Games! Games! Games!

And more games.
After E3, Leipzig, PAX ect, I think that many of us knew that this holiday season was going to be very hard on our wallets. With the influx of inevitable avalanche of games that would be raining down upon us it is easy to let things slip past our radar. So the question is, do we either
a) Buy everything and play it all at the same time
b) Buy everything and play it one after another or
c) Buy one thing and wait for everything else to come down in price. Ah decisions decisions.
There is always at least one game that everyone is waiting for during the course of the year, The sequel to a game that you played last gen, Something completely new or the ending to a series that had you addicted around this time last year. Nobody wants to forget about something, Then come back a few months later and not be interested at all. So the question still remains , What Do We Do!. Here’s a list of some of the biggest games coming out this holiday season.








Gears Of War 2. - 7/11/2008*

The original gears was a massive hit with all 360 owners around the world. The new cover system innovated the 3rd person genre to a point of which drew in new people. As well as the short lived campaign the main talking point about GoW was its multiplayer. Still one of the most played games on Xbox Live just as Halo’s multiplayer kept people coming back until the sequel Gears 2 will do exactly the same.

Get-a-bility rating 7/10







Fable 2. - 23/10/2008*

When Fable and Fable: The Lost Chapters hit Xbox and PC it was an immediate hit. The RPG elements were incredible, being able to grow up and shape your own path through Albion was so in-depth and absorbing it left people itching for a sequel. With the dev diaries that have been released from Lionhead showing the new elements to F2 it seems as if this one will be no different.

Get-a-bility rating 9/10







Fallout 3. - 31/10/2008*

Fallout has been a series which has been strictly PC for quite some time. When Bestheda took on the rights to Fallout 3 there was uproar in the gaming community (although not everyone was pissed off) due to the traditional game play not being given the respect that it deserved. It seems that people opinions have changed since videos have leaked and been promoted that although it’s not exactly the same its still Fallout, just for the next gen. So this is a big getthisgamenow one for me.

Get-a-bility rating 10/10







Little Big Planet. - 31/10/2008*

Just like Spore this game has been riding the hype train for quite some time now. It seems that people have been able to broaden their minds to games that don’t bear the Shoot, Stab, Explode facade which seems to mask lots of current gen games. Games life LBP, Viva Piñata and its sequels made people realise that although there’s no blood or guns there is still room for a great in-depth experience. LBP is a game that can make you think, Have fun and be creative. Being a 2 and a bit D game the multiplayer and community creation will generate sales and get people coming back for a long time to come.

Get-a-bility rating 8/10







Saints Row 2. - 16/10/2008*

Hailed as the GTA killer Saints Row shocked, stunned and insulted people just as another GTA game has in the past. What set SR apart from previous sandbox games was its immersive multiplayer. It seemed to get together all key features that GTA was missing: Dedicated multiplayer, GPS map and character customization to the max. Saints Row 2 now coming after GTA IV has much to live up to. Hopefully its strong multiplayer foundations which were secured by the original game will be able to hold this new series up high.

Get-a-bility rating 6/10







Call Of Duty: World At War. - 12/11/2008 (Not confirmed)*

The Call Of Duty franchise has been hailed as the best world war 2 game series out there. This point has also been a problem for the series as it seems unable to get itself out of the never ending WWII spinoffs. When Call Of Duty 4:Modern Warfare it generated so much life into the stale WWII scene it was an instant best seller. So naturally it was a shock to see it going back again to WWII. Even though this is not Call Of Duty 5, You would still think they would expand their boundaries. The demos of the game which have been released and the announced MP beta coming up soon will have to stun people just as CoD 2 and 3 did....Then again we do get flame throwers....

Get-a-bility rating 6/10


Obviously this isn’t all the games that people are most looking forward to, but I hope this list hopefully got people a little more excited for a game they were 50-50 with throughout the year. Have a good one.

*Release dates based on Australian releases

If Life Had Achievements

I have been working on a picture of what I think life would look like if it were a game and if it had achievements, If anyone has any suggestions drop a comment and I might throw yours in an updated version. Click the image to see it in its full size

Enjoy

iPhone!

Brand new iPhone this week. Loving every moment of it. Serious, If you are in need of a new phone GO GET THIS ONE!.

Microsoft E3 2008 Press Conference Run-Down

Microsoft E3 2008 Rundown.

