Currently Playing: GT5 Time Trial

I've lost count of the vast number of hours I've spent playing the PSone and PS2 versions of Gran Turismo. I'm sorry to have to say then that this 'demo' version of the long awaited fifth proper game of the series, and first on PS3 is absolutely terrible.

First off all despite having no other cars on track (There's a ghost of you're best lap but that's kind of semi shaded and flickers in and out) the graphics in game are very poor. Compared even to a similar track on Forza it looks dull and flat.

Because of it's time trial nature, presumably, nearly everything is fixed. You stuck in car view. Which I always hate. I didn't buy a 42" inch TV so I could peer out at the track through a tiny window. It's not realistic. When you're driving a car you can see everything. You're certainly not looking at your hands spastically turning left and right on the steering wheel.

Mainly though it's the combination of the handling and the sixaxis/dualshock 3 pad. It's telling that the default control scheme still utilises the facebuttons for brake and accelerate which of course with their tiny amount of travel are useless. Sadly because Sony have failed to fit proper X-Box/Dreamcast style triggers the L2 and R2 buttons aren't much use lacking both the feedback and comfort of a proper trigger. Personally I find that the Left stick becomes uncomfortable to use when I use L2 and R2 and feel the left stick should've been switched with the barely used d-pad ages ago. Worst of all though is the input of the left stick is very sensitive and it's just not up to the job. You can't input the deft control required.

Then we come to the handling. The traction control is locked on. But surely that can't be responsible for the car understeering off the track at every opportunity. Even trying to take a slow low speed corner can see you heading off into the grass. Prologue wasn't like this and suffice to say real life isn't like this. I've driven a Nissan 350Z and I managed to not slide off a corner once. Of course much like Prologue your ears are constantly assaulted by the sound of screeching tyres too. It's almost undriveable with the pad in my opinion. Considering I love driving games I still don't want to have the hassle of a wheel and paddles knocking about.

It's a crying shame that if this is indicitive of the finished product I won't be buying it. Apparently by giving Polyphony unlimited time to finish the game Sony appear to have let them disappear up their respective behinds.. A sad day.

Currently Playing: PixelJunk Shooter

This is the first game I've downloaded in ages. X-Box Live Arcade has become increasingly expensive which, too my mind, goes against the concept somewhat. I prefer the open pricing of Sonys Store which shows things in pounds and pence as opposed to M$ points with games priced in units of 400 and points sold in units of 500 which seems like gross profiteering to me.

Anyhow. This is my first experience of PixelJunk too and I was pleasently surprised. It's a very polished little game. Nice opening, Nice animated menu in the form of your mothership and nice crisp, screen filling, graphics.

Having seen the screenshots I was expecting something akin to Thrust from my childhood and it is vaguely similar requiring you to use a grapple hook to collect little people from various caverns. However over coming gravity is out and twin stick shooting is in.

This means that instead of constantly having to concentrate on just staying alive (the walls of the cavern aren't deadly, you just bounce off) you can concentrate on shooting, rescuing and over coming the elements.

Various sections of the caverns are home to either water, lava or gas and the meat of the game comes from solving puzzles to make these elements combine to clear the areas.

Without doubt the best game I've downloaded all year. And at the price of a couple of pints of lager pretty decent value.

Review of 2009 - Part 1

So it's come to that time of year where we look back at the past years highlights with fond feeling.. So to start off here's my top five games of 2009. In reverse order:

5. House of the Dead: Overkill - Wii

I played through the whole campaign again the last two nights just to make sure it was as much fun as I remembered. It's still a great mix of grindhouse style presentation, funny cutscenes, huge amounts of swearing and razorsharp gameplay. The campaign is good. With it's infinite amount of continues and the pressure of keeping the mutants at bay with your pistol whilst trying to remember where the gold skulls and power ups are. It's the Directors Cut though that I keep coming back to. Earning money to power up the weapons and then trying to get the multiplyer going by chaining kills together in an old fashioned highscore quest is twitch gaming at it's best. Highly recommended.

4. Forza 3 - 360

Quite simply a stunning achievement. It's not just the amazing depth on offer it's the ease with which it's presented that makes this such a leap ahead of the last game. Yes there's more tracks, more cars, the handling has been improved and it's prettier but you'd take that as read anyway. What makes it better is how Turn 10 cater for every skill level. Of course there's all the driver aids and racing lines and the rewind function that we take for granted now. But the game will auto tune cars for you, Suggest races that suit you're garage so you're never stuck as to what to do. Of course the online racing is great but now every Live memember has a store front where you can download their tuning set ups, graphics and even whole car designs. It's stunning on every level.

3. GTA: Chinatown Wars - DS

Probably the best GTA game since III on the PS2. Takes great advantage of the DS to make a living city that doesn't bring the harware to it's knees whilst at the same time adding great stylus based mini games, An interesting plot, A drug dealing side game that can take huge chunks of gaming time as you try to nail good deals and some wonderful set pieces. Chuck in better combat than IV and nifty driving and you've got the best new game on DS this year.

2. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - PS3

Certainly the prettiest game released this year. It's a rollercoaster of excitement and adventure all the way through. Like a rollercoaster it's very linear but rollercoasters don't get much more exciting than this.

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum

Quite simply you are Batman. Gaming experiences don't get much better than that. So much thought and care has gone into every aspect of The Asylum, Batmans powers and the source material it's quite simply mind blowing. I played through from beginning to end twice back to back. Every power up feels authentic. The combat system makes you feel like a superhero. The graphics are almost as striking as Uncharted 2 in their own way and it's got more atmosphere. There's moments of 'punch the air' excitement of course but everything is rock solid. Zipping about on grapple hooks never gets old. The combat is always exciting. It never forgets that Batman is brains as well as brawn and the cast of bad guys certainly pleased this fan. Game of the Year without a shadow of a doubt.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)
Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Assassin's Creed - 360
Assassin's Creed II - 360
Guitar Hero 5 - 360

I was in two minds whether to include this on the list because I had a lot of help in Multiplayer completing the songs. The Achievement unlocked is actually called 'Beat The Game' though and it's my blog so it's going on!

Currently Playing: inFamous

I picked this up in HMV for £20 brand new. I know it's due on Platinum soon but I prefer the original packaging where possible.

It's a sand box open world game where you star as a courier who finds himself with electrical super powers after a massive explosion in his home city. It's obviously operating on a slightly lower budget than say Killzone 2 or Uncharted 2 but it still looks pretty sweet.

The game mostly reminds me of Crackdown on the 360 but with slightly grittier feel to it. Cole, for such is the lead characters name, can basically suck electric out of anything that's electrically powered and shoot it out of his hands as projectiles. Rather like Altair and Ezio from the Assassin's Creed games he can also climb up pretty much any surface in a parkor style. It's not quite as fluid a system and Cole is perhaps a little bit over sticky meaning it can be difficult to climb down.

However it's mostly a very enjoyable. There's no driving instead Cole unlocks powers as you complete various story missions that allow him to begin travel not only faster but with more style. There's also a range of combat upgrages you can purchase with XP earned from doing things around the city. Side missions not only allow you to earn this XP they also allow you to reclaim areas of the city which then wont be populated by enemies. It's a good system drawing you into not only completing them but making the world a better place for you.

I'm getting on with it a lot better than I did with the demo. The enemy can be a bit of a bitch. They seem to be able to hit you with lazer like accuracy from miles away but whether it was the practice or the gradual unlocking of powers but I managed to get the train all the way to it's destination without to much trouble.

