Game of the Year 2011

It's been a long time since I blogged (again), as  that pesky 'real life' thing has been interfering in my free time (and I like to use at least some of that which I have left to actually play games!).  Hopefully, I'll get more time in the New Year.  I had hoped that my family  taking over the TV for  X-Factor 2011 would allow me some time for gaming but, no - I laid into my DS and 3DS instead, the better to block out the tuneless wailing and, frankly, shouting (Kitty, I'm looking at you, through eyes squinting in pain) that was on my TV.


Anyway, as I did last year, I thought I'd post on my favourite games from those that I'd played during the year. I haven't played everything this year - there are some triple A releases (Gears of War 3, Skyrim) that just don't float my gaming boat - and I have a couple (most notably Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) that might have a claim to sneaking in my top 5 when I actually get around to playing them.  However, there's not much point of a 'best of' list being posted in April the following year, so here it is, in reverse order for an illusion of tension - 


5. Batman: Arkham City - the sequel to what was my game of the year  2009 (Batman: Arkham Asylum) and not as good as that superbly structured and balanced game.  The story and look of Gotham City (aka Arkham City, a prison built in the fenced-off streets of parts of Gotham) were great, as was the respect shown towards the Batman mythos.  There was too much unnecessary padding of side missions though and I hope that any subsequent Batman game from Rocksteady is more focussed. Admittedly, I didn't have to do any  side missions (or I could have picked and chose those that I wanted) but there's a bit of OCD towards collecting in most gamers - I blame Mario - and, in getting sidetracked, I lost some of the focus of the central narrative.   A special mention to the boss fights - far better than in the first game and one (Mr Freeze) was one of the best boss fights I've ever played.

4. Mario Kart 7 - an excellent entry into a series I've been playing for nearly twenty years. It followed the tried and tested template of 32 courses (16 new, 16 plucked form earlier iterations of the game) split into 8 cups, with various unlockables (characters, kart modifications) to pick up along the way.  The addition of underwater and in the air paths through courses gave a sense of 'verticality' to the courses (and the shortcuts available in them).  I was sceptical about this verticality at first but it really has an impact of gameplay and pathfinding.  It also has  the best use of 3D on the 3DS that I've yet seen. 


My only gripe is that there's too many Mario Kart Wii courses on the retro cups - I've nothing against the courses picked (Maple Treeway, Coconut Mall, Mushroom Gorge and Koopa Cape), which are all very good (the former two are probably my favourite courses on MKW). It's just that I still regularly play MKW and one of the great things about playing retro courses in successive Mario Karts is that they take you back to courses that you've not played for a while - this time around, I still play  a quarter of the retro courses on offer in another game.

3. LA Noire - a game that can be summed up as a James Ellroy's LA Quartet simulator  - and just as good as that sounds. Spooky facial capture tech puts recognisable actors (including many of the cast of Mad Men and  John Noble from Fringe)  into the game. The facial expressions  used by the actors are a key part of the gameplay, as you try to 'read' them in interview sequences, something that had never been done in a game before (and that worked very well). Excellent narrative (even if there are a few holes and too many 'borrowings' from Ellroy) and interview sequences.  


Unfortunately, the developer went into administration shortly after the game was released but hopefully another developer has picked up the tech used in the game - it showed massive promise

2. Portal 2 - It's not often that I laugh out loud at a videogame (50 Cent: Blood on the Sand excepted) but I did, several times, in Portal 2.   Intelligence, wit and humour are three attributes not always found in videogames but Valve's excellent first person puzzler had them in spades. As with the first game (that I did not even play until after this one), the gameplay revolves around the portal gun - a device that shoots two (at any given time) holes into reality that then create a portal between them that the player can pass through. The puzzles are essentially a series of passages from A to B but that brief description does not do them justice.  You get  a sense of real achievement (which is always far better than an Achievement) after working out a particularly tough puzzle without resorting to an internet guide. This was my game of the year until today (30/12), when I reached the end of -

1. Uncharted 3 -  Uncharted is one of Sony's console exclusive crown jewels (along with Killzone and Resistance, neither of which I'm that keen on).  Uncharted 2 was excellent in every area (still only my third favourite game on 2009 though, behind Batman and Assassin's Creed II) but this one surpasses it.  The same treasure seeking template as before (think 'Indiana Jones' (but try not to think of the awful fourth film)) but this has been polished to perfection.  The story was spot-on and didn't succumb to the narrative foolishness in the final reel as the previous two games.  Some of the set pieces were breathtakingly good - straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster. The environment effects - fire, water - were superb, giving a true sense of danger to what you were doing onscreen and Nathan Drake is a genuinely engaging central character.  All of the characters were excellently voice-acted, particularly Drake and the always in need of rescue Victor 'Sully' Sullivan (Princess Peach to Drake's Mario).  Special mention goes  to the music score, which was pitch perfect for the game.
Well, that brings to an end my games of the year.  Honourable mentions must be given to those that  just missed out -  Little Big Planet 2 (in the top 3 until the autumn), Super Mario 3D Land, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and FIFA 12 (the best football game I've ever played).  Same time again next year...

If it's in the game, it's in the game

This year's iteration in the FIFA franchise came out a few weeks ago. I bought it on the day of release and have been playing it, if not solidly then consistently, since then. It is an excellent game, far better than last year's more defence-minded game and as good, if not better, than FIFA10 (up until now my favourite football videogame ever).

But I'm not blogging about my silky FIFA skills (with my win percentage bumping along at around 20%, that wouldn't take long). Last Saturday, I went to see real football, West Ham United v Blackpool and thoroughly enjoyed a 4-0 saunter for the Cockney Boys. My seat for the day was in one of the stands to the side of the ground,  just below the TV gantry, almost in line with the centre circle. The view from my seat was very similar to the default camera option in this year's FIFA. Such is the realism of FIFA12 (graphically - at a distance, anyway - as well as in the gameplay), there were times during the West Ham game when I was watching the on-field action instinctively thinking 'finesse that shot' or 'pressing tackle!' and imagining the corresponding button press as I saw play develop. I'd then remember that this wasn't a virtual game of football, that it was an actual one.

