Monday 30 November 2009

Magazines


I used to buy gaming magazines all the time. Literally, four or five a month at one point in time. The amount of money I used to spend on magazines could have easily been spent on more games to play. It's insane.

Now I don't, I just read everything on the internet as it happens and I kinda regret that. I want to go back to the old days, when I was 8 years old reading Games Master and pouring over the pages and pages of high quality glossy paper, cooing at all the recent releases and games to be. I remember reading about Toy Story 2: The Videogame about a million times in the run up to Christmas... Simpler times.

Nowadays though magazines are just so damn expensive, especially the important ones (PS3 mags and PCGamer) and all of the "News" within them are normally a month out of date when they've gone to press... Still saying that I found a lovely magazine today that was only £2.99, was smaller than A4 and was printed on recycled paper. Looked great but I can't remember the name of it now...

Saturday 28 November 2009

Crazy Taxi


Been playing this on my Girlfriend's PSP tonight. It's great, very nostalgic and so very, very difficult.

Still, I have this real problem with Arcade games that are converted to consoles with very little added ontop...

Always feel like a rip off.

Friday 27 November 2009

This 'n That


Haven't really been playing much recently.

I've been having the odd mess about on Modern Warfare every night, but apart from that it's just been short bursts of inFamous.

Still, I'm keeping up with the times and that over at CVG.

Also nFortress celebrated it's two year anniversary today. You should check it out if you haven't done so already.

Thursday 26 November 2009

Credit Songs

Four of my all time favourites....








Wednesday 25 November 2009

InFamous


I finished inFamous today. It was.... impressive. Very impressive. I was blown away actually by the overall production values of it. It was definitely the most fun I've had with a game in a while.

I'm just trying to clock it on evil now. Already, about an hour in, the experience is surprisingly very different. It's darker, more insane, and has 100% more red! Because everyone knows, if you give a killer electric powers , the electricity goes Red because red is the colour of PURE EVIL.

Anyway. Expect a review soon-ish.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

The Saboteur


The Saboteur looks incredible. I'll be honest when I first saw a press release of this I barely even batted an eyelid but now... well now it looks like something rather special.

I don't know whether it's the fact that it's set in Nazi occupied paris, whether it's the black and white Sin City style concept or the whole idea of an Irish race car driver bringing down the axis. Let's face it, it's because it's an over the top stylised sneak-em-ups and my God do I love games that are just balls to the wall ridiculous.

I in no way mean that the Saboteur looks incredibly silly of course, because at the end of the day it does look like a fantastic WW2 stealth game, a concept that intrigued me when Velvet Assassin hit shelves. Except this game isn't offensive.

Here's some footage:

Monday 23 November 2009

... What The Hell?!?!

See that.... red.... THING to the left of the DSi? That's called a Nintendo DSi XL apparently. Not only that but it's effing out in Japan already. Another DS! Already out!

Goddamn!

My sister broke mine about two or three months ago when she went on holiday. The cheek of it was, she didn't take her DSi with her incase it broke. Well that was clever ¬.¬

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. Come back in twelve seconds time, when Nintendo announce the Nintendo DSi XL Slim.

Sunday 22 November 2009

Fallout 3: Broken Steel

I finally got round to starting Fallout 3: Broken Steel last night (well, more this morning) and I finished it within about three hours (if that).

Overall, I enjoyed it. The new weapons are allright, not great but allright. The new armor and stuff is quite nice and the missions were quite fun to play through. The last one was a bit frustrating but I got through in the end. Lasted for a good hour as well, which was rather nice.

I haven't played the other expansions just yet, for the simple fact that they're £8 each on the PS Store but I'm sort of looking forward to playing them with a cautious excitement. I've heard Broken Steel is the best one and... while I enjoyed it, it was far too short and had a lot of problems. Sometimes my PIP Boy just wouldn't come up and a lot of the time the frame rate was god awful, sometimes dropping to what I presume must have been 5 - 10 FPS which is just awful.

