Wednesday 29 December 2010

My year in games 2010 - AKA The first proper post.

We're fast approaching the new year and the start of 2011 so in keeping with the generally uninspired articles review sites tend to put out around this time I'm hitting you good people with a breakdown of my games of the year.
Note - I don't own a PS3 or gaming PC so if your faves are missing feel free to drop a comment below this article if you think I've missed anything.

January
Mass Effect 2

High hopes were met with a game that exceeded them in almost all respects. Following up the ground breaking first adventure into the galaxy was no mean feat but Bioware did it in style trimming back the chaff of the first game (inventory system, planetary exploration) and refining the gameplay to the point where, on high difficulty levels at least, it became a genuine tactical challenge to fend off assaults.
The plot offered fresh mystery and potential turning points with just enough call backs to the events of the first game to keep you thinking about the outcome of your actions and yearning to try different methods of going about things.
With the third, and final, chapter of the tale recently teased with a trailer that raises the stakes massively in terms of the scale of what's to come I'm eagerly anticipating what's to come. I just hope that being nice to alien insects and releasing an experimental clone doesn't mean humanity bites the dust!
Check out the latest Mass Effect 3 teaser trailer here if you've not seen it yet.

February
Bioshock 2

I'm sure I wasn't alone in thinking that a sequel to what seemed to be a perfect one off game was a mistake. Thankfully I found myself wrong, even if it wasn't the kind of revolution in gameplay that Mass Effect 2 offered over it's predecessor.
Another combination of weighty social and scientific commentary in the plot, vivid locations and solid gameplay created a game that, whilst not the mind blowing thing of beauty that was the first entry, did manage to keep the Bioshock name unsullied. Throw in what I'm reliably told is a fast paced, well balanced multiplayer and it all adds up to be a surprisingly satisfying sequel.
Roll on Bioshock Infinite, it's sky city and all it has to offer. Check out the trailer here and the first look at its gameplay here.


Extra Special mention!
Robot Unicorn Attack

Sometimes a simple Flash based browser game can manage to transcend the usual status of 30 second curio and enter the realms of hour destroying addiction. Robot Unicorn Attack did that for me. I'm not sure whether it's the garish over the top graphics, the simple two button "one more go" gameplay or the catchy albeit ultra campy music of Erasure but I was sold on this game very quickly.
Fancy giving it a go? Head over to the Adult Swim games site and you're set.
Too sissy for your sensibilities but still want to play it? Play Robot Unicorn Attack Heavy Metal instead!

February and March were a tad sparse in terms of games for me so, onwards to...
April
Super Street Fighter 4
I was very ready to hate this, that's putting it lightly. Capcom had been on a rampage of bad moves making customers pay for content that was locked away on the disc in Resident Evil 5 (not to mention making of a stinker of a game) and charging for secondary costumes in Street Fighter 4. Super Street Fighter 4 seemed to be a money making scheme at first and little more. Then, slowly but surely the details of what new content would be coming trickled out.
With ten new characters, serious gameplay tweaks, secondary super moves for everyone and a far more refined online lobby system with the potential to save replays thrown in Super Street Fighter 4 managed to justify its price tag.
Such a shame Capcom still insist on making the customer pay for secondary costume though, especially when the likes of this are freely available thanks to PC game modders -
Here's a rather impressive version of Ghandi made by a modder by the name of shell_beach - Download it here
If that's what can be done by a dedicated modder using the base character model for Dhalsim FOR FREE then Capcom need to buck up their ideas thinking that charging the equivilent of £14 for a set of simple graphical changes is a decent offer to make to their fans. Winge over. Great game, slightly marred by the company that made it losing sight of common sense.

May
Red Dead Redemption
Who'd have thought that a game of digital cowboys and Indians would work? I guess us fans of this game ought to be thankful Rockstar did.
Combining the increasingly high quality story telling they are becoming known for with the free roaming run and gun gameplay they've established as their stock in trade previously, Rockstar gave us a game we didn't even know we wanted.
Now I liked the single player gameplay well enough, but where I was really sold was the multiplayer free roam and cooperative missions. Being able to jump into a populated server and go around having shoot outs and generally mucking about with friends and strangers is great fun, especially thanks to the numerous additions Rockstar have added to extend the fun further.
I have a theory, one I've talked about a lot in real life but never online, that Rockstar use each game between their flagship GTA installments and consequent games to test design concepts or technology. Look back to Bully and Table Tennis and think about the way that features from both, primarily gameplay and in the latter case graphics, were present in GTA4.
Here's hoping LA Noir features the gunplay system from Red Dead, right down to the deadeye slo-mo on that basis, can't wait to see what they have in store. With the trailer looking this well made and cinematic there's no doubt they'll release a great game regardless.

