These past couple of weeks I have been going too and from London like a yo yo, I am slowly becoming accustomed to the Capital, and feel less like a country boy in a huge city who can’t stop staring at shiny lights. The past couple of times I have been down to London I have hit the Trocadero. This is the mother of all Arcades. Well It’s the largest one I have been to and to be honest I haven’t been too many. That aside the Trocadero is massive. Just a couple of weeks ago Leon and myself went there and played some Street Fighter and Mario Kart it was great and gave us a great oppotunity to game and chat with out the head sets.

Last weekend I was there again for a Ready-up.net Forum meet. We had an awesome time there hitting the arcade machines. But there was this one shining moment that day where a group of around 20 of us hit the Rambo arcade machine. Now I don’t know if any of you guys are familiar with this sheers brilliant game, but Rambo is a shooter, where you just have to kill anything that moves. You are armed with an AK 47 and it’s just kill kill kill. The group of us set ourselves a challenge. We had to beat the game between all of us. If someone lost all their lives they would then hand the gun to the next guy who would put the credits in and continue. It was an awesome experience if I am honest and yes we did complete that Rambo game.

So where am I going with all of this? Well with my trips to the Trocadero in mind it got me thinking, Arcade gaming is defiantly not what it used to be. I was catching up with MarkBOSS and GuitarGirl after the Rambo rally and they each said that the Troc used to be packed back in the Mid to late 90′s. It was the place for any gaming geek to be. But now it has died down so much and things aren’t as shiny as they used to be. Even the machines get less maintenance than they used to. The Trocadero has been dieing since the dawn of the new millenium.

The Trocadero At Its Peak In The 90's

So why have ammusements arcades been left to die? A perfect example here would be when the PlayStation One took center stage in the late 90′s. That was when arcades started to go down hill. Why? Well games were coming into their own, they all were getting better graphics and better game play. But the pinnacle moment for me was when we had a PSone and when my family got their hands on the Die Hard trilogy, complete with Light gun. Meaning there was no real reason to go out and play Time Crisis anymore because we had an arcade style shooter right in our living room. Then I saw dance mats being advertised, true there weren’t as robust as a huge dancing stage arcade machines, but it gave people the excuse to stay in and play and not waste money.

But arcade machines had one saving grace still up their sleeve, in the late 90′s arcade machines back the then were the equivalent to what we have on our home consoles now graphically, meaning that gamers still had an incentive to go to the arcade and try out the latest Time Crisis, because consoles like the PSone didn’t have the graphical power. Not only that but they were a great place to hang out and socialize, this was way before online gaming so Arcades still had the capability of brining gamers together. Ok so they may have squeezed every last living breath out of our wallets, but to be honest arcades were a great excuse for any cave dwelling gamer to actually breath some fresh air and talk to human beings.

But now we have things like the Wii, which bring casual gaming into peoples homes. Therefore us cave dwelling gamers out there don’t actually need to come out of our gaming dives. Instead we may invite our other gaming friends into our humble abodes to play some House Of The dead on the Wii or whatever. We also now have online gaming which brings gamers together across the world. Then there is the graphical power of the consoles these days, they do look stunning and rival Arcade machines. Just the other week my mum bought Time Crisis 4 for the PS3 and I just knew that was the icing on the cake.

Arcade gaming has sadly been laid to rest these days. But you will still get some shining moments such as the Rambo rally that will give you a glimpse of what Arcade gaming used to be like. Will there be a revival? Or was it just a mid 90′s fad that has been killed by todays gaming market? For me I am hoping it is the former.

Garv

The Nintendo Wii has gone from strength to strength ever since its release back in November 2006. It has captivated casual gamers and some of the hardcore elite in many different ways, it has even brought families together and has appealed to all ages, even the over 50′s.

With its more interactive approach to gaming as a whole it has sparked off all sorts of ideas in the games industry such as Playstation move and Microsoft’s Kinect. It has literally spawned a new way of gaming that has captured everyone’s imagination, but sadly all things must come to an end and I firmly believe that the Wii is definitely coming to the final hurdle of its life cycle.

The biggest clue that led me to this conclusion was the fact at E3 this year Nintendo announced the Wii’s successor. The Wii U. I could go on for a thousand words or so with my thoughts about the Wii U, but instead of boring you all half to death I have this one simple question. Nintendo… What the hell?

A games console that has a tablet controller sounds good in theory but in practise it looks as like a really big DS which is powered by separate console, which kind of defeats the point of both portable and home gaming. I could be wrong and it maybe the best thing since the NES but I’m not holding hope.

Urgh...facepalm!

Anyway back to the topic in hand, so the first big clue to the Wii’s life cycle coming to an end was that fact the Wii U has been announced, but surely with a new Nintendo console only being announced the Wii still has a year or so left in it? This brings me to my second clue. The latest announcement of a new model Wii console coming out and the discontinuation of the old model. Again something that a lot of consoles do, such as the PS3 slim and the new look 360, but something about this new Wii release doesn’t feel right. To me it feels a little desperate coming from Nintendo as they have announced the Wii U now and have also cut the price of the 3DS by a 3rd. To me it feels like they are milking the cash cow on the already successful Wii and are losing a chunk of cash from the 3DS.

