Ho ho ho - Merry Christmas. Not that merry for me this year, unfortunately, as I've had tonsillitis since Christmas Eve (I did, with the help of lots of painkillers, manage to eat my own weight in Christmas dinner though).
Game-wise, this year I received the excellent Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (nothing says 'Christmas' more to me than assassination*) on 360 from my wife and a book, 1001 Videogames you must play before you die from my daughter (a handy reminder of my own mortality from my first-born).
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood uses the same characters and setting (albeit mainly set in Rome this time) as Assassin's Creed II - sort of an Assassin's Creed 2.5. There is enough new content and new activities (mainly related to killing people, admittedly) in the new game to make it an essential purchase for fans of the previous game (my Game of the Year in 2009).
1001 videogames... is a slab-like (960 pages) trawl through seminal (and some less so) videogames from the 1970s up to Heavy Rain in early 2010. With any book like this (whether it be videogames, films, footballers etc), I usually try to catch it out with games that I think *should* have been included (the answer to which would be, of course, 'write your own bloody book then') but so far I've only thought of 3D Ant Attack on Spectrum (first isometric-perspective adventure game) and Vandal Hearts on PS1 (niche strategy RPG from Konami), both of which are quite obscure. It is a great read and I highly recommend it to everyone with an interest in the history and progression of videogames.
* this is literally, if oddly, true - I received both Assassin's Creed and Assassin's Creed II as Christmas presents over the last few years.
Friday, 31 December 2010
Sunday, 19 December 2010
Saboteur (ZX Spectrum) iPhone review
8-bit gaming house Elite Systems was a big hitter back in the mid-late eighties, bringing out a number of great titles. I particularly remember its arcade conversion of Capcom classic, Commando and its flick-screen licensed 'Airwolf' game, both of which were favourites of mine. Surprisingly, given most of those old companies having gone bust or been acquired by other, bigger, companies over the years (Infogrames - now Atari - taking over Gremlin Graphics and Ocean in the nineties, for example) the company is still around and has brought a number of classic (and, to be fair, some filler) ZX Spectrum titles to iPhone.
Initially, ZX Spectrum Elite Collection Volume 1 brought 6 titles to the Apple platform but there has since been an update (the originally-titled Volume 2) doubling the total. In the last couple of weeks, there's been a further release (as in-App 59p purchases) of four new volumes, two of Gremlin Graphics games (including the Monty Mole games) and one each for Software Projects (including Manic Miner) and Vortex (including one of my top 5 favourite Spectrum games, Highway Encounter).
Despite the name, not all the games in the two initial volumes were originally Elite titles - a few, including the one I'm going to concentrate on, Saboteur, were originally published by Durell. Durell is still in business too but it pulled out of the games market in the late eighties, to concentrate on writing software for insurance companies, presumably on the basis that loss adjustment spreadsheet titles aren't going to be copied on C90 tapes and passed around school playgrounds. Elite bought the rights to its back catalogue at that time, a purchase that continues to bear dividends now that technology and nostalgia have combined in the form of emulators.
Saboteur is a flick-screen proto-stealth game, with the protagonist an early version of a Sam Fisher type agentWithin a time limit, you have to infiltrate a base, collect a floppy disk (well, it was programmed in the eighties) - at which point the timer thankfully stops - and then escape in a handily-placed helicopter (optionally, you can also blow up the base if you find a carelessly-placed bomb). The base is populated with guards, guard dogs and automatic gun emplacements, of varying degrees of intelligence. There are 9 difficulty levels, adding some longevity to a game that can be completed reasonably quickly (on the lower difficulty levels anyway). And that's pretty much it.
Unlike many 8-bit games, the basic theme of Saboteur is similar to that of modern games - it could be Solid Snake infiltrating this base (though, thankfully, Saboteur doesn't feature a 15-minute cut scene after you successfully do so). The game was considered a technical achievement at the time, with intelligent use of the Spectrum's limited palette and featuring a large, detailed (for the time) central character. When it came out, it was the first game that I had played where the main character had a regenerating health bar, that allowed you to cower in a corner after being savaged by a particularly persistent dog (as the time limit ticked mercilessly down).
The muted use of colour (well, it is night-time) is another reason why Saboteur doesn't seem hopelessly ancient today. Some of the games in the collections - Kokotoni Wilf, say - look like garish explosions in a paint factory (albeit a factory that only makes 8 different colours of paint). Saboteur's extensive use of black, together with only two or three colours at a time, means the on-screen action is subdued and consequently less jarring to eyes spoilt by thirty years of progression in graphical techniques.
The game can either be played in portrait mode, with the action shown in the top half and control 'keys' on the bottom, or landscape, with the whole screen used for play and controls superimposed over that. I played the game on iPad, as I do most iPhone games and went with the divided screen option, which worked fine. The conversion is a faithful and well-realised one and either control method works well (or as well as the original at any rate).
With any emulated game, I think it is difficult to divorce the playing experience from the nostalgia buzz and Saboteur is no different. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it again but would that have been the case if I'd been twenty (thirty!) years younger and playing it for the first time? Would some of the gameplay now be too grating (only being able to carry one item at a time for example) if I'd been brought up on Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell? Probably I think it would but if you have fond memories of Saboteur and the other games available, the best of them - a category within which I would include Saboteur - can certainly still provide enjoyment.
Initially, ZX Spectrum Elite Collection Volume 1 brought 6 titles to the Apple platform but there has since been an update (the originally-titled Volume 2) doubling the total. In the last couple of weeks, there's been a further release (as in-App 59p purchases) of four new volumes, two of Gremlin Graphics games (including the Monty Mole games) and one each for Software Projects (including Manic Miner) and Vortex (including one of my top 5 favourite Spectrum games, Highway Encounter).
Just like a shelf in WH Smiths in 1985
You'd think they'd station a guard on this jetty
Unlike many 8-bit games, the basic theme of Saboteur is similar to that of modern games - it could be Solid Snake infiltrating this base (though, thankfully, Saboteur doesn't feature a 15-minute cut scene after you successfully do so). The game was considered a technical achievement at the time, with intelligent use of the Spectrum's limited palette and featuring a large, detailed (for the time) central character. When it came out, it was the first game that I had played where the main character had a regenerating health bar, that allowed you to cower in a corner after being savaged by a particularly persistent dog (as the time limit ticked mercilessly down).
The strange 'Man at C&A' stance, is the default standing posture
The game can either be played in portrait mode, with the action shown in the top half and control 'keys' on the bottom, or landscape, with the whole screen used for play and controls superimposed over that. I played the game on iPad, as I do most iPhone games and went with the divided screen option, which worked fine. The conversion is a faithful and well-realised one and either control method works well (or as well as the original at any rate).
With any emulated game, I think it is difficult to divorce the playing experience from the nostalgia buzz and Saboteur is no different. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it again but would that have been the case if I'd been twenty (thirty!) years younger and playing it for the first time? Would some of the gameplay now be too grating (only being able to carry one item at a time for example) if I'd been brought up on Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell? Probably I think it would but if you have fond memories of Saboteur and the other games available, the best of them - a category within which I would include Saboteur - can certainly still provide enjoyment.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Legend of Zelda inspired make-up!
My wife writes a beauty blog, www.londonmakeupgirl.com and it is very seldom that there's any overlap between the content of our respective blogs. Not since the dismal failure of the Donkey Kong Hair Removal range, anyway.
