Specs 'n' Headphones

Relaxation: Pokémon, Puzzles & a Pursuit of Inner Peace

2011-09-14T21:11:00.001+01:00

This article is a Destructoid Blogger's Request, and can be found here.

As someone who's notoriously bad at a lot of video games, gaming is almost an inherently stressful experience. There's a persistent nagging sense to be performing at maximum competence in whatever game I'm playing - or at the very least, more competent than my peers. In a multiplayer game the aggressive-competitive angle is more than obvious, but have you ever tried playing an inherently single-player experience like, say, Pokémon, when one of your friends (you know; that friend. The one who's bragging to you about how good they are on Skype, and you'd totally block them but they play all the games you play so you can't) is giving you constant updates and making sure they experience everything just a little before you do.

It's always perfect timing as well - you've devoured the first hour or two of Pokémon Black, the first city's Gym thoroughly beaten, and you're feeling pretty good about yourself. The jaunty waltz of the town's theme is then interrupted by an IM message.

"yo dude how far are you"

Oh no, here we go again. You were just settling into your groove.

"I've just beaten Striaton City Gym."
"i'm already at the next city got a servine"

And there it is. This time the blow is two-fold, how on earth did he manage to get to the next area, and evolve his starter Pokémon so quickly? It's bad enough that you lost to him at Rock Paper Scissors and he got to choose the Grass type. Get yourself together, you can't let him catch on that he's getting to you. Act cool.

"I'm just taking my time, talking to everyone, y'know?"
"lol sure whatev"

Okay, screw this guy - it's time to play hardball. Your initial intent was to take this weekend as a relaxing catch-up session on your gaming backlog and some reading; but now it's war. Tapping your d-pad with increasing intensity, beating up the fantastic pets of toddlers and passers by; robbing them of their savings and moving on to the next mark, you rush into a fight you can't handle. As your character blacks out and reawakens at the nearest Pokémon Center, you get another message:

"just caught a shiny sawk"

At which point you wouldn't be blamed for hefting your DS across the room. The game itself my be relaxing, but some games lend well to having others ruin your chill demeanour.

As such, my relaxing respites are in games are instances where I can't really fail. Puzzle games are the best for this, and while I have never gotten into Tetris in any big way, I definitely identify with the idea of a 'Tetris Trance' - getting so into the rhythm of block swapping/dropping/exploding that the outside world starts to blur and fade as you reach your special Match-3 nirvana. My lowercase-typing friend doesn't like the genre, so I can make progress unmolested.

To be more specific, Tetris Attack/Puzzle League is my poison of choice, way back when I had a copy of Pokémon Puzzle Challenge for the GBC, and it was definitely a way to keep me quiet. Don't get me wrong, my younger self was god-awful at it, but the ease of play made it so compelling. I came for the brand loyalty to Pikachu and friends, but stayed so I could keep making the little coloured blocks vanish.

The only drawback Pokémon Puzzle Challenge had was actually a side-effect of the Pokémon moniker - hearing the harsh electronic cries of the characters every few seconds (or if you're playing on Hard, every half-second) was a major irritant and a barrier to that sought-after trance state.

Fortunately, the DS incarnation, Puzzle Planet League, still exists; and I swear to the deity of your choosing that the game was constructed with Valium implanted into the game card. Not only was the compulsive gameplay still there, unchanged from when I was a bratty little kid - but it came with hypnotically catchy beats and this... pulsing glow that everything had that would be more expected to show up in Rez (or Child of Eden if you want a less dated comparison).

Planet Puzzle League kept me hooked for an age - a few limited-move puzzles before I went to bed, daily Score Attacks every morning to wake me up, a shot at Endless Mode on any and every car or train journey.

I've since lost the cartridge, and have tried to replace it with a different Puzzle vice. Meteos and Gunpey have been valid competitors, but they've never quite met up to the same experience. Despite that, I cherish them as titles that I can bring anywhere - giving me the ability to find a little digital sanctuary when needed. Well, at least for as long as my competitive friends don't find out about them.

Games and Fan Participation

2011-09-14T10:35:00.001+01:00

This article can also be found at the Yorker and PixelxCore.

Video games as a medium have an advantage other media very rarely get - fan participation. Every so often - and especially in the current age of gaming where developers are increasingly open about their game design processes - fans of a game series or a publishing company will be called upon to offer their voice. It's a smart move on paper - it means developers can cater even more exclusively to a target audience, and almost guarantee a base number of sales. But there are many circumstances where it all goes wrong...

For a great example of Fan Participation gone awfully wrong, look no further than Capcom's Megaman Legends 3 project. While the Legends series are some of the most low-key entries in Megaman's history, the previous PS1 games had a gigantic following. So when Capcom announced that a sequel would be part of the 3DS' download service, the hype was intense. The main hook was that development staff asking for input from fans every step of the way - from character design, to side quests and Easter eggs.

However, Capcom had behind-the-scenes difficulties, and everything went downhill. The demo for Megaman Legends 3 was nowhere to be seen when the 3DS eShop went live, and new information on the development process was becoming more and more sparse; until one day an announcement was made that the project had been scrapped entirely. The blow to the fans was twofold - not only were they excited for a long-awaited sequel, by this point they had become emotionally invested in its design process. Some fans felt that it was as much 'their' game as it was Capcom's. When Capcom refused to give a statement in regards to why the project got shut down, things got a little heated. Some of the public shrugged their shoulders and moved on; but others still insist on making their voice heard, and are still trying to appeal to Capcom; a number of which are suffering from what can only be described as Fan Entitlement.

I'm sure this occurs in fans of other media types also; but video game enthusiasts can get down right nasty when they feel like, as the end user, they know better than the companies supplying them with media to consume. Some of the punters, jaded by the closure of the Megaman Legends 3 project closure have decided that they're boycotting Capcom as a whole, resolving to not giving the company a single penny until they get the game release they deserve, dammit.

'Operation Rainfall' is a campaign built entirely around Fan Entitlement. As Nintendo's Wii U slowly approaches, the number of big-name titles for the Wii is starting to decline. Three Japanese RPG titles - The Last Story, Pandora's Tower, and Xenoblade - had no plans for a US release, and project leader Chris Ward was not standing for that. He arranged a mass-mail session, getting Nintendo fans to write letters to Nintendo of America (NoA), pressing them for release details on these titles. The project caused quite a stir, and prompted NoA to sent letters in reply to the participants, but there is still no sign of NoA releasing these games stateside.

From a UK point of view, foreign games being delayed or outright cancelled for an EU release is absolutely nothing new. Atlus, one of the biggest-name Japanese-to-English publishers has a long list of games that were translated and released in the US, but did not see a UK release. Nintendo have been surprisingly kind about EU releases in the last few years, titles Disaster: Day of Crisis and Another Code R are Wii titles with an EU release, but no US one. In fact, Xenoblade, one of Operation Rainfall's target games was announced an EU release as far back as May! Not getting an anticipated title is annoying, but ultimately the decision is down to a publisher's sales team.

Nintendo, Capcom, and other games publishers are businesses first and foremost, and have to make difficult choices in deciding which titles will sell well enough to make a profit in a region. If the answer points to "no", then that is unfortunately that. Operation Rainfall has a large amount of numbers (8,126 on their Facebook page at time of writing; though not a patch on the 40,901 for Megaman Legends 3), but that may not be enough for Nintendo's sales figures.

Operation Rainfall's popularity (though not its success) has sparked other parties to start up their own Fan Participation projects, including the similarly-named Operation Moonfall – a petition to get Nintendo to release the N64 title Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for 3DS.

Fan Participation can even affect advertising decisions. Recently, Bioware held a Facbook poll to decide the look for the protagonist of Mass Effect 3, Shepard. In the previous games, a male version of Shepard was used in the advertising and merchandise (The gender and looks of the protagonist is decided by the player), and Mass Effect 3 would be the first title to prominently feature the fairer sex foremost. There is some contention over the most popular choice being the blond haired, blue eyed option, when there were less common and ethic options present, but the attempt at inclusiveness at all is a step in the right direction.

Fan Participation is one of the best methods for companies to gauge the interest of consumers; and in situations where companies are doing something reprehensible, a fan voice can do wonders to put them on track. But it's a matter of trust – we trust in games companies and developers to not squander fan interest, and it's the responsibility of the fans to act like sensible adults and not whining children if we disagree with a decision.

A Glimpse into Navigator

2011-08-07T11:16:00.000+01:00

"So, what is all this Navigator business?"
Navigator is PxC's 1st publically released project, a puzzle game starring the titular Nav, a pioneer in virtual reality. He works alongside Professor Claire Nova, building the first-ever virtual reality survival puzzle game.

"Survival Puzzle game?"
That's right, the nature of Navigator is two-fold. The aim isn't soley just to rack up the highest score by creating clusters and chains of coloured blocks, but to keep Nav alive as the steadily rising tower of blocks threatens to crush him against the ceiling.

"How cruel!"
Isn't it just. But Nav isn't entirely helpless, he can move about the playing field, pushing blocks around and maneuvering over obstacles to get to a safe spot.
He's also backed up by the Block Cannon, loaded with an infinite supply of colourful ammo to beat back the cube conquest. By matching up at least four blocks of the same color, you will create a cluster that explodes after a short period of time, dropping any mass above it down to a lower level, and gaining points.
By creating clusters bigger than 4 blocks, you get bonus points, and by breaking a cluster that drops down and forms a second cluster, you create combos that add multipliers to your score bonus that double for each cluster formed in the same combo!

"And I'm responsible for both Nav and the Cannon? Sounds tricky..."
Don't sweat it. While controlling both tasks is difficult to begin with, it'll be no time at all before you're using the two in tandem. The highest scorers use Nav and the Cannon co-operatively to set up huge combos.
Higher-level players will take advantage of Nav's Block Push ability to create combos as well, since creating a cluster using the Block Push is an instant 1.5x combo multiplier!
You can also use Nav's Power Climb to continue to help him navigate to other areas.
If you're still finding it tricky, you can give up control of one aspect to a friend. Working together is the key!

"So how do I rack up the big scores?"
If you're used to games like Tetris Attack or Puyo Pop, then your skills will come in handy here. It's not just about laying down blocks quickly, being able to read the playing field, and see where the clusters are in advance is the key to making lengthy combos. The target reticule of the Cannon will match the colour of the block to be placed, so you needn't draw your eyes away from the action.
Don't forget about Nav! His ability to push blocks around can save you from a Cannon misfire, or to keep your Combo going just a bit longer. The period where a cluster is frozen and glowing is your chance to set up something big! It's a risky move, but manually raising the stack of blocks is also a possibility. Being able to see more of the field means you can keep combos going for that much longer.

"Working with my friends is one thing, but how about competing with them?"
But of course! For those of you with a bloodthirsty streak, a Vs. mode is in the pipeline. This allows you to directly compete against a second navigator in both score and survival. By creating large clusters and cluster chains, you can attack the opposing player with "garbage blocks" that clog up their field of play. This mode can be played cooperatively as well, meaning 4 players can get in on the action in teams of 2vs2!

"Do I get kickass music to listen to while saving Nav's life?"
A6: Absolutely; Navigator features completely original music for every level, each song fitting the atmosphere of the stage itself. The music is composed by Chris "Søda Meløn" King, also known as "GreenDragonXIII," and all of it is very well done. We believe the music will also be a big part of creating a unique experience with Navigator.

"Awesome. So what modes are on offer?"
A6: Navigator includes a couple of gameplay modes for many types of players; there's the Tutorial Mode, where Professor Nova herself teaches you the rules of the field, the Endless Mode, the basic survival gameplay mode that doesn't end until you lose, the 1v1/1v2/2v2 Competitive Mode, and a 1-2 player Puzzle Mode, where you solve advanced puzzles based on the gameplay mechanics of Navigator, but with unique twists!

