Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz

System: Wii
Type: Puzzle/Adventure
Graphics: 7.5/10
Sound: 7.5/10
Gameplay:8/10
Story: N/A
Multiplayer: 8/10

Overall: 7.5/10

Super Monkey Ball was the surprise success for the GC which involved a fun single player a 3 simple multiplayer games that had equal appeal to both veterans and novices alike. This premise makes it an excellent title for the Wii, but how does it hold up?

The single player is a shinning point for this game. The games main campaign feels as if originally intended for the Wiimote. For those who are unaware of the series, the single player involves steering a monkey in a ball (!) along a perilous path by tilting the ground which the ball resides. The game adds a jump button and this fits seamlessly in to the game, allowing for much more imaginative puzzles restricted by nothing. The puzzles are well developed and the difficulty increases steadily throughout the game. It takes about 1 minute to get used to the controls and I have never had any Wiimote malfunctions which would have no doubt ruin the delicate control scheme. The length of the game is, although not breathtaking, will probably keep you going for quite a long time. The game features 7 worlds, each featuring 8 maps. At the the end of each world, you must fight a boss. These, although feel less polished than the rest of the game, are simple and fun. The bosses are amusing in designed and work well. They serve as a very nice ending to the world and offer an extra challenge to the best as collecting the bananas on the boss levels is particularly challenging. There appears to be some bug that inhibits the replaying of certain levels, but this is more of an annoyance than anything else.

The multiplayer is less consistent. The game boasts 50 multiplayer modes This figure is somewhat misleading as there are only 11 you would ever come back to. On the other hand, one must remember that having 11 MP games is very good. Still, it is a shame they wasted time and resources making 'Simon Says' instead of an extra map for 'Monkey Wars' . Highlights in the multiplayer include the aforementioned Monkey Wars, where you shoot other monkeys, the classic monkey race and series favourite that has you parachuting on to a target. Monkey Wars is a fantastic example that even in the individual multiplayer games, the Wiimote has been used well. Aiming is naturally done by pointing at the screen, however, what really makes you feel inside the game is to chuck a grenade you hold c and flick the 'Mote. As simple and insignificant this may seem, it works supremely well. Another good point about the MP is that the classic SSMB games have been adapted almost perfectly to suit the Wiimote. You barely notice that instead of a joystick you are tilting your hand. The maps however, is a problem, the MP lacks any serious re playability, particularly in the map department. For example, 'Monkey Race' has only 5 tracks, and that is one of the most. Creating maps is, compared to creating full blown games, probably quite easy. Why they didn't bundle some extra maps is beyond me. Monkey Wars, as great as it is, loses a lot of value when you realise it only has 3 quite small maps. Simon says in one of the 39 weak titles in the MP line up. The rest range from poor to absolutly rubbish. Some of the games are rubbish because of poor execution, as is the case in Monkey Bowling where you have no determinable effect on the outcome of the game, others are just stupid ideas, like Simon Says. Overall, you have to just ignore the rubbish titles and just pretend there are only good ones.

The game has a very nice graphical feel. The game will not win any awards for it, but with its bright block colours, it comes across as a fun happy game. There are no points where the graphics are ugly. Some of the multiplayer games, particularly 'Monkey Asteroids' look very nice. Compared with the first two titles, the step up is not always noticeable, but the maps feel much bigger as opposed to the enclosed feel of SMB1+2.

The sound in the game is as mixed as the multiplayer. In some cases it fits the world (a group of levels in a particular theme) perfectly. Where as other times you will end up muting it, it is that bad. The noises the monkeys make and the American commentary adds nothing to the game. The game does not feature huge amounts of SFXs, the ones it does feature do not impact on the game a lot, but certainly do not subtract from it. The sound is something that could definitely be improved upon, but does not cripple the game.

In conclusion Super Monkey Ball is a strong entry for the Wii. The single player is well worth the investment if you have enjoyed other SMB titles. If you have not tried the single player in previous titles, I recommend renting this title first, as the fiddly nature of it means that if it isn't your sort of game, you will just find it frustrating. The MP should keep you and your friends amused for a couple of hours. The presentation is good, not outstanding, but solid as one comes to expect from SMB. The game is by no means perfect and any sequels will surly improve upon the hit and miss style in the MP element. I do however, despite my slight qualms, recommend this game to all Wii owners.

Gravitronix Interview Preview

The creators of Gravitronix, Medaverse Studios, have agreed to do a Q and A with this blog (thanks!) I will be sending off the questions this Sunday so if you have any questions you would like asked, please post a comment. The only details to have been released thus far are :

-Gravitronix is an action/battle game for 1-4 players (possibly 8).
-The game takes place in a single-screen arena.
-The objects seen in the logo are the projectiles used as weapons.
-These projectiles will have different physics, making them behave differently depending on how you use them.
-There will be a great deal of depth in the control scheme.
-Veteran players will master manoeuvre's which make rookie players cry "HAX!!!"
-These details are intentionally vague, but we will have screenshots and movies closer to release which will explain everything.

All questions submitted will be considered but I can't promise that Medaverse will want to give away the relevant piece of information . The interview should be out before next Wednesday.

Blog Update

Well we are now entering possibly the greatest autumn/winter in gaming history (for America at least) So what are you looking forward to most. It actually started with the release of BioShock and Metroid, both getting very positive reactions. Unfortunately, GTA IV and MGS launch dates have slipped, but there is still Super Smash Bros Brawl, Halo3, BWii, LittleBig Planet, PGR 4 and Assassins Creed to make this the best (and most expensive) next few months for gamers. On top of that, I will be working my back off to produce the new Veteran Gamer website in time for its launch January 1st. That's right, a release date. So what title are you looking forward to most? Leave a comment below...