Overall it's a solid exclusive.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)
Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Assassin's Creed - 360
Assassin's Creed II - 360

I enjoyed this much more than the original.. It's basically the same game (the movement and climbing and viewpoints all return) but improved in most of the ways you'd hope.

The cities themselves are more active, it's like a proper open world rather than the set dressing which the last game felt like. You earn money and can spend it on upgrades for your weapons and equipment which helps. The combat has been modified slightly too. It's still based on a fussy counter system but the window for getting a counter seems slightly more helpful. I'm still rubbish at it (the achievement for 10 uninterupted counters eluded me tellingly) but with the availability of health packs and a lot more options in moves and equipment it was more enjoyable.

The story didn't make a lot of sense.. but it doesn't seem to matter. There's none of the grind before you get to assassinate people and lots of other things to do and collect and six pretty awesome dungeons that have a hint of Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (the camera swoops about hinting at where to go before you start in a sort of homage).

The controls are still a bit fiddly with far to much shoved on to the B button. There's a new move you learn about half way though where you can leap up a climbing surface and then grab back on again to cover areas that aren't covered in little sticky out bits.. but the grabbing button is B which is also the drop button.. who ever thought that up needs shooting.

Other than that thoroughly enjoyable and they should really have something special if the third games improves again.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)
Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time
Assassin's Creed - 360

Having gone back to this for the first time in over a year I managed to fluke the mission I was stuck on (after 4 or 5 aborted attempts) and killed the one person I needed out of the crowd of guards. There follows possibly the most annoying lead up to the end of a game in recorded history. Altair is never at his best in my clumsy hand in combat amongst a crowd.. Especially when I'd forgotten the all the controls (The manual is useless in this respect). When it came back to me I finally managed to kill the crowd of guards and then had to run around in a circle for ages avoiding the 'hit' until I got my strength back.

After that it was pretty much plain sailing until the 100g 'cheevo popped up for finishing the game.

That, if I'm not mistaken, bring my total to the year to 36 games which I'm pretty proud of. Yes there's been a few Easy ones. But not enough games let you change the difficulty mid game. It's difficult to know what kind of challenge lies ahead at the option screen.

Purchase Power

I traded in Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time for the vanilla edition of Assassin's Creed II today. Which leads me nicely on to my next post

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)
Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves
Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time

Completed this over the weekend, Mostly during a marathon session on Sunday. I'd say it was probably a touch shorter than ToD. It's mostly more of the same. There are some changes. Some good, Some bad.

The biggest change was the Clank levels. ToD's Clanks levels saw him control the 'Zoni' to over come puzzles and obstacles but where mostly dull. The story of CiT see time manipulation come to the fore and the puzzles that Clank faces here have a Braid style inspiration. Suffice to say it was the part of the game I was least looking forward to and ended up enjoying most.. It's a pity there wasn't more of them. Just as I was enjoying the challenge they'd finished.

The Weapons, always a highlight of a R&C game where a bit weak this time. I ended up only using a handful. You've got to love a game where the missile launcher is called the 'Negotiator' but there wasn't the scope and variety of ToD and I didn't like the upgrade system as much either.

The space combat was improved, The bonus worlds had a sort of Super Mario Galaxy flavour to them and I enjoyed the ones I tried (at a certain point you need a certain amount of 'Zoni' to progress but I did the bear minimum of exploring side quests).

The cut scenes and story where up to the usual high standard and I found a lot of it laugh out loud funny. Especially the line 'I am your Father's Accountant.'

So overall a great end to this particular trilogy of Ratchet & Clank games but Insomniac needs to come up with something more for the next adventures.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)
Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves

I'm a huge fan of Naughty Dog and this doesn't disappoint. It's a cracking adventure from start to finish. The cutscenes are genuinely enjoyable. It does everything a good sequel should. Building on the first game but making everything better.

Personally I'd rather not have AI companions for quite so much of the game and I still think the puzzles are a bit too few and far between but other than that it's hard to fault.

Some brilliant set pieces and strong level design maintain your interest all the way to the end.

Personally I have to say I think Batman: Arkham Asylum probably just shades it as my GOTY but it's a close call.

First Look: Episodes from Liberty City

It wasn't that long ago when I went back to Liberty City to finish off GTA IV but it still feels like a while since I've been waiting for the DLC to be released on a more 20Gb HDD friendly disc.

I started with The Ballad of Gay Tony because I'd heard it been trumpted as a return to San Andreas (my personal favourite GTA) levels of excess..

Now I've no idea whether it's being spoiled by the controls and silky smooth gameplay of Uncharted 2 and Batman:AA or whether GTA IV has aged in dog years but going back now it feels horribly clunky and verging on the broken. I honestly don't know how I had the patience to complete GTA IV.

Rockstar have at least put checkpoints in which eases some of the frustration but in typical Rockstar form they've done it their own way. Having stolen an attack helicopter early on in the game I'm then tasked with blowing the yaught it was stolen from up.. Of course the guns fire forward and the rockets have a life of their own and there's no sight or recticle to show you where they're going to land.. Suffice to say I crashed into the see several times trying to bring my guns to bear on the yaught because you end up flying straight towards the sea...

No problem there's a checkpoint.. but instead of just throwing you straight back into the action it has to put you outside the hospital where you get a text allowing you to access the checkpoint. Which would be fine if it wasn't for the player character immedeately trying to phone someone. You just want to get back into the action and have another go but you can't. The whole thing, to my eyes at least, is starting to groan under the weight of what Rockstar are trying to achieve.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii
CoD: Modern Warfare 2 - (Normal)

It's not a hugely long campaign. Although I seemed to die an awful lot. If you've played Modern Warfare you'll have some idea what to expect. Lots of set pieces and lots of jingonistic ass kicking! It was thoroughbly enjoyable in a sort of mindless way.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)
Mario Kart Wii

Quite a while without a completion for me.. (I've actually got to the last boss on Uncharted 2 and have yet to polish it off). Dusted this off last night. Suitably refreshed after an evenings drinking I managed to complete the last three gold cups I needed on the reverse championship to see the credits roll.. The first two cups went down with out too much resistance..

The last Gold cup I needed was the one that ends in 'Rainbow Road'. I got a third and a first and then had a total nightmare on the third Bowsers Castle track coming in last by a huge margin.. Managed to finish high enough on Rainbow Road to score 41 points which equalled the highest AI racer and scored me the Gold Cup!

Currently Playing: Guitar Hero 5

As previously mentioned this is my first experience of any rhythmn based peripheral type game. I was rather impressed with the 'Axe' itself. There's a pleasing weight to it and the finish is rather fine. Indeed on seeing it propped up in the corner of my front room a friend remarked that he didn't know I played guiter.. I don't. The only downside, at least for me, is the strum bar itself makes quite a loud clicking noise while you're playing.

But what of the game itself? As you'd imagine umpteen sequels and band editions later they've pretty much nailed the gameplay. There's an option to create your own character, use your Avatar, several defaults and the option to unlock several celebs (my personal favourite being the lovely Shirley Manson of Garbage fame.)

Of course once you're playing the pretty characters and graphics go out the window and all you can do is focus on the notes. I'm sure everyones familiar with the fret board style conveyor belt of notes. The game breaks you in quite gently with the option to just strum but obviously you'll soon want to start playing properly. At first even just the combination of playing three notes and strumming is terribly complex and you can only wonder how on earth you're going to be able to cope with anything else.. It's all about the practice.