The 'Legends' make-up collection from Etsy seller Shiro Cosmetics remedies that, however. This collection consists of loose pigments for use as eyeshadows (or so I'm told) and the names of all the individual shades are Zelda-themed -'Link', 'Zora', 'Hearts', 'Ganondorf', 'Kokiri Forest' 'Majora's Mask' and more.
I'm not going to review them here - that would be way beyond my descriptive powers. I'm not even sure videogames and make-up share a vocabulary. Iridescent, maybe. London make-up girl makes a far better go of it, reviewing those shown here (from top left Ganondorf, Temple of Time, Deku, Bottom: Epona, Master Sword).
If you're not a fan of Zelda, there's also a Pokemon-inspired range ('Super Effective'). Squirtle eyeshadow, anyone?
The 'Legends' make-up collection from Etsy seller Shiro Cosmetics remedies that, however. This collection consists of loose pigments for use as eyeshadows (or so I'm told) and the names of all the individual shades are Zelda-themed -'Link', 'Zora', 'Hearts', 'Ganondorf', 'Kokiri Forest' 'Majora's Mask' and more.
I'm not going to review them here - that would be way beyond my descriptive powers. I'm not even sure videogames and make-up share a vocabulary. Iridescent, maybe. London make-up girl makes a far better go of it, reviewing those shown here (from top left Ganondorf, Temple of Time, Deku, Bottom: Epona, Master Sword).
If you're not a fan of Zelda, there's also a Pokemon-inspired range ('Super Effective'). Squirtle eyeshadow, anyone?
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Knitted Sackboy!
As many of these posts attest to, I like cool videogame ephemera and the latest addition, thanks to my wife, is this knitted Sackboy, bought from an Etsy seller. It's nicely done, with articulated arms and legs (far better quality than those available commercially).
Currently on a shelf in my study, checking that I don't spend time checking Twitter when I'm supposed to be working (as if).
Currently on a shelf in my study, checking that I don't spend time checking Twitter when I'm supposed to be working (as if).
Sunday, 14 November 2010
Game Dev Story - iPhone review
It's strange that App Store games above the 59p price point (or even £1.19) are often the subject of internet criticism that they are 'too expensive', despite being less than a shop-bought sandwich or magazine. Game Dev Story, on iPhone, comes in at a 'weighty' £2.39 and has been subject to such criticism. I used to pay £1.99 for Mastertronic games on the Spectrum back in the 80s - this is only 40p more (and considerably less in real terms) and is a finely-crafted gem of addictiveness.
At its simplest, it is a business simulation, where you attempt to guide your start-up company to success, fame and fortune. The USP here is that the company in question is a videogame developer and the graphics are isometric 16-bit style.
After first hiring a team of coders, you put them to work on either a game or contract work. A number of consoles are available (all of which have a sizeable licence fee that must be paid up front) but you'll most likely start on churning out PC games, where both costs and profits are lower, before being able to afford to move onto consoles.
Games come in a number of types and genres, more of which are unlocked as you play and your team's skills progress (training them helps here). If the genre and type of game are well-suited - samurai RPG, for example - your game is more likely to succeed. Probably best to avoid Ninja Dating games though.
The development work has four attributes - fun, creativity, graphics and sound - and it's up to your team to maximise these categories. Each can be increased by power-ups bought from a travelling salesman who periodically appears and, at least once during development, one of your staff will come to you asking for permission to attempt to boost an aspect of the game.
At the end of a game's development, the bugs that have worked their way into your game can be programmed out, or you can release a game full of bugs (not that that would ever happen in real life).
After the game is finished, it is reviewed by hard-nosed games journalists, who can be stingy with their scores. Fortunately for my games company, games will still sell even if they review poorly, as in real life (as Wii shovelware Carnival Games's 1.5m copies sold shows).
The game works within an annual cycle, with some events taking place every year. There is a sense of progression throughout the game, with new consoles being brought to the market and old ones being discontinued as the years pass.
The game is extremely addictive - I have played it for lengthy periods when I could have instead been playing on one of my 'proper' game consoles. The urge to develop 'one more game' (which leads to another and another....) is very strong. Business in the real world is not an interesting subject but pseudo-business with cute 16-bit graphics is.
And for less than the cost of pint of beer.
At its simplest, it is a business simulation, where you attempt to guide your start-up company to success, fame and fortune. The USP here is that the company in question is a videogame developer and the graphics are isometric 16-bit style.
After first hiring a team of coders, you put them to work on either a game or contract work. A number of consoles are available (all of which have a sizeable licence fee that must be paid up front) but you'll most likely start on churning out PC games, where both costs and profits are lower, before being able to afford to move onto consoles.
Games come in a number of types and genres, more of which are unlocked as you play and your team's skills progress (training them helps here). If the genre and type of game are well-suited - samurai RPG, for example - your game is more likely to succeed. Probably best to avoid Ninja Dating games though.
The development work has four attributes - fun, creativity, graphics and sound - and it's up to your team to maximise these categories. Each can be increased by power-ups bought from a travelling salesman who periodically appears and, at least once during development, one of your staff will come to you asking for permission to attempt to boost an aspect of the game.
At the end of a game's development, the bugs that have worked their way into your game can be programmed out, or you can release a game full of bugs (not that that would ever happen in real life).
After the game is finished, it is reviewed by hard-nosed games journalists, who can be stingy with their scores. Fortunately for my games company, games will still sell even if they review poorly, as in real life (as Wii shovelware Carnival Games's 1.5m copies sold shows).
The game works within an annual cycle, with some events taking place every year. There is a sense of progression throughout the game, with new consoles being brought to the market and old ones being discontinued as the years pass.
A proud moment
And for less than the cost of pint of beer.
Thursday, 28 October 2010
Fable 3 Limited Collector's Edition unboxing
My blog has turned into a bit of a Fable III fan site over the last few weeks, with news of the game slowly being released, together with the launch of the Fable III Kingmaker smartphone app. That trend continues with this post, as I received - a day before the European launch - the Limited Collector's Edition of the game in the post today (thanks shopto.net).
It's a lovely package, similar to the Alan Wake Limited Edition of a few months ago, in that the box is fashioned like a hardback book, with an outer slipcase.
Inside the 'book' is the game box itself, sitting on a shelf that divides the inside in two. Extra content is included in a hidden drawer that is pulled out from underneath this shelf.
The drawer reveals a pack of Fable III cards and a large, heavy, metal, coin that has a 'good' and an 'evil' side, ideal for assisting with all of those tricky questions in life.
The playing cards have Fable characters portrayed on the court cards, the aces and the jokers.
And there's a game as well! As is usual with these packages, there is some exclusive content available for download - a new region (Hunter's Lodge), which contains a unique outfit from the land of Aurora, a new breed of dog (the Boxer) and an exclusive quest (in which the player can earn the legendary sword, Wolfsbane).
And now I'm off to play the game (having booked tomorrow off work)!
It's a lovely package, similar to the Alan Wake Limited Edition of a few months ago, in that the box is fashioned like a hardback book, with an outer slipcase.
Internet purchasers - it doesn't fit through a letterbox
It really is very 'bookie'
et voila
The drawer reveals a pack of Fable III cards and a large, heavy, metal, coin that has a 'good' and an 'evil' side, ideal for assisting with all of those tricky questions in life.