Metroid Prime 3 reviews are in following its release in NA last Tuesday. IGN gave it a massive 9.5, 1up and 9 and Gamespot an 8.5 There were some mixed opinions but they all said the game felt epic and the controls were very good. GameSpot criticized some of the motion actions of the Wiimote, whereas IGN said they worked very well. They said the game was overall easier and the boss fights were a lot of fun, if also slightly easier. Another plus is the game will feature lot of cool unlockables including the ability to take and send (through Wii Connect 24) scren grabs of the game, extra clothing for your Miis, bumper stickers for your spaceship and and Super Hard difficulty level. I can't wait to get my hands on this game, but I have to wait till October 26th.
Release: October 26th 2007

On the Halo front. Two very cool developments have come to light. Firstly, Halo 3 will feature a map editor, but not just and old map editor, you can play in this one multiplayer, shooting people as well as changing the map. Aside from the obvious things, like making and saving maps, the thing will actually feature death matches where you can fly around and drop scorpions on your enemy. It is quite difficulty too explain, but trust me, the possibilities are endless. The second thing is Halo Wars, the up and coming RTS for the 360. First off, the graphics look amazing. Literally jaw breaking, although I didn't get to see the actual control scheme, they were clearly well mapped as the guy could move around the map effortlessly, whilst controlling his men with ease. Another great thing, is that the vehicles drive like how they would on Halo. Warhogs will slide about, for example. Overall, this game is shaping up to look amazing. What I want to know, is whether you can play as the Covenant or not. It will be a huge disappointment for me if you can't, as driving armies of Ghosts sounds like fun. Regardless, I am looking forward to this title with eager anticipation.
Halo 3 Launch Date: September 26th 2007
Halo Wars Launch Date: TBA

A slight disappointment for me was when I discovered that PGA Tour 08 for the Wii would not be featuring online play. This has made me decide to just simply hold on until they do(I was planning on getting PGA Tour '07 if it didn't) This is probably a good thing as looking at Metroid 3 reviews has made me realise just how highly regarded the other Metroid Primes were. As a result, so that I know the story and I am not missing out, I am thinking of getting them and a GC controller for my Wii.
PGA Release Date: 31st August
Metroid 1&2 Already Released

Upcoming Posts:
Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz Review - I have already written it, so this is very realistic
[Hopefully] An interview with Wiiware developer called Medaverse, I am waiting for an email back from there
Nintendo Press Conference - Also written

I am going back to school next Tuesday so expect a temporary lapse in posts.

Metroid Prime Preview Channel

A couple of posts ago I said that Nintendo have released a new channel in the US, but not the UK. For everyone who is on the wrong side of the pond, here are all the videos that have been released on it. Enjoy. Thanks Troy for the comment, by the way!

Wii overtakes 360 Worlwide

Well, we all knew it was going to happen, and now it has. The Wii has shipped 10.57 million consoles, overtaking the 360s 10.51 in just half the launch time. So what does this mean? Well firstly, it means Nintendo is that bit richer which it can put to making new games, and when it comes to the next generation, can have a console that makes a loss on each sale (Like Sony and Microsoft) allowing them to put more stuff in their consoles. Also, it means that game developers will see that Wii is where the money is because it has the biggest market so will put more energy in to developing games for it. For anyone who cares, the PS3 is on 4.32 million. All figures come from vgchartz

If anyone knows about the Apple vs. PCs ads, there is an amusing collection of spoofs ones advertising the PC here.

Nintendos First Mistake

So far Sony has been the only company to make major mistakes when it comes to PR. Both Nintendo and Microsoft have steered clear of upsetting me. However, Nintendo has slipped up. I am talking primarily about ignoring the UK. This is almost a cardinal sin as far as I am concerned. Not just because I live in the UK, but because hundreds of thousands of avid gamers do too. What have we done to deserve this second rate service that we always get. PS3 launching at almost twice the price in the UK, not receiving a price drop, getting a downgraded console, much later launches and now this.

So what have Nintendo done. Well, I was on GS in a union (a mini-foum for a particular group of people) and I saw a post by YearoftheSnake detailing of a new Wii channel. If that wasn't exciting enough it was a Metroid Prime preview channel with streamable videos featuring the game. I nearly broke my TV remote in my eagerness to get this channel. I dived for the Wii Shop Channel to go look for it. The shop loaded up. I clicked on Wii Software, wondering when they were going to change it to Wiiware, and it wasn't there. After a brief amount of digging, I found this was a US channel. When I searched Google for it, displaying only UK pages, it found nothing. Through my digging, I also discovered that SSBB wasn't even coming out this year in the UK. However, I can understand that, they know there is going to be a huge amount of demand for it and they do need to physically produce it. However, something which is downloadable, there is no reason. They don't need to make copies of the files for each user. The only reason I can think of is streaming issues. However, I would prefer to have to watch it at an off-peak time than not at all. Seriously Nintendo, sort it out.

Also, I forgot one thing off my list, printed instruction manuals. They are really good as it gives you something to do once you have turned off your PC. Finally, I am going on holiday early tomorrow morning, will be back Thursday week.

7 Most Import Things in a Game

Following a post by Juuso on Gameproducer.net on the 7 most important things to include a game, (although I heard it from Troy Goodfellows post on the 8 most important things) I decided to create a list for there is nothing man likes more than creating lists.

1. Online Multiplayer

This is true for every type of game (except maybe puzzle games) A good online mode can triple a games value. A good multiplayer can make up for an average single player (in the case of Delta Force 2), good muiltplayer can keep players playing a game and thus more interested in sequels and most importantly, multiplayer can extend the games longevity and thus value ad infinitum. Wii Sports is a game that is missing in online multiplayer.

