A Boy and His Blogs

Lost in Shadow could be very special

2010-09-07T22:43:00.001+01:00

With platforming titles such as Donkey Kong Country Returns, Kirby's Epic Yarn and Disney Epic Mikey are all due to release this year, 2010 is a very exciting time for platforming fans. However, amidst this excellent roster of titles is HudsonSoft's less publicised Lost in Shadows, a platformer that is well worth taking note of.

Lost in Shadow's protagonist is a hero with no physical form, he's only a silhouette. Robbed of this physical form, Lost in Shadow's protagonist exists only as a shadow of a body that isn't there. This conceit is the impetus behind Lost in Shadow's visual style, a style that is at once incredibly jarring and remarkably beautiful.

From the gameplay videos and trailers Lost in Shadow looks to be a very competent and solid platformer that doesn't seem stray from conventional platforming mechanics, but thanks to its unique aesthetic style it appears to be very evocotive and atmospheric. There is serious potential for Lost in Shadow to be a haunting and humble title in the same vein as ICO or Limbo, but it remains to be seen just how far Hudson pushes the concept.

Lost in Shadow is due for European Release on 09/10/2010.

E3 2010 in Review: Who 'Won' at E3?

2010-06-24T12:32:00.006+01:00

I don't think there's any question that Nintendo has won the show this year. 3DS has captured the minds of gamers. It's not simply that it can play games in 3D, the quality of the graphics is impressive. Without knowing a price, or when it will be released, every gamer I know plans to get one at launch. If the system is available this holiday season, I will be preordering as soon as the option becomes available. Frankly, I don't believe it will be possible to get the system any other way. It will be 2006 all over again. It took months for the Wii's sales to drop off to the point where they could reliably be found on shelves. I firmly believe the 3DS will follow suit.

That said, I can't really agree with the general assessment that the Move is relegated to third place. Move and Kinect each have their own issues, but I find the Kinect's issues more troubling at present.

The Kinect is a remarkable piece of technology, and Microsoft should be given full credit for trying to innovate in the field of motion control. It's unfortunate that Microsoft, the software company as you say, isn't really doing anything innovative with this product. Yes, you can drive menus with your voice and your hands. This is pretty neat, but as reviewers have discovered, the voice commands aren't particularly sophisticated. The 360 makes no differentiation between two voices. The best I can say is that it's implemented well. It's implemented, perhaps, for the first time on a home console, but we've been able to execute Voice Commands on PC for over 15 years, there is no current evidence that 360 will offer much in the way of calibration or personalization. This is little better than a limited Voice Commands you can perform in some Nintendo DS titles. Controlling the menu system with your hand is a classy feature, but its implementation is really no different than that of a Wiimote. Yes, your hand is being tracked rather than an infrared beam, but similar things were done with the Eye Toy seven years ago on the PlayStation two.

Another troubling aspect is the line up of games. Microsoft has introduced its launch titles: solid, conservative applications reminiscent of many titles on the Wii. We have collections of sports games to look forward to. We have racing games. We have dancing games. We have virtual pet games. We have fitness games. In short, Microsoft's offerings offer a little something for the whole family, with the exception of the hardcore gaming enthusiast that has been their target audience and lifeline for all five years of the console's success. Where is Kinect Halo? Kinect Gears? Their advertising trailer clearly shows a guy firing imaginary rifle. Where is that game? In fact, why is it that in the full year of development time they've had since they first announced Project Natal, they've produced very little in the way of gaming experiences that are more intensive than their original technical demos. I find this troubling, not because I don't think games for the Kinect will get better. Certainly they will. What I find troubling is that they gave us no demonstration of any hard-core title implementation. Not even a teaser. Not even a, "you can expect this sometime in 2011." My gut reaction is that this isn't such a good thing. It makes me think they are having a lot more trouble implementing this kind of game than they would like to admit.

Even more troubling are the reports that Kinect is unable to read a person reliably (or possibly at all) if they are sitting down. Microsoft's response is that Kinect will provide a fun time for everyone, whether you are playing or watching, and that their system will encourage people to get on their feet. I don't know about you, but I don't do a lot of driving on my feet. When I want to fast forward a movie to my favorite moment, I don't want to have to stand up to do it. As of right now, the technology is unusable by someone who comes home from a hard day at work and just wants to sit on the couch and do a little gaming. It's unusable by a paraplegic who, despite having good arm strength, can't stand it all, and therefore, can't be accurately seen by the camera. Is unusable by someone with a more severe disability, such as muscular dystrophy, because Microsoft has is not offering controller support on their Kinect games. A person with limited mobility can't even attempt these games, can't challenge their friends to a competition, body versus controller. The motion gaming revolution is a step backward in inclusiveness, and the Kinect currently exemplifies this.

Will it improve? I trust it will. I don't know to what extent, or how quickly. I don't have much faith that Microsoft will compromise its vision for the disabled demographic, but I hope that at least they improve the quality of their motion gaming experiences for their core user base.

So what about the Move? People love to call it a Wiimote clone, and I can't really blame them. It is, essentially. Sony has done itself no favors over the years with their tendency to talk trash and later eat crow. They made fun of the Wiimote, then now they have their own peripheral with similar functionality. From the tech demos I've seen, the product Sony is offering is more sophisticated than its Nintendo cousin. It would seem to have greater precision. I can't vouch for the response. The author of this article seemed to find it lacking. I think it's important to consider, however, that Nintendo has had four years to improve their tracking and response: improvement that necessitated the release of an expansion module for the Wiimote in order to give it precision comparable to what the Move can do out of the box. The Move uses a camera for tracking, which means that theoretically, it could be implemented to track the human body just like the Kinect. The Wand provides precision in tracking and gives the user buttons to enhance game play. Ultimately, it is what it is: a Wii clone. Is this a bad thing? Is the Wiimote itself a bad idea? Sony has eaten its words. It can no longer pretend that the Wii was a silly concept. We can mock them for their hubris. We can mock them for spinning the dialogue to make themselves look like innovators (isn't that what all these companies do anyway?). The problem is, if you support the Wii as a piece of technology, dismissing the Move for offering a similar experience is a knee-jerk reaction that borders on the asinine. Either the technology is sound, or it isn't. This is what the gaming industry has always done: someone invents a controller, and then someone else copies that controller, making small changes. Over the course of multiple generations, the technology evolves as each iteration offers new improvements. This is not something to be discouraged.

What I think is most promising about Move, however, is Sony's lineup of games. Like Kinect, it offers a little of everything for the whole family, but unlike Kinect, they are also speaking directly to their core user base. Move exclusive games like Sorcery offer something more analogous to the gaming experience PlayStation users have come to expect. The ability to control magic and manipulate it in different ways isn't something that could be easily translated to a controller: not the way a hurdle race or raft jumping could be. In addition, offering the chance to play some of their most beloved franchises with the Move controller isn't ingenious: it's exactly what they should be doing. Sony wants its machine to be an indispensable part of your home entertainment system, but it understands, realistically, people that own the PlayStation 3 are hard-core gamers. If Microsoft wants Kinect to succeed, it can't afford to ignore its fan base.

