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Apr

What Is The Best Platform For Shooters?

Categories: Article
Tags: DS, FPS, Metroid, PC, wii, xbox

The debate that has been plaguing FPS fans for what seems like centuries are First Person Shooters better on the PC or on a Console? The hardcore FPS fans out there sware by the PC, saying that using the mouse is faster and more accurate. Where console gamers like the fact that FPS games simulate shooters more by actually using your trigger finger and shooting down PC fans when they point out you can change the controller sensitivity.

The Worlds Most Awesome Gaming Keyboard......Apparently

As for me, I am a semi converted FPS fan. Most of you are probably thinking, what the hell do you mean? Well first off I was playing First Person Shooters on the PC. But this was back in the days of Doom, Wolfenstein and Duke 3D. Basically the FPS games that didn’t require you to use the mouse. You could happily go along with the arrow keys seeing as there was no way to look up or down. It wasn’t till the end of my PC FPS game days where Quake 2 implemented the mouse. I couldn’t really get on with it so I just tried it out with the keyboard and somehow made it through the campaign.

With the new control set up for FPS games, I actually feared that my shooting game days were long gone. So I went to the Playstation 1 and 2 for games like WWE wrestling, Tony hawks skate boarding and Devil May Cry. It wasn’t untill I got my original X Box and Halo where I got my FPS gaming back. I then was evermore glued to the console way of FPS gaming. So you could say I have really been playing FPS games the same way all my life, mouse free.

The Perfect Combination Of PC and Console Controllers Perhaps?

But back to the question in hand. What is the best platform for FPS games? If I were to put this question to the Plus XP team I will have a vague idea of who will say what. Leon would say console but then go back to playing God Of War or something similar. Mark will probably say console as well, but then start day dreaming about Jessica Chobot. GuitarGirl’s reaction would probably be ‘does it involve a guitar so I can melt the enemies faces?’. Then there is That Bloke In The Beanie, a hardcore PC gamer who has an X-Box in the corner of his room which he does play every now and again, but I know straight out he will say FPS games are better suited to the PC. This will probably stroke up a heated debate which I will endeavor to post on this site when the time comes.

lately I have revived my original silver clunky DS and have been playing Metroid Prime Hunters. Possibly the best shooter you are ever gong to get on a hand-held ever. Ok so it may cramp up your hands like a bitch but still it utilises the FPS game mechanics perfectly. Possibly not the best platform for FPS gaming by any stretch of the imagination, but defiantly something to look at, using the touch screen as your mouse if you would like, you then use the D pad to strafe and move forward and backward and then use the left bumper button as your trigger finger. Very interesting way at looking at game mechanics indeed.

I feel it is time now to give the Wii an honerable mention. If it were to drop it casual/party game facade that so many people pin down on it these days, I think that this console could be the next big thing for FPS games. Oh c’mon you must have thought at some point that shooting games would have been perfect for the Wii when motion plus came out? Metroid corruption used the Wii controls perfectly, and is today still the game that is making me think about getting a Wii. Red Steel 1 we probably won’t talk about here, just mention it for the sake of mentioning it as it was, quite frankly, a shite game. Red Steel 2 on the other hand looks a lot better with the time I had with it at Eurogamer last year. Then you have games like house of the dead which just turn the console into an arcade cab. But I must say the Will has stunning potential for being the Next FPS platform as you pretty much have a gun in your hand.

So the best platform for FPS gaming? Well I am going to have to hand it to the consoles, A) because I can’t get on with the mouse that well, B) because if it wasn’t for Halo I would have probably never touched an FPS game again, and C) the Wii has so much FPS potential it just makes me a tad sick that it has had this casual gaming marker put on it.

But that’s all my opinion, what do true FPS fans out there think? Feel free to voice your opinion.

Garv.

Jan

Must we sever the ties to the past?

