Ratchet & Clank, Counter Strike and Mario

Since I last blogged I’ve became completely obsessed with the original Ratchet & Clank Games. I’ve finished Ratchet Gladiator so far and now I’m currently working my way from the start. I’ve done them in a bit of a strange order but screw it I’m enjoying myself.

I’ve also been playing Counter Strike and erm… well I’ve been doing OK at it. Which is something I never thought I’d say. I’ve playing it on and off over the last few days.

Finally how beautiful is this video please?

Expect more regular updates from here on in.

Representations and Expectations

It seems that these days, whenever you say you're a Gamer, unless you're speaking to another, you've instantly killed the conversation. The expectations of a gamer who openly admits they enjoy videogames is either going to go one of two ways. The first? They're a hardcore gamer who plays so much World of Warcraft he has no social skills at all and I'm clearly the first person they've spoken to in about three years, run run run or they're a psychopath who plays Grand Theft Auto and/or Manhunt..... Run run run, and to be honest this frustrates me especially as nearly everyone I know plays videogames. Yea, it might only be Call of Duty 4 or FIFA 10 but it's the fact that they don't discuss this fact in public is what feeds this stereotype of the nerdy / violent videogamer.

I think it's about time Videogames broke free of the violent stereotypes that surround them and finally rise as an acceptable form of media that isn't frowned upon by, generally speaking, anyone over the age of forty and hell even some people over the age of about twenty. I know that what I'm saying doesn't apply to everyone, but you get the idea. They still exist to this day, regardless of all the technological and narrative improvements that have occurred since their rise into the mainstream.

Now, I can understand that the main concern is of course the violent nature of most videogames, but I think it's only a select few that let the team down, so to speak. Games like Manhunt and Grand Theft Auto are like the videogame equivalent to films such as and A Clockwork Orange and Hostel. One, is a classic that depicts a morally blank world in order to make a solid, sometimes satirical point about the society and culture at the time (GTA and A Clockwork Orange) while the other is just completely unnecessary violence for the sake of satisfying our deeply disturbed minds (Hostel and Manhunt). However, unlike the films, both of these games are viewed as the worst thing to ever happen to humanity, or at least by the media and not as individual texts.

I think what annoys me most is, the media will have a bitch and a moan about most films that come out for them being incredibly gory or what have you, but they won't then proceed to tell you to stop your kids from watching Star Wars. With videogames however, it's like one does wrong and let's not forget that Manhunt 2 is probably the worst out there and it isn't actually THAT bad, and they'll lead you to believe that even the likes of Sonic the Hedgehog is turning your little darling into a killer. Albeit, a blue spiky haired annoyance of a killer.

Anyway, my point is, I think something needs to be done that really pushes this fact that videogames are arguably the most creative, beautiful and intriguing form of media on the market today.

Dungeons and Dragons Online

A friend of mine convinced me to download this today, so I did.

Hey! Don't blame me for being nerdy, it's free and all of the stuff you're meant to pay for you can get anyway just by playing the game! Sounds good to me!

Beyond Good and Evil

I mentioned this in passing yesterday, and couldn't believe that I've never mentioned it before today. Beyond Good and Evil is not just one of the most underrated games ever made. It is THE most underrated game ever made.

As wikipedia so wonderfully sums up the basic story:

Beyond Good and Evil takes place on the futuristic planet of Hillys, where a mix of human,anthropomorphic animal, alien, and robotic species co-exist. The planet is under siege by alien DomZ forces. The DomZ abduct beings on Hillys, and either drain their life force for their own, or implant them with spores that convert them into creatures that work for the DomZ. A militant force called the "Alpha Sections" emerges to defend the populace. However, the Alpha Sections have a mysterious secret hiding beneath their helmets. An underground group ofjournalists, the IRIS Network, attempt to uncover the secrets of the DomZ and the Alpha Sections and expose the truth to the population of Hillys.