The obverse
The side that isn't the obverse
The illustrations are lovingly-reproduced
The package in full
Sunday, 24 October 2010
Fable III: Kingmaker. Seen in Gorblimey, yesterday
I was in London/Gorblimey yesterday (for non-UK readers, 'gorblimey' was a common (in at least two meanings of the word) exclamation of surprise in 19th Century London, derived from 'God blind me') and, while strolling through Bloomsbury, walked past the McCann Erickson building.
The advertising agency always displays its wares in a large picture window by the entrance and the current one is Kingmaker-themed (it has the Microsoft account) -
The advertising agency always displays its wares in a large picture window by the entrance and the current one is Kingmaker-themed (it has the Microsoft account) -
There's treasure worth 2000 gold here. Win!
The main display has two inset monitors, with each displaying flag-planting auto-tweets from the two factions. I planted a couple of flags while I was there but I didn't see mine pop up - even though the onscreen tweets were coming in thick and fast, there must be plenty backing up.
Microsoft gave a press release a couple of days ago that said there were 60,000 users who between them had planted over a million flags. I think this is pretty good going, particularly given that, for the first week or so of release, it didn't really work.
Rebel scum are everywhere
I've currently 'earned' over 30,000 gold, to be put to good use once the game is released in the UK on 29 October.
Thursday, 14 October 2010
Fable III: Kingmaker - iPhone review
Just when I was beginning to think that it was itself a fable, the Fable III Kingmaker app was released on the iPhone yesterday.
As I've written before, the app is part of the Fable III marketing campaign. The app credits state that it has been developed by McCann London, the uber advertising agency that holds the Microsoft account (and whose beautiful art deco offices I walk past on the way to work).
Players register and are then allocated to one of two teams, the Rebels and the Royals (representing factions in the game). I'm a Royal, which would not have been my natural inclination - what with rebels being cooler - but I figure if players were allowed to choose, we'd all be rebels.
The aim of the game is to have your faction control the most 'territories' (compartments of real-world locations). Each player can aid their team by 'planting' flags on their phone, with that flag equating to their location at that time. The faction with greater number of flags in a territory controls it. Each day, players are given 10 flags to plant in the 'real world'. I commute between 'Middlinglande' (Herts & Beds) and 'Gorblimey' (London - all regions have comedy names bestowed upon them) for work and spread my flags around them both.
As well as aiding your faction, each flag you plant gains you gold, which you can upload to the game once it's released (and once you've linked Kingmaker to your Live ID). The flags are worth 50 gold each but that increases by multiples of 50 gold if the player links their Twitter and/or Facebook accounts. The app does then tend to spam your accounts, so you may prefer to link them to dummy accounts.
There are additional treasure sites, which the player can visit to claim the booty (first 100 players only at each location though). All of these are in GAME stores, possibly the first example of treasure being found in those locations. The app tells you where your nearest treasure site is - mine is 45 km away!
The app has been a little bit buggy for me at times, kicking me out while logged in and occasionally not calculating my gold properly (my last two flags today were only awarded 50 gold, rather than 150).
The app allows you to monitor how many flags you've placed and how many are remaining, together with an update on who controls the most territories.
There's further detailed analysis available from the Kingmaker website , (I'm currently rated 2435 for gold collected, apparently).
There isn't really much else to it but, for a free download that will provide an in-game benefit, I think it's a nice little app - kudos to Lionhead for coming up with it.
EDIT 17 October
I've had a few days to play around with the app now and think that it has serious problems with its functionality. My app is linked to my Twitter and Facebook accounts - so, each flag should deliver 150 gold - but, after doing this for a couple of days, it has returned to only giving out 50 gold for each one. The 'treasure' tab to the app - showing pots of gold near to the player, where a planted flag will deliver 2000 gold - no longer works (nothing appears when it is selected).
I still think that the app is a good idea but it would have benefited from far more testing prior to release. That begin said, I would sooner Lionhead concentrated on getting Fable III itself bug-free, than on using finite resources in polishing an app that only European smartphone owners can use.
EDIT 19/10/10
I've noticed that the 'Treasure' tab works fine in Gorblimey (London) and I used it to rinse 11,000 gold during my lunchbreak. It seems the streets of London are paved with gold, after all. On returning to Middlinglande (Herts) it stopped working again.
FINAL EDIT (hopefully) - 20/10/10
The app updated this morning and now everything works - the extra gold for Facebook/Twitter linking; the Treasure tab in all regions; locations of all treasure shows up in the Treasure tab and the log-in/log-out process is streamlined.
As I've written before, the app is part of the Fable III marketing campaign. The app credits state that it has been developed by McCann London, the uber advertising agency that holds the Microsoft account (and whose beautiful art deco offices I walk past on the way to work).
Players register and are then allocated to one of two teams, the Rebels and the Royals (representing factions in the game). I'm a Royal, which would not have been my natural inclination - what with rebels being cooler - but I figure if players were allowed to choose, we'd all be rebels.
The aim of the game is to have your faction control the most 'territories' (compartments of real-world locations). Each player can aid their team by 'planting' flags on their phone, with that flag equating to their location at that time. The faction with greater number of flags in a territory controls it. Each day, players are given 10 flags to plant in the 'real world'. I commute between 'Middlinglande' (Herts & Beds) and 'Gorblimey' (London - all regions have comedy names bestowed upon them) for work and spread my flags around them both.
As well as aiding your faction, each flag you plant gains you gold, which you can upload to the game once it's released (and once you've linked Kingmaker to your Live ID). The flags are worth 50 gold each but that increases by multiples of 50 gold if the player links their Twitter and/or Facebook accounts. The app does then tend to spam your accounts, so you may prefer to link them to dummy accounts.
There are additional treasure sites, which the player can visit to claim the booty (first 100 players only at each location though). All of these are in GAME stores, possibly the first example of treasure being found in those locations. The app tells you where your nearest treasure site is - mine is 45 km away!
The app has been a little bit buggy for me at times, kicking me out while logged in and occasionally not calculating my gold properly (my last two flags today were only awarded 50 gold, rather than 150).
The app allows you to monitor how many flags you've placed and how many are remaining, together with an update on who controls the most territories.
There's further detailed analysis available from the Kingmaker website , (I'm currently rated 2435 for gold collected, apparently).
There isn't really much else to it but, for a free download that will provide an in-game benefit, I think it's a nice little app - kudos to Lionhead for coming up with it.
EDIT 17 October
I've had a few days to play around with the app now and think that it has serious problems with its functionality. My app is linked to my Twitter and Facebook accounts - so, each flag should deliver 150 gold - but, after doing this for a couple of days, it has returned to only giving out 50 gold for each one. The 'treasure' tab to the app - showing pots of gold near to the player, where a planted flag will deliver 2000 gold - no longer works (nothing appears when it is selected).
I still think that the app is a good idea but it would have benefited from far more testing prior to release. That begin said, I would sooner Lionhead concentrated on getting Fable III itself bug-free, than on using finite resources in polishing an app that only European smartphone owners can use.
EDIT 19/10/10
I've noticed that the 'Treasure' tab works fine in Gorblimey (London) and I used it to rinse 11,000 gold during my lunchbreak. It seems the streets of London are paved with gold, after all. On returning to Middlinglande (Herts) it stopped working again.
FINAL EDIT (hopefully) - 20/10/10
The app updated this morning and now everything works - the extra gold for Facebook/Twitter linking; the Treasure tab in all regions; locations of all treasure shows up in the Treasure tab and the log-in/log-out process is streamlined.
