IT'S amazing how quickly Christmas takes hold isn't it?
I got back from reporting in Afghanistan earlier this week after nearly three weeks in theatre. I come back and... BANG - Christmas it is then... in November.
When I left a few of the larger retailers were beginning to put up decorations, you know just to remind people that Christmas was coming up.
But by November 24th Christmas was in full swing.
"Only 25 or so shopping days to Christmas," one sign read.
Who cares? I considered.
You see, I'm one of the new age of shoppers. You know, the ones that are single-handedly killing city centres.
For the past three or four years I have done just about all of my Christmas shopping online.
Ok, I'm not doing my part in helping local businesses survive the credit crunch. And yes, I might be described as being "lazy" for shopping online in the comforts of my home surroundings.
But you know what...? (And this is the point that local retailers and sceptics miss)... I really don't care.
Shopping online means no queues, and no annoyingly proud Plymouth parents who drive their kiddie buggies with the level of disdain you would otherwise associate with Lewis Hamilton driving on the A386.
There's no real fear of someone in front of you buying the last one, items are cheaper and have free delivery, and you don't have to go far to get it. (For me, off the sofa, up the stairs and into my bedroom and wallah... my Pc).
For me there is no comparison to internet shopping.
I bought a nice camera last month and I found it £100 cheaper online. Even though the nice man in the shop assured me he was practically going bankrupt to give me the camera at that price.
So with Christmas coming up (within minutes if you believe the efforts of some of the city centre's stores) I can offer you some shopping tips from a near enough expert.
My first point of call for electrical bits and bobs is Amazon.co.uk. The website stocks an amazing amount of items such as portable gaming equipment, video cameras and televisions as well CDs, DVDs, hairdryers, cuddly toys or whatever you're looking for.
If you spend over a certain amount (from memory I think it's £15) you get free delivery.
If you are especially looking to buy CDs, try http://www.cdwow.com/ or for DVDs try http://www.dvd.co.uk/. Those two are the most cheapest I've found and the ones I use a great deal. They both have free delivery and are well worth a look. http://www.play.com/ is also worth a look for both DVDs and CDs. Again postage is free.
As Seen On Screen (http://www.asos.com/) is also worth a shout if you're after that t-shirt that Justin Timberlake wore on his last video shoot, or indeed some bling that vaguely looks like something Beyonce would wear.
If you are looking for something more specific, say a video camera, and you know the make and model, it's worth visiting http://www.kelkoo.co.uk/.
This website compares online prices and picks out the cheapest allowing you to click a link to visit the specific store.
In the past people, including myself, have worried about spending large amounts of money on items which may have to be returned for one reason or another.
Certainly in my experience shopping online I have only ever had to return one item and that was a simple process of emailing the site and returning it for a refund. Easy.
So there you have it. A hassle free shopping experience.
So while I've been away there have been a number of big game releases.
Here I've grouped together the reviews to offer some real ideas for Christmas presents from loved ones.
Title: Resistance 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Shooter
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 5/5
Resistance: Fall Of Man was one of the shining lights when the PS3 launched in a blaze of glory last year.
It was a tight, slick, deftly executed first person shooter that wasn’t without it’s own bout of cathedral controversy, too.
The sequel once again puts you in the war-torn boots of Nathan Hale, who is not only facing near impossible odds on the battlefield against the horrific Chimera, but is also constantly struggling with the Chimeran virus that is raging inside his own body.
Another superb single player campaign moves the story on at a fast-pace and, when complete, there’s a phenomenal eight-player co-operative campaign to tackle – where teamwork really comes to the forefront.
The classic online competitive multiplayer completes an incredible first-person shooter package and makes this one PS3 exclusive you can’t miss out on this Christmas.
Title: The Legend of Spyro: Dawn Of The Dragon
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
The previous Spyro outings have been enjoyable, if a little traditional action, adventure events, but Dawn of the Dragon does seem to mark a new day for Spyro and his chum Cynder, as you embark on a fantastic action/RPG adventure where free-flying around the many different environments will prove the sheer scale of the world you’re playing in.
Throw in some superb voice acting from Hollywood stars Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci, plus a brilliant musical score, and you have yourself a corking little adventure that will really grow on you as you progress.
It’s a magical world and fab family game to get your teeth into.
Title: Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party
Platform: Wii
Genre: Mini-games
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
The Wii Fit balance board was only going to keep you occupied with yoga poses for so long.
Let the raving rabbids loose on this Wii peripheral and you’re soon be sat on your bum on the board wondering what the other 50 or so mini-games have to throw at you.
In the main, it’s cheeky-humoured, heavily-stylised cartoon fun from racers to remote wagglers to drawing on the screen. As with all mini-game titles, you can’t expect everyone to be a cracker, but TV Party scores a pretty high percentage of hits versus misses.
There’s no shortage of family ’party game’ titles on the number one family console in the run-up to those big festive get-togethers, but Raving Rabbids performs admirably in a crowded market and is well worth adding to your collection.
Title: Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 3
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 2/5
The days of simple virtual pet management have long gone.
No more can you simply press the right button at the right time on your keyring companion.
In Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 3 you’ve got plenty more to worry about as the owner of a variety of shops that must appeal to their every whim, from spas to gardening, ice cream to parties.
The better you work your way through this myriad of mini-games, the happier these little critters will be.
All of this amounts to a pretty saccharine and sterilised gaming experience, which is unlikely to appeal to anyone into double figures age-wise.
It’s repetitive and there’s very little challenge to attract anyone who’s not simply looking to complete their own Tamagotchi collection.
Title: Deal Or No Deal: The Banker Is Back
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: TV Quiz
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 3/5
Noel Edmonds and co have made a pretty tasty living out of Deal Or No Deal - the game of ludicrous odds and ultimate chance that has millions hooked to the TV over their tea.
And now, it’s back by popular demand, as the Banker (and Noel) return for another dose of box-picking action.
Classic modes, as well as some twists on the traditional format, are all available including the Banker’s Bonus and Banker’s Evil games.
These additional features add a little longevity to this title, and with the franchise such a family favourite, the game is a great gift idea for any family member or friend wanting to test their wits, skill and knowledge in the comfort of their own home, and without a live studio audience!
Title: Gears of War 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Shooter
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 5/5
With five million copies of the original Gears of War sold, its sequel has pretty big army boots to fill.
As one of the most popular games in Xbox history, Gears re-defined shooter action with an incredible cover system and supreme co-operative play, and guess what - it's just as good all over again! Continue as war hero Marcus Fenix, six months after the events of the original, when there's a new Locust threat from below.
It looks absolutely stunning, and the improved cover system now even allows you to use downed enemies as shields.
This feature is much-needed when you get a load of the psycho enemies you'll encounter along the way, many of whom are thirsty for all-new chainsaw duels - another highlight.
It's as intense and over-the-top as shooter adventures get, and that's before you even get a chance to sample the superb online offerings.
Title: Guitar Hero World Tour
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Music
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Not content with controlling the plectrum-plucking guitar genre on Xbox 360, World Tour opens up the musical possibilities by adding drums and the ability to sing to the guitar and bass options already on your melody-making smorgasbord.
A new innovation is the ability to create your own songs and distribute them among the online Guitar Hero community, which is sure to go down well with those serious about their music-making.
For everyone else, playing through the single player career mode is fab fun, with great new features and a host of top new tunes to make your own.
The sound quality is absolutely brilliant, as you would hope, and matched by seriously high-quality graphics. The perfect title to raise the roof this winter.
Title: Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant
Platform: PS2
Genre: Action
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
Oh no! A rejuvenated Neo Cortex is taking over the world, one brain at a time, with a text-messaging, do-anything device that controls both mutant and bandicoot minds.
So, armed with his quick wits and lightning agility, Crash must free his friends and the titans - and save the day! And so begins another cartoony caper that boasts all the elements for a strong 3D platformer - decent sound and a great story - but it's let down by the old classic: a dodgy camera.
Put simply, you're unable to move it as you'd like, which can become seriously frustrating when you're trying to make a quick turn.
As Crash Bandicoot titles go, this sits comfortably somewhere in the middle - it won't totally turn you off, although the camera nearly does.
Title: Carnival Games: Mini Golf
Platform: Wii
Genre: Golf
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 2/5
Hot on the heels of the million-selling original, Carnival Games: Mini-Golf brings its larger-than-life, theme park style to the world of miniature golf courses.
Whether you're stepping back in time to the land of dinosaurs, keeping order in the Wild West or searching for a buried treasure in Pirate's Cove, you'll be mixing it up with traditional mini-golf fare as well as some unexpected action-oriented gameplay using the Wii Remote.
Sadly, the poorly-realised swing mechanics mean your amble around the excellently-designed holes will turn more into a frustrating lurch from one green to the next, and the desire to snap your putter across your knee will gradually increase.
It's a shame, because the game looks really nice, but ultimately it's riddled with bogeys.
Title: America's Next Top Model
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Modelling
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
The US reality TV show has given aspiring supermodels an access-all-areas opportunity to forge a career in the modelling industry, and now the DS brings the same career path to gamers.
You take control of one of 10 aspiring models who compete in a variety of different categories, including 'Make-Up', 'Fashion', 'Catwalk' and 'Photoshoot'.
You can probably guess that there's a bit of a female flavour to proceedings, as the stylus helps you strike a pose for a photographer, keep your walk timed perfectly on the catwalk, or ensure your make-up is a match for the occasion.
It's all quite good fun and the pressure to survive every eviction keeps the interest running for a while. Good stuff for girl gamers on the go!
Title: Mirror's Edge
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 5/5
This is no ordinary first-person title - let's make that very clear from the start. And that alone should send you shooting to the shops to snap up this instant classic from EA.
Your character is Faith, a 'runner' in a world where communication channels are highly monitored and the movement of information is closely watched. Be prepared for a bumpy ride as one of these high-octane, adrenalin-pumping couriers.
From the off, you'll see first-hand how the incredible perspective and pace of movement push this game to the limits. Find yourself on the edge of the city and the wrong side of the law, as you attempt to discover the truth behind your sister's wrongful framing for murder.
Superb chases, intense combat - this is an awesome, high-flying experience.
Title: Call Of Duty: World At War
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
After a fantastic foray into present day, the Call Of Duty plunges back into more familiar territory - World War II - and forces players to survive the final climactic days of a world at war, to thwart the advance of Axis powers on multiple fronts from Europe to the Pacific.
Play as a US Marine or Russian conscript across a variety of European and Pacific infantry, vehicle and airborne missions. This game delivers just the kind of shooter experience we've come to expect.
No holds barred, superbly recreated battle sequences don't give you a second to breathe. A new capability to play through the entire single player campaign cooperatively online, also adds new depth. A first class WWII recreation.
Title: Football Manager 2009
Platform: PSP
Genre: Football Management
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
There's nothing more frustrating than having to keep your stat-crunching, life-sucking virtual football management career confined to a PC desktop.
But fear not - now you can lose yourself in all those tactics, transfers and numbers, numbers, numbers whether you're on the bus, train or maybe sneaking in a pre-season friendly under the desk at work.
What's more - for the first time on PSP, the series now features a 2D match engine with two camera angles, allowing you to view the full match or zoom in on the action.
You can also run up to four playable divisions at any one time so you can move your career around the continent, too.
All while your real life career disappears down the swanny! Addictive, engrossing, football entertainment.
Title: What's Cooking? Jamie Oliver
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Cookery
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 2/5
Taking a break from his campaign to teach Rotherham residents how to knock up a stir-fry, the most successful small-screen celebrity chef of our time turns his attention to conquering the even smaller screens of the Nintendo DS.
This is yet another of those 'edutainment' titles that seem to be all the rage right now. Essentially a virtual cookbook with portable capabilities, in aims to instruct and inform in the kitchen, by the barbeque or while scanning supermarket shelves.
The recipes are cracking Oliver fare, with high quality photography to match, but this type of idea doesn't fit the DS medium. As a result, it's likely to become another obscure cooking ingredient relegated to the back of the cupboard.
Title: World Heroes Anthology
Platform: PS2
Genre: Fighting
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 3/5
Another one of gaming history's most famous franchises is bundled up into this bumper collection, pulling together the 2D fighting classics of World Heroes, World Heroes 2, World Heroes 2 Jet and World Heroes Perfect.
Battling through history in a tournament facilitated by a time machine, many of the games' dozens of characters are based on actual historical figures, providing an interesting twist to the combat.
Aside from that, though, it's pretty much what you'd expect from a now aging fighting series - slightly dodgy graphics, limited special techniques and strange English translations. Big fans of World Heroes will enjoy the trip down memory lane, but everyone else should probably pass.
Title: Tomb Raider: Underworld
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action/Adventure
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
This is the kind of big-budget, classic franchise release that you're just desperate to be a hit as the festive period comes around.
And it's so good to report that Tomb Raider: Underworld marks a next-gen return to form for Lara Croft, as she embarks on an incredible journey around the world to uncover the secrets of a forgotten power.
Where Indiana Jones came up all crusty this year, Lara is re-invigorated, with a wealth of new acrobatic abilities and weaponry to tackle the treacherous landscapes of Thailand, the Arctic sea and Mexico, and so on.
Graphics to die for bring a new crispness to a Tomb Raider adventure, and the environments cleverly hide a host of devilishly devised puzzles to tackle. Combine this with an advanced combat system that puts you in complete control of the beautiful Croft, and you know you're onto a sure-fire winner here.
Title: Need For Speed Undercover
Platform: PS3
Genre: Racing
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
You should know by now that the Need For Speed series doesn't do things by halves, and Undercover is no exception - combining stunning gameplay and big-budget Hollywood-style live action movie segments.
Before you know it you'll be racing through speedways, dodging cops and chasing rivals as they go deep undercover to take down an international crime syndicate. While you'll have seen the high-intensity police chases in the past, Undercover introduces the all-new 'Heroic Driving Engine' - a unique technology that generates incredible high-performance moves at 180 miles per hour during breathtaking highway battles - and it's incredible.
Racing fans will lap this up and for followers of the series it's another satisfying shot of adrenalin-fuelled road action.
Title: Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Fighting
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
As brute strength, console credibility and meaty franchises go, this is a true clash of the titans as the Mortal KombaT warriors go head-to-head with Batman, Superman and their comic counterparts in a fab over-the-top fighter.
Simply choose your side and challenge your opponents with the all-new fighting system including Freefall Kombat and Klose Kombat, along with dynamic multi-tiered environments.
Character-specific signature and finishing moves tap into the true Mortal Kombat experience, while some of the visual bruising and torn clothes bring a real gritty realism to your unfolding battles, making this more than just a comic-book scrap.
Whether you're taking on your opponent in Gotham City, Hell, Metropolis or online, this is a welcome collision of larger-than-life worlds.
Title: WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009
Platform: PS3
Genre: Wrestling
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Memories of TNA Impact! are quickly quashed once you step into the ring in WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2009.
THQ give their popular series a much needed polish, bringing gamers a hugely improved story mode, smoother visuals and an altogether more exciting wrestling experience.
There are improvements almost everywhere you look, from the ability to create your own finisher to the amazingly detailed Highlight Reel movie creator, where you can edit your in-ring action to the nth degree.
Perfect presentation, next-to-no loading times and the best combat system yet means this 2009 release is the new reigning champ as far as console wrestlers go.
Title: All-star Cheerleader
Platform: Wii
Genre: Cheerleading
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 3/5
There are fewer and fewer sporting stones left unturned on consoles. Fishing's been done, horse-racing covered.
What about cheerleading? Well, taking advantage of of the Wii Balance Board's capabilities, it's here for you now, as you get the chance to ride on the crest of the High School Musical wave and perform dozens of real-world dance moves.
You can customise your team's look and also string together your very own choreographed routine. Fans of this kind of dancing title are going to love the new direction that the Balance Board allows them to take.
Obviously, if you're a football and first-person-shooter loving gamer, you'll give this a miss, but for the target market, it makes all the right moves.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1 (-) Call Of Duty: World At War
2 (5) FIFA 09
3 (8) Mario Kart Wii
4 (-) Need For Speed: Undercover
5 (-) Wii Fit
6 (-) Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training
7 (3) Football Manager 2009
8 (9) Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
9 (-) Tomb Raider: Underworld
10 (-) Wii Play
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
Friday 28 November 2008
Friday 24 October 2008
Web casts 'e' celebrities
A simultaneous good thing and bad thing happened this week on This Morning's show with Philip Schofield and Fern Britton.
