Jack pursues the terrorist suspect Robert Daniels in his car. Daniels releases explosives on the highway and kills at least five civilians.
Daniels exits his car in the parking tower of a high security terrorist hideout. Jack storms the gates of the complex and shoots all the guards, restraining seven men. Michelle calls and uploads the building's schematics to Jack's PDA. Jack storms the terrorist hideout, killing almost everyone inside. Finally reaching Daniels' office, he shoots the two guards and arrests Daniels, tying him to a swivel chair.
"Robert there are snipers on the roof, positioned to kill Vice President Jim Prescott! WHAT ARE THE SNIPERS' LOCATIONS?"
"You can't make me talk!"
Jack slaps Daniels in the face and starts to shout at him, until he gives Jack the locations. Jack emerges onto the roof of the terrorist hideout with a sniper rifle, and has Michelle upload the snipers' positionings to his PDA. He manages to take them all out. Meanwhile, the Vice President's limousine approaches. Terrorists at another location attack the Vice President with a rocket launcher! Jack pulls Jim Prescott to safety, but Robert Daniels escapes custody.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
I'll update my 24: The Game progress regularly throughout this week. :D
In other news, I got Kingdom Hearts 1 from Game and a GameCube to GBA cable for 98p in Game. Bargain. Also, 2 256MB SD cards from the HMV site, 3.99 each.
Has anyone else played and enjoyed 24: The Game then, or can you recommend any good games that take advantage of the GC-GBA cable?
...Who dreamed he was eating his shoe. He woke with a fright in the middle of the night to find that his dream had come true. How's that for a rubbish opening to the blog? Please don't ask me why I even wrote it, I don't know.
On Saturday I swapped my Wi-Fi Connector, which has not been used since I got a router, for a PS2 console with two controllers, Star Wars Battlefront II and a 8MB memory card. Bargain. Immediately afterwards I bought Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for 3.99 preowned, though haven't had chance to play it. Then I borrowed The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (game) and 007 From Russia With Love for it. Again, haven't played those yet. But on Saturday, I ordered 24: The Game which arrived this morning, brand new and sealed from an Amazon seller (a fiver plus postage :D). I've waited a long time to play that game, and I can tell you that I love it. Probably because I'm a Bauer fanatic, but I don't see why it got such harsh reviews. The controls take some getting used to (but they're fine after Hour One) and the camera is a bit off (again in Hour One), but the presentation, graphics, voice acting (from the real actors), gameplay and storyline is fantastic. At the moment I'm on Hour Three, and it's getting really tense. Expect more news of my progress. Beep. Beep. Beep.
Guild Wars Nightfall news: I've reached level 8, done a fair few quests and managed to purchase a guild hall and emblem/cape. Made a guild website which can be found at http://s4.invisionfree.com/Twilight_Predators. The best MMORPG I've played since RuneScape.
And in the land of Nintendo, NOE have confirmed that Wii will be going online on May 25th with the launch of Mario Strikers Charged, the sequel to Smash Football on the Cube. Not long left now then! And it also means that for once, Europe gets both a game and a console's online service before America. :)
It's the Easter holidays, so have fun to the few people/person that reads this. :)
I haven't posted a blog up for two weeks. Oops!
Anyway, this one should be quite short, I'd just like to post up what's happened to me over the last few weeks. Number one: I got a job at http://www.n-europe.com as a news reporter. Huzah! I've written a few articles for them so far, and I think that I'm doing alright.
My second thing: I've gotten addicted to Guild Wars. I got Nightfall and Factions for Christmas, but now it's much more fun now that my friends have started to buy Nightfall. The game seems to be centred around friends and gatherings (and Guilds :p), so I'm enjoying it a lot more now. Even though I'm still only level 4, grr... Started up a guild called Twilight Predators, but I need 2000 gold for a cape emblem for the entire guild, and another 20k of gold for a guild hall. And it is immensely hard to get money on that game.
Finally, I succumed and bought Spectrobes for the DS. It was an impulse buy, and partly influenced by the fact that my NGamer subscription came free with some Spectrobes cards to add more content to the game. So far, I'm quite surprised at how good it is. It gets fairly repetitive sometimes, when you have to scan the ground for fossils, but I'm enjoying it. Some gripes are that you need to find items that let you do DS Wireless Play, Wi-Fi Connection and inputting those free cards that you get with the game and NGamer.
That's it for this week. Adios amigos.
