The Podcats: THREE (Uncharted 3, BF3, MW3)
Why has Uncharted 3 not impressed me? Why has Battlefield 3 not lasted that long? Why has Modern Warf… HOST MIGRATION… Synchronizing Game…are 3 kept peer-to-peer Multiplayer on PC?
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REVIEW: Ghostbusters: The Game
Reviewed on Xbox 360 (Also on: PC, 360, Wii, PS2, PS3, PSP) Developed by Terminal Reality. Published by Atari (Playstation versions published by Sony in Europe)
So Ghostbusters, one of the biggest grossing films of 1984, has made into a 2009 video game. Despite there being a Ghostbusters game on the Comedy 64, Terminal Reality though they could improve on this (get out of my head with your thought control, Cameron!), accquired the license and then made this game thinking they had a deal with Vivendi to publish. Then many things happened. Vivendi merged with Activision and the resulting Activision-Blizzard behemoth dropped a number of titles from their portfolio including 50 Cent, Scarface, Brutal Legend and Ghostbusters: The Game. The developers continue, secure a deal with Activision, show off the cute Wii version, proclaim how much better the PS3 is. And then Five minutes before the release of the game comes the whammy for PAL gamers, Only the PS3, PSP and PS2 versions would be available at first since Sony was now co-publishing this as a timed exclusive. Yada, yada, yada, here we are with a review of this game reviewing the region-free 360 version on a PAL console.
So Ghostbusters is that unique beast. It is very faithful to its source material. So faithful it fails. Rather than tell a new Ghostbusters story with all new and exciting demons, the game sees fit to basically revisit the more popular hauntings from the films and expand upon them. So the first three levels consist of Slimer in the Hotel, Mr Staypuft and the Ghostly Librarian. In other words, its Back to the Future part 2. If this is meant to be the third film, why is it a clip show?
Set in 1991, you play as a rookie Ghostbuster being trained by Igon, Stantz, Venkmann and Zeddimore (all voiced by the original cast members) as you learn the ropes. Of course, this being a game you have more than just a proton pack and trap in your arsenal but can use different element beams, use slime and fireballs and even shotgun-style blasts. you generally find yourself in a linear corridor, using your PKE meter to search for paranormal manifestations before zapping ghosts in various ways with your gizmos, all the while being entertained by a really very dull Ghostbusters outing. It’s like Pirates of the Caribbean. Everyone loved the first one since it was so refreshing and funny, but by the thiurd film it was so bloated and full of itself it forget the funny.
While the graphics, sound, atmosphere, design and stroy are all authentic to the first film, the gameplay is where things start to fall apart. It does play a lot Luigi’s Mansion (ironically) but it’s nowhere near as much fun as Nintendo’s game. It becomes repetitive rather quickly- like Assassin’s Creed. You feel like you’re a Ghostbuster all right but like any dream job, it quickly becomes work.
Also of note, is the lack of balance. Playing this on normal is excruciatingly frustrating due to the ghosts knocking you down and killing you with little chance. Knocking the difficulty down to casual gives you a better chance to experience the storyline (and this means a restart of the game). Of course, that’s when you realise the story isn’t much cop. Comedy is all about timing. The timing here is off. Cutscenes drag and its almost as if the developers left gaps for the laugh track (like they forgot which Ghostbusters franchise they were working on. Larry Storch’s unused voice work for this game was phenomenal)
So while its actually fun to play in short bursts, there’s nothing driving you to complete it, unless of course you’re a huge Ghostbusters fan. It also seems slightly buggy in that it can take an eternity for triggers that allow you to proceed to activate. You can often stand around for a while, waiting for some dialogue to trigger which means you can continue. Then you might have to wait for another interminable dialogue exchange before you can continue.
The graphics are relatively decent and the character models are pretty decent. You hear the actual score of the movie rather than Ray Parker Jr’s song over and over again. The sound effects are authentic as are the voices, as mentioned earlier. The main crime of the game is that it makes Ghostbusters boring. A followup with a different structure (this is crying out for an open world games with lots of smaller missions rather than a few missions strung out past their use-by date.
Controller1.com Rating 1/3 (3/3 if you’re a fan of Ghostbusters II. If you can make it through that, you’re fine to put up with this)
Controller1.com Focus Test #34: GHOSTBUSTERS: THE GAME
So who you gonna yada yada. Busting makes me fell yada yada. A Twinkie the size of Clint.
