Nintendo Letter Box's lovely host : Instructor Nikki!

I want to start by saying the application offers a pretty nice interface on which to construct messages. Now, on a personal note, I’ve always been a fan of using styluses on touchscreens. It saddens me to see how finger-based technology really seems to have become the standard in touchscreen technology in recent years, because I really appreciate the elegance and charm of using a stylus. Its one of the reasons I decided to buy a 3DS. Back on topic : it gave me great pleasure to witness how much better drawing and doodling was on Letter Box than on Pictochat. For one thing the resolution’s obviously better. Another thing I really appreciated was how smooth it looks, I recall how jagged and pixelly pictures drawn in Pictochat would look, but that does not seem to be a problem here. Possibly because the background is softer, possibly because it all looks slightly more blurred. Either way I’m not complaining!

You can construct one letter over multiple pages, which is awesome as it lets you tell your friends a little story. One bone of contention is that you only have a limited amount of ink, so can only draw/write a finite amount of things. As you come close to running out there is a patronising beeping sound in the background. Hopefully that is something that will be removed in future updates, although I won’t hold my breath…

As you send more letters you begin to unlock funky little extras. Sending off 3 affords you the ability to insert photos into your letters. Oh exploitable…

4 sends will see you earn 3D pop-up text, while 5 gives you access to Stationary. What this offers you is 6 animated backgrounds, many featuring your darling Mii, to add a nice backdrop to your messages. I think the stationary is good if for no other reason than to add variety to messages, it does, after all, get boring staring at black and white.

Flicking through the mail...

Now I’m going to talk about the experience of viewing received messages/playing back your old creations. Because it’s actually pretty cool. When you open a hand-drawn letter you are presented with a little animation, where the message appears bit by bit until it’s all there. This is accompanied by a scribbling sound, and really creates the impression that the image is being drawn in front of your very eyes. Those of you who have ever used online Oekaki software will have an idea of what I mean. To further add to the cuteness, the original sender’s Mii can be seen in the corner of the screen with a pencil, scribbling furiously as all this is going on. It really feels quite personal somehow.

You heard the lady

Finally some notes on communication. The Streetpass method of exchange allows you to broadcast one message out to those you meet while out and about. Just one, which may be a good thing really given the immense spam potential that might otherwise exist. This Streetpass method of exchange gives the application a good deal of potential as a marketing tool, especially for companies looking to get the word out about their services at gaming conventions and whatnot. How receptive users will be to this rather sneaky method of advertising, however, will remain to be seen!

When you use Spotpass to send a message you are presented with a contact list that is automatically made up of your Friend List, which is very convenient I must say!

Answer : no.

So, in conclusion, I’m a big fan of Nintendo Letter Box. I’m digging the communication aspects and simply cannot wait to do some serious inbox-spamming promoting next time I’m at a con. Aside from that it affords myself and my friend Max yet another medium to use to exchange dirty jokes and naughty pictures, and I certainly can’t complain about that!

Artistically speaking, applications like this are really the direction I want to see Nintendo moving in. It combines a lot of freedom and choice with a good interface, and I think that’s a really good start. Its not quite the Flipnote Studio 3DS edition some of us are so earnestly awaiting, and nor does its breath of options match up to those Oekaki sites that were so popular in the mid Noughties. But Letter Box at least shows that Nintendo haven’t forgotten artist gamers (a sub set of gamer they’ve always been so good at appeasing). It also demonstrates how fun a fully fledged art app would be on the 3DS. Good show Nintendo.

PS. You can add Nikki to your Mii Plaza! Find her QR code here : http://my.opera.com/Nplus/blog/2011/12/25/mii-celebrety-swapnote-nikki

~HelenBaby

Firstly Gavvie, how did your set at the London Gaming Con go?

I felt it went really well. I was a little disappointed that we had to cut it short, and that people weren’t dancing along, but then again it was quite late on a Sunday evening. That said, the bar staff were dancing to Eat ‘em Up! (a Pac-Man remix from Ridge Racer), and that pretty much made my evening.

What did you think of the con in general?

As a first gaming convention by Anime League, I thought it went really well. Of the two days, the Sunday was a better day, as there were more people there who I knew, but the Saturday was a fun day as well. CoLD SToRAGE’s set was just brilliant, as was Brentalfloss’ on the Sunday morning. I enjoyed myself a lot, and would gladly attend the next one – hopefully as a DJ again!

Describe your music sets to those readers who have yet to see you live or listen to you on RadioSega?

Well, London Gaming Con was actually the first full DJ set I’ve ever performed, but on RadioSEGA I tend to showcase the best SEGA music and remixes, from the early days on the Master System up to the latest releases. As a live DJ, I try to mix video game music with popular music, depending on the sound I’m wanting. The London Gaming Con set was geared towards club and dance music, although in the future I’d love to do a rock one!

Gavvie and his lady, the lovely Mena

Most embarrassing track on your MP3 player?

Well, there’s no Spice Girls or Steps, if that’s what you’re hoping for! I do however have Daniel Bedingfield’s first album on there though, so I’ll have to go with If You’re Not the One. That song is so unlike my musical tastes, it’s unreal.