June and July were once more a tad sparse in terms of games, as is typical for the summer season, so onwards to...

August
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game

As if the spawn of a movie based on one of the cornerstones of current geek culture would fail to stir up nostalgia and excitement in a guy like me.
Solid Streets of Rage/Final Fight style gameplay, pseudo-16bit graphics and a slew of gaming references ranging from the painfully obvious to the incredibly subtle all made for a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer must buy. Get a copy, four pads and a couple of friends and you're golden.

September
Halo Reach
Halo sure has a reputation, one almost as bad as Call of Duty, so I'll make a little proviso here. I only play online. I really don't like the plot or the over the top fanboy-ism that the game garners. With that in mind it's a real mark of how much I love the online play for this game to have made this list.
Taking the core gameplay of previous games in the series and adding a choice of additional, game changing abilities has breathed fresh life into what might otherwise have been a straight forward retread of familiar ground.
Sprinting at a tank in the hopes of hijacking it, rolling to the side of an enemy just in time to avoid a hit, hiding in plain sight while your opponents radar goes haywire, locking your armor just as a ghost drives into you, throwing down a healing bubble shield in time to deflect a grenade or jetpacking high above the battlefield and scoring a headshot with a sniper rifle. All things previous games didn't allow that have helped to elevate the gameplay of Halo Reach high above its predecessors.
The only downside is the smack talk from 13 year old Americans, though even that can be funny if you're sharp enough to verbally humiliate them. Like I am. :)

October
Fallout: New Vegas
The company behind this semi-sequel to the phenominal Fallout 3, Obsidian, has a reputation. And not a good one at that. They're well known for having previously released incomplete, seriously buggy games. The most well known previous offender was Knights of the Old Republic 2 which, despite being a stunning game in terms of narrative and story telling, was marred by numerous bugs and an end game that turned out to be unfinished.
So, have they done better with FO:NV? For my money yes, but then again I didn't buy it on day one for full price. The improvements are substantial, ranging from tougher combat right through to a far more complex reputaiton system and plot. Obsidian being Obsidian though,the bugs were out in force.
And yet, here this game is on my list of favorites. Yes, it's buggy. Sure some of the game was badly broken until recent patches but in spite of that this game is fun!
Put simply, the notion exploring the ruins of Las Vegas whilst blasting the living crap out of zombified nuke survivors and making friends with guys in power armor had me sold in no time. Good work Obsidian, just make sure you insist on more time for bug fixing next time and we'll stay friends.

November didn't contain any gaming goodness for me so...

December
Doritos Crash Course
In a surprising act of seasonal charity, two free games were snuck out onto the Xbox 360 Arcade marketplace. One is a well made racing game with guns and explosions thrown in for good measure by the name of Harms Way. The other is this brilliantly simple, addictive game.
It's a Total Wipeout-esque affair in which you, controlling your avatar, need to charge through an assault course as fast as you can. With one button to run faster, one to jump and one to duck it's one hell of a simple game but within that is the beauty. Anyone can play this and feel like they're doing well which makes it great for small groups of gamers and non-gamers to actually compete without the non-gamers feeling like there's no point.
The addition of online leaderboards is great seeing as everyone you know online can, and should, get the game for nothing. Seeing a friend beat one of my times by a huge margin has motivated me to go back to try and figure out how they did it and I suspect I wont be alone in that.

Back to the Future: The Game

Sneaking in at the very end of this year is a game I'd been anticipating, quietly hoping it wouldn't trample memories of three truly classic movies. And yup, it's on my games of the year list so I guess that tells you what you need to know.
The sheer weight of affection for the movies Telltale hold shines through every aspect of this game. From the perfectly recreated laboratory of Doc Brown right through to the nitty gritty of activing your time circuits it feels legit. Throw in Doc Brown himself, Christopher Lloyd, and Marty Mcfly, expertly impersonated by A.J. LosCascio, and  the scene is set for a nostalgia trip anyone with affection for the films is sure to enjoy.