Will Kinect prevail over Move? Probably. It has the newness factor, the wow factor. The 360's somewhat larger install base also works to its advantage. Whether it succeeds or not will depend largely on how quickly they can hammer out the bugs, and whether the mainstream audience has had its fill of motion gaming. Mainstream audiences simply may not see the need to have two gaming systems. Regardless, I think it's pretty unlikely that either Sony or Microsoft will be able to knock Nintendo off its throne at this point. The Wii was here first, and it's still the cheapest way to enter the home console market.

One last thing bears consideration. The PlayStation 3 has always been, for Sony, a wedge to drive the technology of their other electronics ventures. They did this successfully with Blu-Ray, a gamble that substantially inflated the initial costs of the system. Ultimately it cost them the console war, but they won the media war against HD-DVD. Now they are doing the same thing with 3D technology. Don't think they are naïve. Sony knows very well that 3D gaming is not going to sell PlayStation 3s. That's not their goal. Their goal is to sell 3D capable TVs and shutter glasses. Their goal is to get the consumer invested in 3D. Gaming is a fantastic tool to that end. Starting very soon the PS3's 35.7 million users will have a 3D ready game system in their homes: a game system that doubles as a 3D ready Blu-Ray player. The most difficult task of any technological innovation is to convince consumers to make the switch. This year, perhaps only a handful of extremely dedicated enthusiast will be willing to drop the money necessary for 3D home entertainment. By the holiday season, I wager we will see those TVs and glasses drop in price. I suspect we will see bundles that make this transition more affordable, and when that happens some of Sony's 36 million strong user base are going to look at that 3D-ready console, and their stack of games which, cleverly, contain the standard version and the 3D version on the same disc, and think "I bet Killzone 3 is even more awesome in 3D." That's exactly what Sony is aiming for.

Super Mario Galaxy 2: Update

2010-06-12T15:14:00.001+01:00

I have a pre-ordered copy of Super Mario Galaxy 2 waiting for me at home. Quite a brilliant way to start the summer don't you think? I expect that I will be writing impressions and a review within the next few weeks and perhaps, I could well have another addition into my favourite video games of all time list.

Red Steel 2 Review

2010-06-12T14:58:00.007+01:00

This is a quick review of Red Steel 2 that I wrote for my unviversity newspaper that I have been meaning to post of quite some time. Enjoy.

The original Red Steel was a heavily hyped mess rushed out for Wii’s 2006 launch, one that failed to deliver on all its promises of precise aiming, visceral swordplay, and impressive graphics. But non the less, it happened to become one of the Wii’s best selling third party offerings, and now the completely overhauled sequel is one of the best first person shooters (FPS) on the system and a shocking reminder of how good a Wii-exclusive shooter can be.

The first Red Steel was a generic, ugly affair. Red Steel 2, in direct contrast, is a gorgeous cel-shaded take on a futuristic Wild West with an equal amount of feudal Japan thrown in. The art style Ubisoft has chosen rightly plays to the Wii’s strengths as it combines bold, simple colours with wonderfully detailed models (the weapons in particular shine with graphical polish, smooth animations and fantastic sound design) . The result is a clean, smooth game that’s easily one of the prettiest on the platform.

Whilst the combat, visuals and controls are terrific, there are a few unrelated issues that keep Red Steel 2 from competing with the very best on the system. First, the map is borderline useless, as there’s no way to look at a full view of the area you’re currently in and even on its most difficult setting, enemies never require advanced techniques to dispatch.

Yet, it is easily the combat that the game’s biggest draw. Unlike the majority of FPS’s, which consist of traversing an environment shooting at enemies, Red Steel 2 forces you to use all of its diverse sword attacks, each of which is activated by a different flick of the wrist or swing of the arms. Shooting at foes is almost always an option, but it is far more fun and effective to engage in swordplay. By the end of the 10 -12 hour storyline, your combat repertoire is deep enough for it to feel like a fighting game from a first person perspective, with a plethora of options and finishing moves to dispatch enemies.

However, Red Steel 2 is a very worthwhile addition to a Wii owner's library, as well as being an excellent vehicle for the MotionPlus's capabilities. This is arguably the first action game on the system that uses motion for great effect, enhancing gameplay to a point that’s simply not possible with a standard controller. The pure visceral pleasure of swordfighting and all the fun it entails more than make up for the minor shortcomings in story and repetitive content. Buy this game, or at least rent it- it should give you something to hold you over until Super Mario Galaxy 2 comes out in June.

Quick note about blog posts

2010-05-17T01:32:00.000+01:00

Hello there, as you may have noticed I don't tend to post here as often as I have previously. Due to my recent commitments with university amongst other things I have been unable to blog as often as I would like. However I intend for this to change once my exams are finished and I have more time to write.

I have been thinking about the best way to go about my blogging, aside from writing articles and reviews which can be time consuming, I have decided that a good percentage of my future posts will be concerning news, primarly Nintendo related. As I am aware that it would be foolhardy to compete with terrific sites such as Gonintendo for news coverage, I hope to post news that I and hopefully others will find particularly interesting, as well as my brief opinions and thoughts on the subject.

Anyway, I have revision and work to get back to. In the next few weeks I plan on posting an improved and more in-depth edit of a review for Red Steel 2 that I wrote for my university newspaper. But until then I hope that the news and opinions that I post are interesting and encourage further procrastination.

ABAHB

Worlds of their own: Pokemon

2010-04-20T19:22:00.005+01:00

The Pokemon games were among the first that I ever played. Back then I wasn't interested enough to read magazines and I didn't have many friends who followed gaming. But good Lord, they marketed the hell out of that game. Between ads for the game itself and the anime, my brothers and I were already obsessed before the morning when we opened up that box and saw a translucent Game Boy Pocket with a copy of Pokemon Blue version inside the cartridge slot, and promptly flipped out.

Despite the marketing however, my brothers and I never really watched the show or got into the trading card games that much. We saw the first two movies (and loved them to bits) but beyond that, the majority of my experience with the series comes from the “regular” series of handheld titles: R/B/Y, G/S/C, R/S/E, and P/D/P. Many of my friends played for the pleasure of winning and becoming the new champion, but I played for something else. To explore the strange new world were kids left their home at 10-years-old to traverse around the world, meeting new people, catching new Pokemon and achieve something extraordinary (And maybe save the world while they’re at it, too.)

What made this world so interesting to explore? In the original games, the graphics were crude, the memory restrictive (making for lots of interesting glitches later on), and the plot virtually nonexistent. The anime, of course, fleshed that out quite a bit, but as I stated before, I didn’t watch the show that often. Most of the detail came from little things in the games.

Take for instance, the Pokedex entries. They read like a bird watching guide, giving the exact size and appearance of the animal you just caught as well as their natural behavior in the world. This allowed me to imagine not just square-shaped patches of different-looking grass, but an overgrown thicket where Rattata looked for food while hiding from prowling Spearow. The routes came alive and the animals that I was fighting with were not just collections of bits of programming, but actual creatures that could live, grow, feel pain, and die.

