The rambling Aussie puts in his two cents on BioWare's new space opera
Monday, December 31, 2007
Random Video: Guitar Hero Kid shreds GH3
If you haven't heard of the Guitar Hero Kid, then prepare to be amazed this little (now 9 year old) kid has basically completely dominated GH song library and no set his site on (what I think is) the hardest Guitar Hero song ever. Through the fire and flames by DragonForce.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Game of the Year 2007
Well its nearing the end of the year meaning it year end awards. Unfortunately in the world of video games these awards don't mean much mostly due to the fact that there so many Game of the Year (GoY) Awards. Seriously why the hell are there like 13 of these damn things?
Not only are there numerous GoY Awards given out by different media/publishing companies but they're not even consistent with each other making the whole award pointless. Don't get me wrong a lot of the times these awards do highlight great games but more often then most they act as another marketing ploy on a game that probably had significant hype surrounding it. So what am I going to do about it? Well I'm going to make my own picks of course.
I'll start with the list of contenders
Bioshock - This cinematic game made me hate seeing the words immersive in game reviews but it delivered just that in a nice (though at times creepy) tight story line. The game itself had solid game mechanics and stunning visuals that made it one of the must own games of the year.
Super Mario Galaxy - It took them a year after their next gen console release but Nintendo has finally stepped moved its Wii a step forward with the release of a Mario game. The game takes a unique change with its game mechanics while pushing the envelope for 3D platformers. However, despite being one of my favorite Mario's this is probably the weakest title on my list since it tends to incur a love it or hate it relationship among gamers.
Mass Effect - The giant space opera that is Mass Effect has shown that Bioware is still one of the best game developers out there. The game features a great deal of story and replay ability. However the flaws in Mass Effect lie in some of the game mechanics (with the exclusion of the real time battle controls) the game controls seem a bit jenky.
Call of Duty 4- Finally CoD has moved away from its WWII background into a more modern military shooter. The game features a stunning graphics engine and a much improved multiplayer experience. The problem with the game is that its extremely short and often leaves the player wishing someone would have taken the extra time to create a few more missions.
Halo 3- People now have reasons to own an Xbox (360) again, Halo 3 fills the gap of the must own title for the 360 putting it up there with Gears of War. The game features a ton of multiplayer updates making the game play balanced again and of course allows fans of the series to "Finish the Fight". The main issue with this game is a consistency issue in its level design. Some levels are designed perfectly for single/cooperative play and are a lot of fun to play, while others will often feel frustrating on single player or dull. This is a minor issue but its a significant one in fact that the campaign is much shorter than previous installments of the series.
And the winner is ...
Bioshock. I'm actually pretty surprised by the out come of this one being a pretty big Halo fan I could have easily given the chief the nod for the final installment of the series. However, Bioshock delivered in almost every aspect a game should, however I would have really liked to see a multiplayer aspect of this shooter.
Bioshock combines a great story with incredible visuals and sounds. Along with solid game mechanics Bioshock is one of the most enjoyable games I've played all year.
Special Should have been GoY Award - Portal - this awesome little puzzle game has taken the gaming world by storm. I was tempted to put this on the list but left it off mostly due to the fact that it was part of a bundle, this would be a killer DLC game for Xbox Live or PSN.
Must own game of year - Orange Box - take the industry shaping Half Life series add in a few expansions and two additional games (Team Fortress 2 and Portal). Gives you the must own bundle for any gamer for just about all platforms. There cannot be enough said about this bundle expect, if you don't have it go buy it.
Not only are there numerous GoY Awards given out by different media/publishing companies but they're not even consistent with each other making the whole award pointless. Don't get me wrong a lot of the times these awards do highlight great games but more often then most they act as another marketing ploy on a game that probably had significant hype surrounding it. So what am I going to do about it? Well I'm going to make my own picks of course.
I'll start with the list of contenders
Bioshock - This cinematic game made me hate seeing the words immersive in game reviews but it delivered just that in a nice (though at times creepy) tight story line. The game itself had solid game mechanics and stunning visuals that made it one of the must own games of the year.
Super Mario Galaxy - It took them a year after their next gen console release but Nintendo has finally stepped moved its Wii a step forward with the release of a Mario game. The game takes a unique change with its game mechanics while pushing the envelope for 3D platformers. However, despite being one of my favorite Mario's this is probably the weakest title on my list since it tends to incur a love it or hate it relationship among gamers.
Mass Effect - The giant space opera that is Mass Effect has shown that Bioware is still one of the best game developers out there. The game features a great deal of story and replay ability. However the flaws in Mass Effect lie in some of the game mechanics (with the exclusion of the real time battle controls) the game controls seem a bit jenky.
Call of Duty 4- Finally CoD has moved away from its WWII background into a more modern military shooter. The game features a stunning graphics engine and a much improved multiplayer experience. The problem with the game is that its extremely short and often leaves the player wishing someone would have taken the extra time to create a few more missions.
Halo 3- People now have reasons to own an Xbox (360) again, Halo 3 fills the gap of the must own title for the 360 putting it up there with Gears of War. The game features a ton of multiplayer updates making the game play balanced again and of course allows fans of the series to "Finish the Fight". The main issue with this game is a consistency issue in its level design. Some levels are designed perfectly for single/cooperative play and are a lot of fun to play, while others will often feel frustrating on single player or dull. This is a minor issue but its a significant one in fact that the campaign is much shorter than previous installments of the series.