The biggest and probably the most ridiculous thing to come out of this Wii console relaunch is the fact they are taking out the game cube backwards compatibility. True this maybe because all the gamers who wanted such a feature are happily content with a Wii console already but to have such a feature taken, still will annoy some of the hardcore gamers out there. This is because there have been some truly great Game Cube games, if gamers finally decided to get a Wii and wanted to play titles such as Zelda: Wind Waker or Tales of Symphonia (which were Game Cube titles), they would either have to buy a second-hand Wii or a game cube, not so bad I guess but if your anything like me and enjoy really shiny new things this could be a bit of an annoyance. Sure some of the Game Cube titles will be downloadable but things like Tales Of Symphonia will probably disappear into the video games vortex and will never be seen again.

Even though you were unappreciated you still had some awesome titles

The Wii is also the only console of this generation to not support full HD meaning that the PS3 and 360 have always have always had a slight upper hand, and now with Kinect and Move the lime light is slowly been sucked away from the Wii. There also hasn’t been that many huge titles that have come out for the console lately. Granted Zelda: Skyward Sword will probably give the Wii one final boost as that title has been highly anticipated for some time but after that craze has died down, I fear the Wii will just be pushed to one side once more.

The Wii is a good console, but now is the time to probably say so long and thanks for all the fish, but hey you we will still always have christmas time with the family.

Garv

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.

When a new console comes around I have two gut feelings (one more than the average human) one, ‘oh goody a new console I have to save up half a year for’ and two, ‘ok so this, this and this just came out, is having a new console a bit too soon?’. As the new Nintendo is on the console far much earlier that I expected it to be, I ask is it too soon for the next-gen? and will Sony and Microsoft follow suit sooner than expected?

The Wii has been out for quite a long time now, first released in November 2006, it has been five whole years since the console first graced our living rooms. Since then a bucket load of ground breaking titles have come out, such as Zelda: Twighlight Princess, Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 and Metroid Prime corruption just to name a few. But who can forget to mention games such as Wii Fit, sports and play to get the whole family involved with gaming. So in a sence, since its release the Wii has been pretty revolutionary in bringing the casual and the hardcore together.

So with the release of titles Zelda: Skyward sword on the horizon and the recent release of Kirby’s Epic yarn and Donkey Kong country returns is it way too early? I personally think it isn’t for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, the Wii always had a couple of drawbacks compared to the PS3 and X360. The console isn’t HD, meaning that the graphics are still in a little bit last generation, meaning that the games aren’t really that breath-taking. Secondly there is no way for the console to play DVD’s, sure it links to the internet ok and you can stream videos from there but having the option for your console to play movies as well has always been something I have welcomed with open arms.

Sure those are both really small reasons, but with the recent release od the 3DS which pretty much blows the Wii out of the water, it is definitely time to greet the next generation Nintendo console. So what are we looking at here?

For starters the project has been dubbed Project Cafe by the Nintendo buffs and it has been said that it will definitely match or surpass the processing power of both the PS3 and the X360. The very interesting thing that has been going through the grape-vine though is that the consoles controllers will integrate a duel analogue design with also touch screen capabilities. I know it sounds a lot like the Dream Cast, but the screen may be an integral part into the consoles games and also have the capability to play full games from the controller.

IGN's project cafe concept picture

Not much else is known about the console yet, and all this information is based on word of mouth and rumour. There have also been whispers going round that the console might be called Stream. Sad thing is we are probably going to have to wait till E3 till we get some solid answers.

So is it time for a new Nintendo home console? In my opinion it is a big fat yes.

Garv.

With Christmas fast approaching many of us are now facing one of the biggest challenges of the festive season. I am of course talking about the seemingly endless mission that is Christmas shopping. Whereas some make lists and some are just plain easy to buy for there will always be others who prove more difficult. Yes, I am taking about the gamer who has everything. If your the type who buys every game you want on its release date and is less than amused with the standard gifts of soap and socks then I am talking about you. Though for much of the year you are the much loved provider of hand me down games, at the years end you are the biggest challenge on our need to buy list.  If like myself you have a couple of gamers who have everything on your list this year then never fear, the solution may just be here. All it takes is a little help from our alien friends.

Aliens stole my console is a new website which offers custom finishes for consoles and controllers. The concept is simple. First you use the tools on the website to create your perfect console. As well as changing the base and component colors you can also chose from a selection of decals or even request your own logo or design.  Once you have your design, your console is whisked away by courier (or Aliens) to be transformed. The transformation happens in three stages. The console is carefully dismantled before having each individual component covered in a specially formulated coating which not only adds extra protection but is also Uv resistant to prevent fading. Once the coating has been applied the console is put back together before being couriered back into your waiting arms. Its a little like the pimp my ride of the gaming world really, only without the big unveil and the over exaggerated screaming.

