As mentioned in my last post ‘Metroid: Other M’ was released in the UK today and I’m happy to report all three of us managed to pick up copies and have been pleasantly enjoying the game for a few hours now. I’m personally about 5 hours into the experience so far and I have to say it is really pushing all the buttons for me up until this point.

Samus looking super awesome

So the first thing to get out of the way are some of the complaints I’ve been seeing from haters on certain message boards and even a couple of reviewers. I’m going to list out each gripe and give my own feedback on it based upon my experience so far:

1) Samus voice actor, monologue, sexism, taking orders from men, etc. Ok this is the point that really riles me so I’m starting with it. Firstly, if you think that Samus is a bad-ass bald space marine with no personality and no fear you really have missed the point of her character for a long time. I suggest you go replay Super Metroid and Fusion to see that they also include some inner monologue – just not presented in the same way. You’ll also find that Adam Malcovich is mentioned in Fusion and that he is the only one she’d ever take orders from. This SHOULD NOT be a surprise. Hell it even explains why in both games if you actually listen to the plot. As for her voice acting, I personally really like it because it goes in the direction of someone who has a complicated and old soul, someone who is both young and fragile yet has experienced so many things in life. She is intelligent, thoughtful and human. She isn’t an action hero she’s a survivor of some pretty horrible disasters (go checkout the Metroid Manga if you haven’t already, it’s readily available online and really delves into the events that make Samus who she is in this game). Long and the short, Sakamoto (Series Creator) has been able to finally make Samus how he wanted to with today’s technology, he gets to write who she is and understands her – to the people who say he doesn’t know what he’s doing or that the character is wrong, you don’t own her, you never have, you never will.

2) Complaints about story and cut-scenes as far as I can tell make no sense to me at all. We’re not talking about MGS level cutscenes that take up 30 minutes to an hour at a time and the overall quality from what I’ve seen is freaking off the charts, certainly many levels above the direction of the Prime series. Speaking with Chris, he feels the same way.

3) Control issues, so far have been non-existent for me. I’ve found the controls to be really intuitive, responsive and really gave me that old-school feel whilst providing really modern gameplay. I think maybe people are approaching the controls wrong or something but the D-pad is lovely and the game really feels a lot like Super Metroid evolved for different perspectives. The combat is silky-smooth, skilled and varied as you’d expect from Team Ninja but it looks like some lessons have been applied from the Nintendo end on how to do a good camera. Overall I love how this game plays a lot.The switch from 3rd to 1st person actually works far better than I could ever have imagined and provides a great balance to the combat; do you use weak attacks but keep the manoeuvrability, or do you take a chance for a powerful missile shot but leave yourself more open and restricted. It kind of reminds me of the aiming system in Goldeneye where a regular auto-aim shot would be easy but if you wanted a head shot you’d need to hold down R and stay still to aim. I loved it then and I love it now.

4) It’s not Prime. You know what, I loved those games to bits but I’m so glad that this game isn’t like them. It’s more Metroid you see, it has that Metroid feeling and I feel like I’m playing AS Samus. I tried going back to each of the Prime games after playing Other M for a few hours and the experience felt soul-less and empty.

Samus Zero Suit - As seen in the kick-ass live action Ad

To sum up my first few hours with the game, I’m loving everything I’ve seen so far. The gameplay is the clear winner here but is backed up nicely by the high polish presentation, story and cutscenes. It’s great to play a game where you actually see Samus for 95% of the time rather than being behind the visor, yet at the same time, it’s great that they have retained the behind the visor feel and integrated it so well into the overall experience. From what I’ve seen this is Metroid at its best delivered by both Nintendo and Team Ninja at their best. Unless something really horrible happens in the latter half of the game this could very well be a contender for GOTY for me as well as having the potential to be my favourite Metroid game of all time.

Will post up a review with far more info once I’ve finished the game.

I’m very excite. Other M appears to be the game that is going to take Metroid in the direction I’ve always wanted it to go… Impressions later.

So after more than a few cock-ups over the last couple of days with Square-Enix trying hard to get the Beta released, one of us finally managed to get hold of a Beta key, install and get into the game. Achievement! I figured it’d be a better idea for me to head over to Chris’s place and take a 30 minute walk to check it out rather than spend all night attempting to refresh pages and wait for slow installs, so we gathered around Chris’s PC and had a quick play…

Initial impressions are to be honest mixed. It does a lot of things really well but I was personally underwhelmed by the character creation options available and it feels like there’s a certain ‘something’ missing from the formula that none of use could quite get our heads around. That said, the overall presentation is vastly improved from XI and your introduction to the world more spectacular than before. As with XI there are three starting points in the game that put you in completely different situations and corners of the world so we decided to create three characters so that we can check out each area. Thankfully, we can report that each area is stunning to look at and freaking huge. It’ll take at least 20 minutes to run from one end to the next and the scenery (complete with stunning weather effects) is beautiful – a good sign if you are to spend any time levelling up in the initial areas.