So there you have it people, the games of this year I enjoyed enough to foist onto you and praise above all others. I'm curious to hear what games you'd say hit the high tide mark this year so drop me a line in the comments!

Next blog - Disappointments of 2010!

Wednesday 8 December 2010

Warriors, come out to play....

Are you interested in making a Let's Multiplay video?
Got a game you think you can beat me at?
Think there's an unsung classic that needs some appreciation?
Got a free hour or two you want to kill and think trying your hand at recording commentary might be fun?

If it's a yes to any of those questions give me a shout with the name of the game and what platform it's on and I'll add you to the list of future plans then we'll set to work getting something made.

The list game people and games -
Owain - Gemfire
Chris - Streets of Rage 2, Castle of Illusion
Jason - Battletoads (SNES)

Wednesday 1 December 2010

Baby steps, a thousand baby steps.

Hello again,
The slow slog towards knowing exactly what I'm doing when it comes to recording, encoding and uploading game footage continues ahead of some real developments and uploads.

Tonight I've spent a few hours testing numerous settings and programs for Let's Multiplay and it looks as if the free option is actually the best, Camstudio coming up with videos with better frame rates and higher quality than the costly Camtasia Studio. The only problem is that it can't capture sound directly from the games themselves but seeing as I'll be talking over the games as I play them that shouldn't be a problem.

I'm uploading to Youtube right now and might post a link to the test vids if anyone's interested, getting another set of eyes on things like this is always a good idea seeing as I might well be too harsh/soft on myself.

It'll take another night or two before I get everything to where I want it I'd expect. It's taking a few minutes to record footage, another ten to save it then around an hour to get each clip onto Youtube to see how well the transition has gone so it's a time consuming task to say the least. Here's hoping I crack the right combination of settings and codecs soon.

Last up for this mini update is the news that for now I think I'm going to have to focus on one console until I've got everything figured out for recording footage to a standard I'm happy with.
So, given it's the one I've already started the list for I'll be looking to make Mega Drive related vids in the near future. I'll be extending the list over the next week so give me a shout if there's a game you'd like to drop by and play with me.

Eden

Saturday 27 November 2010

The Big Let's Multiplay List'o'Games!

Hello again fellow freaks and geeks,
As previously promised here's a big list of multiplayer games to peruse. For now I'm limited to having two players max (unless it's a take it in turns kind of game) but with any luck I'll get things sorted to be able to play a few four player games later on.

Take a look at the list and see if there's anything you might like to join me for a game or two of, whether it's because you love the game, think you can beat me at it or just like the look of it. Let me know and I'll note you next to the game and start planning to record from there.

I'm having a spot of difficulty recording PS1 footage right now, I'm not sure my laptop is fast enough to get a good quality of video capture with it so for now I'm limiting the list to Mega Drive, SNES, Sega Saturn or earlier.

