Month in Review: May 2011

I didn't intend to make tardiness a habit, but I'm late again this month. I have an excuse though: my computer was in bits on my garage table while I tried (unsuccessfully) to wedge a beast of a graphics card (with custom cooler) into a space for which it was not designed. Reminds me of my first Voodoo... those things were about two feet long and often required playing musical chairs with components to stop it bumping heads with the CPU. Now, enough nostalgia... on to the new stuff!

New Acquisitions

A small haul from a carboot sale. Three boxed PC games, all interesting-looking adventures and one of the geekiest books I've ever seen. You may remember those type-in programs that computer mags used to print back in the day with games for your Spectrum, BBC or Dragon. Cheaper than giving them away on a tape and making the reader do all the hard work of typing in endless lines of code then scanning back through everything for one mistake when the machine inevitably throws out a compile error. So, this book is basically a bunch of type-ins for Spectrum. The maschochistic part of me wants to give it a go... but have you seen a Spectrum+ keyboard? The mind cringes.

More PC games, this time from a charity shop. I recently picked up the Age of Mythology game so it's only fair I pick up the expansion pack as well. Word is it won't work on Windows 7 though. I've not tried myself yet, but I hope I can wrangle a way to get it working. I also got the strategy guide for Myst III despite not owning the game. I just know I'll end up acquiring it eventually, so I'm well prepared!

Two from CeX, including cult favourite Fahrenheit and everyone's favourite bad guy simulator (Dungeon Keeper 2, of course). I always regretted selling my copy of the original Dungeon Keeper, so this goes some way to relieving that regret. I picked up Disgaea the next morning at a carboot along with a Mario VHS for 10p! I don't even have a video player any more, so I'll just have to imagine all the thrills locked away in that chunky black case.

New games! I always thought Homefront looked like an awesome slice of fun, right from the first few teaser shots. I don't think it turned out to be the vision of the Man in the High Castle I'd hoped it would be, but I'll take it anyway because it still looks like an awesome slice of fun. Of course, L.A. Noire was always going to be one of this month's big buys, so I pre-ordered and grabbed the free Naked City case too.

This month's other big buy is the first PC exclusive I've been excited for in a long time, so I pre-ordered the Premium Edition which cost less than most regular releases... and look at all the stuff you get! A map! A guide! A DVD! Papercraft dolls! A coin, fer Chrissake! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to actually play the game after purchase as CDPR, in their infinite wisdom, decided to implement a method of online activation/DRM that didn't actually work, then took TWO EFFING WEEKS to address the problem... by removing the DRM. In the debate as to whether draconian anti-piracy measures are killing PC gaming... I rest my case. I have to wonder if PC publishers are even living on the same planet as the rest of us. You know, we who buy games with the intention of being able to actually play them at some point.

And now Steam has started up a new Daily Deal thing. This bodes badly for my purse, as in just a few weeks I've bought Singularity, Samorost 2 and three whole seasons of episodic Sam & Max.

I also had to fork out for a new PC case and acquired a decent graphics card. I've been wanting to upgrade my graphics card for a while. An 8800 just doesn't cut it any more and was looking at splurging on the latest and greatest... but when I was offered a GTX285 by a friend, gratis... I couldn't refuse. It will keep me going for a while at least. Downside is, it wouldn't fit in my existing case (which had the most bizarre drive bay system ever), so I popped down to Scan and picked up a nice Silverstone at a bargain price.

Games Played

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2)

So I finally beat Dark Alliance II. It got pretty tough in parts - the Red Dragon in particular kicked my stuffing loose a few times - but the final boss was a bit of a push-over. I was climbing character levels pretty quick in the last Act or so though, so maybe I was a little overpowered at the last! Anyway, I really liked it. Simple hack-n-slash, nothing fancy even with bells and whistles added since the first game. If there was one thing I disliked, it was the crafting elements. I felt that crafting was pushed on the player rather strongly. I rarely bother with that sort of thing in my RPGs, say I'm missing out if you must, but I prefer the thrill of loot hunting to the ability to make a perfect weapon for all occasions right from the outset. In this sort of game, a big part is sniffing through chests, treasure piles and the stinking remains of your opponents in the hope that you'll find a bigger sword, sharper spear or shinier shield than the one you currently own. The sense that there's always something better out there, just waiting to be found, is probably what draws a player more than the bland, repetitive levels in your average Diablo clone. Dark Alliance II loses sight of that a little.

Call of Duty: World at War (PC)

I've always liked Call of Duty games, and the series' WWII incarnations doubly so. While the series could never be accused of realism, that's not really what Call of Duty was ever meant to be about. It's about being fun, fast, frenetic, over-the-top and more than a little ridiculous, with story and strategy taking a side-line to bold-faced action. I wouldn't count World at War amongst my favourite WWII shooter – I was never that interested in the Pacific conflict – but I still enjoyed my solo playthrough immensely, brief as it was. I especially liked setting screaming banzai on fire...

Escape from Monkey Island (PC)

As a big fan of all the previous Monkey Island yarns (and, indeed all other Lucasarts adventures) I was really hoping that Escape from Monkey Island would be more like Grim Fandango and less... well, disappointing. The move into pseudo 3D, polygons instead of those lovable pixels, doesn't bother me particularly. I'm old-school but I'm not elitist about it. I can even forgive the terribly clumsy controls - no mouse! It's not that Monkey Island the Fourth isn't funny either, because it certainly has its moments. But the overall experience is a dull, often frustrating lump of a game and not the shiny diamond its legacy demands. I haven't even finished it yet as I've come a cropper at the rock puzzle on Monkey Island and despite doing everything the internet has told me to... my timing sucks. Maybe it's one of those CPU-timing things I've come across with other games of the period, just like when I couldn't escape from the exploding pet shop in Blade Runner because my computer was too fast. Right now I'm tempted to download a post-rock puzzle save file and complete the game that way. Because I really want to play the episodic Tales from Monkey Island a hell of a lot more than this.

Fahrenheit (PS2)

Or Indigo Prophecy if you like. I prefer Fahrenheit, it gives an impression of the simmering pot-boiler of a tale the player is about to experience. I've really only just started this; it's literally the morning after and Lucas is slowly facing reality in his apartment. Really looking forward to seeing how this mystery unfolds.

L.A. Noire (X360)

It's more like an interactive movie than an open-world adventure and I'll admit to being slightly disappointed in the restricted nature of the game. The cases are extremely linear, with the only real outcomes being success or failure through death (or completely ballsing everything up). For a game that revels in the morally grey trappings of the best film noir, there's very little in the way of middle-ground to be found anywhere. The interrogations are a nice idea, although there is much room for improvement. The much-lauded new facial capture technology, in conjunction with the interrogation mechanic results in rather over-acted in-game characters, but I recognise that that is out of a sort of necessity – you can't be too subtle with your video game actors or it will just come across as bland and robotic. What really lets the side down is the lack of a real dialogue system. Being able to respond to an interviewee's statement with just truth, doubt or outright lie is overly simplistic. From one question to the next you have no idea how your character is going to respond or often, what exactly they are responding to. Some interrogation subjects will wax poetic about any number of issues before you are called upon to make a judgement call on one or more (or even none) of the points raised. A more descriptive dialogue system might have worked better. It seems like I'm slating L.A. Noire here, but the truth is I'm really enjoying the rest of the game. I love the story, the action sequences, the clue hunting and the noir setting (play it in black-and-white). My favourite bit so far is the chase and subsequent gun fight across the majestic, tumbledown set of D.W. Griffith's Intolerance – a sequence that screams hardboiled neo-noir with a knowing wink and a nod to the Golden Age of Hollywood. Ultimately, I just feel like the devs focused their attention on taking some sort of quantum leap forward with a single feature at the expense of the meat of the game. Rockstar's incessant hype just didn't help either. Anyway, right now I'm working my way through the homocide cases, and have racked up 18 achievements for 315 points.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (X360)

I've finished all the missions in story mode, including the prologue and epilogue, done a couple of the ground assaults and completed a third of the missions in free play to 100%. Truth be told, I won't go for 100% across the board, there's just too many things that bore me about this third Lego Star Wars. It's a shame, because the first two are still my favourite of all Traveller's Tales' many adventures, but for this one they felt the need to muck with the formula and base half the game on dull ground battles. The regular missions are still fun, but the spark has gone. Anyhow, I'm sitting on a further 13 achievements for 130 points.

Myst (PC)

It only took a Virtual Machine loaded with Windows 98 and Quicktime 3.0 to get the thing running, but I'm sort of glad I made the effort. Myst is a strange beast, one I've never quite understood the appeal of. As a game, it's mind-numbingly dull – and, thanks to rapidly-advancing technology, it can no longer use phenomenal graphics or cutting-edge interactivity as a get-out-of-jail free card. Yet, strangely, I stuck with the world of Myst, navigating eye-grating static screens, confusing locations and some of the most abstruse puzzles ever pointed-at and clicked-upon. I sat through grainy FMV sections and dutifully collected red and blue pages for some reason only vaguely hinted at. In the end, I finished the game, promptly uninstalled the whole thing and sat back knowing that I had at least accomplished something even if I wasn't exactly sure what, why or how.