Yes, die. Even though a Pokemon can only be “fainted” in battle, the Pokemon Tower in Lavender Town gave another look into how the universe operated. There, heartbroken trainers gathered to pay their last respects to their longtime partners who had passed away, and some Pokemon even came back as ghosts.
Having just lost a pet of my own before I started playing the game, the reality of death and the afterlife really resonated with me walking around that sacred building. Even now as I type this I can hear that haunting melody from Lavender Town playing around my head. In art, images and objects are defined by contrast -- not thick black outlines but shadows and colors. Some people found this area scary. I found it sad really, but it was such a jarring difference from the bright, happy-go-lucky tone of the rest of the game that it further deepened my view of the world of Kanto as a real place.

Speaking of contrast, Team Rocket, as inept of a criminal organization as they were now that I look back, also helped to define the world of Pokemon. Throughout your travels in the game, they push the idea of teamwork, sportsmanship, and gracious losing so much, and no matter how badly you curbstomp a Gym leader, they smile, congratulate you, and concede defeat.

Then comes along a group that is that exact opposite. They take all the unwritten rules of combat and run roughshod over them, using Pokemon as tools for their own selfish gain. To my little brain back in the 90’s, that was an unforgivable outrage, and I took it upon myself to stand up and defeat these petty thieves. I didn’t question why the police weren’t involved, I didn’t question how easy it was to beat them and infiltrate their lair and foil all their plans myself, I simply saw it as good triumphing over evil. Since I treated my Pokemon as partners and friends, and not as simple blunt weapons, they would always be more powerful than anything Team Rocket could throw my way.

And as the series progressed, the nefarious plots got more nefarious, culminating in Pearl and Diamond where the leader wanted to destroy the universe and remake it in his image.

Let me repeat that phrase: A villain, in a Pokemon game, was going to destroy the universe. To do this he blew up a lake, killing all the Pokemon inside it to reach a legendary Pokemon inside a cave under the water. As you arrive on the scene, you see Magikarp and Gyarados lying everywhere, thrashing about in their death throes. Confronting a grunt, he simply shrugged and said that they were useless and they didn’t care whether they lived or died.

Right there I was about ready to reach through the screen of my DS and punch him in the face.
This wasn’t me as a little kid, wide-eyed and idealistic, seeing the world in black and white morals. This was me as a university student, and fully aware of just how useless Magikarps actually were in the game. And I didn’t care.

Again, when confronting them for the final battle on Spear Pillar, I didn’t care why the police weren’t helping, I didn’t care that I was just a kid with a Pokedex challenging the ringleader of a criminal terrorist operation. I marched up to the top determined to kill that fucker personally. He wanted to use a legendary Pokemon to destroy the world and everyone in it, and even though that world didn’t exist, I was going to fight with all my strength to stop him. I thought about the parties that I had fought with over the years -- Skarmories, Typhlosions, and Bronzongs -- and how each one had helped me rise through the ranks to become the best trainer in the world. I thought of the Pokedex entries, of the mysteries of the legendary Pokemon, ancient ruins and folklore, and visitors from outer space.
Even though Pokemon may have a barebones plot at first glance, the little details like that made me feel like each and every person and creature was real, had a soul, and was worth saving on top of that cold, gusty mountain peak, and as I now look forward to purchasing either Heart Gold or Soul Silver, I expect to feel no different, some 10 years later.

Fifth Generation Pokemon: Pokemon White/Black to be revealed on April 15th

2010-04-09T22:02:00.008+01:00

The first details about the future fifth generation of Pokemon games has emerged. We don't know much as of now, but as previously reported, Joystiq has stated that "every aspect will be reborn innovatively." So it is looking as though this is the series overall that people have been expecting.

I'm glad that they are reverting back to colours and not more stones. I'm surprised it's for the DS and not the 3DS though. I expecting there to be some kind of 3DS functionality though, as Gamefreak have been in possession of the 3DS dev kits for quite some time now.

To all the people complaining that they want things to change, I feel as though they are missing the point and just complaining for changes sake. There's lots of games where they change up the formula, they're called spinoffs. Stadium, Collosseum, XD, Ranger, Mystery Dungeon, Puzzle League, there are ALOT of them.

The Pokémon main series games are supposed to be the same formula, refined every generation. As those generations go on, the changes will get smaller and smaller as the game gets closer and closer to being perfectly balanced. They'll throw in some small thing like the two on two battles, the talents, the hold-items, the side-contests, and figuring out how it can fit into what they've already established, but overall, you can expect a turn-based RPG where you travel across a land visiting 8 gyms for their badges, faint hundreds of wild-monsters while training up, perhaps catch one or two of each, trade for what you don't have, go after the Elite 4, and check out what end-game content they have while going after the legendaries. Changing the formula as drastically as some people suggest would require an entirely new balancing act to start taking place, while throwing out all the refinements they've made to the series so far.

I expect there to be some significant changes to the series, but I don't believe that the core ideas and philosophies will change. Expect some interesting details to emerge on the 15th.

The Wii Gets Its First Black Box, Others Follow.

2010-03-08T00:47:00.005Z

In Japan, the black box isn't for the specific game, but the game's rating. Japanese Wii games rated 15+ are to be given black boxes. The black box will be an additional warning to parents along with the colour rating on the side and front. Nintendo first announced the change in box color before the release of Zangeki no Reginleiv, an extremely violent Wii game featuring 4-player co-op and limb dismemberment with full blood effects. The game has received a CERO D rating (17+), the first Nintendo game of its kind in Japan since Eternal Darkness for the Gamecube.

Hit the jump for more:

It's certainly pretty effective; one glimpse of that extremelly terrfic artwork on the Zangeki box and the striking red background against the black outline is definitely going to make it stand out on shop shelves. It is definitely one of the sharpest looking box covers I've ever seen and hope that this scheme is introduced in Europe and America.

Additionally I hope that Zangeki comes over to Europe and America. I have faith in NOE to bring it over but I sadly doubt that NOA will. After watching all of the media released to date I am definitiely interested in picking the game up. It is looking like an interesting addition to the Wii's library that is most welcome.

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle – Launch Trailer

2010-01-29T09:43:00.008Z

As of this moment I have not watched the above video, I have specifically avoided all media and spoliers bar the first trailer released. I fully expect this game to take months of analysis and multiple play-throughs to fully wrap my head around and I plan on being thoroughly suprised and impressed. The first title still makes me laugh, scream, think, and violently "recharge my beam katana" to this day and I expect this to be no different.

"Entirely New" Pokemon Series Coming This Year. Series rebirth?

2010-01-29T07:29:00.003Z

Nintendo has announced that Gamefreak is working on a brand-new Pokemon RPG, and it's due out this year in Japan. There are (of course) going to be brand-new Pokemon involved, and the series is going to experience some sort of rebirth. Expect new functionality and play types, according to Nintendo. Just how different will this game be? Only time will tell, I guess, but Nintendo is already confident that it'll be a huge hit.

Along side the promised rebirth of the Zelda series with the Wii iteration, Metroid:Other M and previously Super Mario Galaxy and possibly this new Pokemon title, Nintendo seem to be in the process of rebooting their key franchises this generation. Personally the anticipation of what they will do to these beloved I.P's has me more excited than anything else this upcoming gaming year. Although I hope they don't add too many new Pokemon this generation, because it would be almost impossible for me to catch them all. And people who can obviously cheated, everyone knows you can't catch mew.