By Leon 3 Comments

Categories: Article and Rant
Tags: backward compatibility, DS, dsi, gamecube, Nintendo, playstation, sea, wii, xbox, Xbox 360

In the older days of console gaming, all systems were separate – NES games would only work on the NES, Sega Mega Drive games would only work on the Mega Drive, and so forth – but since I was young, and only ever owned one current console at a time, it wasn’t a big issue – when I had a Sega it was all I ever played, and I never had to consider the concept of compatibility.

However, not much later we would see a new idea enter the market – moving from cartridges to CDs which were a much more standard media type; for the Sega Saturn, the Dreamcast and perhaps most importantly, the PlayStation. The release of the PlayStation 2 gave a new aspect to the home console – backward compatibility. Having grown up a bit and developed a greater passion for gaming – with a growing collection to boot – the PS2 allowed for gamers like me to upgrade to the new model, whilst allowing me to continue playing my (still growing) collection of PS1 games – while I fell in love with Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy X, I was still able to bask in the glory of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night without needing two PlayStation consoles set up at a time.

On the handheld side of things, Nintendo had dominated the market with their Game Boy, eventually releasing the Pocket and Color models which improved the console’s build whilst keeping the Game Boy game format. When it came around to releasing the next completely rehauled handheld console, the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo acknowledged that people would be upgrading, and therefore made it possible to play original GB titles on the GBA system.

A GBA SP with a Gameboy Color cartridge

So at the end of last generation we had the PS2, which was compatible with all PlayStation games released thus far, Nintendo moved onto miniature discs with its conversion from cartridges with the GameCube (soon to be followed up by the backward-compatible Wii), the new Microsoft Xbox crept onto the scene with its own DVD-format discs. It was looking as though data formats were being standardised, and as consoles all moved to disc it seemed likely that we’d be able to see backward compatibility in the future, with consoles all using game formats that would be physically compatible with the new versions – the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 would again use discs, and the Wii would incorporate full size discs while still being able to accept the GameCube titles.

However, I find myself in a different situation altogether. Whereas the rare, initial version of the PS3 (albeit high-priced) was able to do such a thing – being able to play games from all three generations of the Playstation consoles - this was soon scrapped for the new, cheaper model of PS3, and the following Slim version, looking to be lost forever. Although the PS3 is still compatible with PS1 titles (yay for Final Fantasy 1-9!), the console lost access to what is perhaps one of the largest console libraries ever – the PS2 being one of the most successful consoles ever made, personally making up a good third (if not more) of my entire gaming collection. But due to this change, my PS3 console is severely flawed in that it cannot play Devil May Cry 1-3, Onimusha, Final Fantasy X+XII, Capcom Vs SNK 2, God of War I&II, Kingdom Hearts and Shadow of the Colossus among many, many others, while my little PS2 slim sits still triumphant underneath my TV. Don’t get me wrong – I love my PS3, and its fast becoming my favourite console of the generation – but do I really want two PlayStations set up at all times?

Sure, the graphics are looking a little dated, but if you haven't played this - you're missing out

The Xbox 360 had a similar situation – although the original Xbox wasn’t nearly as successful as the PS2, it still had some worthwhile games. However, instead of simply being compatible or incompatible with the previous titles, it has a select set of titles which are possible to emulate via online patches (of which the database is never updated). Obviously this is fine for mainstream games like Halo 2, but upon foolishly purchasing a copy of Dino Crisis 3 I found myself with a disc I couldn’t use. This was far too complicated, so I didn’t bother getting any more original Xbox games – but I think if the original console had as vast a library, this selective system would be awful. I can imagine that a few owners of the original system got screwed when half of their old games weren’t compatible with the new system. Especially when Microsoft then follow-up by releasing the old Xbox games for digital download on Xbox Live. I’d much rather look after a disc than have Fable eating up my hard-disk space for the 99.9% of the time I’m not using it.