You took over from SegaMark as owner of RadioSega about a year a half ago. RadioSega’s a pretty significant site on the gaming scene,  what encouraged you to take on that responsibility?

SegaMark actually asked me if I’d like to take over when he’d decided to step down. To be honest, I felt honoured to be asked such a question, and accepted without any hesitation. RadioSEGA is quite unique in that, not only are we a radio site, but we’re also trying to compile the most complete collection of SEGA music on the Web. We still have a lot to do in that regard, and I feel we can, in time, become bigger than we are currently. We’re getting there though, slowly but surely

Worst Sega game?

This is hard only in the context that I have to pick one. Iron Man and its sequel are both awful, although as they’re playable they are probably both better than Sonic ’06. Flat out worst game has to be Golden Axe: Beast Rider though. Whoever let that pile creep out of the office and onto shop shelves should really feel sorry for themselves!

What are your plans both for RadioSega and regarding yourself as a DJ for 2012?

We’re actually in the process of building a new website for RadioSEGA. It’s been in development for a couple of years now, and all being well I’d love to see it finally get released in 2012. It improves upon a lot of what the current site does, and hopefully the new look will bring in a lot of new members into our small community. It would be nice to see the community grow, as that’s one area of the site which I feel needs the most amount of work. We have a top quality radio stream, and will soon have a website to compliment it. Just missing the community now!

Gavvie's radio station

As a DJ, I just want to perform more. Whilst I’ve been part of the DJ team at the previous two Summer of Sonic conventions, I haven’t had as much time at the decks as I would’ve liked, so if there’s a convention this year, I’d love to be able to get a bit more time to entertain people. I’d also love to do London Gaming Con again, as I enjoyed this one so much. Whether or not I do any other conventions though, well, I’m open to all suggestions. I enjoy doing it, and I’d like to do it more than once or twice a year. So..if you’re holding a games convention, please consider me for any DJ sets you might have!

You can find RadioSega here : http://www.radiosega.net/
Find Gavvie :
On GooglePlus : https://plus.google.com/112316469071809498226#112316469071809498226
On Twitter here : https://twitter.com/#!/GavvieUK

PlusXP team. L-R HelenBaby, RandomMan, Garvaos, GuitarGirl

First of all I want to say that the special guests were an absolute joy. Perhaps because of the con’s relatively small size, they were really able to get in and amongst us mere con-goers. The ultimate superstar had to be Zonic (aka Ziggy Newman) who was running about  both days doing a million and one different things. She could be seen greeting new arrivals one minute, onstage taking part in sketches the next, and then you’d turn around and see her making sure everything was Ok on the shop floor, while all the while exhibiting the most cheerful attitude you can imagine. She also made me smile by kindly introducing me to one of the other big guests : Brentalfloss.

Brentalfloss with Kevin Eva from Sonic Wrecks. Taken with my 3DS camera, please excuse the quality!

You may not all recognise the name Brentalfloss, dear readers, but I dare say most of you would recognise his music. Brentalfloss is a comedian and song-writer who changes the words to video game music to create hilarious ditties. He is the man such YouTube greats as “Dr. Mario WITH LYRICS” and “Tetris WITH LYRICS”. I didn’t manage to catch his show at the event unfortunately, but judging by the buzz about it from guests afterwards I can only assume that he went down a storm. He’s also a rather lovely bloke. So thanks for that Ziggy!

Sonic fans were in for a particular treat on Sunday evening when the RadioSega boys did their sets (shout-outs to Svend and Gavvie!). It was refreshing to hear all the old classics, and the dance floor was simply full of Sonic fans getting their grooves on to those delectable beats.

 Of course, as you’d expect from a gaming con, there was a plethora of games on show on the convention floor. Sadly none of these (as far as I could tell) were unreleased exclusives, something which really does undercut the con when compared with the likes of Eurogamer. The fact all the games that were featured were utter gems is some consolation, however. These included a strew of the old Megadrive-era Sonics, Goldeneye 64 and Halo Anniversary Edition, to but scratch the surface. The big tournaments focused around such fan favourites as Mario Kart, Smash Bros Brawl and Street Fighter 4.

3DS owners were, naturally, accosted with StreetPass hits aplenty. I wasn’t there for long on either Saturday or Sunday, but somehow still managed to pick up about 40 during the course of the weekend. 3DS players could often be seen dotted around the comfy seating area downstairs, many playing Mario Kart 7 (which was released the day before the con).

Look! Raving Rabbid plushies!

Something that particularly impressed me about the con was the quality of the shops. They really did offer genuine good quality, which is something you just don’t expect to find at a convention. I even managed to pick up a Sega Saturn for just £20!

