Interesting video on the new world and gameplay in the incoming Red Dead Redemption, due for release on 21st May 2010
Category Archives: xbox 360
Splinter Cell Conviction
A lot has been said on forums and blogs when the Splinter Cell Conviction demo was released, about how Ubisoft have ruined the series by taking the character Sam Fisher away from his comfortable spy role and having him as a civilian.
My personal opinion is that whilst I enjoyed every Splinter Cell game in the series, I felt that as each one passed, they were getting a little stale. I think something had to change and the changes in this game I think are for the better. Okay Sam is no longer a spy but a civilian but really in the sense of the game this is only a matter of how he looks. The main element of the game is still stealth based but with a few added extras like upgrading weapons and the execute system. I think the execute system is quite good actually, by performing hand to hand kills you get the ability with a single press to mark an enemy and with another press execute them from a distance in slow motion James Bond style bullet to the head. This can be very useful in situations where you feel there a too many enemies to handle or you cannot get to the stealthily. Some may not like it, but here is the news, you don’t have to use it! Apart from one section in the game later you can totally ignore the fact you have the execute ability and play the game like the old games.
The graphics in this game are excellent, not quite on a par with Call of Duty MW 1&2, but it is almost there. There is high detail in the environments and aside from a little tearing of the screen occasionally, it looks fantastic.
I think fans of the series who do not play this game because it has moved from it’s roots are doing themselves a disservice because this is every bit a Splinter Cell game with a few changes and Ubisoft fully deserve the No.1 spot it has claimed in its first weekend of sales in the UK. Well done to Ubisoft for having the balls to try something different on a tired old series and making a success of it.
Missing My Xbox 360
My beloved Elite 360 has been sent to the retailer for repair. It is well out of warranty so Microsoft wopuld not repair it for free but I did remember I had purchased the extended warranty for it at the time.
It went on Wednesday with the hard drive attached (the retailer wanted to send both to test both) and now it is in the lap of the gods.
The problem was not the red ring of death nor the E74 error but it simply had a problem recognising discs – game was placed into the tray but instead of showing the picture of the game and option to play it only said “open tray”. 15-20 minutes of faffing around switching on and off and swapping discs and I was getting lucky getti9ng them to work but over a period of a few weeks it was just getting worse.
I don’t usually buy extended warranties but the 360 is such a fragile machine and has so many potential problems it was well worth getting the extended warranty for only £20 or so. A repair from Microsoft would have cost me £60.
Shall I start a book on how long it will take to come back to me and whether it will be fixed properly?
Christmas Gifts for under 50 Quid
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat but your wallet is getting smaller and Christmas might be crap. Of course you do not need to spend hundreds of £££’s to make someone happy this year or even choose a small pressie for yourself. Here are my top 5 gaming gifts to please someone this year. Young or old, male or female, there should be something here to please.
In at number 5 is Professor Layton & Pandoras Box. The successor to Professor Layton & the Curious Village, this game brings you more mind bending puzzles than you can flick a baked bean at and is recommended for all ages although may be quite hard for younger gamers.
RRP £34.99
At 4 is Singstar Volume 2 on PS3. Old and young there are songs to sing for everyone. The bundle comes complete with two microphones so you can further deafen your deaf great grandma.
RRP £49.99
In at 3 is the Xbox 360 Messenger Kit. An unusual gift maybe, this pack is a mini keyboard and headset which attaches to an Xbox 360 controller. Today Microsoft released an update which allows for Twitter and Facebook on the 360 so this mini keyboard can be a thumb-saver for typing messages over Xbox live.
RRP £24.99
Number 2 is Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City. This standalone disc contains the two downloadable add-on packs which were released for the original game on Xbox marketplace – The Ballad of Gay Tony and The Lost and the Damned.. The great thing about this is if your boyfriend/wife/husband has sold/traded/lost their original disc, they do not need the original to play this game. Available on Xbox 360.
