5 posts tagged “playstation”
Ok, so it's not my usual lightweight fare, but I've been thinking recently about this (what with the huge round of media coverage in the UK following record GCSE results that was then followed by the usual backlash from Universities and businesses saying that more and more children have low literacy rates and no actual knowledge of the subjects they have just gotten all A* grades in). Now, I for one do believe that the current government is more concerned about pass rates, especially with the idea of having higher pass rates than their predecessor administration, and less about the quality of education given, but I also realise that this is not the fault of the children and that if they were given the appropriate tools and support, they would no doubt be just as intelligent and capable as earlier generations.
So, what does this have to do with computer games? Well, first of all, you'll know that I have no real issue with computer games as I frequently review them here and I make my living in what can loosely be called "the computer industry". With that i mind, it is safe to say that I don't think that games should be banned and I certainly don't want us heap games consoles on a bonfire in some grotesque parody of the book-burnings in Nuremberg. No, I think what really sparked off this line of thought was the fact that I had recently wandered over to the Macintosh Garden (a great repository for old abandonware games) and grabbed a few text adventures as something to do on the train home from work instead of the usual Sudoku book. As I sat staring at the opening screen of The Hobbit, waves of nostalgia washing over me, the thought suddenly struck me that this would be a great way of encouraging imagination and reading skills in the child(ren) I hope to raise with my wife soon. Not only that, but it's a great way of spending an hour or so with a child that doesn't involve sitting in front of a DVD of "In The Night Garden" or "Bob The Builder".
As I thought about it more, I realised that, as a thirtysomething, I had played such games as a child, often with a friend, and we'd talk about them, draw out maps and make notes, work out the puzzles and enjoy the storyline. I also remember the fun to be had with the old Fighting Fantasy adventure books (recently republished), but I digress. The fact is that these games made literacy, reading and logic fun for us, without trying to be "educational" and, whilst such learning titles might be worthy and even viewed as the best option for entertainment at school, the truth is that anything labelled as "educational" is likely to be avoided at all costs by children unless they are forcibly made to play the game. So, instead they sit in front of their Playstations or Wiis and watch colourful event unfold that, whist they teach logic and hand-eye coordination, do not promote literacy in any way. Ok, maybe the child has to read the menu system, but that's about it - the fact is that most of their leisure time is spent pressing buttons repeatedly whilst shooting zombies, or collecting stars, or whatever.
Books such as Harry Potter, the Alex Rider and Young James Bond series' and the like have proved that, if it is done correctly, there is money to be made in things that get children into reading and using their imagination, so why is the computer industry so reluctant to revisit the parser-based interface? With PCs in every school and most homes having some sort of computer, there is no barrier to accessiblity and, if the technology used was, say, Flash-based, then there would be no reliance on having to have the latest hardware. Costs would be lower due to reduced development work being required and you could always combine conversation using a text parser with point-and-click interactions in the way titles such as Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic did. Providing the interface was simple enough, the graphics appealing enough and the script/gameplay enjoyable, I see no reason why such a venture wouldn't gain momentum - think of something like Monkey Island, but with more interactive dialogue, for example - wouldn't you want to give it a go? Of course you would, so your kids would be happy to try it too, especially if Mum and Dad joined in.
I might even dust down my copy of Flash and see if I can build something myself!
Ok, Hideo Kojima's long-awaited, much hyped and potentially platform-defining game is here. I've got it, I've played it and I've done my best to keep up with the plot, so what's the verdict? Should I even try to answer that question?
I'll be honest, I hated the original Playstation. I had a Saturn on which I played Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, Sega Rally and Nights Into Dreams. I had an N64 on which I played Mario 64, Lylat Wars, Diddy Kong Racing, Zelda and Goldeneye. I never felt the urge to buy a PS One - the only game on it that I vaguely enjoyed (and couldn't get on the Saturn) was Die Hard Trilogy (and even then, only for the cab-driving section). Oh and Final Fantasy VII, of course. I mention this only as a reason why I never played the original Metal Gear Solid. I did, however, buy a PS2 and rather enjoyed Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.
I'll freely admit that some of the cutscenes were more ambitious than the platform really could cope with and that, overall, Splinter Cell on the XBox proved a more engaging experience for me. Despite this, I always appreciated what Kojima was trying to do - he was trying to make a game that didn't just get the trigger-finger twitching - he was trying to engage your brain and emotions and address deeper issues than just "can I sneak by this guard and shoot the bad guy?".
