PSU Review round-up

I want to put up a round-up of every review I have done so far at PlayStation Universe. I'll list them in order of review.

1. Tokyo Jungle
2. Beats Slider
3. Fuel Tiracas
4. FIFA 13 PS Vita
5. Killzone HD
6. Panic!
7. Call of Duty Black Ops: Declassified
8. LittleBigPlanet 2 Cross-controller DLC
9. Dokuro 
10. Jeremy McGrath's Offroad
11. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
12. Tokyo Jungle Mobile 
13. F1 2013
14. Gran Turismo 6 
15. Dustforce 
16. MotoGP 14
17. Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition
18. Ratchet & Clank Trilogy PS Vita
19. Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 
20. F1 2014 

Thanks for reading this and those reviews. If you have anything to say then please do. :)

My top 10 games of the generation

With the new generation of games consoles out in the wild now, I'd thought it would be great to look back on the last eight (yes, EIGHT) years from when the Xbox 360 launched in November 2005. This is my personal list of the best games from this period, though it probably changes on a daily basis. I'm not even sure that this is in order of preference anyway. Nevertheless, here's the list:

Assassin's Creed 2

The first Assassin's Creed was an interesting idea but was a flawed game. It was far too repetitive and suffered from other problems like being a total borefest. However, the first sequel fixed that (this was before the series was miked dry). Gone was the dull-as-dish-water Altair and stepped in Ezio Auditore da Firenze, a typically charming and cool Italian chap would charisma oozing out his digitally crafted ears. The gameplay mechanics fixed up and there was much more varitey to the game including building and fixing up the Auditore estate and buying weapons and items. Also new was the inventions that you got to use from Leonardo Da Vinci, including his flying device and dual-blades, which allowed for twice the stabbing simultaneously. Assassin's Creed 2 was so good that I got the Platinum Trophy on PS3. Though that's not saying much, Assassin's Creed 2 is the most 'Platinumed' game on PS3. Plenty liked the game then, I'm not alone there.

Mass Effect

Ah Mass Effect, the space opera RPG from Canada's finest at BioWare. Originally an Xbox 360 exclusive published by Microsoft before the developer was cursed bought by everyone's favourite videogame publisher EA. The game has since been released on PC and later (much later, think five years) came out on the PlayStation 3. Mass Effect saw take on the role of Commander Shepard but you could customise your character to suit your tastes like in most RPG games. Unlike most RPGs however Mass Effect focused on gun combat with some space-age magical nonsense thrown in, instead of melee fighting and also had an incredibly difficult to control vehicle to drive called the MAKO. Anyway, the best thing about Mass Effect was the world BioWare had built, along with the characters. The way you interacted with them dictated the story that was told and you made decisions, some of which weren't easy. I bet you're thinking why do I prefer this one to either of the two sequels that have released since? Well, it's the only one I've played. Before you eat me, I will say this, I do have Mass Effect 2 and 3 but they're deep within the abyss of my backlog and I did play the Mass Effect 2 demo that came out and it felt more like a shooter with RPG elements instead of the first game which is more of the opposite. I would take a trilogy re-release on PS4 I'll say that much.

Gears of War

Another Microsoft published game in the form of Gears of War. Everyone remembers the 'Mad World' advert that came out to promote the game, no sound effects just Gary Jules singing the lyrics which gave the game footage (not actually in-game) a rather bleak look and feel since that song is proper depressing. Many would go and say that Gears of War was the first 'next-gen' game when it released back in 2006 and I would happen to agree with that. The game looked fantastic and had sold gameplay to go with it. Fluid animations with an excellent cover system along with a wide range of weapons which felt great to use. Gears of War also innovated in the realm of the reload, normally a few seconds to catch your breath while you wait to kill more stuff. In Gears of War, this could be a bit of a roulette since Epic Games introduced what is called Active Reload, a bar would appear where you had to press RB on the 360 controller when the moving line went in the highlighted zone. Get it right and the reload would be faster which also gave you a temporary power boost. Get it wrong and you'd be waiting longer to get back in the killing stuff mayhem. The first Gears of War is the best one because it has better feeling weapons than the second one. The mulitplayer is also better, as Gears of War 2's was completely broken. Horde mode was nice though. The story in the series is a joke though, but that's not why you play these games.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift

PlayStation 3 launch title (in Europe) MotorStorm was a fun game but was far from perfect. The direct sequel, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, fixed pretty much every problem that I had with the first game and is probably one of the most underrated games on the PS3. First improvement over the first game was the menus. In the first game they were slow and it took ages to do anything. The second one was the sometimes iffy track design. Some of the tracks in Pacific Rift aren't that good but the overall sum of them add up to more than what the original game offered. Another thing was more variety in vehicles, well the monster truck fixed that, it's glorious. There were other things but they were minor things. Pacific Rift had better graphics, sounds and added extra depth to the boost mechanic, with heat coming off volcanic rock increasing the speed of the gauge's meter, giving you less boost. Contrast to that, there was water on track which cooled the boost gauge. Pacific Rift also had Trophies and custom soundtracks so you could race along to your favourite tunes. The racing in MotorStorm is very arcade-y but it so much fun and crazy as hell with quad bikes squaring up against big rigs. A total mis-match but that is what is great about MotorStorm, complete and utter lunacy. I hope the series continues on PS4.