The Wii, however, is the only one of the three latest consoles that is successfully and completely backward compatible with the previous console (strangely being the one with the most difference in the new and old hardware – with its change in disc size and controller rehaul). However, I have a bone to pick with Nintendo in the handheld area of things…

Now, the Nintendo DS is a good console with some great titles, such as the Ace Attorney series and Castlevania titles. By including a GBA slot, it’s library was vastly improved, my DS game collection consisting of about a 3:1 ratio of GBA games to DS titles – with series’ such as Castlevania, Megaman Battle Network, Fire Emblem, Zelda, Metroid and others providing very solid gameplay, which has aged very well and still looks great on the DS – I mean, it was a shame they ditched the original Game Boy functionality, but to be honest they haven’t aged so well, and I don’t miss any of the titles – with perhaps the best titles such as Pokemon having sequels and (good) remakes on the GBA format regardless.

Now you may say… that’s not a complaint, surely? Well – although the GBA functionality is a blessing for the DS, it’s not perfect. Since a good few of the GBA title’s use a Link Cable for various functions (such as trading in Pokemon), sometimes even being necessary for 100% completion, the DS does a terrible job by failing to have a link cable port, or incorporating a link cable emulation system using the DS’s wi-fi capabilities. This isn’t too big a deal, but having to find out a couple of old GBAs and a working link cable can be a mountainous task. This isn’t my main issue, though.

No. Introducing the DSi. Look at it, on the left, with its slim design, in-built camera and well-lit screen. One could say it’s a perfected version of the original DS. But oh, what’s that – WHERE’S THE FRICKIN’ GBA PORT!? That’s right. Believing that today’s market isn’t interested in the GBA (which is probably true, with Nintendo aiming at the casual market), they ditched the GBA functionality and just quartered the selection of great games the console has to offer. Well done, Nintendo. I’ll stick to my fat DS thanks (which incidentally fits in my pocket regardless). The Slim was a great rehaul, but the DSi should hang its head in shame. Where’s the respect for elders and all that?

Now, I understand that technology can be expensive, and perhaps it’s more cost-effective to produce consoles that aren’t backward compatible. But in this day and age, where technology moves so fast, I think the old media is being dropped far too fast. I play GBA titles and PS2 games far too often for them to be classed as obsolete. I’d much rather pay a bit more in order for my PS3 and DS to fully incorporate what the previous consoles could do, as I’m far more likely to be playing Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow in the long-term than I am Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training. And yes, one day I would like to be able to play the entire Devil May Cry quadrilogy on the same console. We already know it’s possible – just give us the chance. With technology today, I’m sure both the Xbox 360 and PS3 are powerful enough to handle true backward compatibility. I for one would pay an extra £50-£100 for a PS2-incorporating edition of the PS3/Slim – why not just let us choose whether to pay the extra or not?

-Leon

Nov

Eurogamer 2009: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story

By plusxp Leave a Comment

Categories: Preview
Tags: bowser's inside story, DS, eurogamer, mario & luigi, Nintendo, RPG

dscover

A game that really drew me to this year’s Eurogamer expo was Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. My attention span is not my greatest quality; I much prefer a good handheld game that I can play at my convenience, rather than a long RPG which can have some gamers hooked for hours on end (no names mentioned…). However, much to my surprise this game introduced me to a new small-scale version of an RPG on a handheld. This originality tweaked my interest as to whether I could enjoy an RPG style game on a handheld console.

The game switches between three characters: Mario and Luigi are found together inside Bowser’s body for the first part of the game, exploring a 2-D platform-style environment. However, battles are still turn based, and are initiated by touching the enemies on-screen. Bowser explores the Mushroom Kingdom in a 3/4 overhead-view world, much like the previous Mario & Luigi games, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

However, further into the game, Mario & Luigi can leave Bowser’s body to explore the Kingdom as well. From this point onwards, they can then use pipes to go back inside Bowser’s body if they wish.

The plot of the game revolves around a mysterious infection called “The Blorbs” which is taking over the Kingdom. The infection makes the Toads grow in size, and causes them to roll around against their will. The Mario brothers, as part of a council, are called in to discuss what needs to be done – the apparent cause some strange item called a “Blorb Shroom”. However, the meeting is disturbed by Bowser, who is up to his usual tricks and trying to kidnap Princess Peach. But Mario, Peach’s permanent knight in shining armour once again fights him and defeats him and saves the fair maiden.