The contents of the stalls were just delightful ; old consoles still in relatively good nick, endless Master System, PS1, Xbox 360 (etc) titles in tidy stacks, Raving Rabbid plushies, you name it. Many of the stalls represented actual games shops, both from online stores and from physical shops located around the country. One example is the Retro Gaming Base (as pictured), who had a very nice selection of Sega Saturn titles (you can find them online here : http://retrogamebase.co.uk/ )

The Retro Game Base stall

So in conclusion the London Gaming Con was a jolly fun day out. I bumped into plenty of people I knew from around the London gaming scene (including some big names), got a slew of StreetPass hits, and found there was always something to keep me entertained. Sure the London Gaming Con isn’t on the level of the Penny Arcade Expo. Yet. But it is the con’s first year, and given the team’s prior knowledge and ambition I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the likes of PAX watching their backs in a few years time. I’m definitely planning to return if a follow-up is announced.

~HelenBaby

You Must Reboot The System!

This past year there have been an absolute load of announcements for games coming out in 2012 and beyond. There were also some good game releases last year as well. But there has been something that has been niggling me about some of the latest announcements which make me think that game developers are fixing things before they are broken. I.E. Rebooting game franchises. In some respects some games need in but most of the time games don’t need a reboot. It’s like turning Mr Muscle in the Mr Muscle cleaner ads from a scrawny geek to a CGI Super hero. It’s not necessary and it’s not cool.

So far only two games that are coming out in 2011 that have been rebooted for no reason. These two games franchises I really have a lot of love for these two games, I grew up with them and they have made some fantastic game play. So I present to you the two games in 2011 that shouldn’t be Rebooted.

Devil May Cry

I know I have complained about this before, but for this post I am going to complain again. Why oh why would you want to take an awesome character like Dante and totally change him?! What I loved about Dante was the fact that he was a kick arse half demon with a bad ass attitude. He loved the fact that he was a demon hunter, and a highly skilled one at that. He also didn’t really give a crap what people though of him and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind. He also had a cool hair style and an awesome dress sence (even though he only had a long red coat on In Devil May Cry 3 but it was an awesome long red coat)

Last year, we saw the trailer of the next Devil May Cry game. I was personally excited about this announcement and couldn’t wait to see what Dante was going to do next. Well, I was stupidly excited untill I saw the teaser trailer for the game. Apon watching this trailer I simple was left staring at the screen for a good five minutes. To Quote Wayne’s World here; “You know that scene in scanners where the guys head is just about to explode?” That was the look of fear I had across my face. What the hell did they do to Dante?!

This picture had me laughing for ages

You know how much I said he was cool and bad arse? Yeah they have scrapped that and have pretty much turned him into the lead singer of My Chemical Romance! He is now an Emo kid, a teenage with obvious prepubescent problems who isn’t cool at all. You can imagine this rebooted Dante telling his mum to stuff it because he doesn’;t want to come home when tea is ready. Sure ok he looks like he is kicking some demon butt, but having him strapped up in what looks like an insane asylum? That doesn’t bode well for his image either.

Basically why did they have to change Dante? Ninja Theory, they guys behind this bold move said that the old school Dante wasn’t cool anymore and people were getting board of him. Of course, that makes sence, I mean look at Marvel Vs Capcom 3! Capcom put the Devil May Cry 3 version of Dante into the roster for exactly those reasons. Well spotted there Ninja Theory, well done.

Tomb Raider

Ok before I start this one off I can tell you know that I am not going to go on as much of  rant as I did with Devil May Cry back there. But again with the new Tomb Raider it seems like they have gone backward with the main protagonists age. No before you ask I am not going to give you a whole paragraph about how her boobs have shrunk, I am not like that. It’s more due to the fact that again Lara Croft was pretty kick ass when it came to scaling terrain and getting to unreachable places. Turns out this is going to be a younger and inexperienced Lara. Does this mean that we are going to get a limited when it comes to scaling walls etc? Are we going to get next to no weapons? What does this mean?

Also it would appear that this game is going to be a hell of a lot darker, which is again not what Lara Croft is about. I alway saw Tomb Raider as a franchise much like Indiana jones, something fun for all the family that could have dark undertones if needed. Not a dark and quite horrific game which may get an 18 rating. According to game informer, a couple of examples of ways Lara can die on the island she has been stranded on are being stabbed in the chest by a “deranged” knife-wielding man, and another is having a boulder land on Lara’s leg to trap her, followed by another boulder landing on and crushing her head. I mean what the hell? I know her quest were dangerous but the beauty of Tomb Raider is that you don’t have to go into ever gruesome detail.

From those two examples, it would appear that rebooting franchises these days involve making your Protagonists younger, possibly to related to the younger gaming demographic, which in turn leaves us older guys just not interested or annoyed. Making a game Darker than it needs to be, I.E. Tomb Raider sounds like more of a survival game than just a simple awesome relic hunting title. Finally to make a reboot these days you need to slap probably at least a 18 rated sticker on it to make it ‘cool’, which in turn defeated the point of even making the protagonist younger to suit the more younger gaming demographic….FACEPALM.

Garv

For about 20 odd years now I have been in love with video games. It may come to no surprise really as I have been writing about video games here for the best part of two years now. I have grown up with all the classics such as Sonic, Mario and even Kirby. I have always been on the side of Sonic and Sega but having a gamer mate over the road who sided with Nintendo while I was growing was a great privilege. Some people say I was a fortunate child getting his hands on both the SNES and Sega Megadrive.