If you don’t fancy sending your own (or your friends) console to be pimped Aliens stole my console also offer a variety of new consoles and controllers which can be customized. The service is currently available for the X-Box 360, Wii and PS3 with both controllers and consoles available for the Alien treatment. The process usually takes under 14 days, and though I am not sure I could go that long without my console if you can you will be rewarded with something which is not only incredibly hardwearing but also quite unique.

One small footnote about the service. If you send your console away to be customized it will void the warranty. Aliens combat this by offering their own 90 day to 1 year warranty on consoles abducted but this is still a factor which must be considered by anyone wishing to have their console match their curtains… If you get what I mean.

So how does this service combat the age old problem of what to buy the gamer who has everything? Well though I would be dubious about sending my own console in for a paint job (mainly due to the warranty being void and red ring of death issues) I do see real potential in the custom controllers. With controllers being abducted for as little as £25 this may just mark the end of tatty controllers with scribbled marks of identification on the back.  Though the website offers limited options for controller customization I have been assured by the Aliens themselves that if you contact them almost any design can be achieved meaning your only limit is your own creativity. Having checked out one of these controllers at the 2010 Golden Joysticks Awards I can say with confidence that the feel and finish is first class giving them great potential as unique gifts. With the festive season almost upon us what could be better than to rock up at this years Christmas party with a personalized controller which not only looks the business but is also easy to find and defend should the need arise. Now all I need to do is convince them to pimp out my Guitar Hero controller… I’m working on that one…

Check out the site by visiting  www.aliensstolemyconsole.com

Until next time,

24

x

It’s been eight years since the release of Metroid Fusion, the last 2D title in the series produced by Nintendo, save for the excellent re-make of the original - renamed Zero Mission – which itself was released six years ago. While I have enjoyed the four Prime titles to be released over the last decade, my true love lies in the 2D titles – Super Metroid, Fusion, and Zero Mission being my favourites, Metroid II: Return of Samus being a fond childhood memory also. When Metroid: Other M was announced, I was unsure what to think. A third person 3D title with first person elements sounded like a clever fusion of past and present games, and it promised to be more storyline based than previous titles, too. Loving the 2D titles, but enjoying Prime also, I still felt that Nintendo would come up with something equally enjoyable - and it ranks as one of my most anticipated Wii titles ever. Well, I finally got hold of the game – and it’s time to get to the review.

Other M takes place between the events of Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, which are at the end of the series chronology. With Zebes destroyed, the Metroids, Mother Brain and the Space Pirates along with it, Samus is given a “Mission Complete”. However, she soon enough picks up a distress call, and out of instinct she plots the ‘Bottle Ship’ as her next destination to see what’s going on – and that’s where Other M begins. I wont delve into the plot too far for the sake of spoilers, but I will say that the game is the most cinematic title to date, with plenty of cut scenes, FMV’s, and Samus has even been voiced for the first time. Don’t worry though – she’s not been voiced badly. On her mission, she finds herself working alongside old friends, comrades from her past (including former CEO Adam Malkovich, a character mentioned in Fusion but so far unseen. A lot of old memories are dug up, and we find out more of her mysterious past - which makes a nice change.

Of course, one of the most important points of Other M is the new gameplay system, the game co-produced by Team Ninja, makers of Ninja Gaiden. I personally felt that they did an excellent job of translating Metroid into a full 3D third-person experience. The game combines classic gameplay elements and ideas from the 2D titles, while incorporating the 3D elements of Prime.

Controlled using the Wiimote sideways like a NES controller, the game plays very much like any other classic Metroid game, but in a 3D environment. You still have the basic run, jump, shoot scenario, and platforming hasn’t been made overly awkward with the move to 3D movement. Some areas are played with a camera angle that makes the game appear as a sort of 2.5D view, and although you can still move in all directions, these parts play almost exactly like 2D Metroid games, and it works well.

The biggest difference in the game is it’s combat. While you are still able to use basic beam and charge-beam attacks, the game incorporates an auto-aim system – luckily this works well as it doesn’t tend to aim at things you don’t want it to, and it also makes the shooting a lot more fluid and fast paced. New to Samus however, are “Overkill” and “Lethal Blow” techniques, which involve having a beam charging, and either jumping on top of an enemy, or running into close quarters with a wounded opponent. Each one will launch Samus into a cinematic-close quarters attack, where she will wrestle with the opponent, and you have to release your shot once she’s got her gun lined up for the creature’s mouth or weak point. Doing so will unload a powerful shot that does a lot of damage, and looks cool too. It’s a first for Metroid, but it mixes in well with the 3rd person shooting.

We then have the first-person view. By pointing the Wiimote at the screen, the camera shifts to Samus’ own view, yet you are anchored to the ground and cannot move. This allows you to fire precise shots – and is also the only mode that allows you to use missiles, which do a lot of damage. While this works in some situations (often when bosses have a moment of vulnerability), it does feel a little awkward at times, having to switch controller position on the fly, and can be frustrating when you’re trying to fire a rocket when there’s a lot going on. Of course, they are powerful, but it does feel as though the missiles don’t quite mix into Samus’ other attacks as well as usual. However, it’s an interesting feature, and for the most part doesn’t cause too many problems.

