Xbox 360
Rayman Origins – E3 2011
Jun 7th
Yesterday at Ubisoft’s E3 press conference, they unveiled an exciting new game that really stood out for me. This is the play though of the new Rayman game that was played live at the conference.
Rayman Origins, conceptually, reminds me a lot of Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Nintendo Wii. A 2.5D platformer with challenging and varied level design with a unique art style.
Normally, it is only Nintendo who makes platformers like this, and 2.5D platformers on none Nintendo consoles tend to be slightly darker, like Little Big Planet for Sony’s PS3. They arn’t dark games in plot or story, just their art style is normally full of more browns and whites doesn’t feel all that colourful. That’s why this game to me jumps out, as it is full of rich colours and it’s art design is fantastic. A lot of care and effort went into this game, and it shows.
The music is also very well done and both adds and amplifies the atmosphere of each level. Even the small touches in game design, like the falling Tetris blocks are just a poem to anyone who has ever enjoyed a videogame.
I’m not sure what consoles this will be on, but the game is being played on the Xbox 360 for the presentation. I’m sure it will go multi-platform, but it hasn’t been confirmed.
Hope you enjoy the playthough and my opinions, please comment to tell me your thoughts about the way Rayman is heading and if you share my view and wish for more colourful platformers like this one.
Thanks for reading
Halo 4 – E3 2011
Jun 7th
Halo 4 was unveiled at E3 yesterday at Microsoft’s gaming conference with this trailer.
We see no gameplay, only a hint at the story line. Basically this game will return to Master Chief as the main character and may go deeper into his back story and work a bit more on him as a person, rather than just a soldier. But of course, this is just speculating from what I can see in the trailer, and the trailer doesn’t show all that much.
Halo 4 is the first game was developed by 343 Industries (instead of Bungie who has developed the previous Halo titles) and they have announced that this is the first in a new trilogy of Halo games.
Enjoy, please tell me any thoughts or opinions.
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Jun 7th
Yesterday this trailer was unveiled at Microsoft’s E3 conference. It is a remake of the original Halo, and honestly, I can’t understand why!
This strikes me as odd really, as I am excited about Ocarina of Time being remade for the 3DS, but that is widely considered the best and greatest video game of all time, and with updated graphics and improved controls via the 3DS touch screen, it seems like an improvement. But with Halo, the original game is compatible with the Xbox 360, and the controller hasn’t changed all that much since the original game was released, so apart from the graphics and multiplayer, there doesn’t seem to be much to this title.
I would have liked it if they had added new things to the game, like side missions or extra weapons or maybe even the ability to customise Master Chief’s armour for the campaign like you could design a Spartan in Halo Reach. Things like that would make me buy into the idea, but just relying on Xbox Live multiplayer to sell the game seems extremely lazy. But then again, some could argue that Halo has been relying on it’s multiplayer to sell it’s games since Halo 2 hit the shelves.
What do you think of Halo Combat Evolved, this remake, or even Halo in general. Please let me know in the comments.
Move, Kinect and Wii comparisons
Feb 9th
Today I was able to test out some of gamings latest technological creations. The PSmove and the Xbox 360 Kinect. I also own the Nintendo Wii and Wii motion plus. So finally I am able to compare all the motion controlled systems to see which you should own and if my beloved Wii is still on top.
First I tried the PSWii… umm… sorry I mean move! Lets be honest, apart from a slightly sexier shape for the controller and
Playstation 3, Move Controller and Playstation eye
aglowing pink ball on the end is nearly the same thing as Wii motion plus only somehow, this thing feels a bit off. It didn’t feel right when playing table tennis and I think Wii sports resort makes you more active that move. It just doesn’t seem to work as well and feels a little over sensitive and the controller doesn’t fit in the hand all that well and the buttons feel out of reach. I also watched other people playing the game and they had problems when playing Frisbee golf.
Kinect bundle
Kinect is completely different as for this there is no controller! But that leads to a few issues, because as brilliant as the technology is, you need some kind of pointer or joy stick to go with it. It dosn’t work all that well by it’self and has a bit of a delay between you doing the actions and them being imitated in screen. But it was very effective at bowling although a little dull and didn’t have the same enjoyment factor of Wii Sports.
So, that brings us back to the Wii, and to be honest, I’m happy with it for now. As great as the other systems are they just don’t have the software to make them worth buying at the moment, and more to the point, the Wii is alot cheaper than buying an Xbox 360 and Kinect or a PS3 and the Move controllers and the camera. Also, the games currently for Kinect are very expensive in comparison to the other consoles yet aren’t all that enjoyable. For now at least, get yourself a Wii with a Wii remote plus, it won’t let you down.
Bionic Commando 2 on the way
Jan 9th
Screen shot from the new bionic commando game
At CES2011 Capcom dominated the gaming opposition with a hole heap of remakes of Classic titles. But there was one that made me excited when I found it out more than anything, Bionic Commando 2. That’s right fokes, the NES classic will have a 21st century 2D remake for the PS3 and Xbox 360 with all new controls, characters and abilities.
Now I am a fan of the original, and even through I can’t get past level one is still a great 2D platformer. My only problem was that you can’t jump, you could not jump in this game as there weren’t enough buttons to allow it so it was cut out. Now through, YOU CAN! The game that was famous for it’s lack of jumping now allows you to jump over obstetrical, enemies and can give you a quick boost to reach higher platforms that you wouldn’t be able to reach without.
Another new ability is the scan mode where you can look for objects that you can pick up or use. Picking up objects allows you to throw them at enemies. Death from above has also been revived from the the 3D sequel that was released a couple of years ago.
Local Co-op has also been added to the game so you and a friend can play together locally. This doesn’t work online which may be disappointing to some of you but it was a good touch to add it locally.
The original Bionic Commando on the NES
I do have a little annoyance for this game through as it is only available on the Xbox and PS3 and is only available off the Playstation network or Xbox live. This is a good game which I would like to see on the Nintendo Wii as the pointer controls could work brilliantly for the grapple arm abilities, and if people didn’t fancy those controls they could use either the classic or Game Cube controller. It would also be played NES style and even through you wouldn’t be able to pull off most of the new moves, it would have brought allot of nostalgia to the game. Also I think it should be on a disk as this is a true sequel to an all time classic and for it not to be in you game disk collection is a bit disappointing.
Dispute this through, it looks like a great game and a true addition to the series.
Kinect causes Red Ring of death?
Jan 7th
People are saying Kinect was only ever meant to work with the "Slim"
No other console has better reliability than the Xbox 360, because you can rely on it to explode as soon as you take it out of the box. Well, that was true in the early years of the systems life but now with the newer versions the reliability has dropped so it might not break any more.
But as the problem of the Red Ring of Death is still a big one through as now Kinect has turned up on the scene many xbox owners have dashed out to buy them so they can also be part of the motion revolution! But of course Microsoft have messed it up again and have resurrected the Red Ring of Death! You may be proud of your old xbox for not exploding but if you install Kinect you’ll be wishing that you’d have brought the “slim”
Kinect was built to work with the Slim and people are saying that it will over power your past gen Xboxes (what’s the plural for Xbox? Xboxes, Xboxs?). Personally through I don’t really understand this. In 2009 sixty percent of all xbox 360′s brought died due to the Red Ring of Death within 18 months, and this is in comparison to the 16 percent of PS3s and only 6 percent for the Wiis breaking down in the same amount of time.
Weather the Red Ring of Death problems and the Kinect are connected I’m still not sure. But it would be best advised to buy a “Slim” if you are considering buying Kinect.