2. Map Editor

Where Troy put random maps in his list, which are undoubtedly important, I think an editor can replace random maps, and improve on their ability. No matter how clever a designer is, the world as a whole is cleverer and will thus make better maps than them. Map editors can keep people tied to a game like multiplayer, on top of the fact it adds to value with out any extra effort on the developer. Map editors need to be well made and easy to use, but with lots of depth, unlike the Civ 4 World Builder. Also in this point is the ability to Mod stuff, this ironically, has been done excellently on Civ 4.

3. Customisation

Customisation should be added wherever it can. I may be alone in this, but I love customisation. From painting cars in Forza, to spending hours creating a character in Oblivion to just changing colour schemes in Dawn of War. Everyone wants to be unique and where online is present, customisation becomes even more important. I get frustrated when customisation is limited when it dosen't need to be(as with Miis) EA is currently leading the way with character development although Forza and Oblivion both need a nod of the hat.

4. Brink of Death

In any action game, you must always be on the brink of death. You must always be checking your health and finding it on one, reloading you gun to find it is the final magazine. At no point should you be comfortable in your position. RE4 does this excellently. Terror can incorporate you in a game like nothing else. This way you are breathing heavily and thank the heavens when you find a pause. Zelda always feels a little safe. You have loads of life and lose it rarely, you always have your trusty sword and enemies never seem to pose much more than a nuisance. Fortunately, Zelda isn't about combat.

5. No locked content

I don't know why developers do this. Why force you to unlock content? You have paid for the game, surely that should give you the right to play with all of it. Ok, I accept that some things should be kept as a reward, such as peripherals and costumes, but completing whatever the goal is should be a reward in its self in a well designed game. It frustrates me when entire modes are locked. For people like me, who often don't complete games, it means that when we review them we can only mark half the content, which will effect the score.

6. Save whenever

Something which is often over looked in anything except long strategy games for PC is the ability to save anywhere. Now I appreciate that developers don't want people saving every 5 minutes so they don't have to go back far, but what if you need to go out. Once again, it comes back to the point that you have bought the game. Yes the game will be more fun if you limit your saving, but that option should reside with the player, who can choose to only save when they quite, rather than the developer who clearly don't have the tasks of real life or know about the individual habits. What does it matter to them if you get less enjoyment from the game because you just want to beat it.

7. Custom Music

A feature often overlooked for people developing for the Orginal Xbox was the ability to use a custom soundtrack. This issue has been fixed with the 360 as music is operated separately from the game. I thought this feature was great. Obviously some games need the tense music to create an atmosphere, but there are some games when their is no reason to have it. Civ 4 does have it, but is quite unique in this. It can't be hard to implement in a game for computers and makes a lot of sense as, thanks to the rise of MP3 players, most people have their music collection on their computer. Not being able to listen to music can often put me off playing a game because I want to listen to some music.

Most of these are small gripes but they really do irritate me when they aren't there. The majority of them their is no excuse not to include them. You can post y0ur 7 in the comments section if you wish.

On a side note, a went on Stealth at Thorpe Park a couple of days, ago, it was terrifying. Go to youtube and type in "Stealth Thorpe Park" and watch the second and third videos for some idea of what it is like. It is absolutely mental, I can tell you that for nothing.

Blog Update

I need to get through the E3 conferences then I will return to normal posting. There have been a couple of interesting news items on the Dojo website(site for Super Smash Bros Brawl) that I want to write about. Also, I have got both Civ 4 Beyond the Sword and Resident Evil 4 (which ended up with me missing paintball to go to London to get a new passport, suffice to say that it wasn't fun) for the Wii. Both are very good if a little too addictive. Here are my early impressions:

Civ 4: Beyond the Sword

An excellent expansion pack, the changes have both a dramatic and level effect to the game and the Mods are truly inspiring.

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition

A much needed graphical feast for the Wii, the game is truly disturbing, the control scheme is a little difficult to get used to at first, but feels natural after a few tense minutes.

Full reviews of both of those titles coming soon. It was my birthday last Tuesday. I got a TV for my room so will now be playing a lot more Wii, so will hopefully complete Zelda (which just keeps getting better and better as you get further in)

The Smash Update I was talking about earlier is the single player mode. It will the first Smash Bros proper single player mode (as opposed to the previous versions which just had consecutive battles with all the different characters) There have been two modes announced so far. The first mode announced was quite similar to the previous entities except characters, as I understand it, level up. The second and far more interesting mode, named the Subspace Emissary is a side scrolling game with some story. The website gave the impression that this mode was sort of one stage as it were. You can pause/save as usual, but it would lead into the next level. This all looks very exciting. I do recommend staying up to date with the updates as this game is looking very cool. I can't wait. You can follow it here.

For my birthday I went to an outdoor swimming pool with some friends and then 3 came round for a gaming night. Although we only played a select number of games, compared to the plan to play hundreds, it was still a lot of fun. Halo dominated the early play with Smash Bros taking over later. Two of my friends, who are pretty much equal at Smash Bros played a 99 Stock (live) game. They started at 4am and lost one life each. I went to sleep but apparently they finished at 8am. They played without pauses. It was pretty hardcore.

Upcoming Posts:

• Nintendo and Sony Press Conference Details
• E3 Roundup
• Civ 4 Warlords review

Thankyou for reading veteran gamer, for the latest gaming news, reviews, previews and analysis.

The Holy Three (Microsoft Press Confrence)

Well E3 has finished, so far I have watched both the Microsoft and Nintendo conferences. I will write about Nintendo's tomorrow, but today I will be writing about Microsoft's press conference. Microsoft's focus of its conference was centred firmly on up and coming games. They in fact only featured one game that wasn't coming out this year.