These thoughts came like they do when playing the game - jumping into the 'twitch reflex' part of my brain, rather than the rational, thinking-monkey, bit (the rational bit then kicking in, rolling its eyes at 'twitch' and reminding Team Brain that its body wasn't holding a controller). I've had this feeling before - for example, when scanning the tops of flyovers for giant ants after a lengthy EDF 2017 session - but never from a sports game. I think this is testament to the immersive nature of this year's  FIFA and it is difficult to predict how EA can improve upon this sense of immersion  in the  future (not that that will stop them bringing out FIFA13, of course).  

RIP Funland

Last week I was in the Piccadilly area of London on my lunch break. As is usual when I'm over that way, I popped into the Trocadero to have a wander around Funland, which is probably the largest arcade in Central London (if not England). Or rather 'was' the largest arcade in London, as it has recently closed down.

I'd gone to Funland for years - as much as anywhere, it was 'my' arcade when in my twenties. I was never a frequent visitor - although comparatively wealthy next to students nowadays, even back in the mid-90s students didn't have spare cash to feed, in £1 coin increments, to Namco, Sega, Konami et al. I was a regular visitor though - probably dropping in every couple of months or so.

As with every arcade - except Segaworld - that I have ever been to (and I'm a gamer who grew up on the English South Coast, so I've been to quite a few), Funland was, even at its late 90s height, slightly seedy and down at heel. That has always been part of an arcade's charm, I think - the juxtaposition of the advanced gaming technology, with the sticky carpets, cigarette smoke (pre-ban, that is) and dingy lighting.

It had one of the best range of arcade games around - this was where I first played Daytona, in a fantastic 8-cabinet array - and used to get the latest cabinets, probably before anywhere else in the country. I've read that, at its height, gaming journalists would often visit to see the latest games in action (and then, no doubt, stay on them for ages for £1 with their mad gaming skillz).

As well as a great range of arcade games, there were a few other money-spinning entertainments in Funland. Dodgems, a mini bowling allay and, for a time, a range of games that you could win paper tokens on, that could then be exchanged (after amassing a huge number of them) for a range of tacky prizes, as at a funfair. I don't think I ever went on any of those - it was always all about the videogames for me - but I remember that, at one point, the dodgem circuit was lined with classic arcade cabinets that were nearly always empty and so good for a quick, wait-free game.

For a time Funland was co-located in the Trocadero with Segaworld London - a misguided attempt to create an interactive theme park by Sega in the years when they seemed to lumber from one massive mistake to another (blow your marketing budget for your new console on sponsoring a football team?). However, Funland was there before Segaworld opened in 1996 and it was there after Segaworld closed down in 2002 and, indeed, took over some of Segaworld's floorspace. This multi-floor expansion made Funland somewhat of a maze and, as I'd only go over every 6 months or so after I stopped being a student and had to get on with 'real life', I would frequently get lost while wandering around, wondering where the exit was. Fortunately, there was never a fire...

I checked the internets when I returned to work - it seems the arcade closed in July 2011. The official website (www.funland.co.uk) cites a 'power failure' (that has also knocked out their phones) but that is unlikely as the rest of (what's left) of the businesses in the Trocadero had electricity to burn on my visit. And 2 months to fix a power failure? The power was back on in Baghdad quicker than that. There are reports on the internet that the real reason was somewhat different but, what is definitely true is that the upper levels of the 7-storey Trocadero complex are being redeveloped as a hotel and I wonder if the landlords were all that keen on what was, by the end, quite a seedy arcade occupying the levels of the building below their shiny new hotel. Whatever the real reason for the closure was, the arcade docent look like re-opening.

I think that my admission that I only went every 6 months in its latter years, is probably indicative of why arcades are thought to be a dying business. I would go on a weekday lunchtime in the heart of tourist London and it was never all that busy. Given the overheads attached to such a venture, in that high-rent location (the electricity bill alone must have been astronomical), it is difficult to see how it lasted as long as it did. With the massive advances in console entertainment in the near 20 years I'd been going to Funland, gamers simply do not need to shovel pound coins into arcade machines to get high quality gaming fixes. Put simply, you can't run a large-floorspace business in Central London based on hardcore dance gamers (Funland was something of a shrine for dancing games, apparently) and nostalgic twice-yearly gamers like me. I am slightly disappointed that I never got the opportunity to take my daughter (who loves arcades) along to Funland (my wife, on the other hand, is probably quite relieved).

Holiday Casualty

I've just been on a great fortnight's holiday in Suffolk - very relaxing, reasonably clement weather  and plenty to do.  As is usual for me, I took my DS Lite, my PSP (which went untouched) and my iPad, in order to head off gaming withdrawal.  Unfortunately, my DS bought the farm while I was away (coincidentally, on a farm) - one of the hinges snapped off as I opened it up for another game of imported zombie RTS Zombie Daisuki (to be reviewed soon).

Something missing?

I wasn't particularly rough with it but the housing for the power lights completely sheared off.  I bought the DS Lite when it came out, upgrading from my DS Chunky, so I've had it for over four years (in which time I've played it a lot).  Even so, a physical failure like this seems poor.

Fortunately, the DS still works OK, though some balancing (or changing grip, so that the left hand is supporting the top screen as well using the D-pad) is required to prevent the top screen from becoming wonky while playing.  I think that this means it is no longer a portable console - playing it on the sofa at home is fine but I think bumpy train journeys are a thing of the past!

I will be replacing it shortly, probably with a DSi.  I did consider a 3DS given the recent price drop but I'm not that interested in any of the current 3DS games and, if I got one, it would be for the DS backwards compatibility.  However, there is very little difference in price between the two at the moment (which is faintly ridiculous), so I might end up taking the 3D plunge or (most likely) checking the condition/price of  a second hand DSi

Official Wireless Xbox 360 controller (silver) - review

Unless you're relentlessly anti-social (or fixated with online play only), you'll need to buy additional controllers to complement the one packaged with your console. You may have an annoying sibling to take on at FIFA, a guest who wants to 'see how much games have changed since my Atari ST', or a child to grind Lego collecathons with. However you arrive there, you will almost certainly be looking to buy a second controller at some point.  I bought a second official MS Xbox controller when I bought my 360 in 2007. Recently one of them became faulty, continually becoming disconnected from the console despite fully juiced-up batteries or battery packs. As I often play 360 with my daughter, a second controller is essential and so I was in the market for a new one.

