Game of Thrones - Opening Credits Cover (Heavy Version)

I've come back off holiday to discover ...

...that I now have had 31,428 visits to this blog.

Who in God's name is reading this shit?

Hollywood shuns intelligent entertainment. The games industry doesn't. Guess who's winning?

An article by Charlie Brooker for the Guardian:

Do you remember the days when you used to be able to head out to the cinema safe in the knowledge that even if the film you wanted to see had sold out, there'd be something else worth watching? I'm talking about 10,000 years ago, obviously, because here's what's on at your local multiplex.



Screen one: a 3D CGI cartoon about a wisecracking badger with attitude you'd quite happily reverse a six-tonne tractor over. Screen two: a 3D superhero theme park ride that thinks it's King Lear. Screen three: a rom-com so formulaic you suspect it was created from a template on Moonpig.com. Screen four: The Very Hungry Caterpillar 3D. Screen five: all of the above, randomly intercut with one another because no one's paying attention anyway. Screen six: a lightshow for cattle. And so on.


About once a month there's a film actually worth bothering with: either something with a quirky sensibility and a modest budget, or the occasional decent blockbuster the studios have made by mistake. There seems to be something missing from cinema: big budget dramas with panache, aimed at an adult audience. Where are they? They migrated to television. And – don't snort with derision here – to video games.


Consider two of the biggest video games of 2011 thus far. The first is Portal 2, a darkly humorous science fiction . . . what? Story? Puzzle? Game? "Experience" seems like the best word to use, even though typing that makes me feel like shoving my fist in my mouth to punch my brain from an unexpected angle. The game mechanics of Portal 2 are almost impossible to describe without diagrams, but I'll try: you wander around a 3D environment trying to escape a series of rooms by firing magic holes on to the walls or floor; holes you can walk or fall through. So if I fire a hole on to the ceiling, and another on to the ground, I can jump through the ground and re-appear falling through the ceiling. This simple dynamic provides the basis for a series of fiendishly clever puzzles you find yourself working through – all of it tied into a humorous narrative that unfolds with more confidence, charm and sophistication than was strictly necessary. And before you whine about the solitary nature of games, it also includes a cooperative two-player mode in which you and a friend play through a parallel game together. The whole thing is stunningly clever and immensely enjoyable.


And then there's LA Noire, the James Ellroy-inspired crime drama, which has caused a stir, and rightly so, with its firm focus on narrative and staggering new facial animation technology. I'm a massive dweeb who keeps up with the latest gaming developments, and even I was astounded at what they've pulled off here. You're watching actors give genuine performances – within something that is still defiantly and unapologetically a video game. The lead character is played by Aaron Staton, AKA Ken Cosgrove from Mad Men – and is instantly recognisable, not just from his likeness, but also his facial mannerisms. Amusingly, plenty of his fellow Mad Men cast members also show up throughout the game (as well as faces familiar from shows such as Heroes and Fringe), reinforcing the overall feel of the game – which is like working your way through a hard-nosed HBO police procedural miniseries set in Los Angeles in the 1940s. If you've never played a game, or you think you hate them – but my description sounds vaguely appealing, give it a spin. Just watch someone else play it for a while if you like. I guarantee you'll be surprised.


And what really made me excited, thinking about both of these games, is that behind the state-of-the-art technology they both make use of (which has a level of sophistication that might come as a blinding shock to anyone who hasn't played a game since 1996), they're both old-fashioned video games at heart – not old-fashioned in the finger-twitching, reaction-testing Space Invaders sense, but something richer, something often overlooked by the population at large: old-fashioned video games that challenge the mind instead of the thumbs.


Portal 2 is essentially a demented series of puzzles – like being stuck inside a physics-based logic problem designed by the Python team; LA Noire is a trad adventure game. Adventure games used to be as close as gaming got to fiction. They started out as interactive text-based shaggy dog stories (a prime example being Douglas Adams's fantastic Hitchhiker's Guide Infocom adventure), transformed into point-and-click comedies (such as Monkey Island), and then largely went away for a while, as the gaming industry focused on gung-ho shooters aimed at teenage boys. The size, scope, and sheer self-assurance of LA Noire marks a major comeback for adventure games – for interactive fiction – and, potentially, a huge leap forward for wider acceptance of the medium as a whole.


