We Live In Games

Too Human To Keep Going

2009-07-28T12:31:00.007+01:00

Too Human has been sitting in my pile of un-played games for quite some time. The combination of tales of astronomical development costs, a great story rooted in Norse mythology and equal amounts of praise and levelling criticism from the press left me unsure whether to take the plunge and play the game. I had hopes that the positive words from half the gaming community would be well founded and leave me with the sense that this title should have played long ago, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the negative reviewers were onto something.

A few days ago I finally popped the game in and applied the updates (a grumble for another day) and started on my adventure. Having long ago played the demo I was partially prepared for the horrors of having the camera control that should be mapped to the right stick of the 360s control pad being the melee stick, but it still felt unnatural and I spent the first few hours of play attacking when I really wanted to change the camera perspective. Having chose a character class and worked out the inventory system, my character was beginning to level up and become more powerful as more and more abilities became available.

The hack and slash game play and level design is where opinion will, and has, been split. The combat is very simple yet allows for a certain amount of tactical flair. We're not talking about anything close to the levels of flair achieved by the truly breath taking fluid combat of Ninja Gaiden II (oddly another game with a messed up camera), but a combat system that is relatively solid and serves its purpose. The levels are painfully repetitive, very little exists to separate them from each other as they all have the same steam-punk-esque aesthetic, utilising similar set pieces that essentially throw different combinations and amounts of enemies at you.

This leaves you with a horrible feeling of repetition. The story feels like little more than window dressing as you spend the game wading through wave after wave of identical opponents. This was where I gave up. I hate when any game gets to the point where I have to put it down, the only exception being where games are so obviously broken or badly programed that I wish to have never picked them up in the first place. This game however simply became boring. It's a shame because Too Human seems to have had so much potential and so much to offer but the implementation was wrong.

Opinion on Too Human is very divided, some gamers hold it in their top 5 games, some sit where I am and see it as repetitive and boring. I'm just giving you my opinion here and as I've yet to finish the game and don't plan to I won't be giving it proper review, just my thoughts. My suggestion is to pick it up and give it a go for yourself. Too Human goes for such a low price nowadays that I would recommend giving it a go just to see where you stand.

Return Of The Difficulty Curve

2009-07-27T18:55:00.006+01:00

It's back. It has returned and in a place I should have expected it. It hit me hard in a place that I have experienced highs, lows and frustration. The Final Fantasy series has had me gripped since I played Final Fantasy VII way back in the 90s, once I had experienced my first taste of gripping story telling and a traditional turn based RPG I've been hooked on the genre and the Final Fantasy series. I've played the majority of the series but was always concerned about the junctioning and Guardian Force system of Final Fantasy VIII and subsequently gave the game a wide berth despite enthusiastic comments from the gaming community and even nagging from my own brother to give it a go. Finally I caved, re-bought myself and old PlayStation (I don't trust the backwards compatibility of PS3 since having troubles with a handful of games) and started to play. For the first 3 of 4 discs I was enthralled. The story was compelling, the visual style breathtaking and the junctioning system proved to be very enjoyable once I got the hang of it, the only Final Fantasy staple I missed was a genuine job system, but that's a minor complaint. I loved the characters, even the caricatured loner behaviour of the games protagonist couldn't put me off, I actually wanted him to get the girl, despite being the kind of guy you would happily glass in a pub.

The problems began around the end of disc 3 and spilled into disc 4. The difficulty curve went through the roof. The game had been steady up until now and only required the odd bit of levelling up every now and then to progress. Basically the game felt balanced. As I hit the metaphorical wall I had no other choice than to put some time in and level up my party to continue the game. I've spent hours and I'm still stuck. The same thing happened to me in Final Fantasy VII but I got over that and moved on, this just seems to be insane.

Why do game developers, in particular the Final Fantasy developers, have this need to put in this crippling feature. It almost seems to be some odd ploy to make you buy the game guide so you know early on all the tricks and secrets. It's really pissing me off because I've got to the point where I'm split between the need to put the game down and walk away (which I have almost done) and put some hours of grinding in to see the ending. I really want to know what happens to Squall and Rhinoa, in fact I'm desperate to know, but it seems an unfair price to pay to see the end.

Perhaps this is the reason that so few gamers see games through to the end. A crippling difficulty curve really is unnecessary, I understand that there needs to be something a bit more challenging towards the end of a game to allow a sense of achievement in the player, but I just want to see an ending. I've played this game for hours, I need closure.

Here's my open plea to game developers everywhere: Please keep the difficulty curve consistent, I'll except a boost to the difficulty at the end, but please stop pushing it so hard that the game stops being fun. It's unfair when you've invested so many hours to have the ending you deserve to see place on such a high plateau. In return I vow that more of my money will make its way to your pockets, that reviews will be more favourable and that I'll put you back on the Christmas card list. Deal?

3 Months Later..

2009-07-25T01:34:00.002+01:00

Like every video game amnesiac who ever lived, I've returned, slightly unaware of my surroundings but ready to batter the living shit out of anything that moves with my over sized sword until something makes sense, a newly found love dies, I revenge them by killing some bastard that some how relates to my past and I rediscover who I truly am. Put simply I've decided to pull my thumb out of my arse and return to the hallowed grounds of We Live In Games for a spot of blogging. Anyone still about?

This is for you...

Barking At The Moon... Again.

2009-04-12T22:00:00.000+01:00

God I hate it when the difficulty of games gets too high. You know, that moment when you find the vain on your forehead at bursting point and you struggle not to unload your wrath on the poor old controller? Well it's happening again. I've returned to the video gaming equivalent of crack that is Advance Wars, now on it's second DS iteration under the guise of Dark Conflict. Whilst the story and visual style in the cut scenes has changed, the game play remains the same, which if you're an Advance Wars fan is a fantastic thing. Trouble is, I haven't played Advance Wars for a really long time. The last title was released in 2005, and that was the last time I played Advance Wars, a good 4 years ago. So I'm a little rusty, but willing to prove that I still have what it takes to be a good tactician.

And I was, I plowed through the first few levels, and even took the side missions in my stride, but I should have known something was up when the side missions started to become a bit on the difficult side. Oh well I thought, might just stick with the main quest, that seems to be moving along at a reasonable pace. But then, it happened. Yup, the main quest is starting to become aggravatingly difficult. Oddly, the side missions have become easier. I may need to write a letter to Intelligent Systems to ask what they're playing at.

I know grumbling about an uneven difficulty curve is a bit of a petty thing to do, especially as previous entries into the Advance Wars series have had moments of insane difficulty, but I do remember getting along okay on the higher difficulty modes on the previous games. Maybe I've been blunted by mindless first person shoots. Perhaps my recent love for Unreal Tournament III is to blame. Either way way I'm going to keep at it, after all, if the difficulty curve remains this wobbly I can always trash it in a review. Isn't life grand?

A Silver Lining

2009-04-11T12:01:00.009+01:00

After owning Manhunt 2 for quite some time (well, before Christmas), I finally decided that it was time to give it a play. I had picked the game up for the Wii for a variety of reasons, mainly because I loved the first Manhunt on the original Xbox but also because of all the uproar from the censors and the legal battle that finally resulted in the game hitting retailer shelves. Yeah, I had to see what all the fuss was about. I decided on the Wii version because this was where the majority of the tabloid hate was directed, mainly due to the motion controls being used to implement a variety nasty of executions, and because I could at least kid myself into believing that I was buying a current generation title.

So, with everyone out of the house and the front room (home to my Wii mainly because as previously mentioned, Little Miss WLIG indulges in a bit of Wii Fit) available I decided to give it a go. The first thing that hits you is how outdated the game looks, it really looks like last generations graphics, and whilst the game suffered a year long delay I can't help but feel that this would still have been unacceptable when it was intended to be released. As this version is the edited version that finally got the green light for a release, all of the executions in the game are severely blurred, leaving your imagination to wonder what on Earth your trusts and shakes of the Wii remote and nunchuck are doing. A disappointment, but an expected one.

Where the game really fell flat was in the control scheme. A part of me wonders if Rockstar knew they where releasing this poor excuse for a game, broken. Stupid mistakes like putting a lean control onto the nunchuck, meaning that you have to play with the nunchuck upright all the time, not using the pointer so that you can actually look around, and making it feel like you're controlling a tank rather than a person, ruined this game. I played through the first level and vowed to trade it in the next day.

Here's my silver lining. I paid just under £10 for the game a few months back. Thanks to a good deal on trading in Wii games and a decent trade in price at Blockbuster, I got £12 store credit for it. I felt that I deserved those extra £2 after my brief yet traumatic play of the first level. So I traded it in and picked up Unreal Tournament III (UT3) for PS3 brand spanking new for only £12.99, an extra 99p out of my pocket. Am I glad I did that, UT3 is so very, very awesome. And I mean that in a huge guys with too much armour and guns that say I don't even need a penis, I have this, kind of way. And they do it well. The whole thing looks beautiful in a very gritty realistic manner and plays at a break neck speed. I haven't even touched the multiplayer yet, been having too much fun playing with the cunning AI bots. That alone blew me away, the fact that whilst not perfect, the AI was actually pretty decent. A rarity in this gaming climate. Plus, getting this on PS3 means that you get two add on packs for free, plus a whole wealth of community made stuff.

All I can say is thank you Manhunt 2, for being a complete pile of turd, without your broken controls and dated visuals, I would never have had you to trade in, and most likely wouldn't have picked up UT3. Every cloud has a silver lining, right?

Rotten Milk Found In The Fridge

2009-04-10T16:52:00.008+01:00

Okay, confession time. You may have noticed that things have been awfully quiet around here of late, you may be angry, you may even be upset, but whoa, don't go rounding up the mob quite yet, I've been away and brought you all excuses for presents. So, after the last time I posted here, I had an insanely busy week and pretty much survived without sleep for some time while I toiled away, making sure I met real life deadlines. Here's the part where you may need some tissues. After this insane work load I took a break, visited some family, tried to catch up on some sleep and generally have a go at feeling human. During this break, I did skulk off to see my bit on the side, Frugal Gaming. As I'm sure I've already mentioned, I do a wee bit of writing for Frugal from time to time, some of it actually decent. Unfortunately I had to make a decision on where to share my limited free time, and I'm afraid I decided that my personal rant space would have to be neglected while I concentrated on getting some work done for them. Can you ever forgive me? I promise, I never meant to hurt you!

Anyway, as I hope you've noticed, the new Frugal Gaming site is up and running and generally looking pretty trendy. Tragically they've got a really nice bunch of people over their and I've even been suckered into a bit of forum trawling, something I haven't stooped down to for some years.

Hopefully we'll have things back on track over here relatively soon, but until then you'll find my writing over on Frugal Gaming, but just to tide you over, here's a couple of recent reviews I did for them, ciao darlings!

Prince of Persia

Army of Two

Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword

Is OnLive The Next Step?

2009-03-25T03:43:00.006Z

Earlier today OnLive was announced at GDC. For those of you who missed the announcement, OnLive has set out with a pretty original approach to covering all of the bases as far as multi-platform gaming is concerned. The system works by having either an application on your PC or a set top box in which you choose which games you want to play on. The games will be made available to you on day of release, just as they currently are by providers who make direct to drive games, but here's where things get interesting. Rather than downloading the game to keep, the game is merely streamed to you as you play. So rather than risk any piracy from downloading or have any physical media that can be copied, the games are on the other side of the world, but being transmitted to your TV or PC. And in HD, depending on your internet connection. Basically, because the service is streamed, you're able to play demanding games that would require you to own either a high end PC or current generation console, on your old laptop or TV. It sounds like a great idea.

All the talk from those speculating about the next generation of consoles being free from any need for physical media and relying solely on downloaded media, seems to have been justified, just not in the sense that many probably imagined. From the what has been said, the system seems pretty solid, but whether or not the system will work will have to be seen to be proven. Can the company honestly promise no lag if hundreds of gamers are streaming the same game at the same time? Will the controls feel quite as responsive if the signal from your control input has to travel over an internet connection? Only once the service becomes available will it be possible to answer these questions.