Games have evolved quite considerably since the days of Super Mario Land and Sonic the Hedgehog, gamers now grow up with characters such as Master Chief, Nathan Drake or generic Call Of Dutey military man. If you mention the name Bubsy Bobcat to any of the young 360/PS3 generation you will probably either get a blank stare or an answer somewhere along the lines of ‘Is that one level after prestige?’ It’s kind of sad to think there isn’t really any classic characters for new gamers to grow up with, but fear not as the classic Sega and Nintendo mascots have not been forgotten.

Recently I have been sinking my teeth into Sonic Generations. Over the years I have been a little bit disappointed with the blue hedgehog, as his infatuation with chilli dogs and his teenage boyish ‘don’t have a cow’ attitude. With his increasingly cringe worthy outlook on life his games have not been up to par, well until now. Sonic Generations is a fantastic salute to the sonic of the past. The game play is a great mix of original Sonic trilogy and latter day 3D platforming which literally any gamer of any age can enjoy, meaning this is a great game to get young gamers involved with.

It’s not all about Sonic Generations mind. We have to show the Italian Plumber some love too. Mario has been gracing the Nintendo consoles for years without fail. Games such as Mario Galaxy and Paper Mario are the shining lights in an expensive gaming universe that young gamers can get their gaming mitts into. One game I do want to highlight is Mario 3D Land, now I haven’t played much of it myself but from what I have played it is a great shout out to the original Mario Games on the SNES. It’s simple pick up and play mechanic means that any age can play and the return of the Tanooki suit also proves that classic Mario is far from dead.

It is safe to say that 2011 has been a great year in terms of bringing back the nostalgia of both Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario, Let’s just hope that in the future they bring back the original crash Bandicoot and Spyro the dragon somehow. Skylanders looks a bit strange and relies on too much of a gimmick narrowing its Target audience, and when was the last time we saw Crash? Only time will tell.

Garv

Through the ages there have been some epic battles in the gaming universe. Hero’s and villains have been at each others throats since the dawn of time and there have been some truly epic battles. Link vs Ganondorf, Sonic Vs Robotnic, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, the list goes on.

Ever since we have known each other there has been another epic battle going. Garvaos Vs Random Man. Ok so this battle hasn’t been written into some sacred gaming code but it has been going on for the best part of 10 months or so now. We thought it would be best to settle this like true gaming journalists would and draft up five warriors from the gaming universe that would fight in each of our corners. I will draft the Hero’s for this epic battle, but will Random Man’s villainous horde vanquish me and take over the world? Lets find out!

Coal MacGrath (inFamouse)

Imagin you have just woken up, you are in the centre of what appears to be that aftermath of a massive explosion that has engulfed half the city that you live in. Upon awakening you find out you have the power to control electricity will you use your powers for good or evil?

Meet Coal MacGrath, he knows exactly how a crazy scenario such as this feels like, even though he has the potential to take over the world with his electric power he instead uses it for good. This is why I think coal would be an awesome addition to my team because he can manipulate his powers for the greater good, and yet if he needs to use his powers to take down several bad guys then he can with a great amount of ease.

Master Chief (Halo)

Nothing says ‘I’m going to save the world’ like a genetically modified super soldier that is named after a Greek warrior. Of course I am talking about everyone’s favourite UNSC Spartan John 117, aka Master Chief. Being the last of his kind must take its toll on a usual human being but not Master Chief.

His mind is always on the mission, he is skilled and someone that is defiantly necessary in the heat of battle. I mean who wouldn’t want a big metal man who can single handily take out a zombie race?

Zack Fair (Final Fantasy VII)

Zack is in here for two reasons. The first of which, Random Man would not have forgiven me if he wasn’t. The second and most important is that Zack is a noble soldier who never leaves anyone behind. He also inspires the most feeble of people to get up and kick the crap into something. I mean if cloud hadn’t met Zack he would have still be a measly little foot soldier.

Lets face it, who wouldn’t want a guy wielding a big ass sword in their team?

Jack (Bioshock)

Picture this. You’re in a plane crash with no idea who you are. Then suddenly BOOM! you’re in an underwater city welding all sorts of powers which you just feel like obtaining after injecting yourself with some neon glowing liquid. You slowly find out your mind is under control and then manage to over throw your puppeteer and vanquish his evil dastardly plan. This is all happening while people are going mad around you in an under water city.

Who wouldn’t want a guy who can take down a huge hulking metal robot like creature and also find time to save innocent children?

Dante (Devil May Cry)

Some may say that Dante is a little bit cliché, some may say he loves himself a little bit too much and that his ego could be taken down a couple of thousand notches. But to be honest wouldn’t you think your awesome if you have the sword wielding capabilities and gun skill of the part demon that is Dante?

So he may have some cheesy lines, but with an arsenal of weapons that could probably take down a small nation he’s a very good asset to any team. I mean hey, someone has to say the cheesy lines just before we overthrow the arch-villain.

- Garv

For every hero there must be a villain. That is a simple gaming fact and is also a film fact too. Over the years games have been turning more and more into films of their own. .

