Three Years On, Half Life 2 Impressions

This is an interesting one. Until the release of The Orange Box, I'd never played Half Life 2. I'd never even watched somebody else play it. I'd played the original Half Life (who hasn't?), along with Blue Shift and Counter Strike (I'm a bit of an addict). But, for various reasons, I missed Half Life 2. When the game was released, my home PC could barely run Quake 2, never mind this beast. And I didn't like the idea of the cut-down Xbox version. I decided to wait.

Coming up to the release of The Orange Box, I decided I'd post my impressions of the game as a new user. The game has been out since 2004 and is pretty much considered one of the best FPS games of all time. But things change fast in the world of games. I played Far Cry about a year ago for the first time, and it's showing it's age. The AI was painful, and the whole experience was ruined by the technical limitations. I kinda thought this might happen again, but vowed to try anyway.

I was wrong.

I haven't finished it yet. I haven't played Episode One or Two, but I've pretty much finished Portal. But Half Life 2 is INCREDIBLE. I imagine that I'm a rare breed of gamer and that everyone else who reads this HAS played through this game, probably years ago. But if you missed it, don't worry. It's not great because of nostalgia or because of it's place in history. It's brilliant because everything works and it feels as relevant today as it did on release. At no point have I yet remembered that I'm NOT playing a brand new game. It feels fresh and exciting and I'm hooked. I've even borrowed a 360 to play it while my bricked console gets repaired.

The atmosphere created in the game is absolutely incredible. It's so hard to describe games that really make you feel something, but this game does. I totally felt like I was in an Orwell novel right from the start, and the stifling presence of the police is something that's lodged itself in my mind already. I'll never forget playing this game. I just wish I'd played it three years ago.

Seriously, if you haven't had a taste of it yet, you need this game in your life. If you consider yourself a gamer, even slightly, you have to play this. I feel a twat for not getting it sooner. But, in fairness, The Orange Box is probably the best way you can experience it, even if you have finished it before. Get it.

The Orange Box is available on Xbox 360 and PC now. The Playstation 3 version has been, predictably, delayed until sometime next month.

Oh fuck.

My Xbox 360
02/12/05 - 24/10/07

I guess it had fairly good innings. *sniff*

Eternal Sonata Impressions

Before starting my impressions of Eternal Sonata, I'd just like to point out that I wish they'd stuck with the original Japanese title, Trusty Bell: Chopin's Dream. That's all.

ANYWAY, Eternal Sonata is OUT NOW on the Xbox 360 so maybe you've already played it but I've only just got the chance to have a go. It's out sometime in 2008 on the PS3, too, so owners of that console will get a chance too.

Ok, Eternal Sonata is a pretty conventional JRPG. If you've played Final Fantasy or the like, you know what's going on. That's a criticism I'm getting out of the way now. If you're bored of the formula or don't get along with turn-based battles, you probably better give it a miss. JRPGs aren't know for their originality and these is DEFINITELY role playing by numbers. A bit disappointing, that.

Coming from the people who made Baten Kaitos, Eternal Sonata has an AMAZING look. Seriously, it's worth tracking this game down just to look at it. If you're HD, that is. The cell-shaded look is stunning in high definition and it's won the game awards for it's artistic direction. They're well deserved.

The battles ARE turn-based, but they also allow freedom to run about to avoid enemies and hit them with a variety of attacks. The twist is, you've got just a few seconds to do what you need to do before the next character gets their turn. It actually works really well and treads a fairly nice middle ground between turn-based and real-time fights.

But yeah, it's the same old same old. I really, really want to rave about how amazing it is, but in all honesty, I can't. It's nothing new but what it does, it does really well. I could sit and watch it all day, though. I'm gonna pick it up cheap secondhand and just watch somebody else play it. Seriously.



In conclusion? Pretty.

Pictochat Stage On Smash Bros Is Better Than ACTUAL Pictochat

I remember when I first got my Nintendo DS. I asked my Mum to bring me it back from New York while she was on holiday, thus enabling me to own the sexy handheld MONTHS before most other European folks. And I DISTINCTLY remember being hella excited about Pictochat. I don't know why. Seriously, though. Maybe I though the range would be HUGE or something, and I'd be able to chat to friends in other houses and stuff. But that's what phones and MSN are for, I guess.

But anyway, Pictochat is shit. Completely useless. I've NEVER used it properly, because if someone is close enough to Pictochat, they're more than likely close enough to chat to at a reasonable volume.

BUT ANYWAY, the point of this is that Nintendo have revealed the Pictochat stage in Smash Bros Brawl. HOW COOL? Very. Although it'll probably be a bit rubbish (like the Game & Watch stage in Smash Bros Melee) it's a novel idea, and one I can't wait to try! Hooray!

Okami IS Coming To The Wii

Following on from my previous post about the RUMOURS of Okami for the Wii, it's now been pretty much confirmed by everyone.

This is FANTASTIC. Okami was criminally ignored by most, probably due to it's late release on the Playstation 2. It'll supposedly have full motion controls and the like. It better be widescreen and 480p, too, or it can fuck right off.

On the flipside, it seems like my Wii is only good for ports of old games until Mario Galaxy comes out. That's a bit depressing, no?