So without further ado, here's the list broken down by console -
Megadrive/Genesis
3 Ninjas Kick Back
Altered Beast
American Gladiators
Andre' Agassi Tennis
The Aquatic Games
Arch Rivals
Arcus Odyssey
Art of Fighting (fighting)
Bad Omen (aka Devilish)
Ball Jacks (Breakout)
Ballz (fighting)
Barbie:Super Model
Barkley Shut Up and Jam!
Battle Squadron (shmup)
Battletoads
Berenstain Bears' Camping Adventure
Best of the Best championship Karate
Biohazard Battle (shmup)
Bioship Paladin (shmup)
Blades of Vengeance (Side scroller)
Blockout (puzzle)
Bloodshot (fps)
Body Count (light gun)
Bonanaza Brothers (spy vs Spy-esque)
Boxing Legend of the Ring
Brutal Paws of fury (fighting)
Budokan (fighting)
Cadash (side scroller)
California Games (misc extreme sports)
Captain America and the Avengers (side scrolling beat em up)
Champions World Class Soccer
Champtionship Bowling
Championship Pool
Chaos Engine (shooter)
Chavez Boxing 2
Chi Chi's Pro Challenge (golf)
Clay Fighter
Columns
Columns 3 - Revenge of Columns! (how can gems get revenge?)
Combat Cars (Micro Machines-esque car racing/battles)
Contra Hardcorps (side scrolling shooter/platformer)
Crack Down (top down shooter a la Smash TV)
Crue Ball (pinball)
Cutie Suzuki no Ringside Angel (slightly dodgy Japanese all female wrestling)
Cyborg Justice (robot fighting game)
D&D Warriors of the Eternal Sun (Dungeons and Dragons, barely understandable without a manual)
Dashin' Desperados (side scrolling racing)
Deadly Moves (fighting)
Devil Crush (aka Dragon's Fury, pinball)
Dino Land (pinball)
Dinos For Hire (totally radical 90's side scrolling shooter!)
Doom Trooper Mutant Chronicles (side scrolling shooter, GORE!)
Double Dragon 1/2/3/5 (side scrolling beat 'em up classics)
Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (puzzle, Puyo Pop reskin)
Dragon The Bruce Lee Story (fighter)
Dragonball Z (fighter, in French!)
Eternal Champions (super hard fighter with fatalities)
Fatal Fury 1/2 (SNK fighter)
Fatman (fighter, bizare graphics)
Fifa International Soccer (bet you can guess)
Fighting Masters (fighter)
Final Blow aka James Buster Duglas Boxing (boxing...no shit ay?)
Fire Pro Wrestling Gaiden (Japanese wrestling)
Foreman For Real (boxing with the grill king himself, video capture graphics?!)
Fun Car Rally (racing, Mirco Machines rip off)
Gadget Twins (scrolling shooter with a very odd style of play)
Gain Ground (Smash TV style up scrolling shooter)
Gauntlet 1/4 (top down Smash TV style shooter)
General Chaos (squad based tactical combat, very unique)
George Foreman's KO Boxing (even more mean lean grilling machine fun with the grill king)
Ghost Hunter (Japanese shooter, closest comparison to Space Invaders)
Golden Axe 1/2/3 (classic side scrolling fighter)
Gunstar Heroes (classic side scrolling shooter by Treasure)
Hard Ball (baseball)
Head on Soccer (football with some funky goal animations)
Heavy Nova (possibly the worst side scrolling beat em up I've ever played)
Herzog Zwei (split screen vs, transforming vehicle combat)
Hit the Ice (ice hockey with odd cartoon graphics and terrible music)
The Hurricanes (turns, football cartoon platformer)
IMG Internaitonal Tour Tennis (tennis with two characters to choose from)
International Super Star Soccer Deluxe (football, great voice intro. Engrish!)




This list is work in progress and will be updated as and when I manage to grab time to test each and every game I have individually.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Future plans for the blog.

Right now this place is a little sparse in terms of content to say the very least, but my intention is to start a number of series dedicated to geekery in its many forms. Right now I work on a podcast as one third of The Mighty Beards, you can find our ramblings here - themightybeards.podbean.com
As the geekiest member of the team I'm often left a little in the cold when it comes to referencing games, movies and tv. Simply put, the friends I podcast with aren't nearly as knowledgeable on a lot of the things I love most so here's where I'm going to indulge those things in more details.
So expect a mix of reviews, in depth disections and general appreciation of the myriad things that occupy my free time.

The first plan is for a series I'm calling Let's Multiplay, possibly the most original title the interwebz have ever done seen.
For those less inclined to trawling the depths of Youtube, the concept of a Let's Play video is simple; Someone records a game as they play it and in many cases will commentate whilst doing so. The results range from the oft times entertaining Total Biscuits output (http://tinyurl.com/2w4kk9c) right on through to what you might expect from something like this, i.e. moronic 13 year old American kids full of complaints about games ten years older than they are and nothing even remotely entertaining to say. I'm aiming to at least try and match the quality Total Biscuit kicked out back in his Let's Play days, though in my own particular style whatever that may turn out to be.

Having searched high and low for a regular series of Let's Play videos that feature two players competing or working together I've yet to find anything beyond a small handful of Call of Duty and Halo 3 vids, none of which are particularly entertaining or informative.
I've got the capability right now to record SNES, Megadrive (Genesis), PS1 and Saturn games so I'll be making a big list of potential games to play, making an open invite for anyone I know who would like to join me for an episode or two and then start making the vids for your very own viewing pleasure.
If it works well and I managed to find a few regular players to do this with then this could end up lasting a while, if not I'll can it and move on.

That's all for now, but in the meantime make sure you check out the podcast and let us know what you think,
Eden