This doesn't need much in the way of an explanation... just thought I'd dump a few shots on here of some classic game scenes.
First up... Outrun, taken from the Megadrive version.
Monday, 23 February 2015
Magical Screenshot Shower
This doesn't need much in the way of an explanation... just thought I'd dump a few shots on here of some classic game scenes.
First up... Outrun, taken from the Megadrive version.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
A Different Perspective
Some games I've owned over the years have been played to death. Whether it is playing Golden Axe or Streets of Rage so many times that I practically know where the enemies are going to appear from, or driving the roads of Outrun 2 until the scenery itself doesn't amaze any more, it can get to a point where you start looking for challenges.
For driving games there is the Time Trial mode - an easy side step that is great for beating your own time and a chance to see how you stack up vs the world with online leaderboards.
For the likes of Streets of Rage, maybe try to see how far I get with only one life? Maybe put it on hardest difficulty too?
But maybe the answer is more subtle than self made mini challenges. Is there a way of giving the existing main part of the games a new lease of life?
A game like Spelunky is an interesting concept. A game that is different every time, with randomly generated level layout and content. That's fine, but I've always thought that a lot of the magic of games is that you CAN master them if you choose so you DO know every corner or wave of enemies off by heart.
Strangely enough, it was playing FIFA 13 that made me think most. I play a lot of FIFA, but even when playing online there is a big element of boredom. Its why the annual updates are welcomed with open arms - its very easy to get stuck in patterns of play, and the new game that rolls over the hill every August brings a freshness (albeit only slight, in reality).
On a football game, or most sports games maybe, its easier to get to this point, because its too easy to stick with what works reasonably well, as opposed to getting inspiration to do things better and differently each time. This is different to, say, a 1-on-1 fighting game as you learn quickly to try different things for different enemies if you keep getting battered.
So it came down to one simple yet major change - the camera angle.
Just changing the camera angle from the default 'Tele' setting that defines the FIFA standard, year-in year-out, to a zoomed in Dynamic setting makes a world of difference.
It becomes a new game. Goals become more satisfying, its closer in, more defined in colour & detail, more real. Its the same old game that can be played in the same kind of way - but now its had a wash, a beer & a shave of its balls and is ready to go again.
In essence, this is the case for a few other game types. Changing the camera from a classic chase to in-car or on-bonnet viewpoint on any driving game makes you learn a whole new way of driving - but its still the same courses & tracks.
Also makes me wonder and remember back to when DVD's used to boast about films that have been shot in different camera angles, and how you could choose from each one. It never really took off. And besides - a film directed in a particular way with particular camera angles builds its character - like anything from John Woo or Tarantino.
But would there be a benefit for any particular action film to be watched at a different set of camera angles? Would it give the film a fresh ball shave too??
For driving games there is the Time Trial mode - an easy side step that is great for beating your own time and a chance to see how you stack up vs the world with online leaderboards.
For the likes of Streets of Rage, maybe try to see how far I get with only one life? Maybe put it on hardest difficulty too?
But maybe the answer is more subtle than self made mini challenges. Is there a way of giving the existing main part of the games a new lease of life?
A game like Spelunky is an interesting concept. A game that is different every time, with randomly generated level layout and content. That's fine, but I've always thought that a lot of the magic of games is that you CAN master them if you choose so you DO know every corner or wave of enemies off by heart.
Strangely enough, it was playing FIFA 13 that made me think most. I play a lot of FIFA, but even when playing online there is a big element of boredom. Its why the annual updates are welcomed with open arms - its very easy to get stuck in patterns of play, and the new game that rolls over the hill every August brings a freshness (albeit only slight, in reality).
On a football game, or most sports games maybe, its easier to get to this point, because its too easy to stick with what works reasonably well, as opposed to getting inspiration to do things better and differently each time. This is different to, say, a 1-on-1 fighting game as you learn quickly to try different things for different enemies if you keep getting battered.
So it came down to one simple yet major change - the camera angle.
Just changing the camera angle from the default 'Tele' setting that defines the FIFA standard, year-in year-out, to a zoomed in Dynamic setting makes a world of difference.
It becomes a new game. Goals become more satisfying, its closer in, more defined in colour & detail, more real. Its the same old game that can be played in the same kind of way - but now its had a wash, a beer & a shave of its balls and is ready to go again.
In essence, this is the case for a few other game types. Changing the camera from a classic chase to in-car or on-bonnet viewpoint on any driving game makes you learn a whole new way of driving - but its still the same courses & tracks.
Also makes me wonder and remember back to when DVD's used to boast about films that have been shot in different camera angles, and how you could choose from each one. It never really took off. And besides - a film directed in a particular way with particular camera angles builds its character - like anything from John Woo or Tarantino.
But would there be a benefit for any particular action film to be watched at a different set of camera angles? Would it give the film a fresh ball shave too??
Tuesday, 11 September 2012
Time And Time Again
I love the film Groundhog Day.
The whole concept of being able to repeat a day, or a moment in time over and over again, learning and tweaking your actions and behaviour to get better and better, or wiser and wiser each time, is something that fascinates me.
I think the way that Phil Connors (Bill Murray) uses the time he has to meticulously tailor the situation to get to the end result he wants is absorbing and hugely satisfying to watch. The way he knows what is going to happen though experience and learning is comical and expertly done by the directors.