"And lots of different stages, right?"
There will be at least six stages to play in. In Endless and Competitive Mode, each stage has its own predetermined block setup on startup, adding enhanced variation to each game, and allowing the more advanced players to set up high-level opening strategies. And if you're not the competitive type, each stage has its own graphical style. Whether you're a fan of the clean circles of Energy Cells, or the gritty industrialism of Field of Cogs, Navigator can scratch that itch.

"Nav is pretty expressive, how long did his design and animation take?"
A6: That's an interesting question. The basic idea for Nav was originally to just be a simple little guy pushing blocks around. His design is fairly simplified as well; a black-haired guy in a navy blue shirt and green pants. As development continued, I wanted to put more life and personality in both Nav and the entire game as well, which lead to the conception of Professor Nova, a cooperative design effort by myself and our digital artist, Joe Ryan. Having two characters in the game like this really allows us to explore different personalities for them and make them expressive, to give the game another layer of depth outside of gameplay, without overcomplicating things.

"What about the two characters? Will we get to see interaction between Nav and Prof. Nova? Any chemistry?"
A6: Workplace romance is strictly forbidden, especially in the lab! However, there will be plenty of conversing and interaction between the two in both the tutorial and puzzle modes. There's a little more interaction with Professor Nova personally, as well, but we'll just keep that a secret for now!

"So when do I get to play this, and on what?"
The 1.1 beta is available for PC right now! You can find it Right Here. The final release won't just be on PC, but also on Windows Phone 7 and potentially even XBOX Live Indie Games. You can fire blocks and detonate clusters both at home and on the go!

Look forward to seeing Navigator during the third quarter of 2011.

This article can also be found at PixelXCore.

An Inside Look at Operation Moonfall

2011-08-06T18:34:00.003+01:00

In a time where video game companies and the fans of their products can interact through social media - fans are lucky enough to have gotten an increasingly powerful voice in regards to the things they want from their games; and in some cases the companies can definitely benefit from listening.

One such project is Operation Moonfall, a campaign to get Nintendo to re-release the N64 classic The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for the 3DS (In a similar vein to the recent release of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D). In my interview with one of the project leaders, Nathanial Rumphol-Janc, we get a better look at the inner workings of Operation Moonfall, and the effects of Fan Participation.

Tell us about yourself.

I'm Nathanial Rumphol-Janc, Co-Owner and Webmaster of Zelda Informer. I have partaken in some college but I haven't graduated, and my main source of income is indeed full time at McDonalds. It's not nearly as bad as most people fear it is.

I've been running websites and been part of the Zelda community for over a decade. First with Zelda Domain (8 years!), and then with Absolute Zelda which eventually melded into Zelda Informer, which at the time (2008) was still a relatively new and unknown face on the internet. Things blossomed from there. I love playing sports (despite being overweight), and of course I love video games. Believe it or not, Zelda is not my favourite series, and Nintendo is not my favourite game company. Of course, they have great respect from me and I do enjoy their products.

What made you decide to start up Operation Moonfall?

To say I started up Operation Moonfall would discredit all the behind the scenes conversations with several parties, including the staff over at Zelda Universe. I did create the petition and the twitter account, while another fan set up the Facebook page and handed me the reigns. Still, creating accounts and petitions is meaningless without support.

The idea for Operation Moonfall really started when we broke an interview a few weeks ago where Eiji Aonuma talked about the potential of making Majora's Mask 3D. He essentially said Ocarina of Time (OoT) 3D happened due to fan demand, and that similar demand would be needed for Majora's Mask. Of course, the issue was that an OoT remake has been in demand for many years; so trying to show Nintendo the demand is there for Majora's Mask is hard, considering that we wish to do it in a smaller time frame with the same impact.

From there, Alex Plant, one of our lead editors at Zelda Informer, and myself pretty much instantly coined the phrase "Operation Moonfall". It's debated still who actually came up with the name - it was just so fitting, and decided by too many people to really give proper credit. Even Zelda Universe was involved with it at some point. After deciding we were going to do this, a centralized support system was needed. We couldn't have several of these projects running around if we wanted to make the impact we hoped to make. Alex, at that point, immediately went to Zelda Universe to see if they would in turn want to jointly make this happen.

As those discussions were on going, fans were really excited - over 10 different fan projects for showing support had shown up. I knew something had to be done to unite the efforts before it got too out of control. Thus, I rushed and got Operation Moonfall kicked off at Zelda Informer as fast as possible. So, after some brief talks with member Super Decimal at Zelda Universe, as well as Cody their former webmaster, we got things all organized properly and made the big push. We still have some ideas in store, but the foundation is definitely present now.

What are Operation Moonfall's aims, and how are they going to be achieved?

The goals in general are to show Nintendo that just as much, if not more, fans are in support of Majora's Mask 3D happening as there was for OoT 3D. To do that, you need to have a movement that is big enough and strong enough to make a serious impact. We want 20,000 Facebook fans, 10,000 Twitter fans, and 50,000 petition signatures before truly taking it to the next level.

We have a lot of work ahead! We have contacts inside Nintendo we would like to submit a case to that go beyond the usual PR stunt. While no direct response is guaranteed, the generic response received has been much more positive compared to other previous fan movements. I'm sure this is something Nintendo already wants to do.

Why Majora's Mask in particular?

Well, for those who aren't aware, Majora's Mask is essentially worshipped as the pinnacle of gaming at Zelda Informer. That being said, this was truly fuelled because Aonuma told us it was possible. At one point it was one of the most under appreciated games in the entire Zelda series. It always played second fiddle to OoT in the N64 era, and at the time some of it's concepts were off-putting to most gamers. Ever heard complaints about the game's '3 day system'? That is the #1 reason Majora's Mask has been ignored for so long, yet it's one of the reasons the game is truly great.

Some would argue a giant movement for things like Operation Rainfall and the Mother series would be more warranted; the difference is we were told a fan movement could make this happen. Every other idea for a project (and I mean no harm to those movements) hasn't had such a direct statement made about it. This makes the project more likely to succeed where others have failed.

What's the initial fan response like so far?

To say it's been universally supported among all Zelda fans would be false. We're aware that there are people that oppose the idea. No one seems to not want it to happen; though people would rather that we get new games instead of remakes. There are arguments on both sides, but in the end the fan support has been mostly positive. At the time of this interview we have 10,000+ fans on Facebook, around 1,000 Twitter followers, and have achieved almost 17,000 signatures. As a comparison, we've already surpassed the overall support Operation Rainfall has gotten in significantly less time. Needless to say, the response has been better than any of us had anticipated.

Are you supporting any other Fan Participation projects?

Presently Operation Moonfall, and any major push to get the Mother series released for Wii Virtual Console and/or 3DS download. I mean, these movements are about providing the United States with some of the best games ever made for a Nintendo platform, so how can you not want to support them?

What do you feel the impact of Fan Participation has on video games, or other types of media?

In terms of convincing companies to release games, I think the impact is mixed at best. A lot of fan projects and fan demands are let down all the time. A recent example would be the cancellation of Mega Man Legends 3. Clearly, it caused a spiral of negative fan responses which hasn't been met with anything positive from Capcom. Operation Rainfall got response from Nintendo, but it was nothing we didn't already know.

Now, I do think fans can influence the creation of games. As an example, Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was essentially Nintendo's response to all the fans that were hating on Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker. It was, in essence, what the fans "wanted". So, in the end, I think the impact of fans is a mixed bag and is too unpredictable to really gauge the rate of success. Especially when you consider fans in general are fickle and always seem to like best what they had no idea they wanted.

Clearly, the project name has a relation to Operation Rainfall. How do you feel about their project?

I think what they are doing has to be done, regardless if it is successful in getting localized Nintendo of America (NoA) versions or not. Nintendo has to know that in going forward, especially in setting a new attitude with Wii U and the 3DS, not releasing the best titles available for their systems in the US is no longer acceptable behaviour.

And Nintendo's Response? What is your stance on how they handle Fan Participation?

Nintendo's response, honestly, was a non-response. After hyping it by saying they had something to say, they came back with absolutely nothing. Nintendo of Japan (yes, NoJ controls what gets released in North America, not NoA) simply doesn't want to put false hope out, nor do they want to really put out the flames. At this point, Nintendo can go either direction and no one would be surprised, and I think that is just the way they want it. In terms of how they handle Fan Participation, it's hard to really gauge - it's always been hit and miss.

In what way do you feel Operation Moonfall will succeed where other Fan Participation projects may have failed?

Well, I think it will succeed in that Majora's Mask 3D will happen some day. In fact, it likely has already been under consideration before Aonuma said a word about it. So in that sense, it will be a success in motivating Nintendo to release the game sooner rather than later. In that sense, it would have achieved it's goal, and that is something many Fan Participation projects ultimately end up not doing.

How do you feel about the potential for new Intellectual Properties (IPs) in the 3DS lineup, as opposed to sequels or remakes?

Honestly, the potential for new IPs never truly rests with the hardware, and instead rests with the developer. Sure, a lot of sequels and remakes are happening right now, but the system hasn't been in developers' hands very long. So, at this juncture, people are just trying to make sure there is content available for the system. Lack of software is a killer for any new system.

Still, the potential for new IPs is present; as it is for the Wii and DS, and will be with future formats. Creative ideas are truly a never ending cycle, though there is a lot of risk in making new IPs. It costs several million dollars to create a top notch game these days, so developers are less willing to take risks like they use to. Even Nintendo gets it wrong, as Wii Music was a pure flop that I am sure they spent a decent chunk of change on.

Still, the potential is always there. It's up to the hands that have the power to make the games for the 3DS to give us these new franchises and experiences without relying on previous success stories. I love Zelda, but what's stopping Nintendo from starting a new Adventure game series? They certainly never shied away from Platformers because of Mario. So, why not? We'll see how it goes. Miyamoto has stated a few times in the last 2 years he wants to create a truly new core IP, so we'll see if that ever comes to fruition. Third parties are pretty much in the same boat.

Do you see more Fan Participation events like Operation Moonfall in the future?

If warranted, sure. Fan Participation projects should never exist for the sole purpose of making yourself popular, or just because you want to bitch about something. That is where the line has to be drawn. Still, something has to happen for there to be a reaction. I don't think you can simply spurn a project for everything under the sun, because it makes the efforts more meaningless.

You can follow Operation Moonfall via their Website, Facebook, or Twitter.

This interview can also be found on the Operation Moonfall website and the VG Resource.

Summer Backlog: Kingdom Hearts Re:coded

2011-08-06T18:17:00.000+01:00

Sharing a similarity with films, video games that get enough sales in their initial release periods are almost guaranteed to see a sequel. Mainline developers that produce only standalone titles are few and far between. This can be attributed to fan recognition - why make a new platformer mascot or sports game when a Mario sequel or FIFA will bring home the big bucks? When you have those kind of assured sales figures, you can get away with making games that aren't designed for the newcomers. Die-hard fans make for the easiest sales pitches, and no series uses this notion more than the Kingdom Hearts franchise.

Starting out as a strange but relatively innocent action RPG on the PS2, Kingdom Hearts was an unexpected crossover of Final Fantasy and Disney - and even for gamers who aren't particularly fans of either franchise (I know for sure that I keep the amount of Little Mermaid in my life to a minimum), it became a hit due to it's then-uncommon gameplay and well-told story. But the director of the series, Tetsuya Nomura, wanted to make his story more ambitious. Sequels were put into production, and although the games were backed by waves of fan popularity, the stories became an increasingly convoluted mess. Nothing made sense unless you had played the previous games, and even then you might have trouble.

You would think that the games covering side-plots would be easy enough to understand on their own - but not here. At a glance, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Called such because it's a remake of a series of mobile phone games – Kingdom Hearts coded. Yes, the name is silly, but they've been sillier) is a DS game that even newcomers to the series can get behind. It's a retelling of the initial Kingdom Hearts, but with an interesting twist - it's only a 'virtual' version of the initial game's locations; and like any computer, the thing's ridden with bugs and glitches.