Penumbra: Black Plague (PC)

Although picking up right where Overture left off, the second Penumbra episode is an ever-so slightly different experience from the first. The addition of human-form enemies (psychotically deranged zombie freaks) is a step up from the dogs, spiders and huge ass worms which populated the mines and tunnels of Overture (although annelid fans will be pleased to note that one of the scariest, most panic-inducing moments again features the worm). The back story is increasingly detailed and mysterious, perpetuating the uneasy atmosphere and eventually the madness that descends on your character. I could have done without the voice in my head though – talk about annoying! The end is a little confusing, but I suppose that's all part of the madness. Like the first game, I highly recommend Black Plague to horror game survivalists.

Rainbow Six: Rogue Spear (PC)

In this age of overblown first-person shooters focused on cramming as many explosions and hokey narrative set-pieces into as short a campaign as possible, one criticism that always makes me laugh is that they are not realistic enough. I'm sorry, did I miss the part where the latest Call of Duty was meant to be some state-of-the-art military training simulator and not actually a playable game? Come on now. Personally, I dislike hyper-realism in shooters, which is why it's strange that I became so enamoured with Tom Clancy's old-school tactical shooter Rogue Spear. In a world of counter-terrorism raids and hostage crisis, strategy and planning are everything. One bullet stops you dead and going in gung-ho gets your whole team wiped out before you can say "Stay frosty." In Rogue Spear, each mission is preceded by a planning stage with a detailed map of the mission area where you can plan the actions of up to four fire teams, before entering the field in a first-person perspective and playing through your plan. I can honestly say that I never got particularly adept at this, so my planning phases would often consist of going ahead with the pre-loaded default plan, getting wiped out, going back to the plan and tweaking a few things, rinsing and repeating until I got a perfect run. Almost like cheating but without all the guilt.

In Conclusion...

I can't believe how much play time I crammed into May, considering the workload I'm juggling right now. I think precious sleep was sacrificed on a couple of occasions. Throw in all the new releases in the coming months and I'm not sure I'll survive the summer with my faculties intact...

Month in Review: April 2011

Late again this month... clearly all this fine weather has got to me. Too many barbeques and lazy, beer-assisted afternoons in the sun. Went to a Royal Wedding street party a few roads down from me the other day too... not that I care, but if there's something we Brits do well it's celebrating with traditional pomp and ceremony and taking any excuse for a piss-up while we're at it.

New Acquisitions

A small handful of new 360 games to pass the time. I paid a decent whack for Lego Stars III as I know from previous experience that Lego games rarely drop in price until many months after release, so I splurged in Game. Nier and Dante's Inferno were only £8 and £10 respectively, brand new from HMV.

The weather has been nothing short of glorious the past few weeks and I've taken advantage by checking out as many carboots as I can, work permitting. One nice find was these boxed, complete GBA games, all four for a tenner.

The local charity shops also yielded results with a couple of PC games for 99p each. Escape from Monkey Island is the one game in the series I've never played and although (like Grim Fandango and many others) it's probably a lost cause on Win7, it should work in the Win98 Virtual Machine I've just set up. I think, armed with Windows VM, DOSBox and ScummVM I can just about play any PC game in my collection once again. Let the nostalgia commence.

And what better way to put that to the test than to play the original revolutionary interactive experience (really) once more? I picked up this box containing Myst and Rivan in a charity shop for £1.50. I already own versions of both games, but this set has a bunch of other nice stuff including Making-ofs and a posh journal thingy. I just installed Myst on the Win98 VM, along with the Quicktime 2.0 it needed to run (shudder) so we shall soon see just how nostalgia fares when faced with 16-bit colour and 320x240.

No, I haven't got myself a CD-i, nor have I any real wish to. I just couldn't leave these two lying amongst all the usual charity shop CD clutter (X-Factor rejects and Daily Mail freebies) so I gave them a good home. Both are up for trade if anyone wants them... does anyone even have a CD-i?

Gamestation have been trying to clear out their last gen stuff for years now and have finally reached a price point that suits me. 3 for £5? Deal. Shame that Spyro has no cover.

This month I also picked up a couple of downloadable PC games. Audiosurf cost me next to nothing in the Steam sale and Mass Effect 2 cost me nothing at all courtesy of Bioware! Yep, free stuff is awesome. I doubt I'll ever play the PC version of ME2... but it's there if I want it.

I found a nice bargain at work too while sorting through stuff for the stocktake: a pair of Toshiba 160gb USB HDDs for £15 each. Snapped them up, gave one to my dad and kept one for my own backups and so on.

And to round things off, a financial report for April. This month I picked up 17 games for a total of £74.96. I just wish most of that total wasn't the cost of Lego Star Wars III.

Games Played

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2)

I've not played my PS2 much at all this month. I have, however, managed to progress to Act II of Dark Alliance II and am right now working my way through Lyran's Hold. I've picked up some stunning loot lately too, my barbarian is practically a walking tank.

Dragon Age II (PC)

Somebody once said that the mark of a great game is one you think about even when you're not playing. I've thought about Dragon Age II a lot in my off hours so I am quite astonished at the rather rancid pile of hate it has amassed since release. I encountered nothing in my playthrough to warrant such overwhelming animosity so it has got my hackles up a touch. The thing with Dragon Age II is it was made by Bioware. The thing with Bioware is that over the past fifteen years or so they have practically re-written the computer RPG rulebook and released cIassic after cIassic, each so far beyond their contemporaries being made that they take on their own set of rules: you can only really compare a Bioware game to other Bioware games. Taken on its own merit, Dragon Age II is head and shoulders above the rest of the current crop of fantasy RPGs. Trouble is, it's not as good as Dragon Age: Origins... and therein lies the seed of disappointment for many and why you will hear cry after cry heralding the end of Bioware as the only real force to be reckoned with in the RPG genre. It's all rather a shame, because Dragon Age II is a great game with a few flaws and I would have really liked to have given it a suitably balanced write-up. As it stands, I'm forced to take to my soapbox in defence of the developers simply to be heard above the roar of petty discontent. Thus, everything I've said above means that my actual opinion must be discounted as rabid fangirlism so I'll just say that the characters were good, the recycled environments were not and Isabella floats my boat.

Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist (PC)

Another month, another cIassic adventure to pass the time. Freddy Pharkas is an old Sierra outing by the guy who did Leisure Suit Larry and is thankfully neither as embarrassingly dreadful nor as ironically immature as those 'adult' games – even with an entire Act dedicated to curing horse flatulance! It is, essentially, Wild Wild West Quest. The titular character, a chemist in Frontier-era America, goes about using his alchemical skills to save the town from all manner of humorous dilemmas including an invading snail army and the obligatory walking cliché band of outlaws. A quirky, funny little gem that is far too short.

Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (X360)

I'm sad to say the latest Lego game hasn't pulled me in like the previous ones did and it's purely down to a lack of interest. The hook, as in all these Lego games, is reliant on a certain level of familiarity with the source material. It's why I didn't ever pick up Lego Harry Potter. I haven't seen a single episode of The Clone Wars (nor have I any wish to) so if there are any subtleties to the cutscenes or set-pieces, they sadly fly right by leaving the unsophisticated, childish humour of someone trying much too hard and little else to hold my interest. The levels themselves aren't quite as clever or interesting as in previous Lego games and the new RTS-lite mass battles aren't that gripping either, just repetitive and simplistic. So a bit of a disappointment, then. I'll still play through to the end, it's still charming and fun, but I doubt I'll be pouring in the hours required for 100% completion. 17 achievements so far, for 170 points.

Mass Effect 2 (X360)

I downloaded and completed the last Mass Effect 2 DLC, Arrival. Nothing too fancy and, like many have pointed out, it's a bit unfair that the one big decision in the story is made for you. Although I can see how it's really just guiding us into the events of Mass Effect 3... it's still a cheap shot from a developer renowned for giving us free reign over our character's morality. Anyway, the mission itself is a pretty good bit of action and an easy 3 achievements for 100 points.