Shenmue 1 and 2 tried to do this in another way and, whilst I consider it one of the truly great experiences on a console (please let there be a Shenmue 3 on PS3!), many of my gaming friends think it's too long-winded and slow. Personally, I felt it had the open-world immersion of something like Eldar Scrolls: Oblivion, or World of Warcraft, without the cliched fantasy stroyline, or the subscription fees. Actually, if you like Hong Kong films, Japanese culture or RPG games, I can't recommend Shenmue 1 and 2 enough. Buy the boxed set on the Xbox, as it's been polished over the Dreamcast release (or buy the Dreamcast and Shenmue for the originality) and just go with it, but I digress...
So, what's the deal with MGS4? Well, it seems to me that, whilst I haven't completed the game as yet (hey, I only got it last week!), it seems to be tying up various storylines that have been around since the first MGS game. I'll be honest and say that some of the dialogue is a bit hokey and sometimes you're just left thinking "if I was Japanese, that probably would have made a lot more sense", but overall, silly codenames aside (Big Boss, Big Mama, Naked Snake, Liquid Snake, Solid Snake, Ocelot...need I go on?), the plot holds together rather well. Yes, I know that a child held captive by soldiers rarely takes on the power of a psychotic horde of Ravens, but it's a computer game, so we need to cut it some slack.
The production values are sky-high, with the various cutscenes being firmly of the "show-your-360-owning-mates-what-they-are-missing" variety - the scene with Raiden and Vamp is a definite winner in that category - and the action sequences are just as good as Splinter Cell, albeit you can't do the more outlandish moves (no hanging by your feet as you zip-line and shoot, etc), but if using the OctoCamo suit to try to sneak past a compund full of enemy soldiers, or hanging off the back of a motorbike with a machine pistol, or trying to take out a machine gun nest with a sniper rifle when you have no cover and are in no man's land between two warring factions doesn't get your blood pumping,then I think you are probably already dead.
So, what's the verdict? Well, as I say, it's not Quake - yes, there is action, but it's more about the adrenalin you feel trying to stay alive than any rampant blood lust - the nearest I can think of is Full Spectrum Warrior on the Xbox: all the gunfire, confusion and struggle to stay alive, without the Uber-Big-Killy-Death-Gun to blast the entire enemy army to pieces. It's not really a direct opponent to Splinter Cell, either, although I'd say that the two compliment each other. Splinter Cell was always more about the action and the graphics, whereas MGS was always more about the story and it can be told via cutscenes (yes some are really long), via in-game dialog and plot points or by the action in the game. The story is first, the gameplay (in some ways) being subservient to it. However, if you own a PS3, a decent TV, have any past history of playing MGS, or games like Shenmue, or even enjoyed a Splinter Cell game, then I think you deserve to give yourself the opportunity to experience this game.
It's not like anything you've played before, yet it's instantly familiar; it's as much about watching plot develop as it is about gameplay; it's slowly-paced, yet the action can be fast and furious... it is a game of contradictions and it is all the more impressive for it. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's close enough - this game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet and Clank and Assasins' Creed (and GTA 4 if you're that way inclined) are the very definition of Next-Gen and are what your PS3 was made for. Buy it now!
Ok, so I made a mistake. I'm only human and it happens to us all. The mistake I made was to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on a TV less than 32" wide and in standard definition. This made the shooting sections almost impossible and, thus, made for a very hit and miss gaming experience. The jumping/story sections were brilliant, but the gunfights were just a drag. However, once I'd installed the LG plasma (got to love that discount from Tesco!) and my wife and I had finished off Assassin's Creed (an awesome game, I don't care what anyone says - the secret is to play it in one or two hour stints, not try and finish it in a day) and the oddly enjoyable Pirates of The Caribbean, we were at a loss for something to play. My wife decided we should start Uncharted from the beginning and, boy, what a difference.
Obviously, watching the game on a 42" plasma at full 1080p is rather nice, but what really amazed me was the difference in the feel of the game. Because things were crisper and more defined (not to mention bigger), the shooting became a more fluid affair, as opposed to the hit-and-miss random bouts of death and frustration they had previously been. Suddenly, the frustrations with the game were gone and the brilliance shone through.