The music for me was a high point, especially the battle theme which is sounding like Uematsu at his best (maybe Black Mages!). Anyway, for now have a gallery and we’ll play a little more before posting up some more detailed impressions.

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So the open beta for Final Fantasy 14 is finally upon us.

Now I did get into the closed beta and found it to be an ok if not somewhat lukewarm experience.

So has Square-Enix improved the game for the open beta? Well to be honest we will tell you once we can log in…..sigh

Yep first day (after being delayed by a day or so) and the world servers are down for the second time today…It don’t bode well so far but fingers crossed

Greetings one and all.

Well by now we’re all fully engrossed in Final Fantasy XIII, and with good cause. Despite reviews complaining about liner linear linar how you don’t have much choice in direction and what not everyone who I know who got it, loves it.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about today. Oh no. I’m here to talk to you about something that sucked me in weeks before FFXIII and will no doubt draw me back once the credits have rolled on Cocoon and Pulse. I refer to Star Trek Online.

The geekiest of combinations possible, an MMO based on Star Trek. I was sucked after finishing a run through of DS9 dvds and needed more. STO is set in the “prime” Star Trek universe some 30 odd years after Spock and Eric Bana are sent back in time. So this is the universe we know from Next Gen, not the new timeline from the Abrams movie.

Your 3 basic classes are Engineering (tank/support) Tactical (DPS) and science (Buffs/healing). These come into play not only for your character but for your ship too. Cruisers for Engineers, Escorts for Tactical and Science vessels for, um, science.

They each have 4 tiers growing further apart in focus as you go. For example the later escorts turn on a sixpence but can’t take as much of a pounding as a same tier cruiser. The trade-off been cruisers tend to handle like a bloody office block.

I have been truly captivated by this game, possibly more so then I was with Champions and can see myself playing it for months and indeed years to come. With plenty of endgame content planned and the first 5 man “raidisode” mission going live last week this one could have legs. Make it so!

I have gone on record before as stating that I myself am indeed a big whore when it comes to Sonic games.  I have also stated that SEGA’s last few attempts have left me feeling very very….hmm how to put it……sad.  As a fan of the old games i am shocked and disgusted by the new games and I for one cannot wait to see Sonic 4 in the hopes of some kind of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel.

So imagine my surprise at finding not one but 2 good games that kept me entertained for more than 30 seconds of screaming.

This weekend due to a small trip to town i found myself in possession of a copy of Sega all stars tennis, yes i know i feel dirty saying it but I was genuinely surprised by its playability, that and the fact that it was only £3 lol.

It is an odd mix of Virtua tennis and SEGA characters but I’ll be damned it works, from the character roster to the mini games I found myself smiling non stop as i clambered for every shot.  It is a scary feeling to be enjoying something with Sonic in it.

My second game came in the form of another Gem, again from Sumo digital, this time it is Sonic and SEGA All-Stars racing and again i was wowed, blown away by a myriad of retro happiness and speed.  Yes the game has a few frame rate issues in the later levels but the sheer enjoyment in each race, character and piece of music is enough to captivate anyone with a knowledge of SEGA games.

I got the feeling it was a gem when after a few words with Liam he told me the demo was crap and that the main game had to follow suit, at that point I made it my goal to prove him wrong and prove him wrong i did for after a few minutes of teaching him how to play he realized just how fun it was ( this also began a 4 hour long gaming session on it).

It has everything i want in a racing games and all I can say is damn, damn damn damn damn damn damn……Why is it that Sonic only works in games which are not designed for him, he is supposed to run fast but SEGA keep cocking it up it’s annoying.  It seems to be that only Sumo Digital (the creators of these 2 games) have any idea how to use a SEGA title and make it fun.

So here is my plea…. Dear SEGA don’t screw up SONIC 4 and if for some reason you do screw it up give it to the one developer who knows what speed really is, the good people at SUMO Digital.

What ho chaps. How are you?

Well then the temperature in hell must have dropped a bit because it’s time for an update, and not just an update but a review!

This month object of my fanatical devotion is Superhero themed MMO Champions Online.

For those that don’t know, it’s based off a pen and paper RPG and has been transferred to the medium of computer games by those nice blokes at Cryptic. Yes the same Cryptic who made that other Superhero MMO City of Heroes (or villains if you prefer).

Admittedly, it’s been a while since I logged into City of Heroes, but it seems what issues I had while playing it have been solved with Champions. From the off you’re made to feel like a Superhero, right from the character creator. This can be the make or break for this type of game. Much like City of Heroes your appearance isn’t defined by what random drops you get, only by the sections available in the character creator, which are certainly not lacking in Champions. You can create a Hero that is truly original without having to spend hours dungeon crawling, though the creator and tailor options may eat up just as much time. Oh and don’t worry if someone’s take your preferred hero name, all names are linked to your main account so only that has to be unique.

From there you’re on to the tutorial level: A full blown alien invasion. No killing level 1 boars for these guys. And once you’re done saving the city, it’s off to pastures new, for a bit any way, and as soon as you’re out of tutorial you get to pick from a wide range of travel powers, again making you feel powerful straight away. No catching the subway here.