For now, the big question that enters my head is, am I ready to give up my physical media for this. So far there's no controller for the set top box, which to me makes it seem unfinished, because as per usual, I prefer to have official peripherals rather than spinning the wheel of chance on third party ones. I'm once again a bit on the fence here. A part of me wants to get excited about this, a machine that could truly change the dynamics of the gaming industry. But a part of me knows that this could just as easily be the next 3DO and be destined to flop. Don't know about you, but I'm excited to see how this one pans out.

UPDATE

It turns out that I was premature in questioning the existence of the controller, here it is complete with the set top box:

Audiosurfing Your iPhone

2009-03-21T14:18:00.007Z

Those of you who like me occasionally dip into that frightening and obscure realm known as 'casual gaming' (I feel dirty just typing those words) will probably be clued up on the awesome music game Audiosurf. For those of you who aren't familiar, get yourself a Steam account and go and download it. Right now. I'll wait. What do you mean you need to know more! Okay, well, Audiosurf is more of an overblown visualiser than a video game, but it's a visualiser that does play like a game. Basically, the game/visualiser accesses your music library, that can make use of the iTunes decoder if you want it to, and uses those tracks to design a race track. The way the track turns and bumps, including the speed of the course depends on the song you choose. For certain sounds in the song, coloured blocks will appear on the track, and it's your job to pilot your ship of choice into the coloured blocks, slowly building up a high score depending on how well you play. Your score can then be uploaded to a leader board to see how well you did on your particular song in comparison to the world. It's simple yet very addictive fun and a great way to enjoy your music library.

So there's your history lesson, now onto more exciting up to date news. AppGamer have been talking with Dylan Fitterer, the creator of Audiosurf about the possibility of the game appearing on iPhones, taking advantage of the new OS 3.0. It turns out that he's pretty interested, and short of an official announcement said that the game was on its way. This would be an excellent application to have on the iPhone, it almost feels like this is what Audiosurf was made to do, it was just that the technology wasn't quite available when it came out.

I really hope that this sees the light of day, with the new Metal Gear Solid 4 Touch game on the way, the iPhone is really starting to shape up as a contender in the handheld gaming market. I may actually have to get one now!

Princely Housekeeping

2009-03-19T21:32:00.005Z

Okay, so after writing up last nights review of Prince of Persia a handful of thoughts that I forgot to post about cam to mind that I felt were essential and needed to be shared with you. Before we get into these few points, I have to say that a part of me really wanted to give the game a 10/10, which amazed even me, because I feel that a game has to be an amazing pillar of excellence with negligible flaws to earn a 10. This game however, was not without its flaws, so lets get down to business and talk about what I missed.

First of all, I forgot to talk about the final boss fight which, as with Gears of War 2, was a bit of a let down. The boss offers no real serious challenge and basically just requires you to finish a level as quickly as is humanly possible. Compared to the challenge presented by the rest of the game this felt somewhat like a joke! I mean, the end boss shouldn't be impossible (I'm shaking my head at Devil May Cry 4 right now!), but it should be a real test to show that you can use all the skills that you've learned in the game.

The other point I failed to raise was the fact that the game dishes out achievement points like they're going out of style. I was shocked by how many points I had earned by the end of the game, but I suppose I should have expected that I would be earning a lot, as the game rewards you for watching the opening cinematic! Whether or not you see this as a good or bad point depends upon your view on achievement points, personally I'm not sure if I liked it or not, but it did sit consistently with the pacing of the game, and the rewards where for genuine things such as mastering a technique as well as for mundane things like finishing a part of the quest.

I know that I've mentioned this in the review, but the final minutes of the game are totally unexpected and honestly gave the game one of the greatest endings I've ever witnessed in a game. If I wasn't so against spoilers I would splurge everything to you right now, but I know that would be wrong. The game is obviously a set up for a continuing saga, or possibly a trilogy like last generations Prince of Persia games. All I'll give away about the ending is that the final achievment was named; To Be Continued...

I Just Want Your Extra Time

2009-03-18T23:47:00.007Z

I feel totally blown away. For those of you who believe that video games can truly be a medium for story telling, the Prince of Persia restart is a true example of precisely this. Emotions fly, witty dialogue is exchanged, sexual tension rises and a climactic ending was of course, inevitable. For those who don't know, the new Prince of Persia games available for 360 and PS3 are a series reboot, and have nothing to do with the Sands of Time (SoT) trilogy from last generations machines. The fresh start has done away with a few things that were keeping the old games a part of the old guard and added in a few ideas that give the game a fresh appeal. Although these changes exist, the game is still definitely a Prince of Persia game, whether you're familiar with it from MS-DOS or the PS2.

So lets talk about these changes, most importantly, in regards to the game mechanics. The 'make it look easy approach' of the SoT trilogy has been taken a step further, meaning that whilst a large amount of control has been taken away from the player, the wall runs and jumps feel a lot more fluid and give the game a more fun rather than challenging aesthetic. Whether this appeals is for you to decide, personal I thought that this change made the game extremely enjoyable. Challenges really came from having good timing, a sense of direction and razor sharp reflexes. One of the fun new additions comes in the form of your co-adventurer; Elika. Rather than having the ability to rewind time as you did in the SoT trilogy, here you have Elika to save you from those perilous falls. Essentially it's impossible to die in the game, whenever you fall from a cliff, or are close to being finished off by an enemy, Elika will jump in to save you. Surely this is the antithesis of all those arcade games that used to give you one life for that sole piece of change in your pocket, all those years ago. This game mechanic allows you to be that little bit more adventurous in how you play the game. Risking longer and farther jumps isn't a problem when you have infinite lives.

The combat is an interesting point, and one that I'm in two minds about, so lets get the negative out of the way first. The fighting system is extremely shallow. There, I said it. It's shallow like a footballers wife with new boobs. That's how shallow it is. The positive spin for this is that as with the movement the fighting feels slick and streamlined. You only ever take on one enemy at a time and have a handful of combos at your disposal, all stemming from three different types of attack; sword, grapple and magic. Whilst this does make the fighting a little dull after so long spent in the game, it is important to remember that their are much fewer battles in this game than there are in other third person action games, and in this game, as long as you're quick you can defeat an enemy with a one blow kill before the fight can properly begin.

This streamlined approach to the movement and combat gives the game a very cinematic feel. Everything moves beautifully and looks luscious with pop up in the game being an extreme rarity. The soundtrack is amazing, the score in the game truly add to the feeling of grandeur and scale. You may be thinking that I have a point here, and I do (because, hey, I usually have one, right?), the game has a strong visual identity, a fantastic score and movements that make it look almost theatrical. Well, to top this off, the game boasts an amazing story. Not a truly original one, but one that unfolds in the way that stories only unfold when told by the greatest of story tellers. The twists and turns are unexpected and the dialogue shared between the Prince of Persia and Elika gives you an amazing bond with the characters and a need for them to make it through their adventure.

It may not be too much of a shock to you, but I was blown away by this game. It took risks in streamlining the game play and focusing more on the narrative, but I genuinely feel this has payed off. I can see why opinion has been so polarised by this title, so my suggestion to you is to pick it up (it's going for cheap in most places at the moment), play it and decide for yourself. It may be just another average game to you, or one of the most amazing unique experiences of your life. I know it was a great experience for me.

9/10

Return Of The Re-Release

2009-03-17T13:48:00.007Z

Reports over on N4G have pointed towards the very real possibility that we'll be seeing a re-release of Ninja Gaiden II on PS3, which in keeping with the previous Ninja Gaiden release on Sony's console, will be titled Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Apparently as with the previous Sigma game released on PS3, this title will not be a direct port and will include technical and graphical updates.

Whilst at this point I would hesitate to call this anything more than a rumour, especially as I'm taking N4G's word for it that the translation of the Japanese magazine article is correct. However, I do like the idea of a another re-release of a Ninja Gaiden game (please bear with me on this one, I haven't gone completely insane), the previous Sigma re-release fixed one of the main issues from the original Ninja Gaiden (itself more an update of the old 8 bit series than a re-release), the poor camera. Whilst I know that player camera control was added in Ninja Gaiden Black (the first re-release of Ninja Gaiden), Sigma did this and added better loading times and touched up the graphics. I doubt that a graphical update will be applied this time, as Ninja Gaiden II is still a pretty gem, but perhaps improving the awful camera will polish the games only obvious blemish.

Honestly I would pay for this, I think it's a great idea and if it gets me another play through of Ninja Gaiden II then I'm game. We'll just have to see how much this re-release adds to the existing game, and if it'll actually see the light of day. Can't wait to see what Tomonobo Itagaki has to say about this one.

UPDATE

Seeing as since I started writing this article the rumour concerning Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 has been confirmed pretty much everywhere, I think we're safe in assuming that this is a genuine announcement. Just got to see what updates will be coming to the game now.

Lost In Anime Overtones

2009-03-13T22:40:00.003Z

I've just finished Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and you know what hit me straight away? Man was that ever a short game! I had just got in laughing distance of the five hour mark when I finished off the final boss in typical epic fashion. Not that I'm complaining because I spent just under £7 on the game for new, and seeing as all the cut scenes and repeat tries probably put an extra couple of hours on my core 5, I've basically payed £1 an hour for the game. Not too bad, but not great. Anyway, despite my lack of a sense of accomplishment (I'm sorry, but I need to invest more time in a game to feel that) the game is genuinely good fun.

You play as Wayne, a colonist on planet E.D.N. III; a world that is inhabited by a corupt military, an alien race and a band of snow pirates. I know, it sounds pretty stock already, but wait, it gets worse. Wayne suffers from amnesia (the back bone of every Japanese video game story since forever) and you advance through the game unlocking various key parts of Wayne's history, subsequently unfolding an increasingly intricate story. And I did enjoy the story, despite the obviously anime inspired cut scenes, which to be honest were rather cringe worthy at times (I blame the voice actors and poor characterisation), the stories slow unraveling was akin to something like 24 or The X-Files in the way that every answer provided by the games cut scenes, just created more questions. I really enjoyed seeing the story through to the end, I just had to know what was going to happen next.

So onto the meat of the game, the game play. Search this blog for 'Lost Planet' and you will find that I've already wrote about the game play before, most notably the difficulty curve. So in brief, the difficulty curve is like a stretched out slinky with occasional moments of agonising repeated attempts provided by the boss battles and the reasonably paced parts provided by the rest of the game, with its 'if it moves, kill it' ethos. The action is a bit primitive and the controls do a fell a little bit lumpy and outdated, but I think this is mostly in part due to the games age and the fact that we have been spoiled by super slick controls in games in recent months. One of the odd features of the game is the idea of thermal energy. Your health replenishing abilities require you to kill enemies, scenery and activate map posts in order to top up your thermal energy, but this energy also depletes slowly because of the extreme temperatures the games environments throw at you. This means that both your health and play time are limited. Spend too long in the game and you run out of thermal energy and your health bar begins to deplete. Play the game headstrong and take lots of hits, your health bar has to use more thermal energy and you end up with less time to finish the level. It's an odd dynamic that takes some getting used to, but ultimately offers a unique and positive element to the game.

The only other real notable negative is the soundtrack. It really is a bit lacking and often all you have in some levels is the background noise of the wind whipping around your head as you progress and the gun fire and mech stomping sound effects. The only real positive that comes from this sparser soundtrack is that you do become very well immersed in this sense that you are traipsing across this baron uninhabitable snow dusted rock.

So if you want a decent anime inspired, mech centred action game that wants to be the source material it tries to emulate, you can't go too far wrong with Lost Planet, especially as it seems to have become one of those games that is destined to forever live in the bargain bin. Raid the sofa, check the piggy bank, count the pennies and go and buy it.

7/10

Let Them Keep The Planet

2009-03-10T20:53:00.004Z

I'm still making my way through Lost Planet on 360 in an attempt to get through it before the next one hits the shelves. I'm finding it a really fun third person shooter, whilst not on par with Gears of War and its younger sibling, its still an accomplished game when you consider how early on in the 360's life it was released. One of the minor gripes I have with the game is the occasional slow down that occurs when there is far too much going on in the screen at once, at the subsequent cheap cluster attacking that the in game enemies insist on doing, causing your health bar to empty at a frightening speed. Although I raise this as an issue, it rarely occurs, especially if you play the game the way it was meant to. One of the more serious issues I want to raise before I finish the game is its difficulty curve.