Wednesday, 13 October 2010
Eurogamer Expo 2010
Between 1-3 October, London's Earl's Court played host to the third annual Eurogamer Expo, organised by the eponymous gaming website. I'd been to the previous two and thought that this one was probably the largest so far, certainly in terms of the size of the venue. I was not sure that it was the best, though.
I booked my ticket months ago, before many games had been announced (all three days eventually sold out, as they had done in previous years, so it paid to think ahead). Up until about a month ago, there still weren't that many games that I was interested in - some great titles, no doubt but nothing that really grabbed me. However, over the three weeks prior to the show that changed - Fable III was announced, as were Kirby's Epic Yarn and Little Big Planet 2 and all three were on my 'wanted' list, particularly the first.
Fable III was the game that I most wanted to see and it was as good as I had expected, though it did look, graphically, VERY similar to Fable II (no bad thing in my book but I wonder if that is indicative of the fact that the 360 has been taken as far as it can in terms of graphics), although the Albion being depicted is now that of an industrial era. I'd already pre-ordered the game and booked a day off work for the day of its release (as it's released during half-term, all that remains to be done is line up the grandparents for child-minding duties) so I'm not the most subjective reviewers. One criticism though - I completely failed to get one of the Fable III t-shirts that were being given away by Lionhead staff.
PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect were demonstrated but I find it very difficult to care about motion tracking devices/games. I own a Wii, so I consider that that particularly itch has been well and truly scratched and nothing I saw at the Expo changed my mind. I'm sure the technology in both new pieces of kit is better than that housed in the Wii but not so much as to make me care. More importantly for Sony and Microsoft, I don't think that their target market of casual gamers will care enough to about upgrade from their Wiis either. With rumours of a 'Wii2' around the corner (though I think Nintendo will have a job itself in convincing Wii owners to upgrade, even as market leader) the Sony and MS offerings look a little desperate.
There were several games exhibited that were sequels in series that I don't really care about - Gran Turismo 5, Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, Medal of Honor, Motorstorm Apocalypse - and a couple where the previous games are still uncompleted in my Pile of Shame - Fallout: New Vegas and DragonAge II. I've no interest in playing the former and I don't want to 'skip' a game to play the latter, so these, undoubtedly well-executed, polished products, didn't interest me that much.
There were some surprises at the Expo - games that I hadn't really thought about but have now moved onto my wanted list. inFamous 2 and Castlevania Lords of Shadow both fell into that category. I enjoyed the first inFamous game, although it wasn't without its flaws but the sequel, despite seeming to have a default camera point closer to the main protagonist (a revamped Cole), looked more polished than its predecessor. Cole still has his cool electrical powers but not to the extent of using them to 'encourage' the developers - its about a year until this is released.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow looked absolutely gorgeous. I've never been a Castlevania fan - I had Symphony of the Night special edition on PS1 but never really liked it and sold it to fund my 360 purchase. Lords of Shadow isn't really that much like a Castlevania game, to its credit (with me, anyway). It's a third person action adventure, heavy on the (whip-based, naturally) combat and - from the excerpt at the show anway - huge bosses. Win!
Most hilarious stand was that for DefJam Rapstar - watching geeks karaoke rapping was as fantastic as it sounds. Also the noisiest - the MC didn't seem to shut up the whole show and certainly earned his money.
The most intriguing stand was that for Nintendo - part of the stand was cordoned off and shrouded in blackout curtains, with a snaking line of gamers queued up outside. I reckon you could show anything in such a way at a show like this and get a queue outside of it but this one was probably merited a queue. The game that was being previewed inside was Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, latest in the long-running series. I didn't queue up - I hate queueing for anything - but I now wish I had, as I found the level of secrecy intriguing (and I'm a fan of the Zelda games).
There were undoubtedly some stellar triple-A titles being shown at the Expo - unfortunately, with a few notable exceptions, those triple-A titles weren't the ones that I was interested in. I also found that, while slicker, the move to the larger venue left it a bit 'colder' than in previous years - last year's venue, at Old Billingsgate Market, with its labyrinthine layout was more enjoyable. That being said, I reckon I'll be back next year...
For what it's worth, the 30-something gamer Eurogamer Expo awards!
Game of the Show - Fable III (please see note on lack of subjectivity above)
Meh of Show - Move, Kinect
Mystery of Show - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Yuck of the Show - Saw II
Disappointment of the show - not getting asked for ID by the bouncers on the 18+ zone
Headache of Show - watching monitors showing 3D gaming without 3D glasses
Surprise of Show - Castlevania Lords of Shadow
I booked my ticket months ago, before many games had been announced (all three days eventually sold out, as they had done in previous years, so it paid to think ahead). Up until about a month ago, there still weren't that many games that I was interested in - some great titles, no doubt but nothing that really grabbed me. However, over the three weeks prior to the show that changed - Fable III was announced, as were Kirby's Epic Yarn and Little Big Planet 2 and all three were on my 'wanted' list, particularly the first.
Fable III was the game that I most wanted to see and it was as good as I had expected, though it did look, graphically, VERY similar to Fable II (no bad thing in my book but I wonder if that is indicative of the fact that the 360 has been taken as far as it can in terms of graphics), although the Albion being depicted is now that of an industrial era. I'd already pre-ordered the game and booked a day off work for the day of its release (as it's released during half-term, all that remains to be done is line up the grandparents for child-minding duties) so I'm not the most subjective reviewers. One criticism though - I completely failed to get one of the Fable III t-shirts that were being given away by Lionhead staff.
PlayStation Move and Xbox 360 Kinect were demonstrated but I find it very difficult to care about motion tracking devices/games. I own a Wii, so I consider that that particularly itch has been well and truly scratched and nothing I saw at the Expo changed my mind. I'm sure the technology in both new pieces of kit is better than that housed in the Wii but not so much as to make me care. More importantly for Sony and Microsoft, I don't think that their target market of casual gamers will care enough to about upgrade from their Wiis either. With rumours of a 'Wii2' around the corner (though I think Nintendo will have a job itself in convincing Wii owners to upgrade, even as market leader) the Sony and MS offerings look a little desperate.
There were several games exhibited that were sequels in series that I don't really care about - Gran Turismo 5, Gears of War 3, Killzone 3, Medal of Honor, Motorstorm Apocalypse - and a couple where the previous games are still uncompleted in my Pile of Shame - Fallout: New Vegas and DragonAge II. I've no interest in playing the former and I don't want to 'skip' a game to play the latter, so these, undoubtedly well-executed, polished products, didn't interest me that much.
There were some surprises at the Expo - games that I hadn't really thought about but have now moved onto my wanted list. inFamous 2 and Castlevania Lords of Shadow both fell into that category. I enjoyed the first inFamous game, although it wasn't without its flaws but the sequel, despite seeming to have a default camera point closer to the main protagonist (a revamped Cole), looked more polished than its predecessor. Cole still has his cool electrical powers but not to the extent of using them to 'encourage' the developers - its about a year until this is released.
Castlevania Lords of Shadow looked absolutely gorgeous. I've never been a Castlevania fan - I had Symphony of the Night special edition on PS1 but never really liked it and sold it to fund my 360 purchase. Lords of Shadow isn't really that much like a Castlevania game, to its credit (with me, anyway). It's a third person action adventure, heavy on the (whip-based, naturally) combat and - from the excerpt at the show anway - huge bosses. Win!
Most hilarious stand was that for DefJam Rapstar - watching geeks karaoke rapping was as fantastic as it sounds. Also the noisiest - the MC didn't seem to shut up the whole show and certainly earned his money.