If you don't know what I'm talking about visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKMPTR0MVA.
The pop star turned human tabloid car crash that is Kerry Katona out did all previous stage performances and became a sensation in six minutes - for all the wrong reasons.
Gurning her face off, the 28-year-old former Atomic Kitten star embarassed herself by mumbling and slurring throughout the interview.
She was on the show to promote Whole Again, her new reality show on MTV. Oh, did I mention the fact that she had her breast operation filmed live for the show?
One needs to question how much of a "performance" she was asked to give to promote it. (Am I being too shallow?!)
Okay for starters, the good thing about the foray was the fact that her appearance convinces those that don't know her how shallow and worthless these so called 'celebrities' are.
The bad thing is her appearance will no doubt fill the pages of certain Sunday newspapers for the next few weeks thus fuelling the desire of the nation to read about her in the future.
Sadly the rise of the internet has led to the rise of the 'e' listed celebrity.
In years gone by the likes of Kerry Katona would have been famous for their popstar careers while they had them. As they disappeared into the wilderness like Colour Me Bad, one would think they would never be heard from again.
Sadly former popstars feel the need to crash and burn, and people like PR guru (and Katona's manager) Max Clifford are there to pick up the pieces and drag it along the news columns - and so it starts over.
Web journalists (whether trained by the NCTJ or by a coupon in a cornflakes packet) then take up the story and drag it out.
And that's where youtube comes into play. Hundreds of people upload the video and it's viewed by countless number of people - as it has.
And sadly the likes of Kerry Katona become supposed celebrities again.
Personally I'm not sure which was more painful... a). watching the actual interview and witnessing Katona's obvious illness; or b). knowing she will cash in and do daytime tv and newspaper interviews for the next two years about it.
Rant over.
Here's the best of the recent games releases:
Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Platform: PS3
Genre: Football
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Round two in the clash of the football titles! After FIFA 09 dazzled just a few weeks ago, it's the turn of the Pro Evolution series to strut its stuff.
Just as EA's football monster improved in a host of ways, so this `09 incarnation has undergone a radical graphical overhaul to become a real visual treat for players.
In full flow, you could be mistaken for thinking you were watching the real thing.The 'Be A Legend' mode effectively combats FIFA's 'Be A Pro' offering, and Master League has been tweaked to offer an improved hardcore mode for PES regulars.
The final score in this clash of the titans? A draw. Until next year's replay then...
Title: Saints Row 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
After the incredible impact that GTA IV had on next-generation consolesearlier this year, Saints Row 2 is in the unenviable position of being in the exact same genre - it's a tough act to follow.
However, while this never reallyreaches the dizzy heights of GTA, Saints Row 2 is much-improved from its firstouting, with a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, all-new vehicles, sandbox tools and toys as well as both online co-op and competitivemultiplayer.
And it is great fun - always a good thing in these games, which canoften take themselves too seriously.
Yes, the story is darker and more sinister,but it's the action, customisation options and overall player freedom that makeyou want to give this a go just months after tackling Liberty City.
Title: Dancing Stage Universe 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Dancing
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 4/5
Have you ever seen Youtube footage of overweight teenagers somehow movingtheir feet faster than the speed of light on an arcade dance machine, with theironly care in the world seeming to be simply stepping on the arrows in time withthe music and on-screen prompts?
You should, and playing Dancing Stage Universe2 could elevate you to similar status.
It's rhythm gaming in its classicoriginal form and is such simple, fantastic fun.
All you need to worry about ismatching arrows in time to the music on a mat, and the game will give you a tripthrough the dance decades with tunes as diverse as Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Outand Kool & The Gang's Jungle Boogie.
Give grandad a go on it at Christmas.
Title: NBA Live 09
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
One of the biggest basketball franchises in gaming has experienced somethingof a stuttering start on the court, as early efforts proved.
However, Live 09 has taken a giant stride and leap in the right direction towards slam-dunkingthe series into the Hall of Fame.
The slick gameplay is matched by excellentmotion-captured character models and facial mapping, while Dynamic DNA and Live 365 technology ensure that your own on-court battles draw realism from real-lifeteam and player performances.
This gives the challenge on offer an all-newdimension for people looking for true depth, yet the game also offers enoughpick-up-and-play fun to keep casual ballers amused.
Title: Pipe Mania
Platform: PSP
Genre: Puzzle
Hit count: 3/5
Price: £19.99
Puzzle fans, get ready for some more fast and frenetic pipework.
Pipe Maniabuilds on the infectious playability of the original with expanded game modes,new themes, new play mechanics and new pieces to challenge gamers of all typesand ages.
You've got to slap the pipes down onto the game board before theflooze starts flowing, creating a watertight pathway from start to finish - and, if your leak-o-meter tops out, it's curtains.
This game has come a long way fromthe 1980s original on the Amiga, yet calling upon classic gaming skills - quickthinking, hand-eye co-ordination and keen spatial awareness - means that fun isalmost guaranteed.
It's a tough challenge, but stick with it - it's worth it.
Title: Little Big Planet
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 5/5
It can take a while for a new console to produce the kind of titles that you’ll look back on with huge affection when the next ’next-generation’ is in full swing.
Little Big Planet is absolutely one of those games for the PS3.
Creative and incredibly addictive to play either on your own or with friends, it’s an action game with a real difference.
You can choose to build a world to share with other gamers or simply explore the adventures there on the disc.
Either way, customising your sack-man character is an absolute hoot, and developing your own patch on the planet for others to come and see feels more like the game itself than an added extra.
This is unique, stunning and sets a new benchmark for PS3 games to beat – and that could take some time.
Title: Far Cry 2
Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 5/5
The original Far Cry was an incredible first-person shooter experience on PC - and that’s saying something, bearing in mind how many FPS titles have appeared in recent years.
Four years later and it’s back, with a new developer and a new location – Africa – for the action.
And this is about as good as these games have ever been, with 20 square miles to explore in search of an arms dealer called 'The Jackal', using stealth or all-out attack.
The weapons are there, whichever approach you choose, and the environments are unbelievably rich with amazing flora and fauna to uncover, should you find the time.
Bundle in a dynamic weather system to help – or hinder – your progress, and you can be sure that Far Cry 2 presents one of the toughest and most tantalising FPS worlds on any format right now.
Title: Bioshock
Platform: PS3
Genre: Shooter
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
Quite rightly considered one of 2007’s games of the year on Xbox 360 and PC, Bioshock is finally available on Sony’s next-gen console.
And, as before, what you experience throughout your exploration of Rapture, an underwater city built by the realm’s self-proclaimed leader Andrew Ryan, is likely to change the way you relate to games forever.
Posing gamers with a layer of moral questioning above the strikingly-solid gameplay mechanics, weapon and ’magic’ customisation and a tightly-knitted plot, Bioshock is so much more than just ’run and gun’ - if you want it to be.
Let it get into your head and you’ll realise that what has been created here is more than a game, perhaps more of a personal journey with all the top-notch trappings of a near-perfect title to revel in around it.
Genius.
Title: Dead Space
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Someone once said that, in space, no one can hear you scream.
That’ll be a relief for anyone passing by gamers engrossed in Dead Space, which turns out to be a frighteningly-creepy, survival-horror title set on-board a spaceship overrun by Necromorphs – or aliens, to you and I.
Graphically it’s stunning, and the atmospheric sound will be the source of a spine tingle or two as well, although the game itself is a little on the linear side.
Games in this genre have been a little hard to come by recently if you’re looking beyond the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the console world, so Dead Space fills a decent-sized black hole in outer space and your games collection.
Title: NBA 2K9
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
This series of basketball games does battle with EA’s offering, and it’s a highly-competitive event generally, with gamers guaranteed to come out winners.
This 2009 instalment from 2K Games seems to be especially tasty, with quicker overall gameplay, more intelligent team-mates and opponents, plus some pretty jaw-dropping recreations of your favourite ’baller superstars.
The addition of ’5 v 5’ online adds a frenetic human element to the multiplayer arena, while online updates should keep your virtual rosters representative of what’s happening in real life.
All in all, a great basketball sim from a top-performing franchise.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1. (-) Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
2. (1) FIFA 09
3. (-) Saints Row 2
4. (2) LEGO Batman: The Videogame
5. (3) Wii Fit
6. (6) Mario Kart Wii
7. (4) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. (7) Wii Play
9. (8) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
10. (5) Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
If you don't know what I'm talking about visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxKMPTR0MVA.
The pop star turned human tabloid car crash that is Kerry Katona out did all previous stage performances and became a sensation in six minutes - for all the wrong reasons.
Gurning her face off, the 28-year-old former Atomic Kitten star embarassed herself by mumbling and slurring throughout the interview.
She was on the show to promote Whole Again, her new reality show on MTV. Oh, did I mention the fact that she had her breast operation filmed live for the show?
One needs to question how much of a "performance" she was asked to give to promote it. (Am I being too shallow?!)
Okay for starters, the good thing about the foray was the fact that her appearance convinces those that don't know her how shallow and worthless these so called 'celebrities' are.
The bad thing is her appearance will no doubt fill the pages of certain Sunday newspapers for the next few weeks thus fuelling the desire of the nation to read about her in the future.
Sadly the rise of the internet has led to the rise of the 'e' listed celebrity.
In years gone by the likes of Kerry Katona would have been famous for their popstar careers while they had them. As they disappeared into the wilderness like Colour Me Bad, one would think they would never be heard from again.
Sadly former popstars feel the need to crash and burn, and people like PR guru (and Katona's manager) Max Clifford are there to pick up the pieces and drag it along the news columns - and so it starts over.
Web journalists (whether trained by the NCTJ or by a coupon in a cornflakes packet) then take up the story and drag it out.
And that's where youtube comes into play. Hundreds of people upload the video and it's viewed by countless number of people - as it has.
And sadly the likes of Kerry Katona become supposed celebrities again.
Personally I'm not sure which was more painful... a). watching the actual interview and witnessing Katona's obvious illness; or b). knowing she will cash in and do daytime tv and newspaper interviews for the next two years about it.
Rant over.
Here's the best of the recent games releases:
Title: Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
Platform: PS3
Genre: Football
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Round two in the clash of the football titles! After FIFA 09 dazzled just a few weeks ago, it's the turn of the Pro Evolution series to strut its stuff.
Just as EA's football monster improved in a host of ways, so this `09 incarnation has undergone a radical graphical overhaul to become a real visual treat for players.
In full flow, you could be mistaken for thinking you were watching the real thing.The 'Be A Legend' mode effectively combats FIFA's 'Be A Pro' offering, and Master League has been tweaked to offer an improved hardcore mode for PES regulars.
The final score in this clash of the titans? A draw. Until next year's replay then...
Title: Saints Row 2
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
After the incredible impact that GTA IV had on next-generation consolesearlier this year, Saints Row 2 is in the unenviable position of being in the exact same genre - it's a tough act to follow.
However, while this never reallyreaches the dizzy heights of GTA, Saints Row 2 is much-improved from its firstouting, with a totally transformed and expanded city of Stilwater, all-new vehicles, sandbox tools and toys as well as both online co-op and competitivemultiplayer.
And it is great fun - always a good thing in these games, which canoften take themselves too seriously.
Yes, the story is darker and more sinister,but it's the action, customisation options and overall player freedom that makeyou want to give this a go just months after tackling Liberty City.
Title: Dancing Stage Universe 2
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Dancing
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 4/5
Have you ever seen Youtube footage of overweight teenagers somehow movingtheir feet faster than the speed of light on an arcade dance machine, with theironly care in the world seeming to be simply stepping on the arrows in time withthe music and on-screen prompts?
You should, and playing Dancing Stage Universe2 could elevate you to similar status.
It's rhythm gaming in its classicoriginal form and is such simple, fantastic fun.
All you need to worry about ismatching arrows in time to the music on a mat, and the game will give you a tripthrough the dance decades with tunes as diverse as Franz Ferdinand's Take Me Outand Kool & The Gang's Jungle Boogie.
Give grandad a go on it at Christmas.
Title: NBA Live 09
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
One of the biggest basketball franchises in gaming has experienced somethingof a stuttering start on the court, as early efforts proved.
However, Live 09 has taken a giant stride and leap in the right direction towards slam-dunkingthe series into the Hall of Fame.
The slick gameplay is matched by excellentmotion-captured character models and facial mapping, while Dynamic DNA and Live 365 technology ensure that your own on-court battles draw realism from real-lifeteam and player performances.
This gives the challenge on offer an all-newdimension for people looking for true depth, yet the game also offers enoughpick-up-and-play fun to keep casual ballers amused.
Title: Pipe Mania
Platform: PSP
Genre: Puzzle
Hit count: 3/5
Price: £19.99
Puzzle fans, get ready for some more fast and frenetic pipework.
Pipe Maniabuilds on the infectious playability of the original with expanded game modes,new themes, new play mechanics and new pieces to challenge gamers of all typesand ages.
You've got to slap the pipes down onto the game board before theflooze starts flowing, creating a watertight pathway from start to finish - and, if your leak-o-meter tops out, it's curtains.
This game has come a long way fromthe 1980s original on the Amiga, yet calling upon classic gaming skills - quickthinking, hand-eye co-ordination and keen spatial awareness - means that fun isalmost guaranteed.
It's a tough challenge, but stick with it - it's worth it.
Title: Little Big Planet
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 5/5
It can take a while for a new console to produce the kind of titles that you’ll look back on with huge affection when the next ’next-generation’ is in full swing.
Little Big Planet is absolutely one of those games for the PS3.
Creative and incredibly addictive to play either on your own or with friends, it’s an action game with a real difference.
You can choose to build a world to share with other gamers or simply explore the adventures there on the disc.
Either way, customising your sack-man character is an absolute hoot, and developing your own patch on the planet for others to come and see feels more like the game itself than an added extra.
This is unique, stunning and sets a new benchmark for PS3 games to beat – and that could take some time.
Title: Far Cry 2
Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 5/5
The original Far Cry was an incredible first-person shooter experience on PC - and that’s saying something, bearing in mind how many FPS titles have appeared in recent years.
Four years later and it’s back, with a new developer and a new location – Africa – for the action.
And this is about as good as these games have ever been, with 20 square miles to explore in search of an arms dealer called 'The Jackal', using stealth or all-out attack.
The weapons are there, whichever approach you choose, and the environments are unbelievably rich with amazing flora and fauna to uncover, should you find the time.
Bundle in a dynamic weather system to help – or hinder – your progress, and you can be sure that Far Cry 2 presents one of the toughest and most tantalising FPS worlds on any format right now.
Title: Bioshock
Platform: PS3
Genre: Shooter
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
Quite rightly considered one of 2007’s games of the year on Xbox 360 and PC, Bioshock is finally available on Sony’s next-gen console.
And, as before, what you experience throughout your exploration of Rapture, an underwater city built by the realm’s self-proclaimed leader Andrew Ryan, is likely to change the way you relate to games forever.
Posing gamers with a layer of moral questioning above the strikingly-solid gameplay mechanics, weapon and ’magic’ customisation and a tightly-knitted plot, Bioshock is so much more than just ’run and gun’ - if you want it to be.
Let it get into your head and you’ll realise that what has been created here is more than a game, perhaps more of a personal journey with all the top-notch trappings of a near-perfect title to revel in around it.
Genius.
Title: Dead Space
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
Someone once said that, in space, no one can hear you scream.
That’ll be a relief for anyone passing by gamers engrossed in Dead Space, which turns out to be a frighteningly-creepy, survival-horror title set on-board a spaceship overrun by Necromorphs – or aliens, to you and I.
Graphically it’s stunning, and the atmospheric sound will be the source of a spine tingle or two as well, although the game itself is a little on the linear side.
Games in this genre have been a little hard to come by recently if you’re looking beyond the Resident Evils and Silent Hills of the console world, so Dead Space fills a decent-sized black hole in outer space and your games collection.
Title: NBA 2K9
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Basketball
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
This series of basketball games does battle with EA’s offering, and it’s a highly-competitive event generally, with gamers guaranteed to come out winners.