And both these games – both of these entirely different, utterly unique creations – are a huge commercial success. In cinematic terms, it's the equivalent of films of the intelligence and quality of 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Maltese Falcon not just being released to great fanfare in 2011, but actually going on to smash box office records. Somehow Portal 2 and LA Noire manage to be more cinematic than a great deal of contemporary cinema – while being something entirely different, something with the phrase "I LOVE VIDEO GAMES" embedded in their DNA like a cheerful slogan through a stick of rock. These are not replacements for films, but something thrillingly different. Gaming's ongoing push into the mainstream consciousness has entered a bold new phase – by appealing to the players' intelligence and imagination, it's starting to make Hollywood look embarrassing.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy-Episode 6 (Web Series)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy-Episode 5 (Web Series)

Top 10 worst Mortal Kombat Characters

Mortal Kombat: Legacy-Episode 3 & 4 (Web Series)

I woke up this morning to discover there's one less prick in the world.

Sony: They think it's all over...it is now.

Well you are no doubt already aware of the major balls-up at Sony HQ with regards to the PSN outage and compromisation of PSN users personal data given that it's been on pretty much every major television news channel, radio show and online site so I'll just post this instead for your entertainment.

The Dirty Little Secret about the Alternative Vote System

 
May 5th. Vote NO to AV.

Mortal Kombat: Legacy-Episode 2 (Web Series)

Mortal Kombat: Legacy-Episode 1 (Web Series)

The King of Fighters

No particular reason for this post, I just happen to like, did I say 'like'? I meant love The King of Fighters series; the only 2D beat 'em video game to rival Capcom's efforts, (although KOF's 3D efforts whoop Capcom's into submission).  Also, no other fighting game has quite the cast of characters, each boasting their own unique fighting style with perhaps save for Ryo who looks and plays like Ryu & Ken from Capcoms Street Fighter and as a parody has ended up as bumbling fool Dan in the SF series.  Ryo's still an awesome character nevertheless.

THE KING OF FIGHTERS '98 ULTIMATE COMBO EXHIBITION

THE KING OF FIGHTERS: MAXIMUM IMPACT 2 COMBO EXHIBITION

THE KING OF FIGHTERS XII COMBO EXHIBITION

The end of UK Resistance

Popular games journo Gary Cutlack has officially called time on his popular video games blog UK Resistance. The blog, which was a winner at the first ever Games Media Awards in 2007, has for a long time been a favourite amongst industry insiders for its glorious combination of brilliant writing, high-level offensiveness and outright foolishness.

It would seem the following statement gives reason to the decision for Gary to close the doors on UKR:

“a general feeling of disconnection from a games industry that no longer accommodates, or reflects our needs”.


I wouldn't have ever called myself an avid reader of UKR, but when I did partake in it's anarchy it never failed to entertain.
 
Anyway, here's a link to the site if you're curious http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/ and below is the closing vid from UKR featuring a brief look back over the last 15 years or so.
 

GAME give another good reason for the much needed demise of bricks & mortar, high street games retail

FROM EUROGAMER:

Eurogamer has uncovered evidence that staff at GAME were told to buy Nintendo 3DS consoles and games from supermarket rival Tesco on launch night to sell them in-store as pre-owned.


An internal document, below, reveals that staff were encouraged to make use of Tesco's eye-catching launch bundle offer for the 3DS on Thursday night.

Tesco sold the console for just £175 when bought with any 3DS game for £34.90.
"Whilst we are unable to competitively match this offer in terms of a mint price," reads the document, "it offers a great opportunity to gain 3DS consoles and games for your store's pre-owned stock."

The idea was to use cash from GAME tills to buy a 3DS and game for £209.90 – Tesco's bundle price, and trade it in to GAME for cash at the same price.

£1049.50 was authorised for removal per trip to Tesco – which equates to five bundles. "Your store can do this trip multiple times," reads the document.

The 3DS hardware would then be sold at "the same price as mint due to expected supply shortage".

Game's in-store Nintendo 3DS price is £219.99. Second hand 3DS units are sold between £5 and £10 cheaper.

It is important to note, however, that the document insisted the pre-owned stock only be sold once mstock runs dry, and staff not "up-sell" it to customers.