Its all here in our latest Focus Test. Hopefully, normal service has been resumed.
also, if you haven’t already seen it, c1.com’s own Gothbusters in HD
E3 2009- part 2. I Need a Drink
To continue: the Sony and Nintendo conferences were held today, the first day of the show, proper.
So let’s get into it….
Sony
God of War III is coming in March 2010. It looks like a painting come to life according to David Jaffe and I’m not going to argue with him, merely ask him not to visit goth art galleries anymore whilst inebriated. the fourth game in the trilogy 9(!) will close out the series (!).
PSP Go! was announced. People were shocked. People who woke up from coma’s were shocked anyway. Its a slimmer, UMD less PSP that will go on sale in a few months for US$250 alongside the current PSP-3000. PSP will finally see Gran Turismo portable, which seems to have taken a leaf out of Pokemon and Monster Hunter’s huge popularity in Japan by allowing trades over wifi. There’s a new Metal Gear portable game, Peacewalker or Pisstaker or something and this looks to be set a few years after Metal Gear 3. There’s the previously mentioned Little Big Planet PSP, Motorstorm and Assassin’s Creed PSP; as well as a newly announce PSP Resident Evi, PSP Infamous and PSP Soul Calibur.
On the PS3 front there’s the duel wand motion controller, currently unnamed and listed for release sometime in 2010. You can now get your waggle in three different flavours, depending on which system you own. As far as games go there weren’t many surprises, as most had been either announced, teased or leaked before the show. What games were shown mostly look pretty cool. Uncharted 2 looks to be fantastic, but we new that. MAG looks to be big and expansive but we knew that. The demo was nice in showing the strengths and weakness of the concept. Another quick look at the new Ratchet game in one of Sony’s many montages and a new Final Fantasy online game, FFXIV for release in 2010 on PS3 only.
But the exclusive that looks most intriguing is Agent, from Rock Star. Its set in the 70′s so I’m sure we’ll get that period completely inaccurate (you know early 70′s hippie fashions and giant afros with disco music). You’re an assassin. Its a Rock Star game so you’re never going to be handing out leaflets in a mall.
Assassin’s Creed 2, not shown on the Ubi conference, was demoed but as Jade Raymond was no where to be seen we’ll skip that. Just kidding. Can this game redeem the flaws of the original? Time will tell. PS3 is getting some exclusive DLC. Its called the PSP version and if you buy that, you get some extra weapons to use. Also shown is a cartoon racer where you can make and share tracks. Moving right along, there’s The Last Guardian, from the makers of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Even though the trailer showed up on the web a few days ago, its still nice to see.
Overall, better than last year but we knew 95% of the content previously so the surprise factor was lower. Personally, GoW III, Ratchet and Uncharted 2 are my must haves on PS3 out of what was shown here.
Nintendo
Well, if they could put the word Mario into any more products they would. They started by talking about mario’s evolution and how they want to take Mario into 4D. By this they mean a 4-player coop version of All New Super Mario Brothers for Wii. A 2D renaissance has taken place with this and Epic’s XBLA game announced yesterday, but hopefully this won’t merely be the DS game upscaled for Wii (though bets on that’s exactly what this is).
Of course there would be WiiFit 2. Nintendo may not be making the kewl games like they used to but your grandma needs something to do in between lawn bowls and writing angry letters to the newspaper. Motion Plus was pimped yet again, with what seemed to be a familiar montage of what you could do with it (deja vu circa the Wii’s2006 launch).
Wii Sports resort seems to be less of a tech demo and more of a “this is what we should have done all along” game.
Along the same vein, Red Steel 2 (Motion plus only, it seems) is going to try and fulfill the promises Ubi made in 2006 with the big selling but reviled original.
We have a Final Fantasy game for Wii, Crystal something. Open world gayness from SE. Weeeeee. A DS Kingdom HeartZzzzzzzzz. Mario and Luigi told from Bowser’s side. oh dear. Golden Sun. Oh well, some fanboys should be happy. But Women’s Murder Club? Cops: A recruit ?. I think my DS will be getting dustier and dustier.
Mario Vs Donkey Kong Mini’s March Again, is more puzzling action, this time with a level editor- buts its a DSi Ware game only. As is a Wario Ware title where you make your own games. I sometimes thing games where the idea is to make your own games is rather lazy on the part of developers.
There was a long build up to an announcement by Satoru Iwata (Nintendo Japan Head dude). The build up was to one of those cheap things you clip on your finger to monitor your heart-rate. The internet goes “huh?” The next announcement lead to believe its a joke at the expense of fanboys. Its Super Mario Galaxy 2 for Wii!