This 2009 instalment from 2K Games seems to be especially tasty, with quicker overall gameplay, more intelligent team-mates and opponents, plus some pretty jaw-dropping recreations of your favourite ’baller superstars.
The addition of ’5 v 5’ online adds a frenetic human element to the multiplayer arena, while online updates should keep your virtual rosters representative of what’s happening in real life.
All in all, a great basketball sim from a top-performing franchise.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1. (-) Pro Evolution Soccer 2009
2. (1) FIFA 09
3. (-) Saints Row 2
4. (2) LEGO Batman: The Videogame
5. (3) Wii Fit
6. (6) Mario Kart Wii
7. (4) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
8. (7) Wii Play
9. (8) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
10. (5) Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
Thursday 25 September 2008
Every song has a story to tell
Just in case you were wondering Kathleen Hanna, the lead singer of the group Bikini Kill, gave Kurt Cobain the idea for the title of the song Smells Like Teen Spirit when she spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his bedroom wall after a night drinking.
In his pre-Courtney Love days, Cobain went out with Bikini Kill lead singer Tobi Vail, but she dumped him. Vail wore Teen Spirit deodorant, and Hanna was implying that Cobain was marked with her scent.
Oh and did you know that the US military used The Clash's Rock the Casbah as a rallying cry when they invaded Iraq in 1991?
And how about the fact that legendary 90s sing songwriter Jeff Buckley wrote "I couldn't awake from the nightmare, it sucked me in and pulled me under" on the song So Real on his debut and only album Grace and later drowned in a river.
Spooky huh?
All these facts behind the greatest songs and songwriters of our times - and thousands more - are available on the website www.songfacts.com.
As well as the facts behind many of the best known tracks over the decades, you can also view the videos (for the more mainstream tracks) with a handy youtube addition to the page.
Not only that you can download the ringtone, buy the track or album, and even the sheet music using links to other sites.
The website works by the user simply tapping in the name of the artist or the song. It then allows you to choose from a list if there are multiple options and away you go.
Since launching the website thousands of people from across the world have added their own views to help clear up any misconceptions behind the lyrics.
See? It is possible to write a blog without ranting about anything. Take note those people who leave comments for no apparent reason.
Got a mo? Here are the latest games reviewed:
Me? I'm still super addicted to the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed. Awesome.
Title: Family Trainer: Outdoor Challenge
Platform: Wii
Genre: Sports
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
We all know the science behind what a bit of Wii Fit can do for your weight and yoga performance, but the Wii is all about fun while Family Trainer looks to get everyone involved in the fitness thing with a dance-mat style peripheral and some crazy sports to tackle.
From river rafting and mine karting to log jumping and rope skipping, this will work more than just your arms, as your feet get in on the act for total body gameplay.
Besides being darn good fun, it’s well presented and ticks every ’family appeal’ box you could imagine. Without taking itself too seriously, Family Trainer manages to dish out a hefty dose of console fitness for all ages – and where else can you ride through a mineshaft, Indiana Jones-style?
Title: Pure
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
In a gridlocked, over-populated genre, Pure takes you to the highest peak of the great outdoors, screams "This is different!" and then throws you off the mountain.
That’s the kind of feeling you can expect midway through a race, but you’ll have no time to truly appreciate the beauty of this game as you try to bust half a dozen extreme stunts during your descent back to terra firma.
Perfecting the full repertoire of tricks is more than an added extra to winning races – it’s crucial to your success, as these will unlock the boost required to hot-foot it to the front of the pack.
All of this makes for fantastic over-the-top racing fun that should be snapped up as soon as you’ve wiped the mud from your visor.
Title: NHL 2K9
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Ice Hockey
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Coming hot on the heels of this month’s release of EA’s brilliant NHL 09, 2K9 was always going to have its work cut out to match or even surpass the on-ice achievements of its competitor.
Overall, this puck-fest comes a creditable second, opting for a cross between arcade and simulator action with a healthy dose of the kind of cool presentation that gives 2K9 its unique feel.
Controls are simple and intuitive enough to start slap-shotting pretty soon, but there are plenty of intricacies to master as the difficulty ramps up.
The obligatory online option boosts replay value considerably but, head to head, there’s only one winner – just.
Title: My Pet Hotel 2
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Animals
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
If you or your children are animal lovers, you won’t fail to find a furry friend that tickles your fancy here. And there’s no smell.
In fact, it’s probably the ultimate pet care programme for people thinking of buying the real thing as you get the chance to look after your very own fish, budgies, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs or even horses.
The premise is as you’d expect: feed them, keep their enclosures clean, play with them, get new toys for them and ride them (well, the horses) in the countryside.
It’s all colourfully and cutely delivered on the DS and will no doubt prompt questions of "Can I have a real one?" within households up and down the country. Good, furry, feathered fun.
Title: Tim Stockdale’s Riding Star
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Equestrian
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
After two decades in the equestrian world, Tim Stockdale could tell you a thing or two about horse-riding, but is virtual equestrianism a one jump too far for the British legend?
Well, there’s no doubt that Riding Star fulfils every young girl’s dream of riding a horse, taking part in show-jumping, dressage and cross-country modes.
Smooth gameplay and good graphics make this a solid title of this kind, adding to the growing bunch of horseplay on the DS. As you can imagine, horses really need to be your thing if you’re to get the most from this title, and Grand Theft Auto IV fans need not apply.
But if you want to perfect your grooming, jumping and everything in between, Tim’s your man.
GAMES CHART:
1. (-) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
2. (5) Wii Fit
3. (6) Mario Kart Wii
4. (-) Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
5. (2) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
6. (1) Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
7. (10) Wii Play
8. (7) Carnival: Funfair Games
9. (9) TNA Impact
10.(3) Spore
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
In his pre-Courtney Love days, Cobain went out with Bikini Kill lead singer Tobi Vail, but she dumped him. Vail wore Teen Spirit deodorant, and Hanna was implying that Cobain was marked with her scent.
Oh and did you know that the US military used The Clash's Rock the Casbah as a rallying cry when they invaded Iraq in 1991?
And how about the fact that legendary 90s sing songwriter Jeff Buckley wrote "I couldn't awake from the nightmare, it sucked me in and pulled me under" on the song So Real on his debut and only album Grace and later drowned in a river.
Spooky huh?
All these facts behind the greatest songs and songwriters of our times - and thousands more - are available on the website www.songfacts.com.
As well as the facts behind many of the best known tracks over the decades, you can also view the videos (for the more mainstream tracks) with a handy youtube addition to the page.
Not only that you can download the ringtone, buy the track or album, and even the sheet music using links to other sites.
The website works by the user simply tapping in the name of the artist or the song. It then allows you to choose from a list if there are multiple options and away you go.
Since launching the website thousands of people from across the world have added their own views to help clear up any misconceptions behind the lyrics.
See? It is possible to write a blog without ranting about anything. Take note those people who leave comments for no apparent reason.
Got a mo? Here are the latest games reviewed:
Me? I'm still super addicted to the new Star Wars game, The Force Unleashed. Awesome.
Title: Family Trainer: Outdoor Challenge
Platform: Wii
Genre: Sports
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
We all know the science behind what a bit of Wii Fit can do for your weight and yoga performance, but the Wii is all about fun while Family Trainer looks to get everyone involved in the fitness thing with a dance-mat style peripheral and some crazy sports to tackle.
From river rafting and mine karting to log jumping and rope skipping, this will work more than just your arms, as your feet get in on the act for total body gameplay.
Besides being darn good fun, it’s well presented and ticks every ’family appeal’ box you could imagine. Without taking itself too seriously, Family Trainer manages to dish out a hefty dose of console fitness for all ages – and where else can you ride through a mineshaft, Indiana Jones-style?
Title: Pure
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
In a gridlocked, over-populated genre, Pure takes you to the highest peak of the great outdoors, screams "This is different!" and then throws you off the mountain.
That’s the kind of feeling you can expect midway through a race, but you’ll have no time to truly appreciate the beauty of this game as you try to bust half a dozen extreme stunts during your descent back to terra firma.
Perfecting the full repertoire of tricks is more than an added extra to winning races – it’s crucial to your success, as these will unlock the boost required to hot-foot it to the front of the pack.
All of this makes for fantastic over-the-top racing fun that should be snapped up as soon as you’ve wiped the mud from your visor.
Title: NHL 2K9
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Ice Hockey
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Coming hot on the heels of this month’s release of EA’s brilliant NHL 09, 2K9 was always going to have its work cut out to match or even surpass the on-ice achievements of its competitor.
Overall, this puck-fest comes a creditable second, opting for a cross between arcade and simulator action with a healthy dose of the kind of cool presentation that gives 2K9 its unique feel.
Controls are simple and intuitive enough to start slap-shotting pretty soon, but there are plenty of intricacies to master as the difficulty ramps up.
The obligatory online option boosts replay value considerably but, head to head, there’s only one winner – just.
Title: My Pet Hotel 2
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Animals
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
If you or your children are animal lovers, you won’t fail to find a furry friend that tickles your fancy here. And there’s no smell.
In fact, it’s probably the ultimate pet care programme for people thinking of buying the real thing as you get the chance to look after your very own fish, budgies, guinea pigs, rabbits, cats, dogs or even horses.
The premise is as you’d expect: feed them, keep their enclosures clean, play with them, get new toys for them and ride them (well, the horses) in the countryside.
It’s all colourfully and cutely delivered on the DS and will no doubt prompt questions of "Can I have a real one?" within households up and down the country. Good, furry, feathered fun.
Title: Tim Stockdale’s Riding Star
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Equestrian
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
After two decades in the equestrian world, Tim Stockdale could tell you a thing or two about horse-riding, but is virtual equestrianism a one jump too far for the British legend?
Well, there’s no doubt that Riding Star fulfils every young girl’s dream of riding a horse, taking part in show-jumping, dressage and cross-country modes.
Smooth gameplay and good graphics make this a solid title of this kind, adding to the growing bunch of horseplay on the DS. As you can imagine, horses really need to be your thing if you’re to get the most from this title, and Grand Theft Auto IV fans need not apply.
But if you want to perfect your grooming, jumping and everything in between, Tim’s your man.
GAMES CHART:
1. (-) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
2. (5) Wii Fit
3. (6) Mario Kart Wii
4. (-) Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
5. (2) Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
6. (1) Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
7. (10) Wii Play
8. (7) Carnival: Funfair Games
9. (9) TNA Impact
10.(3) Spore
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
Thursday 18 September 2008
A taxing time for web users?
So according to new research, one in 10 Britons spend a total of 14 years in front of the television in their lifetime.
Now, I'm pretty sure that everyone will agree with me that that's a ridiculously HUGE amount of time.
Sure like every other student I went through the Neighbours and Hollyoaks stage but jeez? Is there THAT much on TV nowadays that's worth wasting your life over?
I mean, it's like the movies... give it a certain amount of time and everything gets re-made. So all you end up watching is a re-hash of something you've inevitably watched before - and probably hated then too.
Quite frankly I can't find anything worth watching on television nowadays. I'm no longer addicted to switching on the box religiously at the same time every week to watch the Sopranos or 24. I buy or borrow the boxsets.
I find that anything actually worth watching is on premium rate channels which you have to pay for. Now I'm not talking about The Fantasy Channel, I'm talking about Sky One which boasts 24 and Prison Break among its major crowd pullers.
It's the same with football matches. Aside from the occasional Champions League game airing a team that I don't support, all the matches are on Sky or Setanta.
I'm fast losing the will to have a TV at all. But then there's the small problem of you needing a TV licence in order to watch DVDs. Pants isn't it?!
How long will it be before the Government decides to try and slap a tax on viewing programmes or footie matches online?
The other week I was amazed to find live coverage of an England game from a foreign feed. Ok the quality wasn't brilliant (blamed largely on my pants internet connection) but it was still watchable - and best of all FREE.
Here's the best of the last fortnight's new games releases:
Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
A trip to the dark side goes very well rewarded in The Force Unleashed, offering gamers and Star Wars fans alike another fantastic glimpse at the interstellar world first conceived more than 30 years ago. Opening action sequences are simply mind-blowing as you take on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and while later levels may not always reach such dizzy heights, the consistent awe-inspiring presentation throughout ensures you’ll forgive and forget the odd glitch. The in-game physics allow you to develop your Force powers to truly devastating effect and, with two alternative endings to uncover, there’s every chance you’ll want to play through this twice, such is the fun there to be had.
Title: Yakuza 2
Platform: PS2
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Once more you are plunged into the violent Japanese underworld where respect and honour are all. Well, almost. Add to that great graphics, twice as much to explore and an improved fighting engine, and you have a pretty darn powerful brawler that will immerse you in a dark, shadowy world where only the strongest will survive. The city streets and illicit haunts of Japan’s nightlife district are beautifully recreated, making this a vibrant, true-to-life world to explore. And with the ability to fight numerous enemies at once with less load times and smoother camera angles, the whole experience feels super-smooth, making this an essential purchase on Sony’s old-stager PS2.
Title: Mount and Blade
Platform: PC
Genre: RPG
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Take your PC into a medieval world populated by lords and vassals who rule over the peasantry, where knights and mercenaries fight side by side – or against each other. Then grab the reins of your mount and unsheathe your blade and prepare to ride out to a land of adventure. It all sounds pretty epic, and actually pans out to be a really enjoyable free-form sandbox game. You can pretty much do anything in a whopping world thriving with hundreds of locations including, of course, jousting, sword-fighting and even buying a round of beer at the local tavern. Just the kind of escapist PC adventure that you can lose yourself in on a frosty autumn evening.
Title: Play TV
Platform: PS3
Genre: TV
Price: £69.99
Hit Count: 4/5
For those yet to join the growing digital TV revolution, where you can pause and record your favourite shows and watch them at your leisure, Play TV is, as you’d expect, fully HD-compatible. It boasts the kind of intuitive controls, single-button help features, tutorial videos and simple navigation that most people would cry out for on their standard digital TVs. Throw in the fact that you can use the PS3’s wi-fi capability to beam programmes onto your PSP, and you know this is one gadget you’ve got to get your hands on.
Title: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Platform: Mac
Genre: War shooter
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Combat shooters don’t come much better than this. The review could end there, but salivate a little longer, if you will, at the prospect of pulling all that’s great about the WWII shooter series into the present day. Focusing on the antics of a terrorist group in the Middle East, you – as US Marine and SAS soldier - must take on all-comers in what is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous-looking, adrenalin-pumping shooters to grace this generation of computers. Intense is not the word, and even the early missions will have you on the edge of your seat, but somehow the game keeps on trumping itself. Especially in multi-player mode, which is a whole spanking-new world of class, upgrades and customisation that makes you realise why online is where gaming is really at.
Title: Spore
Platform: PC
Genre: Strategy
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
The Sims will only get you so far when simulating life, and it’s about time a game upped the ante. Spore does that and then some, taking you on an epic journey from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and technology and eventually all the way into the deepest reaches of outer space. From life as a microbe just trying to survive, to launching your creature into the wide world populated by everyone else’s crazy creations, Spore is simply captivating. Fabulous graphics, an amazing array of creation tools to harness and a near-endless universe of other people’s take on ’life’ – Spore is a must for all wannabe-Darwins out there.
Title: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
Following on from the success of the original Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise takes you back to Pinata Island for another highly-addictive dose of papier-mache-inspired madness. A host of new pinatas and varied game modes ensure that anyone who mastered the orginal will find more than enough to get their teeth into this time around, while the Xbox Live online mode allows up to four players to team up and experience the joys of Pinata Island together. Contact other gamers to trade items as well as pinatas, or invite your friends to your garden to compete against them in races, golf and other events – the choice is yours. It’s definitely up there with the original and is well worth a look.
Title: Facebreaker
Platform: PS3
Genre: Boxing
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 2/5
When you hear that larger-than-life arcade boxer Facebreaker is coming from the stable that produced Fight Night Round 3, it’s a little like waiting to see who you’ll face in the ring when you hear they come from the same training camp as Mike Tyson. The reality is, it’s no-one near as tough. What Facebreaker gives in terms of irreverent humour and unique style, it takes from a gameplay perspective, ending up offering little more than an amusing visual boxing feast with little more meat on the bones. Seeing your real-time uploaded face gradually deform during a particularly severe pummelling will make you laugh out loud, but when round two, three and four start you won’t be feeling so spritely.
