title.

Any new strategy games in XBLA are always welcome and, despite the “bugs” in Band of Bugs, it is a solid and enjoyable game.

7/10

Review: Pac-Man Championship Edition (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:43:00.002Z

Pac-Man Championship Edition is a brilliant retro-evolved title up there with JetPac and Geometry Wars

For: Great controls; dynamic mazes and effects; good HD visuals and music; lots of game modes
Against: Quite expensive; previous Pac-Mans will put some off

Achievements: Medium

I hate Pac-Man. I hated Pac-Man when I was 8 and now when I am 33. It has taken 25 years but I have finally played a version of Pac-Man that is fun, fast and enjoyable. In fact, if this game didn't have the iconic characters, more people would probably give it a try.

This is the first version of Pac-Man to be completely updated by the original creator. The big changes from the previous XBL Pac-Man games are: controls that work (including sparking), HD dynamic evolving mazes, and time limited score boards. The net effect is a totally different feel to the game with less focus on frantic navigation and more emphasis fruit collection and attacking the ghosts. It has much more in common with Geometry Wars or Jet Pac Refuelled than the original Pac-Man.

The HD graphics and sound make over is well done: retro enough, whilst including some nice new visual effects.

Pac-Man CE has 6 different game modes that vary in time length, maze behaviour (dark mazes!), speed and pill occurrence. Each mode feels different enough to warrant a separate mode and all are challenging but enjoyable. At 800M$, Pac-Man CE is a bit expensive, especially as it is the 3rd Pac-Man game on the platform, but it is by far the best, and one of the most immediate and fun games on XBLA.

9/10

Review: Catan (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:41:00.001Z

Catan is the perfect strategy game in a small package: challenging, fun and relaxing

Pros: superb strategy game; two attractive skins; decent AI
Cons: some may find it a bit slow; broken lobby; could do with camera support; broken achivements

Achievements: Medium

I have been waiting for Catan to be released for some time. As a keen game player, of both video and board games, the prospect of board game I could play online with friends was very appealing. Catan delivers on the promise and is a challenging, fun and relaxing way to spend some time with friends on XBLA.

The game plays like a simplified version of Civilization with elements of Risk mixed in. Four players battle for control of resources on the island of Catan in a race to become the first to achieve 10 victory points. Victory points can be gained in a variety of ways, which results in there being a number of competing strategies that can be employed to gain victory. The balance between the strategies is absolutely perfect.

The game's presentation is clean and refined, with some mellow music and a choice of graphical textures: classic board game or 3D World.

At 800M$ Catan is great value for money as there is hours of gameplay to be had, whether playing with friends, or vs the AI for achievements. Catan is the perfect strategy game in a small package: challenging, fun and relaxing.

9/10

Review: New Rally X (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:39:00.002Z

Pac-Man with cars is short-lived fun.

Gameplay: I must admit when I first played this game I hated it: it was Pac-Mac with cars and bigger mazes. After I discovered that smoke could be used to block the other cars, and that the achievements were easy, I decided to take the plunge and splashed the 400M$. Actually the gameplay is pretty addictive, and once you start getting rocks and fuel issues, quite challenging. You always want just one more go.

Graphics: As a retro game it is hard to rate, but the complete lack of any tweaks or improvements means it is below par.

Sound: As with the graphics, they could have at least given us some nice menu music or anything!

Value: The real problem with Rally X is that you can get to the “final” achievement level (16) in an hour or so. There are an infinite number of continues, so this is just an exercise in practice and perseverance. There is no multiplayer or additional content to unlock. The achievements are all very easy.

Tilt: I actually quite liked this game once I got into it. It became quite addictive in a way that Pac-Man never does. Must be all that smoke!

5/10

Review: Bankshot Billiards 2 (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:27:00.002Z

Bankshot Billiards 2 offers a variety of international pool game variations and trick shot mini games. Each shot can be set with power, spin, and cue angle like most snooker and pool simulations. The controls are fairly intuitive with the Right Trigger used to provide precision movement to the power, spin and angle.

The core pool game has pretty realistic physics although the cushion bounce variation (due to power) does seem a little exaggerated. You are limited to 3 views: top-down, behind and follow, but these function fine and you'll probably find yourself using the top-down the most, particularly on the trickshots and golf. There are three levels of player assistance so a complete pool novice should be able to pick-up and play.

The trick shots and golf provide the main puzzle element and challenge in the game. The trick shots allow you to see an example of the shot (pressing Back button) but the Golf requires you to puzzle out the best shot to get the balls down in under par. Both these games types will require you to master the spin, and angle shots.

The graphics are fine, with some nice light sourcing on the balls. The music, although limited, and sound effects are also appropriate and don't annoy you too much.

At 1200M$ this is one of the more expensive XBLA games, but it does offer quite good value considering the variety and number of game types and there are no "additional" packs to download so you get the whole game for 1200 (*edit* now 800M$).

Overall, Bankshot Billiards 2 is a solid XBLA game, proving a nice little diversion, and is better than most of the poor retro conversions currently available.

7/10

Review: Jetpac Refuelled (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:25:00.002Z

JetPac plays as well as it ever did, and the HD remix is both visual pleasing and faithful to the original.

Pros: It’s JetPac!; excellent remix version; fun and frantic gameplay; great sounds, graphics
Cons: difficult to make out enemies on some levels; weak multiplayer; hard
Achievements: Hard

7/10

Review: Eets: Chowdown (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:19:00.001Z

Eets: Chowdown is a quirky looking and fun puzzle game.

Pros: quirky visuals and style; puzzle gameplay; two game modes
Cons: visuals not everyone’s cup of tea; too many buttons to press
Achievements: Hard

7/10

Review: Pinball FX (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:17:00.002Z

Pinball FX looks and plays well, but is slightly let down by only having two decent tables.

Pros: nice HD tables; good recreation of pinball; vision-cam compatible
Cons: light balls; “extreme” table is weak; could do with a few more tables
Achievements: Medium

8/10

Review: Luxor 2 (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:16:00.001Z

An unwelcome and weaker version of Zuma; ...avoid.

Pros: Zuma style gameplay can be entertaining
Cons: 4:3 format; weak visuals; worse than Zuma.
Achievements: Hard

5/10

Review: Boom Boom Rocket (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:13:00.001Z

BB Rocket is a likeable rhythm action game that is initially diverting.

Pros: rhythm action game for the XBLA; nice fireworks; music display mode
Cons: limited set of songs; boring backgrounds; not even close to Guitar Hero
Achievements: Hard

6/10

Review: 3D Ultra MiniGolf (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:11:00.002Z

MiniGolf is a neat idea that is partially successful and includes a clever course designer.

Pros: welcome change from shooting; course designer; fun multiplayer

Cons: inconsistent putting physics; uneven difficulty

Achievements Rating: Medium

7/10

Review: Hardwood Spades (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:09:00.001Z

Hardwood Spades is a nice diversion and a better multiplayer card game than Hearts

Pros: cheap; strategic gameplay; nice multiplayer game

Cons: same music and gfx as Hearts and Backgammon; AI occasionally cheats

Achievements Rating: Hard

6/10

Reviews: Worms HD (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:07:00.002Z

Worms is probably the most anticipated XBLA game so far and has been the subject of numerous delays. Worms fans, like myself, have been left despondent every Wednesday that Worms wasn’t released since the game was announced in summer 2006. Now it is here does it deliver the same simple, but brilliant gameplay of old?

In short, it is a big YES. This is probably the best version of Worms since Worms 2 thanks to the addition of 4 player games over XBLA, crisp graphics, and value for money (it is only 800 M$).

The Worms turned base combat with a variety of crazy weapons is retained, as is the 2D cartoon style and sense of humour of the original game. As with pervious games you can create your own worm army (it checks for rude words when you play online!), and gameplay rules. You can battle friends or in ranked matches over XBLA. The game also features 20 single player levels, the last 4 of which are extremely difficult; especially with the AI sometimes having a supreme accuracy that renders all defence useless.

The XBLA version features a limited set of the Worms’ arsenal, including exploding sheep, air-strikes and the mighty dragon punch. However, the are some omissions, including the Holy Hand Grenade and old Woman, which suggests that a future DLC update will follow, or even a Worms 2.

The 2D gfx are crisp and cute, whilst the 3D backgrounds look great. If you scroll the screen around you can actually see the perspectives of depth in the backgrounds, especially in London. Sadly, there are only three backgrounds to choose from. Yes three! This might explain why Worms is only a 40MB download when the new limit is 150MB. Once again, we can smell the prospect of further paid-for DLC.

The music is functional and the sound effects and voices are cute. There are 5 different worm voices provided: including English, French 1 & 2, Italian and my favourite, German. Unfortunately, there are no variations on these like those featured in classic Worms, such as Cockney, Welsh and Irish, but I fully expect them to arrive in the future as DLC.

Worms represents fantastic value for money at only 800M$ (although DLC later may push this up!). The 20 challenges are fun and rewarding, whilst the multiplayer, which was always the best feature of Worms, is an absolute riot. You’ll split you sides as a friend ends up destroying him/herself with a carefully planned attacked going awry or managed to swing from a rope straight into the drink. Multiplayer games are always close and fun given the randomness of many of the weapons being such a leveller of ability.

Worms is the best XBLA game available at this point. What are you waiting for, start throwing exploding sheep today!

9/10

Review: Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:06:00.003Z

Heavy Weapon: Atomic Tank is an enjoyable shoot’em-up and worthy edition to XBLA.

Gameplay: HW is a classic side scrolling shoot’em-up, clearly inspired by games such as “Swiv”. Essentially you pilot your tank, shooting air and land based foes, collecting crazy weapons upgrades and fighting huge bosses. Both analogue sticks are used to control tank movement and shooting/direction (like Geometry Wars).

The gameplay is extremely forgiving thanks to large & clear projectiles, collectable shield upgrades, and massive “Nukes” to kill all enemies on the screen at once.

Graphics: HW features big bright sprites and cool explosions - including a fantastic nuclear blast! The graphics are perfectly fine for an original XBLA title with a solid frame-rate even when the screen is completely full of bad-guys.

Sound: The music is suitably over the top and reminds me of the sound track to the film “Commando”: cheesy and appropriate.

Value: At 800M$, I think it is good value. The Story mode is fine and offers a decent, if difficult, challenge, whilst the Survival modes, both single player and on XBL, are frantic, fun and addictive.

The achievements are nicely balanced: there are (the standard for XBLA) 12 achievements; 50% are fairly easier; 50% will require some adept skills and patience.

Tilt: There is some very subtle humour in HW:
- people sunbathing on a beach as you deliver nuclear death;
- a little button that launches the game is labelled “Invade”;
- and frivolous use of weapons of mass destruction;
...you just have to love it.

The gameplay is great fun too: especially Survival on XBL, which is just completely crazy in its intensity.

If you like your action fast and frenetic, then Heavy Weapon IS the game for you.

8/10

Review: Assault Heroes (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:03:00.002Z

Assault Heroes is classic old school “shoot-em-up” action in a contemporary package.

Gameplay: Anyone familiar with the scrolling “shoot-em-up” classics of the 1980s - like R-Type, Swiv, or Commando - will instantly feel at home with Assault Heroes. You (and a co-op buddy) control a heavily armed ATV in a top-down scrolling shoot-em-up. Your ATV has three fire modes – chain gun, flame thrower, and cannon – that are used to take out a variety of enemies from foot-soldiers and tanks, to bombers and missile-boats. The game is divided into combat “zones” and comes complete with on-foot bonus stages and end of level Bosses.

Both control sticks are employed with the right stick controlling the direction of fire. Should your ATV get destroyed you will find yourself on foot until a new vehicle can be spawned. It is only while on foot that you can be killed but also obtain key "power-ups".

AH effectively utilises risk & reward to make the gameplay challenging but rewarding. For example, the cannon-shot is destructive but has a poor rate of fire; the flamethrower is ideal for troops by is short ranged and weak against armour; the rail-gun is a good compromise but lacks punch without the power-ups. Everything is brilliantly balanced.

Fundamentally, AH is great fun, especially when plated with a buddy. The action is fast, frantic, and addictive whilst never becoming frustrating or impossible.

Graphics: The graphics in AH are polished with satisfying explosions, varied environments and some very cool animations: especially on the Bosses. Everything is rendered in full HD wide-screen beauty; on a big screen, it is a feast for the eyes.

