[EVENT] E3, or not, as was the case.

An awful lot of press coverage has been given to E3 already, and I was desperate to give you my take on things, but a week has passed and a lot has happened to dampen my enthusiasm. For me, E3 couldn't have come at a worse time, in the week where I was seemingly working all the overtime in the world, and had a uni assignment due in at the end of it. The only announcements I got to see live were the EA ones which I saw whilst half asleep with a headache, and to write a story based on those would make for angry reading! Nonetheless, here are the main points I have derived from the conference, mostly from gossiping around the water cooler.

Need For Speed: Run With Us - Or whatever it's called. I shan't lie. I'm not a massive fan of the N4S series, but boy, do I sell a lot of them at my day job. The premise is simple. Drive around, often avoiding the cops, sometimes being the cops, sometimes just racing for the hell of it. The point is, this is a purebred driving game, which is why I recoiled in ABSOLUTE HORROR when it was revealed that in the new game, at certain points your character (your what now? There's never been an actual character before, surely!) gets OUT of the car and RUNS OFF! You must then perform a series of quicktime events to ensure that your character does the right jumps and rolls to be able to get to another car, which in the demo they showed happened to be a POLICE CAR. Well done that chap. Cue facepalm, and much shouting at the TV.

The Wii U - Just as when the MotionPlus was released and everyone started bashing Nintendo for not having the technology to put it in the Wii Remote in the first place, I have a similar feeling in the pit of my stomach about the Wii U. It looks near identical, but with rounded corners, uses the same controllers but is in full HD. Obviously, this is just my first impression, and a lot more lies beneath the surface. It's just what they actually DO with it that I'm dreading. The original Wii cornered the casual market so effectively that hardcore gamers were left feeling that their Wii had become a bit of a novelty, the slighly retarded, standard definition cousin that everyone said they were fond of but no-one invited to parties in case it got drunk and ran around with no pants on. Hopefully this time around Nintendo can get a few more developers on board if they don't have to release watered down versions of 360 and PS3 titles anymore.

And that's without mentioning the gimmick controller once!

Luigi's Mansion 2 - Nintendo did redeem themselves by announcing this title for 3DS, amongst a few others. I heard the news about this one from my overly excited husband who came rushing in to tell me all about it as I was getting myself settled in bed. My admission that I've never actually played the first one was responded to with a ten minute rundown of the entire game from start to finish. Other old favourites are in the works such as Mario Kart, a new Super Mario (but this time, not called New Super Mario. A bit confusing, I agree.) One thing I REALLY wish I'd seen was Tetris. There are some details on the Nintendo website, and to quote one of my other half's favourite sayings, it looks "wacky as fuck". Just when I thought that every possible game mode had been covered, the new version claims over 20. Just how many ways there are to fit tetraminos together simply boggles the mind!

Right, that's enough blagging blogging for now, I'm off to play some actual games!

On "Holiday"

Hey guys, just a quick apology for my lack of post this week, am currently at E3* taking in the sights and sounds! Will be sure to post a massive update when I get back :)


*This is a massive lie. I have a big uni assignment due in, sorry!

[SNIPPETS] My poor neglected 3DS, and other stories.

This week, I got my first proper serious 3DS headache. I'd had my eye on Puzzle Bobble Universe since it'd come out, but I'd decided that £30 was far too much to pay for a game which has bascially been around since the dawn of time. As soon as the price dropped to 12.99 I grabbed my chance and purchased it, skipping off merrily into the distance. No need for a review here. It's Puzzle Bobble. I've played it before, you've played it before, even your Dad's played it before. Never in 3D though, so as with all 3DS games I try, I flicked the 3D slider up to give it a ten minute blast to see how the gimmick fared with this one.

The thing about Puzzle Bobble is that it's a fair bit addictive, and it was only when I felt a vein throbbing somewhere behind my eye did I realise that I'd not got around to turning the 3D off, yet it took a full two minutes for me to take my fingers off the buttons they were glued to, to be able to move the slider back down. All in all, Puzzle Bobble is highly recommended, but then again, so are two paracetamol and a tall glass of water.

---

In other, slightly more positive news, the 3DS eShop should be landing very soon (according to rumours, slap bang in the middle of Sony's presentation at E3 on the 6th of June. Nice one Nintendo.) and according to Nintendo World Report, one of the first apps (are we calling them "apps"?)  to be made available is Pokedex 3D, although this looks to be more of a collecting game using QR codes and Streetpass than a handy reference tool.