Third-party pads are nearly always awful (Power A Pro Elite on PS3 being a notable exception), so I looked to Microsoft for a replacement pad. As I've written on here before, I think that the 360 controller is the best controller that I have ever used over my thirty years of gaming. Other than the d-pad, which is a bit sucky, there is nothing that I would seek to improve about the pad that I wanted to replace.

Pretty

Never one to miss a trick, improving the d-pad is exactly what Microsoft has done in the latest version of the pad. The d-pad switches between a disc (as in the original pad) and, with a slight twist, a cross. The cross is undoubtedly better than the disc but most games that I play don't use the d-pad all that much - weapon selection, choice of tactics and similar functions. While it's a neat trick, I don't think it is that much of a killer feature to warrant a purchase on its own.

As an 'innie'

As an 'outie'

As the pictures show, my new controller is silver which, as the pictures don't quite show, is a matt effect (a shiny finish would not have done much for its gripability). I thought that this would run the risk of scuffing like a cheap plastic toy - of the metal effect rubbing off after repeated use to show the black plastic underneath. So far, however, that has not happened, even under the part of the controller under my wedding ring.

Another new 'feature' is a recolouring of the buttons, presumably to echo the silver colour of the pad itself. I think that this is a poor design choice as far as its primary purpose - as a game controller - is concerned. while it might make sense aesthetically, the 'normal' colours of the buttons are important when playing games. Screen prompts, particularly in tutorials, will flash up the colour, as well as the letters (which are unchanged in this pad). I instinctively know that 'green' means the 'A' button. There have been occasions playing with the new pad where I've seen a green, blue, red or yellow coloured screen prompt and had to think 'is that white, light grey, middle grey or dark grey?'. Many games rely on split-second timing and that fraction of a second additional thinking time may be the difference between success or failure.

The buttons in all their monochrome glory

The pad is slightly heavier than the normal pad. Without batteries it is 226gm (compared to the normal pad's 209gm) and with the standard rechargeable battery pack, it is 297gm (compared to a normal pad's 280gm). 17gm difference seems very little indeed but it does make a difference. I often have stiff wrists the day following a lengthy gaming session (30-years' gaming experience, ftw) and that was noticeably worse with the new pad. The day after a long session with this pad on high octane shooter Vanquish, my wrists were aching like those of a 14-year old boy with unmonitored internet access.

I paid £45 for the pad, which came packaged with a play and charge kit. As I needed a play and charge kit anyway, I thought that this was a good price. However, in my opinion this pad is not as good as the original pad. The chief 'good' point - the new D-pad - does not outweigh the 'bad' ones - the weight and the different coloured buttons. When/if I next need to pick up another new pad, I will be going for the original one.

Resident Evil 'Umbrella Corporation' Cuff Links

I often wear cufflinks for work and have a reasonably large collection of them. I recently purchased a pair of 'Umbrella Corporation' cufflinks from UK-based etsy seller Deadly Pretty.

Y'know - evil

The Umbrella Corporation insignia is made from acrylic (possibly a little too thin for everyday use or I may just be used to weightier links) and exactly the right the surface area.  Not too small as to barely cover the link hole but not too large that it looks like it's fallen from a Las Vegas-era Elvis jumpsuit.

The link-y bit is my preferred shape - a t-bar that snaps open/shut (much preferable to capstan-style cuff links).

My day job sometimes requires interaction with politicians and I find the possibility of meeting politicos wearing the symbol of a sinister, conspiracy-riddled organisation that is  committed to developing hideous biological weapons, quite amusing...

Burnout M25

Videogames are linked negatively with many aspects of today's society in the more knee-jerk areas of the media. The findings of small-scale research reports are often taken out of context by the tabloid press, whose underlying agenda boils down to 'new things that we don't understand, we don't like'. As you can probably guess, I don't think that the problems in society can be laid at the feet of Grand Theft Auto but I do wonder if games have had an effect on certain drivers' driving style.

Last night I drove around the M25 from Surrey to Hertfordshire having visited family. Even though it was late, the road was very busy and some of the driving tactics, erratic. I passed my driving test in 1989 (three years after the M25 was completed) and have noticed that questionable driving manoeuvres, particularly weaving in and out of traffic, have increased greatly over those 22 years. I wonder if a generation of drivers have been influenced by playing Burnout, PGR, Ridge Racer et al in how they tackle the roads. Obviously, it isn't all drivers (the roads would be strewn with wreckage and the hospitals full of crash victims if it were) but it only takes a small percentage to have a noticeable effect on other road users.

There are undoubtedly other influences on driving and this piece is just my own anecdotal experience (written the morning following a drive) and having no scientific basis. I also think the increased safety features and driving assistance devices in cars make drivers more prepared to take risks (I can't imagine what it would be like to drive the car I passed my test in - an Austin Metro mk1 - now). There are far more cars on the road now too.

I also haven't ruled out the possibility that, now I've turned 40, I've turned into a Grumpy Old Man!

Guiness World Records 2011 - Gamer's Edition

Over the past few years, the Guinness World Record publishing imprint has brought out a videogame edition. The 2011 edition was released a couple of months ago and, thanks to a 50% discount in Waterstone's, I recently picked up a copy.

Guinness's main tome, originally published to settle pub arguments (instead of, say, fisticuffs) has been around since the fifties. Looking at a copy from those olden days (the one shown in these photos is a copy I have from 1961), there is a stark design contrast between it and those of today. Obviously methods of production, use of photos and colour have changed greatly over the years but the original Guinness Book of Records was a tweedy concern, written by (and, frankly, for) sensible, pedantic  readers.  And kids - kids love that stuff (the Record Breakers TV show ran for thirty years).

Facts and Booze - together at last

The olden days edition was about *facts* - cold, hard, facts - set out in column format, one under another. Just the type of ordered presentation that I imagine would have been beloved by founding editors - and right-wing nutcases - Norris and Ross McWhirter. Rows and rows of ordered facts.

Some facts, yesterday

The videogame edition is less ordered - the McWhirters' shades splutter into their ghostly gin & tonics - and facts jump about all over the page. The basic business of the new book is still, of course, records - in the  Gamer's Edition, shots at geek immortality for high scores, speedruns and the like. Part of the appeal of this book - as with the main volume - lies in the fact that, while some rely on skill and are clearly out of the reach of normal people, there are plenty that you think "hmm, I could have a bash at that". Of course, most people don't do that - I mean, I like Red Dead Redemption but do I really want to play it for 50 hours in a row* - but some readers will do so and then be in following year's edition, starting the whole cycle again.