But equally, I find the way that he also uses the time to do the bizarre things, the ridiculous things, the dangerous things, morbid things and the positively evil things is where the magic of Groundhog Day shows itself - summing up what the human mind can do when there are no real consequences. Bill Murray isn't my favourite actor, but in this film he is perfection.
I watched another film, Source Code, this week. Although not a comedy, it has a lot in common with Groundhog Day with the theme of exploiting time shifts, and again I really loved it.
And although Source Code shows the character going 'off topic' (or off mission in this case) and using the opportunity to do something different, the crux of the film is about learning from mistakes & rashness, taking more advantage of time, building progress bit-by-bit to finally change the outcome of the future for the better.
And, as a bonus, Michelle Monaghan in Source Code is significantly fitter than Andie MacDowell !
Shortly after watching Source Code, it then struck me - these films are just like videogames.
Whether a platformer like Mario, ESWAT or Super Meat Boy, a scrolling fighter like Double Dragon or Streets of Rage, a shooter like R-Type or Afterburner Climax, driving games like Stuntman or maybe an action/adventure game like Dark Souls or Call of Duty, a whole host of games are based on patterns of play, on learning based progression - getting better and better through knowing what is going to happen - before it happens. I remember playing Virtua Cop so much that I knew exactly where each of the enemies was going to come from - but it made thing no less fun.
But this is combined with the similarities to open world adventures like Shenmue, GTA4 or Fallout 3 where the joys of experimenting interfere playfully with your main focus. Is it really the best use of time to play on an Outrun arcade machine for hours when you should be hunting down the killer or your father??? No, but when there isn't really an consequence, who cares!
The whole concept of being able to repeat a day, or a moment in time over and over again, learning and tweaking your actions and behaviour to get better and better, or wiser and wiser each time, is something that fascinates me.
I think the way that Phil Connors (Bill Murray) uses the time he has to meticulously tailor the situation to get to the end result he wants is absorbing and hugely satisfying to watch. The way he knows what is going to happen though experience and learning is comical and expertly done by the directors.
But equally, I find the way that he also uses the time to do the bizarre things, the ridiculous things, the dangerous things, morbid things and the positively evil things is where the magic of Groundhog Day shows itself - summing up what the human mind can do when there are no real consequences. Bill Murray isn't my favourite actor, but in this film he is perfection.
I watched another film, Source Code, this week. Although not a comedy, it has a lot in common with Groundhog Day with the theme of exploiting time shifts, and again I really loved it.
And although Source Code shows the character going 'off topic' (or off mission in this case) and using the opportunity to do something different, the crux of the film is about learning from mistakes & rashness, taking more advantage of time, building progress bit-by-bit to finally change the outcome of the future for the better.
And, as a bonus, Michelle Monaghan in Source Code is significantly fitter than Andie MacDowell !
Shortly after watching Source Code, it then struck me - these films are just like videogames.
Whether a platformer like Mario, ESWAT or Super Meat Boy, a scrolling fighter like Double Dragon or Streets of Rage, a shooter like R-Type or Afterburner Climax, driving games like Stuntman or maybe an action/adventure game like Dark Souls or Call of Duty, a whole host of games are based on patterns of play, on learning based progression - getting better and better through knowing what is going to happen - before it happens. I remember playing Virtua Cop so much that I knew exactly where each of the enemies was going to come from - but it made thing no less fun.
But this is combined with the similarities to open world adventures like Shenmue, GTA4 or Fallout 3 where the joys of experimenting interfere playfully with your main focus. Is it really the best use of time to play on an Outrun arcade machine for hours when you should be hunting down the killer or your father??? No, but when there isn't really an consequence, who cares!
Friday, 15 June 2012
Bang Bang, She Shot Me Down
Such a long time since I posted on here... all the way back in January. But behold, a reason to write once more - the launch of Bang Bang Racing on XBLA has got me interested again!
You'll see from a couple of posts down that I was quite looking forward to this game's arrival. I'm a huge fan of top-down racers - some of my fondest memories are from playing the likes of Super Off Road & Super Sprint on the Spectrum or Micro Machines (plus sequels!) & Super Skidmarks on the Megadrive. I also loved playing a lesser known game called Indy Heat on the Amiga that my cousin owned, which fascinated me with its wonderful tracks, settings, colour and staggering detail. It is this detail that is behind the reasons I have also quickly fallen in love with Bang Bang Racing. Check out the intricate detail on this track below from Indy Heat and compare to the one from BBR - I'm convinced the developers of BBR were inspired by Indy Heat - look at the pit lanes, the bridges & buildings, the crowd stands - even an ambulance on stand-by on both!
The game looks superb, with its crisp, smooth action and pastel shades reminiscent of Sega's blue skies of Outrun & Sonic. Little touches look great, such as tyre marks are left on the track when skidding, the way the cars burst into flames after taking too much damage, even setting alight an oil slick if driven over while ablaze.
This is all very well, but it also delivers with the different driving mechanics of the 4 classes of cars available in the game - forging a path between arcade simplicity and genuine skill, much in the same way as the greats like Super Mario Kart & F-Zero do so well.