Also on my agenda of things to look out for about the eShop - how well will the new prepaid cards work, and will they be available from the Nintendo Stars catalog? This is (sadly enough) a serious concern of mine. For years Nintendo have had little scratchcards inside their games which can be redeemed on the website for Star Points, which can be used to buy useless tat such as bags, statues, frisbees and paper fans, and DSi users can use them to buy Nintendo points, which in turn can be used to buy DSiWare. Fingers crossed a similar system will be implemented for the 3DS, if only for the fact that I'm a stingy bitch.

---

 

Other things I have been doing this month:

• Getting around to watching Pirates of the Caribbean 2, 3 and 4 in preparation for hammering LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean as soon as I get a bit of free time. (Free time? Yeah right!)
• Watching the Husband playing LA Noire and deciding that yes, it IS technically excellent, but I just don't fancy it myself.
• Having SERIOUS tech envy at aforementioned husband's new phone, the Samsung Galaxy S2. Only two months till my contract renews, and I can give an Android phone a go!
• Getting excited for E3 - especially when one of my colleagues mentioned yesterday how it was about four months away - my response? "No, it's next month. Hang on, that's next week! Squeee!"

 

So that's about it for now. See you next week!

[REVIEW] A quick look back at Borderlands

With the arrival of several high-profile releases such as LA Noire and Brink (at least, you'd think Brink were high profile given the amount of advertising being pumped into it at the last minute, competition from the former much?) you'd think I'd have had my hands full reviewing these to be able to get my opinion out to you all asap. But no! I've been revisiting old games that have lain by the wayside for a while, the first and foremost of these being Borderlands.

Alright, so this was probably triggered by my last post, thinking about dear old Claptrap made me hungry for a bit of a senseless post-apocalyptic Mad Max-inspired shootfest. Yet for a game which (quite shamelessly) picks and chooses its influences and waves them in your face, Borderlands stands alone very well. For the uninitiated, it's a first person shooter with RPG elements - shooting stuff gets you experience, and as you gain experience you level up your personal skills and also your skills with each weapon, leading to bonuses to fire rate and accuracy, and also copious amounts of swearing when you're in the middle of a massive firefight with no SMG ammo and a level 1 shotgun.

My shoddy techniques aside, this is a beautifully action-packed game that is an absolute pleasure to go back to after a year or more of it sitting in its box. The graphical style is reminiscent of cel shading and gives the game a fairly unique cartoony look that caused some criticism amongst the Call of Duty crowd, and the story revolves around four mercenaries trying to gain access to the mysterious Vault which initially caused me to think it might be trying to rip off some elements from Fallout, but that could not be further from the truth. So since it's so cheap in the shops now, why not treat yourself! I'll see you in the arena!

[THINGS I LOVE] Top Five: Video Game Robots

Throughout the world of video games we often encounter our good old friend, the robot. Whether they are the protagonist, the enemy, or the hired help, the little blighters pop up everywhere, so in tribute to our metallic pals, here is a run down of my top five favourite robots.

5. Big Daddy (Bioshock): These docile behemoths aren't technically robots, but the genetically spliced cyborg chaps inside the huge diving suits are pretty cool. Mild mannered and gentle, they go about their business of protecting the Little Sisters while they go about their messy business of havesting the valuable goop known as ADAM from corpses. Nice. And your job? To either kill or set free the Little Sisters? Be prepared for some angry Big Daddies!

4. The Sackbots (Little Big Planet 2): If Big Daddies are the epitome of quietly lurking doom, then the Sackbots from LBP2 are their polar opposite. Cute, quirky and under Sackboy's vague command, they can be herded around like sheep or attracted with a lady known as Luscious Lucy. (Googling this turns up a selection of, ahem, businesswomen in the centre of London. Add additional search terms!) These robots are a LOT more friendly, but to be honest? A bit useless!

3. Wadsworth (Fallout 3): I often think to myself, how cool would it be to have a robot butler of my very own? That's just what Wadsworth is, a water-dispensing, wisecracking mobile hairdressing unit, and anyone who knows me well knows that I could really do with one. The Mr Handy units, however, were not well renowned for their precision with that circular saw blade, so I'll keep cutting my fringe myself, thank you!

2. Atlas and P-Body (Portal 2): These two robots are a perfect metaphor for my relationship with my darling other half. The one of us is tall and athletic, the other shorter, rounder and blue. My personal insecurities aside, Atlas and P-body's purpose in life is to live together, work together and test together for the rest of their lives. The harmony of their existance is further bolstered by the fact that they don't eat (no arguing about who's cooking tea), they don't sleep (no arguing about who's hogging the quilt) and Atlas has no bum to speak of, therefore by definition it cannot "look big in this". Perfect.