Muramasa: A Moment in Art

2009-10-15T22:13:00.008+01:00

Regardless of all the brilliant games that have been developed in recent years, I should really begin this by stating a fairly obvious idea that in my opinion is not cited enough. The gaming industry’s mainstream blossoming has reaped a mix of glorious benefits and monotonous pitfalls. The cost of mainstream game development continues to rise, while development teams can often compete with the population of small nation counties, and yet there’s a troublesome sense that tactile gameplay hasn’t gotten any better for all of this added attention – that the primary focus has shifted to immediate graphical prowess, rather than the functional and innovative gameplay that made this industry worth the original investment.

Amidst titles powered by massive budgets seeking to produce increasingly realistic worlds resembling our own, along comes Muramasa, a game immediately grabbing our attention exactly because of its visual style, but for entirely different reasons.

This is not going to be a long piece as I know there are much better articles out there making the same arguments as I, but I am going to post several videos at the end of this post that I hope will provide you with a small, yet significant impression of what I am trying to articulate.

Hit the jump to read on:

Because at the end of the day, what all gamers both casual and hardcore are interested in is entertainment. Although there is the sound argument that more advanced technology will provide developers with the tools to create more vivid, imaginative and inspiring worlds and gameplay experiences, the current trend for realistic depictions of real environments and simulations is reducing the likely hood of games being developed that provide us with the escapism that entralled us in the very beginning. And even for all of its flaws (rather basic hack n’ slash gameplay, fairly shallow combat system to name a few) the very fact that Muramasa’s European release date is within the same week as a sequel to one of the most popular games (Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2) in years that strives for realistic and gritty visuals, and is guaranteed to be a multi-million seller, Muramasa provides us with an interesting, yet sadly niche counter balance that reminds us that a picture that is worth an endless amount of words.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade at IGN.com

More Muramasa: The Demon Blade Info

More Colour Please?

2009-09-22T18:48:00.006+01:00

As I was shopping for cheap games to pick up before I started university I picked up Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 for Wii. The game plays rather well, and at its time of release had the best FPS controls on the Wii and the best online Multiplayer, but something was wasn't quite right with it.

It’s gray, and very little of anything else visually. Granted, graphics aren’t everything, but seeing one bland throughout most of the game is pretty strange. After all, I’m sure there were some buildings in Germany during WWII that had some paint on them, or perhaps the sky was at least blue. Perhaps somebody should tell game designers that the photographs from that time only came in black and white, and there actually was colour. That’s not to say that Medal of Honor: Heroes 2 is the only offender though…

It’s all over the place. Gears of War, one of 2006’s biggest titles touted for it’s great visuals, is gray. Maybe it’s just me, but that is not a good looking game to me. On a technical aspect, it’s impressive, but the lack of colour makes my eyes bleed. Epic was going for a bleak future, but really, when there’s foliage, I expect to see some sort of green. Not gray-brown-dark brown-black.

So we arrive at Unreal Tournament 3. Earlier Epic Games said the game had a much richer colour palette than Gears of War did, and, well, it does. There’s now richer grays and browns. Playing the game on my PC, I noticed gray environments, dully coloured weapons (for the most part), and then you have brown characters. Maybe you’ll get some dark red blood in there, but, really, it’s a fairly black and white game. I don’t really understand this art direction for the series, as in the past it at least had what looked like the game trying to look like the real world, if not a bit futuristic.

The games above are all great games, but what’s with the lack of colour? It can’t be the engine for the last two, as Bioshock proved to have a very rich look to it. The one positive I can see for Medal of Honor is that it looks pretty clean (unlike the muddy mess that was CoD3 on the Wii), but it seems pretty plausible that they could do that with colour to me. Maybe others don’t care about it as much as I do, but the lack of colour just turns me off, and I know I’d enjoy these games so much more if there was a larger color scale.

So, for those games that decide to go colourful, here’s a shout out. Thank you Clover Studios for Okami and Viewtiful Joe. Thanks Grasshopper for Killer7 and No More Heroes. Heck, thank you Valve for Team Fortress 2 and Half Life (Hey, at least Half Life looks realistic in it’s color). Thank you for putting some colour and style into your games.

Wii, DS and DSi North American holiday release list

2009-09-16T18:08:00.014+01:00

Making a long post even longer: This is a pretty good idea of what North American users can expect this coming holiday. Although I live in the UK, I have highlighted the games I'm interested in bold font.
I'll write up my opinions about the games in this list and some of the titles we can expect early next year in my next post.
Oh, and incase you wern't aware I shamelessly took inspiration from the title of game pictured below to decide on the title of my blog.
*Cough* iwantedtocallmyblogaboyandhisblog.blogspot.combutthatwasalreadytakensadface *cough*

Wii

2K Sports
NHL® 2K10 - Sept. 15
Baseball Blast! - Sept. 28
NBA 2K10 - Oct. 6

2K Play
Dora the Explorer™: Dora Saves the Crystal Kingdom™ - Fall
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: Super Game Day - Fall
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey™ Circus - Fall

505 Games
My Ballet Studio - November
Baby and Me - November

continued after the break...
Activision Publishing, Inc.
Animal Planet Vet Life - Sept. 15
Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance 2™ - Sept. 15
Cabela’s Big Game Hunter 2010 - Sept. 22
Rapala We Fish - Sept. 22
Bakugan® Battle Brawlers ™ - Oct. 20
iCarly™ - Oct. 20
Madagascar Kartz - Oct. 20
Mountain Sports - Oct. 20
Hidden Mysteries Titanic - Oct. 27
Barbie™ and the Three Musketeers - Oct. 27
Jurassic Hunter - Oct. 27
DJ Hero™ - Oct. 27
Chaotic™: Shadow Warriors - Nov. 10
Hot Wheels™ Battle Force 5™ - Nov. 10
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®: Reflex - Nov. 10
Tony Hawk®: RIDE™ - Nov. 17
Band Hero™ - November
Guitar Hero® Van Halen® - Dec. 22

Aspyr Media
My Baby and Me - Nov. 17

Atlus U.S.A., Inc.
101-in-1 Party Megamix™ - Oct. 27
Trauma Team™ - Spring
Shiren the Wanderer™ - Spring

Capcom® Entertainment, Inc.
Spyborgs™ - Sept. 22
Resident Evil®: The Darkside Chronicles - Nov. 17

City Interactive USA, Inc.
Chicken Riot - November
Combat Wings: The Great Battles of WWII - January
Art of Murder - March

D3Publisher
Family Party: 30 Great Games™ Outdoor Fun - Sept. 22
Astro Boy®: The Video Game - Oct. 20
THE SECRET SATURDAYS™: BEASTS OF THE 5TH SUN - Oct. 20
BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE™: Vilgax Attacks - Oct. 27
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight - Winter

Destineer
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Oct. 13
Buck Fever - Oct. 20
Alien Monster Bowling League - Oct. 27
Marines: Modern Urban Combat - Nov. 3
Satisfashion - Nov. 17
Rec Room - Nov. 17

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Sing It: Pop Hits - October
Princess and the Frog - November