Batman: Arkham Asylum 

Batman: Arkham Asylum. This game came from nowhere. I remember hearing about it but because most superhero games have been absolutely terrible, I never gave it a second look. That is until the demo came out just before the game did and it was surprising, but in a good way. No one has ever captured the character of Batman like London-based Rocksteady did in Batman: Arkham Asylum. Many groaned at the thought of a Batman game made by a no-name studio and wrote it off as another licensed cash-in. However, Batman: Arkham Asylum broke the mould. Starring Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as The Dark Knight and The Joker respectively, both of whom reprised their roles from the 90s cartoon Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Arkham Asylum captured the essence of Batman in a game that hadn't been done before.You get the gadgets, Detective Mode, which is seemingly what the game was based around. You also get the characters, all of which that are in this game are well done and are true to their comic roots. Arkham does have more recognisable faces but that makes the game feel less focused and bloated. Not that Arkham City isn't a bad game of course. I just think it's prequel (not Arkham Origins I've heard mixed things about that) is better.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 is an amazing game, simple as that. It built upon the foundation set by the first game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and took things further. With stunning visuals, top notch set-pieces and great gameplay of course, Uncharted 2 set the bar very high for the action adventure genre and there's a strong case for it still being at the summit. The reason why Uncharted 2 is so good is because it's a fast-paced and addicting to play game. It's not perfect but everything it does well it does better than anything that has come before it. I think to truly understand why it's here it has to be played. Another thing about Uncharted 2 is that the muliplayer modes no one asked for are actually quite good, which was a worry since many felt that Naughty Dog would comprimise the single player game but that wasn't the case. Never doubt Naughty Dog is what we learned from Uncharted 2 which is probably the best game they have produced since the Crash Bandicoot days. 

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

Yes, a Call of Duty game made it onto my list and for good reason, Call of Duty 4 is a genuinely great game and is undoubtedly the best Call of Duty in the series. Of course, it's also partly responsible for the series being as it is as well but that's more down to Activision milking the cow (as well as firing the main people behind this one and Modern Warfare 2, read up on it if you want to know what happened). Anyway, Call of Duty 4 was a remarkable game when it launched in 2007. It had everything going for it, great looking (Call of Duty hasn't progressed much in this area but at the time, this was a looker), had great gameplay with best-in-class feel and was without the excessive perks and killstreak crap you find today and had the best map design which helped massively. It also had a great single player campaign too with one of the most iconic levels ever created in 'All ghillied up'. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the complete package that will never be beat by the shell that calls themselves Infinity Ward today.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Metal Gear Solid 4 was one of the main reasons I got the PS3 and it didn't disappoint this long-time fan of the MGS series. It was very ambitious and feature-packed and was full of nods and references to the past games. One whole part in particular did this, Act 4. In Act 4 you return to Shadow Moses and when you arrive once again the ending song from the first MGS 'The Best is Yet to Come' starts playing and soundbites from, well Twin Snakes the MGS1 remake, also make an appearance, making the memories flood back. For example, when you go up to the surveillance camera on the stairway the camera angle goes to the same as the original and the line 'A surveillance camera?' sounds off before the camera fall offs the wall and hits the floor. There are so many references that the series creator Hideo Kojima put in for fans that are just simply amazing and for that, it deserves recognition.

Fallout 3

The second RPG in this list is post-apocalyptic first/third person hybrid from Bethesda Softworks, known for their Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3 was their first in the series since they bought it off Interplay. The fact that two RPGs made this list when I'm not much of an RPG player says a lot about these games. It also says how I've become more willing to try out different games. Fallout 3 is set in Washington DC and stars a vault-dweller (Vaults are basically shelters from when the nuclear apocalypse hit) who escapes and ventures into the wasteland and into all kings of wacky and incredible things. Fallout's success is with it's world building. The art is inspired by 1950s vision of the future with many pieces of artwork in and about the game harkening back to that time period of post-WW2 America. The game has many things in an RPG that you'd expect: XP. leveling up, perks dialog trees, choices to be made and companions that follow you on your quest. However, Fallout 3 can be played like an FPS game but the mechanics there aren't as strong as they could be. Luckily, there's the VATS (Vault-tec Assisted Targeting System). This was a system which paused gameplay and let you target a specific area of an enemy to hit. I felt it worked better for an RPG. There's much more to the game and that's why it's here, despite the bugginess, which it definitely was.

The Last of Us

Another Naughty Dog game and a game from the last year. The Last of Us is how you do story telling in video games, it has set the bar that high. With top-notch voice acting from everyone but special mention has to go to Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson who voice main characters Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us showed everyone that a new IP this late on into a console's life can succeed right before the next console hits. The Last of Us is the opposite of Uncharted in that is has a downbeat tone, slow guitar soundtrack and atmosphere, appropriate given the theme of the game is survival at all costs. The story is also about the bonding of Joel and Ellie since the latter is intially referred to as 'the package', an object, but as the game progresses they become like father and daughter which climaxes with the end of the game. I won't spoil it since it's still a recent game but if you have played it and got that far then you'll know what I'm on about. The Last of Us gets rid of the regenerating health and traversal mechanics of Uncharted and brings in a crafting system and a less mobile style of movement with a focus on sound and stealth. The crafting system in particular adds a layer of depth since the same materials that make a health pack also make a molotov cocktail. There's a lot that can be said for this game but it never beats playing it for yourself. The same goes for all of these games I've listed. 