While the document advises that buying stock from Tesco is a non-mandatory "mission", one GAME staff member told Eurogamer the store he works at was reprimanded for not taking part.

A GAME spokesperson told Eurogamer: "Some of our stores wanted to move quickly last weekend to build their pre-owned stocks of 3DS at the same time as their local competitors, so we gave them a process to do that.

"It was not mandatory, and happened in small volumes."

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Click on image for a better view:

However GAME choose to dress this latest antic of theirs up it's wrong as it deprives genuine customers the chance of picking a bargain. Want a new 3DS?  Well if the predicted shortages do come about then GAME will have plenty of them, albeit at a much higher price.

New prices for second hand goods is it now, GAME? Assholes.

Saints Row: The Third-New Screens

Game Preview: El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron

The story is freely inspired from the Book of Enoch and follows Enoch, a priest looking for seven fallen angels to prevent a great flood from destroying mankind. He is helped in his quest by Lucifel, (voiced by Jason Isaacs), a guardian angel in charge of the protection of the world who exists outside of the flow of time, and by four Archangels: Raphael, Uriel, Gabriel and Michael.

What sets it apart from other games is the beautifully drawn dream-like visuals cpmbined with the games constant shift from 3D and pseudo-2D gameplay. In an industry where so many are trying to ape the success of games like Call of Duty, Halo and other such popular franchises its nice to see some developers and their respective publishers are willing to step outside the box and take a chance on a new IP.

Game Review: Swarm-Multi-Format

As far as concepts go Hothead Games’ Swarm is as simple as they come. Your goal is to guide your fifty ‘swarmites’ across varying levels of terrain filled with mines, falling debris, bottomless pits and nasty alien life forms collecting as many points and getting safely home to ‘momma’.

Along the way you all also be challenged with a various mini-puzzles and obstacles to overcome; using your swarm in various different ways to overcome your objectives. You can spread them out to help collect useful objects that much faster, huddle them together to squeeze through tight gaps and traverse across dangerous ledges and if you have enough swarmites at your disposal you can also stack them up to collect out-of-reach items such as bonus points and valuable strands of DNA code.

Your first play of Swarm will undoubtedly feel like rather a laid back experience, but as each level becomes tougher, or the need to trash your last high score becomes your primary goal, sacrificing some of the swarm to progress and garner those high scores is a must. Even with several re-spawn points dotted throughout each level, trying to find a balance between how many swarmites you can kill off while maintaining a high score with timed multipliers becomes quite the challenge and makes for much of the games replay value.

Clearly Swarm is a game of high scores and bragging rights; and if placing yourself at the top end of the leader boards is the very reason why you play video games then there is a lot that will appeal here. The most challenging aspect of Swarm is being able to execute the simplistic commands used to control your swarmites with absolute speed and precision as you guide them through the alien world they have found themselves in. The faster you are on the buttons, the more dextrous your decision making with each obstacle faced, the quicker you’ll rack up the points and max out your multipliers thus adding even more to your high score, pushing you further up the rankings.

As a puzzle-cum platformer it wouldn’t be unfair to draw parallels with Team 17’s Lemmings from yesteryear, and in terms of execution and presentation they do have a lot in common. However, while Swarm is both challenging and entertaining in its own right it lacks the character and clever level design of Team 17’s masterpiece. Also, and rather frustratingly, the sacrifice and reward gameplay is hampered by the pseudo-3D visuals which can often lead to miscalculated jumps and incorrect placement of your swarm during some of the more hectic moments, particularly where a group of actions in any given section of a level are required to proceed.

The biggest sting in the tail, however, is that for all its charm and somewhat likeable gameplay, at 1200 Microsoft Points on XBLA, (£9.99 on PSN respectively), it’s hard to recommend; particularly as what’s on offer is pretty straight forward and basic in its execution. Of course no one should expect untold levels of depth and character from a straight up arcade puzzle-game, but in the same sense no one should be expected to pay over the odds for something so simplistic either, certainly not when you can get Lemmings on the iPhone for free.

6/10

Great film lines: Taken-Liam Neeson

I don't know who you are.

I don't know what you want.