Electronic Arts
MySims™ Agents - Sept. 22
Dead Space™ Extraction - Sept. 29
Spore™ Hero - Oct. 6
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ Pajama Party - Oct. 20
SimAnimals™ Africa - Oct. 26
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ FRIENDS - October
NERF 2: “N-Strike”™ Elite - October
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT 2 - October
FIFA 10 - October
Need for Speed™ Nitro - Nov. 17
EA SPORTS Active™ More Workouts - November

Knowledge Adventure
JumpStart® Escape from Adventure Island - Nov. 1

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Walk It Out! - October
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories - November
Storybook Workshop - November
Karaoke Revolution - November
Ultimate Party Challenge - November
DanceDanceRevolution Hottest Party 3 - November
pop’n music - November
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 - Q4

LucasArts
Star Wars® The Clone Wars™: Republic Heroes™ - Oct. 6
LEGO® Indiana Jones 2™: The Adventure Continues - Fall

Majesco Entertainment
Our House: Party! - Sept. 22
A Boy and His Blob - Oct. 13
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - Oct. 20
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - Dec. 1
The Daring Game for Girls - Holiday

Mastiff
Shimano Xtreme Fishing - Sept. 29
Remington Great American Bird Hunt - Oct. 27

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Dragon Ball®: Revenge of King Piccolo - October
Food Network: Cook or Be Cooked - November
We Cheer™ 2 - November

Nintendo
Wii Fit Plus - Oct. 4
New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Holiday

Playlogic
Sudoku Ball Detective - Sept. 22

SEGA®
Wacky World of Sports™ - Sept. 22Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games™ - Oct. 13
Planet 51 - Nov. 17
Jambo! Safari:™ Animal Rescue - Q4
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ - Feb. 10
Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll™ - Early 2010

SouthPeak Games
My Baby First Steps™ - Holiday
Sushi Go Round™ - Holiday

Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: THE CRYSTAL BEARERS® - Dec. 26

Storm City Games
The Island of Dr. Frankenstein - Oct. 6
Vegas Party - Oct. 27
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral - Nov. 9

Tecmo
Family Fun Football™ - Sept. 29

THQ
The Biggest Loser - Oct. 6
Cars Race O' Rama - Oct. 13
Marvel® Super Hero Squad™ - Oct. 20
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 - Oct. 20
SpongeBob Truth or Square - Oct. 26
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Game Time - Oct. 26
World of Zoo™ - Oct. 26
All Star Cheer Squad™ 2 - Oct. 27
Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - Oct. 27
Daniel X - Jan. 12
World of Outlaws: Sprint Cars - Feb. 2

TOMY Corporation
NARUTO™ Shippuden: Clash of Ninja® Revolution 3 - Nov. 17

Ubisoft
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs™ - Sept. 15
Where’s Waldo®: The Fantastic Journey - Sept. 22
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles™: Smash-up - Sept. 22
The Price is Right ® 2010 Edition - Sept. 22
Family Feud® 2010 Edition - Sept. 29
CSI™: Deadly Intent - Oct. 20
Monster 4x4™ Stunt Racer - Oct. 27
Rabbids Go Home™ - Nov. 3
Academy of Champions™ - Nov. 3
Shaun White Snowboarding: World Stage - Nov. 8
Just Dance™ - Nov. 17
James Cameron’s Avatar™ The Game - Nov. 24
Your Shape™ Featuring Jenny McCarthy - Nov. 24

UFO Interactive Games, Inc.
Army Rescue™ - Sept. 29
Rock Blast ™ - Oct. 20
Arcade Shooter: Ilvelo - Oct. 27
Geon Cube - Oct. 27
Smart Series Presents: JaJa’ Adventure - Nov. 10

Vir2L® Studios
Medieval Games™ - Oct. 20

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Scooby-Doo™! First Frights - Sept. 22
Where the Wild Things Are - Oct. 13
Game Party® 3 - October
LEGO® Rock Band™ - Holiday
SCENE IT?® BRIGHT LIGHTS! BIG SCREEN!™ - Holiday

XSEED Games
JU-ON: The Grudge - Oct. 13
Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga - Fall

WiiWare

Aksys Games
BIT.TRIP VOID - Q3
BIT.TRIP series (3 additional titles) - Q4, Q1

Broken Rules
And Yet It Moves - Q4

Frontier
LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias - Q4
Gameloft
Ghost Mansion Party - Q3
The Oregon Trail - Q4

Ghostfire Games
Rage of the Gladiator - Q1

Incredible Technologies
Carnival King - Q3

Konami
Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth - Q3
Frogger Returns - Q4

Nabi Studios
Toribash - Q4

Natsume
Moki Moki - Q3
Harvest Moon: My Little Shop - Q4

Nicalis
Cave Story - Q3
Night Game - Q1
La Mulana - Q1

NinjaBee
The Amazing Brain Train - Q4

Nintendo
You, Me, and the Cubes™ - Q3
Eco Shooter: Plant 530™ - Q4

Nintendo/TPC
Pokémon™ Rumble - Q4

Press Play
Max & the Magic Marker - Q4

React Games
Archon: Classic - Q1

Taito
Arkanoid Plus! - Q3

Team Meat
Super Meat Boy - Q1

Telltale Games
Tales of Monkey Island™: Lair of the Leviathan - Q3
Tales of Monkey Island™: The Trial and Execution of Guybrush Threepwood - Q4
Tales of Monkey Island™: Rise of the Pirate God - Q4

Nintendo DS/Nintendo DSi

2K Play
Dora the Explorer: Dora Puppy - Oct. 26
Ni Hao, Kai-Lan: New Year’s Celebration - Oct. 26
The Backyardigans - Oct. 26
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus - Fall

505 Games
My Ballet Studio - November
Discovery Kids SpiderQuest - November
Dream Diary - November
Picture Perfect Hair Salon - November

Activision Publishing, Inc.
Marvel™: Ultimate Alliance 2™ - Sept. 15
Animal Planet Vet Life - Sept. 15
Bakugan ® Battle Brawlers ™ - Oct. 20
iCarly™ - Oct. 20
Madagascar Kartz - Oct. 20
Barbie™ and the Three Musketeers - Oct. 27
Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare®: Mobilized - Nov. 10
Chaotic™: Shadow Warriors - Nov. 10
Hot Wheels™ Battle Force 5™ - Nov. 10
Band Hero™ - November

Aspyr Media
Fighting Fantasy™: The Warlock of Firetop Mountain - Oct. 26

City Interactive USA, Inc.
Sushi Academy - Oct. 13
Chronicles of Mystery: Curse of the Ancient Temple - Oct. 27
Animal Country: Life on the Farm - November
Party Designer - November
Art of Murder - February
Jewels of Sahara - March

D3Publisher
Astro Boy®: The Video Game - Oct. 20
THE SECRET SATURDAYS™: BEASTS OF THE 5TH SUN - Oct. 20
BEN 10 ALIEN FORCE™: Vilgax Attacks - Oct. 27
Kamen Rider Dragon Knight - Winter

Destineer
Satisfashion - Nov. 17

Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure - October
Disney’s A Christmas Carol - November
JONAS - November
Princess and the Frog - November