I've been a gamer since I was something like 6 or 7, which means that I have been around games for at least 20 years, and games that truly stand out are few and far between. Things that mean something to me are Turrican 2 on the Commodore 64 (great game, amazingly well done on the platform), Doom on my first PC (386 powerhouse that it was), Sega Rally on the Saturn, the first Tomb Raider (again, on the Saturn), Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Shenmue on the Dreamcast (and Shenmue 2 on the XBox - will they ever make the 3rd?), Half Life, Goldeneye (N64), Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy X on PS2, Mystical Ninja Goemon (N64 - brilliant fun and catchy tunes), Zelda: The Wind Waker and Resident Evil 4 on GameCube, The XBox Prince of Persia games (all three), Assasin's Creed and Resistance:Fall of Man on PS3 (for the sheer Next-gen goodness and interesting storyline). Now I can add Uncharted to the list of Games By Which Others Are Measured. In fact, along with Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Shenmue and the first Tomb Raider, Id' say Uncharted is at the top end of the scale.
Don't get me wrong - it's not perfect by any means, but it is the first truly Next Gen game that I have seen that feels neither rushed, cramped or like it's been ported from old hardware and given a bit of polish. The platforming sections are almost as good as those in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time/Two Thrones/Enemy Within, The adventure feel is up there with Tomb Raider or an Indiana Jones film, the visuals are astounding, the immersion is on a par with Shenmue and the characters are the first I wanted to actually engage with since, well, maybe Final Fantasy VII.
I know it's out on XBox 360, but really do yourself a favour and try it in full 1080 on a PS3. Once you do, you'll realise just how good the PS3 is and how anything else would just feel like second-best.
Other than that, We've recently been playing Devil May Cry 4 (stuck on the final boss at the moment), which is a great game and another good way to show off your big TV. We picked up a cheap copy of Heavenly Sword, which is actually very good, if rather short - I think Andy Serkis (of "Gollum" fame) makes a great villain and also helped the game developers bring a lot of empathy to the characters - it's a really under-rated title that I can recommend.
But the stand-out new game has got to be Lego Indiana Jones.
I have to admit that I love the lego games. Star Wars: The Orignal Trilogy will make you laugh out loud with some of the cutscenes and hidden moves and the Indy game is no different.
From trying to palm off Belloq with a rubber ducky, to the hidden move where Indy grabs the girl with his whip, pulls her in and kisses her, to transferring Sean Connery's Henry Jones into Lego superbly, this game is packed full of fun.
Yes, you could argue that the game is "childish", but the films are simple wholesome fun and the game follows suit - it's not dark and gothic, there's not a disturbing sub-story and it doesn't offend anyone. Instead, you'll get hours of honest fun and a face that hurts from laughing. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Roll on Lego Batman, says me!
See you again soon!
Well, here we are, another post, another up-coming game for the PS3 that looks like it could be well worth a look. "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune", by Naughty Dog software (creators of "Jak & Daxter" and "Crash Bandicoot") have released footage of what appears to be a cross between "Tomb Raider", "Indiana Jones" and "Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure". Little seems to be known about the game, aside from the fact that the sections that appear to be in-game look very good, with some jungle gun-fights and obligatory ruined temples to climb around in. However, given the pedigree of the developers, I think it's safe to say that it'll play well enough to justify our interest. It is, it seems, scheduled for a September/October release.
Speaking of September, it looks to be a strong month for PS3 releases, as developers including Sony's own in-house teams have some rather tasty projects due for release in that month. We have "Heavenly Sword", a sword-fighting game in the vein of "Dynasty Warriors" (albeit with some adventure-style exploration sections, according to the developers), which is shaping up nicely according to ign.com, who have play-tested an early build version. Then there is "Lair", the aerial/ground dragon-flight combat game, which again has been play-tested in early form by ign.com and gets the thumbs-up. It looks lovely, too. According to the semi-official Sony Three Speech blog, "Killzone", the awesome much-anticipated FPS is due for the same month. Forget "Halo 3", or even "Gears of War" - if this game is half as good as the tech demos and trailers suggest, it will blow its competitors out of the water. The final game slated for release by Sony is "Warhawk", a sci-fi flight combat game that uses Sixaxis flight controls and reportedly does so rather smoothly. The interesting thing is that "Warhawk" is also said to be a download-only release, which could mark the beginning of a Steam-like service from Sony.
Rumours abound of a "Wipeout Pure" HD-updated port to fill the gap until a dedicated PS3 version is finished, as well as a version of "BioShock", which was previously thought to be Xbox 360 only, yet now it seems that the exclusivity deal is limited to a delayed release of the PS3 version, if the rumours are to be believed. Then we have "Stranglehold"(see my earlier post about this game), which is due in the middle of the year, along with "Half-Life 2: Episode 2" (do I even need to make a case for this game?), "The Darkness" (Mafia-meets-supernatural FPS), "Indiana Jones" (evidently in possession of some awesome technical AI and physics, as well as some beautiful graphics - could be a real beauty), "Medal Of Honor: Airborne" (use the Sixaxis to control your parachute jumps!), "Devil May Cry 4" and "The Getaway" - the London-based gangster game.