As I sat wearily at my PC at 3 in the morning I was hoping and/or dreaming of a good MS press briefing. First try to get some of the love coverage at Gamespot was cut due to the huge amount of traffic that those guys got; I then resorted to Majornelsons blog and found another route to the E3 goodness. I was liked to the Gamertag Radio homepage which provided some really close up coverage but was spammed by fanboys and 8 year olds the entire time. I finally got back to Gamespot after about 10-15 minutes and was fine (just in time for the Fallout 3 trailer and gameplay).

Fallout 3 seems to be the kind of game that doesn’t demo well and this is why:

- It’s an RPG (I don’t think RPG’s demo well due to their depth of gameplay and story)

- Was shown as a shooter (VATS looked cool)

- Not a leveled up character

- Playable in many different ways

Fallout is a game that can be played in many different ways as stated by Tod Howard at Bestheda who was demoing the game live.

“This is the game you can play any kind of character you want, you can play a stealthy guy a combat guy or use speech to pursway people”

Real-time combat and VATS combat (Size up your enemy and choose a point to target) are also available. Two of the most exciting things about Fallout 3 s the downloadable continent exclusive to 360 and the promise of over 100 hours gameplay.

It was then time for Capcom’s shot up on stage with a presentation of Resident Evil 5. Jun Takechi was the taking us through the demo. The game played well and at the announcement of Co-op with a second player the crowd seemed to enjoy it. The demo seemed to go on a bit long and Jun gives the hurry-up.

Peter Molyneux of Lionhead takes the stage with the eagerly anticipated Fable II gameplay we have been waiting for. He teases at the fact that the story is going to be fantastic, and with Fable’s first story this one seems to be able to live up to the hype. The Xbox Live Co-op is shown off with a: Stop-Click-Play mechanic which involves players stopping at purple orbs, Inviting their friends and letting their friends jump right into the world with them, It is a very seamless experience. Family life is shown to us with a Wife and son as an example “Your son will actually grow up as the game continues”, Drinking with friends at the pub is also flaunted (hopefully its more exciting than in GTA IV).

The roar of chainsaws and split locusts could only mean one thing as Gears Of War 2 was demoed by Cliffy B. He is running through a mission (In co-op) whom the object is to get to the bottom of a sink hole and wipe out the locusts. The game appears to be running very smoothly in comparison to RE5 which seemed to have a few frame rate issues. They then continue to see huge enemy which they must both take down and ‘ride’ through the town which is where the demo concluded.

Our attention is then taken to Don giving us states on the Xbox 360 sales around the world in comparison to other consoles. This is where the bold comment “Xbox 360 will sell more consoles worldwide this generation than Playstation 3”. Still no new news on a video marketplace for Australia sadly. The avatar system and new dashboard are revealed which are very ‘Wiish” in comparison to the old blades system. The new dashboard seems to be a mix between the PS3 dash and cover-flow option on ITunes. Hopefully it will be refined a bit more in the future before it hits consoles around the world. Casual games seem to be the focus of this part of the conference with the announcements of

- Xbox Live Primetime

- 1 vs. 100

- Deal Or No Deal

- Lips (Singstar competition)

- Your in the movies (Eye toy/Blue screen fun)

Trailers for Viva Piñata: Trouble In Paradise and Banjo Kazooie are shown, VP:TP looks to be more of the same thing from the first installment, Hopefully there are some new features to keep the idea fresh. The original Nintendo 64 version of Banjo Kazooie will be released on XBL arcade.

The music games are now the centre of attention for millions of gamers around the world. It is obvious that MS sees this as opportunity to get the most out of Guitar Hero World Tour and Rockband 2 (which the original is not released in Australia yet)

Square Enix is the final company to take the stage with trailers for Infinite Discovery, The Last Remnant and Star Ocean- The last hope. There was one final surprise for the crowd and millions watching at home, This was the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII finally coming to Xbox 360.

Release dates:

Dash update- ???

Fallout 3- October 2008

Fable 2- October 2008

Resident Evil 5 - 13th, March 2009

Gears Of War 2- November 7^th 2008

Geometry Wars 2- Next month

The Last Remnant- November 20^th 2008

Rockband- November 2008 (Australia)

All in all there were no major surprises that Microsoft bought to the table apart from Final Fantasy XIII. It was a little disappointing there was no trailer for the upcoming Bungie game which will have no Master Chief or the rumored motion controller. However the lineup of games that were shown is one of the strongest that Microsoft has had for quite sometime.