Sound: AH has a fun “arcade” sound track that suits the game style perfectly. The sound effects are great too, augmenting the explosions with fantastic booms and rumbles.

AH costs 800M$, which is excellent value for money. AH features an excellent co-op mode and offers an addictive challenge that ensures you should easily get your money’s worth out of the game. The achievements are also reasonable for an XBLA game: you should be able to unlock a fair few just playing through the game.

Assault Heroes has a winning combination of fun gameplay, great graphics & sound, co-op play, and high quality production. Assault Heroes is one of the best games to come to the XBLA and represents a new benchmark in terms of quality, value and fun. If you have the points then by Assault Heroes now, you won’t regret it!

8/10

Review: Galaga (XBLA)

2008-02-17T15:02:00.003Z

Galaga is a prehistoric shoot’em-up that is a genuine classic and still good fun.

Gameplay: Galaga is a classic, if not the original, up-scrolling vertical shoot’em-up featuring power-ups (clone your ship), attack waves, bonus levels and frantic button bashing. It plays as well now as it did in 1981.

Graphics: Actually, for its time, pretty good and still better than most mobile phone games! Galaga features minor updates for XBLA.

Sound: Classic, old school, beeps and smashes that still have a element of simple charm. Galaga has no obvious updates for XBLA.

Like other Namco games on XBLA, it is made easier by infinite continues, but the later levels are really tough, so you’ll need them. The achievements range from easy to quite difficult, so you may be playing this in short bursts for some time. There is no XBL multiplayer.

I can remember playing Galaga as a nipper in the children’s room of “The Angel” pub, Portland, Dorset – my ancestral home. It was one of the first video games I became addicted to. Luckily, my parents didn’t mind as it was an excuse to stay in the pub longer ;P. Galaga still has nostalgic appeal for me, and is a fun retro arcade game.

6/10

Review: Feeding Frenzy (XBLA)

2008-02-17T14:59:00.002Z

Feeding Frenzy's basic premise is to make your way up the food chain by eating smaller fish so that you become bigger and bigger. The game starts with you playing as a little Angel Fish and finishes with you becoming a shark eating Orca.

The core gameplay revolves around you eating small fish while avoiding larger fish until you are big enough to eat them yourself. Along the way you can grab pearls and power ups to boost your skills and score whilst dodging mines, jelly fish and other hazards. Bonus levels allow you to boost your overall score, as does eating shoals of fish or eating fish in quick succession. The game features a nicely balanced risk and reward mechanic: for instance, black pearls boost your growth and score, but the clam shuts on it very quickly and could cost you a life. There is a lot of fun and humour in the game: look out for the Frenzy power up which has your fish darting around the screen easting everything in sight. The difficulty curse is fair, with higher levels featuring many more hazards but also more extra lives.

The graphics are pleasant but not spectacular but the music is catchy and jolly. The overall look and feel of the game is rather good.

At 800M$ Feeding Frenzy is reasonable value, featuring the normal and time attach modes, as well as high scores and achievements. If there is a criticism, it is that the game is fairly short. Unless you love fish, there is no compelling reason to play again once you have finished it.

Overall, a nice little game that's fun and balanced to play, if a little short.

7/10

Review: Small Arms (XBLA)

2008-02-17T14:57:00.002Z

Review written 30/03/07

Small Arms is a Super Smash Bros style game with cute animals and BIG guns - how could it not work! The core gameplay revolves around you shooting or bashing your opponents on 2D platforms using a variety of weapons at your disposal. The weapons spawn on the map, as do healing items. You use the left stick to move and right to aim, with the buttons and triggers used to jump, dash, and shoot. Most weapons have a primary and secondary function. An excellent tutorial introduces you to the controls which are tight and responsive.

The single player can consists of s series of "battles" and the occasional bonus level. The level designs are nicely different with some being animated in some way (like the train level). The multi player plays much the same. Both modes are excellent and great fun. The core feel of Super Smash Bros is great and the slight changes to the format make the game feel fresh and prefect for XBLA.

Graphically it looks like a kind of 2D Fur Fighters. The background textures are good and the character models are fine considering the speed at which they zip around the screen.

The achievements are nicely balanced. You can get the 100 games achievement on or off line. This game also features a unique achievement you can only get from playing someone with it already...a nice "community" touch (0 points).

At 800 point$, this is a bargain for one of the best games currently on XBLA. Well done Gastronaut Studios!

7/10

Review: Scene It? LCA (X360)

2008-02-17T14:54:00.002Z

Scene It? LCA is a very enjoyable party game and perfect festive family fun.

For: loads of move clips; huge no of questions; excellent movie selection; controllers are great
Against: commentator gets annoying;

Worse than: Guitar Hero II
As good as: Mario Party 6 (GC)
Better than: Fusion Frenzy 2

Gameplay: Basically you answer questions, either rounds where you Buzz In, or just timed responses. The faster you answer the more points you earn, but if you get the question wrong you loose the same number of points. The questions and difficulty are much better than the demo suggested, with a wide range of genres and epochs - right up to date (I found a question on the Bee Movie).

Design: There are two game types: party and quick. The quick game is the principle mode with either a long or short match. Each match consists of 4 rounds, with 3 to 5 sub-rounds in each. Each sub-round is one of 16+ types: ranging from standard "what was" questions to audio clips, movie stills, pictograms, anagrams and many more. The new official Microsoft "Big Button Pads" are excellent: being tactile, easy to use, wireless and small.

Presentation: There are loads of movie clips, many of which are presented in HD. In general, graphics and sound are good, although you'll get fed up with some of the animations and the presenter.

Longevity: There are 1800+ questions, so you'll never get bored. In addition, the game keeps track of what it has asked you before; so every replay is unique. Really this is a party game, so for the maximum enjoyment you will need some friends. The game can be played in teams as well as four individuals, but there is no online play. The achievements are fairly easy, but they do encourage replay. One or two achievements are pretty tough and you'll need to have a good 10-20 hours worth of play to earn them.

8/10

Review: Tomb Raider - Anniversary (X360)

2008-02-17T14:50:00.002Z

Tomb Raider: Anniversary (X360) is an enjoyable and sympathetic re-engineering of a classic game.

For: Classic Tomb Raider puzzles; retro-evolved with excellent new features; good value
Against: Some minor frame rate issues; dinosaurs are still silly;

Gameplay 8: Basically it is the control scheme from “Legend”, applied to the levels from Tomb Raider (original). Tomb Raider needs no further description other than to say that the classic puzzle/fight Gameplay remains as enjoyable as ever.

Design 8: The developers have enhanced many of the puzzles and environments to take advantage of the excellent “Legend” controls whilst the original design remains intact. The game still feels fresh and contemporary despite is relative age.

Presentation 7: The HD graphics are fine, but the game does suffer from occasional minor frame rate issues – particularly with long Vistas and particle effects. The music and sound effects are good, and the overall presentation is solid, if a little uninspired.

Longevity 7: As well as the main story, the game features a time attack mode and the usual hidden artefacts, and, of course, those tricky achievements. A bonus in the retail package (just £30) is the inclusion of an interesting making-of DVD.

7/10

Review: FIFA '08 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:47:00.002Z

FIFA ’08 has become the best football ‘simulator’ on the Xbox360.

For: Match engine; loads of replay value & features; ‘Be the Pro’; online integration

Against: Some bugs; clumsy menu system; dodgy character models

For the last 6 years the two football franchises, FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, have been in annual competition with each other. PES was always the choice of the football purists, whilst FIFA was the game of the masses - with it license and star names.

The next generation consoles gave Konami and EA a chance to change and improve the football genre, which had become a by-word in minimal annual updates. It has taken 2 years, but finally there is a football game worthy of the title ‘next gen’. The surprise is that it is FIFA ’08!

Having played and enjoyed every PES since ISS64 on the N64, I have often looked at EA’s FIFA with a sense of disappointment and indifference. Sure, they had the licenced names, and a good sound track, but the match engine was stuck in the 90s and there was too much emphasis on dribbling and shooting - the ball magically sticking to your feet. FIFA just wasn’t football.

Last year PES 2007 was released with much fanfare, but for me it just seemed like a graphical update on the 5 year old game. It still played fine, but little gimmicks that had plague FIFA were starting to creep in -the number of button combinations could now be measured in the 50s- and it was feature sparse:the solo play game modes were uninspired; the online options were even worse; features in the Xbox version had been stripped out; and the Xbox Live matches suffered bad lag. PES was starting to feel more like an arcade cabinet football game, with minimal features, rather than a ‘next gen’ iteration of a much loved franchise.

Earlier this year EA released UEFA Champions League that featuring a brand new match engine where the ball, rather than the player, was the central object. The change and improvement was remarkable. EA had finally produced a game that looked and played like real football. Gone were the gimmicky controls, and in came a simple control scheme, excellent ball physics and tons of fun. It also introduced a number of innovations (such as Card Collecting) and some excellent lag free online modes.

Now with FIFA’08, EA has perfected the engine to create what is definitely a ‘next gen’ football game. The match engine is now almost flawless, and plays so much better than I would have expected. If anything FIFA has become a football simulator - the quality of the physics and game engine is really that good - you might actually think you are watching a televised game. FIFA ’08 rewards slow tactical build-up and quality passing game, rather than the headless chicken running of yesteryear. Thus, for football purists, FIFA is now the game of choice.

FIFA ’08 also features a number of excellent solo and online game modes, several of which are new. The best of these modes are listed below:

+ Online Club Tournament - you play as your club and all the results of all the XBL players’ playing as your club contribute to an overall club leader board.
+ Managerial Mode - you manage and play for the team. You have transfers, sponsorship, press, contracts, the whole lot!
Challenge Mode - match challenges in both team and “Be the Pro” modes
Custom Tournaments - FIFA’s version of Halo’s Forge mode - construct competitions and post them on XBL

“Be the Pro”, a feature in other EA Sports titles this year, is simply brilliant. You control just one player, and you must play your position as a part of the team. Through clever use of the camera and adaption of the match engine you really do feel part of the game - even to the point when you call for a through ball and get angry with the computer for not picking you out!

The presentation in FIFA ’08, normally the strong point, is actually the weakness in this version. Clearly EA has concentrated on the important stuff, like the match engine and ‘be the pro’, and spent less time polishing. The graphics are fine, but the character models are quite ugly up close, and I’d wish EA Sports would ditch the stupid menu system they use on all their games. I also uncovered a rather nasty bug where my online match was played against invisible players - I managed a draw some how!

So FIFA ’08 has become the best football ‘simulator’ on the Xbox360: it has tones of features; some excellent new innovations; and a real sense of ‘next gen’ quality in its scope and play. There still is a place for the arcade like immediacy of PES, and I could see some people owning both to get the best of both worlds. However, I will get my arcade kicks from Sensible Soccer and so it is FIFA ’08 that will now sit in the disc tray when I want a football fix.

8/10

Review: Halo 3 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:46:00.001Z

Only a limp plot and weak story telling mar an otherwise perfect gaming package.

For: Awesome overall package; perfectly balanced gameplay in SP and MP; huge fun online; fantastic AI; high quality (except perhaps the writing!)
Against: Poor plot, story, and narrative; generic environments

The Halo franchise has become increasingly schizophrenic with each episode. Whilst the online multiplayer has repeatedly set new standards, the solo player campaign has lacked any form of cohesive narrative and features an increasingly flimsy plot. How you judge the quality of Halo 3 will depend on how much importance you apply to gameplay and long-term value, verses the Halo story and artistic merit.

In terms of story, plot and storytelling the Halo series has deteriorated severely. There are many parallels with the Matrix series of movies. The first had all the original good ideas: a cohesive world; a beginning, a middle, and end; fleshed out characters; and a twist in the tale. However, subsequent episodes introduced unnecessary politics, fragmented storytelling, no real plot and a lack of viewer/gamer engagement.

Halo 3 goes someway to address these issues, by a least sticking to one character and attempting to provide some closure, but it is still told in a haphazard way -through cuts scenes- with no reference to what has gone before and no illumination to why. In fact, so emotionally detached from story is the game that the levels you play through could be anywhere. Kenya, High Charity, Halo,...it really doesn’t matter and often you can’t remember, or don’t even care, why you are there at all. It doesn’t help that the cut-scenes often have the soundtrack drown out what is being said, so any vague recognition of plot is lost in the inability to hear the dialog (in addition to the terrible and corny script). To be quite frank, Halo 3’s story telling, although an improvement over Halo 2, is still an abject mess and Bungie’s writers would do well to get a job on a remake of the A-Team.