In games the villain has so much more to offer, this is due to game creators having to find a strong reason for the hero to defeat the villain. In the case of some games just beating them up is enough there is still that feel they would destroy the world if you didn’t beat them.

So without a villain the hero has nothing really worth fighting for and it kind of makes for a pointless game. After thinking about this for a very long time, I was able to come up of a list of 5 of my favourite villains. They are a shining example of what a villain should have, they should be evil, cruel, amazing fighters (or in some cases annoyingly difficult to beat) and the most important one of all they need to be a serious badass.

Kane (Soul Reaver)

He is a forgotten villain and he is still one of the most memorable. He has the desire to destroy the living world so that he may consume their souls to rule and rise again. He is evil to no end and is someone I would not like to fight.

The Goddess Myria (Breath of Fire III)

Breath of Fire III was the first game I ever completed of its kind (Epic RPG) and because of this, the Goddess Myria has stayed one of my favourite villains. Myria is more of a psycho than a villain as she believes that it’s all in the name if good. She is defiantly worthy of being in my top 5 for just being psychotic.

Mundus (Devil May Cry)

Mundas is the all-powerful and the most evil demon in hell, he is the devil. He has power over anyone consumed in darkness, added with his own incredible power; Mundas is a force to be reckoned with.

Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)

He is genetically modified and completely insane. Wesker is fast, smart and has a t-virus infected army of people at his control. Wesker is a complete badass and he shows no mercy to anyone, not even his own people.

Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)

With his sword Musamune, Sephiroth is the most powerful SOLDIER 1^ST CLASS to ever exist. With an absolutely brilliant mind and a swordsman of unparalleled skill, Sephiroth is and always will be the most dangerous villain in the Final Fantasy series. So he deserves to be my number one villain of all time.

I hoped you liked my list; it took me a very long time to decide on it.

-Random Man

Fig 1: Gaming, Pre-Pac-Man

Our love of games has changed radically over the past century, with the changes in technology allowing us to experience our favourite pastimes in a whole new way. This is especially true of ‘video games’ . While the changes over the last 40 or so years have been immense, there are still fundamental parts of games that have stayed with us, but much has been lost. To hark waaay back to my rant on graphics over storyline piece a few months back, where I complained about pretty graphics taking over from storyline and, in some places gameplay. Now, don’t misunderstand me, there are still a lot of great games out there with complex, intriguing storylines that inspire us and have us coming back for more. But the problem remains that there are even more that are satisfied to be simple action fests that leave little to the imagination or the enjoyment of the player. Its one thing to have a decent selection of games that you can blow off some steam with, but saturating the market with the same kind of product can stunt the growth of the industry.

Why is this important? Well, with the number of consoles sold to a wide variety of audiences, they are having a greater impact on our life, for better and worse. Yes, overindulging causes obesity, apathy and if you get too serious…fanboyism. But! We are gifted with a great opportunity. The interactivity that games offer as opposed to that of movies and books means we can take the experience to the next level. It’s not so dissimilar to playing Cowboys and Indians as a kid; you enter into a fantasy where you are the hero or the villain. It not only allows you to be someone else, but also to think like someone else, where you don’t have to worry about making a mistake to be met with ridicule (except maybe with a few online games…). Now, don’t misunderstand me, I’m not talking about using games as though control, that’s ridiculous…for now.

But think of it like this, identifying as a character in a role no matter the platform, can leave a lasting impression on the player. The love for Mario, Sonic, Link and my favourite Solid Snake, identify us as gamer and in a more extreme manner as fans.  Cosplayers are another good example of this, dressing to be as like their favourite character as possible. But how do we meet a happy medium of character identity, escapism fantasy and a coherent message that offers something more than a 2 minute epilogue of your actions at the end of your play through?

When All Gaming Is Gone, Cos-Play is the way forward.

Hopefully that question will be answered in the coming years, but I don’t expect the answer will be a simple one, or that it will have perhaps as great an effect as I would hope. For example, Hiyao Miyazaki, the head of studio Ghibli, said in an interview that, he wanted his films to inspire people and encourage them to go out and experience the wider world. But while he and his team have created beautiful works of animation, it remains to be seen if they have moved their audiences to be more active in experiencing life beyond what they feel comfortable with.  This is likely to be the same with game.

They can entertain and enthral at their best, but I’ve yet to experience a connection from a game that made me think “What am I doing? There’s a great world out there that I can experience, people I can meet who will change my life and I can enrich theirs!”.  I may be asking a lot from this young media, which more than likely will just continue to be fed by the desires of the societies that created it. But as human being we have always had the desire for more, we’re rarely satisfied with what we have.  No one wants to be stuck in a dead end job all their life, living in their parents’ house etc etc.

To conclude, I see games going two ways in the next ten years, they will either simply fulfil our basic need for escapism and fantasy, pushing no envelopes and still being dogged by the same problems and probably a few new ones. Or they will step up to the plate, we will see more and more outstanding games that not only entertain us but move us, encourage us, maybe not as compelling as Henry the 5^ths speech at Agincourt to a ragtag army, but at least make us think, there’s something better out there, all I need to do is find the energy and take the risks to get it. I am master of my own destiny and with a strong will I can do anything. Game on…

- That Bloke In The Beanie

Sorry for the delay with the Sonic Generations review, truth is its such a good game its been near impossible to tear myself away! I hope to make up for this by providing not just a regular review of this title, oh no. What you have here, indeed, is a level-by-level synopsis.