The game starts you off with the N-Dura class of muscle cars - solid and safe to handle but without a lot of thrills and virtually impossible to powerslide round corners. The game's well designed tracks and race formats (standard race, time trials & eliminators) are slowly introduced and unlocked (including the Daytona & Indy 500-inspired Layton Raceway oval!) and you begin to start learning the track layouts. Learning the tracks is vitally important in Bang Bang Racing, not least because while the "Fixed" camera viewpoint of the racing is generally OK, visibility of the track in front of you can be poor at times, most often when racing 'down' the screen at speed. Knowledge of where the corners are and the best route through them helps a lot. There is an option to choose the "Follow" cam, which places the viewpoint above and behind the car at all times, but for me it brought its own trouble of making me feel ill and disorientated and, frankly, takes away some of the magic of it being a top-down racer.
Quite how the track visibility reduces even further in multiplayer affects things I don't know, but credit to the developers for remembering that some people do occasionally still want to gather round the telly to play together on local multiplayer. (Why has this disappeared from the world????!!) I've always felt that online multiplayer isn't the be-all-and-end-all, although in fairness it would have been a good addition so does unfortunately feel missed by its absence.
However, the fun really starts with the introduction of the Evo & Protech classes of car, which take the speed of the action up significant notches but also open up Bang Bang Racing to be a game not just to play in patches, but to master. These cars can be flung around corners at speed and powersliding becomes a real joy. Taking a Monaco-style hairpin bend at full speed to take the lead on the final lap can be hugely satisfying - and all of a sudden this twee-little arcade racer becomes something you want to really play around with. Its depth of handling for a top down racer is impressive and brings a smile. Shaving fractions off your best lap times becomes important, finishing first on all tracks and races (then repeating it on Hard difficulty) becomes an obsession. Even the slightly suspect (but true to retro!) rubber banding of the AI racers is easily overlooked as you strive to perfect each corner to ensure a win. Leading a race only to misjudge the final corner and see victory snatched away is INFURIATING yet really dramatic, and because the races are fairly snappy affairs with lap times ranging from 10 seconds to half a minute it certainly never feels like a chore to repeat the races.
The final class of car, Apex, which are essentially F1 style, flings the game into another dimension, with speed cranked up to overdrive but handling reverting to precision. Nitro timing is key, powersliding is far less important nor possible and corners need to be taken accurately. Races become a pants-wetting, edge-of-your-seat, blast of panic as you fling the little rocket of a car round the tracks with little or no room for error. Track knowledge, already built up, is paramount - and by the time the big Layton Raceway finale comes around to win the championship you feel like an exhausted yet refined driver of these little toy-esque cars.
I think that this is the biggest compliment to Bang Bang Racing - while very much an arcade game, the way the game is paced through the Career mode and the way each car class requires different driving skill to succeed in my opinion lifts BBR from just another top down racer to sit proudly as a modern classic in its genre. We've been starved of a decent top-down racer for decades - for that reason I'm going to declare it a massive success and I urge anyone reading this to at least give the demo trial a shot and relive the joys of retro arcade racing!!
You'll see from a couple of posts down that I was quite looking forward to this game's arrival. I'm a huge fan of top-down racers - some of my fondest memories are from playing the likes of Super Off Road & Super Sprint on the Spectrum or Micro Machines (plus sequels!) & Super Skidmarks on the Megadrive. I also loved playing a lesser known game called Indy Heat on the Amiga that my cousin owned, which fascinated me with its wonderful tracks, settings, colour and staggering detail. It is this detail that is behind the reasons I have also quickly fallen in love with Bang Bang Racing. Check out the intricate detail on this track below from Indy Heat and compare to the one from BBR - I'm convinced the developers of BBR were inspired by Indy Heat - look at the pit lanes, the bridges & buildings, the crowd stands - even an ambulance on stand-by on both!
The game looks superb, with its crisp, smooth action and pastel shades reminiscent of Sega's blue skies of Outrun & Sonic. Little touches look great, such as tyre marks are left on the track when skidding, the way the cars burst into flames after taking too much damage, even setting alight an oil slick if driven over while ablaze.
This is all very well, but it also delivers with the different driving mechanics of the 4 classes of cars available in the game - forging a path between arcade simplicity and genuine skill, much in the same way as the greats like Super Mario Kart & F-Zero do so well.
The game starts you off with the N-Dura class of muscle cars - solid and safe to handle but without a lot of thrills and virtually impossible to powerslide round corners. The game's well designed tracks and race formats (standard race, time trials & eliminators) are slowly introduced and unlocked (including the Daytona & Indy 500-inspired Layton Raceway oval!) and you begin to start learning the track layouts. Learning the tracks is vitally important in Bang Bang Racing, not least because while the "Fixed" camera viewpoint of the racing is generally OK, visibility of the track in front of you can be poor at times, most often when racing 'down' the screen at speed. Knowledge of where the corners are and the best route through them helps a lot. There is an option to choose the "Follow" cam, which places the viewpoint above and behind the car at all times, but for me it brought its own trouble of making me feel ill and disorientated and, frankly, takes away some of the magic of it being a top-down racer.