There are 5 zones for questing, Canadian Wilderness, Southwest Desert, Millennium City and later Monster Island and the underwater Lumaria. Each one is introduced by its own “crisis”, a special version of the zone with a number of obstacles to over come before been allowed into the zone proper. The invasion serves as Millennium City’s, and you choose Canada or the Desert from there. These first events function more like the standard worlds with missions that must be passed to proceed. The Crisis levels for the 2 later zones though take on the form of instanced team challenges which move along are a fair pace.

Levelling is a relatively painless affair. I hit the 40 level cap and only found myself grinding the last few thousand xp. There are a few content gaps towards the end and you really have to explore to find missions at some points, but as mobs give relatively small xp compared to other MMO’s it’s worth it.

Champions is the most enjoyable MMO I’ve played to date. The majority of it is soloable if you’re not the mood for a team-up and the Superhero setting is a nice change of pace in a genre dominated by sword-and-sorcery grind-a-thons. The quite a robust role-playing scene if that’s your things and even after hitting the level cap I’ve still found myself going back. With the first major additional content and event due at the end of the month, I think this one may have legs.

SO finally we have seen Final Fantasy 14 online in action and damn am I psyched up for this game now.

When it comes to MMORPG’s I tend to take each one with a pinch of salt, in fact there are only 2 names in the MMO world that will peak my interest whenever i hear their names, 1 is Guild Wars and the other is Final Fantasy.

I have very fond memories of Final Fatasy 11 due to it being one of the first MMORPG’s that I ever played and due to what we have seen of 14 so far it looks to retain that old style and magic that 11 held.

Now I could go into lots of details about what has been shown about the game but I’m not going to, just know that it is defiantly one to watch and here is a pic to get you going and a link to all the info we have seen so far.

So for more info go to http://www.ffxivcore.com/ for more info on what has been shown at GAMESCOM 2009.

Elbobo

It was about a year ago that i brought Wipeout HD from my beloved PSN store and too this day i still believe it to be one of the most beautiful games I own, therefore it comes as no surprise that the annoucement of an expansion got me…well a little excitable

usually when i hear the word expansion i think oh god the cost will outway the actual gameplay but for once this is not the case.  So what do we get for our measly £7.99?

The expansion adds 12 new ship designs (with updated stats) 8 new tracks (4 standard and 4 for zone), 3 new game modes (eliminator, detonator and zone battle) and a whole new campaign to play all this on. 

now when you consider the original had a campaign of the same size and about the same amount of ships and tracks, this becomes a bargin and you should buy it…I mean it go and buy it now, if not just for the new modes alone.

As a stand alone game this would be awesome, but as a expansion it just adds icing to a delectable jam sponge cake. 

so once again I can happily say thank you to our good lads at Studio Liverpool for creating the best Expansion i have seen in a long time. (on a side note more wipeout 3 tracks please )

Elbobo

What ho chaps!

Jolly nice day. Well that depends on your outlook. Been unemployed an suspicious of the sun I’ve been spending most of my time locked in my room hoping the need for food doesn’t over whelm my fear of the outside world.

That said I have been tempted into the daylight to purchase Ghostbusters: The Video Game

First off I’m very impressed with it. Unlike some other licenced games of recent times there are no glaring problems with it to detracted from the experience. Spider-man Web of Shadows for instance was a perfectly fun game, but it was plagued with issues. Ghostbusters is just fun.

Taking the role of a fifth Ghostbuster, both unnamed and unvoiced, you get the job of testing all the unsafe prototype equipment. As such you fell very unobtrusive in the Dan Akroyed & Harold Remis penned story, effectively letting the characters you know and love get on with it while you’re just along for the ride. All the returning characters are voice by the original actor for that extra bit of authenticity too and while some of the lines sound a little wooden, you don’t really notice the first time through.

The busting itself is handled very well. Unlike other shooter you’re not just blasting away and things. While there are enemies you do just destroy with your proton pack, the game really feel right when you’re trapping ghosts. This is split into three sections. First you wear down a ghost energy, then you hold in a capture stream letting you pull it around the stage, and then into the trap. Alot of standard shooter weapons have been replicated as various upgrades to the standard proton back. A boson dart stands in for an RPG and there are shotgun/machine gun alternatives thrown into. There work best against the destroyable foe, but for actual Ghostbusing I tended to stick with the standard proton stream.

It’s not an especially long game, but there is plenty to go back for for completionists . As well as been a tool for tracking ghosts down, your PKE meter can scan them to complete Tobin’s Spirit Guide and a number of cursed artifacts to track down in each level. In addition you also get a couple of quite entertaining features on the disk, a behind the scene look at the game and, my favorite, a look at the restoration of the original Ecto 1.

It’s heard to say if the game would stand-up without the licence, as the experience is just so Ghostbusters from start to finish. If you love Ghostbusters (and lets face it, who doesn’t) it’d be hard to go wrong with this one.