PS3's new motion controller will make Wii ports possible.

According to Capcom producer Jun Takeuchi, developers in Japan are extremely impressed with Sony's new motion controller; so much so that they feel it will be quite easy to port over existing titles from Nintendo's Wii.

This could mean that come the launch of the new controller, we will see an influx of Wii ports to the PS3. Of course this could be a double edged sword for Sony; on the one hand they will gain an extended software library and be able to boast that there’s no longer anything unique about the Wii.

However does Sony really want a load of ports from the Wii which potentially could have sub-standard graphics even if they are spruced up? And is there really anything that good on the Wii (motion control wise) that doesn't come from Nintendo itself?

Read more...

Playing the greatest adventure of all.

It’s late Sunday morning. The better half is at work on a training day, the dog has been fed and is now lazily mooching round the garden looking for sticks and bugs to eat. I’ve successfully handled the kids breakfast without incident and the youngest (Lily, who’s just over a year old) has been changed and dressed.

The eldest of the two children who are here today (there can be up to 4 some weekends!) is unbelievably sitting quietly and playing with her sibling. The madness that is the morning is over and the television is unusually free.

As I sit down in the armchair I quickly do a final scan of the room; it’s still calm, the jobs really are done and the TV really is available. Opportunities like this don’t come along often so I pick up the SIXAXIS pad and turn on our Playstation 3.


Half an hour later and I’m standing up, SIXAXIS in hand and Super Stardust HD on pause. I ‘save’ Lily from the precipice that is the edge of the sofa from which she is about to dive off head first. Had Epyx still been around, she’d be in their next game! The lights of her all singing all flashing walker catch her attention and off she toddles.

I un-pause the game and narrowly avoid the incoming enemy I had forgotten about in the meantime. Games like Stardust don’t allow you much time to readjust but somehow I’m still alive; and after a frantic few seconds re-acquainting myself with my environment I’m in my rhythm again.

Hundreds of rocks are exploding from my barrage of fire and the enemies, although increasing in number are not faring any better.

Somehow I manage to keep it going, half of my brain managing to direct my fire with delicate accuracy whilst all the time the other half uses part of my vision and aural capabilities to monitor Lily’s playtime.

Having failed to base jump from the sofa and then destroy the walker, Lily converts to Solid Snake mode and makes here way over to the chest of drawers. She thinks I don’t notice; failing to realise she lacks a cardboard box and that I have deliberately positioned myself where I can see both the television and the entirety of the room.

As she approaches the drawers I hit boost in an effort to find some clear space among the ever increasing field of debris and get ready to hit pause for the 6th time.

But she gets there quicker than I anticipated. Perhaps realising a guard lay in wait, her speed increases and before I know it she’s there and the drawer begins to open. There’s nothing dangerous in there of course but like most parents I worry about the possibility of trapped fingers and the household documents that are about to be shredded or hidden by this master infiltrator.

I leap to my right and my rescue attempt is successful but unfortunately my reactions are not so quick this time with the pause button. A split second is all some enemies need; and this one has used the split second respite from my onslaught to smash my ship into a million virtual particles of light whilst I save the Princess in my other ‘game’.

One spare ship remains. But as my third sight pauses to evaluate what turns out to be another non-danger event, that comfort zone erodes and The Last Starfighter enters battle.

The unexpected timing of his predecessors fates combined with my own style of play means that this last warrior has a rather ample stock of smart bombs. I’ve racked up a fair score by my own standards and whilst I’ll never challenge for the top spot on the global leaderboards; the top spot from my friends list is within reach.

The last fighter is good,very good. With the kind of determination and luck only a last fighter seems to possess, he’s laying waste to all in his path with a devastating efficiency. The bombs are not only still intact, they’ve been added to whilst the score is rapidly rising.

A swarm of homing type enemies surrounds the ship, confident in the number of their ranks. The circle they have formed quickly tightens; slowly strangling the limited space my fighter has to manoeuvre. But I’m ready for this, in fact I’d been waiting for it, and my finger hovers over the right trigger ready to unleash the most devastating item in my arsenal – the smart bomb.

I’m calm and in sync with the game despite my permanent observations elsewhere. I don’t panic, but instead let the enemy draw closer so I can ensure the imminent detonation takes down as many of the enemy as possible. Just a little closer and…

” Are you one, are you two, are you three, are you four?”