Neverwinter Nights 2: Storm of Zehir (PC)

I ended up really liking Neverwinter Nights 2. Despite a rocky start, after a patch or two it turned out to be one of the best Dungeons & Dragons-based games I've ever played. The first expansion pack, Mask of the Betrayer, was even better. A tighter, darker story with interesting characters, new realms to explore and exciting new game mechanics. And then came Storm of Zehir. I picked up Zehir after the first Dragon Age was released and have only now got around to playing it. Returning to NWN2 feels a little strange; the interface a little too clunky, the experience a little too detached from the cinematic trappings of more recent RPGs. But honestly, I was expecting that and could have easily come to terms with it. What I have not been able to accept is the giant leap backwards the developers have taken from MOTB. Being able to create your own party is nice – in an Icewind Dale, spend two hours on character creation way – but if you're anything like me, you'll want to get to know all the interesting characters that already populate the game world... ha! You'll be lucky. There are a handful of ready-made 'cohorts' throughout the game – but since there's no real back story for any of them, no character-specific conversations, no in-party banter, no character development at all... it's all a bit pointless and pathetic. The blandness and lack of detail is not just limited to the characters. Even the mighty city of Neverwinter has been reduced to a tiny town square of about four buildings and no more than a half-dozen plot-specific characters, who never have anything interesting to say anyway. Most other towns and cities you visit don't even have that much, as you are restricted to simply clicking through a menu to enter the inn, temple or trade outpost. The few dungeons available are rarely more than a handful of generic rooms cobbled together and populated with dull, generic monster encounters and low-level loot. I suppose the introduction of the overland map goes partway towards making up for the lack of places to visit... if you ignore the fact that each of the two maps is little larger than a single area in a game like Baldur's Gate and are both so bland and empty, with travel across them so painfully slow that the whole system feels like little more than artificial padding. The new trade system is a nice thought, but one I rapidly grew tired of as I quickly amassed more wealth than I could ever spend and spent the rest of the game ignoring apart from when required to build a caravan or somesuch for the main quest. I use the term 'main quest' in the loosest possible sense as, taking out the time spent crawling across the overland map, trading for resources or gold you rarely need or performing crappy fetch and carry quests on the side, one could easily blaze through the story in about two hours. The rest is unnecessary bloat on an RPG decidedly lacking in both adventure and any meaningful role-playing experience. I won't even get started on the myriad of bugs, dead-end quests and spelling errors (yes, spelling errors) rampant in the game. The one true redeeming feature is the music; a stellar piece of work all round that sadly is not reflected in the voice acting, which is abysmal. A pitiful final chapter to the Neverwinter Nights saga that leaves a shroud of disappointment over an otherwise astonishing fantasy epic.

Prince of Persia (X360)

Having completed the game, I stand by last month's opinion of Prince of Persia '08. Despite the dark tone of the story it is actually quite a relaxing variation on the action-adventure genre with some devious puzzles and tricky acrobatics in between the rare combat encounters. You can't ever really die; but somehow the game never feels devoid of challenge. If there's one thing that hurts it, it's the lack of any real learning curve and thus a limited sense of accomplishment upon defeating each main bad guy. Oh, and I've never understood why a Persian (is he even a Prince in this game?) has blue eyes and an American accent either. So I've completed the game now, ended up with about 750 light seeds out of 1001 (no way I'm going for the full caboodle) and unlocked a further 13 achievements for 380 points (for a total of 730).

In Conclusion...

Now I have a choice: work on my manager training binder (ugh) or soak up some more rays... ha! Some choice.

Month in Review: March 2011

A couple of days late due to a combination of overwork, Dragon Age II and - at the last minute - a broken camera. Apologies for the low picture quality, my phone camera was a poor substitute. Anyway, I got some great gaming in this month and picked up what is sure to be a contender for Game of the Year. And it's only just April!

New Acquisitions

Two guides for Resident Evil Outbreak File #1 and #2, picked up from Oxfam for a couple of quid each. I don't usually bother with guides for such straightforward games, but since I'm a self-confessed Resi collector I couldn't just leave them sitting there.

Finally plugged a gaping hole in my collection by picking up God of War II. This is the Special Edition with one of those totally pointless bonus DVDs that nobody ever watches, but it was the same price as the regular version so I'll take it. £7.99 used from Game. Golden Sun DS is a game I'm really looking forward to (if I ever clear my DS backlog) as I really enjoyed the earlier games in the series.

The first 'must-have' of the year for me. I plumped for the PC version of Dragon Age II simply because I have the first game for that platform and there are some (albeit minor) in-game consequences if you import a DA:O save. I also ended up with the Signature Edition because I've had the thing pre-ordered since last autumn. The extra content is pretty good (especially for free) and so far I haven't had any of the DLC activation issues that plagued the first game for me. I ordered the Collector's Edition guide through work and as usual, Piggyback deliver nothing but quality.

Yep, it's carboot season again. Well, I've only been to one so far this year and my haul is admittedly small, but it's a start. The SMS games are both complete in very nice condition and cost a whopping 50p each. The big box is a PC game that I had never heard of until I spied it peeking out from amongst some videos: Peter Gabriel's EVE adventure. From what I can tell it's like the bastard offspring of Myst and a Genesis EPK...

I also downloaded the latest Mass Effect 2 DLC, Arrival, for 560MSP. Irritatingly, this purchase leaves me with 550 points in my account.

And to round things off, a financial report for the month of March. This month I picked up 6 games for a total of £55.47. Not bad when you throw in the guides.

Games Played

Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (PS2)

Lately I've been booting up my oft-neglected PS2 for a bit of harmless hack 'n' slash. The first Dark Alliance was one of my favourite games in the RPG-lite genre and the sequel is even better. Fantasy action with just the right amount of stat-building and plenty of loot to collect. I initially tried things out as a Necromancer but soon restarted as a plain vanilla Barbarian. Simplicity I crave. Anyway, I'm just in Act II, clearing out a warehouse full of dirty thieves.

Dragon Age II (PC)

I'm tired of the storm of negativity surrounding Dragon Age II. Justified or not, all the talk of dumbing the game down for the console crowd, of turning possibly the best traditional RPG of recent years into just another fantasy hackfest, the accusations of making things more 'Mass Effecty'... it's simply tiresome and I won't descend into that black pit here. Whether or not Bioware have the right to improve upon a flawed masterpiece or implement good ideas from one outstanding series in another is an argument for another time. I'm just going to say my little bit. I did have a few misgivings after playing the demo, but now I've spent some quality time (around 30 hours so far) with the full game I'm sure my fears were unjustified. I actually think Bioware have done a good job of finding a comfortable middle ground for Dragon Age II... most of the time. True, the combat can get a little hack-n-slashy for an RPG (more so in the early stages of the game before you unlock a decent set of abilities), but everything else is pure fantasy role-playing in the best tradition of Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and yes, Dragon Age: Origins. The interface has been streamlined, making the game less cumbersome and clicky for those who like to jump straight in, while retaining the best of Origins' tactical system. The game looks fantastic too: the technical aspects have been given a bit of va-va-voom while the entire art styIe appears to have been hot-rodded, making Dragon Age II darker, bloodier and sexier than Origins while still retaining the series distinct look and feel. The storytelling is more cinematic this time around, thanks in part to a cleverly implemented framed narrative; and while the actual plot never reaches the heights of Origins 'end of the world' tale it's still a ripping yarn made larger than life by a cast of characters you genuinely care about, complete with sharp, witty dialogue and an overhauled conversation system lifted hook, line and sinker from a certain other Bioware RPG. It works, don't knock it. Currently I'm winding up Act II, playing as a Rogue (but of course) and am trying to get into as many party member's panties as possible.

Machinarium (PC)

A beautiful little adventure game, cute and charming with plenty of smarts. The look of the game is downright gorgeous and for what is essentially a little Flash experiment there's a lot of fine detail work to be noticed. The story is a nice little jaunt through a post-apocalyptic junkyard as you control a hard-done-by little robot on a quest to rescue his girlfriend and save the world while he's at it. The puzzles are clever and if there's one downfall of Machinarium, it's that it's much too short. Thoroughly recommended regardless and readily available on Steam.

Penumbra: Overture (PC)

Decent horror games are increasingly few and far between. Thankfully Frictional Games fill a small section of the void with their superlative Penumbra series of thinking man's adventures. In the first episode, tasked with finding the truth about your father, you must follow a set of increasingly strange clues - letters, diaries and occasional radio contact with the local nutjob - through an abandoned mine in Greenland. Utterly alone, hounded through the darkness by man-sized spiders, rabid dogs and gargantuan earthworms, you have no choice but to press ever onwards into a black pit of madness. You have no real weapons and no effective means of attacking the foes that stalk you. Stealth, wits and a healthy knack for running away will keep you alive through your journey. It's true that few video games can provide moments as overwhelmingly heart-pounding as some of Penumbra's terrifying (if infrequent) set-pieces. Being chased through a tunnel by one of the game's killer worms, leaping over chasms, slamming doors behind you, frantically hacking your way through barricades: simple but effective. An exercise in playing to our basest fears and highly recommended because of it.

Prince of Persia (X360)

I used to like the original Prince of Persia from way back when, even though I could never make the second jump without falling to a horrible death involving spikes. Afterwards I kinda forgot about the series, completely bypassing the PS2 era before landing with this, 2008's reimagining. It's a pretty nice game, visually eyecatching and featuring a similar sort of slick gravity-defying quasi-parkour as that other Ubisoft action-adventure, Assassin's Creed. The game feels like a joy to play, a relaxing outing in a fantasy realm of few dangers - aided by the fact that you are, for all intents and purposes, immortal. That's right, whether you are falling 300 feet or getting trounced by one of the game's few enemies, you are helpfully plucked from certain doom by your trusty pocket princess. It certainly removes the frustration factor... whether it destroys all challenge completely is a serious point to consider. Anyway, so far I've destroyed the Hunter and Alchemist. Two down, two to go before the final showdown. I've also unlocked 26 achievements for 350 points.

Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon (PC)

The cIassic adventure binge continues with the third installment in Sierra's funniest series. I never finished Space Quest III back in the day as I always thought you had to win at the stupid Astro Chicken minigame in order to progress. Roll forward ten or more years and I still suck at Astro Chicken, but I've also realised that if you fail enough the game takes pity on you and allows you to move on regardless. Huh. Anyway, I polished this one off in a couple of days. It's not the best in the series, despite featuring a neat plot involving evil video game publishers. Where high points such as Space Quest I and IV buzzed with side-splitting humour and brutal satire, Space Quest III is content to trundle along being mildly amusing in between mediocre challenges. A good adventure, just not clever enough to be really great.

Venetica (X360)

I'm not going to say too much about Venetica, other than to stand by my previous judgements. Venetica is an admittedly generic, somewhat rough-around-the-edges action-RPG. But, far from being the total failure many reviews have branded it as, it is actually very playable and solid throughout (despite featuring the cheesiest plot and voice acting ever). In hindsight, I would have gone for the PC version over the 360 release, purely for the obvious control/interface advantages, but what's done is done. I'd say Venetica is worth picking up on the cheap - and since it was near enough a budget title anyway, that shouldn't be an issue. I completed the game in about 24 gameplay hours and unlocked another 22 achievements for 505 points for a grand total of 805.

In Conclusion...

And people say PC gaming is dead. Hah. This month, I think I played two of the best PC games ever, both indie titles to boot. Machinarium and Penumbra... they deserve your attention!

Month in Review: February 2011 Continued

Part two is here, just the games played...

Games Played

Blade Runner (PC)

It's no secret that I'm a big sci-fi fan and of course, am partial to a bit of Blade Runner. The movie is a particular favourite of mine but until now I've never tried out the game. Released in 1997 by Westwood, Blade Runner the game is a point-and-click adventure with a clue-hunting theme. One of the big draws for me is the branching storyline and multiple endings which change depending on your in-game choices and certain quasi-random events. The story is similar to the movie, but rather than following Deckard through a story we already know the events in the game take place parallel to the film, weaving around and in between the movie plot. It's a simple enough trick, but it helps to make the universe that little bit more alive. I finished my first playthrough as a replicant sympathisers and rode off into the sunset with Lucy at the end. Next time I might try doing my job a little better and retiring some reps.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PC)

I've not played a Call of Duty game since Call of Duty 2 wowed me about five years back, so it was high time I rectified the situation by playing one of the series more critically acclaimed entries. Whether that praise is deserved or not I can't say for certain; as a dedicated solo gamer there simply isn't enough game there to decide! The single-player campaign, intense and spectacular as it is, is over in a heartbeat (around four hours on Regular difficulty) so I can't help feeling a little high and dry. To be fair, the developers have crammed a lot into the brief campaign and each mission is designed to unleash the adrenaline junkie in us all. But you don't need me to tell you all this. 55 million Call of Duty fans can't be wrong... right?

The Curse of Monkey Island (PC)

Because one can never play too many SCUMM adventures, and because I recently played through the superlative Monkey Island 2 Special Edition, I decided to crack out Monkey Island the Third for my monthly adventure gaming fix. It's not quite as fine as MI2, but it's still one of the greatest and funniest adventures of all time. Look behind you! A three-headed monkey!

King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human (PC)

I was going to play the recently-released King's Quest III Redux, a fan-made update of the game featuring gorgeous graphics and whatnot, but I couldn't get the thing to download. So it was back to basics in all its AGI glory. I'd forgotten how difficult King's Quest III actually is. As a kid, I could never get more than a few minutes into the game without being zapped by the evil wizard... thankfully now, I understand why that was and can work out a cunning way around such an obstacle. It's still maddenly unfair, as all good Sierra adventures are!

Mafia II (X360)

I managed to complete Mafia II this month and overall I'm pretty impressed. The story is good, and despite lifting every gangster movie cliche ever conceived still manages to take you for a ride as you follow Vito from small fry to made man and beyond, as everything starts to hurtle out of control and everything descends into bloodbath after bloodbath and dammit, if that wasn't some of the most fun I've had with a game like this in a long time! There are downers, most notably the city setting rapidly becoming dull, serving little more than an extended loading screen between missions as you quickly realise there's little to do outside of driving really fast and robbing gas stations. The story missions are where Mafia II shines, and any attempt at making the game open-world just slows things down. Anyway, I've finished the game and cracked another 21 achievements for 480 points.

Red Dead Redemption (X360)

I recently downloaded and played through the Undead Nightmare DLC pack for Red Dead Redemption. Cliched as it may be, I am still a firm believer that the addition of undead to any otherwise normal situation is a recipe for success. Adding zombies to Rockstar's already superb free-roaming western is silly and somewhat inane, but it works. During my playthrought I popped a further 9 achievements for 155 points, aided by the necessity for headshots!

Venetica (X360)

I said the proof would be in the playing and I was right. I suspected Venetica had got an unfair rep as a result of a few nitpicking reviews from people who don't know what they're talking about and I was right. Venetica isn't perfect... actually it's not even great... but it is a good, solid RPG that has managed to grip me from the start. The gameplay is simple yet combat can be challenging, and the story is standard fantasy fare: well-worn but proven, with some surprising standout moments. The only real gripe I have is how skill useage is handled. From levelling up your character you have access to dozens of skills covering four different weapon categories, six magic categories and a few assorted extras. These, along with equipment and consumables like potions can be assigned to the D-pad and the B button... and that's the rub. Being able to assign a maximum of five skills for quick usage makes the rest seem superfluous as you quickly come to rely on two or three over and over as accessing any others is far too long winded. A simple radial menu would have solved the problem in an instant. Anyway, that's something I have to live with and it's certainly not a game-breaker for me. Venetica is a simple game with simple promises that is simply fun to spend time with. Right now I'm at the start of Chapter 3, clearing out some catacombs and have so far unlocked 20 achievements for 300 points.

The Witcher (PC)

I said I'd finish it sometime soon! I finally finished The Witcher, and what a ride it was. With the Enhanced Edition patch smoothing away most of the frustrations and rough edges The Witcher has turned out to be one of my favourite games of the past five years. I've already said my piece in previous blogs, so I'll just leave it at that. The dark fantasy setting, unique world mythology and CD Projekt Red's thematic fearlessness make The Witcher a must play.

In Conclusion...

So there you have it. Lots of games played as I try to clear my biggest backlog - PC games comprise the majority of my collection, yet I've finished perhaps a quarter of them. Next month I might start looking to more console-based retro fun.

Month in Review: February 2011

I picked up some cracking retro games this month and even managed to squeeze some serious playtime in and around my work. Long may it continue!

New Acquisitions

Since I started picking up Channel F games in earnest it seems like someone heard my plea for these rare antiquities of gaming. At the beginning I'd be lucky to see one or two a year on the old auction sites, now they are practically commonplace! Actually, still only one or two a month at best (and usually just Videocarts 2 and 3 over and over) but they're not as absurdely absent as before. It may be a passing phase, so I'm making the most of it by snapping them up as often as I can. Two more down, about ten to go - all of which are either the rarer educational titles or cartridges that were never imported to the UK.

A bunch of near mint PS2 games courtesy of Oxfam. Nothing too amazing, but the condition and the price (£1.99 each) were right.

A bunch of complete NES games, all from eBay. You know, I never owned an original NES copy of Castlevania until now (for shame!) and all my experience of the game has been via the GBA NES CIassics release. But now that has been rectified as I finally found a complete copy at a reasonable price. It is complete, but sadly the box has a massive rip down the back. Nothing some tender loving care (i.e. tape) won't fix. I wish I could fix the state of that Gun.Smoke box too; attack of the giant black marker resulted in another complete cIassic at below the going rate, but it's a shame.

Three more complete NES games, including two PAL exclusives. Super Turrican is fantastic. Unrelated to Super Turrican for SNES, this one is a mash-up of the first two Turrican games for the C64. New Ghostbusters II is pretty good too - much, much better than the US-released Ghostbusters II game. The Famicom game is Devilman, an ace side-scroller based on the manga.

A brace of loose Game Gear carts from The Entertainment Trader. I thought that Streets of Rage would be awesome on the go, shame it's so blurry that half the time I can't even tell Axel from the bad guys. Space Harrier is great though - insanely fast for a handheld game of this vintage.

Yes! My Pier Solar copy finally, finally arrived after being kicked around customs since mid-December. I pre-ordered this one early last year so it's been quite a wait. A small part of me is gutted that the European version was already sold out, but no matter, this cIassy *** copy will do fine. It's the original pressing with the Mega CD, card case and all the gubbins - every time I look at this I'm astounded by the production quality of such a humble homebrew. In my eyes, Super Fighter Team could take a few pointers. Anyway, the game is pretty good too...

After owning a Dreamcast since sometime last year I figured it was about damn time I got some games for the thing. And where better to start than the cIassics, right? Shenmue 1 & 2 set me back a little more than I'm used to paying for older games (£16 and £24.99 respectively) but I figure they're probably worth it. Shenmue II actually tends to sell for more than that, but a lucky Buy-It-Now got me a minty-fresh copy for less than the typical market value.

