Incoming intel bloggers…

So there I was, thinking about watching some more children in need, left alone in the living room. Then I heard a familiar voice coming from the TV cabinet. It was the tiny devil like voice of the console collective, staring at me through the (thankfully) toughened glass doors, with the alluring antique stain frames and my DIY strengthening to support the weight of my carefully procures 480p CRT TV. Oh yes, ladies and gentlemen, if one is tired of the pixilation and blurring of your average 40+inch LCD or PLASMA monster, fear not my brave souls for there is phosphorous light at the end of your gaming tunnel. It’s a compromise thing really. I wanted a decent TV for my aging console collection. I wanted something for my Gamecube component cable to get excited about. So, just before the price of an LCD dropped to the same price as the valves and glass monster I bought, I had a 36 inch CRT delivered and installed by a small army of bench pressing techies who seemed to be giggling at me. Did they know something I didn’t?

Yeah, they knew that the Bravia I wanted would be £700 next month.

You live and learn.

So I think just one more boss before bedtime, yes?

Incoming intel agents… Dave’s back!

So this week was pretty long. Today I’m suppose to get my measurements done. I also have to decorate the area outside the store for Christmas keeping in mind that it’s not even the week of Thanksgiving. Anyway at least I get pizza out of the deal. Yesterday we kinda got started because well we were bored, but yeah not fun. Luckily didn’t have any bad customers. Saw it was a good day for views. Suddenly getting views from Blogsurfer.us again. We’ll see how long that lasts. Also found out that I was uninvited to a Thanksgiving I was suppose to go to. Yeah that’s great, but I’ll find something to do that day. Not like I’m a big Thanksgiving guy. I usually sit around watching tv anyway. For me it’s another day where the normal tv schedule is messed up to show tons of Thanksgiving movies and specials. As you can tell I’ve very broken up about being uninvited. Hey it’s not me that’s going to have to deal with a guilty conscience. So yeah that’s the big stuff that’s happening today. So that means it’s squiby time. Today’s video is the ending of Luigi’s mansion. It was one of the first games to come out on the Gamecube. I only made it so far before I said I’m tired of this game and traded it in. So enjoy. Today’s tip is don’t volunteer if your going to piss and moan about how valuable your time is.

I remember a time, which seems many years ago but was actually not that far back, when I used to sit in my school common room during break time and watch or play on the Gamecube. I remember racing speedily along with zero gravity tracks, sweaty boys, pulses, and the sound of Biffy Clyro’s third album Glitter and Trauma. I remember slashing and hacking and generally button bashing Nintendo characters, and even further back, ducking and sniping the day away to the likes of Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Rage Against the Machine, the likes of which were all extremely new (though old to the world) and strange to my ears but eventually came to constitute large amounts of my shelf space and my ongoing musical preferences. I remember a later time, huddled around the TV cheering along to a virtual football mega-tournament including half of the boys in the year, with the song, as titled at the top of this post, adapted to the currently favoured team. “I’m feeling so Iranian like you” has always had a hugely personal feel to it, despite having never consciously met an Iranian person, let alone imagined what it would be like to feel that way. I’m much more inclined towards Bohemia, but somehow it doesn’t feel as close.

All these memories are set to music. I seem to work that way… But today I think my evening formed a memory which will not be set to a soundtrack. This evening, though my Korean friends may not agree, I feel as though I had a very Korean evening. Here’s why:

This morning was unusually warm for Autumn, especially considering my girlfriend had warned me that today would be extra cold. Well, by the time I caught the bus home from school it had gotten unnaturally chilly, and the extra layer I had carried confusedly earlier now made a lot more sense. I, however, was not feeling all too great and was not particularly looking forwards to a quiet evening at home (which I feared would turn into an evening spent canoodling my computer and it’s associated gaming software) in what was now seemingly sub-zero weather. Relatively at least. To explain why I didn’t spend the evening conquering the virtual world, I must take you even further back than this morning.