“Are you five, six, seven, or maybe more?”

“CBeebies wishes you a happy birthday with lots of birthday cards through your door.”

“Happy Birthday!”

It takes a moment for the reality to sink in and when it does I laugh out loud as I see Lily sitting next to me with the remote, a big grin etched on her face! I give her a kiss and laugh even more when I realise she’s switched the TV’s source input with the cable remote, something no one in the household even knows how to do (we all use the actual TV remote).

I flick the source back over but of course I know the outcome already; the Princess has destroyed him, his fearsome arsenal no match for the power of Cbeebies.

Ands that’s what it’s like when you get older. Some say your hand eye co-ordination goes but I retaliate with the fruit that is experience, experience born in real arcades and eventually nurtured at home. Ultimately it’s really all about time.

When you’re older you have less time to play, less time to practice and too many games to fill into too few slots. You ultimately become a digital whore; pimping yourself out to many whilst committing to none.

But I don’t envy those who look down on me from the height of the global scoreboards. My points may be less but in many ways they were harder to achieve and required a skill they have yet to need or learn.

Everyday I play and I fight and I strive to be the best Dad I can be. I’ve rescued the Princess more than them and I’ve unlocked far better achievements. Because every time my kids smile or laugh and every time I pick them back up I know I’m in the best adventure of them all.

Read more...

Review: Batman Arkham Asylum (360/PS3/PC).

Generally I don’t spend too much time with many licensed video games these days. Second only to movie tie-in’s, games based on comic book characters are always on my ‘it’s bound to be crap, best avoid’ list.

However the latest Batman game from Eidos has hit with quite a bang (sorry I guess that should read Kapow!) and it’s certainly causing quite a stir within the gaming community. It’s topped the charts in my homeland UK and virtually every publication this side of Heat magazine is heaping praise upon this latest attempt to bring the Dark Knight to the gaming masses.

Game of the Year is continuously being touted and amazingly the Guinness Book of Records (Gamers Edition) has recently announced in a press release that Batman: Arkham Asylum has been given the award for “Most Critically Acclaimed Superhero Game Ever" based on its average Metacritic score. And no, I’m not making that up.

So is it as good as the hype?


Well, kinda. If I’m being totally honest I’ve deliberately held out on writing this review. Literally every publication has for the last week or so raved on about how amazing this game is, it’s been compared to modern classics such as Bioshock and as I mentioned above put up numerous times as a game of the year contender; yet if I’m honest I don’t entirely agree.

The game starts off with a short intro depicting Batman escorting a captured Joker to Arkham Asylum. The Dark Knight is deeply suspicious of the Joker due to the ease with which he captured his old adversary; and these suspicions prove well founded as the Joker promptly escapes and takes over the majority of the Arkham Island complex. Its then up to Bats to track the Joker down and restore control.

The game takes the form of a 3D action adventure (think Tomb Raider) and clearly cleverly draws its game play elements from many classic titles such as Metal Gear (stealth), Metroid (exploration/upgrades) and Bionic Commando (grappling hook).

These elements are fused together remarkably well, and you certainly will not feel as though you are playing a copy of any of the aforementioned games. Arkham has its own hybrid style of play which despite the obvious influences feels perfectly adapted to the world Rocksteady have fashioned for the Dark Knight’s adventures.

Your first introduced to Batman’s combat system; a simple system involving 3 primary buttons: attack, counter and stun. Rather self explanatory, attack starts Batman attacking his foes (multiple presses unleashes a fury of different attacks), counter is used for when an enemy attacks (highlighted by a symbol above their head), and stun is used against armed (non-firearm) enemies to give Bats an opening to take them down. It’s extremely simple and so intuitive that you’ll be unleashing combos and taking down multiple enemies confidently within a minute.

Enemies armed with firearms require different tactics however; Batman is after all not super-human and this frailty is realised brilliantly in the game. Rush in with fists flying against a couple of gun toting henchmen and the chances are you’ll end up becoming a permanent addition to Arkham Asylum.

Against armed enemies you’ll need to be stealthy, and these stealth combat sections are arguably the best part of the game. Using both the environment and Batman’s enviable gadgets, you have to sneak your way to the enemy and silently take them down without alerting their comrades.