That's the list of games I feel are the best from this last console generation. There are some honourable mentions: God of War 3, Grand Theft Auto 5, Gran Turismo 6, Killzone 2, Vanquish, Bayonetta, Halo 3, amongst others.

 

Different approach, same goal. Xbox One and PS4.

In case you didn't know somehow, Microsoft has finally lifted the lid on it's latest 'console', the Xbox One. Let's start by saying how much of a stupid name that is. Going from Xbox 360 to Xbox One just seems illogical and will cause confusion because people refer to the original Xbox as Xbox 1.

The Xbox One with the Kinect camera, which is mandatory to even function the damn thing.

Now, it was expected that Microsoft would take the 'own the living room' stance, which is focusing on media functionality as well as games. The problem with that is that you may end up focusing too much on things which no one cares about, or has limited availability. Guess what? Yep, many of the features Microsoft will be putting out will only be available to the US, at least initially. Things such as the Live TV, where you can see a TV guide or cable box, will only be able to be used in the US at launch. Also, something which wasn't mentioned was the fact that an HDMI supported receiver is needed to even use the functionality. Kind of shoots the Xbox One's mantra down doesn't it?

Most of the reveal conference was about TV, with the announcement of a Halo TV show with input from Steven Spielberg and a deal with the NFL, which I can't imagine will be huge deal outside of North America. Kinect was also a big focus and is coming with every system sold. With all the gesture and voice commands you can pull off, if the thing recognises them that is, then you will be able to control the Xbox One without pressing a single button. I guess Microsoft think that pressing buttons is hard.

Microsoft showcasing the Xbox One's interface, which looks very similar  to the one currently found on the Xbox 360.

Speaking of buttons, Microsoft did show the new controller which looks to be a cross between the original Xbox controller and the one including with the 360. It now has a rechargeable battery included and has 40 different features and changes. It can also be seen in the picture above.

There were games shown, but no live gameplay demos which is a bit odd. EA came on stage to announce a new game engine called Ignite and then proceed to show us footage of Madden, FIFA, NHL and UFC which I'm guessing very little was gameplay footage, if any at all. Also shown was Forza Motorsport 5, said to be representative of gameplay footage but I'm not so sure. Forza 5 is confirmed to be a launch title. Another game shown was Quantum Break, which is a new IP developed by Max Payne and Alan Wake creators Remedy. It was a teaser and more will be shown at E3 for sure.

Also unveiled was Call of Duty: Ghosts, which looks like Call of Duty. They talked about how the new consoles can bring the series forward but it looks eerily similar to what has come before. Activision did a comparison to Modern Warfare 3 and there are improvements but you have to remember that this game is coming out on the 360 and PS3 too so it won't be a massive improvement. It looks to be using the same old game engine too, which was first used with Quake 3 many moons ago.

To me, this looks like Microsoft trying to do something which is unnecessary since a lot of these features are novelties at best and don't improve the current products out there. Also, it's apparent that Microsoft are after an increasingly outdated vision, a vision where everyone and everything is surrounded by one large TV. Many households have multiple TVs, not to mention phones and tablets which can access the internet. It all seems a bit redundant.

Contrast this to the PS4 announcement, which didn't show a console but did show Sony's approach, games. It also showed that Sony has learned from the mistakes that it made with the PS3, with using much simpler architecture, the same as the Xbox One it should be pointed out, 8GB of GDDR 5 RAM, the Xbox One also has 8GB of RAM but it is the much slower GDDR 3 type.

It's clear Sony have focused on making the PS4 a games console, first and foremost. That might not seem much but when it's the gaming enthusiasts that are the first to buy your system this is important. Of course, Sony will have non-gaming features such as movie and TV streaming since the PS3 is the most used platform for Netflix and Blu-ray obviously. They sent out this message with live gameplay demos of new IPs Knack and DriveClub, a new Killzone in the form of Shadow Fall, inFamous Second Son. Third parties were represented with Watch_Dogs from Ubisoft, Destiny from Halo creators Bungie and a tech demo called Deep Down from Capcom, as well as appearances from Epic Games, Square Enix and Blizzard.

Killzone: Shadow Fall gameplay screenshot

No doubt both will show new games at E3 but it's the long game here. The 360 will have been out for around 8 years when the Xbox One launches and the PS3 will have been out for 7 years at the PS4 launch, or there about. It seems odd that Microsoft are focusing on something that is seemingly becoming less and less integral to how we consume media, whereas Sony is fulling embracing the multiplatform way of modern technology by bringing PlayStation to mobile devices through streaming by Gaikai, the company Sony acquired last year. At least, that's the vision. I mean, who wants to browse the internet in the corner of your TV screen when watching a movie? Microsoft thinks you do, while paying for Xbox Live Gold too no less, when you have a phone or tablet or even fridge (I'm not joking by the way) which connects to the internet already.