Last night I stayed up unusually late writing unusually long emails to some of those back home in the UK, having no fear of needing to wake up because the next day was SATs day. This, from what I can gather, is a listening test which happens in High schools one morning every year, and all public offices – such as schools, government buildings etc – are closed until 9 40 so that the students can get to their (very important) tests on time, even if they happen to be running late. Apparently these are so important that if I kid is running late they’re allowed to ask a  policeman for a lift to school, whence they’re whizzed off on the back of a motorbike through the unusually traffic-less roads to their test. At any rate, this meant that I could get up a full hour an a half later this morning. Unfortunately this appears to cause my routine to shake too much, and I awoke at one thirty this morning and ate breakfast, thinking I’d better start getting ready to go. Thankfully I woke up properly halfway through, finished it off and didn’t get in the shower.

I also awoke at seven-thirty, eight, and quarter past eight thinking I was late for school.

When I finally did wake up at the (self-) appointed time of eight thirty, I finished off my cereal and showered and continued to school. This sounds inconsequential, however having eaten two breakfasts this morning, instead of one today and one tomorrow, meant that I needed to go shopping to buy some more this evening or go without breakfast tomorrow, which is, frankly, unacceptable. And so, there was at least one event planned for my evening which might otherwise have been spent neglectfully.

Before I arrived in my apartment, then, I swung by the Hana-ro mart and stocked up on various fruits and goods to restock my cupboards. After this I resisted the urge to buy a cheap and huge tub of ice cream, and instead bought a lovely doughnut from Dunkin’ Donuts! Unfortunately most people don’t realise that the name implies that you should dunk your doughnut in some coffee, however I occasionally fulfil this obligation. This evening, however, I didn’t, and continued they long journey to my room (Dunkin’ is in my apartment block). Before I got to the elevator though, I realised that, rather unlike me, I felt like buying some 떡볶이 (Ddeok-bokgi)!

This is a common snack in Korea and can be bought at roadside tents every fifty metres, and is effectively rice cake in rather spicy sauce. This I bought for the pricy sum of two thousand Won (one pound), and after successfully exchanging a few comments in Korean such as “Do you want it spicy”, “Yes, I like spicy Ddeok-bokgi!”, “Oh, you speak Korean well!” and ”Thanks”, I went up to my room.

Upon walking through my door I realised that the loud drumming and music I had heard outside (but haven’t mentioned until now) was actually across the road from my apartment block, and would continue to be loud and rhythmic for some time to come. You seem to be able to play extremely loud music on the streets occasionally with no consequences… I’m not sure if this is because they got a license or if it’s just the culture, however it provided a particularly Korean backdrop to my dinner, which was eaten whilst I sat cross-legged on my bed watching Power Puff Girls on TV.

Powerpuff Girls? Yes, but not as you know them, in fact, I watched 파워 퍼프 걸Z (Paweoh Peopeuh Geolzeuh), in which the girls were seemingly older than their English counterparts, had strange personal weapons, had as much leg showing as possible along with every other celebrity in this highly conservative culture and, in this episode, were fighting against strange mutant Sushi which had somehow gained consciousness, grown significantly and was devastatingly attacking the local city. After they had been defeated by the doctor’s clever chemical formula (one of which had probably caused the problem in the first place), the girls didn’t hesitate in eating the formerly-deadly fish. They celebrated in an appropriately cute Korean style as I happily munched on my chewy spicy ricey cakes and ignored the ever louder drums.

And when this had finished I flicked over only to find a strangely impressive Gordon Brown giving a speech at the Berlin Wall anniversary celebrations, which, if you missed them, included the domino-like falling of a huge amount of giant dominoes, which I can only assume was meant to symbolise the falling down of something a little more significant. And all this comes just a week before President Obama was due to visit Seoul to discuss a somewhat similar situation involving communists and a nation divided by a big line and political tensions. One couldn’t help but wonder how long it would take for the reunification of the Koreas to manifest itself, if, indeed, it ever does. I think I can hear on the wind that it might be becoming more likely in the near future…

Whilst I pondered these deep and complicated issues I sat and ate a persimmon.

Looking back, it was a completely ordinary day, but ordinary in what struck me as a Korean way. And, I guess, Korean is ordinary for me now. Come visit me, see if you can feel what I mean… And someone tell me how strange it is that being here is normal. I feel like it feels a lot less strange than it should.