They opened the event up saying that the sales figures were greater than the Wii and PS3 combined since last November. This is a fairly impressive statistic, as the 360 has been out longer, however, it has had time to get some good games, something the Wii and PS3 haven't done yet. None the less, the 360 is doing very well.

However, the facts made up a very small portion of the show, with most of the show being devoted to the games. One game was Rock Band. This is shaping up to look like a lot of fun. The addition of both singing a drums will surly make a positive difference. However, the game only looks like fun if you have a sound proof living room, because you are going to want to properly sing, and 4 friends who enjoy music to play with. This should be minimalised with the ability to form online bands. Hopefully they will include a Composer so that people can make and share their own tunes.

A predictable sequel is Piñata Party Animals. Piñata was the surprise success of the 360 for last year and I must admit I never got to play it. This title looks similar but not very interesting. The advert was done in the style of a mildly amusing but very family friendly Disney film that you take your younger brother to because the film you wanted to see had a too high rating.

One title that I wasn't aware of is a title called Mass Effect. It looked surprisingly like Halo, and as it comes from a Microsoft studio, they are probably trying to make some more intellectual property for when Halo dies. Apparently, it is an RPG which should be interesting. Also interesting is it is coming out around the same time as Halo. Won't they just eat in to each others sales. Sorry, won't Halo eat in to its sales.

Now this thought has come to me before, but when I saw the new controller and the game, I knew I was right. The 360 is the new PS2. I had been thinking this for some time, as the console is focused more and more on 3rd party games, is releasing anything, sold a lot, and is a well rounded console. However this clinched me. You know the rubbish DVD games you get, well they are coming to the 360 with this controller:

Look at it, it is the most stupid thing I have ever seen, and also almost identical to the PS2 controller for Buzz:

Microsoft went in to great lengths on how Live for Windows will revolutionise PC gaming and how it will bring standards to the online world. It will also allow further integration between PC and 360. On the topic of PC, Gears of War is coming to PC with 6 new chapters in which one you get to fight this evil creature that in the 360 version you just ran away from. It will feature a map editor too. Looks just as good as the 360 version.

They also showcased the new Call of Duty, called Modern Warfare. Now I have always been a fan of the Call series, thinking it the best WW2 shooter. Modern Warfare looks to carry on this domination, and it looks amazing. They showed us the first level. I was on the edge of my seat. The game has you creeping around this terrorist base at night. The game looks like it will be focused on avoiding combat, but still providing intense fight scenes. Coming on nicely.

Among the highlights was of course Halo 3. Shapping up to look really good, but the singe player does look very simmilar to Halo 2. However, even I noticed it looked a lot more intense. The video had you driving in the back of a warhog with a rocket launcher and running around with an uprooted turret. I think this will be the final fight as the trailer they showed had many Spartans equipping. I think the final level is going to be a really big battle with hundereds of people shooting. Maybe even on the scale of D-Day.

I could not talk about the show with out mentioning the band who played at the start. They played an amazing arrangement of the Halo theme tune which really got every excited. Well done.

Nintendo and Sony PC Analysis to come
Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony game summaries to come
E3 Conclusion to come
Sorry for the lack of posts, had a lot of coursework, but school is now finished so expect more posts again.

BBC iPlayer launch Date Announced

See the full story here
The BBC iPlayer is to be launched the 27th of July this year. You will be able to download it from www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer from that day. I have been looking forward to it ever since Microsofts Mix conference last year. They will be expanding it as well, soon to be allowing live TV, the ability to stream programs so you can watch them straight away and they will bring it to TV. Guess what TV platform they are going to bring it to first? Virgin Media! I actually can't wait, other things they are planning on including are radio player and series stacking (the ability to download entire series's as I understand it.

BBC iPlayer: Making the unmissable, unmissable

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Will Not Feature Online Multiplayer

Well here is a bit of news that I wasn't expecting to hear before E3, well at all even. There will be no online multi-player for Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the highly anticipated Wii shooter/action game. This not only cripples the game, but I now even question as to wether I am even going to get it. The excuse they gave was

"to making a better single-player experience"

They have delayed this game from the launch of the Wii to August next year, surly that is time to do both. This is truly appalling, and if they think I am not going to mention the absence in my review, they have another thing coming. I at one point suggested that this game could be a serious contender to Halo 3 for the Game of the year, I think they may have just lost this opportunity, leaving it to Brawl, which incidentally hasn't released anything too important and has let down their promise of daily updates, to challenge Halo.

On top of this, I now think I am looking forward to BWii more now. Well done Retro Studios.
Read the full story...

E3 Approaching

E3 is fast approaching and, although down sized, is still going to contain a lot of new news about a lot of new games in particular Metroid Prime 3, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Halo 3 and Metal Gear Solid. I am also looking forward to finding out what future channels Nintendo intend to release for the Wii and where they intend to go with the Wii Shop. I will of course be watching all 3 press conferences and will post about each one. Hopefully, the year after next (or perhaps the one after) I will be there. If you want to hear about a particular game, please leave a comment below.

Console Wars Summary

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, I don't even have an excuse, how rubbish is that. However, I do have an article on the console wars for you. And the person who left the comment "ok" cheers!

Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 was the first to be launched and has successfully established itself as a house hold name. The range of games is stunning, challenged only by the number of must have games. Titles such as Forza 2, Gears of War and Oblivion truly stand out, but are just a few of the games. Now, although these games might not all be unique to the 360, they are all done well, without any issues to the 360. One of the criticism leveled at the Xbox was the range of games, Microsoft has clearly learnt and improved. What continues to amaze me is more must have titles just keep coming. Haze, Halo 3 and Bio-Shock to name just a few. As the 360 was priced much cheaper than the PS3, most people expected the graphics to not be as good, however, a recent test done by GameSpot, shows this not to be the case. Another service worth noting is the Xbox Live Arcade, which has set the way for small developers to create more innovative games without needing funding from publishers (post coming soon)The system has only two very minor drawbacks, firstly, it is the only system where you pay for online play. However, the service that Microsoft offer is above and beyond what Nintendo and Sony are even pretending to offer. The other draw back is its film capabilities. It will cost you quite a bit to kit your 360 to play HD films, setting the price at about PS3 levels. On top of the fact that you will be using HD-DVD, the format that is losing at the moment. However, Microsoft did file the 360 under a games console rather than a advanced movie player. All in all, I will make the conclusion time in and time out, the 360 is a very rock solid console. It will provide you with games what ever your tastes and it won't let you down online. The 360 has well earned its price tag with its extensive range of games out now and promised for the near future.

Nintendo Wii

The Wii is the cheapest console. Its main selling point is the revolutionary controller. At first, many thought it would be gimmicky, but it really isn't. I will be the first to admit that with some games it is a little tacky and there are a lot of rubbishy party game on it for the moment. But they really don't do the controller or the system justice. The good games on the Wii at the moment are quite limited, but they are good. Zelda is an epic adventure game where the story will keep you entertained. Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz uses the Wiimote fantastically in single player and there are quite a few good multiplayer games. Failure to mention the hugely fun Wii Sports that is bundled with You must bare in mind that with something as wacky as the Wii, there has to be some experimentation, and with experimentation comes failure, but I hope developers learn from the failures. It is also worth noting the Wii Shop. This used to offer a wide range of NES, SNES N64 and other retro console games available for download. This service was good, but did not rival Xbox Live Arcade. However, Nintendo have now opened it up for smaller developers like the arcade. This is very good as the Wiimote lends itself excellently to mini games that fail when forced to elborate to a full £40 game.

Sony PS3

The PS3 is the most expensive console and the only console not to sell out. The PS2 had a massive following so this came some what as a surprise. However, it can probably be blamed on a bumpy road leading up to launch. Over the time between E3 2006 and the launch of the PS3 Sony has suffered a huge amount of media attack for downgrading their console, for loosing exclusives and angering customers. By the time of launch, combined with the effect of the 360 excellent games and the hype surrounding the Wii, no one had enough money left to buy a PS3. The reason why the PS3 is so expensive is because it features a blu-ray disk player. It is in fact the cheapest Blu-Ray player. However, I believe that the PS3 is just too expensive. The range of games, which is what people buy video game consoles for, is limited to say the least. The fact that the graphics weren't better than the 360 also had an effect on the sales as that is why people would have bought it. All was not lost for the PS3, they still had some exclusives, yes people were annoyed about the delayed launch in the UK , but they could have forgiven Sony. Then they downgraded the console to not support PS2 and 1 titles, but just for Europe. For most, this was the final straw, they went out and bought a 360. Things have started to look up for the PS3 with exciting things like the exciting idea of Home amongst many other things, but for many it is too little too late.

In conclusion, the 360 is a very sturdy console that has a great deal of great games with some interesting ideas. The Wii is the most volatile console, but has pulled it off. There is promise of many new games coming to it and gives people more and more reasons to buy it. The PS3 is far too expensive at the moment, if the price was lowered by about £100 a lot more people would get it, then they could get more games and the whole circle would start turning again.

Blog Update

Genuinely sorry there haven't been many posts lately, I will try to get back to my frequent posting of earlier this year. I have been a bit busy with course work, home work and Dawn of War! Yes, I have bought Dawn of War. I will review it soon by first impressions are very good as it runs without any lag on my PC with some really quite impressive explosions, physics and lots of action on the screen at once. I got it in the Anthology pack for £20, which includes the two expansion packs, "Winter Assault" and "Dark Crusade." Unfortunately, Dark Crusade won't run on my computer apparently, so after I have checked it (which will involve un-installing stuff) if it doesn't work I will sell it on Ebay. (If you are interested in buying it, as a reader of my blog, you get a presale edition!)

As I predicted, news is a bit slow at the moment, particularly with E3 approaching fast. One interesting story is the ban of Manhunt 2 in the UK and the US. This is the second complete ban on a game ever. Prior to the ban, it was coming out on the Wii and PS2. So who said the Wii was a kids console?

Talking of Wii, Resident Evil 4 has come out for it and got a glowing report on GS. It got the score of 9.1, which is the highest score on the Wii at the moment. I can't wait to get it wait to get it, Amazon puts the release date at the 29th of June. It sounds fantastic, making it the first decent shooter on the Wii. Given that it is a last gen port, it must be amazing to still have earnt that score. (For reference, Legend of Zelda did hold the title with 8.9)

Talking about releases, it seems there are a lot of Wii games coming out really near each other. Metroid Prime 3, Battalion Wars, Tiger Woods 08 (I will only get that if it has online play, which is what is stopping me getting the '07 version) Fifa '08 (which looks interesting to say the least, but once again will need online play to get my buy), the new Pokemon game and at around that time Geometry Wars. I think I need to watch my pennies.

I was in town yesterday and I saw two racing games on the Xbox 360. I, unfortunately only got to play one, but got a good look at both of them. One had amazing physics that was just incredible to watch, never mind play with. There was so much junk just flying about in front of you, you were ducking to avoid it. Wooden fences that in older racing games would have been rock solid just flew in to the air, tyre walls would smash and would come flying towards you and there was an immensely cool damage model implemented on every car. The other one featured quite bland colours and didn't look intense at all. The car models looked un-ambitious and the whole game smelt of a PS1 game with breathtaking reflections and a sharp image. The first one felt like a next gen game, the other one looked like a normal, mildly amusing racing game. Do you know what they were? The first one was Fullout, a Burnout sequel. The second was Forza Motor Sport 2. I couldn't believe it. I did not get a chance to play it, but I was stunned, for the best racing game ever, it didn't look very impressive.

