Tag Archives: Xbox 360

Editorials, Games, PlayStation, Xbox

The DMC4 Question Made Easy?

Leave a comment

I’m sure I’m not alone as a multiconsole gamer currently deliberating which version of Devil May Cry 4 to buy next month. Although it’s apparently been developed for the PC and ported to the consoles, one would expect the PS3 to offer the definitive version in terms of graphics and controls. It also has the benefit of almost zero load times, besides a 45-minute install the first time it’s run.

In any case, I had a nasty shock earlier today when I looked to get my preorder in. I first visited Gameplay, and then had a look around the others and noticed something strange:

  360 Standard PS3 Standard 360 Limited PS3 Limited
Amazon £29.98 (-£10.01) £39.99 £32.99 (-£7.00) £39.99
Game £32.99 (-£7.00) £39.99 £34.99 (-£10.00) £44.99
Gameplay £29.99 (-£10.00) £39.99 £32.99 (-£12.00) £44.99
Play £29.99 (-£10.00) £39.99 £29.99 (-£10.00) £39.99

All prices were correct at the time of writing, and though Gamestation, HMV, and Shopto were also checked they all had only one edition listed.

Why exactly is this? The supposed price increase that Blu-ray would bring for PS3 games never materialised and every previous multiplatform title has had price parity across both systems. Game owns Gameplay which could explain the difference there, but both Amazon and Play are independent which suggests that there’s a uniform difference in RRP. Indeed, the sites all list the PS3 RRP as being higher.

I wouldn’t expect this to become a regular thing, and indeed a quick recce of the same sites revealed the same price (± a few pennies) across the consoles for big multiplatform releases like Burnout Paradise and GTA4, but it’s still a bit of a mystery. The conspiracy theorist in me is looking for signs of a moneyhat…

Best of 2007, Games, GOTY, Nintendo, PlayStation, Xbox

GOTY Honourable Mentions

Leave a comment

Naturally, this year had more great games than anyone could possibly whittle down to just ten. So, as I did last year, here are a few that I liked but didn’t quite make the list. All are worth a try.

  • Jeanne d’Arc (PSP) – Level-5’s strategy RPG arrived with almost no hype and, therefore unsurprisingly, didn’t exactly set the world alight. What was the last PSP game that did? Nonetheless, it’s as gorgeous as Dragon Quest VIII with even better production values – check out the fully animated and voiced anime scenes – and is portable, which for me makes an RPG infinitely more playable. It’s also not as hardcore as many SRPGs tend to be, so virgins to the genre shouldn’t be afraid of trying it out.
  • The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass (DS) – As the game in this list that came closest to making the top ten, I shouldn’t need to tell you what’s good about Phantom Hourglass. It’s Zelda. You’ve played it. This one just gets extra credit for mapping workable touch screen controls to a traditional game style. As with Twilight Princess, I found myself enjoying the unique controls rather than simply tolerating them.
  • Mass Effect (360) – Despite suffering from many of the issues of Knights of the Old Republic minus such an immediately appealing world (though this one is certainly far better than most sci-fi RPGs), Mass Effect is an enthralling game that will become a huge time sink if you let it. Both technically stunning (the facial animation) and disappointing (the frame rate), it’s still a lesson in how to do a sci-fi adventure. Let’s hope that it doesn’t mark Bioware’s descent into the same hole that swallowed Westwood and Bullfrog.
  • Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3) – I’m cheating somewhat here, given that I’ve played Sigma for little more than a couple of hours. This is really a chance to honour Ninja Gaiden in general, a game that I played to a meaningful extent for the first time this year and thought was absolutely fantastic. Sigma looks better and has more content, and is therefore just as easy to recommend. Play any version (the original and Black both work perfectly on a 360) in time for the sequel later in 2008.
  • Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (360/DS/PSP) – If Viva Piñata was 2006’s best game that nobody played, surely Puzzle Quest is 2007’s. Yes, at its heart it’s yet another Bejeweled clone, and yes, the AI can be frustratingly prescient, chaining massive combos using off-screen gems that no-one could know about without cheating. But even so, Bejeweled is an addictive and fun game without a well-developed RPG component. Since its appearance on XBLA there can be few people without access to this gem. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
  • Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3) – While it’s consistently overrated in certain camps, Resistance was a solid shooter with an excellent suite of multiplayer modes, and deserves mention for the extensive support post-release. Insomniac’s feature-laden patches have brought everything from balance tweaks to a screenshot function and Dual Shock 3 support, even while they’ve brought another game to market and have undoubtedly started work on the sequel. Other developers could learn from the example.
  • Super Stardust HD (PS3) – In the flood of twin-stick shooters that have followed Geometry Wars, this is arguably the best. While I felt it slightly overcomplicated, it gave the genre a modern sheen that Geometry Wars had lacked, coupling mightily impressive graphics with a superb soundtrack. With more content to come and the recent patch bringing more features to the table, this is an overlooked gem.
Best of 2007, Games, GOTY, Xbox