톰

Metroid Prime 2: Echoes es un juego de aventuras en primera persona desarrollado por Retro Studios y distribuido por Nintendo. Fué lanzado el 15 de Noviembre de 2004 en Estados Unidos, el 16 de Mayo de 2005 en Japón y el 26 de Noviembre de 2005 en Europa para la consola Nintendo Game Cube, y recientemente una versión para Wii. Es el segundo juego de la trilogía Prime de la saga Metroid.

Argumento

El juego transcurre seis meses después de los acontecimientos ocurridos en Metroid Prime. La cazarrecompensas Samus Aran ha sido contratada por la Federación Galáctica para investigar la desaparición de una nave tripulada de la federación en el planeta Éter y prestarles ayuda si es necesario. En Éter se encontrará desde sus enemigos naturales, los Piratas Espaciales, una raza alienígena: los Luminarios, que le piden ayuda para derrotar a sus antagonistas, los Oscuros (provenientes de la versión oscura de Éter: Éter Oscuro, nacido de una colisión de un meteorito de Phazon contra Éter), y también se encontrará con su versión oscura: Samus Oscura que es como Samus pero con mejores armas que la original.

Jugabilidad

La jugabilidad es la misma que la del primer Metroid Prime, Echoes es un juego de aventuras, exploración y plataformas en primera persona dejando en un segundo plano los combates. La cámara de situa dentro del casco de Samus donde se visualizan el radar, un mapa tridimensional de la zona, un medidor de peligro, los visores, misiles y munición de rayo disponibles. Se progresa en el juego cuando consigues nuevas armas y habilidades recorriendo el planeta y derrotando a los jefes que aguarden algunas de ellas.

Regiones

La historia del juego transcurre en Éter, del que existe su versión oscura, por lo tanto todas las regiones de Éter tienen su versión oscura. Las regiones que se visitan son:

Tierras del Templo: Es la región en la que comienzas al principio del juego. Esta región es la que se comunica con todas las demás. Su parte oscura es Tierras del Templo Oscuro.

Yermos de Agón: Es una zona desértica y es la base de operaciones de los Piratas Espaciales. Su parte oscura es Yermos de Agón Oscuro.

Ciénagas de Torvus: Es una zona de habitat acuático donde la mitad del templo está inundado. Su parte oscura es Ciénagas de Torvus Oscuro.

Fortaleza del Santuario: Es una zona de gran tecnología creada por los luminarios para defenderse de los oscuros. Su parte oscura es La Colmena.

Gran Templo: Es donde se encuentra el líder de los luminarios y donde hibernan el resto hasta que desaparezca Éter Oscuro. Su parte oscura es el Templo del Cielo donde se encuentra el líder de los Oscuros (no llega a ser una región).

Inventario

Samus tiene un amplio repertorio de armas y habilidades para progresar en la aventura. Echoes tienes más armas y habilidades que Prime:

Cañon: este puede usar rayos y misiles:

Rayos: está el Rayo Estándar con su combo de recarga al igual que los anteriores juegos de Metroid pero es el único que se repite hay tres rayos nuevos con sus respectivos combos de recarga: Rayo Oscuro, Rayo de Luz y Rayo Aniquilador estos rayos tienen munición limitada la barra de munición de luz, la barra de munición de oscuridad, el Rayo Aniquilador utiliza las dos barras de munición.

Misiles: son los mismos que en Metroid Prime y añaden una nueva habilidad el Localizador capaz de lanzar cinco misiles a la vez.

Morfosfera: las habilidades son las mismas que en Metroid Prime: Bombas, Bombas de Energía, Aracnosfera y Turbosfera.

Trajes: los trajes de Echoes son menos que en Prime: empieza con el Traje Climático, el siguiente es el Traje Oscuro que resiste más a la atmósfera de Éter Oscuro, el siguiente es el Traje de Luz que resiste totalmente la atmósfera de Éter Oscuro.

Visores: Visor de Combate, Visor de Escaneo,Visor Oscuro donde ves cosas ocultas en Éter Oscuro y el Ecovisor.

Dispositivos de movimiento: Botas de Salto Espacial, Módulo Acuático y Salto en Barrena.