If all else fails, use this scientific graph to determine which is best. ;)

From Groundbreaking to Trend Following

Having been playing it recently on my PlayStation Vita, (a great piece of hardware but it's a shame about the sales), I want to talk about one of the biggest games of the 90s both in terms of quality and in regards to the immense popularity it garnered back then, Tomb Raider.

The box art for the first Tomb Raider game which first released in November 1996

The game was a huge phenomenon back then because of it's unique gameplay. Today, many see it as clunky and unresponsive but at the time it was fresh because 3D games were still in their infancy. Playing it today for me is still a very enjoyable experience. Yeah, the controls are heavy and archaic but they are consistent and any mistakes made are the player's fault and not anything to do with bugs or glitches unlike many games today. 

Tomb Raider was an unforgiving game. Any small mistake could lead to failure and losing quite a bit of progress due to the save crystal system the game used, unless you were playing on the PC then you could save anywhere but even that has it's risks. You had to think carefully about each jump and trap, making the game more tense and/or frustrating depending on the outcome of the attempt at the jump or whatever the game threw at you. The game's combat isn't very good, it wasn't back in 1996 either but that was never the focus of the game. Anyway, it made things more interesting and increased the tension due to the rubbishness.

The focus of Tomb Raider was always the levels. These levels which had big, overlapping puzzles and many opportunities to explore the landscape and discover every nook and cranny. Wonderful. No hand-holding either with the puzzles. These days, many games have glowing icons or objects, showing you what can be interacted with. That's fine but it isn't very challenging or fun, well to me anyway. 

It can't be understated how much I love this game. I'd love to see a new game in the vein of the original with excellent puzzles and lots of exploring and challenges. Sadly, it's increasingly looking like that will never happen. I'm talking about the reboot of Tomb Raider.

Box art for the 2013 reboot of Tomb Raider. HNNNNNNG.

When first announced, Crystal Dynamics, who replaced series creators Core Design (who have since gone defunct) after the mess that was Angel of Darkness back in 2004, wanted to redefine the series and take it in a new direction. Initially, that was interesting since they focused on survival and being lost on a deserted island off the coast of Japan. It sounded a bit like Metal Gear Solid 3 from what they were saying. Not classic Tomb Raider but it's a quality game and could work well if done right. However, after a long silence there has been a deluge of information but nothing shown sounds like nothing Crystal Dynamics said previously.

For a start off, for a so-called survival game, the game has regenerating health. No medipacks or anything. Just hide in cover for a few seconds and all wounds are healed. A popular feature of modern games which feels out of place in a Tomb Raider. Another thing out of place in a Tomb Raider is the excessive gore and violence. I know Tomb Raider has guns and Lara killing but in this manner, especially when this new Lara is made out to be inexperienced and vulnerable, yet can kill in cold blood like a seasoned veteran.

In this video, you see Lara kill some enemies in brutal fashion which completely goes against the theme that Crystal Dynamics were trying to portray. They are complete opposites and conflict with each other immensely. I know she is in danger but she looks so calculated and those finishers just top it off.

The Magical Shape-shifting Bow/Pickaxe combo...

Another feature brought over is the upgrade system found in RPGs and online First Person Shooters. This allows people to unlock abilities or useless stuff like cosmetic crap other ways to kill people. I'm not sure where this belongs in Tomb Raider. It seems like it's there to keep the OCD gamer who likes to unlock useless nonsense to keep them engaged because the gameplay itself is so drab and boring. 

Blow something up, earn some XP!!!!!!!1

Which brings me on the next point. The levels. In the original like I explained, the levels were the star of the show. In this new game, the focus is shifted on Lara and her growth as a character. The problem with this is that no one cares about Lara as a character. If you ask people who are aware of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider, pretty much no one will say Lara is best known for her personality. Why Crystal Dynamics insist on this, they tried it before deciding the reboot the franchise, is a mystery. A result of this is the increase in confrontation, the combat. This is one area where the reboot should beat the original to a pulp thanks to better technology. However, like Lara's character, this was never important and just served as a break from all of the puzzles. 

With this new-found emphasis on killing things to death, the challenging levels have been simply discarded, replaced by linear pathways which link the combat engagements together, as well as the 'cinematic set pieces'. Another one of those things brought in current gaming trends, used commonly in games such as Call of Duty and of course Uncharted, once referred to as 'Dude Raider', despite Uncharted and Tomb Raider not sharing very much in common... until now it seems. Uncharted has always focused on the characters and narrative instead of challenging gameplay but it works in that because the characters are interesting and have a good chemistry. The only thing Uncharted and the original Tomb Raider have in common  is having a globe-trotting protagonist who go in search of an ancient artifact. Both have similar influences, Indiana Jones being one, but ultimately take that influence and go in different directions. However, Tomb Raider seems to be going in that direction now with the highlighted pathways and objects as well as increasing emphasis on combat and story. I Think these two pictures show it well:

Says it all.

I like Uncharted, it's my favourite new game series from this console generation but that doesn't mean that I want every game to be just like it. Especially not Tomb Raider but I guess I must be in the minority because Square-Enix and Crystal Dynamics must think I do. It's as if there's a checklist for every popular feature in some of the most popular games and every one had to be ticked, including a Detective-like mode where objects and pathways glow to show where to go, as seen in the Batman Arkham games and Multiplayer. 

