Yatta!

I got a PS3.

So there.

Blog posts ready to go, but no: just got get myself past this bit in Resistance...then this other bit...oh look, a Stalker! (etc etc)

So, excuses aside, things have been a little eventful for the gaming division of my brain cells over the last few weeks. I got my brand new sexy amazing fantastical sexy console just over a week ago, but prior to that, I rented out Need for Speed: Carbon for PS2 and pretty much completed that before it had to go back (92% ftw). Also, after I found out the arrival of my very own big black monolith, I raced through a couple of PS2 games that I had to complete, before trading them ALL in, along with my PS2, for next-gen game monies.

And then, of course, it all changed. The recently-vacated spot next to my TV got filled by a new friend, one that greets me with the glorious noise of an orchestra every time I say hello. Obviously, I immediately called the Wanderer and we ventured down into my town to buy things: an extra SIXAXIS, Motorstorm and Resistance: Fall of Man (I already had GTAIV and I Am Legend on Blu-Ray in the bundle I got).

Wanderer and I returned to my abode where we promptly spent time examining every single option of the PS3, updating the firmware, downloading (and installing) demos, and finally: sticking in Motorstorm.

My. Fricking. God.

You know how I like to grade games on the fun factor? Well the first game of Motorstorm we played probably got somewhere about 283 out of 10. Needless to say, that was roughly equivalent to our placement in the results of that race too. But it was incredible.

I should probably point out one thing right now: I have a crappy 15-inch standard-def TV. But did that make it any less awesome? Hell no!(no panic, I plan to invest in a 26" Bravia in the very near future).  We played through a bunch of demos, Aquatic became completely addicted to Super Rub-a-Dub, browsed the Store, bought PAIN!, and downloaded whatever we could find for free. After a brief, yet hilarious stint with PAIN!, we loaded up Resistance and attempted to play some co-op. So blooming hard. We gave up.

And then, a little later, came the time to play Grand Theft Auto Quattro. Which is totally awesome btw, but I shall go into that more in-depth in the near future on this here blog.

After that, we watched the cool alternate ending for IAL that came on the Blu-Ray, and then went our separate ways (although not before 'playing' the Haze demo. I think it's best we don't talk about it).

Over the past week (public examinations be damned), I have spent a lot of time playing games, being beaten online on Motorstorm by mates, moving music over to my PS3 from iTunes on my laptop, and yes: still dabbling in a little Starcraft from time to time (also another thing to talk about next time: we are now completely addicted).

Over the last few days, I've also begun the single-player Resistance campaign, and am actually doing pretty well, I'm about three-quarters of the way through now, so expect a review at some point. Also, of course, expect a mega-review of the PS3 itself in the future.

Gotta go, Nathan Hale's busy dying, FO.

Carbonated

I'm gonna be honest and say that driving games are not my forté. Well, by that I mean straight-up racing games. Gran Turismo, Project Gotham Racing, etc etc; I'm rubbish at all of them.

But then there's the other racing games. The ones that are different in their own ways, not just pure simulations of track racing. Burnout's deranged mayhem, Need for Speed's nighttime city runs, Motorstorm's off-road chaos and Ridge Racer's impossible drifts. All of which add up to ultimate fun for those of us who don't really fancy day-long endurance races.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday, so I've been using the extra day off to get some gaming done before I return to revising for exams. Therefore, whilst on socialising travels today, I popped into Blockbusters and picked up Need For Speed: Carbon for PS2 (£3 for a week, pretty cheap). I always used to play round my car-obsessive friends house when Underground and Underground 2 came out, and I got Most Wanted with my PSP in 2005. I've briefly played Most Wanted for PS2 on a hire too, but this was my first play of late 2006's Carbon.

The first thing to mention is that the core gameplay (driving around the streets of a fictional city, looking for events that culminate in boss races) is still perfect. It seems to have taken a turn for the worst in last year's ProStreet, but here in Carbon, the gameplay feels solid, the best it has since Underground 2. The next thing to mention is that the game has returned to a nighttime setting. Thank-frigging-god. How much I hated the sun-drenched streets of Most Wanted, and yearned for underground and very illegal racing to return to its seemingly logical hiding place, namely the night. Plus, you just get a much better sense of speed at night, which makes things more interesting.

Obviously, this being a yearly EA franchise, there's the inevitable gimmick new feature. For Carbon, EA Black Box added 'Canyon Duels'. These are set one of the canyons conveniently located around the main city, and involve you and a big bad boss racing down a treacherous cliffside track and attempting to shove each other off the side. I'll make my point brief: it's surprisingly good. Oh, it can be stupidly difficult from time to time, but overall its a good new addition. Another new addition is the 'Risk'-like map. The city is split up into numerous zones, each of which contain a number of events to compete. It actually gives a much more visual representation of 'winning back your rep' than the other games in the series. And my favourite thing about NFS Carbon? They brought back Drift events! =D

From what I've played (the game reports that I'm 20% of the way through), Carbon does feel like the best Need for Speed game in a long time. Graphics are sharp (for PS2), the UI is normal EA perfection, and the combination of licensed tracks and music made especially for the game is fantastic. But, and here's the bastard truth, that's because it's been the same for so long. Since Underground, its been basic improvements all-round (Yay, Autosculpt! /sarcasm) rather than anything new and exciting. And the kicker: when they did change it in ProStreet, it sucked. Big time.