I really do hate the guy, and his television media empire. To explain why I am so pissed off, here it is. I am with NTL, and if you've seen the news or the big-ass billboards you'll know about the dispute with Virgin/Sky. Well, guess what? Sky One got cut off. Half way through episode 9 of 24 Season 6. And now Sky are coming out with adverts saying 'GET JACK BACK', aka switch to Sky. So thank you, Murdoch, for ruining February for me. There is nothing else worthy of my viewing on TV at the moment, so I've been mainly entertaining myself with the computer, Wii and DS.
Star Fox Command has been completed for the DS (only got one ending, I intend to 100% it). After I'm done with it I think I'll trade it in, because download play takes way too long (at tops five minutes to download), and Wi-Fi matches results in my getting 'owned' by the Japanese every time.
WarioWare has been completed, and I'm slowly working through the glitchy but enjoyable Red Steel. In other Wii news, the Virtual Console has enticed me lately. After my December purchase of Donkey Kong Country for it, I got a Classic Controller (comfortable retro goodness) off Amazon and downloaded myself Super Mario Bros. and Kirby's Adventure. Both are excellent in their own rights, but Kirby really drew me in with its unique charms. I recommend Kirby to ALL OF YOU.
I'm making my blog a weekly one as of this week. Maybe I'll even post a bit more than weekly. Meh, we'll know soon enough. GOAT IN!
Strangely, this blog is not mainly focused on gaming, but the television wonder that is 24. I began to watch this last year after getting Series 1, and I was hooked. The action is so tense and I found my heartrate increased in the chase scenes and the gunfights. I've just finished Series 3, and I'm awaiting Series 4 and 5. If you have not seen this program and the godliness of Jack Bauer, WATCH IT. It's the best program on TV and you won't regret it. Anyhow, yeah.
Back onto gaming, I've got a collection of four games for my Wii now. Wii Sports, Zelda, WarioWare and Red Steel. Not had chance to play Red Steel a lot yet but it is good, and WarioWare is just phenomenal. Hula hooping, yanking the Master Sword out of it's pedestal, flicking the remote up to make Mario get coins, genius. You'd expect it from Miyamoto.
I also got 42 All Time Classics for Christmas, which is a very good game, especially in Wi-Fi. I have become addicted to bowling online and I very rarely lose. I'm up for any games.
On a final note, I might get Starfox Command for DS this month with my birthday money, so I'll post up when I get it.
The Wii has been out for just over a week in Britain, and I have to say it's probably the best console I've ever played. Wii Sports, Channels, the message board, all of it is brilliant. But there's one thing that stands out more so than anything else: the latest Zelda installment.
Shame on you if you thought it was just a GameCube port, and if your opinion of it was lowered because of lardboy Jeff what's-his-name at GameSpot (8.8? Seriously, was he drunk?). Twilight Princess is the best damn game I've ever played, because whilst it uses the same golden Zelda formula, it's something new.
Starting the game up to hear that haunting melody and the cries of Link galloping with Epona across Hyrule Field is a memorable moment, and it gets better when you press A and B, only to be greeted by the unsheathing of Link's sword via the speaker. Start a new game (I was very pleased to see Link and Epona already inputted for the hero name and horse name) and then talk to your friend Rusl the swordsman who tells you a little bit about twilight. You have around three days to spend in Ordon Village before you are sent by the mayor to Hyrule to deliver something. Here begins the adventure.
And what better way to begin than with goat herding? Hop on Epona and tap A to 'Whoop' and chase goats into a stable, and for every goat you chase into the stable a humorous message appears in the form of GOAT IN! So then it's time to do a few sidequests and get some new items. Summon a hawk then lob it at a monkey to recover a baby's cradle, chase a cat for a slingshot and then receive a sword with which you train mini transvestites how to fight. Seriously, the small one is meant to be a boy and apparently ONE of them is female. Which one?
After all that is done, you have your first adventuring mission, to save a little monkey and the large transvestite child from the clutches of Moblins. Pretty easy, yes, and you also aquire a lantern from it. I shan't spoil the game further so I'll talk a bit about gameplay etc.
Fighting and using items is quite intuitive in TP, as you have to swing and flick the remote to progress. The storyline is fantastic, I would say as good as Ocarina and the Wind Waker. Sound and graphics are gorgeous, with familiar melodies greeting your ears from time to time, brand new compositions getting stuck in your head and remote speaker effects satisfying you when you clash swords with a Moblin. And why did people complain about graphics anyway? Considering the Wii isn't MEANT to have superb graphics, shouldn't they be rated on how good they are for the CONSOLE they are displayed on? I'd give the graphics a 10 simply for the genius art and the time that was put in to create those gorgeous and memorable landscapes.
Zelda Twilight Princess: BEST. GAME. EVER.