You're fingers soon seem to take on a life of their own as the notes roll around you find yourself doing things you'd not of thought possible. I particularly liked playing 'Symphony for The Devil' as Richards signature guitar sounds come out of the speakers as you're hitting the notes does bring out the inner rock god.

What I wasn't expecting was how much fun it is as a party game. Two other players, even if they're all playing the guitar parts too, make for an awful lot more fun. They also help you if you 'fail' the song. They get the chance to get you back in the game rather than having to start again if you make a mess of it.

For my particular tastes the song selection is solid rather than spectacular although it does introduce to some songs that you find out you like that you didn't know. I guess it's a question of my age that the focus on newer stuff is not really my thing.. where's the Pink Floyd edition?

First Look: Modern Warfare 2

As my regular reader will know I pre-ordered the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 and quite an impressive piece of kit it is. I haven't gotten around to getting the Night Vision Goggles or the Head out yet but the Hardened Edition case and the Art book where nice. It also comes with a code to allow you to download the original Call of Duty which I've never played.

But what of the game? Well I started on the Multiplayer. I got together a small bunch of Live friends and we had a go on some of the maps. First impressions is that there's a lot too them and plenty of scope for learning where to ambush people and perhaps a lot more to them then say Halo 3's maps. However as soon as you go public it's obvious that the larger number of online players per game soon renders that advantage worthless. At least at first.

The game moves at a much faster pace than Halo and a relative small amounts of hits are fairly deadly. Once in a public match it's pretty much mayhem from start to finish. The deaths, at least for me, came thick and fast. The Kill Cam is a nice touch allowing you to see what killed you but it'd be nicer not to die quite so often. XP seems to come thick and fast regardless of whether you're on the winning team and of how much actual contribution you made so it would seem a war of attrition could see even a rubbish player like me make progress..

The single player begins in a very similar manner to CoD 4 with a quick weapons tutorial and then a training area.. Although I personally thought this one wasn't as good as the last one.

The campaign get's off to a rather slow and annoying start as you take pot shots against the enemy from across a river and try to defend a bridge. Followed by an on rails section in an APC and a scripted explosion.. By this point I was starting to wonder what all the fuss was about and I'd had enough.

Purchase Power

Couple of updates for you! I purchased the regular edition of Uncharted 2: Amongst Thieves last Friday from Game.

Today I got the limited edition of Forza 3. It's much nicer than the one for the previous game. Although it's not in a tin the cardboard box feels nice and substantial and the lid splits to unfold to reveal a velvet (style) lined box with the key ring, memory stick and the game in it's own plastic box! Much better than the silly tins which are a pain every time you want to get the game out.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%
Halo 3* - (Legendary)

Not a first time completion but a serious step up in difficulty.. Fortunately I had some help as we did it in a single sitting in co-op.

Personally, fun as the game is, I really can't see why it's so popular.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)
DiRT 2 - 100%

Not a huge amount too add. It remains a great game. Hugely fun online. My only problem is there's not enough tracks. After you've completed The X Games events and the World Tours and the special McRae championship I still had a huge number of events left to go.

All well and good but when you've got to grind your way through several events at, for instance, LA which has around 10 events (some of which are made up of 3 race events) and there's only 3 variations of the same basic course, one of which is a reverse, it gets dull pretty quick.

Overall though a hugely enjoyable game.

Purchase Power

I had a guitar lesson once as a kid. Sadly I'm tone deaf so I wasn't able to tune it. Thus it was a fairly short, but not sweet, experience.

However during a session on Halo 3 the other night with some of my regular friends an idea was born. To form a guitar hero based online band! Sure a couple of us where missing Guitar Hero 5... and in my case the Guitar peripheral itself. But the idea was genius!

Some online searches revealed that Amazon and Play where only offering £5 off of the RRP. I went to Game and bought it there and got (apparently) the last but one free promotional copy of Guitar Hero: World Tour thrown in!

The kid at the counter kindly informed me that I wouldn't like Guitar Hero 5 cos the music was rubbish but I'd probably enjoy World Tour. Just what you want to hear when you've spent £75.

Currently Playing: Ninja Gaiden 2: Sigma Demo

Downloaded the demo last night. I still don't understand why the PSN seems so much slower than X-Box Live. Especially when it's sharing the same broadband. However I left it on while I went out and happily it was done when I got in and had switched itself off.. I was too drunk to manage it.

Had a go this morning. With the speech in Japanese and the English subtitles on so I could follow the story. It certainly looks very nice. There is a stark sort of empty feel to the levels as the reviews have mentioned but still it's impressive.

But man is it hard. The bad guys pile in and start whittling your health bar down, seemingly before you can do anything.. Presumably I need to learn some tactics and I need to learn them quick. Then I couldn't work out where I was supposed to go.. I'm not sure whether the demo just finished or if I'm just stupid. I can see the full game testing my patience (and Sixaxis) to breaking point..

Still I tempted to go buy it.. I shouldn't really because there's so much on the horizon..

Purchase Power

I went to Game today to buy the new Dead Space: Extraction for some more light gun based shenanigans on my Wii.. however it's on the shelves at £40 and there's just no way I'm paying that kind of money for a Wii game. Third Party titles seem to tumble in value and I'll be very surprised if I can't pick it up in a couple of months for under £20.

So instead I spent £15 on Afro Samurai for 360.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET
Halo 3: ODST - (Legendary)

There's been no update on my progress on this for several reasons. Firstly it's short. With four players in co-op, even on Legendary, we clocked the game in just under 5 hours. Secondly I pretty much hated it all. I don't think I've ever disagreed with an EDGE review more. It's like Bungie have learnt nothing in the previous games. The hub City is dark, repetative and dull. Occasionally someone would ask if we hadn't already done this bit.. The last couple of levels are made up of identical corridors and rooms.. and there's the same old bad guys (or so it seemed to me) without even the flood turning up. However it was fun playing with friends.

Mostly I feel though it represents terrible value for money. Yes it comes on two discs.. but did it really need too? I don't have any of the DLC for Halo 3 and I still feel ripped off. The Firefight mode uses levels from the main game, Some of some the new maps are from Halo 2 (Which in one way is fine cos they're better than the levels in Halo 3 but I begrudge paying for them again).

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2
WET



WET has hints of Max Payne and Stranglehold too it but the game it reminded me most of was Ninja Blade (although without the stupidly hard boss battles).

First off Rubi is a very likeable heroine. She's one dimensional but it's a great dimension. She's cool but she's also pissed and impatient... There's a cut scene where one of the crime lords is explaining how they're aren't enemies but they'll never be friends and she's all like yeah whatever.

The demo doesn't really do it justice which is odd cos it's basically the opening level but you've actually got less powers. Somehow it flows better.

I just loved it all really. The uber cool blood mode where Rubi goes into some kind of Rage mode and everything is red with black enemies and white blood and you just rampage through. I liked the story, I liked the grindhouse style, I loved the little cinema style trailers, I liked the action and I even liked the cool over the top QTEs that popped up now and then. I even liked the speed runs through Rubi's hideout that get your familiar with new weapons.

It doesn't out stay it's welcome and at any other time of the year I'd of probably had multiple play throughs to get the most out of it (Me being the cack handed flid that I am was just getting the hang of making Rubi look cool when it was all over). As it is I'm going to trade it.