You follow Jade, a photo journalist / adoptive parent / all out wonderwoman who joins the underground IRIS network as mentioned above. What follows is one of the most magnificent stories ever told in a videogame and an experience that you'll never forget. This game just oozes with charm, which is just what you'd expect from it's writer and developer Michel Ancel (that's the creator of Rayman, the developer of the fantastic King Kong and more recently the Raving Rabbids series) . It's one of those great, beautiful game that you never forget. It's an experience, a life affirming at that. You walk away feeling.... fulfilled, at peace. Yes, the gameplay can at times be frustrating and some of the sections are bland but give me a world that can combine fascists space oppression and talking animals, blended within a narrative surrounding photojournalism and religious connotations and I'll not only eat my hat but my shoes as well.

If you haven't played this game, and I presume a lot of you fall into this category, get yourself to eBay and be enlightened. Especially seeing as the sequel is currently in development.

Ratchet and Clank

New Ratchet and Clank game this autumn for the Playstation 3!

It's been confirmed that it'll be a continuation of the series!

Can't wait! :D

All Work And No Play Makes Meevil A Crazy Psycho Nugget

 

I haven't sat down to play a game properly since Sunday. That probably doesn't sound strange, but for me it’s heresy. I’ve had too much work you see, and just haven't had the time to play!

 

But, starting from tomorrow night, I’m gonna finish the whole of the Red Alert 3 campaign with a lad of the forum.

 

I can’t wait! :D

Red Alert 3

Finally got my hands on a copy of Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 today and I can safely say it’s one of the best RTS’ I've played in a long time. It’s not as good as the legend that is Warcraft 3, but it’s certainly on par with Warhammer: Dawn of War and Company of Heroes.

 

Consisting of insane gameplay (Soviet Bears?), fantastic cut scenes (Casting Tim Curry as the leader of the USSR is just sheer genius) and a rather disturbing view on the role of women (A free poster that consists of nothing but women in low cut tops was included in the game box) means that Red Alert 3 is everything that I expected.

 

A must buy, comrades.

An Epic Discovery

I just found out that on Command and Conquer Red Alert 3, there’s a proton cannon in Teddy Roosevelt's head in Mount Rushmore.

 

Do you NEED any other reason why to buy this game right now? I sure don’t!

Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters (& 101'st post)

This, is probably one of the best handheld games I've ever played. Honest to God, it's amazing. Better than the near perfection that is Mario Kart. It is that good. Even though it's on my girlfriends PSP, and I have to nick it to play it. Oh well. Still great fun.

Also, yesterday was my 100th post. Woop. 100 days of blogging!

Too Many Games!

I'm currently experiencing something that can only be described as a "Brain aneurysm" caused purely by the sheer amount of games I have to play. Honestly, I got three for Christmas, bought two on Boxing day and today decided (and trust me, this decision is so hypocritical that my friend actually scoffed) to go out and buy Call Of Duty: World At War even though I've been slagging it off since the day it was announced. But hey! I did the same with the PS3 and I couldn't live without mine now.

So, over the next few days I wont have anything specific to talk about unfortunately, so I'm just going to be giving you random bursts of pure 100% opinion on what I'm currently playing or have heard over the grape vine that is my many friends (and the Internet) 

To start off, LittleBigPlanet online is fantastic. Ten times better than what I expected. Community maps are win. Utter win, and playing online with friends is nothing short of perfection.

Mirrors Edge has been holding my interest, but unfortunately it looks like it wont for very much longer. I'm already half way through.

Finally,  Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is an amazing little game. I was just playing it for like an hour. Well good.

Do Games Unite People?

People enjoying kids games after the age of 14 is a myth up there with Bigfoot, people slipping on banana skins and falling asleep in the bath but like all these things it's not true (except the Bigfoot one).

Enjoying kids games is something everyone can enjoy, if you choose the right game. For example, no one enjoys Open Season but the original Crash Bandicoot always gets a conversation going, normally one where people talk with pure excitement and nostalgia in their tone as they recall the first boss and how to defeat him ( you jump over his staff).

On the bus home the other day, me and a group of friends began discussing Crash, Spyro, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank. All of us had fond memories of at least one, if not all. It actually ended up me obtaining the PSN of a complete stranger who I played Wipeout HD with this morning and got my arse severely wupped.

So my point of today, is that kids games are not to be ashamed of, they can even unite people. Well, if by unite you mean talk for five minutes then get beaten with the last 3 bloody seconds of the race...