Quite how the track visibility reduces even further in multiplayer affects things I don't know, but credit to the developers for remembering that some people do occasionally still want to gather round the telly to play together on local multiplayer. (Why has this disappeared from the world????!!) I've always felt that online multiplayer isn't the be-all-and-end-all, although in fairness it would have been a good addition so does unfortunately feel missed by its absence.
However, the fun really starts with the introduction of the Evo & Protech classes of car, which take the speed of the action up significant notches but also open up Bang Bang Racing to be a game not just to play in patches, but to master. These cars can be flung around corners at speed and powersliding becomes a real joy. Taking a Monaco-style hairpin bend at full speed to take the lead on the final lap can be hugely satisfying - and all of a sudden this twee-little arcade racer becomes something you want to really play around with. Its depth of handling for a top down racer is impressive and brings a smile. Shaving fractions off your best lap times becomes important, finishing first on all tracks and races (then repeating it on Hard difficulty) becomes an obsession. Even the slightly suspect (but true to retro!) rubber banding of the AI racers is easily overlooked as you strive to perfect each corner to ensure a win. Leading a race only to misjudge the final corner and see victory snatched away is INFURIATING yet really dramatic, and because the races are fairly snappy affairs with lap times ranging from 10 seconds to half a minute it certainly never feels like a chore to repeat the races.
The final class of car, Apex, which are essentially F1 style, flings the game into another dimension, with speed cranked up to overdrive but handling reverting to precision. Nitro timing is key, powersliding is far less important nor possible and corners need to be taken accurately. Races become a pants-wetting, edge-of-your-seat, blast of panic as you fling the little rocket of a car round the tracks with little or no room for error. Track knowledge, already built up, is paramount - and by the time the big Layton Raceway finale comes around to win the championship you feel like an exhausted yet refined driver of these little toy-esque cars.
I think that this is the biggest compliment to Bang Bang Racing - while very much an arcade game, the way the game is paced through the Career mode and the way each car class requires different driving skill to succeed in my opinion lifts BBR from just another top down racer to sit proudly as a modern classic in its genre. We've been starved of a decent top-down racer for decades - for that reason I'm going to declare it a massive success and I urge anyone reading this to at least give the demo trial a shot and relive the joys of retro arcade racing!!
Sunday, 29 January 2012
How to mess up a games console
Haven't had much to blog about recently - I've slipped into a habbit of falling asleep early on the sofa during the evenings, meaning time on the Xbox has been limited. And anytime I do go on it tends to be FIFA that gets the nod, despite it sending to me asleep itself!
But during this time one thing has really got on my tits - the newly designed Xbox 360 dashboard.
Its a sad time when playing games becomes a secondary function of a games machine. I've never seen it before but this Xbox dash update confirms Microsoft's sad intentions - to appeal to the wider market and turn the 360 into an entertainment hub, leaving idiots like me who might expect some kind of games focus incredibly frustrated and saddened.
I used to enjoy turning on the machine and looking at the latest game features, demos & coverage on the home screen, but its now hidden through multiple menus in a dark sweaty corner, barely making a whimper. New demos are just not advertised, new XBLA releases are unknown. Instead I get some more news about Facebook & some shitty movie being available to download.
Message to Microsoft - get a grip and remember who got you here - the hardcore gamers who purposely picked an Xbox and a 360 to play games. Tossers!
But during this time one thing has really got on my tits - the newly designed Xbox 360 dashboard.
Its a sad time when playing games becomes a secondary function of a games machine. I've never seen it before but this Xbox dash update confirms Microsoft's sad intentions - to appeal to the wider market and turn the 360 into an entertainment hub, leaving idiots like me who might expect some kind of games focus incredibly frustrated and saddened.
I used to enjoy turning on the machine and looking at the latest game features, demos & coverage on the home screen, but its now hidden through multiple menus in a dark sweaty corner, barely making a whimper. New demos are just not advertised, new XBLA releases are unknown. Instead I get some more news about Facebook & some shitty movie being available to download.
Message to Microsoft - get a grip and remember who got you here - the hardcore gamers who purposely picked an Xbox and a 360 to play games. Tossers!
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Bang Bang and Games That Should Have Been Better
Just when I think there is still nothing to blog about, rejoice in the magic that is XBLA, as we now have another top-down racing game in the pipeline - Bang Bang Racing, due to hit XBLA and PSN fairly soon.
I'm a complete sucker for a top down racing game, and while there have been a few interesting ones knocking around in production this in particular looks like it could be something quite special.
Maybe its just my age, but I'm more excited by this than any of the recent full price releases in recent years.
Talking of being old, I enjoyed a screening of Robocop on TV last night. Its a great movie for so many reasons... the characters, the storyline, the 80's coolness, the social and political satire - but it made me wonder why they messed up so much with a recent remake of a Robocop game on the original Xbox? The licence deserves so much more... but we at least do have the memories of the Spectrum version of the game, with its music which can only be described as FUCKING AMAZING. And for those who didn't know it first time round... here it is. Amazingly ahead of it time.
I'm a complete sucker for a top down racing game, and while there have been a few interesting ones knocking around in production this in particular looks like it could be something quite special.
Maybe its just my age, but I'm more excited by this than any of the recent full price releases in recent years.