Purchase Power

So now we must be firmly in the silly season. I've some bad stuff about Need for Speed: Shift from a trusted source whose had hands on experience so decided to give it a miss.. Maybe pick it up cheap?

I wasn't blown away with the demo of Wet but still really wanted too play it.. After the awesome dollhouse I'm hot for all thins Dushku related at the moment. I liked the grindhouse style presentation and I enjoyed Stranglehold so if this offers more of the same I'll be more than happy.

Also it was only £35 in Game so hopefully I'll be able to trade it for something in a couple of weeks.

Currently Playing: DiRT 2

First off the bad news. Ken Block and his X game American cohorts yelping and hollering is annoying. As is the games instance on battering your senses with menu selections and unlocked events hammering into place every few seconds. You get the feeling that our American Cousins will be loving being told their awesome after every event by the AI. It's just not something we, more reserved, Brits appreciate.

You've got to look past the surface sheen. Or even enter into the spirit by talking back to them (sample exchange: Ken Block "Woo.. Alex.. There's enough room for both of us!" Me "Eat wall you idiot!" having just punted him off).

The career mode is immense. While there's only 2 or 3 tracks per country there are a lot of countries and they're all nicely diversive in an organic way (They feel like countries and not a generic 'this is a jungle and this is a snow level'). The graphics are sublime. As the car crosses the line (complete with pyrotechnics) there's a super slow mo which never gets old and you can really see the love that's gone into it.

Of course any driving game lives and dies on it's handling. Initially DiRT 2 disappoints feeling over arcadey and with a tendency to be too oversteery on the limit. Perservere though (especially with the brilliant bonnet cam) and it all starts to come together and it reveals the depth that allows you to start taming what at first felt impossible.

Online is a huge leap for Codemasters, both from the previous game and GRiD. There's a Jam mode where, at last, you can have a host and pick exactly what you want to do as well as the Pro mode which is similar to previous efforts (no host and a random track and vehicle selection which you can veto) which works fine. It's nice and snappy and there's no waiting around while people chat and no idiot picking a car that's too good. It's better than before because of the wider scope of disciplines now availabe online.

If this is, as has been hinted, the last game to feature McRaes name then it's a fitting send off.. Just remember to tell Block to fuck off from me.

Purchase Power

After two visits to GAME I managed to get myself a copy of Colin McRae:DiRT 2. I got £25 as part of a special offer for my copy of Batman: Arkham Asylum which soothed some of the pain of having to pay £45 for it.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum
Killzone 2

Obviously PS3 fans are desperate to have a FPS that is a Halo beater. Or the PS3 magazines are. I'm also not entirely sure why this game received so much hype. It's really not healthy.

It is a stunningly gorgeous game. When I played the demo I wondered what all the fuss was about. Everytime I fired the game up I wondered why all games didn't look this amazing. The character models are especially gorgeous having none of the waxy sheen that the Unreal Engine seems to give to everything.

Having said that, to me at least, Killzone 2 feels like an FPS Gears. You've got the same space marines who think helmets are for fools, A cover system, A rubbish story and a similar chunky feeling to the movement..

It's far from perfect though. As fun and hectic as the fire fights are the cover system can feel a bit arbitary in what it will fix too. In standard configuration the PS3 pad feels far from comfortable either for extended peroids.. Having to hold 'L2' to fix to cover, 'L1' to aim down the sight and 'R1' to fire combined with both sticks gave me terrible hand cramp.

The story is forgettable. The AI of your team is, for the most part, terrible. In fact I was quite pleased too discover that you could shoot him to death yourself to get past him when he was happily blocking your path and he'd come back to life automatically at the next checkpoint.

There's a lot of fun to be had though. It really does feel like war. At it's best the combat is intense and action packed with hundreds of bullets ripping through the dust and smoke and the Helghast (the games evil enemy) pouring in..

Also, like Gears it doesn't outstay it's welcome. Even on the easiest setting though I found it incredibly tough. Granted I'm not the worlds best FPS player but the Helghast are incredibly tough soaking up huge amounts of bullets, This combined with guns that require frequent longs slow reloading means that to make any kind of progress on the higher levels you'd need the kind of discpline I just don't possess.

I'm glad I didn't pick it up new, But at £20 I'd say it was an essential PS3 purchase for anyone with a passing interest in shooters.. It'd certainly be the game I loaded up to show off what PS3 can do. If I still had friends (in real life™) that would be interested.. but that's another story.

Purchase Power

I've just bought Dragons Quest IV: Hand of the Heavenly Bride from eBay for £6.25 in my quest to play as much DS as possible. I'm not a huge fan of Japanese RPGs but coming off the back of Zelda I'm fired up with enthusiasm! Just £6.25 including P&P too! God bless eBay.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Batman: Arkham Asylum

There'll be absolutely no spoilers here. This is the first essential purchase of the year for comic and game fans alike.. Presumably if you like both you've bought it already.

I completed the bulk of the game on 'Normal' but couldn't seem to beat the second but last boss battle. It seemed I hadn't unlocked the best abilities for it.. and of course it was tougher than anything prior to that which had already tested my meagre skills too the limit. There was nothing else for it but to start again on Easy.

Of course it was a much quicker play through second time although I did get more out of it. I got a better grip on the combat system, solved more of the riddlers puzzles and found more of the secrets which awarded me a lot more Exp to spend on upgrading stuff... A third play through on Normal should see me beat it.. but my hands are like claws I've played this for so long.

It's something of a shock that something that I think we all thought had no chance can turn out so brilliant. The production values are huge, the gameplay is immense and it is an absolute joy too play from start too finish and chock full of bits you'd love to share.. Everything else coming is probably going to raise it's game!

Mos Def - The Ecstatic

If there's a better hipperty hopperty album released this year I've not heard it.

I always think when listening to a rap album how the music would sound sans lyric. If this album where an instrumental it would probably still be stunning. The fact that Mos is a deft and interesting lyricist is an added bonus. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Let the Silly Season Begin!

As September start we see the usual glut of software being readied for release for everyones christmas cash.. Having had a browse through Play.com's coming soon pages there's an overwhelming amount of new software about to be released.

Perhaps though less triple A must have titles than last year.. I think some of that's down to some good stuff being delayed until Q1 2010. That's not to say that this year is going to be any easier on my bank balance. Even discounting some of the optimistic release dates on Play.com I count at least 18 games that I'm interested in and at least 12 (across all five platforms that I own) that are essential purchases.

First out of the blocks is Colin McRae: DiRT 2 in early september, then in date order we have: Scribblenauts, Uncharted 2, Brutal Legend, Forza 3, GTA: Episodes from Liberty City, Ratchet & Clank: Crack in Time, Blur, CoD:Modern Warfare 2, No More Heroes 2, Gran Turismo 2 and Legend of Zelda:Spirit Tracks making the essential list.

Need for Speed:Shift, Wet, Halo 3:ODST, Pilot Wings Wii, Gran Turismo PSP and Assassin's Creed II making the wait and see list.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode
Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass

The last power I received actually made me laugh with joy. No spoilers here for anyone who hasn't played it but it was a great game and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Even all the Boss battles. An essential DS purchase

Purchase Power

I think Batman: Arkham Asylum is only the second new game I've picked up on day of release this year.. I ended up plumping for the 360 version despite the PS3 version having exclusive content. Mainly because 360 versions of 3rd party games tend to be superior and secondly cos there might be some fun achievements.