All this gaming goodness before the final quarter of 2007, when "Assassin's Creed", "Grand Theft Auto IV", "Gran Turismo 5" (not to be confused with the downloadable "Gran Turismo HD Concept" demo) and "Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots" are scheduled for release. I think that any fears that the PS3 is going to be starved of quality games are highly unjustified. All this is not taking into account the obligatory cross-platform franchises - Madden, FIFA, Spiderman, etc. I think that the people who took the plunge to buy the Bad Boy in Black from Sony are going to start reaping the dividends fairly soon. I can't wait, myself.
So far, the XBox 360 has failed to dazzle me, despite the fact I had one on pre-order - Amazon failed to deliver it and I got the PSP instead; a decision that I have not regretted at all. My best friend got one and tried to convince me that it was awesome, but Blazing Angels looked poor and many other efforts looked prety much as they would on the Xbox I had already. Another two friends have either sold their 360 or put it in a cupboard and gone back to the old XBox, as there are so few decent 360 games and the backwards-compatibility is evidently rather hit-and-miss.
The Playstation 3, then, looked to have things stitched up - after all the Gamecube got hammered by the XBox and PS2, so surely the powerhouse from Sony needed only to make its release date to romp home to victory? Well, it's true that the demos look far more convincing than those for the 360. A couple of those games look amazing, not least of which is Metal Gear Solid 5. The power of the machine appears to be truly a step-up from the XBox/PS2/Gamecube, although developers are quite often criticising the machine and preferring the 360. That could be down to the 360 essentially being an Apple Mac G5 in a different box and, thus, easier to code for, however. Still, the release of the PS3 has been delayed in the UK until March(ish) and those countries that have had it at Christmas are reporting faults and backwards-compatibility issues. Hopefully it will only need a firmware update.
The rank outsider for the next-gen race is Nintendos' Wii. Yes, it's a funny name, but it probably means "console of much happiness making" in Japanese. The brains at Nintendo have looked at the market and realised that games are getting more and more expensive to make. The average top-flight title now has a credit list longer than a Hollywood blockbuster and can cost millions of pounds to make. This means there is little risk taken with new ideas, as a single flop could break a company. Compare this to the days of the Commodore 64 when a game was written by three or four guys in a room and you can see why we have more and more sequels and less and less new ideas. Nintendo have seen fit to try to change this by not chasing after ever more powerful (read:"expensive to code for") graphics, but have instead created a console that tries to break through the dogma that only a "gamer" can enjoy a games console. As with the DS, Nintendo are trying especially hard to get the so-called "silver surfer" generation (those who are recently retired, or approaching that age, with large amounts of disposable income and lots of free time) to use its products. Hence, we have brainteaser games on the DS and a new console that doesn't require you to learn how to use a joypad (not easy if the old fingers have a touch of arthritis, you see) - no, if you want to sword-fight, you wave the wand about, etc. So far, it seems to be working.
I am not going to say that all the Wiis sold are to older people, far from it. I do, however, think that when little Timmy opened his Wii on Christmas Day and insisted on playing Wii Sports, or Golf, then rather than fall asleep, or get bored (as was the case previously), then it might be the case that mum and dad, as well as grandma and grandpa, had a go. They probably had fun, too. That is what Nintendo have gotten right - the idea that a games console and its games should be, first and formost, fun. Yes, it's nice to have fancy graphics, but so many games now have great looks, but poor gameplay (an argument I can remember going back to the days of the Amiga and ST...), but honestly, if you have a racing game where the cars look like cars, the important thing is that racing is easy and fun, not whether you can read the stickers on the tyres. The boom in games like DanceDance Revolution or Donkey Conga show that more people are interested in playing games than are interested in learning how to use a gamepad. If you make the fun accessible, then people will play, it's that simple. It would seem, judging by the sales figures, that Nintendo have hit the nail right on the head. Let's hope the strategy works long-term and that we don't lose their consoles the way we lost Segas'. On current form, however, it looks like Wii and 360 have taken a huge headstart on the PS3 and Sony is struggling to make up ground. Don't count them out, just yet, though.