Fortunately a poor story/plot/narrative however, does not ruin the game as the gameplay elements are honed to absolute perfection. In many ways, each level in Halo 3 is so beautifully crafted and balanced -on all difficulties- it annoys me even more that they screwed the writing up so much.

The campaign plays like a series of massive multiplayer maps populated by pockets of gaming brilliance and fiendish AI. Each encounter, particularly the Brutes, is so cleverly designed, balanced and executed that you can really appreciate every bit of quality and effort that has gone in to make it. In terms of memorable and enjoyable battles that can dramatically play out differently based on difficulty/co-op/modifiers, Halo 3 has no equal - Halo 3 is the best designed FPS to date.

The competitive online co-op, with the scores and skull modifiers, is absolutely brilliant and really adds a huge amount of depth and replay to campaign - expect to see this feature creeping into other games next year. The difference in tactics and balancing of the AI at each difficulty also sets new standards - no longer does “Legendary” just mean having to fire 3x the bullets, but actually encourages different strategy and thinking.

The level designs are not without fault. The ugly spectre of backtracking appears more than once, whilst the penultimate level is unwelcome slog without the fantastic subtlety of earlier levels. The driving levels also feel a little bit like “here’s the vehicle of the day” with each one ‘introducing’ a new vehicle, only to never use it again.

The competitive multiplayer has always been Halo’s ace card. The integration into XBL is, once again, a new benchmark. Not only do we have the only working rank system, but now we have videos, screenshots, infinitely customisable game types, Bungie.net and Forge - the online co-operative map editor. Whilst live Forge sessions seem to descend into chaos, I can see the potential for creating new and interesting game types and playing them with friends - this alone makes Halo 3 a big leap forward.

The initial levels provided for MP are once again a lesson in perfect design. No matter what game type, size or options, each map seems perfectly designed for the purpose and carefully balanced with the weapons system to avoid the more unfair scenarios presented on Halo 2. Played with friends, Halo 3 is pure unadulterated fun and for this reason sits right at the top of the MP gaming tree.

So, how do I score a game that should be perfect, but is let down by elements that don’t really effect the gameplay? It is tricky? The best thing I can say is that I have not enjoyed an online FPS as much as this for a very long time. It might not be my favourite game this year, but it is certainly one of the very best.

9/10

Review: Two Worlds (X360)

2008-02-17T14:44:00.002Z

For: It's another RPG
Against: Pretty much everything...!

The prospect of another Oblivion so soon after the last, and by a little known Polish developer was never going to be a good bet. Two Worlds just has too many serious flaws to recommend it to anyone other than die hard RPG fans who have learnt to overcome major quality issues.

The ambition is worthy, and some of the RPG elements, like cards for spells and power-ups, are neat ideas. The core gameplay of 'wander-quest-level-up' is sound and enjoyable as ever, but that's where it stops.

Two Worlds has a number of very serious flaws, and a whole wagon of minor ones. In order of severity they are:

1. The worst dialog and voice acting in any game, ...ever. Everything is in mock "ye olde English. verily, t'woth gets ye grammer mit nonny verbs and nouns all circum-twisted". That is is delivered with monotone American impressions of British accents with no pronunciation or enunciation is even worse. Playing with the voice track off doesn't help as the text is unreadable gibberish.
2. Terrible frame rate - at most 10fps
3. Terrible one click combat - pull trigger repeatedly until dead; else if you=dead {respawn}; repeat until enemy=dead. Enemy=[wolf, boar(wolf), bear(wolf), bandit(sort of wolf), orc(big wolf) ghost(wolf)].
4. Cheap PC port - complete with tiny icons, map that requires mouse to navigate, tiny text, no autosave, cheap textures.
5. Quests are guess work - there is no logic or reason to quests; and the AI often doesn't take into account what you are/doing/have been. In fact it is so broken it can be unplayable.

So there we have it. It is fun to wander around and laugh at the dialog. The RPG bits are quite nice (level-up, spell collecting), but when everything else is so bad, there is not much enjoyment to be had after the first couple of hours of hilarity.

5/10

Review: Stuntman Ignition (X360)

2008-02-17T14:40:00.002Z

Stuntman: Ignition is no Fall-Guy.

For: Cool movies; good selection of vehicles; challenging but rewarding
Against: Odd Jobs are unforgiving; stringing requires a heavy dose of luck; not many players online

The original Stuntman game was an interesting concept that was destroyed in its execution. It was so frustrating and difficult that you had to play it in very short bursts to prevent permanent damage to your psyche. For those that never played it, you had to complete driving stunts, with zero room for error coupled with incredibly long load times between each attempt....imagine now having 20 attempts! Stuntman: Ignition fixes the majority of the flaws in its predecessor but it can still occasionally be a rough ride.

Once again, you are a stuntman hired to shoot action driving sequences for a series blockbuster movies, TV commercials and stunt shows. Each movie consists of scenes, with each scene comprising of a sequence of 10-20 stunt events that you must hit. These include, jumping, 2-wheeling, smashing, sliding and performing action events. The movies themselves range from James Bond style spy flicks to buddy comedies.

Each scene can be completed by hitting all the stunt marks within a set time limit and is controlled by a mechanism of five strikes - so you can make a few mistakes but if you miss five marks you must start from the beginning again. The adverts and stunt shows are much harder, only permitting 1 strike on the normal difficulty. Each scene is awarded a score and star grade out of five, using a similar system to Project Gotham Racing’s Kudos system, where the more stunts you perform and “string” together, the bigger the multiplier and the score earned. However, the more risk you take the more likely you are to ****-up. Thankfully, restarting is almost instantaneous (no load time) so trying over and over again is less of a chore on the Movie scenes.

Further movies and events are unlocked by earning stars, as are other bonus content such as video interviews, achievements, and items for the construction mode - create your own stunt set. You can play online in “Burnout” style races around a studio back-lot, as well as try out custom tracks built in the construction mode.

There are numerous vehicles in the game that each feature their own unique and satisfying handling characteristics: big things feel big; fast things feel twitchy. The vehicle models and the movie sets are competently designed and displayed with a decent frame-rate that holds up even when everything is going “bang” about you. The music and voice work all add some much needed humour and brevity to the game, whilst the movie trailers - earner for completing each film - look cool and are satisfying way to conclude each film.

Stuntman: Ignition is not perfect: the difficulty is still probably too high, with the final movie being difficult to unlock unless you have scored well on all the previous films, and possibly the hardest movies is the first one you play - which seems a strange design decision. There is still an element of frustration thanks to the exclusion of strikes on the advertisement and stunt shows, and the luck required to keep a score multiplier going when so much is happening on screen outside your control.

Stuntman: Ignition offers something different from the usual driving fare that can be a lot of fun provided you have the patience to persevere. For any fans of Burnout crash mode, Stuntman: Ignition offers a similar experience and should fill the gap until Burnout: Paradise is released next year.

8/10

Review: Medal of Honor: Airborne (X360)

2008-02-17T14:38:00.001Z

Welcome to Medal of Honor Airborne a game that really shouldn’t have been released yet for one simple reason… it's not finished.

Anyone who’s ever played a Medal of Honor game before will know what to expect (they haven’t really changed in ten years or so.). You play a WW2 Rambo, killing any German that gets in your way. Fair enough I guess, but all EA ever seem to do with a game nowadays is keep the core gameplay the same (NFS anyone?) then add a new gimmick or two and make a big fuss. The new gimmick here is in the title - Airborne. Yep, you have to parachute into battle. This sounds like a really cool idea, because it should be. Only problem is it doesn’t really matter because the game always plays out the same wherever you land. The idea is a great one, but in true EA style they haven’t thought it through. Also the game as a whole feels rushed, want some examples, ok.

How about enemies that run around like headless chickens? Or your squad mates shooting at boxes? Or thin air? Or just disappearing? The AI is SHIT no other word for it.

The Hit detection is way of at times too, it took me five headshots to kill a guy with a Sniper Rifle once! And a whole MP40 clip to see one German off. This could and should have been sorted before the game shipped… bad form EA, very bad.

Another moan is that one minuite you can be doing great, have five squad mates around you and have just accomplished an objective. Then out of nowhere Five Germans appear and blow your head off. I swear that the green dots on my radar turned red as if the Germans in WW2 could do that thing the Agents do in the Matrix and just take over a person! I think the reason for this is that the enemies in Airborne don’t die, they respawn. The idea being that the game never lets up and its “action, action, action” that’s an ok idea, but they respawn so thick and fast that you can spend AGES clearing one building out and getting to one of six objectives which are something that I don’t like too. Because all of them are “blow this up” or “Destroy this by shooting it” dull is a good word.

The Graphics are nice enough (I like the “glass” effect when you look through a scope) and at times really show off what the 360 can do but can also look “last gen” at times too. The campaign is short, really short. How short? Try Six (maybe seven) levels, uninspiring ones at that.

The multiplayer is a great addition and probably Airborne’s strength. But it’s nothing that you haven’t seen before with a EA “gimmick” attached. If you want a war FPS, wait till COD4. If you want a WW2 FPS then just replay COD2 and 3. Simple really.

I can’t express how much of a disappointment this game is for me. With a bit more work (and maybe a few more levels) it could have been a really great title. As it is its just EA shelf filler, NOT worth £40 in any way.

7/10

Review: Shadowrun (X360)

2008-02-17T14:34:00.002Z

Shadowrun is a fun, well balanced, team based FPS shooter that suffers from flaws in scope and production quality

For: Well balanced classes, weapons, and skills; fun CTF and deathmatch; Excellent tutorial and bots
Against: No achievements in bot matches; no campaign; limited maps and game modes; poor models and animations

Achievements: Hard - will require endless online play

Shadowrun is a team based shooter that features a number of different character classes, weapons and skills - technologies and magic. Shadowrun is a focused online multiplayer game that does not feature a campaign or story of any kind for solo play, but offers offline bot matches instead. The Shadowrun RPG franchise is not particularly evident in the game, other than the nod to magic and the South American setting.

With its multiplayer focus it is important that the game does not suffer from the balance issues that a lot of FPS games suffer from. Thankfully, Shadowrun proves to be one of the most finely balanced games yet to grace the X360. All of the weapons, classes, and skills are evenly balanced with classic rock-paper-scissors rules: for instance, damage can be avoided with the "smoke" spell -which puts you in a gaseous state- whilst a "gust" spell is weak against most foes but instantly kills someone who is in "smoke". Virtually all skills, weapons and classes are carefully organised so that you never feel one race, spell or tech is superior to another. The net result is fun, fair and exciting gameplay regardless of the class, weapon, of skills that you use.

I have complained previously about weak multiplayer implementations that almost prevent the casual gamer from playing on XBL. Shadowrun features an excellent tutorial that explains all the classes and skills, whilst bot matches (with a decent AI) are provided to help learn the levels.

Shadowrun is not without its problems. The game feels rushed and unpolished. There are no character skins customisations so everyone looks the same, whilst the character animations are poor or non-existent: watching a character float up a ladder is both hilarious and pathetic. Shadowrun also features only two gameplay variants: CTF and Deathmatch. The range and variety of maps is also quite small.

Without doubt, Shadowrun is a lot of fun, especially if you can play with a group of friends, and the well balanced gameplay is to be applauded. However, the unfinished feel and some examples of poor production quality, really hurt the enjoyment of the game. Shadowrun is a good budget/bargain buy but remember it will require a few friends to purchase the game to get the maximum enjoyment out of it.

7/10

Review: Bioshock (X360)

2008-02-17T14:33:00.002Z

Bioshock is an instant classic that blends a superb narrative with cracking gameplay.

Achievements: Easy to Medium.

Rather than write a full review of something everyone knows about, I thought I would simply list my 10 reasons why you should play BioShock.

1. BioShock is one of the first games to truly deliver a coherent and well defined story with a proper dramatic narrative. The story is delivered in bite size chunks via audio diaries left among the ruins. Many of the characters that feature in the diaries reveal their stories in reverse and intertwine the plot threads and character interactions as the game progresses. At no point does the game resort to ham-fisted cut scenes but instead allows the player to slowly reveal the lives of these characters within the falling society within Rapture. More importantly, many of these stories allow the player to form their opinions and ideas about the morality and sanity of the main protagonist – Andrew Ryan.