NTR_MarioLuigi3_02ss03_E3-screenshot

Bowser later finds himself in a strange forest, where a dodgy figure offers him a “Lucky Mushroom”, promising him that it will grant him power to finally defeat Mario. However, it causes Bowser to go ballistic and inhale everything in his path, including everyone in the council meeting before collapsing. Mario and co., as well as the council, are shrunk to tiny proportions and find themselves inside Bowser’s body. The mysterious figure takes over both Peach’s and Bowser’s Castle. When Bowser awakens, he tries to reclaim his castle; meanwhile, Mario and Luigi, their friends, and the rest of the inhaled Toads must work alongside Bowser from within in order to find an exit, stop the bad guy, and rescue Princess Peach (yet again, trouble must be her middle name!).

The battle system is a continuation of that from the previous Mario and Luigi titles, and this time Bowser is also a playable character. Bowser’s battle system is much like Mario and Luigi’s, although fights alone, much stronger than the italian plumbers. He can also gain the ability to purposely inhale his enemies later on, enabling Mario and Luigi to fight the enemy inside Bowser, in a strange sort of Bowser-Mario co-operation.

The game is controlled via the X,Y,A,B buttons – with Mario and Luigi each being assigned two of the buttons. In the platform areas, you control both of their directions with the D-pad, but must press their individual jump buttons for the platforming elements – although I found this a little odd, I’m sure it’s something you’d get used to. Similarly, battle commands for the brothers are also performed with their respective buttons, many of the attacks being performed like mini-games – such as timing button presses to kick a shell back and forth off of an enemy to string up a combo and increase the damage of the attack.

battle

What makes this game different to the previous two installments is the introduction of the ranking system, where players increase their rank as they level up. By earning ranks, the characters are able to equip more items, buy more equipment, and maybe earn a new item. In the game, there are 6 ranks for Mario and Luigi and 4 ranks for Bowser.

A great feature of this game is the minigames. Being quite the avid fan of minigames (possibly as result of low attention span or indeed the cause of it??) it was great to learn that this game has introduced more minigames than the previous two games which only featured one. The minigames within the game revolve around the parts of Bowser’s body including strengthening his arms and legs (each an independent minigame) as well as helping Bowser digest his food. One of the minigames even results in Bowser being made into a giant, which allows the player to enter a new battle system where the DS is held open like a book, and the stylus and microphone are used to control the attacks rather than the A, B, X or Y buttons, for example blowing the microphone results in Bowser breathing fire.

fire
In this game, you gain Skill Points (SP) which work in the same way as Bros. Points (BP) from the previous games, however with the introduction of Bowser they needed to be renamed. Further to this, you can also acquire items by collecting 10 “Attack Parts”. Once all ten parts of an item have been collected, the player can then repeatedly use the completed item, but, using it requires set amounts of skill points, much like MP in traditional RPGs. Bowser works in a slightly different way, he can also gain special attacks, but in order to do so he must free his minions or collecting Blitties which he can give to Broque Monsieur. Furthermore, in comparison to Mario and Luigi who require the directional pad to perform special attacks, all of Bowser’s attacks use the touch screen to function.

Overall, I found this an enjoyable game which uses all elements of the DS controls. At times, I found controlling both Mario and Luigi simultaneously a little tricky but this is more than likely due to my lack of hand-eye coordination rather than a technical issue. I am sure with a bit of practice I will soon get the hang of it. The game is graphically similar to the previous Mario RPG with a more traditional battle system, Paper Mario. The game also keeps to its classic platforming roots with level similar to the classic Mario style that we all know and love. However, this game does shows clear progression with a more enhanced RPG style battle system which will able to those gamers who want an RPG that is not some time-consuming as the ones on the PS3 and Xbox which can end up consuming your life.