Talking of being old, I enjoyed a screening of Robocop on TV last night. Its a great movie for so many reasons... the characters, the storyline, the 80's coolness, the social and political satire - but it made me wonder why they messed up so much with a recent remake of a Robocop game on the original Xbox? The licence deserves so much more... but we at least do have the memories of the Spectrum version of the game, with its music which can only be described as FUCKING AMAZING. And for those who didn't know it first time round... here it is. Amazingly ahead of it time.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Faults, give-aways & memory
It had to happen at some point, it seems.
My bashed up old Xbox 360 Core unit that I bought on the cheap pre-owned (stupidly) the day before the new Xbox 360 Slim was released in the UK has given up the ghost and suffered the same RROD fate as most the others in existence. Wonder whether it is the last one left to do it in the world????
That makes it 3 units knackered - my original 20GB unit that got replaced under warranty, the replacement which I unsuccessfully tried to do the X-Clamp fix on, and now this Core unit replacement. That is approx £300-400 worth of consoles just breaking one after another after a matter of months through no other reason that being played (and not even that much!)
Yet the sad thing is that this is entirely normal. Microsoft has obviously fixed things somewhat with the newer chipsets and internal set-ups on the later Arcade/Elite & Slim versions, but I can't help thinking that (if I still had it), my good old 1991 Sega Megadrive would work 100% of the time if I flicked it on now regardless of how I positioned it under my TV or how much I played on it. Its a similar situation to today's mobile phones. I have the charge the battery of my HTC Wildfire S every single night - whereas my old Samsung G600 easily lasted a week between charges - why is the battery so insufficient? How is it that newer technology is far less reliable??
Fortunately, my lovely lady wife is getting a new mobile phone contract which conveniently had the option of having an Xbox 360 Slim 4GB + Kinect thrown in for free. Talk about good timing. ;) I'm sure I'll get away with just buying her some wool or a crayon or something as a thankyou... if only.
The fact that the console (plus Kinect even though we have one already) is essentially free shows how the world has changed since the early and mid 90's when I was getting into gaming. Those were the days where the thought of a games console being given away for free so flippantly was frankly unheard of.
I remember the Japanese Sega Megadrive (there wasn't really a particularly great reason for getting a Japanese one in all honesty) my elder brother and I got for Christmas back in 1990 (along with Golden Axe & Whiprush!) must have been an epic purchase for my parents to make. Likewise, the Sega Saturn that we got later in 1995 launched with a retail price of £399 without any kind of bundled freebies. Of course, mobile phones & incentives for taking out contracts simply weren't around back then, but there is no way that a games console would be 'given away' with any equivalent thing.
With this conveniently-timed free upgrade from an old broken Core unit to a brand spanking new 4GB Slim comes an frustratingly awkward decision on how on earth I can transfer the contents of a full 20GB hard-drive onto a 4GB Slim memory. It shouldn't be anywhere near as complicated as it appears to be if external storage wasn't so strictly managed by Microsoft. Why should I be in the position of - having bought a load of games off XBLA and having all the games, saves, profiles, music stuck on one now unusable hard drive - now needing to possibly shell out money for a shitty official transfer cable just because Microsoft doesn't feel comfortable or reasonable enough to let gamers use any kind of modern-day external storage devices that they use in every other data transfer application in the world??? Yes, there was always the option of forking out another £200 on a 250GB Slim version, but why the bollocks should I buy the same console for a third time??? Surely in any other market I'd be already classed as a golden customer, thanked for my loyalty to Microsoft and given a free god damn unit as an apology for the shitty customer service me, like millions of others, have had to endure?
Again, it brings me back to wonder why the glory days of the trusty Sega Megadrive - with it's big, indestructible instantly-loading cartridges with in-built memory - have not been improved on in terms of reliability. Maybe I should just sack it all off and get a Megadrive instead? I probably would if it wasn't for me being a tight git and needing to pay for it!
My bashed up old Xbox 360 Core unit that I bought on the cheap pre-owned (stupidly) the day before the new Xbox 360 Slim was released in the UK has given up the ghost and suffered the same RROD fate as most the others in existence. Wonder whether it is the last one left to do it in the world????
That makes it 3 units knackered - my original 20GB unit that got replaced under warranty, the replacement which I unsuccessfully tried to do the X-Clamp fix on, and now this Core unit replacement. That is approx £300-400 worth of consoles just breaking one after another after a matter of months through no other reason that being played (and not even that much!)
Yet the sad thing is that this is entirely normal. Microsoft has obviously fixed things somewhat with the newer chipsets and internal set-ups on the later Arcade/Elite & Slim versions, but I can't help thinking that (if I still had it), my good old 1991 Sega Megadrive would work 100% of the time if I flicked it on now regardless of how I positioned it under my TV or how much I played on it. Its a similar situation to today's mobile phones. I have the charge the battery of my HTC Wildfire S every single night - whereas my old Samsung G600 easily lasted a week between charges - why is the battery so insufficient? How is it that newer technology is far less reliable??
Fortunately, my lovely lady wife is getting a new mobile phone contract which conveniently had the option of having an Xbox 360 Slim 4GB + Kinect thrown in for free. Talk about good timing. ;) I'm sure I'll get away with just buying her some wool or a crayon or something as a thankyou... if only.