2. BioShock has created one of the best video game “bosses” for a long time in the form of the Big Daddy. Rather than lumber players with end-of-level boss fights (CapCom!), BioShock allows the player to decide when and how the big guys are tackled.

3. BioShock is the first FPS that truly allows the player to be creative and cunning. The ability to plough straight in, or to lay traps, or confuse the enemy into fighting itself, or sneak in for a silent kill or even exploit various environmental elements to turn the advantage.

4. BioShock blends the basic elements from RPGs to allow the player to specialise the character. For instance, you can become a melee monster, or a stealth assassin, a battle mage or a gun tooting Jonny Rambo.

5. BioShock has a truly surprising and unique plot twist.

6. BioShock has wonderfully convincing water physics and beautifully designed art deco environments, which just draw you in to this city under the sea.

7. BioShock is one of the few games to actually test you moral compass. Sure it is pretty obvious what it is right to do – but could you actually bring yourself to do what is wrong? It just doesn’t feel right. There are also some well disguised (but much discussed) philosophical arguments – many of which are revealed through the various audio diaries. Questions regarding the objectivism philosophy of the main character –Ryan- (inspired by Ayd Rand), the exploitative nature of capitalism and the results of uncontrolled bio-sciences are all posed but not answered.

8. BioShock shows that you can create an enjoyable and accessible FPS without the need for pointless death-match modes, ninja-like reflexes or clumsy controls.

9. BioShock features some of the best voice acting, sound effects and sound track of recent times. The quality of the audio diaries is phenomenal; the sensations and mystery of Rapture are portrayed through some haunting sound effects; and the sound track brilliantly combines elements from the 1940s, 1970s Sci-Fi and more contemporary movie scores.

10. BioShock does have its weaknesses: there are some dodgy character models, there is a bit too much back tracking, and it is a fairly linear path. However, the shear brilliance of the story telling, the cinematic quality of the set pieces, the intelligence of the gameplay, and beautifully realised environments make BioShock an instant classic and goes straight into my top ten games of all time.

5/5

Review: Overlord (X360)

2008-02-17T14:31:00.001Z

Evil Pikmin? ...So what? It is a whole lot of fun being an Overlord.

For: At last a chance to be bad; minions are a lot of fun; lots of British humour
Against: Gets repetitive later on; controls with multiple minion types is fiddly

Having been a fan of Pikmin on the GameCube, I recognised the inspiration for Overlord the moment I fired up the demo. Pikmin was a great game, and using it as the basis of a "Dungeon Keeper" style role reversal was inspired. It works a treat and provides us with something that is both familiar but also completely different.

The fantasy role-switch to anti-hero allows lots of opportunities for playing with the fantasy genre - for example, nasty hobbits, vindictive elves, and aggressive sheep. The environments, characters and missions are all recognisable clichés injected with satire and humour.

The graphics are good with a commendable attention to detail. The character animations, particularly of the minions, are superb with some unique environment interactions. Look out for the items the minions collect and use for weapons and armour - especially when you encounter the zombies.

If I have one criticism of Overlord, it is that the button mapping and controls sometimes let down the otherwise enjoyable gameplay. Once you are used to it, it is not bad, but you may find that the controls result in you failing several times verses the later bosses.

Overlord is a welcome change of pace from driving and shooting games, and is a worthy purchase for the gameplay and humour alone.

8/10

Review: DiRT (X360)

2008-02-17T14:28:00.001Z

DiRT delivers arcade kicks and slick presentation but is not without its problems.

For: Beautiful graphics; superb presentation; large variety of race types; original MP
Against: Limited MP; terrible car physics; framerate problems; tacked on features

Firstly, I am not a fan of Rally games;
secondly, I am not a fan of arcade racing games (I hate Ridge Racer);
thirdly, I was playing Motorstorm (PS3) and Forza Motorsport 2 solidly before DiRT was released;
...clearly, DiRT was going to have to be amazingly good to get a look in.

The sad fact is that I only bought DiRT because I was so impressed with the menu presentation on the demo - and also the early screen shots! In this respect I am not disappointed: DiRT has the best presentation and menu system of any game to date - it is a thing of beauty. The graphics are stunning; the music is excellent; even the voice-overs are okay. DiRT could be described as the Gears of War of the racing genre.

However, no matter how great it looks and sounds (even with a slightly dodgy frame rate sometimes) I have a major problem with the game: The physics engine sucks.

In fact, it both sucks and blows. For a game with this many varieties of race type, vehicles, and environments to have such an inconsistent, and sometimes laughable physics engine, is disgraceful. Many of the race modes are fine – the US-style rally events are huge fun – but the tarmac based events – particularly Rally Cross and Cross Over – are appalling. The cars handle like supermarket trolleys and the frame rate jumps up and down making it look like something from a speed-up silent movie. Worse still, the Rally events, which rely on power-slides and Scandinavian turns, are ruined by the weightless vehicles and brakes of pure “science-fiction”.

For me a racing game should be either an arcade racer (Ridge Racer, Burnout) or a simulator (Forza, PGR3- sort off) but DiRT treads a fine line between the two and kind of misses both. If we just had the US style off road racing (basically a MotorStorm clone), DiRT would be a brilliant and beautiful arcade racer, but the badly misjudged rally and tarmac events ruin the game IMHO.

Don’t get me wrong DiRT is still a lot of fun (it gets the thumbs up for the US Rally Races alone); it’s just that it falls some way short of being the classic it should have been.

7/10

Review: Call of Juarez (X360)

2008-02-17T14:25:00.002Z

Call of Juarez is a below average FPS dressed-up as an appealing Western themed shooter

For: Great Western aesthetic; large environments; good story
Against: Multiple weaknesses in game design; below par multiplayer; floating up ladders!

Juarez is a disappointing addition to the X360 shooter fold. Whilst looking fantastic, and having some engaging Western settings, the weaknesses in the game’s design prevent Juarez from delivering on early promise.

The majority of the game's problems surround one of the two playable characters - Billy. Billy is on the run and so he spends much of his time involved in copious amounts of stealth and platforming based elements; neither of which fit comfortably into the Western genre - unless he was playing a Native American tracker, then it would make more sense.

Stealth and platforming elements are rarely successful in a FPS because the fixed perspective camera doesn’t give you the required peripheral view necessary to successfully avoid detection or position yourself for jumps. Worse, done badly as it is here, you end up playing 50% of the game looking at your feet and the others replaying the same death over and over again.

The game design also requires the environments to have “platforms” where you wouldn’t have platforms: for instance lots of strange grassy islands or convenient branches to cross canyons. It just looks contrived and silly.

Ray, the second character, is a lot more fun to play with. His bible trash talking as you take someone down with your six shooters is pure cinema. Having to replay the level you just completed with Billy, however, is not.

Juarez looks good and has an genuine Western feel to it. The characters, music and voice acting are spot on and really add a level of authenticity to the game.

As well as the main campaign, there are also duelling and multiplayer modes. The multiplayer games are largely team based, and offer the run of the mill FPS action with a western look. The level design is not particularly inspired and some of the dodgy object physics in the main game creep in here too.

I am a huge fan of the Western genre and consider some of Sam Peckenpah’s and Sergio Leone’s films some of the best movies ever made. Although a reasonable attempt at a Western style shooter, Juarez plays more like a generic FPS dressed in a Western trench coat. Many of the gameplay elements don’t fit well and are poorly executed; whilst the beautiful environments are ruined by contrived platforming elements and linear/invisible barriers.

Call of Juarez is worth a rental if you are an FPS fan, but otherwise I’d save your money for some of the better titles out there or on the way.

5/10

Review: Forza Motorsport 2 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:22:00.002Z

Forza 2 successfully steals the simulation crown from Gran Turismo. Forza 2 is a petrol-head's dream.

For: Superb physics engine; great sense of speed; cool paint shop mode

Against: Pure simulation; repetitive racing; you can buy success early in the game; average textures

Achievements: Medium

Forza Motorsport 2 fills the "simulation" gap in the X360 portfolio of racing games. The game features 100s hours of racing both offline and online, 300+ vehicles and the best physics engine in any racing game.

Forza 2 is a pure racing simulator, it does however make a decent attempt to improve the accessibility of the game for non-racing aficionados. Novice players can enable various driving assists, including racing line and breaking zones, to instantly jump into the racing without having to worry about oversteer and understeer. Expert players are rewarded for turning off the assists and can dabble for hours with the tuning and vehicle upgrade features.

Forza 2 features three game modes: 'arcade' is a basic race and unlock mode; 'career' is the core game which has you earning money to buy, sell, auction and upgrade vehicles in your garage and compete in a huge variety of class & manufacturer based racing events; 'multiplayer' is basically the career mode online with financial rewards for finishing well and avoiding damage. All game modes are enjoyable and the driver AI is pretty accurate avoiding the "drone" like qualities of the AI in the Gran Turismo titles. If Forza 2 does have a weakness in gameplay, it is the fact that you can buy success through copious use of upgrades - especially early on in the career mode. However, this does allow you to progress and learn the tracks before the real challenge kicks in.

Forza's party trick is the Paint Shop. Here you can decorate and customise the look of the car, exercising the creative half of your brain. If you come up with a really good design (and not the 1000s of Gears of War designs you'll see) you can auction the car and design for more in-game credits. I found myself loosing hours in the paint shop. I always love design style games (SimCity et al) and I find the paint shop feature very satisfying; it is easy to use too.

Forza 2 is a highly polished title with quality presentation in both visuals, music and sound. The track visuals are good, but not special -there's little fancy lighting effects-, but the framerate and animation is super smooth. The engine sound effects all feel right, and the in-menu music features some well chosen songs and tunes.

Forza 2 represents superb value for money, provided you love your cars. It is a real anorak's game, with 300+ cars to collect plus stats to compare and tweak. 100s of hours can be spent without progressing very far at all as you fiddle with stabliser bars, vinyls and gear ratios. The actual career mode is massive, whilst the excellent online racing is infinite. I've seen Forza for <£40 in most shops, and at that price it is an absolute steal.

Forza Motorsport 2 is the pinnacle of racing simulators. It makes a decent attempt to welcome casual racers, but ultimately it is a game for motor racing and sportscar fans. If you are a true petrol-head you won't need to buy an Alpha Romeo, you'll just need Forza Motorsport 2!

9/10

Review: Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars (X360)

2008-02-17T14:19:00.002Z

C&C 3 successfully delivers highly polished RTS gameplay, and slick presentation, to the Xbox 360.

Pros: New faction is cool; intuitive console controls with clever shortcuts, wonderfully hammy acting, unit animations are good; solid classic C&C gameplay.
Cons: Maps are quite small; could do with further zoom-out; necessary DLC purchases; lack of multiplayer variety; little gameplay innovation.

Achievements: Hard

Being a thirty-something gamer I can claim to have grown up with the C&C series. I’ve played most instalments since the original Westwood game: “Dune 2 – Battle for Arakas”.

Having burned my PC games a few years ago, this is the first instalment since Red Alert 2 that I have owned. It is both pleasing, and a little disappointing, to see how familiar the game is to previous instalments. In fact, many of the classic gameplay mechanics, pioneered in “Dune 2”, are still present, including harvesting a common resource* and the propensity for “turtle” vs “rush” strategies. (*although Tiberium replaced the ‘Spice’).

In many ways I think the RTS have evolved beyond C&C, with games like ‘Total Annihilation’ and ‘Supreme Commander’ offering more effective tactical gameplay. Having said that, C&C still offers a hugely enjoyable RTS romp that is perfectly suited to console play - provide it has adequate controls.

C&C on a console was never going to offer the same degree of flexibility offered by keyboard and mouse, but the developers of C&C 3 have done a brilliant job. C&C 3 successfully provides simple navigation whilst also offering more complex instructions and interactions through the use of “double tap” button combinations that become second nature once learnt.

Clever use of menus and rally points mean that you seldom have to scroll around the battlefield unnecessarily, which results in a much more immersive and less frustrating user interface experience than previous attempts at console RTS.

Another time honoured feature of C&C games has been the use of FMV to progress the story. C&C 3 has a fantastic ensemble cast and some wonderfully hammy acting that make the FMV sequences a real joy: the return of Kane, with the original actor, is inspired; whilst Michael Ironside’s “over acting” is hilarious.