Yes, multiplayer in a Tomb Raider game. Not officially confirmed but it's as good as confirmed because GAME put up a description on their product page for it for then to remove it hours later. Luckily someone screengrabbed it because I didn't.

:(

I may be overreacting but the game so far looks to be one of the most cynical, uninspiring and creatively bankrupt game I have seen in some time. Since they've got all of these features they might as well go the whole way and shove in some multiplayer which will be forgotten about a few weeks after launch most likely. The game has its fans but so does everything no matter how terrible and this looks to be no exception. Most of the people interested have no prior experience with the franchise and don't care about it's history and what it was about. Some Tomb Raider fans support it too but they're the type who'll buy anything with the name Tomb Raider on it. 

Many fans, myself included, are immensely disappointed with the direction of this game. It's not what I want in a Tomb Raider game and I hope this games fails. That might sound harsh, given the number of people at Crystal Dynamics and Square-Enix who have dedicated lots of time and effort into it but there has to be a point where you have to say that it didn't work and it's not what is right for the series. Maybe a break is what's best. After a short while someone else takes the franchise and takes it back in the direction of the original Core Design games but makes them for the current day with little compromise. One can dream. 

New place

Hi all, I am writing this to say that I have joined the team at PlayStation Universe as a writer for their UK contingent. The guys at PSU have been very welcoming and I can't wait to get started for real. I've already written one article for them which you can find here. I hope you check out the website over there and maybe even the forums, if you are up for for nerds going at it in full keyboard warfare. :P

In any case, thank you for reading my posts here and I will continue to do so once I figure out what to write here now that any gaming related literature by myself will be on PSU from now on, double posting is certainly out of the question. Thanks for reading.

Paul

A Masterpiece

Well I'm back, after well over two months of nothing I've decided to write a new blog post at long last. So what has brought me back you ask? Well, a) I'm bored and b) I've wanted to write about this for a while and now seemed a good time, for reasons I will get to in a bit.

So what am I going to talk about? Well, it's a game (surprise surprise) and it's regarding as one of the greatest of all time and is my personal favourite. Metal Gear Solid.

The European box art for the PlayStation version of Metal Gear Solid

Why talk about this now? Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the Metal Gear franchise, the first Metal Gear game, called Metal Gear obviously, was released in 1987 on the MSX2 computer. There was a NES version too, but series creator Hideo Kojima had no involvement in that release and tends to disregard it as part of the series. Metal Gear got two sequels in quick succession, the first was called Snake's Revenge. This is seen as an unofficial sequel since Kojima had no involvement in it. Snake's Revenge was the reason Kojima returned to Metal Gear and made Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. This was released in 1990 exclusively on the MSX2. No shitty NES port was made this time.

The Metal Gear series was rested until 1998, when the technology in games had moved on enough for Kojima to realise a vision of making a 3D Metal Gear game. Metal Gear Solid. The fact that the game sees the series moves from a 2D game to 3D gave Kojima the idea of adding "Solid" to the title. It also serves as a reference to the protagonist, Solid Snake.

Now before I go further, I have a confession to make. When I first played Metal Gear Solid, I didn't like it, strange, maybe stupid I know but I was young and the idea that you had no weapons didn't sit well with the 8 year old me. Of course, I eventually learned the error of my ways and got to experience a landmark game. It's strange because I felt the same about another game and that is also now in amongst my favourite games of all time, Gran Turismo.

I believe that Metal Gear Solid is a landmark game. It was first game that I played where I was engaged by the story and the characters, which made me want to play on and find out where the story went and what happens to the characters. These days, games which strive to be story driven and cinematic aren't uncommon but back in 1998 it was unheard of. Metal Gear Solid was a trailblazer in that regard.

Another way in which Metal Gear Solid was ahead of the curve was in breaking the fourth wall. If you don't know what that means, the fourth wall is a term used in film to distinguish between the movie and viewer with a wall inbetween, separating them. Breaking that basically means that the film or game will directly interact with the viewer/player.

There are numerous examples of this in the Metal Gear Solid series but since I'm talking about the first one, the third Metal Gear game overall, I'll refer to an example in that. Early in the game, after having a gun duel with Revolver Ocelot, a villain with an interesting purpose.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!1 It turns out Ocelot was on your side the whole time and that he was only fighting you so that you would succeed, if that makes sense, MGS4 has quite a few WTF plot tie-ups to be fair.

Anyway, after the first encounter, the Colonel asks you to contact his niece Meryl, who depending on which ending you get is revealed to be someone a little closer than a niece, and says that her codec frequency (codec is like a personal communication device used to contact anyone anywhere) is "on the back of the CD case". Normally, you'd be looking for some CD case that has her frequency on it, many people did here too but the Colonel was referring to the actual CD case the game came in. Mind. Blown.

The back of the Metal Gear Solid European PlayStation case. As you can see, it has a picture of Meryl and Snake with the frequency of 140.15

This is just one of the numerous examples of Hideo Kojima playing with the person who is playing the game's mind. It's become a part of the series, just as much as stealth and Snake's gruff, masculine voice, unless you're playing MGS2, where you play as androgynous mop head Raiden for the most part. Funnily enough, Kojima evens plays on that, by having the US President in the game grabbing Raiden's genitals because he's unsure what Raiden is. Hilarious.