Most of the game is spent with you, the player, being super man and mowing down wave after wave of baddies, whether they be human or the indigenous inhabitants of planet E.D.N. III. Whilst this is tremendous fun, the game begins to give you a mild case of controller throwing rage when the bosses of the game come around. The difficulty of the game spikes like a child's cholesterol on a visit to McDonalds. I feel that any game should offer a continuously increasing difficulty curve and that said curve should have the odd spike here and there to keep you on your toes, without making the whole of the game a nightmare. But do the difficulty spikes in Lost Planet have to be so harsh? I pretty much never die during the bulk of the game, but when the health bar devastating bosses come along, I do get frustrated.

I think that a part of the problem is that once you get through the adrenaline inducing end of level fights, the game relaxes and returns to its original pace, which whilst not sedate by any stretch of the imagination, is a bit tame when compared to the aforementioned boss battles. It's in these moments after those fights that you ask yourself 'why must the boss fights be so dammed hard?' If the difficulty curve throughout the rest of the game is steady, sticking true to the formula that makes a good game, why on earth are these vain popping segments present?

I plan to persevere in this game, because the story is actually starting to become interesting in a caricature, occasionally cringe worthy kind of way. I just hope that it doesn't do to me what Devil May Cry 4 did and through one of those impossible final bosses that will mean that the game goes unfinished and traded in. Fingers crossed.

Unfinished Symphony

2009-03-09T17:32:00.009Z

How many do you have in your games collection? Those odd games that proved either too long or not worthy of your attention. The odd one or two? Or are you way up in the double figures? I know that it's something I'm guilty of; picking up a game with the intention of seeing it through to the end, only to find myself putting it down before the credits roll because the next new game is already in my possession and begging to be played. But this really does beg the question, are we missing the point of owning the game if we don't finish it?

Whilst I would prefer not to debase this blog and its good name by using the old games to films analogy, I feel that in this case the comparison is apt. When you watch a film, the only instance in which it will be left unfinished is if the film is complete load of rubbish. Whilst this does also apply to games, you are more likely to finish a good film than a good game. It could be due to length, it's easier to sit down for two to three hours to enjoy a film in its entirety, but most modern games break the twenty hour mark. If we only sit through the first 3 hours of a game, you're missing out on a serious majority of a game, and I'm not suggesting that many do only play this much of any good game.

One game that I know I'm truly guilty of leaving unfinished is Bioshock. The game totally blew me away when I started it, the cinematic feel, the sense of immersion (no pun intended) and the genuine fear I felt whenever I heard a Little Sister was nearby and her Big Daddy came obediently following. Who would of thought the line "this way Mr Biggles" would be so scary. But as the game progressed the Big Daddies stopped being scary, the game started to induce a sense of deja vu as I felt that all I was doing was running errands for more and more lunatics and wasting ammo on splicers along the way. As such, I still haven't finished it, and it's been a year since I last touched it. I'm still baffled that this game that was so appealing and awe inspiring in its opening few hours could invoke such a sense of apathy as it approached its pudgy middle bits.

Surely we're meant to be finishing these games that we've spent so very much on? Surely we owe it to those who put in intensive man hours, at the expense of time with loved ones, to bring us these electronic master pieces? Personally I vow to make a change. I promise to finish a game, before I start the next one. I make this promise in the knowledge that I know that I wont keep it. But oh well, it's nice to pretend, right?

Boogie Nights

2009-03-08T14:30:00.005Z

Being frugal in regards to your gaming isn't just a way of life, it's also a blog, podcast and forum! I know, that was terrible. Bad writer! Must try harder. Anyway, those of you who have the odd browse about all the clutter on the right hand column of this page will have noticed that I have a small space dedicated to other blogs and websites that I either feel are of a high quality or an essential part of your web browsing experience in regards to video games. One of these blogs is Frugal Gaming.

The blog and its companion podcast and forum have been set up with the intention of saving you some much needed cash in these financially difficult times, and even includes a twitter account for those who need to know about those essential bargains straight away. Whilst I had been following the blog/twitter/podcast for some time, it was only recently that I decided to join the forum. It had been some time since I had joined a forum, but the ethos surrounding the idea of Frugal Gaming seemed a good one, so I thought 'what's the harm'. It turns out that this was a decent decision, because the people who run the forum and who contribute to it are a really decent bunch, who apart from having questionable morals (something that does seem to occur with gamers from time to time), seemed really like minded and genuinely have something to say.

Don't panic by the way, I do have a point to this post. The forum organises Game Nights, in which the game of choice is voted upon in a poll and then played at a decided time with the other forum members. So we all agreed on Left 4 Dead after a landslide vote in its favour, and I have to say (with hand on heart), it was the most fun I've had playing the game online to date. There was no selfish hogging of health, as soon as anyone went down or was under attack help was on the way as soon as possible and the game truly felt like a team game. Exactly how it should be played. I think most of the people from the forum are probably sick of the majority of selfish gamers who don't play the game as a team effort and go Rambo, subsequently getting everyone killed.

Then the real fun began. I got to play as the undead. I had yet to do this before last night, and playing with other human controlled players made the odds of the survivors getting out alive drop drastically. Playing as a Hunter, Smoker, Boomer or on one occasion the Tank made the game extremely fun, and totally turned the way you play on its head. No longer were you on the look out for AI controlled zombies you took reasonably predictable paths. Now you were the hunter, and the prey was the very people you enjoy talking to online. I was absolutely amazed at how good a handful of players were at being the undead, attacking at perfectly planned opportunities to cause the most damage. Suffice to say, few made it out of the campaigns alive.

If you want to really enjoy Left 4 Dead, I highly recommend playing with like minded people. If you think that Frugal Gaming sounds like your cup of tea, then get down to the forums, sign up, and take part in the next Game Night. I know I'll be there.

Witness The Fitness

2009-03-07T14:22:00.005Z

So the time has finally come and Wii Fit has finally graced our household. Little Miss WLIG insisted that we have it after playing on her brothers copy at her parents house. I believe my level of commitment to the project was; "it's your money hun, do what you want". Suffice to say that I wasn't too enthusiastic about playing around with Nintendo's £70 cash cow. Despite this, the other day a nice big play.com package hit our door step, the Wii was moved out of my office space and into the living room, and the Wii-Fitting began.

I have to say, that the game takes forever to get into if you're a first time user. Everything, including your weight, height, bmi, posture and ability to balance will be measured, as the game cheerily informs you of how obese you are and how bad your posture is. Already I don't like this thing telling me how unhealthy I am, and I consider having a smoke while I play just to have my own smug way of silently laughing at the trendy white balance board. Oh, and if you have not used the balance board before, it does have an annoying habit of saying "ouch" every time you step on it, which was cute the first few times we used it, but really begins to grate after the nth time.

In regards to the balance board itself, I have to say that I am quite impressed with it. It's a lot more responsive than I thought it would be, and it knows exactly where on the board you are putting pressure, meaning it can recognise if you are leaning in a particular direction, rather than just picking up on which foot you have on the board.

I regards to the training it offers, the activities are very varied. I personally preferred the balance games, especially one of the games that resemble the old Marble Madness that I used to play on the NES. But the ability level required of the player differs greatly between each of the games. For instance, some of the muscle work outs require you to be able to do a handful of push ups and as well as one handed push ups (I must confess, that I was rubbish at this), something that could present quite a challenge for those who aren't in the best of shape. But some of the games like free jogging don't even require the balance board and are extremely simple, requiring little to no effort. Surely a lack of effort defeats the whole point of Wii Fit?

I'm not sure where I stand on Wii Fit, one part of me wants to buy into the 'casual gaming is the new black' spiel that Nintendo keeps on pumping out, and admit that this is a clever piece of kit that if used correctly could help you on your way to becoming healthy. The other side of me is being slightly more jaded and wants nothing to do with this thing that is supposedly entertaining, but could hardly be called a game! As I do see both the positives and negatives in Wii Fit, my only recommendation to you would be to try it, maybe avoid purchasing it if you can, but at least give it a go, then form your opinion.

Delusions Of Grandeur

2009-03-06T13:28:00.005Z

So the developers over at Namco have been making some pretty big claims recently. They suggest that their upcoming multi-platform beat-em-up, Tekken 6, will be influencing the specifications of the next Xbox. Apparently the game is pushing the 360 to the limit and the fighting maestros are struggling to keep the game running at a respectable 60 fps. Apparently the disc format is to blame. It runs out that the speeds at which DVDs can be read at are a bit too slow for the graphic intensive game to run at its intended speed.

Whilst we here at We Live In Games are willing to view this as mere hyperbole on Namco's part, I can't help but feel that this does raise the issue that the 360s reliance on outdated DVD technology may be holding it back. Whether this means that the next Xbox will finally cave into consumer pressure and pay Sony for use of its Blu-Ray discs in conjunction with Xbox games, or that we will see a move into true solid state gaming, making the games run straight from the hard drive or flash drive is something for speculation. But it does raise the question of how much longer the 360 can keep outdoing Sony's PS3, with its limited storage space and read speeds of DVD. We already know that Hideo Kojima's masterpiece, Metal Gear Solid 4, wouldn't work on 360, due to its need to arrive on multiple DVDs, how long will it be before multi-format games become unsuitable for a 360 release?

I doubt that many companies would risk losing out on Microsoft's massive installed user base compared to Sony's still lagging one, but we might start seeing a quality jump between multi-platform releases, as more and more developers come to grips with the system. It will be interesting to see if what Namco are saying is true when the game finally hits the street.

Lost Blogger

2009-03-05T23:07:00.006Z

My goodness, has it really been over a week since the last post on this, the epitome of good games blogging? Well my fellow gamers, guess what? Life bites. As foretold a little while back my life has been getting really hectic. With a degree run by monkeys who don't know how to stagger the work load, a part time job offering some more hours (thank you Primus, I need the money) and my future job taking up time via an unpaid placement, I've had little time to sleep, let alone write. So, huge apologies for the big gap between articles, but things are looking up, and with some deft time management we'll have things back to normal in no time. Promise.

So what has been going on since I last spoke to you all. Well, very little in all honesty. I know, this is looking like a slow post, but bear with me, things usually get fun around here, somewhere in the middle where the rant filled gooey centre usually lives. I promised myself that tonight I owed myself a night off to get some gaming done, and decided that as the hype for Lost Planet 2 has been ramped up recently with a proper announcement from Capcom and a nice tasty trailer, I really should break open the cellophane on the original Lost Planet, and see why people were getting excited a couple of years ago, when the game hit 360.

First thoughts I had were, my god (Primus again), for a game that is supposed to be a western styled action game, it's amazing how prominently the Japanese origins shine through. From the main character, to the story (yup, a hero with amnesia), to the characters you meet and their dialogue, right up to the visual feel of the game, you can tell that this game comes the land of the rising sun. And it's even more obvious that this is a Capcom game. I know, it's from legendary Mega Man and Onimusha creator; Keiji Inafune, but I was shocked at how much this influence shone through. The dialogue is a little on the painful side and obviously torn straight out of every badly translated anime you've ever had the misfortune to watch and the controls take a little getting used to, but their is something special about the game. Keeping in mind its creators other great action title, Onimusha, the difficulty curve starts out with you mowing down enemies with ease, with plenty of ammunition and health available. But about a few minutes down the line, as the story starts to unfold, you begin to regret the difficulty setting you started the game with. You will die in this game. A lot. But I think that it is important to remember that this game came from the guy who made Mega Man. Those games were hard. You died in those games, all the time. If you didn't you're a gaming god, or a freak (you decide if I'm talking about you).