If you are looking for a ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

Game Review: Marvel VS Capcom 3-Multi-Format

After almost a decade the Marvel VS Capcom series has made a long overdue return, exploding onto our screens as a more refined, arguable simpler fighting game; one that’s clearly aimed at today’s gamer with the premise being that anyone, whether hardcore fight fan or complete novice, can pick up Capcom’s latest offering and make their mark. Controls-even with a normal setting-are simplified to the point that very little effort is required to pull massive 50+ hit combos and devastating Hyper moves out of the bag, decimating your opponent’s health bar in a flurry of blows, energy attacks and multi-character combos. That’s not to say of course that MvC3 lacks any depth, far from it, and if you’re looking to race up the rankings online then having a deeper understanding of the games fighting mechanics, as opposed to just randomly hammering away at the buttons, will undoubtedly see you move up the table that much quicker.

As expected the familiar faces of Ryu, Chun-Li, Spiderman, Wolverine and co are all in place, but also along for the ride are some entirely new entrants ranging from the instantly recognisable to the down right bizarre; and while some may relish the chance to take charge of Ghosts n’ Goblins hero Arthur, Okami’s Amaterasu or perhaps Albert Wesker from Resident Evil, others may raise a quizative eyebrow at some of Capcom’s choices for the third outing. Nevertheless, it’s through MvC3 being a three-on-three fighting game that this extraordinary combination of characters addresses the balance of each fight that individually they could never achieve. For example, put gun-toting Dante of Devil May Cry up against The Hulk and its immediately apparent that Dante’s quick-fire gunplay can make easy work of Hulk’s lumbering albeit powerful frame, but with a rush character such as X-23 on stand by ready to spring into action at the flick of a button the combination of power and speed can turn the tide in Hulk’s favour; throw in standing powerhouse fighter Akuma into the mix and Dante will quickly find himself turned into mince meat. Of course your opponent has three characters of their own with which to to dish out the pain and in turn can make life as equally difficult for you making for some truly spectacular bouts of combat. Bare in mind, however, that what might work for one group of rivals might not necessarily work against another so button-basher MvC3 may be there’s still an amount of tactical planning needed when choosing the best team for the job in order to come out on top.

Capcom have also introduced something they’ve penned as ‘X-Factor’ into the proceedings which grants extra strength and boots speed for each individual character in varying ways depending on who’s in play at the time. When activated X-Factor cancels all active Hyper and Super combos, allowing you to assault your opponent with a relentless barrage of ground and air combos, literally beating down your rival into submission; and it’s here that MvC3’s hidden depth starts to shine through as you begin to realize that between forcing your opponent to switch characters with ‘Snap Backs’, three-on-one aerial combos, triple Hyper Combos and so forth that there’s more to this full-on beat ‘em up than meets the eye and that perhaps just merrily bashing away at the control pad is doing your chances of winning more harm than good. Then again you could just throw the rule book out of the window, hit those buttons a like a crazy person and simply enjoy it for what it is: Damn good fun.

Being as this is Capcom behind the wheel it should come as no surprise that MvC3 looks simply stunning. Animations are silky smooth with fantastically drawn character models, each with a unique twist to their appearance and polished off with quick-fire remarks during combat and witty pre-fight banter, all of which stem from their original roots. MvC3 also boasts what has to be some of the most lavishly detailed and beautifully rendered arenas ever to grace a fighting game with each telling its own story, changing and moving as each battle takes place.

With an intro sequence that never grows old, a thumping musical score and a dazzling display of pyrotechnics throughout each round of combat combined with wonderful sound effects, MvC3-more so than its predecessors-leaves you feeling as though you have just jumped straight into a live action comic book, one that you simply do not wish to leave.

If there are any real downsides then it would be the omission of some of the games modes and features present in past iterations of the series. Spectator mode, time attack, survival mode, extra stages and additional bonus games are no longer present. There’s ‘Mission Mode’ which, like Street Fighter IV, invites you to complete a series of combos in succession but beyond that, four extra characters to unlock and the obligatory Arcade, Vs and Online modes there is very little else. Shame, because as well put together as the core game is there is a danger that it, as with most fighting games that don’t go beyond the core experience, will have a limited appeal for some whereas in past MvC games having those extra features gave the experience that much more longevity . Still, MvC3’s gameplay is entertaining enough that it will undoubtedly be some time before you consider moving on to something new and with the promise of added DLC around the corner that longevity may yet be extended.