Having played a fair number of Kingdom Hearts games, though not in the right order (which made things confusing down the line), I found the premise rather charming. It's not often that a series will willingly parody its own plot, and knowing the story well enough so the intentional subversions and differences stand out. As far as game play is concerned, it means the landscape is ridden with 'blox', scattered across the landscape. Somewhere in all the mess is a source of all the glitches, a Backdoor that leads to a series of challenge stages. Defeat 30 enemies. Complete the stage within 2 minutes. Don't use any healing abilities. Finish these arbitrary requests, and you'll fix whatever errors that were barring your progress.

My run through of this game was rather straightforward. Like Call of Duty or Street Fighter, if you've played one instalment of the series the others become a lot easier to adjust to. The game goes to great lengths to ensure it's possible for anyone to finish - the difficulty can be changed at any time; 'Cheats' to mess with enemy health or how much experience you get from fights; and a helpful hint for what to do every time you die against a boss. But what got to me were the frequent changes in genre...

Like a lot of a recent games, it's not enough for Re:coded to stay the Action RPG it advertises itself as on the box. Every so often the game will set aside the rules that you've learned and turn the game into a 2D platformer. Or a Scrolling Shooter. Or in one instance; removal of the ability to defend yourself entirely, and the inclusion of (incredibly dense) AI partners to fight for you instead. These points were novel to start with, but more often than not I found them to entirely mar my gaming experience. It's a reasonable experiment to see if a game engine can handle multiple styles of play, but I can't be alone in thinking that a game that only does a single genre, but executes it in the best possible way is far more preferable. Re:coded has a great pedigree, with the controls refined from the 5 previous outings; but around half the game ignores it or heavily simplifies.

If you've already played a Kingdom Hearts game, you already know whether you want this title for your collection; but for those who've not heard of it, or glossed it over due to the Disney content, I do recommend giving the series a try - but don't start with Re:coded; it's a fan-bait game on all accounts. The original PS2 game is very abundant and can be picked up on the cheap, so have a little gaming history lesson and experience a game that had a hand in shaping the modern Action RPG.

This article can also be found at The Yorker.

Summer Backlog: Bayonetta

2011-08-06T18:10:00.002+01:00

I collect video games as a hobby; in a way, I do this more than actually play them. It's a bad habit, but not one unique to me - you wouldn't have to look far to find someone who hoards DVDs or books or music (I'm guilty of that last one too), but eventually you collect more than you consume, and you create the dreaded BACKLOG. The ever increasing mountain of media that you know you want to work through, but looks increasingly more daunting as you add more to the stack. How on earth will I juggle all these games around work or university? But since my summer holiday has started, I have the free time to work my way through some of my collection.

I started Bayonetta ages ago - last October when I moved in with a house mate who owned a 360. It was a game that I had followed from its announcement to its release - and I finally had the opportunity to take it for a spin. The game had pedigree - its production staff having worked on some of Capcom's greatest action titles of the PS2 era (Viewtiful Joe, Devil May Cry, Okami) - and Bayonetta promised to refine those sensibilities into the purest essence.

Bayonetta's premise is a rather ridiculous one. Bayonetta is an Umbran Witch, a clan of magic users forever waging war against the Lumen Sages for control of Heaven and Hell, all outside the notice of us ordinary humans. It seems Bayonetta is a key piece in the Lumen Sages gaining control; so they send an army of angels after her. The angels are monsters - all white porcelain and gold banding on the surface, but fleshy and hideous underneath their façade, ranging from lowly bird-like minions to two-headed dragons the size of cathedrals. Fortunately, Bayonetta can defend herself using her enchanted hair (which also comprises her clothing - so when the hair attacks her clothing gets skimpier. Oh dear), and pistols attached to her hands and feet. What this results in is some incredibly bizarre but very fluid combat.

Honestly, even though I wasn't very confident with the high-octane, no mercy action of the Devil May Cry series, I was able to take to Bayonetta with great ease - and caught a glimpse of that gameplay perfection they had touted. Bayonetta is a complicated game. Almost every button on the controller is a separate tool of destruction - controlling the titular witch as she caves in the faces of her angelic aggressors; and you're expected to know how to put all of them to best use, or die trying. And I did die - many, many times. I started the game on Normal difficulty, but that still required my full attention, learning both what I could do and how my foes functioned. When I 'got it', the game looked wondrous, my character weaving in and out of her enemies, dealing deadly blows left and right. Though more often than not, I faltered, leading to a pummelling, and a trip to the Game Over screen.

Even though my death count was steadily racking up, the game just kept me coming back for more. Even if the combat wasn't my forte; the game's visual set pieces - from a city in France being destroyed by waves of lava, to running up and down the sides of a moon-lit tower, to being flung through the air, fighting atop a slab of pavement wrenched from the earth. Every location looked and sounded stunning; overriding whatever frustration I had regarding my failures.

That was until the first Difficulty Spike. About halfway through, the game starts throws the meanest enemies in the game at you, Grace and Glory. At that time, I was in no way ready to take these guys on - my tactics were sloppy and my reaction speed just too slow. 15 deaths later and I had resigned. Too headstrong just turn the game down to easy and continue - I left the game in the dust and went to other endeavours.

Fast-forward to this summer, where I'm talking with fellow gamer Aryn, and I find out that he'd long ago beaten Bayonetta - even on Hard! "Show me your ways, oh teacher!" I said, and we sat down to play the game together. The experience drastically improved. Having not played for months my skills were rusty - the stopping point from before was no easier, but with advice and encouragement I got beyond that; and got to see the meat of the game.

While the detailed combat system is the crux of the game, it's broken up by some rather welcome changes in gameplay styles, echoing classic games in Sega's history. Ploughing down an motorway on a motorcycle echoes Super Hang-On, and riding on a commandeered torpedo, shooting down enemies amusingly references Space Harrier (along with some nauseating barrel-rolling that definitely wasn't in the Sega Mega Drive original).

As I neared the end of the game, I did a little research into the production of the game, and found something interesting, but a bit worrying. The game's director, Hideki Kamiya was the man responsible for Bayonetta's 'lethal sexiness' character design. It's presence was original and very well integrated, but at times this decision felt like something far less than feminism. Certain scenes (thankfully never story or gameplay-related) dropped all pretence of capability and class, and went straight for the Male Gaze. It never felt 'sexy', just awkward. If I was living with my parents or had a girl as a house mate, I could see myself as being too embarrassed to play Bayonetta.

It's a damn shame that such a wonderfully crafted game, the try to best example of the Hack 'n' Slash genre, is marred by something so objectifying and honestly rather sad. As I finished off the game's final boss and played through the ending sequence, I was elated to have finished such a difficult game, and wowed by the awesome stylishness of the ending sequence. Even the start of the credits had bonus battles to take on; but then my reward for finishing the game was poledancing. Sigh.

Bayonetta is entirely worth a play for anyone who likes action games, and even those who aren't confident with the genre can burn through the game on Easy – but I can't help but feel bad about promoting something with such rampant sexism in its design.

This article can also be found at The Yorker.

Tryezz - Solar Winds

2011-07-11T11:49:00.000+01:00

It's pretty evident to say that music sales are less and less involved with physical retail. iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp... hell, a few years ago, pop stars were being discovered via MySpace accounts. However, the presence of artists who distribute their work entirely online is still rather scattered. Internet trends and memes can give the occasional (maybe undeserving?) artist a spotlight, as Rebecca Black could verify; but others aren't so lucky. At best they can share their music with a smaller like-minded community, but not being able to reach a wider audience can be a damn shame.

I heard about Tryezz from an online friend, who like me is a fan of instrumental hip-hop; and unlike me has the skills to produce beats in his own time. I was told that Tryezz was all about producing synth-heavy grooves branded as 'Electro-Funk', and a visit to his YouTube account would convince me. I had no idea where my friend had heard about this guy, but the music on offer was very encouraging.

The YouTube account also had a preview for Tryezz's latest album, Solar Winds. While I was only treated to 30-second samples of each track, I knew I had to track down a download link. Electronica - especially synthesiser-based music - has runs the risk of sounding samey, so the way that the preview sounded well-blended, and yet comprised of very distinct tracks was impressive; the hooks just small enough where you want to hear more of the song.

The album opens with a Track 0 - 'The Take Off'. The album sticks to a theme of space travel, and the sound of this intro track really sets the mood. Slow pacing, coupled with a careful distort on the main melody. The track is short, but leads perfectly into the title track, 'Solar Winds'. The feeling of the album trying to mimic a 'soundscape album' starts to shine through - but instead of whale song, or jungle noises, I'm getting images of drifting alongside space stations - and they seem to be throwing a disco inside.

I decided to take the album for a test drive, pushing it onto my iPod and going for a stroll. As I opened the front door, the intro for 'Fadertron 787' began with the sound effect of a heavy airlock door opening, and I smiled inside. Then it followed up with a surprisingly aggressive bass solo, notable grittier than the last two tracks, and I smiled even harder. 'Static' does its part in adding some technical variation by having the drumline consist entirely of white noise. It's fortunately non-intrusive, and is a clever concept, but otherwise, the track seems to lack the catchy melodies its peers have, until near its end, by which point it doesn't feel quite enough.

'Saturn Rings' is where all thrusters start firing. With a steady and sticky bassline leading, an equally relaxed melody eases way in, heralded by twinkling bells. I was starstruck, halting in my stroll about town. Someone walking behind me had to walk around, and gave me a funny look.

But where 'Saturn Rings' made me hesitate, 'Supernova' made me full-out crash. It starts innocently enough with some quiet chord stabs and the sound wind, but then there's a pause -- followed by a gigantic punch of a main melody with all the works, loud and bright with carefully placed distorts on the longer notes, and a wicked solo performed by what could only be a Jazz musician/astronaut. So caught up in this glorious combination, I failed to pay attention to where I was going and walked straight into the man who passed me earlier. I met his glare with the biggest smile, and widest, star-struck eyes as 'Supernova' went into its second solo. I think I've scarred him for life.

*Ahem*, moving on; 'Galatiscape' has the misfortune to follow the album's highlight, but it still does a great job at giving a more fast-paced upbeat track, with a backing synth that tactically cuts in and out in time to the drums. 'Visions' starts off very discordant, and a little unpleasant, but after a brief pause, it sorts out its jumbled instruments to form a more conventional funky groove. It feels a bit like a punchy remix of 'Saturn Rings'; and although that puts it in good stead, it does come across as too familiar.

Solar Winds finishes on 'First Orbit', dropping the pace a bit, and going back to the more sedate, soundscape concept of the album's leading tracks. It's a smooth way to finish up, and stands as another one of my favourites after 'Supernova'.

Solar Winds came out of nowhere, but Electro-Funk has turned out to be a catchy and accessible genre, and it drove me to check out more of Tryezz's stuff; I entirely recommend you do the same. If nothing else, so the world of internet-based music producers gets some more recognition.

Solar Winds can be purchased on iTunes, Amazon MP3, and through Tryezz's own website. However, the purchase system on his site is somewhat unintuitive - every track is an individual purchase, with no option to buy an album as a whole.

If you like this, you'll also like Vikter Duplaix, Joshua Morse, Nicolay.

TETSUOOOOOOO! - AKIRA (HD Release)

2011-07-11T11:27:00.000+01:00

AKIRA is one of those larger, iconic names of anime, for those in an interest in film, but with less knowledge Japanese animation. Aside from it, you're most likely to hear about a Studio Ghibli work (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle), or maybe Pokémon the First Movie. But the lack of exposure of anime in western cinema makes AKIRA feel more special than it would otherwise. This well-constructed film bridges a gap between the average moviegoer, and the dedicated fan of works from Glorious Nippon.

On the 4th of July, the York City Screen showed the latest remastering of AKIRA, with re-tweaked graphics and surround sound, in a similar fashion to the occasional remastered releases of Disney animated films. While a portion of the proceeds went towards The Japan Society Tohoku Earthquake Relief Fund, this showing was mostly to promote the remastered release for DVD and Blu-ray (and maybe the terrible live-action version that's been hinted at).