Not legal tender. Cooler than the Ben Franklin, though
The most intriguing stand was that for Nintendo - part of the stand was cordoned off and shrouded in blackout curtains, with a snaking line of gamers queued up outside. I reckon you could show anything in such a way at a show like this and get a queue outside of it but this one was probably merited a queue. The game that was being previewed inside was Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, latest in the long-running series. I didn't queue up - I hate queueing for anything - but I now wish I had, as I found the level of secrecy intriguing (and I'm a fan of the Zelda games).
There were undoubtedly some stellar triple-A titles being shown at the Expo - unfortunately, with a few notable exceptions, those triple-A titles weren't the ones that I was interested in. I also found that, while slicker, the move to the larger venue left it a bit 'colder' than in previous years - last year's venue, at Old Billingsgate Market, with its labyrinthine layout was more enjoyable. That being said, I reckon I'll be back next year...
For what it's worth, the 30-something gamer Eurogamer Expo awards!
Game of the Show - Fable III (please see note on lack of subjectivity above)
Meh of Show - Move, Kinect
Mystery of Show - Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Yuck of the Show - Saw II
Disappointment of the show - not getting asked for ID by the bouncers on the 18+ zone
Headache of Show - watching monitors showing 3D gaming without 3D glasses
Surprise of Show - Castlevania Lords of Shadow
Monday, 4 October 2010
FIFA 11 Scramble
The new FIFA came out last week and, as is usual with 'big' games where large retailers are expected to undercut specialist retailers at launch, there was considerable speculation on the Internet as to what supermarket would have the best deal. Obviously, the shops themselves weren't giving that information out to the public (and so to their competitors) but, slowly, rumours (some true, some false) filtered out, ahead of their 'official' advertisements in Thursday's papers, ahead of Friday's release of the game. The deals available weren't as good as some of those from last year but I ended up going for the Sainsbury's one (£24.97 when you spend £30 on booze groceries).
I've written about this phenomenon before and I'm sure it will continue for a while yet (there's a new Call of Duty out in a few weeks, after all). But I think that its end is in sight and that speculating on how much Tesco's will be selling FIFA 2020 just will not happen. A digital download only future will kill this type of undercutting (I wonder if the supermarkets even made a profit on some of the deals available) and scanning newspapers adverts in the days before a big release will go the way of tape-loading, dial-up internet and, well, newspapers themselves.
I've written about this phenomenon before and I'm sure it will continue for a while yet (there's a new Call of Duty out in a few weeks, after all). But I think that its end is in sight and that speculating on how much Tesco's will be selling FIFA 2020 just will not happen. A digital download only future will kill this type of undercutting (I wonder if the supermarkets even made a profit on some of the deals available) and scanning newspapers adverts in the days before a big release will go the way of tape-loading, dial-up internet and, well, newspapers themselves.
Monday, 27 September 2010
Fable III Kingmaker
This morning I received a Fable III flyer from Game. As well as drawing the Fable III-branded 360 controller to my attention (can't really see the point of that, though it looks pretty and if I needed an extra controller, I'd consider it), it also revealed an app-based game, Fable III Kingmaker -
If anything, I'm now more excited about Fable III
I'd not heard anything about this before in any of the magazine previews for Fable III but it seems a really good idea. Available from either 2nd October (according to the flyer) or 1st October (according to the website), it is a way for the player to accumulate 'treasure'/gold (and for Microsoft to increase gamers' expectations) before the game's release at the end of October (as with Pub Games before the release of Fable II). The flyer only refers to the UK but the website shows French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish and Italian flags (go 'O' Level Geography!), so presumably localised versions will be available in those countries. There were no details on similar products for other territories.
Roll on Friday (or Saturday).
EDIT 2 October 2010 The Kingmaker website has been updated and the App will now be available from 'October'. Elsewhere on the internet, it suggests that the App will be available for Android phones on 4 October and iPhones a few days after that (no release date given). There's a trailer here .
And it has also been confirmed that the App will not launch in North America.
Monday, 13 September 2010
Alan Wake - review
Alan Wake is a third-person psychological thriller from Max Payne developer, Remedy. Prior to release, it had, famously, 'enjoyed' a lengthy development period - up to 6 years, depending on which source you believe. Accordingly, there was a lot of anticipation, tempered with a jigger of hype and seasoned with a dash of fanboyism (as an Xbox 360-exclusive) ahead of its release.
Note torch. You'll be shining it a lot
The titular Wake is a Stephen King-esque author suffering from writer's block, who goes on holiday to the small northwestern US town of Bright Falls with his wife, Alice (a ruse on her part to get him to write again). Early on in the game Alice is abducted by dark, supernatural, forces and the rest of the game revolves around Wake's attempts to find her.
The 'dark supernatural forces' really are dark - their physical manifestations can be harmed by light, mainly that emitted by Wake's Energizer-eating torch (as well as ammo for his weapons, batteries for Wake's torch must continually be found). Those inhabitants of Bright Falls that become possessed by the dark must first be stunned by light before becoming vulnerable to gunfire. Light itself (from street lights, for instance) becomes a haven from the dark, where Wake can rest undisturbed (and trigger checkpoints).
The game owes a debt to a wide-range of popular culture influences. Bright Falls echoes the town of Twin Peaks and also Blue Velvet's Lumberton, as do many of its inhabitants (Cynthia Weaver *is* the Log Lady from Twin Peaks); the quest for a lost relative was seen in seminal survival horror game, Silent Hill; the dark presence reminded me of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos and some of the set pieces towards the end of the game were extremely similar (though presumably completely coincidental, given their respective development cycles) to those in Left 4 Dead 2.
The game is extremely linear, as can be seen from the map below (I can predict confidently that this will be the only map ever published on my blog).
While the graphics are excellent, the voice acting is, at best, hit-and-miss - Wake is OK, Barry, Wake's literary agent is annoying (but not badly-acted annoying) but some of the voicing of the supporting case is very variable in its quality. I quite like that, reminding me of the (far worse) voice acting in Silent Hill, which led you to wonder if the characters were 'baddies' or just 'badly acted'.
I throughly enjoyed playing the game despite its flaws but, unfortunately, it's had a poor time at retail, selling (I read in 360 magazine a couple of weeks ago) only 500,000 copies. It was discounted quite heavily within a couple of months of its release (as I said here I picked up the Collector's Edition for only £20 in July) in the face of gamer apathy.
While it received some decent reviews (it got an 8/10 and 7/10, respectively, in gamesTM and Edge, the UK's finest multi-format magazines and a 7/10 on www.eurogamer.net), it didn't receive the unanimous 9s and 10s that maybe some had thought that its pedigree long gestation and would have warranted. A large factor in its lack of activity at retail was its release, in the EU, on 14 May 2010 (coincidentally, my birthday) - just 7 days before the sublime Red Dead Redemption (which did, deservedly, receive stellar reviews). RDR sucked all of the oxygen out of the games market in one giant copy-selling behemoth and another story-led game (though RDR's 'modular' story structure was far more innovative than that used in Alan Wake) didn't stand much chance. The multi-format RDR has sold approaching 7m copies to date. Even if that figure is split evenly between the 360 and PS3 versions, it has still outsold Alan Wake 7-1 in a similar timeframe. I would be very surprised if Microsoft thought that it would compete in a meaningful way with Rockstar's game but even so, half a million copies must be a disappointment.