Best of 2007 #3: Crackdown

1 Comment

Crackdown

Bought by many simply for that sticker on the box, Crackdown was my surprise favourite game of the year. I still remember chuckling at my friend’s taste when he said that he was excited for the game back around the 360 launch and I didn’t even get it when I saw videos. Even that beta didn’t sell me on it since I’d already won a place. It was the demo that did it for me. Sit down to play the game and you just get it.

As of today I probably played 100 hours of Crackdown. The game was, ostensibly, very short; you could burn through all the bosses in a handful of hours. But it was the first sandbox game that got me into the whole sandbox idea. There were multiple difficulties and the chance to do it in a sitting with a friend. Orb hunting (oh, god, the orb hunting) and the best achievements in any game yet. And then they followed it with the genius cheat mode in the downloadable content pack, letting you push the already loose rules to the point of almost breaking the engine. I never found myself short of something to do, even when I’d finished the basic game several times.

There are dedicated platforming games where I haven’t felt as in tune with the abilities of my avatar as I do when I play Crackdown. For all the emphasis on shooting and driving it’s the climbing that’s really masterfully done. When the bosses were vanquished and I was left to search for orbs it was my favourite part of the game. There was just something beautiful about the way that it faded out the background noise and brought up some subtle music when you got to a certain height, and I wasn’t the only one to say that it was the first game to really give a sense of vertigo. Heights don’t worry me, but I found my head spinning a bit when I got to the top of the Agency Tower and dared to look down.

A fantastic game, and as one that’s heavily discounted in the New Year’s sales, one that’s inexcusable not to pick up.

Best of 2007, Games, GOTY, Xbox

Best of 2007 #4: Halo 3

Leave a comment

Halo 3

The fact that I’m putting the almight Halo 3 in fourth is not an indictment of the game, but an indication of how good this year has been for games.

Halo 3 will almost certainly be the biggest-selling game of the year by some margin; it does things with its online community that Little Big Planet has been promising for over a year; there is enough multiplayer content to play for months without touching on every permutation. I loved how it brought the story to a close, providing closure and an emotional bookend to the story. And, with the exception of a certain level which was fucking godawful, the campaign managed the great feat of even making the Flood a bearable enemy to fight.

Multiplayer was fantastic and, until another game (wait a couple of days) came and stole its thunder, was certainly the best of the year. Halo still has that je ne sais quoi in its multiplayer suite – a wonderful balance between its weapons and maps that isn’t upset by the addition of the potentially game-breaking deployable equipment – and has ironed out the flaws of Halo 2. I think it’s certainly got the best multiplayer of the three, and I’ve barely touched on the file share, saved films, screenshots, co-op, etc. As almost every FPS since Halo has had a two-weapon limit and Halo 2 brought recharging health to the masses, expect to see those features a lot over the next year.

While I undoubtedly expect Halo 4 before too long, with any luck the separation of Bungie and Microsoft will let them try something new. I can’t wait to see what they can do now, with the budgets they command and the polish that they’ve applied to Halo 3. Just don’t make it another Oni.

Editorials, Games, PlayStation, Xbox

The Assassin’s Creed Cop-out

4 Comments

Assassin's Creed 2: Altair in Space!