-Sam

Nov

Eurogamer 2009: Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box

By plusxp Leave a Comment

Categories: Game News and Preview
Tags: DS, eurogamer, Nintendo, pandora's box, Professor Layton, puzzle

artwork

For my first review for Plus XP I have decided to delve into the one of the trendiest and most popular game types on the Nintendo DS with gamers and non-gamers alike – the puzzle game. As a whole, puzzle games on consoles are perceived as the most accessible to all levels of gamers, so who better to review it than someone like me who enjoys the lighter, slightly more puzzling side of gaming?

This review will focus primarily on the latest puzzle game to be released on the DS, Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box, from the Professor Layton series. I played the game at Eurogamer; however it was hard to make a fair judgment of the difficulty level of the puzzles due to bad placement of the console at the expo – the DS consoles were placed near to the Beatles Rock Band stage, and it was hard to focus on the puzzles with a tone-deaf gamer screeching a Beatles Song behind you. However, I will endeavor to give you as much insight as I can.

938420_20090602_screen003

The plot of the game follows Professor Layton and his young assistant, Luke, as they travel cross-country by train to solve the mystery behind a peculiar box that is said to kill anyone who opens it. The plot revolves around several different locations, unlike the first game in the series, Professor Layton and the Curious Village which focused on just one location.

The game offers a variety of puzzles including brain teasers, sliding puzzles, logic puzzles and many others. One puzzle involved having an image of four couples sat at tables on a train, and with a few clues – such as “Mr Smith is sat opposite his wife”, and “The Jones couple are sitting next to the aisle”, and using deduction work out where a certain person is sitting. Another puzzle involved watching a ball under one of three cups being mixed around, and then working out how many moves would be necessary in order to get the ball into a certain position.

Each puzzle is worth a certain amount of “picarats” depending on difficulty and is given an unlimited time period to solve. However, if you get the puzzle was wrong, the value of the puzzle decreases by approximately ten percent each time. But, the player does have the option to quit the puzzle at no cost and try a different one, although some puzzles are mandatory in order to progress. Further to this, if you are a puzzle junkie and wanna do the puzzle again, once completed they are all accessible via the games menu.

Each game will allow you three hints but the player must spend one “hint coin” to see each of them, which can be found throughout the game; however hint coins are limited, so spend them wisely! If you manage to solve these brain teasing puzzles, the picarats are added to Professor Layton’s total score and sometimes he is even rewarded with an item.

938420_20090602_screen012

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box has a highly entertaining side game of trying to get a morbidly obese hamster into shape. One of the three rewards of which can be earned through completing puzzles are pieces of exercise equipment for said hamster. It is highly amusing to see a very chubby rodent jogging round obstacles in order to shed those pounds!

Another reward which can also be earned through puzzle completion is pieces of a shattered camera that was accidently dropped at the beginning of the game; once all pieces are collected the camera can be restored to full working order. The final possible reward for completing puzzle are ingredients to make tea so Professor Layton, Luke and any others they meet can celebrate a good puzzle solve with a nice brew.

In total there are 153 brain challenging puzzles to solve, and those with Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection can download additional puzzles on a weekly basis. All in all, I felt that Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box continued the Professor Layton series of well developed and at times challenging games, however the plot was highly predictable and merely gave context to the items integrated into the puzzles. I felt it did not really push any boundaries, however it achieves what it sets out to do, give your brain a good work out.

-Sam

Sep

Professor Layton Is On Another Adventure

By Garvaos Leave a Comment

Categories: Article and Preview
Tags: DS, Professor Layton, Professor Layton And Pandora's Box, puzzle

DS puzzle fans are in for a treat again, as Professor Layton’s next adventure is just around the corner for us gamers in the UK.

When I first looked at the graphics of Professor Layton. I could not help but think ‘Tin Tin’. To me the professor looks like a shorter version of Tin Tin just with a hat, it also appears they have replaced Tin Tin’s dog with a small boy. Anyway that aside the Professor Layton games have been mighty successful for the DS. So we welcome the new game with open arms.