The graphics, sound effects, music, and overall presentation of C&C 3 are top notch. The unit animations, particularly from the new alien faction, are really cool; especially if you zoom right in on the action. Despite the excellent graphics, the overall experience is limited by an apparent lack of a “high level” zoom, such that you can see enough of the battlefield to make tactical decisions. This restriction can make the game quite difficult when the action really hots-up. I suspect the decision to lock the zoom was to sustain the frame rate but I would happily sacrifice some texture and detail to get a higher view.

The Multiplayer experience a bit hit and miss. The maps are well designed but small, and the core “collect > build > slaughter” gameplay is a blast. However, there is no real variety in the match mode, except for “capture the flag” and “territory” variants stolen from FPS games. It is a shame that the developers couldn’t have come up with some slightly more original ideas, or even a co-op facility. Most 4 player games become 2 player games very quickly, so you might end up watching for a while. The limitations of the strategic elements within C&C are also more prevalent in multiplayer, and it is often the fastest “builder” than wins rather than a clever strategist.

C&C 3 features some 30+ missions that are pretty varied and feature all three factions. Multiplayer and Skirmish modes offer endless games for real aficionados. The achievements are pretty challenging, but not impossible, and will keep achievement junkies (Stu!) busy for some time. There is also the prospect of imminent DLC, including larger MP maps, but the fact you will have to pay for maps that should have been included in the retail release sucks.

In summary, C&C 3 offers the classic C&C experience, in a highly polished and well executed package. C&C 3 features some clever and well thought out controls, cool unit animations, and timeless gameplay, which makes C&C 3 a solid buy for strategy game fan.

7/10

Review: Football Manager 2007 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:17:00.002Z

Football Manager 2007 (360) continues the legacy by adding a few new features and camera support to the best football management simulation game.

I have played all of the Sports Interactive football management games going all the way back to Championship Manager. This is the first time I have bought it on a home console (for the achievements…I’ll admit it) having been playing Football Manager 2005 (Mac) and Football Manager 2006 (PSP) over the last couple of years.

Most people are already familiar with the game so I will just highlight the 360 specific gameplay mechanics and new features for 2007.

The first thing I noticed switching from mouse to controller for navigation is how well the actions and menus have been implemented. I tried LMA Manager a few years ago and it was dreadful, but SI Games have made it very intuitive and easy to use. The triggers bring up the Go and Action menus, while the Start menu effectively brings up the File/Save menu – dead simple. On the whole the controls are very good and I found myself easily navigating the menus and pages using the controller that I previously would have used the mouse for. It’s all quite logical and familiar if you have played FM before.

I was pretty much able to setup and start playing FM07 in a matter of minutes which was a welcome change from the 6 minute database build from the PSP version. A new feature in FM07 is the ability to have your face to your manager profile. I now have my ugly mug in Vegas and Norwich City (my starting team) emoticon. Other new features in FM07 include half-time team talks, feeder clubs and other communication improvements.

For the 360 version there are a number of XBL modes to play. Fantasy Draft is a new XBL mode for FM07 – it is a bit like American Grid Iron in that you take turns to pick your players before launching into a mini competition. I have never played FM online before and it will be interesting to see how well it works.

The graphics are functional, including player photos and the 2D match engine. There where some minor “lag” glitches as I navigated the menus but nothing major. The sound effects are fine for a game of this type.

I will probably devote some time to this game over the Christmas period, but first impressions are very good. As with all the previous SI Games from Championship Manager to Football Manager, once you get into these games you are hooked so value for money (it was £30) is very good.

In summary, it’s Football Manager on the ‘360 with a neat control solution, a few nice new features and your own ugly “boat” visible to all on XBL (should you wish it).

7/10

Review: Guitar Hero II (X360)

2008-02-17T14:15:00.003Z

Guitar Hero 2 is an instant classic and pure gaming magic!

Pros: Fantastic gameplay; brilliant Guitar peripheral; well chosen songs (that even non-rock dudes like me enjoy); fair achievements; large song list with downloads to come

Cons: No XBL multiplayer, only Leaderboards

Achievements: Fair-to-Hard

Although GH2 has been out for the PS2 for a while, I hung-on to make the Xbox 360 version the first I owned and played. I have been looking forward to getting that “Axe” in my hands for a long time, and I have to say it was well worth the wait.

GH2 is a rhythm action game that combines puzzle, rhythm and simulation elements to create a simple, but incredibly rewarding experience. The basic premise of the game is to play the notes that scroll vertically down the screen to complete the lead guitar (or bass guitar on multiplayer) components of a rock song.

The Guitar peripheral is a slightly downscaled facsimile of a Gibson Xplorer Guitar (a 50’s design classic) that has been a favourite of rock bands for 30 years –even Spinal Tap have one (I watched ‘Tap again to check!). The strings are replaced by a Strum Bar and there are 5 coloured Fret keys on the neck that correspond to the notes to be played; a Whammy Bar is provided to add that little extra bit of rocktastic magic to the long notes.

Playing songs is fairly straight forward. After you have selected a song, the coloured notes required appear on a scrolling Fret board, and you simply hold the Fret buttons(s) and strum as the notes reach the line at the bottom of the screen. On the easiest difficulty you only have to worry about the first three Fret buttons, whist the super tough Hard and Expert require some finger Olympics (and advanced techniques) to hit all five buttons in time to the music. Playing the Guitar is very satisfying and close to the feeling of playing the real thing, whilst strutting around your lounge only adds to the experience.

The object of each song is to obtain the best possible score. Each correct note earns 50 points, whilst stringing together sets of consecutive notes earns multipliers all the way up to x4. Periodically, Star Notes appear which will earn you Star Power.

Star Power can be used to double the multiplier (up to x8), but is limited by the number of Star Notes a song contains. The Star Notes are often attached to the more difficult riffs so building up your score relies on getting these sections correct. Star Power is activated by lifting the Guitar vertically, which is quite tricky to do, and maintaining your rhythm. Star Power also removes the colours from the notes to ensure that there is extra challenge in earning your doubled multiplier. The Star Power feature offers a clever risk and reward mechanism and also introduces some strategy as to when in the song you enable it.

The Career mode allows you to select one of the eight characteristic rock stars, a guitar and a difficulty, to progress through a prescribed set-list and work your way up from high school wannabe to full stadium rock god. Each song is graded, out-of 5, based on your score, where the higher the grade the more cash you have to spend on extras in the Career mode store (except on easy where you can’t earn money). Higher difficulties earn more game dollars.

The Store contains 40 additional tracks, characters, outfits, guitars, and videos to unlock. Many of the games 50 achievements are linked to completing store purchases. All scores contribute to an overall Career Score which is used to show your progress on the XBL leaderboard.

The Multiplayer component of the game features co-op (lead and bass guitar) and vs. Both use the same mechanism as the single player game, and work best when both players have a guitar each (you can play with the controller but it is not the same). There is no XBL play due to lag issues, but there is a rumour of an XBL variant of the co-op in the future.

GH2 graphics are very good. Obviously, coloured notes scrolling down the screen is not the height of graphical elegance, but GH2 features some excellent and humorous stage performances in the background with neat character animation and an appropriate cartoon like style. The scrolling notes sit on a textured guitar fret board that features a design that varies based on character or guitars used. The overall presentation of the game is a quite brilliant combination of Spinal Tap (there are numerous references) and School of Rock.

Now I am not a rock expert, so I had to seek the advice of my 60 year old father who is (among others) a Megadeth, Iron Maiden, SOTD, and Avenged Sevenfold fan. Thus, I can say there is a mixed bag of tracks, with some classics (The Trooper & Free Bird) and some middling efforts from the likes of Pearl Jam. My personal favourite is Tattooed Love Boys, by the Pretenders, but I have to say that ALL the songs (whether critically successful) work brilliantly in the context of the game.

Many of the songs are covers, but you have to be impressed by the production quality as they features some fantastic vocal and guitar work. A handful of the songs are “genuine” band recorded tracks, but unless you knew you’d be hard pressed to spot them.

At £70 for both the Guitar and the game, the asking price may seems a little steep, but Guitar Hero 2 does represent fantastic value for money as the quality and size of the game (70+ tracks), and the excellent guitar puts many other £50 titles to shame. The prospect of a further 36 songs being released over the next few weeks means that you will never be stuck for a song to play. Combine the games quality and scope with the perfect gameplay and endless challenge and you have got a real winner.

You might not believe me, but Guitar Hero 2 is the best game to come out on the 360 since Oblivion. You don’t have to like rock music to really enjoy this game but rock fans will get a massive kick out of it. The 360 has been criticised for having too many inaccessible shooting games, well GH2 is the ultimate antidote to that. Who needs a motion sensitive controller when you can wield an axe! Own a 360? Then you MUST buy this game (or get someone to buy it for you!).

5/5

Review: Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:13:00.002Z

Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 is a faithful recreation of a gentleman's sport.

Achievements: Fair

Pros: Recreates the feel of cricket; both bowling and batting are fun; commentary is good for a change; nice theme tune; good tutorials

Cons: Some dodge character models; crowd effects are rubbish; catches are really difficult; occasionally iffy AI; poor manual

I am fairly new to cricket having become a spectator and fan after moving to Canterbury, home of Kent County Cricket. BL 2007 is my first cricket game, so I am lucky in that I don’t have anything to compare it with.

The game features most of the licensed teams from the ICC World Cup, and you can recreate the tournament in the main game mode; you can also play ODI, 20-20 and Test Matches. XBL supports up to four players with extra players playing as the second batsman or fielder.

Bowling is performed by pressing one of 6 buttons that vary the delivery (fast, swinging, slow, yorkers, googlies etc.) with the shoulder buttons used to add swing in the air. The bowling is a lot of fun and the game faithfully recreates its look and feel. The bowling becomes a bit of a game of chess as you adjust the field positions and plan your next attack: for instance, do you use slips with an out-swinger, or fire a yorker straight at the batsman’s feet? The bowler has a confidence meter, which enables you to pull off the more difficult deliveries (such as bouncers and yorkers) as you search for a wicket.

Batting is equally rewarding with 6 buttons used to select the type of shot to play (safely, slog, drive, or sweep). The key to batting is timing, and you must carefully judge the bowler’s delivery to make the perfect shot. The batsman also features a confidence meter that allows him to pull of more powerful strokes at the risk of getting stumped easier.

Fielding is less successful and is at times down-right frustrating. Catches seem impossibly difficult to master. When a ball is destined for a catch a meter appears on the screen for a split second. You must hit the meter right in the middle to pull off the catch. The problem is the meter often appears very fast, with the camera quickly changing, making it very difficult to hit the A button in time and make the catch.

The graphics in BL 2007 are functional and colourful, but at times comical: wait until you see Freddy Flintoff’s face! Backgrounds are watered down with a heat haze effect that occasionally make the horizon look like a cheap watercolour. The player animations are fluid enough, and the bowler and batsman look life like and realistic. The action replays look very good, with the ball spinning dramatically through the air. The whole presentation is very TV like with the use of “hawkeye”, replays, and batting+bowling summaries.

The sound is pretty basic. The crowd effects are repetitive and there is only one music track; but at least it is a good one. Worthy of praise is the in-game commentary from a wide selection of TV and Radio commentators. BL 2007 is one of the few games where the commentary adds to the atmosphere and not just annoy you.

I have yet to try XBL but I don’t image any lag issues because the style of the game. The single player game modes are fine, if a little bland: regular ODI, Test and 20-20. The real value in this game will be in the online play. The achievements are well designed, encouraging varied games, and are nicely balanced with some being easy, whilst others are much more challenging. You would not say any of the achievements are impossible, unlike UEFA Champions League 2007!

Overall, this is a faithful recreation of leather against willow and is a must buy for anyone who enjoys Cricket. If you are not a Cricket fan then you might struggle with the nuances of this game as it does assume a good understanding of the tactics and strategies involved in Cricket.

7/10

Review: UEFA Champions League 2006/2007 (X360)

2008-02-17T14:11:00.001Z

UEFA Champions League 2006/2007 is a sterling attempt at innovating the football game genre.