Also, making sense of the recent bundling of the three Metroid prime games on one disc is a new Metroid Game from Team Ninja. Its called Other M. And its semi side scrolling.
PS3 now $99
The Playstation 3 has now been cut to US$99 starting April 1. A new SKU has been released, the SCPH-10000. SCEA head Jack Tretton said “This price realignment has come about as our manufacturing processes have evolved. We can now produce a PS3 at a profit AND sell it a low low price. That’s what we’ve just realized. We were doing the ass backwards way before. No wonder we lost so much money.”
One feature return welcomed by many is the return of the ability to play PS2 games. Of course, as with previous cost-reduced versions of the PS3, some features have been omitted such as Six Axis controllers, wireless controllers, wifi abilities, HDMI, Hard Drives, Blu Ray support and online functionality. While the deleted features mean gamers won’t be able to play hot PS3 exclusive titles such as Lair, Heavenly Sword and Haze, there is an upside in that PS3 gamers won’t be able to play Lair, Heavenly Sword and Haze. Executive editor of Game Man magazine, Lasse Figstromme told controller1.com in a laggy Skype interview “Thank fuck, those games sucked more ass that rectal leaches in a Uwe Boll movie.”
Of course this is a crushing blow to Microsoft and its Xbox 360 because it means now there are dozens of exclusive game playable only on the new PS3 (and all PS2′s). Figstromme continued “Why would I want to play Mass Effect or Gears of War when I can now play Downhill Domination on my PS3?”
Why indeed.
NEWS: KAZ HIRAI INHALING OWN PRESS RELEASES
Sony Computer Entertainment head honcho Kaz Hirai recently made gaming headlines for some interesting claims made to a Playstation magazine. Despite the fact that worldwide there are over 45 millions Wiis and around 20 million PS3′s and 27 million Xbox 360′s (5 of which are in Japan- gaijin and/or homosexuals obviously). Hirai made the claim “I’d like to think that we continue official leadership in this industry.”
OK?
LITTLE BIG PLANET review
Reviewed on PS3. Developed by Media Molecule. Published by SCEE.
We have to clear the air before we continue…
Firstly, despite the will of some people, Little Big Planet is not the game that makes people buy PS3′s in huge numbers. Secondly, although you can make levels, you can make really shitty levels. Thirdly its a good game.
Little Big Planet is a side scrolling platformer. You move from one end of a level to the other, using the world in various ways, using simple machines, sometimes with infuriating physics puzzles. But, it does play a lot lot the old 2D Mario games. You collect all manner of trinkets as you play, such as stickers (some of which are needed for puzzles- at least in the early part of the game, objects, textures and clothing for your playable character. A little cutie known as Sack Boy (or Sack Girl).
Sackboy only has a limited suite of moves. He can walk and run. He can grab (which combined with walking or running can operate switches and push/pull items) and he has his popit button. As so much o fthe game is based around a realistic physics model, you’ll find that it gets to be quite a hard and challenging platformer later on. Frustrating and infuriating beyond belief.
The popit button just brings up a menu with all of the items you have collected so that you can decorate your sack person at any stage. You can also deface the levels with stickers if you must. The levels are teeming with baubles containing some new element. Some of them in ridiculously difficult to get at spaces which seems to be why puzzles based on fitting the correct sticker seem to be less important as the game wears on. You basically see a cartboard cutout with what looks like a chip- similar to those you see on some credit cards. If you have the correct sticker in your inventory, you may be able to unlock a new area. I believe a lot of what you collect may be useful to you if you choose to make your own levels.
I found that as I progressed through the game, I became less concerned with collecting all o fthe baubles and more concerned just getting through to the end of the level. My main reason for this is the checkpoint system. You pass what looks and sounds like a gong and you get 4 attempts at getting to the next checkpoint before getting booted back to the start of the level. Hey guess what MM? The game stops being fun when you have to trawl through some of the longer levels over and over when you can’t get to the penultimate checkpoint of a level.
There are some sections that you can play as coop with a second sack person (or as we say these days, a Person of Sack) but really what a lot of people have gone gaga over is the level creation. You can make a level and put it on the web. And if it infringes on ANYONE’s copyright or might possibly infringe on someone’s copyright, it will be removed. The level creator requires you to sit through a rather long tutorial and its necessary since its actually quite a hard thing to acocomplish. I baulked at the price of entry so I downloaded some levels other people had made. One was supposedly Ghostbusters and the other was Metal Gear Sacklid. They were somewhat cruder than the MM levels but they got the job done. Just. But maybe the single player is all I needed to get out of the game.