Released on the 4th November 2011, Sonic Generations brings together and ties 3 major periods in Sonic’s lineage : the first being the 16-bit era, the second : 2000-2004, and the last being everything since. There are 9 regular levels, which are further supplemented by numerous boss battles, trials and other little bits.
Sega have confirmed that the pre-order figured for Generations is a new record for the franchise which I, as someone who has played the game through to the end, believe is nothing if not deserved.

Green Hill

The title starts off with a bang in the series’ most iconic level. And, gosh, let me tell you, you’ve never seen a Green Hill Zone quite like it! Never before has our beloved verdant haven exhibited so much variety. You’ll find twisty loops, rails, dash rings and more! All meshed side by side with the traditional sites of Totem poles, Crabmeat badniks, and of course, those unforgettable chequered hills!

One thing that really impressed me is not only the sense of deja-vu I get from the days of playing Sonic 1 on the Megadrive, but also how this level brings my mind back to other Sonic games I have loved in the past. For example, the darkened little enclave towards the end of Act 1 instantly (whether intentionally or not) reminded me of the tropical Jungle Zone from the 8 bit Sonic 1. Where as the roses Sonic runs past a little earlier in the Act remind me of the joys of playing the first level of Sonic Advance as a teenager.

The music is fabulous beginning with the housey/basey Classic rendition of the classic green hill zone tune then evolving in to a stomping Ska piece. Very fitting opener that instantly draws you in.

Chemical Plant

At first I was surprised to hear that Sonic 2′s Chemical Plant had been chosen for a Generations remake, thinking it a little too ambitious. Then I remembered that mecha levels (particularly in 3D) is something Sega excel at! They have the benefits of near-enough 20 years of experience making games since Chemical Plant’s original inception, and it shines through quite clearly. Sega have really done well to breathe new life into this old gem.

The 3D level, for example, has clearly taken many nods from levels such as Sonic Adventure’s Final Egg and Heroes’ Final Fortress. Neon-lit tunnels are in abundance, as are mesh flooring and hazards galore (but don’t worry, you now have Omochao to patronise help you!).

The blobbish blue poison, one of the level’s signature features, has been used in some interesting new ways. The 3D level, interestingly, incorporates it as avoidables for when skydiving, where as the Classic level features vats of the stuff, swirling away like the most ominous of lava lamps. The music’s pretty groovy too.

Sky Sanctuary

I want to begin by saying that the 3D level in Sky Sanctuary was my most pleasant surprise while playing Generations, and also my favourite level. So masterfully have The  Sonic Team managed not just to re-create that Star Wars-esque sense of anticipation, but also to weave that in with an eye-watering 3D rendition of the Athenian backdrops of the original. It boggles my mind quite frankly! This Act’s music was also drop-dead gorgeous, full of nifty electronic bits and sparkle, while also sounding slightly on the classical side, if that even sounds possible!

The 2D Act wasn’t quite so good… the music was poorer for a start. Aside from that it just felt like an amalgamation between the original stage and the 3D level found here, which was disappointing and, thankfully, something not found across the game as a whole.

Speed Highway

Speed Highway was perhaps my biggest disappointment in Generations. Sure its got the twisting roads, the floodlights, the rockets, the rails… even the helicopters of the original, and in many ways its better. However I felt it just didn’t have the same magic. Maybe its the absence of that glorious purple sky, or the simplicity of the original, but I think the main thing that makes this version less enjoyable than its Sonic Adventure incarnation is the removal of ‘Speed Highway at Dawn’, the much-loved mini-level at the very end of the original.

If I judge Speed Highway purely on its own merits, however, I cannot deny that it is a very fun stage! Among the things it manages to carry over and improve on is the flow of the level, which serves to demonstrate momentum-based platforming at its very best. It also needs to be noted that no effort was spared on this level’s visuals, and at any one time the screen is filled with a multitude of exciting things going on in the background.

City Escape

Its easy to see why this was chosen as a demo level for events like Eurogamer : it really is an outstanding piece of both art and of level design. The original City Escape itself couldn’t have come at a better time being smack bam in the middle of the Dreamcast era. Ah the Dreamcast era : a time when Sega were really out-doing themselves, particularly in the field of recreating bustling metropolitan scenes (see Shenmué and Jet Set Radio) the result was as it only could have been : the best level in Sonic Adventure 2.

As you might imagine from my enthusiasm, the Generations version actually manages to improve on this, not an easy task. The Generations version manages to squash more ideas into what feels like the same amount of time, with expanded parks, actual choice when encountering crossroads and an even more sinister and invasive evil monster lorry (atleast during Classic Sonic’s level. Meep!). The fan service featured in this level is unrivalled it has to be said. That’s quite a claim given this is Sonic Generations we’re talking about here! References include, but are not limited to, WANTED posters featuring Bark the Polar Bear, Bean the Dynamite, Fang/Snipe the Weasle, among others. There are also buildings entitled things such as ‘Coffee-Blaze, ‘Tails’ Pizza’ and ‘Amy’s Market’.