Achievements: Impossible

Pros:Ultimate Team, with card trading, is an excellent innovation; best FIFA game so far; soundtrack is good; 4 player XBL and loads of modes

Cons:Useless manual and little help with the complex card trading; still not quite PES; stupid and impossible achievements

The football game genre has changed very little of the past 5 years. Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) has remained king among the discerning fans, whilst FIFA has appealed to the more casual gamer. PES6, released last year, was barely any different from 5, 4, 3, or 2 for that matter. In many ways PES6 was actually a step backward with some previous features removed. The football game genre has been in need of fresh ideas for some time; does UEFA 2007 deliver on its promise? Oh Yes!

The FIFA match engine has been tweaked in a number of ways for the better. Firstly, the ball and player physics have been improved such that each is now individually modeled; giving the impression of weight and momentum to the players. The change certainly benefits the look and realism of matches, but it does mean that the players are a little less responsive on the turn. Player collision is much better too and this aids defending a little, although the defending is still a bit tricky.

The controls have been tweaked too with crossing now much more a matter of skill than just tapping B. Passing and through balls are also much better than previous FIFA releases; in fact it is positively PES like. Delve into the control options and you’ll actually find a setting called “New Default” which actually maps all the same buttons as PES6! If you are familiar with PES then there are a few extra buttons to contend with. I personally like the the offside button as it takes me back to the George Graham days .

The pace of the game is slower than FIFA 07 and PES promoting a more strategic pass and move style - Alan Hanson would approve! This has the positive effect of more realistic matches with plenty of tight 0-0 and 1-0 results; but it also means that UEFA is a game that you need plenty of patience and skill in to get the most out of it. No longer is FIFA a pick-up and play game.

Overall the match engine is a welcome improvement, and despite the slower play and tricky defending, it is actually more rewarding when you eventually score (‘cos it is not easy!). UEFA is still not quite as good as PES, but the FIFA series is definitely getting very close to stealing its crown.
Where UEFA wins hands down is in its plentiful and novel game modes; in particular the card trading Ultimate Team mode. Football games had become quite dull in terms of the competitions and game modes available with multiple rehashes of the same international and national cups. To be honest, once you’ve played one, you’d played them all and there was no compelling reason to carry on unless it was for achievements.

In UEFA, the Ultimate Team mode steals RPG style elements and combines them with a trading card game (that you can trade online) to create a game that is both engaging and strangely addictive (you can fill a scrap book with your cards too). At the start of the game your are given 16 random cards. Further Bronze card packs can be “purchased” with credits you earn playing ultimate team matches (you get more credits for high difficulty levels). Silver and Gold packs can be won by completing certain challenges and levelling up. Various cards are available: including, players, modifiers (in-game), stadia, kits, badges, coaches, back-room staff, and managers.

To create the ultimate team you must balance the attributes of the team by collecting particular players, coaches and managers that work well together. This is achieved by matching nationality, favorite formations and positions to get a “Chemistry” bonus that improves your team’s on-the-pitch attributes.
The card trading system is a Stato’s dream with loads of menus, details, statistics, and endless combination bonuses. Unfortunately, EA make it as difficult as possible for you to learn about this new feature. The manual is useless and the in-game tutorial barely scratches the surface. I suspect that EA want you to visit their website or phone their help-line, which are cynically plastered over the manual, to actually find out how to use the card trading system. EA are releasing a movie tutorial on XBLM, which is at least something.

Graphically UEFA 2007 is a sold effort. The player animations are fluid and life-like while the players feature some nice textures and decent face mapping. The grass and stadia look great too. The in-game presentation and menu navigation is well designed, particularly the card trading screens, and it is a doodle to use once you are used to the many menus-in-menus.

As with previous FIFA games, the sound is top quality with some realistic crowd chants, a reasonable in-game commentary (much better than PES!), and a fantastic soundtrack featuring mixes from a couple of my favorite acts: Bonobo & The Thievery Corporation.

With the ultimate team mode alone, UEFA would represent much better value for money than FIFA 07 or PES6. However, UEFA also features additional Champions League challenge modes (one that is unlocked in UT), and a brilliant 4 player, lag free, XBL that also allows you to enter your Ultimate Team.

Sadly, some of the achievements in UEFA 2007 are a joke. Most of worst ones are inherited from FIFA 07, and represent some of the most ridiculous ever defined: for instance, “Win 60 games in a row”! & “Get an average of 4 goals per game over 50 games on Semi-Professional difficulty”. There are some achievements tied to the Ultimate Team mode, and these are generally more reasonable and balanced.

Overall UEFA 2007 is a really good attempt to move the football game genre forward. Whilst the match engine is still not quite as good as PES, the rest of the package puts UEFA 2007 3-1 up at half time. The new Ultimate Team mode, with the card collection mechanism, is quite brilliant and provides an interesting, compelling & rewarding way to enjoy playing football on your Xbox 360. UEFA 2007 is highly recommended for PES and FIFA fans alike.

8/10

Review: NBA Street Homecourt (X360)

2008-02-17T14:07:00.001Z

NBA Street Homecourt is a funky, frantic and fun take on a team sports game.

Achievements: Easy

Pros: Fast and funky gameplay; great sound track; top quality graphics and animation; career mode is well defined and addictive

Cons: XBL dumps you out after matches; defending is quite tough; poor manual and no tutorials

NBA Street Homecourt is an arcade-style take on the game of basketball and features no-holds-barred matches with the emphasis on tricks, combos and spectacular dunks. Matches feature 3 vs 3 basketball, on various homecourts (local park and sports halls), where you pull off various tricks & combos to both score baskets and build up a Game Breaker meter. Once filled, the GameBreaker allows you to pull of ‘uber’ tricks for bonus points and extra baskets.

The Homecourt Challenge play mode adds basic RPG elements to the game that allow you to create a custom player and build a team to take on various challenges around a US homecourt circuit. Beating each of the challenges boosts your player’s stats and allows you to buy bonus items plus recruit better team mates. The Homecourt Challenge is a lot of fun and the RPG elements work really well, drawing you further into the game.

XBL play is good fun; even when Scooby beats you 10-0. The game play is fluid and there are none of the usual lag issues that effect other sports games (e.g. PES). Strangely, in a private match the game dumps you back to the menu after the game. Tiger Woods does this as well, so I think this is a deliberate ploy by EA to make you use their pointless lobby system.

The graphics are superb and everything is given a sepia-tone wash which adds the the 70’s retro feel of the game (the sound track also features many 70s ghetto funk tunes). The player models are excellent with detailed textures, including sweat, whist the animations and crazy moves are fluid and fast. The sound is also good, with the players shouting instructions and taunts that form a key part of the play: for example, they will alert you to a combo move. The sound track is superb, even if it borrows a couple of tunes from Tiger Woods, and features an eclectic mix of modern Hip-Hop and 70’s Funk (I’m love 70’s ghetto funk so I might be biased).

The multiple play-modes, XBL and a fairly lengthy Homecourt Challenge make NBA-S-H good value for money. The achievements are well designed and promote the full use of the game’s tricks and moves. It might be said, however, that they are a little on the easy side.

NBA Street Homecourt is a very good game and a nice alternative to the usual 360 fare. You do not have to like basketball to enjoy the game (I don’t); and to be honest it is about as far removed form basketball as you can get. If you enjoyed the film White Men Can’t Jump, and fancy yourself as a “court king”, then NBA Street Homecourt might well be right up your street!

8/10

Review: GRAW 2 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:56:00.002Z

GRAW2 delivers welcome improvements to both the multiplayer and single player games at the expense of a shorter campaign.

Ubisoft has managed to squeeze out this sequel in just 12 months. Does it deliver enough improvements to justify a further £40 outlay?

On first inspection the answer is yes. The original GRAW, although critically received, did suffer from a couple of significant problems:

- The single player campaign was very challenging for most players, and GRAW featured a much higher “trade-in” rate than many early games as some players found it too frustrating.
- The multiplayer felt like a different game, lacking the graphical flare or feel of the single player game.

GRAW2 definitely rectifies both of these issues but it is at the expense of longevity.

The single player game now features:
- a superior CrossCom, giving greater tactical control of your units, including the new Mule (a mobile weapons cache)
- you now have the ability to get one of your squad to heal you (thus making the campaign move forgiving)
- a low-risk campaign mode for casual players
- more varied out door environments
- slightly more fluid movement and animations

Combined these new features really do significantly improve the GRAW2 single player game and make it much more fun, and less of a sniper trawl. However, the single-player game is now significantly shorter than GRAW, and capable players will charge through on the default risk setting in 4-5 hours.

The multiplayer has also been significantly improved with equivalent visuals and movements (to the single player game) and a much better designed co-op. However, as with GRAW, the multiplayer still feels like a different game. The cover mechanic, so important in the single player, is still a glaring omission and the controls in multiplayer still feel slower and unresponsive.

Many of the game modes are still brutally unforgiving. The fast & frantic deathmatch modes can become quite frustrating especially given the low rate of turn accompanied by one-shot-kills. The many “no respawn” modes can also test your patience if you are unlucky enough to be hit at the beginning of each round.

I still find the multiplayer gameplay in GRAW2 suits a particular type of player, and the many complex game modes and configurable settings confuse and bemuse the casual gamer. GRAW2 multiplayer is definitely suited to the more professional and competitive players who can take it very seriously – try a Ranked Match and you’ll find out for yourself.

Graphically, GRAW2 looks fantastic. I did notice some cheesy draw distance when riding in the 4x4, but on the whole the textures, backgrounds and animations are beautiful. Even multiplayer looks great now.

The graphics are sometimes so good that unit camouflage makes it very hard to make out your targets, particularly in multiplayer, (if not for the CrossCom) against the backgrounds.

The game audio and sound effects are also on a par with the original GRAW’s high standards. In the game’s extra menu you can even lighten to the rather warmongering soundtrack.

The shorter campaign mode obviously makes GRAW2 difficult to recommend if you just plan on playing the single player game. Having said that, it is a lot more enjoyable than GRAW so it may be worth trading GRAW for GRAW2 if you have it.

To get the most value from GRAW2 you do have to embrace the multiplayer, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I remain unconvinced by the multiplayer, but so far I have only played ranked matches with real “jarhead” types, so I may change my mind over time.

The achievements are nicely distributed between the single player and multiplayer, but don’t anticipate getting more than 250 if you don’t embrace the full GRAW2 experience.

Overall, I believe GRAW2 to be an enjoyable and worth sequel that carries enough improvements to justify a purchase, whilst still carrying a number of features and flaws that make GRAW2 fall short of the classic it should be.

7/10

Review: Crackdown (X360)

2008-02-17T13:41:00.004Z

Crackdown delivers a thoroughly entertaining and fun game that feels like a short, but action packed, graphic novel.

Elements of the gameplay are a pure joy: rooftop leaping, explosions, weapons targeting, grenade launchers, and interactive objects. Other parts of the gameplay feel half finished or rushed, such as: road races, rooftop races and mission variety. However, on the whole, Crackdown is just simple, unadulterated fun, where you can do what you like, when you like, how you like.

The graphics are inspired by the look and style of graphic novels with partial cell shading and comic book characters. The draw distance from the tops of the building is impressive, the character and vehicle models work well (especially the levelling up changes) and the framerate is pretty consistent. The spawning and drawing of objects is less impressive with a short draw distance and inconsistencies.

Crackdown has a weak soundtrack and some problems with the narrator talking about situations you are not in: for example,. “Best view in the city agent”, when you are in the swimming in the sea! However, the explosions and other sound effects are great with huge bass and plenty of depth.

The nature of the open gameplay means you will still be playing even after completing the story (in about 10-20 hours). The achievements are very well designed, encouraging replay whilst being realistic and fun in obtaining. The co-op is a bit of a let down as stats and tasks completed in co-op are not carried over to the non-host. If you join a game, you must do so selflessly to help the host player only.

I found this game to be such complete fun. Yes, there are some annoying and half finished features in Crackdown, but the basic concept, gameplay and experience is such a pure joy that you’ll find yourself loosing hours messing about in the open sandbox world. I have invested more that 20 hours, even after completing the story after about 10. Crackdown draws you in and doesn’t let go. Please note that I am a fan of graphic novels (especially Frank Miller), so I love the style and substance of Crackdown. If you don’t like the genre then deduct 2 marks.

8/10

Review: Amped 3 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:39:00.004Z

Amped 3 is the best snowboarding game since 1080 Snowboarding on the N64.