Electronic Arts
MySims™ Agents - Sept. 22
Spore™ Hero Arena - Oct. 6
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Fashion Show - Oct. 20
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Fashion Mall - Oct. 20
CHARM GIRLS CLUB™ My Perfect Prom - Oct. 20
SimAnimals™ Africa - Oct. 26
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ CITY FRIENDS - October
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ COUNTRY FRIENDS - October
LITTLEST PET SHOP™ BEACH FRIENDS - October
HASBRO FAMILY GAME NIGHT 2 - October
FIFA 10 - October

Ignition Entertainment
Nostalgia - Oct. 20

Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
WireWay - November

LucasArts
Star Wars® The Clone Wars™: Republic Heroes™ - Oct. 6
Star Wars Battlefront™: Elite Squadron™ - Nov. 3
LEGO® Indiana Jones 2™: The Adventure Continues - Fall

Majesco Entertainment
Our House - Sept. 22
Sideswiped - Sept. 29
Cake Mania® 3 - Oct. 13
Jillian Michaels Fitness Ultimatum 2010 - Oct. 20
Cooking Mama 3: Shop and Chop - Oct. 27
My Hero: Astronaut - Nov. 3
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - Dec. 1
Dawn of Heroes - Dec. 1
My Hero: Firefighter - December
The Daring Game for Girls - Holiday

NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc
Dragon Ball® Z: Attack of the Saiyans - November

Nintendo
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky - Oct. 12
Style Savvy - Nov. 2
The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks - Dec. 7

NIS America
A Witch’s Tale - Oct. 6
Atelier Annie: Alchemists of Sera Island - Oct. 27

PopCap Games, Inc.
Bookworm™ - Dec. 1

SEGA®
Bleach:™ The 3rd Phantom - Sept. 15
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games™ - Oct. 13
Phantasy Star™ Zero - Nov. 10
Planet 51 - Nov. 17
Jambo! Safari:™ Animal Rescue - Q4
Sands of Destruction™ - JanuaryS
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing™ - February
Infinite Space™ - Spring

SouthPeak Games
Montessori Music™ - Oct. 20
My Baby First Steps™ - Holiday
Sushi Go Round™- Holiday
Crime Scene™ - Holiday

Square Enix
KINGDOM HEARTS 358/2 DAYS - Sept. 29
SPACE INVADERS EXTREME™ 2 - Oct. 20

Storm City Games
Hands On! Tangrams - Oct. 13
Jewel Master Egypt - Oct. 20
Flaw - Oct. 27
Foto Frenzy - Nov. 2
Bermuda Triangle: Saving the Coral - Nov. 9

THQ
James Patterson Women’s Murder Club: Games of Passion - Sept. 15
Fabulous Finds - Sept. 21
Just in Time Translations - Sept. 21
The Biggest Loser - Oct. 6
Cars Race O Rama - Oct. 13
Marvel® Super Hero Squad™ - Oct. 20
WWE® SmackDown® vs. Raw® 2010 - Oct. 20
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader: Game Time - Oct. 26
World of Zoo™ - Oct. 26
SpongeBob Truth or Square - Oct. 26
Drawn to Life: The Next Chapter - Oct. 27
MX vs. ATV™ Reflex™ - Holiday

TOMY Corporation
NARUTO Shippuden: Ninja Destiny 2 - Sept. 15

Ubisoft
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs™ - Sept. 15
Where’s Waldo®: The Fantastic Journey - Sept. 22
The Price is Right® 2010 Edition - Sept. 22
Family Feud® 2010 Edition - Sept. 29
Battle of Giants™: Dragons - Sept. 29
Imagine® Salon Stylist - Sept. 29
Imagine® Sweet 16 - Oct. 4
Imagine® Zookeeper - Oct. 6
PETZ® PONY BEAUTY PAGEANT™ - Oct. 13
Imagine® Fashion Designer World Tour - Oct. 20
CSI™: Deadly Intent - The Hidden Cases - Oct. 20
Jam Sessions 2 - Oct. 20
PETZ® DOLPHINZ ENCOUNTER - Oct. 27
Might and Magic® Clash of Heroes® - Oct. 27
Imagine® Artist - Oct. 27
C.O.P. The Recruit™ - Nov. 3
Rabbids Go Home™ - Nov. 3
Imagine® Babyz Fashion - Nov. 3
Fairyland Melody Magic™ - Nov. 8
Style Lab™ Jewelry Design - Nov. 10
Style Lab™ Makeover - Nov. 10
PETZ® NURSERY - Nov. 10
PETZ® DOGZ® TALENT SHOW - Nov. 17
PETZ® HAMSTERZ® SUPERSTARZ - Nov. 24
James Cameron’s Avatar™ The Game - Nov. 24

Virtual Play Games
Junior Brain Trainer - Nov. 10
Junior Classic Games - Nov. 10

UFO Interactive Games, Inc.
Smart Boy’s Gameroom 2® - Sept. 29
Smart Girl’s Playhouse 2® - Sept. 29
Smart Kid’s Mega Game Mix™ - Sept. 29
Reversal Challenge - Oct. 13
Balloon Pop - Nov. 12

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Scribblenauts™ - Sept. 15
Scooby-Doo™! First Frights - Sept. 22
LEGO® Rock Band™ - Holiday
Where the Wild Things Are - Oct. 13
TouchMaster® 3 - Oct. 27

XSEED Games
THE WIZARD OF OZ™: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road - Sept. 29

Nintendo DSiWare

Gameloft
Uno - Q4

Hudson Entertainment
Bomberman Blitz - Q4

Nintendo
Art Academy™: Second Semester - Sept. 28
Art Style™: DIGIDRIVE™ - Q4
Electroplankton™ (10 titles total) - Q4
Picturebook Games™: The Royal Bluff - Q4
Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon™- Q4
Sparkle Snapshots™ - Q4

Subatomic Studios
Fieldrunnera - Q4

WayForward Technologies
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge - Q4

New Super Mario Bros. Wii - Video Interview

2009-09-15T21:34:00.006+01:00

I have had my doubts about this, I mean it appears to be a pretty low effort on Nintendos part in terms of the graphics (It doesn't look THAT much better than the DS SMB) but each time I see new scans /videos from an updated build and I learn more about it's features I feel more optimistic. I don't ever think this title will reach the level of hype I am holding for Super Mario Galaxy 2 but I'm still planning on picking it up, however I don't think It's going to be a day one purchase and I didn't appreciate the whole 'oh we can't have online co-op because the game makes full use of the Wii hardware' BS either.

But it's brilliant to hear that there are lots of hidden areas. Hidden areas are really important 2D Mario game, and I'm glad there are plenty of them in NSMBWii.

Video Games - E3 2009 - Wii

Scribblenauts: More fan made print ads

2009-09-14T23:43:00.007+01:00

I came across these whilst looking at the 'We create magazine ads for the hell of it' thread at Neogaf and think there worthy of posting. Besides, almost anything relating to Scribblenauts is worth checking out.

This is going to. be. the. greatest. puzzle. game. EVAR!
/hype

[Click the images to enlarge]

Scribblenauts: Laughing at the target audience?