Aside from that, there are a few other abilities Samus can now dodge attacks by tapping the d-pad just before the attack hits, although for the majority of the time you can tap the d-pad repeatedly to avoid a lot of attacks. While in most Metroid games, Samus can restore health and missiles by picking up items dropped by enemies, she now uses a “Concentration” ability. You can reload missiles at any time by holding the remote vertically, and holding A. This leaves you vulnerable for a few seconds – but it’s worth it. In a similar manner, once she gets close to death, you can do the same action to charge your last bar of health back to the top. However, you’re vulnerable while charging HP, and if you get hit before it’s complete, you’ll lose your charge (and likely die if you are that low on HP). The new concentration system works quite well, and it can be improved to replenish more HP bars by picking up special items found throughout the game. To be honest, the combination of the dodge and Concentration HP replenish abilities can make the game a little too easy at times, but it didn’t spoil the experience for me personally.

While exploring the Bottle Ship, there are four main areas you explore – some of the main ship, which has the cold, spaceport feel to it, and Sectors 1-3, each with its own holographic biosphere – a jungle, volcanic area, and glacial sector. Somewhat like Fusion, this means that each area within the ship has its own style and unique enemies. However, with the use of holograms, some of the areas appear as though they aren’t even on a ship – with outdoor environments complete with open skies. This can be quite cool when in some puzzles you can turn the projectors off and on, to see what the rooms really look like and discover where you need to go.

Many of the enemies are taken from other Metroid titles, with classic enemies converted very well into the 3D design – even their attack patterns haven’t changed, and for the most part have been designed to look as much like the original designs as possible. It’s great to see them in the current gen, and always good to see that Nintendo haven’t forgotten Metroid’s roots. Even a couple of the bosses are returning enemies from previous games – and they all look great. Of course, there are some new enemies also, but they all mix in together and none of them look out-of-place.

The bosses are actually one of the games best parts - they generally look great, and are very fun to fight. In a similar way to Zelda, most of the bosses are more than just shooting away – they often have parts you have to destroy, or places where you need to perform a specific action, such as grappling onto a body part. In a few cases, it’s possible to freeze body parts, and then use a rocket to smash it. One of my favourite scenes involved freezing a bosses arm to the floor, in order to charge up a shot and jump on it’s frozen appendage – causing Samus to run up it’s body and fire a blast right into it’s head. Almost God of War-like, which was cool.

Of course, no Metroid game would be complete without suit upgrades. Usually (especially with Prime), Samus finds herself being very clumsy at the start of the game and damaging her suit, losing all of her upgrades. While I personally don’t mind this, almost seeing it as a kind of tradition, Nintendo have obviously thought it’s overdone and decided to tackle the issue in a different way. Operating under the command of her former CEO, Adam, for this mission, she has been told she can’t use certain equipment until authorised by him personally. It’s an interesting take, and it makes sense in the case of bombs (since they don’t know how stable the ship is), but it’s a little far-fetched that Samus wouldn’t be able to keep her fully upgraded suit (heat protection, gravity stabilizers) and non-weapons such as the grapple beam. The resulting scenario is that at certain points in the game, Adam will “authorise” a piece of equipment and it will be added to your range of abilities. This system, while more or less having the same outcome as other Metroid titles, does feel a little underwhelming and nonsensical at times – while older Metroids would often grant you a new skill after beating a boss, Other M simply seems to randomly open up skills when it feels like it, offering little sense of achievement. And I really can’t see why the heat-protection upgrade couldn’t have been authorised upon entering the lava area, rather than half way through. Anyway, regardless of this, you’ll find yourself eventually having access to most of the classic abilities, such as the morph ball, speed booster and grapple beam.

Although there are other people on board the Bottle Ship, it does maintain the eerie loneliness of traditional Metroid titles – aside from a few cut scenes and a battle or two, you’ll find yourself solo for the majority of the game – which means the new characters don’t cheapen the experience. There are one or two genuinely eerie moments, walking down cold metal corridors in the dark, which I enjoyed. Sometimes this is aided by the fact that there is little music, although at times it felt as though the game lacked a good soundtrack – often being absent or quiet. Also, the classic jingles that play when you pick up items is no longer there – perhaps they were trying to make the game feel a bit more realistic, but as a Metroid fan I was a little disappointed not to hear the traditional victory tune.

As well as the normal gameplay, there are one or two sections where you are forced into first person. Sometimes these are “scan” scenarios, where you are meant to point the cursor at a specific element on-screen for Samus to ‘notice’ and progress the cut scene. While I don’t dislike the idea, I must admit they weren’t dealt with particularly well – sometimes the object you are meant to point it isn’t obvious – or you need to be so precise that you can’t tell what you are supposed to point at. At one point, I was genuinely stuck because when I tried to highlight what I thought was the right thing, the cursor didn’t change as it should – and after a good ten minutes of waving the cursor around I find out that I was looking at the right thing in the first place, only I hadn’t positioned the cursor exactly in the right place, which was frustrating. Some of these “forced first person” sections are battle oriented, with Samus pinned to the ground, and you must fend off attacks. These were quite cinematic and exciting, so they were much more enjoyable. However, there was one combat section where it wasn’t obvious what I was meant to do, and I kept dying until I finally did it by accident – another flaw in the design, perhaps.