Amped 3 was a ‘360 launch game that many people have played so this will be a brief review

Amped 3 delivers some of the best snowboarding game-play since 1080 Snowboarding on the N64. The boarding is predominantly trick-based, but is very forgiving and is bags & bags of fun. As well as snowboarding there are also sledging, snowmobile riding and hand gliding mini-games. The only criticism is the occasional unforgiving slalom and magic gate challenge that may have you exploding with rage and frustration.

Purely on its original visual style this game would easily get a “10”. The cut-scenes and vignettes that string the story together are pure genius. The quality of the witty writing, crazy animation and video production is the best seen in any video game. The actual levels are great to look at with some fine snow and weather effects. All the in-game characters have super smooth animation and look cool as you string your tricks together.

Again, the cut-scenes and vignettes are the highlights with some brilliant quirky music, voice acting and sound. In-game the sound effects and music are equally good.

The game’s story mode is fairly easy to complete, which is a good thing as you get to see all of the vignettes. There is no online mode, but some simple co-op challenges are provided for offline playing. The achievements are designed to keep you playing, in particular the “awesomeness” goals for each mountain.

I picked up Amped 3 for less than £15 in my local Game, which was great value. You too should be able to find a pre-owned copy out there.

Amped 3 is just huge fun: from the forgiving and spectacular snowboarding, to the brilliantly witty vignettes that accompany the story. The visual style is highly original, funny and funky, which really adds a real layer of quality to an already great snowboarding game.

9/10

Review: Fuzion Frenzy 2 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:37:00.003Z

Fuzion Frenzy 2 fails to deliver on the promise of a party game for the ‘360.

Fuzion Frenzy 2 is the sequel to a Xbox Classic launch game. The original game consisted of a variety of mini-games that could be played on their own or as part of a series. Criticisms of the original game included a lack of on-line support (XBL did not exist at the time), bleak “running man” visuals, and a lack of structure to the mini-games.

Development of FF2 was handed to Hudson, the creators of the Mario Party series, so expectations where quit high. The Mario Party series has consistently delivered a fun party game on the N64 and Gamecube platforms with a variety of good mini-games fitting into a star-collecting board game (played with dice): in the Mario Party series the mini-games form only part of the overall experience.

Unfortunately Hudson has produced a by-the-numbers sequel that inherits most of the mistakes from the original, and in many ways made them much worse.

Firstly, without the board-game element, you are only left with the mini-games. This would be fine if they where in sufficient numbers (only 40+) and quality. However, there are not enough mini-games to carry a purely mini-game focused party game and, sadly, many of the mini-games just aren’t fun, or are just slight variations on the same game.

There are three game modes: tournament, frenzy, and custom. Tournament has the four players competing in mini-game sets (4 games per set), with each set taking place on one planet. Players compete to win a predetermined number of sets and can use cards to change the outcome of each game (see below). Frenzy is just pure mini-games (no cards). Finally, custom allows players to compete for a prescribed number of mini-game wins.

Hudson have added a new “luck” mechanic, inspired from the Mario Party series, by including cards that can affect the outcome of each mini-game: for instance, the game points can be x2, x4, x6; cards can be stolen, or effects reversed (multiplier becomes divider). Unfortunately, the result introduces too larger slice of luck into the game and you’ll find yourself winning a mini-game only to have a player who game 2nd or 3rd taking all the points by using a card effect. There is a fine balance between fun twists of fate and frustration and in this case Hudson got it wrong as the cards often completely negate winning each mini-game.

FF2 does support online play, but you are limited to four players and the game-play suffers the same problems as the offline game – it just isn’t much fun. I would concede that FF2 would be better with a group of friends plied with alcohol, but Hudson have really missed a trick in not creating a game that is inherently fun or can be enjoyed equally on or offline.

Graphically, FF2 is a mess. The same “future-tech” game-show style has been implemented from the original, with bleak looking environments and clumsy looking character animations. Hudson made the same mistake with the recent Bomberman remake. Personally, party games need to have a fun and funky style to emphasis the party atmosphere (see Mario Party, Warioware or Super Monkey Ball) – FF2 is like a visit to the dentist!

The sound in the game is pretty bland, with weak musical scores and sound effects. The voice acting, however, is something else! FF2 features one of the worse game characters ever invented. The game show DJ is unbelievably annoying, repetitive, grotesque, irritating, and badly dubbed! You can’t even turn him off! He continually calls out inane things during each mini-game like “how are you feeling player 1!”…Arrrggggg!!

FF2 retails well under the usual £50 RRP, but given the limited number and mixed quality of the mini-games, plus poor overall game design, FF2 does not represent good value for money. You can complete the entire game in one weekend, so it makes a better rental.

FF2 is a missed opportunity. The ‘360 lacks a decent party game, and XBL should be the ideal environment for one. Unfortunately FF2 is too weak an offering and fails to deliver any improvements over the original. If you want a party game, wait for Worms HD or play Marble Blast Ultra which are much more fun.

2/5

Review: Fight Night Round 3 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:32:00.003Z

FN3 features breathtaking visuals and is a solid and enjoyable fighting game.

Before the sport was ruined by the moneymen & having a farcical number of belts, boxing was something that I would enjoy watching. I wasn’t sure how well boxing would translate to a console (and never played FN1 or 2) but FN3 really captures the intensity, brutality and strategy of genuine boxing. The use of the analogue stick for punch control is inspired, and you can produce some amazing looking combos.

The fighting is complimented by an excellent career mode that features a traditional “ladder” of fights and fighters, mixed with RPG based character development via training mini-games and bonus apparel.

The graphics are sensational, if not perfect. The level of detail and quality of the animations is simply breathtaking. Sweat, blood, speed, human movement, and weight are all portrayed incredibly realistically. The backgrounds and tertiary effects are also brilliant: in particular the fantastic handy-cam view during the fights.

The sheer quality of this game extends to the music and sound effects with a great sound track and brutal boxing noises: teeth smashing, jaw breaking, ribs cracking, urrgg! - it’s all there.

The achievements are pretty straightforward, but they do become more challenging as your progress through the career mode and the fights get tougher. FN3 also features XBL play as well as a number of other game modes in addition to the core career mode. There are also a number of licensed fighters and venues thrown in to recreate classic bouts. However, given the asking price, there is a lot of in-game adverting and sponsorship, which personally I find a little distasteful for a game that was £50 at retail.

A quite brilliant fighting game that really captures the atmosphere, brutality, and enthral of professional boxing. FN3 features amazing visuals, sound, and immersive gameplay, making FN3 an essential XB360 purchase for sports-game fans. -- I just wish I bought it when it came out. emoticon

9/10

Review: WSC 2007 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:31:00.001Z

Don’t be put off by the sub-standard visuals, as WSC2007 is a satisfying sports game.

The WSC series, from Codemasters, has been around for a few years now, although this is the first version to make it to the ‘360. Featuring Snooker, Pool, Billiards and Bar Billiards, it is the most comprehensive yet. The latest version also includes full XBL support and a new “cue ball prediction” system to improve the positioning element of your Snooker and Pool.

If you know who to play either Snooker or Pool you can jump straight in to a match with WSC 2007. The controls are intuitive and simple, with the thumb-stick use to line up your shots and the buttons used to adjust power, spin and angle. The game provides forecast travel directions for the cue and object balls, which diminish the harder or the more pressure on the shot. Snooker and Pool are played from both a player’s eye and overhead view point, so lining up the shot with the forecast travel is easy and balanced. In addition, the game also predicts where the cue ball will finish, thus aiding positional and safety play. Once again, this diminishes in accuracy depending on the shot difficulty.

Worth a mention is the “create a player” feature that allows you to create your own character. As you play the game you can earn points that can be used to improve some of your character’s skills: like potting, positioning or spin. You can tailor the look of your character, but for some reason there are limited options (hair, face, eyes) so the final result often looks quite odd.

The ball physics are excellent with an accurate feel of playing Snooker or Pool that is distinctly better than XBLA’s Bankshot Billiards. You do feel the baise slowing a finely cut ball, or a shot weight reducing following a bounce off a cushion. The best way to describe playing WSC would be “satisfying and rewarding”. Take on a difficult pot and sink it and you’ll feel like a champ; miss an easy black and you’ll be a chump (and most probably lose the frame!).

Graphically WSC is quite poor. The balls and table surface are fine, but the character models, environments and lighting look like they have come straight from a Playstation 2 – alright, not quite that bad, but not up to ’360 standards. Some of the colours, except for the balls, are often dreadful: for instance, take a look and the table legs - they look like ice-cream cornets. Strangely, the table and balls in the game’s main-menu are beautifully rendered - what happened there?

The music and sound are also pretty poor, but the commentary by John Parrot, Steve Davies and John Virgo is pretty good and quite funny in places. Some of the crowd noises are like canned studio audience effects, and they seem to have clap-attacks where they can’t stop!

The game offers good value as it features a large number of licensed events, players and venues. There are a number of play modes, including Pool, Snooker and Combined championships as well as on-line play via XBL (& and no EA servers!). All the achievements are achievable and there is a nice spread with none requiring online play. The difficulty in the championship modes can be a bit daunting to start with, but as you rank up and improve your character, things get easier: you might lose a few games to Ronny O’Sullivan without hitting a ball early on, but invest the time and you’ll be more of a competitor later.

If you like a bit of Pool and Snooker, or occasionally watch it on the Tele, then you’ll definitely enjoy WSC 2007. You have to look beyond the naff graphics and sounds, for underneath there is a very satisfying, challenging and fun sports game. WSC 2007 is a slow, tactical & thoughtful affair, which offers a pleasant change from the death and destruction that many recent titles thrive on. If you fancy a change of pace, stick your order in for WSC 2007 today.

7/10

Review: King Kong (X360)

2008-02-17T13:30:00.001Z

Some neat ideas but the FPS is too generic and repetitive.

King Kong combines elements from dinosaur shooters (e.g. Turok) with fighting elements (DOA style) as you play as both human (Jack) and Kong. The bulk of the game is standard FPS fare that involves engaging various dino critters and solving basic puzzles.

There are repeating “scripted” events which progress the story but also suffer from regular glitches and bugs. One bug, in particular, resulted in me having to start the entire game again from the start as you only get one save game and it saved the game mid-glitch – very frustrating!

Playing as Kong is much more fun as the game switches to a combo-based fighting game with Kong fighting various big dino monsters whilst swinging through the jungle.

Although too dark in places, the graphics are very good. The characters have their recognisable actor faces and the models & textures are excellent. The weapons look good, and there are some nice fire and water effects. The environments do get repetitive; as do the enemies, but both convey the look and style of the film very well. Kong is the graphical highlight with full animated “fur” and motion captured movements.

The music and sound effects are often taken straight from the film and are pretty good. The actors also lend their voices to their characters which emphasises the ambition of the game.

You can pick Kong up for less than £20 (MiniMinx bought it for £15), but personally it is best enjoyed as a rental. The game is short and you could probably complete it in a weekend. The achievements are all unlocked by playing the game all the way through.

The film was too long and a bit unnecessary, even though it was a visual and cinematic spectacular. The game follows the same trend, but this time it is too short and repetitive. As a movie tie-in it is a sterling effort, but it is still a below par FPS with a few neat Kong sections.

6/10

Review: Tiger Woods 2007 (X360)

2008-02-17T13:29:00.001Z

Tiger ‘07 is a welcome slice of golfing action on the ‘360.

The PGA Tour series has been going for a number of years now and it is good to see that it still delivers a fine game of golf. The golf swing is neatly translated to the ‘360 control sticks and feels just right. The inclusion of simple fade, draw & spin with the new “target zone” aiming is a welcome improvement.

Tiger’07 also features an excellent character development mode which sees you trying to improve your character’s skills by competing in a wide variety of different events.

The courses are beautifully presented and look fantastic on an HD TV. The player character models are excellent with some cool customisable animations. The character creation engine also allows you to create an avatar with an amazing variety of renders and textures.

I have been critical of EA’s Trax in the past, but here it actually works really well with some fine tunes to accompany the golf. The voice, crowd and ball sound effects are all fine, with each drive featuring a particularly satisfying “whomp”!

Tiger ’07 delivers a large array of different game modes from training mini-games to full tournaments that will keep players occupied for some time. Tiger also features a well designed multiplayer that includes a welcome variety of game modes. It is, however, disappointing to be short changed in having 9 fewer courses than the PS2 and Xbox versions. In addition, EA have done themselves no favours by being quite cynical with the Marketplace add-ons as well.