Despite the slow and very cut scene heavy start to the game, it does feel like good fun. It's not on a par with other third person shooters like Gears of War or its sequel, but it feels solid and at times you do feel the adrenaline pumping through your brain. I'm going to do my best to keep on playing this and I'm going to reserve all of my opinions of the game until I'm finished, but keep your eyes peeled for a review in the not too distant future.

Aw, it's good to be back, I had missed talking to you all. Once you've read this post I want you to close your eyes and imagine receiving a big hug from We Live In Games. Go on, you know you want to!

Surviving Quake Live

2009-02-25T22:00:00.006Z

So Quake Live is finally up and available for public use in its current Beta form. For those not in the know, Quake Live is an amazing piece of technical wizardry that aims to offer the enjoyment of Quake III Arena in the convenience of your web browser, for absolutely nothing! Totally free! Being the excited little gamer that I am, I immediately visited the site and cast away all those feelings of rejection from not being invited to the closed Beta. And then something unexpected happened, something that didn't even register on the fun radar. A queue! I signed up, and joined the end of the line at number 30,000 or so and waited, for what felt like forever. In the mean time I got some work done and signed up to the Quake Live twitter account to get live updates about the various technical difficulties the site was having and how I should find the queuing times dropping imminently.

And then something magic happened. The mentioned improvements to the queuing system took place and I watching as my place in the queue took a sharp drop (getting down to 4 digits seemed like a miracle, the drop to 3 was mind boggling) and the pace at which I approached the front of the queue vastly improved. But then, as if some evil little devil was watching over my shoulder, waiting for the ideal moment to screw me over, when I hit position 145, I got hit! By a metaphorical articulated truck doing 80 mph with the intention of mowing be down. I jumped right up to 300,000 odd in the queue, and then slipped down to 29,000. 29,000, not 145 where I had been before. It was at this point that I considered using the keyboard to commit suicide, possibly by impaling myself upon it by jumping out of a twenty storey high building, with the business end pointed at my midriff, in a desperate attempt at eviscerating myself. This little routine continued for some time, with the queuing system constantly torturing me like I was an ant and it was a pissed off child with a magnifying glass.

I was getting upset and the profanities where getting worse. This seemed a bit silly, after all I was trying to play a free version of a game I used to play (and still own) just because it was free and in a browser. But whilst on it's own it sounds a bit simple, as an idea it really is something quite amazing. Here, in the year 2009, a company is actually squeezing an entire game that once came on a CD-ROM into a web browser. We're not talking about a simple 2D puzzle game here, we're talking about a full blown 3D shooter that once stood as a pillar, a standard by which all other games within its genre would be compared. I truly think that what they've done is quite an amazing achievement. So, with that in mind I busied myself with other things that were probably more important and did my best to remain patient as I watched numbers that I had already seen pass before, pass again, as my new nemesis, the queuing system, mocked me.

Eventually, at the point at which my spirit had been well and truly broken, the golden gates opened, and the evil electronic bouncer let me in. I'm assuming that all the swearing followed by crying worked in my favour. So how does the game play? Well, I've got to be honest, it feels just like Quake III used to feel. They have pretty much recreated a game that I played years ago, and made it work in a browser. Sure there are problems, and I did get kicked out of a couple of matches because of errors with the host server and one game didn't even load at one point, but this is a Beta, minor problems like this are to be expected. Other than these teething difficulties the game plays smoothly, sounds great and the tutorial even helped me to remember how to play, even if I struggled with my rocket jumps (something I never could get the hand of). All that waiting felt worth while, even if my first few kills where just for stress relief.

This is a milestone in gaming and a true technological marvel, I recommend that you get yourself over to Quake Live, get yourself signed up and take a trip down memory lane, it wont cost you a penny, only your time and (if you have the problems I did) possibly your sanity

Interference

2009-02-24T13:12:00.005Z

It's a hobby right? This little obsession the majority of us have? Just something to do in our spare time? Whittle away a few minutes playing our current favourite piece of electronic entertainment, and watch those minutes turn into hours with a smile on our faces? But how many of us have found this past time eat into our every day lives? How many of you have pulled the odd all nighter just to see that fancy end cut scene and sit smugly as the end credits roll, just to go into work or whatever it is you do in the day, with blood shot eyes and a can of Red Bull permanently affixed to your lips? I know I've done it, and on countless occasions. I've gone into seminars with only two braincells still functioning thanks to the miracle of caffeine, just because I needed to see a game through to the end.

This hobby we all enjoy really eats into our time, with games usually running up to the 20 hour mark, or longer if like myself you enjoy the odd RPG and their scary cousin, the JRPG. But does it affect our day to day lives? I know myself that I've decided that a few runs on Call of Duty 4 are far more important than preparing myself for a lecture or essay that is most likely due to be handed in a few days, leaving myself a last minute panic to pull everything together in the hopes that my attempt at a degree wont be in vain. I've turned up at work and pulled through by operating on automatic, hoping that my tiredness and addiction goes unnoticed.

With the games industry continuing to grow and the number of good quality 'must have' titles being released, we seem to be being sucked in to a nasty habit that appears to be consuming, at least in my case, all of my disposable income (of which I have very little nowadays). Is it becoming too much? Should we all take a step back and admit that we have a problem? I know that it's not really comparable to other guilty pleasures in life such as alcohol and smoking (guilty), and no where near as devastating as the addictive effects of something like illegal drug use, but there are similarities. Many of the games we enjoy seem to be turning us into obsessive compulsive's; we must find the right coloured key to continue, or collect x amount of a certain object. When this need does become obsessive, and we find that these little side quests that are basically errands to collect objects are becoming just as important as finishing the game, is that not similar to that need to have another cigarette, rather than just the one? I can't help but feel that Microsoft, and the subsequent copying by Sony, have become the cigarette company of our happy little indulgence by adding achievements. Whilst I've managed to avoid the temptation to play games just for this purpose (I know I don't have the time to), I know that there exist so called 'achievement whores' who play games with the intention of adding to their gamer score and have these little badges displayed proudly on their gamer card. Has this jump turned the few into fully fledged obsessives, who's only drive to play the game is to obtain these achievements, rather than just do what was intended and play the game?

Please take this as food for thought, I don't mean to make this a statement of fact that those who enjoy video games have an addiction comparable to those who can't say no to a drink and other more socially frowned upon substance abuse. But I do think that we do need to look closely at our own gaming habits, and determine; "is this really healthy for me?".

Feel free to let me know how you feel by commenting on this post.

LittleBigRelationship

2009-02-23T22:27:00.008Z

Uh oh! Things went a little bit wrong earlier today and Little Miss WLIG and I fell out. After both of us having a bit of a grumble to ourselves, we had a chat, and as usually happens we worked things out and had a cuddle. I know you were worried, so stop pretending you weren't. Anyway, on to business, once we had sorted things out, Little Miss WLIG asked if we could play some video games together. Once my heart and brain had stopped melting because I felt extremely lucky to have her and to be asked such an awesome question, I asked what she wanted to play. After going through the usual, a thought hit me. All that time we've spent playing 2 player platform games like Super Mario Bros. 3, and I've yet to play LittleBigPlanet with her. So I dug up the old trusty Sixaxis (which needed to be charged as we played) and grabbed my nice white Dual Shock 3 (imported before UK release of course darlings!).

Did we ever have some fun. After having a basic run down of the controls and taking an initial, "oh dear this is a bit much" moment during playing on quick play mode on some random German level. We started having some fun. I was chuffed to find that despite all the pink, Little Miss WLIG's Sack Boy didn't look anywhere near as outrageous as mine, and that the controls were easy to teach and for her to pick up. The game is unbelievably good fun in co-operative. After the shock of the Germans, we played the early story levels on our own and had an awesome time. Maybe it was the reconciliation still lingering in the air, but I don't think that I've had this much fun on a games console with my girlfriend since, well, ever!

So we started to play some of the user made levels, and this is were things fell down. Whilst the few are good fun, it is pretty obvious that the majority of people who submit there own levels aren't doing a job even remotely related to designing. It was at this moment that I felt myself agreeing with Yahtzee. Should people who don't even have the remotest concept of how level design works, or of quality testing, be putting out material with a big fat sticker of approval from the game itself? I know that the star rating system exists, but when I play a 4 star rated level, I expect it to at least work.

Unfortunately, bad level design did put an end to my gaming session with Little Miss WLIG, but luckily not a downer on the experience, and hopefully we'll have a play in the land of the Stephen Fry voice over some time soon. I think it's high time we all laughed at Nintendo and its efforts to blur gender barriers in gaming, LittleBigPlanet is doing just fine without you.

Hey! You Got PSP 2 In My PSP-4000

2009-02-23T12:13:00.009Z

It's been reported over on VideoGames247, that whilst the rumours that Sony regularly shot down about the PSP 2 being well into development are indeed false, the electronics giant has another card to play. Apparently the PSP is due another visit to the surgery for a cosmetic overhaul, but unlike the minor changes that occur ed in the 2000 and 3000 models of lighter, smaller and prettier, this one looks set to be a major aesthetic overhaul.

How major you ask, well if you remember the old mock ups that surfaced on the Internet quite some time ago (see image on top right), it turns out that you wouldn't be too far away from what Sony have planned. Apparently we're going to see a front sliding screen (just like the mock ups) and I would assume another jump in screen quality, hopefully sorting out the problems that were had with the PSP-3000's screen.

According to rumours that originated on Eurogamer, we will also be seeing an end of 2009 release.

Whilst I'm cautiously optimistic about this news, especially seeing as nothing has been announced over at Sony yet, this seems like a great move for the company. The PSP still has a handful of good titles on the way, and an awesome back catalogue of games of available, many of which are dirt cheap nowadays. A re-release could encourage those who aren't on board yet to buy, and the cheap games are a great incentive when you consider how bad the economy is at the moment.

I'll keep my eyes peeled for an official announcement and post as soon as solid details surface.

Apologies And Head Shots

2009-02-22T22:52:00.006Z

I've been stressed. Stressed to the teeth! A combination of degree commitments and those of the money earning kind, left me feeling exhausted and run down. As a result I got sick. Very sick! So sick that walking up and down the stairs hurt a lot. As a result of both a heavy work load and feeling really under the weather I haven't been able to play game for a while, let alone write about them. So lets get it out of the way, apologies for the lack of posting and apologies for any future interruptions to an otherwise regular service.

Now onto more fun things. I've been increasing my online presence on Xbox Live through Call of Duty 4, a game I hadn't played for quite some time, and was I ever amazed. The game still looks amazing, despite being over a year old, and there's still a huge online community. Most importantly, the game plays smoother than most recently released titles. It took me all of 5 minutes to remember all the controls and my old strategies and probably 5 more before I started to adapt to the those who have obviously not put the game down since it came out, and changed how I played. All those old hiding spots had changed, people had begun using the maps in different ways. Did that challenge ever make the game fun. I've been enjoying this game to the exclusion of a big stack of games I've yet to play.

So what's left to, well, loathe? Well, I still hate (as with every game online) the fact that headsets exist and that people insist on using them. Oh yes, and the fact that they're either 12 or sound like they have about two brain cells. Why some silly Muppet insisted on telling everyone on the map where they were is completely beyond me. Not that I took advantage and killed him off a few times to make a point. Oh, and on behalf of everyone who plays online, whistling a merry tune down the mike is not acceptable. Please either stop or promise to never reproduce. Beyond that my only other personal grievance is with the snipers. Boy do I ever hate snipers. I really appreciate the skill in what you do, and to those who do it well and remember to move and not just camp, it's so sweet when I get the rare opportunity to stab you from behind. But it is so aggravating to be killed from miles away by an unknown killer. Keep it up, but don't be a sleazy camper, because girls wont sleep with you if you do. And they know, they can tell!

So the game is still great, and although I'm only at rank 23 at type of posting, I'm still hitting the top three in Free-For-All on a pretty regular basis. If you play feel free to add me, my gamer tag is BlueTagBukowski, and if you hadn't noticed yet, I now have my gamer card posted in the right hand column of the blog.

Hope to see you online.