RRP £34.99
At Number 1 slot I do recommend an Xbox 360 4200 points card for the marketplace. On the face of it, it looks like a boring pressie but believe me this will give hours of fun to the internet connected Xbox 360 gamer. For those not in the know and are shopping for others, a points card is like a voucher which a person can spend online via their xbox 360 to buy games, movies and additional content for games. Games range typically between 800-1200 points each so they can choose for themselves what games they wish to download. This is very useful when buying for someone when you know they have an Xbox 360 but you have no idea what to buy them. Ultimately they get a valuable gift for them but they can choose the real prize 
RRP £34.99
If you decide any of these products might be a good gift or even want to browse for other products, www.vouchercodes.co.uk can offer you some money saving vouchers to try and help ease the Christmas spending burden, every penny saved is an extra tot of brandy or nibble of a mince pie (with cream)! Go directly to the link above or below are some handy links direct to a few video game retailers discounts.
Game – www.vouchercodes.co.uk/game.co.uk
Play.com – www.vouchercodes.co.uk/play.com
Amazon – www.vouchercodes.co.uk/amazon.co.uk
These are just a few of the stores who offer discount vouchers from free delivery to money off, bogoffs and so on.
Merry Christmas!
Looking forward to 2010
2010 – the year when 30 years ago when I was at primary school we used to think was going to be full of robots and people living on space stations and walking around in astronaut suits. That did not quite happen but in 30 years I have seen video games go from small pixelated square blocks to full blown graphics which also look cinematic. I remember playing a text adventure on the Commodore 64 and I remember being in awe of the graphics, there was a shot of the outside of a cave and there were only 3 colours – green for the grass, brown for the cave rocks and black for the inside of the cave. I do also remember saying to my Dad back then that it was so amazing then I could never imagine graphics getting better than that ever. Of course at 7-8 years old at the time I never realised that computers would get better and that programming skills would get better and over time use different softwares and better softwares to create those worlds around us.
I feel honoured to0 be this age (36) that I am now. I have seen computer games from birth to the present day and all their incarnations and have enjoyed the excitement and amazement that every new games generation console has brought me and assuming I live another 50 years, I cannot wait for the next generation of consoles and then one after that and that etc. I could see 5 more generations of consoles and be 86 years old playing Call of Duty: Gulf War 10 and having 10 year old kids telling me they are going to kill my mother when she will probably already be dead by then. I really cannot wait for what is to come and how game graphics will be seen in future generations.
That is all too far into the future though and right here and right now we have a slew of games coming out in the first quarter of 2010 which are beginning to excite the games playing audience. This is not an exhaustive list and some dates may slip further.
Bayonetta – devil woman attacks peeps with her long hair. Xbox 360, PS3 – 8th January
Alan Wake – Been in production for many years, will it make it? – Xbox 360 exclusive – 29th January (let us at least pretend)
MAG Massive Action Game – First MMORPG for the PS3 (exclusive) 29th January
Mass Effect 2 – It has to be played, its the law. Xbox 360 exclusive, 29th January
Dead Rising 2 – More millions of zombies causing claustrophobia and dirty pants. Xbox 360, PS3. 29th January
Bioshock 2 – Needs no description of this awesome game. Xbox 360, PS3 – 9th February
Dante’s Inferno – More horror/evil/hell/demons/devils. Xbox 360, PS3. 26th February
Dead to Rights: Retribution – Will the dog be in it? PS3 only. 26th February
Final Fantasy XIII – Not my cup of tea but worthy of a mention. Xbox 360, PS3. 9th March
Splinter Cell Conviction. Its a pretend date really… Xbox 360. 26th March
Mafia 2 – Bring on the Mafia in the cars going at 20mph! woo. Xbox 360, PS3. 26th March
Red Dead Redemption – Cowboys and Indians go open world and free roam. Xbox 360, PS3 26th March
Max Payne 3 – Please no more dream sequences. Xbox 360, PS3 – sometime next year maybe
Borderlands Xbox 360
Borderlands just released last week has to be one of the best games I have played this year. It is an RPG shooter along similar lines of Fallout 3 but with a unique cel-shaded cartoony look and a more comical side to it. From the moment I started playing Borderlands I just knew it had something special about it. It’s whole feel is very sarcastic and tongue in cheek and is a joy to play amongst the more serious games out there.