Tiger ’07 is a genuinely enjoyable sports game, and plays a fine game of golf. The character creation & development, multiplayer options and variety of game modes make this an essential purchase for any golf or sports game fan.

8/10

Review: F.E.A.R (X360)

2008-02-17T13:27:00.001Z

Half life meets horror in this stylish but dull FPS

The core gameplay follows the traditional FPS conventions complete with head bob (nauseating), traditional weapons, 30 second flashlight (come-on, this is becoming a daft cliché), and run+gun fighting. It all feels quite dated compared to the latest games like Gears of War and Rainbow Six Vegas. However, the inclusion of bullet-time focus and the use of excellent particle & smoke effects do result in some stylish and spectacular gun fights.

The graphics are a mixed bag. The textures and animation are mediocre with repetitive environments and bland gun models/reloads. However, the smoke and particle effects are some of the best seen on the platform. Plaster, wood, and objects vaporise to form clouds of obscuring smoke & dust that really add atmosphere to the action. The net result is a distinctly classic Xbox look and feel but with some ‘360 turbo charging on the style.

Sound is effectively used, in particular, to enhance the horror aspects of the game. However, answer machines are used to move the plot and story along and the sound quality of these is quite poor and often drowned out by either the mediocre sound track or other background noises/effects.

F.E.A.R features a standard story mode that will probably last 10 hrs (like most FPS) and a functional multiplayer. The achievements are particularly nasty, and require you to play through the game multiple times whilst trying not to use certain skills or weapons – not very imaginative really.

I am not a fan of the horror genre and prefer my FPS to be more tactical than frenetic so F.E.A.R. struggles to impress me. The story is interesting, and the gameplay more than adequate, but for me the substance fails to match the ambition of the style. If you like FPS and enjoy creepy horror films, like the Ring, then this is recommended purchase. For me, however, this is a game that is best enjoyed as a rental.

6/10

Reviews: Star Trek Legacy (X360)

2008-02-17T13:26:00.002Z

Boldly goes part of the way, where no game has gone before.

As a self confessed fan of the series, I had been looking forward to this game for some time. The prospect of piloting the starships from all 3 eras got my geeky parts tingling. The game has received some mixed reviews, some good, others bad. Much like Star Trek itself, it divides opinion.

The basic premise of the game is to pilot a small fleet of Star Trek starships and complete a given mission. The game setup is similar many mission-based games, where you have both Primary and Secondary objectives that need to be balanced. Once on-route you will encounter various enemy ships and engage them in one on one combat or as a coordinated fleet.

The gameplay is very reminiscent of the home computer series “Elite” (Elite, Frontier, Close Encounters), where the combat is very much focused on manoeuvring your ship into the best position and then letting loose with everything you’ve got; then making a turn, and doing the same again. Much like naval combat, it is fairly tactical and slow paced; “X-wing-vs-Tie-Fighter” it is not. I really loved the Elite series, so I find this style of gameplay quite familiar and enjoyable. It also represents the style of combat found in the series and films: think of Wrath of Khan and the fight in the Nebula and you get the idea. For me, as a fan of both Trek and Elite, it works well and feels just right for these big interstellar ships.

The game, however, is not without some significant problems; most of which can be attributed to a lack of polish or a rushed delivery. These problems don’t ruin the game, but they are a little frustrating:

Beware; the difficulty curve is very steep. You’ll probably struggle with completing the missions quite early on in the game. The tutorial feature in the game doesn’t really help much, and you have to persevere a little. The missions are also quite unforgiving: You might fail a mission 20 minutes in and have to replay the whole thing again.

Another problem is the dodgy physics. Your ship will bounce off other ships, objects and even planets! It is a shame, as this could have been implemented using some kind of collision damage or other form of avoidance rather than a lame “bounce-off” effect. The planets are also woefully out of scale: When you fly close they just become big balloons in space. Again, it is a shame that some method of obtaining orbit or scaling the object wasn’t employed; even just having the planets in the background would have been better.

The graphics range from quite brilliant to a bit naff. The ship models, textures, and backgrounds are outstanding. You really feel like you are controlling the ships from the series. As a fan it almost brings tears to your eyes. Unfortunately, when the ships break apart they do so in an N64 style. They basically fall apart, into a half dozen chunks, like a neatly sliced sponge cake, and then fizzle away. It looks so cheap compared to the amazing model itself. There are no significant smoke or particle effects. The impression is of a product that was rushed to market. You feel “Legacy 2” would have all the graphical effects to match the stunning ship models.

The sound effects in “Legacy” are spot on, with satisfying phaser and torpedo effects. The voice acting is OK. It is not up to the Oblivion standards, but it is nice to hear the real captains speak. The music is genuinely Star Trek-esque, with some nice orchestral melodies to accompany the scale of the battles.

The game itself is quite lengthy and is good value for money if you like Trek. A slightly tacked on, but functional, multi-player extends “Legacy’s” life further, but I expect it is one for fans only. The achievement points seem fairly distributed and attainable, although the high difficulty may make some of them very tough indeed.

In Summary, Star Trek Legacy is a competent tactical space combat game played with large, heavily armed, starships that have big turning circles. If you like Star Trek and you have always wanted to play a game that featured the ships, then “Legacy” is fun enough to warrant a purchase despite its flaws. If you are not fussed about Star Trek and hated games like Elite, then you might want to give Legacy a wide birth. My hope is that any “Legacy 2” game fixes the flaws and will give the fans the complete package that they richly deserve.

6/10

5/10 - if you don't like Star Trek.

Review: Rainbow Six Vegas (X360)

2008-02-17T13:22:00.004Z

Rainbow Six Vegas takes the best elements of “Rainbow Six 3 - Black Arrow”, mixes them with “Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter” and “Splinter Cell” to create one awesome game!

Rainbow Six Vegas follows the same premise as the previous R6 games but this time sets the story around a central location (you do actually start the game in Mexico). This is the first Rainbow Six game to make the next-generation, with fans of the Xbox series (excluding Lockdown), myself included, waiting with bated breath.

I must admit that I was slightly apprehensive about this game after playing the demos. The single player demo was good, but was also a bit linear and suffered from framerate issues. The multiplayer demo also appeared laggy and slow and had some pretty rough textures, especially after playing Gears. Having now played the full retail game in both single and team multi-player I can honestly say my fears where unfounded – this is an amazing game!

The core gameplay from previous R6 games, particularly Black Arrow, has not only been retained and but enhanced to a level that makes this play and feel like the most realistic shooter out there. Additions include, an excellent cover mechanic -as good as Gears-, greater flexibility of team orders (GRAW), better team AI, Tango tagging on breach & clear, snake cams (Splinter Cell), rappelling (Splinter Cell),, destructible environments (cars etc…), equipment drops (GRAW) and more. The end result is some of the most immersive games I have experienced. You really feel part of the environment and right in the heart of the action. First Gears, and now Vegas, really set the standard for all future shooting games. If anything, the slower pace and realism of Vegas make the experience all the more tense and spectacular.

The level design is excellent, with plenty of variation: from tight claustrophobic allies and buildings, to sprawling yards and warehouses. Each level/checkpoint is huge and there are nearly always a number of alternative routes and strategies that can be employed. You are able to use you team to perform complex flanking manoeuvres, as well as multiple room entry points for the ultimate “flash and clear”.

The graphics are nothing short of beautiful with some highly detailed textures, water reflections, smoke, draw distance and heat haze (GRAW style). The Unreal3 engine (as used in Gears) is really put to exceptional use again in Vegas. The guns also look fabulous and have a satisfying solidity when wielded. Each gun can be customised with different sights and lasers, so you can take a basic Sub and upgrade it with a sniper sight if you wish – very neat.

Like most of Ubisofts ‘360 games the sound is excellent too. All the weapons have superb effects and the muzzling (you can silence most guns) is really neat and atmospheric in close quarter conditions. The usual “24” style music accompanies the missions and menu screens and is good enough to be catchy without irritating.

The multiplayer, like the single player, also plays and looks a lot better than the demo. The maps I tried where varied, detailed and action was lag free with a decent framerate. I could even hear the enemy talking with an echo effect! There a large number of game modes that will result, I suspect, in Vegas being played online a lot longer than Gears. All the single player controls and actions are retained, even the snake cam.

There has been much talk of the inclusion of camera support in Vegas. Scanning my face to the in-game avatar was very easy, with only two photos needed, and took about 2-3 minutes to render. It is quite strange to see your self mapped onto an avatar in this way but it seems to work. I could clearly see my big nose and fat head emoticon. The camera did make me look slightly bald (I have a crew cut) and grey but I think these were down to the light conditions. You can modify the camera settings when you take the picture to allow for grey or poor light.

Your game avatar can be further customized with hats (locked to start with), glasses, armour and camouflage clothing (whose colours can be customised further). I have tried to create a CTU TAC team look to my avatar and it kind of works. There is no doubt that this level of customisation, although not changing the gameplay, does add another level of immersion to the experience. However, I do wonder how long it is before we start seeing crazy things like a cat or dogs head. (I was tempted with my cat!).

This game is terrific value for money. As well as an exceptional main game you have coop (two modes) and multiplayer to keep you Tango busting for many months. The additional features, avatar, ranks, and achievements give Vegas plenty of mileage and I’m sure people will still be playing in 3-6 months time. I can’t comment on the single player game length, but even on the normal difficulty it is blooming hard and I can’t see many people finishing it in less than 10 hours.

In summary, Rainbow Six Vegas is an exceptionally good game and comes hot on-the-heals of Gears as one of the games of the year. I must be honest and say it brought a tear to my eye when I attached the silencer and bagged my first stealth-based tango – simply brilliant! Rainbow is back, and back at the top of the first person shooter tree.

9/10

Review: Viva Pinata (X360)

2008-02-17T13:19:00.004Z

Is Rare back to its charming best? You bet!

I have grown up with Rare from the Spectrum beginnings as "Ultimate Play The Game" (Alien8 gamer pic) through to the '360 launch title "Kameo". In my opinion, Viva Pinata restores Rare's credentials for creating quality, simple, challenging but fun games that they pioneered in the Spectrum and Nintendo days. Viva Pinata is the "Blast Corps" of the '360 era.

The basic premise of Viva Pinata is to construct and manage a garden in order to attract and breed wild Pinata. The overall objective is to continually expand and attract bigger and more valuable Pinata to your Pinata Farm.

The core gameplay couldn't be simpler. Find out what the Pinata you want needs and provide it: from fruit and flowers, to other Pinata lower in the food chain. Along the way you encounter "Sour" Pinata, who drop toxic sweats, weeds, and other annoying Visitors. The easiest way to describe Viva Pinata is Theme Park meets the Sims; the sandbox nature of the garden means you spend many enjoyable hours tweaking and designing, whilst trying to get your Pinata to breed or new Pinata to become established. It is great fun.

Each Pinata is a paper-and-sweet version of a real animal, so you have Flutterscotches (butterflies), Raisants (Ants), Lickatoad (Toads) and so on. The game presentation is slick, cute and distinctive and you'd have to be very cold hearted not to love it. Some people have commented that it looks childish, but really the visual style is very appropriate for a game based on Mexican Toys full of sweets.

Young children will enjoy the early game and are unlikely to progress much further, which is quite good as the game can actually get quite violent at higher levels: spade bashing, and Pinatas eating each other. The learning curve is spot on and the game will begin to really challenge you from level 10 onwards.

The graphics are excellent. Everything has a paper texture and looks wonderful, with vibrant colours and some great Pinata animations. If there is a small criticism: the mini-games look a bit naff. The Mexican styling is spot on and the human characters, complete with masks (very Majora) and well drawn and animated.

The game sounds are good, and the voice acting is excellent although a little patronising to begin with. As it is a Rare game there are some good British regional accents in there too and some funny "British-style" names.

I can easily see this game taking up many hours of the Christmas holidays and offers good fun that you can dip in and out off. The ability to send Pinata or other items via Xbox Live is a nice touch although the ability to view other people's gardens would have been nice.

In summary, Viva Pinata is a compelling, addictive and charming game that really demonstrates Rare's pedigree for great games on the '360. Play Viva Pinata and you wont be disappointed.

9/10