You can grapple between gargoyles, sneak through floor venting, duck round corners and hang from balconies to approach your victims and once close enough, and provided they have not been alerted to your presence, you get the option to silently take them down.

If you’re hanging from a balcony you can pull the adversary over it or you can simply silently sneak behind them to dispatch them, making sure you leave quickly before the other foes find the unconscious body (Batman characteristically does not set out to kill in the game).

The best of these moments if offered by the gargoyles which Batman swings between using his grappling hook. A quick press of a button allows Batman to hang upside down from them and then grab the enemy silently as they walk underneath; hanging them from the gargoyle by rope for the others to find. And as they find their downed colleagues they become more and more nervous.

These sections really are a joy to play; there’s such a great range of moves available and you’ll genuinely love gradually terrorising the remaining enemies. This is Arkham Asylum at its very best.

Throughout the game you’ll have to follow various trails as well as find and solve a variety of puzzles laid down by The Riddler. To do this you’ll need to enter ‘Detective Mode’.

Batman's Detective Mode in action.


Detective mode is a special vision mode which Batman uses to identify various clues and interactive objects in his environment. It also allows him to identify enemies (including through walls) and their type (unarmed or armed). The mode itself is superbly implemented graphically but it works a little bit too well and here lies one of my major issues with the game.

I love exploring my game environments and the challenges set down by the Riddler in every area certainly encourage this type of exploration, hence the comparison with games such as Super Metroid. The problem is that when you are in normal mode, many of the games interactive and hidden items are hard to spot. Combat too is far easier in Detective mode as it easily identifies enemy’s locations and again the interactive objects such as gargoyles that Batman can swing between.

Because of this the player has very little incentive to come out of Detective mode for fear of missing something and this in turn means that what the player does miss out on is the wondrously realised portrayal of Arkham Asylum. I found myself constantly reminding myself to turn Detective Mode off so as to appreciate the superb graphics that Arkham offers but within no time at all I’d have it back on through fear of missing something. Trying to constantly flick between the two in an attempt to get the best of both worlds I found rather nauseous.

The characters in the game are on the whole brilliantly portrayed and a special mention should be made of the Joker himself who is superbly voice acted by Mark Hamill. This is not camp Batman or Batman the Animated Series; the game is very much styled and influenced by the darker tone of the graphic novels and the recent Batman movies which is a great thing in my opinion. He’s not known as the Dark Knight for nothing and thankfully in recent years both movie producers and now games designers are starting to realise this.

Batman himself certainly looks the part although I can’t help but feel his character is rather flat, especially when compared to the villains, not least the Joker himself. Batman talks rather monotonously which stands out a mile from the Jokers hyperactive style, and when he’s not in motion he just seems so, well, dull.

Mark Hamill is brilliant as The Joker.


The boss battles are rather dull and generic although encounters with the Scarecrow do stand out, at least in style if not in actual game play terms. I won’t go into details as I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but I’m sure the designers have watched their fair share of Nightmare on Elm Street!

As a game Batman is certainly stands upright on its own; but as a license it really does excel. The style is perfect and you really will feel like you’re playing Batman: The Game as opposed to Batman: The Money Spinner. There’s also no question in my mind that it is the best comic book licensed game in many years, a rare game where the license has been used with some respect and not just as a revenue generator.

What it isn’t though is completely flawless. Detective mode arguably takes as much away from the game as it gives; generic guard models spoil the sense of immersion in the world and too often Arkham Asylum tries to blend too many game styles together without perfecting any.

The combat is basic and does become repetitive and even the brilliant stealth sections are not perfect; partially ruined by the guard’s inability to look up and some rather inconsistent detection patterns.

But don’t let me put you off, Batman is worthy of your time and cash, it is a great game – it’s just not quite as good as much of the media hype would have you believe.

8/10.

Read more...

Now this is progress: SIXAXIS controlled breasts...

Tecmo (as ever the pioneer in gaming breast innovations) have just announced that its upcoming Ninja Gaiden Sigma II for the Playstation 3 will feature SIXAXIS controlled breasts.

Give your SIXAXIS a quick wiggle and your characters breasts will respond in kind!