The DS And i

2009-02-19T22:18:00.003Z

Japan have had these for a while and the US got there release dates the other day and now it's our turn. The DSi will be available for purchase in the UK on 3rd April this year at a slightly high price of £149.99. I've been looking forward to this for a bit, the loss of the Game Boy Advance slot doesn't worry me too much as I still keep my trusty Game Boy Micro around, but the inclusion of a flash card slot and the future possibility of DSi-ware is quite interesting. Xbox Live Arcade has brought us some great games, and with the increased interest and installed user base of the DS, if this takes off it would be great to see a similar service on the handheld.

For me personally, the one improvement I would like to see on the old DS Lite is a more responsive D pad. Because, to be honest, the old DS Lite one was rubbish, and pretty much the only reason (except for wanting to save the pennies) that I never upgraded from my old chunky silver DS. Which still serves me well today, except for a very tired looking touch screen.

If anyone already has one of these through the magic of importing, please let the blog know if they're any good and if the rest of us who've waited for the UK release should get one.

Return To The USG Ishimura

2009-02-18T16:05:00.005Z

This one looks quite interesting, below you'll see a video from kotaku in which you can see the first view of Dead Space Extraction, the new Dead Space game for Wii!! The game is going to take place during the events before Issac and friends arrived on the USG Ishimura, but it's uncertain what kind of a game it'll be apart from the fact that it will be a first person perspective game. Speculation says that we will see an on rails shooter, but it'll be interesting to see what EA do with the new perspective, and how much it will effect the feel of the game.

Beyond those concerns, if any of what's being shown on this trailer is in game, then they're really getting some beautiful visuals out of the poor old Wii. Hoping that this one gives me another reason to keep Nintendo's golden child.

It Begins To Take Shape

2009-02-17T13:10:00.000Z

So the show that was once The 1up Show, that has now in it's unshackled form become Area 5's Co-Op and is currently into it's second episode (video below) and things appear to be taking shape. The chat about the games feels more focused and the banter in between segments feels more natural and entertaining. It really feels like it's starting to become something very special.

Take a look below and see what you think, but if you're with me, I think that we're all safe in hoping that the good work continues.

A Rekindled Love Affair

2009-02-16T22:30:00.000Z

After the lovely rebooting of my online presence on Xbox Live, via the gift of a Gold account, I've been getting back to grips with Call of Duty 4. I was actually quite amazed. The game is over a year old, and still looks gorgeous and still plays like it was made by the gods. It didn't take me more than a few minutes to reacquaint myself with the controls, remember my old tactics, and start to get my stats up.

Sure, the game isn't perfect, you still get the annoying children play online with their dammed microphones on so you have to hear them say "head shot" whenever they achieve said shot. But then again, when you can almost see the tears welling in their eyes as you continually track them down and kill them with immaculate aim and sneaky knife's to the back, you begin to calm down a bit. I'm talking about in the game by the way.

But after a while playing my favourite reason to own an Xbox Live Gold account (and it does annoy me that you must), a horrible thought hit. Infinity Ward are working on Call of Duty (6) Modern Warfare 2. Surely this means that when this inevitable pillar of gaming goodness arrives, the majority of Call of Duty 4 gamers, myself included, will jump ship and start playing with the new kid in town. But what will happen to your old stats? Now, I'm not doing desperately well with mine in comparison to others who didn't have a Call of Duty hiatus due to the restrictive price of Xbox Live Gold, but I would hate for all that work to be left behind.

So here's what I'm saying. Think of it as my final thoughts of the day.

Infinity Ward, if you're reading this. Please let us bring our old dusty Call of Duty 4 stats across with us, when we join you and the new messiah, Call of Duty 6. If you could make new perks and weapons available so that there's still something to work towards, that would be great. We hang our heads before you, and plea with you to grant us this merciful request... Amen!

Death Becomes Him

2009-02-14T10:29:00.004Z

The hype machine is in full effect as the new God of War III trailer has gone up (see below). According to an interview between Gamezine and David Jaffe, the trailer is running in the in-game engine, with no after effects added.

Got to be honest, I'm a wee bit on the excited side now, fingers crossed that we get a demo before release.

Zombie Survival Guide For Muppets

2009-02-13T22:17:00.005Z

So, after having a fun laugh (again) at Left 4 Speed I felt that it was time to reacquaint myself with the mighty Left 4 Dead, and seeing as my lovely girlfriend gave me an early valentines day gift in the form of 13 months of Xbox Live Gold, I thought we would have some fun with the online multiplayer. And oh dear, it seems things have gotten bad... Really bad. The majority of people appear to have forgotten how to play Left 4 Dead, so here's my top 5 Left 4 Dead tips for the intellectually challenged.

1. The game is a co-operative multiplayer, if your team mates go down, once the undead ease off you need to pick them up. You wont last long on your own, as a handful of people I played with this afternoon didn't learn.

2. I'm happy to heal you, that too is a part of the co-operative bit of the game. But please, for the love of all that is decent, when I'm in the red on health and you have a full bar plus a med pack, do the math and repay the favour. It makes sense to do the same for your other team mates.

3. That big flashing sign on the screen that indicates that a Smoker or a Hunter have me or another team mate pinned is too difficult for most to ignore, and for that I'm grateful. But please pay attention to the fact that some zombies may have myself or others in the team trapped, and help would be equally appreciated.

4. Please sort out the Boomer in either the traditional melee then shoot method, or get him from a distance. We don't need Boomer vomit attracting more attention from the horde than we already have.

5. I'll say this last one slowly for you: Leave. The. Witch. Alone.

This isn't all of the online community I know, but for those repeat offenders, you know who you are. Looking forward to killing some more brain munching scum with those who know the score.

Another Slow Day At The Office

2009-02-13T13:49:00.003Z

There's not too much going on and this is old, but it seriously cracks me up.

Enjoy ^_^

Square Enix Waste A Phoenix Down

2009-02-12T14:08:00.006Z

Kotaku have reported that Square Enix have made a rather odd move to purchase Eidos who still hold the rights to the Tomb Raider, Hitman and Kayne and Lynch franchises. Whilst I can see that the Tomb Raider franchise is still a cash cow that will most likely still be being squeezed until there is no one left to buy the games, the Hitman franchise hasn't had an installment for some time, and Kayne and Lynch didn't exactly set the world on fire. So why are Square Enix paying 129% of what Eidos are actually worth for the company, especially considering our current economic climate and also according to Kotaku, Square Enix themselves aren't exactly in the strongest of financial positions.

It seems like an odd move for the JRPG giant, it'll be interesting to see if this transaction bears some fruit.

Lets Clear A Few Things Up

2009-02-12T13:19:00.004Z

I've been approached by a couple of people in the land of the living about the scores I give games. Namely complaining that I've been giving out 8's and 9's. Well, there are a couple of reasons for that.

Firstly, this is my blog and as it says in the top right hand corner, I'm giving out my opinions, so if I think a game is good, I will say so, but that doesn't mean that I wont tear a game a new one if it's obviously unplayable. If it's bad, I'll say so.

Secondly, as I've already said, this is my blog. I'm not a writer for any form of games journalism other than what you see here and subsequently I don't receive review code from publishers. I'm going out and buying my own games with the small amounts of cash that I earn from a part time job. Because of this, as I'm sure you yourself will do, I try to hunt down better games, because I don't want to blow my hard earned cash on a complete stinker, just so I can moan about it on here. However, when the time comes that I do get my hands on a bad game (and oh Christ does it ever happen sometimes), I'll let you know.

Basically, the scores I give out reflect my honest opinion of a game, I'm under no influence from anyone to say otherwise, I just happen to have been playing a good run of games at the moment. Hope that clears a few things up for you, oh, and if you want to see a bad review I've been holding out on playing Too Human, but from what I hear, the games not at its best.

A Far Cry From The Previous Instalment

2009-02-10T11:59:00.006Z

After all my concern over what game I should play next (I know, life throws these dilemmas at you without warning), I finally decided that I needed to get back to some First Person Shooter fun. So my choices lay with either Far Cry 2, Fallout 3, F.E.A.R., Legendary, or getting back to some Left 4 Dead. Once I had recovered from being oddly obsessed with how my first 3 choices all began with an 'F', I decided that we would see what all the fuss was about with Far Cry 2.

I honestly got a bit bored with the first Far Cry, sure it was pretty, but the shooting felt pretty standard and when the monsters appeared, I struggled to take the game seriously. Subsequently it sits on the ever growing pile of unfinished games. So a few minutes into Far Cry 2 and I find my self feeling similar things. It looks pretty and the shooting feels pretty standard. For the first few minutes I'm convinced that I'm not going to enjoy this game. On a break I even check to see what kind of trade in price I can get for it.

And then something odd happened. All of a sudden, the game became fun. The shooting started to feel perfect (apart from the odd baddie who takes an enormous amount of bullets before falling), I found myself creeping through the bushes to find the ideal approach to take out an a gang of enemies. And once you finish the tutorial, the freedom truly kicks in. I can't even begin to describe how huge and free the game feels. You start to make sure that you aren't left without a vehicle, because it takes forever to get to anywhere by foot. Once you get buddies, you start to care for them, worried about them going out of their way to help you, but being sure that when the time comes, you do the same for them. You learn to buy weapons, rather than take them from corpses, because you don't want to have jamming issues. The game is one the most immersing experiences I've had since Grand Theft Auto IV. I really feel like being in the game is being a part of something real.

The only noticeably aspect that I'm currently unsure of is the isolation. I'm only a few hours in, and already it feels like everybody hates me. Unlike other games, where a variety of NPCs will meet and greet you, spurring on dialogue. In Far Cry 2, they are far and few between. Everyone, it would seem, is angry at you. They want you gone, and they are not afraid to show it. This does leave you feeling very alone. I'm going to leave my decision open on whether I think that this is a bad thing, or if it adds to the immersion.

Review up in the not too distant future.

Crimson Red Against Every Shade Of Grey Imaginable

2009-02-09T15:46:00.008Z

After a brief interruption to our usual service, I've managed to find the time to get a brief bit of gaming done. Seeing as I downloaded it when it came out a week ago, I felt that it was finally time to play through and share some thoughts on the Killzone 2 demo.

So lets address the first thing that will have struck you about this game whether you've played it or just seen screenshot or video. The visuals. When you look at them in the sense that it gives a realistic view of an industrial warehouse style setting, yes, it is incredible how many shades of grey Guerrilla have managed to squeeze out of the PS3. This may sound like a negative (and I'm aware very cliched) thing to say, but I think that it does do a positive turn for the game, namely the series baddies; the Helghast. Their menacing anime-Nazi style outfits with their dark black clothing and glowing orange eyes really do stand out against the everyday backgrounds of industrial anywhere. As the title of this blood implies, this also means that the frequent sprays of blood that escape your enemies bullet wounds are a stark contrast to your surroundings. Onto the other important side of the visuals, the graphics themselves. I know that there has been a lot of hype surrounding the graphical marvels that Sony have prophesied this game will bring. Whilst I don't want to put down what I think is an essential part of the games identity, I think that the setting makes it difficult to see the true potential of the games graphics, at least in the demo. Hopefully the end product will have more variety and allow the good graphics to shine through. At least what is on show isn't too much of a disappointment when compared to the trailer first shown at E3 way back in 2005.

The sound is amazing on the game too. I really feel that my puny speakers aren't doing the game justice. It feels like you need a decent surround sound system with a very beefy sub woofer to get the most out of the audio. Beyond the expected sounds of war, the brief dialogue you hear is pretty entertaining, if you get too close to a Helghast, you will hear them start to taunt you. It really sucks you in.

The only issue I feel so far is the control. It feels very, very slow. I know we've been spoilt in recent years by games with exemplary FPS control, such as the mighty Call of Duty 4, but I can't help that feel that this, the game intended to be a flag ship title for PS3 shouldn't feel this way. You feel ever so slightly as though you're fighting against the controls when moving or aiming, as if you were driving an old Ford Fiesta with no suspension left. Surely the controls of a fast paced FPS should be tight and concise, just like the aforementioned Call of Duty 4. Maybe this is because this is a demo code, but I can't help but feel that this is something that wont be cleared up by release day.