Sources:

Gamespot

PALGN

Major Nelson

Gamertag Radio

Twitter

TiVo is a No Go

It’s no surprise to tech savvy Australians that we Aussies are not always ‘invited to the party’. For years and years Australia has been constantly left out and ignored when major releases for games and technology are sent out to the rest of the world, In particular the United States.

Channel 7 just had a story on about the ‘nifty new gadget’ that’s going to save our TV’s…apparently. TiVo was hailed as something that was amazing and unheard of. What non tech savvy Australians don’t know is that TiVo has been around in the U.S and Europe for almost nine years. Australian TiVo’s won’t be able to even access some of the standard features such as

- Not recording commercials

- Hard drive Capacity to record all shows. (Still under decision)

U.S TiVo’s can record two shows simultaneously with out ad-breaks to a 160 GB internal hardrive, I see no reason for Aussies to go out and buy a higher priced TiVo than its U.S counterparts,

"I think economies of scale mean it will probably be a little bit higher here,” TiVo also has an ongoing subscription fee to its service says a Dobbie representative.

Australia needs to step up its game in the world of technology. The game industry is expanding and Australia has little to nothing to do with it. A new ratings system and more money would stop the ridiculous censoring and banning of games. More community events such as the Water Balloon event which was held in Sydney a few years ago need to be held if Australia wants to rectify its self from the ‘ban everything’ name it has fallen under.

Below is a list I have compiled which shows the staggering of games and consoles in Australia compared to the U.S and other parts of the world.

Super Smash Bros Brawl.

- June 26 Australia

- June 27 Europe

- March 9 United States

- January 31 Japan

Xbox 360 released three months after the U.S

Rock Band

- U.S 20^th November 2007

- AUS December 1^st 2008

And as early as the Nintendo 64

- U.S March 1^st 1997

- AUS September 1^st 1997

Sources:

http://tivo.com.au/

www.wikipedia.org

Sid Meiers Civilization Revolution Review/Preview

As the clash of swords and shields, the sails of ships and the Thrusters of rockets quieted down, I bring to you the Sid Meiers Civilization Revolution Review/Preview. After a hefty 1.3 gig of downloading (Thanks to the nifty auto-off feature) I got to try my luck at CVR.

At first glace it appears to be a 3D Carcassonne, Thankfully it seems to be quite the opposite although both the art styles are similar. CVR is a turn based RTS (Real time Strategy) game that for a demo has some long hours to be put into it.

The player is put into the action straight from the word go, with a developing city (on the easiest difficulty). The game takes place over hundreds of years and concludes at the year 1250 AD. It is in this time the object of the game is accomplished by one of four methods.

- Technological, Reach Alpha Centauri via developing a space station before other players.

-Domination, Capture/Destroy all other city capitals of opposing players

- Economic, When a civilization earns 20,000 pieces of gold and builds the World Bank.

- Cultural, A civilization with 20 great people, large scale buildings or captures cities and has built the United Nations building.

These new factors will hopefully make Civilization appeal to more people rather than the usual ‘hack and slash’ method that cloaks many other RTS’s. It is CVR’s game play mechanics that make it a very appealing game. The turn based/ Real time gameplay mixes it up from tradition turn based games. After one city has made a move, this can include; setting new things to build, Command army units and ships. All other cities make their moves. The combat works on a Defense Vs Attack points system, if one army has say 5 attack and the opposing soldiers or base has a defense of 2.5 the soldiers will win. Commanding the units is done with the left analogue stick and other units can be selected by moving around the map with the right stick.

The control scheme is very easy to grasp and cleverly set out. There is no confusion to what unit is selected and there is also the ability to plan moves ahead by selecting a ‘square’ 4 moves ahead, The unit will then move to the selected location each turn. The player also has the ability to cancel and change the move. CVR looks great, the city development as you progress through the ages is a very rewarding experience as well as upgrading your units. The terrain can range from snow, desert, forest as well as the sea. Sound is what is expected from a RTS game, the ‘simish’ chatter of the city help and the annoying tutorial professor is refreshing rather than the cliché noble and booming yelling the player has to endure from the head of the army for the next 30 hours of their lives.