Music-wise I must say the tune featured in the classic level is one of my absolute favourites in the soundtrack. But I don’t think the 3D level’s track works so well. Laid back, almost country-ish rock can’t do justice to such an upbeat track as ‘Escape from the City’. Atleast not in my opinion.

Great level.

Seaside Hill

Oh, Seaside Hill. Its up there with the Green Hill Zone as one of the most featured level in the series’ entire lineage, despite being a poor man’s Emerald Coast. Its featured in at least 5 games so far, and will no doubt feature in many more. As you may be able to tell, I’m a little bit sick of Seaside Hill, so can’t say I particularly enjoyed this level. Particularly the 3D stage, which was very similar to the original (although at least this time you’re not restrained by Sonic Heroes’ seriously annoying play style).
The 2D version is a little more original. Its a traditional water level with a temple-inspired background. It actually has some nice touches, such as when the whale propels you up by the stage by head-butting you. The music’s also good, a housey update.
All in all not an appalling experience by anyone’s standards, but certainly my least favourite level from the selection thats on offer here.

Crisis City

I laughed when reading SonicYoda’s review of Sonic Generations on SegaDriven.com. He wrote : “It should… be commended that Sonic Team made a Sonic ’06 level enjoyable!”.
Enjoyable it certainly is. Crisis City is a brilliant, suspense-filled jaunt through a high-rise city in lava-quenched peril. At times it reminds me of the first level of Shadow the Hedgehog, other times Chaotic Inferno from Sonic Rivals 2.
The music is somewhat reminiscent of that found in the Bowser castle levels from the original Mario Bros games. Oh the irony Its quite up-beat and housey, despite the impression of impending doom it simultaneously manages to convey. Brilliant.

Rooftop Run

Rooftop Run is based on the joyous, sunny level Spagonia from the mighty Sonic Unleashed. It’s quite an impressive home-coming it has to be said! Act 1 sees you navigating through buildings and streets built in that Western European many of us have missed so, while a continual flow of confetti descends from the sky, creating a really jubilant, summery feel. Later in the level you work your way up a glorious clock tower, which invoked in me happy memories of Nights : Journey of Dreams.

Act 2 looks a lot like the original level from which this was based, except more colourful, with an abundance of hot-air balloons! There’s also the breath-taking moment when you’ve finished running up this really high building and suddenly begin sliding down, spying a million tiny rooftops in the distance.

The music on both Acts is really good, and overall I’d say this is one of my favourite stages.

Planet Wisp

Like Seaside Hill, Planet Wisp doesn’t show a massive amount of deviation from the level from which it was originally inspired. Which, given how recent Sonic Colours still is (it was released in 2010), might not be that surprising.

Planet Wisps sees you strewn into what seems like an endless valley of flowers and mint-green grass, which soon gives way to a devious mecha red jungle. Like the Colours’ version (and, indeed, that whole game in general), it is actually quite challenging, and one you’ll certainly need to use your brain to get through. The 3D level also, unforgivably, has a bad case of Bottomless Pit Syndrome.

Not one of my favourite levels, but it was good to see the return of Wisps, the little creatures from Colours who’s fondness for I didn’t even realise until I saw them return while playing this! An interesting return to Eggman’s Amazing Interstellar Amusement Park.

So in conclusion what you have here are a wonderful set of levels that really draw successfully on, and exhibit well, the long history of Sonic, if not indeed Sega itself. The variety is top-notch, and gamers will find plenty of different play styles to keep them amused as they traverse these 9 fields of home.

I’ve got heaps more to say, but quite frankly it would take me another 1900 words and quite frankly I’m exhausted now. Instead I’m going to be cheeky and do a bit of a journalism no-no : just summarise the rest of my thoughts among the Pros and Cons section below.

Pros:
+ Jaw-dropping visuals that improve on everything that’s gone before.
+ Implements old ideas in awesome new ways
+ Nothing has been spared on the fun factor
+ Many different ways to play
+ Fan service is immense
+ Brilliant sound track

Cons:
- Some of the levels not quite as fun as others. But thats more me being nit-picky than anything
- The 2D levels don’t revert to 3D, so its annoying how the 3D levels go back to 2D sometimes

Score: 9.5/10 – Honestly the best-looking, best-sounding and, most importantly, funnest game I’ve played this century so far. No Sonic fan should be without this, heck, buy an Xbox/PS3 if you have to!

~HelenBaby

I have always been an avid fan of Tetris; a very simple game that requires you to use shapes known as tetrominoes that are sent thrown down the screen one at a time, tasking the player to manipulate said shapes to construct horizontal lines with no gaps. These lines will disappear once they are constructed, meaning the game continues until the shapes speed down so fast you can’t control them anymore and they reach the top.

This game was made back in 1984, and its still as popular now as it was back then. Since its release there have been several clones and copies that utilise the same idea, so there have to be some that can possibly give the original a run for its money, right? In an attempt to find out, I have compiled a list of some of the most Tetris-like games that have the playability to challenge the puzzler’s throne.