Apart from that, the level design on the section I played felt pretty solid, the route you were supposed to take seemed relevantly obvious, although in the first encounter with the Helghast in which you are supposed to blow up a bridge, it did take me a while to work out why they wouldn't stop coming. A minor complaint, but level design is difficult to judge with only one small section of the game to play.

Killzone 2 seems to be a pretty decent game from the brief glimpse you're given by the demo, however I can't help but feel that as was with the first game back on PS2, the game itself wont actually live up to the hype. I sincerely hope it does, the PS3 could really do with another jewel in its crown.

Revenge Of The Blog

2009-02-08T10:10:00.004Z

First up, apologies for a lack of posting, I've had Mr and Mrs WLIG (aka my parents) up for a visit this weekend and this is the first opportunity I've had to post. Being a good host is very time consuming. As a result of this I've been unable to get any gaming done (please say that you can hear my tears), meaning the Killzone 2 demo is un-played, and my next game after God of War is untouched.

I'll get round to these soon, but in the meantime, I recommend that you check out the trailer for the new Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen game. I know the last game was average at best, but from the looks of things this one will be prettier than the last, and if rumours are true about Devastator being in the new film, the game could be a very interesting prospect.

Eyes peeled WLIG-ites.

Sir Chimpalot May Be Safe After All

2009-02-04T14:17:00.005Z

It's been reported over on 1up that Crytek, the minds behind the original Far Cry and Crysis, have picked up Free Radical, those lovely people who gave us Second Sight, Haze and more importantly the rather enjoyable TimeSplitters. For those who weren't aware, Free Radical were more or less finished back in December, meaning that along with the death of the then rumoured next Star Wars Battlefront game, TimeSplitters 4 would not be seeing the light of day. Whilst Free Radical being saved by Crytek is by no means a definite sign that we'll see TimeSplitters 4, we can all hope that it is a positive sign that the title is safe.

Fingers crossed.

***********

UPDATE

***********

Rumour confirmed on gamesindustry.biz. Now we play the waiting game to see if TimeSplitters 4 is still in the works.

******************

UPDATE No. 2

******************

It turns out that one of the conditions of Free Radical's assimilation into the Crytek family has resulted in a re-branding. News over on Videogaming 24/7 reports that the company will now go under the banner Crytek UK. Hey, as long as we still see TimeSplitters 4, I can live with that.

Many Stories Thousands of Years Old, One Game Four Years Old

2009-02-03T21:28:00.012Z

I have been totally blown away. I have just finished God of War. For those of you who don't know, God of War focuses on the quest of Kratos who is determined to avenge his murdered family by killing Ares, the God of War. The game is set during mythological Greece and pits you against many of the beasts associated with that mythology such as Medusa, the Minotaur and many more.

Kratos is armed with the Blades of Chaos, blades that are attached by chains to Kratos' arms that act as the main weapon and essentially define the combat. The games main selling point is the combat. It's so very visceral and brutal, you really get a good feel of contact with Kratos and the enemies he is eviscerating. The style of the combat is very expressive, there are extremely rare moments where you feel out of control or the fighting controls feel slow. The chain blades give a unique feel to the combat and allow you to both fight enemies at distance and take out hordes in single sweeps.

In addition to the combat controls, the movement feels very smooth making for some great platforming. This is in no small part thanks to the great level design. There are only a handful of areas in which you feel lost as to where to go or what to do next. The game also has a great sense of size and scale. All of the levels feel enormous and as with games such as the more recently released Assassin's Creed, you feel a real achievement when you reach some of the areas that at first seem unreachable. This is an amazing thing to achieve on the PlayStation 2, a piece of hardware that is now 9 years old.

Something of note is the difficulty. The game genuinely hearkens back to the days when games where meant to be frustratingly hard, and just because they required skill, not because they were poorly designed. And the game does require some serious skill. I finished the game on normal, I hate to think what state my controller would have been in, if I had attempted the hard mode.

That brings us to the games visuals. The art direction is amazing and continuous, nothing in the game is truly abstract enough to remove you from the experience. And the experience does look amazing. The PS2 must have been pushed right to it's limits for this game, and it easily looks as though it could be on a current generation machine, rather than last generations hardware. As I've said before, I can't believe I over looked this game until now.

The story is something you'll either love or hate, and this depends on your level of interest in proper old Greek Mythology and the old films that used those stories. Personally I really enjoyed the tale, I feel that it was told well, that the cut scenes maintained the visual continuity and that the dialogue was truly something special and a standard that I wished games today would follow. The ending isn't the biggest surprise, but I won't spoil it for you if, like me, you're late to the party.

I've enjoyed every minute of this game, even when it became frustratingly hard. It's an extremely solid game that makes you feel that you are an immensely powerful mortal, taking on a god. I recommend you get down your local game store and buy it now.

9/10

The Dilemma

2009-02-03T13:33:00.005Z

Those of you who keep up with blog may be aware that I've been playing the original God of War on my trusty PS2. I've got to be honest, I'm amazed at how much I'm enjoying it and annoyed that I hadn't played it sooner. I'm near the end so I'll save in depth thoughts for a review, but on to the issue of my dilemma.

In my excitement I've already picked up God of War II and I'm more than willing to play it, although it leaves some much newer games unplayed. I really want to start playing either Far Cry 2 or Fallout 3, or put some more time in on Left 4 Dead and the online modes for Gears of War 2. Not to mention the large number of RPG's I've been saving.

Should I really be playing older games when newer ones await? All I can say is thank goodness for the relaxed release schedule for games that I'm really after has slowed up, because I really can't warrant any more games for some time.

Any sugestions?

God of War review up soon, Gears of War 2 review up at some point in the future.

It's That Friend Who Now Needs Money

2009-02-02T16:22:00.008Z

Okay, I was pretty disappointed last week after playing the Resident Evil 5 demo. The old style clunky controls really put a massive downer on what should have been a hype inducing experience. Demos are supposed to get you excited about a game, dammit!

Well, either Capcom read my blog or the rest of the gaming community felt the same, because it turns out that the retail version of Resident Evil 5 will come with a more western audience focused Gears of War style control system. In other words you'll be able to 'run and gun' if you choose to do so, but not to disappoint fans who are stuck in the past, you'll be able to play with the old school stop, aim and shoot mechanism in you choose.

I think that this is a truly sensible move on Capcom's part, the up to date controls will appeal to new gamers much more than the old style controls would have. I think that as with Resident Evil 4:Wii Edition's updated controls, this change of heart will do wonders for the franchise and ensure they get some healthy sales when the game is released.

Now if only they could put out a patch for the demo to show off those controls...

***********

UPDATE

***********

Just to save for any confusion, it would appear that it's not certain that the new controls are actually going to be a feature in the final game. We'll have to wait and see on this one.

Adolescent Fantasies Never Die

2009-01-31T21:31:00.005Z

I really don't get it. I understand that she's made up of polyg ons and pixels, and I'm definitely getting more action than I was when she first made her appearance. So why do I and many other gamers find the adventures of Miss Croft so interesting?

Lara Croft has been a central focus of the media when looking at heroines in video gaming since 1996, and since then has appeared in 8 video games over a whopping 16 different pieces of hardware, two films courtesy of her portrayal by Angelina Jolie and has even had a comic produced around her, as well as countless amounts of fan fiction.

She has been looked upon as everything from a gaming icon, to a standard for feminism, to an adolescents pin up. I can't be totally absent from the young crowd of boys who at one time wanted to see more of Lara's polygons, but I do respect the often disputed role she fills in being a well recognised female lead, in a top selling video game franchise. It can't be underestimated how important it is that Lara is a woman who can readily look after herself (both financially and physically), achieves her own goals and still lives the a great life, especially when you consider that the standard for what is expected of woman is at such a low watermark in other well known video games. That's right Mario, I'm looking at you!

But anyway, Lara has been around for quite some time now, and yet, with the release of Tomb Raider: Underworld we still keep buying into the Tomb Raider franchise, despite the fact that other games can now do what Lara has been doing, but do it better than she can, and make it look prettier too. Uncharted on the PS3 is a prime example. Uncharted took the classic Tomb Raider template and gave it a much more engagin story, next generation visuals and a combat system that actually worked well. And yet, even thoguh this game did well, the Tomb Raider games continue to be an easy seller.

Could it be that Lara still represents what gaming is all about. Has she become the Mickey Mouse to the gaming industry. In that case, not matter what the future holds, will she remain as recognisable as Mario and Luigi. Only time will tell. In the meantime I'm saving my pennies for Tomb Raider: Underworld. Sex symbol, feminist heroine or simply video game icon, Lara Croft seems to be of interest to us all.

I Nearly Lost My Old Friend

2009-01-30T18:30:00.003Z

That's right, my poor old trusty launch day PlayStation 2, that I have cared for ever since I brought it home on that cold and wet November night in 2000, was coughing and spluttering recently. The reason for this temporary panic was because I had only just got around to playing God of War. I know what you're thinking, "Jon, you games savvy wizard, what are you doing only just playing a game from 2005?" Well I've got news for you kiddies, it's the real worlds fault! If only I had the time and money, I would have played this years ago, so EXCUSE ME, for being so behind the times!!

Sorry about that, had a moment.

Anyway, God of War inconveniently is one of the rare PS2 games to come on a DVD 9 disc. Put simply it comes on a dual-layered disc. Because my PS2 is getting on a bit, this challenge of reading everything off the disc and playing the game properly, proved to be akin to asking a pensioner to climb 6 flights of stairs whilst carrying 22 full bags from Tescos and an epileptic cat. Put simply, I kept on losing sound, levels were taking around 10 minutes to load and the cut scenes jumped like, well, an epileptic cat. In other words the whole gaming experience was becoming slightly marred.

I scoured the Internet looking for solutions, which ranged from the very simple option of buying a lens cleaning disc to the rather gruesome prospect of opening up my good old PS2 and fiddling with it's guts. I opted for the first option and had very little luck and the unfortunate pleasure of listening to the disc cleaning music that came on the disc (thank you Tescos).

So things weren't looking good, I began to entertain the idea of nice new trendy slimline PS2. A thought I quite liked purely as a consolidation for the loss of my old PS2. And is if by magic, the damn thing started working again! I can't help but think it overheard me talking to someone about purchasing one and got frightened into working condition.

I am honestly over the moon about this, I really do love my PS2, it's one of the few consoles that I was able to buy at launch day and pay full price for. Here's hopping that it doesn't decide to crap out on me any time soon, unlike it's unreliable friend, Mr 360.

As usual, this means that once I finish God of War, I'll post a review, and I'll do my best not to let my failing PS2 influence my score.

It's That Friend Who Never Grew Up

2009-01-28T15:55:00.006Z

I remember a time when I used to get really excited about the Resident Evil series. I remember seeing screen shots for Resident Evil 2 and thinking I must get this game. And the same thing happened for number 3 and for Code: Veronica. When Resident Evil 4 came along for GameCube and PlayStation 2, I couldn't help but feel that the excitement was waning. I mean, it really was more of the same but with a different view point and prettier visuals. But then Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition came out, and all of a sudden I had rekindled my love of making the heads of the undead explode. I mostly felt that this was due to the use of the Wii controls in the game. The Wii aiming gave the game a whole new appeal. All of a sudden, the clunky old controls felt like they had drunk 10 Red Bulls and said "you know what, if we have to stop to shoot, we;ll make it fun". It was awesome, I couldn't get enough and made sure that I finished it.

So Resident Evil 5 is on its way, and after my return to the series, I've been getting a bit excited again. However, something bad has happened. I recently downloaded the Resident Evil 5 demo on Xbox Live. All of a sudden, my old friend had stopped drinking Red Bull and had gone back to it's favourite drink, clunky controls! I couldn't believe how much playing Resident Evil with the Wii had improved the game play, until I found myself screaming at Chris Redfield to at least try to move when he was shooting, and at least make a few of those head shots count. I am utterly disappointed in how old the game feels.

I'm hoping that something spectacular happens between now and launch (I know, extremely unlikely), because in all honesty, if it doesn't, I'll wait until this one hits the bargain bins.