AKIRA follows motorbike gang members Kaneda and Tetsuo, who are caught up in a street riot and military attack. While Kaneda is cool, charismatic and strong; Tetsuo is much more aggressive, temperamental and harbouring an inferiority complex. During the riot, Tetsuo is heavily injured and taken into a military hospital, where he is experimented on - research into reawakening latent psychic powers in children - Project AKIRA.

The experiments go better than expected, but that means trouble for Tetsuo, as the more he develops his telekinetic powers, the looser the grip on his sanity and self-control become. When sent entirely off the deep end, the film's blockbuster action sensibilities take over, and we're treated to some spectacularly animated scenes of military taking on a lone teenager - with the teenager winning.

While the film rests heavily on the well-trodden tropes of underdogs finding new power and governmental experiments gone wrong, taking into account the film's age (1988!), AKIRA may very well have set the groundwork for these concepts to appear in many action films to come. That's not to say, however, that AKIRA doesn't handle it's story without grace or cleverness - having the awkward Tetsuo as the protagonist rather than the more capable Kaneda is an interesting subversion, and the portrayal of just what the psychic powers are capable of are subtly foreshadowed and have sly callbacks to other works in the history of anime (the Dragonball Z reference is easy to spot, but props to you if you notice - or have even heard of - Locke the Superman).

The third act of AKIRA is definitely its most memorable, but how the story is tied up is rushed and under-explained at best. This is down to the film actually being an adaptation of the AKIRA manga - an incredibly long work that had its last third truncated for the movie, which already had a 2-hour running time. The manga goes into much more depth about the resolution of the AKIRA experiment, and how the city survives after it's been ravaged by government warfare and psychic teenage tantrums.

While most works of anime struggle to hold much interest or appeal in a western market (nerdy fanbases notwithstanding), AKIRA manages to be accessible and dynamic in the way that Sudio Ghibli films don't always manage. It's a wonder that more feature-length anime hasn't followed in AKIRA's 23-year wake.

Have You Read: Idoru

2011-07-11T10:40:00.000+01:00

When it comes to fiction, I far prefer the worlds of Sci-Fi to High Fantasy. While both genres could be argued to share many traits; swords, sorcery, and god forbid ''elves'' do very little for me. To me, science is the real magic, and when that can be applied to our everyday mundane realities, so much the better. As such, I'm entirely in love with the idea of Cyberpunk.

The term was coined by William Gibson (though it's popularity is partially down to movies like Tron); his initial work Neuromancer set a precedent - a setting where technology has moved beyond our present abilities, but human nature hasn't progressed with it; looking at how society deals with a world where computers can improve our lives incredibly, but also bear dangerous concequences if and when misused. The only problem is that I've never liked Neuromancer much. The pacing is slow and stolid; the characters flat and unlikeable; the tone so overbearingly grim and 'edgy' I found it hard to read without rolling my eyes.

So I started reading Idoru with some trepidation; but it turned out I needn't have worried. Gibson really must have found his footing as time went on, as Idoru deftly avoided the problems that marred Neuromancer for me; especially in how relateable I found it.

Idoru is build around the lives of two characters - Colin Laney, a man hired by the entertainment industry to dig through the data records of celebrities; and Chia McKenzie, a die-hard fan of the band Lo/Rez on a trip to Tokyo to have a meeting with the Japanese branch of the fandom. Both are chasing the rumor that Rez of Lo/Rez is planning to marry an A.I., an entirely simulated Pop Idol. Their stories are linked in the most tenuous of ways; but as the story progresses and the meaner side of the entertainment industry (and inexplicably, russian smugglers) get involved, the directions of the two begin to overlap.

The story goes to great lengths to keep the characters from either story arc from overlapping for as long as possible, which does wonders for the buildup in suspense concerning the final acts of the book. The chapters alternate between Chia and Colin, keeping the events feeling simultaneous. The Bartimaeus Trilogy, while a slightly childish example, also use this style of writing to great effect, and I loved it there too.

What I find most fascinating about Idoru is just how close the events and ideas it covers are to the technology we've achieved today. Sure, umbrellas that fold out of business cards, the Internet functioning entirely as Virtual Reality, and skyscrapers built from nanomachines are amusingly silly and presently impossible, but the idea of using someone's Internet browsing and social network history to dig for information and gossip is very much real; even the average Facebook user does this to a degree! Robust online fandoms for actors, musicians and even fictional characters have existed for well over a decade, and the idea of digital popstars is way more likely than you think.

Idoru is a wonderful piece of imaginative and well-paced writing, but it's an even better example of how Sci-Fi (and Fantasy in general) can be down-to-earth, relateable, and at the same time entirely out-there. The tone is moody and sometimes dark, but never too serious or brooding. I like my Sci-Fi how I like my coffee - gritty and dark, but with a hint of sweetness and mystery as to how it works.

...Wait, that would make a terrible coffee.

Duke Nukem, and Girls in Gaming

2011-07-05T11:29:00.000+01:00

This article can also be found at The Yorker.

Duke Nukem Forever is a problematic game. Not just in how after 12 years of haphazard development it feels unfinished, or how the game has been critically slammed by both critics and consumers; but in how it's humour relies on parody - but reads as impossibly misogynistic.

For those not aware of the premise, Duke Nukem Forever is based around the titular Duke Nukem living off his acclaimed fame from his previous game. Anyone and everyone adores him - especially the ladies - regardless of how he treats them. Then the alien antagonists from the previous game return to kidnap the women of Earth to use as vessels for creepy alien babies.

It's been reasoned that Duke's persona of 'impossibly well-liked asshole' is a knowing prod at musclehead protagonists of the 90s. But as far as I can recall, none of them were defined by just how excessively they could objectify women. This comes to a disturbing zenith on the alien mothership stage (Warning: Video is rather explicit). The area is littered with naked women being ensnared by phalic-looking tentacles and writhing in pain. Duke can't free them, but the player is free to shoot them to put them out of their misery, backed up with one of Duke's one-liners. And that's the joke. The joke is rape. Are you laughing yet?

So where do we go from here? The presence of this in Duke Nukem Forever is surprisingly downplayed in much of the game's coverage, but I sincerely hope that the general public and other games developers who witness such a poor sentiment have the common sense to acknowledge that this kind of thing is not okay. Duke Nukem Forever's stunning failure at starring an identifiable or likeable character can hopefully be a lesson to other games that might go down the same route. It's entirely possible to have a protagonist that's a musclehead or a ladykiller and still entertaining. Bulletstorm manages it. Hell, even Johnny Bravo managed it.

Furthermore, with new games featuring legitimately well-rounded female protagonists, managing to get by on marginally less titilation is a pleasant thought. Lara Croft in Tomb Raider had her franchise form around her figure, but the new Tomb Raider title announced at this year's E3 focuses more on her adventuring competence. Hopefully that will stay a consistent theme throughout.

Jade from Beyond Good and Evil is an even better example; her work as a journalist and a freedom fighter against the opressive regime of the Alpha Section means the other characters respect and fight alongside her - her gender not mattering. Aside from that, the game is wonderfully crafted, despite its age. A HD release of the game is available for Xbox Live Arcade, and is a great exercise in how character development and interaction can be handled.

Games like Bayonetta straddle the line between empowering and and worrying. As a character, Bayonetta felt like she had freedom through her fighting ability and some surprisingly human interaction when things got rough; but the game's creator said some rather worrying things that soured the image I had for her. It's a shame, since the quality of the game is incredibly on-point otherwise, and delivering positive messages through quality games is by far the ideal situation.

Games as an artistic medium feel way too immature to handle concepts like sex, let alone character design equality based around gender. But the industry is still growing and changing - maybe in the future the Duke Nukem Forevers of the world will be a marginalised historical footnote.

Super Guides and You

2011-06-21T15:03:00.001+01:00

This article can also be found at The Yorker.

Nintendo's re-release of Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the 3DS is almost upon us. In order to make it worth the buck of those who might have played it before, they've added in a remixed hard mode; but they've also added in something for the newcomers - the Super Guide system.

The Super Guide is a feature that was copyrighted by Nintendo a few years ago - a system where, if a player is struggling or repeatedly failing in a game, it will dispense hint videos showing you how to get past that tricky bit you're struggling with. In some cases, it'll even let you skip the offending stage for you to go back to later. The Super Guide has proven itself to be useful and non-intrusive in Super Mario Galaxy 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Donkey Kong Country Returns; but some fans are fretting over its inclusion in Ocarina of Time, and I'm not sure I get why.

The main argument is that since Ocarina of Time is an old title (1998!), the long standing fans were able to beat it as kids, and so new players shouldn't be hand-held through Hyrule. That sentiment is more than a little bitter if you ask me, and reminds me strongly of That One Elderly Relative; the one who just doesn't get why everyone's standard of living is so easy compared to back in the day. They had fewer conveniences and they liked it that way, goshdarnit.

As a feature, the Super Guide does nothing detrimental. Those who fancy themselves skilled at games can breeze through with nary a hint of help; and those who aren't so confident - or new to this genre of game - can get help when they need it; no visits to GameFAQs.com, or purchase of a strategy guide necessary. It's funny that those who are complaining most about the idea of the game directly assisting them are those who are the least likely to see the Guide functions.

What might be an issue in Ocarina of Time's case is the delivery of the Super Guide advice. Protagonist Link is mute and works alone, so most of the advice and warnings dispensed to the player are done through his fairy companion, Navi. Navi is well-known among fans for being a little... overzealous when dispensing advice, and since she's also responsible for telling you about the Super Guide if you get stuck, there is a slight worry that even skilled players may be reminded a little too often. I can see the potential problem here, but it's very much a worst-case scenario, and no direct fault of the Super Gide system itself.

But what does the Super Guide mean for future releases? Honestly, not a whole lot, aside from making games a lot more accessible to new players. And that's definitely a good thing! Although games like New Super Mario Bros. get incredibly tricky in the later stages, anyone can see the game through to the end. I know for sure there have been times where I've stopped playing a game due to getting stuck and frustrated, and having that point mitigated is a wonderful thing. It allows games to be fun for everyone, not just the skilled.

What's more, even though non-Nintendo games can't use the Super Guide exactly, other developers have been taking note. L.A. Noire has both 'Intuition Points' and the ability to skip driving or shooting segments. It means that no matter what your skill sets are, progressing through the story is still a smooth experience - the execution of which I'm still very much impressed with. I'm not ashamed to admit I skipped shoot-out sections that I found hard, and nor should anyone else that wants to play games for fun and enjoyment, rather than bragging rights and latent masochism.

Morcheeba - Blood Like Lemonade

2011-06-21T13:29:00.002+01:00

This review can also be found at The Yorker.

Sometimes in my hectic schedule, and especially in busy times like the weeks leading up to exams, good music is essential to relaxation.

And while I'm one of those strange people who'll enjoy ambient music; for everyone else who'd rather want something more involved there are bands like Morcheeba. A halfway point between Zero 7 and Massive Attack, they have a very low key and down- to-earth sound. While I don't think they've been in the public focus much, there's a pretty big chance you've heard one of their older hits, The Sea from their album Big Calm. And now they've released a new album, the slightly dark title of Blood Like Lemonade. And I must say, that spooky tone is definitely present in the album, but instead of going against the chilled out vibe they're known for, it settles in well.

'Crimson' as a leading track gets right down to what Morcheeba's best at, a languid bass and synth piano riff, with lead singer Skye Edwards giving vocals like she's in a smoky underground club. Lyrics like "down the dusty trails of treason" and "sunshine suicide survivor" are, while fitting of the theme, not what I was expecting to hear, doing an audio double-take. Then a creepy breathing sound started. I looked over my shoulder for a crazed axe murderer, but it turned out that it was Track 2, 'Even Though'. The breathing eventually gave way to the main beat of the song, but began to miss it; it would have been an interesting percussion sample.