It is unfortunate that the game has not been more successful. As I said, it is very linear but it is difficult to make something as tightly story-driven as this without having a degree of linearity (for the same reason you don't start turn to the middle of a book after the first chapter, outside of a Fighting Fantasy book anyway), as Heavy Rain found earlier this year. If such games aren't successful, simple economics dictates that similar games won't be green-lighted in future - boxed console games cost millions to develop and consequently need to sell millions to recoup the investment. If the moneymen think that Medal of Duty 4: Tactical Warfare is a better option than original IP, then that's what they'll fund (and that isn't necessarily a criticism of them - once upon a time, I qualified as an accountant).
Although it acts as a veritable magpie towards other fiction, the work of synthesis that Remedy has created is original in its own right and should be welcomed for that in an increasingly risk averse market.
The titular Wake is a Stephen King-esque author suffering from writer's block, who goes on holiday to the small northwestern US town of Bright Falls with his wife, Alice (a ruse on her part to get him to write again). Early on in the game Alice is abducted by dark, supernatural, forces and the rest of the game revolves around Wake's attempts to find her.
The 'dark supernatural forces' really are dark - their physical manifestations can be harmed by light, mainly that emitted by Wake's Energizer-eating torch (as well as ammo for his weapons, batteries for Wake's torch must continually be found). Those inhabitants of Bright Falls that become possessed by the dark must first be stunned by light before becoming vulnerable to gunfire. Light itself (from street lights, for instance) becomes a haven from the dark, where Wake can rest undisturbed (and trigger checkpoints).
There are driving sections. They're not that good.
The game owes a debt to a wide-range of popular culture influences. Bright Falls echoes the town of Twin Peaks and also Blue Velvet's Lumberton, as do many of its inhabitants (Cynthia Weaver *is* the Log Lady from Twin Peaks); the quest for a lost relative was seen in seminal survival horror game, Silent Hill; the dark presence reminded me of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos and some of the set pieces towards the end of the game were extremely similar (though presumably completely coincidental, given their respective development cycles) to those in Left 4 Dead 2.
The game is extremely linear, as can be seen from the map below (I can predict confidently that this will be the only map ever published on my blog).
It is very much a case of 'got to A, then go to B, via C' and the characters that you meet dictate a lot of the story - and where you are to go next - to Wake, via cutscenes (the lack of story-breaking side missions seems quite a dated gameplay mechanic).
While the graphics are excellent, the voice acting is, at best, hit-and-miss - Wake is OK, Barry, Wake's literary agent is annoying (but not badly-acted annoying) but some of the voicing of the supporting case is very variable in its quality. I quite like that, reminding me of the (far worse) voice acting in Silent Hill, which led you to wonder if the characters were 'baddies' or just 'badly acted'.
At the sheriff's. Like in Twin Peaks.
I throughly enjoyed playing the game despite its flaws but, unfortunately, it's had a poor time at retail, selling (I read in 360 magazine a couple of weeks ago) only 500,000 copies. It was discounted quite heavily within a couple of months of its release (as I said here I picked up the Collector's Edition for only £20 in July) in the face of gamer apathy.
While it received some decent reviews (it got an 8/10 and 7/10, respectively, in gamesTM and Edge, the UK's finest multi-format magazines and a 7/10 on www.eurogamer.net), it didn't receive the unanimous 9s and 10s that maybe some had thought that its pedigree long gestation and would have warranted. A large factor in its lack of activity at retail was its release, in the EU, on 14 May 2010 (coincidentally, my birthday) - just 7 days before the sublime Red Dead Redemption (which did, deservedly, receive stellar reviews). RDR sucked all of the oxygen out of the games market in one giant copy-selling behemoth and another story-led game (though RDR's 'modular' story structure was far more innovative than that used in Alan Wake) didn't stand much chance. The multi-format RDR has sold approaching 7m copies to date. Even if that figure is split evenly between the 360 and PS3 versions, it has still outsold Alan Wake 7-1 in a similar timeframe. I would be very surprised if Microsoft thought that it would compete in a meaningful way with Rockstar's game but even so, half a million copies must be a disappointment.
Stuck on a boat and now some guy's doing his Eric Morecambe impression. Worst. Holiday. Ever.
Although it acts as a veritable magpie towards other fiction, the work of synthesis that Remedy has created is original in its own right and should be welcomed for that in an increasingly risk averse market.
Saturday, 4 September 2010
Epic Citadel - iPad
Last week, Apple released a tech demo called Epic Citadel created by Epic Games (developer of Gears of War) using their 'Unreal Engine 3' software. It is not a game as such (or at all) but rather seeks to show what can be done with the engine on iOS, the operating system used by the iPad and iPhone.
The demo, all shown in first-person viewpoint, showcases a medieval-themed hill-top citadel, complete with soaring towers, buttresses and a town nestling against the castle walls (though devoid of people). Movement is controlled by either tapping a destination on screen, with your viewpoint then 'walking' towards it, or, more directly via two virtual thumbsticks (one for movement, the other for 'looking around').
I'm not normally a big fan of virtual thumbsticks (though I find they work far better on the iPad than the iPhone, due to the size of the screen) but an interesting development here is that they are movable around the screen. Wherever you touch down on the left or right of the screen becomes the thumbstick, thus potentially (in 'proper' games) avoiding the need for these items to block crucial onscreen action - if you found this was the case, you could simply move the stick to an empty area and continue.
Other than wander around, there isn't anything that you can do - it does not pretend to be a game, it is simply a tech demo. Only one building (that I could find) can be entered and there are no objects to interact with but that is not the point - it is simply showing what can be achieved on the platform.
It is absolutely gorgeous to look at, as these screens show. All the photos were taken by my 8-year old daughter - I'd asked her to take photos of 'something pretty' and 10 minutes later she'd taken all of those shown. According to Epic's website, the demo only took the team 8 weeks to create - it will be very interesting what full games can be developed using these tools, in a full development cycle.
I've written before that I thought that the iPad had massive potential as a gaming device and, with tools like this available for developers, I'm hoping that this potential will be fulfilled before too long.
One careful Disney Princess owner
Jousting or circus tents. Hope it's the former
Interior shot, where the virtual thumbsticks can be seen
In medieval world, it's always clothes drying weather
Reminds me a bit of Bowerstone, from Fable
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Videogames on TV
Last week, a new, 24/7, gaming-only, cable/satellite channel was announced for the UK, to be called for reasons beyond me, Ginx. Possibly HD at launch, possibly 3D at some point, definitely chockfull of repeats (fair enough if they are going to broadcast 24 hours a day), it will launch in November 2010. The channel is chaired, according to its website, by a former president of MTV Europe, Peter Epstein and MTV's success is what the CEO Michiel Bakker said is Ginx's aim, when announcing its launch at the Edinburgh Interactive conference 2010.
The range of programming will be, Ginx says, more casual in the daytime hours and then get "edgier" (I dread to think) after 10pm. Its website states it will be aiming at the 8-35-year old market (so, not me!). Ginx already provides game programming on Bravo, with GameFace. I've seen GameFace before and it is very (very) poor. A whole channel behind the makers of that? Hmm, I'm not sure.
Gamers have, historically, been poorly served by mainstream TV. I know that many people extol the virtues of Gamesmaster but that was years ago and I truly do not believe that that style of programme would work in the Internet age. As humorous as seeing a digitally-enhanced Sir Patrick Moore giving out game advice was, the simple fact is that if you're stuck on a game these days, you'll look on the 'Net, not write to a stargazing knight of the realm. Similarly, watching gamers play games is a pretty dull spectacle - any viewers of Sky One's Gamesville from a few years ago can vouch for that - and that's something else that wouldn't work (to give credit to Bakker, he did say that if that didn't work, Ginx wouldn't do it).