Dead Space Is Air That Is Inhaled By The Body In Breathing, But Does Not Partake In Gas Exchange

2009-01-27T21:27:00.006Z

Wow! No, I'm not referring to World of Warcraft, I genuinely mean, wow. I just finished Dead Space, and the ending was amazing. But without giving too much away, lets finish the review I started yesterday.

There isn't too much more to cover, as my last midway through review covered quite a lot, so lets talk about the things that you need to finish the game to know. First off, the baddies. They do get worse and worse as the game continues. If you're half way through like I was when I wrote the first half of this review, don't get too cocky, it gets worse. They get faster, they get stronger and on a few occasions you meet monsters that can't be killed by conventional means (you'll see when you come across them). The few bosses are great fun, there is a gigantic boss to round things off in a traditional end of a video game kind of way, and they all offer a real challenge, especially while you are still working out how to put them down for good.

The story is difficult to talk about, as I don't want to be one of those people who put spoilers out that ruin the game for anyone who truly wants to know "what happens next?" Suffice to say, there are twists and turns, characters that you will care for (including the rather quiet protagonist, Issac Clarke) and an ending that I strongly urge you to play through to see.

After finishing the game, I have to say that my initial concerns about the difficulty curve were some what premature. The game does make a jump in difficulty about half way through, that seems odd and out of touch with the rest of the games smooth delivery, but makes sense as the difficulty curve follows the same trend as the game continues.

One more note before I wrap this up. Be sure that once you have your level 5 Rig, you spend the remainder of your cash on power nodes to upgrade your weapons. Trust me, once you get this suit, you wont be needing your cash for much else.

Dead Space is truly an amazing achievement for a publisher like EA, who are notorious for releasing year after year updates of old franchises, adding very little originality to them in the process. Lets hope we see many more like this.

9/10

How To Overcome Your Fears

2009-01-26T13:49:00.008Z

I'm still doing my best to keep the USG Ishimura free of it's rather out of control infestation problem, so seeing as I've just passed the half way point, I believe it's time for a 'how things are going so far' semi-review.

Let's cover the old ground first, I'm truly enjoying the dismemberment physics, even through I'm a few hours in, I still find myself using the stomp attack to dismember the corpses of both the nasty aliens and the unfortunate crew members. There's just something about the delightful squelching! The atmosphere has maintained the feel that you are actually on board an abandoned space station where something terrible happened and the game has only relied on the lazy shock scares a hand full of times.

Now then, lets breach some new ground. Firstly, the suit, or Rig as it's called in the game, that Issac (the games protagonist) wears. I get genuinely excited by the prospect of finding the schematics for the next level of Rig, not just because of the fact that you become slightly stronger and resilient to enemy attack, but because you gain inventory slots in which to carry vital ammo, health, air and other items that you find on your travels. It's one of the rare yet infuriating moments in the game when you find a room filled with items where you have to decide what to take and what to leave behind. The result has been that I only carry two weapons with me and plenty of ammo for both, rather than waste my time filling my limited inventory slots with a variety of ammo for different weapons.

But there is another reason for my only carrying two weapons. In case you were wondering, I carry the Plasma Cutter (Cutter) and the Remote Control Disc Ripper (Ripper) because I find them to be the most effective. You start out with the Cutter and with it's ability to change the angle that you cut in by 90 degrees it's a very useful weapon when you consider that you deal the most damage when you remove enemies limbs. It's also the weapon that I recommend you spend time upgrading, as it becomes invaluable when fighting bigger and stronger enemies which require more firepower. The Ripper is an excellent second weapon as it allows you to deal with clustered enemies very easily by using its alternative fire mode in which it holds a spinning blade out in front of you for a brief period. It's messy but effective.

You also are armed with a stasis module that allows you to either slow the time around something or move certain objects. For some of the levels this tool is essential to even progress, and for some of the larger monsters, the ability to freeze them in place becomes a vital tool in your strategy. As well as the stasis module you carry an air tank for moments where decks become decompressed or you have to work outside of the Ishimura. Along with your suit and weapons, all of these can be upgraded using power nodes that you find are placed sparingly around the decks of the ship, by spending them at special upgrade benches. This adds another element of strategy to the game as you consider how to spend your power nodes, but trust me, spend them on your Plasma Cutter, you wont regret it.

I'm actually finding the story for the game to be quite engaging, even though it's looking to be very simple, and for those who hadn't guessed from the protagonists name (Issac Clarke), it borrows heavily from a variety of cherished science fiction. You get a great sense of isolation and subsequently there is a lack of dialogue, save for the occasional message from your fellow salvage crew, and the occasional word from some of the victims of the events you are investigating, but when these few do speak up, you do feel impressed by the quality of the voice and motion capture work that has gone into making this world believable.

As for the level of terror the game attempts to instill in the player, I so far have mixed feelings about this. I spent a whole chapter of the game terrified as the difficulty level made an obvious jump and the ammo and health started to become scarce, but I was only frightened because I couldn't use the skills I had already learned to defeat the monsters who had ideas about my life expectancy. This gave me more of an adrenaline rush than the tedious 'boo' moments of monsters appearing out of the dark or from behind closed doors. The game does try to be scary in a traditional atmospheric sense and does almost reach them with it's strong visual style and amazing sound effects. But it falls flat of hitting the scare levels achieved by it's film counterpoint, Event Horizon.

If you haven't noticed yet, I am genuinely loving this game, I'm amazed that a company like EA has put out an original game like this, amongst many other great original titles such as Mirror's Edge. I'm pushing through and doing my best to finish this game soon. When I do I will post the rest of my review, followed by a final score.

Hopefully the rest of the game will maintain the high standard set by the first half.

Lets Do The Time Warp Again

2009-01-25T15:48:00.004Z

In recent interview on Gamasutra, Jonathan Blow, the mind behind excellent XBLA platformer; Braid, has spoken about what he's been up to since the games release. Apart from working on an updated version for the 360 to fix a few bugs and the possibility of a PC or Mac version, he has confirmed that he's working on a new game that he states is an 2D RPG. Considering the small amount of dialog in the original Braid it would be interesting to see how this works. Considering how beautiful the art direction in Braid was, an RPG with similarly great looking worlds to explore would be a huge selling point.

One to watch out for.

There May Be Trouble, Ahead...

2009-01-24T21:08:00.004Z

Microsoft are at it. So are Sony, EA and a whole bunch of developers and publishers. Even Nintendo might not be safe! This current economical climate has resulted in several lay-offs at a lot of big companies, as well as the unfortunate closure of others. Well, I have the solution to all your worries, right here:

Yup, it's been a slow weekend for gaming news.

Give Me Names, I'll Give You God

2009-01-22T20:21:00.003Z

Ubisoft has just announced a bunch of new games for 2009/2010. The report over on Kotaku mentioned a few moderately interesting titles, but most interesting of all was the mention of Assassin's Creed 2. Whilst those who have finished the game will be aware that a sequel was in development (I can't go into more without really spoiling the story for those who have yet to finish it), it's nice to know that number two isn't too far away. I for one can't wait to see what Altair has been up to.

Also mentioned was a sequel to Red Steel which will make use of the new Motion Plus on the Wii, although no more details than that were announced. Although it was flawed, Red Steel was still a reasonable game. It would be great to see what Ubisoft could do for the next game, knowing what they do now about how to use the Wii hardware, plus having the much mooted Motion Plus.

Oh, and if you haven't played Assassin's Creed, the title of this post is a quote from the game, we don't actually operate a names-for-God exchange system here... Sorry. But pick up Assassin's Creed, play it and be grateful that your wait for the sequel wont be as long as mine.

I Still Miss My 1up Show Fix

2009-01-22T17:24:00.005Z

As you should be aware of by now, the 1up show and 1up Yours podcasts died when Ziff Davis sold the 1up Network to UGO. From the death of these two great shows there has risen the following great podcasts. If you miss your 1up Yours, EGM Live or 1UP Radio, I highly recommend that you point your browser over to eat. sleep. game. or The Geekbox.

However, if you need your new 1up Show, take a look at this:

You can find their home page over at Area 5.

Hope you enjoy.

Issac May Be In Trouble!

2009-01-21T23:25:00.001Z

I'm still making my way through the wonderful brown world of Dead Space and things have reached the stage where after each nasty little encounter I feel the need to take a break before I carry on. It's at this point that I have to admit that the game may actually be scary. Just a little bit. But I will persevere dammit! Otherwise I'll never get around to watching the Dead Space anime on DVD. That I've already bought. In case Dead Space was any good... I've said too much.

Anyway, apparently there's going to be a comic from Wildstorm to pad out the back story for the upcoming Prototype game. Seeing as I'm looking forward to the game, I may actually check out the comic, after all, I really enjoyed the Mirrors Edge comic (which I will review at some point) and can't see how this could be worse than that. I'm sure I had some logic there.

On a fun end note with some relation to cake, I highly recommend you ask everyone to leave the room to get moist over this. I know I did.

Saying Hello To Someone Can Be Dangerous

2009-01-20T14:22:00.003Z

After being half scared to death by Mr Relations saying "hello" to me this afternoon, I felt it was time for a 'look-at-me' update of what I'm currently playing.

First up, we will deal with the frightening hello. I'm still having the odd trundle through EA's surprisingly good Dead Space on the 360. I'm up to the 4th chapter and the game has actually started to become scary. Not in the "did you hear that?" kind of way, but more in the "I have very little ammo and health left" kind of way. The baddies have become bigger and nastier and the game has begun to offer more of a challenge. So after all the fun of enjoying the gruesome dismemberment physics, I'm starting to pay a lot of attention to any cues the game gives that a big nasty may be approaching. Which is awesome, because the game now has me really engaged and eager to see what is happening. Which subsequently meant that a simple hello from a friend, rather than a horrible noise from the game, nearly gave me a heart attack. If only the game could have been this engaging from the start.

On the PSP I had been enjoying an immensely good time on the amazing Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of The Lions. Trouble is, I hit a wall. And I mean a figurative gaming one, not a literal one involving poor collision detection, because it's just not that kind of game. In an odd turn of events for me, this meant that I lost interest. Which whilst disappointing, meant I started playing Star Ocean: First Departure instead. There's always a silver lining. It's proving to be a really good game, the animated cut scenes by Production IG are incredible and have left me showing off my PSP to anyone who sits near me when they come up. As for the audio, that too has been really well done, with a great soundtrack and pretty good voice acting.

I'm truly engaged with both Dead Space and Star Ocean at the moment, once I'm finished I'll be sure they both get a proper review. In the meantime, please be sure you don't scare people playing scary games, it's dangerous dammit!

Third Times A Charm

2009-01-19T08:14:00.005Z

In a recent interview with Street Fighter IV producer Yoshinori Ono, Jeux-Actu (vaguely a translation) found that a third Capcom Vs SNK is a possibility. Being that I used to LOVE the first two and a few of the titles they released on the NEO GEO Pocket, I would love to see this title see the light of day. Preferably using the beautiful 2D hand drawn standard being set by King of Fighters XII.

My combo fingers are tingling.

Send In The Clowns

2009-01-18T21:35:00.003Z

Apologies to anyone who has been enjoying this little corner of mine, but you may have noticed that nothing was posted yesterday... Or today! I can only get on my knees and beg for forgiveness!

But you see, the real world has been interfering with the wonderful world of games that usually consumes the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to post anything here.

If you can find it in your hearts to let me off on this one slip up, a magical leprechaun will visit you in your sleep and hide lucky charms under your pillow.

Deal?

Spoke XIII Times Too Soon

2009-01-16T20:26:00.003Z

After my initial words of relief over Final Fantasy XIII being released in 2010, Square Enix have issued a statement to MCV in which they claim the next installment in the Final Fantasy series doesn't actually have a release date for Europe yet. All I can say is; "oh".

Can't help but feel that this is all my fault...