50 hours to win €1000, between 6

The book itself is 216 pages long and in full colour, with plenty of illustrations. The quality of the printing isn't that great - the finish of the pages is matt rather than glossy, which doesn't help the reproduction of screenshots (something we are only used to seeing 'glossy' be that on TV, monitor or in magazines).  The layout is akin to that used in videogame magazines, with box-outs, lots of photos and text built around them.

Old school scores - pass the gin, Norris 

In a nod to the fact-marshalled past, there are twenty pages of Twin Galaxies scoreboards at the back of the volume, listing high scores and speedruns across a variety of platforms, from the current gen to as far back as old school arcade games (see Steve Wiebe and Billy Mitchell's duel from King of Kong reduced to simple numbers).

It is a very geeky book but a great one to have lying around to be picked up if you feel like a quick fact blitz.  OK, yes - in the bathroom....

* p103 of the book

Refreshing honesty from a GAME employee

Yesterday I was shopping in one of the two branches of GAME in my town and decided to purchase a discounted copy of Yakuza 4 on PS3. The cheapest I'd seen the game previously was £30 but GAME was selling it for £17 (new).

When I went to the counter, I asked about part exchanging a copy of Professor Layton and the Curious Village and was told I'd get £8 for it, which I accepted. I'd originally bought this copy from Oxfam for £4, an absolute bargain for what is an excellent game. One of the GAME staff members saw the Oxfam-stickered price still on the game's box and queried whether that was what I'd paid for it and I confirmed that it was. In response she said to her colleague (who was actually serving me) 'we really rip people off don't we - we're selling that for £20!'. The staff member actually serving me was a trifle embarrassed at this and pointed out that I'd doubled my money (true).

There are actually two rip-offs here - that GAME are selling a second-hand copy of a nearly two year old game for £20 and secondly that they are selling it for two and half times what they bought it off me for (a mark up of which Lord Sugar would be proud). I didn't mind the latter so much - I was getting twice what I'd paid for it after all and, although I could have got £12-13 in CeX, that store was only selling a used copy of Yakuza 4 for £28. So, I'm very happy with the deal and don't consider myself ripped off. I also don't think you can validly compare a charity store price, to a retail store price (GAME pays its employees, for a start) but I think £20 for this particular game is far too high (I would say a fair price, in a retail store, would be £12-15).

GAME does has a reputation among gamers of being a rip-off merchant though and I was amused that an employee of the store itself concurred with this opinion!

LA Noire M.I.A

Rockstar's new game, LA Noire, was released last week. According to reports, it has sold more copies in the UK upon its release than any other new IP. I think this is partly due to its pervasive advertising campaign and partly due to Rockstar's reputation of developing, almost without exception, excellent games. Their most recent release, Red Dead Redemption, was my favourite game of last year and they are probably best known for the tabloid-baiting, mainstream-crossover series, GTA. Rockstar's name can, to borrow a movie term, 'open' a game, like a videogame Tom Cruise. Only taller.

And, unlike some of Mr Cruise's films, Rockstar has delivered - LA Noire has received excellent reviews in the gaming and mainstream press. Most of my twitter (I'm @30somethinggmr) timeline is playing or talking about the game, with all but one of those agreeing with the reviews.

It seems the only interested gamer not playing the 'James Ellroy 'em up' is me. My brother bought it for my birthday through play.com and, despite being despatched on 17 May has still not reached me by the 23rd. This is probably the only time I've ever wished games were download only, though with my broadband speed (2MB with a following wind) I'd probably still be waiting for that to finish downloading.

My/his pre-order bonus has, however, arrived - I have a, currently redundant, code for an extra mission and a code for a free download of the original soundtrack. As with last year's Red Dead Redemption, the soundtrack is excellent (Rockstar is probably the best user of music in games around), enabling me to at least imagine what playing the game is like. Here's hoping the postie delivers the game itself tomorrow.

UPDATE 24/5/11

Like Odysseus, my copy of the game finally found its way home! I think I probably could have walked it here quicker but the main thing is that it has arrived - I'll be playing it tonight after my daughter has gone to bed. 7pm seems a reasonable bed time for a 8-year old...

Left 4 Dead Boomer Plush!

Last Saturday, I made the title of my blog into a lie and turned forty.

I may end up changing the blog's title (eventually - I'm still a bit in denial), unless the 40-something brand has already gone.  Middle-aged gamer? [shudders].

Gaming-wise, I received LA Noire (still waiting for the postman to deliver that one) and this fantastic Boomer plush.  A Boomer is a special infected from the two Left 4 Dead games, whose unique move involves puking bile over the survivors, bile that then attracts  hordes of zombies to those players covered in it.  Nice chap.

Elvis had really let himself go

It is an extremely well-made product (as can be expected from Valve, who made the product),  topped with a hilariously smiley face and what are undeniably moobs.

Oxy 10's new 'before' photo went a bit too far

It also makes sounds, when a pad inside the hand is pressed.  The sounds are those made by this zombie in the game (a succession of gut-churning groans and heaves).

Urp!

For a lot of the last week, my daughter has been using Boomer to puke on me, or for her to mime being sick while pressing the (hidden) Boomer's hand!  Cool :)

Making the gamers of the future

I'm the (proud, natch) father of an 8-year old daughter, who has spent those 8 (nearly 9) years surrounded by gaming paraphernalia. My wife and I have plenty of baby photos where the backdrop to the gurgling youngster is a stack of Dreamcast games, a PS1 mouse & mat, or assorted wired controllers (before she started crawling - and chewing - obviously). On occasion when she was very small, she would rest, sleeping, on my lap as I played on my Gameboy Advance over her head. And the less said about the time I put her in a bouncy chair and showed her the bullet insanity of Bangai-O on Dreamcast the better.