I also spied Killzone 2 has finally reached the magic sub £20 price point in Game. So I picked that up as well. Never played the first one but I having cleared Little Big Planet last night I've not got anything PS3 related..

I had a new set of questions today in Game.. Did I know the PS3 slim was coming and the Elite has been reduced? Did I want either for increased storage? Suffice to say I'm happy with my launch PS3 and its backward compatibility and I already have three 360s at home so no.. I don't want any more consoles at the moment.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)
Little Big Planet - Story Mode

Really amazing game.. The story mode is lots of fun and really well done.

It's had plenty of time for user generated content and so I had a little browse through that. You can see what levels your friends have played and liked and it's a really good way of finding some fun stuff.

One level, a re-imagining of Jack and the Beanstalk was awesome with a giant beanstalk and a giants castle and a chase and a golden egg and everything.. It must of taken hours.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS
Silent Hill 3 - (5 star rating)

I think I actually enjoyed this more than Silent Hill 2. It's graphically superior. Although a lot shorter (It took me just over 6 hours to complete according to my save file compared to over 12 for the second game) it's more focused and there's less aimless wandering of the town.

I preferred the main protagonist, Heather, as well. She's feisty and I think playing a girl added to the scare factor. This game actually made me jump more. I also felt the 'nightmare' alternate realities where more in keeping with the first game and genuinely disturbing. The bit where the bath over flowed with blood whilst the bloody tendrils expanded over your reflection was horrible. The monsters too where more menacing and yet you couldn't help feeling sorry for the split head dogs when they yelped and ran off after a good battering with the pipe.

The story itself wasn't as strong echoing the first games hokey 'God summoning' and I thought it was cheeky to reuse a chunk of Silent Hill 2's level. There was also a bit too much instant death for my liking. Especially when the controls are still a bit clunky.

Overall though another enjoyable experience. I intend to move straight onto Silent Hill 4: The Room now.

Currently Playing: Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass

Me and Zelda have a history of never really seeing eye too eye. I really couldn't get on with the SNES port on the GBA.. It's just too old school. I famously managed to get stuck on the tutorial of Wind Waker and whilst I made more progress on Orcarina of Time I don't think it aged well.

However I'm currently flush with enthusiasm for all things DS and having spotted a copy of the Phantom Hourglass for a tenner it didn't seem like a huge risk.

When I heard that Links control mechanism was to be with the stylus I imagined some kind of rubbish point and click style effect that would be vague and annoying. In fact it's a stroke of genius. The game pretty much does away with the face buttons almost entirely (there's one button that switches the screens but more on this later) and is all the better for it. Link is a joy to control and deft movement is soon second nature.

For me though the main improvement is in the structure. Underneath the pretty Wind Waker-ish cell shaded graphics (there's one windy Isle where Link has to run against the wind and the animation is almost too cute.) it's pretty much still the top down levels of Zelda of old. But here the story and your progress are much more focused.. There's a steady progression of islands, dungeons and items that your receive that make progress possible and it's nearly always clear where you should be going next.

That's not too say exploration is out. There's plenty of islands not on the map to find and explore and sunken treasures to find.. But it's rare also when you're not entirely sure where to go next.

Even returning to the same central dungeon repeatedly isn't too much of a chore. You can switch the top map screen down to the lower screen and write notes to yourself on where switches and items (and anything else that takes your fancy) are straight onto the screen. This combined with the new items and abilities mean that levels of the dungeon that took all your time and powers of lateral thinking become easier.

Hopefully I'll be able too see the adventure all the way to the end. I'm even thining of giving The Wind Waker another whirl.

It ain't over until..

Here's a quick round up of games I still have too finish.

I've completed the last mission on Ninja Blade upto the last boss battle. It's a bit of tough one even compared to some of the earlier ones.. Plus with out saveable checkpoints the whole thing needs to be done in one sitting.. I still have hopes of completing this though because I really did enjoy the game.

I ground too a halt on Little Big Planet's story mode on the last but one world.. The five lives per checkpoint get a bit annoying on some of the tougher sections. On this particular bit there's a series of circles rotating within each other and I couldn't seem to time the jumps for the last section. I'm sure a bit of practice would see me through but I just don't have the patience at the moment.

FUEL's career mode is probably about half way completed.. My excuse here is that I've been obsessed with the Silent Hill boxset. I must really polish this one off before the glut of racing games arrive later in the year.

Assassin's Creed is also a last mission boss battle waiting too happen. I don't think there's any spoilers here by saying the last bit is a pitched battle and I got annoyed with it. However a friend on a forum has given me a few hints for completing it and with the sequel on it's way this is one game I should really polish off too.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)
Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga - DS

The Force is strong in this one.

I was trying to decide, whilst playing it all day yesterday, why it was better than Lego Indiana Jones. Was it just because it was the original concept? Was the source material more suitable? Did it simply suit the DS better than the 360?

I've come to the conclusion that it's all those things. The iconic Star Wars universe has been captured perfectly. The sound is fantastic. Obviously the theme musics are a given but hearing a Wookie wail or a startled droid never gets dull. Little things like Yoda moving slowly until he gets his lightsaber out when he tumbles and rolls about just like in the film.

Of course it's fairly simple, chunky graphics based on Lego weren't stressing the 360 but here on the DS it looks really good. There's not the kind of DS focused use of the hardware that Zelda and GTA: Chinatown Wars managed but what is there is good. The force push is very easy to use with a thumb while your using the conventional controls.

There's also some inspired vehicle levels. Pod racing is fun but taking down AT-ATs with your tether wire by frantically whizzing your thumb around it is inspired.

If just a pity other developers cant seem to capture this amount of magic without the Lego-ness.

I think it'll be a cartridge a keep with the DS so that I can have a dip into the Free Play mode and try and find all the secrets. (completing story mode apparently only counts towards 40% of total completion.)

First Look: Silent Hill 3

First off! Why would you swap the function of the 'select' and the 'start' button between direct sequels? What paused the game and what brought up your inventory are now on opposite buttons! Confusing!

While I'm complaining... Why does the map now not default to the zoomed in view that is more helpful? Now the heroines head is attracted to just about everything not only does she now resemble Regan but it's less helpful.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars
Silent Hill 2 - (4 star rating, Leave ending)

I seem to remember the original game being much more Resident Evil inspired with it's odd puzzles and general, town gone bad, story line. This sequel is a much more mature journey into guilt and relationships. It took me just over 12 hours to complete and I only came a croper on a couple of puzzles (Although I did have riddles set too easy cos that kind of thing frustrates my poor brain). I really enjoyed the prison section. I couldn't find a map and ended up producing my own which ended up much like the in game versions.

The scares are more subtle and mature too. There's none of the cheap shocks of Resi instead it's much more atmospheric and in some cases just plain weird. There's also great use of sound.. childish whimpering, breaking glass and weird moans can all be heard at certain points and yet never mature into a physical threat. There's a lot of creeping dread..

Suffice to say I've moved straight on to number three.

The " Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending
GTA: Chinatown Wars

I really hated GTA on PSP. It pushed the machine to breaking point to try and bring the PS2 experience to the handheld and ended up pretty much unplayable.

For this brand new DS based story Rockstar have designed it from the ground up for Nintendos handheld machine. Out go flashy graphics, Cutscenes and endless UMD access. In comes a cracking top down cell shaded look that has a hint of 3D and looks brilliant. Cutscenes are replaced with comic style panels and witty dialogue.