Modo Multijugador

Hay dos modos de juego Venganza y Codicia:

En el Modo Venganza simplemente tienes que derrotar al resto de jugadores sin importar las armas que utilices, aunque tambien puedes almacenar armas para luego enfrentarte al otro jugador. Gana el que más veces mate al resto de jugadores.

En el Modo Codicia simplemente tientes que coger más monedas que los demás jugadores para ganar. Puedes vencer a los otros jugadores para quitarles sus monedas o buscar el cofre que se esconde en el escenario.

En este modo pueden jugar hasta cuatro jugadores, hay hasta 6 escenarios distintos (algunos los tienes que desbloquear en el modo historia).

Opinión personal

Es el mejor juego de Nintendo Game Cube, gráficamente inmejorable, escenarios que muestran un mundo en declive pero a la vez maravilloso, cambios drásticos de escenarios; estás en un templo desértico, te vas a otro templo y éste resulta estar lleno de tecnología alienígena. Trae armas totalmente nuevas que tienen que ver con la trama y jefes totalmente nuevos nunca vistos en anteriores entregas de la saga Metroid, y una historia entre dos mundos, dos razas: luz y oscuridad, o sea, Samus y Samus Oscura. Otra obra maestra de Retro Studios. Pero esto no es todo, si no lo has jugado todavía tienes la oportunidad de hacerlo con Metroid Prime Trilogy para Wii. No te arrepentirás.

Lo Mejor

• Vídeos espectaculares hechos con el motor del juego
• Luchas contra los jefes, sobre todo los jefes de templo y Samus Oscura.
• Multijugador, puedes jugar con tus amigos como si todos fuerais Samus.
• Escenarios muy variados, tienes la oportunidad de ver la versión de cada escenario de Éter.
• Historia totalmente nueva, nunca vista en la saga Metroid.

Lo peor

• Se repiten algunas cosas de la versión anterior.

Nota: 9,8

Si tienes la oportunidad de jugar a este juego aprovéchala, no te arrepentirás.

Saludos

ScorpioDominator.

För någon dag sedan så ploppade det ner två spel i brevlådan och jag satte mig genast med Mario & Luigi: Bowsers inside story och gapade. Spelet är fantastiskt charmigt! Jag är just nu fem timmar in i spelet och jag har totalt fastnat för det. Speciellt med tanke på att det fick mig att lägga undan två spel som Borderlands och Modern warfare 2 (!) till senare. Med det säger jag inte att det här spelet är bättre. Bara att det passar mig bättre just nu eftersom det känns rätt skönt att ligga nerbäddad i sängen med DS:en när halsen värker och man känner sig lite febrig.

Min enda erfarenhet av Rpg-Mario är från Paper Mario till Gamecuben som jag satt med en hel del för rätt många år sen. Jag har alltså inte testat Partners in time t.ex. Men även Paper Mario lyckades på något mystiskt sätt stjäla mycket tid av mig, trots att jag är rätt kritisk till de styrda dialogerna och dom ständiga pratbubblorna som man måste klicka bort.

Jag känner mig lite lat så vill ni veta mer om storyn kan ni kolla in dom här två sajterna som gett spelet riktigt bra betyg:

FZ säger bland annat: Både grafik- och ljudmässigt är detta spel top notch. Alla karaktärer är extremt detaljerade för att vara ett DS-spel, och samtidigt rör de sig smidigt och fint. Ljudet är otroligt bra, sett både ur underhållnings- och musikaliskt perspektiv.

Och Gameplayer tycker: Det är roligt, charmigt och brutalt underhållande. Att styra både Bowser och våra hjältar ger en ny dimension och trots hård DS-konkurrens den här hösten vågar jag lova att det här är ett prispallspel för formatet. Köp.

Båda skribenterna ger spelet riktigt bra betyg Jag håller med dom!

(Det enda som kan tilläggas är att eftersom det är så många pratbubblor där man ska kunna läsa på engelska så rekommender jag det inte till yngre barn)

W jednym z archiwalnych postów mogłeś przeczytać o pewnym Chińczyku, który przerobił swoje PSP, tak aby móc je wykorzystywać jako swój telefon komórkowy. Dzisiaj z kolei chciałbym przedstawić kolejne dzieło stworzone przez pewną scenę zajmującą się moddingiem wszelakich konsol. Niejaki Hailrazer stworzył przenośnego GameCube’a, zwanego potocznie Gackiem. Poniżej możesz zobaczyć screeny tego cuda.