Crazy Taxi, another Dreamcast cIassic no self-respecting gamer should be without. The other four were in a lot together and are all brand new, sealed copies. £11 for the lot; I'd pay that just for MSR and Jet Set Radio so the other two are a bonus in my eyes.

A couple of cheap used games. Nomad Soul for PC was from a charity shop and looks like a unusual action-adventure. Prince of Persia was £4.99 from Game, can't go wrong there.

More charity shop pick-ups, all from Oxfam. You know, I never had a PS1 copy of Wipeout before. I used to have a PC copy back in the days before the great game cull, but it's not the same. Anyway, that's sorted now. Point Blank 3 is great fun too, and in near mint condition.

Now this is something special. Volume One of a detailed history of Nintendo from French indie publishers Pix'n Love, also the first of their books to be translated into English. The book covers the Japanese giant from 1989 to 1980, from early days producing Hanafuda and Western playing cards to the first TV games, arcades and Game & Watch handhelds. In between is a massively detailed coverage of Nintendo's forays into toys, electronic games, board games, office supplies and even baby equipment. Each page is awash in colour, high quality photos of museum pieces, vintage print adverts and catalogue pages and screenshots of period TV commercials. A beautiful book and one that I urge everyone who is remotely interested in Nintendo, retro gaming, vintage toys or even just a bit of history to check out now. Pix'n Love can be found here.

And finally, three bargains from Big. Guitar Hero 5, Crackdown and The Darkness for Xbox 360 - all disc/manual only, but new stock and just £1.99 each. Considering Guitar Hero 5 is still selling for around £25 I consider that a cracking buy. The shop had an absolute ton of caseless games, DVDs and CDs - their regular stock is nearly all bulk crap or rental overstock, so I'm guessing selling mismatched discs from other retailers isn't too much of a leap for Big. Anyway, this was what I picked out of the games.

Now, I said that keeping a running total of my spending was going to be a bad idea. In February I picked up 32 games for a total of £166.15. Ouch. Though to be fair, that does include the price of Pier Solar (actually paid sometime last year), two Shenmues and a nice shiny book.

And once again, I've had to split my blog to cater for Gamespot's inadequecies. Part two up shortly.

Month in Review: January 2011

I started my new job a couple of weeks back, so both my playtime and bargain-hunting time have been temporarily cut back while I find my feet. While I'm enjoying the extra responsibility, it has been tough going with long hours and a much more performance-driven environment - something I'm not entirely comfortable with, but it goes with the territory. On the plus side, I get paid more and I got to see what Andy McNab really looks like under that ski-mask.

New Acquisitions

Some new games courtesy of Zavvi and Game online. I actually ended up with two copies of CSI, the first one never turned up after a month of waiting so I got Zavvi to send another... then both copies turned up within a couple of days of each other. To be fair, I did email Zavvi in case they wanted me to send the dupe back... but I guess they don't care. Their loss is my trade fodder. Venetica has a bad rep, not least on this site, but it actually comes recommended by a few of my German friends (it's been out here in Europe for aaaaaaages already), who I trust a heck of a lot more than some reviewer who clearly doesn't like or understand the EuroRPG genre. Of course, the final proof will be in the playing, so watch this space.

And a couple of pre-owned cheapies from brick-n-mortar stores Game Zone and Game. Unlimited Saga was only £2.99 complete, not a bad price for a good condition copy. Most copies I see around are both overpriced and excessively dog-eared. Also, that's my first Trauma Centre game there. £4.99 from Game, should be worth it.

Finally my Game Gear gets some love with some games that aren't Columns! Of my recently-acquired Sega consoles, this lonely handheld has been the most neglected. So I picked up a few cheap games at one of my new favourite haunts, The Entertainment Trader. The boxed games are complete with their inserts and manuals and are in very good condition; the single cart is the Japanese release of Ax Battler. I thought the game was just a portable Golden Axe, but it turns out it has lots of RPG/Zelda features in perfectly unintelligable Japanese. Ah well. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Super Smash TV was from a charity shop, a mere £1.50. I could never get the hang of the dual-controller set-up with the NES version of the game, so there's little hope of my mastering it with Mega Drive either.

I also picked up some DLC from the Rockstar/2K sale on XBLA, namely the Undead Nightmare scenario for Red Dead Redemption. I really liked that game and zombies are always good fun, so I'll be booting that up soon.

Finally - and I don't know how long this will remain a good idea - I've decided to keep track of my game-related spending this year. In January I picked up 10 games for a total of £66.19, though I did trade in a dupe for £13 credit at CeX (as yet unspent).

Games Played

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (X360)

My first game beaten in 2011. Now I've played through the whole thing, I'll say that Brotherhood is my least favourite game in the series, but don't take that to mean it's not great. It's just that after two full-to-bursting, action-packed outings, I'm a little tired of Ezio. Overall I found Brotherhood to be fun, if not completely fresh. It's smaller in scope than ACII but just as finely detailed. I found a bit more challenge this time around too, mainly down to the extra requirements for gained 100% synch in a memory. Some are easy, some are difficult, some are just plain bizarre, but they grab on to the completionist in all of us. Sadly, I've not 100%-ed each memory - I'm nowhere near good enough for that - and as always I've declined to go flag-hunting, but I've completed the main story and all the other side-quests available, rebuilt Rome and unlocked another 28 achievements for an additional 570 points, bringing my total to 720.

Mafia II (X360)

I always liked the first Mafia game, despite my indifference to all things gangster (I prefer my mob movies Triad- or Yakuza-flavoured than Sicilian). It took the strong narrative of a film and injected it into an atmopsheric quasi-open world full of period touches and exciting things to do and see. Mafia II is at first glance more of the same, but sadly the open nature has been cruelly boxed in. There's still a city to explore, but with little to do outside of the main storyline except steal cars and hold up gas stations I soon found myself simply using it as a means to get from one mission to another. The story is fine though - built using every gangster cliche in the book, but surprisingly easy to get into. Narrow focus aside, I'm enjoying Mafia II, even if I am a touch disappointed. I've just completed Chapter 5 and - surprise, surprise - entered into a distinct Shawshank homage. So far I've gained 12 achievements for 170 points.

The Witcher (PC)

I'm still going through The Witcher and I've just started Act IV. This is further than I got during my last attempted playthrough and I'm actually enjoying myself a lot more this time around. Part of that may be due to the enhancements offered by the upgraded version of the game I'm playing, or it could just be that I'm more in the mood for long-term affairs with a dark, bloody RPG this time around. The story, setting and character interactions are all gripping - one thing I always liked about this game is its ready-built, completely realised world that throws you in with little explanation or exposition. Probably thanks to the books the game is based upon, the world is there to be lived in rather than being constructed around either the chracter you are playing or the quest you are on. The world of The Witcher has its own mythos, politics, racial animosities, folklore, culture and bad habits that you just have to live with and work alongside. It's a difficult thing to accomplish - even Dragon Age was guilty of attaching too much importance to your character and not enough to the fabric of the game world - so it's astonishing that a little game from a previously unknown Polish studio could manage it so well. Anyway, I'm trying to get all the side-quests done as I go along, so each chapter has been taking me quite a while, but I should be all done in a few weeks.

In Conclusion...

Yep, short and sweet this month. Maybe Pier Solar will turn up next month.

Year in Review: 2010 Continued

Continuing my end of year blog, here's part two with the rest of my idiomatic ramblings.

Special Achievement Awards

Here's some special awards, handed out for everything from graphics and audio to storytelling and atmosphere. The games praised here might not all be quite good enough to be in the running for Game of the Year, but they all do at least one thing right.

Best Graphics (Realistic)

The latest Medal of Honor, a welcome modern-day reboot of the franchise, seems to have been overlooked on a lot of end-of-year lists. While I can't in good conscience hand it a Game of the Year award – it has just a few too many flaws for that – I'm going to acknowledge it for something it actually does rather well: realism, or at least the sort of shaky-cam, faux-documentary realism that we've all come to take for granted in recent years. I've never been in battle, and I'll be the first to admit my impressions of 21st century war come mainly from newsreels and Oscar-baiting movie performances. But my word, isn't Medal of Honor just like that? Call it a poor man's Call of Duty if you will, but I've always found that other series to have a slightly glossy finish that disqualifies the recent Black Ops from this award.

Best Graphics (Artistic)

They may have missed out on Game of the Year glory, but at least the makers of Final Fantasy XIII haven't forgotten how to put on a good show. The cutscenes are gorgeous, cinematic and exciting, the game world is rich and always uniquely interesting and the end result is just breathtakingly beautiful. Typical Final Fantasy ridiculousness shines through in the character designs – not a bad thing at all, as where would we be without impractically large swords, straps and buckles with no purpose, armoured bras and big hair?

Best Voice Acting

Bioware always give us a wonderful cast of characters in any game they create and more often than not, provide some of the best and most professional voice actors to bring them all to life. Video game VA veteran Jennifer Hale returns with another stormingly brilliant FemShep – tough as nails, leaden with emotion, often snarky and sarcastic, occasionally warm and fuzzy... just brilliant. The rest of the crew including Mordin Solus, Miranda and Jack, along with a full line-up of sci-fi bad guys, are voiced to an equally high standard, one that sets the bar for video game acting.