Still, I have the option of getting my hands on the Game of the year edition which has all the expansions on it, as soon as my girlfriend finishes it.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Films & Gaming

Last night I watched Donnie Darko on my Girlfriends PSP... and I was pleasantly surprised. Not by the film, which I've seen before (and highly, HIGHLY recommend) but by the overall quality of the film on such a twee console. The audio and visual quality was tremendous, even better than the quality on iPods and the like. It was a bit awkward to hold for an hour and a half and the battery was just dead by the time it was over but still. If I had one I'd certainly use it when travelling.

In other news, the film store on the PS3 gets a hearty thumbs up for it's ability to download the films direct to drive.

Thursday 19 November 2009

New Resi 5 Stuff and Ps3 Update!

New Resi 5 DLC looks sweeeeet. Back to the Mansion. I'm looking forward to it already! I should really get round to playing Resi 5 again...

Also, the new PS3 update came out. Facebook features are a pleasant addition. The fact that my card got denied so I couldn't get Metal Gear Solid is just typical.

Wednesday 18 November 2009

Mario Bros: Atari?


Ok I'm probably missing something completely obvious here, but is that the original Mario Bros on... an Atari?

You know, I'd like to think I know quite a bit about Retro gaming but this... this is news to me. Literally something I didn't know, and I can't help but feel it's pretty obvious as well.... It's a not a rip off because the bottom of the advert says copyright Nintendo.

Oh well, I suppose I was always naive to think that Mario has always been exclusive to Nintendo consoles. I just decided to post this because I was literally shocked! You know, being the mega nerd that I am.

Anyway, before this post becomes incredibly pointless here's a bit of classic 80's videogame advertising to go with it.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

Grand Theft Auto: Birmingham


I've been thinking of this for a while now, but how amazing would it be if Rockstar made another GTA game in the UK? Think about. It could be set in the 1980's, in some kind of industrial town up north. The story of corruption, deprivation and borderline poverty could all be there along with an overall feeling of depression and the assurance of 110% more Thatcher!

The soundtrack would be incredible however, and this is the most exciting part. Songs from The Smiths, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen, Joy Division (Or New Order) amongst hundreds more. How can you not get excited over this?

Also, the vehicles! Imagine the police! The 80's hairstyles and thick rimmed glasses!

Personally I think it would be incredible. Why waste all your perfect political satire on just America?

It would certainly be a direct contrast to Vice City.

Monday 16 November 2009

PC MW and a Revelation!



So after all the outrage of Modern Warfare 2 not supporting dedicated servers on the PC, the PC community have finally cracked the system.

Well done guys, I honestly mean it. Infinity Ward have really screwed you all over and it sucks, especially since you all supported that little game called Call of Duty back in 2003...

In other news, Metal Gear Solid is coming to the Playstation store this Thursday. I know the other day I asked you guys to get me a muffin and Peggle but you all seemed to have outperformed yourselves on this one! This is even better!

So next week Resi 2 and a flapjack yea?

Sunday 15 November 2009

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Review


So a lot of you are going to see that this is my review and hopefully read it out of... I dunno, habit I guess. A lot of you however, aren't going to bother because you're so sick of hearing about this by now you actually want to physically stop playing Videogames. So to start, I'm going to tell you what's bad about Modern Warfare 2.

The campaign mode within MW2 is shockingly average. The story goes nowhere, and it feels like Infinity Ward have just recycled pages that were torn out of classic war films like Black Hawk Down and Red Dawn (You read the latter right. For a reason that makes practically no sense, the Russians invade America in a scene that isn't even a homage to Red Dawn, it just is Red Dawn. In fact, the level is even called "Wolverines") It's a mess basically. Whereas the first game didn't have much of a strength to it's narrative, MW2 doesn't even have a narrative. In it's place stands a long selection of twenty minute set pieces. Despite all this however, the campaign is enjoyable. Some scenes are shocking, some upsetting, some... downright tasteless but I won't go into that. Modern Warfare 2 may not be worth buying for the campaign alone but I would call you a fool if you didn't complete it. The campaign is, I must admit, my only niggle. For all it's joy and excitement, it is at the end of the day "Scripted, all the way down to the last bullet" as a friend so rightly put it.