Osobiście jeśli chodzi o wizualny design to nie podoba mi się kompletnie. Przypomina to jakieś urządzenie kuchenne (sokowirówka?). Zresztą już klasyczny Gacek był określany jako toster, więc coś w tym musi jednak być. Twórca zapewnia, że można grać bez przerwy około 90 godzin (!!), ponieważ zostały użyte baterie o parametrach 14.8v 4700mAh Li-Polys, które gwarantują taki czas pracy. Wyświetlacz  został wykorzystany z PSOne, a przyciski z kontrolerów od GameCube oraz Dreamcasta. Poniżej jeszcze zamieszczam filmik prezentujący sprzęt w akcji. Ktoś jest chętny?.

Ive been checking this place every few weeks, and its nice to see views still come in. Not as much as they used to, but at least this place isn’t all dead. 23,000 was just crossed. Lately I have been playing Gamecube (got back into the N64, but then my friend asked for it back. No biggie), mostly Burnout.

Josh suggested we bring this place back: but face it, he has no interest and I don’t have the time.

A portable Gamecube or a top-notch emulation handheld? Ahh, either way, it’s portable gaming heaven.

On one side, the PSP replicated Neo Slim 3000 combines a 3.5-inch screen that produces a 320 x 240 display, comes with 2GB of built-in memory, an SD card slot, PMP features and most importantly, supports NES, SNES, Genesis and Game Boy Advance emulations. All in on package!

On the other side, you have a handmade portable that plays Gamecube games on-the-go: the NCube portable, a device comprised of body parts from Datamax Kid’s Delight, a Dreamcast Quantam Fighterpad, a Wii Classic controller (3rd Party), and a PSOne portable screen. Check out the video on the NCube and decide which one fits your bill.

My Walkthrough o Shadow the hedgehog is complete, but now the problem is having enough room for it on my Mac.

If I don’t have enough space for anything, that means no more youtube videos…

Strike that first sentence. I deleted the clips by accident!!!!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!!!!

Now I have to re upload them….

Stay tuned for more info.

I’ve just finished watching the latest part of a superb Pikmin Let’s Play by the ever-underrated KManrules1331. You would do well to watch his videos. It reminded me of an article I wrote a little over a year ago, and so now I present it to you. Do enjoy.

Retrospect: Pikmin

No one can attest to liking all videogames; the range of genres, themes, stories, art directions and characters are far too diverse, just as with books and film. I, for example, don’t enjoy real-time strategy games. To me, they seem specifically designed for those who are confident and perhaps intelligent enough to come up with very specific strategies. Such overt ‘thinking’ in games puts me off – perhaps it’s because I don’t think too highly of my cognitive abilities, but more that I prefer to be guided on a journey where pleasures are far more clear-cut.

And yet, one of my favourite games of the Gamecube generation is, at its core, an RTS. You command an army (albeit, a flower one), make orders, and micromanage. But, most importantly, Pikmin takes the essentials of the genres and presents them in such a way as to nullify all feelings of panic one might traditionally get when tasked to say, wage a full-scale war against Napoleon during the French Revolution.

Instead, all you are asked to do is rebuild a spaceship. Captain Olimar has crash-landed on a strange planet, and in the process his beloved ship the Dolphin has disintegrated, ship parts flying off to various locations on the planet. All seems hopeless, until Olimar discovers the eponymous pikmin, a bunch of tiny flower men that follow Olimar as if he’s some deity. Utilizing each of the three different coloured pikmin to break down walls, take care of gigantic beasts and carry the scattered ship parts back to base, Olimar is able to escape from the alien world and its poisonous oxygen atmosphere.