Title: Infinite Undiscovery
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: RPG
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 3/5
Another fantastical storyline to grip the Xbox 360’s RPG world, Infinite Undiscovery hides its own secrets a few hours into the gameplay, which gamers should stick at to uncover. The initial action and dungeon sequences are less than inspiring – so similar to what we’ve seen before – but after this disappointing opening the stakes are raised, providing an RPG adventure that offers the kind of dramatic situational battles we’re all crying out for, such as executing a daring escape while a gigantic ogre follows in hot pursuit or waging battle amid towering tidal waves. Real-time environments and battle action keep the adrenalin pumping, and you’ll soon be dreaming of a sequel, which one hopes won’t be too far away.
Title: Final Fantasy IV
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 5/5
Any Final Fantasy release is likely to set gamers’ pulses racing, and this one does a fantastic job of showcasing the capabilities of Nintendo’s DS, transferring a brilliant story of action, love and mystery to the small screens, bringing the 2D Super NES original into glorious 3D. There’s no doubt that it’s a tough RPG nut to crack, but it’s made all the more enjoyable with gorgeous cut-scenes and comparable sound that will delight handheld gamers. Yes, it is just a remake, but it’s just as enjoyable – if not more so – than the original. Hunt it down as soon as you can!
Title: Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
Platform: PS3
Genre: First Person Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
The Call of Duty series has been stomping a path for all other first person shooters to follow on next-generation, but something may have changed. As you’re dropped into Operation Market Garden, the largest paratrooper operation in World War II, could Brothers in Arms come out of the long grass and ambush us all with a refreshing take on this influential battle in hitory? Put simply, it’s fab. From sniffing out the enemy to setting up an ambush and directing your squad to execute it to perfection, this is an adrenalin-pumping shooter with real personality oozing from the central characters. Superb graphics, delightful destructible environments and the now obligatory brilliant online multiplayer means Hell’s Highway is a quick route to shooter heaven.
Title: Mary King’s Riding School
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Horses
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
Standards are impeccably high at Mary King’s Riding School and, for the most part, they appear to have been similar in this game developer’s stables. For another equestrian outing on Nintendo DS, customise your character’s look and style, then head to the paddock to pick your pony before embarking on a challenge to win international three-day events in six different countries. You get the chance to win trophies before spending the prize money on clothes, accessories and horses. In the stables there’s a tack room to adorn your horse in the finest bridlery, saddles and tail ribbons – if you’re that way inclined. If you’re into horses, you’ll love it. If not, why go near this?
Title: Space Siege
Platform: PC
Genre: Action RPG
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 3/5
Imagine the fear and claustrophobia you would feel on a spaceship under attack from aliens. With nowhere to run, you’ve just got to stand your ground and defend every nook and cranny of that ship for all it’s worth. Now take any semblance of excitement building up inside you and bin it, as Space Siege contrives to offer exactly this set-up but with almost none of the enjoyment you’d anticipate. It’s action RPG by numbers, with repetitive clicking on enemies all you need to do to defeat them. Most shreds of character customisation are reduced to the most basic levels, appealing to a wide audience but likely to impress very few. They say that in space no-one can hear you scream. That’s not the case before your PC though.
Title: International Athletics
Platform: PSP
Genre: Athletics
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 2/5
What must surely be the final Olympic-themed release of the summer is bound to pick up a fair bit of interest with it being a) on a portable console and b) being released just as Team GB seem to be picking up the gold medals at an alarming, yet impressive, rate. As with previous releases, you must button-bash your way to gold medals and world records but, with only 14 events and a pass-the-PSP-round-your-friends multiplayer mode, you might feel a little short-changed with this effort. Setting world records is remarkably easy, bringing the credibility and longevity of the title into question. Here’s a new event to take part in – see how far away from this game you can stay. It shouldn’t be too tricky.
Title: Carnival Games
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 2/5
This mini-game compilation was a bit of a hit on the Wii last year, so why not bottle that fun up and shrink it down to cartridge size for the DS? Nice, in theory, but sadly the execution doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Carnival Games on DS proves to be bright and flashy visually but ultimately unsatisfying once you take a trip around the park. Easy games will be quickly unlocked by seasoned gamers, while youngsters will grow frustrated by some games’ insistence on lacking any kind of skill at all, becoming games of chance and nothing more (see Balloon Darts). Twenty quid will probably give you a good summer evening’s fun out at the real fun fair, and that’s exactly what you should do, rather than stay inside and play this.
GAMES CHART:
1.Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
2.Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
3.Spore
4.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5.Wii Fit
6.Mario Kart Wii
7.Carnival: Funfair Games
8.Guitar Hero: On Tour
9.TNA Impact
10.Wii Play
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
Now, I'm pretty sure that everyone will agree with me that that's a ridiculously HUGE amount of time.
Sure like every other student I went through the Neighbours and Hollyoaks stage but jeez? Is there THAT much on TV nowadays that's worth wasting your life over?
I mean, it's like the movies... give it a certain amount of time and everything gets re-made. So all you end up watching is a re-hash of something you've inevitably watched before - and probably hated then too.
Quite frankly I can't find anything worth watching on television nowadays. I'm no longer addicted to switching on the box religiously at the same time every week to watch the Sopranos or 24. I buy or borrow the boxsets.
I find that anything actually worth watching is on premium rate channels which you have to pay for. Now I'm not talking about The Fantasy Channel, I'm talking about Sky One which boasts 24 and Prison Break among its major crowd pullers.
It's the same with football matches. Aside from the occasional Champions League game airing a team that I don't support, all the matches are on Sky or Setanta.
I'm fast losing the will to have a TV at all. But then there's the small problem of you needing a TV licence in order to watch DVDs. Pants isn't it?!
How long will it be before the Government decides to try and slap a tax on viewing programmes or footie matches online?
The other week I was amazed to find live coverage of an England game from a foreign feed. Ok the quality wasn't brilliant (blamed largely on my pants internet connection) but it was still watchable - and best of all FREE.
Here's the best of the last fortnight's new games releases:
Title: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
A trip to the dark side goes very well rewarded in The Force Unleashed, offering gamers and Star Wars fans alike another fantastic glimpse at the interstellar world first conceived more than 30 years ago. Opening action sequences are simply mind-blowing as you take on the role of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, and while later levels may not always reach such dizzy heights, the consistent awe-inspiring presentation throughout ensures you’ll forgive and forget the odd glitch. The in-game physics allow you to develop your Force powers to truly devastating effect and, with two alternative endings to uncover, there’s every chance you’ll want to play through this twice, such is the fun there to be had.
Title: Yakuza 2
Platform: PS2
Genre: Action
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Once more you are plunged into the violent Japanese underworld where respect and honour are all. Well, almost. Add to that great graphics, twice as much to explore and an improved fighting engine, and you have a pretty darn powerful brawler that will immerse you in a dark, shadowy world where only the strongest will survive. The city streets and illicit haunts of Japan’s nightlife district are beautifully recreated, making this a vibrant, true-to-life world to explore. And with the ability to fight numerous enemies at once with less load times and smoother camera angles, the whole experience feels super-smooth, making this an essential purchase on Sony’s old-stager PS2.
Title: Mount and Blade
Platform: PC
Genre: RPG
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Take your PC into a medieval world populated by lords and vassals who rule over the peasantry, where knights and mercenaries fight side by side – or against each other. Then grab the reins of your mount and unsheathe your blade and prepare to ride out to a land of adventure. It all sounds pretty epic, and actually pans out to be a really enjoyable free-form sandbox game. You can pretty much do anything in a whopping world thriving with hundreds of locations including, of course, jousting, sword-fighting and even buying a round of beer at the local tavern. Just the kind of escapist PC adventure that you can lose yourself in on a frosty autumn evening.
Title: Play TV
Platform: PS3
Genre: TV
Price: £69.99
Hit Count: 4/5
For those yet to join the growing digital TV revolution, where you can pause and record your favourite shows and watch them at your leisure, Play TV is, as you’d expect, fully HD-compatible. It boasts the kind of intuitive controls, single-button help features, tutorial videos and simple navigation that most people would cry out for on their standard digital TVs. Throw in the fact that you can use the PS3’s wi-fi capability to beam programmes onto your PSP, and you know this is one gadget you’ve got to get your hands on.
Title: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Platform: Mac
Genre: War shooter
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Combat shooters don’t come much better than this. The review could end there, but salivate a little longer, if you will, at the prospect of pulling all that’s great about the WWII shooter series into the present day. Focusing on the antics of a terrorist group in the Middle East, you – as US Marine and SAS soldier - must take on all-comers in what is undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous-looking, adrenalin-pumping shooters to grace this generation of computers. Intense is not the word, and even the early missions will have you on the edge of your seat, but somehow the game keeps on trumping itself. Especially in multi-player mode, which is a whole spanking-new world of class, upgrades and customisation that makes you realise why online is where gaming is really at.
Title: Spore
Platform: PC
Genre: Strategy
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 5/5
The Sims will only get you so far when simulating life, and it’s about time a game upped the ante. Spore does that and then some, taking you on an epic journey from the origin and evolution of life through the development of civilization and technology and eventually all the way into the deepest reaches of outer space. From life as a microbe just trying to survive, to launching your creature into the wide world populated by everyone else’s crazy creations, Spore is simply captivating. Fabulous graphics, an amazing array of creation tools to harness and a near-endless universe of other people’s take on ’life’ – Spore is a must for all wannabe-Darwins out there.
Title: Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 4/5
Following on from the success of the original Viva Pinata, Trouble in Paradise takes you back to Pinata Island for another highly-addictive dose of papier-mache-inspired madness. A host of new pinatas and varied game modes ensure that anyone who mastered the orginal will find more than enough to get their teeth into this time around, while the Xbox Live online mode allows up to four players to team up and experience the joys of Pinata Island together. Contact other gamers to trade items as well as pinatas, or invite your friends to your garden to compete against them in races, golf and other events – the choice is yours. It’s definitely up there with the original and is well worth a look.
Title: Facebreaker
Platform: PS3
Genre: Boxing
Price: £39.99
Hit count: 2/5
When you hear that larger-than-life arcade boxer Facebreaker is coming from the stable that produced Fight Night Round 3, it’s a little like waiting to see who you’ll face in the ring when you hear they come from the same training camp as Mike Tyson. The reality is, it’s no-one near as tough. What Facebreaker gives in terms of irreverent humour and unique style, it takes from a gameplay perspective, ending up offering little more than an amusing visual boxing feast with little more meat on the bones. Seeing your real-time uploaded face gradually deform during a particularly severe pummelling will make you laugh out loud, but when round two, three and four start you won’t be feeling so spritely.
Title: Infinite Undiscovery
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: RPG
Price: £44.99
Hit count: 3/5
Another fantastical storyline to grip the Xbox 360’s RPG world, Infinite Undiscovery hides its own secrets a few hours into the gameplay, which gamers should stick at to uncover. The initial action and dungeon sequences are less than inspiring – so similar to what we’ve seen before – but after this disappointing opening the stakes are raised, providing an RPG adventure that offers the kind of dramatic situational battles we’re all crying out for, such as executing a daring escape while a gigantic ogre follows in hot pursuit or waging battle amid towering tidal waves. Real-time environments and battle action keep the adrenalin pumping, and you’ll soon be dreaming of a sequel, which one hopes won’t be too far away.
Title: Final Fantasy IV
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 5/5
Any Final Fantasy release is likely to set gamers’ pulses racing, and this one does a fantastic job of showcasing the capabilities of Nintendo’s DS, transferring a brilliant story of action, love and mystery to the small screens, bringing the 2D Super NES original into glorious 3D. There’s no doubt that it’s a tough RPG nut to crack, but it’s made all the more enjoyable with gorgeous cut-scenes and comparable sound that will delight handheld gamers. Yes, it is just a remake, but it’s just as enjoyable – if not more so – than the original. Hunt it down as soon as you can!
Title: Brothers In Arms: Hell’s Highway
Platform: PS3
Genre: First Person Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 4/5
The Call of Duty series has been stomping a path for all other first person shooters to follow on next-generation, but something may have changed. As you’re dropped into Operation Market Garden, the largest paratrooper operation in World War II, could Brothers in Arms come out of the long grass and ambush us all with a refreshing take on this influential battle in hitory? Put simply, it’s fab. From sniffing out the enemy to setting up an ambush and directing your squad to execute it to perfection, this is an adrenalin-pumping shooter with real personality oozing from the central characters. Superb graphics, delightful destructible environments and the now obligatory brilliant online multiplayer means Hell’s Highway is a quick route to shooter heaven.
Title: Mary King’s Riding School
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Horses
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
Standards are impeccably high at Mary King’s Riding School and, for the most part, they appear to have been similar in this game developer’s stables. For another equestrian outing on Nintendo DS, customise your character’s look and style, then head to the paddock to pick your pony before embarking on a challenge to win international three-day events in six different countries. You get the chance to win trophies before spending the prize money on clothes, accessories and horses. In the stables there’s a tack room to adorn your horse in the finest bridlery, saddles and tail ribbons – if you’re that way inclined. If you’re into horses, you’ll love it. If not, why go near this?
Title: Space Siege
Platform: PC
Genre: Action RPG
Price: £34.99
Hit count: 3/5
Imagine the fear and claustrophobia you would feel on a spaceship under attack from aliens. With nowhere to run, you’ve just got to stand your ground and defend every nook and cranny of that ship for all it’s worth. Now take any semblance of excitement building up inside you and bin it, as Space Siege contrives to offer exactly this set-up but with almost none of the enjoyment you’d anticipate. It’s action RPG by numbers, with repetitive clicking on enemies all you need to do to defeat them. Most shreds of character customisation are reduced to the most basic levels, appealing to a wide audience but likely to impress very few. They say that in space no-one can hear you scream. That’s not the case before your PC though.
Title: International Athletics
Platform: PSP
Genre: Athletics
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 2/5
What must surely be the final Olympic-themed release of the summer is bound to pick up a fair bit of interest with it being a) on a portable console and b) being released just as Team GB seem to be picking up the gold medals at an alarming, yet impressive, rate. As with previous releases, you must button-bash your way to gold medals and world records but, with only 14 events and a pass-the-PSP-round-your-friends multiplayer mode, you might feel a little short-changed with this effort. Setting world records is remarkably easy, bringing the credibility and longevity of the title into question. Here’s a new event to take part in – see how far away from this game you can stay. It shouldn’t be too tricky.
Title: Carnival Games
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Price: £19.99
Hit count: 2/5
This mini-game compilation was a bit of a hit on the Wii last year, so why not bottle that fun up and shrink it down to cartridge size for the DS? Nice, in theory, but sadly the execution doesn’t quite live up to the hype. Carnival Games on DS proves to be bright and flashy visually but ultimately unsatisfying once you take a trip around the park. Easy games will be quickly unlocked by seasoned gamers, while youngsters will grow frustrated by some games’ insistence on lacking any kind of skill at all, becoming games of chance and nothing more (see Balloon Darts). Twenty quid will probably give you a good summer evening’s fun out at the real fun fair, and that’s exactly what you should do, rather than stay inside and play this.
GAMES CHART:
1.Mercenaries 2: World in Flames
2.Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09
3.Spore
4.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
5.Wii Fit
6.Mario Kart Wii
7.Carnival: Funfair Games
8.Guitar Hero: On Tour
9.TNA Impact
10.Wii Play
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
Tuesday 19 August 2008
Disconnected from life
For the past three weeks I have been angry. I don't usually get angry but certain things wind me up like an emotionally-charged spinning top.
This 'problem', shall we call it, has caused chaos in just about every element of my life.
My financial situation, my love life, my social calendar, and even my work have all suffered as a result.
And the root of my problem...? The internet.
The words "it seemed like a good idea at the time..." have rung around my head for more than 21 days now and my rage is only just subsiding.
Three weeks ago I, as a landlord, decided that I would install a wireless router to a). satisfy the facebook needs of my housemate; and b). prevent him from entering my bedroom every time he needed to use the web for whatever reason.