But then, the campaign certainly isn't why people flocked in their millions to purchase MW2 and it's certainly not the reason why this blog has deteriorated since Tuesday. Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer is once again just as deliciously addictive as before. It hasn't changed dramatically, but how is that a bad thing? All additions to the experience make it just that little bit sweeter (Customised Kill streaks, additional XP from headshots, deathstreaks, more perks, more ranks and a fudge load of new weapons) and everything that's been removed (Mainly glitches and a few minor animations etc.) has been done so in order to make this the definitive arcade-Esq modern warfare multiplayer to date™.

The new game modes are good fun, the maps are all lovely and overall it's an amazing game. I'm having a whole lot of fun with this game and I have a feeling I will be for quite a long time. To me, this was worth the £45 price tag alone. If you liked COD4 and COD5, I have every confidence that you will adore what COD6 has to offer. If you were never a fan, then I doubt you'll like this at all.

On top of the multiplayer is the new Spec-Ops mode, which is basically the Challenge mode from Timesplitters Future Perfect with online play. Spec-Ops is a collection of segments from the main campaign, edited for two players with a time limit slapped on. It's great fun, and it ranges from fighting off waves of enemies, to fighting your way up a burning bridge to racing your mate in a snowmobile. It may not be as impressive as the multiplayer, but it's certainly fantastic fun to mess around with for a few hours.

All in all, Modern Warfare 2 (I'm getting sick of typing that) is a fantastic game worthy of it's global acknowledgement as a landmark within this years release schedule. All though it's not game of the year in my eyes, (Uncharted 2 beats it by a long shot) it's still a very important game.

Modern Warfare 2 represents the lad's mag of videogaming. Whereas games like Uncharted 2 are the experiences you cherish forever, like classic cinema or novels, Call of Duty is the game that you and a few mates always smile back on fondly. It's the game that requires, nay, demands you crack out a beer, get a few bags of crisps and lie back on your chair. It's the game that you'll want to get 1000 gamerscore on. It's the game you enjoy, regardless of what you're labelled as.

(When I say Lad's mag, I mean it metaphorically. There seems to be a lot more girls playing this than most online games on the Xbox.)

Saturday 14 November 2009

Modern Warfare SUCKS (Apparantly)



If anyone hasn't seen this... well. You're sort of missing out. I only have one comment to make.

Modern Warfare 2 isn't that bad....

Friday 13 November 2009

Social Media on Consoles


So next week Facebook and Twitter finally launch on the Xbox 360. Not only that, but Sony have also sort of half announced that Facebook will also be making appearance on the PS3 pretty soon as well (By half announced, they said it'll be announced "Soon").

Personally I don't know what to make of all this. I'm quite an avid Facebook user and I adore Twitter but when these two applications are on a games console, surely the obsession has gone too far?

I understand that the term "Games Console" probably won't apply anymore in the next few years. Consoles have became more like PC's in that they're now media centres with their Blu-Ray players and Internet Browsers. Most of all however, they're cheaper than your average PC and far easier to use if you're not really a computer person. Agreed, you buy them primarily for videogaming but the point still remains. Just look at the PS3's new slogan. "It only does everything", because let's face it. It does. I got a shock the other day when it just randomly connected to my PC and started streaming my music and it just goes to show how far they've came in the last decade, if not the last five years.

So surely social networking is the way forward then, especially seeing as it's one of the most used internet applications of the common gaming demographic in the past few years? The early days of Myspace may be over but Facebook and Twitter are certainly here to stay, so it was clearly just a matter of time before Microsoft and Sony jumped on the social networking bandwagon.


I'll be honest with you, the Xbox versions of the two are very nice. Sleek and sexy, they are a perfect compliment to the NXE. They utilise not only the sliding panes of the dashboard, but they also use the Avatars (which are underused I feel). Still, there's no denying that it's a lot of work for something that is going to be used by maybe 10% of Xbox users. Let's face it, Microsoft has caught the scent of "Nintendo's Money Pile™" and they want in. Appeal to the casuals, and you get the cash and let's face it, Microsoft are doing it well. With Natal, Facebook, Twitter, Last.Fm and the Avatars they appeal to an almost different casual market than the Wii. They appeal to people from about between my age to those in their late thirties, and that's not necessarily a bad market to be aiming for. It's ignoring the whole, Waggle Waggle Party Games thing that Nintendo's been spreading over the shelves like some kind of old person paedophile and has instead gone for interesting and (Take notes here Nintendo) practical ideas that are fun beyond the gimmick.