What would work, I think, is talking about games in a sensible adult fashion and I hope that Ginx could find half an hour in its schedule for that (I'm not sure it will though). Review programmes on mainstream TV cover books, films and the theatre - why not a games version? The superb Games Night (like The Late Show/Late Review but for games) on little-lamented satellite channel (and Ginx precursor) x-league.tv, was just that - four industry professionals, seated on a static set, talking about games, with one (vaguely professional) host in the Mark Lawson role leading the discussion. I'm surprised that no other channel has picked up on this concept as it would be cheap and sure to be supported by games companies. I doubt it would want for guests either - I'm sure gaming professionals would love to break out of only being on internet-only video, as that would then prove to their collective mothers that they do, in fact, have a 'proper' job!
Although instinctively wary of Ginx (I'm not a fan of MTV), I am quietly looking forward to it and will definitely be tuning in (and then blogging about it) when it starts broadcasting in a couple of months.
The range of programming will be, Ginx says, more casual in the daytime hours and then get "edgier" (I dread to think) after 10pm. Its website states it will be aiming at the 8-35-year old market (so, not me!). Ginx already provides game programming on Bravo, with GameFace. I've seen GameFace before and it is very (very) poor. A whole channel behind the makers of that? Hmm, I'm not sure.
Gamers have, historically, been poorly served by mainstream TV. I know that many people extol the virtues of Gamesmaster but that was years ago and I truly do not believe that that style of programme would work in the Internet age. As humorous as seeing a digitally-enhanced Sir Patrick Moore giving out game advice was, the simple fact is that if you're stuck on a game these days, you'll look on the 'Net, not write to a stargazing knight of the realm. Similarly, watching gamers play games is a pretty dull spectacle - any viewers of Sky One's Gamesville from a few years ago can vouch for that - and that's something else that wouldn't work (to give credit to Bakker, he did say that if that didn't work, Ginx wouldn't do it).
What would work, I think, is talking about games in a sensible adult fashion and I hope that Ginx could find half an hour in its schedule for that (I'm not sure it will though). Review programmes on mainstream TV cover books, films and the theatre - why not a games version? The superb Games Night (like The Late Show/Late Review but for games) on little-lamented satellite channel (and Ginx precursor) x-league.tv, was just that - four industry professionals, seated on a static set, talking about games, with one (vaguely professional) host in the Mark Lawson role leading the discussion. I'm surprised that no other channel has picked up on this concept as it would be cheap and sure to be supported by games companies. I doubt it would want for guests either - I'm sure gaming professionals would love to break out of only being on internet-only video, as that would then prove to their collective mothers that they do, in fact, have a 'proper' job!
Although instinctively wary of Ginx (I'm not a fan of MTV), I am quietly looking forward to it and will definitely be tuning in (and then blogging about it) when it starts broadcasting in a couple of months.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
We've all been on a, summer holiday
The blog has been quiet over the last couple of weeks as I've been on a family holiday to rural Suffolk, where, by my calculations, it is about 1987. There was no internet connection and precious little mobile phone coverage, making it a holiday from my blog, as well as my job.
Although there were no home consoles around, as a true geek family we brought along a couple of DSs, a PSP and an iPad. My daughter worked hard trying to pay off her mortgage to the usurious Tom Nook in Animal Crossing: Wild World on DS, my wife exhibited a hitherto only suspected desire for world domination in Civilisation Revolution on the iPad (the iPhone version, but expanded to full-screen) and I, as I always do when going away, took a bunch of unplayed DS and PSP games from my Pile of Shame.
On holiday, I usually try a few different games to get a feel for ones that I want to spend more time with (which is how I whittle down my home console Pile of Shame) but, other than a few games of Lego Battles on DS and a few hours with Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, I concentrated on one game only, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. I love Fire Emblem games and, even though I returned home from my holiday yesterday, I still played the DS game in preference to my home consoles last night. I'm about 16 hours into the game so far, which I think is about halfway and it is fantastic, as good as (indeed, not much different from) the GBA games. I'll be reviewing it on here when I've completed it, so I won't go into too much detail now.
I had a great holiday and aim to carry my post-holiday buzz as far into my first week back at work as I can (roll on the bank holiday next week). Wish me luck :)
Although there were no home consoles around, as a true geek family we brought along a couple of DSs, a PSP and an iPad. My daughter worked hard trying to pay off her mortgage to the usurious Tom Nook in Animal Crossing: Wild World on DS, my wife exhibited a hitherto only suspected desire for world domination in Civilisation Revolution on the iPad (the iPhone version, but expanded to full-screen) and I, as I always do when going away, took a bunch of unplayed DS and PSP games from my Pile of Shame.
On holiday, I usually try a few different games to get a feel for ones that I want to spend more time with (which is how I whittle down my home console Pile of Shame) but, other than a few games of Lego Battles on DS and a few hours with Professor Layton and Pandora's Box, I concentrated on one game only, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon. I love Fire Emblem games and, even though I returned home from my holiday yesterday, I still played the DS game in preference to my home consoles last night. I'm about 16 hours into the game so far, which I think is about halfway and it is fantastic, as good as (indeed, not much different from) the GBA games. I'll be reviewing it on here when I've completed it, so I won't go into too much detail now.
I had a great holiday and aim to carry my post-holiday buzz as far into my first week back at work as I can (roll on the bank holiday next week). Wish me luck :)
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Alan Wake Collector's Limited Edition unboxing
Pretty much since I started this site, I've been using 'Statcounter' to monitor its traffic. One of the tools that this application offers is the ability to see which of a site's pages are more popular than others. I've noticed that popular pages seem to be those that show an unboxing of a limited edition of game, presumably something that is interesting to those who, probably sensibly, opt for the vanilla version of a game (thereby saving them £5, £10 or more).
I've recently picked up the Alan Wake limited edition online, for a bargain price of £20 (new and delivered). The RRP of this version of the game was £50, so presumably it sold as badly as the main edition, hence the deep discount.
As it's been put for a few months now, I hadn't intended to blog about it but in the interests of giving people what they want, this is what is included in the package.
Inside a cardboard slip file is a large box, fashioned to look like a doorstep-like hardback novel, tying in with the eponymous protagonist's in-game career as a Stephen King-esque novelist.
The 'book' is hinged and opening it reveals that it is a DVD boxset-style slip case, containing three items.
Alan Wake is one of the most impressive limited editions I've seen, even at the full RRP. For £20 it was an absolute bargain. As for the game, I've played a couple of episodes (the action is divided into a number of 'episodes', like a TV series) and I'm enjoying it so far. It reminds me a bit of PS1 game Silent Hill and TV programme Twin Peaks (and, continuing the David Lynch theme, the film Blue Velvet). There's also a 'HP Lovecraft' feel to it, underlined by one of the trees in a forest being signposted 'Great Old One'!
EDIT 13/9/10: I've now played through the game and my review is here.
I've recently picked up the Alan Wake limited edition online, for a bargain price of £20 (new and delivered). The RRP of this version of the game was £50, so presumably it sold as badly as the main edition, hence the deep discount.
As it's been put for a few months now, I hadn't intended to blog about it but in the interests of giving people what they want, this is what is included in the package.
Inside a cardboard slip file is a large box, fashioned to look like a doorstep-like hardback novel, tying in with the eponymous protagonist's in-game career as a Stephen King-esque novelist.