The graphics are rather pretty and cute (if a little blurry) and the musical score is very hypnotic and memorable. And of course, since there are only four attempts per checkpoint before you have to restart the level- the music firstly becomes highly repetitive and then highly annoying.
LBP will spawn a PSP version and most likely a PS3 sequel. I like the game but I can’t call it a system seller but every PS3 owner should get it (especially since it seems to be discounted in some online retailers). If you like 2D platformers and own a PS3, get this. If you want to make your own levels and you already own a PS3, get this.
controller1.com RATING 2/3
10 THINGS TO DO WITH A PSP
Sony’s PSP hardware is selling quite well around the world. In Japan the Monster Hunter games has given impetus to the handheld that isn’t a DS, bringing gangs of otaku together in order to play with each other (emphasis mine). In the west, the PSP is the is hacked console currently on the market.
10. Use it as a remote controller for your PS3 I don’t know why but somehow you can and somehow you would want to. Your PSP interfaces with the PS3 in useful ways not seen since the Gamecube could be attached to the Gamecube. You can download, via the PS3, PSOne games. You can use your PSP, via the PS3, to play online multiplayer games. You can watch movies stored on your PSP, via your Bravia, in a resolution best described as “I paid 3k for this TV and it looks like what?”
9. Play movies on UMD disc. Movies such as XXX, Charlie’s Angels, SWAT and Hitch.
8. Play movies from your DVD collection ripped to PSP or the digital copy many DVD’s come with these days.
7. Skype. With its inbuilt Wifi functionality you can use the PSP as if it were a telephone, not not as if it were an NGage. For some reason, Sony forget about the whole Sony Ericsson thing when they designed this thing. Its a multi-media player, not a taco.
6. Spend countless hours updating the firmware every 14 days. The system has been out since 2005 and the firmware is now up to version 5 something.
5. Spend countless hours downgrading the firmware so you can run “homebrew.” Apparently everyone wants to use “homebrew” games. Note that when you say this out loud you must hold up your hands and articulate the quotation marks with your fingers. This is so people know you’re using “homebrew” as a euphemism for pirated games. In lieu of articulating quotating marks with your fingers, you can also tap the side of your nose or wink (or ever say “homebrew, wink wink.)”
4. Pirate the games. Why lie? That’s why you bought this thing. That’s why the system sells respectable numbers each month but UMD is a completely dead format and PSP games almost never chart. Its incredible that western publishers bother so much with trying to port their PS2 and Wii titles onto PSP considering the return on their investment must be less than the distance between a corpse of a Wall Street Stockbroker with an office on the 30th floor and the pavement.
3. Use the PSP as an MP3 player. Yes apparently Sony didn’t completely forget they invented the walkman. But they did forget how and why they invented it. The PSP, with a decent size memory stick can play music as well as movies.
2. If you own any version of PSP, you know have something to use as a conversation starter with someone who works in a store where memory cards are sold. You can have long and ponderous conversations about the differences between the 1178 different variations of Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick format, complain about why the fuck they couldn’t just use the ubiquitous and far cheaper SD cards
1. Play legally bought games. No only kidding. What would you want to play that shit? Instead you can look cooler on the bus than those DS-playing kiddies playing New Super Mario, Mario Kart and whatever else came out on the DS two years ago.
Editor’s note: I have not downgraded the firmware on my PSP. I also have not played my PSP is a long time. It has more dust covering it than my Wii.
IN THE BARGAIN BINS…
Today I went shopping and looked around for some games in the bargain bins. I’m usually too impatient to wait six months before I buy a game. I mean, I don’t need game on Day 1, but I usually aren’t able to wait until a game is in the big sales.
I saw some games that might been OK had I been in the mood like Frontlines Fuel of War with a T shirt and a book for AU$35 and a number of other games not worthy of writing about (ie only the stuff you’d expect to be in the bargain bins, shovelware or flops). But one title did catch my eye.
God of War: Chains of Olympus for PSP for AU$25 (about half the RRP). Its the only PSP game I’ve seen in the Top 10 in All Format Sales Charts for a long time. So OI thought, what the hell, I’m going away for a bit and I might need something for the travel.
So of course, I haven’t actually played my PSP since Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters in 2007. Its a first gen PSP-phat. It might be heavy and slow but its built like a brick shithouse. It also has, I disovered when i returned home, a dead battery. Time to try and find a cheap replacement.
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