Best Music

A surprising choice perhaps, but the orchestral strains of the Nier soundtrack should not be overlooked simply because the rest of the game failed to live up to expectations. In an age where symphonic video game soundtracks are a dime a dozen, it's refreshing to hear one that pushes the boundaries rather than bleating out the same tired old film-score refrains time and again. In addition to some interesting musical ideas, the Nier soundtrack features vocals by Freesscape vocalist Emi Evans, sung in a bizarre mix of languages to stunning effect. Stirring stuff that actually breathes a little life into a fairly forgettable game.

Best Atmosphere

Both Bioshock games have been extremely effective at bringing a unique world to life. The underwater city of Rapture is a feast for the eyes with its curious mix of art deco and futuristic design, offset by decay and damp. Glorious and decrepit in equal measure, a lunatic utopia populated by crazies and critters. This time around you are imprisoned within the leaden suit of a Big Daddy, looking out from the claustrophic confines of your diving helmet. Even the tiny rivulets of water that run down your small window into Rapture do their part to emphasise your slave status. Faceless voices guide your way through the loneliness and isolation, to an increasing beat of desperation. Just like the first game, Bioshock 2 delivers a uniquely intense experience in a fascinating setting.

Best Story

The hardest category to decide. I still can't make up my mind whether to condemn all videogame plots as cliche-ridden drivel, or to praise games like Mass Effect 2, Red Dead Redemption and Fallout: New Vegas for at least doing it with styIe. I blame low standards. We used to be lucky if we got a plot beyond "Save the princess" or "Kill Hitler in our games. Now it seems that every game out there has to feature an Epic Saga of Love and Betrayal in a World On The Brink Of Destruction, yadda yadda. While perfectly adequate as a springboard to some bloody good playtime, the writing in games still lacks a certain styIe and subtlety that is the mark of fine storytelling. In the end, I'm just going to have to fold and choose Alan Wake's shadowy tale of terror for this award. Better than most, if heavy-handed, and very Stephen King in execution: good ideas, writes like an eight-year old. The perfect metaphor for video game storytelling...

Best Character

John Marston, to be precise. I was originally going to go with Mass Effect's Commander Shepard, until I realised that the greatest character isn't necessarily the one you mould yourself. John Marston is all the more remarkable because he is such a complete, fleshed out creation over whom we have no control as to the direction of his life or his interactions with others. He is presented to us fully formed and we have to simply take him as he is, for all his faults, with no chance of shaping him into our own superhero avatar. He's a bastard, an ex-gang member, a thug who'd likely not think twice about blowing your brains out if you slight him. But through it all, we can't help but like the guy – as we realise that no matter what his methods, no matter how dark his past, at least this guy is trying to do the right thing in a hard world.

Best Licensed Game

Despite recent rumblings, I've all but given up hope for a new Bond film any time soon and so I'll take any video game I can get. Unlike most, I was never that enamoured with the original Goldeneye game on the N64. Having been nourished on a steady diet of top-notch PC shooters from an early age I found those early console fumblings primitive and immature. Times have changed though, and while I once longed for glossy finishes and infinite complexity in my shooters, now I more often than not long for a certain simplicity. There are too many Modern Warfares and Halos with their Hollywood production values, gameplay scripted to the finest detail and impersonal, brutally over-competitive multiplayer. Goldeneye for Wii is such a startling throwback to those days of living room rivalry, split-screen action and fun despite the flaws that it almost encroaches on brilliance. Almost.

Best Download-Only Game

Not so much a remake as simply the original game given new clothes and a shiny new interface, the Monkey Island 2 Special Edition is still a side-splittingly outrageous adventure that remains one of Lucasarts best works. Honourable mentions include Amnesia: The Dark Descent, a Penumbra-styIe intelligent horror adventure, and Jolly Rover, a Monkey Island love-letter starring dogs.

Best Expansion or DLC

I'm not a huge proponent of the current trend of DLC that provide little substance for a high price – horse-armour syndrome – but I do have a certain respect for any developer or publisher worthy enough to furnish us with a full-blown expansion pack in this day and age. I never thought it would be EA to do it. Anyway, Awakening is a mighty achievement providing around 20 more hours of everything that we loved about the main game. The plot, characters and general gameplay are easily on a par with anything in the main DA:O game. It's a nice return to the days when a massive expansion pack or two was par for the course with any decent PC game... before someone decided releasing a funny hat and a cool sword every two months was a more efficient way of fiddling gamers out of their virtual currencies. Shame then, that Awakening was released alongside a torrent of just such tosh.

Obligatory Cultural References

The Killer Rabbit and Sir Robin awards now make a welcome comeback after sitting out last year's awards due to a severe case of death... I mean, *cough* they were pinin' for the fjords.

Killer Rabbit Award for Gratuitous Violence

Ah, Bayonetta. A surprising success on many levels, not least its ability to drench the screen in buckets of gore while Ms. Bayonetta herself whizzes about dealing death on all sides to foes large and small. A glorious achievement.

Sir Robin Award for Family-Friendly Fun

I'm going to cheat here and select a game I haven't actually played yet. But since I'm not making any comment on the quality of gameplay on offer, merely its suitability for folks of weak constitution, that matters not. Your granny could play this, no probs.

Dubious Honours

What can I say? I like griping.

Letdown of the Year

I love Aliens. Easily my favourite film of the 80s and crown prince in a series that has given us some cIassic cinema and so many wonderful licensed video game properties: Alien for Spectrum, Alien 3 for Mega Drive and a right-in-so-many-ways mash up with the Predator franchise. Aliens vs. Predator for Jaguar was pretty cool in a pixellated way. The PC games of 1999-2001 were unbelievably cool in all ways. So why does this game remind me of the AVP movies? Ugh.

Missing in Action

This would have been perfect Christmas fodder, instead folks over here are forced to wait until February for Kirby's latest greatest knit. Hit. Sorry. I honestly thought we were past all this.

Hopes for 2011

There's a lot of sequels (and threequels) in there, but since video games are the one media form in which sequels are routinely better than the originals, I'm not too worried.

For When Games Aren't Enough

It happens to the best of us. Sometimes, we just don't want to play games any more. To fill that void, we invented films, books and music...

Film of the Year

I first read Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy about two years ago and, while I enjoyed them immensely, I found them to suffer from that peculiar dryness typical of translated works – the nuances and subtle plays of a master of language lost under the literal processing into English. Thankfully the plot was not lost in translation and the stories remain thrilling to the last. So it was with great anticipation that I awaited the UK release of the first cinematic adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was not disappointed, and this time there was no clumsy dictionary-dry prose to stand in my way. Filmmaking crosses all boundaries of language and expression and this jewel of Swedish cinema is no exception. The film is at heart a traditional cold case parlour story, but brought to the screen impeccably well with spot-on dialogue, practically perfect cinematography and some great, textured performances - not least from Noomi Rapace as the titular girl with the dragon tattoo, Lisbeth Salander. There's a US remake coming in hot, about which I have mixed feelings, but I suppose it will at least open up Larsson's legacy to those who are too lazy for subtitles!

Runners-Up: Toy Story 3, Four Lions, The Girl Who Played with Fire, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Book of the Year

Like all the Tiffany Aching sub-series, this is technically a kid's book within the adult Discworld canon. But unlike most authors who write for children, Sir Terry doesn't patronise his readers. Rather, he treats them simply as small grown-ups, capable of the same range of emotions and feats of imagination as everybody else. Anybody can pick up a Terry Pratchett book and be swept along, regardless of how many years they have under their fedoras. Most importantly, there are no sparkly vampires featured at all.

Runners-Up: The Making of The Empire Strikes Back (J.W. Rinzler), The Complete Lyonesse (Jack Vance)

Album of the Year

It's been a pretty slow year for good music. There was a new Iron Maiden album (pretty good), another excellent Star One release (Arjen Anthony Lucassen, genius) and this, Revamp's debut. Floor Jansen's new outfit isn't really a patch on After Forever, but quite frankly I'd listen to Floor sing the phone book and still be entertained. It's heavier than After Forever but less symphonic. Floor's voice is stronger than ever though, and keeps the material safely out of the realms of the forgettable. High points include a phenomenal duet with Russell Allen (Sweet Curse) and some crushingly heavy yet melodic tracks like Million and Kill Me With Silence.

Runners-Up: Iron Maiden, Star One, Imelda May

So that's it for another year. Here's to 2011, which is already shaping up to be fantastic. I'm starting my new job (same company, different role) tomorrow, so I don't know how much time I'll have for games to begin with... but I'm sure I can squeeze something in!

Year in Review: 2010

In addition to running a touch late, I've had to split my year-end blog into two parts. This first post will cover what I feel are the best new releases I have played in 2010. Obviously I haven't had the chance to play every single new release so there's a few big names missing. I also decided to limit myself to just five choices this year, so consider this just a taster of all the great games that have been released over the past twelve months. Counting down...