Now, as you may be able to tell, there were good and bad points to the game. Let me reinstate that I really enjoyed the game despite these flaws, because mostly they were minor, or only occurred once or twice – the actual gameplay and style of the game far outweighed its flaws. However, there was one major issue that put a dampener on the whole experience for me – it’s length.

A fair way into the game, I’m aware of a region of the ship I have not yet explored, a boss that I still haven’t killed, and potentially a fair amount of gameplay left. Up until that point, I was immensely happy with the game, and really looking forward to the rest of it. However, I then found myself in fact not having any more regions of the ship to explore, and not getting to fight the boss as expected. Instead, I found myself playing a little more, fighting a semi-decent boss, and then suddenly realising I’d reached the game’s ending. While the game was great up until that point, I felt as though Other M had had so much potential for a few more hours of gameplay, but instead ended somewhat suddenly and unexpectedly. It’s hard to explain without revealing important plot points – but suffice it to say the game took only ten hours (one of the shortest Metroid games, including the GBA ones), and I felt as though it had a lot more potential than how it actually tied up the end of the game. This did cheapen the experience for me, and what felt like potentially the best Metroid game ever, dropped to only a decent Metroid game, perhaps not as good as Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion, or Metroid Prime 3.

It’s hard to judge a game when you are left with a sense of disappointment at the very end. While I don’t regret buying the game, and I certainly did enjoy it a lot until it finished, the fact that the game had so much more potential left the experience feeling a little hollow and incomplete. Other M has a brilliant engine, it just falls short of expectations, especially considering it’s a full-home console title.

If you are a Metroid fan – the game’s worth getting for the excellent style, some back story on Samus and some really incredible moments – but if you’ve never played it, I’d warn you that the game won’t keep you busy for very long. It’s a shame, Nintendo are capable of making much larger games - Zelda, Mario Galaxy, etc – but Other M didn’t recieve the same amount of depth. Although I think the game was a step in the right direction for a more classic Metroid title for the modern day, you could easily buy Metroid Prime Trilogy for the same cost, and get a lot more bang for your buck.

- Leon

September looks to be an excellent month for games, with titles such as Dead Rising 2, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, and the long awaited release of Halo: Reach. However, even with such titles on the horizon, Metroid: Other M is amongst the most exciting. While I’m looking forward to seeing continuations of my favourite series’, a lot has changed in the world of Samus Aran since Prime 3: Corruption and it’s certainly going to be a refreshing experience.

While it’s been known for a while that Ninja Gaiden’s developers Team Ninja have been working with Nintendo on the new Metroid title, and that it would comprise of a mixture of gameplay elements from both 2D and 3D styles, it’s not until more recently that we’ve been given a more detailed idea of exactly how the game will work. But as the game’s release draws closer, I can now give a clearer idea of exactly what you can expect with the new sci-fi adventure.

Set between Super Metroid and Metroid Fusion, Other M picks up right after Samus leaves planet Zebes after her encounter with Mother Brain. Following a distress call from a dormant ship, she finds herself exploring the enormous Galactic Federation Bottle Ship, a ship similar to the environment of Fusion, containing multiple environments in an enclosed space station – rainforests, a sub-zero region, a volcanic region and more.

While the game looks to reprise it’s 2D roots, the game is actually all played in a 3rd-person 3D environment. In this way, the game allows for the classic platforming elements that are traditional in Metroid such as exploration, wall-jumping and the morph ball ability – often giving a side view which gives the game a 2.5D look somewhat like Shadow Complex, although Samus can move in all directions rather than on a 2D plane. At other times, however, the game plays with a more top-down view, or even an over-the-shoulder view in the more tense, claustrophobic areas. The space station looks great, giving a mix of different environments while maintaining the classic eerie dankness of the cold metallic interiors.

The combat is perhaps the most interesting aspect to the new title – incorporating a mix of all of the Metroid titles and having its own unique twist. Whilst exploring, the game is controlled with the Wiimote held sideways (in NES controller fashion), and Samus has access to her various beam weapons hearkening to the 2D style of combat. However, if the player points the Wiimote at the screen in the remote style, the game switches to first-person view. While Samus is anchored to the ground in this mode, she can then fire her weapons in first person in a style akin to Metroid Prime. This will allow her to fire in a more precise way, for more accurate shooting such as target points – and also for locating hidden items such as energy tanks. It’s possible to switch between these two modes on the fly, so after a while you should be constantly flicking between fast paced acrobatic gunplay and precision attacks when appropriate.