They've managed to capture the very essence of what makes GTA fun and lost none of the scale. Liberty City is huge. Almost everything you'd want to do from it's bigger brother is possible. The driving and shooting are hugely fun. Even long journeys are entertaining with all the vehicles feeling different. There's a wide range of chunky weapons and a great lock-on system that nearly always picks the right target (well it wouldn't be GTA if it didn't occasionally leave you high and dry). Everything is run from your PDA with missions and purchases regularly being messaged to you.

There's also great use of the touch screen to do also sorts of fun stuff and plenty of variety in the missions too.

Barring a couple of difficulty spikes and the usual annoying lack of checkpoints the game is pretty much perfect for on the go fun. A great welcome back to the DS. Essential.

P.s. That's 18 titles completed and that matches last years total!

Purchase Power

A couple of DS purchases to update you all on.

I got Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for £10 in Game second hand. Which seemed like a bargain. I know my history of Zelda games isn't great but I'm looking forward too it.

I also got Lego Star Wars for £15 in HMV brand new. Having had a lenghty gap between my original DS and this new DS lite there seems to be a fair bit of cheap software to catch up on.

Currently Playing: Silent Hill 2

In what's probably the biggest gap between a First Look and a Currently Playing I once again make a start on Silent Hill 2 (in fact such a long gap there wasn't even a 'First Look' feature on this blog back then).

I figured I might as well start from the beginning again. This time I switched to the 2d control scheme which is much more comfortable to the modern gamer making James walk in the direction your pushing the stick rather than that 3d moonwalking/tank like default controls.

The long walk into Silent Hill itself is still a bit on the dull side but at least the graphics are atmospheric. I don't know what I was thinking before. However after a bit of exploration I got to the first appartment block and the real meat of the game shows itself.. working my way around the spooky appartment block, radio crackling, torch still unfound is genuinely creepy. The map works well illuminating points of interest and I was soon digging out a note book. Although the in game one does a decent job!

My first sighting of pyramid head from within a cupboard while he did unspeakable things to two horrible flesh monsters had me desperately trying to turn my torch off even though it was a cutscene and beyond my control.

Whilst I can't say my visit has been nice I'm very glad I went back.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia
No More Heroes - Real Ending

Was there ever a game where the saying "You get what you give" was more true? The game is basically 12 boss battles in a row. As Nish hinted there's a couple of surprises along the way but there's an awful awful lot more busy work to be done.

So what makes it such a work of genius? The story is great, The cut scenes and the bosses themselves are all really interesting and humourus. There's lot of lovely little incidental touches as well. Answering the phone by listening to the little speaker in the Wii-mote was brilliant. Playing with the cat. Collecting T shirts. Treasure hunting with Beam Katana.. All great.

But what it really boils down to is getting into the vibe of the game. Visiting the gym between every mission and going for the burn, Earning enough cash to have the best Katana available and upgrading it, Searching for the balls so the drunk russian guy shows you special abilities, Buying the videos and trying to get Golds in all the part time jobs and Assassins missions.

The combat never gets boring despite being very repetitive. I loved the fourth Katana. When Travis unsheathed it just like a Samari I was laughing with joy. Nevermind when I found out I could beat my previous best score of 104 kills by another 16 with it on Assassin mission 17. Brilliant.

There was a lot of things I learnt on the fly. Suddenly finding the bike had a boost button helped me get gold on the bike jump part time job. Wiggling the nunchuck stick when being hit allows you to enter a kind of black mode that was cool.

There was a couple of things I didn't like. I could've done without having to skip through the same conversations everytime I applied for a new job or went in a shop.. and I would've liked the option to restart when I'd failed without having to ride back to the shop and re-apply.. but that's about it.

All the boss battles where memorable and fortunately I already had the Tsubaki III so I could go straight to the final boss battle and see the amazing end... Can't wait for the sequel now.

Great Expectations: Batman: Arkham Asylum

This has been on my Bat Radar for sometime.. Initially hopes obviously weren't high. Comic Book licences and Video games not normally making comfortable bed fellows. However as the (delayed) development has gone along it's started to look more and more promising. The previews have gone from cautious optimism to enthusiasm...

The World Exclusive review from OPM is in and it's scored a healthy 9 out of 10. The demo is out on Friday so we'll be able to have a little look-e-see for ourselves..

Suffice to say this could be my first new day one purchase for some time. I may even pre-order it. Fingers crossed that I'll feel as much like Batman as I did aged 7 when I came second in the local fancy dress contest! (apparently I would've won but the judges thought the costume was shop bought! (It wasn't, My mum was just awesome with a sewing machine.))

Currently Playing: FUEL

There's no First Look for this because I hated it when I first played it. It seems that the teams ambition has out stripped either their talent or the amount of time/funds they had to make the game.

There's precious little in the way of tutorial and the career mode is badly laid out. Each area of the world has it's own camp where races can be chosen. Win enough races and you can unlock new areas. However when you get to the second and third camps you haven't got enough FUEL (the games in game currency) to unlock the vehicles needed to complete the new events..

The loading times are incredibly long. Sometimes longer than it can take to complete the event. The AI is terrible as well. It sometimes has problems path finding and the elastic banding is terrible. It's an out an out arcade racer really so you start every race at the back and the pack zoom off and you've got to catch them. Mostly they stretch out enough that you'll pass the last car just before the chequered flag but miss a gate or have a crash and you'll find that you're in last place. Conversley race a good clean section and you can suddenly find they've all bunched together and you can pass all of them in a couple of corners.

However I do like a driving game and so I stuck at it. Eventually in one of the long loading screens a tip was displayed about not ignoring the challenges, several of which are available per camp but have to be 'spotted' first. It turns out not only are these a lot of fun providing plenty of variety from the racing but also a great way to earn FUEL. Soon I'd unlocked plenty of vehicles and some of the games potential has been unlocked.

When it's good it's a lot of fun. The handling is very arcadey with huge power slides being the norm and brakes are almost always for wimps. Some of the events have very few check points and allow you to ignore the GPS and pretty much set your own course. The trick here is to balance the risk/reward of a more direct off road route with the tracks and roads where the vehicles travel faster. Is it worth cutting across the forest and saving a huge portion of driving? It's decisions like this on the fly that make it fun. Dodging between burnout cars and trucks and finding the jumps gives an impression of being Mad Max too.

There's a lot here. There's also a lot to like. It's a pity then that it feels, at the moment at least, that a bit more polish and play testing could of made all the difference.

Purchase Power

This, I think, is my first pre-order of the year.

It certainly the most expensive game I've ever bought (never having imported a console I've never had to pay ridiculous money for a SNES cartridge).

Can you guess what it is yet? Yes that's right I've pre-ordered the Prestige Edition of Modern Warfare 2 from HMV for £119.

I'm a sucker for Night Vision Goggles.

First Look: No More Heroes

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. From the moment you start the game for the first time it's incredibly cool. The highly stylized visuals and the way the story is introduced all drips with atmosphere and a brilliant sense of humour.

At first I was a little disappointed with the gameplay. I was expecting to be able too swing my wii-mote around like a whirlwind chopping up bad guys like so many Master Onions but instead your combos are mainly confined to the A and B Buttons. Swings of the wii-mote are used for finishing moves where you swing the wii-mote in the direction of a little onscreen icon. It's also used to charge the beam katana and pull of wrestling throws. Once you're in the thick of the action though it makes sense and you're soon working up quite a sweat (or at least I was anyway) and stylishly chopping your way through minions to get to the boss battle. I'm assuming the PAL version has been sanitised cos sadly the bad guys disolve a-la the slain vampires in Buffy.