Columns

I played this game back on the Sega-Megadrive back in the 90′s, and for some reason I found myself uncontrollably hooked to the game. A very simple concept (probably moreso than Tetris) where you have to manipulate columns as they fall down the play area. The aim of the game is to match up the same colour gems; get three and a row and the gems are eliminated, the game continues until the play area fills up, then its game over. It’s highly addictive and something I must go back to once I find my Megadrive from whatever dark corner of my parents’ house it currently resides.

Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo

A game that has found its place in my heart for many a year. Super Puzzle Fighter is a mixture between Street Fighter (or Gem Fighter if you really want to be exact) and Columns: you are tasked with eliminating coloured gems, but instead of just matching the gems together you have to eliminate them using a power gem. The more blocks of colour you manage to chunk together and eliminate the more powerful your attacks against your opponent become.
As this game is played against an opponent an element of strategy must be used to guarantee victory. When you’ve eliminated some gems, an attack is dished out which in turn throws a mixture of different coloured times gems into your opponent’s play area which cannot be eliminated until their timer runs out, making an intense game of two halves. The balance of speed and timing become essential, and it helps create what has to be one of the most competitive puzzle games out there to date.

If you thought competitive Tetris on the DS was awesome, then you haven’t played Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo.

Bust-A-Move 2

Another game that I fell in love with back on the PS1 was Bust-A-Move 2 (or Bust-A-Bobble, as most people may know it as); basically upside down Tetris with a taster of Columns thrown in. The idea of the game is to eliminate the bubbles before they make their way to the bottom of the playing field; each bubble is coloured and the only way to eliminate them is to match the same colour bubble three or more times to make them pop. The game ends when all bubbles have been eliminated. There is also an overly cute Japanese dinosaur who makes incredibly loud squeaky noises that you either want to cuddle him or smother him to death with a pillow, but non-the-less a highly addictive game indeed.

So those are my top three Tetris-like games that have a chance at beating the original puzzler. Anyone agree? Anyone have ideas of their own?

Garv

Lately I have been getting my gaming mitts stuck into Assassins Creed II. I had always been reluctant to play this game due to the fact that the first game left a bad taste in my mouth; I tried and tried to get into it but it really didn’t do it for me.

So I hesitated but nonetheless started the game. I have never been so engrossed in a sandbox game since probably GTA III (you would be surprised how much I stand by GTA III next to the other games in the series, but that’ll be a post for later). Assassins Creed II then got me thinking about a sport that I hold high in regard; not that I am a big sports fan or that AC II is a sports game by any stretch of the imagination, but it did indeed get me thinking about a sport that isn’t covered in gaming as much as it should be… I am of course talking about Free Running.

Free Running (Or ‘Le Parkour’) in it’s most basic form is an extreme sport that can primarily take place in a huge metropolis. One potential aim is to jump, climb and scale your way across the rooftops of any city you see fit in your journey from point A to B. Sounds simple enough, but when you’re not gifted with super human abilities like Spiderman it proves to be a little bit more difficult.

Video games have touched on this sport briefly with Assassins Creed II and Mirrors Edge, but I feel that there isn’t enough recognition of the sport itself. For example you get a metric ton of skateboarding games, (granted, not the same type of sport) but you can imagine the potential of an exclusively free running game.

So for the first time ever in my life… I am going to make a proposal for a sports game. This is probably the first time and last time I am going to do this, so sit back and watch history in action… because straight after this I am going back to playing Halo.

Garv’s Free Running Game Idea (Don’t Laugh)

Note: Before people start ranting, I know there was a PS2 and Wii game just called Free Running, but that did as well as an underwater hair dryer, so bare with me on this one.

A 3rd person running game where you simply have to reach your destination in an allotted time. The more innovative and creative the means of doing this, the more points you get. Points are awarded for jump distance covered as well as how long you can keep travelling without stopping. This game means that you have to think quickly to maximise on points. Also, backflips and somersaults are awesome so throw some of them in for good measure.

Ever played Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground? It’s the first Tony Hawk game that used the sandbox to an advantage; progressing in the game means you have to travel to the next mission. This also means you can use the city sandbox as a means of practice, which is kind of what I want to happen in this game.

I know this is a screen from Assassin's Creed 1 but you get the idea.

The difficulty with this game already is the fact that you are neither Spiderman, an assassin, or even a post-modern courier in white tracksuit bottoms. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. So a good thing to add to this game would be character customization, with a difference. I would like a customisation system that kinda mixed the customisation from both Soul Calibur IV and Guitar Hero World Tour. So you can make a realistic avatar of your good self or an absolutely off the wall character with the same skin colour as a Dyno-Rod van (for all of you out there who doesn’t know what colour a Dyno-Rod van is its florescent orange…sexy).

So that’s the game idea in its most basic form, whether it will be a means to an end I highly doubt, just gave me a good excuse to let some crazy gaming thoughts out.

My basic point here is that Free Running is not covered enough in gaming, maybe the idea is still in its infancy. But then again, I just want an excuse to do get a good free running experience without leaving my sofa.
-Garv