Really not alot to say this month. Christmas coming means that most things are out and we hit the bleak few months of winter starved of games. Delays on great tittles for the ps3 don't help (Haze, Army of two and unreal 3 now next year).
So i won't even label the next few games into buy it or not cos there isn't much choice!
Drake's fourtune - 7th
The only Ps3 exclusive to actually make it the december. By no means does that mean that it wins on that merit alone! Uncharted as many know it is the latest creation from naught dog the people that brought you Crash bandicoot (original 3 games) and Jak and Daxter, two of the greatest platformer adventures of they're time.
Drakes fortune is not a platformer.....as such and not a kiddy looking game. Possibly the best graphics i have ever witnessed in motion and yes that includes crysis! The water actaully not only ripples as you touch it (as all games now do) but the light refracts with the ripples creating the most stunning effect of realism, not only that but as you step out of the water you look wet (as all games do now) but if you only went knee deep your legs are actualy wet to that point.
Attention to detail might be the way to describe it. Which is what they did when looking at other games obviously. The aiming system from gears of war, the cover system from gears of war (which is actually from a game called 'killswitch on the ps2), jumping sections stolen from under miss croft. Nothing orginal in the game play here, but it all comes together to create something good.
Then there is the plot. I'll simplify. You decented of francis drake, you have map, badguys have location not map, you and saucy women go to island for a 80's filled rollacoaster of fun. Really! The main character is a proper 80's action hero! A guy through a grenade at me and Drake shouted 'OH CRAP' and while i ran away shouted 'CRAP CRAP CRAP CRAP' Really made you feel good.
Own a PS3 buy it! Don't own a ps3, when you do buy it.
Link crossbow training (with zapper) - 7th
Its a giant peice of plastic with a trigger! its not a light gun, its what you slide your remote into to make it a lightgun. What a con!
I said this before playing resident evil umbrella conspiricy's and them i cried out for a gun that i could aim quickly with. The Wii remote just doesnt do it! Why? How? Who shot kenndey? i don't know but you need the Zapper!
And links crossbow training is a load of mini games that i'm sure are fun but i couldn't care about until someone starts beating me round the head with it. BRING ON DUCKHUNT!
I actually believe that is it......so i feel i might want to make us look back at some of the games that came out this year. Exclusives only!
360
The strongest line up of games so far. More time less develpoment cost than the ps3 and a loyal american army (oh lets not forget bottomless money vaults). This year we are introduced to the Elite, the black shiney (sound familiar?) 100gb bigger hard drive, HDMI weilding 360. I got one, marketing works! No more problems with the new phoenix mother board however its early days and 6 bricked xboxs teach you to be wary, but maybe microsoft have got over the problem (fingers crossed, touch wood, oww!).
Over Hyped - HALO 3
Short, ugly and just dissapointing, i said this months before it came out, i actually hoped i was wrong! I loved halo 1, it made me giddy with joy as i played through again and again, i didn't even mind the libary repetative level. COD4 really blew this should be big hitter away. Not even the online mode is likly to survive against the competition.
On the ball - MASS EFFECT
It said what it was going to do and it did it. Good old Bioware.
Missed by most - EARTH DEFENCE FORCE
no one saw it, not even me at first. A game out at £25 when all others are £40, no way! Then Marty turned round and said i'll double your money back if you don't like it, HELL YEAH! So off i went to make a cool £25, i failed. The game is frikkin sweet! 52 levels of over 250 weapons fighting giant ants in japan, how could that premise go wrong.....whats that there are giant spiders and robots too? Awesome! Get the starship trooper album and download it to your 360, put this in and play till 6am, you won't regret it. Simple, fun, giant ants.
Missing in action - Fable 2
?????? Stupid peter molyneux!
WII
The best selling console in its first year (topping the mighty PS2), nintendo have done it right. Tell me that 12 months ago and i would have laughed in your face, shows you how wrong i was. Nintendo appealing to a larger market of casual gamers the developed with nintendo DS (Best selling console ever, topping the mighty PS2!) they have made a fortune with very little actaully out there until recently. A round of applause if you will for the old school team bringing in the new school......... i miss SEGA.