Games of the Year

#5

After the steady metamorphosis of Resident Evil into a series of action games rather than truly frightening horror games, I was in the market for a new horror series to leave me shaking under the covers. Alan Wake fit the bill nicely: your character isn't a superhero, nor is he kitted out with his own personal armoury. You just need to use all your wits to survive, along with an inexhaustible supply of Energizer batteries! In Alan Wake your torch is your best friend and most useful tool as you are attacked by the darkness itself, forming enemies made of nothingness and environments so sinister you'll end up jumping at every flicker of movement as you progress into the terrifying depths of one man's madness. Some people criticised the slow-burning feel of the game and bemoaned the lack of spectacular set-pieces, but for me that is the reason Alan Wake shines as a horror game. Instead of hopping from one major encounter to another, the game places you in one long drawn-out nightmare, assaulted by the dark and in a constant state of dread. That is what a horror game should be, and that is why Alan Wake sits on this list.

#4

Thematically, and also in terms of the complexity of certain game mechanics, New Vegas has much more in common with the original Black Isle-helmed Fallout games than Bethesda's Fallout 3. While retaining the game engine, interface and shooter/RPG mix of the latter game, the setting, story details and character interactions bear a more nostalgic feel. Traipsing about the western desert and meeting up once more with the NCR, throwing your lot in with gangsters and mercenaries; New Vegas feels like a truer successor to Fallout 2. Hardcore mode, in which your character must eat, drink and sleep regularly in order to survive, actually dredged up deeper memories of the unforgivably harsh realities of Wasteland (a precursor of sorts to the Fallout series which featured its own version of a post-apocalyptic Vegas). It's all good news for long-time fans, and even if New Vegas didn't quite grip me like Fallout 3 did, I do like the direction Obsidian have taken the series. The faction system is perhaps the most important change. No longer can your character wander the wastelands like a god with no consequences to their actions, now even the tiniest decision may have a drastic effect on one more more groups of indigenous people – and there's just no way you can please everyone! This throws open the door for massive replayability, always a welcome feature.

#3

Aside from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, public health and peace (maybe), what did the Romans ever do for us? Well, they provided a gorgeous backdrop for the daring adventures of a brotherhood of assassins, for one! The stunning locales of Renaissance Italy are just as vivid and eyecatching as before, and although we are more-or-less confined to the city of Rome and surrounding Campagna this time around, there's plenty to see and do while picking up the story where we left off. Brotherhood continues the story of Ezio from Assassin's Creed II; in fact the game mechanics are almost identical to that game, but since I found ACII darn near perfect I'm actually glad the developers didn't muck it up! The addition of allies in the form of assassin recruits is a nice touch; letting your proteges loose on a pack of guards or watching rooftop sentries die in a hail of arrows is actually pretty awesome. Being able to send them on missions throughout Europe to gain experience and cash is a smart idea too even if I would have liked a bit more involvement than the static menu system we get. All together, Brotherhood isn't as big or involved as ACII, but it's still stupendously brilliant and fun to play.

#2

I'm not a big fan of westerns in any media, be it film, novel or even video game, so for something like Red Dead Redemption to grab me like it did means it must be something special. The setting and story are actually nothing new but still work rather well; a rough, bloody tale of revenge and redemption in the dusty lawlessness of the wild west. In the end it was the heavily scripted missions and utterly thrilling succession of story set-pieces which sucked me in. Every time I thought a gunfight, chase or escape couldn't get more fun or outrageous, along came something bigger and better to blow it out of the water. The exploration and open-world adventuring was fun for a while too, with plenty of challenges to complete and secondary missions to uncover – more critical for the completionists than myself – but a nice change of pace from all the adrenaline of the main missions. Red Dead Redemption taught me that westerns didn't have to bore me to tears, and that Rockstar are capable of so much more than a steadily deteriorating Grand Theft Auto series.

Game of the Year

Ah, where to begin? I know some folk were disappointed with Mass Effect 2 and I'll admit, I still don't know which of the two games in the series I prefer. What I do know is that because of (or perhaps despite) some major gameplay changes, Mass Effect 2 is brimming with quality and – for me at least – stands head and shoulders above anything else released this year. As with the original game, Bioware have created an epic space opera, setting the scene masterfully with grace, wit and intensity permeating every aspect of the game. Vividly realised locations dazzle the eye and characters pop out of the screen, brimming with complex individuality. The plot is tightly woven, even if it does suffer from 'middle of a trilogy' syndrome: lacking a certain drive and serving little else but to connect an origin story with the ultimate battle. But people once said the same thing about The Empire Strikes Back, right? Anyway, combat in Mass Effect 2 is improved massively from the original game with improved powers and AI, a cover system that works and some cool heavy weapons for when one gun just isn't enough. Each mission is presented as a stand-alone, bite-sized section this time around. For me this is no better or worse than the more open structure of the original game – just different – and the developers have ensured that each mission is packed to the gills with frantic action and intense character moments. Amazing stuff and a worthy game of the year for me (and for many others, too).

I've just noticed that each of my top five games were developed in the west. Final Fantasy XIII came close to being included – I enjoyed that game immensely – but in the end I realised that the whole thing was a damning indictment of the current state of Japanese development. Favouring styIe over substance, designed to cater to every fanboy's whim and fancy and wrapped up so tightly in the comfort blanket of a successful formula that there's no room for new ideas to breath, let alone flourish. Just giving a game a shiny new coat of current-gen paint doesn't cut it any more; you've got to innovate, dammit!

Underrated Game of the Year

I was looking forward to Alpha Protocol immensely and, like so many others, I felt a certain disappointment upon release. The lack of polish on such a promising creation seemed like wasted potential. Having said that, once I got past my initial reservation I started enjoying myself immensely and soon found many reasons to praise the game. The developers of Alpha Protocol were brave, tackling a modern-day setting with such gusto, mixing Bond, Bourne and Bauer in a thrilling political actioner that deserves to be taken seriously. Alpha Protocol is deep, intricate and with a vast potential for replayability. Just remember that at its core Alpha Protocol is an RPG – not simply an action game – and you'll realise that Alpha Protocol is worthy of respect and a playthrough or two.

Games of Yesteryear

Next up, a special mention for the great games of years gone by. Most of the time, I play more old games than new, so it only seems fair that I make note of some of the truly special ones that slipped by my radar the first time around. I've created two awards, one for relatively recent releases (in the past three or four years, say) and one that celebrates more vintage games.

Previously On... Award (2007-2009)

I mentioned recently that the Assassin's Creed series was my favourite new franchise of recent years, and I stand by that here. Each of the three games so far has been a stunner with unique story ideas, unusual settings, fluid controls allowing for almost unprecedented freedom of movement within a game and some of the slickest combat I've seen in an action-adventure. I actually played both Assassin's Creed and its sequel in quick succession this summer and I'll say that Ezio's adventure wins by a head. While I love the Crusade-era setting of the original, there's something about free-running about Renaissance Italy that fires up my blood. The conspiracies at the core of the series storyline are dealt with in a fuller and more meaningful manner this time around and there's just so much more to see and do. Honourable mentions include Cryostasis and Borderlands.

Once Upon a Time Award (Pre-2007)

I took the time to play (or re-play) lots of old school adventures this year, including a sizeable chunk of the old Lucasarts cIassics. Day of the Tentacle is one I never really played too much as a kid, but I'm glad I returned now. It's a brilliant comedy of errors wrapped up in the cleverist time-travel story since Marty McFly came back from the future, smartly written with a quick-fire sense of humour. Easily Lucasart's best adventure and the best oldie I've played this year without a doubt. Runners-up for this category are The Dig (another Lucasarts gem) and Giants: Citizen Kabuto.

That's is for part one. Part two will be up in a few days and will cover some special achievements and - gasp - some non-gaming awards. Take care!

Month in Review: December 2010 Continued

I didn't realise until I typed it all out, but I did some serious gaming in December! Long may it continue...

Games Played

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (X360)

I've only just got this one so I haven't played much yet. I'm partway through DNA sequence 3 and am thoroughly enjoying myself, just like with the first two Assassin's Creed games. This is easily my favourite new series of recent years; it's almost unimaginable that a franchise can produce three A* quality games in a little over three years. Anyway, being a direct sequel to ACII means I can jump straight into the action again with no messy exposition. Ezio and the gang are back and while we are more or less confined to Rome this time around, the scenes of Renaissance Italy don't get old. I'm only a short way into the game so far, but I've popped eight achievements for 150 points.

CSI: Deadly Intent (X360)

I got a little tired of balls-out action games so I decided to take it easy this month with some adventure games and puzzlers. I've had this CSI game for a while, so I took the opportunity to slip into my crime-fighting shoes and solve ridiculously convoluted murder enquiries in 45 minutes armed only with a child's chemistry set. It's slightly better than the first CSI game on the 360 as the cases do require a modicum of skill this time around, but it's still an easy, lazy 1000 points.

Jolly Rover (PC)

An indie point and click adventure game courtesy of the Steam sale. In all but name: Monkey Island as performed by talking dogs. Regardless of the blatant influences - or is it merely homage? - Jolly Rover is a smart, witty game that shows great promise. I finished it in about four hours with minimal hints, so it's a nice length too. 15 new Steam achievements, too!