Easy I thought. Sure, Virgin Media also agreed that it'd be an easy thing.
But you know those people that say "nothing is ever easy?" Well, they - whoever 'they' are - are right.
The router arrived with the supposed 'handy' installation disk and when I switched on my Pc my internet failed.
I hadn't even pulled out a lead or switched a switch yet and already my ageing broadband connection was throwing a hissy fit at the sight of the router.
I phoned Virgin and apparently I had "deleted my driver". At this point all sorts of weird images and thoughts went through my head, but the only response which translated into anything like the English language was "um, uh-huh".
"How did THAT happen?" I asked.
"Pass" the supposed IT helpdesk person replied.
So, 28 minutes later I hang up, connect all the cables together in the mere hope it will come together like a Macgyver (remember that TV show?!) plan.
Nothing, plenty of green and yellow lights signalling success... but ultimately nothing.
I call back Virgin... "If you've got a lap top it should have wireless access now" the not-so-much-sympathetic-but-more-defiant voice says to me.
"That's all very well mister but I want to my Pc to work!" (was the toned down reply I gave).
Nothing.
The next day I take the Pc into the Herald office IT department.
Turned out the driver had gone. Where I'm not sure but it had driven far far away and not left a trace.
The nice people downstairs re-installed it and I later took it home, connected up the wires again and... nothing.
Somehow, and I'm not even going to pretend how, a friend and I re-connected up the original connection (minus the router) and left it - and several hours later it decided to work again.
Happy and content to at least have some sort of connection I left it for three or four days until my housemate came home on Sunday.
By yesterday afternoon he'd connected up the router (without the installation disk I might add), typed in some IP address - which I have no idea what it does - on my Pc and by magic it all works.
And now I have time to reflect. What did I do wrong? Why did I do right? Was it my mistake? Virgin?!'s.
I'm not sure. I can't point fingers but I know it's been emotional.
And how sad is it that I found myself so reliable on the internet?
Banking - done online.
Social networking - done online.
Shopping - done online.
Work - a great proportion done online.
Love life - now hang on... that sounds weird. Sure I send emails to my girl but... oh whatever!
We are all so reliant on the internet nowadays that it only takes three or four days of not having access to show how integrated it is in our lives.
Anyways rant over... here's the best of the new games over the past two weeks:
Title: Soulcalibur IV
Platform: PS3
Genre: Fighter
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 5/5
The Soulcalibur series has an almost peerless pedigree when it comes to the fighting genre and to say that this PS3 release has been eagerly anticipated would be something of an understatement.
Namco has topped the lot this time, as weapon-wielding battles take on a new level of depth and visual delight.
New gameplay modes and characters keep things feeling fresh (a guest appearance by Darth Vader will always win the crowds over), while some classic warriors try their hand in the next-gen world, too.
Some serious time has been invested into the online capabilities here and that, coupled with the incredible character customisation options, makes Soulcalibur IV a fighter that will certainly stand the test of time.
Title: SBK-08: World Superbike 2008
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
If the Moto GP series were to glance into either wing mirror, it’d be likely to see SBK coming up on the inside.
While the former has dominated two-wheeled console racing, SBK-08 is the series’ first appearance on the next-gen consoles.
It’s a pretty decent stab at seizing top spot on the podium. You’ll have to put some hours in to get the most from the game – it’s more down the simulation route than a pick-up-and-play arcade affair.
But you don’t need more than a couple of minutes to see it does a good job visually. There are plenty of vehicle modifications to tinker with and racing modes to master, so bikers will be more than happy with how this caters to their superbike obsessions.
Title: Flat-Out Ultimate Carnage
Platform: PC
Genre: Racing
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The FlatOut franchise might lack the hype of Burnout and Gran Turismo, but it offers no less of a unique driving experience and has remained steadily popular.
Ultimate Carnage has been rebuilt from the ground up, taking a heavy steer from last year’s Xbox 360 version, and it provides a pretty breathtaking experience.
Seeing your driver fly through his windscreen after a particularly brutal collision will put a warm glow in the pit of your stomach.
Yes, you may lose the race, but it looks spectacular. It’s the undisputed No 1 destruction racer on the market. What are you waiting for? Go do some damage!
Title: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune: Platinum
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It doesn’t seem like the PS3 has been around long enough to be knocking out platinum budget titles, but when it’s a game of the quality of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, we’re not going to complain too much.
Put simply, for £20 this is probably the best action adventure on the console to date.
It offers a gloriously rich storyline, eye-popping visuals and an uncomplicated yet rewarding mixture of platform, combat and puzzles.
This quest for the treasure of El Dorado makes it hard to distinguish where one cut-scene ends and the real action begins, making the game an incredibly engrossing experience.
It’s a gem that’s well worth digging out again.
Title: Puzzler Collection
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It’s school holiday time and if those long car journeys are starting to send shivers down your spine, why not stock up on a bundle of over 2,000 puzzles to keep the kids quiet?
Puzzler Collection brings you Fitword, Crossword, Sudoku and Wordsearch puzzles with three difficulty levels that ensure you won’t crack them without some serious effort.
Everything is timed against the clock so the pressure is always mounting. It might look and feel functional, but this game’s more about challenging your mind than entertaining your eyes.
Title: Race Driver: GRID
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Fans of racing games are often disappointed if a game proves to be too arcadey or too much of a plodding simulation.
While this may not boast the supreme graphics of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, this shrunk down DS version of Race Driver: GRID does a fantastic job of juggling both balls, offering over-the-top thrills and spills for the casual racer, coupled with an intense on-track experience that still manages to make a big impact on the small dual screen system.
There are plenty of DS racers to take this Codemasters title round the track a few times, but this baby still qualifies pretty high up the GRID.
Title: Beijing 2008
Platform: PC
Genre: Athletics
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The Olympics are finally here and, while video gaming has yet to be recognised as an Olympic sport, that’s not going to stop you enjoying Beijing 2008 on PC.
You can instantly transport yourself to China and compete in over 30 events, from athletics and gymnastics to cycling, table tennis or archery.
It all adds up to a pretty impressive sporting compendium. Although lending nothing particularly new or innovative to the gameplay it nonetheless locates and grips your competitive side, making the quest for gold in all events a relentless one.
Taking the competition online adds an extra dimension to proceedings, and brings a real worldwide international flavour to your living room, as every Olympics should!
Title: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Platform: PS2
Genre: Action
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Mummy films have just enough special effects and tongue-in-cheek cheesy humour to justify their summer blockbuster status, and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor sees Brendan Fraser and company enter their third adventure.
This is the sadly-yet-predictably poor tie-in video game. Repetitive, basic in appearance and devoid of any shred of innovation, even if you’re the biggest fan of the film series there’s no way you’ll fall in love with this game.
Pointlessly difficult at times and downright boring at others, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’s redeeming features are few and far between. At best this is one to rent – at worst a guaranteed bargain binner.
Title: Echochrome
Platform: PSP
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
A sign of a puzzle title’s true potential is often the appearance of utter simplicity from the outset.
One glance at the monochrome, linear appearance of Echochrome may lead you to wonder what all the fuss is about, but within a few levels you’ll be entranced by a 3D puzzler that gives thinking gamers something they’ve never played before.
Twisting levels to lead your ambling mannequin from start to finish, you’ll find yourself having to redraw your own laws of perception in order to succeed and, save for fairly repetitive sound, this is an all-round captivating gaming experience that you’d be mad to miss – especially at under £20.
Title: Growlanser: Heritage of War
Platform: PS2
Genre: RPG
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
In a world overcrowded by RPGs, standing out from the crowd is a difficult task. Heritage of War comes packed with extra art books, a key ring, buttons and other bits and bobs to give the feel of added value.
However, it’s the core item in this package – the game itself – that brings you back into the familiar territory of playing through an average fantasy RPG.
Poor graphics, coupled with a ropey combat system and some of the most laughable lines of dialogue you’ll have heard in a long time, don’t do much to endear this game to fans of the genre. It’s a shame to have such a disappointing release from the Atlus stable; here’s hoping a return to form isn’t far away.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Soulcalibur IV
2.Wii Fit
3.Mario Kart Wii
4.Wall-E
5.Big Beach Sports
6.Guitar Hero: On Tour
7.Wii Play
8.Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
9.Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training
10.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
This 'problem', shall we call it, has caused chaos in just about every element of my life.
My financial situation, my love life, my social calendar, and even my work have all suffered as a result.
And the root of my problem...? The internet.
The words "it seemed like a good idea at the time..." have rung around my head for more than 21 days now and my rage is only just subsiding.
Three weeks ago I, as a landlord, decided that I would install a wireless router to a). satisfy the facebook needs of my housemate; and b). prevent him from entering my bedroom every time he needed to use the web for whatever reason.
Easy I thought. Sure, Virgin Media also agreed that it'd be an easy thing.
But you know those people that say "nothing is ever easy?" Well, they - whoever 'they' are - are right.
The router arrived with the supposed 'handy' installation disk and when I switched on my Pc my internet failed.
I hadn't even pulled out a lead or switched a switch yet and already my ageing broadband connection was throwing a hissy fit at the sight of the router.
I phoned Virgin and apparently I had "deleted my driver". At this point all sorts of weird images and thoughts went through my head, but the only response which translated into anything like the English language was "um, uh-huh".
"How did THAT happen?" I asked.
"Pass" the supposed IT helpdesk person replied.
So, 28 minutes later I hang up, connect all the cables together in the mere hope it will come together like a Macgyver (remember that TV show?!) plan.
Nothing, plenty of green and yellow lights signalling success... but ultimately nothing.
I call back Virgin... "If you've got a lap top it should have wireless access now" the not-so-much-sympathetic-but-more-defiant voice says to me.
"That's all very well mister but I want to my Pc to work!" (was the toned down reply I gave).
Nothing.
The next day I take the Pc into the Herald office IT department.
Turned out the driver had gone. Where I'm not sure but it had driven far far away and not left a trace.
The nice people downstairs re-installed it and I later took it home, connected up the wires again and... nothing.
Somehow, and I'm not even going to pretend how, a friend and I re-connected up the original connection (minus the router) and left it - and several hours later it decided to work again.
Happy and content to at least have some sort of connection I left it for three or four days until my housemate came home on Sunday.
By yesterday afternoon he'd connected up the router (without the installation disk I might add), typed in some IP address - which I have no idea what it does - on my Pc and by magic it all works.
And now I have time to reflect. What did I do wrong? Why did I do right? Was it my mistake? Virgin?!'s.
I'm not sure. I can't point fingers but I know it's been emotional.
And how sad is it that I found myself so reliable on the internet?
Banking - done online.
Social networking - done online.
Shopping - done online.
Work - a great proportion done online.
Love life - now hang on... that sounds weird. Sure I send emails to my girl but... oh whatever!
We are all so reliant on the internet nowadays that it only takes three or four days of not having access to show how integrated it is in our lives.
Anyways rant over... here's the best of the new games over the past two weeks:
Title: Soulcalibur IV
Platform: PS3
Genre: Fighter
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 5/5
The Soulcalibur series has an almost peerless pedigree when it comes to the fighting genre and to say that this PS3 release has been eagerly anticipated would be something of an understatement.
Namco has topped the lot this time, as weapon-wielding battles take on a new level of depth and visual delight.
New gameplay modes and characters keep things feeling fresh (a guest appearance by Darth Vader will always win the crowds over), while some classic warriors try their hand in the next-gen world, too.
Some serious time has been invested into the online capabilities here and that, coupled with the incredible character customisation options, makes Soulcalibur IV a fighter that will certainly stand the test of time.
Title: SBK-08: World Superbike 2008
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Racing
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
If the Moto GP series were to glance into either wing mirror, it’d be likely to see SBK coming up on the inside.
While the former has dominated two-wheeled console racing, SBK-08 is the series’ first appearance on the next-gen consoles.
It’s a pretty decent stab at seizing top spot on the podium. You’ll have to put some hours in to get the most from the game – it’s more down the simulation route than a pick-up-and-play arcade affair.
But you don’t need more than a couple of minutes to see it does a good job visually. There are plenty of vehicle modifications to tinker with and racing modes to master, so bikers will be more than happy with how this caters to their superbike obsessions.
Title: Flat-Out Ultimate Carnage
Platform: PC
Genre: Racing
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The FlatOut franchise might lack the hype of Burnout and Gran Turismo, but it offers no less of a unique driving experience and has remained steadily popular.
Ultimate Carnage has been rebuilt from the ground up, taking a heavy steer from last year’s Xbox 360 version, and it provides a pretty breathtaking experience.
Seeing your driver fly through his windscreen after a particularly brutal collision will put a warm glow in the pit of your stomach.
Yes, you may lose the race, but it looks spectacular. It’s the undisputed No 1 destruction racer on the market. What are you waiting for? Go do some damage!
Title: Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune: Platinum
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It doesn’t seem like the PS3 has been around long enough to be knocking out platinum budget titles, but when it’s a game of the quality of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, we’re not going to complain too much.
Put simply, for £20 this is probably the best action adventure on the console to date.
It offers a gloriously rich storyline, eye-popping visuals and an uncomplicated yet rewarding mixture of platform, combat and puzzles.
This quest for the treasure of El Dorado makes it hard to distinguish where one cut-scene ends and the real action begins, making the game an incredibly engrossing experience.
It’s a gem that’s well worth digging out again.
Title: Puzzler Collection
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It’s school holiday time and if those long car journeys are starting to send shivers down your spine, why not stock up on a bundle of over 2,000 puzzles to keep the kids quiet?
Puzzler Collection brings you Fitword, Crossword, Sudoku and Wordsearch puzzles with three difficulty levels that ensure you won’t crack them without some serious effort.
Everything is timed against the clock so the pressure is always mounting. It might look and feel functional, but this game’s more about challenging your mind than entertaining your eyes.
Title: Race Driver: GRID
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Racing
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Fans of racing games are often disappointed if a game proves to be too arcadey or too much of a plodding simulation.
While this may not boast the supreme graphics of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, this shrunk down DS version of Race Driver: GRID does a fantastic job of juggling both balls, offering over-the-top thrills and spills for the casual racer, coupled with an intense on-track experience that still manages to make a big impact on the small dual screen system.
There are plenty of DS racers to take this Codemasters title round the track a few times, but this baby still qualifies pretty high up the GRID.
Title: Beijing 2008
Platform: PC
Genre: Athletics
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The Olympics are finally here and, while video gaming has yet to be recognised as an Olympic sport, that’s not going to stop you enjoying Beijing 2008 on PC.
You can instantly transport yourself to China and compete in over 30 events, from athletics and gymnastics to cycling, table tennis or archery.
It all adds up to a pretty impressive sporting compendium. Although lending nothing particularly new or innovative to the gameplay it nonetheless locates and grips your competitive side, making the quest for gold in all events a relentless one.
Taking the competition online adds an extra dimension to proceedings, and brings a real worldwide international flavour to your living room, as every Olympics should!
Title: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Platform: PS2
Genre: Action
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Mummy films have just enough special effects and tongue-in-cheek cheesy humour to justify their summer blockbuster status, and Tomb of the Dragon Emperor sees Brendan Fraser and company enter their third adventure.
This is the sadly-yet-predictably poor tie-in video game. Repetitive, basic in appearance and devoid of any shred of innovation, even if you’re the biggest fan of the film series there’s no way you’ll fall in love with this game.
Pointlessly difficult at times and downright boring at others, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’s redeeming features are few and far between. At best this is one to rent – at worst a guaranteed bargain binner.
Title: Echochrome
Platform: PSP
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
A sign of a puzzle title’s true potential is often the appearance of utter simplicity from the outset.
One glance at the monochrome, linear appearance of Echochrome may lead you to wonder what all the fuss is about, but within a few levels you’ll be entranced by a 3D puzzler that gives thinking gamers something they’ve never played before.
Twisting levels to lead your ambling mannequin from start to finish, you’ll find yourself having to redraw your own laws of perception in order to succeed and, save for fairly repetitive sound, this is an all-round captivating gaming experience that you’d be mad to miss – especially at under £20.