Less than a week now until the Wii hits America, and less than a month until us Brits get the console, I've decided to try and quench my thirst for the Wii by... previewing almost every game that's been announced so far. If there's any incorrect info, I apologise.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Shaping up to be the best game of all time, I'll be taking this home on launch day. The controls for this game have been revised since E3 to incorporate what we all secretly wanted: swinging the remote like a mad-man to make Link smash up Moblins on the screen. An epic storyline and stunning visuals should secure Twilight Princess's success.
Red Steel
Redefining the first-person shooter genre, Red Steel looks fantastic. You are put in control of a katana sword or a gun, and use the nunchuk and Wii Remote to examine the area and blast your weapon to stay alive. The brilliant scenery and locations in Japan actually look HD, with reactions from CPUs being surprisingly accurate. A multiplayer mode should make this game a must-buy.
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2
I must admit, I don't know very much about Dragon Ball Z. The Japanese anime confused and scared me, but the game should be good. I'm unsure about the control method, but I think it incorporates the Wii Remote in the fighting style. Nice cel-shaded visuals, though maybe for DBZ fans only.
Wii Sports
Here's a treat: it comes free with the console! Kind of like Wario Ware Touched! did for the DS, this will introduce you to the Wii console and help you get to grasps with the controller. Baseball, golf, bowling, boxing and tennis all look simple but brilliantly innovative. A good party game but maybe not as fun in single-player.
Call of Duty 3
Another first person shooter set in (I think) World War II. Call of Duty 3 uses the controller like Red Steel does (minus the katanas) and sees you fighting your way through No Man's Land to enemy territory and blasting the hell out of the Nazis (or something). (Why am I talking in brackets all the time? I don't know!) I'm not entirely sure of this game, and haven't been after the news that Wi-Fi was scrapped. Time will tell.
Wii Play
This isn't on the top of most people's lists, but I think it looks fantastic! I'm surprised how hyped I am for it, AND it includes a Wii Remote! There are several minigames in it including a version of Duck Hunt, laser hockey, fishing, tanks and various other fun looking multiplayer games. A very simple 2D style, but should last ages.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Oompah Loompah, Doopety Doo, I have a perfect puzzle for you, Oompah Loompah, Doopety Dee, If you are wise you'll listen to me. What do you get when you take a console game? And tack on some motion bits to make it less lame? A port with a few special bits isn't good. How about a new game, bud? I don't like the look of this....
Excite Truck
A snazzy sequel to the N64/NES classic Excitebike, Excite Truck is looking to be one of the best games of the entire Wii lineup. Unfortunately delayed into 2007, hopefully the European version will have better gameplay and more ingame options. The motion controls are used as if you were really driving it, and you tilt and twist the controller like a steering wheel to try and make perfect landings from jumps. The ability to add your own custom soundtrack using MP3s on an inserted SD card just adds to the fun.
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
Michael Ancel obviously saw the success of Wario Ware before he even planned to make this a minigame manic game. Playing as Rayman, you must hypnotise bunnies using Wii Remote controlled dance moves and play minigames with them to escape from the Rabbid jail. Multiplayer madness will ensue, and this game should win the hearts of quite a lot of people.
Monster 4x4: World Circuit
Basically Excite Truck except you only focus on the racing rather than tricks and landings. A free steering wheel included must be tempting you to buy it...
Far Cry Vengeance
Shock horror, another FPS on the Wii! Far Cry has some nice shiny graphics and an intuitive control system like Red Steel and CoD3, though how much first person shooter can you take?
Sonic and the Secret Rings
Sonic returns to his roots as he speeds along levels, controlled by tilting and stabbing the Wii Remote. Sonic really has gone downhill since the Sega console days, could this be his return to form that he has been waiting for for many years?
Need for Speed Carbon
This game uses the same control scheme as the other racing games for the Wii, and is probably compatible with the steering wheel attachment aswell. Downloadable cars through Wii Connect 24 does sound nice, but it's essentially the same game as the other currently available versions.
Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles
Though only a few details and pictures have been seen, hopefully this can top the might of Resi 4. Wii controls are a must and possibly a shove in the right direction for the Resi series.
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
This has apparently been delayed to Q4 2007! Metroid Prime was considered one of the GameCube's finest moments, and hopefully the new controls will make Samus' mission more enjoyable and add an extra layer of depth to the bounty hunting adventure.
GT Pro Series
A port of an American Xbox game with steering wheel controls, this should be a must-have for racing game addicts out there.
Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam
It seems Activision are rather generous when they give Nintendo a Tony Hawk's game. This one is exclusive to Nintendo consoles and appearing on the GBA, DS and Wii. Land tricks as you race to the finish in this downhill racing game. One that should appeal to people other than skating fans.
Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
This should be one of the first few fighting games for the Wii. The developers are currently unsure of which control scheme to use, so not a lot can be said for this yet, but it should be a treat for those who love the genre.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
If I remember the game correctly, this is an RPG/Adventure/something else combination that allows you to execute special attacks with the Wiimote. Interesting then...
SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab
Hell yes! Minigames and an adventure that look better than any previous SB game. You can control a giant Plankton and destroy Bikini Bottom! PWNED! (As Internet people would say...)
Pokemon Battle Revolution
You can use your DS as a controller in this. Upload your Pokemon from Diamond and Pearl for use in the stadium and compete against players worldwide. Lovely, never turn down the chance to defeat the Japanese.
Metal Slug Anthology
SNK have created the most amount of control schemes to be included in one game out of all the other launch games. Use the Wii Remote, Classic Controller and GameCube controller to command your man and blast your way through the 2D arcade levels in this side scrolling shoot-'em-up.
Rampage: Total Destruction
A monster battling game that pits classics such as Godzilla and others against one another in city-destroying brawls. Not an original concept seeing as most consoles have seen this idea before, but maybe Wii Remote activated destructions will make up for it.
Arthur and the Minimoys
I'll leave you with that name and the thought of David Bowie as an evil overlord before saying that I don't have a clue what this game is about.
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
Take the success of previous installments, chuck in motion controls and you have a winner.
Fire Emblem
Some remote controlled strategy looks natural on the Wii in this Fire Emblem installment which is out next year.
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors
Slashing on-screen monsters in a successful RPG has never been so fun, probably because no console has ever used a wireless remote control.
Trauma Centre: Second Opinion
Hack your patients to bits as you create the perfect Frankenstein's monster! I made that bit up, it's really a surgery sim.
Donkey Kong: Barrel Blast
This is a game that followed the suit of Twilight Princess and converted over to the Wii. Supposedly compatible with the bongo controllers, this should be quite an exciting racing game. Here's hoping for wireless bongos....
Super Paper Mario
The third game in the Paper Mario series, this sees Mario teaming up with Bowser and swapping between 2D and 3D dimensions to save the Mushroom Kingdom in this innovatively genius platformer.
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Oh here's a good one. The sequel to the GameCube fighting classic, Brawl will use the GameCube/Classic controllers in this multiplayer online game. This was the ultimate multiplayer game on the Cube, I'm guessing this will be better.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
The gameplay actually remains to be seen, but this should be special if online and DS connectivity are incorporated.
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Mother Nature is your enemy in this survival game. The storyline involves a renegade team of Marines or something that have stolen a nuclear warhead for evil purposes. We have yet to see someone playing the game (and some more news since E3) but it comes from the people who did Baten Kaitos, so expect a good game.
Sadness
Sadness is a unique game presented in black and white that focuses on psychological horror and other things that might scare you a bit more than Resi.
Prince of Persia
This has only been announced, so no details are known. This is a completely different storyline to the past trilogy, so the gameplay elements and the whole game should be something new and fresh.
Mario Strikers: Charged
Woohoo, another online game! The new controls and improved graphics make this look appealing, as does the ability to show the rest of the world who are the kings of footy (ENGLAND!).
Bleach Wii
I'm not really into manga and stuff like that, and I have no idea what Bleach is, so don't listen to my opinion.
Chicken Little: Ace in Action
Why couldn't they just leave it at the film and come up with a new franchise? Erm, make it special Disney?
Wing Island
This was thought to be a sequel to Pilotwings when the first screens were released, but it's a completely new game that controls like the Wii Airplane demo, except you can drop bombs. (FTW!)
Elebits
I really loved the look of this at E3. You use the Wii Remote to grab an interactive environment and objects in it to shake them about and uncover little mischievous energy givers called Elebits. It hasn't been done before, but uses the controller in a really unique way.
Wii Music Orchestra
In a really sad, geeky way, I'd buy this just for the fact that you use the Wii controller to conduct an orchestra to play the Zelda theme tune!
Wii Motor Sports
Wii Airplane is the only confirmed game in this pack, but it does look very fun to just duck and dive the controller up and down to control the plane.
Necro-Nesia
Argh! There's a bug on my foot! Let's hit it with a stick! There, gone! OH NO MORE BUGS! Whack, whack, whack. Repetitive gameplay that no one should have to suffer.
Bomberman Land
Online mode and laying bombs with the Wii Remote... Interesting...