The gameplay for Metal Gear Solid was unusual for it's time as well, as it made the player avoid confrontation when possible due to lack of weapons. As I said, I didn't like it at first but once I learned how to play I loved it because it made the player think about how to avoid the enemy. Instead of me rambling on you should play it, despite it looking a little basic by today's standards it hold up pretty well if you ask me. 

Another area where the game excels is the music, it sets the tone for the game perfectly, from the main menu music, to the alert music when things get hairy, to the end and you reflect on the journey Snake has gone on.

Here is a few of the songs from Metal Gear Solid:

Menu Theme:

Encounter (Alert and Boss theme):

The Best is Yet to Come (Opening Intro and Ending theme, it also appears in MGS4, it sent shivers down my spine when I first heard it, it still does. That part of MGS4 is truly incredible, pure MGS fan service.):

Metal Gear Solid Main Theme (It doesn't appear in MGS4 because it apparently plagiarised some Russian song, which is complete bullshit.):

If you have never had the pleasure of playing this fantastic piece of gaming history then you should. It's easily available on the PlayStation Network for the PS3, PSP and the PS Vita for £7.99/$9.99. You could track down an original PS1 copy if you don't have any of those, or just want to play it how nature intended. There was also a PC version, which was apparently rubbish because it didn't work very well. 

Then, there's the remake for the Gamecube (why it wasn't released on the PS2 still annoys me) called Twin Snakes. Twin Snakes is basically the original with redone (read; worse) voice acting, better graphics, new gameplay mechanics, well MGS2 ones but retained the same level design which made the game too easy. It also has redone cut scenes which are completely bat shit insane and look ridiculous. If you can, play the original PS1 version, the disc version actually has issues if you play it on a PS2, which makes it impossible to finish the game, so I recommend the PSN download version, no issues there. It's a flawless transfer and the best version.Metal Gear Solid is a true masterpiece.

Attachment to Objects

It's been a while since I last did a blog post but now I'm back and I have an interesting subject that I want to talk about. It comes after Instagram, the popular photo sharing network on iPhone, launched on rival Android smartphones earlier this week and many iPhone owning Instagram users were rather "ew" about it. It got me thinking, why are people so bothered that a popular service or product can be accessed by a larger number of people than before. Of course, this isn't the first time a group of people have become irrationally annoyed at the prospect of  other people enjoying something that was previously exclusive to them.

The Profile screen on Instagram (Android left, iPhone right)

Back in 2008 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, Microsoft and Square-Enix announced that highly anticipated RPG Final Fantasy XIII would be released on the Xbox 360. Previously, Square-Enix had said that the game would only be released on the PlayStation 3. Why the uproar? Well Square-Enix maintained for some time that Final Fantasy XIII would be exclusive to the PS3 and going back on that was seen as a kind of betrayal.

However, many forgot that Final Fantasy wasn't always exclusive to the PlayStation. From its inception, Final Fantasy was exclusive to Nintendo platforms and Final  Fantasy VII itself was in development for the Super Nintendo and then the Nintendo 64. It was only when Nintendo decided that the N64 would be using cartridges instead of CD-ROM that Squaresoft (this was before Squaresoft merged with fellow Japanese developer Enix) decided that the game would be better suited to Sony's PlayStation and on the 12th January 1996 Square officially announced Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation.

Why bring this up? Well, many Nintendo fans felt that Square betrayed them when Final Fantasy went to the PlayStation and then went onto the PC in 1998. Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation propelled the Final Fantasy name, as well as the Japanese Role Plating Game genre into the mainstream, as FFVII sold over 10 million copies and remains the best selling Final Fantasy game to this day. FFXIII however, was met with much criticism from fans of the series, with some blaming Square-Enix's decision to put the game on the Xbox 360, though I believe the game would be no different either way, I'm not a fan, I haven't been a fan of Final Fantasy anyway truth be told. Therefore, it doesn't really matter what platform a game is on, if you want to play it, then get a platform that it's on. So why get so attached to one console then? I think it's because of the time invested with that product or company, that you feel compelled to support and in order to validate the support, they try to downplay the efforts of the opposition.

This brings me back to the beginning, why are people so attached to certain products? Also, why be so disgusted if a certain product or service is opened up to more people? In the case of Instagram, I think it was kind of a elitist thing that it was only available on iPhone's and it gave the users a reason as to why to support Apple and the iPhone. The same as Final Fantasy was for Nintendo and PlayStation fans respectively.

The fact is, the reason Instagram exists is because iOS doesn't give the user the custom filters Instagram does as well as a way to share them with ease. The creators of Instagram saw this and catered to a market. Android on the other hand, you can share a photo from most Android devices without installing a single app to: Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Picasa and Gmail, as well via a message, bluetooth or email. The latest version of Android, 4.0, also called Ice Cream Sandwich, has some filters similar to the ones Instagram has built in to the camera app. There are also third party apps that give you that functionality, and there has been for some time. On an iPhone, it's only Twitter, message, bluetooth or email. I don't want to turn this into an iPhone vs Android debate so I won't I'm just making a point. The point I'm trying to make is that Instagram exists because of iOS's shortcomings but people don't see that. Instead, they try to make out that Android is cheap and inferior when infact, when it comes to sharing photos, it's much the superior way to do so.