The fact that the console (plus Kinect even though we have one already) is essentially free shows how the world has changed since the early and mid 90's when I was getting into gaming. Those were the days where the thought of a games console being given away for free so flippantly was frankly unheard of.
I remember the Japanese Sega Megadrive (there wasn't really a particularly great reason for getting a Japanese one in all honesty) my elder brother and I got for Christmas back in 1990 (along with Golden Axe & Whiprush!) must have been an epic purchase for my parents to make. Likewise, the Sega Saturn that we got later in 1995 launched with a retail price of £399 without any kind of bundled freebies. Of course, mobile phones & incentives for taking out contracts simply weren't around back then, but there is no way that a games console would be 'given away' with any equivalent thing.
With this conveniently-timed free upgrade from an old broken Core unit to a brand spanking new 4GB Slim comes an frustratingly awkward decision on how on earth I can transfer the contents of a full 20GB hard-drive onto a 4GB Slim memory. It shouldn't be anywhere near as complicated as it appears to be if external storage wasn't so strictly managed by Microsoft. Why should I be in the position of - having bought a load of games off XBLA and having all the games, saves, profiles, music stuck on one now unusable hard drive - now needing to possibly shell out money for a shitty official transfer cable just because Microsoft doesn't feel comfortable or reasonable enough to let gamers use any kind of modern-day external storage devices that they use in every other data transfer application in the world??? Yes, there was always the option of forking out another £200 on a 250GB Slim version, but why the bollocks should I buy the same console for a third time??? Surely in any other market I'd be already classed as a golden customer, thanked for my loyalty to Microsoft and given a free god damn unit as an apology for the shitty customer service me, like millions of others, have had to endure?
Again, it brings me back to wonder why the glory days of the trusty Sega Megadrive - with it's big, indestructible instantly-loading cartridges with in-built memory - have not been improved on in terms of reliability. Maybe I should just sack it all off and get a Megadrive instead? I probably would if it wasn't for me being a tight git and needing to pay for it!
Thursday, 13 October 2011
To be this good takes Sega ages
Like a huge mother hen, Sega has been sat on its lovely eggs, keeping them warm until they're ready to hatch.
Following up the recent neat Renegade Ops release, they have now unleashed the beasts of Treasure's Guardian Heroes AND Daytona USA!!!! - two genuine gaming classics - onto our laps. Its quite overwhelming, and does this signal the start of a real change in attitude from the company? Have they realised XBLA and PSN are too good an opportunity to miss???
We've all known that they have spammed the Sonic brand to the point of breakage over the last few years, and after the insipid release of the Dreamcast Collection I thought there was no way back for them. But after downloading and really enjoying the joys are Guardian Heroes last night, which has been updated and revitalised with loving care for a change, there is real hope for bringing the Sega love back into the world.
Its clear that they have suddenly started to listen to what their fans actually want. Daytona USA will be a conversion of the arcade game, not the inferior Dreamcast version. It means a fair bit more time and effort from them, but its going to make a lot of gamers very happy.
The mind now boggles as to what other old arcade games or Saturn releases they may already be working on.... Panzer Dragoon series? Dragon Force? Scud Race? Burning Rangers?
Maybe if we all ask nicely it will happen...
We've all known that they have spammed the Sonic brand to the point of breakage over the last few years, and after the insipid release of the Dreamcast Collection I thought there was no way back for them. But after downloading and really enjoying the joys are Guardian Heroes last night, which has been updated and revitalised with loving care for a change, there is real hope for bringing the Sega love back into the world.
Its clear that they have suddenly started to listen to what their fans actually want. Daytona USA will be a conversion of the arcade game, not the inferior Dreamcast version. It means a fair bit more time and effort from them, but its going to make a lot of gamers very happy.
The mind now boggles as to what other old arcade games or Saturn releases they may already be working on.... Panzer Dragoon series? Dragon Force? Scud Race? Burning Rangers?
Maybe if we all ask nicely it will happen...
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
More-tal Demo Generosity
Wow - long time no blog. And just look at how naff that title is! I've clearly gone a bit wierd.
But, just like Eminem, now I'm back with a brand new rap. Or more accurately, a brand new post.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the new demo for Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection up on XBLA last night. Never one to miss an opportunity to re-live my childhood, a few minutes later the demo is downloaded and I'm off playing.
In a previous post I have raised my concerns over the generosity of some Indie developers in how much they show on a demo. While this Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection is a standard XBLA release, it seems the developers have forgotten about why a lot of people played & enjoyed Mortal Kombat - the fatalities.
The demo gives the player just 1 match-up on all of the 3 Mortal Kombat games (1, 2 and Ultimate 3), but all characters are available from the off. Therefore, with the relatively quick restart of fights it is completely possible to spend a fair bit of time just running through each of the characters on each of the games messing about doing the special moves and fatalities, babalities, animalities or whateveralities to your heart's content.
For me, thats plenty entertainment for a game that was only ever going to be a quick blast. No need to buy!
However, given I've got over 900 MSP burning a virtual hole in my virtual Xbox points wallet, I might actually invest a chunk in this decent value collection. Even if it is just to perv on the woefully pixelated Sonya, Mileena and Kitana and their lovely lycra outfits... which is unfortunately not quite as hi-res as this. Oh well.