I'm not sure this is quite what Sony had in mind when it came up with the SIXAXIS motion controls but let’s face it, up to now it’s not really been much more than a gimmick in games.

Player controlled boobs though? The future I assure you. Sony should get behind this and use it to market the PS3. They'd be number one by the end of the week...

Read more...

Digital distribution to kill future classics?

Digitally downloading your games is a convenient and often cheaper method of building your games collection. The games are usually automatically patched, the ’stores’ never close and they can deliver your chosen game (more or less) there and then.

The lack of packaging probably helps the environment and certainly saves on shelf space; if my house is anything close to normal for a gamer then for many of us there is a constant battle on the shelves between games, movies and music who do not wish their physical selves to be re-located to the darkness that is the bottom drawer.
The major bonus of digital downloads for me though, is that it has allowed a whole series of smaller titles to rise; games that would have struggled within the normal channels are thriving as digital only releases. These titles are spanning everything from traditional bedroom coded projects, publisher back catalogue revamps, right up to the bigger budget exclusives such as the recently released Shadow Complex. Arguably we’ve never had it so good!

But the digital distribution model does concern me a great deal. Because as much as I’m enjoying the benefits, I can’t help but worry about the future pitfalls.


Some of my favourite games recently (Shadow Complex and Rez HD immediately spring to mind) have been exclusively available via the download model. These are games which, if they had of existed on physical media would have taken up the ‘premium space’ on my shelves and relegated a couple of lesser titles to the tomb which is the drawer.

They are both games that I will return to regularly and both are titles I could see myself revisiting in years to come (perhaps more so with Rez HD because of the games nature). The question that irks me though is will I always be able to return to them?

Because the media is digital I am very much reliant on the continued support (in this example) of Microsoft and it’s Xbox Live Arcade service.

If my game corrupts or if I change my console, it’s easy enough to re-download my games. If I run out of space on my HDD I can temporarily delete a few games and re-download them later. But what happens when that service is no longer there?

Console life cycles vary, but on average a system tends to remain current for around 6 years before it begins to fade into obscurity. Sure some systems last longer (PS2) and some shorter (Dreamcast/Xbox) but eventually they will naturally die in terms of availability. And when that happens the support of both the manufacturer and the various publishers dies too.

With physical media, your game is for the most part safe. It does not die when the support dies, at least not it it’s well looked after. Many gamers continue to play their classic games from the very dawn of gaming’s short history.

Dead consoles can be replaced via 2nd hand sources such as eBay or the local boot sale as can any poorly looked after games that have become damaged. Ultimately, if you loved a game from yesteryear, it’s simple enough on the whole to play it today.

The same principles however do not apply to the download era. Once Xbox 720 and PS4 launch, the services provided to PS3 and 360 owners will gradually decline and eventually cease. Suddenly the security of the re-download feature will become redundant. Will this mean that your much loved games are simply living on borrowed time?

From a personal view, this uncertainty bothers me because I can’t imagine the possibility of some of my favourite games being permanently resigned to fond memories. I want to be able to play these games for as long as I’m a gamer, I want to introduce these future classics to the next generation.

We are a completely different model to other media types; games are always based on specific hardware formats, and this is where gaming digital content differs so much from other types of entertainment such as movies and music.

So what happens? Emulation is one answer but it is far from ideal. There’s no doubt we are spoilt with the excellent emulators that already exist but as systems become more complex, can we really expect these part time non profit coders to keep up?

Even today, there isn’t a 100% perfect emulator for the Dreamcast despite the fact the system is over 10 years old and ‘died’ young. Sega themselves couldn’t emulate the Saturn and so eventually acquired the Giri Giri emulator, itself not perfect and now ironically abandoned. And besides, if you ‘own’ the game, you surely will want to play it on its original hardware where possible.

In some cases it may be possible to back up the games to DVD/CD, and certainly it is possible with the 360 to do this but it does require a fair amount of know how. On top of that your games are tied to your Live account, and of course there’s no guarantee that in future these accounts will operate in the same manner or for that matter, exist at all.

So are we doomed to losing our favourites? It’s certainly going to be an interesting time when the new consoles hit; I just hope that it doesn’t prove to be some kind of Digital D-Day.