I watched Glastonbury last night and Friday night. I have been looking forward to this for 2 years now. I was a little disappointed with the line up, the headliners being Arctic Monkeys, Killers and Kasier Chiefs. The Killers were amazing, as were Kasabian (as you would expect) and the Editors (whose album comes out this week) Another disappointing thing was my red button wasn't working. This meant I had to sit through the likes of Maximo Park and Amy Winehouse, neither of whom were very good. Kaiser Chiefs are on tonight and they are always quite amusing to watch live.

The new Harry Potter book is coming out soon so I have re-read the whole series to refresh my memory, I had forgotten how good it really is. The new book is £18.99 which is shocking given it doesn't even look that long. If you pre-order it however, you can get it for £8.99 which is what I am going to do.

As for Brawl updates, I don't think I should do them as they aren't very significant but rest assured if any significant updates do happen, then I will post them.

Upcoming posts include:

• Console Wars Summary
• Civilization 4: Warlords review
• New E3 coverage
• And the latest game news, reviews previews and analysis.
  

Cornwall Photos

Sorry no posts recently, been busy. Anyway, here are my Cornwall Photos:

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Dojo Update [Start-05/06/07]

This is your first update of what has been published in the Dojo. I will aim to publish every Sunday, however, I have missed the first one as I was in Cornwall. This week[ish] has had no major updates. There are a couple of music tracks and some characters that we already knew about. Also, there are some items, which are probably the most exciting updates. So here is what has been announced.

Battlefield - Map

This is the simple map. The maps structure does not change has the battles goes on. It features just a simple set of platforms that can provide a very simple, but none the less fun, game of SSBB. To counter the relative dullness of the map, as the battle progresses, so does the time of the day. You can start in the afternoon, fight right through the night and in to dawn. This will probably be the most long term played map in the game.

The Musicians - Music

This item lists the musicians that will be behind the soundtrack in the game. Also, there is the most iconic piece of Smash Bros music ever. Almost anyone who has shown the slightest interest in video games will recognise this epic piece of music. This music is, and will remain until the Dojo trumps it, on the sidebar at the top. All future music updates will have the player embedded into the post.

Mario - Character

The most famous character is, unsurprisingly, in the latest Super Smash Bros. Some cool images are revealed in this post but not very many details. He is said to be the balanced character that will be easy to get to grips with, combining good attacks, with good jumping and good everything else. His Smash Move (see later) has been announced. Basically he will catch fire and damage everything near him in a massive attack.

Link - Character

The character taken from the Zelda series will also be featuring in this game. The model will be based on his latest adventure, Twighlight Princess, you can read my review for that here. This character will be more weapons heavy than Mario, and will require a little more practice to get the best performance

Gooey Bomb - Item

This weapon is similar to the likes of a plasma grenade in Halo. You throw it and it will stick on most things in the game. I will then explode, causing serious damage. However, if you get one stuck on you, all is not lost as it is possible to stick it back on to the person who "tagged" you.

Pit - Character

Pit is a character from Kid Icarus. No details have been released about how he fits in with the rest of the characters, two special moves however, have been announced. Firstly, he will be able to fire a "Palutena Arrow" This can be controlled after fire, but this will require quick reactions as the arrow moves at the speed of light! Also, he can enter a free flight mode, which is basically a superior jump with much greater freedom. However, be warned, it will end, so make sure you are over the ground

Final Smash - Game Feature

Final smash is a unique move that exists in each character. Although only Marios has been officially announced, Warios appears to be a gigantic fart and Kirby appears to cook people. You can find out more speculations in this post. It will be a move that each player can conduct once throughout the whole game. It can only be executed if you get the Smash Ball. I imagine that many of these attacks will be amusing to say the least.

Moving and Shooting - Game Feature

Automatic firing weapons have been brought back to the game. This time round you can move and even jump whilst shooting. Power to the people!

Cracker Launcher - Item

This is basically a rocket launcher. You pick it up and fire. Simple, but effective. Some of the pictures in this update really show off the graphics.

Delfino Plaza - Map

This map will fly you around the beautiful city of Delfino. Every so often the map will fly you to a different section of the map. This can be very distracting, making it a much harder map for veteran players. As for the set up of the map, it changes as you fly around but none of the screen shots make it look to complicated.

Yoshis Story Ending - Music

This song is very good. It is not as good as menu 01, but is certainly worth a listen. Check it out here:

It Was Forty Years Ago Today... [Blog Update]

...When Sgt. Peppers taught the band to play, they’ve been going in and out of style, but they are guaranteed to raise a smile, so let me introduce to you, after all these years, the one and only Sgt Peppers Lonely Heart Club Band. That’s right, it’s the 40^th anniversary of Sgt Peppers, the iconic album from the legendary Beatles.

Ok, sorry no posts lately, I have been in Cornwall, and what a time I have had. I went body boarding for the first time in my life, and it was awesome. I stayed near Trebarwith Strand and Tintagel. The rock shapes were amazing, having been naturally carved by erosion. I went body boarding most days that week with varying sized waves. At the start they were relatively small, measuring 1-2ft, but by the end they were really very big (and quite scary) at about 6-7ft. Also, there are the nicest doughnuts there that are cooked on site. We went to King Arthur's castle on one day, the views were truly spectacular, watching the waves crashing in to the rocks was incredible. We also visited a town called Polperro on the south side of Cornwall where there are the nicest chocolate and fudge shops! I really enjoyed my time and thankyou to the King family who were kind enough to take me, I hope I wasn't too much trouble. Photos coming soon to my flickr account, I will post the best ones here.