Batallion Wars 2 (BWii)
I'm pretty sure online is confirmed. Anyway, you command your troops using the Wii Remote and throw grenades, shoot etc. by pointing. This should be good.
Animal Crossing
If you've played this on the DS then you know this should be special. The game will send messages to you in the console's Wii Message Board, informing you of important events and days. You visit you friends' towns and dig/hack/catch with the Wii Remote. I'm really hyped for this.
Project H.A.M.M.E.R.
Smash up opponents with a big metal hammer! You probably know how the controls will work, don't you...
Big Brain Academy
Train your brain whilst getting a workout! I think.
Forever Blue
This is probably one of the most intruiging games. You are just a diver exploring the sea, that's it. But you can meet up with friends online and catch fish and plants etc.
For those of you who don't know, the Virtual Console is a unique concept created by Nintendo for the Wii that allows you to download games for a fee from Wi-Fi to your console, playable immediately with a Wii Remote, Classic Controller or GameCube controller. This possibility has opened up the potential to have Nintendo's full back catalogue of games on the Wii.
The games are available either purchased with a credit card on Wi-Fi, or through Wii Points cards that can be bought in quantities of 2000 Points for 14.99GBP/$20 in store. I for one am excited about this concept, because it means that I can play games from the NES, SNES, N64, Sega Megadrive and TurboGraphx that I missed out on. Classic rarities like Kid Icarus and others will be at my fingertips for a few quid per game. The only problem: Japanese and NTSC games.
Nintendo of Europe really don't seem to care about what I'm sure is the biggest games market in the world. Consider this: a NES game that was released in the early 90s in low quantities costs around 80 quid on eBay or Amazon, but only 3.50 on the Virtual Console. Nintendo are not making money from old games sold on eBay, so why not release it on the Virtual Console and make a fortune from people wanting to download it? They seem to be reluctant seeing as they've region locked the console and have made no announcement of releasing NTSC games on the European VC (besides the three that appear on the release list).
From the few that have been announced, we know that the UK is getting one more game than America (yes!) which is Donkey Kong Country. There seems to be some strong support from Sega, Hudson and the NES games, but what about the other Nintendo consoles? The SNES has a grand total of three games, with the N64 arriving with ONE. That's right, ONE GAME that's already available on the DS, Super Mario 64. Nintendo had better buck their ideas up and not let the Virtual Console support all be coming from Sega and Hudson. They have managed to port around 10 games for the NES in the almost two years that we've known about the VC. Is this just laziness on NOE's behalf? Japan have much more games than the US and UK (excluding the N64), with the SNES and NES having loads of Japan-only games. Whether we will get these before the 39th century remains to be confirmed.
The interview with someone from Nintendo which revealed the final details of the Virtual Console a few weeks ago revealed that an unconfirmed amount of Wii Points will be given away with the console, so no one has an excuse not to buy retro classics to play immediately. Bring on the classic retro comeback!
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is easily one of the most anticipated games in history. After being announced to be in development in 2003, it has been delayed several times, the last delay being November 2005. The reason for this was that Nintendo wanted to make the best game ever, and so they decided to implement new Wii controls and release the game on both the GameCube and Wii. The year delay has given Shigeru Miyamoto plenty of time to churn out his best ideas into the game. The game is almost here, so I'd like to talk about it a bit and go over some things.
The sheer size of this game has probably increased dramatically over the delay period. From the screenshots and videos we have seen, the graphics look far more beautiful than any HD Xbox game, and the artistic style of Zelda is clear even with the new look. This is the game that Nintendo have said is what gamers have wanted since Ocarina of Time. They listened to the fans and implemented literally thousands of fantastic things to discover in game.
The storyline seems to be more epic than any other Zelda game before it. Link, a cowboy that herds goats from the back of Epona, is sent to Hyrule by the mayor of Ordon Village. But dark things are unfolding, and Princess Zelda is forced to surrender the land of Hyrule to the mysterious and evil Twilight King. Link is caught in the transformation of Hyrule, and is sucked into the Twilight Realm. Link becomes a wolf, and is captured and imprisoned by Moblins. A little imp called Midna frees him, and the twosome set off to restore Hyrule to its original form, and change Link back into a human.
If you haven't already seen the new videos on http://us.wii.com, then watch them now. The title screen and trailer have music so beautiful and haunting, and game footage so stunning that you WILL drool. And if you don't drool then you need to inform a doctor. Twilight Princess is going to be the best Zelda game ever, taking Ocarina of Time's place, and ending up being THE BEST GAME EVER. Bring on December 8th.
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