WHAT PLAY YOU?

[JLM]

I do it just for you now, you know that right?

 

Shen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mue

Edited December 12, 2008 by JLM

[Just Me]

[Onyx2]

I've just been reading about this insane concept-based DS game: Scribblenauts.

 

The idea is you can write something - "anything" - and it will spawn in the game to use to solve the puzzle. The programming of it just blows my mind, I can't believe it will be executed as good as the idea. Check the link above for an interview and a video to show it off.

[FLips]

I've been working my way through Spyro The Dragon on the Ps1 again. Only game I ever bother trying to do 100% and still enjoy it. Best platformer ever.

[klown]

Picked up Assassins Creed and Kane and Lynch recently on the cheap for the Xbox, and have to say, enjoying them so far, sure they mightnt be the greatest games ever, but still finding them enjoyable and hell, for 10 quid each, who can really complain!

 

Hoping for Santa to bring me a few new Xbox games tomorrow, and GH:WT band set as well *fingers crossed*

[Murtz]

I've been playing a bit of Need For Speed Undercover on PS3.. and its got to be the worst of the entire series.

 

Just pointless.. races are way too easy.. story is shit. I dont think there's been a 'decent' NFS since Underground 1 (which was awesome)

 

I played Call of Duty 4 for the first time this week.. and its really good.. but not as good as some people are making it out to be. I'd actually place Resistance 2 above it (probably because I like shooting scary creatures instead of soldiers!). Still though.. its worth playing!.

[Seratonin]

Got my PS3 for Xmas and playing through Resistance 2. Gotta say not impressed by the graphics in the first two levels, then the art direction starts to look a lot better once you get out in the open.

 

For a change I bought Fifa 09, not played a footie game since 1997 (Sensible Soccer), and found it was well worth it for the experience and really excited about being able to go online with it now I've got a bit better . However HMV did NOT supply Little Big Planet in the PS3 box that they said was part of the deal - so I'll be going tomorrow to get some answers Dark Knight Joker style. "Why so serious?"

[Tommy!]

so I'll be going tomorrow to get some answers Dark Knight Joker style. "Why so serious?"

 

personally id be inclined to try Cesar Romero style.

 

attaching them to an elaborate ferris wheel or giant blender and making a bad pun gets customer service on the case mighty quick

[Just Me]

I've just been reading about this insane concept-based DS game: Scribblenauts.

 

The idea is you can write something - "anything" - and it will spawn in the game to use to solve the puzzle. The programming of it just blows my mind, I can't believe it will be executed as good as the idea. Check the link above for an interview and a video to show it off.

Fascinating idea, but it will obviously contain sprites for only a set collection of items, so if your chosen word doesn't match a limited dictionary, you'll have to keep trying something else. And judging by the video, it actually plays about as well as another unique concept game of theirs, Drawn To Life - which is to say, not well at all.

 

Try before you buy, methinks.

[Mike Castle]

Sister's boyfriend just got himself a 360, so as I was there Christmas and Boxing day I got to try out Mercenaries 2 and Mortal Kombat Vs DC.

 

MK Vs DC is great, although I found it a bit unresponsive with certain button presses, and a bit over responsive on the jumping (trying to do Sub Zero's stuff had me bouncing round like an idiot for ages before he decided to actually throw the ice blast, despite the fact I wasn't even pressing up). But overall it's actually a pretty fun game, even if it's a bit too easy to just button mash and still win.

 

Mercenaries 2 was pretty damned fun (not played the first one), and the fact everything can be blown to shit is great, and it's possible to spend hours playing it and lose track of the time, so today I managed to get the PS2 version, of which the same can't be said.

 

Not to say it's not fun, it is, but like I saw someone else (on another board) say, it's like a demo version of the PS3 & 360 versions. In those versions you hit a tree with a tank, and flatten it (actually you his a tree with a bike and flatten it). In the PS2 you almost obliterate your vehicle. In the 360 version the map is huge and tons of stuff can happen on it, and each area feels different. The PS2 version just feels like a giant playground with each section for a different group of kids playing war.