In the meantime all eyes are firmly on the PSP Go’s download only model. Just don’t get too attached to your games eh?

Read more...

PS3 Slim won't support Linux.

Sony’s soon to be released PS3 Slim will be losing it’s older brothers ability for users to install their own custom operating system.

This is a pity as installing Linux on the PS3 can really expand it's functionality as a living room computer/media centre. I'm also rather disappointed in that one of the things I've always applauded Sony for with the PS3 was this forward thinking option.

No doubt there will be ways found around it but even so its sad news for what otherwise looks to be a good machine.

Read more...

PS3 isn’t the best games machine, but it is a great piece of kit.

The current generation of consoles marked something of a departure for me. At any other time in my gaming life I have always brought all the new consoles at the point of (or very close to) their release dates. This time around however I’ve only just now completed the ‘set’ with our recent acquisition of an 80GB Playstation 3.

When the machine launched it was extremely expensive and given the lack of any real decent exclusive titles I decided to wait until there were some titles on the system I wanted to actually play.

Since then the PS3 has hardly set the world on fire with its games and thus I never really got round to making the purchase. A console should live and breathe in the quality of its games library and to date the PS3 has offered very little that isn’t already being done better on Microsoft’s winter heater.



Multi-format titles have on the whole been better on the 360 (The Orange Box debacle instantly springs to mind as does the more recent Ghostbusters ‘admission’ by Terminal Reality) and to date the exclusives generally have been more appealing (Halo series, Gears of War, PGR, GTA IV exclusive DLC).

Some developers such as Haze’s Free Radical have voiced complaints over the PS3 being difficult to code for, whilst heavy hitter Valve have gone one step further and simply refused full stop to code for the system. This decision alone means that PS3 owners may never get to experience the brilliance that is Left 4 Dead and potentially the up and coming (soon I hope!) Half Life 2: Episode 3.

I must admit that Uncharted: Drakes Fortune and Little Big Planet have both nearly persuaded me to part with my cash previously but unusually the sensible family man overruled the impulsive gamer’s heart.

It’s also worth noting that although I do not consider myself a ‘fan boy’, I do at times tend to think of Sony more negatively than the other two big hitters. This is mainly due to the impact Sony has had on Sega over the years; they are after all responsible for Sega’s exit from the hardware market, they killed the Dreamcast right? Well no, Sega unfortunately managed that all by themselves.

Sega failed to recognise the importance of 3D with the Saturn, produced a machine for the ‘hardcore’ (I prefer the term old skool mind you) and missed out on a whole new generation of ‘clubbing’ gamers.

They then produced the brilliant and pioneering Dreamcast, failed to market it so anyone really knew what it was and again produced old skool games. Now that’s great for someone like me but was hardly likely to entertain the newer (and by now much larger) gaming demographic.

Now you may well assume given so much negativity on my part and the minor bias towards all things blue and spiky that I’m simply writing here to bash Sony and its black monolith. But to my own surprise I’m actually writing to say how impressed with it I really am.

Whilst many will no doubt disagree, it’s not in this writer’s opinion the best out and out system for games, something I have covered enough above. It’s expensive (although at the time of writing there are numerous price cuts around due to the imminent arrival of the PS3 Slim) and very surprisingly the word Playstation is no longer synonymous to many with the phrase games console. Owning a Playstation isn’t the cool thing it was in the past.

Bizarrely we actually never really ‘paid’ for our PS3, it came ‘free’ with my partners new mobile phone contract (I’m holding off on renewing mine for the launch of the PSP Go!).

Our sole reason at the time for picking the PS3 as our freebie was that due to various circumstances we no longer had a DVD player in the main living room. Since the PS3 is both a DVD and Blu-ray player it seemed the obvious choice for us despite its gaming shortcomings.

What we never realised at the time was just how good the PS3 is at serving as our complete family entertainment centre. And it’s here that the PS3 really excels, it is because of this the PS3 sees use in our household every day and by several occupants.

We have our DVD and Blu-ray player for our films. We have a music centre which streams music from our PC effortlessly along with our photo and video collection. Then there’s Vidzone, essentially a free music video channel where you pick what plays. And of course there’s the games, finally Uncharted and Little Big Planet are getting my well deserved attention (Uncharted being the first game in ages that I’ve actually bothered to complete). Heck we can even surf the net with it during the television ad breaks.

