HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Happy Christmas all my readers. Stay tuned for blog update Jan 1st as usual.

Xbox 360 Update

I got to play on an Xbox 360 a couple of days ago. No none of my friends have one but the game in town does so when I walk home I play on it! The only game I have got to play is Call of Duty 2. Let me review the console itself rather than the game (I will review it in quick reviews as it is only a demo)

The Controller
The controller is probably going to be the best controller this generation. But then it would have been that if that hadn't changed it at all. The others are absolutely rubbish (more in CONSOLE WARS) So, how does it compare with the current controllers. It is far superior to the Xboxes controller. It is unfortunately a blatant copy of the NGCs but it is a bit better than it because it has 2 shoulder buttons instead of one. The dual shock controller was undoubtedly the best controller ever made. It was the right size, all the buttons were easy to reach and two clickible analog sticks. The X360 however has all this but triggers. I think they are now on equal levels as the PS2 still has a slightly nicer feel to it. For most Xbox users it will very small at first. Those triggers are far smaller and can be pushed not nearly as far. I think this is bad because it means reduced control when it is pressure sensitive like driving games. But on the flip side it does fit n to your hand a lot better.

The Graphics
Yes the graphics really do look amazing. You use the binoculars at 1ft and you can see tons of detail on one of your mens face. The physics are incredible. When you chuck a grenade all the men recoil in a different way. The graphics are NO let down.

More info on game play extra will be in the quick reviews. I will make it an extended 'quick reviews'

GO NOW

This has absolutly nothing to do with gaming I will say that now.

I am a suscriber to Google Video or something and everyday he selects a movie from google videos that is the best for that day. They are all normally quite good but this one is AMAZING. It is free-running. BIG STYLE.

Here is the link http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=515642196227308929

This is what the guy who found it said:
"Wow! This guy is amazing: a very Jackie Chan-like romp through abandoned properties in Russia at a breakneck run. Another guy joins him after a few minutes, and he's obviously not as good. There appears to be no safety measures of any kind taken, which makes this pretty dangerous. I don't know if this is a well-practiced routine, or not, but it definitely is worth a watch. This is another longer video for the weekend (though not too long)."

Quick Reviews

This is a new regular to my blog. I will review 5 games that I don't own. They will be games that I have played on at a friends house or got a demo of. The aim is so that I can:
a)Cover more games
b)Make my blog more accessible for people who don't have time to read my full reviews.

Todays games are:

Battle Front
Battle Front 2
Halo 2
Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Age of Empires 3

Battle Front
Battle front is a 1^st/3rd person shooter. In the demo I have it has one map, the one where the republic have to destroy the shield bunker. The game has a simple backbone. Both army's have a certain amount of troop reinforcements. For every man you kill they lose one. Also, one team will have an objective, like destroy the bunker. The graphics are quite good considering its age but there are no cool special effects. Over all it is great fun but is hardly revolutionary.

Battle Front 2
Battles Front 2 is very similar the the original. Because I played it at a friends house I got to see much more of the game. A big feature is the ability to play in space which is confusing at first but fun once you get in to it. Their are 2 campaigns. One is simple missions that you complete in a chronological order, the other though features a TB section. My friend and I played this bit multi player. It was good but there wasn't, as to be expected, much micro-management and you just choose which units you could be in the battles and built fleets. I think I would enjoy it more if he wasn't so good at it. The graphics have advanced slightly, but still includes no special effects except for some of the vehicles blow up in cool ways.


Halo 2
I think I am the only Xbox owner who doesn't have Halo 2 but does have 16+ rated games. My friend has let me borrow many times so I have played both single and multiple player much. I think the multi player is really fun. There is a wide variety of maps, exciting vehicles and lots of grenades. On the flip side though, I don't think the single player is very good. I say this at the risk of getting a huge amount of back lash, but it is true. All the missions you just run around killing stuff that is so weak you can beat it up with a pistol twice before they kill you. The story line is meant to be really good but the only reason people say that is because Microsoft said it and their is a 'story' as such. Overall, good if you have friends.

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
Possibly the best Xbox game ever. The single player is intensive, thrilling, un-repetitive and challenging. The multi player co-op, instead of just being the same or a bit harder, is completely different. You get a different set of missions. Their are special moves like climbing on one and other and there are bits where you have to split up and come into a room at the same time. It also has versus but that requires 2 copies of the game so we couldn't try that out but we went on the tutorial and it looks immense. The graphics on this game are stunning two. My only fault is it is not very long.

Age of Empires 3
Age of Empires 3 is a real time strategy game. It is very similar to the other ones and many people complain they haven't done enough to it. They have added some new features and of course the new graphics engine. All the changes that have been made to the original game have been good ones but there aren't enough. If you would like to read more you can at http://thkgamereview.blogspot.com/2005/09/age-of-empires-3-preview-update.html
and http://thkgamereview.blogspot.com/2005/08/age-of-empires-3-revelation-or-some.html

Blog Update

Hello, sorry this is 1 day late, I just completely forgot.

I am in a REALLY bad mood today, a car while, I was walking home, acknowledged me, acknowledgedly the puddle I was walking past and then sped up, soaking me head to foot. In hind site he probably thought he could get past it if he slowed down, but I still would have preferred he he hadn't tested it.

24 days till Christmas
24 days till Christmas
24 days till Christmas

Christmas is here. The next generation is here. Everything is here. Well except the PS3 and Nintendo Revolution! just think, next blog update and it will all be over.

Updates:
The Xbox 360 wired controllers don't work with computer but you can buy special ones that will work with Xbox 360 and computer.
There will be no interview with an Xbox 360 owner till after January, because they have been pre ordered up until then .Bad luck if you put your money down and you are still not going to get it until 2 moths later, that will teach you for not following my advise. I wonder if I ever said that advice.
I haven't actually got AoE 3 because it was £7 more than it was advertised on their site so I might get it from Amazon, get it for Christmas or not get it all.

I want to review Winter Sports because it will be a good game to review. Also, today I am going to try and get my 'Quick Reviews' out today as well.

I may do part 2 of console wars or a supplement to it. But then again I want to definitely review a game this month because it seems like ages since I have.

Also, I now have a podcast. It is not very good at the moment and although it says next week I think every month is a more achievable goal. Anyhow, if you have Ipodder then the xml address is hompage.ntlworld.com/robert.kiley/Podcast/podcast.xml. It is only ten minutes long and won't take a second to download. Tell me what you think of it if you do.

I got slaughtered in Alpha Centurai last night. I played it on hardest to see what is was like and they had a major problem with me being democratic and took the issue to the battle field, with an army twice the size and more sophisticated than mine, so I died quite quickly. Now I am back down to my normal level. (NO IT NOT THE EASIEST, its the second easiest!)

Also this month I want to create a list to give you some ideas on what you might want this Christmas.

Though of the month: "Will I ever review all my games?"