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge SE (X360)

Ah, Monkey Island. No dogs; just good old-fashioned humourous adventures on the high seas. The last time I played Monkey Island 2 was in about 1995 on my mate's Amiga, yet as I was playing through this Special Edition I was astonished at how much I remembered from all those years ago. It just goes to show that truly great games stay with you, just like you'll always remember an unputdownable book or the first movie to make you cry. The Monkey Island games, along with the old Sierra adventures, were the first games to make me laugh. I finished the Monkey Island 2 SE with relative ease, dinging every achievement along the way for 200 points.

Police Story: In Pursuit of the Death Angel (PC)

A small part of me had hoped that the Police Quest adventure series was a little like the King's Quest or Space Quest series, enjoyably witty pastiches on genre fiction... alas, twas not to be. I played the original Police Quest for the first time a couple of weeks back and sadly it's deadly serious. So serious, in fact, that you'll spend a large chunk of gameplay doing such mundane 'real-life' policeman tasks as performing safety checks on your car before every trip and taking your gun in and out of lockers and experiencing the joys of communal showering. Yes, it's realistic, but also rather pedantic - especially when I actually got chastened by a video game for leaving the shower running. Anyway, aside from the annoyingly repetitive tasks, the adventure side of things is decent enough and perfectly challenging.

Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS)

I finally finished this one earlier in the month. Like I've mentioned before, it's not as good as the second game in terms of plot or puzzles, but it kept me occupied for a fair few lunch hours! It's safe to say I'm looking forward to playing the third game in the series, which I'll hopefully be picking up soon.

Puzzle Agent (PC)

A decent Telltale game that I picked up in the Steam sale. It's an adventure/puzzle hybrid based on the art of Graham Annable, which lends the visual design a certain unique flavour. The story itself is a great little 'Twin Peaks meets The X Files' tale, so it's a shame the puzzles don't live up to the premise. The puzzles are extremely samey, with the majority being variations on a small number of themes - mostly maze-types, jigsaws and maddening logic puzzles. Still, an entertaining few hours for a low, low price.

Red Faction (PC)

I remember the pre-release hype for Red Faction. Volition, the creators of the majestic Freespace games, dipping their toes in the first-person shooter pool? An epic sci-fi adventure chock full of action, explosions, rebels, double-crossing executives and the goofiest hero since Gordon Freeman donned his signature specs? Destructable scenery? Consider me sold. Sadly, it never really lived up to the hype. While never a bad game - and most definitely one I enjoyed playing - Red Faction was inevitably destined to be forgotten in the wake of so many Half-Lifes and Halos. I don't know what compelled me to try it again after so many years (although the 80p Steam price might have had something to do with it) but I'm glad I did. Surprisingly, despite never wowing anybody the way it should have on its initial release, Red Faction has stood the test of time and remains an enjoyable diversion.

Retro Game Challenge (DS)

As you must know by now, I'm a pretty big retro nut so a game like this is catnip to me. Perfect for playing in bite-sized chunks and with enough variety (so far) to keep me entertained. I'd recommend this one to anyone who fancies a bit of nostalgia - it's got everything from scrolling shooters, top-down racers, vintage platformers and even a Dragon Quest-styIe RPG! Right now the games I've beaten the challenges for are Cosmic Gate, Robot Ninja Haggle Man, Rally King and Star Prince. Favourite mini-game so far? Star Prince, and that's saying something since I'm not a SHMUP fan at all!

Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper (X360)

I finished Sherlock Holmes vs. Jack the Ripper in record time back at the start of the month. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, it's a decent enough adventure with some fiendishly clever puzzles and a cracking mystery to solve. It most definitely suffers from being on a console - I suspect the PC release is much smoother and easier to control - but I still had fun. I ticked off every achievement on offer (an additional 19 for 480 points) for the full 1000 points.

Splinter Cell: Double Agent (X360)

I just started this to waste some time one weekend. So far I'm enjoying myself. It's more stealth-based than I imagined, which is good, and quite challenging. My progress is on hold while I play the latest Assassin's Creed, but I'll be slipping back into my spy shoes soon enough. At the moment I'm sneaking my way around the ship in Othotsk. Chilly. Seven achievements down, for 180 points.

The Witcher (PC)

The Witcher is a criminally overlooked RPG. Perhaps it is the flawed implementation of some unusual ideas or simply the unknown quantities of a first-time developer and a relatively obscure source material. Seriously adult Polish fantasy novels aren't on many people's reading lists. No matter. The Witcher is a fantastic game; darker and bloodier than a thousand Dragon Ages and with more real-world parallels than you can shake a broadsword at. Sexual content, coarse language, brutal violence and even racism - it's all here in spades, adding some much-needed texture to an overly wholesome fantasy genre. I actually got quite far in this game once before, Act 3 in fact, before I was distracted by university studies and never returned. Now with the Enhanced Edition and plenty of patches available, The Witcher is better than ever and the time is right for a return. This time I've reached Act 2, with plenty more game to go.

Year in Review: Games Played

In 2010 I squeezed in some good gaming time in between the hard work and managed to complete 55 games. 4 of those were games I had previously beaten, the others were new completions for me.

And since some folks here like to track things like this, I also acquired 499 Xbox Achievements for 11180 points, nearly doubling my previous score and bringing my total at year's end to 22560.

And what of my favourites? Well, you'll just have to wait until my mammoth Game of the Year blog! Still under construction right now, but completion is imminent...

Month in Review: December 2010

My final monthly blog of 2010 is a short one in terms of acquisitions. I'm afraid the winter months just aren't conducive to a collector like me - no carboots this time of year and I have little desire to wander the freezing streets in search of charity shops, pawn stores and other musty-smelling providers of vintage game content. However, the internet is alive and well and big name stores are throwing sales left, right and centre... so it's not all doom and gloom.

New Acquisitions

Three wildly different games from three different sources. Splinter Cell: Double Agent was a £3 bargain from CeX, adding to my recent acquisitions of Tom Clancy games. I picked up Crue Ball from The Entertainment Trader. Aside from some stubborn sticker residue on the case it's in near mint condition and satisfies two of my guitly pleasures: pinball video games and Motley Crue. Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 was from a charity shop. It's the Gold version with the waterworld add-on and, since I haven't played a theme park management sim since the first RT, it should be fun and challenging.

These were all picked up brand new and cheap from various internet outlets in the pre-Christmas rush. My 360 backlog increases every time I look, so it may be a while before I give some of these a spin. The Borderlands add-on pack cost less than £3 from Shopto and while I wish it included the General Knoxx content instead of the Underdome, I shan't complain. Borderlands was one of the most fun games I've played in years so I'll be installing that again soon.

Christmas Day itself provided no new gaming content, so of course I hit the sales as soon as possible! These were all picked up in high street stores in the days after Christmas at considerable discount. No More Heroes was just £2.97! The Arcade Hits Pack looks fun too: a brace of arcade rail shooters that, while obscure, are perfect Wii fodder.

I also picked up a pile of Steam games this month, thanks to their seasonal sale thing: Hammerfight, Uplink: Hacker Elite, Hacker Evolution, Twin Sector, System Protocol One, Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death, The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom, Machinarium, Puzzle Kingdoms and Amnesia: The Dark Descent. Good times shall be had by all.

Year in Review: Acquisitions

2010 was a great year for my collection. In total I added a massive 444 games to the fold across 23 different platforms. That might seem like an excessive amount, but only 44 were brand new retail copies (9.91%), and they were mostly bought at discount. 30 were digital downloads (6.76%) and the rest were pre-owned games (83.3%), nearly all retro releases. The system I acquired the most games for was actually my PC with 110 new acquisitions. I actually made a handy graph to show it all, but Glitchspot keeps deleting it when I post... so I'll just write a list of all my systems by games acquired in 2010:

PC (inc. Steam) 110
ZX Spectrum 46
Mega Drive 43
PlayStation 2 41
PlayStation 32
Atari 2600 26
Xbox 360 (inc. XBLA) 25
NES 17
Channel F 15
Commodore 16/Plus4 12
DS 12
Famicom 12
Gamecube 12
Game Boy Advance 9
Mega CD 9
Wii 8
Master System 5
Nintendo 64 3
SNES 3
Game Boy 1
Game Boy Color 1
Game Gear 1
Game.com 1

It wasn't all software either. On the hardware front, I managed to snag myself seven new systems. Over the year I have acquired a Game Gear, Atari VCS (woody six-switcher), Mega Drive (Mark I), Mega CD (Mark I), Master System (Mark II), Dreamcast and an original model ZX Spectrum (with the rubber keyboard). I also picked up two 70's TV games.

So, out of it all, what were my favourite new acquisitions this year? It's a tough one to call, but I'm going to plump for my Mega Drive/Mega CD combo. Finally acquiring my own Mega Drive opened up a new realm for me in terms of retro playing and collecting as up until then I had been a bit of a Nintendo stalwart.

The 'Games Played' portion of my December blog will continue in another post, complete with year-end game-playing stats to satisfy the remotely curious.