Over Hyped - Sonic and the secret rings
What happened Sonic? The levels were fun and fast, then you made me play stupid sub missions before i could continue which drove me to tears. Why sonic? Why?
On the Ball - Metriod 3
Ha ha not mario galaxy! I honestly believe this to be the better game. More to do, delivered its control scheme as promised and gave a rich new feel to a possible stagnent formula. Well done Samus, now go talk to sonic for me....
Missed by most - Trauma centre
A great DS game that made a great wii game and the defibrillator made a welcome edtion. CLEAR!
Missing in axtion - Smash Bro's Brawl
We were promised, we were let down. Then they announced sonic as a playable character and all was forgiven (thats what he was up to!), as long as they keep to the Feb 14th release date that is.
PS3
The giant over priced black shiney thing. Don't worry i still believe in you. Why? Because Final Fantasy is where the heart is. A poor first year for the Ps3 has earned it a very bad reputation, but i do stand up for it's defence sating 'Do you remember the first year of the 360? Oblivion, Oblivion and more Oblivion.' Only in the second year did we get Gears of war and lost planet. Give it another year and if it still hasn't produced then i'll take iot behind the barn. Come on Ico 2 and little big planet.
Over hyped - Folklore is suppose
I'm sure there was something more dissapointing, but my mid is a blank, probably mentally blocked it. Folklore was hyped as a fable style game that juts didn't deliver on graphics, story, voice acting or anything! I was looking foward to this and it let me down. Suggestions for a replacement here? oh wait Genji.......dear god the nightmares are back!!!!
On the ball - Drakes fortune
I gave you a review above, don't make me repeat myself. It does just edge out Ratchet and Clank which some would argue over, but its down to preference
Missed by most - Heavenly sword
Bad review's kept people away from this one, God why? 'Its a god of war rip off!' i heard people cry, i responded with 'but wasn't god of war awesome?', the responded with 'uhhhhh......'. Yeah a great game with the best facial animation ever seen, motion capture of the gods, great voice acting and a simple yet engaging plot.
Missing in action - oh god where to start - Haze
I'm choosing this because i beleive in this game and the development team so much. They had better have a good reason for the delay. Most people would put MGS4 here but Hideo Kojima did actually announce that it would be a march release back in the summer so why people are up in arms now i don't know!
Happy christmas guys, enjoy your Xmas gaming. (god my hands hurt, please forgive spelling and grammer mistakes, i'm ill!)
Lance
Links crossbow training. Not too bad a target shooting game, but a bit of a ronseal moment here, it does exactly what it says on the tin really
,not hard to complete but impossible to get perfect on... but not bad considering it comes with a Zapper for £20 i still think umbrella chronicles is still better with the remote but maybe i still need to get used to the Zapper
Rappletek
huge props on this post..
i agree with one exception..
peter molenux isnt stupid... he just lives in his own world when december is when he says it is... >_>
grr damn him...
oh and i liked fokelore, and from all i've read and seen it wasnt really hyped that much..
however most will play it and think 'wtf? i'mma kill that ba****d rappletek for making me waste my money on this..'
so play at your own disgresion
Xeall
ok i missed one and was very lucky to get a copy. Disgaea on PSP, a direct copy of the ps2 orginal release in the fluff but so much more detailed in the...........detail.
The orginal was called hour of darkness, the new one with all of its bonus features is fantastically called 'Afternoon of Darkness'. The Ps2 game was one of the best sleeper rpg of the consoles life (sleeper means it was never spotted, for those who don't know). Following Laharl the demon prince of the netherworld waking up (after sleeping accidently for 2 years) to find his father dead and a number of demons feuding over the throne. Laharl is pretty pissed and builds a small army to kick everyones ass. Hilarity ensues.
A new alternate plot where Etna kills Laharl at the beginning of the game by accident trying to wake him up is a must for anyone who played the original. A nice feature is the new multiplayer but until i know someone else with the game i can't tell you more about that.
There is another reason to own this tactics style Rpg, its gonna be worth a mint in about 4 years. You can't get the original easily and the new psp version only had 3 copies sent to local stores around canterbury. All gone and one safely in my collection later and you guys need to hunt down your copies for fun or profit.