First, a warning: if you haven’t been paying attention, this post could spoil certain aspects of Assassin’s Creed for you. In any case, rest assured that the ‘twist’ discussed here occurs minutes into the game, so put the pitchfork down.

And so, here we go. As you probably know if you’ve been following the development at all, the 12th Century setting of Assassin’s Creed takes place within a futuristic setting, exploring the idea of genetic memory. Expect a plethora of sequels set in various time periods (World War 2, here we come!) throughout the next couple of console generations.

As one of the early standard-bearers for this generation, Assassin’s Creed had a lot of hype behind it. And really ever since that showing at X06, when we saw an early version of the game looking and playing like most finished games at the time, it’s looked like one of those truly ‘next-gen’ games from the start. But what I liked it for more than anything was that it was doing something different in its setting. When it seems like every game is either a space marine shooter with a main character named like a Steven Seagal character or a fantasy epic, a game based on a relatively unexplored period of history was a breath of fresh air.

More like a hot blast of arid, desert air…

Maybe it’s understandable given development costs nowadays, and that coupled with a notoriously conservative industry (creatively speaking) means that working outside the comfort zone is even more of a risk, but it was the Third Crusade setting that first attracted me to the game simply because it was something that I hadn’t experienced in a game. And the overarching sci-fi elements wouldn’t bother me if they were limited to some kind of level hub or as justification for a sequel, as if they needed one.

But no. Areas between missions are truncated as the memory gets ‘skipped’; the HUD is all cool blue futurism; digital interference appears during holes in the memories. And that’s just what I saw in the first few missions. It’s like they got cold feet and considering how secretive they were about this plot element – a few public slips aside – I find it inexplicable. Sci-fi fans aren’t going to know about it and those interested by the history behind it, like me, will find it obtrusive and unnecessary .

I hope now that embargoes are up and the secret is out we might get some serious interviews on why this decision was made. I just can’t fathom it. Why would you make a game about genetic memory and keep that fact secret? Surely it’s an interesting enough concept to feature prominently. Why would you spend years showing a Prince of Persia-meets-Hitman game when most people are going to walk in and get something completely different? There’s no indication on the box that it’s anything other than an historical adventure, and thanks to the aforementioned embargoes it’s not mentioned in any of the reviews. Someone who hasn’t been following the development certainly won’t know about it.

As I said, it’s not going to impress the history buffs (because they won’t want it), and it’s not going to impress the armchair scientists (because they won’t know about it). Sci-fi games are the ones pushing the big numbers so far this gen and Ubisoft seem to be trying to tap that demographic by the back door. Ultimately, will they please no-one by trying to please everyone? We’ll have to wait for next month’s NPDs, I suppose.

Games, Xbox

Xbox 360 2-0 Me

1 Comment

Red Ring of Death

Right as we go into that busy time of year for gaming my second Xbox 360 has kicked the bucket. It’s no more. It’s ceased to be. It’s expired and gone to meet its maker (in a cardboard coffin). It’s a stiff. Pushing up the daisies, etc, etc, etc.

I’d suspected it was coming for a while, since the drive kept spinning down randomly and audibly struggling to focus on a disc, and sure enough it froze up while playing Halo 3 on Monday. It froze again on the title screen when I restarted, and then on the third attempt it froze on the 360 splash screen. I could hear the death clock ticking. No graphical corruption, unlike the first time, but you know what’s coming when a 360 starts to play up.

After a night unplugged, it made it a few minutes into Half-Life 2 before freezing, and then wouldn’t even make it to the dashboard without freezing. But it hadn’t red ringed yet, and there was no chance that I was paying for repairs again. I started to look for ways to induce the rings to qualify for the warranty extension, ultimately just turning it on and off repeatedly until, after less than a minute, those evil lights revealed themselves.

So now my Halo 3 and Orange Box will have to sit unused for two weeks (better than the frankly ludicrous 5-6 weeks people were being quoted around the Halo 3 launch), at which point Call of Duty 4 will be almost here. I’m looking at my PS3 collection for things to play and beginning to feel depressed…

Better not look at the Wii library in case I get suicidal…

In any case as soon as the replacement arrives it’s getting traded in towards an Elite or 65nm and HDMI-equipped Premium.