2009-09-14T19:23:00.004+01:00

I've already seen so many brilliant Scribblenauts videos, but I think that this is possibly the most amazing discovery I've seen yet.

I love stuff like this but I see another connection:

5th Cell = Game Developers = Gamers = Virgins?

Haha Narf

Sribblenauts - Release hype

2009-09-13T15:15:00.007+01:00

I have got to get me one of these Rooster hats, even if I have to search Ebay for one. I am considering importing this from America as I can't see myself waiting til the 15th of October for the European release date, and on top of that I'm starting university very soon so my play time consisting of riding velociraptors and sending out Yetis to beat up whales is going to be very limited.

The only people I can see not enjoying this are those kids in school who only knew how to draw a square box for art lessons.

No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle- New Trailer

2009-09-12T15:25:00.003+01:00

Where are the Pre-Orders at?

Unpacking Metroid Prime Trilogy (PAL Version)

2009-09-10T00:32:00.017+01:00

Below are some pictures I took whilst opening up Metroid Prime Trilogy. Although I would have liked the metal packaging the US version came in I'm still very impressed with the quality of the packaging used in the PAL copy (as far I know this is the same packaging used worldwide minus North America).
The game comes with a high quality card slip on cover with a highly reflective surface on both sides and an embossed title. The box itself features the same reflective surfaces and art minus the text. Inside it's the same as documented in the US release including an impressive art and story booklet and thorough manual documenting all 3 titles.
So overall it's a pretty sweet deal and It's hard to argue with 3 of the best games to be released in the last 10 years on one disk.

Oh and what's with all the complaining about some of the minor details in the first title being removed? Yes they added to the incredible atmosphere of the first title but people are forgetting that retro went back and used higher resolution and more vivid textures, proper widescreen support along with the superb Wii controls and interesting achievement system. Which in my opinion more than make up for the lack of trivial special effects.
But more importantly, the doors open more fucking quickly!

My Favourite Gaming Moments: Super Mario Galaxy - Gusty Garden Galaxy

2009-09-03T23:27:00.023+01:00

Super Mario Galaxy is a modern classic, to say the least. The level design is pretty much perfect, the control is spot-on, the art style is beautiful, audio and visual presentation is astounding and everything is done with such confidence and innovation that it reminds you how of how games used to feel before things started to become mundane.

It would be easy to write a rambling article (Edit: upon reading turns out it is) about all the things it does to brand a permanant smile on my face. Sprinting to the edge of a planet and launching Mario into orbit with a long jump? Brilliant. Gravity traps and switches that turn the most basic 2D and 3D stages into head-spinning puzzles? Amazing. Watching a dome open up to reveal a new sphere within composed of water to a beautiful starry backdrop? Fantastic.

However there is one moment that stands out in my mind that solidifies everything I had hoped the title could be, the initial landing on the Gusty Garden Galaxy.

Before this moment Galaxy has already illustrated numerous extraordinary ideas and feelings of joy and suprise that as I approached the halfway mark, I began to wonder whether or not there could possibly be any more invention or new twists to gameplay. But even then I would have hardly felt short-changed as the excitement of the breathtaking platforming to the delightful novelties displayed so far had been miles better than anything I'd played in recent years. However its the moment I first touched down on Gusty Gardens that I knew that Galaxy wasn't going to go that way.

Landing in the Gusty Garden Galaxy to a blare of horns and some of the best orchestral bombast I have ever heard instantly made my mental list of my favourite ever moments in gaming. As I first landed and began to explore this galaxy full of vivid colours edged in starlight accomponied by this soundtrack, I took a moment to stop fooling around with the long jump and I looked up across the horizon and I could see that the games extraordinary ideas were laid out so cogently that anything could seem possible in this world.

As I think about all the titles I've played in recent years and all the titles that im looking forward too (Including a Galaxy sequel). Not since the original 3D Mario adventure on N64, have I played or seen a game so full imagination, playfulness, diversions and bizarre ideas that makes everything seem so simple. But when it all comes down to it, It's just a platformer. Albeit a platformer that has all the exploring, teetering on the brink and jumping off the edge of the planet in a world of uncomparable fun.

Platform: Wii
Release: Available World Wide
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD

[Note: My Favourite Gaming Moments is a small series I'll probably be doing in which I rant about some of my fondest memories in gaming. And yes, I know that your life could go on with out this but its not as if i have anything better to do]

New Muramasa: The Demon Blade video

2009-09-02T19:55:00.015+01:00

As ever this game looks amazing. Between this and A Boy and His Blob, The Wii has arguably two of the years best looking games. And Recently after seeing this video the developers Epic Games (Gears of War and Unreal) have written a new piece of dialouge for the next title in the Gears of War franchise:

Marcus: Dom, come check this out.

Dominic: What is it, Marcus?

Marcus: I think it's... yellow?

Dominic: ...Th' Fuuuck

Timewaster: Canabalt

2009-09-02T16:21:00.008+01:00

Canabalt is a simple one button platformer, but what it lacks in gameplay variety, it more than makes up for in terms of EPIC.

The aesthetic touches really bring this together. The way the character rolls after a long fall, the silhouetted parallax background, and the music (which If I ever go to a gym, will need on my MP3) really help pull the game together.

I think it's the graphics, speed of camera movement, background and music/sounds go very well together that really draw me into the world. Not to mention the addictive 'I'll just have one more go' style of the gameplay.

So far my best distance is 3457 so check it out at:

http://adamatomic.com/canabalt/

And yeah, those birds totally made my day.

Pokemon Card Game Championship Winners

2009-09-01T18:10:00.010+01:00

Holy shit, is the kid in the middle wearing a Kyogre hat? Fuck me, I want one!

EDIT: I got my own Kyogre hat in the mail today! It doesn't match the level of the one shown above but it's pretty nice. I'm definitely going to upload some pictures of this thing.

Creativity is not dead. It's just hard to sell

2009-09-01T03:53:00.007+01:00

Regardless of what anybody says, if you have something good, people will not naturally come to it. You will always get a select educated few that stand behind a product, however sometimes, people don't even understand what is good, and simply think that what they already have is adequate, and anything else couldn't possibly be better or worth thinking of. Look at people who will only buy sports titles and even then their only purchases will be the annual marginal update.

One of the main problems facing the industry is that publishers won't publish that which they don't believe will make money, so developers aren’t encouraged to create titles that may be perceived as risky and niche. Gamers won't be inclined to spend money unless they know they are going to enjoy, or believe they will enjoy their purchase. The problem is in the money.

This idea is supported when you think of some of the many titles released on downloadable services such as Wii Ware and Steam. Often you will see more creativity in these budget price titles from independent or small studio's than many mainstream developers with staff in the hundreds. However when you think of the risk associated with multimillion pound projects, this reluctance to innovate seems rational.

Remember how successful arcades were? People are willing to spend more money in smaller increments. Think about any of your favourite games. What hooked you? I bet it was within the first 5 hours of play. If you find no enjoyment by then chances are you wont continue and regret your purchase. So that's all that needs to be created and sold first and If the consumers don't take an interest, then you move on and cut your loses, which will be much less than that of a blockbuster-sized title.