Title: Growlanser: Heritage of War
Platform: PS2
Genre: RPG
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
In a world overcrowded by RPGs, standing out from the crowd is a difficult task. Heritage of War comes packed with extra art books, a key ring, buttons and other bits and bobs to give the feel of added value.
However, it’s the core item in this package – the game itself – that brings you back into the familiar territory of playing through an average fantasy RPG.
Poor graphics, coupled with a ropey combat system and some of the most laughable lines of dialogue you’ll have heard in a long time, don’t do much to endear this game to fans of the genre. It’s a shame to have such a disappointing release from the Atlus stable; here’s hoping a return to form isn’t far away.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Soulcalibur IV
2.Wii Fit
3.Mario Kart Wii
4.Wall-E
5.Big Beach Sports
6.Guitar Hero: On Tour
7.Wii Play
8.Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games
9.Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training
10.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (c) ELSPA (UK) Ltd
Tuesday 22 July 2008
The plus points of online grocery shopping
Whatever else I do this week I will feel safe in the knowledge I have done my bit (albeit a very small minute bit) for the environment.
This week I am planning to go shopping at Sainsbury's without leaving my home. I won't use my car, I won't unnecessarily pack a few items into a large carrier bag and I won't add to the stress of a checkout queue.
This week I have been learning all about the delights of online grocery shopping.
I've never been sold on the idea really. What if they get my order wrong? What if they haven't got what I want? What if I don't know what I want?
Most of all I've feared being called a slack b****** by my nearest and dearest.
Okay, I understand the benefits if you live in London and your nearest Tesco is three tube stations away, but in Plymouth you can't go 100ft without being met by the luring supermaket signs.
So why shop online at the Sainsbury's website? Well, as my friend Lisa explained to me last night:
a). If 20 people order groceries to be delivered on one evening they'll all be served by one man in one van which equals 19 less vehicles on the road;
b). The delivery man will pick up your discarded plastic shopping bags when he redelivers your groceries which he will then re-use; and c). (And not SO environmentally friendly but still a benefit) the delivery man will give you a £10 off voucher if he is even 30 seconds late. He won't even argue, he'll just hand it over (apparently).
So sure enough, within minutes of her mentioning that her shopping would be delivered soon, the doorbell went. And there he was in all his home shopping glory.
While I have to admit I actually LOVE food shopping in supermarkets, I do have an annoying tendency to always go shopping when I'm hungry.
Bad idea huh? A £20 shop turns into a £50 shop and you end up returning home with £30 extra pounds worth of goodies that seemed more desireable on the store shelf.
I've also just been reminded by a colleague that that way of thinking "destroys town centres and local shops".
Okay, while I appreciate the sentiment, surely it's Mr Tesco and Mrs Sainsbury who have done just that. They provide a service that people want ultimately. Blame the fools not the fools that follow.
In my childlike way of thinking I also actually like the idea that fresh yummy things are being brought to me... like takeaway pizza.
Oh, and delivery only costs £2.50 (or so Lisa said).
I have to say I'm sold on the idea. Now it remains to be seen whether I receive 14 tins of cat food for the moggy I don't own, hair nets and countless boxes of Tampax.
So anyway... Radiohead... how's that for changing the subject?
Has anyone seen the video for their latest single House of Cards? No cameras or lights were used in its creation.
Instead, 3D plotting technologies collected information about the shapes and relative distances of objects to create what is a unique art project in itself.
Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyQoTGdQywY&feature=user for the making of the video.
Here's the best of this week's games:
Title: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Final Fantasy tactical RPGs have been delighting gamers for years and Grimoire of the Rift is another supreme instalment on Nintendo DS.
It casts you in the role of high school student Luso, whose summer studying inadvertently catapults him into a fantasy world called Ivalice.
This is where the real adventure begins - with more than 300 quests to complete, this is a monster of a game with some damn tough challenges for you and your clan to conquer.
Cute, pin-sharp 3D graphics are perfectly executed on the dual screen, as is the sound. It’s a must-have for your handheld collection.
Title: Guitar Hero: On Tour
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Music
Price: £44.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Get ready to transform your traditional DS into a full-blown musical instrument with an ingenious add-on that allows handheld gamers to experience the musical fun of the Guitar Hero series.
With a mini fret board slotted into the Gameboy Advance cartridge slot, you can start strumming away in the same way the big consoles have done things over the last couple of years.
Make sure you watch out for some serious wrist cramp though – and take regular breaks! Guitar Hero: On Tour features some great pop and rock tracks and the developers deserve kudos for turning this big living room event into a superb showing on the small screen.
Title: Stronghold: Crusader Extreme
Platform: PC
Genre: Strategy
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Fans of Stronghold: Crusader won’t be surprised by what’s on offer here. Calling it 'Extreme' may be pushing things a bit far – this is essentially the same game, albeit with some new maps and the added capability of being able to take part in 10,000-unit battles.
The intelligence of your opponents doesn’t appear to have improved in the passing years, nor have the graphics, which are below par by 2008 PC standards.
This will satisfy your thirst if you’ve been crying out for more Stronghold action, but it’s not the best.
Title: Unreal Tournament 3
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The Unreal series has been around for nearly a decade now, and this Xbox 360 incarnation brings gamers even more fast-paced, enemy-infested shooter action, all cranked up to a next-gen standard.
Some seriously sumptuous graphics give you all the eye candy you could ever want, but beware, the furious gameplay won’t give you a second to soak it all up.
Single player missions might feel a little too easy for experienced Unreal gamers, but once you’ve familiarised yourself with the maps, this is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences yet on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. Lock, load and lap it up!
Title: Pool Party
Platform: Wii
Genre: Pool
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 2/5
Wii Play provided an exciting glimpse of how cue-based sports could be played with the motion-sensing capabilities of Nintendo’s interactive console.
Unfortunately Pool Party doesn’t live up to expectations – it appears to be more a case of one step forward, two steps back.
A sketchy camera, weird controls and some basic graphics let down what has the makings of a decent game. If you’re looking for the perfect antidote to a trip down to your local pool hall, this isn’t it.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Wii Fit
2.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
3.Super Smash Bros Brawl
4.Top Spin 3
5.Battlefield: Bad Company
6.Big Beach Sports
7.Wii Play
8.Beijing 2008
9.Kung Fu Panda
10.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
This week I am planning to go shopping at Sainsbury's without leaving my home. I won't use my car, I won't unnecessarily pack a few items into a large carrier bag and I won't add to the stress of a checkout queue.
This week I have been learning all about the delights of online grocery shopping.
I've never been sold on the idea really. What if they get my order wrong? What if they haven't got what I want? What if I don't know what I want?
Most of all I've feared being called a slack b****** by my nearest and dearest.
Okay, I understand the benefits if you live in London and your nearest Tesco is three tube stations away, but in Plymouth you can't go 100ft without being met by the luring supermaket signs.
So why shop online at the Sainsbury's website? Well, as my friend Lisa explained to me last night:
a). If 20 people order groceries to be delivered on one evening they'll all be served by one man in one van which equals 19 less vehicles on the road;
b). The delivery man will pick up your discarded plastic shopping bags when he redelivers your groceries which he will then re-use; and c). (And not SO environmentally friendly but still a benefit) the delivery man will give you a £10 off voucher if he is even 30 seconds late. He won't even argue, he'll just hand it over (apparently).
So sure enough, within minutes of her mentioning that her shopping would be delivered soon, the doorbell went. And there he was in all his home shopping glory.
While I have to admit I actually LOVE food shopping in supermarkets, I do have an annoying tendency to always go shopping when I'm hungry.
Bad idea huh? A £20 shop turns into a £50 shop and you end up returning home with £30 extra pounds worth of goodies that seemed more desireable on the store shelf.
I've also just been reminded by a colleague that that way of thinking "destroys town centres and local shops".
Okay, while I appreciate the sentiment, surely it's Mr Tesco and Mrs Sainsbury who have done just that. They provide a service that people want ultimately. Blame the fools not the fools that follow.
In my childlike way of thinking I also actually like the idea that fresh yummy things are being brought to me... like takeaway pizza.
Oh, and delivery only costs £2.50 (or so Lisa said).
I have to say I'm sold on the idea. Now it remains to be seen whether I receive 14 tins of cat food for the moggy I don't own, hair nets and countless boxes of Tampax.
So anyway... Radiohead... how's that for changing the subject?
Has anyone seen the video for their latest single House of Cards? No cameras or lights were used in its creation.
Instead, 3D plotting technologies collected information about the shapes and relative distances of objects to create what is a unique art project in itself.
Visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyQoTGdQywY&feature=user for the making of the video.
Here's the best of this week's games:
Title: Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RPG
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Final Fantasy tactical RPGs have been delighting gamers for years and Grimoire of the Rift is another supreme instalment on Nintendo DS.
It casts you in the role of high school student Luso, whose summer studying inadvertently catapults him into a fantasy world called Ivalice.
This is where the real adventure begins - with more than 300 quests to complete, this is a monster of a game with some damn tough challenges for you and your clan to conquer.
Cute, pin-sharp 3D graphics are perfectly executed on the dual screen, as is the sound. It’s a must-have for your handheld collection.
Title: Guitar Hero: On Tour
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Music
Price: £44.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Get ready to transform your traditional DS into a full-blown musical instrument with an ingenious add-on that allows handheld gamers to experience the musical fun of the Guitar Hero series.
With a mini fret board slotted into the Gameboy Advance cartridge slot, you can start strumming away in the same way the big consoles have done things over the last couple of years.
Make sure you watch out for some serious wrist cramp though – and take regular breaks! Guitar Hero: On Tour features some great pop and rock tracks and the developers deserve kudos for turning this big living room event into a superb showing on the small screen.
Title: Stronghold: Crusader Extreme
Platform: PC
Genre: Strategy
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Fans of Stronghold: Crusader won’t be surprised by what’s on offer here. Calling it 'Extreme' may be pushing things a bit far – this is essentially the same game, albeit with some new maps and the added capability of being able to take part in 10,000-unit battles.
The intelligence of your opponents doesn’t appear to have improved in the passing years, nor have the graphics, which are below par by 2008 PC standards.
This will satisfy your thirst if you’ve been crying out for more Stronghold action, but it’s not the best.
Title: Unreal Tournament 3
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Shooter
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The Unreal series has been around for nearly a decade now, and this Xbox 360 incarnation brings gamers even more fast-paced, enemy-infested shooter action, all cranked up to a next-gen standard.
Some seriously sumptuous graphics give you all the eye candy you could ever want, but beware, the furious gameplay won’t give you a second to soak it all up.
Single player missions might feel a little too easy for experienced Unreal gamers, but once you’ve familiarised yourself with the maps, this is one of the most enjoyable multiplayer experiences yet on Microsoft’s Xbox Live service. Lock, load and lap it up!
Title: Pool Party
Platform: Wii
Genre: Pool
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 2/5
Wii Play provided an exciting glimpse of how cue-based sports could be played with the motion-sensing capabilities of Nintendo’s interactive console.
Unfortunately Pool Party doesn’t live up to expectations – it appears to be more a case of one step forward, two steps back.
A sketchy camera, weird controls and some basic graphics let down what has the makings of a decent game. If you’re looking for the perfect antidote to a trip down to your local pool hall, this isn’t it.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Wii Fit
2.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
3.Super Smash Bros Brawl
4.Top Spin 3
5.Battlefield: Bad Company
6.Big Beach Sports
7.Wii Play
8.Beijing 2008
9.Kung Fu Panda
10.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
Tuesday 15 July 2008
Upstaged by a phone...
I think I must be one of the few remaining people in this world who has not gone ga-ga over the new iPhone.
I mean seriously, I like gadgets and all but hey... it is a PHONE. Alright... it's quite a lot more than a phone but it's still a piece of communication hardware.
I have more heart and (with any luck) more charm than this 4ins by 2ins piece of kit, but on more than one occasion in the last few weeks I've been cast into the shadows.
The last time was in New York just two weeks ago. There me and a mate were hanging out at some red neck bar on the trendy Upper West Side hoping a couple of hotties would pick up on our Hugh Grant-esque accents.
Sadly it wasn't the accent, dress sense or lure of a drink that attracted them in our general direction - it was Joe's iPhone.
"Wow," one big-eyed beauty cooed at him.
"How do you keep the screen so clean. And don't you wish it could do more?
"Hey have you heard about the iPhone and what it can do?"
My opening gambit: "AHEM".
No response.
For the next 30 minutes or so I was upstaged. A modern age man outclassed by a gadget of the modern world.
Does anyone really care enough to hold half-hour-long conversations about a phone?!
"I can get online to look at Myspace or Facebook whenever I want and wherever I am..." was entered into the conversation somewhere along the line.
Who cares, I thought. With all the means and ends to contact people all over the world at any given time, does no-one yet crave the anonymity or escape?
I know I do.
Yes, I'm happy with my Eriksson. Ok, it won't give me a pinpoint GPS position on my every move allowing me to get to places easier, ok it won't allow me to flip it over and see the cute drunken picture of a random wall at a different angle, and ok it doesn't look THAT sexy and cost some extortionate amount of money, but you know what? I really don't care.
It's a phone and a phone should stay a phone as a phone is. Ok we're a generation of consumers and what we desire ultimately determines what we're offered but somewhere along the line things have gone mad.
You know O2 phoned me last week offering me an upgrade.
"So Mr Nichols, what would you like your phone for? Its camera or its walkman qualities?"
"Er... now let me think" I replied.
"How about for A PHONE?!" Jeez...
Rant over. Apologies for the period of time since my last blog. Been away and tad poorly ever since.
Oh as a new addition I've added the weekly games chart below.
While waiting for your new iPhone give these a glance:
Title: Space Invaders Extreme
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Would you believe that one of the all-time classic games is now 30 years old? It’s high time for a revamp and Space Invaders Extreme delivers in almost every way.
This is a serious arcade update with real 21st century polish – those 2D aliens have now got some crazy 3D backgrounds and four cheeky power-ups take the action to a whole different level.
Plus, in pursuit of top points, chain attacks and, of course, the obligatory world No. 1 ranking thanks to the wonder of wi-fi, the competitive edge will never let up.
Those who have never played the original may want to glance back through the decades for nostalgic purposes, but Space Invaders Extreme shows the series has an exciting future.
Title: Wall: E
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action / Adventure
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
It’s summer time and Disney Pixar’s Wall: E is looking set to top the bill when it comes to animated movies.
With the world ravaged by pollution and rubbish, little Wall:E and his pall Eve are left in charge of cleaning the planet up while humans take a space-age vacation.
These two characters provide the focus for what turns out to be a pretty enjoyable platform adventure that will be loved by fans of the film.
More discerning gamers will spot the below-par graphics and audio, but may also uncover an excellent co-operative multiplayer mode. It’s decent, but nothing out of this world.
Title: Secret Agent Clank
Platform: PSP
Genre: Action
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 3/5
People have been booming around the Ratchet and Clank universe for some years now, so a little spice is required to keep the franchise fresh.
Taking cues from spy classics of the past, Secret Agent Clank presents their world with a spy themed twist, including Clank as the Galaxy’s greatest undercover agent dressed in a tuxedo.
With gadgets ranging from Cufflink Bombs to the Tie-arang and Clank-Fu, Clank’s very own style of martial arts, this is an absolute hoot.
Stealth, action, platforming and full-on fighting sequences will keep you entertained for hours, leaving your PSP shaken and stirred.
Title: Command & Conquer: Kane’s Wrath
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Command & Conquer series has been a stalwart real-time-strategy selection for PC gamers down the years but has struggled to make a real impact on consoles, mainly because of the need to revise the control system in the absence of a mouse.
Kane’s Wrath on Xbox 360 does a good job of trying to rectify that with the CommandStick, although moving round maps still feels trickier than it should.
Overall, the game is what you’d expect – action-packed strategy with that familiar C&C seal of quality – but there’s little doubt it’s still best suited to PC.
Title: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighting
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The original Ultimate Ninja Heroes did a fine job of bringing the fighting sensation to the handheld scene, and this sequel is equally spectacular, boasting the great anime graphics and sound snatched straight from the popular TV series.
Story mode sees you scrapping your way through a host of hefty challenges and the ever-popular multiplayer mode allows you to set up some of the must-see battles that fans will be salivating over.