Much of Pikmin’s success lays in the way it introduces RTS elements to the player. Whereas most RTS deal in destruction, Pikmin deals in the problem of creation and rebuilding. Even when engaged in combat, there are no feelings of real aggression toward the enemy being attacked. ‘Killed’ isn’t a term thought of so much as ‘harvested’ – it’s simply a representation of survival, of the natural order of things: the corpses left are food used to boost pikmin numbers. Before you even realise it, you’re micro-managing the number of pikmin out on the field, thinking about how best to utilize the day ahead, perhaps assigning a small group to take out some enemies to clear a path to another ship part, whilst some blue (water resistant) pikmin take care of a submerged wall, whilst some others harvest some nectar (which increases pikmin strength and turns their leaves into flowers)… all essentially elements of an RTS game, but yet feeling so far removed as to be almost alien.

Of similar importance is the subject matter. The problem to be solved is a highly personal one, and one a player can most often deeply empathise with: homesickness. Olimar’s diary entries emphasize his feelings of hope at the thought of being able to return home to his wife and children, and his thoughts at the acquisition of certain ship parts are charming home truths (such as the joy of a comfy chair) that further add layers of humanity that the Civilization games could never boast.

The game’s one flaw is also its secret strength. Captain Olimar must recover a certain percentage of his ship’s 30 missing parts before 30 days have ended, else his life support systems will run out. Whilst in technical terms placing a time limit on how long one can play, it also lends the game a sense of focus and urgency that fit naturally with the need to escape and return home. Pikmin is a bittersweet experience, a heartwarming tale of struggle, perseverance, exploration and hope, it is without doubt underrated in terms of its ability to engage not just with the mind, but with the heart.

[Hailrazer] built a handheld GameCube so he could take his gaming with him. The final product is quite nice, providing a large display and about 3 hours of play time on the lithium polymer batteries.

Starting with the case from a Kidz Delight Datamax game, he used Bondo ABS cement and plastic bumper filler to alter the case but still provide a professional look. The display is a five-inch PlayStation One LCD Screen from which he also incorporated the speakers. At least four controllers were cannibalized for use as the buttons, sticks, triggers, and directional pad. Our favorite feature is the totally exposed optical head mounted on the back.

We’ve embedded video as well as a picture of the optical drive after the break. This goes so far beyond just making the GameCube an all-in-one system. If you like this build, check out the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast mods on [Hailrazer's] YouTube channel.

[Thanks Palmer]

Mr. Snuggleduck’s Video Reviews

 In addition to the reviews that you see here in this blog I primarily create video reviews under the same guise, hosted on YouTube. Below are each of my reviews in order of release with their respective comments, this post will be updated as they are completed. In the future I will create transcripts, available here for people to peruse because I am fully aware my voice isn’t the clearest, especially when I use an iPhone to record it. I hope you enjoy my video reviews. The channel URL is http://www.youtube.com/user/MrSnuggleduck.

 Review 1 – First Encounter Assault Recon (FEAR)

Welcome viewers, to the pilot episode for Mr. Snuggleduck! This week I’m reviewing FEAR, a horror themed FPS developed by Monolith Productions. I hope you enjoy it!

Review 2 – Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

This week I am proud to present my second review based on Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, released by Ubisoft. Ultimately, it is one of my favourite games and in this week’s video I discuss why I think that’s the case.

Check it out now!

Review 3 – Bioshock

Bioshock was a marvelous multi-platform shooter that 2K Games released in 2007 and this week I’m having a look at what makes it tick. It’s become a very popular game and has a sequel coming out next year. The game was originally inspired by the System Shock series and closely follows its winning combination of horror and action.

Review 4 – Hitman: Blood Money

Hitman Blood Money is under the scope this week, with everyone’s favourite bald clone returning for a fourth installment. The Hitman series has now been brought into the next generation in this contract killing game, released in 2006 by Eidos Interactive. A combination of stealth and action experienced from a third person perspective sounds very enticing, but how does it perform?

Was Blood Money executed well? Is it the best Hitman yet? Find out in this week’s review!

Review 5 – Star Wars: Battlefront 2

Ever wanted to be a part of those awesome Star Wars battles from the movies? Battlefront 2 has made it possible. There have been alot of Star Wars games with advances in technology, but never has there been one that condenses the battles of all six episodes into one package. This week I’m getting on the front line to analyse this fascinating title developed by Pandemic.

Fighting in my favourite film scenes seems like something worth investigating. Does Battlefront 2 deliver the goods? Watch the review now.