Another problem is that the same types of games keep getting made largely due to the fact that's all the core audience is interested in. This is a cycle that the medium currently finds itself in and the issue is located in us, the consumers. We as a mass continually buy the same cookie-cutter titles and avoid games with new interesting concepts. What does that tell the studios? That we have little interest in taking risks with our purchases.

So of course they aren't going to deviate far from the norm. Developers have very little say in the shape of the industry. We, on the other hand, shape it every time we buy a new game.
How many times has an innovative title come out, only to be largely ignored until long after it's dropped into the bargain bin? Then, after we realize what we missed out on, we bitch because they never give us a sequel only to complain that we were waiting for the price to drop. However this is not full proof solution.

No matter how much the core wants to believe, it is the expanded audience that will really determine the success of a title. Even if the all of the gamers who comment on a website with news on the release of a new title end up purchasing it, it will still only end up being a relatively small number in comparison to the potential number of casual players who will only become aware of the title through mainstream advertisements and word of mouth.

So at this point, creativity isn't dead and everything is not lost, but it will only come in short bursts. As long as the current style of video games remains as popular as they are we will never see innovations as significant as those seen in the past. But this is true for any art or entertainment medium, as long as the purpose of the medium is to profit, you will never see as much uniqueness and originality in them as you would like.

Or you could just wait quietly in the corner for Scribblenauts.

PSPgo.co.uk =/= PSPgo

2009-08-15T22:58:00.001+01:00

If you head over to PSPgo.co.uk you'll see that the site has nothing to do with raising interest for the upcoming PSPgo, but rather a brilliant advertisement for how amazing the DSi is. It looks as though some DSi fans with some proffesional web design skills have bought the domain name and linked everything on the site back to Nintendo's official pages.

It may not be a big deal as i'm sure someone as Sony will do something about it. but not before having a good laugh.
But Sony should do the mature thing here... and buy NGAGE.CO.UK!

My First Flipnote

2009-08-15T01:00:00.001+01:00

Well here it is. As you can see my first attempt at a Flipnote is ambitious but rubbish. It took me about an hour and a half to complete and I learnt about all the different tools and advanced techniques as I went through, resulting in a progressive quality increase in terms of animation. However this doesn't matter as a well animated drawing means nothing if the idea is terrible from the beginning! I just started with an image of a stick figure before rambling from idea to idea including a self portrait of my head minus a mouth or nose.

Anyway I'm planning on making a ridiculous amount of these things. But first check out my flipnote's Awesome Grafix!

Flipnote Studio released

2009-08-14T23:51:00.002+01:00

This past week Flipnote Studios has become available for everyone outside of Japan and you can download it free of charge from the DSi store.
Seriously, its such a good package that Nintendo could have charged for it and I'm sure people would have praised its features and content. It almost feels like a brand new Mario Paint but more advanced and intuitive.

What's even more surprising is how robust and addictive the online site is. You can view the site from your DSi as well as your PC and upload your own creations whilst also checking out some of the amazing animations other people have done after registering with Hatena.

Everything is simple and easy to use with plenty of options that will keep people people addicted for a long time. It's definitely a step forward in terms of user generated content from Nintendo.

At the moment I'm still currently working on my ambitious (and rubbish) first flip note and I'll post it on here as soon as I'm done. For every other DSi user who hasn't downloaded it yet, what are you waiting for?! It's free and easily one of the DSi's best features.

Little King's Story Review

2009-07-20T22:49:00.009+01:00

I’ve been meaning to write this review for a while now. With its American release quickly approaching as I start this review (Edit: Damn part time job and Punch Out!! for keeping me from finishing), I look back on the newest game from Town Factory and Cing that could have easily been called Little King’s Big Story.

Since its initial announcement I’ve been looking forward to Little King's Story (LKS) and I picked it up upon its European release. The premise appealed to me and I’m sure many others. After all, who didn't dream of being King as a child? Ruling your own kingdom, bossing others around and having servants at your command, controlling your own army and having everybody celebrate your existence. LKS does a great job at making you feel as though you’re ruling a kingdom through the quirky presentation, great writing and genre-mixed gameplay.

LKS's plot in simple terms is about a kid named Corobo who stumbles upon a crown in a forest. From there he is deemed as King and has the power to charm people to make them follow his orders. As ruler of your kingdom, your goal is to “expand the village” i.e. world domination (or as the game brilliantly puts it, "uniting of the world") whilst also making your subjects happy. This results in a number of different tasks and objectives.

When you first start up initially you only have 2 followers, though this number will increase significantly, your main interaction with your servants is to throw them at things. This can be used to fight enemies and dig for treasure among other things. These interactions are dependent on the profession of the follower you throw. If throw a soldier at an enemy, he’ll attack; if you throw a farmer at a hole, he’ll dig on the spot. Later on when you have a large amount of options in terms of team building, I found that creating a perfectly balanced squad on a quests first attempt a rare occasion. Initially you have to walk about your kingdom and select the people you want in your team to go out to explore the kingdom with you. However, with enough funds you can eventually buy a podium, making it is much easier to assemble squads.

The treasure you find on your travels can be spent back at the castle. This brings me onto another thing, Money. Completing quests rewards you with large amounts of money which allows you to expand your kingdom. With enough money you can eventually buy even more houses and battle formations, further expanding your gameplay possibilities. As your kingdom builds up further jobs and recruits become available.

I could talk more about the different gameplay styles but overall, it feels very similar to the Pikmin games – throwing your subjects at objects to interact, with a mix of SimCity and Harvest Moon's micro managment.

I haven’t even mentioned the large number of mini games littered throughout and the boss battles; which are easily some of the most impressive I’ve seen this generation.

On a minor negative side, I had some problems with the camera during some of the more hectic confrontations later on and occasionally some of my followers would get stuck in the level geometry or they would fall off ridges meaning that I had to backtrack slightly to regroup. Micro managing my troops during combat would also lead to some problems during combat as I felt the system was a little imprecise.

Another thing which some people may find fault with is the games lack of Wii-specific controls. Regardless the game controls very well and the learning curve is just right with new mechanics being introduced at a good rate. However after playing Pikmin 2 with new Wii controls, I wish the pointer functionality had been an option as use as an on screen cursor as it just seems like a natural fit given the style of the gameplay.

Finally, in relation to the presentation, the game looks pleasant enough and is full of great little touches. It has an interesting art style that evokes memories of children’s storybooks whilst some of the dialogue is fairly adult orientated with some mature references that leave a memorable impression. The music is also worth noting with some famous orchestral tunes that suit the games style perfectly.

Overall LKS is an amazing achievement. It feels designed for the hardcore and core gamers through its deep, challenging and engrossing gameplay (that can easily engross you for hours on end) without the need to use a washed out colour scheme and a “mature” use of excessive gore and violence. It feels like a AAA title regardless of which platform it’s on due to the amount of polish and care that has clearly gone into its development. You could easily spend 30 hours going through the story whilst also discovering all of the games many secrets. This is one of this year’s best games and one of the Wii’s best this generation.

9/10

Platform: Wii
Release: April 24- Europe
Publisher: Rising Star
Developer: Town Factory/Cing