It started out as a game with more realistic graphics but over time the developer decided to scrap the realistic look and go for a cel-shaded cartoon look. This does actually fit in very well with the games humour and sometimes it feels akin to a comic book.
The weapons system is quite unique and the developer wrote a program which randomised weapons and gives you a theoretical hundreds of thousands of guns, although when playing through the game it did actually feel like only 100 guns, this is because even though there may be a sniper rifle made lovingly of plywood, it has a number of them with different tweaks to make it seem like there are lots when really it is just the same gun. There are still many guns you just only get to see a few types with lots of combinations.
The missions are quite repetitive but when playing them the game does not give that air of repetitiveness at all, each mission feels unique with it’s own personality but really deep down it is like 10 tins of beans made by the same company but with different labels, it does not feel that though and that is good game design.
I actually got hooked on this game and played it from start to finish in almost every available moment and I finished it at around level 34 in 36 hours. I had so much fun it was such a shame when the game ended and I knew there were no missions left to play.
This game definitely gives great value for money. It has a large world, tons of missions and has a funny storyline. If you love RPG games and shooters then this is an excellent mix and I doubt anybody would regret buying it. Lots of games being released this time of the year so if you cannot afford it now, do rent it or wait for it to drop in price because it is an excellent game.
It is rare, but I give it an EXCELLENT/10
A Gaggle of Platformers
First up is Mini Ninjas. Mini Ninjas is aimed at young children to promote exploration in a large world. The world is not that big and the game is very linear but it does promote exploration by way of collectable items. You can collect many new magical powers throughout the game and of course you have your ninja skills. You can also choose up to 8 playable characters all with their own unique skills. To also promote a friendly way of fighting without nastiness for the younger audience, whenever you kill an enemy they do not die but turn into an animal. You can also turn into any animal yourself to use their skills.
Mini Ninjas is a fun game and has some replayability when you want to go back and repeat a level to find the items you missed. Lots to collect and great fun. GOOD/10
“UP” is a new game from Disney Pixar which follows in the adventures of Russell and Carl – an elderly gentleman and a young boy – from the upcoming film UP due soon. Russell and Carl are tied by a very long piece of ribbon to a floating house. You have to navigate through the levels and you can choose to play either of them at any time. They follow each other so you can easily switch between them to do different tasks. Some tasks require a certain character to play so you can switch when necessary. It all seems an okay platforming game at first but you soon realise that the game is very broken and not very well programmed. Voice acting can be out of sync with what is happening and also voices get repeated a lot. The other problem is that when the computer controls your other character it is doing a terrible job and may miss jumps and die. The game is very slow, cumbersome and and glitchy. I do not recommend anybody buy this game full price. Accept it gracefully as a gift or wait until it is in the bargain bin. TERRIBLE/10
Ice Age 3 is another movie which has been transformed into a game. Ice Age 3 was actually released a few months ago but I have only just got around to playing it. This game is incredibly fun and is the best of the 3 in this issue. In fact it is the best platformer released this year. You play as various characters from the film in various locations from the snow of the Ice Age to the jungles riddled with dinosaurs. The game starts off feeling a little bit generic but soon it blows open and the levels become insanely fun. To go with a fun game, the script is also quite funny. There are fruits to collect to spend in the Ice Age store on upgrades and you can collect weapons as you go, including a rocket launcher made of a giant bamboo cane!
Ice Age 3 has everything you can want from a platformer including typical platforming styles taken from the likes of Crash Bandicoot. The only downside is that it is quite short and I completed it in around the 5 hour mark. So it is a short game but well worth playing. It is probably not worth the full high street asking price at the moment, but try and get it second hand or wait until the price drops, it is definitely not one to be missed. GREAT/10