Review 6 – Splinter Cell

 Bored? Why not save the world? Splinter Cell is on the agenda this week, the first game in a now well established franchise. Stealth is a word which perfectly identifies what this game is all about, making use of anything and everything to avoid danger. It was developed by Ubisoft, known for their other Tom Clancy games and released in 2002.

What made Splinter Cell good enough to have another 4 games made after it? Put on your Night Vision Goggles and have a look.

Review 7 - Prey

At long last a game with a Native American as the hero! Well, that’s not the only thing I can say about this game, at long last it was finally released! Prey is under the microscope this week, one of the longest development projects in history. The game a First Person Shooter which takes place onboard a colossal spaceship, players will have to make use of its technology and their own “ability” to survive. Prey was created by two development teams which were hired by 3D Realms to bring their concept to life. It was released in 2006 on the PC and Xbox 360.

Ten years is a huge period for development, potentially anything can happen to the game in that time. What was Prey like after the struggle to bring it to the store? “Don’t Fear the Review” take a look!

Review 8 – Persona 4

Don’t hate on flirting guys in Persona 4. This week I’m examining this cult classic title of the Shin Megami Tensei series in my new, HD format! It’s a seriously lengthy Japanese Roleplaying game taking easily 60 hours to finish. It takes place within the rural Japanese town of Inaba where the town experiences two murders. The protagonist and his Highschool mates realize they have the ability to enter a Televsion world which mimics reality in a sadistic form. Could there be a connection between the murders and this alternate reality?

Persona 4 was developed by ATLUS, well known for creating other SMT games and many Roleplaying titles. It was released in 2007 and has become one of the last PS2 exclusive games to be released.

Jumping into a television set sounds like a treat, so how was this 60 hour adventure? I release my shadow and reach out to the truth in my review of Persona 4, turn on and tune in now!

Review 9 – No More Heroes

It’s game time! No More Heroes was one of those really obscure Japanese titles which made it to Australia in 2008, except with a vastly toned down PAL version. In my opinion it’s Kill Bill, the game except instead of seeking vengeance, the geeky protagonist, Travis Touchdown is working his way up the assassin’s ladder to become World Number 1. The game is jam-packed with cultural references and memorable bosses and is one of the Wii console’s most violent exclusives.

The game was developed by Grasshopper Manufacutre, known for creating Killer 7 which was a weird and wonderful Gamecube title.

Such an odd combination of themes might be perceived as a strange structure for a video game. How does this puzzling title play out? Press the A button to see the review! (sorry, running joke)

Review 10 – Command and Conquer: Renegade

In the early 2000s I was busy blasting away structures in Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, the second game in the Tiberian series which I had taken to after playing Tiberian Dawn. When a First Person Shooter for the series was announced at E3 I was really excited to see the transition from an overhead view to a first person perspective. Renegade came out in 2002 and was heavily based on Tiberian Dawn, taking place during the final days of the first Tiberium war.

Renegade was developed in-house by Westwood and is the only C&C game that isn’t RTS based. I was extremely thrilled to jump right in after hearing that the Ion Cannon was available in the game. Did Renegade live up to the hype? Was it an accurate representation of the struggle that is GDI vs Nod?

Choose a side and watch the review!

Review 11 – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Metal Gear Solid games are acknowledged as some of the best storytelling titles to grace the Playstation with their hours of dialogue, cinematics and polished stealth gameplay experience. This week I travel back to 1964 where a sadistic GRU Colonel plots to complete a deadly weapon and start World War 3. Snake Eater is chronologically the first in the series allowing players to command CIA agent, Naked Snake whose job is to prevent catastrophe.

Metal Gear Solid 3 was created by the brilliant Japanese director, Hideo Kojima and published by Konami. It was released in 2004 and sold considerably less copies than MGS2, probably because of the fear they might play as someone like Raiden again. Taking the series back in time to explain the origins of Big Boss seemed like a very risky venture, how did it go?

Head to the jungle and watch!

Current Review Scores

Prince of Persia Sands of Time 99%

Prey 97%

Bioshock 96%

Splinter Cell 95%

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater 95%

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 94%

Persona 4 93%

FEAR 90%

No More Heroes 90%

Hitman: Blood Money 90%

Command and Conquer: Renegade 80%