Personally? I like the fact that Twitter and Facebook are coming to the Xbox. Yea they're pointless if you have an iPhone or even a PC but they do truly compliment the new image that Microsoft are pushing out with the Xbox. This is not a games console. It's a media centre.

The PS3 however, are literally just jumping on the bandwagon when it comes to Social Media. Personally I believe they should focus more on cross game voice chat but hey! Since when has my opinion ever mattered? :P

Thursday 12 November 2009

Odds and Ends

Just a few things.

I've been obsessed with Modern Warfare 2 since it's release. I'll be honest, it was ridiculously expensive (Came to £60 overall as I had to buy a subscription to LIVE as well... Boo!) but I'm having fun with it. Expect a review on Saturday.

Secondly, where the hell is my Resident Evil 2 and Metal Gear Solid on the PS store? Also, WHERE THE HELL IS PEGGLE? I've been waiting for it since JANUARY. That's nine months I've been waiting for it. Bloody commies. I'm not even that bothered about it, it's just the fact that Sony take an absolute age to get anything done. *sighs*

As you've probably noticed this week I've had very little to talk about gaming wise. Seems to have been a slow week (bar the absolute pandemonium that was the release of Modern Warfare 2). How about you, my dear readers, leave a comment below and propose something for me to talk about?

Not that I'm running out of ideas, It's just I've been preoccupied by COD6 lately and I don't just want to focus on that xD

Until then, someone go get me Peggle on the PS3. And a muffin.

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Downloadable Content

It's all about the DLC these days it seems. If a game doesn't have DLC, then it's certainly not going to make much money after launch is it?

It's not surprising then that Naughty Dog are pondering the idea of Uncharted 2 DLC for the multiplayer aspect of the game, which is fair enough I suppose. Good DLC is worth getting, such as the Fallout 3 ones or the Call of Duty map packs. However, some DLC really riles me up.

Have you guys ever seen the Far Cry 2 pack? It has... like a new car and a new gun. That's it. For seven quid. This is just a rip off, and not only that but it won't even sell so it fails at it's intended purpose. The worst though is some of the EA ones. Need for Speed I think it was. Where you could pay to unlock the cars that you could unlock ingame. You could pay, for what is essentially someone to finish the game for you.

Makes me feel sick to my stomach that does.

Monday 9 November 2009

Windows 7: First Impressions


So I finally got my copy of Windows 7 today and there's only one way I can explain what it's like to you guys.

It's like... It's like coming home to find a walrus making you dinner. The walrus was never there before, and it's helpful it being there and hey let's face it it's a walrus and it's pretty damn cool but at the end of the day your house is exactly the same as it was before the walrus came. But then you ask yourself, "Hey, do I really need this Walrus then? If everythings just the same as before?" and then the walrus comes and makes you marshmallow cookies and you don't know how you ever lived without him.

Windows 7 is like that. It's Vista, but with so many decent new features that it feels like something new. This should have been what Vista was in the first place but I'm not going to complain. Windows 7 is like a breath of fresh air, and I love it already.

Sunday 8 November 2009

100 A Buttons








Just found this over on GamesRadar and found it oddly... hypnotising.

It's basically 100 instances of someone pressing "A" on a Nes controller over 100 games.

Enjoy. Or not.

Friday 6 November 2009

Modern Warfare: Reflex (Wii)



So this is the first level of Modern Warfare Wii and... It looks fairly decent! Technically underwhelming, yea... but as a Wii Port? Not that bad I guess!

Thursday 5 November 2009

Left 4 Dead 2 Demo

So yesterday the Left 4 Dead 2 demo came out and I played it. Then I played it again. Then once more. Then today I played it twice.

When Left 4 Dead 2 was first announced, and the slow trickle of media caught my attention four things came to my mind straight away:

Q1) The Locations... sunny? It's during the day? How's that going to work with the classic "B-Movie Darkness and Rain" perfected within the first one? Where as a player, you never truly knew what really was lurking in the shadows...

Q2) The Characters are boring.... The original charm of the original four has gone! Bill, Zoey, Francis and Louis were so well rounded, so perfect in their design that they were possibly one of the most defining features of the game!