Same with Final Fantasy VII, Nintendo fans turned to Square and called them traitors when really they should have looked at Nintendo and the N64's shortcomings. As for Final Fantasy XIII, well I think that was down to money, Microsoft probably paid them a nice sum. It didn't hurt PS3 users anyway, since they could still play it, unlike N64 users with FFVII, unless they bought a PlayStation or had a PC capable in 1998.

Ultimately, people convince themselves that the products they buy are the best and do everything they can to try and find a way to convince themselves that they've made the right decision and feel "elitist".

Hands On: PlayStation Vita

It's not very often that a new gaming device comes to market. It's even more uncommon that the general public gets to sample it before launch outside of specialised pre-launch events. However, Sony has sent out Vita units to Game and Gamestation outlets throughout the UK, despite the problems they're going through. (if you want to read about their problems then Google is your friend)

Anyway, earlier in the week, I got my hands on a Vita and sampled a few of the games that are launching with it on the 22nd of February. My first thought however was how light the Vita itself was, for all the stuff that Sony has packed into it, the Vita feels lighter than the PSP, that's possibly down to the fact that there is no UMD drive in the Vita.

Before launching any games, I had a quick look at the Vita's menus, which uses a "bubble" like interface. The menus use the touch screen and not the physical buttons, which has made the interface very reminiscent of interfaces found on smartphones and tablets. It is very easy to use, like a smartphone interface and operates very smoothly. It also looks great, thanks to the Vita's 5 inch OLED screen, which has very vibrant colours and sharpness.

The Vita that I got my hands on. The picture isn't the best because I was trying to not drop the thing!

The single most requested thing for the PSP's successor was dual analogue sticks, and Sony obliged. Now, for the first time, first person shooters can be done on a handheld console without compromise. Unlike the PSP's "nub", the Vita has proper sticks but unlike the ones found on a Dualshock controller, they don't click down to give L3 and R3 buttons. There also no L2 and R2 buttons, just the two shoulder buttons like on the PSP. Instead, there is a rear touch pad which allows for more freedom, and will give developers an opportunity to do something different.

Sony has always touted the Vita as a games system, not a multimedia device like the PSP, though it does all of the non-gaming stuff the PSP does, and then some. This is backed by the sheer number of launch titles that are coming on day one. These include: Uncharted: Golden Abyss, WipEout 2048, Everybody's Golf, FIFA, Virtua Tennis 4, F1 2011 and many more, with many coming shortly after the launch of the Vita. I tried out four games in total:

• Uncharted: Golden Abyss - Promoted as the flagship title for Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a technical showcase that utilises many of the Vita's features. It also shows what can be done by the Vita graphically. It feels like Uncharted, and that's important. Nothing has been dropped because it's on a handheld. If anything, more has been added, since Uncharted makes use of the Vita's touch screen, gyroscope and rear touch pad. 
• WipEout 2048 - Just like the PSP, the Vita launches with a new title from the long-running anti-gravity racing series. WipEout 2048 is a very good looking game, arguably more so than Uncharted. It runs very smoothly and feels very much like WipEout HD on the PS3. Speaking of which, you can race people on WipEout HD if you have WipEout 2048, which is an exciting prospect and I hope more developers implement this kind of connectivity between the two platforms.
• Everybody's Golf - I'm not a fan of golf. However, I love Everybody's Golf. This game is perfect for the Vita because it has great anime-esque visuals and is easy to pick up and play but difficult to master. It's a testament to the game's quality that someone who is not a fan of golf can love this game. A must have for anyone who is getting a Vita if you ask me.
• Unit 13 - The only game that I played that won't be out at launch, it's out in early March I believe. Unit 13 is a third person shooter that centres on beating your friends scores through leaderboads. You earn points by getting kills and completing objectives. You will also be able to play co-op with a friend and use the Vita's built in microphone to talk. The game itself is quite difficult, I think it's mostly down to the analogue sticks, since they feel different to those on a Dualshock controller. I noticed this difference with Uncharted too. Once you get used I bet they're fine.

All in all, I think the Vita will be a great gaming system. How well it will do on the market remains to be seen. With things like smartphones and tablets gaining in popularity, questions are being asked about the relevance of a device like the PlayStation Vita. I'll just say this, can you play Uncharted or WipEout on your iThingy? :)

For a New Generation

When Sonic was released in 1991, it was Sega's answer to Mario. This is because Sega were looking for a mascot, a character to be the face of the company and give the brand the image of speed and athleticism, which contrasts with the image of Merio.

In 1994, the face of gaming was about to change, with the shift to 3D graphics, the possibilities for games was to be opened up immensely. Naughty Dog, who had been signed by Universal to make three games, set about on making a game for this new generation of systems. However, choosing which platform to put this new character and world on to would have to be right. It couldn't be on the Nintendo 64 because it would be going up against Mario, which is suicide for any new game. It couldn't be the Sega Saturn because Sega were self-imploding at the time. It had to be the unknown quantity, the new kid on the block, the Sony PlayStation.

Naughty Dog founders, Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin, along with Mark Cerny, who was a designer on Sonic 2, agreed that "Sonic's ass game" which Crash was jokingly known as during development, was a great idea.