All things considered it’s another strong entry to the Naruto series.
PSP owners would do well to lay their hands on one.
In the charts this week the top three held firm in the same place, while Wii Fit tumbled three places from four to seven.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2.Battlefield Bad Company
3.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
4.Big Beach Sports
5.Beijing 2008
6.Top Spin 3
7.Wii Fit
8.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
9.Wii Play
10.The Bourne Conspiracy
I mean seriously, I like gadgets and all but hey... it is a PHONE. Alright... it's quite a lot more than a phone but it's still a piece of communication hardware.
I have more heart and (with any luck) more charm than this 4ins by 2ins piece of kit, but on more than one occasion in the last few weeks I've been cast into the shadows.
The last time was in New York just two weeks ago. There me and a mate were hanging out at some red neck bar on the trendy Upper West Side hoping a couple of hotties would pick up on our Hugh Grant-esque accents.
Sadly it wasn't the accent, dress sense or lure of a drink that attracted them in our general direction - it was Joe's iPhone.
"Wow," one big-eyed beauty cooed at him.
"How do you keep the screen so clean. And don't you wish it could do more?
"Hey have you heard about the iPhone and what it can do?"
My opening gambit: "AHEM".
No response.
For the next 30 minutes or so I was upstaged. A modern age man outclassed by a gadget of the modern world.
Does anyone really care enough to hold half-hour-long conversations about a phone?!
"I can get online to look at Myspace or Facebook whenever I want and wherever I am..." was entered into the conversation somewhere along the line.
Who cares, I thought. With all the means and ends to contact people all over the world at any given time, does no-one yet crave the anonymity or escape?
I know I do.
Yes, I'm happy with my Eriksson. Ok, it won't give me a pinpoint GPS position on my every move allowing me to get to places easier, ok it won't allow me to flip it over and see the cute drunken picture of a random wall at a different angle, and ok it doesn't look THAT sexy and cost some extortionate amount of money, but you know what? I really don't care.
It's a phone and a phone should stay a phone as a phone is. Ok we're a generation of consumers and what we desire ultimately determines what we're offered but somewhere along the line things have gone mad.
You know O2 phoned me last week offering me an upgrade.
"So Mr Nichols, what would you like your phone for? Its camera or its walkman qualities?"
"Er... now let me think" I replied.
"How about for A PHONE?!" Jeez...
Rant over. Apologies for the period of time since my last blog. Been away and tad poorly ever since.
Oh as a new addition I've added the weekly games chart below.
While waiting for your new iPhone give these a glance:
Title: Space Invaders Extreme
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Arcade
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Would you believe that one of the all-time classic games is now 30 years old? It’s high time for a revamp and Space Invaders Extreme delivers in almost every way.
This is a serious arcade update with real 21st century polish – those 2D aliens have now got some crazy 3D backgrounds and four cheeky power-ups take the action to a whole different level.
Plus, in pursuit of top points, chain attacks and, of course, the obligatory world No. 1 ranking thanks to the wonder of wi-fi, the competitive edge will never let up.
Those who have never played the original may want to glance back through the decades for nostalgic purposes, but Space Invaders Extreme shows the series has an exciting future.
Title: Wall: E
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action / Adventure
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
It’s summer time and Disney Pixar’s Wall: E is looking set to top the bill when it comes to animated movies.
With the world ravaged by pollution and rubbish, little Wall:E and his pall Eve are left in charge of cleaning the planet up while humans take a space-age vacation.
These two characters provide the focus for what turns out to be a pretty enjoyable platform adventure that will be loved by fans of the film.
More discerning gamers will spot the below-par graphics and audio, but may also uncover an excellent co-operative multiplayer mode. It’s decent, but nothing out of this world.
Title: Secret Agent Clank
Platform: PSP
Genre: Action
Price: £24.99
Hit Count: 3/5
People have been booming around the Ratchet and Clank universe for some years now, so a little spice is required to keep the franchise fresh.
Taking cues from spy classics of the past, Secret Agent Clank presents their world with a spy themed twist, including Clank as the Galaxy’s greatest undercover agent dressed in a tuxedo.
With gadgets ranging from Cufflink Bombs to the Tie-arang and Clank-Fu, Clank’s very own style of martial arts, this is an absolute hoot.
Stealth, action, platforming and full-on fighting sequences will keep you entertained for hours, leaving your PSP shaken and stirred.
Title: Command & Conquer: Kane’s Wrath
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Command & Conquer series has been a stalwart real-time-strategy selection for PC gamers down the years but has struggled to make a real impact on consoles, mainly because of the need to revise the control system in the absence of a mouse.
Kane’s Wrath on Xbox 360 does a good job of trying to rectify that with the CommandStick, although moving round maps still feels trickier than it should.
Overall, the game is what you’d expect – action-packed strategy with that familiar C&C seal of quality – but there’s little doubt it’s still best suited to PC.
Title: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighting
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 4/5
The original Ultimate Ninja Heroes did a fine job of bringing the fighting sensation to the handheld scene, and this sequel is equally spectacular, boasting the great anime graphics and sound snatched straight from the popular TV series.
Story mode sees you scrapping your way through a host of hefty challenges and the ever-popular multiplayer mode allows you to set up some of the must-see battles that fans will be salivating over.
All things considered it’s another strong entry to the Naruto series.
PSP owners would do well to lay their hands on one.
In the charts this week the top three held firm in the same place, while Wii Fit tumbled three places from four to seven.
GAMES CHART ALL FORMATS FULL PRICE
1.Super Smash Bros. Brawl
2.Battlefield Bad Company
3.LEGO Indiana Jones: Original Adventures
4.Big Beach Sports
5.Beijing 2008
6.Top Spin 3
7.Wii Fit
8.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games
9.Wii Play
10.The Bourne Conspiracy
Thursday 29 May 2008
Facebook relieves stress - it's official!
At last... the news every office-bound worker has been waiting to hear!
A new report has found that banning workers from using the internet for personal use could actually be hitting productivity because staff need a break to help reduce stress.
A study of 1,700 employees by computer games firm PopCap Games showed that people felt refreshed if they had an 'ebreak' during the working day.
Most of those questioned said they would rather spend some free time surfing the internet to unwind rather than having a cigarette or tea break.
And I have to agree. The company pays for the internet service in any case and besides, smokers are in the minority now - and they smell.
The report said that taking five minutes off to make a cup of tea was accepted, but using social websites (such as Facebook and Myspace) was frowned upon.
Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic of London’s Goldsmiths University, who helped with the research, said: "Tea breaks and fag breaks have long been the most common types of break within office culture but the report shows that ebreaks are fast becoming the most popular choice of break for British workers.
"The report proves that a 10 minute ebreak a day can have significant benefits but, despite this, many bosses are banning them in the fear that they distract employees.
"By factoring in a dedicated slot for an ebreak bosses are fostering a more trusting working environment, boosting productivity and ultimately increasing their profit which surely makes good business sense."
In other news GTA IV is still firmly holding the No.1 spot in the gaming charts. No. 2 is the new Wii Fit title which - as I've said in previous blogs - I can't quite get my head around.
While I can appreciate, to a certain degree, women (and I guess some men for that matter) working out to an Elle Macpherson DVD, the thought of interacting with a computer game is still so so weird to me!
While I am a certified fan of the Wii (it does make for a killer night in with a bunch of people), I still can't quite get to grips with the whole image of people peering in through your lounge window and seeing you do star jumps or stretches. It's just weird!
Maybe I'm just vain or nervous. I guess people do go to the gym and work out in front of people...
Anyways, here's the best of this week's new releases:
Title: Race Driver: GRID
Platform: PS3
Genre: Racing
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Fans of racing games are often disappointed if a game proves to be either too arcade-y or too much of a plodding simulation.
Race Drive: GRID does a fantastic job of juggling both balls, offering over-the-top thrills and spills for the casual racer, coupled with an intense on-track experience that looks as good as anything on the market right now.
It may be jostling for space with the likes of Gran Turismo, Burnout and Project Gotham, but this baby qualifies pretty high up the grid, even if the car count feels a little on the low side.
Title: WSC Real: 2008 World Snooker Championship
Platform: Wii
Genre: Snooker
Price: £34.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The simulated sports keep on coming on Wii – this time the world of snooker gets the motion-sensing treatment. With 32 of the world’s greatest players on offer, you can grab a Wii Cue extension and start doing impressions of Rocket Ronnie and er... Steve Davis on your dining room table.
It handles pretty well and does give a good feeling of the real sport. Graphics handle well in 3D as you’d expect on a next-gen console, but there’s nothing really out of the ordinary here beyond the initial novelty of having another piece of plastic stuck to the Wii controller.
Title: Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis
Platform: PC
Genre: Adventure
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Step into the world of the eponymous sleuth and his assistant Dr Watson as you puzzle your way through the game to protect five of the country’s most valuable treasures.
This is a traditional point-and-click adventure that will offer up some pretty challenging logic puzzles – even for hardcore adventure fans – and it’s all presented in an engaging and carefully constructed 3D world.
It’s not going to set the world of interactive PC puzzling alight, but for fans of the character and those looking for a retreat into 19th century London, this could be a real find.
Title: PDC World Championship Darts
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Darts
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Gaming can be considered a pretty sedentary pastime, and darts has never really been known as the most physically demanding of sports either.
The two combine reasonably well here for pretty entertaining simulation of the classic pub game. It’s fairly easy to pick up but tricky to master.
Working your way through the various game modes that take a twist on traditional darts is fun enough, but the best way to see an evening shoot by is to get some mates round for multiplayer.
It gives the game more of a down-the-pub social feel – and, let’s be honest, who wants to play darts on their own?
Title: Commando: Steel Disaster
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Shoot ’em up
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
As the heroic Storm you’re out to put an end to an evil organisation called Rattlesnake in this side-scrolling shoot ’em up that reeks of the classic Metal Slug series.
You get to tackle this challenge with a range of heavy weaponry and pick-ups - each with its own attack method and power.
Games in this genre generally deliver on the button-bashing to nullify the incessant wave after wave of enemies, and Steel Disaster doesn’t disappoint, with some top boss battles to boot.
It’s a stylised shooter that requires no small measure of skill.
A new report has found that banning workers from using the internet for personal use could actually be hitting productivity because staff need a break to help reduce stress.
A study of 1,700 employees by computer games firm PopCap Games showed that people felt refreshed if they had an 'ebreak' during the working day.
Most of those questioned said they would rather spend some free time surfing the internet to unwind rather than having a cigarette or tea break.
And I have to agree. The company pays for the internet service in any case and besides, smokers are in the minority now - and they smell.
The report said that taking five minutes off to make a cup of tea was accepted, but using social websites (such as Facebook and Myspace) was frowned upon.
Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic of London’s Goldsmiths University, who helped with the research, said: "Tea breaks and fag breaks have long been the most common types of break within office culture but the report shows that ebreaks are fast becoming the most popular choice of break for British workers.
"The report proves that a 10 minute ebreak a day can have significant benefits but, despite this, many bosses are banning them in the fear that they distract employees.
"By factoring in a dedicated slot for an ebreak bosses are fostering a more trusting working environment, boosting productivity and ultimately increasing their profit which surely makes good business sense."
In other news GTA IV is still firmly holding the No.1 spot in the gaming charts. No. 2 is the new Wii Fit title which - as I've said in previous blogs - I can't quite get my head around.
While I can appreciate, to a certain degree, women (and I guess some men for that matter) working out to an Elle Macpherson DVD, the thought of interacting with a computer game is still so so weird to me!
While I am a certified fan of the Wii (it does make for a killer night in with a bunch of people), I still can't quite get to grips with the whole image of people peering in through your lounge window and seeing you do star jumps or stretches. It's just weird!
Maybe I'm just vain or nervous. I guess people do go to the gym and work out in front of people...
Anyways, here's the best of this week's new releases:
Title: Race Driver: GRID
Platform: PS3
Genre: Racing
Price: £49.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Fans of racing games are often disappointed if a game proves to be either too arcade-y or too much of a plodding simulation.
Race Drive: GRID does a fantastic job of juggling both balls, offering over-the-top thrills and spills for the casual racer, coupled with an intense on-track experience that looks as good as anything on the market right now.
It may be jostling for space with the likes of Gran Turismo, Burnout and Project Gotham, but this baby qualifies pretty high up the grid, even if the car count feels a little on the low side.
Title: WSC Real: 2008 World Snooker Championship
Platform: Wii
Genre: Snooker
Price: £34.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The simulated sports keep on coming on Wii – this time the world of snooker gets the motion-sensing treatment. With 32 of the world’s greatest players on offer, you can grab a Wii Cue extension and start doing impressions of Rocket Ronnie and er... Steve Davis on your dining room table.
It handles pretty well and does give a good feeling of the real sport. Graphics handle well in 3D as you’d expect on a next-gen console, but there’s nothing really out of the ordinary here beyond the initial novelty of having another piece of plastic stuck to the Wii controller.
Title: Sherlock Holmes: Nemesis
Platform: PC
Genre: Adventure
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Step into the world of the eponymous sleuth and his assistant Dr Watson as you puzzle your way through the game to protect five of the country’s most valuable treasures.
This is a traditional point-and-click adventure that will offer up some pretty challenging logic puzzles – even for hardcore adventure fans – and it’s all presented in an engaging and carefully constructed 3D world.
It’s not going to set the world of interactive PC puzzling alight, but for fans of the character and those looking for a retreat into 19th century London, this could be a real find.
Title: PDC World Championship Darts
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Darts
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Gaming can be considered a pretty sedentary pastime, and darts has never really been known as the most physically demanding of sports either.
The two combine reasonably well here for pretty entertaining simulation of the classic pub game. It’s fairly easy to pick up but tricky to master.
Working your way through the various game modes that take a twist on traditional darts is fun enough, but the best way to see an evening shoot by is to get some mates round for multiplayer.
It gives the game more of a down-the-pub social feel – and, let’s be honest, who wants to play darts on their own?
Title: Commando: Steel Disaster
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Shoot ’em up
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 3/5
As the heroic Storm you’re out to put an end to an evil organisation called Rattlesnake in this side-scrolling shoot ’em up that reeks of the classic Metal Slug series.
You get to tackle this challenge with a range of heavy weaponry and pick-ups - each with its own attack method and power.
Games in this genre generally deliver on the button-bashing to nullify the incessant wave after wave of enemies, and Steel Disaster doesn’t disappoint, with some top boss battles to boot.
It’s a stylised shooter that requires no small measure of skill.
Tuesday 20 May 2008
(Web) surfing versus sailing
Now this may come as a shock to some but not really to many, I don't really have much of an interest in sailing.
Ok, I hold the post of Maritime Reporter (and in the past yachting types have laughed at the fact I can list my sailing experience on the back of a postage stamp) but it's not really my bag.
For me it's too involved. There's too much to do, hoisting sails, twisting this and turning that... I'd much rather be in the water (surfing) than on it (sailing).
With that in mind a website dedicated to sailing would have to be pretty special to tempt my gaze. So ladies and gentlemen... let me introduce you to the Artemis Transat's fab website www.theartemistransat.com.
The site's developers have gone all out to create something which will be appealing to the masses and not just the sailing enthusiast.
As well as race news updated throughout each and every day, the site provides breakdowns of all the teams competing in the race (which started in Plymouth on May 11), as well as pictures and videos from the skippers.
However, by far the most appealing are the two live race tracker features which allow visitors to pinpoint exactly where each competitor is, how far they have travelled, how far they have to go, the speed of which they are travelling, and the route they have taken.
You can also zoom in and out to show the distance between the competitiors on a map of the Atlantic.
It really is fascinating and provides a unique overview of the race.
Sadly which ever way you look at it the French are still likely to beat the Brits but hey, you can't have everything can you?!
When you consider Sir Francis Chichester's Atlantic crossing in 1960 with little or no technology, and no means by his followers to contact or pinpoint him, the technology is simply staggering.
Another website worth looking at is The Biographicon (www.biographicon.com).
Unlike Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com), which insists that featured people must reach a certain level of fame before they can be included, the Biographicon isn’t fussy. It's a web site for biographies of anyone and everyone.
Anyone can write a bio about anyone else – or about themselves. The site is based on wiki software, which means anyone can edit it. Go on, add yourselves!