I say new… More like hand me down. The game has been out in Japan for about a year or so now. The first Professor Layton game came out for us here in the UK when Japan were just getting their mitts on Pandora’s Box. But having said that, its good we have the oppotunity to get the game…eventually.

The game starts with the Professor getting a letter from a dear friend, about Pandora’s box. This box when opened has a nasty habit of killing people. So the Professor and his companion go and pay his friend a visit, only to find him murdered, and the only clue they have is a blank train ticket, to start their quest to find out what this box is all about.

In true Professor Layton style there this is a mystery story chock full of puzzles. 150 puzzles to be exact. all ranging from maze type puzzles to number teasers. It looks as though there is enough to get all the cogs in your brain really whirring. Pah who needs brain training? The beauty though, is that the puzzles aren’t always to do with the main quest. They can be brought up by random villagers or just ques in the enviroment, which to me sounds pretty good but maybe could get a bit tedious? I don’t know, in all honesty I haven’t played the first game.

As well as the one off puzzles you find from people and around the map, you will get on going puzzles throughout the game. For example there is a camera you must put together, and you’re going to find components for it as you progress through the game. This is a great way of keeping the brain constantly thinking throughout the game in my opinion.

The other great thing about this game is that it isn’t secluded just to one village. In Pandora’s Box you are transported to all sorts of different villages and environments for you to explore. Meaning there will be a whole host of new and different characters and enviroments to encounter on your quest. Giving the gamer just that little bit more sence of freedom.

Even though the story seems a little morbid to start off with. I can tell you the Professor Layton Pandora’s box takes a light hearted spin on it, and gives puzzle junkies, just the fix they have been looking for.

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box will be out this next Friday the 25th of September here in the UK for the Nintendo DS.

-Garv

Jun

Nintendo And Sony Take To The Stage (2nd Day Of E3)

By Garvaos 1 Comment

Categories: Article and Game News
Tags: DS, e3, Final Fantasy XIV, God Of war III, Golden sun, metroid: other M, Nintendo, PSPgo, sony, super mario bros wii, super mario galaxy, wii, Zelda

Well day 2 is down for E3. All things nintendo and sony were out and about so what news caught my eye?

New Super Mario Bros Wii

The new super Mario bros game looks set to be a great game with 4 player co op play (as far as piking each other up and saving each other for danger) with Mario, Luigi and 2 toads. The use of the wii motion sensor is a big factor of this game. for example you ca lock on to a see saw and balance it to help you accomplice.

There are also a whole host of new Items such as the the propeller suit to fly high into the sky and for some reason you can change into a penguin.

wii mario bros

Super Mario Galaxy 2

The announce meant of this game is bound to set some Mario fans off. The first game was massive when it first came out and this one is set to better the last with Yoshi as a playable character who can be inflated to get to new areas.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9pWgEp86cM]

Metroid: Other M

A new metroid is gonne hit wii. Yay! Not much is known as yest about the game but be sure to check here for more info for my E3 Wrap up post later this week.

Metroid M

New Wii Zelda!

Sounds great but there was not much said at all, no trailers really and only one piece of art work. But its coming…..sometime.

Golden Sun For DS

This is huge news for me, I love golden sun and to see a revamped DS game is awesome! 3D Issac and well here is the trailer!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep_zdkpo6RM]

Now onto the Sony side of things!

God Of War III

The long awaited game sequel to the franchise coming march 2010 has been demoed at E3! The game looks fantastic and with brand new physics new to gaming and Kratos looking shinier than ever this game is set to be a ground breaker. Here’s the demo in action!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcjL2VA6eDQ]

Final Fantasy XIV!

But its another MMO. May be good news for some people, but I didn’t think much of FF XI online. But t promises to be a great game.

FF XIV

PSPgo!

The new announced console was to be expected at E3 seeing all things have been leaked about it. What it does have is No UMD drive, but can still play old PSP games, You will have to download the to the console, also there is a 16 gig inbuilt hard drive for game saves and old psp games. It also has a slide function and to m looks quite interesting. Look for yourself.