Brutal Legend

While still unconfirmed by himself (due to an exclusive deal with game informer magazine), Tim Schafer and double fine's new game "brutal legend" seems to be in full promo force.

A couple of weeks ago, select gaming websites and magazines received an unmarked red 7" along with a turntable for those without one. It was discovered that the song on the vinyl was a pretty cheesy metal song but if you listened carefully you'd identify the fact that it was in fact Jack Black singing (confirmed as the voice of the main character) and that there was more than meets the ears.

In true metal fashion there was a backwards message containing something along the lines of "brutal legend:coming soon", which confirmed that it was a promo device for the new double fine game. If anyone wants to listen to the song, it can be found here via kotaku.

A week or so the above trailer leaked onto the net coupled with these scans from the issue of game informer which details the game quite thoroughly.

To be honest just the teaser stuff has me wetting my pants whilst waiting for the game.
If it's anything like Schafer's past line up (day of the tentacle, grim fandango, psychonauts et al) then it will be nothing short of genius.

*Edit* It's all confirmed now official sites here and here.

Gamecity In Nottingham!

At the end of October, Gamecity will be coming to Nottingham. It's basically a load of game related demos, talks, films, etc going on all over the city, and if you've got ANY interest in the medium of THE GAME, you should try and make it down for some of it.

Hop over to the official site to check out the programme! Here's some which look particularly ace...

• LEGO STARWARS : THE COMPLETE SAGA, 26th Oct. 12pm

A talk about the upcoming game with Jonathan Smith, who worked on the game. Maybe some Wiimote lightsabre action, too? I'LL BE THERE.

• FREEPLAY LOUNGE, 25th Oct. 7pm

"Merging the classic draw of free beer and pizza with state-of-the-art Xbox 360 gaming on HD projection screens, contests for prizes including Halo 3, appearances by girl gamers the Frag Dolls and face-offs against top Rare developers, it's set to be a memorable social gaming experience for all present."

Ace.

• EUPHORIA : PHYSICS OF THE FORCE, 26th Oct. 2pm

A talk about the groundbreaking new Euphoria engine, that's powering the physics in upcoming games Star Wars The Force Unleashed and the latest Indiana Jones title.

• TAKAHASHI NEXT, 27th Oct. 1pm

A chat with the BRILLIANT creator of Katamari Damacy. NOT TO BE MISSED.

There's loads more, including THE MAN WHO CREATED TETRIS, but you can see them all on the official site. GO.

Assassins Creed Vid

Some of you may have seen this elsewhere but if not then here's a massive 8 minute video of gameplay footage from Assassins Creed. I have to say, this has excited me. I remember how much I loved Prince Of Persia: Sands Of Time, and now I am really looking forward to that kind of gameplay in a much more open environment. The movements look fluid and it seems like it offers lots of possibilities for really cinematic kills and the ensuing chases and escapes.

I feel a pre-order coming on.

Timesplitters 4 Coming To The Wii?

Alongside the confirmation of the existence of a new Timesplitters game, comes a quote from famous Goldeneye boy, David Doak, stating that Free Radical would like to do a Wii version of the game.

"I think it's a good thing to do, and I think we want to put it on the Wii. And I'm sure it's possible to do a control scheme that works. Also, if you want to start a petition for remaking Second Sight on the Wii, I'd like to see that as well, because I think that game worked really well, [laughs] because of the manipulation stuff."

It's not written in concrete or anything, but it WOULD be lovely. The Wii certainly needs stronger third-party support for 'real' games (ie, not quizzes, mind games and PS2 ports) and Timesplitters 4 would be a fantastic move.

And with Timesplitters well-known parodies (see the Gears of War monkey logo...) maybe they could squeeze out a decent Wiimote lightsabre minigame before LucasArts do...?

*drool*

I'm Really Suprised No One Has Beaten Me To This Yet....

But Sonic is confirmed for Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii!

I guess it was kind of inevitable after the whole Mario vs Sonic at the Olympics stuff.

Official confirmation along with a pretty video can be found here.

In other news the Japanese release has been pushed back to January, most likely meaning we'll see it around summer time if it's anything like the Nintendo of late.

And If You Really Must Still Play Tetris...

Do it here where it's free for gods sake!

Free Tetris

Just re-enforcing Matt's point here.

Xbox Live Arcade Wednesday, 3-10-07

If you buy Tetris, you're a twat. That's about it really. Tetris came free with Gameboys in 1989 and EVERYONE had it. So if you choose to pay for it EIGHTEEN YEARS after that, you need shooting. I don't care if this one has a fucking screensaver aquarium or is in HD. They also tried to make you buy Tetris on the 360 as a full game, a while back. DID YOU BUY IT? I hope not.

To make this sound slightly like a real review, here's some constructive criticism. Everyone's played Tetris to death, so knows exactly how it FEELS. Tetris Splash feels wrong. When the blocks land, they take too long to 'stick'. That may sound fucking stupid if you've never played Tetris, but if you've never played Tetris, you're a cunt.

Poor.

Tetris Splash is available now on the Xbox 360 Live Marketplace priced 800 Microsoft points (about £6.00).