But, just like Eminem, now I'm back with a brand new rap. Or more accurately, a brand new post.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the new demo for Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection up on XBLA last night. Never one to miss an opportunity to re-live my childhood, a few minutes later the demo is downloaded and I'm off playing.
In a previous post I have raised my concerns over the generosity of some Indie developers in how much they show on a demo. While this Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection is a standard XBLA release, it seems the developers have forgotten about why a lot of people played & enjoyed Mortal Kombat - the fatalities.
The demo gives the player just 1 match-up on all of the 3 Mortal Kombat games (1, 2 and Ultimate 3), but all characters are available from the off. Therefore, with the relatively quick restart of fights it is completely possible to spend a fair bit of time just running through each of the characters on each of the games messing about doing the special moves and fatalities, babalities, animalities or whateveralities to your heart's content.
For me, thats plenty entertainment for a game that was only ever going to be a quick blast. No need to buy!
However, given I've got over 900 MSP burning a virtual hole in my virtual Xbox points wallet, I might actually invest a chunk in this decent value collection. Even if it is just to perv on the woefully pixelated Sonya, Mileena and Kitana and their lovely lycra outfits... which is unfortunately not quite as hi-res as this. Oh well.
Saturday, 9 July 2011
Game snobbery
The great thing about the videogame indistry is that is all about opinions, but regardless of that I can usually understand why some people like a particular game, even if I don't myself.
But what really gets on my tits is 'game snobbery'. That is an entirely made-up phrase but speaks for itself. And with the launch of Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon on the Xbox 360 this week, game snobbery is well and truly back on the map for certain reviewers.
I must first point out that, in fairness, this release has received generally strong review scores from the world's media. I have yet to read any review as short-sighted as the ones that gave the prequel, EDF 2017, a 3/10 simply because of a dodgy physics engine.
With EDF 2017 being very much a cult hit, a lot of the hardcore followers were merely begging with fingers crossed that the new developers wouldn't mess up what made the original so good. But importantly, the reasons why the original was so good were actually very much linked with its limitations.
Not make sense? Let me explain.... one of the best aspects of the original was the complete mayhem and destruction possible. Lets make no mistake, it is mayhem & destruction beyond any other game out there. But of course with that comes some kind of sacrifice - in this case less than ground-breaking visuals, at least on a technical level. If mayhem and destruction is what the essence of the game is all about, why should this sacrifice matter one bit??
Its a bit like saying the fastest Formula 1 car doesn't have a nice roof to keep the rain out, or enough room in the boot for your weekly shopping. Of course it would be lovely having all these things too, but if it makes it perform worse then isn't it missing the point?
And it is just this that certain reviewers have already started to forget for the new release. "Insect Armageddon’s third-person killing spree doesn’t offer much in the way of cutting-edge graphics or varied mission structure, but its single-minded arcade simplicity is also its greatest strength." (Official Xbox Magazine, US, marked 6.5/10) Does this game NEED to have cutting edge graphics? And what does the phrase 'graphics' encompass anyway? Does loads of enemies on screen & huge scale not count? Look at this screenshot - is it really just me that thinks this looks beautiful?
At least I'm not the only one with this opinion... I stumbled upon this comment on a forum that seems to have been bang on with my thoughts....
"You know, this is a much better game than 6.5/10.0 or even 77/100. It seems like it's being penalized for exactly the smart decisions of what to leave out that make it so much fun, so easy to just hop in and play, or play just a single mission (or two... or three... or... what time is it?).
Rant over - lock & load.
But what really gets on my tits is 'game snobbery'. That is an entirely made-up phrase but speaks for itself. And with the launch of Earth Defence Force: Insect Armageddon on the Xbox 360 this week, game snobbery is well and truly back on the map for certain reviewers.
I must first point out that, in fairness, this release has received generally strong review scores from the world's media. I have yet to read any review as short-sighted as the ones that gave the prequel, EDF 2017, a 3/10 simply because of a dodgy physics engine.
With EDF 2017 being very much a cult hit, a lot of the hardcore followers were merely begging with fingers crossed that the new developers wouldn't mess up what made the original so good. But importantly, the reasons why the original was so good were actually very much linked with its limitations.
Not make sense? Let me explain.... one of the best aspects of the original was the complete mayhem and destruction possible. Lets make no mistake, it is mayhem & destruction beyond any other game out there. But of course with that comes some kind of sacrifice - in this case less than ground-breaking visuals, at least on a technical level. If mayhem and destruction is what the essence of the game is all about, why should this sacrifice matter one bit??
Its a bit like saying the fastest Formula 1 car doesn't have a nice roof to keep the rain out, or enough room in the boot for your weekly shopping. Of course it would be lovely having all these things too, but if it makes it perform worse then isn't it missing the point?
And it is just this that certain reviewers have already started to forget for the new release. "Insect Armageddon’s third-person killing spree doesn’t offer much in the way of cutting-edge graphics or varied mission structure, but its single-minded arcade simplicity is also its greatest strength." (Official Xbox Magazine, US, marked 6.5/10) Does this game NEED to have cutting edge graphics? And what does the phrase 'graphics' encompass anyway? Does loads of enemies on screen & huge scale not count? Look at this screenshot - is it really just me that thinks this looks beautiful?