Track 3 is the title track, 'Blood Like Lemonade'. I was bracing for more creepy beats, but instead, I got a brighter, poppy bass and a light sprinkling of turntablism. And lyrics about a holy man who becomes a renegade vampire. It had my head bopping, but I began to chuckle at how incredibly insistent the theme was; though thankful for the subtle light-heartedness.

'Mandala' is an interlude with a dusty, western feel. I have a soft spot for instrumental tracks, and I let this one loop a few times, while I daydreamed about being a cowboy - but then I remembered I was in the middle of essay writing. 'I Am The Spring' is an acoustic guitar and vocals number, which - although pleasant - was a little boring. 'Recipe for Disaster' is the fusion of the Wild West guitars of 'Mandala', and the unusually dark lyrics of 'Crimson'. Then again, it's also filled with cookery puns. You're not taking your morbid tone very seriously, are you Morcheeba?

I really like 'Easier Said Than Done'. They take a break from the mockingly grim tone, and go for a more minimal, electronic approach. The lyrics are more motivational and calming; with an intro and bridge that wouldn't be out of place in Tron. The 80's one. 'Cut To The Bass' starts with with some really heavy drum beats and scratching, and just when I thought it was going to ease up, the bass starts up a growling riff with synth organ and guitar in the background. It's a simple arrangement, but funky; and as the track goes, the parts just click in to place and snowball. A big, grooving snowball.

'Self Made Man' stands well, but it struggles to compete with the previous two tracks. The echoes on percussion give the track a spacey feel, coupled with the swaying backing chords. The lyrics feel a little weak on this one, and part of me feels this one would have been better off as another instrumental. And finally there's 'Beat Of The Drum'. The sound definitely reflects the title, the percussion is very much like marching. It's really not very interesting. The melody strikes that mood of closing and finality, but doesn't go out on a creepy note like the start of the album, nor with the powerful arrangements of 'Cut To The Bass'. What a shame.

Blood Like Lemonade is definitely what I expect and love about Morcheeba, even if the ending is a little damp. I definitely recommend a purchase to add more chill vibes to your music collection, and to get you through the exam period. Trust me.

Like this? Try: Zero 7, Massive Attack, Portishead

Indie Demos To Enjoy!

2011-06-21T13:17:00.000+01:00

This article can also be found at The Yorker.

It's rare that movies and books get preview releases, and services like Spotify are making album previews more common; but in the present age of gaming, the demo is king in promoting a product. As all current-generation gaming devices have the ability to download software from the internet, putting an early build up for a free download will attract a lot of people, to the point where developers who don't are starting to receive flak from fans who insist on trying before they buy. Since hey, if their game is as good as they promise it to be, they have nothing to hide, right?

This new trend of demo downloads is giving independent developers the chance to spread word about their work, but not all of them end up with sudden cult status like Minecraft. That doesn't mean that they're undeserving of interest and support, however. Here are a handful of games in their Beta stages that you can try out now!

Navigator - Have you ever played a puzzle game where you accidentally misplaced a block just slightly out of place, and wish you had the ability to nudge it back into place? Navigator takes that idea and runs with it. The main aim is to keep Nav, a cute little guy trapped in your playing field, alive as blocks slowly push their way up from the bottom. You have a block cannon that can create clusters of similarly-coloured blocks, causing them to vanish, giving Nav a little more breathing room. But at the same time he's not entirely helpless; he can push blocks around too, assisting in setting up combos. Controlling both Nav and the Block Cannon at once takes some getting used to, but it's a wonderful dynamic once it clicks. The controls are designed so a second player can handle Nav duties while you operate the cannon. After that, it comes down to how much you like taking risks - do you make small, conservative drops that keeps Nav as safe as possible, or do you pile on the blocks to set up some huge score-filling combos?

Navigator (At time of writing V1.0 Beta) is available for download here.

Level 2 - The premise of this one is a little strange. A metal band, Last Chance To Reason produced an album entirely about Computers and A.I., named Level 2. An incredibly nerdy premise, and the decision to turn the album into a scrolling shooter is a master-stroke. The way that the music is used is the impressive factor - all of the obstacles and enemy movements are synced perfectly with the music. This is helped by the high quality (and somewhat creepy) art direction. Gigantic cybernetic heads that spit skulls as they scream "ERASE" is either awesome or terrifying. Definitely worth a play through, even if metal isn't your genre of choice.

A demo of the first stage, 'Upload Complete' is available for download here.

SpyParty - Any game that involves more than one player has a deep-seated element of mind games. The world champions of Street Fighter and Starcraft know their game well, but to win they have to know the mentality on their opponent. It's this aspect that's the source of thrill and excitement for some; for those people, SpyParty exists. It's the competitive mind game in the purest sense.

There's a thriving party in an apartment building, watched in the distance by a sniper. Why the sniper? Because one of the guests at the party is a spy, and he or she must be taken out before they manage to complete their mission. Only the sniper and the spy are controlled by humans - the spy must blend in with the computer-controlled crowd, assisted by being able to 'see' the paths the other guests can take. The sniper's job isn't so easy when the A.I. occasionally acts suspicious too...

SpyParty's Early-Access Beta is a paid program (But if you paid for Minecraft, this isn't so shocking). You can sign up for it here.

Favourite Classic Game

2011-06-10T12:47:00.000+01:00

This was done as the Day 24 Entry the VG Resource's 30 Days of Gaming

When I was in primary school, everyone was playing Pokémon Red and Blue. It was almost the law. The games were popular, and for good reason – the combination of accessibility, an appeal to the compulsive collector nature of kids, and game mechanics that didn’t play down to an age group are great game design factors. Of course, that’s not why we played; the abysmal television show and never ending torrents of Pokémon toys were what guaranteed our interest, but there was another game of a similar nature that was forced out of the limelight due to its lack of brand power. But on the other hand, I still play that game now, whereas Pokémon Red has gathered dust.

Dragon Warrior Monsters was the first Dragon Quest game I’d ever heard of, and I wouldn’t actually play another Dragon Quest game until Dragon Quest VIII. When I bought the game, I was drawn to the strange, more dynamic and aggressive beasts on the cover. Fully aware of the famous 151 to the point of boredom, the prospect of new fauna to tame was an exciting one.

The differences took some getting used to. There were no cities, just the Kingdom of GreatTree, an oak the size of a skyscraper; a series of increasingly tough dungeons filled with those elusive monsters; and an arena where my monster-training prowess was put to the test. Having not experienced enough RPGs back then to be aware of the typical clichés, the high fantasy bent was an appealing change to the urban sprawl of Pokémon.

The way the monsters themselves worked was different, too. I couldn’t force them to be my friends, I had to slowly make them like me by giving them meat. Not knowing the maths behind it, I tried many ways to make new monsters my friends – making sure they were the last foe standing; deciding that even though Ribs were more effective than PorkChops, that Grizzly was a PorkChop kinda guy; keeping a monster with a dance or song move, just in case a monster liked dancing. And when a monster did decide to devote its services to you, you didn’t automatically have complete control. They had a personality, and preferred to use some moves over others.

But what impressed me the most was monster breeding. Bear in mind that Pokémon Gold and Silver were still vague rumours in the magazines, so the idea that I could make crazy new monsters by breeding my old ones was an incredible concept. At first, the process was random, putting any two monsters I had together and taking the result – but as the game progressed and gave me hints about breeding, and working through trial and error I learned to be clever about marrying off my monsters; each generation growing stronger and knowing a wider set of skills.

The way you can build your team of 3 monsters impresses me, even in hindsight. While all the monsters in the game are different in where their strengths lie and what moves they can learn, any other monster can have those strengths and skills through some patient breeding. Back then my favourite monster was the ZapBird and the Shadow, two monsters of very different strength levels, but by the end of the game, they were both fearsome in combat, Zap! knowing all the strongest elemental spells, and Myst spreading curses and capable of transforming.

The later games in the Dragon Quest Monster series have held some of these excellent sensibilities that sets the games apart from Pokémon, but I was sad to find out that it was no longer possible to turn your early-game monsters into late-game competitors through love and care.

My Favourite Setting

2011-06-10T12:44:00.001+01:00

This was done as the Day 19 Entry to the VG Resource's 30 Days of Gaming.

I spend way too much time on the computer. It’s an undeniable fact, and a little sad. Yes, the advent of social networking, and the ability to deal with work via my computer makes my addiction look a little less suspect, but I can’t avoid just how anti-social it makes me look. So when there’s a game series that’s entirely based around absolutely everyone using computers and the internet as if their life depended on it, it’ll strike a chord with me. And that would be the MegaMan Battle Network series.

What’s more, in this imagining, the complete and entire devotion to the Computer doesn’t result in a dystopian, Neuromancer-esque vibe. This is MegaMan we’re talking about here; a series typically dealing with grisly robot destruction with smiley faces and bright colours. According to Capcom, the future is a bright one, where hooking everything up to the internet seems like a perfectly sensible idea; from your washing machine to trees. It sounds foolish, but having your fridge notify you when it needs cleaning, or your garden twittering about the health of your flowers has useful applications.

And then there’s how they deal with A.I. In a concept shift that’s been somewhat divisive for Mega fans, MegaMan isn’t a Super Fighting Robot, but instead a computer program. For some, it feels like a bit of a jump to go from the concept of death-dealing android to a desktop buddy, but even the classic Mega Man started out as a cleaning assistant for Dr. Light. MegaMan.exe and his operator, Lan are tasked with deleting viruses and other malicious Network Navigators (Netnavis), which becomes a gargantuan task when you realise that with almost everything Online, a virus or hacker could cause major problems. In-game this is taken to some rather silly extremes, like the occurrence of rainstorms and earthquakes being computer-generated, but in a more realistic context, a hacker having a degree of social control is very real. The public response to Sony’s Playstation Network servers being hacked was impressive, and has made people think hard about the consequences of having so much of themselves accessible over the Internet.

But just think for a moment – what if Netnavis were thrown into the equation? We would all have a more overt level of protection; smarter and more adaptive than your regular anti-virus. By being a personality more than a tool, we would pay more attention to the safety and maintenance of our data. Tech-savvy members of the family would breathe a sigh of the relief when they’re no longer called on for trivial computer issues. With a few minutes of setup and explanation, grandma could be deleting viruses and surfing the Internet with the best of them, maybe even better than you.

Though, what I like most of all about this setting (and it embarrasses me a little to say this), having a digital friend to call your own is incredibly charming. While obviously not a substitute for a flesh-and-blood human, no one need ever feel alone as long as they had their Personal Terminal to hand. Think of the practical applications for therapy and social conditioning. Give up smoking! Have a (non-corporeal) shoulder to cry on! Never forget another deadline or birthday again!

While the Battle Network series does have its ridiculous moments, treating science as a magical phenomenon has its charm. I’m slack-jawed at how a virus can make an oven start spitting fire, or why a meteorology team would build a facility 30,000 feet in the air, powered by rockets (with no hand rails!), and then I also see how everyone’s quality of life has been improved by better and smarter computers; how their internet community is more polite and unified; how the digital age has been whole-heartedly accepted as a progression for society, and my heart is warmed.

Games Previews at London MCM Expo

2011-06-09T07:14:00.000+01:00

This article has also been hosted at The Yorker. And is a little old, I should have uploaded this earlier.

While they're a big part of nerd culture, I'm really not a fan of conventions. For the most part they're less about die-hard media fans sharing an interest, and more about overpriced tat, grown men dressing up as under-age anime girls, and an overpowering stench of nerd-sweat that I have to bleach my clothes to get rid of. However, despite the numerous shortcomings, conventions like the MCM Expo are prime advertisement material for games publishers; and they often have pre-release versions of soon-to-be-released games to drum up interest.

The 'Summer Drought' - the period of time around the yearly Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) in July - is something of a dead-zone for new games releases, so the games on offer at MCM were slightly lean, but there are still a big few names to tide us over.

Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS) - June 17th is fast approaching, and that means the Ocarina of Time remake for 3DS will be upon us; and Nintendo is trying their damnedest to make sure it'll still be a considered purchase for people who've played the original already. While there are full copies floating around already, the version available at the Expo was a demo showing off the starting area, Kokiri Forest, and the first dungeon inside the Great Deku Tree. Anyone familiar with the original game will be entirely at home in terms of layout, but the graphical overhaul makes things much easier on the eyes.

Despite this, I couldn't help but notice that distant objects popped in when they got close enough, the animations erred on the side of clunky, and there was an instance of noticeable - but not detrimental - slowdown. However, the revised controls and touch-screen functionality make playing the game a much more intuitive experience. A revised 'Master Quest' mode is also available, with mirrored maps and different enemies and puzzles. We'll see how different it is from the Gamecube's release of LoZ:OoT Master Quest when the game is released.

Child of Eden (360) - Mentioned in May 15th's news, the Kinect controls were straightforward, but took a lot of getting used to. Your hands are both used to fire at targets on-screen; the left hand is a purple rapid-fire shot that'll fire as long as you're pointing on screen. The right hand is a lock-on gun that will highlight targets as you gesture over them, and then fire if you flick your wrist. You can lock-on to 8 targets at a time, and you score bonus points for firing all 8 shots every volley, and for firing shots in time to the beat. However, sometimes my gesture to fire would go ignored, ruining my timing.

Community Manager Pete Closs gave us information about the developmental process - over 1000 different concept art designs went into creating the wide variety of art directions that make up the stages. The music to the game was done by the in-studio band Genki Rockets, who have previously released an album; some of the songs featuring in previous Q? Entertainment titles. The songs appearing in Child of Eden are either remixes or all new tracks, but a commercially available soundtrack has not presently been planned.

Gears of War 3 (360) - You know where you are with Gears of War. Even with Gears of War 2, the experience - while nothing particularly unexpected - was very well-refined cover-based shooter. Unsurprisingly, Gears of War 3 is more of the same. The booth for the game was set up in multiplayer mode, so I wasn't able to try out the story mode. The arena for the match was very pretty in the way that post-apocalyptic cityscapes tend to be; but a mixture of my inability to play Shooters with any kind of competence and the slow, lumbering character I was playing as meant I didn't get much time to explore. Sigh.

Xenoblade (WII) - After a noticeable lack in RPGs for the Wii, there are suddenly a surprising number that promise to make the jump from Japan to the UK. One of the first being Xenoblade, a game developed by Monolith Soft, and published by Nintendo (with Arc Rise Fantasia and The Last Story hopefully following soon). Screenshots for this game have been around since last year, the style of which (Youths in impossible armour fighting giant wild beasts) made me think of Monster Hunter, but in playing it I found the reality was much different. Attacks are not at-will, you have a handful of skills that slowly recharge once used. This made battles feel slow and tactical, as you made sure every hit counted. In a very poor decision, they seem to have given all the characters unlikely British accents, for reasons I'm not sure of. Verily, this is a game of an acquired taste, what!

E3 Roundup & Comment

2011-06-08T20:23:00.001+01:00

This article has also been hosted on the VG Resource. Abridged Versions of this article have also been hosted at The Yorker.

While the Electronic Entertainment Expo of 2011 is still in progress, the conferences for the 3 big names, Microsoft, Sony & Nintendo are done and dusted. The in-depth details of what’s on offer has already been plastered all over other gamine news sites (and no doubt your Facebook and Twitter accounts); but this is just a little summary of what stood out to me.

I’ve always taken E3 with a pinch of salt. While it’s the major US event for games publishers to share new projects and releases with the masses, it all boils down to the hard sell. The presentation of the publisher conferences matters just as much as the products they’re trying to market, and they don’t always do the job well.

Microsoft
The Xbox 360 played very close to its strengths this year; a user base with a high percentage of shooter enthusiasts (of which I am definitely not), and a still-developing market in the Kinect. Don Mattrick, president of Microsoft Entertainment, informed us early on that the exclusives this year would show heavy support for the Kinect, and they definitely kept to that through the conference.

Ghost Recon: Future Soldier is the perfect blend of Shooter and Kinect-bait. The gesture controls and voice recognition were used to create a very intuitive-looking customisation menu system; but part of me feels that such a cool concept is a little wasted on gun fetishism. On the other hand, the gesture controls for the actual combat look so entirely ridiculous that any sense of coolness flew right out of the window.

Part of the demographic for the Kinect is of course young children; so to demonstrate Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Essentially Kinect Adventures! with a Disney theme) and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster, stage-ready, rosy-cheeked children were wheeled onto the stage. These kids are always annoyingly saccharine and are good for a chuckle. But on the other hand, can you imagine these child-demographic games being demonstrated only by adults? Creepy.

Kinect Funlabs is a new e-store where you can download experimental Kinect software other developers have made. There’s a huge ‘homebrew’ community for the Kinect, and Microsoft did a good job of harnessing it. I hope we don’t have to pay for the demos though; they look very bare-bones. The conference was wrapped up with a short trailer for Halo 4; which caught me by surprise – Bungie said that after Halo Reach, they weren’t intending to produce another main-series Halo game. So either Bungie loves consumer money too much to keep their word, or Microsoft is using another developer to keep the cash cow running. Not cool.

Sony
Sony offered a much wider range of genres than Microsoft this time around, but they really pushed the PS3′s 3D functions, just like how almost all of the 360 exclusives sported Kinect. Of course, the 3D effect was entirely wasted on us paupers watching the conference through the internet.

There were a lot of solid titles that definitely garnered my interest. Uncharted 3, which was a bit moodier and grittier than I’d like still impressed me with its brighter action scenes in Arabia. inFamous 2 still has me incredibly hyped, but there was nothing that we didn’t already know. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time will hopefully be a great sequel to the PS2 games I remember fondly, but I’m sad they got rid of the cartoonish cel-shading.

They also announced some new IPs in Starhawk, a game with an aesthetic cross between Borderlands and Halo, but looking to promise standard-fare shooter action; and Medieval Moves: Deadman’s Quest, which looked like a reasonable first-person action adventure game, but it reminded me heavily of a tech demo demonstrated for the PS Move last year – featuring a similar setting, but a magic-using protagonist. It looked much less polished than this effort, but a lot more enticing in terms of mechanics.

Some of the games mentioned were not specifically Sony exclusives, but instead would have bonus content or Playstation Move functionality; which smacked of them being unconfident in the lineup of exclusives they had. Don’t sweat it Sony, you’re doing just fine. But next time you get 2K Games to demonstrate their next NBA 2K game, don’t have them go by halves. Kobe Bryant can’t hold a candle to the glorious Shaq.

The official announcement of the Sony Vita is a surprise to few (even the name of the then-titled NGP was released a few days back, along with some of its planned titles), but the lineup for release games is looking a lot stronger than the 3DS’ effort. Diablo-clone Ruin and fighter’s dream Street Fighter X Tekken are the titles that have me salivating, but then there’s no guarantee they’ll actually be available any time soon.

The incredibly competitive price of $249 to directly compete with the 3DS is definitely throwing down the gauntlet. The Vita pulls ahead in terms of sheer graphical brunt, but otherwise they’re both host to some very similar features. It’ll come down to the games support in the end.

Nintendo
While Nintendo wasn’t the only company to be releasing new hardware this year, they had been keeping the cards much closer to their chest than Sony has been with the PS Vita. That alone accounted for much of the anticipation for Nintendo’s conference, and they rode that out for as long as they could.

The first section of the conference showed no hint of new hardware info; instead detailing the variety of Legend of Zelda game releases for the 25th Anniversary for the series. A free DSi download of 4 Swords Adventures was what piqued my interest the most, along with the announcement of a soundtrack CD for Skyward Sword… though we probably won’t see that released over in the UK.

Now that’s over, is it time for the hardware announcement? Psyche! It’s 3DS release time. This is still fairly a big deal, but I watched with a hint of scepticism. Last year the support for the 3DS was huge, with many big names like Metal Gear Solid and Kingdom Hearts poised to be released. But the games available on release have been pretty weak, and that wasn’t looking to change. So Nintendo looked to fix that failing with some solid first-party support. And they definitely brought forward some big names.

Mario Kart and Kid Icarus Uprising are my picks of choice, with Mario Kart showing off customisable cars and tracks where your craft can transform into a hang glider or submarine; and Kid Icarus demonstrating some charmingly bad voice acting, and gameplay that heavily reminds me of Sin and Punishment.
Then the Nintendo eShop was brought up. It’s the marketplace system for the Nintendo 3DS, and the update to install it on your system is already live. It functions just the same as the Wii and DSi shops, but in addition to special 3DS software, the range of released DSiWare games (Go and play Shantae: Risky’s Revenge. You won’t regret it.), and a small (and rather terrible) pool of GameBoy games are also available to download. The UK prices seem to be slightly higher than the US ones, though.

Ok, that’s finally out of the way. Do we get the console announcement? Fortunately, yes! The name is announces as the Wii U. Which, while fairly silly, is easy enough to put up with. The revival of Wii/Wee jokes won’t be. They lead the showcase with the Wii U’s controller, a 6.2 inch tablet surrounded by the the kind of buttons you’d expect to see on a modern controller. Only odd thing is the placement of the two analogue sticks – right at the top, even above the D-Pad and face buttons. Why on earth are they placed up there? It might work out to be comfortable in practice, but for now, I don’t think my big, meaty hands can accommodate that positioning.

Beyond the unique controller design, the ‘big deal’ about the Wii U is its processing power and graphics capability. It can now directly compete with the HD-capable PS3 and 360, allowing developers who dismissed the Wii as a non-progressive platform to give Nintendo users the same gaming experience everyone else gets. Which is both a good and annoying thing.

On one hand, I’ll be hearing less chatter about ‘Console Wars’. The scope of games released for each platform are now just that little bit more level. Barriers to entry in terms of developing games for multiple platforms will drop, and I definitely see that as a good thing.

On the other hand, I felt that the limitations of the Wii forced developers to do something different with their games to make them marketable. The Wii U isn’t going to make those developers magically vanish, but the line-up for the Wii U shown could largely be described as “Games the other platforms are already getting”, and that made me a little sad.

In Closing…
All in all, the corporates are starting to get the hang of these Conferences. In previous years, many of these presentations would get bogged down in sales figures, and rambles about company history. But the general populace doesn’t want to hear that, and the journalists in the auditorium sure enough aren’t going to report about it. All 3 conferences were almost all about the new games from start to finish, and I definitely appreciate that. Microsoft didn’t have some new hardware to wow the crowd with, bless ‘em, but that Kinect Funlabs will definitely be something to follow. Never underestimate the genius of homebrewers!

The Great Genre Expredition: Dungeon Crawlers

2011-06-03T13:38:00.002+01:00

Blizzard Entertainment is a company that sticks to its guns. It's well known for ''World of Warcraft'' and ''Starcraft'' series, partially due to the crushingly huge popularity and exposure those titles have, partially since they're the only games they've released since 2006. But they'll be breaking the trend with a long-awaited (by a very specific demographic) third addition one of their other popular franchises - ''Diablo''.

Diablo started out as a more action-oriented spin on the RTS Genre; focusing on adventures and combat for an adventurer and his companions, rather than a full-scale army. But this direction proved to be so incredibly popular that the style caught on, taking the basic idea of top-down hack & slash, and running away with it. Although since Diablo III is dragging its heels in being released, give these three gems a try in the meantime.

For the Online Gamer: Spiral Knights
The internet is filled with free Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOGs), and many of them are very similar, often taking notes from World of Warcraft. Spiral Knights stands out by cribbing from Diablo instead, but does it in the cutest way possible. From the get go, the art direction and chiptune-nuanced music is immediately charming, and the game play is faithful but much more streamlined than its source material. You control a robotic knight charged with exploring the Clockwork, a forever-shifting maze of dungeons filled with treasure, spike traps, and demon businessmen. The MMO element means you're never short on people to play with, and working as a team definitely improves the experience.