Her subsequent interest in gaming was unavoidable and, in any event, encouraged by me. Pretty much as soon as she was able to hold a controller and understand the basic concept of 'press button, something moves on TV' she has been gaming. A lot of console software for very young children looks simple in the extreme to an adult but to a 2 or 3-year old, who isn't familiar with gaming conventions such as an action button or collecting objects to further progress through a level, the games act as an introductory course for gaming. The first game my daughter completed, aged 3, was Dora the Explorer: Journey to the Purple Planet, wherein Nick Jr's finest has to return some space-shipwrecked aliens (Inky, Blinky and Clyde, from memory - a nod to retro-gaming mums and dads. Maybe). It is a pretty game, with far better animation than in the TV show but, gaming-wise simplistic in the extreme, being a linear collectathon (training the Rare gamers of the future, perhaps). Between 3-5 my daughter probably completed this game 5 or 6 times, each time quicker (and with less assistance from me) than the last.

Fast forward a few years and my daughter is a gamer in her own right. When we play games now, particularly in co-op, we have the discussions that I would have with an adult co-op partner (with less swearing, admittedly). We are currently co-oping through the superb Dragon Quest IX* on DS and Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 on 360 and, particularly with the more complex former, we are discussing tactics as equals, rather than me walking her through something as an adult teaching a child. For example, we might discuss whether a particular sword is better than another on offer, whether a magical might attribute bonus from an item is better for a mage than one giving a magical defence bonus - geek central, basically. In fact, we find that we often discuss tactics outside of the game - in Waitrose, for example - if we're stuck on a boss or wondering where to go in the game world next. As a gaming dad, this is fantastic, though whether my wife thinks this is a good thing when I should be looking for tinned tomatoes is another thing entirely (to be fair, my wife is also a gamer and, if we had a third DS, I'm sure would also be a member of our DQIX party).

This progression, from watching me play, through playing pre-school games, to now being an active gamer in her own right, has been interesting to witness and I think (and hope) that gaming is an interest that will stay with her for many years to come.


*I appreciate that this game is a PEGI '12' but I don't consider that the content is any more mature or scary than in the 'magical girl' anime that my daughter likes to watch on children's TV. So there.

What I did on my holidays

I've not been blogging much of late for a variety of reasons - work, illness, school holidays, actually playing games - but hopefully I can get back into the routine of (semi) regularly blogging again, as it has been something that I've enjoyed over the last 18 months. The interval has certainly not been caused by a lack of things to write about - I start drafting articles in my head  once or twice a week  and have even got as far as half-writing a few.

One of the things that I've done over the last few weeks is have a gaming weekend. One or two times a year over the past few years I've been meeting up with a friend, away from our wives and children, to play videogames and watch or  talk about  (and, recently, to sob over) the fortunes of West Ham United and he latest instalment of these manchild escapades was  a couple of weeks ago.  In all, in a two-day period, we played 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (in co-op, from start to finish), Dead Rising 2, FIFA10, FIFA11, Castle Crashers, Super Mario Kart, Ghost Squad, DefJam Rapstar, Beatles Rock Band and AC/DC Rock Band (and some single player on Halo Reach, Pure, Rockstar Table Tennis, Snoopy Flying Ace and Amped 3).   On a similar theme, we watched the gaming documentary King of Kong while eating junk food. What we learnt, in no particular order, was -

• 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand is funny in co-op
• middle-aged, middle-class, men shouldn't rap
• I cannot play drums, bass or guitar (even on easy)
• FIFA 10 is better than FIFA 11
• Billy Mitchell (not the one in EastEnders) is a complete tool
• Super Mario Kart is the best version of the game for local co-op
• should there ever be a zombie apocalypse, our skills are tight

There is some effort involved in meeting up these days (aeroplane flights for a start) and, with the advent of Xbox Live, this type of event is no longer necessary for either co-op or head-to-head gaming.  Or slagging off Avram Grant, for that matter.  We've been gaming together for nearly 18 years - the distance  from today to the start of this period, is the same as from then (the start of our undergraduate studies) to starting pre-school. We are now at the onset of middle age - my friend is already in his forties and that particular tombstone is being erected over my life in a few weeks' time.  On this occasion, we had both wondered independently whether we were now too old for this expense of effort, 'just' to play games and kvetch about West Ham and (possibly unsurprisingly) when we discussed the matter, reasoned that it was.  

It might be an odd thing to say but gaming isn't just about the games, it can also be about (*pseud alert*)  social interactions, both those that are based wholly online and those where the player knows his/her opponent/colleague in the 'real world' (of my XBL friends, I've only met 4 of those in person and one of those is the UPS driver who has twice picked up my RRoD'd 360).  Age only becomes an issue in relation to gaming (and, probably, everything else) if the individual makes it one and as soon as you do that, I think, you are destined to 'act your age', with all that that entails.  Consequently, I reckon  my gaming weekends will continue for a while yet (until game-induced arthritis turns my hands into gamepad-shaped claws, anyway).

This has got a bit heavy for my first post back in the saddle - not to worry, my next post will be on the usual old bollocks :)  

Nintendo 3DS Launch Day

The Nintendo 3DS launched today and this lunchtime I went to Covent Garden in London's West End, where Nintendo had set up an installation where you could play all the launch games.

The Box of Delights

Covent Garden was something of a geek nexus today, as queues were beginning to form outside the large Apple Store on the other side of the piazza for the 5pm iPad 2 launch, when I got there at 12.30pm The Nintendo lounge room was surprisingly clear though - there were about 15 other people in there (not including the many Nintendo PR staff) but  I didn't have to queue to get in, nor wait to play any of the games I was interested in. The room itself was quite small, as perhaps can be seen from the photo above, with a central area where the 3DSs were, with two 'corridors' on either side, through which you entered and left.  The entry one had display cabinets of Nintendo handhelds throughout the years, which was a nice touch (the original Game Boy looks HUGE).  In the central area, the lighting was subdued, no doubt in order to show the screens to their best effect.  In the exit 'corridor' were PCs, with which visitors could blog (according to the PR people) about the experience (I passed on that, as I had to get back to work).

All the launch games were available and I played Ridge Racer, Pilotwings, Street Fighter IV, Nintendogs, Splinter Cell and Pro Evolution Soccer.

As I had thought would be the case, the 3D effect was much better playing on actual games than with the on-board software. I particularly liked the effect (if not the game itself) on Pilotwings, maybe because of my existing knowledge of Wuhu Island.

There is a 3D slider on the righthand side of the topscreen, which allows the player to reduce/remove the 3D-ness of the games. I actually preferred Street Fighter IV in full 2D than when the 3D effect was switched on, possibly betraying the 2D origins of the series.