At least I'm not the only one with this opinion... I stumbled upon this comment on a forum that seems to have been bang on with my thoughts....
"You know, this is a much better game than 6.5/10.0 or even 77/100. It seems like it's being penalized for exactly the smart decisions of what to leave out that make it so much fun, so easy to just hop in and play, or play just a single mission (or two... or three... or... what time is it?).
Rant over - lock & load.
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Multiple choice
People say life is about the choices we make. Albus Dumbledore, from those Harry Potter books, said; “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” While Dumbledore probably never intended this quote to be used in relation to video games, it rings true all the same.
Before the days when every child plays videogames the board game ruled. One particular favourite was 'Game of Life', where you had a few opportunities to go one way round a section of the board or another. One part you had the option to go over a hill, or maybe just go alongside it... just me that finds it oddly fascinating?
I even get a buzz from driving up the M6 where it and the M6 Toll merge northbound - you have the option of going up a hill if you are in the right hand lane or going alonside and joining a little further up the road if you stay in the left and centre lanes - yet it all meets up together merely half a kilometre up the road.
I'm not talking about gaming decsions such as seen in the likes of Fable and Mass Effect here - of course those such games are all about choices and how each one effects the character and story - but I'm more interested in the more simple & straightforward multiple routes that a player can take in many games, those that end up at the same location regardless of which way you go. Importantly, these different paths also have to be physically taken - simply choosing which way to go by selecting it from a menu (as seen in Guardian Heroes, Probotector/Contra Hard Corps for example) isn't good enough.
A classic example is on Outrun. If the route through the game completely changed based on the first decision of left or right, then it wouldn't be half as fun. It is the way you can always 'meet up' again later down the line that I find strangely appealing. Likewise, the player has to actually physically manouvre their car either down the left or the right lane to take them to the next level - there is no 'break' to the action. Golden Axe 3 is another good example - there were occasional opportunties to take a different path through the level & game where the player had to jump down into different playing field to carry on a different path.
One of the most comprehensive multiple path games is San Francisco Rush 2049, which I mainly played on the dear old Sega Dreamcast. I absolutely loved this game, and while it could be argued that this was practically a free roaming driving game based around a 'map', the core racetrack is well defined, so I found having so many multiple paths was mind-blowing. Hydro Thunder shared many of these qualities too. Well done Midway...
And finally, not to be forgotten, the alternative route shouldn't ever really be simply a 'short-cut'. Sure, there is always an element of risk & reward, but some of best alternative routes actually have no benefit to going on them whatsoever - in fact the best are just there for the sake of it and may actually take more effort and have less benefit (Super Off Road, I'm thinking of you...)
So here is to the alternative path - in my eyes arcade gaming's most underrated thing of genius.
Before the days when every child plays videogames the board game ruled. One particular favourite was 'Game of Life', where you had a few opportunities to go one way round a section of the board or another. One part you had the option to go over a hill, or maybe just go alongside it... just me that finds it oddly fascinating?
I even get a buzz from driving up the M6 where it and the M6 Toll merge northbound - you have the option of going up a hill if you are in the right hand lane or going alonside and joining a little further up the road if you stay in the left and centre lanes - yet it all meets up together merely half a kilometre up the road.
I'm not talking about gaming decsions such as seen in the likes of Fable and Mass Effect here - of course those such games are all about choices and how each one effects the character and story - but I'm more interested in the more simple & straightforward multiple routes that a player can take in many games, those that end up at the same location regardless of which way you go. Importantly, these different paths also have to be physically taken - simply choosing which way to go by selecting it from a menu (as seen in Guardian Heroes, Probotector/Contra Hard Corps for example) isn't good enough.
A classic example is on Outrun. If the route through the game completely changed based on the first decision of left or right, then it wouldn't be half as fun. It is the way you can always 'meet up' again later down the line that I find strangely appealing. Likewise, the player has to actually physically manouvre their car either down the left or the right lane to take them to the next level - there is no 'break' to the action. Golden Axe 3 is another good example - there were occasional opportunties to take a different path through the level & game where the player had to jump down into different playing field to carry on a different path.
One of the most comprehensive multiple path games is San Francisco Rush 2049, which I mainly played on the dear old Sega Dreamcast. I absolutely loved this game, and while it could be argued that this was practically a free roaming driving game based around a 'map', the core racetrack is well defined, so I found having so many multiple paths was mind-blowing. Hydro Thunder shared many of these qualities too. Well done Midway...
And finally, not to be forgotten, the alternative route shouldn't ever really be simply a 'short-cut'. Sure, there is always an element of risk & reward, but some of best alternative routes actually have no benefit to going on them whatsoever - in fact the best are just there for the sake of it and may actually take more effort and have less benefit (Super Off Road, I'm thinking of you...)
So here is to the alternative path - in my eyes arcade gaming's most underrated thing of genius.
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Yes, the plot is pretty non-existent, and it lacks big beefy sidekicks who embody some ethnic stereotype but still break down and cry when their deep deep personal tragedies overwhelm their deep deep beefy manliness. And those are both plusses, but it's still getting dinged for subtracting unnecessary things. It's exactly what you want from a $40 game. Perhaps this artful minimalism would have been more palatable as a download game?"