Game Plan

I've been reading a book recently called "Game Plan: Great Designs that Changed the Face of Computer Gaming". It's all about ten games that completely changed modern gaming. It's dead interesting despite the fact that I don't entirely agree with the games listed (If you're interested the games are Populous, Tomb Raider, Super Mario 64, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Street Fighter 2, Broken Sword 2, The Sims, Half Life and Everquest) but the most interesting thing about it is the interviews with the developers on the earlier titles (Mainly Populous, Super Mario 64 and Street Fighter 2).

The great thing about them is that the developers had no clue what on earth they were doing, and that most of the extraordinary things we see in videogames today were because of the mistakes made back then. Combos for instance, were created due to the animations in Street Fighter 2 not allowing the player fight back after receiving a hit. They weren't intentional at all, they were never meant to be there and that fascinates me.

Now if only I could make a revolutionary mistake....

Ahhh Summer!

So it was sunny today! Did I exploit this fact? Did I bollocks. I spent most of it indoors with my lovely Lady playing Resi 5 and Tomb Raider and did I mind? Did I hell! Was great fun :)

So I'm off now to have a mess around on Warhawk, which I obtained by accident xD

Today Is A Good Day!

 

Firstly, my Girlfriend randomly got me Left 4 Dead a s a surprise today. It was so kind of her. It’s incredible, better than I expected and I’ve just come off it for a bit so I can do this. It’s that addictive!

 

 

My girlfriend also got a copy of the new Tomb Raider. She’s a massive fan. It looks well good, so I can’t wait to watch her play it tomorrow.

 

And finally, a lot of lucky people got picked for the Open Beta of Home today, Shrimpdude included. Hope it’s good and well done to all those who got in for it! Now… Off to shoot more Zombies…

The female of the species...

Seen the new Tomb Raider Underworld trailer yet? No? Well then watch it!

I can't say I've ever been a massive fan of Tomb Raider. I played one and three on the PlayStation and could never get away with them. It's only been since I met my girlfriend that I've developed some interest in them and even then it's only the most recent three (Legend, Anniversary and now Underworld) that have captivated me.

Underworld looks to be the surprise gem of the Christmas line up. It's beautiful, fluent, slick and sexy. It's going to mark the definite return of Lara, back to her celebrity status, a status that was lost upon the release of Angel Of Darkness. 

So all I can say is, is that I can't wait. Honestly, it was Uncharted that did this, got me into treasure hunting platform games. And as they say, the female of the species is more deadly than the male....

What WAS the last great game?

A friend of mine struck a conversation topic I seem to have been avoiding as of late, last night. He said to me "What WAS the last great game?". Instantly, being me, I said Bioshock. 

But then I thought myself, hang on. I got Bioshock in September... Surely I've played better games since then. Well the Orange Box is probably my most played game of all time, Team Fortress 2 especially. But why didn't I say that straight away? Surely that must be the obvious choice? Well, thinking of it in hindsight, it didn't move me as much as Bioshocks story did. There wasn't as much thrill as exploring rapture for the first time. (It pains me to say that, it honestly does. But Bioshock beats Orange box by a mere millimetre) 

So then I pondered some more. I got loads of games for Christmas, one of them must have beat Bioshock and the Orange box? Surely it hasn't been almost 11 months since the last truly enjoyable game was released? I got Crysis, Unreal Tournament 3, Super Mario Galaxy, Mysims, Metroid Prime 3 and Sim City DS for Christmas. Not one lived up to expectations, and to be honest not one gripped me enough. Crysis got boring very quickly, as did Unreal Tournament 3. As for Mario Galaxy, well it was fun but it was just another Mario Game. 

It seems to me that the games market is becoming stale. Super Mario Galaxy was the first indication. It was meant to be a completely new Mario experience. It was just Mario. In space. Unreal Tournament 3 was just UT2004 with a healthy dose of LIQUID MUSCLE. And It was also, rather boring compared to the others. 

"But what about the others!?!" I hear you cry. "What about Grand Theft Auto 4? Metal Gear Solid 4? Surely these are sure choices!". Well, no. GTA4 is GTA3 in essence, but I can't argue that it's not a good game. Personally I love it, and I'm currently playing through it for the first time and enjoying myself immensely. But it's nothing groundbreaking, nothing immense. It's a good game. But not a great game. Oh, and Metal gear Solid 4? I haven't finished it yet, but It's still the same formula as the others. 

So now I've established there hasn't been a great game in around 11 months. That makes me rather cynical to be honest. Especially with games such as Resident Evil 5, Left 4 Dead, Little big planet, Tomb Raider Underworld and Mirrors Edge coming out. Will these games live up to expectations? Will they manage to make me feel an emotional connection to the game like Bioshock did? We'll have to see, because right now I don't even want to think about it.

Oh, and I didn't mention about Spore. I'll talk about that tomorrow.