The 3D sweetspot was larger than I thought it would be but, even so, in some the games (Pilotwings, Pro Evo) I found that I was subconsciously moving the console while playing, enough so that I some of the 3D-ness was lost the from the games (which was quite disorientating).

Pro Evolution Soccer was my favourite of the games I tried.  The default mode (and I don't know if this can be changed), was a roaming camera centred on your  player in (or chasing) possession (rather than the traditional 'Match of the Day' camera angle of most videogame football).  That was a bit disorientating at first but showed the 3D to good effect.  As usual, the real team names were absent, leaving me to play as 'East London' (in claret and blue, of course).  The Scott Parker (hallowed be his name) player model looked more like the player than in FIFA 11 though.

Pilotwings looked like it could get dull quickly, flying around Wii Sports Resort's Wuhu Island (something I remember being one of many mini games in WSR itself), particularly as I am very familiar with Wuhu Island, having completed the flying mini game in WSR.  It was fun to fly down the crater of the volcano and exit through a tunnel in 3D though.

Of the others that I played, Ridge Racer was, well, Ridge Racer - a solid enough racer but that isn't a genre I'm that interested in generally and even less so on a handheld (unless you can drive a kart and fire red shells at opponents, I give handheld racers a wide berth).  Nintendogs seemed, in the short time that I had with it, the same as the DS game.  The 3D looked smart  but not enough for me to want to pay for a game that, essentially, I already have (and ceded to my daughter years ago).  I played part of one level of Splinter Cell  and recognised it from a SC game I played years ago (maybe Chaos Theory?) that involved infiltrating (eventually) a lighthouse.  I'm not a fan of stealth in games (I'm more gung-ho in my approach) and playing a stealth game I played maybe as long as 7 years ago didn't appeal.

I don't think I suffered any major eyestrain's a result of my half an hour in the booth,  though my eyes did seem a little sore. However, I think that there's been so much coverage of this particular issue, that any ill-effects I felt were probably psychosomatic.

Overall, the glasses-free 3D effect was good but nothing more than a gimmick (as with all 3D, in my opinion).  Games consoles survive or fail on the strength of their software and the 3DS doesn't have great strength yet.  In a marketplace of one, having a strong launch line-up isn't that important - there'll always be plenty of new adopters for a Nintendo console willing to hand over their pounds.  On the evidence of what I saw though, Nintendo will have to up its game on the software side for when the Sony NGP handheld launches, to give casual consumers a compelling reason to choose the 3DS over its more powerful competitor. 

Tactics Ogre: Let us Cling Together - Premium Edition

I have liked strategy role-playing games (sometimes referred to as tactical role-playing games) for a number of years.  Vandal Hearts on PS1 (which received an update last year) is one of my favourite games of all time and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on GBA is probably the single player game that I have played the most in all my time as a gamer.

The Tactics Ogre series isn't that well known in Europe.  I have a copy of Tactics Ogre: Knights of Lodis on GBA but that is from the US.  Square Enix has just brought the latest game on PSP (albeit a remake - though with important changes - of a SNES version), Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together to Europe and they've also brought out a collector's edition (termed a 'Premium Edition') that I picked up for £25 from shopto.net.

As befitting a portable console, I suppose, the premium edition hasn't got the same amount of extra content as in some of the other collector's editions that I have (though it is priced accordingly)

The package comes in a box about twice the depth of a standard PSP case.

Included in the package is a Mini soundtrack CD, on a disc about the same size as a GameCube game

There is a hardback 48-page artbook, showing concept art from the game and the world in which it is set.

The full deal

Nintendo 3DS hands-on

I had a go on a demonstration model of the new Nintendo portable console, the 3DS, in my local Game store last weekend. Unfortunately - and rather stupidly, I thought - they didn't have any games in-store and had no plans to have any before the launch of the system on 25 March. All that there was to play with was the onboard software. I wasn't that interested in those but what I was interested in - and the reason for wanting to have a go anyway - was to test the 3D-ness of the console (and whether or not it would cause my brain to run out of my ears).

The 3D in the onboard software was kind of OK-ish. There was some depth on display but I now wonder if I had the unit in the right place in relation to my eyes. As the kit was tethered to the Game employee's wrist - for obvious reasons - I didn't feel as if I could jerk the 3DS (and therefore his arm) into a variety of viewing positions in order to ascertain the best one. Hopefully demo consoles will be displayed more helpfully once the machine is released and I also think that the best way to judge the 3D-ness will be in an actual game.

Another thing counting against the display was that it was quite bright in Game when I viewed it (the shop is in a corner location, with windows on two sides). In this bright light, the display seemed quite dim (something I have since read elsewhere to be the case). Presumably not having a bright display lengthens the battery life but, as it's a portable console, you would expect a lot of 3DS gaming to be in the outdoors, so a bit of a drawback Maybe something to be fixed in a follow up console, as with the GBA and the GBASP (the former of which could, conversely, only be adequately viewed with a strong light source overhead).

My brain is still very much inside my head and barely liquidised at all but I would be lying if I said that it was a nausea-free experience though. I think that might have been a combination of the bright light / dim display and not being being able to get the console into the optimum position without breaking the sales assistant's wrist though.

The machine itself seemed a bit plastic-y and toy-like (much like the original GBA) and lacking the sense of value that you'd expect from a c£220 investment (maybe I've been spoilt by shiny Apple products in recent years).

I had been wondering whether or not to buy a 3DS but I think my hands-on trial has persuaded me not to. I am sure Nintendo will bring out a better version within 18 months (as with the GBA and DS) and, unless a truly excellent game is released in the interim, I will wait until then to pick one up. This is quite unlike me, as I owned both the GBA and the DS Chunky (upgrading to the next iteration as soon as they were released) but Nintendo hasn't quite pushed my buttons (pressed my touchscreen?) with the 3DS.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand - review

I think it is fair to say that I am not 50 Cent's number one fan. At the risk of sounding like an embarrassing Dad who says that  they like music in an attempt to seem younger than they are (or should act), I quite like some rap music but Fiddy is, frankly, not my cup of tea.  Or mother-fucking tea, as Mr Cent would have it.

Fiddy regrets offering to be a 'Phone a Friend'

When the second game to feature Mr Cent, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, came out a couple of years ago, it reviewed quite well, with a lot of 'guilty pleasure' reviews (the 360 version is showing 71% on Metacritic, a respectable score) and I picked it up about a year after its release.  I only started playing it last month though and....