Spiral Knights is a free download for PC. Get it here.

For the Free-Time Gamer: Torchlight
Torchlight was an Indie release in 2008, and is in almost every respect a big soppy love-letter to Diablo. From the excuse plot of a mining town with a monster infestation, an incredibly similar interface, and a familiar cast of close combat, ranged, and magical characters. What does set the game apart is its cartoonish charm, coupled with the ability to add modifications. In a way the game has been left slightly bare-bones, so you can customise the game to just the way you like it.

That's not to say the game lacks things to do, the compelling and what I can only describe as 'chunky' combat will last you hours, days of your free time. And when you've beaten the game, you can retire your hero, bequeathing your equipment to the next in line. The only real draw back is that Torchlight is a strictly single player experience - an unusual exception for the genre. But don't fear, Torchlight 2 is already in the works, and co-op is a promised feature.

Torchlight is available on Steam.

For the Comic Book Gamer: X-Men Legends
This one's a little more retro. In an interesting decision from Raven Software and Activision, This retelling of the X-Men universe (of which there are many) is done as a top-down, co-op experience, a surprisingly long string of isolated missions connected by the story of a new X-Men Recruit, Magma. But don't worry, there are plenty of opportunities to play as Wolverine and Cyclops.

Missions let you build a dream team of 4 X-Men, and to make up for the inability to create your own heroes, you can customise everyone's skills. It's a great way to give depth to a game simplified by being a console game. For fans of the series, or those who want to know more beyond what the X-Men movies tell you, there's a whole host of back story, character art and comic book covers tucked away. Although an old game, it's a common find in places that sell second-hand titles.

X-Men Legends is available on the Gamecube, X-Box, and PS2.

A Game I've Played Lots of Times

2011-05-16T14:54:00.001+01:00

This was done as the Day 13 Entry to the VG Resource's 30 Days of Gaming.

I don’t really play games as much as I used to; and in a way, it’s sad. Real life – school and socialising – takes up much more of my waking moments than when I was a teenager, sure. But even when I do have the spare time, I just can’t devote more than an hour or two to my hobby. The only exception to this is when I have someone else playing alongside me.

As such, if there’s going to be a game that I’ll play frequently, it’s going to be a multiplayer affair. I’m, not talking about the (seemingly mandatory) online modes that recent games tend to crowbar in, but a crammed-on-the-sofa, Sunday afternoon, drinks-and-popcorn, local multiplayer game.

If video games aren’t at least this much fun for you, you’re doing it wrong.

I can’t help but feel my poison of choice is a but ‘out there’, though. The default choice for a local multiplayer game would be a Call of Duty, or FIFA, or if the crowd consists of Nintendo fans, Mario Kart. My choice trumps all of those. When you’re at Casa De GrooveMan, you’re gonna be playing Mario Party.
Wait, wait! Don’t leave! Mario Party is great, honestly! I know that if you look at the concept on paper, it doesn’t sound too hot. A slow, virtual board game with a mountain of throwaway minigames, and a confusing, sometimes even random set of rules. For a someone who’s a stickler for a fair fight, or wants their thrills right from the title screen; Mario Party just refuses to deliver. And stubbornly keeps that attitude through every iteration. And that’s where the magic lies.

For you see, I (and from what I’ve heard, many others) are a little tired of the Metagame. The high level, super serious play of games designed to pit players head to head. Starcraft is an obvious sufferer, but when you see the mentality taken to Pokémon and even Tetris, it gets a bit ridiculous. Mario Party is the complete antithesis to the concept of Metagame. The more you try to game the system for victory, the more the system will snap back right at you, which is refreshing.

I can tell you’re not convinced, so here’s an example. Minigames in Mario Party all draw from basic gaming skills. Timing, reaction speed, precision jumping. This makes them a cinch to get the hang of for those who play games, and an easy lead in for those who don’t. Put someone a little too competitive into this situation, and you’d think that they’d always come out on top – but the occasional game involving blind luck, or the amusingly unfair 1-vs-3 minigames can level the playing field.

Compare that with something like Guitar Hero – another popular party game. The owner of the game is going to be better than the average person by default. Add a little competitiveness into the mix, and they become ‘That Guy’, doomed to ruin fun multiplayer games for everyone. The Smash Bros. series suffers from the same issues, with the vocal group of fans who resent the items and wacky stages.

However, the minigames are just a single facet of the Mario party jewel. The basic rules of the board game that the minigames are tied to do their best to throw an element of chance and suspense. The very first Mario Party had a basic set of rules that were consistent for every stage, but gradually the games added more in-game variation, up until the Wii’s Mario Party 8, where every stage deals with a different set of rules; including an incredible stage where the layout of the board shuffles on a regular basis. Beautiful.

The nature of these stages has two effects – that absolutely anyone has a chance of winning, and that ‘skilled’ players have to work a lot harder to stay ahead. Every game becomes one large gamble, with the odds of victory changing every few minutes. Coins trade hands faster than the stock exchange. Someone lands on the dreaded CHANCE TIME space, and the whole room waits with bated breath for Luigi giving all his stars to Yoshi.

“NO GODDAMN IT I HAD 5 STARS! SCREW YOU, PEACH!”

My personal pick for the series would be Mario Party 2, for the N64. This is partially down to a nostalgia factor (it was the first game I’d gotten to the credits of. I cried.), and because it has a solid mix of minigames and stages to play. A criticism of the later incarnations is they make the games a bit to easy and gimmicky. Mario Party 2 is also available on the Virtual Console for Wii, so you have no excuse to not play it – provided you have friends who are willing to play games with you. I hope they’re not sick of your cheesy tactics in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

The Most Annoying Character

2011-05-06T14:42:00.001+01:00

This was done as the Day 6 Entry to the VG Resource's 30 Days of Gaming.

I'm not the kind of person to be annoyed very easily in real life.

Wait, no, that's a gigantic lie. People piss me off all the time, but I do a very good job of keeping it below the surface. It does me very well to keep it cool, whether it's one of my house-mates leaving his dirty dishes all over the living room, or being beaten for the umpteenth time at King Of Fighters 2002 by online friends. Nothing like that will break my iceberg-like façade.

But video games themselves on the other hand? Incredibly infuriating. In a way, they're often designed to get your teeth grading. Initially out of frustration, then out of determination as you aim to overcome. The era of arcade machines thrived on that tactic. These days, games still have an annoyance factor, but it manifests in a few different ways.

Games like the Shin Megami Tensei series get your goat through tactical difficulty and strong enemies. Super Mario Galaxy has precision-platforming to get you perspiring. Demon Souls just wants you to keel over and die; both in the game and in real life. But some games annoy you through their cast - and that's both the best and the worst tactic by far. In story-driven games, characters beyond the protagonist are vital for your immersion. Their personality and interactions are designed to make you care about both them and your goals. The best games make you root for the player, resent the antagonist, and yearn for the love interest. But what happens when these characters are designed to be annoying?

I'm not just talking about characters like Navi in Ocarina of Time. Her cries of "Hey, listen!" are memetic, but they don't cause any real resentment; it's a problem fixed with a simple visit to the Sound Options menu. The really annoying characters are the ones carefully crafted to get under your skin; and my favourite example of someone I love to hate is Trish Daily from inFamous.

For those who haven't played the game, Trish is the designated love interest for electrified main character Cole (though there are others who compete for the position). She started out as Cole's girlfriend; but when disaster strikes, her sister dies in the blast, and Cole is placed with the blame. She has an understandable change of heart towards Cole, fearing and hating him, as the player tries to clear his name - or make things worse.

The annoyance kicks in as you progress through the story missions as 'Good' Cole. Every so often Trish will call you to her aid; to protect medical supplies, to break up gang fights, to break machines poisoning the water supply. To strong-arm Cole into it, she plays upon his guilt, saying he 'owes' her and society. But even as he complies with her requests, and the regions of the city get progressively cleaner and crime-free, her attitude doesn't relent.

When it gets down to it, Trish is manipulating her once-boyfriend to do important tasks she can't do herself, and offering no words of thanks. Skipping what potential misogynistic jokes could be made of that; it gives her a really strong character - and is incredibly infuriating for the player. In a game that makes a big deal of the progress you make in saving the city - calls from your best friend, the once desolate streets becoming more lively, citizens cheering you on - the one character who Cole has an emotional reason to help and console just plain hates your guts. And that just irritates me to no end. I had fun taking the Evil route on a second play-through, showing her what's what; but felt terrible for hating such a well-rounded, and otherwise sympathetic character.

Trish Daily. Incredibly sympathetic. But screw this ungrateful bitch.

The Great Genre Expedition: Puzzle Games

2011-04-22T18:43:00.001+01:00

This Article has also been hosted at The Yorker and the VG Resource.

Admittedly, puzzle games aren’t quite so ‘out there’ as game genres go, but the market doesn’t really extend outside of Bejeweled – and even the 30-something ‘non-gamer’ market is getting tired of matching three coloured gems. Angry Birds is the new popular mainstay, but I feel it lacks substance. There are other – and better – cerebral thrills to be had.

In this day and age, video game production isn’t solely about the big names any more. Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony will always hog the limelight, but ‘Indie Devs’ – small developer teams that survive by creating games that the bigger teams might overlook – are making waves, and Digital Distribution services like Steam are the best medium for them to reach an audience.

At first look, Puzzle Dimension has little to it. You roll a ball through tiled mazes, collecting flowers (Why? Who knows), and reaching the goal to progress to the next stage. They do a lot with this simplicity – stages ease you into increasing complexity (ice tiles you slide across, tiles that crumble or ignite, invisible routes…), the background music swells and changes as you complete more of a stage, changing them from blocky and retro to rough and realistic. Later stages will have you fail. A lot. Despite that, muddling through stages is still compelling.

Puzzle Dimension is available on Steam.

The Street Fighter series is world-renowned for its competitive multi player status. Countless versions and revisions to the franchise has tweaked and refined the mechanics of the game to keep everything balanced. Apply that ethos to a puzzle game, and you get Super Puzzle Fighter.

Similar to the Puyo Pop series, the aim is to beat your opponent by building up large masses of blocks (‘Gems’ in this game), and clearing them all at once, giving you huge score bonuses and punishing your opponent. Trash sent by your foe can be converted back into Gems and sent back in sweet revenge. It’s a simple system, but as you learn how to play, setting up lengthy combos toes a thin line of finishing a gigantic assault and a misplaced Gem meaning defeat. The no-nonsense game play has made the game both adrenaline-pumping and very popular in competitive circuits. Plus, the cartoony Street Fighter and Darkstalkers characters are just adorable.

The most recent incarnation, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo HD Remix is available on XBLA and PSN.

Puzzle League comes in many guises. Initially a Japanese-only game called Panel de Pon; the SNES western release was re-branded with characters from Yoshi’s Island characters and confusingly named Tetris Attack. But the series didn’t really take off in the west until the Nintendo 64 release of Pokémon Puzzle League. The series has been known as Puzzle League ever since.

The game plays like a more demanding form of Bejeweled. Blocks steadily rise from the bottom of the screen, and by swapping two horizontally adjacent ones (no vertical swaps for you), matching up 3 or more of a kind will make them vanish. Tactics come in where you think several steps ahead, setting up elaborate arrangements of colourful block destruction. This is one of the few games that will get me into the fabled ‘gaming trance’. Where the control and skill required to play just comes naturally and easily. It’s both relaxing and stimulating – It’s both got my brain whirring in the morning, and winding down before bed. Maybe having ‘Tetris’ in the initial title wasn’t a bad idea.

Puzzle League is available on most Nintendo consoles. I recommend Planet Puzzle League for the DS. Pokémon Puzzle League is available on Wii Virtual Console.