All in all Civilization Revolution is a refreshing new look at the Civilization series and from what is shown in the demo will keep hardcore fans and some newcomers keen to play more and see who is the greatest leader in the world.

images: http://www.kotaku.com.au

Miicrosoft?

No that’s not a bad typo Xbox360 Fanboy has posted a story/rumor that the Xbox 360 will be getting a Avatar service which in turn will replace the current Gamerpic’s.As E3 fast approaches , It seems that Microsoft has begun to catch on to the Wii’s massive success and wants in on the casual audience. Various comments on message boards around the net are saying that ‘Microsoft is out of ideas’ and is stealing from Nintendo. I ask how?, Digital avatars have been around long before the Wii. Habbo Hotel being one of the major examples of online avatars which can interact with each other in a virtual world. There has also been rumor of a Wii like motion controller for the 360 called the 'Newton', If Microsoft is serous about the Casual audience, XBL arcade, Avatars and motion sensing and a bit of cleaver marketing and original ideas, they may just have a shot..

Cramsy (Chris)

Update for week of Sunrday June 15th

Evening all,

Being playing back to good ol H3 this week, Trying to get my 45 and be done I think/hope. Ive also been catching up on my Fable 2 news, Anyone know a definite release date for Australia? If so drop a comment.

Cramsy (Chris)

Yeah I love this ga...What?

So I'm playing Mass Effect, Starting to get really immersing then...It ends. Just like that, A game that got all these fantastic reviews and this is what they give me!?. -sigh- Suppose I'm just going to have to play some GTAMP until Halo wars or Fable 2 comes out, Thats where I'm going to get some immersing storyline and game play..hopefully. If there are any other suggestions of games that are going to take sometime and have nice RPG elements PLEASE tell me about them.

Cramsy (Chris)

Mass Change!

Good afternoon bloggers,

If you have read my previous post about Mass Effect and how it isn't too 'RPGish' (for lack of a better word) Well I am happy to say it has finally started to pick up steam, Last night I found myself yelling in shock as Spoiler: Wrecks was shot in the back BY HIS OWN TEAM!. I hadn't realized what kind of attachment I have grown to the characters so far. The choices in the game is something that I have never experienced. After playing through GTA and making those hard decisions and now Mass Effect has thrown a few tricky ones at me. It seems as if all those cut scenes I've sen before was the easy way out. Ah the power of games.

Cramsy (Chris)

Update for week of Saturday June 7th

Hey all, Hope whoever has read my GTA review liked it. If you can find any problems with it please drop a comment or send me a message, all helpful hints and constrictive criticism is appreciated. I am currently playing through Mass Effect at the moment, So far its good but not great im about 5 or so hours in and its nor rely that "RPGish" yet...hopefully. I am also beginning to start a writeup on the Australian Game Industry, What topics i'll cover im unsure of and ill post here when Ive finished the final version. Happy long weekend Australia :)

Cramsy (Chris)

Grand Theft Auto IV Review

Here we are, My first ever game review. If there are any errors or if you have any tips please drop me a comment.

Enjoy.

Grand Theft Auto IV Review.

Grand theft auto Iv feels plays and sounds just like any other in this illustrious series produced by Rockstar games. From the word go GTAIV puts you into the action in the inner suburbs of Liberty City. The play plays as the protagonist Nikko Bellic, A Russian immigrant who has come to Liberty City in search of fortune. He quickly learns that this is not what his cousin (Roman) had promised it to be. It is from here Nikko must work his way up through the ranks of the underground mafia, gang and corrupt police to realize the dream which he had imagined Liberty City to be. You must drive, shoot and fly your way around the massive city. This has been made much easier due to the games new waypoint system accessible from the pause screen. Just like the waypoint system found in Saints Row it’s as easy as point-click and drive. Mission highlights are easy to find as well as side missions which are indicated as blue blips on the map. The HUD in GTAIV is second to none, never does it get in the way of the action nor does it withhold valuable information. The ‘menu’ in the game is accessible from a mobile phone, It is here players can; Call their friends and go out with them, Read text messages, Access multiplayer and enter cheats. Getting around Liberty city can be a hard task which is made easier by the many taxi’s which cruise around the city. After entering a taxi players are taken into a first person mode of which they can look around and wait out the cab ride or skip it at an extra cost. This prevents lots of frustration of having to travel large distances all the time.