1. Claptrap (Borderlands): While Atlas and P-body both have the option to dance as part of the gestures menu, this fella likes to get down and funky entirely of his own accord. Generally in need of a bit of love and attention when you come across them, once they're up and repaired they'll strut their funky stuff for you quite happily! Go on, check him out in this video! Okay so maybe he's not the most USEFUL robot, maybe he doesn't have the best skills, besides giving you a few extra backpack slots but check out that rhythm! That personality! What a star!

So, who's your favourite robot and why?  

[OPINION] The ongoing PSN saga

No doubt by now you've heard all about the Playstation Network, and how it was attacked by hackers almost a month ago. Xbox users have been gloating, PS3 users have been distraught, scare stories have been circulated in the news about how people's credit cards have been compromised. Who would do such a thing, one wonders? Unfortunately, the days of hackers hackin' for shits and giggles seem to be over, and it seems increasingly likely that criminal gangs, after your vital information to sell on to scammers, may be to blame.

It is a terrible shame that something so dramatic might happen to such a large and high profile organisation as Sony, but we have to look at the facts. This kind of thing is happening all the time to all kinds of different companies. At the start of the year, Lush Cosmetics found their database to be compromised [source] and was forced to suspend all online sales while the security was ramped up. Having bought products from them, I did the only sensible thing, and kept an eye on my bank account for any irregularities. Luckily, there were none. The moral of the story is "be vigilant", I suppose.

PSN is not the only games network to suffer from the fraudsters, however. I have heard a few vague stories about Xbox Live accounts being hacked, and cards being cloned. Whilst all this evidence is purely anecdotal, it raises the same points. Keep an eye on your finances and be smart with your passwords. One poor lady recently told me a story about how unexplained charges had been made to her credit card. After consulting her son, who "knew nothing about it" and Microsoft, who were dismissive and unhelpful, she got in touch with her bank, who in the end looked into the matter and refunded all the charges made by the fraudster. This lady was lucky, but from this I can only make one cynical assumption. Kids lie.

Have you been affected by credit card fraud? Has your Live account been hacked? Are you just miffed about PSN? I'd love to hear from you!

[REVIEW] Portal 2 (Valve, 360)

Just a brief chat about Portal 2 today, I'm supposed to be revising for one of my exams at the moment so this is all procrastination, but I may as well take a few moments to write a few words about the game which is keeping my head out of my books this week.

Portal is one of those genre-busting games that defy definition. The main focus is on it's puzzles, (somewhat fiendishly difficult at times) crossed with some kind of first person shooter. Originally bundled in with the Orange Box compilation with Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, Portal tells a story of science, testing and madness at the hands of a sadistic AI known as GLaDOS. To cut a long story short, there are buttons that need to be pressed, high ledges that need to be accessed and turrets that need to be removed, all using a device known as the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, which can fire two linked (you've guessed it) portals which allow the player to pass through and instantly arrive at where the exit portal was fired. Phew, that was harder to explain in laymans terms than expected.

Portal 2 expands on the foundations laid down by the first game by having you attempt to escape from the testing facility after being in suspended animation for some unspecified time. Of course, nothing is ever as simple as that, and before long, you find yourself back in the old testing chambers, having to solve puzzle after puzzle before you can continue. The puzzles are challenging, but not impossible - fifteen minutes of sheer frustration is often followed by a 30 second solution and shouting "oh I see!" at the TV once the necessary bit of flat space for your portal has been found. New aspects such as the bouncy Repulsion Gel add new interest to the game, which I am about half way through. My partner, who annoyingly seems to have a natural aptitude for testing has completed the single player campaign, and assures me that the ending is nothing short of spectacular.

Speaking of my other half, where this game really shines is in the co-operative mode. There are not many games out there which allow for split-screen two player, and even fewer that are actually any good. (If you have any recommendations, please give me a shout!) Two player Portal 2 is a great experience, not only is there the satisfaction of working together on the puzzle, the fact that there are two players, (represented by the absolute cutest robots I've seen since the Claptraps) means that there are now four portals at your disposal for even more variation in the puzzles. For those playing online there is also a signalling and gesture system, so you can tell your partner where to put his portals without having to physically shout and point.

In summary, I cannot recommend this game highly enough, and that's before I've mentioned such other treats as the vocal talents of Stephen Merchant and the dark, dark humour that is ingrained in every test chamber. Now, I've got an exam to cram for, so seriously, go buy this game now! 5/5