You can just about make out the 'Alan Wake' signature on the box
The 'book' is hinged and opening it reveals that it is a DVD boxset-style slip case, containing three items.
There's a slim hardback book ("The Alan Wake Files"), the DVD game case and a two-disc case containing the soundtrack CD and the 'bonus disk'. The soundtrack to the game hasn't really grabbed me while playing (unlike, say, the Red Dead Redemption soundtrack, that I also own having been given the limited edition to that game for my birthday). Still, it is a nice addition to the package.
The soundtrack/bonus disk case.
The bonus disk includes a few videos about the game and its developer, Remedy and some slideshows of artwork (I haven't looked at these too closely as I don't want any spoilers). It also unlocks some in-game content - a commentary for the game (like a director's commentary on a DVD), that can be switched on when you next play the game itself. Switching this commentary on (in the 'Options' on the main game menu) unlocks an avatar award for your Xbox 360 avatar.
Two Xbox 360 dashboard themes can also be unlocked through the bonus disk too, allowing you to turn your dashboard into Bright Falls or Elderwood (basically, the same place at daytime and nighttime. This is the first theme I've ever had, so I don't know if it is a particularly good one but it looked nice enough to me.
The photo below shows Bright Falls and also shows my avatar modelling the game's sole award (jacket & scarf combo).
Cowboy hat model's own
The book is a collection of 'fiction' and 'non-fiction' (though all, of course, fiction) and compliments the characters and action of the game. The 'author' of the book is a character in the game and the whole authentic-looking (down to review quotes on the dust-jacket) package treats the game as 'real'.
Alan Wake's first published work, apparently
The final item in the package is a code to download the game's first DLC, only released a week or so ago. This is included in the game case, along with the instruction manual.
Alan Wake is one of the most impressive limited editions I've seen, even at the full RRP. For £20 it was an absolute bargain. As for the game, I've played a couple of episodes (the action is divided into a number of 'episodes', like a TV series) and I'm enjoying it so far. It reminds me a bit of PS1 game Silent Hill and TV programme Twin Peaks (and, continuing the David Lynch theme, the film Blue Velvet). There's also a 'HP Lovecraft' feel to it, underlined by one of the trees in a forest being signposted 'Great Old One'!
The complete package
EDIT 13/9/10: I've now played through the game and my review is here.
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
Fable III
As I've said elsewhere on here, I love the two Fable games and am looking forward to the third later on this year. Many games with a fantasy setting can be po-faced and up themselves but Fable can rarely be accused of that, being a far more bawdy experience - like a videogame version of The Canterbury Tales (compared to, say, Dragon Age being like Beowulf ). I like both types of game and I'm glad that there's room for both in the market (though I wish there were a few more that went for humour like Fable does).
Yesterday, Lionhead, the Fable developer, released a cinematic trailer for Fable III to further stoke up my excitement levels (though that might not have been their main reason) and it can be viewed, in all its loveliness, here.
Earlier this week, Lionhead released a 'Villager Maker' wherein you could, by answering a series of on-screen multiple choice questions, create a Fable III character. If you pre-order the game, you will receive a code to unlock this character in the game. I'll probably do this - I'm certainly going to buy the game as soon as it comes out, so I might as well pre-order - and I'll probably go for the rather lovely Collector's Edition.
Yesterday, Lionhead, the Fable developer, released a cinematic trailer for Fable III to further stoke up my excitement levels (though that might not have been their main reason) and it can be viewed, in all its loveliness, here.
Earlier this week, Lionhead released a 'Villager Maker' wherein you could, by answering a series of on-screen multiple choice questions, create a Fable III character. If you pre-order the game, you will receive a code to unlock this character in the game. I'll probably do this - I'm certainly going to buy the game as soon as it comes out, so I might as well pre-order - and I'll probably go for the rather lovely Collector's Edition.
Monday, 2 August 2010
Chris Redfield's toughest challenge yet
Chris Redfield has had some bad experiences in his time. Fighting zombies, fighting things that aren't zombies but, really, *are* zombies and, going by his appearance in Resident Evil 5, some serious steroid abuse.
What he hadn't done - until now - was jump out of a first (second, if you're American) floor window, with only a parachute made from a child's t-shirt and 8 strands of wool.
Yesterday, I bought this book -
One of which's chapters explains how to make a parachute from some cloth, thread and some sort of action figure. A challenge that my daughter and I picked up yesterday afternoon (after first having made a 'cloud' in a plastic bottle, with just hot water and a lit match - this book rocks).
I was given a 4" figurine (not, as my daughter would have it, a 'doll') of Chris Redfield when I bought Resident Evil 5 (I'm not sure why - I hadn't pre-ordered, or bought a limited edition but I did buy the game on the day of its release). It is in an ideal pose, unluckily for him, for being tied to a parachute, as its arms are raised up and holding a pistol. Unlike when Chris is in this pose in-game, however, this Chris would not be immobile...
We then poked the thread through the cloth and tied the ends to Chris.
A short trip upstairs to scope out the dropzone later....
One small step for man, one giant leap for a hand-painted action figure later...
The parachute worked quite well but Chris was probably a bit too heavy for complete success (an action figure of Chris based on his appearance in the first Resident Evil would have been fine). Unfortunately, Chris did not survive the experience unscathed - he lost part of his foot (see photo above). Fortunately, I had a green herb (aka polystyrene cement) to hand and, as you can see, he is now fully recovered (and presumably wanting to get back to the zombie hordes for an easy life).
What he hadn't done - until now - was jump out of a first (second, if you're American) floor window, with only a parachute made from a child's t-shirt and 8 strands of wool.
Yesterday, I bought this book -
An alternative title could have been 'Excuses for Dad to act like a kid'
One of which's chapters explains how to make a parachute from some cloth, thread and some sort of action figure. A challenge that my daughter and I picked up yesterday afternoon (after first having made a 'cloud' in a plastic bottle, with just hot water and a lit match - this book rocks).
I was given a 4" figurine (not, as my daughter would have it, a 'doll') of Chris Redfield when I bought Resident Evil 5 (I'm not sure why - I hadn't pre-ordered, or bought a limited edition but I did buy the game on the day of its release). It is in an ideal pose, unluckily for him, for being tied to a parachute, as its arms are raised up and holding a pistol. Unlike when Chris is in this pose in-game, however, this Chris would not be immobile...
Little does he know what is to come
We then cut out a circle (well, it's roundish) from a promo t-shirt for Monkey Bizness (motto - I kid you not - "Where kids can be kidz". No, I don't know what it means either) given to my daughter a while ago. Together with some evenly-cut lengths of wool, we now had the makings of a parachute.
This must be what it's like to be a Blue Peter presenter
We then poked the thread through the cloth and tied the ends to Chris.
With MoD cuts, this may well be how the Parachute Regiment equips itself in future
A short trip upstairs to scope out the dropzone later....
Please ignore the dirty windowsill
Jill !!!!!!!!!!!
One small step for man, one giant leap for a hand-painted action figure later...
The parachute worked quite well but Chris was probably a bit too heavy for complete success (an action figure of Chris based on his appearance in the first Resident Evil would have been fine). Unfortunately, Chris did not survive the experience unscathed - he lost part of his foot (see photo above). Fortunately, I had a green herb (aka polystyrene cement) to hand and, as you can see, he is now fully recovered (and presumably wanting to get back to the zombie hordes for an easy life).
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