I spent last night doing side quests, side assasinations and visiting the shops and the gym. While it's not actually a living breathing city in the style of a GTA there's enough going on to make it more than just a hub world. I particularly liked the gym. The stat improving mini games where a very nice touch making me do reps with the nunchuck and wii-mote.

My only slight reservation is whether there's enough variety in the main story. 11 Assassins to take down. I'm now number 9 and so far the formula has been fairly simular. If the humour and great dialogue continue then I guess I'll enjoy the ride.

Purchase Power

Having spent a quiet half hour reading EDGE yesterday I was intrigued by the feature on a sequel to No More Heroes. Hearing the games creater Goichi Suda compare making the game to 'having a shit' I was inspired to go and pick it up today. £9.99 in Game. Job very much done.

I was amused in the article where Suda was told by his staff players found the bike in the first game difficult to control. His Response? "Make the bike twice as big!".

First Look: Battlefield 1943

Friday night is now the official EDGE X-Box live night. Last night they decided they where all going to play Battlefield 1943. Inspired by the EDGE review which made it sound simple enough for me to pick up and play and the fact that I had a spare 200 points knocking about meaning that I could buy just a 1000 points I took the plunge.

It's a very steep learning curve if you jump right in. Although it is fun and fairly simple to see what you should be doing when you get going it's also very annoying. There's basically 5 flags on each level and the game ebbs and flows as they are captured and re-captured.

You can have an awesome spawn where you find an AA gun take out a couple of planes, jump on the back of a jeep, gun you way to a flag, capture it and then rocket an incoming enemy tank and you generally feel like Rambo.

You can also spawn miles from the action, walk all the way there because someone will jump in the jeep you heading for an literally drive off in front you despite the fact you're yelling "wait for me" at the top of your voice (Sometimes even when it's someone you're in party chat with) and just as you get to the action someone rifles you dead that you can't even see.

I ranked up a couple of times and I'm rubbish so it's fairly accessible at the moment.

Granted it was the first friday night since release and so you'd expect it to be popular but it was nigh on impossible to get a game after 10pm..

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2
Prince of Persia

As the game went on there where more and more things I didn't look. The combat is utter bobbins. I don't normally mind QTEs but these seemed particularly harsh. The button flash that allows you to get up from the ground without being saved by the princess is ok.. But the ones during combat I very rarely got. Fortunately it's a very forgiving game. The other problem with combat is that all the bosses in the game need defeating five times each and they're all pretty much the same. Fairly soon into the game the bosses assume the same three states.. It's dull.

The AI on the princess could of done with a bit more polish as well.. She's often stood in the way. She's not always in the right place at puzzles either. If she can fly why does she need to be carried over the vined sections? It slows the prince down and often breaks up the flow of movement.

The camera is generally good and the right stick nearly always let's you see what you want.. But having the A button do pretty much everything means that often you'll be lining up a jump only to find the camera changes angles and thus you leap into space. Or you run vertically when you want to run up and vice a versa. Again very annoying when you want to wall run left and then leap. He'll instead run up the wall and then leap 180 degrees back into nothingness. It's less bad if you go more slowly make sure you've moved the camera and then waited for the prince's animation to see which way he's leaning but once again it slows the progress down.

My other two niggles are there weren't enough puzzles. In fact I can only think of three. All well done but there could've been more of them considering there wasn't much else too break up the action. After you've unlocked the green power plates the next three powers are all pretty much the same too.. The yellow was in particularly rubbish involving zooming from one plate to another but in a very disorientating flying style where you're supposed to dodge stuff but it's not always clear which way you're supposed to dodge.

Having said that, in an EDGE style, having dissed it constantly I absolutely loved the game. The art direction and style is fantastic. You genuinely want to see what else is around the corner. It felt a bit cheap making you do the levels twice too. But I really liked the transformation itself and then it was fun trying to get as many light seeds as you could (Although I was, in no way, compelled to find 'em all).

I also loved the growing interaction between the two leads.. I've read some complain about the end but for me it was perfect. As I already said it's not as good as Sands of Time but being the second best PoP ever made is no disgrace.

Summer drought?

There was an article on Eurogamer yesterday that seemed to suggest that traditional summer drought was going to end..

Not this year it seems. We've seen some big name games released in the Spring of 2009 and EA may be releasing some of it's games a little earlier this year.. But having just checked the release schedule on Play from now until September, what I'd class as the traditional Summer months, seems as blank as ever.

I do have a couple of titles on the back burner (Mass Effect and Silent Hill 2 spring to mind) and I've got a lot of stuff to catch up on so it's not a huge deal but it seems that once again it's going to be an expensive Q4.

Purchase Power

Just time to update you on a couple more eBay bargains. Some guy was listing multiple new sealed (allegedly) copies of both Zak and Wiki Quest for Barbaros Treasure and Grand Theft Auto:Chinatown Wars all starting at 99p and all ending within a minute of each other. At first I smelled some kind of rat but he's got over 600 transactions and a 100% rating so I guess it should be ok.

One would of thought he'd of maximised his profits by selling them one at a time. For sure when I got out bid I just moved down the list. Anyway I ended up paying £12 for the pair including free 1st class postage.

I just need a DS now.

First Look: Prince of Persia

Minus £2.50 of Reward credit I got this for £10.50 second hand in GAME yesterday. Intial impressions are that it's an improvement on The Two Thrones and Emo Within but nowhere near as good as Sands of Time which, it sadly seems, we'll never see the like of again from Ubisoft.

These are the things I like:
It's pretty
It's very forgiving for Mr Easy writing this Blog
The Prince himself (much has been made of his annoying accent and personality.. Perhaps too much. He seemed quite funny to me)

Things I don't like:
The over simplified controls.. All the flair of covering the levels in Sands of Time has been lost. It's like they've taken a leaf out of Altairs book. No surprise what with it being the same engine I believe. But when I'm bemoaning the lack of challenge it's a bad thing.
The combat.
The Princess.
The annoying bits where you have too run between green nodes with no checkpoints..

Overall though I enjoyed my first session last night.

Purchase Power.

Sorry for the lack of posts through June. Especially after the effort I put in during May.

Time to update you on some purchasing action.

I was recently away in London where I picked up a new copy of Army of Two for a tenner. I still feel robbed having gotten back and had a go. I tried to purchase a copy of FUEL from ASDA for the bargain price of £25 only to have to wait holding up the checkout getting evil stares while I waited for them to get it from the stock room. Sadly it was such a good price they didn't have any stock left.. I slunk out with a consolation box of cheap beer.

Next stop eBay. I had a hankering to play.. erm.. Rumble Roses XX having downloaded the demo recently. Astonishingly it's extremely rare.. There wasn't a copy to be had on 360 on eBay first time I looked. However some diligent searching (what can I say.. it's a good demo) eventually saw a solitary copy turn up. I was expecting to have to pay silly money. However my first, and as it turned out the only, bid secured it at £9.99. Job done.

I also decided that I wanted to play Okami again but this time on Wii. Either that or Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess. I really enjoyed Okami, and made a fair amount of progress, but I think it's paintbrush and combat would really suit the Wii-mote. Sadly I couldn't find a copy in town. I was shocked to find that even used, after all this time, LoZ:TP was still making £30.. Needless to say I came home empty handed.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Manhunt 2

First off nice to see no stupid subtitle on a sequel.