Of course the 360 also has some media features of its own but they simply are not as well implemented.

The DVD player is DVD only and it’s intrusively noisy for a front room. The media streaming works to a point but it’s not as easy or as smooth as on the PS3. The music videos on Live are limited and have to be paid for. It can’t surf the internet and unless you own an Elite model the HDD is woefully small. And also, somehow, the 360 just doesn’t look like an entertainment centre. It looks like a games console; it looks out of place under my main TV.

My partner has never really touched a non-handheld games console before and yet with the PS3 she presents our photos to friends and family, pops music on in the morning to keep the kids quiet (our 1 year old daughter dives across her pen when the PS3 power button beeps because she loves to dance away to the videos) and even watches the odd film.

And so, it’s only now that I’ve come to realise that the old skool gamer in me has blinded me into ignoring this great machine.

No it’s not the best games console, the 360 is currently the choice here with its vast library and it’s excellent (though still annoyingly chargeable) Xbox Live. But it is a great all rounder, it serves the purpose Sony always said they wanted to serve, the central family hub of entertainment, the unseen box of tricks that quietly delivers all of your living room needs without you even realising it. And for that Sony should be applauded.

Read more...

Next-Gen? Really? Then sort the damn controllers out!

Last night I fired up Ikaruga on XBL Arcade. I’ve played the game to death before on both the Dreamcast and the Cube/Wii but I felt like a blast and grabbing a couple of achievements too. Big mistake.

20 minutes later and I am swearing at the screen, wondering if it would survive a Nana Shoryuken. For real.

You see I didn’t get my achievements. First time round I barely cleared stage 1. And why? Because of the bloody 360 controller.

Analogue sticks just don’t cut it for careful placement of your ship in Ikaruga, it’s just not precise enough. When I tap left I want to move left a tad, not jolt miles left and a bit down.



No problem, use the D-Pad I thought. After all, D-Pads and old skool style games usually go well together. Right? No! Because the D-Pad on the 360 pad would make you think that we’ve gone backwards since the days of the SNES and the Mega Drive. To put it bluntly, it’s crap.

Now I know that in an ideal world I’d have an Arcade Stick plugged in the 360 and none of the above issues would matter. I’d be happy blasting, satisfied that when my craft explodes it’s because I screwed up. And probably because my reflexes and hand/eye co-ordination are not quite as good as they used to be.

Problem is I don’t have an Arcade Stick for the 360. I have a few dotting around for various systems but in the case of the 360 they are only going to be useful for pretending to play in attract mode.

Ironically if I could have used the PS3 pad I’d have probably been ok since the D-Pad on it isn’t too bad. With that it’s just the sticks and triggers that suck (although some aftermarket add on trigger extensions have helped with one of the issues I have with that pad). But of course, despite the fact it has a USB lead, I can’t plug it into my 360.

And here lies my issue. Games consoles have come a long way since the days of the SNES, Mega Drive et all. The 360 that survives (just!) under my desk can stream things from my PC, play online, and has USB ports. The PS3 in my living room can take keyboards and USB sticks because it too has USB ports. But I can’t interchange my pads to my liking. Even if I buy a third party 360 Arcade Stick, chances are it won’t work on the PS3 and I’ll be damned if I’ll buy a stick for each console. I've done that too many times in the past as it is.

Thing is, now that modern consoles support and use USB, why the bloody hell can’t we have a standardised controller format? Why can’t the consumer just buy one style of specialist controller instead of having to potentially buy two or three?

If I want to use the FPS superior 360 pad on the PS3, let me! What’s the problem if I want the PS3 D-Pad on my old skool style XBL Arcade games? Why cant’ I have an Arcade Stick for SF IV that works on both machines? Would it really hurt that much?

I’m not saying each machine shouldn’t have its own controller design, but seriously the basic functions are the same, let me choose whose I want to buy, stop forcing me to compromise my gameplay or have more controllers clogging my living space up than I have games!

Because ultimately that’s the choice you get – compromised gameplay or spending more money than is reasonable on suitable control equipment. And that’s not Next Gen, its last gen ideas from companies that still can’t think outside the box.

Read more...