...it was actually quite good.  The game is a third-person (though there are a couple of vehicle levels), cover-based, co-op (either with a human or CPU player) shooter and the basic mechanic is sound.  When playing on your own, you have dubious pleasure of playing as Fiddy, with the CPU playing as one of three members of G-Unit.  As well as offering back-up, they fawn over Fiddy, praising him for particularly tricky actions (read: shooting people), which can get irritating (guys, get a room).

Oh Fiddy, you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind, hey Fiddy, hey Fiddy

Fiddy and friends swap profanities with gay abandon - it was the sweariest game I'd ever played, a title it only held for a short time as I started playing Mafia II (which REALLY has swearing) afterwards.  Whereas the Mafia II swearing seems authentically gangster like, Fiddy's potty mouth is pretty ridiculous.  For example, shouting 'fire in the hole' is a  quick phrase, shouted out  to let others know something is about to explode.  Shouting 'Fire in the motherfucking hole, bitches' kind of defeats the object - you'd get your bling blown off.

The plot, such as it is, revolves around Fiddy having performed a concert in an unnamed hellhole in the Middle East, for which he was not paid his $10m fee (which seems a lot to me - maybe Fiddy is using the game as a way to jack up his asking price). In lieu of payment, he is given (as you are) a diamond-encrusted skull, originally inhabited by the favourite wife of an olden days king. This skull is subsequently stolen and Fiddy spends the rest of the game trying to track it down. I'm not sure why he is so attached to the skull - he'd barely owned 5 minutes before it was stolen and presumably there are other failed states willing to pay his gig asking price. You wonder why he didn't just give it up as a bad lot and jet back to LA and his solid gold (I assume) mansion.

One previous owner

Anyway, the rest of the, pretty short, game is spent looking for the skull  while killing lots of people, with a few two-dimensional characters popping up in cut scenes explaining the plot (Omid Djalilli did you really need the money that badly?).  There are 9 missions, most of which are broken down into several chapters and the game can be completed in 6-7 hours.  You get a score for each chapter, so there is the prospect of replaying chapters to increase your score (not that I bothered with this).

Why do bosses attack with helicopters in the area where they store their RPG ammunition?

One of the things it most strongly reminded me of, was Elvis Presley's movie career (this may be the world's first comparison between these two artists). They don't get shown much on TV these days, but when I was growing up they'd often be shown during the daytime or in the early evening on BBC2. In all of them, Elvis would be Elvis - he might be a prison inmate, a nightclub singer, a GI, a roustabout, he night have different name but he would *be* Elvis.  Fiddy is playing 'Fiddy' here but the character you're playing isn't really Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cent - it's the gangsta he wishes he could be.  Fiddy (the real one) famously got shot 9 times in 2000 and this is used as an aspect of his gangsta credentials but surely it's not getting shot 9 times that makes you a successful gangsta?  I do not think that the real Fiddy would stand much of a chance against the terrorists, private military contractors or soldiers in Blood on the Sand - one of the pleasures of the game is the innate absurdity of this pampered star taking on the persona of John Rambo and the genuine enjoyment you can hear in his voice from the deluded pleasure he takes from the 'role'.

There is a debate in videogames about whether they can be art.  This is not the game that decides that argument.  However, it is an enjoyable, solid game that doesn't outstay its welcome. Worth picking up if you see it for under a tenner.  But don't take it too seriously.

Mafia II Collector's Edition

As must be clear from my blog, I am quite partial to a collector's edition of a game, particularly those packed full of ephemera that I will likely never use (like the Guild Seal in the Fable III Limited Collector's Edition, for example). I'm particularly fond of packs of cards, despite not playing a  card game more advanced than 'Snap' since about 1987 (in-game poker in Red Dead Redemption excepted).

My latest purchase is the Collector's Edition of Mafia II. This retails at £60, which is pretty steep (more than I would be prepared to pay, certainly) but I picked it up, new, for only £14.99 from an Amazon Marketplace seller.

The contents are contained within a plastic outer sleeve, containing a 'steel box' style game box, a map and a hardback book (of the same dimensions as the game box).

Fuhgeddaboutit!

The matt-effect steel box is covered, front and back, with artwork from the game and is embossed on both sides with 'Mafia II'. Contained within is the game disk and a CD containing the orchestral score from the game (the latter disk is mocked up to look like a vinyl LP, which is a nice touch). There's a leaflet giving the track listing of the score and also a code for the 'Made Man' DLC pack for the game. This contains two exclusive cars and two suits for Vito, the main character, to use in-game.

The hardback book is made to look like an old-fashioned photo album and all the material inside is printed to look as if it were stuck in to it. The contents relate to concept artwork from the game - the characters, the vehicles, the settings, advertisements and weapons. Each section is prefaced by a introduction in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish.

The final item in the set is a map of the game area, described as 'tear resistant' on the outer sleeve of the package (though I've not put that to the test, with either meaning of 'tear'). The back of the map is covered with 40s style advertisements, in keeping with the game's setting.

In game, the map can be accessed via the Back button

This is a decent package but I don't think it is worth the £60 asking (but certainly worth the £15 I paid for it).

The package in full

Monster Hunter Portable t-shirt

I was in Uniqlo in London yesterday.  They've currently got a range of Monster Hunter (and also Naruto) t-shirts at £12.99 each and I bought this one -

As, literally, worn by me (30 seconds before  I took the photo)

Nerd detail in full

Uniqlo often has Japanese videogame-themed clothing (and manga and anime too), some subtle, some not so much.  Well worth a look (through the website if you don't have a location near you).

The reasons why Enslaved: Journey to the West failed at retail

I've just finished playing Enslaved Journey to the West on PS3 (with the Power A Pro Elite Wireless Controller). It's a great game, original in execution if not in design (it is essentially a reskinned Uncharted but with more emphasis on platforming), with beautiful graphics, an intelligent story and script, likeable characters and great voice acting. It wouldn't have broken into my Top 5 of 2010 had a played it in the year it was released but it would certainly have got in the Top 10 if I'd bothered to write about that many games.