The driving in GTAIV is superb; Cars perform more accurately than they do in any of the other GTA games in the series. Sliding around corners and dodging incoming traffic will become second nature after a few hours of gameplay. The damage on the cars, trucks and bikes looks fantastic. Lights will be blown out as well as large dents and scratches on the roof after tackling on of the 50 hidden stunt jumps in the game. If your car takes too much damage Nikko will try to restart the car to no avail. Air transport in GTAIV is made available by the rare helicopters around the city. It’s obvious that Rockstar put extra effort into these vehicles because of the out-cry from gamers at the announcement that there would be no planes or jets in the game. The left and right bumpers control sharp left and right turns and the left and right triggers control the height of the choppers. Player control is mapped out the same as the other GTA games. The only change is the inclusion of the cover system. Players must now his behind objects and pop out and shoot or blind fire without exposing themselves. The mechanic works very well just as it does in Gears Of War. A circle appears above enemies heads indicating their health levels and if they are wearing body amour or not. A problem with this however is the momentary lag there is between buttons presses to ‘get on’ and off cover this can produce enemies simply walking around a corner and shooting a Nikko who just stands there. There is also the option of not having to lock on to things all the time by squeezing the trigger only slightly.

Duck and cover. Both GTAIV and Gears Of War have great cover mechanics

Speaking of looking great, Liberty City is one of the most realistic cityscapes I have ever seen in gaming. The depth of detail and polish rely shows as the player continues through the storyline and general exploring. The weather which hits Liberty City looks and sounds fantastic, The rain effects especially look great with water bouncing off cars and creating small pools of water on the road which is harder to drive on is a nice touch. Perhaps the pinnacle of graphics in GTAIV is Star Junction, Advertising and Neon signs line the criss-cross junction and will leave the player staring and reading what each advertisement has to offer. Pop-in textures and boxes, cars ect detract from the polished feel of GTAIV as well as situations which are so dark the contrast and brightness must be turned up making the game look bricky and almost Playstation2 or the first generation Xbox level of graphics. The character models are up to par with previous games in the series. Nikko and other main characters all look great, but pedestrians and side mission characters look a bit sloppy in some circumstances.
The voice acting in GTAIV is one of the games highlights. Each pedestrian has their own lines of dialogue. There are many small touches everywhere which make for “I can’t believe I just heard that” situations. The radio stations are so in-depth I found myself sitting in a car, turning on the radio and doing my house work. Radio announcers are hilarious and talkback radio adds a touch of class. Song selection is great for the radio stations with many classics and indie music. Television is also accessible from the player’s apartments (safe houses) with complete; Stand up comedy acts, Celebrity shows, Advertisements and Knife sales shows. Just like the radio it is easy to get immersed and simply sit and watch TV.

Rockstars Grand Theft Auto Series is known for its long and immersive story lines, And GTAIV is no different. The main story line will take players roughly 30-35 hours to complete. There is an achievement for completing the game in under 30 hours which doesn’t cause a rush to skip cut scenes and speed every where, But it limits exploration of this vast city which rely deserves and screams to be discovered. The playtime of GTAIV is lengthened again by Multiplayer over Xbox Live. Players can join with up to 16 players and partake in various game types around the city. That range from typical death match, team death match to cops and robbers which the crooks must get their ‘boss’ to a waypoint and the police must stop them. The only downside to this type of play is that games usually turn into a game of Big Team Slayer on Halo with people leaving halfway through a game or not playing at all, These minor frustrations may turn off a few people.

The end of the game may leave players asking “Where to now?” I would personally like to see the next GTA in Tokyo or a poorer country to provide a completely different take on the series.

Despite a few minor bugs and glitches Grand Theft Auto IV is packed with many quirks and tweaks that beg to be discovered, A massive immersive storyline which sucks the player in and 16 Player online multiplayer GTAIV is a must have to any fan of the series.

(Images courtesy of gamespot.com)

Beginning

Morning all,

The main purpose of this blog is to keep a digital portfolio of my stuff as I hope to become a writer for either a website or newspaper.Whenever I have some free time ill put up a review of a game I've recently played, gadget I've used, Views on the gaming and tech industry or cool videos I've seen. So if you find anything that tickles your fancy here just drop me a message and you can use it wherever you like, Hey, any publicity is good publicity right?

Cheers, Cramsy (Chris)