With Street Fighter IV , (perhaps even more so with Super Street Fighter IV), it was clear that Capcom knew its audience, but in the case of Marvel Vs Capcom 3 they’ve thrown out a much wider net in the hope of snaring a much larger demographic of gamers and if the success of the games launch is anything to go by then they have succeeded in their endeavour. By taking a tried and testing formula, simplifying it for a new generation of gamers while still maintaining a degree of depth for the already converted, Capcom have opened the doors of the humble beat ‘em up to an audience that may have, up until now, chose to ignore it. And for that I say bravo.

8/10

The Price of Success?

Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited at a party

After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room.

Those who remained talked about their kids.

The first guy said, 'My son is my pride and joy. He started working at a successful company at the bottom of the barrel.He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon began to climb the corporate ladder and now he's the president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his bestfriend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday.'

The second guy said, 'Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, then went to flight school to become a pilot. Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he owns the majority of its assets He's so rich that he gave his best friend a brand new jet for his birthday'

The third man said: 'Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his own construction company and is now a multimillionaire. He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his best friend for his birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion.'

The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned from the restroom and asked: 'What are all the congratulations for?'

One of the three said: 'We were talking about the pride we feel for the successes of our sons. ..What about your son?'

The fourth man replied: 'My son is gay and makes a living dancing as a stripper at a nightclub.'

The three friends said: 'What a shame... what a disappointment.'

The fourth man replied: 'No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son and I love him.
And he hasn't done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends

British Academy Video Game Awards 2011

Some of the best games from 2010 were featured in this years British Academy Video Game Awards earlier this evening and having watched the live feed I can honestly say that all in all the show, hosted by the rather excellent Dara O'Briain, was pretty good, delivering a few surprise winners and losers throughout.

Action


Winner:

Runners Up:

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
BioShock 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
God of War III
Halo: Reach

Artistic Achievement

Winner:

Runners Up:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Heavy Rain
LIMBO
Mass Effect 2

Family

Winner:

Runners Up:

Dance Central
Kinect Adventures
Kinectimals
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Toy Story 3

Gameplay

Winner:

Runners Up:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
God of War III
Heavy Rain
LIMBO
Mass Effect 2

Handheld

Winner:

Runners Up:

God of War: Ghost of Sparta
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
Professor Layton and the Lost Future
Sonic Colours
Super Scribblenauts

Multiplayer

Winner:

Runners Up:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Halo: Reach
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Original Music

Winner:

Runners Up:

Alan Wake
Fable III
James Bond 007: Bloodstone
Mass Effect 2
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Social Network Game

Winner:

Runners Up:

Bejeweled Blitz
Farmerama
FIFA Superstars
Zoo Mumba
Zuma Blitz

Sports

Winner:

Runners Up:

FIFA 11
Football Manager 2011
Gran Turismo 5
International Cricket 2010
Pro Evolution Soccer 2011

Story

Winner:

Runners Up:

Alan Wake
BioShock 2
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Fallout: New Vegas
Mass Effect 2

Strategy

Winner:

Runners Up:

Fallout: New Vegas
FIFA Manager 11
Napoleon Total War
Plants vs. Zombies XBLA
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty

Technical Innovation


Winner:

Runners Up:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Call of Duty: Black Ops
Halo: Reach
Kinectimals
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Use of Audio

Winner:

Runners Up:

Alan Wake
Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
Call of Duty: Black Ops
DJ Hero 2
LIMBO

GAME Award of 2010-The only award to be voted for by the public

Winner:

Runners Up:

Dance Central
FIFA 11
Halo: Reach
Heavy Rain
LIMBO
Mass Effect 2
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit
Red Dead Redemption
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Best Game

Winner:

Runners Up:

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood
FIFA 11
Heavy Rain
LIMBO
Super Mario Galaxy 2

Fellowship Award

Peter Molyneux

Defining genres and breaking in new ways in which to play our games, Peter has been at the forefront of video game design and development in the UK as far back as 1987.

Peter’s career can be credited with classics such as Populous, Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Black & White, Dungeon Keeper, Theme Park and the hugely popular Fable series. As well as receiving the BAFTA Fellowship Award 2011, Peter has also an OBE to his name, was inducted into the AIAS Hall of Fame in 2004 and more recently was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Game Developers Choice Awards 2011.