Android's Dream - ASUS Eee Pads

2011-04-10T23:37:00.002+01:00

This article has also been posted at The Yorker and the VG Resource.

With technology, new hardware is made to compete with old rivals. For example, it’s clear the similarity of the Playstation Move to the Wii Remote is no accident or coincidence. Similarly mobile phones were being influenced by the Blackberry and (later on) the iPhone. And now with the iPad, an era of Tablet Computers has come to public attention. Apple has the advantage of a high-profile and brand name, so other companies need to think of other methods to compete.

ASUS, the fairly prolific laptop and netbook producer, has jumped whole-heartedly into the tablet computer market with two different Eee Pad models, the Eee Slate and the Eee Pad Transformer.

The Eee Slate is the simpler of the two. A 12-inch screen and running Windows 7 Portable, it’s very much a downsized laptop – complete with USB Port and SD card reader. However, the Win7 Portable operating system (OS) isn’t a stunning one. The main reason why the iOS system (that powers both the iPhone and the iPad) is so popular is because of its ease of use, a design specifically to be used out and about. This OS is the ordinary Windows 7 with added touch-screen functionality. It feels slower and clunkier than just using a mouse, and the keyboard program is especially sluggish.

Fortunately, the Eee Pad Transformer deftly avoids these problems. Smaller and more lightweight – with only a 10-inch screen – the most notable feature is that it comes bundled with a detachable keyboard. It’s no larger than the tablet itself, but it’s where all the magic happens. It functions as a charging dock with all the ports and connectors you’d expect from a proper laptop. For someone like me who resents the cramped and unresponsive keyboard approximations that touch screen systems normally offer, this is a godsend.

The OS is the Android 3.0 Honeycomb, the latest of a system ordinarily used for mobile phones. Its design is a cleaner layout, and closer to the look of desktop Macs and PCs. This is bolstered with pre-installed software from ASUS. Software installed by a hardware company is often terrible – existing to slow down your computer and pelt you with advertising (Toshiba does this with their laptop range, and it’s a crime against humanity) but this appears to be a rare exception.

The most interesting app is Waveshare, an online storage program. Offering unlimited storage space for your music, movies and files for no cost in the first year, it’s a great offset for the Transformer’s limited memory (16 or 32GB); but there’s an (at time of writing) unknown monthly charge after that year. Freeloaders like me can use the free Dropbox app for Android as an alternative.

The other aspect of Waveshare is the ability to connect with any computer, monitor or projector that uses DLNA, allowing you to stream your media from your Transformer to the big screen, or through your sound system. Even cooler, you can set up your home computer to have Remote Access with it, so if you leave that presentation back at home, all is not lost. It’s a very decadent (and a little pretentious) approach to modern computing.

In an attempt to one-up the iPad’s weak notepad app, the Transformer comes with its own word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software. It’s incredibly bare bones, so while it’s a very good way to take notes or edit essays on the fly, you won’t want to write your dissertation on this thing. If you use Open Office to do your work, you’ll be sad to find these programs can’t read .odt files. Ouch.

The Eee Pad Transformer performs well as both an Android device and netbook. Considering its £429 price tag, it’s great value for the practical design and useful software, but it’s way beyond the average student budget – especially if you’re already rocking an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Tab.

By the time you read this, the ASUS Eee Tablet Transformer should be on sale (£429, £379 without the tablet). The Asus Eee Slate is already on sale online only (£999!).

The Great Genre Expedition: Beat 'Em Ups

2011-04-03T21:39:00.001+01:00

This feature has also been posted at The Yorker and the VG Resource.

Like any other media, the range of genres in video games is vast, and they don't get equal representation. Everyone is aware of the Pop/Rock section in record shops, the Crime section in book stores, and if games stores sorted their stock by genre, you'd find FPS and Brain Training games dominating the shelves. But other genres can't be ignored - there may be something that you never knew you liked.

Unless you grew up near an arcade in the 90s, the Beat 'em Up is one of those under-represented genres. The name is apt; you roam across a level, beating seven bells out of any thugs, monsters or robots that stand in your way, with a mean-looking and tricky boss at the end of each stage. Showing up mostly in arcades, many games offered addictive, but incredibly difficult game play, enticing you to put another coin in to keep going.

Between the comic books and the film, Scott Pilgrim has become a (self-professed) paragon of the 21st Century Nerd. So it makes sense that when a video game was made, it would be based on such a retro genre, complete with chunky, brightly-coloured pixel art, and music done by Chiptune/Rock band Anamanaguchi.

Playing as the series' four main characters, they fight through locations of the comic, to take on love interest Ramona's 7 Evil Exes. There's a lot of divergence from the original story, but that results in a level where you beat up overweight ninjas in a restaurant - so I'm fine with that. The game is easier than old-style beat 'em ups, but more involved. Your characters level up as they cave in the faces of hipsters and street thugs, gaining new moves and growing stronger as you progress. This makes later stages much easier; but much more accessible.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is downloadable from Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network.

This is one of the more iconic games in Beat 'em Up's history. Released in 1993 for the Sega Mega Drive, it outshines its predecessor by introducing characters with more unique strengths and weaknesses, which has become a staple of the genre (and even influencing other genres) ever since.

By today's standards, the game is pretty difficult. There are a limited number of lives and continues, and once you lose them all, it's back to the start of the game for you. The bosses you face are challenging on first appearance - and then quickly become regular foes in later stages. Playing with a friend makes things easier and more entertaining, but be aware that you can attack your partner. Accidentally fitting them with a flying kick, or taking their health item when they're near death is how rivalries are born.

Streets of Rage 2 can be played on as part of Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection (PS3/360) or downloaded from the Wii's Virtual Console.

There are a lot of bizarre arcade entries I could put here (The Simpsons beat 'em up comes to mind), but something about this game that wowed me, beyond the ridiculous name. Based on a comic book, the game reflects this by having over-the-top characters and action sequences. Losing a life is accompanied with an airstrike hitting everything around you - whether you're above ground or not. Dinosaurs roving the city fly into a rage, and are placated by punching them in the face. It's a great experience.

However, the game pulls no punches. Any of the four playable characters are capable fighters, so the game balances things out by giving them very little health. A game for those who enjoy taking on a challenge.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is an Arcade game, but can be emulated on your PC! Read up about it here.

Death Count - 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors

2011-03-23T00:33:00.000Z

The genres for video games are vast. Most are aware of First Person Shooters. Real Time Strategy is less common but hardly unheard of. But then there's the Visual Novel; a genre only really paid attention to by a much more marginalised audience. They are what the name suggests - games that are interactive books - focusing on the story depth and characters rather than action sequences.

Games of this type vary in quality; the Ace Attorney series is the best example released in the West, but Japan has its own special sub-genre of risqué Visual Novels that creep me out.

9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (herein referred to as 999 for my sanity) is very much its own beast. An easy way to describe it would be "The cast of Ace Attorney in a Saw film", but that doesn't quite do it justice. You play through the eyes of Junpei - a teenager who has woken up in an abandoned bedroom on a ship. The only thing in his possession is an irremovable metal bracelet with a '5' on it. Then inexplicably, the room starts to flood with water, and Junpei must find a way to unlock the door, or die trying. He finds that he and eight others are playing the 'Nonary Game', where success means escape, failure means drowning, and breaking the rules means a bomb in your stomach going off.

The game's puzzles all function similarly, each room you enter contains a set of puzzles resulting in an escape route unlocking. None of the tasks are straightforward, but they're all based in sensible leaps of logic, solved with patient thinking. So while there is a sense of atmosphere and tension in solving the puzzles (though there's no time limit), it's not frustrating - a lesson that the Professor Layton series could learn from.

With the puzzle sections so short, the bulk of 999 is instead taken up with narrative; and damn is there a lot of it. There can be hours worth of dialogue in between each interactive element, sometimes even within the room escape sections. This would be unbearable under most circumstances, but the story is strangely compelling. Of course, it doesn't exactly stand up to a quality ink-and-paper novel, but the subject matter and quality of the translation from Japanese is impressive. While there is no on-screen gore, descriptions of violence and of any 'rule breakers' you come across are done creepily well.

The character depth is what made the game for me. While the room puzzles are enjoyable, they're brief. This game survives entirely on the strength of its narrative; so thank goodness it's such a good one. In the early stages of the story, the characters feel like numbered narrative devices, but as you progress, all the characters become fleshed-out and empathetic; you'll definitely find a favourite. This is coupled with a quality soundtrack done by Shinji Hosoe, previously known for the high-octane techno tracks he creates; this is first foray into ambient and atmospheric tunes, and it works incredibly well.

999 has multiple endings, depending on which puzzle rooms you decide to tackle. Each ending explains more about the characters and nature of the Nonary Game, so repeat plays are necessary to understand everything. On subsequent runs, you're able to fast-forward through text that you've already seen; which makes the process much quicker - sitting through some of the longer cut scenes again would be maddening.

999 rewards the open-minded gamer. A game consisting of 'pulp novel' dialogue will be a huge turn-off for some, but the execution is so well done, I implore the adventurous to check it out. Be prepared to use an importing website, though - while the American release has been available for a few months, there is no sign of an EU release as of yet.

This review has also been hosted on The Yorker and can be found here.

Lupe Fiasco - Lasers

2011-03-16T17:03:00.001Z

I'm a firm believer in giving new albums a chance. Maybe it's because there are enough annoyingly vocal people on the Internet yelling "This new album is different to the others so it SUCKS." Or maybe it's because I get funny looks from my friends when I say I like Muse's The Resistance as much as their earlier stuff. But I am compelled to keep an open mind when new tunes are released by the artists I like.

And I won't front in that regard; I love Lupe Fiasco. When I heard that his new album (and potentially final one, if his desire to only release his mixtape and 3 albums holds true) was in production, I decided to not spoil myself until it was released. I eventually caved, and listened to his single, 'The Show Goes On' and...
It was different, so I kind of hated it. And then felt bad for my sentiment. But no matter how I sliced it, the more 'top 40 rap song' beat wasn't what I looked for in Lupe, and it disappointed me. But on the other hand, it increased my hope that the album would be really varied in style.

As it turned out, that turned out to be exactly the truth. Lasers has been split neatly in two - almost to the degree where I'm starting wonder if it's intentional. The first half boasts almost all the musical tropes I can't stand: a male, boorish backing of "Oh oh ohs" on ‘Letting Go’, the flat, half-singing on ‘Till I Get There’ (though the lyrics for the verses are incredibly clever), and upon listening to a few forgettable others and getting to ‘Beautiful Lasers’, you're pelted with a full-on auto-tune chorus.

But then, ‘Coming Up’ happened. Leading in with a neat and simple piano riff, the beat dropped with a big helping of synth strings, and suddenly everything flashed back to early 2000s R&B. The sudden change was incredibly relieving, but my pessimistic side expected it to be a fluke. This was followed up with ‘State Run Radio’, which solidly proved me wrong. The cute radio-tuning sound effects and cheesy rock guitar melody made me think of a more mature-sounding Gym Class Heroes (that's not a bad thing, I promise).

‘BREAK THE CHAIN’ (capitalisation theirs) goes on a '90s club bent with a drum loop that almost made me fall out of my chair. Sway features as a guest rapper, and part of me was happy to know that the British lyricist hadn't entirely faded into obscurity.

‘Never Forget You’ and ‘Shining Down’ are somewhat weaker, not quite demonstrating the musical or lyrical style of the tracks preceding them; but ‘All Black Everything’ and ‘I'm Beamin’’ shine through as the best tracks on the album, delivering some incredible lines. They're great concepts; and exactly what I love about Lupe.

Lasers may be bifurcated in its musical quality, but Lupe Fiasco's rapping skills and meaningful lyrics definitely haven't dulled. And in time, I can grow to accept, maybe even enjoy the more mainstream first half. Though I'll never grow to like auto-tune. Jay-Z was pretty off in his predictions.

This article has also been hosted on The Yorker. You can find it here.