Crash Bandicoot was referred to as "Sonic's ass game" because that is basically what it is. Think about it, both Sonic and Crash are linear platformers, both have brightly coloured protagonists, stupid villains and both were and still are great games.

Naughty Dog never intended for Crash to become the mascot for the PlayStation. This only happened when Sony agreed to become the game's publisher and market the game themselves. However, since Sony's rivals had one it was natural that a character from one of their games would end up as Sony's mascot. Crash fitted the bill. The first Crash Bandicoot also established a relationship between Naughty Dog and Sony, which led to Sony acquiring Naughty Dog in 2001. Today, Naughty Dog is seen as Sony's number one developer, thanks to the amazing Uncharted series. There will be a lot of eyes on Naughty Dog's latest title, The Last of Us, which has broken the cycle of one franchise per Sony console for Naughty Dog.

The Crash Bandicoot games made by Naughty Dog have stood the test of time. Even by today's standards they are still very fun to play. I think the developers who made those games deserve a lot of credit for that. It's really such a shame that Crash Bandicoot became what it did after Naughty Dog moved on to Jak & Daxter, but since all four of Naughty Dog's Crash games are on the PlayStation Network for PS3/PSP, you can still relive the glory days.

From the old school (well college actually)

Here's a game review I did in college for an assignment in English. I thought it would be cool to share it since I found it on my laptop. This is actually an early draft since I remember my later drafts having more pictures. Unfortunately I can't find any of those.

Resistance: Fall of Man

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Insomniac Games

Publisher: Sony

Release Date: 23rd March 2007

In this modern day, First Person Shooters are equalivent to platformers in the 90's. Every other game released is one of them. With first person shooters, the premise is the same. Run n' Gun. Some have tried to mix it up with Squad based gameplay and even have magical powers. Though, none of these innovations have stuck with the genre. Resistance: Fall of Man, or R:FoM for short, doesn't do this. It keeps things basic in a sense but that doesn't stop it being a unique experience and a perfect curtain-opener for Sony's new Tower of Power.

R:FoM is set in an alternate world in which World War 2 didn't happen and instead prosperity fell until 1931 when Russia closed its borders. The world thought Russia was building some kind of new weapon. What was occurring was far worse. The antagonists of the game, the Chimera, are an alien race who were previously humans, but infected with a virus which mutated them into these vicious beasts. The game takes place in a 1951 England, where the Chimera are making their way to after spreading through Europe, before burrowing under the English Channel. Naturally, being a First Person Shooter, you play an American, Sargeant Nathan Hale, who is a strange character who doesn't really talk, a la Gordon Freeman from Half-Life. Anyway, the game starts when the US are helping the English fight off the Chimera invasion.

The gameplay in resistance isn't much different from any other FPS you come across but what does make it more interesting the various weapons. The standard rifle you get is the M5A2 Carbine, which has a grenade Launcher attachment, basic enough but nothing too spectacular. However, that where the cliche in guns ends where the other weapons are weird and wacky, though you expect this as Insomniac, the developers of R:FoM, also make the brilliant Ratchet & Clank series, so they know their stuff about cool and weird weapons. Some of the other weapons in the game include a gun that can shoot through walls, a flame thrower, and a sniper rifle that can slow down time. If I had one of those, I'd be the best sniper in the world. The weapons work really well and add variety into this alien-slaying funfest. The story is also very good, it immerses the player and wants them to play on, and find out the secrets of the chimera. You also find out some secrets via finding intel, which is spread around all other the place. And as you find Intel, you get skill points, which are like Xbox Live's achievements but with a difference. You don't know how to complete the skill point until you have actually done it. For example, there is one called "Karma's a bitch". In order to do this one, you have to kill the enemies by using the same weapon that they are using so if they have an Auger, the gun that can shoot through walls, you have to kill them by using that gun.

While the single player is good, on your own or with a friend via co-op, offline only though. The online multiplayer is what will keep people talking about this game for some time. With up to 40 player in one match, R:FoM's multiplayer is a great achievement for any game, even more so for a launch title. While very fun and quite fast paced at times, there is never any slowdown as the game is locked at 30fps, just like the single player game. And like the single player, there are awards to be won, in the form of medals or ribbons. Ribbons are won by getting a headshot kill or sniping someone, whereas the medals are slightly harder to get, where you have to kill 100 people with a certain weapon, or kill 10 people in a row without dying.

All in all, Resisistance: Fall of Man is a great game in every way, the story is engaging, the weapons are great. Despite not bringing something trully groundbreaking to this genre littered with good titles, everything R:FoM does, it does exceptionally well. The only problems I found are that the game's difficulty curve is a little steep and that the hardest difficulty, Superhuman (which is unlocked by completing the campaign on Hard difficulty) is easier than Hard difficulty itself, though that may just be me. Also, there is no texture streaming, so the textures look blurry when up close to them, though you probably won't notice when playing the game itself. Other than that, a great experience and a sure must-buy for all PS3 owners.

PRESENTATION: 8.5
GRAPHICS: 9.0
GAMEPLAY: 9.5
SOUND: 9.5
REPLAY VALUE:10.0
OVERALL SCORE: 9.3