Q3) The new special infected are stupid, over the top and just plain dumb. A "Jockey"? A "Spitter"? A.... Wandering Witch?

Q4) The music! The original had music so thrilling, so chilling, so inspired that you really can't imagine how the game would function without it! But this new one... the music seemed as cold and as dead as the flesh eating creatures it set out to make terrifying. If the music was so dramatically different, then how is it going to alert the player of an incoming horde or a special infected?

There is one simple answer to all these questions. Left 4 Dead 2 is a clever little bitch. Now for the long answers.

A1) The locations are sunny and perhaps too different for some, but something becomes clear once you start playing. It's disorientating, it's cramped, it's claustrophobic... then it's wide open spaces, they're everywhere and there's no where to corner camp. It's actually very clever in it's design, and personally? Well it was the right direction to take. The two are so different, there's no denying that each one has it's own strengths to terrify you.

A2) Like the original four, these plucky survivers match they're surroundings. From what I've played, the light hearted banter returns, the INTENSE level of characterisation is also present, with every character oozing with personality. I may not love them as much as I did with the original four, and I know I never will, but they have enough pluck to keep them interesting.

A3) I hate the Jockey. I imagine in versus mode he's brilliant, but not in Single Player. He runs along giggling... it's silly. The Spitters good though, and the wandering witch is brilliant adding a brand new dynamic to the gameplay. Some nice little touches on the original special infected are the female boomer and the bald tank.

A4) The music on Left 4 Dead 2 is amazing. Valve have very cleverly kept it identical to the first but added a southern flair to all of the tracks, whether it be the banjo theme tune, the electric guitar finale music or the quite frankly brilliant safe house tune. It's a very interesting technique, because veteran players not only get a kick out of hearing the same music with a southern twist but they also still recognise what special infected are coming or what section they're on etc. Same for new players who will go back to Left 4 Dead 1. They'll instantly be able to go "Oh, ok then, so there's defiantly a boomer coming now...." without ever having seen it before.

Final note? I like it. A lot. Not as much as the original but I already have a special little spot for it. Valve? Well done. I'm sorry for ever doubting you.

However answer this. HOW COME YOU CAN MAKE THIS IN A YEAR, BUT WE'RE STILL WAITING FOR HALF LIFE 2 - EPISODE THREE? HUH? HUH?

Wednesday 4 November 2009

My Return to Oblivion

I was going to do a big preview of Left 4 Dead 2 as seem as though I finally got my grubby mitts on the demo today but... Well it's late. I'm home early from college tomorrow though so I'll do it then.

In the meantime, I started Oblivion today on the Xbox as a result of my craving for more Fallout 3 hit an all time high.

I'm actually enjoying it more than I did on the PC, but only time will tell if I actually like it enough to finish it.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

I... Eat an Orange



To all those who don't know (i.e all of you) I discovered the brutal power of Facebook last week, when I made a group called "If 1,000 join, I'll post a video of me eating an orange".

Well over a thousand joined in a matter of days and... this is the end result.

Thanks to my girlfriend, the people of nFortress and all those silly buggers who joined the group!

Monday 2 November 2009

Fallout 3: Game of the Year

Fallout 3 got named Game of the year overall, and on two other consoles, at the Golden Joystick Awards last week. To be honest, I can't blame them.

Ever since I finished Fallout 3 I always keep looking back to it. I don't know why, but I think it's left a mark on me in a way that no other game of late has... it's odd. It just seems to always give. I know that I could pick up a copy, dive straight into the wasteland and loose myself for a good three to four hours... maybe even more. I haven't even touched the DLC yet either. I own Broken Steel I just haven't finished it. Whenever I go to play it, I get distracted... Oh I'll try to find some more computer terminals... oh actually I haven't done that minor side quest yet... oh If I just win four more speech challenges....

You get the gist. It's a great game.

Sunday 1 November 2009

God Of War 3 Demo


I got an exclusive demo code for this today, so I decided to give it to my Girlfriend as seem as though she's a bigger fan of the series than I am.

After watching her play through it... well I was impressed. It's one of the best looking games I've ever seen, certainly the goriest and considering this was an early E3 demo from very early on in the development... It was jaw dropping.

I'm really going to have to play through these...