In the meantime here's the best of the week's releases:
Title: Boom Blox
Platform: Wii
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It’s a pretty rare thing for Oscar-winning film directors to get involved in console games, but Steven Spielberg has obviously got some new interests beyond the movies.
If this is anything to go by, let’s hope there’s more in the tank!
Building on the premise that everyone loves to build things up and knock them down again, Boom Blox offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player, co-op, and head-to-head gameplay.
Through brain-twisting challenges and the ability to virtually build anything you can dream up, it’s just the kind of creative title the Wii was made for.
Title: Dragon Quest Swords
Platform: Wii
Genre: RPG
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Dragon Quest series has always been great at thowing gamers headlong into an interactive adventures that get the pulse racing, and Swords contains a familiar line-up of mad monsters to hack your way through, using the Wii remote as your own personal sword.
Additional mini-games add to the fun as you do things like catching darts with your shield and time-attacks on slime monsters in order to win bonus items and weapon power-ups.
A good-looking, solid RPG title to keep you entertained.
Title: Universe At War: Earth Assault
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £44.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Real-time strategy titles have often best performed on PC, simply because they lend themselves best to traditional mouse and keyboard.
Universe At War blows that theory out of the water with an excellent sortie onto the futuristic battlefield to tackle the single player scenarios set before you and the myriad of multiplayer options for those ready to take the battle online.
It looks great, plays even better, and really should be high on your list of games to try if PC-battling was once your thing before consoles came along!
Title: Chessmaster: The Art of Learning
Platform: PSP
Genre: Chess
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Chess is never going to be the most adrenalin-charged gaming experience, but for fans of the classic board game, the opportunity to hone their skills on PSP is likely to raise an eyebrow.
It’s a pretty sterile effort, devoid of any personality, but it certainly offers an insight into chess through 24 lessons brought to you by an incredibly dour man on-screen.
Once you’ve battled your wits through the 34 computer challengers on offer, you can take on a friend who also owns the game, although you may be all chessed out by then.
Title: Jackass: The Game
Platform: Action
Genre: Humour
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 2/5
They may be getting older but the Jackass crew are still letting alligators nibble at their privates and throwing themselves into holly bushes in the buff.
So why not do more of the same on the Nintendo DS?
I’ll tell you why not: because this is an unbelievably contrived money-making effort with boring and unrealistic stunts that only bears a resemblance to the TV series because of the branding.
It’s nowhere near as funny, outlandish or controversial – it’s just rubbish, and buying this game is where the only wince-inducing pain will arise.
Ok, I hold the post of Maritime Reporter (and in the past yachting types have laughed at the fact I can list my sailing experience on the back of a postage stamp) but it's not really my bag.
For me it's too involved. There's too much to do, hoisting sails, twisting this and turning that... I'd much rather be in the water (surfing) than on it (sailing).
With that in mind a website dedicated to sailing would have to be pretty special to tempt my gaze. So ladies and gentlemen... let me introduce you to the Artemis Transat's fab website www.theartemistransat.com.
The site's developers have gone all out to create something which will be appealing to the masses and not just the sailing enthusiast.
As well as race news updated throughout each and every day, the site provides breakdowns of all the teams competing in the race (which started in Plymouth on May 11), as well as pictures and videos from the skippers.
However, by far the most appealing are the two live race tracker features which allow visitors to pinpoint exactly where each competitor is, how far they have travelled, how far they have to go, the speed of which they are travelling, and the route they have taken.
You can also zoom in and out to show the distance between the competitiors on a map of the Atlantic.
It really is fascinating and provides a unique overview of the race.
Sadly which ever way you look at it the French are still likely to beat the Brits but hey, you can't have everything can you?!
When you consider Sir Francis Chichester's Atlantic crossing in 1960 with little or no technology, and no means by his followers to contact or pinpoint him, the technology is simply staggering.
Another website worth looking at is The Biographicon (www.biographicon.com).
Unlike Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.com), which insists that featured people must reach a certain level of fame before they can be included, the Biographicon isn’t fussy. It's a web site for biographies of anyone and everyone.
Anyone can write a bio about anyone else – or about themselves. The site is based on wiki software, which means anyone can edit it. Go on, add yourselves!
In the meantime here's the best of the week's releases:
Title: Boom Blox
Platform: Wii
Genre: Puzzle
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 4/5
It’s a pretty rare thing for Oscar-winning film directors to get involved in console games, but Steven Spielberg has obviously got some new interests beyond the movies.
If this is anything to go by, let’s hope there’s more in the tank!
Building on the premise that everyone loves to build things up and knock them down again, Boom Blox offers action-packed interactive activities that takes Wii play to a new level of creativity and fun with single player, co-op, and head-to-head gameplay.
Through brain-twisting challenges and the ability to virtually build anything you can dream up, it’s just the kind of creative title the Wii was made for.
Title: Dragon Quest Swords
Platform: Wii
Genre: RPG
Price: £39.99
Hit Count: 3/5
The Dragon Quest series has always been great at thowing gamers headlong into an interactive adventures that get the pulse racing, and Swords contains a familiar line-up of mad monsters to hack your way through, using the Wii remote as your own personal sword.
Additional mini-games add to the fun as you do things like catching darts with your shield and time-attacks on slime monsters in order to win bonus items and weapon power-ups.
A good-looking, solid RPG title to keep you entertained.
Title: Universe At War: Earth Assault
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Strategy
Price: £44.99
Hit Count: 4/5
Real-time strategy titles have often best performed on PC, simply because they lend themselves best to traditional mouse and keyboard.
Universe At War blows that theory out of the water with an excellent sortie onto the futuristic battlefield to tackle the single player scenarios set before you and the myriad of multiplayer options for those ready to take the battle online.
It looks great, plays even better, and really should be high on your list of games to try if PC-battling was once your thing before consoles came along!
Title: Chessmaster: The Art of Learning
Platform: PSP
Genre: Chess
Price: £19.99
Hit Count: 3/5
Chess is never going to be the most adrenalin-charged gaming experience, but for fans of the classic board game, the opportunity to hone their skills on PSP is likely to raise an eyebrow.
It’s a pretty sterile effort, devoid of any personality, but it certainly offers an insight into chess through 24 lessons brought to you by an incredibly dour man on-screen.
Once you’ve battled your wits through the 34 computer challengers on offer, you can take on a friend who also owns the game, although you may be all chessed out by then.
Title: Jackass: The Game
Platform: Action
Genre: Humour
Price: £29.99
Hit Count: 2/5
They may be getting older but the Jackass crew are still letting alligators nibble at their privates and throwing themselves into holly bushes in the buff.
So why not do more of the same on the Nintendo DS?
I’ll tell you why not: because this is an unbelievably contrived money-making effort with boring and unrealistic stunts that only bears a resemblance to the TV series because of the branding.
It’s nowhere near as funny, outlandish or controversial – it’s just rubbish, and buying this game is where the only wince-inducing pain will arise.
Thursday 1 May 2008
Grand Theft Auto IV (do you need a better headline?!)
News just in... Grand Theft Auto IV has broken all previous records selling an estimated 609,000 copies since release on Tuesday.
While I don't really care too much about how many copies have been flogged, I do care about the fact I haven't been able to find a single copy!
I awoke on my day off on Wednesday with one task in mind for an otherwise wasteful mid-week day - buy a copy of GTA IV and do some serious sofa time.
The idea and enthusiasm was there... but sadly I was one of the many who were left disappointed.
First stop was Tesco at Roborough (because those Clubcard vouchers must be good for something other than a food shop).
Result? - sold out.
"We were sold out by lunchtime on Tuesday," one friendly member of staff told me.
"Tesco stores across the country have had to order more due to demand."
Ok, game on...
Game in the city centre. Result - sold out.
Zavvi: result - sold out.
By this time I had given up and returned home. Gutted. But at least my day was eventful - and I got out of the house.
And luckily a mate of mine managed to beat the queues and get in there and bag a copy on the Xbox 360. His verdict - absolutely awesome! (see his review below)
GTA may get a lot of grief for its make-up and brutal play but hey, how can so many people be so wrong?
It's fun (hilarious in parts), graphically superior and probably the most addictive thing ever invented.
So here I am, two days later still trying to find time to escape the office and get a copy.
Best bet is the web where you will find it cheaper if you can afford the wait.
In the meantime why not download some free music over the Bank Holiday Weekend?
A radio network is planning to give away the music it plays on air this Bank Holiday Monday free for listeners to download.
In what they claim is a first, GMG Radio’s network of Real and Century stations are set to go 'radio ga-ga' on May 5, with their Free Music Mayday.
The network of stations is one of several using Cliq, a mobile phone application which allows people to instantly buy music by pressing a button on the handset – even if they don’t know the name of the song.
Users normally credit their account online and tracks cost £1.25 to download.
But from midnight on Sunday May 4, Real and Century listeners across the five stations in the UK will be able to own any songs playing until midnight the following day.
They will be sent straight to their computers to be added to their playlist without charge.
So, sorry to rub salt in the wound if you haven't got a copy yet, but here's what you're missing.
Title: Grand Theft Auto IV
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 5/5
It’s no understatement to say that GTA IV is the most eagerly anticipated title that the gaming world has ever seen.
There’s no way you can sum up the amount of laugh-out-loud moments, adrenalin-fuelled car chases, ear-splitting shootouts and other jaw-dropping stand-out experiences that come bundled into the return to a living, breathing Liberty City.
Everything about GTA IV oozes class and that all-important attention to detail and there are few people – Mary Whitehouse characters aside – that can dispute this is the greatest videogame of all-time. Enjoy.
Title: Turok
Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Price: £24.99
Hit count: 3/5
Hunting dinosaurs hasn’t been high on the gaming agenda for a while, but it returns to PC with an assault on the first-person-shooter senses, giving gamers carte blanche to go on an all-out attack on the human and prehistoric enemies that lie in wait.
No shortage of fabulous weaponry and killing moves breathe new life into the well-worn genre, but slightly grubby graphics take the tarnish off what is an otherwise, if a little linear, solid shooter.
Rip off your shirt, paint your face, and go seriously native!
Title: Iron Man
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 3/5
Robert Downey Junior has reprised the role of the classic comic character for the latest big-budget superhero movie and here, in this third-person action shooter, you’re thrown into stories from the original Iron Man comic books and given an array of high-impact weapons to annihilate any enemy force standing in your way.
It’s an entertaining attempt to give movie tie-ins a good name and will keep the comic fans pretty happy, but overall Iron Man doesn’t deliver anything to the action genre that we haven’t seen many times before.
Title: My Riding Stables
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Horses
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
In an attempt to provide some kind of cosmic balance to the gaming world, titles like My Riding Stables take players as far away as they could possibly be from Liberty City, the home of Grand Theft Auto.
Forget the guns and get ahead as a stable hand, raising sweet little foals and taking excellent care of your guests.
Give outstanding riding lessons and prepare your horses and students perfectly, so that they become the riding stars of the future.
If you’re already snoozing, you’ll know this isn’t for you, but gamers too young for GTA may see things differently!
Title: Undercover: Dual Motives
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Adventure
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
It’s just the kind of point and click adventure packed with puzzles and mini-games that DS gamers have been crying out for, and were probably expecting to have buckets to choose from when the system was announced.
As a prequel to PC title Undercover: Operation Wintersun, you take British scientist Dr. John Russell on a wild chase for a German nuclear bomb in the middle of the Second World War.
It’s classic adventure gaming style, with one particular game requiring you to blow into the DS microphone to fire weapons!
Good, inventive adventure gaming that the DS should do much more often.
While I don't really care too much about how many copies have been flogged, I do care about the fact I haven't been able to find a single copy!
I awoke on my day off on Wednesday with one task in mind for an otherwise wasteful mid-week day - buy a copy of GTA IV and do some serious sofa time.
The idea and enthusiasm was there... but sadly I was one of the many who were left disappointed.
First stop was Tesco at Roborough (because those Clubcard vouchers must be good for something other than a food shop).
Result? - sold out.
"We were sold out by lunchtime on Tuesday," one friendly member of staff told me.
"Tesco stores across the country have had to order more due to demand."
Ok, game on...
Game in the city centre. Result - sold out.
Zavvi: result - sold out.
By this time I had given up and returned home. Gutted. But at least my day was eventful - and I got out of the house.
And luckily a mate of mine managed to beat the queues and get in there and bag a copy on the Xbox 360. His verdict - absolutely awesome! (see his review below)
GTA may get a lot of grief for its make-up and brutal play but hey, how can so many people be so wrong?
It's fun (hilarious in parts), graphically superior and probably the most addictive thing ever invented.
So here I am, two days later still trying to find time to escape the office and get a copy.
Best bet is the web where you will find it cheaper if you can afford the wait.
In the meantime why not download some free music over the Bank Holiday Weekend?
A radio network is planning to give away the music it plays on air this Bank Holiday Monday free for listeners to download.
In what they claim is a first, GMG Radio’s network of Real and Century stations are set to go 'radio ga-ga' on May 5, with their Free Music Mayday.
The network of stations is one of several using Cliq, a mobile phone application which allows people to instantly buy music by pressing a button on the handset – even if they don’t know the name of the song.
Users normally credit their account online and tracks cost £1.25 to download.
But from midnight on Sunday May 4, Real and Century listeners across the five stations in the UK will be able to own any songs playing until midnight the following day.
They will be sent straight to their computers to be added to their playlist without charge.
So, sorry to rub salt in the wound if you haven't got a copy yet, but here's what you're missing.
Title: Grand Theft Auto IV
Platform: Xbox 360
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 5/5
It’s no understatement to say that GTA IV is the most eagerly anticipated title that the gaming world has ever seen.
There’s no way you can sum up the amount of laugh-out-loud moments, adrenalin-fuelled car chases, ear-splitting shootouts and other jaw-dropping stand-out experiences that come bundled into the return to a living, breathing Liberty City.
Everything about GTA IV oozes class and that all-important attention to detail and there are few people – Mary Whitehouse characters aside – that can dispute this is the greatest videogame of all-time. Enjoy.
Title: Turok
Platform: PC
Genre: Shooter
Price: £24.99
Hit count: 3/5
Hunting dinosaurs hasn’t been high on the gaming agenda for a while, but it returns to PC with an assault on the first-person-shooter senses, giving gamers carte blanche to go on an all-out attack on the human and prehistoric enemies that lie in wait.
No shortage of fabulous weaponry and killing moves breathe new life into the well-worn genre, but slightly grubby graphics take the tarnish off what is an otherwise, if a little linear, solid shooter.
Rip off your shirt, paint your face, and go seriously native!
Title: Iron Man
Platform: PS3
Genre: Action
Price: £49.99
Hit count: 3/5
Robert Downey Junior has reprised the role of the classic comic character for the latest big-budget superhero movie and here, in this third-person action shooter, you’re thrown into stories from the original Iron Man comic books and given an array of high-impact weapons to annihilate any enemy force standing in your way.
It’s an entertaining attempt to give movie tie-ins a good name and will keep the comic fans pretty happy, but overall Iron Man doesn’t deliver anything to the action genre that we haven’t seen many times before.
Title: My Riding Stables
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Horses
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
In an attempt to provide some kind of cosmic balance to the gaming world, titles like My Riding Stables take players as far away as they could possibly be from Liberty City, the home of Grand Theft Auto.
Forget the guns and get ahead as a stable hand, raising sweet little foals and taking excellent care of your guests.
Give outstanding riding lessons and prepare your horses and students perfectly, so that they become the riding stars of the future.
If you’re already snoozing, you’ll know this isn’t for you, but gamers too young for GTA may see things differently!
Title: Undercover: Dual Motives
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Adventure
Price: £29.99
Hit count: 3/5
It’s just the kind of point and click adventure packed with puzzles and mini-games that DS gamers have been crying out for, and were probably expecting to have buckets to choose from when the system was announced.
As a prequel to PC title Undercover: Operation Wintersun, you take British scientist Dr. John Russell on a wild chase for a German nuclear bomb in the middle of the Second World War.
It’s classic adventure gaming style, with one particular game requiring you to blow into the DS microphone to fire weapons!
Good, inventive adventure gaming that the DS should do much more often.
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