Alongside this interesting amalgamation of the 2D and 3D realms of Metroid gunplay, Team Ninja have added their own element to the game – for the first time ever, Samus has a selection of melee abilities. With the new “Sense” ability, Samus is able to dodge enemy attacks with well timed taps of the D-pad, and use counter attacks, and she also has access to “Lethal Strike”, and “Overblast” techniques for finishing wounded opponents – involving ramming her gun down an enemy’s throat or leaping upon it’s shoulders to fire an executing shot to the head. While these new moves are a tad more barbaric than anything we’ve seen her do before – it certainly looks cool. It seems as though there will be a decent amount of upgrades to obtain, including suit upgrades (the Varia suit, as always, allows travel through heat), and abilities such as “Concentration” to replenish health.

It seems like quite a mighty task, combining such a mixture of different gameplay styles, but it really looks as though Other M combines the best aspects of all of the Metroid world. With a fleshed out story and a bit more of Samus’ history to uncover, it’s definitely a reason to break out the Wii once more for one of Nintendo’s best series.

Leon

Now when one console developer does it, eventually all of them are going to jump onto the band wagon. This is where PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect come in. They have been a long time in development, but about christmas time this year, you are going to experience what Microsoft and Sony have to offer. Myself and GuitarGirl24 on the other hand got a sneak preview of what Microsoft’s Kinect has to offer.

In an underground room somewhere in Covent Garden in London, we both entered into what Microsoft thought was an ideal Kinect Paradise. There was 3 rooms in this underground area. Each room was decked to to look like a pretty swanky living room. The first thing we noticed, is that the fabricated living room was pretty huge. leaving plenty of space for the player to play Kinect. So all of you who live in box rooms in your parents house 0r student halls already have a bit of a problem.

Once we entered the room we were straight into the experience where we played Kinect Adventure, this game was made up of three mini games which we played. The first was a rafting game where we both had to control a rubber raft as it cascaded down some rapids, both leaning from side to side (preferably in unison) we had to direct the raft through gates to score points, there was also places where you had to jump together to collect coins, which again added to your final score. It took us a while but we finally got the gist of it. If I were to judge Kinect solely on this game alone I would say it was pretty responsive.

The other 2 games in Kinect adventures were a jump and duck corse where myself and 24 were head to head, simple having to duck, jump and weave around obstacles. In this game I started to find Kinect a little less responsive but still quite fun. Then there was the last game of Kinect adventure where you had to hit balls against a wall of blocks to core points, you could either kick, slap or even head but the balls. This was probably the most fun game from Kinect Adventures, even if 24 almost knocked me out while trying to punch the ball on the screen.

We then played Kinect Race. This was a Mario Kart type game where you held an imaginary steering wheel to drive your car. You could lean, to the side to drift around corners and thrust your arms forward to boost. This was a very fun racing game which I really enjoyed. But again, I found Kinect a little bit un responsive at times when I tried to boost, sometimes not even recognised that I thrust my arms in an extravagant fashion to make the car boost, this was a little frustrating at times, but the game was fun when it responded.

We then played a dancing game, Dance Central for Kinect. I tell you know is flipping difficult, and tiring. The idea of this game is to mirror what the dancers are doing on the screen sounds simple, but on medium mode it was very hard to keep up with all the crazy moves that they were doing, be it an air guitar, a hip hop version of a spotty dog or the Macarena sped up 50 fold the game proved to me further that I can’t dance at all. I wonder if they expect you to spin on your head in expert mode?

Finally I got to play some Kinect Spotrs. Very much like Wii sports but of corse without the Wii-mote. I decided to do hurdle to round off our time with Kinect. Again the Kinect camera itself was a bit laggy off the get go, I would start running and after about half a second my avatar would then start running. The idea here was to jump hurdles as soon as they go green. Kinect picked up my jumps pretty well (luckily) and I managed to finish the race in first. I was then able to wave to the crowd which I thought was a nice touch. As Kinect could pick up all my arm movements I tried semaphore instead. No idea what I said mind but hey.

Kinect is a nice idea that still needs tweaking. Sure is can pick up your movements ok but the lag issue I thought was a bit of a problem, and even though it could pick up your arm movements, it didn’t pick up the movements of my fingers, so I couldn’t do the rock devil horns after I won the hurdles, but hey you can’t have everything.

Now for your viewing pleasure I present to you a Video that GuitarGirl24 put together of our hands on with Kinect, enjoy!

Kinect comes out for the XBox 360 this November.

Garv

The conference kicked off by looking at the new Zelda for the Wii, now subtitled ‘Skyward Sword’. Looking like a mix between the graphical style of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, it gives an artistic style that looks incredible. Hoping that the Wiimotion Plus addon will help to make all of the controls and complicated layouts an element of the past, Shigeru Miyamoto came onstage to demonstrate after a video that helped inject some humour into the proceedings. However, his demonstration would prove to be worrying as ‘Wireless Interference’ would prove to make controlling and showing off the game difficult, and left those onstage to apologise profusely and assure the crowd that “This didn’t happen in the rehearsal” and “When you play the game for yourself, you’ll see it works”. The WiiMotion Plus does seem as if it’ll give a better sense of control, despite the worryingly demo, with weapons being more refined to accomodate motion controls, such as the ability to aim where you throw, drop and roll bombs, new weapons such as the Beetle launcher which allows you to guide a Beetle around which can pick up additional items for you and the Whip, as well as old items like the catapult. It was then announced that Skyward Sword would be delayed until 2011 as the development was taking longer than expected.