Overall I enjoyed it. It wasn't as innovative as the first one. I suppose fairly obviously. There's a new story but it tries to retread most of the sick elements of the first one without doing it all quite as well. That's not to say it's not fun to play cos it is. It took me a while to get to grips with the mechanics but when it all comes together the Wii controls add a bit of fun in the slaying.. until halfway through when it switches to a lot more gun based combat. It's an ok shooter when you've got time but it's can be hard to pull of headshots cos the slightest twitch of the Wii-mote before pulling the trigger will mean you miss the crucial one hit kill and cranium explosion. It can get hard to take on multiple enemies too. There's some fun missions and it does mix it up between stalking in the dark silently killing too all out shooting and there's a nice mixture of weapons too play with. The story does enough to keep you interested. There where a couple of difficulty spikes and it's very annoying when you have to restart and watch an un-skippable cutscene before you can get back into it. It's a solid game.

Currently Playing: Shinobi.

Sega have released some more of their "classic" arcade and Mega Drive games on Xbox Live Arcade. Not normally something that interests me as I'm boycotting Xbox Live Arcade now the prices have started to get a bit ridiculous.

However Shinobi was always a favourite of mine and at only 400 points it's almost a certain purchase. I downloaded the trial version to make sure it was the one I remebered enjoying in the Arcade and not the disappointing Revenge of Shinobi (or whatever it was called) that I didn't like on Mega Drive.

It's arcade perfect and just as I remembered it and it plays nicely on the 360 pads with the shurikens having the same satisfying feel to wizzing across the screen. What I wasn't expecting was the brutal difficulty. As a relatively poor kid I always used to consider continuing a bit of a cheat and poor value. Better still to start from the beginning and get better. I can clearly remember the first boss battle and the between level first person bonus level.. But now it's brutally hard. Consider I had five lives per go compared to the three back in the day and I still had to continue several times just to finish the first level (where the trial version ended). I am now rubbish at games? Are the reactions not what they where?

Compare and contrast to modern ninja actioner Ninja Blade, which to be fair I suppose has countless lives and continues, but it way more complicated in terms of controls and what it expects you to be able to do. I've concentrated on doing a mission a day and I'm onto the last mission now having completed several, what I had thought where, brutal boss battles along the way and was quietly thinking that I did still have the skills..

Shinobi has left me in doubt.. Are even modern games with all their complexities and controls strolls in the park? Are my reactions just not what they where? Was it the countless practice I was prepared to put in on a Friday afternoon with my school dinner money? Answers on a postcard..

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Not a first time completion. Although I had help with the final boss level last time and did it all myself this time. Still stands up as a cracking game. Looks great. Plays a dream. If a little short. I clocked it at just over 6 hours this time.

First Look; Ninja Blade

I really should hate this game. It's full of boss battles (I counted four during the second mission), It's chock full of QTE's and there's a huge range of swords and weapons to upgrade and things to collect oh and there's no mid level saving either.

Somehow though (and I should say so far.) I'm loving it. From Software have excelled themselves in the production values and graphics. The game is a lot of fun to play. Anyone whose played a modern action game of this sort will know what too expect. Yet it's not as annoying as it should be.

For a start there are loads of checkpoints so you're never left repeating huge sections if you fail. Each QTE is signified with a close up of your eye so you know it's coming. There's a large window for you to react and like Guitar Hero it scores how well you did. Nice for those who excel. Even better for sausaged fingered people with incredibly slow reactions like me. If you fail one you simply restart. None of this annoying "oh well you've missed a button lets give the boss another huge chunk of energy before you can have another go" marlarkey. Frustration is kept to a minimum.

Most importantly the combat makes sense to me (Again, so far) There's close attack on 'X' and ranged attack on 'Y'. There's your regular sword, There's two lighter swords for fast enemies and there's a heavy sword for amoured baddies.. None of this rubbish having your attacks blocked for ages.. Get out the big sword, smash his shield then smash him. The camera works great on the right stick and Right Trigger allows a quick dash. To either get back on with cracking skulls or to avoid an attack. It's simple but there's plenty of scope.

Secondly there's some great Prince of Persia style platforming with wall running and swiging on beams and that general feeling of covering large and complicated areas with the minimum of fuss and feeling like a ninja. Of course it's totally over blown and over the top. The end of one boss battle saw me riding a motorbike along the top of the cars and busses it was throwing at me and at the same time the QTEs keep you feeling involved in the cool stuff.

So far I'm really enjoying it. £15 well spent.

Comment: E3

So there'll be very few updates from me on any breaking news.. You can get it so much better elsewhere.

The Microsoft news seems to have gone down very very well with the internet though.. Both my main forums are alive with news, discussion and speculation.

Personally I'm excited about the none to surprising news of an October release of Forza 3. The rest doesn't do a lot for me.

It'll be interesting too see if Sonys announcements get as much excitement going.

Personally as big a fan as I am of Video Games E3 doesn't do a lot for me.. I prefer my news in more fun sized announcements and I really can't stand all the puff and hot air that goes along with it.

Purchase Power

I've recently had an itch to play Uncharted: Drake's Fortune again due to the excitement being generated by the sequel. Trophies have been patched in too now. Not that they bother me as much as 'Cheeves (as the kids are calling them) but it was really all the excuse I needed. £8 on eBay is good value seeing as I got more than that when I p/x'd my previous copy.

Also picked up Ninja Blade for £15 brand new in Game. At that price you just can't go wrong.. Can you?

PSP Go confirmed

Looks like a very neat redesign.. More importantly great to hear that there's loads more software on the way (although we all know they've been promising ]GT on PSP for absolutely ever.. so I'll believe that when I see it). I hope the new MGS isn't some card based rubbish either.

The "Complete" List

Resistance 2
Mirror's Edge - 360
Quantum of Solace - 360
House of the Dead: Overkill - Story & Directors Cut
Fable 2 - Story Mode
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot - (Liquid Easy)
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Saints Row
Race Pro - Career Mode
50 Cent: Blood on the Sand (Easy) - 360
Conan (Easy) - PS3
GTA IV - 360
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction

After a second complete play through saw me stumble at the last boss once again I decided it was time to finally polish this bad boy off. A quick visit to GameFaqs suggested that finding all thirteen pieces of the Holo Plan and constructing the RYNO IV would help in the final boss battle. So one afternoon spent finding them and I finally beat the Boss on the second try. Can't wait for the next episode.

Currently Playing: SEGA Rally

I seemed to remember finding this really hard when I bought it and hence I'd given up with it fairly early on.. Which is unusual for me and a driving game.

Some one over at the EDGE Forum suggested having a few races on multiplayer, and as Live is always more fun with people you know, I dusted off my copy.

It is good fun on Live.. but it inspired me to dedicate a bit more time to the single player.. It seemed to click with me and I got it. Despite the licensed cars it's a pure arcade racer in the mould of say Ridge Racer or maybe even Wipeout.

The challenge isn't really the AI cars, although you still need to beat them to get the points needed to progress (and you don't seem to have to win absolutely everything to make reasonable progress) but it's the track that needs to be tamed.

There's a lot of satisfaction as practising each course and shows gradual improvement. The races where the AI previously showed you a clean pair of heels and you could barely keep up suddenly see you winning as you get the right lines and maintain speed through the corners in a glorious slide, mud spraying.