Overall rating: 9/10

FO

(Note: screenshots from PS3 version of the game)

 

Terran, Spartan, American.

Playing: Black (PS2). Listening to: MGMT.

Hullo again there, I've been off on holiday in Barbados doing coursework and revision for my GCSE's the past few weeks, hence I've been a bit absent on here.

Anyways, I thought I'd update again whilst I have a brief respite from work having handed in the last of my coursework today, and before I begin heavy revision for my German oral exam later this weekend. I'm also using the time to charge through some gaming that I've missed the last few weeks.

First of all, an old friend turned up again in the shape of Starcraft (PC). I'm sure everyone that visits here will know what it is, but just a quick recap: classic RTS set in space featuring three alien races: the Terran, Protoss and Zerg, made by Blizzard, the guys behind the Warcraft franchise. Anyhow, last week I got a message from Aquatic telling me his brother was down and fancied some 4 player LAN Starcraft. Unfortunately, remembering how to play took longer than I thought and we missed the opportunity, but still got some 3 man (and AI) games in, which was sweet. The downside of course is that I am not completely addicted to damn Starcraft all over again. Game is still as sweet as ever though.

Whilst round at the Wanderer's abode hidden away in the middle of nowhere, I took the opportunity to try out Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) for the first time. Now, I've never played a Smash Bros game before, and I have to say it was pretty damn fun. Obviously I can't take into account the 'needing-to-play-for-ages-to-unlock-the-decent-multiplayer-stuff' cos Aquatic had already done that and we just played craploads of multiplayer matches. The thing that amazed me most though? The graphics. Some of the stages looked amazing, and I was impressed that the Wii had no framerate glitches or anything. Overall, great experience, looks like a great game.

Next up, a brief mention of Silent Hill 2 (PS2), another game we played a little of briefly whilst I was there (yes, most of our time was taken up by Starcraft LAN games). I've been trying to get into SH2 since I bought it a little while back but so far, I'm not seeing anything amazing. I shall keep trying though, it's just a little tedious. Possibly the only time I've taken a game off my Most Wanted list (Silent Hill: Homecoming) because I've played a previous game in the series and hated it.

So, its now the weekend again, so I'm rewarding myself for a week of hard work at school by playing some awesome games. Primarily, I'm going through Black (PS2) again, as I fancied blowing random stuff up and I've run through Mercenaries so many times now. So Black it is, now on Normal mode after Aquatic and I beat it on easy last year. And don't take the piss, the last level is fricking hard regardless of difficulty level. Also, I'm playing God of War: Chains of Olympus and Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops (both PSP) that I've borrowed from a friend since my gaming budget for April went on Patapon and those random PS2 games a little while back, so expect first impressions of those two soon!

Byebyes!

Octopii Don't Have Opposable Thumbs

Hullo again, Octopus here with another bowlful of cranial excretion!

Now, I mentioned that I'm a Sony fanboiii in my previous post, but I should probably go back a little. I played my first game evar (The Lion King sidescrolling platformer, on a floppy disk) on my Acorn PC running Windows 3.1 for Workgroups (hell yes!) when I was about 6 or 7. I thought it was awesome, and my time was torn between this amazing new phenomenon and my new-found love of the bicycle. I later got some Scooby Doo DOS game, which wasn't nearly as interesting, but alas, I was not deterred. I recieved a PlayStation from my dad in the late 90s and played the collection of EA Sports games, Rugrats Studio Tour and craploads of demo disks (they used to give them out at MacDonalds) until my eyes bled, or I was sent to bed, whichever came first.

The love slowly faded as I paid more attention to girls, and to a lesser extent, school, and my PlayStation began to collect dust from its house under the television. Then, towards the end of my stint at junior school, there was a particularly stormy day. I was petrified of being by myself in the storm in my empty new house waiting for my mum and sisters to get home, so on a whim, I went round to the house of one of my friends at the time. There, I discovered the PlayStation 2, and simultaneously, Grand Theft Auto 3. From then on, I pestered my parents, and I got my very own PS2 (complete with the GTA Double Pack) the following Christmas.

Now, 6 years later, now with a slimline PS2 and slim PSP, I like to think that I can be officially classified as a gamer. But just to make sure, I'm currently working my way through a big list of all the best PS2 games I've missed. Amazingly, I've never played a Resident Evil, Guitar Hero, God of War, or, until last month, Silent Hill game. Oh, but I have played every GTA game. I now sit impatiently waiting for someone to buy me a PS3 (all my money goes on bacon sandwiches from school or miscellaneous games whenever I venture into town), and possibly even more impatiently for Patapon, the new PSP game.

Just because I'm a Sony man doesn't mean I haven't played other consoles though. I love the GameCube; seriously, I love that thing. Super Mario Sunshine and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect for GC are two of my favourite games of all time. The Wii's great (even though I don't own one), and Zack & Wiki and Twilight Princess are both awesome games. There's even an original Xbox laying around somewhere, but the only games my sister has for it are racing games, so I don't play much.

Anyways, that's my gaming life so far in a nutshell! I should think the Wanderer will be around soon with his own gaming history, so until the next time, au revoir!