 

Still, worth picking up cheap if you only have a PS2, but not worth even touching if you have access to a proper 360/PS3 version of the thing.

[Tommy!]

what puts me of mercenaries is i played half the first one.

 

while its great blowing anything up, all the missions and storys played the same, which left it all getting a bit stale to me.

the PS3 version could change that by having more going on but still it could all fall into the same old bit

 

(off topic but on of the worst traps games fall into is making it big with nothing happeneing. san andreas was dreadful for it, look its huge, drive through nothing for 20 minutes to get between bits of entertainment. yeah its dull but its really big.)

 

how varied is it from a game play perspective, once all the flash has worn off does it acctully offer fun

[Just Me]

Over Christmas I had my first go on LocoRoco for the PSP. This is the one game on the system that's ever interested me, and it is incredibly charming (hard to describe why, you just have to play it - with the sound on). Unfortunately I found the controls unresponsive at times, making for infuriating play when your character won't jump at that critical moment. It's a great shame, because I really wanted to love LocoRoco. As it is, I still prefer Soul Bubbles on the DS, which doesn't have quite the same charm in its style but has more reliable and (I can only assume from what I've seen of LR) varied gameplay.

 

Also taking elements from this loose-fitting genre is Mercury Meltdown Revolution on the Wii, which I've mentioned before as I bought it a while ago, but only put any serious time into this week. It's a great challenge, and the combination of skill and puzzle solving makes it as much fun to watch as to play. You should be able to pick it up pretty cheap, so look out for it if your release-starved Wii's been gathering dust.

 

Completely separate from these three, I got back into LEGO Batman for the DS. The levels are really well designed, it seems so simple but they must have to work hard to make the teamwork of your characters align and interweave so neatly. That's why it was so surprising when I managed to get stuck, literally unable to progress through the stage because Robin had left Batman behind and was unable to get back to him, so that Batman could use his unique abilities to advance them both through the level. I've completed all the LEGO Star Wars games and played a bit of LEGO Indiana Jones, and never had that happen before. On a second playthrough I took Batman ahead first to do his bit, before returning to Robin, and that seemed to be the expected method. Weird.

 

After getting it for Christmas on Xbox 360, I've just had my first go on Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts. I've always been a huge fan of the N64 games, so ten years later, it was actually quite a special moment to watch the title screen panning around a more detailed Spiral Mountain (shaped exactly as before) while the old familiar theme tune plink-plonked away in the background. Aside from the couple of vehicles whizzing around the landscape, it's exactly what fans wanted to see.

 

What does grate a little though is the way the script belittles and undermines the previous games. Rare have tried to be self-deprecating to endear themselves to Banjo newcomers, those who had written off the original entries as derivative, second rate Mario clones. But all it achieves is alienating those of us who've enjoyed and supported the series, who believe that assessment couldn't be further from the truth. For the game to basically say "yeah, these characters and their earlier games are a bit shit" is pretty jarring if you've been a fan of them in spite of the criticism - a chunk of the audience that must be quite large for any sequel.

 

If you've read the (p)reviews, you'll know the gameplay is quite different this time around, with the focus being on building vehicles to move around in. This isn't bad at all, though you don't get nearly as much freedom in your design as could have been made possible. I've only just started though so I expect this element to become more and more creative.

 

One thing I won't get used to is the speed at which some of the written dialogue disappears from the screen. By necessity in a Banjo game, nearly all speech is subtitled, but the font is very small (made worse on a portable TV!) and frequently vanishes before I've had a chance to read it all. Very annoying, in any game.

[FLips]

Medievil on the Ps1, fantastic game.

[Onyx2]

One thing I won't get used to is the speed at which some of the written dialogue disappears from the screen. By necessity in a Banjo game, nearly all speech is subtitled, but the font is very small (made worse on a portable TV!) and frequently vanishes before I've had a chance to read it all. Very annoying, in any game.

 

I read that both these issues were patched last week. Check for updates?

[Mike Castle]

Medievil on the Ps1, fantastic game.

Bastard, now I'm gonna have to go and find myself a copy of the damned thing, I'd forgotten how great that game was.