Unlucky Number XIII

2009-01-16T18:52:00.004Z

Please hear my little brain sign a gentle whimper of both relief and annoyance. It turns out that we most likely wont be seeing Final Fantasy XIII in the west until April 2010. The whimper is because I live to play Final Fantasy, I look forward to the next instalments like cults do kool-aid. Waiting longer than I have to is like being told Christmas is being delayed by a few months... When your'e only 6.

So why my sigh of releif? Well, I have built up a serious back log of games at the moment, whilst it pains me to say it, I could do with a bit of time to finish a few of then before the next Square Enix masterpiece drops.

This may sound unpopular, but thank you Microsoft. Because of you and your 360 getting FFXIII on your console, we have a nice long wait in the west until we get to save the world again.

It's a very, very; MadWorld

2009-01-16T11:33:00.005Z

News has hit magical Internet land that MadWorld will be released in the UK unedited. Rumours imply that this would make the game the most violent Wii game to date, contending with Manhunt 2 and No More Heroes.

However, it has been suggested that this was an intentional move from Platinum Games, who made the game so that it would receive the Mature rating in the US without the need to make any cuts. Obviously this would leave us with a happy BBFC, who apart from causing Manhunt 2 to be majorly delayed by banning both versions of the game, are traditionally quite lenient on their censorship when compared to our American cousins.

I think this game being released on the Wii will give back Nintendo so many of its hardcore fans, who may have jumped ship since the company started focusing on releasing casual games that your gran can enjoy. Lets be honest, the console could do with a few more "proper" games. Lets hope no controversy from the mainstream press changes this positive turn of events.

Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall

2009-01-15T21:10:00.009Z

Firstly, apologies for the poor humour of the title for this post. Secondly, welcome to the first ever review for We Live In Games, thank you, but please, hold your applause until the end.

For those who haven't guessed by the title, today we'll be looking at Mirror's Edge a game that set out to defy convention by applying the first person prospective to a free running meets fighting meets shooting game (you may breathe now). Lets tackle these three mechanics before we get to the meaty part of the game itself.

Now, you may have heard about how the first person perspective can be a little nauseating. Well, I wont lie, that's for uninformed employees at Game to do, it does take a little getting used to and can be disorientation at first. However, once you get used to it, the movement is beautifully fluid. It's like you're controlling an action packed cut scene full of Prince of Persia style wall running, but you're in control of every step and jump you make. The feeling you get once you clamber up a particularly daunting obstacle and have yourself a second or two to take in the beautiful view is truly magical. As the game progresses you learn more and more to look for the less obvious route through your particular level, allowing you to express yourself within the game.

Before we tackle the mechanics of the fighting and shooting, lets make friends with the core game itself. In the game you play as Faith, the new poster girl of illegal package deliveries in a tightly controlled ideal utopia city. Faith fights against the suits that wish to quell freedom and force control upon its citizens, by delivering packages... I know, it sounds a little silly, but trust me, the story does the job of keeping you involved. The suits in the game send crack shot security guards after you and later some free running agents of their own.

This is he point in the review where we need to discuss the combat and shooting. Please tell me you just heard me breathing in through my teeth? The combat seems to slow the game right down, the idea is that you learn how to pull off combos and disarms, giving you a combat system that is supposed to be as fluid as the free running. I have heard people have enjoyed the system, but personally I found that the combat was sluggish and unresponsive. Unfortunately the shooting wasn't much better, and after being spoilt by genre standards such as Call of Duty 4 feels like an alien mechanic in the game. However, escaping the police without tackling them provides some of the most adrenaline fuelled moments of the game.

Ultimately, the confrontations in the game do spoil the fun and excitement of being a super strong free runner who should be able to outrun everyone. The time trial mode allows you to improve your free running by shaving more and more seconds off your time, although the time trial levels are set in the single player levels, complete with police and don't really offer any extension to the game other than the chance to keep on replaying levels until you get a better time.

The game is very short and shouldn't take you much more than 7 hours to finish, hopefully the upcoming map packs will give the game something special to keep you playing it, especially as it looks like they wont have the dreaded police to bother you.

With an adequate story, an amazing free running system and beautiful sights to be seen, the games only failing point is the combat system that slows the pace of the game down. A recommended buy if you can find it at a good price.

8/10

Around Here I Make The Rules, Around Here I'm God

2009-01-14T15:40:00.004Z

After some pressure from a certain colleague of mine, I've decided that I'll start posting reviews on this blog. Seeing as I'm in charge the reviews will be a healthy mix of the old, the new and the obscure, but will always video game related.

Following a lot of consideration and a few conversations with some influential people, I've settled on a good old fashioned score out of 10 system with a 10 for a must have and a 1 for your next windscreen deicer.

Watch this space.

^ v < > a b start

2009-01-14T00:01:00.004Z

So, for those of you not in the know, Nintendo has announced a new hint system.

Had a look at the link?

Okay, am I the only one that sees this as the next stage of cheating? The idea of cheating in games that originally started with cheat guides and magazines (Konami code anyone?), and later evolved into cheat cartridges such as Game Genie gave gamers everywhere the chance to succeed at that one game that they just couldn't do. However, these ways of cheating have always been optional and not included as a part of the gaming experience. The inclusion of this idea by Nintendo is another move to cater towards the casual gaming public who may want to move away from Wii Sports and have a go at something a little more complex along the lines of Twilight Princess.

On a positive, this would allow casual gamers to experience a type of game that would not have been appealing to them to begin with. The ability to allow your computer friend to take over when things get too tough and allow you to play once things have calmed down would be an appealing feature to most that have been put off by games that feature difficulty spikes that in reality stop the player from finishing a game. And hey, even the most hardened of gamers has had this happen to them at least once in their life.

But, on a negative does this defeat the idea of the game in the first place? The idea of the video game is that there is supposed to be some sort of challenge or goal to achieve. Removing this goal or making sure that the goal posts are widened when the challenge increases seems to remove the existence of a difficulty curve and turn video games into interactive movies. Where will the sense of achievement be felt? You know that feeling you get when you finish that game that you've been playing for weeks by forsaking sleep, just to see those end credits? Will you still feel that great feeling if the computer did the last few bosses for you?

It will be interesting to see how Nintendo implements this idea and if, as with the Wii, it will reshape the gaming landscape. Only time will tell.

Eye of Indecision - A Quick Post

2009-01-13T20:45:00.005Z

So, after the discovery that you could get Eye of Judgement for £19.98 (for the pack that comes with the game, mat, cards and camera) in your local Game I've been struggling with the decision to pick it up. On one hand it looks like a really unique experience, on the other it looks like a unique experience that I can only enjoy for 5 minutes before getting bored.

Eventually, three factors influenced my purchasing decision. The first was my non-gaming friend Amy. She said the game sounded both interesting yet a bit rubbish at the same time.... She was lots of help... The second factor was the flip of a coin... The coin went in favour of buying the game. I decided that the coin could be working against me and ultimately trying to upset me. So I had to resort to the third factor, what was coming out soon. So, with Halo Wars and Resident Evil 5 on the way, I've decided to hold onto my money.

With any luck I've made the right choice, if anyone knows otherwise, let me know.

For Those Still Struggling With The Loss of The 1up Podcasts and EGM

2009-01-13T16:01:00.008Z

Okay, I know full well that I was struggling with the death of EGM and the loss of a lot of staff over at 1up. Losing the Podcasts was especially sad, I've got the last few episodes of The 1up Show unwatched on iTunes because I know there will be no more once they have gone.

So all that is left now is the 1up website itself. For those unaware, this has been bought by UGO and as with a lot of people, I had it in mind that the site wouldn't be the same and that we would just be looking at UGO's version of 1up.com. However, it looks like this wont be true. In a recent blog from Sam Kennedy in which he talks about the good times at 1up and EGM and their subsequent downfall, he mentions how he, along with other original members of staff, will maintain the previous 1up editorial standards and integrity that have come before. By the sounds of things, UGO had no real intentions of altering the network beyond the loss of EGM, the Podcasts and the unfortunate business of the layoffs.

I felt that his blog was really needed. I personally feel happier returning to 1up's pages after the fallout of the other week, I hope that after reading it, you do too.

http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=8978290&publicUserId=4561231

The First Post

2009-01-09T17:34:00.000Z

Hey, my names Jon and I've had a little addiction to video games for, well, since I can remember. I love the idea of sharing my thoughts and ideas on video games with other people (I know, it does sound horribly egotistical). I have had groups on facebook before, one of which was called 'Every Time Someone Buys a Wii Party Game, A Real Game Developer Dies' which was my most recent group.

While I'm getting used to this format I'll post a few recent posts from there. From this point on, things should get interesting... I promise.

^_^

===========
3rd January 2009
===========
I bought F.E.A.R. on eBay today. I know, nothing really to shout about. Except for the fact that with postage the total cost was £6.66! Spooky considering what the game is supposed to be like. Piccie has been uploaded below, although facebook has made it so small it's difficult to see.

If the game arrives with a severed goats head, I'll let you know.

===========
4th January 2009
===========
Completed Gears of War 2 in the early hours of this morning. Got to be the first game I've completed in one sitting (if you include stopping for a few breaks for food, toilet and rest for my tired eyes) since I was about 8! And back then that was Sonic the Hedgehog 2! But the ending was rather awesome, even though the final battle was a little on the easy side considering how hard some of the earlier battles were, and as I crawled into bed just before the clock hit 6am, I couldn't help but whisper to my lovely girlfriend who bought me the game;

"I just completed Gears of War 2... And it was goooood"

===========
6th January 2009
===========
Finished Mirrors Edge yesterday, got to say, although it was short it was actually quite good fun. The police and security guards that shoot you with painful accuracy every time, and do get to be really annoying, but the free running is unbelievably good fun. I highly recommend it, especially as new maps purely dedicated to the free running part are due out soon.

On a more morbid note (poor joke incoming) I've been playing Left 4 Dead recently (sorry, but you were warned). I have to say as a big fan of the Resident Evil series this by far the best zombie game ever!! Think more 28 Days Later than Dawn of the Dead but throw in a whole load more undead along with some seriously messed up mutants and make them all run at you screaming with bloodthirsty screams and you have an idea of what the game's about. My heart has attempted to escape on more than one occasion. Not for the faint of heart, but get it if you want something quick paced and scary.

Oh, and don't disturb the witch... Trust me.

===========
7th January 2009
===========
A sad day... For those of you that aren't aware, UGO have just consumed the 1up network which means the end of the legendary EGM magazine, one of the last bastions of decent independent gaming journalism and very likely the end of the excellent 1up Show and 1up Yours pod casts. The site is still up, but staff lay-offs mean that it's not the same any more.

1up and EGM, you will be missed.

On a sunnier note, I'm taking a little break from Left 4 Dead's frantic pace and investing some time in Dead Space. Got to say I'm having far too much fun with the dismemberment mechanics and can't help but have an ear to ear grin when I stamp of the heads of the fallen nasties.

At some point the game should get scary though, right?

Oh, on another low note, Game's online store have f**ked me over. Tried to order the special edition of Stranglehold from them a few days ago when it showed up as in stock, but it turns out that stock has mysteriously disappeared. Not that I feel the blame should lie anywhere other than with the retail giant, but I can't help but feel that cheeparsegamer.com's advertising of this low price meant someone else got my copy.... F**kers!!!

===========
9th January 2009
===========
Have set the NES up again, been trying to help Bex with Super Mario Bros. 3. We were doing okay until the damn game glitched and left me stuck in a wall during a Koopa Kid fight.

Managed to avoid the urge to buy Eye of Judgement on PS3 today, despite the desperately low price tag of £19.99. I just get the feeling that the gimmick of using the camera will get old quick and I'll be left with a game that I don't really enjoy. Instead, I spent my money wisely on Star Ocean: First Departure for PSP for the bargain price of £14.99. I know, I'm feeding the RPG addiction, but dammit I need it!

Oh, I also picked up the first couple of issues of the Mirrors Edge comic, will let you know if that's any good once I've read it.

Unfortunately F.E.A.R. arrived the other day rather un-satanically. No pools of blood or sacrificed virgins in the jiffy bag. After my excitement of paying £6.66 for it, I'm feeling a the lull of an anti-climax...

Anyone else feel the same?