As usual, I came back from holiday with loads of mail, each containing gaming news that I have failed to report. Fear not, for I will now summarize it.

End War details announced

A very exciting game from the Tom Clancy lot, End War, has been explained and confirmed for 360, PS3 and PC. The game will be a on-line war game. You will join a game of up to 12 people and make two sides of 6. You then divide the units on your army between the players. You will then choose a contested battle ground and fight on it. The game will then work out the average result (based on all the battles in your game) and say who won it. The actual battles will be controlled completely by voice commands. This game has caught my attention right from its mysterious announcement a while back, but now, it may just make me get a 360 or upgrade my PC. It is being developed by the people behind the Total War series as well as others, just in case you were in any doubt about the quality.

Geometry Wars Confirmed

A while back I posted a Nintendo update. One of the stories was a rumoured version of Geometry Wars for the Wii and DS. This has now been confirmed. It will feature a full single player mode and multiplayer mode with 4 styles of play. The single player, although no solid details have been announced, will be massive and incorporate things such as planets. It is semi-scheduled to be released before the holidays, hopefully not at full price.

Forza 2 Gets a stunning Review

Forza was the best racing game on the Xbox, whatever your taste, and arguably the best racing game there has ever been. It was both realistic and arcady, plenty of help for beginners and loads of depth for veterans and of course the massive amount of customisation you could give to your cars. This has, according to Gamespot, been built upon to craft a masterful game. It received a massive score of 9.8. The only criticism they could make was that there wasn't a lot of variation in the sound effects. If GS are anything to go by, you should get this game, and if you don't have a 360, get a 360 to play this game.

Brawl Update

Don't worry, I have just been reading all the latest updates from the Dojo. I will post a summary of what has been released so far in a minute. So far, nothing breath taking has been announced. But be patient, they have to release new information from now until launch every day.

Anyone who has been watching the news may have noticed that Bush has agreed to start acting in the interest of the environment. My first reaction was "about time too, what's the catch," but before I had even said it, Bush explained. He wants a deal to involve China and India. It is no secret that Bush and the rest of America is very scared of China as it could overtake them as world super power. As everyone in Europe will be so pleased that the US is even joining the treaty, when the US says they need to clamp down harder on China and India, people will. This could crush their economy, thus protecting America. Shame their isn't much anyone can do about it.

Also, England nearly beat Brazil on Friday. Now, I am not a expert in football, my experience stretches to a few goes on CM4, however, England have been in a very bad losing streak recently. Last match, Beckham was put back on the pitch, and we were beating the best team in the world, and not by a fluky goal either. Then, we take Beckham off, and Brazil score. Seems a little bit of a no brainer. Even if Beckham isn't that good, he clearly brings strength to the rest of the team. He is an idol and should be on the pitch for every England game. None the less, a draw against Brazil is a pretty good result in my books.

Finally, as it is the 40th anniversary of Sgt Peppers, BBC have done a special show with modern bands performing some of the classic tracks using the same equipment. The Fray and Kaiser Chiefs were both bands that performed excellently. Other bands include The Magic Numbers and Brian May. You can catch this until next Saturday on listen again here on the BBC (You need to be a UK/ROI inhabitant to listen [I think]) The second part will be aired on BBC Radio 2, Saturday, 8PM

Civilization 4: Beyond the Sword - Preview

Civilization 4 is one of my favourite games of all time. I recently posted my review of it. In July, the game will be receiving its second expansion pack, Beyond the Sword. This time it is making some major changes to the gameplay, particularly, as the name suggests, beyond the sword.

The first of these features is something called "Corporation." Basically, these are companies that you can found in one of your cities. You then, based on what the company is, assign it resources. From these resources, the company provides you with huge bonuses. An example Firaxis gave was one company that takes grain, and can provide you with Oil. This could be very useful in the late game if you don't have oil. Furthermore, the more of the same resource you have, the bigger the bonus. This I think is very good as it means there is an advantage to gather many resources, something I do quite often and end up having to trade them for minimal prices. So what is the drawback? The city you found the company in must pay it a small maintenance fee for its services. I am looking forward to this feature and it could change the game dynamics, allowing for more peaceful players to hold out until beyond the sword, and then produce units very quickly.

Another main change is that espionage has been made more important. You will now be able to funnel some of your income in to spying in much the same way you can with research and culture. Once you have done this, passive spying will start occurring, allowing you to see your enemies demographics, cities and stop their spies entering your territory. Also, the Spy unit has been given more abilities and now can conduct various tasks in a city. On top of this, there will be Great Spies to compliment your forces. No details have been released as to what they will be able to do. This could potentially have a very big effect with veteran players who will know how to use this information to their advantage.

There are of course many new wonders for the game but one of the more noticeable ones is one that will be tied with your religion. Basically, it will give you more influence over people following the same religion as you and also helps to spread your religion. Some of the powers it gives you include being able to start Holy Wars (awesome!) and win diplomatically before the UN is built. This will deffinitly encourage me to try and get a religion before everyone else.

One of my favourite changes is actually one I thought of quite a while back. The idea is that, some of your far flung cities may start their own civilization, much like America did. I think this is a very good because before, if your economy was sturdy, there wasn't much of a punishment for having cities miles away from your capitol. Also, it will prove very interesting to see what the AIs opinion of you is and it will be another person to keep on your side. Combine this with the vassalage update in Warlords will create a much more dynamic and interesting diplomatic game.