And the winner is ...
Bioshock. I'm actually pretty surprised by the out come of this one being a pretty big Halo fan I could have easily given the chief the nod for the final installment of the series. However, Bioshock delivered in almost every aspect a game should, however I would have really liked to see a multiplayer aspect of this shooter.
Bioshock combines a great story with incredible visuals and sounds. Along with solid game mechanics Bioshock is one of the most enjoyable games I've played all year.
Special Should have been GoY Award - Portal - this awesome little puzzle game has taken the gaming world by storm. I was tempted to put this on the list but left it off mostly due to the fact that it was part of a bundle, this would be a killer DLC game for Xbox Live or PSN.
Must own game of year - Orange Box - take the industry shaping Half Life series add in a few expansions and two additional games (Team Fortress 2 and Portal). Gives you the must own bundle for any gamer for just about all platforms. There cannot be enough said about this bundle expect, if you don't have it go buy it.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Zero Punctuation: Guitar Hero 3
Today Yahtzee puts his two cents in on the Guitar hero franchise and does what he does best by reviewing Guitar Hero 3. Prepare for the stupid fingers.
XNA 2.0 Announced
Microsoft finally released version 2.0 of the XNA framework. For those of you with that confused look on you face, the XNA framework is a programming framework that is geared towards developing games for Microsoft platforms. The new version support network interfaces that allow for multiplayer games to be developed. You can check it out here.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Random Music Video of the Day: Tim McMillan "Blackout (Remix)"
In my random searches for good music I stumbled on to an impressive Aussie Guitarist by the name of Tim McMillan, apparently he's doing a European tour now (check out his myspace page here to check out more of his stuff).
Zero Punctuation: Assassin's Creed
This week Yathzee has decided to give his two cents on Ubisoft's latest (franchise?) game Assassin's Creed
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Random Music Video of the Day: Johnny Online "Day to Day"
It's been a while since I've put up one of these but I just haven't been able to get this song out of my head the last few days. This is an original from the guy brought you the Love two point OH! song.
Zero Punctuation: FEAR Perseus Mandate
After taking a week off from producing his weekly video game review Yahtzee is back and review the new expansion for FEAR Persesus Mandate.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Why a iTablet or Mac Touch doesn't make sense
Despite really wanting Apple to produce a tablet base Mac computer it's probably not something Apple should make. Why do you ask? Well it's simple the concept of a tablet PC is a really good idea in general but is really only practical in a few niche cases. It's believed that the main short coming of this genre of computers is that it simply lacks any style or design in its interface that makes it practical. Which is something that Apple could bring to the table but probably not as a computer.
Now let me justify myself before I get into this, devices like the iTouch and the iPhone are computing devices but are not computers. At least not in the sense that everyone is hoping the mythical iTablet will be. This allows the device to be designed cleanly into a number of streamlined devices that have a specific purpose and additional computer like functions. As consumer devices like the iTouch mature they'll appear to be more computer like but as of now they're no substitute for the real thing. Generally this is where the Mac faithful come in an explain how Apple is so good at working these issues out. Which is true but Apple isn't just fighting interface issues they're facing technological ones that just aren't ready for prime time (yet).
In most cases there is a trade off when dealing with touch screen technology which boils down to image quality vs touch functionality. The iPhone and iTouch where a step in the right direction in getting rid of this problem but don't solve it in any way. The main draw for tablet computer systems is that it allows the user to interface with a computer in their own hand writing. This is where most tablet systems tend to screw up (not in the hand writing translation but) the pressure sensitivity of the touch/stylus interface. That's really where the trade off makes it's biggest difference currently you'll either get a great display with terrible pressure response or good pressure response with grainy displays. Now I know Wacom has made a some strides in this department but I'm not convinced its ready for prime time. Apple could make a tablet system and announce it in January but more than likely it won't be what everyone is hoping for mostly due to the face it just doesn't add up.
Now let me justify myself before I get into this, devices like the iTouch and the iPhone are computing devices but are not computers. At least not in the sense that everyone is hoping the mythical iTablet will be. This allows the device to be designed cleanly into a number of streamlined devices that have a specific purpose and additional computer like functions. As consumer devices like the iTouch mature they'll appear to be more computer like but as of now they're no substitute for the real thing. Generally this is where the Mac faithful come in an explain how Apple is so good at working these issues out. Which is true but Apple isn't just fighting interface issues they're facing technological ones that just aren't ready for prime time (yet).
In most cases there is a trade off when dealing with touch screen technology which boils down to image quality vs touch functionality. The iPhone and iTouch where a step in the right direction in getting rid of this problem but don't solve it in any way. The main draw for tablet computer systems is that it allows the user to interface with a computer in their own hand writing. This is where most tablet systems tend to screw up (not in the hand writing translation but) the pressure sensitivity of the touch/stylus interface. That's really where the trade off makes it's biggest difference currently you'll either get a great display with terrible pressure response or good pressure response with grainy displays. Now I know Wacom has made a some strides in this department but I'm not convinced its ready for prime time. Apple could make a tablet system and announce it in January but more than likely it won't be what everyone is hoping for mostly due to the face it just doesn't add up.
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