But it was reported last week  that, despite generally positive reviews (the PS3 version shows 80% on metacritic and the 360 version 82%) it sold under half a million copies worldwide (in comparison, Tom Clancy Splinter Cell Conviction, also released in 2010, sold 1.71m copies (source - VG Chartz) and sales behemoth Call of Duty Blacks Ops sold 7m worldwide on the day that it was released (source Wikipedia)). In the face of consumer apathy, Namco Bandai, the publisher, has been noncommittal about whether or not there will ever be a sequel commissioned.

Gamers often criticise publishers for only releasing sequels or yearly updates of games, with little or no original IP.  Publishers, however, are answerable to their shareholders, not core gamers and are inclined to be risk averse - if Brothers of Duty: World Ops 2011 is going to recoup its costs and then make a profit, it is more likely to get a green-light than a game based on 16th Century Chinese literature.

Some original IP does make an impact though, such as Uncharted (3.51m sales worldwide (VG Chartz), on PS3 only), so why did Enslaved fail?

You've got a purty mouth

Enslaved is set in a post-apocalyptic world (though the cause of that apocalypse is only hinted at) but it is quite a lot more 'post' apocalypse than one normally finds in such games. Accordingly, Mother Nature, as anyone that has watched the History Channel's 'Life after People' show (as the developer of the game, Ninja Theory, certainly seems to have done) could have guessed, has been back with a vengeance. The opening levels of the game take place in a ruined New York, choked with lush vegetation and they look gorgeous. However, they don't look like what can normally be expected from a post apocalyptic setting in a videogame, the drab browns of games like Gears of War, Fallout, Resistance, or even Advance Wars Days of Ruin.  I wonder if the different look and feel of the game deterred casual purchasers, more used to seeing wrecked buildings portrayed in a very muted palette.

A stalagmite of culture shock

Grand Central Station

Very pretty but can they fight?

The combat was one of the failings of Enslaved, being dull and monotonous and, when faced by multiple enemies, generally descended into button mashing. I kept playing the game until completion, as I was interested in the story but a friend (from whom I borrowed the game) gave up on it midway through, as she found the combat too dull.

Get your button-mashing fingers ready

It does what is says on the tin

I think that the box art for the game (and also the magazine ads that used the same artwork) is insipid and prevents the box from standing out on the shelf in a game store. To an uninitiated game shop browser, the case shows a funny looking bloke and a girl running away from a giant robot dog. Would this entice the average game buyer? Do you want to run from a giant robot dog or fight a giant robot dog (both of which happen in the game, incidentally)?  I'm no designer but it also seems a bit 'busy' to me and the title gets a little lost in the background.

Hollywood

This one isn't a reason for why I think the game failed (critically speaking, it's entirely the opposite) but it might conceivably be a reason why Namco Bandai decide not to publish a sequel. The game was part-scripted by Alex Garland, author of The Beach and scriptwriter of 28 Days Later (and, apparently, a gamer) and the main character was voiced by Andy Serkis, who also directed the game's excellent voice acting. The story and script were noticeably better than most videogame writing, some of it genuinely poignant. I was particularly impressed by the interactions between Monkey and Trip, the two main characters, which were sensitively handled. That made for a better game experience for the purchasers but did it entice gamers in the first place? I doubt that it did - you need to get the punters through the doors before they can start admiring your carpets.  But I think it might be an impediment to Namco Bandai commissioning a sequel -  I doubt Messrs Garland and Serkis would have come cheap, pushing the game further into the red.

It's Christmasssssss!

The game was released in the first week of October, just at the cusp of the retail run up to Christmas.  A lot of games are released (and bought, to be fair) at this time of year and to compete with the Calls of Duty and FIFAs (last year's iterations of which were released in the first week of November and 1 October, respectively) an original game has to stand out; unfortunately, few original games manage to do this (Beyond Good and Evil, another 'lost classic', was released in November 2003).

The punkiest monkey who ever popped

If you are of a certain age, you will recognise this heading as a line from the title song of the fantastic  Monkey TV series (Japanese, dubbed into English) that played on British TV in the late 70s/early 80s.  Enslaved has the same source material - 16th Century Chinese classic, Monkey: Journey to the West - but, clearly, updated and adapted.  I read the book when I was about ten, having been a fan of the TV series (all I can remember now is Monkey weeing on Buddha's fingers at the end of the universe) but, it being nearly thirty years since that TV series aired, I doubt that many of the game's target audience were familiar with the source material.  Did this matter?  I'm not sure - the source material, to some extent, explains Enslaved's  Monkey, Trip(itaka) and Pigsy but can the game be enjoyed without that knowledge?  I think it probably can and I think Namco Bandai actively played down the source material during the promotion of the game, for fear of 'scaring away' potential purchasers with the intellectualism that is implied with basing a game on a 400-year old story. Of course, as it turned out, they were scared away anyway.

Sleepy Monkey

Sequel

I think that it is a  combination of these issues, together with the fact that the game itself is not without its flaws, that led to the game's commercial failure.  Will this stop a sequel being made though? If there was a sequel, gamers could expect that the things that didn't quite work in this game (the poor camera, the dull combat) would be fixed. Unfortunately, the poor sales would probably mean that some of the things that I think made it an interesting game - the main characters, the beautiful graphics, intelligent story - would also be changed, following focus testing.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time  was another (and better) game that received a great critical reception but whose initial sales in the run up to a busy Christmas in 2003, coupled with a pre-2004 PS2 exclusivity deal with Sony, were less than expected. Its post-Christmas sales were good and overall it was a commercial success but the developers made many knee-jerk changes to the feel of the game for the sequel, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within . Gamers who loved the first game, myself included, criticised Ubisoft for succumbing to focus-group-led development and turning the franchise into something that they thought that a 14-year old boy would like (including awful rawk music and an emo Prince) and jettisoned much of what made the first game so good.

So, the city is rotting but a cloth flag still flies?

I fear that this could happen with an Enslaved sequel, were one to be commissioned. That the parts of the game that I liked - the beautiful graphics, the colourful palette, the complicated relationship between the two main characters - would be lost in an emo nightmare, Warrior Within fashion. So, while I would love a sequel that remained true to the spirit of Enslaved, I'm concerned that the performance of the first game would mean that this wouldn't be the sequel that I would get.  It may, then, be best to leave Enslaved as a sequel-free game and enjoy it for what it is, rather than have a misfiring sequel spoil its memory.