Furthermore, the game will come packed with many additional scenarios. Some of these will just be your standard recreation of a historical event, but some of them a re-writing the Civilization game as we know it. One such example is Afterworld. It has been created by the guy who did Omens for Warlords. Omens changed the game greatly, in Afterworld, he wants to demonstrate what can be done with Notepad and Civ 4 Mods. It is set in the future on a distant planet. I will not go in to detail about the story, but it ends up with you controlling 5 elite men against a planet full of mutated alien things. There are no cities or technologies in this game. Another one is actually set in space. Not much information has been revealed, but it looks like it will be set across multiple planets. See this image.

On top of all this the game will be packed with the usual extra units, civs, leaders and technologies. This time with a particular focus on the later half of the game. One of the most noticeable units is paratroopers that can parachute somewhere. This expansion pack is looking fantastic. There is far more than in Warlords, some of the scenarios looking incredible and will give people online ideas that will spawn in to more Mods. This game with hit stores July 23rd and I can't wait.

Read the two IGN interviews here and here. You can also read about Afterworld here

The Dojo is Online

This week has been a big week for Nintendo. Some of the things in this article are mixed, however it is good to hear from Nintendo again. I will start with the most significant and work my way through them. There are a total of 8 updates so I have tried to summarize them in the title.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Has Been Confirmed for August 25th
That's right, the most anticipated game for the Wii now has a launch date. This launch date covers both the Wii and DS versions. A series of screen shots were also released, the game is looking very good with graphics rivalling Halo 2. Although no additional details have been released about the gameplay, expect something big at E3 as I get the impression that it is trying to compete with Halo 3.

The Dojo is Online for SSBB
A couple of weeks ago, the Super Smash Bros website was taken down and replaced with a counter. Yesterday, that counter ran out and the Dojo is now present. This site will contain all the information about the upcoming and much anticipated SSBB. The site will contain detailed information about everything from character to maps.

SSBB has been reconfirmed for 2007
No one thought that 2007 was going to be a dry year for Nintendo, so no one was devestaed at the delay of SSBB. However, it has been moved back in to the last quarter of 2007. Expect more details to be revealed at E3 and definitely a hands-on.

The Dojo is getting daily updates from now until launch
The official site of the SSBB will be receiving updates every single working day from now until launch (supposedly). Although so far they haven't revealed anything new, it is only a matter of days until they do. I will be summarising what they have revealed every week.

Mario Strikers is coming this Friday in the UK
For the first time in quite a long time, a game will be coming to the UK before the US. This game, although not making heavy use of the motion sensing controls, will have online play. This will feature ranked matches and friendlies. The single player will have a world cup mode. All the characters are of Nintendo property (no David Beckham) and it is not really based on football. You will be able to execute mega kicks that smash the ball in to six pieces, the opposing player then has to try and save each one with the Wiimote. It will be interesting to see if the online works well, I am hoping to get this game because...

BWii Has Been Pushed Back to November
One of the games I was most looking forward to this summer has been moved back till November. This took some of the sweetness from finding out Metroids release date. Hopefully, this will give them time to perfect the game and make it really good.

Nintendo have no plans for a Wii headset
Nintendo revealed, when in a discussion about Mario Strikers, that they were not making a headset for the Wii. The reason was to make it more children friendly. I find this quite stupid as the console has parental controls, so parents could block it, the DS has it and things like Xbox Live have never had any problems relating to complaints. On the note of Xbox Live...

Geometry Wars might be coming to the Wii and DS
It is wildly rumoured that the hugely popular mini game from Bizzare creations, first featured in PGR 2, may be coming to Wii and DS. It will make use of the Wiimote and stylus respectively to drive the ship. It will feature a more in-depth single player and a multiplayer modes. It will be interesting to see how these turn out.

That was your Nintendo news update. I hope you find something in their that interests you. Also, it is worth noting that in the release list that Nintendo revealed, there was a new Tiger Woods, but I didn't think that was news worthy enough to go in the main bulletin. Make sure you check in every week to get the latest updates from the Dojo.

Halo 3 Beta Analysis

Last Sunday I got the chance to play on the new Halo 3 beta trial. My first impressions that I got from the GS video were quite critical of the game. It looked very similar to Halo 2, the graphics didn't look like they had changed much, the voices were the same and the gameplay looked the same. You can read my full analysis of the video here. h

However, when I actually got to play it, I saw that it was different. The graphics have been greatly improved since Halo 2 with a lot of extra detail in the water. Also, the physics engine has been revamped. The explosions look a lot better. Finally, where in Halo 2, if you zoomed in on some textures you could see them repeating, however, in the Halo 3 they looked realistic. You can see dents in metals and reflections in the water. Overall, the graphics have in fact been improved since Halo 2 and there is still some time to polish them.

The gameplay has not been changed very much. This is quite predictable as Halo 2 multiplayer is regraded as one of the greatest online shooters. The most notable change is the items you can "deploy" These include the much famed bubble shield, as seen in the trailer, and grav boosters. These are very cool and quite fun. However, they are very rare and so do not actually effect the gameplay very much. I picked up 3 in about 4 hours of playing. Although this could change, they do not have enough impact at the moment. Also, there are other subtle changes such as the guns now track the enemy. However, the game still feels the same as Halo 2. This is not a problem as Halo 2 was fine.

The game still retains the fun, tried and tested, gameplay. One of my highlights was when I was defending the flag. The map was completely silent, there was no sign of the enemies. We stood their, guns trained on the flag. Then, one by one, silently, you would see "X has killed someone on your team". Each death would be slightly closer to the flag, but there was still no sign of the enemy. I was really scared, you got the impression that there was an assassin moving slowly towards you. Fortunately, they pushed the time limit too far and so they had to make a dash for it. We mercilessly cut them down.

As to whether this game is good will come down to the single player and whether the MP is continued to be played and supported to the same degree as Halo 2. In conclusion, the multiplayer is a strong as ever, providing instant action with good quality graphics and no lag problems.