Despite some demo issues, I fell in love with this game like it was love at first sight.

Then next up, Mario’s involvement with sports was given another boost with Mario Sports Mix, also to be released in 2011. Thankfully, Nintendo saw fit to combine several sports games into one, rather than release them separately, and will contain Volleyball, Hockey and Dodgeball with the traditional Mario Sports twist.

Following up on this, Nintendo took the time to point out the staying power of the Wii, and how it had managed to sell the most in December 2009 than any other console had ever sold in a month, that more games had been sold for the Wii than anything else, and that Wii players use their console more than other Console players will use their consoles. To keep this in mind, Nintendo showed off another ‘bridge’ title for Wii Party. Basically looking like a reskin of Mario Party, but with the more neutral and casual Miis, Nintendo hopes that Wii Party can hope to appeal to all audiences and attract more people to the console. Keeping with a tilt to the casual side, Nintendo then confirmed that Just Dance 2 would arrive on the Wii in the Christmas season.

Acknowledging that nothing had been mentioned or shown of Golden Sun DS since last E3, Fils-Aime then showed off the first footage of the game, now subtitled “Dark Dawn”. Taking place a generation after the first two Golden Sun games, Dark Dawn will combine 3D characters with new summons and touch screen controls, and will hit the Nintendo DS in the Christmas season.

Moving on from one kind of golden to another, Reggie Fils-Aime then showed footage taken from a focus meeting about Goldeneye 007 for the N64, asking just what made it so revolutionary. It was then revealed that Activision are to remake the original game for the Wii, which’ll hit in the Christmas season like everything else. The new Goldeneye will include reworked sections from the original with added content and Daniel Craig as James Bond. While admittedly, it looks like an odd reworking of the game, only time will tell if it’s a remake worthy of the game, or another Rogue Agent.

I think you'll find the support for a Goldeneye remake was quite, DAMning... No dice? Dam.

Moving on, the conference turned to Epic Mickey, taking Mickey to a while new level while exploring the old and new Disney with unique twists. One of the gameplay innovations will be Mickey’s paintbrush, with which he can either create or destroy the environment around him. By using paint, he can create new environmental scenery, people and platforms, and with the paint thinner, he can destroy those things, as well as that which he creates. The story is also focused in a way that multiple playthroughs will be in order, with plotlines and sidequests done so that they can be completed with multiple outcomes which will all build to different, unique endings. It will also combine elements of side scrollers, as was demonstrated with the level containing a retro throwback to Steamboat Willy. Before leaving, it was discussed how difficult it was to balance both innovation and heritage, and its hoped that the game gets that balance right. Epic Mickey will be hitting the Wii exclusively in the Christmas season.

Reggie then talked about the creation of Kirby, and his lack of a home console outing for a long while, and that this would be recitified with a new Kirby game, also hitting the Wii during the christmas season. Kirby: Epic Yarn has an incredible unique art style which is reminiscent of Yoshi’s Island and Yoshi’s Story, and Kirby can use yarns to move about the environment, take new forms, and has an art style which combines seemlessly with the gameplay and the incredibly cutesy and upbeat music. There also looks to be a return of the companions from Kirby Super Star, and the side scrolling nature of the game looks like an amazing return for Kirby which should hopefully find its way into Wiis everywhere.

First he was real, then trapped in a painting, Kirby, how long are you going to string us along like this? I'll leave now...

Dragon Quest 9 was then discussed, as well as its massive impact in Japan, selling 4.2 million copies, and one such reason being the tag mode as well as the ability to go into multiplayer with friends. Reggie hoped that the game will have a similar impact in the US when it hits July 11th.
Dragon Quest 9 was followed by a quick look at Metroid Other M, which will be hitting the US at the end of August.

Continuing to prove that Reggie Fils-Aime knows how to segue, he then talks about Retro Studios wanting to handle a different series after their work on the Metroid Prime games. He then revealed that Retro Studios have been working on Donkey Kong Country Returns, showing off a reel of footage, including mine cart action, Diddy Kong, and the same level of gameplay that made the originals so great. A bombshell game revival with another christmas bombshell release, meaning that Nintendo are packing the Christmas season with one of its most intense lineups for the Wii in years.

Retro Studios hits E3 with the bombshell Donkey Kong Country revival.

And then came the talk that everyone was waiting for. No, not the Wii HD becoming a reality, the 3DS. After talking 3D for a while, smack talking the need for 3D glasses, and showing off a reel detailing the history of 3D, the 3DS raised up from a tiny platform and was finally revealed.
So what are the details of the 3DS that was kept so under wraps? This is what we were able to gather:
-The top screen is a 3.5 Inch Widescreen.
-It has an analogue slider, allowing for a greater level of control, as well as the D-Pad.
-The ability to turn 3D off is available with a slider.
-The touch screen at the bottom will not have 3D, as Nintendo discovered during development that touch screens and 3D don’t go amazingly well.
-The Graphics are much improved (witnesses to the gameplay claim it’s the same level as the Wii)
-It’ll contain a gyroscope and motion sensor.
-It’ll be back compatible with the Nintendo DS.
-There are two cameras on the case, meaning that it’s possible to take 3D photos as well.
-Can show 3D Hollywood Movies and Trailers
-The Tag Mode from the DS also makes a return, but the games can be updated without the games being on or in the 3DS. If you pass someone else, you can get ghost data and new data.
-The 3DS will automatically seek out Wifi and Internet.

All I know is, I want 3.

Then, Project Sora was finally announced to be Kid Icarus Uprising, with the protagonist himself swooping in and apologising: “Sorry to Keep You Waiting!”
Nintendo then dazzled everyone with a gameplay reel showing graphics nearing the level of the Wii. Other games announced at this point included:
-Saints Row
-Professor Layton: Mask of Miracles
-DJ Hero 3D
-Resident Evil Revelations
-Assassin’s Creed
-Kingdom Hearts
-Metal Gear Solid (Later confirmed to be Snake Eater)

Just before the end of the show, Nintendo finally showed off another reel with a humorous side, as Iwata, Miyamoto and even Fils-Aime himself were sucked into the world of the Nintendo 3DS. A bunch of items from Nintendo series flew out of the 3DS at the end, confirming future Zelda, Mario, Mario Kart, Starfox and Donkey Kong games, and even a possible Smash Bros game.
With that, Nintendo finished up their conference with a massive selection for the hardcore this Christmas and the show stealing 3DS.

As Plus XP resident Nintendo fan, I was left without a doubt that Nintendo stole the show, and revealed a lineup and future console that need to be in my life in future. What did you think?

-Jokesound

Yeah, something like that.

One of the great things about the first game was the wild personalities of all those you have to kill in order to succeed and your friends. Granted, the open world layout was a waste of time for many, but the wacky side jobs, plethora of things to do in the game, and the sheer personality and fun the game oozed out at every orifice was more than worth the entry price. However, the game didn’t sell amazingly, as is the case for many hardcore games on the Wii. Luckily, Suda51 was awesome enough to decide to create a sequel to No More Heroes, again on the Wii.

So, what’s No More Heroes 2 like, from what I played of it and what I saw? Well, it’s like Suda51 crafted a long love letter for fans of the first No More Heroes, telling them everything they wanted to hear. Not a fan of the open world? No More Heroes 2 has gotten rid of the open world, and instead there’s the ability to select a variety of locations to travel to once you exit the location you’re currently in, making travel a lot easier. Though, oddly, the format seems to have been swapped over, so locations are explorable, but the world is menu driven, whereas in the first game, some locations would be straight menu driven (such as Travis’s apartment). Liked the side jobs, but thought they could be more stylistic or reminiscent of the game’s style? Bam! The side jobs are now retro 8-bit affairs. They retain their ballistic quirkiness, but are now distinct from the rest of the game, and look awesomely retro. They’re more fun to play than the original side jobs as well, and you could easily lose yourself in the side jobs this time around, which was less possible in the first game. More stuff to do in Travis’s apartment? Travis can now spend his time in his apartment exercising his cat and playing videogames. Better looks? You got it! No More Heroes 2 refines the graphical style of the first game to create an even sleeker looking game that looks as great as the fun is to play. Which is a lot.

What about the combat? Well, okay, the combat isn’t too far removed from the first game, which is brilliant, but there are a couple of changes to the formula. For one, the hi/lo strikes of the first game (Travis would attack the enemy depending on how the wiimote was positioned… hi or lo), a mostly superfluous thing that only seemed to break up combat a bit, is gone. Kicks and unarmed strikes now do damage, and so they’re a more viable option to stun and hold back your opponents, whereas in the original, kicks wouldn’t do any damage, but only help to set up the wrestling moves. Wrestling moves? Still there. So, the fighting seems to be much the same, but more streamlined and easy to use, which is only a good thing for all concerned.

Once again, saving is done by evacuating your bowels, something other games, and even life should think about adopting.

And what about the enemies, the assassins that you have to fight? Well, from the looks of it, them and their battles seem to be just as hilarious and nutty as before, if not even nuttier in some cases. The battle I played was from Travis’s Number One fan, who decided the only way she could prove her love to him was to kill him, explained with a love letter written by her, read by Travis while she plays her flute in the background. A flute which turns into a double ended beam katana, and your pants from dry to wet. I may have spent more time on the floor in that battle than I’d have liked (Travis, on the other hand…) but it proved to be a fun, tough battle. Other Boss battles I saw included a fight between Gundam-alike robots fighting in the streets of Santa Destroy, and solidified how much I need this game. If you didn’t like the first game, there’s been enough improvements for you to justify exploration into the sequel. If you loved the first game, why don’t you already have this?

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is out now.

- Jokesound